A/N: I would like to apologize in advance for some of the Thai language translations. I searched the net, but I could not find the EXACT same wording as they did in the show.
So, you'll just have to make do with some good ol' Google Translate versions.
This is the difference between having a production team and doing it on your own.
Anyway, I did my best to make sure that they were as accurate as I could get them, as I played the translations alongside the lines spoken in the show.
So don't bash me in the comments.
lol
But seriously, sorry in advance, I tried.
Anne, for the first time, without having a nightmare. Thanks to the Plantars, she was able to have a peaceful dream. Although how much that dream would come true would depend on her actions and what fate had in store for all of them. The Thai teen dozed off again, right around the time where the Plantars woke up and decided to quietly exit the bed and allow Anne some more time to sleep.
About fifteen minutes later, Anne got up on her own and noticed the Plantars had already gone downstairs. She smiled happily knowing that they would be there for whenever she needed help, sometimes she forgot about that, especially when she was trying to do all she could to get them back. Anne made sure the door was closed fully before she accessed her powers. A circlet of lightning appeared around her waist before the MetamorphRing TRI appeared. And this time she didn't get dizzy or feel like she was about to pass out.
"Guess I really did need a good night's sleep," said Anne. "If I had kept this up, that robot would've killed me for sure. I can't let that happen again."
Anne flipped open her laptop to check on some her posts on the forums regarding portals. Sadly, nothing new. Just more theories and links to articles. There was something in there about a place called "Gravity Falls", but Anne wasn't too sure about that as when she looked it up, the town was no stranger to being the center of some conspiracy theories. She filed that under "Possible" and decided to check in on some of her social media accounts. Yeah, Anne knew it wasn't going to be any different, but she decided to at least be up to date on what they were saying about her so she could have a proper comeback prepared.
[Still nothing but crickets. She's too much of a coward to say anything!]
[That monster wanted you to come to that news station before Amp beat her. Dang it, you lucked out Boonchuy!]
[Why haven't the police come and questioned you, yet? It's been three weeks now; you need to talk!]
"Ugh." Anne switched over to the Saint James Middle School homepage, and that's when she saw something on the school news blog. "What the? 'The Girl Who Went Missing'? By Desi and Rico?"
Anne facepalmed and then read the article.
[All of us have been asking the same question since five months ago, "Where did they go?" Sasha Waybright, Captain of SJMS's Cheer Squad, and all around the most popular girl in school. Marcy Wu, the resident genius of SJMS, Captain of the Chess Club, and overall Noble Prize winner in the making. Anne Boonchuy, an ace tennis player, the girl who's everybody's friend, but who is especially close friends to the two other girls mentioned earlier. For most of us, Sasha's crew consisted of these two girls, they were her confidants, part of her inner circle, an inclusive rite that NO ONE in SJMS can claim or has ever had the honor of doing so. But then, one day, they all disappeared without a trace. Most of us were part of the search for them, but after three months, nothing popped up. But then, one day, Anne returns! But Sasha and Marcy are nowhere to be found. It's been weeks since Anne came back, but so far, no progress has been made in regard to their whereabouts. This has caused a lot of our fellow students, as well as friends outside of school, to start flooding Anne Boonchuy with questions on whether she has done something to them or if there's something more sinister afoot. We'll continue to look for the truth as the story continues to evolve!]
Anne facepalmed, again.
"I swear, those two…I literally just got rid of one nosy reporter, now you two are going to be on my case? Ugh, just one more reason why I need to find a way back to Amphibia."
Just then, Anne's phone buzzed. The Thai teen picked it up and checked her messages. It was from Dr. Jan. "When did she get my number? Oh, right, I gave it to her before we left the museum. Dang, I really was out of it."
Anne read Dr. Jan's text and gasped loudly. Wasting little time, Anne quickly threw off her pajama's and put on her clothes as she rushed down the stairs and yelled out, "PLANTARS, ASSEMBLE!"
Right on cue, all three members of the Plantar clan appeared in front of Anne.
"Present," said Hop Pop.
"What's up?" Polly asked.
"Any news?" Sprig inquired.
"I got a text from Dr. Jan, look!" Anne held up her phone so that the Plantars could see. "It says, 'Come see me when you have a moment!' 'I think found something!' Which means, the sooner we talk to her, the sooner we get you home!"
The Plantars exclaimed joyfully as they ran upstairs and donned their human disguises. Once on, Anne led the Plantars outside, ready to head straight to the museum to find out what it was their new ally had found. However, before she could make it past the sidewalk, she was stopped by her mother holding up tinfoil wrapped trays.
"Oh, good. You're here. Help us finish loading the car," said Oum.
Anne took a moment to see that the family van was out front, and beside it were a bunch of bags and crates that her father was loading into the back of the van. Anne was about to protest, but the Plantars beat her to it.
"No problem, Mrs. Boonchuy," said Sprig.
"We'd be glad to help," added Hop Pop.
"I can't carry much, but okay," Polly remarked.
Or not.
"Okay, but then we gotta get to the museum."
Oum turned to her daughter and quickly shot that down. "No way. It's market day at the Thai temple and we are all going to be there."
"But Mooooooooom! It's super important," Anne whined in a pleading manner.
"So is this," Oum retorted in a stern voice. "The Thai community hasn't seen you since you came back. And this is the perfect opportunity."
"But–!"
"No 'but'!" Oum sighed as she decided to compromise with her daughter. "Look, I'll make you a deal. Just stay for one full hour, then you can go do whatever."
Anne sighed ruefully, but she knew she wasn't going be able to get around this. "Fine."
"Market day? Temple?" Hop Pop asked, intrigued by the conversation.
As Bee took the trays of food from Hop Pop, he explained, "It's a monthly all-day event at the Thai temple. Everyone gathers for food, music, sport, dance, and Thai language school. It's uh…"
Anne was puzzled by her father stopping midway through his explanation. She followed his gaze right to the end of the sidewalk where two students at Anne's school were doing a not-so-subtle job of hiding behind the bush as they took pictures. One was a boy with tanned skin, his uniform had the same coloring as Anne's, and he was wearing a pair of greenish tinted shades. Next to him was an African American girl who had her hair tied into a ponytail, her uniform matched the same coloring as Sasha's, and she had on a pair of dark blue shades. Both teens were busy snapping pictures with their cellphones, whether they believed they were being inconspicuous was up for debate.
"HEY! I SEE YOU! DESI! RICO!" Anne shouted.
Rico and Desi gasped loudly and bolted from behind the bush in a hurry, tripping over themselves as they did.
Bee walked up to his daughter and asked, "What was that all about?"
"Ugh, nosy gossip bloggers from the school paper trying to get an exclusive photo of the 'Girl Who Went Missing'. We lost one nosy reporter and now got two junior ones," said Anne.
Bee smiled as he whipped out his cellphone. "Oh! Well, I got some photos they can use!" Bee began swiping through different photos of Anne he had saved on his phone. "Here's you eating spaghetti when you were two. Oh, and here's you when you were–!"
Anne blushed when she saw the baby photos. "DAD! Oh, my gosh! Stop!"
"Never!" Bee proclaimed. "Just wait 'til you get a boyfriend, I'm gonna show these off to him, too!"
Anne blushed harder, because now she imagined Sasha and Marcy gathered in the living room of her house and her father sitting on the couch, with both girls flanking him as they watched him show off all her embarrassing baby pictures.
Oum watched as Anne chased Bee around, trying desperately to snatch the phone out of his hand. She knew Bee said that as a semi-deterrent to keep Anne from dating. Honestly, the last thing her daughter needed was to be in a relationship with a boy. Before Anne disappeared, she was all about taking the easy way, coasting on "good enough" and minimal effort when it came to academics. Put her in sports like tennis the girl would shine like a star. But outside of that, she put the bare minimum into the things she did. Unless it was a project that her, Sasha, and Marcy were involved in.
It wasn't as if Oum didn't want her daughter to find someone she loved, it would be hypocritical of her do that when she found her soulmate in Bee, and the last thing Oum wanted was to deny her daughter the chance to find that kind of happiness. But she was hoping that that would come later down the line after Anne had realized her full potential and pursued a good career. Right now, a relationship would be distracting, more so than even with Sasha and Marcy around.
"At this rate, she gonna live with either of them when they get older. And something tells me that they'd completely be alright with it," said Oum to herself.
Now that I think about it…Amanda did say that Sasha had a crush on Anne. If that were true…would Anne accept Sasha's feelings because it was the easier thing to do?
Oum didn't want to think like that, especially when Sasha was not here to defend herself. Right now, all Oum knew about Sasha's feelings towards her daughter was what Amanda Waybright found in a journal in Sasha's room. It could've been just an exaggeration, or it could've been true. Until Sasha was back and could properly explain that in her own words, Oum wasn't about to make any judgement calls on that. Still, she was worried that Anne would take up Sasha on the offer if her best friend since childhood asked her out. Thinking about it from that perspective, Sasha would be the logical choice. She could see that girl becoming very successful in the future, and her daughter would be taken care of. But then that would just relegate Anne to the status of a trophy wife, wouldn't it?
The older Thai woman shook her head. Stop thinking that way, Oum. Nothing's for certain right now. Just concentrate on today.
Meanwhile, down the road, Rico and Desi were panting from their run.
"Jeez, that was close!" Desi stated.
"Did you manage to get any good pics?" Rico asked.
Desi checked her cellphone, unfortunately they were blurry from her quick movements. "No, what about you?"
Rico did check and clicked in his tongue in disappointment. "Same. We can't leave empty handed. We have to get an interview with Anne!"
"Yeah, the student body has a right to know the truth," said Desi.
"Where do you think they're going with all that food and stuff?" Rico asked.
"Oh, wait, I think I know!" Desi opened her Doogle Maps and brought up a location. "They're probably going here, to the local Thai temple. I heard from a friend that it's market day today."
"Huh, if we go there now, we'll beat them there," said Rico.
"Let's do it!"
The Thai temple was bustling with activity, many booths were set up in the back parking lot, some consisting of mostly food and game stalls. The temple itself had a bright red roof with gold colored edging, and temple was an immaculate white, and had two brightly colored Yaksha standing guard at the front of the temple. Many members of the Thai community were there, gathered from all around the area to celebrate their culture and to have fun.
The Boonchuys and Plantars were on their way to their stall after getting the supplies down from the van. Anne looked back inside the van and saw her backpack, inside of it was Marcy's journal. Things were so chaotic in Newtopia that day that Anne forgot that Marcy had her put it in the backpack for safekeeping when they planned to crossover back to Earth initially. It's just been sitting there under her bed, mostly untouched. She didn't want to invade Marcy's privacy, only Marcy had the right to look inside, but at the same time, her journal was also an Amphibia field guide. Anne thought there might be something in there that could help them.
The Plantars were in awe of the new venue. They learned a few things about Thai culture through Anne, as well as Oum and Bee, but this was the first time they were truly immersed in another culture.
"Just look at this place," said Sprig.
"Wowza!" Polly exclaimed.
"The stalls sort of remind me of Wartwood," said Hop Pop.
Sprig walked up to a gold statue of a Buddhist monk and two children kneeling before him. "Look, there's even a statue!"
Polly walked up to the bulletin board, and it was there she spotted a picture of a young Anne wearing a traditional Thai outfit for an event. "No, way! Is this you?!"
Anne joined Polly at the board and leaned against it as she said, "Yep, I've been coming here since I was a kid. It seems cool at first, but believe me, it gets old quick."
Eventually the Boonchuys and Plantars arrived at the Thai Go stall. Once there, everyone pitched in to set things. Removing the coverings from the food, setting up the utensils and trays, the drink dispenser, and a parasol for some shade. As for Anne, Oum had a very important job for her.
"You're on sample duty today," said Oum as she put Anne's hair into a ponytail, placed a tray of Moo Ping in her hands, and slapped a cap on her head. "Now stand out in the open where everyone can see you."
"Fine…Wait. By 'everyone' you don't mean–?!"
"Anne's here!"
"She is back!"
Anne turned her attention to a group of middle aged and elderly Thai women heading right towards her. It was just as she feared.
"Oh shoot! Here comes the ba train…"
And just like that, Anne was descended upon by the group of Thai women. Most of them either pinched her face lovingly or patted her head as each of them welcomed her back.
"Welcome back, nong Anne."
"Hi, Ba Med," Anne replied.
"Where have you been worrying your parents like that?" asked another.
"Good to see you, Papu. Yeah…some things happened, and I'm still unable to remember. But I'm trying since my two best friends are still missing," said Anne.
"Ah, don't worry, you take your time no matter what anyone say."
Another of the Thai women clicked her tongue seeing Anne's thin frame. "You got so skinny."
A third came out of nowhere and said, "Here. Eat something." She then pushed a spoonful of food into her mouth. Which Anne had no choice but to eat and swallow. The whole time this was going on, Anne was placing her hands together and bowing slightly to each of the older women around her.
"Okay, good to see you, Anne."
"Bye-bye!"
Anne sighed once they had left, thankful to have survived the onslaught.
Down below, Polly asked, "Hey, what does this mean?" Polly mirrored the same gesture that Anne had done.
"Oh, it's called a wai. It's how you show respect to your elders. Super important in Thai culture," Anne explained.
"Makes sense to me. You kids can learn a couple of things here," said Hop Pop as he handed the tray back to Anne.
"Well, we've got some time to kill. You three are free to explore, if you want. Just be careful to keep those disguises…" Before Anne could finish her sentence, the Plantars had already scattered, "…on." Anne sighed; it wasn't as if they could get into that much trouble. "Hold on, Dr. Jan, just one hour and I'll be on my way."
Polly was off walking through the halls of the temple, well, "walking" was generous.
"I'm walking like a human! Eh, eh-eh, eh-eh, eh! Huh?"
Polly stopped when she heard the laughter of children coming from a room. The young pollywog peeked into the room and saw a lot of young Thai children in a classroom.
"And if we want to say, 'It's bedtime', we say…"
"Dị̂ welā nxn læ̂w!" Polly answered.
The teacher clapped her hands, impressed by Polly's dictation and pronunciation. "Very good! You taken Thai before?"
Polly walked into the classroom and sat down, like a boss, and said, "Mị̀. Tæ̀ khey dū lakhr thịy rom-com k̄hxng khuṇ buỵch̀wy khrb chud læ̂w (No. But I HAVE watched Mrs. Boonchuy's entire Thai rom-com collection)!"
The other children "oohed" and "awed" at Polly's command of the Thai language.
"*cough* Showoff! *cough*"
Hop Pop was wandering around the temple halls. He had to admit, despite being away from Wartwood, experiencing Anne's culture and heritage was quite eye opening. As Hop Pop passed by one of the open doors, he paused when he saw two people in strange masks performing some kind of dance, while two others were playing music to their movements. The room was filled with various costumes and different masks styled in the same ornate fashion as the two performers, and the room itself was nicely decorated.
"Ooh!" Hop Pop looked up at the one of the performers who was leaning against the wall to his right and asked, "Excuse me, what's all this then?"
The performer looked down at Hop Pop and answered, "It's Khon dancing." As he continued the performer illustrated in fluid movements. "A performance art where dancers tell a beautiful drama of epic scale through intricate movements and expressive gestures."
Hop Pop's mouth gaped. "Intricate movements?! Expressive gestures?! Drama?! I'M IN!"
Without much of an invitation, Hop Pop threw himself into the middle of the performance as he did…the forbidden freestyle. The dancers and musicians watched as Hop Pop went into his unholy movements for about ten seconds before the elderly frog struck a pose, panting. Silence hung in the room for a good moment, and in that moment, Hop Pop thought it was going to be a repeat of Wartwood all over again.
But that was not the case.
Everyone in the room erupted into cheers, very impressed by Hop Pop's performance.
"This guy's good," said one of the dancers.
"Hey, do you want to join us for a performance?" another asked.
Hop Pop felt a swelling in his chest, for the first time since he found his "rhythm" he had been accepted for his dancing skills. Tears streamed down the old frog's face as he joyously shouted, "AH LOVE IT HERE!"
While that was going on, Sprig was also wandering around the temple grounds, enjoying a bag of sweets that seemed to be made from insects.
"Wish Anne had told me about these earlier," said Sprig as he poured the whole bag's contents into his mouth.
Just then, something caught his attention. A group of five Thai men and one woman were playing a game called Sepak Takraw, to oversimplify, it's a combination of soccer and tennis. Sprig watched with fascination as the players displayed their acrobatic skill and precision as they kicked the ball and kept it in the air between both teams. One of the shots from the opposing team went too high as it sailed over one of the other players' head.
"Oops! Heads-up!" he warned.
Sprig saw the ball coming, but he did not flinch. The pink frog child quickly stopped its momentum with his knee, allowing it drop to the tip of shoe as he kicked it into the air. Now set up, Sprig turned around, jumped, back flipped, and kicked the ball straight back to the players all in one fluid motion before landing flawlessly back onto the ground. The Sepak Takraw players were in awe of his skills, mouths hanging open. They were so dazzled, one of the players got smacked in the face by the ball Sprig kicked back, but even then, they were still in awe.
"Hey, new guy, join our team!" the one who got smacked offered.
"Hey, we saw him first!" the opposing team countered.
Sprig found it fun but compared to the things he had to dodge back in Wartwood, and then the things they've had to run away from during their journey to Newtopia, and then the three temples, which was nothing. But still, it was fun not having to worry about getting killed while doing something similar to that.
"Calm down, everyone," said Sprig as he approached the court. "Plenty of Sprig to go around!"
Meanwhile, Desi and Rico had been staking out the area, waiting for Anne and her folks to arrive. They had some additional company with them, possibly relatives from out of town, but that wasn't unimportant. Right now, their focus was on Anne and what she did or didn't know. Ever since Anne had returned, she's had zero social media presence, and after seeing her accounts, they really couldn't blame her for not having much of one. The entirety of her accounts were spammed with trolls, threats, and accusations. Now Desi and Rico weren't sure one way or another whether when it came to what everyone thought about Anne.
Before this, Anne was a friendly girl, you could hardly go ten minutes without somehow exchanging numbers and becoming her friend. Anne just had that kind of personality. But other than being the star varsity tennis player, she really didn't have much else going for her, as far as when you compare her to Sasha Waybright, the school's Queen Bee, and Marcy Wu, the certified genius. It wasn't hard to come up with the idea that Anne might've done something to them out of jealousy.
The two gossip columnists had been perusing the temple grounds and were actually enjoying themselves. The food and music were great, everyone was friendly, and there were a lot of interesting things about Thai culture that they didn't know about before coming here.
"You know," Rico spoke as he took a bite of his food, "this was not a bad idea."
Desi sipped on her Thai iced tea and responded, "Nope, not at all. I think we should come back here, you know, just because next time."
"Heard that. Any movement from Anne?" Rico asked.
The African American teen lowered her shades and glanced in the direction she had seen Anne at. Anne was still standing in the middle of the food court, with a tray of Moo Ping as various people came up, greeted her, and then took a sample.
"Nope. Ugh, we need to get her alone. We don't want to cause a scene, especially here. I don't wanna get banned from coming next time," said Desi.
While the this was going on, Anne was growing increasingly frustrated. "Moo Ping! Come get your Moo Ping here!"
"Welcome back, Anne! So glad your safe," said a woman as she grabbed a sample and left.
"It's good to see you safe and sound, Anne," said a man as he, too, grabbed a sample.
Anne had to admit, she did find it nice that they were saying that, but still, Anne had other things on her mind at the moment. The Thai teen glanced to her right when she saw her mother walking from the back of their stall and out to the front, carrying some food containers.
"What'cha got there, Mom?" Anne asked.
"Just returning a few dishes some of the community members lent me," Oum answered as she went to do just that.
"Alright. It must've been almost an hour by now." Anne whipped out her cellphone and checked the time. She wished she hadn't. "It's only been ten minutes! That's it!" Anne scarfed down the remainder of the Moo Ping as she tossed the sticks to the ground. "Sorry, Mom, but I have more important things to do today than hand out samples!" Afterwards, she quickly called Dr. Jan, but clicked her tongue when it went to voicemail. "Hi, Dr. Jan. It's, me, Anne. I'm at the Thai temple, but I'll be at the museum in about thirty minutes, tops." With her message left, Anne began to plan. "Now, all I got to do is collect those frogs and avoid some parents. First," Anne scanned the food court and zeroed in on young Thai woman, "a decoy."
Anne stealthily maneuvered herself around the food court until she was right next to the woman she spotted earlier.
"Psst! I'll give you five bucks to pretend to be me for forty-five minutes," said Anne.
"I don't see why not," said the woman without a care in the world.
Anne wasted little time in placing her Thai Go hat on the woman's head and handing her the tray before heading off to find the Plantars.
"So, you're gonna write me a check or…?"
From the opposite side of the food court, Desi spotted Anne ditching and spat out her tea in realization.
"Rico! Gotta move! Now!" Desi ordered.
"Ah, c'mon, I just got my stir fry–"
"NO TIME!"
Now that she was free from that, Anne hurried to find her froggy companions. But at the last second, Anne ducked behind a sign when she saw her mother roaming about. Once she saw that her mother was gone, she left her cover. Anne spotted Sprig by the Sepak Takraw court and headed towards him.
"Sprig! Hey, Sprig!" Anne came to a halt. "Whoa!"
Anne watched as Sprig jumped into the air as the ball came towards him, and with great skill and precision, flipped and came down with an axe kick. Spiking the ball to the opposing side's court. The other players cheered as Sprig seemed to be really into the game.
"Wow! He is really good at that," said Anne as she smiled. "Heh. Looks like he's having fun, too. Maybe he can give this one a miss."
Deciding to let Sprig enjoy himself with the game, Anne decided to locate Hop Pop next. As she passed by one of the temple buildings, Anne thought she spotted the elderly frog. She jumped the railing and peeked inside, and that's when she gasped. Hop Pop was in the middle of the room, wearing an ornate blue-green and gold demon-like mask, while holding a staff, and performing intricate movements to the music being played.
Anne moved further into the room and called out, "Psst! Hop Pop! Psst!"
Hop Pop turned his head around and replied in a whisper, "Shh, Anne. This is silent theater."
Another performer walked up behind Hop Pop, and on cue, the old frog twirled towards him as the man behind him lifted him up and let Hop Pop use his right arm to stand on as he struck a pose.
Anne rolled her eyes, apparently, she was not going to be able to drag him away from this, so she walked out of the room and down the hall. "Man, those two have really gotten sucked in."
"Læ̂w c̄hạn k̆ phūd ẁā'c̄hạn rū̂ ẁā khuṇ pĕn khır tæ̀ c̄hạn pĕn xarị' (And then I said, 'I know what you are, but what am I?')" said Polly.
Anne's mouth gaped as she heard her adopted little sister speak fluid Thai to a bunch of young children, and even the teacher was impressed. "What. The. Heck?! I sat through Thai school for years and can barely string a sentence together!"
Despite the sudden bout of jealousy, Anne could tell that Polly, like her grandfather and big brother, was having fun. In weird a way, she liked seeing this. "It is sort of neat to see all three of them connecting to Thai culture like this." Anne had to admit, it felt nice, as if they were connecting with her on a different level. "I'll just update them after I see Dr. Jan."
Anne quietly left the hall and went outside. She was going to leave out the back, but before she could get too far, she was intercepted.
"Hold on!" Desi exclaimed.
Anne stopped in her tracks when she saw none other than Desi and Rico standing right in her way. Both of her schoolmates looked exhausted as they panted.
"What the heck?! What are two doing here?!" Anne asked.
"We…oh man…We wanted to, ugh, Desi, you take this!" Rico urged as he went to a bush and threw up from having eaten too much and having ran around so soon after eating.
"Ugh…" Desi managed to compose herself as she whipped her cellphone and began recording. "We want to know the truth, Anne. No, not just us, the kids at school want to know! What happened to you, and what happened to Sasha and Marcy?! And where are they now?!"
Anne pinched the bridge of her nose and released a low huff. "Desi, Rico, I swear to Fro – God I don't have time for this right now. I have somewhere important to be." Anne took a step forward, but Desi stood her ground.
"And this isn't?" Desi questioned.
"Look, I can't remember, alright. I barely remember how I got back home, and I barely remember what happened to me, Sasha, and Marcy. It's all a fuzzy blur in my head right now. There, good enough?" Anne asked.
Rico, who managed to recover, stood back up and started recording with his cellphone. "Not exactly, Anne. Look, you probably know already what people are saying about you, there are rumors going around that you might've done something to Sasha and Marcy."
"First of all, maybe the people who are spreading those kinds of rumors might be self-projecting. Have I been jealous of how smart Marcy is sometimes? Yes, but that's normal, I'm sure everyone has that one friend who's crazy good at something that they aren't," Anne retorted. "And also, why are people soooo quick to hop onto the 'Anne's a psycho killer' bandwagon?!"
Desi crossed her arms but managed to keep Anne in frame. "Anne, look, we know those people are trippin'. But that doesn't mean you can't have your say."
"Plus, it's been kinda getting some heat ever since that monster attack at the Channel 85 news station. I mean, that monster specifically called you out," Rico pointed out.
"Yeah. And did you two forget how my PARENTS were held hostage and almost killed until Amp showed up?!" Anne threw her hands into the air and said, "Look, I don't care what people say, you two. It won't stop until Sasha and Marcy come back, and until I can remember, then there's no point wasting my time or my breath, trying to convince people otherwise."
Rico and Desi had to admit, Anne seemed different from the girl they've seen around school. She had a more mature air about her, and before, she used to kind of shrink away from such hard questions. But the way Anne acted, it was as if she had gone through something much rougher and scarier than just two nosy gossip columnists. Usually, it was Sasha who would shoo them away, but right now they felt as if they were trying to intimidate a mountain.
"So, if you don't mind, kindly, move out of my so I can finally leave!" Anne pushed through Rico and Desi, unfortunately, in her rush to leave, she crashed right into her mother. "MOM?!"
Oum juggled the Tupperware and food trays in her hands for a moment, almost having them fall to the ground, but she managed to get them settled. "Anne? You're supposed to be at the stand."
Anne's eyes shifted back and forth as she tried to think of an excuse. "Oh. Why, yes. You see–"
"You were sneaking out to visit your museum friend, weren't you?" Oum asked bluntly.
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?" Anne had an awkward smile on her face as she tried to think of a way to salvage this. But who was she kidding, there was no way that was happening. "Okay, you got me."
Now it was Oum's turn to pinch the bridge of her nose as she released an exasperated sigh. "I don't believe this! You really couldn't wait one hour?! And who are they?!"
Rico and Desi were starting to feel awkward, having stumbled into some family drama.
"Uh, we're…" they began.
"Not important right now!" Anne interrupted. "Mom, look, I already said hi to everyone! And now I have to get to the museum so I can–" Anne remembered that Desi and Rico were still here. "–finish up that 'project'! You know how super important it is to me!"
Oum furrowed her brow as she retorted, "So is this! We owe so much to this community. Why do you think I'm returning all these dishes?"
Anne was kind of curious about that. "I don't know. 'Cause you had a potluck party?"
Oum shook her head and explained, "No, everyone here cooked us meals and took care of me and Dad for all those months you were gone." The older Thai woman reached out with her right hand and placed it gently on her daughter's left shoulder as she looked her in the eyes. "They were worried about you and us. The community ran our stall here and sent us money. Even helped out at the restaurant. And never asked for anything in return."
Anne's eyes widened. Yes, she did know and hear about all the search efforts that were made when the three of them were gone, and that her parents got help with the restaurant, but she never understood how much the Thai community helped them out. Anne rubbed her left arm as a wave of guilt washed over her.
"I…I had no idea."
"Didn't you notice how happy everyone was to see you back?" Oum asked.
To be honest, Anne wasn't paying much attention, she was just counting the seconds until the hour was up. But now that she did think back, she did remember how many people came up to her with a relieved and smiling face. It hit her hard, causing some tears to fall from her face. All those people back there, they were so worried about her, and so happy to see her safe and sound, and did so much for her parents while she was in Amphibia. And she just brushed them off when all of them were sincerely worried for her.
"I'm sorry, Mom…I…I feel like such a jerk right now," Anne sniffled.
Oum smiled a little as she wrapped her arm around her daughter's head in a hug. "It's okay, Anne. I understand you've been through a lot, and that you want to–" Oum, too, was aware of the two kids behind her. "–get your project done. But you can take a day to say thank you to the people who worried about you."
"Yeah…Honestly, that's really cool, what they did," said Anne.
"It is pretty cool," Oum replied.
Rico and Desi were starting to feel like jerks themselves.
"Hey, Anne," said Rico.
Anne and Oum turned to them.
"We…We…What the heck are those?" Desi asked.
Anne looked up and stifled a gasped as she saw a swarm of robotic dragonflies. All four of them ran back towards the temple as they watched dozens of the robotic death machines fly overhead.
That robot must've sent them out, guess it's still not up to facing me after last time, thought Anne.
"Anne, what are those things?" Oum asked.
"Uh, they…they look like…"
"Yo, Rico, those things look similar to that robot thing that fought, Amp!" Desi exclaimed.
"What?" Anne asked.
"Yeah, it's early footage, but people think they saw Amp fighting some kinda robot in a strip mall a week or so back before she fought that lava dinosaur," said Rico.
"Oh yeah! I remember that from ViewTube! They must be looking for Amp! Mom, hurry and make sure everyone gets inside! I'll see if I can draw them away!" Anne stated.
"Wait, what?!"
Before Oum could inquire further, Anne hopped over the railing and ran into the courtyard. Desi and Rico were not about to let a scoop like this pass them by, so they took out their cellphones and ran after Anne.
"Are you two nuts?!" Anne exclaimed.
"Could ask the same thing about you!" Desi retorted.
Dammit if she doesn't have a point, thought Anne.
One of the dragonfly drones locked onto Anne's position and fired a laser beam straight for her. While Anne knew she could dodge that easily, Desi and Rico were too close and would get hit if she did. So, Anne stopped, grabbed them both by the shirt and dove straight ahead as the beam flew over her, singing her afro hair a bit before all three hit the ground.
"Whoa, Anne, you just saved our lives!" Rico exclaimed.
"You're welcome! Now do me a favor, and please, get inside!" Anne ordered.
Two more drones came in and fired more laser blasts at Anne. The Thai teen dipped into her power for a second, allowing her to quickly toss Rico and Desi forward as she backflipped away, letting the lasers exploded against a couple of benches.
"ANNE!"
The Thai teen turned around and saw the Plantars rush towards her.
"We heard a blast, what's going on?!" Sprig asked.
"Looks like the robot sent some scouts after us," Anne explained.
"Then you need to go and find a place to change, we can draw them away," said Hop Pop.
"There's so many, I don't think they'll even let me get that far. For now, we'll have to protect the temple and everyone in it."
"We're right behind you!" Oum shouted.
Anne and the Plantars looked back towards the temple, and that's when they saw Oum standing at the railing as the rest of the people started to scatter about and got ready for battle.
"MOM! I told you to tell everyone to take cover!" Anne shouted back.
"This our temple and our community! When one of us is under attack, we all are!"
"YEAH! BEGONE EVIL ALIEN SPACE BUGS!" Ba Med yelled.
The rest of the community members gathered behind Anne and the Plantars, ready to fight to protect their own. The drones seemed to register them as enemy combatants, the temple as a stronghold. As per their programming, the drones attacked, firing their lasers at the stalls and temple, doing what they could to bring down the "stronghold" as they moved on to attack the people.
Polly grabbed a megaphone as she hopped onto a lamppost and said, "ALRIGHT, EVERYONE! Kh̀ā chı̂ c̀āy (CHARGE)!"
As soon as they received their marching orders, the Thai community jumped into battle. Some of the members grabbed fruits and hurled them at the incoming drones, while Ba Med grabbed a stir fry pan and tossed it straight for them. The hard fruits managed to intercept some of the drones, making them crash on impact, one of them readied to fire its laser, but the pan struck it and destroyed it. The Khon dancers used their staffs to swat the drones out of the air, being careful to avoid getting hit by their lasers or razor-sharp wings. Hop Pop ran towards one of the dancers who helped by launching the elderly frog into the air. Hop Pop took off his mask and smashed it atop one of the drones' head.
Sprig and two other Sepak Takraw players ran in a triangle formation as they bounced the ball between them. One of them passed the ball to Sprig, who juggled it into the air as he aimed and struck the ball with his head. The ball sailed straight for the drone and took it out in one shot.
Anne was actually impressed by the Thai community members. These drones don't seem to be empowered by Fallen energy like the big one was. If that's the case, then it should be easy for us all to destroy them. But the longer this drags on, the higher the chances of someone getting seriously hurt. With her decision made, Anne used the ensuing chaos to slip out and towards the back of the temple, away from prying eyes. Anne's eyes glowed blue as a circlet of lightning appeared around her waist.
Within seconds, the lightning materialized into the MetamorphRing. Anne took a deep breath in and out, getting that night of sleep helped as she didn't feel dizzy from summoning her Driver. "Moment of truth then. Henshin!" Anne pressed down on both hip devices as a dome of lightning appeared around her body. A moment later, the dome shattered apart and revealed Kamen Rider Amp.
Amp flexed her fingers into fists as she felt the energy coursing through her body. "Alright, back in action." The hero of lightning jumped straight into the air and appeared atop the Thai temple and looked down upon the battle that was occurring.
Down below, Bee grabbed a food tray and shouted, "Alright you evil bug bots! Sample this!"
Unfortunately, the tray sailed right over the drone, and the drone did not take too kindly to that as it flew straight for Bee.
"Anne's dad!" Sprig exclaimed.
"SPRIG! KICK ME!" Polly yelled.
The young pollywog leaped off the lamppost, and at the same time, Sprig backflipped. The two siblings were in perfect sync as Sprig kicked his sister, launching her like a rocket straight for the drone. Polly channeled her inner Amp as she spun around in the air and thrust out her right leg. Using the combined speed and momentum, Polly's kick impacted against the drone's head, smashing it to pieces as she flipped once more and did a perfect hero landing.
"Thanks, Polly," said Bee.
"No problem, Mr. B!"
"HEY!" The drones immediately stopped attacking and turned their attention towards Amp, as did the rest of the Thai community members. "If you want to attack these innocent people! Then you're gonna have to go through me first!"
Bee's jaw dropped as he saw the hero of Los Angeles, his boyhood superhero, stand there atop the Thai temple heroically. "Kamen Rider Amp…IT'S KAMEND RIDER AMP!"
Now that their primary target had been located, the remaining drones disengaged their attacks on the temple and people and focused on Amp. Five of the drones fired their lasers at her, but Amp charged her lightning energy into her legs as she took a frog stance and leaped into the air, avoiding the first volley. As she flipped and spun in the air, Amp pressed down on both of her hip devices. Three lights flashed from her body, and when she landed, Amp was now in her Trinity Form: Poison Dart. Amp summoned her Sting Strikers and used her lightning to shift them into shuriken mode.
"SHE DID A FORM CHANGE! SHE DID A FORM CHANGE!"
Daaaaaaaad, she whined.
The drone turned around and began firing at her again, but Amp jumped once again, and when she did, she tossed her shuriken straight for the drones. A series of explosions went off in the air as the poison plasma laced shuriken sliced through one drone after the other. When Amp landed, she held her arm up as the shuriken returned to her open hand. Amp used her superspeed to keep the drones from even being able to lock onto her, and at the same time, confuse them as their sensors tried to keep up with her speed. Amp tossed her shuriken again, which cut a path of destruction through more of the drones. The hero of lightning channeled her lightning energy into her hands and tossed a sphere of electrical energy into a group of them. Once it was close, Amp balled her right hand into fist, commanding the sphere to burst and release chain lightning that zapped the drones in its vicinity.
Amp caught her shuriken again, and while she was fighting, she was vaguely aware of the cheers she was hearing from the people around her. It gave her nostalgia from when she was back in Amphibia, how the people there cheered her on to defeat the evil that came to harm them. It emboldened Amp, made her feel stronger.
"This was what Mom was talking about," said Amp.
Suddenly, the MetamorphRing shifted, transforming into the MetamorphRing TRI.
"What? But I thought…you know what, never mind, I'll take it! Henshin!" Amp dismissed her Sting Striker Shuriken and pressed down on both devices at the same time.
A dome of lightning enveloped Amp as a blue light shined from deep inside of it. The light from within the dome shattered it and revealed Amp's Super Form, Raging Heart: Vengeance Mode.
Of all the people who were in awe of this, none were giddier or more excited than one Bee Boonchuy. "HER SUPER FORM! THAT'S HER SUPER FORM!"
Dad stop gushing over me, it's embarrassing, Amp thought.
Amp knew she had to be precise with this, so instead of using full on lightning attacks, she pressed her right hand against the crystal filament of the MetamorphRing TRI and drew out Saipha. Amp gripped her trusty sword with both hands as she widened her stance. The dragonfly crest's wings flared open as the lines in her armor began to glow brighter. The symbol of Amp appeared before her as the hero's eyes glowed.
Bee grabbed his wife and shook her like as he frantically exclaimed, "She's about to use her finishing move!"
Really killing the vibe, Dad.
"Thousand Volt Slash!"
Amp disappeared as she moved like a bolt of lightning, slashing each and every one of the drones with Saipha. Within a matter of seconds, Amp returned to the same spot she had disappeared from, and when she did, all the drones were sliced in half, and a moment after, multiple explosions erupted around Amp, obscuring her from view except for the glow of her eyes and armor. When the flames and smoke died down, the only thing left standing was Kamen Rider Amp. She twirled Saipha around before sheathing it back into the Driver, afterwards, she released a long sigh. Loud cheering sounded off that made Amp jump for a second.
Within seconds she was descended upon by the Thai community, all of them asking questions or praising her for heroism.
"That was awesome!"
"You were like something out of an anime!"
"K̄hxbkhuṇ thī̀ ch̀wy phwk reā læa wạd (Thank you for saving us and the temple)!"
Amp was used to being praised, but this time around, she was feeling a little bashful about it. "Uh, ahem, you're welcome. You can always count on me to protect you and everyone."
"AMP! LET ME GET YOUR AUTOGRAPH!" Bee shouted. "Where's Anne at, she'll get a kick out of this!"
Aaaaaaaaaand that's my cue. "Peace out!"
Amp jumped into the air and released a flash of lightning to create a diversion so that no one could see her flying to the back of the temple where she was before. Amp landed behind the temple and sighed as she powered down and released her transformation, returning her to civilian form.
"O. M. G!"
Anne's body froze, her head slowly turned to where she heard that familiar voice, and that's when she saw Desi and Rico, phones out. "…Are you two live streaming by chance?"
"No," said Rico.
"Ugh, we should've been!" Desi lamented.
"Good."
Anne's eyes glowed blue as she used her superspeed to dash towards them, and in an instant plucked their phones out of their hands. The two gossip columnists checked their hands again, doing a double take as they realized that their cellphones were now in Anne's hands.
"How did?! When did?! HUH?!" Rico babbled.
"Superspeed, and now I'm going to delete everything you just recorded," said Anne.
"Anne wait! No! You got to tell us what's going on! You're Kamen Rider Amp! How?!" Desi asked.
"Look, either I delete the footage off your phones, or I use my lightning to fry them. One way saves your phones, and the other has them get wiped forever," Anne warned.
Desi and Rico glanced at each other, losing the footage would be a small price to pay considering everything else that was on their phones that they didn't want gone.
"Fine," said Desi as she crossed her arms, "you can delete the footage."
"That's still not going to erase what we saw…Unless you can also wipe out memories…?" Rico asked worriedly.
Anne thought about that for a moment. "I mean, technically I think I could. But if I did, I might end up giving you a lobotomy rather than erasing your memories."
Desi and Rico gulped.
The Thai groaned dejectedly. "Oh, relax you two! I'm not actually going to do that!"
"Well how do we know?! We just discovered your secret identity! Seems like enough reason for you to try," Rico accused.
Anne lowered her head as she said, "I'm so sick of this! I'm trying to do all I can get back to Sasha and Marcy, to help save them and our worlds! And everyone just keeps assuming I've hurt the two people I care most about!" Anne marched up to the two teens and shoved their phones back into their hands. "Here! Take them! Go on and plaster the internet with my face! Show everyone that I'm Amp! Just know that if you do, then Marcy and Sasha might not be able to come back because you guys brought every FBI agent, soldier, and cop down on me."
The two gossip columnists watched as Anne walked towards the temple wall and slumped against it and then sat on the grass. Part of them was saying to just run now and post the information they had, and it would make them famous throughout the city, possibly the world. But another part was telling them to inquire further.
Desi and Rico walked up to Anne, with the former asking, "What do you mean, you won't be able to save Sasha and Marcy? Anne, what's going on?"
"It's a long story, and I don't have a lot of time to tell you right now. But the short version is, all three us were transported to another world. We became Kamen Riders there, and we fought against an evil entity. Some…Some things happened, and I was sent back without them…I don't even know if they're okay. There's a lot of bad stuff happening in that other world, and I'm trying to get back there before that bad stuff comes here," said Anne.
Rico got down on one knee and asked, "Those drones, are they from that other world?"
"Yes, it's an assassin that's trying to kill me. Because the one who sent it knows that I'm one of the few people who can stand against them. My parents only know half the truth, and everyone else I've lied to. No one here is ready for what's coming, which is why I have to find a way to get back so I can stop the invasion before it ever happens."
Rico and Desi understood now, why Anne seemed so different, so mature. She had been fighting against monsters in this other world she was sent to. Anne has had to do and face things that the two of them couldn't even imagine.
"And that's why you've just let people say what they want about you online," said Desi.
"Like I said, none of what they say matters to me. Because what does matter is me getting back to that world, rescuing Sasha and Marcy, and, hopefully, the three us can take down the evil that's taken that world hostage. The people there are good and kind, and don't deserve to be ruled by it. So, really, I'm fighting to save Earth and that world, all three of us are," said Anne.
Rico sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. "And I'm guessing you'd be okay with just having all of this fade quietly into the background as you save that world, and come back with Sasha and Marcy, and the rest of us bein' none the wiser?"
"Even though people will still probably talk smack about you?" Desi asked.
Anne shrugged. "So long as Sasha and Marcy are safe and back home, and so long as that evil is gone forever, I don't care if we're famous or get praised for what we did. I wouldn't even care if people kept looking at me suspiciously for the rest of my life, so long as we're all back home and safe, that's all that matters."
Desi and Rico glanced at each other and seemed to have come to the same conclusion.
"Damn, Anne, why do you gotta go all selfless hero on us like that?" Desi fake whined.
"Yeah, now I feel bad about wanting to show off your secret identity." Rico sighed. "Guess we can't anymore."
Anne looked up at the two teens and asked, "What? Really?"
Desi got down on her knees and placed her hand on Anne's shoulder. "Girl, you've been through a lot – still going through a lot – and the last thing you need is us blowing up the internet with your secret."
"Thanks, you guys, really," said Anne.
"But I don't think it's fair that you do something so heroic, all three of you, and don't get any recognition for it. It's a tragedy in the worst sense of the word," said Rico. "So, how about we make a deal?"
Anne raised a concerned eyebrow. "What kind of deal?"
"The kind where, if you ever want to tell your story, you give Desi and me the exclusive," Rico bargained.
"It would help to have a couple of reporters who are on your side, Anne," Desi encouraged.
Anne chuckled as she rolled her eyes. "Fine, if I decide to tell the story, you two are my first call."
"Sweet!" Desi and Rico exclaimed.
"You two are unbelievable," Anne groaned with a smile.
Anne ran back to the front where everyone was, having instructed Desi and Rico to walk around to blend back into the crowd. The Thai teen spotted the Plantars, and them her. All four of them managed to meet up and get into a group hug, celebrating their victory over the killer drones.
"Anne, you managed to transform," said Sprig.
"Yep!"
"You kicked butt out there, Anne!" Polly exclaimed.
"Naturally." Anne released her adopted froggy family, and gasped. "Guys, your disguises! They've fallen off!" Anne turned her head when she heard the murmurs of the Thai community members, all of whom were staring wide eyed at the Plantars. "Uh, everyone, I can explain!"
"No, no, no. No need to know," said one of the older Thai women. "They fought alongside us, protected Bee without hesitation. Most importantly, they're your friends. And if they're your friends…"
"Then they're friends of ours," Papu finished.
"No matter how ugly they are," Ba Med added.
"Ouch," said Hop Pop.
"It's funny, but it still stings," Sprig commented.
"They're talking about you two," Polly pointed out.
Anne was honestly overjoyed, not only did they do so much for her mother and father, but now they were willing to keep the Plantars secret, no questions asked.
"Wow! Thanks, you guys, really. I-I don't even know what to say except…K̄hxbkhuṇ māk (Thank you so much)!" Anne ended by performing a wai to the members before her, showing her great respect for what they've done. The Plantars followed her example and performed a wai as well.
With that settled, the cleanup started, as everyone broke up to start cleaning the different areas, Desi and Rico walked up next to Anne as they pointed towards the three bipedal frogs.
"Sooooooo, uh…" Rico began.
"Yeah, that too," Anne confirmed.
"For the exclusive," Desi sighed. "C'mon, Rico, let's give 'em a hand."
The Plantars watched as the two teens walked off to help the other Thai community members and were confused.
"Uh, Anne, what was all that about?" Polly asked.
"Something I'll need to fill you in on when we're home and alone. For now, let's just focus on the cleanup."
Several minutes passed as the temple was cleaned up of the debris, both from the drones and the many things they destroyed. The police eventually arrived and began taping off center parts of the temple grounds, thankfully it was just the courtyard as that's where Anne destroyed the majority of the drones. Ambulances and forensic teams were called in to see to any injuries and collect the smashed remains of the drones. Thankfully there were only minor injuries, some scratches, bruises, and many were lucky enough to not get hit by a laser.
After giving their statement to the police, Oum walked over to her daughter who was sitting with the Plantars on a bench and asked, "Are you doing okay?"
"Oh, yeah, I'm good," said Anne.
"The city is getting dangerous. First that reporter, and now we get attacked at our own temple. Is nothing sacred?" Oum asked angrily.
"Well, at least Amp was here to take out the robots, and everyone's safe because of her. She's saved our lives twice now."
"And I am grateful, but I'm starting to wonder if her being here is what's making these monsters appear?" Oum speculated.
Anne wanted to give a retort, but her mother technically wasn't wrong. The drones only attacked the temple because she was here, Rita Spinner only held them hostage because that woman knew she was lying just by intuition, and then there was this mysterious third party that was gunning for Amp with these strange monsters that weren't Fallen.
"Honey, Kamen Riders don't bring the monsters. If anything, the monsters were already there," said Bee in a matter-of-fact tone. "The only reason a Kamen Rider appears is because there is evil that threatens people, and they're honor bound to take down that evil."
Oum crossed her arms as she said, "Really, Bee, this isn't like one of your superhero TV shows from when we were kids."
"Beg to differ, signature moves, cool poses, and attacks so fast you can barely seem them. All checks out for me," he countered.
Oum decided to just give up, her husband was a diehard Rider fanboy. Then again, she already knew that when she married him, and she loved his nerdiness, but in this context, not so much. "Anyway, looks like market day is cancelled now, if you want, we can drop you off at the museum to see your friend."
Anne glanced at the Plantars, "Next year, we'll spend all day here, I promise."
"Hey, Sprig," one of the Sepak Takraw players called out, "If you want, we do pickup games on the weekends, come and join us sometime!"
"Oh, yeah! Definitely!" Sprig replied.
"Mr. Plantar, was it?"
Hop Pop turned to one the Khon dancers, "Yes?"
"We also do Khon dancing performances here at the temple and around town, perhaps you'd like to rehearse with us? Perhaps join us on stage?" he asked.
Hop Pop's eyes widened with joy. "Of course, Ah'd love to!"
The Thai teacher came up next and asked, "Phx l lī̀ c̄hạn chxb t̄ĥā khuṇ wæa mā ch̀wy c̄hạn s̄xn p̣hās̄ʹā thịy h̄ı̂ dĕk«khn xụ̄̀n«b̂āng s̄ạk khrậng (Polly, I'd love it if you could drop by once in a while to help me teach Thai to the other kids)."
Polly gasped. "Cring h̄rụ̄x xyāk h̄ı̂ c̄hạn ch̀wy s̄xn h̄ịm! Næ̀nxn! (Really? You want me to help you teach?! Sure!)"
"Seems your friends really took a liking to Thai culture," said Oum.
"Yeah, they really did." Anne glanced up at her mother and added, "And I think I got a new appreciation for it, too."
Just then a car horn went off. The Boonchuys and Plantars watched as truck bearing the name of the Museum of Natural History pulled into the parking lot, and sitting behind the driver's seat was none other than Dr. Jan.
"Dr. Jan's here?! Mom, Dad, sorry, do you mind if–?"
"Go on, she came all the way here. It must be important then," said Oum.
"Thanks!"
Anne and the Plantars got up from the bench and headed towards the parking lot, but just as Anne looked behind her to see if the Plantars were keeping up, she bumped into someone. Anne was about to fall before a hand reached out and grabbed her before she could hit the pavement. When she looked in front of her, Anne saw a tall Asian man in an all-white suit.
"Whoa there young lady. You almost had a bad fall. I know the paramedics are around, but that doesn't mean you should be any less careful," said the man.
"Shoot, I'm really sorry!" Anne apologized.
"Oh, it's alright, no harm to me, my assistant was the one you bumped into," he corrected.
Anne glanced to his right and saw a beautiful woman with glasses and violet eyes. "Sorry, ma'am."
"No harm done," she replied.
"Go on then young lady, just be aware of your surroundings," said the man.
Anne nodded and rushed off towards Dr. Jan's truck.
Cassandra kept her eyes glued to Anne, her brow furrowing a bit as she felt a slight headache coming on.
Keisuke noticed this and asked, "Everything is alright, isn't it?"
"Yes, Sir. I just…I felt a strange aura around that girl. I tried to probe her mind to inquire further but…ugh," Cassandra grunted. "It's a bit difficult."
Keisuke raised an eyebrow. "Since when is reading a teenager's mind difficult?"
"It's hard to describe, but I feel resistance."
"Actively resisting or…?"
"Passively, I believe. I don't think she's aware of my probe," Cassandra clarified.
"Hmm…" Keisuke bent down and picked up the head of one of the drones. "That girl is the same one Rita Spinner was obsessed with. She was also among the three that disappeared five months ago. That robot attacked the Natural History Museum, and now someone from that museum is here. The robot sent drones specifically to this location, and nowhere else, and then Amp shows up and does battle with the drones. And that girl just so happens to be at this Thai temple, and is going straight to that Dr. Jan."
"Director, you're not implying…?"
Keisuke raised his left index finger. "We should not overlook even the most out there theory, Cassandra. After all, those twins obtained powers when they were older than that girl."
"But, Sir, Amp is an older woman, her voice and height don't match that girl," said Cassandra.
"We're only familiar with Gaia Memories, and their alterations. We're dealing with a power we know little about. A power, which can quite possibly, pierce through dimensions. Put a surveillance drone on that girl's home," said Keisuke.
Cassandra bowed slightly to Keisuke as she said, "I will send in an order to have a drone deployed right now."
"Very good."
"Hey!" Keisuke and Cassandra watched as an officer walked up to them. "You can't be handling that, that's evidence."
"Relax officer, go back to your post." Keisuke used his left hand to reach into his coat pocket and pulled out a fake FBI badge. "I'm here on official business, so if you don't mind, please step aside. And inform your forensic team to pick up every single piece of these machines. I want nothing left behind, and my team will be meeting them at the labs to procure them. Thank you ever so much."
Keisuke walked off with Cassandra, and the drone head in hand.
Anne and the Plantars reached Dr. Jan's truck as the Thai teen said, "Dr. Jan, you're here!"
"Sorry, guys, this couldn't wait! It's just too dang exciting! And also, what the heck happened here?" Dr. Jan asked.
"Robot attack," the Plantars informed.
"Oh, guess that tracks. But c'mon, let me show you!"
Dr. Jan got out of the truck and pulled out the vase they trying to steal the other night. The five of them walked over to the shade of the nearby tree, and once under it, Dr. Jan broke out her black light flashlight and shined it on the vase. When the light hit it, Amphibian runes appeared.
"Oh, my Frog! A secret code!" Sprig exclaimed.
"Yep, and it seems to be written in some kind of ancient language," said Dr. Jan. "It's like nothing I've ever seen, but then again, this is from another world. Ugh, if only we could read it."
"Wait, I have something that might help! BRB!"
Anne ran towards their van, once inside she opened her backpack and grabbed Marcy's journal. After getting it, Anne ran back to the tree. She looked at the journal and hesitated to open it, this was something that belonged to Marcy, and it didn't feel right to open it without her permission. But, right now, it was their only hope of deciphering the runes. Anne opened the journal and thumbed through the pages, taking care to avoid anything that seemed personal, and only stopping when she saw something related to Amphibia. A smart girl like Marcy would've most likely figured out the Amphibian runic alphabet, and if so, she more than likely wrote drown what letter each rune matches. Anne eventually found the page, a complete translated alphabet.
"Still helping me even from a dimension away…" Anne inhaled slowly and exhaled. "Okay, give me a sec I'm not as fast as Marcy." Anne looked back and forth between the markings and the journal, after a minute, she managed to translate it. "Okay, I think I got it. It says, 'Seek the Mother of Olms. She will guide you to your destiny.' That do anything for anyone?"
"Not especially," said Sprig.
"No, sirree," Hop Pop replied.
And Polly blew a raspberry.
"Great…our first clue and it turns out to be cryptic as all get out," said Anne, disappointed.
"Well, it's something, kiddo. And like I said, I'm gonna help you with your portal problem. Being the curator of a museum does come some advantages. One of them being, I can contact some members in the scientific community through official channels. Take another day or two, and let me do the research this time around," said Dr. Jan.
"You sure? I mean, you got your job and your own life. I don't want you to drop everything for me," said Anne.
Dr. Jan smiled broadly. "Anne, this is a once in lifetime opportunity for me! How often can anyone say they helped a teenage girl try to get back to another dimension, and her froggy companions?! Not too fond of the idea that you'll be going back to fight an evil entity bent on world domination, but if I can help, at the very least, ease your burden a bit, then I'm all in. Besides, I know how to pace myself, Anne. I won't be burning myself out like someone I know."
Anne rubbed the back of her head as she blushed, slightly embarrassed by her sleep deprived conduct.
"Uh, hey." Everyone looked to Anne's right and saw a young Thai woman with the Thai Go cap on her head. "Sorry, I just saw you over here and I was wondering…about the five dollars?"
"What a day," said Oum as she brushed her hair in front of her dresser. "Explosions, flying death robots, and superheroes. World's getting crazier by the day. Heh, but I'm sure you're loving this, huh, Bee? Bee?"
Oum turned around and saw her husband lying on his back, his hands behind his head as he seemed deep in thought about something.
"Ḥê? Khuṇ s̄bāy dī h̄ịm (Hey. You alright?)" Oum asked as she put down her brush.
"Huh, oh, yeah. Sorry, I was just lost in thought," Bee replied.
Oum sighed as she got up from the dresser and got into bed with her husband. She snuggled up next to him and draped an arm over his chest. "We came to America for a better life, for us, and for Anne. But thirteen years later, now I feel like there's danger just waiting for her."
Bee brought his right hand out from under his head and placed it over Oum's arm. "Danger's just a part of life, we can't avoid it forever."
"Normal danger I'm fine with, even ready for in most cases, but the danger right now isn't normal. Any day there could be a monster attack, or a robot attack, or something else." Oum held her husband tighter. "How can we protect our Anne from that?"
Bee opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it.
Bee was so excited by Amp that he tried to find Anne so that the two of them could perhaps get a selfie with the hero. "Anne? Anne where are you?"
The Thai man kept looking around, and eventually went down a corridor that led to the back of the temple. A flash of light went off behind him, making him turn around for a moment. When the light faded, he shrugged and continued onward. He was about to call out his daughter's name again, but right before he did, he saw Amp land in the back.
"Amp! Maybe she could help find Anne, don't know where she went off to," said Bee as he quickened his pace.
However, he stopped when he saw a dome of lightning appear around Amp's body, and a moment later, the dome fell and revealed his only daughter. Bee froze in place. He rubbed his eyes several times and pinched his arm just to make sure he wasn't dreaming. But he wasn't, this was real, he just saw his daughter change back from being a Kamen Rider, from being Amp.
"Amp…m-my daughter…is Kamen Rider Amp?!"
There was a storm of feelings inside Bee right now, the father in Bee was both furious and scared for his daughter, she had been keeping this secret from them, and has been fighting monsters. The otaku in Bee was overjoyed and felt a sense of pride knowing his own daughter is a superhero, and not just any, a Kamen Rider, his childhood hero. Bee was about to go over, but that's when he saw two kids from Anne's school call her out. Bee watched as Anne swiped their phones in the blink of an eye, making him do a double take from seeing how fast Anne was.
He listened as they talked back and forth, and he also heard the pain in his daughter's voice as she spoke about what happened in Amphibia. Even though it was a truncated version of what happened, Bee was no less shocked to hear that much. His daughter and her friends were fighting an evil back in Amphibia, and the battle wasn't over. Their world was in danger and those three were the only ones who could stop it.
Bee eventually hurried back after he heard that those two kids would keep Anne's secret, if they weren't he was about to step in himself and make sure they would. How exactly he had no idea, but dang it, it's his daughter, he couldn't just do nothing.
Now here he lied, with a worried wife snuggled up next to him, worried for the safety of their daughter. Not knowing that she's probably strong enough to defend herself against anything. At least he hoped so. It did irritate Bee on a level that Anne didn't tell them anything about what was really happening, but again, given how painful recalling those memories sounded, he assumed there must've been some tough times back there. The last thing he wanted was to force Anne, but at the same time, he knew this secrecy was just putting undue pressure on her.
"All we can do is pray, and hope. Besides, Anne's stronger than we think. You always say you see great potential in her, I think when the moment arises, she'll step up and face whatever comes her way," said Bee.
Oum smiled, that seemed to ease her mind a bit, but Bee knew it didn't do much for the overall worry.
I'll keep your secret Anne. I trust you to tell us when you're ready. But, for your mother's sake, I hope it's sooner rather than later.