[guncannon109]

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.”

{Insert ending theme: “Return to Love” by Tomoe Ohmi}

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!