Perfection was a thing a lot of people strive for. But in reality? Nothing was perfect. Truly nothing in the entire universe was perfect.
Everyone has their own view of what perfection is. Marcy Wu had her own as well.
And that was if her parents hadn't moved, she got to stay with her best friends, and if Anne Boonchuy was her girlfriend.
That was the reality The Core made just for her. To keep her as their host. To keep her quiet.
While poor Marcy was oblivious to all of the chaos and destruction that her body was being used to create.
"Okay! Okay, I think I see the crown!" Anne exclaimed, frantically mashing the buttons on her game controller.
Marcy nodded. "You gotta time the jump just right! You can do it, babe!"
"Okay, okay..." Anne made humming noises as she impatiently waited for the perfect moment to jump, and then she practically smashed the buttons, and then whooped as her avatar made it, grabbing the crown. "Ha! Suck it, Lord Orpheus, you sore loser!"
Marcy cheered, raising her arms into the air. "You actually did it, Anna-Banana!!! Oh, I'm so proud of you!!!"
"What, did you think I'd mess it up?" Anne joked, leaning in and kissing Marcy on the nose.
Marcy giggled before giving Anne a victory kiss on the cheek. "No, you just never seem interested in the games I showed you before we started dating! I'm just glad you were so excited!"
Anne's face softened, and then she sighed. "I'm still really sorry that Sasha and I dismissed your interests, Mar-Mar. That was... really uncool of us."
Marcy's face softened soon after and she suddenly cuddled up next to Anne as the game's credits began to roll. "But, that's the past. I'm just happy you're finally giving it a try and having fun! I told you two you'd like it!" She giggled.
Anne laughed, and then kissed her on the cheek. "That you did. Ahh, watching Sasha rage quit on that Bendy game was hilarious, though. Her face was so red, I thought she'd forgotten how to breathe!"
Marcy giggled. "She hated Chapter 3 with all her heart because of the side quests. Which, can't blame her too much for that! Speaking of, where is she anyway?"
"Oh! She said that she was with her mom, which..." Anne winced. "Mega oof."
Marcy cringed a bit. "Right. She still hasn't gotten into many details about why they divorced and...to be fair, I can see why."
"Yeah. I mean, Mrs. Waybright is, uh... nice-ish. Just really particular about... well, everything. Even with how certain foods are cooked."
"Daaang. I don't think I even met her that many times, even when Sasha's parents were still together." Marcy said, holding Anne's hand. "Anyway, what do you wanna do now?"
Anne hummed, and then her face lit up. "Oh, I know!"
Then, she got up, grabbing her socks and shoes. "Come on! I just remembered something that I wanted to show you!"
Marcy's eyes quickly shined with curiosity as she got to her feet, grabbing her own socks and shoes and following her girlfriend out of her room.
Marcy's parents were cooking dinner in the kitchen, and when Anne and Marcy walked downstairs, Marcy's father looked up, raising an eyebrow. "Where are you two going?"
"Oh! Anne wants to show me something!" Marcy said with a somewhat nervous smile, since her father wasn't always too keen on Marcy randomly going out, even if it was just to hang out with Anne.
Normally, whenever she'd ask for something, he'd always say no. It always depended on what she was asking for. Games, figurines, and movies weren't very 'important' to her father.
"Mmm..."
"Don't worry, Mr. Wu," Anne said, gently holding Marcy's hand. "We'll only be out for like, fifteen minutes, even if that long. We'll be back before you finish cooking!"
Marcy's father's hesitant look suddenly softened, and then he sighed. "Fine, fine. Just be careful, okay?"
Marcy's eyes widened. "Wait...huh?" She asked before she and Anne suddenly began walking away, almost as if they were on autopilot.
"Thanks, Mr. Wu!" Anne called, looking excited as she led Marcy out of the front door.
But... Marcy couldn't stop thinking about her father's response. Her father was usually strict, and he wouldn't be persuaded so easily, even if it was Anne, his daughter's best friend turned girlfriend, talking to him.
It confused Marcy. She recalled asking her father to hang out with Anne or Sasha or both before and he'd either say no or give her a specific amount of time she could be with them before she'd have to return home.
But, now...
Marcy snapped out of it. Maybe her father was just being nice since he saw how happy the two were. Yeah, that had to be it.
Anne looked at her, noticing that she'd gone quiet. "Mar-Mar? You okay?"
Marcy turned to her. "Oh, yeah! I'm fine! What did you wanna show me?"
Anne's lips lifted into a smile again, and then she led her to what looked like an abandoned building, which looked like it hadn't been used for whatever purpose it once had, for a few months, now.
Marcy tilted her head a little bit. "What's this place...?"
Anne beamed at her as she let go of Marcy's hand and then climbed up the fire escape. "Come on, and I'll show you!"
Marcy seemed a tad bit afraid of the height, but did follow Anne, her curiosity overtaking her small fear.
Anne held her hand, and then she walked up to a rusty old door, and then opened it with surprising ease. "Welcome... to the Marcanne Cave!"
Marcy gasped at the name and her eyes even went starry at the sight of what she saw behind the door.
The once dirty room had been thoroughly cleaned, lit up by glow-in-the-dark star shaped stickers on the ceiling and fairy lights on the walls. Bean bag chairs and pillows were everywhere, with a TV set and a game console hooked up to a power generator on the wall opposite the fairy lights, with a bookshelf full of books and movie DVDs, and it was then that Marcy noticed a DVD player laying on top of the TV set.
Marcy was dead silent for a moment as she took in every last detail of the 'Marcanne Cave'...before she squealed. "I love it...! I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it!!!"
She then grabbed Anne and quickly kissed her face over and over again.
Anne giggled happily, lightly squirming. "Mar-Mar, that tickles!"
Marcy then stopped, still smiling wide. "Oh, I don't even know how you did all of this! I love you so much!!!" She exclaimed before running into their new little lair, squealing more and more.
She looked so happy.
Anne beamed, but, unbeknownst to Marcy, a sheen of orange crossed the Thai girl's brown eyes, before she walked over. "My dad helped with the bookshelf and the generator. An old friend owed him a favor."
Marcy only seemed to smile more as she faced her girlfriend. "You did all of this...for me? For us?"
"Of course I did, Marcy. I figured if we wanted a little girlfriend time, we could have our own hangout place, you know?"
Marcy nodded before she went over and hugged Anne tightly. "And I love it...and I love you."
Meanwhile...
Darcy's eyes snapped open as her new armor was added onto her body. One where their connection cord was no longer attached to the castle. They could finally step out of this place without a care in the world.
The Core had been aching to conquer with their own hands.
And put their new weapon to use.
Anne walked over, her innocent face reflecting her concern. "Are... are you sure that you don't need the cable attached to this place anymore, Marcy? Are you sure that you don't need more time for your wound to heal...?"
Darcy giggled and placed her hand under Anne's chin. "Oh, Anne. I know what I'm doing. I promise. Besides! I wanna get outta this place once in a while!"
Anne looked like she wanted to protest, but she gave Darcy a once over, and then sighed. "Okay... okay... sorry. Just... you looked like you couldn't even stand without that cable. I-I just don't want you to overwhelm yourself."
Darcy's orange eyes suddenly narrowed and she stepped over, placing her hands on Anne's shoulders. "Anne. Are you doubting me?"
Anne's purple eyes widened and she quickly shook her head. "No, no! I... I'm just worried..."
Darcy's eyes started to lightly glow, having the collar take effect. "And you don't need to be worried about anything, Anne. I have everything and everyone under control. Everything is going to be fine...so, hush those pretty lips. Alright? And just...trust me."
A glazed over look took over Anne's purple eyes, which glowed for a moment, before her muscles relaxed, and then she smiled, nodding. "Right... right..."
"There we go!" Darcy smiled before she cupped her cheeks and briefly kissed her lips. "That's my girl..."
Anne smiled and then pecked Darcy back on the lips, looking more relaxed. "Sorry, I... I don't know what I was so worried about."
Darcy giggled. "You were always a bit paranoid...although...there is something we should be worried about. I saw what you did back there. With Wally, Maddie, and that strange swordsman...they're part of that little Resistance...and if they got past our defenses once, who's to say they won't do it again?"
Anne's eyes widened and her body tensed. "Crud, you're right... I didn't even think about that..." She then growled, purple eyes glowing a little bit. "I'll have to talk to Andrias..."
Darcy smirked a bit when Anne couldn't see before turning to her. "Not yet...what are we going to do about The Plantars? With you gone, Sasha could've easily chosen one of them to help her lead...they've betrayed you, Anne. How will we get back at them together?"
Anne's purple eyes glowed a bit, but then she shook her head, looking conflicted. "I... I don't know, yet... I-I mean, Hop- er, Hopediah, betrayed me before, so I guess I'm not surprised, but... Sprig and Polly..."
"Put you in danger just as many times. Polly wanting to be more than a simple tadpole and Sprig just wanting endless adventures without caring about your safety...I recall they only kept you around because you did something for them. You were useful like how Sasha saw you. She kept you around for a purpose and nothing more." Darcy said, once again using the collar's effects. "And hearing about my girlfriend getting hurt thanks to them doesn't make me happy...they're rotten and spoiled brats raised by a psychotic old man..."
She walked behind Anne, gently putting her hands on her shoulders. "Perhaps...because of their journeys and mindless adventures...I'm like this. Even though we can portal our way home...I'll never be accepted again by anyone other than you..."
"I..." Anne whispered, her eyes glowing more, and she tried to recall happier memories with the Plantars, because something told her that Marcy wasn't completely right... but... why would Marcy lead her astray?
Marcy wouldn't lie to her.
"All you need is me, Anne." Darcy whispered, now gently hugging her from behind. "They hurt you. Sasha hurt you. That wretched town hurt you...but I will never hurt you." She told her, the orange eyes of her helmet glowing even brighter.
Anne's purple eyes glowed brighter, until a sheen of orange crossed the violet in her eyes. Suddenly, her chest swelled with a dark, sharp feeling. She couldn't quite name it, but...
"You're right." Anne whispered, gently squeezing Darcy's hand. "I... I guess they didn't care as much as I thought they did."
Her voice cracked, and tears stung at her eyes. First Sasha... and now the Plantars. The people she'd loved so much have hurt her girlfriend. They have hurt her.
Even Sprig. The person who she'd loved as a younger brother.
All of them were...were traitors.
Darcy nuzzled Anne, wiping away her tears. "But I'm here for you...I always will be."
Anne smiled weakly, and then nuzzled back, gently kissing her on the cheek. "Thank you, baby... I just need to talk to Andrias about doubling our defenses."
Darcy smiled and then let go of Anne. "Go on then. Talk to Andrias. I'll wait for you in the Throne Room."
"Of course," Anne said with a smile, and then she walked off.
When she was out of her girlfriend's sight, Anne's smile fell, as she recalled what Andrias told her about being betrayed by one of his own friends.
She wasn't actually going to talk to Andrias about doubling the defenses...or rather, she was gonna briefly mention it. She just needed someone else to talk too to get this betrayal off her mind.
She didn't want Marcy to get worried if she saw her crying.
Anne felt oddly numb as she walked to where Andrias was, his words, from what felt like a lifetime ago now, constantly ringing in her head.
'That's the thing about friends, isn't it? The more you love them, the more it hurts when they go.'
Had he been right? Could she even trust anyone besides Marcy? Heck, all of Wartwood treated her like crap before she earned their respect. Anne felt like her mind was flooded with confusion, torn between wants and hopes and everything in between. She felt as if her own mind was one of those Rubix cubes Marcy used to play with.
But then? A voice spoke.
"What's got you so down?" Andrias asked through his cell.
Anne blinked, looking a little startled, before she looked at him. "I... I want you to double up our defenses... we can't have more intruders breaking into the castle."
Andrias hummed. "Very well."
Anne should have turned around. She should be going back to Marcy.
But, the betrayal burning in her heart was too much.
"You were right."
Andrias' eyes widened and he turned. "Right? About what?"
"About friends," she told him, chuckling bitterly. Her sky blue eyes shone with tears as she looked at him. "The more you love them, the more it hurts when they go."
Andrias was silent at that for a moment, realizing The Core had told her another lie. He sighed. "...yes. I am right about that, I suppose...but you have to look at one thing. The reason they go."
Anne was silent at that. "Why did yours leave you, then?"
Andrias chuckled weakly. "I didn't realize it for a thousand years, Boonchuy...but it was because of me. I wasn't listening to them and things just got out of hand. To the point where they had to leave me. Instead of understanding, I was angry...like how you are now."
"I... I guess we do have more in common than I thought," Anne laughed, feeling a few tears escaping her eyes. "Maybe it is time I say goodbye to those friends of mine."
Andrias could've sworn he heard his father speaking alongside Anne's voice and it made him go silent. "...remember what I said, Anne. There's always a reason they go, even if it's not a good one." He said.
He knew The Core would just brainwash her again if he told her the truth. He wanted to help her.
But what was the use? The only hope they had was The Resistance...or perhaps The Prophecy, if it could only be completed with one.
But... maybe he could be her friend. Anne was vulnerable right now, and Andrias knew that Darcy wouldn't comfort her, that they weren't even capable of offering her the comfort that he had needed, when Barrel and Leif left. When he pushed them away.
"You can always talk to me," Andrias offered, without thinking.
Anne stared at him, her purple eyes wide.
"I know that I hurt Marcy, and I don't deserve forgiveness," he said, looking at the floor, before his eyes landed on her purple ones again. "But, I know what you're feeling right now, Anne. More than anyone right now."
Anne's eyes slowly watered, and her knees gave out. Andrias managed to squeeze his arm through the bars to catch her before she could fall to the floor.
Anne sniffled, and then buried her face into his hand. "...D-don't tell Marcy..."
"I won't. I promise."
Anne's shoulders shook, and Andrias Leviathan listened to Anne cry in the palm of his hand, giving her the comfort he wished that he'd gotten a thousand years ago.