A/N:
OMAC001: This won't be the last time we see her, count on it! And thank you!
Bia1230: Thank you!
snake screamer: Thank you, it was a good B-Day. If it's me, you can expect Decade is going to show up in some way or another. And yeah, the Triple Ship is going to launch.
Cross177: I explained to someone else on AO3, but I'll go ahead and do it here.
In any fic I right with Kamen Rider, Tsukasa plays an integral role in helping out the newbie Riders. He is a snarky a-hole, but he's an a-hole who cares about these fledgling Riders and wants to see them succeed, despite knowing that they may face grueling hardships ahead. But despite that, he also knows that it is those same hardships that forge the mettle of a Kamen Rider for the better in the end. Which is why he doesn't agree to help Sasha in taking them all back to Earth, he could so easily do it, but then what? How does that help them grow not only as people, but as Riders? No, Tsukasa knows that all Riders must complete their journeys on their own in order to become the heroes they are meant to be, no matter how much he may want to assist them more.
Iron maker2: Thank you! Of course, Decade could very easily defeat Lich, he is a Legendary Rider and the Destroyer of Worlds. But, no, it's not his place to defeat the big bad and he knows it.
Starwarriors: Indeed I am.
Anne blinked a few times, her head hurt, a lot, and she felt achy all over her body. Slowly, the Thai girl rose, propping herself up on her forearms as she tried to figure out what happened. Anne looked around and found herself in a room that wasn't Luz's or the hotel's. There was something that looked like a heart monitor to her right, and a couple of wires that led from it and down under her shirt. She tugged on her shirt and looked down to see the wires were attached to a couple of adhesive patches that were right over where her heart was.
"Okay…definitely a heart monitor. Am…Am I in a hospital?" Anne speculated aloud.
Anne turned her head to the right and saw Marcy, who was sitting in a chair that was propped up against the wall, and in the bed next to Marcy was Luz, sprawled out and snoring a little.
"Luz, Marcy," Anne called out as she reached out with her right hand and shook Marcy's shoulder.
"WAH!" Marcy yelped as she jumped out of the bed and began waving around her crossbow arm. "I'M AWAKE! I'M AWAKE!"
Anne leaned backwards and frantically said, "Mar-Mar, chill! CHILL!"
"AAH!" Luz exclaimed, being awakened by Marcy's yelling and Anne's, she jumped out of the bed on the opposite end and pulled out the WizarSwordGun. Aiming it around the room in the same frantic manner as Marcy. "WHO IS IT! WHAT'S HAPPENING!"
"I'M AWAKE!"
"THAT'S TERRIFIC!"
"I KNOW!"
"WHY ARE WE STILL YELLING!"
"I DON'T KNOW?!"
Marcy and Luz stopped waving their weapons around the room and came closer to Anne with relief in their eyes.
"¡Gracias a dios (Thank goodness)! You're alright," said Luz.
"What happened? Why am I in a hospital?" Anne asked.
"You're not, you're in the royal medical ward in the castle. Same place I ended up when I broke my leg," said Marcy.
Anne's eyes widened. "When did you break your leg?!"
Marcy cupped her chin for a moment and said, "Hmm, I'd say day one of when I got here."
Should've seen that coming, thought Anne. "Okay, so, what happened to me that I needed to come here?"
Luz explained what happened in the last few hours, how she and Marcy were almost taken control of by some mysterious newt witch, and how she wasn't successful with the two of them and went after Anne instead. Unfortunately, the curse user was successful with Anne and made her believe that the two of them were Fallen. Luz elaborated a little more on their battle outside of the city, Rider versus Rider style. That's when Marcy took over.
"After the fight was over, you were unconscious, and the same happened to Luz, except in her case it was due to her mana being significantly drained," said Marcy. "Guess going into Super Form drains your magic faster, just like using Trinity Form drains our stamina."
"Woah…" Anne placed her hand against her head as she let all of that sink in. "I'm so sorry guys…I can't believe I let some witch control me like that. No offense, Luz."
"None taken," Luz responded. "And don't worry about it, you were under the control of a spell, so don't beat yourself up over it. What I want to know is, who was that newt woman?"
Marcy hummed as she thought, for a moment her eyes glowed in the emerald color of her power and a couple of seconds after she said, "I know who she is! BRB!" The young genius dashed out of the room and left the other two girls alone.
Luz sat on the edge of the bed and smiled at Luz. "Despite the fact that you were trying to kill me, that was a pretty epic Rider battle."
"Heh, kinda, but it sounds like you mopped the floor with me. I didn't know you already had your Super Form," said Anne.
"I was surprised you two hadn't, but I guess that makes sense, you told me that you just became a Rider like a few weeks ago, right?"
Anne nodded and sighed. "Guess me and Marcy aren't going to be of much help to you on this one. If Lich's getting stronger, then we might just get in your way."
Luz shook her head in disbelief of that notion. "What?! No way! You scared him that day when he had me! He ran away from you two, so I don't doubt that there's something about your powers that he doesn't like. I'm glad you two are helping me, I'm just sorry that I had to bring this mess into this world when you already have your own problems."
Anne smiled, happy that Luz was glad for their help. "Well, could be worse, he could team up with the Fallen."
"Ugh, don't jinx it!" Luz exclaimed.
Anne and Luz laughed for a minute, but then Anne remembered, "Oh shoot, the Plantars! Are they okay?!"
Luz nodded. "Yes. After Marcy brought us to the medical ward, she hurried back to check on the Plantars. They're alright, and a little worried about you. We should stop by the hotel and show them you're fine, after we get something to eat because I'm star–"
Marcy returned swiftly to the ward and brought with her a book. She placed the book on the bed and opened it to the page she was looking for. "Here, her name is Xolatla! She was Amphibia's legendary curse wielding, witch, she singlehandedly pioneered many of the different magical advancements, and wrote hundreds of grimoires and tomes regarding magic, curses, and their uses, both the good and the bad. It was said that there was no one who could match her, that her magic was unlike any other in the land."
"Okay…so what does a legendary witch want with us?" Anne asked.
"That's the crazier thing…she's dead."
"WHAT?!" Luz and Anne exclaimed.
"She died centuries ago, during the 'Lost Era' of Amphibia's history," said Marcy. "But that was definitely her who cursed Anne, look, here's her picture!"
Marcy turned to the next page which had a picture of the Xolatla, and below it was the year of her birth and the year she died.
"Oh shoot…it was Lich…" Luz realized. "Lichs are undead sorcerers skilled in necromancy, if this Lich Phantom is the same way, then…"
"He brought her back to life, just to fight us," said Marcy.
"Hold on, are you saying this guy could, like, raise an army of the undead to fight us?!" Anne asked.
Luz cupped her chin and answered, "In theory, based on fantasy games and tropes, necromancy users get stronger the more undead they command. That doesn't mean that they aren't strong already, a Lich is even worse. They're witches or wizards that delved into the dark side of magic, defying the laws of nature, and seeking eternal life in order to further their power."
Marcy looked to Luz and asked, "And that's why he's after you, he wants your magic so that he can make himself stronger."
"But, why Luz? Why's her magic so important?" Anne asked.
Luz remembered the words of Lich, how he told her that her magic turns despair into hope. Was she really that powerful? Lala, do you…do you think there's any truth to what he said about me?
"Hard to say, Niña. I may dwell inside you, but there are some things that are beyond my knowledge, it's kind of frustrating honestly."
I might know someone who does.
Luz closed her eyes and concentrated, Marcy and Anne looked at Luz for a moment before both reaching out towards her. The moment they made contact with Luz, they found themselves looking at a grayed-out world, and before them appeared the form of Kamen Rider Wizard, otherwise known as Haruto Souma.
"Oh, seems we have some guests."
Luz looked to her left and then to her right, and then to the right and left again. "MARCY, ANNE?!"
"W-W-What's going on here?! Who's that?!" Anne asked.
"¡Mantén la calma (Stay calm)! ¡Mantén la calma (Stay calm)! He's my other mentor/sensei, or at least a copy of him that's been imprinted into my brain. Marcy Wu, Anne Boonchuy, meet Haruto Souma, Kamen Rider Wizard!" Luz announced.
Wizard bowed slightly to the two girls and said, "Nice to meet you, Wu-chan, Boonchuy-chan. It seems you managed to figure out how to bring in others into our conversations, Noceda-chan."
Luz looked up at Wizard and asked, "Wait, you mean I could've brought others into this state so that they can talk to you?!"
"Yes, I thought I told you that?" Wizard shrugged. "Oh well, yes, you can, but they need to be touching you when it happens."
Luz wanted to facepalm herself, but for now there were bigger fish to fry. "Mr. Souma, there's a Phantom that's coming after me, and he wants my magic. Tell me, what's so special about my magic? He said it can turn despair into hope, is that true?"
Wizard looked upon his young apprentice and pondered his answer to her. "Emotions are powerful, and when combined with magic, are vastly more so. Among these powerful emotions are Love, Hatred, Hope, and Despair. Hate and Despair are destructive in nature and consume all in their path, but Love and Hope bring about greater strength, because the former only fights for itself, but ladder grows stronger through connections and in turn makes a wizard or witch even stronger. Your magic is connected to your hope and optimism, Noceda-chan, it is partly why you gain new power. Because of your need to protect those you love and bring them hope, you get more powerful. And if this Phantom is able to gain control of that magic, of one who has conquered their despair…"
"He can turn everyone's hope into despair, making him more powerful and even causing more Phantoms to emerge," said Luz as the realization of dawned on her.
Wizard nodded in confirmation.
"That's…insane…Wait, what will happen to Luz if he manages to take her magic?!" Marcy asked.
Wizard, despite not being to see his face, his body language was telling enough that the answer was not good. "A forceful extraction – which I assume is what the Phantom will do – will also take away your life force, Noceda-chan. You will die."
Luz's eyes widened with shock. Wizard disappeared and the world around them regained its color as Luz ended the conversation with her magic master. Marcy and Anne glanced to each other, concern strong in both of their eyes. They knew this was serious, but after hearing what Wizard said, it only made them more aware of seriousness of this situation. If they messed up, Luz's magic wouldn't be the only thing taken from her, her life would be as well.
"Luz…" Anne whispered.
The Latina raised both of her hands and slapped both sides of her face, startling Anne and Marcy. "Okay, at least now I know why he's so gung-ho about getting my magic! Now we just need to find the person who made the door, and once we do, we can focus on defeating Lich!"
Marcy and Anne looked at the girl in disbelief.
"Uh…Luz, are you alright?" Marcy asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"Uh, we just got told that if Lich gets your magic, you might die!" Anne exclaimed.
Luz rubbed the back of her head and chuckled lightly. "Yeah, no, I heard all of that. But it doesn't do us any good to get all crazy worried. So long we work together we can beat Lich, simple."
Marcy shook her head and asked, "How can you be so sure it's that simple?!"
Luz took a few steps forward and struck a confident pose. "Because we're Kamen Riders! And no matter how dire the situation, or how dangerous the mission, Kamen Riders always find a way to save the day!"
As much as Anne and Marcy wanted to feel emboldened by Luz's words, they were still worried. Things turned out good for the heroes because it was written that way, but this wasn't a show, there was no guarantee that they were going to win, nor that any of them – especially Luz – were going to survive.
After filling both their stomachs, Luz and Anne headed out on their vehicles back to the Hemisphere Hotel. Upon arriving, they noticed a familiar newt boy standing outside of the hotel waiting for them.
"Heya, girls," said Ned.
"Nosey Ned, fancy seeing you here," said Luz.
"Huh, you really did know where I was staying. Hope you didn't tip off any more of those thugs," said Anne.
Ned raised his hands and said, "Hey, hey, like I said, it wasn't personal. I just needed to make some dough, a'ight? 'Sides, I came through for youse."
Luz and Anne's eyes widened with shock, could it be that Ned found the person they were looking for?
"No way, you found the door maker?!" Anne exclaimed in excitement.
Ned made a face and then made a wavy motion with his right hand. "Kinda, sorta. He didn't look like what youse said he would look like."
Their excitement dwindled immediately when they heard that.
"Buuuut! This same guy did say he lost a weird lookin' briefcase a few months ago, exactly the same as the one youse two told me about," said Ned.
Anne and Luz glanced at each other for a moment, there was a chance that Ned was leading them into another trap, but then again, they didn't really have any leads themselves. It was a gamble; however, they didn't really have many options at the moment.
Luz walked up and then crouched low to meet Ned's gaze. "Alright, Ned, take us to this person."
"But if you're lying…" Anne let that vague threat hang in the air as she let her eyes briefly glow blue.
"Ned don't go back on his word. Now c'mon, they're not that far away," said Ned.
"Oh, hold up! We're bringing some other friends along!" Anne stated. "Luz, you mind making a shortcut?"
"No hay problema (No problem)."
[Connect, Please.]
Luz opened two different portals, one that led to the Plantars and one to Marcy. After bringing them to their location and talking to them about the discovery, the group decided to follow Ned. In order to get to where they were going faster, all three girls called upon their vehicles and rode off. Ned was riding with Anne on Machine Stormer so that he could lead the way, while Hop Pop rode with Luz on her Witch Speeder and Polly and Sprig with Marcy on her Machine Zefyr.
After everything that had happened, everyone was expecting the doormaker to be deep in the bowels of District Six, but to their collective surprise, Ned led them to a home in District One. As was the norm in this district, it was a big home, the owner most likely was very wealthy, or very well off. It was at least three stories high, with two large columns flanking either side of the house that appeared to be holding up an overhanging roof. At the front was a strange coat of arms, it was of plants, a door, and single eye.
"Luz, what does that look like to you?" Marcy asked.
"The door…I can't believe it!" Luz exclaimed. The young Latina took the hand of the small newt child and shook it vigorously. "Thank you! Thank you, Ned!"
"S-S-Sure," said Ned as he was getting shaken. After releasing his hand, Ned straightened his hat and said, "Alright, are we square now?"
"Sure, dude, and next time, try to keep your nose clean," said Anne.
Ned shrugged. "No promises. Hope ya finds what youse lookin' for." The young newt child scurried away, off to find another customer who needed his information services.
"Well, this is it. Fingers crossed everyone," said Luz as she knocked on the door.
The group waited for about a minute before they heard movement come from behind the door. Just then the door slowly opened, everyone in the group gulped audibly, with Anne, Luz, and Marcy getting ready spring into action at the drop of a hat. Who knew what this person was like, were they nice? Were they secretly evil? Were they just a refugee escaping the Coven System? Were they a criminal who escaped the Boiling Isles? One way or another, the answers were just behind that door.
However, when the door opened, the group was a little underwhelmed by who was behind it. It was a newt, and old newt at that. He was green in color, a little faded due to his advance age. He had a head of white bushy hair, and a bit of a wild look in his eyes, the newt was also wearing a lab coat.
"Great Scott!" the newt exclaimed as he laid eyes on the human girls.
"Ahem, sorry, sir, but are you the owner of this house?" Marcy asked.
"Marcy Wu, the Chief Ranger and hero of Newtopia! And more of her kind! This is extraordinary!"
Marcy chuckled a bit and said, "I kinda get this a lot."
Before they could react, the newt man gripped Luz's wrist and dragged her inside, the door still wide open.
"C'mon, we gotta help Luz!" Hop Pop stated as he led the charge inside.
Sprig, Polly, Anne, and Marcy followed the old man inside and as they entered, they noticed how ornate the inside was, but as they followed after the ramblings of the newt man, they noticed that the further in they went, the more they realized it looked like less of a mansion and more of a workshop.
"LUZ!" Sprig called out.
"LUZ, WHERE ARE YOU!" Polly cried.
"OVER HERE!" Luz responded.
The group followed the sound of Luz's voice and ended up in, to Marcy's amazement, a laboratory. It was filled with inventions, blueprints, mathematical equations, beakers and test tubes filled with unknown substances, and Luz. The Latina was currently sitting on a stool with what looked like a suction cup dart attached to her forehead, wrapped around it was a wire that led to a bulky machine off to her right, and next to that was the newt who brought her in. He was wearing an elaborate helmet on his head, with wires that ran from it to the machine itself.
"Okay, creep, let Luz go or –!"
"Shh! Please, don't interrupt!" the newt hissed as he interrupted Anne.
"Don't shush me! What are you doing to Luz?!" Anne demanded.
Luz waved her hand in a calming motion to her friends and said, "It's okay, I don't think he means any harm, he's just…eccentric."
The newt started messing with some dials and switches on the bulky contraption and then said, "Now, I shall attempt to read your mind!" The newt flipped a switch, and the machine hummed a little louder. "Okay, you…you have travelled a great distance!"
"Yes, exactly! We–!"
"No, no, no, don't tell me!" The newt concentrated and continued "reading her mind". "You…You have come here to…seek out knowledge…!"
"Yes, yes!" Luz confirmed.
"You…You want to know…the perfect way to make an omelet?!"
Luz deflated. "No…"
"Oh, um…" the newt turned a dial or two and tried again. "You want to know…the best sights to see in Newtopia?!"
Luz made a wavy motion with her hand and said, "Eh, wouldn't mind, but not my main reason."
Polly faceflippered herself, hopped over to the old man, jumped up, and tail smacked him in the face. "Okay, that's enough! We need to find out about a doorway to another dimension!"
Despite getting slapped by a pollywog, the newt didn't seem fazed, if anything it looked like he just had an epiphany. "My frog, do you know what this means?!" the newt asked as he picked up Polly and looked her in the eyes.
"That if you don't put me down, I'm going to bite your face off?" Polly asked in a threatening tone.
"It means that this blasted thing doesn't work!" he exclaimed, unintentionally tossing Polly into the air.
Luz removed the suction cup dart from head and franticly danced around the room as she tried to get under where Polly was going to land. Thankfully, Luz was able to get right under Polly's landing spot, held out her arms, and caught the little tadpole before she could hit the floor.
"Thanks, Luz," said Polly.
"Any time, Polly," said Luz.
Marcy stepped closer to the disappointed newt and said, "Look Mister…Mister…Um, sorry, what's your name?"
"Dr. Archimedes Von Bron IX," he answered.
Marcy took a stead breath and said, "Okay, um, Dr. Von Bron, as you know, I am Marcy Wu, Chief Ranger and Kamen Rider Ranger. We came to you because we believe that you might've had some property stolen from you some time ago."
Dr. Von Bron scratched at his chin as he thought for a moment. "Hmm, stolen? …"
"A briefcase, has a crystal eye on it?" Luz added.
Dr. Von Bron suddenly shot up when Luz described it. "You've seen it?! I thought it lost forever! Please, Please, do you have it?"
"Hold up there, Doc, we need to make sure of something first before we even tell you anything," said Anne as she nodded towards Luz.
Luz nodded back and took out her Sight ring, she then placed it over the Hand Author buckle and activated the spell.
[Sight, Please.]
The brown coloring of Luz's eyes changed to a bright yellow as the spell went to work, granting her sight beyond sight. She stared intensely at Dr. Von Bron, but there was nothing. No magical aura, no distortions, nothing. Luz cancelled the spell and said, "He's just a newt, not a witch or a demon."
"I'm sorry?"
Sprig hopped up next to Luz and asked, "But didn't you say the maker of the door would be a demon or a witch?"
"I…I thought so, but…" Luz reached down into her pockets and pulled out the key to the door that she blew up. "Sir, do you by chance have key like this?"
Dr. Von Bron's eyes widened when he looked upon the key that Luz had, he then scrambled to a desk and rifled through it, throwing various objects out of it before he finally found what he was looking for. The newt scientist rushed back to Luz and showed her a similar key, except this one was a darker shade of blue that matched the door they had back in the palace.
"You have a door as well young Miss?" Dr. Von Bron asked.
Luz put away her key and said sadly, "I did, but I had to destroy it to protect my world from a dangerous person."
"Oh, I am quite sorry to hear that," said Dr. Von Bron.
"Hold up, if you lost the door, why were you looking for it? Couldn't you have just made a new door?" Anne asked.
Dr. Von Bron blinked at Anne and said, "I'm sorry, 'make'? I didn't make it."
"WHAT?!" Luz, Anne, and Marcy exclaimed.
Dr. Von Bron, after recovering from the loudness of the girls, began his explanation. "You see, the door has been in my family for generations!" Dr. Von Bron began walking towards a hall and waved the others to follow. "It goes back all the way to Archimedes the First, he happened to find the doorway while on a journey."
The group looked up the portrait of a newt that had a good likeness to Dr. Von Bron, and next to him was the portal door in briefcase form.
"So, wait, you mean that your family found it a long time ago?" Anne asked.
"Oh yes, about – hmmm – hundred and fifty years if I'm not mistaken," said Dr. Von Bron.
"Did your great – to the umpteenth power – grandfather find it or was it given to him?" Luz asked anxiously.
"It was the former, dear girl. According to the story, he found it while on his travels, and along with it was the key. He pressed on the crystal eye of the key and activated the portal, which opened into a world that was both fantastical and slightly terrifying."
"Yep, that sounds like the Boiling Isles all right."
Dr. Von Bron led them further down the hallway, showing them multiple portraits of Von Bron men and women down the line, one thing that they noticed was the progression of their wealth in each photo. Archimedes the First's portrait had him standing in an empty dirt field. Then by Archimedes IV there was a great boom in their wealth as the mansion they were in was featured in it.
"What did your ancestors do with the doorway, Dr. Von Bron?" Marcy asked as she jotted down her observations.
"Well, at first they explored this new world, taking little excursions to the other side and nearly getting themselves killed in the process. However, they also noticed the unique flora and fauna of that world and brought some of their plants and creatures over here for profit. You could say some of the exotic plants that reside in this world came from that other world, like the pain peppers," said Dr. Von Bron.
Hop Pop jumped to the front of the group and asked, "Hold on, sir, you said pain peppers are from another world entirely?! How many other plants and vegetables were brought over here from that world?!"
Marcy joined Hop Pop as she added, "I'm with Mr. Plantar on this one, you need to tell me! Adding an invasive species of flora into a completely environment can create an ecological imbalance to Amphibia!"
"It could, and my ancestors weren't ignorant of that. They managed to cultivate the pain peppers here without it causing damage to the environment and even work in harmony with it," said Dr. Von Bron. "And to answer your other question, quite a few actually."
Hop Pop's mind was blown as he stood there frozen. "Everythin' I knew about crops is a lie…"
Sprig waved his hand in front of his face but got no reaction from grandfather. "I think Hop Pop's broken."
"Having your worldview shattered will do that to you," said Luz.
Marcy wrote down the final pieces of the puzzle. "Well, this confirms my theory. The doorway that Luz came through was made specifically to go to the Boiling Isles, and not Earth. Whereas the door that Luz had to destroy led to Earth and the Boiling Isles. It seems that these doorways can only be made with one destination in mind."
Luz sighed in dismay. "Which means that it'll get me back to the Demon Realm, but it won't be able to take me back to Earth, or you guys. I'm sorry."
Anne approached Luz and threw her left arm over Luz's shoulders and brought her into a half hug. "Hey, don't worry, at least we know you can get back to your second home away from home."
Marcy walked up to Luz's left and placed her right hand on the girl's shoulder. "It was a long shot anyway, but we're not completely out of options. I'm still researching the music box, and when I find something on it, I know it'll be our ticket back home. And if possible, maybe even yours."
Dr. Von Bron coughed and said, "Actually, there may be a way to get you all to where you want to go."
"What?!" the three girls exclaimed.
"Follow me please."
Dr. Von Bron led the group into another room, which was filled with equipment, handmade machinery whose purpose was only known to the one who made it. "It annoyed me that the doorway could only go to one world. Because of a whole other world existed, then surely there must be others! Whole new realms to explore and venture into! So, I began my research on it, creating these machines to help me do just that!"
Marcy looked over the contraptions that Dr. Von Bron built, a platform that was made to hold the doorway in its full form, and crudely made Tesla coils to gather ambient energy. "I get it, essentially, these machines are like a crudely made computer! You're attempting to hack the door and change its destination!"
"I am not sure what you mean by 'computer' and 'hack', but yes, that is my goal! I believe if I can tune the doorway to specific energy wavelengths, I can change its properties and attune it to those of another world," Dr. Von Bron explained.
"Does it work?!" Luz asked.
"Unfortunately, I am not sure young lady. As the briefcase was stolen from me months ago. But now that you have it, we may be able to test this and find out! Now, now, please, show me the door!"
"Oh, that, well, take out the key first." Luz watched as Dr. Von Bron did as she told him. "Now press down on the crystal demon's eye on the handle twice."
The newt did just that, and suddenly, a blue line of light appeared before him, and from that light emerged the briefcase. Everyone aside from Luz was astonished by this.
"Impossible…you mean I could've recalled the doorway at any time?!" the Professor exclaimed.
"Yeah, I'm surprised you didn't know that," said Luz.
"We've always kept it close! We've never had a reason to try that…" The old newt facepalmed himself. "Months wasted trying to figure out where it went and what to do with my research…when I could've called it back at any time I wished."
Anne smiled as she picked up the briefcase and said, "Well, dude, you have it back now. So, what do say we fire this bad boy up and see if you can do all that science-y junk you talked about earlier!"
"BRILLIANT!" Dr. Von Bron exclaimed.
"Hold on! Before you do anything, allow me to make some adjustments to your machines, I can probably boost the power and increase the accuracy of your instruments."
"I would welcome the help of the Chief Ranger!"
It took a couple of hours, but Marcy and Dr. Von Bron were done, when the Plantars, Luz, and Anne returned to the room they found it completely different. The crude machinery was now sleek and modernized, vast improvements had been made to the platform and Tesla coils as well, overall, the machine looked as if it was ready to punch holes in other dimensions.
"Wow, Marcy, Doc, you guys are incredible!" Luz exclaimed.
"I can't take all the credit, Ms. Wu here is definitely just as brilliant as I've heard of," said Dr. Von Bron.
"Doc, c'mon, you did most of the hard work, I just came in and spruced it up a little. Now, let's tear the universe a new hole!" Marcy declared as she went to the instrument panel.
Dr. Von Bron walked up to the platform and pressed on the crystal demon eye on his key. The briefcase sprang up and unfolded into the doorway, once done, Dr. Von Bron moved the door into the center were two pincer-like grabbers held fast to the door's sides. Attached to those pincers were a few cables that led to the two coils, showing that the energy would be funneled into the door itself.
"Now with this control panel, we should be able to adjust and tune into the different alternate universe wavelengths, and if this works, we can change the door to match to whatever world we want!" Marcy explained.
"Question, how will you know it's the world you guys are from?" Polly asked.
"Unfortunately, that will have to come down to a lot of trial and error. But my hope is that we piggyback off the Boiling Isles data and use it to conduct a rudimentary triangulation along the spacetime axis and thus…" Marcy stopped when she noticed that her companions were zoning out due to overload. "I'm going to try and locate Luz's Earth by using the Boiling Isle's energy signature. Luz said that the Demon Realm bleeds into her Earth, which means that…"
"You have a better chance of locating the Human Realm!" Luz realized.
"Ah, now I get it," said Anne.
Marcy nodded her confirmation. "Okay Doc, you ready to go?!"
"Let's make history my dear!" Dr. Von Bron exclaimed.
Marcy switched the machine on, the two Tesla coils started to release arcs of lightning as they gathered the ambient energy. The instrument panel showed the power levels were rising quickly, and right now the lightning was green.
"Okay, you see that green color?! That means we've successfully attuned to Amphibia's energy signature! Now that we have a baseline, we can start scanning for the Boiling Isles from the doorway!" Marcy yelled over the machine's noise.
A few turns of the dials from both geniuses saw a change in the energy. It was now shifting to an orangey-red coloring. Luz recognized that color, it was the same as the doorway that brought her to the Boiling Isles.
"I'm not too certain about this, they are tampering with a magical item that we know very little about. An item that can connect two points in time and space together takes a great amount of magical power, do you truly think it wise to be doing this?" Lala asked.
This could be my only chance to at least try and see if I can get back home. If this works, then we can use Amphibia as a sort of waypoint to get us from my world to the Demon Realm, and back again. And what's better, Belos won't know about it at all.
"Okay, I think we have the energy signature of the Boiling Isles, now we just need to scan it for any anomalies! Anything that could…" Marcy trailed off as she noticed that the lightning was changing steadily to a blue hue. "I think we might be getting there, look!"
The group turned their eyes to the doorway, the open door, which showed an image of the Boiling Isles, was slowly shifting to something else, an image of what looked like a rundown cabin in the woods. Luz gasped, she recognized that place, it was the same abandoned house that was on their property back on Earth.
"MARCY YOU'RE ALMOST THERE! THAT'S MY EARTH!" Luz yelled.
"Almost there…! Just a little more…!" Marcy stated as she stuck out her tongue and gently turned the dials, being extremely careful not to go too fast or too slow, as she did not want to miss the moment when they synced up the doorway to Earth.
Everyone waited with bated breath as the image was shifting more and more to the cabin in the woods, but at the last second, something went wrong. Luz could feel it, there was a heaviness in the air, an oppressive presence that was making its dissatisfaction known to all those involved. The machines started to go haywire, sparking and shorting out. The presence kept exerting its well until they all heard it speak, as if someone was standing right next to them and whispering into their ears.
Do not meddle…
The machines finally gave out, causing the room to go dark, the only source of light coming from the doorway itself. Everyone had ducked down, with Anne using her body to protect the Plantars, Marcy bringing Dr. Von Bron to the floor, and Luz having summoned a shield of light with her Defend ring. When it was over, they all stood up. Luz used her Light Glyph and made an orb of light, letting it rise into the air. She made a few more and filled the room with light so that they could see the damage.
"What…What was that?" Anne asked.
"La Lechuza, my Inner Phantom, she was warning me that maybe we shouldn't tamper with it. Someone made this, in some way that no one in this world, or in the Demon Realm, know about. Maybe these doors weren't meant to be altered like this," said Luz.
Dr. Von Bron got up and said, "Perhaps we dared to tread where mere mortals like ourselves should not."
Sprig clapped his hands and said, "Well, I'm traumatized!"
"Ditto," Polly replied.
Marcy sighed in disappointment and said, "Sorry, Luz, we were so close."
Luz walked up and patted Marcy on the shoulder. "It's okay, at least I can still use it to get back to the Boiling Isles. There are still Phantoms that I need to take care of over there, and I can't leave them defenseless."
Dr. Von Bron looked at the doorway and the key in his hand. He then walked up to Luz and said, "Here, you take it young miss."
"Really? But it's a family heirloom," said Luz.
"An heirloom that was not ours to begin with. Besides, you need it much more than I do. I know it's not the doorway you wanted, but at the very least, it's a doorway to new friends," said Dr. Von Bron.
Anne smiled and added, "The Doc's right, and this way, if you ever need help, we're not far away. We can come in and team up against whatever monsters are messing with that world."
"And I can come and do the same."
Marcy threw her arms over both Anne and Luz and said, "Rider Squad forever, right guys?!"
"Rider Squad forever!" Luz and Anne exclaimed.
Suddenly, there was a rumbling that shook the entire house.
"Uh, what was that?" Hop Pop asked.
The moment that he said that something crashed through the roof of the house, a giant black claw.
Hop Pop's eye widened with shock as he pointed towards the claw and shouted, "WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!"
The dark claw grabbed ahold of the door and ripped it off the platform, taking it up and out of the house. Everyone ran out of the room and headed straight out the front door to see what it was that did that. When they exited the home, their jaws dropped in shock. Floating in the air, high above the city, was Lich. Flanked by Xolatla, the Curse Witch, and the newest member, Donléon Espada. He wore a green outfit, something akin to what Robin Hood would wear, in his left hand was a dark magic construct bow, with an arrow notched into it. But that wasn't the worst of it. Somehow, the undead Phantom managed to erect a barrier around the entire city of Newtopia, the dark dome spread shadows across the city, creating an ominous atmosphere, and making the many citizens of the city panic from the sudden darkness.
"I sensed a great amount of energy coming from here, and low and behold, I found the doorway back to the Isles, and the hero whose magic will make me all powerful," said Lich.
"LICH! What have you done?!" Luz demanded.
"Oh, I decided to get a few friends from other side. I was ill prepared to face these other two Riders, but now that isn't the case!"
Lich waved his staff and immediately portals of darkness opened on one side of the street and down the other. From those portals the undead emerged, half rotting and some fully skeletal, corpses of frogs, newts, and toads, most of them were donned in armor that was returned to its full luster thanks to Lich's black magic, and each of them was wielding a dark magic construct weapon, some had swords, others had axes, some maces, and a few had spears. These were soldiers of a long since passed era of Amphibia, back when it wasn't the peaceful land that is now.
"What in the name of Frog is goin' on?!" Hop Pop asked.
"He…He raised the dead…" Luz said.
"Zombies!" Anne exclaimed. "He brought a zombie army!"
"This would be so cool if it wasn't so horrifying," said Marcy.
Luz clenched her hands into fists as she glared up at the undead Phantom. "How dare you do this them! You took them from their graves and made them fight! ¡¿No tienes ningún respeto por los muertos ?! ¡¿Cómo pudiste hacerles esto ?! ¡Merecen descansar en paz (Don't you have any respect for the dead?! How could you do this to them?! They deserve to rest in peace)!"
"I agree with her, even the witches of my world know to treat the dead with more respect than this," said Xolatla.
"Thank you for your view on the matter. But I could care less about the dead. I have transcended death, and I am above them! I am the King of the Undead, I am LICH! The dead exist for one purpose, to serve me and my ambitions! And right now, those ambitions include taking your magic and exacting my revenge!"
Anne's eyes started to glow blue as she stood on Luz's right, Marcy took Luz's left as she pointed her crossbow arm towards Lich, her eyes glowing an emerald green.
"We won't let you get away with this!" Marcy stated.
"This ends today, Lich," said Anne.
"Good, and with the barrier up, no one's leaving. So, don't waste your time trying."
Anne glanced over her shoulder and said, "Hop Pop, Doc, get everyone inside, we'll handle this!"
"But he's got a whole army! You are outnumbered ten to one!" Dr. Von Bron exclaimed.
Luz smirked as she put slipped her Driver On and Light Style rings on. "Kamen Riders always defy the odds, right girls?"
[Driver On, Please.]
"Right!" Anne and Marcy responded.
They went into their transformation motions as emerald wind and azure lightning wrapped around their respective waists and created their MetamorphRing Drivers.
"Henshin!"
"Henshin!"
"Henshin!"
[Light, Please.]
[HI~KA~RI!]
Lightning, wind, and magical light erupted in the middle of the street, transforming each of the girls into their heroic alter egos.
"What do you think girls, should we do it?" Witch asked.
"Oh, yeah, this is probably our final battle against this guy, so we should kick it off with style," said Ranger.
"Oh, okay, I'm pickin' up what you're puttin' down. Let's do it!"
Witch struck a heroic pose and cried out, "From humblest of beginnings, a hero has arrived! The Light of Hope, Kamen Rider Witch!"
"A mind as swift as the wind! The Emerald Archer, Kamen Rider Ranger!" Ranger declared.
This time, Amp was ready. "Strong as thunder and fast as lightning! The Azure Fighter, Kamen Rider Amp!"
Upon that last declaration, explosions went off behind the girls, followed by a gust of wind, electrical discharges, and a flash of sparkling yellow light, followed by one more huge explosion.
Amp looked around and asked, "Uh…how the heck did that happen?"
"It's the heroic team up pose, Anne, don't question it," said Ranger.
"What she said."
A/N: And that's all for this weekend my Rider Fans. I'll put my nose to the grindstone to pump out the final chapters of this fic for next weekend! Look forward to it!