(This was a collaboration between me and my good friend, Fiona_Callie_Afton!
Prepare for angst!)
Anne Boonchuy. She was just an ordinary girl stuck in another dimension and trying to get home...at least, that's how it started.
Now? She was stuck in a war for both Amphibia and Earth. And if this war was lost, so many other worlds would fall to the same fate.
But, there was only so much a thirteen year-old could handle mentally.
Three stars burning bright,
Have come to expel the Night.
But, only in darkness, can a star burn bright.
What is a star to do when she's lost her light?
Anne gasped as her eyes snapped open, and she flung her upper body upwards, her chest heaving and her heart pounding so fast that she almost felt sick.
Not fully awake, her mind still muddled with the haze of sleep and vague recollections pulling at the edges of her mind, she looked around, her once brown turned blue eyes taking in the room that she didn't remember sleeping in.
But then? A voice suddenly spoke. The voice was distorted, with a deep and high pitched voice speaking all at once. "Good evening, sleeping beauty~"
That voice. Why did it sound so familiar, yet not familiar at all? It wasn't a robot. It couldn't have been. It had genuine emotion in the way it spoke.
She looked around the room, seeing all kinds of strange...banners? It looked like a crown, but with the centerpiece of it being an orange eye.
Orange eye...why did that sound familiar? It shouldn't have been.
Anne's heart picked up its pace, uneasiness crawling into her skin like a disease. Something felt...wrong. She couldn't quite put her finger on it; but something deep inside of her told her that this wasn't right.
Wait...where's Sasha? she realized, the dread growing tenfold as she looked around in a desperate search for her best friend. She couldn't put all of the pieces together yet, but she recalled a distant memory of Sasha telling her that they needed to infiltrate some kind of factory and destroy its systems, putting an end to a quarter of Andrias' robot army- but after that, the rest of her memories were practically an incoherent blur.
"You know, it's rude to ignore us." The voice said again, with another giggle. Whoever it was, they seemed amused.
Anne stumbled over her words for a moment, her tongue feeling like lead, before she managed to get a full sentence out. "Who are you?"
The voice made a fake and dramatic gasp...before the deep part of its voice disappeared, only leaving the normal part. "Anna-Banana...how could you not recognize your own best friend?"
Anne's blue eyes widened and her heart skipped several beats. It almost sounded too good to be true; for all but a moment, she almost thought that she was either dreaming, or that she was seeing and hearing things again, like when she had gone hunting with the Plantars that one time.
"M...Marcy...?" Her voice was nothing but a soft whisper, and even then, it seemed to be loud. So, so loud.
The deep distortion returned to the mysterious one's voice and steps were heard seconds later. Then, out of the shadows walked out...a human. A human girl around Anne's age...but, she definitely didn't look the part.
She wore dark armor with gauntlets, a chestplate with a glowing orange eye right at where her heart would be, and even boots that caused a metal clank whenever she stepped. She wore a long black and crimson cape, which draped onto the floor. And finally, yet most terrifyingly of all?
She wore a helmet of some kind. The helmet hid all but the girl's mouth, showing she was a human to begin with. The helmet had strange axolotl shaped horns poking out of the sides, almost looking razor sharp. The helmet seemed blank...before ten glowing orange eyes all opened up, their yellow pupils staring down Anne, almost as if peering into her very soul.
The girl giggled, speaking in Marcy's voice again. It was only after she spoke did Anne start to see some of her friend's features on the girl. "Who else would it be, Anna-Banana?" The girl said, presenting herself.
Anne got off of the luxurious bed she'd been lying in, watching the girl with wide eyes. Was she hallucinating? Had she finally gone crazy, for good this time? It couldn't have been Marcy; the girl's many eyes had a sinister gleam; the armor was something that Marcy would never, ever wear because she preferred the look of a hero more than a villainous look.
She stepped closer to the girl, her eyes unmoving from the strange creature in front of her. The girl didn't look at all bothered by Anne's behavior; in fact, she seemed to be...sympathetic, and simultaneously fond of her.
Anne reached out, let her fingers brush against the front of the girl's armor.
Solid.
Anne didn't hesitate. She threw herself forward, clinging tightly onto the person she'd thought that she had lost forever. She didn't think about the eyes, or the unusual choice of armor wear.
"Marcy," she rasped, only then realizing how dry her mouth was; but she didn't care. "Marcy, Marcy-"
'Marcy' suddenly hugged back and her voice was soft...the deep distortion was still there, but to Anne? Just to hear Marcy's voice say something other than those heartbreaking last words was a miracle and a blessing. "Shhh...I'm here, Anne. Shhh...take deep breaths, okay? Then just let everything out."
Anne had promised herself that, no matter what happened, she wouldn't cry. There was no time for letting her emotions get the best of her during a literal war, after all. But, when she had Marcy back in her arms, the mental dam she'd put up to keep her tears at bay finally broke, and the tears went through the floodgates and streamed down her cheeks.
She sobbed, hugging Marcy tightly, burying her face into her shoulder.
"Sasha was right," Anne sobbed, voice muffled by Marcy's armor. "You're alive. You're- you're-"
"I'm alive." Marcy or rather, Darcy, told her in a soothing voice. She rubbed Anne's back. "I-I've gone through changes...but I'm alive. Oh, Anne...I'm so sorr-"
"I-I don't care about that anymore," Anne told her, her fingers clutching the girl's armor tighter; so tightly that it was for sure going to leave bruises once she let go. "I-I'm not happy with wh-what you did, but... frog, I missed you. I...I-I left a letter to b-both you and Sasha's parents, a-at Christmas. Th-they probably know what happened b-by now-"
"Y...You left a letter for them..." Darcy said, looking into Anne's eyes with her orange ones. "T-Thank frog...Anne, you're a saint." She whispered, hugging her again. "I-I missed you too...I-I've been having to hide here...w-wearing this armor just to live...but I don't care about any of that! Y-You're here with me!"
Anne just about choked on air, feeling as if all of the heat had been sucked from her blood. She took another look at her friend's armor; a much more thorough look, this time.
"Y...you..." she whispered, feeling as if she was going to be sick. "You have to wear this?"
Darcy's multiple eyes softened and she nodded. "I-I do...it's all a blur...I remember creating the portal, telling you that I needed to do something...and then I felt this...pain in my chest. Everything became so blurry...so cold...so dark." She whispered with a whimper, hugging herself now. "I-I hate the dark...but I-I woke up in this suit, and this h-helmet...I-I'm too scared to t-take it off..."
She then held Anne's hands. "P-Please...d-don't leave me in t-the dark again...i-it's so cold...!" She whimpered.
Anne felt as if every sword, every arrow and every other sharp-edged object in the entire world had decided to stab at her heart all at the same time. Her knees nearly gave out when the realization fully dawned on her.
"You...you can't leave Amphibia," she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks once more.
Darcy was silent, sniffling suddenly and nodding. "I-I can never leave this world...e-everyone will s-see me as a freak...I-I can't take off this suit..." She said, sounding like she was about to cry. She tried to hold back her tears. "I-I w-wanna go home...b-but they will put me back in the dark...t-they'll be scared of me...d-don't leave me." She suddenly said, trembling.
She hugged Anne, beginning to finally cry. "D-Don't leave m-me again...don't put me back in the dark!"
Anne felt like the world had gone and crashed around her again. Seeing Marcy getting stabbed by Andrias was painful- one of the most terrifying and haunting things she'd ever experienced in her thirteen years of life... but this?
Andrias.
Andrias.
He- he did this. He did this to Marcy. Sweet, kindhearted, beautiful Marcy; the girl who trusted him, the girl who thought that he'd bring the three of them along more adventures in other worlds just like they did in Amphibia.
Because of him, Marcy had a near-death experience. Because of him, Marcy had to stay in the dark for who knows how long.
Because of Andrias, Marcy can't take this suit off, or else she'd most likely die. Anne thought.
Something bitter bit at her chest. Her grief abruptly turned into something else, something poisonous and dark and angry, and she didn't know why. Knew only that her hands were balling into fists, and she suddenly saw nothing but blue.
"...A-Anne...please...s-say something...!" Darcy whimpered.
Anne opened her mouth, and when she did, she almost couldn't recognize her own voice.
"Where is Andrias?"
Darcy whimpered a little. "...i-in the throne room..." She said before watching their hug break. She watched Anne begin to step out, glowing a bright blue. She followed...but with Anne being blinded by rage?
She couldn't see Darcy's sinister grin. The fool had fallen right for it.
Darcy's tenth eye then closed, as she psychically linked with Andrias. 'Heart is awake...and she is angry. Everything is going to plan, so? Prepare yourself, son. Don't disappoint me.'
'I won't.' Andrias replied, and Darcy could just taste his determination to not let her- no, not let his father down. That age-old desire to make his father proud and redeem himself for what his 'friend' had done so long ago. 'Do you want me to kill her?'
'No. Heart will prove useful to us...besides. Even with that memory wipe, Marcy STILL has feelings for her, and if we let that get out of control, we'll have a risk. We aren't going to accept that.' Darcy said with another grin. 'Lose to her. We will handle the rest...just prepare for our queen's arrival.'
'Yes, my lord.' Darcy could sense a twinge of curiosity within Andrias' mind, but the old king had decided to put it in the back of his mind for now, most likely planning to ask her about the 'queen' comment later.
And that's when they made it to the throne room. Darcy took a step back, ready to hear Anne's declaration or action of vengeance against Andrias. And of course, their fight.
It would be entertainment.
Anne wasn't even at full power, yet Darcy could taste how powerful she was. Her being one of the 'Three Stars' would prove useful to her.
Burning blue eyes landed on the large newt, full of malicious hatred and untold rage. Anne stood there, and Andrias stared back; having lifted his head up the moment the two had swung the door open.
The edges of Andrias' lips curved into a smirk, taking in the glowing human who looked ready to rip him apart, slowly and painfully.
"Well," he said lightly, standing up from his throne, and stepped forward, his large tail being dragged behind him, "I suppose my 'cloak' robot failed to kill you, Anne."
He reached into his holster, and unsheathed his sword, which lit up in flames as if obeying a silent command.
"You know what they say," Andrias said, an evil gleam in his eyes. "You want something done right... you have to do it yourself."
Anne stared at him for a moment longer, before she spoke, the words almost mindlessly spilling out of her mouth.
"You ruined Marcy's life. I will kill you."
And then they lunged at each other, human and newt alike, one using a sword made of flames, while the other burned brighter than even the largest star, with the fury of a thousand suns.
It was almost a blur for Darcy; watching a blue flame zooming around the newt king and beating him to a pulp. Andrias could hardly land a bit.
Good thing Darcy had some powers of her own. But? This was certainly entertaining.
Anne screamed as she suddenly punched Andrias in the chest, the impact being so powerful that Andrias' armor actually cracked and the flaming sword came flying out of his hands.
Andrias cried out, falling and crashing against his throne.
Anne only seemed to glow brighter, so much hatred and rage flowing through her. It was poisonous, deadly, and yet, so... so empowering.
She then lunged at Andrias, zooming as fast as lightning and punching him in the face again and again with her great strength. And with every punch, she was pouring all of her anger and all of her vengeance. All of her need to beat this king into the ground. And with her rage? She might kill him.
Andrias cried out in pain, but stood strong, despite not being able to fight back.
And Darcy saw this as her time to step in. Andrias was beaten.
Anne's burning blue eyes bore holes into Andrias' battered form: bruises marred royal blue skin, dark splotches of black and red and purple. Crimson blood dripped from his open wounds like thick water, and his left eye was swollen shut; but the rage was still lingering. However, her attention was caught by the sound of footsteps.
Darcy took a few steps forward, grinning wide before she spoke and took on Marcy's role again. "A...Anne...!"
Anne's blue eyes widened, and just like that, all of her rage and hatred vanished. The blue glow faded from her eyes and hair; returning back to her true self, though her blue eyes still remained; a side effect from the deadly power within her.
"M...Marcy...?"
Darcy stepped closer, trembling a little bit. "P...Please stop...y-you're s-scaring me...!"
Anne's eyes widened and she looked down at her hands. The horrible truth washed over her like cold water, and the burning fire that was her rage was replaced with the cold, freezing terror that came with the realization.
I was going to kill Andrias.
Anne's knees gave out from under her, and then she burst into tears, slowly collapsing to the floor completely as she cried.
A familiar numbness began creeping into the edges of her mind, slowly enveloping her body and tingling her fingertips. She remembered this sensation. It first came to her when she saw Marcy get stabbed. It helped her cope. It helped her forget.
She wanted to suppress it all again. She wanted to forget.
But...Marcy...
"...A-Anne...?" Darcy suddenly asked, snapping her out of her 'terror' as she stepped forward. "A-Anne, I didn't mean it! Y-You were just going overboard! I-I'm so sorry!" She cried, now rushing over and sliding on her knees, now right beside Anne.
Anne quickly shook her head, and slowly sat up, despite how exhausted she felt.
"N-no," she whispered, shaking her head. "No, no, Mar-Mar. It- it's a g-good thing that you stopped me. I... I could have..."
Anne's eyes welled up with tears, and she began sobbing. She was going to kill someone. Yes, Andrias ruined Marcy's life and was the reason why Amphibia was in ruin, but, despite all of that, Andrias was a living, breathing being. All of the citizens of Amphibia were.
Frog, what would the Plantars think of her? All of Wartwood, no less?
But then, Darcy suddenly...hugged her. But why? She nearly killed someone, and now Marcy was forgiving her, like she wasn't an out of control monster?
"I-I could have killed him," Anne sobbed, not returning the hug, yet. "W-why are y-you-? I-I'm a- a-a-"
"Y-You're not a monster...!" Darcy cried, sniffling. "Y-You were just mad...I-I wouldn't be hugging you if you were a monster...I w-wouldn't love you if you were a monster!!!"
Wait...love...? Did she just say...she loved her...?
Anne's breath hitched, her heart skipping several beats. Was she dreaming? "W...what...?"
Darcy's eyes widened a bit, and Anne could see a small glimpse of a blush under Darcy's helmet. "I-I...I-I didn't wanna t-t-tell you l-like t-this! I-I'm sorry, I-I'll-"
She stood up to leave, but Anne reached out to gently grab her wrist, instead. Darcy looked down at her, seeing that Anne's face was drenched in tears; but her cheeks were a bright shade of red, which Marcy, had she been fully aware of what was going on, would have found adorable.
"A-Anne...?" Darcy whispered, trying to make sure she looked embarrassed as she looked into Anne's eyes.
Anne's blue eyes were full of a strange intensity, as if they were burning bright again, but in an entirely different way. For the first time in a very long time, Anne's lips twitched into a true, genuine smile.
"I...I love you, too, Mar-Mar," she whispered, her cheeks still red, looking up at her with a shy little smile. "I- I a-always have..."
Darcy's eyes went wide...and a small smile began to form across her lips, the smile itself growing and growing. "R...Really? Y-You really...r-really love me...? M-me? The nerdy and c-clumsy girl who c-can barely look people in the eye...and n-now some kind of freak with horns...?"
Anne's blue eyes softened and she stood up, looking at her with something that would always steal Marcy's breath away; pure, raw adoration. She looked positively, absolutely in love with her.
"You're not a freak, Marcy." Anne whispered, her voice soft. "You're intelligent, kind, and one of the sweetest people I've ever known. I've been in love with you for as long as I can possibly remember."
Andrias cringed and looked away, muttering, "Oh, frog, here we go," under his breath.
Darcy pretended to be speechless, her eyes tearing up before she hugged Anne tightly, holding her closer to her than their last embrace.
Anne's cheeks turned red, and she slowly returned the hug, wrapping her arms around Marcy tightly, feeling her heart fluttering. She felt comforted by her presence, by the fact that the arms of the girl she loved was wrapped around her, letting her know that this was, indeed, real. She had her Mar-Mar back with her, at long last.
Darcy smiled wider and then parted the hug. She took Anne's hand, taking her away from the throne room. "I-I love you, Anne..."
'Ready the collar, Andrias. This is getting fun for us.' Darcy told her servant with an inner smirk.
'Yes, my lord.' Andrias replied, grunting as he struggled to his feet, cursing under his breath as he walked away, planning to take care of his wounds first before getting the collar, not wanting to make any mistakes.
Darcy then took both herself and Anne back to the room they were in. She then noticed something about Anne, seeing how exhausted she was. It's likely all of this was getting to her and using her powers while in such a rageful and angry state drained her. Like the recordings she had seen of Anne actually using her powers through the castle's databases.
"Anne...you're exhausted." Darcy whispered, sitting her down gently. "You should get some rest."
Anne blinked, and then looked at her, looking apprehensive. "Wh...what about...Andrias...?"
Darcy chuckled. "I don't think he'll be getting up anytime soon. And besides, this suit gives me access to a lot of things in the castle. We'll be just fine." She said, knowing Anne was far too exhausted emotionally and physically to question this, as Marcy would say, 'plot hole'.
Anne looked like she wanted to protest, but the physical and mental exhaustion was wearing her down. Her eyes were glazed over, constantly drooping as she began laying down. "D-don'...l-leave..." She slurred.
Darcy's eyes softened before she put the blankets over Anne. "I won't...I'll be right here when you wake up." She smiled before getting an idea.
Marcy was Taiwanese, and having her memories, she knew Mandarin AKA Chinese. Maybe she could use that to calm her down.
Darcy began singing a gentle tune, making sure Anne was relaxed enough to fall asleep. "~Nǐ shì wǒ de yángguāng. Wǒ wéiyī de yángguāng. Dàng tiānkōng huī'àn shí, nǐ ràng wǒ kuàilè. Nǐ yǒngyuǎn bù zhīdào, qīn'ài de, wǒ yǒu duō ài nǐ. Qǐng bùyào dài zǒu wǒ de yángguāng~"
Anne smiled absentmindedly at the song, her eyelids finally crashing down, and within moments, she was asleep, snoring softly.
Darcy then smirked, lightly stroking Anne's cheek before walking away. "Rest well, Heart...we have much to do tomorrow..."