As the third day of the Siege of Newtopia drew to a close, Marcy reflected on everything that's happened.
She never imagined having to fight her friends, but Sasha's rebellion had come unexpectedly. King Andrias had counted on her to retake Newtopia and she did. Yet all of that was for naught now that Sasha is on the loose again.
What made things worse was when Anne declared the end of her friendship with Sasha. Marcy thought their friendship would last forever. Although cracks had started to form, she thought they could still mend their friendship. Now Anne refuses to even consider making up with Sasha. Marcy couldn't imagine carrying on without Sasha in the friend group.
To top it all off Drake had defected to Sasha's side, a move that shocked everyone. Although looking back on it now, Marcy wasn't surprised at all.
Drake had been suspicious of King Andrias since the moment they met. He dragged his feet whenever something involved King Andrias. There were many times she was tempted to tell him the true plan. Unfortunately, King Andrias insisted that Drake be kept in the dark for as long as possible. That decision was starting to backfire on them.
"Marcy..." someone behind her said.
Marcy jumped and quickly swung around her wrist mounted crossbow around to face the intruder. Halfway through her motion, she felt a hand grab her wrist then another on her head. The two hands forced her to the ground and held her in place. She instinctively started to struggle, trying to throw her assailant off.
"You know Marcy, you really need to be more aware of your surroundings." Drake said.
Marcy suddenly remembered Drake was supposed to be here. She stopped struggling. Then he started loosening his grip, allowing her to stand back up.
Marcy's first instinct upon getting up was to hug him. "Drake, you're here. I knew you were coming but I wasn't sure when you'd be here."
Drake embraced her as well. "It's alright Marcy, there's a lot to explain but first, I'm just glad I finally got a chance to talk with you. I've been trying to reach you guys for days."
"What's going on? Why are you guys fighting us?" Marcy asked. She needed to hear the answer from Drake himself.
Drake pushed Marcy out of the embrace. "It's all about King Andrias. Do you remember that photo I gave you? The one with the thing called the core. I found it during Sasha's initial takeover. It was in the basement of the castle, inside a hidden vault." Drake explained.
"You found it inside the castle?" Marcy confirmed.
"Yes and it tried to kill me." Drake answered.
Marcy had to think about that. On one hand, she wanted to believe him. Part of the reason he took drastic measures was because she often ignored his concerns. On the other hand, this was a major revelation, one she wasn't sure she was ready to believe or accept. She needed time to let that sink in.
"Drake, let's get everyone back together. We can talk about this. Please just ask Sasha to call off the fighting." Marcy begged.
"I'm afraid I can't do that." Drake refused.
"Why not?" Marcy wondered.
Drake hesitated for a moment. Marcy wasn't really sure why, but he recovered quickly and gave his answer. "They tried to execute Sasha."
Marcy's eyes widened. She couldn't believe what he just said. "No, they wouldn't!"
"They did." Drake said. "I was there."
Marcy tried to think. This couldn't be true, could it? One of her friends almost died and she played a part in it. She would have been responsible. It would have all been her fault.
Drake continued to speak. "Listen, I have a job to do. I can't be here too long." he pulled out a small firework.
"Wait! King Andrias promised to take us to the other worlds." Marcy suddenly blurted out.
Drake stopped. This was unexpected. "What do you mean by that?"
Marcy could feel the pressure in his curious eyes. "I was hoping to tell you all after we got the box to him but then Sasha started her rebellion, everyone started fighting, and you stole the box. There wasn't any time to tell you."
"What did you do?" Drake asked, wanting her to get on with it.
"I made a deal with King Andrias, I would help him recharge the music box and he'll take us to the other worlds so we can all have amazing adventures together forever." Marcy explained.
Drake stared at her silently. She wasn't really sure what he was thinking but whatever it was, it probably wasn't good. She needed to find a way to convince him this was the right thing.
"We'll never have to split up again. We can all be friends forever. Go on more adventures. A happily ever after available for all of us." Marcy said.
Marcy looked at Drake and all she could see was weariness. "Marcy, I have seen things that will haunt me for the rest of my life. Do you have any idea the things that have happened to me? Do you understand the things I've seen? Do you understand the things I had to do just to survive?"
"But look at how much all of us have grown. I promise it won't be like that again." Marcy argued.
Drake looked down at himself. "During my time in Amphibia, I've had to come to terms with my own mortality multiple times. Nothing can ever prepare you for that moment."
Suddenly a rocket was launched into the air. It created a bright explosion in the air. The besieging toads, the loyalists and the trapped toad soldiers in Newtopia most likely noticed it.
"The guards will be all over this place soon. I better get going." Drake walked towards the edge of the wall. "By the way, nice job spying on us yesterday. You almost got away without me noticing."
Marcy watched Drake leave. She thought he would be excited to go on more adventures. To live out a happily ever after in other worlds. But he rejected that notion. If she couldn't get Drake to agree to it, what chance did she have with Anne and Sasha? There were still a lot of things she kept hidden from him. Things she wasn't sure how he would react to.
Marcy looked at the gates of Newtopia and noticed they were still closed. That was weird, wasn't opening it one of Drake's objectives?
That was when she realized what just happened. Most of the guards were moved to this side of the city expecting Sasha and her army to make a run for the door, but a quick escape was never actually their plan. They've been tricked.
On the other side of Newtopia. The guards at the docks remained at their stations. Their main job was to keep an eye on the market district and keep them inside. Most of the troops were moved out of the area to defend the main gate.
The few guards that were left could see lit torches in the darkness. An entire formation of toads was marching towards their makeshift barricade. This wasn't just some skirmish. The enemy had mobilized their entire force in an effort to take control of the docks.
The docks housed the entire Newtopian navy and was the only safe port in the region. Especially since the besieging army could deny the navy the ability to land and forage outside the walls of Newtopia. Now, there were only a handful of loyalists standing between the navy and its destruction.
Author's Note
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Things are getting real now. It's time for a major clash. I don't know about you, but I'm excited to write the next chapter. We're finally going to see some action.
Also, I have decided to release the prequel story to this book, "Calamity Friendship." If you like Drake and you want to see more of him. Then you'll probably like this as well. It will be published the same day I release this chapter. So if you're reading this, then it's probably already out. Hope you all enjoy it.