(The Day Before Everything Changed…)

The passing bell rang loudly across the campus of Saint James Middle School. Many teen and preteen students walked about the hallways, heading to their next classes for that day. It was just twenty minutes past two 'o clock, the school day was almost over, and despite this, the principal had to make an announcement over the PA system.

{Attention students. This is yet another reminder that the pink powder in the soap dispensers is not candy dust. So, please–!}

Suddenly, the PA system was overcome with static that made the students pause in their actions as they wondered what was happening. And after a couple of seconds, a new voice was heard from the speakers.

{WHAT'S UP, SJMS?! Instead of that boring stuff, how about an awesome K-Pop dance party?! Whooo!}

Suddenly, the entire PA system had the song, "As If It's Your Last", by BLACKPINK, blaring throughout the entire school. And, of course, every kid inside the school went crazy and began dancing and whooping it up as the popular song was played. The lights in the school suddenly shifted to rave style strobes of neon green and pink lights. The faculty scrambled to try and get the kids to calm down, but it was a lost cause at this point. While this chaos was going on, there was yet another bit of chaos that was yet to be unleashed.

Anne and Marcy were hiding in the janitor's closet, there were several dog cages set up inside, and each one had either a small dog, a big dog, or puppy inside. Sasha had come up with this whole scheme, and when Anne asked her why, she just said, "I think we could use some fun in school once in awhile, right?" She had to admit, a K-pop puppy dance party not only sounded random as heck, but it also sounded fun. Plus, it wasn't like Anne particularly liked going to her classes, so it was a win-win. She still couldn't believe that they managed to sneak the cages in without anyone noticing, but apparently Sasha had set this up ahead of time.

Sasha managed to convince the janitors to look the other way this one time, while Marcy put her genius computer skills to use by hacking the PA system, allowing their friend to make that school wide announcement just now. Despite how it was going, there was still a nagging feeling in Anne's mind that this wasn't a good idea, and that they were going to get into a huge amount of trouble for it. But Sasha assured them that they would be fine, and, well, Anne really had no reason to distrust Sasha. She was always looking out for them, so what reason did she have to not believe her. Still…

Anne glanced over her left shoulder, where Marcy was squatting next to her with a puppy perched atop her head. Honestly, it was cute to see, and she wished she had time to take a picture of it.

"Hey, do you really think we should be doing this?" Anne asked, tentatively.

"Of course, Anne. It's Sasha, when has she ever steered us wrong?" Marcy retorted.

Why worry? Sasha would protect her, and it was much easier to just enjoy this little dance party than have to worry about classes.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Anne, deciding to just go with it at this point.

"That's the spirit, Anna-Banana. Now, UNLEASH THE PUPPERS!" the young nerd declared.

Without a moment's hesitation, Anne and Marcy opened every single dog cage in the room before kicking the door open and letting the pack of dogs and puppies stampede out of the supply closest and into the school. Not only was their K-pop music blaring, but now the sound of dogs howling and barking were added to it as the canines ran rampant throughout the school building. Anne and Marcy quickly left the supply closest just as Sasha appeared in the same hallway.

The three girls didn't even bother to say a word, but instead, broke out into their own dance routines right there in the middle of the hallway with the rest of their fellow students. Anne and Sasha shared a brief glance at each other as the two girls started to go into a practiced version of their Super Dance Fusion dance. Sasha would take Anne's hand, twirl her around, and then bring her back before Anne did something similar with Sasha, the two of never messing a beat as they moved as one.

Marcy loved watching Anne and Sasha dance. While she wasn't that bad at it herself, her two BFFs matched up perfectly with each other. And of course, her shipper brain couldn't help but notice the way they glanced at each other with half-lidded gazes. She knew it was too far-fetched of a thing to think that Sasha liked Anne like that, the same way she liked both Anne and Sasha, but these little moments were just fuel for her fanfic fire later. Once the two of them ended their little routine, the two girls shot that same look Marcy's way. The cute nerd of their group had a slight pink tint to her cheeks as she shook her head, but Sasha and Anne nodded a yes. Marcy shrugged her shoulders and then yeeted the puppy she was holding the entire time into the distance before jumping in with them.

Sasha couldn't help but enjoy this moment, because these were the closest moments that she was going to be able to have with her two BFFs. The closest she could come without making them think she was trying to do something with them or ruin their friendship.

She always found Marcy cute as heck, but there was something about Anne that drew the blonde to the Thai teen. Although, she could never give voice to these feelings, not out of a fear of losing her popularity by coming out as bisexual, but for fear of losing the two most important people in her life right now. This was something she could hold onto, something that she could keep together, and was determined to do so for as long as humanly possible.

The three girls kept up their little dance, not noticing how most of the other students had left the hallway. The reason why became clear as soon the music was cut off and the strobe lights were turned off. Sasha, Marcy, and Anne all glanced in the same direction and realized that Principal Murphy was standing right there. She was dark skinned woman, with a gray colored suit over a pale blue long sleeved shirt. Principal Murphy had her arms crossed and tapped her left foot in a disapproving manner. And it appeared that there was one dog that was tugging at her right pant leg, and the puppy that Marcy yeeted earlier had somehow ended up on her head.

"Waybright. Wu. Boonchuy. My office. Now."

The trio were taken to the principal's office together. Once there, Anne and Marcy were told to sit down on the chairs outside the office while she talked to Sasha first.

Anne sat there, nervous, anxious, worried, afraid, all the above. The worst thing that could come out of what they did was suspension, the least bad thing would be detention for several months. Or the doomsday scenario, expulsion. Detention was one thing, but how was she going to explain this to her parents if she got suspended or kicked out? And for something like throwing a school wide K-pop puppy dance party? After a few minutes, Sasha walked out of Principal Murphy's office, whistling a happy tune as if nothing happened at all.

Once there, she looked at Marcy and said, "All yours, Marce."

Anne was still anxious as she watched Marcy walk into the office and closed the door behind her. She immediately turned to Sasha who took Marcy's seat and asked, "Are you okay?! Did you get suspended? Kicked out?!"

"Anne relax, it was a piece of cake," Sasha assured.

"Wait, what?" Anne asked, completely baffled.

"Mrs. Murphy just said she wished my leadership skills went towards something positive is all," the blonde informed.

"T-That's it? You're not getting kicked or anything?"

Sasha chuckled as she placed her right hand on Anne's shoulder in a reassuring fashion and told her, "Anne, relax. Mrs. Murphy's cool. I promise you'll be okay."

Another couple of minutes passed and then Marcy exited the office. Just like Sasha, she had a relaxed air about her as she approached the two of them.

"Principal Murphy was impressed with how I hacked the PA system, and told me not to do it again," Marcy explained. "Oh, and you're up next, Anne."

"Told ya! Nothing to worry about. You got this," Sasha stated.

"Heck yeah!" Anne exclaimed. "See you on other side!"

Now more confident about their situation, she bravely strode into the principal's office, shutting the door behind her. She walked to the chair directly across from Principal Murphy's desk and sat down in a rather laid-back manner.

"'Sup, dude?" Anne asked as she gave a snap of her fingers.

"'Sup' is that I'm worried about you, Boonchuy," said Principal Murphy in a serious tone.

"Oh…Like, me specifically? Or–?"

"Yep. You."

"Uh, oh…um…why me?" Anne inquired.

Principal Murphy sighed as she explained, "Well, I'm sure even you can tell. Sasha's going to boss her way through life, either becoming the president of some major corporation or she could become a senator or, heck, even president."

Can't deny that. Totally could see Sash running a country, thought Anne.

"And Marcy, well, she'll probably solve world hunger, fix global warming, and probably a litany of other science related issues," Principal Murphy added.

Yeah, she's definitely a Nobel Prize winner in the making…

"Okay, I kinda already figured that out. They are my best friends," said Anne.

"This I know. But like I said, Anne, I'm most concerned about you and your future. I mean just look at this." Principal Murphy reached under her desk and pulled out a huge file filled with numerous reports. The thickness of the file was enough to cause an audible thudding sound the moment she placed it on the desk.

"Oh…you just happened to have my permanent record on hand?"

"I do for certain students."

Anne gulped, that was one big file folder.

"Every assignment you have is incomplete, after incomplete. Unfinished paper, after unfinished paper. About the only time you have a finished assignment is when you're in a group project with Sasha and Marcy, but even that's not doing much for your GPA, Anne," said Principal Murphy.

Anne started to rub her left arm, finding it a little hard to meet the principal's gaze right now.

"Anne, you're a very talented girl, and I don't just mean in sports. When I look at you, I see so much untapped potential, so much promise and ability. And don't think I don't know how good your social skills are, you managed to befriend a good number of students."

Tell that to Maggie, and some of the other kids that don't like me just because they're jerks. If it wasn't for Sasha, they'd be messing with me more than what some of them do.

"I can see that you're not applying yourself, Anne. In you, I see someone who is just floating through life, taking the easy path," Principal Murphy explained.

"But…I like taking the easy path. It's easy," said Anne, jokingly.

"It may be 'easy', Anne. But that doesn't make it right," she retorted, sternly.

She was definitely not amused by that joke.

"Anne, is there a reason why you don't try? You can talk to me."

Anne didn't say anything, but her first thought was of Sasha and Marcy. Because, really, what was the point in her trying? She wasn't a natural born leader like Sasha, able to command respect from people and was just oozing with charisma, good looks, and hotness. Yes, "hotness", objectively speaking, she knew her best friend was the hottest girl in school, the number of breakups she had to do for her told Anne that much.

And Marcy? Oh, heck, Marcy Wu. She was a gamer nerd, accident prone, and shy as heck. But she has the highest GPA of the entire student body combined. She was good with machines, artistic in both writing and drawing, and she could program like no one's business. If Marcy had even half of the confidence Sasha had, she would already be at Caltech or something by now.

But what did Anne Boonchuy have going for her? She had natural athletic ability, savant level some might say. She could cook, but that was learned from all the times she helped her parents at Thai Go. And like the principal said, she was sociable, and able to make connections with people rather easily. But that was it. None of those skills was something that a job would like of her. And despite how good she was at sports; Anne didn't really see herself going pro in tennis or anything. She may be on the varsity tennis team, but it wasn't like she was gunning to be the next Serena Williams or anything.

"There's just…nothing really amazing about me…" Anne confessed.

"Anne, that's not true."

"Stop. I know you have to say stuff like that. I get it. But…c'mon, compared to Sasha and Marcy, I'm don't even matter," said Anne.

"Anne don't say something like that." Principal Murphy closed the file and gave Anne a sympathetic look. "You do matter. And I'm not saying that stuff because I 'have to'. I mean it. I know you have the potential to be anything you want to, and be good at it, but you have to try, you have to want something so bad that you're willing to work hard for it.

Be it sports, cooking, science, anything. Because, one day, Anne, when middle school and high school ends, you'll have to face the real world. And it's not a kind world I hate to say. And I don't want to see someone as kind and talented as you get swallowed up by that world," she confessed.

Anne didn't want to admit it, but that was a fear in the back of her head. These days of middle school and eventually the years of high school to come, those were going to be the only time where she could safely goof off and make mistakes, but (considering her current grades) if she managed to graduate middle and high school, that would be it. No more room for error, no more forgiveness because she was "just a kid", she would be in the real world.

"Also, I'd like you to be honest with me about something."

"Yeah?"

"Those to two pushed you into this little prank, didn't they?" Principal Murphy asked.

"What?! Nooo!" Anne stated.

Principal Murphy raised her eyebrow dubiously.

"Okay, yeah…Maybe."

Principal Murphy regarded the young girl before her. She really didn't want to see Anne come to regret all the past decisions she made upon becoming an adult. There were so many bad paths that Anne could walk down if she wasn't careful, and this "go with the flow" attitude of hers could easily lead Anne into a dark place that many don't usually come back from. She refused to see one of her students go down that kind of path if she could help it at all.

"Look, Anne, I want you to become someone that you can be proud and confident of. I want you to be the best you can be, and not have any regrets about what you did or didn't do when you were at this time in your life. Because you may look back on this moment and realize, 'That was the moment when I should've started trying harder,'. And to prevent that, I want you to write me an essay."

"Say what now?" Anne questioned.

"Yes, an essay about what you want to do with your life. And what you're willing to do to make it happen," said Principal Murphy.

"Wha? Principal Murphy, c'mon–!"

"No, Anne. No 'don'ts', 'won'ts', or 'can'ts'. I'm serious." Principal Murphy opened her desk drawer and took out a spiral. She ripped out a page and wrote at the top of the blank sheet, "Who Am I?". "At the least, I want you to fill both sides of this sheet, but I'd be happy if it was longer."

Principal Murphy held out the sheet of paper towards Anne, who reluctantly took it.

"H-How long do I have to write it?" Anne inquired.

"Ideally, before the end of the school year. This is your last year here in Saint James, Anne. After this is high school. I'd like for you to have thought about what you want to be before you transition there. That's why I want you to take the time to really think about this. Because at the end of the day, only you get to choose the type of person you're going to be. Don't forget that."

Anne looked down at the blank sheet of paper. Blank, like her future, unknown and unwritten.

"Can I go now?" Anne asked.

Principal Murphy gave a nod of her head, and the Thai teen got up to exit her office. She hated seeing Anne so downtrodden, so uncertain. This assignment was meant to help Anne figure out what she wanted in life, or at least set her on a path to wanting to find out what she wanted. But if something didn't change soon, Anne's future would be in jeopardy.

As Anne was about to leave the office, she heard Principal Murphy call out to her.

"Oh, hey!" Anne glanced over her shoulder. "Isn't it your birthday tomorrow?" Anne nodded. "Then, happy early birthday, Anne."

The Thai teen gave her principal a small smile before closing the door and walking out of the main office of the faculty.

"Anne!" Sasha and Marcy exclaimed.

Anne quickly stuffed the paper into her skirt pocket and immediately put on a smile for her two best friends.

"What up, girls?" Anne greeted.

"Hey, are you alright? You were in there longer than me or Marcy," said Sasha with concern.

"She didn't give you detention or did something worse, right?" Marcy asked.

Anne glanced between the concerned and worried faces of her two best friends. She loved that they were this worried about her, it just reaffirmed how strong their friendship was. Despite her negative feelings regarding her friends' talents, she was genuinely happy to have these two at her side. Hopefully, for as long as possible.

"Nah, all good. We were just shootin' the breeze in there, sorry to worry you girls," Anne lied.

"Whew, damn. Seriously, Boonchuy, I was about to go in there and find out what was going on," said Sasha. "I seriously would've been POed if Mrs. Murphy gave you detention or suspended you."

"I practically had to hold Sasha back," Marcy joked.

"Heh-heh." Anne moved forward and hooked her arms around both Sasha and Marcy. The sudden action made the girls blush. "Thanks for worrying about me, and sorry I made you worry."

Sasha and Marcy spared a glance at each other before returning the hug.

"Jeez, Boonchuy, don't get all sentimental on us," said Sasha.

"Of course, we'd worry about you. You're our BFF," Marcy stated.

Best friends forever…without them…who am I?

Anne released her friends and the three of them began walking down the hallway as school had already let out for the day.

"Hey, Sash, random question."

"Shoot."

"If it turns out I end up not doing anything with my life. Do you think you'd want to marry me and take care of me for the rest of my life?" Anne joked.

"M-M-M-MARRY?! Y-Y-YOU?!" Sasha yelled; her face red as she let Anne's words sink into her mind.

Anne then turned to Marcy, seemingly disregarding Sasha's reaction.

"Same to you, Mar-Mar. I know you'll become a super famous scientist one day. And if you want, I could cook for you, so you don't end up starving to death. Because I know how you get when you're 'in the zone'."

"M-M-ME? M-M-MARRY, YOU?! COOK FOR ME?!" Marcy squealed as her face also turned bright red, with steam coming out of her ears at this point.

"Heh, nah, just kidding guys. Not like anyone would want to marry me or anything," said Anne, that time she was not joking.

Marcy and Sasha noted the depressed tone in her voice and furrowed their brows.

"Anne don't say that. Anyone who marries you should be on their knees thanking God for having you," Sasha stated.

"Y-Yeah! You'd be the best wife, ever!" Marcy agreed.

"Guys, you don't have to talk me up. I know I'm not marriage material."

"Ugh, stop talking like that Anne." Sasha got out in front of her friend and pointed a finger at her as she said, "I'm not having my best friend talk crap about herself like that. You are the best person I've ever met in my life, and I'm damn glad to have you as my friend. And anyone who can't see how wonderful of a person you are, is worthless as far as I'm concerned."

Marcy tugged at Anne's sleeve and added, "Y-Yeah, what Sashy said. You keep me safe, mostly from myself. And you're amazing with people. So, please don't talk about yourself like that, Anne. We love you."

Anne felt her heart swell as she said, "I love you girls, too."

The three of them had a group hug, neither Sasha nor Marcy knew why Anne was talking about herself like that, or how this topic came about. But they were going to be there for her when she needed them. After a minute, they broke up their hug and headed to Anne's locker so she could get what she needed. Marcy had broken out her Switch and started playing a game while Sasha leaned against the lockers.

"And, uh, you know. I wouldn't exactly mind if you came to live with me when we were older. L-Like a roommate or something," said Sasha.

"Heh-heh, seriously? You know I'm lazy, and I probably wouldn't get a good job," said Anne.

"So? I'd make enough money for the both of us, and so long as I get to taste that Boonchuy cooking, I'd count it as a win."

"Oooh! Me, too! You'd def be my assistant/roommate!" Marcy threw in.

Anne chuckled at her friends' attempts at making her feel better, as the banter went on, she quickly took out the crumbled-up paper and placed it in her locker. The words "Who Am I" stared back at her. She didn't have an answer to that question, and some part of her feared that she would never find the answer…


HEROES!

ALL IN!

(Part 1)


It was a beautiful morning in Los Angeles, California. Perfect weather for going out shopping, catching a movie, hanging out with friends, and for an invasion. Above the skies of the city, a sonic boom erupted along with a massive flash of light that tore open a hole in spacetime. Every single citizen within eyesight of the anomaly paused in their daily actions and stared up in awe at the event. Office workers in the high-rise buildings all crowded around the closest windows, many whipping out their cellphones and recording what was going on.

A few seconds after, a huge castle floated out of the glowing hole in space. It looked like a combination of ancient architecture and advanced technology. Behind the floating castle, several other ships exited as well, small, frigate-like ships that flanked either side of the main castle, along with some dark humanoid-ish things flying around the frigates. After the castle and the frigates exited, the glowing portal behind them closed. Upon its closure, a few lights were emitted from the front of the castle, creating a holographic screen that displayed a rather large, blue armored newt with a long white beard and a crown on his head.

{Primates of Earth, we have arrived!

Hello, Earth!

Congratulations on being conquered. To that, I have good news and bad news.

The good news?

Your planet is rich in the resources we'll need to conquer other more impressive worlds.

The bad news?

We'll need to destroy your entire civilization to get those resources.}

What amount of awe the people of Los Angeles had upon seeing the floating castle was immediately replaced with great fear upon hearing this announcement.

{Omelet, broken eggs…You get it.}

The transmission ended as soon as Andrias's declaration of war was given to the people of Earth. Inside of the castle, the huge newt sighed. There was truly no going back now, they were here, and it was time to fulfill his duty, and make up for his greatest failure one-thousand years ago.

"Doing okay there, big guy?" Darcy asked.

Andrias turned to look at his master, her appearance still unsettled him.

"Aww, what's with that face? You don't like how I look?" she teased.

"No, my lord, it's just going to take me a little time to get used to seeing you without your helmet," Andrias answered.

Darcy chuckled as she replied, "Understandable. But really, it's better this way. I really would rather look upon my brides-to-be with my own eyes, rather than through a helmet. Plus, I kept accidentally bumping against the walls and doorways with those horns, so annoying."

The dark persona looked at the screens, zooming in on the terror-stricken expressions of the humans down below.

"They look scared. How about we give 'em something to really be afraid of!"

Darcy raised her fist and struck a big red button on the console near her. Upon hitting the button, a large panel slid open on the pyramid-like structure at the bottom of the floating castle. Afterwards, a pair of large cannons poked out of the opening and fired two rounds at the streets below. The people panicked and began scrambling out of the line of fire. The two rounds that the cannons fired struck the streets below, but strangely enough they didn't explode. Those who were close to the impact point wondered what they were supposed do, but the answer was quickly given when the two egg shaped ordinances finally exploded.

However, instead of fiery destruction, something else appeared. Two giant herons screeched loudly into the air as they flared out their wings. Both herons were fitted with control collars, shackles, and an armored helmet and breast plate. The two giant birds immediately started attacking anything and everything around them that was not their own army. Flipping over cars, smashing their bodies against nearby buildings, and using their wings to generate huge gusts of wind that blew not only the innocent civilians, but also sent cars and trucks flying into the air before they came crashing down onto other buildings and cars.

Strangely enough, the military rolled in right away. Jet fighters and tanks were rolled in, along with several national guard troops consisting of the marines and army combined. There were even some navy ships set up not too far off the coast of Los Angeles, destroyers armed to the teeth. The fighter jets immediately aimed at the floating castle as the squadrons of F-18 fighters unleashed a single volley of their missiles. Many of the people that were not close to the castle watched with some hope that their armed forces could take down the menacing castle, but alas, that was not the case. All twenty missiles that were fired exploded upon hitting the castle's invisible energy shield, only becoming visible the moment something struct its surface.

Orders were put out to the nearby destroyer ships, calling for a salvo missile strike on the castle. Three of the seven destroyers unleashed a barrage as their decks lit up with several missile launches. High above the city, several missiles could be seen angling themselves towards the floating castle before inevitably impacting and exploding against the surface of the shield, with not so much as a crack to be seen.

Armored assault vehicles were immediately rolled in as soldiers filed out of their transports, armed and ready for the fight. That was about when another panel on the castle opened, and from it streamed out several Frobots. Hundreds of the mechanized kill bots landed in the streets of the city, their eyes glowing bright red as they bared their weapons at the soldiers in front of them. The soldiers immediately opened fire on the hostiles, assault rifle, and light machine gun fire echoed through the air as shell casings clattered against the ground. The bullets flew and struck against the Amphibian robot army, some left small dents, but overall, the armor piercing bullets didn't do a thing.

Some switched to using grenades and RPGs on the robots, setting off multiple explosions in the process. However, while some of the Frobots were scratched up from the assault, they were still combat ready. Made all the more apparent as they now opened fired, showing off their superior firepower by blasting the soldiers with lasers and their own rocket attacks. Sadly, many of the soldiers were killed, none of them having any kind of protection against beam type weapons, and against an army that had no mercy, emotion, or sense of pain.

At the nearby army base, General Flag Stone was getting report after report about how their forces were already getting pushed back and overwhelmed, and it hadn't even been three minutes since the invasion started.

"SIR! We just got word that the eighth division just got wiped out! No survivors!" a soldier announced.

"Damn it!" The general growled as he slammed his fist against the table.

"Sir!"

"What?!"

"I have a call for you, sir!"

"Who? The President? The Pentagon?" Flag asked.

"No, uh, it's Mr. X…"

General Flag Stone growled indignantly, if there was one person he did not want to hear from right now, it was Mr. X. The angered general snatched the phone out of the private's hand and said, "What do you want, X?"

{I went through the trouble of giving you boys a heads up, and that my team would take care of this. And yet, I'm sitting here seeing a lot of soldiers needlessly dying. Tell me, why is that?}

"Don't get smart with me, X! With all this monster nonsense happening in the city, I was urged to take your advice regarding these supernatural occurrences. But this is an invasion, it's a military matter! I'm not about to hand protection of this city to a bunch of unknowns that you won't even tell us about!" General Flag fumed.

{Honey, the less you know, the better. Plus, right now, my team is the only thing that's going to keep casualties down to a minimum, but you need to let me run the show my way.}

"I–!"

"Sir! Reporting in! Eagle Squadron has been taking out!"

"Ugh…what do you need, X?" General Flag asked, reluctantly.

{Have your forces focused on evacuating as many civilians as possible. Once I've secured a few more allies, we'll start the assault ourselves, trust me, when we show up, they're not going to be able to ignore us.}


While pure bedlam was being wrought outside, Anne, Sasha, the Plantars, Grime, Frobo, Yunan, Olivia, D2, and Joe Sparrow were trying to find a way out of their confinement. They could hear the explosions going on outside, one after the other, there were even some screaming. They believed that Darcy was using the sound system to allow them to hear what was happening outside on purpose, something to further spur Anne into accepting Darcy's offer of marriage.

"We have to do something! They're killing people out there!" Sasha exclaimed.

"Perhaps we can brute force our way out of the restraints!" Grime suggested. The toad warrior began tugging and pulling on the restraints, but no matter how hard he tried, the energy tethers wouldn't yield. "Well, I'm out of ideas."

"We're doomed," Yunan deadpanned.

"Don't talk like that, we just need to think. There has to be a way out of this," said Olivia.

Anne bit her bottom lip as she listened to the screaming and the explosions. Every scream was someone in trouble, every explosion was someone getting killed. How long would it be before Darcy and Andrias reached where Thai Go was? Their neighborhood?

"…Guys…I'm going to accept Darcy's offer," said Anne.

"SAY WHAAAAAAT?!" Hop Pop exclaimed in shock. "Anne, ya can't do that!"

"Hop Pop's right, Anne!" Sprig agreed. "You don't know if Darcy meant what she said! It could be a trick!"

"If there's even a chance she was telling the truth, then…then at least some can be spared. At least you all will still live…I…I might even be able to convince her to spare some lives," Anne reasoned.

"NO!" Sasha yelled. "Anne, you are not offering yourself up to that twisted version of Marcy! Who knows what she'll want from you in exchange for that! It could be something…something…wrong!"

Anne had an idea of what Sasha meant by "wrong", and really, she knew full well that Darcy might want Anne to do something in exchange that she wasn't comfortable with, at all. But right now, with the collars on their necks inhibiting them from accessing their powers, the invasion underway just outside these very walls, and cut off from their army, they had few options.

"I know…Sash…I know what you mean, but we have to do something," said Anne.

"Wait! Anne, you don't have to sell your body to Darcy!" Polly exclaimed.

"POLLY!" Sasha and Anne yelled in embarrassment.

"Maybe one of the improvements I made to Frobo on Earth can help us out here!" Polly looked at her robotic companion. "Frobs! Do your stuff!"

Frobo's eyes turned green as he scanned the entirety of the room, the contraption that kept them bound. After a few seconds, he found what he needed.

{Structural weakness identified.}

Frobo suddenly fired his laser eye beams at the floor, making sure not to hit their weapons and equipment as he did. About five seconds after he fired and strafed his beams over the floor, he shut off his lasers. Everyone looked around, wondering what exactly he did.

"Uh, was that supposed to do som–AAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Hop Pop, along with everyone else, got their answer when the floor beneath their containment completely fell apart, sending their group freefalling into the sky.

"OKAY! NOW HOW DO WE ESCAPE OUR ESCAPE?!" Yunan yelled.

No sooner had Yunan yelled did the spheres that were containing their hands and feet fell apart, fully freeing them now.

"Whoa! Darcy's RSSI level must have dropped below negative seventy dBms," said Polly.

"Still not used to you being smart!" Sprig commented.

Unfortunately, Sasha and Anne still had their collars on. Despite not being within the castle anymore, and thus outside of Darcy's sphere of technological influence, the collars remained on their necks. Which meant no transforming, which also meant that they couldn't fly. Anne and Sasha saw their weapons and grabbed them out of the air, with Sasha grabbing Barrel's Warhammer for good measure. The blonde commander glanced at Joe and Domino 2, realizing that they were free now as well.

"EVERYONE GET ON JOE AND DOMINO! NOW!" Sasha ordered.

Joe Sparrow and Domino 2 swiftly flew towards their falling companions, they slowed down just enough to match their speed, and once they had, everyone grabbed ahold of one of the two flying steeds.

"Whew, just made it," said Anne.

Only for her and the others to splash down into a huge pool on the roof of a random building. Despite the rough landing, everyone managed to survive the fall.

"We need to work on our timing," Sasha commented.

There wasn't time to relax just yet as the explosions and screaming caught their attention again. Everyone climbed out of the pool and hurried to the edge of the roof to see what was going on. And it was worse than they imagined. Parts of the city were on fire with smoke bellowing forth from different places. The sound of gunfire echoed in the distance, along with the distinct sound of laser weapons discharging one after the other. In just a short time since their arrival, Andrias and The Night had already caused a significant amount of damage to the city, which didn't bode well considering that neither Andrias nor Darcy had entered the fray, yet.

"I don't believe it, we're actually here," said Grime.

"So, this is Earth," Yunan whispered with a little awe in her voice.

"It's very…geometric," Olivia remarked.

"Oh, and look, Andrias brought a couple of giant herons. Great," Anne complained.

"Those aren't just any giant herons, Anne. Those are the giant herons," Hop Pop corrected.

Anne, Sprig, and Polly glanced at the old frog with shock.

Sprig looked at her grandfather and hesitantly asked, "You mean, those are the ones who…"

"Killed our parents?" Polly asked.

Hop Pop lowered his head as memories of that awful day replayed in his head. The screeching, the death, the destruction, and it was all fresh in his mind as if it happened yesterday. Hop Pop raised his head and glared daggers at the two avian beasts in the distance as he tightened his fists.

"Ah'd recognize them anywhere. With their blood-red eyes, and razor-sharp teeth, those two have been terrorizin' the valley for years. Ah…Ah arrived too late to save your parents, but not too late to fight back!"

One of the herons, which had a teal tint to some of their feathers, raised its wings, and right under its left wing was an "X" shaped scar. The very scar that Hop Pop managed to inflict on the beast so many years ago. Hop Pop walked up to his two grandchildren, gently placing a hand on their shoulders to try and comfort them.

"Ah never thought Ah'd see them again. Much less here…"

Tanks were eventually rolled in; their targets were the giant heron beasts that were still tearing up the city and chasing down civilians. One of the tanks found the giant angry waterfowl and fired its cannon at the giant avian. The heron heard the shot and immediately dodged the ordinance, letting the shell strike against the side of a building where it exploded and took a chunk out of it. The heron screeched loudly as it took off into the air, using its wings to jump over the tank and get behind it. The top of the tank rotated to try and get a better shot, but the heron swiftly clamped its beak around the cannon barrel and flung the tank like a ragdoll into the distance. The tank soared for a few seconds before finding itself lodged in the side of a building.

Two more tanks rolled up on the second heron and began firing one shot after the other, with gunners on the top shooting their .50 caliber machine gun turrets. Machine guns and tank shells clattered against the pavement as the two tanks unleashed their barrage on the heron. The creature raised its left wing to block the attacks, but was feeling the ordinance as it hit, drawing some blood here and there. The other heron saw its companion getting attacked and moved to aid it, but that was stymied when two more tanks began their assault on that heron.

Sasha smirked as she pointed out, "Well, looks like you won't have to worry about them for much longer. Those tanks look like they're about to–!"

The armored pieces on the herons suddenly broke apart and splashed some Dark Ichor upon their bodies. Within seconds the two giant herons were wrapped up in black cocoons, with the tanks ceasing fire as they did not know what to make of this development. The answer to what was happening came as the cocoons shattered apart, and revealed the herons, but now in Fallen form.

They now sported four wings each, their torsos were more muscular and leatherier, with the thirteen-eye pattern of The Night emblazoned onto their chests. They had long thin arms with razor sharp talons at the ends, and upon their heads they wore skull helmets that covered the top half of their heads. Within the dark of the eye sockets, two glowing red dots formed, acting as the eyes of these creatures. In addition to this, they were now much taller than before, and also retained the teal and purple colors of their plumage in their Fallen forms.

With their new forms acquired, the screeching of these creatures was much more monstrous and demonic sounding. The sound that they produced seemed to get sharper and sharper, and that's when that sound was transformed into a sonic energy ray that shot from their mouths. They strafed their beams across the ground, slicing through several of the tanks and causing them to explode a moment later. Apache helicopters swarmed the monsters and began pelting them with machine gun fire and rockets. But with their newly obtained Fallen form, the herons' hides were stronger than before, the army might as well have been throwing pebbles at them at this point, and the results would've been the same.

The monsters' wings glowed, and with the united flapping of their wings, they created a giant, violet tornado that centered around the two of them. The Apache helicopters were flung around like leaves on the wind before the tornado spat them out where they crashed against the hills, buildings, and streets. Once the helicopters had been taken care of, the Heron Fallen duo returned to their rampage, now much stronger and bigger than before, and making the damage they caused that much worse.

"Ookay, yeah, forget what I said," Sasha corrected.

Suddenly, a shrill scream pierced through air and caught everyone's attention. Down below they could see a few of the Frobots about to corner a mother and her child, weapons at the ready to kill.

"We have to get down there and help them!" Anne exclaimed.

"But your powers! You can't transform with those collars still on you," said Yunan.

"It doesn't matter, we have to at least try and save who we can. We'll figure out how to get rid of the collars later!" Sasha stated.

With that said, the team divided up and mounted Joe and Domino before the two flying steeds lifted off from the roof of the skyscraper and down below.


The mother and daughter were now cornered by a small battalion of Frobots, all of them glaring at her with cold, unfeeling eyes as they readied to kill her and her child.

"Close your eyes, baby," said the mother to her child.

The little girl did as she was told as the mother turned her body to the machines in a vain attempt to shield her daughter from what was coming. However, before the robots could even get a shot off, Anne and Sasha jumped off of Joe and Domino, respectively, and slashed two of the Frobots down the middle. They didn't waste time and quickly attacked the next two, cutting them at the legs before stabbing them in the head. Yunan and Grime were the next two to join in as they jumped off the two flyers and came down on their targets.

Yunan used her gauntlet claws to tear through her opponent, while Grime used the Warhammer to smash the head in of one of the other Frobot. Joe Sparrow flew in and used his beak to pierce through the head another Frobot, while Domino 2 landed on the ground and shot out her barbed proboscis, wrapping it around the Frobot as she brought into her mouth before biting it in half and spitting out the half that was still in her mouth.

Anne and Sasha looked over their shoulders at the mother that was still keeping her child safe. She seemed to finally realize that she wasn't dead and looked upon her saviors with a mixture of worry, relief, and fear.

"Hey, it's alright, we're here to help," Anne reassured.

"Anne! More incoming!" Sasha warned.

Anne turned around and watched as several more of the Frobots descended on their position. Anne and Sasha gripped the hilts of their swords hard. They were not in a good position right now, with the collars preventing them from using their powers, they couldn't transform nor call upon their speed, strength, or elemental powers.

C'mon, c'mon! Think Anne, think! There has to be a way to–!

Suddenly, two of the Frobot's heads exploded. Followed by a third and fourth Frobot. The Frobots looked just as confused as the others did as they scanned the area to figure what just took out their fellow units. That's when they all looked down the road and spotted the one responsible. Anne, Sasha, and everyone else looked in the same direction, and gasped.

It looked like a Kamen Rider. He wore gray and black armor, with parts of the armor glowing neon yellow along with his eyes. In both of his hands he held two large, futuristic looking pistols, and both were raised and aimed at the Frobots. Upon his back were two large – what looked like – cannons, along with two other devices that seemed to be attached to the hip area along the strap of his belt. And upon the right pectoral plate of his chest were stamped "GX-01" in white. The Frobots turned their attention away from the Resistance group and placed it solely on the new Rider and started flying towards him.

GX-01's thigh armor plates opened up, allowing him to holster his two pistols before he widened his stance. The devices on his hips began to rotate forward before extending a good two to three feet out. The large devices on his back whirred as they pulled back, and rotated so now they rested on his shoulders, showing that they were in fact cannons.

GX-01 didn't move from his spot as he planted his feet and fired off his two huge shoulder mounted cannons. The cannons sounded like roaring thunder as they released two spheres of neon yellow lightning straight at the Frobot battalion. The machines out in front weren't fast enough to dodge as the spheres crashed into them, caving in their chests before piercing through them and dispersing on the other side.

The two Frobots exploded soon after, but that wasn't the end of it. From the hip devices a small panel opened and released a marble sized piece of metal. Electricity began running along the linear track of the cannon looking hip mounts, and made the marble expand to the size of a softball. The electricity began to surge faster and faster until the metal ball was fired from the hip cannons, there was no explosion or flash, just a small shockwave that was released upon launch. Unlike the last attack, the metal balls pierced through their targets at high speed, tearing off huge chunks from the Frobots upon impact.

GX-01 continued his attack, switching between firing his thundering cannons and his railguns, with the shoulder mounted cannons seeming to fire at a slower rate compared to the quick firing railguns. The Frobots began taking evasive actions, trying to dodge the heavy artillery of this Rider. They decided to take to the air, granting themselves better leverage over this fight. However, that leverage was soon taken away.

Without warning, three of the aerial Frobots were sliced up before exploding in midair. The Resistance group looked up, and that's when they saw another Rider similar to GX-01, but this was one obviously female. This new Rider had four light wings on her back, giving her a fairy-like look. She had two swords mounted on hip holsters on each side, a large shield on her right arm that had "GX-02" stamped on it in white. From the shield a sword blade was attached with a neon pink edge to match the glowing portions of her suit. And from the top of her left hand, they could see a glowing foot long energy spike protruding out from it. The other thing these two seemed to share in common was their silver four horned crests with a blue gem-like middle part, and a glowing orb in the middle of their chests.

GX-02 glanced at the remaining Frobots that were in the air and quickly went to work. She flew straight at them with zero fear as she raised his sword blade, the edge sparking to life with neon pink lightning before she cut a Frobot down the middle. With grace and speed, GX-02 flew off to her next target, the Frobots in her path opened fire on her, trying to shoot her out of the sky.

But GX-02 merely straightened out her wings as she flew past them, using the light wings to slice through them as she passed them by. Her initial target released all its weapons and barraged her with rockets and laser fire, but GX-02 was far nimbler and quicker, allowing her to dodge the rockets and lasers. She pointed the sword-shield weapon at the Frobot as a panel flipped up and sprouted a gun barrel.

From that barrel, GX-02 fired several neon pink energy shots, sniping at the laser weapons of the Frobot, rendering it defenseless. GX-02 flew in but this time struck with her left fist, piercing the Frobot in the chest with the glowing blade on her left hand. She backed away from the Frobot, which confused the machine, as it did take damage, but it wasn't significant. However, the machine was proven wrong when it noticed that the blade was still lodged in its chest, and a moment later, that same blade detonated, blowing a ten-inch hole in its chest before it fell out of the sky and exploded on the ground.

Anne and Sasha shook their heads, snapping themselves out of their little awestruck moment.

"Ma'am, you need to get to safety," Anne urged.

"O-Okay, thank you! All of you!" the mother exclaimed before running off with her daughter for safety.

"Anne, who the heck are they? You never mentioned these bad asses," said Sasha.

"I…I don't know. I told you about the Pines twins, but as far as I know, they're the only other Kamen Rider that's on Earth right now," said Anne.

GX-01 and GX-02 approached the group, with Sprig and Polly looking upon the new Riders with wide eyes.

"Uh, thanks, but who are you guys?" Anne asked.

"Heh, heh, Anne…" GX-01 removed his helmet, and revealed none other than Bee Boonchuy. "You don't recognize your old man's sick moves?"

"DAD?!" Anne yelled.

"Mr. BOONCHUY?!" the Plantars yelled as well.

"He's not the only one." GX-02 took off her helmet, and as expected, it was Oum Boonchuy. "I'm so happy to see you again, Anne!"

"MOM?!"

"MRS. BOONCHUY?!"

Sasha was just speechless right now.

Anne looked at her parents up down, in Kamen Rider armor, the same two people who just a moment ago took out several Frobots like it was just a normal workday for them.

"W-W-What the heck?! How did this happen? When did this happen?!" Anne exclaimed.

Oum and Bee reached towards their daughter and brought her into a family hug, a hug that Anne was not about to say no too as she returned it.

"We'll explain everything later, Anne," said Oum.

"For now, we're just so glad you're safe," Bee added.

Anne hugged them tighter, happy to see that they were still alive.

"Mr. B!" Sprig exclaimed as he hopped up and into the arms of Bee. "You became a Kamen Rider!"

"Oh, heck yeah, I did! Now the Boonchuys are officially a family of Kamen Riders!"

Polly jumped into Oum's arms next, with the Thai woman making sure not to hold the tadpole too tight against her armor.

"Mrs. B! You were so awesome! You kicked some serious robot butt!" Polly praised.

"Aww, thanks dear." Oum gently patted Polly on the head. Then her gaze fell on Sasha.

For some reason, the blonde immediately stood at attention and looked extremely nervous upon seeing Anne's parents. Oh, wait, no I know the reason. Because Anne told them everything that happened back in Amphibia…everything I did to her and Marcy…

Oum knelt to the ground and put Polly down as she walked over to Sasha, her gaze staring directly into the teenager's eyes.

Anne saw this and immediately shouted, "Mom! Wait! Sasha's different! She's–!"

Oum raised her right hand in a silent gesture for Anne to be quiet.

Sasha took a deep breath and said, "Mrs. B…I…I have no excuse for how I acted before Anne, Marcy, and I got trapped in Amphibia. And have even less of one for what I did to Anne while in Amphibia…I can…I can understand if you never want me near Anne ever again. And…And I'll take that, but for now…while this invasion is going on…could you overlook all that so we can protect–!"

Suddenly, Oum embraced Sasha, hugging the shocked girl tightly.

"I'm glad you are alive, Sasha. Anne was so worried about you, she worried if you managed to escape or not. I'm glad you're alive and well," Oum stated, sincerely.

Sasha couldn't help it; she broke down into a sob as she hugged Oum back.

Anne looked up at her father, who glanced down at her and nodded happily.

Did…Did Mom forgive her?

"Heya, Mr. Boonchuy," Hop Pop greeted from atop Joe Sparrow. "Bet'cha didn't expect to see us so soon."

"Actually, we kinda did," Bee replied.

"Wait, you expected us?" Anne inquired.

Just then a black van came charging down the street before coming to a screeching halt before their group. The passenger side window rolled down, and Anne was, once again, shocked to see who it was inside.

"Okay, people, happy reunions all around. Let's move before more robots show."

"Mr. X!" Anne exclaimed as she raised her sword. "What are you doing here?!"

"Anne, it's okay. He's the reason why we have this armor, and can use it," Bee assured.

Anne glanced between her parents, and then Mr. X. The very man who was hunting down Amp and the Plantars, that Mr. X, was now on their side, and outfitted her parents with Rider armor?

"Yeah, we need a major info dump about all this later."

"Noted, now get in, quick! The bird and the moth, have them follow us," said Mr. X.

Anne and Sasha followed Bee and Oum into the van, while the Amphibians rode atop Joe and Domino 2. Once inside the fan, Jenny put the pedal to the metal and took off, with Joe and D2 following them in the air. While in the van, Mr. X, Bee, and Oum explained why they knew Anne and her group were returning to Earth. Apparently, it was the doing of Tsukasa, he came to warn them that the invasion was happening soon, and that he assembled allies to help them in the fight against Andrias and The Night.

"Seriously?! Tsukasa did that?!" Anne exclaimed.

"He's that Kamen Rider from another universe that can travel to different worlds, right?" Sasha asked.

"Yeah, he's the same one who helped get Luz back to the Boiling Isles, and the same guy who returned us to our respective worlds after that whole Oscura thing happened. I can't believe he actually did all that," said Anne.

"Well believe it, hon. We got some additional firepower that we haven't unleashed yet," said Mr. X. "And thanks to that early warning, I managed to convince the military to be on standby for a coming attack. Although, I specifically told them not to directly engage, but some people just don't listen."

"And since then, your father and I have been training every day and learning how use the GX armor," Oum informed.

"We're real-life Kamen Riders now, Anne, and now we fight right alongside you," Bee stated. "AHAHAHA! This is the best day of my life!"

Oum shot her husband a glare, making the man gulp.

"I mean, other than the fact that a lot of people are getting hurt, I mean."

"This is…wow," said Anne.

"Okay, well, with that said, we still need a base of operations so we can plan our counterattack. Something close by but inconspicuous. Anyone know a heavily fortified prison-like structure?" Mr. X inquired.

Sasha and Anne looked at each other, smirked and said together, "We can think of one."


Saint James Middle School was currently abandoned. After the invasion began, the students and faculty were immediately evacuated. Which was good, because now it was empty, and they didn't need to worry about anyone inside. Mr. X had Jenny pulled the van up to the front of the school, once there, Joe Sparrow and Domino 2 landed on the front lawn, allowing their passengers to disembark. Anne, Sasha, the Boonchuys, Mr. X, and Jenny got out of the van, with the latter two grabbing some additional equipment and supplies from the van itself.

No sooner had they arrived at the school did the rest of their allies show up. Mr. X had put in a call to the others once they locked down their location and were told to meet up here, and when they did, Anne was shocked. She of course recognized the Pines twins, but there was someone else with them that Anne hadn't expected to see.

"LUZ!" Anne yelled.

The girl in question was a fourteen-year-old Latina, with hair that was smoothed down, wearing a gray hoody over a yellow top, black pants, and white colored shoes. Luz got out of the sidecar for twins' bike and was immediately brought into a hug by Anne.

"I'm so glad you managed to make it back to Earth! How are Amity and your friends? Are they here too?!" the Thai teen inquired.

"Huh, so that's the Luz Noceda you were talking about." Sasha looked at the girl up and down and nodded. "Okay, I admit, she is pretty cute."

"I – um – uh – I…!"

"Anne, you might want to let her go, you're kinda scaring her," said Mabel.

Anne, confused, broke the hug and saw that Luz looked nervous.

"Oh…wait…are…are you not the Luz that I know?" Anne asked with worry.

"No, she isn't, she's actually not Luz at all. But the Luz you do know is from our world, so that's something," said Dipper.

"But then who's this?" Anne questioned.

"We'll answer that inside." Mr. X turned his head as he heard a motorcycle approaching. "Ah, there's another one."

Everyone turned in the direction of the incoming sound and watched as a red and gold motorcycle parked itself on the sidewalk. The one who was riding the bike was an older Japanese man, with light brown hair, wore orange jacket, with a blue shirt, and beige colored pants.

Anne and Sasha looked upon this new arrival, for some reason, they felt a strange connection to him. The two teen girls walked up to the older man, both regarding each other for a moment before speaking.

"Who are you?" Sasha asked.

"My name is Tsugami Shoichi. In my universe, I'm known as Kamen Rider Agito. Tsukasa-san told me that there were young Riders who shared a power similar to mine, and here you are," said Shoichi.

"Tsukasa told you about us, huh? So, um, do we use honorifics for you? Or just…"

Shoichi chuckled and answered, "You can use my first name, or my last name. Whichever you're more comfortable with, or whichever is easier for you to call out."

"Cool, so, Mr. Tsugami," said Anne.

"I'll just shorten it to Sho, if you're cool with that."

Shoichi chuckled again and nodded.

Mr. X checked his watch and muttered, "Alright, there should be one more…"

Just then another van rolled up on the school, and inside sprang out Allie and Jess.

"GIRLS!" Polly exclaimed.

"Polly!" the couple cried out.

The little tadpole ran towards her robotics teachers/mentors and jumped into their arms, happy to see them again.

"You guys came too?!"

"Yeah, Mr. X said you might need our help," said Jess.

"Not sure what we can do, considering you kinda got a full roster of superheroes here, but we'll do what we can," said Allie.

Anne crossed her arms and nodded confidently at their assembled team. Sweet, looks like we have a lot going for us now. Although. The Thai teen shifted her gaze to the not-Luz with worry. Mabel and Dipper said she's not Luz, is she her twin or something?

"Alright people, let's head inside and figure out our strategy."

"Anne, Sasha, mind helping us with the food?" Oum asked.

"Food?" the two girls parroted.

"Can't fight evil on an empty stomach," said Bee.


Anne and Sasha led everyone to one of the larger science classrooms, it was here that they set up their food, along with a few other pieces of equipment. Once situated, Mr. X and Jenny went to work on getting the collars off of Anne and Sasha, their battle against the invading army wouldn't go so well if their biggest guns couldn't even transform and fight. After about two minutes of tinkering with the collars, Mr. X and Jenny managed to get the collars off Anne and Sasha. The two teens rubbed their necks, happy to have the annoying collars off.

"You girls back in action?" Mr. X asked.

Anne and Sasha concentrated, and within seconds their eyes were once again glowing with the colors of azure and magenta before they returned to normal.

"Oh yeah."

"We're back."

"Okay, so, for now, could you two do some recon to make sure this place is secure and that we weren't followed while we set up some equipment. I don't want us getting caught with our pants down while we're in here," said Mr. X.

"We're on it," said Sasha.

"H-H-Hold on, please," not-Luz spoke up.

Everyone turned to the shy Latina in the room, with Dipper and Mabel looking a little worried.

"I…I want to tell you all something before we really get started. Anne, right?" not-Luz looked at Anne, who nodded at her. "What Dipper and Mabel said is true, I'm not the real Luz Noceda. She's still in the Demon Realm, looking for a way back while protect the people there as Kamen Rider Witch. That being said, I'm not human. I'm a denizen of the Demon Realm, the world Luz is in right now. I came here to escape the clutches of a bad person there. And since then, I've been assuming Luz's identity."

Everyone remained silent, letting not-Luz have her time to speak.

"I think you all deserve to know who and what I am before we start fighting together. As well as the reasons why I'm fighting."

Everyone watched with wide eyes as not-Luz's body began to swiftly transform from a human girl into a snake-like being. Her scales were a lime green color, with splotches of beige here and there. She had some hair that was a dark teal color, and her irises were black with a yellow pupil at the center.

"When I was a captive in my world, I was given the designation Number Five. Here, I made it into my name, Vee. And about a month or two ago, I obtained the power to transform into a Kamen Rider." Vee hugged herself as a look of determination formed on her face. "I…I'm not human. But even so, this is my home now. I have someone here who loves me like a mother, friends that I care about, and a person who loves me for me. And I don't want to sit on the sidelines knowing that I have the power to help people now. I don't want to run away anymore. I want to face the things that threaten the people I love as Kamen Rider V. So, is it okay if I fight alongside you? To protect my new home…?"

Anne walked up until she was in front of Vee, she then gently placed her hands on Vee's shoulders and said, "Dude, of course it's okay. Just look around." Anne gestured to everyone in the room. "The Plantars, Grime, Yunan, and Olivia, they're not human, and they're willing to help us in our hour of need."

Vee glanced at the Amphibians who gave the basilisk a smile, and in some cases a nod or a thumbs up. She then looked at the humans in the room, with Allie and Jess smiling happily at the demon girl. Mr. X gave a wink, and Jenny just nodded approvingly. Bee and Oum were already used to otherworldly beings at this point, so seeing a shapeshifting snake girl hardly fazed them at this point.

"Heck, we even have a Rider here from an entirely different universe. He didn't have to come here and help us, but he did," said Anne.

Shoichi nodded in affirmation to this.

Sasha stood next to Anne as she placed a hand on her girlfriend's shoulder.

"We're all here to save Earth and Amphibia, it doesn't matter if you're human or not. You call Earth your home, and I respect that you want to fight to protect it. And I'm kinda curious what a cute snake girl like you can do," said Sasha.

"C-Cute?!" Vee exclaimed, blushing.

"Sash, don't tease the girl."

"What, it's true. She's cute as hell."

Anne looked back at Vee and remarked, "Hmm, yeah, she is."

Vee made some unintelligible sounds as she was not used to being called cute by anyone other than her enbyfriend. Dipper and Mabel chuckled when they saw Vee's reaction and were relieved to see that their allies accepted Vee, not just as a Kamen Rider but also as herself.

"Okay, now that that's settled. Girls, recon, now."

"Got it," Sasha and Anne responded as they left the room.

As they left, Hop Pop found the remote to the TV that was set up in the top right-hand corner of the room. With the press of the button, he turned the TV onto the news, which was reporting the invasion.

{In a shocking turn of events, the city has found itself invaded by a talking lizard, his robot army, and a couple of giant, demonic, angry waterfowls. But in other news, crypto is up big! Let's do the numbers!} the news anchor announced.

Hop Pop sighed as he shook his head in disapproval.

"Typical LA."

Polly, who had been sitting on R/C Frobo's head, spared a glance outside the door and saw a room filled with all kinds of tools.

"WHOA! What is that?!" Polly asked.

Mr. X stopped what he was doing for a moment and looked in the direction that Polly was.

"Looks like this school has a metal shop. Private schools, I tell ya."

Polly then had a wide, face-splitting grin as she eyed the tech that Mr. X and Jenny brought in, along with the additional stuff that Allie and Jess brought with them.

"Hey, Allie, Jess, I think it's time we gave Frobo a much-needed upgrade," said Polly.

Allie and Jess's eyes sparkled as they asked in unison, "You mean?!"

"Oh. Yeah."

In the blink of an eye, Allie and Jess swiftly whisked Frobo, Polly, and a bunch of weapons and tech out of the room and right into the metal shop. A symphony of sounds could be heard coming from behind that closed door, which made some of them wonder and worry what exactly they were going to make Frobo into.

While that was going on, Oum and Bee undid the foil wraps on some of the trays of food for everyone to eat.

"Wow, Mrs. B, you guys thought of everything," said Sprig.

Just then a deep growling was heard, some of the occupants in the room turned in the direction of where Grime was sitting.

The toad warrior blushed in embarrassment for a moment before he cried out, "Yes it was me! Okay?"

Sprig got some of the food onto a plate and handed it to Grime. The toad warrior took a bite of one the morsels, and then he turned red for a completely different reason as the spicy tidbit of food set his mouth on fire.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH! I'M DYING!" Grime screamed. Grime suddenly dropped to the floor, rolling around, smashing his face into the floor. "SOMEBODY JUST KILL ME, PLEASE!"

Grime finally fell unconscious, for about ten seconds before waking back up.

"That was good!"

Shoichi tried some of the Boonchuy's food, and while the spice had a serious kick to it, the food was absolutely delicious.

"Mmm, you and your husband made this, Boonchuy-san?" Shoichi asked.

"Yes, we own a restaurant called Thai Go," said Bee.

"This is excellent. I'm a restaurant owner and chef as well."

"A Kamen Rider, and successful restaurant chef and owner!" Bee swiped up a piece of paper and held out before Shoichi and asked, "Can I have your autograph?!"

Oum sighed, her husband was fanboying so hard right now.


(A couple of minutes earlier…)

Anne and Sasha continued their recon of the school. It was strange being back in school after all this time, and even weirder seeing it so empty. They were used to seeing these hallways filled with numerous students and faculty. It was kind of creepy too.

The couple kept on moving through the different hallways, checking around each corner before moving. They didn't think that they were followed but given that Darcy might've figured out by now that they were gone, she might've sent out a hunting party for them. So, it didn't hurt to be too careful.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH! I'M DYING!"

Anne and Sasha heard Grime's painful wails, and Sasha knew immediately what the cause of it was.

"Sounds like Grime tried some of your parents' food," said Sasha.

"Heh. Sounds like Sprig when he tried a pain pepper. 'So hot, they'll make you wish you were dead'," Anne stated.

"SOMEONE JUST KILL ME! PLEASE!"

"There it is."

The two girls shared a laugh as they sheathed their swords and continued their patrol.

"Oh! Hey, my locker!" Anne exclaimed as she ran to it.

Sasha followed behind her as she watched Anne put in the combination.

"You haven't been back here at all since we were whisked to Amphibia, right?" Sasha asked as she leaned against the lockers.

"Yeah, even when I came back, I didn't attend. Which…with everything that was going on, it was probably for the best," Anne admitted.

Sasha tightened her grip on her arms. She remembered a conversation about how things went when Anne came back to Earth. How some of the students would send her messages via social media accusing Anne of doing something to her or Marcy, and that she was hiding the truth. Well, that part wasn't a lie, she was hiding the truth, but it annoyed her that so many people were quick to assume that Anne did something bad to her two best friends.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with all that crap alone," said Sasha. "I swear, when this over, I have a lot of asses to kick."

"Sash, let it go. Yeah, it was frustrating, depressing, but none of them new the truth."

"That still doesn't give people the right to just judge you as being guilty of something. Considering we all vanished at the same time. Also, I wasn't expecting your mom to hug me like that."

Anne stopped her fiddling with the lock and smiled at Sasha.

"You didn't think she'd forgive you?"

"You forgiving me was already a blessing. But you're mom and dad…ugh…they're like a second mother and father to me, Anne. I was…afraid that they were going to hate me after everything I did, before Amphibia, and while in Amphibia. I couldn't blame them if they had," Sasha confessed.

"Well, I think your mom and dad showing up and revealing a few things kind of helped them to understand. Of course, this was before I told them the truth. But I think it still helped them."

Sasha sighed, she was annoyed that her parents made a scene at Anne's house, and unintentionally outed her orientation, but it in a weird way, perhaps that it help the Boonchuys to understand why she did what she did. Doesn't mean it was a good reason, but at least they had a basis for understanding.

"Also, Anne. There's something I need to say."

"Shoot."

"I say this with all due respect for the fact that we are together again, but watching your mom and dad take out robots in Kamen Rider armor was kinda hot," Sasha remarked.

Anne stopped her fiddling with the lock and gave her girlfriend an embarrassed look.

"Sasha! Seriously?!"

"I'm sorry, okay! It's weird for me, too, Anne!"

Anne rolled her eyes and went back to messing with her locker.

"I'm starting to think you just have a thing for my family at this point."

"Juries out on that."

*click!*

"Ha! I got it!"

Anne opened the door, and a flood of books, papers, and assorted items that were jammed into the locker came pouring out and knocked the Thai teen onto the floor.

Sasha chuckled as she asked, "Anything in there that'll help us take down a giant Heron Fallen?"

Anne picked herself up from the mess as she answered, "Heh, not quite."

That's when Anne's eyes rested on something she had completely forgotten about. Sasha followed her lover's eyes as she looked into the locker as well and saw a piece of paper that had the words "Who Am I?" written on it.

"Hey, what's that?" Sasha asked.

Anne reached into her locker and took out the sheet of paper.

"Oh, it's just an essay that Mrs. Murphy wanted me to write…" The words on the page felt a little less daunting than before, but still daunting, nonetheless. "…I almost forgot about this."

"So, wait, was this what held you up?"

Anne glanced at Sasha and then back to the paper.

"Mrs. Murphy was worried about me. And, honestly, I can see why. Back then, I was…directionless. I didn't know what I wanted, or who I wanted to be. She was…afraid I'd end up in a bad place when I was older, and she wanted me to do this essay to help me start thinking seriously about myself," Anne answered.

"Wait a second…Was this the reason why you asked me and Marcy if we wanted to marry you so that we'd take care of you?" Sasha inquired.

The Thai teen blushed hard, back then she had said it as a joke, she wasn't serious about that. But after everything, and discovering more about herself, perhaps there was a layer of truth to that joke of a request.

"I guess I was afraid that I'd end up in that bad place that Mrs. Murphy didn't want me to be. Looking back on myself, I really didn't have any goals or ambitions. I just went wherever life took me, whichever was the easiest path. Of course, I learned the hard way that the easiest path really isn't always the right path. And I guess I thought if I was with you or Marcy, considering what you two were shaping up to be in the future, I wouldn't have to worry about anything."

Anne chuckled dryly as she thought about it.

"I would've just been a leech, living off you or Mar-Mar like some kind of parasite. Just there, not doing anything."

Sasha sighed heavily as she retorted, "What's really messed up about that…Is not just the fact that you see yourself that way. It's that, if I were still the old me, I would've done it. I would've taken you in. I would've just made you a trophy wife or something, a live-in girlfriend. Someone I could always have at my side for nothing. I would've given you everything to keep you at my side and done anything to make sure you did. Heh…I'm sure Marcy would've been the same way."

Sasha placed her left hand against her face.

"We were – are? – messed up, aren't we? Me especially," said Sasha.

Anne folded the paper and put it into the pocket of her WATs uniform and gently placed her hand on Sasha's shoulder.

"That was the old us. We've grown so much in just a short time. You're not the person you once were, Sasha. Just like I'm not the girl I once was either. And despite all the messed-up stuff we've been through, we're stronger for it," said Anne.

"The old us…huh?"

Anne walked up to the locker door, where a picture of the three of them was taped inside.

"It's not who we once were that matters, Sash. But who we are now that counts. That's how I know we'll win this war." Anne's eyes rested on the image of Marcy, remembering their friend was trapped inside of her own mind by a dark version of her and a hive mind. "Hang on, Marcy. We'll get you out of there."


(Five Minutes Later…)

Anne and Sasha were going over the last details of their plan, and as they did, Shoichi decided to pop in and see how things were going.

"You two alright?" Shoichi asked.

"Oh, yeah, we're good Mr. Tsugami," said Anne.

Shoichi leaned against the wall as he crossed his arms and watched the two girls work out the last details of the plan on the whiteboard, amazed at how resilient and capable these young children were.

"You two are amazing," he commented.

"What do you mean?" Sasha asked.

"Tsukasa told me about Riders like you. Young children who have taken on the power and responsibility of a Kamen Rider. Amongst us veterans, many of us started out relatively young, in our twenties, but you Xtra Riders, you start off a lot younger than most of us did. Only a couple of Riders I can think of started when they were just a couple or more years older than you," said Shoichi.

Anne turned around and asked, "When you say 'extra Riders', are you referring to us? What does it mean that we're 'extra'?"

Shoichi chuckled and responded, "Sorry, it's a term that Sougo and Tsukasa came up with to differentiate Riders who are come into existence via a similar, but not always quite exact, power as the veterans like me and others. You bring something new to the table because these powers also take on properties of the universe you live in, making them unique unto you. For this, you and other Riders from universes like your own, have been called 'Xtra Riders', uh, X-T-R-A, no 'e'."

"Huh, so, does that mean this Tsukasa guy sent you to our universe because he's afraid we'll fail?" Sasha asked.

"Not at all." Shoichi stopped leaning against the wall and looked at the young Riders before him. "His methods of looking after and helping the next generation of Riders are…unorthodox, at times. But he genuinely believes in the Journey of a Rider and wants you to succeed. My being here is not saying that he thinks less of your abilities, I'm here as your sempai to help clear the path for you two to save your world. I didn't save my own world by myself , I had help from friends just like you."

Anne and Sasha glanced at each other before returning their gaze to Shoichi and smiling.

"Thanks for helping us out, Mr. Tsugami."

"Same, Sho."

"What kind of sempai would I be if I didn't help out my kouhai once in awhile?" Just then they heard what sounded like glass shattering coming from the classroom. "What was that?"


(A few moments ago…)

"Okay, so, this is for you," said Mr. X. The FBI special agent walked over to Yunan and handed the newt general a blaster. "Here you go Ms. Newt. Careful with the safety."

"The what now?" Yunan accidentally pulled the trigger and fired a single shot into the roof, surprising herself, Olivia, and Mr. X. Afterwards, the young newt general had a maniacal grin on her face. "Oh-ho-ho, I like this!"

"Please, try not to shoot yourself, Yun," Olivia cautioned.

"Okay, moving on." Mr. X grabbed another item off the table and brought it to Hop Pop. "Here you go, these are prototype gauntlets for the GX armor. They'll make sure to give your punches an extra bit of umph."

"Ooh, fancy," said Hop Pop as he slipped on the gauntlets. While he was admiring them, Hop Pop noticed that Sprig had something in his hands. "What ya got there boy?"

"Oh, it's the blank sheet of paper we found in that secret room," said Sprig. "I feel like it's important, but I just can't figure out how."

{It's madness out here, folks!} Hop Pop and Sprig turned their heads in the direction of the TV, where a reporter was on the ground in the midst of the ongoing battle. {I tell you, MADNESS!}

"Ugh, the quicker we can fix this mess, the quicker things can go back to normal," said Sprig.

Hop Pop took off the gloves and looked at Sprig. He said "normal", that was a loaded word right now.

"Normal?" Hop Pop inquired.

"Yeah, you know. Anne and us just hanging out. Monster of the week stuff, but with less super monster stuff. Like before we left the valley. That kinda stuff," Sprig clarified.

Hop Pop rubbed the back of his head. This was something he was afraid of happening. After all they've been through, Sprig couldn't see a future that didn't have Anne in it. She had become such a big part of their lives that it was hard not to think of her without thinking of the word "family". Hop Pop wasn't going to lie to himself, he felt the same way as Sprig did.

Anne had become a part of their family, of their lives, that he found himself thinking about what they were going to do when they got back home to Amphibia. The work they would have to divide amongst the four of them, well the five of them with Frobo. But unlike Sprig, he had the wisdom that came with age to understand that the adventure was coming to an end, and everyone needed to go back to their lives, including them, including Anne.

"Sprig, don't ya think Anne needs to go back to her life after all this?" Hop Pop asked. "Some things are bound to change. They always do."

Sprig chuckled at the notion.

"Oh, Hop Pop. Nothing will change. Anne will always be a big part of my life," said Sprig.

Hop Pop smiled sadly, that was true. Anne would always be a part of their lives, she had changed things for them in ways that were obvious to Sprig and Polly, and others that were obvious to Hop Pop. There was no way of denying that Anne Boonchuy had changed their lives since the moment she arrived in Amphibia. And really, Hop Pop was happy about that.

"Of course, she will, Sprig," Hop Pop remarked as he patted Sprig on the back.

Suddenly, the window shattered apart.

"Oh, for Frog's sake, what now?!" Hop Pop complained.

Anne, Sasha, and Shoichi ran into the room when they heard the window shattering. What entered the room was actually a drone, everyone immediately got on edge as they readied to destroy it.

"Wait, a second, that doesn't look like an Amphibian drone," said Olivia.

{Indeed, it isn't.}

"Ooooh, great. I know that voice," Mabel bemoaned.

The drone opened its top half and showed a screen that had none other than Director Keisuke.

"Keisuke," Dipper growled.

{Good to see you too, Pines twins.}

"Who is this human?" Grime asked.

"Director Keisuke of Foundation X," Mr. X answered.

Shoichi immediately narrowed his gaze at the man. While had hadn't dealt with Foundation X during his initial years as a Kamen Rider, they have made trouble for his fellow Riders, and from time to time he's had to help out in defeating their latest machinations. It was unsettling that there was an iteration of them in this universe, too.

Vee growled a little shifting back into her half Luz, half basilisk form as she glared at the man. While she had not met Director Keisuke, it was one of their agents who gave Jacob Hopkins a Gaia Memory, turning him into a monster that nearly killed her friends, lover, and adopted mother. And just to make matters worse…

{Oh, hold on? Is that the little snake girl?}

Dipper, Mabel, and Vee furrowed their brows more when they saw Foundation X agent, Miranda, appear on the screen next to Keisuke.

{Hello my duckies! Been awhile since our last encounter,} said Miranda in her British accent.

"Grrr! You! What do you guys want?! There's already enough bad stuff happening right now," Vee sniped.

{Calm down, we are not here to fight.} That's when Cassandra, Director Keisuke's assistant appeared on his right. {Our objective is not one of combat or hostility. But of cooperation.}

"Huh?" was what everyone in the room said at once.

{That floating castle, along with the one who commands these robotic forces, are here to wipe out humanity. We at Foundation X cannot allow such a thing to happen. So, with that in mind, and seeing how you have gathered quite the team of powerful fighters. We propose a temporary alliance with your group and Foundation X.}

Dipper crossed his arms as he retorted, "I know you're not doing this for the benefit of humanity. If everyone dies, that's not good for your business, right?"

{Smart as always, Mr. Pines.}

Anne finally got in on the conversation and asked, "Why does that matter to you? You guys make weapons that kill people! And now you're suddenly worried that the world is going to end?"

{My dear girl, we are weapons manufacturers and dealers. We make weapons, we sell weapons, and we make a profit from selling to both sides. However, we make sure that we have contingencies in place to prevent our own weapons from destroying the world or humanity as a whole.}

Miranda put her hands behind her head as she chuckled and added, {Can't really make any money if all our clients are dead, right? Plus, that lizard and his army are going to kill everyone, us included. So, the enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that.}

Cassandra pushed up her glasses and remarked, {For our continued survival, both Foundation X, and humanity's, an alliance is needed if we are to see the light of another day.}

{And there you have it. Plus, we can muster more effective ground forces than the current military have. I assume you want to corral and keep the fighting within the city to minimize it from being spread out. Keep the focus on you, perhaps? If that's the case, then you'll need our forces.}

The group gave each other a glance. Sprig, Hop Pop, the Boonchuys, the Pines twins, Sasha, Vee, Shoichi, Mr. X, and Jenny knew exactly how dangerous Foundation X was. And none of them would put it past them if these guys turned around the moment the fighting was over and stabbed them in the back. However, what Director Keisuke said was true. The US military was fighting a losing containment battle, and if this continued, there would be more lives lost, and the bigger endgame of the multiverse being conquered.

Anne and Sasha broke away from the group and stood before the drone as they both looked Director Keisuke in his eyes.

"I'm pretty sure you have other motives for wanting to help us, right?" Anne questioned.

{Perhaps.}

"That's a yes," Sasha commented.

"Look." Anne sighed. "Right now, we're not humans or Amphibians, or demons. We need to be a team, and that means we need trust. So, for this battle, can we at least trust that you won't try and take us out while the fighting is going on."

{I tried to capture you back at that FBI installation specifically because I wanted to replicate your powers to try and take out this threat. But now, there's no time for that. You and your friend are probably the best shot we have at stopping this invasion. I am a lot of things, my dear, but a fool is not one of them. So, you have my word that we shall not engage in hostilities with your team. I'm looking at you, Miranda.}

{Oh, c'mon, that's just rude,} Miranda complained.

Anne and Sasha glanced at Mr. X. While they were the leaders of the Resistance army on Amphibia, Mr. X was an FBI agent, and the only government official in the room. The special agent pushed his glasses up and looked directly at the Director of Foundation X.

"Okay, Director Keisuke, we'll accept your help. But you also follow our lead, no going rogue," said Mr. X.

{Understood. Now, I'm sure you all have a plan?}

Anne and Sasha left the room and brought in a whiteboard where they had written up their initial plan.

"Okay, everyone, let's go over the mission," Anne announced. "Wait a second. Where's Polly?"

A small explosion went off inside of the metal shop classroom that made everyone jump a little. The door eventually opened as Polly coughed, letting out some smoke as she walked into the classroom.

"Sorry, one of the upgrades is acting up a bit, but Frobs should be good to go in a few more minutes," said Polly.

"You sure you're alright, little one?" Shoichi asked.

"Trust me, I get either eaten or blown up randomly allll the time." Polly then made a strange face as she added, "I sorta look forward to it now."

Shoichi blinked, glanced at Anne and the other members of the Plantar family, and they unfortunately nodded.

"Well, so long as he's ready for when the battle happens," said Sasha. "Anyway, Anne."

"Okay, the plan, originally, was to spread out and have Andrias and Darcy's forces focus on us. Keep the fighting centered in the city. But since you guys are here, we'll need to change up a few things."

Anne took a blue marker and drew a circle around the city.

"Like Director K said, we need to keep this fight contained and focused. So, for that we're going to keep it centered. Do you think your guys can keep any stranglers from going outside that blue line," Anne asked.

{Not a problem, as I said, I figured that would be part of your plan, and I have agents on standby to begin containment procedures.}

"Good," said Sasha. "Now, we're going to be splitting up into two teams. The first team will be comprised of Anne, myself, her parents, the Plantars, Sho, Vee, and the Pines. We'll be in the center of the city, making sure Andrias and Darcy's forces focus solely on us and keep their robot army and Heron Fallen from spreading their destruction. So, let's cut loose and make it flashy as hell!"

Mabel smacked her right fist into the palm of her left hand as she said, "Oh-ho, that we can do!"

"While you guys are doing that, Grime, Olivia, and Yunan will fly on Joe Sparrow and find an opening in the shield and sneak in," said Anne.

"Once you do, contact me, and tell me where you got in and I'll join you," said Sasha.

"Take these then." Mr. X gave Sasha an earpiece and Grime a radio. "They're tuned into each other, private frequency. When you find the entrance, call her on that."

"Will do," said Grime. "Uh…"

"I'll show you how to use it later," said Mr. X.

"Thank you."

"The Calamity Box will, no doubt, be too heavily guarded. So, we'll do the next best thing. Olivia gave us an idea of where the shield generator for the castle is, so, we'll smash that thing apart, and bring down the shield from the inside out," Sasha added.

"And afterwards, I'll meet up with you and then it'll be round two with Darcy," Anne finished.

{Quite the impressive plan,} Cassandra complemented.

{And this is why I don't underestimate Riders,} Director Keisuke commented. {Especially the young ones.}

Anne glanced about the room, looking everyone directly in the eyes.

"We're here to defend the Earth and protect the people. But there's much more at stake than that. The fate of Amphibia, and the multiverse as a whole, is on the line here. Today, we're not enemies, or just Riders, we're allies fighting to protect all worlds…" Anne placed her hand in the middle.

Oum and Bee did the same, along with Sasha, Vee, Shoichi, Dipper, Mabel, Mr. X, Jenny, Hop Pop, Sprig, Polly, Grime, Yunan, and Olivia.

"…ARE YOU READY!"

"YEAH!" they all yelled unison, except for the Foundation X crew.

Once the plan had been confirmed, the Foundation X drone left the room and headed back to its base. Meanwhile, everyone rushed outside as they readied for battle.

HERO!

SHOOTINGSTAR!

Lightning crackled.

Flames sparked.

A flash of light.

A glow of yellow magical light.

"HENSHIN!"

HERO-SHOOTINGSTAR!

A dome of lighting appeared around Anne, at the same time, a dome of flames wrapped itself around Sasha. A bright flash of white light went off around Shoichi, while an intense yellow light shined from Vee. Dipper went unconscious as a flying Gaia Memory came in and digitized his body before it hit the ground as Mabel's body was engulfed in swirling pink and blue light. The domes of lightning and fire shattered and revealed Kamen Rider Amp and Kamen Rider Bellona. The white flash of light and intense yellow light faded, showing Kamen Rider Agito and Kamen Rider V. Lastly, the swirling energy dissipated, and Kamen Rider Gemini was now standing among them.

Amp looked towards the floating castle, her gaze narrowed behind her helmet as her parents stood beside her, along with her found family, her girlfriend, and the rest of their friends and allies.

"Alright, heroes. It's time to go all in."