24. Episode 24: The Temple of Heart

Joe Sparrow flew through the chilly air, upon his back were our heroes, Marcy, Anne, Sprig, Polly, and Hop Pop, who was safely tucked away in the pocket of Joe Sparrow’s vest, aptly named the “Hop Pocket.” Everyone was dressed in winter gear as they were currently flying over the Amphibian Arctic, and why did they come to this frigid region? This was due to the fact that Marcy had determined the location of the second temple the Temple of Heart.

“I still can’t believe you managed to hit it off with Maddie,” said Anne as they flew through the skies.

“I know, it was sooo much fun learning how to use magic! I felt just like Cynthia Coven!” Marcy exclaimed with glee.

“By the way, did you ever ask Luz if she has the same books in her world?”

Marcy thought about it for a moment, and then facepalmed herself. “Oh shoot! I never did! We were so caught up with talking about Kamen Rider stuff that I never really got around to asking her about any similarities between our two worlds! Ugh…but then again, even if there were similarities, that wouldn’t definitively prove we come from the same Earth.”

“Why wouldn’t it?” Sprig asked. “If you both come from the same world, shouldn’t you have things there that are the same?”

“Not necessarily,” Marcy explained. “The multiverse is vast! There is a chance Luz is from the same universe as us, but it could just be that there are a lot of similarities between her universe and ours, but there might be bigger differences that she doesn’t think are big but would be huge to me and Anne. Like, maybe the moon is a different color in her universe. Or there could be different world leaders in charge. Certain companies may be out of business in our universe while others flourished in hers. It’s complicated.”

“Sounds like it,” Polly commented.

Anne sighed as she thought about the Hispanic girl. “You think she’s doing alright?”

“Hmm, are you asking because you’re worried about her? Or because you really do have a crush on her?” Marcy teased.

Anne deadpanned. “Ha, ha. But seriously, we’re close to finding a way back to our world. I’m just wondering if she’s found a way back to hers.”

Marcy reached across and patted Anne on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, once we got the box charged up, we can use it to go to that Demon Realm and help her out. Heck, we could team up and take down her bad guys and she can help us with ours! And then we can take her back home.”

Anne smiled as she nodded. “Yeah, man, she’s going to be excited to see us again.”

Joe flew over a mountain pass, and as they did, they flew by three large beasts. They looked like mantises, but they were covered in thick, wooly fur, and had long tusk-like pincers.

Sprig looked down and pointed them out, “Oh, cool, Wooly Mantises!”

Anne gazed down and blinked. “Whoa, those guys are big.”

“Yeah, best we keep away from them. They’re omnivores, and are docile most of the time, unless they’re hungry…” Marcy stated.

Joe Sparrow found a clear space to land and proceeded to do so. The giant sparrow softly landed upon the frozen ground, and then he fell forward and face planted. Joe tried to get back up, but even once he did, he was having a hard time getting any friction going as he slipped and fell backwards into a pile of snow.

After excavating themselves from the snow pile, Marcy declared, “Welcome to the Amphibian Arctic, everyone!”

Everyone was in awe of the new region as they walked about. Sprig and Polly in particular as they had never been this far north, or this far out of the valley aside from Newtopia. Or got to see the snow and ice without being frozen in a block of ice.

“Still wish we could’ve brought Frobo with us,” said Polly.

“Ah think it’s better that he’s watchin’ the farm, plus if any of those Fallen show up there, at least we know Frobo can take ‘em,” said Hop Pop.

“That’s true. But that also means Machine Stormer is waaaaaaaaay back there in Wartwood. So, for right now we only have Joe and Marcy’s Machine Zefyr in case we get into a bind,” said Anne.

Marcy confidently remarked, “No worries, Anna-Banana, we’ll be fine. Anyways, I triangulated the tracking beam from the stone.” The young genius pulled out a pencil holder and unzipped it. When she reached in, she pulled out the green stone which fired out its tracking beam. “Aaaaannnd…”

The beam shot forward and stopped when it hit the middle of Hop Pop’s forehead.

“Hop Pop, move!” Polly ordered.

“Oops, sorry.”

Hop Pop laid down in the snow, allowing the emerald beam to continue and shoot into the forest behind him.

“The second temple must be right through there! C’mon,” said Anne.

The group ran for the trees, and after trekking through the tall pine trees for a minute they emerged on the other side. A thick mist covered the area, but a second later it cleared, revealing a tall archway. It was set up on two pillars, on the left pillar was the carved statue of a fly, and on the right pillar was a frog. The frog statue’s tongue formed the “U” shaped arch and stuck to the fly statue on the other side. At the top of the arch was a blue crystal where the emerald beam locked onto. As if energizing the crystal, the blue crystal began to glow, and soon after Amphibian runes appeared on the archway in the form of blue light.

“‘Just beyond these snowy gates, a grueling, perilous temple awaits,’” Marcy translated.

“Uh…no it doesn’t,” said Polly.

Once everyone got closer to the archway, they realized that there was nothing on the other side except flat land covered by piles of snow and littered with pine trees. This was quite odd, as the Temple of Mind was a huge structure, but there was nothing here. No structures, no nothing.

“Huh, that’s weird,” said Marcy.

“Maybe it’s invisible?” Sprig walked through the archway and leaned up against something. Which turned out to be nothing as he fell face first into the snow.

“Was there anything about the temple in the books you read, Mar-Mar?” Anne asked.

“All the ancient texts I read were super vague. It was called the Temple of Heart, and kept referencing the word ‘heart’ a lot, too,” said Marcy.

“Okay, are we looking for somethin’ heart shaped?” Hop Pop asked.

“Or maybe we need to rip somebody’s heart out?!” Polly suggested.

Anne thought about this for a moment, if there was one thing that could prove that they might be close to it, then there was one way to find out. “Marcy let’s transform and see what happens once we pass through it.”

“Good thinking,” Marcy replied.

Sprig, Hop Pop, and Polly backed away to give the girls room to change. Anne and Marcy executed their hand motions, summoning their MetamorphRing Drivers, and in the next moment they cried out, “Henshin!” Two domes of azure lightning and emerald wind wrapped around Anne and Marcy, the domes broke apart and revealed the heroes Kamen Rider Amp and Ranger.

“Let’s see what happens,” said Amp.

Both Riders walked through the archway, and at first, nothing happened. But that did not last long as Amp and Ranger’s transformations were cancelled out, returning them to civilian form, but their Drivers were still on.

“Huh, okay, so we must be close, then?” Anne thought aloud.

“We have to be, I’m sure this is the place,” said Marcy.

“CAW! CAW!”

A bird came flying out of nowhere, startling the group as it flew into the distance.

Anne looked in the direction the bird flew and noticed that it had a gold collar with a red gemstone hanging off it. “Wait a second…I know that crazy bird! Quick, let’s follow it!”

“CAW! BIRD!”

The group did as Anne said and followed the parroting bird until led them to a huge tent out in the middle of nowhere. There was smokestack in the middle of the tent, and at the front was a stand that had many different wares assembled onto it. Next to the tent was a sign that read, “Valeriana’s Mysterious Goods.”

“Valeriana…wait a second, Anne, wasn’t that the name of the merchant from the Bizarre Bazaar?” Sprig asked.

Anne’s eyes widened with realization. “Yeah, you’re right! And she said she’s been all over Amphibia, right? Maybe she knows where the temple is?!” Anne led the group closer to the tent, but then groaned in agitation as she read the sign hanging above the shop that read, “out to lunch.”

“Ugh! Why is she always out to lunch?!” Anne griped.

“That’s because it is the most important meal of the day!”

The group turned around and watched as Valeriana appeared from behind a tree. She was an elderly newt woman, dressed in a black robe, with a necklace that had an hourglass shaped symbol, and a dagger hanging off a leather belt. She was dark green with yellow spots, and a yellow underbelly coloring that went up to her lower jaw. The elderly newt woman was missing her right arm, and but had a glove around the tip of her tail, while in her left hand she held a skewer that had some food stuck on it.

“It’s been awhile, creature.” Valeriana took a bite of the food before continuing. “What brings you here? Hmm… could it be…” Valeriana tossed the skewer into the air, that same wooden skewer quickly transformed into a staff which that newt woman snatched out of the air and pointed it straight at Anne. “You seek an ancient temple to charge an ancient stone?!”

“Actually, yes, we do! You know about them?” Anne asked.

“Indeed, but do you really think you’re worthy of challenging the temple?” Valeriana asked as she squinted at her.

“Well…yeah,” said Anne.

“Totally!” Marcy exclaimed.

Valeriana glared at the two humans with her pink eyes as she said, “We shall see.”

“Oh, I’m Marcy, BT dubs,” Marcy greeted.

“Uh, nice to meet you,” Valeriana replied as she shook Marcy’s hand with her tail.

“And I’m Hop Pop.”

“Uh, hi.”

“Polly here!”

“Sure.”

The group gathered inside of Valeriana’s tent, where she had a roaring fire going that the provide ample warmth within. There were various ancient artifacts within the tent, some were jewelry, weapons, armor, books, and a spikey tortoise shell. Spherical lanterns hung from overhead, with brightly glowing insects that provided soft lightning for the interior, and at the center was a large round table, where the Plantars, humans, and Valeriana sat.

“I am the last of an ancient order. Our purpose was to study the stones and the temples,” said Valeriana. “The stones have been in Amphibia for quite some time, but mysteriously, they vanished, and now, it seems as if they have returned, along with the music box.”

“Whoa…” the group awed.

Valeriana eyed the MetamorphRings around Anne and Marcy’s waists and asked, “What manner of contraption are those?”

“Oh, these?” Anne gripped the Driver. “These are, well, we call them MetamorphRings. They allow us to transform into Kamen Riders, warriors with superpowers.”

“We’ve been using them to fight against The Night, some kind of evil entity that seems to feel threatened by us,” said Marcy.

Valeriana held her curious expression. “I see…and you have been battling this entity since you have arrived?”

“Well, Marcy has. She got her powers, like, day one. Mine didn’t appear until about a month later,” Anne explained.

“Have ya ever heard of anythin’ like this, Miss Valeriana?” Hop Pop asked.

“Hmm…perhaps, but, for now, let us get to the heart of the matter. You wish to charge one of the ancient stones, correct?”

Marcy smiled as she remarked, “Yes, we do! Do you know where it is? We managed to clear the Temple of Mind, and the stone led us here. But there’s nothing past the archway.”

“That is a remnant of the temple, a marker to show that you are within its domain. But the actual Temple of Heart is quite far from here,” said Valeriana. “However, I must ask, do you truly possess the music box?”

“Sure do.” Anne reached into her backpack and produced the Calamity Box.

Valeriana’s eyes slowly widened as her gaze fixated on the mystical item. “After all these years, it has returned to Amphibia. Truly amazing. I should very much like to hold it.”

That look in Valeriana’s eyes did not go unnoticed by Anne. She could feel that something was off about this woman. And right now, she could not afford to have something happen to the music box again, she had learned her lesson from the Bizarre Bazaar.

“Sorry, but I’d rather hold onto it. I’m a bit cautious after what happened at the Bazaar,” said Anne.

A disappointed look appeared on the old newt’s face as she stood up. “Suit yourself then, child.” Valeriana walked to her dresser and opened it. “To get to the temple, we must climb the freezing cliffs of Mount Mutu. Leave your flimsy jackets and wear these caterpillar-wool coats instead.”

Valeriana tossed out four wool coats of varying sizes to the humans and Plantars.

“Since this temple is my responsibility, you all must do exactly as I say. Or else you can say goodbye to ever finding it. Are we clear?” Valeriana asked with seriousness.

“Clear!” the kids replied.

“Clear and comfy,” said Hop Pop.

“Good, then, follow me.”

Valeriana left the tent, Marcy, Hop Pop, and Polly followed right after her, but Anne reached out and grabbed Sprig, bringing him close to her so that their voices would not carry outside.

“Something’s not right about this lady, Sprig,” said Anne.

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Didn’t you see how she was eyeing the music box? Plus, she owns a parrot! Only bad guys own parrots!” Anne argued.

“Anne, I get your cautious after the Bizarre Bazaar, but we won’t let that happen again. We got Hop Pop, Polly, and Marcy to watch our backs. And you’re not the same as you were back then, you have powers now,” said Sprig.

Anne raised her left hand and clenched it into a fist as she concentrated, trying to call upon her power, but it was not coming. It was there, she could feel it, but it would not answer her call. “Well, we did. She said that gate marks the temple’s domain. So that means so long as we’re here, me and Marcy are powerless.”

“It’ll work out, Anne, I know it will! Now c’mon or they’ll leave us behind!”

Sprig hurried off to join the others, but Anne was still skeptical. She normally was a trusting person, but after the almost getting turned into a wax statue, some leftover trauma regarding Hop Pop’s betrayal, her baggage with Sasha, and then the Bizarre Bazaar, Anne was not about to lose the only way she and her girlfriend had at getting back to their home.

I’m watching you, Valeriana.

The next leg of their quest was arduous. Valeriana led the group up the mountain, while Anne found climbing the face of the mountain to be a relatively easy task, even in the cold, the same could not be said of the others. Even with all the combat and training, Marcy’s stamina for something like this was still lacking. Anne had no doubts if Marcy had access to her powers, she could easily climb this mountain with little effort, but without them, she had to put in some effort. Sprig was young and spry and had been able to keep pace with Anne a little, but he had to go a bit slower since he was carrying Polly on his head. But Hop Pop seemed to be having the most trouble with this, his old body, combined with the frigid temperatures were not doing his bones any good, slowing down his movements and bringing up the rear.

Valeriana was far ahead of them the whole time, she practically glided up the mountain and showed little to no signs that this climb was affecting her. It annoyed Anne how she perched herself on the cliff above, looking down on them as if they were such disappointments.

“Quickly, you three! I’d like to reach the temple in this century!” Valeriana huffed in annoyance. “How could adventures so lazy ever expect to conquer the temple?”

Anne glared up at the newt woman. She got down on one knee and helped Marcy up, seeing how tired she was getting. “Don’t worry guys, we’re almost there.”

As Anne was waiting to help Hop Pop up, Valeriana, without the group knowing, whistled. A moment later, a large shadow was cast over the group. When they looked up, they saw a huge cardinal the size of Joe Sparrow, sporting four eyes and a razor-sharp tongue. Anne and the Plantars screamed their heads off at the sight of the flying beast, but Marcy was strangely calm.

“Why aren’t you freaking out?!” Anne asked.

“Oh, relax guys. It’s just a cardinal, they don’t even eat frogs.” Marcy confidently strolled up to the cardinal. “She’s just saying hellooo.”

That’s when the cardinal opened its beak, struck the ground on either side of Marcy, and snapped her up.

“MARCY!!!” Anne yelled as she rushed to her.

Anne jumped and grabbed ahold of her girlfriend’s legs. She thrashed back and forth until the cardinal released Marcy, dropping both of them back onto the cliff. Both girls groaned from the ordeal, but it was not over yet. The cardinal decided to switch its target and headed straight for the Plantars.

“Marcy, you said it doesn’t eat frogs!”

“I-I was sure that – Wait! Cardinals eat caterpillars! Our coats are made of caterpillar-wool, it must think we’re caterpillars! We have to get rid of them!” Marcy deduced.

Sprig, who was helping Hop Pop up the cliff, had to release him as he jumped backwards to avoid getting skewered by the cardinal’s beak. “What?! No! We need these to keep warm!”

“And look good!” Polly added.

“Marcy, what do we do?!” Hop Pop asked.

Marcy wracked her brain, there had to be a way to get rid of the cardinal without sacrificing their coats. The frogs would instantly freeze in place without them, so that was not an option. Anne or herself could get rid of theirs, and distract the cardinal long enough for them to get away, but humans did not fair any better in temperatures like this. While they wouldn’t freeze up like the Plantars, Anne and herself would succumb to hypothermia if they did not reach the temple in time.

“MARCY!” Sprig, Polly, and Hop Pop screamed.

“Let me think! Let me think!” Marcy begged.

Anne shot to her feet as she yelled, “THERE’S NO TIME!”

The Thai girl quickly took of her coat and chucked it down the side of the mountain. The cardinal noticed this and immediately dove after the coat, granting the group time to climb up to where Valeriana was.

Hmm, impressive, thought Valeriana.

“Anne, ya saved us! Here, take my coat,” said Hop Pop.

“N-N-No! Y-You f-frogs will turn to ice without protection!” Anne declined. “I’ll be okay, so long as we reach the temple soon.”

Valeriana’s brow furrowed as she said, “It won’t be soon! You think it wise that you abandoned your coat? You’ll freeze to death out here.”

“Well, I had to do something! My frog family and girlfriend were in danger!” Anne shot back.

“Impulsive!” Valeriana lightly smacked Anne in the gut with her staff. “And defensive! Very unworthy qualities I must say.”

Valeriana walked on, leaving the group to catch up to her.

“Anne don’t listen to her; you did what you had to. I’m sorry I couldn’t think of a solution that didn’t require us to lose a coat,” said Marcy.

“Hey, don’t worry about it, Mar-Mar,” said Anne as she shivered.

“Anne, you don’t have to worry, we’ll huddle around you for warmth until we get to the temple,” said Sprig.

Anne watched as Sprig hugged her left leg, while Polly hugged her waist, and Hop Pop hugged her left leg. The Thai teen smiled at her frog family and began to walk, awkwardly.

“Hop Pop, did you gain weight?”

“It’s impolite to ask, Anne.”

She walked like that for about three minutes before Anne decided it was not going to work. Marcy decided to share her coat, opening it up so that Anne could huddle closer to Marcy and wrap the other half of the coat around Anne. All while the Plantars continued to stick as close to her as possible, trying to create as much warmth for her as possible. Their journey continued through a forest, where the snow sparkled, and shimmered.

“It’s so fortunate that the music box fell into such average hands,” said Valeriana. “Tell me, how did you come into possession of it?”

Anne stopped in her tracks as her mind flashed back to that faithful day, when she walked into that thrift shop and stole the box without anyone knowing. In retrospect, was it really stealing if the box belonged to another world? It never really belonged on Earth in first place, it belonged in Amphibia, so…technically, she just brought it back to its rightful home. Anne glanced at Marcy; she was making an expression that told her that they should not reveal how they obtained it. And she agreed, no matter which way you slice it, she stole it, and right now they could not afford to lose this chance of charging one of the stones. So…she lied.

“Yeah, that’s a bit fuzzy. When the box zapped us here, my memories got a bit scrambled, so I can’t quite remember how I got it,” said Anne.

Valeriana raised a suspicious eyebrow, but then she smiled and pressed on. However, they came to another stop when they heard a rumble, and felt the ground shake a bit.

“Uh…what was that?” Polly asked.

“Oh, nothing much, just an avalanche,” said Valeriana nonchalantly.

“WHAT?!” they gasped.

“EVERYBODY RUUUUUUNNN–!”

Sprig was quickly silenced by Valeriana, pinching his mouth shut.

“Shush! You loud little frog baby!” Valeriana whispered harshly.

Just then, they turned to their gazes to the peak of a nearby mountain, and that is when they saw part of the snow and ice break off and begin to slide down the mountain, but not in their direction.

Valeriana breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, looks like it’s moving away from us. We’re safe.”

As Anne watched the avalanche, she looked down in the direction it was heading and noticed a hut that was right in its path. “Oh shoot! Guys, there’s a hut down there! And I think there’s people in there! We have to get them out there!”

Valeriana gave Anne an incredulous look. “How, by running towards the avalanche?! You are mad. I say we press on, they are lost, child, and all we can pray for is that their end is quick and painless.”

Anne clenched her fists, she may not have her speed, but she was still fast, and she would be damned if she was going to let someone die when she could have done something. “NUTS TO THAT!”

“ANNE!!!” Marcy, Polly, Sprig, and Hop Pop cried out.

Anne bolted as fast as she could to the hut, she jumped down a drop off and rolled when she hit the ground, but then shot back up and continued to run, ignoring the approaching avalanche as she burst through the front door. “Everyone, you have to get out of here now!”

However, once she was inside, Anne noticed that there was no one in there, just a fireplace, and a table with a sign on it that read, “Out To Lunch.”

“HOW IS EVERYBODY OUT TO LUNCH RIGHT NOW?!” Anne yelled in frustration.

With the confirmation that there was no one inside, Anne ran out of the hut, double timing it as the avalanche was right on top of her. Her lungs were burning due to the cold air, it was almost hard to breathe, but she almost made it to the drop off. Anne glanced to her right and watched as the tidal wave of ice and snow was about to claim her. But the Thai teen jumped at the last second and grabbed ahold of the edge of the drop off just as the wave crashed and swallowed up everything downhill. Anne dangled on the edge as the snow and debris rushed by beneath her, but thankfully the others, except Valeriana, ran to her aid and pulled her up.

“Whew…thanks you guys,” said Anne.

Marcy quickly hugged Anne tight and scolded, “Anne Boonchuy, don’t you ever scare me like that again!”

Anne hugged her back and said, “I’m sorry, Marcy.”

“Don’t be,” Marcy replied. “I know you wouldn’t have been able to forgive yourself if you didn’t at least try and save them. Was there anyone in there?”

“Thankfully, no,” Anne answered as she stood up, but then she doubled over a bit, putting her hands on her knees. “Whoa…got a little lightheaded there for a sec.”

“Ya sure yer okay, Anne?” Hop Pop asked.

“I will be, let’s just get to the temple.”

“Oh, that won’t be happening. I’ve learned all I need to know about you lot. Disobedient, foolish, impulsive. None of these qualities are worthy of the sacred stones!” Valeriana accused.

“What?!” Anne exclaimed.

“You don’t deserve my help.” Valeriana turned her back on the group as she began to walk away. “Good luck finding the temple on your own.”

Anne could not believe it, after all they went through, she was just going to strand them out there. And who was she to say that they were unworthy?

“YOU ARE SO FULL OF–!” Anne glanced down at Sprig and Polly, then back at Valeriana. “FROG SPIT!”

The newt woman stopped in her tracks and glanced over her left shoulder at the afro haired human.

“You barely gave us a chance! And who in the heck are you to say that we aren’t worthy?! Marcy’s been protecting Newtopia from the Fallen since we got here! And she’s helped build up the city of Newtopia! I’ve protected my family since I got these powers – heck, me, Marcy, and a girl named Luz, saved the world from a monster that would’ve taken it over and filled it with the undead! And you’re just going to stand there and tell us we’re not worthy?! Well, if that’s what counts as ‘unworthy’ then guilty as freakin’ charged!”

Valeriana slowly turned around, “Child, you had better quit while you’re ahead.”

“Anne, maybe you should calm down,” Sprig suggested.

“No! She needs to hear this!” Anne retorted. “I don’t know where your high and mighty order gets off, but you and it are nothing but cruel, judgmental, SNOBS!!!!”

The tension was thick as the Plantars and Marcy watched as Valeriana stared down Anne, and Anne stared down Valeriana. If it were not for the cold winds howling, it would be deathly quiet.

“BRAT!” Valeriana cried out, approaching Anne, and pressing her staff against the teen’s chest as she glared up at her. “You dare insult the order that I have dedicated my entire life to!”

“Yeah, I did! So, what are you going to do about?”

Anne received her answer in the form of Valeriana wrapping her tail around Anne’s right arm. With a wave of her staff, Valerian and Anne’s became distorted before they vanished from sight. Everyone’s mouth was agape, they could not believe what they had just seen, and they have seen some things.

“Did you guys see that?” Sprig asked.

“Anne…Anne? ANNE!!!” Marcy yelled as she rushed to the spot where Anne disappeared.

The Chinese girl scrambled as she used her hands to dig through the snow, trying to see if there was a trap door, or something, anything to indicate where they disappeared through. But when Marcy’s hands hit the ground, she realized that there was nothing.

“Anne…”

Anne’s head was spinning, there was a thick fog all over the place, and she was wondering what just happened. She remembered telling off Valeriana, then she grabbed her, waved her staff, and then something happened. The fog began to clear, and when it did, Anne gasped. The sky was filled with stars, and there was an aurora borealis. Anne looked down and saw that she was on a stone platform, a platform that turned out to be an incredibly huge pillar, with the carving of an olm coiling around it. When Anne looked over the edge all she could see were clouds, she had no idea just how high up she was, or even if she was anywhere in the Amphibian Artic anymore.

Anne looked over her shoulder and saw that Valeriana was there, the human teen turned to face her and asked, “What did you do?! Where are we?!”

She received no answer.

“Ugh! Look, just show me and my friends the way to the temple!”

Valeriana chuckled mockingly. “Never! You are unworthy! In fact, none are worthy! And now that I have you alone, I can return the box to its rightful guardian…ME!”

“Huh?” Anne suddenly heard the sound of her backpack unzipping. When she glanced over her shoulder, she saw that Valeriana’s parrot had somehow gotten inside of her back. “What the heck?! When did you get in there?!”

The bug-bird flew out of her backpack, the music box clutched firmly in its talons. The bird thew the box forward where it slid across the ground and ended up at the feet of Valeriana.

“NO! I need that to get back home!” Anne exclaimed.

“Aha! See, still only thinking about yourself! Very selfish,” said the newt woman.

Valeriana used her staff to flip the music box into the air where she waited to catch it with her tail, but at the last second, Anne whipped out her tennis racket and caught the box on the flat, bringing it back to her.

“You’re wrong! I’m not…that selfish!”

Valeriana twirled her staff around as she began attacking Anne, swiping it through the air as she forced Anne go on the defensive.

“Ha! Is that so?! But did you not lie to the Plantars to get a day off work?”

Anne was caught off guard. “Wait, how did you know that?”

Valeriana swung at her head, Anne leaned back to avoid it, but she leaned too far and fell onto her back. The newt woman struck with her staff, but Anne rolled out of the way at the last second before Valeriana’s hit could land. She switched the music box over to her right hand and used her left to parry Valeriana’s attacks with her tennis racket, using her sword skills to counter.

“Didn’t you drive the family snail, even though you were told not?!”

Anne dodged another swipe from the staff. Valeriana’s tail came in and struck Anne in the gut, forcing the teen backwards as she let out a cough from the blow. “What else…do you know?!”

“I know that you snore.”

“…Could’ve kept that one to yourself…” Anne muttered.

Valeriana lashed out with her tail again while Anne was distracted, wrapping it around her right ankle and pulling it out from under the teen. Anne fell onto her back again, but upon doing so, she lost the music box. The newt woman used her ornate shepherd’s crook staff to snatch the box out of the air, letting it rest on her tail.

“Didn’t you steal Hopadiah’s wallet for a girl’s day out on the town?!”

Anne furrowed her brow as she dashed towards Valeriana, the newt slashed the air with her staff, but Anne rolled out of the way at the last second, getting right under Valeriana’s tail. Anne kicked upwards, throwing the box into the air. The teen ran and then jumped, grabbing it before it could hit ground as she landed, and readied to fight again.

“Okay, that’s not how it happened!” Anne retorted.

Valeriana turned around and pointed her staff accusingly at Anne as she said, “But you did steal the music box.”

Anne’s eyes flew open, she tried to say something back, but there was no excuse for it. “I…I did steal it…”

“So, it is! You are a liar and a thief, pretending to be a hero in order to make up for your past misdeeds! There is no doubt you are truly unworthy to enter the temple! Now the box will be MINE!”

Valeriana ran towards Anne, readying her staff to deal the human girl a final blow. But Anne was quick enough to see it coming and dodged to her right just as Valeriana attacked. Unfortunately, Valeriana was unable to stop her momentum, which carried her forward and over the edge of the platform. But to her luck, she managed to grab the edge with her left hand, leaving her dangling over the edge.

Anne put the music box into her backpack along with her racket. She walked over to pick up Valeriana’s staff, but then turned in the newt woman’s direction when she heard her laughing. “What’s so funny?”

“You can’t get back without me, child! You have no choice but to help me,” said Valeriana in triumph.

Anne blinked as she pointed at the staff in her right hand. “Uh, don’t I just wave this thing up and down.”

“……YOU WEREN’T SUPPOSED TO FIGURE THAT OUT!” The edge she was holding cracked, and Valeriana fell.” AAAAHAAAAHHHHH!!!!”

But her fate was not decided as Anne quickly thrust the staff down and caught Valeriana by the hood. The newt woman was shocked by this, even as Anne pulled her back up to the safety of the platform. Valeriana stood up slowly and asked, “You…You risked your life to save me! But why?! I was about to harm you and take the box from you!”

Anne sighed as she stood up as well, she walked away from Valeriana as she said, “Yeah you were, but even so, that’s what a Kamen Rider does. Saving people is the right thing to do. And yeah, you’re right, I did lie and steal, and if that makes me unworthy fine. Those bad choices were mine, and I’ll own them. But making them taught me that it’s always better to do the right thing. I’m not perfect, but I’ll always strive to do my best.”

Valeriana stood up and smiled gently at the young girl. “We have been waiting for someone like you for such a long time.”

Anne raised an eyebrow at that. “Uh, excuse me?”

Valeriana raised two of her fingers and made a  circular motion with them. Almost immediately, the music box floated out of Anne’s backpack, and both it and her staff floated to her. Once in her possession, a cloud of smoke wrapped around her as a transformation took hold. When the smoke cleared, Valeriana’s dark robe had been replaced with one that was white and gold, and the red hourglass symbol on her necklace had now become bright blue.

“Whoa, momma, you clean up nice!” Anne exclaimed.

As Valeriana walked to the center of the platform she spoke, “You have sacrificed your warmth for your friends. Your safety for a stranger in need. You even risked your life for an enemy. But empathy alone isn’t enough, for what is heart without responsibility?!”

Valeriana raised her staff and struck the butt of it into a slot that was at the center of the platform. Upon doing so, the entire platform lit up with blue glowing Amphibian runes.

“In the name of the Temple of Heart, I declare you worthy, Anne Boonchuy,” Valeriana proclaimed.

“W-What?! Wait a minute, so the cardinal, the avalanche?!”

“All trials, Anne. You see we’ve been making our way through the ‘temple’ this entire time,” she explained. “And I have been testing you.”

Anne facepalmed. “That’s why mine and Marcy’s powers were cancelled out when we went through the gate, the trials had already started.”

“Now, what is it that you want my child?”

Anne grinned as she said, “To charge up the stone and return home!”

“So be it!”

Valeriana held her gloved tail over the music box, the faded blue gemstone detached itself from the box and into her gloved tail hand. The newt woman placed the stone in the middle of the hook of her staff, and upon doing so, the gemstone released a blinding, brilliant show of light that made Anne and Valeriana squint. Anne’s eyes glowed bright blue, and slowly the energy within began to fade. At the same time, the gemstone released a twinkling star that shot around Valeriana and right into Anne’s MetamorphRing.

The light finally dimmed as more Amphibian runes appeared on the floor, which coiled up the staff until the entire thing was glowing. But unlike the green gemstone, it did not immediately regain its color and glow. In fact, it looked as if the color was slowly returning, starting at the bottom of the gem, and gradually working its way up.

“Huh, it’s a lot slower than last time,” Anne commented.

“Sorry, this thing’s pretty old,” Valeriana apologized.

“Ah, no, no, I get it, it’s cool.”

An awkward silence befell them.

“Would you like something to read?” she offered.

“Seriously, it’s fine.”

A great roar echoed loudly through the space, followed by screaming, familiar screaming at that. Anne rushed to the edge of the platform as she felt the presence of a Fallen down below.

“Oh crud! There’s a Fallen down there! Valeriana, you need to turn off whatever’s keeping me and Marcy from using our powers!” Anne cried.

“I’m sorry, Anne, but I do not know how. That is something I have no control over,” she said.

The roaring continued along with the screaming. Anne was growing more anxious, even if she could not transform, she could not just stand back and let her frog family and girlfriend fight alone down there. The Thai girl glanced at the stone, which had half its glow returned.

“You know what, that looks charged enough!” Ann ran to the staff, plucked up the stone, and put it back into the music box. “Send me back! Send me back! Send me back! Send me back!”

“Anne, you can’t, without your powers you could get killed!”

“I’m not letting them die, Valeriana! Do it!”

Valeriana nodded; she was not going to argue it any further. With a wave of her staff, Anne’s form once again became distorted, and she disappeared from the summit of the temple.

“Anne, never forget your self-worth. You fight for your friends, and the ones you love, and that resolve will carry you through any trials you may face in life. Go and strike at the evil that plagues this land, Kamen Rider Amp.”

Anne’s head was spinning again, but she it shook off. She started looking around and noticed how the trees were broken apart, and there was signs of commotion with the disturbed snow. Anne heard screaming again and ran in that direction. When she arrived at the location, she gasped. What she heard was the Fallen, but it was a big one.

The Night had transformed a Wooly Mantis into a Fallen. This new creature was by far the biggest Fallen they have faced, standing at twenty feet, with thick gray wool that sheened as if it were made of metal. A black breast plate adorned its chest, showing the thirteen eyes of The Night molded onto it. The creature’s tusks were made of black ice, as its sickle arms were transformed into black metallic blades that released a bluish aura. This Fallen’s body was bulky, with spikes protruding down its insectoid legs, and sharp talons at the ends of each of them. This species of mantis had no wings, but thanks to its transformation, it was granted two large black feathered wings.

Anne looked about and saw that Marcy was panting, clutching at her left arm as some blood trickled down from her forehead and over her left eye, forcing her to shut it and limiting her vision to only her right eye. Hop Pop had made sure to shield his grandchildren, but knew it was better to stay out of the way of Marcy, but right now, neither one of them were in any position to fight against this Fallen.

“MARCY, HOP POP, SPRIG, POLLY!!!” Anne shouted.

Everyone shot their heads in Anne’s direction, and they gasped in surprise and relief to see that she was alright.

Anne looked back at the Wooly Mantis Fallen, her brow furrowing as anger welled up inside of her. “Typical, you want to fight us when we can’t use our powers? I don’t know if you can hear me through your monsters, Night, but you’re such a coward! No wonder you have to corrupt innocent creatures to fight your battles! Powers or no powers, you’re not winning here! Not today! Not ever!”

Suddenly, Anne’s MetamorphRing shined bright blue as it underwent a transformation of its own. When the light faded, the Driver had evolved into its next stage, the MetamorphRing TRI. Marcy’s jaw dropped when she saw this, now Anne had access to her own Super Form, but would she even be able to use it? She had tried to transform earlier, but her Driver would not respond.

Anne could feel something was different, she could feel the flow of her power. Was the temple granting her an exception to use her powers? Whatever the case was, Anne was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Anne crossed her arms in front of her, forming an “X,” she slowly broke the “X” and circled her hands around, bringing them forward.

“Henshin.”

The Thai girl pressed on both of her hip devices, causing azure lightning to form a dome around her, but this time a bright blue light shined from within that dome. The light grew brighter and brighter until the dome burst apart in a shower of crackling electrical energy. The helmet remained the same, except now the crest had changed to resemble a dragonfly, with the wings made of light-blue crystal. The armor had become bulkier, with the chest plate having additional gray armor plates, and the triangle stone at the center now a deep navy-blue color. Amp’s forearms were adorned with bracers that had a blue line wrapped around them that had Amphibia runes engraved into them. At the top of the bracers was a light-blue crystal blade. The greaves sported the same blue line and runes, but the crystal blades were on the sides. The blue lines on the mesh and chest had changed, taking on a different pattern from before. But the most noticeable change was that Amp’s red scarf was no longer there, but instead was replaced by a scarf that was made entirely of pure energy, much like Ranger’s hood and cape in her Super Form.

Amp could feel the power coursing through her, in greater magnitudes than even her Trinity Form. “No one hurts my family, or my girlfriend!”

The Wooly Mantis Fallen roared mightily as it charged straight for her, raising its black blade sickle arm as it came down with a slash. Amp did not even bother to move as she let the monster’s attack hit, but Amp did not even flinch. In fact, there were no sparks. The Wooly Mantis Fallen continued to attack, slashing at her again and again, but no matter how many times it did, there was not a single scratch on her armor. Unbeknownst to Anne and the others, her Super Form granted her an invisible electrical aura shield that was taking the brunt of the blows from the Fallen.

Deciding that she had indulged the monster enough, Anne raised her right hand. The Wooly Mantis Fallen looked at that hand curiously, and then a bolt of lightning shot forth and struck the beast in the chest, sending it flying backwards as it smashed through several trees. The sound of thunder echoed around them and caused an avalanche to come roaring down the mountainside.

“Oh no!” Sprig exclaimed.

“We need to get outta here!” Polly yelled.

Amp heard them and appeared next them before they realized it. “Hang on.”

Before any of the Plantars could say a word, Anne picked them all up and, literally, bolted out of the area where the avalanche was about to hit. She reappeared a few yards away from where the avalanche was going to hit, and then swiftly went back for Marcy. When she arrived, she kneeled down in front of her girlfriend and examined her wound.

“Are you alright?” Amp asked.

“Y-Yes, it’s just a cut. Head wounds always bleed badly. But Anne…just…wow! Look at you! You got your Super Form! H-How do you feel?”

Amp flexed her right fist as she said, “Strong, like I can take down anything that threatens you or my family. I already thought of the perfect name for this form.”

“And what is it?”

The Wooly Mantis Fallen roared as its two black ice tusks glowed and released a beam of cryo energy that hit Amp’s location, creating a huge glacier of black ice. However, that glacier cracked down the middle and shattered apart as Amp showed that her right bracer blade was extended.

“Raging Heart: Vengeance Mode!”

The avalanche was finally upon them, Amp scooped up Marcy, bridal style, and took off just before the avalanche crashed down on their location. She reappeared right where she left the Plantars and gently put her down next to them.

“This’ll be over in a minute.”

Before her loved ones could say a word, Amp was already halfway back to the battlefield. The Wooly Mantis Fallen broke itself out of the ice and snow, as it roared and got back to its feet. But when it did, the beast was struck in the side of its face by Amp, coming at it with a flying right punch. The Fallen stumbled a bit and swung with its sickle arm, but only managed to slash the air. It looked down and saw that Amp was on the ground below it, Amp shot upward and struck the Wooly Mantis Fallen with a flip kick, sending it stumbling backwards completely disoriented.

Before the monster could have a chance to react, the energy scarf of Amp lashed out and wrapped itself around the Wooly Mantis Fallen’s body. Amp shot herself into the air, dragging the beast with her. The Fallen thrashed in protest, and launched energy blades upwards, trying to cut down Amp. But the blue Rider was nimble, avoiding the attacks, although she really did not need to. Amp came to a swift stop, spun once, and tossed the monster back down to the ground. The Wooly Mantis Fallen hit with the force of a small meteor, blowing away the snow and allowing the dirt beneath to show.

Amp floated back down to the ground, into the crater that the Wooly Mantis Fallen had created. The huge monster managed to get back to its feet, although it was shaking. Amp could feel it, this creature was turned against its well just like the others, and it was suffering on the inside.

“Don’t worry, I’ll put you out of your misery.”

The blade fins on her bracers and greaves fanned out, along with the wings of crest. Blue particles began to gather to both of them as the lines on her armor and the eyes of her helmet glowed brighter. Amp widened her stance, and then disappeared. The Wooly Mantis Fallen looked around the area, but could not find her, it looked everywhere, but down.

Amp appeared right under the monster, shooting straight up as she kicked the monster under its chin and launched it back into the air. The Wooly Mantis Fallen flew higher and higher until the trees below were little dots on the landscape, during this flight, Amp was following right behind it, as if she was its shadow. Amp spun and kicked the monster in its left side with her left leg, when her kick landed, it was as if thunder was roaring in the sky. Amp rolled in midair until she appeared on its right and hit it with a left backhand fist. With another thunderous blow the monster was sent flying back down.

Amp kept pace as the beast fell, but right before it could make impact, she spun once again and cried out, “LIGHTNING CALAMITY BARRAGE!”

The hero of lightning channeled the remainder of her power into her right foot and came down on the monster with an ax kick to its gut, driving it straight into the ground and cracking the earth beneath it. A black halo formed over the Wooly Mantis Fallen’s head right before it exploded, leveling the trees around it. Amp was nowhere to be seen, but then a silhouette formed in the flames as two glowing eyes appeared, and out from that blaze walked out Kamen Rider Amp.

The hero of lightning bolted away from the battlefield and appeared before her friends. Once she had, Amp went down on one knee as she began to pant. The transformation disengaged, returning Amp to her civilian form.

“Oh man…that was intense…jeez,” Anne panted.

“Hey, are you alright?” Marcy asked as she knelt before Anne.

“Y-Yeah…that was just, like, a crazy amount of power, and I was way more aggressive than I usually am.”

“Yeah, I think going Super makes us act a bit differently. I was a little overconfident during my debut battle, and you got a little angrier. Raging Heart: Vengeance Mode, guess that’s more fitting than I thought,” Marcy noted.

“Yeah…”

Marcy helped Anne to her feet, and then asked. “So, what happened? You got your Super Form, does that mean…?”

Anne smiled, opened her backpack, and revealed the music with a charged blue gemstone. “Two down and one to go!”

“Alright!” Sprig exclaimed. “Anne, that was…wow! I mean, you were cool before, but now, I can’t even think of the right words to say how cool that was!”

“You showed that thing no mercy whatsoever,” said Polly as she sniffled. “I’m so proud of you.”

Hop Pop sighed in relief. “Now we only have one more temple to go.”

“Yep…Now can we please get out of this cold! I can’t transform again, and I was nice and toasty in that armor!” Anne exclaimed.

Marcy wrapped her coat around Anne and huddled closer to her while the Plantars did the same. They moved in a group and began their trek down the mountain. Only one more gemstone was left before they could use the music box, one more temple to conquer and one part of their quest would be complete. However, as they walked, not one of them noticed as the blue gemstone’s glow blinked off and on.