Things were going well with the Wartwood Resistance. More frogs had joined their camp, and thanks to Sasha finally taking a more active role as commander, their missions were not only going a lot smoother, but were also more effective. Although Sasha's workload had become twice as much since then. Before she was taking indirect action, suggesting, and/or participating in certain missions as an operative rather than a leader. Now, however, she was overseeing many missions, while also seeing to the day-to-day activities in the camp.

Currently, the blonde teen was inspecting the underground base. Humming in approval at what she was seeing. "This is great, really. You've expanded this place so much in such a short time."

"Well, considering that it might end up being our fallback shelter, we have to. Who knows how long before the king attacks us again," said one of the workers.

"Have you already made the new entrances and exits?" Sasha asked.

"We got ones going east, west, north, and south. With a couple more big enough for supply wagons, another two to three for troops, and a couple dozen fake tunnels that are triggered to collapse and set off boom-shrooms should anyone be dumb enough to go inside of them."

Sasha nodded her approval. "Can we start moving some people in?"

"Sure, it's ready enough for that," the worker responded.

"Good, I'll head topside and start the moving process." The worker saluted to Sasha and went back to his work. As Sasha walked back to the entrance, she started jotting down some things that would need to be erected immediately. "Okay, since the ventilation area for the blacksmiths are ready, we should have them set up. We'll also need to move livestock, weapons and ammunition, and I should check with the farmers about those plants that will grow without sunlight."

Sasha eventually made her way back to the surface, exiting through the main fireplace entrance as it opened for her. As she walked out of the Plantar home, she passed by Chuck who was standing guard outside of it. "Hey, Chuck."

"Tulips," Chuck replied.

The Commander of the Wartwood Resistance kept walking as she headed into town, as she did, she was greeted a few of the other residents and newly minted soldiers while still jotting down some things. "Listen up everyone, I want a meeting in the middle of town square in ten, we're going to be discussing moving-in arrangements for the underground base. Spread the word!"

"YES, MA'AM!" they replied.

"Commander."

Sasha looked to her left and saw Croaker and her team walking up. During Sasha's term as commander, she had relied on a crack team that had been given the nickname, "Sasha's Angels". She did not come up with that name, and she had no idea how that stuck. This team consisted of Sadie Croaker and Archie the spider (who lost an eye recently), Maddie, Wally, Loggle, and…Toadie, for some reason.

"Croaker, guys, how did the mission go?" Sasha asked.

"Ugh, those cult freaks are at it again," said Croaker.

"They've been raiding some villages and towns, capturing them or, you know," said Maddie.

"The ones they do capture are fitted with 'em collars that control ya. Guess that mad king's hurtin' for workers," Wally commented.

Sasha furrowed her brow upon hearing this. "Andrias isn't going to stop until he strips the land of all its resources. At this rate it won't matter if he conquers Earth, there won't be a world for him to come back to." Or maybe that's point? Maybe he wants to just make a new home for Amphibia on Earth instead? "Good work out there. I requested a meeting in town square in about eight minutes. After that's done, you guys can get some rest."

"No problem," said Toadie.

"On that note, Toadie, did you…?"

"I was the lookout!"

Everyone rolled their eyes.

"Okay, well, carry on then," said Sasha.

Sasha watched as her "Angels" headed off to the square. Usually, she'd be heading up that team, but since Sasha had taken up the leadership role, her ability to go out and fight was limited. Of course, she would go and fight as Bellona whenever a mission called for some Kamen Rider power. But strangely enough, there haven't been any Fallen or Robo-Fallen since that attack on Wartwood weeks ago. It unnerved Sasha.

"Hmm-hmm-hmm, redesigning this stupid helmet~ 'Cause having a cable is super lame~" Darcy sang.

Inside the floating castle, miles away from the town of Wartwood, Darcy was hard at work in her own way. For starters, she was using the mechanical tentacles that were now freely taking up space in the throne room and using them to make some much needed changes to the helmet she was wearing. Now the cable connecting her to the castle was no longer needed and she could easily move about with more freedom. Which she demonstrated by twirling around in the middle of the room before falling flat on her face.

"Whoop, this body needs a bit of recalibration, but nothing I can't fix later," said Darcy.

"Master."

Darcy turned around and saw Andrias walking into the room, making her smirk when she saw him. "Ah, there's my favorite blue boy. What's going on big guy?"

Andrias was still getting used to this new personality that formed. He was reluctant to ask if "Darcy" really was a new personality or was it Marcy's mind becoming fully assimilated into the Core? Either way, it was still a slightly awkward and disturbing sight to see. "I wanted to report that the eastern region has been fully subjugated, and production has increased by twenty percent."

"Oh, that all? I was hoping for something more exciting, but I guess without Anne around that's not going to happen," said Darcy with disappointment.

"Um, uh, Anne Boonchuy. You want her to come back?" Andrias asked.

Darcy turned around and smirked as she said, "Well, duh, she's the only one who can really give me a challenge. I want to take my new body out for a real test drive since Anne unlocked her Final Form. I figured I could really push myself and see what needs improvement if I fought her at least once. Buuuuut…" Darcy waved her hand and a batch of monitors appeared, and on them were several pictures of Sasha, both fighting as normal and in Kamen Rider form. "There's always someone else I can test my new power against. Question: Why haven't you attacked Wartwood since the first time?"

"At the time it was a trifle thing to eradicate them. We have gotten reports of a resistance forming or at least has formed there, but compared to our overall plans, they're an annoyance at best," Andrias answered.

Darcy looked up at Andrias with a glare as she frowned, and her voice shifted, "Even a little annoyance can eventually become a great problem. You know what I speak of, son."

Andrias bowed his head and responded, "I'm sorry, Father. I do."

The glare softened and her smirk returned. "Eh, no problem. I mean, it's pitiful that I gotta go out and clean up your mess. But you've given me a great opportunity. Wiping out a town sounds like a good way to flex on these pathetic little mortals."

"Shall I prepare a transport or–?"

Darcy raised her hand. "No need. It's been a while since I got out of the castle. Amphibia may not be as nice looking as it was before. But it'll still be a fun road trip." Darcy walked out to the balcony and raised her hand as she yelled out, "COME, MACHINE RAZER!"

Andrias took as step back as the floor opened up, and out from it appeared a motorcycle. The frame was sleek, with extended handlebars that resembled a Harley Davidson bike. The front of the bike had a single orange glowing eye, with two spike fins on the rear, and a reclined seat. The wheels were made of orange colored energy that buzzed and crackled at different intervals. The motorcycle revved up and peeled away, leaving a streak of orange energy in its wake. It was heading straight for Darcy, but at the last second, Darcy jumped into the air and off the balcony.

"AHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAH!" Darcy cackled as she went into free fall.

Darcy's cape flapped in the air as she performed a couple of flips before spreading out her limbs. Machine Razer jumped the railing of the balcony and plummeted down to meet her. The energy wheels shined brighter, releasing more power as it started to slow itself down to match Darcy's descent speed. Once they matched, Darcy grabbed the handlebars and seated herself, allowing Machine Razer to angle itself away from the ground and towards the south.

"I'm so going to enjoy this," said Darcy.

It was nighttime at Wartwood, the guards had changed shifts and many of the rebellion soldiers had turned in for the night. The majority of Wartwood had already been moved down into the underground base, mostly to get things in order. Sasha was back in Anne's old room, going over some documents by mushroom light, mostly pertaining to battle plans, supply routes, and requests from the soldiers. She had taken off the heavy armor, which rested at the foot of her bed along with her helmet and was dressed in a tank top and a pair of shorts. She took a small break and stood up to stretch. When she did, Sasha saw herself in the mirror, and when she did, she walked closer to it.

Sasha hadn't taken the time to see what all this battling had done for her physique, but now that she had a moment to do so, she was kind of shocked. Her arms had become thicker, her muscles weren't bulging, but it was plain to see that they were getting bigger. The same could be said of her legs, but that was a given since she was in cheerleading, you had to have strong arms and legs for a lot of those routines. Her stomach had developed a noticeable six pack, and her skin was looking a bit rough as well.

Sasha had been known for a lot of things back at school, one of which was her beauty. Her slim figure, smooth skin, and silky blonde hair. She was an attractive young girl to all the boys in school, and to some of the girls who weren't even gay. But now the war had stripped most of that away, not that she had a choice. Function over fashion in this case. In a way, Sasha was proud of this new look, it reflected all the hardships she had endured and the growth that came with it, a physical testament to how she was trying to be a better person, someone worthy of the one she loved so much. Still, there was that vain part of Sasha that nagged at her in the back of her head.

"Hmm…I'm starting to look a little butch-like, aren't I? Wonder if Anne will be turned off by that?" Sasha questioned.

Sasha shook her head when she heard what she said.

"Pfft, getting ahead of yourself, huh, Waybright?…I hope she's doing alright back home. God, I can't imagine what she's going through right now," said Sasha as she sat back down.

Sasha wasn't an idiot; she was perfectly aware of the fact three missing girls would naturally be looked into by the police. She figured Anne would be taking some heat since she was the only one who returned, while her two friends were still missing.

"Ugh, Mom and Dad better not be hounding Anne," she growled.

Ever since their divorce, while they said they still loved each other, she could tell that there was a bit of animosity here and there. Not much, but they seemed to argue a bit more since the divorce rather than when they were married. Her mother acted less like a mother and more like a big sister. Which was nice, her mother looked very young despite her age, and was often mistaken for Sasha's big sister. But she acted more like a mother when her father was there. Speaking of, despite saying he would have time for her, it was often times a broken promise. There were times when Sasha wanted to hate her father, but at the same time, she knew his job was demanding, and that jobs like that often made you choose between a paycheck and your kid.

"If I ever got married, it won't be like that. I'll make time for my kid, I'll make sure that they know I love them, and will always be there for them," Sasha promised herself. "I wonder if there's a way Anne and I could have a kid? Wonder which of us would be the one to give birth to it?

Then she blushed and fell on her back, rolling back and forth as she pressed her hands against her face.

"Oh my, Frog! What's wrong with me?! Why do I keep going back to that?! Am I that thirsty for Anne that I'm thinking about this stuff?!"

Sasha stopped her rolling around and just sprawled herself out on the bed.

"…No, I just miss you a lot, Boonchuy. I don't know if the feeling's mutual though…"

*Knock*

*Knock*

Sasha sat up and said, "Come in."

The door to the basement opened and showed Grime. "You're still up? It's already midnight."

"I know, I know, I'm just going to finish up looking through these documents first. Then I'll hit the hay," said Sasha.

Grime scoffed at that when he saw the stack of papers. "Oh no, you're not." The former captain marched down the stairs and said, "You're the leader of this resistance. And part of your duty is getting rest when you are able. There's no point in working into the wee hours of the night just to be exhausted come morning. It affects your decision making and your health. And we need you healthy and quick-witted for the battles ahead. So, c'mon, off to bed with you."

"Grimesy, c'mon," Sasha whined.

"Don't 'Grimesy' me, Lieutenant. Sleep. Now," Grime ordered.

Sasha sighed and relented. "Fine, fine. I'm going to bed."

Grime watched as Sasha pulled back the sheets a bit and slipped under them, but then he held out his right hand and said, "And the extra documents you have hidden under the blankets."

"Ugh."

Sasha reached under the blankets and pulled out about five sheets, then handed them to Grime.

"And the hidden one in your hair," Grime added.

"Grime, c'mon, you really think I have paper stashed away in my…" Sasha looked at his face and saw that he was not convinced. Sasha reached into her long blonde locks and pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper. "Here."

"Much obliged. Now, good night, Sasha."

"Night, Grimesy," Sasha replied.

Grime hit the mushroom and turned it off. He then picked up the stack of papers and walked up the stairs with it before closing the door behind him.

Once Sasha was sure he was gone, she pulled out her cellphone and turned on the light as she whipped out a document from behind her back. "Heh-heh."

Then the door swung open with Grime marching down the stairs, again. Snatching up the paper in her hand, and then heading back upstairs before slamming the door shut.

"Guess I'm going to sleep."

It was three in the morning, the dead of night, the witching hour, some might say. A time where things could and possibly will go wrong, one of those wrong things was currently hovering above Wartwood right now. Darcy sat on Machine Razer, legs dangling back and forth as her ten eyes gazed down at the little hamlet. Marcy's memories played in her mind, remembering the date that she had with Anne here, how the frogs of Wartwood worked together to make their date the best it could be. The spa seemed to have been shut down and converted into a weapons depot.

"Shame."

Stumby's restaurant was no longer in business, now used aa a storage space from what she could tell.

"Ah, and here I was hoping to get a bite."

The theatre area was gone as well.

"Eh, without Anne and her phone, it's not as romantic as it once was."

Darcy's eyes looked off down the road, towards the forest where the lake was hidden. The dark ruler smiled fondly as she remembered the sight of the Thai teen in her swimwear, a tinge of red painting her cheeks. But that wasn't all she remembered. She also remembered Sasha. That strong domineering will, her indominable physical strength, and her beautiful visage. A shiver ran up her spine when she remembered these things about the girl. She loved Anne, dearly, obsessively so, but Sasha was a prize all her own as well.

"Mmm, but that will be for another day. Time to go open world sandbox on this little town. And unfortunately for you all, I chose the villain route!" A surge of orange energy wrapped around Darcy's waist, and in the next moment, the MetamorphRing CORE appeared. Darcy leaned backwards until she fell off the bike and began falling down towards Wartwood. The dark ruler made the same hand motions as Marcy once did, and said, "Henshin" as she pressed down on the hip devices.

A dome of orange light appeared around Darcy, with crackling orange lightning arcing around it. The frog soldiers below saw something akin to a falling star, a star that was getting alarmingly closer to town square. The soldiers finally yelled for everyone to get out of the area, and thankfully they did just before the star crashed down onto the statue of the town founder. A dust cloud was kicked up into the air, but a faint glow of orange light could be seen within the dust. The frog soldiers came around, swords and spears in hand, edging closer to the crater to investigate what had fallen from the sky. They didn't have to wait long as a fierce whirlwind pushed the dust cloud away and nearly did the same to all of them. That's when they saw someone rise out of the crater, their body outlined in orange light.

The being that floated before them had a dark mesh suit. Her chest plate was a grayish brown color, with pale mauve lines like most of the armor. On the chest was a single orange eye with a yellow pupil, and five glowing lines that spread out around the chest plate. On either shoulder was a pauldron, and on each pauldron was a similar eye. Glowing lines wrapped around each of her biceps, and her thighs. Her hands were covered by gloves that had sharp nails at the ends, her gloves came up to her forearms while her boots up over her shins. The helmet had ten glowing eyes similar to that of her original helmet, but unlike that one, this one had shorter horns and fully incased her head.

"WHO GOES THERE!" one of the frogs demanded.

The right shoulder eye of the Dark Rider glanced in that direction. She then raised her right hand and pointed it at that frog. Within seconds, a burst of orange energy shot towards that frog and sent them flying until they crashed through the wall of a building several feet away. The Dark Rider floated down onto the ground, and her various eyes looked about the area, assessing her surroundings.

"Hmm, not that many here. But that's that I get for coming so late at night," said Darcy. "Oh, well, environmental destruction is fun too."

More frog soldiers appeared, this time armed with bows and arrows, and when they arrived, they began firing at her. Darcy smirked under her helmet as she suddenly vanished from sight, leaving only crackling orange lightning in her wake. With a wave of her hand, she released a surging wave of orange energy that tore up the ground as it headed straight for a weapons depot. The energy surge struck and caused a massive explosion, setting off their supply of boom-shrooms. Embers were shot off from the explosion that rained down on the town. The embers set the roofs ablaze in a matter of seconds, spreading across to one after the other, creating a wildfire that was about to engulf the entire town.

The frog soldiers yelled loudly as they charged the monster before them, but Darcy dashed for one of the frogs, picked him up by his helmet, and tossed him like a ragdoll into the rest of his companions. Darcy jumped into the air to avoid getting hit by three spears, but then came down with an ax kick. She struck the ground and caused it to fissure, with the impact making all three frogs hop into the air. While in midair, Darcy punched each of the frogs, sending them flying into the distance.

"Hehahaha…"

Darcy's hands glowed with orange light, and as they did, several chunks of broken up dirt and rock hovered in the air around her. With a wave of both of her hands, she sent the debris flying into several buildings, the ground, and towards more frogs who had come to render aid. Buildings were demolished, easily falling due to the spreading fire weakening their structure. The ground got torn up even more from the fast-moving debris smashing into it and sending shockwaves out in different directions, the frogs were getting tossed about, and some were crushed by her attacks.

"Aahahahahaha…!"

One of the frogs managed to jump into the air and came down with an overhead strike. Their sword managed to hit Darcy on the left side of her chest, but as soon as the blade hit, it snapped in two right before them. The frog looked at his weapon with terror as he watched the broke half of the blade fall to the ground right before him. When he looked up, he saw that all thirteen eyes were looking down right at him.

"AHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Wow! That must be terribly frightening to see. You thought you were going to be that one valiant hero who manages to get his one lick into the boss villain, but no, you're not the protag of this story." Darcy pointed her left hand at the frog before her. "She's not here to save you."

Darcy released a blast of orange energy that engulfed the frog's body and turned him into ash.

"Eh…Heh-heh…Anne, Mar-Mar…c'mon, stop it, I can't go to practice if you won't let me–" Suddenly a huge explosion tore Sasha out of her dream and woke her right up. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!"

The door to Sasha's room burst open with Grime standing there in full armor, wielding Barrel's Warhammer as he yelled, "SASHA! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

Sasha didn't even bother to put on her armor as she ran outside with Grime and saw the orange glow of fire coming from Wartwood. "Dammit, I knew Andrias would attack us again, but I didn't think it'd be this soon."

"Let's gather our forces and drive out the robots," said Grime.

Sasha nodded her head, but as she was about to say something, she felt pain in her abdomen. "AAH!" Sasha went down on one knee as she grunted and gritted her teeth. "W-W-What is this?!"

"Sasha?! What's wrong?!" Grime asked worriedly.

"I…I don't know, this pain, it feels like when I first got my powers," said Sasha.

"What? Why?"

"I don't know, and…there's something else." Sasha's eyes focused on Wartwood. "I got a bad feeling. A really bad feeling about what's over there right now. Grime, forget gathering our forces. Get everyone down to the underground base! I'm going to go and fight whatever is over there and buy you all as much time as I can!"

Grime looked down at the human girl with worry, but a steely glare from Sasha was all that was needed to make him move. "Very well, Commander. Be careful."

Sasha nodded as she got back to her feet and summoned her MetamorphRing. The teenage girl went into her hand motions and said, "Henshin!" as she pressed down on both hip devices. A dome of fire wrapped around Sasha's body, and after a few moments the dome broke apart and revealed Kamen Rider Bellona.

Bellona ran down the dirt path towards Wartwood, and as she drew closer, she could hear the sound of energy discharging again and again, along with the fracturing of rock, and the sounds of collapsing buildings. Once Bellona got into town, she saw that all of Wartwood was on fire, the ground was torn up, and some frogs were lying dead in the streets. And at the center of this destruction was some being with their back turned to her as they blasted away. Bellona pressed her right hand to her Driver's crystal filament and drew out the Phoenix Wing sword.

"ENOUGH!" she ordered. "Cease your attack now and I swear I'll make your end swift and painless!"

The being stopped their attack and turned around to face Bellona. When they did, Bellona's eyes widened when she saw a MetamorphRing Driver wrapped around this person's waist. A…A MetamorphRing?! B-But how?! Only Anne, me, and Marcy have this! But it looks different, what's that thing on it?! "Who are you?!"

Darcy smirked under her helmet when she saw Sasha, or rather, Bellona, here. Oh, so she's been here this whole time. Great! Now I can finally get serious and properly test my powers. But first, time to take that voice modulator for a spin.

"Hello, Sasha Waybright."

"You…You know my name?" Bellona asked.

"Of course, I do. That is because I am The Night. But in this form, you can call me Kamen Rider Terminus, the end of the line," said Terminus.

Bellona's mouth gaped in shock. This was the one responsible for the Fallen, the one that Nocturne Filios worshiped, the being of evil. She didn't think The Night itself would be here to fight her, but why did it look female, and why was it wearing a Driver?

"Where did you get that belt?! It doesn't belong to you!" Bellona stated.

"Oh, this old thing? I got it from a young girl, you might know her by the name of Marcy Regina Wu."

"Marcy…that's…that's Marcy's Driver…?!" Flames began to rage around Bellona as she yelled, "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HER?!"

"Fight me and win, and maybe I'll tell you," Terminus bargained.

Bellona didn't need to be asked twice as she rushed for Terminus and swung her sword. Terminus raised her left arm and blocked the blade with her forearm, the impact creating a shockwave from the sudden stop. But Bellona didn't stop as she tried to commit to the slash, attempting to cut through Terminus' arm. Terminus raised her left hand and thrust it against Bellona's chest. A burst of energy erupted from Terminus' hand which sent Bellona flying backwards. Bellona grunted as she flipped around in midair and stabbed her sword down into the dirt, using it as an anchor as she cut a long groove into the dirt before finally stopping.

"My turn."

Terminus held out her right hand and materialized something into it. A long staff of similar color to her armor, at one end spiraling seashell with multiple spikes around it, and at the other end was a glowing eye the same as her armor. When Terminus took hold of this staff, she twirled it around and took a stance, and when she did, the end with the eye generated a jagged scythe blade made of yellow and red crackling energy.

"Oh, shiiiitake mushrooms…"

Bellona quickly pressed down on her right hip port. Her entire right arm transformed and as she went into Scutum Form. The Aegis shield formed on her right forearm as she tossed her sword into her left hand. Terminus came down with her scythe and Bellona blocked it with Aegis, but the power of Terminus was greater than she thought as Bellona found herself being pushed back as her heels dug grooves into the earth. Bellona cried out defiantly as she made the Aegis shield fire off a copy of itself, allowing her to break away from Terminus.

Terminus stopped on a dime and sped towards Bellona, bringing her scythe down to cut Bellona in half. The fire Rider rolled to the left, avoiding the first strike, but Terminus quickly pulled up her scythe and twirled it around, turning it into wheel of death that made Bellona back up a bit as she didn't know which direction the next attack was coming. Terminus smirked under her helmet as she slashed at Bellona's legs, forcing her to jump to avoid it, but that was just a distraction as Terminus stabbed her scythe into the ground and spun herself around to deliver a kick to Bellona's left side, throwing her back towards Wartwood.

Bellona smashed through several structures before stopping before city hall. Terminus wasn't far behind as she leaped from where she was and landed a few feet away from the hero. The Dark Rider cracked her neck a little as she rolled her shoulders.

"Alright, Sasha, stop fighting me in base form and go Super already. It's not really a challenge if I can't fight you at full power. And it's not really helpful in testing out my full capabilities if my opponent is holding back," said Terminus. "I'll even give you some time to change out of that form so you can summon the other version of your MetamorphRing."

Bellona scoffed at the offer as she got back to her feet and dismissed both her sword and Scutum Mode. "Thanks for the offer, but your info's outdated!" The MetamorphRing glowed for a moment before transforming into the MetamorphRing TRI.

"Oh, okay, that's new."

"HENSHIN!"

Bellona pressed on both of her hip devices as she ran towards Terminus, a dome of fired formed around Bellona as a bright magenta light shined from within it. As soon as she reached Terminus, the dome broke down and Bellona had entered her Super Form, Invictus: Gladiator Mode. Bellona came out swinging with her dual sided sword, Hyperion, forcing Terminus to raise her scythe to block the initial strike. A shockwave erupted from the impact, causing the ground beneath them to crack and fissure in different directions.

"YOU WANTED THE HEAT, AND I'M BRINGING IT!" Bellona yelled.

"AHAAHAHAHAHA! Oh yeah! Now we have a fight!" Terminus exclaimed in a joyous tone.

The two warriors broke off their struggle and put some distance between them. Bellona began to spin Hyperion around with both hands, and as she did, the flames that had engulfed Wartwood suddenly began being drawn towards her sword. Terminus watched as all the flames were now wrapped around both blades of Bellona's sword, and once they had, Bellona charged for her again. The Dark Rider twirled her weapon around as Bellona came in with a flaming sword slash, to which she parried it with her own slash. But Bellona didn't stop as she kept attacking, slashing and slashing Hyperion as Terminus countered with each of her own slashes. The dueling attacks released sparks of orange lightning and fireballs that lashed out in all directions around them, causing a cascade of explosions.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

The explosions increased in frequency as the two warring fighters continued clashing blades. Bellona energized the wing frills on her boots and propelled herself off the ground as she began flying around Terminus, continuing to try and slash her, but it was as if the Dark Rider could see her every move as she made it. Terminus' smirk grew wider as she disappeared upon Bellona's swing, and in the next instant, kicked Bellona in her gut, sending her straight up into the air. Terminus gave chase, appearing on an intercept path as she slashed with her scythe, cutting a glowing "X" into the air as she launched it right at Bellona.

Too late to block it, Bellona took the full brunt of the attack as it threw her outside of Wartwood and into the forest as an explosion went off upon her landing. Several sparks went off from her armor, as pain surged throughout Bellona's body. But that was negated by a new pain as Terminus came twisting out of the air and landing an ax kick right in the same spot as her first strike. Bellona coughed violently as the ground gave way and fractured beneath them. When the dust settled, Terminus had her foot atop Bellona's chest, and Bellona wasn't moving.

"Heh-heh-heh, hahahahaha! Wow that was fun!" Terminus leaned down and stared at Sasha with all of her eyes. "But as expected from you, Sasha Waybright. All power, no finesse. I guess the only real threat out there is Anne Boonchuy. I can't wait until she comes back."

Bellona's left hand gripped the dirt beneath it. "Don't…"

"Hmm? What was that?"

"Don't you…"

"Don't I what?" Terminus asked mockingly.

Bellona's eyes glowed bright magenta as she bellowed out, "DON'T YOU DARE UNDERESTIMATE ME!"

A pillar of magenta flames erupted around Bellona, which inadvertently caught Terminus by surprise and managed to make her armor spark from damage. Terminus jumped back and got into a defensive stance, unsure about what was happening. The pillar of magenta flames dispersed and became flaming wings which were now attached to the back of Bellona, but her form had changed from what it once was. This was Invictus: Burst Gladiator Mode.

What is this?! Since when does Sasha have an Extra Super Form?! Terminus thought.

Bellona took a step towards Terminus and said, "What's the matter, Terminus? Didn't expect something like this, did you?"

"Oh-ho-ho, Sasha, you are full of surprises, just like Anne," said Terminus. "Very well! Show me what you can do!"

"WITH PLEASURE!"

Bellona disappeared for a moment, making Terminus blink. The flame Rider reappeared and made Terminus have to jump back at the last second to avoid a flaming punch from her. But Terminus was not prepared for what happened next, Bellona's wings flared as she dashed straight for Terminus, disappearing in a fluttering of embers, and reaching Terminus within a few seconds.

Her speed has dramatically increased! Anne was the fast one, but it looks as if now she's attained the same level of speed as Anne's Super Form! Okay, this just got a lot more interesting!

Terminus slashed with her scythe and managed to cut through Bellona, only for Bellona's form to become transparent before disappearing. Terminus came to a halt, and realized that, somehow, she was surrounded by multiple copies of Bellona. The eyes of Terminus were looking in every direction as her computer brain did mental calculations as to which one was the real one. But Bellona wasn't going to give her the chance to figure it out as the flame Rider flared her wings and flapped them forward, releasing several magenta flame comets that rained down on Terminus' position. The Dark Rider's eyes all converged on one spot in the sky and spotted the comets about to land. Terminus slashed the sky in a wide arc and released a horizontal beam of orange light that met the comets and made them all explode at once.

Bellona burst through the cloud of smoke that was created by the explosion and managed to land a right hook into Terminus' gut. A shockwave erupted behind Terminus as she coughed violently from the blow. Swirling magenta flames formed around that same fist, and with a thrust of her arm, Bellona launched Terminus back in the direction of Wartwood. Multiple mini explosions went off all over Terminus' armor as sparks danced in the air, trailing behind the Dark Rider as she ended up crash landing back into the center of town. Bellona flew high into the sky, appearing as a brightly shining magenta star. The symbol of Bellona appeared before the here, melding with the flames surrounding her body, and after, shot towards Terminus' location with an outstretched right leg as she went into her Rider Kick.

"SOL BREAKER!"

Terminus rose out of the crater like a vampire from their coffin, she had forgone her scythe as orange energy raged around her body. All thirteen eyes glowed bright orange with equally bright pupils as they all focused on the incoming Kamen Rider. Terminus focused all her energy into right fist making it glow with menacing power.

"DELETION IMPACT!"

Terminus thrusted forth her fist and met Bellona's kick head on. The two attacks clashed a huge shock wave demolished what was left of the structures around Wartwood, along with the trees. Magenta and orange light warred as the two Riders gave it their all to defeat the other. Bellona was bellowing out a war cry at the same time as Terminus was cackling like a mad fool, as if she was enjoying this entire struggle more than Bellona could imagine. But that didn't matter, she was going to plant her foot in this monster's chest and take back Marcy's Driver, and then make this thing tell her where she's being kept.

The Dark Rider was having fun, way more fun than she could've expected, but something happened. The MetamorphRing CORE began to release electrical sparks, and her energy output began to drop a bit. Darn, guess I pushed it too far. But now I got some important data on both my current physical abilities and limits, and where to make improvements to the CORE override module.

Terminus opened her fist and grabbed ahold of Bellona's foot, surprising the flame Rider. With a mighty tug, Terminus redirected Bellona's kick and made it strike the ground in front of them, creating another massive explosion that kicked up a thick cloud of smoke and dust into the air.

"You've gotten a lot stronger and faster, Sasha. I'm very interested in how you managed to obtain this level of power without achieving your Final Form, but alas, this test run has to come to an end, and I must leave," said Terminus.

"COWARD! Where are you?! Show yourself!" Bellona ordered as she turned up the heat of her flames, creating a gust of hot air that blew away the remainder of the cloud, but unfortunately, she did not spot Terminus. "DAMN YOU! COME BACK AND FIGHT ME! TELL ME WHAT YOU DID WITH MARCY!"

Bellona was about to fly into the air to search for Terminus, but her body finally gave out on her as she fell to one knee. Her Rider form cancelled out and returned her to civilian form. Sasha was panting, bruised, and bleeding from the mouth. She didn't realize how much pain she was in, or how much damage Terminus' attacks did until just now. The combination of Burst Gladiator Mode and adrenaline had kept most of the pain from being noticed, but now, she was feeling it all. Fortunately for Sasha, Grime, along with the "Angels" and a contingent of other Wartwood Resistance fighters came running down what remained of the dirt pathway.

"SASHA!" Grime cried out as he ran to her side. "What happened? Are you alright?!"

"Ugh…I'm banged up, but…I'll live…" Sasha spoke.

The others looked around and gasped when they saw the damage that had been done.

"Blimey, what in Frog's name did you fight that made you go all out like that?" Wally asked.

Sasha debated whether or not should tell them. A Kamen Rider fighting for the resistance brought hope and courage to the resistance fighters, but if they knew The Night had Kamen Rider powers now, and was physically here, she feared their will to fight might evaporate. However, lying to them and having them find out later when it really mattered would only cause them harm.

"The Night…"

"What did you say, Deary?" Croaker asked.

"The thing I fought out here…It was The Night, the thing that creates the Fallen, the thing that Andrias works for…it came here, and I fought it," said Sasha.

As expected, everyone gasped in shock upon receiving this news. Anne, Sasha, and Marcy had made Wartwood aware of the enemy that they faced, of the master of the Fallen. Until now they only knew it as a faceless, formless entity. Always watching but never acting. But now, it had a form, and it was no longer just watching.

"That's not all…it took on a form. A female human form. I don't know if it was just to mock us or if The Night was originally female, but that's not the important part. It had a Driver; it was using Marcy's MetamorphRing. There was something on it that was probably the cause of its corruption, but…now The Night is here, and it has Rider powers," Sasha explained.

"But you managed to fight it off, which means it's probably not as powerful we thought," said Maddie.

"It ran away, yeah. But only because something was wrong with that attachment. It called our fight a 'test run'."

"Then that's a good thing," said Grime. "It means that whatever means The Night has returned by, it's not fully developed or it's not completely stable. That still gives us the advantage."

"Hope you're right, Grimesy…Did you guys manage to get everyone to the underground base?" Sasha asked.

"All residents are present in the base and accounted for, Commander. You managed to buy everyone enough time to get to safety," Toadie answered.

Loggle looked around and added, "And, as much as it pains me to say this, having our town smashed up like this is probably a good thing. Now Andrias will think that your fight scattered us or that we all died except for you. They won't be expecting us to be hiding underground."

"Good…now…I'm going to pass out until morning…"

Sasha did just that, and Grime managed to catch her before she could hit the ground.

Anne…please…come back soon…I can't face that thing alone…

Darcy returned to the castle, having completed her test run of the MetamorphRing CORE. Andrias was waiting for her, and he appeared anxious, but then was relieved to see her.

"Master, are you alright?" he asked.

"The test run was successful! I definitely need to make a few adjustments to the CORE module before I fight Sasha or Anne again, this might take some time," said Darcy.

"W-Wait, you fought Sasha Waybright?! My lord, you should've taken some reinforcements, if something happened with the module she could've–!"

Darcy turned around and glared at Andrias again as she said, "Do not think WE haven't considered that! It was a calculated risk, and the robots would've only slowed us down. Next time will be much different than before, once the module has been adjusted, along with this body, neither one of those brats will be able to stand up to our power."

Andrias bowed to Darcy and responded, "Forgive me, my lord. I only spoke out of concern."

Darcy walked up to the giant lizard and patted him on the shin. "Ah, no problem, big guy. But, if you question my motives again, I'll Rider Kick you so deep into the mountains that you won't be discovered by anyone until the next couple of centuries. Okay, good talk."

With that talk done, Darcy walked away and headed into her lab to work on the adjustments. When she was alone, Darcy closed all ten of her eyes and dived deep into her mind. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Marcy, alongside the simulacrums of Sasha and Anne. The three of them were currently fighting some monsters in a different world that wasn't Amphibia. The three of them were fighting in tandem with one another, combining their attacks and performing complex maneuvers to defeat the armies of monsters. Finally, a huge monster appeared and the three of them performed a Rider Kick that struck the monster down and created a powerful explosion that wiped out the rest of the monsters in the area.

When the battle was done, the three girls returned to their civilian forms, decked out in more regal garbs, having become some kind of multiverse ambassadors and peacekeepers, going to different worlds and solving the problems that plagued them, along with defeating the occasional evil organization or two that threatened to take over whatever world they were on, or other worlds. The ghostly image of a giant newt appeared, he was dressed in royal garb, was old, possessed a long gray beard, and wore a crown, stood by and watched the goings on.

"So how goes our newest tenant doing, Aldrich?" Darcy asked.

Aldrich looked down at Darcy as he said, "She is not the only new one."

"Eh, I'm technically all of you, and all of her, meshed together. So, really, I am new and not new at the same time. A living paradox. Now, what is her status?" she asked again.

Aldrich rolled his eyes and answered, "Content so far. We must admit, your insight into her mind and her desires has helped us in fabricating this fantasy world."

Darcy looked at Marcy and saw the elated expression she was making as she hugged her girls, and then gave them each a kiss. "Heh, I'd say more than content. She's in her own personal heaven. Adventuring through multiple worlds, fighting monsters, and going on dates with her lovers. None of you old fogies know what a girl thinks, but since part of my mind is like hers, I can easily come up with scenarios that she'll like. She'll be fully assimilated after a while, but until then, we need to keep her distracted in case she tries to wrench control."

"You really believe that she can do that?"

"We already underestimated Sasha Waybright obtaining a new power despite being cut off from her gem. We can't underestimate these humans again, at least when it comes to those three." Darcy looked at the simulacrums and smiled sinisterly. "But soon enough…heh-heh."