A/N: Review time!
7: Thanks!
OMAC001: The whole going to a ball thing, the cult part, or both? Personally, I say both.
sname screamer: Thanks!
By the time they arrived it was six and the sun had dipped below the horizon, turning day into night. The carriage arrived at the Edenborough estate, and once they got out, both girls gaped.
"Hoop-da-do-boop-ba!" Anne exclaimed.
"Yeah, hoop-da-do-boop-ba," Marcy agreed.
The estate was quite large, there was a white stone pathway that was flanked by rectangle shaped ponds that ran the length of the pathway, which was about thirty feet. White stone columns lined the outer perimeter of the two ponds, about five in total on each side, and each one had a bowl at the top that had flames roaring from them. The mansion itself was just as impressive, the massive building was decked out for the fancy party, with a red carpet that was laid out that led from the front door, down the twenty-step stairway, and continued all the way down the path to where they were standing. Anne and Marcy watched as several newts and frogs walked down the pathway and to the mansion, each of them wore fancy clothes, all of them definitely rich aristocrats.
Anne inhaled and then exhaled; she then offered her arm to Marcy. The young genius looked to Anne in confusion until Anne said, "Shall we, Lady Marcy?"
Marcy, while blushing, giggled at her friend's offer. She then wrapped her left arm around Anne's right and said, "Yes, we shall. Dame Anne."
"Uh, 'dame'?"
"That's the honorific for a female knight. Sir is for a man, and Dame is for a woman. The King knighted you and Luz, so you carry the title of Dame," Marcy explained.
Anne thought about that for a moment, honestly, she forgot she had that title now. She was officially a Knight of Newtopia, which was also probably why Lady Olivia insisted on her wearing the ceremonial medals on her chest. Everyone in Newtopia knew Marcy's reputation, but Anne, despite her role in saving the world, was still relatively an unknown hero. Olivia probably wanted me to wear them so that the high society people wouldn't look down on me or Marcy for bringing me. I need to thank her next time I see her.
With that out of the way, the two girls walked down the velvet red carpet, up the stairs, and through the double mahogany wood doors. Once inside, the girls could hear the dulcet tones of violins playing in the background, creating a soothing and rich atmosphere. The girls followed the red carpet and the rest of the guests to a more open ballroom, and they're eyes went even wider. The entire room was colored a soft turquoise, the ceiling had a rippling effect as if they were staring at undulating water. Seashells were used in artful decorations, while coral shoots were carefully grown into interact and artistic shapes. There were columns in this room too, four in total that held up the ceiling. To the left of the large ballroom was a balcony access that overlooked the coast, and to the right was the refreshment table. Marcy made sure to remind Anne of which drinks to stay away from, particularly those that were alcoholic.
The band was playing on an erected stage at the far end of the room, while the partygoers mingled amongst themselves. Anne gulped hard; she could feel the gravity of these rich people baring down on her. Marcy looked like she fit right in, she knew all about Newtopian high society and customs and junk, but Anne, she might as well be a country bumpkin compared to her. No disrespect to her adopted bumpkin family, but the point was made.
Marcy glanced to her friend with concern as she noticed Anne stiffen a bit. "You alright?"
"Eh…not as alright as I thought I was before we came in here," Anne admitted.
Marcy smiled at Anne and said, "C'mon Anna-Banana, we've faced worst things than this. We helped defeat an undead monster bent on taking over two worlds, and you fought that monster one-on-one and had him on the ropes for a bit. I know you can handle this, Anne."
Anne smiled back at her friend and said confidently, "Yeah, you're right! Okay, let's do it!"
As Marcy and Anne descended the stairs, it didn't take long for the gazes of the partygoers to be drawn to them. Some looked like they were already whispering amongst themselves, Anne could only wonder what they were saying about them. If movies and TV shows about old timey aristocrats taught her anything, is that these kinds of people will smile and laugh with you, and at the same time they'll laugh at you and trash talk you behind your back.
So, like middle school and high school. Easy.
One of the newts separated from the rest of the guests, he was purple in color. He had a cane in his right hand as he walked with a limp. He wore a turquoise suit and matching pants, and his hair was white as snow. That same newt was flanked by two tough looking frogs who wore black suits, and now that Anne thought about it, she noticed that there were a few newts and frogs who wore similar attire.
"Master Marcy Wu, it's a pleasure to finally meet you," the newt greeted.
Marcy discreetly nudged Anne as she said, "It's an honor to be invited to your beautiful estate, Mr. Edenborough." She then bowed which prompted Anne to do the same.
"Please, please, the honor is all mine. And you must be Anne Boonchuy-Plantar," said Mr. Edenborough.
Anne was shocked. "You…You know who I am?!"
Mr. Edenborough chuckled at her reaction. "Why of course I do, I do own and manage the best private security firm in Newtopia. It would be shameful if I didn't do my research. Receiver of the Coral Heart and Cerulean Cross and granted knighthood by his majesty himself! You haven't been in Newtopia that long, but you're already making quite the splash, my dear!"
Anne blushed at the compliment and said, "Thanks du – uh – I mean, Mr. Edenborough!"
"Ah-ha-ha! Now, Master Marcy, where is your other companion? I was informed that there were more than one of you who saved our fair city."
"Oh, you mean Luz Noceda, Kamen Rider Witch. She sadly is no longer in Amphibia. She managed to find a way back to the world she came from after the celebration that night," Marcy explained.
Mr. Edenborough sighed. "Shame, I would've loved to have all of you attend this party. I would've sent you an invitation as well my dear, but I figured you might come with Master Marcy."
"No problem, thank you for having us," Anne replied.
Mr. Edenborough nodded to them before turning to his guests and announcing, "Everyone, please, a round of applause for these brave young women, who put their own lives in great peril to save our lives and the lives of those in our fair land of Amphibia!"
The partygoers all clapped loudly for Anne and Marcy, both girls blushed under the attention they were getting, but at the same time, appreciative. Mr. Edenborough had probably guessed that his guests might look down on Anne or Marcy for whatever reason and decided to make them all acknowledge their accomplishments so that they couldn't claim ignorance.
"Enjoy the party," he said before walking off to meet with the other partygoers.
"Wow, I was expecting him to be really snooty and condescending, but Mr. Edenborough is pretty cool," said Anne.
"I know, honestly, this was my first time meeting him, so I was a little bit nervous. But I never heard anything bad about him, so I was seventy percent sure he wouldn't be a jerk,' said Marcy.
"Only seventy-percent?"
"A small thirty-percent margin for error, just to be safe."
Now that the introductions were done, Marcy and Anne blended into the party. They were approached by a few newts and frogs, some of them congratulating them on their accomplishments and some asking them to retell the story of how they defeated Lich and his undead army. Anne and Marcy regaled the partygoers with their tales of the battle, along with their own individual stories of their exploits as Kamen Riders, of course, Marcy had more to tell since she had her powers longer than Anne.
A couple of hours passed, and so far, things were going well. Anne and Marcy had sat down at a table after getting some food from the buffet table and spent some time eating and drinking down some water. Unfortunately, most of what was prepared – as far as beverages – were of the adult kind, so the girls stuck to water. As they ate, Anne glanced about the room, overall, this entire thing was going quite well and – Anne choked on her food as her eyes landed on someone familiar.
"No way!" Anne exclaimed.
"What, what is it?" Marcy asked in a concerned tone.
A cat like grin appeared on Anne's face. "Heh-heh, I'll be right back, Mar-Mar."
Anne got up and quietly crept away from the table. Anne weaved through the guests until she appeared behind a blue colored frog in a fancy suit. "Nice to see you, Wally."
The frog quickly did an about face, panic evident in his one good eye for a moment before relief washed over him. "Oh frog, Anne, it's you!"
"What's up, dude?" Anne held out her hand and the two of them went into one of her elaborate handshakes. "I didn't know you were invited to this thing."
"Yep, me and me da are here. I was setting off to head back to Wartwood, but then the invite came and, well, can't say no to Mr. Edenborough. It's cause a him our products can move safely through Amphibia," said Wally. "But never mind that, what's all this 'bout you bein' some kinda Newtopian hero?! Last I saw ya, you had some crazy powers, but now I find out you saved the city and the world?!"
Anne winced, she forgot, the citizens in Newtopia knew about this, but outside of it, no one else did. Now Anne wondered what Wartwood would think about her. No one from Wartwood besides Wally and his folks knew about Anne's powers. Anne just gained the respect of the people and was named Frog of the Year. Before that, everyone called her a monster, would they think that way of her now with her Kamen Rider powers?
"Just to be clear, you haven't gone back to Wartwood yet, so that means that no one besides you know about my powers and junk?" Anne asked.
"Yep, you'd be right lass. But you needn't worry about me blabbin'. 'Sides, who'd believe me?! Don't worry though, I know Wartwood will see you as a hero, you already saved us from Grime and Toad Tower, don't forget that," said Wally.
"Heh, yeah, sorry. I kinda panicked there for a second." Just then the music changed and some of the guest started to head towards the dance floor. "Uh-oh, moment of truth time. Talk to ya later, Wally, I gotta go dance!"
"Tear up the dance floor lass!"
Anne hurried back to the table and found a nervous Marcy looking out towards the dance floor.
"Guess it's time, right?" Marcy asked.
"We don't have to, right? If you're not comfortable we can just sit here," said Anne.
Marcy shook her head. "No, if we don't at least dance once then it'll be considered rude to the host. So, we're socially obligated to dance."
Anne inhaled and then exhaled, she then offered her hand to Marcy and said, "Well, shall we dance?"
Marcy looked up at her best friend, squirming under her friendly gaze, as she tried to hide her blush. Finally, Marcy worked up her courage, reached out her hand, and took Anne's. The two girls found their way to the dance floor, Anne put her left hand at Marcy's hip, while Marcy put her right hand on Anne's shoulder. Anne held Marcy's left hand with her right and the two got into their ready position. The music began to play and the two of them did their simple waltz. It was a simple box step, but sometimes the simplest things are the hardest.
Anne could see how nervous Marcy was, there were a lot of eyes on them. Marcy missed a step and caused Anne to stumble a bit, but they quickly recovered and resumed their dancing.
"I'm sorry…" Marcy apologized.
"No, hey, don't worry about it. Listen, just focus on me."
"What?"
"Just focus on me, listen to the music."
Marcy dared to look at Anne directly, she already found herself lost in those beautiful dark brown eyes of hers, and miraculously, she didn't miss a step. The two of them glided on the dancefloor, with the rest of the guests giving them a wide berth to allow them room to do so. Marcy had pushed everything else out, there was only Anne, her, and the music. This moment was perfect, and Anne looked amazing. An urge started to rise in Marcy, a daring urge to kiss her best friend on the lips right then and there. Without realizing it herself, Marcy was pressing herself a little more into Anne, bringing her face just a bit closer.
Anne was starting to feel a little funny, Marcy was moving closer to her, practically pressing her chest against her own. The Thai girl gulped, she had never really taken notice of such things before, but for some reason she was very aware of their close contact. Was her heart beating faster? Was her face getting hotter?
And just like that…the music stopped.
The clapping of the guests shook Marcy out of her moment as she looked around and saw that she and Anne were at the center of the dance floor. Realization struck Marcy as she quickly said, "I need to go, BRB!"
Marcy took off quick, leaving Anne alone on the dancefloor. The young genius quickly made her way around the stairs and into a hall where no one seemed to go into. Marcy leaned against the wall and pressed her face into her hands. What was I thinking?! I wasn't, and that was the problem! I was about to…to…kiss Anne! I wanted to kiss her right then and there! But was that not the goal? Marcy wanted to confess her feelings for Anne, she wanted her to know how she felt about her best friend, how she's always felt. Ugh, think, Wu, think! You still don't even know Anne's orientation! Or if she's even curious or anything! One misstep and you could ruin your whole friendship with her!
"Pardon me, but are you alright, Master Marcy?"
Marcy removed her hands from her face and saw that Mr. Edenborough was there. "Oh, Mr. Edenborough! I'm sorry, I just needed some place to think, and I came this way. I didn't know this was a restricted part, sorry."
"Please, don't apologize. You do look as if something is weighing heavily on your mind, though. Why not join me for some tea, I got a fresh shipment of jasmine, always helps me," he offered.
Marcy really wasn't ready to face Anne right now, so she nodded and accepted his offer. The old newt guided Marcy through the hallway and into his study. There he offered Marcy a seat as he brewed the tea.
"If you don't mind my asking, young miss, what troubles you so?" Mr. Edenborough asked as he brought over a cup of tea.
Marcy took the cup and gave it a sip, taking a moment to enjoy the flavor as it did help to calm her nerves. "It's just teenage things, Mr. Edenborough, nothing important like politics or the economy."
Mr. Edenborough chuckled as he poured himself a cup. "My dear, as hard as it is to believe, even old fogies like myself were once youngsters. Not everything has to be about those topics. I get enough of that talk from my guests and during my work hours. So please, regale me. What troubles you?"
Marcy sighed heavily. "Have you ever liked someone, someone close to you? So close that you'd call them your best friend? But were afraid if you did tell them how you really felt that it would ruin your friendship or how they interacted with you?"
Mr. Edenborough nodded his head as he took a seat. "Ah yes, there are some things that will never die out even with the passage of time. I knew some friends back in the day who were like that, but I'm afraid my status and wealth never afforded me that luxury. As a newt of wealth and high status, your relationships are dictated by business rather than love. Which it sounds like you very much are in love with this person."
Marcy took another sip of her tea as she rubbed the side of the cup. "I…I don't know if I'd go that far! I mean, I have a crush on them, a big crush. I've had it since we were little…"
Mr. Edenborough smiled and said, "My dear, you are in love. A simple crush would not persist so long if you did not possess stronger feelings beyond just a simple infatuation."
Another sip. "I know…but I just get so wrapped up in my thoughts that I tend to spiral and think about all the ways it could go wrong."
Mr. Edenborough nodded and said, "Well, I don't know how much it will help, but would you like to hear some advice from an old newt like myself?"
Marcy took one more sip of her tea as she said, "Not at all, please."
Mr. Edenborough put down his cup of tea and walked over to Marcy, he then stood before her and said, "My advice, young miss…never take a beverage from someone you hardly know."
"What?" Suddenly, Marcy's head felt fuzzy, her body felt tingly as well, as if it was going numb. The teacup in her hand was shaking before Mr. Edenborough took the teacup away from her before it could spill. "What…What's happening to me…?"
"Ah good, I had hoped it would take effect. Honestly, I wasn't sure how much to put into your tea. Too much and I risked killing you too soon, too little and you'd be able to subdue me with those strange powers of yours," said Mr. Edenborough.
Marcy quickly stood up, but that proved to be a mistake as the room spun around her, a powerful sensation of vertigo hit her and made Marcy fall to her knees before falling back against the couch. She looked up at Mr. Edenborough and asked, "What…Why…?"
Mr. Edenborough's kind smile morphed into one filled with wickedness. "Why? Because my dear girl, it is all as The Night wills it."
Marcy's eyes widened with shock as she understood what was happening. "You're…You're one of them…! A…A member of Nocturne Filios…!"
Mr. Edenborough shook his head. "No, Master Marcy, I am not a member. I am their leader!" The old newt tapped his right leg with his cane and said, "This limp is courtesy of you. When you shot me with your weapon, it threw me backwards, the explosion that occurred after that trigged the cave in as planned, but because of your actions…" Mr. Edenborough pulled up the hem of his pantleg and showed that the leg was prosthetic. "Let's just say I had to make a choice of whether I wanted to live or die down there, and the choice was clear."
Marcy tried to move, tried to summon her MetamorphRing, but her mind was too clouded by whatever Mr. Edenborough spiked her drink with. Mr. Edenborough walked over to the window of his study and gazed out into the night sky.
"I had to cease our rituals because of you girl. But that didn't stop me or my flock from continuing to worship our lord and master. Of course, we couldn't perform our sacrifices, but now I have something else planned. I've been watching you since that day, and I've seen what you have done for this city. It has occurred to me that the best sacrifice that we can make to The Night is you. Your brilliant intellect, one who has even bested the King at flipwart, and possess supernatural powers, could be the key to finally reviving him!" Mr. Edenborough explained.
Marcy tried to crawl away, she needed to make for the door, she needed to tell Anne what was happening.
"Ah-ah-ah, stay right there." Mr. Edenborough walked over to the crawling Marcy and swiftly kicked her in the stomach, causing the young teen to cough in pain from the blow. "Looks like you still have a bit of fight in you." The old newt snapped his fingers and immediately two of his personal security guards entered the room. "Bring her to the sanctuary and spread the word to those in attendance. It begins tonight."
Anne was out on the balcony, she sighed heavily as her gaze turned towards the ocean. She kept replaying that dance repeatedly in her head, but she couldn't figure out why Marcy suddenly freaked out like that and left. Did she do something? Did she hold her too close? Say something? Didn't say something? Anne scratched at her head as she growled in frustration.
"Copper for your thoughts, lass?"
Anne turned around and saw Wally walking onto the balcony. "Hey…Wally. I don't know. I feel like I messed up with Marcy somehow. She just bolted really quick, and it's been ten minutes since she left and she's still not back. Did I do something wrong out there?"
"Not that I could see, Anne. You two looked picturesque on the dancefloor, you did," said Wally. "Tell me, what's got your mind all befuddled like this? Seems like there's something else connected to it."
Anne leaned on the railing and glanced over at Wally for a moment before returning her gaze towards the sea. "It's…something personal. I'm just trying to figure it out, figure myself out."
"AAAAAAHH!"
"What's goin' on?" Wally asked.
"Did someone just scream?"
Anne and Wally watched as some of the guests started to don black robes and white masks, the security for the party started to put on white masks as well and brandished their weapons. Anne and Wally hid off to the side of the doors, a blind spot between the windows and the doorway. From there, they peeked around the corner and watched as several of the guests were rounded up and placed at the middle of the ballroom, Wally's dad being amongst them.
"Here, now, what all this about?!" Mr. Ribbiton demanded.
"Our illustrious leader has demanded that you all stay where you are, do not resist and you'll leave here, relatively, unharmed," said one of the robed newts.
Anne took a hard look at the robed newts, and when she did, her eyes widened. "Oh shoot…it's them!"
"Who?!" Wally asked.
"Nocturne…something or other, they're a cult! Marcy said she took them down months ago! But it looks like they're back, and we're right in their homebase," said Anne.
Anne carefully reached into her coat pocket to take out her cellphone and call Marcy, but then paused when she remembered that Amphibia had no cell service. Even if Marcy did have her cellphone, there was no way for them to communicate. Damn, at this point, I wish we had something low tech at least. Heck, I'd take a radio right now! Anne peeked into the ballroom again, trying to assess how many cult followers there were. There's gotta be least twenty or more. I could transform and that'll give me the edge, but if I did, they'd notice me right away.
"Hey, we're missing someone aren't we?" one of the guards asked.
"Yeah, where's that gangly thing at?"
Why does everyone call me gangly?! I'm just thin and lean, it's not like I'm all skin and bones! Anne thought.
"The Master said to round up everyone, search for her, and be on your guard, she's not going to be as easy as that other one was," said the guard.
Anne's eyes widened. "Other one"…Did…Did they mean Marcy?!
Wally looked up at the human girl and shook her. "Anne, you alright? C'mon, lass, we need to try and help 'em!"
"They have Marcy…" Anne remembered what her friend told her about this cult, how they sacrifice people who are really smart. And there was no one smarter in all of Amphibia than Marcy Wu. "This…This was all a setup, they wanted to get her!" Anne clenched her fists and looked down at Wally. "Tell me you brought some boomshrooms?"
"Are you crazy?!" Wally exclaimed.
Anne sighed. "Sorry, you're right, we're not back in Wartwood, of course you–"
Wally then opened his jacket and showed off four rows of boomshrooms. "I never leave home without them, HA!"
Anne smiled and said, "Wait for my signal…"
One of the guards started to move their way, Anne concentrated, willing her power to activate. In a matter of seconds her eyes were glowing blue as electricity danced on her fingertips. The guard, sword in hand, turned to his left and saw nothing, and then to his right, and that's when he saw nothing. The guard turned around said to his comrades, "All clear out here."
Those were his last words before he realized that there was a shadow steadily growing bigger below him. The guard looked up at the last second and saw Anne coming down at him with a flying roundhouse kick, knocking the sword out of the guard's hands and sending said guard over the railing. Wally had adhered himself to the wall having watched this all from his perch as his mouth hung open at the sight. He climbed down into the second blind spot and headed to the railing, along with Anne, who had grabbed the guard's sword off the floor. When they looked over the edge, they saw that the guard was knocked out, but had landed on ledge of rock. The two looked at each other and said, "He'll be fine."
"Do it," said Anne.
Wally took out one of his boomshrooms, activated it, and gave a good toss into the ballroom. The boomshroom blinked as it rolled across the floor and stopped just before a few of the guards. One of the guards looked down when he noticed the blinking and for a few seconds looked at it curiously, and that's when he noticed the coloration and the white skull spots on the fungus.
"BOOMSHROOM!" the guard yelled.
Too late, though, as the boomshroom exploded and sent the guards standing nearby flying in different directions. Anne took advantage of the chaos and dashed into the ballroom. Using her speed, she quickly smacked the guards with the flat of her sword, hitting them upside the head and knocking them out on the spot. While they were distracted by Anne, Wally stealthily made his way in and rolled a few more boomshrooms into the room. The cultists and guards didn't know what hit them as multiple explosions erupted around them, some were crying out that they were getting attacked from multiple directions, and it was that confusion that allowed Anne to swiftly take down a majority of the cultists and guards, leaving only three standing.
Anne glared at the remaining cultists and brandished her sword at them. "Tell me where my friend is!" The cultists glanced at each other. "This is the last time I'm asking nicely, tell me where your leader is hiding her or so help me frog, I will take one of those boomshrooms, stick it where the sun doesn't shine, and throw you off the balcony!"
The middle cultist seemed to be afraid of Anne, rightly so, but his comrades on either side of him didn't seem to share the sentiment. In fact, it almost looked as if they were going to…Anne swiftly dashed towards the three cultists, dropping her sword, she quickly nailed the cultist on the left with an uppercut, and maneuvered around him to strike the one on the right with a backhand to the back of his head, leaving the middle one stunned and shocked as now Anne was staring down right at him with her glowing eyes.
"Start talking, buddy," Anne warned.
The cultist newt fell onto his rear and quickly said, "Hufford Edenborough, he's our leader! He's the leader of Nocturne Filios!"
Anne stamped her foot and made the newt flinch. "I. Don't. Care. I told you, I wanted to know where my friend is!"
The newt gulped. "S-Sorry, sorry! She's being held in the underground sanctum, there are more of us down there! They're getting her prepared for the ritual sacrifice! I'm telling the truth, I swear!"
Anne reached down and grabbed the cultists by the collar of his robe and asked in a stern voice. "How do I get to the underground sanctum?! TELL ME!" The newt seemed to waver in his decision to tell her. "Wally, bring me a boomshroom!"
"DOWN THE HALLWAY, ALL THE WAY AND THEN GO RIGHT, STOP BEFORE A BOOKCASE AND PULL ON THE ONE THAT SAYS 'FINSTER'S MIDNIGHT LULLABYS'!" the newt shouted.
"Thanks, now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Anne dropped the newt, and once he stood back up, she punched him in the face and knocked him out. The Thai girl turned around and looked at the guests as she said, "You all need to get the heck out of here and alert the Knight Guard! Tell them that the cult is here!"
Wally stepped up and said, "I'll take care of it, Anne! You go and find your friend! And good luck!"
Anne nodded at Wally and summoned her MetamorphRing belt. After going through her transformation motions, she spoke aloud, "Henshin!" before pressing down on the sides of the belt. Lightning enveloped her body, transforming Anne into Kamen Rider Amp.
Amp focused her energy into her legs, causing electricity to surge around them before she dashed out of the ballroom and down the hallway that the newt told her about. Once she reached the end of the hall, Amp made a hard turn right and kept going. She looked all around for a bookcase but couldn't see one. Amp was about to go back and beat the real answer out of that newt, but once she reached the end of the hallway, she saw a bookcase. She skidded to a halt before the bookcase and scanned the shelves quickly, trying to find the book that she was told about.
"Ah screw this!" Amp pressed on the right hip device, shifting her form into that of Poison Mode. Amp blasted the bookcase and wall with a stream of corrosive poison. After a few seconds the bookcase and wall dissolved into mush and revealed a hidden passageway behind it. Amp switched back to her Lightning Form and said, "Hang on, Marcy, I'm coming!" and then dashed down the dark corridor.
Marcy's head was throbbing, her vision was blurred, and she felt achy all over. She blinked a few times to help her regain focus in her eyes. Marcy tried to move her arms but found that she couldn't. She then tried to move her legs but found that to be impossible as well. It wasn't as if they weren't there, they were, she could feel them, but they just weren't moving. Marcy's senses were starting to come back faster, and due to that; she was able to feel the sensation of metal wrapped around her wrists and ankles.
Her vision was becoming less blurry as she realized she was laying down and staring up at a cavernous ceiling. That's when it all hit her at once as she remembered what happened earlier, Marcy tried to bolt upright, but that wasn't happening. She angled her head back and saw that her wrists were tied together by chains above her head. When she looked down, she saw that her ankles were also bound by chains as well. Marcy was becoming more aware of her surroundings as she started to pick up on the strange chanting happening around her, she looked from side to side and saw many black robed newts around her.
It was then that Marcy understood where she was, she was on a sacrificial alter, the same kind that she rescued many newts from in the past from the Nocturne Filios. Marcy struggled more and more, but it was no use, the chains were given no slack, pulled tight so as to make sure that Marcy wouldn't be able to do a thing with her legs or arms. She couldn't summon her Driver in her current state, she was completely helpless.
Marcy turned her head to the right when she noticed the leader of the cult making his way towards her, walking with a limp. "Hufford Edenborough …"
"Indeed, I am."
"I can't believe it…how long?" Marcy asked.
"How long have I been planning my revenge? Quite a while to be honest my dear. Quite. A. While." The old newt walked up to the alter and scanned Marcy up and down. "You severely crippled our operations all those months ago, we had to go deep, hide so that no one could find us. We haven't properly worshipped our lord, but now we can! Now we can give unto him your power, your intellect!" Hufford turned to his followers and shouted, "TO THE NIGHT WE GIVE TO THEE THIS SACRIFICE!"
"HUMBLE ARE THOSE WHO SEEK THE TRUTH," the cult members chanted.
"TO YOU, OH LORD, WE AWAIT THE TIME OF YOUR RISE!"
"BLESSED ARE THOSE AMONG HIS CHOSEN."
"With this great sacrifice, her great mind, and great power…MAY YOU AWAKEN!"
"MAY YOU BE WHOLE!"
Hufford turned around and brought up his cane, he pulled on the handle and revealed a long sword. The blade gleamed in the light of the torches, creating an even more menacing aura than there was already. Marcy continued to struggle against the chains, she could feel them chaffing at her skin, digging into it, but panic had set in, her fight or flight instincts kicking into overdrive as she desperately tried to get away. Tears streamed down her eyes as she watched the newt raise his sword, ready to kill her, to murder her down in this hole surrounded by all these crazy newts. Her life flashed before her eyes, so many things left unsaid, so many things she had yet to experience, so many games she hadn't played and anime she had yet to watch. But out of all these things, the one thing that she regretted right now more than anything, was not telling Anne how she felt.
"ANNE HELP ME, PLEASE!"
Suddenly an explosion erupted from the far side of the rotunda, and from that explosion, two blue glowing eyes peered through it. A bolt of lightning crashed through the cult members, throwing them every which way as it made a beeline straight for the alter. Hufford snapped out his surprised stupor and readied to kill Marcy, but at the last second, Amp appeared and caught the blade with her bare hand. The wind whooshed past them from her sudden stop, causing her scarf to flutter in the wind.
No words were said as Amp struck the newt in his face, sending him falling backwards into his followers, while Amp still held the sword in her left hand. Lightning surged through that hand as she tightened her grip and crushed the metal blade as if it were glass. Amp looked down at Marcy and swiftly chopped the restraints, breaking the chains in one strike. Now free, Amp took Marcy into her arms, princess style, and jumped straight up and landed on a ledge far out of the reach of the cultists down below.
"Marcy are you alright?! I'm so sorry, I should've been paying more attention! I should've–!" Amp was cut off as Marcy threw her arms around the hero and embraced her tight. The Rider of lightning returned the embrace, fiercely hugging her. "You're okay, Mar-Mar, I'm right here."
"I…I like you!" Marcy confessed.
Amp's eyes widened under her helmet. "What?"
"I like you, Anne! I like you as more than a friend! I've had a crush on you since we were little girls! I've wanted to tell you for so long, but I…I've been such a coward about it! I like you; I really, really, really like you, Anne Boonchuy!" Marcy proclaimed.
Amp was stunned, she didn't really know how to process this right now. It had to be adrenaline, the life-or-death situation she was just in must've been making her say things she normally wouldn't say. Maybe she was just super happy and grateful that Anne saved her life? Amp mentally slapped herself, now was not the time to analyze that possible confession. "Marcy, as much as I would like to discuss what you just said, we have something else to take care of first. Are you up to it?"
Marcy released Amp and wiped her tears away, the scared expression she had on earlier had vanished in place of a fierce and determined one. "I owe 'em some payback." Marcy stood up and went through her summoning motions. Once the MetamorphRing appeared, she loudly shouted, "HENSHIN!" A gust of emerald wind wrapped around Marcy, transforming her into Kamen Rider Ranger. "We need to take these a-holes in. So, hold back, but not too much."
Amp smirked under her helmet and said, "I'm pickin' up what your puttin' down."
With that said, both Riders jumped off the ledge at the same time, Ranger began raining down her concussive air bolts, blasting one group of cultists after the other. Once Amp hit the floor she started dashing around, punching, and kicking everyone she could get her hands on. She switched over to Poison Form and created a paralytic poison that, well, paralyzed everyone she touched. Some tried to escape, but Amp merely sniped them with a concentrated plasma poison stream. The moment it made contact they went down like a ton of bricks.
The cultists were in a panic and were about to run for the exits, but all the exits were suddenly blocked by large stone slabs that rose from the earth. The culprit behind this was Ranger, who had shifted into her Artificer Form and used Rewrite to manipulate the dirt and stone to create the makeshift blockades. Now the cultists were trapped inside with two very peeved off Kamen Riders. It didn't take long for Amp and Ranger to make short work of the cultists; some were either paralyzed or knocked out completely. In total it took about two minutes to subdue them all, but Amp and Ranger left one yet untouched, one who had remained near the alter and was seething in anger.
"It's over, no more rituals, no more sacrifices, no more hiding. You're all going down, tonight!" Ranger stated.
"But not before I beat your face black and blue for what you've done to Marcy," Amp threatened.
"Damn you…Who are you to stop our work?! TO STOP US FROM RESURRECTING OUR LOST DEITY?!" Hufford shouted angrily.
"We're Kamen Riders." Amp and Ranger answered in unison.
"MY LORD! PLEASE HEAR MY PRAYERS! GRANT ME THE POWER TO SMITE THESE BLASPHIMERS IN YOUR NAME! GRANT ME BUT A FRACTION OF YOUR POWER, AND I WILL CARRY OUT YOUR WILL!" Hufford begged.
Amp and Ranger found it pathetic, he had lost, and now he was begging to his false god to help him.
Sadness, formed from the deepest darkness~
"Uh…what was that?" Amp asked.
"What was what?"
Go, sleep now, into the endless domain
Ranger looked around and said, "Okay, I heard that. Is…Is someone singing?"
"Hehehehehahahahahahahahahehahah…AHAHAHAAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAH!"
Amp and Ranger looked at Hufford Edenborough, who, for some reason, broke out into hysterical laughter.
"You fools! You utter fools! HE has heard me! This is HIS hymn, HIS lullaby!"
Now come yee, to the throne of The Night
In His great keep, you shall repent
Suddenly, thirteen black feathers started to appear out of nowhere. They floated gently down towards him, each one carefully landing on Hufford's body as he stretched out his arms and welcomed them.
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
"So beautiful…So heavenly…Bring me into your keep…My lord and master…!"
Bring joy to the forgotten Night
Snuff out the light from their eyes~
The last feather fell on the newt, and immediately he was wrapped in a large black cocoon. Amp and Ranger got on guard, not knowing what was going to happen. In a matter of seconds, the cocoon started to break apart, shattering to pieces and revealing the newly transformed Hufford Edenborough. He was taller, much taller, standing about two feet taller than the girls. His body was draconic in appearance, with jet black scales all over his body. Hufford's hands now had four razor sharp, obsidian crystal claws, the same as the talons on his feet. His tail had an arrowhead spike at the tip, which was also made of the same obsidian crystal-like substance. His eyes were glowing bright green, his mouth filled with dagger-like, ivory white teeth. Obsidian horns grew from his head, along with some spines that ran the length of his spine to his tail. The black feather wings that all the Fallen possessed were on him, but just like the others, they were small. But right next to those wings were two huge leather dragon wings.
Hufford looked upon his transformed body and reveled in it. "My lord, you have truly blessed me! You have truly made me into one of your children, into one of your Fallen angels!"
Amp didn't understand what she was seeing, despite having just witnessed it with her own eyes. "Marcy…he just turned into a Fallen…"
"I…I saw…so he wasn't just spouting nonsense…whatever this The Night is, it's responsible for creating the Fallen!" Marcy stated.
The newly transformed Fallen smirked at the two girls and said, "You only now just figured out that, did you? Yes, you nonbelievers! The Night, his Fallen, are converts! Sometimes from the lucky chosen like myself, or from mindless beasts that The Night has deemed worthy of elevation! I am no longer, Hufford Edenborough anymore! I am Salamandar!"
"Anne, we need to go all out on this one, agreed?"
"No arguments here."
Both girls immediately disengaged their current forms and then pressed down on the devices on both sides of their hips. Pink, green, and blue light wrapped around Amp, while green, black, and neon blue wrapped around Ranger. Once the lights dissipated, both Riders had entered their Trinity Forms, Poison Dart and Warlock. Salamandar inhaled and released a torrent of purple flames at the two heroes, Amp and Ranger easily dodged the attack, but then realized too late that they weren't his true targets. The flames washed over the cult members in the sanctum, burning them alive and making some scream in utter pain.
"DUDE, YOU'RE KILLING YOUR OWN GUYS!" Amp shouted.
"They are weak! I am the true chosen emissary of The Night! If they were true believers, they, too, would be given this marvelous gift! So, they can all BURN!" Salamandar proclaimed as he released more of his purple flames, incinerating the rest of the followers and engulfing the entire sanctum in his fire.
Amp dashed across the room and threw a punch at the dragonewt Fallen. The draconic monster managed to block Amp's spike mounted fist, and returned the punch, sending the hero skidding backwards. Amp didn't give up as she bolted for Salamandar again, dashing around him in an effort to confuse the dragonewt. She attacked from behind, creating a single Sting Striker to impale the monster, but Salamandar used his tail to swipe at her, hitting Amp across the chest and causing sparks to fly from her armor.
Ranger attacked next by creating multiple Squall Snipers and firing a barrage at Salamandar. The dragonewt flared his wings and immediately rose into the air to avoid the first wave. Ranger had the Squall Sniper's follow his movements as she continued to fire one air bolt after the other from the ten weapon constructs. Despite just changing into a Fallen, Salamandar was proving to be a fast learner of his new form's abilities and strengths. Ranger smirked as she slashed her right arm, Rewrite, through the air, sending a wave of energy straight at him.
Salamandar easily dodged the wave and prepared to attack, but with a flick of the wrist. Ranger changed the energy and had it form construct missiles. With a wave of that same hand, she willed the missiles to fire down on him. Twenty construct missiles rocketed towards Salamandar, who was completely unaware of this until the last second when he got struck by the first missile exploding on his back. The second hit him, and then the third, one after the other the missiles continued to hit their mark, forcing him down to the ground where the remainder rained down on him repeatedly until there were no more.
The newly formed Fallen rose out of the small crater, his heavy breathing was visible as with each exhale he breathed out flames. The obsidian spines on his back started to grow out, becoming longer and more jagged than before. Marcy created another wave and launched them, with a snap of her fingers, the warheads on each of the constructs burst apart and released ten smaller missiles. The air around Salamandar's body started to distort as he built up heat inside of his body, and within a few seconds, the spines on his back released multiple beams of light that slashed through the constructs, detonating the missiles in midair, while simultaneously cutting into the structure of the sanctum.
Amp recovered from her attack and was about to attack, but then noticed something strange. The obsidian spiked tail began to morph, the arrowhead started to reform as his tail got thicker, and within seconds the tip of Salamandar's tail became a small dragon head. "You have got to be kidding me?!" Suddenly, that dragon head opened its mouth and fired a concentrated beam of purple straight at Amp. The hero of Lightning narrowly dodged it; her scarf wasn't as lucky as some it was sliced off by the beam.
Is he…Is he evolving?! Ranger thought.
Salamandar widened his stance as he opened his mouth, both girls readied to dodge another fire attack, but something even stranger happened. The lower part of his jaw bisected, splitting into two separate parts. The dragonewt released a huge amount of purple flames from his mouth, so much that it spread out across the floor and forced Amp and Ranger to jump as high as they could, landing on a ledge some feet above the destruction below. Something started to happen to the flames, they started to get hotter and brighter. After a few seconds the flames were no longer flames but a concentrated beam of energy. Salamandar swiped his head to the left, the area that the beam passed over suddenly exploded along the burn line that he created. Salamandar's tail dragon head and the spines on his back began firing off more of its beam attacks.
Amp and Ranger had to move quickly, jumping from one part of the sanctum to the next just to keep from getting hit with those beams.
"Anne, we need to get out of here! We're at a disadvantage in this closed space!" Ranger stated.
"Got it, let's go!" Amp responded.
Ranger jumped high towards the roof and thrust out her right arm. The moment she made contact with the ceiling; she used the power of Rewrite to bore a hole straight upwards at a rapid pace. Amp followed behind her by disappearing into the shadow cape. Salamandar stopped his attacks and growled.
"YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE ME!"
Ranger busted through the roof of the mansion, landing on top of it. With a wave of her cape, Ranger released Amp from the shadow realm and brought her back into the physical world. Their reprieve didn't last long as a beam of purple light pierced through the hole that Ranger had made, forcing the two girls back away even further. Multiple explosions rang out as something big burst through the hole and landed on top of the roof with them. It was Salamandar, but somehow, he had gotten bigger. He was bulkier than before, and now stood a foot taller than he did earlier.
"My lord and master has truly blessed me; I am a demigod compared to the likes of you! I am force of destruction! I will raze Newtopia to the ground! IN! HIS! HONOR!" Salamandar declared.
"We won't let that happen, Salamandar!" Ranger raised Rewrite and created a barrier around both her and Amp. "Enhance physical strength: times ten! Enhance speed and agility: times ten!"
Amp suddenly felt herself get stronger, and lighter.
"Enhance elemental damage: times ten! Enhance kinetic force damage: times ten! Enhance beam and physical defense: times ten!" Once the fifth enhancement had been done, Ranger stumbled a bit.
"Marcy!"
"I'm alright, I haven't ever had to put that many enhancements on myself or another person, but unfortunately, there is a draw back to doing that. Because I used the times ten max, the enhancements aren't going to last as long. We have a short window of time to use them before they go away," said Ranger.
"How short a window we talking?" Amp asked.
"The moment we leave this field, ninety seconds. After that…well…"
Amp new this was a gamble, the definition of a Hail Mary. Trinity already caused them a great deal of physical exhaustion, although its effects have lessened the more they used their powers, but with all these power ups that Ranger gave them, they would wind up sitting ducks when it was over. Amp got into a ready stance and said, "All or nothing, let's end this!"
Salamandar opened his mouth and fired off another powerful beam attack, however, unlike before, the two Riders easily dodged the attack as they split off in two different directions. Amp closed the distance on Salamandar and slashed him across the chest with her hand spike. The impact and damage from the attack was double the potency that it was before, causing a lot of sparks to fly from the monster's body and forcing him to clamp his mouth. The creature swiped with his claws, but Amp ducked each swipe and flipped backwards, kicking Salamandar in the jaw and forcing him back.
Ranger dived into the shadows and popped out behind him. She created three shadow daggers in her left hand, and four construct light daggers in her right. With a single motion she tossed all six daggers at the monster, each one exploding powerfully against his back, causing some of the crystal spines to crack. The dragon head tail opened its mouth and fired a beam of light from its mouth at Ranger. The Rider of wind flared her cape and let the beam pass right into it, that same beam appeared under the shadow of Salamandar's tail, which easily sliced through it, burning both ends of the severed halves.
Salamandar roared in pain as he watched the severed end of his tail fall off and roll down off the roof. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!"
"Don't worry, I know a place in town that sells some good replacements!" Amp stated as she formed her twin Sting Strikers.
The distraction of pain was enough to let Amp get in close again and slash at the monster, each powerful hit was like a small rumbling of thunder thanks to the kinetic damage enhancement. Salamandar tried to blast Amp with a beam from his mouth, but Amp managed to jump over the monster and right before she landed, Amp charged up both of her Sting Strikers with corrosive poison and slashed at the Salamandar's back. The monster was in even more pain as the poison ate at the crystal spines, dissolving them on the spot.
"How much time?!"
"Thirty seconds! It's now or never!"
Amp created her shuriken weapon, while Ranger formed a futuristic construct cannon behind her. The Rider of lightning jumped into the air and flung the shuriken at him. The poison and lightning infused weapons slashed at Salamandar, moving faster and faster to the point that it looked like spiraling circle of blue, green, and pink light.
Ranger made a gun gesture with her right hand, taking aim at the monster as she steadied her right hand with her left. A construct sights appeared just above her thumb, with a screen that said, "Locked On". "TRINITY FORCE CANNON!" The large cannon fired off a huge beam made of black, neon blue, and green light that roared towards the monster. The shuriken flew high into the air just in time to allow Salamandar to be bathed in the furious energy of Ranger's attack.
Amp jumped up into the air and grabbed her shuriken, she channeled more of her energy into it and made the entire thing crackle with green, pink, and blue lightning. "TRINITY FORCE STAR!" Amp shouted as she gave the weapon one final toss. The weapon came down right atop the head of the monster, combining with the power of the cannon.
With the two powers of the attacks, Salamandar's entire body exploded, destroying any trace of him from existence and taking half the mansion along with him. When it was over, the two Riders stood side by side, their Trinity Forms disengaged, returning them to their default forms. Afterwards, they jumped off the roof and landed in a relatively safe spot on the ground. Amp and Ranger walked until they were at a column in the courtyard and slumped up against it, letting themselves fall slowly until their butts hit the grass below. Their Rider armor disappeared and both girls were hit with a massive amount of exhaustion.
"We…We did it!" Anne exclaimed.
"Yeah…we did," Marcy agreed.
The two girls were steadily drifting off to sleep, eyelids feeling heavy as they sat up against the column.
"Hey…Anne…?"
"Yeah…?"
"I meant it…I…I…"
Marcy couldn't get out the rest as she fell asleep, her head resting against Anne's shoulder. Anne, for her part, still didn't know what to say, her mind was too tired along with the rest of her body. For now, she just wanted to sleep.
The next day was hectic for everyone. Once it was revealed by the surviving cult members, and Marcy and Anne, that Hufford Edenborough was the leader of the Nocturne Filios, the crown immediately seized all his assists and control of his trade routes. All his employees, both in the business and security sectors, were rounded up and detained until they could be thoroughly vetted to ensure that they were not also followers of Nocturne Filios. Thankfully, the Knight Guard caught a break, upon raiding what was left of Hufford Edenborough's estate, they managed to find his little black book. Insurance in case any of his flock decided to go astray, it contained the names of all those who were members of the cult, as well as denoting their fealty to the cult, and which ones seemed as if they would turn on them.
This aided the Knight Guard a great deal in determining who was with the cult and who wasn't. A good majority of the employees and security force members were not in the book, it seemed that Hufford kept his inner circle small but effective. Still, it would take a long time before anyone could trust those employees. It wasn't going to be easy for them to find employment, especially when employers realize that they used to work for a newt who ran a death cult. King Andrias assured those employees that he would work to find them good employment, and that those whose names were made public are the ones to blame. The security corps. that was part of the Edenborough name was allowed to remain, but would be supervised by one of his generals, whenever she returned from her mission.
Despite all of this, there was still something even bigger to think about. And it was this very thing that Anne kept thinking as she lied there on the bed of her hotel room. "Marcy has a crush on me…"
"Whaaaaat?!" Hop Pop exclaimed.
"Holy cow," said Polly.
"Really?! How do you know?!" Sprig asked.
"She blurted it out to me after I saved her from almost getting killed…"
Hop Pop raised in eyebrow in concern. "Well, how do you feel about it?"
"I don't know!" Anne exclaimed in frustration. "I mean, I don't want to read too much into it because of when she said it! She almost got killed, her emotions were running high, and she probably said all that without really thinking! Even a logical person like Marcy can blurt things out in the heat of the moment. I just don't want to make a big deal out of it if it turns out that was the case."
Polly hopped onto the bed and asked, "Aaaaand, what if that's not the case? Marcy could've been telling you the truth."
Anne grabbed the pillow and plopped over her head. She really didn't know what she would do or say if Marcy wasn't just saying that in the heat of the moment. She was still trying to figure herself out, and now this bombshell was dropped on her.
"Now Anne, remember, it's like I was talkin' about back at Quarreler's Pass. Relationships are like–"
Anne immediately sprang out of the bed and grabbed Hop Pop, placing both of her hands on either side of his face as she smushed his face and gazed into his eyes. "Hop Pop, I love you, but I will toss off that balcony! We are not having that conversation again!"
A knock came at the door, thankfully, and broke the tension.
"I'll get it," said Sprig as he hopped over to the door. "Hey, how can I help – Marcy?"
Anne dropped Hop Pop as her eyes went wide, she stepped further to the left and saw Marcy standing outside of their hotel room. "M-Marcy?"
"H-Hi, Anne. Um, c-can we talk, alone?" Marcy asked.
Hop Pop could read the room and decided to grab Polly and Sprig. "Take all the time ya need, kids. We'll be out for a bit."
"Awww! I wanted to see how this goes!" Polly whined.
"It's like 'Love Choice'! But with superheroes!" Sprig exclaimed.
"Team Marcy!" Polly cried.
"Team Anne!" Sprig countered.
The two siblings glanced at each other and then said in unison, "MarcAnne!"
Much to the two humans' relief, the Plantars left the room. Marcy looked back at Anne and asked, "How do they know about 'Love Choice'?"
"Oh, heh-heh…funny story. I played the movie for Wartwood on their theater night, since, well, the theater troupe got eaten on the way to the town. And it kinda sparked a fan war that nearly split the town and created a civil war," Anne explained.
Marcy blinked. "Wow."
"Yeah, wow." Silence hung in the air as the two girls stood feet away from each other. Anne rubbed her left arm while Marcy fidgeted with the end of her cape. Finally, Anne inhaled and then exhaled as she said, "You wanna have a seat?"
Marcy nodded and walked towards Anne, she sat down on the bed closest to the door, while Anne sat down on the opposite one. Both girls were now sitting right across from each other, the awkward air still thick.
"I guess we just need to rip the band-aid then." Anne sighed. "Marcy, what you said back there in the sanctum, did you mean it that you liked me as more than a friend?"
Marcy hung her head low for a moment and said, "I lied, actually. I don't like you."
Anne released a tense sigh. Okay, so it was a heat of the moment thing.
"I lied when I said I liked you, Anne." Marcy looked up at Anne, her face red as she said, "I love you."
The needle on the record player of Anne's mind scratched as that bit of relief just went away. "Oh…uh…wow…I…okay…"
"It's okay, Anne. I'm didn't come here expecting you to reciprocate my feelings or ask that you do. When I was on that alter, about to be killed, I thought about all the regrets that I had. And one, the chief amongst them all, was not telling you how I really felt," Marcy explained.
Anne blushed, she barely understood why she was blushing. The Thai girl rubbed the back of her head and asked, "Why? I mean, I-I don't even think I'm that…attractive or…I don't know, I just don't know why you'd like someone like me?"
Marcy chuckled lightly. "Are you kidding? How could I not? First of all, you are very attractive to me, Anne. Physically and, uh, emotionally. You're kind, loyal, strong, you've always looked out for me. You've been my friend since we were little, before we ever met Sasha. Oh boy, don't get me started on Sasha."
"You…You find her attractive, too?" Anne asked.
Marcy blushed. "Yeah…I do. I won't deny that if things didn't go well with you, I had planned on asking Sasha out."
Anne tilted her head in confusion. "I never really got a gay vibe from her, though."
"You didn't get one from me until now."
"Touché."
"The point is, Anne, I can't see my life without you in it. And yes, I know we're thirteen, we're not even adults yet, and at our age our hormones are running wild and we're statistically prone to making drastic decisions without contemplating the long-term effects of our actions and choices. But this is the one thing I know I'm sure about." Marcy slowly reached out and took both of Anne's hands into her own. "I want to be with you, Anne Boonchuy. I want us to be girlfriends, partners."
Anne could practically feel the emotions in Marcy's voice, it only drove it home that this wasn't just some simple infatuation. Marcy was genuinely in love with her. But what was she to do? Should she say yes and agree to be Marcy's girlfriend? No that wouldn't be fair to her! I still don't know how I feel about all this, I'd just be stringing her along! Anne was left with only once choice, the truth.
"Marcy, I'm going to be honest with you. I…I don't know how to feel about all this." Anne squeezed her friend's hands. "I've started to question myself; you know? Asking questions about who I like, what I like. I care about you Marcy, really, I do, and I care about you too much to say yes to being girlfriends just to spare your feelings, I don't want to hurt you like that. I know I'm asking a lot from you, but…can you wait for me? Can you wait until I understand myself better?
Marcy smiled and squeezed Anne's hands back. "Anne, you don't have to apologize for not knowing yourself. It took me some time to understand what I liked. You take as much time as you need to. You're someone worth waiting for. And when you do figure yourself out, I hope you decide to choose me."
Anne smiled back and nodded to her friend. "So, can we still be friends?"
"Best friends," said Marcy. She then opened her arms and asked, "Do you think you can still hug me?"
Anne smirked and said, "Only if you can hug me and not try and feel me up."
Marcy blushed. "I-I-I wouldn't do that! I would never violate your personal space like that! I – eep!" Marcy was cut off by Anne embracing her.
"Just hug me you goof."
Marcy did just that, the two girls embraced one another, although it seems that some things have changed in their dynamic, their friendship remained just as strong as it was before. And that was one thing that both of girls agreed was the best thing. The girls ended their hug, and once they did, Marcy flopped backwards onto the bed and sighed heavily. "Whew…that was emotionally draining and heavy."
Anne flopped onto the other bed remarked, "I'll say…Hey, Mar-Mar?"
"What's up?"
"Sasha's kind a hot."
"…Yes."
Anne rose back up with a mischievous smirk. "So, how many times did you fantasize about me and Sash?"
Marcy face turned beet red. "Nope! Nuh-uh! Not answering!"
"Oh c'mon, since we're being open and all, you can tell me. I promise I won't get mad~"
"Noooooooo!"
Andrias had spirited away to his private sanctuary, and it was there he stood before the thirteen eyes of his master. "The cult members have been rounded up, my lord. We…were lucky that Anne Boonchuy was there to put a stop it."
For our goal to be reached, the power of Mind must remain intact.
"…Their powers are getting stronger, but I'm afraid that Marcy Wu still might not be the one you need," said Andrias.
You question our logic?
"No, my lord, I am just simply proposing that it is too early to draw a conclusion before they have managed to conquer the first temple. If Marcy Wu manages this, then it will tell us if she is truly a good fit," said Andrias.
…Your argument has merit. The temple will be the deciding factor. We shall test her again soon.
Andrias turned to his right and saw a Fallen come out from the shadows, a bestial Fallen with white and black fur. "Hope your up to the task, again."
"I…will not…fall."