Some Time Ago
Marcy and Luz huddled close to Marcy's phone, trying to watch the movie on it. Because it was so small, the two had to sit very close to each other. Luz inched her face close to the screen and was practically on the edge of her seat. The movie had reached the point where the two armies stood across from each other right before the final battle.
"Your puny resistance stands no chance against my undead horde!" proclaimed the Lich King.
"I know what you're thinking," said Marcy suddenly. "The resistance stands no chance against the Lich King's undead horde."
"Yeah, but this battle is only a distraction, isn't it?" asked Luz.
"Wait, I thought you hadn't seen this movie before?" asked Marcy.
"I haven't, but I just have a hunch," answered Luz.
"Oh, well, you may have seen that coming, but I wonder if you'll guess the second twist," said Marcy
"Marcy, spoilers! Don't tell me anything," said Luz, continuing to watch the movie.
"Ah, right, sorry," said Marcy. She looked at the phone intently. "Oh, here comes my favorite part!"
They leaned in close so they could watch the scene.
"You'll never defeat us, Lich King!" said the hero. "Not while we have the power of friendship."
And with that, the battle had begun! The forces of good clashed with the undead army as they did their best to provide a distraction. As the battle went on, Marcy looked at Luz.
"You're actually awake," she said, somewhat sadly.
"Huh, of course I am," answered Luz. "This is a great movie, though it is rather long. I think we've stayed up pretty late to watch it, haven't we?"
"Yeah, we have," said Marcy, "but I promise it's worth it."
"I've got to say, so far, it's living up to the hype," said Luz. "I am starting to get sleepy, but we're almost at the end, right? I think I can make it 'till then."
"I'm sorry, I only have it on my phone," said Marcy.
"Nah, that's fine," said Luz. "Oh, oh, what's this? A new scene away from the battle? This must be that distraction."
Her smile widened as she gazed at the screen. Marcy's smile also widened after seeing Luz enjoy the movie with her.
"That was AWESOME!" said Luz, jumping up from her seat as the movie ended. "You were right; I had no idea what was going to happen at the end! That was so emotional."
"I know, right?" said Marcy. "Their captured friend had accidentally put the cursed helm on to try and help them but he wasn't able to resist the corruption of the helm. It was so heartbreaking watching his friends have to fight him. I've seen this movie so many times but I still get choked up at that moment."
"When they all reunited, that was so satisfying," said Luz. "Wow, I can see why you like this movie so much!"
"You can?" said Marcy, a little surprised.
"Of course," answered Luz. "I wish I had seen it while it was still in theaters, but hey, maybe there'll be a special screening and we can see it then."
"I'd love that," replied Marcy.
"Hey, how did you even get a copy of that movie onto your phone?" asked Luz.
"Oh, well, I… uh… recorded it off of streaming," replied Marcy, with a bit of a guilty twitch. "It's not that hard to do; you just need some form of screen-capturing software. I've actually started doing that to certain shows and movies I like so that I have an offline version of them."
"That's clever, Marcy," said Luz. "And don't worry, I won't report you to anyone. Trust me, with the way some streaming services are just taking certain shows off for no reason, I have no problem with you recording them so that you have a copy."
"Yeah, it's really stupid how some companies are just removing shows from their catalog. I wanted to watch that show about the train that traveled forever, or the one about the mysterious garden but they took those off, so now I can't see them," complained Marcy.
Luz let out a big yawn. "Well, we did stay up pretty late, and now I am tired. I think it's time we got to bed."
"We do have a big day tomorrow," said Marcy. "We're heading to Newtopia—"
"-and after that, hopefully home," said Luz. "I can't wait to see Mama. She must be so worried."
"You really miss your mom, don't you?" said Marcy with a twinge of guilt.
"I can't imagine what she's going through. She must be so worried about me, especially since it's just us," said Luz.
As she said that, Marcy realized something. In all the time she'd known Luz, she had never talked about her dad. For a second, Marcy thought about asking but decided not to, thinking it was likely a sensitive subject if Luz hadn't brought it up herself.
"Hey, Luz," began Marcy, "do you think your mom would be cool if you told her you wanted to go on another adventure to a different world?"
"What? I… I don't know, but I mean, I doubt it," answered Luz. "After I tell her everything that happened here, she'll probably forbid me from ever going to the store on my own."
"But… well, if she said yes, would you be up for it?" asked Marcy.
Luz looked hard at Marcy before answering, "You know, there is a part of me that wishes Mom would actually come on an adventure with me, but she's not really into that kind of stuff. Sometimes, I wonder if I have anything in common with her at all."
"I feel the same way sometimes," admitted Marcy, "neither of my parents are into fantasy stuff, they don't understand why I love it so much. They think I'm wasting my time with it, like with that fantasy summer camp I wanted to go to."
Luz paused before saying, "You mean the one you asked your parents about that time I was over at your house?"
"Yeah, that one," said Marcy.
"That didn't seem fair to me," said Luz, "Even though you've been doing so well in school, they still said you couldn't go."
"I thought if I showed them how smart I was they'd finally give me a break," said Marcy in a dejected tone, "but even though I got straight As they still wanted me to do extra tutoring courses over the summer."
"That sucks," said Luz plainly.
"Yeah, I was super bummed about it too," replied Marcy. "I guess, in a way, this adventure ended up being a good replacement for that."
"Still, if you could convince your parents to let you go to that camp in the future, I'd still be down to join you," said Luz.
"Really?" asked Marcy.
"Yeah, of course," said Luz, before letting out another long yawn. "It really is getting late."
"Thank you so much for sharing this movie with me, Mar Mar," said Luz as she came forward and hugged Marcy. "I had such a good time watching it with you!"
"Thank you for staying up and watching it with me," replied Marcy as she hugged Luz back, "You have no idea how much that means to me."
With that, the two girls got ready for bed inside the fwagon. Luz got into the bottom bunk and immediately fell asleep. Marcy was about to climb up to her bunk but looked into Luz's sleeping face, letting out a sigh as she did.
"It's not fair," she said out loud. "I only just met you, Luz, and now I have to move away. You were the only one who shared my interests. I liked hanging around with you so much. You were like a sister to me."
Marcy came over to the side of the bed, staring into Luz's face. "I know I didn't end up asking you guys about going on more adventures, but that's because I was scared you'd say no. If we end up going home, then… I'll have to leave you, Anne, and Sasha. I'll have to move away, and I'll miss you guys a lot, though honestly, I'll miss you the most."
She brought up the blankets to cover Luz, taking care to tuck her in. She brought her hand up to Luz's head and gently stroked her hair, staying by Luz's side for a long time before finally climbing up to the top bunk and going to sleep herself.
Present Day
Lady Olivia looked out at the land that had once surrounded Newtopia. In only a few months, it had been transformed from a pristine land of nature and wildlife into a polluted wasteland of heavy industry. Before, there were grand trees that stretched up into the sky, rivers that flowed and formed a network that led back to the capital city, and creatures of all shapes and sizes. All of that was gone, now replaced by factories that mercilessly dug through the land in an attempt to harvest its resources. Robots that had been repurposed to serve as construction vehicles helped to clear away the trees and shrubs, leaving nothing in their wake. Olivia continued to look out over this senseless destruction and let out a heavy sigh as she did. She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice a frobot come up and speak to her.
"Lady Olivia," it began in its heavily synthesized voice, "you have been summoned by the King."
Olivia gulped nervously but made her way to the throne room. Someone was already there, leaning up against the wall. As she got closer, she recognized the figure of General Yunan.
"Oh, hey, the King summoned you too?" said Yunan. "Do you know what this is about?"
"No, and it's been months since Anne, Luz, and the Plantars disappeared," said Olivia.
"I haven't seen the King once in all that time," said Yunan, "but I did see something strange. I saw a frobot carrying what looked like more humans into the dungeon. I think they were humans anyway, but something looked different about their ears."
"They are not humans," said a new voice. Olivia and Yunan turned around to see two more figures approaching the throne room—Alister and Odalys Light.
"What you saw was the first step towards making our species even greater!" said Odalys in a proud voice.
"I thought our species was already great?" asked Yunan in confusion.
"Oh, Yunan, while it is true the newts are already superior, soon we will be even more superior!" exclaimed Odalys.
Yunan gave her a confused look.
"And, uh, how exactly do you propose to do that?" asked Olivia skeptically.
"Well, perhaps your question will be answered after the demonstration," answered Odalys.
"Demonstration?" asked Yunan. She looked down the hall and saw two more figures walking down it. This time, it was a frobot who was leading one of the captured toads from the rebellion to the door. The toad was still in chains, and his face had a grim, sullen look on it.
"We have an audience with the King as well," said Alister as the frobot and the toad came up to where the rest of the newts were. "I hope this demonstration will prove… enlightening."
A moment later, the doors to the throne room opened, and the King greeted everyone warmly.
"Ah, good to see you all," he said in an upbeat voice. "Come in. Come."
The newts entered the room, as did the frobot and the toad.
"Let's start with Odalys and Alister. I'm eager to see what they've been working on," said the King.
Odalys cleared her throat before motioning for the toad to step forward. The frobot roughly pushed him.
"As you are aware, we've been working 'round the clock, studying those witch species and trying to figure out how they are able to cast magic naturally," began Odalys. "Turns out it's purely biological, as they possess an organ called a 'bile sac' that is attached to their heart. This organ produces the 'bile' that is necessary for them to perform magic."
"Of course, it does beg the question," said Alister, joining in the conversation. "If this process is merely biological, then surely any such species should be able to do it."
Odalys drew out a syringe that seemed to be filled with a golden substance of some kind. In one swift motion, she turned to the toad and plunged the syringe into him, draining the liquid inside. The toad let out a cry of pain. The newts waited a few minutes for the liquid to take effect.
"Alright, now let's see if this worked," said Alister. He turned to the toad.
"Make a circle with your finger," commanded Alister. "As you do, try to imagine fire forming inside the circle. You toads like fire, right?"
The toad nervously brought up its hand and made a circle with its finger, but nothing happened.
"Come on now. Try a bit harder," said Odalys. "You have to envision the fire in your mind to make it real."
The toad tried again, and this time, a bright red circle followed where he traced his finger. When he completed the circle, a small spurt of fire shot out of it, and the toad looked excited.
"Excellent," said Alister, patting the toad on his shoulder. "Now we just need you to do a few more experiments, and if it all goes well, then we'll let you go as promised."
The toad looked hopeful at this and nodded his head.
"Good, now why don't you try the same thing? Only this time, imagine an orb of light forming in your hand," said Odalys in a pleasant voice.
The toad made a glowing circle and managed to make a small orb of light appear in his hand. Odalys, Alister, and Andrias watched with intrigue.
"Okay, try making water appear," said Alister.
The toad complied and formed another circle. When it was complete, a small stream of water flowed out of it. The toad smiled at this, though after he finished the circle, he clutched his chest in pain.
"What's happening to me?!" he asked nervously.
"Nothing," answered Alister quickly. "Please continue with the demonstration."
"My heart's beating really fast!" said the toad.
"You want your freedom, don't you?" asked Odalys. The toad nodded.
"Good, now one more spell, please," said Odalys. "Make some wind."
The toad brought his hand away from his heart and made the spell circle one more time. This time, a small gust of wind blew out of it, though it was barely enough to even feel the breeze. After making the spell circle, the toad fell to his knees, clutching his heart again.
"Ahh! No! Something's wrong!" he yelled, "I don't feel…"
Inside the toad's body, his heartbeat continued to increase in intensity. It rose to a dangerous level until, finally, it exploded!
"Ahhhhhh!" the toad screamed before slumping over, dead. As this happened, the occupants of the room all had different expressions on their faces. Lady Olivia was horrified at seeing the toad expire. Yunan was shocked but managed to keep her expression neutral. Alister was disappointed, and Odalys had a cruel smile on her face. She turned to face the King.
"Well, this one lasted a bit longer than the previous toad," she said casually. "It would seem we still have progress to make in adjusting the chemical balance of the bile so that it can interact better with amphibian physiology."
"Are you insane?!" yelled Lady Olivia. All eyes in the room turned to her, and she was nervous but pressed on.
"You're doing experiments on living beings! What are you even hoping to accomplish here?!" asked Olivia.
"What we are hoping to accomplish, Lady Olivia, is the further advancement of our superior species," said Odalys in a haughty tone. "Think of it! Magic is so rare and so mysterious in Amphibia, but by harvesting bile from the witches and incorporating it into our bodies, we might be able to use magic naturally by simply making circles with our hands." She made a circle movement with her hands as she said this.
"Magic has always been the one element that was least understood," continued Alister, "but once we figure out how to properly integrate it with us, we newts will truly be superior."
"But you're not even testing it on newts!" exclaimed Olivia. "You're experimenting on toads. Their biology is entirely different from ours."
"Hmmm, that is actually a good point," said King Andrias, finally joining the conversation.
"Your Majesty," began Odalys, "seeing as we are the superior species, I did not want to needlessly test on newts until I was certain the formula was more stable."
"What exactly is in that formula?" asked Yunan, giving the empty syringe a fearful look.
"Oh, well, this is refined bile that we've taken from the witches," explained Odalys. "Alister and I have combined it with a few chemicals in an attempt to make it compatible with amphibians." She looked over at the dead toad, gave it a small kick, and turned it over. The occupants of the room could see the expression of abject terror on its face. Odalys clapped her hands, and a frobot flew over, picking up the toad and depositing it out the window.
"Obviously, it still needs work," continued Odalys. She brought her hand to her chin, scratching it for a bit before saying, "I was hesitant to test it on newts, but I suppose we'll need to in order to progress further on it."
"How much bile do you have?" asked Andrias.
"We have enough," said Odalys. "Those three witches have supplied us with plenty, and once we're ready to invade the Demon Realm, we can capture more and have an endless supply of bile."
"Well, the invasion of the Demon Realm will have to wait," said Andrias. "We've nearly exhausted all the resources Amphibia has, and in order to get more, we'll need to complete our invasion of Earth first. But I assure you, our first target after Earth will be the Demon Realm. I am a bit weary of this so-called Emperor Belos. Have the witches said anything more regarding him?"
"Nothing except for how mysterious he is," answered Alister.
"He won't be a problem," said Odalys confidently. "He's weakened his own citizens with those coven brands that restrict their magic. The only faction that is likely to give us trouble is his own Emperor's Coven, but if we can defeat them, conquering that realm will be easy. And of course, once we get more information out of subject four's head, we can—"
"That is splendid news, Odalys!" said Andrias, loudly moving his eyes toward Olivia and Yunan while trying to indicate to Odalys to stop talking. "We'll discuss the details in just a sec. I have some new orders for these two."
"So, good news," he said to Olivia and Yunan, "you're both promoted! Olivia, seeing as we need to progress to the next stage of testing for these experiments, I'm putting you in charge of finding some newt volunteers."
"We can use lower-class newts for this," said Odalys dismissively. "I have a list of some who took out loans to attend Newtopia University. As loathe as I would be to lose them, since they are a good source of money, I suppose I can spare a few in the name of advancing the better among us. Tell them that we'll waive the rest of their loan if they offer to participate in the experiment."
"Are you certain you want to proceed with this?" asked Olivia, with hesitancy in her voice. "You just saw how dangerous your formula is."
"She does bring up a good point," said Andrias, turning to Odalys. "Before we proceed to testing on newts, I'd like you to do some more research and make sure we're giving them the best possible chance. I mean, they're not toads. We can't just throw away newts so casually." He let out a laugh at his own joke.
Odalys also laughed at the King's joke. "Very well, I will double my efforts."
"And Yunan," said Andrias, turning to her, "we're gonna need frogs to work in these factories, so go round up some villagers. And if anyone resists… give them a stern talking to."
"Oh, that's not too bad," said Yunan.
"Just kidding," said the King, raising his hands and speaking in a lower voice. "Terminate them."
"Uh, your Majesty," began Yunan in a hesitant voice, "perhaps you are unaware, but the Toad Rebellion was successfully thwarted by a large frog army. Why, I fought alongside a rather heroic young frog who bore a strange and powerful sword. Considering how much the frogs helped us, I thought you might reconsider forcing them into labor."
Yunan expected the King to respond, but Odalys spoke instead.
"I must have misheard you, Yunan. Did you just try to advocate on the frogs' behalf? Have you forgotten your place?"
Odalys marched up to Yunan, giving her a fierce look.
"You've only just managed to restore your family's honor through your military exploits. Now you want to sully your name by speaking up for those worthless frogs."
"Uh, no. Not at all, Lady Odalys," protested Yunan. "I just thought it fair to mention that they did aid us."
"Yes, they certainly are useful tools, aren't they?" said Andrias. "Let's hope they can be useful workers too."
"It is our right, as the superior species, to use the frogs as we wish," chimed in Alister.
"I think we've discussed this enough," said Andrias to Olivia and Yunan. "You both have work to do, so get to it. I have important business to discuss with the Lights." With that, the King ushered them toward the door, though Odalys stopped Yunan and pulled her aside.
"Don't forget," she said in a threatening voice, "you asked for my help regarding Lady Olivia." The two turned and glanced at Olivia as she walked out of the throne room. Yunan hung her head.
"You best remember that if you still want me to assist you with a dowry," continued Odalys, staring hard into Yunan's face. Her stare was able to make Yunan feel fear, despite all the battles she'd fought.
Yunan hesitated before answering, "Yes, I understand, Lady Odalys. I'm sorry." With that, she joined Olivia outside the throne room.
As soon as the two were out of the throne room, Olivia let out a growl.
"Ugh, that does it! I made a sacred vow to protect this land. I promised my mother I would, and I cannot stand idly by while King Andrias destroys it! Furthermore, I will not allow innocent newts to be part of these ghastly experiments!"
"Lady Olivia," said Yunan, sternly coming up behind her. "If you're going to talk treason..." Yunan grabbed her roughly and took her away to an unoccupied corner.
"I insist that you do it in private!" she whispered. Olivia let out a sigh of relief.
"You're dang right he's gone too far!" said Yunan firmly. "And Odalys and Alister aren't much better. I can't believe they would so needlessly sacrifice lives for their mad science games, though it does make me wonder what else is going on that the King didn't want us to hear."
Yunan looked around the corner, back at the door to the throne room, and motioned for Olivia to follow her. The two went up to the door, and Olivia gently opened it a crack so that they could listen in on the conversation that was happening. Thankfully, the King and the Lights were far enough away from the door that they didn't notice.
"So, how is our young little witch doing?" asked Andrias to the Lights. "Have you ascertained if she's suitable as a host?"
"Yes, Sire," answered Alister. "She is quite remarkable. I gave her a small booklet about Flipwart, and she was able to beat me in the first game we played."
Andrias looked intently at Alister as he said, "I do hope you didn't let her win, Alister. I want to make sure that her victory was of her own doing."
Alister looked hard at Andrias, "In all the times that we've played you never thought I let you win did you, your Majesty? I assure you, I gave it my best, that girl won on her own merits despite only just having learned how to play."
"Ha! Maybe your mental aptitude is starting to decay, the Alister I know, would never have lost to a novice," said Odalys. Her husband glared at her.
"I know how important that experiment was for both you and… the Core," said Alister. "Need I remind you that King Andrias was the only one who was able to beat me in Flipwart?"
Olivia and Yunan looked at each other, neither of them having a clue what "the core" was.
"It is a pity I never got a chance to play against Marcy," continued Alister. "I should have liked to see what strategy she employed. But in any case, it seems that Amity is at least as smart as Marcy."
"Of course, the more important point is that she's the only one who doesn't have a Coven Brand," said Odalys. "So we won't have to worry about her being restricted in what kind of magic she is able to use."
"Yes, I suppose there is that too," said Alister. "But if I may… Are you certain about this, your majesty? I was under the impression that the Core desired a different host."
"Well, plans can change," answered Andrias. "Let me consult with the Core right now."
Andrias leaned back, and as he did, an eye appeared on his crown. Olivia and Yunan barely managed to avoid gasping in surprise as they saw that. They both decided it was time to stop listening.
"I don't know what that was," said Yunan once the two were alone, "but we've got to do something. I, for one, will not serve a mad King."
"Agreed," said Olivia, "but we can't take him down alone. We need help, and I think I know where we can get it."
Olivia looked around the hall, making sure they were alone, then motioned for Yunan to follow her. The two made their way through the palace until they arrived at Olivia's room. As they went inside, Olivia closed the door and locked it. Yunan looked slightly confused but went along with it. Olivia went over to her wardrobe and knocked on it. A second later, the wardrobe opened to reveal a blue frog in silver armor—a frog Yunan recognized.
"Hey, I remember you!" said Yunan excitedly. "You were the one leading the frog army at the Battle of Newtopia. I don't think I ever got your name."
"I'm Lilly," answered the frog, offering Yunan her hand. "Yes, I was the one leading the frogs, and I remember you as well, General."
"Weren't you also with us in the throne room when the King activated the box?" asked Yunan.
"Yes, she was," said Olivia. "Andrias knocked her out of the room right before he stabbed Marcy. Thankfully, Lilly was able to escape and has been wandering around the castle ever since. I found her in one of the secret passages about a week ago."
"The castle has secret passages?" said Yunan curiously.
"Yes, they've been here for at least as long as I've served as the King's chief attendant," said Olivia. "This castle is over a thousand years old. I don't think anyone but the King knows about them, though it is strange that I've never seen him use them."
"I'm not complaining," said Lilly. "I was worried for the first few days that he might find me, and it almost seemed as though those passages had been built specifically for him. You can get almost anywhere in the castle with those. I've been using them for a long time now, and I have a pretty good idea of where they all go. I've even drawn a map of them."
"That's not all," said Olivia. "Lilly here is the next chosen wielder of the Masamune." Lilly drew out her sword, showing it to Yunan.
"Oh, I see! That's why you were so amazing in that battle. You're pretty good for a frog," said Yunan carelessly.
"Excuse me?!" answered Lilly, instantly becoming tense.
"Oh, well, I mean, you know… Frogs are mostly all peasants and such," said Yunan casually. "But even so, you did a great job fighting the toads. Not as good as me, though."
Lilly didn't reply right away, as she needed a moment to fully absorb what Yunan had just said. She finally did reply in a sarcastic voice, "Oh, I'm sorry that I can't be as good as you because I'm just a frog!"
"Well, I mean, you haven't fought in the Sand Wars, nor did you defeat Ragnar the Wretched," said Yunan in a haughty tone. "And furthermore, it was I who slayed Bufo in battle!"
"Uggh, are you serious right now?!" asked Olivia in anger. "You're sounding exactly like Odalys."
"Hey, I'm nothing like her!" said Yunan defensively. "I stood up for the frog army when Andrias wanted to use them as slaves. Besides, I said you were a good fighter."
"No, you said I was good for a frog," said Lilly emphatically. "So what you really meant was… you don't normally think highly of frogs as a whole, except for me."
"Ehum, can we focus here?" she said, trying to get them back on track. "We need to come up with a plan to free Master Marcy. She's our best chance at stopping Andrias and is the only one who can outthink him."
"If we're going to rescue Marcy, then we have to save the other prisoners too," said Lilly to Olivia and Yunan.
"What? Why should we risk our necks for them?" asked Yunan indignantly.
"You heard what Olivia said about those species from other worlds," said Lilly. "If we don't get them out of here, who knows what Andrias will do to them?"
"She's right," agreed Olivia. "Andrias is already strong enough as is with the box and the technology he already has. You saw what he was hoping to accomplish with those experiments of his. We need to get those witches out of here so he can't extract more bile from them."
"Exactly," said Lilly. "That's why we have to rescue them, too."
"Fine, we'll split up then," said Yunan. "Lilly can go and rescue the prisoners, while Olivia and I go get Marcy."
"I think only the adults are in the prison," clarified Olivia. "I believe that young witch is being kept in the same room as Master Marcy, and she's around her same age."
"Her name is Amity," said Lilly. "I've been visiting her every now and then in an effort to comfort her. I promised I'd rescue her when the time was right. You have to get her out, too."
"Don't worry, we'll rescue her too," said Yunan. "But how are we going to get out of the castle once we do?"
"I can get us out," said Lilly. "I've been practicing my magic powers. I can use wind now, so if we're all together and jump off the castle, I can use wind to slow us down so we land softly."
"Are you sure you can do that for all of us?" asked Olivia. "There are three imprisoned witches, plus Marcy, Amity, and us. That's a lot of people to carry."
"I mean, I've never tried with that many, but I'm pretty sure I can do it," said Lilly. Olivia and Yunan looked at each other and then back at Lilly, not entirely convinced.
"Well, it's not like we have any other option," said Yunan after a few seconds, "so I guess this is the plan we go with."
"So, let's split up right now to go rescue our prisoners," said Olivia, taking out a map of the palace. "There's a large window we can escape out of here." She pointed to a location on the map.
"We'll meet back up at that window, then escape the castle together," finished Olivia.
"But how will we get down to the basement?" asked Yunan.
"Don't worry, there's a secret passage that leads there," said Lilly. "We'll be able to slip past the guards."
Lilly led the group out of Olivia's room and towards one of the large paintings in the hall. She moved it aside to reveal a hidden passage. The three crawled into it and traveled together until there was a split.
"The right path leads down to the basement," said Lilly. "I'm going left to free the prisoners. Here, this will help you in case you get lost." She handed them a map she had made of the secret passageways.
"Alright. Good luck, Lilly," said Olivia. "We'll see you back at the window."
Vincent, Alyssa, and Raine sat down on the floor in their cell. They had all been brought down to the basement yesterday for more bile extractions and were still recovering. As two frobots stood guard at their cell, Raine made a spell circle and summoned their violin, giving the other two witches a nod. In the next instant, Raine made a slash with their violin at the lock on their cell door. The lock was instantly destroyed. Alyssa pushed down the door, and Vincent made a spell circle with his hands. Summoning up two boulders from the floor, he threw them at the two frobots standing guard, smashing them to bits. Raine, Vincent, and Alyssa looked down the hall but didn't see more frobots. They moved quickly, leaving their cell. Right as they left, a section of the wall opened, and Lilly stepped out to make her way to the cell where the prisoners were. She was surprised to see the cell, and the frobots destroyed. She turned around and quickly made her way down the hall, hoping to find the witches.
The three witches made their way up the stairs out of the dungeon. They slowly opened the door to see more frobots guarding the hall, which they needed to escape. They stood back and began discussing their next move when they heard a voice. They all turned around and raised their hands, only to see a small blue frog in silver armor holding a sword.
"Whoa, hey, it's alright. I'm here to rescue you!" said the frog.
The witches looked at each other, unsure if they should trust her.
"I was just on my way to get you out of your cell, but it looks like you beat me to it," said the frog. "I'm Lilly, by the way."
The witches hesitated, but Alyssa came up to her.
"Why did you want to rescue us, Lilly?" asked Alyssa
"Because I saw how those newts tortured you. I've been working on a plan to get all of you out," said Lilly.
"Wait, all of us?" said Vincent. "So you know there's one more witch being held in the basement of this castle, right?"
"Yes, Amity," answered Lilly. "Olivia and Yunan are on their way there to rescue both her and the human being held down there. We're going to meet up and then all escape together."
"How exactly can you do that?" asked Vincent. "We're still flying in the air."
"I can use magic," answered Lilly. "I can control the wind and help us land safely if we jump out the window."
The three witches all looked at each other as they considered Lilly's offer.
"I mean, how were you planning to escape?" asked Lilly. "Did you have a plan for getting off the castle?"
"We were going to have Vincent summon a large rock and get on top of it," explained Raine, "then ride it down to the surface."
As Raine said that, Lilly looked hard at them, giving them a look that showed just how ridiculous she thought that plan was. The three witches seemed to have also realized this themselves.
"Hey, we had no idea you were even a thing," said Vincent to Lilly. "It's not like we had any other option!"
"Okay, but now you do," said Lilly, "so let me help you, and we'll all get out of here."
Raine stepped forward, looking hard into Lilly's eyes, and after a moment, they spoke.
"Alright, we'll trust you for the time being. We were going to head to the basement to get Amity, but if your friends are already on it, that does help us out. All we need to do is get past these metal abominations, and I think I have a way we can do that."
Raine brought out their violin and began to play it. Slowly, a golden aura spread out from their violin, enveloping the frobots in the hall. As it did, a red glow appeared on the legs of the frobots. In one motion, they all turned and began marching out of the hall in unison. Lilly watched in amazement.
"Bard magic can be quite persuasive," said Raine to the frog. "Looks like I was right. They may not have ears, but they can still 'hear' things, which means my magic can affect them."
"Well done, Raine!" complimented Vincent. "Now let's get out of here!"
The witches made their way out of the dungeon and toward the rendezvous point.
"More kooky creatures," said Yunan aloud as she looked at the shadow fish that were floating above them. "What is this place?!"
"I think it's where our ancestors kept all their otherworldly prisoners," said Olivia, hanging her head.
"Delightful," said Yunan, trying not to look at them.
"Oh, so what did Odalys want to talk to you about back in the throne room?" asked Olivia casually.
"Nothing!" said Yunan quickly. "It definitely wasn't about a dowry."
"A dowry?" said Olivia, with interest in her voice, though almost immediately her expression changed. "Oh, I didn't know you were already looking to settle down. I figured you'd be one for adventuring your whole life."
"Ah, no, well… I'm not necessarily looking to settle down," explained Yunan, "but you know, I just wanted to keep my options open, and well, I'm not rich enough to afford a dowry, so I had asked if Lady Odalys could help me with that."
"But if you were speaking with her, then you must already have some idea of who you wanted to marry?" asked Olivia.
"Oh… well… I… uh," mumbled Yunan, suddenly becoming evasive and nervous.
"If it's personal, then I won't press you," said Olivia, turning to Yunan and smiling. She turned away almost immediately, her face falling. "I just hope that whatever newt you were thinking of… realizes how lucky they would be to have you."
Yunan didn't respond to that. She gazed at Olivia, trying to think of something to say, but couldn't find the words. A part of her brain said to just tell Olivia how she felt about her, but given the circumstances, they were in, she felt it wouldn't be appropriate.
"We're here," said Olivia as the two arrived at a large stone door. "No turning back now."
The two pushed the door aside and quickly entered the basement chamber. They saw Marcy floating in her rejuvenation tank with many tubes still attached to her. A few feet away was a small cell where another figure stood.
"Who's there?" called the green-haired witch.
"Don't worry, we're here to rescue you," said Olivia as the two walked into the chamber. "Yunan, go free the witch and get that collar off of her. I'll get Marcy."
Yunan came up to the cell door and slashed at the lock. She then pulled the door open. Amity was hesitant to escape, giving Yunan a look.
"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you, Lilly sent us to get you and Marcy out," said Yunan in an effort to gain the witch's trust.
"Lilly sent you!" exclaimed Amity relief flooding her face, "where is she?"
"She's freeing the other witches," answered Yunan, "we're all going to meet up and escape together."
"Oh that's so good to hear," said Amity, "I knew she'd come through eventually."
"I'm General Yunan, by the way," said the newt introducing herself, "Come here, and I can get that collar off you."
"Okay, thank you," said the witch, coming forward and presenting the collar to Yunan. "I'm Amity."
"Hey, why do you have a rejuvenation suit on?" asked Yunan as she looked at the witch. Amity was dressed in the same sort of suit that Marcy was wearing, except there were no tubes hooked up to it.
"I don't know," answered Amity. "Those other newts told me to change into this yesterday, but they didn't say anything else about it."
Yunan put her hands on the collar and pulled with all her might. After a few seconds of struggling, she managed to pry it off, causing Amity to let out a sigh of relief. Over at the tank, Olivia had just succeeded in pulling Marcy out and disconnecting all the tubes and the mask from her. Marcy coughed as the mask was pulled away. In an attempt to help her, she also wrapped a towel around Marcy and gave her a cup of tea to drink.
"Marcy, are you okay?" asked Olivia.
"Bwahahaha!" began Marcy, letting out a loud laugh. "Look at you! Your gown is so fancy! You must be a noble lady of some high-born house. Oh, am I in some sort of fantasy world?"
"Ugh, she's out of it," said Yunan, coming over and picking up Marcy by the collar before slapping her face several times.
"Wake up, Marcy!" commanded Yunan.
"Yunan, stop! You're not helping!" said Olivia in anger.
"Yeah, leave her alone!" called Amity as she joined the group, finally causing Marcy to notice her.
"Hey… Wait, something's coming back to me," said Marcy as she looked at Amity. "Have I met you before?"
"Yes, you have," said Amity, hoping that maybe she could jog Marcy's memory. "We were both in some kind of dream world. Do you remember that?"
"Yeah, I do," said Marcy, continuing to stare into Amity's face. "It's starting to come back to me."
"My name's Amity," said Amity, offering her hand to Marcy.
"I'm Marcy," replied Marcy, accepting the offered hand and shaking it.
"You two can catch up later," began Yunan. "Right now, we have to get out of here."
Marcy kept staring into Amity's face as she shook her hand. She couldn't help but notice just how beautiful she was, and in her somewhat delirious state, she decided that it would be a good idea to make sure and tell her that.
"Wow, you're so cute in person!" Marcy blurted out.
"Excuse me?" said Amity, not sure she heard what she thought she heard. Marcy's face lit up bright red as she suddenly realized exactly what she had said and quickly tried to walk it back.
"Uh, I mean, I'm still out of it. I'm, uh, saying things… Talking gibberish and such." She turned to the two newts. "Let's get out of here. Lead the way, Lady Olivia, Captain Yoo-hoo!"
Marcy took one step forward and immediately fell down. She raised her head. "I'm okay."
Lilly led the prisoners out of the dungeon and toward the window, where they would rendezvous with Olivia, Yunan, Marcy, and Amity. They had to move slowly so as not to attract the attention of the patrolling frobots. Eventually, they did reach the window, and Lilly told them the plan.
"I'm not sure I'm sold on your plan to jump out the window," said Alyssa.
"Are you sure that your magic will slow all of us down enough?" asked Vincent as he worriedly looked out the window and towards the ground.
"I might be able to help a little with that," said Raine, "though I'm more about using the wind to slash at things. Still, maybe my music can help."
"That's assuming we have any bile left," said Alyssa.
"How long until your friends get here?" asked Vincent.
"They should be here any moment," said Lilly, nervously looking around the hall. As she turned to look at the other end, though, a frobot had noticed the group and came forward with its laser drawn. Lilly reacted quickly and threw her sword straight into the frobot's chest, causing it to fall, though it also created a loud noise that other frobots in the hall rushed to inspect. Lilly raised her hand, and her sword reappeared in it. The witches looked on, intrigued.
"Fascinating," said Raine, before turning to see more frobots approaching. Raine summoned their violin and began making slashing motions on it, sending out several wind slashes that felled some frobots.
Vincent joined in and made a spell circle with his hand that glowed orange. He pressed his hand into the ground, raising some boulders, and quickly threw them at another group of frobots, destroying them. Lilly leaped forward and engaged another one, slashing at its head and causing it to slump over. While the group had defeated the frobots, they knew it was only a matter of time before more showed up.
"So, you're certain you can produce a more stable version of the bile?" asked Andrias.
"I just need some more time, and I'm certain I can make it compatible with newts," answered Odalys. "In fact, once I have that process figured out, I can make some upgrades to your battle suit so that it can incorporate the bile."
"Yes, well, I want to make sure it works before that," he said cautiously.
"I assure you it will," answered Odalys. She paused before adding, "You'll finally get to lead the invasion to Earth, just like you wanted."
The King gave her a look but quickly changed the subject, "Oh, there is something else we need to discuss. I've heard reports that the frog army that was here in Newtopia has regrouped in Wartwood."
"That shouldn't be a problem," said Alister. "We can simply send out an army of frobots to deal with them."
"No," said Odalys emphatically, "we need those frobots for the Earth invasion. Didn't you appoint a new Toad Lord for the Southern Region? One who wasn't involved in the rebellion."
"Oh, yes, that's right," said Andrias. "Bog is the new Lord of that area."
"Well, then just use him and his toads to take care of them," answered Odalys.
"Those frogs were able to put up a good fight at Newtopia," mused Alister. "I wonder if they might be too much for the toads to handle."
"Psssh," said Odalys dismissively. "The only reason they won was because of General Yunan helping them out. They won't stand a chance by themselves."
"You're right. Bog should be able to handle them with his toads," said Andrias. "I suppose it makes sense to keep one toad tower in case we need any enforcers."
"Ah, you did destroy the other ones, then?" asked Alister.
"Yes, I did," answered Andrias. "The gem cannon made quick work of them, though I don't think Beatrix was at her tower when it was destroyed. I know for certain that Aldo is gone."
"Oh, I suppose you could use that against these frogs," suggested Odalys.
"No, it consumes a lot of power and needs to recharge after each use," said Andrias. "No reason to waste it on that insignificant village. Better to have Bog take care of them the old-fashioned way. And yes, I'll keep him and his toads around in case we have any other local trouble that we need him to deal with. Moving on, there is one more item on the agenda. How are those spore collars coming along?"
"We're close to finishing development on them," answered Alister. "I've handed off that task to Branson, Bartly, and Blair. They should be able to finish it on their own… assuming they're actually able to work together for once."
"Those three have their uses," said Odalys plainly, "besides our great minds are needed on more important tasks."
"I'll make sure and have them report to you when they have a prototype ready. They did also mention that they have another project they want to start work on, once those collars are done." said Alister.
"Oh, what project is that?" asked Andrias with interest.
"They wouldn't say," replied Alister, "said they wanted it to be a surprise."
"Well, if that's all, I'd say our business is concluded," said Odalys. She looked hard at Andrias. "Though I did want to make sure our agreement would be honored."
As she spoke, the eye on Andrias's crown came to life again.
"Something's happening down in the basement. Olivia and Yunan are trying to free Marcy and the witch," said Andrias, getting up. "Alister, come with me, and we'll take care of it."
The eye on the crown made another noise.
"Some frobots have reported the prisoners are escaping," said Andrias. He turned to Odalys. "You still have the remote that controls the collars, right?"
"Yes," she replied, pulling out the remote.
"Good. Go and deal with that then," said Andrias. He turned to head out the door, but before he did, he looked at Odalys. "Don't worry about our deal. The Core has assured me that as long as you are able to make a version of bile that can work for newts, it will allow you to be absorbed into it."
Odalys smiled as she heard that.
Olivia and Yunan picked up Marcy and began helping her walk toward the exit. Amity followed them, raising her hands and doing her best to keep a lookout for threats. Little did they know that many eyes were on them and were already working to prevent their escape. The many eyes that lined the room focused on the escaping prisoners and began to conjure up an image to prevent their escape. In an instant, right before they reached the door, some smoke rose from the floor and swirled around them, blocking their vision.
"What the heck is going on?" yelled Yunan as the smoke swirled around them. A second later, there was a bright flash, and suddenly, the area around them changed.
"What in Newt's name?" said Yunan as she took in their surroundings.
"Whoa, we're outside already?" asked Marcy, as that's what appeared to have happened.
"No, this can't be right," said Amity. "This is a trick of some sort."
"It can't be," gasped Olivia as she looked forward, seeing a figure approaching—a figure she recognized. "Mother, is that you?"
"Olivia," said the figure that looked like her mother. "The sky! The trees! How could you let this happen?"
"I'm sorry, Mother," said Olivia. "I did everything I could."
"Well…" began the figure as it suddenly transformed into a tower of skulls, dirt, and environmental waste, appearing under it and raising it off the ground.
"IT WASN'T ENOUGH!" yelled the figure in a monstrous voice, causing Lady Olivia to let out a scream.
"What is this witchcraft?!" said Yunan, drawing out her claws.
"I can handle this!" said Amity confidently as she made a spell circle and summoned up an Abomination.
"Abomination, rise!" commanded Amity. A figure of purple goo took shape. She directed it to attack the image of Olivia's mom, and the abomination lurched forward. It struck the image, only for it to phase right through it.
"Huh?" said Amity in surprise.
Marcy looked up at the image in front of her. She raised her head and saw that the image of Olivia's mother seemed to end at a certain height. She stared at the image, finally realizing something.
"Oh, it's a projection," said Marcy, catching on. "You know, like VR?"
"Vvvvrrrr?" said Yunan, not quite understanding.
"I think she means it's like illusion magic," said Amity, starting to understand. "It's just illusions trying to trick you."
"It's not real, ya goof," said Marcy as she patted Yunan. Right as she said that a swirl of sand rose in front of Yunan.
"The room's changing again," warned Marcy. "Just try not to freak out."
"Oh, please. Nothing scares the great General Yunan!" bragged Yunan in triumph. "Scourge of the Sand Wars, defeater of…" She immediately stopped as she saw what had taken shape in front of her.
"Oh, no," she gasped.
"What?" began Marcy in surprise. "It's just a cute little—"
"Grubhog!" yelled Yunan, pointing at the creature.
"You're afraid of this little cutie?" asked Marcy.
"I had a bad experience, okay?" said Yunan in frustration. "When I was a little girl, one of those monsters nearly took my arm off!"
"I thought newts could regenerate limbs?" asked Amity, coming over to her.
"I was six!" yelled Yunan.
The image of the grubhog began to change. It morphed from a small creature to a much larger and more terrifying one. As it did, many more suddenly appeared around her.
"No, no, no!" screamed Yunan before dashing away.
"Wait, come back! It's not real!" called Marcy. She stopped as the sand swirled around both her and Amity, changing the scene again.
Back in the hall, more frobots had appeared and begun to surround the prisoners. Lilly had done her best to hold them back, and Vincent, Alyssa, and Raine helped her fight them off, but she wasn't sure how much longer they could hold out.
Come on! Hurry! she thought. What's taking Olivia and Yunan so long?
Lilly shot out her tongue at a frobot, sticking to it and using its momentum to launch herself at the frobot. As she got closer, she slashed her sword, destroying it, then leaped back to be near the witches. She threw her sword at another frobot, cutting off its head before reaching out her hand and having it magically reappear in it. She then used her magic to launch a stream of water at another frobot, pushing it away from the battle.
Raine brought up their violin and slashed at a frobot, sending air slashes right at it. They connected and cut the robot down. They turned to another frobot and repeated the attack, but only the first slash materialized.
"Oh, no," said Raine, feeling a pain in their chest. They tried to attack again but to no avail. Raine clutched at their heart.
"I'm out of bile," called Raine.
Vincent had brought up another rock from the floor and hurled it at a frobot, destroying it. He attempted to do it again, but right as he brought up the rock, it fell back down. He tried to make a spell circle to raise it again, but the spell circle broke apart.
"Dammit! Me too," he said, also clutching his heart.
Alyssa was about to cast a spell of her own, but suddenly, all three of the witches felt a jolt of electricity through their bodies and all fell to their knees, crying out in pain. Lilly turned to see Odalys standing there in the hall, pushing a button on a remote. Thinking quickly, Lilly let out a burst of air from her hand, aimed it at Odalys, and blasted her against the wall, causing her to drop the remote. Lilly leaped over to where the remote had fallen and slashed it with her sword, destroying it.
"Nooo!" growled Odalys as she looked down at the remnants of the destroyed remote. Lilly looked down at her, pointing her sword at Odalys.
"I saw what you did to these poor witches," she said, her voice shaking with rage. "How could you be so cruel?"
"It is our right as newts to exploit other species for our own gain!" yelled Odalys. "But you wouldn't understand that, being a frog!"
"Is that all you think about?" asked Lilly in disgust. "Aren't you ever satisfied with what you already have? Don't you care that you're causing so much harm to another species?"
"Those inferior species exist only to serve us!" spat Odalys. "Whether they be frogs or creatures from another world."
While she spoke, Odalys swiped at Lilly, tripping her, before getting on all fours and crawling over to Alyssa. She stood back up and grabbed Alyssa from behind, pulling out a knife and putting it at her throat.
"All of you stop now!" commanded Odalys, getting the other witches' attention. They stopped fighting, with Lilly lowering her sword. The frobots that were still left pointed their lasers at the group.
"Good, now let's get you all back to your cell," sneered Odalys. She turned to Lilly. "As for you, I'm sure I can find some use for you in our future experimentations."
"You really are beyond despicable," said Alyssa in a low voice. "You remind me of someone I knew from the isles—someone who cared nothing for the suffering she caused."
"Ah, good to know that there are some among your species that can understand what true power is really about," said Odalys. "Now let's get moving back to your cell."
"No, actually, I don't think I will," said Alyssa defiantly.
"You have no choice in the matter. Besides, even if I don't have my remote, I saw that you were all out of magic," said Odalys in triumph, "so there's nothing you can do to stop me."
"Actually…" said Alyssa, with a smirk on her face, "I wasn't out…"
Odalys barely had time to register what Alyssa had said before Alyssa made a spell circle and caused two barriers to appear at her side. The barriers formed in the same space that was occupied by Odalys's arms, and seeing as two objects could not exist in this same space, the magic barriers instantly cut off her arms, causing Odalys to let out a loud scream as she saw her arms disconnect from her body. Her right arm still held onto the knife she had tried to use against Alyssa.
Alyssa quickly turned and pushed Odalys off her, making her fall to the ground, but without arms, she couldn't get up and instead crawled away in fear, still screaming. Alyssa smiled as she did. The frobots began firing at the prisoners, but Alyssa brought up another barrier around the group to protect them.
Odalys had crawled around a corner and into a waiting frobot. She looked up into its face, giving it a command.
"GET THEM! GET THEM! GET THEM!" she screamed in an unhinged voice, the shock of losing her arms still fresh in her mind.
The frobot activated its antenna and used it to signal for more reinforcements. All across the castle, other frobots received the signal and began converging on the spot. Lilly threw her sword at the frobot that had sent out the signal and managed to stop it, but she knew the damage was already done.
The scene around Marcy and Amity changed, morphing into what looked like a school hall of some kind, though half the lockers looked normal and the other half looked as though they had eyes and mouths on them.
"What the?" said Marcy and Amity at the same time. As they looked around, they saw that at the end of each hall, a figure was standing. Marcy and Amity each recognized their respective figures.
"Oh no, no, no, no," said Marcy as the figure of Luz Noceda turned around to face her.
"How could you, Mar Mar?" said the figure in a harsh voice. "Unlike Sasha or Anne, I actually cared about you, and you took me away from my mother. You betrayed me!"
"No," pleaded Marcy, trying to get up and walk towards the figure. "I know what I did was super dumb. I'm so sorry."
"It's too late," said the figure of Luz, growing larger and more monstrous. "I don't want anything to do with you anymore, ever again!"
While this was going on, Amity looked at the other end of the hall and saw the form of Willow Park turn around to face her.
"I thought you were my friend, Amity," said the figure of Willow harshly. "All those summers at Lake Locuna, the days we spent together at the library, the times we went to the carnival. I guess all of that meant nothing to you!"
"No, no, wait, please," begged Amity as the figure came closer.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," continued the figure of Willow. "Your family is all about only associating with strong witches, so that's why you dumped me for Boscha and Skara, isn't it?"
"No, you don't know the whole story," pleaded Amity.
"You're too late, Amity!" said the figure of Willow as vines grew out of her, making her look more monstrous. "I won't ever forgive you for what you've done, no matter how much you try!"
Amity and Marcy each flinched from their respective visions, backing into each other as they did.
"No, please," they said at the same time, tears falling out of their eyes.
Meanwhile, Yunan was still running from the grubhogs. She found herself trapped against a wall and waved her arm wildly in an effort to get the grubhogs to back off.
"No, stay back! Stay…" She unknowingly placed her hand over one of the eyes, instantly causing the image of the grubhog to disappear.
"... back?" she said in surprise as she saw the image disappear. Yunan repeated the gesture a few more times, testing to see if her theory was right.
"These eyes…" said Yunan. "These eyes are making the nightmare, guys!"
"Eyes?" said Marcy, looking up from her position. As she did, she saw one of the many eyes that had lined the room. Amity looked across from her and noticed them, too.
"That must be where all these things are being projected from," said Amity.
"Guys, take out the eyes!" commanded Marcy.
"Right!" said Olivia and Yunan, coming to their senses.
"You'll pay for using my mother's likeness!" yelled Olivia as she launched into the air and kicked out an eye.
Yunan brought out her claws and slashed, taking out many eyes in the process.
Amity made a large spell circle with her hands, from which she launched several fireballs all in different directions, taking out multiple eyes at once.
Marcy ran forward but tripped, though luckily she landed in a way that destroyed quite a few eyes. Yunan, Olivia, and Amity continued to smash the eyes around the room until only one was left.
"There's the last one!" said Marcy, pointing at the eye. "Ah, dang it. If only I had my wrist launcher!"
"Ooops, wish I had thought to grab it," said Yunan.
"No problem, I got it!" said Amity. She knelt down and aimed at the eye. The eye quickly brought forward an amalgamation of all the images it had used to try to scare the group in front of Amity, though because most of the eyes were now broken, the image looked disjointed and unnatural.
"I can't see past it," said Amity.
"Don't worry, I'll help." Marcy looked past the image and guided Amity as she adjusted her aim.
"Little to the left, a little higher," said Marcy. Amity listened and followed her advice.
"Okay, you got it!" said Marcy. Amity made a spell circle and fired one last fireball straight into the eye, destroying it and finally ridding the room of the illusions.
"We did it!" exclaimed Amity in triumph.
Yunan let out a small cough before saying, "I'm not normally one for teamwork, but, uh, good job out there, everyone. Very nice hustle!"
"You goof," said Olivia, smiling at Yunan.
"Yeah, we did it!" said Marcy, coming up to Amity and throwing her arms around her. Amity was taken aback by this and could feel her cheeks warming up as she realized how close Marcy was to her. Marcy pulled back and looked into Amity's eyes.
"Hey, uh, you were awesome with your magic," said Marcy. "It's amazing what you can do!"
"Thanks," said Amity. "I couldn't have hit that last one without you, though. You were pretty cool yourself!"
Marcy could feel her cheeks begin to blush as Amity complimented her. She wasn't quite sure why, but she found it… nice.
"I may have had some magic left," said Alyssa as she struggled to hold up the barrier, "but I can't hold this forever. We need to get out of here!"
"But Olivia and Yunan haven't returned with Marcy and Amity!" exclaimed Lilly. "If we leave now, we'll be abandoning them."
"Then we die here in the hall," said Alyssa in a resigned voice.
As she said that, another laser blast struck the barrier, causing it to flash. Lilly and the witches watched as more frobots appeared—too many for them to hold out for much longer. Lilly looked between Alyssa and the window. From around the corner, she could still hear Odalys screaming at the frobots to apprehend them, sounding louder and more deranged.
"Lilly, if we don't leave now, we won't get another chance. If we escape we can come back and free Amity later," said Raine in a weary voice.
Lilly looked between the open window and the hall, where Olivia and Yunan should have been. She felt a strong surge of guilt, as she knew that if she left now, Amity would still be captured, and she had promised to free her. But if she stayed, there was a chance they would all die or be recaptured. She knew how badly the witches had been suffering at the hands of the King, and so she made her choice.
Amity… she thought, hating herself for the decision she was about to make, I'm so sorry…
"Grab onto me," said Lilly to the witches. "We're going to jump!" They got close and grabbed hold of Lilly, and when she was sure they were all together, she jumped out the window. As they fell, Lilly's eyes lit up blue. She concentrated and moved her hand, creating a barrier of air around them. It took some time, but eventually, the speed of the fall decreased. Lilly kept up her focus as the ground got closer, making sure the group wasn't falling too fast, though it took a lot of effort on her part. When the group finally touched down, Lilly was tired but knew they had to keep moving as they were out in the open. The group had landed in an open field, but Lilly spotted a forest not far away.
"Come on!" she called to the witches. "We have to keep moving!"
Right as she said that, three frobots from the castle flew down after them. Lilly let out a loud growl of frustration before she used her wind magic to leap up and land on the first one. She sliced it with her sword before throwing her sword at the second one, then shooting out her tongue at the third. Again, she launched herself at the frobot, cutting it in two as she approached. With all the frobots dealt with, she tried to focus and use wind magic to guide her back to the ground, but the battle and the emotional toll of not rescuing Amity began to overwhelm her. As a result, she wasn't able to fully concentrate and landed much harder than she intended.
She stood up and tried to lead the witches to the forest, but immediately fell over after taking a few steps. Fortunately, Raine picked her up and carried her as the group moved toward the trees.
"It's alright, I got you," said Raine in a comforting voice to Lilly.
Lilly looked up at the flying castle one more time, tears falling down her face as she thought about how she had failed to free Amity.
"Alright, here we go," said Olivia as she and Yunan guided Marcy to the stairs leading out of the basement. They had barely gotten to the stairs when a giant hand appeared and pushed them back.
"Leaving so soon?" asked Andrias sarcastically. "But we have so much to discuss."
Amity wasted no time in summoning an abomination and attacking the king.
"Oh, is this the abomination magic I've heard so much about?" said the King, intrigued.
Amity's abomination formed its hands into sickles and slashed at him, though the attacks couldn't harm him in any way. Andrias stood there, allowing the tiny abomination to slash at him, and let out a yawn.
"Oh, yes, that's working so well. Keep going; maybe you'll break skin eventually," taunted Andrias.
Amity responded by forming a large spell circle and launching a fireball at Andrias, though he simply brought up his hand and casually batted it away. Amity formed another spell circle and tried to freeze Andrias's feet, preventing him from moving, but he took one step and managed to break the ice. He stared down at Amity, causing her to shrink in terror.
"Your powers are impressive but underutilized," said Andrias to the witch. "But I think the Core can help you with that."
"The Core?" said Amity in terror.
At that moment, the group turned around as they heard a strange metallic sound behind them. They turned to see a fearsome object descend to the floor. It was some sort of orb, with several hellish red eyes. The orb was surrounded by metallic tentacles that it used to move around. As it landed on the ground, it let out a loud, horrifying screech!
"What the heck is that?" asked Marcy.
The Core shot out two of its tentacles and grabbed Amity and Marcy in their faces. It roughly pulled the girls away from the group and towards two waiting chairs that it forcibly deposited them in. Clamps on the chair fastened around the girls' ankles and wrists, holding them in place.
"Behold, our ultimate creation," said Andrias. "A collection of Amphibia's greatest minds, preserved for all eternity."
"What are you doing, Andrias?" asked Olivia.
"Stop it, you maniac!" yelled Yunan.
"Studying the Mossmen improved our medical technology," began Andrias, "but it wasn't until we met the Shadowfish that we truly learned to conquer death, and thus, the core was born. And now, I can give it the host that it craves."
"What?!" exclaimed Amity and Marcy at the same time.
"Ah, yes. You see, the Core has been seeking a host for quite some time now," said Andrias. "At first, it wanted you, Marcy."
Marcy let out a gasp.
"But after we managed to get some specimens from that world full of witches and saw how they could cast magic naturally, my lord changed their mind… slightly." continued Andrias. "They realized the potential of having a body that had that amazing ability."
"Even so, we had to make sure that both hosts for the Core were intelligent enough for its needs," said Alister Light, finally entering the room and casting a glance at Amity. "That's why I needed to see how good you were at Flipwart."
"I was the only one who was able to beat Alister consistently," said Andrias, "so once the Core saw that you could beat him after just barely learning how to play, it decided to use you as a body as well."
Several tubes came out from under the chair and plugged themselves into the suits that Amity and Marcy were wearing.
"What's going on?" asked Amity in a terrified tone.
"No, please! Don't do this," pleaded Marcy in a desperate voice.
"I'm sorry, Marcy," said Andrias. "I like you, always have, but I can't refuse my lord's request."
"You seem like a very bright girl," said Alister to Amity. "I wish we could have met under different circumstances, but the Core must be obeyed."
As he said that, two terrifying helmets with spikes on them were slowly lowered down onto the girl's heads. They struggled against their bonds, trying in vain to escape, but it was no use. As the helmets finally connected to their heads, the girls let out a loud scream that unnerved both Alister and Andrias, who both turned away, not wanting to watch. Digital code transferred from the tubes into the suits, and all the while, the girls kept screaming, until finally, everything went dark and they slumped down in the chairs they were sitting on.
"The time has finally come for the Core to lead us to our destiny!" exclaimed Andrias, walking over to it. "But what destiny, you ask? Well, I suppose I should just let it speak for itself."
Marcy's body stood up, and her shoulders cracked as the eyes on her helmet lit up. A few feet away, Amity's body repeated the motion, the eyes on her helmet lighting up. Both girls' mouths formed a cruel smile.
"It's so good to finally have a body," said Marcy in a strange robotic voice that was not hers. "But why settle for one body…"
"… when you can have two?" finished Amity. As she said that, she formed a spell circle with her finger and shot out a red flame—a flame that matched the color of her many eyes…