Amphibia The Calamity Gods

Healing

Marcy awoke to find herself in this floating landscape, she wasn't in the hospital, she was in some otherworldly like place, she saw a house in the distance, she slowly approached the house and went inside. She looked around and asked "Hello? Anyone here? A-am I dead?" And then a voice suddenly said "Oh, no you're not dead, your just recovering." "Who are you?" Asked Marcy, then a light came on in a living room as a chair turned around to reveal Marcy's favorite character from war of the warlocks. She looked at them and asked "Wait, are you..." And then the person said "I'm not actually the character you think I am, I'm actually the deity that Anne met when she died, I'm just taking the form of this character because I know how much you like them, besides, showing you my true form would just make your brain implode, and you've already been through enough so I'm not gonna show you. So please, have a seat." Marcy then sat down and said "...So your the deity of these powers that Anne was telling me about? Why am I here?" And then the  deity responded "I'm here because ever since I gave you three those gems to keep the powers within them, I've been watching over you three ever sense, my main job was to watch over the ones who carry the calamity powers to see how mortals would use that power. But I've been sitting idly by while you've been torturing yourself, and I was hoping that you would eventually recover, but it seems like that's not happening, so that is why I've brought you here to try and help you, consider this a therapy session for you." And Marcy instantly said "What? Therapy?? For me? Despite all I've done to doom the world?? The whole world is gonna die because of me!!! It's all my fault!!!" And then the deity said "Stop blaming yourself! Yes, maybe this wouldn't have happened if you didn't open the calamity box, but come on Marcy, we all know you just wanted to be with your friends, you never would have expected everything that has happened after that to happen. Look Marcy, I want you to stop clinging to the past, it is a drag on your life. I can't just watch you torture yourself over something you never wanted to happen." Then Marcy replied "People have tried telling me that all the time, but it doesn't matter. So many people are dead because of me, and soon the whole world will be." And the deity asked "How can you be so certain that the world is doomed?" And Marcy replied "I saw it! I saw how events will unfold!! I know what happens next! I saw the Earth being scorched by a shockwave! I saw my friends including myself being slaughtered! I saw Darcy with all the calamity powers! This world is doomed!" But then the deity replied "Marcy calm down, listen, what you saw was just another one of your hallucinations, your mind trying to convince you even more that all you do is cause harm to others, but that's not true. You think you don't deserve those powers, but you do deserve them, you and your friends used those powers and saved Amphibia years ago." Marcy remembered that time when she alongside her friends fought the core in space to save Amphibia from destruction. She then said "So what?" And the deity replied "So you are clearly the proper choice for those powers, along with Anne and Sasha." But then Marcy said "But how can I be worthy of the powers of a god, when all I do is fuck up and get people killed?" But then the deity replied "The only reason you've been getting people hurt is because of your guilt, you let Darcy free from their cell because you felt guilty about the past and wanted to escape it, this is why you need to stop clinging to the past, it's not gonna get you anywhere." Then Marcy replied "Why does it matter if I live? I-I've got no reason to..." But then the deity replied "Marcy, your friends don't want you to die, I know you don't think this is true but they care about you so much." But Marcy replied "Then why did Polly get all mad at me when I got Hop Pop killed?" And then the deity responded "Polly was just really upset at the time and needed time to calm down, she's sorry about what she said now." But Marcy replied "I doubt that... I'm worthless..." The deity sighed and said "Ok, let me show you then." And then, the deity opened a small gateway to the mortal realm to show how Polly was feeling, it shows the time back at the hospital where Polly was feeling regretful about what she said. Polly said "I shouldn't have said those hurtful things to Marcy should I." And Sasha said "Polly, no one's blaming you. It was totally understandable that you acted that way, you just lost your grandpa. I understand what you're going through." But then Polly replied "But look at what those hurtful words did to Marcy, she was already going through enough shit and I just had to make it worse. I was just so angry and upset. I wish I could tell Marcy I'm sorry, but I assume she's sleeping right now." And Anne replied "She is, let her get some rest, we're gonna need her help if we want to stop Darcy before it's too late." Then the gateway closed, and the deity said "See? Your friends still care for you, and they need you. And you need them too. If you actually died, you say they wouldn't have to worry about you anymore and can move on, but how can they move on? they're you're friends, and they'd be heartbroken if you actually died on them, especially your parents. Marcy, you're worth more than you think you are." Marcy was silent, unsure of how to respond, seeing Polly actually feeling sorry for her definitely made her feel like maybe her friends still did care. But then she said "But... but these powers, how can you expect me to save everyone with these powers, when all I do is the opposite?" Then the deity said "Based on what I've seen, it's because you're holding your full powers back, you won't use them to their full potential, you're afraid to use them because in your eyes they're a grim reminder of the past. And that can be tough, people who have gifts are usually a result of something traumatic from the past, and what you went through was horrible, what the core did to you. I'm so sorry, but I wanna tell you, don't let the trauma allow the core to torment you, that's how they manipulated you earlier, used your grief and trauma to trick you. If you wanna defeat Darcy, you need to prevent the pain of the past from effecting you. And, you need to stop holding your powers back, embrace them, they're a huge responsibility after all. If you embrace your powers, you will be able to do amazing things, and you won't have to worry about getting people hurt anymore." After Marcy heard all this, she felt like maybe the deity had a point, maybe the past was taking over her future, maybe it was her guilt and grief and trauma that was the reason she kept getting people hurt, if she wanted to stop that, she would need to put all that aside. She then asked "H-how do you know that embracing my powers and putting aside everything that has happened to me will work??" And then the Deity replied "Marcy, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret, those powers that you and your friends have, they used to belong to another group of people. They were the old gods, the defenders of the multiverse, they're actually my bosses." And then Marcy asked "Really? What happened to them?" And then the deity responded "Let's just say at some point they decided it was time they pass on their powers to someone else. But anyway, the one who had your powers, she was a lot like you, for a while she felt as if she didn't deserve these powers, always afraid of messing up and getting people hurt, she tried to hide herself from the world because she feared all she'd do was carry death on her shoulders, but then, one day, she fought that fear of hers and embraced her powers thanks to the help of the other two gods, and she ended up saving an entire dimension!" And Marcy responded "...Woah.... uh, that's cool and all. But what if not everyone forgives me for all the pain I've caused.... I have done quite a lot of bad things in life because I was selfish..." And then the deity replied "Marcy, you're gonna have to tell them eventually, they have the right to know it was you who opened the box, as to how they will react, I'm not sure, but, I have a feeling if you wait to tell them after you defeat Darcy with your friends and save Earth, I have a good feeling they will forgive you. Marcy, do me a favor, put aside your trauma, take a good look at it in the eye and face it, don't let it pull you down like that. Allow me to tell you what Calamity actually means, I know that in your universe, the word calamity means an event causing great disaster, but in the universe where the old gods came from, it means something completely different." Marcy looked at the deity in curiosity when they mentioned this, then the deity said "The term Calamity means hope, and embodied within that hope is the fundamental belief, and the potential of every living being to be a force for good. That's what you and your friends can bring them with those powers, in time, you will help the human race achieve things they could only dream of. You and your friends together can do it, you three together are the Calamity gods, and those powers you've earned are well deserved. Anne and Sasha have already fulfilled their destiny with those powers, now it's your turn..." They grabbed Marcy's hand and looked at them in the eye and said "Marcy, who do you wanna grow up to be?" And Marcy felt a tear coming from her eye as she finally said "I- I wanna be... I just want to be a good person." And the deity responded, "You can do just that with those powers, I want you to join Anne and Sasha in battle and bring Darcy down, now's your chance Marcy, to rise, do this, be this, the type of person others could only imagine ever becoming, the hero that you truly are! Take your place among the brave ones MarMar, fight and win. The time is now." Marcy took in these inspirational words and finally said "I-I won't let you down... I promise..." Then the deity smiled and said "I know you won't, that's why I chose you and your friends to carry those powers to begin with." They then opened a large portal beneath Marcy causing her to levitate in thin air as they said one last thing that echoed throughout the entire room. "Fly MarMar, embrace Calamity."
Marcy woke up from her hospital bed. She looked around, the words of the deity repeating in her head, Marcy knew it was finally time to let go of the past, all it ever did was break her and give her panic attacks, she needed to learn to move on, and the time was now.
(To be continued...)