The intro opens with Anne's hands on the Calamity Box, opening it. Light from inside the box shines brightly before it switches to a scene that shows Kenji, Anne, Sasha, and Marcy, looking inside. Suddenly there was a white light and everything when blank.
Kenji was on the ground when the light faded, covered in mud with Anne next to him. When he woke up, he looked shocked to see he was in Amphibia with Anne. The two friends stood up and looked at their surroundings in awe.
The camera then zoomed out and showed the entire world of Amphibia.
Tenohira ni kizama re teru
Tsugihagi no yona sono sen ni furete
The scene then changed to the town of Wartwood as the frog inhabitants go about their daily lives. As a pair of dragonflies fly past the camera, it followed them until stopping at the Plantar farmhouse while the sun was starting to rise in the sky.
When the camera changed to show the house's front door, Kenji and Anne stepped out from inside and out into the world. Ready to take on the day. But first, they ducked their heads under some dragonflies that passed them.
Hibiware sona atama to
Gurasu ga sasata kokoro de mae hashiru
The camera moves up to a window on the side of the house. Sprig opened the window with a telescope in hand. He looked through it at the horizon before slipping off the windowsill and started falling. Inside the house, Hop Pop was reading one of his books in his study when Sprig's falling and screaming made him look at his window. Down on the ground, Sprig had landed in Polly's bucket. His little sister responded by punching her brother in the butt. Sending him flying out of the bucket. She then dove back into her bucket of water.
Sprig landed on Anne's head, and the three of them smiled at one another. Then Sprig pointed at something. Kenji pulled out one of his Class Cards, and the friends rushed off into the unknown.
The scene changed to show Kenji, Anne, and Sprig hopping across multiple mushrooms that lit up when one of them landed on it.
Koware kake no sekai
Kuzure so o de memai
The next scene showed Anne, Sprig, and Kenji running for their lives from a giant chicken monster. Kenji summons a black steed from his Rider Card then gets the others on and gallops away faster from the giant poultry. The scene begins to break apart as red line spread across the screen.
The next scene showed Sprig, Anne, Kenji, Polly, and Hop Pop fishing together on a lily pad before it suddenly rose into the air. Underneath it was a giant fish that started swimming around as everyone started screaming. Kenji, however, started stabbing it with a white curved short sword. The scene to break apart like the scene before.
Another scene showed Sprig in a temple looking at something before Kenji and Anne came rushing down the stairs beside him. Anne picked him up as they ran away from a giant boulder that came crashing into the temple. And just like the last two scenes, it begins to break apart in red lines.
Karappo na karada de
Ibtsuna shikai
The next scene showed a red, dark area. Anne and Kenji had their backs together, and both having looks of determination. Anne raised her tennis racket, and Kenji raised his cards: Saber as it begins to glow.
Still, in the same scene, the viewer is suddenly pulled back to reveal that they were surrounded by dozens of twisted frog/toad/newt-like creatures and a giant snake crawling up from behind them. Towering over them and hissing.
Zokkuri to myako o utsu inochi no sen
Naifu de nazotte nobashite shimaetara
ne dareka oshiete Tsuki ga mierunara
The amphibian-like abominations started attacking as Kenji now armed with Balmung/Gram and Anne rushed towards the viewer. Smashing, slicing, and killing any twisted being that came at them. Just as the viewer watched them go past the camera on both sides, the Giant Snake lunged at the fleeing kids. Its mouth opens as it comes towards the camera before the viewer is in the blackness of the snake's mouth, but it didn't last long as Kenji swung his sword and cuts down the snake with one strike.
Kesenai de
mada kesenai de
The scene changed again to a split screen with the left side show Anne's photo of herself, Kenji, Sasha, and Marcy together being held in a gloved hand and on the right is an older man in his fifties with a grin on his face. A flash of light showed the man's face more and the infamous Toad Tower in the background.
Kienaide mada Kienaide
The final scene of the intro showed Kenji standing in the middle of a road looking at the Class Cards he has. He looked to his left and saw Anne walking over to him with a smile. Then Sprig came over to his right and jumped on Kenji's shoulders while Fou jumps on his head with a content smile on his face. Hop Pop and Polly walked/hopped over and joined the trio. The screen begins to pan downwards as it shows reflections not of the group but of legendary heroes of Earth's history.
The intro ends with the title of the story.
FATE / CALAMITY
Book 1: Amphibia
Chapter 9: Fate vs Wild.
On this bright and sunny day, Kenji was assisting the Plantars with packing their camping gear and supplies for their faithful snail, Bessie as Fou sat on his shoulder. After strapping down the last of the supplies, he moved around the side of the giant snail and rubbed her neck. Bessie made a sound of appreciation and licked the side of his head.
"Heh, stop it, girl," he said. He gently pushed her away from him. "Alright, Hop Pop, that's all the gear."
"Thanks, Kenji," the old frog said.
Just then, the front door opened, and Anne came running out of the house with something in her hand. "Guys! I brought a bath bomb from home and didn't even know it! Oh, yeah! Man, I can't wait to try this baby out," she said, holding up a bath bomb that had a mixture of pink, purple, and light blue colors.
"Where are you going to even try it out in?" Kenji walked over and took the bath bomb, looking at the tag that said, 'Peony Princess'. "Me and Hop Pop are still trying to fix the bathtub."
Anne took her bath bomb back. "I'll just use it in the lake," she said, before her attention was grabbed by the packing the Plantars were doing. "Uh...You guys going somewhere?"
"Yep. The three of us are going to Camp Phlegmington for two days." Sprig said. "Going to rough it outdoors and get filthy!"
"Wait, without us?" Anne asked, gesturing to both herself and Kenji.
"Yeah, how come you guys didn't invite us?" Kenji asked.
"Because when we Plantars camp, we camp hard. No sense in you coming with us and being miserable."
Sprig hopped on Bessie and sat next to Hop Pop. "You know you hate dirt, bugs, rocks... and nature."
"You're soft, Anne, like a baby," Polly said on top of Hop Pop's head. "Ken's not as soft, but still soft."
"Gee…Thanks, Polly," Kenji said sarcastically.
"Fou?" The little creature said in confusion.
"Really, you should be glad you're not one of us," said Hop Pop.
For both humans, that statement really hurt and made them feel upset. After all this time being with them, they would have thought that the Plantars considered them like part of the family. And not just like the monsters that are living with them. "That's a load of bull and you know it. Just because we're not Plantars, doesn't mean we can't have a good time with you guys," Kenji said.
"Yeah! Take us with you. Please, please, please?" Anne pleaded with her hands together.
Hop Pop looked concerned about the idea of taking them along. "Are you sure? I wasn't kidding when I said 'rough.'"
"And I wasn't kidding when I said you were soft,"
"Super-sure," Kenji said, placing his arm around Anne. "You're forgetting, we were having to survive in the wild for a week before we made it to Wartwood. I'm more than certain we can handle wherever you three can handle."
"Well, all right, you crazy kids. Hop on," Hop Pop said, giving in.
"Whoo, whoo!" Kenji and Anne cheered and climbed onto Bessie's shell and sat next to each other. With everyone on board, Bessie started moving forward. Sprig then leaned back towards the two humans.
"Psst. Hey, since you're coming with us, we got to lather you up with this gunk." Sprig said, pulling out a bucket filled with a honey-like substance and a honeycomb stick covered in the gunk. "Only way to keep the ticks away."
"How big are the ticks?" Kenji asked.
"Uh…"
"Give me that." He took the stick started lathered it all over his face, arms, and legs. "I've had my fair share of ticks in the past thanks to my dog. I don't even want to know what they're like in this world," he explained to the bewildered frog family. He then dunked the stick back in the gunk and turned to Anne. "Your turn Anne."
Kenji started brushing the gunk on Anne's face when there was a sudden bump in the road. He fell back and got the left side of his face stuck on Anne's. Both teens looked at one another from the corners of their eyes and blushed with embarrassment.
"Totally not regretting this," she murmured.
"What was that?"
"Nothing!"
"Fou?"
Soon the group made it to Camp Phlegmington, ad saw that they weren't the only frogs out camping today. Roughing it up in the woods just and doing things that Kenji would see people back home did. Water skiing, sailing, tubing, roasting on an open flame, ax throwing, and catching beetles.
Kenji jumped off Bessie and once his bare feet hit the ground, he knew that it was going to be a great camping trip. The grass was so soft, and the air was flesh with the smell of the open wild.
"I have to admit, this place looks awesome," he compliments, scanning their surroundings.
"Fou!" Fou said with a happy tone as Kenji scratches under his chin.
"It's it?" Sprig asked, jumping off Bessie's shell. "I can't wait to tell scary stories. The more teen frogs running from deranged psychopaths, the better."
"Just like Jason Voorhees, huh," Kenji asked with a smirk.
"Who's Jason Voorhees?"
"You don't want to know."
Polly giggled as she jumped off and landed next to them. "I'm just happy to get off the farm. So much fresh air, and it's all mine," she said before inhaling deeply, causing her little body to inflate before letting it all out. She giggled while flying around like a balloon before Hop Pop caught her.
"How about you, Hop Pop?" Kenji asked.
"I personally love the peace and quiet. A frog can really hear themselves think out here," he said, closing his eyes and listening to his deepest thoughts.
"Did you leave the stove on? The front door unlocked. Will you die alone?!"
"Well, that was a mistake."
"…Disturbing thoughts crossed your mind?"
"Yep."
Kenji looked around the camping ground with his scythe, watching out for any dangerous animals. But there wasn't really any danger to be found. It was so peaceful. Then he looked at Anne and saw her looking rather uncomfortable with her surroundings. She was trying to shoo away a butterfly until a beetle the size of a dog crawled right past her.
"You sure you want to stay, Anne?" He asked, a little concerned for her. "You don't have to if you don't like it here."
"Fou..." The little creature said in a concern tone.
"Kenji right, Anne," Hop Pop said, walking over with an armful of gear. "You can take Bessie and go home if you need to."
"Hey, hey, hey!" Anne said, poking Kenji and the old frog in the face. "Here's an idea. How about we stop questioning my decisions and get to camping together already? Who's with me?"
The other cheered in agreement.
One of the first activities that the five of them did was fishing, which Kenji was more than happy to do while Fou slept on his lap. Grabbing a fishing pole, he sat next to Anne and the rest of the family as they waited for a bite. Sprig was the first to get a bite and reeled in his line to reveal he caught a tiny fist. Then Hop Pop caught a larger fish. Then Polly caught a fish that was almost as big as her.
Suddenly Anne was pulled into the water by her catch and started swinging around as the fish chased after her. Kenji jumped into the water and killed the fish with his knife, before pulling it and Anne onto a lily pad.
Kenji handed the fish to Anne, giving her two thumbs up. Realizing that she was the one that initially caught it, Anne smiled brightly and held it up to show the Plantars. The froggy family all cheered until Kenji's fishing pole was pulling into the water.
Looking down, the two teenagers noticed a large shadowing forming under the water. "Uh oh," Kenji said.
Suddenly a giant man-eating fish poked its head out from under the lily pad and started swimming around, all while Kenji and Anne screamed on top of it.
Next, they had to prepare the tents. Sprig pitched his tent in less than a minute. Anne, having never pitched a tent before in her life, was having an even more difficult time. Kenji walked over to see her poorly made tent fall apart on itself, before spontaneously combusting into flames.
"Come on, kids, throw some dirt on it! Get some water!" Hop Pop yelled, throwing water onto the fire as Kenji, Anne, and Sprig threw dirt on it while Fou uses his back paws.
Later, the group was walking towards the river with buckets. However, Anne stopped scratching her back. Kenji stopped when he noticed this and looked back at her. "Everything okay, Anne?"
"Yeah, but do I have something on my back?" Anne asked, turning around to face her back to her friend.
Kenji nearly let out a shout when he saw what was on her back but managed to hold it in when he covered his mouth. "Anne, don't freak out," he carefully said, pulling out his knife as Fou lets off a soft growl.
"Why?" Anne asked before looking over her shoulder. Only to come face to face with a huge spider that caused her to scream. "Get it off!" She yelled, throwing off the spider. But then the creature started chasing after her. Anne screamed as she ran from the spider and Kenji chased after it. "No, no, no! Get it off! Get it off!"
After a long day, everyone was ready to go to sleep. Anne was still upset over how today has gone. Kenji tried to cheer her up by star watching with her. Anything to bring back her smile that he's come to secretly love. Anne appreciated it the sentiment.
However, the moment would be ruined when Anne rolled down the hill, they were one and go falling into a field of large thorn bushes.
"Not going to lie, Anne. This might hurt a little," Kenji said, all covered up with scratches and thorns after spending most of the night trying to get Anne out of the bushes. He was kneeling behind Anne as she had her shirt rolled up, exposing the numerous tick bites she reserved.
With the honeycomb stick covered in the gunk, he started to apply it on her back. "Ow! Careful!" Anne cried.
"Sorry, sorry," he said.
"It's okay, just be careful. I'm pretty sure those ticks caused internal damage," Anne said.
"Fou..." Fou said as his ears dropped.
After completely covering all the bites with guck, Kenji threw the stick down into the bucket in frustration and stood up. "Alright, that bites it," he said and walked around to face her. "Pack your things, Anne. I'm getting Bessie and we're going home."
"What?! But why?" Anne protested.
"I'm not going to sit around and let you hurt yourself like this. And quite frankly, Old Kenji here is tired of putting his life on the line as well, just see you torture yourself." Kenji told her with an upset expression. He then turned to the frog family. "Hop Pop I'm taking Bessie and driving Anne and Fou back home. I'll be back tomorrow to pick you guys up."
"Alright, and don't you worry about us," Hop Pop said, placing his arm around Sprig. "Cause we'll be just fine without you."
Kenji nodded and whistled for Bessie. The snail came over and Kenji took her by the rein as Fou takes his place on top of Bessie's head.
However, Anne suddenly stood up and shouted, "No!" Everyone looked at her in confusion. "Look, I know it seems like I'm miserable, okay? But I'm not. It's just...It's just, uh…" Anne looked around at her surrounding as she struggled to come up with an idea. But when she looked at some kids playing and adults relaxing, that's when it hit her. "I'm not used to such easy camping."
"What're you talking about, Anne?" Kenji asked, just as confused as the others.
"Fou?"
"It's like you said, Ken. When we were in the woods together, we were really roughing it. Always doing whatever we had to do to survive," Anne said before gesturing to all the frogs having fun. "Look around you. Singing, butterflies, laughter. I guess I'm just used to something a little more... Extreme."
"ARGH!" Roared a frog that came bursting out of the bush behind her, startling Anne and the others and making Kenji grab his scythe and knife. The frog was muscular with dull green skin and several colored tattoos of insects, snakes, bones, and several other objects on his skin. In addition, he had bones of an unknown animal in his shaggy, green beard. He had a hat like an Australian outback with a flipped-upside and band lined with teeth. His brownish-green shorts are ripped and a shirt like a hunting vest.
"So, this place isn't extreme enough for ya?" The agro frog asked.
Anne looked at Kenji who shook his head. "Uh, dang right it isn't," she answered regardless.
This made the Australian-looking frog start to laugh, which started to turn hysterically. "I can take you folks to a real campsite, one where there isn't none of this kiddie stuff, like shelter or potable water. Blech."
"Yeah, no thanks…" Kenji was cut off when Anne placed her hand over his mouth.
"We'd love to go! Right guys?" She asked the others, but not Kenji.
"Well, if a more extreme experience would make you happy, Anne, then I say let's do it!" Hop Pop said
"If Anne wants hard-core, we go hard-core," Sprig said. "Lead the way, Mr., uh…"
"Name's Joe. Soggy Joe," Soggy Joe said, before he started laughing like a mad man again.
"Okay, dude, you can stop that," Kenji said.
"No!" Soggy Joe yelled, before he started leading the group over to Bessie. However, Kenji grabbed Anne's arm and pulled her aside for a brief chat.
"Anne, what the hell are you thinking?!" He exclaimed with a look of disbelief. "Are you seriously going to let this guy take us to some dangerous camping site?"
"Well, yeah. Why wouldn't I?" Anne asked.
"Anne, you haven't been camping since we used to be friends. And that was in your backyard. Not in the outdoors. If we go out into those parts, we could get killed," Kenji said.
"So what? Isn't that better than staying at the farm?" She countered.
"Wha-What are you talking about?" Kenji stared at her as if she was crazy. "Look, Anne, it's clear that something's been bothering you, so just tell me what it is?"
"Why is that any of your concern?" Anne asked, looking upset at him.
"Because I'm your friend, and I want to help you," Kenji replied.
"You want to help me? Then just drop it, Kenji," she said firmly before turning and walking back to the group as they all got on board Bessie. Kenji couldn't figure out what was wrong with her or why she was so upset but shook his head and got on board Bessie.
"Anata ga sorera wo utsu koto ga deki nai baai ha, sorera ni sanka shi te kudasai." the young man said in Japanese. Something he doesn't do often, but still knew how to do. Translation: "You can't beat them, join them."
"Fou."
The moment Soggy Joe led the group out onto a vast and desolate plain, the group found itself being chased by a large pack of carnivorous roadrunners. Soggy Joe was laughing maniacally like before as Hop Pop drove Bessie at full speed. Sprig was holding onto Polly, as Kenji and Anne were standing up in the back. Kenji had his scythe and Anne had only her tennis racket. They are the only protection the frogs have against the hungry roadrunners.
One of the roadrunners screeched and rushed at the back of Bessie's shell. It lunged towards them, before Kenji killed it with a swing of his mantis scythe. Another charged in, but Anne hit it in the face with her racket.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! This is more extreme!" Soggy Joe yelled with glee.
"Uh, sure is!" Sprig yelled over the fighting and running.
"This is insane!" Kenji yelled before one of the roadrunners landed on his back and scratched at him. Drawing his knife, he stabbed it in the neck and threw it at another bird that lounged at him. "If we die here, Anne, I'm going to kill you!"
"Just shut up and fight!" Anne yelled, whacking another roadrunner away.
"Fou!" Fou said as he was hanging on for dear life!
"Hang on, gang!" Hop Pop yelled before driving Bessie towards a large field of tall grass.
Once they entered, Kenji and Anne quickly got down and Soggy Joe stopped laughing. The frogs and their snail disappeared completely into the field of grass, just as the roadrunners entered it. Hop Pop steered Bessie through the grass before they emerged out of it, before pulling on the reins and bringing Bessie to a stop.
Bessie chirped nervously as half of the pack of roadrunners stood in front of them. Having gone around to cut them off.
Anne looked behind and saw the rest of the roadrunners emerging from the tall grass. "Uh, guys."
Kenji looked behind and saw the roadrunners. Now they were surrounded from all sides as the birds started to close in. Shrieking at them as Soggy Joe started laughing again.
"Now we can have some fun!" He spoke.
Kenji and Anne got down from Bessie's shell and stood ready to defend the frogs. But with the sun going lower and lower off the horizon, the visible was going to be cut in half. Making them easy prey for the roadrunners.
But then something happened. The roadrunner seemed to take note that the sun was going down and started to become scared. So much so that they abandoned the hunt and fled into the tall grass. Leaving Kenji, Anne, the Plantars, and Soggy Joe
"Uh. should we be worried about that?" Polly asked.
"Look!" Soggy Joe exclaimed, pointing towards the rising moon.
In the time that Kenji and Anne have been in Amphibia, they've only ever seen the moon as a crescent moon. But now it was a full moon.
"That is both oddly beautiful...and unsettling," Anne said.
"We move forward," said Soggy Joe. The group got back on Bessie and started driving across the desert again. However, as they drove on, they entered a large mist, with Joe as their guide.
As they ventured onwards, Kenji looked around with his grip on his scythe tight. Unable to shack off the feeling he was being watched. Or that something about this place was seriously wrong. Bessie was starting to become uncomfortable, with Hop Pop rubbing her neck to calm her down. Kenji looked at Anne to see she was looking very anxious. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he gave her a supporting smile, but Anne just looked away. Trying to hide her fear.
However, their fears and anxieties intensified when the fog cleared, and they found themselves before a giant rock slab that was standing tall before them. One of many that were in a U formation. Frog skulls edged into the face of the slabs, almost as a warning to others to stay away.
"We're here," Joe said, jumping off Bessie and started walking forward. The other followed on the snail, going past slabs. The extreme frog then jumped onto the ground and tasted some of the dirt. "We bunk here for the night. And in the morning if we're still alive…"
They all gasped in fear.
"...I'll take you all out for pancakes."
"Oh, that sounds great," Anne said as the group calmed down.
"I do like pancakes," said Hop Pop.
"Fou!"
The group settled down in their surroundings after Soggy Joe started a fire. Behind them were their tents to sleep in for the night. However, as Kenji looked around, he couldn't help shaking the feeling that they were being watched. It wasn't helped by the fact that he could spot pairs of eyes out of the corners of his.
"Want to hear a tale?" asked Joe.
Anne looked uncomfortable. "Uh…"
"No thanks," Kenji said.
"Fou?" Fou said as he tilts his head in confusion at the crazy frog mans question.
"I'm good," Hop Pop said.
"Hard pass, old man," Polly added.
"Oh, me! I love scary stories." Sprig said, however. Kenji bonked him on the head.
"Gather 'round and hear ye the tale of the Blood Bats. Said to have come from the pits of hell itself, the Blood Bats stalk the inky night, lusting to devour any frogs that might have wandered into their domain." Joe said, before somehow sinking down into a pack of tail grass.
"Ten bucks says he doesn't come back up," Polly said, before Joe suddenly popped out of the grass behind them.
"Just like us!" He yelled, startling the group, and making them fall onto the ground. He laughed maniacally. "Ah, yes. Holy honey thistle!"
"What? What is it, Joe?!" Hop Pop exclaimed, holding Polly to his face as close as he could.
"Nature calls. Be right back," he said, running off to do his business
There was a brief silence before Sprig, who was hiding behind the rock Kenji and Anne were sitting on, asked, "Is this extreme enough?"
Anne screamed in fear.
"Woah, woah, Anne, easy, it's just Sprig," he said, trying to calm her down.
"Uh... um…," Anne started to laugh nervously. "What? No. I am loving this."
Kenji was about to say something when he felt a pair of eyes on the back of his head. Quickly turning around, he stood up, picked up his scythe, and scanned their surroundings. Fou jumps forward as he lets out a growl.
"What's the matter, boy?" Hop Pop asked.
"I just have this feeling," Kenji said, looking around. "Like we're being watched."
A groaning sound brought everyone's attention behind their backs. Standing a few feet away from the campsite was Soggy Joe.
"Oh, uh, hey Sog Man. Everything okay?" Sprig asked, but the frog didn't answer. He just stood there in silence.
"Joe?" Kenji asked, starting to get worried.
Suddenly, Joe let out a groan as he fell flat on his face, revealing a hatchet in his back. And behind him stood a savage-looking frog with a sickle and only wearing a loincloth. The sight of their guide falling dead, and the savage frog made the group scream in fear and jump out of their seats.
"Fresh meat!" The frog said with a wicked grin. The sight of that grin sent a cold chill up Kenji's spine.
Soon more frogs started to rise out of the ground. Hiding under the rocks, they pushed them aside and climbed out of their hiding places. Each one holding a weapon in their hands and advanced on the group.
"What the hell are these guys?" Kenji exclaimed, holding his scythe up to fight.
"Cannibals!" Sprig exclaimed.
"And they're here for our delicious meat!" Polly screamed as she jumped on her brother and pulled his eyelids down.
However, just before fighting to break out, there was a strange, yet very audible swooshing sound coming from up above. When the cannibal frog heard the sound, they stopped and quickly looked to the skies in alarm. Another swooshing sound was heard, and they all started to scramble back to their hiding placings.
"What's going on?" Anne asked, looking up at the sky to see what they were all hiding from.
"Fou?"
"I don't know, but we better get in the tent!" Hop Pop said. They all quickly turned and ran for the inside of the tent as Bessie quickly retreated into her shell.
Once inside with the others, Kenji looked back out to see one cannibal running around, trying to find himself a hiding place. "I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die!" He panted in a panic.
Then he turned and spotted the tent. With sickle in hand, he rushed towards the tent with a look of hunger in his eyes.
Kenji was alarmed by this, but then another swooshing sound came from the sky. However, this one sounded different.
This sounded much closer.
The cannibal was upon the tent and was just about to open the flaps. Kenji got ready to kill the frog when it suddenly disappeared. First, there was a red blur, next, he was gone. But Kenji saw for just a fleeting moment that blur had talons that grabbed onto the frog and picked him up.
"IT'S THE BLOOD BATS!" Sprig exclaimed as he and the Plantars huddled together in fear.
"Oh, man, this is all my fault," Anne said to herself. "Ken, we've got to get out of here!"
"It's okay," Kenji said, placing a hand on hers to calm her down. "As long as we stay in this tent, they can't get to us."
But then, something large and red landed just outside of the tent. With his back turned towards the entrance, Kenji's eyes widened. He knew that something bad was right there, and all he really had to do was look at his friends to know that it was something horrible. Their face's morphed into horrified expressions as a large, red bat head rose from outside. Looking right into the tent with its green eyes.
"There's something really bad behind me, isn't there?" Kenji asked.
"Yep."
"Right."
"Uh huh."
"Big time."
"Fou."
The Blood Bat let out a god-awful shriek before swiping the tent away with its wing. Not only did this eliminate the humans and Plantar's only cover, but it also allowed them to see just what kind of creature they were dealing with.
It was huge bats, almost the size of a Bessie with an almost humanoid physique. True to its name, the fur was crimson with a thick mane running down the spine. The bat possessed large green eyes with seemingly no pupils, dagger-like teeth, large ears, talon-like feet, and massive membranous wings that could be folded and used as forelimbs while walking or standing.
"You are one ugly mother-"
The Blood Bat let out another shrieking roar before trying to bite Kenji. However, the young man jumped high up, over the head of the bat, and came down. Swinging his scythe down and stabbing the blade deep into the skull of the bat, killing it before yanking the weapon out of it.
Another Blood Bat came up from behind him, but Kenji swung his scythe and slashed it across the beast's face.
Having killed two of the bats, Kenji was suddenly snatched up by another one. It lifted him up and was about to carry him away when he swung up and cut the head clean off.
He landed back on the ground but was picked up by another one of the Blood Bats. This time, Fou bit the beast's foot causing to screech and let go of Kenji. However, when he landed on the ground, he looked back to see more of the bats flying down towards the Anne and the Plantars.
Kenji with Fou on his shoulder raced back towards his friends as two bats descended from the sky upon him. He killed them both with swift swipes.
Anne and Sprig were doing their best to defend Hop Pop and Polly from the bats. Armed with an ax, Anne killed one of the bats that tried to grab Bessie. Sprig was shooting at them with his slingshot, keeping the monsters away from his family.
However, one of them swooped down and grabbed Anne. She screamed as the bat started to carry her away.
"Anne!" Kenji yelled. He ran towards her and threw his scythe at the bat holding her. Like a boomerang, the scythe flew to the left before turning towards the bat and sawing right through its neck. Severing its head clean off.
The talons let go of Anne and she screamed as she fell to the ground. Kenji rushed towards her and caught her just before she could hit the ground. Behind him, the Blood Bat crashed to the ground.
"Anne, are you okay?" He asked her with a serious expression as Fou looked above with a growl.
Still being held in his arms, Anne stared up at him. Her cheeks were blushing. Was it just the red moonlight, or has Kenji always looked so handsome? "Uh-huh…"
Kenji was glad to hear that when something caught his attention. "Look out!"
The boy tossed Anne and Fou aside before a Blood Bat grabbed him and flew off.
"Kenji!" Anne yelled in horror as she watched him be taken away into the sky.
Grabbing his mantis scythe from the ground, she rushed after him. But the third Blood Bat came down to get her.
"Get the hell out of my way!" She yelled, jumping at the bat as it attacked her. She slashed it across the chest, killing the monster bat. Anne then ran off in the direction the other bat took Kenji.
"Anne, wait!" Sprig yelled, but Anne continued.
Kenji struggled to free himself from the clutches of the Blood Bat. Twisting, turning, bending, anything to get himself free of the beast's grasp. But the bat wasn't going to let him go. Grunting as the talons tightened on his shoulders, Kenji suddenly had an idea. Reaching for his knife, Kenji pulled it out and started stabbing and slashing at the foot of the bat. The Blood Bat let out a pain-filled shriek. It then swooped down towards a nearby rock and slammed Kenji against it.
When Anne saw this, she gasped with a horrified expression. She could see his body going limp in the talons of the bat before it flew off.
Rushing over to the rock the blood bat slammed Kenji against, Anne looked down as saw his grandpa's knife lying there on the ground. She picked it up, cradling it in her hand before starting to run again.
"Anne! Wait!" Sprig's voice called from behind her.
"I can't stop, Sprig! I have to save him!" She yelled back at him but was stopped by what she saw.
The Plantar family rolled up to Anne and Fou on Bessie. The body of Soggy Joe, with the axe still in his back, was placed on the shell behind the frogs. "Come on, Anne! Let's go get Kenji back," Hop Pop said with determination.
Anne was quick to hop on before Bessie took off. They raced across the desert in the direction the bat took Kenji. The dust of the sand kicked up behind Bessie as she slid on the ground. However, they wouldn't be traveling for long.
Raising up in the horizon as they drew closer was a massive rock pillar that reached high into the sky. It was so high that it crossed over the moon from where Anne and the frogs were.
They approached the base of the rock and stopped. Bessie quickly hid back into her shell as the four got off. Anne looked up and saw two Blood Bats fly into a cave all the way at the top of the pillar.
"Alright, better start climbing," she said, placing Kenji's scythe down and his knife in her teeth. She was about to start climbing when Hop Pop's tongue reached out and grabbed her and pulled her back.
"Hold it, Anne. You'll never make that climb," he said, after pulling his tongue back into his mouth.
"But Kenji's up there! I have to save him!" Anne protested.
"But you'll never make it without falling off," Sprig said in agreement with his grandpa.
"And I'm pretty sure you can't fly," Polly said, pointing her flipper at the Thai girl.
Anne groaned in frustration and walked towards the rock. Placing her back up against it, she looked up at the sky. She rattled her brain to try and think of a way to get to Kenji. The shrieking of a bat got her attention as one of the monsters flew out of the cave.
With her eyes widening, Anne thought of an idea.
"I've got an idea! Guys, hide! Fou, Stay with them" Anne said, pushing the Plantars towards Bessie.
"Wait, what?" Hop Pop asked.
"Fou?!"
"Just do it!" Anne shoved them, forcing the frogs and little creature to do as she said and hide behind the giant sail. Backing away from them, Anne looked up at the sky and took a deep breath. "HEY, YOU BIG UGLY RATS!"
The Blood Bat looked down at her.
"Anne, what are you doing?!" Sprig exclaimed as she waved her arms around.
"Catching a ride," Anne said, still waving her arms. "Yeah! That's right! You want something to snack on, I'm right here! Blegh!" She then fell over with her tongue hanging out and pretended to play dead.
Within seconds, the bat landed next to Anne. Still trying to play dead, Anne held in her fears as the bat sniffed her. Its jaws were close to her face, and its breath was awful. But she had to keep up the act. Tucked in her skirt was Kenji's combat knife.
The Blood Bat let out a roar, before flapping its wings to hover above the young girl. Then it lowered down and grabbed Anne's torso in its talons. The Plantars and Fou watched as the bat started to fly Anne up to the cave. "So, I guess we wait for them?" Polly asked. Sprig and Hop Pop looked at her and nodded as they stay near Bessie.
"Fou..." Fou said as his ears drops as Sprig pets him to calm his nerves.
The bat carried Anne into the large cave and placed her on a pile of dead animals before moving away. Expecting that she was going to have to fight the monster, Anne opened her eyes in confusion and lifted her head up.
She walked as the Blood Bat flew off into the red tint night in search of more food.
With the coast now clear, Anne quickly jumped off the pile of caresses and pulled out Kenji's knife. Scanning around, she saw more piles of bodies about as tall as her.
"Blegh, smells awful," she said. Pinching her nose to block out the smell, she approached one of the piles and looked around it. Kenji wasn't in it. Anne then saw another passageway that led deeper into the cave and started jogging down it.
When Anne turned a corner, she stopped and stared at what she saw in tool astonishment and bewilderment. "Whoa…"
Attached all over the walls and ceiling of this chamber of the cave were hundreds and hundreds of large, web cocoons. All of them have a pale yellow and green mixed color and varying in size.
Slowly entering the clamber, Anne stepped over littered bones from both amphibians and animals, as well as whatever remained of the insects that were eaten. As she stepped over some of the bones, something caught her attention.
Laying on the floor of the cave was a sword that has a silver blade, although it glows with a blue tone during the night. It possesses a pointed central ridge and a gold hilt and acquires an intricately designed guard with a lighter golden shade. The pommel is of similar color but also has a flower-like style at the base. Next to it is possibly its sheath based on the similar design.
"Ooohhh," Anne said, putting the knife away and picking up the sword and sheath. Placing the sheath through the belt of her skirt, she does a couple of test swings of the blade as she grins. "This is mine now." Anne put the sword in the sheath and walked over to one of the web cocoons.
First, she touched it with her fingers before grabbing fistfuls of the webs. She pulled and yanked off a large chunk of the stuff, only to come face to face with the rutting and decaying face of a dead frog, with most, if not all his blood and fluids drained out of his body.
"Oh my God!" Anne yelled as she stumbled back in horror. But then her foot tripped over a rock, and she fell straight back on an almost complete rib cage.
The snaps and cracks that came when she broke the bones echoed all throughout the cave, making Anne flinch. However, her troubles were just beginning. Because a few seconds later, a shrieking roar came from another part of the cave. But this wasn't like the shriek of the Blood Bats. Either way, Anne quickly got up and took off her newly acquired bow.
Anne's eyes widened in fear as when the creature revealed itself.
Stepping out from around the corner and entering the chamber was a giant, mega-size spider. It had a smaller cephalothorax compared to its larger abdomen with a hunched position, a lower jaw under its chelicerae covered with teeth, a red-furred body covered with black shades, eight purple eyes, and eight woolly legs covered with sharp tips.
The Mega Spider stared at Anne with all eight eyes as she started to step back from it. She reached over her back, grabbed an arrow, and notched it onto the string of the bow. She knew next to nothing about archery but had seen enough fantasy movies to get the idea. The Mega Spider started crawling towards her slowly. Its long legs moved one after another, making the cave tremble with each step.
When it came to a stop, Anne stopped too. Putting on the best brave face she could, she raised her new sword and placed it forward into a standard sword stance. Her arms slightly trembled under the weight of the blade. "I'm not leaving here without Ken," she growled.
The Mega Spider stared at her as droplets of venom dripping from its fangs. Then it opened its mouth and fired webs from its mouth at Anne.
"Woah!" Anne jumped out of the way of the web before another one was set her way. She dodged that one too. Readying her sword, Anne swung her blade.
The blade didn't hit the spider in one of its eyes like she was hoping. But it did cut though one of its big hairy legs. The Mega Spider let out a pained cry before trying to grab her with another one of its legs.
Anne out of the way of the leg before swinging her sword. This time it struck true and hit the Mega Spider in one of its eyes.
"Yes!" Anne exclaimed as the Mega Spider screamed in pain. "How do you like me now?!"
How, when she stopped gloating, the spider grabbed her shoeless ankle.
"Uh oh."
Dropping her sword, Anne quickly grabbed onto the nearest web cocoon behind her and tried to hold onto it as the Mega Spider tried pulling her towards it. Grunting as she tried to pull herself towards the cocoon, Anne felt the arachnid's leg start to slip from her limb. However, the webbing she was grabbing onto was starting to tear away. It was only a matter of which would be the first to give out.
Luckily for Anne, it was the spider. The leg of the Mega Spider slipped from her leg and Anne fell on the floor. When she dropped down, Anne was still holding onto the cocoon, causing her to rip it open. But, in the stroke of fortune, that same cocoon happened to be the one Kenji was in.
"Ken?" Anne exclaimed in surprise. She quickly stood up and pulled out his knife to cut him loose. But then the Mega Spider grabbed her and pulled her away, and the combat knife slipped from her grasp. "Kenji!"
That pleading scream woke Kenji up and he gasped in shock at what he saw. The Mega Spider held up Anne as she struggled to break out of its grasp. Then it slammed her onto the ground.
"Anne!" Kenji cried out. Needing to help his friend, he tried desperately to break off the webbing around his body. But all he was able to do was detach himself from the wall and fall on his side.
As Anne tried stabbing at the leg holding her with a piece of bone nearby, Kenji saw his knife inches away from him and tried breaking out of his cocoon again. When he was finally able to free his hand, he grabbed the knife and started cutting away the webbing. Freeing himself before rushing towards the spider.
"Let her go!" Kenji yelled. With a downwards swing, he cut into the leg holding Anne as it held her down.
The Mega Spider let out another shriek of pain as it let go of Anne.
Anne laid on the floor, having been bruised and battered being thrown around by the spider. Kenji was about to help her up when one of the other legs swatted him away.
Kenji yelled out in pain as he landed on the ground. He was about to get up and was about to attack again when he noticed something out of the corner of his eyes. Another web cocoon, but this one was much larger and in the distinct shape of a Hercules Beetle.
"Hang on, Anne! I've got an idea!" Kenji said, before rushing towards the dead beetle.
"Whatever it is, just do it!" Anne yelled before getting up and running from the Mega Spider.
Kenji reached the cocoon and ripped off all the webbing around the head. Uncovering the great big horn that gave it its name. Jumping up on the back of the beetle and walking over to the base of the horn, Kenji started stabbing at it repeatedly until green blood started to splatter out of it. He then stepped out onto the horn and started jumping up and down on it, until it broke off.
"Kenji!" Anne yelled, on the ground and covered with webs from the Mega Spider. She couldn't break free from it, no matter how much she struggled to pull away from it.
The Mega Spider crawled towards her. Anne screamed in terror as the spider roared at her.
Suddenly, Kenji came flying at the Mega Spider and stabbed it straight in the head with the Hercules Beetle horn. Blood flew from its skull as the Mega Spider let out horrible, dying shrieks of agony that echoed through the cave and went out of the entrance. Even the Plantars heard it as they were playing go-fish.
When it stopped shrieking, the Mega Spider's body collapsed on the ground. The life in its eyes faded away.
"Anne!" Kenji ran over to his best friend and quickly started cutting away the webs. Freeing her. "Are you alright," he asked, looking at a bruise she had on her forehead.
"I'm fine, but what about you?" Anne asked worriedly, as she grabbed her sword and stood up.
"I'm okay. Just a little stiff." He rolled his right shoulder a little before noticing her new sword. "Hey, when did you get that sword?"
"Hm?" Anne asked before looking at her newly acquired weapon. "Oh! I found it on the ground. What do you think?"
"It's nice. Just need to polish it a little and it'll look like a brand new sword," he complimented. Kenji then paused for a moment. "You hear something?"
"Anne! Ken!" Sprig's voice yelled from outside. Kenji and Anne ran to the entrance of the cave and looked down. All the way on the ground, Sprig was jumping around and waving his arms around. "Get out there! They're coming back!"
Kenji and Anne looked over the horizon and their hearts sank down into their feet. A giant horde of Blood Bats was on their way towards the rock pillar.
"We can't fight all of them!" Anne exclaimed. They then looked down at the ground below.
"And there's no way we're climbing down. It'll be too slow," Kenji said with a frown. "Unless…"
Kenji turned and ran back into the cave. Wondering just what he could be thinking of, Anne followed him. She found him rushing over to the dead Mega Spider and trying to open its jaws.
"Uh, are you trying to hide inside its mouth?" She asked, confused as she watched him struggle to open the jaws.
"No, now get over here and help me. Quick!" Kenji said. Anne ran over and together, the two forced the mouth open. "Alright, I'll hold it open, and you reach down its throat and grab the web."
"What? Ew! I'm not doing that," Anne said, still holding the jaws open.
"You want to get out of this mess, then get in there and get the web!" Kenji grunted.
That's when the whole weight of the spider came down on him when Anne let go. He held the jaws upon his shoulders as Anne got down and stuck her hand down into the monster's throat.
"Ew. Ew. Ew!" She cringed as she searched for something to grab.
"Could you 'ew' a little faster Anne? This is heavy." Kenji said in a strained voice, struggling to stay standing.
Anne pulled out a sting of webbing. "I've got it!" She quickly crawled out and Kenji dropped the mouth.
"Alright, tie that web to one of those spears nearby and throw it. We're going to zip line out of here," Kenji explained as he started pulling more webs out from the mouth of the Mega Spider.
"Oh, hell yeah! I've always wanted to do this, except I was expecting to use a bow and arrow, but hey it's the next best thing." Anne said with an excited smile. She pulled out one of the spears nearby and started tying the end of the web around it.
"Really? Did you imagine you'd be ziplining to save your life?" Kenji asked jokingly as he continued to pull more lines for Anne.
"Kind of."
After trying it with the web, Anne rushed to the entrance of the cave and fired the arrow across the air. It stretched for yards as more lines of webs were pulled from the mouth of the Mega Spider. As it started to lose momentum, the spear started to plummet down to the ground, before stabbing into the ground below.
"Nice throw. You got a really good arm." Kenji said as he took off his jacket and looped it over their makeshift zipline. Anne did the same with her sheath sword.
"Ready?" She asked.
"No..." Kenji took a deep breath. "Alright, let's go!"
Together, the two ran and jumped from the edge of the cave. The web held together, and the humans started ziplining down to the ground.
Down on the ground, Hop Pop watched from a pair of binoculars as the two humans descended towards the ground at high speeds on the zipline. He turned to the kids and Fou with a look of determination. "Come on! The moment they land, we better be out of here."
Halfway down the web zipline, Kenji and Anne saw the Blood Bats were coming closer. "There has to be hundreds of those things!" Anne exclaimed.
"And there's going to be all over our butts if we don't get out of here!" Kenji said.
"Ken! Anne!" The two humans looked down to see the Plantars on Bessie as she raced underneath them on the ground.
Just as Kenji and Anne were about a few feet above Bessie, they let go of the line and dropped down onto her shell.
"Bessie! Things are getting messy!" Hop Pop yelled. Bessie then chirped and took off at high speeds.
After hearing the final cry of the Mega Spider, Blood Bats all entered the cave. Only then did they discover what Kenji and Anne had done.
All the bats landed on the ground, with only one of them crawling up towards the mega-size beast. The same creature that they feared and respected. They feared it because of how powerful the spider was, but they respected it for allowing them to stay in the cave for shelter and protection. It was why they were always bringing food to it. A simple trade between two species.
The largest of the bats, the Alpha, sniffed the spider, but it's clear that the giant arachnid was dead. The dark-red bat let out an agitated and distressed cry, which was followed by its brothers and sisters. Seeking revenge, the bats all poured out of the cave and into the sky. And they knew exactly where those responsible were going.
As Bessie started to slow down, Hop Pop decided that it was time to call it quits for. He pointed Bessie in the direction of home, and they all took a moment to catch their breaths. "Well, guess we were wrong to doubt you two," Hop Pop said as he drove the snail. "You really are used to extreme camping."
"Honestly, this was more extreme than anything camping I've ever done," Kenji said as he leaned back. "And I'm not doing it again."
"Fou!" Fou said as he rubs his face on Kenji's to show that he was happy that he's alive.
Anne looked at him for a moment before a look of guilt formed on her face. "Guys, I have a confession. This extreme camping stuff is a bunch of bullcrap. I was miserable back there. I was just trying to cover it up."
"So, you dragged us to this horror show for no reason?" Polly asked, seemingly in anger, before her expression changed to an impressed look. "Twisted. I love it."
"I don't understand. Why lie about it? Why be miserable?" Sprig asked.
"I guess I've been feeling kind of left out lately," Anne said, rubbing her arm as she averted her eyes. "I'm not a frog. I'm not like Kenji. I'm not a Plantar. Heck, I wasn't even invited on this trip. I really like you guys and wanted to be with you, miserable or not."
"And worst of all, I didn't listen to you, Kenji," Anne said, turning to Kenji. The young man looked a little surprised. "You tried telling me that it was a horrible idea and I just shrugged you off. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have been taken and almost eaten. I'm sorry, Kenji. Can you ever forgive me?"
Kenji looked at his friend for a moment before giving her a genuine smile. "It's true that you almost got me killed...but you did also save my skin, Anne. I think I can forgive you for this."
He pulled her into a hug as the Plantars gathered around the two and joined in. "I don't know if it's the dirt and sand or the overwhelming emotions, but dang it, I'm a mess," sobbed Sprig.
"Next time, we'll include you, Anne, even if we know you'll hate it," Hop Pop said. "Heck, we'll even ask Kenji to come along too."
"Thanks, you guys," Anne said. However, she then heard something behind them. Looking back, she squinted her eyes for a moment before they widened. "Uh, guys!"
They all looked back to see the Blood Bats flying towards them in a massive swarm.
"BESSIE! THINGS ARE GETTING MESSY!" The five of them yelled together. Bessie chirped two times and went racing across the desert as fast as she could. Kenji grabbed his scythe and Anne draws her new blade. Sprig held Polly in her bucket close to his chest with Fou standing in front of them as the shadows of the bats moved over them.
Anne swung her sword, taking out one of the bats. This caused the others to begin their attack on the family and humans.
While Anne continued trying to cut down the bats, Kenji saw one of them making a dive for him. He slashed at it with his scythe and killed it. He continued to fend off the bat from the front as Anne used her arrows to shoot them down.
After slashing down another that got close, Anne is reaching her limits. "I'm out!"
Suddenly, Kenji was grabbed by one of the bats and pulled into the air. "Kenji!" Everyone yelled.
"Whoa! Hey now!" Kenji exclaimed as he was pulled high in the sky. He swung his scythe and stabbed the bat into the side of the head. He fell back down towards the ground, only to land on another bat. "Alright, now I've got it!"
He killed that bat and then jumped onto another one. Using it to jump away towards another one. A Blood Bat tried to get at him, but Kenji slashed it with his scythe and killed it. He hopped from red bat to red bat down towards Bessie.
Right when he was at a good distance, he jumped and landed back on Bessie with the others. "Quick, one of you grab an axe and get ready to fight!" Kenji told the Plantars, before yelling out in pain when a bat slashed at his back with its talons.
"Fou!" Fou said as he jumped up and bites into the Blood Bat's throat, tearing it out.
"Kenji!" The Plantars and Anne exclaimed, before Hop Pop grabbing the axe and started hacking at a bat that came at him and his family. Sprig and Polly stayed with their grandpa as Hop Pop and the two humans protected them from the swarming bats. Together, with many scratches and claw marks on their bodies, the group fought off the bats. They've killed each bat that came at them and had the blood of the monsters on their arms.
"We can't keep this up forever!" Anne said, before bringing the axe down onto the skull of a bat.
Kenji turned to look ahead, and his eyes widened. Bessie was heading straight for the same tall grass they went through hours ago. That's when an idea hit him.
"Hop Pop grab the reins and go straight ahead. Wherever you do, don't stop!" Kenji exclaimed, pointing towards the tall grass.
Everyone looked at where he was pointing, and their eyes widened. Sprig pointed at the grass nervously. "Uh…"
"Isn't that where the…" Polly trailed off.
"Yes," Kenji said with a smirk.
"Fou" Fou said as he hops onto Kenji shoulder
"I really hope you know what you're doing!" Hop Pop said.
He drove Bessie towards the field at full speed. All the while, the Blood Bats were gaining on them and were diving towards the humans, Plantars, and the corpse of Soggy Joe. Ready to kill and eat them all. The snail ran as fast as she could as the creatures of the night got closer and closer to the end of her shell.
She entered the tall grass and the Blood Bats followed. This would prove to be a fatal mistake, as Kenji's plan worked like a charm.
One Blood Bat tried to fight out of the grass, but a roadrunner jumped up, bit down on its leg, and pulled it back down. A second later, there was a large splatter of blood. Another bat tried escaping, but it met the same failures and had the same bloody results. And this would continue as both Blood Bat and roadrunner cried out in agony as they tore each other apart.
Bessie would emerge from the field of grass and come to a stop. Kenji, Anne, and the Plantars looked back at the carnage they left behind as the bat flew above the roadrunners.
"Wow! Your plan actually worked!" Sprig exclaimed.
"Yeah, that was awesome," Anne said with a smile.
"Fou!"
GRRR…
"Not yet." Kenji said as they stopped celebrating as the largest of the blood bats: The Alpha stalks out of the tall grass with a dead road runner in its mouth. The creature shuts its jaws tight to decapitate the dead creature as it lets of an angry roar towards the humans and Plantars.
"Damnit!" Kenji said as he draws out the Archer Card as Anne was about to draw out her sword. As she places her hand on the handle, she felt the world halted in its tracks. Anne looks around to see what was going on as she begins to hear a voice from out of nowhere.
'Do you desire strength?'
What? Who's talking to her? Anne tried to look around as she notices a glow coming from her backpack. She reaches inside her backpack as the voice speaks up again.
'For we are but tools, to be used by a wielder.'
Anne pulls out one of her class cards that she had stored into her bag and notices that one of them is glowing. The young woman looked at the card for a moment as she eyes begin to shine as she knew what she had to do.
'Use us, our Master.'
As Anne looked back with time resuming, Kenji activated his Archer Card with Include as he draws his bow and arrow, and the Planters took stance with the weapons that they had. However, they didn't expect Anne to jump off Bessie as she calmy walk towards the Alpha Blood Bat. Said animal lets of a growl as it stalks forward toward Anne.
"ANNE!" Sprig said in fear.
"GET BACK HERE!" Hop Pop shouted to call her back.
"HAS SHE LOST HER MIND?!" Polly said as she wanted to help, but Hop Pop held her back from doing this.
"FOU!"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Kenji shouted in fear for the young woman who stopped and reveals a Class Card. This caused Kenji to widen his eye as he realizes what she was about to do. "ANNE DON'T-"
"Kenji…Fou...Sprig…Polly…Hop Pop. It's my turn to protect you." Anne said as her eyes glowed a blue hue for a moment as she raises her card: The Alter Ego Card. "Install: Alter Ego!"
A beam of bright light descended from the heavens as it surrounds Anne, causing the Kenji, Fou, Hop Pop, Spig, and Polly to cover their eyes as the Alpha Blood Bat screeched in pain from being blinded by the bright light.
When the light dies down, Anne stood with a new appearance. She now has long white hair, tied back at either side with red tassels. She wears a red and black dress bearing similarity to a short kimono and long European style coat, complete with high collar held closed by a rope tassel and pieces of samurai armor. She appears to wear long stockings with unique metal shoes. Her sword now takes the form of a black bladed nodachi with a unique guard and handle design.
As much as Kenji wanted to deny it, she looked otherworldly…and kind of hot!
The Alpha Blood Bat growled in fear at the human that stood before it as it was about to take flight. However, it didn't get the chance as it felt extreme pain as it felt two large metal arrows pierced through its feet, pinning it to the ground. It towards Kenji as he fired off the shots to keep it in place.
"Anne or whoever you are. Whatever you about to do, do it now!" Kenji shouted. Unseen to him, 'Anne' smirked… And then her entire body began to pulsate, her clothing and hair rippling violently.
"In respect for your support in this fight, I shall show you my ultimate attack! Watch and behold!" 'Anne' said as Kenji's eyes widened in shock as he saw sparks crackling along the nodachi. It registered all at once what she meant when she said her 'ultimate attack.' A Servant's ultimate attack…
'She's going to unleash her Noble Phantasm!' Kenji thought as 'Anne' dashes forward
"Boundless light piercing through the myriad realms… The Decree of Heaven will be severed…" She chanted as her clothing continued to rustle, blade sparkling violently…
… And then Alpha Blood Bat knew only pain, screaming in agony as countless sword strikes struck its body from all directions. Fast, too fast for it to react, as its body was being torn apart from those numerous strikes that he couldn't hope to react to! Instincts screamed, and he was barely able to twist its body in time as she thrust from behind, but it left a huge gash along his back.
The thrust carried 'Anne' far, a long distance as her blade sparkled and glowed with power. "Zekken ・Mukyuu Sandan!" She declared, as a beam of pure power and destruction fired from her blade and straight at the giant bat as it screeched in pain as its whole body was wipe out from existence.
'Anne' swing her nodachi as she places back into its sheath then walked towards Kenji and the Plantars with a smile on her face. "Well…how was that?"
"Man, you're really impressive," he complimented her as he walks up to her carefully. "With that sword, I'd would wager you're a Saber Class, but you're something else right?"
There was silence for a moment, before she finally spoke up. "Correct. I am Servant Alter Ego," she told him, and Kenji recoiled in surprise at the name of a class he hadn't heard before. Was it the Class Card that Anne had that he didn't know of? "I am the Majin Saber," 'Anne' said as she looked towards Kenji. "What of you? How is it a human can use the powers of a Servant and how is it that this young woman that I inhabit can do the same as what you can do?"
"To be honest, we're still figuring it out ourselves," he said, careful not to give away too much info. As much as he wanted to tell the Heroic Spirit as much as he can, however he must be careful of what he may reveal towards her. We could have another Hector of the Gleam Helmet fight on their hands.
"Fascinating…" She murmured quietly, just loud enough for him to hear her. Her eyes narrowed again as she asks another question to the young man. "What is your name?"
"Huh?"
"What is your name," she repeated. "It was tradition for warriors to introduce themselves before they go to battle," she said. "I am the Majin Saber, Servant Alter Ego, and former captain of the Shinsengumi: Okita Soji. What is your name?"
Kenji felt his eyes widen in surprise as she introduced herself so casually…Warrior's honor in battle, huh? That was fine by him. He took a deep breath… And his gaze hardened.
"I am Kenji Richards. A warrior from another world. Nice to meet you." Kenji said as he raises a hand towards Okita Soji. The woman looked towards him for a moment before she smiled and shakes his hand with hers.
"It's a pleasure to meet a fellow warrior." Okita said as her body begins to glow causing the others to look at her in surprise at what is happening. "Looks like my time is up. I look forward to see you in battle once again."
The Servant of the Alter Ego gave of one more smile before her whole body was surround by a sphere of light. After a few moments, the sphere disappears leaving Anne standing with her regular cloths and gear with the Alter Ego card in her hand. She stood for a few moments before she begins to fall over. Before she hits the ground, Kenji was quick enough to catch her.
"Easy there, Anne. How do you feel?" Kenji asked in concern as Anne nodded even though she could not move a muscle right now.
"Yeah, I'm good. Thanks, you guys -AH!" Anne screamed when she spotted Soggy Joe's body, which miraculously didn't fall off during the battle, started to move. The body started to groan, but he stood up on his own foot.
Soggy Joe stretched his back, making audible cracking sounds before the axe that was in his back popped out.
"Ooh-wee!" Soggy Joe laughed as everyone stared at him. "Good thing I wore my axe-proof vest, eh? So, what'd I miss?"
"Oh, pretty much everything," Anne said.
"Really?" Joe asked.
"Oh, Joe, there were these crazy cannibals," Sprig said.
"Wow."
"Then the Blood Bats attacked us," Hop Pop said
"Oh, serious?"
"Yeah, actually, it turned out they were working for this Mega-Spider," Kenji said.
"Oh, no way."
"Kenji and I were able to kill it," Anne said.
"Unbelievable."
"And then we ran, then the bats came after us," Polly said.
"Keep going."
"There was this huge fight and we almost died," Kenji continued.
"Yeah, how'd you escape?"
"We just led them to that pack of roadrunners, and they started killing each other," Anne explained.
"Yup, that'll do it."
"Then this big Blood Bat came out of the tall grass and was about to attack us." Spig continued.
"Really. What happen then?"
"Anne and Kenji where able to fight and take down the Alpha!" Polly continued.
"Great, but what to the body?"
"The road runners came out of the tall grass and took the corpse with them." Hop Pop lied as he doesn't want Soggy Joe to know what really happened.
"True that. Those birds will go for anything that's a free meal."
"Fou!"
"I don't know what that means, but I agree."
"And that's pretty much it. You're all caught up," Kenji said, bringing the story to a conclusion.
"Oh, great." The six of them sat on Bessie's back for a moment as a cricket chirped. "So, you all want to get pancakes early?"
"Oh, yeah, that sounds great," Anne said with a smile.
"I like that idea," Kenji said.
"Let's get out here," Hop Pop said, turning Bessie towards Wartwood and setting off on their way as the sun started to rise over the horizon. Starting a new day for the world and ending their night of terror and hardship.
"I've always been more of a waffle girl, myself, but I'll make an exception." Polly added.
"Fou!"
Later that night, as the normal crescent red moon appeared in the sky, Kenji was laying in his bed with his eyes closed. He wasn't sleeping. Just resting his eyes. That's when Anne walked over to his bed and sat down, the music box in her hands still covered in the cloth.
She looked at her friend as his chest raised up and down with each breath he took with Fou sleeping on top of him. Kenji looked so peaceful as he slept. Hard to believe that the same person that's fought tooth and nail and rest his own life more than once for everyone in this house was still just a boy no older than she was. But he still did more for her than anyone.
"You just going to sit there or are you going to snuggle with me?" Kenji asked, startling Anne slightly before she rolled her eyes with a blush.
"W-Whatever," she said. Anne shook her head. "Kenji, I think it's time to tell them."
Kenji opened one eye and saw the covered music box. He realized what she met and sat up with Fou waking up and jumping on the bed. "You're absolutely sure? Showing the Card-Box is one thing, but this is what brought us here." He asked Anne.
Anne nodded. "I'm positive."
A moment later, they exited out of the basement and gathered everyone in the kitchen. Sitting at the kitchen table, Kenji with Fou sitting on his shoulder and Anne sat at one end while the Plantars sat on the other.
"Guys, now that we've been through a lot, there's something Kenji and I would like to share with you," Anne said, before placing the box onto the table and unraveling the cloth. Presenting the music box to the frog family. "This is how we got here."
The Plantars were fascinated by the box, having never seen anything so expertly crafted before. "Oh Shiny…How'd you get it?" Sprig asked.
"Let's just say that we 'acquired' it from a gift shop," Kenji said with a bitter look when he thought of Sasha and Marcy. "I always thought that it was a regular old music box. But then Anne opened it and it transported us here. I don't suppose you guys have seen anything like it before?"
"May I?" Hop Pop asked, pointing at the box.
Kenji glanced at Anne, who shrugged. "Sure. I mean, it's busted," she said.
"Hmm." Hop Pop took the music box and examined it. He gave it a sniff. "Hmm." He then opened it and looked inside. "Hmm!" In the end, he looked to Kenji who subtly nodded causing the old frog to sigh as he closed it and said, "Hold on a moment. I think that I might have seen this before."
"Wait really?!" Anne said with a hopeful look on her face. Hop Pop nodded as he went to this study and retrieved the Plantar Family Journal and 'Ancient Legends of Amphibia'.
"This book has been in our family for as long as I can remember. And look." Hop Pop said as he opens the Plantar Family Journal and shows the page involving the Calamity Box.
"Woah!/Fou!" Both frog kids and Fou said at the similarity as Anne took a closer look at it and she notices the same thing as Sprig and Polly.
"'Calamity Box'? Eesh. That does sound bad." Anne said with a shutter at the warnings that the page described.
"Yeah. Not exactly comforting." Hop Pop said as he opens the 'Ancient Legends of Amphibia' and opens the page where the Card-Box of Heroes is described. "I looked for any information of this 'Calamity Box' and this here shows that this holds a connection to the Card-Box."
Hop Pop pushes the book towards the kids and Anne, Fou, Sprig, and Polly were reading the contents of the book while Kenji was silent as they read the content.
"'The Counter Force against the Calamity of the Night'? What does that even mean?" Anne as Kenji shrugged his shoulder.
"You got me. Hop Pop and I have recently discovered this as well. This is all the information that we have." Kenji said as Anne sighed as she leans back into her chair.
"Well, it was worth a shot," Anne said as she placed her chin on her hand with a hopeless look. "Still stuck with a box that doesn't work and another that doesn't want to open for us again."
"We can't just give up hope, Anne," Kenji said, placing his hand on hers and giving it a squeeze. "There's got to be someone that knows what it is or how it works."
"He's right, Anne. We're going to find a way to get you home," Sprig said.
"Thanks, guys. That means a lot to me," Anne said as she started to brighten up again.
"Fou!"
"So are you going to keep holding her hand or…" Polly trailed off as she pointed at the two humans' hands.
Kenji and Anne looked at their hands and quickly pulled away from each other and instantly looked away with blushes of embarrassment.
Hop Pop broke the embarrassment when he let out a yawn. "Well, that's enough excitement for me today. I think I'm going to turn in," he said before walking off and out of the kitchen.
"Good night, Hop Pop," the kids all said together.
It was the middle of the night where The Plantars and the human teens are finally sleeping off from the events that has happened today. However, Anne was having a weird dream, but what she was really going though is the memories of Okita Souji (Alter), A Captain of the Shishengumi who became a Counter Guardian and the Majin Saber.
Her background was retconned to reveal that Okita Souji was originally born prematurely and would have died shortly after being born, but the prayers of her sister allowed her to make a contract with the World, which arranged for her body to be used as a Counter Guardian. This version of Okita had an intentionally deteriorated Saint Graph, which was set to self-destruct to ensure the destruction of a major threat to the World at the expense of Okita Alter's existence.
During her childhood, while she was still an apprentice at the Shieikan, the dojo of the Tennen Rishin-ryuu in Edo's Ichigaya area, Okita Souji met Hijikata Toshizo and Kondo Isami, core figures of the Shinsengumi in the future. She was skillful enough to serve as the head coach of the Shieikan at a young age, and there was no person who was superior to her regarding the talent with the sword.
Kondo formed the Roshigumi on behalf of being bodyguards for the Shogun in the third year of the Bunkyuu era, and Okita went to the Imperial Capital to participate in the group together with Hijikata. After the breakup of the Roshigumi, Kondo formed the Shinsengumi together with Hijikata, and Okita was entrusted with the position of captain of the first unit.
Demonstrating their sword abilities in many conflicts like the Ikedaya Incident and so forth, the name of the Shinsengumi roared throughout Kyoto of the Bakumatsu era. However, Okita's body was adversely affected by an illness around that time, and her physical condition gradually deteriorated. Before long, she withdrew from the frontlines for medical treatment.
Afterwards, Okita continued her life of recuperation while separated from her comrades, but in the fourth year of the Keio era, she died at the place where she was medically treated in Edo's Sendagaya area. It is said that she died without knowing of Kondo's death, who was decapitated two months prior to her death.
Due to the circumstances of her creation, Okita Alter came into being with the mentality of a newborn and is at first unable to even speak. She lacked the memories and combat prowess of the original Okita as well, which led her to doubt that she was even an Alter until meeting the spirit of Okita herself.
She is more emotionless than normal due to her support from the Counter Force, but her roots as Okita remain the same. She takes on a "hitman attitude that will kill anything", but deeply cares for her Master and believes that it was her love for them that allowed her to survive what was thought to be her certain destruction. She is also highly aware that her current existence remains unstable, and so seeks to make good use of the time she has left to her.
"We swore oaths on our swords together, we raced through the times together, and we did battle together."
"Even if a meaningless death lies ahead in the end, I wanted it to be that way."
"Engulfed in a warm light that narrowly lies ahead, I did not want to do something like looking up at the skies."
"However, it would have been nice if I had the character "sincerity" together with me up to my final moments."
"—No."
"Right now, is the time."
(Anne POV: ?)
Anne opens her eyes was confused about where she was. She stands up to see the area which composed of a semi-cloudy sky and an aqueous soil that seem to extend to infinity. In the distance she sees ten statues in a circle formation. Anne walked to the center of the statues as she looked at each of the statues and they looked familiar to her.
However, she didn't look any further because…
*Shink*
Anne froze as she saw a long black curved blade appear at the right side of her neck. She raised her hands to show that she was unarmed. She slowly turns around to see who was the one who was carrying the weapon and was surprised to see a young teenage girl with tan skin, silver eyes, and long white hair, tied back at either side with red tassels. She wears a red and black dress bearing similarity to a short kimono and long European style coat, complete with high collar held closed by a rope tassel. She appears to wear long stockings and unique metal shoes.
Anne knew who this young woman is: The Majin Saber, The Servant of the Alter Ego Card, a Counter Guardian, and former captain of the Shinsengumi: Okita Soji (Alter).
"So…you're my new Master, huh?" Okita (Alter) said as Anne only nodded at her question. The young woman smiled as she throws her nodachi high into the air as spins for a moment before it comes back down towards Okita (Alter) as the blade of the nodachi enters its sheath perfectly.
"Perfect. Let's have a little chat…"