Sometimes, people make choices so poor that they begin to reevaluate just where their lives went wrong in the first place.  Anna was having one of those moments in the moments just after the arrival of the "Doom Train." Just her luck that when she went to retrieve a batch of weaponized pastries from the kitchen at Dad's Gym, that things had gone to hell in a hand basket.  Luckily she'd found a Vespa that someone had hastily parked and abandoned with the keys still in it, and was now speeding through the empty streets with a basket full of pastries, and little Rylai (Her Glaceon).  Though maybe calling them empty was a poor choice of words - cause a glance in the rear view mirror on the dinky little vehicle, or even just listening, would confirm that she was indeed, being chased by a pack of rough looking children adorned in leather armor, tribal masks and bandanas, and brandishing twisted variations of children's toys - like a jump rope made of razor wire, a super soaker that was probably filled with scalding water a slingshot that slung - DINK!  Anna yelped,  not sure what it slung, but it clipped the rear view clear off the vespa! It was moments like this that she -really- regretted getting into this sort of trouble, and part of her just wanted to weave off the side of the road and hide in one of the many buildings around her...but she knew she couldn't do that - Alice was relying on her.  Neither of them were sure this stunt of hers was really going to do anything, and if or when it went sour, she was going to be right out in the open, surrounded by these creepy kids!

So on she sped, blazing fast as this cheap two wheeler could go.  The Palace Gates were in sight now, and once she was inside she would be able to get to Alice's location without too much hass - that line of thought was cut short as another projectile was fired from that slingshot - this one explosive.  A deafening blast to the side of the vehicle caused her to loose control, and Anna, Rylai, and the box toppled over onto the side of the rode.  She was dazed, ears ringing, vision blurred, and looking toward the approaching kids who were sure to cut her into a bazillion pieces.  One of them holding a spiked club led the way, leaping at her and swinging down.  There wasn't any life flashes here - Anna was still too shellshocked to even really piece together that this would be the end for her.  She just watched helplessly, and as the kid descended upon her, swinging the weapon down at her head, she closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.

...The hammer didn't fall, though.  Seconds passed, and she felt a wet, sandpapery sensation on her cheek.  "Au! Au!"  She opened her eyes to find the kid frozen in a block of ice, and Rylai sitting next to her.  Anna sighed with relief.  "Thank you, Rylai.  I thought I was a goner for sure.  Come on, let's keep moving..." As she spoke she looked around, and realized it wasn't just Rylai who had come to her defenses.  She was in the middle of grand melee - Rangers, Pokemon, Cherubs, Doofer Troopers, and Fairies locked in battle all around her.  Not far from her location, she saw her Dad and Jack - his strongest Pokemon, a two headed Charizard - holding the line, flinging fire and ice at the oncoming masses.  She also saw Alice's Mom, and Miss Fauxicore running to join him, along with a swarm of Ghosts and Bugs.  In fact - all the Gym Leaders were out here : Both Dr. Spore and Arnaldo Bloon and their trusty Whimsicotts, ensnaring Fairies in vinetraps.  Gabriella, Rosetta's cousin and Ymir, standing guard at the front entrance to the Palace and trying to stop any who got past the front lines.  Sudden Tempest and The Rockit Brothers doing their best to lay siege from the skies (Which was proving dificult with those Togekiss bombers), Captain Hendrix and her crew doing their best to destroy any Wanga Dolls that were falling from above - she really seemed to hate those things.  While she didn't directly see Chione, she did see a giant, three story Mawilebot stomping around on the southside of the Palace, which she assumed she had something to do with.

The only one not here was Alice...who Anna knew must be at her stage, right on the outskirts of the Palace.  Anna gulped, knowing she'd have to wade through the front lines to get over there.  She abandoned the Vespa, and picked up the box of sweets.  "Come on, Rylai, we got to -" Several of the Wanga Dolls self destructed, rocking her surroundings.  The Togekisses began to reign down Judgement on the defenders as well.  She didn't even know where the rest of her friends and acquaintances were, but things were hellish out here.  The weirdest part, though, was the sounds she was hearing.  The sound of chopper blades, and...Alice's voice, on a microphone.  "Hello?  This working?  <pat pat.>  Okay, cool.  Hey!  General Myres!  This one's for you and your men, keep your spirits up, okay!?"  Then the music started.  It was...an old pop classic, the sort of thing her Dad had a soft spot for.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfWlot6h_JM

The old man laughed, despite the chaos all around him.  The expression was a short lived one though, as he too must have heard the helicopter blades.  He looked up to see a large, shirtless, masked man descending from the heavens via parachute.  In fact, lots of shirtless men, and brown tinted Swamperts too.  "COMRADES! COUNTRYMEN! MUCHACHOS! THE CALVARY HAS ARRIVED!  FOR LOVE AND JUSTICE!!!!!!"  She realized who it was - El Jefe.  Returned from the front lines in Russia, she presumed.  As the man came into safe falling distance, he ripped the Parachute free, falling onto a Slurpuff (stomping it like a Goomba), and throwing down a Pokeball to release a Swampert of his own.  He pressed his championship belt in, and it began to Mega Evolve!  Next came the rest of his pupils, and their own Swamperts - countless masked youths who she imagined were just like Ymir.  They charged the front lines almost at once, fists, feet, and bodies swinging at the endless mob coming from the train station.

...As absurd as this was, Anna finally shook herself of it and started to make her move.  She did notice her Dad, El Jefe, and Trice and Alice's Moms fighting along side, and overheard the loudest of them yelling "JUST LIKE OLD TIMES, EH?"  She also noticed Gabriella, Norina and Ymir all slackjawed and stunned when this happened.  She made her way past this front with a laugh of her own.  Just how absurd could the rest of this get?

Turns out it could get pretty absurd - she ran past Rune Masters, other worldy warriors and magi, children and Mewtwos, and a silver haired woman on the back of a six legged horse-thing trying to drive back the masses.  By frat boys (including one Chase would certainly know), Explorers and non-Explorers alike trying their best to stay on the defense.  Most she didn't know, some she did - that one there was Ivano, right? The guy who got a Pokemon from her sister not long ago.  That one with the hat...Briana?  She even caught a glimpse of a Togekiss blimp being brought down by a black and red Golurk, and she swore she heard Saryx screaming over Alice's music.  She wondered how the others were doing; she knew a few people, including her sister, were inside the Palace still, to stop whoever did get in there.  They were sure the defenses wouldn't be perfect, some would slip through, and they were ready for it.  She was sure they'd be okay, but something was eating at her...something she'd forgotten.

That thing became really clear as she approached the stage.  As she expected, the bugs around it were fending off adversaries, but the stage was still okay for now.  She made a dash for it, figuring she'd be able to get past the violence if she were quick enough.  But something snagged her leg, and she once again found herself laid prone.  She sat up quickly and looks to her feet to find it had been a Wanga Doll.  The eerie doll made eye contact with her, and...begin to change.  It grew like a shadow, distorting and stretching to fit a new shape.  One of a masked man with a black coat and a top hat.  She'd been warned that these dolls were capable of this, taking on part of his form...but it didn't really prepare her for the shock.  Rylai  lunged at the man, only to be batted away like a ragdoll.  Anna jumped to her feet and tried to run, but the visage was too fast, grabbing her leg and pulling her down again.  It raised a hand and a serrated blade...only to get pincushion with several large knives - swords?  Anna couldn't really tell, it happened too fast.  The visage dispersed, remaining just a tattered, lifeless doll.  She looked over to see another...cavalry advancing?  Men, donphans, and a legion of Fighting Pokemon, led by Sandeep Reddy in one hell of an elaborate song and dance. "My friends!" He shouted in a pause in the song and music, brandishing a sabre.  "Let us give these fiends a taste of Punjab!" Their columns advanced on those who would harm the stage.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDHCLjuOzXY

Anna sat there dazed as the Bugs, Fighting Types, Donphans and swordsmen made short work of the hostiles around her, nursing the unconcious Rylai in her lap.  Sandeep rushed to her side, swooping down and hoisting her up - was he always this strong?  "Anna!  My winter rose, are you alright?  No, no, of course you're not!  This city...it's as if the heavens themselves have descended!"

"U-um, y-yeah, I'm okay..." she stammered as she caught her breath.  She looked around, noticing that they really could see most the battle from here.  She realized the ebb and flow of it, at least for their side...seemed to be in sync with the music Alice was performing - which luckily was a pretty aggressive rock song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0ogODyzUNM .  "I...I think we're going to be okay though."  She wasn't thinking about the "Angels" (Mewtwos) or Dandyman himself at the moment, but something told her as long as the music kept going, and that light continued to shine bright from the top of the palace, they really would be okay.  "C-can you put me down by the way?"

"Hah!  Of course we will - oh, of course - " He let her down so that she could stand on her own.  "there's no way an evil that dresses itself as terribly as that could be victorious on this day.  What were you carrying anyway..?" He peeked into the damaged box.  "Sweets?  For when our starlet grows weary between songs? Then let us make with haste back stage!" He picked up the box for her.  "After all, the show must go on!"

She smiled.  "Yeah, it's something like that!  The show must go on," she repeated as the two of them made their way to the lofty stage.  She'd done what she could for now, after all.  The rest...well, she'd just have to wait and see.