Anne Boonchuy, a human lost in the world known as Amphibia, filled with talking frogs and toads, giant insects, newts and salamanders, and horrible creatures that seem to enjoy murder and mayhem. The Planters were sitting forth on their journey to Newtopia, the capital of Amphibia and home to the King of Amphibia. Hopediah Plantar, or Hop Pop for short, decided that in order to get Anne home, the only way to do so might lie with the newts, who were very intelligent.
Once the passage out of the valley had melted, Anne and the Plantars hopped on the fwagon and headed out. Anne was excited to see more of Amphibia, but more than that, she was happy that she was taking her first step towards getting back home. As she looked out the window of the fwagon, her thoughts couldn't help but circle back to Toad Tower and what had happened there. She hated that her and Sasha, the second of her three friends, had such a bad falling out. But it needed to happen.
All her life, Sasha had been telling her and Marcy what to do, her way or the highway. While Anne admired her take charge and commanding attitude, she had to admit, Sasha could be a real bully towards her and Marcy if she didn't get her way. Part of Anne wondered if that's how it was going to go if they never came to Amphibia, would she and Marcy just continue to do whatever Sasha wanted? Anne hoped not, she thought that their blow up at Toad Tower – no pun intended – would've happened at some point down the line, just, you know, without the swords and duel to the death kind of thing happening.
Anne sighed heavily, after reflecting on past events, she got out of the bed and left the fwagon. She needed some air and time to think. They had parked on the side of a dirt road, there were trees and shrubbery lining both sides of the road, with various creatures giving off chitters and warbles, the typical nighttime noises, as far as this world was concerned.
I hope Marcy's okay…that girl is so smart, but she can be totally clueless to things going on around her, Anne thought.
Of the three, Anne and Marcy had been friends longer. She was always looking out for Marcy, and yes, for being a literal genius, Marcy would find herself zoning out as she tended to get engrossed in whatever caught her interest at that moment. Hyper focused would be a good describer.
As Anne leaned against the fwagon, gazing up at the stars, she felt something. A small pain around her midsection. "Oh no…not again…" Anne looked around and hurried into the woods.
She went as far as she could until the fwagon was out of sight, and if she was lucky, that meant that the Plantars couldn't either. Anne kept going until she was in a small clearing, the canopy of trees had opened up to allow her a view of the night sky. She knew this was dangerous, she was vulnerable to an attack by whatever overgrown mammal or insect roamed the forest. But she had to, she didn't want the Plantars to worry any more about her than they already did. They were doing so much by taking her Newtopia, she didn't want to become more of a burden.
The pain got worse, causing Anne to fall to her knees as she wrapped her arms around her waist area. "UUGGH! Why does this hurt so much?!" It couldn't be…that…Anne knew what that felt like, so she knew that couldn't be it. There was another reason why she knew it wasn't that, and it was due to the glow.
Anne looked down at her stomach and noticed a bright white glow coming from that area. It was so bright that Anne couldn't tell if it was coming from below or above her skin, but it hurt all the same. It felt as if something wanted to come out of her, but Anne was doing all she could to keep that from happening, fearing that whatever this was could be dangerous to Sprig, Polly, and Hop Pop. Although, she could tell that the more she resisted this urge, the worse the pain got, as if it was screaming at her to let it out.
"I don't know what the hell is wrong with me! But – UGH! – I won't let it get out!" Anne grunted.
The pain sharpened as she rolled on her side, still clutching at her midsection. Her attention was briefly drawn away as she heard rustling in the trees. A moment later she spotted several large hedgehog creatures coming out of the bushes, all of them snarling as they approached her.
"G-Get away from me!" Anne exclaimed.
The beasts only snarled louder, maws dripping with drool, watering for the meal they were about to devour.
"I said…" Anne's brow furrowed as she managed to get back on her knees. The Thai girl opened her eyes, showing that her irises were now glowing a bright blue. "…GET AWAY FROM ME!"
Anne's body suddenly erupted with azure lightning, striking at random. Some of the bolts burned through tree trunks, collapsing them, while others struck the ground and burned grooves into it. A few of the bolts managed to hit the pack of hedgehogs, shocking them badly enough that their fur was charred and smoking, others were sent flying backwards into the bushes, and up against trees. One of the hedgehogs, a blue one, possibly the alpha leader, charged for Anne, attempting to kill the threat in front of it. Anne's eyes fixed on the blue hedgehog, the lightning coalesced in front of her, forming a ball of electrical energy. That ball fired off towards the hedgehog, engulfing its entire body.
The hedgehog began to let out horrible pain filled noises, being trapped inside a sphere that was basically electrocuting it from all sides. The ball of lightning exploded and sent the hedgehog flailing to the ground. The beast whimpered and ran away into the woods, the rest of its pack followed suit, deciding that Anne was too dangerous to try and eat. The lightning discharge began to fade in conjunction with the pain in her gut, once both had completely vanished, Anne picked herself up off the ground, feeling exhausted.
The Thai girl made her way back to the fwagon, but as she emerged from the woods, she saw Bessie had come out of her shell. The giant snail's eyes were fixed on Anne, giving her a look of worry. Anne smiled as she made way to Bessie, when she was close enough, Bessie lowered her head to gently nuzzle the side of Anne's face.
"Hey, girl, I'm alright…I think," said Anne.
Bessie chirped a couple times in response.
"I know, you probably think I should tell them what's going on with me…but I can't, I don't want to add something else for them to worry about. I'll figure it out." Anne opened her arms and hugged Bessie around the neck. "Thanks anyway."
Bessie purred her content, offering as much comfort to Anne as she could.
Anne released Bessie and waited for her to retreat into her shell before quietly entering the fwagon again. This was not the first time this has happened. The first time this happened was the following night after she, Sprig, and Hop Pop escaped the underground factory at the Ruins of Disaster.
-(***)-
After Hop Pop had been freed from his restraints on the conveyer belt, all three of them began running out of the factory as the place was going into meltdown mode. The human and two frogs ran out of the mouth of the facility, with Anne and Sprig releasing a celebratory "Whoo-hoo!"
"Hey! Road Rule #2: No celebrating until you're completely out of danger!" Hop Pop stated sternly.
"C'mon, Hop Pop, the danger is clearly ov–"
Sprig was then interrupted as the facility behind them went and exploded, sending them flying forward and landing on their rears a few feet away.
"Levers am I right," said Sprig in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Hop Pop's narrowed gaze and low growl was more than enough indication that he was not amused.
"I know, I know, we should've followed the rules," Sprig admitted looking despondent.
"Ya think?! You two should be more like Polly! Ah told her to stay put and look where she is!" Hop Pop pointed forward, only to find that the fwagon, Bessie, and Polly were nowhere to be seen. The elderly frog pinched the middle of his face as he asked, "Where's Polly?"
His question was quickly answered as they watched Polly drive Bessie around the Ruins, taking her up the sides and performing aerial maneuvers that were on par with pro skateboarders. After doing a flip in the air, Polly and the fwagon landed in the exact spot that Hop Pop had left them, only now Polly was aware that her family was back.
"Bessie made me do it," said Polly.
Another narrow-eyed glare was shot Polly's way.
"Alright, I'm sorry, okay?! That's the last time I break a rule I swear," said Polly.
"Yeah, us to HP. For the rest of the trip, we'll follow all the rules," said Anne with a glum expression.
"Yeah, we just won't experience anything special I guess."
Hop Pop saw how sad his grandchildren were and realized that maybe he was being too harsh. "Hang on a sec, kids…maybe this only happened because Ah was bein' too strict with ya. We've never takin' a trip like this and…Ah just wanted it to go smoothly." Hop Pop admitted. "So, what do ya say we set aside the rules for a bit and make a stop or two?"
Sprig, Anne, and Polly all had looks of excitement upon hearing this news and uttered at the same time, "Really?!"
"Ooh, ooh! Can we stop at the Hills of Impalement?! I heard it will traumatize you for liiiiiife!" Sprig declared.
"Nope! I got something else in mind!" Hop Pop looked down at himself. "But first I need to get some clothes on."
Hop Pop walked to the fwagon and headed inside, however, the elderly frog only made it into the doorway as the ground suddenly shook violently, making Sprig and Anne fall on their rears and causing Polly to roll back and forth on the driver's seat. Bessie hurriedly retreated into her shell, and Hop Pop was hanging onto the doorframe as to not get thrown onto the ground.
Just then a fissure started to form, it snaked across the ground as it ripped open the very earth, as if it was deliberately aiming for them. Anne saw this and tried to get up, but the earthquake was still going strong and wasn't letting anyone get back to their feet. Anne got onto her hands and knees, trying to steady herself as best she could. Once steady enough, Anne reached out for Sprig, the little frog child reached towards her as well, but just before she could take his hand, the shaking stopped. Everyone took a long moment to see if anything else was going to happen, so far, nothing.
"Okay, well, that was intense," Anne remarked.
Sprig and Anne stood back up, when Anne turned around, she saw that the fissure had stopped about half a foot behind her.
"Wow, that was close, huh?" Sprig asked.
"I'll say, but the good news is we're fiiiiiiAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
The ground around Anne's feet collapsed, a large hole opened and swallowed the teenager into the darkness, leaving the Plantars stunned into silence at the sudden disappearance of their adopted family member. The last thing Anne heard before tumbling down the hole was the sound of her adopted frog family calling out her name.
A lot of tumbling later and Anne found herself coming out of a hole and into a wide chamber. Anne rolled onto the ground for a moment before she finally stopped. She coughed a bit and groaned from the semi-painful landing. "Oh, man…that was a long way down."
Anne picked herself up but hissed a little as she nursed her left shoulder. It didn't feel broken, she knew what a broken bone felt like – unfortunately. She had landed on her left shoulder when she came out of the hole, so it was only sore, thankfully.
"ANNE! ANNE!"
"ANNE, CAN YA HEAR US?!"
"SAY SOMETHING IF YOU'RE NOT DEAD!"
Anne could hear the Plantars echoing cries from the hole, she moved closer to it and shouted, "I'M OKAY, GUYS! I LANDED IN SOME KIND OF CAVERN!"
"CAN YOU SEE A WAY OUT?!" Sprig asked.
Anne fished out her cellphone from her skirt pocket and turned on the flashlight. She shined the light in the cavern, which upon doing so, realized that it looked like another part of the factory that they just escaped. "I THINK I'M JUST IN ANOTHER PART OF THE UNDERGROUND FACTORY!"
"ANNE, DO YA THINK YOU CAN CLIMB BACK UP!" Hop Pop asked.
Anne shined the light into the hole and looked up. The sides were dirt and metal, but from what she could see the tunnel curved upwards into a vertical incline, she was able to crawl inside about halfway before seeing the incline and saw the light of the surface.
"I DON'T THINK SO, THERE'S NOT MUCH FOR ME TO CLIMB ONTO!" Anne answered.
"HANG ON, ANNE! AH'LL GET A ROPE FROM THE FWAGON!"
"OKAY! AND DON'T WORRY, I THINK I'LL BE ALRIGHT FOR NOW. I'LL SEE IF THERE'S ANOTHER WAY OUT!"
"DON'T GO TOO FAR FROM THE HOLE!"
"GOT IT!"
Anne crawled back out and decided to explore a bit of where she was. From what she was seeing, it was indeed another part of the factory, there were dilapidated machinery, rusted paneling, and broken glass. Anne made it a point to not touch anything that looked like a lever or a button. She didn't want to restart that automated system from before.
"Man, what's up with this place? Why's there all this machinery here? Up until now it's all been brick and mortar stuff," Anne thought aloud.
Seeing the advanced technology was a bit of a shock, she didn't think that the frogs and toads were advanced enough to make something like this. Now that she thought about it, maybe it was Newtopian? Hop Pop did mention that the newts were the smartest and wisest beings in all of Amphibia, perhaps this was all their work?
"If that's the case, what's it all doing underground? And what's it supposed to do?"
Anne moved a little further in and stopped when she spotted something that looked very much like the computer that was in the factory.
"Nope! Nuh-uh, not goin' through that again!" Anne stated as she turned right around and–
*click*
Anne froze, she looked down and saw that her skirt had caught on a lever, a lever that she just pulled.
"Oh c'mon!"
Suddenly, the computer activated, opening its wide maw revealing the screen. Its blue light filled the dark room, as the keyboard flashed with a myriad of assorted colors. Anne braced herself, not knowing what was going to happen next. Then the screen began to short out. Blue glowing lines started to form along the walls and floor as something began to form in front of Anne. The human girl jumped back in fear of what was happening, and that's when the glowing energy that was flowing through the lines on the walls and floor formed an apparition.
It stood about as tall as Anne did, its body was made of blue sparking energy, but its eyes were bright white color. From what she could make out, it possessed a long tail similar to that of the picture of a Newt that Hop Pop showed them. Anne moved to take a picture of the apparition, but for some reason her phone had shut off.
"What the heck?!" Anne tried turning it back on, but the device refused to power up. "Nononononononono! There's no way you could be out of power now! We mega charged you months ago!"
The apparition took a step towards Anne, and when it did, a voice started to come out through the screen.
{I was not able to face the abomination. The power of Calamity needs something more than what we ourselves can offer…}
"W-What are you talking about?" Anne asked.
{To you who possess the Power of Calamity, I entrust the future of this world, and all worlds, to you.}
The apparition suddenly zoomed straight for Anne, appearing right in front of her in the blink of an eye. Before Anne could say or do anything, she froze, her eyes started to glow blue as the apparition faded away. Electricity started to arc off Anne's body, the energy built up more and more, creating a lightning aura around her. Anne snapped out of her trance and panicked when she saw the aura around her body. She could feel something inside her, something that wanted to break free. Anne fought against this feeling, causing her pain in her lower abdomen. The pain grew more intense and made her fall to her knees as the aura grew larger by the second.
After a couple more seconds, the aura released in a burst of violent lightning strikes that blasted the walls, floor, and ceiling of the room. Some of the bolts struck the computer, causing it to explode. The pain in Anne's abdomen finally ceased, at the same time, the aura faded away. Anne looked at her shaking hands, and then to the destruction around her. She didn't know what to think, or how to begin rationalizing this.
"ANNE, DO YA SEE THE ROPE?!"
Anne heard Hop Pop's voice and rushed back to the hole, when she got there, she saw a rope that was made of the bedsheets and various blankets. "I SEE IT HOP POP!"
"TIE IT TO YERSELF, AND WE'LL PULL YA UP," said Hop Pop.
Anne did as Hop Pop told her, she grabbed the makeshift rope and tied it around her waist. Once she secured it, Anne called out, "IT'S TIED, PULL ME UP!"
"HIYA, BESSIE!"
Anne suddenly felt a strong tug and was immediately whisked up the hole. It took about a minute before Anne flew out of the hole and landed back on the surface. Anne shook her head from the quick ascent, but she was so glad to be out of that place.
"Anne!" Sprig and Polly called out as they rushed towards her.
"Are you alright?!" Polly asked.
Anne looked down at the hole, she wanted to say something, but when she looked into the worried eyes of her adopted little brother and sister, she felt like she didn't want to worry them more than they were already. "Yeah, I'm good. Just a bit roughed up from the fall."
Sprig and Polly released a sigh of relief.
Hop Pop ran over to her, fully clothed, and asked, "Are ya sure, Anne?"
"Yeah, I'm sure."
"Well, this definitely calls for that stop then. Let's head inside, Anne, you go rest up in the fwagon, Polly, Sprig, you help me undo this rope and the sheets."
Anne walked to the fwagon but stopped for a second. She took out her phone and found that the device was back on. "What?" When she checked the battery level, it was reading "5,989%". "You're working now? But you didn't…" Anne shook her head. "Whatever, that's too much adventuring for one day.
-(***)-
That was the first time it happened, the following night, Anne once again felt that same sensation. She ran out of the fwagon and got as far away from it as she could, Anne had made it about fifty feet from the fwagon before she had another episode and released the lightning. It didn't happen again, at least not until late the next night.
It seemed as though this was not going to stop any time soon. So, to keep them safe, Anne would do this. Go out into the night, move as far away from the fwagon as possible, and then let this, whatever it was, happen. When Anne got back into bed, she noted something about this event. It's getting worse. The pain was intensifying, and the feeling of something wanting to come out of her was getting stronger. Anne wasn't sure for how much longer she would be able to hold it back, part of her feared that this phenomenon was going to kill her before they made it to Newtopia.
I just gotta hang on until we get there, just gotta make it to Newtopia. They might be able to help me…
As Anne fell asleep, two sets of eyes glowed from the dark forest, staring right at the fwagon.
The Plantar family was on the move once again, rolling along the dirt road as they watched the scenery pass them by. Sprig and Polly were still excited to see all that the land of Amphibia had to offer, for years all they knew was the inside of their valley, but now they were out of the valley and in the great big world. For Anne, well, she wished she could enjoy this more. But it was kind of hard to do when she was a ticking time bomb of electrical energy.
Anne decided to distract herself by playing something on her phone. She didn't really care at the moment what she put on as she scrolled through her playlist, but for some reason, she thought about something to watch. Something that she hadn't watched for a while. She switched from her streaming apps to her video list and found what she was looking for.
"Heh, haven't seen this in a while," Anne remarked as she pressed play.
The screen showed a superhero clad in armor that made him look like a Greek warrior crossed with a rhinoceros beetle, and after the intro song played, the words "Kamen Rider Atlas" appeared. Anne was about ten minutes into the episode before Sprig dropped in from atop the fwagon.
"Hey, Anne! Wha'cha doin'?" Sprig asked.
"Just watching somethin'," said Anne.
Sprig hopped over to where Anne was and watched as a man in a suit was talking to people on a chair, and about a few seconds later, he was interrupted by a woman who promptly dragged him out of the room. "What's this? I've never heard this language before?"
"It's a show from a country in my world called Japan. It's a superhero show."
Sprig cocked his head to the side and asked, "What's a 'superhero'?"
Anne paused for a moment and looked at Sprig. "Wait, you don't know what a superhero is?!"
"Well, I get the 'hero' part, but what makes him super?"
"Heh, just watch dude."
The man in the suit was then confronted by a monster. That same man took off his glasses and made a few hand gestures. After which, a belt appeared around his waist. He slowly moved his hands around before he cried out, "Henshin!" Upon uttering that word, the man transformed, donning armor in a matter of seconds, becoming Kamen Rider Atlas.
{ Sore ga sekaidearou to anata no nayamidearou to! Watashi wa sore o subete yorokonde taemasu (Whether it's the world or your troubles! I'll gladly bear it all)!}
Sprig's eyes widened with awe as he watched, he had never seen anything like this before, and considering all the things that Anne had shown him thus far, that was saying a lot. "What is he?!"
"That's Koshiro Hamada, also known as Kamen Rider Atlas."
"What's common about him?"
"No, no, sorry, it's a different language. In Japanese, the word is spelt K-A-M-E-N, translated it means mask or masked. So, it's Masked Rider Atlas."
"Oh, so why not say 'masked'?"
"Because 'Kamen' sounds cooler."
"Can't argue with that logic!"
"Heh, now you're talking. Koshiro's a psychiatrist, he helps people with their emotional troubles, and he sometimes gets overzealous and butts into their lives to fix the problem, but his heart's in the right place. Anyway, he fights against these creatures called the Shadows, they're born from a person's negative emotions, so they try to make a person feel bad to the point that they want to give up being human. It's how they make more of themselves. And it's up to Atlas to beat them and save the people from becoming Shadows."
"Wow…this…is…AMAZING!" Sprig grabbed Anne by her shirt and made a face when he asked, "Why haven't you showed me this before?!"
"Honestly…I kind of forgot about it until now. I used to watch this with Marcy."
Sprig released Anne when he saw that sad look in her eyes.
"Heh, it was Marcy who introduced me to the whole Kamen Rider thing. I thought it was dorky at first, but it really grew on me. She tried to get Sasha into it as well, and to her credit she did at least watch the whole season of Kamen Rider Atlas before she said, 'Yeaaaah…that was fun, but no thanks.'"
"That doesn't surprise me."
"After she said that I kind of stopped watching it, at least when she was around, Marcy though, she's a diehard fan of it. Whenever she had a spare moment, she spent it gushing about Kamen Rider…I really hope she's alright," said Anne.
Sprig gave Anne a comforting pat on the shoulder and smiled at her. "Hey, we'll find her, I know we will."
"Thanks, dude."
Suddenly the fwagon came to an abrupt halt, jostling Anne and Sprig and everything else inside. They heard a thud and then a rolling sound, and that's when they saw Polly fall through the hatch in the roof. Sprig immediately shot out his tongue and stuck it to Polly, reeling her in like a fish and grabbing her before she could hit the floor.
"You okay, Polly?!" Sprig asked.
"All good!"
Anne got out of her seat and headed up to see what was going on. When she got onto the roof, she gave Hop Pop an irritated glare. "What the heck, HP?!"
"Shh!" Hop Pop hissed.
"What, I was just–?!"
"SHHH!" Hop Pop hissed again in a harsher tone.
The elderly frog motioned with his eyes to the front, Anne followed his gaze and paused when she saw what was in the middle of the road. It stood about six feet tall and was humanoid in shape. It wore a black breast plate that had the image of thirteen eyes that formed a strange pattern, it had black armored bracers on its forearms, pauldrons, and thigh armor. Its legs were lupine in appearance, it also possessed a long bushy tail. The creature had long claws on both hands, its face resembled that of a fox, and its fur color was a dark orange with the coloring growing darker the closer it got to the forearms and feet. Upon its back were tiny black feathered wings, whether or not this creature could fly was up for debate. Its eyes were glowing yellow as it fixed them on the Plantar family's fwagon, just staring at them, not moving an inch except for its tail that wagged back and forth.
"Uh…HP…w-what is that thing…?" Anne whispered.
"I don't know…it just jumped outta the woods," said Hop Pop quietly.
Anne looked down and saw that Sprig and Polly were about to come up, but she swiftly made a series of gestures to warn them to stay down and to be quiet. The kids were about to ask why but when they saw the scared look on Anne's face, they figured it was something bad enough that even Anne was taking it seriously. Anne looked back at the strange creature, something inside of her was blaring out a warning signal, she wasn't sure if it was some sort of primal instinct, but she knew it was telling that this thing was way more dangerous than anything that they've encountered before. Strangely enough, Anne was feeling that pain again in her abdomen.
Seriously?! You know it's not even nighttime yet, and you're choosing now to act up?!
"Hop Pop…we need to go, now!" Anne urged.
Hop Pop nodded his head slowly and maneuvered the reins to direct Bessie to back up. Slowly the fwagon and Bessie reversed their direction, this caused the creature's ears to flick in their direction, and its tail to go still.
"Oh cruuuuud…" Anne remarked. "GUN IT HOP POP!"
"BESSIE, THINGS ARE GETTIN' MESSY!"
With the signal given, Bessie revved up and sped towards the creature, the monster widened its stance in preparation for a fight. However, at the last second, the Bessie made a sharp turn and went around the monster and pressed on, leaving the fox monster in the dust, its visage growing smaller in the distance.
Sprig and Polly finally made it onto the roof, with the little polliwog asking, "Will someone tell us what that was all about?!"
"I don't know, there was this thing in the middle of road! I don't know what it was, but it was eyeing us like dinner or something!" Anne answered.
"Thankfully, it looks like it didn't chase after us," said Hop Pop.
"Uh…might want to take that back, Hop Pop!" Sprig stated as he pointed to their rear.
Hop Pop, Anne, and Polly looked behind them and watched as the fox monster was giving chase, swiftly bounding from tree to tree as it pursued them.
"HOLY–!"
"BESSIE, HIYA!"
The snail pushed herself harder, going faster than even before in a desperate bid to outrun this monster. The fox monster didn't show any signs of slowing down, matching the speed of Bessie easily, and to their dismay, it was getting closer.
Sprig reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his slingshot, Silver Bolt 2.0. The young frog child picked up an iron ball bearing and took aim; however, the bounding monster was making it hard for him to get a beat on where it was going to go next. The fox monster decided that it had enough with chasing and instead went on the attack. The monster jumped high into the air and lit both of its hands on fire. Two fireballs formed in its claws, and then it threw them way ahead of Bessie. The large snail increased its speed as the two fireballs exploded, blowing apart some trees and causing them to fall. The Plantars made it through the falling trees just in time before they were cut off, but the fox monster wasn't done, it kept lobbing fireballs their way, some exploding right next to the fwagon, and others detonating ahead of them.
"THIS THING IS NUTS!" Anne shouted. "UGH!"
Anne fell into the fwagon, the pain in her abdomen was raging stronger than it had before, as if it really wanted out.
Sprig jumped down and saw Anne rolling on the ground in pain, scared for his adopted big sister, Sprig rushed to her side and asked, "Anne what's wrong?!"
"I-I-It's nothing, Sprig! Just a stomach cramp, it'll pass!" Anne assured.
Sprig was not convinced, Anne looked like she was in a lot of pain, and with this monster attacking them, helping her was going to be impossible.
"EVERYONE, BRACE!" Hop Pop shouted.
Polly jumped into the fwagon, joining Anne and Sprig just as a larger explosion went off outside. Anne suddenly felt weightless, the knickknacks in the fwagon floated in the air as time seemed to slow down to a crawl. But that only lasted for a moment before the violent fall started and the world blacked out.
Anne felt pain all over her body, but the worst that persisted was the one in her abdomen. The Thai American rolled onto her right side and slowly got up, her body protested this action with aches and pains, but Anne pushed through it and managed to sit up on her knees. When she opened her eyes, she gasped. The fwagon was on its side, and Bessie was knocked out. Hop Pop was on the ground next to the fwagon, also knocked out, but Polly and Sprig were nowhere to be seen.
"Hop Pop…Sprig…Polly!" Anne cried out in a strained tone.
She didn't receive an answer, Anne looked around and saw that part of the forest was on fire, when she turned her head to look over her shoulder, she saw the fox monster walking towards them. It took its time, like a predator cornering wounded prey, there was no need to rush when they couldn't move. Plus, this thing was so fast that it didn't really matter if they could run, Anne was sure this thing could catch them easily, it was fast enough to keep up with Bessie, so what chance did any of them have on foot?
The pain increased again, making Anne wrap her arms around her stomach as she doubled over. The electrical aura started to form around her body, releasing small sparks of lightning at varying intervals. The fox monster regarded this for a moment, as if this confirmed something for it. With that thought, it resumed its stalking, now about ten feet away from Anne.
This can't be happening…! I finally get out of the valley…to find answers and to get back home…and now…I'm going to die out here?! Anne looked towards the fwagon and the unconscious Hop Pop. And the Plantars…I brought this on them…they wouldn't be in this mess if I never met them…!
The fox monster was now a foot away, Anne could see its padded feet, prompting her to raise her head towards the creature. The fox monster raised its right hand, extending its sharp claws in preparation to kill her. Anne's eyes watered, she was going to die here.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!"
A metal ball soared through the air and struck the monster in its left eye, causing it to howl in pain. Anne glanced to her right and saw Sprig hop out of the bushes as he loaded another metal ball into his slingshot.
Anne took this opportunity and grabbed the monster by the leg. The fox creature looked down just as Anne smiled up at it. The electrical energy that had built up was released all at once, instead of spreading out, Anne used the monster as a lightning rod, pouring all that electrical power into it. The monster howled in pain and after a few seconds was launched several feet in the opposite direction.
"Got ya," said Anne with a smirk, before the mounting pain wiped it away.
"ANNE, ANNE!" Sprig shouted as he ran towards her. "What was that?! How did you do that?!"
"Sprig, I don't have a lot of time to explain, you need to get Hop Pop and Polly away from here! Wait, where's Polly?!" Anne asked.
"She's in the bushes over there!" Sprig pointed to where he had hopped out of. "We were thrown out of the fwagon, and I held onto her when we did."
"Good job, dude. Now get Hop Pop and Bessie out of here," Anne ordered.
"Not without you!" Sprig argued.
Anne growled as the pain came again. "Look, I can't hold this back much longer! I was able to keep it from hurting you guys because I turned that monster into a living lightning rod, but it won't work again! This time it's going to go everywhere, and it might hit you guys! So, hurry and get away from me!"
The fox monster had gotten back up, its body smoking from the electrocution that it was just subjected to. The fox monster had an angry look on its face, not pleased that it was just blindsided by that electrical attack, and Anne was sure it wasn't going to make that same mistake twice. The fox got into a running stance, readying itself to strike Anne down for sure this time before she had the chance to use that lightning attack.
Anne could tell what was about to happen, she grabbed Sprig by his shirt and shoved him as hard as she could, forcing him away from her as the lightning built up once again. Once she had done that, the fox monster dashed straight for her at full speed, claws out, and fangs bared, fully intent on killing her in one hit. Time slowed down once again for Anne, her life flashing before her eyes.
The time when she was little and met Marcy and Sasha, the day her mother signed her up for Muay Thai classes. The times she helped out in her parents' restaurant, the awkwardness of middle school. The flash of light that brought her to Amphibia, the fun – and life threatening – times she spent with the Plantar family. Her duel with Sasha and how it ended without either of them resolving a thing between them.
Anne closed her eyes and awaited the swift end, at least she hoped it would be swift. Wow…I did a lot in just thirteen years…
Is this where you're story ends?
Anne opened her eyes and saw the ghost from before standing in front of her, looking down at her as if disappointed in her.
I thought the power of Calamity had sought a worthy successor, but perhaps I was wrong.
What are you talking about…? What power?!
Your continued refusal to allow the power to come out will be your undoing. If you are okay with your life ending, then I will not stop you. But I urge you to think of those who are still left behind.
The ghost pointed to Sprig who was falling backwards in slow motion, to Polly who burst out of the bushes towards Sprig, and to Hop Pop who had a look of terro on his face as he came to.
Their lives will be at the mercy of this Fallen, without you, they will die.
NO! NO! They can't die! I won't let them!
Then unleash the power, do not fight it child, let it surge forth from deep within you like a raging storm!
But what will happen to me?! I'm scared!
Change is always scary, but what you're going through is but a metamorphosis, and soon, you will emerge into your best self.
Time resumed its normal pace as the Fox Fallen closed in on Anne. The Thai American quickly stood up and entered her Muay Thai fighting stance. The monster swiftly slashed at her, but Anne ducked under the swipe, the Fox Fallen looked down and saw that Anne's irises were glowing bright blue. The human girl charged forward, grabbing the monster by the neck and forced her knee into its gut. The impact against the armor should've hurt Anne more than the monster, but that wasn't the case, Anne seemed unfazed by the armor. The monster staggered backwards, allowing Anne to close the distance again, she jabbed the monster in the face, throwing a right hook, and spun on her heel to deliver a powerful elbow strike to the right jaw. Anne repositioned herself and struck with both fists against its chest plate causing the Fox Fallen to retreat and out of her range.
Sprig, Polly, and Hop Pop stared with wide open jaws at Anne's amazing feat of fighting prowess, but what happened next utterly confused and shocked them.
Anne positioned her right and left hands against her left hip, and as soon as she did this, electrical energy crackled as a whirring sound echoed loudly in the air. The electrical energy surged around Anne's waist and formed a strange belt. The buckle had a bright white glowing gemstone, surrounded by six golden petals, the buckle itself had the same green coloring as that of the music box. The belt strap was black in color, with runic writing stretching around its length. On Anne's hips were two devices, both circular in shape, with the right hip having a pink glowing spot, and the right a lime green spot.
The teenage girl brought up both her arms to form and "X" pattern across her chest and then thrust them out in front of her with her fingers spread apart. Her arms slowly moved apart until they were about even with the devices on her hips. In a voice devoid of emotion, Anne uttered only one word…
"Henshin."
Anne brought her hands down and pressed on the two devices on the side. Lightning surged all around Anne, obscuring her form from the Plantars and the Fox Fallen. Anne's body felt the surge of power coursing through her cells, invigorating them and charging her with power never before felt by any human. Her body grew, aging her rapidly to a woman in her early twenties. The lightning formed armor around her body, along with a helmet, and a crimson scarf. On the outside, all anyone could see was a field of lightning wrapped around Anne, but that field broke down and revealed the warrior inside.
Anne's chest was covered in blue armor, with black spots on it. At the center of the chest plate was an upside-down black triangle gemstone. Her shoulder pauldrons were gray in color and resembled the shape of lily pads. On the chest plate were glowing bright blew lights that were carved into the armor itself. On her thighs were the same-colored lines, along with her biceps. Her helmet had a crest that was made of this glowing material and matched the color of her oval shaped eyes. The gemstone at the center of the belt had turned completely bright blue to match the lines on the armor and sparked with electrical energy.
"Calamity of Heart…" spoke the Fox Fallen.
"What…What happened to Anne…?!" Polly asked.
Sprig remembered what Anne showed him before all of this happened, her armor and form reminded him of that warrior on her phone, a superhero who fights for those who are in trouble, who defeats evil wherever it may be. "Kamen…Rider…"
Lightning surged from the lines around the Rider's legs, sending it straight to her feet. In a matter of seconds, the Rider dashed forward as a trail of crimson and blue lightning were left in her wake. The Fox Fallen was about to attack but was too slow as the Rider came in with a spinning kick and sent the monster flying into a tree. The Fox Fallen recovered from the blow, raised its left claw, and released a torrent of flames to where the Rider stood. The hero of lightning jumped into the air before the flames could hit, spun around, and raised her right fist.
Lightning surged around her fist and built up a charge as she descended towards the Fox Fallen. The monster was smart enough to dash away from that spot just as the Rider came down and struck the ground, causing a small explosion that kicked up dirt into the air. The Rider was not deterred as she gave chase and closed the distance as she entered her Muay Thai fighting stance, what happened next was a flurry of movements that no one could follow. It looked as if streaks of lightning were striking the monster repeatedly, but in reality, it was only the after images of each of the Rider's attacks as Anne landed one blow after another, using elbow strikes, jabs, punches, and hooks.
The warrior of lightning swept the Fallen's feet, causing it to fall, but right before it could hit the ground, the Rider ducked down and donkey kicked the monster in the chest, sending it rolling across the dirt road and away from her. The Kamen Rider decided now was the time to end this creature's existence, and the Fox Fallen seemed of the same mind but towards her.
The Rider widened her stance, at that moment, the bladed crest fanned out until there were a total of three blades on either side, for a total of six. The blue lines on her armor, along with the crest and eyes, all started to glow brighter and brighter as lightning coiled around her body. Below her a bright blue sigil formed, releasing its own lightning that concentrated into the Rider's feet. The Fox Fallen set itself on fire, it's eyes glowing with murderous intent as it readied itself to take down the warrior before it.
The lightning Rider jumped high into the air at the same time as the Fox Fallen. The monster turned itself into a wheel of burning flames and aimed itself right for her. The Rider showed no signs of caring as it flipped once in the air before extending her right leg for a flying Rider Kick. The two attacks met in the center, but the Rider's lightning gave her a boost of speed that out paced the monster and allowed her land her blow right to the monster's chest, breaking through its fire wheel attack.
The blow sent the monster falling out of the air and onto the ground, the Rider spun around before hitting the ground in a classic superhero landing style. The Plantars kept staring at this entire event, wondering if this would continue as they watched the Fox Fallen get back to its feet slowly until it was standing. The Rider slowly rose to her feet, keeping her right arm hovering over chest. Only when she was fully standing did she swipe that same arm as if slashing the air. The moment she did this the monster started to have a reaction, a swirling halo of black and purple energy formed over its head, the monster started to stumble about and howl as if in pain. A couple of seconds later, the Fox Fallen exploded brilliantly behind her, causing a small updrift of warm air to cause her crimson scarf to flutter about.
No one said a word when it was over, the Rider just stood there motionless, not making a sound. The Plantars had managed to group up at the fwagon, unsure as to what they should do now. They knew it was Anne who was underneath that armor, but after witnessing what she did to that monster, they weren't sure what to make of this. Well, Sprig did.
"Anne that was amazing!"
"Sprig, quiet!" Hop Pop scolded.
"What's wrong with you two?" Sprig asked.
"Uh, did you not see how Anne totally changed into a monster and killed another monster!" Polly pointed out.
"Uh, yeah, I saw. And she's not a monster, she's a Kamen Rider! She's a superhero!"
"Boy what are you on about?" Hop Pop asked in confusion.
"Anne will explain it better than I can, but essentially, she's one of the good guys!" Sprig broke away from his sister and grandfather, much to their protest. "Anne that was so cool! I didn't know you were a Kamen Rider! How long have you been able to do this and–?!"
Before Sprig could finish his question, the Rider's eyes glowed as she entered a fighting stance.
Sprig stopped in his tracks when he saw the aggressive stance she was taking. "Uh…Anne…?"
Lightning surged around the Rider's body as she dashed straight for Sprig, balling up her fist and preparing to strike the little frog child.
"ANNNE!"
A/N: And thus, a new Rider legend begins! Yes everyone, I did it, I didn't think I could, but I did! Amphibia Kamen Riders. For those of you who want to see what this form looks like, here's a link ( michealravencroft/art/Kamen-Rider-Amp-890330727)
Tune in tomorrow at 12:00 pm CST for a new episode of Witch and The Amphibia Riders!