That damn room! That damn room he had seen way too often in his entire life and especially in the recent past. It almost felt like he already knew every knock and cranny of the stupid room and every time he felt the same dread surging through his body, time pass like it was slowing to a crawl and the busy staff that was working as fast as they could. That damn waiting room.
After his phone call, the ambulance had arrived in a few minutes, maybe saying how he was had helped, but that didn’t really matter now. What mattered was the fact that they had picked up Rarity and brought her here and now they were doomed to wait. It felt like hours had passed, but in reality, they had only spent fifteen minutes in the hospital.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck. I hate this so much!” He hissed while walking up and down the small room, already having attracted the attention of a few nurses in the area.
“It’s never easy when someone you know is in the hospital…” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she looked down at her feet. “This is bad, we should’ve called for help as soon as we got into that accident…”
“I know, I know, I have been in this damn waiting room far too often already, doesn’t get any easier really,” he sighed, clenching his hand to a fist. “But really, don’t beat yourself up over this. Shoulder, woulda, coulda doesn’t matter right now. We both fucked up, we just have to not do that next time, that is all.”
“Do you ever wonder if you’re really cut out for this job?” Scootaloo asked with a sigh as she barely looked at Phoenix. “Over a hundred people died when we ran into that last Hybrid because the Order Agent was draining the life force being fed on by the Fangire. A few days ago I fought against a monster that nearly killed us because he was able to stop us from transforming… how long until one of us get’s badly injured or worse?”
Phoenix stopped in his tracks and took a look at her before sighing: “Sure I do. I know most of all how much I fucked up, believe me, I never even wanted to do this in the first place, but I was one of the few who could act and that is what I did. I made my fair share of mistakes along the way, some of them even costing someone their life, but in the end, what can you do? Roll in self-pity and give up? No, you have to keep moving forward, forward towards a bright future. Learn from your mistakes, that is the only thing you can do. That is what I learned from all of this. Accept what happened in the past so you can be ready for the present,” he finished with a determined tone.
“Normally I can fight anything that comes at me, even that bat-guy, but recently I just…” Scootaloo said and slammed her fists down on the chair. “I just froze up, I came face to face with the guy who killed my parents and I couldn’t even fight him…”
“Well, not the same, but I think I experienced something similar. When I had all six Magic Discs my grandfather came to visit. We were on bad blood and that is putting mildly really. He wanted me to abandon the city and return home so we could try to forge the Philosopher Stone. I refuse, first because I didn’t want to leave the city and second because I was scared because the last guy that tried that died. The thought of creating the Stone had been flying through my head a lot after I got the Friendship Disc, I just always found another excuse: ‘I’ll manage,’ ‘It’s too dangerous,’ and all that. Then it happened, one of my enemies capture Pinecone and Ocean and forced me to reveal my identity. I fought as hard as I could, but I lost and then…”
He took a deep breath before continuing with a low voice. “Then it happened, the damn old geezer jumped into an attack meant for me. He died right in front of my eyes because I was too much of a coward to pull through with risking my life. After that I pulled all my anger together and tried it, creating the Stone. It worked, perfectly. I was able to save my friends and beat the guy. He even died because of his own actions, but I just felt hollow. I knew I fucked up, that because I made a mistake I had cost someone his life and I could never rectify that mistake. The only thing I can do is learn from it. And having seen you fighting I’m dead certain that you can do that too, you have what it takes to be a Kamen Rider!”
“I feel like I keep getting these pep talks over and over again,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle and gave him a thumbs up. “Thanks, Phoenix. You may be the first in this universe, but you’re one heck of a Kamen RIder yourself.”
That took him by a bit of a surprise, his cheeks turned red and he started to rub the back of his head. “Thanks, you making me feel a little bit embarrassed.”
“I don’t know, I think she hit it right on the head,” a new voice joined them, only for Phoenix cheeks to turn even redder. As their heads turned around they could Ocean walking in, complete with the rest. While she had a smile on her lips, one could still make out the underlying worry in her expression.
“You love to tease me, do you?” Phoenix sighed.
“Ok, that for sure, but I’m dead serious. You have pretty much become my definition of a hero,” she chuckled before adding with a far more serious tone. “So, how is Rarity?”
“We don’t know yet,” Phoenix sighed, taking another look at the door.
“Sweetie, are you okay?” Scootaloo asked as she noticed that Sweetie was holding an ice pack to her head. “What happened?”
“I don’t know,” Sweetie admitted as she sat down next to Scootaloo and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “I think I blacked out again, the last thing I remember was Light Bulb talking about something and then I woke up on the bathroom floor with a headache the size of Texas.”
Scootaloo paused a moment, there was something weird about that. This was the second time Sweetie had blacked out, the medical staff at SMILE had scanned her but found nothing unusual. It was weird, but they had bigger problems right now.
“Okay, clearly we need to keep an eye on Rarity,” Tempest said as she crossed her arms. “My suggestion is that we keep two Riders at the hospital, for now, to keep an eye on things in case the Agent comes back. Any volunteers?”
“I would be wil-” Phoenix was about to say when he was interrupted by Ocean.
“Yeah, no. I don’t think wasting you here is such a good idea. Uhm, Pinecone, would you-”
“Sure, if you want that, saves me from being near him anyway and that is always appreciated,” the dark-skinned man returned with a grumbly tone.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Phoenix huffed back, only stopped by Ocean who put her hand on his shoulder and shook her head, the Rider begrudgingly staying put.
“I’ll stay as well,” Sweetie Drops said with a nod. “It’s the best option right now and leaves the rest of you to scout the city.”
“Alright, check-ins every 15 minutes,” Tempest said. “If we don’t hear from you after that we have to assume that the Agent attacked. In addition, we should have officers outside the room and watching from the street. I doubt this thing can walk through walls so they still have to use the door or window like anyone else.”
“Sure thing, I’ll just tell officer Armor and some of the rest of his men to do that, he should be able to handle this,” Ocean returned, already reaching for the communicator in her ear.
“Alright, sounds like we have a plan,” Apple Bloom said with a nod. “So, what do we do now? Hope we get a readin’ on tha cat lady monster thing?”
“Well, I could just call Light Bulb, maybe the calibrating is already done?” Phoenix returned. “Where was that damn number again? Ah, here! Hey, Light-”
“Phoenix? Is that you? You have to come! Now! The monster, it’s here!” Shouted the voice of the timmied scientist back at him.
“Got it!” He took a quick look around before continuing: “Guys, we gotta move, now! Scoots, you’re gonna ride with me again!”
“Alright, let’s go,” Scootaloo said with a nod as she got up and made sure her Driver and cards were secured.
“Yeah, we have a monster but to kick after all!” He chuckled back as the three Riders dashed out the door, past Shining Armor who just waved them goodbye.
00000
It felt like hours had passed since the call, she could hear the sounds of the alarm ringing through the entire facility as guards were storming past her room and straight towards danger. Light Bulb had locked the door and was currently hiding under her desk, but not before locking away all her inventions, as well as the scarf Ocean had left her, in a safe. Before any other thought could cross her mind she could fell a strong shake go through the whole building, the muffled sound of an explosion audible from outside. It was coming closer.
Then everything just stopped silence, no footsteps, no explosions, nothing it was just quiet, well besides the alarm. Who knew that quiet was so much worse than the sounds of a battle. Every second felt like an eternity, and all she could do was cower in fear and wait for help. This must have been how Ivory felt like when Alkahest had come for him, would she suffer a similar fate? No! She shouldn’t think about that right now!
Then the silence was ripped apart, the door suddenly creaking under immense pressure that quickly turned into the sound of bending metal. She could see the feet of the thing, clad in metallic boots as she walked through the room, every step echoing through from wall to wall. She hadn’t even noticed the fact that she had stopped breathing altogether until she had spent all of her air. The monster didn’t wander around aimlessly, she was on a straight path towards the safe.
Then she heard it once again, the bending of metal and quickly thereafter a loud metallic sound as the front of the safe was thrown to the wayside, right next to her. She noticed far to late the yelp she let out, one the agent would not in a thousand years miss. And indeed, the monstrous being turned around and chuckled: ”Come out little mouse, hiding is pointless against me.”
She drew her sword and slammed it down on her hiding place, the sharp sound of metal against metal as she raised her foot to kick it away.
Light Bulb reacted like anyone in her situation would, scream her lungs out and desperately crawl out from under the desk, scrambling to get towards the door. However, lady luck didn’t seem to be on her side, in the panic slipping on the floor of her own lab and falling down not even two meters away from the door, a loud malicious laugh could be heard behind her.
“You won’t get away from me that easily,” the Agent said with a wicked grin as she raised the katana above her head. “Time to meet your maker science girl.”
Light Bulb let out a loud screech and held her hands in front of her face, absolute terror filling her every thought. She expected the worst, well until all of a sudden two loud shoots rang through her ears and the pained grunts of her assailant could be heard. She dared to open her eyes once again only to see that her attack had been thrown across the room and a familiar gun loomed over her head.
Without as much as a second thought, she scrambled backward, past two blue, two red and two black and green legs. She did that until she hit the wall on the other side of the hallway, letting her wince in surprise. “Hey, Light Bulb, everything ok?” She could hear Ocean’s voice, the terrified woman quickly nodding. “Good, then better get out of here.” That was something she hadn't to be told twice, hastily staggering back on her feet, almost falling back over and running down the hall.
“You Riders just had to go and ruin my fun again,” the agent said with a sneer as she pointed her sword at the newcomers. “You’ll pay for that! You’re going to be able to stop me this time, not with the power I have!”
“Oh no, Ocean, look what she has in her hands!” Pheonix shouted over her back in utter shock.
At that moment ocean had noticed as well what the agent had gotten ahold of, the artifact her counterpart had used. Without even a second thought she unloaded all four remaining rounds at the monster, aimed directly at her scarf. However, before even a single one of her shots could connect the room was engulfed in a bright light that blinded the Riders.
“What the…” Scootaloo said as she covered her visor to try and protect her vision from the bright light. “What’s going on?”
“Something bad, something really bad. She just activated the artifact!” Phoenix shouted back.
When the light faded the Agent’s armor had changed into that of a samurai warrior and a second smaller sword had appeared in her other hand. She now sported a helmet that was styled like a cat. Her grin was barely visible behind the visor of the helmet as she pointed her swords at the Riders.
“Such… power! It flows through me!” She said with a laugh. “You foolish Riders, you don’t stand a chance against me!”
“Great, just great. Can’t anything be easy for just once?” Phoenix groaned, taking a step back.
“Apparently because we’re Kamen Riders, the answer is no,” Scootaloo said with a groan as she raised her rapier. “I swear it's like we’re at the whim of some twisted gods who use us for their own entertainment.”
“Oh, come on, that is ridiculous,” Ocean returned while reloading her gun. “You can discuss philosophy later, we have a big problem on our hands here.”
The agent laughed as she ran forward and slashed hard at Ocean in the middle of reloading with her swords. “What, do you think this is some cartoon? I’m not going to make it that easy for you!”
The revolver flew out of her hand and landed a few feet behind her, the Rider reacting quickly with pulling out her Stun Baton and blocking the next attack before making a backflip in the direction of her fallen weapon, giving the hybrid a kick to her chin as a parting gift, even if it didn’t seem to do all that much. The moment the revolver found itself back into her hands she spun the cylinder on the ground and unloaded all six shots into the opponent after landing on her feet again. To her utter dismay, this did not yield the expected results, every shot just bouncing off her.
“Did you really think it was going to be simple?” The Agent said with a laugh. “I have more power than ever before! The magic of this artifact has made me even stronger! Forget the Master, I can use this power to become an Overlord in my own right!”
“Great, she’s gone mad with power,” Scootaloo said with a groan as she reached for her deck and slid two new cards into her Driver.
“ARCANA CIRCLE SHIELD!”
“ARCANA SHORTSWORD!”
The Driver sparked with energy as the Rapier vanished from her hand and a shorter sword and the circle shaped shield appeared in her hand. She held them upright and looked at the monster hard.
“We’re going to take you down!” She said.
“I’d like to see you try,” the Agent said with a laugh.
“Please, we are more than willing to show you. How about we kick this into the next gear Ocean?” Phoenix shouted back while changing the Disc on his Driver.
“Good! I’m really getting tired of this girl,” she shouted back inserting a new Charger into the Driver as well.
“Charge up!”
\ 50, 80, 100! FRIENDSHIP CHARGE! /
\ FRIENDSHIP DISC ACTIVATED! /
\ Friendship Disc Attack Mode! /
\ Connect Protector! /
With Alchemy and Charge now in their purple armors the three Riders stood around the agent, Ocean the first one to fire her rifle, each shot at least getting a low grunt from the monster.
“We should probably get her out of here if we do this inside we would probably just endanger more people,” she houted over the constant fire of her gun.
“Yeah, I’ll work on that,” Phoenix shouted back. “You don’t mind if I break a few walls while doing that, do you?”
“Go ahead!”
“With pleasure! Hey Scoots, give me a helping hand!” He screamed over to the Rider before rushing shield first at the armored opponent.
“You got it!” Scootaloo said with a nod as she rushed forward towards the monster at the same time. She raised her sword as she held her shield out and prepared to strike the monster with her shortsword.
The Agent screamed out as Scootaloo knocked her back with her shield and then slashed at her with the shortsword. “You little… you’ll pay for that!” She shouted.
“Sorry, didn’t bring any cash with me and I’m pretty sure my credit cards won’t work in this universe,” Scootaloo said with a grin from behind her helmet.
“Prefect! Now, dodge!” Alchemy called out to her from behind, quickly following the orders of the Rider, even though she had no idea what he wanted to do. This continued as two magic seals appeared on the feet of the agent that quickly started to hover over the ground. That was roughly the time Alchemy rushed past her, shield in the front and right into the agent. Without any ground to stand on the monster was quickly pushed back and right into the wall, but instead of stopping Phoenix did the opposite, he got faster and faster, breaking through the wall with no problem and disappearing in the dust cloud that flowed from the new hole in the wall.
“Guessing that means to follow him,” Scootaloo said as she ran through the hole after Alchemy and the Agent.
“Yeah, probably. You sometimes don’t really know what he wants, especially when he pulls something like this,” Ocean chuckled from behind her before adding with a somewhat embarrassed undertone: “But to be fair, it has its charm. He just needs someone to point him in the right direction and he comes up with something unexpected.”
“So, who’s gonna pay for these walls?” Scootaloo asked as she eyed the walls as they headed out.
“Well, this is an MRG facility, after all, I’m sure Onyx is gonna be understanding, even if this might cause a bit of a kerfuffle with the local heads. But I’m sure this will fall under wear and tear,” she nervously returned, trying her best to sound not worried.
“I’ve heard Japan in my universe has entire insurance agencies dedicated to selling monster attack insurance…. Apparently, it started as a joke, but, yeah…” Scootaloo said as they neared the exit of the building.
“Can see why. Have the feeling some of those will pop up here as well,” she shook her head as they passed the third hole.
“Yeah… probably, probably the same in…” Scootaloo started to say as they passed through the fourth hole in the wall and she let it trail off.
To their relief that was indeed the last hole, leading right to the parking lot, complete with several cars standing around, one with a dent in it. It didn’t take that long to spot the two combatants Alchemy and the agent was trading blows just a few meters away from it. With her two swords, the monster was currently wailing on Alchemy who was struggling to block each following attack. “Hey, a bit help here? This kitty is quite agile!”
“Yeah, yeah, coming!” Charge returned, before starting to fire her rifle at the monster, a few shots taking the attention of the monster of Phoenix, well at least it looked that way before the agent delivered a swift kick to his stomach throwing the Rider into a nearby car. With Alchemy no longer in her reach, she rushed towards Ocean, deflecting any attack that came her way.
The agent quickly caught up to her, Ocean not stopping her firing spree for even a second, even if the shoots completely missed their target. She barely managed to wedge her rifle in between her and the katana and to kick her opponent back a few steps before she dashed forward once again. Well, she would have if it wasn’t for the fact that the blasts that had missed had actually curved around and now impacted one after another in the back of the agent, turning her mad dash forward into a pathetic stumble. One Charge finished off with a swift spinning kick that sent the monster flying into another car.
“Scoots, I think this is your chance!” Ocean shouted towards her as she backed off from the monster, not without unloading even more shots on her.
Scootaloo nodded as she raised her sword and slashed at the Agent hard across the chest, causing her to scream loudly and stumble back. “This… isn’t… over…”
“Really? Because it’s looking pretty over to me,” Scootaloo said as she pointed her shortsword at the monster. “And your future isn’t looking too bright.”
“Then I will have to change it,” the agent said with a wicked grin as she crossed her swords and they started to glow brightly before she vanished with a cackle.
“Oh come on, not again!” Scootaloo said as she stomped her foot hard on the ground. “I swear she’s cheating by doing this so much.”
“Yeah, I’m getting what you mean with that,” Phoenix returned with a groan, stepping next to her, weapons ready to strike.
“Maybe you should try that water trick again,” Scootaloo suggested as she held her sword and shield for a long moment and kept an eye out.
“Yeah, let’s try it!”
\ WATER DISC ACTIVATED! /
Wasting no time the Rider slammed his fist down on the ground before flicking whit his fingers, the water spraying out of the seal in seconds and covering the entire parking lot in it. And just like last time showing them exactly where their opponent was. “Well, seems you didn’t learn Kitty, still falling for the same tricks.”
“Really? Because I think this says otherwise,” the agent cackled and after a moment she vanished as the water suddenly went straight through her.
“OH, YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!” Scootaloo shouted at the top of her lungs.
“Ok, you know what, yep she is cheating!” Phoenix joined her, frantically looking around for any sign of the monster.
Scootaloo’s shield vanished as she held the sword upright. “Intangibility and invisibility… that is not a good combination,” Scootaloo said with a groan as she looked around. “Any suggestions on what we should do?”
“Right now? Not really, besides maybe pulling out all the stops, but I’m not sure if this is a problem we can punch through,” Phoenix returned gritting through his teeth.
“Right now I think we need to regroup and come up with a plan,” Scootaloo said as she glanced around, holding her sword tightly. “Unless one of you has a better idea.”
“Nope, bailing sounds like the best idea right now!” Phoenix returned, before adding a slightly embarrassed: “Huh, so this is how it feels to run in the middle of a fight, go figure.”
“Ok, got it!” Ocean shouted back, pulling out another Charger.
“Charge up!”
\ 50, 80, 100! WATER CHARGE! /
“Whatever you do, just follow me!” She shouted at them before steam erupted from the jets all over her armor, covering the entire area in a thick mist. As the mist dissipated once again the three Riders were nowhere to be seen, leaving the invisible agent behind.
00000
“Fuck!” That singular word echoed through the office as Phoenix slammed his fist on the table. After they had escaped from their fight with the Corrupted-Agent-Thing they had made a b-line right towards the MRG headquarters.
They had managed to get a few of the still remaining cameras in the lab to work and were right now going through the events that transpired after they had left, all while the other Riders that had stayed behind to protect Rarity would hear everything over a speaker. After ranting about them for a while the agent returned back inside the lab and headed right towards several other artifacts that hadn’t been shipped to any of the warehouses yet and pocketed them.
“That’s not good…” Scootaloo said as she watched the footage. “She was able to get this powerful just from one artifact, I don’t want to think about what kind of power she’d get from all of those.”
“I… I don’t think that would be a possible option, well if she works the same way other Corrupted work,” Light Bulb added with a week voice, nervously looking out of the window. “Even if she is absolutely terrifying,” she added. “Normal Corrupted can only use one artifact at a time, but she could do something else with them…”
“Off the top of my head, she could bring them back to our universe and give them to the Order’s leadership,” Tempest suggested with a frown. “That would be bad, the last thing we need is more of these things.”
“So, how do we stop her?” Scootaloo asked.
“Good question really,” Ocean sighed. “At least, the idea that she might take it back home is not that likely. Remember what she said?”
“She wants revenge… though clearly, that’s distorted because that isn’t even the same Rarity…” Scootaloo said as she stroked her chin thoughtfully for a moment. She thought back to everything that had happened leading up to this point with the Order. “There’s still an Order Agent Parasitic Spirit at its core, right?”
“Right,” Tempest nodded. “Something about Suri Polomare’s mind seems to be affecting it or it’s just playing along with her revenge scheme.”
“Right, that’s not something we normally see in their behavior,” Scootaloo said. “The last one we encountered, for example, was willing to indulge the host’s revenge desire sure, but the Agent’s ultimate mission overrode it before it could kill anyone.”
“And then there is the fact that she fancies herself an overlord now. She might even want more power, that’s why she stole the artifacts. I hope she doesn’t get too frustrated when she can’t use them and breaks one, we don’t need her to know about what happens then,” Ocean added with a frown.
“Right, except the Order doesn’t work like that,” Scootaloo said with a nod. “They’ve been going after me and my friends directly for the most part. Maybe what we need to do is somehow appeal to that basic programming of the Order Agent and lure her somewhere away from anyone else. The question is how do we actually defeat her…”
“Well, we could be fast enough to hit her while she is still tangible, but if she is invisible, not even that will work,” Ocean returned with a shake of her head. “And if she figures out what happens when she breaks an artifact she even has a small army at her disposal.”
“Scootaloo, you crossed paths with the Eight of Swords monster didn’t you?” Tempest Shadow asked.
“Uh, yeah,” Scootaloo said as she reached into her deck box and took out a tarot card. It depicted a bound woman surrounded by eight swords. “That freaky skinwalker-like thing, I still have nightmares sometimes about him. Why?”
“The minor arcana cards that are five and higher aren’t just the weapons,” Tempest said. “They come with special extra abilities. While I’m not familiar with the Eight of Swords, there is a chance that it might give us an edge in the upcoming fight. Just be careful, the higher the card the more of a toll it’ll take on your body.”
“Great…” Scootaloo said as she stared at the card in her hand. “But if it’s what it takes to beat this thing, I’ll do it.”
“Huh, gambling on an ability you never used? Don’t get me wrong, we have to use everything we have, but I don’t like this one bit. I had bad experiences with that,” Phoenix returned, eyeing the speaker suspiciously. “And on another note, if you know about the abilities, shouldn’t that be critical, need to know information?”
“We don’t have much of a choice, the higher the card the more powerful the weapon,” Tempest said with a sigh. “She was supposed to be eased into this kind of thing. However, given how things went last time this may be our best option. It’s a gamble yes, but the alternative is that we try everything we did last time and hope it works this time.”
“Look, we need to stop this thing and if this is our best chance right now then I’m willing to risk it,” Scootaloo said. “Our job is to protect the world from threats like the Order or the Corrupted. Sometimes that means taking risks and putting our lives on the line in order to keep people safe. Unless you’ve got some super cool power you can pull out of nowhere Phoenix, this is our best option.”
“I know, I know. Still, dick move. Yes, that was directed at you,” he shouted at the receiver. “So, wanna try it before or go in hoping for the best?”
“Unfortunately we will have to do the latter,” Tempest said with a sigh. “Like I said a card like this will take a toll on her body. If she uses it now she will likely be unable to recover in time to deal with the Order Agent before she can pull something worse off. It will leave her incapacitated and it won’t be safe to use it again for days. She needs to get used to using these cards before she can use them regularly. If we had time, then yes I would agree with you but right now we do not have the time.”
“I hate it when they are right,” he mumbled before letting out a sigh. “Well, then it’s pretty much do or die. So, business as usual.”
“Yeah, pretty much,” Scootaloo said as she looked at the card one last time before sliding it back into her deck box. “I don’t like this either Phoenix, but unless someone has a better idea this is what we’re going to have to do.”
“Yeah, yeah, I got it the first time, doesn’t stop me from complaining the whole way through though,” he weakly chuckled in return.
“You think you have it bad, I’m gonna have to explain this to my fiance,” Scootaloo groaned. “She isn’t listening, right?”
“No, she’s away at the moment,” Tempest answered.
“Yeah… gonna have to explain this to her…” Scootaloo sighed.
“Huh, I’m not envying you Scoots,” Phoenix returned with a sly grin. “Thankfully my girlfriend is more open with stuff like that.”
“Yeah, because I have a constant eye on you so you don’t do anything stupid,” Ocean returned with a smug smirk.
“He, yeah, that as well,” he sheepishly added.
“Alright, then we have a plan,” Tempest said. “So then we need to figure out how to lure the monster out. Do you have a suggestion of a clear area we could lead them to?”
“An area that is large and doesn’t leave to much room to escape? Maybe the stadium? The field should be plenty enough for a good fight and it’s pretty much empty, so no civilians in danger. I think that could work, just how we get her there is the question,” Ocean said in return, still somewhat lost in thoughts.
“Well, we could do what we did with the bat creature,” Scootaloo said. “Basically taunt the spirit into chasing after us. It’s not exactly a safe option, but if we can get into some fast vehicles we could probably lead her right to the stadium.”
“Or we could take advantage of her desire to get revenge on Rarity,” Tempest suggested. “If we can fool her into thinking that she’s in the area it might do the trick. We’d just have to figure out how to do it without actually putting Rarity in the line of fire.”
“Yeah, that is a problem. I’m sure she would be up for it, but even then I wouldn’t be comfortable with her actually doing it. We have to think of something else,” Ocean continued, her expression shrouded in worry.
“Uhm… Maybe-” Light Bulb was about to say as she was interrupted by Phoenix.
“Yeah, we aren’t gonna risk rarity’s life for this, but if we don’t figure something out the agent will just go after her regardless.”
“Ahm, Phoenix, I have-”
“Yeah, we have to think of something soon or we can forget the whole stadium plan,” Ocean added.
“Ahm! I have an idea!” Light Bulb finally called out, every eye in the room quickly darting at her. “Uhm, I mean I might know a way,” she added with far more nervousness.
“No, no. Come on, tell us. We are pretty much open for everything right now,” Ocean said with a warm smile on her lips.
“So, um, you know, I could do it,” she managed to stammer out.
“What do you mean?” Phoenix asked, sounding rather confused, all while a nervous expression formed on Ocean’s face.
“Well, I’m not that tall and have a similar skin tone to Rarity as well as hair length. If we dye my hair purple I could probably pass as Rarity, at least from afar,” she finished, a nervous smile on her lips.
“Are you serious? You have seen her and how she nearly killed you, now think what she would do to the actual goal of her revenge. And you want to play bait? Are you insane?” Ocean shouted out, looking at the scientist like she was out of her mind, Light Bulb took a step back.
“I… I know. And I would rather never see this… this thing ever again, but we are at a loss for options here and if we don’t do something soon Rarity will be in even more danger. If I can help then I damn well will, I joined the MRG to help people, just like you did,” the timid woman burst out, her confidence growing with every word.
“We’ll have our team there as well as the Riders to help protect her,” Tempest said. “Admittedly we don’t know what kind of effect the bullets will have on a hybrid like this but it should be able to at least slow it down to help the Riders.”
“Fine, ok then. If this is ok with you Light Bulb then we will do this. Even though I don’t like this one bit,” Ocean sighed.
“Yes, I want to do that!” The scientist returned, staring Ocean dead in the eyes with a glare of determination that could have stared down a lion.
“Good, then we are doing this. Get everything moving, we don’t have much time!”
00000
Cramped, that was probably the word best describing how all of this felt. Light Bulb had come with Phoenix and Ocean to the hospital Rarity was at and with her a good amount of hair dye and other pieces of make-up. They had all headed to Rarity’s room and ‘borrowed’ the dress she had worn when she had the accident. They were sure she wouldn’t mind… all that much and it was with the blessing of her friends that had gathered around the still unconscious girl.
After her transformation into the high school student had been finished one could actually mistake her for Rarity, at least from afar. So the plan could definitely succeed, that was at least a start. With Rarity transferred to another room, they headed out, Light Bulb’s heart was beating a mile a minute as she stepped out of the hospital and into an armored van, thought after thought flooding her mind. No! This had to work and no amount of thinking would change anything at this point, she knew that.
The three Riders, Alchemy, Charge, and Monster let their engines roar to life the moment the doors of van closed shut and they drove off. While Light Bulb was left completely in the dark to what was going on outside both Phoenix and Ocean quickly noticed that someone was definitely following them. A girl clad in leather as well as a long flowing scarf on a chopper, she had started her engine shortly after them and had slowly caught up to them. A small nod from Ocean was all that he needed to know. The Rider slowly pulled his hand from the gas and slowed down until he was driving right next to their uninvited guest.
Staring at her with his green bug eyes was apparently enough for her to understand that her disguise had been shattered. The scarf quickly started to glow, Alchemy falling back even more, now driving right behind the quickly transforming monster. Like expected the girl quickly had taken on her monster form, but there was one thing Phoenix had not expected, the bike had changed as well. Not a normal back chopper anymore, the bike had changed into what could only be described as an armored war machine. It still maintained its general shape, but now clad in black metallic armor. Images of cats were plastered all over the monstrosity as well as multiple blades. Where the headlight would normally be an open cat mouth greaten them, glowing in a bright red.
Within seconds both of them let their machines roar. Everyone on the street turning their heads towards the sudden noise that sounded like the roar of a damn dragon and the two machines rushing past them. With its new form, the agent quickly began catching up to the van, but not only she did, but Alchemy was also just behind her, his weapon drawn and ready to defend the transport with everything he had.
Phoenix drove right next to her, his blade ready to swing down on her, then the sound could be heard. The eerie sound of metal against metal as both Alchemy and the agent clashed blades at insane speeds, sparks flowing everywhere and both combatants being pushed back by the immense force. This was, however, nothing that in any way discouraged them in any way, wasting no time to bring their bikes back on a collision course. This time not only did their blades meat in a battle, but their machines also did as well, the black metal of Surie’s bike and the red of Alchemy’s, none of them willing to budge even an inch.
That was just the moment Phoenix had been waiting for, suddenly removing his had from the gas handle all together letting his opponent suddenly turn right thanks to the missing obstacle in her way. But this was not all he had planned, oh not by a longshot, quickly picking up the pace once again. It didn’t even take more than a few moments till he once again was right behind his opponent who still was struggling to bring the machine back under control only to spin the Disc of his weapon on the side of his bike, flaming energy gathering in the blade. Through the deafening roars of the bikes, he screamed: “Flaming Slash!” Before bringing down the devastating attack on the back of the hybrid.
Even though the loud noise of the machines one could hear the bloodcurdling scream of her as she started to seemingly lose control of her bike. Well until she ripped one of the blades from the bike and slammed it into the ground beside her, miraculously pushing her back into a somewhat steady position.
And before Alchemy could come closer again and strike the agent once again ripped one of the blades from her bike and threw it at the Rider, hitting him across the chest with it, slowing him down significantly.
A vicious smirk crossed her face as she ripped the next one from its rightful place and hurled it towards the wheel of the van. The metal projectile quickly covered ground, coming ever closer to the precious rubber as a shot rang through the streets as the blade suddenly shifted trajectory and instead struck the ground. Two more shots followed, hitting next to the agent as she glared at her newfound problem, Charge.
She snarled at the Rider before picking up the pace once more, coming once again closer to the van. Unbeknownst to her, they had already managed to cover a good portion of the way to the stadium, just a little bit more and they would be done, something the agent was not gonna let happen that easily.
With her speed she quickly caught up to the speeding vehicle, ripping one of her blades from the bike and was about to slash at the side of the van as Charge once again fired a shot at her. One shot that to her horror was easily deflected and left the agent with a big enough window to take a good slash at the van, tearing through the outer shell of it like through butter.
And just like the agent had predicted another shot from that reached Kamen Rider headed her way, one easily deflected like the last one. With that dealt with she was about to stab her blade into the wheel of the van as another shot rang out. She could only turn to see the blue energy bolt in all its glory before it hit right into the hole in the helmet that was meant for her eyes. A scream that could have carved flesh from bones if possible could be heard from her as she feebly tried to stay on top of her bike.
The stadium was already in sight, and this was exactly the opportunity they had waited for. Alchemy’s engine roared louder than ever, his bike quickly overtaking the agent who was still flailing around and desperately clinging onto her machine. As this was happening another bike was slowing down right next to her, Monster. With the two Riders roughly on one line in front of the agent, they nodded to each other and Monster threw his whip right towards Alchemy who caught it with ease, then they hit the breaks. With both Riders coming to a screeching halt and the agent still partially blinded she could only watch in horror as the whip tightened right in front of her, and around her front, ripping her from her own machine.
With a loud crash, the bike landed against one of the trees that were planted on the plaza in front of the stadium, all while the monster landed rather roughly on the ground, the two Riders rushing past her and towards the braking van.
“Ok, get moving! Out! Out! Out!” Charge shouted, ‘Rarity’ running out of the van and towards the entry of the stadium.
“Halt!” The voice of the agent called out to them, letting Alchemy and Monster turn around once again, staring in disbelief at the already standing monster. One could truly see the fierce glance in her eyes as she stared them down, furiously pulling out a small sack. With a devilish grin, she threw the sack up in the air, pulled out one of her two katanas and slashed through the sack with one clean cut.
What happened then was their biggest fears taking form, or rather forms. Dozens upon dozens of magical orbs emerged from the remains of the sack quickly crashing into the ground around the monster who was laughing maniacally. Within seconds she was surrounded with a small army of Remnants, all clad in their stony armor.
All Phoenix could say at this moment was a terrified: “Fuck!”
And at that moment the whole lot of them stormed towards them, ready to absolutely overrun them. Well, until something strange happened, a portal that appeared right in between the Remnants and the Riders. Out stepped a Rider, clad in white armor with black accents across it. His armor reminded one of Alchemy, just a bit different and with a feather motif. “You are so pathetic. Really? Already willing to give up?” The Rider shouted at Phoenix who just stared at the figure in utter horror, Chrysopoeia!
Next, another figure stepped out of the portal, a Rider clad in the same armor as Alchemy in his friendship mode, just balk and with purple accents. His entire body language looked different from the other Rider, he looked annoyed and rather listless, Alkahest.
“And who are you two?” The agent growled at them, impatiently wading through her army of Remnants until she stood in front of them.
“And what do you want here?” Alchemy added, tightening the grip on his weapon.
“I? I am perfection, unparalleled, I am the Magnum Opus the Alchemy Systeme will ever create. I am Kamen Rider Chrysopoeia! And what I want? Well, it’s simple, I will be the one to kill Alchemy and I won’t let a pathetic third-grade monster steal that from me,” he boasted across the battlefield, pointing his strange spearlike weapon at the Remnants. “And that means I can’t let you roam around here!” With that, the Dark Rider dashed forward, right at the agent who just hissed in annoyance and disappeared. “And that goes to you Alchemy!” He shouted while slamming his weapon into one of the Remnants. “Don’t dare to die against her!”
Phoenix stared a few more seconds at Chrysopoeia before hissing in disgust and ran into the building after his fellow Riders. It didn’t take them long to reach the field and with it ‘Rarity’ who was surrounded by the remaining Riders. Everyone ok?” Ocean asked, especially looking at Light Bulb, everyone nodding. “Good, we are getting company!”
“Please tell me that means this insane plan worked and we’re not about to have more problems we didn’t account for…” Scootaloo said as she eyed them for a moment.
“Well, there is a small army of Remnants outside, but we probably don’t have to worry about that,” Phoenix returned. “Just don’t ask,” he added with a low growl.
“Thanks for totally alleviating our fears,” Sweetie Drops said as they got ready. “Alright, the team is in place with the weapons. Tempest is keeping an eye on things from the stands with a sniper rifle, and we’re standing in the middle of the field the monster expects to find her target in… yeah, this is a good plan.”
“Let’s hope that it stays a good plan and not devolve into utter chaos,” Ocean stated with a grim undertone. “We can’t afford to lose here!”
“Alright Scootaloo, it’s up to you here,” Tempest’s voice said over her headset. “If we’re lucky your sword will give you a way to force her to be visible. If this doesn’t work, well, we don’t exactly have a Plan B.”
“Don’t kid yourself, this isn’t Plan A, this is Plan C, it’s too crazy to be anything else,” Scootaloo said as she gave the others a nod. “So, how do we actually know when the invisible crazy cat lady is here?”
“We don’t. We have to be fast enough to stop her when she gets visible!” Ocean returned matter of factly, her gun already ready to fire at any moment.
“Alright, then time to try this thing out and see if it works...” Scootaloo said as she reached into her deck box and took a deep breath. She remembered what Tempest said, this wasn’t going to be easy on her but it was the best option. She slid the card into her Driver after a moment.
“ARCANA BROADSWORD!”
A sword formed in her hand, it was covered with ornate black and gold designs on the hilt with a basket protecting her hand. She eyed the sword for a moment and held it out, her hand shaking a little as she did.
“Scootaloo, are you okay?” Sweetie’s voice said over her communicator.
“Yeah… I’m fine, just didn’t expect it to be that big,” Scootaloo said as she raised the sword and looked around. Nothing seemed to jump out at her, was Tempest wrong and this was just a normal weapon after all?
A cackle came up around them, which just caused Scootaloo to grip the hilt of the sword tightly as the Riders looked around for any sign of the Order Agent. Finally, the armored woman appeared in front of them holding her swords aloft.
“Well, it looks like you’ve got a new toy,” the Agent said as she pointed her shorter sword at Scootaloo. “Not that it’s going to matter, you can’t hit me as long as I have this power at my disposal!”
“We’ll see about that!” Scootaloo said as she tried to sound more confident than she actually felt as she gripped the sword tight. “This ends here and now!”
“I don’t think so, I’ve got business to complete here, have fun trying to hit me,” the agent said with a laugh before she vanished again.
“Form up on Rarity,” Sweetie Drops said as she raised her bow as the Riders moved around Light Bulb. “She still has to get through us if she wants to get to her.”
“Yeah, and she won’t be doing that under my watch!” Phoenix joined in, holding his sword ready for any incoming attacker.
Scootaloo glanced around from behind her helmet’s red-eyed visor for a moment. She hated having to face a monster that she couldn’t even see or guarantee a hit against as she held the broadsword out.
She blinked when she looked at the long blade and realized that it was shimmering slightly. When she pointed it away it stopped but when she pointed it forward again she realized that it was getting stronger and the sword was starting to shake in her hands.
On instinct alone, she swung the sword around and slashed hard at what seemed to be thin air. At least until a scream was heard as the Agent faded into existence on the ground with a sword slash across the chest.
“What? How did you… what?” The Agent demanded. “That shouldn’t have been possible!”
“I don’t understand it myself, but you’re not going to be able to hide from us anymore,” Scootaloo said as she started to feel more confident. “And we’re about to take you down!”
"Oh, it's time for payback," Phoenix added with a bright grin from under his mask before he, Ocean and Pinecone all removed their respective transformation devices and replaced them with a white Disc with golden accents, a strange device with a cylinder and a white medal.
“Charge up!”
\ HEUREKA! /
\ 100, 150, 200! OVER CHARGE! /
\ AWAKEN: CHIMERA! /
While Phoenix was consumed by a white whirlwind with several colored spots in it, Ocean was guarded by a white energy orb and Pinecone as six etherial monsters burst out of his Driver and rushed into several parts of his armor.
When everything had settled Alchemy was clad in white armor with golden accents, golden shoulders in the form of feathers and a white cape with golden borders, glaring at the monster with his blue eyes and feather themed horns. Charge meanwhile was clad in white armor with silver plating and black lines. All over her body engines had been plastered and in her hand, she held a massive canon. Monster meanwhile had suited up in a suit that was made out of stylized heads of the beast that made up his powers, all representatively locate on his legs, arms, chest, and head.
“Once more, everyone has cool form changes but us,” Lyra said as Sweetie Drops raised her bow and aimed it at the monster while Scootaloo raised her sword. “You always take me to the nicest places, you know that right Bon Bon?”
“Real funny,” Sweetie Drops said with a roll of her eyes as she pressed her hand to the side of her helmet. “Team one open fire, let’s see if we can slow her down at least.”
“Affirmative,” the voice said on the other end and after a moment shots rang out over the stadium as several bullets tore into the Agent’s armor and she let out a cry.
“Why you little…” She started to say as she turned towards the stands only to get hit in the back with an energy arrow.
“Your fight is with us not them,” Sweetie Drops said as she pulled her bowstring back again and aimed it at the Agent. “And it ends now!”
“You’ll have to try harder than that!” The agent roared as she gripped her swords tightly as energy flowed around her before she ran right at Sweetie Drops, just barely avoiding more shots from the team as she raised her swords to attempt to attack the red and pink Kamen Rider.
Sweetie Drops jumped just as the swords swung towards her and planted a kick in the monster’s chest as she did a flip and landed on the ground behind the Agent. She quickly turned around and fired another arrow at the monster who cried out.
“How’s that for trying?” Sweetie Drops said as she fired several more arrows at the armored monster.
As the agent staggered backward with an agonizing scream something zoomed past her. When she noticed she could already feel the sting in her side, the feeling of sharp claws that were digging right through her armor and into her skin. As she looked down she could see a faint blue glimmer over the bird-themed gauntlet before the claws were ripped from her and a foot took their place, shimmering with red energy.
Landing several feet away she quickly tried to come back on her feet, only for a beast-like helmet to appear right in front of her, the red eyes glared at her from the white material before she felt herself lifted from the ground, a low growl accompanying this the whole way through. For a few moments, she could nothing do but stare into the soulless eyes right in front of her, only for her sudden elevation to turn into a quick fall down back towards earth, well more like she was shoved back down. As she was rammed into the ground the groaning of metal could be heard and on several parts of her body, she could feel the armor shift under the sudden force.
When the monstrous Rider suddenly disappeared she couldn’t be happier, well for a second at least, because the new thing in her sight was arguably worse. Right where Monster had stood several bright orbs were heading her way, with terrifying speed one might add. She desperately tried to scramble away, her metallic fingers digging into the grass of the stadium, but it was all for not as the first orb hit her. The heat was unimaginable, she could feel it through her armor, the metal quickly taking in the heat of the attack and leaving burn marks on her skin. Then the second hit, similar pain surged through her arm and as the third struck its target she could feel herself lifted off the ground, all while the burning sensation all over her body continued to spread.
The landing wasn’t as equally unpleasant, but it was still far from something she could call comfortable, hitting the ground at least on three separate occasions until she finally came to a halt. But all the pain, all the burned fur that filled the air, all of it was nothing compared to the pure rage she felt. Every sensation besides her breath and the anger quickly were pushed into the background as she heaved herself off the ground, staggering forward a few steps before coming to a halt.
Noticing immediately the Rider that was rocketing towards her, small little flames coming off her all over her body as she hovered above the ground and straight towards her. With a ferocious roar, she pulled both katanas from their sheaths and dashed forward at the incoming Rider. Charge showed no sign of slowing down, even though she was heading straight at the monster. Then in the last possible moment, several of the engines stopped only for others to activate, letting Charge rush over her and unload several shots into her backside, the monster stumbling forward until it stood before two more Riders, Alchemy and Justice.
“Hey Kitty, how about we show you what happens when you really piss us off? Sounds good? Good!” Phoenix chuckled, cracking his knuckles in the process. “So, should we start Scoots?”
“Yeah, let’s finish this!” Scootaloo said as she held her broadsword up and she nodded to Sweetie Drops who held her bow up and pulled back to form another energy arrow. “You’re future isn’t looking bright. And we’re about to show you just why that is!”
“This… isn’t… possible…” The Agent said as she struggled to steady herself and crossed her swords. “I won’t let you get away with this!”
“Yeah, yeah, broken record and so on. You are exactly like every other monster we fought, arrogant, full of themselves and worst of all, never know when to stop. Do you know why you are gonna lose? Because you are stuck in the past, you can’t let go of it. We, however, we will keep moving forward towards a bright future!” Alchemy returned, pointing his finger at the agent.
“And we’re going to keep fighting to make sure that brighter future exists,” Scootaloo said as she pointed the broadsword at the Agent. “Because we’re Kamen Riders, and it is our duty to protect the world from threats like you. We will return to defeat the likes of you, no matter how many times it takes!”
“Exactly! And now it’s time to fulfill this duty!” Phoenix added. “You're going down Kitty!”
“I’d like to see you two masked freaks try!” The Agent laughed as she held her swords out. “Come at me, both of you!”
“They really never learn, do they?” He sighed while shaking his head.
“Nope, they do not appear to,” Scootaloo said as she held the sword up. “Also, masked freaks? Have you looked in a mirror recently lady? I thought you were a cat monster, not a pot monster.”
“You do realize that sounds more like something based on drugs right?” Sweetie said over her helmet’s communicator.
“STOP RUINING MY BANTER!” Scootaloo said with a groan. “Forget it, the moment’s ruined, let’s just deal with this cat freak.”
The Agent just laughed as she held her swords out. “Then try it!”
Scootaloo gripped the sword tightly and headed straight for the monster as she gave Phoenix a nod as she swung the large sword at the monster who barely managed to catch it with her own swords.
“You’re still sloppy with that sword,” the cat woman said with a laugh. “You don’t even know how to use it yet do you?”
“No, but I don’t have to,” Scootaloo said as she kicked hard at the Agent’s chest sending her sprawling back. “I won this weapon from one of your comrades who was way more terrifying and dangerous than you could ever hope to be! You think you’re so powerful, but you’re nothing more than a joke!”
“Just keep telling yourself that you bitch…” the Agent said as she struggled to get to her feet and steadied herself. “I’m going to rip you apart, and then do the same to your friends and family! There is nothing you can do to hope to stop me!”
Suddenly she felt something from behind swooping away one of her legs, letting the agent fall to the ground only to receive a devastating punch to the stomach. “Blah, blah, blah. Oh for the love of everything holy can you just shut up! You are by far the most annoying monster I have ever seen and to be frank, one if incredibly bad taste. I mean really, you look stupid!” Before the agent could say anything in return Phoenix simply kicked her towards Scootaloo. “She is all yours!”
“Got it!” Scootaloo said as she swung her sword around and slashed hard at the Agent. The Agent tried to stop it with her swords, only to have them knocked out of her hands as Scootaloo pushed her back onto the ground.
“Finisher then?” Scootaloo asked as she glanced at Phoenix as a green glow formed around her foot.
“Give me a moment, there is still one thing I have to do,” he returned before clearing his throat. “Kitty, you used the powers that were bestowed upon you to attack others, took over a human and hurt my friends. By the magic that was bestowed upon me, I deem you unworthy of your powers and will now take them from you!” With that, he started to spin the Disc on his Driver.
\ Philosopher Stone Maximum Power! /
Both Riders jumping into the air, golden energy gathering around Phoenix’s foot as well as six golden wings extending from his back. The two of them rocketed towards the monster, the energy on their legs growing ever brighter as well as golden lights that formed into a whirlwind extending from Phoenix leg. Then the kicks connected, the agent could only scream in a howl of pain as both Riders pushed through her, letting the monster go off in a ball of fire and explosions behind them.
“Well, look at that, I was right. Go figure,” he chuckled.
“I need more catchphrases…” Scootaloo said with a groan as she started to wobble a little bit as she reached down to her Driver and deactivated it as her world started to get dark.
“Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle called out and she could barely see her running towards her before she fell to the ground, her vision going dark as she slipped into unconsciousness.
00000
“Is she goin’ ta be okay, Doc?” Apple Bloom’s voice said as Scootaloo’s eyes slowly opened.
“She should be,” a voice that it took her a moment to realize was the doctor from the SMILE medical ward. “Her body isn’t used to the drain on her from the card, frankly we’re lucky the fight didn’t last too much longer or it might’ve killed her.”
“I don’t know what she was thinking, she had to know that it was dangerous,” the familiar voice of Rarity said. “I can’t imagine how worried Sweetie must’ve been.”
Scootaloo’s eyes finally opened and she looked over to see Rarity and Applejack standing there with Apple Bloom talking with the Doctor. She looked at her side and saw Sweetie lying at her bedside, asleep with her hand clasped around her’s.
“Ugh, did anyone get the license plate of that truck that hit me?” Scootaloo asked with a groan which caught their attention. She rubbed her head with her free hand as Sweetie started to stir and looked up to see her awake, she looked like she had been crying.
“Ms. Dash, I told you not to use that card,” the Doctor said as she walked over to Scootaloo’s bed. “You’re lucky to be alive.”
“I know, I know, it had to be done, and it worked,” Scootaloo said as she looked at Sweetie and squeezed her hand a little bit. “I couldn’t let that monster run amok in this world or ours. It was the best chance we had.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean we have ta like it,” Applejack said as she rolled her eyes a little.
“Well, the genie’s out of the bottle,” the Doctor said with a sigh. “But you’re going to have to use it sparingly from now on at least until you can use it without passing out. And we’re going to have to move you and Ms. Polomare back to our home universe in the next few hours given the effects on the portal seems to be weakening.”
“Right, of course,” Sweetie said with a sigh. “So, what do we do now?”
“For now we need to let Scootaloo relax,” the Doctor said with a nod. “She’s been through a lot recently. I’m going to recommend once she gets back home she takes it easy for at least a day.”
“Yeah, okay,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “I think I can handle that as long as nothing attacks us again.”
“No, if the Order attacks have Agent Drops handle it,” the Doctor said. “Anyway, I’ll leave you alone to talk. If there’s anything else, let me know.”
She headed out the door to the Hospital room at that as Applejack, Rarity, and Apple Bloom headed back over to Scootaloo’s bed.
“So, where’s Honey?” Scootaloo asked.
“Oh, she’s back home with mah family until we get back,” Applejack said with a nod. “Given everythin’ that’s been goin’ on and tha fact that we’d be goin’ ta a whole different universe we thought this would be best.”
“Yeah, probably,” Scootaloo said as she squeezed Sweetie’s hand again. “I’m sorry for worrying all of you… did it at least work?”
“Yeah, you have no idea how hard it was to keep Light Bulb from playing with this thing,” Sweetie said as she handed Scootaloo the card. It depicted two figures in a boat with six swords behind them. “You know the Swords Suit is really weird right?”
“Yeah, I’m starting to realize that,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle as she leaned in and kissed her fiance on the lips. “I’m sorry for worrying you, Sweetie. I promise I’ll be more careful in the future.”
“Good,” Sweetie said with a soft smile as she returned the kiss which they shared for a long moment.
“Do ya’ll have ta make out all tha time?” Apple Bloom asked with a light chuckle as she shook her head at her friends.
“I think it’s cute,” Rarity said with a smile. “Besides, after everything that just happened, I think they deserve some time together.”
“Yeah, yer right,” Applejack said with a soft smile. “Ah’ll admit though, this is one heck of a family vacation though. Never thought Ah’d visit another universe entirely.”
The group just laughed at that. Scootaloo smiled, it was nice to be able to spend time with her friends and their family after everything that had happened. Her life felt like it was in a constant spiral of trouble and nothing else.
It was nice to know that she could have a little bit of normalcy.
Or at least she could have if the door hadn’t just slammed open, five familiar faces entering the room. “Ah, so our sleepyhead is finally awake. That is good to hear,” Phoenix burst out, a bright grin on his face, Ocean, Pinecone, Light Bulb, and Shining Armor right behind him.
“Well there goes spending time with my friends and family,” Scootaloo said with a sigh before chuckling a little. “Hey, one heck of a fight huh?”
“That is one way of putting it,” Light Bulb interrupted Phoenix before he could even as much as get a word in. “I would rather call it absolutely terrifying. How do you do that? Jump into a fight like this and be so casual while doing it?” She looked at Scootaloo and Phoenix for a moment before shuddering a bit.
“Well, how could you jump into it? You wanted to be bait, knowing full well what might happen and you stuck with us for the entire time. So, how did you do it?” Phoenix returned with a slight chuckle.
“Uhm… Well… You know…” She started to stumble before her expression changed into something far calmer. “I just had to. It was the right thing and… Well, in a way helping others just felt right.” During the last part of her sentence, a slight blush covered her cheeks, something her snow-white cheeks couldn’t hide in the slightest.
“Then that’s your answer,” Scootaloo said with a nod as she looked back at Sweetie Belle. “We do it because its the right thing, and more often than not we’re the only ones who can. It’s not an easy job, I admit I’ve faltered more than I should, but it has to be done given the alternative is usually worse.”
“Exactly, it’s about doing what is right, no matter what might happen to you and how hard it can be,” Phoenix added with an approving nod. “But on another note, we are bringing good news. Rarity woke up and it seems she will make a full recovery. Oh, and we should thank you all from the girls.”
“Tell them we were glad to help,” Scootaloo said with a soft smile. “And I’m glad Rarity woke up. With everything that was happening, I was kind of worried about her.”
“Ah gotta admit, this universe is, interestin’,” Applejack said. “Let’s try not ta meet our counterparts though, Ah get tha feelin’ that would be weird.”
“Oh, you have no idea…” Scootaloo said with a light chuckle as she remembered back to the conversation she had with Rarity in the car.
“Yeah, that would probably be a good idea. I already find this extremely weird and I only know you because of my sister,” Shining said, shaking his head with a quite confused expression.
“Oh, I thought you looked familiar,” Rarity said as she looked at Shining Armor. “Huh, guess this universe is pretty similar after all. You’re Twilight’s brother aren’t you?”
“Yeah, officer Shining Armor, nice to meet you,” he extended his hand towards Rarity.
“Nice to meet you as well,” Rarity said with a smile as she shook hands with him. “This is going to certainly be an interesting conversation with our Twilight when we get back to New York. She’s probably going to be mad she didn’t get to go to another universe.”
“Hehe, yeah that sounds like my Twilie,” Shining returned with a chuckle. “Yeah, some things apparently never change.”
“Yeah, that definitely sounds like our Twilight,” Applejack said with a chuckle. “Sounds like it’s a universal constant or somethin’.”
“In all honesty, I don’t know. Oh, this Rider stuff is just weird and it never gets better,” he sighed while shaking his head.
“Oh you have no idea if you ever visit our universe do not look up pictures of Kamen Rider Ex-Aid,” Rarity said with a shudder.
“Yeah, yeah, Rider stuff is weird, you don’t say?” Phoenix added with a slightly mocking tone. “So, you are leaving us soo Scoots? Shame really was a pleasure fighting with you.”
Scootaloo smiled a little and gave him a nod. “It’s been good fighting with you too, and who knows something might happen and we could cross paths again. I wouldn’t mind if that happened, but, you never know.”
“Yeah, you never know, especially with how our lives are. In all honesty, I wouldn’t be all that surprised if it happens again. And if it should happen, be sure to say hello, we’ll do the same. Riders have to look out for each other after all, right buddy?” He extended a thump up towards her, complete with a silly grin.
Scootaloo smiled as she returned the gesture. “Right, who knows what the future holds.”
“Yeah, but I’m pretty sure it’s a bright one. We just have to get there,” he added, a faint smile crossing his lips.
“Yeah… we just have to make sure that it is, and I think you two can help with that,” Sweetie said with a chuckle. “Just don’t get yourselves killed, the last thing we need is dead heroes.”
“Not really planning on that actually, but thanks for the reminder anyway,” he added with a smirk.
Scootaloo smiled a little as she leaned up and kissed Sweetie gently on the lips as she wrapped her arms around her fiance. The two held the kiss for a few moments as they just enjoyed the moment together.
“I think we should leave these two alone,” Rarity said with a soft smile. “I think they’ve earned a little alone time, don’t you?”
“Yes definitely, now shoo,” Scootaloo said with a laugh as she gestured at the group. “We have things to do… err, talk about. We’ll see you again before we leave for our home universe, okay?”
As the others filed out of the room, Scootaloo smiled softly as she took Sweetie’s hand in her’s as she placed it on Sweetie’s engagement ring. “I really am sorry for worrying you before… you know I love you and I just wanted to…”
She was cut off when Sweetie placed her finger on Scootaloo’s lips. “Scootaloo, I understand. You did what you had to do in order to stop the monster. Just promise me that you’ll be careful from now on, okay?”
“I promise,” Scootaloo said with a soft smile as she stroked Sweetie’s hair a little. “I promise I’ll only use the Eight of Swords when I absolutely have to. Though really I’m not sure how useful that ability would be anyway.”
“You never know, but enough about that,” Sweetie said as she kissed Scootaloo again. “So, how about we take advantage of the time we have alone?”
Scootaloo smiled a little as she kissed Sweetie again. There wasn’t much they could do right now, but they could simply enjoy this moment of closeness. After all, with a life like they had, sometimes that was all they could ask for.
00000
“Well, I guess this is finally it,” Scootaloo said as they gathered at the statue in front of Canterlot High later that evening. “Sorry that we couldn’t stay longer.”
“Yeah, shame really, but can’t be helped. We can’t just let you be stuck here after all,” Phoenix returned, a bit of sadness in his voice. “You have some monster but to kick after all.”
“Yeah, seems like we both do,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle as she gave him a nod. “Its been a real pleasure working with you all though. If somehow you’re ever in the neighborhood, feel free to give us a call.”
“Yeah, if the phone works,” he smirked back. “But seriously, we’ll do and I hope you two are married then.”
“Oh you can bet on it, I’m not letting this one get away,” Sweetie said with a grin as she squeezed Scootaloo’s hand and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I doubt Ocean will let you get away either.”
“Well, I’ll try to avoid that, but talking about marriage is a bit early, now is it, right Phoenix,” she added with a sweet smile on her lips.
Phoenix just looked at her with a nervous expression before whispering to Scootaloo: “What am I supposed to say? Yes or no, I have the feeling both of them are kinda wrong.”
“Oh definitely gonna be in trouble either way,” Scootaloo said with a laugh. “But if you want my advice, don’t even consider it until you’re both ready. Me and Sweetie have been dating for years and have known each other for longer. I’m not the best to give romantic advice, but, well, there you have it.”
“Eh, I think he will manage,” Ocean said with a light chuckle. “He managed fine until now and when we get to that point we know it, right?”
“Right,” Phoenix said, his cheeks turning a bright crimson. This blush only grew more intense when she gave him a quick kiss on his cheek.
“I think those two crazy kids will do just fine,” Sweetie said with a chuckle.
“Yeah, me too,” Scootaloo said with a laugh as she looked back at the statue and checked the time. “Well, we should probably get going, the Doctor’s probably going to want to poke and prod me when we get back. Tell Light Bulb I hope she got some good information from those scans.”
“Oh, she did. She has been all up and arms about all of the data. And she might have pocketed a few of these Anti-Agent-Bullets, so we won’t be seeing her for a few days. Who knows, maybe she can bring this data to good use one day. Oh, and she also says thank you for all of the data,” Ocean added.
“Well, it seems this is really it. Till next time and good luck,” Phoenix sighed, holding his hand out for a last handshake.
“Until next time,” Scootaloo said as she shook hands with Phoenix and gave him a soft smile. “Try to avoid any future multiversal trouble, okay?”
“Yeah, we’ll try our best and really, what are the chances of that happening again anyway?”
“Oh great, you just jinxed it,” Scootaloo said as she facepalmed.
“Heh, yeah right… Oh no, you are right,” he sighed. “Ups?”
“Well good luck with your impending visit from another traveler from another universe,” Sweetie said with a chuckle. “We have our own things to take care of, good luck both of you.”
“Thanks, good luck as well.”
Scootaloo and Sweetie smiled as they walked through the portal together hand in hand. After a moment, they vanished from view.
“Well, that was a wild ride, hope they will be ok,” Phoenix smiled.
“I’m sure they will do just great. I think we can safely call it quits for today, how about we get something to eat, like a pizza from your brother?” Ocean returned, accompanied by the low grumbling of her stomach.
“You know, that sounds perfect about right now. You decide what we take as topping though.”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” she finished with a bright smile. “So, what are we waiting for anyway? We should enjoy it while it lasts, who knows what might happen.”
“Yeah, but let’s not think about that right now. I’m starving.”