Amelia's Choice

Los SuperMegaTokyoAngeles.

A pinnacle of culture, a paradigm of civilization, where high-tech innovation and oriental traditionalism mix in a harmonic equilibrium.

The city surrounded the beautiful Kaiju Bay, where every day giant creatures born of ecological nightmares or awakened from their millennia long slumbers face off and battle Goijiirzilla, the nuclear-powered giant lizard whose image is on the city's flag.

Los SuperMegaTokyoAngeles. The most advanced and populated city of the world, where opportunity is in the air for everyone, including the members of sects and criminal gangs like the Spider's Gang, the Turtle syndicate and the Black Foot.

And today, as the city's inhabitants start their everyday life, juggling between magical girls' battles and teen romance plots full of misunderstandings, the mayor of the city was holding a speech to inaugurate yet another glorious addition to Los SuperMegaTokyoAngeles' cultural heritage.

"-thus, it is with great honor, as your generic leadership figure, to inaugurate the 37th museum of Oriental Art and History, with its vast collection of masterpieces, including the Pearl of Agmyan, a powerful artifact held by the Nokaya family for generations." He stopped for a second, his eyes gazing upon the large crowd of journalists gathered in front of him, some humans, many more anthropomorphic animals and even a couple of elves. "Do you have any questions?"

"I have one," a dark-clad man from the back suddenly moved forward, rudely pushing away anyone standing in front of him as he approached the podium. "What is the brightest flower that lives the longest, and makes the deadliest of the poisons?"

The mayor and other journalists reacted with shock as the man removed his disguise, revealing himself to be clad in a bright blue hanfu dress, white lines drawing the images of flowers and an angry tiger, a blue domino mask to hide his identity.

"It's the Blue Lotus!" One of the journalists yelled in shock as, obeying a silent order from the sect leader, more and more members of the organization walked forward, quickly surrounding the crowd and taking them prisoner while another member, with long black hair tied in a ponytail and the tattoo of a blue flower on the right cheek jumped from above and into the podium, a cold smile on his lips.

"Correct." The man said with a voice devoid of emotion, grabbing the mayor with one hand and paralyzing his body with a sudden nerve strike. "And now, we shall take the Pearl of Agmyan for ourselves, as its astonishing power will allow us take over the city and subjugate all people to our will!"

"That's quite an ambitious plan," another voice spoke up, the member of the Blue Lotus looking around nervously as their leader's expression broke into a grimace. After two seconds, they located the source of the voice that dared to disturb their absolute victory.

A sharp dressed boy with a waistcoat, necktie, bowler hat and a closed umbrella laying on his side, drinking from a teacup nonchalantly. As soon as the viewer's vision focused on him, a strange background drawing, looking like a mix of the Japanese Rising Sun and the British Flag appeared, music played as he was introduced as 'True Brit, 100% British, 150% spy, 200% awesome.'

"That's True Brit, a member of the Turbo Rangers!" One of the Blue Lotus Henchmen yelled as they jumped into action (literally) surrounding the oddly dressed boy and performing several martial arts moves.

"Well-well, are you planning to stop us, gaikokujin?" The Blue Lotus leader said smugly. "You should've brought reinforcements, then!"

"Wish I had thought of that." True Brit replied, feigning worry… barely a split second before the museum's brand new door slammed open, and several figures appeared. "Oh wait, I did."

"TURBO RANGERS, GO!" A female voice proclaimed, the audience seeing it belonged to a dark-haired girl dressed in high-tech clothes colored black and bright green, with a wearable computer on her left wrist and a utility belt with several gadgets and containers around her waist. Not only that: she had a hi-tech digital headband with two sensors (resembling cat ears) on both sides; aviator sunglasses on her forehead and a small personal weapon, resembling a laser crossbow, tied to her right wrist. As the camera focused on her, the image of a robotics lab was shown as she was introduced as 'Mar-Machinist, world's adorkablest engineer'.

"You Blue Lotus goof-offs really don't know when to give up, don't you?" A mocking voice and the roar of a motorcycle announced the arrival of a blonde girl dressed in a bright pink jacket, with large design of a capsule on the back, a pair of red pants and boots, and a pale white t-shirt. She was riding a futuristic, high-tech, pink-and-red motorcycle (very much like the one rode by Shotaro Kaneda in Akira) with a small sidecar connected to the side, where a yellow frog, dressed in a small mechanical uniform and with a Tweed flat hat on her head, sat down, holding a built-in laser cannon with both hands. Immediately, as the scene froze for one second while she drove in between the Blue Lotus goons, they were both introduced as 'Wayrider and Hibis', the cycler duo."

"Come on, you idiots!" The Blue lotus leader yelled at his goons. "Don't just stand there, stop them!"

"Stop us? That's funny!" A male voice countered a few seconds before its owner came in sight. The boy was dressed in a full red-and-white Yattaman outfit with a yellow hat and a mask covering his upper head, fighting his way through Blue Lotus henchmen as he was introduced as "Hurricane Janibar, everyone's best friend."

"Haven't you heard the clock?" True Brit exclaimed as he slammed his now empty teacup into one goon's face while disarming one with his umbrella. "It's teatime!"

"Tremble, villains, in the face of the Amazing, Surprising Hansamu the She-Newt!" Another figure suddenly jumped into action, this one looking like a lizard with a long red cape, a white shirt, and hand wraps, fighting off the goons alongside Hurricane Janibar and True Brit. "Scourge of the Ten Crime Lords, Defeater of the dreaded Tyger-Sumo Syndicate, and the youngest apprentice to ever graduate to the rank of Newt Fighter in the Olym Dojo!" She announced loudly, posing with each sentence.

Meanwhile, Wayrider and Hibis' kept causing chaos among the sect member ranks, and Mar-Machinist used her tech skills to summon several small dragonfly drones, using them to restrain several goons and carry them away, further reducing the enemy's fighting strength.

And not all members of the Turbo Rangers had joined the fight.

"Curse you, Turbo Rangers!" The leader gave a signal to his remaining forces. "Rush into the museum! Let's take the Pearl and run!"

"Oh, you're leaving already?" Another female voice mocked them, as the surviving goons of the Blue Lotus found their retreat blocked by five more figures, of which one was human, three amphibians and the last one… technological.

"This party's just started!" The voice from before chanted as several powerful blows hit the two closest criminals as another girl jumped out from the shadows, dressed in a pitch-black outfit with blue sidelining, she too wore hand wraps as she fought the criminals with powerful Muay Thai moves, the camera introducing her as 'Muay Thai-Go, the fiery warrior of the Indochinese Peninsula'.

Immediately after, two young frogs, one male and the other female, also appeared and jumped into action. The frog-boy had an Astro Boy hairstyle and dressed in a small orange uniform with pseudo-wings under his arms, while the girl wore a black schoolgirl uniform and had her pink hair tied in pigtails, their hero names being respectively 'Sprint, part-time fiddler, full-time sidekick' and as 'Maki-Ki, friendly neighborhood witch'.

A loud roar and a mechanical voice saying "Justice Punches" announced the intervention of a large frog-like robot painted like a Gundam and, controlling it from a command post on its back, a tadpole with a wrench tying her hair together, the same introduction system dubbing them 'Fromax and Polyten, the killer robot with a tadpole soul and the tadpole with a killer robot soul'.

As the Blue Lotus' escape attempt was cut short and the battle kept raging around them, the mayor and the crowd of journalists who had been taken hostage began to cheer louder and louder, not concerned that any Blue Lotus could still hear them as they felt their hope being reinvigorated, knowing that their heroes couldn't lose.

And in fact, they didn't.

"You…you nasty, meddling kids!" The Blue Lotus leader lamented as the last of his henchmen were knocked out and captured, the Turbo Rangers surrounding him and cutting out any hope he had to escape. "Always sticking your noses where you shouldn't! And tell me, where is your renowned leader? Where is she?"

"Right here," a cold female voice spoke, the man turning around fast, but not enough as in barely a second the blade struck, and the men fell on his knees.

"My hair!" He lamented, seeing his long hair cut with a single strike, dropping on the ground. "My beautiful, beautiful hair!"

"They will grow back; you'll have time in prison." The voice said once again, and as on cue, a girl dressed in an advanced cybernetic samurai outfit appeared in front of him, a pitch-black visor covering her eyes while a blue mask resembling an oni face covered her mouth and chin, acting as a breather. Her right hand strongly held onto her personal weapon, a shining katana blade which seemed to glow with light blue power while her left hand quickly moved to impact the Blue Lotus leader's cheek, knocking him down and allowing her teammates to restrain him as well.

"Another victory for Turbo Rangers!" Wayrider happily roared as she and Hibis' dismounted from their motorcycle and rejoined their companions.

"These lotus doofuses won't threaten anyone else for a long, long time!" Mar-Machinist thumbed up as her drone finished securing the last of the goons and quickly moved on their leader, ensnaring it carefully before bringing him to the city's penitentiary.

"Best of all, we saved the museum and the Pearl of Agmyan!" True Brit removed his bowler hat and bowed, like a magician after pulling off a successful show.

"And all thanks to our great leader, and the best member of our team, Yoshiko the Blade!" The focus of the whole squad moved onto the samurai girl, yet as she was covered with gratitude and appreciation, not even once did her expression change nor did she move beyond what was necessary. For everyone knew that 'the Blade' never showed any emotion.

"Turbo Rangers, on behalf of our city, we want to thank you for rescuing us today, as well as for defeating the Blue Lotus from stealing-"

"-the Pearl! The pearl of Agmyan!" One of the journalists, a young elven-looking journalist with a cozy hat and strange earrings, shouted as she pointed to the spot where the Pearl had been placed before, right in the Center of the exhibition. "It's gone!"

The Turbo Rangers all turned at once, as realization struck them: the whole attack of the Blue Lotus had been only a distraction for someone (or something) to steal the priceless artifact while they were too busy fighting to notice.

"What?"

"Nani?!"

"How's that possible?!" Sprint asked. "Who is so devious and cunning to manipulate the Blue Lotus to attack the museum and try to steal the Pearl, only so they could do it in their place?!"

"I guess the answer's quite clear!" Muay Thai-Go approached the empty pedestal, picking up a small piece of paper and showing it to the rest. The paper only had a small oil sketch, which each of them knew was the signature of the most dastardly villain ever, the one who ruled over every syndicate, gang, secret association or evil cult who everyday threatened the life of SuperMegaTokyoAngeles' citizens.

The only villain whom they've never fully defeated so far, for he always managed to escape and avoid capture even as they faced him again and again.

The name who had by now become the personification of everything bad that had happened or will ever happen to the city.

"Doctor Ojo." The samurai girl hissed with restrained contempt, as her companions and teammates did around her, unaware that, far away from the museum and standing on the roof of one the city's tallest buildings, a lonely figure had been watching over them, the Pearl of Agmyan in one of his hands, an eyepatch covering his left eye as he twirled his mustaches with his free hand.

"Looks like the trick worked, just as usual," the evil supervillain said with a smirk. "Do not worry Amelia, the good Doctor will watch over you and your friend… forever and ever."

We see a tall skyscraper in the distance, shaped like capital 'T' and 'R' fused together, in front of Los SuperMegaTokyoAngeles' skyline. Suddenly, sonar waves started departing from the tower, signaling that the heroes were being called, and as music plays in the background, with a high pitch and tempo, as an unidentified female duo started to sing the song.

When villainy strikes, who are you gonna call? – Turbo Rangers!

From their tower, they can see it all – Turbo Rangers!
There's no case too big, no case too small

Against their might, evil will fall

Several scenes began to play, as if someone (or something) was there to record different moments of people's life, before editing them in an abstract montage. One after another, each scene served to introduce one or more members of the Turbo Rangers's team.

The first one is True Brit's, the boy seemingly noticing an invisible audience and removing his bowler hat as a greeting; at the same time, several clips played in the background, showing him easily disabling and defeating enemies with gadgets, tricks and plain-old disguises.

It is then Sprint's turn, the young frog cheering with a hopeful and confident expression while we see a scene playing on the right: several criminal goons try to corner the frog, only for him to evade them with ease and make off with the item he successfully recovered.

A third sequence begins to play, this one being Wayrider's. We see the blonde human ride her motorcycle, first seemingly driving towards the audience, then the camera moves to show her zooming to the right, doing wheelies with an expression that exudes self-confidence and cheerfulness.

When you need heroes to save the world.

TURBO RANGERS, GO!

New sequences start to play, as we now see Hybis' do some acrobatic stunts and Hansamu rip (literally) a path in several cyborg-looking bad guys, roaring during her rampage.

Then it is Mar-Machinist's time. The scene starts with a closeup on the girl's face, digital calculations and computer data running on a bright green neon screen in the background. Then we see her working on some stuff on the computer and building new high-tech gadgets to help her friends.

After a short video of Maki-ki using magic to trap some bank robbers, it is time for Hurricane Janibar's presentation. The boy holds his cap and smirks at the camera like he's thinking 'are you ready to join us on our adventures?' Then, he charges forward, apparently planning to attack some unseen adversary.

With their powers and skills, together they stand

Never to surrender to evil's demand

Once they've got the bad guys on the run
They never stop until the job is done

One for all and all for one
TURBO RANGERS GO!

The camera cuts to a street alley where several thugs, many of them muscular and with visible scary tattoos on their faces and bodies, are looking down and glaring at Muay Thai-Go. The girl stands among them motionless for a few seconds, looking weak and defenseless, before she starts grinning. Then, she launches forward, hitting the bad guys' faces, stomachs and legs with precise strikes, quickly neutralizing all of them and walking away in victory.

Now we see Old Pops and Red Braid, the two older frogs watching over the team members' training with harsh, yet proud expressions. Yet, as their gazes turn to the sky above (cloudless, except for one small cloud far away) a shadow of sadness passes over their faces: what were they thinking?

You can't run, you can't hide
You realized you took the wrong side

But now the day's been saved once again
Only truth and justice hereby remain

Finally, Yoshiko makes her appearance, landing on some building's roof while the city is behind her, lightning struck and lit up the shadow covering her face, showing her lips tight in a determined glare. We see her unsheathe her katana and put herself in a defensive position as the music's volume becomes louder and louder.

All the Turbo Rangers team members appear in V-formation, Yoshiko standing at the middle while her friends and companions stand behind her, looking forward in heroic poses.

One, two, three, four, go! Turbo Rangers!

Later that day, the Turbo rangers had returned to their headquarters, the Ranger Tower, a stylistic high-rise building complex located in the very center of the city, built as an official 'thank you' from the authorities to the young heroes just after the Ranger's first adventure together where they saved the city. On the very top of the tower, there was the hangar where the group's main vehicle, an advanced flying vehicle known as the "Tengu Jet' which could be modified for either open air combat or close ground support.

On the top floor, directly under the hangar, was the very center of the operation and organization of the Rangers, the living quarters and amenities for each one of them, their conference room, their newsroom where they could listen to any communications, and several laboratories where their most important 'research and development' stuff was currently contained. While the rest of the tower also hosted many facilities and rooms, on the top floor were the most important equipment that allowed the Ranger to perform their duties as defenders of the city.

"Here we come!" Hansamu yelled in a boisterous tone as she jumped out of the vehicle, looking around with a smug and confident expression. "So, the day is saved once again, thanks to the Turbo Rangers! Isn't that right, little Hybis?"

"Ok, first, you're saying my name without the apostrophe, and that really bothers me!" Hibis' rolled her eyes in irritation. "And second, it wasn't a victory. The Pearl still got lost!"

"But we managed to take down the members of the Blue Lotus and brought them to justice!" Maki-ki countered, "Plus, even if the Pearl was stolen, it's not lost forever! We just need to find out who took it while we were busy taking out those blue buffoons and then-"

Any happy chat the group was having stopped cold, the Turbo Rangers instantly stopping as they realized two people had been waiting for them. Two people that, while not directly taking part in the adventures the kids had on an everyday basis, were still considered part of the team, and provided a lot of care for every one of them.

"You rushed out without washing all of your dishes," the resident 'team dad', alias Old Pops 'the Protective', started to reprimand them as soon as the humans and frogs realized he had been waiting for them. "I'll remind of your promise: no crime-fighting unless you do all your chores every day!"

"We know, but… it was an emergency!" Mar-Machinist chuckled with a nervous expression, realizing they'd been busted. "We received a message from True Brit, he said he had credible info that the Blue Lotus were planning to steal the Pearl of Agmyan-"

"You mean the same, exact old ancient Pearl that Yellowshade attempted to use to create a Kaiju army, two weeks ago? The one that the Cult of Gamenna thought was yet another irreplaceable item required for their plan to bring eternal darkness into our world?" Old Pops scoffed, thinking back at how many times the aforementioned item had been stolen by one bad guy or another in the last three months. "It seems like it was just yesterday you took it back!"

"No, yesterday we had to fight the invasion of the Noppera people!" Sprint hurried to clarify. "And the day before-"

"Kids, we know you're having adventures on a daily basis!" The team's mom, Red Braid, quickly steered the conversation back on course. "But that's not an excuse for you not to do your chores! Back when I was a hero, I did all my chores in time, even if I had to battle an army of Kaiju myself!"

"Yes, mom…" Hibis' murmured as she and Maki-ki walked toward the tower's kitchen area, ready for another 'slice of life' montage of themselves cleaning dishes.

"I guess that's my cue to leave!" Hansamu quickly took advantage of the distraction to scuttle away, before either Red Braid or Old Hop could reprimand her as well. "I'm getting myself a hot shower, and then I'm hitting the bunk! I need to wake up early to do my exercises and keep myself in crime-fighting shape!"

"Red Braid, did we receive any communications while we were outside?" Hurricane Janibar asked, removing his hat.

"Oh yes, you did!" Old Pops scoffed again. "You're lucky you have a kind and helpful former hero watching over your youngster backs! Otherwise, you could have ended up in some big trouble, like-like-" the old hero's reprimand stopped mid-speech, his eyes widening and his mouth hanging open as a strange glow appeared in his eyes. "Like- like the time you ran into those abandoned factories at the Ruins of Despair-"

"Abandoned factories?" Polyten murmured.

"Ruins of Despair?" Muay Thai-Go replied. "What are you talking about? There's no factory or implant in the city with such a name-"

(…)

"I take it back! I was a fool!" The old frog cried in horror as the automated conveyor belt carried him and Felicia toward a large hydraulic crusher, Anne's eyes widening in horror as she saw that-

(…)

What was that? Muay Thai-Go wondered as the image dissolved, and she was back in reality, her team members and companions surrounding her. What was that scene? Why did I think my name was Anne? Was Old Pops's life in danger? But then, why can't I remember it from any of my previous adventures?

"Muay Thai-Go, are you ok?" Sash- Wayrider asked, looking at her with a concerned expression. "You seemed lost for a moment."

"I'm…fine, Wayrider," the martial art hero replied with a smile, her brain reassuring her she had just gone crazy for a split second, a quick glance at Old Pops confirming he was back to normal as well. "So, how about we go to the debriefing room?"

"That… sounds logical." Their leader, who until then had waited silently in meditation (to the point she hadn't noticed her or Old Pop's temporary madness), nodded, the group quickly moving as the incident was soon forgotten.

Something's wrong, Hurricane Janibar thought as he sat down around the table, the group all sharing sushi and sashimi, laughs and cheers spreading all over the room.

True Brit was sitting at his usual place as he analyzed the day's feed, Wayrider and Hibis' happily chatting about their own heroism and how cool they were, Hansamu of course having fallen asleep and snoring on the couch, Mar-Machinist and Polyten chatting about engineer stuff, Maki-Ki and Sprint having an impromptu contest on who could eat the most sushi in a certain time limit while, all alone as usual, their irreplaceable leader was sitting next to the large window, looking over the city they were entrusted to serve and protect, as she often did.

Such scenes weren't rare in the Ranger Tower. In fact, it happened quite regularly. Anytime the group decided to go for some classy food instead of ordering pizza or hamburgers. Every time someone would start some kind of dumb but fun contest, someone would happily talk about the events of the day. Mar-machinist and Polyten would gush over each other's progress in the field of robotics, and their esteemed leader would watch over them, not participating but being present, keeping her stoic facade that allowed her to fully control her sword and her body against villains, flowing through the battle instead of merely rampaging.

It was a happy, fun, yet loud moment, as Old Pops and Red Braid would never stop reminding them, each time they would come and tell them-

Janibar's eyes widened, as it finally dawned on him what the odd feeling was. His eyes darted to the big digital clock in the room: the party had been in full swing for over an hour already, and yet neither of their parental figures had come to reprimand them over it?

"Guys… where are Old Pops and Red Braid?"

"Huh, don't be a buzzkill Hurricane!" Wayrider rolled her eyes. "Whenever they're here, they're always telling you how you shouldn't do this and how we should give them more respect, yet now that we're having a nice moment, you're suddenly missing them?"

"Ok, let me say this in a better way: does anyone have any idea of where they are? When was the last time we saw them?"

As the various members of the group started to think about it, realization dawned upon them as they finally noticed that it had been an unnaturally long time since they last saw them. Sprint and Hibis', in particular, started to freak out now that they became aware of their caretakers' disappearance.

"Where are they?" Hibis' gasped, a part of her suddenly scared now that she realized her mom was missing. "They would never let our fun go unpunished like this!"

"Last time I saw them, it was when we returned from the museum. After we stopped the Blue Lotus." True Brit raised an eyebrow, thinking about it.

"You mean it's been half a day already, and we didn't even notice they had disappeared until now?" Mar-Machinist gasped in response.

"Someone kidnapped them again?" Maki-ki gasped in turn. "Is this another trick of the Red Dragon?"

"No, we didn't receive any riddles to solve, so it can't be them!" Muay Thai-Go scoffed, stating the impossibility of such an occurrence. "What about the Children of the Mole?"

"That can't be, we put the last few of them in prison barely one week ago!" Polyten replied, remembering how she was part of the group that accomplished the task. "It's too early for them to have done a jailbreak already!"

"Maybe they simply left to go on one adventure on their own?" Wayrider started to speak, in an attempt to calm the others and herself down. "Remember one month ago, how they believed we weren't appreciating them anymore, so they went back to fight the Tri-headed Pig Triad on Ikebana Island?"

"But we didn't have any dramatic personal plotlines yet!" Hurricane Janibar countered. "And that's without counting the-"

"ENOUGH!" From where she was standing, their leader shouted as everyone turned towards her, clearly not expecting that. "We won't find out what happened to them by making wild guesses and going into full panic. Wayrider, you and Hibis' will go check the Tower's security mainframe and check if Old Pops and Red Braid have gone somewhere since we last saw them. Mar-Machinist, you and Polyten still have that old personal position chip you installed in all of us three adventures ago?"

"No, unfortunately. The main control software we used wasn't too stable and it crashed, it would take three days of non-stop work to bring it back online. However, we could hack into the city's main newsfeed and check if there's info about them."

"That's acceptable. Hurricane, Muay and True Brit, you three are going to investigate any possible lead among the city criminals, and while you're there, take Hansamu with you!" She pointed at the still-snoring heroine, blissfully unaware of the drama that was unfolding. "If there's someone behind their disappearance, then someone else must know."

"And what about us?" Sprint asked, pointing at himself and Maki-ki. "What should we do?"

"You stay here and hold the fort while we search. There is a … concrete possibility that Old Pops and Red Braid's disappearance may be a trick to make us leave the Tower unprotected. And if that should happen, we would give the enemy a golden chance to strike us at our most vulnerable. Thus-"

An itch, a sharp pain blowing from inside her brain, a yell, and then no more.

(…)

"But-but…"

"It's only for your own well-being, Amelia." The adult figure of her mother said, talking to her with a sweet tone. "You see, your father and I… are having some issues we need to solve, and-"

"You're going to get a divorce?"

"Amelia, how could you say that?! Of course we're not going to get a divorce! Only… we aren't going to live together like we used to."

"How is that different from divorce?"

"Well, divorce is when a marriage is dissolved, but neither your father nor I want to do that. So, officially we're staying married, even if we're going to lead separate lives from now on. Not that it would be any different from before, since his job made so he was never home in the first place-"

"But just because of that, why I can't stay with one of you? Why can't I just move with you? Or dad?!" The young girl asked, all while struggling to stop the tears falling from her eyes

"Your father doesn't have the time or the intent to take care of a child, you know it very well!" Her mom scoffed, a tone of disappointment in her voice. "He's always piloting some plane in Japan or some other place, sometimes I think he even lives in one! As for myself… ever since my latest promotion, my hands have got even fuller at the museum, so I don't think I could take care of you properly, like you deserve."

"But he… Dad promised me! He said he'll bring me to Japan someday!"

"Your dad says a lot of things, the issue is he won't always follow through with his promises. That said, you won't be alone in Los Angeles." The woman declared, patting her daughter's head to calm her. "There's your aunt and your uncle. Plus, you'll also meet your cousin too! And I'm sure he will like you."

"Cousin?"

"His name's Jacob, and from what I've been told, he's an energetic nice boy. I bet he'll be delighted to meet you. You know what? Maybe you could even be like his little sister, and he would be your older brother."

"A brother…"

(…)

-leader!" A male voice shouted, and Yoshiko regained consciousness, noticing all her squad mates gathered around her. Them being above her and the way the light hit her eyes, as well as her legs raised to speed up her recovery, heavily hinted that she had been lying down someplace. In other circumstances, she would have said something iconic to thank them, or more likely, she would have reprimanded them for the 'uncomfortable' position they had forced on her.

Not this time.

As the leader of the Turbo ranger laid down, unresponsive to the words her comrades were telling her, her eyes wide awake, the images she had seen kept flashing in front of them as she tried to make sense of it. What was that? Who was that woman, and why was she calling her 'Amelia'? Her name had always been Yoshiko, and she never had parents: she had been an orphan, raised in a lone dojo on the far end of the forest-

Uuuugh! The girl made a grimace as the headache she was suffering from suddenly became even worse.

"Yoshiko, are you ok?" The boy called Jac- Hurricane Janibar lamented as he got closer, his arm holding her back as he helped her get to a sitting position. "You were giving all of us orders when you suddenly fell onto the ground."

"You gave your friends quite a scare, you know boss?" Hansamu nodded, her eyes filled with seriousness. "I was awoken by their yells, and it's a good thing they did so I could carry you to the sick bay!"

"We were so scared!" Mar-Machinist wept, mixed tears of fear and joy dropping down her chin. "I used all my medical equipment to try and found out what had happened for you to pass out, but-"

"It doesn't matter." Am- Yoshiko replied with a serene expression. "You were worried for my health, and I appreciate that. Really, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you. However, what I have experienced while I was unconscious made me realize… whatever is happening to us, it may be the direst challenge the Turbo rangers have ever faced."

Hearing her, the other rangers gasped.

She got up, walked toward the door and stopped for a dramatic pose, the other watching as her head turned slightly to the left, allowing them to see a strange glimpse in her eyes. It was the glimpse of a warrior on the way to the battle, of the lone orphan walking the path of revenge for their lost family, the glimpse of justice and determination when they were mixed with anger.

"Somewhere, outside our tower, the truth is."

She took a deep breath.

"Somewhere, evil is lurking."

Her teeth gritted.

"And like the ancient wave of the powerful tsunami, I'll sweep it and cast it aside, and I'll reach my goal."

Rain poured onto SuperMegaTokyoAngeles, the city's infrastructure visible in the downpour through the neon ads placed on its tall skyscrapers, many of its inhabitants safe and warm inside their homes, their workplaces or one of the many restaurants and take-aways food diners where exotic ingredients and spices mixed together to create culinary masterpieces.

As Yoshiko gazed upon the city, a part of her wished she could simply join the civilians and have a delicious hot meal to replenish herself. It had been several hours since the girl had left the Ranger's Tower, and the continuous expense of energy had taken a toll on her body.

Yet, she couldn't eat, nor could she sleep, because something foul was running wild.

It had been almost a full month since the whole story started, after their battle with the Blue Lotus.

After Old Pops and Red Braid had disappeared, Sprint and Maki-Ki too had started to go crazy in certain situations, yelling things their friends couldn't piece together and recalling events or situations that had never taken place before. Such as some kind of 'potluck' contest which had supposedly took place in a town called 'Wartwood', or another thing called 'Hyber Day'.

Even as the others helped them calm down, the following day the two disappeared, in the same way that Old Pops and Red Braid did. Followed soon after by Muay Thai Go suffering a psychotic attack that made her pass out for half of the afternoon, just as Hansamu started to spout nonsense as well.

Little by little, every other member of the squad had suffered the same thing before disappearing, while none of the leads they had tried to follow proved to be fruitful. Luckily, crime seemed to have stopped, at least for a few days, for even Yoshiko wasn't sure she would be able to protect the whole city all on her own.

The more her search continued, the more new strange memories kept appearing in her mind. At first, just whenever she tried to sleep or meditate, but now, they happened without warning. And now, even Yoshiko started to doubt the world around her was 'real'.

Faraway from the city, a mighty Kaiju roared with anger, before being blasted into oblivion by Goijiirzilla's flame. It was an epic battle happening right outside of the city, yet no one paid attention to it anymore, too busy going on with their lives.

Could it possibly be that the world hadn't always been like this? Could it be, Yoshiko wondered, there was a time when such grandiose battles didn't happen, or at least, not often enough to be considered mundane?

The memories she had been experiencing, had been the true her, before she was Yoshiko? Was her name once Amelia?

And were her teammates and friends, the lifelong companions she had sworn to protect and look after since the Turbo rangers were born, 'different' just as she was?

She shook her head. This was no time for idle philosophical musing. Whether her name was Amelia or Yoshiko, one thing was certain; Her friends had disappeared, and she was the one that had to look for them. If only she had a small hint-

A new bright red neon light lit up on the top floor of SuperMegaTokyoAngeles's highest skyscraper, advertising something called 'The Akira Mandate'. It wasn't conspicuous, yet as her eyes gazed upon it, Yoshiko/Amelia felt something build up inside her body, like she felt drawn onto it. As she remembered, the top floor of that skyscraper had been abandoned and closed since… baka, she couldn't remember, yet she never paid it too much attention.

Until now.

"I guess that's a good starting point to investigate, in absence of any other leads..."

(…)

Infiltrating the tall building was hard, but not impossible, for the leader (and for now, only remaining member) of the Turbo Teens.

She bypassed the guards on the ground floor and avoided being spotted by the security cams, the young samurai proceeded to reach the last of the floors open to the public and then, opening a window in the side of the building, climbed up the glass wall with improvised suction cups.

It was a risky and very difficult operation, one that many would have rightly found frightening. Not only because the rain-soaked glass made it difficult for the suction cups to attach, making one afraid of losing their grip every second; but the cold, sharp wind, struck like a thousand invisible knives of ice, making it impossible. Suicidal to say the least, for any ordinary human being who would attempt such folly.

But of course, Yoshiko was not an ordinary human. She faced much worse during her training.

This reminds me of the time my old masters had me climb the Yosihinope mountain during a tempest, the girl thought with an inner smirk as she slowly, but steadily, kept moving forward, until the opening to the last, unreachable floor was in her sight, at least, if these memories are true. I just hope to find out the answers I'm looking for...

With one athletic jump, the girl jumped inside, immediately taking a defensive stance to analyze her surroundings as she waited for the inside warmth to dry her wet clothes and armor. Then, once she was sure nothing hostile was nearby and her eyes had adapted to the different brightness, she dared to venture further.

It didn't take long for her to realize that she had stumbled upon something horrible.

A lab room of white and blue occupied the whole floor of the building, with large machinery, sophisticated computers and other futuristic equipment scattered all around. On one of the larger screens, as well on countless smaller ones, she could see scenes from the city, depicting several citizens living their everyday lives, eating hot meals in their homes or public eateries, having fun with their friends, doing their jobs-

A curse almost escaped her lips as she started to recognize some of the places shown by the cameras: they were the interior of the Ranger Tower! Whoever owned this place had been watching her and her friends, as well as countless innocent citizens with none of them savvy about it.

And that wasn't the scariest part.

At the other end of the room, the bodies of several people were gathered, all of them standing still and upright, their arms and hands at their sides, their eyes open while their faces were stuck in empty, emotionless expressions. As Yoshiko approached, she was quick to notice that they were all people of SuperMegaTokyoAngeles, civilians, public officers, people she had personally met once or twice in some of her adventures, but also villains and criminals she had faced. She could recognize the Doppel Gang; the Undomitable Izumashy; Narsuto the Destroyer; The Tempest Seven. All criminals she had battled and beaten with the support of her friends and teammates. She moved forward, and tentatively touched one: it felt cold and hard, like it was a statue, yet it clearly wasn.

But then, what were they? And what, by her blade, was going on here?!

"Oh, you're here." A voice called from behind her and making the girl turn around, to see a slender male figure walk into the room, dressed in a white lab coat with black gloves and boots, an eye patch covering one of his eyes, black moustache decorating his lips and he was completely bald. "That's fortunate, I guess? I wasn't expecting you for at least another four hours."

"Doctor Ojo!" She yelled in response, as everything around her started to make sense for the first time in days. "I knew you had to be involved in all of this! You were spying on the city's people and us? What have you done to these people? Where are my friends?"

"Calm down, your friends are safe and alive, just as you wanted." The city's most nefarious villain replied in a relaxed and friendly voice, not even looking at the katana the girl was pointing at him. "As for the cameras, you are correct when you say I was watching over them, but I wasn't spying. It was more like… managing."

"Managing? Don't tell me the mayor and everyone else are just puppets, and they're unwittingly obeying you! How long has this been going?"

"No, I don't mean just the city, I meant this whole pocket dimension."

"Pocket dimension? Just stop lying to me, and-"

But before she could finally finish her accusation, the girl felt yet another pain inside her brain, and the mother of all headaches exploded within her head, her sword dropping out of her hand as she fell on her knees, screaming as yet another image appeared before her eyes…

(…)

"So, this is it?" Sasha asked as she looked upon the mysterious object lying in the clearing, the Calamity Six and their Amphibian allies surrounding it with worried looks. Bella and Felicia were holding their own weapons tightly while Marcy, Maddie and James moved forward, doing their best to analyze it by looking alone. "This thing was the cause of the bad names this place had?

"It seems so," Marcy nodded, adding a sketch of the mysterious glowing silver ball with a few creeper plants growing over it, while Jacob and Anne kept taking photos and recording with their phones. "Whatever it is, it's surely ancient. I'm guessing it's as old as those factories we found at the Ruins of Despair." She gave another look. "Maybe, even older."

"The key question is, it is safe?" Hop Pop yelled from the small impromptu fortification he was lying in with Sprig and Polly, the three frogs ready to duck and cover at the first hint of trouble. "Even that factory seemed harmless… at first!"

"Hey, we survived, didn't we?" Amelia, who had just watched Akitsu fly away, turned around. "And we ended up finding Frobo thanks to it. Who knows, maybe we could end up meeting someone else that might join our adventures!"

"That's still not a good reason to disregard basic security!" The old frog replied. "You heard those rumors, we were all together: this is the Vallery of the Illusions, where countless travelers disappeared! Do you want us to suffer the same fate?"

"As much as it makes me feel weird, Hop Pop's right!" Jacob nodded "We don't know what this thing is supposed to be, or even how it works. I for one would feel a lot safer if we could study it from the distance, at least until Yunan or lady Olivia send us reinforcements and we can proceed."

"I agree, if this thing is responsible for making so many amphibians disappear for over a century, I think we should at least take some precautions." Anne spoke in turn.

"Don't worry, from what data we have been able to gather so far, it doesn't seem to actively attack living being, unless it may feel provoked somehow." James explained, walking around the sphere in search of elements that could provide more hints. "Thus, if we don't do something that it may see as dangerous, it's safe to stay around it, at least for now. Marcy, Maddie, what do you think?"

"I don't feel any magical vibes coming from it," the spellcaster frog replied, "so either it's not working anymore, or it is not magic… at least, not the usual kind."

"Well, the surface seems to glow, it reminds me of some touch screen technology I saw back on- NO AMELIA, DON'T DO IT!"

Too late, for before anyone could stop her, the young samurai had approached the orb and pressed one hand on its surface, the silver ball glowing for a few seconds as reality seemed to vanish around them…

(…)

Tears fell down her cheeks, from her wide eyes as memory after memory started to surge inside Amelia's brain, as her fake life history she had believed to be true up to this point couldn't withstand her real self and came crashing down, the kneeling girl remembering more and more about herself and her friends with every passing second.

Now she knew the truth.

Now she could remember.

Sasha, Marcy and Anne. Jacob and James. Amphibia. The Plantars. Ivy, Maddie and Felicia. All the adventures they had. Sasha's apology. Marcy's confession. Newtopia. Meeting King Andrias, Lady Olivia and Yunan. Frobo. All started to make sense now, as she could finally see the truth, the REAL truth, even if it wasn't the one she was looking for.

"I-I was the one that…"

"Yes." Doctor Ojo bluntly answered her. "When you touched the sphere, you allowed it to look into you, into your mind, to see what you wished for, what your desires were, and it used them to build a small pocket dimension where you and your friends currently reside. This world, this city, 'Los SuperMegaTokyoAngeles' is nothing less and nothing more than a construct of your mind."

"No, it can't be! All the people living on it, all the friends we have, all the bad guys we've ever faced!"

"NPC. That's the term your friend Marcy often used, wasn't it? Only some background mobs whose reason to exist was to be the bystanders of your adventures, or villains for you to face and overcome, again and again. This," Ojo pointed at the room around them, "is where the magic is created. Where everything that happens in this city is managed, where all the characters minus us and your friends are created, and where new storylines and plot twists are developed to keep giving you a purpose. You can consider it as some kind of backstage, thus-"

"No, this cannot be! I bet you're using the Pearl of Agmyan, aren't you? You've found out how to unlock its power and-"

"You mean this thing?" Ojo replied, calmly walking up to one desk and taking out the Pearl, holding it in his hands for a couple of seconds before dropping it, the supposedly precious relic smashing on the floor like cheap glass. "This supposed ten thousand years relic of unknown power is just a dud, to be used as a plot device every once in three plots."

"But… but then-"

"Oh right, you were talking about your friends, huh? Do not worry; they're alive and healthy, just as you wanted them to be." Ojo pressed another button and suddenly the floor opened, revealing some kind of circular object, where all her friends and companions, humans and Amphibians, were currently restrained. Their arms and legs were locked and their mouths gagged to stop them from talking. As soon as they noticed Amelia, they began to struggle, desperately trying to untie themselves and talk, but to no avail.

"Guys!" Amelia shouted, trying to go and help them, only to be stopped as Doctor Ojo stood in her path, smirking.

"Ah-ah! I'm sorry little miss, but you can't talk with them just yet. I am sorry I had to take them out in the first place, I really am, but… they weren't supposed to remember. This is the issue when you're dealing with more than one sentient mind in the same simulation, as soon as they start to remember their former life it spreads like an epidemic."

"Spreads?" Amelia gasped as the gears in her brain began to turn once again, realization hitting her. "So that's what happened back then? When Hop Pop and Felicia were seemingly talking nonsense… they were starting to remember! So, THIS is why you kidnapped them!"

"Yes, indeed. Again, usually I don't solve problems with such half-baked solutions, but I wasn't expecting them to remember. Especially after I basically rewrote them a whole lifetime of memories while trying to make the fake memories match up with their unconscious feelings. I guess you really can't teach a new story to old frogs."

From where they were tied up, both Hop Pop and Felicia glared at Ojo, Hop Pop giving him a silent scoff while Felicia struggled to break her constraints, raging at being called 'old'.

"But alas, I was too late." Ojo continued, "Little by little, each one of your friends started to remember their former lives, forcing me to take them one by one and confine them here. I knew you would investigate their disappearance, it was in your characters' personality after all, and so I used a little… bait to lead you here."

"The Akira signs, I knew it wasn't there before! It was hidden bait to draw me here, so I could find them and all of this! What I don't understand is, WHY? Why do all of this? Why build a whole fantasy city? Why gave me and my friends fake memories? Why do you care so much about this?"

"Because, unlike any of my colleagues," Ojo gave a dirty look to one of the 'bad guys' NPC templates, "I'm not just a character created by this fantasy. And I think you know this already: after all, everything I have done… I did because you wanted it."

Amelia recoiled, horror dawning on her face while, held back by their restraints, her friend and companion listened in shock to the explanation that 'Ojo' was giving them.

"I'm your darkest thoughts, your unspeakable desires. I am your yearning and desire personified. When you first touched the sphere, it freed me from the deepest parts of your mind and filled me with unlimited resolve to do everything you wanted, to make everything you wished would come true. You wanted to live in a world of adventure and fun, like the ones you saw in your anime, so I learned anything I could from your knowledge and built a city from it." He pointed at the skyline of the city outside, his hand moving to add drama to his speech.

"You wanted to be respected and seen worthy of leadership? I cast you all as heroes and let you be their leader! It was me, who allowed you to be the exact kind of character you always longed to be: A hero adored by the masses for saving the day, again and again." As in response to his words, some screen activated, playing scenes that Amelia knew came from some of their past adventures, the group blissfully living their lives of heroism and adventures, ignorant of the truth that enslaved them.

"Then, I became a villain, just so you could have someone to fight and win each time while creating more bad guys to fill your rogue's gallery. Last but not least," he closed his eyes and smirked, like he could taste the unconscious desires coming from Amelia, "you want to stay here, and to live the life of a samurai hero forever. I give all of this to you; you just need to do one thing to secure that."

A bell rang just under Amelia, the girl moving out just in time before another technological item emerged from the floor, this one looking like a small podium with a big, shiny red button on the top. A button that seemed to be made specifically for her.

"This is not my world to wield, it is yours. I can create characters and adventures, but I cannot control the mind of you and your friends. But you can." Ojo smiled again. "Press it. You will activate a full reset of the simulation. All the memories of your old life will be permanently removed, as well as for your friends. And your new life stories will come true once again. You will once again be the Turbo Rangers, heroes of Los SuperMegaTokyoAngeles, and you'll have a whole life of brand-new adventures consisting of defeating the bad guys and earning the citizen's admiration."

"I-I…" Amelia stuttered, a tornado of emotions forming inside her.

"Press it. I have seen your memories; I know what your life was like before this. Your family broke down when you were little, because your parents didn't love you enough to stay and fix their problems, instead choosing to lead separate lives even if they were too cowardly to divorce. You ended up living in a house of strangers, with relatives who would never give you the recognition you deserve, and a cousin that actively hated you, because it doesn't matter what you did, he only saw you as an intruder and chose to ruin his own life out of spite rather than facing you!"

Hearing those words, Jacob looked down in shame and horror: was Ojo trying to gaslight her? Or perhaps, this was how, deep inside, Amelia had felt, in the many years she had lived with him and his parents, before they came to better understand each other?

"Even when you started going to school and tried to make friends, everyone would see you as a freak or a weirdo at best. You were Saint James' laughingstock, the only time someone gave you attention was to make fun of your knowledge, calling you names and pointing fingers when all you wanted was to be loved. The other girls in the school, especially those tied over there, saw you as an embarrassment and avoided you like a plague, no matter how much you strove to find some connection!"

Now it was Sasha, Anne and Marcy's turn to feel the weight of the accusation, the trio looking at each other and wondering how they could have done things differently. Indeed, Amelia was obnoxious with them on a daily basis, but she didn't do that out of malice. Marcy, on her own, started to feel a powerful emphatic link with Amelia: she too knew what it meant to felt estranged in her own home, starving for love and recognition by her peers, and the allure of a new life where you could get anything she wished. If she didn't come clean to her friends, maybe-

"Of course, Amphibia gave you this and much more, but deep inside, you know the happy times won't last forever. Eventually, as soon as your friends figure out how, you'll return to your world. And then, you'll face only rejection and misery! All the cool stuff you've one, it will be as if they never happened in the first place. All the happy moments you have experienced will soon turn into bitter memories, torturing you each day with the mirages of happiness long gone. All the friends you made in Amphibia… you will be forced to leave them, and never see them once again."

Like mesmerized by Ojo's words, Amelia's hand rose up, leaning over the big button, as the battle inside her mind continued to rage, countless thoughts forming and being destroyed in a blink.

"Press it. As long as you stay here, you'll have everything you want. You'll never be seen again with mockery and contempt, but only with admiration and respect. Your life will be like you always wanted it to be as a child: a never-ending sequence of adventures, fun and happiness. Where, no matter what happens in each episode, nothing ever truly changes by the end. You will be happy, and so will your friends. You just need to say yes."

Amelia stuttered, her eyes moving between the button, her friends and Ojo's smiling expression. He was right: she wanted this. She wanted to stay here and keep living on adventures. She wanted to be the hero she always fantasized to be. Above everything else, she wanted to be loved. She wanted it-

Her eyes closed, as the battle inside her mind dissipated. The struggle was over, and her choice was made.

"No."

"What?"

"I SAID NO!" Amelia turned around with rage, looking at Ojo with eyes full of scorn. "I won't take this choice, no matter how I might want it."

"Didn't you hear what I've just said? You want-"

"I know that I want it!" The girl dressed as a samurai yelled, "I want it more than anything else! But… what if what I want… isn't what I need?"

"What does that even mean?!"

"You claim to have seen all my memories, but did you really do? Or perhaps you are mentioning only the stuff that supports you, while at the same time ignoring the ones that contradicts you? Because I surely don't."

"Now, now-"

"A baby bird can't always rely on their mother to take care of them, and they will eventually have to learn how to fly, and how to feed themselves. Same for people! To grow, they must be ready to leave their comfort zone, beyond the limits of what they're comfortable doing, beyond what they want, to find what they need. And if there's one thing that I've learned, ever since arriving in Amphibia, is that forcing someone to follow your dreams, regardless of what they want… is wrong. For sometimes, the greatest act of care you can do for someone is to accept you can't control their lives, and you should instead leave them free to make their own choices. That is the nature of our bond. That is the true value… of Respect"

From the spot where they were restrained, all of Amelia's friends and companions gasped silently, watching her become more and more passionate as she kept talking while, in front of her, Ojo glared at her with an astonished look, not expecting her to deny her own desires.

"No. I won't run and hide in this fantasy just because reality keeps disappointing me. I reject this place, I reject my 'hero' role, and I reject you! I always wanted to be a hero, to be able to escape my own reality and live the life I've always wanted to live, but from now on…I won't run away from it anymore. From now on, I'll fight!"

And she jumped forward, hoping to strike Ojo with her feet…only for the 'villain' to move quicker, and with a slight movement of his body, sent her slamming onto the ground, the girl hissing as she felt the pain.

"What-"

"Truly disappointing." Ojo spoke once again, his only eye starting to glow neon blue. "You were just hoping that, by denying your desires, you would negate them? Even if your brain may have chosen to give up your wishes, your heart has not!"

Once again, Amelia rushed forward, using her own martial art skills, her katana and several other gadgets of hers against Ojo. Only to fail each time, as the villain seemed to always be one step ahead of her, parrying and countering every attack Amelia employed against him. And each time causing her new pain and scratches while he was left unscathed.

"You're starting to realize, don't you? Even now, you still want it. Even now, your desire grows. While you may claim otherwise, your mind doesn't want you to win this fight. You want to be defeated, so you'll have to stay here forever, alongside your friends. And as I already said, this is your world, and your wish… is my command." He moved on the offense, blocking the girl's katana with one of his hands, punching her stomach and making her yell.

"You must realize, this is for the best! Why would you ever want to come back to reality? To a world that does not appreciate you, and where you're seen as a laughingstock? Why would someone choose to be a fool, rather than a hero? Do you ever know who you are?"

Hissing in pain, Amelia panted, struggling to get back on her feet, as Ojo's words assaulted her mind once again: what would be her choice? Who was she? Who was she? Who was she? The same question buzzing in her brain, desperately asking her for an answer.

-until, she did.

Ojo barely saw a purple light shine in Amelia's eyes before a sudden shockwave blasted in front of him, the villain pushed back by the air blows, his eyes taking a few seconds to readapt as he realized the illumination of the room had changed. Gone was the faint blue light from a few seconds before, now the room was filled with a bright purple light, that seemed to emerge from-

Amelia?

Ojo's eyes widened, and so did Jacob's, Marcy's, and the eyes of everyone else as they looked on Amelia, the girl standing, or rather, floating, in the middle of the room, purple light energy surrounding her as she 'sat' in the air, her legs crossed in the 'lotus position', her hair and eyes glowing of the same energy that surrounded her while flower petals, like the ones from cherry blossom, danced on the energy-filled air.

"That's a question I've been asking myself for a long time." Amelia replied in a relaxed tone of voice, her body moving, performing multiple stances. "Am I Jacob's cousin? His sister? A fool? A friend? A passionate lover of Japan? A student of Saint James?" Around her, the purple energy seemed to start to react to her body movements, moving together in flux. "Am I one of Wartwood's defenders? A warrior? A student? A teacher? Turns out, I'm all these things, but I'm also much more." Directed by her, an energy-made image of a giant dragonfly lingered, towering over her and Ojo. "I am one chosen by the Calamity, I am the holder and embodiment of one of its gems. I am… Respect."

"No… this cannot be!" Ojo yelled before rushing on the offense once again. This time, however, the result was not the same as before: as he launched himself forward, trying to hit Amelia with one of his punches, the air and his own body seemed to slow down, stopping in midair while Amelia, removed her cone hat, revealed a strange glow on her forehead: shaped like a constellation of stars, seven dots of purple energy light revealed themselves as the girl took a battle stance. And then-

"ATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA-"

She yelled, punching her enemy at super speed, her hands and punches moving so fast they could be barely seen at all, as she kept hitting Ojo. The energy sparkling around her with each blow, before finishing it with one last punch aimed at Ojo's jaw, sending the evil villain onto the ground, his body seemingly paralyzed as the girl's superpowered state turned off and she rushed to free her friends.

"Amelia!" Jacob gasped as soon as he could speak clearly once again. "You…your Calamity Powers-"

"That. Was. Awesome!" Polly cheered. "He was all, giving you a classic bad guy speech, and then you were on the ground, and then there was an explosion-"

"Amelia," Marcy and Sasha said almost at the same time, both girls looking at their younger friend with faces full of empathy. "The thing you said, when you refused his offer-"

"Just my greatest and most desired fantasies, served to me on a silver plate." Amelia replied, her quiet tone in contrast with the turmoil she had just gone through. "I'll get over it. Eventually."

One by one, every last one of them was freed and able to move as well, as soon enough, began to react or lament to their fake memories and identities they were given inside the fantasy.

"Ok, this has to be one of the weirdest experiences I lived through in my whole life." Hop Pop said as Felicia untied him, the female frog only grunting in response.

"Lucky you: I can't even put this on my top thirty!"

"True Brit? True Brit?!" James yelled. "This fantasy couldn't had made me any more stereotypical if it gave me a hickory of bad teeth!"

"I promise I won't tell anyone, as long as you're going to keep your mouth shut about what I was." The boy replied, still looking at his Hurricane Janibar' outfit. Though I must admit it isn't that bad of an outfit-

Suddenly the celebration was cut short as everyone heard a groan and turned head just in time to see Ojo getting back on his feet, a sadistic glee on his lips.

"You've made a serious mistake, pipsqueak!" The evil doctor yelled at Amelia, the samurai the only who still had her back at him, everyone else scrambling and getting ready to fight him. "You should never turn your back on an enemy, unless they're dead!"

"That's the point," Amelia replied with a sweet, yet poisonous tone of voice. "You are already dead."

"Me?"

And then, Ojo's body began to twitch and twist, his bones cracking and muscles inflating as his head turned to the side. Sprig, Ivy, Maddie and Polly were gasping in horror just before Felicia and Hop Pop could shield their eyes, the humans (and Bella) taking one step back as they saw the former villain's body contort in random directions out of his control (with great obvious pain) until-

A purple flame emerged from his back, the Doctor yelling as his body reached the final stage of self-destruction, dissolving into a little puff of smoke, and then into nothingness, in less than one minute, leaving the five humans (minus Amelia) and Bella shocked to the bone, their jaws left hanging.

"A-Amelia!" Sasha could only gasp, her head turning to the girl. "You, you just…"

"Omae wa mou shindeiru…" Marcy murmured, in a strange mix of horror and curiosity.

"That's an image that will return in my nightmares…" Felicia whelped.

"What happened? And where's the Ojo guy?" Sprig asked, while Maddie and Ivy exchanged a complicit look. They had realized, looking at the expressions of their friends and parental figures, that something must have happened, yet they weren't sure they wanted to know what.

"Let's just say he won't cause any more problem for us anytime soon." Amelia replied, pointing to the exit. "Now let's get outta here! If this is my fantasy, I think I know what we need to do to leave it!"

Albeit with a little reluctance, the group followed Amelia outside, Bella and Jacob running side by side.

"Bella, take note for me: from now on, remind me to never get on Amelia's bad side ever again."

"Done and done!"

(…)

With the defeat of Doctor Ojo, it didn't take long for the former 'Turbo Rangers' to realize that something was wrong with the city around them. People were running wildly in all directions, shops and restaurants started to break down without apparent reason, the buildings seemed to age at sight as the street began to fill, without apparent explanation, with garbage.

"Huh, guys?" James as the group kept zooming through the street, seemingly ignored by the inhabitants. "It is me, or this place is starting to resemble a post-apocalyptic world?"

"That's because, without Amelia's fantasy to feed it and nurture it, this place is withering!" Maddie explained. "Just like a plant you've abandoned without care of water for too long!"

"That's not good at all!" Replied Hop Pop, summoning his 'actual' farmer experience. "That means that this place is dying, with us still inside!"

"I guess that's the issue, Hopediah," Felicia agreed. "We need to get out of here as fast as we can!"

"I just hope Amelia knows where she's leading us!" Ivy pleaded. "I feel like we've running non-stop since we left the Tower-"

"HERE WE ARE!" Amelia proudly announced from the forefront, humans and frogs (and Bella) gathering around-

-a funny-looking fountain representing a flying plane?

"A fountain?" Sprig asked. "Is this where you've placed the exit from this nightmare?"

"No, actually, this is only the hiding spot of the one item we need to do that." The girl explained, jumping on the now water-devoid fountain and searching its basement, until she managed to crack open a small hiding spot in the base and taking out what was hidden inside, a bright-purple gem with a big 'R' pressed on its top.

"What is that?" Anne asked.

"Just the Purple Diamond of the Eternal Ranger Guard, the McGuffin we were supposed to search for in-story for the next fifteen seasons before discovering it had been hidden in there all this time. I guess that's off the rails now, but we will need it if we want to defeat the Gate Guardian."

"The…Gate Guardian?" The other five humans said almost verbatim, before a monstrous reptilian roar and the scream of civilians running to escape the falling debris announced the arrival of Goijiirzilla. The giant lizard, too, had changed: gone was the blue glow and serene, wise expression of the city's protector, now only fury and animalistic instincts glowed in its eyes, burning of red energy as he made his way through the city, uncaring for the lives it trampled over.

"Kaiju…" Polly murmured with wide eyes, as she realized (and so did everyone else) what the nuclear-powered giant lizard was looking for: them.

"I guess he's quite pissed since I said I was rejecting this world, and he's now trying to force us to stay: this is why we had to run, by the way." Amelia explained as the giant lizard continued her rampage, coming closer and closer, her friends either still frozen in terror or desperately trying to summon their powers.

"Come on, come on!" Sasha lamented, as she fruitlessly tried to activate her own Calamity Powers. "Why isn't this working?"

"I guess our Calamity Powers aren't working as long as we are inside Amelia's fantasy." Marcy noted down. "That said, it generates more question as for-"

"Sash, Mar-Mar!" Anne yelled loudly. "Focus: Big lizard. Nuclear Breath. Coming for us!"

"Ok guys, we can defeat it, but to do that, I need you to trust me!" Amelia said, holding the gem with both hands as she closed her eyes, trying to focus. "Quick, touch me!"

"What?"

"That sound weird!"

"I need you hold onto me, so we can all be affected by the gem's power!" Amelia shouted, her hearing telling her they didn't have much time left before Goijiirzilla reached them. "Hold my hands, or just grab my shoulders, it won't make a difference!"

"I just hope whatever you have on mind, it will work." Jacob grabbed one of her hands, Sasha doing the same with the other, their friends and families either holding hands or grabbing Amelia's shoulders. "Ok, now what would we-"

"Massive Ranger Megazord Mechanical Merge- Activation!"

The Purple Diamond on Amelia's hands began to shine, its light enveloping the whole group. As it did, the teen and their companion began to feel their bodies changing, their bodies expanding and transforming as metal and circuits replaced flesh and bones, the light glowing brighter and brighter to hide their transformation as thirteen bodies became one. Even Goijiirzilla stopped its rampage and looked at the bright light in front of them, like it was mesmerized by it.

Two minutes later, the light faded, and what had been hidden inside it became visible once again.

Standing in the same spot the group had been before, stood a giant mechanical robot, with four arms and weapons on each one. Each body part and main feature of the titanic robot, matched one member of the group (be they human or Amphibian)

Amelia was the head, with a small bow-like appendage attached to her being Polly, the tadpole acting as the robot's radar and sonar system.

Jacob was the upper right arm, and it held a long and sturdy war hammer, almost as tall as their robot form was. Under him was Marcy, the former nerd girl now turned into a smaller arm equipped with a plasma gun resembling her crossbow, a green-and-purple device attached to it being Maddie, the spellcaster transformed into a large kind of flamethrower.

Sasha was the upper left arm, and it held a large sword resembling her Heron sword, while a yellow box-shaped item attached to her was Ivy, the former frog looking at the world around her through a digital screen. Just under her was Anne, like her friend turned into an arm equipped with a weapon of her own (resembling her racket) and Sprig (now a bright green robotic slingshot) attached to her.

Hop Pop was the upper chest, the connection point uniting everyone else, and James just under him. Finally, Felicia and Bella were the legs of the giant robot, with a stump departing from the back (like the newt's tail) helping the colossal robot maintain the equilibrium.

And everyone beside Amelia was either freaking out to the novelty of being turned into a mechanical being and seeing the world through a digital screen or was loudly screaming in excitement over their new mechanical features!

"Oh my frog!" Ivy gasped, her voice buzzing through some form of intercom. "Oh my frog! Sasha, did we-"

"-become part of a giant combining robot, just like in an 80's anime?" The former blonde human girl replied, "Yup!

"Look at me, I don't need a slingshot anymore, for I am the slingshot now!" Sprig cheered. "What do I shoot? Laser bullets? Lava Projectiles?!"

"I have to admit, this is quite an…unexpected experience." Hop Pop nodded. "So, this is how Frobo sees things all the time?"

"I guess so, I don't know, never been subjected to an involuntary robotization before." James countered. "Amelia, I guess since you're the head, you're the one… controlling us?"

"Not controlling, coordinating us!" The girl cheered, "look guys, I'm not your leader, and after everything we went through following my wishes, I don't think I'm ready for leadership anytime soon. But since I was the one who caused this whole mess, I think it is my duty to pull us to so… will you follow me, at least this time?"

For a few seconds, no one said anything, but then, Jacob's voice played out.

"Count on your big brother sis! Let's show this overgrown lizard what happens when they try to mess with us!"

"I'm in as well!" Sasha nodded. "My strength and my arms! Or rather, me as your arm, are yours to wield!"

"We're in too!" Anne and Sprig nodded. "Just tell us what we have to do!"

One by one, everyone gave Amelia kind, supporting words, the girl internally smiling as they did. They were her friends, they trusted her, even after the whole debacle. And now, they were counting on her to return to their reality.

And she had no intention of disappointing them.

"Ok, guys! Today's sushi special is big, frilled lizard cooked with Calamity shelling!"

Goijiirzilla, for its own, had by now shaken itself out of the surprise and, summoning his atomic breath, tried to end the battle before it could start with a point-blank blast at the giant combined robot… yet, as it did, a bright shield made of light formed around it, absorbing and nullifying its breath.

"HYPER SHIELD ACTIVE!" Amelia yelled as the megazord's legs (that is, Felicia and Bella) began to move forward, one step after another. "Good work, James!"

"Thanks, I just would like to know how I am doing that…"

"Now, Ivy, Maddie, Sprig, it's your turn! PLASMA DARTS, HYBISCUS SHOCKWAVES, HIGH-PRESSURED MAGIC SLIME!"

Even without truly knowing how they were doing it, the three frogs turned mecha equipment began to activate, Sprig shooting bright green darts of plasma toward Goijiirzilla eyes while Ivy began to charge of electric energy, releasing it as small lightning bolts aimed at the kaiju's nostrils.

The giant lizard roared in pain as he struggled to maintain his equilibrium, the highly-unrealistic magic slime shooting out of Maddie hitting his legs and the ground, removing any friction and making the ground slippery, the fake Godzilla, already unable to use his sight and smell to orientate itself, slipped and fell onto the ground, in a scene that would have been quite comedic if it wasn't for the many buildings and infrastructure that were not 'conveniently empty' and free to be smashed.

"Now, Polly! It's time to…. Sing!"

The transformed tadpole understood the meaning of Amelia's words as its bow-like shape began to glow, before releasing powerful sonic wave toward Goijiirzilla, her 'song' powerful enough to damage the reptile's nervous system and make it roar again in pain, leaving it further unable to understand the reality around it.

That was what Amelia was waiting for.

"Ok, it's neutralized for now! Let's press on and attack before it has a chance to counter. Bella, TURBO SPEED AHEAD!"

"How am I supposed to-" the newt began to protest before she felt her 'tail' rose up, and a plasma-powered rocket engine activated, pushing the giant robot (and all of them that were part of it at the moment) forward, bringing them on the still-incapacitated Goijiirzilla, as the four 'arms' began to move as coordinated by Amelia.

"MUAY THAI SLAM!" Anne was the first to move, her giant tennis racket hitting the fake Godzilla on its snout, making it roar in irritation.

"DARK THUNDER HAMMER!" Now it was Jacob's turn, the teen-turned-mechanical arm hitting Goijiirzilla with his weapons on the face, the belly, the tail and whenever he could land a hit, the fast sequence of strikes damaging the gargantuan lizard's scales and making it unable to counter, especially as Anne kept moving and hitting in harmony with Jacob.

And that's before the other two arms intervened.

"Ok, the beast's armor is damaged, it's time to end the battle! Marcy, PLASMA HARPOON CROSSBOW, now!

"Plasma Harp-"

As Marcy repeated in curiosity, she felt a wave of Calamity energy surge from inside her and materialize in her new mechanical body, quickly solidifying as a large crossbow dart with a sharp, serrated tip. The girl had barely the time to realize it as she felt her body move, the 'arm' her body was temporarily transformed now pointed at Goijiirzilla, an electric shock running through her as she shot, the kaiju yelling in pain as the projectile hit a point of its belly now devoid of protection, sinking into its flesh. It was now that Marcy realized that the 'dart' was still connected to her by some ethereal glowing bond, and with another one of Amelia's 'nudges' reaching her mind, the bond began to tighten.

"Ok Sasha, it's your chance now!" Amelia urger her friend, the arm with the sword already on a strike position. "We can end this, right here, right now, but we need you! You must strike it powerful and fast enough to defeat it, before it can use its atomic breath once again!"

"One strike is all I need!" The blonde teen replied in the same electronic voice as everyone else. "For to kill out a mighty dragon, you must strike-"

"-among its fangs and kill his fires in the ashes!" Marcy and Jacob said verbatim, completing the Creatures and Caverns reference her friend was making.

The harpoon on Goijiirzilla's belly kept pulling it closer and closer to the megazord. The mighty lizard finally remembered it still had its atomic breath and began to charge it, to blast the robot before he could summon its pesky shield once again. But as the nuclear energy started to gather in its throat, Sasha struck, her blade hitting the reptile's unprotected inside and cutting through the nuclear energy it was summoning for the shoot, kickstarting a self-destructive chain reaction.

As the dying lizard let out one last roar, there was an explosion, and everything was consumed in a ball of light…

Once Amelia regained her senses, she was quick to open her eyes and sat, looking around to see where she was now.

A smile of happiness formed on her face as she realized they were back in the clearing they had been before. All her friends and companions were lying on the grass around her, some already starting to wake up and stir. Frobo (the REAL Frobo, not the fake gundam-like there was in her fantasy world) looking at them with a worried expression. As for the Sphere-

Gone, Amelia realized as she turned her head to see the empty spot where the silver ball had been standing before she touched it, starting this whole adventure. Only a few broken pieces remained in its place, the creepers that had been growing over it now lying over them. Not only that, but while the silver ball seemed to glow when they first found it, now its pieces were dark and completely devoid of luminescence.

Whatever magic or energy that seemed to power it and give it its power, it was now gone. And Amelia knew it was her doing.

"Frobo!" Polly gasped as she recognized her friend, jumping into his hands and crying copiously. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you! We were trapped in some kind of fake world, and I was a robot genius or whatever that was called, and you were there! I mean, not you you, something that looked and felt like you and- Oh Frog, how much time had passed? We spent weeks, months in that world, I can't even try to imagine-"

Frobo immediately answered her by projecting some kind of digital clock from his eyes, only to cause even more shock.

"Wait, what?" Felicia gasped.

"It was barely five minutes in the real world?!" Sprig said with his voice full of shock. "That can't be!"

"It is true!" Anne took out her phone and checked the time and date. "Look!"

"But then," Hop Pop began to blabber, "all the memories we still have- the stuff we did?"

"I guess it was some kind of simulation with accelerated time perception." Marcy nodded, thinking back about it. "What were days for us were mere seconds in the real world. I have seen some anime where such concepts exist, but I had never experienced one myself… before today."

"Well, I guess it will take some time to sort this whole experience out," Ivy massaged her forehead, "I'm still remembering all the stuff we did back in the fake world, all the birthday parties I received… and the heck even is a gyaru?"

"I feel like I've lived two lives at once," Maddie murmured. "And now I feel like I'm undergoing a middle age crisis already."

"Huh, guys, about that," Amelia spoke, scratching her hair nervously. "I'm sorry for everything that happened. It was my fault that we ended up stuck in a crazy world filled with cultural errors and stereotypes, since I touched the ball and all. So, if you want to lay the blame at someone for how you're feeling right now, do it at me."

"No one here is going to blame you for that." Hop Pop replied, quickly assuming his 'hard, yet honest' parental personality he used whenever he had to discipline one of his kids. "Yes, you acted quite recklessly by going too close to the sphere and touching it and started this whole thing. Yet not only did you manage to fight your desires, even when they were offered to you, but you also showed creativity and determination in rescuing us. Even before you regained your memories, from what that Doctor Ojo told while he kept us captive. Plus, I must admit it was quite fun!"

"Also, in order to escape the simulation, you had to renounce all your greatest dreams." Felicia said in a low tone. "I'm not an expert, but I do know the pain you had to undergo for that was no less than if you had to cut your own arm!"

"Hey, they were childish fantasies, I'll get over them in time. Plus-" the samurai girl nodded as the purple energy reappeared, dancing on her hand before dissolving, "I got my Calamity Powers now! And these are not fake ultimate power skills given to me only so I can play Mary Sue in my own fic, these are real! Real superpowers for me to wield!"

"Congratulation on your graduation, Amelia." Sasha said with a proud voice, Marcy and Anne moving next to her. "And welcome to the Calamity Superpowered. I guess now you'll have to train and nurture your powers too."

"My sister's all grown up." Jacob said with pride and whipped away a false tear from his eye, before turning to James. "Looks like you're the only one left, bro."

"Don't worry about me, I can be quite badass even without superpowers coming from a mystic gem. Plus, let her have her moment of glory: she deserves it!"

"Huh, Jacob?" Bella moved in, asking with a low tone almost as she was afraid of the others hearing her. "Please, if possible, when we go back to Newtopia, could you… not tell Yunan how I was acting like her, back in the simulation? I already got enough teasing from the other cadets as is, I don't need for them to start calling me 'Yunan 2.O'."

"Your secret is safe with me," Jacob nodded, before turning to face James, "however-"

"Don't be scared, I'm quite good at keeping secrets as well." The British teen replied, while the girls and the frogs, having finished exchanging apologies and heartwarming talks, were now getting ready to leave. "Believe me, I truly am…"

(…)

As the group finally packed up and left (not before Amelia had her own crying crisis as she got to reunite with Akitsu, the large dragonfly buzzing with a surprised expression as the human girl hugged her and asked her to 'never leave ever again') the clearing was left abandoned and forgotten once again.

The creeper plants were now struggling to find something else that could sustain their growth while a few small insects, mostly butterflies, dared to approach the sphere's remains, attracted by the bright reflection on the still-shiny surface. In a few days at most, the bugs and the environment would forcefully and permanently divide the remains of the once-powerful artifact so it would never-

A yell, followed by a loud crashing noise, imploded from the lying creepers, as a humanoid hand began to emerge, covered (or rather, made of) black liquid goo. The hand grabbed onto the ground and held on it, as it kept more and more goo dripping from the sphere's debris, the black liquid pouring together in a small puddle, the hand staying still for a few more moments.

And then, more body features began to form, as the puddle began to take physical form, and two bright blue eyes glowed from it.

"Amelia…" the voice of Doctor Ojo grunted, the pure desire that composed him now beginning to condense, looking around with an eager expression. Too late: the girl and her friends had already left, and judging by his surroundings, they had done it long enough that following was not a viable option.

Not that it mattered, of course.

She didn't understand, she wouldn't listen: this is why he existed. To be the villain to her hero, to be the evil that needed to be fought. This was his whole purpose, his only reason to live.

And even after she had attempted to reject him, to reject all her desires, he could still feel them.

Even though she denied him, he could still feel her wishes. He could still savor her cravings.

And she would get what she wanted, one way or another…