//------------------------------//
// Chapter 13: Going Rogue 
// Story: To Build the Winning Formula 
// by Snow Fire 
//------------------------------//

“So this is the place?” Sol asked. He and Flash had arrived at the location Pandora’s Box was supposedly stored. To their surprise, it was an abandoned research building for Tirek Heavy Industries. The fence was chained shut with several signs indicating its condemned status. Other than that, the building seemed to be in relatively good condition. It was tall and overlooked a small cliff. There was also a raging river next to the facility. This time the two teens were dressed up as construction workers to disguise the fact they brought several tools to break in the building. 

 “Yes. We tracked the Box’s signature right to this building. Apparently, it’s located in a space below the second basement, meaning that there could be a hidden floor. So keep an eye out for anything unusual.” Micro reported. 

“Got it. Man…I hope we’ll find everything after this…”





Last Night…

“So that’s where the Box is?” Sol asked again. 

“For the tenth time, yes!” Micro said in exasperation as he pulled up the energy readings and the building’s blueprints. “The signal we picked up matches our Panel’s signature. We also picked up an additional signal really close to it. It’s likely the Panel Faust had during your fight with Night Rogue.” 

“But will our stuff be there too? Wouldn’t Faust keep them someplace else for better security?” Sandalwood wondered. 

“Not necessarily. If it’s the Panel, then it’s likely that Faust has our Fullbottles stashed along with it. Night Rogue did seem adamant about placing the bottles on their Panel after all.” 

While the three discussed, Flash was deep in thought. As he looked at the blueprints of the building, the items in question was located on a hidden level, directly below the official layout of the building. Why did Faust do that and not take more precaution to conceal the Box from their detection if they knew they were looking for it?

Could this be a trap? Like the false Smash reading Night Rogue transmitted the other day? If it is…then they had to be prepared for it. Then he had an idea. One that will work in their favor. “Hey, Micro!”

“Yeah Flash?” All eyes turned to the musician. “What’s up?”

“I just got an idea. One that may help us in the long run.”

“Really? What is it?”

“How fast can you build a transmitter? One small enough to hide between gaps of armor?”

“Well, in a couple of hours. Why?” Micro asked as he pushed up his glasses. 

“Given how things are laid out, it’s likely we might be walking into an ambush. So why don’t we turn it around to our favor and tag a certain Snake or Bat?”





“Man…” Flash groaned. “Never thought I’d come back to this place again.”

“You’ve been here before?” The fighter asked. 

“Only a few times. When my dad had to come in to submit data reports from the tests he did. Sometimes he’d take me along and we’d go out for ice cream afterwards. It used to be a functional facility where the company tested aeronautical equipment. But due to a redistribution of funding from compensating my family due to the faulty components during my dad’s flight test, it was shut down. Guess Faust decided to use it as a hidden base as it’s no longer in use.” Flash stared at the building, feeling mixed emotions brought from memories. 

“Are you gonna be okay?” 

“I’ll be fine. Let’s just break in and get our stuff back.” The musician said as he reached into the duffle bag he brought with him and pulled out a pair of bolt cutters. With a quick tug, the chains were cut and the two snuck inside. They made their way to the front entrance, which was an offline automatic door. Flash dropped his duffle bag as he whipped out a spreader tool to pry the doors open.

As the bag dropped, the Build Driver clattered out. Sol picked it back up. “Hey, you dropped your Driver. Wait, I thought you kept yours in your watch.”

“That one’s yours, Sol.” Flash answered while he remained focused on his task. “Micro made another one based on Gizmo’s blueprints. We figured it’d be more efficient if we each had a driver instead of taking turns when we get our bottles back.” Once he got a wide enough gap, he wriggled his fingers in and pried the doors open. He then packed up his tools and went further inside. “Just remember what the Rider system is for; protecting people.” 

“I understand.” Sol nodded as he stashed his Driver away. Once inside, they donned their hooded disguises in case of any security cameras Faust might have set up. 

The two made their way several flights of stairs until they reached the second basement level. After a quick look around them, it was deserted without any sign of a third floor. “…is the Box really around here? Is there really a third level? We’re on the final floor of the building.”

“There’s bound to be something. Keep an eye out.” Flash told him. But before they could start searching, the lights turned on, blinding the two. 

“I’m surprised you two managed to find this place.” Night Rogue stated as he descended the stairs with a group of Guardians behind him. “It’s a shame, but I’ll have to ask you to leave…after you hand over your bottles and Panel first.”

“Night Rogue!” Sol growled. 

“Well, we just got here.” Flash said as he put in the Driver and held up the Lock bottle. He held out his other hand for the Dragon bottle. “Why not show us a good time?”

“I got this.” Sol stepped forward. “Back me up from behind.”

“But I was gonna fight.” Flash protested. 

“You’re still not fully healed from KeyDragon. Let me handle things!” He shook the Dragon bottle and equipped his Driver. Crozz flew down to his hand and he inserted the bottle in before inserting the transformed creature into the Driver.  

“WAKE UP!”

“CROSS-Z DRAGON!”

“ARE YOU READY?!”

Shifting into a fighting stance, Sol yelled, “Henshin!” The runners slammed into him, donning him in the draconic armor once more. His sword materialized right after.

“WAKE UP BURNING!”

“GET CROSS-Z DRAGON!”

“BEAT CROZZER!”

Flash was off to the side standing awkwardly. After a long period of inaction, he wanted to fight. The Guardians rushed at Sol with their gun blades. Cross-Z met them head on and slammed his blade into the first’s weapon. He then worked to bat away the oncoming reinforcements. As he fought off the mob, two of them took notice of Flash standing by, watching, and focused his attention on him. 

The disguised musician noticed the Guardians raising their weapons at him, and got ready to fight. 

Sol finished off the remaining soldiers that stood between him and Night Rogue, who was actually walking away from the fight. He swung while he continued to go unnoticed. But at the last moment, the Bat spun around and batted the blade away before digging his steam blade into his chest armor before dragging it across. The fighter spun back around to face him, but left himself wide open for a swift punch to the collar. 

As he was momentarily dazed, Night Rogue grabbed him by said collar and slammed his Steam Blade on top of Cross-Z’s helmet. 

Meanwhile, Flash fought off the remaining Guardians who turned their attention to him. He blocked two blades from reaching him with the Drill Crusher and forced them off. Once he was free, he spun around and cut down the surrounding enemies in a single swing. The robots then exploded into fiery remains. 

Back at Sol’s fight, he and Night Rogue had their weapons locked, neither one relenting in their fight. “Even if you are a Masked Rider, my Hazard Level still exceeds yours.” They broke their bout and swung again. 

“Don’t mess with me!” Sol snapped as the Bat turned the dial on his weapon. 

“ELEK STEAM!” 

Electricity crackled along the blade, empowering it. The boost was what he needed to break his opponent’s guard with a swung. Arcs of blue lightning struck the draconic Rider, sending him to the ground. The force of the blast also knocked Flash off his feet, forcing him to lose his grip on his weapon. 

The Bat slowly approached the fallen Dragon, who struggled to pull himself up after the electrocution. But everything stopped when a hand clasped the metal railing. 

“Well, well…” Blood Stalk droned as he descended the stairs. He looked around as if he were a curious toddler. “To think you were keeping it here…”

“Stalk!” Sol barked angrily. Flash just stared silently in resentment. 

“What are you doing here?” Night Rogue questioned. Stalk descended the last few steps by sliding down the rails like a child. 

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m here to hand out a beating...” He said as he walked past the Bat…only to suddenly spin around and strike him with his Steam Blade. “…to you!” Rogue blocked the first hit, but was knocked away by the following spin kick. 

Night Rogue tumbled before righting himself and glared at the snake. “You’ve gone insane!” He ducked below another swing and spun back up while Stalk dropped down for a sliding kick that he avoided. Stalk rolled over on his back for rising spin kick that Rogue knocked away. The Bat moved in for a thrust to the face, but the snake avoided it as he hopped back up on his feet. Both then slammed their blades against one another. 

“Well, let me put this into words…” Blood Stalk said mockingly. “You may be the leader, but Faust doesn’t belong to you!” Both teens could only stare in confusion. Why were they fighting each other? Weren’t they on the same side? The Faust fighters broke their blade lock and slashed each other with energy waves. The impact exploded and knocked them away. 

They both rose to their knees. Stalk was about to move but noticed something in his peripheral vision. He turned to his left and noticed something odd with the wall. Smirking under his helmet, he switched his weapon to an underhand grip. “Is this it?” He walked up and stabbed his blade into the white, rectangular panel on the wall, melting a large hole through it. It revealed a secret compartment that contained Team Build’s Fullbottles, Faust’s Panel, and an additional, empty Panel. “Bingo~!”

But before he could grab them, Night Rogue knocked his hand away. “You can’t have them!” The two continued their dispute with swings to the face. Stalk blocked Rogue’s blade from connecting as he slammed his weapon to the side of the bat’s helmet. He then pulled Rogue away from the newly made opening. 

Flash saw his moment of opportunity. While they were distracted, he made his way to the hole in the wall. “I can’t believe it, it’s all here!” He then noticed new Fullbottles that he hadn’t seen before and picked two of them up. “Hey, a Train Bottle! And a Pirate one too!” Where did Faust get these bottles? They never purified these ones before. Could they have been made while Gizmo was around? Like with Rabbit and Tank?

“Well…let’s take these for a spin!” He shook the Fullbottles, allowing the math equations to fly around him before twisting the caps and inserting them.

“PIRATE!”

“TRAIN!”

“BEST MATCH!”

“Seriously?! I got a Best Match!” Now excited by this occurrence, he turned the crank as Blue and Green runners formed around him. 

“ARE YOU READY?!”

“Henshin!” The runners converged and covered him in new armor. The Inorganic segments were light green based on train-related items. The shoulder guard had a railway sign and light. The gauntlet was a train car. The eyepiece resembled a segment of train track. The Organic side was light blue with a ship bow for a shoulder guard with a black half cape that covered the arm. The eye piece was a skull and crossbones image. Once he was transformed. He dove for the Drill Crusher and joined the fight. 

“THE SCHEDULED RENEGADE!”

“PIRATE TRAIN!”

“YEAH!” 

He swung at Stalk and Night Rogue, keeping the two occupied while Cross-Z pulled himself back up. 

“Now it’s round two!” Sol yelled as he joined the fray and swung at Blood Stalk. The snake blocked the attack while Build went for Night Rogue. “And time to see who’s under that mask!” The two clashed blades multiple times. As Cross-Z swung overhead, Stalk let it slide across his Steam Blade and duck past him. Once Sol stumbled, Stalk pushed off of a wall for an overhead strike. 

Flash thrust the Drill Crusher like a fencing saber. Night Rogue parried the swift strikes aside. He went for a back fist strike but Build blocked it with his train gauntlet. He then pushed him back and performed an arc swing with his Drill Crusher at the Bat’s head, only to miss when he ducked below it. But Flash quickly followed up with a thrust to the throat that Night Rogue caught with the flat side of his weapon and pulled him to the wall. 

Blood Stalk cartwheeled around another slash from the Beat Crozzer. But Sol quickly followed up with an overhead swing downward and knocked the Steam Blade out of the Cobra’s hands when he tried to block it. Once he was wide open, Cross-Z slashed at his chest and pulled the pommel of his weapon twice. 

“HIT PARADE!”

“HIT PARADE!”

His sword charged up with power before he swung, shooting off an energy arc of red, green, and yellow.

“MILLION HIT!”

The attack struck Blood Stalk as he tried to block and withstand it. But it was all for naught as he was thrown back by the blast. However, when the smoke cleared, he was shown to be no worse for wear. He pushed himself off the ground and stood on his feet. “Very impressive. Better than I thought….however…” He dashed to the side to a new hole in the wall he made in the middle of the fight. Inside the revealed compartment was Pandora’s Box itself. He plucked it out of the wall and held it up to the bewildered Sol. “I got what I came for.”

“The Box! Wait a minute!” Sol ran out to stop him, but he was too late.

“ See ya~!” With a wave, Stalk vanished in a burst of steam and fire. 

Back with Flash and Night Rogue, the latter noticed the Cobra’s actions and snarled with animosity. “Stalk!”  He tried to follow, but Build struck him in the face. 

“And just where are you going?!” Flash slammed him against the wall and slashed him again, sending him into a tumble. As he stood over the silver armored man, he removed the Pirate Fullbottle from his Driver and placed it in the Drill Crusher. 

“READY? GO!”

Flash spun the weapon above his head, the blade covered in spiraling blue lights that resembled a whirlpool. 

“VOLTECH BREAK!”

He then swung the Drill Crusher in an X-formation, sending waves of energy that cut through Night Rogue. The Bat was flung further into the corridor on his back. He growled as he pulled himself up. 

“I’m being forced to run…?!” The pipes on his armor covered him in steam and he vanished, leaving to two alone.

“Is it over?” Sol asked as he approached Build. 

“Yeah…I guess.” Flash nodded. 

“Sorry about the Box. Blood Stalk pulled another fast one on me.”

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll have other chances. And at least we got our stuff back.” Flash said as he started to pack the remaining Bottles and Panels into his bag. Once he was finished, he tossed it over to Sol. “Here!”

The fighter caught it. “Huh? Why give these to me?”

“You take those back to the lab. I’m going after Stalk and Night Rogue.” 

“Wait, by yourself? But how are you going to find them?” 

“I stuck the transmitter on Night Rogue’s arm when I caught his attack. I’m gonna see where he’s heading. Micro, do you have the signal?”

“I do. He’s on the move! But are you sure you should be going after him now?”

“If I don’t then we could lose the Box!” Flash argued as he ran up the stairs two at a time. 

“We can just track it again!”

“We may not have the time! If I go after him at least we’ll have a trail to start with!” He already made it to ground level and got on his bike. “Send me the tracker and I’ll follow!”

“…fine! But come back as soon as you get the destination, alright?!” Micro submitted the information to his HUD. 

“That was the plan anyway!” With a rev of the handlebars, Flash shot down the road. Soon, Sol Burner came up to the surface only to see him leave. 

“Man…and I thought I was reckless…” 





Flash tore through the streets on the Machine Builder as he followed the directions on his HUD. They were uploaded as a digital map with a moving red dot to indicate Night Rogue’s tracked movements. However, before he could hone in on it, the signal disappeared. 

“What? It’s gone! Micro! Is something wrong with the tracker?”

“Well, since the tracker was attached to the armor, when he undid his transformation, the tracker followed.”

“Can you try finding the signal again?”

“I’m trying, but I can’t locate it. It’s like it disappeared.”

“Seriously?! Damn it! Well, were you at least able to find his last known location?” He asked hopefully. 

“I did. I have the coordinates saved right now. But I can’t say for sure if this is where his base is.”

“Well, it’s better than nothing. I’ll catch up with you later. Sol should be heading back soon.”

“Got it.” Micro ended the call. 

“This is terrible…” Flash sighed.  No longer able to give chase, he turned to a nearby alley and undid both his transformation and disguise. He returned the Machine Builder into its phone form and pocketed it. After a quick glance through the opening, he found no witnesses in the streets. 

Once the coast was clear, he dashed out and made his way to the bus stop. Taking public transport would be better suited that riding the unique motor cycle. But as he turned the corner, he crashed into another body. 

“Oof!”

“Ah!”

Both fell on the ground, the latter losing his grip on his briefcase and smart phone. 

“Oh. I’m really sorry about that!” Flash apologized. 

“No, no it’s alright. I should’ve paid more attention where I was going.” The man answered as he picked himself up. 

“Still, here let me help.” The musician picked up the dropped items and handed them to the man.

“Thank you….wait…you’re Flash Sentry, aren’t you?” The bespectacled man questioned as he leaned in for a better look.

“Huh? You know me?” Flash asked, instantly wary. “But, I don’t think I met you before.”

“Ah, forgive me. I recognized you from Misty Veil. She always liked to show photographs of her children during work breaks.” The man apologized.

“Wait, you know my mom?”

“I would think so, since she is a co-worker of mine.” The man then held out his hand in greeting. “But where are my manners. My name is Dusk Walker. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Y-yeah. I’m Flash Sentry, but you already knew that.” Flash accepted the hand, noting how strong of a grip he had. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, where were you off to in such a hurry? You seemed to be in a panicked rush.” Dusk inquired. 

“Sorry about that. I was late to a meeting with friends.”

“Well, be careful. Faust is still out there.”

“Oh yeah, speaking of that, how’s the progress of getting Pandora’s Box back from them?”

“Why do you want to know?” Dusk Walker questioned with an even expression. 

“Well, my mom worked with the Box, and I got a little curious about it.”

“I see.” 

“Well, sorry for taking your time. I gotta go.” Flash side stepped around him. But before he could even make it five feet…

“Faust has eyes and ears you know.” The bespectacled man called out to him, causing him to stop in his tracks.  

“Excuse me?” The musician turned around. 

“It’s as I said.” Dusk approached him. “With a shady organization like Faust, they’re bound to have eyes and ears everywhere.” He pulled out a manila folder from his briefcase and placed it in his hands. “Here. A copy of all the data we have of possible hideouts and movements.” 

“Wait, huh?!” Flash opened the envelope and looked through its contents, amazed by all the information held within. “How…how did you get this?”

“Well…” Dusk adjusted his glasses. “…That’s a secret.” The man then turned on his heel and continued onward. 

“Hold on!” Flash called out again. “…I don’t know you well or why you happen to have copies of these documents. But why give them to me?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Dusk questioned without turning. “You and I…we’re both stuck in the same cage.” Without an elaboration to his cryptic response, he left Flash alone with his thoughts. What did that even mean?!





“I call it…the Pirate Platform!” Sandalwood proudly announced as he held up his crude drawing of an arc intersecting a stack of rectangles. After seeing the new Best Match on the monitor, he had a new idea for a new weapon. 

“…Flash?” Micro urged after seeing him walk into the room. 

“I got it.” The musician took a fresh sheet of paper and redrew Sandalwood’s blueprints into something more legible. The image now resembled a bow and arrow type of weapon. “Here.”

“Thank you.” Micro took the new drawing and uploaded it to the super computer to analyze for blue prints. 

“So what took you so long?” Sol asked before eyeing the manila envelope in his hands. “And whatcha got there?”

“Ran into someone…someone who apparently had information on possible Faust locations.” He answered as he pulled out the documents and spread them on the table. 

“Wait, you serious?”The three other teens approached said table and perused through the papers. 

“Flash, this…this is incredible! How did you even get these?!” 

Flash explained how he ran into one of his mom’s co-workers, explaining how Faust had eyes and ears everywhere and how he handed him the documents before leaving. He kept the cryptic message to himself, though. 

“…That seems strange, dude.” Sandalwood voiced their thoughts. “He just gave them to you? No strings attached?”

“Right.”

“…That doesn’t seem fishy at all.” Sol said sarcastically. 

“I know…for all we know, these could be wrong.” Flash added. 

“Well, let’s scan them to find out. We can cross-reference the marked spots and see what turns up.” Micro took the list of possible locations and scanned them into the computer. While he did that, Flash thought back to their arrival in the abandoned lab. How Stalk suddenly appeared after Night Rogue and seemed to be unfamiliar with the basement. 

But how could that be? They were on the same side. Was Stalk kept in the dark? Based on the fight he had with Rogue, it seemed like their relationship was a rocky one. Maybe he was untrustworthy? Given his behavior, that seemed to be the case. He didn’t even know where the Bottles and Panels were until he saw the secret compartment. 

But how did he learn about the location so quickly? Not to mention his timely arrival that ultimately saved their skins. It was at that moment, Flash had an epiphany. It wasn’t until recently that they learned of the secret basement. And the snake seemed to learn about it recently too. Was it possible….? Was Stalk…spying on them somehow?





“So…how’s the progress Night Light?” Sombra inquired as he, Chrysalis, and Tirek were displayed on his computer monitor. Standing behind Night’s chair was Dusk Walker, brief case in hand.

“I hope you have some good news for us.” Tirek said. “The longer the Box is out of our hands, the antsier I get.”

“I do, sir.” Night said. “My son, Shining Armor, is on the case. He’s leading the investigation and is close to finding their location and the Box.”

“How close are we talking exactly?” Chrysalis commented. “For all we know, the Masked Riders could be even closer than your son and beat him to it. Along with causing unnecessary destruction in their wake.”

“Even so, having the Riders secure the Box would be preferable to Faust’s custody.”

“You trust them to actually return it to you? How naïve.” The woman shook her head. “It’s because of that naivety that you are unable to see just how reckless they are. For all we know, they could be seeking the Box for their own gain.”

“You have no proof of that.”

“You have none that say otherwise. And answer the damn question.” She glowered.

“Very close…” Night Light emphasized with a stern glare. “Dusk Walker here has compiled an extensive documentation of possible Faust locations and my son was able to narrow them down to one specific spot where they would be found. It was thanks to his assistance that Shining Armor has gotten so far.”

“And you trust his information to be accurate?” Sombra asked. 

“Of course. He’s been a trustworthy, competent employee and friend for quite some time. I would trust no one else with such a delicate task as this. His capabilities speak for themselves.”

“Thank you sir.” Dusk bowed his head at the praise. 

“Jolly good, then.” Tirek nodded. “I trust you will keep up the good work, and hope to see that this whole debacle will end soon.”

“It shall, sir.” Night Light nodded. 

“Very well. Let this meeting be adjourned.” With that, Tirek logged off the video conference. The other two CEOs followed suit. The Research facility Director fell back in his chair with a sigh. 

“Are you alright, sir?”

“I’ll be fine, Dusk Walker. Still, I’m impressed you were able to find Faust’s hiding spot and the Box.”

“It was no issue. Shining Armor deserves the credit. He was the one who conducted the investigations. I merely documented his findings.”

“Even so, you still did impressive work.” Night Light continued, patting him on the shoulder. “I’m truly grateful for all you’ve done for me and this Center. Despite your young age, you have been a tremendous help. I can trust to rely on you in the future.”

Dusk Walker tilted his head, letting his glasses reflect off a glare. “Of course, sir.”





Next Day…

“I can’t believe it’s all gonna happen soon!” Rainbow Dash squealed. 

“We get it, you’re excited. We know.” Sunset sighed. “This is like a repeat of last week with Sol’s match.”

It was lunch time at Canterlot High, and the girls were deep in discussion for their studio tour. Rainbow Dash was simply ecstatic. 

“Can you blame me? We’re going to be on the set where they’re filming the Daring Do movie! It’s gonna be awesome!”

“And here’s hoping we’ll be able to enjoy it without Faust somehow intervening.” Twilight commented with slight sarcasm. 

“Oh yeah. You said your brother’s leading the investigation. How’s that going, by the way?” Rainbow questioned. 

“I can only assume it’s going well, since he’s not allowed to talk to me about it. Or anyone else for that matter.”

“Why not?” Applejack questioned. 

“It’s because the investigation is classified. There’s no way he can divulge information like that to civilians.” 

“Ooh! So it’s all hush-hush super spy secret stuff, right?” Pinkie Pie asked as she took a bite out of her cookie. 

“Not exactly spy stuff. It’s basic police regulations, Pinkie Pie.” Twilight answered. “They’re not allowed to divulge any information to civilians. Even when I asked him basic questions, he was all tight-lipped about it. I get he takes his job seriously, but he’s being more serious than ever.”

“So you weren’t able to acquire anything from him at all?” Rarity asked curiously. 

“Nope.” She shook her head in dismay. “I’m just worried. What if he gets hurt during his investigation? Faust made a point in that it doesn’t joke around.”

“She’s right. They are dangerous.” Fluttershy agreed with worry.

“Well, I wouldn’t worry too much.” The athlete said. “Your brother’s a police lieutenant, right? He’ll be fine. Not to mention he’d have a whole squad with him backing up once he finds Faust. He’ll be fine, Twilight. Plus, we got the Masked Riders on our side.”

“I’m really hoping so.” The bespectacled girl nodded. “I couldn’t imagine anything happen to him. Neither could Cadence.”

“That’s right. They’re getting married soon, aren’t they?” Sunset realized. 

“Yeah, in a few months actually. And don’t worry, Pinkie. All of you girls are invited.” Twilight answered her friend’s unspoken question. 

“Oh, goodie!” The frizzy haired girl cheered.





Later…

Shining Armor took a sip of coffee from his mug as he looked over the documents in hand again. He was in the dining room table with a look of deep concentration on his face. He had been sent the data from Dusk Walker and was making plans for the eventual raid on the Faust facility. It had been weeks, but he finally singled out their location. Now all he had left to do was assemble a squad to infiltrate the base. 

“I’m home!” Cadence called out as she stepped inside the building. 

“Welcome back, dear.” Shining called out from his spot. His fiancée entered the room and kissed him. “Long day at work?”

“It was manageable.” She answered, but noticed how frazzled his hair was and the bags beneath his eyes. She walked over and started to rub her fiancé’s shoulders and neck. “You on the other hand have been working too hard. You’ve been doing too many late nights.”

“I have to work hard.” He refuted as he looked through the papers and wrote something down. “We finally found Faust’s hide out. Once I assemble a squad, we can finally get Pandora’s Box back for the Research Center and arrest the ones responsible.”

“But you’ve been handling this by yourself for so long. Even when Dusk Walker lent his assistance.” She said worriedly. “There’s nothing wrong with letting someone else take some of the slack. I mean, the Masked Riders want to stop Faust too.”

“Allegedly.” Shining countered. “While they have been stopping Smash’s and Faust operations, I can’t bring myself to trust them.”

“Why not?”

“Because we still don’t know a lot about them or what their plans are. Plus, they’re reckless. Their actions cause property damage, and who knows when it will reach the point of civilian harm.” 

“Shining, you’re overreacting.” 

“Am I? I’m just trying to keep the people in this city safe.” 

“I know you are, but getting worked up over this is not healthy. You’re on the verge of a major twilighting episode.” She frowned. 

The officer opened his mouth to retort; only to the let the words fall flat. He blinked a few times and took the time to observe his current state of dress. He was still in his pajamas from working at the table last night after coming home from work. And his coffee mug was half-empty from his third cup. Furthermore, his documents were in haphazard order and his notes were chicken scratch. 

“…maybe I should take a break. And lay off the coffee for a while.” He admitted as he took his mug to the sink. 

“That’s all I want to hear…as soon as you bathe and brush your teeth mister.” She playfully scolded. 

“I know, I know.” Shining relented as his fiancée wrapped her arms around him. “What would I do without you?”

“Probably work yourself to the bone.” She smirked as she nuzzled into his shoulder. “Just promise me though. When you do lead this raid….please be careful. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Getting hurt is liable in the job description, honey.” He replied before kissing her. “…but I promise. I’ll be back.”





Meanwhile…

Across town, Tirek was in his office staring out at the sky.

He thought about what Night Light had told him. If it were true that Shining Armor was getting close to finding Faust's whereabouts, then things were going to become very difficult for him. A knock at the door caught his attention, "Enter."

The door opened and closed, the old man spinning in his chair to see a figure hidden in the shadows. “Is there a problem, sir?”

“I just don’t like this.” Tirek responded while intertwining his fingers. “Based on how everything is going, it is only a matter of time before Faust is discovered. They have never come this far before. If they do, it’s all over. If that happens, I’ll have to cut all funding if they can’t resolve this issue.”

He looked up and stared sternly back to the figure. “Do I make myself clear?” The figure nodded as he stepped into the light. 

“Crystal.” Dusk Walker replied as he pulled an object from his pocket. It was a Transteam Gun with a bat motif bottle connected to it.





Next day after school…

It was a Friday afternoon and Team Build took this time to test their latest creation. Three members of the team were located in a wide open clearing in the woods away from the city. Flash was currently in the PirateTrain combination while holding the new weapon.

“So it doubles a blade and a ranged weapon.” Flash mused as he held the completed Pirate Platform in his hand. The weapon itself resembled an anchor with a ship-like bow on the front end. On the shaft where the arrow would be is a platform with a yellow-green train car on it. The bottom half had a black grip while the rest of the bow was an ocean blue. The top half had a blade that looked like an anchor prong. The rear end of the bow had a part that could be pulled back to charge the weapon like the Beat Crozzer. 

“That’s right.” Micro nodded while Sandalwood finished setting up empty pain cans as targets. “It is meant to be used when you’re using the Pirate or Train Fullbottles. It has four modes of attack depending on how long you pull back and hold the Build Arrow to the Train Home Charger.” He pointed to the green care and the rear end of the bow, respectively. “They’re regular stops, express service, rapid transit, and pirate train.” 

“Okay.” Flash nodded as he turned to the set up targets. “Kinda odd names, but okay.” 

“They were Sandalwood’s suggestions.”

“Still…I feel bad that Sol’s not here with us.” Sandalwood pointed out. 

“Well, he said he had to help out with the gardening club. Not sure why he prioritized it over this.” Micro shook his head. 

“…Wait, we have a gardening club?” Flash asked in confusion.  





Meanwhile…

“Seriously, I think you need to get a new cart if this keeps happening.” Sol said as he hefted the bags of topsoil and garden rocks with ease. He was about to leave school with his friends, only to see Wallflower with another broken cart and several bags of gardening supplies. He messaged his friends about his change of plans and chose to help her instead. 

At first, the girl was surprised he remembered her, much to his confusion. Why wouldn’t he remember her? He helped her out before. After saying as such, the girl shook her head and smiled happily for reasons unknown to Sol. 

“I know. Sorry about this.” Wallflower apologized whilst lugging her own bag. “I put in a new order, but the shipment was delayed due to the insanity happening in town.”

“Oh yeah, the Faust attacks, huh?” Sol realized as they continued to the gardening club room.  

“Yeah. It’s pretty scary. I know Canterlot’s been through several magic incidents, mostly our school, but this is a whole other level.” The girl shook her head. “I wish our city will get back to normal soon.”

“Hopefully. At least we’re not totally defenseless. I mean, we have those Masked Riders, right?”

“Right.” She smiled. “I think they’re amazing. I don’t care what Chrysalis says about them. They really help people.”

“Well…” Sol inwardly smiled, touched by the support. “I’m sure if you keep supporting them like that, they’ll stop Faust soon enough.” 

Soon, they reached the gardening club room, where the fighter set down the heavy supplies. “You sure you don’t need help organizing? I can lend a hand.”

“I’m sure. You’ve helped plenty enough, Sol.” Wallflower smiled. “I truly appreciate it.”

“No problem. Didn’t have much else planned today. I was gonna hang out with friends, but they can wait. You needed a hand, after all.”

“O-oh. Thank you…” The girl blushed lightly, grateful for his help. 





Meanwhile…

A blue bolt of energy knocked down the last can, denting it beyond repair. 

“And that’s the last of them.” Flash said before he walked off to the side. 

“Well, now we know the first mode works. Now for the next level.” Micro gestured to Sandal, who was setting up a fresh row of targets. While he did that, Flash leaned against a nearby tree to occupy his thoughts. 

‘Still…is this a good idea? I mean, if Stalk really is spying on us, is it smart to practice like this in the open?’ He did realize that he followed through with the idea. Mainly because he had no proof to break it to his team. But it was definitely a cause for concern. If Stalk was spying on them, how was he doing it? Was the lab bugged? No, that couldn’t be it. It was sealed shut before they first got there, and only Micro had the pass code. And the Build System was intact and present. If Stalk wanted it, it would be missing already. 

Now that he thought about it, it all started when they received that laptop from a mystery sender…could it be-?!

He was interrupted by an alert from said laptop that Micro carried. The bespectacled teen rushed over to see what was going on. He typed in a set of commands and was dumbstruck by what he just pulled up. 

“Something wrong, man?” Sandalwood asked as he and flash walked over. Wordlessly, he turned the screen around so his friends would see. Both were equally shocked. It was a Breaking news report. 

[Faust Headquarters Found! S.W.A.T. Team Mobilized for Takedown!]





At the scene of the incident, a news team was surrounding the armed officers and Guardians who closed the area off. They crowded around the abandoned Tirek Heavy Industries Research Lab. Within said the sectioned off area by the entrance was a group of S.W.A.T. team members and Guardians, led by another officer, a sergeant. He was dressed in the same armor and wielded a riot shield and rifle in case of armed resistance. 

Between the media and the line of troops was Shining Armor and additional police officers sent to oversee the raid. 

In front of the news camera was a reporter keeping tabs of the event. The sergeant walked past his troops, giving orders and instructions. “We will now being the operation to dismantle Faust.”





“Wait, THAT’S where they’re taking down Faust? But we were just there and they escaped!” Flash pointed out. 

“I know…this doesn’t seem right.” Micro added. 

“Maybe they got bad intel?”

“No…no it’s something else. Maybe….this is just for show.” Micro said. 

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, Sandalwood could be right. The government could be fed poor intel about the state of the base. Instead of finding Faust and the Box, they would find nothing.”

“But what would be the point of all that?” Sandalwood questioned.

“Like I said. For a show. They want us to think they can be captured, only to find nothing. This would view the government and police to be incompetent and cause public distress.”

“Maybe…but this feels too off.” Flash commented. “It’s going too smoothly. The timing just seems too convenient given that Sol and I were just there. It’s almost like they’re walking into….oh no…” His eyes widened in realization before he activated the Machine Builder. 

“Flash?! What’s going on?!”

“It’s a trap! The whole thing is a trap!”

“What?! How?!”

“No time to explain! I’m heading there now!”

“Just don’t do anything reckless!”

“Relax…this is me we’re talking about!” Flash replied before he drove off.

“Yeah, that’s why I said it.”





“Men!” The leader of the troop announced. “Move in!” The troop of soldiers funneled through the entrance and corridors of the building. The group advanced until they entered the main laboratory of the facility. Sitting in the middle of it all was Night Rogue on a lavish chair. Directly behind him was the chamber used to convert humans into Smash. 

The team surrounded the masked Bat with their guns raised. The sergeant, at the vanguard, approached the seated figure. “Are you Night Rogue?” The Bat remained silent and seated. Taking his silence as confirmation, he gave his order. “Arrest him!” 

The Guardians and officers aimed their rifles at the man, compelling him to comply. After a moment of silence, Night Rogue stood up from his chair. The officers remained wary. Their caution was proven correct as the man backhanded a nearby officer into the wall. The sudden commotion startled the officers, allowing Night Rogue to throw them off one by one. The remaining troops took aim and fired at the figure. But to their horror, the bullets did not work. They simply bounced off of his armor. 

The sergeant rammed his shield at Night Rogue, but the man barely even budged. He grabbed the shield and flung it at a fallen officer. The edge acted as a blade and with the strength of the throw, severed the man’s leg. The leader grew alarmed at his injured comrade. His hesitation was enough for Night Rogue to rip the rifle out of his hands and crushed it with ease. He then punched the man away from him and into the mass of troops that gathered behind him. 

Once the officers and Guardians had fallen, he advanced outside. 

The troops that stood guard by the door were forced back as one of their members was thrown out of the set of double doors. Night Rogue strolled out of the hall. The remaining soldiers aimed their firearms but with Steam Blade and Transteam Gun in hand, the Bat knocked them away. 

His appearance was caught on screen, sending the onlookers into a panic. 





“See?! That’s why I said it was a trap!” The Rider exclaimed.

“I thought you said this was supposed to be a show!” Sandalwood questioned his friend, who was equally panicked. 

“I thought so, too! None of this makes any sense!” The bespectacled teen shouted as he tried to think of reasons of what is going on.

“One thing’s for sure though! People will get hurt…and I refuse to let that happen.” With rev of the handlebars, Flash drove faster. 





Night Rogue aimed at the security encirclement and pulled the trigger. Energy blasts struck the troops dead on. The Guardians exploded and collapsed while the unfortunate human victims received severe, cauterized wounds. The media grew more terrified by the second as the remaining officers took aim. Taking cover behind the line was Shining Armor, who oversaw the operation. 

Finally, Night Rogue spoke to the pointed cameras. “I will not let my creation, Faust, be crushed by you government fools!” His arms were spread in a grandiose manner before he patted his chest. “Faust…belongs to me!”

Shining Armor had heard enough. “Fire!” All of the remaining troops, robot and human alike, unleashed a flurry of bullets at the man. But like inside the building, the bullets ricocheted off of his armor. Once the troops ran out of ammunition in their clips, Night Rogue gunned them down one by one while they reloaded. He then attempted to flee by climbing over the rectangular structures of the building. The surviving troops followed and returned fire. 

Night Rogue displayed impressive, super human feats by jumping several feet into the air while avoiding gunfire and counterattacked with ease. The media was eating the show up. “Make sure to get this!” One of the reporters ordered the camera crew. 





“…Say…do you feel like something’s off?” Sandalwood asked Micro as they continued to watch. 

“I agree…this is not like Night Rogue’s behavior. This…this looks more like a performance, or live action-stage show.” Micro nodded. 

 “Yeah. But even so, we can’t just ignore this!” Flash said as he changed from PirateTrain to NinninComic form. 





Night Rogue spun around and cut down three of the four Guardians that encircled him. He grabbed the last one by the neck and crushed it beneath his grip. Once all resistance was gone, he jumped back down to the encirclement. He glared down at Shining Armor and approached him. 

“Is this all you government dogs can do?” He grabbed the lieutenant by the scruff of his and pulled him up until his legs dangled in the air. “You and your attempts to oppose Faust are futile. You cannot stop us. And you will never get the chance again.” He aimed his Transteam gun at Shining Armor’s face. But before he could pull the trigger, something interfered. 

“WIND SKILL!”

A gust of wind buffeted the two, forcing Shining Armor out of his grip and Night Rogue to stumble backward. Build jumped over the barricade with his Machine Builder and landed in the clearing.

“Get out of here! Quickly!” The Masked Rider ordered. The remaining officers nodded and pulled Shining Armor away to safety. The media and everyone else followed suit. Despite wanting to get more footage, none of them were suicidal enough to get caught up in the fight. Within seconds, the area was clear. Flash turned to the Bat. 

“Say…are you really Rogue?” He voiced his suspicions. The figure responded by shooting at him. Using the reflexes granted by Ninja, Flash reacted and dodged the bullets or deflected them with the Sketch Saber. He rolled to the side of the line of fire. “Answer me!” He pressed the button on the weapon thrice. 

“WIND SKILL!”

“TORNADO SLASH!” 

He swung the sketch saber and a twister formed and swallowed Night Rogue. He tumbled through the spiraling gales. But he re-righted himself during the spinning and used the centripetal force to build his momentum and shot himself out right at Build. The Rider ducked out of the way before he could take the full brunt of the tackle. Rogue crouched to the ground before he rolled forward and swung his weapon. 

Flash took out the Pirate Bottle and shook it while he parried the strikes. Rogue rolled past as he switched the Bottles in his Driver. 

“PIRATE!” 

Seeing what he was doing, Night Rogue tried to grab the remaining bottle. But he missed when Build spun around at the last moment. 

“TRAIN!”

“BEST MATCH!”

Build quickly turned the crank to form the runner. The Bat shot off a few rounds, but the runners acted as shields to protect the Rider mid-transformation. 

“ARE YOU READY?”

“Build up!”

The runners slammed into him and he was in PirateTrain form once more. His Sketch Saber in his hand was replaced with the Pirate Platform. 

“YEAH!”

Both fighters brandished their weapons. They then charged at each other. Theirs blades clashed as they ran past one another before turning around to continue the fight. They struck blades once. Flash continued by spinning with a wide swing that Night Rogue blocked. He followed up with a quick thrust that was side-stepped. 

They slammed their weapons into each other again before breaking off. Flash swung diagonally, but the Bat backed away to avoid it. The latter countered with a back leg front kick that the Rider batted away. Build used this opening for an uppercut slash that struck dead on its mark. Night Rogue was flung back. 

Taking a moment to retreat to re-strategize, Night Rogue hopped onto the roof of the laboratory. Flash followed. Rogue vaulted over the roof railing onto solid ground. Flash jumped and swung his weapon downward. The Bat caught it with his own blade and broke off the stalemate. Build then struck again with a horizontal swing while the silver armored warrior stopped it with a vertical slash. 

Beneath his helmet, Flash smirked. He pulled the Build Arrow and the weapon charged up. 

“REGULAR STOPS! MOVING OUT!”

Night Rogue, realizing what was happening, backed away and crossed his arms to form a guard. Flash straightened the Pirate Platform and fired two bolts of blue energy in succession that struck the enemy’s guard. Flash pulled the arrow again and let it charge a bit more. 

“EXPRESS SERVICE! MOVING OUT!”  Three bolts of energy shot out and pushed Night Rogue back. Flash pulled the Build Arrow once more with a longer hold. 

“RAPID TRANSIT! MOVING OUT!” This time, Night Rogue was ready. He spun around and used his Steam Blade to deflect three of the blasts. But he missed the fourth as it hit him dead center in the chest.  The attack dealt significant damage that forced Night Rogue to a knee. 

Flash pulled the Build Arrow back and held it there as power charged through the weapon. 

“REGULAR STOPS! EXPRESS SERVICE! RAPID TRANSIT!” Green and blue energy swirled at the firing end of the bow. 

Night Rogue combined his Steam Blade and Transteam Gun into the Transteam Rifle and turned the dial.

“ELEK STEAM!”

“PIRATETRAIN! MOVING OUT!”

Both fighters aimed their weapons at each other and fired. A green and azure bullet train shot out and destroyed the electrified steam projectile. It changed directions mid air, encircling Night Rogue as he tried to shoot it down. It slammed into him once. Then again and slammed him into the railing of the laboratory roof, right above the area where the people evacuated to. 

The impact was too much for the armor as Night Rogue’s transformation cancelled out in a burst of steam, leaving the form of Dusk Walker. 

“You…you’re…?!” Flash was surprised by his appearance.  Dusk Walker was Night Rogue?! 

The bespectacled man hoisted himself up with the metal railing behind him. He pulled himself up until the upper half of his body could be seen over the edge. His face was seen by those below. 

“Wait…isn’t that the Research Director’s Secretary?!” One of the reporters called out. This compelled all eyes and cameras to stare at Dusk Walker.

Shining Armor looked on in utter bewilderment. But it was cut short as Dusk’s voice cut through the clamor. 

“I served this city in hopes that Canterlot would be the leading force of scientific progress! Even if it meant resorting to human experimentation and military force! If it meant our city would be the greatest on the planet, then it’d be no… it’d be no…” Dusk trailed off as Flash looked on. The Rider couldn’t help but feel something was wrong…like the speech sounded forced. He reached into his pocket. 

Flash caught sight of what he grabbed and rushed over to rip it out of his hands. It was a bottle filled with Smash essence. He realized remembered from Gizmo’s notes that unpurified Smash Essence can be fatal to those with reduced Hazard Levels. He wasn’t sure what hazard Level Dusk has, but he’s not willing to risk it. “I’m not letting you kill yourself.” 

The bespectacled man glared at Build. He looked down. Then he got up and ran away on the roof. Build gave chase. The suited man hopped over several railings of the large roof before he stopped right next to the railing that overlooked the raging river. “I wonder…I wonder when I lost my way…” Dusk spoke aloud. Build kept quiet as the man leaned against the railing. His eyes were focused on the rapids below. 

His face was caked in sweat and he appeared as if he was about to cry. “…Laugh over trivial nonsense….cry for my troubles…to live a…simple life…” He composed himself enough to look at Build. “…Don’t…don’t end up like me….” He swallowed before he finished. “…Flash Sentry.”

This alarmed not only Flash but Sandalwood and Micro who were watching the feed. “You…Dusk Walker…you…how did you know it was me?! We haven’t even met until the other day!”

“Listen to me!” The man said frantically as he grasped him by the shoulders. “It’s not too late to turn back-!”

BANG!

“Augh!” Dusk Walker cried as the bullet struck his shoulder and pushed him over the railing. His body crashed into the raging rapids. 

“Dusk Walker!” Flash yelled in a panic as he tried to look for his body from his position. He couldn’t find him. The current was too strong and likely dragged him under. 

The Masked Rider slowly turned to the direction where the bullet came from. He felt his stomach drop upon seeing the culprit. 

The one who held the still-smoking rifle…was the lieutenant of the Canterlot Police Force, Shining Armor.

“….why…? WHY?! Why did you shoot him like that?! Why did you do it?!” Flash demanded. His voice cracked under the emotional turmoil.

“…You’re welcome.” He said in an unusually cold manner. “With this, we no longer have to worry about Faust.” He handed the firearm off to a subordinate officer before turning on his heel to leave. Flash was stunned by what he just witnessed. The realization sunk in. But he pulled himself out of it as he remembered something important to tell him. 

“Wait!” He called out, forcing the officers to stop in their tracks. “Shi-Officer Shining Armor! You need to listen! That murder case with Gizmo Poindexter months ago! It’s not what it seems!” 

“…What do you mean?”

“You guys have the wrong Gizmo! The one you captured, it’s not Gizmo at all! Just a random Civilian Blood Stalk used as a scapegoat!”

“…What?” Shining turned to face him with an irritated yet confused expression. 

“I mean Stalk can change a person’s face! He changed that person to Gizmo’s face so he’d take the fall and you’d stop looking! The real Gizmo is still out there! And so is Blood Stalk!”

“…” Silence reigned between the two for several moments. The subordinate officers glanced at one another in confusion. Finally, it was the lieutenant who spoke first. 

“How stupid do you think I am? No one has the power to change faces like that.” His eyes were as cold as his voice. It was much different than what he knew of the lieutenant. 

“But it’s the truth! I saw it myself!”

“And I’m supposed to believe the words of a vigilante? Someone who works around the law?” He asked rhetorically.

“W-well…!” Flash was stuck. Admittedly, the officer had a valid point. 

“The only reason why I’m not arresting you now is because you helped stop Night Rogue. Just this once. Next time I see you, I’m bringing you in.” He then turned and started walking. “Goodbye, Build.”

Soon, it was just him on the roof. Flash was too stunned by what just took place. His friends were equally speechless. The Rider’s knees grew weak as he collapsed on his rear end. He backed up until his back hit the railing. 

The adrenaline died down and the horrific realization of what took place earlier finally caught up with him. He dry heaved under his helmet, feeling the need to vomit right then and there. 





Later…

“I think it was a tragedy to learn that someone involved with this city’s leaders in research and development could’ve been terrorizing people this way.” Shining Armor spoke during the press conference. “But now we have dismantled the organization behind these monsters. I, Shining Armor, will continue to protect Canterlot to the best of my ability.”

Micro Chips closed the video file that played the conference, turning to face his friends. Sol had finally joined up with them after Micro called him and filled him in. Like the others, he had mixed emotions on the current situation. He then pulled up another file he hacked the government database to obtain. “There were all kinds of evidence in the abandoned laboratory. All of it incriminated Dusk Walker as the main culprit. However, there was still no trace of Pandora’s Box anywhere.”

“Dead men tell no tales…” Sandalwood said morbidly. 

“All of it…it was all a show…a damn show!” Sol punched his punching bag, causing it to swing wildly. “All of that and for what?! They didn’t even find Pandora’s Box! But now they’re satisfied after finding the fake culprit! Bullshit!” 

“And then there’s us, the actors who have been dancing to their tune this entire time.” Flash added distantly, still horrified by what he had seen. 

“So…what now?” The eco-teen voiced his thoughts. “What are we gonna do now?”

“…We’ll do what we must do.” Flash answered as he stood up from his seat. He looked at his friends, a new spark of fire in his eyes. “It’s not over yet. Blood Stalk is still out there. And so is Pandora’s Box.”

“We need to find the truth behind the Box in the first place.” Micro added.

“And the truth behind my dad.” Sol added.

“And until all of that is resolved, until Blood Stalk is stopped, our job is not over.” The musician finished. “Now…what’s our next plan of action?”




Meanwhile…

In a different part of town, within a hidden location, Blood Stalk lounged casually in his chair. The door to the room slid open as a figure walked in. 

“You’re quite late. I thought I told you to be here…two hours ago. But I guess you were busy. I saw that press conference. Such a shame that Dusk Walker was shown to be responsible for what happened. But what else can you expect from the perfect scapegoat?” Stalk chortled as he spun around. The figure stepped out of the shadows and into the light. “I think the cameras caught your good side….lieutenant Shining Armor.”

The blue haired officer, still in uniform, glared at the red armored man. Wordlessly, he pulled out his Transteam Gun and inserted a familiar bottle. 

“BAT!”

He raised the gun to his temple. “…Jouketsu.” He pulled the trigger as a cloud of black smoke completely enveloped his body, his outline flickering amidst the obscurity.

“MIST MATCH!”

“BAT…BA-BAT….FIRE!”

The smoke dissipated. The form of Canterlot’s lieutenant officer was replaced by the daunting form of Night Rogue…the TRUE Night Rogue. 

Night Rogue teleported right in front of Stalk and pressed his Steam Blade to his throat. “You have caused quite an inconvenience for Faust, Stalk. And you have seen the end of my patience. So give my one good reason why I shouldn’t cut you down right here and now?”

“Really…?” The Cobra scoffed as he casually pushed aside the blade. Night Rogue gave no resistance. Stalk then stood up and paced around the room. “Why so serious, Shiny? It was a good call! We musn’t off those kids so soon. We need more data. They have so much more to offer us.”

“…get to the point.” Unlike before, the Bat’s voice seemed more subdued. 

“Ah, yes….I know who’s under the mask of the Masked Rider. Just two words…only two.” He spun around and looked at Night Rogue in the eye, grinning widely beneath his helmet. 

“…Flash Sentry.”

To Be Continued…