//------------------------------// // Ride 5: Clash!!! // Story: Kamen Rider Achilles // by Axle the Cobalt Exorcist //------------------------------// Ride 5 Thwack! The bat hit the ball, and sent it flying into the out field. The young boy ran as fast as he could to the base. The bases were already loaded in the final inning of the game. It was the game before the play off for the freshman team. Walking up to the plate was a young orange skinned boy with deep blue hair that was covered by his helmet. It was clear on his face that the pressure was on, and by the looks of it, the pitcher was going to take full advantage of it. The boy tightened the grip on his bat as he avoided looking at the pitcher. Then, after, taking a deep breath, the boy heard one of the spectators cheering from the crowd. “You can do it, Base!” The boy turned, to see that the cheering was coming from Flash Sentry. “Knock it out of the park, bro!” Flash’s cheering caused the boy named First Base to smile, before taking his position. The pitcher gripped the ball tight as he prepared to strike the kid out and win the game. He pitched a fast ball, but Base was ready. His bat made contact. Hard. The ball was sent skyward, and Base sprinted off of home. The outfield was scrambling to catch the ball, but it hit the ground before the players knew it. Seeing this caused Base to run towards second and then third while his team crossed the home plate. With three players home, the boy decided to go for a home run. The opposing team tried to catch up, to get Base out, but they failed. It was a grand slam and First Base had won the game for his team. The crowd cheered for the team’s victory, but none cheered louder than the one whose little brother was responsible for this win. Once the team finished celebrating, Base met up with Flash in the parking lot. “Way to go, little guy," he said as he pulled his miniature into a hug. "I knew all that practice would pay off." “Yeah," Base agreed, "Coach really put me through the ringer. But I guess it was all worth it.” “The team really owes this win to you,” Flash said as he messed up his brother’s hair with a smile on my face. “I'm so proud of you.” “Yeah," Base then looked down with a sheepish frown, "I just wish Mom could have seen it." “I know Base, but we both know Mom works hard for the both of us. And we can tell her all about it later tonight,” Flash said as he tried to cheer up his brother. “Now, come on, why don’t we get home? I'm sure you must be exhausted after taking the team to the playoffs.” The two walked across the parking lot till they got to Flash’s motorcycle. “I really miss your car." “I know, but it was destroyed by a crazy Kirin monster, and there isn't much I can do about that.” Flash gave his brother a helmet and stored his gear in the compartment under the seat. When the two brothers were ready, Flash started the engine and drove off. The baseball field wasn't too far from their house, so they arrived home in no time at all. As they pulled up, the two saw a purple sports car parked in the driveway. This caused Base to get excited. “That's Mom's car. She must have gotten off work early." “Yeah, and it looks like we have visitors too,” Flash pointed out the red pick up truck in front of the house. “Looks like Big Mac’s truck." He pulled his bike to a stop and killed the engine. The two entered the house, only to see that no one was in the living room. “We’re home!” Base yelled out. “I’m in the kitchen!” An older woman’s voice replied from the other room. “We have company!” “We saw,” Flash said, putting his helmet away. Base sat his gear next to the door, before running towards the kitchen, his face flush with excitement.. Flash followed behind, smiling. When he entered, he saw Big Mac and Granny Smith sitting at the table. Sitting across from them was an older woman, though younger than Granny Smith, with scarlet skin and long wild blue hair. She was dressed in a gray suit, with a white vest and a purple ribbon tied around her neck that had a pendant in the middle. “It’s a real surprise to see you home early mom.” “Well, I’m working on something very special,” Flash’s mom said as she picked up some of the papers on the table. “Helping the Apples?” Base asked. “Did something bad happen?” “No, no, nothing like that,” Their mother assured him. “Ya ma here is just helping us out with some of our business happenings with Filthy Rich,” Granny Smith said. “Well, finished at this point,” The mother said before handing all the papers over to Big Mac. “Whoa, there," Granny Smith said in surprise. "You sure work fast, Ms.Phoenix." “What can I say," the woman known as Glint Phoenix replied. "I’m an excellent lawyer. And I enjoy helping a family that is so important to our town’s founding." The two women shook hands, and after exchanging a few pleasantries, Big Mac and Granny Smith left. Once she closed the door, Glint turned to her two sons. “Well now that that business is done with, I have some good news for you two." “What is it?” Base said eagerly. Glint shot him a warm smile. “Well, since those business dealings were so important to the Apple family’s farm, they invited us for dinner tomorrow night as a thank you. “Really? That sounds great,” Flash said, grinning. “Yes," Glint agreed, "this will be the first, in a long time, that the three of us will be able to be together.” She then brought her two boys in for a hug, her eyes a little wet. “I've really missed you two.” Flash smiled as he and his brother leaned into the hug. “Us too, but we get why you can’t be around a lot. You work hard, so we can have a comfortable life. Ever since dad left...” Flash stopped talking, the mention of his father causing him to feel a mix of sadness and anger. Flash just pushed these emotions to the back of his head so as to not ruin the moment. "And this diner will be fun.” “I can’t wait!” Base exclaimed. “Good to hear,” Glint said as she released the hug. She then walked to the doorway to get her purse. Flash gave her a confused look. "Where are you going?” “Well," Glint opened the door, "there's still cases I need to work on so I can make it tomorrow." She turned back to them, “I’ll leave you guys money to order pizza. Don’t stay up too late. I love you two." And with that, she stepped out of the house, and went to her car. Flash saw the money she left on the table and smiled before looking towards his brother. “I can't believe it," he said happily. "Tomorrow, we’re finally going to spend time with Mom." The next day, at lunch, Flash was talking to Trixie about what was going on later tonight. “It’s gonna be great,” Flash said, grinning like an idiot. “It sounds great," Trixie agreed. "You get to be with your family, and eat food made by the Apples. Sounds like a fun night." "You bet." Flash’s smile fell, and he sighed, staring down at his hamburger as he thought back. "Ever since our dad left, Mom's always running herself ragged so me and Base have everything we need. I know I'm being a little selfish, but I wish she had a little more free time to spend with us." “If you don’t mind Trixie asking," she started, a little nervous, "what did happen with your dad?” This struck a nerve with Flash, but he took a deep breath. “He left my mom before she started her own law firm. I was just six at the time, and all I remember is that they were fighting before my dad just... left without a word. Since then, my mom has been working non-stop to provide for the two of us. Mom said that he was a dirt-bag, and we’re better off without him.” “Oh my,” Trixie said, trying to digest what Flash just said. “It’s fine,” Flash replied as he continued to eat his lunch, “I’m dealing OK.” As the two ate, they were soon interrupted by Sunset and Applejack. “Hey," Sunset said, "mind if we sit with you?’ Flash and Trixie both smiled at their friends. “Sure thing." "The more, the merrier," Trixie agreed. The two sat down, with Sunset pulling out her favorite tome and began to write in it. “So whatcha writing there?” Trixie asked. “Doing something I've been putting off for a while. I need to tell the Princess about all the crazy stuff that’s been happening these past couple of weeks.” “Why haven't you told her earlier?” Flash asked after a moment, his face a little pale. “Things have been crazy, and I needed more info to give her a better report,” Sunset said as she began to write. “You think she’s going to come over to our side to help?” Flash asked, his discomfort obvious, but unnoticed. “I don’t know, maybe. I’m sure she would jump to help out, but the last thing I want to do is drag her away from something important. Plus I’m telling her about the Rider, so that might put her mind at ease." “Oh," Trixie spoke up, "so now you trust the Rider now?” She shot Flash a happy grin, knowing he'd been worried about Sunset's suspicions towards his alter-ego “Not fully," Sunset replied bluntly. "But it may help the princess to know we aren’t fighting these monsters alone.” “Oh," Flash said awkwardly, "I was hoping I'd be able to say hi to her again. We... need to talk.” Sunset let out a sympathetic chuckle as she went back to writing. “I’ll be sure to mention that.” “Hey, Flash," Applejack spoke up, "I hope yer excited for tonight." “You know it,” Flash said, shooting her a smile. “Glad to hear. Granny's pulling out all the stops tonight!" “Can’t wait,” Flash said, before going back to his lunch. Meanwhile The loud echoes of smashes filled the air of the scrap yard. “Yahooo!” Terra, in his monster form, crying out joyfully. He was currently doing battle with a larger, more solidly built monster. This new monster was covered in armor and fur, with a navy blue cloth covering his lower body. On the creature's head were a pair of large horns. “Come on, give me another one, buddy!” Teraa beckoned, pumped. The Magi-Beast let out a low snort, before getting into position, lowering it’s dangerous horns. ”RRRAAAAAAAAAA!” The monster roared as he charged at the orange monster. Terra took his position, centering himself, and caught his sparring partner, literally by the horns. Terra slid back a few feet, before he stepped to the side, forcing the monster to barrel head first into a pile of scrape. “Ha-ha!" Terra laughed, watching the monster recover from his heavy crash like nothing had happened. "Cypher, this new Magi-Beast you created is great! He’s so strong, and he really gets my love of wrecking some havoc.” “Well, I’m happy I could give you a playmate," Cypher told him, as he stood next to a pile of scrap, his arms crossed, his finger tapping against his left. "But as far as I’m concerned, it's a failure!” He whirled around, and punched a rusty car, denting it heavily in his frustration. Terra frowned. “Hey, don’t call Crasher a failure. He’s great," he scolded his ally, patting the Magi-Beast's shoulder. "Strong, tough, and doesn't talk that much. A man of action, right after my own heart." “Terra, The Doctor has given me four cards to create Magi-Beasts with, and none of them have become whole, or came close to defeating the Rider." He turned to the two, "I don’t see anything of worth in the work I have done. And worse, not even I could do anything to grant the Doctor’s wish to stop the Rider.” “Well, you're going to have to go back to him," Terra pointed out as he threw his arms behind his head. "You're meant to report to him eventually. I mean, even I gave Doc the info I gathered on my mission. By the way, I still wonder why he needed me to do recon anyway?” “It probably has to do with her awakening,” Cypher said, his tone sombre. He took a deep breath, before he started to walk towards the exit of the scrap yard. “I guess letting Crasher run free and gathering data will prolong me having to face the Doctor with my failure.” “Aww, Cypher. You sound like a little kid who got in trouble with his parents. It ain’t like you.” Terra said, he and Crasher followed their winged ally. “You’re top dog with Doc, man. Just get it over with!” “That comment stings more coming from you,” Cypher said, begrudgingly accepting Terra’s advice. After classes had finished, school was out, so Flash and Trixie were busy on the sidewalk of main street. Trixie had changed into a performing outfit, and had a table set up in front of her. “...so, long story short, Drum Roll had to drive his grandma to the state Bingo Championship, and that's why we aren't having band practice today.” Flash finished his story as Trixie continued to shuffle a deck of cards. “So, tell me, is street magic how you usually spend your time after school?” “When I don't have Ogres and Oubliettes. I always need to practice my up close magic and sleight of hand,” Trixie said as she cut the deck and fanned the cards, before having them vanish with a flick of her wrist. “Trixie can’t rely on smoke bombs for her whole career, after all.” “So, are you going to pull coins out of kids ears?” Flash teased, before laughing. Trixie was not amused by his comment, and indicated so by her crossing her arms. All of a sudden Flash’s laughter was cut off, as somehow the deck of cards Trixie once had came flying out of his mouth. Flash was dumbfounded as a satisfied smirk started to take over Trixie’s face. “Ok, I need to know how you did that.” “Yeah," Trixie pretended to think as she pulled a set of metal rings out of her hat, "never going to happen." She then gave him a suspicious look. "By the way, shouldn't you be getting ready for your dinner tonight?” Flash pulled the seven of clubs from his mouth before answering. “We aren't doing anything fancy, so how I am now is fine. Now, if it was Rarity's, then I may need to break out my suit.” “LOOK OUT!” A pedestrian yelled out to cut the two’s conversation short. Looking down the road, Flash saw Crasher barreling forward. Cars were sent flying into the air as they made contact with his horns. When he finally stopped he let out a mighty roar. “RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” Everyone else in the area went running, but Trixie responded to the appearance of the monster by turning over her table and hiding behind it. “Would you look at that, another magic act interrupted by a monster,” Trixie said as Flash joined her behind their barrier. “I wonder if I can incorporate that somehow. Can't be any harder than having a tiger on stage, right?” “It looks like a Yak. I don't know how impressive that would be in a magic act,” Flash said as he poked his head out to analyze the monster. “Would Sunset’s world have yaks? I guess they would, otherwise… it wouldn’t really fit,” he reasoned. “Looks like everyone ran off," Trixie said after scanning the area. "You're clear to transform.” “Great,” Flash said, pulling out his driver. He ran behind Crasher, and put on the driver. He thought for a moment, before pulling out the Glamor card and pressed the button on the driver. “Henshin!” “OK!” “ FABULOUS! THE SHINING CRUSADER ON DAZZLING DISPLAY! ” “G-G-G-GLAMOR! ” Crasher turned to see Flash in his new white armor. Three of the drones detached themselves from the Rider’s shoulders and positioned themselves in front of him. “Hey, mop head," Achilles taunted, "Why don’t you pick on someone who isn't a parked car?" The monster let loose a loud snort, and charged at the Rider, horns first. Achilles responded immediately, having his drones shoot at the beast. The attacks looked to have been doing damage. However, even under rapid fire, the hairy monster continued its charge. At the last minute Achilles rolled out of the way, and a lamppost took the attack instead. “What the!?" He watched as Charger pulled himself away from the decimated, sparking lamp post, not even appearing to be injured. "I would have thought he'd at least slow down if I shot at him. “ “Maybe he’s too dumb to register pain," Trixie suggested from behind her table. "He doesn't look too bright, and the fact that he hasn't said a word kinda supports that. I mean, the others were super loud, mouthy, and astoundingly literate." “That just makes him even more dangerous,” Achilles said. “A tank with no goal but smashing? That's never a winning combo.” Achilles released the rest of his drones, and made them form a circle around Crasher. The drones took positions on the ground before shooting their beams straight up into the sky, forming a cage. “There, that'll keep collateral damage down a bit,” Achilles said, relieved. Crasher looked at the lasers in bewilderment. He tried to touch the beam, but ended up burning the tip of his large finger. “RRAAAAAAA!” The monster let out a yell of pain and frustration, before bringing both his fists down to the ground, smashing it. The blast caused the drones to go flying and disrupted the cage. “OK," Achilles said, dumbfounded by the display of brute force, "this guy'll just smash through anything, huh?” He pulled out another card. “Time for the direct approach." He slotted the card into the Driver. “OK!” “R-R-R-RIDER!" In his base form, Achilles extended his spear and ran towards the monster. Crasher saw the Rider’s approach, and swung his arms widely, but Achilles jumped to avoid it. He then slashed the monster with his spear. Crasher threw another punched, but it didn’t make contact, too slow to strike his opponent. The monster let out a snort at his miss. “Is punching really all you can do?" Achilles asked. "You need to throw in some combos...like this!” Achilles used his spear to hoist himself up to perform a kick to Crasher’s head, before pulling out the spear and performing a slash. Crasher stepped back from the attack, but was quick to get back to the offensive. He grabbed Achilles by the head and lifted him into the air. The rider was powerless inside of the Magi-Beast’s grip. “SMAAAASH!” Crasher yelled, and he brutally forced the rider into the ground. “AUGH!” Was the only sound that came from the Rider, as his body formed in imprint in the pavement. Once the Rider was down the monster let out a snort before running off. “Flash!" Trixie rushed over to the rider, "are you OK?!” Flash let out a moan as he sat himself up, “yeah. I would be a lot worse if it wasn't for the armor." Trixie helped him out of the him-shaped hole, then Flash proceeded to transform back to normal. “Why did he run off like that?” Trixie asked. “Like you said, he’s not that smart. Probably thought I was down and out after that last hit." Flash began to dust himself off. “Unfortunately, a stupidly strong Magi-Beast is the last thing I need. Now I need to track down the host” “Where do you think we should start?” Trixie asked. “I don’t know, but finding that living force of destruction needs to be my top priority. Flash pulled out his phone, “I need to call mom and say I can’t come to dinner.” Trixie frowned at this. “But Flash, you've been looking forward to this!" She protested. “I know, but I need to think of others first. That what a Rider does,” Flash said, just as his call went through. “Hey, mom…” At the supermarket Glint was roaming the ales with a cart full of goods. She was just about to turn into the baking section, her phone went off. “Hello” Glint said as she answered the phone. “Oh Flash, I’m so glad you called. I have a bit of a dilemma about tonight. I want to make a desert but I can't decided what to make. I was thinking an apple pie, but then I thought that they might be sick of apple pie, or they already made one. Maybe a chocolate moos?,” the mother explained. “Go with the chocolate moose. There is no way you can make a better pie then Granny Smith,” Flash answered. “Good point. Thanks, Honey,” Glint said, as she took a bar of baking chocolate from the shelf. “So what happened to warrant a call in the middle of the day?” “Well, ya see,” Flash started before struggling to get the words out. “Something happened and my friends need my help. I know this dinner is important for everyone, but I don’t think I can make it.” Glint was silent for a moment before speaking. “I'm sorry Flash, but I can’t let you do that. You know I wouldn’t normally be saying this, but it has been a long time since we spent time together as a family. Unless you have a good excuse?" Now it was Flash’s turn to be silent. He knew that his mother wouldn't let him go off to stop a Magi-Beast. She would probably try to take his Driver! He couldn't say that he was going to stop evil, or that he was the Rider. He couldn’t think of any kind of situation that his mom would believe. He definitely couldn't get out of this dinner. After a minute Flash let out a sigh. “I…I'll be there,” He finally said. “Thank you, honey,” Glint said, smiling. “I’ll meet you at the Apple’s house, Love you, bye.” Flash sighed as he put his phone away. “Well, looks like there’s no getting out of it." “You make it sound like a bad thing,” Trixie commented, patting his back gently. “It’s not, but that just means more time for that hairball to rampage and hurt people." “How long till you have to be there?” “About two hours." “That still gives us a lot of time to try to find the host," Trixie assured him. "I’m pretty sure someone would have seen something, anything, to who that thing came from." Elsewhere, Terra had rejoined with Crasher and was currently leading him down a back trail. As he often did, he had a bag of burgers to snack on. “Jeez buddy, I turn away for five minutes to grab a snack, and you go wreck six blocks. I’m so proud,” Terra said, before he took a bite of his burger. “Mmh, whoever decides to put pineapple on a burger is a friggin genius.” Crasher simply snorted as he followed the humanoid. “Oh," Terra gave the monster a wrapped burger, " Sorry I didn't offer you anything sooner." Crasher looked at the morsel for a moment before putting the whole thing in his mouth, wrapper and all. After swallowing it, Crasher let out a series of grunts, indicating that he was happy. "Glad you like it. Consider it part one of the big surprise I have.” The two continued down the trail before reaching their destination. Spread out before them was a large orchard of apple trees. “Ya want to know what's better than burgers? Becoming whole. And you'll get to do that in a way I know you love,” Terra said. He turned to Crasher, his arms stretched out. “Destroy this whole place, plunge your host into despair, and absorb all of their life force in one go." Crasher responded to Terra’s words by letting out more grunts of joy and pounding his fist together. This caused Terra’s smile to grow. However, he wasn't prepared for Crasher’s immeadiate charging into the orchard of apple trees. Glint was currently driving her purple sports car down a long stretch of road, First Base sitting in the passenger seat holding a covered tray. It wasn’t too long before the car pulled up to the the rural looking house. After knocking on the door, Applejack opened it to greet the two. “Well, howdy there!” Applejack greeted warmly, letting the two in. “Mm, something smells good,” First Base said, taking a deep whiff. “That'll be dinner cooking” Applebloom said as she ran down the stairs. She walked up to First Base to take the covered tray. “I’ll take this to the kitchen.” Glint nodded. “That’s Chocolate Moose, so keep it in the refrigerator." “So where's Flash?" Applejack asked. "I saw him at lunch, and he looked like he couldn't wait to get here.” “Oh, he said he will be coming by later,” Glint said in a cheerful tone. Right before everyone was about settle down, a huge crashing shook the house. “What on earth was that!?” “Ah don’t know,” Applejack said as she took off for the back door. “It came from the orchard. Ah need to check if Big Mac is alright." She ran out, Glint and First Base following out, curious to see what was going on. When they got outside, Applejack found her older brother, flabbergasted at sight of the fallen tree. The odd thing about the tree was that it looked to have been ripped out of the ground, roots and all. “What is going on out here!?” Applejack asked. Big Mac responded with a shrug. He just didn't know. As if to answer everyone’s questions, the sound of cracking wood filled the air. “AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!” Crasher yelled as he emerged from the orchard to make his presence know. “Mom," First Base whispered, as he hid behind his mother, "It’s one of those Magi-beasts things I’ve seen online.” “So, that’s what they are.” Glint backed up slowly as she tried to comfort her son, keeping him behind her with an arm. “Didn't think that thing'd follow me home,” Big Mac said. “You seen this hairball before?” Applejack asked, fear gripping at her. “Eeyup. Some feathery monster swooped in front of me this morning and then that thing appeared out of nowhere." Applejack frowned at this, before turning to glare daggers at Crasher. “So, yer usin' mah big brother as a host?” Crasher responded with a snort. “Mac, get Applebloom into the house. This just got personal,” She cracked her knuckles, Big Mac nodded, and took his youngest sister into the house. “Applejack," Glint spoke up trailing behind the other Apples slowly, "do you want me to call the police or something?” “No need," Applejack said, grabbing the downed tree. "I’m know how to hold my own with big guys like him!" With a single hand, she picked it up and threw it at the monster. Crasher simply held out his fist, watching as the javelin smashed into his fist. Seeing that was all Glint needed to see, so she and her son rushed into the house. “Ah feel ah ought to warn ya, we don’t take too kindly to trespassers.” Applejack said as she took a fighting stance. “RRRRRAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!” Crasher responded. “Alright then, you asked for it.” Applejack used her strength to launch herself forward. Once she got close she delivered a right hook into the monster’s face. Crasher rubbed the spot that was hit, before retaliating with his own punch. Applejack used her arms to block, but she was still pushed back by the force. The farm girl dug her boots into the dirt, hard, to stop herself. “Okay, seems like yer tougher than yah look, there.” Flash was driving down the road to meet with his family. He has spent the time leading up to this moment to look for any sign of where Cypher may have been or the host of Crasher. “Well, that was a waste of time,” Flash complained into the headset in his helmet. “Easy. We had to try,” Trixie responded on the call. “I’ll keep looking while you go to dinner.” “Thanks Trix. Hopefully a break from all this will help me think of a way to beat him,” Flash ended the call. Oddly, as soon as he hung up, his phone rang again. He pressed the button on his headset. “Hello?” he responded. “Flash!” Glint almost screamed, her tone panicked. “Mom, what's wrong?” Flash asked, suddenly afraid. “One of those monsters are attacking here,” Glint yelled, as huge crash rang out. Flash’s eyes went wide. He ended up pulling over on the side of the road, to focus on the conversation- and because he knew he would have to fool his mother. “Please, Flash, stay away till this thing is all sorted out! OK?” “I understand, mom,” Flash said, before the call ended. He lifted up his visor, taking a deep breath. “I understand that I’m going to have to ignore your orders, mom." He pulled out his driver, staring at it for a moment. "But, I think you'd be way less happy than normal with it if you knew why." He placed the driver on his waist, before revving up his bike. As he got back on the road, he pulled out the rider card before slotting it into the belt. “Henshin!” “OK!” “R-R-R-RIDER!” As the bike passed through the magical circle, it was transformed into the Machine Balius, and Flash into his Rider form. Once he was transformed, he sped as fast as he could to Applejack’s house. Applejack was fighting off the Magi-Beast as hard as she could. She picked up a large rock and threw it the monster, but Crasher didn’t even flinch as he used his horns to break the rock to pieces. “Jeez," Applejack said, ducking away from a flying piece of debris, "does this guy ever get tired?” “RAAAAA!” Crasher yelled to indicate that he wasn’t happy with the prolonged battle. He crouched down on all fours, before charging at full speed, his huge size moving insanely quickly. Applejack steadied herself as the monster got closer. Once she got the moment, Applejack grabbed onto his horns and pushed back. With all her strength she was able to slow the Magi-Beast down, but she was still pushed along the ground. “Ya'h think a’m gonna just lay down? Just cause some big, dumb, monster comes stomping by and destroying ma'h family's livelihood?” Applejack asked as she fought on. "Yah ain't the first dunderhead to try it- an' yah better believe you ain't gonna be the last!" The two seemed to be in a deadlock- untill the roar of an engine filled the air. Coming around the bend was the Kamen Rider. Applejack saw this out of the corner of her eye, then used all her strength to push Crasher into the path of the motorcycle. Achilles reacted, pulling the handle bars up to perform a wheelie, hitting the monster with his still spinning front wheel. Crasher cried out as the tire grinded against it, until it finally managed to jump a safe distance away “Glad I could get here before that thing caused any major damage,” Achilles said, parking his bike next to Applejack. “Same here,” Applejack said in response. Achilles got into a fighting position as Crasher recovered from getting a face full of rubber. “Any idea on how stop him?” “Not really," Applejack replied. "He’s like a bull with a bucket of crabs on his back." But then, out of nowhere, the farm girl noticed that her necklace was starting to glow- along with the riders driver. “But ah think this looks promising.” Applejack took the energy in her hand, before handing it to Achilles. The Rider brought the orb of energy to the Driver, before it transformed into a new card. This new card was orange, with a red stripe. On the corner of it was the word “Knuckle.” “This looks very promising,” Achilles said, admiring the new tool. Unfortunately, Crasher saw the opening and rushed at the two. Applejack and Achilles both dived out of the way, narrowly avoiding the attack. “This guy sure is getting annoying,” Applejack said. “Couldn’t agree with you more,” Achilles said, "so let's get him out of here!" He slotted the card into the driver. “Element change!" “OK!” "HUSSLE, MUSCLE, TRUE METAL OF STRENGTH!” “K-K-K-KNUCKLE!" An orange magical circle appeared, and passed over the rider. His colors changed to orange with red accents, and green eye plates, with new chest armor, but no shoulder pads. On his arms, the rider had a pair of large gauntlets with yellow knuckle bracers on them. “Hmm," Achilles contemplated. He shifted around to get a feel for the armor. "This one feels pretty solid," he remarked. “GRRRRRRRRR!” Crasher growled. He didn’t seem to be phased by the rider’s new look. Achilles put up both his fists, his scarf fluttering in the wind, as Crasher dug up the ground with his foot. The two started each other down as the sun began to set and a silence fell over the orchard. After a moment, Crasher charged at the rider. Achilles followed suit with a charge of his own. The two’s fists collide with one another. The Rider, moving far quicker then the monster, was able to get in a three hit combo on the beast. Crasher was thrown back- thanks to Achilles’ new increased strength. “Not so tough now, huh?" “Hey," Applejack yelled out, running towards the Rider, "mind giving me a boost!?” “No problem,” Achilles said as he crouched down, and locked his fingers together. Applejack gave the Rider a smile before jumping into the his hands. With the two’s combined strength, Applejack was sent high into the air. As the farm girl fell, she got into position, and performed a heavy kick, right into the chest of Crasher. After the hit, Applejack slid right back to the Rider’s side. “Wow, nice move!" “Ah’ve had practice,” Applejack responded humbly. “ME SMASH RIDER!!!!” Crasher yelled, to expressing how angry he was now. He once again charged at the Rider, delivering several punches. He got a few in before Achilles managed to raise his arms to block. “You need calm down," Achilles told him. "People don't like it when you smash everything." He then held out his fist, before the front half of his gantlet launched out, hitting the monster in the chest. This rocket punch put a good amount of distance between the two. “See, he said, a cable reeling the fist back into its original position, "it’s not fun to be hit like that." “Cool. I didn’t think you could do something like that,” Applejack said, with a tip of her hat. “Yeah, I’m sure it will come in handy. But before anything, I’ll be sending this guy to Tartarus!” Achilles turned back to the monster, slamming his fist onto the button on the driver. “KNUCKLE FEEDBACK!!!” Two magical circles formed around the Rider's gauntlets, before he dashed towards Crasher. Once he was close enough, he unleashed a flurry of punches, one after another. The monster held strong for a moment before the hits began to do serious damage. The attack finished with Achilles delivering a glowing, powerful uppercut to Crasher's jaw. The hit landed Crasher onto his back, as dozens of magical circle marked on his body appeared, and grew brightly. “AAAAHHHHH!!!” Crasher screamed before he exploded. “And ya better not come back,” Applejack said. She then let out a sigh as she took off her hat, and sat, hard, on the ground. “Whew." She was suddenly exhausted. But there was still one thing to do. "Thanks for saving ma'h brother,” she said, looking at the Rider. “Oh, it’s no problem,” Achilles said. The Rider then returned to his default form, and walked over to his bike. “Hey, wait!” Applejack yelled out, before running to catch up to Achilles. “We, uh, we're having a little get together. Why don’t you join us?” Achilles was quiet for a moment, before he mounted his bike and started the engine. “That sounds nice, but I have somewhere I need to be, and I've already kept some people waiting long enough.” With that he began to drive off. "But thanks!" As Applejack watch the Rider leave, everyone else ran out of house. “Jeez, Applejack! You were so cool out there!” Applebloom exclaimed as she jumped up to her sister. “Achilles’ new form was so cool too. He has a rocket fist now!” First Base added. “I didn’t think you and your friends dealt with such dangerous creatures,” Glint said. “Yeah, things can get pretty hairy. Good things we don’t have to deal with it alone. A'h was lucky it was the same this time,” Applejack said. They all watch the Rider drive off into the sunset. “ ...And then the yak monster exploded,” First Base recapped, throwing his hands up to punctuate his last word. “You missed such a cool fight Flash.” After the dinner shared by the Apple and Sentry families, everyone was in the living room, enjoying dessert. “Yeah," Flash said. "But if I came in at that time, I would have just gotten in the way." “We're all safe now, and that’s all that matters,” Glint said. She then scooped in a fork full of pie into her mouth. “Mmh, Flash, you were right. There was no way I would have been able to beat this,” She said, a look of delight on her face. “Don’t sell yourself short, ma'am. This fancy pudding you made is just as good as it looks,” Applejack said as she took a bite of the chocolate moose. “Well, I do have a talent for gourmet desserts,” Glint giggled a bit as she stood up. She walked over to Flash and First Base on the couch, and took a seat between the two, before pulling them bot into a hug. “But nothing is better than spending the night with my two favorite boys.” “Moooom!” First Base yelled out. “Come on First Base. No need to act that way. There is no shame in having your mom love you,” Flash said as Glint brought the two in for another hug. The Apples all laughed at the affection from the visiting family. Miles away form the warm sight of family was an abandoned hospital. It was devoid of any hope, with no signs of life. However, there were those that called this decrepit building home. Cypher and Terra walked down the hallway to the operating room. Though Cypher was his usual stone face self, internally he was dreading what was to come. Once they got to their destination, they saw that the light was on above the door. “Just be cool,” Terra told him, patting his arm lightly. Soon the doors burst open. Walking out was a single man dressed in doctors scrubs. The man’s face was covered by a surgical mask and goggles. “She is finally stable again,” he said, noticing the two in front of him. “Doctor,” Cypher said, dropping to his knees. He bowed his head towards the Doctor. “I have failed you. Not a single one of the Magi-Beast I have created has become whole. Nor have I have been able to defeat the Rider. And for this, I apologies." The Doctor was silent as he approached Cypher. He looked down at the younger man, who simply raised his head. The Doctor patted Cypher on his shoulder, an attempt at comforting him. “Cypher, you have no need to apologize. I could never be disappointed in my first success. I would rather you have defeated the Rider, but I will never be disappointed in you." “D-Doctor.” That was all Cypher could say as he stood up. “Come along,” The Doctor said, walking past the two. The three soon entered a large room, filled with odd machines. “I’m glad you came by. It’s about time for some restructuring.” “What do you mean?” Terra asked The Doctor opened one of the machines to reveal several new Magi-beast cards. “Terra," he turned to the man in question, "you will be taking over Magi-beast production, as well as data collecting." “Aw man,” Terra groaned, before his eyes widened. “Wait, that means I can finally fight the Rider! Finally, I can have a real chance.” “What about me?” Cypher asked, hesitantly. “You are the only one I can trust to do this. All my planning has been for this moment,” The Doctor said. Though it was covered, his mouth turned into a twisted smile. Everything was starting to fall into place.