60. Forgiveness Lies Within

Chapter 58 - Forgiveness Lies Within

After escaping Mr X and making a fool of him again, our heroes go back into hiding. Anne and the Plantars were relieved to be home. Tint was relieved as well, so was his ghostly uncle. The two families were tuckered out and all went to sleep. Everyone that is, except for Darrel.

Darrel just laid in bed with his eyes open. Knowing that if he went back to sleep now, he would see that monster that's taken over Marcy again. But at the same time, he needed to sleep. So he shuts his eyes, and begins to dream.

But the dream happened to be another nightmare. This time, he was falling from great heights, with no end in sight. He saw the ground that showed five glowing lights, but the image was very blurry. Then glowing eyes came flying around him. They spin around the scared teen, until a familiar entity appears in front of him: The Core.

"You can't escape this!" said the Core. "You are nothing without your friends. You are nothing without your magic. You are nothing no matter what you do!" Darrel shut his eyes and tried to escape, but Andiras' grip tightened around him. "Look at what you've done," he said.

Darrel slowly opens his eyes to see a new person being possessed by the Core. It was something more terrifying than Marcy. It was himself, and he was far more vicious. The Eternal Staff's crystal was hovering over his antennas, acting like a power source or a powerful eye. Powerful meteors came from the dark clouds above, hitting the grounds of Amphibia and Los Angeles. His darker self smiled, "This is on you."

Andiras' second hand slams down on the two Darrels, and Darrel wakes up sweating and panting. Darrel regains his breath and slams his head with his eyes open. 'It's over,' he thought. 'And it's all my fault. If I hadn't yelled at Marcy… She didn't want to be alone. And I just pushed her away.'

The next morning, Tint wakes up to the sound of a very sad guitar. This brought Tint's smile down to a frown. He finds Darrel strumming his guitar with a sad melody. "Hey Darrel," he said. "Another nightmare?" Darrel nodded quietly in response.

"Wanna talk about it?" Tint asked. Darrel kept his mouth shut. He never made a sound. Tint grew weary about his best friend. He's never felt this depressed before. "He hasn't gotten any sleep I presume?" Cronaxx asked. "I've never seen him like this before," replied Tint.

Cronaxx looked at the troubled teen. Then remembered all the talk about his previous nightmares. "It would seem that Marcy's predicament has placed a heavy burden on his shoulders," said Cronaxx. "But it wasn't his fault," said Tint.

The day progressed slowly for the trio. Darrel sat at the table eating a bowl of cereal, not caring that it wasn't his favorite brand. His family took notice and wanted to say something, but the Salamanders gestured 'no' in response.

Darrel stayed outside in the backyard listening for the birds chirping in the trees. He watched them as they landed on the branches, then after a small stretch or clean, they flew off. This made Darrel smile sadly for a bit until he frowned again.

Then, his phone goes off. It was Anne texting him. 'Darrel, Great news. Dr Jan has a lead on getting back to Amphibia. Head to Dr Frakes' Brainasium as soon as you can.' Darrel trembles at the response of going to Amphibia. He puts his phone away and looks down on the ground.

He pulls out the picture of him, Anne, Marcy, and Sasha having a fun time together. He looks away and shoves the photo in his pocket, crumbling it up. He decides to go for a walk.

(Rascal Flatts - What hurts the Most)

(Darrel walks out of his house and journeys down the street)

Darrel:

I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house

That don't bother me

I can take a few tears now and then, and just let 'em out

I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while even though

Going on with you gone still upsets me

There are days every now and again

I pretend I'm okay

But that's not what gets me

What hurts the most

Was being so close

And having so much to say

And watching you walk away

And never knowing

What could've been

And not seeing that love in you

Is what I was trying to do

(Darrel looks over to see Saint James Middle School and has a flashback of him, Anne, Marcy, and Sasha on their first day. "Are you ready, Darrel?" Sasha asked. "As long as I have you guys, nothing can stop us," replied Darrel. "That's the spirit, Darrel," said Marcy. "Now let's-" Marcy accidentally walks into the flagpole, making Darrel, Anne, and Sasha laugh. Darrel smiles and continues to walk.)

It's hard to deal with the pain of losing you everywhere I go

But I'm doing it

It's hard to force that smile when I see our old friends

And I'm alone

Still harder getting up, getting dressed, living with this regret

But I know if I could do it over

I would trade, give away all the words that I saved in my heart

That I left unspoken

What hurts the most

Is being so close

And having so much to say (much to say)

And watching you walk away

And never knowing

What could've been

And not seeing that love in you

Is what I was trying to do

(Darrel looks over to the library and thinks back to the day he and Marcy were reading assigned books for the summer, "So how about 'The Templar knights?'" Darrel asked. "It sounds medieval and it's nonfictional enough." "Sure," said Marcy. "And maybe we could read more Cynthia Coven afterwards." "You know I'm a sucker for magic," said Darrel. The two laugh and the echoes bring Darrel back to reality. Darrel looks down and walks away.)

Oh

Hey, yeah

What hurts the most

Was being so close

And having so much to say (much to say)

And watching you walk away

And never knowing

What could've been

And not seeing that love in you

Is what I was trying to do

Not seeing that love in you

That's what I was trying to do

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

Darrel's walk ends at the park. The same park where everything started. Where they stole the box, opened it, and woke up in Amphibia. Darrel sat on one of the benches, trying to practice his magic. No luck, not even with his staff close by.

Tint and Cronaxx approached him with disbelief. "So are you going to sit there feeling sorry for yourself?" Tint asked. "Tint," said Darrel. "This is where it all started. Where we first met, where we stole the box, where we first came to Amphibia. I didn't know what was happening. Now I lost Marcy, I lost my powers, I've lost hope. What's the point in fighting?"

Cronaxx was disappointed, "This is why the magic left." Darrel snapped back to his mentors. "Left?" he asked. "You didn't lose your powers," said Tint. "Your powers left you." Darrel turned away, "Great, another reason I don't deserve magic."

Having enough, Tint smacked his best friend in the face. "That's enough!" He takes off his disguise, not caring if he gets caught. But lucky for him, no one was around.

"Darrel, you have to buck up!" Tint said. "This isn't you. You can't give up when things get rough. That's not how a wizard acts." "How can I be a wizard without magic?" Darrel asked. "It's impossible."

"A wizard knows no such word," said Tint. "He's right," said Cronaxx. "You've let your anger, guilt, and sadness take over your mind, you've forgotten the basic principles of being a wizard."

"And that's why I'm going to help you," said Tint. "You are?" Darrel asked. "Yes," replied Tint. "What happened to your friend is not the end. This is just the beginning. That's why we need to be ready to fight back." Darrel's phone goes off and Anne has texted him again. 'Come quick! We got a lead!'

Darrel gazed at the message, then turned off his phone. He looks at himself from the reflection of his phone and comes to realize something. He is not ready for what comes next. He has to return to Amphibia, but at the same time he knows what's coming and he's not mentally well.

He looks to Tint and Cronaxx, then to his hands. "You have the will to do this," said Tint. "But you are in control of your own destiny. Not me, not Sasha, not Anne, not Cronaxx, not Marcy, you. Whatever you decide, is up to you." Darrel grips his hands and takes a deep breath. "Let's get my magic back.

The two salamanders smiled and the three returned home to the backyard. "Here should do just fine," said Tint. "So what am I doing, Teacher?" Darrel asked as he sat down. "You're going to meditate until you confront the negative emotions," said Tint. Darrel crossed his legs and breathed, "I don't know how long this will take," said Darrel. "It may take hours or days," replied Cronaxx. "Depending on how powerful your block is."

Darrel nodded, "Before I go, I want to say thank you to you two. For not giving up on me." Tint smiled, "Your welcome, Darrel. Now it's time for instruction. Begin meditation."

Darrel closed his eyes and slowly began to concentrate on his meditation. Cronaxx kept his family away from the backyard telling them not to disturb his training. His vision slowly started glowing inside his eyelids. He could see cosmic stars slowly floating around him. Then, they started turning so fast they looked like a laser light show.

Darrel opens his eyes to find himself in a field of open hilltops. The grass was so long, he could see the wind blow. He didn't know where to start, until he saw a white dragonfly and butterfly. He follows the two and then glowing orbs start appearing out of thin air.

Darrel approaches one very closely and starts to hear children laughing. The orb reveals a young Darrel reading the Wizard, the Knight, and the Dragon. Darrel smiles, knowing this is the memory of when he first met Anne and Marcy. He touches the orb and then takes form into a butterfly.

(Here Comes a Thought - Estelle)

Every orb Darrel passed becomes a memory of his journey in Amphibia. From the day he first met Tint, to raising Clipper, to finding Anne, Sasha, and Marcy.

Take a moment to think of just

Flexibility, love, and trust

Take a moment to think of just

Flexibility, love, and trust

Here comes a thought

That might alarm you

What someone said

And how it harmed you

Something you did

That failed to be charming

Things that you said are

Suddenly swarming

And oh, you're losing sight, you're losing touch

All these little things seem to matter so much

That they confuse you

That I might lose you

Take a moment, remind yourself to

Take a moment and find yourself

Take a moment to ask yourself if

This is how we fall apart

But it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not

It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay

You've got nothing, got nothing, got nothing, got nothing to fear

I'm here, I'm here, I'm here

As Darrel continues through the field of memories, he feels a sudden jolt from his arm. The jolt shot straight up from his arm to his brain, then a chest appeared in front of him. It had a mysterious lock that had two keyholes.

"That's strange," he said. "Where are the keys?" He looks to his hand and finds one of the keys in his hand. "Huh, that explains half my question." He turns around to find the other key, only to find a curled up human in dark clothing.

"Excuse me," said Darrel. "Do you know where a key can be found?" He slowly approaches the human, only to flinch away from Darrel. "No," the figure said in a raspy voice. "We're not giving up the precious!"

Darrel is shocked to see the figure is a past version of himself. Eyes glowing red, and wearing his old wizard outfit. "You're me," said Darrel. "And I'm you," said Dark Darrel.

Dark Darrel takes his staff and commands a herd of butterflies. "I'm the part of you that you've cast aside!" The butterflies hit Darrel showing him the bad memories of his life.

Here comes a thought

That might alarm me

What someone said

And how it harmed me

Something I did

That failed to be charming

Things that I said are

Suddenly swarming

And oh, I'm losing sight, I'm losing touch

All these little things seem to matter so much

That they confuse me

That I might lose me

"We should be angry," said Dark Darrel. "No matter what they say, they hurt us. Sasha, Marcy, all the others. Yet here you are trying to keep a straight face. Don't you think it's time to end this charade?"

Darrel stands defiant, "This is no charade, I can overcome this." "NO!" Dark Darrel shouted. "How much longer can you keep this up? You have no friends in Amphibia! They betrayed you, why go back to them?!"

Looking back at the memories of escaping Andrias' might, Dark Darrel grows more vicious and dark. "And what about Marcy?! She took you away from the people you love! You can't get her back, even if you had all the power in the world. She won't be the same!"

Darrel crouches down at the image of her being possessed by the Core and grips his heart. Then, he reaches into his pocket and finds the old photo of him, Anne, Sasha, and Marcy. He takes a deep breath and looks up at his dark self.

"I know you hate them for using me, I'm upset about that as well. But I hate the fact that they act this way. Growing up can be scary, because you might not like how your friends change. But now Sasha and Marcy are scared. Because they're stuck and they don't know what to do!"

Dark Darrel covers his ears and screams in agony, knowing he's right. But he didn't want to let go of his wrath. "And I owe you an apology. I didn't want to express my emotions at them because I didn't want to lose my friends. But I ended up losing them anyway. I was as scared at losing the close friends I have, I was willing to do anything to keep us together. But those mistakes only made me more angry at myself. I just didn't want to be…alone."

Dark Darrel calms down a bit and reduces his size back to normal. "Just like Marcy," he said. "Yeah," said Darrel. "She was scared that she didn't want to lose us, she was willing to do anything to keep us together. But it's because of her, I grew up into a man. I gained magical abilities, and I'm being taught by the greatest wizards of all of Amphibia. I stood up to Sasha when she was controlling me and the others. Anne and I found love in each other. And because of Marcy, my mom has a second chance at life."

"Yeah," said Dark Darrel. "But why am I here?" "Because we must forgive each other," replied Darrel. "Because there is a bigger threat than us, and Andrias. Our family has forgiven us, our friends have forgiven us, now it's time we forgive ourselves. And work together to get them back."

Take a moment, remind yourself to

Take a moment and find yourself

Take a moment and ask yourself if

This is how we fall apart

But it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not

It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay

I've got nothing, got nothing, got nothing, got nothing to fear

I'm here, I'm here, I'm here

And it was just a thought, just a thought, just a thought, just a thought, just a thought

It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay

We can watch, we can watch, we can watch, we can watch them go by

From here, from here, from here

Take a moment to think of just

Flexibility, love, and trust

Take a moment to think of just

Flexibility, love, and trust

Darrel offered his hand to Dark Darrel and they smiled. Dark Darrel accepted his hand and the two keys became one. And so did the lock, Darrel's dark form merged with him and he unlocked the chest. Inside the chest was the magic of the Eternal Staff.

Darrel grabs the staff and the magic flows within him again, and brighter than ever. Darrel smiles within himself, then looks at his past selves. His younger self, his pre-Amphibia self, his Amphibia self, and his wizard Amphibia self. They all smile, agreeing that it's time to return home. "I'm here," he whispered.

Darrel opens his eyes to find himself back in his backyard. Standing up, with his staff in hand, he looks up to see the staff's colors fully restored. He looks down to see Tint and Cronaxx smiling. "Well done, student," said Tint.

"Mom! Dad! Girls, come out here!" Darrel cried. The Loyalitat family races outside to see Darrel with his staff in hand. "Darrel what is it?" Matthew asked. Darrel waves his hand and summons a small rain cloud over his hand. Rain falls from the cloud, exciting Amelia and Jane. "You have your magic back!" Amelia said.

Darrel nods with glee and turns his sisters into their favorite animals for a short period of time. Matthew and Sarah laugh as soon as they return to normal. Cronaxx smiled at Tint and said, "Congratulations Tint. You two are one step away from becoming wizards." Unaware of what the last step is, Tint smiled at his progress. "Well I had a great teacher."

Then all of a sudden, Darrel's phone goes off again. He sees that Anne has been trying to get to him all day. From voicemails, to text messages, Anne was very worried about him. Darrel took a breather and texted Anne. 'Come to the park, we need to talk.'

Darrel waited in the park on the same bench where he was sulking. Anne arrived with a scared look on her face. The amount of time Darrel didn't respond made her worried. But Darrel waved to her smiling, making her feel a bit relieved.

Anne sat down, "Hey Darrel. What happened? I was worried you didn't respond." Darrel smiled, "I have been focusing on this." He casts a nebula spell and cups a small ball in his hand. Anne was happy to see that he got his powers back and is keeping it to a minimum to avoid crowds.

"Well I've got good news too," said Anne. "A scientist named Terri is going to help us possibly create a portal to Amphibia." Darrel smiled, "That is good news." "I can't wait to see the look on Andrias' face when we return."

Darrel soon frowns at the idea, "Listen Anne, what I'm going to tell you isn't going to be easy." "What is it, Darrel?" Anne asked. "I had a vision the last few days," replied Darrel. "And that vision showed me that there is something more dangerous than Andrias. Something we have never faced before."

"What is it?" Anne asked. "It's called the Core," replied Darrel. "The Core consists of the greatest minds in all of Amphibia's history. It's a machine, and it is evil. So evil that it's destroying all life in Amphibia for its plan of world conquest."

Anne was scared, "That's really bad." Darrel frowned more with what he was about to say. "And there's something else. You were right." "About what?" Anne asked. "About Marcy," replied Darrel. "I saw her in my vision. She's alive." Anne perked hearing her friend survived, but kept her smile on hold. Knowing Darrel had more to say. "But I'm afraid that the next time we see her, it won't be her."

"So, what are we going to do?" Anne asked. "We take things one step at a time," replied Darrel. "Once we get to Amphibia, we find Sasha. Then, we gather as many allies as we can. Frogs, Toads, Newts, Salamanders, anyone who wants to stand against the tyrant king."

"It's not going to be easy," said Anne. Darrel offers his hand, "Then let's make another pact." The two stand hand in hand. "I am Darrel Loyalitat!" "And I'm Anne Boonchuy!" "And together, we're going to save our friends. And Stop Andrias and the Core!"

The two proceed to head home, still holding hands. "So are you sure we can stop the Core?" Anne asked. "With our connection to the Calamity Stones," replied Darrel. "Something tells me this is going to be quite a climactic battle." The two smile and walk into the sunset.