Chapter Text
“We are nothing if not benevolent.”
Anne stared down the massive, unblinking eye before her. Even though the Core-infested moon had stopped plummeting towards Amphibia, the sheer size of the celestial body was enough to make her feel uneasy. It hung directly in front of her, perfectly suspended in space as its thrusters finished their shutdown sequence.
“Was Andrias not an acceptable host? Did the amenities of Newtopia leave you longing? Our fair kingdom has seen better days, after all.” The Core’s placating voice seemed to vibrate her from the inside out. Anne swore she could feel the fillings in her teeth shaking loose as it spoke.
Sasha raised a fist, her weapon of choice appearing in a flash of brilliant pink light. “This conversation doesn’t include you, Bug Brain. Now buzz off, before I give you an eyeball full of pom-pom.”
“Such a brute. Marcy was right about you.” Despite itself, The Core breathed out what must have been its best approximation of a deep sigh. How exactly it created such a noise without a pair of lungs or a mouth, none of them could be certain. “But yes, excuse our intrusion. Where were you? Discussing how Anne should be the one to sacrifice herself in order to destroy us?”
“We’re not letting her do that!” Marcy shouted back at it. “Anne, please, you don’t have to do this. There has to be something we haven’t tried yet.”
Anne opened her mouth to speak, trying to will some words of comfort into existence, but she could only shake her head as Sasha put an arm around her shoulder and drew her in close.
With the two people she cared about most in this or any other world in her arms, Sasha whispered to them. “Listen, after everything I did to tear us apart, I promised myself that I would never let anything come between us again. That’s why…I think it should be me.”
It was the shock of Sasha’s declaration that aided Anne in finally finding her voice. “What?”
“I’ve always took advantage of you and Marcy, always had to be the one in control of everything. I want to prove I’m not that person anymore. If I can protect you both and make sure you get back home safe, then maybe-” Sasha shook her head, dispelling some of the emotion that threatened to make her voice tremble. “Besides, you both have family waiting for you back on Earth, people that love and care about you. My parents can’t even stand to be in the same room with each other.”
“No!” Marcy put both hands on her friend’s arm. “Sasha, I’m the reason we’re in this mess to begin with. I found the box, I had Anne steal it, I had her open it knowing fully well what it could do.” She pawed at her eyes furiously, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. “It’s all because I was so selfish and dumb. If any of us de…deserve to die for our mistakes, it should be me.”
“Don’t talk like that, Marcy.” Anne tried wiping away what tears she could. “This isn’t about who deserves to die. This is about me wanting to make my own decisions. I’ve followed you and Sasha for so long, but now I want you guys to follow my lead. I want you to trust me like I trust you, okay?”
“Foolish. Foolish. Foolish.” The Core’s voice scratched at the back of their minds, like it was trying to physically carve its way inside their brains. “You three would each throw away such incomparable power, and for what? Redemption? Some semblance of agency?”
The moon hummed with energy, a number of its orange eyes closing shut as if in intense focus “It would seem we’ve arrived at an impasse. Luckily, I’d already forecasted such a scenario.”
“What are you talking about?” Pointedly ignoring its earlier comments, Anne growled out her question.
“Our final gambit - to raze all of Amphibia in a last effort to secure the stones - failed to account for your ace in the hole. However, both of our plans would only result in greater loses. In yours, one of you would most likely perish and the stones would be greatly damaged by the ritual. In our own, we would be obliterating everything that’s been created and would have to begin again from the tiniest single-celled organism. Perhaps it is the thousands of scholars within our assembled consciousness, but we do hate to see such cataclysm befall this world.”
“Sooo, what? You’ll stop being such a sore loser and let us smash you for good this time, you little cockroach?” Sasha bared her teeth.
“Don’t think we haven’t noticed those sly bug references, Waybright.” If The Core’s eyes were attached to a human face, then it might look like it was scowling at her. “What we suggest is a parley, of sorts. We are prepared to guarantee the safety of Earth and Amphibia, provided our conditions are also met.”
“Oh yeah, like we’re gonna-” Sasha doubled over, the rose-colored aura surrounding her briefly disappearing. She bit back a groan as a wave of pain from the injury on her back suddenly flared throughout her entire body.
“Sasha!” Anne and Marcy both moved to help her remain upright, until Marcy’s green shimmer also began to fade. She fell into Anne’s arms, already preoccupied with trying to assist Sasha. “Sorry, I’m sorry.” She murmured, sweat on her brow as she limply tried to pull Sasha to her side.
All the while, The Core watched quietly.
“Even as your power wanes, you’ve all displayed your propensity for controlling the stones. Given enough time and practice, your abilities could rival that of Anne: inter-dimensional travel, superhuman abilities, the manifestation of your unique aspects, need we go on?”
“You really don’t.” Anne hauled Sasha and Marcy up, wrapping her arms securely around both her friends as they held onto her for stability.
“Right. Those two won’t be able to survive in this vacuum much longer once their powers are completely extinguished. Our discussion must be quick.”
As little as Anne cared about negotiating while her friends lives were at stake, she knew she couldn’t risk angering The Core. And even if she could find their stones on them, Anne couldn’t leave her friends now. They needed her, and she needed them.
“What do you want?” She still didn’t trust it. How could she, after everything The Core had done to hurt her friends, her family, and everyone she cares about? Even so, if she had to make a deal with it in order to save all of them, then that’s simply what she would have to do.
“Our world was beautiful once, peaceful. Nothing like the barbarism we're certain you’ve experienced during your time here. We seek to bring about a new golden age in Amphibia’s history and restore our society to its former glory.”
Anne gritted her teeth. How much time was left before her friends would completely lose their power? “You still want the stones? The music box? Is that what you’re saying?”
All of The Core’s eyes opened, bathing her in an unnatural orange glow. “The stones no longer interest us, not when compared to the feats we've seen you and your friends perform. Not just magical; the ways in which you inspire bravery and sacrifice in others. In order to rebuild, we require those skills along with your ability to command the stones.”
Despite being in the endless void of space and having gone against an entire army of mechanical insects, it wasn’t until that moment that Anne felt truly small in The Core’s presence.
“What we want is you three.”