Heroes From Another World!

by Michael Ravencroft

A prophecy will be fulfilled as Anne, Marcy, and Sasha take the first step in bringing it to fruition. The Night seeks their destruction and employs its servants to bring about the destruction of the human girls, however, it did not anticipate them awakening to the hidden power within them. Now the girls must master their new powers, and become the heroes they were meant to be.

32. Episode 32: TRUE COLORS Part 1

Marcy Wu, she was a genius, a prodigy, and a girl that was full of passion for what she loved. At a young age, she was already showing signs that she was going to be someone special, so her parents made sure to give her everything she needed to become that someone they knew she could be. While this did accelerate Marcy's mental development, it did not do as much for her social growth. As a child, Marcy did not quite understand why other children her age were not more fascinated by the world around them and did not make much of an effort to learn more about it.

The young Chinese girl was still just a girl, a young child, and just like other children, she yearned for a friend, for someone she could be close to. However, all her attempts at making friends were met with…less than stellar results. Whenever Marcy spoke to another child her age, she would spit out facts about this or that, sometimes about nature, machines, or structures around them. And of course, each attempt was met with the same result, the other kid would either ignore her, get up and walk away, or in the case of one, sat up and said, "Too many facts," before yeeting themselves down the slide and away from Marcy.

Marcy thought she was going to be all alone, all the other kids either thought she was weird or annoying. However, there was one girl who did not think so, one girl who – instead of Marcy approaching them – approached her instead.

"Hi," said the young girl.

Marcy, who was sitting on a bench and on the verge of tears, looked up and saw the girl standing before her. She was the same age as her, with brown and curly afro hair, a dark skin tone, and dark brown eyes. Marcy looked around, figuring that the girl in front of her was talking to someone else, but when she looked to her sides and behind her back, she realized that there was no one else around.

"Um, are you talking to me?" Marcy asked.

"Yeah. Oh, wait, are you pretending to be invisible? Did I mess up your game?" the Thai girl asked.

"Uh, n-no, I'm not playing," said Marcy shyly.

"Oh, okay, then do you wanna play?"

Marcy blinked in confusion. "You wanna play with me?"

"Uh-huh!" she replied.

"Why?"

The other girl cocked her head to the side as she pondered that question. "Why not?"

"'Cause everyone says I'm annoying," said Marcy, sadly.

"Whaaaat? How?" she asked.

Marcy took a deep breath, sighed, and said, "There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar. In the course of an average lifetime, while sleeping you might eat around 70 assorted insects and 10 spiders, or more. A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out. It is impossible for most people to lick their own elbow. There are only four words in the English language which end in 'dous': tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous. Los Angeles' full name is 'El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula'."

The Thai girl's eyes blinked once, twice, three times.

And here comes the part where she says –

"COOL!" she exclaimed.

"Huh?"

"What else do you know?!" the Thai girl hopped onto the bench and sat next to Marcy. "My name's Anne, Anne Boonchuy. What's your name?"

Marcy felt like crying, no one ever said the things she talked about were cool before. Thankfully, her joy overcame the feeling of crying as she answered, "I'm Marcy Wu!"

From then on, Marcy Wu enjoyed playing with Anne, for a while she was afraid that Anne might leave her alone one day, might decide that being her friend was too much of a hassle and just ditch her one day. But no, she didn't. Anne stuck by her, played with her, listened to her, and they did all the things two best friends could do together. Somewhere along the way, Marcy started to see Anne in a different light, she started to get the feeling of butterflies in her stomach. Although, as smart as she was, young Marcy had not yet learned the meaning of the word that went along with these feelings. But nonetheless, these feelings were there, and they were only present when she was around Anne Boonchuy.

However, that changed one day when she met a girl named Sasha Waybright. The first time she and Anne met Sasha, she thought Sasha was a superhero, and yeah, she kind of injured herself more than once trying to get the mean teenage girls to leave the swings, but in the end, she did succeed, even if it was not the way she wanted to have it happen. But Sasha merely brushed off her clothes in triumph, her mission accomplished. Marcy thought Sasha was so cool, she fought those bullies, without any fear, just to save them.

Marcy wanted to talk to her, but the butterflies appeared in her stomach again, and she became nervous to even approach her. Thankfully, Anne did it for her, introducing the both of them to Sasha, and from then on, cementing their friendship. Years went by, and soon enough Marcy finally found the right word to describe the feelings she had for Anne and Sasha, it was love. She was in love with her two best friends. Of course, a girl as smart as Marcy was well aware of what others would say about what she was feeling. It was not a crime, nor was it wrong to like more than one person, to have such feelings for them, but it was a problem if you could not choose one or the other, it was a problem if you tried to have them both.

Marcy had seen plenty of Middle School drama where one guy was cheating on his girlfriend with another girl, sometimes both were unaware, and sometimes one was aware and did not care that they were cheating. When Marcy took a moment to sort out her feelings, she found that they leaned more towards Anne, and if push came to shove, if she could be with Anne, then that was already a dream come true. And, well, if she managed to strike out with Anne, there was always a chance she could try with Sasha. But to have them both? That was a pipe dream, a flight of fancy, something that was nice to dream about and write out in a shipfic or two, or five, but reality would not allow that to happen.

So, Marcy was content with being with her two best friends, believing that their friendship would continue throughout their whole lives, staying close together, never that far apart. But, one day, things changed…

It was a typical sunny afternoon in Los Angeles. Marcy had looked around for her friends around school but received a text from Sasha that said she was out celebrating with Anne and that they had played hooky. Marcy was a bit concerned by that, but she figured it would be okay. Sasha always had an uncanny ability to talk her way out of a bad situation. She figured that they would eventually meet up at Anne's home to have the actual birthday party, so Marcy decided to kill some time at the Public Library. Along the way she found a neat looking ladybug and took a picture of it, sending it to Sasha.

[Marcy: Look at this cool bug I found!]

[Sasha: Stop studying ya nerd! lol]

Marcy headed inside, collect a mountain of books, and sat down to read them all. Her mind would wander here and there, wondering if Anne was having fun with Sasha. There were times that she would get jealous of Sasha, she knew Sasha was attracted to boys, but sometimes it felt like Sasha may have liked Anne more than she let on. Of course, that was the jealous side of Marcy talking, her feelings for Anne were making her think things about her other best friend that were not true. Sasha did not like Anne that way, the queen bee of Saint James Middle School had left a string of broken hearts, the majority of them being boys, and as usual, Anne, the Angel of Death, would always deliver the breakup news to Sasha's prospective paramours, and some of her additional friends.

Man, that girl can really make connections.

Marcy had always been fascinated by Anne's ability to just connect with people. She could meet a complete stranger, and five minutes later, she would know everything about them, and they'd be chatting as if they have been friends since childhood.

Anne's really talented, more so than she realizes, really. She's great at cooking, her sewing skills are awesome, and she's really athletic…aww…I could watch her play tennis for hours. Same with, Sasha, watching her in her cute uniform on the playing field…

The Chinese girl shook her head and buried her face in the book to hide her blushing face, she had to keep her thoughts under control lest they stray somewhere not exactly age appropriate. So, with that said, she concentrated on the book in her hands, "PSAT Prep For The Soul". Marcy did not know how many hours had passed, but a buzzing sound from her phone brought her back to the here and now. Marcy tore her eyes away from the book and looked at the new messages that were being sent to her from Sasha.

[Sasha: 'Cause it's U, remember… IT'S ANNE'S BDAY! MEET US DOWNTOWN!]

"Aaah! Anne's birthday! I almost forgot!" Marcy quickly scooted her chair back and began collecting her things. "I hope I'm not too late – oh?"

Marcy stopped when she noticed a librarian pass by, and watched as a book, as if by accident, fell off the cart she was pushing.

"Excuse me, ma'am! You dropped your book!" Marcy called out.

But it was no use, the librarian had already rounded the corner and was out of earshot. Marcy bent down and picked up the book, reading the title as "Dr. P's Extraordinary Guide to Magic & Mystery". Marcy opened the book and began to flip through the pages.

"Huh, 'Interdimensional Chaos God, he has many names, and many forms, but most often appears in the form of a triangle with a singular eye, a bowtie, and a top hat.'" Marcy glanced at the adjacent page. "Gargoyles, once thought to be only myth, are in fact living creatures whose bodies become stone in the light of day and rise from their stone sleep when the sun sets.'"

The teen genius flipped through some more pages and stopped one page in particular.

"Whoa!" The entry in the book took up two pages, with the left page displaying three stones that were azure, magenta, and emerald in color, and on the right page was a picture of a music box with the same gemstones, and images of frogs and a swamp. "'Calamity Box'? 'Travel to other worlds'? Ha! Oh, goofy stuff. Cool artwork though. Ooh! Maybe I can use this in my next fanfiction!"

Marcy whipped out her phone and took a picture of the Calamity Box, but as she did, another message came up on it.

[Dad: Come home. We need to talk.]

"Huh. Wonder what this is all about? Well, guess I'll head home before meeting up with the girls," said Marcy as she flipped up her hood and left the library.

The library and school were a short bike ride away, so Marcy was able to make it home in no time. Which was good as she hoped that this would not take long so she could meet up with Anne and Sasha, it was Anne's thirteenth birthday, and important one as now Anne was officially a teenager like the rest of them.

Weird how our birthdays are only one month apart from each other. Two months ago, we celebrated Sasha's birthday, the following month was mine, and now it's Anne's turn, thought Marcy. It's almost like we were destined to be best friends. Or, uh, maybe more…? Ugh, stop, Wu, you need to focus. Let's just see what Dad needs to talk about so I can hurry up and head downtown!

The Wu house was modest in appearance, with green tile roofing, a couple of shishi statues were placed on the front porch, acting as guardians of the home. There was a two-tier fountain set up on the right side of the house, with a bamboo shoot sticking up from the middle and releasing the water. Marcy parked her bike in the back and walked through the front door.

"Mom, Dad, I'm home!" Marcy announced as she walked in.

"In the living room, honey," Mrs. Wu called out.

Marcy entered the living room and saw that both of her parents were sitting on the couch. Mr. Wu was dressed in his business attire, showing that he just got back from the office and had not bothered to change out. He wore glasses, had short black hair, and was a bit strict at times. Mrs. Wu was sitting on his left, she had long black hair that was tired into a bun. She had gentle dark gray eyes and wore a green blouse with a light-blue long skirt.

Her father worked in I.T. for Horizon Blue Corp., a leader in technological innovations for pharmaceutical, agricultural, and military purposes. While her mother spent most of her time at home, doing stock trading for other companies' moneys, she rarely had to leave the house unless it was to get groceries or leave to a meeting at a client's workplace. While they did make good money, the Wus felt it was better that they live a modest lifestyle rather than an extravagant one. This was mostly Mrs. Wu's influence as she had seen what many of her clients have done with their money and saw just how quickly one can go from riches to rags if they become overindulgent.

"Hey, what's going on? Did one of our relatives die?" Marcy asked.

"Sit down, Marcy. Your father has something to tell you," said Mrs. Wu.

Marcy sat down on the couch across from her parents, anxious as to what it is he was going to tell her.

Mr. Wu took a long inhale and then an exhaled slowly before he spoke. "Marcy, I've been promoted."

"What?!" Marcy exclaimed. "Dad, that's great!"

"It is, and it'll come with a lot of benefits for our family, too."

"Well, Dad, wow, I really am happy for you! I know you've worked really hard to get where you are," said Marcy.

Her parents smiled at their daughter, happy to hear that she was excited by her father's success.

"But there is one condition for the promotion," said Mr. Wu.

Marcy blinked. "What condition?"

"We have to move, Marcy."

Time seemed to have ground to a halt, she must've heard him incorrectly, that must be it. "Sorry, Dad, I could've sworn you said that we have to move, ha! Good one! But, seriously, what's the condition?"

Mrs. Wu sighed and repeated her husband's words, "We have to move, Marcy. Your father's promotion will have him head up the I.T. department over in the New York branch."

"NEW YORK?!" Marcy yelled. "We're moving all the way to New York?! Do you know how far that is?! I do! It's approximately 2,789.7 miles! That's a forty-one-hour drive or a five hour and seven-minute flight from here! On the other side of the country!"

"Marcy, please calm down," said Mr. Wu. "I know this is out of the blue, but this could be great for you and us. New York has so many opportunities."

"And Los Angeles doesn't?! What about Caltech, Stanford, Berkley, University of California?! Those are great schools, too! And not to mention the most important thing, my FRIENDS live here!" Marcy argued. "H-How long do I even have?!"

Mrs. Wu glanced at her husband and nodded towards him; it was better to just rip the band-aid all at once.

"I spoke to my supervisor, and I told him that I would at least like to delay the transfer until the school year finished, that way we can begin moving in summer and be there before the new school year starts," said Mr. Wu.

"We won't be leaving right away Marcy. At least you'll get to spend more time with your friends before we move," said Mrs. Wu.

Marcy could not believe this was happening, the new school year had barely begun, and by the end of it, she would have to say goodbye to the two best friends she had ever known, to the girls whom she had the biggest crushes on. It was hard making friends, she was so socially awkward, and now she was going to be thrown into a completely different environment, with people she hardly knew or seen before.

"No…No! I don't want to go!" Marcy stated.

"Marcy, it's not for you to decide," said Mrs. Wu.

"I've already accepted the offer, and they've agreed to wait until you've graduated. I did that for you, Marcy, at least you can still have time with your friends, and you can still talk to them on your phone, or on your computer," said Mr. Wu.

He just did not get it, of course he didn't, how could he? Marcy's father didn't understand that this was not about just being able to speak and talk with them, it was about all the things that she would not be able to do from a screen on the other side of the continent. Going on outings, celebrating each other's birthdays, sleepovers, important life events for both of them. And more importantly, she wouldn't be able to tell Anne or Sasha how she truly felt about them, if they even reciprocated her feelings, she couldn't enjoy it, because she would have to leave soon, and long-distance relationships rarely – if at all – succeed.

"You just don't get it…YOU JUST DON'T GET IT! I HATE YOU!" Marcy yelled.

"Marcy!" Mrs. Wu exclaimed.

"Marcy, you have to understand," said Mr. Wu in an attempt to calm his daughter.

"NO!"

Marcy didn't want to hear anymore, her eyes had tears pouring from them as she ran for the front door and threw it open, running at full speed as she yelled, "YOU GUYS ARE RUINING MY LIFE!"

"Marcy, wait!" Mrs. Wu called out.

"Get back here, young lady!" Mr. Wu ordered.

Marcy ignored them, she shut out everything as she continued to run, not caring where he legs were carrying her, she just needed to get as far away from her backstabbing parents as she could. They didn't understand, and she doubted they would ever understand. Marcy had never come out to her parents, and right now, it was highly doubtful that they'd accept that about her. Her parents were traditional, they probably expected Marcy to fall in love with a guy at some point down the road. And while they had no qualms with LGBTQ+ people, neither discriminating nor hating them, that was other people, and other peoples' kids. A person's tune can change really fast when it's someone close to you, like your own child.

If she did tell them, Marcy was sure that it would only make them want to accelerate the date of their move. Her parents weren't dumb, they would most likely piece it together that the real reason why Marcy was so upset was because she was not just being ripped away from her friends, but from someone she was in love with. She didn't want to think her parents were that cruel, but after this, there was nothing that was off the table of possibilities right now.

Marcy kept running and running, going farther than she thought herself capable of. But considering her state of mind, something like fatigue and muscle aches were not on her mind's top priority list. Eventually, her body overrode her emotions and made Marcy stop in front of a thrift shop. She bent over, using her knees as support as she huffed and panted from the long run that took her out of the suburbs and into town.

Anne…Sasha…I only have a year to be with them…a year to tell them how I feel. But what good does that do me now?! Even if I told them, even if one of them says yes to me, we'll only be able to be together for a year before I have to leave! So many things could happen between here and New York!

Marcy looked up into the sky as she leaned against the building.

Oh, sure, at first it won't be like that. A few months to a year, they'll keep in touch with me. Sending me texts, video chatting. But as life goes on here, they'll gradually forget to contact me less and less, until they're so busy with their lives that they forget about me…

Marcy's tears began to fall again.

Sasha could find a boyfriend that she actually likes, and Anne…she could find someone she loves, too. And then I'll never be able to tell her how I feel…either of them! It's not fair…IT'S NOT FAIR! I have friends, two best friends whom I love and am in love with, two best friends that understand and care about me! And now…I have to say goodbye to them…

Marcy turned around and rested her forehead against the glass window, she opened her eyes and stared at her reflection, asking it, "What am I going to do?"

That's when she spotted her answer. You can call it luck, destiny, happenstance, cosmic karma, the will of God, but whatever you believe, it was truly something. There, sitting on the top shelf of the thrift shop, was the very same music box from the book.

"That's…weird. No, it can't be…can it?" Marcy quickly took out her cellphone and scrolled through her gallery. She found the picture in question and raised it up to compare it to the music box in the store. "It…It's the same one…! B-But that's impossible."

Marcy looked back down at her phone, her eyes focusing on one of the passages of the book, "Travel to other worlds".

No…I mean, it has to be a coincidence. It can't be the same box, it just can't…But what if it is?

That was the question, what if. What if the Calamity Box that the book spoke of, that was right there in the shop, really did have the power to send people into other worlds? There were plenty of mythological stories about people being sent into other worlds, and while Marcy was a logical person, she was also a diehard weeb, and connoisseur of all things fantasy, so she was also a believer in the magical. Plus, there were also plenty of support in the scientific community that the Multiverse Theory was not just something of comic books and movies, that there may in fact be many alternate worlds unseen to humanity. Marcy had no idea how such a small box could send anyone to another world, but if it was magic, then that would make sense.

Marcy, c'mon, think about it. Magic like that…it can't exist. But…what if it does? And if it did, that would mean I could travel to another world with the girls, we would never have to be separated and we could have an amazing isekai adventure together! Although there's no guarantee that the world we would get sent to would be a magical one, or one that's conducive to sustaining carbon-based life – Ugh! What am I thinking?!

The young teen genius was at war with her own mind, the logical versus the emotional. She knew that this would not work, logically speaking, but the emotional side of her mind was desperate, looking for anything and any way to keep from being torn from the two girls she loved so dearly. Just then a new message came from Sasha.

[Sasha: WHERE ARE YOU?!]

"Sasha…Anne…" Marcy spoke with sadness in her voice. "I want us to be together, just a while longer, longer than just a year…" She looked back up at the music box, that's when she decided to take a chance and texted a reply. "I think I just found the perfect birthday present for Anne."

Marcy took a picture of the box and sent it with the text. I doubt it will work…I hope it does, but…the probability of it working is less than zero. If nothing else, it'll be a nice gift for Anne. And, as much I'd hate to do this on her birthday…it'll be better if I told them sooner rather than later…

Marcy Wu had no idea just how wrong she was about to be, no idea that the music box was in fact real, and that the power it possessed was even more so. Sending herself and her friends into the world of Amphibia, where she became a Kamen Rider, a defender of the city, friend to King Andrias, and the Chief Ranger of the Newtopian Knight Guard. This whole time, Marcy had to tiptoe around her friends, had to hide the fact that it was because of her that they were sent to this world, but she couldn't even lie and say it was an accident because she peer pressured Anne into stealing the music box, just based on the smallest, infinitesimal chance that it would work.

And it did, it worked all too well. All her dreams were coming true, she was a Kamen Rider, her friends were Kamen Riders, they were fighting against an evil force that threatened Amphibia, and possibly other worlds. She confessed her feelings to the two girls she loved the most, and they accepted those feelings, becoming her girlfriends. She was living the isekai dream, right now.

Everything was perfect…

---

The sounds of motorcycles cut through the typical noises in the forest. Marcy, Anne, and Sasha were currently racing each other at the last leg of their journey to Newtopia. Joe Sparrow was currently transporting Frobo, Grime, and the Plantars as the three girls road their bikes, Machine Burner, Machine Stormer, and Machine Zefyr. The girlfriends decided to have a friendly race to see whose bike was faster, and they were really getting into it.

Sasha revved Machine Burner, popping a wheelie as she managed to maintain the lead. "EAT MY DUST, GIRLS!"

Anne smirked as she twisted the throttle, making Machine Stormer lurch forward as its speed doubled and managed to overtake Sasha's bike. "HA! EAT MY DUST, SASH!"

Suddenly, a gust of wind hit them from the front, and that's when both girls watched as Marcy, on Machine Zefyr, began to fly over them. "SORRY, GIRLS, BUT THIS ONE'S IN THE BAG!"

"NO FAIR!" Anne and Sasha yelled.

From high above, Sprig could see the three bikes as they left glowing trails behind them. Sprig was rooting for Anne and Marcy, still salty about Sasha, and relished any chance he could get to see her be beaten by Anne or Marcy.

Polly noticed the look on his face as she, too, watched the race down below, and said, "Bro, seriously, I think you need to let it go."

"Let what go?" Sprig asked.

"You're grudge on Sasha," she clarified.

"Ugh, not this again."

"C'mon, Sprig, you just need to accept that Marcy and Anne want to be with Sasha, and look how happy they are," said Polly as she pointed down towards the ground.

Despite the competitive banter he could also hear laughter coming from all three of them. As much as he hated to admit it, Polly was right, they were happy, even happier than when Anne and Marcy were just a couple.

"Look, Sprig," Hop Pop spoke, "Ah understand how much ya care about Anne, we all do. And Ah know the last thing ya want to see is her gettin' her heart broken again. But that's in the past now. If she can fergive me for what Ah did, then we can be the bigger frogs and fergive her."

Hop Pop glanced over to Grime and gulped.

"And you, too, of course," Hop Pop added.

"Of course, of course." Grime glanced down at the race. "I am quite happy that you have chosen to overlook our past aggressions and seen fit to allow us to join your community. And how you've allowed Sasha to be with those she cares deeply for."

"Not at all," Hop Pop replied.

Grime looked back down at the race, and yelled, "C'MON SASHA! BEAT THOSE TWO NERDS!"

Sasha rolled her eyes at Grime's words of encouragement, but she smiled just the same upon hearing him.

The race tightened as the beach came into view, Sasha, Anne, and Marcy went full throttle and then converged on the beach at the same time, kicking up a cloud of sand that obscured them for a few moments before Machine Zefyr's wind managed to blow it all away.

"So, who won?" Anne asked.

"Me, obvi," said Sasha.

"I got sand in my eyes at the last second, so I don't know," said Marcy.

Joe Sparrow flew down and released Frobo, letting him hit the sand as he landed on his feet. The huge bird then landed on the beach behind him and fell out of exhaustion from carrying the metal frog, and the brawny toad warrior.

"Hey, did anyone manage to see who won?" Sasha asked.

"Not me," said Polly.

"Too much sand," said Sprig.

"Can't say Ah did."

"Shoot. Guess we'll have to do have a rematch later," said Anne.

"Or" Sasha proposed, "you two can declare me the winner."

"What? Why?" Marcy asked.

Sasha batted her eyelashes as her girlfriends. "C'mon, you guys don't wanna give me this one win? If you do, I promise we'll do whatever kind of cheesy love related thing you want when we come back to Amphibia."

Marcy and Anne got off their bikes and had a little meeting, and after a minute, they made their decision.

"Okay, you win," said Anne.

"Yes!" Sasha exclaimed.

"Be prepared for the cheesiest Newtopian date, ever," Marcy warned with a sinister smile.

Sasha's elation died just as quickly as it appeared.

Frobo opened up his body and allowed Machine Stormer to break itself down and merge with his inner mechanical parts before closing back up.

"Okay, yeah, that's still weird as heck," said Sasha.

"Cool to watch though," Marcy remarked.

The group walked through the ankle-deep water, Marcy rushed forward, extremely excited to be back in Newtopia, and because now she was going to be able to show Sasha around and have all kinds of fun dates with her two girlfriends.

"Whoo! Back to Newtopia! Alright, let's go over the plan one more time," said Marcy. "First, I'm going to get us into the city. Anne's got the music box to give to King Andrias."

"Yep," Anne replied as she reached into her backpack and showed off the Calamity Box.

"And finally, Sasha and Grime, hoods up 'til after we give the king the music box. Once I tell him that Sasha's a Kamen Rider, and that she helped us charge the final stone, he'll clear you for sure!" Marcy assured them.

"Copy that," Sasha replied.

"Will do," said Grime.

The two in question put up their hoods, and once they had, the group approached the gates to Newtopia. Marcy looked up at the gatekeepers and announced, "Marcy Wu and crew, reporting to King Andrias!"

The newt guard nodded towards her and signaled to his subordinates behind him to turn the wheel to open the gates, with one of them grumbling, "Don't get paid enough for this."

The twin ornate doors opened and ushered the group into the splendorous city that was the capital of Amphibia. As they began walking through the streets, Sasha had to admit, the city was a lot fancier then she had previously imagined.

"Huh, wow, this place looks amazing, Mar-Mar," said Sasha.

"I know, right?! Oh, I can't wait to take you two out when we get back! And this time it's my treat, no exceptions!" Marcy stated.

Sasha chuckled at her girlfriend as she said, "Okay, okay, you win. Obviously, you know this place better than I do."

Anne sighed happily as she glanced at her two girlfriends, it was surreal, they were moments away from being able to go back home. Although it would be temporary as The Night and the Fallen were still lurking about in this world, and they could not very well leave Amphibia defenseless. Plus, if The Night was after the music box in order to invade other worlds, then Earth definitely was not safe from that evil entity's wrath. Still, it would be nice to pop back to Earth and ensure their parents that they were alive and not dead in a ditch somewhere. Anne's visage soured a little when she thought about that.

Marcy and Sasha noticed their girlfriend's saddening expression and decided to inquire.

"Hey, Anna-banana, what's wrong?" Marcy asked.

"What? No, it's nothing," Anne retorted.

"Nuh-uh, don't start that, Anne. We're GFs now, so, if there's something on your mind, tell us," said Sasha.

Anne blushed a little, she couldn't help it, it was still something she was getting used to. "I just thought about how worried our folks are. I mean, we've been gone for months. There are probably police looking for us, our friends, everyone. They probably think we're all dead by now or taken by some sleazy people to be sold off somewhere. Frog, I can't imagine how worried my Mom is right now."

Sasha reached over with her right arm and draped it over Anne's shoulders. "Hey, don't worry. I know our 'rents are probably tearing out their hair trying to figure out where we are. I'm sure they're going to freak out when they learn about where we were and what we can do. But, in the end, they'll just be happy we're alive. Might not like that we have to come back and fight an evil god to save this world and ours, but they'll just have to deal. Right, Marcy?"

"Yeah, they'll just have to deal! We're Kamen Riders, and we have a sacred duty to protect the innocent and to smite evil wherever it rears its ugly head!" Marcy stated.

"Heh, yeah, you're right. They may not like it, but at least they'll know we're alive and well," said Anne.

Marcy placed her hands behind her head as she thought aloud. "Plus, you know, who knows. Defeating The Night and its Fallen isn't necessarily the end of our adventure. We still have to find a way to go to the Demon Realm and help out Luz. I'm sure she would appreciate another Rider team up. That'd be pretty cool. Heh, almost makes you wish these kinds of adventures could last forever, huh?"

"Eh, I wouldn't go that far. I could do without the monsters coming out of nowhere to try and kill me almost every week." Anne glanced over her right shoulder, at the Plantar family, the frogs who took her in, treated her like family, made her family, sheltered, and fed her, and stuck by her side throughout this whole journey. "But, yeah, I guess it would be cool."

As they walked, Polly, who was perched on Frobo's left shoulder, began acting strangely. She wiggled about uncomfortably, hopping off of Frobo's shoulder and landing on the ground as she began to scratch at her rear.

"Whoa, Polly, what's wrong?" Sprig asked.

"UGH! My butt is so itchy!" Polly complained.

"Ugh," Sprig uttered in slight disgust.

Hop Pop reached into this coat pocket and produced something akin to a tube of toothpaste that read, "Olde Creame". "I've got some ointment that'll fix that right up."

Polly glanced at the tube of ointment and watched as Hop Pop gave it a squeeze, releasing some of its contents. The ointment came out in the form of a green sludge-like substance and smelled awful.

"HOP POP, NO! It stinks! AAAAAAHHH!" Polly screamed as she hopped away with her grandfather chasing her.

The gang laughed at the pollywog's expense, but as they did, it seemed that it was Sprig's turn to look sad.

"I can't believe we did it. After all our adventures, you're finally going to be able to head back home…I just hope you do come back," said Sprig.

Anne smiled at her surrogate little brother and knelt next to him. "Whoa, dude, just because we're heading back home, doesn't mean we're still not coming back to help battle The Night. And even after that, it's not like never going to see each other again. So long as we have the music box, we can keep hopping back and forth between Earth and Amphibia whenever we want."

The Thai teen picked up the pink frog boy, letting him perch atop her head, but that's when an idea hit her.

"Oh! You guys can even come visit me in my world!" Anne exclaimed.

Sprig's eyes widened and sparkled with thoughts of such a thing. "That'll be awesome!"

"Right?! I'll take you to have fast food!"

"I don't know what that is, but yay!"

As they walked, aside from Sasha, no one else noticed how Grime would occasionally glancing to his right and left, shooting a look to other cloaked individuals in the streets. And what was strange, the other cloaked individuals seemed to respond to him with a passing by glance of their own.

---

At last, the group arrived in the throne room of King Andrias. The blue newt king was as huge and hearty as he was when they last saw him, and Lady Olivia was standing at the foot of the throne, as usual, slightly annoyed that the king still would not follow proper throne room decorum. But he was the king, what could she do?

King Andrias rose from his throne as he bellowed, "My friends, wonderful to see you! I trust you were successful?"

Anne reached into her backpack and produced the music box as she exclaimed, "Boom baby!"

King Andrias' eyes widened with awe upon seeing the music box, its gemstones reflecting the light of the sun and glowing beautifully before him. "The charged music box. Well done. Well done! Now let's finally send you girls home."

Anne walked forward, music box in hand, about to place it in the giant hand of the king. One leg of their adventure was almost over, and soon they could finally see their parents again. However, there were some who had other plans. Just before Anne could give the music box to King Andrias, she felt something sharp prick the back of her neck.

"Ow!" Anne exclaimed as she reached back behind her head. "What the…?"

Anne saw that she had been struck with a dart, but that wasn't all, her mind started to get hazy, making it hard to concentrate as she wobbled back and forth.

"Anne – Ow!" Marcy felt a sharp prick at the back of her neck as well, reaching back and pulling out a similar dart to Anne's. "W-What's this…?"

At that same time, a long tongue lashed out and wrapped itself around the music box, snatching it out of Anne's hands. The tongue retracted, leading right back to the hooded warrior, Grime. Grime flicked this tongue up and released the music box at the last second before returning his tongue to his mouth, allowing Sasha to grab it in her outstretched left hand.

Anne managed to turn around and saw that Sasha was not only holding the music box, but a long straw-like item. That's when it hit her, Sasha was holding a blow dart gun, the dart in her neck, it was from Sasha.

"S-Sasha! What…What are you doing…?!" Anne asked.

"What I do best, Anne, taking control," said Sasha. "NOW, GRIME!"

Grime threw off his cloak, revealing the Warhammer head, but as soon as he reached for it, the hammer head released an extendable handle, allowing the former gladiator to take hold of Barrel's Warhammer and hold it over his head. The toad warrior raised it high and brought it down upon the floor, sending a shockwave that rattled the room and threw everyone to the floor.

The few Guards that were in the throne room immediately started to attack Sasha and Grime. Sasha saw the guard coming, and smirked as she threw off her hood, channeled her powers, and palm heel struck the incoming guard in the chest, sending him flying to the other side of the room where he impacted against the wall and fell unconscious. Another guard came at Grime, but the former Toad Tower captain easily put the guard on the floor with a simple backhand strike, knocking the guard out in one blow.

"What the heck is goin' on?!" Hop Pop asked in a panic.

"ANNE!" Sprig yelled as he rushed to his surrogate big sister. "Are you alright?!"

"I…I don't know…I…I can barely think…Sprig…it feels familiar somehow, though…" Anne watched as Sasha easily beat down two more guards as she yelled, "Sasha…please…stop it!"

King Andrias shook off the initial disorientation from the hammer drop, but that's when his eyes focused on the weapon in Grime's hands. No…it…it can't be! Why?! Why does he have THAT?! Anger rose within the old newt king, so much so that he could not contain it as he released a primal roar into that shook the room. Andrias got down on all fours, and like a beast, he ran straight for Grime, like a charging bull. Grime was caught off guard by the king and was rammed by King Andrias, sending him flying into a pillar, denting it, and falling to the floor in a heap. King Andrias, still enraged, was about to go over and deal the defiant toad the final blow, but he stopped when he heard Sasha speak.

"STOP!" Andrias turned around, with the rest of the group following his gaze as they all looked at Sasha. She was at the edge of the balcony, holding the music box out with her right arm, dangling it over the railing. "Not another move, or I smash it to pieces!"

Anne and Marcy, in their hampered states, managed to get themselves to the balcony.

"Sasha…stop it! You can't…do that!" Marcy struggled.

"Y-You can't…smash it!" Anne exclaimed.

King Andrias stomped his way onto the balcony, glaring at Sasha Waybright as he said, "You wouldn't dare, that's your only way back home. If you do that, there's no other way for you to return to your world!"

Sasha smirked up at the king, ignoring her girlfriends for the moment. "Maybe I don't want to go back home and rule a school, your highness. Did you ever think about that? Maybe what I really want is to stay here and rule a kingdom with the two people I love the most!"

"Sasha…" Anne whispered.

"Why…" Marcy muttered.

King Andrias' glare only intensified. "You're bluffing."

Sasha's smirk didn't fade. "Try me, Andy."

The banter was proving to be a good distraction, just as Sasha planned. She had noticed that Grime managed to recover and was creeping up behind the king. With his attention focused on her, King Andrias was unable to defend himself when Grime raised the Warhammer and delivered a strong blow to the king's left leg.

"AAAAH!" King Andrias screamed as he fell to his knees.

"King Andrias…!" Marcy yelled.

"Both of you…stop this!" Anne ordered.

Grime stood upon the back of the king and said to them, "Stop? But we're just getting started!"

Grime released a bellowing roar that echoed throughout the city of Newtopia. Within a matter of seconds, the cloaked individuals in the city threw off their cloaks, revealing themselves to be hidden toad warriors. The insurrectionists made quick work of the Knight Guard, taking them by surprise and subduing them with ease. However, once the element of surprise was cast aside, some of the Knight Guard were quick to regroup and ready to launch a counterattack on the toad insurrectionists.

"SOLDIERS OF NEWTOPIA, PUT DOWN YOUR ARMS THIS INSTANT!" Grime shouted from atop the balcony. "OR THE NEXT THING I SMASH WILL BY YOUR KING'S HEAD!"

Grime brought the Warhammer close to the king's head, making it clear that he was not bluffing in the slightest and fully intended to make good on his threat. Left with no options, at least none that wouldn't endanger the king, the Knight Guard had no choice but to lay down their weapons and surrender to the invading toads.

The former toad captain smiled wickedly as he saw this, and even more when he saw two of his soldiers at the gates, everything was going according to plan. "Excellent. OPEN THE GATES!"

The two toads that took the gates pushed on the wheel, opening the gates wide as two more toads down below pushed a heavy metal door stop, wedging into one of the gates, preventing it from being shut at all. While this was happening, toads burst into the throne room, and chained up the guards, surrounded the Plantars and Frobo, and aided Grime in securing the king. Once that was done, some of the toad soldiers helped the king up to his feet and walked him back into the room.

King Andrias glanced down at Grime and asked, "So, you think you've won, do you?"

"Sure do. And if you think things are bad now, in a couple of hours, the rest of our army will be at your doorstep," said Grime.

The Plantars, Frobo, Anne, and Marcy looked out into the distance, and watched as the plateau near the beach was suddenly swarming with many toad soldiers, carrying the banners of their army.

"Take him to the dungeon, and find him an extra-large cell," Grime ordered.

Four toad soldiers began leading the king away as he said, "You'll never get away with this!" As he was being led away, King Andrias managed to make eye contact with Marcy and nodded in her direction.

Even in her current hazy minded state, she was still able to understand what that signal meant. But right now, there were other problems that they had to deal with.

Grime and Sasha now stood before the throne, triumphant in their hostile takeover of the capital as the former spoke, "Well, frogs, say hello to the new rulers of Amphibia. Pretty hot, right?"

Sasha broke away from Grime and headed to where Anne and Marcy were as she said, "Whew, things got a little crazy back there. But it all went off without a hitch. Anyway, how are you two? I used the drug on myself once to make sure it worked but tell me if you're feeling anything besides just brain haze and weakness."

The cheerleader captain reached out towards Anne, but before she could manage to touch her, the Thai teen swatted Sasha's hand away. Sasha was surprised for more than one reason, the first one being at how that blow stung despite the poison slowing Anne down, the second being how much that stung her heart.

"Anne…?"

"How could you…" Anne asked as she balled up her fists. "How could you…Sasha?"

"Anne, please calm down. I know this isn't what you and Marcy were thinking or hoping, but trust me, this is the best thing for us," said Sasha.

Anne blinked in utter confusion. "W-What…?! How…just…how do you see…this…as a good thing?!"

Sasha sighed. "Look, Anne, Mar-Mar. I don't want to mess this up, what we have, what we mean to each other. And if we go back home, even when we eventually defeat these monsters and their boss, do you really think we'll be able to stay like this forever?"

Marcy's eyes widened.

Sasha picked up on that. "You understand. Right, Marcy? You're really smart, so I know you know that the way things are set up back home, it would be nearly impossible for the three us of to be like this there. Not without keeping it a secret from our parents and friends. And honestly, what do we have back there that's really worth returning to?"

The blonde teen walked up the steps and sat upon the throne as she looked down on them.

"Here, we can live like gods. The three of us, we have real power, not the power of money, or political power, but real power. Power that makes us stand above all other creatures in Amphibia. We can be whatever we want, love how we want, do whatever we want! Marcy can use her smarts to upgrade this world's tech and eventually make it something similar to back home. There's nothing worth going back home to."

Anne really couldn't believe what she was hearing right now. "N-Nothing…? NOTHING…?! What about my parents…? Marcy's parents…? YOURS…?!"

Sasha lowered her head a bit as she said, "Oh, yeah, my parents. The ones that separated, the ones I couldn't do a thing to keep together. We were happy, I know we were, and I can't stand it when they say that there was nothing I could do to keep us together. But that won't happen with us, we can be together, the three of us! Marcy isn't this what you wanted, too?! For us all to be together?!"

Anne was seething, her eyes shifting from brown to blue as if her power was trying its hardest to break through the haze and come through for her. But the poison was doing its job, no matter how hard she concentrated, she could not summon the MetamorphRing or the MetamorphRing TRI.

"I…I trusted you…I…I loved you…" Anne muttered as tears began to form in her eyes. "I opened…my heart to you…Sasha Waybright…! And you…YOU BROKE IT!"

Sasha felt that sting in her heart again as she heard the venom in Anne's voice, and the absolute anger that was permeating the Thai teen's visage. "Anne…please, don't be angry with me. I did this for all of us."

"NO…! YOU DID THIS…FOR YOURSELF! BECAUSE IT'S ALWAYS…ABOUT…YOU!" Anne yelled as she tried to rush forward but ended up falling onto the floor.

"Anne!" Sasha exclaimed as she got up from the throne and hurried to her. "You and Marcy can't be making quick movements right now; you're going to be weak from the poison and–"

"AND YOU POISONED US!" Anne managed to push herself back up as she glared up at Sasha with tear filled eyes. "You…I hate you…"

Those words made Sasha stumble backwards as if she had been physically assaulted. "C-C'mon, Anne, babe, you don't mean that. Just, give it some time, think about it for a second and you'll see–!"

"NO! …I thought you changed…I was happy that you were with us…but…I took a risk…and this was the price. You're clearly insane…and you're messed up in the head…if you think…I'll let you bully me…and everyone else in this world…just to get what you want…!"

Marcy went to her girlfriend's side, helping her back to her feet, but she remained silent this whole time. "Anne…calm down…you're getting too worked up…Maybe there's a way…to fix this?"

Anne carefully broke from Marcy's grasp and managed to get in Sasha's face as she grabbed her by the cape and stared her down, eyes still glistening with tears. "You're a horrible person…Sasha Waybright…and I never want to be with you…EVER!" Anne shoved Sasha away, but she only managed to make Sasha stumble backwards while she herself fell onto her rear.

Sasha's mind flashed back to that dream she had, no to that nightmare. The nightmare where Anne defied her, and continued her defiance all the way into adulthood, making her into slave, and turning Marcy into the same thing. Her heart began to race as she realized that that scenario was coming true right before her eyes. She hurt inside, her own heart was aching from hearing the girl she loved speak those words with such hate and betrayal in them. A shadow was cast over Sasha's eyes as she walked back up to the throne, her feet felt like lead weights, making every step laborious, but when she managed to sit down on the throne, it took everything she had to not breakdown and cry in front of them. But she couldn't, she could not show weakness to the assembled toads, not when they had achieved victory.

"Okay…I see…that's how you feel. Well, since we're officially broken up, I guess there's no reason for me to let you stay here. In that case, I'll grant you your wish, Anne! I'll send you back home, and you can say goodbye to your little frog family forever!" Sasha threatened.

Anne's eyes grew in shock when she heard this threat. "You…You wouldn't!"

Sasha raised the Calamity Box up and said, "My box, my rules!"

Marcy shook her head as she pleaded, "No…Sasha…wait, please!"

Anne focused as hard as she could and rushed over to the Plantars. Sprig, Polly, and Hop Pop met her halfway and hugged onto her tightly.

"Sorry, Anne! Say 'hi' to your parents for me!" Sasha stated as she slowly opened the box.

"Anne!" Sprig cried out.

"I won't let you go…!"

Sasha opened the music box all the way and shut her eyes, anticipating the brilliant flash of light that once emerged from the music box that sent them here. However, there was no flash.

"Uh…we're still here," said Polly.

"Wah?" Sasha looked at the music box, opening and closing the lid several times, but the box refused to release the light. "Huh, okay, well that was embarrassing. Until I can figure out how to use this thing, guards, take them to the dungeon!"

The toad soldiers swarmed around Anne, Marcy, Lady Olivia, the Plantars, and Frobo and began leading them out the throne room doors.

Anne, despite her debilitated state, fought against the toads as she glared at Sasha and proclaimed. "THIS ISN'T OVER…SASHA! DO YOU HEAR ME…THIS…ISN'T…OVER!"

The doors shut closed, leaving only Sasha and Grime remaining in the room. Grime glanced over his shoulder at his lieutenant, he knew full well that Sasha's feelings for her friends were genuine, and he knew that Sasha had pinned her hopes on the fact that her lovers would just accept her plans and go with her. But that was not the case.

Sasha still remained on the throne; her expression neutral.

"Sasha?"

"Grime, do you mind giving me the room for a minute?" Sasha asked.

"Of course, I'll be outside," said Grime.

The former toad captain walked until he left the room, closing the doors behind him.

Now Sasha was alone. She was alone. The room began to look murky and distorted, and before she knew it, she was crying. "Heh…heh-heh…ha-ha-ha…Ahahahahaha-hehahahahahaheh…AAAAAAAAH!"

Sasha began to wail as she set the box down and released a blast of flames through the roof, burning a hole right through it. She punched the ground, and kicked some pillars, and released a slew of curses, as many as she knew, and she knew quite a few. Sasha eventually fell to her knees in the middle of the throne room, smashing her fists against the floor again and again, making the room shake with each impact.

"I lost them…it's just like the nightmare…I don't want to be that…! I don't want to become someone who hurts them like that! Why couldn't you two just do this one thing?! Why couldn't you just do what I say this one time?! We could've all been happy! Why?! Why I can't I keep the ones I love together?! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Grime stood sentry outside of the throne room, hearing the emotional and painful wails of his lieutenant. While things may have gone the way they wanted them to, as far as the coup was concerned, for Sasha, that was only winning the battle. She just realized that she had lost the war.

I'm sorry, Sasha, I know you wanted your happy ending. But, sometimes, life rarely gives us such a thing. The best we can do is work with what we are given and grasp our own happy ending with our own hands. You'll understand in time, I'm sure. And I'll be there to help you. I promise, I will never leave you.

---

The walk to the cells ended with the Plantars, Lady Olivia, Anne, and Marcy secured in a cell, while Frobo was placed in chains. The toads have not ever seen a robot before and had no idea how strong Frobo was. They figured that Frobo would be their ace in the hole for escape, but with Anne and Marcy still under the influence of the poison, they could not use their Rider powers. It was strange that Sasha never told them about Frobo, but considering all that happened earlier, she probably was not thinking straight, otherwise she would've destroyed Frobo herself by now, rather than risk them using the frog robot to escape.

But that was beside the point, right now, both girls were feeling hurt. The girl that they were in love with betrayed them. Just when they thought she was maybe starting to change a bit, that maybe the three of them could be in a loving, respectful relationship, it all came crashing down like a house of cards. It was all a lie, every bit of it. She only wanted them as girlfriends as another form of control, to own them, not to love them. That's what Anne believed, and it was not as if she was wrong, the evidence was there, she was just too much of a fool in love to see the signs. She hated Sasha, but above all else, she hated herself for trusting Sasha.

Sprig's worst fears had come to light, Sasha betrayed the person he cared about, and broke her heart, again. Some small part of Sprig was happy to be proven right, but at the same time, wished so much that he was wrong. Sprig walked up to Anne, who was sitting in the corner, her face buried into her legs as she hugged them close to her.

"Anne…?"

"You were right…Sprig. You were right…about everything. I should've listened to you…I'm sorry," said Anne.

"Anne, you don't have anything to be sorry about. You just like to see the good in people, that's not a bad thing," said Sprig.

"What good is that…when I can't even see…the obvious bad in them, too? I let her into my heart…Sprig…I loved Sasha…I was just starting to enjoy the thought…you know…about us being together…all three of us…but then she went and did that…she stabbed us all in the back…and twisted the knife in my heart…in our hearts," said Anne.

Sprig stood at her right side and hugged Anne the best he could. "Look, Anne, we'll get through this. You have us, and Marcy. And once we figure out how to get that poison out of you, you and Marcy can Rider up and kick Sasha's butt!"

Marcy managed to drag herself over to Anne as she placed a hand on her girlfriend's knee. "I'm still not…convinced that we have to fully battle Sasha…but Sprig is right. You have me…and your frog family. We will figure this out…together."

"Thanks, Marcy…Thanks, Sprig," said Anne.

"Well, first thing we need to do is figure a way out," said Hop Pop.

"And then find a way to neutralize the poison in your systems so that you can access your powers again," said Olivia.

"Frobes can take care of most of those guys, but he may need some help," said Polly.

Help soon arrived, a shadow moved stealthily across the ceiling of the dungeon, watching the toad guards as they moved. The shadow flashed a sharp toothed grin as it dropped down from the ceiling, startling the toads, and forcing them to draw their weapons.

"Intruder! Identify yourself!"

"Heh-heh, gladly." The figure turned around and revealed herself. "I am General Yunan! Scourge of the Sand Wars! Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched! And the youngest newt ever to hold the rank of general in the great Newtopian army!"

The toads looked at each other in confusion.

"Augh, sometimes I don't know why I bother. In any case, I'd like you to point me to the prisoners," said Yunan.

"Ha! As if we're going to tell you anything," said the guard.

"Yeah, 'sides, you're only one newt, against all us toads!"

Yunan deadpanned. "Am I a joke to you?" The rest of the guards brandished their weapons, prompting Yunan to extend her gauntlet claws. "Okay then, you'll be learning the hard way!"

The group could hear the sounds of battle echoing from further down the dungeon, That's when they saw some of the guards fly by their cell and land on the ground in an unconscious heap. Everyone looked in the direction of where they were thrown from and watched a Yunan skillfully took down several toads who were trying their best to kill her but were failing at each attempt.

"Well, I'd say that's a good a cue as any. FROBO, TIME TO FROGO!" Polly yelled.

Frobo nodded and broke the chains that held him, the two guards that were nearby him were suddenly taken by surprise as he grabbed them by their heads and chucked them in the same direction as the other two guards.

Yunan finally made it to their cell and said, "Lady Olivia, Master Marcy, Dame Anne, good to see you."

"General Yunan…so glad…to see you…!" Marcy exclaimed.

"Uh, something wrong with you? You sound lethargic," said Yunan.

"The girls were injected with some kind of poison that's making it difficult for them to concentrate and use their powers. And it's weakened them a bit as well," Olivia explained.

More toads began to make their way towards them, but Frobo got out in front of them and barraged them with laser blasts and missiles, making the reinforcements have to fall back or else risk getting vaporized.

"Do ya got a key for this cell?" Hop Pop asked.

"Oh yeah, best keys in the world," said Yunan as she raised her blades.

In the blink of an eye, Yunan slashed the bars of the cell, and in a matter of seconds the bars all fell down, creating an opening for them to exit.

"Follow me! I know a way out of here," said Olivia.

As they followed Olivia, one of the toads who was hurled managed to come back to his senses and grabbed Anne by the wrist. "Oh no! You're not going anywhere, Commander Sasha's orders!"

"Sasha…THAT…JERK! RAAAAHH!" Anne roared as she reared back and headbutt the toad with all she had.

The blow was successful as it knocked the toad back, putting on him his rear as he flailed on the floor in pain.

"Whoa…" Marcy muttered. "That was frightening…and strangely hot."

Frobo released a few more missiles at the ceiling, causing it to collapse and created a pile of debris that blocked the toads. Frobo hurried back to the group, scooping up Marcy and Anne as Olivia brought them to a dead end. But Olivia soon showed that it was not a dead end as she pressed a few of the bricks in sequence. Upon pressing on the last brick, the wall opened, revealing a long tunnel.

"Quickly!" Olivia ordered.

The group hurried into the tunnel, with the wall closing behind them, seamlessly fitting back together, showing no trace of the hidden passage. When the toads managed to get through the rubble, they hurried around the corner but found that their prisoners were long gone.

---

The Toad Army made it to the gates, with Bufō and Beatrix waiting outside as their troops flooded into the city. Grime and Sasha walked out to meet them, with some of their own troops following behind them. Beatrix and Bufō both saluted Grime and Sasha with smiles on their faces.

"Congratulations, Captain Grime, the coup seems to be a success," said Bufō.

"Heh, nice one Grimity! This is Froggin' epic! We've taken the capital, and now we can start remakin' this place into what we've always wanted!" Beatrix looked up at Sasha and smirked at her. "Guessin' it wasn't much of a problem for someone like yourself."

Sasha smiled down at Beatrix as she answered, "No problem at all. I didn't even need to transform; Grime took down the king easy. Once we threatened his life, everyone else fell in line."

"Good to hear," said Bufō.

The group of four began walking through the streets towards the palace, along the way, they watched as the residents of Newtopia cowered in fear of the invading toads. Sasha looked at their faces, even just a passing glance from her made them shrink away in utter terror. This should be exciting for her, this should be the pinnacle of everything she ever wanted, and yet, it all felt so incredibly hollow. One of the girls she loved most in this world said to her face that she hated her, and never wanted to be with her again, while the other, well, it was still unclear, but Sasha was sure that Marcy would follow Anne's lead. As she once said, if Marcy didn't stick by Anne, she would lose all respect for that girl.

Just then, all four of them were assaulted by water balloons, the toads looked around to see who it was that did that, but Sasha had already found the assailant, and it honestly shocked her. The one who attacked them with the water balloons was a young frog girl, bright green in color, with grass green colored hair, and she was dressed in the same Chief Ranger outfit as Marcy, she even had a toy version of the MetamorphRing around her waist, and an arm mounted sling shot crossbow toy.

"Grr, ya got a lot a guts little frog, attackin' us like that, I'll give ya that," said Beatrix.

"Leave now and we'll overlook this little tantrum of yours," said Bufō.

"NO!" The frog girl loaded another water balloon and fired it right at them.

This time they were ready for it as Bufō swiftly drew his katana and slashed it open, making the water fall to the ground before it ever reached them.

Grime walked up from behind Beatrix and Bufō as brandished the Warhammer. "Little girl, do you know who it is you are speaking to?"

"I don't care! Because I'm not afraid of bullies like you! Master Marcy showed us that heroes come whenever there's trouble! And that we don't need to be afraid all the time! You'll see, Kamen Rider Ranger will come and kick your butts out of Newtopia! Every bad toad here!"

Bufō and Beatrix laughed mockingly at the little girl, despite hearing their laughter, the frog girl did not move, nor did her determined expression falter.

Sasha's mind briefly replaced the frog girl with the younger version of herself, making her gasp as she shook the image from her head.

"Okay, that was fun, but I think it's high time we made an example here," said Beatrix as she took out one of her axes. "Listen up! If you all don't want to fall in line, that's fine! 'Cause this is what happens to those who don't!"

"STOP!" Sasha yelled.

Bufō, Grime, and Beatrix looked over their shoulders to Sasha, who glared at them.

"Sasha, what are you doing?" Grime asked.

"I'll handle this." Sasha walked through the toads, pushing Beatrix aside as she now stood before the frog girl. "What's your name, kid?"

"Louise! I'm Master Marcy's soon-to-be apprentice!" Louise announced.

"Huh, that so." Sasha knelt before her and said, "You know, Marcy's my friend. We come from the same world."

Louise looked Sasha up and down, now that she looked at her, Louise noticed that Sasha did resemble Marcy, as far as being the same species anyway. "I don't believe you. Yeah, you and Master Marcy are probably from the same world, but that doesn't mean she'd be friends with a bad guy!"

Sasha's heart hurt again. "Yeah…but things aren't always as black and white as you think, Louise. Sometimes things are gray." Sasha stood back up and took a step back. "Sometimes, there are people who you shouldn't trust, and sometimes those people are powerful. Like me."

A ring of flames appeared around Sasha's waist, transforming into the MetamorphRing driver. "Henshin."

Sasha pressed down on the two hip devices, wrapping herself in a dome of flames for a moment before the dome broke apart. Now Kamen Rider Bellona stood before Louise, and before all of the Newtopian citizens in the vicinity.

"Do you understand, now? I am a Kamen Rider, too. I have powers just like Ranger, and just like the other hero, Amp. But I have no problems using these powers on those I perceive to be my enemies. I have subdued both Ranger and Amp before this coup began, and both are currently being held in the dungeons of the castle. As it stands, I am the strongest being in this city. If the Fallen attack, I will defend this city, as it is now ours. Should you all choose to follow us, I will defend you as well. But I cannot say the same for those who don't, nor can I say I will show mercy to those same ones."

Bellona looked down at a shocked Louise.

"Sorry, Louise. But Ranger will not be coming to save the day. You have me, and that's it. So, don't cause any more trouble and make your parents sad." Bellona glanced over her shoulder at her toad allies. "Let's head to the palace."

Bufō, Grime, and Beatrix nodded and proceeded forward, but as Bellona was about to go with them, she heard Louise say, "My parents are dead…I don't have anyone other than my friends, and Master Marcy."

Bellona stopped in her tracks as she turned around and saw Louise glare at her with tearful eyes.

"But I still believe Ranger will break free and stop you! All of you!" Louise stated.

"…You can keep believing that. If you want. Just don't risk your life for that belief."

Bellona caught up with the others, prompting Beatrix to ask, "Not that that wasn't impressive, but any particular reason why you stopped me from cuttin' that little frog down? These newts and frogs are gonna think we're soft."

"Killing a kid, while brutal and possibly effective, won't help us. If anything, it'll just stoke the fires of rebellion within them. Instead, I showed them that their enemies have someone just as powerful as their hero, while also informing them that their heroes will not be coming to save them. Hitting them physically is not enough to make them surrender, if you can hit them psychologically, make them see that fighting back is pointless, then you've won the battle without throwing a single punch," Bellona explained.

Beatrix whistled impressively. "Dang, Grimity, where in the heck did you find this girl?! She's brilliant!"

"A worthy strategy, Lieutenant Sasha. You and Grime truly are worthy of leading this army," said Bufō.

Grime glanced at Sasha, smiled, and nodded, impressed by her tactics. Just then, one of the toads came running from the palace and right towards Bellona. The flame Rider knelt so the toad could speak into her ear.

"What is it?"

"Sir, the prisoners, they've escaped!"

WHAT?! Bellona was glad she had her helmet on, at least the Bufō and Beatrix couldn't see the face she was making right now. It's been at least four hours since the poison was administered, which means we have another eight before it wears off.

"Inform the rest of the army, do NOT let the people know that you are searching for them. If they do, they'll fight back, and this campaign will be over. Do not tell the captains, you report only to me, and keep me updated. Understood," said Bellona.

"Sir!"

The toad hurried away to inform the rest of their troops.

Grime looked at Sasha and asked, "Everything alright, Lieutenant?"

Bellona stood up and said, "Everything's fine, I just have that guard giving me updates on the prisoners."

Grime raised an eyebrow, but decided to let it be, for now.

---

Three hours had passed since the group made their escape, holding up in Sal's old sandwich restaurant. Marcy asked Yunan to go and find a specific newt that could possibly help them neutralize the poison in their bodies, until then, they just had to sit tight. After about another hour, Yunan finally returned with the person that Marcy had asked her to find.

It was male newt, lime green in color, with a tall stack of hair to match his color. He had a patch over his left eye, a dirty apron, dark gray pants, and a gray shirt. The newt also had two buckteeth that were sticking out from his upper lip.

"Who's this feller?" Hop Pop asked.

"Ah, I see. Everyone, this is Dr. Ignatius Curious, Newtopia's leading mind in the field of chemistry," said Olivia.

"Ha! Was! Until Master Marcy opened my eyes to all kinds of chemical components and combinations that I could've only dreamed of until I met her! And why are there so many toads in the city?" Dr. Curious asked.

"Wait, you didn't hear that loud announcement by Grime?" Polly asked.

Dr. Curious shrugged.

"Yes, well, he's quite the…eccentric researcher, if a bit aloof on some matters."

"Yeah, I found this guy mixing stuff together without a care in the world, if I didn't mention Marcy, I'd probably would've had to resort to more…effective methods," said Yunan as her blades retracted into gauntlets.

"I like this newt!" Polly exclaimed.

"Anyway, what's going on, and Master Marcy, you don't look so good."

Marcy managed to stand up and inhaled deeply before exhaling slowly. "Okay…this is going to take a lot…of concentration. Anne and I have been poisoned, and it's affected our powers and ability to transform. The toad army has taken over Newtopia, and without our powers, we can't effectively fight back against them. The best I can determine is the poison we were hit with is some type of neurotoxin, which would explain our brain haze and our weakened bodies, it's possibly affecting the nerves in our arms and legs while not touching the ones connected to our vital organs. I need you to…to…oh, my head hurts now…"

Yunan quickly went to Marcy before she could collapse onto the floor and laid her down.

"I see, I see. So, you need my help to create an antidote to combat the toxin and regain your powers. I understand, did you happen to obtain the weapon that caused this?" Dr. Curious asked.

Marcy shook her head in the negative.

"Shame. Well then!" Dr. Curious placed his suitcase on the bar counter, and once he did, the entire thing folded out into a makeshift chemistry set, complete with a microscope. "We'll need to take a blood sample so I can have a better look at what's inside of you!"

Anne managed to drag herself over to where Yunan was and motioned for her to hand Marcy over. Yunan carefully placed Marcy in Anne's arms, knowing how she was equally as weak as Marcy was, but physically speaking, it seemed Anne's body was more capable even with the poison in her system. From what she observed, Marcy's mental capabilities, while hampered, were still a bit sharper, on the flipside, Anne's mental capabilities were hampered, but her physical ones were not to the same degree. This was possibly due to the two girls' individual strengths, with Anne being more physically strong, and Marcy more mentally strong.

"Take it from me…Marcy's pushed herself…too hard," said Anne.

"Alrighty then." Dr. Curious walked over to Anne, carrying a syringe. "You'll feel a prick now."

"Go on…ouch!"

Dr. Curious took a little bit of Anne's blood, placed some gauze on the puncture site, and went back to his chemistry set. He squeezed a bit of the blood from the syringe onto a slide. Once he had, the newt scientist placed it under the microscope and examined the contents. It took all of three seconds for Dr. Curious to confirm Marcy's theory.

"As usual, you are correct Master Marcy! It is a type of neurotoxin, quite unique as well," said Dr. Curious.

"Can you make something that'll get rid of it?" Sprig asked.

"Sadly, I cannot. But there is some good news still. Judging from the how your white blood cells are attacking the neurotoxin, and the rate of its decomposition, I believe that it won't be much longer before the poison is out of your system," said Dr. Curious.

"So, we just need to keep hiding until Anne and Marcy don't have the poison in their bodies anymore, great," said Sprig.

"Well, that does sound great, but how long? Another hour? A day?" Olivia asked.

"Based on what I see here, and accounting for the possibility that Master Marcy's body is degenerating the poison at the same rate, then I'd estimate it at about four hours," said Dr. Curious.

Anne nodded as her brow furrowed. "Four hours…Four hours until we fight back. Hopefully…Newtopia can last that long…"

"Well, with that piece of knowledge, I'll start rounding up some resistance forces! If they know that the Kamen Riders are free and will soon be back in action, then it could stir the people and remaining soldiers to raise arms against the toads!" Yunan stated.

Marcy managed to regain consciousness as she said, "Yunan, don't…it's better that they don't…if Anne and I…fight…we need to have…as much room…as possible…"

"I'm sorry, what?" Yunan asked.

"No, Marcy's right! You can't involve anyone else," said Sprig. "Anne and Marcy have gotten way stronger since the last time you saw them. We've seen them take down strong Fallen with their new Super Forms, and they could easily take down this entire army on their own! If you get the people or other soldiers involved, they might end up getting hurt!"

Yunan looked like she was about protest, but Olivia cut her off.

"Yunan, I understand how much you want to rally our forces and take the fight to the toads. But given the fact that we haven't ourselves seen just how much more powerful Master Marcy and Dame Anne have gotten, I'm willing to trust Master Marcy's assessment of their power," said Olivia.

Yunan thought about it for a moment. She has seen Marcy use her powers on more than one occasion, and it was very impressive to witness. Yunan often believed that if Marcy so wished it, she could easily take down the entire Newtopian army and not even break a sweat, just based on how versatile Marcy's powers are. And if it was true that these two girls obtained even greater power since then, that was both scary and astonishing.

"Hmm…very well. Perhaps a smaller fighting force is more preferable to a large one. But make no mistake, when the time comes, I know the Newtopian Knight Guard will spring into action the moment the opportunity arises," said Yunan.

"Thanks…Yunan," said Anne.

"Alright girls, you should rest up. Maybe some sleep will help get that poison out of yer system a little faster," said Hop Pop.

There wasn't much else Anne or Marcy could do right now, so Frobo helped the two girls rest behind the counter, away from any possible prying eyes. Anne and Marcy held each other in their arms while Frobo and Yunan stood sentry.

"I'll take first watch," said Yunan.

"You should get some sleep, too," said Polly.

"Why?"

"'Cause Frobes here is a robot, and he doesn't really need to sleep. At all, so he can watch over us, right Frobo?" Polly asked.

Frobo gave a thumbs up and then transformed his right hand into a laser cannon, his eyes narrowing as he got serious and began visually scanning the entire room.

"Oh…well…that's convenient. I suppose I could use some rest," said Yunan as she sat down against a wall that gave a good view of the entrance.

Olivia did the same, sitting down next to the general.

"Lady Olivia?"

"Things are a bit…hectic at the moment, Yunan. I feel a bit safer next to you, forgive me for the inconvenience," she said.

Yunan blushed a little. "No, no, it's not a problem at all, Lady Olivia. I understand completely, these are trying times we're currently in."

"Thank you, General…"

Olivia drifted to sleep, truly feeling safe in the presence of Yunan. The Plantars huddled together close to the counter and fell fast asleep as well, while Dr. Curious decided to do the same, finding a spot on the floor. Meanwhile, behind the counter, Anne found herself burying her face into Marcy's chest, crying as softly as she could as to not wake up the others. Marcy held Anne close to her, knowing just how hurt she was feeling, because she was feeling that same hurt as well. But for Anne, it was twice as painful. She finally opened her heart to Sasha, she wanted to believe that Sasha was different, that being together could change her. But as it turned out, it seems that Sasha's wanting to be girlfriends was just a means to an end for her, or maybe it wasn't?

Marcy did not want to believe that Sasha's love for them was just a ruse, that it was fake. When they kissed, it didn't feel forced or fake, it felt genuine, like it was something Sasha had wanted to do for a long time and was now finally able to do it. There had to be a way to salvage this, there just had to. For the sake of the plan that Andrias proposed to her, for the sake of their friendship, their relationship, there had to be way to fix all of this. Although, right now, Anne was hurting, and all she could do right now, was comfort her emotionally wounded girlfriend.

---

It had been several hours since Anne and Marcy escaped, and Sasha knew that this wasn't going to end well. She couldn't sleep, knowing that possibly come dawn, she would have to do battle with her girlfriends…well, possibly ex-girlfriends now…

This was not how things were supposed to end up, she accepted that Anne and Marcy had changed, and they accepted that she had not. So, why couldn't they just accept this? Why couldn't they just see she was doing this for them? For their future together. Isn't this what they want as well? To be together? There was no guarantee that once all the battles were done and over with that they'd be allowed to stay together in their relationship, there was no way in hell anyone would accept what they have back on Earth. But here, in Amphibia, they could have all that and more. They have power, power enough that no one could tell them what to do, they could rule this world as demigod queens.

That was perfect, it all sounded perfect in her mind. So…why couldn't they see it? More so…why did it all feel so wrong now?

Sasha had taken up residence in a suite that was meant for diplomats, Grime had asked if she wanted the king's room, and she declined, for some reason, the moment she stepped foot in there, it felt…creepy. Like she was being watched intensely. Grime had gotten the same feeling and declined to take it as well, instead both opting for similar suites in the castle until they could find a way to clear that creepy feeling from the king's chambers. She had yet to tell the other captains, or Grime, about the escaped prisoners, but it wouldn't be long before Grime caught on. Beatrix and Bufō are not as well informed about how powerful she, Anne, and Marcy truly are, so they may not understand the gravity of the situation of those two escaping, but Grime would. But whether or not he decides to tell the others is a different story altogether.

That little frog girl's words kept repeating in Sasha's head, her past self overlapping with the frog girl. From the outside looking in, perhaps she was the bully, heck, why sugarcoat it? She is the bully in this scenario. She helped lead the toad army and brought them into the city. This was all her doing, and for what? Yeah, she wanted to rule this world, it was her playground now, and there was really nothing worth going back to on Earth anyway. A broken home? Not appealing. Ruling all the way through middle and high school? Fleeting. Becoming a politician or CEO of some big company? So many pitfalls and hoops to jump through that eventually the distinction between those two blurs completely.

No, here she had Rider power, she could level buildings with a single swipe of her sword. Here, she could command armies. Here, she was the queen of the world. And yet…she felt so hollow inside. Was this really what she wanted? Just control?

Sasha looked at her bed, it was big, big enough for all three of them to have laid in. It would've been fitting. Sasha, surrounded by her lovers as they laid at her sides, and waking up to a new dawn of their rule. It was supposed to a shared victory, just like always, she wanted them to bask in her glory, to share it with them, it was their victory as much as it was her own.

"Dammit…" Sasha cursed.

A knock came at the door of her room, the blonde teenager wiped her eyes and said, "Enter."

The doors opened and Grime walked in. "Sasha."

"Oh, hey Grimesy! Liking your new digs?" Sasha asked.

"It quite luxurious, but I'm not here to talk about that."

"Okay, I mean, it's a little late in the night for a strategy meeting, but–"

"I know that Anne and Marcy escaped the dungeon."

Sasha froze, but then her body went lax as she sat on her bed. "Guessing one of the soldiers told you?"

"I rang it out of him if you must know. So, he didn't just spill his guts immediately," said Grime.

"Well, that's good to know."

"Yes, well, what's not good is the fact that your two friends are now out there. It's been several hours since you administered the poison to them, and it won't be long before they're up and ready to fight. If they don't attack tonight, they're going to attack by dawn's early light," Grime warned.

"I know…I know." Sasha assured him. "I know that when morning comes, my ex-girlfriends are going to smash through the palace doors and fight me like they hate me…well…Anne is, for sure. Heh…she literally said she hated me…like, full on, no apologies, looked me in the eyes and said she hated me…heh-heh…."

Grime crossed his arms as he sighed. "Sasha, I told you this a long time ago. But every dream has its price. The price of yours was losing the ones you loved the most. You took a gamble, a huge risk, on the idea that your love for each other was so strong that it would trump their loyalty to the king. But that's not what happened here. Instead, they saw what you did as a betrayal, and they were hurt, and you were hurt when you saw that they didn't fall in line."

Sasha wrapped her left hand around her fist as she squeezed, it was hard hearing these words from Grime, but it was not as if she could come back at him with any good argument.

"What you need to concentrate on, now, is getting some rest for the coming battle that will be. You are the only one among the entire army who has a chance of defeating them," said Grime. "And once we've subdued them, we can administer the poison again, then–"

"NO!" Sasha yelled as she shot to her feet. "I'm not going to throw them in a cell and keep poisoning them until they eventually do as I say! I'm not going to make them into slaves for my own whims! I'M NOT A MONSTER!"

Grime blinked. "Uh, okay, I was going to suggest poisoning them, and then figuring out how to send them back to your world where they cannot interfere with us…not that other stuff you just said."

Sasha sat back down and facepalmed herself, realizing she just blurted all that out.

"Seems as if you have something plaguing your mind, Lieutenant," said Grime.

"I had a dream a while back…a nightmare. A nightmare where we won, that we took control of the kingdom. But Anne and Marcy refused to stand by me. I gave them a choice in a cell, and Marcy accepted it, but Anne kept on being defiant and I ended up poisoning her again. My nightmare fast forwarded like ten years or something, I was and adult, and so were the girls. Marcy was at my side, but with a friggin' collar around her neck, like she was my pet or something! And Anne, she was dressed in rags and barely able to talk because I had poisoned her for so many years, and the me in the nightmare didn't even care! She just saw them as playthings!"

Sasha began crying, she hated crying in front of Grime, but she couldn't hold it in. "I don't want to become that kind of monster Grime! I still love them! Anne hates my guts right now, Marcy probably does, too! But dammit, I still love them both! And it hurts…it hurts so much that they hate me…But I don't want to hurt them, I don't want that nightmare to become a reality! I need to figure out how to use the music box to send them back to Earth, far away from me before I ever become that person!"

Grime walked up to Sasha and gripped her shoulders, applying a bit of pressure to reassure her. "Sasha, if that's what you want. Then we will make it so. I'm not going to pretend I understand your feelings to the fullest, but I can see that you want to avoid becoming something that you don't want to be. And if removing the temptation is the best course for achieving that, then we will find a way to make that box work and send them back to your world. But all of this is a moot point if you're too tired to face them. You must be prepared for the fact that Anne and Marcy will most likely come at you with everything they have, and you have to do the same or else everything you've worked for, everything we've worked for is all for nothing. You have many toads relying on you, Sasha, me included."

Sasha sniffled some more, but eventually, she managed to calm herself down. "…Thank you, Grimesy. I…I needed to hear that."

"Anytime, now, go to sleep and rest up as much as you can. I'll make up a story to Bufō and Beatrix about the escape of our guests and have the toads prepare for possible combat," said Grime as he walked towards the door.

"Grime!"

The toad warrior stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"If I ever look like I'm going to become a monster like that…even if it's just the slightest hint…" Sasha looked up at him with a serious glare. "I want you to take your Warhammer and put me down permanently."

"Sasha…"

"Promise me, Grime. I don't want to become a monster, not to the girls I love, and not towards you. PROMISE ME!" Sasha growled.

Grime turned around, stood at attention, and placed his fist over his heart. "I swear on the grave of Barrel the Brave."

Sasha nodded as a ghost of a smile appeared on her lips. "Thanks…"

Grime nodded and left the room.

Sasha removed most of her armor and plopped onto the bed. She was not looking forward to the morning, but she had to figure out how to send them back, it was the only way keep her girls safe. But Grime was right, they would not go down quietly, and if she was going to fulfill her promise of sending them to Earth, then she would need to fight them with everything she had, for they would show her no less conviction.

---

The group managed to stay hidden well into the morning, and now it was almost noon. The four hours had passed a long time ago, but Hop Pop insisted that they wait a few more hours to make sure that the poison had left their system. Once Dr. Curious took another blood sample to confirm this, he cleared them. Now they were free of the toxin and ready to take it to the toad army. Yunan had escorted Dr. Curious safely out of the old restaurant, and while she was out, she did some recon. Ten minutes passed noon, and Yunan returned.

"Okay, it's kinda bad. The toad army has completely overtaken the city. We can't rely on outside reinforcements, as the toad armies in the different regions where they're stationed have no doubt taken them captive. We must assume we are on our own," said Yunan.

"We can assume they're still holding King Andrias in the dungeon. But we can't rely on them to keep him alive forever, eventually…they might execute him as an example to show their supremacy," said Olivia.

Marcy sighed as she cupped her chin. "Yep, this is a full-on toad rebellion. But don't worry, I have a simple plan that can solve all of this. We just have to root out the toad army from the city, without killing them as we don't want to turn this into a slaughter. The best option would be to herd them all to the front gate and then shut it in their faces, effectively cutting them off and allowing the Newtopian forces inside the city to regroup and get ready to fight if it comes to that. But we also have to free the king to prevent any potential hostage situations, defeat Grime and…and Sasha. Work through our emotional baggage, and finally, redesign the current political system so that this sort of thing never happens again!"

Marcy huffed having said all of that without taking one breath.

Everyone blinked as they tried to absorb that plan.

"Gee, is that all?!" Hop Pop asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, it ain't looking too good," said Polly.

Anne looked around the room, seeing that their moral was down. She had to admit, even with their Rider powers, it might be a tall order for the both of them to root out every single toad from the city. And yes, the battle with Sasha was not going to be fun, or easy, but it was one that she was not about to run away from. The future of Amphibia was on the line, and The Night was probably loving this, the heroes of this world fighting against each other. It would not surprise Anne if a Fallen army was heading right for them as they speak. But even if that was the case, they could not give up.

"Come on you guys, we can do this! They may think we're a weak, little frog family, a klutzy nerd, a big metal baby, and a goofy pushover, but they have no idea who they're dealing with!" Anne took a moment to address Yunan and Olivia. "Well except for you guys. I'm sure they think very highly of you."

"Yes, they do," said Yunan.

"Just continue your speech," said Olivia.

"We've been through a lot together! Cannibals, giant killer moths, combining vegetables, a heap of Fallen, an undead army, you name it, we probably Rider Kicked it in the face! But they're dreaming if they think they can stop us! Marcy and I may be Kamen Riders, but you all are strong and powerful in your own ways, ways that these toad jerks can't even imagine! Because when we're together, nothing can stand in our way! Not the Fallen, not The Night, and certainly, not these toads! Now, who's ready to kick some toad butt?!"

Everyone cheered, their conviction and morale at an all time high. Anne was right, they've all faced tough battles up until now, and each time emerged mostly unscathed, but the point is, they survived every battle, and won. And just like before, history will repeat itself today.

"Alright team, huddle up. I got an idea on how to make this work," said Anne.

Everyone huddled around as Anne explained the game plan.

"Hop Pop you, Marcy, and Lady Olivia are going down to the dungeon to free the king. Time to put your acting skills to use."

Hop Pop cracked his knuckles. "Can do."

"Polly, you attack the soldiers in the city head-on. Get them mad at you. Oh, and take Yunan and Frobo with you. I want you guys to herd them into the open, get as many as you can to come after you."

Polly grinned evilly at the same time as Yunan as they said, "This we can do."

"Sprig, we're going to take out the forces on the wall and clear the gate. Once we've done that, I want you to defend that area for as long as you can while I go down below, beat up, and kick out the toad forces. Marcy, once you've successfully rescued the king, join me, and help me drive them out, your powers will be helpful with that," said Anne.

"Copy that!" Marcy and Sprig exclaimed.

"Alright, today's the day we take back Newtopia!"