During the battle, girls’ siblings were moved from the room that had a hole in the wall to another room in the same wing as the temporary CR room. Inside the news was reporting on the fighting outside, and from what they could feel from the constant rumbling of the explosions. But after the long arduous battle, the Kamen Rider team had won the day. The girls released loud cheers of joy and triumph, with Pinkie giving everyone tight – near vice grip – hugs, even Microchips who blushed at the close contact.
In a matter of minutes, the CR doctors, Dan Kuroto, Poppy, Shining Armor, and Nasca entered the room, including Equal. The girls immediately got on edge upon seeing the notorious evil Rider but Shining Armor and Nasca assured them that Equal was on their side, for now.
“If ya say so,” said Applejack as she eyed the evil Rider.
“How’s the patch holding now?” Shining Armor asked.
Twilight clicked a few keys on her keyboard and brought up a cyberspace image of the patch in question. “Integrity if holding at 100% since the breach, which…I apologize for,” said Twilight as she hung her head low. “I should have kept a closer eye on it, triple checked – or even quadruple checked it before going to bed…!”
Nasca walked up to Twilight and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Hey things just happen, we’re dealing with magic and mutant cyberspace viruses, not a lot we can do except our best, and you did your best!”
Twilight smiled at her friend’s comforting words. “Thank you Rrrrr-Nasca! Thank you, Nasca.”
“FALSE!” Dan Kuroto shouted, making everybody in the room look at him with equal parts shock, annoyance, and deadpans. “Sparkle-san has been judged by my eyes to have great potential talent.” Kuroto walked out of the group and then turned dramatically as he pointed at Twilight. “And the judgement of GOD is never wrong!” At his proclamation a gold ball that hung from the ceiling popped open as a banner fell out reading in kanji, “神は決して間違っていません！” which essentially translated to “God is never wrong!”
Hiiro, Taiga, and Kiriya groaned as they face palmed themselves.
Poppy on the other hand readied her Bugvisor and said, “Kuroto-san…after all that happened, your nonsense is very much not needed!” Her tone was even, but it belayed the annoyance and frustration that only came with having deal with Dan Kuroto’s…eccentricities.
Kuroto raised his hand in a stopping motion and continued undeterred. “And so, because I am never wrong, the patch could not have failed, it was flawless, so that only leaves one logical conclusion…Someone sabotaged the patch while some of us slept!” At this time Pinkie Pie appeared behind Kuroto holding a sign that also read in kanji “教えて！”, which also translated meant “Sabotage!”, Kuroto then said, “Thank you, pink one!”
“You’re welcome,” said Pinkie.
“That’s crazy,” said Shining Armor, “who here would want to sabotage the patch and let all those monsters through?!”
“Why indeed? Perhaps you should ask the culprit themselves!” Kuroto stated as he spun around and pointed at the culprit in question.
Everyone followed his finger, which lead right to Microchips. The bespectacled boy looked at Dan Kuroto and to the others in the room with a startled, wide eyed look. “W-W-What – ME?!”
Poppy face palmed herself. “That’s it, you’re going in the Bugvisor.”
As Poppy approached, Kuroto – like a child trying to run away from getting scolded by a parent – ran around to the other side of the group as he said, “Think about it! The Bugsters didn’t kill him!”
Poppy stopped, and the others looked to Kuroto.
“The first time, Chimera, went after the boy. It didn’t kill him, it merely snatched him up and proceeded to run away with him. If this Tirek saw him as such a threat, why not just outright kill him?” Kuroto then walked to the Rainbooms and pointed to them. “These girls have shown an immunity to the virus, so it would make sense that Tirek would want them dead in hopes of stopping the creation of a vaccine, and he did try with Gleam Eyes.”
“That…is true,” said Rarity.
“That monster did try and kill us, if it weren’t for Nasca and Dr. Kagami,” said Fluttershy.
“Hold on, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the kid is in league with him,” said Taiga.
Kuroto held up a finger and said, “True, but then again, think about this. In this world, they lack the technology to create Gashats, as well as the knowhow. However! They manage to create a crude version of a Gashat, in disc form, and manage to infect a number of youths! Not to mention create the cyber world where Emu and Unicorn are currently trapped in! Are you going to honestly expect me to stand here and accept that this boy can create a complex world as intricate as that?! Sparkle-san I could believe, but him?! No!”
Twilight didn’t know whether to feel complimented or insulted.
“Dude, he’s practically calling you a villain. You’re within your legal right to yell at him,” said Nasca.
Shining Armor raised an eyebrow at what Nasca said, but he wouldn’t argue with that, this man was accusing this teenage boy, Microchips, of causing an epidemic and bringing monsters into the world. However, something felt off, Microchips had – except for a moment ago – been completely silent to the words that Dan Kuroto spoke. Finally, after a long moment of silence, Microchips looked up, pushed his glasses up, and then smiled.
“Damn, and here I thought I’d be able to hide in this hairless ape for a while longer. But I guess it’s better late than never,” said Microchips in a deep and distorted voice.
Everyone’s jaws dropped, that voice, it sounded exactly like Tirek’s voice from when he first arrived in shadow form. The other’s looked to Dan Kuroto who had the biggest smug smirk on his face as he pointed back to his first banner that read, “God is never wrong!” in kanji.
Twilight slowly walked forward and asked, “Why, Microchips, why did you do this?!”
“Because this insect was at rock bottom. He wanted to create a fantastic game, but he had hit a block, one that made his anxiety build as the pressure to produce weighed down on his psyche. That’s when I appeared,” said Tirek as she waved his hands. “I can only assume that when Kamen Rider Unicorn defeated Kaiser Hell, it released my essence into ether. It was there that my essence and consciousness met with the remnants of Gamedeus. We merged into one being and so I was reborn!”
Microchips walked over to a computer chair and sat down in it lazily. “Sensing his anxiety, I latched onto him, promising to help him create the greatest game in this world! And I did, but with one little detail that I left out before merging with him…I was going to take over his body. Unfortunately, this sniveling worm still had some strength of will left, I didn’t anticipate that. And because of my oversight, he managed to trap part of my essence in the game world.”
The possessed teenager began to type at the keyboard with one hand, as he continued to look at the group, which was now on edge. Nasca and Equal looked ready to jump in and attack at a moment’s notice, and the CR doctors were just waiting to call on their Gamer Drivers at the right time. But Microchips was no stooge. “Be careful how you act, I can still kill this boy from within, if I so wanted to.”
“So, part of you is trapped in the game world. How did you plan on escaping?” Hiiro asked.
“Simple really, the part of me that is Gamedeus spoke of the Gamer Kamen Riders, the strongest of you, Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, possessed the power needed to break me free, but I knew I needed more than that, so I brought in Unicorn not just for kicks, but because I needed both the gamer power and magical energy to combine and release me from my prison, and the only way to do so is by –!”
“Winning the game,” said Twilight in stark realization.
Microchips smiled. “Every bit as smart – if not more so – as Princess Twilight. An annoying trait that seems to persist in any parallel world. Yes, winning the game is the key to setting me free.”
“And you dragged Ex-Aid and Unicorn into the cyber world of the game, knowing full well they’d do anything they could stop you in there, thinking that that was all of you,” said Equal.
Microchips stopped his onehanded typing and pointed at Equal. “Bingo, and that should happen right aboooooooooooout……Now.”
The screen behind Twilight turned on and it showed Sunset Shimmer and Emu, surrounded by six fantasy versions of their friends, and one other that looked surprisingly similar to Sunset herself.
[Hey guys, great news! We beat Tirek! So – wait – is that Equal?! What the hell is she doing there?!]
“Guess I shouldn’t be surprised by that reaction with my rep,” said Equal.
[Will someone please tell me what’s going on?!]
“What’s going on,” said Microchips as he stood up. “Is the end of all those you hold dear in this world and the other. Thank you, Kamen Riders, for aiding in my true resurrection!”
Dan Kuroto snapped his fingers, and instantly a computer behind him released a polygonal barrier that surrounded the possessed teen. “Don’t underestimate my Godly talents! I never trusted you from the moment you set foot in here, so I had a little something waiting for you! Bow before me you impudent creature!”
Microchips looked at the barrier for a moment and then shrugged. “I figured you’d do something like this, I’ve learned a lot since my near-death experience and drifting through the ether. And if there’s one thing I did learn, it’s to stay at least one step ahead of others. Like so.” Microchips pushed a button on the keyboard and suddenly, the barrier that had contained him shattered like fragile glass.
Dan Kuroto stared wide eyed and mouth agape at this turned of events.
“What?!”
“A shame really, had I not planned ahead, that would’ve been the end of my little game.”
“WHAT?!”
“I think Kuroto-san’s broken,” said Poppy.
“And now with a push of a button, the End Game begins.”
Nasca flared her wings and zipped around everyone, but before she could reach Microchips, the polygonal barrier rose up. The speedster Rider slammed into the barrier, which then threw her over thr heads of the group and through the wall. Equal quickly activated the Less Than sign.
| LESS THAN: < |
The crystal facets glowed blue and the barrier began to diminish, but it was too late. Microchips het the “enter” button and suddenly, there was a loud rumble. Microchips waved in a “bye-bye” manner to everyone and then disappeared in a flash of light. The group heard screaming and turned around to see the monitor which showed Emu and Sunset in the game world. There was something happening around them, but then the feed cut to black.
“Sunset…” Twilight whispered as she furiously typed away at the keyboard. “Sunset…!” Twilight continued to type and type, but the computer would not respond. “SUNSET!”
Then the dreaded words appeared upon the screen, [Connection Lost: No Data Found].
The girls all had wide eyes that were filling with tears, Twilight began to slam her fists against the keyboard, desperately compelling the machine with violence to show something else. It was Shining Armor who eventually got her to stop, which then led to Twilight turning around and crying into her big brother’s chest. Taiga slammed his fist on a desk, Hiiro growled in frustration, and Kiriya kicked a waste basket. Poppy was still in shock, she couldn’t believe they lost Emu and Parado.
[Shining Armor, come in, over!]
Shining Armor turned on his radio and said, “Now’s not a good time, Spearhead.”
[Make time, bro! There’s like a…a…I don’t know, some kind of freakin’ gash in the sky!]
That caught their attention, as much as Shining Armor didn’t want to, he had to leave Twilight. Applejack walked up behind Shining Armor and patted him on the shoulder, silently indicating that she’d look after her. Twilight was distraught, not really caring who, but she just needed someone to hold her right now.
“Let’s go,” said Shining Armor solemnly.
The CR Team, Shining Armor, and Nasca, exited the building and looked up. Indeed, there was a gash in the skies above Canterlot City, inside that gash was something akin to digital cyberspace, with pixels, streams of ones and zeroes, and multicolored landscapes. Suddenly, something descended from the gash, a sphere of orange energy that blazed like the sun and had black lightning arcing around it. The sphere stopped halfway above the city, hovering in place.
It was then that other officers pointed at the roof of the hospital and there they saw Microchips standing at the edge of the building. Shining looked to Nasca, and the blue Rider was about to fly, but then the sphere fired bolts of black lightning down on their position, forcing the Riders to quickly transform and dodge the incoming attack.
While this was happening, Microchips walked off the edge and began floating upwards towards the sphere. His accent was rapid, in less than a minute, the teenage boy had reached the sphere and began to enter it. The sphere grew in intensity as the energy it was comprised of began to rage, and the lightning began fire off into the gash. The digital energy streamed down from the gash and into the sphere, feeding it. But that wasn’t all it fed on, streams of digital light began rising from the city and flowing towards the sphere.
“NO!” Taiga shouted.
“What’s wrong?!” Nasca asked.
“Those lights, those are the data streams of the patients! He’s feeding on them too,” said Hiiro.
SCOOTALOO, APPLE BLOOM, SWEETIE BELLE, ZEPHYR! Nasca shouted in her mind.
NIGHT GLIDER, PARTY FAVOR, SUGAR BELLE! Equal cried out in her mind.
Nasca took out the Rocket Memory and Booster and transformed into Nasca Star Chaser. Her wing thrusters unfurled as they roared and propelled her up into the sky. Equal jumped up as high as she could, but it was becoming difficult to maintain her accent, but just before she began to fall, Nasca swopped in and grab her hand, taking both of them up.
“Don’t misunderstand this, if we don’t stop that thing, my friends and family will be gone!” Nasca stated.
“Despite what you may think of me, I have people I don’t want to lose either! So, speed the hell up!” Equal demanded.
With their intentions made clear, both female Riders entered striking range of the sphere. Nasca brought out her Condor Sword and Equal her Staff of Sameness. Both weapons flared with power as they struck the side of the sphere at the same time, trying to attack the growing evil inside before it could break free. However, their actions were for naught as the black lightning surged across the surface of the sphere, hitting both of them with a powerful shock that threw them away until they landed on the rooftop of a building.
*Crack*
The sphere began to show a fissure, that fissure then spider webbed all across the surface of the sphere, and in the next moment, the shell shattered into particles of light, revealing the beast within. It was an unholy fusion of a dark magical being and an evil sentient digital virus. Tirek’s lower half still had its equine form, but his front and hind legs now had long sharp talons. On the sides of the equine body were large, metallic wings that were a dark-gold color, the wings stretched for a couple of miles, and at the center of them there ten eyes that were slit like a dragon’s. The lower half was black and had dark gold exoskeletal armor overlaying it. Tirek’s tail had taken on a blade like shape, whipping back and forth and sounding like it was cutting the air each movement.
The torso was also covered in the dark-gold exoskeletal armor, but at the center of the chest were three orbs, and from each of those orbs was a line that connected them to each other. Tirek’s bulky arms were still there, but now covered in the dark-gold armor, from his back were long tentacle-like appendages, four in total, and at the end of each was a ravenous set of jaws with razor sharp teeth that snapped and growled. They too were covered in armor, but it was colored red and black, and along their length were more of the same slit eyes. Tirek’s head was no longer equine shaped, it was flat like a human’s, but his mouth was covered by a dark-gold face plate, around his head was a helmet of the same dark-gold color, with only the eye portion open to show is red skin. His eyes, however, were different, they still had black sclera, but there were two, beady eyes in each, both were silver colored and glowed brightly. The helmet allowed his long black horns to gron out taking on a longer U shape, running along the helmet was a silver horn that stood a couple of inches higher than the others. This was the grand form of the dark centaur, the power of Tirek’s dark magic and Gamedeus’ viral energy.
The dark centaur descended until his talons touched the ground. Immediately after, a ripple of game energy went out, pixelating the area for a few seconds before it returned to normal. Tirek crossed his arms as he gave a deep foreboding chuckle as the three-hundred-foot-tall monstrosity proclaimed, “I AM REBORN!”
***___________<U> x [+]E[+]___________***
The parents of the digitized children wept, terror was far from their minds as they had lost their children. The Rainbooms were also feeling the loss, not only have they lost their friend, but now they lost their family, their siblings, at the same time. Now Tirek was free, and more powerful than ever.
“A step ahead of me…He said he was ‘one step ahead of me’…” Dan Kuroto yelled into the CR room, startling the girls with his outburst. “NO ONE IS A STEP AHEAD OF GOD! NOBODY!”
Dan Kuroto accessed his terminal and began to search, Twilight and the girls glanced to the villain and watched as the computer brought up dozens of code streams. The man’s eyes roved over the data, searching and searching, looking at one window on the screen and then moving to the next. The girls could see that Kuroto was pissed at being made a fool of by Tirek and was looking for payback in whatever form possible.
“AHA!” he exclaimed. “You made two – TWO – mistakes, Tirek! And I’ll make you pay for both of them!”
“Um…M-M-Mister –?” Kuroto turned to Fluttershy, the shy girl quickly understood and corrected herself. “God Dan Kuroto, um, w-what did you find?”
The former CEO of Genm Corp. merely smiled and pointed at the screen. There was a window open that was pitch black. For a moment the girls thought he was crazy – well crazier. But then a small golden speck appeared in the center of the screen. Another window popped up that made everyone have a huge smile on their faces.
[Data Found]
***___________<U> x [+]E[+]___________***
Sunset floated in nothingness, feeling herself disappearing. She remembered, she remembered seeing Microchips push a button, and then there was a great earthquake that shook everything in the world. Then the feed was cut off with Sunset yelling desperately at the communication window. Not long after that, a gash appeared in the sky, and from it black lightning rained down across the land for as far as the eye could see and then some.
Everything was being broken down, pixelating and then disappearing into particles. Sunset and Emu looked to their friends and watched as each was gripped with terror as they reached out to them, but to avail as the Fantasy Six each fell to the ground and broke apart into data. Corona was the last to go as she too reached out for Sunset, but before she could take her hand, the world shattered in a flash of light.
Now, Sunset’s body was breaking down, her feet and legs were almost gone, and some of her hands were starting to pixelate. Floating next to her was Emu, in just as bad a shape as she was. They had thought they won, but in the end, it was all a trick. Tirek was just using them to free himself, they played right into his hands and now he had won.
Just before Sunset was about to give into the nothingness, a bright golden light appeared before them. This golden light enveloped both Emu and Sunset in its radiance, creating a sphere. Their bodies began to reform the lost parts until they were whole again, the light also revitalized them, bringing both Riders back to full consciousness.
“What…How?” Sunset asked.
“I-I don’t know,” said Emu.
There was a humanoid being made of light inside the sphere with them, the light began to fade around their face and revealed it to be none other than Corona Brightstar.
“CORONA!” Sunset and Emu exclaimed.
“I understand now why he called me an anomaly, I was not a part of this world to begin with. My existence was fabricated when the world came to be, separately from Tirek’s design,” said Corona. “Which, it seems, made me the one best suited to keep these safe.”
Corona placed her hands before Sunset and Emu. In Corona’s right hand, the Shining Memory rose up, and from her left rose the Hyper Muteki Gashat. Sunset and Emu carefully took their most powerful devices and looked to Corona with smiling faces.
“Come with us, we may be able to save you with everything happening on the other side,” said Emu.
Corona shook her head. “I can’t, even if I did, I wouldn’t last long over there.”
“But…” Sunset began to cry. “You deserve to live! All of you! You’re not just created things, you’re alive, you’re…you’re all…”
Corona floated over to Sunset and gave her a hug. “I can tell we’re the same, and because of that, you wanted me to experience the love and joy of having friends. Even if it was for a short time, I truly enjoyed having you and them as a friend.” Corona separated herself from Sunset and then looked up. “It appears that our time together is at an end. I hope one day we will see each other again, farewell.”
A portal was punched into the black nothingness that surrounded them, and from it, two beams of light shot down and enveloped both Riders. They were quickly sucked up into the portal, flying through digital space as they quickly approached their exit. Sunset and Emu wiped their tears as their faces became serious.
< UNICORN! >
< SHINING! >
| MAXIMUM MIGHTY X! |
[++] HYPER MUTEKI! [++]
“HENSHIN!”
“HYPER DAI HENSHIN!”
> UNICORN! <
{< SHINING! MIMETIC DRIVE! >}
| DOCKING! |
| OPEN IT UP! |
| MU~TE~KI! SHINE BRIGHT! LIKE A TRUE SHOOTING STAR! THE ULTIMATE GAMER, CLAD IN GOLD! HYPER MUTEKI EX-AI~D! |
***___________<U> x [+]E[+]___________***
}/^\{ ROCKET! MAXIMUM DRIVE! }/^\{
}<^>{ TRIGGER! MAXIMUM DRIVE! }<^> {
>} EQUAL! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<
Nasca summoned all her energy and formed a large blue-green blade that infused into her Condor Sword. Equal pointed her Staff of Sameness at Tirek, the tip of which glowed
bright red, and Trigger’s Chrome Ultimatum shined bright with built up power. Equal and Trigger fired their beams of red and blue light, while Nasca slashed down.
}!!!{ TADDLE CRITICAL STRIKE! }!!!{
}!!!{ BANG BANG CRITICAL FIRE! }!!!{
}!!!{ GIRI GIRI CRITICAL FINISH! }!!!{
}!!!{ CRITICAL CREWS-AID }!!!{
Brave slashed the air, creating a flaming blue X that sailed towards Tirek. Snipe combined his bow cannons and fired a large energy ball. Lazer used the Gashacon Sparrow and fired several energy arrows. Poppy jumped up and spun around fast enough to become a sparkling tornado, and from that tornado several heart shaped energy blasts were fired. The Gamer Riders’ and Memory Riders’ attacks converged at the same point. A giant explosion went off, obscuring the dark centaur Bugster from sight.
The explosion didn’t last long as a burst of energy scattered the dust cloud that had been created. The serpent tentacles each opened their mouths and fired beams of black and violet energy, four different explosions went off as the Riders were sent flying from their positions and scattered them across the road. The Gamer Riders’ Rider Gauges were now in the red zone, causing them to deactivate their transformations. Nasca’s final form, and Trigger’s super form, gave just enough defensive power to keep them from changing back, in Equal’s case, using her Less Than kept some of the damage to a minimum to her armor. Which was great luck for both Nasca and Equal, as their identities being known would not be good. The destroyed buildings from Tirek’s attack began to digitize, pixelating as they broke down and eventually disappeared.
“None of you are strong enough to defeat me! My vengeance shall spread beyond this world and into Equestria! No power will be able to stand against me once I’ve devoured this world!” Tirek announced.
Nasca used her Condor Sword to prop herself up, her body wracked with pain from the intense attack from earlier. “We…We can’t give up…We’re all that’s left!”
Equal rose up as well, using her staff as a crutch to keep from falling down. “I have no intention of dying here, not after I make him pay for taking those I held dear!”
Trigger managed to get to a kneeling stance as he looked up and growled in agreement. “For the people of this city, and everyone in the world, we won’t stop!”
Tirek chuckled at the three Riders who continued to stand defiantly before him. The serpent tentacles all looked in their direction as their mouths opened up and channeled the dark energy to fire again. However, before they could fire, something, well, two somethings, shined brightly from the gash in the sky. Those two golden stars descended at a rapid rate of speed, faster and faster. One was gold and magenta, and the other was gold and turquoise. Both streaks of light headed straight for Tirek and at the same time, slammed into his chest. A great shockwave thundered through the city, shattering glass, and throwing cars like rag dolls every which way. Tirek was raised from the dual attack and was sent falling backwards as he impacted against the ground.
The two golden lights crisscrossed and zipped around in the air until they landed on the street. Nasca, Equal, Trigger, and the CR Team arrived near the spot, squinting their eyes as they tried to see what it was that had toppled Tirek, but as the light faded their question was answered.
Ex-Aid stood on the right, his armor had changed to pure gold. His shoulder pauldrons flared out and were adorned with sharp stars. His leg armor, and forearm armor were also adorned with the same sharp stars, and surprisingly, Ex-Aid’s Rider Gauge was covered up with armor and three stars. His helmet had a crown-like crest, with a four-pointed blue star at the center. His goggles took on pointed edges, and the eyes were now sparkling like an aurora. Coming down from the helmet were long, metallic locks that mimicked hair, and sparkled with each simple movement. This was Ex-Aid’s most powerful form, Ex-Aid Muteki Gamer.
Unicorn’s armor had changed to all gold, turquoise lines drew whimsical patterns and some cursive runic markings, these were more prominent on her forearm armor, the front of her boots, and around her chest. The shoulder pauldrons had a slight crescent curve to them and had silver lining around the bottom edge. Unicorn’s helmet changed as well, now instead of aquamarine eyes, the eyes themselves were turquoise, and on the sides of the helmet were wing-like fins, the crystal horn remained, but instead of a silver metal edge around it, it now matched the gold. Attached to the armor, right around Unicorn’s shoulders, were two long flowing clothes, about five feet in length, they undulated up and down, and gave off an aurora as if the fabric was made from a rainbow. This was Unicorn Shining Day.
“EMU!” Poppy exclaimed excitedly.
“UNICORN!” Nasca shouted happily.
“Leave the rest to us,” said Ex-Aid.
“Tirek falls today,” Unicorn added.
| GASHACON KEY SLASHER! |
\\\\\ LOYALTY! /////
A crimson saber appeared in Unicorn’s hand, and the Key Slasher into Ex-Aid’s. Both Rider’s began to release golden particles, and in the blink of an eye, they disappeared. Tirek thrashed about as he rose back up to his feet, growling in anger at the arrival of Ex-Aid and Unicorn. The two golden Riders appeared in the sky, but Tirek was undeterred as his left and right upper tentacles lashed out and tried to chomp down on the two. Ex-Aid broke right, and away from the beast. Ex-Aid pressed a few buttons on the dial pad and fired several shots at the serpent tentacle. Each blast exploded against the appendage, causing it great pain with each impact. On the other side, Unicorn was flying circles around her foe, taking her crimson saber and slashing at the main body of the serpent, with each slash a chain of explosions went off in its wake.
Unicorn and Ex-Aid were then attacked by the lower serpent tentacles, firing large beams of dark energy. Both Riders slashed at the beams, cutting them down the middle. With one follow through, they dispersed the beams, sending them right into the upper serpent tentacles’ faces. Unicorn channeled her power into the blade making it double in size, Ex-Aid funneled his game energy into the Key Slasher, making a golden energy blade form around the main blade. Ex-Aid and Unicorn flew out and then doubled back, raising their swords high as they slashed at the middle of their trunks. The two lower serpent tentacles roared in pain as the Riders sliced all the way through, causing the severed halves to disappear into digital particles. The upper serpent tentacles appeared behind them and prepared to bite down on them.
\\\\\\ MAGIC! //////
Ex-Aid and Unicorn turned around as Ex-Aid fired his Key Slasher and Unicorn fired a powerful beam of magic. The beams pierced through the serpent tentacles, destroying them in one shot. Tirek roared in pain and fury as he fired a beam of dark magic straight for Ex-Aid, the beam struck Ex-Aid throwing him straight through another building, making it collapse atop the Gamer Rider. Unicorn released a battle cry as she pushed the button on her left hip port.
\ HONESTY! /
Unicorn’s fists flared with orange energy as she shot towards Tirek. The behemoth hybrid raised his right fist and punched straight for Unicorn. The magical Rider twirled once in midair and punched with her right fist. Both punches met each in a titanic impact of power, causing the very air to rumble and tremble from the sheer strength of these two magical beings’ power.
“Someone’s angry, you wish to destroy me for erasing that world and your little group of ‘friends’! Is that what you want, my little pony?!” Tirek mocked.
Unicorn’s compound eyes shined bright as her fist blazed with even greater power. “NEVER, CALL ME THAT! NOT FROM YOUR MOUTH!!!” Unicorn broke brought her other fist in and struck it against the giant fist of Tirek, causing the behemoth to skid backwards.
Ex-Aid blasted himself free from the pixelated rubble of the building and jumped straight for Tirek in a burst of speed. Tirek took to the skies as the two golden lights began to follow him. In the skies, Ex-Aid and Unicorn appeared as streaks of golden light that zipped around Tirek at high speeds. The multiple eyes on the wings began firing multiple energy beams in every direction, trying to hit the two Riders. While some managed to do so, the damage inflicted to them was minimal – if nothing – at best. Tirek swatted with his right hand, hitting Ex-Aid and sending him into a tailspin. The dark centaur focused his magical energy into his horns and fired a column sized beam of dark magic at Unicorn, forcing her back and providing the evil one with some breathing room.
Once Tirek cut off his attack, Unicorn and Ex-Aid grouped up.
“Emu, I have to tell you, I don’t have a lot of time left in this form. The Shining Memory gets its power from Equestrian magic, from my home dimension. If we were fighting there I could probably stay in this form as long as I want, but since there’s not a lot here, we’ll have to end this quickly,” said Unicorn.
“Alright, then we’ll take him out with our next attack, hold nothing back, Sun-chan!”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” said Tirek. “Because I know how you heroes like to operate, the ones I have absorbed are still inside of me. Their different consciousnesses are screaming to be set free, luckily, I can tune them out when I feel like it, but right now it’s music to my ears! So, if you want to, go ahead, destroy me and lose any hope of saving them!”
Unicorn’s aura flared with anger as she shouted, “TIREK YOU BASTARD!”
In the blink of an eye, Tirek was upon them, raising both of his mighty fists and slamming them down upon the golden Riders, sending them falling like lead weights straight back down to the streets below. Ex-Aid and Unicorn crashed into the asphalt, creating body sized craters from the impact. Tirek fired a of dark magic straight down to them, causing a huge explosion that sent both Riders flying into the air again, but Tirek was there with a right hook laced in dark energy, hitting Unicorn right into another building, while coming down with a double hammer fist on Ex-Aid. The dark centaur raised his right front leg to stomp on the Gamer Rider, but Unicorn dashed towards Tirek, striking him in the face and forcing him back. Ex-Aid jumped out of the crater and gave a powerful uppercut to Tirek’s jaw.
Unicorn and Ex-Aid were at an impasse, they couldn’t finish Tirek without killing every person who was infected inside of him. If there really was a way to bring them back, then they couldn’t take the chance of destroying him, not without sacrificing the innocent people he had absorbed.
“NEVER UNDERESTIMATE GOD!!!” Ex-Aid and Unicorn turned their heads up to another building to see who it was that said that, and standing at the roof was Kamen Rider Genm as Zombie Gamer X-0. Genm held in his right hand the Gashacon Sparrow, and in his left was, what looked like, a new Gashat. It was completely white, with no discernable markings, but that didn’t deter Genm from inserting it into the Gashacon Sparrow. “REPENT!!!”
Genm jumped off the roof, holding the Gashacon Sparrow in sickle mode. He then slashed down on Tirek, piercing his chest armor with both sickles at once, and then just hung there. Tirek looked down at his chest with annoyance, and Unicorn looked to Ex-Aid wondering what in the world Genm was doing. After another moment of silence, Tirek used his thumb and index finger to pluck Genm off of him like a piece of lint. Tirek then flicked Genm and sent him flying until he hit the ground below.
After a few seconds Genm reemerged from the crater and stood proudly as he pointed his finger at Tirek and shouted, “YOU HAVE LOST–!” and shortly after Tirek stomped on him like a bug. Genm laid face up as his Rider Gauge dropped to zero, his body began to break down and disperse into particles, and then there was nothing.
“Oh crap…he had no more lives left!” Ex-Aid realized.
“Wait, what?!”
Suddenly, a green tube appeared behind them, giving off a strange beeping game sound effect. When both golden Riders turned around they watched as Genm popped out of the green pipe, landing on both feet with his arms crossed. A screen appeared beside him that read “Extra Life: 0”.
“I had a backup life, just in case something happened,” said Genm.
Ex-Aid sighed in relief, but then he turned to Genm and asked, “What were you thinking Kuroto-san?! You could’ve died for real!”
Genm chuckled and said, “Oh ye of little faith…BEHOLD!”
Unicorn and Ex-Aid looked up at Tirek, the spot where Genm had pierced him with his Gashacon Sparrow was starting to spark with white lightning. The sparks grew bigger and bigger, surging across Tirek’s body, he tried to rid himself of the white lightning, but it just continued to surge across his body. Suddenly, Tirek cried out in pain as he began thrashing about, feeling as if his body was being torn apart from the inside out.
“WHAT DID YOU DO?!”
“Heh, you made two critical errors. ONE! You didn’t account for your own creation to gain a will of its own, the game world you created gave birth to anomaly, and that anomaly was able to let me track Unicorn and Ex-Aid and bring them back!” Genm held out two fingers. “TWO! You thought hiding in that teenage boy was a good way to stay under the radar, but thanks to letting him come to CR you provided us with the last bit of code to finish the vaccine!”
“WHAT – AAAAAAAAHHH!!!” Tirek roared.
Genm walked forward and smugly looked up at the behemoth. “You see, the virus confounded me for a bit, I saw the Gamedeus code, and even your foreign code, but there was a third component, the human component, and that is where you made yourself vulnerable! Since the doctors got all of that boy’s information, all I had to do was weave it together with the Gamedeus vaccine, and voila! A nice little Tirek-Gamedeus Vaccine cocktail!”
Suddenly, steaks of yellow digital light shot out of the behemoth’s body. All of them were aimed right around where the rest of the CR Team, Equal, Trigger, and Nasca were. When the light’s hit the ground, they transformed into people. It became clear that the vaccine was purging the human data from Tirek’s body, the very thing that was giving him substance. At the center a large beam of light shot out and whizzed right to where the other Kamen Riders stood. When the light faded, it revealed Microchips.
Tirek clutched at his chest as the vaccine continued to drain and damage him, roaring in pain, frustration, and desperation. Genm chuckled at the display and then walked away saying, “Now smite him in my name! Ex-Aid, Unicorn!”
Unicorn looked to her partner and said, “He’s kind of an asshole.”
“Yes, but one that comes through when it counts! Let’s end this, Sun-chan!”
Suddenly, Unicorn’s body arced with gold electricity, the color shifting between gold and turquoise. “Oh no, not now! I just need a little more time!”
{< DAY IS D–! >}
Tirek roared again as seven lights shot out of his body, the seven lights weaved around each other and shot towards Unicorn and Ex-Aid’s direction. The seven lights then separated, appearing before them as the girls from the game. The golden Riders’ eyes widened with shock and happiness at seeing their game friends again, but they were like ethereal ghosts.
“Corona, Midnight, Spectra, Surprise, Ambrosia, Lightheart, Rori!”
The ghostly images of their game friends nodded as they returned to light form. All seven of them flew right into the Shining Memory, making it glow with renewed power. The
shifting of Unicorn’s form was stabilized, returning to Shining Day.
{< DAY IS BRIGHT! >}
Both Riders’ auras flared up as they jumped high into the sky, higher and higher they soared up until Tirek was right below them. Unicorn switched the Shining Memory into her right hip port, and Ex-Aid pressed the button on his Gashat.
“IT’S TIME TO RESTORE HARMONY!”
“WE WILL CHANGE THIS WORLD’S FATE WITH OUR OWN HANDS!”
>} SHINING! MAXIMUM DRIVE! {<
*}!!!{* HYPER CRITICAL SPARKING! *}!!!{*
Unicorn lead with Dawn Breaker, creating a spiral construct horn flanked by feathered wings that blazed like fire. Ex-Aid joined in beside her, adding his own game energy into the attack. The wings and horn now shined gold with sparkling particles shimmering around them. Tirek had no more defenses available to him as the combined attack struck him dead center in the chest. The dark centaur struggled against the attack, digging his talons into the asphalt and concrete, trying to fight back with all he could muster. But Unicorn and Ex-Aid would not be stopped, this would be the end of Tirek, of his evil, here and now.
With a fierce battle cry, the golden Riders pierced through Tirek, in the next second, a massive explosion went off as Unicorn and Ex-Aid cancelled their attack and floated in the air, their eyes and armor glowing in the dying light of Tirek’s demise. A pillar of light rose up from the explosion and hit the gash that was still in the sky. The energy began to seal the gash, closing it off and returning the sky back to normal. At the same time, the buildings that were destroyed by Tirek’s attacks began to reform, pieced back together as if part of jigsaw puzzle as the pixelated parts fit back together.
Unicorn and Ex-Aid glanced to each other and then fist bumped.
“Game Clear.”
***___________<U> x [+]E[+]___________***
In an alleyway not too far from the battle, three girls watched the battle unfold to its final conclusion. They wore hoodies, one wore purple, the other army green, and the last was burgundy. The girl in the purple hoodie twirled a Gaia Memory between her fingers as she tossed it up and caught it in midair.
“Guess there really was no need for us to step in after all. Which is good, I didn’t want to show our hand so early,” said the girl with a sultry voice.
“What would’ve been the point, I thought we hated this place?” asked the girl with the gruff voice and wearing the army green hoodie.
“I do, but considering we can’t go back home, I’d rather not have this world destroyed, at least not while we’re still in it.”
The girl in the army green hoodie pulled out a Gaia Memory of her own and glared at the one golden Rider with the crystal horn. “And you’re sure it’s her?”
“Who else could it be? You can feel it as much as I can, that Rider is brimming with Equestrian magic, and the fact that Tirek just mocked her by saying ‘my little pony’. Who else but Sunset Shimmer would understand that and get so angry about hearing it from that monster’s mouth,” said the purple hoodie girl.
“Well…” The girl in the burgundy hoodie and bubbly voice interjected. “It could be another pony came through the portal and became Unicorn…Possibly?”
“Go back to sleep Sonata. Adagio, why don’t we just attack now?! They’re tired and weak from fighting Tirek, now’s our perfect chance to wipe them out!”
Adagio shook her head. “No, Aria, it isn’t. They still outnumber us, and we don’t know what other powers they may have, for now we wait, and train. We’ll let them savor their victory. Soon the crushing blow of defeat will come down on Sunset Shimmer and those Rainbooms.”
***___________<U> x [+]E[+]___________***
2 Days Later…
[This is Namby Pamby reporting live from the CCNN news room. With me today are the CEOs of Canterlot City’s two biggest companies. Starlight Glimmer of PhoenEXE Corp. and Filthy Rich of Rich Industries. I would like to start off by saying that I think it is wonderful how your rival companies have come together during this crisis that the city has gone through in the last seventy-two hours,] said Namby.
[Why thank you Ms. Pamby, while we may be rivals in business, Ms. Glimmer and I can agree on one thing: We love this city and the people in it,] said Filthy Rich.
[That is why the two of us are using our company resources to give back to the community. As you know, the buildings that were destroyed during that titanic battle have rematerialized, but there are other properties that were damaged due to the battles before, and not to mention the medical expenses incurred to the people who had other illnesses that the onset of this Tirek Virus aggravated. So together, Mr. Rich and I are funding the restoration of the properties, and to help the families with any medical expenses that their insurance carriers won’t cover,] said Starlight.
[A very philanthropic act by the both you. Now, of course, I am fair and give voice to the opposition as well. As there some people who are saying that this virus was the result of these newer Kamen Riders, and that the damage to the city was made worse by them through their fighting of the monsters. I would like to get your thoughts.]
Starlight cleared her throat and said, [While this crisis was happening, I stopped by the hospital where the doctor Kamen Riders were working from. I am not one to just sit on my hands when there’s a crisis, so I thought I could lend my expertise in computer programming. I was working side-by-side with them, and let me tell you, they were the most dedicated group I have ever had the pleasure of working with. They’re genuine care for their patients pushed them to work near ‘round the clock. And if not for them, and their Rider powers, we would’ve lost all our friends and family.]
[Whether or not you want to call it bias, I would have to disagree with all of that nonsense people are sayin’. As you all may know, if it weren’t for Unicorn and her partner Nasca, I would have lost my only daughter, and I might’ve died. To say that they are responsible – in my opinion – is the height of foolishness. Anyone who risks their lives to protect us regardless of the harm and scrutiny that may fall upon them, deserves our praise not our suspicion,] said Filthy Rich.
“Gotta admit, for a rich guy, he’s not all that bad,” said Rainbow Dash.
“Especially considering how much he cares about his daughter, that’s a plus in my book,” said Sunset Shimmer as she put her phone away.
Sunset, Rainbow, and Twilight were at the hospital rooftop. It was there that the portal to their world opened and allowed them to move their equipment back, they stayed an extra couple of days to recuperate and to make sure that there weren’t any lingering remnants of the Gamedeus Virus or the newly created Tirek Virus. With no further cases brought in and no sign of any other Bugster Virus infection, the CR Team decided to head back home.
Emu walked up to the girls and shook all three girls’ hands. “It was great fighting and playing alongside you, Sun-chan.”
“The honor’s mine, Emu, always happy to learn from a veteran,” said Sunset.
Hiiro walked up beside Emu and reached out to shake Rainbow’s hand. “You have a complicated secret to keep, but even so, you don’t let it hinder your duties as Riders. For that, I commend you.”
“Thanks, you’re not so bad with a sword there, Dr. Kagami, maybe you could give me a few pointers,” said Rainbow Dash.
Hiiro nodded as he raised his hands, “There is nothing I can’t cut. If I ever crossover here or you to our world, I will make sure to give you proper instruction.”
“Ah, sweet!” Rainbow exclaimed as she fist pumped.
There was a melancholy smile on Sunset’s face, a look that Twilight couldn’t help but notice. “What’s wrong, Sunset?”
“Guess I feel like all of this is a little bittersweet. We beat Tirek, we saved everyone here, and yet we couldn’t save the ones in that game world…” Sunset knew it was silly, they were all just created game characters, but still, they were alive, it just didn’t seem right for them to lose their world and lives because Tirek made them.
“You may not have been able to save them, but the talents of God are vast!” Kuroto exclaimed as he appeared next to Emu.
“Kuroto-san, don’t start making trouble, again!” Poppy called out.
Dan Kuroto ignored Poppy and continued. “Behold Shimmer-chan, the blessings of God!” he then pulled out a Gashat from his left coat pocket and presented it for all to see. “This is Friendship Fantasy!”
The Gashat was red in color, and at the middle of the grip was a picture. It was a silhouette of a girl with red hair and a sword, and going up the sides were other silhouettes, each one with different colored hair, ending with the title of the Gashat at the top. Emu, Sunset, Rainbow, and Twilight couldn’t believe what they saw.
“Kuroto-san, you mean to say, you saved them?!” Emu asked.
“Indeed, I managed to save the data and purged it of any of Tirek’s or Gamedeus’ influence. And now it is just a game – NO! – I must correct myself, it is more than a game, it is art, and life!” Kuroto stated as he then pressed the button on the side.
[+] FRIENDSHIP FANTASY! [+]
A screen opened up behind Dan Kuroto, and after a few seconds the screen changed to view the school where Emu and Sunset went to learn to become Guardians. Inside they saw many of the students mill around the quad, and among them were Midnight and Corona, the two girls were happily talking as Midnight had a spell book opened, while Corona waved her hands around to put the spells in the book into practice.
Not soon after they spot the rest of the girls, apparently, they had all decided to attend the school and become Guardians as well. Corona for the briefest of moments looked in the direction of Sunset and Emu, gave a nod, and smiled happily. This seemed to cause some confusion as to what she was looking at as the girls were giving her confused looks. But Corona seemed to wave it off and they went back to their conversation.
“They’re in their own contained world, ever expanding, yet closed off. And before you ask, no it cannot be used as in the Gamer Driver…” Kuroto then gave a devious smile. “Unless you might want it to–?”
“No!” Sunset and Emu said flatly.
Dan Kuroto rolled his eyes and handed the Gashat to Sunset Shimmer. “Then better to leave it with you. It also acts as the Tirek Vaccine, and Gamedeus Vaccine should either try to appear again. Receive the blessings of God gratefully!”
Sunset, with a bit of annoyance, accepted the Gashat. “I promise to keep it safe.”
“Hiiro, Kuroto, Emu, it’s time we head home,” said Taiga as he waved to them.
“Next time let’s just play games together, without any of the world ending drama, Emu,” said Sunset.
“I look forward to that.”
Poppy waved to them with a happy smile and then stepped through the portal. Taiga gave a salute before entering, and Hiiro nodded towards them before going through.
Kuroto paused before the portal and turned around dramatically as he said, “Though I leave you, you will forever remember the day when – ACK!”
Kiriya lazily kicked Kuroto into the portal. “Yeah, yeah, ‘I am God’, blah, blah, blah. See ya lovely ladies.” Kiriya put his shades on and walked on through, followed by Emu who waved to the girls.
Once all the CR Team was through, the portal closed up. Rainbow Dash stretched as she worked out a kink in her neck, but then looked to Sunset with a mischievous smile. Sunset saw this trademark smile and cautiously asked, “What are you thinking?”
“Oh, just wondering which one of our game counterparts you made out with,” said Rainbow Dash.
Sunset blushed bright red at the same time as Twilight. Twilight was the first to find her voice as she yelled, “RAINBOW!”
“C’mon it’s not like it’s cheating, from what Microchips said, they would’ve all had the hots for you, so I don’t doubt that some of them made a move on you.”
Sunset wished she had a Stetson hat like Applejack’s, because right now she wanted to draw it down to hide her face. “I mean, yes, some of them did, and there many awkward moments…really awkward moments…”
Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Like what? You all took a dip in a hot spring and they were all eyeing you?”
Sunset’s face just got redder.
“Oh gods, I was kidding, you had some kind of anime cliché hot springs thing happen in there?!” Rainbow Dash asked as she began to laugh her head off at the image that that conjured.
“It’s not funny, Rainbow! Do you have any idea how awkward that felt knowing that those girls, who more or less looked like and acted like you guys, were all looking at me like they were thinking of different ways to make out with me?!”
Twilight sighed and put her hands on Sunset’s shoulders, giving her a comforting squeeze and said, “It’s okay, in the end they all became your friends. It just goes to show how we care about you, and much I care about you.”
Sunset smiled at her girlfriend. “Thanks, Twilight.”
Rainbow leaned in close and whispered, “Wanna herd?”
Sunset was now blushing so hard her ears released steam. “I wish I never said anything about that!”
The three girls made it down the stairs from the roof and walked along until they were met by Microchips who looked out of breath. “Did…they…leave?”
“Uh, yeah, dude, they just left like a couple of minutes ago,” said Rainbow Dash.
A look of disappointment befell the bespectacled boy. “Oh…I wanted to thank them for helping me…and sorry I was so weak as to let that monster take control of me…”
The girls glanced between each other, Sunset broke from the trio and patted Microchips on the shoulder. “Look you’ve been through a lot, got taken over by that monster, and then you did everything you could to keep him trapped in the game.”
“For all the good it did,” said Microchips. “He still managed to get out using the game to infect people…”
“Hey, he’s a being of dark power, even from my world he was like one of the worst threats, and he was powerful there, he just got more powerful here. The fact that you were able to hold on long enough to delay him was great, if not for that the CR Kamen Riders wouldn’t have had the time needed to help fight him.” Sunset smiled as Microchips raised his head a bit. “Now, regarding all that awkward dating sim crap you put me through…”
Microchips blushed and the gulped. “Y-Yeah, I know my game probably put you through some…ahem…awkward situations. A-A-And I should’ve gotten your permissions first before designing the characters after you all! So…I-I’m sorry, Sunset.”
Sunset nodded in understanding. “Now considering all you’ve been through. I’m going to give you a ten second head start. One…”
“Uh, she’s kidding, right?” Microchips asked.
“Four.”
Rainbow shrugged. “Personally, I think it was funny, but, yeah, can’t help you here buddy.”
“Six.”
Microchips looked to Twilight with pleading eyes.
Twilight adjusted her glasses and said, “Microchips, you know Sunset and I are dating, so the fact that you inadvertently put my girlfriend in such a situation, does perturb me on some level.”
“You better run squirrel, eight!” Sunset stated.
Microchips yelped and hightailed it the other way, leaving a comical trail of smoke in his wake. Sunset straightened out her leather jacket and looped her arm around Twilight’s as she said, “Okay, let’s go hang out.”
“You aren’t going to really hurt him, are you?” Twilight asked.
Sunset smiled and said, “He’s really been through enough, a little scare to remind him never to do that again will drive the point home. Now let’s go have some fun, it’s still Summer Vacation!”
Twilight felt like she was the luckiest girl in the world to be with such a wonderful person like Sunset, and even more so to have such good friends. But after that battle, Twilight knew that it was more imperative than ever that she finish it. Something in the back of her mind told her that a storm was coming, and Sunset would need to be much stronger to face it. But for now, it was time for fun and relaxation, they were young, and so was the Summer.