Chapter Text
“Marcy watch out!”
Marcy immediately flattens to the ground, the stone beneath her fingers almost hot enough to burn her skin. Immediately, Sasha leaps over her. Marcy looks behind her to just in time to see Sasha easily cleave the lava worm that had been just about to attack Marcy in half with her sword. Its lifeless form sinks beneath the lava.
An image flashes in Marcy’s mind of Sasha the last time they were in the Third Temple.
The worm bears down on the group, and Marcy struggles to lift her hammer to defend herself, but she can’t muster up the energy to pick up the heavy weapon. Suddenly, the creature disintegrates in flash of sparks and smoke and behind it appears Sasha, gracefully turning in the air to land in a hero position before them.
A pang of sadness sweeps through Marcy, but she is quickly shocked out of her melancholia as Anne grasps her hands to bring her to her feet.
“Come on Marcy, let’s get out of here!” Marcy jumps up and nods, readying her crossbow. Together they race across the narrow bridge of rock stretching across the lava, dodging strikes from lava worms and firing shots at them as Sasha knocks them aside ahead. Finally, all three girls make it to the other side, leaning against the heavy stone door as they gasp for breath.
“At least— that was— easier— than the first time,” says Marcy between pants.
“Yeah,” the other girls agree.
Once they have all caught their breath, the girls move on to the next challenge. Sasha easily lifts the dumbbell to open the door to the next room, which all three girls enter cautiously. Sasha starts taking off her more heavy pieces of armor in preparation for the coming battle.
However, as Marcy expected, this preparation is unnecessary. The giant stone figure that had given them so much trouble their last time in the temple grins at their arrival, stepping aside and gesturing at the pedestal that has already risen behind him.
The same thing had occurred at the First and Second Temples. Although some of the more minor tasks still had to be completed to get to the recharging pedestals, the final major obstacles were waived. Valeriana had charged Anne’s gem without even having her do any of the challenges, whereas once Marcy reached the flipwart room, an arrow appeared immediately sending them back to the shed beyond the temple (although the pedestal didn’t appear before they did this). It seems that because they had already proven their worthiness the first time they completed the temples, it was much easier to charge their stones the second time around.
Now, Sasha stalks over quickly (as if afraid that the figure might change its mind), inserting the final gray gem into the slot in the pedestal. It glows pink, sending out a burst of energy as it reclaims its energy from Sasha. At the same time, Sasha’s eyes glow pink for a moment before the color drains away, her eyes returning to their normal brown as the gem settles into its normal bright pink.
All girls smile at each other, relieved to finally be done.
“Thanks for the help with this one, girls,” Sasha says, leaning in to peck first Marcy then Anne on the cheek. Marcy’s cheeks grow hot as a bubble of happiness rises in her chest.
Oh, yeah, that.
They are dating.
They are dating.
|. . .|
Sasha had been the first to confess, as anyone would have expected. It was about a month after Marcy had finally regained all of her memories and been released from the hospital for good. All three of them had been in the midst of preparing to complete the three temples. As Marcy looked over their supplies one last time before packing them, she heard the sound of someone clearing their throat behind her. Turning, she noticed Sasha and Anne standing together. Sasha looked uncharacteristically nervous, unwilling to look Anne or Marcy in the eyes, whereas Anne just looked confused.
“Hey Marcy, could you come talk with us?” Sasha asked. Now just as confused as Anne, Marcy stood up.
“Uh, sure,” Marcy replied. Together they walked across the field next to the Plantar’s house, Sasha making a beeline for a tree on the edge of the forest. Glancing around them, Marcy noticed Grime standing at a distance, staring at the group. As soon as he saw that Marcy had noticed him, he quickly kneeled to tug at a weed at his feet, although he repeatedly snuck quick glances back at the girls.
Now more confused than ever, Marcy followed Sasha until she suddenly stopped right before a tree. Gesturing for Anne and Marcy to stop too, Sasha reached behind the tree and pulled out two flowers, a blue orchid (Anne’s favorite flower) and a green rose (Marcy’s favorite). She handed out the flowers, Marcy looking at hers with a sense of dawning realization.
Could this be…?
But she stopped the thought, waiting for Sasha to continue.
“So, uh,” Sasha started, still keeping her gaze glued downward. “I’ve— I’ve never really done this before, sorry.” Anne and Marcy glanced at each other, their eyes widening.
“Get on with it!” All girls snapped their heads to look at Grime, who whistled innocently as he continued to tug at the weed, with increasing anger.
“Uh,” Sasha continued, “anyway, I was just trying to say that— I mean, boys have always asked me first, I’m not really sure how to do this—”
“Are you asking us out?” Marcy blurted out excitedly. Anne gasped.
Blushing, Sasha said, “Um, yeah. Do you— do you want to go out with me? Both of you, I mean.”
“Yes!” Marcy and Anne exclaimed together.
“I honestly thought you’d never ask,” Anne added, earning a light punch on the shoulder from Sasha.
“Wait, so does this mean we’re… all dating each other?” Marcy asked.
“Oh yeah, that’s what I meant by that,” Sasha replied.
“How does that work?” Anne wondered aloud. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, this is amazing, but I’ve never seen three people date before.” Sasha shrugged slightly.
“I’m honestly not really sure.” She took Marcy and Anne by the hands. “But I’m looking forward to figuring it out together.”
|. . .|
For her part, Marcy can’t believe that this is actually real. Her feelings for Anne and Sasha had been growing steadily, and she had noticed them playfully flirting a bit with each other, but she never could have imagined that either would like her back, given everything that had happened.
Well, maybe it was because of everything that had happened that they realized their feelings for each other.
It doesn’t matter how it happened though, all that matters is that they are finally together.
And that they are finally going home.
But not quite yet. The gems might be charged now, but they still need something similar to the music box to actually use them. Marcy had remembered reading something about it in one of Andrias’ books, which she had returned to Newtopia to retrieve (it was luckily in a library that wasn’t part of the floating castle that had been destroyed in the battle). Based on the book, rebuilding the music box was unfortunately an impossible task. However, there was a small single-use device that could be used to harness the power of the gems, called the Key. It did require special materials, but it could be built.
After much searching and near-death encounters in the forests of Amphibia, Sasha, Anne, and Marcy had been able to able to find the tree that the wood of the music box originated from. Together, they had carted some of it back to Loggle, the woodcraftsman of Wartwood who might be the only one capable of making the Key. However, the construction took time.
And so Marcy is on her way to Newtopia for one final time as Key is being created, taking Joe Sparrow for what might be their last flight together. Sasha and Anne offered to come with her, but she assured them that this was something she could do alone.
She isn’t doing anything dangerous, after all.
Just saying goodbye.
Joe Sparrow lands just outside of the gates to Newtopia, Well, what used to be the gates. They still have yet to be rebuilt after the city was shaken apart, the walls crumbling. Marcy quietly tells Joe Sparrow to wait for her and he chirps in agreement, fluttering over to peck for worms in the ground near the edge of the bay. Marcy turns back to the city. The two doors lay askew beyond the former walls and Marcy steps over them carefully, her heart already sinking as she prepares to see the damage done to the city itself. However, as she walks past the broken gate, she realizes that most of the city is still standing. It was gleaming, in fact, clearly having been repaired after the day the castle fell.
Marcy makes her way to the town hall, which she knows based on Lady Councilmember Olivia’s letters has become the new center of the government. There is still a gaping hole where the castle used to be, although they have started to fill it in with soil. On her way, Marcy hears whispered voices. Glancing around, she sees various Newtopians staring at her in awe. Obviously, the story of what happened to her had spread. Blushing, Marcy quickens her pace until she finally reaches the town hall.
Creaking open the door, she walks in to find a long table lined with chairs, only two of which are filled. Yunan laughs uproariously at something Olivia said but stops as she notices Marcy enter. Olivia turns to follow her gaze.
“Marcy!” Yunan exclaims. Olivia turns in surprise before rushing over to wrap her arms around Marcy. Surprised, Marcy pauses a moment before hugging her back.
“Marcy, I’m so happy to see you!” Olivia says as they separate.
“I’m happy to see you too!” Marcy replies. “And oh yeah,” she adds, “now I can finally congratulate you in person! Congratulations on being elected councilmember!”
“Oh, thank you. I’m just glad to have been given this opportunity,” says Olivia, flustered. Yunan wraps her arm around Olivia’s shoulder and smirks.
“Ah, don’t listen to her, she’s just being modest.” Olivia playfully pushes her away.
“Oh, stop it. This is supposed to be about Marcy, remember?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Yunan laughs.
Marcy grins at their display of affection. They had been on the verge of getting together since Marcy had known them, flirting almost constantly but still refusing to admit their feelings for each other. When she finally received Olivia’s letter a couple of months prior that Yunan had finally asked her out, it was all she could do to not shout “finally” loud enough to be heard in Newtopia.
“Anyway,” says Olivia, turning her attention back to Marcy, “I know you don’t have long here, but there’s something that I wanted to show you before you leave.”
“She’s been waiting to show you for weeks, all ‘Marcy is going to love this,’” adds Yunan. Olivia reddens slightly.
“Yes, well, I just knew you’d like it.”
“What is it?” Marcy asks. Olivia only smiles.
“You’ll see. Just come with me please, it’s a surprise,” says Olivia.
“Uh, okay,” Marcy replies. She follows Olivia to the door, her curiosity growing. She stops in the doorway, looking back to see that Yunan hasn’t followed them.
“Aren’t you coming?” Marcy asks. Yunan waves her on.
“No no, go on with Olivia. I’ve got some things to take care of here.” Nodding, Marcy turns back to follow Olivia. Olivia leads her on a winding cobblestone path, up stone stairs to a tall tower right next to the former castle. She guides her up many flights of stairs (so many that Marcy loses count) all the way to the roof, where she finally stops. Marcy is grateful for the break, slightly panting due to the long climb as she leans over to catch her breath.
“Marcy, look,” says Olivia. At her words, Marcy lifts her head to see Olivia pointing at something far off in the distance, towards the forest some miles away from the edge of the city (the part nearest had been cleared out by Andrias’s robots, but it was slowly coming back, spots of green peeking out of the otherwise dusty landscape). Squinting, Mary can just make out some light dancing between the trees, flickering in and out of view.
“Is that…?” Marcy starts.
“A shadowfish,” Olivia finishes for her. Marcy glances at her questioningly. “They are ghostly fish that were kept in castle during Andrias’s rule. He kept all manner of otherworldly creatures trapped in dungeons, and we freed them before the caste fell.”
“Shadowfish…” Marcy murmurs, thinking. “I’ve seen them before!” she gasps. “At that sleepover when Anne, Polly, and Sprig came over, we went into the dungeon and found ghosts! I didn’t realize they were from another world.”
“Yes, well, Andrias captured many creatures from other worlds and trapped them here. Like, well…” Olivia trails off, but Marcy can fill in the rest of the sentence for her. Like you.
“At any rate, those poor creatures have been trapped in the dungeon for so long, we knew that they had to be freed,” says Olivia. “After it was all over, Yunan and I took the shadowfish and mossmen to the forest to be free. I just wanted to show you that something good came out of, well, out of everything that happened.” Olivia smiles sadly. Eyes welling up, Marcy wraps her arms around her tightly.
“Thank you,” Marcy whispers. Olivia returns the hug and they embrace for a moment, Marcy keeping her eyes trained on the forest to watch the shadowfish twinkling against the dark background of trees. “And you had better give me all of your notes on shadowfish and mossmen before I go,” Marcy adds.
“I’ll make sure to,” Olivia laughs, pulling away gently. Marcy giggles lightly. “Now, what do you say we get one last round of Gnatchos before you have to leave?” Marcy nods, smiling as she dries her eyes with her sleeve. Together, they start the long descent back down the stairs.
But Marcy can still see the shadowfish behind her eyes, flashing like stars in the night sky.
Something good came out of it after all.
|. . .|
Sasha eyes the blade of her sword, inches from her face as she inspects it for imperfections. Noticing a spot of dullness, she swipes along the blade with a rag. Checking it again, she sees that it still isn’t clean. She scrubs it again, harder and harder until her fingers ache from the effort. Again, when she stops, she sees that the blade is still marred. Imperfect. She raises the rag to try again, before defeatedly letting her hand drop to her side, sighing.
Is there really a point in any of this? It’s not like she can bring any of her weapons with her, they would draw too many questions, more even than the expected “where have you been all this time?” ones.
She’s wasting her time here, too. Sitting in the Plantars’ dusty barn of all places, not even trying to drink in her last night in Amphibia.
Sasha should be out spending time with all the friends she’s made. She knows that’s what Marcy and Anne are doing. One final goodbye now that the portal key is finished and they are leaving for good.
Why can’t she find it in herself to do the same?
Her thoughts are interrupted by a loud knock on the door.
“Come in!” Sasha calls, quickly moving to set her weapons on the floor. The door opens to reveal Grime.
Of course he would come. He seems to be able to read her mind in moments like these.
“Could we talk?” Grime asks, his expression unreadable.
“Uh, sure,” Sasha replies. Grime nods and walks over to her, settling himself beside her on the bench.
“You’re leaving tomorrow.” It’s not a question, or even a statement meant to conjure up some kind of melancholic goodbye. Just a fact.
“Yeah.”
Silence.
“How are you feeling about it?” Grime says after a moment. Sasha rests her chin on her fist.
How does she feel about leaving? Sad, for sure, given everything she’s gained from Amphibia. However, her time here has also been tarnished by some horrifying events that she’d rather not relive. And going home is what she must do. She’ll still be with Marcy and Anne, she’ll be okay.
But she’ll also be living with her parents again, shuttled between them like a couples’ counselor. No true parental figure to speak of.
Sasha finally settles on, “I don’t know.”
Another pause as Grime waits for her to speak.
“I know it’s for the best, I know I can’t stay here. But…” she trails off.
“But?” Grime asks.
Sasha mumbles something incoherently.
“What was that?” Grime asks.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do without you.” Sasha says quietly.
“Oh Sasha…” says Grime.
“My parents are less… well, parental than most and, I just, I don’t know. How am I going to keep going forward without someone like you to help me through it?” She keeps talking, faster and faster. “You’ve helped me become so much better, and I still have so far to go, and what if I go back to my old ways again on Earth? What if I do something that will make Marcy and Anne hate me and they leave me for good? What if—”
“Sasha.” Grime cuts her off abruptly. Sasha looks him in the eye, blinking away tears. “You’re going to be okay.”
“But—”
“You’re going to be okay.” Grime repeats. “You’re strong, Sasha. One of the strongest people I’ve ever met. You’ll get through this. You have two people to take care of now, and who will take care of you too, and you’re just going to have to let them.”
“What if I hurt them again?” Sasha asks quietly.
“Then you apologize again.” Grime replies. Sasha opens her mouth to speak, her brow furrowing, but Grime cuts her off again. “You can’t expect yourself to never make another mistake, but the important thing is that you grow from each one. Learn to recognize whenever you’ve messed up and acknowledge it, and you’ll grow far beyond anything you’ve done here.”
Is that really all that it takes? Just say “sorry” and you can move on? It’s really silly how many years she spent controlling people, terrified that if she loosened her grip for even a moment that she’d lose them forever. All she has to do now is apologize when she screws up, and hope that they trust her and know her enough to accept it.
“I’ll… I’ll do that. Thank you,” says Sasha.
“Of course.” Grime says simply. “Now get some sleep. You need to make sure you’re well-rested for tomorrow.”
“Will do, Captain,” says Sasha, smirking slightly as she salutes mockingly. Grime chuckles, rolling his eyes.
“At ease, lieutenant. And goodnight.” He leaves, closing the door behind him as Sasha lowers her arm. She then bends over to pick up her sword and the assortment of daggers on the ground, taking care to wrap them up gently and place them in the chest Grime had given her.
Finally settling herself on her mattress (which she had placed in the barn just for occasions such as these), Sasha finally lets herself ponder Grime’s words.
She can keep going without him. She now has Marcy and Anne, and they are closer than ever.
No matter how sad it is, she will make it back to Earth home and she will continue moving forward. She won’t slip into her old habits, she won’t push away Anne and Marcy, she can do it.
She has to.
|. . .|
The day so far has been normal. Wonderfully (horribly) normal. Anne and Sprig had a sleepover together last night, with none of the arguing that occurred the last time they shared a room (not much talking at all, actually). They had chocopede pancakes for breakfast (no one could eat much) and headed out for a (last) game of bugball.
Oh, who is she kidding. They are all miserable.
It is even worse than the day the Plantars left Newtopia. Then, at least, there had been some modicum of hope they might ever see each other again.
But not today.
Even as they try to make the most of their last moments together, Anne can tell that the Plantars are seconds from bursting into tears, as is she. Hop Pop refuses to make eye contact with her, Sprig is unusually still and quiet, and even Polly is significantly more subdued than usual.
But still, Anne tries to force a smile. She even lets out a chuckle as Hop Pop trips over his feet trying to catch the ball, him laughing along with her as he gets back to his feet.
But soon, oh so soon, it’s time.
Anne and the Plantars all stand together in the living room, unsure what to say. Marcy and Sasha are outside already, Marcy preparing the portal key. Any moment they will call Anne to join them and then she’ll be gone. But she just doesn’t know what to say to the Plantars before she leaves.
How could she cover everything that they’ve been through together? They’ve become her family, and now she’s going to leave them behind?
Finally, she starts.
“So, I guess this is goodbye, huh?” Anne says. Hop Pop reaches out an arm to stop her.
“Now, hold on one moment Anne.” Hop Pop, Polly, and Sprig all look knowingly at each other, as if speaking without words. Anne’s brow furrows.
“What is it?” Anne asks.
“Just wait here,” Hop Pop replies. He quickly stands up and strides over to his room. Anne glances at Sprig and Polly, opening her mouth to ask what’s happening, but Hop Pop returns before she can. He walks back carrying a small rectangular package wrapped in paper.
Tears immediately spring to Anne’s eyes.
“You got me a present?” Anne gasps. Hop Pop smiles softly.
“I’m sorry, it’s not much but I didn’t want to let you go without anything to remember us by.”
“Oh Hop Pop…” says Anne, wiping away her tears. “I could never forget you.”
“Just open it already!” Polly bursts out impatiently.
“Okay, okay,” says Anne, smirking slightly as she takes the package from Hop Pop. She carefully peels away the paper to reveal a stack of letters tied together with twine. She looks questioningly at Hop Pop.
“I know that when you go you probably won’t be able to come back, and we won’t really have any way to talk,” Hop Pop says, answering her unspoken questions. “Because of that, all of us decided to write some letters for whenever you need advice, or want to remember us, or even if you’re just missing Amphibia a little too much.” Tears stream down Anne’s face, which Hop Pop mistakes for unhappiness with the gift. “I know it’s not a very expensive gift, I just thought—”
“It’s perfect!” Anne cries, jumping to wrap her arms around Hop Pop, Sprig, and Polly together. They hug her back, all starting to well up with tears as well.
“We’re just going to miss you so much!” Sprig sobs.
“I’ll miss you too!” Anne exclaims. They embrace for a while, until they are interrupted by a voice calling from the front yard.
“Anne, it’s time!” shouts Marcy.
“Coming!” she calls back, her voice thick with tears. Anne reluctantly pulls away from the Plantars, drying her eyes with the back of her hand. Grasping the letters tightly in her hand, as if afraid she’ll lose them if she loosens her grip, Anne glances around the room before her eyes settle on her backpack, leaning packed and ready to go by the door.
The familiar sight of the backpack, the only thing that survived the journey to Amphibia and back with her, is almost enough to send her into another fit of tears but she is able to stop herself. With a lot of restraint, Anne walks almost robotically over to the backpack, slipping the letters into it before zipping it up and slinging it over her shoulder.
Anne looks back at the Plantars and they all share melancholic smiles.
“Let’s go,” Anne says. They all follow her, walking as slowly as they can, out into the yard. Marcy kneels by a swirling white portal, looking over the portal key in her hand with great concentration. Sasha stands beside her, looking downcast but she brightens slightly upon noticing Anne.
“Hey, Anne,” Sasha says. Marcy jerks her head up at this, noticing Anne too.
“Hi Anne! We’d better hurry up, I don’t know how long this will last and we’ve only got one shot.”
“Just one minute, ‘kay?” Anne asks. Marcy and Sasha nod, although they both look somewhat anxious. Anne needs to do this quickly.
Anne turns to give the Plantars one last goodbye, and they jump into her arms.
“I just wanted to say thank you—” Anne starts.
“There’s no need.” Hop Pop cuts her off. “All we need is for you to be okay on the other side. Can you promise that?” Anne closes her eyes, taking a deep breath to soothe her grief before opening them again.
“Yeah, I promise.”
|. . .|
Anne blinks away spots, temporarily blinded by the brightness of the portal. A playground comes into view around them, shrouded in darkness that is broken only by the full white moon shining above. The same playground where it all began.
It’s almost as if nothing has happened. All of Amphibia disappeared in the split second between their disappearance and reappearance. But the backpack full of keepsakes on her back proves the opposite, let alone the memories that weigh heavily on her shoulders.
The sound of splintering wood shocks Anne out of her reverie, glancing around to see Marcy grasping at the few pieces of wood that remain of the portal key, the rest scattering as ash in the wind. Three glowing gems clatter to the floor, and Marcy quickly bends down to scoop them up.
“So that’s it, huh,” says Sasha. “No way back.”
“Yeah,” replies Marcy, standing back up with the gems cradled gently in her hands. Looking to Anne and Sasha, she hands them the blue and pink gem respectively, sliding the green gem into her pocket.
“Just, y’know, as a keepsake,” says Marcy. Anne looks at her gem carefully, pulsating with blue power that now lies far beyond her reach.
“A keepsake,” Anne echoes. She slips it into her pocket too, as does Sasha. Anne looks from Marcy to Sasha, but neither seem eager to begin to journey back to their homes.
“I think it’s time we get going,” Anne says.
“Yeah,” says Marcy, but she and Sasha still don’t move.
“I know it’s hard,” continues Anne. “Talking to your parents, I mean, but you can get through it. I’m here to support you, we’re all here to support each other through everything. You can call me at any time.” Marcy closes her eyes and takes a deep breath to compose herself before opening her eyes and nodding. Sasha looks down for a moment before looking Anne square in the eyes and nodding too. Satisfied, Anne takes them both by the hand and they start to walk out of the playground together.
They hold hands until they get to the end of the street, where they have to part ways. Reluctantly, Anne lets them go.
“See you tomorrow,” says Marcy. Sasha and Anne echo the words back.
“See you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.”
“I love you guys, and good luck,” Anne adds.
“Thanks, and I love you too,” says Marcy, kissing each of them on the cheek. She turns and continues on towards her house. Anne watches her until she turns the corner out of sight, although Marcy turns and gives them one last wave before she does, which Anne and Sasha return.
“You’ll talk later tonight, right?” Sasha asks, turning back to Anne.
“Of course, I’ll be here for you no matter how it goes,” Anne replies, squeezing Sasha’s hand comfortingly.
“Thank you.” Sasha kisses her quickly before walking away down the street as well, giving Anne one last look before turning the corner out of sight too.
Now alone, Anne begins her own journey back home, passing familiar house after familiar house before finally arriving at her own. She pauses at the front door with her hand poised to knock, just as she had months ago.
They’ll be mad at her for leaving them behind, of course, but will they understand? Can they understand that she had to do it to protect them, just as she had to go back to save Marcy and Sasha?
Steeling herself, she raps on the door loudly three times. Immediately she hears the sound of movement inside the house, footsteps quickly growing louder as someone approaches the door. And there they are, Anne’s parents, grinning widely as tears stream down their faces. Their arms come up to hug her and she lets herself be held, sinking into their warm embrace.
“You’re okay,” Anne’s mom whispers, stroking Anne’s hair.
“You’re back,” Anne’s dad murmurs, rubbing her back.
“I finally am.”
“For good?”
“For good.”