(Months ago…)

King Andrias was sitting upon his throne, lounging in his kingly robe as he read over a report that one of his attendants handed him earlier. Not like he really needed it; he knew what happened because he had a hand in making it happen. Although, he was not expecting the human girl to adapt so quickly to her powers and utilize them the way she did. Honestly, he found it strange. The past Amphibian Knights' powers didn't manifest the way that hers did, that was new. Honestly speaking, sending a Fallen to attack the girl straight out was a bit premature as far as he was concerned, and despite other voices of opposition, it was best to keep the human close for the time being. Just then, Andrias started hearing some joyful giggling that came from the hallway that led to the throne room.

"Come on, Lady Olivia, there's a whole castle for me to explore!"

Andrias looked up and watched as the human girl who appeared in the city was now limping her way into the throne room on her crutches. Despite the handicap, Lady Olivia seemed to be having trouble keeping up with the injured human girl. Which was actually quite hilarious to see and put a small smile on his face. That's when the young human girl looked straight up at him, marveling at his stature as she slowly approached the throne, with Lady Olivia following behind her.

"King Andrias, I present to you the creature known as Marcy Wu," Lady Olivia announced.

Marcy got a little closer and said, "Wow, so, you're the king of Newtopia? Man, you're huge! Andrias, huh? Can I call you 'Drias?"

Andrias's mind immediately flashed back to the frog girl who broke his heart long ago and betrayed him. While the anger was still there, it had dulled some, but the sting of the betrayal and the sadness of it still lingered even after a thousand years. The newt king took off his glasses, the glasses with the special lenses that allowed Andrias to read the secret messages that the two once shared.

"Only one person ever called me that…"

Marcy seemed to realize her faux pas and scrambled to apologize.

"Oh, sorry, sorry. Too personal, I get it." Marcy snapped her fingers as she sighed. "Boundaries, Marcy, remember. Boundaries."

That reminder lasted all of two seconds.

"Hey, you know I bet I can fit in your pocket!"

"What?!" Lady Olivia exclaimed.

"What?" Andrias questioned.

Before either of the newts realized it Marcy, somehow, had made her way up the throne's steps. Crawled up his leg, onto his thigh, shimmed around to his back, climbed up his back onto his shoulder, and let herself tumble over his shoulder straight into the pocket on the left side of his chest.

"Knew it! Oh, I just thought something!" Marcy reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out something. She began fiddling with the edge of his collar, and after she was done, there was a little robot figure pinned to it. "A little gift for the King of Newtopia. I hope you like it."

Lady Olivia was at a complete loss for words right now. Not only had Marcy just crawled all over King Andrias, but she just placed herself into the pocket of his royal robe like it was nothing.

Andrias, for his part, wasn't angry, nor annoyed. Strangely, as he looked down at the wide sparkling eyes of this young human girl, he felt happy. She had no regard for his royal status, at least not at current. She was just genuinely trying to be friendly towards him. It was innocent, and very endearing. So much so that the large newt king began laughing boisterously into the throne room, shaking Marcy within his robe pocket from the vibrations of his chest. Carefully, Andrias reached into his pocket and removed Marcy from it, letting her stand in the center of his palm.

"Indeed, I do, Little Master Marcy," Andrias replied.

"Master? I'm a master?" Marcy giggled excitedly. "OMG. Anne and Sasha are not going to believe me when I tell them that I became a Kamen Rider and called a master by the King of Newtopia!"

Andrias raised a curious eyebrow and asked, "Uh, 'common' rider? From what I heard, what you did to that monster was not anything anyone would deem common, Master Marcy."

"Oh," the Taiwanese girl snorted, "Sorry, it's not the same word. It's spelt K-A-M-E-N, sounds the same as 'common', but it's a word from a country called Japan in my world, and the word itself in their language means 'masked'. So, really, it's Masked Rider."

"Oh? Then, why not call yourself a 'Masked Rider'?"

"Kamen Rider sounds cooler," Marcy replied.

Andrias chuckled as he said, "I will take your word for it, young one. Did you come here alone? I haven't gotten any reports of others like yourself in the city so far."

"I don't know…" Marcy carefully crouched low and then sat in the palm of Andrias's hand. "There was a bright flash of light from this strange music box, and then the next thing I know, I woke up here in Newtopia. I'm not even sure if my friends got zapped here with me. And if you haven't heard from anyone in the city about them yet, then…"

Andrias frowned a little as he saw her saddening face. The newt King brought up his left hand and extended his index finger to gently raise her chin up.

"There now, don't lose hope. Newtopia is a large city, so it might take some time to do a full sweep. I'll have the Night Guard make this a priority. Consider it a thank you for defending my citizens from that horrible monster," said Andrias.

"You…You would do that?" Marcy asked.

"Indeed. Your friends must be worried for you as much as you are them. But be aware, if they are not here in the city, they might be elsewhere."

"Like where?"

"I'm sure you saw some of the vast land of our kingdom. It's possible you all got sent to different areas of our world of Amphibia. You can search for them, and if you need, I will see about giving you assistance. But in the meantime, you should focus on healing your injury," said Andrias.

"Oh, wow, thanks King Andrias!" Marcy managed to stand back up. "I can't wait to do some exploring of your great cit-AAAH!"

Marcy, absentmindedly, began to walk and ended up walking off his hand, but thankfully Andrias managed to catch her before she injured herself further. The newt king chuckled again and gently lowered Marcy onto the floor before handing her the crutch.

"For now, you shall be our honored guest here. Lady Olivia, please see that Master Marcy is given a room," said Andrias.

Lady Olivia bowed and replied, "Of course, your majesty. Come, Master Marcy, let us find you a suitable room."

"Okeydoke. Bye, King Andrias."

Andrias watched as Lady Olivia and Marcy left the throne room. The newt king looked at the pin that Marcy gave him, his smile broadening.

Just then, the hidden eye of his crown opened, and Andrias suddenly found himself brought into a dark void. He recognized this space, The Core had made contact with him and had something to say. That's when the dark space lit up with thirteen glowing eyes that all stared down upon Andrias as faint whispers began to echo in the void.

"You still want to kill her? Now? But we don't even know where the box is. Marcy – er – the human said that her friend opened the box, but she doesn't appear to possess it. Which means it might be with one of her companions instead," Andrias argued.

The eyes of The Core widened, the whispers sounding angrier.

"Yes, I know it's risky to keep her alive. Considering the olm prophecy, and the fact that she's manifested powers like that of the Amphibian Knights of the past. Although very much different, they are nonetheless powers derived from the gems of the music box. But she is just a child, my lord. Perhaps all this is overblown?"

The Core's eyes shifted around him, the whispers coming faster and with an annoyed tone.

"What do I propose?" Andrias thought about the question for a moment. "She trusts me, as strange as it is. Why not use that?"

The Core's whispers lost their angered tone, and sounded more like they wanted him to elaborate more.

"We know of the three temples that we once used to return the powers that were given to Amphibian Knights back to the gems themselves. So, I propose this. Why not befriend this 'Marcy'? And lure her friends here? We will siphon their powers away, neutralize the prophecy…"

Andrias suddenly felt a hand upon his left shoulder and heard a familiar voice.

"And restore our legacy all in one fell swoop."

When Andrias turned to face the owner of that hand, he saw his father, the former King Aldrich. But it was only a projection of his body, meant to represent The Core, as evidenced by the thirteen glowing eyes that were now staring down at him from where his father's normal eyes should be. Despite this being a projection, it was still very much his father since his mind was also part of The Core.

"Well done, Andrias."

Aldrich took a step back, and when he did, several black tentacles reached out from the darkness of the mindscape and drew Aldrich into the darkness itself where he faded away. Afterwards, Andrias found himself back in the throne room, that conversation taking less than a second in real time.

This was the right thing to do, this was the opportunity that was given to him to finally make amends for his mistake one-thousand years ago. This was for the sake of Amphibia, the sake of their legacy. So…why did it feel wrong when he thought about betraying Marcy?

HEROES!

ALL IN!

(Part 3)

Thunderous booms echoed across the skies above the city of Los Angeles as explosions of azure and orange-yellow light flashed. Amp and the Mastodonus Fallen flew at high speeds through the air, their fists clashing mightily and creating shockwaves that rang out for miles around. Thankfully, it seemed that Andrias was keeping his word about making this just a one-on-one fight. Amp noticed that the rest of the Fallen Frobot army hadn't attacked since their fight started, so, hopefully that boded well for her.

Unfortunately, the situation could have been better. Despite being in her Final Form, and having gained better control over its power, the Mastodonus Fallen was proving to be her equal in raw power, speed, and physical strength. This was definitely not a repeat of the last fight she had with the newt king, and Andrias seemed determined to repay Amp for his humiliation during their first fight. Case in point.

The Mastodonus Fallen appeared before Amp, readying to punch her with his massive fist, but that was just a feint as the huge techno-organic creation flipped around and used the broadside of his tail to strike Amp head on. Amp wasn't ready for that sudden maneuver and ended up getting flung far into the distance. The lightning Rider released a burst of her energy, stopping herself before she could fly further, but that's when the Mastodonus Fallen appeared behind her.

How the hell is he so fast?!

The Mastodonus Fallen grabbed Amp and sped towards one of the mountains in the distance. Before Amp could brace, the Mastodonus Fallen smashed its fist into the mountain itself. But he wasn't done. The Mastodonus Fallen started dragging its fist along the mountain, cutting a huge gash in the rockface as Amp was forced to get pummeled by bedrock with each passing second. The dark mecha monster broke his hand out of the mountain and tossed the hero into the air where he pursued her again.

Amp growled indignantly as she flipped around and charged for the monster. The Mastodonus Fallen swiped with his claws, but Amp managed to weave under it and drive her right fist into the snout of the Mastodonus Fallen, making him snap his head back from the impact. Amp flew up and around, as she came in with a flying knee strike right into the machine's midsection. The Mastodonus Fallen released a gasp of pain from the hit, momentarily stunned. Amp used this stunned state to back away, spin once, and then threw a roundhouse to the left side of the monster. This time she was the one sending the monster flying into the distance. A boom of thunder roared as Amp flew through the air, appearing up ahead of the Mastodonus Fallen in order to intercept him.

The lightning Rider raised her hands into the air, interlocked her fingers, and readied to throw a hammer blow to spike him into the ground below. However, just before he got close enough to hit, the Mastodonus Fallen opened his mouth and released a torrent of black and orange flames like a dragon. Amp quickly summoned her power to create a shield, but the power and force behind the bellowing flames managed to push her away.

Now distracted, the Mastodonus Fallen flew at her and began throwing more punches at her. Amp let out grunts of pain with each impact, but gritted her teeth as she caught the Mastodonus Fallen's left fist, and yelled loudly before tossing the monster over her shoulder. Amp's body erupted with azure energy as she flew once again, keeping her arms outstretched and her fists tight. She barreled straight into the monster's gut as she, and the Fallen, flew across the sky and landed straight into the ocean as a huge splash erupted. The waves generated from the splash down managed to cause the carrier and destroyer ships to wobble on the water and sent waves crashing to the shore in the distance.

Down below the surface of the water, the fight raged on. The Mastodonus Fallen managed to release a burst of its own power, causing Amp to be forced away from him. The two fighters dashed for each other, the water proving to be ineffective at even slowing them down at all. The two started to exchange punches at lightning speeds, their knuckles crashing into the each other as they intercepted the other's strike, punched again, and then intercepted again. As the two kept this going, the shockwaves grew more and more violent as this continued.

The Mastodonus Fallen and Amp's fists glowed with power as they both threw a haymaker right at each other. Just like before, they intercepted, but the moment they made contact, a massive shockwave erupted all around them, big enough to cause the waters around them to be pushed away for at least three miles in all directions, allowing one to see the seabed below. The two growled as they kept this up, trying to drive their punch forward and not willing to give an inch, it was the power of their colliding fists that kept the water from returning to where it once was, but this would not last much longer.

The dark mecha monster's back opened some ports, and made black tendrils shoot out from them. Amp remembered those tendrils, and also remembered what they could do. The tips of each of the tendrils opened and revealed a laser cannon that was now gathering energy, four in total. The cannons aimed at Amp, and at the same time, all four fired on her. A loud explosion went off in front of the Mastodonus Fallen, allowing him to break the attack as he dashed forward. Amp rose out of the smoke, and after she did, she was punt kicked right out of the water and into the air.

Amp spun around in the air for a moment, but then was tail whipped straight back towards the city. The lightning Rider couldn't stop as she crashed through a building, destroying the foundation of the building the moment she landed at the bottom of the building and causing the entire structure to fall right on top of her. Smoke and dust bellowed out in all directions as a thick plume was kicked into the air. But the Mastodonus Fallen appeared over that spot, and when he did, orbs of orange-yellow light appeared around him before he commanded them to shoot towards the rubble below. Multiple explosions rang out as the Mastodonus Fallen laid down a barrage on that one spot, not stopping for a second.

Correction, it did stop, but only to allow the four tendril cannons to fire four powerful beams of the same energy straight down on the rubble, setting off a bigger explosion that sent a tower of flames spewing into the air. The tentacles retracted back inside the monster. The creature smirked, believing that he had subdued Amp, but it was wrong. The flames that had engulfed the rubble were suddenly snuffed out as a raging lotus aura flared up from the center of the crater.

"Not going to make it easy for me, are you, Boonchuy?" Andrias mocked.

"Tch, life isn't easy, Andrias. Sometimes, you gotta take the hard path," said Amp as she got into her fighting stance.

"…Believe me, I know more about that path than you could possibly imagine."

"THAT A FACT?!"

The lotus aura shrunk down and then Amp flew back up to meet the Mastodonus Fallen, throwing an uppercut to its lower jaw before kicking it in the face. The monster went into a tailspin for a few seconds until Amp came down with a flying ax kick, spiking the monster right on top of its head before it was sent crashing down into the streets below and landing on its back. As the Mastodonus Fallen began to rise, but it immediately roared with pain as Amp dropped out of the sky and nailed it in the chest with a double knee strike. The street and sidewalks around them cratered as fissures snaked their way up and around the structures surrounding them, making chunks of the buildings fall off and hit the ground.

"Oooh, did that hurt?" Amp taunted.

The glowing lines on the Mastodonus Fallen started to glow with greater intensity.

"Oh shoot…"

Suddenly, an explosive field of energy was released, causing multiple sparks to be released from Amp's armor as she was flung out of the sphere of energy and onto the ground. She managed to get back to her feet just as the Mastodonus Fallen did the same. The two fighters glared at each other once more before they reengaged, causing several more thunderous explosions to erupt in the city.

Although Amp and the Mastodonus Fallen's battle wasn't the only fight taking place right now. Bellona and Terminus were currently dueling within the generator room. The red Rider spun her Hyperion sword around as she slashed at Terminus, but the Dark Rider was doing a good job of keeping Bellona at a distance thanks to her scythe's length. Sparks flew from each contact of their blades, with neither one willing to give an inch. The bad part was, Bellona knew that Terminus was most likely toying with her right now. However, she could use that to her advantage.

Bellona ignited both ends of her sword with magenta flames as she resumed her attack. The flames began lashing out at Terminus with each swung of the sword, making the Dark Rider have to summon her own power as she released waves on energy to combat them.

That's right you psycho, just keep doing that! Bellona thought.

The flame Rider kept releasing her wildfire slashes, while also moving in a circle. Deflected flames and energy waves were slamming into the walls and floor, creating burning gashes in them. And it was this effect that Bellona was counting on. However, as she managed to get into position for the shield generator, Terminus stopped her attack and dashed straight for Bellona at high speed. The red Rider was about to slash but was stopped as Terminus grabbed her by the right forearm and headbutted Bellona right in the forehead.

The blow was powerful enough to cause a shockwave to erupt, making Bellona throw her head back from the impact. That stunned moment was enough for the Dark Rider to spin Bellona around as she tossed her opponent straight up through the ceiling. Bellona crashed through one floor after the other, before she ended up breaking through the roof as she kept ascending. She was eventually stopped as her back slammed against the shield wall. Before she could recover, Terminus soared out of the hole that Bellona made, and slammed her left fist into the Rider's stomach.

Bellona coughed violently from the harsh blow as Terminus grabbed her by the neck and began to squeeze. The eyes on Terminus's helmet narrowed, and Bellona knew Darcy was grinning with evil glee behind that mask.

"I admire your determination, Elizabeth. You fight against me knowing that you're clearly outclassed in both power and strength. Your little power up is impressive but compared to that…" Terminus forcefully turned Bellona so she could see the battle raging between Amp and the Mastodonus Fallen. "That's what real power looks like. That's the only real challenge for me right now. Is it any wonder why I want her so bad."

"S-Screw…you!" Bellona spat. "Anne's heart…will never…be yours!"

Terminus chuckled as she replied, "And it will never be yours either, Waybright, and you know that just as much as I do."

The Dark Rider tossed Bellona back towards the castle where she crashed into the side of the castle's walls. A body sized indention was made into the thick castle wall as Bellona tried to peel herself off of it. But as she did, Terminus appeared before her again. Terminus dismissed her scythe before grabbing Bellona and giving her a knee strike to her midsection again, but Terminus didn't stop there as she began assaulting Bellona with one punch after the other, causing the wall to crack and buckle with each powerful impact of her punches.

"C'mon, Elizabeth."

*BOOM!*

"Toss that stubborn pride of yours away."

*BOOM!*

"And just kneel before me."

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*

"It's still not too late to join me. Although, you'll still be the dog of this little family until I've been convinced that you'll be the submissive wife you were meant to be."

Terminus grabbed Bellona by the neck again, ripped her from the crater in the wall, and tossed down onto the castle grounds. The Dark Rider landed a few feet away from her, cocking a hip as she placed her hands on her hips and stared down at Bellona with a superior gaze.

"All this time spent trying to keep control of everything around you. How exhausting. Wouldn't you rather give up that control? I can free you, Elizabeth. And all you need do is surrender." Just then, all the eyes on Terminus's armor widened as they were struck with an idea. "Oh! I know, we should have everyone see this, shouldn't we?"

Terminus looked at the cameras and news helicopters still in the area. All thirteen of her eyes glowed as she raised her hand into the air and released an invisible wave that radiated across the entire city. As she did this, the mechanized tentacles broke through the ground beneath Terminus and rose above her as the eyes at the end of them looked at her and Bellona. In a matter of seconds, the jumbotrons and televisions of everyone in the Los Angeles area was taken over by Terminus, which now showed her intimidating visage. One of the tentacles approached her, which now acted as a camera.

"Hello world. Guess you thought that my minion down there fighting Amp, or rather Anne Boonchuy, was the boss of this entire army. Sorry to say, not quite. I'm actually the hidden boss of this game. You may call me Kamen Rider Terminus, the end of the line. And for the Toku illiterate, I'm what you call a 'Dark Rider', an evil Kamen Rider. Self-explanatory really."

The tentacle now started to focus on Bellona.

"But enough about me, I wanted to break into Anne's battle to give you all a little show of my own. Fun fact: Anne wasn't the only one to become a Kamen Rider. For you see, that one on the ground right now, she is known as Kamen Rider Bellona. But those of you of a certain school, may know her better as Sasha Elizabeth Waybright, the captain of Saint James Middle School's cheer squad."

Terminus paused for dramatic effect, and to let that information sink into the audience.

"I've given her quite the offer, and if she's smart, she will take it. But we're about to see. Now, Elizabeth, what will you do?" Terminus asked in a mocking tone.

Bellona didn't make a sound, despite the fact that her identity just got blown to the entire world just now. Well, at least she and Anne were now in the same boat. The red Rider stood up as she turned around to face Terminus, the eyes of her helmet glowing as she narrowed her gaze from behind her mask.

"Go to hell, Terminus. Do you really expect me to give up this fight when Anne is fighting right now? Do you really think I'm going to betray her like that?!" Bellona retorted.

Terminus laughed loudly upon hearing Bellona utter those words.

"Oh, don't act all holier than thou with me. You know all about betrayal, Elizabeth. You broke her heart once already," Terminus reminded. "And you know what they say. Old habits die hard."

Bellona's head tilted downwards as her fists tightened.

"You're right…I did. And I have to live with what I did every day. But I am NOT THAT PERSON ANYMORE!" Bellona's body erupted with magenta flames as some of them took the form of flaring wings behind her back. "I will strive to be better than I was yesterday!"

Suddenly, Bellona disappeared.

Terminus's eyes glanced about the area. She caught movement to her right and threw a punch, piercing through Bellona's chest. However, a moment after doing so, the body of Bellona burst into magenta flames, and Terminus realized just realized she had struck a Heat Mirage. Movement was detected once again, but this time from her left. Terminus turned just in time to catch Bellona's punch. The immediate stoppage of the punch caused a strong shockwave to blast out in all directions and formed a crater beneath them. What was unsettling to Terminus was how much effort she was putting into keeping Bellona from completing the punch.

"I'll become better than I was a minute before!"

Magenta flames burst from Bellona's body, making Terminus have to back away. That opening allowed Bellona to dash towards her as she began unleashing rapid fire punches at the Dark Rider. Terminus started to block the punches, but something was off. The punches seemed to be getting faster, which shouldn't have been possible. Suddenly, Terminus found herself releasing a grunt of pain as Terminus's fist collided with her stomach.

"Better than I was a second ago!"

Bellona threw a powerful left hook across Terminus's face, followed by a right upper that made Terminus lean back. But Bellona didn't let her get that far as she grabbed the Dark Rider by the sides of her head with both hands before bringing Terminus's head straight down into her knee. The impact not only caused the Dark Rider pain but disoriented her a bit.

Bellona capitalized on this as she sprinted forward and began barraging Terminus from all sides, speed blitzing her to the point that all you could see were explosions of magenta flames to indicate that any movement from Bellona was happening at all. Bellona stopped her speed blitz, only to spin in midair before throwing a spinning thrust kick into Terminus's chest.

The impact sent the Dark Rider flying backwards as she skipped like a rock on water on the ground for a few seconds before she managed to right herself. Terminus flipped around and struck the ground with her clawed right hand, digging into the stone masonry as she stopped at the edge of the castle wall, leaving five long grooves from where her claws cut into the stone.

"I am a new and improved Sasha Elizabeth Waybright, a new Kamen Rider Bellona! And I will always strive to be a better person than I was before!"

As Bellona made this declaration, her flame aura raged around her, briefly taking on the form of a heron before returning to wildfire that raged around her. Terminus rose to her full height, and strangely, she began to laugh. Like, sinister, crazy laugher. The kind of laughter that got into the range of disturbing.

"What a load of crap. People like you don't change, Elizabeth. When the going gets tough, you'll resort back to what you know best!"

"Shut up and fight me you bitch!"

Terminus charged in, with Bellona doing the same. The two Riders met in the middle and threw one punch. An explosion of magenta flames and crackling orange energy flared up from their collision, destroying the tentacles that were broadcasting the fight, and severing the connection that she had to the television signals around them, which was indicated by the screen switching back to Amp and the Mastodonus Fallen's fight.

Marcy wasn't feeling too good. It had been a week since she saw that intruder, and ever since then the nightmares had become more frequent than ever. She saw horrible images of Amphibia becoming a wasteland, the people enslaved, and nature dying. She also saw visions of a massive invasion of Earth, the very invasion that she and her wives stopped by defeating King Andrias, aka The Night.

It's been twelve years, so why only now am I having these kinds of nightmares? My life is perfect, there's nothing wrong with it. Yes, we've been through some traumatic experiences, and psychologically speaking there's no way I wouldn't have become emotionally scarred by everything. But I've been alright, Anne and Sasha have been alright.

It didn't make any sense to Marcy. And the more she thought about it, the worse the nightmares seemed to get. To the point that she as having daymares now. Seeing the horrible images even while awake. One moment she would be having a very happy breakfast with her family, and the next everything would get replaced by a ruined Amphibia and the bodies of her lovers laid dead before her feet.

Unfortunately, this resulted in a lot of freakouts, some she could keep under control, and others not so much. She hated those moments, especially when they happened in front of her children. It wasn't good for them to see their mother in such a state. Currently, Marcy was sitting in their large sitting room, with Anne and Sasha standing across from her and looking down at her with worried expressions.

"Mar-Mar, they're only nightmares, none of it is real," said Anne.

"I know that. I keep telling myself that. But…" Marcy held the sides of her head as she looked down at the floor. "These – whatever they are – nightmares? – visions? – alternate realities? – they keep coming, and don't stop. And…"

"And what?" Sasha asked.

There was something else she hadn't told her wives yet. The intruder, she had been seeing him more and more lately. Sometimes he would appear in the form of a green glowing, amorphous blob. Other times his features were more defined, there was one time she thought she could make out the tail of a newt, but she wasn't sure.

"Nothing…I…I just don't know what's happening to me. Maybe…Maybe I should take some time to myself. Maybe visit my parents back on Earth for a few days?" Marcy suggested.

"Marcy, no offense, but you're folks are still kinda…" Anne trailed off, trying to think of a less harsh word. "…okay, Sasha, you take it."

"Alright, you're parents are still being assholes to us even after all these years. The only reason they'd let you stay with them is just to try and convince you to divorce us and marry someone 'normal'," said Sasha with zero hesitation.

Marcy groaned as she slumped back against the chair.

"I know, I know. But…maybe dealing with their nonsense will distract me from what's wrong with me." The Taiwanese woman sighed heavily as she looked up at her lovers. "I'm sorry, girls. Sorry I'm such a mess right now. I'm even scaring the kids…"

Anne knelt before her wife and gently patted Marcy's knee comfortingly.

"Hey, we talked to them. They understand that you're not feeling well. They aren't scared of you," Anne assured her.

"If anything, they're just as worried as we are. They want their mama to be okay. And we want our Mar-Mar to be okay, too," Sasha added.

Marcy glanced between her two wives as she smiled.

"I really don't deserve you girls."

Sasha walked around behind Marcy and hugged her from behind.

"No, you do."

Marcy loved this, how could there be anything wrong with this?

However, as Marcy looked at Anne, the image of her wife was replaced by the thirteen-year-old version of her wife when she had that terrible look of hurt and betrayal when she found out the truth about how all three of them were brought to Amphibia.

"AAAAAH!" Marcy screamed as she suddenly shot up, knocking both Anne and Sasha away as she ran out of the room. "I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!"

"MARCY!" Anne and Sasha cried out.

The Taiwanese woman ran through the halls, eyes glowing bright green as she used her wind powers to leap and bound until she leapt off a balcony and landed in the garden, using her control over the wind to keep her fall light as she panted heavily. She didn't know what was happening to her, more than that, she didn't understand why it was happening. Was it guilt? After all these years, was the guilt of her actions from twelve years ago finally catching up to her? Punishing her for having such a happy life? Did she feel bad for what she did back then? Yes. But Sasha and Anne forgave her, so why now of all times?

Marcy crawled over to the pond in the garden and looked at her reflection. She looked haggard from all the stress she was under, from the visions and nightmares. Even now her mind was still playing tricks on her, because her reflection was not of the twenty something year old woman she was right now, but instead that of her thirteen-year-old self.

"I have a good life. I'm living my best life! So, why does it feel like it's not deserved?" Marcy questioned.

"Because this is not the real world, I'm afraid."

Marcy gasped when she saw the Emerald Spirit appear next to her reflection. She quickly glanced to her right, but the apparition wasn't there. Marcy looked back at the pond and saw that the spirit still appeared in the reflection.

"Why are you tormenting me?!" Marcy accused. "I know I did some selfish things when I was a kid! But Anne and Sasha forgave me! I don't know who or what you are, but please, stop!"

"I'm sorry, Marcy. But if I don't do this, then you, and the lives of the ones you care for most will die."

"What…What are you talking about?" Marcy asked.

"I've been trying to make contact with you. But this prison that was fashioned for you, this fantasy that you've fallen in love with, was made quite well. But I found some cracks in it that allowed me to appear. Unfortunately, we are on a bit of a time crunch I'm afraid."

Marcy got back on her hands and knees and moved closer to the pond as she asked, "You said you can't hurt what doesn't exist, and now you're saying I'm in a fantasy world prison? You're saying that none of this is real?"

"I know that may be hard to believe, but it is the truth. You are trapped within your own mind, Marcy. And the ones who put you in this prison fear your power here. To ensure that you don't interfere, they fashioned this life for you, so that you would be content and never fight back. And when you eventually die in here, probably in the form of old age due to the accelerated time in this mindscape, you will be assimilated into The Core."

Marcy was starting to get confused. The life she'd been having with her wives, the adventures they've hand, all of it was just an illusion. A simulation?

"No…No, you're lying! This is real! I-I nearly died on a couple of missions!"

"Part of the ploy. They want you to believe it's real, so they made sure your life was in danger, but not to the point that you couldn't get out of a situation."

"Okay, if it was a fantasy world, then my parents would be onboard with my marriage to Anne and Sasha, but they outright hate them!" Marcy argued.

"All to keep the realism. If everything went your way, then you'd get suspicious. But sprinkle in a few hardships here and there, not a lot, just a few to keep it real. And you have a more believable fantasy world."

"I REMEMBER THE PAIN OF GIVING BIRTH TO MANA! I WAS THERE WHEN ANNE GAVE BIRTH TO MY SON! AND WHEN SASHA GAVE BIRTH TO ASTRID! MY CHILDREN!" Marcy screamed as tears ran down her face.

"…I will say, that was cruel of The Core, and of her. To give you the joy of knowing what it feels like to be a mother, only to have it be an illusion. Believe me, I take no pleasure in ripping you from that."

Despite not being able to make out a face on the glowing spirit, Marcy could sense that his words were sincere. But that only made it worse. It meant that he wasn't lying. Marcy sat on her legs as her tears fell, some falling into the water, and causing ripples. Now it made sense, why she was having nightmares, having these awful visions, and why she was seeing her younger self in reflections so much. It was because that was the real her, she wasn't a grown woman, she wasn't a mother, she was just a young girl living a dream.

"I'm sorry, Marcy. But we don't have much time. You need to exit this fantasy and fight back from within."

"…What if I don't want this life to end?"

The Emerald Spirit turned his head slightly to the reflection of young Marcy. The younger version glared at the spirit, with tears still flowing down her face.

"I'm happy here. I have everything here. If even half of what you've shown me is true, then why should I go back?" Marcy stood and glared at the spirit. "Here, Anne and Sasha love me with all their hearts! Here, I have a family! Here, I have three beautiful, wonderful children that I would give my life to protect! And out there! Anne and Sasha hate me! I know they do! We fought together to take down Andrias, but there's no way they're going to forgive me for what I did!"

The Taiwanese girl wiped some of her tears away and advanced one step towards the spirit.

"Give me one good reason why I should go back! Because I know all that's waiting for me back there is heartache! I don't…I don't want to hear them say it…after all this time in here…I don't want to hear the two people I love the most tell me that they never want to see me again…"

The Emerald Spirit walked closer to Marcy and then used his tail to tap the waters of the bond. The older version of Marcy watched as the ripples changed what was being reflected in the pond. And now Marcy saw the battle that was raging, she saw Anne in her Final Form fighting against a huge monster in their city. She saw Sasha in some kind of upgraded Super Form fighting against…against…

"Who is that?" Marcy asked.

"That is the real enemy. The Core, or what you know better as…The Night."

Marcy's memories came flooding back as she remembered being saved by Olivia and Yunan, only to be stopped by Andrias, and placed into a chair. She remembered the huge mechanical entity that appeared in the room, and how Andrias spoke of The Core wanting a body of its own. Then the helmet came down, and Marcy remembered her screams.

"That…That's me, isn't it…?" Marcy gasped.

"The merger of your mind and body with The Core gave birth to something else inside of your mind. An entity that has taken aspects of yourself and The Core, and she goes by the name of Darcy."

"Darcy? Oooh, like Dark Marcy, Darcy. Got it."

"She has the same goal as The Core, to conquer other worlds. But she also has the same desires as you."

Marcy raised an eyebrow at that and asked, "What kind of desires…?"

"She wants Anne and Sasha for herself. She's willing to do whatever is necessary to make them hers. But I will say, she seems to differ from you in the way that she's more obsessed with Anne Boonchuy. Which means she's not above sacrificing Sasha Waybright."

Marcy kept watching the fights that were going on, the titanic clashing between the two powers of her friends and the evil that had invaded their world.

"If you stay here. There is a high probability that they will die."

"You said The Night and Darcy have control over my body. What can I do here? I can't fight," said Marcy.

"Oh, there's more than one way to fight back in here, my dear." The pond returned to normal, dismissing the images of the battles that were being waged and showing the spirit and young Marcy. "But that can only happen if you break the illusion."

"Why haven't you? You've been showing me these things, so, can't you break it?" Marcy questioned.

The Emerald Spirit shook his head and answered, "This is not my mind, it is yours. Only you have the power to break yourself free. But it can only happen if you choose to break it."

Older Marcy reached into the pocket of her pants and pulled out a photo of herself, with Sasha and Anne on her right and left, and their three children in front of them. A happy family picture. A fake family, for a fake world. And yet, when she looked at the photo, the pain of leaving them hurt so much.

"I know what you must do, but only you can make the decision, Marcy. Will you fight? Or will you embrace the fall? Your choice may determine the fate of all…"

Marcy watched as the Emerald Spirit disappeared, leaving only the reflection of her younger self staring back at her. Older Marcy stood up and looked down at Young Marcy, both versions sharing the same sorrowful expression.

"This life…it was great."

"So, wonderful…"

"But if we go back…"

"They're probably mad…"

"But they're fighting for us…"

"Fighting to save the world…"

"Like a hero should…"

"Like a Kamen Rider should…"

Older Marcy now saw another version of herself standing next to Young Marcy, that of her alter ego, Kamen Rider Ranger.

"It's time for the dream to end."

"I know," they both answered.

Amp and the Mastodonus Fallen returned to the skies as their collisions ascended higher and higher until the city looked like a blotch down below. As much as Amp didn't want to admit it, the Mastodonus Fallen was way strong, stronger than Andrias's Fallen form when she fought him the first time. But she wasn't about to let this guy win, she wasn't about to let the world down, nor was she going to continue to allow Marcy's body to be used by that evil hivemind and Darcy.

The lightning Rider took off for the Mastodonus Fallen again, thunder ringing out through the skies with each rapid movement she made. But as she drew close, the Mastodonus Fallen's tail blade glowed, and with a quick twist of the body, it slashed Amp with the huge blade. Sparks erupted from her armor as she was flung several feet away, but the Mastodonus Fallen was already in hot pursuit of his target.

"Why fight it, Anne? Everything you love will eventually crumble!"

The Mastodonus Fallen increased its speed and got on an intercept path for Amp, and then backhanded her with his left. Sending the hero flying back towards the city where she crash landed into the street and created a huge crater. The Mastodonus Fallen flew down and hovered over the city as he continued to taunt her.

"Your world, your friendships…your love…all of it will become dust in the wind! So, why bother continuing the fight? Why bother to try and protect what will inevitably be forgotten?!"

The crater that Amp was in erupted with azure light as the lotus pattern formed around her. The lightning Rider glared up at the monster as she retorted, "SO WHAT?! I'M JUST SUPPOSED TO GIVE UP?! STOP FEELING THINGS?!"

Suddenly, Amp appeared in front of the Mastodonus Fallen, shocking the monster who barely saw the movement.

"Like you?"

Amp threw right punch into the snout of the Mastodonus Fallen, making him spin around as he flew backwards. The techno-organic monstrosity stopped himself, but that's when his eyes, and the lines on his armored hide began to glow even brighter. The Mastodonus Fallen's aura flared again, but this time, it started to take on form. The flaring energy rose higher and higher, splitting itself apart until it formed nine serpentine heads that roared at Amp. Even with this show of power, Amp was not afraid.

"Honestly, I pity you."

Amp pressed her right hand against the crystal filament of the MetamorphRing TRI and pulled out her sword, Saipha. The moment it was in her grasp, the sword's metal blade parted and formed an energy blade that extended a few inches more than the original.

"You shut yourself off from the rest of the world! Didn't you?!"

The hydra heads attacked, Amp twirled her sword around and flew at the serpents. One tried to snap its jaws around her, but Amp used her sword to cleave its head off. Two more attacked from either side, however, Amp pointed her sword at the one on her right and her open palm on the left. The blade and her palm began to glow before firing two lightning bolt's that shot straight through the heads of the construct hydra heads. However, Amp realized just now that the decapitated heads sprouted two more heads. Just like the legend it was derived from.

The regrown heads attacked her in addition to the others. Amp continued to do dodge them, and soon found herself surrounded by them. The twelve heads converged on her, but with a rumble of thunder, Amp managed to fly straight up and over the attack. The lightning Rider twirled Saipha around for a moment before running her index and middle finger from the base of the blade all the way to the tip. The action caused Saipha's blade to blaze with azure light. The hydra head constructs roared once again and stretched upwards to attack.

Amp raised her sword and slashed downwards, firing a sword beam from her weapon as the beam blade sliced through the hydra head constructs and aimed right for the source. The Mastodonus Fallen realized this too late as he was struck in the chest by the powerful blade beam. The blade burned as it cut into his body, making the newt king inside of the machine start to see blue cracks forming in front of him. The Mastodonus Fallen managed to roll himself out of the attack with great difficulty, cancelling his hydra attack as he panted. There was a glowing azure gash on the Mastodonus Fallen's chest, and it looked as if it was healing a lot slower than what it should.

"A thousand years of suffering of burying your feelings, of hating yourself…I'm sorry to say, Andrias, but Argus would be disappointed in you," said Amp.

The Mastodonus Fallen's eyes widened.

"What?! How do you know that name?! The names of the Amphibian Knights have been lost to time! Only those who were alive a thousand years ago know that name!"

Amp placed her left hand over her heart and said, "Because the power of the Heart Calamity gem connected us. He was inside me, guiding me when I first got my powers. And I'm sure he's been watching over me. I saw his memories, and I saw that it was the King of Amphibia who murdered him and his friends!"

The Mastodonus Fallen, Andrias, looked confused. He wasn't the king back then, but…his father was.

"You admired Argus, you wanted to be like him someday. An Amphibian Knight. He was going to choose you as his successor to become the Azure Knight!"

"No…No you're lying! He…My father…he…"

"Wake up, Andrias. You're nothing but a pawn to Darcy, The Night, and to your father! They don't care about you or appreciate you!"

"ENOUGH!" the Mastodonus Fallen roared.

The dark mecha beast charged straight for Amp as it doubled its speed again, getting behind her and swatting her towards the street. Amp crash-landed again, but the Mastodonus Fallen wasn't about to give her an inch. The hulking beast dropped to the ground, grabbed her, and tossed her up into the air as he chased her down. Amp corrected herself, but only in time for the Mastodonus Fallen to deliver a powerful energy coated punch that slammed into her body, causing multiple explosions to go off from her armor. The beast opened its mouth and unleashed a torrent of black and orange flames that engulfed Amp and took her down all the way to the top of a skyscraper where an explosion went off.

The Mastodonus Fallen dropped onto the rooftop, the impact and shockwave generated from the landing snuffed out the dark and orange flames. The huge mecha beast began punching down on Amp. Again, and again the Mastodonus Fallen threw one powerful punch after the other, making the air rumble with each hit given, and making the viewers watching this spectacle wince with each hit. Finally, the Mastodonus Fallen raised both his fists, interlocking his claws before bringing them down into a hammer blow that sounded like another explosion when it hit.

The monster floated off the building, putting some distance away from the building to see his handy work. When the dust settled, Amp was on her back. Her armor then faded, returning Amp to civilian form. Anne groaned painfully as she rolled onto her stomach, and tried to push herself up, but collapsed.

Bellona and Terminus's fight continued to rage around the castle as bursts of magenta flames and orange lightning continued to erupt around the floating fortress. Despite Bellona not having achieved her Final Form, she was able to keep up with and closely match her own power and speed, at least to some degree.

Perhaps this form has a power she had kept hidden? Or maybe she was unaware of it? Whatever it is, it seems to be tied to her emotions and resolve. How annoying, thought Terminus.

The Dark Rider and red Rider continued to trade blows, but when Terminus went for a punch, Bellona grabbed her arm and flung Terminus straight for the castle wall. The Dark Rider growled as she prepared to launch herself out of the wall, but that's when she saw Bellona toss a huge magenta fireball in her direction. Terminus immediately counterattacked with a blast of her own orange energy from her hand, destroying the fireball before it could reach her.

That was a distraction as Bellona formed dozens of Heat Mirages around her. Terminus and The Core tried to determine which of them was real as real time calculations were taking place. Out of the dozens that were about to punch her, only one was predicted to be the real one. Terminus reached out, using the flat of her palm to catch the punch, and just as she predicted, it was the right one. She was getting better at predicting Bellona's attacks, the more they fought, the easier it was becoming to see through her attacks.

Terminus threw her own punch with her right hand, but Bellona managed to catch it like she did to the red Rider. The Dark Rider pushed herself off of the wall as the two grunted and growled, trying to overpower the other as magenta flames raged around Bellona, along with orange lightning arcing off Terminus and striking the castle.

"You need to give it up, Elizabeth. You can't win this fight, and Anne's not coming to save you!" Terminus mocked.

"Tch, I'm not the damsel in distress! I'm the girl who's going to kick your ass!" Bellona retorted.

The red Rider used the energy plume on her helmet to wrap around the waist of Terminus.

"Wait, a second–!"

"Yoink."

Bellona's energy plume yanked Terminus back as Bellona let go of her. She spun the Dark Rider around for a couple of seconds before flinging her towards the castle's shield wall. Terminus smacked against the barrier, like a bug on a windshield, and then came the barrage. Bellona ignited her fists and threw rapid-fire punches in Terminus's direction, and with each punch thrown, a meteoric blast of magenta flames was hurled. The barrier shook as it took the impact of several blazing fireballs one after the other, flames and smoke obscuring Terminus. Bellona cocked back her right fist, channeled more of her power into it as it shined a bright magenta color.

Bellona roared into the air as she punched with that same fist, firing a huge pillar of plasmatic flames straight for where Terminus was. A bigger explosion erupted inside of the barrier that made it look like a mini nuke went off. Bellona panted as she kept her guard up, not believing for a moment that Terminus was going to take that beating lying down.

Suddenly, the flames and smoke from around the explosion sight were blasted away by a flaring of Terminus's aura as she now held her scythe in her hands once again. The thirteen eyes all narrowed and glared at her as they glowed with hate.

"Okay, now I'm mad."

Orange particles started to be emitted from Terminus's aura, lacing themselves into the very air around them. With a flick of her wrist, Terminus commanded the very winds to swirl around Bellona, surrounding her in a glittering, orange tornado. Bellona drew out Hyperion, holding it at the ready as her view of Terminus was now obstructed by the tornado around her. Suddenly, a ghostly image of Terminus appeared within the tornado, but then it shifted to Marcy.

'I don't know why you're trying so hard, Sash.'

Another ghostly form appeared, this time it was Anne.

"I mean, it's totally lame to think that things will be different. That you are going to be different."

Suddenly, multiple copies of Anne and Marcy started to fill the inner confines of the tornado, making Bellona put up her guard even more.

"You'll always be a control freak."

"You'll always make everyone do what you want."

"You'll always want what you know you can't have."

"You'll never be loved."

"You'll never be wanted."

"You'll drive away everyone close to you."

"And then, you'll be alone for the rest of your life."

"Nothing but you and yourself."

"An unwanted girl."

"A toxic friend."

"And a horrible girlfriend."

"Dammit do you ever shut up?!" Bellona shouted. "Do you really think these minds games will work on me?!"

"I don't expect them to work, I expect you to be distracted."

Suddenly, Bellona released a sharp scream of pain as her armor erupted in a shower of sparks from her back. Terminus had gotten behind her, and used her scythe to slash through the red Rider's armor, leaving an angry orange gash.

Terminus dismissed the tornado and flew away from Bellona. The Dark Rider dismissed her scythe yet again as she positioned herself in the air. The thirteen eyed symbol of The Night appeared a few feet in front of her, and when it did, Terminus flipped once in the air, and thrust out her right leg. Using her power, Terminus propelled herself forward as she passed through her symbol, wrapping her right foot in crackling, orange energy as she headed right towards the injured Rider.

Bellona was in so much pain, she was struggling just to maintain her current altitude, which made it even easier for Terminus to do what came next, and Bellona unable to dodge it.

"ERASER STRIKE!"

The red Rider released another scream of pain as Terminus landed her Rider Kick right in the hero's chest. Both Terminus and Bellona flew down towards the castle as the wall they struck against exploded. The two of them crashed through several rooms before ending up right back where they started, this time coming from a different direction as they blasted through the walls and onto the floor. Terminus did a back flip and summoned her scythe; she was sure that that killed Bellona. However, that didn't prove to be the case as Bellona managed to stand back up. Unfortunately, her body glowed, and she reverted back to civilian form.

Sasha was battered and bruised; her mouth had blood trickling from the corner of it. While there was spatter of blood from the wound in her back. Honestly, she was in a lot of pain right now, but her determination and adrenaline was the only thing keeping her going. Well, it was the only thing keeping her standing right now, as her Rider form just cancelled out. Terminus was smirking behind her helmet as she slowly approached the teen, dragging her scythe along the floor and letting it cut a groove into it.

"Aww, poor Elizabeth. Looks like that was all you had left, huh? I'm genuinely surprised you survived that, and that you're even standing. A spinal injury like that should have paralyzed you. But I guess it's just a testament to how powerful the embers of the power of Calamity are. No doubt they're healing you as we speak, but even with that, you can't last."

"Don't you mean…you're not going to let me last?" Sasha corrected.

"Quick on the uptake." Terminus stopped about three or four feet from where Sasha was, and said, "One last chance, Elizabeth. No one can see us right now. So, there's no need to keep grandstanding. Just kneel before me. Or…" Terminus hefted her scythe up with both arms. "I can end your suffering right here and now."

Sasha panted for a couple of moments before she said, "You love to hear yourself talk, don't you? If you're going to do it, then just freakin' do it."

"…You're such a buzzkill. Heh, get it? Kill. As in, I'm going to kill you!"

"SASHA!"

The blonde teen found herself getting pushed away just as Terminus brought down her scythe. She found herself rolling across the floor for a couple of seconds before coming to a stop. Sasha quickly looked up, and that's when she was greeted by a horrible sight. The one who had pushed her out of the way was Grime, but his left arm wasn't there. A cursory glance of the room was all it took for Sasha to notice that Grime's left arm was now lying on the floor.

"G-Grime…?"

The toad warrior's eyes were wide from shock, but even still, he managed to walk towards Sasha, despite his grave injury. Grime managed to get to within a few feet of Sasha before he dropped to one knee, and then collapsed onto his back.

"GRIME!" Sasha screamed.

She immediately rushed towards him, any pain or fatigue she was feeling was instantly pushed aside as she went to the side of the toad who was like a second father to her. She quickly removed her cape and wrapped it around his bleeding stub, creating a tourniquet to keep him from losing too much blood.

"Grime! You, big dummy! You freaking idiot!" Sasha berated as tears fell from her eyes.

"Listen to me…Sasha."

"No! Don't talk, you need to save your strength!" Sasha retorted.

"Listen…" he struggled. "Sasha, before I met you, I was nothing. Just a bully…in a tower. But you, you inspired me to be so much more…"

"Grime, please," Sasha sniffled.

"I know you are strong…but I know that it weighs on you…the past…Nothing this demon says will ever be true about you…you are who you are now…And if you can make a brute of a toad like me become better than I once was…then you can do anything…including beating her," said Grime. "You…can…do…this…"

Grime passed out the moment he finished talking, using what he had to give Sasha those words of encouragement. Sasha began to cry as she pressed her forehead against Grime's head.

"Oops, looks like he's been disarmed. AHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA!" Terminus mocked as she made a gesture of cutting off an arm. "Aww. Well, that was funny. Now, let's end this, shall we?"

Marcy walked back into the castle; her heart was heavy with the knowledge of what she was about to do. As she entered, she was ambushed by her family. Sasha and Anne immediately wrapped their arms around her, worry plain to see on their faces. Behind them were Astrid, Seth, and Mana, her children.

"Marcy, where have you been?!" Anne questioned.

"You scared us adorkable jerk!" Sasha stated.

"I…I'm sorry…"

The two women broke the hug but kept a single hand one shoulder each.

"It's okay, we know you're dealing with a lot right now," said Sasha.

"We're going to get through this, together," Anne reassured. "As a family."

Marcy lowered her head as her bangs cast shadows over eyes.

"But…We're not a family…not really."

Hearing Marcy say that caught the two women off guard.

"Marcy, why would you say that?" Anne asked.

"Because…none of this is real. Our adventures…our marriage…our children…" Marcy raised her head, revealing her crying face. "But I wish to Frog that it was…"

"Mama Marcy, what are you saying?" Astrid asked.

Marcy gently pushed her wives away as she walked to her children. She got down on one knee before them as she stroked Astrid's blonde hair.

"Astrid, the moment you were born, I knew you would be as strong willed and kind as your mother, and you're that and so much more."

Marcy turned her attention to Seth.

"Seth, my little boy. You're such a dork, but you have Mama Sasha's incredible charisma, and my impressive gaming skills."

The Taiwanese woman's eyes fell on the last of her children.

"And Mana…my sweet, intelligent, little Mana. You're so smart, and you can make friends with pretty much everyone around you."

Marcy carefully and gently brought all three of her children into a group hug as she continued to cry.

"I wish I could've seen you all grow up. I wish I could've gotten the chance to see the kind of amazing adults you could become." Marcy turned her head to glance at her two wives. "And I wish we could've stayed together longer…"

Suddenly, the entire castle began to rattle and shake. Cracks of light began to form along the walls, and even the sky and land had the same cracks forming.

"Marcy, what's happening?!" Sasha asked.

"…The end of my dream."

The cracks continued to spider web across all of reality, with parts of the sky, land, and structures shattering into particles of the same-colored light.

"Marcy, we have to do something!" Anne urged.

"…I am doing something. I'm acknowledging the dream."

The worried expressions on Anne and Sasha's faces morphed as sad smiles formed on them instead.

"We'll miss you, Mar-Mar," they said at the same time.

"I'll see you again…"

Anne and Sasha's bodies had the same cracks of light along their bodies, and in the next moment, they, too, shattered and disappeared. The castle was starting to break down around her, revealing the sky above them as the cracks got worse and worse, and more parts of the sky disappeared. Marcy looked down at her children, their frightened expressions made Marcy's motherly instincts want to kick in and stop all this from happening.

"Mama," Mana spoke, "Did you have fun?"

Marcy's eyes widened, but she smiled and said, "Yes, I did. I loved every second of being with you all."

"Then, I guess you have to go back? You still have things to do?" Seth questioned.

"I do…Although, I'm scared."

Astrid placed her hand on Marcy's shoulder as her expression changed to one of confidence.

"You're the bravest among us, Mama Marcy. You're stronger than you think. I know you can do whatever it is you need to do," Astrid stated.

The castle finally disappeared, followed by the sky, land, and structures, leaving her in a white space as more particles continued to rise around her. Astrid, Seth, and Mana began to break down next, starting at their feet and slowly rising upwards. Marcy was starting to have second thoughts. These were her children, she raised them, she protected them and taught them. She couldn't just let them–

"It's okay, Mama," said Mana.

"We'll be with you. Here," Seth said as he pressed his index finger against Marcy's head.

"And here," said Astrid as she pressed her finger against Marcy's heart.

Marcy brought her children into one group hug as she said, "I will never forget you; I love you!"

"We love you too, Mom…"

The three children's bodies finally broke down into particles of light, and when they did, Marcy's body shattered. But it was more accurate to say that the shell shattered, and Marcy, the real thirteen-year-old Marcy, had returned. Marcy continued to weep and wail as she felt her heart breaking from seeing her children disappear. It was hard enough seeing her wives go away, but what just happened was even harder.

The white expanse suddenly turned black as night. And a second later, a multitude of glowing orange and yellow eyes appeared all around her in a dome-like pattern in the expanse. All of them looked down at her, releasing faint, eerie whispers. Just then the image of the former newt king, Aldrich Leviathan appeared, standing a few feet away from the human girl. And right beside him appeared the dark persona, Darcy.

"Wow, that was really heart wrenching to watch. I gave you the perfect life. Two loving wives, three wonderful children, and you gave it all up. For what? There's nothing worth going back to, Marcy. Nothing but misery and heartache," said Darcy.

Marcy managed to stop crying as she gathered her thoughts and said, "You're right…that was the perfect life. It was a wonderful dream that I wish I could've stayed in forever…But I'm done being a coward."

The Taiwanese girl stood and turned to face Aldrich and Darcy.

"I forced Anne and Sasha to live in my fantasy, to take them away to a place that no one could tear us apart, all for my selfish desires. All this happened because of me. Your existence, and your rise," said Marcy.

"Child, you have been given an honor. No human mind is good enough to be one with us, but you are. Forget the fantasy, and become one with us," said Aldrich.

"Listen to Aldy here," said Darcy. "If you let yourself become assimilated, we can all get what we want, to a degree."

"That's just running away again. I'm not running anymore!" Marcy reached into her hoody pocket, taking out a photo that was once of her family, but now shifted to that of the photo of the three of them. "The real world is harsh…and the reality is, I know that Sasha and Anne don't always want what I want, or like what I like, and it does hurt when they brush it aside and change the subject."

Marcy gripped the photo a little harder.

"But forcing them to follow my dreams is wrong. I get that now."

"Enough of this, we've been doing this slowly from the start, but now it's time to just get it over with. You will be fully assimilated into The Core!"

"Aldrich, a forced assimilation might damage–!"

"We did things your way when it came to her, but now your plan has failed, and it is time to go another route." Aldrich's eyes changed, now sporting thirteen eyes that matched the ones around them. "Your intellect is all that we need, your emotions and personality serve us no purpose, and so they shall be deleted!"

Black, mechanical tentacles began to appear from behind Aldrich and Darcy, and with one motion of Aldrich's hand, the tentacles shot towards Marcy.

Everything seemed bleak right now. The announcement they saw earlier from Kamen Rider Terminus didn't help matters as it was now known that there was another battle taking place in the castle that was going to determine the fate of this world.

Most of the Riders regrouped outside the battle zone at Mr. X's mobile command base (aka a van), with Bee and Oum having taken off their helmets and allowed to rest up with the Plantars. Tempest, and Strike Frobo were standing guard for them as they did. V, Agito, Gemini, Dystopia, and Slash remained close by, ready to spring in at any moment.

"We can't just let this go on, right?!" V asked. "Anne and Sasha need our help!"

"Not that I particularly care about those little blighters, but a point is raised. We could ambush that big ass lizard monster. Between the five of us, I'm sure we can down 'em," Slash suggested.

"Taking down a knight means nothing if we cannot get to the queen. And from what we could see, she's even stronger than him. We also can't risk having that super weapon on their castle fire again. We don't know if it requires time to charge or if it's capable of firing repeatedly. There are too many unknowns," said Dystopia.

Agito's fists were clenched as he continued to watch this fight go on.

Gemini walked up to Agito and asked, "I'm guessing Tsukasa gave you the same speech he gave us?"

"He did. But right now, I'm very much considering ignoring his rules."

"Same here, but…"

Agito glanced at the two-in-one Rider and asked, "But what?"

Gemini crossed their arms as they answered, "Kamen Riders are notorious for pulling off a miracle."

"No, Anne," Sprig gasped as he saw her not moving. "Ugh, if only there was a way to let her know we're all behind her."

When Sprig said that Bee immediately looked to Mr. X and said, "Okay, you heard the kid. Hit it, Mr. X!"

The FBI special agent smirked as he whipped out a remote control and exclaimed, "Behold! Your tax dollars at work!"

The moment Mr. X pressed that button, what streetlamps weren't destroyed, suddenly shifted into huge loudspeakers. Rows of streetlamps on almost every street transformed into loudspeakers as music started to be played through them, and it was a very familiar song.

Mr. X took out his phone as he had Jenny hack into the broadcasting signal in the same fashion as when Terminus did it, and pointed his phone at the Plantars, Frobo, Oum, and Bee as he spoke into his cuff receiver.

"Hey, Anne, looks like you could use a little mood music. And a little birdie told me this is your jam!"

"ANNE, KICK HIS BUTT!"

"WE BELIVE IN YOU!"

"YOU CAN DO THIS, ANNE!"

"SHOW THAT EVIL KING HOW THE BOONCHUYS ROLL!"

"WE'RE HERE WITH YOU, ANNE!"

"FIGHT ON! KAMEN RIDER AMP!"

This broadcast went throughout the city, and to every phone and television set in the area and beyond. Everyone, everywhere, all of them were saying the same thing as social media and people all joined in on the chant.

ANNE!

AMP!

ANNE!

AMP!

ANNE!

AMP!

ANNE!

AMP!

The Mastodonus Fallen looked confused as he heard this song being played through the speakers.

Anne could hear it, the power of the Heart Calamity gem resonated with these feelings coming from everyone, from the people she loved, from the people who wished for her victory.

"…Henshin."

The entire roof of the building that Anne was on was suddenly engulfed in a lotus bud made of flaring azure energy. The intensity of the power was enough to make the Mastodonus Fallen back away with shock and awe. The lotus bud began to blossom as Kamen Rider Amp rose from the center of the blooming lotus, eyes shining bright as she glared at the monster before.

"Thank you, sweet life-giving K-pop!"

The lotus broke down and wrapped around Amp, becoming her aura as she took off with the sound of God's thunder roaring from her swift movement. In less than a second, she was right in front of the Mastodonus Fallen and hit it with an elbow strike straight to the gut. The impact released a sonic boom that exploded out the back of the monster and made him gasp from the harsh blow.

The azure Rider vanished and reappeared behind the Mastodonus Fallen. Amp grabbed the beast's tail, and zoomed straight up into the air, dragging the mecha beast with her. The lightning Rider spun in the air once before she tossed the Mastodonus Fallen straight at the building that she was just on. The Mastodonus Fallen slammed against the roof, but when it did, Amp came down with an energy coated ax kick, gut checking the behemoth once again as she drove the kick further. The roof collapsed and the two of them crashed through one floor after the other until they landed on the bottom floor. When they did, a massive explosion of blue light went off that cleaved the entire building in half before blasting it to pieces.

The Mastodonus Fallen managed to fly out of the explosion, but noticeably in pain, but the pain wasn't over yet. A bolt of lightning shot out of the explosion and collided with the monster, that same bolt backed away and came back around to strike him again. The bolt was in fact Amp, who was moving at literal lightning speeds as she began blitzing the Mastodonus Fallen. She kept moving faster and faster as Amp started to form the rings around him, with the Mastodonus Fallen in the center getting the Dark Ichor beaten out him.

Amp broke away from her blitz as she appeared in the sky above the monster, taking all that lightning that was following her in the wake of her attack as she focused it into her fist. The lightning Rider charged in again as she let out mighty battle cry and nailed the monster right in face, sending him flying into the distant mountain.

Marcy shut her eyes as the tentacles closed in on her, but before they could reach her, a bright flash of emerald light exploded out in front of her, causing the tentacles to turn to ash.

"WHO DARES!" Aldrich cried out.

The light faded, and when it did, Marcy opened her eyes and saw a newt standing there. He was green in color, with long silver hair tied into a ponytail, a white and gold uniform, and a goatee on his chin.

"Are you…the Emerald Spirit?" Marcy asked.

"Indeed I am."

"Who hell is this now?!" Darcy exclaimed.

"MAURICE! How are you here?! You are dead!" Aldrich shouted.

"I am Maurice the Wise, remember? You gave me that title as a defender of the realm, along with my friends. You know, before you murdered us," said Maurice.

"How do you–?!"

"Know? I've been watching young Marcy since the day she got her powers. I wanted to see how things unfolded, so, sorry for not giving you a hand before. But I loved watching how you use the power of the Mind Calamity gem, you and your friends."

"Wait…So, you used to have my powers?" she asked.

"Yes, but we were not called Kamen Riders, we were Amphibian Knights. And despite that asshole of a king over there killing us before we could name our successors, it seems that fate and the power of the gems did that for us instead," Maurice explained.

"Wow…so, it was destiny then?"

"Yeah, kind of."

"SILENCE!" Aldrich ordered. "It doesn't matter that you are here! You are but a ghost! You do not control this space! WE DO!"

Maurice tsked at the former king as he wiggled his finger in the negative to that statement.

"No, you see, that is where you are wrong. Like I said, I've been watching, and I learned one thing. You are all afraid of her."

The many eyes of The Core, and even Darcy and Aldrich, widened at the accusation.

"Why else would you go through all the trouble of keeping young Marcy trapped in a fantasy world? It's because you don't have complete control over her mind. The embers of the Mind Calamity power give her more power here than in the physical world. And you weren't sure if you could keep her contained, were you?"

The eyes angrily began to whisper.

"Thank you, the narrowed eye glares and rapid whispering confirms it," Maurice mocked.

Darcy chuckled as she argued, "Even if you're right, she is only one mind. The Core is many, and then there's me. Little Mar-Mar doesn't have that kind of mental power to combat us."

"Not yet she doesn't." Maurice turned around and held out his right hand to Marcy. "It's time I moved on to where my friends are. They've done all they can for your friends, and now it's time I did the same. Sorry for not giving you any advice, but you seemed to be doing very well on your own when you became Ranger."

Marcy blushed as she said, "Oh, thank you. And it's okay, I understand. But thank you, Maurice."

The Taiwanese girl gripped his hand, and suddenly, emerald light shined forth from their grip as Marcy felt a great surge of power coursing through her.

"W-W-What's happening?!"

"My parting gift to you, Marcy. The power you'll need to be an absolute thorn in their sides from here on out. NOW MESS THEM UP!"

With those words spoken, Maurice's body dispersed into green particles of light. Marcy's MetamorphRing TRI Driver appeared around her waist as the power that Maurice gave her flowed to the center crystal and made it shine with a greater brilliance than before. Marcy looked up at Aldrich and Darcy, furrowing her brow as she smirked at them.

"Time for me to fight back. HENSHIN!"

Marcy pressed down on both hip devices as a dome of sparkling emerald wind created around her, along with an emerald light shining from within it. More tentacles rose and snaked their way towards the dome, but a blast of that same sparkling emerald wind turned the tentacles to ash before they could even touch the dome. After a couple of seconds, the dome shattered, and Marcy was now in a brand new, upgraded Super Form.

Unlike before, this form did not utilize a bow weapon, not at all. Because this form focuses on the power of the mind. The helmet now had a streak of gold coloring running down the middle, with the butterfly wing frills on the side changing to a flat golden frill, but those frills created butterfly wings made of emerald light. The pauldrons were gold in color and triangular, there was a green crystalline strip that ran from the front to the back of the pauldron, and white colored runes appeared and disappeared within the crystals.

The greaves and bracers were now golden as well, and had the same crystal strips on them, along with the floating rune symbols. The glowing lines on the armor had also changed their patterns to match the new form, and attached to the pauldrons was a white cape that had a gap to loop under the arms, giving it the appearance of a robe. This was Kamen Rider Ranger Ahura Mazda: Burst Sage Mode.

"Impossible!"

"You have got to be kidding me!" Darcy growled.

"It's time for me to stop pretending to be a hero and become one!"

Ranger raised her right hand, and immediately, a powerful emerald light shined forth from it. Runes began to flow out as a swirling vortex of power began to expand, overlapping the darkness as if she was overwriting the space itself. This was the power of the Code, her ability to rewrite matter and energy as she saw fit, and within her own mind, the Code was even more powerful. The many eyes of The Core all began to shriek, as if they were in distress. This was further evidenced by how the whispers, which were at one time angry, now sounded panicked. Aldrich wasn't looking good either, as if the space that Ranger had created was hurting him, and it looked like Darcy wasn't fairing any better either.

"My friends, the people I love, are fighting to save our world! You may control my body, but not my mind!"

The space began to release particles of light as strong gusts of wind blew throughout the entire area, as if cleansing it of the miasma that was The Core and Darcy.

"I am Marcy Regina Wu!"

A wave of this emerald wind and particles slammed into Aldrich, making him cry out in pain as he retreated, giving up his construct body to return to the hive.

"I AM KAMEN RIDER RANGER!"

Ranger used both of her hands to slash the air with them in a wide arc. A second wave of sparkling emerald wind spread out, and this time Darcy was flung far into the distance. The Code began to surround Ranger as she waved her hands too and fro, spreading the Code like a vaccine program to the rest of her mind and body to fight back against Darcy and The Core from the inside.

"Time to even things out!"

Terminus raised her scythe, preparing to kill the weeping Sasha, but just then, she paused.

"NO!" Terminus exclaimed. "AAAAH!"

Sasha looked up as the Dark Rider began staggering backwards. Terminus lowered her scythe as she pressed her left hand against the side of her head. The eyes on the armor and helmet were bugging out, as if something terrible was happening.

"NO! YOU PATHETIC LITTLE GIRL! I WON'T ALLOW YOU TO–!"

"SASHA, LISTEN TO ME!"

Sasha watched as some of the eyes shifted from orange to green. And the voice she just heard, it sounded like Marcy, but older like when she became Ranger. The blonde teen dared to rise to her feet and looked upon the dark persona.

"M…Marcy?"

"YES, IT'S ME! I'M FIGTHING DARCY AND THE CORE FROM THE INSIDE!"

Sasha didn't understand how, but it seemed as if Marcy somehow managed to awaken. Whatever mental prison they put Marcy in must've broken, because now it looked as if Marcy was giving them hell from the inside.

"Sasha, I don't know all the details of what's happening out there! But I know you and Anne are fighting to save Earth and Amphibia! Don't worry about me and fight Darcy! Don't hold back! Give her everything you have!"

"B-But, Marcy, if I do that…I…could…"

"Sasha, you can't hesitate! I have a lot to atone for, and I'm starting by giving you and Anne a fighting chance! I don't know how long I can divide their attention like this, so I need you to take advantage of this and kick her – well – my ass!"

The eyes on Terminus's armor continued shift between green and orange, finally settling on orange as the dark persona retorted, "Don't you dare listen to that weakling! She's just trying to play the martyr! You can't fight me like that. You may hate me, but I'm in her body! How are you going to live with yourself if you harm this body to the point of crippling her for life! Are you prepared to take that responsibility? To suffer that guilt for the rest of your life?!"

Just then, Sasha started to hear music being played, a very familiar song. A circlet of flames appeared around Sasha's waist before it transformed into the MetamorphRing TRI. The blonde commander straightened her posture, gritting her teeth as she hissed from the pain of the cut that was now on her back. She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again as they glowed with magenta light.

"…Henshin!"

Magenta flames exploded around Sasha as a huge fireball made of those flames rushed towards Terminus. The Dark Rider raised her scythe and slashed at the fireball, making it shatter apart. But when it did, Terminus saw that Sasha had reentered her Burst Gladiator Mode and blocked her scythe with Hyperion. The flame Rider knocked the scythe away, before twirling her dual sided sword and slashing it across Terminus's chest. A large shower of sparks erupted from the slash on her armor, causing Terminus to release a yelp of pain before she backed away from Bellona.

"You're not running from me!"

Bellona dashed straight for Terminus, disappearing in a burst of flames before appearing behind the Dark Rider.

"One good back slash deserves another!"

Bellona ignited the blades of Hyperion and slashed twice, forming an "X" pattern across Terminus's back. More sparks were released as Terminus released another shout of pain and was propelled through the wall at the far end of the room. Bellona dashed again, this time grabbing Terminus by the back of the head with her left hand as she thrust that arm forward. The flame Rider began smashing Terminus, front first, into one wall after the other until she and Terminus were now back outside. However, she didn't stop, she kept going until she smashed Terminus's face right into the barrier.

The flame Rider released her battle cry as she ascended, dragging Terminus along the surface of the barrier. When she reached the top of the barrier, Bellona tossed Terminus like a ragdoll right at the super weapon. The Dark Rider crashed into the platform of the cannon but rose back up with a flaring of her aura. But when she did, she saw that Bellona had concentrated her magenta flames into one of the blades of the dual sided sword and raised it up overhead.

"THIS IS FOR GRIME! INFERNO END!"

Bellona slashed downwards with her sword, and from the blade shot out a raging magenta flame sword beam that roared toward Terminus and the cannon. Terminus got into attack position as she readied to cut down the incoming attack, but that's when the glowing lines on Terminus's armor shifted to a green color, and she suddenly found herself unable to move.

"W-WHAT'S GOING ON?! WHY CAN'T I MOVE!"

"Oh, that's me. Yeah, you're going to take this."

"YOU IDIOT!" Terminus yelled.

The sword beam crashed into the platform where Terminus was, setting off a massive explosion that completely destroyed their super weapon, and sent Terminus flying off the platform and onto one of the sections of the castle. The Dark Rider rolled onto her hands and knees as she groaned from the pain and growled with both indignation and frustration.

"What are you doing in there?! Can you not handle her?!"

The girl is…strong.

The embers of the Mind Calamity gem are strongest in the mind.

We are trying!

"We'll try harder! If she keeps doing things like that, we're going to lose!"

Inside the mindscape, Ranger was ruining The Core and Darcy's day. Her Code was spreading, but it was being pushed back on. The virus that was the dark persona and entity were very strong and stubborn, but then again, when it came to games, so was she. Ranger waved her hands around like a conductor of an orchestra, weaving together "spells" as she continued to wreak havoc for Darcy in her fight with Bellona. The Core was doing what it could to keep her from regaining full control, but that was part of Ranger's game.

It was a two-tiered attack. She made it seem like she was trying to regain full control of her body, and she was, but that was kind of a feint. She was performing another attack under the surface, using the broad attack as a distraction as she made The Core spread out its defenses, giving the multiple beings that made up the hivemind as many tasks as possible to deal with. And while they did that, she would look for weak spots in their defenses, cracks that they were too busy seal up, and when she did find one, she struck. And those strikes appeared in the form of either paralyzing Terminus, depowering one her attacks, or even making her trip on something that wasn't there. Although, that might just be a quirk she unintentionally inherited from Ranger. Either way, it was working.

Just like I thought, The Core and Darcy were working together during the fight with Sasha. They split the workload of processing the battle data in real time, allowing Terminus to fight more effectively. But now that I've got their concentration split, The Core can't help out Darcy with all the processing, which means she'll be much slower in reacting to Sasha's attacks.

"I guess you all can't handle one little girl like me! Maybe you should call Darcy back? You guys look like you need the help!" Ranger mocked.

"DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE US CHILD! WE HAVE LIVED FOR A THOUSAND YEARS! WE ARE A COLLECTION OF THE GREATEST MINDS OF OUR REALM! WE ARE A SUPERIOR BEING! AND WE SHALL TAKE OUR RIGHTFUL PLACE AS RULERS OF THE MULTIVERSE!" The Core declared as one.

"…You claim to be a 'superior being', and arrogantly say you will conquer the multiverse? There are so many worlds, and so many possibilities. There are no doubt beings much more powerful and smarter than you out there, and you think you're going to be the one to overcome them? To conquer them? Not only is that arrogance, but ignorance of the highest caliber!"

The Core began to manifest, taking on the form of a behemoth, with four limbs with huge black talons, multiple black tentacles, a head with a wide mouth filled with sharp teeth, and thirteen glowing eyes. The beast roared as it charged for Ranger, but the wind Rider waved her hands about and released another wave of her sparkling emerald winds, causing the monster to roar in pain.

"I can see it now, you're afraid."

"WE FEAR NOTHING!"

"You're afraid of being irrelevant."

"…!"

"You're afraid of being weaker and lesser than everything outside of your world. That's why you conquer, that's why you horde. You want to become all there is and obtain power so that nothing stands above you." Ranger chuckled. "And you have the nerve to call me 'pathetic'. You're all just sad existences."

"SILENCE!"

The Core Beast opened its mouth and fired a huge beam of black and orange energy. The butterfly energy wings on the sides of her helmet rapidly began to expand, and then they folded forward, forming a large shield that took the brunt of the attack from the monster before her. The beam washed over her shield, but Ranger managed to use her Code to create chains and shackles that wrapped around the creature's legs, and a fifth one formed around its neck that constricted and made the monster croak as it was being choked. The beam was cut off as the chains pulled back and threw the beast up before slamming it back down to the nonexistent floor.

"Now let me show you a real beam attack!" Ranger thrusted out both of her hands, widened her stance, and then brought them back as energy began to build between them. "Courtesy of Dragon Claw Z!"

The Code began to swirl around the orb of light forming between Ranger's hands as her aura flared up. The Core Beast used its tentacles to slash at the chains, breaking them as it picked itself up and fired yet another of its beam attacks at Ranger. The wind Rider released a battle cry as she thrusted her arms forward and fired her own beam attack that matched The Core Beast's. The two beams crashed into each other as both sides fought to overpower the other.

"I'm not giving up! We will defeat you!"

Amp managed to wrap her energy scarf around the Mastodonus Fallen's neck, and reeled him in, punched him, reeled him back in, and then punched him again. Like a yo-yo Amp continued to punch the Mastodonus Fallen in the face before she hurled the dark mecha monster into the air, she chased after him on an intercept path and threw a power infused backhand to the middle of the monster's back, sending it flying straight for the skyscraper where this whole fight began.

The lightning Rider glanced up at the castle, seeing magenta flames and orange lightning strikes going off within the barrier of the castle. She was glad that Bellona was still in the fight, and all Amp needed to do now was bring this whole fight to an end. Amp flew to where the Mastodonus Fallen had landed and watched as the massive beast got into a kneeling position as he looked up at the azure Rider.

"It's over, Andrias! You can't win this fight!" Amp shouted.

"Surrender is not an option, Anne. Not for me…" the Mastodonus Fallen stood back up as it got into an aggressive stance. "There's only one way to stop me, but can you do it?"

Amp narrowed her gaze from behind her helmet. The symbol of Amp formed out in front of her as she cocked back her right fist.

"You should know the answer to that. You're a monster, Andrias. So, it's time for you atone for all your sins!"

Amp passed through her symbol, coating her entire forearm in lightning energy as she zoomed straight for the Mastodonus Fallen, ready to deal the finishing blow. However, before that blow could be landed, something happened. All at once Amp was hit with enormous amount of fatigue as she dropped out of the sky and fell onto the roof a few feet from the Mastodonus Fallen.

The lightning Rider's armor suddenly shifted back to her base form against her will, but Amp knew what this meant. She may've learned how to control her Final Form, but her time in that form was limited. Honestly, it was amazing that she was able to stay in it this long before the side effects finally kicked in. Which was not good either way.

"Well, well, well. All good things really do come to end, eh, Anne?" the Mastodonus Fallen taunted. "Looks like you're out of time for that form, whereas I don't suffer from such a drawback."

Amp glared up at the monster before her as she channeled her lightning into her legs and jumped straight up towards the Mastodonus Fallen without hesitation. But that was a futile effort as the huge monster slammed Amp back down to the ground with its massive right hand, as if swatting a bug. The huge monster then raked its right foot through the roof before kicking Amp into the air. She didn't go far before the Mastodonus Fallen punched her, sending her crash-landing against the edge of the roof.

That, unfortunately, was when the transformation ended as Amp's body was wrapped in a lightning dome before she returned to civilian form. Anne was groaning in pain, as bruises could be seen on her face, along with scratches here and there. Some blood came trickling down from her head that flowed down the side of her head, but more unsettling was the fact that she wasn't getting back up.

"Sorry to say, primates of Earth, but your champion is out of gas."

"ANNE!" the Plantars yelled.

"We…We have to help her!" Bee exclaimed.

"Bee, let's go," said Oum.

She reached out for her helmet, but nearly collapsed, making Jenny hurry to keep her from hitting the ground.

"You two are in no condition to help her. You'll only get yourselves killed," said Mr. X.

"Then we should get the others!" Hop Pop suggested.

"Me and Frobo can at least give some cover to get Anne out of there!" Polly stated.

Frobo made some mechanical chirps in agreement.

Sprig looked through his pockets, checking to see if he had any boom-shrooms left. Yes, he knew that they'd do little against that monster, but even by just a second could make a difference. As he rummaged through his pockets, the blank piece of red paper fell out of his pocket and onto the ground. Mr. X saw this and went to pick it up.

"Hey little man! You dropped your…Huh?"

As Mr. X looked at the piece of paper, his glasses, which were actually a piece of high-tech equipment, scanned the blank paper. And after scanning, letters began to appear.

"Holy – kid! Do you know what this is?!" Mr. X asked.

"Uh, no, I've been trying to figure that out since I got it," Sprig answered. "Why?"

"This is a letter written to King Andrias!" he informed. "This letter is coated with special ink that's only visible with red lenses."

"And ya know this how exactly?" Hop Pop inquired.

"Spy glasses, secret messages. Kind of my job – hey!"

Sprig jumped up and snatched Mr. X's glasses and the piece of paper. He quickly put them on and read the letter. The pink frog child's eyes widened when read its contents, and that's when Sprig knew what needed to do.

"I have to get up there!" Sprig said as he ran to Tempest. "Tempest! Let's go to Anne, now!"

Tempest roared as she immediately took off into the air and headed straight for the building. The transformed kill-a-moth and Sprig were now high above the skyscraper, where Anne still laid in an unconscious state. But the Mastodonus Fallen was ready to deal the killing blow.

"Tempest! GO!" Sprig urged.

The kill-a-moth roared into the air as she nosedived straight down towards the mecha beast. Tempest flew in and fired two lightning bolts from her wings. The bolts struck the back of the Mastodonus Fallen, turning his attention away from Anne. The swift Tempest flew back around and fired multiple lightning bolts, all of which struck the head of the monster, temporarily blinding him. Tempest flew lower and allowed Sprig to jump off her back and land next to Anne.

"ANNE!" Sprig yelled as he hurried to her side. "ANNE! PLEASE WAKE UP!"

Anne groaned as she managed to open her eyes, she was happy to see Sprig, but at the same time, not happy considering where they were right now.

"Sprig…you have to get out of here…I think I'm tapped out right now," Anne warned. "I can't fight…"

The Mastodonus Fallen managed to regain his sight, he was going to attack the kill-a-moth but saw that it had landed right next to Anne and…Leif?

Andrias, through the eyes of the Mastodonus Fallen, looked upon the pink frog boy who stood defiantly against him. Of course, how could he have missed it? Now that he really looked at Sprig, he could clearly see the resemblance to the one who betrayed him, the girl that he once called friend, the girl who he wanted to give his heart to.

You stand against me, once again, Leif. After a thousand years, through your descendant, we've come full circle…I'll finally quash these feelings within my heart, once and for all!

The Mastodonus Fallen raised his right claw and summoned a sphere of glowing energy. All seven eyes narrowed as they stared directly at the enemies before him.

"With this one blow, I will erase the past and–!"

"ANDRIAS! STOP!" Sprig yelled as he presented the letter. "I HAVE A MESSAGE FROM LEIF!"

The Mastodonus Fallen's hand fidgeted a moment, and the sphere shrunk a tad. The eyes of the mecha beast fell on the letter, the scanners in its eyes analyzed it and saw that it did possess hidden letters but was unable to see them.

"Why do you possess a letter from her?" the Mastodonus Fallen questioned. "Do you even know why you have it? Or where it came from?"

"I found this letter in the basement of my family home. Leif was a Plantar, she was my ancestor. She was…She was also the one who betrayed you a thousand years ago, wasn't she?" Sprig asked.

"Betrayed? Yes. But it goes much deeper than that. How fitting that her descendant stand before me, as if to finish the work she started all those years ago. Fate is a funny thing, child. Because it was fate that brought Anne and her little friends to Amphibia, fate that she would encounter you and your family, and it was fate that it all would end up right here. And that is why, I will bring this tale to its conclusion!"

"Don't you want to hear her last words to you?" Sprig asked. "She still has something to say to you, Andrias."

The Mastodonus Fallen went silent for one moment, two moments, three, four, and finally, the dark mecha beast dismissed the energy sphere and lowered his arm.

"Speak her last words, for they will be your own."

Anne concentrated while all this was going on, she had to bring this to an end while Sprig distracted Andrias.

Sprig put on the glasses he "borrowed" from Mr. X and began reading the letter aloud.

'My Dearest Andrias,

This message may never reach you, but I hope it does.

I know you must hate me.

What I did, must've broken your heart, as it did mine…

But please hear me out.

After hiding the music box on Earth, I knew I could never return to the kingdom.

Change was scary and it was hard for me to open my heart to others again.

But I'm glad I did.

We spend our lives afraid of change.

But after many years, I realized the beauty of life is the change.

And through it all, I had such wonderful memories of you.

For even though you, Barrel and I are no longer together, the two of you never really left my side.

Nor did you ever leave my heart.

In the end, my only remaining wish is that somehow, someday, my love reaches you.

So, I'm begging you, my dearest friend, the one whom I loved so long ago, don't close yourself off.

Open your heart and follow it.

With love always,

Your Leif.'

As Sprig finished, a crosswind ripped the paper out of his hands. Before it could fly off into the distance, the Mastodonus Fallen snatched it out of the air, pinching it gently with its claws. The creature's eyes began to cry tears of glowing orange light that dispersed into particles upon leaving its face. The dark mecha monster fell to its knees as it looked upon the letter, all of this was the reflection of Andrias who was inside the monster, his own eyes watering after hearing the words of his love from long ago.

"All this time…After all these years…I thought you had forgotten me…Like I tried to forget you. My dear friend…My love…"

Crying could be heard coming from the monster, and even the Riders and Foundation X members were caught off guard by this display of emotion. However, the Mastodonus Fallen struck the rooftop with its left fist. Not to attack Anne, Sprig, or Tempest, but just out of frustration and anger for himself.

"But it doesn't matter…After all I've done. The lives sacrificed, the damage I've caused…! I've done too many horrible things in pursuit of this goal! There's…There's no going back!" Andrias stated.

Anne managed to rise to a kneel and looked up at the monster.

"You have a choice, Andrias. We always have a choice," said Anne. "You can still end this. Yes, you've done horrible things. Yes, you've hurt so many to get to his point. But what matters in the end, is what you do to make up for those mistakes. You have that chance, right now!"

Anne could feel some of her power returning, thankfully her Driver was still in its TRI form, which meant not all of it was depleted yet. She didn't need all of it back, just enough for one more attack, but if she was being honest, she was kind of hoping she didn't have to. Because, in some ways, Andrias was like her, and she wanted to believe he could change like she did.

Meanwhile, Darcy was in the mindscape. She had popped in to see how things were faring, and to be honest, they weren't. Ranger and The Core Beast were still fighting, and of course, Ranger was still interfering with her fight with Bellona. A construct of Aldrich appeared next to her, and the dark persona sneered at him.

"How are you having this much trouble against one girl?!" Darcy admonished.

"How are YOU having so much trouble with one injured and battered human!" Aldrich retorted.

"I wouldn't be if you would keep that stupid girl from wrenching control from me at the most inopportune times! I can't split my attention between helping your old asses and keeping mine from getting kicked! WHICH IT IS RIGHT NOW!"

Suddenly, both The Core and Darcy felt a disturbance.

"OH WHATNOW?!" they complained.

Outside the mindscape, Terminus was on the defensive as she parried the slashes from Bellona's Hyperion. She managed to deflect a blow and made Bellona skid on her heels away from her. That gave her a moment to look in the direction of the disturbance, her helmet zoomed in on where the battle with Anne and Andrias was taking place, and that's when she saw Andrias on his knees bawling like a little child.

"Goddamit, Andrias, you weak excuse for a king!" Terminus grinned evilly beneath her helmet as she briefly glanced Bellona's way. "Hey, Elizabeth, watch this. You might be able to appreciate this, being a fellow control freak and all!"

"Wait, what are you–!"

Terminus pointed her right hand in Andrias's direction, and as she did, she released a wave of her energy towards the monster mech. She figured that this would serve as a good enough distraction for Sasha.

In the distance, the Mastodonus Fallen suddenly roared as it gripped the sides of its head. The creature's body started to shift and change, as if the Dark Ichor that comprised it was going out of control. However, something was wrong. Terminus had command over the Fallen, even those she allowed some autonomy to were still bound to her command, and Andrias was no different from the others. So, why wasn't he transforming into an even more monstrous form?

Are you kidding me?! Is he actually fighting my control?!

"ANDRIAS I AM NOT IN THE MOOD FOR YOUR LITTLE TEMPER TANTRUM! YOU WILL OBEY ME!" Terminus yelled as she increased the power of her control.

"That's enough!" Bellona shouted as she readied to attack.

"Do you really think you can keep wasting time on me?" Terminus questioned. "Anne's looking pretty bad down there, and with the transformation that's occurring to Andrias, the moment it overcomes him, he'll become a beast of destruction and kill her and everything in this pathetic city and world! You might have a chance to go and save her, but you have to make a choice."

Terminus posed a bit as she pointed at herself.

"You can keep fighting me, and maybe, kinda, possibly, save your little Mar-Mar. But you'll end up sacrificing Anne in the process."

"You're willing to let Andrias kill Anne! I thought you said you were in love with her! Are you seriously going to let her die?!" Bellona accused.

"No, Elizabeth, there is a way to stop it. You just have to strike through the chest of that beast. Right where Andrias is piloting. With your power, if you go right now, you can save her. So, really, the ball's in your court here. Because if she dies, it won't be because of me. It'll be because of your inaction. AAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAHAHAHA!"

Bellona's gaze shifted between Terminus and the transforming Andrias in the distance. If she didn't go down there and take out Andrias, then Anne would die, but if she didn't stop Terminus, then this invasion would just continue, and Marcy would truly be lost forever. Save Anne or save Marcy? Stop Andrias or stop Terminus?

"Tick tock, Elizabeth, tick tock. You're running out of TiiAAAAHAAAAAAAAH!"

Suddenly, Terminus started to scream as all the eyes on her body and helmet changed to bright emerald, green. When this change occurred, Terminus looked directly at Bellona.

"Sasha, I know how to stop her! To end The Night once and for all!"

"Then tell me, quick! Anne's in danger!"

"I know, I can see it right now. I'm using my power to stymie the transformation command on Andrias, but I won't be able to hold it for long, or her. I'm pretty much using everything I have left right now.

So, in order to save Anne and end Darcy and The Night…You have to destroy my Driver!"

"Wait, what?! You're Driver?!"

"Yes, specifically, the CORE attachment on the face of my Driver. The Core switched all its functions to that instead of the helmet! Destroying it will end it all!"

"But what about you?!" Bellona asked. "What'll happen to you if I do it?!"

"I…I really don't know. I could be freed from their control, I could die, or I could be placed in a comatose state for the rest of my life…"

"NO! MARCY, THAT'S NOT AN OPTION! I'M NOT GOING TO DO THAT IF IT MEANS–!"

"THERE'S NO OTHER OPTIONS, SASHA! DARCY GAVE YOU A CHOICE, SO I'M MAKING IT FOR YOU!

DESTROY THE DRIVER!

SAVE ANNE!

SAVE OUR HOME AND AMPHIBIA!

PLEASE…

If it's a choice between my mind disappearing, or having my body and face used by these evil beings…I'd rather disappear!

Please, Sasha, let me do this one good thing at least!"

Two of the helmet's eyes returned to an orange color, indicating that Darcy and The Night were starting to regain control.

"DON'T YOU DARE DO IT, WAYBRIGHT! YOU'LL KILL HER! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?! DO YOU REALLY WANT TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR HER DEATH?! ANNE WILL HATE YOU! EVERYONE WILL HATE YOU! YOU'LL NEVER BE FORGIVEN!"

Bellona's hands shook as she was left with the impossible choice. The flame Rider twirled her Hyperion sword around as magenta flames erupted around her. The flames bellowed forth, rising into the air as the symbol of Bellona formed out in front of her.

"YOU FOOL! YOU'RE GOING TO KILL HER! YOU'RE GOING TO KILL SOMEONE YOU LOVE! SHE'S GOING TO DIE BECAUSE OF YOU!"

The flames around Bellona only became more intense as they began to flow into the twin blades of her sword.

While this was occurring, Anne, Sprig, and Tempest watched as the Mastodonus Fallen started to roar horribly, as if it was in pain. The Dark Ichor that comprised its body started to lash out wildly, growing and expanding, extending and branching, as it was trying to become something else, but was unable to or couldn't figure out what it wanted to become.

"What's happening?!" Sprig shouted.

Anne didn't have an answer, but there was one thing she was certain of. Whatever was happening to Andrias was not of his own freewill. She saw a flash of orange light coming from the castle earlier, just before this all started.

Darcy, what have you done?! Anne thought.

Anne could feel the power rising within her again, but it probably would be the last time she could go into Final Form.

If I do this, I won't be able to help Sasha, I'll be out of the fight for awhile if I do it.

Just then, Anne watched as magenta flames began to rage from the castle. And that was all that Anne needed to see to know what her decision was. The Thai teen focused her mind, feeling the power within her begin to swell once again. That's when her hair and eyes returned to their blue state as the Heart Calamity power flowed through her once more.

"HENSHIN!"

A bright flash of azure light went off, and when it faded, Amp was once again in her Final Form. She flew up and brought herself into alignment with the Mastodonus Fallen. The symbol of Amp formed out in front of her as electrical energy began to build up around her, sending bolts of lightning shooting into the air. This was by design, she wanted Bellona to see that she was not down and out yet, she still had one more attack left in her.

Inside of the Mastodonus Fallen, the eye on Andrias's crown was wide open, but in addition there were two more eyes. All three were emitting energy that resonated with the signal that Terminus gave him. He knew he should follow the order given, but he couldn't, his heart was no longer in this fight, or in the invasion, and it was for this reason why he was trying with all that he had to resist the transformation.

"…So, I'm begging you, my dearest friend, the one whom I loved so long ago, don't close yourself off…"

Andrias looked forward, seeing Amp power up for one last attack.

"Open your heart and follow it…"

The Mastodonus Fallen roared loudly and defiantly into the air as it raised its arms and thrusted its claws into its own chest. Amp and Sprig stared speechless as they watched the Mastodonus Fallen, literally, rip its chest wide open, flinging the armor and chunks of Dark Ichor created flesh, revealing Andrias, who looked partially fused to the beast, acting like its beating heart.

Amp understood.

The flames that were building up around Bellona were now transferred to her sword, causing both blades to glow a bright magenta color. Small flares shot off from the blades, as if they had been imbued by the very flames of the sun itself.

"In the end, you're still a selfish, controlling bitch! You just want Anne all to yourself! THAT'S ALL THIS IS! BECAUSE SASHA ELIZABETH WAYBRIGHT MUST CONTROL EVERYTHING IN HER LIFE! YOU ARE NO BETTER THAN ME!"

Bellona's flames wings appeared behind and in the next moment they exploded, transforming into jets of pure magenta fire as she was propelled like a ballistic missile straight for the still paralyzed Terminus, passing through her symbol in the process. The two orange eyes had a look of fear in them, but the ones that were still green slowly closed. The flame Rider disappeared for a moment, and when she did, she reappeared in front of Terminus, her back was turned, and she looked as if she had completed her attack. But nothing happened.

Terminus took a moment to look over herself and grinned with sinister satisfaction as she said, "In the end, you knew I was right."

"Wanna bet?"

Suddenly, a halo of plasmatic magenta fire appeared in a ring around Bellona. As if by delayed reaction, the halo spread outwards, just now following the blade stroke of Bellona's sword. The burning ring sliced into the MetamorphRing CORE as sparks were released as if a saw blade was cutting straight through metal.

"NO! NO! STOP IT! STOP IT OR MARCY WILL DIE!"

"Flame Halo…Atomic Sever!"

That wasn't the only one, within seconds, two more halos appeared, forming three rings around Bellona as if she were in an atom. The three rings now worked together to cut their target, all while Terminus continued to scream and wail.

"NOOOOOO! NOOOOOO! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

That's when the three burning halos pierced into the center crystal of the MetamorphRing CORE.

"…Thank you, Sashy…"

An explosion of orange light shot into the air as Terminus was engulfed in it. The powerful blast sent Bellona flying away from her, but she quickly stabbed Hyperion into the ground to anchor herself and prevent and prevent herself from flying off any further. When the pillar of light faded, Terminus was gone, now in civilian form as she began to fall backwards.

"MARCY!"

Bellona sped towards her, swiftly catching her before she hit the hard ground. The flame Rider didn't want anyone to see that Marcy was the one leading this army, so she quickly returned to the shield generator room, and when she did, she saw that Grime had managed to regain consciousness as he was now leaning against the wall.

"GRIME! You're alive!"

"I'm not one to die that easily…" the toad warrior looked at the person that Bellona was carrying. "Oh…Sasha…I'm…I'm so sorry."

"…Mar-Mar…I'm sorry."

Amp, with her last bit of power, charged straight through her symbol as she led with her right foot, going straight in her Rider Kick as she yelled out her battle cry the whole way. Andrias closed his eyes, welcoming the end, welcoming the peace that this was about to bring him.

Like a bolt of lightning, Amp pierced straight through the Mastodonus Fallen's chest, and through Andrias. The result created a massive explosion that forced Sprig and Tempest to bail off the side of the building lest they get caught up in the blast. The entire rooftop was shrouded in plumes of thick black smoke, making it hard for anyone to see if Amp was successful or not.

Their answer was given as the winds shifted and blew the smoke away. When they did, they saw pieces of what was once the Mastodonus Fallen, strewn across the roof, and Kamen Rider Amp standing.

"I…I can't believe it…" Mr. X gasped.

"Sheeeeeee WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNN!" Polly screamed.

Oum and Bee first let out sighs of relief before they began cheering in triumph with Hop Pop and Polly.

"YEEESSSSS! THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT ANNE!" Mrs. Murphy cheered as she spiked a roll of toilet paper.

"ANNE WON! SHE WON!" Desi yelled.

"THAT'S OUR GIRL! RIDER KICKING ASS AND TAKING NAMES!" Rico added.

The students of SJMS all cheered loudly for the victory over the invading army, and for Anne's defeat of the monster that led them.

Maggie looked at the image on her phone, it was still strange to know that the girl she had been picking on was the hero she admired this whole time. Things were definitely going to be awkward for awhile, but perhaps this was a chance to start over?

In any case, good job, Boonchuy.

"She did it! She won!" Vee exclaimed happily.

"Heh, I'll be, dipped," said Slash as she nodded her head, impressed by Amp's determination.

Agito glanced at Gemini and said, "A miracle, huh?"

"Like we said. Now then…"

Agito and Gemini glanced at Dystopia. This prompted Slash to stand beside her boss as the two sides glared at each other.

"I'd say this invasion's most likely over," said Agito.

"I'm inclined to agree with you, Tsugami-san," Dystopia replied.

"So, where does that leave us?" Gemini inquired, keeping a tight grip on their Crystal Zaiber.

Dystopia glanced about the city for a moment before returning his gaze to the Riders before him.

"I think I've had my fill of excitement for a good while."

"Seriously?" Mabel questioned.

"We're all pretty tired from that long battle, this is probably the best chance you'll have at taking us out," Dipper pointed out.

"Indeed. But you're not the only ones who are fatigued, and besides. There are other things that need to be done in the meantime. I expect we're all going to be busy in our own rights now that this is over." Dystopia wrapped himself and Slash in a bubble of orange energy as they began to lift off. "Our agents will be pulling out. You can all handle the cleanup without us, right?"

"Just go before we change our minds about kicking your butts right here and now," Gemini warned.

"Oh, little snake girl, almost forgot! One second, boss." Slash jumped out of the bubble and deactivated her Dopant form as she walked up to V. "You were pretty good out there; it's been too long since anyone's been able to keep up with me in a fight like that."

"Please make your point," V stated.

"Wanna come work with us, love?"

"WHAT?!" the Riders exclaimed.

"The benefits are crazy good! I mean, you will probably have to let us run a few experiments on you, but if you join as an agent of Foundation X, we'll only take the minimum required to study and analyze you, and afterwards, you can enjoy a hefty pay. Sure would be helpful for ya mum, right? What do ya say?" Miranda asked.

V blinked her compound eyes, which normally doesn't happen in this form, so you know it was a blink moment when that happened.

"Are you…Are you trolling me right now?" V questioned.

"I'm totally serious," said Miranda.

"Then the answer's no. I was experimented on, poked and prodded back in the Demon Realm. So, why in the name of the Titan would I EVER willingly subject myself to that again?!" V argued.

"Yeesh, yeah, that does sound bad. Oh, well. Had to give it the old college try."

"Are you quite done, Miranda?" Dystopia asked.

"Yeah, boss! I'm good! Beam me up, please and thank you!"

Dystopia rolled his one eye as he fired a beam that made Miranda float back up towards his bubble.

"Until we meet again, my duckie!"

With that, Dystopia and Miranda disappeared in a flash of orange light.

"That was…so weird," said V. "And I come from the Demon Realm, so, yeah."

"Trust us, that was weird, and we've spent our summers in Gravity Falls," Gemini replied.

"All that aside, we should regroup with Anne-kun and Sasha-kun ASAP," said Agito.

Back on the roof, Amp landed on the roof, letting her transformation end and reverting back to civilian form. Tempest flew back up but once she was over the roof, her body reverted to her original kill-a-moth form. Indicating that Anne's energy was too low for Domino 2 to stay in that form any longer. Sprig jumped off her back and ran to his surrogate big sister, both relieved that she was okay, and a little worried considering her condition right now.

"You did it, Anne! You did it! You won!" Sprig exclaimed.

"No, Sprig." Anne hugged her surrogate little brother back as she said, "We won."

That's when Anne and Sprig hear coughing coming from the wreckage of the Mastodonus Fallen. Amongst the debris they spotted Andrias, but when they looked at him, they were shocked. Not because he was still alive, although that was shocking considering he took a Rider Kick straight through him.

It was because the newt king was some kind of cyborg. Part of his tail was broken off, revealing electrical wiring, his left side had a gash that ran from middle of his stomach to the middle of his back. This allowed them to see inside the king, noticing that there were barely any flesh and blood internal organs, and that his skin was some kind of synthetic metal that mimicked the look and feel of normal newt skin. Half his left arm and left leg were gone, further showing that the majority of his body had been replaced by cybernetic parts. There wasn't even any blood.

"Andrias! What…What happened to you?" Anne questioned.

"Living for a thousand years…wasn't without sacrifice…"

So, it wasn't that his family line could live a long time. He's just been…replacing his body parts with robotic parts for a thousand years.

"Anne, look!"

Anne turned her head int the direction that Sprig was pointing. Her gaze brought her to the castle just as the shield that protected the floating fortress disappeared.

"The shield's down! Sasha must've won! But…wait, does that mean…?"

"Anne…please…" The Thai teen turned around and saw Andrias looking up at her with a pleading expression. "M-Marcy…Y-You must save Marcy, please!"

Anne and Sprig hurriedly mounted Domino 2 and headed towards the castle. They were joined by Frobo who was carrying Hop Pop, since he was fastest, it made more sense for them to go ahead of the others. They searched the outside of the castle before they found an opening and flew inside. That's when they found the shield generator room, and in it they saw Olivia and Yunan tending to Grime, while Sasha held Marcy in her arms.

"No…"

The Thai teen slowly walked towards them. Sasha was crying as she held onto her, not wanting to let Marcy go. Anne dropped to her knees on Marcy's right as she looked between her and Sasha.

"Sasha…w-what…?"

"Marcy…She was fighting…Anne. She managed to wake up and fought against The Night and Darcy from the inside…She…She told me the only way to win was to destroy the Driver."

Anne looked down and saw that Marcy's MetamorphRing was damaged, the CORE attachment was destroyed from the face of the belt, but so too was a good chunk of the device as well.

"But she said that it might kill her or put her into a coma…she's still breathing, but she hasn't woken up…I'm sorry, Anne…I'm so sorry. I didn't know what else to do…Marcy made an opening for me…told me to do it in order to save you…to save everyone…but…but…You can hate me; I hate me for doing this to her…"

Anne's eyes watered but managed to show Sasha a small smile.

"Marcy told you to do it. And if someone as smart as Marcy told you it was the only way to stop Darcy and The Night, then I believe her." Anne looked back down at Marcy as she used her right hand to grasp Marcy's right hand. "We were all fighting together, right to the end…"

"She…She was a hero…Anne, she was a hero all the way through," said Sasha as she placed her left hand atop of Anne's and Marcy's.

Both girls held their friend close between them, wishing, praying, and hoping that she would wake up. They won the war but lost the battle to save Marcy. Yes, they freed her from Darcy and The Core, but how you could call it a victory if it ended up sacrificing the one you were trying to save?

The Drivers of both girls started to glow. They had kept their eyes closed as they held Marcy, so they did not notice how particles of azure and magenta light came flowing out of the Drivers to the two intact blue and magenta gemstones on the TRI's face plate. The two gems started to glow brighter and brighter, and that's when the MetamorphRing began to repair itself.

"Anne, Sasha, look!" Hop Pop shouted.

The girls opened their eyes and watched as the Driver began to regenerate its missing pieces. This went on for a few more seconds until the crystal filament of the Driver was remade and glowed with emerald light. Marcy made a grunting noise that grabbed the attention of Sasha and Anne.

"Marcy?"

"Mar-Mar?"

Slowly, Marcy's eyes started to open, they were glowing green for a moment before the light faded and they returned to her natural eye color. The Taiwanese teen shifted her gaze between her friends, and then the room.

"Is…Is this real?" Marcy asked.

"It is, you're back with us, Marcy!" Anne exclaimed.

"I…I am?" Marcy looked down at herself and saw the same outfit that she had seen Darcy wear in the mindscape. She looked around at the bleak and sci-fi horror setup of the castle, and of course at the big gaping hole in the wall that allowed her to see the destruction that was wreaked in the city. "I…I did all this."

"No, Darcy did this, The Night did this. You didn't do anything, Marce," said Sasha.

"No…I did. My selfishness and fear made me suggest the music box. And it was that same selfishness that made me take the offer from Andrias to keep you all in Amphibia and continue our adventures into other worlds…" Marcy began to cry. "I used your feelings to keep you two close to me…because I didn't want to be separated from you…and in the end…I caused us all so much pain…"

Anne and Sasha looked at each other before holding Marcy tighter between them.

"It was messed up, Marcy. But if you hadn't done this, we wouldn't have become who we are now," said Anne.

"If you didn't do that, I'd still be a manipulative control freak, and it probably would've gotten way worse the older I got. You and Anne saved me from myself," said Sasha.

"I realized that I need to face my future head on. To be honest with myself and love myself. To want more from myself than just whatever is easy." Anne gently cupped Marcy's cheek, making her look up at the Thai teen. "Marcy, without realizing it, you saved us all from becoming the worst versions of ourselves."

"But I…"

"No, Anne's right," Sasha confirmed. "If this hadn't happened, we'd only become more toxic towards each other, and would have never become as close as we are now."

"You mean…" Marcy glanced between Sasha and Anne and dared ask, "…You still love me? Even after all of this? After I broke your heart?"

Anne and Sasha answered that question by giving Marcy's forehead a kiss.

"We always will, Mar-Mar," said Anne.

"You're not getting rid of us that easily," Sasha added.

Marcy cried tears of joy as she weakly drew the two girls she loved into a hug, and they hugged her back, all three of them crying tears of happiness. It was over, they had won, everyone made it, and they were together once again. Once the crying was done, the girls shared a sigh of relief.

"Jeez…can you guys believe we just stopped an entire otherworldly invasion from an evil hivemind?" Anne asked.

"HA! That's going to look real good on future job applications. Ace tennis player, master chef, savior of the Earth, Kamen Rider. Plus, now we're kinda famous," Sasha commented.

"And there'll be tons of video to prove it, too," said Marcy.

Anne looked to their Amphibian friends and shouted, "The rest of you, get over here!"

Frobo, the Plantars, and Grime didn't hesitate to go to them, while Olivia dragged Yunan to them.

"I-I don't do, uh, group hugs," said Yunan.

"Well, today you do," Olivia remarked.

The frogs, newts, toad, and humans shared in one group hug, happy that it was finally over. That is until Frobo decided to get in on the action and made everyone panic and protest his actions before the heavy robot piled onto them.

It took a few minutes, but everything was getting coordinated. Now that Andrias had surrendered, and Darcy and The Night gone, the Fallen army came to a halt. The Dark Ichor that comprised them broke down and made the rest of their forces that were transformed fall apart to ashes. The military was called in to begin cleanup and secure the city. While this happened, Mr. X gathered up the rest of their Rider team and got them out of the city, the less the military knew about them, the better. They already had four of their Riders outed to the world, and he was not about to have the little basilisk child get doxed as well.

Meanwhile, the girls had Joe Sparrow and Domino 2 work together to bring Andrias back to the castle. While some questioned this, Anne assured them he no longer had the will to fight. He was done with the invasion.

After he was brought in, Marcy wanted to get out of the armor she was in as fast as humanly possible. Just seeing herself in it made her feel wrong. Thankfully, neither Andrias nor Darcy threw out her old clothes, and the spot where she was stabbed was fixed too. Marcy placed a hand at her chest, remembering that she nearly died. She was healed, but when she changed her clothes, she saw the scar that had formed.

It would be a constant reminder of her actions. No doubt her parents would try and seek cosmetic surgery to try and fix it. And there was little doubt in her mind that anyone aside from Anne or Sasha would be put off by this marring mark on her body. Still, Marcy was resolute in her decision to keep it, even if her parents said to get rid of it. It would serve as a reminder to her of everything she went through, of the mistakes she made along the way, and the reasons why she should strive to be better. Just like Anne and Sasha have grown, have evolved, it was time for her to do the same.

When Marcy returned to the generator room, she fidgeted. Among the other things that were saved from her ensemble, the emerald butterfly barrette that Anne gave her was still there. She debated on whether or not to wear it, feeling as if she really didn't deserve to wear it after everything that happened. Now that Marcy thought about, perhaps it was best that she took it off?

"Hey, Mar-Mar, you okay?" Sasha asked.

Marcy looked up and saw that Sasha had come to greet her.

"Oh, yeah…" Marcy sighed. "No, that's a lie."

Sasha watched as Marcy took out the barrette from her hair and held it in her left hand.

"Anne gave me this gift as a girlfriend. But now…I don't even know if she still has those feelings for me anymore. And I feel like wearing this is sending a silent signal that I still think we are or that I want to be again," Marcy explained.

Sasha looked at Marcy and asked, "Do you want to be with Anne, again?"

"I don't deserve to be."

"That's not the question I asked."

"…I do."

"Then we can," said Sasha.

Marcy shook her head as she said, "After the way I hurt her! After lying to her! Why would she ever–!"

Sasha gently wrapped her hands around Marcy's left, causing the Taiwanese girl to stop before she went into a long rant about how she was the scum of the Earth or some such nonsense.

"She forgave me, Marcy. Yes, you betrayed her, you lied to us, and broke her heart. But I did that first, and I have a worse track record than you do. When Anne came back to Amphibia, I was under no illusions of ever getting back together. I was happy if we just became friends again. But despite everything, Anne still had feelings for me. We're back together, Mar-Mar."

Marcy's eyes widened as tears began to form.

"Oh, Sashy, I'm so happy for you," said Marcy, sincerely.

"I can't speak for Anne when it comes to how she feels about you romantically. I never brought it up to her when it came to us. It just happened. And if that's what happens with you two, then that's good. But…"

Marcy sniffled and said, "But it has to be Anne's decision."

Sasha nodded.

"I guess it's no coincidence why the Heart Calamity power chose her, huh?" Marcy asked.

Sasha glanced over her shoulder as she watched Anne talk on her phone to her parents and smiled.

"She's the heart of our trio. I realize that. She always has been." Sasha drew her hands away, but in the process took the barrette. She then fixed it back into Marcy's hair. "Which is why I know she'll be sad if she doesn't see this gift she gave you. The gift that you were so happy to receive from her."

"Sash…"

"And…" Sasha began to blush as she paused in putting the barrette back. "I missed you, Mar-Mar. We never really got to have any dates together aside from that one and the group one in Wartwood. So…let's start this over, properly."

Sasha finished putting the barrette back in Marcy's hair, and the girl in front of her kept crying with a relieved and joy filled smile on her face. Marcy moved in and hugged her friend, but Sasha hissed in pain, making Marcy back away.

"Ah! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I forgot about your back!"

"It's still tender…like really tender."

"…I'm sorry."

"Don't you dare apologize. That crazy bitch, Darcy, did this. Not you. And don't you ever feel bad because of the things she did while using your face and body. You are you, and Darcy was Darcy. " Sasha stated sternly.

"Okay, I understand."

"Good."

Sasha and Marcy walked back to Anne, and when they did, Anne smiled seeing Marcy back in her original outfit from Newtopia. Her eyes fell on the emerald butterfly barrette, and her smile broadened some.

"It still looks good on you, Marcy," said Anne.

"What?"

"The barrette I got you," Anne clarified. "I'm glad you're still wearing it."

Marcy blushed and Sasha nudged her while mouthing the words, "I told you so."

{Is that Marcy?} Oum asked.

Sasha and Marcy gathered around Anne's phone, showing that she was on a video call with her parents.

"Oh, my gosh! Mr. and Mrs. B, are you wearing armor?!" Marcy exclaimed.

{Heck yeah we are, Marcy! The Boonchuys are a Kamen Rider family now!} Bee stated with pride.

{He's living the dream right now, as you can see. I'm so happy to see you're alright, Marcy.}

"Thanks, Mrs. B," Marcy replied.

{So, what are you going to do now?} Bee asked.

"We're going to take the castle and head back to Amphibia. Our Resistance army might be trying to fight against what's left of the robot army there, so we need to give them a hand and let them know we've won," Anne explained.

"Once we've gotten the situation settled there, we'll come back, promise," said Sasha.

"Um, Mr. and Mrs. B, could you also let our parents know we're okay? And that we'll back soon?" Marcy asked.

{Of course, and after this it'll be a lot easier to explain what's been going on. But we'll only tell them enough so that they don't worry. I'm sure you and Sasha want to tell them what's happened yourselves,} said Oum.

Marcy and Sasha nodded. After all this, they knew they couldn't put off not speaking to their families. It was going to be awkward, hard, and everything in between, but it was something that needed to happen, for better or worse.

{And don't worry, Mr. Tsugami, the twins, and Vee are with us already. They want to stick close by just in case, so need to worry about rushing right back. I'm sure you're gonna need a little time to get things stable in Amphibia. We'll keep the city safe while you're away,} said Bee.

"We'll be counting on you. Bye," said Marcy.

"Take care, Mrs. B, Mr. B," said Sasha.

"Love you," Anne said.

With that they ended the call and gathered at the music box. Anne glanced at Marcy, seeing that she had become a little sad.

"What's up?" Anne asked.

"Seeing the music box…it just…reminded me of when I saw it in that thrift store. Feeling so panicked and angry about leaving and never seeing you two again…" Marcy sighed. "The bittersweet thing about this is that, now, we know we like each other, and yet I know that after all this…I'm probably still going to get moved away from you two."

Anne and Sasha grimaced a little. That was a possible thing that was going to happen, no matter how you looked at it. They had gotten closer, become more than friends, and soon they would be separated once again. Anne, who stood at the center, reached out and placed one hand on Marcy's shoulder and the other on Sasha's.

"I know its hard, Marcy. But no matter how much we fight it or deny it, things change. We can't stop it." Sasha and Marcy nodded in understanding, change was inevitable, nothing could stay the same forever. "But nothing, not distance or time, can break the bond that we share. Because nothing can take away the memories of the time we spent together. We'll always be in each other's hearts."

The girls shared a group hug, letting Anne's words make them feel less afraid for what the future held for them.

"Okay, let's go back to where it all began. To Amphibia."

Unfortunately, the robot army back in Amphibia had not settled down like the rest on Earth. They continued to defend Newtopia, their base of operations. The Resistance army had made a full counteroffensive, intent on taking the city in an attempt at possibly finding another method of reaching their allies who were captured.

However, everyone stopped fighting the moment a bright flash of light went off in the sky. The light turned into a tear in space as the castle floated out of it and began to hover over Newtopia. But then the castle began to fly around all wonky before eventually crashing outside the city walls.

Inside the castle, Polly was standing on the pedestal that held the music box as she thrust her flippers into the air and proclaimed, "WHOO! STUCK THE LANDING!"

"Okay…who's idea was it to let Polly drive?" Marcy questioned.

"She piloted Frobo like a boss during the battle…thought she could pilot a floating castle…" Anne answered.

After picking themselves up, everyone, minus Andrias. Walked to the balcony that once overlooked the city, but now was overlooking the battlefield and the city as a whole now.

Olivia drew in a deep breath and announced, "KING ANDRIAS AND THE NIGHT HAVE BEEN DEFEATED! PEOPLE OF AMPHIBIA, WE ARE VICTORIUS!"

To further drive the point home all three girls raised their right hands into the air, and as one, released small pillars of lightning, fire, and emerald wind showing that the three Riders of Amphibia were back together. The Resistance army erupted into cheers of celebration, the robots and collared beasts that were fighting, had suddenly gone docile. Andrias had put in the command, per everyone's request, to have his forces stand down when they arrived, and it looked as if they did just that. There was still the matter of the cult members, but now that the robotic army was inactive, the Resistance would have little problem in rounding them up.

"Looks like everything's over. Guess we managed to fulfill that prophecy after all," said Sasha.

Marcy's eyes suddenly widened as she shifted her gaze to Sasha.

"Prophecy? There was a prophecy?!" the young nerd grabbed Sasha by the shoulders and began shaking her friend. "What prophecy! I need to hear prophecyyyyyyyy!"

The fighting was finally over, the monsters, the war, it was done. They could all start rebuilding and going back to their normal lives. Everyone was happy, and while Sprig was too, he was also worried. Anne's words to Sasha and Marcy before they left. They made him wonder about the future.

"Hey, Anne, do you think things between us will change too?" Sprig asked. "The way things have changed between you, Sasha, and Marcy?"

Anne smiled as she replied, "It's hard to say, Sprig. Who knows what the future holds for us now. But whatever changes do come, we'll face them together, as a family."

Sprig smiled as well as he moved closer and hugged his big sister. However, as he did, Sprig spared a glance at the night sky, and realized something was off. He blinked once, twice, he then broke the hug with Anne and rubbed his eyes for a minute just to make sure, but…

"Hey, Anne, is it just me…or is the moon getting closer?"

"Huh?"

"Oh, that's actually something called 'perigee', it's a time in a lunar cycle when the moon itself is much closer to a planet," Marcy explained.

"Okay, but, uh, does it normally get bigger and bigger right away?" Sprig questioned.

"Ah, no, it normally stays in a certain position and then eventually goes back to its normal orbit. The whole thing normally takes a few days though."

Sprig gulped.

"Oh…so…that's not normal then."

Everyone finally looked up to see what he was talking about, and when they did, they noticed that the moon was gradually getting closer and closer to Amphibia. But that wasn't all, at least they wished it was. The entire surface of the red moon suddenly sprouted several orange and yellow glowing eyes that stared down at the planet below, like some almighty deity had come to punish the mortals of this world.

"It can't be…" Anne gasped.

"The Core," Marcy whispered.

NOW IS THE HOUR OF YOUR DEMISE!

To be continued…

S3 Episode 17: Until We Meet Again…

A/N: Whoa, man, that was a lot! But we're here folks, we're almost at the end of this story! I will be taking a small hiatus as I want to do a bit of touch up on one pic before the "series finale" if I can manage it. If not, eh, no big deal (see what did there?).