Chapter 4: Twisting Theories

Summary: Marcy finds a stranger with a familiar name..

Marcy woke up the next morning in a thick river, under the surface and circled up in a nest she'd made for herself. She yawned and stretched, preparing for the day, and then she lifted herself above the water. She saw Sasha in the little patch of a clearing right in front of the camp and smiled.

"Morning, Sash!"

Marcy waved vigorously to catch her attention, and her face heated up at Sasha's smile back.

"Good morning Marce." the blonde waved back, resting her hands on her hips and examining a weird plant Marcy recognized from her notes.

"Whatcha doing?" She asked, pulling her top half onto the shore and watching her friend. 

"Looking at this plant you used for the curse. I'm going to try and recreate it, because maybe it will work as a reversible curse or something."

Marcy replied with a simple "huh". She hadn't noticed before, but Sasha was… smarter then she realized. She had reason for everything she did. She was much different fro m i t s p revious host . Maybe, if Strength came a bit closer, we could -

Marcy ducked under the water. She heaved in the air that she could breathe, trying not to panic, hoping to steady herself. She tugged at her hair seeing an orange glow that was all too familiar.

Why is it doing that?! HOW is it doing that?

It seemed to have become a place in the back of her brain trying to take over, stuck in the form of intrusive thoughts.

But it… couldn't do anything other than that.

Used my body as your stupid host, look where that got you, she thought angrily, her claws (claws? Since when ?!) loosening their grip on her hair. She took another minute to center herself and calm down, before rising above the surface again.

"Oh, there you are." Sasha said in a dull tone. "You okay?" she had only meant it as a joke, and Marcy knew that, but something inside her broke at the carelessness in her voice.

She grabbed at the sand and mud in front of her, needing something to dig into with her hands. She couldn't breathe, it was all too much, tears threatened to spill down her face-

Two gentle hands grabbed her shoulders and submerged her in the water, forcing her to suck in a shaky breath. It felt like there wasn't enough air for her lungs, like she was surrounded by rapidly closing walls.

The hands left her shoulders and Marcy panicked, flailing uselessly in the deep river.

She saw the surface above her, shining a comforting deep blue. Not green, blue .

I'm safe .

Her hands, which were clawing at the water around her, slowed to a stop, just drifting.

I'm okay .

She took a few deep breaths.

Everything is okay now .

Sasha was just above the surface, waiting for her with a calm (but slightly confused) expression.

The trio had learned yesterday that they couldn't see under the water unless they went under themselves. It was an easy tool to use when spying on people.

Marcy sat up partially while in the water. She looked at her own body, admiring the green-blue scales and webs. She noticed the fins all around her had grown in size, much larger than the small ones she'd had yesterday. More fins and webs grew along her arms and legs that certainly weren't there earlier.

The curse is growing stronger.

She built up courage in her gut. She wanted to go above the surface, even though it felt better below it, she needed to see her girls.

With a kick of her back legs, she poked the top of her head up.

Sasha was a little bit farther away then she realized, chatting softly with a tired-looking Anne.

"Hey Sasha, hi Anna-banana." Marcy greeted them with a small wave, slowly swimming a bit towards them.

"Oh! Hi, Marbles." Anne spoke cheerfully, though her voice cracked with disuse.

"You look…" she struggled with a compliment, "Scaley?"

"No, she looks… uh… green." Sasha butted in.

Marcy snickered at their attempts.

Her friends had grown a lot since the first day in Amphibia. They grew closer, actually becoming good friends and overcoming their fears or outgrowing negative traits. If it weren't for the strange beauty of the talking frog world, the three would've been separated.

"So," Anne began, cutting off her train of thought, "Should we see what Marcy can do with her cool underwater powers today?"

"I don't mind. As long as she doesn't get too far from us." Sasha said with a hint of nervousness in her tone.

Marcy giggled gleefully. "Let's explore the river!" She exclaimed, splashing around messily to get below the waves.

The feeling of her back fins above the surface while the rest of her swam underneath it was… hard to describe. It felt natural . 

She sighed happily, the rays of morning sunshine warming her back.

"Marcy! Wait up!" she heard Sasha shout, followed by the pounding of footsteps and the echo of laughter. Marcy reared up and called out to them, "SLOWPOKES!" before diving down and swimming even faster.

The constant curve and bend of the river made it a bit difficult to navigate, but ultimately more fun.

Marcy leaped out of the water, intending to gracefully land back in it, but missed the river by a foot and fell onto the hard earth with a thump.

"Owww…" she groaned, lifting her head and blinking away the spots.

She was in some part of the forest. The roar of a waterfall was in the distance, and the gentle bubbling of the river was just behind her. She could get back in if she wanted to.

But something kept her from it.

A girl with dark brown hair and tanned skin, laying at the base of a large tree. She was pale and seemed asleep.

Marcy tried to stand and after falling over too many times, decided to just crawl over to the girl instead. The steady rise and fall of her back was a clear sign of breathing, meaning she was alive, but by the state she was in she must've been in a coma for quite some time.

Marcy gently tapped at the stranger's face with a wet webbed hand, causing her to shift in her sleep. At the lack of a reaction, Marcy decided to poke them with a dull claw. This time the girl grumbled and her eyes blinked open, steadily adjusting to the light.

She yelped with surprise and scrambled backwards. The sudden burst of action scared Marcy back to the river, where she hid for about a second before curiosity got the best of her and she popped up again.

The girl was dazed and confused, backed up against the tree and breathing heavily.

"Um… hello!" Marcy chirped, revealing more of herself from the calm waters.

This stranger looked at her fearfully, eyes darting around wildly to find something to defend herself with.

"I'm, uh… I'm not dangerous." The last time Marcy had tried to make that clear, she'd been cursed. She only hoped this stranger was more reasonable.

"...what…what are you?" Ah. Being half-fish must've changed her appearance more than she realized.

What should I say? Should I just introduce myself?

Yes, introductions always worked. At least, they did in Vagabondia Chronicles…

"I'm Marcy." She started with what she hoped was a reassuring smile, "I'm…" a human that was cursed to become a fish? "I was human once. Who are you?"

The girl paused. She looked like she was fighting excitement with fear.

"...I'm Luz. The human."

The puzzle pieces clicked together and Marcy's eyes widened with realization.

"Wait, someone was looking for you!" She said, pulling herself onto the land. "Purple hair, pointy ears, has sharp goop weapons?"

"Amity? Amity's here?!" Luz's shoulders dropped in relief, as though a weight was lifted from them. "Do you know where she went?"

"Well, uh… not exactly." at her scared expression Marcy quickly continued, "She and I… got off on the wrong foot."

Luz tilted her head in silent confusion, motioning for her to continue.

"She threw me off a cliff." Marcy deadpanned.

"Oh!"

"So?" Anne nudged Sasha with her elbow gently as the two walked.

"So what?" She asked, yanking some leaves from a tree and putting them in the backpack.

"Did you talk to her? About…" Anne looked around before whispering, "The journal?"

"No," Sasha admitted, "She… got spooked by something this morning and had a panic attack. I didn't have time to ask her about it. Plus, don't you think we should tell her together?"

Anne interlaced her fingers. She thought Sasha would handle it, based on the fact that Marcy had a crush on her and would open up more easily. But now that she took the time to think about it, talking with her just the three of them sounded nice.

"Yeah. You're right."

"Of course I'm right, I'm always right." Sasha boasted jokingly, pushing a handful of random plants out of the way so the two of them could pass by easier.

A familiar yell followed by a crash echoed from a further part of the forest in front of them.

Anne and Sasha shared a worried look and bolted towards the noise.

They pushed through the dense woods and broke into a less thick part of the huge forest, where they found Marcy leaping out of the water repeatedly, landing with a splash. There was someone Anne didn't recognize nearby, she seemed harmless, playing with the water that lapped at the shore.

Marcy built up momentum and suddenly went flying in the air. With a jolt of fear, Anne realized she wasn't going to land in the water and ran forward while Sasha tackled the stranger to the ground.

"I gotcha! I gotcha!" Anne held her arms out to soften Marcy's fall, ending up on the ground as the other landed right on top of her, knocking the wind out of her chest.

"Woah! Anne, I'm so sorry, are you okay?!"

Anne held up a thumbs up with a forced smile. "Yup… never felt better…" She said in a raspy voice, trying to force a breath or two.

"LET ME GO!" The stranger cried out, pinned against the ground by a very angry-looking Sasha.

Anne gently shoved Marcy off of her and sat up.

"Sash, no!" Marcy scolded, grabbing one of the blonde's hands in a feeble attempt to pull it away. "She's nice! Let her stand up."

"But she could be dangerous!" Sasha protested, tightening her grip.

"Sasha, l e t he r s ta nd up ." It sounded more of a harsh command than a request, a low growl building in the back of Marcy's throat.

"Wooah, okay, that's enough." Anne cut in, grabbing her from behind and hooking her arms around her waist. "Sasha, maaayybe listen to Marcy."

Sasha huffed but obeyed, lifting her arms to let the stranger free. Anne could see a hint of fear in her eyes. She was… scared of something.

The girl struggled into a stand, offering a hand to Sasha, who gladly took it.

Marcy grinned excitedly, "Can Luz come with us to our camp?" She asked, eyes sparkling with the opportunity of a new friend.

"I, uh…" Sasha brushed herself off before quickly responding with a glance in Marcy's direction, "Sure! Yeah, definitely. Why don't you two go ahead, we'll catch up."

"Okay! Thanks Sashy!" Marcy slipped into the river and swam away with the girl (Luz?) running after her.

"Anne," Sasha said as soon as the other two were out of earshot, "There's something wrong with Marcy. I saw her- she-" her breathing sped up and instantly Anne went to comfort her, embracing her in a warm hug.

"Anne, her eyes turned orange ." Sasha's voice cracked slightly and she cleared her throat, embarrassed.

Orange? But why would her eyes turn-

"The Core. Darcy! It really did do something to her." Anne realized, pulling away from the hug.

"But if Marcy's still being affected by the Core, why hasn't she told us?" Sasha wondered, sounding angry.

"New development?" Anne guessed, fidgeting with her fingers as her thoughts tangled into a mess of theories. "But also… she might not trust us very much. We've changed, but does she know that?"

Sasha frowned. She turned in the direction of where Marcy and Luz(?) had walked away and began to follow them, gesturing for Anne to come with. The two hiked past the huge plants and unsteady rocks in a comfortable silence until Anne began to speak again,

"We should talk with her soon. Once we figure out how to cure her curse, we're going to talk to her about all of this."

Sasha hummed in agreement as they finally ended up in the clearing just outside of the camp, where Luz and Marcy were chatting happily about tragic backstories or something.

"Hey girls!" Marcy waved a webbed hand in the air.

Sasha let out a nervous laugh. "Hey, Mar-mar."

Anne strolled towards the two calmly. She stopped hearing Sasha's breath hitch and turned around.

"Uh oh."

The first stranger that Marcy had described to them yesterday, the one she'd been cursed by, was here.

Holding a knife to Sasha's neck.