(SUMMER, 1 YEAR AGO…)
It was summer vacation, and that meant spending time with your friends and family. And as per their usual, Sasha, Marcy, and Anne were having another one of their sleepovers. This time it was hosted by Marcy. The preteen girl was always ecstatic about having her friends over, despite the fact that she was nursing a crush on them, but she was able to put those thoughts aside so that she could fully enjoy these friendship moments together.
As part of the sleepover, Marcy decided to put on one of her favorite movies, War of the Warlocks. She had watched it several times over, but never got tired of it, and it was always such a treat to have her friends watch it with her and share in her love of the fantasy genre. Currently, Sasha was lying on Marcy's bed, her cellphone in her right hand as she browsed through her different social media accounts. While Anne was sitting in the beanbag chair, munching on some popcorn as she at least tried to watch the movie. Although, it was three hours long…
{Your puny resistance stands no chance against my undead horde!}
Marcy, who was sitting at the front, immediately rose up and added her own commentary. She was dressed in her usual pajama pants and t-shirt with a picture in the middle that had the words "Roll Play" on it and had adorned herself with a blanket that she tied into a cape.
"I know what you're thinking. The resistance stand no chance against the Lich King's undead horde!"
Anne slowly blinked and replied, "Toootally."
"But little do they know, the whole battle is just a distraction so that our heroes can sneak into the castle and destroy the Crystal Crown of Tantamore," Marcy explained.
"Whoa! Spoiler alert," said Sasha.
Marcy chuckled nervously as she apologized, "Sorry, sorry. It's just such a good movie and I get carried away."
"Heh, Mar-Mar, I'm joking. I don't actually care."
"…Phew! At least I didn't ruin the second twist, where it turns out–OOMPH!"
Sasha had tossed a pillow that was made to look like a donut at Marcy's face. And as anyone will tell you, the moment a pillow is thrown, it's an instant declaration.
"PILLOW FIGHT!" Sasha and Anne yelled.
Sasha and Anne picked up a couple of pillows and began hurling them, while Marcy ducked and grabbed the one she was hit with and knocked them away, tossing it back at her best friends as she giggled and laughed out loud. The girls continued their little back and forth until they collapsed onto the floor, lying on a bunch of scattered pillows as they continued to laugh. Marcy glanced back at her monitor and saw that the scene had changed.
She immediately sat up and said, "Ooh, guys, here comes my favorite part!"
There was no response from her friends.
"Guys?" Marcy turned her gaze on Anne and Sasha and found that the two girls were already asleep. Completely knocked out and unresponsive. "Oh…heh…You guys fell asleep…again."
The Taiwanese preteen undid her blanket cape and gently draped it over both of her sleeping friends. It was a little annoying that they did fall asleep during the movie, but at the same time, it granted Marcy the rare opportunity of seeing her crushes sleeping soundly.
You two are so cute when you sleep. Marcy thought.
She understood what she was, she understood who she liked. And as much as she wanted to tell them, these two wonderful girls who became her best friends, she couldn't risk it. If she gave voice to the feelings in her heart, it could ruin their friendship. Marcy briefly glanced to a spot on her bookshelf, where was hidden a few journals that were filled with so many stories, or "shipfics". There were some dedicated to Anne, some to Sasha, and others that dealt with all three of them together.
Honestly, she would've considered herself a lucky girl if she managed to end up with even one of them. But she knew, statistically speaking, that was impossible. Society was barely tolerating the mere existence of LGBTQ+ people, there was no way they were going to accept a romantic relationship between three girls. Still, Marcy could dream, and write. In her stories the three of them lived happily. Until the day things could change, or if she saw something in her two best friends that hinted at the idea that they may be open to such a relationship, she would keep those thoughts to herself. After all, there weren't many people who were willing to be her friend. The people in the online community were one thing, but many of them were far away, or just preferred to remain online friends.
But Anne and Sasha, they were her real friends. Anne was the first girl to ever talk to her, despite spouting a bunch of facts that a girl at her young age didn't normally know. And Sasha, she was such a cool girl, especially when she protected the two of them from those bully girls. Well, protect in the sense that she freaked them out to the point of leaving the playground, but still, Sasha succeeded. Marcy thought you could only develop feelings for one person, having multiple crushes was one thing, but she felt strongly for Sasha and Anne, although her bias would lean her more towards Anne, but Sasha was nothing to sneeze at either.
Although, it was moments like these that made her question their relationship. What Sasha said earlier. That kind of hurt. War of the Warlocks was her favorite movie of all time, with Japanese Tokusatsu being tied for top of the list. She had tried to get Sasha and Anne into the genre, and for awhile she thought Anne might be into it. Marcy was excited when she found out Mr. Boonchuy was an avid fan of the Riders, growing up seeing a good many of the late Showa and early Heisei Riders. And Anne seemed to be getting into it, but whenever they were around Sasha, the subject wasn't brought up. She had to give Sasha some credit, though. Her blonde friend did manage to watch an entire season of Kamen Rider Atlas with them from start to finish, so that was good.
But she had to keep this friendship together, Anne and Sasha were her everything, her only real friends. Even if she could never tell them just how much they meant to her, friendship would have to be enough until the time was right. Marcy smiled at them, fighting the urge to give them a kiss on their foreheads, but fear held her back. So, she turned around and sat on the floor, and continued watching the movie.
{You'll never defeat us Lich King…}
"…'Not when we have the power of friendship!'"
(PRESENT…)
It was time. After a rough start of joining their three armies, Anne had to lay down the law and make both sides see that their nine-hundred year long generational feud between the three races was not something that she could fix, but that it was something that they had to work through, but reminded them that, at the end of the day, they all would suffer the same fate if they didn't fight together to stop Andrias and The Night. Thankfully, the leaders of the three factions, Tritonio, Beatrix, and Hop Pop (who somehow became the de facto leader of the frogs during that time) managed to come together and realized that while everything wouldn't be fixed right away, they could all agree that they had the same goal. To free their world from the evil of The Night, and the insanity of King Andrias's regime. With all this in mind, they came up with a plan, and were going to move out in a few days.
That is until Mother Olm decided to pay them a visit and informed everyone that the olms verified that the information about the invasion happening in a few days was false, and that King Andrias and The Night were planning on attacking tonight. With that short notice given, Anne and Sasha scrambled their combined armies, while also having Mother Olm return to Proteus and inform the other olms. Messengers were quickly sent out, informing the rest of their allies from different parts of Amphibia that the time was now, the battle was to begin today. The two teens gathered at the center of the underground base, the newts, frogs, and toads were assembled and ready to hear their plan. There were even some olms there as well, ready to relay the plan back to their own forces.
"Okay, let's go over the plan! Tritonio, Beatrix, and Croaker will lead a direct assault on the castle," said Anne.
"With the King's attention drawn, Anne and I will infiltrate the castle, rescue Marcy, and steal the source of Andrias's power: the Calamity Box," Sasha added.
"Suit up and move out people! Today we give evil a big fat WEDGIE!" Anne shouted as she pumped her fist into the air.
The army cheered in unison, ready to take the fight to Andrias, save their world, Anne and Sasha's world, and rid their land of the evil that was The Night once and for all.
Polly chuckled as she whispered to Hop Pop, "I wrote that line."
"Gee, really? Couldn't tell," said Hop Pop in a sarcastic tone.
They still had a few hours before they commenced their attack, so it provided them enough time to get their weapons and armor ready. The "Children of the Spore" arrived, and while the other soldiers were understandably freaked out by the mushroom controlled frogs, Gary assured them that they were here to fight alongside the Resistance and stop the destruction of nature.
Sasha was busy coordinating everyone's preparations, while Anne was helping the Plantars and Grime get their gear together for their infiltration of the castle. While Sasha was overlooking everything, some thoughts she was keeping to herself were making their way up to the surface. Mostly due to the fact that the final battle was upon them. She didn't want to give voice to these negative thoughts, but even today, there was still a part of her that was still angry with Marcy. Of course, that didn't mean that she wasn't concerned about her well-being, far from it, it was one thing to be mad at her, but she wasn't so mad that she didn't care enough to save her life.
But still, that memory of when Marcy confessed to knowing what the music box really was, and intentionally trapping them here in Amphibia, just so she could keep them together, it lingered. Did she understand how Marcy felt? Yes. But it would've been better if Marcy had told them, she could've figured something out, a solution to keep Marcy there. Sasha shook her head.
Stop it, Waybright, you're being possessive again, she thought. I know she didn't expect it to work, but the fact of the matter is, she suggested it with the knowledge that it might work. She put our lives in danger, she could've ended up losing us forever out here. With all the dangerous wildlife in Amphibia, we all could've easily died if we didn't land in just the right spots. Marcy, I get you wanted us to stay together, but dammit you went too far.
Sasha unconsciously clutched at her heart.
And what's more, you hurt Anne, too. I thought, out of the three of us, you would be the least likely person to do that. But it looks like we both ended up doing just that…damn, do I really deserve to be with her?
While she was thinking, Beatrix came up to Sasha.
"Hey, Sasha," said Beatrix.
"What's up? Do your toads need more armor? Weapons?" Sasha asked as she looked at her clipboard.
"Not what Ah'm here for. Got a couple of toads who want to talk to ya before all hell breaks loose later," Beatrix informed.
"Look, if they're trying to get an autograph or something, please tell them I'm not going to sign anything. I've already had four toads today ask me that question and the answer's no," Sasha answered.
"Wow, leave it Sasha to still be Miss Popular."
"Classic, Sash."
Sasha dropped her clipboard; she recognized those voices. But it couldn't be, even after this rebellion started, she hadn't seen hide nor hair of them since…
The blonde teen slowly turned around, and when Beatrix moved to the side, she saw them.
"Braddock…Percy?" Sasha whispered.
"Hey," Percy and Braddock greeted as they waved at her.
Sasha walked up to the two toads, gripping her left arm as the memory of when they left returned to the forefront of her mind. And with it, everything she did in their quest for Barrel's Warhammer. How she promised that they would turn back if it got too dangerous, and in the end, lied and even put aside their safety for her single-minded objective of getting the hammer and obtaining the toad army for the coup. And in the end, Braddock and Percy had had enough and left her. She had driven them away due to her toxic behavior, not that much different from how she treated Anne and Marcy.
Braddock and Percy weren't in their armor, or any kind of armor. They were dressed in civilian clothes, which was strange to see as Sasha was so used to seeing them in heavy leather armor and capes.
"H-Hey, you guys…you look good," Sasha greeted.
"Thanks, Sash. It's been awhile, huh," said Braddock.
"Yeah…it has…" Sasha gave a long sigh and decided to just get it over with. "Braddock, Percy, I should've said this to you so long ago, but I was too narrow minded and fixated on getting something back that was broken to begin with. And in the end, I only succeeded in hurting two of the people I loved the most. You were right to leave me and Grime, and I'm so glad you did. Otherwise, you might've been hurt when Andrias got the box and began this whole campaign."
Sasha got down on one knee and bowed her head to the two toads.
"I know you two probably hate me, and you have every right to. I want you to know, regardless of that hate, it won't change my resolve to save Amphibia, and end King Andrias's reign. So, if you want to get all your feelings off your chest, now would probably be the best time since things are going to get more chaotic soon."
"Well, you're right, we do have some stuff to tell you, Sash," said Percy.
Sasha braced herself, screwing her eyes shut and preparing for the tirade of anger from the couple.
"We were mad at you, Sasha. But we did hope for the best for you and Grime," said Braddock.
"But we never hated you, Sash."
Sasha's eyes widened as she slowly raised her head and saw Percy and Braddock smiling at her.
"We get it, you had a lot of things going on." Braddock stepped closer and gently took Sasha's right hand into both of hers. "You had a lot of emotions swirling inside you, and it made you fixate on getting to your goal. We do admire that about you, how driven you are, and how you keep going, undaunted by whatever is before you."
"And we figured that you were encouraging our hobbies and likes because you were 'trolling' Grime back then, but if it wasn't for you, Braddock and I wouldn't be together, and we wouldn't be pursuing what we both love," said Percy as he placed his right hand on Sasha's left pauldron.
"Wait…Y-You two aren't going to yell at me? I put your lives in danger when we went after the hammer, and turned your lives upside down," Sasha remarked.
The two toads chuckled.
"Well, it was a good upside down," Percy explained. "Because now we could start seeing a different path and do the things we love."
"And it's thanks to you. We wished we could've left under better circumstances, but we realized after that mission, that we had had enough with the soldier life," Braddock confessed.
Sasha sighed as she said, "It's like what Grime said, everyone has their limit, and you guys reached yours. No shame in admitting it. And I respect that you two knew when you hit your limit. Sometimes I don't think I know when I do. I'm sorry, for back then, honestly, I am. I don't know if we can be friends again, but I'd like the chance to start over. Not Sasha the prisoner. Not Sasha the lieutenant or the commander. Just Sasha Waybright."
"I think we'd like that very much, right Perce?" Braddock asked.
"For sure, I'd like to get to know the real Sasha," Percy replied.
Sasha's eyes began to water and asked, "This might sound stupid, childish, and awkward, but…can I hug you two?"
Braddock and Percy opened their arms and let Sasha embrace them as they hugged her back. One of many of her mistakes was driving these two away, but at least now she was given the chance to start over, and become a true friend to these two toads, like she should've been to Anne and Marcy…
The preparations were nearly complete, every toad, newt, and frog was armed with a weapon and donned in armor. The kill-a-moths were under the command of Domino 2, and Anne had watched as her baby precious issued her commands to their aerial squadron of killer cat moths. Anne went around using her superspeed to make sure everyone had what they needed, while also checking to make sure that everyone was okay, at least mentally. This was the most important battle in the history of Amphibia, heck, it the most important battle in the history of Amphibia and Earth. Although, Earth would probably never know about what she, Sasha, and everyone did here today. And really, that was for the best. It wasn't as if they were doing this for fame and glory, their sign of victory on Earth would be the knowledge that no one back home realizes just how close to total destruction they were.
Anne could hardly believe that it was time. All this preparation, all this fighting, it was about to come to an end. Although Anne figured that her Kamen Rider duties were far from over, considering that there was still the Foundation X problem on Earth to deal with, but with Sasha and the Pines twins, she was sure they could take down the organization.
I mean, we're about to take on an evil army and an entity of evil. Taking down a shadow organization should be easy…ish.
Among all her thoughts, there was one thing that hadn't strayed far from her mind. One person that needed them the most. Marcy. She had been held captive by Andrias and The Night for the last two months now, and somehow The Night got ahold of her MetamorphRing Driver to become a Dark Rider. Anne had little doubts that they would encounter this Kamen Rider Terminus, but she wasn't about to be deterred from freeing Marcy from her captivity. Of course, with thinking about Marcy, also came the thoughts of how they were going to move forward after all of this.
Anne understood, after reading Marcy's journal, how she felt about them. How she hid her feelings, and how much she cherished their friendship. And how scared Marcy was about losing them. Anne couldn't condone what Marcy did, but she understood why she did it. And if they were going to have a shot of being together again, as friends, and, or, as lovers, then they needed to save her, and talk this through. It was the only way to even try and save their friendship, let alone their relationship. Because, despite how it all happened, Anne wasn't sorry for the way she felt about Sasha and Marcy. And, again, despite how it all happened, love was the one thing that motivated all of them.
Guess the heart Calamity power chose me for a reason, Anne thought.
Once Anne confirmed that everyone else in the army was good to go, she zipped back to where the Plantars and Grime were. Joe Sparrow and Domino 2 were sitting on the ground while Hop Pop made sure their bags were filled with both food rations and medical supplies.
When Anne arrived, she announced, "Anyone need to use the bathroom before this make-or-break mission? I'm serious, guys. This is your last chance."
As Anne was talking, Sasha walked past her and headed to Grime and said, "Grimesy, I need a moment with Anne. Can you ride with the Plantars?"
"That's fine. Can I have your phone?" Grime asked.
"Sure." Sasha took out her phone and handed it to Grime but paused. "Wait, why?"
"Oh, I just put a playlist together of rad tunes to get me amped for the battle!" he explained.
Sasha looked at her toad father figure and teared up with pride.
"I'm so proud of you."
"Okay everyone, mount up!" Anne called out.
The Plantars and Grime hopped onto Joe Sparrow, while Sasha and Anne got on Domino 2's back. Once on their mounts, Joe and Domino 2 flapped their wings and brought themselves into a low hover as they flew up towards the ceiling of the underground base.
"EVERYONE! TODAY'S THE DAY WE END THIS MADNESS ONCE AND FOR ALL!" Sasha yelled.
"NOW C'MON, LET'S GO AND SAVE AMPHIBIA!"
The army cheered so loudly that it reverberated through the soil and rock, letting Amphibia itself know that they were ready to fight to save their home. The largest of their underground gates was opened, allowing Joe and Domino 2 to fly out as the rest of the armies began their march out of the base. From the air, Anne and Sasha kept watch over their army, and acted as scouts, staying on alert for any attacks.
Now that they were alone, Sasha rubbed the back of her head and said, "Anne, we need to talk about Marcy."
Anne sighed as she turned around and replied, "You were thinking about her too, huh?"
"I just…Look, I'm no saint, far from it. But what Marcy did…it was messed up, Anne. She got us sent here on purpose! Yes, I know she didn't think it would work, but she did it with the explicit hope that it would work. And unfortunately, it did. We were infused with the Calamity power from the box, became Kamen Riders, and now…we're fighting in a war to save this world and ours. And I get she was freaking out about being moved away from us, but it's still messed up when you consider what could've happened to us!"
Sasha sighed as she looked down at Domino 2's back.
"She did that, not knowing we would end up in another world. It was sheer dumb luck I was captured by the toads, you ended up in Wartwood, and she ended up in Newtopia. With the way Amphibia is, we could've all been dropped in places much harsher and more dangerous, we could've died, Anne! Again, I did a lot of crappy things, both here and at home, and I'll own up to them, but I would've never done something like this!" Sasha argued.
Anne sighed sadly.
"I know. I had nightmares about finding Marcy dead in the middle of a forest somewhere. Time and again I was worried if I would find her, and if I did, if she would be alive, or if would just be her remains." Anne took a calming breath before continuing. "I don't like what she did either. But I've had time to come to grips with it. But I know it'll still take us some time to fully heal from all of this. And besides, we're partially to blame for all of this happening in the first place."
Sasha shook her head in disbelief.
"Uh, 'ex-squeeze' me?! We're to blame?! How? Just how exactly are we to blame for this happening?" Sasha questioned.
"C'mon, Sash, think back. We were each other's best friends, but…we really weren't great friends to each other when you take a step back and see the bigger picture," Anne explained.
Sasha opened her mouth to retort, but Anne's words weren't incorrect. They each, in their own way, created a toxic relationship between them. Sasha was always in charge, she put herself in a leadership position for everything the three of them did together, and her word was final in all discussions and matters. Sasha's incessant need to remain in control of a situation at all times forced Anne and Marcy to follow her lead at all times, and while she did this to protect the girls she loved, she unintentionally stifled their individuality.
Anne wasn't any better. She was a pushover, she took the easy way whenever possible, content to go with the flow and shirk responsibility whenever the opportunity presented itself. It was due to this nature that she found it much easier for her to follow Sasha's lead. If Sasha was in charge, she didn't have to worry about something or anything, because Sasha would come up with a plan to make things right. And if Sasha needed something, or wanted her to do something, Anne did it. Because it was easier to follow Sasha's orders, and Anne knew that Sasha was always looking out for her, protecting her, so there was no need to worry. Even if her gut feeling would tell her that something was wrong.
Marcy, well, after reading her journal, and with the benefit of hindsight, Anne saw that Marcy was too hyper focused, and sometimes lost sight of everything around her. It was a dual edged sword, as that same concentration allowed her to be the genius that she was, but at the same time put her in unnecessary danger. Anne had dedicated a good portion of her preteen and teen life making sure that Marcy didn't get herself killed. Anne also knew that they took her genius for granted, often asking her for help with their homework, or copying off Marcy's work. That was on Anne mostly, Sasha was smart, but only copied off Marcy if it meant her participation on the cheer squad was relying on a single grade point. But this made Marcy too eager to please, and completely dependent on them. And what was worse, whenever Marcy wanted to talk about her interests, or get Anne and Marcy involved in said interests, they would always blow her off, or just flat out ignored them, distracting her with something else.
Yes, all three of them had their flaws, and all three contributed to how their friendship became what it was back then.
"I get it…we…our friendship was terrible," Sasha admitted.
"Terrible, but not fixable. As messed up as it was, Marcy getting us stuck in Amphibia – despite everything that's happened – let us see just how bad things were between us. And…" Anne reached with her right hand took Sasha's own right hand into hers. "…because of all this, we were all three able to finally come to terms with our feelings, and…it made me realize how much I care about you two, as more than friends."
Sasha blushed as she rubbed Anne's hand lovingly.
"I don't want to write off Marcy, she made mistakes, and so did we. I mean, we even ignored her interests. Like War of the Warlocks," said Anne.
"Anne, it was a three-hour movie," Sasha stated flatly.
"It's not just that, everything else. We never really asked her if she was alright, what she wanted to do. She was just happy to have friends who stuck by her. And by doing that, we ignored what we were doing to her, what we were doing to each other. In a way, we made her think she was backed into a corner with no way out, that no one else was going to be her friends, that she would only have us and that no one else would want to be her friend."
Sasha squeezed Anne's hand a little and asked, "Like I said, I get it. Despite everything, I still want to save her. And I do understand that coming to Amphibia has helped you to grow into a stronger person and made me want to be a better person than I once was. But, Anne, when this over, when everything is said and done, can we really be together again? The three of us? Is…Is that even possible?"
Anne took a moment to really think about Sasha's question. And after a minute of silence, Anne gave her answer.
"I don't know. Honestly, I won't know anything until we rescue her and end all this."
"…"
The city of Newtopia stood in the distance, and floating above it was the flying fortress castle. Several remote ships were hovering in the sky around it, taking battle formation. Along with the ships were many Frobots that were also flying in formation close to the castle and remote ships. Down below were many Infantry Frobots, alongside huge Frobots that were rounder and more robust. In addition to these forces, there were many collared beasts, snakes, centipedes, basically if it was carnivorous or big, it was collared and ready to use.
Inside the castle, with the power of the Calamity Box, they were able to view Earth. They couldn't see closer up, just broader images like the city and landscape. But it was enough to for them to get a lay of the land, so to speak. Of course, thanks to Marcy's memories of Earth tech, they knew that humanity had nowhere near the necessary amount of firepower or technological advancement that would allow them to compete with their forces, it wasn't going to be a battle, this was going to be a complete slaughter.
Andrias stood before the monitors as he looked at the various images of the city known as "Los Angeles". Marcy had told him that its name means "City of Angels", a strangely beautiful name. Shame it was going to be destroyed, along with the death of every human in it. This was what he had been building up to for the last one-thousand years, and soon his greatest mistake would be wiped away with this act. It was everything he wanted, and yet…why did it feel so hollow?
No time to think of such things, Andrias. You can't falter now. Today is the day that you finally redeem yourself. Leif…you made this much harder than it needed to be. We could've built something together, and now look at what you've brought about. Amphibia's ravaged thanks to your selfishness, if nothing else, your vision was a warning to you.
Andrias thought this, but at the same time, he wondered if perhaps, maybe, possibly, the visions that Leif saw were in fact true. Three mysterious warriors, three Kamen Riders. The ravaged land of Amphibia came from their plundering of their own natural resources. But it was that last part of her vision that was probably most concerning, the vision of the moon dropping from the sky, as if divine punishment was being brought down upon them for their transgressions against the multiverse. There was something about the moon that Andrias knew, but there was no way that it could be that. And of course, there was the olm prophecy.
"Three stars burning bright, come from beyond to expel The Night. Should they fight or embrace the fall, their choice will determine the fate of all", that was the prophecy. Father said that this prophecy was what assured him that the music box would one day return to Amphibia, but still…Ugh. It doesn't matter, I know what I must do. I cannot fail again.
Just then, a servant type robot came into the room and announced, {The preparations for the Earth invasion are complete, your majesty.}
"Very good," said Andrias.
{Would you care for some sparkling cider before we begin?}
The robot servant stood aside as two more of them came in, pulling along a metal wagon that had a huge bottle of cider in it, surrounded by ice to keep it cool.
"Ooh, don't mind if I do." Just then a loud horn bellowed. "What's all this now?"
Far in the distance, upon the hill that overlooked the shoreline between Newtopia and the mainland, the entirety of the Resistance army stood at attention.
"Now what do we have here? Looks like the worms have decided to make a final stand. How amusing," Andrias remarked.
Meanwhile, at the shore, the army stood ready. Above them flew several kill-a-moths, strangely enough, they seemed to have added more to their ranks along the way. For some reason, there was a large vulture, and on its back was a grubhog that had a butterfly painted on its face. And there were even more huge vultures flying beside it, all cawing and baring their talons, ready to fight. At the forefront of the army was Mrs. Croaker, Beatrix, and Tritonio, the three faction leaders currently in charge of the army. The flag baring the flame and two thunderbolts flew high from multiple points in the huge army, bearing their colors and showing their defiance against King Andrias and his master, The Night.
The Infantry Frobots, which were colored purple, transformed their left hands into large shields, and their right hands produced javelins. The entire army brought their shields forward, forming a phalanx. The big and robust Frobots transformed both their hands into spiked maces, clanging them together in a show of intimidation. The many collared beasts that were in the command of King Andrias hissed, roared, and chittered, ready to kill.
Croaker drew her sword as she cried out, "PEOPLE OF AMPHIBIA, ARE WE GONNA SIT HERE AND LET THE PAST STEAL OUR FUTURE?!"
"NOOOOOO!"
"THEN FOR AMPHIBIA! FOR OUR FUTURE! CHAAAAAARGE!"
A thunderous roar came from the combined cries of the Resistance army as they all sprinted down the hill. Their aerial forces comprised of the moths and vultures released their screeches and yowls of battle as they flew in as well. This was the fight that was to determine the future of Amphibia, and today, they were going to take back their future, here and now. One of the Infantry Frobots, either due to some short circuit in its logic matrix, or some personality quirk it developed, stupidly stepped forward.
{Brace for impact.}
That was the only line it said before a horned beetle smashed into it and sent the robot flying into the air. The Resistance army crashed into Andrias's robot army like a tidal wave as robotic limbs were severed and torn apart. Multiple explosions went off, signaling the deaths of some of the robots. Beatrix came jumping in with her dual axes, hacking and slashing through the robots in a frenzy, loving the thrill of the battle. Two of the Infantry-bots were about to attack her from behind but were soon stopped as several arrows were lodged into their heads, bringing them down. Beatrix turned around and saw that it was Tritonio, who she gave a nod to. Tritonio nodded back and joined her side, the toad warrior hacked and slashed, while the newt bowman fired one arrow after the other, sniping the ones that Beatrix missed, while she cut down the ones that got too close to Tritonio.
One of the Resistance fighters, a thin frog with orange-red hair, was cornered by five Infantry-bots. He had some metal armor that he wore over his overalls, but other than that he had no other weapons. As the robots closed in, the frog began to get angry, and as he got angry, his skin began to change colors. From a swamp green color, his skin shifted to a more neon green shade, and when he opened his mouth, two long tusks protruded from his lower jaw. Within seconds, that skinny, lanky frog turned into a huge hulking beast that stood heads taller than the robots surrounding him.
"I! KILL! YOU!" he roared.
The tusked frog grabbed the closest Infantry-bot and crushed its head in his grasp. Keeping ahold of that same robot, he lifted it up and smashed it into then another. Another Infantry-bot came in with a thrust of its javelin, but the tusked frog managed dodge it and rip off its arm before taking that javelin and running another robot through its chest. But he didn't stop there, the tusked frog kept skewering one robot after the other, until the last three were now mounted on the javelin like a kebab. The tusked frog saw some more coming his way, so he chucked the javelin straight at them, which crashed through several more Infantry-bots before they exploded. The tusked frog roared loudly before he jumped into the air and came down with two hammer fists into more of the robots, and from there, just continued to smash and punch through more of them.
One of the big Tank-bots was smashing its way through the ranks of the Resistance army, tossing them aside like ragdolls. A panel on its chest slid open and revealed a large laser cannon that it was priming to fire. But just then, the ground began to rumble, and within seconds, two large olms burst out of the ground and clamped their jaws around the machine. With a swift jerk of their heads, they tore big chunks out of the robot before heading back underground. That same robot fell and exploded a moment later. The aerial Frobots were firing down on the army, but the kill-a-moth flock took care of them as they used their sharp claws and teeth to tear them apart, the swifter moving vultures were able to provide cover for the moths as they used their talons to gouge out the eyes of the robots, rendering them blind long enough for the moths to take care of them.
Maddie and Ivy were fighting back-to-back. The witch frog girl and the spunky tomboy frog were putting in just as much work as the adults. Ivy's swiftness allowed her to move in and around the Infantry-bots, dual wielding daggers as she cut them at the knees, literally, she cut through their robotic legs and brought them down to the ground, allowing her to follow up with a quick stab to their CPUs, or in this case, their heads, before moving onto the next. It would be a little easier to deal with her, if it weren't for Maddie who was tossing one curse pouch after the other, transforming some of them into fragile stone blocks, plants, or bugs. Of course, seeing this made the Infantry-bots' computer brains cease up, as there was no logic in how Maddie was doing this, or if there was an effective countermeasure. All this allowed the two girls to overwhelm the robots that came near them.
After downing about fifteen of them, Ivy jumped off one of the Infantry-bots, after stabbing it in the head with both of her daggers and did a backflip in midair before landing next to Maddie.
"You good, Mads?" Ivy asked.
"Yeah, I'm good! You?"
Ivy smirked, and then leaned over as she kissed Maddie on the cheek.
"I am now."
Maddie blushed bright red as she exclaimed, "W-W-W-What did you do that for?!"
"Because you're cute, and I care about you."
Maddie kept blushing to the point that she crushed her two curse pouches in her hands. The goth frog girl's left eye started to glow with purple light as both her hands were now covered in the curse, having activated it. More Infantry-bots ran straight at them, but Maddie slammed her hands against the ground, causing a surge of obsidian crystal to rise out of the dirt. The obsidian formed sharp glaives as they surged forward, and crashed into the Infantry-bots, tearing and piercing through their metal bodies. Another battalion came at them from the left, but Maddie waved her hand in that direction, causing more obsidian to surge forth and shred those robots to pieces.
"Uh…wow…Maddie, I didn't know you could do that," said Ivy in awe.
Maddie panted and replied, "I…I didn't think I could, yet. This is, like, level ten magic! I-I shouldn't be able to do this this, not yet!"
"Hmm, maybe you just needed the right motivation," Ivy remarked with a grin. "Hmm, say, can you touch my daggers?"
The goth frog girl looked at Ivy with confusion, but complied with her request as she touched the blades of Ivy's daggers. Almost instantly, the blades were coated in glowing, magic obsidian stone that was honed to a blade's edge. The blades were longer, gaining about an extra foot in length. Ivy turned them around, now wielding them like a couple of swords. The spunky frog girl locked onto the nearest Infantry-bot and dashed right for it. Using her nimble movements, she managed to dodge one of its thrusts as she stabbed the robot in the chest with her obsidian dagger. The moment she did, the robot suddenly erupted with dozens of sharp obsidian glaives that burst out from different parts of its body. Ivy drew back the blade and let the Infantry-bot fall onto its back where it ceased functioning.
"Maddie you are the best witch in all Amphibia!" Ivy exclaimed.
The goth frog girl blushed, again, and then went back to work using her awakened magic to keep tearing through the robots, all the while sparing a glance at the tomboy who had helped to awaken her latent talent and smiled.
Some of the mind-controlled creatures like the giant centipedes and snakes were called in for backup, and while they were disrupting the ranks of the Resistance army, they had a counter for that as well. The Children of the Spore came charging in, and as one, managed to distract a giant centipede, getting it to follow their movements while Gary flew around and landed on its head.
"Alright, let's see what we can do," said Gary.
The hivemind fungus poured some of its spores onto the centipede's head, and in a matter of seconds glowing mushrooms grew on its head. The centipede immediately stopped attacking Gary's followers, recognizing them as one of its own.
"Now that's what I'm talking about! Sic 'em fido!" Gary ordered.
The centipede turned its head towards the nearest Tank-bot, and without a moment's hesitation roared and attacked the robot, using its pincers to tear into its metallic hide. Gary flew off the centipede and began doing the same to the snakes, before long, the Resistance now had control over the collared beasts.
Loggle let out a loud battle cry as he charged straight for one of the Infantry-bots. The buff axolotl and the robot got into a grappling match. Metal groaned as Loggle and the robot fought for dominance, but at the last second, Loggle broke their engagement and wrapped his arms around the machine's waist. He then arched his back and brought the robot down in with a suplex, smashing its head against the ground behind him.
Unfortunately, it wasn't going so well for Wally as he was being hounded by a few of the flying Frobots. Thankfully, some of the Merry Band archers sniped those Frobots from the air, allowing Wally a small breather. But that was short lived as one of the Infantry-bots closed in on him, javelin ready to stab the one-eyed frog. Wally gasped in horror, believing that this was his end, but something strange happened. A mist started to form around him and the robot. The Infantry-bot seemed confused by this as well as Wally, but the machine soon seized up as its body shook. A second later, plants started to spontaneously grow out of the Infantry-bot, breaking through the gaps in its armor until the entire machine was torn apart from the inside out. When the mist cleared, Wally's jaw dropped. Standing before him was the elusive Mossman, the very same Mossman that he and Anne tried to get a photo of all those months ago. The plant creature gave a low moan and waved its hand at Wally, as if greeting him.
"AHAHA! I told you he was real!" Wally exclaimed.
Everyone who saw it were not about to question it and were just as thankful that the Mossman was on their side. Mrs. Croaker, everyone believed, said it best when she made the remark, "That's a lot to process, but okay!"
While all of this was going on, King Andrias stood at the window, watching as his army was surprisingly getting their butts handed to them.
"Wow, that's a pretty big army. Guess I should get down there and do something." Andrias took a sip of the cider and hummed in delight. "Ooh, that's good. What is that? Raspberry?"
{Indeed, your highness.}
"Very good." Andrias took another sip, finishing his drink before tossing the glass over his shoulder. "Well then, let's get to it."
The King of Amphibia went to the archway of the balcony. Once there, he got into a runner's stance and sprinted towards the guardrails. He then jumped straight off the balcony from hundreds of feet in the air and dropped down to the battlefield below with a thunderous "BOOM!" The robotic army and Resistance army stopped fighting as they took note of the newt king's presence. Andrias took out his sword hilt, which he flipped into the air and rolled it off his right arm, down his shoulders, and into his left hand before turning it on and making the flaming energy blade extend.
"Now don't stop on my occasion," he joked.
"Alright everyone! Just like we planned! ATTAAAACK!" Croaker ordered.
The entirety of the Resistance army turned their attention towards Andrias. The newt king smiled, he didn't need to go into his Fallen form to take these worms down, his skill, raw power, and sword would more than enough to deal with them. Besides, he didn't want the fun to be over too soon.
While the battle raged down below, the second phase of the plan was set in motion. After seeing Andrias drop out of the castle, Joe Sparrow and Domino 2 flew to the closest landing pad they could find. Domino 2 landed first, allowing Sasha and Anne to dismount. But as Joe got closer, the girls could hear loud music being played. When Joe landed, Sasha and Anne saw that their Amphibian companions were busy jamming out to the "rad tunes" that Grime picked for the battle.
"Guys! Stealth mission! Emphasis on stealth!" Sasha admonished.
"Oh, sorry," said Grime as he turned off the music.
Grime, Sprig, Hop Pop, R/C Frobo, and Polly hopped off Joe Sparrow, and together they entered the palace as their flying mounts remained on standby on the landing pad. As they snuck around, Sasha and Anne summoned their MetamorphRing TRI Drivers. They knew that at some point they were going to encounter The Night, rather, Kamen Rider Terminus, so it was better if they had their Drivers on and at the ready for when or if that encounter happened. To be honest, they were hoping to avoid fighting that Dark Rider, at least until they managed to snatch up the Calamity Box and rescue Marcy, after that, the gloves would come off.
Carefully and quietly the team snuck through the castle. It had changed a lot since the last time they were inside. Strange mechanical tubes ran through the walls, ceiling, and parts of the floor. Gone was the warm and majestic atmosphere and lighting the castle once had, now it was tinted in hues of red and black, with an ominous, and oppressive feeling purveying over everything. They were getting closer to the throne room, but despite their mission, Sasha couldn't help but bring up their conversation from earlier, it was like a bee buzzing in her head and she couldn't ignore it.
"Okay, I agree, we have been taking Marcy for granted. But that still doesn't change what she did, that she almost got us killed with her stunt," said Sasha.
Anne sighed as she stated, "Sasha, it's not about what she did. It's about why she did it. Like I said, she felt like she was driven into a corner, and we never made her feel like she was worth more. Marcy felt as if we were the only ones she could ever be close to, and that fear of losing us drove her to this extreme."
Their companions stopped at the end of the hallway, checking both sides to make sure the coast was clear.
Sasha stopped walking and turned to face Anne as she asked, "So, I'm just supposed to forgive her? Just like that? Like it's easy?!"
"…It's not easy. It's not ever that easy." Anne walked up to Sasha, staring her in the eyes. "Forgiveness is hard. And it can take time." The Thai teen took Sasha's right hand into both of hers as she gave it a gentle squeeze. "But believe me…"
Anne's gaze briefly shifted to Hop Pop, remembering that time when he hid the music box from her, and lied to her about what he was doing with it. She put her trust in him, and he betrayed that trust by hiding it away and almost losing it. Of course, later, she understood why he did it when he explained his reasons, but the hurt was still there, and it did take time to mend the trust they once had. But now, Anne trusted Hop Pop with her life, as if he was her own grandfather. And in many ways, he was, because she was Plantar. Hop Pop met Anne's gaze, and gave her a thumbs up, indicating that the halls were clear.
"…It's worth it. I mean, just look at what you and I have now. It took time for me to come to terms with what happened. And in that time, I learned a little about what you were going through. Why went to the lengths you did to keep us close to you. While I wish you had talked to us about it, like I said, I understand. And I forgave you, Sasha. I'm not asking you to immediately forgive Marcy. That's not it. What I am asking is that you understand why she did it, and hopefully, you can start to forgive her."
Sasha teared up, yes, she understood what Anne was talking about. She hurt Anne multiple times, both by ordering her around, nearly killing her frog family, betraying her, and breaking her heart. And yet, after all of that, they were back together again. Anne forgave her, even when Sasha was finding it hard to forgive herself.
"Boonchuy, I swear, you're a damn saint," said Sasha.
"Heh, yeah, I wouldn't go that far," Anne chuckled.
Sasha wiped her tears away once Anne let go of her hand and replied, "Maybe, but you're right. It won't be easy, but we can work through it, together. Now let's save that lovable nerd, so we can make things right with her."
"That's what I'm talkin' about! Let's get a move on, the throne room's just up ahead!"
With their discussion over, the group made their way past the double doors that led into the corridor right across from the throne room. Just a few feet more and they could take the music box. Once that was accomplished, Anne and Sasha would begin tearing the castle apart looking for Marcy, literally. They were going to transform and start blasting holes through the flying fortress until they found her. But that was after they got the Calamity Box and halted the invasion. However, their mission hit a roadblock as two newts dropped down from the ceiling and blocked their path. Unfortunately, these newts were none other than Olivia and Yunan.
"Going," Olivia began.
"Somewhere?" Yunan finished.
"Lady Olivia! Yunan! It's us!" Sprig cried out.
"Yer wastin' yer breath, boy. Look," said Hop Pop as he pointed at control collars around their necks.
Without warning, Yunan extended her gauntlet claws and crouched low. At the same time, Olivia got into a fighting stance and crouched as well. As one unit, Olivia and Yunan dashed straight towards Hop Pop. The old frog had no time to run as the two newt women readied to kill him, but at the last second, Grime pushed the old frog out of the way as he brandished Barrel's Warhammer, blocking Yunan's claw strike. Olivia slipped behind Grime and swept his legs from under him with a kick, causing the toad warrior to fall onto his back. Now in a prone position, Olivia and Yunan raised their fists.
Sasha dipped into her powers, causing her eyes to glow magenta as she concentrated her flame power at the soles of her boots. She condensed the flames until they fired off in an explosion that propelled her forward. The blonde teen led with her knee, striking Yunan in the side and causing her to crash into Olivia, throwing both newts down the hallway.
"You okay, Grime?!" Sasha asked.
"Just fine, Lieutenant," Grime replied.
The newt women were not fazed by the attack, but instead got back into their fighting stances.
"Sasha, I'll take care of this!" Anne announced as her eyes started to glow blue.
Sasha nodded, helped Grime up, and brought him back to their side.
Olivia and Yunan, once again, dashed straight for them. But Anne did the same, leaving a trail of azure lightning in her wake. Anne coated her right hand in lightning, preparing to short out the collars. When Olivia and Yunan attacked, Anne easily weaved around them before tapping their collars with her right hand, sending a surge of electricity through them. When she appeared on the other side, the collars around the two newt women fizzled and released sparks as they came undone, dropping to the floor. Yunan and Olivia shook their heads as their eyes returned to their natural state.
"Whoa, what…what happened?" Yunan asked.
"Would…Would someone explain what is going on?" Olivia inquired.
"No time for the full explanation. We're here to get the box and save Marcy!" Sasha answered as she joined Anne at the door to the throne room.
"No, wait! Marcy…Marcy has changed." Olivia didn't know how to tell them. She could still recall that moment when it happened, and the horrible scream that Marcy let out when her mind and body were forcibly taken over.
"Listen to Olivia, she's not the girl you once knew," said Yunan.
Anne chuckled as she responded, "Neither are me and Sasha."
"No, you don't understand!"
Anne and Sasha immediately kicked the doors open. Inside the throne room was the Calamity Box, still resting on the same pedestal they remembered from last time. But something was off. The room was mostly pitch-black except for some light shining on the Calamity Box.
"I don't see Marcy…" Anne glanced about the room, her senses telling her something was clearly up. "I don't like this, Sash."
"I know, me neither. Think you can superspeed grab the box and bring it back here?" Sasha suggested.
Anne got down into a runner's stance as she said, "Just be ready for anything."
Sasha drew her swords and coated them with her flames, ready to cut down whatever might attack them from the shadows.
Anne immediately dashed straight for the Calamity Box, ready to snatch it off the pedestal and run it back to their group. However, the moment she reached out and touched it, her hand went right through it. Anne came to a screeching stop as she turned around. She went to grab it again, but quickly realized that it was just a hologram.
"IT'S A TRAP!" Anne yelled.
Suddenly, all the light in the room went out, shrouding the room in total darkness. But that changed when several orange and yellow eye nodes lit up the darkness. Those same nodes lashed out towards the girls and their group, but Anne and Sasha were ready. Anne quickly drew her sword and began cutting down the mechanical tentacles, while Sasha did the same, cleaving her burning swords through one tentacle after another. Anne regrouped with the others, aiding Sasha in keeping the tentacles away from the rest of their party. But after a few seconds, the tentacles stopped attacking, and just held their positions, like snakes ready to strike. More nodes started to glow, and all of them led directly to where the throne used to be.
And there, standing before a large, glowing mechanical eye, was Kamen Rider Terminus. The Dark Rider chuckled as she said, "Hello, girls. Oh, Sasha Elizabeth Waybright, been awhile since our last fight in Wartwood. And there she is, Anne Savisa Boonchuy. The shining hope of the Resistance, and a fine specimen at that."
"Okay, first; EW! Second: What did you do with Marcy and the Calamity Box?!" Anne demanded.
Terminus walked down the steps as she answered, "Oh, Mar-Mar's very close by, don't you worry. You'll see her real soon. As for the Calamity Box? Did you really think I'd leave it out in the open when an invasion force was coming?"
"How?! How did you know we were coming?! Do you have a spy in our ranks?!" Sasha questioned.
"Oh, Sasha, no. That's not it. But if you want the answer …" Terminus got into a fighting stance. "Then you'll have to beat it out of me."
"Oh, with freaking pleasure!" Sasha stated. "Anne, let's finish this, once and for all!"
"This war, your evil, it all ends tonight! Terminus!"
"HENSHIN!"
"HENSHIN!"
Domes of fire and lightning formed around Sasha and Anne. Sasha's fire dome quickly shifted to magenta flames as magenta and blue light shined inside of their respective domes. A moment later, the domes burst apart, and now both had transformed into Kamen Rider Amp and Kamen Rider Bellona. Terminus smirked under her helmet, noticing that Amp had shifted right to Raging Heart: Vengeance Mode, and Bellona was in her newer Invictus: Burst Gladiator Mode. Their Super Forms complimented each other, Amp's physical strength was increased along with her speed getting a bigger boost. While Bellona's newer form granted her all the boosted physical strength of her Gladiator Mode, but with a speed boost to bring her on par with Amp's Super Form speed.
"I can't tell you how long I've waited to finally fight the two of you," said Terminus.
"The feeling's mutual, buddy," Amp replied.
"We're going to make you pay for all the pain and suffering you and Andrias have caused Amphibia," Bellona swore.
The Plantars, Grime, Yunan, and Olivia held their breath as they watched the three Riders square off. Everything felt like it had gone still, as if the world was holding its breath in anticipation of what was to come from this battle. And then, it happened.
A burst of magenta flames, and a crackle of lightning was all that was seen and heard before Amp and Bellona closed in on Terminus. Amp extended her right forearm blade, coating in her lightning as she came down with a slash. At the same time, Bellona coated her left fist in magenta flames as she threw a straight punch at the Dark Rider. Terminus didn't flinch as she reached out with both of her hands, using her whole hand to catch Bellona's flaming fist, and stopping the electrified blade of Amp with just two fingers. A shockwave erupted inside the throne room that knocked the Amphibian spectators onto their rears, and caused a few cracks to form on the floor, walls, and ceiling.
Terminus's thirteen eyes glanced about the room before saying, "You know what? We should really take this outside. I don't want our fun to accidentally destroy the castle. So, after you!"
The Dark Rider clenched her hand around Bellona's fist and grabbed ahold of Amp's right wrist with her left hand. Terminus quickly dashed towards the balcony, dragging the other two Riders along as she jumped into the air and tossed them like ragdolls down to the battlefield below. Andrias, his army, and the Resistance army stopped fighting when they heard two loud booms, along with the rumbling impact of the two Riders hitting the ground. Amp and Bellona managed to pick themselves up just in time to watch Terminus float down from the castle. She landed a few feet in front of them, hands behind her back as the multi-eyed villain stared them down. Andrias turned to face the fight, and looked like he was ready to go into Fallen mode to help his master. But seven out of the thirteen eyes of Terminus shot a threatening gaze at him.
"Do not interfere in this battle, Andrias. They are mine and mine alone, understood."
It was less a question and more of a statement.
"Understood, my lord."
"Good to hear, big blue. Now then." Terminus raised her hands up and got back into a fighting stance. "Where were we?"
"Sash…"
"I know, I got the ground, you take the air."
Amp realized that they were in the water, and their army was still ankle deep in it. If she used her lightning now, it would fry the entire army. So, for now, she would have to fight from the air while Bellona fought on the ground. However, her change in tactics did not go unnoticed by Terminus.
"Are you seriously worried about electrocuting your own army?" Terminus asked.
"What's it matter to you!" Amp stated.
"Uh, it matters if you're not going to fight me seriously if you're thinking about them." Terminus raised her right hand as orange lightning began to crackle around it. "So, I'll just eliminate them from the equation!"
"NOOOO!"
Terminus released a bolt of orange lighting straight at the armies, not even caring that her own robotic troops were about to get hit as well. They were robots, she could always make more of them anyway. Amp was not having that as she flew ahead of the orange bolt, holding out her left hand towards the incoming bolt and pointing her right hand towards the sky. Terminus's lightning bolt struck the palm of Amp's hand, causing the blue Rider to cry out in pain as the malevolent energy surged through her body. But that's what she wanted. Amp used own lightning, utilizing it as a pathway to her right hand where she redirected the orange bolt and fired it straight into the air.
"ENOUGH!" Bellona roared as she closed the gap between herself and Terminus.
The Dark Rider cancelled her attack and immediately jumped back, letting Bellona punch the air where she once was. But Bellona didn't quit, she chased after Terminus as she kept throwing one punch and kick after the other. The Dark Rider was forced to initiate combat as she threw her own kicks and punches to counter Bellona. Several shockwaves erupted in the air, causing the water to ripple with each impact.
Amp panted, redirecting that negatively charged lighting was painful, but at least their army didn't get fried in the process. With that in mind, Amp turned to their army and yelled, "FALL BACK TO THE BEACH! NOW!"
The army leaders didn't hesitate as they gave the order for their troops to fall back to the beach. Amp jumped into the air and began to hover; she turned her gaze onto the fight between Bellona and Terminus and flew straight for them.
Bellona was shocked right now, somehow, she felt like Terminus wasn't really trying. This entity seemed to have gotten stronger, or maybe a bit faster? Whatever it was, Bellona didn't care. All that mattered was that this thing was taken down.
Terminus blocked another strike from Bellona and followed up with a series of rapid-fire punches to the hero's chest and stomach, causing sparks to erupt with each successive hit. Terminus, while Bellona was stunned, grabbed the flame Rider by the face and threw her down to the ground.
"How about a little electrocution?"
Orange lighting blasted down Terminus's arm and right into her hand. Suddenly, Bellona let out painful screams as her entire body was electrified, made only worse by the high conductivity of the water around them. But as Terminus continued her attack, Amp appeared behind her. The Dark Rider barely caught sight of Amp as she came in with a spinning, midair roundhouse kick. Terminus let go of Bellona and slid to the left, narrowly missing getting kicked in the head by the blue Rider.
Amp chased after Terminus, but with a flick of her wrists, Terminus made the earth beneath the waters crack and shift, and with another flick, willed two huge slabs of rock to come out on either side of Amp in a pincer maneuver. The two slabs of rock smashed into Amp on either side, pinning her between them. It actually surprised Amp that some simple rock was holding her, but upon further inspection, the rocks were coated in an orange aura, similar to the one around Terminus's hands.
Terminus's power, it's gotta be reinforcing the rocks! Making them tougher than they should be! Amp thought.
Terminus slowly clenched her right hand, willing the slabs of rock to crush Amp. But before that could happen, Bellona appeared in a burst of magenta flames and used her great strength to smash both of the rocks with her own fists. Now freed from the stone slabs, Amp jetted towards her opponent and attacked with an elbow strike. Terminus dodged but had to be quick as Amp lunged forward with a flying knee strike. The Dark Rider placed her left hand where the knee strike was going to hit, managing to block the hit from connecting.
Amp concentrated and unleashed a burst of her lightning in an electrical field in an attempt to electrocute Terminus. But Terminus fought back by releasing her own orange lightning field. Both the azure and orange lightning crackled violently as they dueled against each other, crashing into one another and causing small booms of thunder with each strike. Bellona coated herself in her magenta flames and flew around Terminus, using the flames as a shield to push through the orange lightning as she came up behind Terminus, ready to clock the Dark Rider in the head.
Terminus pushed off Amp and turned around to intercept the punch, but Amp came in again with a left cross. The Dark Rider, again, blocked it. From there, Amp and Bellona threw more punches and kicks at speeds too fast for anyone to see, except Terminus. The Dark rider's multiple eyes and hivemind made it a fairly easy task of predicting and intercepting their attacks, but it was still fun to be engaged with them like this. Terminus had been so bored, waiting for the day they could begin the invasion, waiting for when she could finally see Anne Boonchuy, and now she was here, and with Sasha Waybright.
"This is so much fun, seriously. But I think we need to wrap this up soon. I mean, I do have a multiverse to conquer, after all," said Terminus.
"BITE ME!" Amp retorted.
"Oooh, is that request?"
Bellona's eyes glowed as her speed increased even more for a moment, allowing her to land a punch right into Terminus's face. The impact sent the Dark Rider flying several feet before she righted herself.
"Not bad, Waybright. Not bad at all," said Terminus.
The Dark Rider suddenly dashed across the waters and appeared right in front of them.
"But can you do it again?"
Terminus unleashed a blast dome of her power, engulfing both Amp and Bellona in the explosion. The blue and red Riders were thrown in different directions, allowing Terminus to zoom straight to Amp as she spun in midair and delivered a kick to Amp's left side. Amp coughed violently as she was sent flying in the opposite direction, and on a collision course for Bellona. Unfortunately, there was no stopping the crash as Amp and Bellona collided with each other, stopping them from going any further and causing both girls to cry out in pain from hitting each other. Terminus reappeared and began throwing her own punches and kicks, hitting them both one after the other before channeling her power into both of her hands and hitting the Riders with a palm heel strike. That built up energy exploded at point blank range and caused more sparks to fly off their armor as they were sent up into the air before hitting the waters yet again.
"C'mon, Amp, I know you're not fighting at full power. Show me your Final Form. Or are you afraid that you can't fully utilize its power?" Terminus goaded.
Amp and Bellona dragged themselves back up to their feet, panting heavily from the assault they just endured.
"Anne, I hate to agree with that monster, but…maybe you could go Final Form and give us an edge?" Bellona asked.
"I can control it now, but we don't know if Terminus is even fighting us seriously. It's like a game to it. Or…" Amp glanced up at the flying castle. "What if it wants me to use my Final Form? What if they know how to take back the power the stone gave me?"
Bellona glanced back at Terminus and scowled behind her helmet. She had to admit, that was a possibility. They figured out their plan, and now Terminus was goading Anne into changing into her Final Form. If that was true, then there was a high probability that they had a machine or some method of draining Anne's powers. And then they'd be in even more trouble.
"Yeah, can't lie, that's a possibility. So, what do you got in mind then? Terminus is faster and stronger than when I last fought it," said Bellona.
Amp thought about it for a moment, and that's when an idea struck her.
"Hey, Sash, do you remember our Super Dance Fusion routine?"
Bellona glanced at Amp, and smirked.
"Like I could forget. Do you remember the beat?"
"Ask me a serious question."
Terminus, meanwhile, was standing some feet away, crossing her arms as she waited for them to do something.
"Uh, hello, you guys done, or can we keep fighting?"
Amp and Bellona stood side by side, there was a little plopping sound as both heroes tapped their feet beneath the water. Terminus looked at them curiously, something was up. Just then, both Amp and Bellona entered into a fighting stance that Terminus had seen before. That's when Amp and Bellona used their extended arms to wave to Terminus in a "Come and get us" motion.
"Oh, alright. My turn then."
Terminus dashed straight for the two heroes, and just as she was about to strike, Amp and Bellona parted, weaving around her with little effort. The Dark Rider came to a sudden stop when she realized she had missed and turned around to attack again, but as she began throwing her punches and kicks, she quickly realized that something was wrong. Amp and Bellona were moving more fluidly, and in sync with each other. Terminus growled and threw a punch, but Amp blocked the strike as Bellona came in with a flaming right hook to Terminus's gut. The flames exploded and caused the armor to release sparks upon contact.
The Dark Rider moved back to try and assess the situation, but Amp and Bellona weren't going to give their foe that kind of time. They pressed the attack, with their fighting moves looking more like dance moves. This time Bellona attacked, throwing a kick to Terminus's head. The Dark Rider ducked under the kick, but as Bellona completed her turn, Amp slid in behind her and threw a knee strike right into Terminus's face. The hivemind was reeled backwards from the harsh blow but recovered to counter with a blast of her orange lightning.
Amp used her own lightning to block the orange lightning as Bellona appeared overhead and punched the air in front of her repeatedly, shooting off magenta fireballs at Terminus. Seeing the incoming fireballs, Terminus cancelled her lightning and prepared to counterattack, but Amp, still holding onto her lightning, fired a thunderbolt forward. Terminus watched as the fireballs all blew up before ever reaching her, exploding like firecrackers in the air.
The hivemind warned of an incoming attack and got blasted in the chest by Amp's thunderbolt. It carried her far into the distance, but Amp and Bellona flew alongside the Dark Rider, keeping pace with her the whole time. Terminus growled a little and lashed out with a spinning ax kick. Bellona used her forearms to block, but when Terminus was about to pull back, the red Rider grabbed ahold of her ankle. Amp came up behind the Dark Rider and struck the center of her back with an elbow strike, causing Terminus to release her first cry of pain. Bellona released Terminus's leg, as Anne pirouetted around the Dark Rider and threw a left hook while Bellona threw a right hook. The two punches landed right into Terminus's stomach, but they weren't done.
The two heroes spun around at the same time and elbowed Terminus in the face again. Followed up by them backflipping and kicking the hivemind under the chin, throwing her back further. Amp and Bellona jumped into the air as Bellona's flame wings flared. Amp took Bellona's right hand into her left as the two of them twirled around, building up momentum as their dual symbols formed in the air before them. With one last spin, they launched themselves into a dual Rider Kick, passing through their symbols as Amp's left foot was coated in crackling blue lightning, and Bellona's right was wrapped in raging magenta flames.
"THUNDER FLARE!"
"THUNDER FLARE!"
Terminus managed to recover just in time to see the fiery, electrified comet coming straight at her. The Dark Rider channeled her power into her right fist, causing the waters around her to be pushed away as her orange and yellow aura flared around her.
"DELETION IMPACT!"
The two attacks met, creating a huge explosion of power that threw everyone, including the robots, collared beasts, and Andrias himself onto their rears. The waters around the city raged into large waves, and even the ground was shaking from this titanic clashing of powers. Bellona and Amp put everything they had into this attack, they were going to make the prophecy come true, today, they were going to expel The Night. The nexus of power that formed between the two attacks was building more and more until a blinding light, followed by a huge explosion rocked the entire area. Sending huge waves of water splashing in every direction and raining down from the sky.
When the smoke cleared, Amp and Bellona were still standing, albeit panting from their exhaustive battle. The smoke was still thick, so they couldn't see what the result of their fight was, but regardless, they remained ready to fight Terminus should the evil remain standing. However, when the smoke cleared, they saw Terminus kneeling in front of them, slumped over. They weren't sure what to make of it yet, but both heroes had their hands against their crystal filaments, ready to draw their swords.
"Anne…Sashy…?"
Amp and Bellona's eyes widened when they heard an all too familiar voice coming from Terminus. The Dark Rider looked up at them, its eyes blinking as if it had just woken up from a dream.
"What…Where am I…Why…Why do I hurt so bad?"
"Ma…Marcy?" Amp whispered.
"No, Anne! It's a trick! They're probably using some kind of voice changer or something!" Bellona stated.
Just then, Terminus's body glowed, and in the next second, revealed to all The Night's true identity. Even though she was clad in that suit and helmet, Amp and Bellona couldn't deny who it was that was kneeling right in front of them.
"A-Anne, S-Sasha, w-w-what's happening? W-Why am I here? I…I can't remember!" Marcy shouted as she held her head. "W-W-What's with this helmet?! Why am I dressed like this?!"
Marcy looked around, noticing the army, and then saw her two best friends standing before her, as if ready to attack.
"W-Why do you guys look like you want to hurt me? I-I'm sorry! I'm really sorry for what I did!" Marcy cried out as she held up her arms defensively. "Please, don't hurt me! I promise I'm really sorry for what I did!"
Amp and Bellona's bodies shined with azure and magenta light, returning them to civilian form as they approached their friend and former lover. Both girls knelt down before Marcy as they each placed a hand on her shoulder, causing the girl to flinch.
"Marcy, please, look at us," said Anne. "We're not mad at you."
The eyes on Marcy's helmet blinked and slowly glanced between the two girls.
"You made a stupid mistake, and we're all guilty of making stupid mistakes. But we'd never hurt you like that, Mar-Mar," said Sasha.
Anne's eyes began to tear up as she brought her friend in for a hug.
"I'm so glad you're alive, I'm so happy to see you here, Marcy," Anne sobbed.
Sasha couldn't hold it in either as she, too, gave Marcy a hug. Almost three months had passed and neither one of them knew if she was even alright, but now, she was right here. And it looked like they freed her from the control of The Night.
Marcy sighed as she wrapped her arms around the girls as best she could, smiling contently as she did.
"Anne, Sasha, you have no idea how happy I am that you two finally lowered you guard."
There was a strange echo and sinister edge to Marcy's voice that immediately set off warning bells in the two girls' heads. But it was already too late. The suit released a taser blast that made both Anne and Sasha scream with pain, Darcy held onto them until they stopped screaming, and were knocked out cold. Darcy slowly rose to her feet, keeping both girls close to her.
"Shh, shh, it'll be alright girls. Everything will be alright."
Far in the distance, someone was sitting on the wall that protected Newtopia. This someone was not Amphibian, rather, he wore a black suit, with a magenta shirt underneath. And around his neck was an old film camera. This someone sighed as he stood up on the wall and placed his hands into his pockets.
"Hmm, maybe they could use a little help."
A Silver Veil portal appeared out in front of him, and Tsukasa Kadoya walked forward and into the veil.
A/N: Now who could Tsukasa being getting I wonder?