Amphibia: Calamity Warriors

by JamesFames

Upon arriving in a strange new world, full of dangerous creatures and anthropomorphic frogs, instead of the Plantars, Anne ends up living with a mysterious stranger who seems more human than he lets on. Join Anne as she searches for her friends and learns more about this cloaked stranger's mysterious past and his connection to the strange music box.

47. The Emerald Nightmare

Once everything calmed down, the two humans and newt decided to sleepover at the Plantars house for the day, all watching movies and helping on the farm, as well as taking Ironhide and Bessie for a drive. Eventually, it was nighttime, but the group stayed up a bit for one more story.

"So, about those Harrowing's…" Anne inquired.

"It was about time you hear this story." Shadow said, sitting at the couch. "However, you must promise to never repeat this to anyone. Not even to Apollo or Marcy."

"Why not?" Anne asked with a frown.

"Just…promise me. Please."

Anne, Kaemon and the Plantars looked to one another before giving the boy affirmative nods.

"Thank you, everyone." He said. "I'm sure that everyone in town knows of the story of the Black Wolf, correct?"

"Yeah, but how does this relate to whatever that was?" Polly asked.

"That title meant something. Once. Soon it became a veil between what I am and what it is." Shadow said. "Its name is old and said in an ancient, forgotten tongue. I dare not say its name lest I weaken its chains. You've already been exposed to some... appropriate variations of this story twice before. The first time was during our trip to the archives. The second was during my shadow puppet show at the theater caravan ran by thieves. The third was the time you saw its very form during the events at Toad Tower."

The group's eyes widen, remembering during their time with the caravan thieves and their trip to the archives how Shadow told a story about the Wolf, and then when he took on the form of what looked like a werewolf during the events of Toad Tower.

"So... those stories you told back then. Everything you said. It was all true?" Anne asked.

Shadow looked down in shame. "I'm afraid so. The coming days will not be what is expected. Now with the Risen amassing in full force and a Harrowing second only to the Ruination already in play. People will begin to say things. Things that can and will be mistaken. If you are to hear this tale, you will hear it from me and only me. So, gather around, oh family mine, and let me tell you the story of the Dragon of the Cataclysm."

---

In the time before time, before there was anything, there was nothing. And before there was nothing, there were monsters. There was once a dark and all-consuming entity of nigh-infinite power and horror. His name, forbidden to deities themselves, was so terrible that none dared to speak its name, for even muttering it would forever curse the one who spoke it. The only identity that he carries now that does not invoke his ire is the Dragon of the Cataclysm.

With such demonic strength, and an army of undead and corrupted at his beck and call, he threatened to unleash the end of all things, of all reality. To be returned to nothing, only to be remade as a living cancer upon all who would be born.

Recognizing such an almighty threat to all of Creation, the Guardian knew that it could not wage a war alone, and so it sought out a young maiden of azure hope to help, blessing her with its power and transforming her into a beacon of light.

The Blue Maiden was not the only one who fought on the Guardian's behalf. Throughout her travels across the realms, she met many friends and created bonds with powerful champions. First was her faithful companion, the Black Wolf of the Dawn, whom she had saved from his suffering isolation, guilt, and despair, helping him in discovering a new path devoid of death and destruction, but one of hope and new beginnings.

Second was the Pink Heron of the Flame, whom they aided to find balance for her blazing rage and to let go of her ambitions.

Third was the Green Viper of Wisdom, whom the trio aided in freeing her from her fear of isolation.

And finally, was the White Wolf of Dusk, the brother in arms to the Black Wolf, after helping him rise above his hatred and resentment towards his brother for believing he abandoned his pack and the dogma of his deluded father.

Together, united by trust, and bound by duty, the five guardian gods, under the guidance of the Guardian, took the fight to the Dragon and his legions, combining their power to bring an end to its reign of madness, achieving their destiny.

Sadly, the fight was not without a grave cost, many innocent lives were lost, close friends and allies, the power of Calamity turned against itself, even some of their own were tempted by the Dragon's corruption, and in the end, the life of the Black Wolf, who grew from a wolf into a man, gave his life, using the full potential of the Calamity in order to destroy the beast's soul forevermore.

In honor of the Wolf who journeyed with her all the way, the Blue Maiden spread his essence across the cosmos, creating the galaxy and the constellations we use to light our way, in honor of her most treasured and beloved companion.

---

"Whoa." Anne said in amazement. "That's some story."

"As the tale suggests, the Dragon of the Cataclysm was a force of true evil." Shadow told the listeners. "And it took the combined might of the Calamity Gods in order to truly stop him, if only seal him away."

"So that's why there are these undead phantasms floatin' around." Hop Pop said, remembering the black will-o-wisp from the other day.

"The Risen serve the Dragon's will." Shadow said. "They seem passive, at first, but get too close and they become hostile and vicious. Those Harrowing's are a result of the Dragon's influence, black mist all over and the Risen wandering about the place."

"Talk about night of the living dead." Anne said with a nervous gulp.

"I'm just preparing you for what we might face." Shadow said. "So, be ready for when Marcy comes, as the temples will be anything but easy."

"We understand, master!" Kaemon declared. "We'll be ready for anything!"

"Yeah, and if those Guardian Gods could take down that monster, so can we!" Polly exclaimed.

"Yeah, united we stand and all that!" Sprig added.

Finally, everyone decided to head for bed, with Kaemon rooming with Sprig, However, Shadow and Anne had an issue.

"I'm sorry, Shadow, but I really need some space." The Thai girl apologized.

"I understand." Shadow nodded. "We both need space to ourselves for a while."

Giving him one more kiss, Anne then went down into the basement, leaving the boy in black to himself.

After setting up a temporary bed, Anne laid down and tried to will herself to sleep, but she was distracted, her mind going back to the story about the Guardian Gods and how they defeated what was basically this world's equivalent of the devil. A part of her was terrified at the idea of such a being having existed, and yet, another part of her was glad that it was gone.

"Hopefully, it stays gone." She said to herself, willing herself to sleep.

Little did she know of the terrors that lurk below.

---

Amphibia: Calamity Warriors

Chapter Forty-Seven: The Emerald Nightmare

As the light of dawn broke through the windowpanes, Anne pondered the current series of events that have led to this point, poking at her chocolate pancakes (which were made from chocopedes), her eyes making side glances to Shadow, who was currently eating away from her, Kaemon and the Plantars, the boy in black sitting on the couch in the living room. It had been roughly two days since he revealed the truth of his haunted past and despite having made up with each other, the two agreed to give each other their space.

It wasn't as if their relationship had ended, rather it was on hiatus until both teens agreed to return together. Shadow would say that a team is only as strong as its weakest link, but if each member was to able function in combat in both as a part of a group and as a sole individual, that link will only harden and become more difficult to break by the enemy. Anne agreed to use the Plantar's basement as a temporary bedroom until they would have things sorted out. They have also agreed that no matter what happens, no one outside of them can know about his involvement with the Purge.

"Hop Pop! You never let us have chocopede pancakes." Polly exclaimed. "What's going on?"

"I thought you kids deserved a treat after, well..." Hop Pop said before trailing off.

"You and Shadow lied and buried the music box, causing Anne to almost leave the family forever and almost caused a potential breakup?"

Anne, Kaeman, and Polly gasped, Hop Pop whimpered at that while breaking out into a sweat, while Shadow was deathly silent, averting his eyes.

"Boy am I glad Anne forgave you two." The frog boy went on, clearly not seeing the disapproving looks on the faces of his sister and newt friend. "Some people would carry the scars of that betrayal for life. Not you three, though." He finished with a laugh.

Polly was about to elbow her oblivious big brother, but Kaemon raised his hand, smirking.

"No, please. Allow me." The swordnewt said before smacking Sprig in the back of the head with enough force to break the chair he was sitting. "The next time I let you state the obvious Sprig, is the day I let you break my most treasured blade." He grumbled.

There was silence once more, Shadow minding his own business while Anne tried to eat her pancakes, with Hop Pop standing near the table, fingers tapping on the table and giving the girl an anxious look, which she took notice of.

"I hope you like pancakes." He said with an anxious smile.

Anne chuckled in response, about to raise her fork to eat a slice of her pancake.

"Shadow helped me make the batter from scratch, you know." Hop Pop whimpered. "Uh, been up since the crack of dawn, mixing."

"Oh...great." Anne said, slightly uneased.

Thankfully, the awkward conversation was interrupted by a bird shrieking outside.

"Huh?" Everyone blurted out.

"Heh, the one time I actually wanted to get the bird." Shadow said to himself, inwardly chuckling him. "I think Marcy and Apollo are here."

Quickly finishing up their breakfast, they all stepped outside to see a large sparrow soaring through the sky before landing in front of the house. It had dark orange wings with a lighter white underbelly as well as a grey beak and feet. Across its left eye was a small pink scar, possibly received from a fight of unknown origin. It also wore golden engraved armor with a carved symbol resembling that of Newtopia's flag across the chest as well as a single, green feather protruding from its helmet. Strapped across its back was a wooden saddle capable of carrying up to 4 individuals, which had a large stack of books with a familiar Newtopian newt looking outward to the town.

The bird let out a few chirps, Hop Pop screaming in terror. "A monster bird, ridden by a pile of books with a one-eyed newt boy!" He did a double take before recognizing who it was. "Wait, huh?"

"What was that about my eye, old frog?" Apollo scowled before floating down to the ground with grace.

"Hiya, Plantar family!" Marcy declared, popping her head out of the book pile.

"Marcy!" Everyone declared, happy to see the lovable nerd again.

Marcy attempted to float down, only to lose her focus and fall, Apollo catching her in his arms bridal style, the bird giving a series of chirps before stepping away.

Shadow sighed and shook his head. "So, she's like this around you too?" Shadow asked, the bird giving a nod. "I find it best that if you set certain expectations low enough, you won't get surprised."

"I think you're doing this on purpose." Apollo said as he sat his girlfriend down on the ground.

"Not all the time." Marcy said dusting herself off.

Looking at the birds saddle, Anne noticed that there were certain people missing.

"Hey, where's Cody and the others?" She asked.

"Cody is busy helping father with maintaining order, so he won't be able to make it." Apollo answered.

"As for Valor and Ina, they said they were busy with more important things." Marcy shrugged.

Anne's face instantly fell. "More important…" She said, about to cry.

"Yeah, something about a…" Marcy said.

"SURPRISE!"

Suddenly, both Anne and Shadow were tackled to the ground be the red and blue duo, all laughing and happy to see each other.

"Val! Ina!" Anne declared with joy as they got up. "Oh my gosh, I legit thought you guys couldn't make it!"

"We wouldn't miss it for the world, amiga." Valor said with a laugh.

"Always good to see you, bro!" Ina added, rubbing her cheek against Shadow's.

"Always a good day with you two around." Shadow chuckled as they all got up.

"Anyways, big everyone. I finished my preparations for the-Whaa..." Marcy trailed off when she looked at the Plantar house in awe. "Is this your house? Oh, it's so rustic and cute." She said with widened pupils before picking up one book after another. "When was it built? Third century? No. No, no, no. Second. Yes, of course. Okay, when it was af—"

"Mars, focus." Apollo said with a snap of his fingers. "The big news, tell them."

"Oh, right." Marcy said before chucking the book she held. "We finished our prep and we're ready for the first temple!"

"No way! Awesome!" Anne said as she high fived her best friend.

"I just need to see the music box. Then it's go-time, gang." Marcy declared, clearly fired up, throwing several punches in the air, chanting 'yeah' several times before she realized that everyone was staring at her before stopping. "Sorry, sorry. Long flight. A lot of pent-up energy. Anyway, music box."

As Anne crouched down and rummaged through her bag, Sprig whispered, "Good thing she didn't show up a few days ago, am I right?"

"You need to stop." Polly rebuked, clearly getting annoyed by this already as Kaemon gave another smack to the frog boy's head.

Apollo took notice of this, however as he slowly began to notice how restrained Shadow has been acting compared to how he was back at Newtopia, noticing how oddly silent his estranged brother had been, besides Ina and Valor showing up.

"Something really bad must've happened to them recently. I'd bet it had something to do with that horrible migraine a couple of days ago." He concluded in his mind.

"Here you go." Anne said, pulling out the music box and holding it out to Marcy.

The Taiwanese cracked her knuckles before taking the box. "Okay, if my studies are correct, then..."

She then pressed the gems on the box, causing it to play a small tune before the gems popped out from place, almost everyone in awe as she pulled out what was presumably the green stone, the other gems pulled back into place.

"There you go, bud." She said, holding the box out to Shadow.

For a moment, the boy in black stared at the Calamity Box before shoving it back, almost aggressively. "I'd rather not."

Marcy raised a brow in confusion, before Anne moved in and took the box. "It's nothing! Don't worry about it." She said as she stuffed it back into her bag.

"Well, we've got a big journey ahead." Apollo said. "We'll explain everything on the way."

"Alright, time to get going! Come on, Joe." She clapped her hands, but nothing happened. "Joe?" She then gasped before scowling. "Joe Sparrow!"

What she saw was Joe Sparrow doing some sort of mating dance, hopping around on one leg with his wings extended before wiggling his eyebrows at the old snail, strangely enough, it looked like it was working, the female snail chirping and blushing.

Ironhide, on the other hand, looked like he took offense to this attempt, not taking too kindly to the bird trying to make moves on his potential mate, furrowing his eye stalks moving them up and down, then clinking them together like two metronomes. Shadow moved in front of the scene as it suddenly turned gray before he turned towards the audience, "Reference aside, Ironhide can become incredibly jealous sometimes, and the things he does with his eyestalks is merely an act of physical twitching for snails." He clarified.

"Leave that snail alone!" Marcy scolded the bird as the scene returned to normal, the two snails crawling away, Bessie still blushing while Ironhide gave the bird the stink eye.

Piling the books in the saddle, Marcy was the first to get on, then Anne, then Sprig and Polly, and finally Kaemon squeezed in, followed by Valor and Ina, leaving no room for the others.

"Pretty cramped up here, huh?" Anne remarked.

"We could fly, Anne." Shadow pointed out, floating up to prove his point.

"Yeah, you guys could fly and the rest of us stay in the saddle." Sprig said.

"Don't worry, I've got the reigns." Valor declared with confidence. "I'm a master when it comes to bird riding." He reached down and to pet the bird's neck. "Isn't that right, buddy?"

Joe Sparrow chirped happily in response.

"Oh, uh, eh, so where do I sit?" Hop Pop asked nervously.

---

The old frog came to regret asking, screaming as he was carried by Joe's feet, all the while Shadow, Apollo, Anne and Marcy flew next to the bird.

"So, according to my research, these four ancient temples are filled with difficult challenges to keep out the unworthy." Marcy said, holding up a scroll.

"Basically, complete the challenges, charge the stones." Apollo simplified. "Surely, even a child could understand that."

"Nifty. So, what kind of challenges we talkin'?" Anne asked.

"This first temple is said to specifically challenge your intelligence." Apollo explained. "So naturally, it's going to be full of puzzles." His expression suddenly got serious. "No frog, toad or newt in history has been able to survive it."

The Plantar kids and Anne made worried faces, Kaemon, Ina and Valor were excited, while Shadow remained quiet.

"But don't worry, because none of them were Marcy Wu, head of the chess club, master RTS player, straight-A student, except for gym but only because I was reading in class, which only proves my point!"

"That's all great, Marcy, but be careful." Anne warned. "When you get this into something, you tend to tune everything else out."

She then remembered all the times Marcy got distracted, especially from being more focused on her video game rather than paying attention. Such as the time she overflowed the frozen yogurt machine, or forgot to man the rope during a school play, causing Anne and the audience to get hurt.

But none of that held a candle to the time when she was walking through a zoo, where the snakes had escaped, all the while she was too busy with her game to take notice!

"That was the worst Saturday of my life." Anne shuddered.

Shadow didn't even need to ask what happened, as he already had an idea from their previous talks, not to mention he already had enough emotional baggage for an entire nation on his conscience.

"That's called being in the zone, Anne." Marcy corrected her, "It's pretty much my superpower. Calamity powers aside."

Anne gave Shadow a look, who only shrugged, the Thai girl sighing. "Okay, okay. Just don't forget about us. This place is gonna be dangerous, and we're here to help."

Marcy scoffed at this, "Oh, please! Like I could forget you guys. Penny? Sprout? Kenny? Robert?" She said random names, completely getting their names wrong and proving Anne's point.

"Polly."

"Sprig."

"Kaemon, and do I look like a fifth grader in an orange parka?" Kaemon said in annoyance.

"Robert?" Shadow repeated, sounding more confused than annoyed.

"Look, the point is, I'm not gonna let you guys down."

Hop Pop chimed in, "You know, I wouldn't mind being let d—AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" He didn't get to finish as he screamed, as Joe flew down closer to the treetops.

"I'm afraid that it's not going to be that simple." Shadow shouted, gaining attention from the others. "If what you said is true about the temple's nature, then things are going to be far more difficult now that they are unleashed again. Case in point, incoming!"

He pointed at a barrage of crimson energy missiles, shooting out from the canopy and flying towards them.

"Whoa!" Valor cried as he tried to wrestle Joe's reins to dodge the attacks.

"Joe, land, now!" Apollo yelled. "We'll have to make it to the temple on foot!"

The bird nodded as he flew straight down and lands on the ground, fortunately for Hop Pop, Joe dropped him at the last moment low enough for him to make a soft landing on one of the plants that was oddly enough shaped like a brain and glowing a bright green color.

"I'm upside down."

"What the heck was that?!" Marcy exclaimed in shock, "The books never said anything the temples having guardians! Let alone SAMs!"

Shadow growled as he unsheathed his blade, followed suit by Anne, Apollo and Kaemon. "Those aren't guardians." Shadow warned, "Everyone, form up and let none touch the Plantars or the Box! Risen coming in from all sides!"

A series of shrieks can be heard as a swarm of humanoid insects charge at them, either with weapons drawn or claws set to rend.

Anne raised her shield to block an incoming blast from one of the Risen before closing and swinging her sword to decapitate it, then ducking under a claw swipe from another before stabbing it through the torso then quickly pulled it out and slash at it, sending it to the floor.

Shadow charged in with abandon, swinging his katana at the various Risen he passed by before stopping with a slash, cutting down another Risen, then swinging behind him to cut down another one trying to sneak up on him, then ducking under to dodge the swipe of undead claws, then stabbed another through the head.

Kaemon had all four swords drawn as he was surrounded by Risen, before one trying to rush him, only for him to swing two blades in an X formation, then struck another with his tail blade before kicking its feet out from under it. Another tried to jump at him with two curved swords, only for Kaemon strike with all four blades, cutting it into pieces.

Apollo twirled his spear in between his fingers before stabbing at a Risen that tried to rush him, before quickly pulling it back out and twirling it before stabbing behind him, nailing a Risen trying to sneak up on him in the head, then swung it around and cutting off the heads of several Risen that tried to swarm him, killing the undead.

Another lunged from behind, the newt prince spinning around, ready to strike, only for it to be killed by a bolt to the head, sending it tumbling to the ground. Looking over, he saw Marcy reloading her crossbow, winking at him before firing several more at the approaching group of Risen, nailing each one of them in the head. Loading another bolt, her eyes glowed green a bit before she fired a bolt into the chest, her eyes flickering green, then the bolt turned green before exploding, killing it and several nearby Risen.

Polly and Sprig rushed to get their grandfather off the plants before seeing several Risen approach with murderous intent, the old frog letting his parental instincts take over as he charged forward with a battle cry and punching one of the Risen in the kneecap, only to heavily injure his hand before the Risen raised its blade to strike, only to be hit with a water whip, knocking its head clean off.

The Plantars saw Ina with her water whips at the ready, Valor with his fire buster sword before the fire and water duo charged in, Ina cracking her water whips across the bodies of the Risen and cutting them in half, while Valor swung his flaming sword downward into the ground, sending a wave of flame at the undead, burning them to ash.

The battle finally ended; everyone took a moment to catch their breath from the sudden combat. Nobody expected to see the undead wondering the Amygdala Woods.

Apollo panted as he twirled his spear to get the blood off. "Can someone tell me what in Amphibia's name were those things?!" He yelled.

Shadow stood alone, noticing one of the sword wielding creatures twitching on the ground. "They... are Risen." He spits out. "An evil so dark it despises other evil." He knelt down to inspect it as Anne, Kaemon and the others tense up and Marcy became confused.

"Born from the souls of those killed or lost to the Purge and the Ruination, corrupted by years of fear, anger, hatred and left to wander the living world in search of the one responsible for their deaths." He coldly explained as Marcy's eyes widened, "Some would call them undead, others say they from someplace else, someplace dark." His eyes moved to Marcy then back, "I wouldn't expect Andrias to teach you what was meant to be forgotten, but they've never been this organized before. Someone has united them."

"If the stories about the Nightmare and Him are indeed true. Then the prophecy I learned a year ago is coming to pass," He got back up, "...and I believe that where our paths cross, the ground..." He placed his foot upon its stomach, "...could break." and pushed down, ending its life.

The group was silent at this dark shift in Shadow's tone. He stepped back and looked at the ground ahead, the dirt giving way to lucent stone and red plant life.

"If the Risen are here, then that means the temple and the surrounding area has been compromised." He called out, sheathing his blade. "Whatever happens, expect anything and everything to come at you." He then ran off in the direction the Risen came from and the group quickly followed.

Marcy managed to catch up to Anne during the run, "Hey, Anne. Have you ever seen Shadow acting like this before?" She asked her best friend, who remained silent. "Did something happen back in Wartwood that I should know... Oh, is this-"

She wasn't able to finish her sentence as Anne pushed her against a tree, her hand wrapped around her neck as her eyes glowed blue.

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Marcy." Anne warned her, making the group stop. "Trust me, you don't want to know." She backed off and continued her sprint towards the temple as Marcy rubbed her neck, her face riddled with fright and confusion before following her with the others.

"Whoa! What are these things?" Sprig asked, taking note of the brain-looking fungi.

"Gyromitra esculenta. Also known as brain mushrooms." Marcy told him.

"A forest full of brains for the intelligence temple? Kinda on the nose, don't you think?" Ina joked.

"Do you think if we eat this, it'd make us smarter?" Kaemon asked.

"I wouldn't recommend trying that." Marcy warned. "It may give you super intelligence, it last for a few minutes, and leaves you with a massive headache for several days."

As she said that, Sprig looked like he was about to take a bite before reconsidering. "Whew, dodged a bullet there."

"Speaking of temples, I think you way overhyped this place." Polly said with a pointed flipper.

They looked and saw what obviously looked like an outhouse.

"No, no, no." Marcy said, shaking her head before pointing in another direction. "That's the temple."

Most of them gasped as they saw a large tower-shaped temple over a moat, a crowned gemstone, the main entrance in the shape of a frog's mouth on the first floor, two neighboring heads creating a waterfall leading to another pair of heads. There were also salamander-carved fountains, lit braziers on the second floor, smaller statues and broken pillars around the temple grounds either showing brains, frog's holding brains and murals of newts looking at books, along with more of those brain mushrooms they saw during their emergency landing.

"So, what's this then?" Sprig asked, pointing at the outhouse, then got the idea, "Outhouse. It's an outhouse."

Marcy was about to lead the group into the temple, but Shadow held her back, grabbing her by her cape.

"That's not the temple." Shadow stated.

"What are you talking about, Shad?" She questioned him with confusion, "The temple is right there."

"He's right." Valor said. "Don't you find it strange that after dealing with the Risen's welcoming committee, you see no sign of them, the red plants or that shiny stone here?"

Ina got a small ache in her head and called upon her power, moving her hands against the fog to move it away slightly, "Seconded, I sense something...hidden from sight. Azazel, would you kindly?"

Shadow responded by lending his power to her mists, which enveloped the space around them before the fog started to clear, revealing the temple to be revealed as a giant ghostly cathedral piercing the tree cover and a pale orb with red energy hovering above, beneath a scarlet skyline. The environment around them, a sort of quagmire, appeared to be corrupted, taking the colors black, gray, red, and violet in their appearance. The place was packed with fleshy and thorny black-red growths; spreading like weeds and vines, worming its way into the brain mushrooms, which left an ichorous purple mist. The outhouse was gone too, creating a pathway to a bog and a sunken stone pyramid.

"Huh." Anne remarked, gulping nervously, "Looks like someone's done some redecorating."

"It's worse than I thought." Shadow growled. "The corruption is choking the very woods itself and with Risen acting like soldiers and this land on the verge of a second Harrowing, they must have figured out the stone's connection with the temples and are seeking to corrupt just that."

He turned to Marcy, "Marcy, you said that the first temple is said to specifically challenge your intelligence, correct?" Shadow's question fell on deaf ears as Marcy was taking in all the new surroundings. Apollo facepalmed and nodded. "Then expect this new... Court of Nightmares to try and break said mind, and worse. Stick close, keep moving, and if you see or hear anything, call it out."

The group walked through the mire before stopping at the foot of the steps leading up to the temple.

"All right, guys! Let's do this thing!" She declared, her voice echoing.

"But be cautious." Shadow added.

"Vessel."

Everyone nearly jumped at the dark voice, looking in every direction for the source, but saw no one.

"Did everyone hear that?" Anne asked, startled.

"Sounds like something straight out of Diablo." Marcy said, shivering a bit. "Still can't believe I allowed Sasha to convince me to play that game."

There were more voices, cold and dark.

"You will all drown in the lightless abyss."

"You struggle at the surface... but He waits below."

"Gaze into the void. It is the perpetuity in which they dwell."

"Gaze into the heart of Satanael."

"All praise Satnaael, THE DESTROYER!"

Everyone stood close to each other as the voices raved on, some of the group were confused as they couldn't hear, like the Plantars, Valor and Ina, and Kaemon, but for the Calamity Warriors, they were filled with dread and caution.

"Okay, what is up with these voices?" Anne asked, her hand ready to draw her sword. "Makin' me feel like Randy Orton with these voices in my head."

"Something lurks within the temple." Shadow said. "Remember, be cautious, everyone, and stay close."

Anne stepped forward, inadvertently bumping into Hop Pop, "Oop, sorry about that." She apologized to him, "After you, dude."

"Oh, no, no, no." Hop Pop declined, "A-After you, my dear."

She chuckled and repeated the request, "Oh, don't be silly. I insist."

Shadow looked at this, then slightly upwards at the top of the stairs, his eyes widening upon seeing a bloody wolf behind a hooded girl in toad armor, a human one by the looks of it, at the spire's entrance before they both enter, beckoning them to follow.

He grabbed both Anne and Hop Pop by the hem of their shirts, irritated. "How about we all go in together?" The two looked at him, then each other before he proceeded to drag them up the stairs.

Marcy stared at this and turned to the others. "Those three seem a bit off." She said. "Did something happen?"

"No, I insist." Hop Pop could be heard saying before an audible banging sound could be heard, followed by the pained cries of both Anne and Hop Pop, confirming the huntress' concern.

"Don't ask." Both Sprig and Polly said.

Valor looked to Kaemon, "Dude, you know that there's something wrong here. What happened?" He asked, almost demanding to know what could be happening with their friend.

Kaemon tensed up, a pained expression on his face before he continued to walk. Valor made to catch up, but Ina held him back, a somber look in her eyes as she shook her head as they followed the leading trio.

Pushing the doors open to the side, the group cautiously entered the threshold, seeing the wide-open room with several inscriptions on the walls, floor, and ceiling. Walking inside, the group marveled, while Shadow stared in caution, when Polly unknowing stepped on a switch.

"Uh-oh."

Several mushrooms lit up, revealing more of the room, as well as some writing on the front wall.

"Did I learn an entire dead language just for today? You better believe I did!" Marcy exclaimed, not even bothered by how disturbed the temple looked. "Now, let's see."

Suddenly, something akin to a holographic image appeared before them, much to their surprise. It looked like a female newt, but the disturbing part was that this newt looked strangely similar to Marcy.

"Keeper of the box, one strong of mind, three trials await, that will return the stones' shine." The image said before vanishing.

"Ooh, looks like there's three trials, guys." Marcy said to the others.

"Well gee, we figured that." Valor said with a roll of his eyes.

Suddenly, the dark voice could be heard.

"To find him, drown yourself in the circle of stars."

"The king of leviathans has been made a pawn."

"The lady of herons will turn the key."

"The boy-king serves at the master's table. Three lies will he offer you."

Suddenly, the doors began to slide open. "And here we go." Marcy said with eagerness.

With the doors fully opened, there revealed another spacious room, covered in carvings along the walls, floors and ceiling, looking like a dead end.

"A dead end." Sprig said, as if it wasn't obvious enough. "Well, we tried our best and that's what counts."

Just as the pink frog boy was about to turn and walk away before Apollo wrapped his tail around him to stop him.

"Don't be such an early quitter." The Leviathan said. "Seach around for clues. There's a puzzle here somewhere."

Everyone got to searching, but with the room being so empty, it was proving difficult to find clues, even Apollo was having trouble. Eventually, after some looking around, Anne looked down and saw a small cube at her feet, looking like a rubicks cube.

Chuckling, she picked it up. "Hey, guess who found the puzzle?" She exclaimed before a light green bubble formed around her, much to her surprise before lifting her in the air. "Whoa! Whoa!"

Hop Pop let out a gasp. "Frog, help us. A cursed cube possessed by evil magic."

"No, it's the puzzle!" Marcy said. "Also, I'm pretty sure that's a magnetic field holding her up."

"Isn't that what I said?" Hop Pop stated.

"Well, whatever it is, all yours, Marbles." Anne said before throwing the cube in Marcy's direction, the bubble disappearing before she floated back down to pick up the Plantars and Kaemon, while Apollo took hold of Valor and Ina before they floated to the center of the room. Marcy caught the cube before the bubble encased her, floating her to the center of the room.

"Whoa, this thing's got, like, a zillion permutations." Marcy remarked. "If this temple thinks it can beat me, it's got another thing coming."

"Well, at least we'll be ready!" Anne said before noticing Shadow wasn't floating with them. "Shadow?" She looked down to see Shadow forming a hardened layer around himself. "Shadow, what're you doing?"

As Marcy turned a part of the cube, much to everyone's shock, a part of the room also turned, thankfully the group was safe, except for Shadow, who allowed himself to be thrown like a ragdoll.

Shadow got back up and cracked his neck and hands, doing some stretches and scuffs off any dirt on his clothes. He then made a tasting motion before asking, "Anyone else tasting chocopede pancakes right about now?"

"Marcy!" Anne yelled as she hovered in front of her friend, "Can you at least let us know what you're gonna move before you move it?" She didn't respond as she continued arranging the cube, all the while Shadow continued to be tossed around. "Marcy!" Anne shouted, narrowly dodging a pillar.

"Ha! Got it!" Marcy declared as she finished, as the box glowed, so did the door, revealing a flight of stairs going up.

Getting up, Shadow dispelled his barrier, growling in annoyance.

"We did it! One down, two to go." Marcy cheered, laughing before dropping the cube. "How fun is this? Yeah! Haha! Whoo! Agh!" She ran up to the stairs, only to be stopped by something that kept her from going up the stairs.

"Wow, Anne, you weren't kidding about her being in the zone." Polly remarked.

"Not to mention she's a tad overconfident." Hop Pop added

"Hard to argue with the results though." Sprig shrugged.

The dark voice

"Her heart is a crater, and we have filled it."

"Five keys to open our way. Five torches to light our path."

Anne groaned before turning to Shadow. "Shadow, you know you could've just stuck with the rest of us. Why did you let yourself be thrown around like that?"

Shadow looked at her before turning away in shame. "We know one of the reasons, Anne." He muttered. "The second is because of that." He pointed to Marcy, who was struggling to push herself through the open tunnel but couldn't quite get through.

"C'mon, you stupid invisible pathway. Open up!" Marcy yelled in frustration as Shadow approached.

"May I?"

Marcy sighed and gave him room to work. First, he knocked on the archway, blocked by the unseen wall, then he turned to the side and leaned against it, revealing that the doorway had been painted on.

"Apollo, destroy the cube and get ready for a fight." Shadow said, throwing the cube to his brother.

Apollo nodded, pulling out his spear and slamming the butt end of it upon the cube, destroying it into eighteen pieces, forcing the room itself to unfold like origami, which folded out to what appeared to be a catacombs, filled with rings for statues that are now nonpresent.

"What in the world…" Marcy said, astonished by what she was witnessing.

Suddenly, undead newts rose from the graves, hissing with claws extended or carrying weapons and shrieking bloody murder, as other Risen joined the fray.

"Your soul will know ENDLESS TORMENT!"

"You will be eradicated!"

"Holy frog, they're EVERYWHERE!" Hop Pop exclaimed in panic.

"Everyone, defend yourselves!" Shadow yelled, pulling his katana from its sheath.

Another battle began as the group fought their way through the catacombs, cutting through the mob while keeping the Plantars safe. After what felt like hours of fight and making their way down various corridors, the group were attacked by a Risen with a dark cloak and wielding a scythe. The reaper flew forth, aiming to cleave its victims in half, but everyone scattered and managed to evade, before Shadow stabbed it through the chest with his katana, then Apollo with his spear through its abdomen, followed by Anne with her sword through its ribs, before Marcy finished it off with a crossbow shot to the head, killing it.

With the reaper defeated, the spirits began to vanish, and the atmosphere become much less haunted, as a gateway opened.

"So... that happened." Marcy said, "Ooh, the way to the next puzzle. C'mon!" She ran off, followed by Apollo and the elementalists. The rest remained where they stood as a weight was lessened off of them.

"The newt spirits in this space appear more at ease, though the presence is still here." Shadow predicted. "Tch. The temple keeps adding, changing and moving rooms around as fast as we move through them."

"At least the spirits in this area are more at peace then they were before." Anne assured him, patting him on the back.

He looked to her and gave a smile they then joined up with the rest of the group.

Eventually, the group entered a new room, standing on a platform overlooking a floor covered in tiles of mostly pink and blue.

"Oh, hey, a dance floor!" Anne declared.

"Not quite. Watch." Marcy said, throwing a sizable rock down to one of the tiles, the rock landing on a pink tile. Once the tile sank a bit, flames erupted from the tile, reaching the ceiling and burning the rock to cinders.

"Woah. Not getting good vibes from this room." Sprig gulped with fear.

"Welp. Time to turn back. Thanks for playing, everyone!" Polly exclaimed.

"Hold on, gang. Look!" Hop Pop said, pointing.

On the other side of the room, the Marcy-lookalike newt hologram appeared on the platform across from them.

"A dangerous room. What to do? Don't be jealous of my hue." The hologram said before vanishing.

Everyone looked in confusion.

"Who's Hue?" Sprig asked.

"Hmm. I wonder..." Marcy pondered before throwing another rock, this time landing on one of the many blue tiles, a large pillar of spikes crushing it from above before retracting from where it came.

"Okay, so pink is death by flame, blue is death by crushing. I'm still not following—" Anne said before Marcy rushed past her. "Marcy!"

Marcy let out several trumpet fanfare before taking a running start and jumping off the ledge, managing to land on a green tile, the tile sinking under her weight, and almost everyone screaming out of fear of what would happen…

…but nothing happened.

"Ha! Solved it. Okay guys, listen up. Green is the safe color. Get it?" She declared.

Once again, most of the group seemed confused, before Apollo spoke up, "It's obvious. 'Don't be jealous of my hue.' It's a reference to green, the color of envy."

"Ah, yes, naturally." Sprig said.

"Yeah, kinda on the nose there." Valor nodded.

"Hmm...swell." Polly said.

"I have a lot of green friends who would find that offensive." Hop Pop frowned.

"Eh, doesn't bother me much." Kaemon shrugged.

"But why hasn't the door opened then?" Polly asked, pointing at the still closed door.

"Hmm. Looks like this is a two-person job." Marcy said, before seeing a second square off t the side of the platform. "Someone go stand on the other green square."

"Already on it!"

With a laugh, Valor jumped off before landing on the pink square, setting off the trap. Anne and the Plantars and Kaemon almost screamed when the fire erupted, but it didn't bother the red-head at all. In fact, it didn't do any damage to him. The boy continued jumping from one pink square to another before jumping with a pose on the green square.

"Oh right, fire resistance." Polly remarked. "Forgot about that."

"Obviously!" Valor declared with pride. "I'm an eternal flame, baby!"

Ina couldn't help but roll her eyes and chuckle at her friend's antics, a light blush on her cheeks.

"But the door still isn't opening!" Polly exclaimed.

Looking around, Marcy saw a third green square off to the side of the platform.

"Found a third square!" She declared. "One more person should do the trick!"

"Mar-Mar, are you...sure?" Anne asked, a bit unsure.

"Yeah, how do we know that one isn't some kind of trapdoor?" Sprig asked.

"With spikes in it!" Polly exclaimed.

"Or blades!" Kaemon added.

"Not helping, you three." Hop Pop scolded the two.

"If that were the case, we'd both be paste right now." Valor pointed out.

"Guys, I've done the research. Plus, it's me, remember?" Marcy said, trying to assure them. "I said I won't let you down and I meant it. Now, who wants to hit that button?"

There was a moment on contemplation between them, Apollo and Ina being the only two not stressing over it.

"I'll do it!" Anne, Shadow and Hop Pop suddenly exclaimed, before looking at each other.

"Excuse me?" Hop Pop asked.

"Huh?" Anne said confusedly.

"This again?" Shadow said with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Anne, no. I'll do it." Hop Pop told the Thai girl, "The whole point of this is to get you home alive. I've already had a good life."

Anne retorted, "No, Hop Pop. I'll step on the tile. This is my quest. It's my responsibility. Your responsibility is keeping your family safe, not me."

Kaemon and Sprig's eyes widened with worry. "Uh-oh."

"I care about you too, Anne." Hop Pop said, trying to comfort her.

"I mean, to an extent, right?" Anne replied unconvinced, "You kinda proved that when you and Shadow buried the music box."

Shadow's fist tightened as she made that remark.

"Now, hold on. That's unfair, to him at most." Hop Pop argued. "All he wanted was to keep you safe."

"Listen, Hop Pop, when push came to shove, you made a choice." Anne growled dismissively. "It's fine. But let's stop pretending I'm part of the family, okay?"

Hop Pop crossed his arms and croaked, "Hmph."

"Uh...everything okay over there?" Marcy asked, "Can someone please hit the button?"

"Yeah, and in a hurry?" Valor added. "I don't like waiting!"

Hop Pop stepped forward, "Gladly. And a-one and a-two-"

Shadow grabbed him by the head and gently pushed him back before jumping down, deliberately setting off the trap of the tiles as he walked over each one, the flames seemingly not fazing him and the crushers end getting broken by his barrier upon impact. Upon standing on the green square, he put out an ember in his hair with his fingers and looked to Anne and Hop Pop with disappointment, but looked away with an even more sad expression.

With the three green tiles pressed, the other tiles turned green before the door opened.

"Whoo! What did I tell ya? This temple is toast!" Marcy yelled excitedly. "Consider the stone charged, baby!" She started humming a pretty tune as she walked through the corridor.

"Dang, dude! Talk about a pain threshold." Polly remarked.

Shadow rubbed his forehead, noticing something missing, "I think I lost an eyebrow," He paused, "And something else."

"Cool!" Polly complimented, completely unaware of the tone.

Hop Pop breathed out of his nose in frustration. "Hmph."

The group approached a set of stairs going up, Marcy letting out a gasp. "This leads to the top floor. That means there's only one puzzle left. Come on, team!"

As they went upward, Hop Pop approached the boy in black, "Shadow, I told Anne I was gonna step on that tile." He said.

"And I told you I didn't want you to." Anne argued before turning to Shadow. "Shadow, first the rubiks cube and now this. What's gotten into you?"

Shadow remained silent, continuing down the path.

"Hey, we kinda need to be a team in here so we don't die, so..." Sprig spoke up, trying to bring the group back to the reason they came to the temple.

Hop Pop didn't hear him as he continued to argue, "I don't understand, Anne. I thought you forgave me."

"Yeah?" Anne retorted, "Well, maybe I spoke too soon."

"Spoke too soon?" Hop Pop says confusedly.

Shadow punched the wall to the right of him before giving a harsh glare to the two that made them shut up before following the rest.

"What do we do, Marcy?" Polly aske the Taiwanese girl, hopping over to her. "This is fun to watch and all, but it could make the last puzzle pretty rough."

"I'm sure they'll work it out by the time we get there." Marcy shrugged.

A howl was heard before Shadow charged ahead, making his way into a twisted thicket, he was barely able to spot the girl and the wolf's tail as they walked beyond sight.

More shrieking was heard getting closer to them, before Apollo pulled out his spear, "At least slaughtering Risen will stave off their arguing for some time."

After fighting another wave and defeating another boss of the dungeon, the atmosphere eased before the group continued, and it wasn't long before Hop Pop and Anne were right back to arguing.

"So there's nothing I can do to fix this? Not one thing?" Hop Pop asked.

Anne waves her arms out, "Nothing's coming to mind!"

Sprig sighed in defeat and grunted, "Man, I'd rather take the Risen over this."

"You and me both, buddy." Ina added with a nod.

Soon enough, the group reached their destination. "Ha! Here we are. The final puzzle." Marcy declared.

Despite the arguing behind her, Marcy kept an excited expression. "Oh! I'm so excited." Finally, she turned her head to the bickering duo. "Guys, killing the vibe." Finally, the two stopped. "Thank you. Now, where was I?"

The hologram appeared before the entryway. "Few have the brains to make it to this door, but are you wise enough to solve what's in store?" It stated before vanishing.

"Yep! Let's go." Marcy said, the group following behind.

They soon entered a room with what looked like a chess board with the black pieces stacked on the other side.

"Amazing!" Shadow exclaimed after hours of brooding silence. "If I'm not mistaken, this is flipwart."

"Right on, Shadow!" Marcy declared.

"Wasn't expecting such a thing in this temple." Apollo stated.

Anne let out a gasp before asking in confusion, "What's flipwart?"

"It's a strategy game that we under father's care learned in Newtopia." Apollo told her.

"Yup, it's like chess but to the max!" Marcy added. "I got so good at it, I even beat Apollo and King Andrias."

"Impressive." Hop Pop complimented. "They say King Andrias and Prince Apollo are two of the best flipwart players around."

"We were, until we taught Marcy how to play." Apollo said. "And she played quite well, I dare say."

"Thanks, Appa." Marcy smiled before pulling out a draw of the flipwart table and picking up a piece with a wart. "So, both sides have a wart, right? And they're trying to flip it!"

"Each piece has a different set of abilities." Apollo chimed in, picking up two archer pieces. "These archers, for example, can only attack in a straight line."

"Oh, I love this game!" Ina exclaimed.

"I could never get the hang of the rules, honestly." Valor shrugged.

Just then, the hologram appeared off to the side of the room, the newt Marcy lookalike saying, "Any commander whose wart falls may never set foot inside these temple walls." Then it vanished.

"Looks like you only get one shot at this." Apollo said, looking to his beloved.

"One shot is all I need." Marcy assured, cracking her knuckles. "But first, to set up the board..."

"Well, I guess we'll just sit back quietly and watch." Sprig said.

"Yeah, it'll be nice to sit this one out cause these flippas be tired." Polly nodded.

"Nothing wrong with a break." Valor shrugged.

Marcy picked up another piece, a rook, before setting it on the board. Just as she did, however, the spot underneath Valor glowed before a squared hole appeared underneath him, causing him to fall in yelling.

"Valor!" Everyone gasped, the hole disappearing.

Suddenly, the lights near them lit up, revealing a giant chess board before them.

"A giant flipwart board?" Marcy said in surprise.

"This reminds me of that one scene from Harry Potter!" Anne blurted out.

On the board, Valor emerged from a hole on the board, now dressed as the flipwart Rook piece and holding a mace.

"Valor, are you okay?" Ina asked.

"Yeah, all good here." The red head replied. "Although I'm not complaining; I've got a mace."

Just then, Marcy sat down a knight piece, the same hole opening up under Polly, making her scream as she fell in.

"Polly!"

Polly then reappeared on the board as the piece, holding a shield and sword.

"Polly, are you okay?" Sprig asked.

"'Okay'? I've got a sword, baby!" Polly declared. "I'm doing better than all of you."

"At least one of us is enjoying this." Valor frowned.

"Marcy, do you think we should stop?" Anne asked worriedly. "This could get dangerous."

"We don't have a choice, Anne." Marcy retorted. "You wanna get home, right? Then we've gotta play or we'll never recharge the stone."

"She has a point." Hop Pop spoke up.

"I didn't ask you, Hop Pop." Anne said harshly.

"Trust me, okay?" Marcy pleaded.

Anne considered it before sighing. "Okay. I hope you know what you're doing."

Marcy then sat the two archers, causing Ina and Hop Pop to be pulled in, both taking the places of the archers and holding bows and arrows.

"Well, this isn't so bad." Ina said.

"Ooh, I get a bow." Hop Pop said.

Marcy set up the queen, a pawn, and a heron, resulting in Shadow, Kaemon and Sprig being pulled in, Shadow popping up next to the wart as the queen piece and holding the scepter.

"Well, at least this will be a suitable weapon…hopefully." Shadow said.

Kaemon popped up near Shadow, atop a heron holding a lance.

"Well, this isn't too bad, I think." He remarked.

Sprig appeared up front, holding a spear and shield.

Polly chuckled, "You're a pawn."

"Aw, man." Sprig sighed.

"Get ready, Anne. There's a good chance you're next.

As she set up the last pieces, the remaining spaces on the board were filled.

"Hey, how come Anne and Apollo haven't been dragged in yet?" Valor asked, pointing at the remaining duo.

"No idea." Apollo said coyly, hovering above the ground a bit.

"Oh, looks like we're not in the game." Anne said. "Well, you guys have fun, I guess."

She was proven wrong, however, as a hole appeared under her, causing her to scream as she fell in before appearing on the board, not as one of the white pieces, but as a black heron piece.

"Wait, what?" Hop Pop gasped.

"Anne, no!" Sprig yelled.

"Traitor!" Polly exclaimed.

"No, this is good." Ina spoke up. "Perhaps she can sabotage the other team in our favor!"

"Hey, that could work!" Kaemon declared. "Didn't think of that, did ya, temple? Ha!"

"Hey, you guys are on to something!" Anne agreed, readying her lance to swing. "Here we go. Sabotage!"

Suddenly, a pair of light green bracelets appeared on her wrists, holding her in place, much to her shock.

"Okay, I can't move."

Suddenly, the same bracelets appeared on the wrists of the other participants, holding them in place.

"What's going on?" Sprig demanded, trying to break free from his binds.

"Our hands are tied, literally." Hop Pop exclaimed.

"No shit!" Kaemon yelled.

No matter how much they tried, they couldn't break free.

"Don't worry, everyone." Marcy assured everyone. "I'll just play well enough so that none of you gets hurt. It'll be like hard mode!" She let out a chuckle. "Fun!"

"You wouldn't be saying that if you were the pawn." Sprig mumbled under his breath.

"Just try not to play recklessly, Marcy." Ina warned.

"Okay, white goes first, so it's our move." Apollo said, floating next to Marcy. "Now, let's flip this wart!"

Nodding, Marcy made the first move, moving one of the pawns, which in turn made the pawn next to Sprig move forward.

"You got this, bud." Sprig said, encouraging the inanimate piece.

"Now, let's see how they respond." Marcy said.

Anne blew a raspberry as the black rook piece moved forward, stopping right next to the white pawn before turning and smashing it to pieces, the head of the white pawn landing at Sprig's feet.

"I don't like this game!" Sprig whined in fear.

Marcy didn't seem bothered as she scoffed. "Such a basic response. This is gonna be easy."

She then moved the archer piece to the front, that being Ina as she was moved in front of the rook, the blue haired girl firing an arrow, destroying the black piece, everyone gasping in shock from the intensity, although Polly, Valor and Kaemon gasped more with excitement.

The game progressed, the group managing to score a kill on the enemy team, with Anne reluctantly taking pieces from theirs. Soon enough, it looked like an easy win.

"Gotta admit, this temple's good, but not good enough." Marcy said, setting the archer piece in front of the black wart. "Gotcha! We win!"

"Here goes…" Hop Pop gulped, loading an arrow and firing, moments away from claiming victory…

…only for the black wart to jump over the arrow, completely dodging it, letting out a chuckle before taunting them, even turning around and slapping its butt.

Marcy stared in disbelief for a moment before shouting, "Huh? What? No! Guys, this thing cheats!"

Everyone let out a gasp in shock.

"The only rule my pieces play is the rules of nature." A dark and deep voice called out.

Shadow felt his blood run cold at the sound of that familiar voice. "He's here."

Everyone looked to the other side as, from the shadows on the opposite side, stepped a familiar pair, the girl from before, and behind her the same bloodied wolf that's been a step ahead of them.

"How are you here?" Shadow growled, "Why are you here?"

The wolf responded before turning the girl, "Show thyself, Oh Serpent of Mine."

She winced and pulled her hood back, shocking everyone; it appeared to be another Marcy, dressed in Toad garb, cracked goggles on her head and a large satchel overstuffed with schematics, a pessimistic and bitter expression on her face.

"What the... Another Marcy?!" Apollo yelled, looking at the Marcy standing beside him and the Marcy lookalike. "What sorcery is this?"

"What fun is there in spoiling the mystery?" The wolf asked with a chuckle. "What I can say is that the omniverse is a realm full of possibilities." He gestured to the Marcy next to him with a nod. "This Marcy comes from a timeline where Sasha landed in Wartwood, Anne in Newtopia, and Marcy in Toad Tower. She became the toad's pessimistic Chief Engineer, staying with Grime out of a fear yours would know all too well."

Marcy's face paled at those words.

"How about we play a new game, this time with some old friends of yours?"

The wolf's eyes glowed as the pieces reset, some of the pieces taking on forms familiar to Marcy and Apollo, both Taiwanese girl and newt prince gasping in shock.

"Apollo, are those…" Marcy made to ask.

"There's no mistaking it." Apollo said with shock. "Javi…"

"Kettle."

"Femur.

"Bomme Frite!" Marcy turned her glare to the wolf. "What have you done to them?!"

The bloody wolf chuckled again. "You betrayed them, abandoned them to the Risen Scourge. To get the answers you seek, a simple game of Flipwart. Win, and you may try to charge your stone." He took a predatory stance. "When you lose, winner takes all."

The two Marcys do some cracking stretches and both shout, "I will. Not. Lose!"

Their game began anew, Marcy moving her pieces strategically in the hopes to gain the upper hand, all the while Toad Marcy matched her every move.

"Marcy, don't push yourself." Apollo warned her.

"I can't afford to slow down, Appa." Marcy said, sweat dripping from her face. "I have to win this!"

"You're fighting a losing battle." Toad Marcy said, reaching for a heron piece. "Let me show you how pointless your struggle is."

That heron piece she chose just so happened to be Anne, the girl being moved to strike at the queen piece, who just so happened to be Shadow.

"Shadow, look out!"

Looking up, Shadow raised his scepter to block, only for the lance to cut right through it as if it was nothing, then she was forced to beat him upside the head several times. Although he was protected by his barrier, he still felt the sting from the blow.

"Man, what a day." Shadow remarked.

"Shadow!" Hop Pop screamed in panic. "Marcy, do something!"

"All right, so what if these creeps cheat?" She snarled, slamming down another piece. "Still not enough to beat me."

She tried moving Shadow away from danger, all the while Anne was forced to chase after him, whacking away at him with her lance, the bloody wolf laughing at the boy's peril.

"I still have way more pieces. If I can just attack from a different angle, I should be fine." Marcy said with a nervous chuckle.

"Shadow, speak to me!" Hop Pop yelled, worried for the boy's safety.

Shadow only grunted in response to Anne's onslaught, but still he refused to fight back, remaining only on the defensive.

Having had enough of seeing the boy hurt, Hop Pop screamed, "Oh, I bet you're loving this, ain't ya? Getting your payback in the most painful way possible!"

Anne looked at him surprised, "What? No! I might be mad at you, but I don't wanna hurt you!"

"Well, you're already hurtin' us!" Hop Pop retorted. "Every time you remind us of the mistakes we made, every time you rub it in our faces that we let you down. I mean, what's it gonna take for you to let this go?"

Anne stammered, unsure what to say, "Hop Pop, I... I..."

"No, Anne." Shadow interrupted, as the last of his flipwart armor broke off, leaving him completely exposed. "You have every reason to be mad at Hopediah. To be mad at me. We both knew the dangers of the box and fearing for yours and the kids' safety, we hid it away from you. Now with a second Harrowing and betraying the one I love to add to my growing sins, the voices in my head have slowly grown louder and more demanding with every passing day, perhaps ever since that fight against Charon long ago."

Anne, Kaemon and the Plantars flinched at this, remembering how Shadow made the toad 'choke on her own heart'.

"What happened those years ago haunted me ever since. I feared that if you learned the truth, you would all grow to fear me, then hate me." He chuckled for no reason, "I guess I was half right." He glanced to his adoptive family, "Even five years after that day, I still feel like I haven't earned the right to be a Plantar," his gaze shifted to Kaemon, "a master, " he looked at Anne, "a true love," then over to the wolf. "or even a living being at this point."

He turned back to a teary-eyed Anne, and despite the chains keeping him still, he managed to force himself into a kneeling position, Anne's lance upon his neck. "Say what must done, and it shall be. Be it the staying of heart, my exile from this land, or even my life." She became even more confused by this. Shadow faltered for a moment, then looked at her with grief, yelling at her, "Just tell me and I'll do it. Anything!"

"I don't know!" Anne screamed, loud enough to shake Marcy loose from her concentration with a "Huh?".

Shadow too flinched at this, even Apollo looked up in surprise.

"I just need time." She explained, looking at Shadow with teary eyes. "Look, I love you and I want things to go back to the way they were. But-but-" She broke down into tears and sobbed.

Hop Pop watched the scene before sighing, realizing that he was being unfair, and gave a look of regret, "I'm sorry, Anne. You take all the time you need. Maybe it's enough to admit we still got issues, instead of pretending they don't exist."

"I'm sorry too, Anne." Shadow added. "All this time, I've always been afraid of the past, scared of what would happen if the truth is set free. But thanks to you, I've been able to think past my trauma, hope for the future again."

"Sure, we still have a long way to go, but we just have to try our best to resolve these issues, together." Hop Pop said.

"I like that," Anne smiled, her tears slowing. "I'd hug you guys, but, you know, magical restraints."

Watching the scene, Marcy saw Sprig and Kaemon grieving over a shattered chess piece as though it was a real person, Ina playing a sorrowful melody with her flute, Polly and Valor screaming war cries.

"What am I doing?" She asked herself.

"Satanael will not be stopped..."

Just as Anne wiped her tears away, the cuffs around her glowed, forcing her to ready her weapon to strike.

"No, no, no, no, no!" She yelled, trying everything in her power to prevent herself from attacking as Shadow braced himself, Hop Pop letting out a scream.

"No! Hop Pop, Anne, Shadow! Who cares about this stupid game? I forfeit!" She yelled before knocking over her wart, but nothing changed. "It's not working! Maybe I have to flip the big wart too."

"Leave that to me." Apollo said, shooting his spear from his sleeve before throwing it like a javelin, the golden weapon cutting through the stone and sending the white wart on its back, the object squirming a bit before exploding into pebbles.

The game over, the pieces dissolved one by one, freeing the ones forced into participating, as Marcy fell to her knees in shame, the newt prince kneeling to her side.

"Marcy?" Anne said in confusion as she and the others reached the Taiwanese girl's side. "Marcy, I don't understand."

"Yeah, why'd you throw the game?" Hop Pop chimed in.

"Because it wasn't worth you guys getting hurt." Marcy explained, "I got so caught up in proving I was smart enough to win, I couldn't see what I was about to lose."

Sprig shrugged, "Well, in your defense, that game was a ding dang cheat!"

"Yeah! I still think you're pretty smart. Polly added, "A little obsessive, though."

Marcy chuckled, "Thanks, Sprig, Polly."

Shadow looked at Anne, rubbing at his wrists. "Anne, I-" He was interrupted by a strike to the side of his head.

"That's for talking like that." Anne poked at his forehead.

"I guess I deserved that." Shadow admitted before Anne gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"And that's for the apology." Anne added with a playful smirk.

A slow clap reverberated within the chamber as they look to see the other Marcy showing an amused expression with the bloody wolf nowhere in sight and the door behind her now open.

"How very heartwarming, really." She said sarcastically

"I played your game and beat your test." Marcy yelled, pointing at her counterpart. "Now let us pass!"

A chuckle was heard from within their group, "That may be true, witless one. But you still lost our little game."

Anne turned around, her eyes widening in horror as a hand grabbed her throat, everyone turning to see Shadow holding her aloft, his eyes now black and silver before his form switched to that of the wolf, now standing upright.

His eyes sank into his sockets. "WINNER."

His maw opening larger than normal and split in two. "TAKES."

A pair of hands followed by a glowing pair of eyes and a grinning inner maw appeared inside the mouth. "ALL."

A clawed limb shot out of the mouth and phased through Anne's chest.

She screamed as a dark power much like two days begins to surge from the assailant, through the limb and into Anne. Her Calamity Form reacted violently to this intrusion as her aura began to darken from a sky blue into an ebon variant. The others tried to force their way through the power to stop him, but were forced back as the energy was proving far too thick to pierce through, even Apollo's spear couldn't pierce it.

The wolf's expression stopped on a dime as the energy he emitted grew brighter in color. He lost his grip on her and was forced out of Shadow as they both fell to their knees, the wolf returning to its four-legged state and running after the other Marcy.

Breathing heavily, Shadow looked after the assailants, his expression furrowing with anger. "After it." Shadow growled.

"What?" Apollo asked.

"After what happened, we deserve an explanation!" Shadow said, carrying a now blushing Anne bridal style and going after them.

"AFTER IT!" He yelled, running through the doorway, with the others following after.

The group ran down the darkened hall in pursuit of the assailants, but lost sight of both, now slowing into a cautious walk, keeping careful eyes out for their adversaries.

"I swear, this place gets creepier the deeper we go." Sprig remarked on the sickly green growth along the walls.

"You're telling me." Polly said.

"Totally not gonna lose sleep after this." Ina grimaced.

"Or need a shower." Valor groaned.

Eventually, the group came before a large mural showcasing a series of events. Much of the mural had been damaged beyond recognition, but the centerpiece remains untouched, a figure split in two, an ebony half with angelic wings, white etchings, and an emerald left eye and a pallid half with black claw marks similar to the other, bat wings carrying a sapphire right eye, and an amethyst third eye on the forehead.

"Who or what the heck is this guy?" Anne asked.

Marcy looked to an inscription beneath the mural and said, "It says 'The Story of the Guardian and' …Strange. The last part appears to have scratched out." She turned to Anne. "Want me to read it?"

"No. Shadow." Anne, Kaemon and the Plantars all said at once, pointing at him.

"Whuh? Me? Why?" The boy in black asked.

"You want us to tell them why Wartwood calls you the town storyteller?" Anne asked playfully.

Shadow smiled and chuckled, "Hahaha. Alright, fine."

Stepping forward, Shadow placed a hand on the mural, gazing at the mural.

"It's hard to tell, exactly." Shadow said. "It's missing some parts, it seems."

"There are some bits and pieces here and there." Marcy said, gazing at the various images before looking at the one depicting the two wolves, the heron, the snake, and the maiden. "Man, there's so much lore to this world!"

"There are some things even the Leviathans don't know of." Apollo admitted.

Looking over, Shadow saw another mural depicting a green newt surrounded by nature.

"What could this be?" He asked aloud.

"I reside within your lungs!"

Suddenly, several large vines emerged from above, snatching up the Plantars, the frog family screaming as the vines started pulling them up. Thankfully, the Leviathan Brothers flew up and sliced up the roots, freeing the Plantars, but also seeing what lied upon the ceiling, a massive, nightmarish looking red tree covered with eyes.

"Our numbers are endless, our power beyond reckoning! All who oppose the Destroyer will DIE A THOUSAND DEATHS!"

The sinister tree shot its roots at the group, said group getting out of the way to dodge. While the Plantars stood back with Kaemon, Valor and Ina protecting them, the Calamity Warriors flew up, weapons at the ready as the tree swung its roots at them, the four swerving around the incoming roots, Shadow and Anne swinging their blades to sever the roots while Apollo flew in close and stabbing with his spear, stabbing one of the eyes, causing the tree to let out cries of pain.

"Errant flesh! When it awakens, you will know eternity, and you will tremble!"

Shadow charged his blade with energy before slashing at the tree, cutting at the thick base of the tree, while Anne and Marcy fired their bow and crossbow, taking out the eyes of the tree, while Apollo grabbed one of the roots of the tree and pulled, as though trying to pull the evil tree from its spot on the ceiling.

"Marcy, finish it!" Apollo yelled.

Loading a bolt with energy, Marcy fired at its last remaining eye, sending Wit energy through it and causing it to cry out in pain before it was light ablaze.

"O, Satanael! Your faithful servant has failed you!"

As the tree was reduced to ash, the four flew back down with the others, recovering from the fight.

"What the heck was that?" Apollo demanded.

"The dark wrath of the true master."

The group turned at the sound of the voice, most of them drawing their weapons at the ready, Valor and Ina with their elements at the ready, seeing Toad Marcy standing before them.

"What game is your friend playing at?" Shadow demanded. "He clearly wanted our attention, but for what?"

The Toad Marcy chuckled, "Why spoil the ending? All I can say is that soon, when darkness rises, He will return."

"And who exactly are you talking about?" Anne demanded.

"You already know." Toad Marcy said. "In the meantime…"

Suddenly, the room shifted, becoming more spacious, much to the groups shock, and suddenly, sunlight filled the room, the two human girls faces shocked by their new surroundings; they now stood on a beach with a black sun, blood replacing the water of the ocean, the blood washing to the shore like the ocean.

"Anne, doesn't this…" Marcy made to ask, nearly choking on her words.

"This looks almost like the beach where we first met." Anne said.

Suddenly, something crashed into the sand, the group bracing themselves as a massive mech emerged from the sand cloud, the group seeing Toad Marcy within the cockpit in the chest.

"And it will be your grave." She said before the window closed, the Titanfall mech held a railgun in one hand and a sword in the other.

Suddenly, a large sandcastle formed from the sand, the group taking a moment to look behind them at the massive sand structure.

"Okay, this is getting trippy now." Sprig said.

"It only gets worse."

At the sound of the dark feminine voice, the group looked up, gasping at the sight of another Marcy variant. This one, however, had much paler skin, and her eyes a golden yellow, and her clothes were covered in blood.

"Oh great, another Marcy." Anne groaned. "What is this, a Marcy get together?"

The darker Marcy chuckled darkly, "As the blood wolf said, the omniverse is full of potential, each one different from before."

"And what are you supposed to be?" Anne asked with a raised brow. "A nightmare Marcy? …Nightmarcy?"

The dark copycat smirked before pulling out a bloody kitchen knife, "You may call me Regina, last daughter of the dead house of Wu." She said, floating down to their level. "I will forge my final home and eat the deception's venom. I will raise my spawn on the corpse of the Leviathan King. On my left eye, I promise."

"Okay, this is getting weird." Polly said.

Suddenly, more Risen emerged from the sand and the sea of blood. Just as they were about to brace themselves for a fight, the dark version of Marcy rushed in and grabbed Apollo and Marcy, pulling them into the sandcastle.

"Marcy!" Anne yelled, reaching out for her friend.

"I'd be more worried about yourself right now." Toad Marcy snarled, her mech raising its railgun and aiming at them.

Inside the sandcastle, Marcy and Apollo tumbled to the ground before quickly getting up, as the Nightmarcy stood before them, bloody knife in hand.

"Now, we can have some much needed one on one time." She said, before looking at Apollo. "After I'm done, maybe I'll keep you as a pet."

"Like that would ever happen." Apollo said with farrowed brows, readying his spear.

Marcy raised her crossbow and fired, only for Regina to suddenly vanish, her dark chuckling echoing. Marcy and Apollo stood back-to-back, keeping careful eyes out for their adversary, before Regina suddenly tackled Marcy from out of nowhere, tackling her into the sand and raising her knife in an attempt to stab her, but Marcy grabbed her hand and kicked her off, quickly getting to her feet and leaning back to dodge another swipe of the knife. Apollo dashed in and lunged with his spear, Regina deflecting the attack with her knife before throwing a fist, Apollo leaning back to dodge before retaliating with a tail swing across the face, making her recoil back before recovering, her eyes suddenly turning snake-like before hissing, then lunging forward.

The couple stepped out of the way, Marcy firing a bolt, the Nightmarcy weaving to the side to dodge before lunging at Marcy again, but Apollo cut her off, holding his spear up to block her knife swing.

Suddenly, he saw something that made his eyes widen; hallucinations of two people who seem to match Marcy blink in and out of his sight. This caused Apollo to take a step back as Regina took advantage of this, pushing forward.

"Why?" He asked her, confusing his opponent. The two ghosts from before blinking again in agitation. "Why did you do it?"

This made her grit her teeth at him, "You don't know anything." She seethed, calling forth several Risen minions.

Apollo phased out of the deadlock. "Neither do you." He scowled, "But please. Humor me."

She let out a hiss like a snake as she slowly turned around. "I'm tired of people trying to tear us apart. I couldn't allow them to tear me away from those I love." She showed a fanged grin with jagged teeth as her hair started growing a sickly green, burning like fire, her eyes turning into slits. "And I finally took action." She clenched the kitchen knife, the grin growing wider. "Down the hatch, as they say. Even if I find myself back on Earth, I'd made sure there would be nothing left to return to."

Something snapped in Apollo's head, a white aura forming around him as he stared in anger. Marcy raised her arm to try and shoot her in the head, but unlike the many times before, she couldn't make the shot.

"You vile, dishonorable, piece of flint. You killed and ate your family just for nothing?!" He yelled, swiping a backhand at a charging Risen, breaking its head.

"I did it for them!" She yelled, followed by another chuckle, "But my family is now a part of me, seeing things my way. Soon my friends and I will live happily ever after, but I'm not the one you should be asking those questions to."

She raised her hand as the ghosts charge up another attack. "I'm going to sow your mouth and savor this victory for eternity."

---

Outside, the group was engaged with their own battle with Toad Marcy and her army of Risen, Ina creating a safety bubble to keep the Plantars safe while the others fought against the army of demonic creatures, Shadow slashing with his katana, Anne staying close and using her shield to block the projectiles while slashing with her sword, Valor going wild with his fires to burn the opposing creatures, and Kaemon running in with all four swords swinging.

The Marcy of Toad Tower charged in with her mech, the mech firing its railgun, the group doing their best to dodge the blasts and the blast radius. Shadow ran towards the mech, dodging railgun fire as well as slicing the bullets with his sword, closing the distance before swinging his blade at the legs, severing them from the mech. Toad Marcy flipped a switch within the mech, two thrusters emerging underneath the mech, allowing it to float as it resumed combat, firing its railgun, the boy in black flipping out of the way of the shots before the mech charged forward, swinging its massive blade, only for Anne to phase in front and block the attack with her shield covered in blue aura, before then kicking the mech away.

"Marcy from another world, listen!" Shadow said, hoping to reason with the alternative Marcy. "Listening to that wolf isn't going to help you! It'll only drag you further down a dark path!"

"I will not listen to your lies, dog!" Toad Marcy yelled, flipping a few more switches. "I will not be separated from my friends, and Captain Grime will guide my path!"

Several lasers' guns emerged from the sides of the mech, all firing at their intended targets, the group scattering and moving as much as possible to dodge the lasers, Anne raising her shield to block and channeling Calamity energy into it.

"Anne, think you can keep her attention?" Shadow asked.

"Sure, as long as you got a plan." Anne replied.

A plan forming, Anne yelled, "Hey, Marcy! Come on, is that all you got?!"

Snarling, Marcy flipped another switch, firing several rockets at the Thai girl, who raised her shield and blocked the projectiles.

"I will not allow you to stop me!" The Toad Tower engineer yelled, deploying a flamethrower and trying to burn her.

"I've faced death several times now." Anne said, holding her shield out to block the flame. "I think I've gotten used to people trying to kill me now."

Marcy charged with her mech, raising the blade and swinging it down, Ann blocking with her sword.

"You think you're doing the right thing, but you're wrong!" Anne taunted. "No matter what you do, you're going down the wrong path!"

"Stop trying to confuse me!" Toad Marcy yelled, her anger getting the better of her as she swung wildly with her mech's sword.

Suddenly, Shadow jumped from behind, swing his sword downward across the back of the mech, cutting through the metal and wires, causing the mech to sputter uncontrollably while Toad Marcy scrambled to regain control.

"No, impossible!" She yelled in distress. "I can't! Not like this!"

"Ready, Anne?" Shadow asked with a smirk.

"You bet!" Anne replied with a smirk of her own.

"Red light!"

"Green light!"

With a fist bump, the couple charged themselves with Calamity energy and energy orbs formed in their hands.

"BUNKA…JUNKA…SHAKALAKA BAM!"

With a shout, they fired a blast of blue and black, depicting a maiden riding on the back of a wolf, then collided with the mech, creating a massive explosion and destroying the mech and sending Toad Marcy tumbling into the sand, the girl from another world groaning as she tried to get up but lost her strength.

"Anne!" She cried out. "I have... failed you..."

The unconscious girl sprawled out before them, Shadow stepped forward. "It is done. Marcy is beaten, but she still lives." He said before kneeling next to her. "Now I must focus all my strength to cleanse her. Hopefully she will be redeemed in the eyes of her Anne and Sasha."

Holding a hand up, he focused energy into the alternative Marcy, cleansing her of any corruption and sending her back into her world.

"Will she be okay?" Anne asked.

"We can only hope, Anne." He said as he stood up, then saw Kaemon picking up metal from the wrecked mech. "And what're you doing?"

"Maybe we can make use of this metal for the house." The swordnewt suggested.

Shadow only sighed. "I hope Apollo and Marcy's fight is going well."

---

Back with Apollo and Marcy, their fight was about as tough as one could imagine. For every damage they inflict onto their foe, the nightmare version of Marcy seemed to become more serpentine, her transformed state becoming more monstrous with a naga torso with the tentacles of a kraken from the waist down, as well as having grown multiple arms, one wielding a spear, one holding a wrist-mounted crossbow, with the other two carrying a scepter and shield. She also possessed three orange eyes, and her 'hair' resembled the tentacles of a sea anemone, rather than snakes.

The fight went on, Apollo tangling her with his spear, the Nightmare engaging with hers while blocking any incoming bolts from Marcy. The Risen in the area certainly didn't makes things easier, as they constantly rushed in, forcing the couple to change their focus from the main boss monster to the minions.

"It's pointless to resist!" The Nightmare yelled, letting out a cackle as it turned to Marcy. "Soon, the Dragon will be free and all will return to nothing!"

"Don't be so quick to count us out just yet!" Marcy yelled back, firing a bolt.

Regina easily caught the bolt and snapped it in half, letting out a menacing chuckle. "How long can you keep the truth hidden from them?" She asked.

Marcy froze.

"You know the minute they find out, they'll never forgive you." She chuckled. "They'll never want to be your friend again."

"Stop." Marcy muttered, her arm shaking.

"Search your feelings; you know it to be true." Regina said. "The minute they discover the truth, they will cast you out, and never want to see you again."

"Shut up!" Marcy cried out, her anger rising as her eyes as they flickered green.

"Face it; you will always be alone." Regina teased again.

Finally, having had enough of her dark copies taunting, something inside Marcy snapped.

"SHUT UUUUPPP!"

In an explosion of green, Marcy yelled in anger as her aura flared up, her eyes green and her hair a flickering green flame. In the blink of an eye, she flew right at the nightmare and smashed her fist into her face, sending her crashing into the sand. But she was far from done, as she flew up to the Nightmare again and just started punching her over and over again, not even letting up, just letting her anger out as she pummeled the monster.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"

Apollo watched his beloved beat the creature down before landing one last devastating punch to the chest, creating an indent in the sand, the Taiwanese girl finally stopping and panting as her anger finally fading before she stepped back, falling on her butt, her emotions still a mess.

Suddenly, there was a gasp from the body, the Nightmarcy pulling herself from the sand and started crawling towards her, her snake eyes filled with malice and a sick grin on her face. But just as she got within arms reach…

Shck!

When suddenly, there was the sound of piercing through flesh, both Marcy's frozen before their eyes shifted down, seeing Apollo's spear piercing the dark version's torso, the newt prince standing behind her.

"Look what you made me do." He said with a narrowed eye.

Regina stood frozen before falling over, her eyes still glued to the ranger.

"My work... left unfinished... My friends... have forgotten... me…"

With that, the Nightmarcy crumbled to ash, Apollo approaching his beloved, who was still on her knees staring at the remains of the dark foe.

"Marcy?"

Suddenly, Marcy bent over and started throwing up, the newt prince crouching down and gently rubbing her back before she started coughing, no doubt sick from the twisted version of herself.

"That…that can't be…" Marcy stuttered, trying to speak.

"That creature is not who you will be." Apollo said to comfort her. "Do not let that thing confuse you."

Just then, the sandcastle collapsed around them, allowing them to reunite with the rest of the group.

"Guys!" Anne gasped, running up to Marcy and hugging her. "What happened in there?"

"A lot of mind trickery, that's for sure." Marcy said with a shiver. "I think I've had enough of that for one day."

"As for the alternative Marcy, she has been returned to her world." Shadow added. "Hopefully, she can find redemption with her friends."

The area around them suddenly shifted back into the temple room they were originally in, where they had fought the corrupted tree, said tree standing before them, this time on the floor and not twisted anymore.

"Look out! The evil tree is back!" Hop Pop exclaimed in fear.

"Wait!" Marcy said. "This tree…looks purer."

An emerald light shined from the tree as something emerged from it. It took the form of an ethereal echo of the Marcy copy that turned into a crazy serpent lady in the temple's heart. The group braced themselves as the echo began to crumble and revealed the spirit of a newt. For some strange reason, it looked like a nigh-identical copy of Marcy.

"Thank you for freeing me from the confines of that physical form." She said in gratitude, "I am forever in your debt."

Marcy stepped forward and asked, "Who are you?"

"I am Emerald. The Wise Sage." The newt said. "I was a champion among the newts, who tried to foster relations between my people and the those of the West. Before the Calamity Box was sent away, I was once its chosen bearer, much like you, my devoted chosen."

Marcy's eyes sparkled in wonder as Apollo looked at the spirit, getting a strange sense of deja vu.

"What happened to you?" Marcy questioned, "What happened to your temple?"

The spirit's expression saddened as she replied, "When I died, my body was buried here, my essence infused into the Emerald of Wit. For centuries it has stood the test the time, until five years ago. A massive surge of dark energy similar to mine surged from the west and its presence was felt across the entire continent." Her hand reached for the flower in her hair. "The weakest of these touched a tiny seed in the temple and it quickly bloomed into a nightmare that sought to consume everything its plague touched, to haunt the dreams of every soul on this world. I was able to contain the blight to the surrounding area, but recently it had grown in strength, making me a prisoner in my own tomb. It altered the very nature of the temple, turning it into the cathedral you saw."

"And when we cleansed the nightmare at the source, the plague was dispelled." Shadow finished.

Master Emerald nodded. "Yes, and by restoring the emerald to its original state, you have in turn, returned the power you have attained since you first arrived here in our world." She said, gesturing to the pedestal that stood before the tree.

Marcy grew saddened by this. She had spent so much time with Apollo learning how to use her powers and after going all Legendary Super Saiyan on her sussy impostor just before, now she must give it up?

"But this not yet the end." She said as Marcy looked up at her. She pulled out a seed, quickly growing into a lotus flower. She lowered herself and offered her the flower, and when Marcy took the gift, in turned to emerald light and entered her chest, a stark contrast to last time. " I was told by someone important to arrange something to help replace the power you lost with something special." She looked out to the rest of the group. "Would you kindly leave us?" Emerald asked them, "There are some private matters that we must discuss."

Marcy looked at Apollo, mentally asking him to trust her, a plea that was answered as he nodded, and he led the others out of the chamber.

"Now, place the stone and its shine will return."

Nodding, Marcy took the gem out of her bag and placed it on the pedestal, and sure enough, it started to shine, as Marcy felt the power inside her drain. The light dying down, the stone regained its green color.

"Tell me; can you still feel the stone's power within?" Emerald asked.

Taking a moment to concentrate, sure enough, Marcy felt the power inside her. "It's feint, but it's still there, oddly enough." She said.

"Although you returned the stones shine, you still retain its power." The ghost newt said. "You are still tied to this stone, as you have a role to play."

Suddenly, the pedestal where the stone stood rose up, revealing a set of mail armor and hunter's gear. "I used this armor and gear during my long hunts," She explained, running her hands on the armor, "but now it shall serve you well in the coming battles."

Marcy took up the armor, equipping it to her own and for some strange reason, it felt familiar. It also made her feel like Legolas from Lord of the Rings, which only increased her excitement.

"Wow, it fits like a glove. Thanks, Emerald!" She smiled, but as she was about to head out with the box and stones, her expression grew concerned.

"How long do you intend to lie to them, Marcy?"

Marcy stopped dead in her tracks at Emerald's question, "What are you talking about?" The human inquired, not turning to her.

"So... that's how it is. I have a warning for you, human. He knows."

Marcy raised an eyebrow. "'He knows?' Who knows what?" She asked, getting nervous.

Master Emerald repeated the warning. "He. Knows. And if someone like Him knows what you did, then it won't be long before the others do too. You must tell them the truth before someone else does."

Marcy's eyes widened as her mind's gears turned faster. 'He knows.' The way the spirit said that verb must mean that this 'He' must know about the day before they came here. Further evidence to support this would be the altered spaces in the temple; the beach where she met Anne, the playground where she met Sasha, Newtopia, and the places where she and the Night Guard fought the traitor Ernst and the Order of Olm. Despite the corruption of the Nightmare being prevalent, the illusions, Risen 'defenders' and the strange whispers in her head, every detail was perfect, it even knew about the sandcastle she tried to protect.

As for who 'He' is. There is too much ambiguity to know who this person is, best guess would be someone who has extensive knowledge of the Calamity Box and its power, yet someone with a deep personal connection to her and her friends to be able play such extensive mind games. Andrias? No, he's way too nice to do something that heinous. Siwang? Nah, he's dead. Apollo is definitely out of the question. Shadow? He's Anne's bae, there's no way he'd actively try and kill her and take the box, though his recent behavior brought more than a few demons. But that thing in wolf's clothing...

"Marcy."

A deep echo is heard within the chamber as the spirit vanished and the lights go out, startling Marcy. She looked around for the voice, and headed in the direction, strangely clouded by a thick black mist.

"Uh, guys?" Marcy called out, growing worried, "Where did you go?"

"Marcy." The voice called out again, closer this time.

Slightly frightened, she ran from the source of the voice, calling out to anyone that could hear her, growing more panicked by the second, "A-Apollo? Anne?! Sasha?! Shadow?! Anyone?! Gah!"

She ran into something metal and fell back, upon she gets back up as the mists fade partly, revealing to have been the side of a moving van and behind her is her home back in Los Angeles, now set ablaze with the charred corpses of her parents standing in front of her. Seeing this made her eyes go wide as she took a step back. A red light shined from her right as it slowly rotated to form a pair of eyes.

"Shadows are everywhere." The voice said as she crawled back to a stack of boxes her hand covering the eyes' light, "And where they are, so am I."

"I know who you are." Marcy stated, circling around the pile of boxes. "I'm... I'm not afraid." She stuttered, only for the eyes to appear to the right of her house.

"Even my shadows cannot hide your fear." Satanael said, "Or the truth."

Marcy took a dry gulp as she turned back around again, "What truth?" She fearfully asked.

"That you will complete your quest to return home." He answered. "And deep down, you know it."

Marcy's heart began to beat faster, everything he had said thus far had come to pass, and if what Shadow said about the Dragon and what that spooky tree mentioned was true, then the plan was already falling apart.

"So, I won't. Maybe my friends will." She blurted as the eyes move in front of them.

"And if they don't?" Satanael retorted, the eyes leaning to the left "They will die because of you." They moved closer, knocking Marcy off of her feet. "Betrayed, abandoned and forgotten by the one who brought them here, the one they call friend and beloved. But your future is not yet set in stone." He stated, "Bring me the box, Marcy." He offered, "Bring it to me and you won't lose your friends."

Marcy raised her crossbow arm to shoot him, but it quickly began to tremble, either from knowing it was pointless to harm him, or fear.

Once again, the demon had hit the mark, if the box were to be destroyed, or if even one of the gemstones went missing, then the human's return ticket would be null and void, and her dream could live forever, but then her friends won't be able to go home, they'd never see their family and loved ones again. However, Apollo was a humanoid newt, and humans have a bad habit of despising that which they don't understand.

"No. I won't let everyone down." She tried to rebuke him.

"You fail them more if you refuse." Satanael warned her as she ran off, managing to find her way back to the surface.

"Time is not on your side, your friends will not stop until they reunite with Sasha, recharge the stones and return with you to Earth, and Anne's curse will continue to eat away at her soul until the last embers of light wither and her heart is extinguished." Satanael whispered, "Until you return to Newtopia, before the curse is complete, for the box, this world, and your friends will be spared. Don't be a fool."

"No. I can't." She said as she saw Apollo walking up to her.

"Marcy?" He asked her, "The others are getting ready to move. Where did you wander off to?" He looked at her up and down, "New duds?"

She sweat and said, "Yeah, Emerald had some stuff for me and talked to me about some stuff, no biggie or anything."

Apollo narrowed his eye but walked her up to the group. "Okay, but whatever you heard clearly messed with you. We'll talk about it later."

Marcy walked up the rest of the group, "Hey, you guys, so the stone is charged."

"Awesome!" Anne declared. "We did it!"

Suddenly, the stone let out a beam of energy, making everyone jump with fright, Marcy holding the stone and looking in the direction the beam was going.

"Guys, it's leading us to the next temple!" Marcy told them.

"That's good." Anne said.

"Thank goodness." Hop Pop added.

"Thank frog!" Sprig exclaimed.

"I should be able to triangulate its location with a bit of work." Marcy said, putting the stone in her bag.

"This just keeps getting better!" Valor declared.

"So, wanna go straight to the next temple tonight, or take a break first?" Marcy asked.

"Break, please." They all said at once.

Marcy shrugged, "Fair enough." She rubbed her head. "I think I've had enough mind games for a month after this."

As they walked to reach Joe Sparrow, Shadow walked behind the group with Marcy.

"Marcy?" Shadow asked, getting Marcy's attention. "The way you looked after you and Apollo fought Regina and after you came out of the chamber. You learned something, something bad. What did you see?"

Marcy begins to panic again, remembering the rage in his eyes a while ago. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I won't force you to spill the beans, but one way or another the truth will come out. I don't like secrets, especially ones that can hurt others. I'll be around if you need to talk about it."

Soon enough, the Plantars, Kaemon, Ina and Valor got on the back of Joe as the sparrow took to the skies, the four teens taking flight, with Shadow carrying Anne as they flew in the direction of home. Shadow had the nagging feeling that something was amiss, and he needed to get to the bottom of things quickly.

Lest history repeats itself.

---

Night soon fell, everyone retiring for bed, while Anne was walking in the direction to Shadow's hut. After everything that had transpired, she felt she was ready to return to the first home since dropping into this world of danger. Sure, she was still in the process of forgiving Shadow, but she felt that this was a good start.

Walking onward, she found herself stopping when she felt the presence of another. It wasn't Shadow, that was for sure. Not Marcy, she had said farewell when she went to sleep in the fwagon.

She asked Shadow if they could build additional rooms for the others, to which he said they would when they have the time.

So if not her boyfriend or bestie, then who?

That's when she remembered.

"Apollo?" She called out.

As suspected, the newt prince stepped out from behind a tree, his expression serious and stern.

"Took you long enough to notice." He said, unimpressed.

"I'm still learning, to be honest." Ane said, rubbing the back of her head.

There was a moment of silence, Anne looking at the prince awkwardly as she was met with that stern stare.

"Did you need something?" She asked, curious about the prince's intentions.

"Yes. Why?"

Anne blinked at this broad question. "I don't get-" She made to ask.

"I know he hid the box from you." Apollo interrupted, catching her off guard. "The way you two were acting was hard to not notice." He stepped forward. "What I want to know is why you're still with him."

Anne was quiet for a moment. Thinking back to how she found out Shadow was keeping such a secret, sure she was still a little peeved with what he did, but she could see the pain in his eyes, along with the fear. She understood why he did what he did, and after seeing the trauma he went through, she understood that he was trying to repent for his past misdeeds.

"Because he's trying to repent." She answered, much to Apollo's confusion. "He told me about the things he did in the past, things he's come to regret. Things that haunt him every night, and how he's trying to atone for them."

"So that's it?" Apollo raised an eyebrow. "He steals the box, again, lies about it, and after a few tears and a hug, everything's peachy?"

"It's not like that." Anne swiftly denied. "We're working things out. Sure, it'll take time, but I'm choosing to give him another chance."

"How can you say that, after he lied to you?" Apollo growled. "He went behind your back, lied to your face! You can't just forgive someone like that!"

"I can and I am." Anne retorted sternly. "Because I want to move forward. Why do you care about this anyway?"

Apollo fell silent, his anger boiling inside.

"I saw the way you treated him when we first arrived, coldly and harsh." Anne went on. "What happened to calling it truce and trying to move on?"

"HE REPLACED ME!" Apollo yelled, punching the tree behind her. "For FIVE YEARS, I've suffered, waiting for him to return, and I found that he replaced me with YOU!"

"Then by your logic," Anne growled before screaming in kind, "YOU REPLACED KARLIA!"

Suddenly, she headbutted the prince through sheer instinct, knocking the half mask off his face. Apollo was shocked by this and took a few steps back. Anne saw the mask on the ground and looked up to see what was hidden.

The newt quickly grabbed the mask and put it back on his face before Anne could see what he had hidden.

"What. Did. You. Say?" He seethed, his eyes filled with killing intent.

"Shadow told me everything, about the riots, the Purge and the Ruination." Anne spat out, pointing her finger at his chest.

The group had planned for such a problem, just tell them all the parts that didn't directly involve Shadow. Anne remembered he mentioned that when he stole the box, he had destroyed all records of the purge from the archives.

"I'm sorry for what you went through, but this needs to stop." She said. "You're not the only one in this world who lived through trauma."

And with that, she turned and left for the hut, Apollo watching her leave with a seething eye before taking off.

---

Meanwhile, back in Newtopia, at the castle, Andrias sat upon his throne, with Olivia and Cody by his side, as Hemlock and Yunan walked in.

"Your Majesty." The feather coat-wearing general said as he and his sister approached the coral throne. "My scouts just informed me that the Tower Lords are indeed meeting at the Northern Tower, gathering up their forces."

"What started as a small valley riot is quickly becoming something more." Yunan added. "This could spell disaster."

"How disappointing." Andrias said with an uncaring tone.

"If I may suggest, send me and an army, and I'll see to it that these traitors are met with a quick death." Hemlock inquired with a sharp-toothed grin, eager for bloodshed.

"No!" Cody loudly exclaimed. "Sire, there must be a peaceful way to prevent any rebellion from happening. We must not create another Siwang."

"I agree with Master Cody." Lady Olivia added. "Killing the Lords will just fan the flames of retaliation. And we don't even know what they're meeting fo-Woah!" She ducked her head, to avoid a messenger hornet that had flown in.

"Whoa, ho, ho." Andrias said, as he took the note, putting on his glasses and reading it. "Why, it's a message from Marcy."

"Hopefully good news." Cody said.

"It sounds like they're making progress." Andrias said. "That's enough for everyone, I will handle the rest."

"Sire." The adults said in unison before filing out the throne room.

Splitting away from the group, Cody returned to his office, letting out a tired sigh. How much he wanted to go along with Valor and Ina, watching how much their bond with Shadow reignited and to truly see a smile on his old students face. Sadly, he had his own mission to focus on.

Standing before his desk, he gazed at the various sheets of paper, some in Amphibian dialect, but some were translated to human language. Among them were mentions of a prophecy.

"We cannot let the past repeat itself."

---

Left to his own devices, the king stepped down from his throne and approached the statue of the former king, King Aldrich, his father. He pulled down the arm of one of the statues, activating a mechanism that opened a hidden staircase at the base of the statue. The king proceeded down the stairs, ignoring the Shadowfish that avoided him before he reached the bottom, entering a room filled with all sorts of machinery. Standing at the center, he kneeled before removing his crown and placing it on the floor in front of him.

"The prophecy is being undone as we speak, my lord. Soon we will have our revenge." He said, looking up. "Been a long time coming. Wouldn't you say, old friend?"

From the darkness, two eerie orange eyes opened, then thirteen, a massive spherical being staring down at him.

"And the vessel?" A hollow voice reverberated the room.

"Alive and kicking, just like you predicted." Andrias replied. "He's currently in a relationship with one of the humans, Anne. My son is in a similar state with our human, Marcy. Their missing friend still remains unaccounted for."

"We have no interest in their martial status, Andrias." The being said. "All that matters is that we have the perfect vessel for when the time is right."

Andrias only nodded. "Azazel's return is quite convenient, but we still have issues with the plague sweeping across the land." He said. "The Risen are rising, no pun intended, from beyond and terrorizing the land. It may become difficult in the future."

"That means little to us." The machine said. "So long as we have the perfect backup plan."

Nodding, Andrias got back up, placed his crown atop his head once more, and went back up the stairs, leaving the large machine alone once again. A few moments passed as the spherical machine moved its position to where the king stood, revealing that a throne was behind it the whole time. Sitting upon it was a full suit of blackened plate armor adorned with cybernetic enhancements and ancient magics. It had a long red cape with two furry pelts running down the sides. The only thing that was missing is the one that would wear it. A dark helmet with four branched gill-like horns, ten eyes and a seemingly extremely long wire connected to it lay atop the suit.

A small tendril appeared from somewhere and caressed the helm as a parent would its child, or a jilted lover to its obsession. It only says one word.

"Soon."

The camera zoomed in on the helmet's center as it glowed red, then zoomed out as the eye now belonged to the one imprisoned in chains, his gaze fixed on a broken emerald shackle at his feet. Unlike before, one of the five main chains had been shattered, and a corruption similar to that of the one in temple now spread from the platform. He now stood on his own two feet. A mound of dark crystal in the shape of a lily pad stood before him.

Three hooded figures emerged from the darkness, one in dark blue, one in green and one in red, who all kneel before him in reverence.

"My lord, the humans have charged the Wit's Emerald and are returning to Wartwood as we speak." The green one said, speaking femininely in great wisdom. "The Nightmare has been purged from the Temple of Wit and despite our failure, the Aspect of Heart has been branded the Mark of the End."

The prisoner said nothing, but pointed to the speaker and used his left hand to point to his eye. A point on the lily-pad glowed, appearing on a miniature version of Newtopia.

A pair heterochromatic eyes, a right green eye and a left orange eye, shined through the hood. "Newtopia... Night Guard... Order of Olm." She responded, "Marcy and her cadets ended Goldtooth's reign and scattered his forces, what makes you think they'll-" She paused. "Of course, Master. If they won't listen to me, then they will listen to Him. I'll take my leave." She stood back up and walked back into the darkness. The second looked up to him, clad in scarlet armor enveloped in shadow and flame, most prominent in the plume in her helmet.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" She spoke in a more disciplined tone, disguised by a hungry look in her eyes. "With the Risen forces growing far more diverse and wide spread for two days now, we'll have to deal with the Amphibians sooner than later. I know my sisters have the frogs and newts covered, but if this Amphibia's toads are much like all the others. May I suggest we divide and conquer their forces?"

Again, the prisoner said nothing as three points showing towers on the map glowed, with a fourth heading to the northernmost one.

"I know Sasha is heading to the North Tower with Grime and his forces and we already wait for your order for the East and West. But the South is hardly worth any value unless you build it from the ground up." Her eyes glowed like flame as she creepily laughs. "I think that little dream you and she made in that temple just gave me an idea."

She jumped up and skipped after her hooded friend, singing an ominous tune as she left the prisoner alone with the third and final guest, adorned in death-themed plate armor, a mechanical right arm, black cape with a similar symbol etched onto it and a horned crowned helm with a dark blue gemstone.

"Why do you remain, Savisa?" The man asked the guest, "You already have your role to play in the Temple of Souls."

She walked up to him and placed a hand upon his cheek. "Preparations have already been completed." She said in loving fondness, "I just have to wait for the star, the deuteragonist and her troupe to come on stage. But there's something different about this Amphibia that gives me a strange feeling. The trio never had the likes of those three in their worlds."

"Despite his elemental prowess, Damien is still a newt like all the others that have come and died before him." He assured her. "Apollo bears the Yin Diamond, but such radiance can mask his darkness for so long, a darkness that will only grow once his father finishes what he started that day, when his beloved ranger twists the knife in his gut." He smiled, which made her follow suit.

"And we both know that one long enough to know His role in the story." She responded.

The prisoner added, "Sasha's hatred against him will only bring that much closer her to us, and our curse will make sure the Guardian's chosen maiden will be the very engine of her and their worlds' destruction, just like many times before."

He paused, noticing the concerning look in her ghostly sapphire eyes. "But if you are concerned about this reality, then I can adjust our plans accordingly. With every false Earth we came and erased from Creation's canvas, each anomaly's Calamity Trio had its own champion; Anne Boonchuy. Sasha and Marcy by proxy had either of them landed in Wartwood instead of her in the shuffle or swap timestreams."

Shadowy tendrils began to coil around the woman in a loving embrace, making her blush as she hugged him back.

"The other Earths we've ghosted showed similar variations in original anomalies that managed to fall into the same archetype as young Taylor, but none of them have the spirit or potential he has that the others do compared to the Cataclysm. To us." He continued, making her chuckle.

"Reminds me of you in a way." She says seductively, making him laugh.

"Indeed. Far more than he knows, for what time they have left. Soon they will be as indistinguishable as us in more ways than one. Go, Oh Soulless mine. Teach the people of Amphbia to fear the chill of death."

She gave him a strong kiss and walked away swaying her hips before turning, "Satanael, do you think that this Amphibia is tied to the Prime?"

He smirked. "What do you think?"

She turned away and left, having gotten her answer.

Soon the board will be wiped clean, and she and her friends' companions will be brought back to them.

---

Finally, the new chapter is out! There's a lot to unpack here. Yeah, Anne and Shadow still have their issues, but they're working things out. And no surprise, Apollo still holds a grudge. Sure, he's willing to put his personal feelings aside for the sake of the mission, but that pain and anger still festers.

And then we have Unity's suggestion; the inclusion of the multiverse. Honestly, I was a little concerned about including this, as the very concept of the multiverse is a tricky thing to incorporate in any story, unless executed well. Still, despite my concerns, I think I've managed so far, with a bit of help. Again, thanks Unity!

And then there's the Mark of the End placed on Anne. This will play a role as we make our way to the second temple.

Also, yeah, I decided to have Marcy retain her Calamity powers, similar to Anne. This will also play a role down the line, especially for when we reach season 3.

And with all that said, thank you for reading and I hope you stay tuned for more chapters! Reviews are greatly appreciated.