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Kamen Rider: Ultimate Xtreme - Fanfic
Continued from Kamen Rider Xtreme
The Story So Far: (SPOILERS! (DUH!) ) Quote:
Episode List Act 4: Bonds Episode 1 (27): Father Episode 2(28): Genesis Episode 3 (29): Crimson Bodyguard Episode 4 (30): Supernova Episode 5 (31): Web of a Forgotten Fantasy Episode 6 (32): An Ice Cold Fire Episode 7 (33): Inverse, A Brand New Alex Episode 8 (34): Reversal, Here to Stay Act 5: End Game Episode 9 (35): The Major's Revenge Episode 10 (36): I Remember You Episode 11 (37): The Eye of the Hurricane Episode 12 (38): Fury's Violent Crusade Episode 13 (39): We Stand As One Episode 14 (40): Inertia's Final Gambit Episode 15 (41): Inertia's True Colors (Coming Soon) Episode 16 (42): Shiore's One Short Day Episode 17 (43): Shira's Midnight Howl Episode 18 (44): Vainglory's Perfect World Episode 19 (45): Xtreme's Dream Music Act Four Opening Theme: "Period" by Chemistry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HolGT9YZ97U Act Four Ending Theme: "Reason" by Yuzu http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyq5bUXpnYI Act Five Opening Theme: "Alones" by Aqua Timez https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqUw8k_-dKQ Act Five Ending Theme: "One" by Altima https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBLp3vHox_0 Writer and Character Designer: guncannon109 Episode Editor: algo448 (Act 4) guncannon109 (Act 5) Creative Consultants: ComicGuy89, algo448 & KamenRiderOOO Special thanks to: Uchihabro77 and Kamen Rider Vega |
Episode 1: Father Rain poured down hard onto Ardent City, thunder roaring overhead as lightning cracked the dark shroud of clouds that covered the stormy sky. A small group of four young kids, around seven-ten years of age crowded under a bridge. The oldest of the four threw a small seven year old boy into a wall of concrete causing him to fall face first of the ground, “Maybe that should teach you not to be such a smart ass huh Darwin?” “I... was only telling... the truth,” the small boy said as he tried to get back up on his feet, “It was your fault you got in-” “Shut up!” The older kid said kicking Alex’s face back into the dirt, “You should have kept your mouth shut you little shit!” “Hey Vince, why you hogging!” One kid shouted trying to push Vince aside of off Alex. “You can have what’s left of him once I’m done,” Vince growled shoving the other kid aside, “you got that?” A small whimper came from Alex who still lay with his face in the dirt. “Aw, you gonna go and cry now little boy?” the younger kid said kneeling down beside Alex, “well why don’t you just go run and cry to your mommy? Oh yeah, you can’t can you?” He smacked Alex over the head with a rock, “Maybe you go cry on her grave once we’re done with you then!” “What did I just tell you Logan?” Vince sighed kicking his friend away from Alex, “He’s mine so back off!” Glave stumbled around until he fell face first on the ground smacking the top of his head on a pair of sneakers. He looked up to see a dark skinned boy who looked to be a year older than Alex standing above him. “Ganging up on a single kid now Vince?” the dark skinned boy sighed, “that’s low even for you.” “Cole…” Vince said taking his foot off Alex’s head, “Hey, what’s up buddy?” “Well for starters it’s raining, the Aron I caught in Ruby the other day is now an Aggron, and you’re ganging up on a kid that has done nothing wrong,” Cole said walking over to Vince, stepping on Logan’s hand as he did so, “Care to rank them from best to worst for me?” “Why you pompous little,” A blond haired girl with violet, navy and silver highlights shouted out storming her way between Vince and Cole, “I’ll teach you not to stick your nose where it isn’t wanted!” She threw a punch at Cole which he easily dodged and moved to the other side of her. “Ashley Haze I presume,” Cole said calmly, “Sorry but I don’t hit girls, just isn’t my style.” He turned back to Vince, “Now then, how about you let that kid go and call it a day?” Vince sighed, “Fine, have it your way,” he grunted, kicking Alex in the face once again, “it’s not fun when they don’t fight back anyway” he proclaimed walking out from under the bridge and into the rain, “Come on guys, we’re done here.” “Gah, what a pain,” Ash grunted walking off with Vince. Cole looked over to Logan who was currently looking back at him. Cole raised an eyebrow before Logan clawed his way to his feet and ran out of the cover of the bridge. Alex slowly made his way to his feet and began crawling up the hill sheltered by the bridge. “Hey kid,” Cole called out grabbing Alex’s attention, “are you alright?” Alex shook his head, “Just leave me alone please… I have enough to deal with right now.” “Well can you at least tell me your name?” Cole asked. Alex gulped, “My name… is Alex… Alex Darwin.” “Yeah, I figured,” He walked up to Alex and extended his hand to him, “I’m Cole by the way… can we talk for a moment?” “Sure… I guess,” Alex returned grabbing Cole’s hand with his own. Alex then knocked on Cole’s head, “Hey Cole, come on get up.” Cole raised an eyebrow, “Huh?” Alex took in a deep breath and shouted at Cole, “COLE YOU’RE GOING TO BE LATE!” Cole’s eyes then bursted open as his surroundings changed from under the bridge to his own bedroom before he fell from his bed onto the floor. “Bwhahaha!” Alex bursted out laughing, “Sorry about that, didn’t expect you to freak out like that.” Cole blinked for a moment, “What are you doing up so early?” “You serious? This is when I normally get up,” Alex stated before helping Cole off the floor, “Now come on, we don’t want to be late on the first day back now do you?” “Um… okay?” Cole whispered in a daze. “Shiore and I are going on ahead,” Alex said making his way out of Cole’s bedroom, “Don’t take to long okay?” Alex shut the door on his way out leaving Cole confused as to what had just happened as the whine of an alarm clock drowned out the morning air. A small grin appeared on his face, “He certainly has grown up quite a lot since then… hasn’t he?” he reached over to the alarm clock and switched it off, “not like I can blame him though I guess.” {Insert Opening Theme - “Period” by Chemistry} Joel paced across the floor of Vainglory’s chamber with a large folder in his hand flipping through pages as he walked along the room. Rylee leaned against a wall on the far side of the room as Vainglory sat in his throne. “Roy Lawrence, dopant memory… Flame, Rank B-2” Joel called out turning to one page, “Was ordered to track down Subject X and return classified equipment to META HQ. Made contact with a student at Ardent Secondary School before sharing vital information regarding the nature of gaia memory with Subject X. Flame Memory destroyed by Subject X via Blast Diver combination. Current status of host... imprisoned” He turned to Vainglory, “Remind me again, who do you say it was that sent Flame after the rider?” “Flame was under Fury’s command,” Rylee explained, “Vainglory had nothing to do with it.” “I see,” Joel returned before flipping to the next page, “Ashley Haze, dopant memory shift, rank C-5. Acted on her own to steal a valuable necklace from the Ardent City museum before running into Subject X at a local water park, the brawl between the two causing a mild uproar. A group of high school students were seen leaving the sight with Subject X. A few hours later made contact with Subject X before having her memory destroyed by her own hand… current status of host, year long parole.” “We only distributed the Shift Gaia Memory, everything that she did up was out of her own free will.” Rylee proclaimed, “Besides, she proved to be of no use to us in the long run. If she had any worth she wouldn’t have given up as easily as she did.” Joel smirked, “Did I ever imply otherwise? Honestly you worry too much. ” He chuckled as he turned to the next page, “Besides it’s this next one that I’m more interested in. Greg Walker, AKA Shredder, rank B-3. Killed Fata only to be defeated himself and imprisoned. Was bailed out of prison on the date of Friday March thirteenth twenty thirteen. Encountered Subject X shortly after before fleeing and challenging him to a fight in a warehouse in the east end of Ardent City. Shredder had his memory destroyed that same night and was returned to prison,” he closed the folder shut, “It’s that last part that gets to me,” he said turning his attention to Vainglory, “The report says that Shredder was defeated by Fata, however it doesn’t mark his memory as destroyed until after his encounter with X.” Rylee raised an eyebrow, “what’s your point Inertia?” “A Gaia Memory that’s marked below the rank of A-5 shatters once the dopant is defeat.” Joel stated, “If he was indeed defeated by Fata as the report says they how come his memory remained intact?” he raised an eyebrow, “Care to explain that little detail… Vainglory?” “You were still in power at the point in time,” Rylee spat at Joel, “If anyone would know, it would be you.” “Oh would I now?” Joel asked turning to Rylee, “Then perhaps this might be a question you might be able to answer,” he looked to the empty under Rylee, “What happened to Gorge?” --- It was still sunrise, Alex was busy running his usual laps around the track just like he used to do with Sarah. It was strange, he started doing them because he had been forced to but now he was simply doing them out of habit. Shiore sat on the bleachers watching Alex as he mindlessly ran around at a steady pace. As Alex came around to Shiore he stuck out his arm, “Water.” Without saying a word, Shiore picked up a bottle and threw over to Alex. “Thanks,” he said catching the bottle and cracking it open taking a few sips of it. Shiore’s ear twitched as the clanging of a rock against steel echoed through the morning air. She turned her head towards the sound and saw a girl with long black hair done up in a ponytail with a red ribbon that resembled cat ears hurling small stones at an air vent. Alex raised an eyebrow, “what’s her problem?” Shiore shrugged. Alex set his bottle down on the bleachers, “I’ll go handle it.” He walked towards the girl until he reached the fence dividing the track from the rest of the school, “Um excuse me!” He shouted grabbing the black haired girl’s attention, “you think you could maybe keep it down?” The girl rolled her eyes, “Eh whatever,” she sighed dropping the stones she had in her hand to the ground, “I was just about to leave anyway… getting kinda boring watching you run round in circles ya know.” She said wiping her hands on her skirt. “Um… did you just come out here to watch me run?” Alex asked. The girl looked at him and laughed, “Don’t get too full of yourself, you ain’t as hot as ya think you are.” She reached for her bag and pulled out a chocolate bar from her sweater pocket and shoving it in her mouth. She hopped up onto a steel bar above her head, “Catch ya later Alligator,” she said giving Alex a salute before climbing up the side of the school disappearing over the edge of the roof. Alex blinked in confusion trying to determine what just happened was real or not, “Okay then…” he walked back to the bleachers where Shiore sat patiently awaiting his return. “What was that about?” she asked. Alex shrugged, “Hell if I know,” he turned to Shiore, “do I have a crazy magnet stuck to me or something?” Shiore raised an eyebrow, “a what now?” “A crazy magnet,” Alex repeated, “You know, it’s like a magnet that makes it so that all the crazy shit in the world gravitates toward you? You ever have that feeling, where all the weirdness is just drawn to you and you can’t escape it?” “You should be lucky if that’s all you have drawn to you,” Shiore sighed grabbing her bag and hopping down from the bleachers, “We should go… otherwise we’ll be late for class.” “Good idea,” Alex returned grabbing his bag and following Shiore down the dirt road to the school’s main building, “sure would suck if we were late on the first day back.” As Alex and Shiore made their way inside the school building, Tara knelt perched atop the roof looking down on them from above. “Good to see they’re off to a good start,” she sighed. “Now then…” She pulled out a small brown paper bag, “what the hell am I supposed to do with this?” “Well you eat it of course,” a voice called out. Tara turned around to see the black haired girl Alex talked to earlier leaning against the rail of the rooftop’s fence, “That is food right?” Tara sighed, “Yup, that’s what it is.” She placed the bag down on the ground beside her, “I just don’t want it.” The black haired girl reached for the bag and sniffed it, “I’ll take it off your hands for ya… if you want that is.” Tara shrugged, “Knock yourself out.” “Sweet, thanks!” the black haired said with a grin shoving the bag into her backpack. She turned back to Tara and looked at her closely, “Hey girl, what’s your name?” “Oh, it’s Tara… what’s yours?” The black haired girl smirked, “You can call me Kat.” Just then the bell rang signaling the start of class, “Op, that’s my cue to exit.” She announced dashing over to the edge of the roof, “See ya round Tara,” she said before leaping off disappearing over the edge. Tara raised an eyebrow as Kree flew down from the sky and perched himself on Tara’s shoulder, “Damn, and I thought I was the weird one.” Alex and Shiore made their way to their first period class which they fortunately had together. They reached the door to the classroom and made their way inside. “Al!” a familiar voice called out, “You made it on time for once!” Alex and Shiore turned around to see Cole sitting at a desk by the window. Alex sighed, “Wouldn’t be right if I wasn’t stuck with you for at least one class.” “Very funny,” Cole chuckled, “you and I both know you’d be dead without me.” “Fair enough I guess,” Alex returned sitting down at the desk behind Cole, Shiore taking the desk behind him. “Any sign of Tara?” Cole shrugged, “Haven’t seen her all day. Can’t say I’m surprised though to be honest, that girl is always off doing her own thing.” “Let’s just hope she doesn’t kill anyone,” Shiore whispered looking out the window to the courtyard below. A girl with long black hair and red ribbon caught her attention, the girl seemed to be feeding a stray cat a bit of food from a brown paper bag. “One can only hope I guess,” Alex said aloud thinking that Shiore was listening. Just then, the door to the classroom slammed open as a red haired girl about Alex’s age stormed in out of breath, “Sorry I’m late!” “You’re actually early,” a blond haired girl in a leather jacket who sat with her feet up called out to her, “Honestly Maddy, must you always make a scene when you enter a room?” “Ehehe,” the red head laughed awkwardly scratching the back of her head, “Sorry about that Ash.” Ashley sighed, “Just sit down already.” “Right, of course,” Maddy went to sit down but quickly noticed Alex on the other side of the room, Alex having his back turned to her acting like he didn’t notice her. “Hey,” she said walking over to his desk, “don’t I know you?” Alex turned around but avoided eye contact with her, “No… I don’t think so.” “Oh yeah,” she snapped her fingers, “You’re that guy I ran into at the waterpark last summer. Alex right?” Alex nodded, “that’s my name.” Shiore cleared her throat and glared at Madison. Madison blinked, “oh… are you two boyfriend and girlfriend then?” Shiore shrugged, “I don’t have much interest in dating at the moment.” Cole chuckled, “Isn’t that the truth.” As the group spoke, their conversation was cut short by a female teacher with long raven hair clad in a violet skirt and a white top that emphasized her chest opened the door and entered the room, swinging her hips with each step she took. A bright amber ring could be seen on the ring finger of her right hand. “Alright class, settle down,” she said looking over her students with sharp sapphire blue eyes that watched everything they saw like a hawk stalking it’s prey. “Oh gotta go, I’ll talk to you later okay Alex,” Madison bowed before scurrying back her desk. The teacher watched Madison as she sat down next to Ashley, then turned her attention to Alex, Cole and Shiore then finally back to the rest of the class. “Alright class, first off I must say welcome back. I hope you all enjoyed your time off,” she cracked her knuckles and deepened her voice, “BECAUSE FROM THIS POINT ONWARD IT’S GOING TO BE NOTHING BUT PAIN AND MISFORTUNE!” The entire class save for Alex, Shiore and Cole gasped. The teacher’s smile then returned to her face, “Just kidding.” She pulled out a piece of chalk and walked over to the board, “Now, my name is Sophia Seraphina but you may call me Madam or Ms S, no exceptions.” she picked up a green folder from her desk and opened it to reveal an attendance list inside, “Now, how’s about we get started with roll call.” she pulled out a pen, “Ned Bigby.” “Here!” a male student called out. Ms S ticked a box beside the students name, she then looked over to Alex, “Alex Darwin.” Alex raised his hand, “here.” Shiore paid close attention to Ms S as she continued down the list. She continued with roll call making her way through Cole, Madison, Ashley and even Shiore, “Katlyn Swindler,” she called out as she looked around the room for the student that the name belonged to, “Absent,” she sighed filling in a box by Katlyn’s name, “why am I not surprised?” --- Back in the shroud of Vainglory’s chamber, Joel flipped to another page in the folder, “Zix and Mikey Crater, dopant memories Minor and Major. Shared rank, B-1,” he read off from one page, “First encountered by Subject X along side another rider calling herself Gale. Gale and Subject X attempted to lure Minor into a trap but were countered by Major. The duo fought the two riders and were defeated, Minor’s life being compromised and Major imprisoned.” “I thought for sure that Gale’s host didn’t survive the activation test,” Rylee spat, “I checked to see if it were the same just in case… however my suspicions were correct,” she glared at Joel, “Why are you reading all these old records anyway?” “To make sure that they haven’t been tampered with,” Joel said flipping to the next page. He raised an eyebrow, “Oh, now here’s an interesting one. Sarah Gardner, aka Reptilian, rank C-5. Created by Fury after Rock’s activation.” “And who’s fault is that!” Rylee shouted. “Irrelevant,” Joel snapped back at her, “It says here that Gardner was merely a bystander, a civilian casualty. Fury used her as a weak point to get to Subject X, she was a good friend of his and had done nothing wrong to warrant her fate. Now tell me, how exactly do you allow something like that… Spite.” “Enough!” Vainglory slammed his fist down on his throne, “Where exactly do you plan on going with this pointless recap?” Joel smirked, “I was wondering when you’d ask that,” he said slamming the folder shut, “You see I noticed something with your records Vainglory, they mention specific names such as the dopants, riders and any bystanders, and yet the original Kamen Rider, the one calling himself ‘Xtreme’ is simply referred to as ‘Subject X’... why is that?” Vainglory raised an eyebrow, “Why does it matter?” Joel chuckled, “You have no idea who he is… do you?” “You dare speak to the commander in such a manner!” Rylee stepped forward. “As I thought, you really don’t have a clue do you?” Joel returned, unfazed by Rylee’s actions, “Well if you must know, his name commander...” he turned back to Vainglory, “is Alex Darwin.” {End of Part A} {Start of Part B} The bell rang signaling the end of class. Alex went to pack his stuff back into his bag as Cole grabbed his wrist and forced his hand open. “Here,” he said placing a brush steel grey flip phone into his friend’s hand, “try not to lose this one okay? My folks will kill me if you do.” “Relax man, I’m not going to lose it okay,” Alex said rolling his eyes at the whole thing. “Uh-huh…” Cole raised an eyebrow, “what even happened to you last one anyway?” Alex scratched the back of his head, “it’s a bit of a long story.” “How long?” Cole asked, “I’ve got time.” Alex laughed a bit, “About seventy pages or so?” “Nevermind,” Cole sighed, “We should get going to our next class anyway.” “True,” Alex nodded before turning to the girl sitting behind him, “you coming Shiore?” “I’m meeting up with someone in a bit,” she said quickly putting her things away, “go on without me.” “Okay…” Alex raised an eyebrow, “are you sure?” Shiore looked up and glared at him giving off the impression that she was rather annoyed. Alex looked at his wrist pretending there was a watch on it, “Well would you look at the time!” he stood up and grabbed Cole by the wrist, “Come on pal, we best get a move on!” Shiore rolled her eyes before getting up from her seat and walking out the door to the classroom, Ms Seraphina keeping a close eye on her as she left. Once the classroom was empty, Ms Seraphina switched the lights off and drew the blinds in such a way that let in only a small amount of the suns rays to enter the room. She sat back down as the small amber stone on her ring lit up for a moment, a quiet yet drowning mystical cry echoing from it. Ms Seraphina smirked, “So the wanderer has picked up a companion has she?... How interesting.” She raised an eyebrow, “You certain there isn’t something that has caught her interest?... hmm, I see.” She got up from her chair and looked out the window, “Alright, I cause you’ll just have to keep an eye on the two for now.” The clock ticked away behind her, as the ring on her finger called out once again. “Not so bad, fairly relaxing in all honesty,” She chuckled, “Now now sis, there’s no need for that kind of attitude.” The stone on her finger turned blood red for a moment. “Well… now that you mention it,” Ms Seraphina smirked as she peered through the blinds noticing Carter walking across the courtyard of the school, “I’ve managed to get pretty close to the last remaining members of the four clans. The wolf girl in particular has caught my attention.” The stone on her ring reacted once again, returning to it’s regular amber color. She chuckled, “You have your methods of entertainment, and I have mine.” She smiled, “Same, I’ll talk to you later,” she blew a kiss into the ring as a knock came at the door, “love you.” She took of the ring and slipped it into her pocket before sitting back down at her desk and looking over to the door, “Come in.” The door swung open as Kat walked into the room closing it behind her, “You wanted to see me Sophia?” “Yes,” Ms Seraphina looked at her with a disappointed glare, “You weren’t in my class this morning… explain yourself?” “Oh, sorry about that,” Kat returned scratching the back of her head before sitting down in a chair in front of the teacher’s desk, “I missed breakfast so I decided to have an early lunch.” Ms Seraphina raised an eyebrow, “what did you have?” “Grilled chicken sandwich wrap,” Kat smirked, “Gotta admit, never thought chicken could taste that good… whoever made it though used a bit too much spice though.” she breathed into her hand and sniffed it, “Thyme I think it was… never was that big a fan of it.” “ENOUGH!” Seraphina shouted slamming her fist down on her desk, “You had one job Kat! Have you forgotten that already?!” Kat jumped back in her seat beginning to sweat under the pressure, “Sorry ma’am! It won’t happen again!” she pleaded hanging her head, “I promise I’ll make it up to you!” Ms Seraphina smirked, “That’s more like it my little kitten… but how exactly do you intend to do that?” “Whatever you want,” Kat said clapping her hands together, “just say the word and it’s done.” “Alright then,” she reached into her desk and pulled out two magnets placing them on the surface of her desk, “Are you familiar with how these work my dear?” Kat nodded, “You put the two sides of same values together and they repel and the sides of opposite values attract… right?” “Yes exactly, the same sides repel and the opposite sides attract,” Seraphina said putting the positive side of one magnet to the negative side of the other, “people who different will cling to one another while those who are exactly the same will be even further apart. As a result, a person who acts to form bonds with others who are completely different from themselves will form the strongest of bonds with who they interact with. However…” she picked up the two magnets with one hand and with a flick of her wrist sent one hurling into a wall, “once that bond is broken, the two opposites will be even further apart than they were at first… and the bond will be impossible to repair.” “I see…” Kat nodded, she then tilted her head to one side, “what exactly does this have to do with anything?” Ms Seraphina sighed and rolled her eyes, “Use your imagination.” Kat nodded again, “Yes ma’am.” “Good girl,” Seraphina smiled at her, “Now, I shall be returning you to stand by mode for the time being.” “Do I have to?” Kat moaned, “I just got a chance to stretch my legs,” she pouted stretching out her arms and legs, “STAND BY MODE SUCKS!!!” Ms Seraphina raised an eyebrow, “What was that?” “Nothing!” Kat said with a grin as she jumped back into sitting up straight with both of her hands in her lap. “Thought so. Now then, get back to class,” Seraphina said shewing the girl away from her, “Before you anger me once again.” “Right!” Kat nodded and ran out the door, “I won’t let you down ma’am!” Seraphina leaned back in her chair and looked out the window, “feels good to be active in the field once again,” she said to herself linking her fingers together, “I for one am quite curious to see how all this will pan out.” --- Shiore sat on the windowsill in one of the school’s many stairwells, her gaia memory in hand as she gazed blankly out the window. After a while of silence, the door at the top of the stairs opened up and quickly closed.Shiore looked down to see Carter standing at the bottom of the stairs, “So… you actually decided to show up,” she said coldly to him, “that’s brave of you.” “I’m a man of my word,” Carter returned making his way up to Shiore and leaning against a rail, “I don’t have much time… so, what was it you wanted to talk about?” “Otoya Shirayuki,” Shiore said looking back out the window, “does that name mean anything to you?” Carter shook his head, “When was the last time you left the country?” “Never have,” Carter put simply. Shiore clenched her hand around her gaia memory and dashed over to Carter placing a kunai knife to his throat. She glared at him angrily, “Liar!” Carter stood in place, unphased by the girl’s sudden move on his life as a small bit of blood ran out from his neck and down onto the blade of the knife. “I am many things,” he said looking her directly in the eye, “but a liar is not one of them.” “Do you expect me to buy that?!” Shiore grunted pulling her knife away from the male, “Then how come I saw YOU downed in the armor of the Hono clan arrive at the Shirayuki main house and murder-!” Carter slapped Shiore across her face silencing her instantly, “The first time I began Ryu-O was when I was given the order to execute Derek Mavrick aka Fury. There were several candidates selected for the Ryu-O program to activate it, but all those who tried before myself died trying to get it to work.” Shiore rubbed her cheek where Carter had hit her, “That’s impossible, how is it that Ryu-O was able to be in Tokyo Japan if all the applicants died during the activation test?” “Well... there was one instance in which your story would make sense,” Carter stated, “but even that is a bit of stretch.” Shiore barked at him, “TELL ME!” “Alright, just calm down,” Carter sighed, Shiore attempting to hold back her frustration, “There was one subject that survived the activation test, but not for very long. He ended up going berserk, breaking out of the lab and leaving a trail of destruction in his path. Spite was sent out to retrieve him but by the time she got to him the damage had been done and he was already dead.” Shiore breathed heavily for a moment then crossed her arms and sat back down in the window looking outside, “What was his name?” “I couldn’t find one,” Carter returned, “the subject was only marked with one word… Macabre.” “Macabre…” Shiore thought for a moment, “as in death?” Carter shrugged, “I haven’t the slightest clue in all honesty.” “Thank you for your time,” Shiore said got up and made her way over to the downward staircase. She placed her right hand on the inner rail avoiding eye contact with the male, “and sorry… for wrongfully accusing you.” she said softly before descending down the stairs. Carter shrugged then walked up the opposite staircase. He touched down on the landing and reached for the door only to have it open from the other side as Tara walked through shutting it behind her making eye contact with him. “Oh… Thea,” Carter said awkwardly, trying to start a conversation with her, “How’re yo-” “GAH!” she screamed before slapping him across the face, “WHY IN THE NAME OF HILARY SWANK DO YOU KEEP FOLLOWING US YOU CREEP!” Carter blinked for a moment, “I guess I had that one coming.” Tara slammed her foot down in frustration, “Just get out of our way!” she said pushing her way past him, “and if we see you again you’re dead you got that!” Carter rubbed the cheek that had been slapped by the girl, “... she is certainly a lot stronger than she looks.” --- The final bell rang signaling the end of the day.“GAH! I CAN’T STAND THAT GUY!” Tara shouted as she walked out of the building along side Cole and Alex, “First he shows up out of nowhere acting like he knows me, then he brings me a creepy bag lunch with crap I’ve never even heard of and now he’s found out where I go to school! I need a restraining order or something else we’re gonna kill someone!” “Uh… you’re still going on about Carter right?” Alex asked taking a few steps away from the girl. “Do you know of anyone else that ungodly intolerable!” Tara returned with a growl in her voice. “I could think of a couple,” Shiore said appearing out of nowhere from behind Tara, “one of which being the girl yelling at the top of her lungs at the moment.” “GAH!” Tara shouted jumping into Cole’s arms, “Sayuri! Where did you come from!” “Inside… obviously,” Shiore returned. She glanced over to Alex then to Cole “So, what are you guys up to?” Cole’s phone began to ring, “Hold that thought for a sec,” he placed Tara back down on the ground then fished out his phone, “hello? Oh, hey mom what’s up?” Cole’s eyes shot open as he stood silent for a moment, he looked over to Alex then back to the phone, “are you serious?... I see, okay I’ll be right over.” “What was that about?” Alex asked as Cole dropped his phone back into his pocket. “Nothing major,” Cole said forcing a smile, “I’ll just need to be heading home early is all.” Alex took a step forward, “Wait, weren’t we supposed to-” “Go on without me,” Cole insisted placing his hand on Alex’s shoulder, “you were the one that wanted to go in the first place, so do it.” Alex nodded, “Okay.” “Hey Shiore, would you mind going with him?” Cole asked. Shiore shook her head. Alex raised an eyebrow, “You sure?” Shiore nodded. “Of course,” Shiore returned. “Alright, thank you,” Alex said with a smile, he looked over to Tara, “What about you?” “I’m a bit busy today,” Tara said stretching her arms out, “sorry.” she smirked, “I managed to get a part-time job at my dad’s cafe.” Shiore raised an eyebrow, “You sure he doesn’t have something mentally wrong with him or something?” Tara shook her head and placed her hands on her hips, “What can I say? He finally realized the skills I have as a waitress.” A small beep went off from the watch on her wrist, “Holy shiitake I’m late!” she picked up her feet and ran off down the road, “I GOTTA GO BYE!!!” Cole smiled, “Alright, then that’s that. I’ll catch you guys later then,” he said before making his way down the hill toward the street below the school. “See ya later!” Alex waved to him. “So,” Shiore spoke up, “where are we going exactly?” Alex smiled to her, “You’ll see when we get there.” Shiore raised an eyebrow noticing a large white paper bag in Alex’s right hand, “Alright… lead the way then.” The two took a long walk down the city streets. As they continued to go farther, Shiore noticed the ratio of houses began to grow thin until they were surrounded by nothing but fenced off and forested areas around the bare sidewalk and road that would very rarely have a car pass by. Shiore let out a small sigh, “I’m not sure if you’ve noticed this but… this place is completely dead.” “Well it is a cemetery,” Alex started putting out the gateway leading into a graveyard. Shiore fell silent realized why the boy wanted to come here, “I haven’t really gotten a chance to come by here as of late, so I appreciate you coming with me.” he smiled at her, “thank you.” She placed her open hand out to him, “It’s no trouble, you don’t have to thank me.” Alex laughed a little, “Right, sorry I forgot.” He reached into the paper bag and pulled out a bouquet of flowers, “Well, we should probably make this quick then.” Shiore nodded as the two made their way through the gate. They walked in silence along several rows of graves until Alex came to a stop at a pale pearl blue one with a bouquet already laid out in front of it. “Looks like someone was already here,” Shiore pointed out. “Must have been Sampson,” Alex returned kneeling down to the grave and placing his bouquet next to the one that was already there. He brushed a bit of dirt away from the stone and placed his hand on top of it, “Hey mom… I’m back. School was needless long, but it was a nice change of pace from what I’m used to.” “Alice…” Shiore read off from the headstone, “A celtic name meaning noble… it’s a nice name.” Alex nodded, “from what I’ve been told, she was a good person too…” he said holding back tears, “I know it’s hard on you being so far away from your family Shiore, but at least your folks are still around...” Shiore balled her hand into a fist gritting her teeth a little behind her lip, “Sorry… that came out wrong, what I meant is-” “It’s fine,” Shiore spoke out cutting him off, “I get what you mean.” “Oh, Alex,” a voice called out from behind Shiore, “You’re already here I see.” Alex looked over to the source of the voice, “Vince… how have you been?” Shiore turned around to see a young man with short wavy blond hair and bright sapphire blue eyes dressed in a well kept black suit, a bouquet of blue flowers in his right hand resting on his shoulder. A shiver went down her spine at the sight of him. “I’ve been better…” Vince said coldly, “It’s a sad day when a man goes to visit the grave of his younger sister.” Alex frowned looking back to his mother’s grave, “I know… it can’t be easy for you.” He let out a sigh, “I only wish I could have done something to prevent it.” “There’s nothing you could have done…” Vince said softly tightening his grip around the flowers in his hand, “stuff like this just happens… and there is nothing you or I can do to change it.” Alex nodded, “We were just finishing up here, you want to head over to Sarah’s now?” Vince raised an eyebrow, “we?” “Yeah, Shiore and,” he looked over to Vince and noticed that Shiore was nowhere to be found, “I… what the...?” Vince rolled his eyes, “Nevermind, let’s just go.” Alex stood up and nodded, “Okay.” The two walked over a few rows until they came to the grave marked with the name of Sarah Gardner. Alex reached into the paper bag and pulled out another bouquet of the same kind of flowers as the one he left for his mother, Vince placing his down right next to his making sure they were closer to the gravestone. Vince let out a sigh, “How pitiful… it hasn’t even been a year yet and we’re still the only ones that bother to come out to visit her grave, it makes me sick.” he proclaimed balling both of his hands into fists, “My own sister was taken from this world and all she gets is an empty grave with no one to see it.” “Sarah and I rarely got along… but I still thought of her as a valued friend,” Alex said softly, “I only hope that she saw me the same way.” “She did… I know that for a fact,” Vince returned looking over to Alex, “I know I picked on you a lot when we were younger so I don’t expect you to forgive me for the way I treated you, but even still,” he extended his hand out to Alex, “You have my thanks… for staying by her until the end.” Alex reached out and shook his hand, “She always was the backbone of the school,” he frowned and looked back down to the grave, “Hard to believe she’s gone.” Vince pulled his hand away from Alex and slipped them into his pockets, “I swear, I will hunt down whoever it was that did this to her… and I will bring them to justice.” Alex said nothing as a calm wind rushed over them picking up fallen leaves off the ground and sweeping them into the air. After a while, a small buzzing noise went off in Alex’s pocket. He pulled out his phone and flipped it open seeing that his alarm had gone off, the time was now 6:30 pm. “I should be going,” he said dropping the phone back into his pocket, “it was nice talking with you.” Vince nodded saying nothing else as the boy walked away. Once Alex had left, he noticed a small bit of movement behind Sarah’s gravestone. A big grey cat walked out scratching the side of it’s face with the rough side of the stone. “Oh, there you are Cheshire,” he said with a slight grin. The cat meowed and rubbed up against his leg. Vince gave him a scratch on the chin looking back to the horizon where Alex was still just barely visible. “So… he’s the one is he?” --- Alex walked along the busy city street until he came to the front steps of his and Cole’s building. He walked up the stairs and fished out the keys to the front door opening and stepping into the main stairwell.At that moment Cole ran down the stairs, “Alex… I think you might want to come up here.” Alex raised an eyebrow as he slowly dropped his keys back into his pocket, “Why?” “Just… follow me,” Cole returned heading back upstairs. Alex rolled his eyes, “Alright fine, this had better be good.” Alex walked up the stairs to Cole’s apartment and, to his surprise, the door was already closed and Cole had gone back inside. He went for the handle on the door and heard talking coming from the otherside. “I stopped by her grave on my way here actually,” a male voice called out, “It’s been far too long since I’ve paid her a visit.” “Well I’m sure she appreciates the sentiment,” said another more feminine voice. Alex out of curiosity turned the handle and pushed the door open. As he did, he saw Cole’s mother and father sitting on one couch by a coffee table while a grown man with the exact same eye, skin and hair color as his own sat on a reclining chair with his back to the large bay window at the front of the room. The man turned his eyes to him as he entered the room, “Alex… I’ve been wondering when you would get home,” he said getting up, “it’s been far too long.” Alex’s eyes shot open as his heart began to race, “... Father?” To be continued {Insert Ending Theme - “Reason” by Yuzu} Next time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme: A new force shows itself as META sets its next phase of action in motion. What lies ahead for Alex and company with new trials on the horizon? All will be decided when Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme continues in Episode 2 Genesis. Father, why now do you choose to return? |
Episode 2: Genesis Alex stood frozen as the grown man began to make his way towards him. Cole’s parents keeping a smile on their faces while Cole watched from the corner of the room taking a gulp every so often as he felt himself begin to sweat. “Rachel and Dominic have been telling me a great many things about you in the time I’ve been here Alex,” he said extending his hand to the boy, Alex gritting his teeth and balling his hand into a fist, “I trust you have been taking good care of yourself?” In that instant, Alex threw his fist into the air and struck his father across the face knocking him to the ground. Cole’s parents gasped, “Alex!” Rachel cried out, “Jason came a long way to come and see you. Why on earth would you-” “I SHOULD ASK YOU THE SAME QUESTION!” Alex barked back at them, he looked back to the man he just knocked to the ground, “As for you! I don’t know what the fuck you’re trying to pull but it’s not going to work, so just crawl back to the rock you crawled out of and just FUCK OFF and DIE already!” Alex then turned around and grabbed the doorknob and forced the door open slamming it into the wall beside it. Jason jumped to his feet and took two steps forward, “Alex wait, can’t we-” Alex stared back to him with eyes filled with burning hatred that had been built up for several years without any way of venting it and shouted, “FUCK YOU!” before storming off through the door and slamming it behind him. “Sorry about that, I guess he still hasn’t gotten over the fact that you left him for dead all those years ago,” Cole’s father sighed glaring angrily at Jason, “Not that I can blame him I guess.” “I’ll go talk to him,” Cole sighed before, heading for the door and passed Jason, “after all, someone needs to look out for him.” he whispered before walking out the front and slamming the door behind him. Jason let out a small sigh then looked out the window, “Perhaps coming here was a mistake.” “It wasn’t,” Cole’s father called out, “that boy hasn’t seen you in over ten years, it makes sense he would be upset with you.” he explained looked Jason in the eye, “However, I feel that leaving again would only make matters worse. You understand Jason?” “Yeah… I suppose you’re right,” Jason nodded,” thank you Dominic, I needed that.” Down on the lower level of the complex, Alex stormed into his apartment and slammed the door behind him. “FUCK!” he shouted before collapsing on the coach by the television, “Disappears for ten years then expects me to forgive him? What the fuck is that man’s problem!” At that second a small knock came from the door followed by Cole calling out, “Al?... can I come in for a minute?” Alex let out a sigh then looked over to the door, “Yeah sure, door’s open.” Cole opened the door and stepped inside, “Listen,” he said softly closing the door behind him, “I know you and your dad don-” “He’s not my father,” Alex interrupted looking away from Cole and out the window, “my father died years ago… he’s nothing but a shell to me now.” “ENOUGH!” Cole shouted causing Alex to look back with his eyes wide open, “I’m trying to talk here, so just keep quiet and listen.” Cole demand looking Alex in the eye, “I get that you don’t like the guy, but he came all this way just to see you. I understand, but you think maybe you could just give him a chance?” “He had his chance and he blew it,” Alex put simply, closing his eyes and lying down on the couch with his arms behind his head, “You might not want to believe this but to tell you the truth, as soon as my mom died… he didn’t want anything more to do with me.” Cole frowned then sat down on the couch beside Alex, “Tell you what,” he said looking over to the collection of DVDs on the shelf, “Have a small chat with him and I’ll…” he hung his head and pointed over to the shelf, “I’ll watch any of those that you want me too.” Alex’s eyes shot open as he looked up to Cole, “Y-you serious?” “Dead.” Alex thought for a moment, then let out a sigh, “Alright fine… but if that’s the case we’re watching Neon Genesis Evangelion.” Cole chuckled, “Okay okay, whatever you want.” {Insert Opening Theme - “Period” by Chemistry} Joel stood alone by the throne of Vainglory’s chamber. He stepped up to it and ran his fingers along it, a thin layer of dust coming off on his hand. The two large doors at the front then opened up as Vainglory, the doors closing behind him. “Inertia?... where’s Spite?” Vainglory asked walking up to Joel. “She’s out at the moment,” Joel returned, “that’s all you must know.” “I’m right here you nitwit,” Rylee scowled coming out from behind a pillar, “I was here first, you simply didn’t take the time to notice.” “Excellent,” Vainglory called out reaching into his cloak and pulling out Cheshire, “because I have found something for you.” Rylee gasped, “where did you find him?” she asked taking the large cat from her commander. “Found him wandering the cemetery on my way back,” he proclaimed, “must have gotten lost on a patrol or something.” “So the cat is found… but what of the boy?” Joel asked raising an eyebrow. “I ran into him while I was out,” Vainglory put simply, “He wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, but he has seemed to have grown quite a bit since the last time I saw him.” “So,” Rylee spoke out holding Cheshire closely in her arms, “what do you suppose we do?” “The boy and his friends are strong, but he seems willing enough to listen to reason,” Vainglory explained, “I’m going to see if I can convince him to see things from our point of view.” “And if you can’t?” Joel asked crossing his arms and watching Vainglory closely. Vainglory then extended his arm out to an empty corner of the room where a single lone pillar stood, in one quick instant a dark shadowy blade fired from the palm of his open hand and sliced the pillar into as if it were nothing more than a single sheet of paper before falling to the ground. Vainglory looked to Joel, “I think you can figure that part out for yourself.” A small shadow moved in the background, catching Vainglory’s attention. He looked to his subordinates with one simple instruction, “you’re dismissed, both of you.” Rylee and Joel left the room without a second word. Once they were gone, a tall busty woman with raven hair dressed in a dark blue dress, high heels and long gloves stepped out from the shadows and walked over to Vainglory. “You’ve certainly become quite the commander,” she proclaimed with a smirk, running her hand down Vainglory’s face, “with any luck, you’ll be able to open the gate before too long.” “Desire…” Vainglory looked over to her with cold tired eyes, “what are you doing here?” “The tides of battle shift in many ways,” she spoke out as she pulled out a large case, “I have come to even them out,” she said as she held the case open to Vainglory. Inside were three single slotted x drivers along with three silver gaia memories, three more in the colors of black, blue and green were lined along the top. Vainglory reached into the case and grabbed the black gaia memory that was marked with an s with a star on top of it, “where did you get these?” Desire smirked, “I think you can figure that part out for yourself.” --- The next morning, a young man with a guitar case strapped to his back stood at the bottom of the hill leading up to the school. He wore a dark red t-shirt with an open black button up shirt over top of it, he also had worn black denim jeans with a chain linked to two of the belt loops. Stubble was visible on his chin.“So, this is Ardent Secondary School hun?” he said with a sigh followed by a chipper grin, “Doesn't look like much, but I suppose I can make the most of it.” A few feet away, a city bus pulled into a bus stop and opened up it's doors. Madison quickly jumped out with a piece of jam covered toast in her mouth and a knapsack overflowing with papers strapped to her back. “Oh my god, I am so dead!” She panicked as she dashed over to the foot of the hill. She looked to her watch not really paying much attention to where she was going, “Seven fifty-nine, if I hurry I can still make it!” As she hurried around the corner, she slammed into the young man who had just arrived knocking both of them to the ground and sending everything Madison had stuffed in her backpack, including the piece of toast in her mouth, up into the air. The toast landing jam side down onto the top of the poor boy's head. “Ow...” Madison cried out rubbing the top of her head. She then opened her eyes and noticed the boy who sat on the ground next to her as the jam ran down his face, “Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!” she pleaded pulling out a tissue from her pocket, “Here, let me get that for you.” “Nah, it's okay,” the man said with a smile, throwing the toast off of his head and taking the tissue and wiping the jam from his face, “happens all the time really,” he said picking himself off the ground and laughed, “I should stop standing in the middle of the street.” Madison rose to her feet and brushed the dirt off of her, “Well, it was my bad for running into you still... there anyway I could make it up to you?” “Hmm, let's see...” the boy thought to himself for a moment. He then pulled out a folded up piece of paper from his back pocket and handed it over to madison, opening it up as he did so, “You think you can show me to each of these rooms?” Madison looked at the sheet of paper and saw it was an Ardent Secondary School student timetable. Out of simple curiosity, she looked up to the top where the name of the time table's owner was normally placed, “Lark Pearlman,” she read aloud to herself. She then looked to the boy and smiled, “rather nice name.” The boy shrugged blushing a bit, “Eh, not really... it's too flashy for someone like me.” “Well it's still a nice name for such a nice person,” she said with a smile grabbing the boy's hand with both of her's, “Come on, I'm running late but I can still show you to your first class. It's actually right next to mine.” Lark smiled at her, “thank you.” He took one step forward as a small crunch nose came from below him. He looked down to see several of the paper's madison had brought with her scattered on the ground. He picked one up and saw a poorly drawn red chinese dragon directly above an equally crude red stick figure with the words red ranger/fire – Zord: Dragon written below it with four question marks directly beside it in the colors of blue, yellow, pink and the final one be half green and half black. Lark raised an eyebrow, “Uh... what are these?” Madison's face instantly turned a bright red, “NOTHING!” she panicked as she snatched the paper away from him and grabbed the others that were scattered on the ground. She grabbed his hand and starting pulling him up the hill as fast as she could, “IIT'S JUST A TINY FITTLE JET PROJECT SO LET CURY UP A KOH!” While this was all going on, Alex had just finished up his early morning laps and had changed back into his normal clothes. However, when he came out of the change room he came across a sight that he had honestly not expected. Shiore, sitting on the bench by the window with her bag on the floor as if she were waiting for him. This was odd to him had he had not seen her since the other day at the cemetery. Alex took one step forward feeling he should say something, however Shiore beat him to it even though she kept looking out the window, “Sorry for disappearing on you… I had somewhere to be.” Alex smiled and patted her on the shoulder, “Don’t worry about it, you didn’t miss much.” At that second, the bell rang signaling the start of the day, “We should be going.” Alex then got down and picked up Shiore’s bag and swung it over his shoulder, however it didn’t last long as Shiore quickly grabbed it back from him and began making her way down the hallway, “We’ll be late.” Alex simply rolled his eyes and followed after her down the hall. They walked down two different hallways before coming to a stairwell, however as they turned the corner Alex heard a familiar voice as Madison came up the stairs with Lark. Madison stood in place upon noticing him, “oh hi,” she said with a wave, “Uh… Alex right?” Seeing her with another guy other than him bothered Alex greatly as his mind already jumped to conclusions upon seeing Lark come up next to her. He simply nodded to Madison, “Yeah… that’s it,” he then looked down to his wrist which had no watch on it, “Oh would you look at the time,” he looked to Madison and forced a smile, “sorry, wish we could stay and chat but unfortunately we need to be going” he said before grabbing Shiore by her wrist and pulling her up the stairs. Shiore raised an eyebrow at how strangely the boy had been acting, “Is there something the matter?” she asked delicately. “Of course not,” Alex said as he tried to keep his chipper attitude, slowly but surely letting go of Shiore’s hand in the process, “She’s safe now…” he said before sniffling a small bit, “that’s all that matters.” Shiore looked at him not fully convinced but at the same time was not about to intrude into someone else’s business, “I certainly hope so.” --- A little while after the bell had rung, Kat wandered outside with a tin of wet cat food. She went over to a tree with a small burrow of trash and other scraps of metal and opened up the can, whistling a small bit as she did so, “here kitty cat cat.”After a few moments, a large black cat came out from the burrow and rubbed itself up against Kat’s leg. She scratched the cat’s ears and placed the can of food down in front of him, “here you go,” she said with a grin as she licked off a small bit that got on her thumb. Just then, Cole walked by curious to know what she was up to. He walked up to her without her realizing and spotting the cat. “You know pets aren’t allowed on campus right?” He called out to her. “Gah!” Kat jumped and spun around as she was nearly given a heart attack. She then let out a small sigh, “Yeah, I know… it’s just that,” she stumbled poking at the ground with her foot, “well the poor thing has nowhere else to go.” Cole patted her on the back and grinned, “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me,” he said before walking away from her. Kat blinked for a moment only to remember what Ms Seraphina had mentioned to her the other day. “HEY MISTER!” she called out to him, “What’s your name?” He turned back and grinned, “It’s Cole, Cole Desmond… and you?” “You can just call me Kat,” she said with a smirk, “and thanks again.” “Don’t mention it,” Cole turned on his heel and waved back to her as he began to make his way to his next class, “see you around Kat.” As soon as Cole left, a small buzz erupted from Kat’s sweater pocket. She reached in and pulled out a black cell phone with the caller ID marked as restricted service. She flipped the phone open and brought it to her ear. “Hello?” Kat answered, she bobbed her head then returned as she reached down and grabbed a small bit of cat food with one finger and put it into her mouth, “Nya, I just talked to a few seconds ago actually,” she licked her lips and smirked, “Alright, I’ll meet ya there.” Kat petted the black cat on the head and took off towards the school building, only instead of entering through the front door she chose to scale up the wall to an open window. She hoisted herself up and climbed into an empty classroom which had the lights shut off. She looked up to the clock on the wall which currently read 9:25, five minutes before the time she was given to meet up. Feeling that she could take a small break for the time being, she put two desks together and climbed on top of them before laying herself flat on the desk tops. Five minutes passed by in a matter of moments and the door to the room opened up as Ms Seraphina walked in, Kat quickly sitting up at attention. Ms Seraphina smiled at her, “Right on time… very good girl,” she said scratching her on the head, Kat smiling and closing her eyes enjoying the sensation. “So, what’s the sitch?” Kat asked pulling away from her. “There has been a slight change of plans my dear,” Seraphina stated as a older blond haired man entered the room. Kat raised an eyebrow, “Wait a sec, that’s...” “An old friend of mine, and your new commander.” Ms Seraphina said with a smirk, “you be sure to do him well, understand?” Kat looked at her and nodded. She got up with a smile and walked over to the blond haired man who cast a shadow upon the already dark room. “So commander,” she asked trying to make herself come off as friendly as possible, “whatcha want me to do?” “You are to keep a close eye on these five young ones,” he instructed holding out five photos, each depicting one of the five riders, “think you can do that without screwing it up?” Kat took the set of photos and glanced over them, her eye instantly being drawn to Cole’s image. She looked back up to him and smirked, “it would be my pleasure.” “Good,” he said once more in a cold and stern voice as he turned his back to her and headed over towards the door, “because I’ve had more than my fair share of failures… I don’t need any others,” he added before shutting the door behind him. “Cole Desmond…” Kat said aloud to herself starting laugh a small bit, “I’m looking forward to getting to know you.” {End of Part A} ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ {Start of Part B} It was now lunch time. Tara was working shifts at her father’s cafe so Alex and Cole decided to spend the lunch hour in the school’s library, Shiore choosing to tag along as she was going there anyway to ‘study’ as she put it. Cole and Alex ate their lunch at the back of the library while making light conversation, Alex reading volume 14 of the manga series Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle. “Look, all I’m saying is that if the girl was that madly in love with the main character and saw them die over and over and over again then obviously they’d eventually hit a breaking point and turn psycho,” Cole said to Alex. “Yeah, I understand that but… it just, still makes me feel cheated is all,” Alex let out a small sigh, “doesn’t exactly help that the main character doesn’t even remember all that she’s done for her…” he shut the book in his hand and got up, “Well, I’m done with this one. I’ll go grab the next one.” Cole jumped to his feet and grabbed the book, “That’s okay, I’ll get it for you.” Alex blinked, “Are you sure?” “Yeah, it’s no problem at all,” Cole returned as he took off down a row of bookshelves to where the manga was kept, “I’ll be right back.” “What’s up with him today?” Alex asked to himself as he sat back down. He looked over to Shiore who was still working at a desk with a large fortress of books built around her, “So… how’s the studying going?” “Hm?” Shiore looked at him, “It’s going.” she put simply, not going into details looking down at several sheets of paper with formulas and equations that looked far too complex to have been given out by any teacher with tech diagrams and long strings of data scribbled down on huge sections of grid paper. “Going to take a lot longer than I expected though.” Alex raised an eyebrow, “You need any help?” Shiore shook her head not saying another word. Alex shrugged and went back to eating, “Alright then.” On the other end of the library, Cole was looking through the manga shelf to find the next volume of the series Alex was reading when out of the blue his cellphone rang. He fished it out and read the caller ID which read Cat’s Eye Cafe. He flipped the phone open and held it up to his ear, “Tara? What’s up?” “I’VE GOT AN IDEA!!!” Tara shouted at the top of her lungs through the other end of the line, nearly deafening Cole who was forced to pull the phone away from his ear. “Okay, what is it?” he asked partially curious and partially deaf. “Well you know you said that Superstar and his pop pop needed a place to hang out for the afternoon?” Tara asked already knowing the answer. “That’s not exactly what I said, but yeah,” Cole rubbed his ear and continuing searching the shelves, “why do you ask?” Tara started to squee out of excitement, “Well I ask thinking, maybe we cou-” “Bring them by the Cat’s Eye?” Cole cut her off with a slight chuckle. “Yeah!” Tara shouted back, “... wait, how did you know?” “That’s your solution for everything,” Cole returned trying to keep himself from laughing to hard, “Two people not getting along? Bring em by the Cat’s Eye! I swear that should be your slogan or something.” “THAT’S A GREAT IDEA!” Tara began jumping up and down hardly being able to control herself, “Wait, you’ll talk to Superstar about it right?” “Yeah, I’ll tell him,” Cole grinned, “just promise me you won’t try to fix every problem with tea and cake next time okay?” “Deal! Anyway I gotta fly, Boss is gonna kill me if I don’t get back to work, later,” she said in her usual hyper tone before hanging up the phone. Cole dropped his phone back into his pocket and looked back at the shelf. As soon as he did though, Kat poked her head through a gap in the books on the shelf, “Who ya talkin too?” “GAH!” Cole shouted jumping back a small bit, “Oh, hey Kat,” he said forcing a smile, “Just a friend of mine.” “Oh?” an almost cat like smirk appeared on the girl’s face, “Just a friend, or was it your girlfriend?” “Tara and I are just friends,” Cole explained trying to ignore her and look for the book that Alex wanted, “that’s all there is too it,” “Oh, I see…” she returned eyeing him a small bit, “what are you looking for?” “Just a book for my friend,” he held the book up to her, “you see these around anywhere?” The red bow in Kat’s hair flexed for a moment, “Oh that one! I know where that is!” she grabbed the book and disappeared for a moment only to return moments later with the next two volumes, 15 and 16. “Whoever your friend is, he has really good taste.” “Could have fooled me,” Cole shrugged. He waved to her with the books in his hand, “well anyway, thank you.” Kat smirked at him, “no problem, I’ll see ya around okay.” “Yeah, see ya,” he said with a smile before walking back over to where Alex and Shiore were. He handed Alex the books, “Here you are.” “Oh, thanks,” Alex grinned taking them from his friend, “you have trouble finding them?” Cole smile and shook his head, “Nah,” he laughed a small bit as he sat back down in his chair. He looked over to Alex, “So… by any chance have you thought about what we talked about earlier?” “You mean about that bullshit idea you had about my favorite anime character that would ruin the entire series if it actually happened?” “No,” Cole glared at him, “I meant about having a sit down with your old man. You give it any thought?” Alex crossed his arms and looked away from Cole, “Out of the question.” “Oh come on, you’re being childish,” Cole sighed, “I’m just asking for one small talk, is that too much to ask?” Alex nodded without saying anything else. Cole grunted and crossed his arms, “Fine, be that way.” “If I can offer some advice,” Shiore spoke up taking her focus off of her work, “regardless of what they’ve done in the past, family is still family. You should try and mend old wounds while you still have the chance, because you never know when people will be taken away forever.” “She’s right you know,” Cole looked back to Alex and uncrossed his arms, “If it helps, there is an idea Tara had. You two could spend sometime at the Cat’s Eye, that way both her and myself will be there so it’s not like you have to face him on your own.” Alex opened his eyes and looked back to Cole, slowly putting his arms down on his lap, “Alright… I’ll do it.” Cole smiled, “Great, I’ll go tell Tara to make the arrangement,” he said as he got up and pulled out his phone before making his way out to the hall, “You get in touch with you dad and talk to him about it alright?” Alex nodded, “Will do.” “Watch yourself,” Shiore spoke out once again keeping her eyes fixed on the paper’s in front of her, “Shadows lurk around every corner nowadays, they’ll consume you if let your guard down.” Alex wasn’t too sure how to react to what the girl in front of him just said, though for whatever reason it still struck a chord with him. Even after being her supposed friend and comrade for more than a few months now, Alex still felt as if their was an impenetrable wall between him and Shiore. He wanted to get closer to her, that much was certain, however he was unsure of how to go about it what with the two of them being so different. He was about to say something but as soon as he so much as lifted a finger the bell signaling the end of lunch went off, and Shiore had a class next period where as Alex didn’t. Shiore upon hearing the bell quickly packed her stuff away back into her bag and swung it over her shoulder. She looked over to Alex, “you have a spare right now right?” Alex nodded, “Y-yeah.” “Take this time to set things up with your father,” Shiore instructed as she casually walked by Alex avoiding eye contact with him, “it’ll be easier if you have a clear head.” Alex didn’t say another word as Shiore passed him by. As she proceeded down the rows of bookshelves, Alex noticed something about the way Shiore walked. She always kept her eyes focused on what was directly in front of her, putting one foot right in front of the other in a quick and precise motion as if to get to where ever she was going as quickly and efficiently as possible. After thinking about this for more than he thought he needed to, Alex then shook his head and went out into the hallway long after Shiore had already left. He sat down on a bench around the corner from the library’s front door. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, flipping it open and pulling out a small piece of paper that Cole’s parents had given him with his father’s phone number on it. He let out a small sigh, “here goes nothing,” he said before entering the number and placing the phone up to his ear. The phone rang once, then again and three more times after that. Alex hoped that after the seventh ring it would go straight to voicemail and he wouldn’t have to speak to his father at all. However that sadly was a hope that was quickly dashed as on the sixth ring the phone was picked up on the other end of the line. “Hello?” Jason called out from the other end, “Alex, is that you?” Alex planted his face into the palm of his hand and ran his hand through his hair, pulling on it before answer, “H-hi dad… look, I was thinking… would you by any chance like to, I don’t know, hang out tomorrow or something?” “Hmm… let me see,” the rustling of paper’s could be heard from the phone’s speaker, “I should have something open for tomorrow. Where do you want to meet up?” Alex groaned, “You know the Cat’s Eye cafe?” “I’ve been there once or twice,” Jason returned, “that’s the place your friend Thea’s dad owns right?” “Yeah, that’s the one,” Alex said with a slight huff as he was a bit annoyed that his father who left him for dead several years ago suddenly knew all about his personal life, “I’ll meet you there at five okay?” “Alright, sounds good. I’ll see you then, take care.” “You too… bye,” Alex quickly hung up his phone and placed it down on the bench next to him letting out a disgruntled sigh of both relief that it was finally over and frustration that he was going to need to put up with the same thing tomorrow afternoon. Before he could get a single second of silence however, Madison turned the corner in a sprint carrying several sheets of paper in her hands. She instantly noticed Alex and as she panted rapidly she asked him one simply question. “Oh… hey there,” she panted as the name of the boy in front of her eluded her, “you see Ashley anywhere?” Alex shook his head, “Oh great,” Madison moaned as she continued down the hallway, “just when I need her I can’t find her anywhere!” Alex laughed to himself as a small tear formed in his eye, “even without her memories… she’s still the same person she always was,” he sniffled wiping the tears from his eyes, “but still… it isn’t easy seeing her like that.” --- The next day after school got out, Alex found himself wandering over to the Cat’s Eye where he and his father agreed to meet. He didn’t want to see him, but part of him still felt like he had no other option. This was something he had to confront even if it killed him in the process.He walked in through the front door to the sight of Cole and Tara waiting for him, the two freezing for a moment upon laying eyes on him. Cole was dressed in his regular street clothes where as Tara was dressed up in Cat’s Eye waitress uniform which was comprised of a formal black skirt and a deep violet blouse with a solid red trim. A simple red apron was wrapped around her waist making the entire uniform to regulation save for a pair of bright yellow cat ears that Tara had decided to wear for extra flare as well as her own pair of rollerblades and her usual black shorts which she always wore under her skirt. “Is he here?” Alex asked simply, Cole nodded and pointed over to a booth at the back of the cafe. Alex sighed and began to make his way over, “guess there’s no way of avoiding it then.” “Hold it!” Tara shouted placing her arm out in front him, she pulled out a small blue bottle of lord only know what and gestured to Alex in a way that told him to come over to her, “open!” Alex opened his mouth as Tara squirted a small bit of the spray into it. Upon making contact with the back of his mouth, the spray somehow managed to trigger his gag relax. “THE HELL IS THAT!” Alex coughed with a sharp pain in his throat. “Uh… Breath Spray?” Tara looked at the label of the bottle and realized that she had grabbed the wrong one. It was a bottle of lavender scented perfume and not the mint breath spray she had intended. Her eye twitched as her face began to turn a bright red, “Uh… oops.” Alex began to growl at Tara in anger, “I’m gonna kill you, you know that?” Tara leaned in a took a sniff of Alex’s breath, “Hm, well hey at least it worked didn’t it?” She grabbed him by his arm and smirked, “Now come on, we don’t want to keep daddy waiting now do we?” “I certainly would,” Alex whispered aloud. “Aw, don’t be such a soursop!” Tara said playfully as she pushed Alex towards the booth that Jason was sitting at, “Tell you what, if you behave I’ll give you something on the house,” she winked, “and I ain’t talkin about the menu.” Alex’s face then became bright red, “The hell is that suppose to mean!” “THEA!” a loud voice shouted out as a young girl dressed in the same uniform as Tara minus the cat ears who looked about the same age as her with light shoulder length chestnut and deep hazel eyes ran up to her and grabbed her wrist, “What have I told you about manors?” “Whoops, sorry Nadi-boss,” Tara laughed scratching the back of her head, “I was just showing my friend to his table.” “Geez, how many times do I have to tell you it’s Nadia or Boss. You can’t use both,” the waitress said with a heavy sigh, “As for your friend, I’m sure he can find a place on his own.” “Excuse me,” Jason spoke up with a warm smile, “she was only trying to help, there’s no reason to scold her. Besides, I find her antics quite amusing.” Tara smirked at Nadia as if to say “I told you so.” Nadia however simply rolled her eyes and pushed Tara away, “Let’s just get you back behind the counter before you cause anymore trouble,” she sighed as she escorted Tara away from Alex and his father. Once back at the counter, Nadia sat back down on her stool and as if on cue instantly fell asleep. Tara laughing at her bosses’ unprofessional display. “You know that uniform really does look good on you,” Cole said with a grin. Tara smiled back at him and, grabbing the edges of her skirt, gave Cole a small curtsy, “Thank you.” Her smile however instantly went away when she looked out the window and saw Carter sitting on a bench with a large grey cat in his lap. Cole raised an eyebrow, “Everything okay?” “Yeah, I just…” she skated away from him and took off in a random direction, “I need to get back to work.” Cole blinked and then shrugged, “if you say so.” Back on the far side of the cafe, Alex looked over to Jason with a face that gave the impression that he really didn’t want to be seen with him. Jason glanced back and gestured to the seat in front of him, “Have a seat son.” “Please don’t call me that,” Alex sighed as he sat down in the booth, avoiding eye contact with the man sitting across from him, “just tell me this… what exactly are you planning?” Jason raised an eyebrow and laughed, “Planning? Can’t a man just want to catch up with his son after years of being gone?” “THAT’S NOT THE POINT!” Alex shouted as he slammed his fist down on the table resulting in the other patrons around them to stare, “You think you can just disappear… then come back without me getting upset?” he looked up to his supposed father as tears began to run down his face, “I don’t care what the reason is… I just want to know why… why did you leave when mom died?” Jason frowned as the words of his clearly wounded son pierced his heart harder than anything ever had before. He had expected his son would respond like this, however now that it was happening before his very eyes he hadn’t the slightest idea what to say. What could he say? Sorry for running off now I’m back so we can be happy? No matter how much he wanted it to, this wasn’t going to be resolved with something as simple as that. He placed his hands together and closed his eyes before taking a deep breath and then exhaling. He opened his eyes and looked directly into those of his son, taking a quick breath of air preparing to speak. However, before he could say a word a large explosion went off just outside the cafe, shattering the windows and filling the entire building with a cloud of dirt, smoke and rubble. As the smoke cleared a pair of dopants hopped into the cafe. One was resembled a rusty yet sleek robot you would see in your average low budget science fiction movie with sharp metal claws and a solid red eye in the center of his face while the other was comprised of jagged shards of metal with hands made of large scissor blades with similar smaller blades covering the entirety of his body. “WHERE ARE THE RIDERS!!!” demanded the dopant with the single red eye. Cole and Tara instantly glance over to one another while Alex sat puzzled has, unlike the other patrons, Jason stayed put in his seat and was completely unfazed by what was going on. “WE KNOW YOU’RE IN HERE! COME FORWARD OR I’LL BLOW THIS WHOLE PLACE TO BITS!” Alex instantly stood up and reached for his Star and Runner memories that he kept in his back pocket, however before he could get a word in edgewise a familiar voice called out from the other side of the dopants on the street just outside the cafe, “right behind you.” The two dopants turned around to see Carter standing behind them in his the dragon like crimson red armour of his rider form with his buster blade resting on his shoulder and the giant cat like dopant named Gorge standing behind him. The bladed dopant stared Carter down and in a deep voice said to him, “you are one… we asked for all the riders.” Carter looked over to Tara in the shattered window of the cafe then back to the bladed dopant, “Too bad, because I’m the one you’ve got,” he said as he aimed his sword at the duo, “and that isn’t going to change.” “You search for the others,” the bladed dopant instructed the smaller one eyed one, “I’ll handle this one.” The one eyed dopant nodded and headed inside the cafe as the larger one stepped towards Carter and Gorge. “Large blades covering your body as well as you hands…” Carter analyzed his new opponent, “you must be Glave, correct?” The large blade covered dopant chuckled, “always good to know META keeps its tabs on me.” Carter chose not to respond to Glave and and snapped his finger to Gorge ordering him to attack. Gorge charged at Glave who quickly guarded with the blades on his right arm and gritted his dopant form’s metal teeth, “Hey there girl… long time no see.” Back in the cafe, the second dopant threw small explosive charges at the feets of civilians as they ran away, “Yes you sacks of flesh! RUN LIKE THE RATS YOU ARE!” “HEY TIN HEAD!” Tara shouted at him throwing a can of pop at his head, the dopant turning around to face her as she stood alongside Alex and Cole. Tara cracked her knuckles and gave her a glare with her anger filled eyes, “You best be planning to pay for this one way or another!” “The name is Time Bomb,” the dopant chuckled, “and I only pay in bits and pieces.” “Well unfortunately for you, we don’t offer payment plans,” Alex said as he, Cole and Tara pulled out their respective gaia memories. Cole and Alex’s driver materialized on their waists while Kree flew down and attached to Tara’s wrist, “so it looks like your rampage ends here.” “HENSHIN!” the trio cried out as the slammed their memories into their drivers and activated them at once. “STAR! RUNNER! GALE! ROCK!” all three of their drivers shouted as their armour formed around them, the Rock Smasher forming in Cole’s hand while Tara pulled out her flail and swung it around. “Tara! Tie him up and bring him outside!” Alex instructed. “With pleasure,” Tara returned with glee as she hurled her flail over to Time Bomb wrapping it around him with ease before spinning him in the air and throwing him out the whole he had made in the window up front. The three followed him outside to the now empty street. Alex stopped for a moment and took a quick look back inside and noticed that Jason had disappeared. He sighed in relief, even though he hated the man for leaving him he still felt good knowing that he had at least made it out safe and wasn’t going to get caught up in the battle that was already in progress. Back over with Carter, Glave swung his blade lightly at Gorge resulting in the beast flying backward and over onto the ground. Carter gritted his teeth in frustration. “Useless animal,” he grunted as he tightly gripped his sword with both hands and swung it at Glave. Glave parried with one hand and punched Carter in the gut with the other, Carter simply winced and shot off a blast of fire from the palm of his hand into Glave’s face which knocked him back a few feet which then resulted in him tripping over himself and falling to the ground. Carter raised his sword to Glave’s face and looked down to him, “stay.” During all this, a blond haired man stood in the shadow of an alleyway with his hand on a golden gaia memory, “There’s four... now where’s the fifth?” Time Bomb continued to throw small chargers at Alex, Cole and Tara which exploded the second they hit them. As the barrage continued, the three felt it necessary to duck for cover behind the rubble from the cafe. “This is insane!” Tara panted, “How the hell do we even get close to a freak like that!” “Leave it to me,” Shiore whispered into the ear’s of the three as she dashed passed them and right up to Time Bomb, grabbing two kunai knives off of her belt and hurling them into the palms of each of his hands. “OW!” Time Bomb cried out in agony as he looked to the knives in his palms which were burrowed so deep that he wouldn’t be able to pull them out without rendering his hands unusable, “Where the hell did these come from!” Within a matter of moments, Shiore took both of Time Bomb’s arms and forced them behind his back with one arm before pushing him to his knees and raising the blade of her katana to his neck with the other, “From hell itself.” The blond haired man in the alleyway smirked, “and there she is.” he hit the button on his gaia memory which marked with a C layered with teeth on the inside. “CRAVE!” “Thanks,” Alex said to Shiore as he, Cole and Tara ran up to her. “Now then,” he knelt down to the dopant and looked him in the eye, “who sent you? Was it Vainglory?” Before Time Bomb could speak, a strong wind blew knocking all of four of them to the ground and shattering their transformations save for Time Bomb himself. “No,” a voice which sounded familiar to Alex called out, “That would be me, or rather... us.” The riders looked over to see a group of five dopants standing before them. One was a harpy with fully extended blood red wings who was the one generating the strong wind, another being fairly scrawny with a lightly padded black body glove that cover his entire body that had wires and what looked like bright blue keypads covering his arms and legs, a sleek gunmetal grey helmet with a black glass dome covering his head. On the opposite side of them stood two others one looking like a slimy sea creature who was covered in slime that drench the ground he walked on leaving a trail behind him. In the center of these four was a green overly muscular and demonic dopant with bright red eyes that stared into the very souls of four riders on the ground. Dull cracked emerald armour with a silver trim lined his body with the centerpiece of him being a rusted steel driver that bore a close resemblance to the ones worn by META’s commanders. Gorge who had remained on the ground looked over to the group of dopants and scratched the ground with its claws making its way back up to its feet. Gorge snarled as it walked over to Carter, raised its claws and slashed Carter across his back knocking him to his knees and breaking his transformation. Time-Bomb then threw four explosive charges onto Alex, Tara, Cole and Shiore which latched themselves onto the four riders. Glave grabbed Alex and Tara while the slimy sea creature constricted around Shiore and the harpy like one leapt up into the air and slammed him into ground. “GAH!” Carter cried out in agony, he looked back to Gorge, “What the hell are you doing!” “Following orders,” the green demon dopant declared, he raised his hand and gestured towards Gorge, “come here girl… your new master awaits.” Gorge snarled and made it’s way over to the group of dopants, kneeling just beside the green demon who seemed to be the leader, “good girl,” he said patting Gorge on the head, “you know where your loyalty lies,” he looked over to Carter, “unlike some.” “Girl?” Carter snarled as he inched his way to his feet, “What the hell are you talking about?” The leader dopant looked at Carter, “it appears you had a bug in your web… and changing the gender of one such as Gorge is easy for her.” “DAMN YOU!” Alex shouted trying to break free from Glave’s hold only to be dragged back and held even tighter, “Just who in the hell are you guys anyway!” The green demon looked to Alex, “I figured you wouldn’t recognize me the way I am now,” he said resulting in Alex raising an eyebrow not knowing what exactly he meant, “to keep things simple, you may refer to us as GENESIS… I am Crave.” “Genesis huh?” a voice called out from behind Alex and company, “rather overly pretentious of you don’t you think...” all eyes turned to the source of the voice to find Jason walking up to behind where the group of dopants had the riders pinned, “Crave? or should I say… Greed?” he looked over Alex with a cold and shameful glare then back to the dopant that stood before him. “And… you are?” Crave asked raising an eyebrow. Jason held out a gold gaia memory marked with an equally gold demonic styled v with a slight violet tint to it, “the one who made you.” He undid his blazer revealing a META commander driver strapped around his waist and pressed the button just below the label of his memory. “VAINGLORY!” the memory shouted as Jason slammed it into his driver. Alex’s eyes shot open and gasped as the dark shroud of a deep purple aura surrounded his father transforming him into the same dark armored figure that had attacked the police station and left Marcoh with a torn up arm little over three months ago. He felt the urge to scream but was left frozen by the mere sight of his father’s new form and the realization that the angry red eyes that he swore revenge on that day were the same eyes of the one who brought him into this world. Vainglory walked forward until he was a few feet away from Crave, leaving behind a trail of shadows which echoed a faint cry of many voices of agony before fading away just as they appeared. He looked Crave in the eye who looked back into his. Crave looked over to the mechanical dopant covered with keypads that stood beside him, “stay out of this,” Crave instructed his subordinate as, it nodding and enveloping himself in a clear film before disappearing. Crave then looked back over to Vainglory,“I had hoped to meet you someday… but I never expected you to deliver yourself to me so easily.” A shroud of several thousand shadowy blades shot out from Vainglory’s cloak and engrossed themselves around Crave, leaving him little room to some much as even breath. He narrowed his gaze and spoke in a cold haunting voice “Silence… you have done more than enough damage for my liking. So tell me, give me a reason why I shouldn’t just end you now.” Crave angrily gritted his teeth, “I should ask you the same question.” he flexed his arms outward and pushed the blades around him away before jumping back and dashing over to one side as two pale green blades shot out from from his wrist guards, “JUST FUCK OFF AND DIE ALREADY!” He shouted as he lunged at Vainglory jabbing both of his blades into him. Before Crave could land a single hit however, a thick wall of dark shadows formed by his side and blocked the attack before shooting out a barrage of spikes that covered the face of the wall and impaled Crave upon impact. Crave however wasn’t about to fall right when Vainglory was right in front him and gritted his teeth at the pain trying to stay planted on the ground. Vainglory then pushed the wall of shadows away from himself before dismissing it resulting in Crave falling to his feet, panting heavily as he did so. He forced himself back up and set his gaze back on Vainglory, Vainglory simply looking back at him in the corner of his eye without so much as moving to face him. “Seems I underestimated you,” Crave coughed as he snapped his fingers together resulting in all the dopants under his command to release the riders from their grasp and form up next to him, “Cyber, we’re falling back for now.” Vainglory simply watched as the keypad covered dopant with the black dome helmet reappeared beside Crave and began typing away on the keys on his left arm. After entering a long and complicated string of codes, he lowered his arms as he and his fellow dopants along with Gorge were then broken down into data and carried away by the wind where they were to be reconstructed elsewhere. Vainglory watched as the data flew away and removed his memory from his driver as his dopant form faded away in the same dark aura it had appeared in. “What… the hell…” Alex panted with his fists balled up as tightly as his body would allow. He gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes at his father, “WAS ALL THAT!!!” “A child like you would never understand,” Jason coldly said as he turned his back to his own son, “even so, it’s better that you don’t.” “Like hell it is!” Alex growled as he ran up to Jason and threw a punch at him which smacked the older male in the back of his head. A cold wind blew over them as Cole and Tara stood in silence, unsure of whether or not they should do anything to help. Carter and Shiore on the other hand knew that it was not their place to intervene, at least not yet. After what felt like ages in the cold dead silence, Jason grabbed Alex’s arm which was still pressed against the back of his skull and thrusted his elbow into the boy’s gut before throwing him over his shoulder and down onto the ground. “This world is not yours to understand, so don’t even try,” Jason said with a cold voice as he walked passed Alex without so much as a second glance. Alex tried to get back on his feet but was quickly met with Jason slamming his foot down on his hand and looking down on him with the eyes of a killer, “stay down… you’ll only make your fate worse if you fight it.” Alex fell down on the ground burying his face in the dirt as Jason took his foot off the boy’s hand and simply walked away, “figures… if you can’t even keep your emotions in check, what chance do you have against me?” he said in the same cold voice which somehow sounded colder as he walked off into the distance and eventually faded over the horizon. “ALEX!” Tara shouted as she and Cole ran over to the boy who was still in the dirt, Shiore looking away with her eyes closed as she couldn’t stand the sight in front of her. “Are you alright?” Cole asked helping him to his feet. “Not again...” he growled as he balled his hands into fists and looked with eyes filled with a fire that was ignited by years of built up anger and hatred, “I’m NOT going to let you hurt me again!” he broke away from Cole and Tara and gazed angrily into the sunset, “I’ll find you… and I WILL kill you! FATHER!” To be continued {Insert Ending Theme - “Reason” by Yuzu} Next time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme:With the identity of Vainglory known and a new force on the prowl, it’s up to Alex and the other riders to take both of them down while looking out for the other. With a three way war about to begin, only the strongest will survive. But can each faction even trust themselves? All will be decided when Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme continues in Episode 3 Crimson Bodyguard. Ryu-O, where is your true strength? |
Episode 3: Crimson Bodyguard Under the dark of night, bits of data flew into the window of a bar that lay slightly below ground. As the were taken into the window, they reformed themselves back into Crave, Gorge and the other rogue dopants that ambashed Alex and the other riders at the cafe. “DAMN IT CRAVE!” Time-Bomb spoke out powering down and revealing himself as a scrawny man with ratty blond hair and bug like green eyes, “WE JUST ABOUT HAD THEM! WHY DID YOU FORCE US TO RETREAT!” “If we were to face off against Vainglory as we were they none of us would have survived,” Crave said as he pulled his gaia memory from his driver reverting the form of a young blond haired man, “and while we’re alone, calling me Vince will do just fine.” “It doesn't matter what I call you, you’re still a coward!” Time-Bomb yelled in anger, “If it were only me I would ha-” “You would have died,” Interrupted Cyber as he walked up from behind Time-Bomb and powered down, revealing himself as a slender man in his early twenties with short black hair and glasses. He wore a pale blue turtleneck under a done up white blazer, “though if you’re in a hurry to die, by all means hunt down the riders and challenge them to a rematch.” Time-Bomb snarled, “Maybe I’ll do just that!” he yelled as he stormed out of the bar slamming the door behind him. Cyber sighed, “So uncivilized.” “It’s a necessary lose,” Ms Seraphina called out as she suddenly appeared at one of the bar stools in a long black dress, “Only one who is of a strong mind and body can base through the gate, but an equally strong heart is required to open first.” she glanced over to the door, “that poor little rat has neither.” As she spoke, Gorge came over to her and snarled rubbing the top of her head against her as if she was her own cat. Ms Seraphina smirked, “Hey there little kitten… what’s say we get you out of that disgusting form, shall we?” {Insert Opening Theme - “Period” by Chemistry} Deep underground below Ardent City, Carter stood in the middle of a blank white room dawned in his rider form with various sensors placed all over him from head to toe. Three black beasts stood opposite him with the claws and fangs ready to attack. Within moments, the beasts charged at Carter as a whirlwind of fire constricted around the blade of his sword. As the beasts drew closer Carter took one step forward and with a single swing of his sword struck all three down and sent them plummeting to the floor in front of his feet, the beasts dissolving away in a shroud of black mist revealing three doberman with three shattered gaia memories lying next to them. Once the dogs were defeated a squad of scientists in white lab coats came into the room through a door by a large bullet proof window and collected them before falling back into the control room behind the window where Jason stood watching the entire thing. Rylee stood by him keeping a careful eye on him. “He’s certainly growing stronger,” Jason said with his arms crossed showing little regard for the boy’s safety, “but it still isn’t enough.” “Shall I send in the next round of rapids sir?” asked a scientist typing away at a computer. “No,” Jason shook his head, “give the next one to the new models.” The scientists eyes shot open, “but they aren’t ready yet!” he exclaimed as he stood up in protest, “Please sir, if you have them go up against the boy there’s no telling what could-” Before the scientist could finish, Jason glared at him which silenced him almost instantly, “I told you to send them in, now do it.” Rylee bit her lip, feeling the need to speak up in defense of her child but not wishing her commander’s fury be turned onto her. The scientist shook a small bit, “Y-yes sir,” she gulped as he sat back down. “Rylee,” Jason spoke up grabbing her attention, “keep an eye on things here,” he said handing her her golden Spite memory only this time it seemed different some how as it was much heavier than before, “I’ve enhanced your memory, it should now have power that matches the one Fury used against the riders if not more so. It hasn’t been tested yet though, so be careful.” Rylee nodded, “thank you sir,” she said quietly slipping the memory into her pocket and turning back to the white testing room her son currently occupied as the wall on the other side lifted up to reveal three figures in gunmetal grey suits. Without a second word more, Jason left the room leaving Rylee to oversee the testing. He stepped out into the hallway where a worker in a black suit was waiting for him. “Commander,” the worker silhouetted him with one arm and carried a file in the other, “might I borrow a moment of your time?” Jason nodded, “What is it?” “Well you see sir, it’s about those rogue riders we encountered a while back,” he said pulling out a photo and handing it to Jason, “as well as Ms Damon’s son.” Jason looked at the photo and examined it. It appeared to be a normal shot of Carter by the base of Ardent Tower, however there was something rather unusual about it. A red serpent like shadow hovered over him like an overprotective parent would hover over their own child. “How long have you had this?” Jason asked. “A little while after the incident,” the worker said taking a few steps back, “we would have brought it to you earlier but we assumed it was an error with the camera. However after checking over all of our equipment we determined that wasn’t the case. Sir… we may ha-” Jason covered the worker’s mouth and handed the photo back to him, “Burn this print and erase the original from the databanks,” he instructed looking the worker dead in the eye, “and do not, under any circumstances share this information with anyone… understood?” Worker nodded, “good,” Jason removed his hand and continued down the hall. “Now be quick about it.” “Yes sir!” the worker saluted once again, “right away sir!” “Looks like I’ve finally drawn you out,” Jason thought to himself as he kept his eyes fixed on what was ahead of him, “Fire Lord Ryujin.” --- Early the next morning, Ashley sat at her desk in her first period class taking a big yawn as she collapsed her head down into the pages of her open text book. “Why do we need to have classes in the morning?” she sighed as her eyes began to shut, “why can’t they just start school whenever I get here?” Before Ashley could fall completely asleep however, she was disturbed by the loud bang of a massive folder being slammed down onto the desk she was resting her head on. “GAH!!!” she shouted as she looked up to see Madison standing over her with an eager grin on her face. “Oh…” she sighed, “what is it this time maddy?” “I’m onto something!” she put simply as she swung open the page to a large map of the city with several circles in various parts of it. “I tried finding you yesterday but you left.” “Sorry, I had stuff to do,” Ashley blinked and looked down at the map, “Okay… what exactly am I looking at?” “Evidence!” she pointed over to the first circle which she had drawn in red over the most south west part of the city, “Right here at precisely six thirty seven PM on June 7th, the roads were closed due to reports of a highly corrosive gas leak. However, further research into the matter showed signs of craters, scorch marks, burnt flesh and ice formations that couldn’t have been formed by any gas I know of.” “Uh-huh…” Ashley nodded her head not really paying attention, “your point?” she thought for a moment then realized the date and details her friend had just mentioned. She thought to herself, “Wait a sec… that was the day I-” “I’m getting to it, just a sec!” she pointed to the second circle in the warehouse district on the east side of the city, “On the 15th of that same month, reports of humanoid insect began spreading throughout the local net. No photos were taken of it due to some sort of electrical interference but it was claimed to have traveled north to a quarry just outside the city where it supposedly crew and taken down by a team of only nine masked men.” “Which of course brings us to the city wide lockdown that took place over the summer,” she pointed to the tower located on the center of the map, “five of the nine masked figures that were spotted taking down the giant bug were found in a heated battle between six others that had never been seen before by anyone.” Ashley stood up and shut the binder on Madison’s fingers, “Is this really the best place to be talking about this?” Ashley laughed not wanting to Madison to blurt out everything to the entire class. Madison frowned, “Oh come on, I was just about done!” she cried, “It took me weeks to put this all together.” Ashley sighed, “Okay… just a small bit more.” she said as she released her hold on the binder and sat back down. Madison grinned and flipped the binder open once again, “Now, unfortunately like the last two I was on the scene when this one went down so I saw it with my own eyes. The battle itself sure was intense but it was only after the battle was over that I realized what was really going on,” she flipped the page over to a crudely down diagram of a red snake like squiggle and four question marks in the colors in the colors of blue, yellow, green and pink, “They do exist!” she shouted quietly. Ashley’s eyes shot open and raised an eyebrow as she hadn’t the slightest idea of what was going on, “Uh… who exist?” Maddison reached into her pocket and dumped an assortment of six random ranger keys on Ashley’s desk. The six being Lightspeed Rescue Red, Samurai Blue, Wild Force Yellow, Lost Galaxy Green, Mystic Force Pink and Time Force Quantum Ranger. “The power rangers!” she sighed as she crossed her arms looking down at the keys in front of her, “Look, I know it sounds crazy but I met one! He saved my life actually, and that’s when I found out it was him.” “You sure you didn’t hit your head?” Ashley asked knocking on Madison’s forehead. Madison smacked her hand away and pulled out a bright pink smart phone with a claw mark on the back of it, “I most certainly didn’t, here’s how I know!” hit a few buttons and pulled up a webpage before shoving it in Ashley’s face, “see for yourself!” Ashley took the phone and looked at the page, “Henshin Grid?...” she asked scrolling through it, “Just looks like another otaku hive mind if you ask me.” “Ugh! It’s not just that!” She grabbed back the phone, and pulled up three images of three different rangers, “there’s a forum on there with links to all sorts of ranger sightings!” One wore blue armor overtop a black morphsuit with silver stripes and matching boots and gloves. His helmet bearing the resemblance of a stag beetle with a golden number 2 emblazoned in the center just above a black v shaped visor. The second wore all yellow and a pair of gun metal grey shoulder pads along with a helmet that bore a resemblance to a car. He held a large double headed yellow hammer with blue highlights and what appeared to be parts for a cannon on each head. The third and final ranger was pure white with black arms and legs similar to the uniforms worn by the fictional Ninja Storm team. Gold highlights eyelined her white gloves and boots along with a gold belt and neck piece with a dream catcher design emblazoned on both. “I never thought it could actually be true, but apparently there are several different ranger teams scattered all over the world,” Madison went on with a grin, “and now there’s one here,” she looked over to Ashley, “You don’t think they’ve gotten their sixth ranger do you?” Ashley raised an eyebrow, “Why do you care?” “Because they are only ever six members per team,” Madison returned, “I just hope they haven’t filled that extra slot yet!” Ashley sighed and rolled her eyes, “Uh… I don’t mean to burst your bubble but you do realize how unlikely it is for you to actually join even if it were real right?” Madison glared at her however before their conversation could continue, Cole walked in through the door behind Ashley and patted her on the head, “Morning Ash, Maddy.” “Morning,” Ashley looked to him with a smile, “you’re awfully late.” “Don’t remind me,” Cole sighed as he shook his head and took his seat, “yesterday was not fun in the slightest.” “Rough day huh?” Ashley asked not really expecting an answer, “seems to be the case with everyone nowadays.” Madison looked around and raised an eyebrow, “Hey, where’s Alan?” Cole looked back slightly confused, “You mean Alex… right?” Madison blushed embarrassed that she got the name wrong, “Sorry, I keep forgetting for some reason.” Cole felt his heart sink a small bit, “Don’t worry about it, it’s an easy mistake,” he looked away and reached into his bag, “He’s… he isn’t really feeling very well today.” “Oh…” Madison frowned looking back over to the plastic keys she had scattered across Ashley’s desk, picking up the Quantum Ranger key, “that kinda sucks, hope he feels better.” Cole sighed as he pulled out his notebook, “I do too.” --- Downtown by a local bank, a small girl with long blond hair done up in a pair of pigtails and vibrant blue eyes sat outside on a bench looking up to the sky. As she sat there, a small object fell from the sky and bounced off the ground landing in the gutter by the side of the road.The small girl raised an eyebrow and out of pure curiousity got up from the bench and walked over to the gutter where she found what appeared to be a small grey usb like device with a blank black label printed on the top of it. She picked it up and raised an eyebrow unsure of where exactly it came from or what to do with it. However, before she could make a decision Tara came hurtling down the street on her rollerblades and smacked into her, catching a street sign with one hand and the small girl with another before either of them fell too hard. “Oh my god, I’m sorry!” Tara exclaimed, looking the small child over in a state of panic and embarrassment, “Are you okay little girl?” The small girl nodded quickly, “Are you?” “If I had a nickel every time someone asked me that question I’d be richer than Bill Gates,” Tara laughed a little and patted the small girl on the head. She was dressed in her cafe uniform and in the middle of a delivery, “What’s your name anyhow?” The small girl gulped, “It’s Becky.” “Well Becky, today is your special day! Hang on a sec,” she said reaching into one of the bags of food she was carrying and pulling out a small pastry. She handed it to Becky with a grin “Here you go! Hot out of the oven!” Becky blinked, “Wow, thank you miss!” she smiled happily taking the pastry from Tara, “It looks delicious!” “Tastes even better,” Tara smiled messing up Becky’s hair a bit, “we serve only the best at the Cat’s Eye Cafe, so if you ever go hungry again come on by for a visit.” The watch on her wrist beeped resulting in her looking at it, her eyes shooting open in a state of panic, “OH CRAP THAT CAN’T BE THE TIME!” she jumped to her feet and took off down the road, “I GOTTA GO LATER KATIE!” “IT’S BECKY!” the small girl shouted back quickly realizing that Tara could no longer hear her, she shrugged and stuck the usb into her pocket before unwrapping the pastry and taking a bite out of it, “Hmm… not bad.” “Hey there little missy,” a voice called out from behind he, “would you mind if I had a look at that thing you’ve got in your pocket?” Tara dashed over to the police station and rolled in through the front door carrying a pair of bags with four sealed food containers. She leaned against the side of the door to catch her breath then skated up to the front desk dawning an exaggerated grin once she caught her breath. A female receptionist looked up to her through her thick glasses, “Are you here to turn yourself in again?” Tara shook her head, “Sadly I’m only here on a food run,” she said holding up the bags in her hands, “special orders.” The receptionist nodded, “Of course, go right in.” Tara wasted little time and skated right up to Sampson’s office, knocking once before going in anyway. Shiore and Marcoh sat over by Sampson’s desk while Sampson stood by Alex who was frantically looking through records and any other valuable information he could find. Tara rolled over to the desk and placed the bags in her ontop of it, “Any progress?” she whispered to Marcoh and Shiore. The two shook their heads in perfect sync. “He’s been at this for almost three hours,” Marcoh said as he pulled out his wallet, “What does the total come to?” Tara raised her hand up and shook her, “no charge for today. Besides, it’s all leftovers from yesterday anyway.” Marcoh glared at her for a moment and put his wallet back in his pocket, “I see,” he sighed before taking one of the boxes and opening it up to three neatly wrapped sandwiches and a small pastry. “Beggars can’t be choosers I guess,” he shrugged as he unwrapped one sandwich and bit into it, “You know, for leftovers this isn’t half bad.” Tara grinned in an overt way of trying to look cute, “Thank you! The Cat’s Eye takes great pride in it’s quality!” Shiore paid little attention to them and instead focused her sight on Alex who was currently looking for something that made sense. She frowned slightly in a way that no one would notice her slight change in expression as she felt sympathy in him as she too knew better than anyone what it was like to be lost. “So what’s the report on the cafe’s repairs?” Marcoh asked out of curiosity. “Still working on patching the hole, but we’re currently offering take out until it’s all fixed up,” Tara explained with a sigh, “hopefully it doesn’t take too long.” “There are a lot of things I wish wouldn’t take very long,” Marcoh said looking over to Alex who had his nose shoved deep in various police records, “unfortunately, that’s just how things are every now and again.” {End of Part A} ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ {Start of Part B} In a warehouse not too far away from the police station, a wall opened up as Carter stepped out of an old rusted elevator and proceeded outside. As he stepped out into the city streets several loud crashes followed by the howling roar of explosions rushed over where he stood. Without wasting a single second, he took off down the street passing by three small blocks before turning the corner to the right and coming upon the sight of Time-Bomb hurling several bombs into the crowd with one hand and holding a small girl with the other. The cybernetic dopant instantly sensed Carter’s arrival and turned to face him showing that it was Becky that he held captive, “I was wondering when I would draw you out,” he said with a smirk, “Say, where are your friends?” Carter took one step forward and pulled his Ryu-O gaia memory, “Drop the girl!” he demanded as his driver formed around his waist. Time-Bomb chuckled, “If you insist,” he said before picking the small girl up by her hair and hurling her over to Carter. Carter, closing his hand around his gaia memory, leapt into the air and caught the girl in his arms before landing down onto the ground directly in front of Time-Bomb. The dopant smirked and delivered an uppercut towards the young rider’s gut sending him flying backward put not taking him off his feet or letting go of the girl he held in his arms. “Are you alright mister!” Becky asked him, still in a state of panic as a result of what was going on. “I’ve had worse,” Carter returned panting heavily, winded by the blow. He set the girl down on her feet and stood up straight staring down Time-Bomb, “Just get out of here,” he said raising his gaia memory and hitting the button below the label, “I’ll take of him.” “RYU-O!” “Hen… SHIN!” Carter slammed his memory into his driver and spun the dragon’s head, several rings of fire bursting out of the driver and forming around him. “RYU-O!” The driver called out along with a light roar of a dragon as Carter was engulfed by fire, forming into his crimson red dragon like armor and mask with burning ember eyes. The Ryu-O Buster forming in his right hand. Becky stood in awe of the boy’s new form unable to move a muscle, “... Awesome…” she said to herself, instinctively pulling out a small disposable camera from her pocket and taking a quick shot of the rider that stood before her. Not wasting any time Time-Bomb began hurling several bombs at Carter’s direction, Carter slashing each one making sure the exploded on him rather than anyone else. After a while of using himself as a human shield, Carter planted his sword on the ground and panted trying to catch his breath. “You sure are a glutton for punishment aren’t you?” Time-Bomb laughed as he walked over to Carter. He armed another bomb and held his finger down on a button that prevented it from going off in his hand, “you know, truth be told out of all the other riders… you were the one I was looking forward to fighting the most.” He smirked as he through the bomb up in the air and took a few steps back, “Shame you’re nothing more than a disappointment.” As the bomb fell to the ground where he stood, Carter set his sights on it and grabbed it out of the air before it hit the ground placing his finger over the button that Time-Bomb had previously held it with before hurling it back at him exploding on impact stunning the dopant for a fraction of a second. In that small window of time, Carter grabbed his sword and threw it over his shoulder and dashed over to Time-Bomb. Flipping the sword over to it’s flat side, he smacked the dopant in the back of the neck with enough force to send him flying off to one side and on to the ground. He then ran over to Time-Bomb and held him in place by jabbing the heel of his foot into the dopant’s gut. “Am I still a disappointment?” Carter asked with the edge of his sword pressed up against Time-Bomb’s neck. Time-Bomb smirked and pulled out two bombs and armed them without placing his fingers on the buttons that would prevent them from going off, “Am I?” Out of instinct, Carter jumped off of him as Time-Bomb through the explosives up into the air far enough that he wouldn’t get caught in the blast when they went off. “That was fun,” Time-Bomb chuckled as he got back on his feet, “however I think it would be best if we played a new game for now,” he said as he pulled out yet another explosion, “Hope you like hide and seek!” He threw the explosive at Carter, resulting in a cloud of smoke surrounding him and blocking his vision. Carter swatted the smoke away with his sword and looked around to find that Time-Bomb had ran off. “Why must they always run,” he sighed as he removed his memory from his driver and powered down, his driver fading away soon after. “Um… excuse me,” Becky called out as she walked up beside him, “thank you for saving me from that... thing.” “You don’t have to-” Carter began to speak but was silenced as soon as he looked over and saw an explosive with a timer marked 02:00 attached to one of the girl’s pigtails. He looked down to see a similar one attached to his chest where Time-Bomb had hit him earlier, “So that’s how he wants to play then.” Becky tilted her head to the side “Uh… sorry?” Carter looked over to her and knelt down in front of her, “Don’t panic, but it seems like that monster wants to play a little game and wants us both to participate,” he said grabbing the bomb on the girl’s hair and trying to pull it off but being unable to, “yeah, it’s on there pretty good.” The girl began to panic realizing exactly what he meant upon noticing the bomb on his chest thinking she must have had one on her as well, “W-What are we gonna do!” Carter stood up and looked over to where Time-Bomb last stood before running off, “We’ll beat him at his own game.” --- Back at the bar that Crave used as a base of operations. While no one else was around, Seraphina sat on a stool looking into a pale blue flame that hovered above a glass filled with red wine. Inside the flame she could see Carter’s current position and was able to hear exactly what he and the small girl were saying.“I most certainly hope that you do,” she said with a smirk, “son of Hono.” --- Back at the police station, an officer ran in through the door to Sampson’s office.“Chief!” he shouted in an attempt to grab his attention, “We have dopant activity downtown! Half of a marketplace has been destroyed already! However, he seems to have gotten away.” Marcoh, Sampson, Shiore and Tara all looked over to the officer. Only Alex remained fixed on the records he was currently looking over not seeming to care. “Who has been sent over?” Sampson asked. “436, 473 and 445,” the officer returned. “Tell them to keep their distance,” Sampson instructed, “they are not to confront the target unless necessary, understood?” “Yes sir,” the office nodded, “Oh, and one more thing… there was a missing child report earlier today just before the attack, there is also sightings of a young man in pursuit of the target.” Shiore raised her eyebrow thinking of only one person with the drive to follow after a dopant. “Alright, we’ll keep that in mind,” Sampson nodded, “thanks for letting us know, you may go now.” The office quietly left and shut the door behind him. Tara pressed her against the door making sure the officer was far enough away so she could speak freely, “Alright, party crasher is gone so let’s say we head out and nab this son of a bitch!” “Do you even need to ask at this point?” Shiore asked, looking over to Alex. “Alex, we’re leaving.” Alex said nothing. “Did you not hear her boy?” Marcoh spoke up trying to get his attention, “You have a job to do-” “Is it Vainglory?” Alex asked not even bothering to look over to who he was talking to. “We don’t know for sure,” Marcoh returned, “but I highly doubt it.” “Not interested,” Alex said coldly keeping his focus on the files in front of him. “It doesn’t matter you’re interested or not!” Marcoh barked at him, “It’s your responsibility to fight these things because you lot are the only ones with the power to take them down.” “You have Tara and Shiore, plus I’m sure that Carter is already out there,” Alex explained, “what difference does it make if I’m not there?” Before Alex could say anymore, Shiore walked over to him and slapped him hard across the face before elbowing him in the gut and kneeing him in the crotch. “GAH!” Alex cried out as he fell to the floor, “The hell was that for!” “Anata wa baka no yōda!” Shiore snapped back at him, “Think about it, Vainglory seems to be connected to all other dopants so if we keep tracking down the rogues it will eventually lead us to him.” “I already know that!” Alex shouted back, “It’s just that…” he hung his head down, “I’m not sure if strong enough to fight him, even if I do…” Shiore knelt down and looked him in the eye, “That might be true, but you won’t be fighting him or any other foe alone.” “That’s right!” Tara interjected, “You’ve got Shishi, Cole and of course yours truly.” “Shishi?” Shiore raised an eyebrow, “In what universe am I in any way shape or form a lion spirit?” “Aw geez,” Tara rolled her eyes “it’s just a name.” Shiore continued to glare at her, “a name that does not make any sense.” Alex laughed a small bit, “Good to know nothing ever dampens your spirit Tara.” Tara looked over to Alex with a idiotic grin on her face. Sampson thought for a moment, then spoke up, “Hang on a second, if it’s a difference in power that’s the issue then the Xtreme memory should be more than enough to close it… you still have it don’t you?” Alex frowned as he reached into his sweater pocket and pulled out the black bird like memory, it’s usual red markings were now a dull grey, “It only worked twice… I haven’t gotten it to work since last summer.” Tara raised an eyebrow, “Hey Sammy, what the heck is that do who diddy anyhow?” “It was supposed to be an add on for the X Driver,” Sampson put simply hanging his head a bit, “however, no one could get it to work… not even Alice. Despite it not working however she said that it still held unimaginable power that others would want for their own, that’s why she gave it to me for safe keeping with the promise that on the day that five become one the memory’s true power would reveal itself.” “Oh great! A math problem!” Tara moaned, “I HATE MATH!” Alex zoned out to give what Sampson had just said some thought, “The day that five become one…” he thought over the details of what exactly happened on the day that he first received the memory hoping that the answer would be in there somewhere. He snapped his fingers, “Tara! Shiore! Come with me, I have an idea,” he instructed as he dashed out the door and pulled out his phone dialing Cole’s number. Tara smirked, “There’s the shining star,” she said as she followed Alex out of the room, Shiore coming shortly behind them and shutting the door behind her. Once the three had left the room and the door was shut Sampson, as if on cue, collapsed onto the filing cabinets and began coughing violently. Marcoh grabbing a box of pills from his desk and running over to him. Sampson snatched the box and forced down three right from the box before grabbing his chest and breathing heavily, a small bit of blood visible on his lip. Once he had calmed down he looked at his hand which was now covered in his own blood and balled it into a fist. “You know, you wouldn’t have to do this if you simply told them the truth,” Marcoh put simply. “I know,” Sampson nodded looking over to the door, “but they have enough to worry about… this will pass so there is no need to make that big a fuss over it.” Marcoh glared at him, “One can only hope that you’re right about that.” --- Back on the far side of the city, Carter trucked forward through an old rundown alleyway as the timers on the bombs that were strapped to them continued to count down slowly. Becky’s now reading 1:02 and Carter’s 1:14. Becky continuously tripped over herself as her heart was beating faster than she could think while Carter tried to remain as calm as he possibly could. Becky stopped, “Wait!” she said pulling her hand away, “Am… are we going to die?” she asked looking at the timer on Carter’s chest. Carter knelt down and placed his hands on her shoulder before looking her in the eye, “I’m not sure… but I promise that I’m going to do what I can do to get you out of this?” Becky sniffled a bit leaning into Carter as she began to choke up, “thank you… c-can I ask you something?... Can you tell me your name?” “It’s Carter,” he said patting the small girl on the back, “What about you?” “B-Becky Carmichael,” she said softly. Carter let out a small chuckle under his breath, “Just your first name is fine.” Becky giggled, “Sorry.” As Carter hovered over the small girl, Cyber stood hovering over him from a rooftop with his cloaking ability activated. He tisked for a moment and shook his head. “Time-Bomb you fool,” he thought to himself, “showing mercy to your enemy shall be your undoing.” (Insert Ending Theme - “Reason” by Yuzu} Next time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme: Carter and the small girl named Becky are put on the clock! Will they be able to snip the fuse on Time-Bomb’s wire? All will be decided when Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme continues in Episode 4: Supernova! Ryu-O, take up your new sword and rise from the ashes! |
Hell yeah ryu-o chapter! Awesome
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Episode 4: Supernova The school bell rang signaling the end of the day as Cole walked out the front door with his school bag in one hand, and Alex’s assignments in the other. As he walked over to the hill he glared at the sheets of paper in his hand. “Geez, I get that he’s upset but he could at least keep his priorities straight,” he said to himself as he turned his attention away from the stack of papers and to the street below. His attention was quickly grabbed by Madison standing by the bus stop at the bottom of the hill, resulting in him raising one eyebrow in confusion. “Hey! Maddy!” he called out to her as he walked up to her from behind. “Oh… hey Cole,” she smiled at him, “What’s up?” “Let’s see, I’ve got my work and Alex’s to do once I get home so… quite a lot it seems,” he said jokingly giving her a smile, “Taking the bus today? Don’t you live around here?” “Oh I do, I’m meeting a friend downtown,” she explained holding up a green flyer that read ‘Late Night Jam’ in large bolded letters, “he has a gig tonight at this music club they just opened up and I promised I’d be there.” “A new boyfriend of yours I see?” he chuckled a bit teasingly. Madison’s face turned a bright red as she quickly looked away from Cole, “N-no! Lark and I are just friends!” Cole patted her on the shoulder, “I know, I was just messing with you.” he said to her as the bus turned around the corner and came to a halt at the stop. Madison looked back to him and smiled, “Thanks Cole,” she said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a toonie before hoping on the bus, “you’re a good friend.” “Thanks,” Cole smiled back as the doors closed and the bus took off down the road. He watched it until it turned a corner then frowned, “I try to be anyway.” At that instant, Cole’s cellphone rang from inside his pocket resulting in him quickly fishing it out and answering it, “Hello?” he nodded once, “I’ll be right there.” {Insert Opening Theme - “Period” by Chemistry} Time-bomb ran down a long dark litter filled alleyway and was about to make his way out until he was stopped by Cyber stepping forward and blocking his path. Time-bomb snarled at him, “What the fuck do you want now Ren? I’m on a tight schedule in case you haven’t noticed!” Cyber smirked under his vizor, “You honestly think I care about your petty problems? I’m merely here as a spectator for when you blow yourself up.” He reached up to his helmet and hit a small button on the side as the quiet hum of a cog began emanating from within it, “Just be sure you put on a good show for the boss alright.” Time-bomb spat off to one side and pushed his way passed Cyber, “Save your insults for when that fire breather’s head in is within my claws.” he snarled through his teeth as he made his way out of the alleyway, only to leap onto a wall with his metal claws and begin scaling up it. Cyber shook his head keeping his usual smirk, “We’ll see who loses their head when this is over and done with.” Meanwhile, a little ways off from the police station, Alex and Shiore drove down the road on the X Cyclone while Tara surveyed the area from the skies. She swooped down and hovered next to her comrades to report in. “No sign of creepox or short fuse just yet,” She stated through the mask of her rider form. “Keep looking,” Alex returned, he and Shiore still in their civilian forms, “they have to be around here somewhere.” Tara nodded and soared back up to the sky above. Once she was up in the air, the roar of a second motorcycle filled the air behind Alex and Shiore as Cole drove up beside them. “I miss anything?” Cole called out to the two, Shiore simply shaking her head once in response. Cole smirked, “Good, so what’s the biz?” “Carter and that bomber dopant are currently in a stalemate not too far from here,” Alex called out to him, “We’re going to put an end to it before it gets ugly, and hopefully get some answers while we’re at it.” Cole raised an eyebrow then turned his gaze to the road in front of him, “So we’re helping Carter?” Alex nodded, not saying another word. Cole shrugged and grinned, “I guess I can live with that.” Back by Time-bomb, the rouge dopant reached the top of the roof and dashed over to another only to forced back onto the roof he had climbed up on by the impacted of a stray metal bar that struck him in the face forcing him to the ground. “THE WAS THAT!” he cried out as he jumped to his feet to the sight of Carter throwing a bar to the side with Becky close behind him, “Oh… so you’re still alive huh?” he eyed the timer on Carter’s chest which currently read 1:17 and smirked, “but not for long.” “Becky,” Carter whispered looking over his shoulder to the small girl behind him, “Stay here alright?” Becky looked up to him and nodded. Carter then shifted his gaze back to Time-bomb and leapt over to the other roof before hurling a strong punch directly into the dopant’s single red optic in the center of his face, resulting in him getting pushed back a few good feet. Carter took full advantage of the opening and kicked him right in the chest before unleashing a barrage of well over twenty lightning fast punches with just as much strength as the first one, sending his opponent flying backward and onto the ground. “You… really… suck,” Time-bomb coughed as he picked himself up off the ground and onto his knees, “But no matter… no pain no gain right?” Carter raised an eyebrow at him, “What could you possibly have to gain from all this?” “You honestly think I care about winning this little game of ours?” Time-bomb chuckled, “The way I see it both you and that brat don’t have much time left regardless of who wins!” “BASTARD!” Carter yelled at Time-bomb before kicking his face in and forcing it to the ground with his foot, “So all you’re doing is just buying yourself time!” The dopant whipped out two bombs from his belt and smirked, “Bingo,” he said before throwing one at Carter’s face resulting in him jumping off of him allowing Time-bomb to jump back to his feet, the bomb thrown at him merely bursting into a cloud of smoke, “and congratulations!” he called out to Carter gripping the other bomb, “You just fell for the easiest trick in the book!” Before Carter could move, Time-bomb threw the second bomb at his feet only, unlike the first one, nothing happened save for a small puff of smoke. Time-bomb looked up at Carter and froze, “Hehe… could you excuse me for just a second?” “Sorry, I don’t have time for this anymore,” Carter returned as he quickly pulled out his gaia memory and smacked the button below the label. “RYU-O!” shouted the memory as Carter’s driver materialized around his waist. “Hen… SHIN!” Carter slammed him memory into his driver and spun the dragon head on the front of the buckle as several rings of fire erupted from it and constricted around him before enveloping him completely within the inferno. “RYU-O!” his driver called out once again as the flames dispersed revealing him in his rider form. He slammed his fists together and cracked his knuckles before snapping his fingers together and summoning his Ryu-O Buster in a quick burst of fire. Carter stepped towards Time-bomb and with one swing of his sword threw him across the roof. “I’ll ask this once,” he said aiming his blade at the neck of his opponent, “remove the bomb from the girl this instant.” Time-bomb gritted his teeth and clasped his hands around the blade of Carter’s sword, “TOUGH CHANCE!” he yelled as a pair of bombs clung to the rider’s blade and arming themselves instantly. Carter quickly threw his sword away before the bombs went off, the explosion shattering it to bits within seconds of him releasing it from his grip. Carter then looked in front of him to see that Time-bomb had vanished once again. “HEY FLAME BOY!” Time-bomb called out to him from another roof, “CATCH ME IF YOU CAN SUCKER!” he shouted before leaping to a building across the road and charging up it. Carter let out a painful sigh and walked over to the edge toward Becky before jumping back onto the roof she stood on. He eyed the bomb on the top of her head that currently read 0:57 then to his own which now reach 1:14. “Are you just going to let him get away?!” Becky cried out as her whole body shook, “You’re stronger than him aren’t you! Catch him already and kick him to the curb already!” “I CAN’T JUST DO THAT!” Carter yelled back at it looking her straight in the eye with daggers in his own, “Simply having power doesn’t make you strong.” Becky hung her head and then collapsed to the ground, “So… we really are going to die… aren’t we?” she quivered gripping the ends of her shorts with her hands and tears ran down her face. “I never said that,” Carter said as he knelt down in front of her and placed one hand on her shoulder and the other on her chin, lifting her head up to face him, “but one thing I will say is this,” he added looking her in the eye and wiping away her tears, “Fate isn’t always something we can decide for ourselves, however one thing we can do is choose whether to accept it or fight it… got it?” Becky sniffled a little bit but eventually nodded, “Y-yes… I do.” Her eyes then drifted down to Carter’s driver and noticed the red gaia memory and instantly remembered the device she had picked up earlier, “Can I ask you something first?” she asked as she fished out the blank grey usb like device, “what exactly is this?” Carter’s eyes shot open as he snatched it from her, “Where did you find this?” he asked her as he looked it over. “I just… found it lying on the ground,” she said simply, pulling her head into the collar of her shirt, “is that bad?” Carter sighed and put the blank memory into a pouch on the back of his belt, “A child like you has no business in stuff like this,” he said looking her in the eye, “You understand me?” Becky nodded, “I-I think so.” “Good, now answer me this…” Carter stood up and extended his hand to her, “Will you fight to save your own life?” Without saying another word more, Becky narrowed her eyes at the rider' standing before her and took hold of his hand before looking him in the eye and nodding once. With one quick motion, Carter picked up the small girl, hoisted her up onto his back and held her as tight as he could. “Better hold on tight kid,” he said to her before activating the boosters on the bottom of his feet and launching the two of them off the roof they stood on and across the street toward where Time-bomb had run off to. As they soared through the air, Tara turned the corner and passed by them as they landed on top of a near by building. Tara’s eyes shot open as she instantly turned around and flew back to Alex, Cole and Shiore who weren’t too far down the road from where she was. “COLE! SUPERSTAR! ICE QUEEN!” she shouted at the trio as she reached her fellow riders and hovered over them, “THE DRAGON IS IN THE EAGLE’S NEST!” Shiore raised an eyebrow in confusion, “English please?” “I’VE FOUND FLAME BOY!” Tara yelled at the ice rider as she turned herself around and took off back in the direction she came from, “HE’S RIGHT DOWN HERE!” Alex looked over to Cole and nodded, Cole nodding back to him as they revved up the engine’s of their bikes and chased after Tara at top speed. --- Back over by Time-bomb, the quick footed dopant leapt over a set of roofs as Ryu-O zoomed past him faster than he eyes could see as he flew right into the red rider’s fist before getting struck over the head by a quick axe kick which sent him hurling to the ground within seconds.“Aw shit!” Time-bomb groaned in pain as he forced himself to his feet, “The hell did I hit?” Before he could regain full sense of what had happened, he was grabbed by his arm by Carter who seemingly appeared out of nowhere and punched him across his face knocking him down to the ground once again. “Time’s up bomb,” Carter growled as he let Becky off his back who ran to a safe distance, “Now I’ll ask you this one final time… remove the bombs,” he demanded as he held up his hand and began charging a fire blast from his palm, “Now!” Time-bomb began froze on the ground looking for a way out of his current situation when he noticed Becky on the far side of him as Tara swooped in on her glider next to her and putting away her glider. The dopant snarled and held his hands up, “Alright… I’ll do it…” he said gritting his teeth, “but I need to be standing first, but step aside and give me some room.” Carter snarled at him and did as he said, “Make it quick.” “Thank you,” the dopant said as he picked himself up off the ground and returned to his feet. Carter kept a close eye on the dopant and held his hand with the charged shot up to him, “Now defuse the bombs like you said.” “Oh I will…” Time-bomb smirked under his mask, “but first,” he quickly kicked Carter’s hand causing him to shoot off his fire blast up to the sky before pulling out a dozen armed bombs, six in each hand and hurling them at Becky and Tara, “THINK FAST SHIT HEAD!” Carter froze for a moment then, without even thinking, dashed over to the two girls and threw himself in front of the bombs taking the full force of the explosion as each one hit his body. His armor shattered upon the first few hits leaving him completely exposed and unprotected as the flames engulfed his body fully, Becky and Tara watching in horror as the events unfolded before their eyes. Time-bomb chuckled as the smoke cleared and Carter’s charred body fell to the ground, “Game over Flame Boy,” he said to himself as he walked over to Tara and Becky, the yellow rider stepping in front of the small child. Carter’s eyes slowly began to close as the dopant’s feet drew closer in his already fogged vision, “Thea… Becky… forgive me…” “Carter!” Tara cried as she ran toward the rider and ducked to the ground he laid on. As she looked over his charred body, an image of a much younger equally cut up Carter in a dimly lit lab with shards of broken glass jabbed into him flashed before her eyes, “What… what is this?” she then felt a sharp pain in the back of her head, “GAH!” she screamed as she pressed down hard on her temples with both her hands. As Carter fell limp as a bone, Alex and Shiore drove up into the alleyway on the X-Cyclone with Cole following closely behind on the Rock Prowler. The trio hopped off their respective rides and looked at Carter and Tara on the ground in horror. “Tara!” Cole called out to her as he ran over to her side, “What’s wrong? Are you alright?” He held onto her but no matter what Tara, would not answer him. Alex took a few steps forward and stared down Time-bomb, “So you’re the one behind all this,” he took out his Star and Runner memories from his back pocket as his driver materialized around his waist, “clearly it was a mistake to let you get away… I’ll do what I must.” Time-bomb smirked, “I’d love to see you try.” {End of Part A} ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ {Start of Part B} Carter opened his eyes to find himself in a blank white void which seemed to stretch on forever without any sign of an ending. “Where am I?” he asked to himself as he looked around, “Am I dead?” “Why are you here child?” A deep booming voice echoed. Carter turned around to see the burning yellow eyes of a massive chinese dragon covered from head to toe with blood red scales that were bursting with crimson and amber flames from the gaps with each breath it took. The colossal beast toward hover him as it stared down upon him. “You must be Ryujin… correct?” Carter asked the beast holding his breath. “I’ve been called many things child, but there was one who called me by that name,” the dragon proclaimed, “He was an honest man, a strong man with a great fire is his eyes,” he growled leaned in closer to the boy and looking him in the eye, “I see the same fire within you… but you know not how to truly wield it.” “I can wield it just fine,” Carter retorted, “What exactly would a beast like you know about my power in the first place?” “That statement alone proves to me just how juvenile you are young one, for you see I have been watching you from within your own shadow for quite sometime,” The beast proclaimed as it narrowed its gaze at the boy who stood before it, “However it seems that you with all your power could not see me.” “Well I can see you know can’t I?” Carter spat back, “What I can’t see is your point, so why not just send me back to where I belong already?” “I cannot release you from this plane,” the dragon put simply, “your physical form was destroyed in battle… there is no going back.” “ARE YOU NOT A GOD!” Carter barked at the beast, “I’ll pay any price to return to my sister, so name it and I’ll give up whatever you wish.” “Your resolve is strong,” the dragon said to him looking the boy in the eye, “for your sake I hope that isn’t all that is strong about you.” In one quick motion, the dragon wrapped itself around Carter and stared down at him as if he was going to eat him then opened his mouth and unleashing his fiery breath upon the boy. In less time than it would take to blink Carter found himself surrounded by a towering inferno that was slowly constricting itself tighter around him. “What the hell is this!” Carter demanded. “If you cannot control your own fire, then you shall be consumed by it,” the dragon said coldly as he released his hold on Carter, keeping the flames going, “if you wish to reclaim the life that was taken from you… become the master of the inferno that surrounds you.” Carter’s heart began to race as the burning walls around him drew closer. He thought for a moment, then his eyes widened. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the blank gaia memory that Becky gave to him not long ago. He gripped it in his hand then rammed the memory into the fire, the heat of the inferno searing his hand as he did so. The memory was beginning to wear away from the flames but slowly began to pull the fire into it. As the memory pulled in the fire a small crack burst out from one side, and shortly after another from the other side of it. Carter gritted his teeth and held wrapped his other hand tightly around the memory trying his best to hold it together. “Come on… just a little more,” As he tightened his grip on it, the memory began to heat up nearly burning the palms of his hands. Despite the blistering pain he felt, he simply clenched his teeth and held the memory in place. The memory was about to burst, however just before it did Carter was able to contain the last bit of the fire within. He instantly released his hold and panted like crazy as he lowered his arms and loosened his grip on the memory that now shone brightly in an amber other worldly glow as the cracks began to repair themselves. “You threw yourself into the fires of hell and have come out alive on the other side,” the dragon proclaimed as he reappeared behind Carter, “well done child.” “So happens next?” Carter asked turning to the dragon, “are you going to send me back now? The dragon nodded, “You have proven to me that you are worthy to hold the power of flame. Now you stand stronger than you were before. Up until this point you have relying on my power alone, however now you have managed to light a fire that is yours and yours alone.” the beast lowered his head and looked Carter in the eye, “What is your name child?” “Carter,” he said without hesitation as he clenched onto the memory in his hand as the glow faded from it revealing it to be of a crimson red color with a golden piece of metal in the shape of a bird hanging off the end of it, the letter P that resembled a phoenix with one wing missing forming on the black void of the label, “Carter Damon.” “I see, such a proud name. You have risen from the ashes a reborn man young Carter and now I shall bestow upon you a name to reflect that change. Phoenix King Ryu-O, carry that name with pride,” the beast said to him as a riff into the void opened up behind the boy, “Now go and return to those who need you with the power and strength to protect them.” Carter looked into the beast’s burning amber eyes and nodded without saying another word more as he turned his back to the beast and began walking off into the rift as it closed behind him. Back on the other side, Alex stood between Time-bomb and the unconscious Carter who lay limp in Tara’s arms, Cole and Shiore by his side while Becky watched in hiding behind a set of trash cans. “You’re the same dopant from the other day,” Alex said aloud to Time-bomb as he step closer toward him, “What do you know about Vainglory?” “You expect me to answer such a ridiculous question to a piece of rider trash like you?” Time-bomb cackled, “even if I did know, why in the hell would I tell you?” “Fair enough,” Alex returned placing his star and runner memories into his driver, “Looks like I have no further use for you anymore,” he said coldly placing his hands over the slots of his driver, “henshin.” As he went to split open his driver, Cole and Shiore both raised their arms to grab Alex and pull him back by his shoulders when suddenly. “Stop!” a voice called out from behind them, the trio turning to face Carter who was climbing his way to his feet as Tara helped him up. He gripped his newly made gaia memory in his hand and stepped in front of Alex and the others before staring down Time-bomb, “This one’s mine… and this time, it’s personal.” “Haven’t had enough pain yet flame boy?” Time-bomb laughed as he pulled out several more bombs as Carter walked slowly towards him, a warm amber light hovering over him as all his burns and cuts healed, “Well you’re in luck, because we’re having a sale!” He threw the bombs up into the air and began smacking them at Carter, “for the next five minutes only, NINETY NINE PERCENT OFF! ON YOUR BODY!” Carter caught one of the bombs and held onto the button that stopped it from exploding in his hand before leading right into a roundhouse kick with his right leg sending several of the other bombs flying right back at their owner before flipping onto his back leg and striking the rest with an axe kick sending them up into the sky and exploding just above the roofs of the buildings that surrounded them. Time-bomb was knocked back a bit from the impact of his own explosive but it didn’t phase him too much. He simply jumped right back onto his feet and regained his focus on Carter. “YOU THINK YOU’RE ALL HOT STUFF JUST BECAUSE YOU DODGED DEATH?!” the dopant screamed as he clenched his teeth together and balled his hands into fists quickly pulling out another set bombs but this time they were far bigger than the palm sized ones he had been using up until this point, “DON’T YOU FORGET META WORM!” he lifted the bombs over his head, “I HAVE POWER! AND YOU HAVE NOTHING!” Before the bomber could do anything wish he new toys, Carter threw the bomb he held in his hand at the dopant’s face stunning him as a result of the explosion on such a vital body part despite his helmet. He then kicked on up in the air and grabbed the other and threw it over to Tara. “THEA!” he shouted as the wind rider caught it, “GET THAT TO A SAFE ALTITUDE!” Without wasting a single moment, Tara hopped on her glider and did as she was told making sure she got high enough in order to release the bomb up in the air before it exploded. Meanwhile, back on the ground, Carter gripped the second bomb with one hand and held it so his thumb gripped the safety lock button which kept it from going off “As I’ve said before, having power isn’t enough,” he said before reaching out to Time-bomb with his free arm and grabbing him by the collar, “It’s being being able to hold back that makes you strong,” he proclaimed looking Time-bomb in the eye as held the bomb up to his face, “Now disarm the bombs... NOW!” “GIVE ME ONE GOOD REASON!” Time-bomb demanded resulting in Carter bashing him in the face with his own bomb. “Release the bomb you have placed on the girl or I’ll blow the two of us sky high,” Carter glared at him inching his thumb slowly off of the safety lock, “Pick your poison.” Time-bomb shook as he looked around at the other riders who stood by and watched as Tara touched back down on the ground. He looked at the timer on Carter’s chest, which currently read 0:27, and contemplated whether he could outlast that time. However, due to how outnumbered he was the possibility of pulling another hit and run was beginning to look easier said than done at this point. After a moment in thought, Time-bomb let his arms down, “Alright fine… you win.” he sighed as he hit a button on his gauntlet resulting in the bombs attached to both Carter and Becky to disarm themselves and fall to the ground. “Perfect,” Carter returned as he released the dopant from his grasp and let him fall to the ground. He looked to the bomb that was still in his hands, “Now… deciding what to do with this is the biggest issue at the moment.” Time-bomb snarled on the ground, “WHY NOT SHOVE IT UP YOUR ASS!” he shouted thrusting his leg up into the air and kicking the back of Carter’s hand resulting in him losing his grip on the bomb as he fumbled out of his grasp and began to fall to the ground. Carter barley had anytime to think as he simply jumped backward to a safe distance outside the blast radius as the highly unstable explosive fell onto Time-bomb and landed right on his gut, the dopant instantly becoming engulf in the explosion that no ordinary human would be able to survive. Cole was stunned silent as the roaring fire before him, “D-did you kill him?” “You forget what he is,” Carter returned, “it will take more than that.” Up above on the roof top, Cyber watched the events unfold as a small light went off on the side of his helmet. He placed his finger onto it and spoke. “Cyber here,” his eyes shot open under his vizor, “Ma’am, surely you can’t be serious. We haven’t even tested it ye-” he was cut off mid sentence on the other end of the line and simply nodded, “I understand… it will be done.” He removed his finger from the com-link in his helmet and looked toward Time-bomb. He then turned his gaze to one of the keypads on his forearm and typed in a string of letters and numbers into it bringing up a display screen with Time-bomb’s vital signs with a tab marked with an x over top of it. He hovered his finger over the button and gulped, “Forgive me brother,” he said to himself as he pressed his finger down on the button resulting in the display screen instantly switching to red. Back on the ground, the smoke finally began to clear as the hum of several loud cogs accompanied by a bestial roar erupted from the clearing debris. Time-bomb stepped out of the rubble as a pair of razor sharp claws ripped out from his hands along with an equally sharp set of teeth that broke open from the now cracked mask he wore that just barely covered his now withered, torn and almost alien looking flesh. A cluster of three bomb like orbs protruded out from his right shoulder which was just above his now overly muscular right arm which contrasted his left that looked exactly the same as it did previously. Alex froze at the sight of the creature that stood in front of him, “What in the hell is that thing?” he demanded looking at Carter. “It’s Time-bomb,” Carter returned keeping his eyes fixed on the mangled figure that stood before him, “or at least… it used to be.” The bomb infused creature looked around until it’s eyes were drawn toward a solid brick wall. He took a quick sniff of it then licked it’s dried out and cracked lips before punching it with it’s larger arm, smashing it to bits before running off. Carter took one step forward only to be stopped by Alex shouting, “Wait! That thing was human once right!” “That doesn’t matter anymore,” Carter returned looking Alex dead in the eye, “If it’s not stopped then there’s no telling what it will do. It needs to be destroyed.” Alex balled up his fists and thought for a moment then looked back to Carter, “Alright… just this once,” he extended his hand out to the rider who stood before him, “we’ll fight together.” Carter grinned a small bit and took hold of Alex’s hand, “It would be my pleasure... Xtreme.” The two then took off after the beast with Cole, Tara and Shiore close behind them until they found the creature that was once Time-bomb in a thoroughly trashed plaza with several civilians running for their lives. “TIME-BOMB!” Alex called out, grabbing the creatures attention as he and Carter stood side by side, “You’ve done enough damage for one day, and now your time is up!” “No matter how you look at things,” Carter held up his newly obtained gaia memory and stared down the beast as Tara, Cole and Shiore walked up behind him and Alex, “Your rampage ends here.” Alex sighed, “and that would be my line.” Just then, the Xtreme gaia memory awoke from where it was being stored on the X-Cyclone and flew over to Alex landing in his hands, the dull grey lines on the front illuminating and becoming bright red once again as the Star and Runner memories that were still in his driver shone brightly for a moment in response to the memory. “The day when five become one,” Shiore repeated looking at the memory, “You think it will work this time?” Alex looked over to Shiore then back to the memory, “Only way to find out,” He slipped the memory into his driver and over the two that were already inserted as Cole and Shiore pulled out their memories and placed them into their own drivers, readying them for activation. “HENSHIN!” the three of them cried out in unison. “Yuki! Rock! Star! Runner! XTREEEME!” their drivers called out together as each rider’s respective elements swept over them and quickly became their armor and weapons. Alex of course taking on the appearance of his Ultimate form instead of his standard Star Runner combination. Tara, who was already transformed, watching in awe. Carter stepped forward and inserted his new memory into his driver and flipped the bird ornament on top downward so it formed a crown like shape over the dragon head on the buckle of his, “Hen… SHIN!” he said as he gave his driver a good spin. “PHOENIX! BURN!” Carter’s driver shouted as ten blue rings of fire shot out from it and encircled him before forming into his armor which appeared to be the exact same as his standard suit only with much larger shoulder pads with a gold trim and all accented detail that was once a deep maroon switching out for gold. His boots and the outside of his arm guards became gold as well as what appeared to be a phoenix wing jutted out from the outside of both of his boots along with a long flowing red cloak, the kanji for emperor becoming emblazoned in amber on the center of his newly redone chest. Carter looked over his arms and legs, taking back by his new form. Alex looked over to him and smirked under his mask. “Overwhelmed by the new memory’s power?” Carter shrugged, “A little… why?” Alex laughed a little and patted Carter on the shoulder, “You’ll get used to it.” He said turning his attention to Tara who stood just behind him, “Tara, little slugger!” Tara nodded and whipped out her flail before jumping out in front. Before the creature that was once Time-bomb could have time to react, Tara swung her flail around and sent it hurling at the beast. The beast instinctively jumping upward to the avoid the attack but was taken off guard when the chain of the flail instead wrapped around it’s legs. Tara smirked under her mask and turned on her heel, “BATTER UP!” She yelled out as she swung the beast around and over to the other riders. Alex and Shiore jump out of the way, Cole whipping out his smasher from it’s place on his shoulder and folding it out fully. Carter stepping out of the way as Cole swung his smasher like a batter swinging a baseball bat smacking the beast hard across it’s chest sending it flying back and falling down onto the ground in front of him. Sparks began to fly off of Time-bomb as it tried desperately to climb back onto it’s feet but ultimately failing. Carter and Alex looked at the creature in both disgust and pity, Alex looking toward Carter. “You want to do the honors?” he offered extending his hand to him. Carter snapped his fingers together and conquered a burst of fire which formed into a claymore style sword with a phoenix feather hilt. He then turned to Alex and held up his Ryu-O gaia memory to him, “You offered me a taste of your strength, it’s time I do the same,” he said placing the memory into Alex’s hand. Alex looked at the memory, then back to Carter and nodded. With one quick motion, he slammed the memory into the maximum drive slot on the side of his belt and slapped the button on the side. “XTREME! RYU-O! MEMORY CHARGE!” Both the Ryu-O and Xtreme gaia memories shouted in unison as the white gap that ran down the middle of Alex’s armor turned a bright red and fire blasters similar to Carter’s materialized in the palm’s of Alex’s hands. “Whao,” Alex said in awe of his new form, “Okay, this is awesome.” Carter slapped Alex on the back, “You’ll get used to it.” he said before spinning the dragon head on the front of his driver as it spun around once and came to a halt once the crown reached the top again, Alex opening and closing the Xtreme gaia memory as he summoned the X-Calibur in his left hand. “PHEONIX! RYU-O! XTREME! MAXIMUM DRIVE!” both their drivers shouted out once again as the two riders gripped their swords in both hands as a ruby red inferno constricted around Alex’s and a sapphire blue constricted around Carter’s. “Twin Maximum!” the two shouted as they dashed over to Time-bomb and slashed their swords through him, “Phoenix King Blaze!” the called out to one another as the creature behind them was struck by their attack and bursted into flames leaving nothing but dust in the wind. Alex and Carter keeping their backs turned to the explosion. Once the smoke cleared Alex and Carter turned to the rubble and undid their transformation. Alex raising his hand up flat to Carter with a smile on his face, Carter on the other hand simply took his eyes off him and began making his way out of the plaza. However he did get far as just as he was leaving Becky came out and ran toward him. “Carty wait!” she cried out as she swung her arms around him, “Don’t leave me!” “Sorry, but I have work to do,” he said patting him on the head and looking over to Tara as she, along with Cole and Shiore, undid her transformation, “besides, you’re in good hands now. They’ll help you now more than I ever could.” Becky looked over to the other riders then back to Carter, “I’ll see you again… right?” Carter nodded, “Of course you will.” Becky sniffled for a moment then back away from him and walked over toward Alex, “Alright… just promise me you’ll take care of yourself.” Carter nodded once again then looked up to Alex, “You’ll look after her right?” “Of course I will,” Alex returned quickly narrowing his gaze on Carter and placing his hand on Becky’s shoulder, “but on one condition.” Carter raised an eyebrow, “And what might that be?” Alex took one step forward took his hand off of Becky, balling both of them into fists, “I want you to tell me everything you know about Vainglory and the people you work for.” --- Back at Crave’s bar, Ms Seraphina held her hand over Cheshire who was encased in a vibrant blue other worldly glow as a string of data flew into the window and formed into a hologram of Cyber.“Time-bomb has… failed my lady,” he said as he quickly bowed his head, “I’m sorry.” “I see…” Seraphina returned softly not even taking the time to look back at the young man who stood behind her, “and how exactly do you intend to rectify this, Ren?” Cyber bit his lip and raised his head to look at Seraphina, “I won’t fail you my lady!” he pleaded bowing to her once again, “I guarantee you that much at least.” Seraphina smirked and turned around to face him, removing her hand from Cheshire as the light began to fade, “I most certainly hope you back up that claim... considering the fate of her brother.” She looked him up and down then waved her hand at him, “Very well, do what you will.” “Thank you my lady, you won’t regret this!” Cyber returned as the hologram of him cut out. The second he left, the glow around Cheshire resurfaced transforming him into a young female about Tara’s age with long black hair that almost covered her emerald green eyes. “Geez, why must that guy be so serious all the time?” the black haired girl yawned as she stretched out her arms before tying a red ribbon into her hair forming a bushy pony tail and giving herself a cat ear like bow in the process, “I mean it’s not like we’re even playing for keep this time around right?” “Who knows, it could turn out being mildly entertaining,” Seraphina smirked as she looked the girl over, “Would you care to make a wager my little kitten?” To be continued {Insert Ending Theme - “Reason” by Yuzu} Next time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme: With the Xtreme Memory operational again and Ryu-O with a brand new sword, what plan will Cyber devise to succeed where his brother had failed? And what of Carter himself? Can he even be trusted? All will be decided when Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme continues in Episode 5: Web of a Forgotten Fantasy! Gale! Yuki! Just shut up and work together! |
Episode 5: Web of a Forgotten Fantasy In the dead of night, a small girl with long flowing navy blue hair dressed in a kimono as white as snow with a blue snowflake pattern knelt with her arms held tightly around a teenaged boy dressed in a simple black school uniform with a short pale blue head of hair. A belt with a wolf head buckle laid strapped to the boy’s waist. The girl’s eyes filled with tears that ran down her face and onto the older boy’s blood stained shirt as he lay lifeless in her arms.“Brother!” cried the small girl as she shook him around trying to get him to move, “Brother! Wake up!” Footsteps echoed resulting in the girl turning her head to see an older japanese man staring at her, “Father…” she gulped as she felt her heart sink. Within a fraction of a second, the man who stood before her vanished into thin air along with the boy in the girl’s arms as her surroundings changed to an old fashioned japanese house. Fire quickly spread around her as she saw the silhouette of a man drawing a katana cast onto the paper screen door in front of her. A horned figure who carried a large buster sword came into view and struck the shadowed man, killing him instantly and sending him to the ground. The girl’s heart skipped a beat as she fell back a few feet and slammed into the wall behind her, jolting a shelf and causing a small plate to fall and shatter. The horned figure instantly turned towards the door that separated the two rooms and stepped forward, slashing the door as a pair of bright amber eyes shawn through and piercing the girl’s vision, the girl instantly grabbing a sword from the mantle and aiming it at the red dragon like figure that stood before her. Second later, Shiore opened her eyes to find herself still laying in bed in her high rise condo staring blankly up at the sealing. She slowly rose and came face to face with a black dresser like cabinet with two large swinging doors taking up the upper half that were currently open to clearly display a set of three small framed photographs, the one farthest to the left being of an elderly japanese man with short black hair and the one farthest to the right portraying a young woman with vibrant blue hair done up in a long french braid that was swung over her shoulder. Shiore got up and tightened the sash on the blue robe she had on before walking over to the cabinet. She pulled out and lit a match before using it to light a nearby stick of incense, closing her eyes and clapping her hands together. “Good morning mother… father,” she said softly before opening her eyes and looking down to the third picture in the center which depicted the same pale blue haired boy from her dream, “Satoshi...” she gulped slightly and bowed her head, “please, watch over me.” Her peace and quiet was suddenly cut short by the loud ring of a phone which echoed through her condo. She calmly headed over to a white end table where the phone stood and read off the caller ID, sucking her teeth before sending straight to voicemail, “That’s the third time this week.” {Insert Opening Theme: “Period” by Chemistry} Hours later, Shiore sat at the back of Ms Seraphina’s class staring blankly out the window watching a pair of birds in a nest who chirped endlessly as their mother came back with a worm between its beak. Ms Seraphina was in the middle of a lecture as Cole sat at attention while Alex flipped frantically through his book to find what page they were on, taking one quick glance over to Madison across the room who seemed just as lost as he was as she tapped her pencil down on a notebook with one hand while shuffling through what appeared to be song lyrics on her phone with the other. Ms Seraphina eyed Madison over her shoulder as she finished writing down a long paragraph on the board, “And so in conclusion-” she spoke as she hurled her piece of chalk at Madison, jamming it in the wall causing the red haired girl to sit up in attention, “cell phones and other electronic devices are to be turned off during scheduled classes, you wouldn’t want anything bad to happen while you weren’t paying attention would you?” Madison shivered as Ashley reached over and patted her on the head, “Sorry ma’am, but if you don’t mind me asking,” Ashley raised her hand, “what exactly would happen in the middle of class?” “Who can say,” Ms Seraphina shrugged as she turned her gaze to Ashley, a smirk coming onto her face, “but too often I find that the most horrific events transpire when one has their guard down… for example, the story of the Rake.” “The Rake? What the hell is that?” the mass of students began asking among themselves. “Have I sparked an interest in this topic?” Ms Seraphina chuckled. She then shifted the blackboards around to hide her paragraphs behind an unmarked board before drawing what appeared to be a naked man mixed with a dog with little hair and a disfigured face, it’s eyes being left as two black voids. Several students began to cringe and even shiver, “Oh man… that’s freaky.” “Many people have recalled seeing it, but the most recent case happened not too long ago… a married couple were awoken in the middle of the night to catch a brief glimpse of it inches away from their faces, only to have it dart into their daughter's room. The couple chased to find their daughter half dead muttering under her dying breath ‘the rake… he is the rake.’” Madison shivered and covered her mouth, “I-I think I’m going to be sick…” Ms Seraphina grinned, “Then how’s about you pay attention in my class, okay?” she erased the drawing on the board and wrote ‘The Crow and the Genie’ in cursive in it’s place, “Ms Tyler, mind picking up from chapter 7 page 24?” Madison nodded violently as Shiore continued watching the bird’s, completely detached as the mother flew away with one leaving the other behind. Shiore sighed and turned her attention back to the front of the class as Madison stood up with her book in hand. “There once was a young crow who dreamed of big things,” the red head began reading, “In spite of his ambition, he lived in a run down old shack without much to call his own. This all changed one day when one day a genie came to him. 'I see you are in hard times,' she said to him with a warm pittying smile, 'so I shall grant you one wish.' The crow looked to her and said sternly, 'I want the world.' The genie looked to her and smirked before taking off a pale blue ring from her finger and said, 'take this and keep it close. Do that and you shall obtain what you desire.' and with that final word, the genie wished him luck and the two parted ways. The old crow tightly clenched the ring in his hand and nodded, whispering softly, 'I will'.” “Thank you,” Ms Seraphina smiled warmly at Madison, “now then, what do you think that this story over all is trying to convey?” “THAT BITCHES BE TRIPPIN?!” a boy called out rudely. Ms Seraphina chuckled, “Yes, that is exactly right.” she cracked her knuckles and glared at the boy, “Principle's office, NOW!” After an hour or so, the bell signaling the end of first period rang as the students cleared out of the room. “Alright, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight,” Madison shivered as she walked out the room, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever had a teacher tell me something that disturbing!” “Aw, come on Mad,” Ashley cooed as she came up to Madison and patted her on the shoulder, “It was only a story, like there’s really such thing as monster like that. It’s only a folktale.” Madison still shivered a little but nodded once, “I really hope you’re right.” Back in the classroom, Alex and Cole were on their way out while Shiore slowly gathered her things, “Seems like quite a lot of bull to me,” Alex rolled his eyes as he turned back to Shiore, “Hey Shiore, you coming?” “Go on without me,” she instructed. “Alright, just be sure to meet us after school alright?” he called out to her only to get no response before making his way down the hall with Cole. He bumped into Madison for a fraction of a second, gulping and avoiding eye contact with her, “S-Sorry, I didn’t mean t-” “First day with the new feet?” Madison giggled, fixing her hair. Alex paused before muttering, “I gotta run,” he instantly waved to her and bolted down the hall, rushing through a pair of doors into a nearby stairwell. Madison blinked while Ashley raised an eyebrow. “Is uh… he okay?” Madison asked Cole, a puzzled expression coming onto her face. Cole grinned, patting her on the shoulder, “We should be getting class, you have literature next right?” Madison nodded. Ashley meanwhile kept her eye fixed on the door to the stairwell Alex had just bolted through. Back in the classroom Shiore gathered her things together as was on her way out when suddenly, “Excuse me Ms Fubuki,” Ms Seraphina called out to her, “May I perhaps have a word with you?” Shiore turned to her and raised an eyebrow, “Yes… what is it?” “I’ve noticed that you seem to be… drifting off in the middle of my classes,” Ms Seraphina put bluntly, raisng an eyebrow at the girl in front of her, “Is there something the matter with you?” Shiore took one solid look at her as she felt the piercing gaze of the teacher who sat in front of her jab itself right through her. She looked away from a moment and looked out the door, “No,” she said simply as she walked out of the room and slammed it behind her. Ms Seraphina smirked as the shifting light in the room bounced off the door and danced across her classes as she kept her focus on the door, “I should certainly hope not, Ms Shirayuki.” She eyed Kat who was standing just behind the door, “You're late again my kitten,” she raised an eyebrow, “explaination?” The girl coughed a little, “Sorry,” she laughed a little, “hairball.” Ms Seraphina glared at her, “Well try not to get them anymore, I have a job for you,” she gestured towards herself as the girl hopped over to her. She reached into her pocket and placed a yellow gaia memory with marked with an A in the shape of a bow and arrow, “Here, you're going to need this,” she explained, sliding it along the desk over to her minion. Kat raised an eyebrow as she scooped up the memory, “What for?” “When the time comes,” Ms Seraphina smirked, “you'll know.” Deep within the abandoned stairwell, Alex stood huddled under the stairs biting his lip. He balled his hand into a fist and slammed it down hard, putting a crack into the stone bricks, “DAMMIT!” he cried out as he fell to his knees, “Even after all this time… why the hell can’t I forget about her already?!” “Are did you seriously just fucking ask that?” called out a familiar voice. Alex quickly turned his head around to see Ashley leaning on a wall behind him, her hands in her pockets and giving a sharp glare with the eye that wasn’t covered by her long frizzy blond hair. Her over the top eyeliner making her look even more pissed off than she probably was. She sucked her teeth and shook her head, “Geez, you know how to make a girl feel important don’t you?” “She doesn’t even know who I am,” Alex pointed out, “How am I supposed t-” He was suddenly cut off by Ashley punching the wall, just missing his face, “Save me that load of bull,” she snarled, shooting him a sharper glare than before. “I get that things between you got tough, and she paid the price. But wishing to forget about something as special as what you two had,” she teared up a little, “I wouldn’t be able to forgive you if you did that.” “But!” he yelled only to quickly soften his voice, looking over to the side, “s-she’s moved on.” “Your point?” Ashley raised an eyebrow, grabbing him by the collar, “Let me tell you something about highschool love stories, they never end well for anyone. That’s coming from experience,” she looked him in the eye and puckered her lips up some, “would you like me.. to show you why?” she closed her eyes and leaned into him. Alex felt his heart begin to race and looked her in the eye, pausing for a moment before leaning in himself. Ash then instantly opened her eyes in a narrow gaze before tightening her grip on Alex and hurling him into a nearby wall. “OW!” Alex yelled, holding the back of his head “The hell was that for!” “To teach you a lesson,” Ashley sighed as she sat down beside him, avoiding eye contact with him, “I kissed you once but that was out of pity, besides I haven’t swung my bat for your team in a long time.” Alex cocked his eye and pointed at her, “You’re gay too?!” Ashley punched him in the face, “Hell no, and I ain’t bi either.” She let out a sigh and stretched her legs out as she looked up to the ceiling, “Gender honestly doesn’t me jack shit to me, and it hasn’t since the day I was born. I love a person for who they are, not what’s between their legs.” she laughed a little and shook her head, “Sarah and I even joked about which of us was gonna marry Maddy someday,” she gulped as she became teary eyed once again, “Well… I was joking at least.” Alex looked at her, taking a moment to breath before speaking, “You knew the whole time… didn’t you?” Ashley nodded, wiping her eyes and retaining her smirk, “You’d have to be an idiot not to see it,” she looked at her hand as it began to quiver, “She really did love that nutball.” Without warning, Alex wrapped his arms around Ashley and brought her in close, “I’m sorry,” he whispered with a tremor in his voice as he held her close. “Hey!” Ashley laughed as she flicked him in the nose, “Which one of us is supposed to be the idiot here?” Alex chuckled as he loosened his hold on her, “Pretty sure both of us at this point.” The bell rang, “Well, I should get going or Merde is gonna kill me,” Ashley lifted Alex’s arms off her, “that dumbass hates me enough already.” She stood up and made her way out of the shadow of the stairs, only to catch herself and turn slight back, “Oh, and it goes without saying but I meant the shit I said. No matter what happens, good or bad, never forget the people that matter and the time you spent together. Because believe me, you’ll miss em when they're gone.” Alex grinned and nodded, “I will, don’t worry about it.” Ashley smirked and waved to him, “Stay the ride alive,” she said as she slipped her hands back into the pockets of her leather jacket and walked off, “Superstar.” --- In the dim shroud of Crave's bar, a young man with medium length silver hair sat on a stool with a drink in his hand and his eyes fixed on the pale blue gaia memory that he held in his hand. “Hold it close, and you'll obtain what you desire...” the man scoffed as he down his drink and slammed the glass down on the table, “what meaningless trite.” “Hey! Ren, watch the table!” Crave glared at him from across the room, hanging up his coat as he fetched himself a drink. “Ren is dead Vince,” he scowled, balling his fist around the memory he held and holding it tight within his fist. Another gunmetal grey memory marked with a B lined with drills lay on the bar beside his hand, “there is only Cyber left.” The blond haired man raised an eyebrow, “Is that so?” he fished into his breast pocket and pulled out a note, “Well then, Cyber, you have a job to do.” he narrowed his eyes sharply, “and I expect it to be done in full.” Cyber glared at Vince, scowling at him before snatching the note from it, “Fine, consider it done.” He shoved the note and his memory into his pocket before downing the rest of his drin. He then grabbed the gunmetal grey memory before making his way out. Vince watched him carefully, narrowing his eyes as Ren left out the front door before slamming it behind him. “Sarah...” he muttered balling his hand into a fist, “I'm doing this for you.” --- Back at the school, Shiore stood on the roof of the school with her hand on the fence that enclosded it as she looked out to the cityscape. Her eyes natural fixed themselves on the tower that seemed to loom over her in the distance. “They sure took their sweet time rebuilding it, huh?” a gruff yet stoic voice called out to her. She turned around to find Carter staring blankly back as he leaned arms crossed against the door to the stair well. She tightened her gripped on the fence and glared at him, gritting her teeth some. “What are you doing here?” she demanded as her eyes turned to daggers. “I just want to talk,” he held out a can of coffee to her before raising an eyebrow, “You kept ignoring my calls. I wanna know why.” She let out a frustrated sigh and let go of the fence, returning her gaze to the horizon to avoid looking at him, “You should already know... you can deny what you did all you want, but I'll never forgive you.” He glared at her, letting out a frustrated grunt, “But-” “Save it!” she barked back coldly. She walked towards him, grabbing the can before taking her first few steps down the stairs, “I'm only taking this to be polite,” she continued, holding the drink over her shoulder some, “nothing more.” “Wait just a second!” he slammed his fist against the door as he turned towards her, “I'm leading your friends to my organizations headquaters, you can find what your looking for there,” as he said this Shiore stopped, her ear perking up some as she stood in place. “But that isn't exactly going to happen if you keep this pointless grudge against me now is it?” The two stood in silence for a moment which was only broken by Shiore muttering, “... Fine...” and without a single word more, she continued down the stairs until she gone from sight. Carter let out a small sigh, shaking his head as he cracked open his own can, “Women...” --- Within Vainglory's lair, the cold commander stood over in the center of the room with a breifcase in his hand infront of three masked men in skin tight bodysuits. Joel stood off to the side shaking his head while Rylee clung to a red collar in her hand, sucking her teeth at the male that stood beside her. “There's been a security breech,” Jason proclaimed, handing the case over to the center goon, “Inside this is all you'll need, whatever it takes you must not let anyone enter this facility. Is that clear?” The center goon nodded, “Yes sir,” he said before heading out the door, taking his fellow goons along with him. Jason watched as they left, “If you fail, do not return,” he ordered strictly as the doors to his chaimber closed. He then eyed his subordinates and raised an eyebrow at Rylee, “Still upset about that cat?” Rylee said nothing and in responce the commander shook his head, “All ties to this world are meaningless,” he said as he approached his throne and ran his hand along the arm rest, “opening the gate is worth any sacrifice,” he narrowed his sharp gaze at the woman, “Is that clear Spite?” Rylee looked at him with a glare, “Yes... sir...” “Good, then it's about time you should be getting this back,” he held out the female's golden gaia memory, strutting up to her and placing it firmly in her hand. “As I've mentioned, it's been modified to now hold greater power than that obomination of a memory that Fury used towards the end.” he looked her eye and took the collar from her and closed her hand around the memory, “Use it well.” Joel rolled his eyes and walked out of the room, not saying a single word. Rylee watched as her former husband left the room only to turn her attention back to her trusted commander the moment he had left, “Yes... as you wish,” she nodded, placing her hand over her heart, “my lord commander.” --- The bell rang over the school building signaling the end of the day, students pouring out in droves as Alex, Tara, Cole and Shiore met up by the bottom of the hill where Carter was waiting for them. “Is everyone ready to go?” the fire rider asked, looking them all over but paying double attention to the two girls. Tara especially. The group nodded in aggreement, Shiore maintaining a sharp glare at the male. “Oh, before I forget,” he reached into his pocket a handed out a set of stark black ID cards with each riders face on them with a fake name to go with them, “These will get you all passed security.” “You sure they'll work?” Alex asked cautiously. “Hey!” Tara called out, “Why is my name Tina Buttslover?” “They will,” Carter nodded, “and it was the only other name left that was on file.” Tara blinked, then laughed, “I feel some pain for the chick with that name!” she shook her head before slipping the card safely into her glove. “Can we go now?” Shiore demanded, maintaining her glare towards Carter. “Of course,” Carter bowed slightly, “follow me.” Without a single word more, Carter lead the group off down the road. He took them through various bus and subway routes making the trip as long and complicated as possible to throw off anyone who was trying to follow them and make sure that their destination was as hard to place as possible. After about what felt like an eternity of walking and public transit, the group found themselves at a run down warehouse that look as though it hadn't been touched in decades. “You're barking mad right?!” Tara groaned, cracking her back, “We took a bus that smelled that marmaduke shit, then a subway where the bitch wouldn't shut up about her foot lotion, only to get on another stank ridden bus, JUST TO END UP IN A DUMP LIKE THIS!” “Just give me a second,” Carter said, completely dismissing the girl's upburst as he pulled out his own ID card and opened up a small hatch on the far wall which contained an access panel. He swiped his card through only to have it be denied. Carter blinked, “What?” he swiped it again, this time the panel set out a heavy electric shock which ran right up the boy's arm, “GAH!” he screamed, holding his arm and gritting his teeth from the pain. “Problem with your machine Ryu-O?” a haunting voice called out, all the riders turning to see Cyber in full dopant form perched ontop of a stack of barrels. “HEY! YOU'RE ONE OF THE FREAKS THAT TOTALED MY DAD'S CAFE!” Tara screamed, flailing her fists at the the dopant, “THOSE REPAIRS ARE GONNA COST A FORTUNE YOU TARD!” Cyber smirked as he typed away on the keyboard on his left arm, bringing up a diagram of Tara's rider form, “Kamen Rider Gale. Speed, seven. Strength, three. Endurance, ten. Intellengence... negative one,” he narrowed his gaze on the younger of the riders, “Inspite of your high energy, you are probably the worst excuse for an opponent I've ever heard of.” “GAH! WHAT WAS THAT YOU CYBERNETIC DORK!” Tara screamed, summoning Kree to her wrist as he automatically switched into his driver mode. Tara whiping out her Gale Memory, “You want to come down here and say that to face fudge loving face!” Cyber smirked, narrowing his gaze on her, “If you insist... simpleton,” he rose to his feet and sprouted a large pair of clockwork style wings which cast a massive shadow upon the riders before hovering towards them with a single beat of his newly revealed appendages. “Tara...” Cole called to her timidly, placing his hand on her shoulder, “maybe we shouldn't be so hasty to fight.” “SHOVE THAT LOAD IN A MACHINE AND MIX IT INTO FUDGE!” Tara flicked Cole's hand off her before slamming her memory into her wrist mounted driver, “It's one on FIVE Commador! Let's see what your 8-bit ass can do!” “Five on one, eh?” Cyber smirked, Carter and Shiore both balling up their fists, “Let's say we even the odds then?” The living computer flared out his large wings, two orbs in the dead center of the top of each one beginning to glow in a blinding light. Cyber brought his hands together as a third orb began to charge in the gap between his now open palms before all three fired on Tara. The wind rider's eyes shot open, Carter instantly dashing infront and sticking his arms out to block the blast as it filled the room. Meanwhile, in the time it took for the light to reach the blonde haired rider, Shiore pushed her into the arms of both Alex and Cole before taking her place in the line of fire. As the light faded, Alex, Cole and Tara looked and gasped at the ground that was scorched in the shadows of the two riders that were no now nowhere to be found. “Hm,” Cyber tilted his head some as he held up an orb which now contained to faint dots, one red and the other blue, “I suppose two captives has it's advantage.” “BASTARD!” Alex shouted, his driver automatically materializing around his waist. He gritted his teeth as he pulled out his Star and Runner memories on instinct, “LET THEM GO!” “I plan on completing the whole set,” Cyber raised an eyebrow at him with a cold robotic voice as the orb sunk into the palm in his hand, “why would I release the two I've already caught?” “Then I'll kill you!” Alex yelled at him, slamming his memories into his driver. “Ah ah,” Cyber waved his finger, holding his palm to show the red and blue dots, “If you break my memory, this fragile little orb goes with them along with your precious little friends.” He readied his wings once again, “Now be a good little prize and join them.” Cole held Tara who was frozen from shock as Alex gritted his teeth, unsure of what to do. Suddenly, the access panel that Carter had previously tried to activate flashed brightly with a glaring red hazard light as an alarm roared from it. A timer that was currently counting down lit up on the display screen. “Scrap,” Cyber sucked his teeth, “time for plan b.” He waved his free hand and set out a stream of code that pushed the three remaining riders out the still open door before kicking off the ground and breaking a hole in the already totaled roof to the warehouse. The moment the counter reached zero, the access panel blew up and englufed the entire warehouse in flames before leveling it to the ground. Cyber looked down at the roaring fire as he hovered above from a safe hight, narrowing his gaze on the riders as the picked themselves out from the rubble. A red dot flashed in the corner of his eye, the dopant turning to face it as his radar brought up as four new gaia memory energy signatures began to approach the area from all angles. “Looks like I'll need to change my approach,” he sighed a little as he held out his palm to look at the blue and red dots, “what a pain...” Cyber flapped his wings and took off into the skies, disappearing in the cloud of heavy smoke that was still lingering from the ruined building. Meanwhile, Cole held Tara in his arms and looked down to her. He along with the rest of them was still short of breath from what they had just seen. “Tara... you again?” he called to her softly, brushing the rubble from her hair. Tara gulped then looked up to him, eyes wide before forcing a nod. Cole smiled slightly, “That's good at least... thank god.” “Guys, we're not out of the woods yet,” Alex spoke to them, his eyes still fixed on the wreckage. He turned to them doning possibly the most serious face he had ever displayed with his fists balled tight, “That thing won't stop until it has all of us. Besides, we might not have known them for very long, but we can't leave Carter or Shiore in that hands of that maniac.” Cole nodded, then chuckled, “When did you decide to become mister selfless? I thought you hated that guy.” “I do, that hasn't changed,” Alex cracked a small smirk, “but that guy took out Fury. I think we're better off with him on our side.” “THEN LET'S RESCUE THE TARDS ALREADY!” Tara screamed, seeming to return to her old safe as she grabbed the two boys by their wrists, “COME ON! COME ON! AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH AND ALL THAT JAZZ! THESE TWO PART STORYLINES ARE ANNOYING THE CRAP OUT OF ME!” Far off in the distance atop a two story building, Kat stood with her hand over her hands and a tuna sandwhich in her mouth, “Whoa...” she said between bites, “Looks like Rennie went over board again.” She pulled out a pair of small binoculars and aimed her sights on the wreckage where the remaining riders were, whistling upon laying her sights on Cole and Tara. The trio was now on the move in the direction that Cyber had flew off in. Tara was leading while Alex and Cole were shortly behind. Regardless of who was at the head of the pack, they all charged onwards with the same amibtion and dedication. “There goes the rock and his jail bait girlfriend... though I guess they are kinda cute together,” she shrugged, “almost makes me feel bad for 'em...” she smirked as she pulled out her gold Gorge memory along with a driver that was identicle to that of the META commanders and Crave's. “Like I said... almost.” {End of Part A} {Start of Part B} Carter slow began to wake up to the calloping of hooves on loose wood, his eyes opening to the sight of Shiore kneeling just beside him in a blue hakamone with a simple katana slipped into her sash. Her hand was gripped tightly on the hilt as her eyes remained closed, however she didn't seem to be asleep rather in a deep form of meditation. Carter blinked, “We're alive?” Shiore opened her eyes somewhat at him, “Yes... unfortunately.” Carter sat up, his chest now barred saved for a simple brown strap with a silver dragon buckle. A pair of layored samurai esque armor now covered his shoulders as he looked over to the side of their new location which appeared to be under an old bridge where a large buster sword lay propt up on it's side. He looked back to her, “Where are we?” “That's what I've been trying to figure out,” she said simply, “though wherever we are, it's forsure the doing of that dopant. Cyber.” Carter blinked, raising an eyebrow, “Cyber?” “I scanned Crave and his followers when they ambushed the others at Tatsumaki's cafe,” she explained, “Cyber was the memory name that matched this dopant's abbilities and appearance.” “Well whatever his name is, it won't do us much good to just sit around here,” Carter let out a small grunt as he rose to his feet which were now in straw sandles, his legs covered by lose fitting old baggy grey pants similar to those worn by warriors in the japanese edo period. Shiore gripped her sword and rose to her feet aswell but without using her hands, “There's no telling what is out there,” she looked out from under the bridge, “we should be careful.” Carter looked over to her, raising an eyebrow, “You suddenly care about me?” “It appears as though our drivers and memories were taken,” Shiore shot back, not looking in her direction, “For the moment it'll be better for the two of us to cooperate.” Carter eyed her carefully as he took the buster sword and slid it in the sheeth on the belt strap that was now wrapped around his chest, “That makes two of us.” The two slowly and carefully made their way out from under the bridge as they found themselves in the dead center of a bussling fuedal era japanese village. Carts and kimono clad villagers ran quickly on the freshly plowed dirt roads, most walking citizens barefoot and every person travelling by cart wearing either sandles or simple black shoes. “Let's go,” Shiore said in her usual monotone before heading into the crowd. Carter following her while they both kept their eyes open. “Excuse me, your clothes aren't exactly from around here,” a voice called out to them, the paired turned around to see an old man in grey robes with a heavy old hood. He looked up from his hood and smiled, his pale grey eyes leading into his thick white beard and eyebrows, “might you two be travels? Are you lost?” Shiore rolled her eyes and kept going, Carter meanwhile stopped and turned to him, “Yes, could you tell us where we are?” “Ah, why yes. You're in the town of Oum,” the old man smiled at them, “If you're new in town, you must go right to our lord Takasei,” he pointed to a large elegant castle on the outskirts of town surrounded by a wall. “Lord Takasei loves visiters, he'll most certainly give you anything you need.” Shiore rolled her eyes, crossing her arms and standing a few away awaiting the two to finish their conversation. “Thank you,” Carter reached into his pocket, his eyes widening some as he found a small pouch. Finishing it out, he found it contained several coins of gold silver and bronze. He took out three of the gold coins figuring they were the most valuable and held them out to the man, “Here, something for your troubles.” The old man smiled then raised his hand open hand up infront of himself, “That's alright, helping a traveller out is thanks enough,” he waved them along, “Now get a move on, Lord Takasei is waiting.” “We will,” Carter held the coins out once again, “but take these, I insist.” “That's alright, helping a traveller out is thanks enough,” the old man repeated his previous actions, “Now get a move on, Lord Takasei is waiting.” Carter raised an eyebrow, “... Okay...” he dropped the coins back into the bag before slipping the bag back into his pocket. He then linked back up with Shiore and the two continued down the road. “That was... odd.” Shiore looked back to the man who was still waving at them with the same warm grin, “Let's just see this lord and figure out how to leave,” she whispered quietly, not wanting anyone to hear here, “I don't like this place one bit.” Carter kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead of him, “That makes two of us.” --- Cyber stood perched at the tip of an old metal bridge, eyeing his captives in the palm of his right hand as they made their way through his hand held pocket demension, “Hurry along little riders,” the cybernetic dopant said coldly, “you'll only quicken your fate.” He then lowered his right palm that contained the two riders and raised his left to a projection of the other three. Cole, Tara and Alex made their way down as series of long interconnected alleyways, choosing to go on foot as their vechiles would be far too easy to spot due to Cyber's bird's eye view. The all agreed it would be safer and just all around smarter to prusue him from the ground. After a long heated pursuit, the group came to a hault just at the mouth of the alleyway to catch their breath. Tara and Alex practically collapsed on the street below while Cole leaned against the wall just inside the alley. Kree flew down from the sky and perched onto Tara's finger as she held it out to him. “How'd it go pal? You find him?” the girl asked her robotic friend, only to have him shake his head. Tara pouted her lip a little, “Dang... that sucks.” “We need to keep going,” Alex rose to his feet, stumbling a little as he became light headed for a moment. Cole catching him with a smirk. “Not on those legs we don't,” Cole chuckled, trying to break the tension. He raised an eyebrow, “You okay man?” Alex nodded, short of breath before forcing himself to speak, “I just... I just need a moment...” “Take as many as you need,” Cole patted him on the shoulder with a grin before turning to the girl on the ground, “What about you Tara?” Tara gave Cole a thumbs up and forced her usual insane smirk, “Fan-fracking-tastic!” she called to him, her teeth chattering a little. Cole raised an eyebrow, about to speak when suddenly a wall of binary code shot up between him and the other two riders before forming into a solid brick wall. Tara gasped as Alex instantly ran to the wall and began smacking it with his fist. “COLE!” he called out, passers by beginning to stare, “COLE WHERE ARE YOU?!” “I'm okay! I'll find my way around!” he called back, “Go after the others! I'll meet up with you later so just get going!” Alex nodded, turning to Tara and tapping her in the shoulder, “Let's go.” Tara nodded, raising her hands to her mouth before shouting, “DON'T DIE COLE!” as she and Alex took off down the road in the direction they last saw Cyber. --- Back within the pocket demension, Carter and Shiore made their way towards the palace on the outskirts of town. As they proceeded towards it they noticed a series of heavily armed guards standing at attention in front of the gate. Shiore tightly gripped the hilt of her sword as Carter merely balled his hands into fists. As they approached the guards, they quickly bowed and lowered their weapons before calling out in unison, “Welcome travelers!” A loud bell rang as the large gates opened, “The lord is expecting you, go right inside.” Carter took a step closer to Shiore, Shiore in turn taking two steps further away from him. The pair slowly but surely made their way in through the gates, the gates quickly closing behind them. Just inside the wall, almost in constrast to the glum world outside, was a beautifully kept guarden with flowers, trees and other forms of vegatation along with a calming pound that flowed into a stream which ran under the walkway that lead up to castle doors. The two in perfect sync took in a slight gulp before proceeding up to the doors which automatically opened as they drew close, the doors themselves leading into an rustic yet spacious wodden interier that gave of the impression of wealth and regality. “Please travellers,” a group of servants called to them as they stood in two lines by a large wooden staircase, “right this way.” Without so much as a word to the servants, the pair once again continued walking. They made their way up until they came to yet another set of doors that were thankfully already open to a large throne room. The room itself was covered in white and gold tapestries that blew in the wind as chimed echoed through the open tall room. “Ah, so you're the travellers I've heard so much about?” an old man called out as he sat back in the throne towards the back of the room. He was dressed in a gold and white silk robe that looked to be worth more than any single person could earn if ten lifetimes. He chuckled lightly as guards dressed in masked black robes knelt by his throne, “We haven't gotten visiters in quite sometime. Tell me,” he extended his hand out to them, “what brings the two of you to these parts?” “Excuse me, your highnest, but we are not here by choice,” Carter approached him slightly, placing his hand over his chest as he bowed a little to him, “We were forced to come here... wherever here is.” “Ah, I see,” the lord chuckled, “So I'm assuming that you wish to return to the land you came from then?” “Yes,” Carter nodded, “Actually-” Before the older male could so much as finish talking, Shiore formed an ice kunai in her hand and hurled it at the old lord. The knife just missed him by a hair and dugged it's way into his throne. “QUIT WASTING TIME!” Shiore barked as the lords guards raised their weapons and aimed them at her, she in turn unsheathing her sword and aiming it at the lord, “We want to leave, now get us out of here!” “Ah... you can harness the power of Ki?” the lord leaned in curiously, he held out his hand to his guards as a signal to stand down, “Yes, so you are as extraordinary as I suspected.” Shiore raised her eyebrow, “Ki?” she in turn lowered her sword slightly. “Yes, Ki is the energy of your spirit,” the lord explained, “Your own for example is cold and hard to connect to, hence why you Ki energy falls under the elemental domain of ice.” he turned his gaze to Carter, a small spark going off in his eye, “And you, yes I see...” he smirked a little, “you charge head first into battle, without a single care for your own well being. I can see that it is quite clear why your spirit falls under the domain of fire young boy.” Carter looked at him, raising his own brow, “How do you know all of this?” “Not important,” the lord waved his hand, “the two of you wish to go home yes?” The pair nodded in unison, “Yes.” “Then you are in luck as I know of one is able to do so,” the lord explained as a map appeared above his head showing the two and castle which lay south of a large temple at the top of a mountain range, “Legend says there is a relic at the top of this temple that contains a strong mystical spirit who is capable of granting any one wish to the first person who frees her.” “So you want that to be us?” Shiore sucked her teeth. “Why yes,” the lord smirked, only to don a more serious expression and ton shortly after, “But be warned, for this temple is guarded by a blue winged demon named Inubis. Several have tried to defeat him and take the relic, but he is very protective of his treasure.” He paused for amount then waved, regaining his grin, “Good luck!” --- Back in the real world, Cole inched his way back through the long constricting alleyway as the sun began to set. “Geez, why do I always find myself constantly in a random alleyway,” he chuckled a little as he flipped through his phone trying to get a hold of either Shiore or Carter before it suddenly went dead, “The hell?!” he smacked his phone a little as he finally reached the street on the other end, “I thought I just charged this thing?” “Cole?” a familiar high pitched voice called out to him, “What are you doing all the way down here?” He turned around to find Kat standing before him with a innocent grin on her face and her hands tucked delicately behind her back. “Oh... hey Kat,” he slipped his phone back into his pocket, “And was...” he paused for a moment as he tried to think up a lie “out with Tara and Alex,” he forced a grin and laughed, “We were on a little shopping trip when we got seperated. Now I'm trying to find them.” “Oh? How fun,” she giggled a little before skipping over to him and clinging to his arm, looking up at him with her overly forced dough eyed expression, “Mind if I join you?” she bumped her chest up his arm a little before patting her eyelashes, “I'm pretty good when it comes to finding the people I want.” “Oh.. that's okay,” he sweatdropped, scratching the back of his neck, “I think I'll be okay on my own.” “W-What?” she suddenly frowned, sniffling a little, “D-Do you not like me or something?” “N-No!” Cole gulped, “It's not like that!” “It's fine... you don't need to lie to me...” she pulled away, holding her arm as she hung her head, “I figured not even you would want to be around me... everyone hates me...” Cole felt his heartsink a little, “Boy...” he looked down the street and scratched the back of his head, “now that I'm think about it this city is pretty big...” he looked over to her a little, “I could use a little help... I guess...” “Great!” Kat chirped with glee as she instantly regained her chipper expression and clung back to his arm, “I know just where we can start too!” she said before pulling him down the road. She pulled up infront of him and kept her back turned to him, smirking devilishly once her face was out of his line of sight. Back at the top of the bridge, Cyber looked into the palm of his hand where the scene that had just played out with Cole and Kat came to a close as they began heading down the road in wrong direction. Cyber sucked his teeth, “Damn you Gorge, why must you always get in the way?” He typed a few strings of code into his arm resulting in a set of ten red copies of himself spawning behind him. “Have it your way, but don't blame me if you get caught up in the crossfire.” he said as the copies flew off in Cole and Kat's direction. He then turned his attention to Alex and Tara who were gradually making their way towards him, “As for you Xtreme... let's see if we can widdle you down to size a bit.” After entering another string of code into his arm, a wave of twenty red copies spawned behind him before taking off in the direction of Alex and Tara. Tara skipped along down the street while Alex nervously trudged along. All the confidence he had gathered was suddenly shattered the moment he was seperated from Cole and left with Tara who, admittedly, he didn't exactly trust to be all that helpful in a fight. “Tara...” he called to her with a tremor in his voice, “you think maybe we could wait until Cole's catches up with us?” “What's the matter,” she turned around with a smirk, skipping along backwards to keep up her pace, “Is the Superstar scared of a little computer bug?” “Well... no...” he forced a grin as he looked off to one side, sweat rolling down his face this point, “I just... think we'll have a better shot with three instead of two is all.” Tara raspberried her lips and rolled her eyes, “I'm scarrier than that little tectite,” she skipped to behind Alex and began pushing him forward, regaining her eager grin, “The great mighty Gale will keep you safe.” Before they got too far, ten red copies of Cyber landed infront of them. They all raised their arms and activated the same bright yellow energy blade from their wrists. Tara and Alex blinked, Tara taking in a big gulp. “Well...” Tara salluted her fellow rider, “IT'S ALL YOU SUPERSTAR!” she turned on her heel and took a running dash back the way they came only to see that ten more copies were directly behind her. “I don't think we're getting out of this one so easily...” Alex inched his way over to Tara so the two stood back to back, his driver materializing around his waist, “we're in trouble.” “Yeah, I see... in trouble...” Tara nodded, turning her head back to Alex before screaming into his hear, “IN TROUBLE IS NOT A LOCATION!” He flicked her in the nose, “Just focus for one moment please!” he parked at her as he pulled his Star and Runner memories out from his back pocket and slammed them into their appropriate slots. “Ow!” Tara rubbed her nose, glaring at him for a second before rolling her eyes. Kree then hopped onto her wrist and changed into his driver mode, allowing Tara to pull out her Gale memory and slap it into the slot at top of the bird's head. “I'm tagging you back for that.” “HENSHIN!” the pair called out in perfect unison, Alex splitting the slots on his driver apart as Tara twisted Kree's head around so his beak pointed down to her hand. “STAR! RUNNER! GALE!” their drivers called out as the pair were envoloped by twin twisters that circled around the two riders, breaking off and switching them into their rider forms as the eyes of their masks shown brightly for a moment. Alex's a bright fire red and Tara a blinding sky blue respectively. “Alright!” Tara beat her fists together and cracked her neck to the side, “Tara time again!” she screamed before reaching for the flail on the back of her belt and charging at the copies that stood before her. Alex rolled his eyes and snickered under his mask a little before cracking his knuckles, the copies that stood infront of him beginning to draw closer. “Okay... let's make this quick!” he called out before dashing forward at them, throwing in a good number of quick lightning fast jabs to open with. “Whew!” Tara faked a whistle at Alex as she ensnared a pair of copies in the chain of her flail before pulling them towards her and kicking them up into the air, “YOU'VE GOT THIS SUPERSTAR!” “STAY FOCUSED!” he called to her as he pulled his Star and Runner memories from his driver and swapped them with Blast and Diver before resetting the driver. “BLAST! DIVER!” the driver called out as he doned the sleak deep blue chest armor of Blast and the aqua blue finned legs of Diver, the Corona Blaster forming in his right hand before firing off bursts of high powered water at the copies. The copies that were dowsed with water sparked before falling over, exploding to bits upon contact with the ground. “So that's their weakness,” Alex thought to himself, twirling his gun in his hand before shouting over to his partner, “TARA!” “Already on it!” she called back, flipping onto her hands before spinning into a tornado kick as a twister formed around her. Alex then pulled the Blast memory from it's place on his Driver before slamming it into the slot on the top of his blaster. “BLAST! Maximum Drive!” the memory screamed as he aimed it upon the twister, the blaster reaching it's maximum charge before the boy pulled back on the trigger and shot a stream of high powered water at the twister which quickly filled the eye of the twister. Once the twister began to bubble at the top, Alex released the trigger and brought his gun to his shoulder, “NOW!” he called out, Tara instantly bringing her spinning to a hault before leaping up into the air allowing the now giant sea of water to rush out of the twister as it broke apart. Alex quickly swapped Diver for Kicker and reset his driver. “BLAST! KICKER!” his driver cried once more as his fins were replaced with deep green leg armor and sharp pointed boots. As the ocean of water rushed over him, he quickly shot out a grabbling hook from his blaster over to the nearest streetlamp, latching onto it as everything around him was washed away which thankfully included all the other copies. While the remaining water drained into the city's grate system, the now sparking bodies of the copies burst into dust as the city streets were cleared but were now totaled as a result of the makeshift hurricane. Alex smirked as he closed his driver and pulled out his memories, reverting back to his civilian form. He turned to Tara who gently landed on the ground, still in rider form as she firmly strutted over to him. He raised his open hand to her with a grin, “Put her there!” He called as Tara raised her armored fist and punched him square in the nose. “YAOW!” he screamed before grabbing his nose, glaring at her as blood began to drip onto his hands, “The heck was that for?” Tara pulled her memory from her driver, smirking at him as she reverted to her own civilain form before placing her hands on her hips, “Told you I'd tag ya back.” Alex glared at her even harder, blinking for a moment, “You're evil.” Tara laughed a little, patting him on the should as she walked passed him, “Tell me something I don't know.” Meanwhile with Cole and Kat, the dark skinned male walked ahead of the stick figured yet somehow busty long haired female he strode behind him kicking her slender legs up some with every step she took. “Hey Cole!” she called out to him with a sweet smile. “Yeah?” he looked around, still keeping his pace but not looking behind him to her. She smirked a little as she twirled her hair around her finger before muttering, “I... I think you're really cute,” she forced herself to blush. He stopped and blinked, looking over to her with a confused look, “Uh... thank you?” “Do you think that...” she looked down to the ground then back up to him, now blushing even harder, “I'm cute?” “Do we need to talk about this now?” he glared at her, “we're kind of in a hurry right now.” He said before continuing to walk. Kat's eyes widened slightly before narrowing on Cole as he kept on moving down the street, “Are we even going to the right way? Because I think you've just gotten me even more lost.” he called back to her only to get no answer. He then looked over his shoulder, “Kat?” To his surprise the girl who had been following him was now gone without a trace, almost as if she was never even there to begin with. The creepiest part about all of it was that she didn't even make a single sound, not even that of a footprint before disappearing. “Ah well,” he shrugged, “saves me the trouble of being the bad guy.” He continued down the street before turning a corner only to be greated by several loud screams as cars and pedestrians fled the area. He blinked for a moment before spotting the ten red copies of Cyber that had been sent after him, the copies spotting him instantly and aiming their arm mounted cannons at him. He felt his stop for a moment and cracked a nervous smile, “Well... at least Kat's safe... right?” --- Back in Cyber's pocket deminsion, Carter and Shiore climbed to the top of the rocky mountain they had been told about. The wind's whipped around them as heavy snow blew into their faces, however inspite of their attire they did not feel the bite of the cold in the slightest. Just as described, at the top of the mountain stood an old run down temple with four levels and despite the fact that it appeared as though no one had touched it in years it still gave off a haunting aura that sent a sharp chill down both their already stone cold spines. The two gave one another a single look before making their way over to it, cracking the old creeky doors open before heading inside to be met with a large dark room. Shiore tightly gripped the hilt of her sword as Carter took a single step in. However, this single step sealed their fates as the floorboard beneath his foot cracked ever so slightly which sent a loud echo through the room. The pair began to hear clawing at the top as over one million red eyes starred back at them from the black void that hung above their heads. “Remember,” Shiore said coldly as the two drew their swords, “When they don't kill you... I will.” {Insert Ending Theme: “Reason” by Yuzu} Next time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme: Will Carter and Shiore be able to break from the grasp of Cyber's twisted reality? Or will Shiore's lust for revenge consume her before the two can reach some for of an understanding? And what twisted path lead Cyber to entrap his enemies in a such a bizzard pocket demension? All will be decided when Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme continues in Episode 6: An Ice Cold Fire! Ryu-O! Yuki! Break through the chains that bind you! |
Previously on Kamen Rider Xtreme:
Shiore and Carter were sucked into a pocket dimension by the dopant named Cyber and begin a quest by the old Lord Takasei to break free from it. Alex and Tara meanwhile get separated from Cole as both parties are met by a swarm of Cyber’s copies. Now it’s a race against time as the search for Cyber continues. AUTHOR’S NOTE: Sorry this took so long. I had stuff to take care of. ^^; Episode 6: An Ice Cold Fire Carter and Shiore ascended a long dark circle staircase, swords drawn and batting down the claws of beastly bat like soldiers that dared to come near them. With a spine rattling crack, one twisted up from the floor and bit the very blade of Shiore’s katana. The samurai girl gritted her teeth and forced her blade through the abominations throat. “What in all that is good are these things?” she held herself as she spotted the glimmer of a silver wedding band on the monsters now mangled finger. “Doesn’t matter,” Carter coldly cut down three before grabbing the girl, hoisting her up while cutting down the creature that held her blade within its slobber filled jaws, “we need to move.” Shiore stumbled for a moment, staring with a dead stare as the creature cried out in agony before falling to the ground. Regaining her composure, she took in a big gulp as she tightened her hold on her blade before continuing her way up the stairs as even more beasts descended from the void they trekked on deeper into. As they progressed, Cyber spied upon them through the pale glow of a dull blue orb. “Cut down as many as you wish,” he said coldly, “the broken souls you cut down will only add scars to your own.” --- Across down, Cole smashed his hammer into one of Cyber’s sickly yellow clones, it’s head shattering on the broken pavement. He panted as the once bustling street now lay abandoned as even more clones began to swarm in. The green rider gripped his heavy hammer that was only now beginning to show it’s weight, “Geez, you guys don’t know when to quit do ya?” he panted with a grin, “You’re lucky,” he threw his hammer over his shoulder and took a wide legged stance, “cause I don’t either.” Without so much of a second thought, he charged towards them and began hammering away at them. With each clone he took down, another took its place. However this did nothing to discourage him. He merely kept his feet sturdy and held his ground as another wave prepped for an attack. As this went on, the long black hair of Kat peeked out from the void of a dark alley. Her sharp green eyes watched Cole as she sucked her teeth, removing her candy from her mouth as she hissed, “I’m not letting you ignore me so easily,” she said under her breath with a smirk, “you slimy rock.” {Insert Opening Theme - “Period” by Chemistry} Alex trudged down the street, holding a blood stained rag to his nose as Tara skipped gleefully behind him. The sun was beginning to set and it was almost nightfall. The young male rider looked out to the horizon and gulped, stopping as Tara blindly bumped into him. “Hey, why’d you stop?” She blinked, reaching up to place her hand on his forehead, “you sick or something?” “No…” Alex sighed, “I just…” he gulped and turned to look down the road, pulling down the rag once he was sure the bleeding had stopped, “I’m just worried is all… what if we never find this crazy guy?” “That’s a pretty hefty what if, don’t ya think?” Tara tilted her head to the side before patting him on the back. “Don’t you worry, your big sis Tara is here!” she grinned, “She’s gonna make the whole thing a okay so don’t worry little brother.” Alex glared at her, “Haven’t I told you to quit with the whole brother thing?” “Oh, right,” Tara quickly covered her mouth, smiling awkwardly with a slight blush, “sorry about that Superstar.” “It’s alright, we have a more important issue right now” Alex let out a sigh and turned on his heel before continuing down the road, “now come on.” “Right oh!” Tara saluted before following behind Alex. --- Back in the void of Cyber’s nightmare world, Carter and Shiore finally reach the top of the stares and cut down the last of the demonic soldiers. They both panted heavily as they sheathed their swords before pushing through a pair of heavy doors. Inside was an empty circular room similar to the first floor, only this time it had no one in it. The only thing inside was a solid gold statue of a large lizard like creature with twenty eyes on it’s head and six rows of razor sharp fangs inside it’s gaping mouth. The two riders blinked.“Some sort of guard dog?” Carter scoffed. “It’s a statue,” Shiore closed her eyes as she proceeded to the other end and pushed open another set of doors which led to yet another set of spiral stairs, “ignore it.” Shiore held the hilt of her katana, dashing up the stairs without so much as a second glance. Carter examined the statue with his eyes, looking it up and down before shaking his head and following Shiore up to the next floor. The doors to the room closed as soon as the two left, the sound shaking the walls slightly causing one of the eyes on the golden beast to open. It scanned the room, cracking it’s joints as it hunch over before turning to the recently closed door with a heavy snarl. “No Glenda,” a blue orb spoke behind the beast, “pay them no mind.” The beast turned to the orb and raised an eyebrow, tilting it’s head before muttering some incoherent slur of groans and grumbles. “Ruby will see to their way out,” Cyber spoke as he looked at the beast from within his own blue orb. He ran his hand over the orb, changing the image it displayed to Cole who was currently taking the remaining clones out of commision, “I have something far more suited to your… skills, in mind. Don’t worry my pet.” --- Cole stood amidst the rubble and mangled bodies of all the clones. “Well,” he breathed heavily as he placed his hammer down onto the ground, “I think that’s all of ‘em.” In a flash, the clones dispersed into pixels and gathered into a cluster just above the skyline. Cole narrowed his gaze and blinked, “... what?”With a blindly flash and an ear shattering boom, a distorted portal opened up from the pixels and Glenda came crashing down to the ground just feet away from Cole sending the pavement and the green rider flying backwards. Using the blade from the back of his Axe, Cole anchored himself to the ground and gritted his teeth, “Guess this would be the boss.” He swung his hammer over his shoulder and pulled his gaia memory from his driver, “I’m down.” Before he could move a muscle however, a slender cat like figure with a long bushy ponytail and sharp metal claws lept off one of the wrecked buildings and dashed downwards onto Glenda. It dug its claws into the beast and held on for a moment before being swung off by sheer force. The cat like creature lander her foot onto the ground and flipped into the air before landing gracefully beside Cole who eyed her carefully. “I don’t know who you are,” he took in a deep breath as he held his hammer with both hands, “but would you mind helping me out?” The cat looked to him and nodded, readying her claws. Cole smirked, “Perfect.” Glenda roared before beating her fists together, digging it’s feet further into the ground as the cat and Cole braced themselves. “Try not to die,” the cat cackled in an overly raspy voice. Cole smirked under his mask, “I don’t plan to.” --- Carter and Shiore climbed the stairs to an empty circular room lined from wall to wall with Mirrors. They looked from side to side before spotting an open door on the other end of the room. Wordlessly and without a second thought, they walked towards it with a quickening pace. The moment they reached the center of the room however, both doors shut and locked themselves with iron bars to prevent them from being forced open again.A light cackle fill the air as the two looked up to see a witch with short black hair and a cropped kimono of the same color as her hair with a vibrant purple lining. “Did you do honestly think it would be that easy?” she giggled as she flipped around the banister and descended down, “Oh no, I’m afraid you won’t be leaving here without me having a bit of fun first.” Shiore sucked her teeth and drew her sword, dashing over to the witch in a blink and striking her across the chest. Within an even quicker blink of an eye however, the witch vanish from in front of Shiore and reappeared behind her with a pat to the back. “Oh geez, you really are just a ditzy airhead aren’t you?” she laughed at her, blowing a kiss to Shiore as Carter launched a fireball at her. The witch twirled around, blinking away before the ball of fire made contact with her and reappeared by one of the many mirror. “Let the games begin little kittens.” she winked at them before skipping into the mirror and fading into its reflection. Shiore let out a frustrated huff, listening carefully for where she was. Almost as quickly as the witch had disappeared, she reappeared in a mirror behind Shiore and leapt out of it. As the witch spun her hand around to create and barrage of black spikes, Shiore hurled her own barrage of kunai knives that only stuck to the ceiling as the witch retreated back into another mirror. The moment the witch was inside the mirror, Carter lobbed a fire blast at the mirror she was in and the one she had most recently came out of shattering them both in an instant. Shiore sucked her teeth, throwing a knife aimless into another of the mirror as the witch reappeared in that same mirror waving her finger, “Surely you can do better than that little kitten.” She faded away once again as Carter lobbed another fireball. Shiore balled her hand into a fist as her eyes burned with an ice cold fire, “Burn that witch alive.” Carter nodded, smacking another mirror the witch appeared in with a fireball along with the one on the opposite end, “Easier said than done.” While the witch taunted the riders, Cyber watched the whole event transpire safe from his orb on his perch. “If you think you can defeat Ruby, that mistake will be your last.” He said with a slight smirk. He raised his finger and switched the view on the orb back to Cole, “Now, let’s see how Glenda is fairing.” His eyes widened in shock as Cole and the cat like figure were currently having the upper hand, backing the now red monster into a corner. He slammed his fist down onto a steel gerdur, “Damn you Desire! Why must you and your pet always interfere?!” He gripped his gunmetal grey gaia memory marked with a B with drill bits making up the back of it, “I was planning to use this on myself, but so be it.” He touched the connecter of the gaia memory to the orb, the orb dissolving the memory into it. On the ground with Cole and the cat like creature, Cole drove his hammer into the gut of the beast as it let out a droaning cry. The cat like dopant ran up Glenda’s arm and struck it across the face with sharp kick to the jaw. The two leapt back, ready for one final blow as the sky opened up once again. Cole groaned and rolled his eyes, “Great! What now?” The tear in the sky spat out Cyber’s gun metal gaia memory and drove it into the beast’s neck, activating it upon contact. “!!!BITER!!!” Sparks ran up the beasts body as rough jagged armor formed around it. A pair of heavy gatling guns formed on its left wrist while rockets became mounted to the right. It’s hands became augmented with a pair of heavy duty drills as a set of huge rocket powered wings shot up from the beast’s back. Once fully powered up, the beast let out a loud mechanical roar as it revved up it’s gatling guns. The moment they were primed, Glenda aimed the guns upon Cole and the cat dopant and unloaded a hailstorm of armor piercing bullets. Cole ducked for cover as the dopant merely danced around them as she evaded her way back over through the rubble to where the beast stood in the ground. She leapt up and readied her claws, only to be batted away by Glenda’s heavy arm which smacked her back down to the ground. “HEY!” Cole screamed as he chucked a huge chunk of rubble over to the beast, “OVER HERE YOU UGLY PIECE OF SCRAP METAL!” Glenda rose it’s arm and released the cat dopant from its grasp before starting up its thrusters and charging head first towards Cole. Cole planted his feet hard into the ground, readying his hammer to swing as he braced for the inevitable impact. However, instead of attacking him Glenda open it’s huge hands and snatched Cole right where he had rooted himself on the ground before taking off into the skies. The cat dopant sucked her teeth and fired off the razor sharp claws that made up her left hand at Glenda, swiping her fist down in frustration once they ultimately missed due to the range. Glenda was already several miles above the ground. The cat dopant reached for her neck as a gold shimmer of the Gorge Memory rematerialized from it, revealing the cat dopant to have been Kat. She smacked a signpost and spat on the ground. “Annoying bastard, always cutting me out of the fun,” her ears perked up as the cry of police sirens filled the air. “Crap, clean up duty.” She grunted under breath as she dashed into a nearby alleyway, “Guess I’m back to standby mode for now.” On the other side of town, Alex and Tara made their way down the street aimlessly hoping to find some form of clue as to what Cyber’s location was. They were just about to call it quits when suddenly they both heard a drowning cry come from above. Tara blinked as she looked upwards, “Hey, the heck is that thing?” “Whatever is,” Alex balled his hand into a fist as he spotted it as well, “it has to be going where Cyber is.” He instantly darted down the road in the direction it was headed, pulling out his cellphone and calling for the X Cyclone in the process, hoping onto and revving up the engine without a moment of hesitation. “HEY!” Tara yelled, having Kree change into his glider mode allowing her to catch up quickly to Alex once she was latched in, “How do-” she breathed in, “KNOW that thing is connected to Cyber?!” “I don’t,” Alex narrowed his eyes onto the road as he kept Glenda in the corner of his eye in the sky, “but that’s just how these things work it seems!” “Guess you’ve got a point there,” Tara smirked as she looked back up to the beast, squinting her eyes a little. “Hold the marzipan,” she pulled down a vizor in the shape of an eagle mask, the vizor zooming in allowing her to show Cole caught in Glenda’s arms. Tara gasped slightly, “That thing has Cole!” Alex’s eyes widened for a moment only to shift back even sharper than before, revving up the engine once again, “Then we’ll meet him there.” His driver materialized around his waist as he pulled out his Star and Runner memories from his pocket with his right hand. He placed them into the slots on his belt and split them apart. “STAR! RUNNER!” {End of Part A} ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- {Start of Part B} Ruby flipped once again into a mirror just as Carter blasted it away, the witch giggled as she faded away. Shiore dug her sword into the ground and gritted her teeth. “She is really beginning to get on my nerves,” Shiore grunted as she stood back to back with Carter, Ruby circling around them through the remaining mirrors. “That’s just what she wants,” Carter whispered back to her, “but we have her on the ropes and she doesn’t even realize it.” Shiore raised an eyebrow, “How do you mean?” “Take a look around,” Carter muttered back, Shiore doing as he requested and spotted how few mirrors were left, “she’s only focused on us… that will end up costing her.” He nudged her slightly, “Just follow my lead.” Shiore looked up to him and nodded before gripping her sword once again and charging head first towards the mirror that Ruby was currently occupying. “DIE ALREADY!” she screamed as she thrusted her sword into the mirror. Ruby simply flipped onto the tip of the blade and giggled in her usual fashion, “Silly girl, you never learn.” She flipped over Shiore and skipped out of the mirror and danced upwards to seek out another one. Her eyes turned to one just on the other side of the room. “Correction,” Shiore muttered under her breath as she pulled her sword from the mirror, “you don’t.” “What?!” Ruby glared at her as Carter hurled a pair of fireballs out from the palms of his hands, one hitting the mirror the witch came from and the other hitting the one she was heading towards. Ruby’s eyes shot open, frantically scanning the room for another but to her horror discovered that all of them were shattered. “You were too busy taunting us that you became blind to your surroundings,” Carter said simply, “simply put…” “Game over,” Shiore added coldly, leaping into the air and slicing Ruby across her chest and cutting her in two with a single stroke. The witch’s mangled halves fell to the ground, her eyes widened open as she gulped. “Master… forgive me…” she shook a little as her eyes dulled. Now lifeless, she withered away into a pile of black rose petals which eroded the floor away some as a tall glass vial with a gold cap rose from the mark it left. Shiore’s ears twitched slightly at the witch’s final words, sheathing her sword as she lowered her head. The moment she did this, a faint clap of applause filled the still air of the room. “Well done children, well done,” announced the familiar rustic voice of the old and feeble Lord Takasei. “I’m surprised, I honestly didn’t expect you two to make it this far.” he looked at them with an off putting smirk. “Alright, Carter glared at him as he took the vial, holding it up for the lord to see, “this is what we came for isn’t it?” “Indeed it is,” the old lord extended his hand, “now please. Would you be so kind as to hand it over?” Shiore looked up at the lord as Carter began to walk over to the lord. “Wait,” she spoke suddenly and quickly hurled a kunai knife over to the vial, shattering it instantly as the shards fell to the ground. “WHAT THE HELL!” Carter snapped at her, balling his fist around the base that remained, “We were just about finished!” “Correction,” Shiore shot a sharp glare at the lord, redrawing her sword, “he was.” “What do you…” Carter turned back to the lord who was slowly backing away. “Think about it Hono, this is that freak Cyber’s nightmare world. You think he would just let us leave so easily?” Shiore narrowed her gaze, “More importantly, you think an old man like this could make it out here on his own?” The lord cackled like a madman and stared Shiore down, “Impressive little girl, most impressive!” He hunched over as he hid his arms within his robe, “But calling me out will get you nowhere. Lest you forget, you’re in my world now!” “Figured,” Shiore raised an eyebrow, “and this Inubis you warned us about. Yet another fear tactic?” “The author always inserts himself into his own work,” Lord Takasei chuckled as a pair of demonic blue wings sprouted from his back, “Inubis, Takasei? No, the only one here...” he looked up at Shiore, his eyes now a soul devouring red, “is Cyber!” --- High above the cloud layer, Cole still hung in the clutches of the colossal beast named Glenda. He held on for dear life as he wiggled his way out from her grasp. Flipping onto her wrist, the beast somehow didn’t noticed as he swung via his hammer over to her back.With a wince, he gripped a cable that hung from her jetback, “Don’t see an off switch,” he said looking around before spotting a bright red glare at the back of Glenda’s neck, “Wait a sec…” He smirked, folding his hammer back up and reattaching it to it’s place on his shoulder armor before scaling his way up the cable. Just when he was beginning to feel victory in his grasp, one of his feet missed it’s mark and slid onto Glenda’s bare skin. With a groan and look back, the beast spotted him moving around. Cole gulped, “Oh great…” With a howling roar and barrel role, Glenda spun into a rapidly declining nose dive. Cole was unsure of what the beast was thinking, but one thing was clear. She planned to kill him. Tightly gripping the stray cable, the green rider kicked himself off of the beast's back and swung himself downward. Using Glenda’s built up momentum against her to lighten his descent to her neck, allowing him to flip around and land safely on his feet. “Alright,” he grunted, ripping his hammer out once again along with his Rock Gaia Memory, “time to put this puppy down.” Without missing a beat, Cole slammed his gaia memory into the head of his hammer allowing for the axe blade to swing forward and take it’s place up front. A few stray panels folded away to give clearance to it. “ROCK! Maximum Drive!” “ROCK BREAKER!” The male shouted with a sharp pull back on the trigger by the head. Swinging his now fully charged axe down hard on the beast’s neck, he smashed through the thick armor and broke through to a pulsing patch of skin directly beneath it. The wind whipped around Cole as the orange sky above faded into a deep cold blue, “Hey Al… Tara...” he thought to himself as he sharpened his gaze, just now starting to cut through the skin on the back of the beast’s neck, “I really fucked up.” --- Cyber sucked his teeth, breaking the orb in his hand as he threw the pieces away. “Damn brats,” he thought aloud to himself as the fragments flew back onto his wings, “they’ve angered me for the last damn time!”“Hey now, don’t cut us out just yet senior pissy pants!” Tara laughed as she touched down in her rider form, placing his hands on her hips in an overly sassy manor. Cyber snarled, “You!” He flexed his wings up and fired a barrage of sharp blue metal feathers at the yellow rider. With a flash of red and black, Alex appeared beside Tara in his Star Runner combo holding each of the feathers Cyber had fired. “Excuse me,I believe these belong to you?” Alex asked rhetorically as he tossed them to the ground. He took one step forward, pulling the slots of his driver together, “Now I’ll ask you once more,” he pulled out his Blast memory along with his Kicker memory. “BLAST! KICKER!” A wave of blue data and green tree leaves surrounded Alex as he stepped forward in his Blue and Green Blast Kicker form. “Release my friends,” the boy demanded, aiming his Corona Blaster at the dopant, “Both of them!” Tara smirked and smacked Alex on the shoulder, pulling her flail off from the back of her belt, “Yeah, you tell ‘em Aly!” Cyber glared intensely at the two riders, “Fine,” he grunted as he held up his hand to form yet another blue orb, “As you wish.” Deep within the orb was an image of Carter and Shiore fighting a more monstrous version of the dopant that stood before. This depiction of Cyber had deep blue eagle wings and bore a closer resemblance to a blue devil than the mechanical mess that was the dopant’s real life counterpart. The demon in the orb reach out a pair of long arms from within it’s back and forced Carter and Shiore into the floor. “Your so called ‘friends’ have been run through hell in my world while you have done nothing but annoy me in this one!” Cyber snarled as he gripped the orb, “as payment, I shall gladly release them from their torment! Then you shall take their place!” Inside the orb, both Shiore and Carter were thrown into the wall by the large blue demon that was once Lord Takasei. His razor sharp wings blocked the only exit as he fired off several large steel feathers at the pair who could only just barely block the onslaught of attacks. “Just how the hell are we supposed to beat this guy?!” Carter grunted, gritting his teeth as he hid behind the blade of his sword. Shiore ducked under a kicked open set of mats holding her arm which had been cut open a while ago. She peeked her head out from her cover and examined her foe, “Your guess is-” a small glare hit her eye, following it back to the glow of a yellow orb in the center of the demon’s chest, “Mine…” She gripped her sword and kept her eyes fixed on her new target. Carter raised an eyebrow at the white rider’s odd behavior, looking over to the demon and catching the same sight. “Oh… I see now.” “I’ll run decoy,” Shiore gripped her sword as she rose to one knee, “you get close while his back his turned.” “That’s reckless,” Carter scolded her, “You could-” “I will not take lectures from my enemy,” she shot back as she held her arm, “besides, sometimes you need to be reckless.” The male let out a huff, ducking down to his knee to make himself a smaller target, “Alright then… I’ll give you the lead.” The barrage stopped for a moment as Inubis looked over to rubble with a smirk, “Are the two of you still alive out there?” he spoke in Cyber’s voice, taking a step forward, “or did I already break you beyond repair?” In the corner of his eye, Shiore darted out from cover and lept onto the wall before kicking off it and launching herself forward at the demon kunai in hand and driving it directly for his neck. “Foolish girl,” Inubis smirked, pulling a small dagger from his side and using it to block the ice rider’s strike, “surely you didn’t expect that to work?” He batted her away with a flick of his wrist then fired his entire left wing of feathers at her, each one driving deep into her body and pinning her to the wall. “Admirable… such a pity you had to die this way. Oh well, this place should make a lovely tomb.” “Of course it will…” Shiore muttered to him in as her skin and flesh began to chip away as several large chunks of ice, “for you.” Inubis’ eyes widened as the girl in front of her began to melt away before him, crumbling to bits as nothing but melted water and cracked ice remained of her. “UP HERE FEATHER BRAIN!” Carter roared from above the blue demon. Inubis quickly looked up to the sight of Carter clinging to the ceiling of the room with Shiore in his arms. He sucked his teeth at them before firing off the remaining wing of sharp metal feathers at them, only to have Shiore form a shield of ice around them. Blocking the blades, Carter kicked off the ceiling drawn and battle ready. Being put on the spot, Inubis had only one option. He crossed his arms and moved his wings to cover his face as he called all of his blades back to their place on his wings. Before any of them could reach him however, Carter drew all his remaining Ki into the palm of his hand before slamming it directly on the demon’s metal wings melting them instantly upon contact. The demon stood there, stunned and motionless as each move he made was seeming to have been effortlessly countered. He snarled violently then grabbed one of the few feathers that had returned to him from the ground. “You… META Spawn!” he roared as he gripped the blade, taking two steps towards Carter before feeling a sudden and sharp jab in the center of his chest. He looked down, dropping his blade to see Shiore’s own blade rammed into the yellow orb in his chest. Carter had irritated him for a fraction of a second, but that small amount of time was more than enough to Shiore to deliver the final blow. He stared back at the girl with a smirk who glared back at him with a steady unwavering glare, “Well done…” he chuckled as his being began to fade away, becoming a blue mist which enveloped the two riders, “Shirayuki.” Back in the real world, Alex looked at Cyber and smirked, “Is that so?” he pointed to one of the dopant’s orbs and smirked slightly, “then what exactly is happening there?” Faster than the dopant could so much as blink, the orb on his left wing shattered to bits as Carter and Shiore leapt out of it in their normal civilian forms with their drivers and everything. They touched down on the ground then flipped over backwards to form a line with Alex and Tara. The dopant groaned, “Great, what else can go wrong?” Somehow, as if on cue, a massive meteor like object came crashing down where he stood. Gritting his teeth, the dopant flexed his wings and kicked off into the air to dodge the meteor as it struck the ground resulting in a massive cloud of smoke and dust. The riders coughed, fanning the air until the debris cleared to show Cole, still in rider form, clinging to the edge of the bridge and gripping his chest. “COLE!” Tara cried out with joy as she darted towards him, throwing her arms around her the moment he was back on his feet. “Way to make an entrance!” “You know me,” he looked at her and patted her head, “a boulder like me always makes the biggest splash.” Shiore and Carter looked to one another and nodded, pulling out the gaia memories and slotting them into place on their drivers. “YUKI! RYU-O!” Cried both of their memories as Carter was bathed in fire and Shiore encased in ice, emerging in the rider forms once their respective elements cleared away. “You useless children,” Cyber snarled as he descended down to the bridge, several air mounted turrets materializing around him and aiming themselves at the riders, “now I’ll end you!” Cyber unleashed the full firepower of each of his turrets and hurled a barrage of lasers directly at the fire riders. However, with a simple flick of their wrists Shiore formed a thick shield of ice around the riders while Carter conjured a massive ball of piping hot fire and chucked it at Cyber, burning up all of the dopant’s weapons from the mere heat of the blaze alone. “You call us children,” Alex proclaimed as he stepped out from the steam that once was Shiore’s shield as the Xtreme memory flew down from the sky and latched onto his driver as all five riders stood united as one, “but from the looks of things, it’s you who’s at the end.” The young rider flipped his hands down and split the device apart, “XTREME!!!” it cried out as Alex dawned his ultimate form. “Alex,” Shiore called to him, pulling her Yuki memory from her belt and handing it over to him, “I have a bone to pick with this one. Let’s end him.” Alex turned to her, raising an eyebrow under his mask, “Are you sure?” Shiore turned to him and pulled out a device that resembled the frozen skull of a saber toothed wolf and sharpened her gaze at him, “Head.” Alex stared at her for a moment then took the memory and nodded, slamming it into his maximum drive slot as Shiore placed her newly revealed memory into her own driver. With one quick motion, the both switched on their new gear. “XTREME! SHIRA! YUKI! MEMORY CHARGE!” Alex and Shiore's drivers shouted as a wave of wind and ice rushed over the two from the ground. Shiore broke out of the ice in armor similar to her standard Yuki form only now adorn with white spikes on her helmet and chest armor. The blue kimono with a white trim she wore under her armor had its colors reversed and the kimono itself extended to resemble more of a long coat with a jagged look to it at the front. Her sword was now primarily white with two blades on the end of its guard instead of only one and a chain with three kunai knives hanging off the other end. A triforce with a waning crescent moon adorned the center of her chest armor. Alex on the other hand had a very minor change, the silver gap running down the middle of his armor turning a pale icy blue while the wolf in the center of his chest switched to a bright silver. A pair of wolf like claws flipped out from his wrists. “Go!” Shiore muttered softly, as if her voice was a quick gust of wind as she she darted forward. She swung her one sword around on it’s chain for a fraction of a second to gain momentum before throwing it like a dart at Cyber’s legs. The chain coil around the dopant’s calves as the blade dug itself into the ground to act as an anchor. Shiore narrowed her gaze, hovering her free hand over her driver, “Game over,” she declared as she smacked her driver downward, the wolf’s head emitting a small crunching noise. Alex in turn pulled the two halves of his Xtreme memory together before splitting them apart once again. “XTREME! SHIRA! YUKI!” the three memories called out together as a whirlwind of crystalised ice swarmed around Alex’s claws while Shiore took a heavy hitting stance, “MAXIMUM DRIVE!” With a flurry of wind snow and ice, the two riders leapt forward and struck the dopant in unison turning his monstrous form to dust upon contact. The two riders stood shoulder to shoulder as Ren, now reverted back to his civilian for, lay cold and lifeless on the ground. With a quick pull from both of their drivers, they reverted back to their civilian forms as did Cole Tara and Carter. Alex stared down at Ren, taking one step forward before a laser shot struck the ground inches away from where he stood. “One more step, and it will be your last,” a voice called out as the riders looked around to see they were surrounded. On the edge of the bridge stood several blue soldiers whose armor bore a striking likeness to Alex’s Blast Diver form, only theirs’ were different somehow. They appeared far more refined they Alex’s old suit, stronger, dare one would say even better. A squad of eight green soldiers carrying swords clearly based on Alex’s own Bla-Jalibur descended from above along side a single red soldier who carried no weapons at all but was just about a one for one improvement on Alex’s Star Runner form. The red soldier starred the lot down as Kat in her dopant form scaled the top scaffolding of the bridge, looking down with a heavy pant as if she was trying to mask her presence. “Stupid Ren,” she smirked, gripping the yellow memory that Ms Seraphina had given her not to long along, “some birds just aren’t meant to crack their shell I guess.” “Thank for the help Mr Damon,” the red trooper spoke, nodding to Carter as the green Blade soldiers picked up what was left of Cyber and carried him off. The Blast troopers kept their guns locked on the riders. Carter barred his teeth at them, unwittingly stepping between Tara and the firing squad. “HEY!” Tara spat as she rose to her feet, “Just who the hell do you think you are!” she took one stepped forward, Kat from above narrowed her gaze onto her then chucked the memory she held downward towards the girl. With a sharp pinch, it burrowed its way into the wind rider’s neck. Her eyes shot open for a moment as her vision blurred then fell backwards to the ground. “TARA!” Cole shouted as he inched forward, only to the Blast troopers cock their guns at him. Carter, being mere feet away from the girl was able to catch her. He checked her pulse then raised his hand over her mouth, “It’s alright…” he said calmly, “she’s still breathing.” All eyes turned to the red Star trooper who starred them all down. “Thank you for all the help,” the clear red commander spoke, turning his sights towards Carter, “Mr Damon, by order of META’s officials we here by relieve you from duty,” the fire rider’s eyes shot open in shock, as the green Blade troopers took Cyber’s remains away, “under acts of betrayal and unwarranted communication with the enemy.” The Blast troopers made their leave, disappearing almost as quickly as they left while the red Star trooper turned to leave as well, “You are dismissed.” Alex and Cole turned their shaken eyes to Carter who starred back at them before turning his attention down to the sleeping Tara in his arms. High above them, Kat remained perched with a smirk, “Well, that was more fun than expected,” she cackled under her breath, “I’m really going to enjoy myself.” --- In the shade of Greed’s bar, Ms Seraphina sat with a smirk on her face as she guided her slender finger along the rim of a wine glass, and with that final word, the genie wished him luck and the two parted ways. The old crow tightly clenched the ring in his hand and nodded, whispering softly, 'I will'." She looked over and eyed a pale blue gaia memory with a D in the shape of a cracked heart with an arrow run through it, “This genie’s name,” she muttered to herself as she placed her hand over the memory, “was Desire.”{Insert Ending Theme: “Reason” by Yuzu} Next time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme: Up becomes down, left becomes right and a dopant with the power to switch things to their opposites come around. But what about Tara? Is she alright? Well, you’ll just have to wait and see when Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme continues with... Episode 7: Inversion, A Brand New Alex Xtreme, why do you look like that? |
Episode 7: Inversion, A Brand New Alex Late at night roughly three weeks later, the city lay half asleep as rain poured down hard from above. A pale white dopant with deep violet swirls running up and down its body from head to toe darted across a long normally packed street with a single bound, only touching down when it neared the end and within an instant turned fifty degrees on its heel and kicked it's further down the adjacent street. The dopant looked back over its shoulder, smirking with its deep purple lips as Alex and Shiore followed close behind him on the X-Cyclone both of them in rider form. Alex Star Runner and Shiore her standard Yuki form. "Keep up best you can little kiddies," he snickered as he came to an intersection with cars zooming by with his way blocked by a red light. He placed his hands together then brushed them to the side in a butterfly stroke motion as green traffic light opposing him switch to red, resulting in a pile up as various cars slammed on the breaks. Alex turned his bike quickly to break into a heavy skin as he gritted his teeth. "Damn it!" he slammed on the breaks, "Just how do we get this guy?" "He's toying with us," Shiore pointed out as she held up her memory tracker, pointing to a path in the form of a figure eight that the dopant had led them through twice. Alex held his forehead, "You couldn't have told me this earlier?" Shiore blinked once, "I tried," she put bluntly in her usual monotone. "Alright then," he revved up the engine and proceeded down the road back the way they came, "hold on tight." "Planning on cutting him off on the return way?" Shiore asked as she held onto him tight. "That's the idea," Alex held onto his radio, "Rock, you get all that?" "Loud and clear," Cole spoke from the other end of the radio, "just don't keep me waiting, okay Aly?" Shiore blinked, "Aly?" Alex blushed a little bit under his helmet, "I uh…" he switched off his radio, "I have issues, let's leave it at that okay?" Shiore looked forward, keeping her eyes fixed on the road, "I'll say." "Let's just track this guy down," he revved up his engine once again and sped down the road as the rain began to beat down harder, "before we all turn into pumpkins." {Insert Opening Theme: "Period" by Chemistry} Rylee slammed her fist down hard against a stone pillar in Vainglory's lair, "YOU DID WHAT!" she screamed, grabbing her gaia memory and ramming it into her driver. "SPITE!" Cried her driver as Rylee dawned her sickly green demonic form and began unloading wave after wave of explosive red orbs of energy at her commander Vainglory who stood untransformed. All of the female dopant's attacks were for not however as the pale white skull faced Inertia sucked each ball of energy into his head as he stood by Jason. "Discarding the boy was necessary Spite," Inertia told her in Joel's voice, "you were aware of this from the moment we sent him into active duty." Spite's eyes focused intently on Joel, shedding a single tear as her entire being began to shake with rage. "Of course," her dopant form faded as she stood with a heartbroken smirk, "how could I have forgotten," she curtsied, hiding her glare of disdain. The woman turned on her heel and started on her way out. "Spite," Jason spoke in a voice that sent a shiver down the woman's spine, "leave us, and I'll have no choice." Rylee tightly gripped her gaia memory and gulped, "Of course… I wouldn't dare," she forced a small smirk, "my lord." She made her way out, the heavy doors shaking the hall as they closed behind her. "You don't think she actually would," Joel turned to Jason, "do you?" "Even if she did, I could never let her go," Jason told him coldly, keeping his eyes fixed on the door, "she is far too valuable to throw away." "I see," Joel lit a cigarette, offering one to Jason who put his hand and shook his head to politely refuse. "So, what about this new wild one?" he put the pack away and let out a small puff of smoke from his mouth, "Inverse was it?" "Its effects in testing were… interesting…" Vainglory leaned back in his chair, "let's leave it at that, shall we?" "Interesting huh?" he took in another puff then exhaled, "I'll be the judge of that." He put out his cigarette after a while then dug his hands into his pockets, "Jason, what exactly do you think keeps this group of ours together?" Jason looked at him and in a stone cold voice said, "Friendship." Joel stared the other male square in the eye, blinking for a moment then breaking down in a slight laugh, "Of course, that has to be the reason." --- Back on the city streets, the rouge dopant darted into traffic and cackled like a mad man. He snapped his fingers at a couple huddled under a bus stop, freezing their lit cigarette that they were sharing for both intimacy and warmth. "HEY!" the male threw his fist in the air, gasping for a moment once he spotted his fingers that were now for some odd reason coated in nail polish."My muffin bun?" the woman looked at him, now having a mustache on her face as she took hold of her husband's hand, "When did you do this?!" As Inverse soared down the streets he was cut off by a heavy hit from Cole's hammer which knocked him out of the air and into a dusty alleyway, knocking over several trash cans in the process. He climbed to his knees, eyeing Cole and licking his lips. "Alright crazy boy," Cole stared him down, resting his hammer on his shoulders as Alex and Shiore rode in behind the dopant from the other end of the alley, "end of the line." Inverse smirked, "So you think," the dopant clapped his hands together then slammed them down onto the metal trash cans, turning them into a molten metal which flooded the alleyway as he leapt up into the air high above the cityscape. The three riders wasted little time and grabbed the ladder of a nearby scaffolding, making their way up as Shiore froze what she could of the molten metal. Cole in turn slammed his fist down on the building he clung to, sending a shockwave down into the earth which resulted in a pair of thick rock walls shooting out to contain the remaining metal as it cooled under the already cold northern air the city naturally had. "We need to take him out before he causes anymore damage," Alex told his two comrades as he quickly made his way up to the roof, Cole and Shiore following close behind him. Inverse stood there at the furthest end of the roof, awaiting them patiently as the three riders climbed up onto the roof. Cole and Shiore drew their weapons as Alex pulled his Star and Runner memories out from his driver and replaced them with Blast and Kicker before resetting his belt. "BLAST! KICKER!" The driver called out as Alex's armor switched from its standard black and red to Blast's swift blue armor and Kicker's heavy armor green shin guards with gunmetal grey greaves. The young rider's Corona Blaster formed in his hand. "Cole, Shiore," he took a deep legged stance and twirled his gun in his hand before holding it single handedly parallel to his mask, "make a dash." The two riders nodded then darted forward, breaking off in separate directions as they kept their sights fixed on Inverse. The dopant smirked, rubbing his hands together as he cackled, "Let's try a little role reversal shall we?" He held his hands out to both riders that charged him only to catch Alex aiming his gun at him in the corner of his eye. Looking back to the two riders who were now closer than expected, he jumped into the air as Cole and Shiore grinded to a halt just as they reached the dopant's former position and used each other to regain their balance as they were now off. "Right where I want ya," Inverse licked his lips, holding his hands above the two riders. "GET BACK HERE SLIME BUG!" Alex yelled as he fired off a grappling hook from his blaster which latched on no problem, "Good lord I've become Tara," he thought to himself as he pulled Inverse towards him. "Such a nuisance," Inverse glared at him, grabbing the cable and electrifying it which traveled downward back to Alex which shocked the young rider to his very core before shattering his rider form and sending him to his knees. The dopant smirked as he touched down in front of him, "Think fast kid!" he cackled before delivering a heavy kick right to the boy's head. "ALEX!" Cole called out as he and Shiore darted back over to their friend and enemy. Inverse leapt to the other roof as Cole ran to his side, Shiore chucking a slew of kunai knives at the dopant, "Hey, you alright?" Cole called out to Alex, shaking him a little. Shiore eyed Alex for a fraction of a second then looked back to where Inverse stood only to find that he was nowhere to be found. She balled her hand up into a fist and snarled. "He got away." "We can deal with him later," Cole undid his transformation and felt Alex's forehead, feeling his friend beginning to burn up, "Aly isn't exactly the best right now." He chuckled, "You got hit pretty hard there, didn't you pal?" Alex held his head, "Huh?" he squinted at Cole as his vision beginning to blur, blinking a little as he tried to figure out just who he was talking to, "I… I'm not a tard!" his face began to turn red as his temperature quickly rose. "Geez, you're really burning up," Cole winced a little as he pulled a water bottle off of his belt and emptied some onto his hand before rubbing it onto Alex's face, "We need to lay you down." "B-But!" Alex panted heavily, beginning to sweat even more as his face grew pale and somehow even thinner, "R-Reverse." Cole chuckled a little and picked him up, "the only reverse you'll be going after involves a bed." He looked over to Shiore, "I'll take him on the prowler, follow behind on the Cyclone?" Shiore nodded and undid her transformation. Well over an hour and a half later of Cole driving down the road with Alex asleep in his lap and Shiore driving close behind them, they arrived at Cole and Alex's shared building. They pulled up to the curb and switched off the bikes, Cole reaching into Alex's pocket and pulling his keys out for him as he currently could not. Cole noticed something moving in the bushes, then turned to Shiore, "Take Alex inside and right to bed," he told her, tossing her the keys, "I'll be in in a sec." Shiore nodded and did as she was told, unlocking the door and taking Alex right inside. Once she was gone, Cole sighed then walked over to the rail by the stairs. "It's just me you know," he leaned against the rail and crossed his arms, "you don't need to hide anymore." "So, how is she?" Carter spoke as he emerged from the bushes. "I think they're both just a little stunned, but they'll live," Cole grinned, heading over to his bike and pulling out two cans of cola and offering one to Carter once he came back, "honestly, I was a little more worried about you." Carter glared at him, taking the can to be polite, "You know that isn't who I'm talking about." Cole sighed, "Still worried about Tara are you?" he cracked open his can. "Thea," the other male corrected him, looking down to his can, "she is my sister after all. It's my job to worry about her." "That's the thing I still don't get," Cole rubbed his eyes, "if the two of you are siblings, how come she never mentioned you?" "It's cause she doesn't know," Carter closed his eyes and cracked open the can, the memory of a younger Tara crying out in agony as violent winds swarmed around playing over in the back of his mind, "and frankly... I hope she never does." "Alright, just tell me one thing," Cole eyed him, "why tell all of this to me?" "Because she seems to be fond of you," Carter leaned his head back as he sat on the grass, "Guess you could say I'm trying to regain my relationship with her by piggybacking on the end of yours. Stupid I know." Cole looked at him and broke out laughing. The fire rider stared at him, his face turning a slight shade of red, "What are you laughing about?" "Nothing, nothing," Cole tried to control himself, wiping his tears away, "I just, I never pictured you as the settlement type that's all." Carter glared at him, "You do know I can set you on fire right?" Cole took a sip of his drink then smirked, "You do know that will upset your little sister, right?" The fire rider glared even harder at him, "Touche." "So, you have a place to stay yet?" Cole asked in order to change the subject. Carter blinked for a moment, then dodged the other male's gaze. Cole pouted his lips, raising an eyebrow, "You haven't thought about it, have ya?" "NO! OKAY!" Carter roared, practically spewing fire from his breath, "Happy?!" "Make yourself at home then," Cole tossed him a silver key, ignoring the last comment as Carter frantically caught the key, "The basement units have been vacant since before Alex came to live with us, but we upkeep them regularly. Plus they have their own separate entrance so you can easily dodge the ice queen if you want. I know you two don't like each other very much." Carter eyed the key then narrowed his gaze at Cole, "What's the catch?" "Just keep the place clean," Cole smiled at him warmly, "I think the world has dealt you enough to earn a little levity." He smirked, "I'd let you stay with me but I'm not sure if you'd be able to keep your hands off me." "Alright, screw Thea," Carter grabbed his gaia memory and rose to his feet, "I'm gonna kill you." "Joking! Joking!" Cole frantically waved his hands in front of him in defense, "Just… enjoy the room and take this time to relax okay?" "Alright…" Carter glared at him as he made his way up the front steps, "but I'm watching you." Once Carter was inside and out of sight, Cole practically collapsed and let out a heavy sigh of relief, "Geez," he forced a chuckle as he shook out his shirt to fan himself off, "some people have no sense of humor." Cole made his way inside, cracking open Alex's apartment door to see Shiore curled up on the coach with the lights off and the tv on playing Alex's copy of Madoka Magica in japanese. "A-Are you watching that dumb grim dark melodrama series again?" Cole sighed, slapping himself in the forehead. "I like it," Shiore commented, stuffing her face full of popcorn, "Alex is asleep, you're ruining the good part." Cole cupped his hand over his mouth then whispered, "I'll go check on the superstar quietly then." "Please do," Shiore muttered once again, turning up the volume. Cole quietly crept his way to the back of the apartment and over to the currently closed door of Alex's bedroom. Looking back over to Shiore, he pulled down the knob then gently pushed on the wood of the door before tiptoeing inside the dark shroud of the room, looking over to the bed just beside where the light now poured inward to where Alex was sleeping with his feet to the doorway and a cold wet towel on his forehead. "Oh man, what are we gonna do with you?" Cole whispered softly, going over and rewetting the towel in a bowl of ice cold water that Shiore had provided, ringing it out before placing it back on Alex's forehead. He checked his friend's temperature then let out a heavy sigh, "Well, at least your fever is going down." He got up, then left the room, pulling out his cell phone then dialing a number on his contacts. "Cole?" Sampson's voice echoed from the other end, "What happened? Did you guys get him?" "No he… he got away," Cole admitted, "Listen, there was something I've been meaning to ask. Would you happen to have the Evonna address?" --- The next morning, Alex awoke as the sun peered into his bedroom. He rubbed his eyes as he slowly sat up, looking over to see his alarm clock which currently read nine forty-seven. It was a saturday though, so he had nowhere to be. He grabbed a towel then got up and headed for the bathroom, Shiore still lying curled up on the couch fast asleep.He switched on the shower's hot water and allowed the room to fill with steam before disrobing and getting in, washing himself from head to toe for a good half hour as Shiore began to stir. Once he was all nice and clean, he shut off the water and grabbed his towel, drying himself off before wrapping the towel around his waist and heading over to the mirror. In one single stroke of his hand, he wiped the mirror clear of fog, allowing him to see himself in the full view of the mid morning sun. After a yawn he stared at himself in the mirror before his eyes were drawn downward to his chest. His eyes shot open, "W-WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!?!?!" {End of Part A} ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ {Start of Part B} Cole stood at the gates of a large white manor with a huge fountain out front and several cars lined up on the mile long driveway. His eyes flickered as he stood in awe, feeling his way to the buzzer. “This is Tara’s house?...” he gulped, “holy crap.” “Hello?” a voice called out from the speaker on the buzzer, “Who’s there? Is this another prank?! For the last time my mother graduated college with honors!” “Oh!” Cole hit the talk button, “No, sorry. I’m here to see Tar- Uh- Thea? I’m a friend of her’s from school. Is she home?” “Oh my goodness!” the man behind the speaker raised his voice as a sudden sense of urgency came through, “Y-You wouldn’t happen to be that Desmond fellow? Cole was it?” “That’s my name,” Cole blinked, “Thea wear it out already?” “Oh thank goodness you’ve come,” the male spoke once again with a sigh of relief, “here, I’ll open the gate for you. Please, come right in will you.” The gates opened and Cole, after taking a steady gulp, took one step over the line then slowly but surely made his way up to the brilliant and large white manor that stood before him. He couldn’t quite explain it, but there was an odd sense of dread yet something comforting as well. As if somehow him coming here was breaking down one of the many walls that divided him from the wild and often at times questionable girl he called Tara. After all of these thoughts raced through his mind, it was then that he reached the front door that sat just at the top of a tall staircase. He raised his hand to knock on the door but before he could they swung open for him, a large foyer standing to greet him along with two lines of roughly twenty maids and butlers. “Pleased to meet you Mr Desmond,” the butlers bowed while the maids curtseyed as a deep sign of respect to the male that now stood before them. “Ah, there you are,” a tall yet stout older gentleman dressed in a white suit came down the center stares and right over to Cole to shake his hand. His hair was a pale yellow, combed over to cover his bald spot, “The name is-” “Jaune Delearon Evonna, Thea’s father,” Cole shook the older male’s hand, “I figured as much.” “Yes, you’re right on the money my boy,” Mr Evonna nodded, “now please, follow me if you’d be so guide,” he guided the boy upstairs to a long corridor and lead him down to a room at the very end of the hall. “Wait,” stop for a moment, looking back to the man who had guided him here, “is… is this?” Jaune nodded, “Yes… this is Thea’s room.” Cole turned back to the door and gulped, “Y-You sure you want me going in here? You don’t even know me.” “True, but Thea does,” the older man smiled warmly, placing his hand on the boy’s shoulder, “She does keep things from me, and she’s always sneaking out to do god only knows what. But I trust her judgement and if she has deemed you well enough to be considered a friend, than you may as well be a son in my eyes.” He held his hand open to the door, “Now go right ahead.” Cole took in a deep breath then nodded, placing his hand on the doorknob and pushing the door open. The moment he stepped in a cool breeze swept over him, the door slamming behind him as the scent of flowers and leaving filled the open room. As his eyes focused, he laid upon Tara who sat with her back turned on her bed in a long white silk gown and a braided blond wig. The sudden slamming of the door made her jump, she then turned to Cole as her eyes widened. She stared at him without a word, her face giving the expression of a helpless damsel rather than the normal cocky yet inspiring smirk and fiery eyes she normally wore. Birds chirped off in the distance as time seemingly stood still as Cole stared down Tara, looking into the small statured blond’s soft warm yet vacant eyes. --- Far across town in the city’s red light district, Ashley yawned as she hopped off a bus before hoisting up her black studded purse. The heavy set female wore heavy eyeliner and was dressed in her normal punkish attire. She walked for about three blocks before nearing a somewhat run down house with a stair leading down to a bar marked ‘The Genie’s Lamp.’As the neon sign flickered, Ashley let out a sigh and balled up her hand, “Let’s just get this over with.” she rubbed her eyes some, “I need to be getting to work soon.” “You’ve got alotta nerve showing your sorry ass here,” a small cackle came from above her. “The fuck do you want?” Ashley looked up to see a slender girl with long red pigtails in a white tank top, a bright red mini skirt and somewhat worn chucks. “Harpy,” Ashley groaned, “great.” She covered her eyes to block the sun and grunted, “Well I certainly don’t want to see your ugly mug,” she glared at her, “You mind closing your legs, I can smell the fish from here.” The girl sucked her teeth than jumped down, landing on her feet than glaring at the girl who stood in front of her, “You’re lucky, I’d kill you but the boss was looking for you,” Harpy smirked and gave a hard flick to Ashley’s forehead, “Not sure what he’d want with a traitorous twat like you though.” Ash didn’t even flinch, she merely looked back at the girl in front of her with a hard glare, “Well, it’s a good thing I don’t work for him anymore. I only came by to pick up some crap I forgot to grab on my way out.” “Really now?” Harpy flipped her hair, “Shame, cause the old man has an idea for you.” Ash narrowed her gaze, “What kind of idea?” Harpy reached into her pocket and held her fist close, “I’m sure you remember your old gig, right?” The girl slowly opened her hand to reveal a navy blue gaia memory with a very familiar S pointed with vector arrows. Ash’s eyes opened, her balled fist loosening some at the sight of the memory. --- At around twelve thirty in the afternoon Marcoh sat reading a newspaper at his desk. He let out a long yawn as the phone beside him began to ring. Rubbing his bloodshot eyes, he took a big stretch before picking up the phone and raising it to his ear.“Ardent City Police Department,” he blinked as three seconds went by. He then let out a heavy sigh and rubbed his eyes again, “For the last time Ms Bran, you and your ex-husband are legally separated by the court of law not to mention your children are above the age of consent. If they wish to leave the city and cut all ties with you that’s up to them, I’d hardly consider it a crime.” He sighed once again, “Well at least your children’s brains are clean then aren’t they?” After a moment more of the crazy lady on the phone yelling his ear off the officer groaned, “Have a nice day Ms Bran.” He hung up the phone and massaged his forehead, “Fuck they don’t pay me enough for this shit.” “Ms Bran call again?” Sampson asked as he came out from his office. Marcoh nodded, “Third time this week.” The phone rang once again and the dark skinned officer glared at it with extreme disdain. Sampson chuckled, “I’ll take this one,” he said before picking up the phone. “While you’re doing that, I’m going for a smoke,” Marcoh rubbed his forehead as he got up from his seat and headed out the door, slamming it loudly on his way out. “Ardent City Police Department,” he spoke clearly, his eyes widening slightly for a moment, “Oh, Ms Fubuki, what’s the mat-” he was cut off, placing his hand over his mouth as he listened, “I see… we’ll be right over.” --- Back in Tara’s room, the blond haired girl stared at the open window where a tree sat with an empty nest perched onto its branch. A single baby bird chirped away as it fluttered there alone. Cole stood there silently, taking in steady breaths as he stared at the girl’s back.“Cole…” she finally spoke, balling her hands into the material of her dress, “just who am I?” “Well that much is obvious,” the male smiled sadly at her, as he placed his hand on her shoulder, “you’re Tara, aren’t you?” “JUST SAVE IT!” She snapped, smacking his hand off her and turning to look at him with tear filled eyes, “I-I… what happened to me? Last thing I remember is standing surrounded by those super star wanna bes after that cybernetic freakazoid went down, then… and then my… father?” she crossed her arms and tightly gripped her forearms as she hunched herself over, “No… No he isn’t.. Is he?” Cole let out a sigh and placed his hand on her head, “I… I think you’ll need to ask Carter about all that… If anyone should know, it’s him.” he said, lifting Tara’s head up and wiping the tears from her eyes. Tara stared at him, still shaking and swallowed her tears, “A-Are you sure that’s wise?” Cole looked at her and nodded, “Positive,” he pinched her cheek, “what’s with all the formal talk?” Tara, within a fraction of a second, smacked his hand away only to realize what she had done moments later and hid her face under her wig, “S-Sorry…” Cole’s chipper grin turned into a regretful frown, “It’s okay,” he cooed softly, wrapping his arms around her, “everything is going to be okay,” he gripped her slightly tighter, “I promise.” The small girl took in his scent, seemingly becoming engulf in the male’s grasp as she felt her heart begin to race faster and faster, “Cole… I...” she gulped, wrapping her own arms around his waist which just barely met her eyes, “thank you.” On the rooftop across the street, Kat stood with a pair of binoculars over her eyes and her hand on her hip as she stared into the window of Tara’s bedroom, watching the scene unfold. “Damn it all to hell, those to stick together worse than stink on shit,” she sucked her teeth, chucking the binoculars into a tree and disturbing a family of squirrels, “I’m gonna need to resort to more drastic measures,” she smirked, “this is gonna be so much fun.” --- In a public swimming pool that had currently been reserved for an event, four male swimmers readied themselves to dive as the crowd began to roar. Meanwhile, Inverse loomed overhead, liking his lips and rubbing his hands together. The instant the swimmers took off, the rouge dopant flicked his hands over the water freezing it instantly as the crowd gasped.A pair of shots struck his perch resulting in the nimble dopant flipping over on his feet and landing hands first like a monkey and looking over to see a pair of META’s Blast form X2 troopers with their guns aimed right at him. The dopant smirked at the pair of them, “Well well, seems like today’s catch just swam in.” he lick his lips and swung himself downward, just barely dodging a barrage of shots that struck a nearby billboard. With enough built up momentum, he leapt from the bar he hung from and bolted forward to the troopers. “Good aim boys, but try aiming in reverse next time,” he snickered, patting them both on the shoulder as he landed on a thin by the tips of his toes a good three feet from where he had kicked off from. WIthout wasting a second, the troopers aimed their guns at the deranged dopant and pulled back on the triggers. Inverse however merely snickered as the shots fired off from the backside of their guns and taking both soldiers out within mere seconds. Their limp bodies fell to the ice below, breaking upon impact as rescue workers chipped away to reach the swimmers trapped underneath, not even noticing the fallen troopers. Inverse stood above the chaos and laughed, “Never in my life have I had so much fun,” he smirked as ran his hands up and down his dopant form, his cackles turning into deafening moans “all this chaos gets me so worked up, I feel like I might just explode from all this excitement.” --- Sampson sat at a table in the backroom of a restaurant he had frequented. He wasn’t a fan others being around talking while he ate, so he had booked a private room for permanent reserve ever since he had first become chief. He sat in front of Shiore, staring at a girl with shoulder length chestnut brown hair and emerald green eyes. She was dressed in a black hoodie with a faded red t-shirt on underneath. It clearly didn’t fit her proportions correctly as it almost seemed to be choking her c-cup bust.Sampson took a deep breath then exhaled, “So… that’s really you Alex?” The girl hid her face and nodded, her face becoming bright red. Shiore looked at Alex and in her usual monotone said, “That dopant we fought last night did this to him… we aren’t sure how to reverse it.” Sampson thought for a moment as Alex to a good look at herself in the mirror. “Well, it stands to reason that if a dopant’s attack did this,” the police chief declared with a smirk, “then the way to fix it would be getting hit by that same attack.” “That’s what we figured,” Shiore returned as Sampson took a sip of coffee from the cup in front of him, stilling piping hot. Alex leaned forward to get a better look at herself in the mirror then raised an eyebrow, “Actually, I don’t think I really mind this all that much.” Shiore and Sampson both took a double take, Sampson choked on his coffee a little, “W-What was that?!” Alex blinked and looked to Sampson, “Well… I like myself a little better this way.” she shrunk her head down a little, “Is.. that a problem?” Sampson stared at her for a while then smiled warmly, laughing just a little, “Of course not, if you’re happy with this unexpected change than who am I to judge you for it?” Alex grinned, “Thanks,” she nodded, gaining a little bit of her confidence back, “however, just because I’m okay with this doesn’t mean anyone else will be.” Her eyes became slightly more intense, “there’s a dopant on the loose, and we need to get rid of it.” --- At the city’s waterfront, Ashley stood facing the tide as she watched the sun set over the horizon. She looked down to the blue gaia memory that she held in her hand, taking in a big gulp as she closed her hand around it. She raised her closed fist over her shoulder then pulled her arm back. Her gaze narrowed on the water, holding her stance there for a good long while before something interrupted her train of thought. The loud buzz of her cell phone erupted from her purse, the girl quickly jumping as she went to fish it out. She read the caller ID then let out a huff before flipping it open and raising it to her ear, “I’m busy Marcoh, what do you want?” “You remember our bargain right Haze?” the officer told her, “put in enough community service hours and you’ll be cleared from your probation. You’re currently at four of your required one thousand, don’t think I haven’t been keeping track.” “I’m already working on it,” Ashley let out a frustrated sigh, shoving the gaia memory into her purse, “Geez, you expect me to just walk in there and grab whatever grap I want like it’s god damn thrift shop?” “No, obviously not,” the officer returned, “however there are other ways for you to go about it.” Ashley raised an eyebrow, “How do you mean?” “There are a group of students I want you to investigate,” Marcoh explained, “do that and I might just count it for fifty hours.” Ashley groaned and rolled her eyes, “Why don’t you get Darwin and his band of nitwits to deal with it?” “The enemy knows them,” Marcoh retorted, “do it and I’ll count it for one hundred.” She thought for a moment then let out a sigh, “I’ll be at the station in ten.” She groaned then slammed her phone shut, “Crap! I fucking hate being the one on the leash!” --- Carter looked up at the ceiling, laying awake in his borrowed bed as he stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling he was now required to call home. He let out an empty sigh as his eyes drifted down to an empty desk with only one thing occupying it. A single dusty picture frame containing an old photo sat alone on the desk. The photo of course depicted Carter at the age of six staring blankly into the camera in a pure white outfit standing just in front of Rylee who gripped his shoulder in an almost possessive manor. Just beside them was a much younger Joel who held a warm smile on his face and a sleeping two year old Tara who was dressed in a similar plain white onesie, a grey pacifier and a small patch of brown hair on her smooth yet seemingly large head. Carter rolled his head back and let out a sigh, rubbing his forehead as his sigh turning into an aggravated groan. He continued this for a while before a single knock from the door broke him out of his miniature tirade. “Great, what now,” he himself out of bed and dragged himself to the door, “If it’s another witness, I don’t care about jehovah.” he opened the door and was greeted by Cole in his normal attire and Tara in a simple blue t-shirt and pale grey cargo shorts. Cole simply raised his hand, “Yo.” Carter blinked, “Desmond?” he looked down to Tara and raised an eyebrow, “W-What are the two of you doing here?” Without so much as a second word, Tara hung her head and placed the top of her head on the fire rider’s chest. “I… sorry I’m late...” she sniffled just a little, “I’m finally home…brother.” Carter’s eyes shot open, his heart nearly skipping a beat as he instinctively wrapped his arms around her and rest his chin against the top of her head. “Welcome home sis,” he cooed as he ran his hand through her hair, “you’re right on time.” {Insert Ending Theme: “And I’m Home” by Ai Nonaka & Eri Kitamura} Next time, on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme Inverse is still on the loose, and the riders make a mad dash to track him down. Crazy things get flipped sideways upside down and backwards as this crazy nutjob tears up the entire city! How will they beat him? And just what is Marcoh looking to do with Ashley? All will be decided when Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme continues in… Episode 8: Reversal, Here to Stay. Gale, it’s great to have you back. |
Episode 8: Reversal, Here to Stay Marcoh sat at his desk, digging through a box filled with loose papers as Ashley maintained a steady drum beat on her hands as she sat in a chair on the other side. "So... What exactly are we looking for again?" asked the voluptuous female. "Well, you're familiar with how each of our rider friends has a belt like device or something right?" the officer returned with a slight strain to his voice. Ashley raised an eyebrow, "Yeah?" "Well," his hands hit something firm, "ah, here we are." he fished out a black case and placed it down on the desk, "Of the twelve we know of, eight were created by modern human hands and of those all but two were destroyed." he looked at her, placing his hand over the case, "Do you know which two those are?" "The one Alex uses, obviously," Ashley crossed her arms, "and the other must have belonged to those one of the psychopaths that flipped the city upside last summer." "Wrong," Marcoh corrected her, "Alex's mother was a rider long before he was." he opened the case to reveal a driver similar to Alex's but with one slot instead of two, "This is that same belt, the lost driver of Kamen Rider Fata." Ashley's eyes widened slightly as she hovered her hand over it feeling the device's pull. She pulled her hand back moments later than looked up to Marcoh, "Why are you showing me of all people this?" "Because, this driver is the one key we have to locating our enemy," he told her, clasping his hands togethe, "if we can find the maker, we can put all of this to bed like some bad dream." Ashley laughed, slipping her hands into her pockets as she slid back in her chair, "Like you expect me to know?" "No," Marcoh told her straight, closing his eyes as he let out a sigh, "but you do know people who might. People who we currently have in custody." "Man, I didn't sign up for this shit!" she threw her arms behind her head than slunk her shoulders over the back of her chair as she crossed her legs, "don't ya suit boys have ingeration people for that shady crap?" "We do, but these former dopants won't crack," Marcoh explained, "Please Haze, at times like these... We need someone who understands them, who thinks the way they do." "Oh geez," Ashley laughed, "way to lump a whole mess of people into one shit filled pile." She sat up and shook her head with a smirk, "But what can I say, you ain't exactly wrong. Fucked up people think in the same fucked up way." "So," Marcoh raised a brow at her, "Is that a yes?" Ashley looked up at him with a smirk on her face, "It ain't exactly a no." {Insert Opening Theme: “Period” by Chemistry} Alex drove down an open highway, the setting sun overhead with Shiore directly behind her. The blue hair snow girl letting out a heavy sigh as she watched the setting sun. “Hey…” Shiore called out, her eyes refusing to look at Alex, “are you really okay with all this?” “It’s the same as normal,” Alex said back, keeping her eyes on the road, “we track down the dopant, then defeat it before it causes too much damage.” Shiore sucked her teeth, “too late for that don’t you think?” she glared at the girl in front of, “He already did a number on your brain.” Alex pulled back on the break, stopping dead center in the middle of the empty highway before turning back to Shiore with a confused look on her face, “What?! The hell are you talking about?” Shiore’s expression intensified, gesturing towards Alex’s chest and more feminine figure, “Is that really something you need to ask?” Alex looked down, blinking some as her look of confusion faded into a look of heartbreak, “O-Oh… this bothers you that much does it?” “I could care less about the change in esthetic,” Shiore looked away from her, hiding her own hurt expression as her heart felt like it was torn in two, “it’s your lack of caring about it that worries me.” “I never said I didn’t care about it…” Alex let out a sigh, “I realize it’s a problem…” Shiore looked back towards her, raising an eyebrow, “Then why lie to Sampson about it?” “I just... “ she let out yet another sigh, hunching over and letting resting her arms on her legs, “I didn’t want to have anyone worry about me, that’s all.” Shiore’s expression softened, slowly taking her arms and wrapping them around the girl infront of her. Alex’s eyes widened once she felt Shiore’s hand gently place itself at the top of her head, “People worry because they love you… at the very least, you should let them,” she bit her lip,, “don’t ever shut people out.. Okay?” Alex nodded, “Yeah… you’re right…” she pulled away and got back on the bike, “For now though, we need to find this guy before he does anymore damage.” She added as she revved up her bike once again. Shiore pulled out her gaia memory scanner, switching it on, “If he doesn’t turn you back, promise you’ll let me find another way to fix you?” Alex laughed a little, breaking a small grin, “Promise.” “Good,” Shiore eyed the scanner, “there’s a signal on the east end of the city. Think that might be our guy.” Alex smirked before gunning down the road on all cylinders, “Perfect.” Shiore let out a sigh, looking down at the scanner as she clung to the other girl, “Easy for you to say,” she thought to herself, taking in a big gulp. --- Ashley and Marcoh followed a pair of overly muscular guards, one male the other female, down a long cell lined hallway."Hey Farcity," a rapid looking male with barely any meat on his bones licked his lips as the female guard passed him by, "You're looking awfully tasty tonight." he spat on his hand and slicked it back, "I'd really be liking to take a bite outta you." Ashley glared at him while the female guard with her long black hair tied up in a bun spoke back to her, "Pay them no mind child, trash like them has no business getting to ya." "I know," Ashley forced her eyes forward as all the male and even some of the female inmates continued to hoot and holler, "I used to be one of them, remember?" "How could I forget," Farcity smirked, looking down to a bite mark on her arm, "your bite is meaner than the rest of them." "Yeah well you aren't anymore," Marcoh told her as he kept his eye forward and sharpened as the came to a bulkhead steel door. "Alright girls, here's where we keep the real loonie ones," the male guard said as he fished out a set of keys and slipped it into the heavy pad lock mounted on the door, "keep your wits close to you, cause all these ones will want to fuck with them." A heavy clang echoed through the hall as he turned the key followed by the clatter of several tumblers before the doors slowly but surely were opened by both the muscular guards. From the sound of it, no normal person could have open it on their own. Ashley’s eyes widened as she was greeted to several glass cells lined up in a row. She quickly regained her composure and smirked, “So… who do we start with?” --- Across town at Carter’s temporary basement apartment. “WHAT!!” Tara screamed at the top of her lungs at Cole who stood with his ear to his phone with Tara’s hands grasping at his collar, “SUPERSTAR AND ICE QUEEN ARE ALREADY BEATING US TO THE TWISTED FUCK!!!” She pouted and crossed her arms, “That traitorous son of a…” “Thea,” Carter called to his sister, Tara catching her attention and causing her to turn around. He raised an eyebrow, “Is now the best time?” “Uh… n-no.. I guess not,” Tara blushed, getting a little embarrassed. “Good, because we shouldn’t be in competition with our allies,” Carter told her, stepping forward and placing his hand on her head, “we should be helping them.” Cole chuckled, “When did you become such a good guy?” Carter glared at him, “I haven’t been able to be a brother for quite sometime… excuse me for wanting to make up for it.” “R-Right…” Cole sweatdropped, “how about we get going then?” he turned to the blond girl in front of him, “Right Tara?” Tara looked up to him and nodded, “Right!” she bolted out of the room, slamming the door behind her, “RACE YA BOTH!” Carter blinked, turning over to Cole, “I love her… I really do.” “I know,” Cole nodded, patting him on the back, “I do too.” --- In the dim shroud of Crave’s bar, Desire sat at her normal spot sipping a glass of her favorite red wine. “A jester you say?” she chuckled, eyeing her amber ring, “that’s certainly an interesting choice. Sounds like you and my little one have your work cut out for you.”A small coo echoed from the ring, Desire chuckled some more as she placed down her drink, “I know, you can handle it yourself.” The ring cooed once more, the blue succubus like dopant raising an eyebrow, “What makes you think I can’t handle things here?” she smirked as the door to the front chimed and Vince came through. “Phone call?” he asked as he slipped off his jacket. Desire slipped her amber ring off and slipped it into her sleeve, “Something like that.” “Secretive as always,” he groaned, going behind the bar and grabbing himself a bottle of whiskey. He unscrewed the cap and took a quick swig, “What’s the word on this new henchman of yours?” “Oh he’s doing wonders,”Desire retained her smirk, running her finger along the rim of her glass, “about half the town has been flipped upside down, and that meddlesome Subject X should no longer pose the threat he used to… or rather…” she narrowed her gaze at Vince, “the threat that she use to be.” Vince looked at her and raised an eyebrow, “So he’s a chick now?” he laughed, “I don’t quite see how that makes a difference in his capabilities.” “Oh dear Vincent,” Desire laughed, getting up as she made her appearance change, growing shorter with shoulder length blond hair and sharp blue eyes, “you shouldn’t worry about such trivial things.” She smirked as she got up close to him, completely her change once she looked exactly like Vincent’s late younger sister, “Need I remind you of what the end goal is once again?” Vince dropped the bottle, shivering some as he forced himself to look away, “How many times have I told you… of all the people to change into… that one is off limits!” he began to snarl. “Oh dearest Vincent,” she cooed, running her hand down his face to his chin, bringing his head up so that his eyes met her’s, “I thought this was what you wanted…” she inched herself closer to him, whispering in an overly seductive tone, “Wasn’t it you who told me once, that all that you needed was the love of your sweet little sister?” Vince quivered, inching himself closer as well, “Y-Yes…” “Well I’m right here…” she spoke once again, now mimicking Sarah’s voice as well, “I want you to hold me, just like you’ve dreamed… big brother.” --- Now in the dead of night, Inverse darted across the road as several patrols chased after him. “Geez, when will this fucks learn that they just don’t stand a chance?” he cackled as he froze several water particles in the air before chucking them a series of fire hydrants that lined the street.“ATTENTION! FUGITIVE” one of the officers shouted from his car via a megaphone as his partner drove the road, “IF YOU DO NOT STAND DOWN WE WILL HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE BUT TO YOU FORCE!” Inverse smirked, “By all means big boys,” he cackled as each of the fire hydrants exploded around the cop cars, disbursing steam around them which froze into a solid block of ice with a single snap of Inverse’ fingers. A female cop on the other side of the block slammed hard on the breaks, sucking her teeth as she grabbed her radio, “This is Officer Claire Elsman, car 4219” she declared into the radio, “Sammy do you read me?” “Loud and clear,” Sampson spoke back, coughing just a bit, “what’s your status?” “All down Downsview has been frozen solid,” she explained to him, “five squad cars trapped inside sir. Requesting back up.” “Roger, our specialists she be arriving soon,” Sampson told her, “hang tight, do not pursue any further. Understood?” “Yeah I got it,” she let out a sigh and shut the radio off, “Geez, just what the hell are these specialists thinking letting the city go to shit like this?” Back on the other side of the block, Inverse stood to admiring his work while letting out a satisfied sigh, “If I were an art critic, I’d put this in a museum.” He laughed than huffed, “Though admittedly, it does get boring when chaos is so easy to commit.” He kicked a bit of dirt then turned to walk away, “is there no one out there daring enough to challenge my work?” “How about you look right in front of you!” Shiore called to him as she and Alex road up on the X-Cyclone, Shiore hoping of and staring him down, “But first, you can change my friend back to normal while you still live.” Alex gasped, raising an eyebrow at Shiore as she shut of her bike, “Friend?” she thought to herself, “That’s a word I didn’t expect from her.” “Ah yes, now things have gotten interesting.” Inverse chuckled as he balled up his fists, “Fine, I’ll accept your terms and do as you say. But only if you can catch me, got that?” Shiore narrowed her gaze pulled out her gaia memory as her driver materialized around her waist before hitting the button below the label of her memory, “YUKI!” it screamed as she slammed it into her driver, switching it into its active position. “YUKI!” A blizzard roared over Shiore, breaking away as she stood sword drawn in her standard samurai esc white rider form, “Deal.” Within a single blink of an instant, Shiore darted over to Inverse who merely stood there with open arms waiting for her. “As expected… this is going to be a fun ride.” {End of Part A} ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- {Start of Part B} In a white room in the back of the police station, Ashley sat table length across from a man in his mid thirties who was wearing a blue prison jumpsuit with his brown hair cut short. His hazel eyes looking at her warmly with a calm grin. A file lay in front of Ashley with a plate of cookies between her and the man. “So, Roy Lawrence was it?” she asked him, raising an eyebrow as she began to look through the file. The man nodded, “Correct.” “Reasons for being convicted, arson,” she looked him over, “but that isn’t the whole story is it?” she closed the file and slipped it away, “Look, the may have wiped your file clean but I know who you are,” she narrowed her gaze, “Flame.” Roy held his hands up, “You’ve caught me officer, I’m was once a monster. But that’s all in the past, all I want to do is serve my time.” “Fair enough, I was much the same not too long ago,” she clasped her hands together, placing them on the table before leaning forward, “I had a feeling you were a reasonable man by looking at you, that’s why I just came here to ask a few questions.” “Alright then,” he grinned softly before gesturing towards her, “ask away.” “You transformed into Flame using a gaia memory,” she jumped right to the point, “we wanna know where you got it.” “Gaia memory, so that’s what they’re called?” he looked at her, “I’m guessing you’re familiar with them then?” “I’ve used one, I too was a monster along side you,” she glared at him, “now tell me where you got the damn thing.” “Ah, I see,” Flame raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair, “But if you had one yourself, wouldn’t you know where they all came from?” “NO! OKAY!” She snapped at him, slamming her fists down on the table, “I was conned into it! A shitty friend of mine got it and told me to steal shit for him! That’s it!” she began to shiver, holding her head as she looked down to the the floor, “I’m just trying to get myself out… okay?!” Roy’s expression softened, once he saw that the girl’s tears were now hitting the table. “Sorry, I didn’t me to upset you,” he let out a sigh, taking one of the cookies and biting into it, “Truth is I know just about as much as you do. A guy came up to me on the street, told me he’d pay me, then once I ended up here I lost all contact with him. The number he gave me was shut off and everything, like he disappeared into thin air.” Ashley’s eyes widened, turning her attention upward to look Roy in the eye, “And… you're sure about this?” she sniffled some as she wiped her eyes. Roy nodded, “I have no reason to lie, which is why you won’t get any more information out of me. Simply put, it just doesn’t exist.” “Okay…” she gulped as she got up and gathered up the files and made her way out, “Sorry for wasting your time.” “Oh it wasn’t a waste at all,” Roy chuckled, “not many people here treat me like a human being. You were the first in a long time. Though I wonder…” he let out a sigh, leaning back in his chair once again, “can any of us dopants really go back to being human?” “Human is just a word,” Ashley balled her hand into a fist, “figure out what it means for yourself.” With that, she opened the door and slammed it behind her. Firmly slapping her hand on her face as she slumped into the door. “So?” Marcoh called to her as he stood with his hand on the frame of the door, “anything?” Ashley shook her head, “Nothing,” she eyed a glass cell that contained a muscle bound man in a ragged jumpsuit, his black head of hair shaved off into a buzzcut, “What about him?” “I wouldn’t waste your time,” Marcoh glared at the man in cell, “anything that comes out of his mouth isn’t worth the time.” Ashley blinked, looking over to Marcoh with a raised brow, “You seem rather ticked at him… what did he do?” “He sent Alex’s mother to the grave,” he told her simply, “that’s all I care to say on that.” “So, who else is left?” Ashley asked. “Come,” Marcoh guided her down the hall to a bulkhead door, following the light hum of an off key melody. He came to the door and casually slid open a small letter box sized slit, “Speak as you wish, she won’t be able to hear you from here.” Ashley looked into the slit to see a plain white room with a single chair in the center of it. On that chair was a woman with long ratter purple hair who had been tied to it by the straight jacket that restrained it. “Geez,” Ashley shivered, “does no one give this woman conditioner?” “Mikey…” she sang between humming, “my sweet little Mikey… who was it that took you away from me?” --- Back downtown, Inverse was thrown into a nearby building, debris scattering everywhere as a pair of Shiore’s ice clones formed around him. The white rider descended onto a stray pillar in her upgraded Shira form, the crescent moon on her chest slightly fuller than the last time she fought in that state as she gripped her twin chained swords and stared down the rouge dopant.“I’m putting an end to this little game of yours,” she snarled at him, “right now!” Alex roared down the street on the X-Cyclone, already in Star Runner form gritting her teeth, “At this rate she’s gonna kill him.” “YO! Super Star!” Tara called out as she glided down and matched Alex’s pace, “Saw the crash from above, Ice Queen go loco?” Alex nodded, “You could say that.” Tara’s ear perked up, turning over to look at Alex, “Did your voice get higher?” “Is that really important right now?” Alex retorted. “Fair enough,” Tara turned her gaze forward again, “I’ll speed ahead and cover her.” she threw in before gunning on the throttle of her glider and soaring forward at a speed that broke the sound barrier with relative ease. “Hopefully that bought some time,” Alex gulped before speeding ahead herself. Back over by Shiore and Inverse, Shiore recklessly slammed her fist down on the armored wolf head that now made up her driver and pumped it forward three times, “SHIRA! MAXIMUM DRIVE!” Shiore gripped both her swords as well over one hundred ice blades split off from them, “Frozen Tombstone,” she snarled before thrusting her blades forward at Inverse, hurling all of her conjured blades at the dopant who had currently been struggling to pick himself up. Inverse cracked his neck forward, smirking as the blade flew at him. The second before they were bound to make contact he clapped his hands together resulting in each ice blade to change into highly pressurized steam that erupted outward instead of stabbing inward, knocking Shiore backward as Tara flew down to catch her. “Dammit,” Shiore coughed as she squinted to try and see through the mist, “of all the…” “Hey, you’re still alive right?” Tara forced a chuckle to lighten the move. Shiore looked up and glared at Tara, pushing her away as she regained her footing, “Exactly, and so is he.” As the mist cleared Shiore readied her blades, wincing some as she felt a sharp pain in her left arm, “Come on, where the hell are you!” she gritted her teeth and scanned the area. Before the smoke could completely clear, a loud drilling noise shout out from below her. The ice rider quickly looked down with a gasp as Inverse spun out from the ground beneath her in a drilling motion. “RURURU!” He cackled as he shot up behind her, ready to jab her with one of his open hands which were currently as sharp as blade. “FIRE BREATHER!” A voice roared from Inverse’s side, Cole’s Rock Smasher coming in at the last second to smack Inverse across the road to Carter who stood charging a massive fire ball, “CATCH!” On cue, Carter formed his hands close together and shot the fire ball upward into Inverse’s flight bath. Inverse’s heart skipped a beat, then regained his smirk. With a snap of his fingers the fireball changed into water allowing him to phase into it unharmed. This however caused a smirk to appear on Cole’s own masked face. “Not so fast slick,” Cole slapped Shiore on the shoulder, “You’re up freezer,” he said before leaping into the air smasher in hand while Inverse was still in the ball of water. Shiore acted fast, quickly pulling one of her kunai and hurling it at the ball of water causing it to freeze upon contact with Inverse still partially inside. “Perfect.” Cole pulled his gaia memory out from his driver, then slammed it into the head of his smasher as the blade flipped around for axe mode. “ROCK! MAXIMUM DRIVE!” “Batter up!” Cole called out eagerly before giving the block of ice and good hard smack into the ground with his axe, rupturing the ground some on impact. Upon contact with the ground, the block of ice shattered along with several of Inverse’ bones. Without missing a beat, Tara whipped out her flail and after a few good spins formed a twister that flew over to Inverse and acted as a cage to trap him inside. “I think we can wrap this up,” Cole held his hand up to Shiore awaiting a high five, “Don’t you?” "Not yet,” Shiore narrowed her gaze at the dopant, stepping towards him before chucking a kunai into each of his wrists and ankles. “GAH!” Cried inverse as the blades ran themselves into his flesh. “We had a deal,” Shiore glared at him, “now act on it.” --- Ashley paced around the bound purple haired woman whose constantly rolled from side to side, her neck contorting in an unnatural fashion as she did so. “Zix Crater,” Ashley glared to her finally making a paused in front of the former dopant, “or would you prefer I call you Major?” “Mikey…” Zix muttered under her breath, “my dearest Mikey… they said you ran away…” Ashley gritted her teeth, “SHUT YOUR BABBLING!” she slammed her fist against the wall, the clearly messed up woman tilting her head up with a raised brow, “You might have fooled them, but I know what you really are.” She dug into her pocket and pulled out a familiar looking gaia memory, a dull purple one with a large M formed with two crescent moons, “So tell me, just where exactly did you get this from?” Zix just stared at her, her head falling back as her eyes rolled to the back of her head, “Sparkie sparkie for my Mikey…” “Fine,” Ashley grunted as she stormed passed Zix and headed over to the door, slipping the memory into her back pocket, “Stay here and rot for all I care.” Ashley’s ear perked up once she heard the ruffling of fabric. She turned back to Zix only to find her scratching the back of her leg with her foot. “Mikey…” her eyes began to space themselves apart, “my leggy itches…” Ashley sucked her teeth then stormed out of the room, “Mindless dolt,” she commented before slamming the door behind her. Once she was gone, Zix recentered her eyes and sighed, “Finally…” she then took her right foot and ran it up her left pant leg, clenching her toes around something as if she was grabbing onto an object, “thought that brat would never leave.” --- Downtown, while the police were cleaning up the scene, Alex finally reached the others and darted towards them cancelling her transformation in the process. Cole and Carter’s eyes widened slightly upon seeing her while Tara’s jaw hit the ground.“Shiore wait!” she called to her, “he doesn’t deserve this!” “SHUT IT!” Shiore snapped at her, all the other riders falling silent as she stared the dopant. She narrowed her gaze before aiming her blade at his throat, “Now fix him… like you promised!” Inverse looked at her for a good long while then after a while of silence a small cackled broke from his lips, “You think I ever had any intention of doing that?” he spat up a bit of his own blood, “Even if I could, what purpose would it serve me?” Shiore’s eyes shot open, “What did you say?” Inverse cackled, holding his still contact gaia memory in his hand, “What I’m saying is, that boyfriend of yours is stuck like that!” Shiore snarled, grabbing her swords tightly together before thrusting them down hard onto Tara’s wind cage in an attempt to break through it to end Inverse once and for. “SHIORE!” Alex grabbed her by the waist, going for her driver and breaking her transformation by force. She then threw her to the ground, holding her there to look her in the eye, “How many times must I tell you! He isn’t worth it!” Shiore panted, looking into Alex’s eyes before looking over to Inverse then back to the girl above her. Her eyes finally steadied, narrowed as she met the other girl’s gaze, “Fine,” she said coldly before shoving Alex off her, “have it your way then.” She climbed to her feet, her left arm hurting once again as she stood up. The snow girl instinctively holding it with her right hand. “Shiore, wait,” Alex called to her, going for her right shoulder and touching it with one finger before his comrade violently pulled herself away. “FORGET IT!” She gritted her teeth together as she began to shake, “I’m going home… so just forget it.” Alex’s hand fell to her side, her heart sinking as she watched Shiore leave. After a few moments of awkward silence, Tara let out a small whistle, “Geez, she’s more butt hurt about this whole thing than you are.” She looked to Alex. “Just let her be,” Alex let out a sigh before turning to Inverse, “we should focus on getting him behind bars.” “Excuse me,” Officer Elsman cleared her throat as she came up to them from her patrol car, “with all due respect, we at the police department appreciate what you all do for us.” She looked at them all as a street lamp fell to her side, “But just ONCE do you think you could take down one of these nut jobs without leveling half the city?!” Alex blushed, scratching the back of her head as she forced an awkward laugh as police sirens filled the air, “Uh… we’ll try better next time?” --- Back at the prison, Ashley let out a heavy sigh as she grabbed her bag, “Sorry I couldn’t get anything out of them… guess I’ll need to find another way to work off my hours huh?”“That’s perfectly alright,” Marcoh told her, “you did all that you could, it’s not your fault they’re all impossible to get information out of.” Ashley shot a tired glared up to him, “And you are just patronizing me?” “Of course not,” Marcoh went to place a hand on her shoulder, only to startled suddenly by a large crash that shook the entirety of the prison. Ashley and Marcoh both gulped, looking down the hallway towards the cells were the crash came from. The roar of a beast echoed from within followed by gunshots before finally before ended by the screech of sharp claws on metal. Without thinking, Marcoh and Ashley both darted down the hall to the dopant containment room. Their eyes shot open as all the glass cells were shattered open with their occupant torn apart inside. Ashley shook as she slowly turned to the thick bulkhead door that had contained Zix which had now been torn open from the inside. She frantically searched her hand through her back pocket for the Major memory she had used as leverage only to come up with nothing but a bus token and lint. The memory was gone. A stray week cough caught Marcoh’s attention, he looking over to find Farcity on the floor covered in her own blood and slashed across the throat. He quickly went to her side, using his sleeve to try and stop the bleed, “Farcity, what happened here?” he spoke to her, trying his best to remain calm but still finding himself shaking. “The… prisoner…” Farcity muttered weakly, gasping for air. Marcoh placed a finger to her lips, “Don’t talk, just… do your best to show me…” he took in a big gulp. Farcity quivered, beginning to become pale as she pointed upwards. Marcoh followed the gesture to the ceiling to find a massive hole torn open where three feet of steel and cement used to be. He reached for his radio and took in a big gulp before speaking, “Attention all units… we have a breach… emergency medical team requested at central prison block.” High above the city clinging to one of its tallest skyscrapers, a large violet humanoid bear in black demonic armor cackled as it stared down to the unsuspecting masses below. “Oh my dearest Mikey,” Zix’s voice sang from the beast’s jaws, “soon we shall have our revenge,” she gripped an assortment of files in her claws, “just you wait… little brother.” {Insert Ending Theme: “Blood Teller” by Faylan} Next time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme Time in prison has given Zix the chance to think things over, and now that she’s free she has only one thing on her mind. With Shiore isolating herself from everyone, and Alex trying to juggle several issues at once is there even a hope at stopping the bloodthirsty monster now on the prowl? All will be decided when Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme continues in Episode 9: The Major’s Revenge Yuki, won’t you let anyone in? |
Act Five: Prelude
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey all, guncannon109 here. I know it’s been awhile since I’ve touched the world of Xtreme and I believe you all deserve an explanation. Life happened and I began to feel as though I should just drop this fic all together as I am a much different person now from when I first started it. That was what I honestly believed and I carelessly left it in the dirt to pursue other projects. However you never fall out of love with your first creation and Xtreme was and always will be mine, so leaving it in it’s unfinished state just felt wrong to me, the series and most importantly all you readers. So here’s the deal, we are going to refocus. Since I know it’s been awhile, A LONG WHILE, I will offer two options. You can either A go back and re-read the first four acts OR if your new to this series or just want to refresh yourself, you can back and re-read the trials and adventures of Alex and company in full. Regardless of which one you choose, I will be providing a summary of all four acts along with the Magika Crossover and Xtreme’s summer special along with an in retrospect 20/20 Thought post at the end of each summary for each segment of this beast of a project. I hope you all enjoy the ride.
Kamen Rider Xtreme - Act Five: End Game is about to start! Act 1: Dopant Hunter Alex is gifted a locked case containing the X Driver and six gaia memories by Police Chief Gordon Sampson and Officer Johnathan Marcoh requested by his mother Alice in her will. After an encounter with the Spite Dopant, Alex dawns the X Driver and becomes Kamen Rider Xtreme. Spite as a member of an organization known as META sets their sights on Alex. Spite, as ordered by her commander Vainglory sends her cat Cheshire as the Gorge Dopant to reclaim the X Driver. Suspicions rise from Sampson and Alex's best friend Cole as the rider begins acting strange. Alex is hospitalized as a result of an encounter with Gorge, Sampson questioning him after finding the gaia memories in his possession. Upon determining his innocence, Sampson tells Alex everything and once the Gorge dopant is dealt with Alex is appointed as an agent of the law. As a result of Spite's failure, Vainglory turns to his second in command Fury who enlist his own agent Fury to deal with the Kamen Rider. Alex is momentarily defeated by Flame after Sarah Gardner becomes caught up in the fray, Alex being able to take down Flame after a change in strategy, earning the respect of Flame in the process. Alex is given both the X Cyclone motorbike and the title of Kamen Rider by Sampson. After the Flame ordeal, Alex and Cole are invited by Madison Tyler to a day at the waterpark after Ashley Haze finds herself with a surplus of tickets. Sarah Gardner is not pleased with Alex's presence but gets over it quick. The water park is attacked by the water controlling Shift Dopant, who had also stolen a valuable necklace (the Eye of Luna) along with many other priceless pieces of artwork before hand. Shift gets away momentarily but it's quickly uncovered that Ashley herself is the one behind it all, needing the money to support her father. Shift is defeated and Ashley arrested with Marcoh informing Alex that with hope, she'll get out early on good behavior. Things simmer down until Greg Walker, the man who killed Alex's mother, is released from prison. Alex is warned from both Marcoh and Sampson to not pursue him but does so anyway, learning that Greg is the powerful Shredder Dopant. After Alex survives the encounter, he runs into Tara Archer who gives him a pep talk while Cole, Madison and Sarah learn the truth of who Alex is. Madison falling head over heels for him as a result. With reassurance from his friends, Alex charges off to confront the Shredder and is able to defeat him with the help of Marcoh, Sampson and the rest of the police force. 20/20 Thoughts Honestly I was fairly impressed with how well Act One held up in my eyes. Now obviously the quality of it is a mess since I didn’t edit squat back when I wrote it, but it was fun to write and the low stacks of it makes it fun to go back to. Are there things I would change? Hell yeah, but as it is I’m happy with it. Movie Taisen Zeta In france, a Wizard based Kamen Rider named Magika mourns over the Ringed Wizard Haruto Souma forgetting her. She is greeted by a local boy named Pierre who is quickly taken by her, the boy turning out to be a gate right under her nose. That night, she has nightmares of her inner phantom Pegasus being attacked by a phantom named Voodoo and four others based on Magika’s elemental styles. The five phantoms break off from her. Magika hunts them down one by one before finally coming face to face with Voodoo himself. The battle is brutal and Voodoo manages to take Magika’s life, only for her to be revived by Pierre pushing through his despair and becoming a wizard himself. Voodoo is about to gear up for another fight but senses a strong power elsewhere and chases after it. Meanwhile back in Ardent City, a powerful dopant uses the images of Flame, Shift and Shredder to go after Alex. Alex’s only salvation coming from the return of Joel Revant, the Inertia Dopant and former leader of META. The two talk and with Inertia’s help Alex is able to defeat the dopant behind it all, revealing himself to be the Illusion Dopant. The chaos appears to be over, however the one in possession of the Illusion Memory is none other than the Voodoo Phantom and after cravely injuring Alex he escapes through a portal baiting Alex to follow. Alex leaps through the portal and finds himself atop Ardent Secondary School, Voodoo cackling as Magika arrives to fight the phantom. Magika uses her magic to heal Alex and translate everything he says to negate the language barrier between them, Voodoo transporting them to a rock quarry for their final fight. Voodoo consumes the Illusion memory and ascends into a violet warlock form and unleashes zombified forms of Flame, Shift and Shredder along with the defeated Phantoms. Working together, Alex and Magika defeat the zombie minions and reach Voodoo. Pierre teleports in to help as the newly awakened Kamen Rider Sorcerer, giving Magika and Alex a pair of rings that grant Magika her final form (Showtime) and grants Alex the ability to use his Star Runner, Blade Kicker and Blast Diver forms at the same time. Voodoo is defeated, Pierre proposes to Magika, an image of Alice appears before Alex and a yellow wind based rider appears to watch over the fight with a smirk eager to get involved. 20/20 Thoughts Zeta was fun to work on as a collab with Tokunation user KamenRiderOOO but honestly I feel like I phoned my segment in a little. OOO stole the show with Magika with moments that had me on the edge of my seat and that final confrontation with Voodoo made my heart drop like you wouldn’t believe. Seriously, give OOO the praise he deserves. He also does custom figures if that’s suits your fancy. He’s an awesome guy so spam his inbox and tell him old Gunny sent you. Act 2 Wind and Earth Word spreads of a pair of bear like dopants, Major and Minor, who attack female singers with beautiful voices as Jeane Evonna comes to the station to ask for protection for his daughter Thea who has a performance that night. Alex is placed on guard duty but as the dopant twins attack the stage, Thea Evonna is revealed to be Tara Archer, and with her yellow bird partner Kree becomes Kamen Rider Gale. Alex and Tara but heads, Madison confiding in Tara about her anxiety about asking out Alex by informing her she's never even kissed anyone. Tara solves this by stealing Madison's first kiss, Madison too flustered to let anyone know. Alex and Tara join forces and take on the twin Dopants. Minor losing his life in defense of his sister with Major being arrested after grief and anger overwhelm her. After Zix is arrested, Madison confesses her feelings to Alex and the two start dating. Fury, after witnessing his many pawns fail and fearing Vainglory catching wind of his plans to overthrow him, attacks the riders head on and captures Alex, Kree and Madison. Joel Revant, aka the Inertia Dopant, reappears and gifts Tara the Rock Driver and it sparks a rescue effort from her, Sarah and Cole. Sarah attempts to use the Rock Driver but her unstable emotions result in it failing to bond with her, and a direct brutal attack from Fury leads Sarah to pass it onto Cole. Cole becomes Kamen Rider Rock and Fury is pushed into a retreat as Alex, Tara and Cole stand as one. The damage from Fury was dealt however as the hospitalized Sarah learns she is paralyzed from the waist down and may never walk again. That is however until Fury comes to her with a way out in the form of the Reptilian gaia memory, offering to plant it inside her and restore her legs. This is a deal that Sarah accepts. As the memory grows within Sarah, Fury attacks in his upgrades Ruthless form which holds the power of previously defeated dopants. Fortune is not on the rider's side however, after Sarah confesses her feelings towards Madison, the memory inside her goes berserk and consumes her. Fury determines he has done enough damage and retreats as he figures Reptilian will take care of the riders for him. That is when the one thing no one expects occurs and Madison jumps into the fray, becoming impaled by Reptilian’s tail which allows Sarah to come back to her senses. Within Sarah's moment of clarity, she asks Alex to end things to which he regretfully agrees. As Sarah crumbles to dust and scatters to the wind, Inertia appears and offers a way to save Madison but at a cost of her memory of the past three years. Alex accepts and upon realizing his failure, casts aside the title of Kamen Rider. 20/20 Thoughts So where do I begin with this… Personally, I could have done this a lot better. Madison could’ve had a bigger spine when she was captured by Fury and I am still to this day kicking myself for falling ass backwards into the bury your gays trope. Plus, while I fully stand by the quality of An Untimely Farewell on its own, it is a gut puncher that I kinda feel broke the series in a way I wasn’t prepared to deal with. If I were to rewrite this, I would rethink dumping two of my best and most well liked characters at the same time for the sake of drama and shock value. To make a long story short, I felt this act was great as I was writing it but my god it hurts the most in retrospect. Certainly something I would reconsider if I had to do it over again. Act 3: Ice and Fire Cole and Tara continue fighting dopants as Alex deludes himself with his new normal. A new student, Shiore Fubuki, quickly puts together that Cole and Tara are Rock and Gale and falsely concludes the identity of Alex. Isolating Alex from his friends via occupying them with ice clone attacks elsewhere in the city, Shiore ambushes Alex and revealing herself as Kamen Rider Yuki declares her intent to kill him. Cole intervenes and Shiore leaves in a huff, the gaia memories that Tara forced into Alex's bag proving her deduction wrong. Cole smacks Alex around for being a sulk, Ashley returning to give Alex a pep talk after Cole leaves in a fit of anger in pursuit of Shiore. Fury corners Shiore and attempts to recruit her, she refusing resulting in Fury going on the attack. Tara and Cole rush to her aid, Tara sending Kree to fetch Alex who rushes over with a new resolve and a promise to never fail in protecting anyone again. One Fury is sent running by the four riders, Shiore explains that the three riders Rock, Gale and Yuki once belonged to three great clans Iwa, Kazumaki, and Shirayuki and that a fourth clan, Kazai exists and its rider has been given a new form. Ryu-O, the rider of fire, and that she aims to end him for destroying what remained of the Shirayuki clan. Time was on their side however as Rylee Damon, Carter Damon successfully finishes the activation test for the Ryu-O driver, Vainglory tasking Fury to duel him as a test with a corrosive spike being injected into his arm as motivation. The duel between Fury and Ryu-O breaks into the city, catching the attention of Shiore with the help of her Gaia Memory Radiation (GMR) Scanner. Alex, Cole, Tara and Shiore join forces and travel to the fight with motivation to take out both Fury and Ryu-O, Tara confiding in Cole that she has memory gaps as a result of a freak hurricane that engulfed the city seven years ago. The riders arrive to the sight of Ryu-O hacking off Fury's corroded arm before burning him alive with the flame emitters in the palms of his hands. Shiore goes berserk and recklessly attacks, Ryu-O overpowering her due to his more stable emotional state. The other riders use their combined strength to fend off Ryu-O and break his transformation which knocks him out cold. This earns the respect and gratitude of Shiore who vows to help them so long as they in turn help her. Tara meanwhile is on edge while Carter is brought in for questioning as she seems to recognize his face from somewhere. Carter is brought into the station for questioning but Marcoh and Sampson do not get far as Vainglory attacks from the shadows to retrieve Carter and the Ryu-O driver. Interia arrives at META HQ, Vainglory and Spite taking him in. With the station being repaired and no leads being found, the riders are asked by Sampson and Marcoh to take some time to breath, Tara roping Shiore and Cole to with her to her father's cafe the Cat's Eye while Alex does some research on a recurring dream he's been having about five riders and the end of the world. A mysterious man named Tsukasa arrives in Ardent City while another man named Kaito steals a valuable case from Marcoh and Sampson that was left to them by Alice. Tsukasa meets Alex in the library and informs him he is a rider himself named Decade, the two having a discussion while getting some air as the Glitch Dopant Attacks. Elsewhere, Tara is heartbroken to see that he father's cafe location had been moved with Hikari Studio's in its place. After some violent words from Tara the trio is invited in for coffee, which is interrupted by a call to action from Marcoh. The four riders and Decade corner the Glitch Dopant just as he fries the X Driver, with Carter arriving to take him offline as a result of his failure to stick to orders. Carter arriving sparks conflict among the riders which results in Tsukasa deeming them unworthy of being Kamen Riders at all. He declares war on Carter, Cole, Tara and Shiore, a conflict so devastating that it resets the world. Alex as a result wakes to a world with no riders, Cole and Tara not knowing anything, Sarah being alive, Carter being the older brother of Tara and Shiore nowhere is sight. After a freak out in class upon realizing what exactly is happening, Sarah lends him her aid by locating Shiore for, noting that she's a transfer student at an elite prep school. Alex bolts to find her, explaining that he knows about the four clans which thankfully is still something that exists in this timeline. Cole, Carter and Tara naturally cluster together due to Alex's influence with Kaito finding them and bringing them to Alex. Decade launches another attack on Alex and Shiore but it is thwarted by Natsumi and Yuusuke, Kaito making it to Alex's side with Tara, Cole and Carter just in time. Decade challenges Alex to one final fight, dispatching clones of the eight heisei riders that came before him to occupy the others as Cole, Tara, Carter and Shiore regain their powers. The four elemental riders fighting side by side sparks a reaction from the case Kaito stole, its contents breaking free in the form of the Xtreme Memory. It sores to Alex and connects to the X Driver, fixing it and the world sending Alex to and Tsukasa to a white void where Alice Darwin is waiting for them. She asks them what they wish to do, and they both tell her they will fight to protect what they believe in. Alice smiles and wishes them luck, telling Alice she loves him and giving him the name Xtreme before sending them back to the original timeline before Glitch broke the X Driver. Alex, Cole, Tara, Shiore, Carter, Tsukasa, Kaito, Natsumi and Yuusuke confront the glitch Dopant together, Alex achieving his final form which gives the riders the power they need to finally defeat him. Victorious, Tsukasa's group departs, but not before telling Alex. "That Driver... I have seen only one other like it. It is owned by a strong rider, and one I respect. I hope that in time you can become just as strong as them." 20/20 Thoughts Definitely my most ambitious act and one I am still proud of to this day, lack of editing notwithstanding. Thinking back to the events I still look back fondling to a lot of it. If I were to change anything I would trim a few things down or just format everything better and.. You know, maybe not rip several key scenes right from the Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya? Honestly, I’m shocked I did that and even more shocked more people didn’t call me out on it. I’m gonna let you all in on a dirty secret, this was the act that I wanted to get rid of Sarah and Madison for to write as it was all planned out before I wrote the first chapter and… well Sarah and Madison weren’t involved, in fact they weren’t even in the series bible at all and they just came into existence while I was writing everything. Yeah you could argue that their lose was useful in putting Alex in a depressed funk and lead to a lot of really good scenes but I should have greatly reconsidered whether or not it was the right decision to stick to my guns or consider an alternate path that didn’t involve something so brutal and super cliche. Either way though, the Decade arc was a key storyline I had built the series around and I am so very glad it was as well received as it was. You guys rock, really you do. Xtreme Special - Summer Wars Fury’s brother Anton Maverick is freed from prison by a mysterious woman, receiving a driver from her along with the Vulpergiest memory. Alex and the other riders spent a summer afternoon at the city waterpark, running into Madison who does not remember him. They chat but soon go their separate ways just as a water based Kamen Rider attacks Tara and Shiore from the water named Lurentia. Alex and Cole are about to jump in when the electric rider Gamma-Ray catches them by surprise.The quarrel is only stopped by the arrival of Kamen Rider Fata, to which Alex is stunned speechless believing he had seen a ghost. Meanwhile, a couple kamen rider duo of wood and steel named Corodoron and Slicer attack Carter while he’s shopping but manages to fend them off. The riders all cluster together, Vulpergiest making his grand entrance as the fake Fata betrays the riders, swiping the Xtreme Memory from Alex. Vulpergiest declares war upon our heroes before unleashing an attack so devastating that it traps them underground. Alex and Shiore take on Gamma-Ray, Shiore activating her Shira form with Alex taking her yuki memory to dawn the temp combo Star Yuki which allows them to take down the electric whip master. Tara and Cole find themselves trapped with Slicer and Corodoron, Cole and Tara finding the strength to overcome them. The riders make their way to the surface, Carter facing off against Laurentia in a sudden death duel as Marcoh and Sampson block off Ardent Tower which the evil riders have taken as a command point. Alex and Shiore charge through the blockade, Vulpergiest attaching the Xtreme Memory to his spear and begins unleashing a wave of nightmare energy upon the city. Gamma-ray blocks Alex and Shiore’s ascent, but the electric rider is intercepted by the debut of Kamen Rider Jayd who offers to deal with Gamma-Ray herself as a favor between riders. Alex and Shiore combine to form Kamen Rider Zoltan to defeat Vulpergiest before he lays waste to the city with Madison cheering them from the side lines, having bolted there from her parents’ car after seeing the battle from afar. Vulpergiest is defeated and peace to the city restored. The fake Fata escapes and casts her gaia memory and driver aside to reveal the Desire dopant memory, changing into a succubus, informing an orange ring on her finger there is more to come. Note: This marked the first appearance of Kamen Rider Jayd, now Dungeon Crawler Jayd. None Kamen Rider based reboot is currently in the works. 20/20 Thoughts I’ll be honest, I had fun designing the evil riders but I found myself getting bored with this special rather quickly. All in all I felt that I needed to have solely to have it and I’m pretty sure it shows. It wasn’t all bad though, some scenes were fun and interesting write like Alex meeting Madison at the waterpark they had first met at and showcasing Jayd for the first time ever was a blast. Even so, I think it shows that this wasn’t something I put my A Game into. I just kinda wanted it to be finished and done with… Oh and I ripped off the birth of Omnimon in this dammit! Thankfully I was called out on that one, but still that is unacceptable. I am a professional I swear. Oh! And the guy who got stuck to Alex’s bike was the main character from Kamen Rider Exor, also from KamenRiderOOO but I completely forgot to make that credit. Again, super professional. Xtreme Act 4: Bonds A new semester begins, Alex meeting Sarah's older brother Vince at her Crave after school to find that his father has returned after so many years. Alex is pissed but after prodding from everyone decides that giving Jason a chance might actually be a good idea. This turns out to be the wrong choice as, after an attack by the dopant named Crave and his rouge faction Genesis, Jason reveals himself to be Vainglory. Madison meets a musician named Larc Pearlman with unknown ties to Genesis and the two start dating. Ashley checks up on her while extending a hand to Alex as a sign that she has changed for the better. As Carter attempts to mend bridges between him and Shiore, as well as make up for lost time with Tara, Ms Seraphina takes up shop as a teacher at West Ardent Secondary School. It is soon revealed to the audience but not to the riders that she is the Desire Dopant, a partner of Crave who turns out to be Vince Gardner and Rylee's cat Cheshire is shown to have been Kat Swindler, an agent of the Desire Dopant. A few filler chapters build tension such as Time-Bomb, which after strapping a bomb to Carter and a young girl named Becky gives him the Phoenix memory and he upgrades to his final form Phoenix Ryu-O with the help of the dragon spirit of fire Ryujin. Its after a battle with time-bomb alongside Carter that Alex learns he can only use the Xtreme memory when all five riders are working toward the same goal. Carter offers to take the other riders to META HQ but is shock when he finds his normal way in has been destroyed. The cyber dopant then locks Carter and Shiore in a d&d style pocket dimension where they are forced to work together. Alex, Tara and Cole try fight off Cyber in the real world to release their allies. Shiore learns to trust Carter and the two break out, Cyber being defeated by the riders with Cole obtaining the Biter memory from one of Cyber's minions. Tara's memories are returned to her suddenly, knocking her out due to the shock. Before the riders can take in Cyber for questioning, META introducing into combat their X2 Troopers, soldiers using copies of Xtremes Star, Blade and Blast memories. They thank Carter for his help before informing him he is being discharge due to treason. Carter protests, and the other riders help him in fighting them when the troopers open fire on him. The inverse dopant turns Alex into a girl, Cole helping Tara and Carter reconcile as Cole gives Carter a place to stay in his family's building. Ashley investigates the past dopants with Marcoh, leading her to Zix Crator the Major Dopant for answers. She regains the Shift memory and dangles the Major memory in front of Zix, hoping to get something out of her. Ashley's attempts fail and after the Inverse Dopant is defeated, Zix steals her memory back and breaks from prison swearing to take revenge on the riders. 20/20 Thoughts Act Four is a mess, plain and simple. Various personal issues kept me from keeping focus and I kept throwing various ideas at the board to see what stuck and very little of it actually did. If I were to go back, I would liven up the tone a lot, simplifying the plot alot and drop the Inverse Arc entirely or just have it so Alex goes back to normal at the end. Either way, I would make sure to stick to my original and have the act end with Major’s Revenge instead of just having it lead into it. All in all, Act Four is just a whole lot of waffling around without much forward progression happening. Arcs like the introduction and Time-Bomb are really good and still hold up, but Cyber could have been done so much better and Inverse needed to be more fun if I was going to keep it at all. Looking back, it’s just a mismanaged mess that almost made me lose interest in this series all together until I worked out how to salvage it. |
Act Five Episode 10
Xtreme Act 5: Episode 35 The Major's Revenge Alex sat on a stool in a freshly cleaned hospital room, his eyes following the light that was being shown in them by a doctor of japanese descent. Sampson stood beside the doctor, with Cole and Ashley sitting patiently on set of chairs off to the side. "Well doc, what do you think?" Sampson asked, his arms crossed as he gave a good look at the boy in front of him, "Is he gonna be alright?" "Oh yes, all the effects of the dopant's attacks have seemed to have faded," the doctor said with a nod, "Just like a bad cold." "So, Inverse was just spewing a lot of crap about it being permanent?" Alex asked as his eyes adjusted from the exposure to light, holding closed for a moment out of reflex. "Looks like it," Sampson smiled, messing up the boy's hair a bit, "good to have you back to normal kid." "Kind of a shame though, you did make such a useless lesbian," Ashley teased him, "Now, you're just useless." "What's that supposed to mean?!" Alex called out, rubbing his eye. "That as a girl your incompetence was cute, but as a guy its just sad," Ashley teased him some more, sticking her tongue out at him. Alex's face flushed bright red, balling his hand into a fist, "Why I outta!" "Dude, she's messing with you!" Cole laughed, raising a hand in Ashley's defense. "I know, I just... Feel personally attacked," Alex crosses his arms with a pout. Ashley smirked and raised a brow, "Wounded even?" Alex glared at her, "Hurt... Ash." "Well, as fun as hearing the two of you bicker is, I gotta get going," Cole stretched as he got up, "Gordon, make sure Alex gets home safe?" Sampson nodded with a grin, "Sure thing Cole." "Say hi to Tara for me," Ashley waved as Cole went over to the door. "Will do," Cole waved back as he headed out, making sure the door was closed behind him. Alex paused for a moment, gawking at Sampson as he cocked up his brow, "Since when were you two on a first name basis?" "Don't we have more pressing matters Alex?" Sampson looked at him, raising a brow of his own, "I already have Marcoh working double time trying to track that mad woman down." "Yeah... Major..." Alex slumped back on his stool, "Shiore wasn't able to find her on her scanner, so its possible she hasn't made any moves yet." "This is all my fault," Ashley let out a sigh, smacking herself in the head, "I shouldn't have walked in there with her memory in hand. It was stupid, and know we're all in deep shit for it." "Whats done is done Ms Haze, there's no point in beating ourselves up about it," Sampson told her, placing his hand on her shoulder, "We'll find her, and we'll put her behind bars where she belongs." "I know... But... What about the other prisoners, the ones she brutalized?" Ashley asked, "I spoke to a few of them, they weren't completely evil... They didn't deserve what she did to them." "They were marred up.. but they should recover with time," Sampson spoke, being able to feel a glare from Alex. "Does that include Walker?" Alex asked bluntly, clenching the leg of his pants. “What’s done is done, Alex,” Sampson told him, giving the boy a good look in the eye, “I thought we went over that.” “I know… we did, but it still pisses me off the think about him,” Alex huffed, hanging his head. “I won’t forgive him, I never will.” (Insert Opening Credit Sequence - “Alones” by Aqua Timez) Far across town, in the dimly lit shroud of the bar Devil’s Nest, Ms Seraphina sat sipping a tall glass of wine under candle light. A figure moves in the shadows behind her, Ms Seraphina simply smirking as she finishes the last sip of her drink. “Well,” she calls out to the shadows, “are you going to come in, or just stand there gawking at me?” With a click of her heel, Zix emerges from the shadows with a stone cold glare on her face and her Major gaia memory gripped tightly in her hand. “Bring out your dogs Desire,” Zix snarls at her, “all of them.” Seraphina raises her hand, “It looks like you caught me.” She snaps her fingers, “You heard her, come out all of you.” On cue, Vince emerge from behind the bar followed by the Harpy and Glave both in their dopant forms. Zix scans the trio with her eyes, sucking her teeth before locking eyes once again with Serpahina. “I said all of them,” she narrowed her gaze, “where is Fury?” “You mean you don’t know?” Seraphina's gaze softened, like a mother looking at a child who’s puppy just died, “He was killed, by those Kamen Riders.” “Figures,” Zix sucks her teeth again, “fine… guess I’ll just take care of those pests myself. Fury being gone only means I have one life left to take after all.” She went to leave, but Glave and Harpy blocked the door. “Not one more step Zix,” Vince glared at her, “See we have personal business with the riders ourselves. We can’t just have you chopping their heads off as you please.” “Oh?” Zix glared at him, cracking her neck to reveal her memory connect on her collarbone before holding up her gaia memory, “Then just try to stop me.” “MAJOR!” the memory cried out, Zix ramming it into her skin as it transformed her into the form of a large humanoid bear. “HARPY! GLAVE!” Vince barked to the feathered beast and the male covered in serrated blades, “RESTRAIN HER!” Before Harpy or Glave could so much as move muscle, Major conjured bright violet energy around her claws before cleaving both of their throats, the two falling to the ground before turning to dust without a trace of them remaining. “Well… do you have anything else to say?” Major glared back to Vince, who stood frozen in place. Vince fell silent, Major returning to her form as Zix after pulling her memory out from her neck, “Just as I thought.” She cracked open the door and stepped out, “Well, I will be going to pay those riders a visit. Goodnight, Vince.” Without a single word more, Zix slammed the door which snapped Vince back to his senses. He slapped his driver onto his waist before proceeding to pull his Crave Gaia Memory out, only for Seraphina to hold his hand out to block his path. “No… let her go,” she told him simply. “Why?!” He barked, shooting his arm around to the dust that remained of his comrades, “She just butured Harpy and Clave! You expect me to just sit here and do nothing?!” Seraphina turned her head to look him in the eye, her face shifting to a spitting image of Sarah’s, Vince jumping back as a result. “If you still wish to get what you want, then you will know this hill is not one worth dying on. This is her grave, not yours.” Vince grumbled only for a moment, balling his hand into a fist, “Fine… have it your way.” Seraphina simply smirked, “Oh believe me I will.” she told him as if it were a matter of fact, gazing at an image of Cole inside her amber ring “I always do.” --- Cole walked down a somewhat deserted sidewalk as he strolled along Ardent’s downtown core. He held a plastic bag in his hand all while having a smile on his face. This changed after a moment when he spotted Kat, pouting on a bus stop and kicking at the ground.“Kat?” He asked with a raised brow as he came up to her, “Something wrong?” “No.. it’s just…” she wacked her head on the steel pole marking the bus stop, “I lost my bus fare like an idiot. Now I don’t know how I’m gonna get home.” “Oh.. I see…” he fished in his pocket and managed to find a quarter along with a two dollar coin. “I gotta a spare toonie and a quarter I could spot you. That should be just enough for one way.” Kat’s face lit up, pressing her hand against her chest in a dainty manor as she sniffled a bit, “Oh Cole.. you’d do that for me?” She asked as she wiped her eye a bit. “Yeah, of course,” he smiled at her, “Friends help friends after all, right?” “Oh thank you!” she shot up to her feet, taking the change as she hugged him before kissing him on the cheek. “You’re the best, I love you!” She cheered, kissing him on the cheek before nuzzling into his face. “It’s not that big a deal.. And settle down there,” He managed an awkward bit of laughter as he pulled her off him, setting her down firm on the ground, “I’m in a committed relationship you know.” “Oh yes, miss Flywheels,” Kat grinned with a giggle, batting her at Cole as a bus rolled up to the curb, “and how is she doing these days?” “Not bad, she should be out with family right about now,” he pointed at the bus doors as they opened, “and that should be your ride.” “We always have such bad timing, don’t we?” Kat pouted, placing her hand on the door of the bus. “When are we gonna get a chance to talk things out?” “Not now,” Cole laughed as he guided her onto the bus, “I’ll see you at school, okay?” The doors closed, Kat smiling at him and waving to him. Cole in turned let out a huff before waving back to her only for her to in turn blow him a kiss as the bus drove off. Cole sighed and shook his head, “How many times do I gotta tell that girl that no mean no?” He huffed as he continued on his way. The thought continued to loom in his mind, resulting in him letting out a groan as he fished out his cell phone and brought up Tara’s number. “I gotta talk to Tara about this.” He declared as he hit the call button and brought the phone to his ear. It wrung only twice and, at a carnival across town, Tara picked up the phone by a street lamp just as Carter knocked down a stack of cans with a baseball. “Hey Rocky, what’s up?” she sang, “Thought you were going to see the Ice Queen after the hospital?” “I’m on my way there now my Hurricane,” Cole told her, “you gotta minute? I need to talk with you about something.” “Is Kat still flirting with you?” Tara asked him out right. Cole gulped, beginning to sweat, “Y-You know about that?” “Um, duh?” Tara laughed, “The girl isn’t exactly subtle, like a ninja with bells on.” “So, you aren’t concerned?” Cole asked, “You know I’m faithful right?” “Yep and yep Rocky,” Tara sang as Carter knocked down another pile of cans. “Besides, if she anything with you I’ll clock her in the head. How does that sound?” Cole laughed nervously, a bead of sweat running down his forehead, “Could we not resort to violence when possible?” “What, I’m an eagle that marks her territory. Anyone who comes knocking over my rock is just asking for it, I don’t care if it’s a boy or a girl.” Tara boasted, Carter making his way over with a large pink teddy bear. “I gotta go, just keep that in mind okay my sweets?” “I will, love you,” Cole let out a sigh of relief. “Love you too, gotta go bye,” she blew a kiss into the phone before hanging up and shoving it away. “Yay! It’s so cute!” She squealed before hugging the giants stuffed animal before ripping it from her brother’s arms, her upper body melting into the fuzziness. Carter blinked, “You don’t have a problem with it being pinkie? Isn’t that… kind of cliche?” “Cuteness overrides gender stereotypes,” she glared at him, poking Carter on the nose before shoving the bear’s face into his. As she did, she regained her cat like smirk, “Besides! Look at that little face!” Carter pushed the toy away, spitting out fur from the bear that had invaded his mouth, “Yeah, I’m looking at it. Can we get something to eat now? I’m starved.” “No! We gotta win another game!” Tara protested, grabbing him by the collar. “We’ve won like, fifteen already,” he told her, pointing to a wagon of giant stuffed animals beside Tara, “Isn’t that enough?” “But… I was enjoying spending time with my big bro,” she let out a heartbroken coo, dawning the biggest puppy dog face imaginable. “D-Do you not love me as much as I thought you did?” Carter stared into her eyes, a blank expression coming over him before he let out a simple sigh and admitted defeat. “Fine, but this is the last one okay?” “VICTORY!” Tara cheered, raising the giant bear above her head before shoving the bear under her arm and grabbing the wagon handle before strutting down the walkway of stalls, “Let’s go break another game!” --- Moments later, Cole was walking down a long white hallway that lead to Shiore’s condo, bag in hand and a worried look on his face. After a moment he let out a sigh as he grin returned.“Yeah, Tara’s right. What do I have to worry about really?” he spoke allowed as he came to Shiore’s door, “I mean all I’ve gotta do is just not humor any of her advances, how hard could that be? Still… if she does try anything, I’d feel bad if Tara ended up actually hurting her…” he thought for a moment before shaking his head, “Not gonna get anywhere thinking like that.” He raised his hand and knocked on the door. “Come in!” Shiore’s voice echoed from the other side of the door. Cole opened the door and stepped in to see Shiore hard at work tinkering with a gaia memory and several other disassembled devices scattered atop the coffee table in the center of her living room. Cole stepped in. He took only a step forward before Shiore calling out to him once again, “Shoes.” “Oh, right,” Cole looked down, Shiore keeping her eyes fixed on her project. “Sorry about that, I keep forgetting.” He slipped his shoes off before closing the door behind him. Placing the bag in his hands on the table beside Shiore, he took a seat on the couch behind her. “Brought you a snack,” he told her, Shiore not even looking up at him. “Thanks,” she continued working. “So… any luck?” he asked, eyeing the memory marked with a B that she held. The word Biter was still emblazoned in small letters on the side of the label. “Not in the slightest,” Shiore told him, holding it up to the light, “Where did you say you got this again?” “One of Cyber’s minions dropped it,” Cole reminded her, “It didn’t shatter when it went down, so I kept it thinking it might be useful… Should I not have?” “No, what you did was right,” Shiore informed him, taking another crack at it as she grabbed a few parts on the table, “This memory seems to be completely fried however. I might be able to get it working again, but I’m going to need an exterior power source for it.” “That’s what’s stumping you?” Cole asked her, “Why not just, you know, link a battery to it?” “Tried that many times already,” Shiore told him, pointing to the dismantled devices scattered on the table, “nothing seems to be bonding. It is very annoying.” Cole thought for a moment then, suddenly snapped his fingers before pulling out an old MP3 player with a touch screen on it. “What about this?” he asked as he handed it to her. Shiore quickly swiped it, looking it over before turning to look him in the eye, “You, might be on to something.” She grabbed a few cables, connecting the device and the memory together. She held her thumb over the gaia memory’s activation button, hitting it without a delay. “BITER!” It screamed, sparks going off between the segments of the connecting wires, forcing it out of Shiore’s hands and scorching the table. “OH GOD!” Cole grabbed a magazine and beat out the flames, panting as he examined Shiore. “You alright?” Shiore trembled only for a second before a devious smirk came onto her face. “Cole… I’m going to need parts,” she grabbed her bag, fishing out her wallet and shoving a wad of cash into his hands. “Get me all the scrap devices this will buy you.” “Whao, okay,” Cole grinned nervously as he pocketed the money, raising a brow before looking back to her. “By the way.. Where do you get all this money anyway?” “Connections,” she told him simply, jotting out a few notes in one of her books. Cole thought about this, then shrugged as he went to the door, “Makes sense.” --- Back at the carnival, Tara guided Carter by the wrist to a shooting game. It was a basic rigged fair game. A stall with a row bbs gun on cables to bind them to the stable, on the far end of the stall stood a stack of glass bottles all looking far too heavy to be knocked over by a simple pellet. “This one?” Carter pointed to it, raising a brow. Tara smiled and nodded, “This one.” “Alright,” Carter shrugged, looking to the woman running the stand, “how much?” “Five dollars per clip,” the woman told him, holding her hand out to take his money. “Alright,” Carter fished out a pale blue five dollar bill, placing it in the woman’s hand as she handed him a cartridge of pellets. With a swift loading and cocking of the gun, he aimed it at the stack of bottles all while holding the pellet gun in a firm and confident manor. The woman at the stall swooned, “You hold that like you know what you’re doing,” she batted her eyes a bit, looking to Tara while raising a brow, “Are you two dating?” Tara’s eyes shot open, quickly bursting into a fit of laughter, “Oh GODS no! He’s my brother miss. That would just be all kinds of messed up.” “Hmm, I see,” the stall woman eyed Carter, grabbing a scrap of paper and a pen before jotting down her name and a string of numbers. She then handed it to Tara while keeping her eyes locked on Carter. “Make sure your brother hits me up sometime, I love a man who knows his way around a firearm.” “If he wins this, you gotta deal miss,” Tara saluted her, tucking the scrap away somewhere safe before patting Carter on the back. “Fire away big bro!” The lady smirked, crossing her arms as she leaned back, “You heard her. Force once, I’m REALLY hoping you win this.” There was an almost cat like pur to the way she spoke while eyeing Carter. --- Back at Shiore’s condo, her GMR scanner went off in a loud ear rattling alarm. Shiore, still at work drawing up schematics quickly swiped it and eyed the group of blinking dots down by the city’s waterfront. She groaned, rolling her eyes as she looked at the screen.“Dumb thing, it’s only Tara and Ryu-O,” she glanced back at the screen, her eyes widening once she counted three signatures instead of only two. Before she said a word, Cole burst through the door with two full bags in his hands. “SHIORE!” he called out to her. “I already know,” she began clearing off her work table, heading over to Cole and placing the scanner in his hand before taking the bags from him. “Go to the waterfront, I will meet you there.” “Are you sure?” Cole asked her in a sweat. Shiore simply nodded, “Buy me as much time as you can.” He gulped sharply, then returned her nod with his own, “I’ll do my best.” He said before darting down the hall, eyeing the radar screen to orient himself as his heart beat began to run wild. --- At the carnival, Carter aimed the pellet gun down at the bottles before gripping down on the trigger ready to fire. Before he could so much as release a single shot however, a blindingly bright violet spike of energy tore through the air beside him, cutting his cheek before striking the stack of bottles he was aiming at before erupting in an earth shattering explosion. Screams filled the air as the crowd scattered, Carter quickly turning on his heel to see Major in her bear like dopant form approaching him from behind. Tara darted towards the woman who had been crushed under the rubble of the stall. “Are you alright?!” Tara called out to her in a panic. The woman winced with a nod, “Yeah, I think..” she winced some more as she attempted to move her leg, “Ow… it hurts…” Tara gasped, seeing a broken metal pipe had lodged itself deep within the tissue of her thigh. “That.. doesn’t look good.” Tara looked around, catching a pair of boys out from the ground. One rather lean and pulling the other, much huskier one by his hand as they both attempted to get away from the chaos. “You there! Both of you!” Tara called out to them with a point of her finger and a commanding voice, “Help get this lady out of here.” The boys exchanged glances, nodding to each other before swooping in to help. The lean boy lifted the rubble off the ground while the husky one assisted Tara in getting the lady out. “Easy does it,” cooed the one boy, the lady wincing as she struggled to stand. “There we go, you’re gonna be alright.” The muscle boy dropped the rubble, Tara smacking him on the back before handing the injured lady over to her. “Great! Now get this woman to a doctor!” They both nodded and carried her off, Major letting out a fit of laughter as Tara fixed her gaze upon the bear while stepping up to join her brother in a defensive line. The two took a deep stance while Major’s snickering continued. “Isn’t this just charming,” Major sneered as her grimace widened, “I lose a brother, and you miraculously gain one. Truly if there were a god, he would be laughing at me.” “Yeah, well maybe if he wasn’t a total creep, he might still be here!” Tara spat back at her, Kree soaring down and connecting to her wrist to form her driving, looking to Carter as she pulled out her Gale memory. Carter met her gaze, nodding in understanding as his driver formed around his waist, the boy pulling his Ryu-O memory out from his pocket. “No Phoenix?” Tara questioned with a raised brow. Carter shook his head, “That would be overkill for this one.” They both struck the activation buttons on their respective memories. “GALE! RYU-O!” cried the memories as their respective riders slammed them into their drivers, switching them on with a very quick and blindingly fast motion. “GALE! RYU-O!” Cried the memories once more, both riders dawning their riders forms in a tornado of wind and fire. With a snap of his finger, Carter pulled his faithful sword Ryu-O Buster out of a burst of fire. Tara, matching his tempo, kicked off the ring from her left ankle, it flying high into the air allowing Tara to catch it by the handle that had extended from the middle in its time in the air. With a flurry of stylish spinning motions, the ring’s twin blades swinging out from each end of it to extend fully into Tara’s Gale Slicer. On the outside of the carnival grounds, Cole drove up to the curb on his Dirt Bike style motorbike the Rock Prowler as Alex round up on the X-Cyclone with Ashley on the back. The trio breathed heavily, watching the carnival grounds go up in flames. Cole and Alex looked each other in the eye as the trio hopped off their respective transports. “Marcoh call you two?” Alex asked cole directly. Cole shook his head, “Shiore picked up the signal, told me to go on ahead.” He eyed Ashley, raising a brow. “Normally I wouldn’t say anything, but Major isn’t your run of the mill dopant. You might seriously get hurt Ash.” “I know that, but it’s my fault she got out in the first place,” Ash told him, gripping the strap of her purse, “I’m gonna do my part in anyway I can.” “Not like that you’re not.” Marcoh called out to her, darting up to her in a hurry with a briefcase gripped tightly in his hand. Moments later, an entire squad of police cars rushed up to the area with their sirens blaring at max volume. Clearly they wanted Major to know they were there. Alex grinned at the officer, “I was wondering when you were show up.” “Ashley, you still have it, don’t you?” Marcoh asked her directly, looking her square in the eye. Ashley gripped her purse as she gritted her teeth. With a huff, she reached into her bag and pulled out the shift dopant memory, holding it up to the officer. “Yeah, of course I do.” Alex gasped, shocked she would still have that device of all things, “Ashley, you aren’t actually thinking of using that are you?!” Ashley shot a glare at him, “What other choice do we have Alex?! Like Cole said, people could seriously get her with Major running around. We need all we can get.” “And that is exactly why I came to give you this,” Marcoh stepped forward, presenting her the briefcase and opening it to reveal Fata’s Driver. “Take this, combine it with your dopant memory, and truly be of help. That’s the only way I will authorize you to enter the fray.” Ashley gasped, raising her hand over the driver, it trembling in the presence of the pure weight of the driver itself. “I-If I do… what will I become?” “Only action will be able to tell you that,” Marcoh informed her. Ashley, after a sharp gulp, grabbed the driver and slapped it onto her waist. A pair of belt straps shot out from it and connected at her back, the girl feeling a soothing energy wash over her in the process. She held her memory high, striking the activation button, “SHIFT!” It cried as Ashley took in a deep breath. “Hen… SHIN!” She shouted before plunging the memory into the driver upon her waist, flipping it into its active position. “SHIFT!” Cried the memory as he belt conjured a whirlpool of water around the girl. It swirled around her, a pair of bright yellow eyes illuminating out from the abyss of the rippling waters. The twister parted down the middle of her body and opened into a pair of water based wings that reseated into her back, Ashley standing proudly in deep blue armor with the scales and fins of the deeps most vicious predators. She now gripped a pair of aquatically detailed war glaves within each of her hands. Alex, Cole and Marcoh took in this new form in awe, Marcoh smirking after a moment. “Welcome to the battle, Kamen Rider Shift.” {End of Part A} {Start of Part B} Within the chaos of the scorched fairgrounds, Major grabbed both Tara and Carter by their throats and hurled them into a pair of stalls all while cackling as she charged up her claws with purple energy. Her dopant form licked its lips as she marched towards them in a waltz, Tara and Carter panting as they rose back up to their feet. “Would now be a good time for Phoenix?” Tara caught her breath, resting on a busted open pipe. Carter nodded, ripping out his Ryu-O memory and pulling out his Phoenix memory to replace it. Major cracked her neck, conjuring another violet spike, “Oh! I don’t think so!” she howled, hurling the spike directly at Carter’s Phoenix memory with the aim of knocking it from his hand. Before the spike made its mark however, a loud, “KYAA!” ripped through the air, Ashley darting down from the sky with her water based bat wings and slicing the spike clean in half with her war glaves. Tara’s eyes shot open at the sight of the new rider, “Whoa… who the hell are you?!” She barked. “It’s me knucklehead, Ashley,” the water rider informed her, motioning her head towards Carter, “Do your thing Flameboy.” Carter nodded, slamming his memory into his driver. “Like the suit,” Tara gave her a thumbs up, “makes your ass look juicy.” “Thanks,” Ash laughed, shaking her head as she raised her glaves at Major. Carter gave his driver a good spin. “PHOENIX!” Roared his driver as he donned his upgraded emperor like Phoenix form. He drew his claymore with a burst of fire that emanated from yet another snap of his finger. “CARTER! TARA!” Alex called out, dashing up to the battle in his Star Runner form from the other side of it, the city’s lake to his back. Cole followed soon after, already in his own rider form. “Are you two alright?!” “Rock solid Superstar! Now that you three are here!” She called to him, shooting him a thumbs up. She and Carter formed a line of defense against Major alongside Ashley. “Alex, are you sure that’s the same dopant from back then?” Cole asked Alex with a whisper. Alex nodded, “Without a doubt.” Cole gritted his teeth under his mask, “Then let’s end her, quickly,” He grabbed a portion of his shoulder armor, ripping it off as it become his trusted hammer the Rock Smasher. The five riders circled around Major, weapons and fists at the ready with all of them aimed at the dopant in the center of their formation. Major’s eyes scanned the encircling riders around her, going from Ashley, to Tara and finally Carter, “Five riders there are, but two there were…” her gaze shifted over to Cole, “but the weakest still…” he eyes locked onto Alex, “is you.” He claws fired off five violet spikes at Alex, the Star Runner rider leaping backwards just in time to barely dodge the attack only for Major to lunge forward and swipe at him with her other fully charged claw. Alex blocked the attack with his forearm, wincing from the burning pain of Major’s claws as he manage to pull his Star memory from his driver and replace it with Blade and reset his driver. “BLADE! RUNNER!” Cried his driver as his top half turned green with the appropriate armor and his broadsword, the Bla-Jalibur formed in his right hand. As Major readied her claws, Alex parried with his sword. He gritted his teeth as Major licked her lips. “Any last words, before I rip you apart?” She snarled. “Yeah!” Cole shouted, smacking her in the face with his hammer and sending her flying, “Taste pathed earth!” Tara grabbed a set of chains, chucking them around Major as she flew through the air, constricting around her just as she hit the ground. “BRO! BLAST ‘EM!” Carter nodded, giving the chains a hot blast of fire to weld them to the sewer grates that we just below Major’s feet. Major gritted her teeth, shooting back to her feet and thrashing about, the chains already beginning to crack from the strain. “You!” she roared at Tara, thrashing about violently, “You think this will hold me!” she laughed, charging her claws once again, “You are more stupid than I first thought!” Ashley eyed a nearby fire hidrant, her gaze looking back to Major. She flexed out her hands at the hydrant and took a deep breath, “Please.. Let this still work the way I think it does.” She pulled her fingers in, the hydrant beginning to tremble. She smirked under her mask, calling out to her fellow riders, “TARA! CARTER! MOVE!” Tara and Carter looked over to Ash, getting the message and darting out of the way. With one swift motion, Ashley broke the hydrant open by pulling all the water that she could managed out from it and dumping it on top of Major and holding it in a sphere like shape around the dopant. Her hands began to tremble, feeling as though she would lose control of the water at any moment. “Dammit, already this out of practice?” She muttered with a wince, her footing beginning to slip, “Come on, just hold her until she passes out. That’s all you need Ash.” Carter and Tara lept back to Alex and Cole, Carter gritted his teeth in with a grunt. “She’s either brave or insane.” He commented. “Um.. maybe she’s both?” Tara shrugged, looking to Alex as she attempted to catch her breath, “Alex, now would be a great time for you to go Ultimate!” “I can’t, not without all five of us,” Alex shook his head, watching Ashley as he began to feel almost helpless. “WHAT?!” Tara shouted, “That would have been handy to know ages ago.” “I put it together when we fought Cyber. Regardless, we need Shiore here,” Alex looked to Cole, “Where is she?” Cole looked back to him, sweat dropping, “She… told me to go on a head.” Tara stared at him, smacking herself in the face, “Great! We’re dead!” On cue, like a beacon of light, Shiore landed down in her Yuki form in front of the riders. Tara let out a sigh of relief, throwing her arms around Shiore, “Thank god!” Shiore grabbed Tara by her head and shoved her away, her gaze narrowing at Ashley in her new rider form. “Who is that?” “The bear is Major, the rider is Ashley,” Alex told her, looking at his comrade with relief, “I don’t care what took you so long, I’m just glad you’re finally here.” “You finished it, didn’t you?” Cole asked. Shiore looked at the earth rider, holding up the Biter Memory with a touch screen device grafted onto it. She smirked behind her mask, “What do you think?” She tossed it over to him, “If you think you can handle it, go nuts. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a gaia memory like it.” Cole caught it, looking to Alex, “Well then Al? You ready to go full force?” He smirked under his helmet, extending a hand to him. “Full force,” Alex returned with a smirk of his own, smacking his hand to Cole’s before leading into a fist bump. He looked out to Ashley before turning back to Carter, Tara and Shiore, “Lend Ashley a hand, then on my signal you leave her to us. Got it?” The three riders nodded in agreement, darting over to the bubble of water. Shiore chucked her kunai knives into it to freeze portions of it, Tara taking to her glider and swirling around the body of water to form a tornado to hold it together. Carter meanwhile stood by Ashley’s side, sword gripped tightly in his hand. “You alright?” Carter asked Ashley. Ashley winced then laughed as she continued to hold the bubble, “Are you kidding? I’m so bored I’m falling asleep.” The two locked their fists down before pulling their fists back and shooting their fingers out in an explosive manor. Alex and Cole stood next to each, Alex switching his Blade memory out for Star once again and resetting his driver. “Star! Runner!” Cried the driver, followed by a chirp as the Xtreme memory dove down from the sky and connected with his driver. Alex split the slots apart once more, “XTREEME!” shouted the driver as Alex ascended into his Ultimate form. “Now then, it’s my turn,” Cole smirked, striking the Biter memory’s activation button. “BITER!” Cried the memory as Cole slammed it into his driver. Cole flipped the switch on his driver on and off in one quick motion. “BITER!” Screamed the memory in a digitized voice, the letters BTR flashing upon the touch screen. Six icons appeared on the screen in a flurry, a sword, a drill, a gatling gun, a missile pod, a tank tread and finally a big one at the very edge of the screen reading simply MAX. Five gold gears then shot out from the screen, one borrowing itself in Cole’s chest as his armor switch from green to gunmetal grey, eight lights swirling around the cog in his chest while flashing red and green before fading to a simple white. The remaining gold cogs became the cuffs for his boots and gauntlets, a drill drill rolling up from the back of his helmet and connecting to his vision to complete his transformation. Cole trembled, feeling his new power course through his body. “Alex,” Cole spoke with a tremor in his voice as he handed his friend his Rock memory, “You know what to do.” Alex took the memory and slammed it into his maximum drive slot. “ROCK! MEMORY CHARGE!” Screamed the memory, the grey middle of his suit turning bright green as armor leg armor formed around his cafs from the X shaped anklets he normally wore. Alex had to breath in deep as a direct result of the newly obtained strength he felt with in him. “Is this how Cole always feels?” he thought to himself, holding his breath for a moment before sharply exhaling. “Alright!” Alex held his arm up, chopping it downward through the air, “Release her!” As instructed, Shiore and Tara halted their onslaught of attacks upon Major. Ashley’s arms dropped like rocks with Carter scooping her up and dashing off to the side with her so she wouldn’t get caught up in the rushing water that quickly flowed over where she had previously stood to control it. The water and ice washed away within moments, the soaked to the bone Major returning to her feet as her snarls grew all the more violent in nature. “Cole, I think we just made her angrier,” Alex whispered to him as the bear crept towards them. “Then she’s more likely to make a mistake,” Cole narrowed his gaze at Major, swiping his fingers over the tank tread and sword icon on his driver. “SWORD BITER! ON! TRAIL BITER! ON!” Cried the Rock driver in the same digitized voice, a pair of swords shooting out from his wrists with tank like treads materializing on his feet. Alex followed suit, reaching into the green gap that ran down the middle of his sword and pulling X-Caliber, his powerful sword with four maximum drive slots on the guard and a fifth at the end of the handle. “All the fancy toys in the world can’t save you now!” Cackled Major, unleashing a barrage of violet spikes upon Alex and Cole, desomating several deserted stalls from the now emptied fairgrounds. Cole’s heart sank as he saw more stands go up in flames, “Thank god we got everyone out of here first.” “Double that she’s a terrible shot,” Alex gave Cole a firm pat on the shoulder, “Now, let’s rush her!” “Right!” Cole nodded to him, revving up his Trail Biters and charging towards Major from the right hand side. Alex quickly caught on, dashing off to the left at a slower speed as a result of his heavier armor but still managing to get behind Major as Cole rushed towards her. Major lashed her teeth at him, Cole readied his blades and cutting right through her fangs as she attempted to bite down on him. This further angered her, growling as sparks began to fly off of her. “YOU LITTLE WORM!” She gripped her claws, failing to charge them as she no longer cared, “I’LL KILL YOU FOR THAT! YES! JUST HOW YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!” Alex took the opening to rush in with a hard kick to her back, knocking Major to the ground before leaping off her and landing right beside Cole. “If you want to kill anyone for the death of your brother, then kill me!” Alex boasted, placing his hand on his chest, “But I'm not going to make it easy for you. Besides, he got what he had coming.” Those simple words from Alex made Major's heart break, the beastly dopant's lower lip tremble as she stepped towards the black and red rider. “You… what gives you the right to say that?” She bared her teeth, violently unleashing another barrage of claw spikes upon Cole and Alex, “Mikey was pure! He was innocent! He just wanted to hear women sing! They were the ones who turned him away!” “HE WAS A SLIME RIDDEN CREEP!” Tara shouted from atop one of the stalls, “YOU GOTTA BE BLIND NOT TO SEE THAT!” Major's gaze turned to Tara's voice, smirking as she licked her lips. “Fresh meet,” she cackled, leaping into the air towards the wind rider. Cole kept his gaze locked on Major, casting aside his swords before hitting the missile and gatling gun buttons on his driver. “MISSILE BITER! GATLING BITTER!” Sang the driver, a large gatling gun forming over his right arm while a panel opened up on each of his shoulders to revealed hail fire missiles stored within them. Darting after Major on his tank treads, Cole opened fire with everything in his arsenal which packed enough of a punch to hurl Major to the ground. She was down, but not out. With gritted teeth, she forced herself as sparks continued to fly off of her body. As he watched her from above, Carter's eyes shot open. “She's shattering.” He stated as he noticed Major was beginning to grow in size, her anatomy changing to become far more animalistic. Tara looked to Carter with a raised brow, “Shattering, what? What does that mean?” She demanded in a panic, figuring things were only getting worse. “You were present during the Reptilian incident, right?” Carter told her, “Once a person is broken so thoroughly by a gaia memory's influence, there is no going back. META calls it the shattered state.” “Isn't there anyway we can stop it?” Ashley asked, Tara gawking at her sudden change of heart. “Yes, but we need to act fast,” Carter informed them, “six maximum drives should do it.” “I'll tell Alex and Cole!” Ashley leapt from the stall roof, soaring over the scorched battle field before landing in front of Alex and Cole with heavy breath. “Carter wants us to unload a maximum drive each into her at once, or she'll die.” “Die?!” Alex questioned, “How?! Why?!” “Are you blind!” Ashley pointed to Major as she continued to change, growing in size as her bones realigned, “Or do you want what happened to Sarah to happen to her? Regardless of how we feel about her, NO ONE deserves to be ripped apart like that!” With a trembling lip and racing heart, Alex's gaze repeatedly shifted between Major and Ashley as he felt his time for choice beginning to rapidly slip away. He sharply swallowed, then nodded. “Alright… Alright I'll do it!” Alex shouted as he closed his Xtreme memory. “CARTER!” he yelled up to the other three riders, “IF I REGRET THIS! I'M BLAMING IT ON YOU!” Shiore glared at Carter, agreeing with Alex's sentiment. “Only fair,” Carter nodded with a sigh before looking over to Shiore, “Yuki, you should switch forms. More power increases this actually working.” Shiore pulled the Shira memory from her side, looking at it with the sheer sight of it sending a repeating pulsing sensation up her right arm. “Yuki! Use it!” He barked once more at her. Shiore gritted her teeth, resetting her driver after a moment. She quickly pulled her Yuki memory from its slot before slamming the Shira memory in its place, switching the driver back into its active position. “SHIRA! SHIRA!” Cried the memory as the air ran cold, a blizzard rushing over Shira and making her samurai armor far more jagged and primal, the once crescent moon now about half full. “SHIRA!” Shiore stared at the half moon on her chest, taking in a deep breath before exhaling and drawing her twin katanas connected by a chain lined with kunai knives. “Alright, let's do this quickly,” Carter commanded, he Tara and Shiore leaping off the stall roof and onto the ground, switching their memories to their respective maximum drive positions. “GALE! MAXIMUM DRIVE! PHOENIX! MAXIMUM DRIVE! SHIRA! MAXIMUM DRIVE!” Cried their memories as the trio's weapons began to charge. “That’s our que boys,” Ashley instructed, ripping her memory from her driver and slipping into a slot on one of her glave's, both of them beginning to become engulfed in rushing water. Cole meanwhile pressed the MAX button on his touch screen, flipping the switch of his driver over once again while Alex simply split his Xtreme memory back open into its active position. “SHIFT! MAXIMUM DRIVE! ROCK! MAXIMUM DRIVE! XTREME! MAXIMUM DRIVE! BITER! MAXIMUM DRIVE! Roared the four memories divided between the three riders. “NOW!” Alex commanded, all the riders charging in at once. As Cole charged, he fired off his missile pods and gatling gun as a drill materialized over his left hand. The male rider gasped in awe for a moment before smirking as the six riders rushed in together and struck Major together at once. A bright light in Major's colors enveloped the sight, Marcoh standing on the outside of the chaos and letting out a sigh of relief. “They actually managed to pull off, damn kids,” he said with a grin. “Of course they did, they're a lot stronger than you give them credit for you know,” Sampson told him as he came up to him, “Sure, others might doubt them, but I have faith they'll finish what they start. No matter how long it takes them, or how difficult it might be.” Marcoh looked at him with a smirk, “So, guess that puts us on cleaning duty again? As officers of the law, I'm beginning to feel we don't do very much.” Sampson laughed a little, patting his second in command on the shoulder, “I know, I've been feeling that way too.” He looked over his shoulder to the other officers before pointing to the desomated fairgrounds. “Move in! We have a fugitive to detain!” Back in the fairgrounds, Zix lay lifelessly on the ground. He face in the rubble as the riders approached her, reverting to their civilian forms. Tara grabbed a stray bar poked her with it, but Zix didn't move. “Is she…” the wind rider gulped, “dead?” Carter came up, checking her neck for a pulse. After a moment, he breathed a sigh of relief, “She still has a heartbeat, just knocked out by the looks of things.” Carter then spotted Zix’s Major Memory, or rather that fragments that remained of it. Everyone breathed easy, relieved that it was over without anyone dying. That was until one of Zix's eyes opened, she shooting a glare directly at Carter. She pulled a knife from her sleeve, swatting at him only for Carter to quickly disarm her by swiping the knife from her with one hand and pinning her down to the ground with the other. “Easy there Damon,” Marcoh advised, he and Sampson coming in with a squad of officers, all having their guns aimed at Zix, “we will take it from here.” Carter got off Zix as she was cuffed, tears running down her scowling face while she was made to walk and escorted away. “So, what happens now?” Alex asked Sampson. “Don't worry about a thing son, she's going away, for good this time,” Sampson thought about, “but considering her mental state, we will be looking into getting her the help she needs. Whether she takes it or not, well that's her call to make.” “I see..” Alex thought about what was said then nodded, “Yeah, I'm okay with that.” “Oh man! Just like her to wreck a family outing!” Tara groaned as she slumped into her brother, looking up to him with a pout, “We're gonna do something else though right? Make up for the game we missed?” “Of course,” Carter nodded, his eyes widening after a moment before looking over to Marcoh, “That reminds me, there was a bystander who got seriously hurt, a woman with a metal pole borrowed into her leg. Is she alright?” Marcoh looked to him and nodded, “She was one of the first to be loaded onto an ambulance, saw to it myself. She spoke very highly of the man who stood in her defence, and the brave girl who helped get her out of the wreckage.” Carter blushed, looking away as he muttered, “It was nothing, I only did what anyone else would have.” “Aw! Is my big brother camera shy?” Tara cooed, poking him on the nose, “You gonna get all flustered when someone calls you a hero?” “It isn't like that at all,” Carter told her as Shiore began to leave only to meet his gaze simply by poor timing. “Hey.. sorry for barking at you back there. I was under the wire.” Shiore gripped her right arm, glaring at him before dodging his gaze, “There's nothing that can be done about it now. Besides, I don't need an apology from you.” Carter looked at her, raising brow, “Are you sure?” She simply nodded, “Have a goodnight, Ryu-O.” She made her way off, Cole, Alex and Ashley clustering around her as they assumed Tara and Carter wished to return to their outing. “Hey Shiore! Your work is better than I was expecting!” Cole complimented her, “How'd you manage to pull it off in so little time?” Their conversation faded into the distance as they walked away, Carter left staring at them and Tara at him. “Bro.. is there something the matter?” Tara asked him in a softer tone, clearly concerned. “You and Shuri aren't fighting again, are you?” “No, everything is… fine,” he told her simply, “Don't worry about it, okay?” --- Far on the outskirts of the city, an operatic melody played from within the confines of a well lit manor at the top of an isolated mountain. The hands of Larc Pearlman danced over the keys of a grand piano from the venue of an expansive and elegantly decorated bedroom with a large window that made up the entire back wall to allow the light of the moon to mix seamlessly with the burning embers from mood enhancing candles, all while the sole member of the audience sat on a queen size canopy bed in a pink silk nightgown. The red haired Madison Tyler, watched the performance with a smile on her face while snacking away on a bowl of popcorn until it’s beautiful and perfect conclusion. Madison bowed and applauded resulting in Larc rising to his feet and bowing to the woman before him. “Is there any instrument you can’t play?” she asked as she flopped onto her back while smiling warmly at him. “Let’s see, violin, guitar, piano…” he counted on his fingers, “If it is bound by a string I can play it.” She blushed a little bit as she held up a pair of strings that made up a bow on her nightgown, “What about these strings?” she couldn’t help but giggle at how cheesy she was being, her face turning even redder out of embarrassment. Larc laughed, kicking his shoes off as he climbed onto the bed and eventually onto of her, “Now those ones, I have yet to master.” He cooed to her, kissing her neck as he ran his hand along her side. Madison snorted and let out a laugh from the sudden contact. She gasped, covering her mouth as she turned her head to meet his gaze. She removed her head, sinking into the bed some more as her face turned an even bright shade of red. “I-I am so sorry.” “Don’t be, I think it’s cute,” he laughed, a knock coming to the door. He let out a huff, snapping his fingers, “Come in.” The door opened, an old butler poking his head in, “Excuse me sir, but you have a visitor.” “At this hour?” he groaned, hoping off the bed, “What does he want?” “Sorry sir but he didn’t say, only that it was urgent,” the butler told him. “I told him that he could wait for you in your study.” Larc held his face, letting out a sigh, “Alright, I’ll see what he wants.” He regained his smile and looked to Madison, “Besides, the faster I get done with him the faster I can return to you.” He blew a kiss to her. “Don’t be long,” she told him, hiding her face a bit with the covers. “No need to worry, I won’t,” he turned to his butler and snapped his fingers. “Come with me,” he left the room, his smile dropping the moment he and his butler had left Madison’s sight. With angered eyes, he marched down the hall until he came to a door at the very end of it, swinging it open as he saw Joel Revant sitting in a chair and reading a book. Joel glanced up, closing the book he was reading, “Ah, so there you are.” He stood up, sliding the book back into its place on the shelf. “Such an interesting collection. History of music, sheets from composures,” he moved his hands down the shelf before pulling a book of the shelf with Madison’s name on it. “The day to day lives of young girls with red hair?” He raised a brow at him. “You certainly have an oddly specific taste.” “Who the hell are you?” Larc demanded, shutting the door behind him. “Tell me before I have you escorted out.” “I hope, that you simply take this as an introduction,” Joel slapped his driver onto his waist and pulled out a golden gaia memory. “INERTIA!” cried the memory, Joel connecting it to his driver as he was transformed into the pale white armored skeletal demon of his dopant form. Larc’s eyes shot open in shock, his whole being beginning to tremble as he took a step back. He smirked, managing a laugh. “I see…” he bowed a bit, “to what do I owe, the presence of one of META’s elite?” “You?” Joel raised a brow, laughing a little. “Nothing, I came with a warning. The riders are growing, in both number and strength. That girl you have there, will only quicken your demise.” “Madison?” Larc laughed, “What is she gonna do?” “On her own? Nothing,” Inertia informed him, “but should the six riders be alerted to her presence here, they will surely come. And they will not like seeing you.” “You came to tell me that?” Larc laughed, “Why?” Inertia did not answer his question, simply extending his hand as a pink memory with marked with an M in the shape of a heart formed in his hand. He stepped forward, placing it in Larc’s hand. “When the time comes, use on that girl and you might survive.” Larc’s jaw trembled as he took the memory, looking it over as he read the label more closely. “Madison?” he questioned, seeing his object of effection’s name in fine print. “What the hell is this?” he barked, looking back to where Inertia stood only to find that he had vanished. He jumped, gripping the memory tight in his hand. “Sir?” the butler came into the room, “Are you alright?” Larc nodded before turning to the butler, “Madison is not to leave this house, and no one is allowed to enter it. Is that clear?” “Yes sir,” the butler bowed as he turned into a demonic looking soldier with drums grafted onto both of his shoulders, “as you command.” {Insert Ending Theme: “One” by Altima} Next Time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme The police receive an anonymous tip that Madison Tyler is being held captive by an unknown Dopant. The riders race against the clock to save her as Larc Pearlman, the Melody Dopant unleashes his army upon them that use music and sound as a lethal weapon. Can Alex get to his former love in time? All will be decided when Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme continues in Episode 10: I Remember You |
Episode 36: I Remember You Early the next morning, Alex stood in Sampson's office with his shaking eyes fixed upon a computer screen. It displayed an image of the front entry way of Larc's manor, Madison being escorted in by none other than Larc himself. Cole, Tara, and Ashley only a few feet behind him. “W-When did you say you got this photo was taken?” Alex questioned with a tremer to his voice. “We received it early this morning, but we aren't sure of how old the image itself actually is,” Sampson informed him, bringing up a map of the mountains just outside the city with a point atop a cliff circled in red. “We were however able to determine the location is was most likely shot at. It’s odd though, didn’t know they build manors like that in the mountains of all places.” “Well, why don't you just rush in and grab her then if you think she's in danger?” Alex asked, gritting his teeth at Sampson. “In just a moment or two, you will have you answer,” Sampson told him, keeping a firm grasp on his radio, “until then however just think. What would Madison do if she were in your position?” Alex balled his hand into a fist in frustration, only to release with a sigh of defeat, “She would wait until she had all the details, and guarantee my safety.” Sampson nodded, “My thoughts exactly.” An electric buzz echoed over the radio followed by Shiore's voice, “Chief, are you there?” “I hear you Fubuki,” Sampson spoke into the radio, “what do we got?” “It's just as you said, my scanners are picking up high amounts of GMR readings,” Shiore told him, Alex letting out a gasp as his shaking grew more violent, “There is a dopant inside that manor, no doubt about it.” “And Ms Tyler?” Sampson asked, his own hand beginning to visibly tremble at the utterance of Madison's name, “is she alright?” “I see her, she is fine,” Shiore told him. “I've been watching them for a while, he seems rather fond of her. I doubt the target will do anything to harm her.” “You've seen the target?” Sampson looked to Marcoh who pulled out a pencil and sketch pad. “Can you describe him?” “Straight black hair, goes down to his shoulders but her usually ties it back,” she began as Marcoh sketched what she was saying, “square framed glasses. Pale complexion, tall in stature and on the slim side. Incredibly vibrant blue eyes, that’s what I noticed first.” “Alright, we got it, thank you Fubuki,” Sampson nodded, “Have Damon and yourself fallback for not, keep yourselves hidden until Marcoh and I arrive with Desmond, Archer and Haze.” Shiore fell silent for a moment then spoke up, “Roger.” The radio cut. Sampson held his face, clearly distraught over all this. “Sampson..” Alex spoke up, gripping his fists together with an intense look in his eye, “what do you want me to do?” “Sorry Alex, but you're staying here,” Sampson told him, “that’s final.” “WHAT?!” Alex shouted, shooting up from his seat, “You can't actually expect me to just sit here while Madison is in danger, can you?!” “I said that its FINAL Alex!” Sampson barked at him, “I care about Madison, and you, but I will not lose anyone the same way I lost your mother.” “What makes you think that will happen again?” Alex protested, “I will not be going in alone, so what's the problem?” “The problem is that your rushing in, just like Sampson did that night, with the exact same motivation,” Marcoh stepped in, giving his superior a raised look, “Isn't that right, Chief?” This simple statement was enough to completely silence Sampson, as it did with Alex. The two stood staring at one another until Cole came up and broke their gaze. “Gordon, with all due respect the six of us are a team,” Cole put simply, “if even one of us is removed, the rest suffer. I hope you see that Alex is no exception to this.” “Boy’s got a point chief,” Ashley chimed in. “DAMN RIGHT HE DOES!” Tara followed, pumping her fist in the air. Sampson looked to Alex who in turn stared back at him, “And should Alex get out of line?” he asked simply. “If that happens, I’ll knock him out myself,” Cole told the officer, “I swear to that much at least.” Sampson raised a brow at Alex, “Is that okay with you Alex?” “If it’s to save Madison,” the boy spoke simply, “I’ll do whatever it takes.” {Insert Opening Theme: “Alones” by Aqua Timez} Within the shroud of Vainglory's lair lined will pillars that lead up to the black armored dopant's throne, Alex's father Jason stood before off to one side, in his humanoid form looking up at a mural carved into the wall itself. The meral depicted the earth, engulfed in flame as it hung between the sun and moon. Rylee knelt behind him as Jason glared at the meral. “Spite… where is Inertia?” “I… I do not know sire,” Rylee informed him, “i have not seen him in some time. I'm sorry.” “Do not apologize to me,” he glared at her, “just find him.” “No need to trouble yourself, looking for me,” Joel spoke suddenly, appearing over top of Jason's throne. “I was merely out for a bit of air. Heaven only needs we it in this place.” Jason turned to him, maintaining his glare, “Inertia, do you recall what became of Fury when I suspected him of treason?” “How could I not?” Joel returned a glare of his own, “You unleashed your dog on him, and he was burned alive. Then, once that dog stopped being useful, you cut him loose.” Rylee gritted her teeth, balling her hand into a fist as she glared at Joel. Jason's face remained unchanged, “Then you know what will happen should I learn you are guilty of the same actions, Inertia.” “Worry not, Vainglory,” Inertia cocked a smirk of his own, “I am not so foolish as to be caught in such a manor.” “I should hope not for your sake,” he looked back to the mural on the wall, “The day we have waited for will soon be upon us, and I will not stand anyone getting in the way of my perfect world.” --- Inside the walls of Larc's hilltop manor, Madison had gotten dressed for the day and was brushing her hair in the bedroom she had listened to her lover play the night before. She stared into the mirror with a smile as Larc came in suddenly from a door to her back.“Oh, you're here,” she looked to him, grabbing her bag as she stood up, “I'm guessing you're ready to go?” She blushed, “I… I've been dying to hear you in concert since your preview last night.” Larc's face was stirn, more so then it had been last night and his energy had grown completely cold, “There's been a change of plans, sorry.” He went over to the large window and began to close the curtains. “What?!” Madison questioned with a gasp of surprise, “Why? Did something happen?” “No, at least not yet,” He came up to her, cupping her cheek before kissing her forehead. “A wanted fugitive was spotted in the woods not far from here. Madison gasped once again, beginning to shake a bit, “Oh my gosh, they haven't hurt anyone have they?!” “Oh no, at least not that they know of,” he told her, shaking his head. “The police are investigating but for your safety I need you to stay here in this room, do you understand?” Madison felt her heart sink but eventually gulped and managed a nod. “Okay.” “Good,” Larc gave her another kiss, this one on the lips. “Now then, I'll be back in a few moments. As I said, no matter what you are not to leave this room. Got it?” Madison gasped, stepping forward as Larc went back to the door, “Wait, where are you going?!” “The police and I are still conversing downstairs, and I figured you wouldn't want to deal with them on a day like this,” Larc told her with a grin, “you know how up tight they can be, right?” Madison managed a grin then sat on the bed, “Just… don't keep me waiting too long okay? You know how up tight I can be.” Larc chuckled at this, “That I do,” he blew her a kiss, “I'll be back.” She playfully caught the kiss with her hand and placed it to her lips, giving it a kiss of her own. “Hurry back.” Larc went out the door, closing it behind him before locking it from the outside. His gaze turned to a harsh glare as he marched down the hallway, his drum shouldered butler emerging from the wall behind him as he walked. “What are we dealing with?” Larc demanded with a ugrent tone. “Two were spotted in the woods, scouts by the looks of things,” the butler told him, “we believe they are calling for reinforcements.” “Then Xtreme will most likely be among them,” Larc gritted his teeth, stopping once he arrived at a pair of large doors and turning on his heel to look his butler in the eye, “No matter what, they are not allowed to enter the building, and Xtreme must not be able to come into contact with Ms Tyler. Do you understand me?” The butler nodded, “Yes sir, as you command.” He bowed, looking up to his master, “But sir.. what if Ms Tyler attempts to run?” Larc fell silent, balling his hand up as he took in a deep gulp. He reached into his pocket and fished out the pink memory with Madison's name on it, holding it out to his demonic butler, “Inertia said to use this on her should circumstance become dier,” he looked his servant in the eye, “Follow his instructions.” The butler took the memory and nodded once more, “Yes sir, I will sir.” With that, he phased back into the wall and vanished from sight, leaving Larc alone in the darkened hallway. Larc looked back to the doors, pushing them open to reveal a large room with no windows and only a large organ with pipes running up to the cieiing to furnish it. He glared at the organ, pulling a gun metal gret gaia memory from his pocket marked with an M in the shape of a musical note. “I cannot believe I am being forced to use this here of all places,” he groaned, striking the activation button of his memory. “MELODY!” cried the memory as he touched it to the connector on his wrist, the memory transforming him into a demonic conductor covered in musical notes, strings and piano keys. He approached the organ and sat down on a bench in front of it. He took one of his hands and ran his hand along the length of the instrument before him, his fingers dancing along the dusty keys as he did so before coming to one in particular and resting his finger upon it. “Oh well,” he spoke simply, “the show must go on I suppose.” He pressed down the key, holding it down as its sad song echoed throughout the manor and down into a room below the manor filled with an assortment of instruments from drums to guitars and even flutes. As they heard the call of their master, a single beady eye opened up on all of them. The storage room quickly filled with a symphony of beastly cries, eager to please the one who commanded them from their slumber. --- At the far end of the mountain, Alex and Cole rolled up to the edge of the woods on the X-Cyclone and Rock-Prowler respectively with Tara on the back of the Rock-Prowler holding onto Cole. A pair of squad cars rolled up behind them, Marcoh and Ashley hoping out the front of one and Sampson the other.Ashley let out a yawn as she stretched herself out, “God, I hate car rides.” Alex looked over to Ashley, “You could've ridden with me you know.” Ashley smirked, looking to him with a laugh as she eyed his motorcycle. “You expect my fat ass to fit on that tiny thing?” Alex rolled his eyes with a laugh of his own, “You're just in a mood to complain aren't you.” “Good you're learning,” Ashley grinned at him as Shiore and Carter touched down, both in rider form with two Yuki clones made of ice behind them. “and just in time too.” Sampson approached Carter and Shiore, looking the two riders in the eye, “Whats the status on the target? Any movement yet?” Carter shook his head, “All seems quiet.” “That's either the best intel I've ever recieved or the worst,” Sampson said with a bit of a sigh. “Whichever it is sir, we don’t exactly have the time to find out which,” Marcoh chimed in, looking all the riders in the eye. “Regardless, you are all to treat this as a honest situation. Go in quiet, do not reveal yourselves unless absolutely necessary. Understood?” All six riders nodded at once, Shiore and her clones leaping back into the treeline as Carter took a single glance towards Tara before following shortly after his pale blue and white ice comrad. Alex, Cole and Ashley's driver's materialized around their waists with Kree shooting down from the tree line before connecting to Tara's wrist with all four of them pulling out their respective gaia memories. Sampson pointed a finger at Alex, “Nothing reckless, you hear? Think what- “What Madison would do, I know,” Alex looked to him with an understanding nod, “You have my word.” “GALE! ROCK! SHIFT! STAR! RUNNER!” Cried the memories as their respective riders struck their activation buttons, the riders quickly slamming them into place and switching their devices to their active positions. “GALE! ROCK! SHIFT! STAR! RUNNER!” Cried the memories once more as the four youths took one their rider forms, darting into the woods towards their allies after a single exchanged glance towards one another. Once the rider had left, Marcoh turned his gaze towards Sampson, “What happened to your faith in them sir?” “It's still there Marcoh,” Sampson let out a heavy sigh, holding head, “it's only him I worry about.” “It's been thirteen years sir,” Marcoh told him, “I don't think Alice would've wanted you to grieve for her this long, regardless of whatever went on between the two of you. It's time you let go.” “I know.. I know…” Sampson nodded, managing a somehow sad looking grin, “Guess it's my price for pursuing a married woman, isn't it?” “Is that so?” Marcoh scoffed and shook his head, “Then what was her's for returning said advances, I wonder?” --- Alex darted through the woods, coming to a halt once he came to the edge of the forest beside the other riders. Just beyond the edge of the forest stood the manor that was their target in the center of the clearing. Cole looked to him, raising a finger over his mouth before pointing towards the manor. Alex narrowed his gaze upon the manor, catching the sight of what appeared to be a flute rolling down from the front door and out the gate that separated the manor from the rest of the woods. It rolled right under the gate and stopped just in front of where the riders hid in the bushes, proceeding to sit itself up with its front facing them. The riders stood puzzled as from the flute spurted an oily black fluid, connecting to the flute itself before forming what could only be described as spindly arms and legs. Yet another bit of oil oozed out from the top, this one remaining spherical in nature as a single bloodshot eye crept out from the depths of the black ball of goo. Staring at the riders, it slowly but steadily raised its one hand towards them before letting out an indescribable horrid noise which gave off the impression of a hiss and a howl overlaid with a medley of nails being run down a chalkboard. The riders held their ears as more black goo soldiers emerged from the bushes below them and the trees above them. The ones that struck from above where based on guitars while the ones from below were made from drums. Carter gritted his teeth, blasting a few of them with his palm mounted fire blasters, grabbing Tara and hoisting her over to the clearing. Shiore’s two clones were struck by a pair of drum soldiers, shattering upon contact but allowing the ice rider to slice a few away from her and leap over to Carter and Tara’s side. Alex, Cole and Ashley followed suit, Ashley carving up a few of the soldiers herself with her warglaives before joining the others in the clearing. “So much for the element of surprise,” Carter grunted as the entire treeline became engulf with the oose soldiers. “Was thinking the exact same thing,” Tara threw in. Cole gripped his hammer, “Now what do we do?” “Cut down any in our path, and get to Madison as quickly as we can,” Alex told them all, closing his driver as the Xtreme memory descended from above and latched onto his belt. He spit it open once again, switching it back to its active position. “XTREME!!” His driver cried out as he went right to his Ultimate form. Carter and Cole took his no vocal advise, pulling out their own memories and switching them out for Biter and Phoenix. “PHOENIX! BITER!” Their drivers called out as the two riders donned their own upgraded forms. Shift’s water wings flexed out from her back, smirking under her mask, “I like the way you think Superstar.” “Hey! That’s my line!” Tara shouted to her with her fist pumped. “Hey, Tara. We have a job to do,” Alex reminded her, drawing X-Calibur from his chest as the instrument based goo soldiers began to approach them. “Do not leave a single one moving,” Alex told them as he and the other five riders got ready to advance. “Ready…” they all dove forward, heading into battle, “GO!” {End of Part A} {Start of Part B} Back in the bedroom, Madison lay sprawled across the bed flipping through a tablet as she did what she could to kill time. She kicked her legs back and forth in a rythem while letting out a sigh. “A million plus shows and nothing to watch…” she said in a state of boredom, “I mean, they do have the extended finale of Super Megsforce… but I could also drive a rusty nail into my brain and have it be just as pleasent.” Her tangent was cut short by a sudden creek above her, Madison looking up to the ceiling with a raised brow. Her attention was not held there for very long however as a loud barrage of gunfire echoed from the closed curtains followed by the ringing of heavy slashes. “What the heck?” She questioned as she got up from the bed and crept over to the window, peeking out the closed curtains. Her eyes widened in awe when she took in the scene of Alex and the other riders, fully armored up and fighting off Melody's blob like foot soldiers. “Oh wow..” he eyes glimmered as an eager grin came onto her face, raising up her fists. “That is so COOL!” She thought back for a moment, recalling what Larc had told her. “Do not leave this room for anything, understood?” “Oh Larc, you didn't have to set this up for me in secret,” she blushed as her heart began to race, “I would have been your damsel if you had just shown me the script or something.” As she became lost in her daydreams, Tara hacked off a blade from one of the flute based blob soldiers and kicked in a random direction. That random direction just so happened to be at the window Madison was behind. As it hurled through the air, it struck the window causing Madison to jump back. He heart skipped a beat as she managed a laugh, “Oh my… looks like a stunt actor missed their mark?” Her lipped trembled as her body began to shake as she stared at the now fracture window. “Easy mistake... even pros miss their mark now and again?” The banging from above echoed once again, sounding far more like clawing as an entire swarm of blob soldiers scurried down the window like a spiders. One stopped as it spotted Madison, staring her right in the eye with its own blood shot beady one. She tripped, falling to the ground as her entire being began to shake. “No way… this isn't happening. Monsters and stuff, it's all just pretend, right?... Right?!” In her panic, her eyes darted around the room before landing on the door. “Larc!” She clawed herself up and ran towards it. “He'll know what to do!” She grabbed the door and tried to pull it open only to find she couldn't, “Locked?” She banged onto to the door as loud as she possibly could, “LARC! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU! WH-” She gasped, the door suddenly opening as Melody's drum based commander stepped in looking her in the eye. “What seems to be the problem Ms Tyler?” “W-What the hell are you?” She demanded as she stepped back and away from him, “What did you do to Larc?!” The butler paused, looking at his hands, “Oh… do forgive me.” He stepped forward and shifted back into his humanoid form right in front of Madison, “is this better?” Madison, in her terrified state, threw a punch right at the butler’s face before screaming at him. “MOVE!” she demanded, “LET ME OUT OF HERE!” “Sorry, but Master Larc told me not to,” He told her as he pulled out the pink gaia memory, “as he told me to use this on you, should you prove… difficult.” He grabbed her. “No way!” She kicked him, pulling away from him, “You're not turning me into one of those- those things!” “Shhh,” he grabbed her and pulled her close, pressing the gaia memory to the back of her neck. “It will easier if you do not struggle.” He struck the activation button, “MADISON!” Back on the ground, Tara was knocked back by a thick soldier built around a stand up string base. It wailed at her while she gritted her teeth, the blob soldier raising its arm for an attack while Tara gripped her slicer. “Just drop dead already!” She screamed in frustration as she stabbed the soldier in its beady eye with all her might. The soldier froze, getting forced back as it held its eye. It began to shake before letting out a defeaning scream and bursting to bits, leaving only the ink stained bass on the ground once it had been destroyed. Tara's eyes widened with shock for a moment, only for her to smirk a second later. “Hey!” She shot up to her feet, stabbing a pair of soldiers in their eyes with both ends of her slicer at the same time, the soldiers bursting just like the previous one had. “I've found these things weekpoint! Strike their eyes and they'll go down like that!” She cheered with a snap. “And how exactly do you know that?!” Ashley called out as she fought off a few soldiers of her own. Tara flipped over to Ashley, striking the five soldiers that opposed the water rider. Tara smirked at Ashley and motioned over her shoulder to the sludge on the ground, “That’s how.” Ashley stared dumbfoundedly for a moment before putting the newly acquired knowledge to use and stabbing every soldier she could in the center of their eye, the other riders quickly catching on and following her and Tara's example. Cole discarded his drill and gatling gun, drawing his wrist mounted laser swords to better handle the various foes. As the riders cut down the blob like soldiers, more seemed to take their place from the ground below at the roof of the manor above. “Uh guys!” Alex panted between strikes of his sword and pops of attacking soldiers. “I don't think we're getting very far!” Shiore summoned a second pair of clones, her doubles covering her back as she checked her hand held scanner. “These soldiers are all giving off the same energy signature.” She aimed it at the manor, the reading only growing stronger. “So these things are just extensions of the same dopant?” Carter asked for clarification, slashing at the soldiers that darted up from behind Shiore to attack her. Shiore didn't look at Carter and simply nodded, “If we take out the source, the others should fall.” “Then you guys have some leg work ahead of you,” Cole said with a smirk, handing Alex his Rock memory while cutting down more soldiers, “Carter and I will keep these blobs off your back. So get going.” Alex looked to Cole, “Are you sure?” Cole simply nodded, “Yeah, now getting going. She needs you, remember?” Alex nodded then went to dart towards the manor. “Xtreme!” Carter shouted, stopping the rider dead in his tracks to look back. “Here! You need this far more than I do!” Carter chucked his Ryu-O memory over to Alex, the boy catching with a smirk and a nod before continuing on towards the manor with Shiore, Tara and Ashley close behind him. Carter and Cole stood back to back as the soldiers swarmed around them. “Well, looks like its you and me Carter.” Carter managed a smirk, Cole's laid back attitude beginning to rub off on him, “Just try to keep up.” “Alright, guess we'll reset the board then,” Cole struck a soldier in the eye with his blade, followed by another with both bursting to bits. “Two zero.” --- Alex, Tara, Shiore and Ashley fought their way towards the manor, Alex gripping the Ryu-O memory in his hand before holding out.“I've got this,” he declared, slipping the memory into his maximum drive slot. “RYU-O! MEMORY CHARGE!” Screamed his driver, the middle of his suit flaring up red along with his hands before fading to brilliant silver. Alex raised his hand to the door, blasting it to bits with a single charged shot from the now active fire blasters in the palm of his left hand. Ashley let out a whistle as the four made their way inside, the haunting choir of an organ filling the air around them as it escape the shroud of the dimly lit vestibule they now found themselves in. The echo of a single slow clap filled the air as Larc's demonic drum based butler descended from a tall flight of stairs. “Impressive… very impressive.” He spoke, staring them down as he reached the bottom of the stairs, “However, this is as far as you four shall go.” Alex gritted his teeth, aiming his sword at the butler, “WHERE IS MADISON!” The butler glared at him, “Ms Tyler wishes to not be disturbed at present. Leave this place at once,” a pair of hands sprouted from his back and began to bang on the drums on his shoulder in a menacing manner, “or die.” “I'm not leaving without Madison,” Alex's gaze narrowed, “that's final.” “I see,” his playing intensified as the entire manor began to shift and tremble, a line of four medieval style cannons rising up from the floor beneath him, “then you will die.” A red eye opened up on the top of each cannon, each locking on to one of the four riders before firing a piping hot ball of iron followed by an echo of ear shattering sound. The four riders dodged in a different direction, their formation breaking apart in the process. The cannons didn't relent, keeping up their relentless barrage. Alex panted, looking at the Rock memory in his hand and gritting his teeth. “Damn it, this fight would be over if I could use more than one memory charge…” his eyes turned to the X-Calibur, taking note of the four memory slots that made up the guard in an x formation, “at a time.” He quickly slammed the rock memory into his sword, pulling the Ryu-O memory out of its place and putting into the sword's guard as well. The memories let out a clashing wine that merged into a harmonious chime within moment, Alex pulling back on a red trigger in on his swords hilt. “ROCK! RYU-O! DOUBLE MEMORY CHARGE!” Alex wince slighted as he absorbed the combined power, his suit taking on the aspects of both Rock's boosted armor and Ryu-O's added fire power, the X-Calibur becoming engulfed in a spiraling flame. “Alright!” He cheered, stopping dead in his tracks to block the next iron ball that hurled towards him in a screeching wave of sound. He caught in a parry, gaining enough strength from Rock to send it hurling back at the cannon that fired it with a strong swing of his sword. The shot struck the cannon's eye, causing it to burst. The girls didn't waste any time with their own targets either, Tara and Shiore dodging several shots before being able to lunge at their respective cannons and burst them open with a good strike to the eye from their blades. Ash meanwhile took a more ferocious approach. Pulling a stream of water from the manor's pipes, she formed a powerful vortex and funneled each shot into it before firing it right back. Gripping her glaives, she flexed out her water wings and darted towards the now sparking cannon, it bursting to bits after a heavy blow. Once the cannons were dealt with, the butler let out a slow but haunting bit of applause. “You have defended yourself from my cannons, well done. However,” he snapped his finger, the torn bits of metal beginning to shake as a result, “torn instruments can always be repurposed.” His blobby body began to shift, the torn apart cannons rushing through the air and connecting to the butler. He began to grow in size, stopping only after his head just about reached the ceiling, a cannon forming on each of his knees and hands. “It is curtains for you,” he growled at them as , “no encores.” Alex and Ashley both gasped, Alex freezing in place from the sudden attack as the no colossal demon butler fired a barrage of countless balls of burning iron at him. Ashley didn't waste any time however, the water rider saw an opening and she took it. Rushing towards Alex, she pulled a thin layer of water to shield herself and Alex from the butler's barrage. One shot got through however and struck Ashley's caff, but not before she was able to shove Alex out of the way of the blast with the shock of it all being enough to throw both of them into the rail of the staircase at the back of the vestibule. “Ashley!” Alex gasped as he recovered, “Are you alright?!” Ashley winced as she stood herself up, raising a single thumb to Alex with a laugh, “Solid, don't worry about it.” “ALEX!” Shiore called out as she formed another pair of clones for herself, “THIS THING ISN'T THE DOPANT! JUST ANOTHER EXTENSION OF HIM!” “Are you sure?” Alex called back. Shiore nodded, “If my hunch is correct, the real dopant should be at the source of the music.” She aimed her sword at the large butler, “Archer and I will keep this thing busy, you and Shift should move on.” “Ya! Ice Queen, Kree and I got this!” Tara shouted, throwing a solid thumbs up at Alex, “Now go get her Superstar!” Without wasting a moment, Ashley and Alex darted up the stairs at the back of the vestibule with Ashley limping at her first couple of steps before using her wings to carry her the rest of the way. The butler snarled, firing yet another barrage of cannons at Alex and Ashley only for them to be intercepted by a pair of Shiore's ice clones. The didn't withstand the hit, shattering to bits after one strike each but they served their purpose and allowed Alex and Ashley to reach the landing disappear down the landing above. “Yo! Keep those creepy eyes over here big boy!” Tara barked at him, lashing her slicer forward in a slashing motion, “You're playing with the big girls now!” The butler glared back at Tara and Shiore. “There is no play with the likes of you,” he snarled, turning back to the two riders in front of him and aiming his cannons at them, “only pain.” The echo of cannon fire shook the halls as Alex and Ashley rushed down them, following the haunting melody to a large pair of doors at the very end of it. Without even thinking on it, Alex used Ryu-O's fire blasters to break down the door with a concussive burst of energy. Kicking the door down, the two found themselves in the belly of the beast with the Melody Dopant still playing the organ at the back of the room. “So… you arrived, Xtreme,” Melody spoke in a cold apathetic tone of voice. “Six stepped foot in my garden, yet two I see… Tell me, how was it my creations tore your friends to sunder?” “They aren't dead you dim witted edgelord,” Ashley spoke up, stepping forward on her good leg, “I'd say you have about a minute or so until they all get there, so I suppose you have five seconds to tell us what we want to know if you would like to have even a chance of getting out of here breathing!” “What you want to know?” Melody pressed a single finger down on one key, the chime of it echoing continuously as the dopant turned to face the two riders. “And what, pretell, might that be?” he asked as he rose to look them both in the eye, “You are but pests in my home. You are in no more a position to demand anything from me than a rat is to beg for scraps from a god.” “Just tell us where Madison is you prick! NOW!” Alex roared, firing a bolt of fire at the dopants face. With a quick turn of his heel, Melody swiftly dodged the sudden blast while maintaining his scowl at the riders. Alex’s attack did manage to strike something though, the organ behind Melody which quickly caught fire. Melody glanced over his shoulder and watched the instrument burn with an ever growing rage inside his soul. “You can invade my home, covet my prized maiden, you could even spit on me if you’d wish,” Melody ranted as he turned his gaze back to Ashley and Alex, crossing his arms over his chest, “But to destroy the maker of my craft? That is a crime I shall not forgive.” He pulled his arms apart, strumming the strings and keys on his arms as he flared out his hands sending a rampaging flourish of sound based blades hurling towards the two riders. Ashley darted out of the way using her wings, dodging to the right as Alex dodged to the left. The pair exchanged a simple glance before refocusing back on the dopant. As the duo darted towards him, Melody wave after wave of sound based blades at them with Ashley and Alex just barely avoiding them. Gritting her teeth together, Ash shot out her hand towards Melody and clenched it into a fist. Before Melody could unleash another round of attacks, his entire body contorted together as if someone had lassoed him in a very tight rope. Lowering her arm, Ashley forced him to the ground with her one hand before encasing his whole body in water from the air to muffle the sound around him. “ALEX! THE PIPES!” Ashley motioned her head towards the pipes connecting the organ to the wall and the rest of the manor. Following her instruction, Alex leapt towards the pipes and slashed them open. Melody snarled, glaring up towards Ashley. “You!” he lashed his tongue at her, “You are the most vile human being I have ever encountered! You do not possess the right to even call yourself a woman!” Ash smirked at him, planting her foot down firmly on his head, “Glass houses buddy.” “Yo!” She called back up to Alex, “We finishing this or not?” Alex nodded, holding his sword up to point it at Melody as he approached, “Tell us where Madison is first.” Melody gritted his teeth together as he shot a glare towards Alex, “She’s down the hall, last room on the left hand side.. Though I doubt she’d be awake by now.” Alex’s eyes shot open in shock as he gasped, “Bastard! If you’ve done anything to her I’ll!” “Do what?” Melody glared at him, “More than you have already?” He laughed, “do whatever you intend now. But don’t waste my time with talk!” Alex gripped his sword as he snarled himself. “Fine, have it your way then.” From for the Star Memory from within his chest, he slammed it into the hilt of his sword and pulled the trigger on his sword. “STAR! ROCK! RYU-O! MAXIMUM DRIVE!” his blade screamed, Alex gripping it firmly with both his hands as he raised it like a guillotine to the dopant’s throat. “Melody,” he growled with anger, “Your rampage… ENDS HERE!” A mixture of violet, red and green energy swirled around X-Calibur, Alex holding his blade up over his shoulder as it charged before pulling the trigger once again. “EXTREME MEMORY STORM!” He roared, swinging the sword down hard upon Melody, his dopant form and memory shattering upon contact. Meanwhile, back in the vestibule, Tara and Shiore delivered the finishing blow to Melody’s demon butler and landed on the floor behind him as his body burst into a mess of torn metal and black ink. Tara tucked away her slicer before standing proudly atop a ruined chest plate, victorious. “OH YEAH! ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST!” She pumped her fist in the air before holding the same open hand up to Shiore in a high fiving motion, grinning under her mask, “Put ‘er there!” Shiore blinked, staring at Tara’s hand before raising her own and awkwardly placing it over Tara’s. “That’s my girl!” Tara swung her shoulder over Shiore and pulling her close, “You know, you and I make a pretty good team don’t you think?” Shiore just stared at her, “Don’t touch me.” A sudden beam of light came in through the ceiling, the two riders looking up as the entire manor began to dissolve away from the roof down leaving only bare concrete and steel. Tara paused, looking around in confusion, “Um… what just-” “Haze and Darwin,” Shiore chimed in, looking up the blocks of concrete that now made up the once brilliantly crafted stares, “they must have defeated the dopant.” Back in Melody’s chamber, Haze and Alex powered down and stood over Larc’s unconscious body. The two were back in their civilians forms with Ashley looking him over. “Well Alex, we got what needed from him,” Ashley winced for a moment as she hoisted Larc onto her shoulder, not looking Alex in the eye as she stood up. “You should get to Madison now. I bet she’ll be pretty confused when she wakes up to see this place the way it is.” Alex nodded, letting out a gasp once he saw that Ashley’s calf had become a deep purple. “Whoa! Ashley your leg! We should get you to-” “Oh no, don’t you start.” She managed a laugh and a smirk, placing her hand over his lips with a wink. “I can make it downstairs easy, now get going alright?” Alex nodded once more, turning without a word to dart from the room and down the hall. As he vanished around the corner, so did the smirk on Ashley face, her heart plummeting to the bottom of her stomach. “God…” she smacked herself in the forehead, “I really am vile.” Alex rushed down the hall, checking every room until he came to one without a door. He gasped, and it was there that he saw her. That familiar red head of hair that had haunted his dreams since the day he gave her up. Madison stared out the window, now solid bars of steel instead of glass with nothing inside the room itself but a slab of concrete where the bed once was and a stack of metal crates where Larc’s piano had been. Alex’s heart beated faster than he could breath. After a moment to take in her sight, he stepped foward. “M-Madison?” he called out to her. Madison jumped, turning to face him with a look of horror that changed to one of surprise. She gasped, only for a moment before her expression changed to one of indifference. “Oh… it’s only you...” she muttered with a breath, looking away from him as she gripped the bars, “I’m guessing we’re going then? Larc’s been detained?” “Yes… everything’s alright…” Alex nodded, going up to her and throwing his arms around her without even thinking about the fact she no longer remembered him. “I’m just glad you’re alright.” “I see…” Madison simply glanced at him “So that's what it takes for you to care then?” Alex’s heart sank, dropping his arms from where they held Madison and stepping away from her. “W-What?” Madison turned to face him, a glare on her face directed exclusively at him. “You wait until I'm locked up like some bird to care about me?” Her hands were balled into fists, her whole body trembling. She looked away from him, her bloodshot eyes and stained cheeks a dead give away that she had been sobbing very recently. “Thanks... I guess. But in truth, I could have used it a hell of a lot sooner.” “Sooner, what…” Alex stamered, swallowing a bit as he looked Madison in the eye regardless of how much it hurt to do so. “What do you mean?” Madison swallowed, looking Alex right in the eye as she spoke. “I remember you Alex Darwin, I remember everything! Sarah becoming that beast! Me almost dying! And one other, very important thing!” “T-That being?” Alex shook, unsure of how to feel or what else to say. “You… You weren't there,” she told him simply, shaking her head at him. “Not while we were together, not after what happened. Not even now.” “Madison, come on!” Alex huffed, “You're being ridiculous!” “Oh am I?!” I’m the one being ridiculous?!” Madison almost laughed. “Then tell me, how is me having a problem with how you acted ridiculous? I thought you were my boyfriend! You said you loved me! And the day I woke up, even though I didn’t remember a thing, YOU weren’t there! WHY?!” “I... Well I…” Alex was at a loss for words, not knowing what else to say. In his need to say something, he answered only with, “What would you have done?” Madison looked up him, more puzzled than anything else. “You... Want to know what I would have done?” She asked, Alex nodded, “I would have stayed by your side! I would have been there for you regardless of how hard it was for me! I would have known how much harder it was for you because THAT’S what love IS Alex Darwin! That’s just what people who love each other do for one another!” “Madison please!” Alex pleaded, “Can't we just talk this out?” “I already did Alex,” Madison glared at him, “and I'm done.” This forced Alex to pause, looking at her with a raised brow, “Done?” “Done talking, and with you,” She shook her head and walked passed him. “I wish the best for you, truly I do…. But you don't deserve me, not after all this.” In a desperate final move, Alex shot his hand out to grab Madison's. “Madison! Wait! Please!” Almost on instinct, Madison shoved him away with every fiber of her being causing him to fall down to the ground. The pair gasped, locking eyes for a moment. It didn’t last for long however, as Madison regained her glare second later. With balled fists, she turned away from him and stormed out. Alex held his stomach, his heart sinking deeper and faster than it ever had before. As he sat, he felt something poking at him from underneath him. “Ow.. what the…” he reached under him, finding the memory with Madison’s name on it now a dull grey as opposed to the vibrant pink it had been before. This only filled his head with even more questions that the boy was not prepared to deal with. In response, he simply shoved the memory into his pocket. Outside, Marcoh and Sampson had driven their cars up to what remained of the manor with the riders taking some much needed r&r after the battle they had just been through. Carter looked back to the rubble. “So, this whole manor was just another part of the dopants ability?” Carter asked. Tara nodded, “Seems to be that way, doesn’t it? Of course I suspected as much the entire time.” Cole looked at her with a grin, “You did not.” Sampson and Marcoh got Larc loaded into the car, Sampson looking to Ashley, “So, where’s Alex and Ms Tyler?” he asked, beginning to worry. “I’m sure they’re…” Ashley spoke, only to fall silent as she fall Madison marching out from the manor. Ashley pointed over to her, the officer’s gaze turning to the manor. “Oh, and there she is,” Sampson grinned, walking over to her. Madison’s eyes remained closed, refusing to look Sampson in the eye, “Larc’s going away for a while… isn’t he?” Sampson nodded, placing his hand on her shoulder, “It’s a lot to take in.. I’m sure. But we can explain it all to you if you’d like.” “That’s okay, I already know…” she told him with yet another gulp of her emotions, “about the kamen riders, and the dopants. I remember it all, Sampson.” Sampson looked to her with a sad gaze and after a moment of he let out a remorse filled sigh. “Alright, well that will at least make everything simpler I suppose.” He looked over to Marcoh, “John, please take Madison home, or anywhere else she’d wish to go. I’m sure she has earned a rest at the very least.” Marcoh simply nodded in agreement, opening the passenger side door to his car as Madison approached it. Madison looked up, meeting Ashley eye to eye. “Hey… Madison…” Ashley waved to her with a sad smile, “glad to see you’re okay.” “Same to you…” she nodded, “looks like you’re involved with this whole rider thing too, huh?” “Seems so,” Ashley nodded back, “I’ll be okay though, you go on and get going okay?” “I will…” Madison climbed in, shutting down the door and rolling down the window to continue talking with Ashley, “just… do me a favor.” “Shoot,” Ashley said. “Look after Alex for me,” Madison spoke, spotting Alex as he came out from the ruins of the manor to meet his gaze one final time, “he needs all the help he can get.” “I will,” Ashley returned. With that, Marcoh started up the car and drove off. It wasn’t long before they were driving down the mountain, the sun setting over the horizon as Madison just stared out the window. Marcoh looked over to her, letting out a heavy sigh. “So, is there anywhere you’d like to go?” he asked her, “I could take you to get something to eat if you’d like, I’m sure you must be hungry by now.” “Thank you but no, it’s okay,” Madison shook her head. She sat back in her seat, letting out a heavy yawn as she closed her eyes, tears beginning to run down them, “Please… just take me home.” Next time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme Life is filled with meetings and partings, when one story ends another begins. What lies for the young riders now that the book has closed around Alex and Madison? All will be decided when Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme continues in: Episode 37: The Eye of the Hurricane Gale! Raise up your golden wings! |
Episode 37: The Eye of the Hurricane Thirty years ago, Ms Seraphina sat in her dimly lit bar. The woman grinned while staring into her reflection within her blood red wine. The door cracked open, a much younger version of Jason stepping in alongside his wife Alice, Rylee, Joel and Derek. Jason glared at Seraphina, motioning towards Derek, "Is this her Maverick? The one you spoke of?" "I believe she can speak for herself," Derek smirked, bowing a hand to Seraphina. The lot of them stepped into the bar, Joel shutting the door behind them. "Show onto them what you did me." Seraphina looked to them, pulling out a gold gaia memory marked with a D in the shape of a heart before striking the activation button. "DESIRE!" Cooed the memory in an alluring tone, Serapina tilting her head back as a connection port appeared just above her left breast. Connecting the memory to her skin, the device dissolved into it transforming her into a pale blue succubus like being clad in a provocative ball gown. A pair of bat like wings sprouted from her wings as the group gasped in awe, save for Jason who merely stared with intrigue. "So, this is the power you plan to give us? He asked bluntly, "Not entire my style." "Do not fret, this form belongs to me alone," she placed four gold memories, one black memory and one white memory on the table. "These however, are yours." "Star… Fata… Fury… Spite… Inertia…" Jason read off the memories in order, his eyes falling upon the final memory in the line. "Vainglory…" he reached out his hand to grab it, as if it was calling out to him. "And what exactly are we to do these?" He eyed Desire. "Use them as a map," Desire smirked, "in your search for the keys to paradise." Back in the present day, Seraphina while in her human form sat at her desk in her empty classroom polishing a memory marked with a V. It was gunmetal grey but possessed a blood red hue to it. She smirked, eyeing the amber ring on her finger, "Well my darling sister. The events I set in motion so many years ago are about to come full circle." The door to her class jimmied as Kat kicked it open. Limping tiredly into the room with a groan, she flopped onto the face of Seraphina's desk and groaned. Seraphina gawked at her, raising both her hands and brow as the girl stumbled towards her. "Kat… darling…" Seraphina forced a grin, "my telling me what you are doing?" "Failing at the mission you gave me," Kat's tired gaze met Seraphina's, "the guy's a white knight if I ever saw one!" "Well then, looks as though we'll need to change our target then won't we?" Seraphina pulled out several blank worksheets, filling in the wrong answers to each question and marking them according. "Where are they right now?" "Classes just ended… so Cole will be heading right home," Kat yawned, curling up on Seraphina's desk. "Gale wasn't in home room today, so she's probably at his place by now. Been going there everyday since lover boy confessed to her at that fancy house of her's… pretty sure that was the day after she got her memory back too." "Pampered little princess… isn't she… a little bird all snug in a cage?" Ms Seraphina cooed to her servant, patting her on the head before gently stroking her black head of long almost fur like hair, "To a stray cat like you, I bet it most bother you. Doesn't it?" As Seraphina patted Kat on the head, the girl's laid back and carefree demeanor changed as her eyes narrowed into a glare. "Ya… it does…" Kat sat open, looking Seraphina in the eye with her own that were now filled with anger. "But what should I do?! Those two are like peanut butter and bread!" "How about you use your imagination a little?" Ms Seraphina slid the stack of failing worksheets she had written up and marked with Kat's name. "We do not need to disrupt them permanently, only a large enough reaction." "Ah… I get it," Kat smirked, "dip a little chocolate in the peanut butter." "If you wish to put it in such a crude way, yes," Seraphina laughed, "You said they should both be at his place correct? I would go now if I were you." {Insert opening theme: "Alones" by Aqua Timez} Later afternoon, Cole walked up to the apartment building his parents owned. It was a small building, only three floors with two units on each floor. From the outside looking in it looked as if it were a normal house. Cole's family and Alex lived on the main floor with Carter taking the unit above Alex on the second. The other unit on Carter's floor seemed to be a revolving door of tenants with the unfortunate luck of housing one nut job after the other. The basement meanwhile housed an olympic gymnast in one unit and a sweet old lady who constantly confused Alex and Carter in the other. Cole came in through the vestibule, raising a brow a bit in surprise when he saw Ashley sitting in front of Alex's door. A brace was on her injured leg, but that wasn't what surprised Cole. She had dropped her leather punk attire in favor of a midnight blue wrap dress, black tights and red platform heels. Her face was done up with ruby red lipstick and vibrant blue eyeshadow. A smile came to Cole's face, figuring she had been sitting there for a while. "Hey there Ash, you're looking nice." Ash blushed hard, grinning ear to ear, "Oh! This get up?!" she jumped a bit before hiding her face behind her knees. "It's nothing special, just something I threw on." "Well, either way Alex is a lucky guy to have you checking up on him," Cole checked his mail then eyed Alex's door, "how is he anyhow? He feeling any better?" "Wouldn't know, he won't open the door," Ashley huffed as she got up to stretch, "just keeps watching the same old show over and over again." "Figures as much," Cole let out a huff of his own, fishing out his keys, "come on, I'll let you in." He went to Alex's door, unlocking it before stepping inside with Ashley following close behind him. As they entered, a gasp of shock followed by a gag of disgust came upon Ashley and Cole as what they found truly horrified them. The place was a mess with food and litter scattered all over the place, with the biggest mess of course being the shell of a human sprawled out onto the couch, still fully clothed hoodie and with a blanket and half eaten bags of chips covering him. He stared at the tv, his gaze blank as the bright colors danced over his eyes. Cole let out a huff, crossing his arms as he looked to his friend. "Come on man, it's been well over a week already. How much longer are you going to lay here watching the same anime over and over?" "Y-Yeah… just a minute…" Alex muttered weakly, pointing to the tv, "just wanna… watch this." "If someone ever tells me it's a mistake to have hope, I'll just tell them they're wrong and I'll keep tell them til they believe," spoke the cartoon girl with bright pink pigtails as Cole went over to the tv and shut it off, the dvd player along with it. "Look, I get your still upset about what Madison said, but you can't let it rule your life forever," Cole looked at him as Alex could just barely glance up at him, "it's not healthy, none of this is." Alex narrowed his gaze at Cole and nodded, rolling over to bury his face into the couch, "I know…" he yawned, "I should sleep on it. Lock the door behind you, okay?" With another huff, Cole looked to Ashley, "Ash, Tara and I have a thing to get to. Make sure he doesn't choke on his tears please?" Ashley nodded as Cole let, looking back to Alex with a sigh, "Welp…" she eyed all the garbage, "guess I'm the one who needs to clean all this up, aren't I?" Cole came to the door of his apartment and went to unlock it. As he opened the door he caught a whiff of something steamy and delicious. A grin came to his face as he opened the door and entered to the sight of Tara setting the table with a full course meal all while wearing a frilly yellow sundress. "Oh you're home," she smiled with glee as she finished setting the table. Practically skipping over to Cole, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips before a pout came onto her face, "How's Superstar doing?" Cole frowned, giving her a thumbs down. "Ash is over there trying to get his ass in gear… but I think that's easier said than done at this point." "Did she try using hers to motivate his?" Tara asked. Cole cocked up a brow, looking at her with a bit of chuckle, "With how dolled up she is, she just about might." He grabbed Tara by her waist and began kissing her neck, "Speaking of, what's with this frilly thing?" He tugged at her dress. "Well I mean, since we've got the place to ourselves for the next couple weeks I thought I'd play housewife for you," she looked at her dress, her smile dropping a bit, "but it's not really me.. is it?" "Nonsense," he kissed her cheek, "I think you can pull off whatever look you want to." The kiss to her cheek made Tara's face light up with glee, looking back at Cole with a smirk before poking him on the nose, "Good, because I'm gonna." At that moment, her phone rang and Tara immediately picked it up. "Oh, thats dad. Sorry, gotta take this." She motioned to the table that Kree was still assisting in getting set up, a tiny bowl of nuts and bolts set out for him. "Eat!" "You don't need to tell me twice," Cole sat down, giving Kree a good pet on the head. The little mechanical bird cooed with every pet then male gave him. "Hi daddy, how's the trip going? Cole's folks enjoying themselves okay?" Tara asked into her phone, inviting herself into Cole's bedroom. "I'm just relieved they accepted the invite so quick, its like they've never gone on vacation before." As Cole began to eat, a knock came to his door. He quickly swallowed, "Coming!" He got up to answer it, his grin instantly dropping the moment he saw Kat standing there on the other side. She smiled at him, "Oh thank god you're home." She reached into her shoulder bag, "I was wondering, if you aren't to busy maybe-" "Kat, for the last time no," he began to close the door. Kat shoved her foot in the door, preventing him from closing it. "Cole! Please! Its different this time!" Kat pleaded with him, a sad desperate look coming to her face as she fished out her worksheets. "I was told you could help me with school work. Please Cole. I'm gonna fail if my grades don't improve." Cole stared at her close, feeling she was up to something again. However the look of genuine heartbreak on her face told him otherwise. He let out a sigh then opened the door to her. "Alright," he regained his grin as he invited her in, "but let's make this quick okay? I'm kinda in the middle of something." "Oh I yeah, I get that," Kat grinned as she eyed the food on the dining room table, strolling inside and plopping herself down on the couch. "But seriously Cole, thanks a bunch for this. I'm like, the only one in our class that doesn't get this stuff." "Well, what are you having trouble with?" Cole asked her, sitting down beside her. Kat flipped through her work, her heart racing a bit as the male drew closer to her, "Hmm…" she blushed to give the impression that she was embarrassed, "I think all of it?" On the other side of the hall Ashley had finished cleaning Alex's apartment and now only one mess remained. The boy himself that she now simply stared at from a chair she had folded out for herself, hunching over with her cheeks in the palms of her hands. Letting out a heavy sigh, she got up and walked towards him before attempting to pull him up "Come on, let's just get you out of the house for a while." She hoisted him up, "or at least get you into the shower. You smell like year old cheese." As she moved him off the couch, she suddenly felt the weight of Alex's body push her towards the wall. With a gasp she turned around to face him only to find that she was pinned to the wall with his arms on either side of her. His eyes stared vacantly into hers. "Ash… I'm hurting really bad…" he grabbed her shoulder with one hand and cupped her cheek with the other. This simple action made her heart skip a beat, her whole body beginning to shiver as his lips drifted closer to her's, "Please… just help me feel something…" His lips drew closer to hers. She gulped, her face bright red at the thought of the impending contact. "Whoa there bucko!" she shoved him back onto the couch, catching her breath as her heartbeat was still going nuts. "We… We can't! We just can't! You're still messed up over Madison and me… well, Sarah didn't leave me much better off…" "Sarah…" Alex raised a brow, looking up at her, "Did.. something happened between you two?"" "You mean.. you don't know?" Her face was bright red, holding her arms crossed as she avoided Alex's gaze, "I loved her, okay. I loved her more than anything else.. She and I tried dating way back when but, she went and fell for Madison just like you did." She shook her head, "You both loved her, and I'm doomed to be the one not good enough for Sarah then, for either of you." She rolled her head back before sliding down the wall to sit on the floor before letting out a big sigh. "God, why am I such a bitch?" Alex just stared at her for a bit, his heart sinking deeper than it already was as he listened to Ashley vent. Eventually he gripped his hair and let out a sigh. "You aren't bitch" he told her with a gulp. "It's perfectly normal to feel that way, isn't it? So why bag on yourself for it?" Ashley smirked with a laugh, "Because I just happen to fall for people who were taken by Madison's raw charm… that's why. Yeah, I like you Alex, I've liked you since the moment you turned my life around. I'm just, glad I could finally tell you is all." Alex narrowed his gaze at her, "So… that's why you kissed me back then? Not for Madison's sake, but for your own?" "Eyup…" Ashley huffed, staring blankly at the floor and refusing to look Alex in the eye, "and I feel worse about it the more I think about it." "If I can say something…" he got up from the couch and sat down beside her, "I for the record think you're great. But to be honest, I'm just not sure I'm ready for a committed relationship just yet. I bombed hard with Madison, and I would hate to do that to anyone else, especially not you." "Yeah… I can understand that…" Ashley rubbed her eyes from tears. She hid her face from Alex for a moment before managing a grin, her face still flushed from the overwhelming emotions that had previously consumed her, "But… to be perfectly honest…" She blushed hard, her head sinking a bit into her shoulders, "just because neither of us are ready for that sort of relationship, doesn't mean we still can't do other things." Her heart was racing at this point. "Other things?" Alex raised a brow at her, his own face turning bright red, "like what?" "God you're a dense boy," Ashley managed a laugh, her grin getting wider as she began tugging at his shirt. She ran her one hand up it and clawing at his chest, "Guess I'm gonna need to make you a man, aren't I?" "And it's just like that," Cole told Kat as he jotted down the answer, looking towards her. "You get it now?" "Oh yeah, thanks Cole you're a lifesaver," Kat grinned at him, catching the door to Cole's room begin to open. She smirked, grabbing Cole's shoulder and kissing him square on the lips. "Hey Cole, when am I gonna get a super form anyhow? I feel that it's a bit unfair, what with Ash getting the wings and-" She paused, her eyes shooting open when she laid eyes upon Kat locking lips with Cole. "Oh, Tara," Kat pulled away from him, smirking at Cole, "I didn't know you were here." Tara balled her hand into a fist, charging over to Kat and punching her in the jaw with enough force to send her hurling at a wall. "GOD! WHAT IS WITH YOU! I wouldn't care but the guy already told you no! I mean seriously, do you not see how much of a fucking creep you're being?!" "Whoa!" Cole quickly got up, "Tara! I didn't think you were actually gonna hit her!" "The harlot forced herself on you!" Tara barked back at him, "The hell was I supposed to do?!" "Okay… that tears it…" Kat laughed maniacally as she picked herself up off the ground, her bones cracking as she forced them back into alignment. She dug her hands into her pocket and shoulder bag, "I wanted to be a sweet, innocent little homewrecker. But now? Now, I'm PISSED!" She ripped a dopant driver out from her bag and slapped it out to her waist before pulling out a gold gaia memory marked with a G styled in a beastly all consuming maw. "GORGE!" Screamed her memory as she struck its activation button, slotting it into place on her driver. "I hate that I need to ruin that spread you both got," Kat snarled, baring her claws at Tara, "but I'll just have to get over it!" Kat's memory transformed her into a humanoid cat like creature dressed in gold ninja robes. Razor sharp blades made up her claws as she stared down Tara and Cole from outside the robes and fur that covered her mouth and face leaving only a pair of glaring blood red eyes visible from the outside. Tara laughed, "Oh great! Just another reason to kick your ass into the dirt!" She smirked deviously, extending her arm out to call Kree to connect to her arm as she pulled out her Gale memory. She struck the activation button, "GALE!" Back in Alex's apartment, a loud shattering of glass caused Ashley and Alex pop their heads up from under the blanket they had been covering them and the couch. Their eyes were wide open as they saw Kat in her dopant form and Tara in her rider form locked in an all out brawl they quickly made its way out into the streets. They exchanged a glance before they both shot to their feet, Alex bolting to the door. "Hey genius!" Ashley called to him, rolling her eyes in disbelief as she slipped her tights back on. "Put your clothes back on mister!" "Oh yeah, right!" Alex redressed himself then grabbed Ashley's wrap dress, inspecting it for a second. "Hey Ash… what happened to your… underthings?" "Wasn't wearing any," she told him bluntly, grabbing her dress before slipping it on along with her shoes before darting out the door. Alex just stood there, face bright red at that revelation. "COME ON SLOWPOKE!" Ash called out to him. Back on the road, Kat lept from lamp post to lamp post as cars rushed from below her. She looked over her shoulder and smirked as she spotted Tara close behind her on her driver. She however felt her heart stop when she noticed Alex, Cole and Ashley not far behind the wind rider all of them in their respective rider forms. Alex and Cole were chasing after her on their bikes while Ash soared through the air with her wings. Kat gritted her teeth as she spoke into a pale blue gemstone tethered by a silver chain around her neck. "Desire, I may have pulled more than the intended target. Ya think that toy of yours can back me up?" Within the shroud of her bar, ms Seraphina contemplated this in her succubus dopant form. She eyed Vince with a smirk who met her gaze with a glare of his own. "Of course my pet, hang tight for now," she cooed as Vince gritted his teeth, "find a way to cage them until Crave arrives." "AND HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO THAT!" Kat barked back. Kat's backpack caused Desire to glare at the ring she wore. "With that tone, you may handle it yourself my pet," she hissed at her, "and should you speak to me again with that tone you'll find yourself right back in the gutter I found you. Is that what you wish?" Kat froze, her mind sending her back to when she was no more than five years old in rags and being thrown from the door of a small grocery store. "Steal from me again and I'll treat ya how people should treat PESTS like YOU! NOW BEAT IT!" Those words echoed in her head as she snapped back to reality. Kat's lip quivered, swallowing her emotions while she tightened her claws. "N-No ma'am, not in the slightest..." She told her, regaining her smirk as she eyed an active scrap yard in the distance. "Tell Crave to take his sweet time. I know just how to handle the pests tailing me." Back within the bar, Desire simply smirked. "Excellent my pet, Crave will be there shortly," her ring dulled as she turned to Vince. "I'd get going if I were you." Vince let out a huff, looking away from Desire as he went to leave. "I will return. The moment Vince had left, Desire looked to the blood red memory in her hand that was marked with a V, the gun metal grey parts of it now completely gone. "Return or not, it makes little difference to me," she smirked as she turned her attention to the door to the back room of the bar, "I already have all I could ever gain from you, Crave." Kat continued the leap across power lines, reaching a large fence and effortlessly hoping over it and landing on the ground of the scrapyard. "Never," she gritted her teeth as she recalled the cold chill of rain on her dirt covered skin, "I will NEVER go back to that!" She became lost in a memory of her as young girl covered only by a torn blue dress that was two sizes too small for her, running in the pouring rain as an empty glass bottle was tossed at her. It shattered on the ground, cutting her feet as she darted into an ally, panting heavily as she attempted to catch her breath. "Oh my…" a soft voice cooed to her, "you certainly have been through a lot this night, haven't you little one?" Kat jumped, looking up to see Seraphina, clad it a form fitting white blouse and black pencil skirt. She held an umbrella, taking a step forward and reaching out a hand to her. Kat jumped, raising her fists up to the woman. Seraphina only smirked, "Oh my.. you certainly have some fight in you, don't you?" She reached into her bag and pulled out an apple wrapped in plastic. "But I am not going to hurt you, I only wish to help you… so long as you help me." Kat inched towards it, sniffing as Seraphina held it out to her. Kat swiped it from the woman, biting into it plastic and all. Seraphina smirked while Kat spat out the plastic before continuing to eat. "So… is that a deal?" Seraphina asked as her white skin became pale blue. "If you feed me like this, I'll do whatever you say!" Kat barked back as she finished the apple, not even leaving the core uneaten. "Exactly what I was looking to hear," Seraphina reached forward, patting the girl on the head as her eyes changed from a deep brown to a piercing yellow, her hair switching from blond to a deep violet. The girl licking her hands clean of what was left of the apple, gasping when she found her hands had changed into a pair of grey cat paws. Whiskers sprouted from her face and even her ears began to change. "Hey! What are you trying to pull!" The girl pleaded, smacking the woman's legs with her paws as her entire body began to shrink, becoming more cat like in the process. "STOP IT! I TAKE IT BACK! CHANGE ME BACK NOW! RIGHT MEOOW!" With that single cry of meow, the girl's entire body was now that of a chubby grey kitten. Seraphina meanwhile had reverted to her human form just as the kitten began to claw at her. "Sorry, but a stray kitten is far easier to come home with than a stray child," Seraphina cooed, ignoring the pain of the kitten's bite to her one hand as she patted its head with her free one. "However, that temper needs to be… adjusted." Rubbing its head, the kitten's snarls soon changed to a gentle purr. The kitten rubbing up against Seraphina as she scooped her up. "Now then, what are we going to call you? As a human, I was thinking Kat… but as an actual cat… Hmm… Cheshire, yes that suits you nice doesn't it?" Seraphina continued to pet the kitten as she stood back up, "I have plans for you little Cheshire, so long as you behave." {End of Part A} {Start of Part B} Far across down in a park surrounded by trees, Shiore sat on a bench in the shade typing away at her phone while eyeing a birthday party that was going on under the canopy of a small gazebo in the center of the park. Her thumbs stopped typed, Shiore staring almost longingly at the party before her. Taking in a gulp, she eyed the changing leafs that still clung to the trees as a cold autumn wind rushed over her. "It's getting to be about that time of year again… isn't it?" her gaze sharpened as she spotted Carter approaching her. Due to the change in weather he now wore a deep red leather jacket. "Oh.. its you.." she sighed, tucking her phone away, "What do you want?" "I was hoping to talk," he handed her a can of coffee, "This whole thing, it's a bit of a mess isn't it?" Shiore sighed once again, moving over to allow Carter to sit down, "Thats putting it lightly… course it wouldn't be that way if you pointed us in the direction of your former boss." "I would if I could," Carter told her, sitting down and taking a sip from his own drink, "Marcoh and I have been going over it, but META locked me out completely. My own mother changed numbers on me." "Sucks to be all alone, doesn't it?" She glanced at him, "not that I would know." "I know, the damage done to your clan… it's all the more reason we need to end this as soon as possible," Carter leaned back on the bench, glancing over to Shiore after a moment, "Which reminds me… what are you gonna do? When all this over I mean." "Head home, rebuild what I can," Shiore told him simply with a shrug, "it's not like I have much else keeping me here after all, do I?" Carter let out a sigh then nodded, "Yeah.. I guess that's true." Carter was about to speak once more when his phone went off, "Talk to me." He answered, Shiore's scanner going off at the same time. Carter quickly stood up, his driver materializing around his waist, "I'll be right there." He turned to Shiore. "Marcoh?" Shiore asked him, Carter nodding in response. He pulled out his gaia memory, "The others are already engaged, we should move quick." "RYU-O!" Cried the memory as he struck the activation button, slamming into his driver and switching it on. "RYU-O!" The driver roared as a whirlwind of fire transformed Carter into his rider form. Carter extended a hand to Shiore, turning his back to him. "Come, we'll get there faster by the air." Shiore gritted her teeth, letting out a huff as she took his hand and climbed onto his back. "We'd better. I wish to not rely anyone for longer than I have too." Carter let out a huff of his own, "That makes two of us." He spoke once more before taking off into the sky." Within the crater of the scrap yard, Kat leapt from bulldozer to bulldozer. The workers gasped at the sudden appearance of the cat like dopant, one worker jumping once again when Tara knocked on the window of his vehicle. "If I were you sir, I'd get you and your buddies out of here," the wind rider told him as she pulled her flail made up three feather like blades tethered to a chain from the back of her belt, "this is gonna get ugly." The worker gulped, nodding as he hoped from the vehicle and grabbed a radio from his vest. "CLOCK OUT TIME! WE'RE GETTING OUTTA HERE EARLY!" On their que, all the other workers bolted as Tara marched towards were Kat sat perched atop a tall tower of scrap metal. "Even in a blinding rage, you still seek to ensure others are out of the way?" Kat chuckled with a smirk as she hopped down to meet Tara's stride, "You are a strange on, you know that." "You don't get it do you?" Tara smirked under her mask as she cracked her flail, widing her arm back before hurling the triple bladed weapon at the dopant before her. Kat leapt out of the way of the attack, dodging to right only for Tara to bolt in that same direction and grab her by the throat. "Wha?!" Kat gasped. "Staring down an opponent like you…" Tara stared her down, tightening her grasp on the dopant, "I'm the calmest I've ever been." "This girl…all this chaos around her..." Kat thought to herself as she was thrown it rusted scraps. "Is she… like the eye of a hurricane or something?!" Hitting the ground, she kicked the metal off herself with a wince from the pain of being through. Kat then gritted her teeth, clenching the dirt within her tightening claws. "That just… pisses me off even more!" Kat roared, darting right for Tara with her claws at the ready. At the main gate to the scrapyard, Alex, Cole and Ashley rushed in opposite the current of fleeing workers. Cole was in his default Rock forn with Alex taking on Star Runner. Alex and Cole's gaze darted from left to right in search for Tara as Carter and Shiore touched down on the ground in front of them in their base rider forms. "Where's Thea?" Carter asked as Shiore hopped from his back. Alex caught his breath, Cole pointing off to the left. "We saw her chase the dopant that way." The earth rider told Carter. "Then let's not waste time getting to her," Carter gritted his teeth together, turning on his heel when a chilling voice filled the air. "Oh no… I'm afraid you five won't be going anywhere," A deep green muscular dopant called out to them as he emerged from the shadows of the scrap piles. "Crave," Ashley sucked her teeth, "I was wondering when you were going to show your ugly mug here." "Likewise Shift," Crave glared at her, "though of all of us, I never imagined you would be the one to betray me." "I didn't betray anyone Crave," Ash glared back at him under her mask, "I just needed someone to set me on the right path, nothing more." "Right path?" Crave raised a brow, chuckling slightly. He readied his claw and raised his arm, "Well then, allow me to mark where yours ends!" He let out a roar, hurling a trio a energy blades from his arm at the riders. Ashley acted quickly, pulling as much water from the air as she could with a flick of her wrists and forming it into a large barrier between Crave's attack and her allies. Shiore tossed a pair of kunai into the water, freezing the shield into a wall of ice which was strong enough to take Crave's attack. Amidst the dust and echoes from the fallout of the onslaught, Carter rushed forward and blasted Crave with several large fire shots from the palms of his hands. As he readied his forth shot, he gasped as Crave was suddenly in front of him with the demon eyes of his dopant form stared deeply into that of the fire rider's. He grabbed Carter's arm and twisted it, sending him to his knees. "Thats a nice trick you have there boy…" Crave snarled, the color of Carter's arm that Crave held eroding away as as sickly green copy of it formed on Crave's arm. "But now it's mine." More and more of Carter's armor began to erode into a dull grey, Crave only being stopped by a pair of Yuki clones darting towards him and slashing at his back with their swords. Dropping Carter's armor, Crave shot off a blast of sickly green fire towards the one clone to destroy it before grabbing the other. "I will be taking that power too." The clone dissolved into Crave's arm, Shiore wincing loudly before falling to her knees with only her sword keeping the strength to hold her. "Shiore!" Alex barked, rushing to her side only to be shoved away by the ice rider. "Get Gale… both of you..." Shiore barked as she trembled, "NOW!" Alex shook for a moment before balling his hand into a fist and nodding. He turned his gaze towards Ashley. "Ash?... You three be careful, alright?" Ashley was shaking but wasn't letting it show, "I wasn't even finished with you Superstud. I'm not gonna let my old boss be the end of me, let alone them." Without a second word, Alex and Cole darted off towards Tara and Kat. Cole couldn't help but look to Alex with a grin under his mask, "So… Tara was right afterall." Alex looked to him and blushed, raising a brow, "What's that supposed to mean?!" With heightened ferocity Kat slashed her claws at Tara, the wind rider just barely dodging her swipes before grabbing both of Kat's arms. "WHY?!" Kat barked at her, staring Tara down, "I tried to steal your boyfriend, I punched a hole in his window, and now I'm threatening to kill you! So WHY aren't you ANGRY?!" "Because, that's just how the wind is," Tara told her with a chuckle the eyes of Kree on her driver flaring bright orange for a moment. "Be in a gentle breeze or a raging storm, the wind never changes. It faces any challenge as it is, because challenge is nothing more than a passing thing. I can overcome anything, even you!" With a roar, Tara shot a powerful front snap kick right into Kat's jaw sending her flying backwards and shooting the ring that formed the rider's gale slicer off Tara's ankle and into the air. Tara caught and twirled it into its slicer form as Cole and Alex reached her. "Tara!..." Alex panted as he caught his breath, "you alright? We're here… to help…" "Thanks but I got her on the ropes," Tara smirked as she approached Kat, the dopant rising to her feet while glaring at Tara with her claws up. "So, you gonna cry uncle or are we gonna drag this out for another chapter?" Kat snarled widening her stance as the two circled each other, "Whats it to you?" "Alright, then while we're dancing I got a question for you," Tara glared at Kat, "If you like Cole, why sneak around my back? You coulda kissed him all you wanted, maybe even go further than that and I wouldn't have cared. But that whole sneak creep thing, thats what got on my and I'm sure his nerves." "It doesn't matter how much I liked him or you," Kat's snarling grew more violent, "I was given orders, and I followed them… thats all there is to it. But I doubt a bird in a cage like you wouldn't get it." "Bird in a cage, huh?" Tara raised a brow, "Sounds more to me like you're the one in a cage, Kat." Kat's eyes shot open in shock, snapping back to an image of her in a cat carrier with a young brown haired Tara stared into it with wide innocent eyes. "This is Cheshire Thea," Rylee's voice echoed in Kat's mind, "She's going to be living with us for the next little while." "Oh wow…" the young Thea in awe before smiling, "Okay! I'll treat her like the princess she is! But can we let her out now? I hate cute things being locked in cages." Kat's mind flashed back to reality, gritting her teeth together before letting a roar and darting towards Tara. Alex and Cole raised their weapons, ready to jump in only for Tara to extend her hand out towards them. "No! This fight is my," she told them, gripping her slicer before tossing it to the side. As Kat drew closer to her, Tara pulled her memory from her driver and dropped her armor. Tara stares Kat down, the dopant smirking as sue raised her claw. She was about to strike when suddenly, she found herself wrapped in Tara's arms. "W-Wha…" "Its alright Cheshire…" Tara smiled warmly at Kat, kissing her on the forehead as she held her, "You aren't in a cage anymore… you don't have to do anything you don't want to anymore…" "That name…" Kat's lip quivered, "how do you know? Who told you?" "No one did… I knew right from the moment I saw you..." Tara said with a shake of her head, "Well, once I remembered I had a cat anyway." Kat trembled, looking up to Tara before taking in a huge gulp to swallow her emotions. "U-Uncle…" she spoke as she pulled her memory from her driver, powering down. Her face hung a little, letting out a sigh of defeat. "Good girl," Tara grinned, lifting Kat's head up a bit before kissing her on the lips. "MUAH! And there's your reward Kat… Cheshire? Which name would you prefer?" Kat's eyes were wide open, just staring at Tara, "Kat- Katlyn would be fine actually…" She blushed hard, staring at Tara, "But why are you so weird!" "Oh it's just the way I am," Tara told Kat as she snuggled the black haired girl's face off, holding her there for a moment after before looking at Cole, "What do you think Rocky? Think you can handle to pretty girls from this point forward?" Cole managed a chuckle, "I think we'll need to talk about that later, we still need to deal with Crave." "Oh I can handle him, easy," Tara boasted, pushing her chest out and resting her hands on hips. "No you can't Tara, not on your own," an unfamiliar voice called out to her from her wrist. "Huh? What the?" Tara gasped as she raised her arm to look at Kree who's eyes were burning bright orange. "Kree?! Did you just talk?!" Kree simply nodded, "All because you finally let me into your heart, by shutting down the barriers you kept around it. And now I am finally able to give you the full might of my power." A bright orange burst of energy fired out of Kree's eyes and into Tara's hand, Tara gasping as it formed into an amber colored gaia memory marked with an H shaped like twisting tornadoes merging together. Tara's eyes sparkled as she stared at the new memory, her usual devil like smirk coming back as she gripped it tightly in her hand, "FINALLY!" She cheered, tossing her Gale Memory over to Alex, "Superstar! Do what you do with this!" Alex jumped, catching the memory after a fumble or two before nodding to Tara, "Right!" The Xtreme memory descended down from the sky, connecting to Alex's driver as the boy split it open, "XTREME!" Cried the driver as Alex ascended to his ultimate form, slipping Tara's gaia memory into the maximum drive slot on his belt. "GALE! MEMORY CHARGE!" Cried the driver once more as the middle portion of Alex's suit shimmered bright yellow for a moment, a pair of elegant silver wings flaring out from his shoulder armor. "Alright! Looking slick there partner!" Tara gave Alex a thumbs up before looking to Kree on her wrist. "Now, it's our time to shine." Tara held the memory up high and struck the activation button, "HURRICANE!" Cried the memory, Tara slamming into the top of Kree's driver mode before flipping his head around. "HURRICANE!" Cried the memory once more as a strong storm of wind erupted from Tara, transforming her into a far more regal yet hyper aggressive variation of her standard rider form. Her armor was heavier and covered in amber tribal markings. A long blade hung from each of her hips and large bright yellow eagle wings with orange tips now extended from her back. Tara looked to Alex, her gaze narrowed as she pulled the blades off her hips and combined them into a double ended sword. "Lets fly." She told him before taking off into the sky, Alex following shortly after with a kick of his own. Back by the main entrance to the scrapyard, Crave had Carter and Shiore on the ropes with the six clones he had conjured, Ashley just barely dodging his attacks as he fought him directly. She lost her footing just for a moment, but that was enough for the green dopant to claw at her back and erode away her wings. "GAH!" She cried out as her wings became puddles by her feet and Crave donned a pair of sickly green water based wings of his own. "Now… we end this…" Crave growled at her, raising his hand to her and charging up a ball of fire. Before he fired it however, a familiar sound to Crave roared over the pile of scrap metal. One that he thought he could disregard. "GORGE!" Cried out a gaia memory as Kat swooped down from above and pulled down her face mask, opening her jaws as wide as possible to swallow the blast of fire whole. She then spat it right back out at Crave, forcing him to leap back just to avoid it. Crave gritted his teeth as he stared down Kat, "Gorge! What are you doing?!" "Whatever the hell I what for once," Kat told him bluntly as she darted towards him. "Starting by taking you down!" Crave raised his claws just as Kat bit down on the arm the housed Ryu-O's fire blast. With a snarl and a look of confusion, Crave raises his claw to attack. That was when Kat began to suck inward, Crave feeling his own strength begin to weaken. Crave fell to his knees as the stolen Ryu-O armor crumbled. "Wh-What did you do to me?!" Crave barked as Kat released him from her jaws. "Just watch and learn," Kat inhaled as she turned to Ashley, spitting out a navy blue ball of energy at her. Ashley's wings came back once the ball hit her, her armor even repair from the damage. Kat then inhaled once more and spat out two more balls of energy at Carter and Shiore, one red the other pale blue. Their own armor repaired itself once the colored orbs hit their matching rider. Carter wasted no time and struck a pair of Crave's clones, taking them both out with one shot "Shiore…" he spoke to the rider behind him, "do you feel-" "Stronger?" She asked, finishing his sentence as she gripped her sword and conjured a pair of her own ice clones with a snap of her finger, "Yes… and then some." It wasn't long before Alex and Cole rushed it, Cole slashing one of Crave's clones with Biter's wrist mounted laser sword while Alex slashed apart another with X-Calibur. Two more clones remained, encroaching on Shiore and Carter. Before they could take another step however, two yellow arrows of light roared down from the sky and struck the clones, shattering them instantly. Once the clones were dealt with Tara touched down, her sword Hurricane Smiter now having the shape of a bow. "Thea?" Carter gasped, "Is that you?" "The gal, the myth, the legend herself," Tara smirked at her brother under her mask. She eyes Crave, her, Gorge and the other riders forming up in a line around him. Crave, with nowhere else to run, backed up into one of the piles of scrap metal. "Crave!" Tara roared at him, pulling her memory from her driver and placing it into her bow before aiming it at the dopant before her, "Your rampage ends here!" "HURRICANE! MAXIMUM DRIVE!" Cried out Tara's memory as it began to charge. Alex looked at her, "That's my line." "We've got six chapters to go after this," Tara patted him on the shoulder, "let me have this one?" "Alright, then I'll just follow your lead here," Alex refocused on Crave, closing his driver before opening it again. "XTREME! MAXIMUM DRIVE! GALE! MAXIMUM DRIVE!" Cried both of Alex's memories, gripping his sword as the blade began to glow bright yellow. "XTREME TORNADO!" Tara and Alex cried out in unison, Tara firing a bright orange arrow at Crave and Alex a bright yellow slash of energy. The two merged together in the air as they struck Crave, engulfing him in an explosion. After a moment, the smoke cleared and Vice stood glaring at the riders. Alex gasped upon seeing the face of Sarah's older brother, "Vince?" He muttered, perplexed. "Damn you… Alex .." Vince growled as he limped forward, gripping his Crave gaia memory only moments before it shattered in his clenched fist. "Why must you always be the one… who stands in my… way…" Vince's eyes slowly shut as he fell forward towards the dirt. Alex darted forward, catching him just before the older man hit the dirt. Alex stared in silence for a few moments, gulping sharply as the setting sun faded beyond the horizon. Once it was dark, Alex looked to the other riders, "Get Marcoh and Sampson over here." Cole and Ashley nodded, Cole pulling out his phone as everyone powered down, returning to their civilian forms. Some time passed and Marcoh and Sampson arrived on the scene with three cop cars, Vince being cuffed and loaded into the back of one car now that he was awake. Alex stared at him over Sampson's shoulder, frozen for a while before finally mustering the strength to march himself over to vince and look him in the through the lowered window. "Vince… there's still one thing I don't understand," Alex spoke, resting his hands on the door of the car, "Why do this? Why do any of this?" "You… want to know why?" Vince scoffed, turning to face Alex with a glare, "Then why Alex, did you murder my sister? Why did you kill Sarah?" Alex gasped, jumping back as the sensation of running his fist through the Reptilian dopant flooded back to him. "I… didn't do it by choice..." he muttered, trying to find the right words. Vince narrowed his gaze at Alex, "But still, it was your hand that ended her life. It is that reason, and that reason alone, that I will always hate you Alex Darwin." Sampson smacked the top of the car, glaring at Vince, "Alright, that's enough from you." He looked to the woman in the front of the car, "Take him away Ro." The woman nodded, rolling up the window and drove off. Vince and Alex exchanged one single glance as he was driven off, Vince shooting daggers at Alex with eyes. "Sampson…. It wasn't my fault… right?" Alex trembled, choking up a little, "I… was only doing what I had too… right?" Sampson's heart sank as he watched the boy, letting out a heavy sign before placing his hand firmly on Alex's shoulder. "That whole situation… was rather messy, wasn't it?" He spoke as he brought Alex towards him, "You did what you thought was right, which isn't always easy to do. Sure, HE might not ever understand, but I do. You hear me, son?" Alex nodded, taking a moment to breath, "Ya… I do…" Over by Marcoh, Kat and Tara high fived one another, Tara sneaking in a quick kiss onto Kat cheek. "Nice moves out there, girlfriend." Kat blushed, smiling at Tara before nodding, "You too… girlfriend." She couldn't help but laugh a little at this. "Alright, Kat was it?" Marcoh came up and cuffed the black haired girl, "now its your turn." Tara gasped in shock, "WHAT?! BUT! She's on our side now!" "Marcoh, Tara's right," Cole stepped in, placing his hand on Kat's shoulder and looking Marcoh in the eye, "can't we make an exception?" "Wish I could Desmond, but she broke the law," Marcoh told him sternly, looking Kat in the eye, "Of course how much time she spends, will depend on how she behaves." "Cop guy does have a point," Kat grinned with a blush, looking at Cole with a grin, "It is the least I can do, at least for breaking your window at least." She reached herself up to kiss Cole on the cheek, "I'll be good, I promise." Tara pointed a finger at her, "You better, else I'll have a word with you when you get out." "Ya, I figured as much," Kat managed a laugh, looking at the two of them with a wide smirk, "you two aren't gonna replace me while I'm in the big house, are ya?" The pair both shook their heads, "Wouldn't even think of it… just don't drop the soap, okay?" Tara sniffled, rubbing her eyes a bit. "Just.. be safe okay?" Cole asked as he looked Kat in the eye. Kat gulped, smiling at the two of them as a few tears began to form in her eye. "Not making any promises." "Alright, it's time we get going," Marcoh told Kat, guiding her into the back of his patrol car. Closing the door on her, Kat waved to both Tara and Cole with the two riders waving back to her as she was driven off. Once they were out of sight, Kat let out a heavy sigh before flopping herself down on the back seat. Her gaze drifted over to the rear view mirror, looking at Marcoh's eyes in the reflection. "So copper," Kat spoke, choosing to make small talk to kill boredom, "what you got planned for little old me?" "That depends," Marcoh gave her a look in the mirror, "you got any family? Someone who'll go looking for you if you go missing?" "Not a soul," Kat shook her head, feeling her heart sink a little as she muttered her next words, "well… no one that will care, given the spot I'm now in." "I see…" Marcoh turned his gaze back to the road, "Well, then why don't I become your family?" Kat gave him a look, snickering a little, "Um, I think I'm a bit too young for you. Besides, I kinda got a thing going with Cole and Tara in case you missed that?" "That's not what I meant," he shot a glare to her which soon softened into a neutral grin, "My partner and I… he and I were always thinking about adopting a girl of our own." Kat gasped, tears running down her face as she began to choke up a bit, "Are… are you serious?" Marcoh simply nodded, "Dead." He raised a brow at her, "So then, how about it?" Back within the shroud of Crave's bar the Devil's Nest, Desire watched as the v marked gaia memory she held turned completely blood red. Once it was completed, she stood up from her seat and waltzed into the back room. Inside, connected to cables and other forms of life support sat a heavily scarred man. His left arm was a heavily marred stump, a mechanical prosthetic limbs connected to it as a replacement. "The process is complete my champion," Desire told the man as she came in, holding out the memory to him as she shut off all the machines that kept him stable. "The hour for your return is now." The man glared at her, ripping the cables from his body as he rose from his seat. He stretched himself out, bones cracking into place as he did so. "Took long enough," he smirked devious like the demon he was, "Crave served his purpose then?" "He was the perfect pawn until the end my wrath," she told him, handing him the blood red memory, "my Fury." "Then I will not need to hold anything back," the male gripped the memory, "not from those riders, or even Vainglory himself." He held the memory up high then struck the activation button. "VIOLENT!" {Insert Ending Theme: "One" by Altima} Next time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme Derek Maverick lives! And he is armed with a gaia memory filled with the violent energy sparking from the chaos surrounding Ardent City. Do the riders stand a chance against him? All will be decided when Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme continues in Episode 38: Fury's Violent Crusade All riders! Unite and fight! |
Episode 38: Fury’s Violent Crusade Sixteen years ago, Jason sat on his throne holding a photo of him and Alice. His gaze was fixed on it with a heavy glare, the male eyeing his gold wedding band that he still wore if his left ring finger. A bit of light krept in as the two large doors at the front of the lair opened up, with Derek Maverick walking inside. The doors slammed behind him, Derek placing his hand over his chest and bowing. “You… wanted to see me, sir?” Derek asked simply in a hushed tone. “Fury…” Jason muttered as he turned his gaze towards his subordinate, “Fata has betrayed us.” He glared towards Derek, “I can think of no one, other than you… to eliminate her.” It was a gloomy day all those years ago. Torrents of rain poured down on the city, all while a woman with chestnut hair sat by the window of a cafe staring, watching with stern yet uneasy gaze as the rain fell down around her. It was a very gloomy day. “Alice, thank god,” announced a young police officer, a smile on his face as he sat down across from her with his hands on the table. “I was scared outta my wits when I got your call. Why'd you wanna see me so quick? Has another one of those… things appeared?” “They're called dopants, Gordon…” she spoke as she gave him a slight glance, “And… I might know more than I initially let on about them.” Gordon raised a brow, his heart beginning to race as he feared the worst. “Alice… tell me everything you know, right now.” “I can't,” she shook her head, “it's not safe. Not for you, or Alex.” Gordon's heart sank. He stared at her for a very long while, his gaze drifting to the ring Alice wore on her right hand. He took in big gulp before reaching out his hand to place it overtop of hers, “Jason found out... didn't he?” “No… at least not that I know of,” Alice shook her head, “I just. We can’t do this anymore.” Gordon let out a huff, looking her in the eye as he placed his hand on her shoulder, “If there’s something you know you can tell me, no one else will ever know.” “Stop!” she told him firmly, looking him dead in the eye as she removed his hands from her and cupping them with both of her’s. “Just stop asking questions… just listen..” she reached into her bag and pulled out two small cases, placing them both down onto the table. “These cases… I want you to keep them hidden for me, okay?” Gordon just stared at them, feeling as though his heart was placed into a vice, “W-Why? What’s in them.” Alice looked at him firmly, raising a brow, “What did I say about asking questions?” Gordon fell silent, managing a nod. “Sorry… please, continue.” “This one,” she pointed to the one case marked with a silver M on it, pulling a sealed envelope from her jacket and placing it on top of the case. “I want you to follow these instructions to the letter, do you understand Gordon?” Gordon eyed the second one, almost afraid to ask, “Alright… but, what of the second one?” “That’s for you to keep secret and protect alongside Alex however you can, ” Alice said. “You are to give it to him, only when you deem he is deserving of it… after you’ve followed through with all the written instructions of course.” “Hey whoa, what’s all this about now?” Gordon said frantically, placing his hands on Alice’s shoulder, “You sound like you’re dying.” “I am dying Gordon… I least, I’m sure that I will…” Alice choked up a bit, a tear forming in her eye as she looked him in the eye on last time. She cupped his hand before swallowing sharply. “I can’t see my own future… but I’ve seen yours, and Alex’s… and I’m not in either. So I’m going to need you to protect him, and yourself, from Jason.” Gordon’s heart dropped hard, his hands beginning to tremble. “Okay… I still think you’re making mountains out of mole hills here… but why would Jason go after Alex? That little boy hasn’t done him no harm.” “Gordon…” Alice took in a deep breath, then sharply exhaled, “Alex… isn’t Jason’s.” {Insert Opening Theme: “Alones” by Aqua Timez} Present day. A red sun rose over Ardent City as Derek Maverick stood at the peer in his human form, raising a lit cigarette to his heavily scarred face as he dialed a number on an old and worn out flip phone. It wrung as he let out a puff of smoke. “Who is this?” Rylee’s voice echoed from the other end, “How did you get this number?” “It’s your old friend Fury, Spite,” Derek smirked, looking down to the ground and spotted the carcass of a dead bird. “Just wanted to let you and the tin can know I’m still breathing is all.” A long pause came from the phone, Rylee speaking after a while, “You are banished Fury. If you so much as try anything, Vainglory and I won’t hesitate to-” “To what? Kill me?” he laughed, squishing the dead bird’s face in with the heel of his boot, “You and the old boss already tried that, didn’t work then sure as hell work now.” He took another puff, kneeling down and putting his cigarette out in the bird’s now empty eye socket. “I was merely giving you the courtesy of telling you, one I’m through with those shit brained riders, I’m coming for both you and the boss.” “Vainglory will not sit still after such a threat,” Rylee told him with a noticeable tremble in her voice, “you know that, right?” “Know it?” Derek’s smirk widened, the scarred demon of a man letting out a fit of laughter. “I’m counting on it.” He hung up, slamming the phone closed before gripping it tightly in his fist. Winding back his arm, he chucked the phone over the docks before aiming his prosthetic arm at it with a flared out hand. A loud hum erupted from it, followed by a bright laser blast that struck the phone and blew it to bits. Derek maintained his smirk as the junks of metal littered the lake water and the smell of smoke filled the morning air. “Six little riders all hung in a row…” he sang to himself, gripping his metal hand into a tight fist, “Fury came to kill them, the first named… Ryu-O.” --- Within the shadow of Vainglory's lair, Rylee closed her phone and gripped it tightly in frustration as she shot a glare of to Jason who sat at his throne. Joel leaned against one of the room's structural pillars with his hands in the pockets of his jacket, the silver haired male eyeing both Rylee and Jason.“My lord…” she spoke after a moment, “what should we do about this?” “I will not tolerate traitors in any form,” Jason spoke thusly as he stared at the mural on the wall depicting the earth tethered between the sun and the moon with a open gate fixed to the side that faced the moon. “Fury is to be eliminated, at any cost.” Rylee simply nodded, bowing her head before placing her hand over her heart, “Yes my lord, it will be done.” “Well then, if thats what we're doing I'll go and get to deploy with the X2 Troopers,” Joel said with a stretch as he headed for the door, turning back only to look Rylee in the eye, “Are you coming, Spite?” Rylee glared at him, “And why would the both of us be needed?” “Vainglory said at any cost, didn't he?” Joel raised a brow at her, “and I should also remind you that Fury will without a doubt be targetting those Kamen Riders as well. Or have you over looked that detail?” Rylee gritted her teeth, looking to Jason, “My lord-” “I am with Inertia on this one,” Jason spoke over her. “Until Fury is defeated, you are to follow his command. Is that clear Spite?” Rylee swallowed sharply, balling her hand into a fist as she glared at Joel, “As you wish… my lord.” --- The warm morning light filled Sampson’s office at the police station, the chief sitting at his desk with Carter across from him filling out a few documents. Sampson looked to a photo of Alice and Jason on their wedding day, Jason wearing a glum face as if he wasn’t really there mentally or emotionally. Sampson let out a heavy sigh, his gaze drifting to Alice’s warm smile that wasn’t directed at Jason but at the camera itself as if she was staring through the camera to the person who had taken the photo.Sampson rubbed his face, grabbing the photo and putting it away in a drawer, “Never should’ve taken that stupid picture.” He huffed to himself. Carter paused his writing, looking up to the chief with a raised brow, “You say something?” “Oh… nothing important…” Sampson managed a grin, eyeing the papers that Carter was working on, “How’re you doing there anyway?” “Actually, I think I’m done,” Carter told him, handing the papers back to him, “what do you think? Anything I missed?” Sampson took the papers, flipping through them as he skimmed them. After a moment he shook his head, “Looks good to me.” His forced smile turned to a genuine one as he placed the papers down onto his desk. “I’m honored by the fact that you’re looking to join the force, Carter, but I’d just like to ask you why. I mean, it’s rather sudden isn’t it? Wouldn’t you rather give the matter a bit more thought?” “It’s been on my mind since we took on Gorge and Crave,” Carter said, “I was a pawn once, just like that girl Kat was. I want to do all that I can to protect people from being used like that ever again, and becoming a police officer is the best way I can see to do that.” “Well then, if you’re sure I guess I just have this to say,” the teary eyed Sampson extended a hand to him, Carter reaching out to shake the officer’s hand. “Welcome aboard, cadet.” “Let’s not celebrate just yet,” the normally stoic Carter actually managed a chuckle, “I still need to clear training you know.” “Oh, I’m aware,” Sampson said, “You know, you remind me a lot of myself when I was your age. So full of energy.” He grinned as he sat down. Carter’s grinned dropped, “Now, what about putting a stop to Vainglory and META?” his gaze narrowed. “And, there goes that energy,” Sampson’s grin faded. “I have Marcoh working on that as we speak with Kat, getting all that he can out of her.” He let out a sigh, pulling out a transcript dated with the night before, “He was able to take in Crave, or rather Vince I should say, last night. Of course what he got from that nut ball is… troublesome.” “What did he say?” Carter asked. “What you’d expect, my darling sister this, that bastard Alex that,” he ran his hand down the transcript until he reached one specific line. “Except for this though, ‘Go ask Desire.’ Now what do you gather from that?” Sampson gave the boy a look. “A dopant,” Carter returned. “My thoughts exactly,” Sampson placed his the notepad back into his desk and slammed the drawer closed. “It’s not one that I’m familiar with, but whoever they are, they’re surely a big deal in that underground network of theirs.” Carter thought for a moment, then raised a brow, “So, we find Desire, we find Vainglory?” Sampson smirked, “Glad you and I are on the same page cadet.” Carter was about to speak, but was cut off by the phone on Sampson’s desk ringing, the caller ID matching that of the receptionist at the front of the station. “Sorry, just a moment.” Sampson answered it with a grin, “What do we have Stan?” “Hello chief,” Derek’s voice echoed from the other end of the line, a chill running down Sampson’s spine as he felt his heart practically grind to a halt, “there is a man here looking for those pesky riders you keep on a leash, especially the one scorched his flesh to a grisp. I’ll be sending him in immediately for you.” The phone clicked, beeping loudly as Derek hung it up. Sampson quickly grabbed his gun, shooting a glance over to Carter who shot to his feet and gripped his Ryu-O memory. Before the two could so much as turn around, the door to Sampson’s office exploded in a violent blaze, chunks of it flying into the room as smoke quickly filled it. Gritting his teeth, Carter hit the activation button on his gaia memory. “RYU-O!” It cried out as his driver formed around his waist. Before he could slot the memory into place however, a concussive blast shot out from the smoke and struck Carter's hand, knocking the memory from the boy's hand and shattering several bones. “Oh my my, did you actually think I'd let you transform little ember boy?” Derek laughed, entering the room in his human form with a smirk as Carter held his hand writhing in pain. Sampson aimed his gun at Derek, snarling at him with a glare, “Carter! Go!” He barked, unloading several shots at Derek, the man simply standing there as the bullets cut into his face. Carter darted to grab his gaia memory as Derek shot a glare at Sampson. “You're a lot braver than I thought,” he sneered, balling his metal hand into a fist before throwing a heavy punch with it directly into Sampson's gut, knocking the wind out of him. “I'll deal with you later, so just sleep for now, chief.” Carter grabbed his memory off the floor, only for Derek to march over and press his foot down on Carter's non broken hand that the had gripped the memory with. Carter let out a cry of agony, gritting his teeth before shooting a glare to Derek, “What .. the hell… you're supposed to bed dead!” “Quite the contrary, Ryu-O,” Derek smirked, shooting a glare at Carter, “Fury never dies.” He eyes Carter free arm, grabbing it with his metal arm. “Which reminds me… I never paid you back for taking my arm way back when. Allow me to do so.” With a ear shattering scream from Carter, Derek ripped Carter's arm by his broken hand right out from the socket. It was still attached, but it was beyond a simple dislocation. Carter panted heavily, holding his arm and squirmed on the ground. “If you're going to kill me Fury, just do it!” He barked out of pain and anger. “Oh no Ryu-O, I'm not going to kill you,” Derek told him as he reached into Carter's pocket and pulled out the boy's phone, “I need you to relay a message to those friends of yours.” Carter grunted, glaring at the man, “You expect me to do that?!” He barked as Derek flipped through his phone. “Oh no, I expect you to look out for that sister of yours,” Derek glared at him, smirking as he turned to phone to a picture of Tara gawking in shock at a bird that had swiped a sandwich from her. “Or would you rather she be the first to die? The choice is yours.” --- Across town, Tara and Cole walked along an open market. It had gotten a little chilly as it was moving from October into November, but that didn't stop a hand full of merchants from enjoying the weather while they could.“Hey Tara, I know it's saturday and all,” Cole asked her as the wind rider happily skipped along, “but don't you have work today?” “Eyup, but what kind of people would we be if we didn't pick up a few things to make a care package Kat?” Tara returned, looking back to him with a grin, “I wanna make sure she knows she's still loved while she's all locked up in there.” “Ya, you've got a point there,” Cole grinned at her, patting her head with Tara leaning into it. “Alright, let's do it. What'd you have in mind?” “I got a list of things Marcoh said were okay,” Tara grabbed him by the sleeve, only for her phone to ring from her bag. She quickly answered, “Tara the Airborne Terror.” She gasped, her eyes shooting wide open as she began to shake. Her tremble only lasted a moment however as she quickly focused her gaze and nodded. “We'll be right there, thank you.” She hung up the phone, Cole beginning to panic, “Who was that?! What's going on?!” “Carter's hurt, we need to go to hospital,” she looked to her boyfriend, “now.” Moments later, Tara and Cole found themself bolting into a hospital room. Tara met the gaze of Shiore, the ice rider gasping a bit before turning her head away from the entering couple. Tara and Cole came in, seeing Carter on the bed with his arm bandaged up and a banged up Sampson sitting beside him, Marcoh standing just beside Sampson. “Alright, that's mostly everyone,” Marcoh let out a heavy sigh. Tara darted right to her brother's side as Cole looked around the room. “Where are Alex and Ashley?” “I called them just after I called you and Archer,” Marcoh informed them, eyeing Shiore who stood by herself in the corner, “Fubuki managed to beat the two of you here though.” Cole's gaze focused on Shiore as Tara threw her arms around her brother. “You have no idea how happy I am to see that you're alright!” She sobbed, “Who did this to you two?” Carter looked to the officers with a steady gaze, Sampson and Marcoh looking back to him. The both of them nodded as Carter spoke, “It was Fury.” The room fell silent upon hearing those words. “He-He's alive?” The group heard a voice speak from the front of the room. They all turned to see Alex standing at the door with shaking eyes, Ashley directly behind him. “I saw him with my own eyes Alex,” Sampson spoke, “As much as I don't want to say it, Carter is tell the truth.” “He wants to fight us, Alex. All of us,” Carter spoke patting his sister on the head as he shot a glare towards Alex. “He did a number on me already. So, what will you do?” Alex thought this over in his head, about to speak before Sampson phone rang. Sampson fished out his phone, glaring at it once he saw the caller ID. “Says it's from you,” he spoke, looking at Carter. Carter sternly looked back to Sampson, “Answer it.” He told the chief. Sampson raised the phone to his ear, gritting his teeth as he did so, “Gordon Sampson, what do you want?” “Are all those riders with you?” Derek's voice echoed from the phone. “Yeah, each one of them,” Sampson returned. “And Xtreme… is he there too?” Derek asked. Sampson's gaze turned to Alex, “Looking right at him.” “Put him on,” Derek demanded. Sampson gripped the phone tightly for a moment before handing it over to Alex, “He… wants to speak with-” Alex swiped the phone from Sampson, raising it to his ear, “Tell me where you are right now Fury! Because I heard you're looking for a fight,” he glanced to all the riders in the room, “Because I've got four fully charged riders standing right here all with equal reason to give you exactly what you're looking for!” “Oh… such a temper, did what I do to those two cute girls scar you that much?!” Derek laughed, “Tell me, how much do you wish to kill me?” Alex snarled, gripping the phone tighter in his hand, “Answer my damn question!” “Oh… eager are we? Very well,” Derek returned, “Tell me, are you somewhere high up right now?” Alex looked out the fourth story window, examining the view it gave him of the city around him. “Yes… why?” “Look downtown, then you'll see.” Derek said. Alex and the riders looked out the window, their hearts swelling as far off in the distance, a tall building exploded from the inside out filling the sky with fire and smoke. “Judging by the silence, I'm guessing you saw that little show of mine,” Derek cackled. “I shall give you an encore every half hour until I see you, so.. don't keep waiting.” With that, Derek hung up. With a wince, Carter grabbed at the rail of his hospital bed and began forcing himself up. All in the room gasped, save for Shiore who simply glanced at him with a raised brow. “What the hell do you think you're doing?!” Tara barked, forcing him back down, “You're hurt! You aren't going anywhere!” “Yeah?” Carter spoke, holding his arm while dodging his sister's gaze. “Well a lot of people are going to end up alot worse than me if I just sit here doing nothing.” “Do as Tara says Carter,” Alex spoke suddenly, looking to the fire riders with a stern gaze who in turn looked back to him, “We can handle Fury, so stay here and rest, alright?” “But the Xtreme memory,” Carter's gaze narrowed, “you can't fight in your ultimate form if I'm not there.” “Well then we'll just have to work around that,” Alex returned, turning to look and Tara, Cole, Ashley and Shiore, “Fury must be stopped, at any cost.” --- Within the chaos of Ardent City's downtown core, civilians scattered out from the fall of debris from the destroyed building. Derek emerged from the wreckage, smirking as he aimed his robotic arm at a group of fleeing bystanders. He laughed as he primed it to fire, shooting off a large bolt of energy only for it to the neutralized by a red orb of energy that roared down from above and struck the shot from Derek's arm.Derek snarled, glaring up to see Spite descend in her dopant form from above him with a platoon of X2 Troopers, two Star types, twenty Blast types and twenty Blade types making forty two in total. Ten of the blast troopers formed up with Spite around Fury, aiming their blasters at him as the remaining Blast Troopers formed a perimeter on the outside along with the Blade Troopers. “Scout out the area, ensure any civilian still present makes it out unharmed,” the Star trooper ordered half of the blade troopers, “No more blood is too be spilled by Fury. Now fan out!” He motioned his hand outward, the Blade troopers nodding before heading out to follow orders. “Babysitting the worms that still cling to this rock now Spite?” Derek laughed, “The mighty have truly fallen.” “Harming the people of this city was never one of our goals Fury,” Spite glared at him. She conjured six energy balls, allowing them to orbit around her, “I will say this only once. Surrender, or die.” “Very well,” Derek laughed, pulling out his blood red gaia memory along with his dopant driver, slapping the slab of metal onto his waist. “Consider your challenge… accepted.” Spite took a step back on reflex, gritting her teeth before shooting her flared out hand at Derek. “Open fire!” She ordered her troops, the X2 blast troopers unloading everything they had on Derek. Derek simply grinned as the gun fire barreled towards him, striking the activation button on his gaia memory. “VIOLENT!” roared the memory as smoke enveloped the man who held it. The troopers stopped their barrage, waiting for the smoke to clear. They didn't need to however, as out from the wreckage barreled Fury, more demonic than ever with deep blood red armor and the claw, feet and tail of a dragon. The dopant sneered and hissed, turning his black void of a face directly towards Spite. The blast troopers continued their fire, Spite hurling her orbs at him. “Dammit Inertia!” Spite thought as she gritted her teeth, “Why is it you vanish right when I need you?!” This momentary thought caused Spite to miss her mark with shots long enough for Fury to dart towards her, the fire from the Blast Troopers coming off as nothing more than an annoyance to him. Fury leapt right to Spite, readying his claws as he stared into her soul. Spite let out a gasp and part of her life with it, it only being brought back in when two Blade Troopers bolted between her and Fury to take the force of his claws for her. The two troopers to cast to the side like mere flies at Fury's claw, a black mist exiting the demonic dopant's claw and flowing into the troopers. “Commander Spite! Stand back!” Barked the star trooper that stuck by her side, four other blade troopers forming up around him. “We shall handle him for you.” Spite gritted her teeth, “Just apprehend him, now!” She commanded in a snarl before levitating herself up into the air. “Consider it done,” Nodded the star trooper before he along with the Blade and Blast troopers changed in to engage Fury. --- In the dimly lit shroud of her mother's condo, Madison lay sprawled out on the couch stuffing her face with chips while watching an episode of Power Rangers Time Force. A thin ray of light danced across the litter covered coffee table and towards the tv and a robot minion knocked down the blue ranger, only for that robot minion to be pulled away by his mutant boss Ransick. “Hey! Not the blue guy!” Ransick pointed a finger at the robot, throwing him away and extending a hand to the blue ranger to help him up. “You good?” Ransick asked patting him on the shoulder, the blue ranger nodding after a moment of confusion. “Alright! Now get back in there!” Ransick cheered him on before shoving him back into the battle. “I'm home!” A female voice called out as the door cracked open, the door closing once again after a moment. “Hi mom!” Madison called out to her, not taking her eyes off the screen as she stuffed her face, “How was work?” “Same hell,” the tall curvy woman with Madison's eye and hair color said as she came in, throwing her leather bag on the couch while kicking off her brilliant red high heels. She wore a black suit with her red hair done up in a bun. “Ugh,” she gagged, glaring at her daughter, “hey, when you have a second could you clean all this up?” “Will do captain,” Madison saluted her mother Nicole as the woman slid off her jacket. “Did you even go to school today?” Nicole asked her. Madison blinked, “Its saturday mom… just cause you work weekends doesn't mean I have too.” Nicole simply let out a huff, heading over to Madison on the couch and swiping the remote from her, “The least you could do is give your brain a rest from this stuff.” She paused the recording and switched it over to the news. “Hey!” Madison protested, attempting to grab the remote from her, “I was watching that!” “You can go back to it once I check the weather,” Nicole told her, holding the remote just out of her daughter's reach, “okay?” Madison huffed, pouting with her arms crossed as the screen cut to a woman standing in front of a police line up with smoke building in the distance. “It has been roughly an hour since the catastrophic explosion ruptured in the downtown core,” the woman spoke as calmly as possible, “officials are unsure of what exactly was the cause of such destruction but many witness testimony suggests the work of one man wielding an arm mounted explosive device. We will present all further information as it becomes available.” Madison gasped, her eyes becoming fixed to the television as her mother simply let out a heartbroken sigh. “Oh my.. what is this world coming to?” She switched the television back to Madison's show and handed her back the remote, “here, you can back to your show. I need to clean, since your father will be coming over for dinner. Think you can keep your brother busy when he gets home?” Madison didn't answer the question, shooting up from the couch and bolting into her room to get dressed. She grabbed her wallet, her purse and her Ninja Storm red ranger key from her dresser and shoved them her pocket before taking an elastic and tying her hair back. While tying back her hair, her eyes drifted to a jewel box on her desk, the glimmer of a silver ring with a purple gemstone catching her eyes. “Hey Alex, you said your favorite was Homura right?” Madison's voice echoed in her head, “Well I got doubles so, here. For you.” Her heart swelled, her face turning bright red as she took in a big gulp. Grabbing the ring, she slid it onto her finger and tightened her fist around it. She then, without even thinking about it, darted out from her room and head right for the door. Madison looked around for a moment, panicking as she felt the clock begin to tick further and further down. “Looking for these?” Nicole asked, Madison turning around with a sigh of relief to see her mother standing behind her holding her pale blue sneakers. “Thanks mom,” she said, stepping towards her mother and reaching for her shoes. Nicole glared at her, moving her arm up so the shoes were just out of Madison's reach. “You think I'm just gonna let you run out there and get hurt again, don't you?” He voice cracked, the woman clearing choking up a bit on her words. “Mom, I'll be fine!” Madison huffed, swiping her hand to grab her shoes only for Nicole to instead grab her daughter by the wrist. “I’M NOT STUPID! MADISON!” Nicole shouted, her hands trembling as she held her daughter's wrist, it now becoming visible to Madison that her mother's eyes were red and her cheeks were stained by tears. “You father and I… We were really scared for you that day… The Gardners were too.. We were called to the hospital to find you covered in your own blood, and they were told their daughter had vanished without a trace! And know I hear Vince was locked up for god only knows what?! Just what the hell is going on?! Tell me! For once in your life Madison, please!” Madison's heart sank, her gaze falling down to the floor as she hung her head to avoid eye contact with her mother. “I… can't… if I did tell you, you wouldn't believe me. You never listen.” “Well I'm listening right now,” Nicole glared, “so whatever it is, now the time to tell me.” “You know those monsters… in the shows I watch…” Madison swallowed hard, “They're real… and I'm pretty sure one of them is behind what we saw on tv a minute ago.” “Oh?” Nicole raised a brow, maintaining her glare, “And I'm guessing you're off to go fight it, is that it?” Madison shook her head, finding the strength to look her mother in the eye, “The heroes the fight them are still real too though! Sure, I might not be one of them but they're all still good friends of mine! I need to make sure they're okay.” “Alright,” Nicole lowered her arm, putting the shoes behind her back, “then I'm coming with you.” Madison once again shook her head, “No mom, stay here. It'll be safer.” “Then why is it ant safer for you?!” Nicole barked. “IT ISN'T!” Madison barked back. She sighed gently, then held her mom's hand, “I'm just asking you this once, trust that I know what I'm doing… okay?” Nicole gave her a stern look. It lasted for at least a minute before she finally let out a gentle sigh, “Alright…” she said, handing Madison her shoes, “But if you aren't back by the time your father gets her, we are going to go looking for you.” She pointed a finger at her, “Got it?” “Got it,” Madison nodded, taking her shoes before hugging Nicole, “thanks mom, I love you.” “I love you too, that's why I worry so much,” Nicole managed a smile of her own, hugging her daughter back for a moment before giving Madison a shove out the door, “Now get going! Before I change my mind!” “Will do captain,” Madison saluted her mother again, this time with a smile as she slipped on her shoes. She then bolted off, all looking at the silver ring on her finger. “Please Alex… don't do anything stupid until I get there.” {End of Part A} {Start of Part B} As Spite's forces took on Fury in the rubble of the fallen building, one of the Blade troopers that the demonic dopant had tossed away began to stir. He held his head, letting out a strained wince as he picked himself. Opening his eyes, he gasped and began to tremble as he focused his gaze on the fallen building. Within the center of the rubble stood Spite, surrounded by forty clones of Fury. “Wh… what the hell?!” His voice quivered in fear, “What's going on?!” “You have halted your movement, what's the problem, soldier?” He heard Vainglory's voice inside. “Sir, Spite is surrounded,” he barked into what he thought was his comlink, “Fury… he's cloned himself. He has Spite surrounded!” “Those aren't clones soldier, Fury has infected our soldiers to turn them in copies of himself,” Vainglory's voice returned, “Strike them down, and that should free them.” “Yes sir, I will,” the Blade Trooper nodded, gripping his sword before beginning to charge at the clones of Fury, striking them down one by one as he made his way towards Spite at the center of the cluster. As he had expected, the images of Fury turned back into his comrades upon each strike, a bit of black energy flowing off from his blade and into each soldier as he hit them. The troopers, once freed, rose back to their feet. “Fury has taken your comrades hostage!” Vainglory's voice echoed in the heads of each soldier as if on a loop, “Free your allies as they did you, and take down Fury at any cost!” “Yes, my lord!” All the soldiers saluted, the eyes of their masks now blood red as they turned to the one remaining Fury. The Blade troopers gripped their swords while the Blade soldiers aimed their guns at their one remaining target. “What hell are you all doing?!” Barked Fury in Spites voice. The sole surviving Fury conjured six of Spite's energy balls and held them above their head. “Any of you fire, and it will be the last mistake you make!” From outside the masks of the troopers, they set their sights on Spite and Fury now stood behind them all with a smirk under the void that was his face. “Don't listen to the words of that traitor,” Fury spoke, his voice changing to Spite's in the troopers ears, “his words are as worthless as he is.” “Dammit Fury!” Spite snarled. With a strong swing of her left arm, she hurled all of her charged energy orbs at Fury. “DIE!!!” She roared as the orbs detonated around her target. Fury simply stood in place, his gaze fixed upon Spite. “Sadly… I won't be the one dying today.” He glared at the woman before him, raising his arm and flaring his hand out at her. “Kill her.” From atop a tall building, Joel watched coldly as the echo of laser blasts followed by the screams of his ex-wife filled the air around him. “Sorry Spite… but sharing your fate was not part of my plan,” the silver haired man let out a sigh as he turned his gaze to the glow a wail of police sirens that had been growing in the distance for a while, “not today anyway.” --- Five blocks away from the destruction sat a police blockade, officers standing by to defend civilians and paramedics ready in ambulances ready to evacuate the injured. Alex and Cole roared up to the blockade on their bikes, with Shiore on the back of the X-Cyclone and Tara on the back of the Rock-Prowler. The four riders charged up to go through the police blockade but were stopped by a single officer. “Hey, just where do you think you kids are going?” The officer told them, her gaze fixing on the lot of them. “In case you hadn't noticed, this whole area is under lockdown.” A police car drove up to the blockade, Marcoh and Ashley hopping out of it. “They're with me, they have special clearance.” “Them?” The officer scoffed, “gimme one good reason why I should let a couple of kids into a war zone?” “Because it's those couple of kids that are gonna stop what's in there from spreading to the rest of the city,” Marcoh told her with a firm glare. “Sure, they aren't exactly the heroes you'd expect, but they're all we've got and they happen to be pretty good at what they do.” The officer glared to Alex and the other riders before looking back with a scowl towards Marcoh, “And you'd bet your career on this?” Marcoh simply nodded, “Now let them through, or I'll write you up.” The officer stepped aside, turning his gaze away from the riders, “Alright, hurry up and get going rugrats.” Alex and the other riders stepped through the line, each pulling out their base gaia memories. Kree flew down from the darkened sky, attaching to Tara's wrist as Alex pulled out his Star and Runner memories. “So, what's the plan?” Ashley asked Alex, looking him in the eye. “Get any civilians to safety and take out Fury,” Alex returned, his gaze fixed on the destruction filled horizon, “then we all go home.” He struck the activation button of his memory, his allies following suit. “STAR! RUNNER! GALE! ROCK! YUKI! SHIFT!” “HENSHIN!” They all cried out together, slamming their respective memories into their respective drivers as they appeared around their waists. “STAR! RUNNER! GALE! ROCK! YUKI! SHIFT!” Cried their memories once more as they donned their rider forms in a storm of stars, wind, earth, ice and water. The eyes of their masks illuminated brightly for a moment before they took off towards the destruction. The officer who held doubt gawked in awe at what he had just witnessed, “No way… those kids are the… the…” Marcoh smirked at him, “Kamen Riders,” he told him as he patted him on the shoulder. “Now wipe that look off your face.” The officer nodded, “Y-Yes sir, right away sir.” As the riders charged in, their advance was watched closely by a pair of eyeballs flying through the sky with demonic wings grafted onto their backs. The images they saw were projected to Fury on the ground, still in the ruins of the building as his troopers cleaned up piles of rubble as if looking for something. “I was wondering when those brats would show themselves,” Fury laughed, watching the projection of his eyes from inside his own head. He turned to his troopers, they all looking towards him as he snapped his fingers. “Soldiers! Prepare yourselves for battle!” He barked at them, his inner smirk widening, “The main event has finally arrived.” --- In the dimly lit shroud of Crave's bar, the devil's nest, Desire sat in her succubus like dopant form sipping a bit of her wine as she watched the news.“The disaster from earlier has seemed to have halted, but police operatives say the threat is still at large,” the reporter said, attempting to maintain her composure, “we shall bring you further updates as they become available, however for the time being civilians are advised to remain away from the downtown core.” Desire smirked as a figure clad in deep violet armor began to emerge out from her shadow, “Is that you… Vainglory?” She cooed, turning to face the figure, his helmet fading away to reveal Jason's scowling face that was shooting a glare towards the female dopant, “It has been sometime since you came to visit me… and was begining to fear you had forgotten about me.” “Save it you witch,” Jason said in a cold monotone as he stepped towards her, seven blades emerging from the shadows and aiming themselves at Desire's throat. “I had no reason to come see you, until now.” Desire chuckled, not remotely phased by the blades around her as she continued to sip her drink, “I see…” her gaze narrowed towards him, “then what do I owe such an honor?” “I came to you with a warning,” he told her firmly. “Should you get in the way of my perfect world. I will have no choice but to end you.” “You came to threaten me?” Desire laughed, “If you believe I had anything to do with the mess Fury is causing out there, the fool acted on his own. All I did was bring him back from death's door after your pet burnt him to a crisp.” “My words still stand,” his blades drew closer to her throat, one cutting into her skin and drawing blood, “stand aside, or die.” “Very well…” Desire maintaining her smirk, not even flinching as she was cut, “but what will you do about Fury? Your champions and your son are already engaged with him.” She raised a brow as Vainglory pulled his blades away from her. “Inertia and Spite are more than enough to deal with that pest…” He sucked his teeth as he turned his back to her, proceeding to head back into the shadows, “and that mistake… is no son of mine.” “I see…” Desire cooed as her voiced changed in a way that made Vainglory stop in his tracks, “is that why you had me killed, Jason?” Vainglory’s entire being trembled as he slowly turned back, laying his eyes upon Desire to see that her voice and body had taken the form of his late wife. “A-Alice…” he spoke, taking in a sharp gulp before composing himself. “Why…” he turned fully towards her, balling his hands into fists, “why did you betray me Alice?!” Alice’s eyes filled with tears, the woman shaking her head as she got up and stepped towards Vainglory, “I did not betray you Jason… you, betrayed yourself…” he cooed to him sadly, cupping his cheek as her lips drew closer to his, “I love you… don’t you see that…” Vainglory continued to tremble before gritting his teeth and raising his hand to strike her, “LIAR!” He swung his arm out, Alice quickly jumping back out of the reach of Vainglory’s arm. “Well… of all the moves I expected, that is by far the worst,” Alice smirked, turning back into Desire. “Though I’m curious, after back handing me what did you plan on doing next?” “The same as always,” Vainglory’s helmet covered his face once more as he began to dissolve into his shadows, “I will awaited the night of the eclipse… then my perfect world shall be mine.” Once Vainglory had disappeared, Desire pulled out a box of matches, “Well then Vainglory, if that is indeed your answer… I will not be needing to anchor myself here any longer.” She took in a deep breath then released it over top of the glass of wine she had been drinking, the wine and glass shifting into a gust of fire that quickly engulfed the counter it sat upon as Desire made her way out. Taking only one look back, she smirked as the entire bar was consumed in flames. “No matter how this all ends,” Desire said as she watched the fires rise, “I will have what I seek.” --- Back at the hospital, the doctors finished checking Sampson over and laid him down on bed of his own. The nurses quickly left the room, with the doctor herself letting out a heavy sigh as she looked over her clipboard. As the chief was examined, Carter kept his gaze fixed out the window where the building had fallen.“Four broken ribs… damage to the spinal column… and several other minor fractures…” the heavyset doctor told him, adjusted her thick glasses with a pale violet frame, her brown hair tied back in a long ponytail, “Haven't seen you this banged up since that incident with Greg Walker,” she looked at him with a look of concern, “mind telling me just what the hell happened to you boys?” “I… I'll tell you later, okay Pepper?” The old man smiled at her with a tear in his eye, “Once the dust has settled.” Pepper held her head, letting out a sigh“Alright, but just know that if you ever mess yourself up, and I can't put you back together… Alice would never forgive me.” “I know…” Sampson let out a heavy sigh, “I know.” “I'm gonna run these through the system,” Pepper told him as she held up her clipboard, “Try not to move too much, okay?” Sampson nodded, Pepper waving to him as she left the room. Once they were alone, Carter gripped his non-broken hand into a fist they spoke, “Chief… they're gonna be okay out there, right?” “I… I honestly don't know,” Sampson let out an even heavier sigh, looking to the boy who still gazed out the window. “I know you're worried, but Alex is out there with her… so I for one have no choice but to have faith.” “But why?” Carter gritted his teeth, “You scold him, you're always scared for his safety… so how can you still have faith? Especially when they're… them?” Sampson sharply swallowed, “Because they're family… and the only one you and I still have.” Carter fell silent, turning his head to Sampson and looked him in the eye, “Family?” Sampson simply nodded, “He may be a screw up, but all always be proud of him for all that he's done… good… and bad…” he continued, wiping his eyes a bit. “It’s all because Alex is my family… it's because…. He's my son.” {Insert Ending Theme: “One” by Altima} Next time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme: Fury’s crusade continues, while the riders fight without Carter to put a stop to his madness. Can the hindered Xtreme pull through and end the demon once and for all? All will be decided when Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme continues in: Episode 39: Stand As One |
Episode 39: Stand As One In the ruins of an old warehouse on that fateful night, Fury stood at the center of it all with Shredder at his side. They were both in their dopant forms looking down at the mangled body of Alice Darwin that lay twisted at cut up. “You know, you didn't HAVE to mess her up the way that you did. I hardly even recognize her, the way she is now,” Shredder commented, kneeling down to get a better look at the mess of flesh and hair that was once Alice's face. “Shame too, here I was hoping for some fun after we did the dead.” She laughed. Fury glared at him, “You're twisted.” “And you're the one who knew that a hired me anyway,” Shredder laughed some more, eyeing the body of Alice, “so you ain't much better, are ya?” “Just grab the memory so we can get out of here,” Fury huffed, whacking Shredder on his head, “The boss wanted her body in tact, but I guess he'll accept it if we tell him it was beyond saving.” Shredder laughed as he pulled the Fata memory out from Alice's hand then handed it back to his commander, “Now who's the twisted one?” Fury was about to speak when his attention was grabbed by a voice that cried out from the other end of the warehouse, “ALICE! Alice! Where are you?!” Shredder gritted the teeth of his dopant form, “Great, her cop friend.” The eyes on Fury's shoulder armor opened which got a laugh from Shredder, “You actually gonna fight 'em?” “Of course not,” Fury smirked under the shroud of his hood, “someone must take the fall for this crime.” Shredder gawked at him, raising a brow, “You're turning yourself in?” Fury just stared at him before muttering, “It's been an honor, Shredder.” On the other side of the warhouse, the young Gordon Sampson darted gun in hand through old machinery and boxes before a loud and bright explosion acted as a torch to light his way. He ran down the warhouse in the direction of the loud bang of light. “Crazy girl, almost had me worried,” Sampson said as he lowered his gun, a smile coming to while he ran. He turned the corner, his smile dropping once he saw what remained of Alice on the floor. His heart plummeted, shaking as he began to tremble before the horror that was in front of him. “Damn…” Shredder coughed on the ground a few feet away from Sampson and Alice's remains, now the pale skinned Greg Walker with freshly buzzed hair and baggy paint covered clothes. “What the hell…” “What the hell is right,” snarled Sampson, marching towards Walker before aiming his gun right in the male's face, “What the hell’s a worthless piece of shit like you doing still alive?!” “Hey whoa!” Walker pleaded as he held his hand, “You got the wrong guy, I only-” Sampson fired his gun, taking off Walker's ear. The male shook as blood ran down his face. Walker shook, staring into the anger filled eyes of the officer that stood before him. Sampson gritted his teeth before grabbing his radio, “I need back up, right now,” he barked into it. “Get in here, before I do something I know I'll regret.” {Insert opening theme: “Alones” by Aqua Timez} In the present day, Fury sat in the ruins of the building he had demolished on a throne pieced together from pipes, bricks and other scraps of rubble. Leaning back with his hands together, he smirked as he continued to watch the riders charge towards him from his eyes in the sky. “The main forces should be there to greet them soon,” he spoke, eyeing a trio of X2 troopers of to his side. His grin widened, noting that there was one of each type among the trio. “Let's say we increase the difficulty.” Fury extended his hand towards the troopers, a huge shroud of swirling black energy shooting off from the dopant and into the soldiers. The troopers shuttered, the trio being brought to their knees as the energy overwhelmed them and transformed them into large muscle bound demons made of flesh and metal with a single yellow eye and a mouth of jagged fangs making up the faces of each of them. The only distinction between them were the larger muscles of the former Star trooper, the twelve barreled cannons that now protruded from the hands of the former Blast trooper's and large demonic claymore that was gripped tightly in the hand of the former blade trooper. “Well well… lets see here… Bloodfist,” Fury spoke, eyeing the muscle bound former star trooper, looking towards the former blade trooper next, “Darksaber,” he announced before eyeing the snarling former blast trooper, “Hailfire.” The former star trooper, Bloodfist gave Darksaber and Hailfire a dirty look. The two fiends snarled back, Darksaber lashing its blade across the ground as Hailfire aimed its guns at Bloodfist. Fury groaned before snapping his fingers, gaining the attention of the altered troopers. “Come now my children, behave,” he laughed, giving them all a look. “I understand how thirsty for blood you are, but you should save your hunger for when we take up arms against Vainglory.” The fiends snarled at Fury, lashing their fangs and claws at him in protest. “I know, I know. You crave for battle now,” he held out his hand, a ball of fire forming in his palm with a projection of the still advancing riders inside it, “Then perhaps, I might interest you three in an appetizer?” Snarling and licking their teeth with their tongues, the trio of alter X2 Troopers headed off in the direction of the advancing riders. Not far off down the long city street covered in ruin, Alex and his comrades continued moving towards Fury. The five riders however came to a halt when they reached a line of X2 Blade Troopers who all stood shoulder to shoulder, gripping their swords as they stared down the riders. “Well, that's a welcoming sight,” Ashley muttered with a sigh, “looks like the rumors of Fury leaving META behind were just that.” Shiore shot a glare at Ashley, raising a brow under her mask, “And where would you hear a rumor like that?” “From years of being one of Crave's spineless lackies,” Ashley returned, “something that I am glad is behind me.” “Yeah, and besides,” Tara chimed in with a shrug as she pulled out her tail feather flail, “we're still gonna whoop Fury's edgelord butt ain't we? Who cares if Vainglory's cannon fodder hooligans are backing him?” “Tara's right,” Alex chimed in, stepping forward to be at the head of the pack, “If anything, Fury working with Vainglory is only more of a reason for us to take him down.” As Alex spoke, the air became filled with the cocking and hum of several guns being primed, a force of X2 Blast troopers emerging from the rubble around the riders to close them in. Alex gritted his teeth, Shiore in turn looking over to him, “Wishing at all you could use your ultimate form?” Alex's voice trembled as he let out a small bit of laughter, “Just a little bit.” “You might not but we sure as hell can,” Tara boasted pulling out her Hurricane memory, nudging Cole, “Right?” Cole smirked, whipping out his own Biter Memory, “Right.” As the couple swapped out their memories, the Blast troopers opened fire upon the riders. A cloud of dust quickly formed around the rider as the ground beneath their feet was struck by laser fire making it nearly impossible to see anything. “BITER! HURRICANE!” Roared from inside the dust cloud, the piercing glow of the blue and green visors of Tara and Cole's masks darting from out of the dust cloud and into the eyes of the troopers who were unlucky enough to see. With a single beat from Tara's wings, she cleared the dust and debris to reveal herself in her Hurricane form bow in hand. Cole meanwhile stood in his Biter form, his gatling gun on his left arm and trail biters on his legs. “Rocky!,” Tara aimed her bow at one line of Blast troopers who were reloading their guns, the wind rider quickly drawing her bowstring back as a yellow arrow of light began to form, “return fire.” “As you wish my Hurricane,” Cole returned, spinning the barrel of his gatling gun as he aimed it at the other line of blast troopers before firing along side Tara. A quarter of the blast troopers went down upon being hit. The remaining troops dolphin dived out of the way before returning fire on Cole and Tara, the X2 Blade troopers that stood between the riders and Fury beginning to advance. Alex's eyes narrowed upon a single X2 Star Trooper that stood behind the Blade Troopers, Alex in closing his driver and removing his Star and Runner memories in response. “Shiore, we're gonna need a bit more power here,” he said as he pulled out his Blade and Kicker memories. A chill ran down Shiore's spine, her right arm beginning to pulse violently as the image of her Shira form entered her mind. “We're only fighting foot soldiers,” Shiore tightly gripped her arm with a hint of a growl, “I refuse to waste such power on them.” “Find, have it your way,” Ashley scoffed, looking to Alex who was reopening his driver, “what's the plan boss?” “BLADE!” KICKER!” roared his driver as the red on the boy's armor changed to green, the short sword Bla-Jalibur forming in his arm and pointed metal blades forming on the tips of his feet. “Clear the trash, and get to Fury,” Alex restated, gripping his sword with both his hands as the blade troopers drew closer, “we are not letting a single one of these things through.” --- On the other side of town, Madison stood shoulder to shoulder with a swarm of other people on a train that ran underground. She had her headphones in, tapping her foot in an ever quickening pace all scanning her eyes over the southbound subway map. The train reached a station, Madison getting out of the way to allow other people to shuffle by as the doors opened. “They'll have to face the weather, Ninja Storm, stand together,” she muttered along with her music before letting out a groan, looking out the subway door to try and see why they hadn't moved yet, “What the hell is going on?!” A loud chime echoed through the station, Madison pulling out of her earbuds as a voice came over the intercom. “Due to ongoing issues at all further station, all southbound passengers are here by asked to disembark. We apologize for the inconvenience and look forward to your continued patronage.” Madison huffed, heading over a map on the platform. She placed her finger on her current stop, then moved it down five stations on the map, her hand stopping when she hit a station named Fision at the very bottom. “Looks like I'm gonna need to hoof it,” Madison, quickly moving to the stations elevator only for her jaw to drop when she saw it was roped off with an out of order sign taped to the doors. “OH COME ON!!” She groaned for a moment then let out a tired sigh. “Looks like I really am hoofing it.” Madison quickly ran down the platform of the station, hoping up one flight of stairs in the blink of an eye. She was about to do the same with the next flight only for a sudden shout to catch her attention. “WATCH OUT!” Cried an older man from above as a fully loaded cart barroled down the stairs directly at Madison. Madison gasped for a moment as the cart drew closer to hitting her, however it didn't run her over. The seemingly frail girl instead caught it by the front, holding it up with only a mere wince as if it was a mild burden on her frame. “Oh my gosh Miss! Are you alright!” Cried the older male from above. He was of a darker complexion, in his mid forties by the looks of things. “I am so sorry!” “Don't worry about, was heading that way anyway,” Madison laughed, her biceps flexing under the weight of the cart revealing she was surprisingly lean for a girl who hours ago was stuffing her face while watching tv. “Here, I'll come to you!” The male watched in awe as Madison climbed up the stairs with little effort, a heavy sigh of relief escaping her lips as placed the cart down upon reaching the top. “Oh my,” the male clapped as he smiled at her. “You’re a lot stronger than I gave you credit for. Say, would you happen to be looking for a boyfriend?” Madison's face turned bright red, shaking her head, “Sir… I think I'm a little young for you.” The male stared at her, then he started to laugh, “Oh my, heavens no. I was asking for my son actually. He likes pretty girls who are a bit on the lean side.” Madison let out a sigh of relief, her face returning to its normal pigment as she managed a grin. “Sir, I'm flattered that you think your son would be interested in me, but my current relationship status is, well to put it simply… complicated. I'm sure he's a charming fella, but I'm going to have to decline the offer, sorry.” “Complicated?” The male raised a brow at her, “You telling me you have someone in your life, and they aren't trying to sweep you off your feet at every possible moment?” Madison's smile faded a bit, the girl feeling her heart swell, “Well… sort of, I think…” she gulped, “Like I said, it's complicated.” “Well, if it's ever not complicated and you're looking for a someone,” the male pulled out a scrap of paper and a pen, jotting down a few numbers before handing it over to Madison , “Give my boy a call, I'm sure he'd love to hear from you.” Madison took the paper, read it over once then looked to the man with another sharp gulp. “Thank you sir…I'll keep this in mind,” she bowed as she shoved the paper safely into her pocket. “I have to go.” Madison took off in a hurry down the road, gripping the silver ring that she still wore on her finger. The older male watched with a grin. “Such a pure soul,” the male said softly as his eyes flickered a pierce shade of yellow for a moment before returning to their original hazel color. “An enigma like her shall certainly alter the hands of fate.” --- Back in the battle, Shiore drove her blade hard through the driver of the final Blade Trooper, Alex and Ashley doing the same to the Star Trooper that lead the pack. The troopers that once opposed them now laid on the ground as men and women in suits. A sickly black aura rose from them all, merging together in the ar darting down the street past the riders. Alex gripped his sword, narrowing his gaze down the road, “Guess that's our path.” He took one step forward, but did not move further as the altered muscle bound trooper Bloodfist dropped down from the sky and set its sights upon Alex, snarling while licking its teeth. “What! In Stan Lee's bonet! Is that!” Tara barked, her jaw dropping as a result of witnessing the fiend that stood before her. A loud hum roared through the air as several large laser blasts roared down towards Tara, the wind rider quickly dodging them and aiming her bow in the air where they came from. “Not on my watch! You freak!” She gritted her teeth as she took in the sight of Hailfire, clinging to the side of a building with its feet while unloading a barrage of explosive blasts where Tara had been standing below. Hailfire, after its expulsion of ammo, halted its barrage. Its hand mounted gun were smoking hot, the fiend snarling as it glared at Tara. Leaping from one building to another, it began making its way down the left most side street off the path the riders had been proceeding down. “Oh you aren't getting away that easy!” Tara roared, gunning down the road after it, taking to the air after a moment of sprinting. “Tara!” Alex barked, “Where are you-” “Not a single one get through! Tara barked back as she continued to chase after Hailfire, “That's what you said right?” “Yeah but!” Alex persisted but by the time he did, Tara was already out of ear shot. “I'll watch her back, we'll meet up later!” Cole told Alex before speeding off after Tara on his trail biters. “You better!” Alex called to Cole as loud as he could, hoping his friend heard him. His gaze then fixed itself once again on Bloodfist who was flexing its muscles and cracking its neck. “Its three on one,” Ashley stated, her and Shiore stepping into a line formation with Alex to stare down Bloodfist. Suddenly, a loud scraping noise barreled its way through the air. Shiore quickly turning, sword raised, to block an oncoming dark blur that drove her into a nearby building. “SHIORE!” Alex cried out, taking his gaze off Bloodfist for a moment only for the fiend to dart forward and deliver a heavy uppercut into his gut. “Come now, she's a strong girl she can handle herself,” Bloodfist cackled as its face turned into that Fury's violent form, “you on the other hand, that's still up for debate.” He sneered, tossing the winded Alex into Ashley, “And to correct you, I do believe it's now two on one.” --- From his bed in the hospital, Carter watched as more explosions roared up from downtown. The young man felt his heart sink, taking in a big gulp as his hands began to shake. “You know you're an insanely lucky old man, right?” Pepper told Sampson as she read off his papers from his bedside. “Sure, it's pretty bad right now, but nothing seems to be broken that can't be fixed with a little bit of rest and patience.” “Looks like I've still got an angel looking out for me,” Sampson couldn't help but smile and laugh a bit. “It helps me sleep a bit easy though, thinking she's watching over me and Alex.” “Which reminds me,” Pepper eyed Sampson, “I never really understood how it happened… mind telling me?” “You read the report,” Sampson spoke simply, his smile fading. “Greg Walker, remember?” “You and I both know I wouldn't ask you to talk about that,” she glared at him. “I wanna know how to honest souls went and did… what you two did.” Sampson took in a deep breath then exhaled, “The short version… Jason, her husband… he was, and mostly still is, a prick.” He looked Pepper in the eye. “My meeting with Alice, and the appearance of the dopants, are in my mind one and the same. I didn't question when she was assigned to my unit, but I will never forget that smile of hers. Course she was taken, and clearly loved her husband more than anything.” “Which re-asks the question,” Pepper raised a brow, “why cheat?” “I mentioned he was a prick, right?” Sampson told her with another raised brow. “We had just finished a job, and she offered to buy me a coffee…” he sharply swallowed, a tear coming to his eye. “Then suddenly, she asked me if I was as lonely as she was. She started to cry… cursing Jason's name… and then I…. I kissed her.” Pepper's eyes shot open in shock, “And… what did she do?” Sampson held his head, managing an almost sad laugh, “She returned it… one thing lead to another… and then, before I knew it, Alex was born and then she was killed.” “Have you told him?” Carter spoke up, catching the attention of both Sampson and Pepper. Sampson paused the shook his head, “No… No I didn't.” “Why not?” Carter asked, keeping his gaze fixed on the city in the distance. “Because I… I wanted to protect him,” Sampson spoke in an unsteady tone. “I wanted to protected him in the same way she did. I'll do anything to make sure that boy is safe… Then again, that's rather all for not at this point.” “No…” Carter spoke simply, pulling his dislocated arm out from the sling that held it, grabbing the part that was broken with his working arm, “it- isn't.” Sampson and Pepper both gasped in shock as Carter, gritting his teeth to swallow the pain, began to force his dislocated arm back into the socket. “GAHHA!” Cried the young man, Pepper shooting up to her feet and marching over to him. “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!” she demanding, going to grab Carter to restrain him only to be halted by a simple look from the young man. “I'm not going to sit around here doing nothing, not while there are people who need me.” Carter told her, wincing ever so slightly as his arm popped back into where it was meant to be. He jumped out from his bed, pulling out his gaia memory and striking the activation button. “RYU-O!” Cried the memory as his driver formed around his waist. “Wait! You're hand is still broken!” Pepper told him. “A weakness I'll just have to protect,” Carter told her before eyeing Sampson, “right?” “If you're going, then go,” Sampson told him with a stern look, “Just don't do anything you'll regret.” “I won't,” Carter told him, opening a window and climbing out of it. He slammed his memory into his driver and gave it a quick spin, “RYU-O!” roared his driver, the young man kicking off the outside of the hospital as his armor formed around him. Within seconds, he was airborne and heading downtown. Pepper huffed, glaring at Sampson, “Why let him go?! He's just gonna end up back here in worse shape.” “No he won't,” Sampson laughed, “I know that much for sure.” Pepper raised a brow at him, “and what makes you so sure?” “Cause that boy's like a phoenix,” Sampson told her, “He might get burnt to a crisp now and again, but he'll keep rising from the ashes stronger and wiser than before. That's just the kinda guy he is” --- Back in the center of the fork in the road, Bloodfist with the face of Fury grabbed the winded Alex by his waist and hurled him at a concrete wall. Alex however was quick on his feet, and pulled the Blade memory from his belt and replaced it with Blast. “BLAST! KICKER!’ Cried the driver as Alex reset it, the top half of his armor turning blue and his Bla-jalibur shifting into the form of his blue pistol the Corona Blaster. Aiming it at a lamp post, Alex fired off a grappling hook at it and pulled himself towards it, landing safely on the ground before staring down Bloodfist once again. “Lovely trick,” Bloodfist laughed in Fury's voice, his fists beginning to glow bright red like the inside of an active forge, “shame I'll be dropping the curtains on you.” Bloodfist slashed its claws at Alex, hurling a barrage of red hot energy blades at the boy. The rider didn't budge however, his gaze simply narrowing at the blades as he pulled his Kicker Memory from his driver and replaced it with Diver. “BLAST! DIVER!” his belt cried out as the bottom half of his suit turned deep teal with fins on the sids of his boots. Flipping his gun around, Alex fired off a clip of water blasts at Bloodfist, dissolving the hot blades they struck while on course to their target. Bloodfist, while gritting its teeth, jumped out of the way and landed along feet away from Alex. “YOU MISSED YOU FOOLISH BOY!” it barked, again in Fury's voice. “So you think,” Alex said with an unflinching glare. Bloodfist looked back over its shoulder to where he was before, a torrent of water rushing towards it and ensnaring him within it all while under Ashley's control. Guiding Bloodfist to the ground, she bound him with the water and formed it into chains that allowed Bloodfist to have only its head free. “So, Fury was it?” Ashley asked, violently grabbing Bloodfist by the face and forcing it to look her in the eye. “Just how much of you is there?” “I am in control of this fiend, but the fiend is not me. Whatever you do, I will not feel a thing.” Fury laughed right in Ashley's face, “You fools better face facts. You're all powerless against all of me.” “Oh yeah? Then lets run those numbers..” Ashley pointed to Alex, “but then there's him, mr power house himself. Ryu-O, who last I recall hacked off your arm and set you a blaze last time you met, there's also the ice queen who I'm not even gonna begin to get into her issues and the walking weapons depo moe valkyrie power couple.” The water coiled tighter around Bloodfist, slamming its face into the dirt, “and then Fury, there's you who has managed to piss off every last one of them.” Fury gritted Bloodfist's teeth, glaring through his fiend's eyes. “You mock me! I will destroy you! Then I shall become a god!” “Or you could face facts Fury,” Alex glared at the fiend on the ground. “There isn't anything special about you. You're just another asshole, and you'll be taken down just like the rest of them.” Fury made Bloodfist laughed, “I'd love to see you try.” With a snap of Fury's finger, the aura from Bloodfist rose out from him leaving nothing but a young boy withered and lifeless in the rubble. The aura itself shot down the road. Alex kept his gaze fixed on the aura, tightening his fist, “So… that's where Fury is hiding.” Ashley meanwhile, couldn't help but have her heart swell, “So young…” her eyes looked to Alex, “What… what do you plan do, after we finish off Fury?” “Once we're done with Fury, I'll be going after Vainglory…. My father,” He turned back to look Ashley in the eye. “I'm not going to force you into it, but it will mean the world to have you by my side.” Ashley stepped forward, placing her hand on his shoulder and looking him in the eye, “Don't worry, I will be.” --- Outside the police blockade, Madison darted down the street at an unsteady pace, breathing heavier and heavier the longer she kept running. Her test of endurance was about to end however, as she soon neared the blockade where Marcoh was still standing with his eyes fixed on a GMR scanner. The scanner showed roughly the positions of Fury, his fiendish soldiers, and each of the riders in relation to Fury himself. “They're splitting up? What the hell are they doing in there,” Marcoh gritted his teeth while pulling out a pack of cigarettes. He gasped, jumping a bit when he saw Madison. “Ms Tyler? What are you doing here?” “Something stupid by the looks of things,” Madison told him firmly, walking up to him and looking in the eye. “I… I need you to let me through.” “Absolutely not,” Marcoh told her, offering her a smoke after he had pulled one out for himself. “If I were to let you in there, what do you think Darwin, Haze or anyone else would say?” “Nothing good?” Madison gulped, holding her open hand up and shaking her head in decline of Marcoh's offer. She refocused her gaze on the clouds of black smoke in the distance. “They're in there… aren't they? Who are they up against this time?” Marcoh stared at Madison for a good long while. Only after lighting it and taking a big hit from it, did the officer finally come out with it. “Fury.” Madison's heartbeat grinded to a halt, the memory of Reptilian’s tail plunging through her gut causing her body to tremble. “He… he's still alive? Why?” Marcoh fell silent, eyeing the girl as he struggled to find the right answer. He stood there, placing his hand on her shoulder for a good long while before finally opening his mouth to speak. He didn't get to a single word however as, with a loud screeching wale of an alarm, his GMR scanner went off in his hand. “What the hell?” He gasped, looking to the screen to see an unidentified dot rushing towards their position from behind. The officers and Madison quickly turned to catch Ryu-O in mid flight roar past them. An earth shattering rush of wind followed close behind Ryu-O which shattered every window on every police car, setting off all their alarms as the red rider broke through the sound barrier. “Who the hell was that psycho?!” Coughed an officer as he picked himself off the ground, “Is freaking Ironman in on this now?!” “Relax, that isn't any comic book hero,” Marcoh told the officer, grabbing his radio, “it's another one of ours. Codename, Ryu-O.” “Ryu-O…” Madison muttered in awe, “so cool…” In mid flight, Carter switched on the thermal scanners of his mask to see various heat scanners. Two clusters of three where what he saw instantly, his mask quickly picking up another pair of signatures before finally locking on to one off on its own. “You're certainly showing up late,” Marcoh's voice came in through the com-link in Carter's helmet. “Give me all you have Maroch,” Carter ordered, “I need to get to Thea, so where is she?” “Knowing her, she'd be with Desmond,” Marcoh informed him, “but we have one rider off on their own. We should focus on backing them up.” “I will, but only after I make sure Thea is safe,” Carter informed the officer. “TARA can handle herself if she has Desmond backing her,” Marcoh quickly returned, “we need to focus on leveling the-” Marcoh was cut off by Carter switching off his comlink. “Sorry Marcoh, Thea comes first.” He said before boosting up the power of his thrusters, speeding faster towards the cluster of three heat signatures he saw via his HUD. On the ground with Hailfire, Tara and Cole evaded his shots one after the other. With a leap and a flip, Tara fired off a pair of arrows of light only for them to be shot from the sky by Hailfire's rounds. Cole attempted the same with the gatling gun on his arm and shoulder mounted missile pods, but garnered the same result. Gritting his teeth, Cole darted for cover behind a flipped over car where Tara quickly joined him. “Damn, that thing just shoots down whatever we throw at him,” Cole panted, giving his guns a chance to cool down. “It's those damn guns, they're like a shield they way its using them!” Tara barked, her and Cole quickly jumping out of the way as the car they were using for cover was blown to bits. Tara snarled as her gaze returned to Hailfire, her wings keeping her airborne while Cole was locked to the ground due to his heavy armor and weapons. “The two of you may as well accept it,” Hailfire cackled in Fury's voice, aiming its guns at the both of them. “You are as useful to me as you are in every other instance. All you ever do is just stand there! While you're friends do most of th-” Hailfire's rant was cut off by the growing roar of what sounded like a jet engine. The fiend turned his head, gasping once it saw Ryu-O gunning towards him like a bullet through the air. With a snap of his finger and burst of fire, Carter conjured his buster sword and drove it through both of Hailfire's hand mounted guns, slicing off every barrel except one on each faster than the eye could see. Hailfire trembled as Ryu-O landed on the other side of him. Fury moved Hailfire and laughed, “Well well, look who is here to prove me right!” “I'm only here to level the playing field,” Carter spoke, eyeing Cole and his sister, “Cole! Tara! He's all yours!” With that, Carter kicked off the ground and took to the air once again. Tara meanwhile was frozen for a moment as a result of hearing her brothers word. She smirk appearing under her mask after her slight pause, pulling back on her bow once again to form yet another arrow. “Rocky!” She called down to Cole, “Kill him dead!” Cole smirked alongside, priming his guns as he aimed them at Hailfire. The fiend in Fury's voice snarled. “What is wrong with the two of you! You have no flaws at all!” Hailfire barked at them, “You can't even be considered remotely human!” “Hey dipstick, of course we have flaws,” Cole told him, rushing towards him on his trail biters, “that's just the cost of being alive.” “The dif with us is simple,” Tara stared the fiend down, “we don't beat ourselves over our faults, and we don't use the ones we find in others to rip them apart either.” Hailfire snarled, then laughed, “You expect me to buy that load of bull?” “We don't need you to,” Cole said. He and Tara opened fire upon the fiend, the fiend exploding into a large burst of smoke and fire. As the debris cleared, a withered woman laid on the were Hailfire once was. Tara's heart sank, kneeling down to close the woman's tormented eyes. “Be at peace… you poor soul…” she muttered softly. As she let out a deep breath, an orb of Fury's aura rose out from her and rushed past them. It darted down the road, rushing past Cole who followed it with his eyes. Cole jumped from the aura's sudden movement but turned himself back to Tara. “Tara?!” He barked, panting heavily. Tara looked him in the eyes, he gaze as sharp as an eagle swiping a fish from the maw of a shark. “Follow it.” --- Swords clashed in the fallen corridors of one of the ruined buildings, an image of Kamen Rider Yuki darting at Darksaber only for the fiend to slice it clean in half. The fiend snarled, looking from side to side as it sniffed the air. From the exposed rafters, Shiore stared down at the fiend in her base rider form. She gripped the Shira memory, her right arm continuing to pulse violently at the thought of using. “You cannot hide yourself forever snow girl!” Darksaber barked in Fury's voice, “This would be over sooner if you just fight you know! I promise to make it painless!” Shiore focused her gaze at Darksaber, gripping her sword while slipping the Shira memory back onto her belt. She moved her feet to stand, only to instead shift a stray piece of rubble causing it to fall to the floor before. Shiore gasped, gritting her teeth as Darksaber turned on his heel and lept towards her. Shiore jumped back, the two meeting in a clash with Darksaber staring into her soul. “I was wondering when I would find the real you.” It laughed, eyeing the far more powerful memory on the girl's belt, “Though now one question remains… why not face me with that sword?” Shiore snarled, breaking the clash with a strong swing of her blade to knock Darksaber away. “I don't need it to defeat you, that's just fact.” She panted heavier and heavier as the battle continued. “Oh, now I see…” Darksaber laughed, “you're scared of it, aren't you? Scared it will reject you, just like the others. Those kids you call your friends-” Darksaber was cut off by a kunai that whipped past its cheek, exploding the moment it hit the wall. Darksaber danced around the explosion, laughing when he landed on the other side of Shiore. “Touchie…” Darksaber cooed, “but with a reaction like that, it only proves that I'm right.” Shiore gripped her sword tighter. “Leave me-” she growled, turning to Darksaber with a heavy swing to its throat, “ALONE!” “But you are alone,” Darksaber smirked, evaporating into a cloud of smoke as Shiore's blade cut into him, “you always have been.” Its voice repeated, this time from within Shiore's head. The white rider shuttered, her entire being beginning to tremble. Her eyes darted across the room, her gaze locking onto her waist with a gasp as Darksaber's shadowing claw reached from the either towards Shira Memory, pumping in a cloud of its dark aura into it. Shiore jumped back, gripping the Shira memory tight before pulling it from her belt. “If you want this so badly,” Shiore glared at the fiend, returning to her feet as she aimed her blade at it, “come and claim it!” “Silly girl, the memory means little to me,” Darksaber told her, its face shifting to that of Fury's as he stood before a still stable door. “My former master has had her eye on you for some time now. Its you I plan to claim. First as a pawn, then if you survive, I will make you my bride.” Shiore narrowed her gaze at Darksaber, “Not even in hell!” Fury shook Darksaber's head, “So unwise…” he raised Darksaber's sword, “no matter-” Before Fury puppeting Darksaber could so much as move, the door behind it blew itself open in a sudden burst of fire. The Ryu-O Buster sliced its way through the fire and the flames, cutting down Darksaber as carter himself emerged from the chaos. Shiore's eyes shoot open, the setting changing in her mind to Ryu-O standing in an traditional japanese house and an elder male with Shiore's hair and eye color at Ryu-O's feet. “Shiore… Run….” The man's words echoed in mind. “Yuki!” Carter barked at her, snapping the girl back to reality as he grabbed Darksaber by its throat and pinned him to the wall. “We're ending this, now.” He said firmly before pulling out his Phoenix memory. “Phoenix!” Roared the memory as Carter struck the activation button and slammed it into his driver. “Phoenix!” The memory roared once again, his regal emperor style armor appearing in a burst of flame with his buster sword becoming a claymore with red wings on the guard. As the fight between Carter and Darksaber raged on, Shiore stared at the Shira Memory in her hand. With a tightening of her grip on the memory, she removed her Yuki memory from her driver and replaced it with Shira, slamming it into the active position with a quick motion of her hand. “SHIRA! SHIRA!” Cried the memory, a blizzard roaring over Shiore to switch her into her stronger form, her twin chain linked swords forming in her hands. “SHIIIRA!!!” As the blizzard dispersed, the eye of Shiore's wolf head shaped driver flickered a deep purple. The eyes of her mask flickered the same color as Shiore glanced down at the moon encased in a triforce seal on her chest, breathing heavily as she noted that the moon was almost full. Gritting her teeth, she re-focused her gaze upon the wall opposite her to see Ryu-O pinned the to it by Darksaber. Ryu-O gasped for air, reaching a hand out to the other rider, “Shiore! Help me!” He pleaded weakly. Darksaber gripped Ryu-O's throat, “Why would she ever help you? Especially after what you've done.” The fiend snarled as throwing the rider to the ground, turning its gaze to Shiore, “Yuki! Get over here already!” Shiore sucked her teeth, “So that's your play? Is it?”" She muttered to herself. She slipped her swords into one hand and pulled out a pair of kunai with the other, all while she made her way over to the conflicting pair. Placing her feet down firmly on the ground, she tossed the kunai at Ryu-O pinning him to the ground. “Shiore! What are you doing!” Ryu-O barked on the ground, “Fury, he turned you against me! Didn't he-” “Shut your mouth,” Shiore glared at the rider on the floor, aiming her sword at him, “Fury.” Ryu-O stared at Shiore, snapping his fingers to remove the aura around Shiore's eyes. With that, he revealed itself to be Darksaber while the true Ryu-O stood beside Shiore. “So, what gave it away?” Darksaber asked in Fury's voice. “My name firstly, Ryu-O has never used it,” Shiore told him in a cold tone. “second… the way you begged. It's hardly his manor while fighting.” Fury made Darksaber laugh, its body beginning to fade. “Well then, show me how the two of you fight for real then. I'll be waiting.” A black aura shot out from Darksaber, leaving nothing but a shriveled man in a suit behind as it shot out from the building. Carter knelt down and looked for a pulse. “He's… he's dead…” Carter spoke as his heart sank. “And more will be, if we do not stop Fury,” Shiore told him as she went to the door, stopping only to take a look back to the other rider, “coming?” Carter nodded, placing a tracker on the dead man so someone could find his body before following after Shiore. “This is Carter, calling all riders,” Carter spoke into his communicator on the way out, “Everybody still alive out there?” “Whoa! Hi!” Ashley spoke suddenly, “Would've been nice to know my suit had this hours ago!” “Yeah, it's kind of an undocumented feature,” Tara chimed in, “Totally not at all like they just suddenly appeared out of convenience or anything!” “Cole here,” the rock rider spoke, “thanks for the assist back there Carter. We owe you.” “Carter?” Alex questioned, “aren't you supposed to be in the hospital?” “I checked out early,” Carter told him, “while I have you all, how do we plan to get rid of Fury? He'll be expecting a brute force attack.” “I have an idea… but it's kinda risky,” Alex said, “and I'm gonna need everyone.” Carter took note of this, his gaze narrowing upon the speaker of his comlink, “I'm listening.” --- Fury stood in the rumble of the building he had destroyed, the three orbs of his aura circling around him as he stared with a smirk down the road where he predicted the riders would come down. “The bait is set, now we await the fish,” Fury sneered. The bitter patter of footsteps caught his ear, but not from in front of him. He cocked a brow, looking to the left of him as a Shira form Kamen Rider Yuki darted up towards him with her swords drawn. As Shira-Yuki swung her swords, Fury took one step back and caught them both with his claw. “You rush in alone?” Fury scoffed, crushing Shira-Yuki's blades in his grip, “that is possibly the worst move you could have chosen.” “Correction Fury,” Shiore's voice echoed from the rider that stood before Fury, a glimmer flickering from above Shira-Yuki's shoulder, “it is you who is alone.” From that glimmer came a blinding armor of light that struck Shira-Yuki and shattered her into ice. “A clone?!” Fury snarled as the ice shards swirled around his claws, his eyes darting from side to side, “Come on out my little snow bunny! I'm looking to play with you some more!” The ice shards turned to water, the water shifting into chains that constricted around Fury's arms and pulled him to the ground. Fury gritted his teeth while he pulled his arm against the pull of the chains, laughing like a mad man as his eyes frantically shifted around various spots of his self made arena. “YOU'RE FOOLS IF YOU THINK KEEPING YOUR DISTANCE WILL SAVE YOU!” He roared, “EVEN MORE SO IF YOU EXPECT A BIT OF WATER TO HOLD ME!!” The ever confident Fury was beginning to tremble, this was not how he expected things to play out. Four fire hydrants broke open, Fury jumping back while beginning to sweat as four rushing geysers rose up from the hydrants along with the bursting of a sewer grate. “A little water won't hold you?” Shift's voice echoed from the depths below, rising from the grate in a pillar of rushing water. She glared at Fury, the eyes of her mask illuminating as she aimed her warglaives at him. “Then how about I give you a lot of it?” With a flick of her wrist, Ashley sent all the water she had collected hurling at Fury. Landing on the ground once Fury had been crushed beneath it, she looking over her shoulder while keeping her hands fixed on the water. “BOYS! YOU'RE UP!” She barked, Cole rushing by her on his Trail Biters and wrist mounted laser swords extended. Slashing apart a pair of street signs, Cole bent the steel poles in his hands while rushing over to Fury. Ashley parted the water long enough for Cole to drive the bent poles over Fury and into the ground to further bind him, Carter flying above and welding the poles to the ground with a series of concentrated blasts from his hands. Once Fury was secured, Cole rushed back to Ashley as she re-submerged Fury. “How much time do you think that's bought us?” Cole panted heavily, Carter flying down on the other side of Ashley. “Probably-” Ashley grunted from the strain of holding Fury, “five seconds?” “Then we need to move fast,” Shiore declared, moving so fast that it was as if she just appeared beside Cole. Tara meanwhile dove down to land beside Carter. “Then we better move faster than that,” Tara declared, calling out behind her. “SUPERSTAR! I'D RUN FOR HOME IF I WERE YOU!” “STAR! RUNNER!” Roared Alex's driver as he rushed past the other riders in a blur towards Fury, the Xtreme Memory coming down from above and connecting to his driver in the process. “XTREEEEME!” Cried the memory as Alex ascended into his Ultimate form. “Now Fury!” He closed the Xtreme memory on his belt, preparing to re-open it for his Maximum Drive, “Your rampage-” Before Alex could make his mark however, all three of Fury's orbs rushes into his body beneath the water. The water turned black, deep violet energy boiling to the surface which sent the black sludge hurling towards all the riders and knocking them all to ground, breaking their formation and Alex's attack. “Clevver trick,” Fury laughed as he emerged from the black ooze, more demonic than before with the wings and tail of a dragon protruding from his body, “but your magic of friendship, heart of the cards act?” He sneered at Alex, kicking him in the gut, “Face facts, you think I'm not special? Well you aren't either, you're just another pebble beneath my foot.” Fury went to pull his foot back but found that he couldn't as Alex was now holding on to it and staring Fury dead in the eye. “You're right… I'm not…” he grunted as he rose to his feet, delivering a hard uppercut to Fury's jaw, “I'm just the pebble… that broke your giant foot…” He declared, pulling X-Calibur from his chest as his body began to glow in a white aura. Fury's entire being began to tremble.”W-What the hell is going on?! What the hell are you?!” “HE'S SUPERSTAR! ASSHOLE!” Tara barked at him, gritting her teeth as she forced herself to stand up, “AND HE IS SUPER PISSED AT YOU!” As she stood, a bright yellow aura began to erupt from her in the same rhythm as the one that surrounded Alex. “Him?... Pissed at me?” Fury’s lip twitched into a smirk, regaining a sliver of his charisma. “Perfect, let the master of wrath feel yours boy!” “Master of wrath?” Shiore scoffed, glaring at Fury a she rose to her own feet as a pale blue aura surrounded her. “I’d say it's high time you felt the wrath of someone other than yourself.” Ashley felt an air dread wash over her, taking a step forward only for Carter to step forward and put his arm in front of her. A bright red aura surrounded him already. “This is Alex's fight,” Carter told her, “unless it takes a turn for the worse, we shouldn't interfere.” Ashley glaring at Carter, her heartbeat racing as she gripped her warglaives, “Are you nuts? He's going to kill him!” “Have faith,” Cole told her, a green aura erupting from him. He patted Ashley on the shoulder as he looked to Alex staring down Fury. “You did so before, didn't you? Ashley took in a deep breath, then called out, “ALEX! KICK HIS ASS!” Alex narrowed his gaze upon Fury, raising his sword high. The moment his arm was fully extended, his aura shot out from the hilt of his blade and grabbed the Gale, Rock, Yuki and Ryu-O from their respective riders. Upon his aura retracting, each memory was placed into a slot on the hilt, Alex's own Star Memory being placed at the top of the handle. “GALE! MEMORY CHARGE! ROCK! MEMORY CHARGE! YUKI! MEMORY CHARGE! RYU-O! MEMORY CHARGE!” Screamed X-Calibur, the blade phasing back into Alex's body as Gale's wing extended from his shoulders, Rock's armor formed onto his shins, Yuki's claws extended from his wrists and Ryu-O's fire blasters activated in the palms of his hands. Fury snarled, baring his claws at the new Xtreme that stood before him, “Now what in sweet hell are you?!” “We are Xtreme-” Alex spoke, the voices of the other riders echoing out along with his, “United.” Flaring out his hand at Fury, Xtreme blasted Fury back with a powerful fire blast before darting up to him using his wings. Fury couldn't so much as react as Xtreme grabbed him with his claws and took him high into the air, releasing him mid flight before kicking him right into the top floor of a building. Tara who still stood on the ground with the other riders, let out a whistle and patted Ashley on the back, “I…. I see why you needed to jump on that.” Ashley's eyes shot open, jabbing Cole in the side, “Alex told you?! And you told Tara?!” Cole winced slightly, holding his chest, “Yeah, sorry about that.” Ashley glared at him, “Does Madison know?” Cole shook his head, “Not unless Alex told her.” Ashley let out a sigh, her heart sinking as she looked back up to Xtreme in the sky above. “Then there's one less thing I need to worry about…” she muttered to herself as she watched Xtreme dive into the building after Fury. Pulling him out from the rubble and clutter of the destroyed office he was just thrown into, Fury winced and groaned. His smirk and chuckle returned only when Xtreme came down and began to approach him. “So, you defeat me and then what?” Fury readied his claws at him, “There will always be someone else out to kill you. If not me, Vainglory, or that witch Desire, then it will be someone else. What will you and your band of goodie goods do then?” “That is for us to decide,” Xtreme told him, drawing X-Calibur from their chest. “Now Fury, your rampage, ends here!” Xtreme raised X-Calibur then pulled back on the trigger, “STAR! GALE! ROCK! YUKI! RYU-O! MAXIMUM DRIVE!!!” roared all the gaia memories on their sword, unleashing a super charged slash upon Fury. Fury felt time slow around him, one final smirk coming to his face as he watched the multicolored slash of energy hurl towards him. “Forgive me…. Mother…” he muttered to himself, the image of Desire coming to his mind as he felt the slash cut through him, “it seems as though… I have failed you…” he closed his eyes, a single tear running down his cheek, “Forgive me.” Ms Seraphina watched this defeat from an orb in her hand, scrolling through it before locking onto Shiore on the ground. “Quite the opposite, my child. You have given me exactly what I nerd.” She smirked, turning her gaze towards the hospital she stood in front of, “Now, it's time I play my part.” Back at the police blockade, Derek Maverick was being loaded into the back of one car after the riders had all powered down. Shiore stared at her reflection in the mirror of one car as a swirl of purple aura flickered in her eye. She winced as a result, holding her eye closed to bare through the slight bit of pain it caused. “Yuki,” Carter spoke as he came up to her, Shiore turning to face him, “you alright?” She removed her hand from her eye, looking back into the mirror as she watched the aura fade into her eye. She closed both her eyes and nodded, “I'm fine,” she huffed. Meanwhile, Alex stood by the car that Derek was in the back of looking him in the eye with an ice cold glare. “You’re going away for a very long time, Derek,” Alex told him, gripping the edge of the door where the window came out from, “any final words before you leave my sight forever?” “Just… one…” Derek managed a smirk, glancing over to meet Alex’s gaze, “when Shredder and I killed your mother… I regret not being able to end the life of that officer… the one that lead to your miserable existence. Sampson, I think his name was.” Alex’s eyes shot open, the boy letting out a small gasp, “W-What did you just say?” he muttered as he began to shake. Suddenly, Derek whacked his head hard against the cage that divided the front and back of the police car, a fit of laughter escaping his lips, “Know this Alex Darwin, it was Vainglory who ordered her death,” he told him, blood dripping down his face as he went to whack his head off the cage again. “HEY! STOP THAT!” An officer barked, trying to get the door unlocked. “See you in hell,” Derek said once more before delivering the blow to his head that left him limp and motionless. Alex stood there, frozen by what he just heard and saw. Even Marcoh trembled, regaining his composure after a moment and looking the other officer in the eye, “Is he… dead?” Marcoh asked with a tremor to his voice. The other officer got the door open and checked Derek for a pulse, “Still alive,” he breathed with relief, “the bastard just knocked himself out cold.” Marcoh, with a snarl, balled his hand into a fist, “Dammit. Right when he was actually telling us something to. I doubt that will happen again.” “M-Marcoh…” Alex spoke quietly, catching Marcoh’s attention, “What he just said.. About my mother… and Sampson… is it true?” Marcoh took a deep gulp, not sure what to say. Fortunately for him, he didn’t have to. “It is,” Carter spoke, coming up from behind Alex, “Gordon told himself… about being your father anyway.” Alex sharply swallowed, unable to say a word. Carter, after a moment, placed his hand on Alex’s shoulder, “I know it’s rough… especially after today. But for now, just be glad that you have a father that cares about you. Alright?” After a moment, Alex nodded, “I… I will.” Silence filled the air, only to be broken by a voice filling the air. “ALEX?!” Madison cried as she came up to the boys, letting out a breath of relief once she got a good look at the boy she was running towards, “Thank goodness, I was worried.” Alex looked to her, raising a brow, “Madison?... What are you doing here?” “I came to make sure you were okay,” Madison told him, a sad look coming to her face. Cole, Tara, Shiore and Ashley were now gather around them. “You came all this way… for that?” he asked with a bit of a wince, turning his gaze away from her, “I thought you were done with me.” “I know I said that, but I was wrong,” Madison told him, grabbing his face with both her hands and forcing him to look back at her, “I care about you…” She gulped, feeling her heart begin to ache. In the spur of the moment, she pressed her lips against his to the surprise of everyone including herself. Madison’s eyes were closed, however Alex and Ashley’s eyes were wide open. Madison pulled away after holding the kiss for a moment, opening her eyes back up as she pulled away, “I love you.” Alex stared into her eyes, more confused in that moment than ever before, “Madison I…” he placed his hands on her shoulder, swallowing his complicated feelings on the matter, “I’m sorry.” Without a second word, he took from the scene and headed off down the road leaving both Madison and Ashley standing there with their hearts in their stomachs. Madison’s lower lip trembled, balling her hand into a fist as Ashley came up and placed her arm over Madison’s shoulder. “Ash… I’m a bitch…” she muttered, looking her friend in the eye, “aren’t I?” Ashley let out a heavy sigh, “Of course you aren’t,” she muttered as she watched as Alex disappeared over the horizon. “No one’s perfect, Maddy.” --- Back at the Hospital, Sampson lay asleep in his bed only to be woken by a gentle hand taking hold of his own. Slowly but surely, his eyes opened to see a woman with short chestnut hair standing above him with emerald green eyes. “Alice…?” he muttered, tears coming to his eyes. The woman smiled and nodded, “It’s time Gordon,” she told him in a voice softer than silk, “it’s Alex time now, to pick up where we left off.” She extended a hand to him, “He can handle the rest on his own.” Sampson reached his hand out to take Alice, only to hold it in the air and coil it back after a moment. He stared at the woman before him, his breathing getting heavier and heavier. Alice looked at him with a raised brow, “What’s wrong?” Sampson shook his head, “I can’t go yet Alice… not like this.” He leaned himself back, staring at the now fogged over window, “there are things I still need to do. Alice managed a small laugh, “Stubborn as always I see…” she stepped away from him, the pitter patter of footsteps beginning to echo in the distance. “Well, know this,” Alice looked him in the eye, her own becoming bright yellow, “when the day comes when you do decide to see me again, I’ll be waiting.” Sampson smirked at her, “and I’ll be ready then.” Alex darted down the hall, throwing the door to Sampson’s room right open as he came in looking as if he had just run a marathon. The room was empty, save for Sampson who was still on his bed. “Hey there…” Alex said between breathes, “dad…” Sampson’s grin faded, “So.. Carter told you?” Alex sharply swallowed, then nodded as he stumbled into the room and pulled up a chair, “Why didn’t you?” he asked as he sat down. “I was, too ashamed to…” Sampson admitted, hanging his head a bit, “but now, so much time as been wasted between you and I.” Alex reached out, taking hold of his father’s hand, “Well… no time like the present, right?” --- Later that same night, Marcoh was driving down a busy city street as rain poured down from above. His eyes moved to the re-view mirror, glaring at Derek who was still knocked out in the back seat. Glancing back, a dark figure walked in front of his car. “Oh shit!” he shouted, slamming on the breaks as the figure fell in front of his car and Derek smacked his head on the cage again. “What the hell?!” He got out from his car, horns blaring from behind him. Marcoh flipped off the drivers behind him as he moved to the front of his car, gasping when he found an injured Rylee clawing at the ground with the Spite memory clenched tightly in her hand. “Damn you to hell…” Rylee muttered weakly, clutching her bleeding side, “Fury…” {Insert Ending Theme: “One” by Altima} Next time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme With Fury defeated, the conflict between META and the riders moves into its final phase. Amidst the chaos brought on by Fury’s actions, Inertia finally plays his hand. What are the intentions of the elouf commander of META? All will be decided when Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme continues in Episode 40: Inertia’s Final Gambit Show us your True self, Inertia. |
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter was written to take place and acknowledge the events of the (as of this writing) unreleased crossover between Kamen Rider Xtreme and Kamen Rider Vega in which Vega comes to Ardent City after Vincent Garden aka Crave is broken out of prison and gains new powers, turning Gale, Rock, Yuki and Ryu-O against Xtreme and Shift in one final act of revenge. Due to me not wishing to spoil too much about it, I will say (outside from the above story outline) that at the end of the battle Vega gives Xtreme copies of the Violent and Vainglory memories before departing Ardent City and Ashley Haze aka Kamen Rider Shift is given her own transport, an ATV called the All Terrain Shifter. With that out of the way, we may continue with the chapter proper. Do look forward to the planned crossover written by fanfiction user I am the Skull Kid which is coming in the near future.
Episode 40: Inertia's Final Gambit The date was November 13th, two weeks after the battle with Fury. Ardent City was recovering from the disaster on a seemingly calm but cold winter morning as Alex awoke in his bed with Ashley still fast asleep in the bed beside him. He stared at the barely clad woman next time him, feeling his heart ache as his gaze drifted to his desk on the other end of the room. He slowly rose, the rain pelting down on the window not helping his mood as he stumbled to his desk and eyed a line of three gaia memories that lay in a row. Two were copies of the Violent and Vainglory memories left to him by Vega, while the third was the pale grey one with Madison's name on it. He let a heavy sigh, placing his hand over Madison's memory as Ash began to stir. “Fuck, is it seriously raining still?” She groaned with a yawn as she rose, using the blanket to cover herself. “I wish it would get cold enough to snow already.” “Yeah…” Alex muttered, his gaze still fixed on the memory, “snow is… better I guess.” Ashley slight grin faded, an empathetic sigh escaping her lips as she rose up and wrapped her arms around Alex, “What's eating you, Superstar?” “Ash…” Alex sharply swallowed, his heart beginning to feel like it was being shoved into a vice, “Are we bad people?” She looked at him with a smirk, laughing a little, “Of course we aren't, we just saved a bunch of people from a mad-man,” she told him, giving him a kiss on the cheek, “how would we be anything else?” “THAT isn't what I'm talking about…” Alex pulled away from her, the grey memory still in his hand. “Then what-” Ash paused, her heart sinking the moment she saw the memory in Alex's hand, “oh…” she swallowed, biting her lip as her hands began to tremble, “this is about us… and Madison… isn't it?” “Look… you're great, but this…” he motioned between the two of them, “I don't-” “Save it…” Ash placed her hands over his lips, avoiding eye contact with him, “I get it, you love her…” she sniffled, “I guess I was kidding myself, thinking I could live outside of her shadow.” “I wish things could be different… but they're not,” Alex told her as softly as he could, “I'm sorry.” “Just one question though,” she wiped her eyes and manages a smirk at Alex, her eyes still red and runny, “what if she doesn't take you back?” “Honestly… I haven't exactly thought that far,” Alex admitted. “Well you'd better,” she laughed a little, jabbing him lightly in the chest, “Cause until that queen retakes her throne, I have squatters rights.” “I don’t suppose I'd have any say on that?” Alex began to sweat nervously. Ashley glares at him, raising a brow as she crossed her arms, “After the stunts you've pulled on both me and her? No, absolutely not.” “Then… I'm going for a walk,” Alex grinned, quickly getting dressed while grabbing his keys and the trio of memories on his desk. Ashley gawked at him, keeping her brow raised, “Because, I get my best ideas on my feet.” He said before leaving his bedroom and going right to the front door. “HEY ASSHOLE!” Ashley called out to him, “I'm gonna be gone by the time you get back!” “I keep a spare under the mat!” Alex called out to her before closing and locking the door behind him. With a heavy sigh, Ashley sat back down on the bed before burying her face into a pillow. Within seconds she was sobbing. Her wallowing continues until her phone rang. Wiping her eyes and sniffling some more, Ashley grabbed her phone from the bedside table and checked the caller ID. “Madison?” She questioned, rolling her eyes and smirking, “Speak of the devil.” She muttered as she answered it, putting it on speaker phone, “Sup Mad Pad?” She asked as she got up and started getting dressed. “Hey Ash…” she spoke with a noticeable tremor to her voice, “are you free today?” “Well my plans kinda blew up in my face…. So yeah, I guess I am,” she told her with a cynical smirk, “You wanna hang out I'm guessing?” “Yeah! Actually that's exactly what I wanted to ask!” Madison sang with a noticeable spring coming to her voice. “I was thinking that with what happened the last couple weeks, it's been a while since… the three of us hang out, like we used to.” “The three of us?” Ashley questioned, “as in, you, me and Sarah?” A long pause came from Madison, “Yeah… I feel, with what you and I went through at the time-” “That we never gave our girl a proper send off?” Ashley's smirk widened as she finished getting dressed, “I like the way you think Maddy. I'll swing by my place on the way over, grab a bottle from my dad's cabinet. The two of us could have a drink in her honour!” “Wait! Drink?! Are you sure?!” Madison's voice went into a flurry, “Wait?! Swing by your place?! Where are you?!” “It's a long story, okay,” Ashley laughed a little, beginning to work on her makeup, “I'll tell you when I get there okay? This is one story you of all people deserve to hear.” {Insert Opening Theme: “Alones” by Aqua Timez} In the Ardent City prison, Marcoh glared into a high security cell that housed Vince in a straight jacket that bound him to the slab they called a bed. Cole and Tara stood just beside him, Cole with a sad look in his eye while Tara glared with her lip perked in a way that read 'serves you damn right!’ Vince, with his mouth covered, could only glare at the trio that stood in front of his cell. “I'd be careful with that face if I were you Vince,” Marcoh told him in a stern tone of voice, “or it will freeze that way.” “I think it already has, given the stunt he pulled,” Tara spoke in an equally stern tone, “can't believe that creep is actually Sarah's older brother.” Her body began shiver as she felt sick to her stomach, “I can still feel his aura crawling under my skin… I ain't no puppet on strings.” “And if someone ever does try to put you on strings again, I'll be there to cut you loose,” Cole told her, wrapping his arm around her before kissing her on the cheek. With blush, a grin and a playful mouthing of 'No’, Tara looked to Marcoh while dodging the gaze of Vince, “So, if we're done looking at this creep, can we get going to the person we actually came to see?” This managed to get a slight grin from the usually stoic Marcoh, “Of course you may. She's been waiting for the two of you all morning actually.” He shot one final glare towards Vince, “follow me.” With a trip that only lasted thirty minutes down a long twisting hallway designed to confuse inmates, Marcoh soon stopped in front of a single steel bulkhead door. Tara looked up to the steel door and took in a sharp gulp, “So… how is how little criminal?” Marcoh smirked once again, “See for yourself.” Marcoh opened the door, the sound of laughter off of a tv set escaping the now clearly sound proofed room. Tara and Cole both stared in awe as the beheld the fully furnished cell covered wall to wall in fuzzy rugs and bean bag chairs of all sorts of colors. It was almost like a mini apartment. It didn't take long for them to spot Kat, sitting on a neon purple sofa in the orange pants of her prison jumpsuit and a tight fitting black tank top. She was stuffing her face with popcorn while snickering at the tv, her attention being grabbed by the opening door as she locked eyes with Tara and Cole. “Hey guys,” she waved to them while patting the seat on the sofa beside her to invite them over, “was wondering when the two of ya were gonna visit. Started to worry ya didn't love me anymore.” She teased. “Oh don't be silly Kitten, we would never!” Tara cooed as she came up and snuggled Kat's cheek before kissing her on the lips. “We were buying you a get outta the box soon basket, but stupid Fury had to go and ruin the whole thing.” Kat laughed, blushing hard, “Well, it's the thought that counts, right?” Cole couldn't help but grin at the scene in front of him, “This can't be legal,” he whispered to Marcoh. “I pulled a few strings for her,” Marcoh himself managed a grin, closing the door behind him and Cole, “she is my daughter now after all?” Cole's eyes widened as did his grin, “Are you serious?!” He almost screamed. Marcoh nodded, “All the paperwork was finalized this morning.” “See, you are a nice guy,” Cole teased the officer. “Hey Cole!” Tara called out to him, “come get in on the cuddle puddle!” --- Meanwhile, in a bakery across town, Shiore stood in front of the counter staring at a birthday cake with white and blue frosting.“Alright, now which one do you want?” Called out a voice from beside her, Shiore looking over to see an older brother kneeling beside his kid sister looking at the assortment of cupcakes. “That one!” The little sister screamed as she pointed excitedly to a chocolate cupcake with pink frosting and loaded with star shaped sprinkles, “Brother, I want that one!” She repeated. “Alright, we'll get you that one,” the old brother chuckled, patting his kid sister on the back. Shiore avoided looking at them as they made their purchase and left. “And for you ma'am?” Asked the man behind the counter, smiling at Shiore. Shiore quickly looked up, eyeing the birthday cake in the corner of her eye before pointing to it. “Ah, I see. An excellent choice,” he sang as he took it out the display and took it over to a nearby counter, grabbing a tube of icing. “Anything you want written on it?” Shiore nodded, handing him a slip of paper. The man took the slip, his smile widening, “Alright, I'll have it done in just a sec.” He gestured to a chair in the corner, “you can have a seat until its ready.” Shiore bowed then sat herself down. She glanced out the window, watching as the brother and sister crossed the street. Her right arm pulsed sharply, Shiore gritting her teeth to bare through, the pain under the sleeve of her sweater only stopping once the brother and sister were out of you. With a sharp exhale, she narrowed her gaze into a glare as she continued to stare where the pair once stood. After a moment in silence, she sucked her teeth. --- Alex stood in a cemetery with a black winter jacket over his normal attire, his phone was too his ear and ringing while he gripped Madison’s memory in his hand. The rain had stopped, but dark clouds still loomed overhead “Alex?” Sampson picked up, “What’s eating you kiddo?” “It’s a couple things Samp- I mean dad, sorry,” Alex let out a sigh, holding his head with one hand, “you got a minute?” “I can always make time for you,” Sampson told him, “shoot.” “You ever feel… stuck between two choices?” Alex asked him bluntly, “And you aren’t entirely sure which one is right?” “You’re gonna need to be a bit more specific son,” Sampson said with a heavy sigh, “otherwise, I can’t exactly help you.” “Ashley and Madison…” Alex told him, “Ashley’s great, really she is but… I don’t feel she and I really… click? But then again, I kinda fucked things up with Madison… so I’m not entirely sure I have much of a choice.” Silence fell over Sampson’s end, only for laughter to come out from his end. Alex’s blushed, glaring at the phone, “What’s funny about that?” “Nothing, I promise,” Sampson control his laughter with a heavy breath, “It’s just a bit relieving that’s all. Even after what happened with Fury and Crave, it’s girl trouble that’s weighing you down the most.” “Well, it’s my girl trouble that seems to be all I can actually effect right now to be honest,” Alex managed a grin and laugh of his own, “I don’t suppose you can help me out?” “Sad to say I can’t,” Sampson admitted, “this is gonna be one thing you’ll need to-” “I know, I know,” Alex let out a frustrated huff, “it’s for me to decide. Mom’s old line, right?.” “Hey, this is just the kinda thing you do when you’re young kiddo,” Sampson told him. “You aren’t gonna be that way forever. I bet you’ll miss the days where trivial conflicts are the most you have to deal with.” “I suppose…” Alex thought for a moment, “alright, I’ll let you go.” “Be safe Alex,” Sampson told him, “and should you need me for anything, I’m always here.” “I know… bye.” He hung up then sat there for a good long while, staring at the grave in front of him with Sarah’s name on it. “I’m an idiot as always… aren’t I?” He hung his head, taking a seat down on the still wet grass. “That’s something you’d say right about now, right Sarah?” “I wouldn’t say you’re an idiot,” a voice called out to him, “not always anyway.” Alex held his head, breathing out sharply. “Then why do I always feel like I am?” “It’s cause you’re human,” the voice repeated, this time becoming clear that it was behind him, “it’s a curse we all have… some are just better at hiding it is all.” Alex gasped, looking over his shoulder to see a silver haired man with just as sad a gaze he had staring back and looming above him. “... Joel…” “Sarah Gardner. The girl Fury planted the Reptilian memory into.” Joel sat down beside Alex and looked the boy, “She was someone close to you, wasn’t she?” “Yeah… she was…” Alex nodded, holding back tears. “Sure, she and I fought more than we got along. But at times like this, I really wish she was here you know?” “If she was here, even for a moment,” Joel glanced over to Alex, “what would you say to her?” “What wouldn’t I say?” Alex managed a small laugh, “Sorry for throwing a way the girl you loved? Sorry for being such a stick in the mud?” A few tears escaped Alex’s eye, the boy wiping them away with his hand as he sniffled, “Sorry I couldn’t save you… before it was too late?” Joel breathed deeply, placing his hand on Alex’s shoulder, “I know how you feel… it’s not too different than how I felt the day of Gale’s activation test.” He glared at Sarah’s grave and shook his head, “had I known the destruction it would’ve caused, I never would have allowed my darling Thea, or Tara as you know, to be used the way she was.” “You mean the whirlwind.. The one that destroyed half the city, right?” Alex asked for clarification, looking towards Joel, “You know what happened that day, don’t you?” “It was a disaster, plain and simple,” Joel growled, “I would do anything to reverse the damage it did that day, but all I could do at that moment was save my Tara.. at the cost of all her memories of Carter, her mother and above all… myself.” “I know what you wanted to do...” Alex said, “but what DID you do?” “The only thing I could do, I sent Tara as far away from here as possible, in the custody of one of my closest friends from childhood.” Joel told him. “Jaune Evonna?” Alex asked. “The very same,” Joel nodded. “However, I didn’t know that Alice would give Tara that bird she calls her friend, and that damned gaia memory that nearly claimed her life.” Joel groaned heavily, holding his face. “If nothing else, I can be glad I was finally able to restore her memories from all those years ago.” “You mean, from one of these,” Alex held up Madison’s drained memory, “right?” Joel narrowed his gaze at the memory, “Where did you get that?” “Melody had it,” Alex glared at him, “you wouldn’t have had anything to do with it, would you Inertia?” his tone changed to a much harsher one. “I extracted the memories of Madison Tyler from my being once I learned how, with the intention of returning them to their proper owner,” Joel told him, hanging his head “however Vainglory threatened to kill Tara without remorse if I didn’t hand it over… he must have been the one to pass it on to Melody... I’m truly sorry.” Alex stared at Joel, rubbing his face while letting out a grunt before pulling at his hair. “It’s fine, I’m not angry at you.” He said letting his hands fall to his side, “Your hands were tied… and I probably would have done the same thing.” He looked at Joel, “but there is still one thing I need to wonder… if you used a gaia memory on both Tara and Madison.. Why didn’t it turn them into dopants at any point?” “A dopant is created as a reaction to a memory being inserted in a vessel it deems as foreign, hence why when you riders use drivers build using the same code it allows you all to access their powers without stripping you of any of your humanity,” Joel told him. “Since the memories used on both Tara and Madison came from them, and not the earth, it follows the same principle really. No foreign vessel, no negative reaction leading to the birth of a dopant.” “Still doesn’t explain why dopants need to exist in the first place,” Alex huffed, looking back at Sarah’s grave, “just what the hell is Vainglory hoping to accomplish with all this anyway?” Joel narrowed his gaze at Alex, rising his feet before pulling a card out of his coat pocket, “Come to this address tomorrow afternoon and I’ll tell you. You may bring the others if you wish. As a matter of fact it, it would be prefered.” Alex stared at him for a moment, then took the card and examined it, “Are you serious?” Joel nodded to him, “Meet me there, and everything will be made clear.” --- At the police station, Carter huddled over a cabinet with an open file in one hand and his phone in the other. Sampson looked at him from his desk, letting out a sigh.“Shiore Fubuki,” he half read, skimming over her name and getting right to the information he was looking for. “Date of birth: November 17th, 1995…. Contact, two clicks from loaned GMR scanner radio mode…” Carter huffed, tossing the file down on the top of the cabinet. “I told you it wouldn't be in there,” Sampson told him, “she only gave us that method of contacting her, and Marcoh has the scanner at the moment. Also, you aren't technically even allowed to be looking at those files.” “Well then could you have Marcoh contact her then?” Carter requested, turning to face Sampson. “I haven't seen her face since Crave broke out last week.” “Well, maybe she's still a bit on edge from that whole thing?” Sampson cocked a brow up at him, “most people don't like it when their mind is taken over you know.” “I know that,” Carter let out a heavy sigh, his gaze back to the file. “Still, that doesn't mean I not allowed to worry right?” “God, first Alex and now you,” Sampson laughed, shaking his head. “Carter, do fancy Ms Fubuki?” “Shut it,” Carter glared at the file, something catching his eye that he hadn't noticed before. “Kids,” Sampson laughed some more, “I swear, you're all more alike than you think.” “Ms Fubuki….” Carter muttered, eyeing what was actually written on the file before reading it off, “Shiore…. Shirayuki…” --- Shiore sat up right on a nearly empty streetcar moving towards her condo, bag containing her boxed cake placed firmly on her lap while she stared blankly out the window watching the scenery go by.“Next stop, Yule at Broadside,” announced the automated conductor as the streetcar slowed to a halt. The doors opened allowing a pair of teenage girls to get on, both with skips to their steps. “I dunno, I don't normally like going to see things opening night,” the one said as they made their way passed Shiore and to the back of the street car. “What if it's packed?” “It's a cheesy horror rom-com based on some emo grunge comic no one cares about, it's gonna be dead!” the other girl laughed. “Besides, seeing it opening night is the only sure fire way we won't get spoiled on anything!” “Wait…” the first girl paused, “if no one cares about it, who's gonna spoil it?” She asked as the street car continued moving. “Oh you know there's gonna be that one ass hole!” The other girl retorted. As the girls continued talking, Shiore felt the pulse in her arm return only this time it was even more violent. “Next stop, Bennet at Buchanan,” the automated conductor called out, Shiore reaching up in a hurry to grab the stop request cord and quickly pulling it down. The street car came to a halt, Shiore grabbing her cake and walking to the door with it. “Have a goodnight ma'am!” the female driver called out to her with a grin, Shiore stepping off the street car without a word or even a nod to the driver. The street car started moving again, Shiore glaring at the two girls at the back as the pulsing in her arm continued. The street car rolled off down the road, the girls not even noticing that Shiore was even there. The pulsing in her arm faded. With another sucking of her teeth, Shiore made her way down the block to her condo that was now in view. --- Back in Kat's luxury prison cell, the black haired hair sat on Cole's lap on the sofa, her cheeks resting on the palms of her hands as she stared Tara in the eye with a pout. “All the end of world talk is kinda bumming me out to be honest,” she told the pair after being told about Fury's most recent attack on the city. She quickly cracked a smirk, “What else you got going on?”“Well I might drop out of high school,” Tara grinned, “that's something right?” Cole's eyes shot open, looking Tara in the eye, “You might WHAT?!” “Well my grades have been in the toilet since all the fighting kicked into high gear. Too hard to focus with all the stuff blowing up in my face,” Tara admitted with a sigh, “besides, I'm gonna be working full time at the Cat's Eye, so it's not like I really need some arcane system to decide what I wanna do right?” “You're not dropping out of school,” Cole pinched her cheek, “got it?” “Ow!” Tara cried as her boyfriend held her cheek, this getting a laugh out of Kat, “What do you want? The new work I've been getting is too damn hard! Seriously, why would Ms Seraphina assign that much homework before vanishing into thin air?!” Suddenly, Kat's eyes shot open and glazed over. She soon went limp as a bone and fell to the floor. Cole and Tara both gasped, Cole getting up only for Marcoh to bark. “Don't move!” The officer got up and examined the girl, letting out a sigh of relief once he felt her pulse, “Thank god, she's alright.” “Are you sure?!” The two riders asked. Marcoh nodded, “and if I were you, I'd be thankful that teacher of yours disappeared when she did.” He shot a glare at the two of them, “Because the only other time Kat acted like this, was when I asked her about Desire.” Cole and Tara both sharply swallowed, “Are you saying…” Cole started “There was an enemy under our nose and we didn't even realize it?” Tara finished his sentence, feeling her skin crawl. Marcoh noticed that Kat beginning to stir, the officer quickly placing his finger to his lips as a sign for them to be quiet, “I'll look into it, but I don't want either of you breath another word about this around her. Got that?” The rider duo both nodded, Kat letting out as she held her now throbbing head. “Ow… what in the hell happened?” “You fainted,” Cole told her, helping her up before felling her head, “are you okay?” Kat slowly nodded, staring off into space, “Yeah… I think so…” she swallowed, looking over to both Tara and Cole, “I'm sorry… what were we talking about?” “You silly girl, we were talking about stuff we're gonna do as trio once you get out of here.” Tara chimed in a grin, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room. “I was thinking we could go to my dads beach house down in Miami, just the three of us.” Kat managed a grin, “Yeah… that sounds lovely.” {End of Part A} {Start of Part B} Madison sat on the couch in her living room, gawking at Ashley as she swigged down a huge mouthful of the liquor she had swiped from her dad's collection. Setting the bottle down, Ash let out a gasp of delight. “Fuck!” She cheered, her face completely flush red, “I needed a good drink!” Madison blinked her eyes at her, raising a brow of concern at her, “Don’t you think you've had enough?” she asked gently. “I will-” Ash hiccuped, “have enough when you have at least one drop. We're supposed to be drinking to Sarah, aren't we?” Madison let out a heavy sigh then grabbed her glass, “Alright,” she managed a smile as she held her glass out to Ashley, “for Sarah.” “That's what I like to hear!” Ashley grinned, pouring Madison some before refilling her own glass. She held her glass out to Madison, “to Sarah, the girl who broke my heart.” With a clink of their glasses, Ashley downed her whole cup while Madison took the slightest sip. “What even happened between the two of you anyway?” “Same thing that happened with the guy who dumped me this morning,” Ashley groaned, rolling over to lay back on the sofa, “they were obsessed with someone else.” “Ouch,” Madison winced with empathy for her friend. “Indeed,” Ashley laughed, “and in both cases it was you.” Madison's face turned bright red, remembering the kiss Sarah had given her moments before the end. “Okay…” she sharply swallowing before looking over to face Ashley, “I knew Sarah had a thing for me…. But who the hell is this other guy anyway? Do I know him?” Ashley nodded, twiddling her thumbs awkwardly, “Oh yeah… you know him.” “Well go on then! Tell me!” Madison regained her smile, nudging her friend's leg. “Who is it? Simon? Craig? It isn't Austin from homeroom is it?” she cringed. Ashley grumbled, looking up to Madison with a raised brow, “Promise you won't be mad?” “Yes! I promise!” Madison huffed, giving Ashley's leg yet another push, “Just tell me already!” Ashley stared at her in silence for a good long while then gulped, “Alex…. and I kinda slept with him... like…. five times.” Madison fell silent. The normally chipper girl quietly got up with her glass in hand, walked over to where Ashley's head was. Ashley stared, blinking in confusion as Madison shot a rage filled glare into the other girls eyes before throwing the remainder of her drink right into her face. “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?!” Madison roared, slamming her glass down on the coffee table, “You don't just FUCK your friends EX! How the hell could you?!” “Madison listen! I didn’t really mean to!” Ash pleaded, sitting herself up, “It's just that, after your whole First Burn thing I-” Madison continued to glare at her, crossing her arms before raising a brow, daring her to continue, “-I mean he was a mess, I'm STILL a mess. One thing just lead to another and then-” “Then what, you slipped and landed on him?! Five times?!” She cut her off in a done tone of voice. She let out a sigh of defeat, sitting herself down on a nearby arm chair while holding her face with her hand. “First Sarah and that Tara girl kiss me, then you go and do that! Why can't blonds just keep it in their pants?” “Hey, its that stigma that made me dye my hair black,” Ashley pointed a finger at her, “that's not cool.” “Neither was sleeping with Alex. FIVE times.” Madison glared at her, “Why would even DO that anyway? You told me you prefered girls.” She asked, more confused than angry at this point. “Prefered, not exclusively liked,” Ashley clarified, “and I mentioned I'm a mess, right?” “That's an understatement,” Madison huffed, planting her face in the palm of her hand. She fell silent for a good long while before shaking her head, “Look I'm not mad at you…” she began to choke, “if you want him, you can damn well have him.” “I don't, at least not anymore,” Ashley sat herself up, looking to Madison as she poured herself another drink, “I mentioned how he was obsessed over you… right?” She raised a brow. Madison didn’t respond, as the red head simply did not know how to. The pair just sat there in silence, a silence that was only broken by Ashley's phone rang with Alex's number on the caller ID. “Ah, speak of the devil,” Ashley answered it, setting it to speaker mode, “sup Asshole, your on speaker phone. What the hell do you want?” Alex sharply gulped on the other end of the line, “Its rider stuff… wait, why am I on speaker?” “Cause, I'm having a little spurred women's club party with Maddy,” Ashley told him, the alcohol still affecting her, “I told her about you and I, and she's pissed at the both of us.” Silence over took Alex for a moment, the boy returning with a stutter of, “Madison?... Is that true?” With a gulp of her own, Madison wiped her eyes with her trembling hand before shaking her head, “Alex…. I don't feel comfortable talking to you right now…” she said as she got up and looked Ashley in the eye with a sad gaze, “now if you don't mind… I'm going for a shower, before I say or do anything else that I'll regret.” Ashley watched Madison walked down the main hall of her condo, letting out a heavy sigh of defeat as she heard the bathroom door slam and lock. “Ashley…” Alex muttered, “is Madison… okay?” “I think you and I have done more than enough as far as she's concerned,” Ashley told him, looking back to the phone, “switching the conversation for a moment, what rider stuff did you call me about?” “I visited Sarah's grave today… and Joel, META's Inertia dopant, was there…” Alex told her with a tremor to his voice, “he wants to speak with all of us tomorrow. Look, I know I've screwed both you and Madison around far more than either of you deserve, but I… I…” “Alex? Shut up for a moment and let me talk, okay?” Ashley sipped her drink, placing it back down after, “I'll be there tomorrow, but you need to do something for me.” “Okay,” Alex said, “what is it?” “I’ll need a few hours to prepare, so make sure you don't go home until nine at the earliest tonight firstly,” Ashley looked to her phone, “whatever happens at your place tonight happens, and the both of us have to allow it. Then, come sunrise tomorrow, we BOTH walk the straight and narrow and leave our pasts behind us.” “Ashley,” Alex huffed, “what are you planning?” “You’ll find out when you get home,” Ashley told him. “Look, I'm gonna be a better woman from this point forward, but it's only gonna work if you become a better man. Got it?” Alex gulped, “... Yes.” “Alex,” Ashley raised a brow, “I need you to swear to me.” “I…” Alex began, “I swear to become a better man.” “Good boy,” Ashley smirked, “I'll see you tonight, make sure its a good one okay?” She said before hanging up. She looked over to the bathroom, the echo of the still running water catching her ear. “Alright, now to dig myself out of the other grave.” She got up and headed over to the bathroom, knocking firmly on the door. “Still in here!” Madison called out to her. “Madison, I wanna talk,” Ashley told her, “I'm done finished with you yet.” “Can it wait until I get out?!” Madison asked, “I'm kinda doing something!” Ashley stared at the door, eyeing the handle specifically before using her nail to unlock it and walk herself into the bathroom. “AHHH!” Madison screamed, “GET OUT!!” “Oh come on,” Madison let out a sigh, “it's not like you've got anything I don't.” --- In the dingy lit hall wall of an old apartment building, Marcoh marched out from an elevator with his hand holding his face and his phone to his ear.“What do you mean you don't have a file on Ms Seraphina?!” He barked into the phone, “She was a teacher at your damn school wasn't she?” “Sorry sir, but the files you're requesting just don't exist,” the young sounding woman on the other end of the line told him, “are you sure you aren't thinking of some other school?” “My sources say otherwise Ms Foster,” Marcoh told her with a huff as he reached the door to his apartment, “I know for a fact she worked there.” “Well I can tell you right now, she was never here,” the teacher told him. “I know just about everyone on staff, and I don't remember anyone based on the description you gave me.” “Well I'm going to be coming by there tomorrow just to be safe. Have a good evening Ms Foster,” Marcoh told her before hanging up, rubbing his forehead. “Good lord, what the fuck is going on here?” Unlocking the door after a heavy frustrated huff, Marcoh entered his apartment and was greeted to the glare of Rylee Damon sitting at a small round table smoking a cigarette and cuffed to a steel beam jutting out of the wall. “Welcome home warden,” Rylee snarled at him. “Is this the part where you read off my rights?” “No, it's where you tell me exactly what I want to know.” Marcoh told her with a glare, locking his apartment door and drawing the curtains. He then reached into his breast pocket and pulled out the Spite memory and held it up in plain view of its owner, “that is, if you want a chance of getting this back.” --- Shiore walked out from the city street now darkened by the veil of night and into the empty lobby of her building. With her bag in hand, she walked up to the row of elevators before hitting the button to call one. With two dings from the elevator going up, the door opened and she stepped into it.Within seconds, her eyes shot open as she was greeted to the scene of Nicole and Richard Tyler making out in the corner of that same elevator. They quickly stopped their promiscuous behavior once the spotted the navy haired girl staring back at them with a blank expression. “Sorry,” Richard grinned with a laugh, reaching for the elevator buttons, “which floor?” He asked, Nicole simply hiding behind Richard out of pure embarrassment. Shiore hit the button for floor 19 on her own, going to stand in front of the elevator door with her back to the wall. As the doors closed, and the elevator rose, Richard grabbed at Nicole's backside in a playful manner only for Nicole to smack his hand away. “Contain yourself until we get to my place, okay?” Nicole whispered, blushing hard as she kept Shiore in her sight. Shiore meanwhile balled her hand into a tight fist, doing her best to hide the fact her right arm was pulsing violently once again. “But, doesn't Madison have a friend over?” Richard whispered. Nicole managed a grin then shook her head, “She texted me a while ago, said they were going out somewhere.” Richard smirked, “Oh, I see… it will be just like college then?” Nicole glared at him with a smirk of her own, “If you behave.” With a loud ding, the elevator reached floor 14. “Oh, this is us,” Nicole announced to Shiore as she and Richard made their way out. “Have a goodnight ma'am,” Richard waved to her. As the door closed in her face, Shiore glared while sucking her teeth. The moment Richard and Nicole were out of the elevator, the pain in Shiore's right arm faded immediately. That allowed her to be peacefully taken up to her floor, the elevator door opening on the stark white 19th. The ice rider quietly made her way down the hall until she reached the end of it and, with a heavy sigh of relief, she dug out her key and unlocked the door. Once inside the dark just barely furnished condo, Shiore placed her cake box down on the dining room table before heading into the kitchen. She grabbed four plates and a knife, staring into the reflection she cast into the blade. “You are alone,” Fury's words echoed in her head as what remained of his purple aura swirled in her eye, “you always have been.” With a sharp exhale, she walked over to the table and opened the box to reveal the cake which now read ‘Happy Birthday Satoshi and Shiore.’ Staring at it knife in hand, she cut four slices off it then put them all onto plates before taking each slice over to the now open shrine she kept in her living room and placing each plate in front of a row of photos, one of an older man, another of an older woman and a third one in the center of a boy who in the photo looked only a bit older than Shiore herself. Regardless of age, they all shared her hair and eye color. Lighting a bit of incense, Shiore clapped her hands together as if she was praying. “Happy birthday,” she muttered to herself with a tremor in her voice, “big brother.” --- Long after the sun had set, Alex found himself begrudgingly slumping back to his apartment and staring at the front door. “Whatever happens tonight happens, got it?” Ashley's words replayed in his mind as he gripped the handle of his door, taking in a deep breath as he pushed it open and walked inside.As he entered, the alluring aroma of freshly cooked food wafted over Alex. The boy looked over to his kitchen to see Ashley finishing up a feast of a meal. Her make up was on point as she wore a form fitting black dress. “You made all this?” Alex asked her, taking in a nervous gulp. “I had help,” Ashley smiled at him, looking over to the left where a dolled up Madison came out from the cover of the fridge. Madison's face turned many shades of red as she looked to Alex and waved to him, “Hey… Alex.” “What are… you two up to?” Alex questioned. “Exactly what you and I discussed earlier,” Ashley smiled at him, walking up to him with one hand reached out. Alex's heart swelled as she approached, only for her to walk completely passed him and grab her bag before swinging it over her shoulder. “Which means, I need to be going.” She winked at Madison and Alex, “have fun you two.” Alex stood there in silence as Ashley walked out the front door, locking it behind her before dropping the spare key through the mail slot. Alex turned back to Madison and spoke up only once Ashley's footsteps faded and could no longer be heard. “M-Madison…” he muttered, walking towards her, “did Ash blackmail you into doing this?” “No.. she and I just talked a few things over,” Madison shook her head. “And after that long, heated discussion that should have come a lot sooner… I realized one thing,” she looked to him, a smile appearing on her face, “that I.. still kind of.. like you.” Alex smiled back her, taking hold of her hand as he sat himself down at the kitchen counter, “I still kind of like you too.” “Do me a favor though, promise not to run out on me the next time things get tough?” Madison asked, raising a brow at him, “and no more sleeping with my friends?” “I swear,” Alex placed his hand on his chest, “I am done running away. You hear me?” Madison smiled at him with tears in her eyes. Reaching forward to cup his cheeks, she placed a single kiss on his lips. “Thank you… Alex,” she muttered, holding his hand as she pulled away from him, “that was all I ever wanted to hear from you.” --- The next morning, Alex, Cole and Tara rolled up to a tall building lined top to bottom with opaque glass. Alex was alone on the X-Cyclone while Cole and Tara were together on the Rock Prowler.“You sure this is the place?” Cole asked as Tara hopped off the back of his bike and stretched her legs. “Only way to find out,” Alex told him as they both climbed off their bikes. It was moments later that Ashley rolled up on a deep blue ATV modeled after her rider form, the All Terrain Shifter. She smirked at Alex, “Morning lover boy. Is that a hickey or a bruise on your neck?” Alex couldn't help but laugh at this, “Good morning to you to Ash.” He raised a brow at her, “aren't you a bit late though?” “Had to pick up the ice queen,” Ash pointed over her shoulder as Shiore climbed off the back of her ATV. “And Carter?” Alex asked, the red rider landing beside him the moment he asked. “Oh… guess that's everyone then.” He motioned towards the door to the building, “let's head in.” Ashley eyed Shiore, sharply swallowing as the ice rider matched her glance with one of confusion. “Sorry,” Ashley spoke, “random question but would you maybe like to grab a coffee or whatever after this?” Shiore simply blinked at her, then respectfully shook her head, “Sorry. Your offer is appreciated… but I am simply not that way.” Ash simply shrugged, “Alright, just thought I'd ask. What with everyone else being paired off already.” “Not everyone,” Shiore motioned her eyes over to Carter. Ashley eyed Carter, thinking about it for a moment then laughing at Shiore, “Maybe… but I think I'll be taking a break from men for a while.” She said as she climbed off her ATV, smiling at Shiore once again. “Though I'd still like to hang with you after. As friends though, I swear.” “Friends?...” Shiore questioned, her hand clenching in preparation for the agonizing pulse she thought was coming only to realize that it wasn't after a moment. Staring at Ashley for an uncomfortably long time, she nodded her head, “that would be… nice.” She told her. All the riders clustered around a pair of white doors at the front with a buzzer and a speaker. Alex held down the button, then spoke into it. “Joel, we're here.” There was a long pause before Joel's cold tone of voice echoed through the speaker. “Come in.” The doors automatically opened to a stark white room without any other doors, hallways or basic detailing. It was completely blank. “Welcoming,” Ash cracked a small chuckle as the group entered, the doors slamming behind them. “Proceed down the main hallway,” Joel's voice echoed from a speaker on the ceiling as the wall opposite the door split open to reveal a long hallway made up of rooms exactly like the one they were in. The only white room that was different was the one on the very end which had a simple wooden door on the end of it. Tara smirked, eyeing Cole, “Shall we play a game?” she said, nudging her boyfriend in the arm with her own. The group proceeded down the hall, Alex taking hold of the doorknob. He was about to turn it when suddenly he felt the whole room shift. The way they came closed and all the riders suddenly felt as though they were being lifted off the ground. “Guess we're going up,” Cole muttered as the room stopped moving and the door Alex held swung open. With a momentary pause, the riders entered the now open door that lead to a rather normal and rustic office space. Well furnished and smelling of coffee and cigarette smoke, with books and litter scattered throughout. The only thing that seemed even remotely out of the ordinary was the wall of monitors just to the left of the door. Alex took notice of this but chose instead to focus on the desk opposite the door where Joel sat with his back to them staring out an large panoramic window that took up the entire back wall. “Joel?” Alex spoke, he and Cole and Tara sitting down on somewhat fancy office chairs in front of Joel's desk. Carter, Ashley and Shiore however didn't sit down. The former two stood in place, their gaze fixed on Joel while Shiore stared at the monitors. “Are we late?” “Actually, you are right on time,” Joel spoke as he turned to face the riders, looking each of them in the eye. “Now then, shall we get down to business?” Alex nodded, Ashley looking at him and taking a step forward. “Look, I get the whole talking in private thing… but what was so damn secret that you couldn't tell Alex when you met with him yesterday?” “A precaution, to ensure Vainglory could not interrupt us,” Joel told her with a heavy sigh. “Sorry if this situation inconveniences you at all, but since he cannot materialize himself in a location he has never seen I had to bring you all here.” “You… fear this Vainglory that much?” Shiore asked, her gaze still fixed on the monitors. “Fear him? Certainly not,” Joel returned, his gaze shifting to the ice rider. “If I truly wanted to, I could end him in an instant. My power is far greater than his could ever hope to be, it always has been.” “Wait a minute, hold up!” Tara chimed in, holding her hand up. “If you're stronger than him, why not end this whole thing yourself?” Joel simply glanced at Tara, “Thea… don't you think I would have already if it were that easy?” “He has something on… doesn't he?” Cole asked, holding Tara's hand. Joel stared at Cole for a moment then nodded. He then turned his gaze to Alex, “That's why Alex, you are the only one who can do it.” “Then tell me what I need to do, and I'll do it,” Alex told him, not even flinching for a second. “Very well then,” Joel leaned back in his seat. “A few days from now, at 3:30 am on the morning of November 17th there is going to be an eclipse. This city will hang between the sun and the moon, and it is then that Vainglory will open the gate into another plane of existence.” “Whoa! Hang on a sec!” Ash raised her hand and brow, “There's a gate now? Where is it? And do we need keys to unlock it?” “The gate is right in front of you, as are the four keys,” he told Ashley. “Oh are they now?” Ashley crossed her arms with a grin, “Then how about you-” she stopped, making eye contact with each of the five riders, “wait a minute… you mean?” Joel nodded, “The elemental memories, Yuki, Gale, Rock and Ryu-O. Those are the keys.” “Then that means,” Ashley locked eyes with Alex. Joel nodded once again, the six riders falling silent as they all drew the same conclusion. “Xtreme is the gate.” “So we'll roll up to Vainglory and drive him into the dirt!” Tara boasted with a smirk, punching the palm of her hand. “Fight as one and all that jazz, ya?” This got a smirk from Ashley and Cole, while Carter, Alex and Shiore still looked worried. Alex and Joel exchanged a glance before the META commander let out a troubled sigh. “Sorry Thea, but I will not allow any of the keys to fall into Jason's despicable hands,” he told her, avoiding looking her in the eye. “When Alex faces him, the boy will need to do it alone.” Alex's eyes shot open, gasping at the idea, “H-How do you expect me to do that?!” “My thoughts exactly,” Cole looked to Joel, patting Alex on the shoulder. “Joel, was it? The Xtreme memory won't work without Tara, Shiore, Carter and myself present. We'd sending Alex in to die if we let him go it alone.” Joel glared at Cole, holding his head before huffing in frustration. “I see…” he rose to his feet, turning his back to the riders as he walked over to the large window. “If Alex does not face him alone.. then it seems Vainglory has already won.” “Joel…” Alex spoke after a sharp gulp, sinking a bit into his seat, “what exactly will happen if we wait until after the eclipse to fight him?” “If you do not go him, he will surely find you,” Joel told him, keeping his back turned to the riders. “Whichever ones happens, that's for you to decide. Keep in mind… I cannot guarantee what will happen to this world once Jason leaves it for his.” Tara glared at Joel, “Well, thats alot of deep shit ain't it?” She said coldly as she rose to her feet and stared down Joel, “kinda makes you wish you took care of him a lot sooner doesn't it, father?” her gaze sharpened into a glare as her tone sharpened. “Ya, I know who you are. Its Tara by the way.” “I know you know…” Joel muttered, reaching into his pocket and gripping his Inertia memory. “Sorry, Tara… and I already gave you my reasons.” “So is that reason fear of the guy or just your own damn laziness?!” Tara snarled, “either way, it sounds that the name Inertia fits you pretty damn well. Doesn't it dad?” “I did what I had to…” Joel said back, gritting his teeth, “it was the only way.” “MY ASS IT WAS THE ONLY WAY!” Tara barked, slamming her fist down on the desk to the shock of everyone else. “You abandoned your own daughter!” She sniffled, tears beginning to run down her face, “And now you have the balls to tell me I need to stand by and allow one of my friends to be killed! Who the hell even are you?!” “I am…” Joel muttered to himself, tightly gripping the memory he held in his pocket. “I am….” “Inertia!” Before she could so much as blink, Tara felt a sharp pain plunge through her stomach. Looking down with a tremble, she saw spiked thendral running through her midsection. Her entire body quivered, looking up to the pale white skull face of Inertia standing only inches away from her. The tendril which stabbed through Tara was connected to Inertia's wrist, acting like a blade. “Father…” a tear ran down her face, “why?” Tara burst into dust, all of which swarmed onto Inertia along with the wind rider's yellow aura. “I'm sorry Tara.. there was no other way.” Alex sat there watching in horror as this happened. He shot to his feet, Star and Runner memories in hand only to be back handed by Inertia with enough force to throw him into the far wall made up of bookcases. Shiore gasped at this, going to move only for the floor to open up from under her, closing after it had swallowed her into the black void. “YOU BASTARD!” Roared Cole and Carter in unison, grabbing their respective gaia memories on instinct. “ROCK! RYU-O!” cried their drivers as the pair changed into their respective rider forms and dove towards Inertia, Rock pulling his hammer from his shoulder while Ryu-O summoned his sword with a snap of his fingers. Rock threw his hammer at Inertia with everything he had while Ryu-O swung right for the dopant’s head. Before either of them could land their strike however, a second tendril grew out from Inertia's other wrist and he used them both as a pair of whips to thrash the two riders back and into the same wall as Alex. Alex winced, climbing to his feet only for Carter to hold his hand over him. “Stay down Xtreme,” Ryu-O told him with a snarl, gripping his sword as he stared down Inertia, “this fight is ours.” “You go left, I'll go right,” Rock told Carter, the fire rider acknowledging this with a nod. Rock and Ryu-O charged weapons in hand while Inertia simply scoffed. “Too easy,” he said as he raised his whip bearing arms. “Those idiots,” Ashley gritted her teeth from where she stood, activating her driver. “SHIFT!” Her belt roared as she donned her rider form, raising her hands to Inertia before closing them into fists. Inertia's whole being tightened the moment Ashley closed her fists, the dopant gasping slightly as his eyes turned to stare down the water rider. “I will admit this, Shift. I forgot to take you into account,” Inertia told her as his tendrils began to move on their own, growing further and further beyond his wrist. The whips lashed at both Carter and Cole, throwing them into the wall of monitors this time. “No matter, your presence changes little in my eyes.” “ASHLEY!” Alex called out to her from the floor, “get out of here!” “FUCK NO!” Ashley barked at him, tightening her grasp on Inertia, “I'm not leaving after what I just saw him do to Tara!” “I wouldn't waste time holding that trivial act against me, you'll be joining her shortly,” Inertia told her, aiming his tendrils at Carter and Cole. “And those to, shall be next.” Cole and Carter gritted their teeth as they rose to their feet, Alex feeling his heart sink as he locked eyes with Cole. “Just try it you bastard!” Cole snarled, gripping his hammer as he and Carter got ready to charge again. Inertia huffed at them, glaring almost boredly at the two. He cracked his tendril once again at a speed almost impossible to see, destroying the window that lined the back wall before re-aiming his tendrils upon Carter and Cole. “If you insist,” Inertia said in a colder tone than before, hurling his tendrils at the pair at the same speed as his previous display of power. The moment his tendrils landed their strike however, Inertia starred with eyes widened in the slightest of shock as Shift's warglaives dropped to the floor in front of Carter and Cole. Alex trembled as there, standing between Inertia and the other two riders with the dopants spiked tendrils driven deep into the palms of her still armored hands, was Ashley. “Hey asshole…” Ashley managed a laugh, her whole body shaking as parts of her were already beginning to break apart into dust, “you missed.” Inertia glared harder at her, sucking his teeth as Ashley burst completely into the same dust Tara had with her own navy blue aura rushing into him. “BLAST! RUNNER!” Alex's driver roared as he donned a gun wielding variant of his default rider form. “DAMN YOU!” Cried Alex, aiming his corona blaster at Inertia and firing off an entirely clip. Inertia, now free of Ashley's grasp was able to smack away each shot from Alex into the four walls around him. He was about to breath out a huff of mental defeat when a sudden sound to his right caught the dopant's gaze. “ROCK! MAXIMUM DRIVE!” He turned instantly, catching the fully charged blade of the axe mode Cole's Rock Smasher, staring into the rage filled glare that could be felt through the visor of Cole's helmet. “Don't you dare..-” Cole breathed, pushing down on his axe as he tried to cut through Inertia with everything he had, “forget about me!” “Ah, the boyfriend,” Inertia spoke, looking Cole in the eye. “I knew you would be could for my Tara… but you seem to forget who it was that gave you the power you now hold.” He tightened his grip on the blade in his hand, shattering it along with the rest of the Rock Smasher. “WHAT?!” Cole gasped, Inertia bringing his knee up to strike the earth rider in the gut. Inertia's attack was about to connect when Carter dashed over using the thrusters on his feet and palms and grabbed Cole to get him out of the way. Landing beside Alex, Carter looked with one eye to Cole and patted him on the shoulder. “Hey Cole, you alright?” Carter asked with a heavy breath. Cole nodded then sharply swallowed, “Down, but far from out.” “Then the both of you need to use your full power,” Alex told the both of them. “No matter what, we can't allow him to leave this room.” With a snarl and a nod, Cole and Carter stared down Inertia as did Alex as he gripped his blaster. “Glad we're all on the same page.” Carter said, he and Cole pulling out their Phoenix and Biter memories. “Oh, I will not be leaving this room,” Inertia told them, hitting a key on the terminal built into his desk, “you three will.” Before the three riders could so much as move, the floor beneath them opened up just as it did for Shiore and swallowed them into the abyss below. Once they had fallen through, Inertia hit the same button to close the floor up again. “Finally… some quiet,” Inertia sighed coldly, looking over the monitors behind him. “Lets see, how is the other one doing?” He hit another button, a scene of Shiore in her Yuki standing in the middle of blank white room coming onto all of the monitors. She was turned to the point that Inertia could see her from, as if looking directly at him. Without one single word, she pulled out a kunai knife and threw it at the camera that was watching her. Inertia did not so much as flinch as the feed went to static. “All the pieces are in place then,” he looked to his arm, the blue and yellow aura of Ashley and Tara he already consumed swirling in the palm of his hand. “Whoever wins this, shall decide the fate of the world.” {Insert ending theme: “One” by Altima} Next time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme Locked in a building with no way out, the remaining riders fight for their lives against Inertia. What does the META commander hope to achieve from all this? All will be decided when Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme continues in Episode 41: Inertia's True Colors Xtreme, push yourself to the Maximum!! |
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