A/N: Review answer time!
Demon dark mezzo sangue: The Electromagnetism thing I might use later on, the railgun thing, a little OP. There won't be any hiding of identities, if she was in the human world that would be a thing, but since she's one of only three humans in Amphibia, anonymity is pretty much out the window here. We'll see, I'm probably going to throw a few things here and there, the show is intentionally vague when it comes to the girls' orientation. The only time this actually comes up was in Quarrelers' Pass when Hop Pop talked about Anne's "boyfriend". Her only response was kicking Hop Pop off the fwagon, and this notion of there being a boyfriend was only a speculation on his part. So we may see some MarcAnne, and some SashAnne, just to keep things even.
OMAC001: Glad I could produce another crossover banger.
WaterDragonMaverick: Since Witch has a flying speeder, I wanted to make Amp's ride unique. So, I decided a lighting wheeled motorcycle, seemed badass to me, too.
It was a hot day out on the plains as the Plantar family continued their journey to Newtopia. At first, their goal was only to inquire from the newts on a way to return Anne and her friends back to their world, but now a new mystery had been thrust upon them. The mystery of Anne's Kamen Rider powers. Despite coming up with a mantra to keep herself from harming the Plantars, she was still nervous about having to encounter another of the Fallen. Afraid that her mantra might not work when she needed it to. So, to ensure that it didn't, Anne repeated it every hour, up until she fell asleep.
Currently, Anne was sitting shotgun, Polly was resting atop Hop Pop, and Sprig was fiddling with this fiddle. As she looked through her photos, Anne stopped when she noticed one that she didn't take. "Huh, I don't remember taking this picture of Toad Tower."
"Oh yeah, that was me," Polly confessed. "Just wanted a little reminder of how we messed those toads up!"
"Heh, sure did," Hop Pop agreed.
"I was actually working a song based on the battle," said Sprig.
Hop Pop, his interest peaked, turned his head, and asked, "Am I in it?"
"Maaaaaybe," Sprig teased.
Anne, Polly, and Hop Pop leaned back and readied themselves to be serenaded by Sprig's song.
"I'm in it," Hop Pop whispered to the girls.
Sprig whipped out his bowstring and began playing his fiddle as he sang.
"There was a little frog that stood for revolution~
The toads didn't like that, so they tried to execute 'em~!
But thankfully our Anne stepped up to take the tower~
And she saved Hop Pop whooooooo…mostly hid and cowered~!"
Hop Pop, who was elated during most of the song, frowned heavily upon hearing that last part. And even more so with the subsequent lyrics.
"And cowered
And cowered
And cowered
And cowered
And cowered
And cowered
And cowered
And cowered
And cowered–!"
"Okay that's enough!" Hop Pop interrupted.
Anne and Polly clapped for Sprig despite Hop Pop's obvious dislike of his portrayal in the song.
"Good song, dude,"
"That was awesome!"
Hop Pop shook his head and looked at his granddaughters in disbelief. "Awesome?! It's missing a lot of context! What about when I ran for mayor or stood up to those nasty tax collectors!"
Polly tapped her chin and said, "To be fair, that was pretty cool how you KOed Toadstool."
"See," said Hop Pop.
"But then again, Anne was the one who fought the tax collectors, and got hurt doing it soooo…" Polly let that hang in the air to prove her point.
Anne shivered at the memory, it felt like her entire arm was broken from the hit, but thankfully she managed to walk away from that injury with just a hairline fracture. At least that's what Tuti diagnosed, since this world didn't really have an x-ray machine to check for such things.
"The people love high stakes and action Hop Pop! I'm currently working on a song based on Anne's heroic feats as Amp! Now that's full of action and high stakes!" Sprig stated.
Anne blushed a little as she rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. "Dude, you don't have to do that."
"I know, I want to do it! But it's not coming along quite right, we need more heroic deeds!"
Hop Pop sighed sadly as he said, "Feels like just yesterday people thought I was a revolutionary hero…" His dower mood was forgotten when he noticed a sign up ahead that read "Bittyburg". "Heads up, gang! Looks like we're about to hit our first town."
The kids were excited by this, as this was going to be their first time visiting a place outside of Frog Valley. And Anne was even more excited, because as terrifying as Amphibia was, she couldn't help but appreciate its diversity and natural beauty. Plus, she wanted to see what other kinds of frogs there were in this world.
"My first town outside of Wartwood! I wonder what it'll be like? Will the frogs be friendly? Will they have a bathroom?!"
Seriously, she was getting tired of having to go out in the middle of the woods, or in this case in a wide open plain where anyone could see her doing her business. The nights were the most awkward.
"Don't' get too excited, Anne. It's just you're average, small town," said Hop Pop.
Anne scoffed at the idea. "Please, just how small could this place be – oooooh wow…"
The group rolled up on the town of Bittyburg, which was appropriately named as the entire town was like a miniature western model town, the tallest building only came up to Anne's chest. The inhabitants were just as small, all dressed up in western wear, some riding snails, others practicing their rope skills, and others just going about their day. It was really cute.
"Awwww, look how tiny everything is!" Anne gushed as she made her way to a building that read "Saloon" on it. "Just look at the little buildings."
Anne, against her better judgement, ripped the roof off the Saloon and peered down inside. The patrons all gasped when they laid eyes upon the giant of a girl looking down on them from above. Silence reigned for about ten seconds before Anne decided to try something to hopefully make them less scared.
"Uh…yeehaw!" Anne exclaimed as she made a gesture with her right hand.
The Bitties inside then happily replied, "Yeehaw!"
Anne chuckled and gently placed the roof back on the Saloon and made a mental note to not ever do that again as these were peoples' homes and businesses and they might not take too kindly to her doing that again.
"Guys, this place is so cute!" Anne exclaimed.
"Yeah, these guys are so tiny…I feel huge," said Polly as she flexed.
As Hop Pop fed Bessie, he heard a commotion coming from further up the town. "Huh, what's all the ruckus about?"
Anne, Polly, Sprig, and Hop Pop walked a little further into the small town and saw a group of the tiny frogs cowering in fear before a larger frog.
"Please just listen – AHHH!" one of the towns frogs begged before getting punted across the town.
Anne's eyes widened when she saw the little frog fly through air, thankfully she managed to catch the little guy before he had a hard landing. "I gotcha buddy."
The larger frog, who was colored aquamarine, with a sandy brown underbelly, wore a rattlesnake vest, a pair of gray pants with a belt buckle that had an "H" engraved on it, and had an eyepatch over his left eye, glared down at the Bitties and said, "Okay, y'all know the rules, pay me and no one gets hurt!"
The bandit held out his hand before the Bitties and not a moment later did the Bitties begin to hand over a copper piece each.
"That's right, keep it comin'."
The bandit stopped when he reached the last frog on the left, who was busy looking after his child.
"Sorry, Mister Judro, sir, I need the money for my boy, Bailey. He's really sick," said Bailey's father.
Judro didn't much care for the plight of Bailey or his father as he reached out and grabbed the frog father. "Ah don't want your excuses! Ah want yer money!" After saying this, Judro proceeded to, literally, shake down Bailey's father, causing copper pieces to come falling out of the tiny frog. Where he was hiding those was a mystery in of itself.
"Those poor Bitties," said Anne.
"Someone should help them!" Sprig's eyes widened as a gleeful smile appeared on his lips, his head turning ever so slightly upward to look at Anne.
Anne looked down at the frog child suspiciously and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Anne, this is the perfect chance for you to transform into Kamen Rider Amp!" Sprig stated.
Anne looked at Sprig as if he had finally lost his mind. "What the heck?! No! I'm not going to do that! A: I have no control over it, and B: I think going Rider would be a little a bit on the overkill side!"
"Well, we can't just sit around doing nothing!" Sprig argued. "And you're the only one here who's a superhero!"
Anne groaned as she stated, "I am not a superhero!"
Sprig's words echoed in Hop Pop's head, as well as the song from earlier. That's when the elderly frog's face changed, his brow furrowed, and his eyes squinted with determination. "Yer right, somebody should do somethin'. Sprig, get that fiddle ready! You might have a new song to right!"
Hop Pop pulled up his pants and began marching towards the commotion up ahead.
"He isn't about to do what I think he's about to do, right?" Anne asked.
"Oh yeah, totally going to do what you think he's about to do," said Polly with certainty.
"Should we…stop him?" Sprig asked.
The girls glanced at each other and then back to Hop Pop before saying in unison, "Let's just see where this goes."
"Okay then, ready when you are Hop Pop," said Sprig as he pulled out his fiddle.
"Hey there, feller, who do ya think ya are, messin' with these good people!" Hop Pop declared.
Judro released Bailey's father as he turned to face the elderly frog who was foolish enough to stand up to him. "I'm Judro Hassleback, and this here is my town! And just who in the heck are you?!"
"The name's Hopediah Plantar, the frog who's going to teach you so manners!"
Hop Pop expanded his vocal sac and hopped forward, pushing Judro back.
The bandit got back up and growled, "Hey you better cut that–!"
Hop Pop expanded his vocal sac again, pushing Judro back again, and again, forcing the bandit to keep retreating backwards with each fall. This continued three more times before Hop Pop gave Judro a stronger push, sending him sprawling onto the dirt and out of the town.
Judro growled angrily as he looked up at Hop Pop and declared, "You'll pay for this old timer!" before crawling away.
"Nobody's payin' you anythin' anymore," said Hop Pop triumphantly.
"You saved us mister!"
Hop Pop suddenly felt something hugging his left ankle. He looked down and saw that it was the small frog child, Bailey.
"Three cheers for Hopediah Plantar," said Bailey.
The towns frog all came rushing towards Hop Pop, cheering for him as they lifted him up and tossed him a few inches into the air before coming back down and smushing the Bitties. But they recovered and proceeded to carry him back into the town like the hero he was.
"Wow, Hop Pop, nice work," said Anne.
"Oh, that was nothin', Judro's just a big blow hard. Not like that time I stood up to those Tax Toads," Hop Pop added.
"You stood up to toads?!" The Bitties gasped in shock.
"Tell us the story! Please, please?!" Bailey begged.
"Oh, sweetie, there's nothin' to tell."
Judro ran as far and as fast as he could, he was going show that old frog who he was messing with. After about an hour and a half of running and hopping, Judro made it to the cave hideout. The inside was lined with many of the conquests he and his kin had made. For you see, Judro wasn't just one bandit, he was part of a family of bandits. Judro made his way deep into the cave, and as he did, he passed by some of his family members, but there was only one that he came to see.
"Mama! Mama! We got trouble!" Judro announced.
Sitting atop a pile of their stolen goods was the matriarch of the Hassleback family, Mama Hassleback. She towered over the rest of her family members, tattoos lined both of her arms, and an iron rolling pin was gripped tightly in her right hand. Mama Hassleback narrowed her beady eyes at her son Judro and asked, "Judro, what's got you so riled up?"
A female lizard, a salamander, came walking up next to Judro, her pink eyes narrowed as her mouth curled into a mocking sneer. "Ah, what's wrong, brother? Bittyburg too tough fer ya to handle? Ah told you Mama, little Judie here couldn't handle it."
Judro growled at his half-sister, Ruth. He was the youngest of the Hassleback family, and therefore considered the runt of the litter. Mama assigned him to wring out some money from the Bitties as they were the easiest marks in the western plains, they didn't fight back, and they were tiny, a child could easily intimidate them. Which meant he had to fib a little to get his family out there to show that old frog who was boss.
"Ah was gettin' the money, easy peasy, but then this frog and his posse come rollin' in and drove me out of town!" Judro lied.
Mama Hassleback raised an eyebrow at this. "A posse you say? All the years we've been musclin' money from those Bitties, not one frog has come to help 'em."
"Ah know, Ah know, but now somebody has! Say's he ain't afraid of the Hassleback Gang," said Judro.
Mama Hassleback rose from her seat and hopped off, landing on the ground with a thud that shook the room. "Well then, guess we'll just have to pay this hero a visit."
Judro snickered. Oh, yer gonna get it now old timer!
Meanwhile back in Bittyburg, Hop Pop was regaling the townsfolk of his tales back in Wartwood…for three…whole…hours.
"And then I lifted not one, not two, but three toads over my head, and threw them off Toad Tower!" Hop Pop proclaimed.
Anne, Polly, and Sprig where at the back of the crowd, watching Hop Pop lie to the townsfolk.
Polly looked confused by Hop Pop's story. "He threw 'three toads' off Toad Tower? I don't remember that."
"That's because it didn't happen," Sprig whispered.
Anne smiled as she said, "Aw, let him have this. He's, eh, spicing up the details a bit. It's like cooking, start with a good foundation of truth, sprinkle some lies, add a few harrowing moments to spice it up, and bam, you got yourself a good story."
"Huh, makes sense. But, uh, Anne, seriously, why didn't you transform?" Sprig asked.
Anne sighed in slight annoyance of Sprig's question. "I already told you, Sprig. I don't know how to make it happen, and even if I did, I don't want to kill them! Every time I transform, I destroy a Fallen. What do you think Rider me will do to someone like Judro?"
"Electro-fry him," said Polly.
"Exactly. And I do not want that on my conscience."
Sprig was over enthused by Anne's powers, but he could understand where she was coming from. Judro was a jerk and a criminal, but he wasn't a monster like the Fallen were. "Sorry, Anne, it's just…"
"And so, with my frog given strength, I kicked the side of Toad Tower, and it EXPLODED!" Hop Pop shouted.
The Bitties all cheered uproariously for Hop Pop, completely taken by his tales of heroism.
"Hooray for Hopediah Plantar! Here to protect us from the ruthless Hassleback Gang!" Bailey declared.
Anne, Polly, Sprig, and especially Hop Pop, paused when they heard what the itty-bitty frog child said.
"I'm sorry, Bailey, did you say 'gang'?" Hop Pop asked.
"HOPEDIAH PLANTAR!"
Hop Pop froze as he slowly turned around, and at that moment he laid eyes on Judro Hassleback, but he wasn't alone, which prompted the Bitties to hide behind Hop Pop.
"Hooo-weee! You gon after it, so here it comes! This here's the Hassleback Gang!" Judro stated. "My big brother, Heathro!"
Judro pointed to a frog who was taller than him and was a sienna color. He wore a cowboy hat, a brown leather vest, pants, and boots. Heathro had a few scars on his body, and goatee on his chin. The elder brother inhaled and then exhaled a plume of smoke, whether if that was from something else or if he could breathe fire was up in the air, at this point it wouldn't surprise Anne if that frog could breathe fire.
"My half-sister, Ruth!"
The half-sister in this case was a female salamander, yellow in color, wearing a gray tank top and red bandanna around her neck. She opened her mouth and unfurled her tongue to release a knife that she had been storing in there, Ruth then proceeded to use the blade as a toothpick.
"Uncle Talbert!"
Talbert was a small frog compared to Judro, bright green in color, and had a big, long, curly mustache. Under his vest was a belt that was holstering four combs, while they looked harmless enough, upon closer inspection, one could see that the combs were made of metal, and had their teeth sharpened to a dangerous edge that could easily tear through skin if used.
"Aaaaand, the matriarch herself, MAMA HASSLEBACK!"
The other Hassleback members parted as the large female frog stepped forward and looked down upon the town, the Bitties, and Hop Pop. She then looked towards Anne, Polly, and Sprig.
"You the frog who dare run my Judro out of town?" Mama Hassleback asked.
"Uh…I…uh…" Hop Pop stuttered.
"Yep! And he's going to run you out of town, too! Isn't that right Hopediah?!" Bailey asked.
The Bitties started to cheer Hop Pop's name, only adding to the pressure the old frog was under.
Mama Hassleback looked down at Judro and asked, "This is the frog and his 'posse' what run you outta here, son?"
Judro at least had the dignity to look ashamed. "Well…yeah…"
Heathro and Ruth started laughing loudly at Judro, slapping their knees and holding their sides. Uncle Talbert just shook his head in disappointment at Judro, while Mama Hassleback growled in utter annoyance of her son.
"You're tellin' me you got run outta town by and this old frog?"
"Uh…well…he's tougher than he looks Ma, Ah swear!" Judro insisted.
"HA! We'll see." Mama Hassleback plopped her rear onto the ground, causing the Bitties, and the town itself to bounce once. "Okay, old timer, let's see what ya got."
Hop Pop knew he had dug a hole for himself, and at this point it was do or die. "Y-You're going to regret this, Mama Hassleback!"
What followed next was a series of sad attempts of Hop Pop trying to move the large female frog, and of course, none of his efforts bore any fruit. Hop Pop stopped and was hunched over, out of breath, and sweating from his futile efforts in trying to move the large frog.
"I think…I almost…got it her," he panted.
Mama Hassleback decided to show Hop Pop how wrong he was, lifting her iron rolling pin and giving the elderly frog a tap on the head. Although it looked like a small tap, it obviously had more force behind it as Hop Pop went down like a ton of bricks, causing the dirt below him to crack from the force of the strike.
"HOP POP!" the kids called out.
"Anne?! Rider?! Now," said Sprig.
Anne tried to concentrate, tried to summon it, but she could not feel the sensation of power that overtook her from before. Great, so when I want you to come out, you won't?!
"No go! Let's just get in there!" Anne stated as she led the charge.
Polly and Sprig were right behind her, but Heathro managed to get between them and Hop Pop. He reached into his pocket, took out a match, inhaled, held the match to close to his mouth, and blew out, releasing a blast of flames that roared into the air.
"Whoa?!" Polly and Sprig exclaimed as they backed away.
Anne did the same, feeling the intense heat from the fire breathing frog. "What the – you can breathe fire?! That's a thing here?!"
"I have heard of frogs who have special glands in their mouth that, when their exposed to a match, can do that!" Sprig explained.
Ruth came slithering up towards Anne, deciding that she might be a threat, considering that she was a different creature, and she didn't know what Anne was capable of. The lizard came at Anne with her knife, about to stab Anne in the stomach. Suddenly, time slowed down for Anne as she felt the familiar sensation of her power, but it was like it was at a lower setting. Whatever the case was, she used it to her advantage as she nimbly dodged Ruth's blade at the last second, causing the salamander to look at the human in confusion.
"What the?!" Ruth exclaimed.
Anne was confused, too, but she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. The Thai American got into her fighting stance, arms up, and squaring her shoulders. Ruth came at her again, slashing wildly at Anne, time slowed down once again, and Anne was able dodge the blade again. Ruth swiped left, Anne backstepped, dodging the attack. The swipe left Ruth wide open, allowing Anne to swiftly get in close, the salamander's eyes widened at the sudden display of speed, but she couldn't utter a word as Anne uppercut the salamander in the jaw. Ruth stumbled backwards, so Anne pressed the attack, delivering quick jabs and strikes to Ruth's torso and face, before hitting her with a knee strike to the chest.
Heathro saw what was happening and readied to release another fire blast, but Anne, with a slight tinge of blue in her eyes, sensed this and jumped just in time to evade the flames that Heathro breathed out. The scarred frog was about to blow again, but Anne closed the distance again, hitting him with a hard elbow strike. Heathro coughed from having the air released from his lungs, stunning him long enough for Anne to sweep his legs, grab his vest, and hurl him straight into the recovering Ruth. Both siblings hit and rolled across the ground in a heap.
Anne could feel the power rising again, she felt it, she wanted to fight on, wanted to destroy–! NO! Anne shook her head, snapping her out of the trance. "No…No…"
The pause in her attacks allowed Heathro enough time to recover as he lashed out with his tongue wrapping Anne up and throwing her into Sprig and Polly. While they were down, Heathro, Talbert, and Ruth grabbed a few barrels and slammed them atop the kids, trapping them.
"Oh c'mon! This is just like middle school!"
Polly shrugged, "This isn't much different from my bucket really."
"Looks like you backed the wrong frog," said Mama Hassleback as she picked up Hop Pop by the leg and dangled him in front of the townsfolk. "Or should I say, fraud." The matriarch of the gang dropped Hop Pop and joined the rest of her family. "Word of advice folks, don't believe everything you're told about heroes, they don't exist."
Bailey looked towards Hop Pop and asked, "Is it true, Hopediah? Are heroes a lie?"
Hop Pop got up and tearfully looked back at the little frog. "It's true, Bailey…IT'S TRUUUUE!"
"Now get lost, and take your garbage with ya," said Mama Hassleback.
Heathro and Ruth pushed the barrels containing Anne, Sprig, and Polly, letting them roll towards Hop Pop as he shamefully walked them all out of town. Bessie brought up the fwagon as she followed Hop Pop and the kids, leaving the Bitties to their fate under the Hassleback Gang.
They watched as the Plantars rolled away, and as soon as they were out of sight, Mama Hassleback growled angrily and grabbed Judro by his vest, hoisting him up and glaring at her youngest child. "You brought us all out here for an old frog and his kids?! THEY ran you out of town?!"
"Uh…well…I uh…"
"To be fair, Mama, that gangly one hit somethin' fierce," said Heathro.
"Faster than she looked, too," Ruth added.
"So, I saw, but that beansprout wasn't the one who ran ya outta Bittyburg. Right, Judro?!"
Judro gulped, "N-No, Mama…she wasn't."
Mama Hassleback shook her head in disappointment. "Ah tried to give you somethin' easy to do, but you can't even do somethin' as easy as gettin' money from these little things?!"
"W-W-Wait, Mama, Ah can do better…Ah swear!"
"He always says that Mama, but has he?" Ruth asked.
"WHAT?! Heathro, c'mon?!"
Heathro snorted black smoke again and remained silent.
"Uncle Talbert?!"
The mustached frog simply ignored his nephew and combed his mustache, showing his indifference to his nephew's plight.
Mama Hassleback tossed her son like a rag doll out of the town. Judro rolled around in the dirt a few times before stopping, the youngest of the Hassleback Gang got up and turned to face his family. "But…Mama!"
"Y'all been a right big disappointment to me, Judro, Ah ain't one to suffer fools, even if it's my own kin!" Mama Hassleback threatened. "It's only 'cause of ya bein' my child that Ah'm lettin' ya live and walk away, but if ya show yer face around us again, son or not…" The matriarch ran her right thumb across her neck.
Judro didn't know what to say, the youngest of the Hassleback family merely walked away, heading into the empty plains.
"Heh, now, as for you Bitties…"
The Plantar family was riding along in silence, the events that happened in Bittyburg weighed heavily on the old frog. Sprig glanced between his little sister and adopted big sister, and his grandpa. The young frog slowly brought out his fiddle and readied to sing a song, but out of nowhere Hop Pop took the fiddle out of Sprig's hands, raised it into the air and screamed loudly as he smashed the instrument against the driver's seat. Sprig, Anne, and Polly were slightly freaked out by his outburst.
Hop Pop panted heavily, but after a moment to collect himself, he said, "Sorry, kids, not really proud about what happened back there. Sprig was right, no one's ever going to write a song about this old coward…"
"Well now that you smashed my fiddle…"
Anne rolled her eyes, picked up Sprig, and switched places with him. "Hop Pop you're not a coward, and who cares about some dumb old song. Being a hero isn't about songs or glory anyway, it's about doing the right thing."
"Well, that is true, but if there's anyone here who is a real hero, it's you," said Hop Pop.
Anne blushed at the compliment. "What?"
"When those Hasslebacks started attackin' you got in there and showed them what for! And even before that, you rescued us from Toad Tower, and fought those monsters on the way here…"
Anne smiled a little and said, "Well, then that just proves my point, right? I was just doing the right thing. I could've stayed with Sasha and let Grime's toads execute you, but that wouldn't have been right. And as far as more recent events, I totally don't have control over that, so I don't really count it. But I guess what I'm saying is, anyone can be hero Hop Pop, you just need to stand up and do something."
Hop Pop understood what Anne said, he pulled on Bessie's reins and brought them to a halt. "By frog, Anne, you're right! This whole time I was so focused on gettin' a song, that I lost sight of what truly matters! Heroes are supposed to help those in need, and I was only tryin' to help myself!" Hop Pop narrowed his gaze as a look of pure determination appeared on his face. "Well, that changes now! We're goin' back!"
Sprig and Polly, who had been thrown off the fwagon due to the sudden stop, climbed back on and said, "WHAT?!"
Anne smiled in approval of Hop Pop's decision. "Good call HP, what's the plan?"
"Well, it goes a little somethin' like this…"
Hop Pop motioned for his family to come closer, he then began whispering the plan in the kids' ears. Which prompted Polly to wriggle out of the huddle and ask aloud, "WHY ARE WE WHISPERING?!"
Judro walked aimlessly into the dessert, the sun was starting to set behind him, and he had no place go. The youngest member of the Hassleback Gang clenched his hands into fists as he sniffled, the pain and sadness of being thrown out of the gang, out of his own family, was something that he thought would never happen. But it seemed blood was not thicker than water in this case. Too many let downs on his part had brought this upon him.
"Ah can't believe Mama did that…even said she'd…she'd get rid ah me…!"
Sadness, formed from the deepest darkness~
Judro stopped his walking, and fell to his knees, striking the ground repeatedly at the unfairness of this whole situation.
Go, sleep now, in into the endless domain
Judro's eyes started to get heavy as a great tiredness overtook him. "Ah'll just…rest here a spell…Ah'll show 'em. Ma, Sis, Bro, and Uncle Talbert…! Ah'll…Ah'll show 'em all…!"
Now come yee, to the throne of The Night
In His great keep, you shall repent
Suddenly, thirteen black feathers appeared over Judro, those feathers fluttered down towards the frog, gently cascading downwards until they touched his body. Immediately upon doing so, Judro's body was enveloped by his own shadow, cocooning him in a shell of pure darkness.
Angels lost, now banished from the heavens
Fallen, rise from shadows
Fly now, on raven's wings
So fearsome, with fury that touches the skies
The shadow cocoon grew bigger and bigger, until it was twice the size that it was before. The cocoon took on a solid form, and then began to crack, and from that crack a claw jutted forth, smashing through it, a claw that reached towards the orange hued sky.
Bring joy to the forgotten Night
Snuff out the light from their eyes~
A pair of glowing eyes appeared in one of the cracks as a monstrous roar echoed through the plains.
Meanwhile, back in Bittyburg, the Hassleback Gang had made themselves at home in the small town, with the Bitties having become their slaves. Mama Hassleback was reclining against some of their buildings on a plush cushion as the Bitties went to work rubbing her feet. At the same time, the rest of the Bitties were busy bringing out their gold pieces and putting them into a pile in the middle of town for the gang.
"Keep it up, Bitties, that's good. Just keep workin' on Mama's toes," said Mama Hassleback.
Bailey's father looked at his daughter and son and sadly said, "Looks like no birthday gifts this year, kids."
"Don't worry papa, we'll always have the gift of music!" Bailey declared as he whipped out a flute.
Only to have said flute taken by Heathro who used it as a toothpick, before having it snap in half. "Oops."
"You know I'm actually pretty numb at this point," Bailey pointed out.
"Serves you little runts right! If you thought things were bad before, just wait until you see what we have planned…" Suddenly, the sound of a harmonica playing caught everyone's attention. "…for you?"
All eyes turned towards the east end of town, and there, with the setting sun blazing at his back, was Hopediah Plantar, clad in a cowboy hat and playing the harmonica as a desert breeze blew on through.
Mama Hassleback chuckled as she rose to her feet and said, "Well, look who decided to show their fraudy old face again. Ya back for more punishment?!"
Hop Pop scoffed at Mama Hassleback's goading. "I'm back to do what's right! Stand up to bullies like you!"
A long silence pervaded over the town as the Hassleback Gang and Hop Pop stared each other down in an old-fashioned western showdown, the only sound made the entire time was the breeze that whipped up for a moment as if signifying the start of this confrontation.
"Get 'em!" the matriarch ordered.
Heathro didn't bother to use his fire trick on the old frog, so instead he charged him and prepared to give the codger a beating. Hop Pop opened his mouth and launched his long green tongue at Heathro. The moment he did, the scarred frog was struck mightily in the face with a blow that sent him sprawling backwards onto the ground in a daze. The Hasslebacks and the Bitties all gasped at the sudden defeat.
"His tongue…hits…like iron," said Heathro weakly.
Ruth unsheathed her knife and ran towards Hop Pop, ready to cut off his tongue.
"Heh, you boys ready for a lickin'?!" Hop Pop asked as he swung his long tongue around like a whip towards Ruth.
The half-sister of the Hasslebacks was struck with the same force that downed Heathro, sending her into a spiral as she plopped on the ground, knocked out.
None of them realized the ruse that Hop Pop had cooked up, for in the distance, Anne was watching the events in the town through a spyglass, while Sprig had crafted a makeshift slingshot, showing that they had set up a sniping position from the rock formation far in the distance.
"Two degrees left," said Anne.
"Load me up," Sprig ordered.
Polly grabbed a large rock and placed in the slingshot holster. Sprig then released the sling and let the rock fly through the air. At the same time, Uncle Talbert moved to attack Hop Pop, but the patriarch of the Plantar family lashed out with this tongue. Upon further inspection, it could be seen how the rock hit Talbert in the face just before Hop Pop's tongue did, with Hop Pop pulling back when he saw the impact to make it appear as if he was the one knocking everyone out. The Bitties cheered for Hop Pop, their hope being restored by his act of heroism.
Mama Hassleback couldn't believe what she was seeing, the old frog couldn't do a thing to her hours ago, but now he could take out three of her family members with just one hit of his tongue? It was impossible, but the reality was staring her right in the face as her children and brother were on the ground and knocked out. The matriarch of the Hasslebacks backed away a few steps but paused when a light hit her eye. She used her left hand to shield her vision from the annoying beam of light, but in doing so, she spotted the reason why the old frog was able to do what he did.
Mama Hassleback chuckled as she said under her breath, "So that's the game, is it?"
"End of the line, Mama!" Hop Pop proclaimed as he lashed with his tongue again.
Unfortunately, things did not go how Hop Pop had hoped. Mama Hassleback jumped out of the way of Hop Pop's tongue and caught the rock that was meant for her head before it could hit her. Smiling with sinister glee, Mama Hassleback tossed the rock with all her might in the same direction that it traveled. The rock managed to strike Sprig in the face, causing him to fall off the rock formation and onto the ground, which had the unfortunate effect of making the two nearby cacti rise from the ground and topple on top of him.
"THE JIG IS UP!" Anne cried.
"RUN, HOP POP!" Polly yelled.
"Uh-oh…" Hop Pop looked back and saw that the rest of the Hasslebacks were coming back around, now much angrier. "Well, I best be goin', toodles!"
Hop Pop began running out of town, but as he did, he saw the many sad and disappointed faces of the townsfolk. The last face he saw was that of the young frog child, Bailey. Hop Pop came to a skidding stop as his emotions were at war within him, run away and live, or fight and possibly get killed?
"Being hero is about songs and glory anyway, it's about doing the right thing…"
Anne's words echoed in Hop Pop's head, steeling his resolve as he forced himself to turn around and face down the Hasslebacks. "You know what, Mama, Ah'm through runnin'! When you see someone that can't fight for themselves, it's your job to fight for them! Standin' up to bullies like you is the right thing to–!"
Hop Pop was cut off when Mama Hassleback struck him in the face with her tongue, sending the old frog bouncing on the ground until he crashed into a pile of trash.
"MISTER PLANTAR!" Bailey cried as he ran up to Hop Pop.
"Don't cry for me, Bailey…I don't feel a thing…"
"Heh, now you're gonna get it twice as bad thanks to that codger!" Mama Hassleback threatened.
"MAMA!"
Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned around, a monster was approaching them, a monstrous frog creature who had black armor around his chest, with the image of thirteen eyes molded onto it. From his back sprouted tiny black wings, and both of his hands sported four black claws. The monster had a dark turquoise color to its skin, with one yellow right eye, and a red glowing left eye. The monster was muscular, his strength evident by how hard he stomped against the ground and left fissures.
"Wha-What that heck is that thing?!" Ruth asked in a panic.
"C'mon now, Ruthie, ya can't recognize yer own kin?!"
It was then that everyone realized who the monster was.
"Judro?!" Mama Hassleback gasped.
"Darn right," Judro confirmed.
"S-Son, what happened to ya?!"
Judro growled monstrously as he rushed into town and grabbed Mama by the shirt, hoisting her up to meet him at eye level. "YOU happened, Mama! But that's okay, Ah'm part of a new gang now! Ah'm a Fallen! And Ah gots a mission to do iffin Ah wanna keep my power! But first, Ah'm gonna make you pay for thrownin' me outta the gang and the family!"
The Frog Fallen tossed Mama Hassleback into the distance and right out of town, making the rest of the gang follow her.
"Ah ain't done with you Bitties, so sit tight and Ah'll be back real quick like!"
Judro crouched and hopped high into the air before landing few feet away from his family. Heathro didn't waste time talking as he pulled out his matches and attacked with his fire breath. He continuously exhaled, bellowing flames all over his former little brother until he had exhausted all the air from his lungs, forcing him to take in a deep breath. To his dismay, the flames had no effect on Judro in his Fallen state.
"Ah always, thought that trick was neat, big brother. Wanna see my trick?"
Judro didn't wait for a response as his left eye shined brighter and brighter until it released a powerful beam of crimson light that shot towards Heathro. The scarred bandit managed to jump out of the way, but when the beam struck the ground, it caused an explosion that threw Heathro into the air before he plopped onto the ground in a heap.
Ruth sneered and pulled out her knife as she said, "Y'know what, Ah never really liked you anyway, Jud!"
The salamander slinked across the ground, using her agile and slender body to get behind Judro. Once she did, she raised her blade and stabbed the frog in the back, only for the knife blade to snap in half and fall to the ground.
"That's not possible!"
"Anythin's possible when yer a Fallen! Unfortunately, y'all didn't make the cut!" Judro mocked as he grabbed his sister, pulling her off his back as he tossed her into the air.
Ruth screamed as she went up and continued as she fell back down, but just before she hit the ground, Judro punched the salamander with his huge fist and sent her flying into Mama Hassleback, throwing both females backwards some feet away from where they were.
Uncle Talbert was the only one left standing, it was becoming evident that Judro was just toying with his former family, just taking joy in making them suffer before he delivered the final blow. Judro reached out with both of his hands and grabbed Talbert by the mustache, hoisting him up and letting him dangle painfully by the strands of his whiskers.
"You always were awful proud of yer mustache, Uncle Talbert! Be a real shame if somethin' happen to it!"
"Nephew, c'mon now, stop this foolishness, this is yer kin!" Talbert pleaded.
"Heh, yeah, it was my kin! Play time's over!"
Judro's left eye began to charge up, making Talbert struggle to get away, but his own pride prevented him from doing the one thing that would allow him to escape the blast.
However, before Judro could fire, Anne dashed towards Judro and struck the monster frog in the gut releasing Talbert. Judro coughed from the blow, sending him skidding backwards as he smashed his right claw into the ground to prevent him from going back further.
"What the – who the – oh?"
Anne stood there, silent, her head tilted down, but when she raised her head, she revealed her glowing irises.
"Ah, so yer the one…"
Anne repeated the hand gestures to summon her Driver, lightning crackled as the device formed around her waist, glowing bright white as the sun dipped below the horizon. The only lights emanated from the town, the fwagon, Judro's eyes, Anne's eyes and her Driver. The device began making a standby noise, indicating that it was ready.
"Henshin."
Anne pressed the sides of her Driver, a dome of lightning appeared around her, transforming her body and donning her in armor. When the dome fell, Anne was in the form of her alter ego, Kamen Rider Amp. The blue eyes, crest, and lines on Amp's body glowed bright in the night, illuminating her form for all to see. Judro growled and unleashed a rapid-fire blast of crimson beams from his left eye.
Lightning surged around Amp's legs before she dashed away. Trails of lightning were left in her wake as she ran around the field, dodging the beams as Judro tried to pin her down, but was having a difficult time matching the speed of the Kamen Rider. The trail of lightning angled itself and aimed right for him, Judro kept firing but had no way to stop her as Amp closed in and struck him with an uppercut that lifted the Fallen Frog off his feet and into the air.
Amp followed up with a thrust kick that sent the monster flying, but Amp wasn't done. She quickly took off and ran on an intercept path with him, she jumped into the air and timed her strike exactly right to hit him in the back with a powerful knee strike, causing sparks to fly from his body as he fell to the ground onto his hands and knees. Amp wasn't about to let him catch his breath as she dashed towards him again, but Judro just smiled.
The Frog Fallen smashed the ground beneath him with his fist, causing the dirt and rock to upheave. This had the intended effect as Amp had to slow down to keep herself from getting tripped up. While she was distracted, Judro turned around and fired a powerful beam at her. The crimson beam struck Amp in the chest, causing sparks to fly from her body. Judro didn't let up as he unleashed rapid-fire blasts at the Rider again and again, each attack causing sparks to fly from her armor as she as she was eventually thrown to the ground.
Judro jumped into the air and landed atop of Amp, straddling her as he began striking her head with his powerful fist, causing the ground beneath to shake with each hit. The transformed frog brought both his hands up and interlaced his fingers for a hammer blow.
However, before he could complete his attack, a bright light shined in his eyes, causing him to wince. The sound of a motorcycle filled the air, and before Judro knew it, Machine Stormer came in and struck him in the face with a lightning wheel punch. The Frog Fallen was thrown off of Amp as he rolled along the dessert floor, allowing Amp to get back up.
Amp's crest flared out into it six bladed form, lightning arced off her body as the glowing eyes, lines, and crest started to shine even brighter. The sigil mark of Amp formed beneath her feet as Amp took her stance and readied to end this fight. Judro saw this and powered up his left eye for one final attack. Amp gathered the energy to her feet and dashed straight for Judro at super speed. The Frog Fallen released a powerful energy blast that tore the ground apart and melted the earth as it headed straight for Amp. The lightning warrior jumped straight up as the beam roared beneath her, and with a single flip, Amp extended her right leg and bolted straight for him, briefly taking on the form of lightning as she struck the frog right in the left eye, cancelling out his attack.
Amp flipped around once more until she was behind him, slowly rising to her full standing height. As she did, a black and purple halo appeared over Judro's head, the transformed amphibian could feel it inside, he knew what was about to happen and there was no way to stop it.
"NO, NO, THIS AIN'T FAIR! THIS AIN'T FAIR! NOOOOOOOOO!"
Amp swiped her right hand through the air, and a moment later, Judro's entire body was destroyed in a fiery explosion. The hero of lightning began walking towards Bittyburg, Amp paused for a moment to regard the Hasslebacks, making them flinch in fear upon seeing her. For a moment they believed Amp would finish the job that Judro started, but Amp turned her head away from them and headed straight back towards the town.
Upon arriving, the transformation cancelled itself out, leaving only Anne. Her blue irises faded as she returned to normal, shaking her head as the trance ended. "Man, that guy hit hard…HOP POP!" Anne ran to where Hop Pop had been knocked out, Polly and Sprig were already there, watching over him while Anne battled the Fallen. "Are you alright?!"
"Eh…my pride's hurt, but other than that, Ah'll live," said Hop Pop.
The kids released a sigh of relief.
"Well, that was interesting, but Ah think we need to get down to business."
Mama Hassleback and the rest of the gang were back on their feet, and from the looks of them, they didn't appear too rattled by what had just transpired.
"Seriously?! Your own kid was turned into a monster, and now you want to fight again?!" Anne yelled in annoyance.
Mama Hassleback chuckled. "That was that, and this is this. And if you were goin' to do anythin' to us, ya would've done it when you were a monster yerself, now then…"
The townsfolk couldn't believe what they were hearing, after all that, they still wanted to keep doing this whole mess? It was frustrating, it was annoying, it was…enough. Enough was enough! Suddenly, the Bitties started to change, their irises took on a red tint, as their teeth became as sharp as daggers.
"Uh…Mama…Somethin's happenin," said Ruth.
The matriarch looked around and saw that all the Bitties were starting to take on this strange change themselves, and this was starting to become unsettling for them. "Now you listen here, Bitties…!"
Bailey hissed loudly; the rest of the townsfolk took this as the war cry as all of them started to swarm the Hasslebacks. All four of the members were overrun by the – apparently carnivorous – Bitties as they climbed up their bodies and attacked them.
"Whoa…they're going straight up berserker on these guys! What happened to them?!" Anne asked.
"Well, I guess after years of abuse even the most timid of frogs can – WHOA MY GOODNESS!" Hop Pop screamed.
The Bitties now swarmed Mama Hassleback, and one of the Bitties seemed to pull a "Alien", xenomorph, move by busting out of her stomach.
Bailey came running up to the Plantars, making them all flinch in fear at the little monster. The young frog returned to normal and said cheerfully, "Hi, Mr. Plantar."
"Bailey! You frogs are fightin' back?!" Hop Pop exclaimed.
"Yep, all because of what you said!"
"You mean about how standin' up to bullies is right thing to do?"
"Uh, no. The part about how when someone can't fight for themselves, you have to fight for them." Bailey then pointed at Hop Pop and added, "You clearly can't fight for yourself." The little frog then reached behind his back and pulled out a tooth. "Here's you're tooth, by the way."
Hop Pop took the tooth, a bit disappointed, but also proud.
"And Miss Anne, thanks for saving us from that monster," said Bailey.
"Uh…you're welcome, dude," Anne replied.
After that, Bailey went berserk again and went back to join the rest of the town in taking down – at this point what was left – of the Hasslebacks. Several more of the townsfolk followed him, and a moment later there was a fire.
Hop Pop looked at his children and said, "Time to get goin'!"
After that, the Plantars hopped back onto the fwagon and headed full steam ahead away from Bittyburg. Sprig was finishing up repairs on his fiddle when he noticed a troubled look on Anne's face.
"What's wrong, Anne?" Sprig asked.
"Judro…he…he became a Fallen. I didn't know that was even a thing that could happen," said Anne sullenly.
She had taken a life, the one thing she did not want to do, but if she hadn't, Judro would've killed everyone.
"Anne, don't worry, he was a monster, there was no way he was coming back from that," said Sprig as he tried to reassure Anne.
A small smile appeared on her face as she nodded to her adopted little brother.
Sprig hopped onto the top of the fwagon and started playing his fiddle.
"Oh, Hop Pop stood his ground,
In hopes he'd save the day!
But then the townsfolk went berserk,
And so we ran awaaaaaaaayyyyyyy~!"
Polly hopped up next to Anne and asked, "That machine of yours, it disappeared again after the fight was over."
"Yeah, where the heck does that thing go anyway?"
Out in the desert a robot wanders, on the trail of the ones who created it. In the distance, a motorcycle appears on wheels made of pure lightning. The bike stops before the machine, the front beeps and the machine frog beeped back. Machine Stormer broke itself down as the robot frog opened its body, the parts of Machine Stormer fitting and combining with the robot until it was completely stored away. Once that was done, the robot frog's eyes shined blue for a moment before they returned to normal. It's search for its creators was still ongoing.
A/N: The song from earlier is a parody of the Nowhere King lullaby from Centaur World. The show's a trip, but one well worth it for this song and the others. I swear, it's the perfect creepy ass song for Halloween.