Chapter Text
The Core is the greatest achievement in all of Newtopia. Perhaps even the greatest in all of Amphibia.
Of course, the city has the Calamity Box, the box that shines with the power of the three stones. The box that brought the Amphibian society together and started the vast conquering of worlds. The box that rose them all up from the ashes of war into the prosperity they now live in.
But they did not create the stones.
No, someone far beyond their power did that. The stones could be used for many things. Better crops, transportation, and even healing severe injuries. However, the box's destiny had already been chosen. It had to be protected at all costs.
The core is the greatest achievement that THEY created.
To escape death is a concept not many would consider.
Yet they did.
How could you live forever without using the powers of the stones? How did you preserve your mind? How could you make sure everyone of value could be kept forever?
They had found someways to become "immortal", with the mossmen they could stay alive for hundreds of years. Of course, this required parts of their bodies to be replaced and the outcome was often painful. They needed a better way. A way to preserve their minds.
How could they do that?
The question had been answered when the machine's blueprints were drawn. A machine that could hold the minds of anyone who deserved it. It could keep them alive together, forever. Immortal life.
And it worked.
The core was alive, first with only one member (however, the first one in the new mind was not the first who had been tested on. There were mistakes.) Over time the number became 2, 3, 15, 20 and on and on. Eventually it became so many you couldn't keep count.
Scientists, warriors, kings, queens. All of them went into the orb, even if they didn't want immortal life. They had no choice. They must preserve the legacy of Newtopia.
A hivemind in an orb that could control their city. After all, they earned that right.
Things could get problematic with so many members. With so many ideas, it was hard to make conclusions on anything. The mind is not one, not yet. It needs a host for that. That they all agree on.
It's been a very long time. They're not sure how long, time loses all meaning in the core, and still, after all those years, they couldn't find a host. It could never find one...suitable.
Every possible host either had a fatal flaw, couldn't be persuaded, or was just better off being in the core itself. Another problem they had discovered was the body of an Amphibian couldn't withstand The Core. Even controlling whatever ruler was in power for long periods of time had bad consequences. No. No one perfect enough had shown up. They couldn't find what they were looking for.
Until now.
The creature...Marcy Wu was it? She's everything they have been looking for. Her body was healthy and energetic. Quick reflexes and a good eye for shooting and noticing targets. However, the thing that made her worthy was her brain. One of the smartest any of the members had known (she'd beat that failure of a king at flipwart after all.) A human. Something that could withstand the transferring of minds.
Perhaps they had made a mistake introducing the idea of killing her. No, she'd be more useful alive and well so they could take over.
Yes she would be the one.
Capable. Smart. Naive.
Just what they needed.
Things we're going to change.
------
The body is...odd to say the least.
Movements don't come easily, the host always seemed to have trouble with motor skills. Or maybe the time in the tank had made the host's muscles more weak. Perhaps it was even they just hadn't been in a body for so long they forgot how it worked. No matter, they could fix that.
There were other problems to deal with.
Like the host's mind.
Something happened when Marcy became the host. For starters, they started to become more of one being, as expected, but now they had the host's...quirks? They supposed they could call them that.
Things became less of things to play with and control, not to say they didn't still enjoy those things, but now they felt something in the back of their mind. A feeling of sympathy. Maybe even regret. They should not be feeling these things.
Darcy glared down at the plants on the host's desk. The poor things...
That was not our thought....
The pathetic things were drooping. They should do something...
Darcy blew out a breath of air and turned away from them. Looking at it made them feel something. Something they didn't care for. Something that should've been gone when they entered the body but refused to leave.
No matter, it could be fixed with a bit of rebooting and memory elimination. If the host did not comply, it was nothing a little electrical shock couldn't fix. Then everything would be perfect.
But for now...
Darcy turned back at the plants and squinted at them. A small voice told them what the plants needed to perk up.
"Water...suppose we could get that..."
The plants did not respond. That was to be expected.
"...One moment then."
After a bit of searching for the proper equipment and filling it with the liquid, the hivemind returned.
Slowly it poured the water on the plants. It didn't seem to do much, it only dripped off the leaves and absorbed into the soil. They watched it soaking into the dirt. A pleased hum escaped them.
Something...or someone told them it would take a bit before they would perk up again. Not that it mattered, after the reboot they wouldn't be caring for them anymore. They would have to fend for themselves.
"That should suffice."
The plants did not respond.
But the voice did.
A silent "thank you" murmured in a black void.
-----
A day before the reboot.
Things are almost prepped and it cannot come faster.
They cannot lead a war if the host's thoughts and emotions are getting in the way. They need to command, to destroy, to conquer. Most of all they need to keep the king in line.
The host feels some sort of...attachment to the failure king. Darcy does not. The two sides of that can cause confusion and errors. The core was built to be robotic, to make decisions without bittersweet memories getting in the way. Humans are made with emotions and memories that affect every part of their lives. Darcy is a mix of both. They do not care for it.
It can make for some awkward moments like now.
Darcy sat on the throne, tapping their fingers against the coral that makes up the massive throne, their throne. Andrias stood beside them, saying nothing, waiting for instruction.
Good.
The voice urged them to ask. They struggled for a moment inside their mind to tell them no and to submit. However, the voice did not comply and Darcy hesitantly spoke to the king.
"You were close with the host?"
A sigh.
"No my lord, I only used her to get what we needed. As you asked."
A lie. Both of them know that.
Darcy tapped their fingers again. Their host feels calmer with the continuous rhythm of the noise, Darcy does as well, they decide to press further.
"That is not what the host thinks, nor do we. You did care, it's fairly obvious, we were stuck inside that crown of yours for hours, listening to you two chatter like old friends. You care. So may we ask something?"
Tap. Tap. Tap.
"Of course my lord."
Darcy stopped the tapping of their fingers.
"Why did you kill her?"
Silence.
"...You ordered me to kill her before."
"The plan changed. If anything you made it harder for us. With the injuries she sustained it took longer to take her body."
"I am aware, but if I hadn't she would've got away."
"Hm, but stabbing? A push would've worked as well. I don't think you're answering correctly. You are lying to us."
Andrias tensed up. A grin spread across Darcy's face. They are enjoying this.
"I failed once with that sword. I didn't want to again."
"There it is. The reminder of that...frog. Still weak like before. Yet here's the thing, our host wasn't that frog, she was Marcy Wu. Someone, we presume, you cared about and yet you killed her. Remarkable..."
The king turned his head away, too ashamed to respond.
"Maybe she was just a shadow of them. A replace perhaps? And once you saw her with that box you remembered your failure." Darcy spat out the last word. "So, are you happy now? Have you gotten the revenge you so desperately wanted?"
Andias did not respond.
"What good it did us. Just made everything more of a hassle." They chuckled and leaned back in the throne. "But I suppose if it makes you feel better, it is no matter for us. Good on you for stabbing a child. Gold star for you bud."
The throne room is once again silent.
------
Everything they have worked for is gone.
Their castle is in ruins. Their subjects are free. Their box is destroyed. Their robots have been turned to ashes. The moon is nothing more than a couple specks of dust.
That Boonchuy girl couldn't even be decent enough to STAY dead.
They had lost everything.
And yet they hadn't.
They had one thing.
The core had been tested of course. Everything they touched their data was put into, it created a backup file. Even when they left a confinement, a piece of them remained. This applied to their host as well. The only way out was by death... and well they weren't going to let that happen.
The host knew of their presence. The Core made it clear the moment the cord had been split in two and the helmet clattered to the ground.
"You cannot get rid of us that easily. We will not let you free."
She hadn't responded.
She hadn't acknowledged them as the moon moved towards Amphibia. She hadn't when the moon exploded and Anne was gone. She hadn't as they left Amphibia. She didn't throughout her hospital visits and therapy sessions. She didn't as they packed up to leave for a new home. She choose to ignore them. It was a reminder to them that it was her body and mind. That she wouldn't let them win.
Yet they always reminded her of their presence.
"We are still here. We will never leave. One day we will take over you pathetic planet and rule it as intended. You cannot escape us host. No matter how hard you try to lock us away, we will always be here..."
But no answer.
No matter how much they threatened or yelled or tried to gain control they were given nothing.
Darcy was forced to watch from afar, commenting every once in a while, but no response was ever returned. The more and more they were pushed away the more and more they started losing pieces of themselves. They became less The Core and more Darcy. Their once formal way of talking was changed to a smug and sarcastic one. They became snappier and made more deadpanned jokes. Clearly being inside the host's mind was having an affect on them.
This changed caused something.
Sometimes the host would give them a small hum or a small response. It was limited to yes or no, if they were lucky it could be a full sentence, but it was SOMETHING. FINALLY THEY WERE GETTING SOMEWHERE.
And then one day...
"Look at this!"
"...An Earth flower. What species is it?"
The host touched the petals and studied the shape of it.
"It's a daisy! A pretty common flower, these guys pretty much pop up everywhere"
It was just the beginning to many attempts like it.
-----
The core has been alive for centuries.
Perhaps that is too many to some, but they hadn't truly lived until the past years.
Being a being meant to conquer and destroy doesn't leave time for enjoying anything. They found some happiness in the control of others but after so long it became tiresome. Their life was not filled with joy but with that of needing a purpose. Of needing to not be forgotten. To not be alone and thrown away.
The same fears as their host.
But after being shown the small beauties of the world, they have come to finally know what it means to live.
The host is quite busy at the moment. Busy packing away her belongings as she prepares for her new home back in California. Darcy wasn't sure whether to be excited about a new place or to be sad to be leaving their first home. But after the host confirmed there were squirrels in California, Darcy could not be more excited to go.
However they have something to say as mushy and stupid as it'll be. Olms, why couldn't get those emotions removed.
The hivemind cleared their throat, "if it's not to much trouble, we'd like to request your attention. Although even if you didn't pay attention we would do it anyways, you don't have a choice actually."
Marcy chuckled slightly as she shut her suitcase.
"Alright, shoot!"
This will be the dumbest thing we ever say.
"We are not one for these types of things but we're going to say it regardless. Before we got stuck here we only wanted to destroy and conquer, of course we still do, but you showed us there is more to life than that. Despite us acting the way we did to you, you still showed us the beauty in small things, you still tried. We know you did not want us here and we didn't want it either, but regardless, you took the opportunity to make a friend, and for that we are grateful. So thank you, Marcy."
Silence followed after and for a moment Darcy thought they had something wrong before they realized Marcy was crying.
"HEY DON'T GET ALL SAPPY ON US OUGH..."
"But that was the perfect character redemption arc speech I have ever heard in my life..."
"No. No. And no. No getting sappy. Ew gross. Destroy it."
Marcy laughed, wiping away the tears on her face.
"Hey, that's the first time you've called me by my name...why now?"
"We supposed you've earned it by now. 10 years stuck in here calling you host gets boring. Now we can mock you with your full name, Marcy Regina Wu."
"Nope. Please go back to calling me host right now."
---
Bags were packed and filled into a car. Rooms were stared upon one last time. A flower placed upon a small grave once again. Marcy waved goodbye to her parents as she set out for a new life with her friends. A new journey full of adventures to have.
As Marcy stepped out of her car and began walking to the airport gate, a thought stuck her.
"Hey you know I could write a really good book based off of us ya'know."
Darcy snorted, "And what would you call this book of yours?"
"How to socialize your feral Darcy."
The hivemind snorted.
"Makes it sound like it's our domestication arc."