Chapter Text
Marcy found herself suspended in a black void. Why is it so dark, she wondered as she slowly became more aware. She tried to recollect her memories, but all she could manage to remember is that she was afraid of something. Of what, she had no idea.
Once she woke up more, Marcy noticed a sharp pain in her head. It felt like the worst headache she ever had. She groaned then put a hand on her forehead and it soon started to fade.
“Welcome, Marcy” greeted a series of overlapping voices.
She gasped and looked around, only to see more pitch black space surrounding her. “Who are you?”
“We are The Core” it told her as its voices solidified into one. “Let’s get started, shall we?”
Before her incoherent thoughts had time to process what was said to her, Marcy’s eyes opened to suddenly see herself sitting in what seemed to be a closed off study. Across from her sat a gigantic newt on a huge chair. He was even bigger than Andrias and his eyes were almost entirely concealed by his large brows.
Marcy rubbed her eyes. “Where am I? What happened?”
“At the moment, you are trapped within your own mind” he informed her. “But how long you stay here is entirely up to you.”
“Wh-what do you mean?” she asked timidly.
“I mean: you can be kept prisoner here for an eternity, or…” he said then leaned forward. “… you can join us.”
“Join you in what?”
“How we go about it is up to you, but Andrias already gave you the idea, did he not?”
Marcy’s eyes widened as the memories from the throne room came flooding back. “Um… y-yeah, I guess” she mumbled before realizing what he meant. “Wait, what?! I’m not going to help you invade worlds!” she declared as she stood up.
He raised an eyebrow and reclined until he was resting on the back of the chair. “Then you shall stay here for the rest of your life while we do it ourselves.”
“Wait, no! I-…” she said then sat back down and buried her face in her hands. “Anne and Sasha… I need to apologize…”
“For what? From what I hear, you did them a favor. At least it would’ve been a favor if they actually cared about you.”
She raised her head with a bewildered look on her face. “What?”
“If Anne or Sasha was to be taken from you, you’d sacrifice anything to be together, correct?”
“Of course, but-“
“But they weren’t willing to do the same for you.”
Marcy paused, struggling to find the words to defend her friends.
“I’ve seen your memories, Marcy” The newt stated. “I know about the times you begged the two of them to play Creatures and Caverns, only to be ignored or outright rejected. Anne couldn’t even recall you ever mentioning it when you reunited with her at the gates.”
“Just because they don’t like what I like, doesn’t mean they don’t care about me” she muttered.
“Oh, but here’s the thing: you try new things for them, don’t you? Most friends do, after all. Yet, when was the last time you chose how to spend a sleepover?”
She gazed at the floor and blinked away her welling tears. Was it just her or did the bad guy have a point?
“They only kept you around because they would’ve felt bad if they abandoned you” he said. “However, I suppose the fact that you did homework for them helped.”
Marcy sniffed and wiped away a tear. “B-but I need them…”
“No. You’ve never needed them” He corrected then leaned forward with a grin. “So why don’t we show them?”