A Series of Dreams

Polly struggled to fall asleep as she tried to process everything. She poked the campfire and looked over at Troy and Grime. She bit her lip. Did Grime really see Darcy or was he just seeing things? She glanced at Troy. How did something like the music box get back to the human world? She had a very uneasy feeling about this. She pulled out her phone and looked at the picture Troy had drawn of the puzzle box. She frowned at it before putting a hand to her mouth. The symbols on it suddenly made sense. It was the Core's design. Her heart started to race. She looked back at Grime, who was snoring loudly. A smile tugged at his lips as he dreamt.

"Excellent form Lieutenant!" Grime praised as he watched Sasha soundly defeat ten toad soldiers at once. He clapped his hands together. He was so proud. Sasha smiled over at him as she helped the toads back up. Grime walked over to pat Sasha on the back and blinked as she and the toads vanished before him. He was standing in the ruins of Toad Tower. He clutched his chest as his eyes watered. He was just a memory. He rubbed his eyes. He knew he was starting to lose it. These visions were made worse when he stayed in places that he had strong emotional connections too.

"Sasha…" Grime whispered. He shook his head. He felt so alone. He glanced in the direction of town. He knew his mind would be better if he was in town and surrounded by others and tethered to the present. He grimaced. He didn't want to go back to Wartwood and he presumed Wartwood didn't want him back either. Since his mind had started failing he had accidentally drawn his sword on a few frightened citizens. It had happened when he was struck by a sudden traumatic flashback and had become frightened. The look the citizens gave him when he came back to reality made him feel ashamed. That is why he had chosen this self-imposed exile back to Toad Tower.

Polly, Sprig, Olivia, and Yunan had tried to convince him to stay but he had made up his mind. He had slipped away one night and planned on never returning. He was a threat to the peaceful town. They'd be better off without him. Besides, he had felt so alone there even when surrounded by others. Polly was busy at the farm or working on her robotics. Sprig was rarely in town because he was off on adventures. Olivia and Yunan were often kept busy by their eft. They had named her Marcy.

Grime fought back more tears. He wished he had a little tadpole of his very own. A daughter to raise and train. To watch her grow and become a fearsome warrior.

Grime closed his eyes. It felt less lonely out here, surrounded by his old memories. He opened his eyes again and beamed as he saw Sasha waving him over back to the Tower with Percy and Braddock. He sniffed and headed over to them. The ground suddenly shook and his vision of them vanished. He spun around as he heard a heavy thud behind him. A frobot stood before him. He fumbled with his sword. Was this real or just another flashback? He readied himself just in case. The frobot yanked a spear out of the ground and lunged at him.

Grime grit his teeth and rolled out of the way. The frobot quickly changed direction and swung at his feet. It caught Grime off guard and he was knocked over. His sword fell from his grip and the frobot raised its spear and thrust at his chest. Grime caught it with his hand and fought to push it back as the frobot kept pushing it towards his heart. The tip of the spear was almost touching his armor. Grime was starting to sweat. Was this how it was going to end?

"Enough." Came an eerie whisper of a voice. The frobot stopped and immediately straightened up. Grime stared at it in confusion. The frobot turned and looked in the direction where the voice seemed to be coming from. Grime followed its gaze and his heart stopped for a split second. His vision wasn't great but he recognized that armor and those red eyes. He fumbled for his sword and squinted as he tried to get a better look. Something was off. The helmet wasn't whole. It was cracked in half and the single remaining metal gill was broken in such a way that it looked like a horn.

"No." Grime croaked as the figure retreated into the shadows. She couldn't be here. It wasn't possible. They had freed Marcy. So how was the Core puppeting her again? The frobot turned and prepared to leave with the mysterious figure. Adrenaline was pumping through Grimes veins. He raised his sword and rushed at the frobot. It reacted too late and Grime cut off one of its arms. The frobot stumbled back and glanced between the figure and Grime. The figure nodded and the frobot readied its spear. Grime let out a bellow and charged it again.

"Grime!" Polly whispered as she shook him gently. Grime was grinding his teeth and thrashing about in his sleep. "Grime!" Polly said a little louder. She didn't want to wake Troy. Grime's eyes flew open and scrambled to his feet. "Shhh. It's okay." Polly said quickly as she tried to calm him down. "It was just a dream." Grime felt his heart racing wildly but took a moment to catch his breath.

"Right…" He said shakily. "Just a dream…" He looked at Polly. He knew she wouldn't believe him.

"Why don't you try to go back to sleep?" Polly suggested. Grime frowned. He knew he wouldn't be able to but he didn't want to argue. He nodded and laid back down. He grimaced as he thought about the horned figure.

Marcy sat bolt upright in a cold sweat clutching her chest. She was breathing hard and started looking around the room in a panic. She jumped as she felt something touch her shoulder.

"Woah, easy Mars." Sasha said in a soft voice as she pulled her hand away. "What's up?" Marcy kept clutching her chest and tightened her grip on the bed sheets.

"I had a dream-" She shook her head. "- a nightmare…" She amended. Sasha placed her hand on Marcy's. Marcy took it gratefully and laced her fingers with Sasha's. "The kids-" She began. Anne's cell phone started to ring.

"Who'd be calling at this hour?" Sasha said, frowning at it. Anne sleepily reached for it and pulled it to her ear.

"Hello?" She asked groggily. Marcy gripped Sasha's hand tighter.

"Mars-?" Sasha asked, feeling concerned.

"What!?" Anne responded sharply as her eyes flew open. She ripped the covers off the bed and scrambled out of it. "When!?" She demanded as she looked around the room and started pulling on more clothes. She shot a look at Marcy and Sasha. They understood and started dressing too. Anne started pacing and ran a hand through her hair anxiously. Her heart was racing and she grit her teeth. Sasha and Marcy shared a look. "We'll be there in the next hour." Anne said as she strode out of the room. Sasha and Marcy hurried to follow.

"Anne what's going-?" Sasha asked. Anne grabbed the car keys and tossed them to Sasha.

"Our kids-" Anne said seriously as her eyes started to water with a mix of panic, fear, and rage. "-are missing." Marcy put a hand to her mouth as tears started to stream down her face. Sasha stood frozen to the spot with a look of horror. A moment later she came to and pulled her shoes on as she threw the door open.

"No they're not." Sasha said with a snarl as she took both of their hands and headed to the car. They all climbed inside and Sasha tore out of the driveway.

"Anne…?" Marcy asked in a small voice after a moment or two. Anne was starting to pull out her hair. She closed her eyes and tried to take a calming breath.

"They were doing nightly checks on the cabins and they weren't there." Anne said slowly. "They searched the whole camp." She said as she turned to Marcy.

"They didn't search hard enough." Sasha growled.

"Anne." Marcy repeated.

"They couldn't have gotten far." Anne tried to reason. "The camp is in the middle of nowhere."

"Anne." Marcy said as she tried to grab her hand.

"We'll find them, Mars." Anne said, trying to sound reassuring as she took her hand and gave it a squeeze. Tears were streaming down Marcy's face.

"I know where they are." She said in a cracked voice. Sasha slammed on the brakes.

"Where?" She demanded as she threw the car in park and looked back at her. Marcy sniffed.

"They're in Amphibia."