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.

51. S2 Episode 18: A Not So Silent Night

Three days had passed since Anne's adventure in the Alternate Demon Realm with Luz. Not surprisingly, everyone was happy to see her again, and were blown away by her explanation about what had happened to her there. Her father and Sprig were really excited to hear about how Anne met the literal King of all Kamen Riders, but her mother felt like she needed to have a word with that so called "king" for not doing more to help Anne and her Rider friend. Anne was worried about how that would turn out.

While the adventure was harrowing, and emotional, it did help Anne to gain some perspective about how she should handle Sasha when she saw the blonde again. There was no denying that she still harbored some feelings for Sasha, but at the same time, the sting of her betrayal lingered. However, after talking to Luz, she understood that there was no way for her or Sasha to move forward, as friends or as possible lovers, if Anne herself wasn't able to try and forgive Sasha for what she had done. She learned a lot more about Sasha's home life since getting back, and felt she better understood why Sasha was so possessive and controlling when it came to herself and Marcy.

To Sasha, her and Marcy were the only stable things in her life, the only ones she considered family, heck, now that she thought about it, Anne remembered how Sasha made a passing comment about how she wished that she was in Anne's family, since she liked her mom and dad. Now that passing comment felt less like a joke and more of fond wish to be a part of Anne's family. Speaking of family, it was almost that special time of year, yes, it was almost Christmas!

Anne was making her way downstairs, but as she did, she could see her mother swiftly getting the house ready. If there was one thing you could count on the Boonchuy family to do, it was Christmas, and they did it big. Oum loved Christmas, the carols, the decorations, the joining of family in a time of love and peace, where everyone had the spirit of Christmas within them, and the time when miracles could happen. The outside was already decorated, Frosty the Snowman and Santa Claus were setup atop the roof, along with strings of lights both on the house itself and on the front yard. And Oum herself was dressed in a Santa coat and hat.

Inside, Anne watched as her mother reached into a box and pulled out some wreathes with ornaments and bows, magically throwing them onto the windows as they stuck onto it and then placing holiday figurines on the windowsill. But the older Thai woman was not done yet, she managed to wrangle Domino and got her dressed in a little Santa costume, complete with a hat. Oum swiftly moved to a shelf, and again, like magic, began filling the shelf with more Christmas themed knickknacks.

She swiftly moved to the Christmas tree, shook a box of tree trimmings, and all the ornaments and tinsel fell neatly into place, as if by divine will it was meant to be so. For the tree topper, Oum grabbed something special and placed it on the tree. It was a frog tree topper, complete with a pair of wings and a little halo above its head.

Anne smiled as she headed into the kitchen and sat down, but when she did, a green elf hat flew at her and landed perfectly onto her head. Bee was dressed in green Christmas sweater, with zigzagging yellow lines and red and blue hanging ornaments. Of course, as all of this was going on, the Plantars were standing there. They had been watching the Boonchuys move about with purpose and festive spirit, but it was very confusing as they had no idea why they were doing all of this.

"Anne, what's happenin'?" Hop Pop asked.

Before Anne could properly answer, Sprig hopped onto the table and asked, "Are we under attack?! Are these fortifications, booby traps, weapons?!" the last part was in regards to an Elf-on-the-Shelf decoration, which he was now brandishing as a weapon.

Anne shook her head and gently pushed the wooden elf away as she explained, "Dude, calm down. It's just Christmas."

"It's whaaaaaaaaaaat?" The Plantars asked in unison.

Upon seeing their confused faces, Anne facepalmed herself. "Oh shoot. I never explained this? Christmas is one of the biggest Earth holidays! And us Boonchuy's go BIG!"

"Ah. A holiday. Neato. So, what's it about?" Sprig asked.

Before Anne could, again, give an explanation, the phone rang. Oum walked over and answered, "Happy Holidays form the Boonchuys…Yes, this is she…" Oum gasped which made everyone look at her with concern. "Really?!"

"Honey, what's up?" Bee asked.

"It's the Downtown LA Christmapalooza Parade! There was a last-minute opening!"

Bee gasped in excitement.

Anne gasped in excitement.

Sprig, Polly, and Hop Pop did not know why they were excited but decided to follow along and gasped in excitement.

After getting over her own excitement, Anne reached over to grab a flyer and showed it off to the Plantars as she said, "It's the annual holiday parade. Local businesses, and schools, and sports teams all make floats. It's always been my Mom's dream to have one for the restaurant!"

Polly looked at the flyer and asked, "What the heck is a float?"

The elderly frog sighed, "Every answer brings more and more questions."

Bee approached his daughter, still bubbling with excitement as he asked, "Could this finally be the year?!"

"Sure looks like it, Dad!" Anne exclaimed.

Both father and daughter giggled as they did a little celebration dance while Oum was still on the phone with the caller.

"Thank you so much. I can't believe it…But I'm gonna have to say no."

"WHAT?! OHMPH!" That surprise answer caught Anne and Bee off guard, so much so, that while celebrating, Bee had lifted his daughter in the air, but when they heard Oum say "no", he accidentally dropped her on top of himself and the table.

After shaking off that fall, Anne looked at her mother and asked, "Mom, why'd you say no?! You've been waiting for this chance, and it's finally happening!"

"Honey, as much as I would love a Thai Go float, and I love Christmas more than anything, it would draw way too much attention to us," said Oum.

Anne winced a little, she briefly forgot about that. "Y-Yeah, but–!"

"I mean, three frogs from another dimension parading in front of all of LA. Even in disguises, that's hardly keeping a low profile."

"True," Bee chimed in, "Especially not with that evil king coming after you. Not to mention Foundation X and Mister X. I still say those two are working together, but I digress."

"Honestly, after you've been gone so long, and after that little scare when you got taken away, we're just happy you're home at all to spend the holidays with us," said Oum as she walked up to Anne and cupped her cheek lovingly. "That's more than enough for me."

Anne started to feel bad. Her mother didn't say it like that, and she knew her mother meant what she said, but Anne knew that this was because of all the heat she unintentionally brought down on them. Oum smiled at Anne and began walking away, but Anne decided to try and reason with her.

"But this is your dream! You've wanted this ever since you and Dad immigrated to the States," said Anne.

Oum hugged herself, she could not deny that this was something that they've wanted since coming to California, to the United States. But as far as she was concerned, her daughter's safety, and that of the Plantars, were of more importance than a float in a parade.

"Yeah, well…we can still do all the normal traditions! Carols, cookies, decorating the tree, gifts, the family Christmas card!"

"Oh, that reminds me!" Bee came up and was now holding a camera. "I picked the theme for this year's card. 'Candid'. It's going to be groundbreaking!"

"Huh. What was last year's theme?" Sprig asked.

"Ungulates."

Anne gestured to a picture on the wall, and in that picture was the Boonchuy family. Oum was dressed in a moose costume, Bee was a deer, Anne was a giraffe, and Domino had a goat costume as well. On the photo were the words, "Hoof A Merry Deery Christmas".

Sprig looked upon the photo with great confusion as he uttered, "…What the heck?"

Oum nodded in approval. "See. We can still have a great holiday without a float at the parade."

Anne was still unconvinced, especially with this guilt building up inside of her. As she pondered what she could do, Anne saw a flash go off at her right. When she looked down, she saw the Plantars rubbing their eyes, with her father kneeling and looking at the camera to check the picture.

"I need to be quick on the draw if I wanna capture us in our – Oh, my goodness!" Bee exclaimed.

Anne went around to look and had the same shocked expression as her father. The picture he captured looked cursed.

"Okay, next time, no flash," he concluded.

It was at that moment that Anne was struck with an idea. A sneaky idea.

"Right, so, uh, the Plantars and I have something else to do. Okay, bye!"

Anne herded her found family up the stairs, all the way until they reached her bedroom. Once inside, Anne picked up her cellphone, searched for the number to the planning committee for the parade, and called them back. After a couple of rings, she got someone.

"Hi, yes this is Anne Boonchuy, Oum Boonchy's daughter. You just called about a parade float for Thai Go…Yeah, I'm sorry, my Mom was a bit overwhelmed and was unsure if we could get a float together in time for the parade. But after some discussion, it is possible, and I'm calling to say that we'd like to change that 'no' to a 'yes'!…Uh-huh…Uh-huh…Great, thank you so much for this opportunity! Bye!" Anne hung up the call and fist pumped in victory.

"Whoa," Sprig exclaimed.

"Plot twist!"

"Anne, what're ya doin'? Yer Mom said that she didn't to do it," said Hop Pop.

Anne sighed as she turned to face Hop Pop. "Did you see my Mom? She's clearly devastated and trying to hide it."

Hop Pop thought back, remembering Oum's expression both when she heard about getting to participate in the parade, and the disappointed expression she made after saying no. "Ah did sense a subtle melancholy."

Anne kneeled before the Plantars and said, "My parents have already made too many sacrifices for me. Not to mention everything else I've put them through these last few months. They even accepted me when I came out to them. Well, now it's my turn to do something for them. This year, I'm gonna give them the greatest present ever! The parade float of their dreams! Are ya with me, guys?!"

"Alright, we're in Anne!" Sprig stated.

"You can count on us," said Hop Pop.

"Let's do this thing!" Polly yelled.

Sprig raised his hand and asked, "Before we go, could you explain this holiday to me?"

"No time! We only have a few days so let's motor, people!" Anne stated.

The Plantars shrugged and cheered in unison with Anne.

---

Back in Amphibia, the castle continued its flight through the skies as their forces conquered one part of Amphibia after the other. Inside the castle, Darcy, was humming a merry tune as she watched Bernado, who was sporting one of the mind control collars, sew some clothes.

"Hmm? Not bad so far, Bernado, add a bit more blue, and flower decorations," said Darcy.

"Of course, Master," said Bernado as he began to do just that.

"And as for the other one, a bit more fur, I want it to look more barbarian."

"As you wish."

Darcy sighed in content; things were progressing smoothly. Different villages and towns were falling one after the other, some offered resistance, others surrendered without a fight. Those that did fight, well, you really couldn't call it a fight. They already conquered the West and East Toad Towers, and most of the toad soldiers had gone underground. It was no secret to Darcy that they were probably planning a big counterattack, but with the way things were going, that was next to impossible. Thunderous footsteps caught her attention as she watched Andrias walk on by, passing by her new quarters as he made his way to the throne room.

"How's it going big guy? You doin' alright?" Darcy asked.

"Just fine, my lord," said Andrias.

"Aww, buck up blue boy! It's Christmas time back on Earth!"

Andrias blinked for a moment and said, "Christmas?"

Darcy tilted her head to the side. "What? I'm pretty sure Marcy told you about this holiday. I mean, the concept is pretty stupid, but festive and fun all the same. I especially like the idea of gift giving! Now, why don't you run along and go and do…kingly things…I need to make sure Bernado gets this just right."

Andrias bowed and continued to walk on. The more time he spent around Darcy, the more he grew disturbed by her mere existence. His father, along with the rest of the minds that comprised The Core, were still there, and would occasionally give new orders. However, Andrias couldn't help but wonder which was in control. For the most part, it seemed as if Darcy was. Was Marcy's mind stronger than they had anticipated? Perhaps it was the other way around, instead of assimilating Marcy into The Core, was Marcy unconsciously assimilating The Core into her own mind?

Again, Andrias was not sure how he felt about that. Part of him wanted Marcy back, he missed her. And seeing Darcy, a dark, twisted vestige of his little human friend, was not doing anything for his mood. But what he wanted was not relevant. He had a job to do, a wrong to right that was a thousand years overdue, and now was the time to make everything right once again.

Andrias entered the throne room and sat down on his huge coral throne. He released a disheartened sigh, wondering what his next move should be. Anne Boonchuy was still a factor in this whole campaign that could ruin their plans, although she was a world away, he knew that that human girl was no doubt trying to return to Amphibia to stop them before the invasion could take off completely. Now that Andrias was thinking about it, he did ask Darcy why she herself didn't just use the music box to take herself to Earth and eliminate Anne swiftly before the invasion of Earth began. Her answer was…strange.

"Andrias, Andrias, Andrias. You just don't get it, do you? What fun is there in just completely mowing down your opponents like a modder cheating in a video game? None. That's what.

I want to fight Anne; I want to make her kneel before me. I want her to see that there's nothing she can do to fight against me. No power that she could muster that would overcome me. And once she finally admits that, accepts the inevitable, only then…well…I keep that a secret until we see her again.

Until then, we'll just focus on what we have here."

"Is Marcy trying to protect Anne by distorting the thought process of The Core and Darcy? Or is this Darcy's desire and not The Core as a whole?" Andrias pondered.

As he ruminated on this, the doors to the throne room opened, and three newts entered.

"King Andrias, the robot army is nearly complete."

"Ahead of schedule and under budget."

Andrias snapped out of his thoughts and addressed the newts, "Excellent Triple B. But what are you three wearing?"

Triple B, otherwise known as Bartley, Branson, and Blair, were dressed in festive Christmas elf attire.

"Pretty cute, right?" Branson asked.

"It's late winter, which means it's almost time for the human holiday, Christmas. Marcy told us about it, remember?" Blair asked.

Andrias deadpanned when they reminded him of Marcy. "No."

"It's fun! We even got you a Christmas gift," Blair continued. "Stay right there!"

Blair, the pale orange newt, rushed out of the room, leaving Bartley and Branson there with Andrias. Grunting and huffing could be heard as Blair was pushing a large Christmas present along the floor. The other two newts remained where they stood, not even bothering to offer Blair a hand. Andrias, in a sadistic way, found some amusement in watching the little newt struggle to push the gift to his throne, and like the others, didn't do a thing to help. Didn't even get up to meet him halfway. To further add to this torture, when Blair reached the stairs to the throne, Andrias continued to wait, despite the fact that he could easily reach down and grab it. But it was funnier seeing Blair have to push it up those stairs, which were short for him, but for a someone as small as Blair, it was a gargantuan feat. Finally, after all his suffering, Blair managed to bring the gift to the feet of the king before collapsing from exhaustion.

"Ooh! Is this really for me?" Andrias asked.

The remaining Triple Bs nodded in confirmation.

Andrias had to admit, he was a bit excited about this. And like a young child he ripped open the box and took out, what appeared to be, a remote-control moth drone colored green and red.

"Wow!…What is it exactly?"

"Oh, this is our latest drone solider prototype, Sir. If you sign off, we can start mass producing them tomorrow," said Bartley.

"Goody! Oh, and look at this. Nifty," said Andrias as he took out the rest.

The other items aside from the drone were, what looked like, a VR headset, and a remote control that looked similar to a game controller. Andrias was about to put the headset on but stopped when he realized his crown was in the way.

"Pfft. Crown." After removing his crown, Andrias placed the headset on and took up the controller. "Let's see what this baby can do!"

As soon as Andrias pressed the startup button on the remote, the moth drone came to life and began flying around the room.

"Steering's kinda tricky," he commented.

The Triple Bs ducked several times as the drone passed over them, and that's when Andrias saw a button that intrigued him.

"Oh, what's this do?"

When Andrias pressed the button, the drone transformed a little, switching its wings out for hovering turbines and armed itself with two missile pods, two plasma cannons, and two – what looked like – machine guns.

"Oooh! This I like," said Andrias.

Branson smiled from the praise and said, "Glad to hear it, sir. It just needs a little testing and it'll be – Whoa!" The drone got really close to his face, and with all its weapons pointing forward. "Eh, it'll be good to go!"

"Testing, eh?" Andrias thought for a moment, perhaps there was something he could do to ensure that their invasion does go smoothly. "I just had a grand idea." The king rose from his throne after kicking the box aside and stood at the center of the room. "I can send this drone to Earth and destroy Anne virtually! One way or the other, The Core will see that this is the best move to make. Plus, I should have never sent a robot to do a newt's job."

"But technically you're still sending a robot to do–"

"Shut up Blair!" Bartley and Branson exclaimed as they slapped their hands on Blair's mouth.

Andrias smiled deviously as he readied himself. "Get ready, Anne. Once I figure out how to control this thing, you're finished."

The drone started to fire off its missiles, all of which seemed to head straight for Triple B. The three newts screamed in terror but managed to dodge the missiles as they exploded against the floor. Afterwards, the drone began firing on them with its machine guns, forcing the three newts to run frantically about the room.

"For such tiny legs, you three sure move fast," said Andrias as he chuckled at their plight.

---

" I'm sure you feel it coming~

There's something on the breeze~

It might be slightly snowing~

Or seventy degrees

Regardless of your hemisphere

The holidays are here~

And with them come the tidings

Of this special time of year~

Anne rode her bike through the city streets, with the Plantars riding on her back as she pedaled away. She had changed her clothes before leaving, now sporting a green sweater, with a yellow scarf, and a red, plaid skirt. She had also put two hairclips in her afro, one was a candy cane, and the other was holly.

After the various attacks brought on by Foundation X Dopants, and the damage done by the robot King Andrias had sent to assassinate her, the city was very much looking forward to Christmas, to having some holiday cheer and not have to worry about another monster or robot attack. Anne wished she could assure them that was going to happen, but even she wasn't sure if that was the case. All she could do was hope that Foundation X and Andrias would lay off the evildoing for next few days to allow her time to not only make the float, but to at least celebrate Christmas with her family.

While she was cycling through the streets, the Plantars were gazing in sheer awe of the decorations the city had put up for the holiday to come. It was honestly beautiful and breathtaking, despite not really knowing what Christmas was, it was still something to behold on its own.

"So, what's the plan, Anne? How we making this boat?" Polly asked.

"Float," she corrected. "And don't worry, I've got a great idea for this bad boy."

Anne took out a picture she drew up of the float she had in mind and gave it to the Plantars. It consisted of a recreation of a Thai temple, complete with elephants, Christmas gifts, the Thai Go restaurant logo and name, two Yakshas wielding candy canes, a buddha statue holding a snow globe, and at the top was a platform where she and her family would be, and at the center of the platform was a large Christmas tree that had a sign that read "Boonchuy" on it, with the topper of the tree being Santa Claus and his reindeer pulled sleigh, complete with the Plantars inside it.

"Now the first thing we need is some technical help. Anyone know any tech experts?" Anne asked.

Polly whipped out her burner cellphone and as she exclaimed, "Do I?"

After a quick call, Anne and the Plantars made a stop at Palm Tree Community College's science and robotics wing. It was here that they met up with Ally and Jess, otherwise known as the "IT Gals" on ViewTube. It was thanks to their "how to" videos that Polly was able to rebuild Frobo, well, until he went out of control and got smashed to pieces, again. But thankfully his head still remained intact, and both Polly and the IT Gals were working on ways to rebuild his body.

Ally had black hair, with some of it tied back into a wolf tail, and the ends of her hair were colored pink. She wore a dark blue jumpsuit that had the occasional grease spot and had a pair of thick work gloves on.

Next to her was her girlfriend, Jess. She was taller than both Anne and Ally, a had a stout figure. Her shirt had various shades of purple on it, and she too sported matching thick work gloves like her girlfriend.

Most of the staff had gone, along with the students for holiday break, but Jess and Ally had access to this area, as it was also their workshop. So, they decided to throw a little holiday party. Inside, Pandabot was busy DJing, several other robots were dancing along to the music. While the Plantars were busy marveling over the various sized robots, Anne was talking with Jess and Ally, and she managed to secure their assistance in making the float.

"Thank you so much for helping with this float," said Anne.

"No problem," said Ally, "We'll do anything electronic, animatronic–"

"Technotronic – Really, anything 'tronic'," Jess added.

"Thanks, you two. You're absolute lifesavers!"

Ally gave Anne a thumbs up. "Hey, don't mention it."

"Go grab some eggnog and enjoy the party!" Jess exclaimed.

Anne clicked her tongue as she walked to one of the tables and did just that. Next to her was a small robotic cat that was dancing, and deciding just because, she struck up a conversation with it.

"So, come here often?" Anne asked.

The cat robot buzzed, turned around, and bent over. A hatch popped down and inside revealed a tiny, freshly baked cookie.

Anne gasped as she grabbed the treat, exclaiming, "Cookie!"

Meanwhile, the Plantars were still confused about how Christmas was supposed to go as they took in everything happening inside the room.

"This holiday makin' any more sense to you kids?" Hop Pop asked.

"Nope," Sprig answered.

"Less actually," Polly admitted.

Sprig took a swig of his eggnog and said, "Come on. Let's just ask."

The Plantars walked up to Jess and Ally, who were busy chanting, "Chug! Chug! Chug!" as they spurred on Pandabot. The little robot then shorted out and fell over.

"'Scuse me," Sprig interrupted as he raised his hand, "could you explain Christmas to us?"

"Y'all never heard of Christmas?" Ally asked.

"Eh…no," Hop Pop confessed.

Ally smiled as she said, "It's a holiday! You celebrate, get a tree, decorate."

"You make cookies, party hard," Jess added.

"'Get' a tree?" Sprig asked in confusion.

"Cookies?!" Polly exclaimed.

"I'm still confused," said Hop Pop.

"Just be careful when you're tying lights to the tree. If you get the voltage wrong – BOOM!" Ally mimicked an explosion for effect.

Jess crossed her arms as glanced at her girlfriend and said, "Nothing ruins Christmas like a tree on fire. Right, Ally?"

"One time and you never live it down…"

Hop Pop took out a pencil and notepad and began writing this down. "Flaming trees, bad. Got it."

Jess snapped her fingers as she remembered. "Oh! Forgot to mention that on Christmas, you have to get a gift for the person who means the most to you." At this Jess changed her previous gaze to one of affection towards Ally.

Ally couldn't help but blush and added to that by saying, "It better be good, too. A bad gift can pretty much spoil the whole thing."

Sprig suddenly felt a huge weight get placed on his shoulders. He glanced back at Anne, who was now dancing with the little cat robot, smiling, laughing, and just having a good time overall.

"So, what you're saying is I have to get Anne the perfect gift…or I'll ruin Christmas!" Sprig fell to the floor and got into a fetal position.

"This is one of those stressful holidays, isn't it?"

Ally and Jess made little wavy motions with their hands.

After a bit, Anne and the Plantars left the building and gathered around the bike rack.

"Alright. Techies secured! Next up, we'll need decorations to populate the float. And I think I know just who'll have some."

---

The place that Anne had thought of was Natural History Museum. When they got inside, the Plantars once again marveled at the level of decorations that were used within the building. There was a huge Christmas tree to their right, and the t-rex skeleton to their left had equally large Santa hat placed on top of its head. But it wasn't only Christmas, they also had decorations and stations that showed the other winter holidays, like Kwanza, and Hanukkah, to name a few.

"I didn't think this place could get any crazier," said Hop Pop.

"Okay, now we just need to find Dr. Jan." Anne glanced about the exhibit room and smirked when she saw the good doctor about to pounce on an unsuspecting patron. "There she is."

A man was viewing a Christmas wreath in a glass case, and that's when Dr. Jan appeared out of nowhere.

"Hello, sir!"

"AAAH!" the man screamed as he whipped around and saw the museum curator.

"Interested in learning the history of mistletoe? It's a not-so-jolly tale of monarchic betrayals and bloodshed originating in the early 13th century – Aaaaanne!"

Dr. Jan trailed off when she saw her young friend, allowing the poor man to quietly slip away unnoticed.

"You're just in time for a festive lecture! Strap in!"

"Hey, Dr. Jan. Actually, I'm building my parents a parade float, and I need all the help I can get," said Anne. "Decorations, props…"

"Ooh! I love the Christmapalooza Parade! You can use some mannequins and wintry flora from our dioramas. Take your pick!" Dr. Jan exclaimed.

Anne was overjoyed to hear this. "Thanks, Dr. Jan! My Mom is gonna love this!"

The Thai teen wasted little time in going around the different exhibits and dioramas, picking and selecting whatever she needed to make this float the best thing she could ever make.

While Anne was out gathering the things she needed, the Plantars had asked Dr. Jan to tell them what Christmas was. That was their mistake. Dr. Jan went into a full-on lecture on the history of Christmas, its origins, and everything else in between. Hop Pop was frantically writing down notes, but his mind was overloading just trying to keep up with the knowledgeable woman.

"Others argue it has less to do with history and more to do with the interests of major soda conglomerates," Dr. Jan informed.

Polly looked nearly catatonic as she begged, "Make it stop!"

"My head hurts. It has too much knowledge!" Sprig exclaimed.

"And all of this resulting in a celebratory period of feasting and gift-giving with family and friends!" Dr. Jan finished.

"Yahoo!"

"Huh?"

Dr. Jan looked up and that's when she saw a child that had somehow gotten inside of the t-rex skull. That little child pulled out one of its teeth, held it up in the air, and proclaimed, "I'm a dino dentist!" as several other children had appeared inside of the t-rex skull as well.

"Oh no, not again! Please excuse me!" Dr. Jan exclaimed as she ran off towards the skeleton to wrangle in the children.

The Plantars had information overload right now as their minds struggled to comprehend that info dump that Dr. Jan gave them.

"I…give up…" Polly admitted as she fell off of Sprig's head. "We'll never understand this stuff!"

Hop Pop started going through his notes and explained, "I think I'm startin' to get it. It sounds a lot like Swamphollow's Eve. But without the ritual sacrifices."

"I still think it's all about giving presents," Sprig remarked. "Whatever I get Anne has to be really good. Perfect, even! Or else!"

While Sprig was stressing out, Anne finally returned from her decoration hunting.

"Okay, guys. Ready for our next stop?" Anne asked.

The Plantars looked in her direction and stared in horror when the saw the multiple mannequin bodies piled into the oversized wagon she had.

"What?"

"I may've spoken too soon about the ritual sacrifices," Hop Pop whispered.

As Anne and the Plantars started to leave for their next stop, Polly gestured to a stand that was selling something. Anne smiled, seeing the stand was selling hot chocolate. She headed over to the vendor and bought four cups of hot coco with marshmallows. When they finished their coco, they headed off to their next destination, as they were pedaling along, Anne stopped when she heard Sprig gasp.

"What is it, dude?" Anne asked.

"Anne, they have action figures of you!" Sprig exclaimed.

"What?!"

Anne got off her bike and rushed to one of the store windows with the Plantars following behind her. When they got to the window, Anne saw that there were several actions figures of herself as Kamen Rider Amp. There were ones of her in Spike, Poison, Lightning, Trinity, and her Super Form. Although they were labeled as Cactus, Plasma, Lightning was still the same thank Frog, but the Trinity form was labeled "Tri-Colors", and her Super Form was called "Great Thunder".

"Wow, those are horrible names," said Polly.

"Reminds me of when Toadstool did the same thing back in Wartwood," Hop Pop commented.

"Hey, what are those?" Sprig asked.

Anne glanced in the direction of where Sprig was pointing, and apparently it didn't end with the action figures. There were also detailed figurines, like the ones made for anime characters that were strictly for display and not posing or playing with. Anne noticed a few kids nagging their parents for those toys inside of the shop, but she also noticed a slightly disturbing number of guys who were buying said figurines of her.

"First Toadstool, and now some toy company. Man, I feel like I'm getting gypped," Anne groaned.

"Don't worry, Anne. Look at it this way, at least you're bringing joy to lots of – OH MY FROG, THAT'S ME!" Sprig exclaimed.

Anne, Hop Pop, and Polly squinted their eyes, and that's when they noticed another action figure, this time it was of Sprig as his alter ego, Frog-Man. There were even some plushie versions of him as well.

"This is an outrage! I demand compensation!" the pink frog child declared.

"What happened to not worrying about it?" Anne asked.

"Forget what I said! We must correct this injustice!"

Anne sighed as she grabbed her surrogate little brother by the collar of his jacket and said, "Just let it go, dude. C'mon, we still have a lot of work to do."

After managing to get Sprig under control, the gang got back on Anne's bike and pedaled away to their next destination. And all as a wandering musician strolled on by, strumming on her guitar as she sang a lovely holiday song.

" A bucket of fried chicken~

A costume for your dad~

A demon who will stuff you

In a sack if you've been bad~

A reindeer gets promoted

An old man confronts his fear~

Of karma and mortality

This special time of year~ "

Suddenly, above the city, a ripple in space appeared. From this ripple, Andrias' drone flew out.

---

Thankfully, everything else went smoothly. Anne was able to secure the help of the Thai Temple as the location for where the float would be built in secret. And thanks to asking the other members of the Thai community to lend a hand, Anne was surer than ever that this float idea would be ready in time for the parade itself.

The group returned to the house, and once inside they were treated to some Christmas themed snacks that Oum had made for them. Anne was walking up to her room to change into something more comfortable but stopped when she heard her Dad clicking at his computer.

"Hey, Dad, I'm home!" Anne greeted.

"AAAH! Anne!" Bee swiftly turned around and kept his back to the computer screen, blocking it. "Did you have fun while you were out?"

"Yeah, I, uh, just took the Plantars around to check out all the Christmas decorations around the city. What're you doing?"

"Oh, just some online shopping. Gotta replace that controller that got vaporized," said Bee.

Anne chuckled nervously, remembering that it was Polly's initial reactivation of Frobo that set off his laser eyes and destroyed her father's newly bought game controller. Not wanting to linger on that, she decided to change the topic, "Oh man, you wouldn't believe what I saw while we were out."

"What did you see?" Bee asked.

"There was this toy shop that had action figures of me, as Amp!"

Bee looked nervous. "O-Oh, you don't say. Well, you are a pretty popular superhero now, Anne. T-These things happen."

Anne crossed her arms as she said, "Yeah, I know. Merch and all. But, ugh, I don't know whether to be annoyed by the fact that I have merch, ticked off because no one asked to make me into a toy, or creeped out knowing people are going to be playing with and staring at a likeness of my body." Anne shivered at the thought.

"I think you're taking this the wrong way. There are lot of people who love superheroes, and now there's a real-life one here in LA, in this world. You can't really blame people for wanting something in the likeness of their hero," said Bee.

Anne thought about it for a moment and nodded as she remarked, "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll just have to accept it as part of the hero gig. Still, that's going to take a bit to get used to either way. Anyway, I'm going to change and head back downstairs."

"Okay! See ya there," said Bee.

When Anne left the room, Bee quickly turned around. The website he was on was called , and in his shopping cart he had a lot of Kamen Rider Amp memorabilia, including action figures, collector's addition Drivers, toy weapons, posters, and a few other items that he was planning on plastering the restaurant with. With great reluctance, Bee maneuvered his mouse, and clicked on the "Empty Cart" icon and released a sad sigh.

When Anne went into her room, she paused as her cellphone went off. She checked the Caller ID and smiled when she saw that it was Mabel who was calling her.

"Hey, Mabel. Happy Holidays," Anne greeted.

{Happy Holidays, Anne! I can't wait for Christmas!} Mabel exclaimed.

"I know, right? Oh, shoot, before I forget! I wanted to tell you that you guys are totally welcome to come over and hang out during Christmas."

{Actually, that's why I'm calling you. Bro and I are heading back to Piedmont for Christmas.}

Anne was a little concerned when she heard that. "Wait is that a good idea? What if Foundation X attacks?"

{Hi, Anne, it's Dipper. You don't have to worry about that. Strange as it might sound, Foundation X actually lays off the evil stuff during this time of year,} Dipper informed.

That honestly caught Anne off guard.

"Whoa…uh, okay. I didn't know evil organizations took Christmas off."

{Yeah, same here. But they usually put all that stuff on hold until after. So, we'll make sure to head back the day after Christmas just to be on the safe side,} said Mabel.

{So, use this time to just enjoy the holiday and have fun with your family,} Dipper added.

"Thanks, you two. This is a load off my shoulders. Anyway, have fun, and if you have the time, check out the news coverage for the Christmapalooza Parade. Thai Go is going to have a float in it this year!" Anne exclaimed excitedly.

{Seriously?! That's so cool! We'll definitely be watching!}

{Same. Bye, Anne.}

"Bye you guys." Anne watched as the call ended, allowing her to breathe a sigh of relief. "Great, no Foundation X to get in the way. Just me, my family, and a parade float."

---

For the next three days, Anne had been hard at work with the help of Jess, Ally, the Plantars, and the members of the Thai temple, putting together the float for her parents. Progress was fast and smooth, everything was falling into place, while this was going on, Anne and the Plantars had maintained a façade to make sure that her mother and father had no idea of what they were planning. At the same time, Sprig had been stressing about what kind of gift to give his surrogate big sister, but each and every thing he found or made by hand was, in his words, "Garbage! Pure Garbage!"

Best of all, just like Dipper and Mabel said, Foundation X hasn't interfered at all. No Dopant attacks, no schemes to kidnap her, nothing. The only she had to worry about was Andrias and The Night, but they've been quiet for a while so Anne wasn't worried about it. On a level she did worry about it, wondering if this lull in activity from them was just because they were focusing their resources on the upcoming invasion of Earth.

Thankfully, Anne had something to help her cope a bit, something that she didn't realize, initially, that she had until sometime later. Marcy's journal. Somehow, Marcy had slipped it into Anne's backpack before she was killed, and when Anne got back from her adventure in the Alt Demon Realm, she found it and began writing down different entries. She read a few of the prior ones, and it gave her a lot of insight into what Marcy was feeling before they reunited, as well as what she thought while she was in Wartwood. The things she wished she had known before. The things that she wouldn't be able to talk with her about ever again.

But for now, Anne pushed that to the side. She needed to finish the float and present it to her parents. Finally, on the third day, Christmas Eve, it was done. Ally and Jess drove the float early that morning to the front of the Boonchuy home, and Anne hurried inside to go and get her parents so they could see what she had made for them. She woke them from their bed and told them she had a surprise for them. After making it downstairs, and Bee grabbing his camera just in case, Anne instructed them to cover their eyes as she guided them out the front door.

"Okay, so, I really wanted to do something special for you guys since you've done so much for me, especially with everything that's gone on," said Anne.

"Honey, you didn't have to," said Oum.

"Like your mother said, having you here is the best present we could ask for," said Bee.

"Well, I hope this comes at a close second. So, now, open your eyes."

Oum and Bee removed their hands from their eyes and opened them. Upon doing so, both adults gasped in sheer awe of what they beheld. The float was the spitting image of Anne's hand drawn picture, but even better. Bee and Oum walked up to the float, still amazed by what they were seeing. It was beautiful, everything that they could've wanted in a float for Thai Go was standing right in front of them.

"Anne…Wow! This is amazing!" Oum could barely contain her glee, however, a thought cut into this moment. "But what about keeping a low profile?!"

"Not a problem. The twins told me that Foundation X won't attack us during the holiday break. Guess even bad guys have some standards. And as far as the Plantars are concerned. Guys!" Anne called out.

At the top of the Christmas tree, Hop Pop, Polly, and Sprig popped out in full costume, with Hop Pop dressed in a Santa outfit, complete with a fake beard.

"Ho, ho – uh, line?" Hop Pop asked.

"Ho," Polly answered after checking the script.

"Are ya sure? Doesn't sound right."

"See? No one will suspect anything," Anne assured.

Oum turned to her daughter and said, "Anne…I can't believe you did all of this for us."

Anne smiled up at her mother and remarked, "I wasn't gonna let you give up on your dream 'cause of me. You've accepted me for who I am and are even willing to stand by my side through all this fighting evil and junk. You wanted this for so long, Mom, and you deserve it."

Oum felt her heart swell with emotion as she hugged her daughter tight, and with a big smile on her face. "It's perfect. Thank you so much!"

Anne smiled as well and hugged her mother back. "Merry Christmas, Mom."

Bee stealthily whipped out his camera and got into position to snap the perfect candid shot of this touching moment. After snapping the picture, Bee checked it to see if it was the masterpiece he had hoped for. Sadly, all he managed to get was a motion blurred image of his daughter and wife separating from their hug.

"GOSH DANG IT!" Bee exclaimed. "I WILL GET THE PERFECT HOLIDAY PHOTO, OR I WILL DIE TRYING!"

Upon finishing his declaration, Rudolf fell off the float and nearly crushed Bee, but thankfully he saw it in time and fell backwards to avoid the reindeer crushing him.

"AH! I'm sorry, Santa!"

"I will definitely fix that. Like, right now."

---

It was Christmas Eve night, and the city was ecstatic for the parade. There were many floats driving down through the city streets, and the people were joyously watching and cheering on the many different ones. Some were your traditional Christmas themed, but others had a mix of both Christmas and their national ethnic representation, and others represented the holidays that were going on at the same time as Christmas, and some were just promotions of the stores and business in the city. And of course, among the many floats driving in the line, was Thai Go's float, with the Boonchuys and Plantars on top, waving to the crowd, and throwing some candy to them.

{WELCOME, EVERYONE TO THE ANNUAL HOLIDAY PARADE!}

{AND INTRODUCING NEWCOMERS, THAI GO!}

"Ho, ho – um, line?" Hop Pop asked.

"Ugh, you've gotta be kidding me. You're an actor!" Polly exclaimed in annoyance.

"WHOO!" Anne yelled from the platform. When she glanced to her mother, she could see that she was almost on the verge of tears and rushed over to her asking, "Mom? What's wrong? If something's not perfect, I'll fix it right now!"

Oum waved her hand in a calming motion and explained, "No, no. It's just really nice to be part of the community like this. Ever since your father and I came here from Bangkok, it's been a challenge fitting in. I have always thought making it into this parade would mean we had finally done it."

Anne rubbed the back of her head as she let that sink in. "Wow. I never knew you and Dad felt that way. And after months in Wartwood, I know what it's like feeling out of place."

Anne reached over and brought her mother into a one armed hug, and Oum did the same for her daughter, as parent and child came to an understanding of each other.

Unfortunately, this joyous celebration was not going to last much longer. Andrias' moth drone was busy flying around, still on the search for Anne.

{I can't wait to squash this stupid world. I've been searching this place for hours and I still haven't found her! At this rate it'll take a miracle to find Anne!} Andrias groaned.

The moth drone flew down an alley and appeared near the sidewalk where the parade was going on. And that's when it spotted the Thai Go float, and a certain big haired teen girl riding on top of it.

"Whoo! I'm Anne Boonchuy! I'm Anne Boonchuy!" Anne shouted as she tossed candy canes to the crowd.

"She's Anne Boonchuy!" Sprig added for some reason.

{Well, that was easy. Wait. Christmas? Christmas. Oh, yeah! Now I remember this holiday! Glowing trees, nut smashers, red suited jolly man with a beard. Oh, now that gives me an idea. Let's get festive with this!}

The moth drone flew towards a float that had an inflatable Santa Claus on it. The drone attached itself to the back of its neck and began releasing mechanical tentacles, wrapping them around the Santa inflatable and securing itself to it. Once it had, the drone reared back its thorax and produced a blade-like stinger. It thrust its stinger forward and pierced the back of the Santa inflatable, and inside, released thousands upon thousands of nanobots that interlocked and began to form a skeleton structure inside of the inflatable. Once all the limbs were formed, the ribcage was next, with some of them combining together to form something akin to a core. But the drone wasn't done as Dark Ichor began streaming into the inflatable and merging with the nanobots, causing a chain reaction within the float, and transforming it from the inside out.

---

"You were right, Anne. I shouldn't have been so worried about everything. I can't believe I almost missed out on this! I LOVE CHRISTMAS SO MUCH!" Oum yelled.

The crowd reciprocated by cheering even louder for Thai Go. Bee thought this was the perfect chance to snap a picture. He aimed his lens carefully, waiting patiently as everyone got together nice and natural.

"This is gonna be so candid," he whispered.

However, as he was waiting, he saw something strange. The head of the Santa Claus inflatable in front of them suddenly turned its head a hundred and eighty degrees and was now staring right at them. With red glowing eyes and was now talking somehow.

{Ho, ho, ho, hello, Anne Boonchuy,} said Andrias.

"…Did Santa just talk?" Bee asked.

Anne turned around and rushed to the edge of the railing, shocked to hear that familiar voice. "It can't be! King Andrias?!"

"Santa?" Polly questioned.

"King Andrias is Santa?!" Sprig exclaimed.

"This holiday just keeps getting weirder," said Hop Pop.

For the most part, the crowd wasn't really reacting in the way they should've been. As everyone was in the belief that this was part of the parade. Oh, how wrong they were.

Suddenly, the inflatable moved from the sleigh themed chair it was sitting in and rose to its full height. The entire body of the inflatable turned around to match the direction of its head, but unfortunately, their troubles did not end there. The insides of the inflatable Santa began to wriggle and squirm, as if something was growing underneath it. Within seconds tears formed on the Santa inflatable as the Dark Ichor infused nanobots formed around the inflatable, transforming it into something sinister and evil.

The creature that stood before them was at least twenty feet tall, with a white beard that came down to its belly that was raggedy and unkempt. It had a hooked nose, and red glowing eyes, along with two sharp ears and two curved horns coming out of its forehead. The creature's body was cloaked in a crimson jacket that went down to its feet, but had a tattered look at the end. Eight long spikes protruded from its back, piercing the coat. Its hands had fingers that were claw tipped and black as night to match the rest of its body. The face was a sickly green color, and along its body were scarlet glowing lines that showed the conduction of the energy through the nanobots.

"THAT'S NOT SANTA! THAT'S KRAMPUS!" Bee exclaimed.

"Okay, now who the heck is Krampus?" Polly asked.

"Christmas Demon! Dark Santa! Throws bad kids into a sack and takes them away to be punished!" Anne stated.

Hop Pop rubbed his temples as he tried to keep up with all the holiday lore that was getting thrown at him right now.

{ Yes, Anne, and you've been a very bad child! Time for your punishment! }

Upon seeing the demon robot, everyone ran for their lives. The Krampus Fallen's eyes glowed and released two scarlet beams of light that destroyed the giant teddy bear float that was behind it. After, that, the spikes on its back fired off like missiles and exploded against some of the buildings, causing debris to fall down to the streets below. Some people managed to avoid getting hit, and others were injured. The Krampus Fallen opened its mouth and fired a dark green energy blast from it, scorching the top of the Boonchuy's Christmas tree.

"Ah, c'mon!" Anne moaned. "Do you have any idea how hard I worked to fix Rudolf?!"

Polly dropped down from the float and landed on the windshield of the truck. "WE GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE, NOW!"

"B-But, giant robot!" Ally and Jess exclaimed in awe.

"ALLY, JESS! GIANT DEMON ROBOT! GOING TO KILL US! FLOOR IT!"

The two girls snapped out of it, put the truck in reverse, and Jess slammed her foot against the gas pedal. The Krampus Fallen roared menacingly and gave chase as it stomped down the street after them. Jess managed to turn the truck and float around and drive forward this time. Anne was trying to think, she could transform now, but she couldn't take the chance that there might be a camera somewhere that might capture her transformation.

"Anne, over here!" Sprig called out.

Anne glanced to her right and saw Sprig holding open a trap door. "Wait, that wasn't in my blueprints!"

"I added it just in case! You can transform inside, but I really didn't think of an exit for when you do," Sprig explained.

"Guess I'll bust my way out then! Thanks, dude!"

Anne ran for the trap door and drop into a slide as she fell right into the trap door and had Sprig close it behind her. Once inside, Anne stood up and summoned her MetamorphRing Driver. "Henshin!"

After pressing down on both hip devices, a dome of lightning formed around her, transforming Anne into the Azure Fighter, Kamen Rider Amp. Now transformed, Amp glanced around and decided to just bash her way through the back. She took a running stance and charged forward, and just like she thought, she burst through the back of the float and was about to deliver a punch to the Krampus Fallen's stomach, but the giant monster swatted her away like a fly and right into a building.

Amp managed to pull herself out of the hole and jumped onto a rooftop. The Krampus Fallen glared at her and then shot its eye beams at her. Amp began running as fast as she could, dodging the beams as they grazed the roofs or exploded against them. The hero of lightning had to jump multiple times to get away from the blasts, but before she could think of a way to counterattack, the spike missiles began to rain down on her position. Multiple explosions went off on one of the rooftops as Amp was thrown off it with her armor sparking several times before she hit the streets below.

{What's the matter, 'Amp'? Why don't you use your full power to fight back? I know you can do better than this!} Andrias mocked.

The truth is, Amp would use her full power, but right now she was trying to keep Andrias' attention on her. There were still a lot of civilians running around, not to mention her own family that was on the float. She couldn't risk using her Super Form and getting serious if it meant that Andrias would just turn on them the moment it looked like she was winning.

"Heh, I just don't think you're worth me getting serious! You have to send a robot to come and take me down instead of yourself? What's the matter? You afraid I'm going to kick your ass like I did before?!" Amp mocked.

{ You little – RAAAAGH! }

The Krampus Fallen raised its fist and thrust it forward to punch Amp. The blue Rider jumped straight up to avoid the hit but was suddenly blasted with the green energy beam from its mouth. More sparks exploded off Amp's armor as she was thrown further up the street, bouncing like a rock on water before crashing into the side of car and making it bend inwards.

"Ouch…"

The Krampus Fallen came stomping towards her, and was going to attack again. However, both it and Amp paused when they heard the strumming of a guitar. Amp and the Krampus Fallen looked around and that's when they spotted a woman walking casually towards them while still strumming away at her guitar.

"MISS! GET OUT OF HERE! IT'S DANGEROUS!"Amp warned.

{Huh, okay. I won't deny a primate that wants to meet its maker,} said Andrias.

The Krampus Fallen raised its right hand and brought it down to crush the unknown woman. But before it could hit, something bright flashed in front of her and blocked the strike, causing the Krampus Fallen to stumble backwards from the recoil of the blocked hit. When the light faded, both Andrias and Amp saw what had blocked it. It was a clear crystal that floated in front of the woman, which somehow manifested out of nowhere.

"What the heck? Who are you?" Amp asked.

"Just a friend to all on this night of love and peace." The woman then turned her head towards the Krampus Fallen and frowned. "And an enemy to those who would cause harm during this time as well. Amp, take this Crystal Gem, and put an end to this evil that taints this holiday night."

The Crystal Gem zipped towards Amp and shot her with a white beam that pulled her out of the car and back to her feet. Amp held out her hands and had the Crystal Gem float between them, unsure how she was to use it to stop the monster.

The Krampus Fallen turned its attention back to Amp and glared at her as it coated its fists in dark energy. {I don't know what's going on! But it's time to receive your present!}

~Form: Rose Quartz Shield~

As the Krampus Fallen thrust its fist, the Crystal Gem shined with light, but this time the color changed to a bright pink. Within seconds, the gemstone transformed itself into a shield weapon. The shield had a star at the center, with a large rose pattern behind that star, and a spiral thorn covered vine. The crystal shield hovered off of Amp's right forearm, and not wasting any time, Amp raised the shield just in time to block the strike of the Krampus Fallen. The moment the monster hit it, the kinetic energy was absorbed and shot back towards the Fallen, resulting a backlash of energy that caused several sparks to fly off its body, making the monster stumble and fall onto its back.

Amp looked at the weapon with awe as she said, "Holy shiiiiitake mushroom!"

The Krampus Fallen got back on its feet and launched a barrage of its spike missiles at her.

~Form: Pearl Spear~

The shield transformed, shifting into a brand-new weapon. When it was done, Amp was now holding a spear. The shaft of the spear was made entirely of round pearls, with the tip having a three foot long blade that was a pristine white color. Amp felt something surge through the weapon and into her mind, as if the weapon just uploaded the information on how to use it. Not wanting to question it right now, Amp twirled the Pearl Spear around and pointed it at the incoming missiles. The blade began to glow, and within seconds fired off several white beams of light that flew through the air and intercepted each of the missiles, detonating them in midair and making it look like fireworks were going off.

The Krampus Fallen opened its mouth and fired its green energy beam again, but Amp twirled the Pearl Spear around before thrusting it forward and unleashing an equally huge beam of white light. The two beams met in the center and exploded, cancelling each other out and causing a huge smoke cloud to form in the air. The Krampus Fallen looked around, trying to spot Amp, but was surprised when something came flying out of the dust cloud and wrapped itself around the left shoulder of the monster. The weapon in question was a twin-tailed whip weapon with dozens upon dozens of spikey amethyst gemstones embedded in it.

~Form: Amethyst Whip~

Amp yanked hard on the whip and reeled herself in as she burst through the smoke cloud. In her right hand was the rest of whip, which was a black handle with a spiral grip, and a spike shaped amethyst gemstone at the end. Amp flew past the Krampus Fallen and landed many feet behind it as she pulled the whip taut. All of the amethyst spikes began to glow bright purple, and within seconds a ring of purple light formed around the spot where the whip was wrapped around and burst, slicing off the right arm of the Krampus Fallen as the nanobots that comprised it began to dissolve into ash.

"Okay, thing this is pretty cool!"

{ WHAT IN THE NAME OF OLM IS THAT THING?! HOW ARE YOU DOING THAT?! }

"CHRISTMAS MAGIC!" Amp replied.

~Form: Garnet Gauntlets~

The whip transformed into pure light before returning to Amp and forming around both of her forearms. When it was over, Amp was now sporting two huge gauntlets in the form of giant fists. The tops of the gauntlets had a yellow star, in the middle of those stars was a heart, but the one on the right had a blue heart, while the one on the left had a red heart. The overall color of the gauntlets was a reddish-purple, with the spiked knuckles made of a garnet crystal. Just like before, the information was uploaded to Amp's mind. The hero of lightning raised her right fist and struck the ground, upon impact, a surge of ice began rushing forward until it completely encased the Krampus Fallen's feet, anchoring it into place.

{ I-I CAN'T MOVE! }

Amp gathered her energy and jumped forward, cocking back her left fist as it ignited with flames. The blue Rider came in with a left hook and struck the Krampus Fallen across the face with a thunderous "BOOM!" as flames exploded in its face. Amp used the impact to throw herself to the left, where she landed against the side of a building, vaulted off that one, to get to the building on the right side, and then jumped off that so that she could strike at him again, this time with the right fist. Her right gauntlet coated itself with cryo energy as Amp delivered a right hook, creating an explosion of ice crystals. Amp continued this assault, bouncing off the streets and buildings as she hit the Krampus Fallen with a fiery punch and an icy punch.

Amp dropped to the ground as the gauntlets turned into light and reformed into the Crystal Gem. The gemstone hummed, and somehow Amp could tell what it wanted her to do. Gathering her energy into her legs, she jumped straight into the air, as high as she could go. The Crystal Gem followed her and took on its last form once they were high enough.

~Final Form: Obsidian Sword~

Amp's crest fanned out as the lines on her armor began to glow bright blue. The Crystal Gem transformed yet again, creating a giant sword with a hilt that was about three feet long, and a blade that was at most eight feet in length. The guard and hilt looked as if they were made of molten rock, and the blade itself was as if someone took pure lava from a volcano and forged it into a sword blade. There were rune marking within the flat of the sword that Amp didn't understand, but that was not important right now.

"HEY, ANDRIAS! MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

{ Huh? Oh, thanks! You, too!…WAIT, NO! }

The hero of lightning gripped the sword with both hands as she raised the nearly weightless weapon into the air. The symbol of Amp formed before her as she swung the sword through it, letting her power lace itself over the blade, granting it both the lightning and fire elements at the same time. The Krampus Fallen raised its head, unable to move due to still being anchored by the diamond hard ice around its feet.

Amp dropped down from the sky and brought her sword along with her. The Krampus Fallen opened its mouth and fired both its scarlet eye beams and green mouth beam at the same time. Amp countered this with the blade, easily slicing through the beams like wet tissue paper, letting nothing impede her final strike against the robotic Christmas nightmare monster. With one great slash, Amp made contact with the head of the monster, but when she did, the blade tripled in length and width, releasing a blade of molten, electrical light that pierced through the back of the monster's head. But it didn't stop there, Amp continued to descend as she carved the Krampus Fallen right down the middle.

The blade of molten, electrical light faded and returned its original state just as Amp finished slicing through the Fallen and landed on the street. The ice keeping the monster anchored shattered as Amp turned her back on the monster, letting it fall backwards as the two halves of the monster fell. A massive explosion went off behind her, resulting in the world's most grandiose fireworks display as green and red lights shot into the air and exploded, with dozens of smaller white lights flashing in and out of existence, indicating the destruction of all the nanobots that made up the Krampus Fallen.

There was a parent and child who observed from a safe distance.

The child asked, "Is Santa going to be alright?"

Prompting the parent to respond, "Haha. No, son, that was a demon Santa. And it's very much dead now."

"Yay!" the child cheered.

Amp panted from the exhausting battle, but was glad that the robotic Fallen had be destroyed. Thankfully, it appeared as if no one was killed, a Christmas miracle on its own, but Amp had no doubts that there were many injured by the attack nonetheless.

The woman from earlier walked up to Anne, and when she did, the Obsidian Sword glowed and transformed back into the Crystal Gem. The woman held out her right hand and let the item float in the palm of her hand for a moment before it transformed into a guitar pick.

"Don't worry, Anne, by Christmas morning, the injured will be healed and able to enjoy the holiday with their families," she said.

"That's good to know," said Amp as she surveyed the damage. "Wait a second! How do you know my na–?!"

When Amp turned to her left, the woman was gone, as if she never existed at all.

"What…Who was she?"

---

Back in Amphibia, Andrias rose out of throne and furiously threw the controller at the floor. Triple B saw where this was going, and the three newts made their exit out of the throne room before Andrias thought about taking his anger out on them for just being in his proximity.

"Dang it! It's the stupid controller's fault! I was so close, too!"

Andrias, like a child raging at a lost game, drew out his beam sword and began striking the controller again and again until the piece of equipment was a smoldering heap of parts and charred remnants. The newt king panted from the effort, and then growled in frustration that he just infused that drone with Dark Ichor for nothing. Just then, Andrias started to hear someone chuckling at his expense, he would've attacked them if it wasn't for the fact that he recognized that laughter.

"That was pathetic. And you call yourself a king?" Darcy asked.

"It doesn't matter in the end! Against the full force of our army none shall – oHMPH!"

A mechanical tentacle lashed out and wrapped itself around Andrias' legs and threw him onto the floor. Darcy jumped into the air and landed on his chest as all ten of her eyes glared at the giant blue newt.

"And who gave you permission to attack?! Your first attempt was a failure! And now you wasted precious Dark Ichor! Thanks to this union, we're able to generate more, but it's still finite! We can only spare so much until we reach the Dark Dimension and harvest more!" Darcy admonished.

"I-I'm sorry, my lord! I was just trying to eliminate the threat of Anne Boonchuy before she could–!"

"Listen to me, Andrias! The next time you decide to try that again, without my permission, I won't hesitate to tear you apart, bit by bit, piece by piece, until you're screaming for me to grant you the sweet release of death! And don't think for a second that I can't get a consensus from the others up here! You're already on thin ice with them after what happened all those years ago! Now, do you understand?!" she threatened.

Andrias slowly nodded and said, "I do, my lord. I will not attack Earth again without your expressed permission."

Darcy jumped off of Andrias' chest and commanded the mechanical tentacle to release the king's legs. "So long as you understand. You're useful, Andrias, but don't think by any stretch of the imagination that we can't do this invasion without you. This time, right now, is your chance to redeem yourself in the eyes of your father, and the rest of The Core. Keep that mind the next time you try something so foolish."

With that warning given, Darcy exited the throne room. The mind-controlled teen headed down the hallway and into her private chamber where many mechanical tentacles covered the walls. There was one side that had a computer monitor and keyboard, and on the other was a small worktable for Darcy to pick apart things or make something. In the middle of the large room was her bed, even with the addition of the bio enhancement suit reducing fatigue and increasing energy production, she still needed to rest once in a while, although it was a short rest. On the bed were two boxes that had yet to be wrapped, one colored red, and the other blue.

As Darcy walked over to finish wrapping them, she stopped, sensing something, a disturbance. The dark ruler turned around and watched as a portal opened behind her. It was about the size of a window, roughly three feet high and three feet wide. Darcy wasn't shocked, merely intrigued. Even more so when she saw someone on the other side of the portal. An Asian man in a white business suit and wearing a Santa hat. In his right hand he held a champagne glass with bubbling liquid inside it, and on his face, he wore a trademark evil grin.

"Well, this is an interesting development," said Darcy. "And who do I have the honor of speaking to?"

"Hello, my name is Keisuke. I'm a director here at my place of employment, we call ourselves Foundation X," said Keisuke.

"Oooh~. Mysterious. And from what world are you from?"

"Judging by your appearance, the same one you're from. Or am I wrong?"

"You're not too far off. This body is from Earth. But the one you're talking to is a combination of this body's mind, and an amalgamation of many genius intellectuals from over the centuries of this world. But enough about me. I figure you want something?" Darcy asked.

"Straight to business. You may have the body of a child, but you're mind certainly is that of a greater intelligence," said Keisuke.

"Flattery is great, but it won't make me not kill you if I don't like what I here."

"Of course, just one moment." Keisuke looked off to the side and said, "Frakes! We funded you for a full working portal, and this is it?"

"I'm sorry, Director Keisuke! This is the most I can do with the power source you've given me," Frakes remarked from somewhere.

Keisuke sighed heavily and shook his head. "Anyway. I believe we have a mutual problem, regarding Kamen Riders."

A few of Darcy's eyes narrowed. "Depends. Which ones would that be?"

"I believe she goes by the name of Kamen Rider Amp, alias Anne Boonchuy. Would you happen to know of her?" Keisuke asked.

Darcy smirked as she crossed her arms. "I'm very familiar with her. So, you're from the same Earth as me. Good, you're on the right track so far."

"We at Foundation X would like to create a partnership with you. We managed to gather pieces of your technology from the battles that Amp has had with your assassin robot, I assume. And I'm sure we'll get a few more pieces from the recent battle in Los Angles. I personally don't like violence during Christmas, but to each their own," said Keisuke as he took a sip.

"That was not my call. One of my subordinates was eager to prove himself and acted against my orders. Believe me, we're of the same mind in that regard. So, you obviously want my technology. But what do I get?"

Keisuke smiled and then snapped his fingers. Someone handed him a box from off to his left, and then he pushed the box through the portal. "The portal we created can't allow organic matter to pass through, but inorganic matter is another story. Please, accept this as a small sample of what we have to offer."

Darcy took the box and carefully opened it. Inside of it was a green colored USB drive that had a stylized "M" symbol that looked like a brain. "…Are you insulting me with this?"

"I assure you, that device has more power than you would assume at first glance. Granted, it's not one of our stronger ones."

"Of course, wouldn't want me to use it against you now, would you?" Darcy took out the USB drive, her ten eyes looked at it as the helmet and the many minds of The Core began to analyze it. Upon doing so, Darcy could see that there was a strange energy inside of it, not like anything found on Amphibia. "Huh, okay, you might not be full of it. And you want me to give you some of my robotic technology in exchange for more of these. What do they do and what are they called?"

Keisuke explained that they were Gaia Memories, devices forged from the memories of the Earth. He went on to say how the devices, once merged with their user, can transform them into monsters called "Dopants" that take on the form of whatever particular concept, element, or creature the Gaia Memory has. Keisuke also explained that Foundation X was a company that specializes in the creation of all manner of weapons, biological and technologically based, and even supernaturally based weapons. And informed Darcy that a combination of her tech and their weapons would yield great results for both sides.

"Huh, that is an intriguing offer you're giving me. But consider this, Director Keisuke. I don't plan on coming to Earth to simply conquer it. We're coming to wipe out the human race, and take what we need from that planet, bleed it for all it's worth before moving onto the next."

"Well, you are free to do so. But, I would suggest a partnership with us would be more beneficial in the long run. Perhaps you could change your target? Since you clearly possess the means to travel to any world, I can't imagine that there isn't another Earth or Earth-like planet that you can exploit for your own means."

Darcy began to chuckle at Keisuke's suggestion. "Aw. Sorry, but that's not happening. This invasion was set in motion many years before your ancestors that spawned your line even existed. It was delayed due to some unforeseen circumstances, but that was only a stay of execution. Now the hour of humanity's downfall is drawing closer. And with that said, I'll make you an offer. Swear allegiance to me, provide us with your weapons and knowledge, and we will spare you and your workforce."

Keisuke took another sip of champagne before swishing what was left in his glass. "I'm afraid that's not very profitable to us. We can't generate income if all our clients are dead. And neither can we generate income if we only join you, free of charge."

"Oh, it's not free. I'd be paying you." Darcy's smiled turned wicked as she said, "Your currency will be the joy of knowing that your measly lives were spared by my mercy. And so long as you serve me faithfully, you can continue to reap the benefit of living each day. Doesn't that sound good?"

Keisuke took one more swig of his glass before tossing it over his shoulder and letting it shatter on the floor. "I see we've reached an impasse. Very well. You may invade Earth, but know that Foundation X won't take such a thing lightly."

"I'd be insulted if you didn't try and fight back. I don't expect it to be a lengthy fight, just so long as it's entertaining and flashy," said Darcy.

"Good day to you. Keep the Memory Memory as a parting gift. Merry Christmas."

With that, the portal closed, leaving Darcy alone in her room. Darcy looked once again at the Memory Memory and grinned. "I think I know how you can come in handy little friend."

Darcy went back to her bed and looked inside the blue box, she gently reached in and pulled out the clothes that she ordered Bernado to make. It was a teal robe with blue lining around the cuffs of the sleeves, and along the hem of the robe, with the sash colored the same as the hem. The next garment inside was a bodice that was made to look like several flowers were sewn together, and each of the flowers was in a different hue of blue. There was a bloomer-like garment that was made the same way. Along with a decorative flower hair scrunchy, and a wreath of the same flowers. Along with this ensemble were a pair of wrist cuffs that had glowing purple liquid inside them, and a collar that had the same glowing purple liquid in it.

"You'll look beautiful in this wedding dress, Anne. I can't wait to see you in it," Darcy commented as she put it away and wrapped it up.

She moved onto the second one, this one had something that looked like a one-piece swimsuit but was covered in dark red fur. There was a hairband inside that sported a pair of dog ears, two leg warmers made of the same red fur, and two forearm sleeves that were also fur covered. Along with this outfit were the same cuffs and collar as was in the blue box.

"A fine outfit for our future house pet," said Darcy.

Once she finished wrapping the presents up, Darcy opened up the wall and placed them in a safe space, ready for when both of her treasures finally came to see her.

"Merry Christmas Anne, Sasha. I'll be waiting for you."

---

Deep in the underground base of Wartwood, the resistance fighters were hard at work training, gathering supplies, and planning out their next missions.

Sasha had been busy herself, her role as the commander of their forces was exhausting, there was always something that needed doing. She had learned to delegate a few things to some of the frogs whom she had come to trust and knew would get things done, but it was still mostly on her to get things moving, organized, and planned.

However, for tonight, she asked Grime and her "Angels" to take over for her. When they asked why, she explained that today on Earth was a special holiday and that she wanted to try and celebrate privately, if only a little. Grime and the others understood and let Sasha have her privacy while she celebrated the holiday known as Christmas.

Sasha had been gathering some things the last few weeks, bit by bit, over time, and thankfully she managed to recreate something close to Christmas decorations in her private room. She cut down a modestly sized tree and hung different things on it, some were crystal globes with fireflies in them (the globes had air holes, she wasn't a monster). Some others were candy that she had someone make in the form of cane. She managed to make her own wreath and had placed it over her door, and lastly, she made a star tree topper that was colored magenta, blue, and green.

The blonde teen sat at the small table in her bedroom and had a meal brought to her room along with a glass of water. Christmas' back on Earth were always surrounded with conflict for Sasha. Being the child of divorced parents often meant one parent was often fighting with the other for the right to have Sasha over and spend the holidays with them. And the very few times that it was done together often had the room filled with so much tension that it was hard for her to enjoy the gifts she was given, or the food that was prepared, or delivered in her father's case.

This year, things were quite different for Sasha. She was in Amphibia, far away from her parents, who were no doubt feeling sad that neither one of them was going to be able to spend Christmas with her. On a level that did sadden Sasha as well, but what saddened her more was the fact that she was not going to be able to celebrate this joyous time of year with the two girls she loved the most. One was still being held by the enemy, and the other was a world away, far from this chaos, but no doubt trying to find her way back. Sasha took out her cellphone and opened it to a picture of the three of them together in Wartwood, smiling and in love at that time.

"I'm spending Christmas alone…guess I deserve this after all that I've done. I'm not mad about it, I know I've done so many things wrong when it came to you two. Especially, you, Anne. I just wish we could've spent this time together…"

A knock came at her door, and Sasha pushed her food tray back.

"Ugh, c'mon on, can I least get the night?" Sasha complained as she stood up from her small table.

When she got to the door she paused.

"Uh…Grime, Maddie, Croaker, Wally, Loggle, Toadie? What are you guys doing here? Something happen?" Sasha asked.

"You told us that this 'Christmas' is a holiday meant to be spent with family and friends, correct?" Grime questioned.

"Um, yeah. I did."

"Then move aside, Deary." Croaker pushed her way in, allowing the rest to follow in behind her. "We came to spend it with you."

"What? You guys, you don't have to," said Sasha.

"Love, you're our friend as much as Anne is to us. We ain't leavin' ya to spend your Earth holiday alone," Wally retorted.

"We may not know all the traditions, but you can teach us, and we'll do the best we can," Maddie remarked.

Sasha looked like she wanted to keep protesting, but Grime cut her off.

"Don't try and punish yourself, Sasha. You've done a lot for this rebellion and put your life on the line time and again for us and others. You deserve to be happy, if not for this night," Grime insisted.

Sasha tightened her fists as she tried to hold back the tears that were forming in her eyes. She turned around and wiped her eyes before regaining some of her composure and saying, "Thank you, all of you."

"So, what do you normally do during this holiday?" Loggle asked.

Sasha sat on her bed and answered, "Well, different things. We give each other gifts, but right now that's out of the question. Although, having you guys here is a good gift itself, so that's covered. I got the tree. Let's see, what else? Oh, you bake cookies, have a nice dinner with your family, and you sing carols."

"I can whip up a good batch of cookies," said Croaker.

"I can bring some food from the cafeteria," said Toadie.

"And what kind of songs are these 'carols'?" Grime asked.

Sasha blushed as she remarked, "Oh…um…I could sing one, but it's embarrassing."

"Go ahead, Sash, sing us a song and we'll sing it after hearin' ya," said Wally.

Sasha sighed as she took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

"This isn't exactly a carol, it's a song that my Mom and Dad like, they used to play it every Christmas before…before they split up. It reminds of the days before that, and I've grown to love it on my own, even if it's way old."

Then Sasha sang.

" Chestnuts roasting on an open fire~
Jack Frost nipping at your nose
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir
And folks dressed up like Eskimos~

Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe~
Help to make the season bright
Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow~
Will find it hard to sleep tonight
They know that Santa's~~ on his way~
He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh~
And every mother's child is gonna spy~
To see if reindeers really know how to fly~

And so I'm offering this simple phrase~
To kids from one to ninety-two~
Although it's been said many times, many ways~
Merry Christmas to you~ "

Sasha's face was a little red, she hadn't sang that song out loud in so long. She knew the lyrics wouldn't make sense to them; it was a stupid idea.

"Wow, Sasha, that was…wow!" Maddie exclaimed.

"Huh?"

Loggle was teary eyed as he said, "That was beautiful."

"Hold on, you understood those lyrics?" Sasha asked.

"Not one bit of it, Deary."

Sasha deadpanned.

"But all the same, it was beautiful. Even if we didn't understand the lyrics, Sasha, it's the way you sang it, with all the love you have for this holiday of yours that made it moving even to us who aren't even from your world," said Croaker.

Grime placed his hand on Sasha's shoulder and said, "Music knows no boundaries, it touches all hearts, and the emotions put into every note is a universal language of the heart."

Now it was Sasha's turn to look surprised. "Wow, that was deep, Grimesy."

"Do you know another one?" Toadie asked.

"Uh, yeah, this one's an actual carol. We wish you a Merry Christmas~ We wish you a Merry Christmas~ We wish you a Merry Christmas~ And a happy New Year~ "

---

It was several hours before the Boonchuys and Plantars returned home. There were many people who were asked questions by the police, even the FBI came down there to investigate, they thought they spotted Mr. X, but if it was him, he didn't seem to care too much about them. Perhaps he was giving them a break as well considering the attack just now, and the fact that it was Christmas Eve.

Once back home, everyone plopped in the living room, exhausted from the events. It was then that Oum began making, what sounded like, distress noises, prompting everyone to look at her.

"Mom, are you alright?" Anne asked.

Then those noises turned into pure laughter as she teared up a little. "Oh my gosh! That was so dangerous!"

For some reason, that prompted the others to laugh as they thought about what just happened tonight. And yes, it was, another day in the life of a family with frogs from another world and a teenage daughter Kamen Rider. Yep, this was the life of the Boonchuy family.

"A murderous Santa robot that turned into a murderous Krampus monster robot. Never thought I'd see that," said Bee.

"Scary stuff," Sprig commented.

"It was the combo of jolly, murderous, and demonic that really made it feel special," said Hop Pop.

Anne turned back to her mother and said, "Mom, sorry my gift to you guys almost ended up getting us all killed."

Oum stood up from the armchair and retorted, "Anne. Stop. Your heart was in the right place. And that's what Christmas is all about."

"Is it?!" Hop Pop whispered harshly.

"Thanks, Mom."

Anne stood up from the couch and shared a hug with her mother, but that still didn't negate one fact about this whole ordeal.

"I am sooo confused!" Polly exclaimed.

Sprig had finally had enough and just came out and asked, "Can someone finally explain what this holiday actually means?!"

Anne turned to face her found family and answered, "I guess it's about spending time with the people you love. And all the presents and traditions are just a way to express that love."

"But at the end of the day, all the matters is that you're together," Oum added. "Like your father. He's still happy even though he didn't get his perfect photo."

Bee had a smug look on his face as he whipped out his camera. "Oh, didn't I? BAM!"

He turned the camera's screen around showed an image of all of them happily reuniting after Anne returned from defeating the Krampus Fallen.

"What?!" Anne exclaimed.

"When? How?" Oum asked in astonishment.

"Candid, baby! Plus, one more!"

Bee switched to another picture, and that's when they saw the captured image of Amp standing victoriously after slicing through the Fallen and the fireworks explosion going off in the background, and still wielding the Obsidian Sword.

"Whoa," Oum and Anne gasped.

"The first one's getting framed, the second one's going up in the restaurant as a giant poster," said Bee.

"Please don't."

"Too late, already decided! By the way, how did you do that?! I didn't know you could use crystal weapons!"

Anne rubbed the back of her head; she was still trying to figure it out herself. "I don't know. This random woman gave it to me, and when she took it back, she vanished."

"You think she was a Rider?" Polly asked.

"I don't think so…she also said that everyone who was injured would be okay come Christmas morning. I think she was something else," said Anne. "Guess we'll never know."

"So, just to be clear, Christmas is not about the gifts all?" Sprig asked.

"Nope," Anne replied.

Sprig breathed his own sigh of relief as he took out a crudely wrapped Christmas present. "Phew, good. 'Cause I tried to get you the perfect present, but it's not that good. I'd much rather spend time together instead of–"

"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!"

Anne quickly snatched up Sprig's gift and proceeded to open it, much to the pink frog's distress.

"No, really, it's dumb!" Sprig insisted.

When Anne fully unwrapped it, she was surprised to find a small handmade action figure of herself. Not as Amp or one of her many forms, but just herself.

"It's…you. 'Cause, you know…" Sprig felt embarrassed, but he had to say it. "You're my hero, Anne. With or without your powers. That's why I didn't make one of you that looked like Amp. 'Cause, at the end of the day, it's you under that helmet and armor. S-So, yeah."

Anne teared up and knelt before Sprig before bringing him into a hug. "Thanks, dude. It's perfect."

"Okay, even I think that's sweet," Polly remarked.

"Alright everyone, I think we all earned us some cookies," said Bee as he got up and headed to the kitchen.

Everyone cheered in agreement and followed after him.

"Guess that's the end of Christmas," said Hop Pop.

"I'll probably never understand it. But you know what? I liked it!"

Outside the Boonchuy home, on this cold winter night, the mysterious woman watched on from outside Anne's house and smiled happily as she began walking away and played her guitar with her crystal guitar pick. She began to sing, and as she did, her body slowly faded into sparkling crystal dust.

" Whatever makes you happy~

Whatever gets you through~

Whatever lets you know

That I'm feeling this with you~

If you believe it's special

Then that's what makes it special~

It's a special

It's a special

It's our special

Time~ of~ year~~~ "

---

Long after everyone had gone to sleep for the night, Anne stayed awake. She snuck downstairs into the kitchen, pencil and many sheets of paper in hand, with three envelopes that she had addressed to Sasha and Marcy's parents.

Anne knew the time to go back to Amphibia was drawing nearer with Terri's help. And the brilliant young scientist assured her that before the end of this year, that the portal would be ready for a test run. It felt like she just got back, well, because she kind of did after getting transported to another, another world. But soon enough she would have to make the jump back to Amphibia with the Plantars, find Sasha, and finally put an end to King Andrias' invasion before it ever reached Earth.

A monumental task lay ahead of her, and with it quickly approaching, Anne decided that it was time that the two families of her first loves finally knew the truth about what happened to their daughters. Anne dreaded doing this, it was one thing to tell them that they were all transported to another world. It was whole other thing to tell them that one was still in that world fighting for her life, while the other…lost her life.

She could already see and hear the painful cries of Marcy's mother and father when they read her letter. Anne considered herself a bit of coward for not doing this face to face, they deserved that much, to hear it from someone who was close to their daughters. But if they did, she had no doubt that they would call the FBI and or the police to come and arrest her. And right now, Anne couldn't afford for either to happen. She needed to get back to Amphibia and help Sasha, the last of their trio. With a heavy sigh, and a heavy heart, Anne began to write.

"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Wu,

You may not believe me, and what I'm about to tell you will be hard to accept, but you need – no – you should know what happened to your daughter, Marcy Regina Wu.

It all started when she found a music box and gifted to her friend. She had a fervent wish to never be separated from her friends, despite knowing that you had planned to move yourselves out of state.

And in her desperation, she put all her unspoken hopes on a legend, and…it worked.

Before I go on, I need you to know, Marcy was scared. She didn't want to leave the two people she loved the most, more than even you might be comfortable accepting.

None of what she did came from a place of malice, but out of a wish to remain together forever…

But also know, your daughter was first and foremost…a hero…"

---

A/N: Heyo, just in case you want another Dark Rider, well, dark fic that's going to be plot relevant later on, like WAY later on.

Then take a look at Kamen Rider Amp Alternative: The Broken Hearted

Fair warning now, if you thought Oscura's story was dark...well...let's just say the age rating is there for a reason.