//------------------------------//
// The  Death Mask 
// Story: Kamen Rider Justice 
// by RuinQueenofOblivion 
//------------------------------//

"What happened?" Scootaloo asked as she and her friends made their way into the infirmary of the SMILE base. "Was she attacked by one of the Order's monsters?"

"Yes, unfortunately, it went after her in her home," Fancy Pants replied as they stopped them from going too far in. "She's in bad shape right now, the monster really hurt her hard."

"Look, Ah'm glad she's okay and all, but why didn't yah tell us she was Kamen Rider Death?" Apple Bloom asked as she crossed her arms a little. They had been briefed on their way over after getting the call about the attack on Tempest and her family. "That would've been really useful information ta know."

"That was by her request," Fleur answered. She looked over at Magnolia who was holding Dawn close, the girl was asleep but they could tell she had been crying. "Tempest didn't want anyone to know she was Death so she could keep her two lives separate and her family safe. Until now it's worked for her as we've kept the Order from going after them."

"So, what changed?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Honestly, we don't know," Fancy Pants replied. "It's possible that they recently found out from their agent in the Agency. It's also possible that they've always known and have just been biding their time. Regardless, the Order knows something that we would have rather kept secret. Agent Shadow nearly got killed by the Order years ago, and as such wanted to avoid getting involved unless absolutely necessary."

"Yeah, that really worked," Sweetie Belle sighed. "Is she going to be okay? I mean, if she's a Rider shouldn't the card spirit be healing her like Scootaloo?"

"Well, yes, but something seems to be wrong with that," Fancy Pants replied as he adjusted his monocle. "We're having Flim and Flam look into it now. But the fact of the matter is that for some reason, the healing effect of the card spirit isn't working and we don't know why."

"It hasn't been working for a while," Magnolia said from her seat. "I've been patching her up as best I can, but the fact of the matter is that her healing isn't working like it should be. I can't explain it though, and she doesn't want to talk about it either."

"That might mean that she's not in full sync with the Death card," Fleur said thoughtfully. "But that doesn't make sense either. If she wasn't in full sync then she wouldn't be able to transform."

"So, what really is going on with her?" Scootaloo wondered as she looked into the other room where the Agency's medical team was working on Tempest. "It feels like just as we're getting some answers about her, she's just raising more questions."

"Agent Shadow has always kept to herself," Fancy Pants pointed out. "She gets the job done, but that's about it really. It is her choice to open up or not. Magnolia, has she been acting weird lately?"

"No weirder than usual," Magnolia answered. "She's been a bit more irritable sure, and she's still hunting down the monsters practically every day now. I think she's still mad about... you know, what happened before."

"What happened before?" Scootaloo asked.

"Nothing that concerns you, but needless to say Agent Shadow has a good reason for doing what she does," Fancy Pants replied. "Give her time, she may come around. But for now, I believe you should give her space."

"Okay," Sweetie Belle said. "So why did you call us here?"

"With Agent Shadow down, we need all the help we can get in dealing with the Page of Wands monster," Fleur answered. "And we have to tread with caution. When he fought against Agent Shadow, he nearly killed her."

"Great, just what we need," Sweetie Belle sighed. "He was able to fight off two Riders, are we really going to be able to do this with only Scootaloo and Agent Drops?"

"That we don't know yet," Fancy Pants replied. "The fact of the matter is that our hands are tied right now. But now we know what we're up against and we have time to prepare. For now, I want you all to stay here in the HQ, the last thing we need is to put you at risk."

"We might as well just move in here at the rate things are going," Sweetie Belle sighed as Scootaloo put her arm around her gently.

"It'll be okay, we'll get through this... again," Scootaloo reassured her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"Thanks, Scoots," Sweetie said as the two of them took a seat. "So, what are we going to do now? The thing that attacked her is still out there in the city somewhere."

"We have all our eyes looking for him," Fancy Pants said. "I don't like this any more than you do, to be honest. I only agreed to keep Agent Shadow's identity secret because she was able to protect herself before. I didn't think something like this would happen."

"Yeah, we'll figure this out and take him down together," Scootaloo said with a nod. "We're going to have to take him down before he gets any worse."

"The question now is how," Sweetie Belle agreed.

Across the Room, Apple Bloom had taken a seat next to Magnolia and Dawn. Magnolia looked at her for a moment, nodding down to the little girl who was still asleep.

"Hey, Ah just wanted ta see if everythin' is okay," Apple Bloom said quietly. "How's she holdin' up?"

"Pretty well, all things considered, I think she's still in shock though," Magnolia answered as she stroked the girl's hair lightly. "She didn't know about Tempest being Kamen Rider Death. She wanted to keep it from her for as long as possible to keep her safe. It didn't do her much good."

"Ah'm sorry," Apple Bloom said softly as she looked down at Dawn. "So, you're Tempest's..."

"I'm the live-in Nanny and her impromptu nurse," Magnolia said as she shot Apple Bloom a look. "What did you think I was?"

"Oh trust me, with tha company Ah keep not much would've surprised me at this point," Apple Bloom replied. "Sorry, Ah shouldn't have assumed."

"It's okay," Magnolia said. "Really, when you get past that hard exterior, she really is a good woman. But the truth is that Tempest isn't looking for relationships, let alone one with me. Dawn is the only family she has or needs in her mind. I don't take it personally, she's not really my type anyway."

"Yeah," Apple Bloom said. "How'd yah two meet? If Ah may ask."

"During the last invasion, my ex-boyfriend got turned into an Agent," Magnolia answered. "He nearly killed me but Tempest saved me. We became friends after that and like I said, I've become kind of her impromptu nurse. I honestly didn't like her getting involved in this whole thing again, especially not with Dawn around this time."

"I think that's something yah and Sweetie Belle would agree on," Apple Bloom commented as she looked at her two friends. "Those two have gotten closer since everythin' started. But it ain't exactly helpin' with their relationship."

"Yeah, I'm sure it hasn't," Magnolia replied as she looked down at the little girl for a moment. "Tempest thinks very highly of all of you."

"She does? She doesn't show it," Apple Bloom pointed out as she looked back towards the room where Tempest was lying. "She's cold and distant at best.

"She has her reasons, just give her a chance to warm up to you, there's not really much else you can do honestly," Magnolia replied. "But the way she talks about you, I can tell that she respects you a lot. I'd give her a chance is all."

Apple Bloom thought about that for a moment before smiling and nodding. "Yah really care about her don't you?"

"She's the best friend I've ever had," Magnolia smiled as she placed her hand gently on Dawn's shoulder. "I've been doing what I can to help her and Dawn. You and Sweetie Belle are the same for Scootaloo. Just be careful out there, okay? The last thing we need is for something to happen to you two."

"We will," Apple Bloom said as she looked back at Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle and smiled softly. "Ah do sometimes wish that Ah had what they do though. They're lucky ta have one another, while me Ah'm just startin' ta get mah relationship off its feet."

"Just give it time, I think you'll get the chance," Magnolia said as Dawn yawned a little and started to wake up. "Come on, how about we go get something to eat?"

"Yeah, that sounds good," Apple Bloom replied as they headed towards the commissary together.


00000


"Hey everyone, this is Vignette Valencia coming at you with an exclusive!" Valencia said as she spoke into the camera. "I know you're all excited about what's going on with the Kamen Riders and the Order around the City. Well, today I'm going to give you a special exclusive interview with someone who knows way more about one of the Riders than anyone else. I'd like to welcome Mr... what's your name again? Laughter?"

"Lauoga," Lauoga scowled at the woman. "I'm here to tell you more about Kamen Rider Death."

"Yes, Death, that's the strange new one that we've gotten a few news reports about, right?" Valencia asked. "The one with the Skull design? Dreadful design if you ask me."

"Your opinion is hardly relevant to this," Lauoga snapped, he was clearly not happy about having to have this interview with her. "Kamen Rider Death has been around for a lot longer than any of you know. She's been a thorn in our side for years."

"Years?" Valencia asked. "I thought the Order only started attacking a few months ago."

"We did, this time around," Lauoga said with a snort. "Your government is hiding the truth from you. We first came to this world 26 years ago. Death first appeared some 13 years ago. The Order has been stopped both times we appeared before, we won't let this happen again."

"Fascinating, fascinating," Valencia said as she smiled at the camera. "You hear that, viewers? We've got information even those losers at Riderwatch doesn't even know yet. So, can you tell me more about this Kamen Rider Death?"

"There are a few things, yes," Lauoga said. "She is a government agent who has worked for a covert government agency that has been fighting us for a long time. Her name is Tempest Shadow, she lives here in Canterlot in the downtown area on 12th Street in Gatewater Apartments. She's been right under your noses this whole time."

"And why are you telling us this now?"

"Because she's not going to be allowed to hide anymore," Lauoga replied with a laugh. "She's been a thorn in our side for a long time. Justice and Amores are hardly more than nuisances, but Death, she is the real problem for us."

"Well, this is exciting, thank you," Valencia said as she picked up the phone and held it up with a grin. "You hear that viewers? We have confirmation of the identity of an actual Kamen Rider. Isn't this exciting?"

"Yes, very," Lauoga said with a groan as Valencia started the uploading process. Lauoga reached down and picked up his hammer before starting to raise it. "Are you about done?"

"Should only take a moment," Valencia answered. "Just give me a moment, I'll get it sent. Aaaaand, done!"

Lauoga was about to bring the hammer down on her when an armored hand grabbed the hammer and glared at him. He looked at the owner of the hand and realized that Caesar had stopped him.

"Not yet," the commander hissed. "She may still be of use to us."

"What? Who the..." Valencia started to demand before she got hit by the hilt of Caesar's sword and crumpled to the ground.

"Thank you, she was really starting to get on my nerves," Lauoga said with a groan. "But I don't understand why you decided to spare her."

"We just broadcast a Rider's identity," Caesar said. "Our enemies are going to be very interested in figuring out what she learned about us. I think this may give us an advantage of sorts."

"Oh, that's no fun," Lauoga said with a sigh. "My host wanted her dead. Such a curious human he is."

"You can find something else to play with," Caesar said with a roll of his eyes. "There are still plenty of humans out there for you to play with."

“So, what do you want me to do with her?” Lauoga asked

Caesar looked at her for a moment and shrugged. "Hold her hostage for now. She may still be of use to us, perhaps use her as bait to get the Riders out."

"I wouldn't exactly call her appealing bait," Lauoga snorted as he looked at her for a moment. "She's the most annoying human I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Isn't there anything else I can..."

"You have your orders, I would recommend not disobeying them," Caesar said with a sneer. "Finish off Kamen Rider Death once and for all and then we'll talk. Right now that is your mission."

"Any particular requirements on how I'm to draw her out?" Lauoga asked.

"Just draw her out somehow, I don't care," Caesar said before he vanished.
Lauoga smiled wickedly as he stroked his chin for a moment. Yes, there would certainly be ways to draw Tempest Shadow out. She was already weakened by the last fight and she had too much pride to ask for help from the other Riders, so she had no doubt that he would be able to catch her at a vulnerable position.

Now it was just a matter of figuring out how to do it.


00000


"Agent Shadow, you shouldn't be getting up," the Doctor sighed as Tempest struggled to get out of bed. She had finally woken up an hour ago. "You're still healing from your last battle."

"I don't care, that monster thinks he can get away with going after my family..." she grumbled as she tried to get up only to double over in pain and fall back onto the bed. "Damn it, it's still not working..."

"Your body is in bad shape and is going to have to heal naturally," The doctor told her. "You aren't going to do your daughter any good by pushing yourself to your limits like this."

"You know she's right," Magnolia said as she stood in the doorway.

"I'm sorry, but only family and medical personnel are allowed in right now," the Doctor said.

"Well, it's a good thing I'm a trained nurse then," Magnolia said with a roll of her eyes. "Magnolia Tree, I'm Tempest's Nurse, I've been patching her up ever since she started fighting the Order again."

"Well, you're lucky because right now she's probably the only reason you're in one piece," the Doctor said with a sigh as she looked back at Tempest. "Alright, if you've been taking care of her for this long, you can come in. But I need to have a word with you first."

"Alright," Magnolia said as she and the Doctor went off to the side. "What is it?"

"Look, I don't pretend to know everything about Agent Shadow or her condition, but she's showing a lot of damage from fights with the Order's Agents," the Doctor whispered. "Usually the healing ability of the cards compensate for that. I don't exactly know how this is supposed to work, but do you know what's going on?"

Magnolia paused a little as she looked back at Tempest and thought for a moment. She did know what was going on, she was probably the only one who actually knew for that matter. However, she couldn't tell anyone that without betraying Tempest's confidence.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you that," she said with a shake of her head. "It's Tempest's place to tell anyone that, not mine. You understand I'm sure."

"Confidentiality doesn't extend to this kind of thing," the Doctor pointed out. "But Agent Shadow is one of our finest agents. If you say you can't tell me, I'll trust you. I can't promise that everyone else will think the same though."

"I know," Magnolia agreed. "She's a stubborn one really. I probably couldn't have gotten her here for medical treatment if we hadn't been attacked. But she's going to want to go after that monster, do you think she'll be up for it?"

"Possibly, it won't be easy," the Doctor said with a sigh. "But she can't go it alone, not in the shape she's in. The Rider suit will augment her, but she won't be at 100%. For now, I want her to stay here and rest."

"I'll make sure she does that," Magnolia said with a nod. 

"She's a real mama bear, huh?" The Doctor asked. "I heard she nearly killed the monster on her own defending you and her daughter."

"Yeah, the Order made a mistake by going after her like this," Magnolia agreed. "She cares about Dawn a lot. At this point, I would not want to be in that monster's shoes."

"Agreed," the Doctor said. "So, where is her daughter now? I think she'd like to know that her mother is awake."

"She's in one of the other rooms in the infirmary resting," Magnolia answered. "I'll go get her in a minute, but I want to talk to Tempest first."

The Doctor nodded and lead Magnolia over to the bed where Tempest was laying down again, breathing slowly as she looked up at the ceiling. "Hey there Tempest."

"Magnolia," Tempest said with a slight smile as she looked at her friend. "How's Dawn doing? Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine, she's asleep right now," Magnolia reassured her. "Scootaloo and her friends are looking after her right now."

"Scootaloo and her friends are looking after her right now."

"She's probably freaking out over all of this," Tempest groaned. "I mean we got attacked in our home and she found out that her mother is a Kamen Rider. I can't imagine what's going through her mind right now."

"Yeah, she is in shock over that, but she also wants you to be okay," Magnolia answered. "It would help her to know that you're awake."

"Soon, but we still have to deal with that monster," Tempest said with a groan. "She's in danger as long as that Page monster is out there. I thought I could take him on by myself. I'm not so sure anymore."

"Luckily for you, you don't have to do it alone," Magnolia reminded her. "Scootaloo and Sweetie Drops are both there to help you out. You can't just keep shutting yourself off from them. I may not know a lot about Kamen Riders, but one thing I've realized is that they work together. You've been helping them as best you can this whole time, so why don't you let them help you for once?"

"Yeah, I guess I could," Tempest said as she closed her eyes a little. "Thank you Magnolia. You were right this whole time really, I guess it took me getting the crap beaten out of me to realize it. But I'm still going to take him down for what he did, I just need to get out of this bed."

"You need to tell them the truth about the Death card and why it's not working right for you," Magnolia told her with a frown. "The Doctor is getting suspicious and I'm sure that Director Fancy Pants is concerned as well. You can't hide the truth from them forever."

"I know, but I'm not ready yet," Tempest sighed as she squeezed her hand a little. "And I doubt they would understand either. I just need a little more time, you know?"

"Okay," Magnolia agreed. "I won't tell them either. But you really should consider it at least."

"They'll find out eventually," Tempest sighed as she placed her hand on a necklace she was wearing. "That is inevitable. With everything that's going on, we have to be getting close to that point. I just have to hope that they understand why I didn't tell them."

"I'm sure they will," Magnolia said. "Now get some rest, we'll do what we can to get you ready for the fight with Lauoga. Promise me that you won't do anything stupid."

"I promise," Tempest groaned. "Not much I can do right now that would be stupid since it hurts to get out of bed."

"Yeah, well I better get back to convincing the others that we're not in a relationship," Magnolia said as she headed back to the door. "Gee, it's like two women can't just live together."

"Yeah, I..." Tempest started to say. "Wait, what? Do they really think we're a couple? No offense, but you're not exactly someone I'd be interested in."

"None taken, same here," Magnolia said as she headed back out of the hospital room.


00000


"Agent Shadow is recovering, it sounds like she's awake again," Fleur said as she entered Fancy Pants' office. "So, that's some good news at least."

"Unfortunately it's the only good news we've gotten," Fancy said as he adjusted his monocle. He was studying his computer screen and glanced up at Fleur. "It seems that Lauoga was interviewed by a local blogger."

"Diamond Tiara?"

"No, someone else who wanted to get a leg up on the competition I'm guessing," Fancy replied. "And he told her everything about Tempest Shadow too. It's already all over the web and the news stations are picking up on the story."

"Did he mention anything about the other Riders?" Fleur asked, suddenly concerned.

"No, there doesn't seem to be any further information released," Fancy replied. "But still this is a breach of our security. Not to mention the blogger seems to have vanished off the face of the earth after that interview."

"Things were so much easier when I was a Rider," Fleur sighed. "Now everyone's got a camera in their pocket and can send it across the world in seconds. It makes keeping things hidden hard, frankly, I'm amazed that most Riders are still considered Urban Legends at this point."

"Emu and Shinnosuke were more public knowledge, or at least as much as they could be," Fancy reminded her. "But yes, with everything that's going on we're lucky that we haven't been completely exposed at this point. I don't like this, but we're going to have to think of some way to cover this."

"Perhaps, but right now it would just draw more attention," Fleur reminded him. "For now I believe we should consider all our options. Agent Shadow is still one of our finest Agents and we have to..."

She was stopped when there was a sudden alarm and the flashing of lights as something came up on Fancy Pants' screen. He frowned a little as he pulled up the information and examined it carefully.

"Looks like we're not going to get a break, that's definitely Lauoga based on these readings," he said as he tapped the keyboard. "Get Agent Drops and Ms. Dash on this right now."

"What about Agent Shadow?" Fleur asked.

"Don't tell her, at least not yet," Fancy Pants replied. "Right now the last thing we need is for her to put herself in more danger than she's already in. Right now she needs to focus on getting healed up."

"Agreed," Fleur said as she headed out of the office towards the medical wing.

Fancy Pants leaned back in his chair and sighed a little. He was about to reach for his phone when it rang. He blinked a little as he picked it up. "This is Director Fancy Pants."

"Director, we need to talk about the recent developments in Canterlot," a gruff male voice said on the other end. "There are concerns about what is currently happening in the city."

"Everything is completely under control," Fancy replied. "You have nothing to be concerned about, sir."

"So you say, but I've been looking at the news reports coming out of Canterlot," the voice replied. "You've got your hands full right now. And not to mention the report about what happened to one of your Agents. We are concerned that  you are not capable of handling this on your own anymore."

"I've been handling this since before the invasion 13 years ago," Fancy reminded him. "We have everything under control here."

"We'll see about that, I will be paying a visit in a few days," the gruff voice said. "I would get your agents and these Riders ready for that, Director."

"Yes, I understand," Fancy said as he hung up.

Things just went from bad to worse.


00000


“I don’t like dealing with this guy,” Priellit said as they watched Lauoga on the view screen for a long moment. The monster was dragging a body away. “Sespenta was one thing as the drained energy went towards our plans. This is just gratuitous death and violence.”

“It gets the job done,” Caesar reminded her as he crossed his arms. “And he’s strong enough to take out Kamen Rider Death. We’ve got a very powerful asset here, would you rather not use it?”

“I didn’t say that, but perhaps a leash on him would be best,” Priellit said as Alrasahir came into the room. “These humans may still be of some use to us after all.”

“Perhaps,” Caesar said as he stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment. “We’ll see how things go then. Right now, we’ll see how he handles the other Kamen Riders.”

“I wouldn’t count Death out just yet,” Alrasahir said as he leaned on his staff a little. “If there’s anything I’ve learned about Kamen Riders it’s that they are very versatile. She’ll be back one way or another.”

“Perhaps,” Priellit said as she watched the screen. “We’ll see what she does next. These humans are not going to just let her go after that kind of beating.”

“Indeed, but perhaps we need to make sure that we have a back-up plan,” Morningstar commented as he walked into the room. “With two of the other Riders on their way to fight Lauoga before we’re ready, we need to have something else in play.”

“And what do you have in mind?” Caesar asked. “We can’t spare the energy for any other Agents. Granforca and Kuagua are both otherwise occupied with their own operations, so who do you propose we send?”

“I will take care of that,” Morningstar said as he walked forward, leaning on his cane a moment as he waved his hand. He removed the top off his cane as the red stone glowed with energy as it swirled around it. An image appeared on the screen of a young woman who looked scared and the energy flowed into her as her head snapped up and walked as if in a trance over to a bag and took out a Tarot Driver.

“Ah, yes your little puppet,” Alrasahir commented as he watched the young woman vanish into thin air. “You’re certain that she won’t draw attention by doing this, right?”

“I have taken the necessary precautions,” Morningstar answered as he leaned on his cane for a moment. “They will not know she is gone.”

“You’d better be sure, the last thing we need is to lose her as an asset,” Priellit agreed. “So, we’ll use her to divert the Riders for now I suppose. At the moment we don’t have much else we can do.”

“Indeed,” Morningstar said as he leaned on his cane a little and placed the top back on it. “She shall pose a threat to the Riders. Though I’m sure it will merely slow them down, at least for now.”

“Good,” Caesar said as he leaned back. “This had better work. I still have reservations about this plan.”

“I know, but it will work,” Morningstar retorted as they watched it all play out.


00000


Scootaloo and Sweetie Drops made their way down one of the city streets of Canterlot as they headed towards the location of where Lauoga was supposed to be. Scootaloo had finally gotten more used to using the motorcycle and could use it safely. She took a deep breath as she turned a corner.

“How are you doing over there?” Sweetie Drops asked over her helmet’s radio.

“I’m fine, just a little nervous is all,” Scootaloo replied. “I mean, this guy was able to take down Kamen Rider Death, or, well, Tempest. She’s no slouch and I’m honestly scared that we won’t be able to take him down together.”

“Don’t worry, we’ve got this,” Sweetie Drops replied, though she wasn’t sure either. Scootaloo was right, and Tempest had been the most experienced of the three of them at that. “We’ll get through this some… LOOK OUT!”

Scootaloo looked forward and quickly swerved out of the way as the saw a familiar silver and gold armored woman standing in the middle of the road. Scootaloo pulled her bike to a stop as she turned around quickly to see the strange Rider.

“What are you thinking?” She demanded. “You could’ve gotten someone killed!”

The strange Rider stood there in silence for a moment as Sweetie Drops came to a stop behind her. She glanced up for a moment, barely acknowledging that Scootaloo was there.

“Well, are you going to actually say something?” Scootaloo demanded as she gripped the handlebars of the bike. “Who are you?”

“Empress…” The strange Rider said coldly.

“Empress?” Scootaloo asked. “That’s not an answer to my question!”

“I think she’s giving a name,” Sweetie Drops commented.

“Alright, Kamen Rider Empress is it?” Scootaloo asked as Empress nodded a little. “So, how about you tell us what you’re doing here.”

“I’m here… to… deal with you,” Empress replied. “The Order… wants you out of the… way…”

Empress ran forward and swung her fist at Scootaloo on her bike. She quickly pushed herself forward to avoid the Rider’s fist as she did.

“You’re going to have to try harder than that if you want to beat me!” Scootaloo said as she placed her hand on her Driver.

“Scootaloo, catch!” Sweetie Drops called out as she tossed a card to her. Scootaloo caught it and smiled a little as she saw the Chariot card. “You might need it, I’m going ahead!”

“Alright, I’ve got this,” Scootaloo agreed as she placed her Driver on her belt. “I don’t know where you came from, but I’m not going to let you stop us.”

“We’ll… see…” Empress said as she raised her fist again. “You… won’t… stand... A chance…”

“We’ll see about that,” Scootaloo said as she placed her Driver on her waist and it formed around her. She quickly drew the two cards out of her deck box and slid them into the slot. “Henshin!”

“TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!” The Driver said as the black and green energy flowed over her to form the armor as the Arcana Rapier appeared in her hand.

“Alright Empress, I may not know who you really are, but I’m not going to hold back,” Scootaloo said as she took a fighting pose. “Let’s do this!”

“Don’t… expect… to… survive…” Empress said as she ran forward and swung her fist at Scootaloo who just barely managed to avoid it. “You… will… pay…”

Scootaloo held her rapier out as Empress turned around quickly. Why did this weird Rider even want to stop her so badly? She was going to have to figure this out later as she took a stance, she would need to focus on dealing with her now.

“We’ll see about that,” Scootaloo said as she grabbed a card and slid it into her Driver again.

“ARCANA CIRCLE SHIELD!” The Driver said as the circular shield appeared in her free hand. She swung it around to catch another punch and kicked hard at Empress who fell back with a groan.

“You’re going to tell me who you are and what is going on!” Scootaloo exclaimed as she pointed her rapier at the strange Rider.

Empress didn’t reply. Instead she just let out an animalistic growl and threw another punch at Scootaloo. The silver and gold Rider fought with a fury like Scootaloo hadn’t seen before. She barely was able to block some of the blows with her shield.

Scootaloo let out a cry as the Rider pushed through her shield and caught her across the chin. She rubbed the metal armor covering her face before holding her rapier. She thrust forward, catching the Rider in the chest and slammed her fist into Empress’s stomach.

“You… won’t… AHHHHHHH!” Empress screamed as she held her head in pain. Finally to Scootaloo’s surprise, she spoke a complete sentence for the first time. “NO! I WON’T DO IT! LET ME GO!”

Empress’s voice was not one she recognized. There was still a distortion to it as she held her head tightly. Empress was in pain, that much was clear. The scorpion Rider was no longer paying attention to Scootaloo, but the young woman was just watching in stunned silence.

“You… won’t… win…” Empress repeated again in the strange broken speech. “I… will… beat… you…”

Finally Empress let out one last scream and collapsed. Scootaloo started to reach to her, but the Rider’s head snapped up and screeched at her. Finally, Empress shimmered and vanished into thin air.

“Scootaloo, are you okay?” Fancy Pants asked over her communicator. “What happened? We picked up some weird readings.”

“I’m okay,” Scootaloo said as she headed back to her bike. “I ran into the Scorpion Rider again. She called herself Empress, but she was acting weird.”

“Tell me on the way,” Fancy told her as Scootaloo started the bike up. “Agent Drops is going to need your help.”

“I’m on my way,” Scootaloo said as she headed down the street again.


00000


“I’m going and that is final,” Tempest insisted as she got out of bed with a flinch of pain. “That monster threatened my family. I’m not going to let him get away with it.”

“You’re in no shape to go right now,” Magnolia insisted. “The others can handle it. You don’t need to put your life at risk right now!”

“They can’t take him without my help,” Tempest groaned. “The Rider suit will compensate for my injuries. I just need to get there on Shinigami is all. It’ll be fine.”

“You won’t make it if you go on your own,” Magnolia sighed. “Are you sure I can’t talk you out of this?”

“I’m positive,” Tempest replied as she cringed again and stumbled only to have Magnolia catch her. “Thanks…”

"You're welcome," Magnolia replied with a soft smile. "Are you really sure this is the right thing to do though? I mean, you shouldn't put yourself at risk like this. You're just going to get yourself killed if you keep putting yourself at risk like this."

"Yeah, I know," Tempest groaned as she held her side for a moment and took a deep breath. "But I need to do this. He threatened you and Dawn. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't stop him from trying again? What kind of mother would I be..."

“Don’t talk like that, you’re a fine friend and mother,” Magnolia told her as she placed her hand gently on Tempest’s. “But if you’re going to insist on this, you’re not going it alone. We’ll get to my car and I’ll drive you there. Right now, the last thing you need is to be behind the wheel, or handlebars, of a vehicle. I promised you that I would stay by your side through this. Are you going to be okay with that?”

“Yeah… if it means I can get there I can live with that,” Tempest groaned as the two of them started out of the room together. “We’re going to have to explain this to the Doctor though.”

“I’m more worried about explaining this to Dawn,” Magnolia pointed out. “You still need to really talk to her you know. She really deserves to know more about why you’re doing this, she deserves to know the truth.”

“I don’t know if she’s ready to hear the truth yet,” Tempest groaned as she looked down at her hand for a moment. “No one is. We both know what they would think of me if they found out the truth. For now, we’ll keep that between us, okay?”

“Okay,” Magnolia said. “But you should still talk to Dawn. I’m sure she has a lot of questions that only you can answer.”

“I’ll talk to her, preferably when this is all over,” Tempest said. She pulled her clothes on and picked up her revolver that she checked the ammo in and slid into her holster. “I know I have a lot to try and explain to her. I’ve kept this from her since I adopted her, I’m not sure how I’m going to explain this to her.”

“Try telling the truth,” Magnolia snickered. “Or at the very least tell her part of the truth. Please, for me?”

“Fine,” Tempest replied as they started to walk out together. “But for now we should just get out of here. If we find her on our way out I’ll talk to…”

“Mommy, why are you out of bed?” A familiar voice said as she looked up and flinched to see that Dawn was sitting off to the side. “Are you okay?”

“Mommy’s fine, Aunt Magnolia is just going to take me out of the base for a little bit,” Tempest replied with a pained smile. “Stay here with mommy’s friends and you’ll be okay.”

“You’re going after the monster that attacked us, aren’t you?” Dawn asked as she crossed her arms a little. “I’m not going to believe you if you say something else you know. I saw it on the news you know, everyone’s freaking out about it.”

“Yeah… I can imagine…” Tempest flinched as she eased herself into the chair next to her daughter. “Dawn, I’m sure you have a lot of questions for me.”

“Yeah… I mean, why are you a Kamen Rider? How did you even become one?” Dawn asked quickly. “I mean, I thought they only showed up in the city recently. That, thing seemed to know you.”

“It’s a really long story sweetie,” Tempest replied as she put her arm gently around her daughter. With her other hand she took out a small pile of cards and showed one of a skeletal knight on a horse. “A long time ago, before you were born, these monsters that we’re fighting now tried to invade. I found this card, much like Scootaloo did with her card, and was given a Driver. I tried not to get involved, but after the other Rider back then lost her equipment I had to step up. I was able to stop them, but they came back now. Justice and Amores have been doing what they can, and I’m helping them out as best I can. That monster attacked us, and I’m going to stop him before he hurts anyone else.”

“Do you have to go though?” Dawn asked as she started to cry a little. “I don’t want you to… to…”

Tempest flinched a little at that. She wrapped her arms gently around her daughter and held her close. She didn’t want to let her go, even if she knew that she had to do this. She had taken care of Dawn ever since her parents had died when the girl was a baby.

“I promise, I’ll be fine,” she said reassuringly. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, remember? I’ll take him out with the other two and I’ll be right back here, I promise.”

“Okay…” Dawn said softly. “Can Auntie Magnolia stay with me?”

“No, she’s going to come with me, but I promise you’ll have someone here with you,” Tempest said as she looked up to see Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle coming in. “Everything is going to be just fine.”

“I still wish you didn’t have to go…” Dawn said softly. “After what happened before I’m scared…”

“I completely understand, I’m scared too,” Tempest admitted as she held Dawn close for a moment. “I’m going to be fine though. I’ll be back and when I get back, we’ll get to go back home once everything is fixed, okay?”

“Okay,” Dawn said with a nod.

“Will you two do us a favor and watch Dawn while we’re gone?” Magnolia asked as she looked up at Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. “We’ll be back as soon as possible.”

“Yeah, sure, we’d be glad ta,” Apple Bloom replied with a nod. “We’ll take good care of her, right Sweetie Belle.”

“Right,” Sweetie said, though she looked a bit dazed. “Hey Dawn.”

“Hi…” Dawn said as she looked between the two of them nervously for a moment. She looked up at Tempest for a moment and smiled a little as she gave her a nod. “Stay safe…”

“We will,” Tempest replied as Magnolia helped her out of the clinic slowly. She glanced back towards the others and paused a moment. Something was bothering her, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

“Is everything okay?” Magnolia asked as she looked at Tempest.

“I don’t know,” Tempest admitted. “Just, I got a weird feeling right now. Something tells me that not everything is right here.”

“And, what are you going to do about the fact that your identity has been outed to the whole world?” Magnolia asked. “I mean,  that’s not exactly going to be easy.”

“I’ll be fine, I’ve always been low profile anyway,” Tempest reminded her. “I’m more worried about the impact it’ll have on Dawn. If they actually manage to put two and two together on who her mother is, she’ll get a lot of trouble about it from students.”

“Yeah… but we’ll figure it out, and she’ll be fine, she’s a tough kid,” Magnolia reminded her. “You’ve raised her well.”

“We both have,” Tempest reminded her. “Magnolia, just, thank you for everything you’ve ever done for both of us. I don’t think I’ve ever said that enough.”

“You’re welcome, anything for a friend,” Magnolia said with a nod as she helped Tempest to the elevator.

As the two women rode the elevator up to the top floor, Tempest couldn’t help but think about what was going to happen next. The monster was still out there and he was threatening more than just her family.

She just had to hope that she really was going to be able to stop him.


00000


“So, what are we looking at here?” Scootaloo asked as she stepped off her bike. They were in a suburb of Canterlot outside of a house where the SMILE team was checking things over.

“Well, the target is in the house,” Sweetie Drops replied as she checked the infrared scanner. “We’ve got a visual on Lauoga and Vignette. There are also some weaker signals in the house itself.”

“More people he kidnapped maybe?” Scootaloo suggested.

“Maybe, I don’t like it though,” Sweetie Drops replied. “We’ll have to be careful though. I don’t like going in with only so much intel. And he was able to hold his own against Tempest, remember?”

“Yeah, but we’re not going in alone,” Scootaloo reminded her as she glanced at Pharynx and his team. “And we’re not going to let him get away with this.”

“Are you sure we can’t just let him have Valencia? It seems like it would save us a lot of trouble,” Pharynx grumbled as he slammed a clip into his gun. “We all know that she’s just doing this kind of thing for attention.”

“Yeah, she is, but she’s still human,” Sweetie Drops sighed. “We’ll save her and deal with the fallout later.”

“Right,” Pharynx said as the rest of the team got ready. “Let’s…”

They were about to make their next move when there was the sound of a car approaching. They turned to see the car with Magnolia driving arrive. She helped Tempest out of the car and gave them a nod.

“Looks like you’re about ready to go,” Tempest said as she gave them a nod. “I’m here to help. That thing isn’t about to get away with hurting my family.”

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Scootaloo asked worriedly.

“Yeah, I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life,” Tempest answered. “We’re going to need to use the strongest weapons we have for this. Given you two aren’t prepared for that just yet, it’s not exactly going to be easy on you.”

Scootaloo remembered when she had fought against a monster in Alchemy’s world using the Eight of Swords. It had left her unconscious for a short time, though she knew that it was the best option they had right now. She nodded a little as she reached into her pocket and took out the two cards.

“Well, we’re going to need to get used to them anyway,” Scootaloo agreed as she took out the Tarot Driver and nodded to Sweetie Drops. “Are you two ready for this?”

“Yeah, let’s do this,” Sweetie Drops said as Tempest adjusted herself a little as Magnolia let go of her. They each placed their Drivers on their waists as the belts formed around them.

“Henshin!” The three of them said in unison as they slid the cards into their Drivers.

“TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!”

“LOVE CONQUERS ALL THINGS!”

“THE PALE HORSE RIDES AGAIN!”

The familiar energy glowed out of the circles at the center of the Drivers as it flowed over them to form their armor. Scootaloo held the broadsword in her hands as she glanced over at Sweetie Drops who had the Flatbow while Tempest had her assault rifle. She took a deep breath as she held the sword tightly and turned back to the house.

“Alright, Agent Pharynx, you and your team take point,” Tempest said as she straightened out her rifle. “We’ll be right behind you, the idea is to get Lauoga out of the house. We don’t know who might be in there and we don’t want to risk any of the hostages.”

“Yes ma’am,” Pharynx said as he put on his helmet. “Alright team, let’s move in. You all know your orders, are you ready?”

“Yes sir!” The remaining agents said in unison as they quietly headed towards the house with their guns raised.

Pharynx gave the others a nod as he slowly opened the door with his rifle raised. They moved quietly into the house as they looked around carefully. Nothing seemed to be visible as they looked for any sign of Lauoga or Valencia. They moved quietly as they followed the information on their screens to look for either one of them.

Pharynx pointed at two of the teammates and then through a door. They nodded and parted from them as he gestured for two of the other team members to go another direction before they started down the hallway again with their rifles raised.

Finally Pharynx and his partner reached the living room. Expecting some sort of resistance, they prepared for a fight only to find Valencia sitting in the center tied to a chair with duct tape over her mouth. He groaned a little as he walked over quietly and pulled off the duct tape as quickly as possible.

“Owww!” Valencia cried out as she rubbed her face a little. “That hurt!”

“Yeah, well we need to get you out of here fast,” Pharynx said as he nodded to his partner who drew out a knife and cut through the ropes. “Are there any other hostages being held here?”

“Oh sure, I’m not as important as they are,” Valencia said as she got up and got a look from Pharynx. “I couldn’t tell you really. I’ve heard some voices sure, but I’ve been locked away when he was doing anything.”

“Wait, you’ve been locked away this whole time?” Pharynx asked.

“Yeah, why?” Valencia asked. “He threw me out here for some reason, I don’t know why.”

“That doesn’t make sense…” Pharynx said as he raised his hand to his ear to activate his radio. “Agent Drops, do we have a visual on Lauoga now?”

“No, we don’t, he doesn’t seem to be in the house anymore,” Sweetie replied. Though she sounded a bit confused. “That doesn’t make sense, we just had a visual on him.”

“Where did he go then?” Scootaloo asked over the radio. “He couldn’t have just vanished like that, right?”

“No, something about this is very wrong, be careful out there,” Pharynx said. “We’re going to search the rest of the house.”

“Understood,” Sweetie Drops said as she turned off her communicator back outside. “Agent Shadow, any ideas on what happened here?”

“More than likely Lauoga was never in the house when we arrived, there’s something else going on,” Tempest replied as she adjusted her rifle. “Stay on your guard, he could be any…”

She turned her head and barely got out of the way of a flying hammer that was about to catch her in the head. It impacted the wall behind them before flying back into Lauoga’s hand as he grinned at the three Riders.

“Well, I didn’t actually think I’d get all three of you here, it really makes things so much easier for me,” he laughed as he pointed his hammer at them. “I’m not going to let you beat me. Nice to see you’re here, Tempest. You made this so much easier, so I’ll make this quick before I go after your daughter.”

“I’m not letting you hurt my daughter!” Tempest said as she raised the rifle to her shoulder and fired several shots at Lauoga as he laughed and rolled out of the way. “Stay still so we can kill you already!”

“Come on, you really think I’m just going to do that?” Lauoga countered as he ran forward at Scootaloo, swinging his hammer at the smaller girl as she tried to duck out of the way and swung the broadsword up. There was the sound of metal against metal as the two weapons collided. “Well, Kamen Rider Justice, we haven’t crossed weapons yet, have we?”

“Yeah, well, I’m not going to let you hurt Tempest or her daughter,” Scootaloo said as she kicked hard at Lauoga and sent him back a few feet as she held the sword up. “Or anyone else in this city!”

Lauoga grunted as he swung the hammer back and threw it at Scootaloo, catching her in the chest as she hit the wall behind her hard. Sweetie pulled back on her bow and fired several shots at him, only to have him send energy blasts that broke them in mid-air.

Tempest growled as she raised her rifle to her shoulder again as she fired several more shots into the monster. Scootaloo groaned a little as she got to her feet as she stumbled a little, the armor had taken most of the hit, but she still felt a sharp pain as she held her sword up again. She took a deep breath as she dug her heels in, preparing to face off against Lauoga again.

Lauoga grinned as he pulled the hammer back into his hand as Tempest and Sweetie raised their weapons and fired again. While he dodged Sweetie’s, a barrage of bullets caught him in the chest as he stumbled back again. He groaned a little as he turned to look at the skull themed Rider, and even from behind her helmet he could feel the hatred radiating off the Rider.

He was about to run again when he felt a pain in his leg as another stream of bullets impacted him in the leg. He gulped a little as he turned to see Tempest standing there with the rifle pointed at his head.

“No, I’m not going to let you get away again,” She said as she fired several more shots at him, him throwing up an arm to block them, but it only wound up leaving his armored robes in a tattered mess.

“Then have at me,” Lauoga said with a snarl as he threw his hammer at her again only to have her raise a skeletal hand and catch it, only being pushed back for a moment. “So, you’re stronger than I expected.

“Your bosses clearly need a reminder,” Tempest growled as she threw the hammer back at him, catching him in the chest. “As to exactly why they call me Death.”

Lauoga struggled to get to his feet again as Scootaloo swung her sword around, catching him across the chest as he staggered back from the pain, he was exhausted as his armor was now in tatters from the combined attacks from the riders.

“ENOUGH!” He shouted as he sent out waves of energy that knocked back all three Riders. “YOU WILL NOT…”

He was suddenly cut off by a right hook to the face from Tempest. He looked up to find the butt of her rifle slamming down on his face as he crumpled to the ground. She finally raised her hand one last time and slammed it hard into his chest, the armor shattering around him as a scrawny man laid on the ground.

“Tempest…” Scootaloo said as the skull themed Rider reached down to her belt and deactivated it. “What are you doing?”

“I’m not letting this one get away with what he’s done,” she said as she reached into her coat and extracted her revolver as she aimed it at his head. “He’s nothing more than human filth, we’d be better off without him.”

“No, wait, he’s…” Scootaloo started to say when she felt Sweetie Drops’ hand on her shoulder.

“Scootaloo, we can’t save them all,” she said softly and glanced back at the house for a moment. She pressed her hand against her helmet to activate her communicator. “Agent Pharynx, are the hostages secure?”

“They are…” Pharynx replied with a pained tone of voice. “We, uh… we found what he’s been doing in here. You don’t want to come in here, it seems that we’ve found the cause of some recent missing persons cases… This guy was a real psycho...”

Scootaloo paused a moment as she heard that. She had nothing she could say about it, and she knew that there was no talking Tempest out of what she clearly wanted to do. She turned away as she heard the gunshot from Tempest’s revolver.

“Well, at least you Riders are good for something,” Vignette commented as she was lead out of the house. “Too bad you didn’t get here sooner, could have…”

“I’d advise shutting up, you’re already in a lot of trouble for exposing state secrets,” Pharynx said as he handcuffed Vignette.

“What are you talking about? I was being held hostage!” Vignette protested. “I was being used as…”

“Yeah, we’re not buying it, you were clearly not under duress when you released the name of a government agent on the internet,” Pharynx replied. “That’s punishable under espionage regardless of the circumstances. So, I would keep your mouth shut from here on out.”

“But…” Vignette started to say.

“Is that her?” Tempest asked as she walked up to them and Pharynx nodded. “You exposed my identity to the world and you’re putting my daughter at risk because of that.”

“Yeah, who cares, it’s all about the story,” Vignette snorted. “You Kamen Riders are the story of the century. I don’t care who I have to…”

She was cut off by a sharp punch to the face by Tempest. That finally shut Vignette up as she realized the gravity of the mistakes she had made.


00000


“Well, Dawn, this is where we’ll be staying for now,” Tempest said as they headed into the hotel suite together. Magnolia was pushing a cart with their luggage behind them. “Sorry we can’t go home yet.”

“It’s okay, I’m just glad you’re here,” Dawn said as she hugged Tempest. “Thank you mommy…”

“You’re welcome,” Tempest said as she gently placed her hand on her daughter’s head. She sighed happily as she looked around. They’d have to call it home for a while until they found a new place to live. “How about you go see what’s on TV with Auntie Magnolia?”

“Okay!” Dawn said as she ran over to the couch with Magnolia.

Tempest headed over towards the bathroom and shut the door behind her. She removed her coat and looked at her heavily scarred body underneath. With everything that was going on, she couldn’t believe that she had finally been forced to come clean. Maybe that would help with the other problems a little more.

She flipped through the news on her phone. The local news talked about the discovery of a serial killer that had been killed by one of the local heroes, though they hadn’t named her specifically. Still, she had no doubt that the news had already spread like wildfire about her identity.

She sighed a little as she reached to remove her revolver when she felt a sharp pain in her arm. She gripped it tightly as it started to distort again, taking on a more skeletal look once more as she held it tightly.

“No… not now… I have to hold on…” she said as she gripped it tightly, struggling against the pain in her arm.

She let out a sigh of relief as the pain faded and her arm returned to normal. She slid on a shirt and headed back out of the bathroom to join the two on the couch.