//------------------------------// // Covered in Shade // Story: A Passing Through Kamen Rider // by thunderclap //------------------------------// Silence reigned between Agito and Daring as they walked through the desert. The only real sound was sand being disturbed either by them or the breeze that was rolling through. Their lack of speech was not born out of any form of discomfort between the two, but rather exhaustion. They knew they’d have plenty to talk about once they set up camp for the night. Daring reached a hand up, touching the spot where Camazotz had stabbed her. She shuddered recalling just how easily her life had slipped away. “Hey,” Agito suddenly said, causing his daughter to snap to attention. “I just want to say, I’m sorry.” He looked down, struggling to think of what else he wanted to say. “I… I got so wrapped up in my own bullshit that I didn’t use my powers even for the person that means the most to me.” He kept his gaze averted from Daring, unable to bring himself to look at her. “I don't expect you to forgive me.” Adjusting her hat, a frown crossed Daring's lips. She knew this talk was coming sooner or later. She just really would've preferred the later option. “Dad, just stop okay? You’ve been around for a thousand years, that kind of thing takes a toll. I’m not going to hold it against you and buck anyone who says otherwise.” She socked his arm. “Promise me you’re going to start seeing a therapist when we get back.” “Ugh, great a pony head doctor,” Agito groaned, his feet suddenly dragging. “I imagine hug therapy is something they’re gonna prescribe. I’m only agreeing to this because it’s you.” Daring smiled, patting his back. “Hey, at least they won’t try to put a hole in your head to get the ‘demons’ out, or anything weirdly sexual.” Agito let out a dry chuckle, shaking his head. “Yeah, small miracles I guess.” Gathering himself, he managed to look at the pegasus. “We’re heading to the nearest port, I think I still remember how to get back to Fianloz.” “Maybe we should head to Ponyville first?” Daring suggested, looking up at him. “I doubt getting Kuuga back is as easy as knocking on his tomb. I bet the purifying effects of the elements will be a big help.” Sighing, he nodded his head. “Right, we’ll stop by and drag them along. There isn’t a thing on this planet that’s going to keep me from getting my brother back.” “You say that, but we’re dealing with people that aren’t from this planet,” Daring pointed out. “You really shouldn’t tempt fa-” she trailed off, her gaze settling downward at the sand. “See what you did?” she asks, kicking the object with her hoof. Rolling his eyes, Agito picked up the small object. He recognized it as an Eyecon, though not one that he was familiar with. “It’s an eyecon, the thing Ghost uses to transform. Ghost being what Camazotz was a monster version of.” The casing of the little trinket was crimson, the image inside the eye itself being black with two red portions that had dripping lines come down. “To those who hold this Eyecon, I am Alex Shade, If you require the assistance of Kamen Rider Shade, click the side of my Eyecon and call out my name, be it for a conversation or to protect your world from your enemies and I will heed your call.” “Well, this is interesting,” Agito noted, turning the Eyecon over in his hand. “This thing will summon somebody. Let’s give it a try.” Using his thumb, he pressed the button on the side. “Shade!” After a few moments of standing where they were nothing seemed to happen, no new figure appearing near them. “That was underwhelming,” Daring said, eyeing the trinket critically. “Come on, we’re burning daylight. Pocket that thing and let’s get our asses to Ponyville.” “Figures.” Putting the Eyecon in his pocket, he started to walk again. “I got nothing but bad luck.” With a grunt, he stretched his arms above his head and tilted his head back. He blinked for a moment, stopping dead in his tracks. In the sky above them was a red symbol shaped like an eye. The pupil of it looked like a stylized sun with a helmet at the center which from the central point had a small object seemingly forming in front of it which slowly drifted towards the ground before an Eyecon that looked almost identical to the one they had found floating in the air in front of them. “Should we touch that thing?” Daring questioned, dumbfounded by the odd turn of events. Agito conjured up a sword, poking the Eyecon with the tip. “You in there or what?” Seconds the later the Eyecon seemingly faded before a human-shaped figure appeared in front of them. The figure wore some black tracksuit bottoms, along with a red t-shirt that was worn below an open black and red coloured trimmed hooded jacket. It was then the figure took a step back before saying, “It's a bit rude to poke someone, you know that?” “How the hell was I supposed to know that you were the Eyecon?” Agito shot back. “Anyway, you must be Shade, right? I'm Agito.” The figure didn’t respond for a second before saying to himself, “Agito… where have I heard that name before?” He then shook his head before adding, “right sorry, yes that is me, and I apologise for not appearing instantly, I don’t spend a lot of time as an Eyecon or leave my own world very often.” “I feel ya,” Agito replied. “I haven't left this world in a thousand years.” The figure held his hand up before stating, “now that feeling I can attest to,” he then chuckled before adding, “anyway, I suppose I should ask why you called me here, I take it from the lack of threats around us it’s more a social call than anything else.” “That sounds about right.” Agito cancelled the sword, looking the figure over. “You got a name, kid?” “Considering you heard my message I assume you know it, but my name is Shade, Alex Shade.” “Sorry, the crazy eye in the sky must've made me forget,” Agito said with a chuckle. “Sorry we didn't summon you somewhere nicer, we're on our way to Ponyville.” “You mean that small town on the outskirts of the Everfree correct?” Alex asked curiously. “That'd be the one,” Daring answered, taking a drink from her canteen. “Gotta get some friends of mine for a trip. Not all that exciting really.” “Any time you can spend with friends and family is precious and is not something to easily pass off as boring or a waste. You need to remember that no matter how trivial a matter may seem the memories you make with those people may become all you have of them in the end,” Alex stated with a solemn look in his eyes. Daring narrowed her eyes. “I literally just had a rider ghost monster cut my heart out, don’t talk to me about spending time with family.” Alex did not respond to her comment as he instead looked off into the distance before eventually saying, “most people after an ordeal like that, would take a long look at their own path they are walking down and rethink the way they are living, and know to cherish those closest to them even more than before.” Daring sighed, rubbing her temple with a finger. “Listen, you seem nice and everything, but what just happened to me had nothing to do with how I was living my life. Granted, that part is surprising to me too. Death traps in ancient ruins are sorta my bread and butter.” Alex only sighed before saying, “take it from a man who already knows the fear of death and has embraced it and lived through it. Facing the fact of what you experience in your life is something we all must do. What I meant was to not let what happened change how you want to live.” “I literally died and was brought back to life by the lingering souls of the world,” Daring informed, shaking her head. “It wasn’t going to in the first place.” Shade then looked to Agito before saying, “I take it she doesn’t understand what I have said about myself, does she?” “I take it you’re like Ghost in another way, huh?” Agito guessed, looking the younger man over. “You died, right?” “Yes, to become a Displaced, I was murdered, to begin with, only kinda sucks the guy who killed me tried to Displace me after the fact,” Alex admitted a hint of sadness in his voice, “but I guess after a thousand years those memories fade and you only choose to keep the memories of those you once held dear in your heart, for better or worse it’s the best I can do.” Agito chuckled, tapping his head. “I remember it all. Curse of being Agito I guess.” Moving to the front of the group, he gazed out at the desert around them. “But trust me, best not dwell on it.” “That's something we can both agree on,” Alex agreed calmly listening to the world around him focusing on any sounds that he could hear. “Lucky for us, there’s a few other Riders in this world. They’ll be a few people to keep us company through the years,” Daring chirped, settling into the middle of the group. “Which means you gotta apologize to the kid, Dad. You’re not gonna be rid of him for a long time.” “I get a feeling it’s better I don’t ask,” Alex responded with a chuckle as he seemed to rummage through his pocket before pulling out what looked to be a few cards of some kind before sighing and putting them away. “You sigh a lot,” Agito pointed out, ignoring Daring’s comment. “Brighten up, will ya?” Alex simply smirked before saying, “to be fair, talking about death isn’t something to be cheerful about is it?” “Depends on the context, now doesn’t it?” Putting his hands in his pockets, Agito moved with purpose. “Cultural differences and all that.” “I suppose that's true,” Alex agreed before looking ahead and saying, “So I take it that you’ve got a long walk ahead of you?” “A long walk to civilization, followed by a long airship ride to Equestria,” Daring elaborated. “Ancient temples are never so convenient as to have an express line to them.” “Where would the fun be in it, if those places were easy to get to? Everyone would be doing it and leave nothing for you to do for your own adventures.” “You make a good point,” Daring said with a chuckle. “Though I tend to go after artifacts with mystic powers. So there's more than one reason why it's a good thing these places are out of reach.” “Knowing what I can assume a lot of different Riders equipment became here, I can understand the godsend that came from them being scattered and hidden away,” Alex agreed. Daring shook her head. “The only one I can think of that was hidden in a place like this was the wizard belt that Clover the Clever made. Trixie’s family made the Ixa belt, Maud made the double driver, Spike’s grandpa made the OOO driver.” “I honestly wish those names made sense to me, the only one I recognise is Spike,” Alex admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. “Probably for the best you don’t know who Trixie is,” Daring admitted, putting her hands behind her head. “She’s pretty annoying.” “I never want to meet anyone more annoying than most of the Nobles,” Alex responded, “I never even thought it was a possibility that someone like that could exist.” “Best not to think too much about it, not unless you wanna go crazy from some Cthulhu nonsense.” Agito paused, holding a hand up. “I think we’re about to have company.” “Let me guess. They are not friends of yours I assume?” Shade asked. “My precog ability isn’t made to tell me about friends,” Agito answered, summoning his belt. “Would make some things easier though,” he added with a grumble. “Not that I have a lot of friends...” “And you said I was the depressing one,” Alex admitted with a smile. Agito ignored the snide remark, keeping his eyes on the sand dune in the distance. What crested the hill was a young human girl, though not a human like any of them had ever seen. Her skin and hair were dead on for Twilight Sparkle’s colors; even her eyes matched the mare’s. “You lost, kid?” he asked, tensing up. “Need some help getting home?” The human Twilight frowned, hesitating for a moment before speaking. “You have something I need, Daring Do. If you come with me, I’ll return you unharmed.” “Oh wow, that’s such a tempting offer,” Daring replied, her voice filled with sarcasm. “But I think I’m going to have to turn that down.” The girl pushed her glasses up, her body tensing. “I’m afraid I can’t take no for an answer. We’ll just have to use force, it seems.” Alex then walked in front of Agito and Daring with his right hand resting on a small bracer on his wrist before he said, “look I’d rather not have to harm you or any of the people with you, but if you continue on the path you are walking down, I can promise you that you’ll end up as something you don’t want to be. You can still turn back and walk away without any repercussions, do the smart thing here. Don’t throw all your lives away for nothing.” “Nothing!?” Twilight snapped, narrowing her eyes. “You don’t know a damn thing about me! I’m getting what I came for! Shadowbolts, capture Ms. Do!” Alex could only shake his head in disappointment as he said, “I wish you hadn’t forced my hand,” before striking the button on his bracer as a cloud of dust formed around Alex, obscuring him from view. “Pfft! Stupid tricks like that ain’t gonna help you!” Sour Sweet wrapped her arms around Alex’s waist, suplexing him into the sand. “We’re the Shadowbolts for a reason.” Alex then simply pushed himself upwards from the ground as he said, “you know… That's more annoying than anything else.” He then turned to Sour Sweet as the dust cleared and they saw the figure that had been speaking to them was now an Alicorn with a black coat and a bright red mane, “and honestly. It just pissed me off.” “Ooh, an alicorn, how scary.” Sour Sweet stepped forward, slugging Alex in the jaw. “Just a unicorn with wings.” “Oh, I won’t deny that… but here’s another question. What can a ghost do?” Alex asked as he plunged his fist into her chest coming out the other end leaving his fist solid but his arm still incorperal before using his other hand to strike Sour repeatedly. Sour Sweet twisted herself through his arm, slamming her head into his. “Ghosts are just dead people in denial!” Slamming a fist into Alex’s face, she sent a surge of energy into him. “But please, try that intangible shit with me again.” Turning her body, she threw him off with surprising ease. “Good job, Sour!” Lemon Zest cheered, going to punch the recovering Alex. Before her fist could connect, a hand stopped her. “Ganging up on someone is bad form,” Agito scolded, his armor on once more. “Mind if I make this a fair fight?” Twisting her hand back, he brought his leg up and kicked her in the stomach. “Daring, you know anything about pony colored humans?” “These guys crashed Princess Cadance's wedding,” Daring answered, starting her transformation. “The kid mentioned their weapons are from Ex-Aid I think.” “Why don’t you just save us all the trouble and come along like a good pony?” Sunny Flare inquired, roundhouse kicking Daring in the side. “You did just die after all, do you really need the extra stress?” Daring grinned, the attack not bothering her as her armor materialized. “Are you kidding? Kicking the asses of lackeys like you is how I deal with stress.” She grabbed Sunny's leg and tossed her into Lemon. “Okay, I think I better ask for all our sakes. How much collateral are you allowing and how badly am I allowed to hurt them?” Shade asked standing up holding an eyecon in his hand as his driver materialised around his waist. “I’m rather uncomfortable with murdering teenagers,” Agito responded, countering a swing from Sugarcoat. “Even if they are a murderous cheer squad.” Alex then smiled as he said, “good, I have one rule I fight by. I don’t kill,” Alex responded as he activated his Eyecon and transformed using his Shade Eyecon. Sour Sweet summoned her bow, firing a few arrows at Shade. “Aw look at you, a homemade rider! Too bad you’re an edgy eyesore!” Shade didn’t respond to her as the chains that had formed around his shoulders moved in front of him blocking each of the arrows Sour Sweet had fired at him. Sour Sweet growled, pulling her bow taut and holding it for a few moments. Energy gathered, an odd sound coming from the bow. “Block this!” she boomed, letting loose a large blast of energy. “My pleasure,” Shade responded as the chains quickly formed into multiple walls in front of him seemingly from the sand by his feet. “You know, your situational awareness is really lacking.” Indigo Zap reached her arm around Shade’s neck, pounding her fist into his back. “Because it really sucks.” With a heave, she lifted Shade up, tossing him over her shoulder. “Oh you have no idea,” Shade responded with a slight chuckle, “I’d watch where you step, we wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to a lady such as yourself would we?” It was the Shade’s chains wrapped around Indigo Zap’s legs as he threw her towards Sour Sweet. Indigo twisted in the air, landing besides her fellow Shadowbolt. “Oooh, maybe you won’t be such a waste after all~?” A green shimmer brought large white hammer into existence. “Whaddya say, Sunny? How long ya think he’ll last?” Sunny extended her hand, a sword with a flame design on the blade appearing in a shimmer of green. “Maybe five minutes.” “I think that's a good guess on how quick this will be over,” Shade responded his hand on the floor and the chains on his arms unravelled creating another wall around him. Lemon and Sugarcoat leveled their guns at the wall, firing away in an attempt to pierce it. The others kept their distance, not willing to risk seeing how the chains would react to melee attacks. “Any time now you two,” Shade said calmly to Daring and Agito as his chains disappeared into the sand below him unknown to the attacking Shadowbolts. Agito jumped up, kicking a distracted Indigo Zap. The teenager cried out, stumbling backward and nearly dropping the hammer in her hand. She tried to counter with a strike from her hammer, only for Agito to catch her wrist and use his free arm to elbow her in the solurplexus. It was then multiple chains appeared from below the Shadowbolts quickly wrapping around their legs before hoisting them into the air and throwing both Lemon and Sugarcoat into each other as Shade added “both of you take your pick, the choice is yours.” Sour fired another volley of arrows at Shade, catching him in the leg. “Get off your high horse.” “How about no?” Shade responded as chains formed around Sour quickly striking her repeatedly specifically targeting her weapon. Sour growled, splitting her bow and arrow into two hand sickles. With a deft display, she bent upwards and struck at the chains holding her legs. They sliced through them like butter; Sour moving into a deadly flurry of metal. Closing the distance between them, she slashed and cut Shade, moving far quicker than any human should. Shade quickly jumped back as he said with a calm tone, “so, you're not as slow as the others, must be what you are good at I assume,” as he held out a second Eyecon replacing it with the first as the Chains threw all the restrained Shadowbolts into the air as they dissolved in black light, as a Shade transformed using the Drive eyecon. Lemon and Sugar twisted in the air, firing shots at Alex. The Shadowbolts tucked into rolls, getting back on their feet in seconds. Sunny charged Agito, matching his sword blow for blow with her own. Shade quickly looked towards both Daring and Agito before shouting, “both of you, this may be strange but keep fighting while it’s in effect!” as he quickly turned one of the bands on his arms before time around him slowed to a crawl as he quickly charged towards Lemon and Sugars using his own sword to disarm them. Sugar brought her hand up, catching Shade’s arm and tossing him away. “Nice trick, already seen it.” “Life why do you hate me so much?” Shade asked himself as he got ready to grab yet another eyecon from his side. Sugar raised her gun, firing at the hand heading for the eyecon as Shade quickly span away from the attack allowing himself to face away from her and switch the eyecon again this time replacing it with a bronze and red Eyecon. “Okay, you really are a pain in my ass,” Shade stated as he turned back around as a new Damashii appeared this one being predominantly bronze in colour apart from a red cloak that rests around the Damashii neck and right side held by a silver brooch holding Shades symbol along with this it had no hood and it’s persona was what looked to be a front of a square shield that in the centre looked almost like a dice with five spots showing with two lines running from each corner of the dice. Sugar watched the scene carefully, examining Alex's new form. “Hmm, a dice motif, so probability powers, correct?” “Maybe you should find out yourself,” Shade responded as a shield and spear formed in his hand as he pointed it towards her as four identical clones appeared next to him as all five quickly charged towards her their shields facing forwards each moving at the same time. Adjusting her glasses on her face, Sugar leapt into the air before the clones could converge on her only to see multiple arrows being fired towards her from the distance. She let them hit, the projectives doing nothing more than bouncing off her skin. “Arrows, so not probability,” Sugar noted, examining the arrows on the ground. “Or who knows. I may just be unlucky,” Alex added as three of his clones began converging on Sugar with their spears thrust towards her. Sugar twisted, the spears grazing her skin with a slight metallic sound. “I doubt you’re lucky.” She shot him again, ignoring the clones completely. “Okay… now this is just ridiculous, if this was an online game, I’d be calling you a hacker,” Shade responded in annoyance reaching into his pocket again resting his hand against another Eyecon and activating it in his pocket as the sound of a ticking clock was heard as a faint image appeared behind him. “A clock motif for a rider?” Agito questioned, looking over from his fight with Indigo. “That’s just dumb.” Alex simply ignored the comment as he quickly switch the Eyecons over as a voice shouted, “Time in the palm of your hands!” as a new parka ghost attached to Shade, this one consisting of a long black coat that reach the floor that had green lines running down the entirety of it, while the chest piece almost look like that of a computer games controller, beyond this he also had what looked to be a strange red controller appear on his right arm. “Hey! That looks based off of the boss’s work!” Lemon called out, tapping one of the buttons on her magnum and switching it to rifle mode. “No one copies her on our watch!” “You think you have a say in it?” Alex responded before he suddenly appeared behind Lemon facing away from her a burned symbol of a clock appearing on the ground around him, “because i’m tired of this game.” Before Lemon could question what happened, she cried out in pain, clutching her stomach. Shade then walked to the side of Lemon before looking down to her as he said, “I won’t lie, you are competent fighter, but I can’t let you harm anyone else.” He then knelt down as picked up the gun that was resting just out of Lemon’s reach before he added, “I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to take this with me.” Sugarcoat leveled her gun at him, a firm look in her eyes. “We can’t let you do that. Making Lemon a new Gashacon Magnum would be inconvenient to Midnight’s schedule.” “Well i’m sorry to hear of that,” Shade responded placing something into the gun he had just stolen from Lemon, “but i’m afraid I can not comply with that request,” as he quickly span around and fired at Sugarcoat three times with the Gashacon Magnum. Sugarcoat moved to block the shots, only for one to slip past her guard and send her flying into Sour Sweet. Alex then looked to Sour Sweet and Sugarcoat before saying as his hand was rested against his driver, “I’ll give you five seconds to run away and take your friend with you before I knock you all out and take your weapons from you too.” Midnight sighed, producing a purple belt buckle that resembled a game console from her lab coat. “I wanted more testing but it appears I made a prudent choice.” Placing the belt around her waist, she retrieved an odd device from her pocket and pressed the button on it. “Dangerous Zombie!” A grid-like pattern of pixels swept across the ground and a Dangerous Zombie logo appeared behind Midnight. “Henshin,” Midnight said, pushing the device into her belt. “Buggle up!” Her belt called out, a screen displaying a skeleton being shocked appearing in front of her. “Danger, danger! Death the crisis! Dangerous Zombie!” A white fist broke through the screen before it fell away and a new figure appeared. Midnight’s new armor was white and made to resemble a skeleton in some ways. On the breast, there was a red portion with a gauge that was cracked and empty. The helmet had a mouthpiece that resembled a breathing mask, a large eye portion where one was red and the other blue. The top of the helmet was styled to look like spiky hair, one small part white and the rest black. Midnight moved erratically, looking like a glitching video game character before she stood up straight. “Keep the others busy,” Midnight ordered, making a beeline for Daring. Daring brought out her weapon, slashing it across Midnight’s chest before she could reach her. “I gotta ask, why the hay do you want to take me in so badly?” “You have the power of life and death, I need it,” Midnight replied, staggering back. “I don’t care what it takes, you will come with me!” Daring held her serrated club up in front of her, a cold chill surrounding it. “No thanks, don’t feel like letting Dai-Shocker get their hands on me.” Stabbing the tip of her weapon into the sand, a line of icy spikes raced towards Midnight. Midnight rolled out of the way, glaring at the mare. “Think what you want, this has nothing to do with Dai-Shocker.” “Oh, so a personal visit,” Daring scoffed, repeating her attack. “Well, that makes things better.” “Stop being so damn selfish!” Midnight hissed, snapping off the tip of an ice spike and tossing it back. “Others need that power far more than you do!” “Oh please enlighten us. Who needs it more than the those of us who do have it,” Shade asked as he begin to fire towards Midnight with the Gashapon Magnum. Midnight stumbled, the shots striking her armor. “I don’t need to explain myself to idiots like you.” Agito pushed Indigo away, crouching down with one hand in front of him. “You're right, you don't have to explain a thing. Just leave us alone.” A golden symbol appeared beneath him and a second part of horns unfolded on his helmet. The symbol lingered for a moment before it was absorbed in his feet. He leapt up, moving to kick Midnight's chest. Shade then quickly turned as well placing his hand against the bugvisor on his arm and waited for Agito to get closer to Midnight. Midnight made no move to block, letting Agito crash into her chest as Shade decided something was off and quickly moved to the back of Midnight. The attack struck, Midnight flying back into Shade. He was forced to catch her or else be knocked over and he couldn't help but notice her body glitch slightly. “Get off me!” she seethed, elbowing him in the face as he didn’t react simply grabbing her wrist and forcing it behind her back. “I’ll ask a simple question. What is wrong with you?” Shade asked. “I'm just a scientist that needs to finish my work,” she answered cryptically, slamming the back of her helmet into Shade's. Shade didn’t react to her as he said, “you know what I meant. Why was your body almost distorting when I caught you?” “My research works wonders,” Midnight replied, repeating her action. “You can knock me down all you want, but I'll always get back up.” “You make that sound like it’s something impressive,” Shade stated before striking her in back with his elbow before kicking her into the centre between him, Daring and Agito. “Guess one kick wasn’t enough,” Agito grumbled, his horns splitting once more. “But what about three?” He crouched down once more, Daring taking a similar stance. “I guess we can only find out one way,” Shade responded quickly placing his hand on the Bugvisor on his arm again. Midnight looked between the three, pressing the two buttons on her Bugvisor. “Fine, I suppose I can test how effective this form is today.” Colorful light surrounded Midnight, all of it sparking around her. “Dangerous Zombie Critical Finish!” Her belt called out, Midnight jumping up to meet Agito’s kick head on. “I think you need to stay put,” Shade responded with a smirk and the same chains he had used at the start of the fight appeared from the sand below then grabbing Midnight from the air, and slamming her back into the ground before jumping into the air dropping toward Midnight at the same time as Agito. Daring followed up, her foot rocketing into Midnight’s chest while she was still bouncing off the ground. A sound like a device powering down was heard, and Midnight’s armor dissipated in a shimmer of pixels. Midnight hit the ground hard, rolling along the sand. The remaining Shadowbolts gathered around her, brandishing their weapons. “Have you not learned your lesson yet?” Shade asked turning towards them, grinning under helmet pointing the Gashapon Magnum at them placing a Gashat into it. “Grab the boss and let’s book it!” Indigo snapped, looking between the other Shadowbolts. Sunny and Sugar rushed forward, shouldering the dazed woman and helping her to her feet. “But what abou-” Lemon started, only to be stopped by a look from Sour. “Not now, Lemon, we can get what we came for when there aren’t as many pests running around.” A grey shimmer appeared in the air and the Shadowbolts all retreated behind it before they and it vanished from sight. Shade then took a breath after he was sure they had gone before lowering the Gashapon Magnum he had taken, removing the Gashat he had inserted into it before looking to Daring and Agito before he asked them calmly, “you two okay?” Daring and Agito cancelled their transformations, taking stock of themselves. “Yeah, everything’s good on our end,” Agito finally answered. “What about you?” Shade only smiled before cancelling his own transformation to reveal that he was still in his Alicorn form before adding, “I’m as good as I can be,” as he looked at the Gashapon Magnum in his hand as a black and red Holster appeared at his side and he placed the weapon inside, it's colouring changing to match Shade’s colour scheme as black flames slowly covered the weapon. “There’s this thing called paint ya know,” Agito teased, watching the weapon change to red and black. “Though, I guess that is more effective.” “And more cost effective, besides do you want to try disassembling something like this to repaint it and making sure it still functions?” Shade asked with a smile. “Fair enough,”  Agito relented with a shrug. “And thanks for helping us there. That would’ve been way more annoying with just the two of us.” “I’m pretty sure you could have handled it without me, I’m not really a great help against any more than a single opponent,” Shade admitted with a shrug, “and I need to ask. Just who were those people?” “They were part of Dai-Shocker,” Daring answered, adjusting her hat on her head. “The one that became a Rider was new, but the other five crashed Princess Cadance’s wedding.” “I know of that Rider, I have my own version of her in my world who uses the same set-up, I was warned not to never kill him,” Shade admitted as something in his pocket began to visibly glow in a faint silver glow. “Yeah, you had a similar device on your arm as she had for a belt,” Daring pointed out, pointing at Shade. “That's a long story,” Shade responded, “let's just say an annoying cult in my world has been making hundreds of belts and equipment to use with it, and I keep the one I had on my arm with me, never worked out how it worked until I saw her use it,” Shade admitted before he muttered to himself, “I wonder if that Gashat I have would work with it?” “Why not test it?” Agito suggested. “You’re already a ghost, not like it’ll kill ya.” “Maybe we should wait till we’re not in a desert,” Shade pointed out, “I may not worry about keeping an eye on my hydration, but I’m pretty sure you two need to.” “Yeah, and how long does pushing a button and slapping on a belt take?” Daring countered. “We’ve got plenty of water so might as well see if that thing works for you. By the way, you got something glowing in your pocket.” “I do?” Shade responded looking down to see the light as he reached into his pocket pulling out the same cards as before finding three cards that were glowing in the pack as he pulled them out to see that they showed three names on them these being, Snipe, Agito and Genm with an image on each with him recognising the image on two of them. “Glowing cards, that’s something,” Agito said, sounding nonplussed. “Yup, totally worthy of conversation those things are.” “You really are such a ray of sunshine, you know that,” Shade responded rolling his eyes, “from what I know of the original few cards I got of these, they belonged to someone called Diend… no idea who that is though.” “He’s a treasure thief and the secondary rider in Decade’s series,” Agito answered, taking the card that had his name on it. “No idea why I’d show up on one of his cards though.” “Decade… I know I’ve heard that name somewhere,” Shade admitted to himself as he looked to pull out a notepad before he sighed. “That's where I heard it, he was the 10th Heisei rider correct?” “That’s why he was called Decade,” Agito pointed out. “Yeah, that much should have been obvious to me,” Shade admitted as the Bugvisor from before appeared in his free hand. “Alright, test time,” Agito said, summoning his own belt. “If it looks like something goes wrong, I’ll help you take that thing off.” “Okay,” Shade responded looking over the belt before he said to himself, “So how does this one work?” “It looked like she pressed the button on the little device and then slotted it into the top of the belt,” Agito explained. “Okay, so she placed the belt against her waist,” Shade stated as he placed the bugvisor against his own waist as a strangely disconnected belt appeared behind it which looked to have a free space which the Bugvisors looked to attach to. Shade then took a breath before attaching the Bugvisor to the belt as a dark, distorted voice called out Gachoon. He then held up the Kamen Rider Chronicles Gashat in his left hand before he pressed the small green button on the top of it as a similar distorted voice called out Kamen Rider Chronicle as he released the Gashat feeling it trying to pull away from his grip as it floated around the belt itself in a clockwise directed before inserting itself into the Bugvisor as the same voice called out Gachān as Shade took one more breath before calmly saying, “Henshin” as he pressed a button on the top as the screen glowing in a bright green light that suddenly distorted into a darker red glow. Buggle Up! Ten wo Tsukame Rider! Kizame Chronicle! Ima koso Toki wa Kiwamareri! as this was said a red backdrop rose above Shade’s head as a blackened set of Roman numerals ranging from 1 to 12 appeared infront of him before the screen above dropped over his form. As soon as the transformation finished Shade looked over himself to see he was covered in a black suit that almost matched the Chronus Eyecon he had used before, however instead of the markings on the belt being green, they were instead red in colour. “Okay, this feels very weird,” Shade responded. “It seems to work, so there’s that,” Daring said, looking over the suit. “Not sure about the giant cartoon eyes though. Kinda lessens the impressiveness.” “Need I point out that other Rider had a very similar look to hers,” Shade pointed out. “Yeah, seemed like she was a kid with a weird aesthetic taste,” Daring admitted. “Just didn’t say anything seeing as I was trying not to get kidnapped.” “Fair enough,” Shade responded with a shrug of his shoulders. “Well, now that we’ve tested that out, we should get going again. And Shade, mind handing those cards over? Unless you’ve got something that can read ‘em, they’re pretty useless to you.” “Don’t worry, I can use them,” Shade responded as he added, “I have in the past anyway.” “Alright, good job getting my card then,” Agito said, starting to walk again. “Now to hit the very dusty trail.” Shade stopped for a second quickly cancelling the transformation before he said calmly, “you said you were planning on going to Ponyville correct?” “Yup, that’s where I currently live,” Daring said. “If you wish I could offer you both a shortcut if and get you back sooner. If you want it that is?” Shade offered as he placed all the cards back into his pocket. “Are you kidding? Not having to spend time in this desert sounds good to me,” Agito assured him. “What’s this shortcut?” Shade gestured to his horn before saying, “do I need to spell it out for you?” “Oh yeah, alicorn,” Agito said, chuckling. “Alright, teleport away Shadow the Hedgecorn.” “Very funny,” Shade responded before his horn began to glow in a crimson hugh before the three of them were surrounded in a bright white light before Shade teleported them to Ponyville. The light faded from around the trio, leaving Agito and Daring with the usual disorientation of long distance teleportation. He had always hated it when Starswirl had done it and now was no exception. Glancing around at his surroundings always helped him regain his faculties. The humble buildings of Ponyville greeted him again, the ponies milling about not seeming to notice their arrival. That was fine by Agito, he didn't want to make a scene this time. Shade then quickly looked around before he quickly pressed the button on his bracer returning back to his human form once again before he asked Agito and Daring, “So where are you both going to go now?” “Golden Oaks Library,” Daring answered in an instant. “That's where Twilight lives. From there, we can get the other elements and my dad can apologize to the kid.” “I’m betting it’s best I don’t ask what you have to apologize to him for?” Alex responded with a smile. “I punched him in the nose,” Agito answered simply, letting his daughter lead him towards the treehouse. “And, I’m guessing the guy probably had it coming for you to react that way.” Agito grunted, his hands in his pockets. “He put pictures of himself in the paper in my brother's rider form,” he explained. “Dumb kid did it to get my attention. I just gave him what he wanted.” “And that was a punch to the face?” Alex responded in confusion, “I take it he must like getting beaten up.” Daring shrugged, steering them down the street. “Hitting him in the face just sort of happens. I've already done it twice. Poor kid just must have kicked puppies in a past life or something.” “Or broken a few hundred mirrors,” Alex suggested. “If he had ever been to Hawaii, I'd think he pissed off Pele,” Agito offered. “She's well known for holding long grudges.” “I once heard that Hawaii was a beautiful place to visit, sadly never got to see it myself before I ended up here,” Alex admitted with a sigh before shrugging his shoulders. “I can assure you, it was,” Agito told the other man, a smile hidden by his mask. “I was born and raised there before I wound up here. Still wanna take Daring someday.” “Well if you ever get the chance too, I'd like to join you and get to see the place at least once in my afterlife.” “Will do,” Agito assured with a nod. “Hell, I'll even toss in surfing lessons for free. You haven't known thrills until you've conquered a hawaiian swell.” “A.K!” Spike called out, standing at a street corner. “Thank Faust you guys are back!” Rushing over, he pointed towards the distance. “The Apple Family got attacked a few days ago; almost spilled out onto Ponyville!” “What?!” Daring said, her disguise nearly falling off her. “Was it Dai-Shocker?” “We think they're related, but it was some guy named Drakkon,” the drake explained, gesturing with his claws. “He had these tanks and lasers and one of his guys grew into a giant! Wyatt said that Drakkon guy was an evil Tommy Oliver but I don't know who that is.” “Of course you have to deal with a crazy version of one of the most beloved Power Rangers,” Alex responded with a shake of his head. “Oh, uh, hi,” Spike said, finally noticing Alex. “Nice to meet you, I'm Spike.” “It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name’s Alex,” Alex responded as he held his hand out to Spike. Spike took the hand and gave it a shake. “I guess that means you're a displaced like Wyatt and Agito, right? We could have used the extra help a few days ago.” “And I can safely say they needed it earlier today, and I can’t be in two places at once.” Spike nodded, turning his attention back to Daring. “So, did you find out everything you needed to?” Daring adjusted her disguise, an uncomfortable look crossing her features. “I'll tell you about my trip once everybody's at the library. The three of us were heading there now.” “Okay, I'll start getting the girls,” the drake promised, jogging off. With that, the group made their way down the streets without interruption. Before long, they were at the front door of Golden Oaks. Daring let herself in, tossing her hat and glasses to the side. “Hey! We're here!” Daring called out, putting a hand to the side of her muzzle. A few moments later, Twilight appeared in the doorframe. “Hi Daring.”  She shot the pegasus an annoyed look before her slitted gaze fell on Alex. “Oh, hello there.” “Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Alex responded as he looked over Twilight questionably giving off an uneasy aura to him. Twilight ignored the look, seeming to not even notice. “Well, come on in.” She stepped back from the doorway, turning on her hoof. “I can get us drinks if you want.” “Thank you for the offer, but i’ll be fine.” Twilight nodded, making her way to the kitchen. “Wyatt! Come upstairs; Daring's back!” There were rapid footsteps before a nearby before a nearby door opened and Wyatt stepped out. “Hey Daring,” he greeted, waving at the mare. Daring returned the gesture and said, “Good to see you again, kid.” She waved a hand over to Alex. “This is Alex, he's the reason my dad and I got back so soon.” “It wasn’t really anything to special, I just felt like it was a waste of time to keep you both trekking through a desert when I could get you back here much quicker,” Alex responded as he rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah because teleporting across continents isn't a big deal,” Wyatt joked, extending his hand. “I'm Wyatt, a pleasure.” “The pleasure’s all mine,” Alex respond as he shook his hand. “Heh, not many people have said that to me here.” Wyatt took his hand back. “So, uh, Agito. You staying for a while or what? Luna and Celestia are coming into town for bit and I know they'd love to see you.” Agito grunted reaching up to remove his mask. “It's been a long time since I've seen either of them. You got a straight razor kid? I need a shave.” “Yeah, I’ve got a razor in the bathroom cabinet.” Wyatt pointed down the hall where the bathroom was. “Second shelf behind the mirror. And make sure you clean up your soap scum.” Agito slapped Alex on the back, moving away from the group. “Cya around, kid. Try not to die again.” Moving down the hall, he glanced  back. “Eh, if you're lucky!” he called back to Wyatt, already out of sight “If only I could get that lucky, I’ll die from boredom first listening to all of the nobles!” Alex shouted back with a smirk. Daring cleared her throat. “Alex, show Wyatt those cards you got. Maybe he can tell you more about them.” Grabbing her disguise off the floor, she redonned it. “I'm going back to my hotel room. I need a shower and a change of clothes.” She slipped out of the building without another word. “Do I not get a say in this?” Alex responded shaking his head as Daring left before she could respond, “I take that as a no.” “What's this about cards?” Wyatt asked, glancing back at Alex. “Well I suppose it would be easier to show you, than try to explain,” Alex responded as he reached into his pocket and pulled out three of the Cards in his pocket revealing the Drake, Genm and Drive Rider Cards to him, “cards like these ones keep appearing after I encounter another Rider.” “Oh yeah, I recognize those,” Wyatt said with a grin. He held a hand out, summoning his card case. He opened it up and displayed his own cards. “Ta-da! See, they match.” “Hmm… This may be a weird question but does the name Diend mean anything to you?” Alex asked. “Secondary rider to Decade,” Wyatt responded. “His driver was a back up for Decade before he stole it from Dai-Shocker, then used it to further his career as a thief. Though his cards were of secondary and movie exclusive riders while Decade's were of primary riders.” Looking through his cards, he paused. “...Who the hell is 'Arisen’ or Shade?” “Hell if I know for Arisen,” Alex responded, “but as for Shade, you're looking at him.” “Huh, I'll have to figure out that Arisen thing later,” Wyatt said, putting the cards away. “Anyway, Is there anything you want to ask me about?” “Hmm, I guess it'd be interesting to hear what your Equestria's like,” Wyatt offered, watching Twilight walk into the room with a tray of iced tea. He took one and sipped slowly. “Got anything cool going on back home?” “Promise you won’t react badly… and won’t reveal this to anyone outside this room?” Alex asked nervously his hand against his bracer.. “I've seen a lot and I'm good with secrets,” Wyatt assured, putting an arm around Twilight after she had set her tray down. “Okay then,” Alex responded as he stood up taking a step back before he pressed the button on his bracer again reverting back to his Alicorn form before he said, “Well there's this for one.” Wyatt did a spit take, examining the newly revealed alicorn. “Okay, that's a first. None of the other displaced I've run into got turned into alicorns.” “Well, that's a long story, that doesn’t relate to my Displacement,” Shade admitted, “I got tricked by a certain Changeling Queen, my projected body taken by her and the residents of the world I  was in somehow made me a fake body to use which they decided to be an Alicorn for my form, the bracer on my arms allows me to control the two forms otherwise I keep swapping between them randomly.” “Would that queen's name be Chrysalis?” Wyatt questioned, holding back a chuckle from the last detail. “Pretty much,” Shade responded shaking his head, “but it kinda backfired on her and lets just say, she’s not as free as she used to be.” “Our Chrysalis is an ally to Equestria,” Twilight chimed in, sipping her own drink. “She even helped save my brother during his wedding.” “In the world I was in when this happened she was anything but that, from what I was told her only desire was to conquer that Equestria and wasn’t beyond taking the body of other beings to live long enough to do so.” Twilight scrunched her muzzle up and stuck her tongue out. “I'm glad our version doesn't seem anything like that.” “And I’m glad you're nothing like my worlds version of you,” Shade muttered under his breath. “Hmm?” Twilight questioned, her ear flicking on her head. “What was that about your me? Is it the eyes? I have a sliver of draconic essence in me makes my eyes like this.”-” “No it’s not that, lets just say… you are not as kind of a person in my world as you are here.” Twilight frowned, looking like she wanted to say something before shaking her head. “I guess it's inevitable that there's an evil version of me out there.” “I think it’s better we leave that train of thought there before you ask something you don’t want to hear the answer to,” Shade responded. Shrugging her shoulders, Twilight stared into her glass. “I've already met an evil version of my brother, can't be worse than that.” “You would be surprised,” Shade responded. “Maybe,” Twilight relented, picking up her own drink. “Is there anything more pleasant you'd be willing to tell us about?” “Well, I suppose there no harm in telling you that where the Castle in the Everfree stands is now a city where both monsters and ponies coexist with each other. That includes Gamma, Phantoms & a few ponies who use Gaia Memories,” Shade admitted calmly as he reverted back into his human form. “That's very interesting,” Wyatt said, nodding at Alex. “We've just made our monsters blow up.” “Kinda hard to do when you're finishers can’t kill the target,” Alex admitted, “All mine ever does is completely destroy any will they have to fight and make them more susceptible to do what they are told.” Twilight’s eyes lit up and she teleported in a clipboard. “That's amazing! Is it possible for me to study your powers?!” Wyatt chuckled and patted her shoulder. “You don't have to bother him, Twi. I have his card now.” “Besides, unless you had someone in mind for me to test it on, I can’t see its that easy to show you… It kinda would need to be done through Trial by fire.  If you know what I mean by that,” Alex admitted. Twilight nodded, settling down. “Good point.” “Monster taming would’ve come in handy during that Meowgi thing,” Wyatt said, grimacing.  “Would've saved me getting that vault door pancake treatment.” “You won’t let that go, will you?” Twilight asked with a light smirk. “He beat me with a vault door!” Wyatt argued, throwing his hands up. “A. Vault. Door!” “What would you have even done with him? Kept him as a pet or something along those lines?” Alex asked curiously. “Oh hell no,” Wyatt said with a shudder. “There's no way I'd keep that nine-headed cat as a pet. I bet the G-project would've found some use for him.” “They have their hands full with... other things...” Twilight frowned. “No one ever said science wasn’t... messy.” “Are you suggesting we should've kept him?” Wyatt asked, quirking a brow. “You weren't there to hear his puns.” “Well my powers would have allowed you to stop him from coming up with them again,” Alex admitted as he sat down in a chair. “That’d make him less annoying at the very least,” Wyatt admitted reluctantly. “I bet the guard would’ve found a place for him,” Twilight offered. “Considering from what you’ve said about him, I’d imagine that he would have been strong enough to be relatively useful to them,” Alex admitted. “I reiterate once again, a giant, steel vault door,” Wyatt began, motioning with his arms. “He picked it up, and smacked me down into the floor with it.” ”Well considering how much that would have weighed, I'm pretty sure he could have been a great help in completing any repairs or construction that would need doing around Equestria.” “He needed to die,” Wyatt pressed, crossing his arms. “I’m not going to change my mind on the issue.” ”Well it's not like that even matters now, but you need to remember with my powers you won't kill them, but reform them,” Alex admitted. “I’ll keep that in mind,” Wyatt said with a nod. “Though, I wonder if it’d work on humans too,” he muttered, rubbing his chin. “Umm, I can’t comment for humans… but I do know it can effect ponies,” Shade admitted shamefully. “What do you mean it works on ponies?” Twilight questioned, trying and failing to hide her disturbance. “That’s highly unethical and illegal.” “Considering this pony it was used on was kidnapping children, infants and woman from everywhere and using them for sadistic experiments to create her own monsters to sell as weapons of war, I don’t think allowing her to stay as she was would have been the best course of action,” Alex admitted, “and it's ethical to use on monsters if they are attacking people but not on ponies doing the same thing? I’ll have to remember that one.” “It’s not ethical to use it on anyone.” Rising to her hooves, Twilight stormed out of the room. Heading to the basement, she slammed the door behind her. “Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned that fact,” Alex responded shamefully as he shook his head. “I'll go talk to her,” Wyatt said, moving towards the basement. “You just sit tight until Agito's done shaving.” “Yeah no problem on that part, I’m just sorry I caused this mess.” Wyatt waved him off and disappeared down the stairs. His and Twilight's muffled voices came from the doorway moments later. A couple minutes later and Wyatt stepped back upstairs with a still irked Twilight in tow. Wyatt motioned a hand to Alex, indicating for him to open things. “Look, I’m sorry about what I said, I know it’s unethical, but it’s one of the only things I can do, if my finisher does hit and walk it always leave some sort of scar on the target and I can’t prevent that from taking place,” Alex admitted. Twilight closed her eyes and took a breath. “You don't have to explain. I wasn't there so I can't say you could've done things differently. All I can do is hope you made the best out of a terrible situation.” “As good as I could from it, that much I can promise you.” “Then that's all I have to say about this,” Twilight replied, managing to crack a weak smile. “We can let the topic die.” Agito emerged from the hallway, rubbing his face beneath his mask. “Ah, that's way better. I was starting to get tangles. I miss anything?” “Alex was just telling us about his powers,” Wyatt said, leaving it vague. “Isn't that right?” he asked, looking at the other man. “Yeah, considering he had a card based it me, I thought it best he had a basic idea of what it could do,” Alex admitted. “Fair enough,” Agito said, nodding. “You ready to go home, Shade?” “I suppose it may be for the best, I’ve seen enough chaos for today,” Alex admitted as another copy of this token dropped into his hand before he looked to Wyatt and said, “Just in case you ever need me,” as he passed the Eyecon over to him. Wyatt nodded, leaning over and telling Agito how to get the other Rider home. “Alex, our contract is complete,” the masked man stated. “Okay, and thank you for tolerating me,” Alex responded with a bow as a small eye shaped portal appeared behind him as the centre of it opened up revealing a crimson and black pulsating glow inside it. “See you later,” Wyatt said with a wave. “Call me if you need an extra set of hands.” “Or me if you need someone stopping in their tracks and reforming,” Alex added with a smirk before his body shifted back into his eyecon as it floated into the eye. It shut, the object fading from existence in front of the group. Somber appeared in a flash of light just outside of Emperor Zero's throne room. His face was a stone mask, betraying nothing of what he truly felt. Turning his attention to the guards, he flourished his cape. “Announce my arrival to the good emperor, I wish to have a word with him.” The pair of guards saluted, one of them slipping into the throne room. A few minutes later and the guard returned. “Your arrival has been announced, Great Leader.” Somber nodded, striding into the throne room where Zero was standing in wait for him. “Great Leader, to what do I owe the pleasure of a surprise visit?” Zero greeted, a smile on his face. A hand reached out, wrapping around Zero’s neck. “You insignificant little prick. How dare you?” Somber squeezed, his eyes smoking once more. “Did you think I wouldn’t know of your little visit with Midnight?” Zero couldn't answer, his airflow cut off by Somber's grip. All he could manage was a weak shake of his head. Somber sneered in disgust before tossing Zero into his throne. “Midnight is far too valuable of an asset to lose. Do you have any idea how far back you would have set us if she didn’t survive? No, most likely not because you are a sniveling moron.” Zero coughed, regaining his composure. “Great Leader, I meant no harm to Dai-Shocker. The girl is clearly consumed with her grief. I merely gave her a lead which might give her what she wanted. With her grief gone, nothing would distract her from serving you.” Camly walking up to the throne, Somber snorted. “You are worthless to this organization, Zero. But by my good graces have you maintain your position. And my good graces have finally run out.” Zero eyed Somber warily, his hand slipping out of sight. “Great Leader, what are you saying?” Waving a hand, Somber created a distortion. “You’re fired, Zero. I’ll make sure Garanda fills the position with someone who isn’t a waste of skin.” Zero's hidden hand reappeared with his spear in tow, lashing out to stab Somber. “That will not happen!” Somber stepped to the side, allowing Zero to lunge by him. “Goodbye, Zero.” Thrusting a leg out, he planted a hoof against Zero’s back. The kick sent the enraged monarch through the distortion. Waving his hand, Somber sealed it. “Enjoy obscurity, worm.” With that done, he motioned for the nearest guard to alert the rest of the empire of the job opening. Waving his hand again, he found himself in Midnight’s lab. She was shaking violently, shoving a handful of pills into her mouth. “You were reckless, Midnight dear. Your system could have failed, or brought you back as twisted meat,” he spoke, letting the smoke on his eyes sputter out. “It would be a waste to lose you in such a pointless matter.” “It was a calculated risk,” Midnight replied, her breathing ragged. “The system works. I would have survived.” Somber walked to Spike’s tube, placing a hand on it. “I wouldn’t take such risks again, Midnight. If one were to prove fatal, Spike would have no one to watch over him.” Bristling at the implication, Midnight pushed her glasses up. “You’ve made your point, Great Leader. Did you need anything else?” Turning to face her, Somber smiled. “Why yes, there is. I wish to get a first hand look at all those lovely makamou you’ve been cooking up. King expects the best and we will certainly deliver.” Sighing, Midnight rose up on shaky legs. “Right this way, Great Leader.” Turning away, she made her away towards another room. Her only thoughts on how to keep any further threats towards her brother out of Somber’s mouth.