[Sasha]
14. September - 11:50
"He wanted it that way!", Anne shouts back at Sasha, having just told her that Grime has surrendered to the Newtopian Authorities.
"BULLSHIT!", Sasha yells back at her with all her might, smacking her fists against the floor as she has fallen to her knees, furious tears streaming down her cheeks.
'I've got to get him out of there!', she thinks to herself resolutely, trying to summon her powers. Confused and angry, she looks down at her hands after nothing happens. "WHY AREN'T YOU FUCKING WORKING?"
Her head snaps up, focused on Anne. She stands up, stomping towards her as she is suddenly grabbed from behind. In one fluid motion, Sasha turns and shoves Marcy away from her, pushing her so violently that she stumbles and falls backwards to the ground. Sasha doesn't pay any further attention to her.
"WHY DO YOU GET TO DECIDE WHO GETS TO SAY GOODBYE, AND WHO DOESN'T?", she yells at Anne, her voice beginning to ache, "WHY CAN YOU SAY GOODBYE TO PEOPLE WHO ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU, AND I CAN'T?"
"It wasn't my decision.", Sasha hates to hear Anne's voice right now, "He knew you wouldn't let him turn himself in. He knew that if you didn't go home, that neither of you would have lasted much longer. He didn't want you to just throw your life away for him."
"When? ... Wait. The last temple...", Sasha's clenched fists relax. Anne continues.
"He had told me that he was planning to turn himself in to protect you. He knew that if he had told you himself, that you would have done anything to talk him out of it... He cares about you."
"And yet he left me.", Sasha says, pain aching in her heart, her rage returning which is now focused on Marcy, who just managed to stand back up. "YOU!", she now yells at Marcy, stomping toward her, "DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT? DID YOU KNOW?"
"NO, SHE DIDN'T!", Anne shouts. Sasha stops moments in front of Marcy, whose eyes are full of fear. She turns back to Anne. "He had asked me to keep it to myself. I didn't tell anybody."
'He... No, he wouldn't... Not me...', Sasha is beginning to tremble with anger.
"Fuck you, Anne.", she quietly mutters to herself.
"What?"
"I said FUCK YOU, ANNE BOONCHUY!", it feels like the walls start to shake at these words, a river of angry and heartbroken tears flowing down her face, "YOU ARE THE FUCKING WORST!"
Sasha's gaze wanders to the frogs who, like Marcy, are similarly trembling in fear and hiding behind Anne's legs, "I WISH I HADN'T STOPPED AFTER JUST THAT ONE!"
Her gaze wanders to the windows of the throne room one last time before she turns, briskly making her way to the portal.
'Fuck you too Grimsey! I will never forgive you for this.'
Mere moments after having stepped into the event horizon of the portal, Sasha immediately emerges from it again. Back on Earth. Surrounded by brick walls.
She looks up. The left wall belongs to a three-story house, the right one is even higher. The one directly in front of her measures only about three meters.
With a quick run-up, Sasha jumps off in front of the wall and manages to climb up, holding onto the top edge, pulling herself up, and dropping onto the asphalt on the other side.
She now finds herself in a narrow alley, filled with garbage, old stuff, and other heartlessly thrown away objects. Still feeling the blood boiling in her veins in rage, she kicks and punches at everything she finds. An old television set? One punch and the screen is destroyed. A crate full of old glass bottles? She jumps on it, shattering all of them.
At one point, Sasha finds a metal baseball bat, and with raging tears, she hits everything in her path. Bottles, furniture, electronics...
"FUUUCCCKKKK YOOOOU GRRIIIMMEEEE!", she yells so loud that the floor beneath her feet seems to shake. But no, it's merely Sasha's legs giving out. She collapses, falling to her knees on some broken glass, sobbing uncontrollably as her emotions overflow.
"Fuck all of you...", she mutters, before all of a sudden, she hears another voice.
"Sasha!", it's Anne. It is no surprise that she followed her through the portal. "Sashaaa!"
Sasha's head snaps down the narrow alley to the brick wall she climbed over earlier, tensely waiting to see if Anne also climbs over it.
Her eyes are fixed fixedly on the wall, and she neither hears nor sees any more from Anne.
'I can't stay here.', she decides, grabbing her new bat, getting back up again, and leaving the alley, trying to get as much space between herself and the other girl as possible.
After about a hundred meters of the obstacle course in the form of the alley, Sasha actually arrives at a moderately busy street. She looks to her left, looking at the road that stretches as far as Sasha can see through the incipient rain. And to her right, she notices a directional sign displayed for the San Diego Freeway, the 405, which runs once completely through Los Angeles, allowing her to at least narrow down her location a little bit.
Without knowing exactly where in LA she is, she just starts walking, looking for anything that will tell her more precisely where she is. Be it signs, stores, or other places she might know and recognize.
After about fifteen minutes, Sasha arrives at a major intersection with a bus stop on the opposite side.
'Finally.', she thinks to herself in a sense of relief.
Ignoring the traffic lights, she crosses the five-lane street first, then the adjacent six-lane street, before arriving at the bus stop and reading the sign attached to it.
'That's the 234 heading to LA Mission College... It heads straight up to Slymar.'
Sure enough, just eight minutes later, the bus arrives. Granted, it was eight minutes of Sasha waiting in the steadily increasing rain without shelter, which did not help her already crappy mood.
The bus driver opens the door right in front of her, an unreadable expression on his face as he watches the thirteen-year-old girl get on, a furious aura around her but with teary eyes, and her wearing a strange red suit of armor. In fact, the bus tilts slightly to one side as she gets on. She makes her way to the very back, past some other people who are also giving her strange looks, and sits down in the very back.
The fact that she neither has any money, nor a ticket really concerns to her right now, and she seems to give this impression to the other passengers as well as to the bus driver. He drives off.
In total, she's traveling for about forty minutes. Every now and then people get off, but also new ones get on, who immediately avoid Sasha's immediate surroundings as soon as they spot her. It is as if she would carry a warning sign with the inscription 'Step closer and die!'
The fact that all the people are avoiding her is actually quite good for her, and more or less even helps her to start thinking a bit about herself and the recent events, and to sort out her emotions. Though without any direct results, she at least doesn't feel so horrible anymore and is in a somewhat stable mood.
As the bus passes the Waybright Estate, Sasha signals the bus driver to stop, and gets off at the next bus stop and back out into the rain.
She waits until the bus has departed before setting off and walking back the nearly two hundred meters.
14. September - 13:16
Being soaking wet and it now being a couple minutes later, Sasha finds herself in front of the closed-off fence gate of the Waybright Estate. She looks through the spiky meter-high steel bars at the gravel-covered driveway and the perfectly manured lawn alongside, on which the lawn sprinkler system is currently active.
'But of course the sprinklers are running... What a surprise.', Sasha thinks to herself in a sarcastic tone. She pushes against the gate to open it, but it doesn't budge open. 'What the...?'
She looks around briefly and spots a number pad on the wall next to the gate, in all likelihood connected to it.
"Huh, that's new..."
For a few moments, she seriously considers just bashing the pad with her baseball bat until the gate opens. After another few moments though, she defers that idea into her plan B.
'Okay, let's see... Dad's birthday? No. His company's founding day? No. Is it maybe... Nope, it's not my birthday either.', she sighs in awaited disappointment, 'The date of his divorce with mom perhaps?', a green light glows up.
"Seriously?"
Stunned, she stares at the keypad as the gate slowly opens in front of her. She grips her bat with both hands, takes a swing, and with just a single forceful blow, knocks the number pad right off the wall.
'Oops. My bat slipped.', she snorts in amusement before making her way down the driveway.
The Waybright Estate is located in the northern part of the district, with the San Gabriel Mountain range towering directly behind it. The estate itself, however, could not look more boring and uninteresting: At the end of the fifty-meter driveway is a garage with room for five cars, in which, the last time Sasha was there, there were six in it. The main building directly adjacent to it is merely a structure of cubes of white concrete with partly oversized windows in it. Her father had it built after the divorce when her mom got the villa near the coast.
Sasha reaches the front door, made of stainless steel with a dark brown wooden engraving. Right next to it, an intelligent doorbell with a built-in camera that activates when an unauthorized person approaches and automatically unlocks the door for anyone else. This security feature was notably already there before Sasha disappeared to Amphibia, which is why the system recognizes her and unlocks the door.
At the very moment she enters the house, she is met by that hyper-sterile air that Sasha definitely has not missed over the last few months.
Immediately behind the front door is a doorless hallway stretching two floors, its roof made of glass on which she can hear the rain falling onto it. In the hallway itself, there are a couple of very expensive paintings hanging on the walls that her father purchased a few years ago for the sole reason that he could brag about them.
Sasha investigates the first open room to her right, her father's office. An absolutely huge room, measuring two-thirds of the area equivalent to the entrance hall of Toad Tower. In addition, all walls are completely white, the floor consisting of gray concrete. In the center of the room, in line with a window that spans the entire height of the room, stands a conference table, which, as far as Sasha is concerned, has never been used as such. At the other end of the room, by another huge window looking out, is a glass desk three meters wide, where Sasha's father sits with his back turned towards her, completely engrossed in his laptop.
"Hey Dad.", Sasha greets him in a neutral tone, "I'm home."
He doesn't turn around, his eyes stuck at the screen. He is working on something, typing away, but still speaks up.
"Hey sweetie. How was school?", he asks. At that exact moment, a fuse blows in Sasha's brain.
"School?", Sasha repeats, "SCHOOL? I was gone for three months!"
"Oh, right...", he backtracks, but still not giving her his attention, "It's summer break, I forgot. How was camp with your friends?"
With every single second that goes by, the fury within Sasha increases more and more as she's clutching her bat so tightly that one might think she's going to break it in two with just one hand.
She quietly speaks up.
"Hey Sasha, good to see you again. Really missed you a lot. Sorry for being such a giant self-centered asshole.", she mimics her father.
"Did you say something?", he wonders.
"Whatever.", she replies, leaving his office, and climbing the stairs up to the second floor to her room. Being just one of three rooms in the building with a door, Sasha enters her own room and slams the door so hard, it causes the walls to shake.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!", she yells from the top of her lungs. She grabs her bat with both hands and slams it full force into the dresser that's right next to the door, smashing it to smithereens. She hits the walls multiple times and destroys her closet while angry tears drop to the floor. She shatters the makeup mirror on her desk into several shards as she pounds on it with her fist, and finishes the desk itself off with her bat.
The tears in her eyes begin to blur her vision, causing her to stumble and fall backwards against her bed.
With her back hurting from the impact and still with tears in her eyes, Sasha sits up against her bed.
"Urgh...", she groans in tears, "Fuck... everything. Fuck Grime for deciding to just leave me like that without saying anything. Fuck Anne for knowing about it. Fuck her stupid frog family, because- well, they haven't left her. Fuck Marcy, because... ... ugh, whatever. And fuck Dad for not even having missed me while I was gone."
Sasha lets her head fall backwards onto her mattress. She rubs the tears from her eyes and surveys the wreckage and debris lying all around her, not a hint of remorse to be found in her mind.
That is, until something suddenly strikes her: Her bed is actually made. It's clean and neat.
"Maja...", Sasha remembers. Maja has been her father's housekeeper and Sasha's unofficial nanny for many many years. Possibly the only adult person who ever really took care of her. "I wonder if..."
Sasha stands up, walks out of her room, and leans on the glass handrail.
"YO, DAD! WHEN IS MAJA COMING?", she yells downstairs, hoping that she actually still works here.
"What?", comes back on the study.
"MAJA! WHEN IS SHE WORKING AGAIN?"
"Tomorrow.", he replies.
'Tomorrow... Good.', Sasha thinks to herself, sighing in relief, 'She probably won't be able to help me, but she's always been a great listener.'
Sasha was about to turn around and go back to her room, when one more thing occurs to her, and she goes back to the railing.
"OH, BY THE WAY, I NEED NEW FURNITURE!"
"Sure thing, sweety.", sounds up to her from downstairs.
'As absent minded as he is, spending money without asking questions is something he is actually quite good at.'
With that clarified, Sasha turns back around and enters her room, looking at the sheer chaos. And now that she's been able to calm down a bit, seeing the mess of a room in front of her actually weighs on her conscience.
"I think I'd better clean this up before Maja comes in tomorrow and gets a heart attack.", Sasha freezes for a moment in surprise as she pauses over what she just said, 'Wow... Amphibia really did change me...'
[The Core]
14. September - 11:54
Andrias stands leaning against a pillar, quietly watching Marcy wave goodbye to the Plantars as they leave the throne room. He sighs inwardly.
'Showtime...', he thinks to himself with sadness hidden deep inside his heart. He approaches her.
"Goodbyes are never easy.", he tells her, "Speaking of which: Where are Olivia and Yunan?", he continues. Marcy turns to him, looking him directly into his eyes as an idea comes to her.
"Should we go look for them?", she asks. Andrias pretends to think about it.
"You know, I have a better idea.", he replies, "A few weeks ago, while you were still out in Frog Valley, I had found something here in the palace. Something I was planning to show you after you got back from Earth: A secret room, I suspect."
Her eyes begin to shine and she shakes her hands in anticipation and excitement. "Really? Where is it? What's in it?"
"Whoa whoa whoa... Calm down...", Andrias holds one of his huge hands in front of her face, himself genuinely infected by her excitement. "I have no idea what's in there. All I had seen was a dark spiral staircase. I didn't want to go on that adventure without you."
"May I see it? Please please please...", she begs him with big round eyes. Andrias chuckles lightly. He couldn't tell her no, as much as he would want to.
"But only for a minute. We don't know when Olivia and Yunan will finally show up."
"Yesyesyesyes, let's gooo!", cheering, Marcy runs off to the large doors leading out of the throne room. She runs out just before poking her head back in a few seconds later, slightly embarrassed. "Umm... Where exactly do we need to go?"
Andrias chuckles at that, following Marcy out of the throne room. He closes the doors behind him.
"No one is to enter the throne room until I return!", he speaks in a serious tone. He does not look directly at the guards. "Understood?"
Andrias watches Marcy, who has already walked quite a distance, as one of the nervous-looking guards speaks up.
"Understood, King Andrias."
Andrias quickly caught up to Marcy, leading her into a branching corridor and down a short but wide stone staircase. Unlike the rest of the palace, this part does not seem warmly designed and colorful, but rather cold and gray. The walls are not lit by bright yellow flames, but by luminous blue corals. Marcy visibly shivers.
"Is it just me, or has the temperature dropped like ten degrees?", she asks.
"Say, Marcy, have you ever been in this part of the palace?", Andrias doesn't respond to her comment. Marcy does not seem to be bothered by this.
"I... don't think so.", she replies with a slight confusion in her voice, "Which is odd, since I'm sure I fully explored everything when I arrived here in Amphibia.", she adds, "What is down here?"
The two of them arrive at a dark brown wooden and nine meter high locked double doors. Andrias opens them, revealing an oblong hall, at least as tall as Andras' throne room, but twice as long. On either side, to the right and left, stand huge stone statues.
"This is the Hall of Ancestors.", he explains as he and Marcy step forward, "Every member of my family has been immortalized here by a statue after their passing. On the right are all the women, on the left all the men. And all the way at the end...", he pauses for dramatic effect, "-there always stands the last ruler of Amphibia. In this case, my father: King Aldrich Leviathan."
The two of them approach the gigantic statue with Marcy totally in awe at the sheer size and the extensive details. After a few moments, however, her mood darkens.
"Your parents... What were they like?", she wonders. Andrias turns to the statue of his mother.
"My mother died when I was born, so I only ever saw her whenever I'm in these halls.", he explains, "My father, however, was a good king. He led Amphibia through a truly glorious time of wealth and prosperity... I revered him, and I always wanted to prove myself worthy in his eyes. But until this day... I had never succeeded."
In an effort to show sympathy, Marcy pats his huge hand.
"I'm sure he'd be proud of you if he could see you today.", Marcy says with an honest smile on her face.
'Why are you making this so hard for me?', he asks himself as his heart continues to hurt.
"A-Anyway...", he continues, "This is what I wanted to show you."
Andrias reaches for the arm of one of the smaller statues hanging from the pillars, whereupon a mechanical click can be heard, and a huge door opens in the pedestal of King Aldrich's statue, revealing an eight-meter tall and four-meter wide, completely dark staircase.
"Whoa...", Marcy marvels with wide eyes looking into the darkness ahead of her. She pulls out her phone and turns on the flashlight, slightly illuminating the stairway.
The walls are all covered in dust, but the air is also saturated with dust. She notices some spider webs on the walls, as well as luminous corals, though they appear to be burned out and not functioning. They are charcoal gray.
Subconsciously, Marcy takes a few steps forward, nearly falling down the first step. Fortunately, Andrias grabs her in time, saving her.
"Watch out, the steps are quite deep.", he warns her. Marcy stands at the edge of the top step and looks down the meter tall step.
"Yeah, that could have gone badly for me. Thank you."
Apart from the forced smile on his face, Andrias does not act on it. Instead, he leans forward and holds his open hand next to Marcy.
"Climb aboard. It's faster that way."
Marcy sits down on his hand, illuminating the path in front of them using her phone as he slowly descends the steps with her.
It's not until a few steps down that an icy chill runs down Marcy's spine.
"Whoa, you feel that too?", she asks him, "I feel like there are a thousand eyes on me... THERE!", Marcy excitedly points her phone at one of the stones that make up the wall.
"That's a tile.", Andrias notes dryly.
"No, I had seen one of those ghost things. It disappeared into the wall.", Marcy sounds thoroughly convinced of this. Andrias turns around, glancing behind him once, but not seeing anything. "Now please don't tell me you don't believe me. Anne and Luz could confirm that there are ghosts here in the basement."
Andrias now looks at her with an amused raised eyebrow before speaking up with a serious tone.
"So, you were in the catacombs?", he asks somberly, at which Marcy swallows in guilt. Andrias' gaze lingers on Marcy for a while before his poker face breaks and he begins to chuckle. "Oh, don't worry about it, little Marmar. But let's keep going. Maybe we'll find the ghosts' nest at the bottom."
"NEST?"
Andrias smirks at her as he continues further down the dark staircase.
As the two of them approach the bottom of the stairs, the light from Marcy's phone suddenly begins to flicker before eventually dying completely.
"Oh no, the light!", Marcy fiddles around with her phone for a bit, but it stopped reacting to anything she does. She sighs in defeat and puts it away again.
"Look, over there.", Andrias points in front of him, which of course Marcy can't see, since only amphibians have the ability to see in total darkness. "I can make out a faint source of light there."
"I can't see anything. Urgh, what I would give for amphibian night vision...", she squints her eyes.
Andrias chuckles at that, lowering his hand down to the area where he saw the light. Immediately as Marcy touches the floor, lights visible to her as well appear, brightly illuminating the entire room.
With a curious, but also startled expression on her face, Marcy takes a look around. An oval-shaped room, all walls covered by completely asymmetrical dark brown metal plates. Countless copper and steel pipes come out of the walls, only to disappear into the wall again at another point. An innumerable number of cables hang from the ceiling, and all of this is illuminated by a round, yellow glowing floor plate, on which Andrias and Marcy are currently standing. In direct comparison to the stairs, she and Andrias just descended, whose air was full of dust, the air in here is almost... fresh.
Another icy chill runs down Marcy's spine, and again she has the feeling that she is being stared at-, and watched by thousands of eyes. A sense of dread overcomes her, and she unconsciously grabs hold of Andrias' robe.
"A-Andrias, I don't like this. At all.", she speaks in a shaky voice, "I think we should head bac- ... Andrias?"
Confusion spreads through her voice as Andrias does not move. It's quite the opposite. He kneels down.
"My Lord, we have arrived.", he speaks slowly and clearly.
Marcy has absolutely no time to react, as from between all the cables on the ceiling, a gigantic black metal robot falls down, crashing to the floor on six tentacle-shaped arms. It releases a sharp- and, at least for Marcy, ear-shattering scream. She falls to her knees, covering her ears. When she removes her hands again, she notices blood on them.
Suddenly, one of the tentacle-shaped arms lunges forward, grabbing Marcy by her head, pulling her towards a chair that emerges out of the floor in the middle of the chamber. She gets placed on it, and has her arms and legs restrained to it. Andrias stands up again.
"I should apologize, Marcy. For what is about to happen.", he speaks calmly while Marcy struggles to free herself, "You see, this is the Core. A collection of the greatest minds among all of Amphibia, preserved for all eternity. However, existing without a body for all these millennia is not very fit for existence, which is why I have been tasked with finding a host. The best, the smartest, the only one who could defeat me in Flipwart."
"LET ME GO!", Marcy screams back at him.
"I wish I could. Honestly, Marcy, I like you. Always have. I even begged the Core to consider an alternative, albeit to no avail. But look at it this way: if the Core hadn't caught on to your potential, you and your friends would have been dead a long time ago."
Marcy gasps in horror. "The portal...", she mutters.
"Oh no, don't worry. I really did send them home. I'm not a liar… Besides, I can't let anyone know about the upcoming invasion...", he smirks at her.
"WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?", she screams desperately, still trying to force herself out of her restraints.
"You'll find out soon enough."
Mechanical wires extend from the chair's pedestal.
"What? Nonononono...", she twitches and jerks with all her limbs before the first wire pierces her boot and continues further into her lower leg. She screams in agony as seven more wires penetrate her skin on her other leg, on her arms, into her abdomen, and into her neck, and with each new wire she cries out in pain. Tears are streaming from her eyes, her screams of pain having faded. She shakes all over her body, the pain paralyzing every muscle, as well as her voice.
With her remaining strength, she raises her eyes to Andrias, who, in turn, faces away from her.
A helmet descends from the ceiling, but Marcy has no strength left to fight it any longer. The helmet settles on her head at which Marcy begins to scream one last time at the top of her lungs, filled with fear and pain. The wires light up orange as they transfer trillions of miniscule nanites into her body, attacking, destroying, and then replacing every single one of her blood cells. They attach themselves to her muscles, to her bones, and completely flood her brain.
The transfer is complete. The lights in the giant robot behind Marcy's body go out and it drops dead to the floor. Marcy's upper body also falls forward, numb.
With cracking sounds, her upper body straightens back up again, the wires disconnecting and the arm and leg restraints removing themselves as well. On the helmet, which is the only one still connected by a wire, ten vertical orange glowing eyes of different sizes light up.
Andrias kneels down again.
"My Lord... It is done."
Marcy's possessed body stands up and takes one deep breath. In and out.
"Oh, how we've missed this...", it does speak in Marcy's voice, though rather robotically distorted. It surveys its fingers, knuckles, and joints.
"My lord?", Andrias questioningly looks up.
"Flesh, Andrias. An organic body. Tens of thousands of years we were locked in the disembodied void of divided consciousness.", it sounds delighted, "This is adequate to our needs. Now, close the portal and power up our factories. Prepare everything for the coming invasion. We first need to bring order to our host's memories."
"My Lord, before I leave-", he begins, "Is- Is Marcy still in there?"
"We've locked her away in a small area right in here.", it says, tapping its helmet a few times, causing Andrias to relax a little bit, "At least for as long as we deem necessary."
"I understand. I will make all the necessary preparations immediately.", he nods in confirmation before turning around, making his way up the stairs to his throne room.
At first briskly, but increasingly slowly, Andrias climbs the steps. As he steps out of the dark stairway back into the Hall of the Ancestors, he suddenly stops, turning to the statue of his father, his heart feeling heavy.
'I did the right thing, didn't I?', doubts are spreading through his mind, 'No, I definitely did the right thing. After all, it's for the good of the Empire... I cannot let my feelings interfere with the mission.'
Andrias' thoughts interrupt as he unexpectedly spots a few curious heads peering through the massive doors at the entrance to the Hall of Ancestors. 'What the- ... Oh right, the deception field was deactivated during the transfer. Well, it is not really needed anymore.'
He takes one deep breath to clearing his head before making his way back to the entrance with firm steps. The Newts, who appear to be just some guards, recoil as they realize Andrias has spotted them.
He throws open the doors leading inside and the two soldiers salute, sweating nervously, not daring to return his utterly serious gaze. An expectant silence falls onto them.
When Andrias realizes that neither of them dares to say anything, he speaks up.
"You are not on your posts.", he speaks clearly as he looks back and forth between them.
"Please excuse us, my king.", the first one speaks up, "We just saw this staircase appear out of nowhere."
"Y-Yes, my king.", the second agrees, "W-We were just curious."
Andrias snorts in disapproval.
"The two will now do the following: You will immediately find Lady Olivia and General Yunan and bring them to the throne room!", he orders. The soldiers salute in affirmation. Before they can ascend the steps, however, Andrias stops them. "And one more thing.", they turn hesitantly, "Once you have done so, you will leave the palace, never to return!"
The two comparatively tiny Newts swallow hard, looking like they are about to wet themselves. They run up the stairs in a panic to carry out his orders, while Andrias himself just chuckles to himself in amusement.
Shortly after, Andrias also makes his way up the stairs at a brisk pace, and towards his throne room. He throws open the huge doors and approaches the music box to immediately close the portal.
After a short wait, Lady Olivia and General Yunan are being escorted into the throne room by the two guards. As the guards immediately retreat, the two Newts approach Andrias from behind, who's silently standing in front of the podium with the music box on it.
"My king, you sent for us?", Lady Olivia bows with a slight curtsy. "Is this about the impending departure of Master Marcy and her friends?"
"Not... quite...", Andrias steps aside, revealing the box with the glowing gems already being in his possession. He turns to look at them. Surprise and confusion grace their faces.
"What?", Yunan asks quietly.
"I...", Lady Olivia is searching for words to vocalize what she is thinking, "... I don't understand."
Andrias moves to stand behind the podium, folding his hands behind his back.
"You two are my closest confidants. And because of that, you have the honor of witnessing the dawn of a new age for Amphibia. An age of prosperity, of progress... of rebirth if you so will.", the two Newts look at each other doubtfully, "For you see, some eons ago, Amphibia was the center of a glorious empire, spanning countless planets, with this instrument as its source of power. But it was stolen... And now that it has returned to our hands, it is time to restore Amphibia to its former glory."
Andrias steps forward and presses various buttons on the box.
"Sire?", Yunan asks, slightly disturbed, "Where are the humans?"
Suddenly the whole room starts shaking, most of the windows break into thousands of pieces, and soft screams sound from outside. Panicking slightly, Olivia runs to the balcony. Her breath catches as she watches entire buildings below her collapse and crumble before her eyes, and cracks form and grow in the palace's lower walls.
Yunan follows Olivia onto the balcony, equally as shocked at the damage being done to the city. Andrias follows behind, a grim expression on his face.
More and more buildings collapse, burying its inhabitants underneath, more and more terrified screams are heard by all of them, and they watch as boulders from the palace fall on crowds of people, while the palace rises further and further into the air, casting a gigantic imposing shadow on the city below.
Filled with fear, Olivia and Yunan turn to their king, who in turn seems completely unconcerned by all the damage he is creating. A sudden faint mechanical buzzing seems to catch Andrias' attention.
"There they are!", suddenly joyful, he turns around, walking back into the throne room, with the two Newts following him. Olivia is about to ask who he is referring to, but by then she can already spot quite a few objects flying directly towards the throne room out the window on the other side.
Seconds later, two dozen dark gray robots with glowing red eyes land directly in front of Andrias, who now wears a sinister grin on his face.
"Let me introduce them to you: These are the new soldiers, guards, and law enforcers for all of Amphibia!", Andrias explains with a pride-swelling chest, "They are perfect and superior in any way possible. They never disobey, they never ask questions, and they carry out my every order with perfect efficiency."
"A-and what is the exact goal that you- ... I mean, we, are trying to achieve?", Olivia asks, her knees trembling.
"Once our new army is strong enough, we will reclaim Amphibia's lost realms and become greater than ever before!", Olivia and Yunan swallow hard in both fear and nervousness. Andrias notices this. "Oh, don't worry. Of course, you two will be sufficiently involved in this new age."
[The Plantars]
14. September - 12:02
"Do you think she'll be okay? Should we have gone with her?", Sprig asks as the three frogs are escorted out of the palace, anxiously twisting his hat in his hands, "I already miss her..."
"I'm completely sure she'll be fine, and that we'll see her again in a week. But yes, I miss Anne too.", Hop Pop walks beside him, carrying Polly, who continues to scratch her butt frantically. "Polly, stop scratching! It'll get infected."
"I DON'T CAAREE!", Polly yells, now only scratching herself more.
The Plantars step outside from between the palace's huge gates, and the guards who were escorting them a moment ago close said gates behind them. All three of them flinch briefly as they let the gates fall shut behind them with a loud bang.
"How rude.", Hop Pop remarks, before turning his head to his granddaughter, "Anyway, Polly, when we get back to Wartwood, I'll take a closer look at you. And Sprig, I can guarantee you by my life that the time until you see each other again, will just fly by."
Sprig, walking alongside Hop Pop and Polly with his gaze on the path ahead of them, tilts his head in slight confusion.
"Speaking of 'flying by'...", he begins, "Didn't we leave Joe Sparrow outside the city gates?"
"Huh? Oh...", Hop Pop replies to him in a confused tone. The three of them stop in their tracks and watch as Joe Sparrow stands in the middle of the wide-open road leading away from the palace back down into the city, pecking at small worms in the ground in a small meadow.
"Maybe that's not our bird?", Sprig wonders as he observes the sparrow with the dark orange wings and the golden engraved armor wearing along with a couch attached to his back and a small pocket attached to his chest. "Joe?", he calls out, the bird turning its gaze to the Plantars.
"Yes, this is our ride home.", Hop Pop announces as the three of them approach the super-sized bird. "Alright, jump up kids. We're flying back to Wartwood."
"Wouldn't you rather sit in your special seat?", Polly asks, mocking him as he tries to prevent her from scratching herself.
"Oh, don't be ridiculous.", he replies, "There's no one here to carry me up there.", before climbing up Joe's tilted wing, while Sprig casually jumps up carrying Polly, sitting down in the middle of the couch.
"Move over, boy!", Hop Pop orders Sprig after finally reaching the top. "I'm flying!"
Sprig raises a skeptical eyebrow as he slides slightly to the edge of the couch.
"Do you even know how to fly a Sparrow?", Polly reproaches him.
"I've listened to Marcy doing it plenty of times.", he explains, "How hard can it be?"
Sprig and Polly put on expectant looks as they watch their grandfather try very hard to remember what command Marcy used to take off mere hours before.
"So, Joe Sparrow... Let's head back to Wartwood. And go!"
Joe, however, does not make the slightest move. Hop Pop tries again.
"Um... My honored bird. Could you please start flying?"
Still nothing. New approach.
"Joe Sparrow.", he begins in a serious tone, "I'm going to count to three and then you'd best be in the air already. ... One. ... Two. ... Two-and-a-half. ... Two-three-quarters. ..."
"Give it up already, Hop Pop.", Sprig encourages him.
"Yeah, old man. Joe lost every bit of respect for you for using your Hop Pocket, which is why he doesn't listen to you anymore.", Polly agrees, "Even I'm only talking to you now out of mere politeness."
"That's just total nonsense. I'm an extremely respectable person.", he defends himself, to which both his grandchildren roll their eyes.
"Yeah, sure... Watch.", Sprig speaks up, "Joe, fly us to Wartwood!"
A chirp escapes Joe's beak, he spreads his wings and with a powerful flap of his wings, pushes himself off the ground. And while Sprig and Polly glare at the old frog with smug grins on their faces, Hop Pop begins to pout.
"I'm not going to comment on that.", he huffs with his arms crossed in front of his chest. The two siblings, on the other hand, can't help but crack a laugh at that though. "Yeah yeah, ha ha ha. Very funny.", he continues sarcastically, "When we get back home the pocket will be gone. As amazing and comfortable as it is, it's not worth the price of no one respecting me-, and taking me seriously anymore."
"Well I'll still take you seriously if it makes you feel better.", Sprig says. Hop Pop eases up a bit before Sprig continues. "Mostly... Well, more like frequently... I think."
Right now, though, Hop Pop can't help but smile slightly while his grandchildren seem to be having a good time, albeit at his expense. Polly isn't scratching herself right now, and Sprig's sadness about Anne having left is also gone for the moment.
And to his surprise, it lasts for a remarkably long time. For about fifteen minutes, the family calmly glides through the air sitting on the couch on Joe's back further and further away from the city. They have already left the salt lakes that surround Newtopia behind them for a few minutes, and the mountain range that surrounds Frog Valley can already be glimpsed on the horizon in the far distance. Sprig has propped himself backwards over the back of the couch and is shooting his slingshot with pebbles, that he carries with him at all times as ammunition, at smaller birds that are just flying by. Polly is exceedingly bored, while Hop Pop just tries to fill the silence by talking about what he is going to do when the three of them arrive back at the farm.
"- really tidy things up a bit. I know that the house was basically already quite tidy when we left, and until Anne is back, I thought that if we all pitched in together, we could give the house a thorough cleaning from top to bottom.", Hop Pop just talks away endlessly. That no one listens does not bother him. "I also think that we should clean out the attic. Admittedly, the last time I was up there was almost thirty years ago. Come to think of it, the last time I was up there was when I was in my cheese phase."
Sprig, still casually leaning over the couch facing backwards, raises an eyebrow as he spots something... odd. He taps his grandfather on the shoulder.
"Hop Pop.", he tries to interrupt him and get his attention.
"If I remember correctly, I had used the attic to store milk... Or was that the basement?"
"HOP POP!", Sprig tries again but louder. Hop Pop turns his head to his grandson with a puzzled look. With an outstretched arm, Sprig points to something behind them. Hop Pop widens his eyes in disbelief.
The two frogs watch in complete speechlessness as the Newtopian Royal Palace rises into the air behind them, beginning to cast a huge shadow across the landscape until it obscures even the sun itself.
"Holy moly...", Hop Pop exclaims eventually, at which point Joe got curious too. He drastically reduces his glide speed and turns around, flapping his huge wings to hover on the spot.
"GUYS WATCH OUT!", Polly suddenly screams. Sprig and Hop Pop duck and Joe flies an evasive maneuver as several gray blurs fly past them way too close. "Those are Frobos!" she notes, "And they're heading straight for the palace."
"I have a very bad feeling about this...", Hop Pop notes with concern in his voice.
"Joe, we've got to get back to Wartwood. Quickly!", Sprig orders Joe, who wastes no time and speeds away from Newtopia as fast as he's capable of. Sprig turns back to Hop Pop and Polly. "I knew he was evil. Luz was right after all!"
Hop Pop raises his finger, ready to disagree, before turning around once more, looking back at the ominously rising palace.
"It... is hard to accept that he really does have evil intentions...", he begins, "I mean, what has he done that can actually be classified as being evil?"
Sprig immediately speaks up. "Well, for one thing, he... Um...", he struggles to come up with a concrete answer, which is why he's looking back and forth between his grandfather and the palace. Hop Pop quickly picks up on that.
"Listen, I believe you that the whole situation is scary, but we also have to be realistic. And realistic is that we don't know what exactly is going on.", he puts a hand on Sprig's shoulder, who looks at him with a very disbelieving expression.
"All right. Don't believe me then.", Sprig huffs, "Polly, will you help me inform people when we get home? We need to get ready."
"Is it going to be dangerous?", she asks, at which point he picks her up and holds her very close to his face, starting to whisper ominously.
"Highly... improbable."
"Fine."
"Kid, do you really think this is the right thing to do?", Hop Pop asks.
"Yes, Hop Pop, I think so.", he replies firmly, "Call it a gut feeling for all I care, but every cell in my body is telling me that we should prepare for King Andrias to do something evil."
"I... need to think about it...", Hop Pop merely replies to him before his gaze wanders backward one last time, a feeling of unease lingering in the pit of his stomach.
14. September - 20:51
Many, many hours have already passed since the inhabitants of Wartwood spotted the palace in the sky, worried about what has happened, and is yet to happen. And even though there has been absolutely no other visible activity, the residents have agreed that at least one person will be in the center of the village at all times on lookout. And with close to a thousand volunteers still living in tents outside Wartwood, it wasn't hard to find people for that job. For some time already, they've been noticing something flying in their direction.
"I'm telling you, it's a bird.", Felicia Sundew sits in front of her store with a cup of tea in her hand.
"No, it's way too small to be a bird.", Leopold Loggle, who is sitting next to her, also with a cup of tea resting in his hands, replies, "It's definitely manufactured. Some kind of... fly-thing."
Felicia rolls her eyes.
"I think you should get your glasses changed. Your eyes seem impaired.", she argues.
"My eyes are fine, thank you very much.", he replies before taking another sip of tea. That is when they notice Ivy running in their direction.
"It's the Plantars!", she yells to them in excitement.
"The Plantars? And how do you know that for sure? They just left this morning, didn't they?", her mother inquires, at which Ivy pulls out a small binocular.
"Well, I saw them on the giant bird.", Ivy says. Felicia turns to Loggle with a look of superiority on her face.
"I told you it's a bird."
"Alright, alright. I'm willing to admit when I'm wrong, after all.", he replies before the three of them begin making their way to the towns entrance, joined by others.
The Plantars actually come into view fairly quickly, and it takes mere minutes for Joe Sparrow to land at the village entrance surrounded by people from both within and beyond the village.
Joe leans his wing, allowing the Plantars to simply slide down. Sprig jumps down first, with Hop Pop and Polly following. Before anyone could say anything however, Sprig is just realizing how he's being thrown to the ground.
"AMBUSH!", Ivy screams as she jumps towards him, throwing him onto his back, now squatting just centimeters above his face. "Hey, Sprig." she says sounding very happy.
Sprig blushes slightly.
"Hey Ivy."
A moment of silence surrounds the two.
"Missed you.", she says eventually.
Only now do they realize there are quite a few dozen pairs of eyes on them. Slightly embarrassed, they stand up and wipe dust off their clothes. Sprig leans his head near Ivy's ear.
"I mean, I've been gone less than a day, but... I missed you too."
With the two of them now standing upright again, the crowd's attention turns away from them towards Hop Pop. Mrs. Croaker, standing quite far forward within the crowd, speaks up first.
"What in the frog is going on?", she demands to know.
"Have the girls left?", Felicia asks.
"Why is the palace flying?", Loggle asks. Many more people speak up, though there are too many to catch each and every question. Hop Pop climbs the wall at the edge of the village to be seen and heard better by everyone. The people in front of him whisper wildly. Some are scared, others are confused, and others just want to know what's going on.
"My friends-", the older frog starts to speak at which the small crowd in front of him falls silent and directs their eyes directly at him, "I'm going to start with the good news. Yes, Anne and her two friends have left Amphibia. They were originally scheduled to return in exactly one week, but...", Hop Pop's gaze turns skyward to the floating castle, the crowd turns as well.
"What happened? Spill the beans already!", a toad, one of Grime's former soldiers speaks up.
"Here's the thing... We don't know what exactly happened-", Hop Pop started to explain when Sprig suddenly jumps over the crowd's heads, interrupting him.
"King Andrias is evil!", he exclaims.
"SPRIG!", Hop Pop shouts, but he doesn't let it interrupt him.
"He wanted to get rid of them before he carried out his evil plan. We even saw battle robots on their way back to the palace.", he continues.
A wild whispering breaks out among the crowd in front of them.
"My friends-", Hop Pop tries to calm the crowd down again. Sprig already knows exactly what he's going to say. "Please listen to me. We don't know for sure what King Andrias is up to. All we have are assumptions. That's all."
Once again, murmurs break out in the crowd. It's pretty clear, though, that people are divided, and an all out discussion breaks out. Hop Pop tries his best to keep the tension contained, but it only works to a limited extent.
After a long, aimless discourse, Mrs. Croaker speaks up.
"Okay everyone, listen. While we agree that this floating palace is looking rather ominous, we basically have no clue what's really going on. So here's my suggestion: I know a few people in Newtopia from my time as a... um... not important. The point is that I know people who can get us some insights."
"What about Chuck?", Loggle suggests, "He spied on the Toads during the war."
The Plantars, by now no longer the focus of the crowd's attention, watch this discussion with great interest. Hop Pop in particular is overcome with a sense of community that extends beyond Wartwood's borders. With the Frogs, Newts, and Toads before him, there comes a sense in him that he is looking at Frog Valley as a single unit, working together as one. He almost regrets not having played a part in the war, though he had his reasons for that.
"Okay. We will send Chuck to Newtopia, I'll contact my acquaintances, and together we will prepare for the eventuality that Sprig's theory is indeed correct.", Mrs. Croaker summarizes the results of the discussion. "If there is nothing further, I would suggest that we continue to assess things tomorrow. Any objections?", no one comes forward, "Alright, good night everyone."
And with that, this unofficial meeting begins to dissolve. The Plantars also make their way back to their farm with Joe accompanying them.
Once there, Hop Pop turns his attention to Sprig. "You and Polly go on into the house. I'll take care of Joe."
"Okay Hop Pop.", Sprig replies. Polly hops from Hop Pop's arms onto his cap, and the two kids walk together towards the front door, closing it behind them. Hop Pop sighs, a feeling of mental exhaustion overcoming him.
"You know, I'm worried.", he says as he leads the giant bird towards the barn, "As much as I don't want to admit it... I think the boy is right. Something very dark is coming, and... ... and now that Anne's gone... I-I- I don't know what to do, Joe.", the giant bird tilts its head as Hop Pop continues, "I mean, Anne was pretty good at protecting us, but as much as I hope, I don't think she's actually being able to come back, and we are on our own."
At that, Joe suddenly stops. Hop Pop looks at him questioningly, while the bird looks back at him with a serious look.
He chirps audibly and directs his gaze toward downtown Wartwood. Hop Pop's follows his. He chirps again.
Hop Pop chuckles briefly at that.
"Yeah, I think I know where you're going with this. The village has really grown, and they've become good at defending themselves, especially with those bigger numbers. But against King Andrias? Who then also has a potential robot army? That's insane!"
Joe chirps again in indifference.
"I know, but... See, I just want to see my kids safe. They shouldn't be involved in all this mess.", Hop Pop argues, "I managed to keep them out of the war against Grime and Sasha, as much as they wanted to help... And without Anne, I don't know how I can continue to protect them..."
Joe lowers his head and rubs it comfortingly along Hop Pop's face.
"Thanks.", he sniffles briefly, "Come on, I'll take you to the stable. You'll have to share it with Bessie and MicroAngelo. I hope you don't mind..."
And Joe did not mind. He didn't mind a single bit.
[The Core – Pt.2]
15. September – 10:07
The last 22 hours have been extremely informative and productive for the Core in its new form, even if, admittedly, only after a certain period of acclimatization. For despite having total control over every single muscle, every cell, and every little bit of fluid in its new body, the actual experience of changing from a purely digital, disembodied form to a fully organic one is not without its difficulties.
To name just a few of those incidents:
Despite the already deeply imprinted ability to move body parts such as arms and legs, the Core fell forward onto the floor the first time they attempted to get up from their chair.
In a later physical self-diagnosis of their new body, the Core had test-shut down various organs to determine their function. When they switched off the heart, they were very surprised that the body completely collapsed and only worked again when the heart had been switched back on.
When they examined the stomach and turned it off as a test, it was also quite surprised when acid spread and began to etch through other organs, muscles, and ultimately even the skin. Because of the fragility found in this organic body, the Core decided to spend the subsequent tests all in a regeneration unit to support the nanites' regeneration capabilities. Because even though it is not possible for the Core to feel pain, they did not think it was optimal to walk around with a gaping hole in its middle and organs falling out.
Despite the regeneration chamber, it took several hours to repair the damage caused and complete the physical self-diagnosis. When they lifted themselves out of the chamber, a new problem appeared: Low energy levels.
To try to counteract this problem, they increased the amount of energy fed through the helmet to the nanites within the body. However, nothing happened. The Core increased the energy supply several times, even to the point of nearly overloading the nanites and possibly burning them out, when they remembered an extremely important lesson from previous lives with an organic body: Organic bodies must regularly go into a state of rest, and also require a regular organic energy supply in the form of food. And after a brief instruction to Andrias to provide food, the Core decided to enter the resting state and begin the second part of the self-diagnosis: Analyzing and screening Marcy's memories for any kind of useful information.
By now, the sun is quite high in Amphibia's sky. Not that the Core could know being in the depths of the palace.
Andrias enters the lab, finding them seemingly asleep on a couch leaning against a fluffy looking red cushion, the orange eyes on the helmet currently not glowing, two smaller screens immediately next to them. The upper screen seems to be for monitoring the vital signs of their body, on the lower one is a one-third filled loading bar, titled 'Memory Wipe in Process', written in amphibian runes.
"Memory Wipe?", Andrias asks aloud, immediately slapping his hands over his mouth as the orange eyes on the Core's head begin to light up, one by one. Andrias gets down on one knee.
"My Lord, I'm sorry to have awakened you.", he apologizes.
It actually takes a short while until they are completely awake. They flip a small lever next to the lower screen before facing Andrias.
"Your presence is not related to us waking up.", they say, to which Andrias stands back up.
"Good. I have come to inform you that the necessary preparations have started successfully. All factories have resumed production, and the first bots have replaced the guards here in the palace. Also, we have reached our target altitude of one kilometer above ground and are holding our position above Newtopia.", he reports.
"We are pleased with the progress so far.", the Core replies. Hesitantly, Andrias speaks up again.
"I was wondering... Are you really erasing Marcy's memories?"
"But of course. We have no use for all of them. We will only keep those that are of strategic value to us.", Andrias' heart aches at the explanation.
Andrias inwardly sighs in sorrow. "I understand, my Lord."
"So far, we have only analyzed about the first seven years of her life. The earliest memories have already mostly faded away, which greatly speeds up our process."
"I see...", Andrias acknowledges with a false neutral tone in an attempt to hide his dejected mood, "Also, I was wondering, now that you have a new body, if you would like to choose a new name as well."
This question seems to surprise the Core and put them in thought.
"We haven't thought about that yet. We will consider it as we continue our studies.", the Core stands up from the couch and steps over to an examination table where several of Marcy's possessions are already laid out. Among them are her phone, her diary, and various notebooks. "We are only too curious to find out how far humanity has progressed since our last glimpse of their home world. If necessary, we will be adding their knowledge to ours and adapt our strategies."
"Would you like me to send out a scouting unit to Earth?"
"Yes. Also deploy a unit to observe Anne Boonchuy and Sasha Waybright. Make sure they don't pose a threat after you failed to kill them previously as we demanded!", the Core orders, "And bring us the food we commanded already!"
"Yes, my Lord."
And while Andrias leaves the laboratory once again, the Core turns around, turning to the objects in front of them. First, Marcy's phone.
Opening the case was pretty easy, once the glass side of the device was destroyed and could be removed. Apparently, the glass was part of a display, which is now destroyed. The Core just shrugs indifferently while they remove the destroyed remains and expose the first visible components. Many moving gripper arms, emerging from the walls, assist in the analysis, and spread out separable components from the case in front of the Core.
"Hmm... A graphite-lithium construction for electron storage? That is so inefficient...", they snort in amusement.
They turn to the circuit board, looking in close detail at each component. But while the fact that in less than a thousand years humans have managed to get rocks from the crust of their planet to think, the vast majority of components are completely useless compared to the computing power of the technologies used in Amphibia itself.
"So much silicon... They must have it in abundance. In the long run, the human world could become our future test facility for new technologies.", they begin to plan, the information on their minds that silicon is one of the rarest findable materials in Amphibia. They return to analyzing components, "And yet they've wasted all that on such pathetic technology."
Two of the robotic arms pick component after component off the board as the Core suddenly stops everything and closely eyes a single one of them. It has the term 'Wi-Fi' imprinted on it.
"Wireless communications...", they mutter as they observe it in skepticism, "Potentially, this is something we can take advantage of."
The Core spends the next thirty minutes harvesting and analyzing the remaining components of Marcy's phone. However, most of the other components are of no use. The phone's data store contained a few usable image files, as well as a basic concept of how communication works between phones like this one, which would later prove very useful for intelligence gathering.
Having dealt with the phone sufficiently, they turned to Marcy's diary and flipped to the first page. With a reading speed of about five pages per second, the digital eyes on her black helmet darting back and forth at rapid speed, it takes only a few seconds before they stumble upon something that makes them stop and wonder.
'This other human... Luz Noceda... didn't come from Earth like the others?', they observe as they continue reading.
-the way they work is probably based on proximity to the remains of a being she called the 'Titan'. A magical being several kilometers in size, which formed the Boiling Isles after its death.
I mean, Andrias is already an absolute giant for me with his nine meters... It's hard to imagine a living (or in this case no longer living) being standing in front of me, towering over the clouds and mountains themselves.
Luz said she would like to bring me there and show me around if she could ever find a way to get back to the Demon Realm that means-
They flip the page over.
-growing plants in seconds, making something ignite with just the touch of a finger, making a room light up completely... And all you need is paper.
Not even that. You can draw glyphs in the ground just like that, and it works. And Witches can create all that magic natively with a single flick of the finger... Or so...
I am soo jealous-
"Most interesting..."
After this point, they began to not just skim over things, but honestly continued to read attentively, absorbing every bit of information that could be found within Marcy's entries.
In her notebook, a few of the previously mentioned glyphs were outlined, along with instructions on how they worked. Curiosity got the better of the Core and they tried to activate one of the drawn glyphs.
But nothing happened.
Anger, but also for the first time in a thousand years, a feeling of unknowingness filled their mind, along with the beginnings of a plan that would take more and more shape in the time to come.
A little more than an hour has passed as Andrias once again descends the steps to the Core's laboratory, this time carrying a golden tray covered with a matching golden lid.
He enters the cold, metallic-smelling air of the lab and is immediately greeted by the Core, who seems to be working on something at a workbench.
"Report!", they order.
"Umm... I brought the food you asked for, my Lord.", Andrias kneels down and lifts the golden lid, revealing blue cupcakes. The Core puts down their tools and turns around with a delighted expression, taking one of the cupcakes without hesitation and biting into it.
"Wed welwet wiss ube fwosting.", with their mouth full, they exclaim in delight, having already grabbed another one.
"Marcy liked those. So I thought, you might-", he is interrupted.
"Looks like you're good for something after all.", they say deprecatingly, before biting heartily into a cupcake again.
"May I ask, have you decided on a new name?", he asks while the Core is in the process of swallowing.
"As a matter of fact, we've dedicated some of our computing power to just that. We want you to call us... Darcy.", they proclaim proudly.
"Dar-cy?", Andrias repeats questioningly.
"Yeah. It's a reference to Marcy's favorite video game, 'Dark'. Therefore 'Dark Marcy', 'Darcy'. That game came up a lot in her early memories, and the name appeals to us."
"Alright, Darcy, I also have news from Earth.", Darcy listens up while eating another cupcake, "I have sent two Cloakbots to Earth to collect intel as you requested. All the info will be transmitted to you as soon as the bots are back, but I thought you might be interested in a few things now already. Anne Boonchuy and Sasha Waybright are separated from each other with no sign of a meetup in sight that would get in the way of our plans. The bot has also reported that Anne Boonchuy seems inclined to want to end her life."
"Oh really?", Darcy asks in surprise, which quickly turns to pleasure. "We may still be able to speed up this process..."
"There is one more thing you should know: The other human is also on Earth, albeit in a completely different part of the planet. It took our bot quite a long time to find her because of all the little data we have on her.", Andrias seems to be stalling a bit.
"So?", Darcy asks impatiently.
"She doesn't seem to be human anymore.", Darcy looks at him in honest amazement, "During a long-range analysis, we were able to determine that there are foreign radiation levels emanating from her body. She could potentially be dangerous to us when we invade Earth."
Darcy's surprise instantly disappears and is replaced by a diabolical grin.
"Oh, is that so? Well in that case it's a good thing our plans have changed.", Andrias looks questioningly at them with a raised eyebrow, "Before we start gathering Earth's resources and enslaving humanity, there's another place we'd like to turn our attention to first..."
"Where?"
"Oh, you'll see. We don't think we'll need the entire fleet strength for that. As soon as we reach a third of the total strength, we'll depart. And as for the three humans... Keep a close eye on them. If they act strange in any way: Kill them. And to make sure you don't mess up this time, your own head is on stake this time, too. Is that understood?"
Gulping fearfully, he nods.
[Vee]
15. September – 11:40
"You know who I'm talking about, right? You know who this Belos is?", this girl asks, Vee swallows heavily, her whole body is shaking right now. "Do you remember me too?"
"I- I don't know you. I don't know what you're talking about.", Vee speaks in a panic filled voice, "I've never been to the Demon Realm. Don't ever call here again!"
Instantly, she hammers the house phone back into the base before holding onto her arms.
"Nonononono... This can't be happening...", she babbles to herself, not realizing that someone else has just re-entered the kitchen as well.
"Luz? I heard you screaming, is everything... whoa...", it's Masha, who just caught Vee with tears in her eyes and her whole body trembling. The panic in Vee's head only gets stronger and stronger. "What happened?", she ask in a sympathetic tone.
Vee opens her mouth, however, the words get stuck in her throat. Masha takes a step closer, but Vee steps back.
"I... I-", she stutters before turning away. "I'm sorry.", she says, running past Masha into the bathroom where she locks the door behind her.
Vee sits down on the closed toilet lid, her knees clutched tightly to her chest.
"Why now? I don't want to run away again...", she cries, "Why does she have to be back now of all times?"
Vee's solitude, unfortunately, does not remain undisturbed for long, because only a few minutes later, there is a knock at the door.
"Luz, what's wrong? Please talk to me...", Masha pleads. Vee's watery gaze wanders to the door.
'I don't want to leave them... They're my friends.', a sad smile graces her face. 'Heh, my- friends… But I guess that's over now. I'm sure she's already on her way here...'
Another knock.
"Luz... Don't you think you sh-", Masha cuts herself off. Vee overhears a second voice through the door, though too muffled to tell who it is and what is being said. She is merely able to hear Masha talking, and listens.
"No, I'm afraid not. ... I mean, if you think that's for the best. ... Oh, well if that's the case, okay, I think.", it is unfortunately impossible for Vee to tell what is being discussed. "Luz, I'll be right back.", they announce before Vee can hear footsteps walking away.
Vee presses her ear against the door, but there's nothing but silence. Even the music coming from her room has stopped.
'What's going on?', she wonders, wiping tears from her face, but still shaking.
Slowly she reaches for the door handle and unlocks the door again. She opens it and sticks her head out looking into the kitchen, listening.
It is completely silent within the house.
"Mom? Masha? Kaya? Evan? Anyone?"
No answer.
Vee steps out the door and climbs the stairs toward her room. When she reaches the picture wall between her room and Camila's, she stops.
'It's been nice living your life, Luz. I resent you for running away, but at the same time I'm glad you did. Even without knowing it, you gave me the chance to start over... But it's your life, even if you apparently didn't appreciate it.'
Vee continues walking to her room. Like the rest of the house, it's empty. The decorations are still hanging everywhere, and the empty bottle is still on the floor, right where just a few minutes ago the four of them were sitting, eating, laughing, and celebrating together a birthday that is not hers. She enters the room.
"Maybe this is the best opportunity for me to slip away unnoticed... And when she's back-", Vee startles as the door suddenly slams loudly behind her, revealing Masha. Vee jumps up, almost losing control of her shape as she lands on the floor.
"Oh, sorry, sorry.", Masha is overly apologetic. She steps closer to Vee, offering her a hand. "I didn't mean to scare you."
Vee hesitates as she's trying her best not to hyperventilate, and to keep her form. It takes a few seconds before she is ready and accepts Masha's help.
"Thank you.", Vee thanks her, although is unable to look into her face.
"Do you want to talk about it?", she asks. Vee shakes her head.
"W-where are the others?", she asks instead.
"Your mom heard you being upset and told me to stay with you while she went shopping somewhere with the others. I think she's planning a surprise for you to cheer you up."
"Huh, ok...", Vee replies vaguely, unsure if she should actually believe her. Masha looks Vee in the eyes for a moment too long before she takes her hand and lead her to her bed, where she sits down, indicating that Vee should sit next to her. And she doesn't know why, but Vee actually sits down, even though every cell in her body is screaming at her to run away.
"So... You don't want to tell me what happened, which is perfectly fine. But as a friend who cares a lot about you, it's important to me to know that you're okay. That's why I'm going to try to figure it out myself. You are welcome to agree or disagree with me, but you don't have to feel forced to do anything.", they start, to which Vee nods. "So... I'm absolutely sure it has something to do with that phone call, because you seemed to be doing pretty well earlier... I'm guessing it was a person from your past, a person you didn't expect to see- or hear again, respectively."
'Well, not really...', Vee thinks to herself, her heart rate calming down a bit.
"It wasn't anyone from camp, since the four of us were always together... Have you lived in Gravesfield your whole life?", she asks at which Vee shakes her head slightly, "Not, ok. Hmm... Was it an ex-boyfriend? ... An ex-girlfriend?"
Vee chuckles slightly at that, before shaking her head again.
"Okay, in that case, there is only one more option left...", her voice is suddenly a lot more somber. Vee swallows hard, "Someone else knows you're not human."
Vee tears her eyes open in shock.
"Wha- What d-do you m-mean? O-Of course I- I'm human.", Vee stutters, her pulse rising to previously unknown heights, and again, all she wants to do right now is run away. But her legs refuse to do so. If she stood up right now, she would just fall over.
"Oh, please... When we first met at camp, I already knew you were differently different. I mean, when we had burgers the first night, you ate each ingredient separately. At movie night, you wanted to eat popcorn with a knife and fork. And on the fishing trip, you just bit the head off a fish just like that."
Vee's face turns red, and she feels like she's going to start catching on fire at any moment.
"I- I-", she is still at a loss for words.
"Listen to me. I don't know what you are or what species you belong to, but one thing is undeniable to me: you are my friend. And no matter if you are a human, an alien, or a demon from Mars, you are important to me. And the fact that you're still sitting here and not running away tells me that I'm important to you too.", at that very moment tears start to flow down her cheeks again. This time, however, not tears of fear and sadness, but tears of joy. Masha takes her in her arms, and they stay like that for a few minutes.
Sniffling, Vee eventually speaks up.
"I-I have to admit, I did want to run. B- but my legs are as soft as Jell-O right now.", she jokes, to which Masha giggles as well. "Wait... The others. Do they-?"
"To be honest, I don't know. But I'd be surprised if they reacted any differently than I am right now."
"Oh, I see...", Vee mutters.
"You know, your reaction just now is actually confirmation enough, but I have to ask it again directly: Am I correct? About you not being human?"
Vee doesn't answer. She merely averts her gaze from her friend down to the empty space in between them.
"It's okay if you don't want to answer that. I mean, you're not obligated to say anything. And... and I'm sorry I just exposed you like that. That was not okay of me. To make it up to you, I also wanna tell you a secret of mine.", Masha begins. Vee raises her head and listens carefully, "I... think I'm not female. I've felt for quite a long time that I've never been like other girls, and then at the beginning of the year I came to the realization that I've never been a girl to begin with. I had experimented a lot with my sense of self and my outward appearance in the months that followed. Heh, I even stole some clothes from my older brother, just to try something different. But in the end, I came to the conclusion that neither male nor female really describes what I am- who I am. Not long before camp, I came out to my parents as non-binary, and their reaction was, shall we say, unpleasant."
"Was that the reason you had to go to camp?", Vee wonders. Masha nods.
"The story that I was sent there for kidnapping and releasing caged animals from zoos wasn't true. I mean, yes, I kidnapped those animals, but I had never told anyone about that. And while my parents had sent me to camp to be 'taught traditional gender roles', my time there had only helped me feel all the more comfortable in my skin."
"Who else knows all about it?", Vee asks.
"Well, my parents, my brother... And now you."
"And what about Kaya and Evan?", she asks to which Masha shakes her head.
"I see..."
"I would also appreciate it if you would not refer to me as 'she' in the future.", Masha adds, "Rather as 'they'."
"Yeah, sure, no problem."
Again, the two of them fall into silence. Neither of them really know what to do next right now. That is, until Vee sighs heavily.
"You- you were right.", Masha raises a questioning eyebrow, "I'm not human. I'm not from this world. And my name is not Luz... I'm a basilisk, from the Demon Realm. My name is Number Fi- I mean, Vee. I came here a few months ago. I took Luz's place when it seemed like she was staying in the Demon Realm."
"You ran... away from there?", Masha wonders, not even with a hint of reproach or hostility in her voice.
"I fled. I had no choice.", Vee replies with a small voice, clutching her knees to her chest.
"And... the person who called... Was that the real Luz?", Masha asks, but Vee shakes her head.
"No, she meant she was a friend of hers from some other place called 'Amphibia'. But she knows now that I'm not Luz."
"And Camila? What about her?", Masha continues to ask. Again, Vee shakes her head.
"She thinks that I am her daughter. It would break her heart if she found out the truth."
At that, Masha holds out a hand to Vee.
"Then I'll help you.", they say. Vee widens her eyes.
"What?"
"I will help you keep your secret. No one will know what you are unless you want them to know. And if the 'real' Luz should come back, I will stand by your side."
It takes a few seconds for Vee to fully comprehend what they just told her, still offering their hand. Instead of accepting it, however, Vee lunges forward and hugs them as tightly as she's never hugged anyone before while her tears of joy wet Masha's black dress.