//------------------------------//
// The Wiseman's Wand 
// Story: Kamen Rider Justice 
// by RuinQueenofOblivion 
//------------------------------//

A woman was seated at the mirror in her apartment as she stared at her reflection for a moment. A tired face stared back at her as she tried to figure out what she was going to do next. With everything that was going on, she still had a lot to think about, and her life just felt like it was getting more and more complicated.

She cringed a little as a sharp pain went up through her arm and grabbed it. She quickly unscrews the lid off a bottle of pills and popped a couple in her mouth as her arm began to glow a little. The arm started to look more bony, almost skeletal as she did. She let out a sigh of relief as it returned to normal.

"These things aren't lasting as long as they used to," she commented to herself weakly as she got up and picked up a black coat and hat off her bed. "But if it’s what it takes..."

She slung them over her shoulder as she headed out the door and down the hall. She smiled softly when she saw a young girl who was about 8 or 9 seated at the table eating cereal.

"Mommy!" She said as she got up and hugged the woman tightly. "I was scared when you didn't get in last night before bed. What happened?"

"Nothing, mommy just had to deal with a few things at work and got held up late," the woman said as she placed a gloved hand gently on her daughter's shoulder. "I'm okay though. Were you good for Auntie Magnolia?"

"Yep!" The little girl answered with a smile that suggested that she wasn't exactly being honest. The smile faded after a moment as she looked up at her mother "Are you going to be out late again tonight? You still have your work clothes with you."

"Probably," the woman replied with a sigh. She hugged her daughter tightly for a moment as she tried not to cry "But I promise, this won't happen forever. Soon, mommy will be here all the time, you have my word."

"You said that already," the little girl said sadly as she went back to the table. "I don't know if I believe you anymore."

The woman's heart fell a little at that as she knelt down next to her daughter. "I promise, I'll be here in time for dinner tonight. How about I go and pick something up on my way home? Does that sound good?"

"Yeah!" The girl said with a smile. "You're really going to do that?"

"Yeah, I promise," the woman said with a smile as she gave her daughter one more hug. "I'll see you tonight, kiddo. Stay safe, okay?"

"Okay," she answered as the woman started towards the door.

"You really shouldn't make promises like that Fizz, you know you might not be able to keep them," a woman with short white hair said as the woman went to open the door. "You know she misses you, she stays up when you're gone hoping that you'll make it home."

"I know Magnolia," the woman said with a sigh as she brushed her hair back a moment and slid her hat on over her hair. 

"But sometimes I don't have a choice. As much as I hate it, I've got a duty out there."

"Don't tell me that, tell your daughter that," Magnolia said as she jerked her head back towards the little girl.

"She'll learn when she's old enough to understand," the woman said with a sigh as she swung her black coat on and pulled a cloth up over her mouth.

She placed her hand gently on her Driver in her pocket and sighed a little. She hated having to do this so often, but she knew that the Order had to be stopped one way or another. Even if it meant her daughter hated her, she was going to make sure that she had a future.

"I'll be back tonight, I promise," the woman in black said as she walked out the door and down towards her bike. She swung her leg over it and sped off down the road.

She was going to make sure she kept that promise this time.


00000


"Happy birthday, Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle said as she woke her fiance up the same morning. She was carrying a tray with pancakes and an orange juice as Scootaloo rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"You didn't cook those, did you?" Scootaloo asked with a smirk as Sweetie placed the tray on her lap and slugged her a little.

"Very funny, Scoots," Sweetie retorted with a roll of her eyes. "But for your information no I did not. Apple Bloom did and I helped out."

"Thank you," Scootaloo said as she leaned up and gave Sweetie a kiss before she started to eat. It was a few days after they had stopped Kapasa and things had gone pretty much as normal for them. She smiled a little as she took a bite, it actually wasn't that bad. "Anything new today?"

"Well, let's see, there's another report of Kamen Rider Death from Rider Watch," Sweetie Belle said as she looked over the information on her phone. "Apparently she fought against a monster last night outside of town. Doesn't say if she succeeded or not, but apparently, it was the Five of Pentacles."

"Figures, well at least that's one less we have to worry about," Scootaloo said with a shrug. "Though I still wish we knew more about her. That woman is, weird to say the least."

"Yeah, I don't like it either, but at least she seems to be on our side," Sweetie replied. "Still, it feels like she's hiding something big from us."

"I know, but until she actually wants to talk about it we can't really do much about it," Sweetie Belle sighed. "Now come on, we worked hard to get your breakfast just right. You might as well eat it."

"Yes dear," Scootaloo giggled as she leaned over and kissed Sweetie Belle gently on the lips before going back to eating. "And maybe after that, we can have a little dessert."

"Who has dessert with breakfast?" Sweetie giggled.

"Oh, we will," Scootaloo said with a grin as she took a bite of pancakes. "Thank you for breakfast, Sweetie. This really means a lot to me."

"Anything for you," Sweetie Belle said as she placed her hand on Scootaloo's cheek. "You know that, right?"

"Yeah," Scootaloo replied as she went back to eating.


00000


Priellit paused a moment as she took a seat at the table in the main chamber. She reached into her robes and extracted the summoning deck as she looked at it for a long moment. There was something new about it, new energy radiated off of it that she hadn't seen before.

"It seems that the Wheel has decided that the time has finally come," she said as she placed the deck on the table in front of her. "The players are all ready, and the Riders won't stand a chance this time."

"Oh?" Alrasahir asked as he walked in with Caesar and Morningstar close behind. "And why's that?"

"Now that three of us are here, we can do more than just summon weak Agents," Morningstar replied as they approached the table and he placed his hand on the deck. "Indeed, I have not felt this power in a long time. Shall we see what the Wheel of Fortune has in store for us this time?"

They nodded as he drew the top card and smiled a little when he saw what it was. It depicted a man dressed in robes and a hat with a long staff in his hand. "The Page of Wands, curious indeed. A card of ideas but also of self-limit. We are looking for someone who limits themselves, curious, but it shouldn't be a problem to find in the city."

"You'd better be right," Alrasahir said as they placed their hands on the card. After a moment of chanting, the card flew off and vanished into thin air. "The first Face Card, curious."

"Our more powerful servants require a lot more energy," Morningstar pointed out. "And I'm sure that it won't be easy for the Riders to overcome this one. After all, even if a Page is the weakest of the Face cards then they are still leagues above the others."

"Yes, well I believe we have a more immediate concern than Justice and her friends," Caesar said as he waved his hand and the screen turned on to show an image of the woman in black. "We lost another Agent last night because of this woman. She seems to have made it her life's mission to interfere with our operations."

"Kamen Rider Death, indeed she is a problem," Morningstar commented as he stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment. "What are your suggestions, General?"

"Perhaps we should send our new Agent after her," Caesar suggested. "If we probe her defenses enough we should be able to uncover a weakness. Justice and Amores are one thing, but Death has already proven herself a threat to our plans from 13 years ago. I believe that if she continues to..."

"You've made your case, Caesar," Morningstar answered dismissively. "And I have to agree with you."

"Yes but I believe that if we were able to..." Caesar started to say before what Morningstar had said sunk in. "Wait, you agree with me?"

"Kamen Rider Death is a lone wolf, even with the other Riders she won't get them involved," Morningstar said as he leaned on his cane for a moment. "We can take advantage of that and send an Agent after her. As long as we're careful, we should be able to deal with her before the other Riders get wind of it."

"Right, of course," Caesar said, he hadn't actually expected him to agree with him. "I'm glad you see things my way."

"Of course," Morningstar said as he watched the screen for a long moment. "Once the Agent is formed, I want us tracking him and keep an eye on Death. We are not going to let her get in the way of our plans again."

"I will make sure it's done," Caesar said as he walked off.

"Death... we will see just how good you really are this time," Morningstar mused as he stared at the screen. “Let’s see what your game is this time.”


00000


Fancy Pants stood in his office as he stared at the odd watch that had been given to him by Sweetie Drops for a long moment. This was going to take a lot of explaining, especially if it meant what he thought it meant. 

"Director, are you okay?" Fleur asked as she stood in the doorway. "You've been staring at that thing all morning, what is it?"

"Something I gave someone a few years back," Fancy Pants replied as he pocketed the watch and returned to his desk. 

"There is a lot going on that you have to understand is necessary to keep hidden from the others. This might mean we have an unexpected ally in high places."

"I see," Fleur said as she walked in and sighed a little. "I didn't think the Magician would turn up again, especially not like this. What do you think is going on?"

"That I couldn't tell you," Fancy Pants said truthfully. "Something about this whole thing is weird."

"Yeah..." Fleur said as there was a knock on the door. "Come in."

"You called?" Tempest asked as she walked into the office and eyed the two of them for a moment. "Can I help you with something?"

"Yes, given recent events we were hoping you could give us some insight into something," Fancy Pants said as he nodded to the chairs across from him as the two women took a seat. "We know from Agent Drops' encounter with Alrasahir that the Order is getting closer to finishing their plans. I'm afraid that the time may soon come that we have to be more forthcoming with some of the information."

"We can't do that," Tempest said with a frown. "They hardly trust her enough as is. And we're still the mysterious government organization to most of them. And after what nearly happened at the Apple Family Farm..."

"What happened there was a snap judgment," Fancy Pants interjected. "Given what kind of people usually attracts the Order's Agents it shouldn't be that much of a surprise."

"Yeah, well I don't like it," Fleur added. "We've been withholding information about the war with the Order from them ever since they first joined. They don't even know about the Order's first attempted invasion yet."

"What happened in '93 was hardly what I'd call an invasion attempt," Tempest said as she leaned on the back of her chair a little. "A few Agents showed up along with the early Commanders."

"Yeah, and he stopped them," Fleur reminded them both. "But that was 26 years ago, they've gotten stronger, and smarter since then. Maybe we should tell them more about what happened before, at least for their own good."

"No!" Tempest exclaimed as she slammed her fist down on the arms of the chair, startling them both. "They know as much as they need to know about the past invasions. I'm not going to burden them with that truth."

"Uh, alright," Fancy Pants said, he was a little confused by her response but gave her a slight nod. "In the meantime, we have a few things to deal with still. How are things going with the Rider Watch side of things?"

"Well, Miss. Tiara is grateful for our contributions to her blog," Tempest said. "Though she's asked a few times if we can meet in person to discuss things."

"Which is at the moment out of the question," Fleur added.

"Right," Tempest said before continuing. "There is however an additional wrinkle. While Rider Watch isn't the only blog out there about the Riders, it is the most reliable and has gained enough of a following. That being said, I have some concerns about other people taking advantage of the situation and using it for more, unscrupulous reasons."

"We knew what we were getting into when we started working with the internet," Fancy Pants sighed as he adjusted his monocle. "Continue talking with Miss. Tiara. Right now she is the best medium we have to not only gain information but to spread it. If there are others out there, then they are not our immediate concern."

"Okay," Tempest said as she got up and gathered together her things. "In the meantime, I should go deal with a few things in the field. I'll be back in a few hours, let me know if there are any reports from around the city."

"Of course," Fancy Pants said as Tempest walked off. He stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment. Tempest Shadow was an odd woman, and even though he knew more than others, he still felt like he didn't know everything.

"What are we going to do now?" Fleur asked as she looked back at Fancy Pants.

"I don't know, I'm still figuring it out," he answered as he rubbed his temples. "She got another monster last night, didn't kill the host this time so at least she showed some restraint. Here's hoping that it continues."

"Yeah," Fleur said as she brushed her hair back a moment. "I should get back to work."

"I'll talk to you later, Fleur," Fancy Pants replied as she headed out. He went back to work and shuffled the papers a little for a moment.

This wasn't going to be easy, but they would figure it out. This was going to be hard to explain to Scootaloo and the others though when it came to that.


00000


"Hey, how's the birthday girl?" Rainbow Dash asked from Scootaloo's computer as she sat at the table. "You haven't gone crazy from everything that's been going on there have you?"

"No more than usual," Scootaloo said with a laugh as Rainbow Dash smiled a little. "And you better be careful how you talk, you might get dragged into your own crazy adventures one of these days. It's a weird world after all."

"Yeah, don't remind me," Rainbow said as she leaned back a little. "Though at least in New York I only have to deal with the normal crazies. Well, you know normal for New York."

"So, not really normal at all," Scootaloo giggled. "But I'm glad to hear from you. How are mom and dad doing?"

"Good, good, they're looking forward to me and Fluttershy coming down for your wedding, they just want to know when it's going to be," Rainbow answered.

"Oh, didn't we tell you? We eloped last week and ran off to Vegas," Sweetie Belle said jokingly as she moved behind Scootaloo and waved at Rainbow.

"Very funny Sweetie," Scootaloo said with a roll of her eyes. "But seriously we're still kind of figuring that out. We're thinking in a couple of months, give everyone enough time to get down here."

"Have you talked to Pinkie about catering yet?" Rainbow asked. "I think she's been planning the cake ever since you two started dating."

"Oh boy, you just knew that was going to come up," Sweetie groaned.

"Yeah, see, we wanted Pinkie, but..." Scootaloo answered as she tried to figure out how to say this without giving too much information out. "Someone who knows about, you know, the Justice thing said that it might be better to get some special help for the wedding from Japan. Besides, she'd be coming all the way here from New York and I don't want to impose or anything..."

"Is there something you're not telling me?" Rainbow asked incredulously. "Seems kind of odd to call special caterers in from Japan."

"There's a concern over the Wedding's Security," Scootaloo said with a sigh. "They wanted to bring in a little extra help just in case something happened. Look, I can talk to him and maybe we can work something out."

"Yeah, well she might not be happy about that," Rainbow said with a sigh before changing the subject. "So, other than that, how are you doing?"

"Pretty good, I won't lie and say it's been easy, but I'm doing okay," Scootaloo replied as she placed her hand on Sweetie Belle's. "With everything that's been going on though, its been a bit weird lately."

"Well, I think Rarity's got her own concerns about everything that's going on over there, especially after what happened when they visited," Rainbow Dash sighed. "Not to mention there's this weird blog going around..."

"What? Rider Watch? They've been nothing but helpful so far," Scootaloo said as she blinked in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"No, no, something started by one of those weird internet celebrities," Rainbow answered with a shake of her head. "What was her name... Valencia something I think. I don't know, I never followed it personally, but I think some of Fluttershy's students follow her or something. Apparently, she's been posting some Rider related material lately, I don't know all the details."

"Weird," Sweetie Belle said as she flipped through some things on her phone.

"Sorry, we're getting off subject, I didn't call you to talk shop after all," Rainbow added with a shake of her head. "So, what are you going to do to celebrate your birthday? Any plans?"

"The usual really, just going out for dinner with Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo answered. "There's really not much else to do around here as long as something doesn't interrupt us."

"Again," Sweetie added with a roll of her eyes. 

"Well, who knows they may give you the day off," Rainbow said. "Just be careful, okay? I don't want something to happen to you."

"Don't worry, we'll be fine," Scootaloo said with a soft smile. "There's still a lot we have to do around here sure, but we don't have to do this alone so there is that. I think we're going to be okay."

"Okay, good," Rainbow said with a smile. "But if you ever need anything, Twilight's brother works in the Canterlot Police Department. I'm sure if anything ever comes up you can give him a call."

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind," Scootaloo said as she checked the time. "I'll talk to you later, okay Rainbow? I should probably get to work."

"Okay, take care, both of you," Rainbow said as she ended the call.

"So, what now?" Sweetie asked as she rubbed Scootaloo's shoulders a little. "It seems that Rainbow's worried about you to me."

"Yeah, I don't blame her for that," Scootaloo said as she leaned on her hand a little. "I just hope she's right. With everything that's going on, a day off would be nice."

“Yeah, but we both know it’s not likely to happen,” Sweetie sighed. “We got lucky with the past few months. I don’t think it’s going to happen again anytime soon.”

Scootaloo sighed and nodded a little as she placed her hand on Sweetie’s. She smiled a little as she closed her eyes and leaned on her fiance’s arm. She knew that there wasn’t going to be much of a chance of them having a quiet day. So for now, she just wanted to enjoy a moment with the woman she loved.

“Happy birthday to me…” She said with a soft smile.

“Happy Birthday, Scootaloo,” Sweetie said as she leaned down and gave her a kiss on the lips.


00000


The woman dressed in black pulled her bike into an alleyway in downtown Canterlot. She reached into her coat and took out her revolver and loaded bullets into it just in case. She didn’t like having to deal with this kind of thing, but sometimes it was the best option for getting information on the Order’s Agents.

“So, the Shadow decided to show up today after all,” a voice said from the alley ahead of her.

“You know why I’m here, Grimes” she said as she lowered the revolver. She wasn’t about to put it away when she was in this kind of situation. “I’m looking for information. Do you know anything about any of the other monsters appearing in the city?”

“Not since you dealt with the one with the Carbine last night,” Grimes replied as he flicked on a lighter and lit a cigarette. “With the mayor’s press conference a while back, even the criminals are starting to wise up. Having the Grim Reaper hunting them doesn’t exactly help matters.”

“I’ll manage somehow,” the woman in black retorted as she shook her head. She reached into her pocket and took out a wad of bills and placed it in his hand. “Let me know if you find anything else, okay?”

“You’ll be the first call I make,” Grimes said with a snort as he pocketed the cash. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

The woman just snorted as she started back towards her motorcycle, still shooting the man looks as he smoked his cigarette. She was about to pull herself over her motorcycle when out of the corner of her eye she saw something flying right at her.

She quickly dodged it as she raised her pistol as it flew back towards whoever had thrown it.

“I didn’t think the Avengers were in town…” The woman snorted a little as she aimed towards the approaching figure. “Or are you going to get a lawsuit from the God of Thunder?”

“Heh, I didn’t think Kamen Rider Death would be such a comedian,” the figure said in a male voice. A robbed figure with armoring stepped forward. He had a vaguely humanoid face with a beaked nose that resembled that of a bird. He was mostly black and grey with a golden circle on his chest with an image of a crossed wands with a strange symbol over them. He was holding an elaborately designed hammer in his hand and grinned as he pointed it at the woman. “The Order’s been after you for a while, Deathy. You just made the mistake of revealing yourself too early.”

“Or maybe I wanted to draw you out,” the woman said as she fired several shots at the encroaching monster. With her free hand she grabbed the Driver out of her coat and placed it on her waist as it formed around her. “Hen… shin!”

“THE PALE HORSE RIDES AGAIN!”

The energy flowed over her as her black and silver armor appeared over her as the revolver appeared in her hand. She ran forward, firing shots at the monster who blocked it with his hammer as he pointed it at her.

“You’re not going to win this, Death,” he said as he pointed his hammer at her and energy swirled around it. “You may be strong, but I’m even stronger than you will ever be!”

“We’ll see about that,” Death said as she fired more shots at him as he danced around them as he laughed loudly. “You’re really getting on my nerves.”

"Well, you're no fun then," the monster laughed as he pointed his hammer at her and smiled with a fanged grin. "You're going to regret you ever came back. I'm going to make sure of it!"

He cackled like a madman as he ran forward and swung his hammer around and caught Death across the face. She stumbled back a little as she steadied herself. The armor had absorbed most of the blow, but it had hurt, badly. She steadied herself as she reached into her deck box and took out another card.

"I'm not about to let you get away with this," she said as she raised the card and slid it into her Driver.

"ARCANA SHOTGUN!" The Driver exclaimed as the ornate shotgun appeared in her hands and she aimed at the monster and pulled the trigger sending a small burst of energy into him as he fell back.

"Still favoring guns I see? What's the old saying about Samuel Colt?" The man laughed as he swung his hammer around and hit Death square in the chest, sending her flying into the wall behind her. "Guess he didn't make us all equal after all."

"Laugh it up, at least I don't look like a birdbrain," Death scowled as she got to her feet again. She could feel the pain from the impact of the hammer's strike. This wasn't some normal Agent, there was only one thing that could possibly be that powerful. "Though I have to say, I wasn't expecting them to be able to send a Face Card."

"Well, let's just say we're full of surprises," the monster laughed. "Lauoga at your service. I must say it's an honor to be able to fight you, too bad that honor won't last long."

He cackled as energy gathered in his hammer again as he threw it once more. It flew out and hit Death square in the chest as she found herself trapped against the wall as he walked forward.

"I know who you really are," he revealed as he moved in close to her ear. "I know what you hold dear, and I'm going to take it from you. When I'm done, you will suffer for all you've done against the Order. Every Agent killed, every life you stole, I am karma and justice come back to haunt you."

He laughed wickedly as he grabbed the handle of the hammer and started to swing it again when an energy arrow hit him from behind. He spun around as he saw Sweetie Drops already transformed standing there. She was pulling back on her bow again as she prepared to fire again.

"Let her go," she ordered as she fired another arrow at him and caught him in the chest this time. "I'm not going to let you hurt her or anyone else."

“Ah, Kamen Rider Amores,” Lauoga said as he brushed himself off and looked at her. “I should have known you’d show up.”

“I had this under control,” Death said as she brushed herself off and pointed her shotgun at the monster. “Your help wasn’t needed.”

“Yeah, just keep telling yourself that,” Sweetie Drops said as she fired another arrow at the monster who stumbled back. “Just because you’re stronger than what we’ve fought before doesn’t mean we can’t stop you.”

Lauoga laughed a little at that as he ran right at Sweetie Drops with his hammer held up high. She rolled out of the way and prepared to fire another arrow at the monster when he ran past without even swinging the hammer and stopped and looked back at them.

“As long as I’m out here, no one is going to be safe,” he said with a fanged grin. “Maybe I’ll start with your family, Deathy. You’re not going to be able to protect them forever!”

He laughed before vanishing into thin air. Death growled as she reached for her Driver and removed the cards as she powered down. She adjusted her hat a little and headed back towards her bike.

“Wait, what was he talking about?” Sweetie Drops asked as she powered down. “Who is he going after?”

“None of your business,” the woman said as she swung her leg over her bike and secured her helmet over her masked face. “If he’s going to threaten my family, I’m going to protect them.”

“We can help you, that guy was really beating the crap out of you back there,” Sweetie Drops pointed out as she walked towards the strange woman. “Your family is in danger. SMILE can help you keep them safe.”

“I don’t need your help,” the woman snapped. “They have nothing to do with this. I will keep them safe.”

She started her bike up and drove off before Sweetie Drops could say anything else. She sighed a little and took out her phone and called Fancy Pants. “Director, we’ve got a problem.”

“What is it?” Fancy Pants asked over the phone.

“I ran into Kamen Rider Death, she was fighting that monster we detected,” Sweetie Drops answered as she rubbed her temples a little. “I found out why the reading was so powerful too, we’re dealing with a Page, probably the Page of Wands.”

“Great,” Fancy said. “Did you learn anything?”

“Not about who they are, but he seemed to know something about Death,” Sweetie Drops frowned. “He said he’s going after her family. Do you know anything about that?”

There was a long pause on the other end as if Fancy Pants was trying to figure out what to say. Sweetie Drops frowned a little as she waited for an answer. Did he know something that she didn’t? Who even was Kamen Rider Death?

“Agent Drops, for the moment you should leave her alone,” Fancy Pants finally replied. “If we get a reading again we can send you to help. Unfortunately, this is how we’re supposed to work with her.”

“I don’t understand,” Sweetie Drops commented. “Exactly what is going on with her?”

“It’s not my place to talk about it,” Fancy Pants replied. “Give her time and she’ll be fine at least. She is capable of defending herself.”

“Yeah, I know, but she wasn’t doing well last time,” Sweetie Drops said with a sigh. “Alright, I’ll take your word for it. Let me know if anything else happens.”

“Understood, take care Agent Drops,” Fancy Pants replied and hung up the phone.

Sweetie Drops sighed as she went back to her bike and put her helmet on. She climbed on it and took off back towards her home.


00000


“Yes, thank you Director, we’ll keep an ear out in case we’re needed,” Sweetie Belle said as she spoke to Fancy Pants over the phone. It was after work that day as she headed back into the apartment. “Thanks for letting us know.”

“Let me guess, our day off just got cancelled,” Scootaloo said as Sweetie Belle hung up. “What is it now?”

“Apparently there’s been another monster attack,” Sweetie sighed as she laid down on the couch. “Apparently Kamen Rider Death and Agent Drops fought it. Though, they’re not really sure what they’re going to do if they come back.”

“Figures,” Scootaloo said as she let Sweetie Belle rest her head on her lap. “Did they know what the monster was?”

“Sounds like the Page of Wands, figures that we’d finally run into a Face Card,” Sweetie commented as she closed her eyes. “But he said that we’re not needed, at least not right now. Apparently the monster said he knows something about Death’s family. He said he’d call us again if they need our help.”

“Okay,” Scootaloo commented as she stroked Sweetie’s hair lightly. “I guess I can’t even have my Birthday off. I’m not even sure what to do right now. What do you think I should do now?”

“I think you should relax,” Sweetie replied. “You don’t have to do anything just yet, he said that Death and Agent Drops are going to be taking care of this. He’ll only call if you’re actually needed, so just relax, okay?”

“Okay,” Scootaloo said as she leaned back a little. “I swear, ever since this started I’ve been more paranoid than ever that something is going to happen. I wonder if this is how Rainbow felt when she started with the police.”

“Probably,” Sweetie Belle replied as she closed her eyes. “Maybe you should talk to her about it, if anyone can understand who is a Rider, it might be her. So, what are you going to do now? I’m not even sure if they’re going to call us.”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo said as she closed her eyes. “One heck of a birthday, isn’t it?”

“Well, it’s going to be hard to top my last birthday,” Sweetie said with a soft smile. “That was the most romantic birthday I’ve ever had. I love you more than anything.”

“I love you too,” Scootaloo smiled. “So, why do you think the monster went after Kamen Rider Death?”

"Who knows, it feels like we don't know anything about her," Sweetie Belle answered and sighed a little. "I guess if he somehow knew who she was then that might give him a reason to go after her. Especially since apparently she's been causing them trouble since before you even started."

"Yeah," Scootaloo said with a sigh. "I just wish that we knew more about her. There's just something incredibly odd about her, I can't place my finger on it but she seems almost familiar."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Sweetie Belle said. "So, Apple Bloom is going to try a second first date with Tender Taps. What would you like to do together for your birthday?"

"Mmm, maybe I want to unwrap my present first," Scootaloo replied with a grin as she leaned down and kissed her fiance gently on the lips. She played with the pale woman's shirt a little, causing Sweetie Belle to giggle.

"Mmm, such a naughty girl trying to get a peek," Sweetie Belle laughed as she kissed back. "Come on, let's just enjoy our evening together. We can order dinner in a bit or something, sound good?"

"Sounds perfect," Scootaloo answered as she kissed Sweetie again and started pulling up her shirt.


00000


"Mommy, you're home!" The little girl cried out as she ran in as the woman dressed in black stumbled her way into the apartment. She was holding something to her head as she flinched a little when the girl hugged her. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Mommy's fine," the woman replied as she placed her hand gently on her daughter's head. The pain was already fading, but she was still bleeding from the wounds left by Lauoga. It hurt a lot, but she was going to be just fine.

"Come on Dawn, how about you go set the table, I need to have a word with your mother," Magnolia said as she walked up to the pair. "We'll join you in a moment."

"Okay," Dawn said as she headed towards the kitchen and dining room to start getting everything together.

"Well, it looks like someone's been getting into trouble," Magnolia said with a sigh as she nodded towards the bedroom. "Come on, I'll get you patched up."

"I'll be fine, my wounds will heal," the woman said with a shake of her head.

"Yes, but until then you'll be bleeding all over the place, and I don't want to worry Dawn," Magnolia said as she narrowed her eyes a little at her. "So I'm going to get you patched up. Besides, your healing ability isn't going to be able to heal you all the time."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," the woman said with a sigh as she was lead into the bedroom. Magnolia reached under the bed as the woman removed her coat and shirt, leaving her in a bra and pants as Magnolia finished and looked back at her and cringed a little.

"What did you get into a fight with anyway?" She asked with a frown. "You look like you got hit by a truck."

"Was a hammer actually," the woman answered as she tossed her hat to the side.

"A hammer? What did you do, get into a fight with Thor?"

"Very funny, but that's not too far off with how that hammer worked," the woman groaned. Magnolia sighed and started to work on bandaging her up. "It was a Page monster this time. The Order hasn't sent out a face card yet, I wasn't expecting to send one now."

"Doesn't that require three summoners or something?" Magnolia asked. "That's what you told me at least."

"Yeah, but then again the Magician showed up recently," the woman pointed out. "That would give them the ability to summon more powerful Agents. If I had to guess, that would be the answer. But I'm still confused as to why he joined up with them."

"I'm sure he has some sort of reason, they don't share everything you know," Magnolia said as she finished bandaging the woman up. "Okay, there's not much point in putting this off anymore. You're in bad shape and your healing isn't working as fast as it's supposed to anymore. You're in bad shape and you're going to reach your limit sooner or later."

"I'll be fine," the woman groaned as she shrugged it off. "Just as long as I have you here to patch me up."

"Me being able to patch you up isn't going to do you any good if you wind up dead," Magnolia sighed as she finished with the woman. "And Dawn is starting to catch on that something is up with you. You can't keep lying to her forever you know."

"I know," the woman said with a sigh as she brushed her hair back for a moment as she closed her eyes. "I'm not even sure how I'd tell her. Hey Dawn, your mother is actually a Kamen Rider who hunts and fights monsters every day."

"Given how popular Kamen Riders have become, she might like that," Magnolia laughed. "But, yeah that might not be a good idea given everything that you do. So, what are you going to do?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I'll figure it out somehow," the woman said as she pulled her t-shirt on over her bandages. "It's not something that would be easy to tell her. She's a good kid, but I'm afraid that telling her might make things worse."

"You're going to be okay," Magnolia said as she placed her hand gently on the woman's shoulder. "Come on, let's go have dinner together."

"Yeah, sounds good to me," the woman sighed as she got up. The pain shot through her chest again as her wounds pressed against the shirt and bandages. "Right now, the last thing I want to think about is monsters or Kamen Riders."

"Of course," Magnolia agreed as they got up together. The older woman smiled a little at her friend as they headed back towards the bedroom door. "For now, let's just enjoy the evening together, okay?"

The woman nodded as they headed out into the dining area together. The woman paused a moment when she realized she was hearing Dawn talking as if she was talking to someone. She glanced back at Magnolia and mouthed at her to get her Driver. Magnolia nodded as she headed back into the bedroom as the woman came out of the hallway and turned around to see who her daughter was talking to.

"Oh hey mommy," Dawn said as she turned to see her there. Seated across the table was a man with a white shirt and vest with a black hat pulled over his head. "He said he knew you from work."

"You!" The woman said as she recognized the odd aura around the man. "What are you doing here?"

"I told you that I knew things about you," the man answered with a wicked smile as he got up. "Your daughter is so charming though, I couldn't resist waiting for you a little longer."

The woman scowled as she ran forward and threw her fist right at the man as he changed to his monster form and caught her hand with a clawed hand. He laughed loudly at that as Dawn screamed and ran into the kitchen. Her mother glared at the monster and kicked hard at Lauoga. The hammer-wielding monster stumbled back for a moment as he raised his weapon at her.

"You're good, I wasn't expecting you to be that strong..." Lauoga said as he got up again and swung his hammer around and caught her in the chest. She cried out as she slammed into the table, breaking it as she fell to the floor with a groan. The monster reached down and grabbed her by the shirt as he pulled her up. "I'm not going to kill you, not yet Deathy. I'm going to draw it out as long as..."

He was cut off when there was the crack of something hitting him on the head and he let her go. He quickly spun around to see Magnolia standing there holding a metal bat in her hands as she tossed the Driver and cards to the woman.

"Catch!" She shouted as the woman caught them and pulled herself to her feet. She held herself upright as she held her Driver and placed it on her waist.

"Hen... shin!" She said as she slid the two cards into her belt.

"THE PALE HORSE RIDES AGAIN!" The Driver said as the black and silver armor formed over her and the black and gold revolver appeared in her hand.

"Leave my family alone!" Kamen Rider Death said as she fired several shots into the monster's chest. He stumbled back in shock as Magnolia ducked under his arm and ran into the kitchen to get to Dawn. "Magnolia, get Dawn out of here. There's a white van across the street, get to it and tell them what's going on."

Magnolia didn't have to say anything as she grabbed Dawn who was watching in terrified awe as her mother ran forward at the man and slammed her fist hard into his jaw. Lauoga tried to swing his hammer around and hit her, only to have her catch his hand.

"You're fighting harder than before, must be because you're fighting for something more this time," he said with a cackle. "I'm going to make sure that your daughter's death is slow and painful."

"I won't let you," the woman said as she wrenched the hammer from his hands and swung it around, hitting him square in the face. "I have no tolerance for monsters like you. You're not going to hurt my family!"

She pressed the barrel of her pistol against his chin and fired several energy bullets up into his head. He cried out as he fell back onto the floor, his hammer flying back into his hand as she moved in closer, slamming her foot down on his arm and holding it in place as she pointed her pistol right at his head.

Even from behind the woman's mask, Lauoga could recognize the fury in her. She wasn't just about to take his power, she was going to kill him. She raised her armored fist up high and was about to slam it down into his chest when he raised his hammer as best he could and slammed it down, breaking the floor open and dropping them down to the floor below, which was luckily an empty apartment.

Kamen Rider Death managed to get to her feet as Lauoga stood up, in pain and breathing heavily as he pointed his hammer at her. "You... this isn't over... I'm going to get you... eventually..."

"I'm not going to let you!" Death shouted as she ran at him, energy gathering in her fist as she prepared to strike him down when he vanished into thin air. "SON OF A BITCH!"

She fell onto the ground as the adrenaline slowly left her system and she powered down. She sat there for the longest moment, breathing heavily as she did. That thing, she didn't want to call it a man, not anymore, he was after her daughter and she was not about to let him get away with that.

She looked up towards the hole in the ceiling for a long moment. She had done everything she could to keep her two lives separate ever since she fought the Order 13 years before, and now that was all falling apart. She closed her eyes as she fell back on the floor, tears starting to fall from her eyes as she did.

She barely noticed as the door to the apartment was broken open as SMILE Agents came in guns drawn as if expecting the monster to still be there. All they found was the woman lying exhausted on the floor from the battle.

"I didn't expect to see you here," a familiar voice said as she opened her eyes to see Sweetie Drops standing over her. She reached down and offered the woman a hand. "You've got a lot to explain, Agent Shadow."

Tempest Shadow groaned a little at that. She knew she was right though, this was going to be hard to explain.


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"Well, that didn't go according to plan..." Lauoga groaned as he held his chest for a moment. After the earlier fight with Tempest Shadow, he hadn't expected her to put up that much of a fight, even while protecting her family. "This is far from over though, I'll get you eventually."

"Holy crap, you're one of those Order Agent things aren't you?" A voice asked and he looked over to see a woman standing there holding a phone as she eyed him curiously. She had pink hair and was dressed in a pink and white blouse with a brown vest over it. "Oh, this is going to be so good for my viewers, an actual encounter with a monster!"

"What the hell is wrong with you lady?" Lauoga asked as he pulled himself up. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"Oh yes, yes, I'm  Vignette Valencia," she said with a smile. "I'm in Canterlot looking into the Kamen Riders, totes exciting you know. And, well, you're the first thing I've ever run into. Can I ask you some questions? Where are you from? How long have you been a big bird faced thing? Do you have anything you want to say to the internet?"

Lauoga looked at her like she was crazy for a moment. Anyone in their right mind would be more scared of him than anything else, then again this may actually give them an edge.

"You want to know about Kamen Riders, huh?" He asked with a grin. "I can tell you all about Kamen Riders."

"Oh?" Valencia said, even more interested now as she started filming on her phone. "How about we start with Justice, I mean she's the one that started this whole fad in the City, right? What do you know about her?"

"Oh, I can do so much better than that," Lauoga laughed. "How would you like an exclusive? I can tell you all about Kamen Rider Death."

Valencia raised an eyebrow at that. There were only rumors about a skull themed Kamen Rider in the city so far, was this actually a chance to get information that not even Rider Watch knew about yet? She grinned broadly and moved in closer.

"Tell me more." 


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"Mommy, are you okay?" Dawn asked as she ran up to Tempest who was being helped out of their apartment complex by two agents. "What happened?"

"I'm okay sweetie," Tempest replied weakly as she tried to put on a brave face for her daughter. "Are you and Auntie Magnolia okay? Did you make it out of the apartment without any problems?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Dawn said as she hugged her mother tightly. Tempest looked down at her with a soft smile as she placed her hand on her shoulder as best as she could. "Are you going to be okay, mommy?"

"I don't know," Tempest admitted as they were helped to the van where Magnolia was standing. "We're going with these people to where Mommy works, okay? We'll be just fine, Mommy just needs some... help..."

And with that, she slumped over into unconsciousness. The last thing she saw before her eyes closed was her daughter's face in a silent cry.