Eyes | Amphibia

Chapter 25

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Maddie, Hop Pop, and Polly arrived with the spell later that night.
The sun was setting as they entered the castle, painting the sky with red and orange hues. If this were any other day, it would be a beautiful sight to behold.
The three were escorted up to the throne room at once, where they found Grime and Sprig asleep on the throne. Sprig was curled up on top of the large toad, whose chest rose and fell with each heavy breath he took.
Sprig, however, was quick to wake up at the sound of footsteps. "Mmm... who's there?" He asked as he sat up, only to gasp when he saw his family and Maddie. "Hop Pop! Polly! Maddie!" He exclaimed, hopping off of Grime and starting toward them with his arms open wide for a hug. He had forgotten about his leg, though, which caused him to stumble and trip over himself before he could make it very far.
"Be careful, Sprig!" Hop Pop ordered as the three ran up to the pink frog with smiles on their faces, surrounding him in a group hug.
It wasn't long before the noise caused Grime to wake up too. "Huh? What's going on?!" He croaked as he adjusted his posture, only to relax at the sight of the frogs he'd been expecting. "Ah, it's you three. Welcome. Have you got the spell?"
"Right here." Maddie replied as she parted from the hug to show the king the pouches she had brought that contained the spell.
"Wonderful!" Grime smiled toothily. "I'll go and grab the others. You all wait here." The toad then left the throne room, and the frogs took the extra time to catch up. Hop Pop asked about Sprig's injury, and Sprig told him that the doctors were working on an antidote thanks to Sasha. He also told the three all about the battle with Darcy— or at least, every part of it that he had witnessed.

...

It wasn't very long before Grime returned with Anne, Sasha, and Anise following close behind him. The three felt better after getting some much needed rest, and they were now ready to finish this once and for all.
"You guys! You're here!" Anne grinned at the sight of the frogs and ran up to them, scooping them all up into a hug. The three happily hugged her back.
Sasha couldn't help but smile at Anne as she reunited with the frogs, taking a couple seconds to admire her before shifting her focus back onto the task at hand. "Alright, are we ready to do this?"
"Ready as I'll ever be." Anise responded with a determined nod, adjusting their grip on their bat.
"Well, if you're all ready, I'll go and tell Yunan to bring Darcy up." Grime said as he started to leave.  Before he could get very far, however, Maddie jumped up. "Wait— there's something I need to say before Darcy gets here."
Everyone averted their attention to Maddie with curiosity. Once all eyes were on her, the young frog looked up at Anne, Sasha, and Anise with concern in her own. "You need to know that The Core is still capable of hurting you in there, and any injuries you suffer within the mindscape will follow you out to the real world. You'll only have each other, so you need to be very careful. Also, you only have an hour before you'll be brought back out, so be sure to act quickly."
Anne, Sasha, and Anise glanced at each other as they processed Maddie's words. This was a large undertaking, but it was something they had to do. They all knew that.
"We understand, Maddie," Anne affirmed after a short period of silence. "Thanks for the warning."
With that, Grime left again to go and retrieve Darcy. Now all there was to do was wait and pray that things would go their way in the mindscape. They had been lucky so far, but how far would their luck extend?

...

Darcy put up quite a struggle as Yunan and Olivia escorted it back to the throne room behind Grime. It shouted and squirmed and kicked, but its efforts to escape were futile against the handcuffs binding its wrists together as well as Yunan and Olivia's grips on its shoulders.
Its hostility seemed to flare up all over again at the sight of Sasha, Anne, and Anise, especially the latter, as they were responsible for the shattering of the Ultra Stone.
As the three approached it, each holding a small pouch and a weapon, its lips curled back in a snarl and it glared at them with cruel, bitter eyes.
"What do you three think you're doing?" It growled.
"Remember when I said I'd get into that mindscape of yours and kill you? That. That's what we're doing." Anne answered gravely. "We'll make sure you can never bother Marcy or anyone else ever again, and we'll make sure your legacy is destroyed for good."
For a brief moment Darcy's eyes seemed to widen with worry, but it wasn't long before it relaxed and let out a spiteful chuckle. "You do understand that Marcy's memories have been completely wiped, don't you? When you find her, she won't know who you are. She won't help you. She'll view you as strangers— enemies, even. Heck, she may do away with you before we even get the chance to!"
Hearing this caused Anne's heart to sink, but she didn't let Darcy's words sway her. She couldn't. "I don't care. We'll get her to remember, somehow... I know we will."
"Hmm. Suit yourself." Darcy shrugged. It seemed... oddly calm? But that smile on its face suggested something sinister, and Anne couldn't help but fear what Darcy might've been planning.
Sasha placed a comforting hand on Anne's shoulder. "Are you ready, Anne?"
Glancing up at the blonde, Anne replied with a nod. "Yeah, I'm ready."
Anne readjusted her grip on the pouch she held that contained the spell as she glanced back at the others. They were waving goodbye and wishing them all good luck.
The brunette smiled at them before shifting her gaze back ahead of her. "Okay..." She took a deep breath. "Three... two... one."
And with that, the three threw their pouches down. Darcy didn't resist.

...

When they regained consciousness, they were surrounded by a dense forest. The sun was shining bright as it filtered through the canopy, and a light breeze flowed through the air.
"...Well, I don't know what I was expecting, but this wasn't it." Sasha mused as she stood up, picking her sword up as she did so.
"This is the mindscape?!" Anise exclaimed as their eyes scanned over the surrounding area. "This place doesn't seem half bad! I'd want to stay here too, if I was Marcy!"
"Except Marcy's being held here against her will," Anne muttered as she glanced around. "Come on, we don't have much time. We have to find her."
The three then began their trek through the forest, keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of Marcy, or anything that could lead them to her.
...
"Geez, how big is this forest?" Sasha asked after a while. They had been walking for about ten minutes now, yet it seemed like they were still right where they started.
"I don't know, but we're running out of time!" Anne answered, her tone easily conveying her worry. "Maybe we should try going in a different direction?" Before anyone could respond, though, the sound of rustling in one of the surrounding trees grabbed their attention.
As she gazed up at the tree where the sound was coming from and observed how the leaves were moving, Anne had an inkling that there was a person up there. She stopped in her tracks and glanced toward Sasha and Anise, who seemed to be thinking the same thing. The three stopped and waited for the being to reveal itself.
Before long, someone climbed down from the tree. In their hand was a shimmering golden apple, and on their face was a bright smile.
"A magic apple! I've finally found one!" They exclaimed as they spun the vibrant fruit around in their hand, admiring it. "Aldrich is going to be so proud when he sees this! I'd better get back and show him."
Before they could turn around and begin heading out of the forest, though, Anne called out to them, revealing the presence of both herself and Anise and Sasha as well.
"Marcy?..."
At the sound of her name, Marcy's eyes widened and she turned to face the girl who had uttered it. Beside her were two other teenagers who seemed to be about her age. Something about the three of them seemed so familiar, but she couldn't quite place her finger on it.
"Oh, hello there!" She offered a friendly smile to the strangers as she slipped the apple into her bag. "Are you three lost?"

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