Various images of past incidents in Los Angles played on several monitors within a dimly lit room. The monitors displayed the battles of Amp and the new Kamen Rider Gemini. The appearance of the monsters, the robots, and of course the different sightings of amphibian-like creatures. So many incidents had occurred in this city, so many things that were starting to get hard to cover up. They were already aware of Gravity Falls' weirdness, but they left that place alone since it's weirdness never spread beyond a certain area around the town and surrounding forest, so it was mostly self-contained. However, this was a different story.
"Okay, X," said a man sitting behind a desk, "What do you know about all of this mess? The citizens are getting anxious, and that fiasco at the parade hasn't helped. I mean, we had a lot of injuries that night, but somehow, they all were miraculously all healed by the morning! This is some "Cynthia Coven", "Magical Witch Azura" BS. I need you to tell me what you know about this, and I need to know, now!"
Mr. X and his partner, Jenny, were called in by the director of the FBI field office, their boss. They have been off the ball when it came to the Kamen Rider and amphibian aliens problem, but it seems as though their boss had finally started to take greater notice.
"Who can say, sir. Maybe a little? Maybe a lot," said Mr. X.
"Don't play coy with me, X!" his boss growled.
"Sorry, sorry. Coy is my default setting," Mr. X replied.
The director sighed heavily as he said, "I've been getting heat from the higher ups, and they're starting to think we should start reaching out to some…less than savory contractors."
Mr. X furrowed his brow a little at the mention of that, he didn't know why, but for some reason the image of that man in the white suit came to his mind. "I assure, you director, that won't be necessary."
"Fine, but I want those creatures, and this Amp character, in custody, TODAY! Tell me what you need in order to get the job done?" he asked.
"Nothing much."
Mr. X smirked as he suddenly whipped out two, huge, three-ringed binders and slammed them on his boss' desk. The field office director looked as if he was about to have a heart attack just imagining how much was in there, and how much it was going to cost them.
"Tricked-out vans, thermal tracking equipment, a mobile HQ with cutting-edge power systems, fully insolated body armor to protect from electrical attacks, a magnetic field generator…Kombucha on tap," Mr. X rattled off.
"Kombucha on tap?! Don't push it, X! Just neutralize these threats," said the director.
"Yes, sir," Mr. X replied.
Mr. X and Jenny waited for their boss to leave the office, once he had, Mr. X smirked at the idea that he would be able to finally capture not only those aliens, but possibly Kamen Rider Amp as well.
"This is it, Jenners. Living the dream!" Mr. X exclaimed.
The two then went into a celebratory and elaborate high five before snapping their fingers at the end. Jenny then glanced at Mr. X, and somehow, without having to hear her say it, Mr. X understood what that look meant.
"So, you thought about that guy, too, huh?" Mr. X confirmed.
Jenny nodded.
"I don't know why, either. But that day we met him, I could just tell he screamed, 'I'm an evil menace to society and there's nothing you can do to stop me'," said Mr. X as he gathered his binders.
Jenny gave another look at Mr. X.
To which he responded, "I don't know if this 'Amp' chick is with them, or with those aliens. It could just be that they're all separate threats we need to address. But you know my gut feelings are always spot on. And I know that the moment we go after these little frog aliens, that will draw out Amp."
Meanwhile, on other side of town, Anne, her parents, the Plantars, and Dr. Jan, were all gathered at Terri's private warehouse. Just as they promised, the machine was ready for a test run to see if it could sustain a portal. A lot of progress had been made since Anne's disappearance to the Alternate Demon Realm, mostly due to Terri's frantic efforts to bring Anne back from that world. But it seems it helped progress her research, that, and along with some additional equipment on loan from Dr. Stanford Pines, Dipper and Mabel's great uncle, along with some of his research notes on extra dimensional travel, they were able to get this far.
While Terri was making the final adjustments, Anne was sitting a crate and taking in everything. Her mother and father were standing off to her left behind her. They were talking about something, but Anne wasn't paying much attention to their conversation, but she did notice that her mother was wearing the butterfly pin that was gifted to her from Pearl and Priscilla. She was so happy that her mother loved her gift, but upon seeing it, the pin also reminded her of the emerald butterfly burette that she gave to Marcy as her first couple present.
Going back held a lot of emotions for Anne, emotions that she hadn't shared with her parents or the Plantars. Going back meant really facing the fact that Marcy was dead. Anne had accepted that, reluctantly, but she had. But going back there and knowing that only one of her friends would hopefully be there to greet her, stung a bit.
"Oh! Got to love this avocado roast!" Hop Pop exclaimed as held up a piece of toast with an avocado spread.
Anne snapped out of her inner thoughts and corrected him, "It's avocado 'toast', dude."
"In Amphibia the avocados are covered with poisoned barbs that cause blindness. But here they're just creamy and delicious!"
Sprig, always the impatient one, got up from his sitting position next to the crate and asked, "How's the portal going, Terri?!"
"Pretty good, actually. Come over here, there's something I want to show you," said Terri.
The Plantars and Anne walked over to the computer/control station that Terri set up.
"When you told me about the Calamity Box, I wondered, 'Why a music box?' Then it hit me!" Terri tapped on the keyboard and brought up a musical note on the screen. "The musical notes function as coordinates. There are countless worlds in the multiverse. Infinite possibilities. And those ancient newts discovered a way to pinpoint worlds with music!"
"Wait, so, are you saying that all we needed to do is sing a little diddy and we call could've gone back?" Polly asked.
"It's a bit more complicated than that, Polly. Just like all things have their own unique makeup, both genetically and chemically, so does everything have its own unique sound. There have been studies that show the Earth is constantly making noise, and I'm not talking about the cars, and other sounds. There's a natural sound that the Earth makes that our own bodies are so attuned to that we don't notice it. It's partly the reason why astronauts often experience a since of paranoia and discomfort while in space because they're far from the natural noise of Earth's vibrations. But my point still stands, each universe has its own unique sound, its own special song if you will. Now, the million-dollar question. Does anyone remember hearing a song playing between here and Amphibia?"
Anne didn't think much of it at the time, but yes, they did hear a song playing as they passed through the portal, not once, but twice, and it was always the same song. She and the Plantars started to hum the song aloud, but it was all offkey and sounded jumbled.
"Okay, wait, one at a time please," said Terri.
"Sorry, but I think it went something like, Hmm-hmm-hmm, hmm-hmm," Anne hummed.
Terri smiled and turned back to her equipment. There was a musical keyboard set up just for this possibility, and Terri tapped the keys, entering the notes. She then turned a couple of dials and pressed a few buttons as she inputted the notes into the computer and readied to activate the portal.
"Fingers crossed, everyone," they said.
Terri hit "enter" on the computer, and as soon as she did, the portal machine came to life. Three generators started up, pouring energy into the machine, at the same time, Dr. Jan revved the engine of Terri's car, which they used as a makeshift generator to add more power to the machine. Four beams of light converged at the center of the portal, and upon doing so created a ball of blue light. Within seconds that ball flattened and became small hole in space.
"That's as big as I can make it! Can you see anything?!" Terri asked.
Anne took out the telescope they had brought with them in case this happened. Once they had, Anne and the Plantars tried to look through it to see what was on the other side. There was a forest, some dragonflies flying around, and a giant red mantis that stomped around and began eating into a huge rodent it had freshly killed.
"Oh, gross!" Anne exclaimed in disgust.
"Yay!" Sprig cheered.
"That's home alright," said Hop Pop.
Sprig walked from behind the telescope and got closer to the five-inch-wide portal. "I wonder if the mantis can smell us?"
No sooner did Sprig say that did the mantis' arm reach through the portal and rose into a ready position to slice Sprig in two.
"SPRIG!" Anne yelled.
Sprig looked behind and saw the mantis' sickle arm about to cut him down, thankfully it was in time for him to jump out of the way as the insect slashed downwards and cracked the floor. Terri hurriedly ran to the other end of the room and unplugged the portal generator from the building's power. Upon doing so, the portal immediately began shrinking without the added power from the warehouse. And in a matter of seconds the portal closed, severing the mantis' arm in the process.
Oum and Bee, who had been taking cover behind a crate, could only watch with stunned expressions.
"That's you're world?!" Bee exclaimed.
"Home sweet home," Hop Pop answered.
Bee glanced at his daughter and asked, "How the heck did you survive there before you met the Plantars?! Or had powers?!"
Anne went silent for a moment as she recalled the hard days she spent in the Amphibian wilderness, the hard nights of the critters and creatures lurking about her makeshift shelter, and the constant threat of getting eaten by a giant bug.
"I did what I had to, Dad. I did what I had to," Anne simply stated. "Okay, well, other than Sprig almost getting his head cut off, nice job, Terri!"
Terri wiped their brow as they walked over to their control station, checking on the readings from the initial opening. "Thanks, but unfortunately the power we have right now is not enough. I'll need way, way more power to make a big enough opening for you four to cross over. But at least we're on the right track!"
"I don't believe it, we're so close to getting back to Amphibia! Next stop, defeat Andrias, destroy The Night, and save Sasha!" Anne remarked.
Dr. Jan couldn't help but be amazed by the resolve of the young girl and said, "Wow, Anne. You are one impressive kid. You know that?"
Anne blushed a little from the praise and asked, "Really?"
"Traveling to another world, leaving your parents behind again," Dr. Jan reached out and brought Anne close as she continued to ramble on, "not knowing when you'll see them next, and fighting against an evil force of darkness to save, not one, but two worlds? That's brave."
"Huh…I never really thought about that, until now," said Anne as she looked at her parents.
Dr. Jan was right, she was about to go back to Amphibia, and she was about to leave her parents again. It felt like such a short time had passed since her original return to Earth, all that time spent tiptoeing around her identity as Amp and the truth about the invasion and what happened in Amphibia. And then, not too long ago, getting sent to the Alt Demon Realm. Her time on Earth with her parents was short overall, but now she was about to go back and fight in a, well, in a war that she had no idea if she would survive or not. Before Anne could delve deeper into this rabbit hole, Terri sounded off.
"Alright. Everyone, listen up. Dr. Jan and I think we can get the portal bigger, but here's a list of supplies I think we're gonna need," said Terri as they texted a list to the Boonchuys' cellphones.
Bee read list aloud, "Fifty-thousand kilowatts of power generators, four hundred cubic meters of ice, eight gallons of yogurt-covered pretzels–"
"The portal needs yogurt-covered pretzels?" Oum asked.
Terri paused for a moment, and then answered, "Yes. Yes, it does."
"Well, gang, looks like the only place we'll find all this is…SPENDCO!" Bee declared.
Hop Pop looked up at Bee and asked, "Spend what?"
"SPENDCO!"
The Boonchuys took the Plantars to the huge store/warehouse, Spendco. A place that had anything and everything, and in bulk. Only if you were a member, of course. The Plantars were in sheer awe of yet another Earth store, the market was one thing, but this was on a whole different level.
"It's massive," said Sprig.
"Beautiful," Polly commented.
"They got avocados here?" Hop Pop asked.
Anne smirked as she answered, "They've got everything here."
Polly had brought Frobo with them since they might be heading back to Amphibia soon. She hopped out of the shopping cart, holding the robot's head over her own, and said, "Come on, Frobo! Shopping spree!"
"Which way to the avocados?!" the old frog asked.
"Toys?! Toys?!" Sprig demanded to know.
Oum simply pointed straight ahead, figuring that it was better to let them find it themselves. As soon as she did, Sprig and Hop Pop hopped out of the cart and began hopping to their destinations.
Anne, who was busy looking through her phone, managed to correct them before they got too far, "No hopping."
"Sorry!" Sprig called back before running.
Anne kept her eyes on her phone, that is until a red glowing plastic blade was pointed in her face. When Anne looked ahead, she saw her father standing before her, with a red laser saber in his right hand, and a blue one in his right. Upon his face he wore a mask that altered his voice a bit, and played the part of the villain for whom the mask was made to look like.
"We meet again, Anne Boonchuy! The only way to save your father, is to defeat me!" Bee tossed the red saber towards Anne.
She quickly caught it but looked unamused by her father's games. "Daaaaad, I'm too old for this."
Bee pushed up his mask as a look of disappointment befell his visage. "Aw, really?"
"NOPE!" Anne cried out as she swiftly attacked.
Bee hurriedly raised his own saber to block Anne's initial strike, she then moved in with a thrust, forcing her father to jump back far to avoid getting hit by her plastic blade. Anne was in attack mode, as she crouched low to the ground and jumped into the air, vaulting off several displays as she closed in on Bee. The Thai man could hardly believe his daughter's skill, heck, he could barely follow her movements at all. Finally, Anne closed in and slashed, striking her father in the face and sending him straight to the floor. The young Thai girl landed on the floor with a graceful flourish of her sword as she pointed it at her downed opponent.
Bee managed to roll onto his back after the hit and quickly cried out, "Anne! Whoa! Go easy on your old man!"
Anne snapped out of her little battle mode and realized what she had just done. "Oh shoot! Dad I'm so sorry! I-I just switched on without realizing – AAAAH!"
The Thai teen released a yelp when she saw a yellow glowing blade stick out from under her arm. She felt someone behind her and glanced back to see that it was her mother, now donned in a black robe.
"I was your mother the entire time!" Oum playfully stated.
Anne's mind immediately flashed back to that moment, that horrible moment that, to this day, still haunt's her nightmares.
"Now look what you made me do…"
"Anne…I…I'm sorry…for everything…I…I love you all…"
Anne's hands began to tremble, and her breathing started becoming rapid, but she had to keep it together, this was not the place or time to breakdown. She had to keep showing them that she was strong, she had to show herself that she was strong enough, or else there was no way she could fight against Andrias or make the jump back.
"S-S-Space parents are the worst! Y-You got me," said Anne, her voice cracking here and there.
Oum raised a curious eyebrow at how Anne was acting and asked, "Anne, are you al–?"
"HEY, YOU CAN'T PLAY WITH THOSE!"
Anne, Oum, and Bee spotted a worker heading right for them.
"Run for it!" Bee exclaimed.
The Boonchuys ran as fast as they could away from the employee, rounding the corner and heading down a couple of aisles before they came to a stop. Bee and Oum panted, while Anne was still trying to calm herself down after what happened a moment ago.
"If you have a saber display, you're gonna get a Boonchuy battle," said Bee.
"That's just the way it goes," Oum agreed.
"Heh, heh, yeah. Dang right!" Anne agreed.
All three Boonchuy's brought their hands up and high fived each other. However, upon making contact with Anne's hand, Bee and Oum felt something off. A trembling coming from Anne's hand. Anne brought her hand down and saw their expressions, realizing that she might've just been found out.
"Anne, you okay?" Bee asked.
Anne quickly turned around and said, "No, no. I'm good. I…I need to go find Sprig before he tears the toy aisle apart!"
Before either parent could ask, Anne left them behind.
Bee looked to his wife and asked, "Do you know what that was about?"
"No idea, although, she did start acting funny when I stabbed…MỊ̀ NA (OH NO)!" Oum exclaimed in realization.
"W-What?! What is it?!"
"C̄hạn ngò! C̄hạn-c̄hạn lụ̄m pị ẁā pĕn chèn nận...Nạ̀n khụ̄x wiṭhī thī̀ ṭhex h̄ĕn Marcy tāy! C̄hạn khæ̀…c̄hạn pheìng s̄r̂āng ch̀wng welā thī̀ pheụ̄̀xn k̄hxng ṭhex s̄eīy chīwit k̄hụ̂n mā h̄ım̀ (I'm so stupid! I-I forgot that's how…that's how she saw Marcy die! I just…I just recreated the moment her friend died)!" Oum explained.
Bee understood now why Anne's head felt like it was shaking, and the expression on her face made more sense as well. "X̌x xụ̄m...Mị̀ pĕnrị khuṇ pheìng lụ̄m reā thuk khn kảlạng lèn læa mī ch̀wng welā thī̀ s̄nuks̄nān khuṇ mị̀ dị̂ tậngcı h̄ı̂ mạn keid k̄hụ̂n (Oh, Oum, it…it's okay. You just forgot. We were all playing and having a fun time, you didn't mean for that to happen)."
Oum facepalmed herself, still feeling terrible for what just happened. "C̄hạn mị̀ s̄ncı c̄hạn pĕn mæ̀ k̄hxng ṭhex! C̄hạn khwr ca rū̂ dī kẁā thī̀ ca thảh̄ı̂ lūks̄āw k̄hxng c̄hạn brrtheā ch̀wng welā thī̀ lew r̂āy nı chīwit k̄hxng ṭhex! C̄hạn mị̀ khwr lụ̄m! C̄hạn t̂xng bxk ṭhex ẁā c̄hạn k̄hxthos̄ʹ (I don't care. I'm her mother! I should've known better than to make my daughter relive such a terrible moment in her life! I shouldn't have forgotten! I need to tell her I'm sorry)!"
Bee held onto his wife and said, "Deī̌ywk̀xn h̄ı̂ xæ nn̒ mī welā s̄ảh̄rạb txn nī̂ reā ca phūd t̄hụng txn thī̀ ṭhex s̄ngb lng lĕkn̂xy tklng (Hang on, let Anne have some time for right now. We'll talk it about when she's calmed down a bit. Okay)?"
The Thai woman sighed dejectedly, but she knew he was right. Anne had become a strong girl, but she was still a kid. "Reā cảpĕn t̂xng reìm khidt̄hụng kār phā xæ nn̒ pị phb nạk bảbạd meụ̄̀x thuk xỳāng cb lng (We really need to start thinking about getting Anne to see a therapist when this is all over)."
"Mị̀ næ̀cı ẁā reā ca h̄ā nạk bảbạd thī̀ cheī̀ywchāỵ reụ̄̀xng kār phā dĕk«pị s̄ū̀ lok xụ̄̀n læa klāy pĕn ḥīrò dị̂ h̄rụ̄x pel̀ā (Not sure we can find a therapist that specializes is kids getting whisked away to other worlds, and becoming superheroes)," said Bee. "Bāngthī reā xāc ca h̄ı̂ f̄āf̄æd khuy kạb ṭhex (Maybe we can have the twins talk to her)?"
"Nạ̀n xāc pĕn s̄ìng deīyw thī̀ reā thảdị̂ thảmị khuṇ mị̀ thor h̄ā phwk k̄heā dū ẁā phwk k̄heā ca lng mā rĕw kẁā nī̂ s̄ạk h̄ǹxy dị̂ h̄ịm (That's probably the only other thing we can do. Why don't you give them a call, see if they can come down a little earlier)?"
Anne had rushed to the lady's room and began splashing water on her face. She went into the stall earlier and let herself breakdown there, crying for a couple of minutes before she finally got control herself. Anne looked at herself in the mirror and sighed heavily.
Here I thought I was getting better about that stuff…PTSD is no joke, Anne thought.
As if she didn't have enough on her plate already, she also had to deal with the fact that she could be saying goodbye to her parents very soon. She didn't think it would be this hard, she knew all along that she had to go back to Amphibia and fight against The Night and Andrias, but now that it was almost time, the idea of leaving them behind hurt the more she thought about it happening. It was frustrating, to think she was feeling like this when there was so much to do. If she didn't go back now, not only Amphibia, but the Earth, and quite possibly the multiverse, would be conquered or destroyed by The Night. There was literally no place that would be safe from their reach if she didn't go back and join the fight.
The Thai teen sighed again, splashed some more water on her face, dried it with a paper towel, and headed back outside. As Anne walked around, trying to clear her head, she didn't really pay much attention to who was coming up as she accidentally bumped into someone, causing both herself and the other person to fall to the ground.
"Shoot! I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention," Anne apologized.
"Boobchuy?!"
Anne groaned inwardly as she looked ahead and confirmed the person who she ran into. She knew her well. A fellow student at Saint James, she had freckles, red hair that was tied into two braided pigtails, and wore a baseball cap on top of her head.
"Maggie…"
"What the heck are you doing here?" she asked.
"Shopping with my family, same as everyone else here, dude," said Anne.
"Tch, can't believe my luck, running into you. You know, it's a good thing you're not at school right now. Pretty sure everyone there hates you," said Maggie.
Anne rolled her eyes. "Really? Guess I must've missed all the messages I get on my social media accounts. Some of which I know are from you."
"Well, can you blame everyone? It's not a good look, Boobchuy. You, Sasha, and Marcy just up an disappear for six months, and only you come back. Sus as all get out," said Maggie.
"Look, I wish I could remember what happened to me, I want to find Sasha and Marcy just as bad – if not more than – everyone else," Anne retorted.
Maggie scoffed at her reply. "Puh-lease. I know you've been working at your parent's restaurant, going around town, and you were in that parade last week! Yeah, you seem real concerned about finding out where Sasha and Marcy are."
Anne clenched her fists as she tried to keep her temper down.
The red-haired girl approached Anne and said, "Why don't you just admit that you did somethin' to them? Huh? Sasha was always prettier and more popular than you, and Marcy was a damn genius. And you? You hit a ball good, and that's it. So, say it. Say that you did something to them!"
Without really thinking, Anne grabbed Maggie by her shirt and swung her against the wall as she said, "You don't know a damn thing, Maggie! Nothing! You have no idea what I'm going through! What I've been through! And yet you and everyone else just keep talking smack about me! Well, keep doing it! I don't care! 'Cause… 'Cause… 'Cause once I remember what happened to us, I'll be the first one out there going to get them back!"
"Whoa, whoa, calm down Boobchuy!" Maggie exclaimed, completely caught off guard by how strong Anne was.
All the times before, Anne never really fought back against her, not in a way that she couldn't overpower if she really wanted to. Sasha was always the one who came to this nerd's rescue. But right now, Anne had real physical strength, she had no doubt that if Anne wanted to, she could knock her out before she even realized what happened.
"And that's another thing! It's always 'Boobchuy' this, or 'Boobchuy' that! What is up with that stupid little name?!" Anne asked.
"…Do I really need to clarify that?" Maggie asked as her eyes darted down and then back up.
Anne took a moment to think, looked down, blushed, and then glared at Maggie. "Seriously?! They're…They're not that big or anything!"
"You're either in denial or just that stupid," Maggie remarked.
"Ugh, whatever! I'm done with this." Anne released Maggie as she began to walk away, but stopped when she noticed a toy on the ground. She picked it up and saw that it was an action figure of her alter ego. "An Amp toy?"
"Gimme that!" Maggie demanded as she grabbed the toy out of Anne's hand. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to find these?! They were all sold out by the time Christmas came along!"
Anne blinked.
Maggie blinked.
Silence hung in the air for several seconds.
"…Maggie, do…do you like Kamen Rider Amp?" Anne asked.
"W-W-What?! Hell no! I don't like her! What? Just because she's cool, has a badass bike, fights like a queen, and saved the city like half a dozen times and…" Maggie shook her head, stopping herself before she continued blabbing. "No! This is just for…for…my little bro! Yeah, he's a little kid and into superheroes! I-I just wanted to do somethin' nice for him, so I was looking for this and found one!"
Anne was not convinced.
"Yeah, sure. But I know for a fact that you don't have a little brother," said Anne.
"How do you know?!"
"Sasha told me. You can't hide much from her, and she told me you're an only child, soooo…" Anne let that hang in the air.
Maggie was starting to blush as she realized she just had been found out.
"Why do even bother getting that? You do know Amp is a hero, right? Someone who fights for people and does the right thing. You know, the complete opposite of you," said Anne.
Maggie turned her gaze away from Anne as she said, "Maybe I never wanted to be like this…"
Anne's expression softened as she reached out. "Maggie…"
"UGH! Now I'm done with this!" Maggie tucked the toy under right arm and shoulder checked Anne as she fast walked past her. "See ya never, BOOBchuy!"
Anne watched as Maggie walked away down the aisle and disappeared around the corner. The Thai teen sighed, perhaps there was more to Maggie than she first thought. There was certainly a lot more to Sasha when she found out her home situation. Maybe there was something going on with Maggie that made her act this way, that made her pick on Anne so much. And that reason was why she seemed to idolize her alter ego.
I think I need to have a long talk with Maggie sometime, thought Anne.
With that distraction over with, Anne walked aimlessly around the store, shoving her hands into her pockets as she continued to contemplate her other dilemma. However, as she entered the next aisle, she heard Sprig's voice.
"Anne, check this thing out!" Sprig whipped out a water balloon gun, aptly named "Balloon Finger 5000". The pink frog boy pulled the trigger and launched a loaded water balloon. "Booyah!"
Anne stopped and let the balloon pass by her and smack harmlessly against the wall to her right. Just now registering what happened, she turned to Sprig and greeted him. "Oh, hey."
Sprig tilted his head in confusion. Anne was acting strangely, so he decided to inquire further when she sat down in the patio furniture display. "Are you okay?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, i-it didn't hit me," said Anne.
Sprig jumped onto the table and asked, "But are you okay in here?"
The young frog child tapped Anne's heart.
Anne sighed heavily, she needed to confide in someone, why not Sprig?
"I've been so focused on opening the portal and getting back to Amphibia, I haven't thought about what I'll be leaving on this side. My parents…"
Sprig watched as some tears began to form at the corners of Anne's eyes. She sighed as well and confessed, "I get it. They're pretty great. I love Hop Pop, but…it's been nice to have a mom and dad, even if we're different species."
"Dude…"
"What if we wait a couple of days? You can spend more time with your parents. I'm sure Amphibia can wait a little while longer." Sprig suggested.
"Hmm…I mean, I suppose that could be a good idea?"
"GANGWAY!"
Suddenly, a flatbed cart came rushing towards them, filled to the top with crates and boxes filled with avocados.
"Holy guacamole!" Anne exclaimed.
The cart managed to come to a stop before crashing into them, and unsurprisingly, the one behind the absurdly huge pile was Hop Pop.
"Hey, kids!" Hop Pop greeted.
"What is all this?" Anne asked.
"Avocado hummus, avocado oil, avocado face masks. There's avocado everythin'! When Ah share it all with Amphibia, we'll be set fer life!" Hop Pop exclaimed with jubilation at the prospect.
Just then, Frobo's head came rolling from around the corner, but he looked like he was combined with an RC car, complete with a spoiler and antenna. The robotic head peeled off and began doing stunts around them, popping wheelies, and crashing through a pyramid of plastic cups that were somehow already stacked for just such an occasion.
Polly walked up to the group, pushing around a comically small shopping cart filled with DVD movies. "You like Frobo's no treads? We stopped by the RC aisle."
"Wait? How did you get those on him? Did you open one of those RC cars?" Anne asked.
Polly went silent.
"You know we have to pay for that, right?" Anne asked.
Polly remained silent.
Anne sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Did you at least hide the rest of the parts you didn't use?"
"Yep!"
"Good enough. And what's with the DVDs?"
"Oh, nothing much. Just my favorite 'Die Difficultly' films! Brice Wallis is an action movie genius!" Polly explained.
She then opened one of the DVD cases of said film and fed it to Frobo. Afterwards, his eyes lit up and began projecting the film onto a foldout screen.
"Yeah, I don't think this film is age appropriate for you," said Anne.
"Anyways, see you nerds later! We're gonna check out," said Polly.
"Mr. Boonchuy has, like, eight credit cards!"
Hop Pop and Polly laughed, manically happy, as they walked off towards checkout.
Anne and Sprig shrugged, they were going to be on Earth a couple more days, what was the harm.
Just then, Bee managed to find Anne, and asked, "Hey, have you guys seen my wallet?"
Anne and Sprig glanced to each other, and then answered, "Nope!"
Outside in the Spendco parking lot, Bee managed to stack the various supplies and avocado based products into the back of the car. Once he was done, Bee stepped back, dusting off his hands and admired his work while his wife and daughter watched.
"Alright, that's the last of it. See? I told you it would all fit," said Bee.
Inside of the back of their van, Bee somehow was able to fit everything in, while also managing to fit the Plantars amongst the things they bought.
"Right guys?" Bee asked.
"Snug as a bug, Mr. Boonchuy," Hop Pop replied.
"Stack more on me! I can take it!" Polly exclaimed.
Anne leaned against the van, smiling in amusement at her found frog family, while Oum threw her arms around her husband.
"I knew there was a reason I married you," said Oum, playfully.
However, the fun was about to come to an end. Without warning, the family was descended upon by multiple FBI labeled vans, as well as two helicopters hovering overhead that also bared the emblem of the law enforcement agency. The backs of the vans swiftly burst open, and several FBI agents came rushing out, each one suited up in tactical gear, and armed with M4s, zip tie cuffs, and stun batons. In a matter of seconds, they were practically surrounded, the agents forming a semi-circle around the front, left, and right of the van.
Hop Pop, Polly, and Sprig popped out of their space in the van and stood with the Boonchuy family. Anne glanced about, her mind racing as she tried to figure a way out of this situation. She didn't understand how they were able to locate them so fast, but it was fine, they just needed to play it cool, and they could just walk out of this. Hopefully.
One of the van's passenger doors opened, and out from that van, riding on his heelies, was none other than Mr. X. "Looks like we caught you at last, my little froggies."
"Frogs? What frogs?" Hop Pop asked, feigning ignorance.
Mr. X's response was raising his left wrist, pressing a button on his wristwatch, and firing a laser. That laser swiftly passed over Hop Pop and after about five seconds stopped. A second after the laser finished, Hop Pop's disguise completely fell apart, sliced to shreds and was now lying in a pile around his feet.
Anne glanced at her parents, who gave her a determined nod.
"Quicky, you guys! Run!" Anne ordered.
The Plantars and Anne began running towards the front of the van, planning on weaving through the other cars to lose the FBI agents. But before they could get too far, Jenny raised a gun and pointed it in Anne's direction. Bee and Oum were about to jump the agent, thinking she was about to shoot their daughter. However, the gun was not a filled with any lethal rounds, as when Jenny shot it, instead of a bullet, it fired a bolo.
The bolo managed to wrap itself around Anne's ankles, tripping her up, and making her fall hard against the asphalt with a painful grunt. The Plantars stopped when they heard Anne's grunt and quickly turned around to help her.
"Anne! Are you okay?!" Sprig asked.
"Don't stop! Just go!" Anne urged.
Unfortunately, that pause allowed one of the suits wearing FBI agents to come around and grab all three of the Plantars.
"NO!" Anne exclaimed.
"Anne."
The Thai teen turned around and glared at the smug look Mr. X gave her as he knelt beside her.
"So, we finally have a name. I gotta say, kid, you've caused me a lot of grief, but that's all over now." Mr. X stood up and gave the order. "Pack it up boys."
The agent who grabbed the Plantars looked at Anne and her parents, and asked, "What about the girl and her parents?"
Mr. X looked back at the Boonchuy family. Oum and Bee rushed to their daughter, preparing to defend her with everything they had. But then Mr. X shrugged.
"Leave 'em. There's nothing they can do now," said Mr. X as he entered the van.
The agent who captured the Plantars placed them in a dog cage in the back of one of the trucks, along with RC Frobo.
"GUYS, NO!" Anne cried out.
"ANNE!" the Plantars cried out as well.
The door was shut, and after, all the vans and helicopters left the parking lot and headed down the road.
"Mom! Dad! I got to–!"
"Go after them! I know!" Bee reached into his back pocket and took out a pocketknife and cut the bonds around Anne's legs.
"You'll be able to reach them faster than we can! We'll be right behind you," said Oum.
"Thank you, both of you!"
Anne called on her powers, causing her eyes glow blue as electricity surged around her body, and then to her legs. Within seconds, Anne dashed away from her parents, and straight into an alley. Once in there, she summoned the MetamorphRing and cried out, "HENSHIN!" before pressing down on the hip devices. Anne jumped straight up as lightning surrounded her body, and right before she landed on the roof, the dome shattered apart and revealed Kamen Rider Amp.
Now transformed, Amp began running across the rooftops as she quickly tried to intercept the FBI vans. She leapt from one rooftop after the other, searching the streets for the FBI vehicles, and wishing she had Machine Stormer 2 right now.
Why is it that this stuff happens when I DON'T have my bike around?! Anne thought.
Thankfully, Anne managed to find them at a stop light waiting for it to turn green. Amp jumped off the roof of the building she was on and landed right in the middle of the street. Many cars stopped when they saw the hero of LA, some of the drivers got out and whipped out their cellphones to record her, along with the other bystanders on the sidewalk. Amp's body was surging with electricity, her anger was on display right now, and she did not care. They took her family, and she was not having it.
Mr. X smirked from inside of his van and picked up the mircrophone. {Hello there, Kamen Rider Amp. What brings you here?}
"I know you took some people against their will! You have no right to kidnap them!" Amp accused.
Murmurs could be heard from the crowd. Many were wondering what Amp meant by the FBI kidnapping people, she had to have a good reason for standing up against the FBI like she was.
{Oh, but these aren't people-people. But I'm sure you know that, otherwise you wouldn't be here right now. Which only confirms my theory that you share a connection to these little aliens, don't you?}
"I'm warning you. Release them now, or else!" Amp threatened.
Mr. X clicked his tongue in disappointment. {Now, Ms. Hero, you wouldn't be thinking about attacking us, are you? We're not some rogue shadow organization, honey. We're the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the FB-freakin'-I. If you attack us, you're not just making an enemy of us, you're making an enemy of the US federal government as well. Do you really want that kind of heat on you? Right now, you only have us to worry about, but if you do, you'll have the whole of government come down on you like a hammer. Are you ready for that kind of fight? Are you ready to risk that against three alien creatures?}
Amp glanced about the area, she could see that everyone was recording this, and she was fully aware that her next answer could not only put the government on the list of people who want to take her down, but she could also lose the support of the public.
Then again, if we defeat The Night in Amphibia, and prevent the war, then there's no more need for me to be Amp. So, what does it matter?
Amp's electricity surged around her body with greater frequency as she said, "If it means I can save the lives that you wrongfully abducted, then so be it. Now, again, let them go or I'll come in each of those vans and find them myself."
{If that's how you feel, then come and get them, Hun.} Mr. X put the microphone down and brought up his walkie. "Activate the magnetic shielding."
Amp thought about the best way to do this without causing any injuries, but first she needed to disable the vans. I'll shoot out their tires, a lightning bolt to the tires should do it. Amp focused her lightning into her right hand, pointed it like a gun, and fired a bolt straight for the tires of the van in front. However, the moment that her lightning reached the van, the lightning bolt bent around the van and kept bending around each of the vans behind it before being deflected towards a building. The bolt struck the side of that building, sending debris falling down towards the sidewalk.
"WHAT THE HECK?!"Amp dashed straight for that area, and quickly got the civilians out of the way before the debris hit that spot. When she was done, Amp glanced back at the vans in confusion. "They deflected my lightning?! How?!"
{Yeah, we're not playing around today. Move out, people!}
The vans all started to move as one. Amp was about to go after them, but one of the helicopters dropped down from the sky, kicking up a whirlwind that made the civilians back away from her and the helicopter. Something dropped down from the bottom of the helicopter, something that looked like a canon. That cannon fired a net straight at Amp and managed to pin her against the side of a wall. Amp tried to use her lightning to fry the net, but it seemed as if it was made of some kind of super insulated material, as her lightning had no effect on it. The first helicopter rose and moved out of the way as the second came into view, and a different kind of cannon dropped down from it.
"Not good!"
Amp quickly tried to reach for her right hip port, struggling to do so against the tight and restrictive net. The helicopter fired its cannon, and what came out of it was a huge wad of pink foam-like material. The foam struck against Amp's outstretched left arm, and when it did, the foam began to expand at a rapid pace.
"So not good!"
Amp kept struggling and reaching as the next blast hit her right leg, and a third hit her left leg. The foam expanded, and when it met with the rest on her other leg, it only continued to expand more and more. The cannon kept firing all around Amp, until her entire body was encased in the pink foam.
{Confirmed, target is neutralized by the super insulating foam. Requesting for pick up and extraction,} the helicopter radioed.
However, the foam began to melt. Within seconds, Amp burst through the foam and landed on the street and was now in her Poison Form.
{Cancel that, target is still mobile! Chopper 1, commence capture procedure!}
The other helicopter dropped down and fired its net cannon again, but Amp saw that coming. She coated her right hand in her poison plasma, and slashed the air with her right hand just as the net was about to ensnare her. The corrosive poison ate through the net within nanoseconds of touching it, making both halves of the net fall harmlessly against the road. The second helicopter fired its foam cannon again, but Amp turned around and sniped the foam wads out of the air with corrosive plasma blasts one after the other. Amp turned her attention back to the first helicopter and dashed straight for it. The helicopter was about to rise to get out of range, but Amp managed to jump before it got to high and pressed her hand against the barrel. Her corrosive poison melted the barrel, and made it fall right off where it turned into sludge on the street below.
Amp backflipped off the helicopter, and landed close to the second, where she fired a poison plasma shot right at the foam cannon barrel, effectively melting it and disabling both of the helicopters' weapons. Left with no other choice, the two helicopters left the area. Amp glanced around herself again, seeing that the people were confused and maybe a bit fearful of her after seeing her attack the two FBI helicopters, and the vans. It did hurt a bit to see that they might become distrusting of her, but Amp knew that her time as a hero would be coming to an end soon. Unfortunately, that little distraction was enough for the vans to get away from her, and now Amp had no idea where to go.
Just then, Anne spotted her family's van speeding between buildings. "What the?"
Amp switched back to Lightning Form and chased after the van. Amp managed to get ahead of them, and transformed back into her civilian form, thankfully, it was out of the way where no one could see her, she ran up to the van before they could get too far and waved them down.
"Anne, are you okay?!" Oum asked.
"I'm fine! But I lost them," said Anne.
"Oh, but we didn't!" Bee exclaimed.
Bee raised his cellphone and showed off a visual of the vans that Anne had been chasing.
"How are you doing that?!" she asked.
"Your father got a present from the Pines twins, some kind of super-secret Kamen Rider spy gadget," Oum explained.
"Anyway, we can still catch up with them, let's get going," said Bee.
Anne hopped into the van, and within seconds they peeled away and were already zooming past other cars on the road. The Thai teen was both impressed and terrified by how her mother was able to weave in and out of traffic with little effort, and with amazing precision and timing.
"Geez! Mom, where'd you learn to drive like this?!" Anne asked.
"Ha! This is nothing! Try driving through Bangkok during rush hour!" Oum exclaimed, confidently.
Bee was practically swooning over his wife's driving abilities.
In little time at all, they managed to catch up to the FBI vans, but were cut off by traffic.
"We're gonna lose them," said Bee.
"Not on my watch!"
Oum turned sharply and aimed the van right down an alley. Anne looked to her right as a truck was about to collide with them, but they managed to get into the alley before that happened. Oum continued to show off her driving prowess as she easily dodged several obstacles that were strewn throughout the alley, and for the ones she couldn't avoid, she used as leverage to launch the van a bit. Unfortunately, there was big dumpster near the exit, creating a space that was too small for their wide van to fit through without crashing into the dumpster itself.
"MOM! LOOK OUT FOR THAT DUMPSTER!" Anne screamed.
Oum merely smirked as she swerved the van, knocking into the wall and making the van pop a wheelie. Bee and Anne screamed in terror as Oum managed to balance the van on its right front and rear tires, with the left front and back tires rode along the wall. Miraculously, they made it through, and with a sharp left turn, they were able to catch up with the FBI vans.
They followed the vans for a few more minutes, taking them outside of the city and into the more desert region of the area. Up ahead they could see a facility, which made Oum stop car before they could be spotted.
"Must be their HQ," said Bee.
"Time to scope things, out," Oum remarked.
The Thai mother backed up the van and took the road that went up around the cliff. From their new position, they could see what facility more clearly. The entire facility was fenced in and had barbed wire lining the top of the fences. Huge lights were positioned at the back end of the facility, and at the front. There were a few buildings, along with a communications antenna, all-in-all, it was a typical government facility that you either knew it was there or didn't ask about unless you wanted to get sent there yourself.
Anne came up to the front as Oum leaned over and looked at Bee's cellphone. From the device's bird's eye view, they could see the vans passing through the gate, a single point of entry.
"Looks, pretty secure," said Bee.
"What do you think our next move is?" Oum asked. "Do you want to go down there and take them back?"
Anne looked from the screen, and then through her window below. "As much as I want to, I don't think I can without hurting the people down there or getting the Plantars caught up in the crossfire. I think this is more than we can handle ourselves."
"So, what's the plan? We're with you either way, Anne," said Bee.
Anne smiled at her parents and then took out her cellphone. "I hate to do this, considering that we've managed to keep the circle so close, but if we want to save the Plantars, we'll need some backup, and I think it's time I reviled my identity."
Her parents nodded, and Bee recalled his present. Anne watched as a mechanical bird came flying towards them. Bee opened the window and held out his hand, when he did, the bird, which resembled a swallow, quickly morphed into a bulky digital camera before dropping into his hand.
Once it had, Bee brought his arm back in and ejected the pseudo-memory from it.
"Wow, they really hooked you up, huh, Dad?" Anne asked.
"Heck yeah they did!"