It had been a long day at Canterlot Studios due to the missing relic mystery and Stalk’s appearance throwing everything into chaos. Fortunately no one got too hurt, and Juniper was expected to make a full recovery. Furthermore, Chestnut finally cancelled a documentary contract she was displeased with working on so her schedule was free to finish the Daring Do movie. The girls were surprised she chose to stay after what had happened, but she explained that she truly wanted to see this movie completed. She put this contract as a higher priority than her other ones, as she too, was a huge fan of the series.
Also, as a way of saying thanks for the girls’ help, Canter Zoom offered them a position as background extras in the movie. Surprised, but delighted, the girls accepted the roles. With their help, the scenes became quicker to film. It would seem that due to a lack of mess ups, save for Rainbow’s fangirl moments, the filming should be completed soon.
Now the girls were seated in Sugar Cube Corner, enjoying a nice weekend lunch together and trying to forget the traumatizing instance of Stalk murdering four people right before their eyes. They simply wanted to take the time to relax after the emotionally exhausting incident the previous day, as well as the film shooting.
But it motivated them to try and understand more about Faust and the Smashes their own way, which was why Sunset Shimmer called this meeting to action.
“I finally got back from Princess Twilight.” She declared once all her friends were seated.
“Really? What did she say?”
“Here.” She pulled out the journal from her bag and laid it out for them to see.
“Dear Sunset Shimmer,
I am sorry for taking so long to write back. I had been busy with diplomatic matters and finally caught a break to read your additional entries. I just…can’t bring myself to words on what you all endured the last few weeks. Please give my condolences to my other self. I couldn’t imagine my own brother doing something like that, even if he was on duty.
Unfortunately, I still have no information on anything regarding Faust or Smashes. I feel like I would help better if I were to see experience these first hand rather through word of mouth, or page, so to speak. I consulted my own friends and cleared my schedule for next week. I should be coming then to lend my assistance.
Your friend,
Twilight Sparkle.
The girls finished reading the entry, surprised by what she wrote. Sci-Twi was touched by her counterpart’s sympathy.
“So there you have it. Twilight is going to help us get to the bottom of this.”
“But are ya sure that’s safe?” Applejack questioned. “Ah mean, ain’t she gonna be defenseless? She don’t have a geode like ours, and she can’t do magic the normal way either.”
“Which is why we’ll be sticking with her in case anything happens.” Sunset explained. “Even if our magic can’t hurt a Smash or someone like Rogue or Stalk, we can at least distract them long enough to flee.”
“Okay. But where should we even start when she gets here?” Twilight asked. “Aside from the abandoned lab the police raided, we don’t have any other leads as to where Stalk might be.”
Sunset opened her mouth to suggest something but was cut off by Pinkie Pie.
“When she gets here, the first thing we should do is throw her a Welcome Back party!” She exclaimed as confetti showered around her. “We haven’t seen her in a while, so it would be a great way to catch up before get to working on the Faust stuff!” She then turned to the café counter. “Mr. Cake! Mrs. Cake! Is Silver here? I could use his help in setting up the party!”
“Sorry, dearie.” Mrs. Cake apologized. “But Silver’s not in today.”
“Why not?”
“It’s because he’s working another part time job. He said he needed the extra money for something.” Mr. Cake explained.
“Oh, okay.” Pinkie’s hair deflated slightly before perking back up. “I’ll just ask him next time I see him. We got plenty of time until then!”
The other girls simply smiled at her antics. Leave it to Pinkie to cheer up a dreary and tense atmosphere. They just hoped nothing crazy happened before the Princess arrives.
Meanwhile…
“So how’s your mother doing, Flash?” Shining Armor asked as he shot a zombie in the head.
“She’s doing well. She’s finally back at work. She’s just disappointed that Pandora’s Box is still missing though.” Flash answered as he mowed down a horde with machine gun fire.
“That’s good. And sorry about that. The Box didn’t turn up in the Raid. But we’re doing everything we can to-oh, crap on your six!” Shining said as he spun the camera around to shoot an ambushing zombie.
The two were in the Canterlot Arcade. Shining had invited Flash for a little gaming competition. The musician was reluctant about meeting the officer after the incident with Dusk Walker, but he swallowed his hesitation and agreed. For the musician, today was the day that they would raid the Tirek factory to get the Box back. At least for now, he would use this time to relieve any pre-mission jitters by shooting virtual zombies.
The two were stationed at the Zombie Shooter game in co-op mode. They strove to beat the current high score.
“By the way…” Shining began as he delivered another headshot. “How have you been doing lately? I heard you got caught up in that lockdown at the Research Center.”
“Yeah. I was glad that Masked Rider saved Sol and I.” Flash lied smoothly.
“Where even were you guys? I didn’t see you with the group outside.”
“We got separated in the commotion. Sol thought it’d be safe to hide in the closet once the doors locked down before we could leave.” He responded.
“Well, it certainly was reckless.” Shining admonished.
“Yeah, he doesn’t think these things through.” Flash shot down another running zombie. “And I was the idiot that agreed with him. I blame the panic.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet.” The officer nodded as he finished off the last zombie, ending the game and earning their high score on the leader board. “Well, we did it! Number one co-op! Woo!” The two shared a high five at their accomplishment, yet Flash was someone halfhearted given seeing his companion’s true nature. But he did his best to hide it.
“I’m guessing you got practice at the police shooting range? I never saw anyone make so many headshots.” Flash asked.
“Nah. I just spent some time on this game. Real life marksmanship doesn’t translate well to video games.” He admitted.
“Yeah. Makes sense.”
“And I’m guessing you’ve been doing better as of late.” Shining Armor noted.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you seem surer of your actions. Less hesitant, more focused.” He answered. “Much different than when I first met you.”
“I-I see. Never really noticed that.”
“I know I asked you if you made a choice back when I escorted your sister home. I take it you’re fully committed to it, then?”
“Yeah. I made my choice. And now I’m sticking with it.”
“…I see.” The man nodded.
Later…
“Alright, everyone’s here.” Flash questioned once the team assembled in the Lab. “Now Micro, let’s go over the plan.”
“Right.” He nodded and pulled up the schematics of the factory they were targeting. “This is the layout of the building. They have several floors and rooms, each one marked by security cameras. There are also several Guardians deployed in routine patrols. They have guards stationed at every entrance and exit.”
“So how do we get in?” Sandalwood asked. “Is there a secret entrance or something?”
“There is, but it’s positioned with Guardians too.” Micro answered as he tapped more keys. “It seems like no matter what entrance we take, there is no weak spot.”
“But you figured out an entry point, right?” Flash asked.
“Yep…and admittedly, I took a page out of Sol’s book.”
“Huh?” Questioned the fighter.
“I took a look at the list of numbers Stalk gave you and hacked into the Factory’s security. Apparently, they are a list of access codes for certain doors and functions of the building.”
“So you’re saying Stalk was giving us a hint?” Sandalwood wondered. “But that doesn’t make sense.”
“Nothing makes sense with that guy.” Flash retorted. He thought back to the number of times Stalk appeared. He helped them escape Night Rogue a few times, even giving them hints when it was unneeded of him to do so. Just what was his game? What was he planning?
“So…is he just baiting us then?” Sol asked. “If he gave me those codes, then he must expect us to go after the Box.”
“He knew we were going after the Box either way. He just made sure we would have less chance of surprising him by taking this option.” Micro said. “As I said, the codes are linked to the building’s security system. One of these codes unlocks the factory’s main storage vault. Based on the entry logs, there should be materials stored. But looking into their video feeds, nothing went in or out of the room for days. Meaning…”
“That’s where the Box is.” Flash finished. “Nice, Micro!”
“No problem. I currently have the route lined out that should lead you two through the least amount of opposition. I already tapped into their cameras to project a video loop of routine patrols when you enter the building. However, that’s the easy part. Entering the building is the hard part.”
“What is it? Where are we going?”
“Well…”
Later…
“I’m home!” Flash called out as he walked through the front door.
“Welcome back, sweetie!” His mother called out from the kitchen. “Dinner’s almost ready!”
“Wait, you’re cooking, mom? I thought I said I’d do it. You shouldn’t strain yourself.” The musician said as he entered the kitchen.
“Oh, it’s no trouble. I’m doing well enough to do this.” She waved off his concerns.
“C’mon, mom. You just finished recovering. You shouldn’t be pushing yourself. Let me handle the rest.”
“I know you’re concerned sweetie, but really, I’m fine.”
”But-!”
“No buts, mister. Why don’t you wait with your sister?”
“…Alright. But if you need anything just let me know.” He relented, knowing full well how stubborn his mother can be. He took a seat next to his sister, who smirked at him.
“Wasn’t surprised. I tried helping her, but she refused too.”
Later, dinner was served and they made small talk. Nothing much else went on given how Scootaloo was still grounded from her little sneak in to Sol’s fight.
But it was simple moments like these that reminded Flash what he was fighting for. He wouldn’t allow Faust to have their way with the city and its inhabitants. He vowed that he’d be the man of the house ever since his dad passed away, and he would do everything he could to keep them safe.
“Say kids, do you have any plans this weekend?” Misty asked out of the blue.
“Huh? Well, I’m free.” Flash said.
“Same here, mainly because I’m grounded for another week.” Scootallo replied cheekily. Misty frowned at her daughter’s sass before continuing.
“Well, I was thinking that it’s been a while since we were all together. So what if we went to see your father on Saturday?”
“Dad?” The girl questioned while Flash’s eyes widened in realization. Now that he thought about it, it was getting close to the anniversary of his death. He hasn’t visited his father’s grave in a while. He had so much to tell him. But he just hoped that the Faust mess will be sorted out before they went to see him.
Next Day…
The factory of Tirek Heavy Industries loomed over the rest of the buildings in the district. Given that it belonged to the number one engineering firm in the nation, it was to be expected. There were guards and Guardians located out the front entrance keeping watch. In front of the building was a large gate that was wide open for daily shipments.
Flash and Sol peered around said gate to get a better look at what they were dealing with. Both were in their disguises. “So it’s just through there?” The fighter asked.
“Yep.”
“Are we really doing this?”
“Yeah. Based on what Stalk did, it’s safe to assume they’re expecting us, no matter where we go.” Flash answered before holding up his Driver. “So…why not surprise him and just storm through the front?”
Pulling out his own Driver, Sol smirked in agreement. “Bring it on!” The two donned their Drivers and shook their bottles. Crozz landed in the Fighter’s hand and he inserted the Dragon Fullbottle.
“WAKE UP!”
“PIRATE!”
“TRAIN!”
“CROSS-Z DRAGON!”
“BEST MATCH!”
Both teens turned the cranks of their Drivers as their respective runners manifested.
“ARE YOU READY?!”
Both fell into fighting stances. “Henshin!”
“WAKE UP BURNING!”
“THE SCHEDULED RENEGADE!”
“GET CROSS-Z DRAGON!”
“PIRATE-TRAIN!”
“YEAH!”
Now transformed, the two Riders ran to show themselves at the gate’s opening. Flash appeared first, then Sol hopped out in front of him. “Alright!”
“Dude, you’re in the way!” The musician shoved him to the side before he broke out into a run. The fighter followed him. The human guards panicked at their charge, sounded the alarm, and fell back while the Guardians advanced and fired bullets at them. Normally, they’d be scared that they’d be under fire of live ammunition, but their armor had proven that they’d be well protected. The bullets bounced off harmlessly as they summoned their weapons.
“PIRATE PLATFORM!”
“BEAT CROZZER!”
With their blades in hand, they quickly dispatched the holding line by slicing through their weapons and chassis. Once all of the robots were cut down, they broke through the door. They were greeted by another platoon of Guardians armed with bladed rifles. Like before, they swung their blades to knock back or cut through the oncoming swarm of robots. Sol advanced further while Flash became surrounded.
Flash reacted by spinning around, dragging his blade in a wide arc to cut down the Guardians. He then faced the path marked for them on their HUDs and pulled the Build Arrow Back.
“REGULAR STOPS! EXPRESS SERVICE! RAPID TRANSIT! PIRATE TRAIN! MOVING OUT!” He released the bow and an energy construct of a train shot out and rammed through the remaining Guardians. Sol quickly pressed himself against the wall to avoid getting hit. Flash then ran past him.
“Going on ahead!”
“Hey wait!” Sol gave chase.
Back at the lab, Micro hacked into the building’s security feeds to monitor any incoming Guardians. As he did, he noticed something strange. “How odd…”
“What’s up, dude?” Sandalwood asked.
“I’ve scanned the factory’s hallways, and so far, there are no other Guardians stationed anywhere else in the building. The only ones are on the path Flash and Sol are following.”
“How can that be? Did they see guess our break-in route?”
“I don’t know…but I have a bad feeling about this.”
The two Riders entered a darkened hallway once again, protected by Guardians. Strangely, there were only two in position. Sol kept the distracted while Flash went to scout ahead, stopping in front of a red double door with industrial locks.
“I found it! What’s the code again?” He asked Micro.
“It’s 777055!”
Flash went to type in the code on the key pad. He got the first number, but when he tried the second, he missed and the code vanished.
“Dude! Hurry up!” Sol held back against both Guardians slamming their weapons onto his own.
“My fingers are too big for the keypad!” He argued.
“What do you think we have pinkies for?!” Sol shouted, holding out his own with his free hand.
Flash extended his own pinkie, suddenly feeling stupid. “…oh.” He tried again while Sol broke through the enemies’ guard and cut them down.
Once Flash typed in the code and hit enter, the screen flashed with a red ERROR.
“Huh?” Sol walked up and saw the screen as well. “Micro, are you sure that’s the right code?"
"It should be. I checked the database and the code should activate the door in that hallway.”
“Here, just let me break through it.” Sol went to raise his sword. But before he could swing, the floor gave out under them, sending them into a freefall.
Both teens screamed as they descended into the dark below. The trapdoor then slid closed, as if it never existed.
“Guys?! Guys! What happened?!” Micro furiously tapped keys as he tried to bring up a better visual.”
“What happened?! I thought the code worked!” The eco-teen shouted.
“So did I! Something’s wrong! Flash! Sol! Do you read me?!” Unfortunately, all they got was static. “What? Communications are jammed?!”
Then, the screens flashed red as he found himself kicked out of the building’s security system. “No! No nonono no! This can’t be!”
“What’s going on?!” The green haired teen panicked.
“I’m being kicked out! Nothing I’m doing is working!” They lost all audio and camera feeds. Then a single window popped open. On the screen was an image of a chibi Blood Stalk laughing and dancing.
“FUAHAHAHA!!!”
Micro snarled as he slammed a fist on his desk. “STAAAAALK!!!!”
“Ow….” Flash groaned as he pulled himself up from the floor.
“….-aaaaAAAAH!” Sol screamed as he fell on top of Build. “Ow…huh…that didn’t hurt as much as I thought.”
“That’s because I broke your fall!” Flash groaned beneath him. He then shoved the fighter off of him. “Get off!”
He froze as the sound of guns cocking filled his ears. He looked up to see a mob of Guardians surrounding him. “….well crapbaskets.”
“Huh…” Sol commented as he raised the Beat Crozzer. “So this is where all the Guardians went. Well…let’s smash them!” He charged in first and cut down the nearest one.
Flash followed up and stabbed his Pirate Platform through the helmet of one before dragging the blade down and bisecting it. Sol ducked under a swinging blade and performed a sweep kick to knock the Guardian off balance. He then stabbed it through the chest and thrust his leg back to kick away another robot. He ripped the blade from its chest and spun around, cutting down the ones that tried to encircle him.
Flash weaved through the thrusting bayonets and countered with fluid strokes of the Pirate Platform’s blade. He pulled the Build Arrow back and fired several shots over and over to take out the ones from afar.
In a matter of minutes, the two Riders stood in the middle of destroyed robot parts and weapons.
“Well, that was a bust.” Flash grunted as he kicked a severed robot head.
“So it was a trap…” Sol groaned as he sat upright. “He gave us fake codes after all. Should’ve realized.”
“Well, we tried playing his game and try to beat him…and that backfired on us.” Build agreed. But it cemented something in him. Stalk definitely knew where they were going and what they planned. It could explain why there weren’t as many guards as there should be. He planned for them to take that specific route.
“So…where are we now?” Sol looked around, taking note of the blank walls, single overhead light, absolutely no sign of a door.
“Not sure. Hey guys, you got anything?” Flash tried to contact his friend, but all he got was static. “Guys? Do you copy?” Only more static played. “Great. We’re cut off from comms. Looks like we’re on our own.”
“That sucks.” Sol commented. “What do we do now? How are we going to get back up to the room?”
“Not sure. I don’t see an exit. But there’s gotta be one somewhere. They wouldn’t stockpile a whole army of Guardians in here without one.” He pointed out.
“So how do we do this? Smash walls until we break out? Because I’m cool with that.” He raised his sword for emphasis.
“You know, there are other ways to solve problems like these aside from brute force.” Flash commented.
“Hey, smashing stuff works for me.”
Before they could discuss further, a panel on the adjacent wall slid open, revealing an exit and a figure. The Riders quickly spun toward it and prepped their weapons; Flash already preparing a bolt to fire.
“Wait! Don’t shoot!” The figure stepped out into the light. He had his hands up to show he was here peacefully. “I’m not one of them!”
“Lieutenant Shining Armor?” Build questioned, lowering the bow. “What are you doing here?!”
“Part of my investigation of Faust.” He explained as he dropped his hands. “I was looking into various buildings owned by Tirek Heavy Industries that may be associated with Faust. During my search, I found this secret underground area from an informant of mine.”
“You were looking into Tirek owned buildings for Faust?” Cross-Z questioned. “Man, that old man needs better security.”
“You would think.” Shining scoffed. “This is something I learned only recently. But it seems like Tirek is in collaboration with Faust.”
“Wait, what?!” Both Riders questioned. They thought back to the seemingly kind, frail old man that visited before Sol’s match. He was working with Faust?!
“It’s true. You see, on the surface, Tirek Heavy Industries may have a friendly logo and disposition. But they secretly manufacture weapons. One such weapon type is the Guardians Faust uses. It is how some of their members are able to hijack the ones the CRDC employs a while ago.” Shining answered gravely.
“This…can’t be. But that old guy seemed nice.”
“Like I said, he appears friendly on the logos. But in reality, he’s only enabling conflict through the weapons he makes.”
“While this is definitely informative, that doesn’t explain why you’re here now of all places.” Build tried to steer the conversation back on topic.
“Right. I’m here because I finally tracked down the missing Pandora’s Box to this location.” He explained, his expression twisting with remorse. “…I had a team with me to retrieve it. Unfortunately, it was protected by a Smash and my men didn’t have the tools to fight it. They….they laid down their lives for this job. They were my subordinates, but they sacrificed themselves so that I could escape. So that I can fulfill what we failed to do.”
The two teens were silent. However, Flash was hesitant. He wasn’t sure if he could honestly trust him after what he experienced back at the Raid.
“Flash.” Shining Armor stared directly at Build, surprising them both. “You need to trust me.”
“Wha-…how did you…?” He was dumbfounded. How did he know his true identity?!
“I didn’t make lieutenant so quickly just because of my good looks. Please, Flash.” Shining Armor bowed his head pleadingly.
The musician stared at the man. He did not know how he learned of his identity. But he seemed sincere in his actions.
While he definitely seemed heartless back in the raid by shooting Dusk Walker, this man deeply cared about the lives of his subordinates. It was probably his way of compartmentalizing everything, just so that he wouldn’t break from all the stress.
“…I may not know of your men, but I can see that they were good people.” Build finally said. “We won’t let their sacrifice be in vain.”
“Wait…we?” He inquired.
“We’re here to look for the Box too.” Cross-Z answered. “It was our fault Faust got away with it in the first place. We’re here to take it back to the Research Center.”
“If you’ll allow us, that is.” Build added. “I know you don’t view us favorably, as we act outside the law. But we want to stop Faust just as much as you do.” He held out a hand as a means of offering an agreement. “Will you allow us to work with you to retrieve Pandora’s Box and stop Faust once and for all?”
The police officer stared at the masked men for several moments. Then he stared back at the hand. His eyes steeled with resolve as he grasped it. “As the lieutenant of the Canterlot Police Department, and as your friend, you have my word.”
“Great!” Cross-Z chimed in. “Now…can you tell us how we can get out of here? We got caught by a trap door.”
“I know the feeling. Same thing happened to me. But I know a way up. Follow me.” He led the two into the hallway that was filled with broken Guardians and up the stairs.
As they rushed their way up, the trio came across even more Guardians in the hallways. The Riders took the vanguard to fight them while Shining Armor covered the rear and shouted directions if the hallways split up.
They didn’t realize, but the hallways had a gentle incline, allowing them to ascend without must issue in the winding corridors. However…
“JUST HOW MANY GUARDIANS DOES FAUST HAVE?!” Cross-Z shouted in aggravation as he sliced through another armed robot. He lost track of how many he destroyed after a hundred.
“Just shut up and keep moving!” Flash shouted back, equally annoyed by the cannon fodder. “Shining Armor, how much further?!”
“Just around the corner!” The police officer yelled as he shot another robot in the head with his handgun. “We’re almost there!” After Flash fired another energy train to clear the halls, the three rounded around the corner, coming across another set of double doors. Unlike the one they found earlier, they were unlocked. The two Riders rushed in as the officer stayed behind to sweep for any remaining Guardians.
Once they entered the room, the Riders yelled, ready for a fight. But their screams died down once they found the room to be void of enemies. The only thing notable within the vicinity was Pandora’s Box, which sat on top of a pedestal. Illuminating the spot was a single light overhead. Oddly enough, next to it was an ornate couch.
Flash and Sol finally relaxed. They felt relief about finally reaching their objective. However, it call came to a halt when Shining Armor entered the room.
The doors slammed shut and locked loudly behind him. The Riders spun around, equally as shocked as Shining Armor before a familiar laugh resounded in the room.
“Fuahahaha…!!!” Blood Stalk cackled as he popped up from behind the couch. He clapped wildly. As if on cue, several Guardians stormed in from hidden panels in the wall. They all aimed their guns at the Masked Riders. “Good show, jolly good show!”
“Damn you…Blood Stalk!” Flash and Sol raised their weapons at the ready.
“You did a nice job coming here.” The Cobra said jovially. “Especially you…Shiny.”
To the teens’ shock, Shining Armor walked past them until he stood next to Stalk. “Nice job leading them here.” The snake wrapped an arm around the officer’s shoulder, only to be shrugged off.
“Don’t act chummy with me, Stalk.” He glared.
“Sh-Shining Armor?” Flash’s grip on his weapon wavered.
“What…what the hell’s going on here?!” Sol demanded.
“Oh? You didn’t know?” He placed a hand to his mouth as if gasping. “I guess the two of you weren’t as close of friends as you thought. Especially if you didn’t know something like this.”
Shining Armor reached into his inside pocket and pulled out a familiar looking firearm that made Flash’s heart stop with dread.
“Is…is that?!”
“…No…” They locked eyes with the Transteam Gun in their presumed comrade’s hand.
The blue haired officer inserted a familiar bottle into the gun.
“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.
“I…am the leader of Faust.” He finally spoke.
The teens were stunned silent. They couldn’t believe what was happening. A member of the Canterlot Police…was Night Rogue?! But for Flash Sentry, it went even deeper than that. All this time, he thought of Shining Armor was his friend. A man who taught him the meaning of courage. The one who helped set him on this path. He said he wanted to protect his family, friends, and the city. But here he was, the leader of the group that’s terrorizing the town!
Was…was everything he said…everything he did….a complete and utter lie?!
“Boy, aren’t you two surprised.” Stalk commented on their silence. “Suppose I can’t blame ya. I mean, a lieutenant of the city’s police force? Faust’s leader? I bet anyone would shit bricks if they learned of it.”
“So….you knew…” Sol finally found his voice. He was seething. His body trembled as his hands balled into fists. “You knew the whole time…and just said nothing… you led us into a trap, just to show off and try to break our spirits and beliefs like this?!”
“Of course! I’m not the type the play all of his cards at once. Besides…I thought it was a fun way of messing with you guys.” They could feel Stalk grin beneath his helmet. “And to be fair, you actually did walk into this, knowing it was a trap. So I guess it’s your fault.”
“….I’m gonna kick your ass!” Sol roared as he charged, sword swinging wildly.
That was the match that lit the fire as the room descended into chaos. Stalk took on Sol while Night Rogue charged at the stunned Build. He barely reacted in time to block a swing aimed for his head. It was only then he managed to snap out of it.
All he could do was block Night Rogue’s assault as he was still reeling from the shock.
“Is this truly what the Masked Rider is capable of?” Rogue asked mockingly as he broke past his guard and socked him across the face. “The very person that’s been giving my organization trouble?” He kicked Build away.
The two-toned rider tried to get up, but Night Rogue pulled him off his feet and looked at him through the visor. “You’re pathetic. Protect the people? How can you expect to do that if you can’t bring yourself to fight me?!” He tossed Build aside. The surrounding Guardians proceeded to pelt him with gunfire. The bullets didn’t affect him, but Flash remained immobile as he tried to come to terms of what just happened.
The Shining Armor he knew…But it was all a lie. It was a lie to propel him into this lifestyle. A lie to turn him into a guinea pig for Faust’s benefit. Then what else did he lie about? The want to protect his family and friends. Was that another lie?! He thought back. The way Shining Armor said it, the determined look in his eye. He couldn’t bring himself to think he lied about that. Then why…?
Why was he doing all this? Why did he hurt people, kidnap his mother, and turn innocents into Smash?! He wanted to know. He NEEDED to know. His hands balled into fists as he finally got over his shock. All that was left was burning resolve.
Right now though…he needed to beat this guy! With a determined cry, he stood back up and cut down the surrounding Guardians before pointing the Pirate Platform at Night Rogue. He pulled back the Build Arrow.
“REGULAR STOPS! EXPRESS SERVICE! RAPID TRANSIT! PIRATE TRAIN! MOVING OUT!”
He released the bow and the Energy Train charged right at the Bat. Unlike Dusk Walker, however, he properly defended against it. To his shock, his black and silver armor sprouted wings, which he used as a shield. The train rammed against it, but he held his ground. He then blasted it with his Transteam Gun and sliced it apart with his Steam Blade. The Train broke apart and struck the Guardians around him instead.
Build rushed at Night Rogue and slammed his weapon against his.
“Tell me, Shining! What about the group you supposedly had with you?!” Flash glared. “Was that all a lie too?!”
“They were too close to finding the truth. So they were promptly silenced.” Rogue answered coldly. The musician felt the flames of rage grow.
“You monster…!” Build growled as he headbutted the Bat and shot off energy bolts at him. Rogue knocked them away with his Steam Blade and the two crossed blades once more. “How could you?! How could you do this?! Sacrifice innocents for what?! Power?! Weapons?!”
“For the greater good!” Night Rogue retorted as he returned fire with his gun.
“How is any of THIS for the greater good?!” Flash rolled beneath the shots and shot more energy bolts. “You have the city in fear, several dead, and many more traumatized! How is this supposed to help anyone?!”
“Sacrifices must be made.” Rogue returned calmly as he turned the dial on his blade.
“ICE STEAM!”
Icicles shot out at Build, but he destroyed them all with precise shots from the Pirate Platform. “What a load of bullcrap! What would your family think if they saw you now? For the monster you are?!”
“I don’t expect you or them to understand!” Rogue glowered as he ran and swung for his neck. Build parried it and stabbed his blade into his chest plate.
“Then you’re fine with hurting your parents like this?! What about Twilight? How much longer until you decide to experiment with her as well?!”
“Leave them out of this!” Rogue roared as he combined his weapons into their rifle form and took aim.
Flash mimicked the action and pulled back the Build Arrow.
“REGULAR STOPS! EXPRESS SERVICE!
“STEAM SHOT!”
“MOVE OUT!”
The energy blasts collided until they resulted in an explosion.
Meanwhile, Sol engaged Stalk in a battle of blades. They crossed swords multiple times. Stalk back flipped to avoid a low swing from Sol and followed up with an overhead smash to his helmet. “Such unrefined technique. Are you really that upset?”
“No shit!” Cross-Z yelled as they crossed swords again. “I’m pissed that you led us on and tricked us! I’m pissed that you played us like puppets! But I’m even more pissed at Rogue for lying about everything!” He broke off the guard, grabbed the Guardian that tried to blindside him, and threw it at Blood Stalk. He then charged as Stalk threw off the Guardian that few at him. Cross-Z dropped his sword and delivered a fierce haymaker in his face.
“Huh, 3.2.” He mumbled before Sol punched him again.
“That was using us as guinea pigs!”
“ 3.3.” Sol delivered an uppercut.
“That was for manipulating us!”
“3.4…” Cross-Z jumped and delivered an axe kick, knocking his head down.
“That was for lying to us!”
“3.5…” Sol then kneed him in the face and threw a flurry of punches left and right in righteous fury.
“And this is because I’m sick of your smug attitude and ugly face!”
“…hehehehe….fuahahaha!!!” The red armored man laughed as he was being pummeled.
“Just what is so damn funny?!” The Dragon roared as he threw one final punch that pushed Blood Stalk back. But as he rose, he barely seemed fazed.
“Almost…you’re getting there, Sol Burner!”
“And just how do you know my name?!” He roared as he charged for another hit. But his fist was caught easily by Stalk.
“I’ll tell you some other time. Why don’t you play for Shiny right now?” With minimal effort, Stalk threw Sol across the room and impacted Night Rogue.
Flash was startled by his friend’s dynamic entry, but quickly reacted and blocked a swing from Blood Stalk. “Mind if I cut in?”
“Stalk…!” Flash glowered as he broke the guard and swung again. “How?! How is it that you know everything we do?!”
“Now now…do you expect me to blab about secrets?” He asked mockingly.
“Well, considering you did so before, yeah!” Build snapped as he took aim and fired a few shots, only for them to get swatted away.
“Meh, true. But sadly, this is my little secret. So no hint for you!” He mockingly wagged a finger and then rushed at him.
Flash growled before he blocked a side kick and countered with a horizontal swing that Stalk backpedaled to avoid. He countered with a spin jump kick that cracked against the side of Build’s helmet.
While the two fought, Night Rogue and Cross-Z had their own battle. “So you were the real Night Rogue this whole time?!” Sol snapped as he swung his retrieved Beat Crozzer, only for Rogue to parry it with ease. “How…how could you do all this?!”
“As I told your friend, this was all for the greater good!” He ducked below a wild swing.
“Good…?....GOOD?! How could countless deaths and sacrifices be good?!” Sol’s fists ignited as his eyes flicked red beneath his visor. He swung with even more power than before. Shining tried to block one, but found himself stumbling as he did so. The fighter took advantage of this and kicked him across the face. “How about all the people suffering from loss?! Do they mean nothing to you?!”
He yanked the fallen Rogue up by the collar. “And tell me! What did you do to Knuckle Blaze on October 15?! What happened with his body?! Tell me!”
“I’m under no obligation…to answer you!” Rogue snapped his head up and jabbed his Transteam Gun into Cross-Z’s chest plate. He pulled the trigger. The Dragon was flung away from the energy blast and crashed into the wall.
The fighter stumbled to pick himself back up. His HUD blared red in alarm. After the ceaseless fighting, his energy reserves for the armor were dropping.
Meanwhile, Stalk just sidestepped another swing from Build and kicked him as he moved past. He turned the dial on his weapon and swung.
“ELEK STEAM!”
Bolts of electricity impacted Build, electrocuting him and causing him to stumble. Stalk continued by kicking him off of his feet. He pinned the Rider to the ground. “And now, you’re done!”
He pressed the Transteam Gun against his visor and pulled the trigger.
“STEAM BREAK!”
The energy blast flung Flash out of his grip and into the wall next to Sol. The wall indented from the impact. Flash reverted from his transformation, the blast overloading the armor. He clutched his head in agony. His forehead was scraped up and the lens of one of his goggles was cracked. Fortunately, they and the helmet were what saved him from getting blinded from the energy blast.
Stalk and Night Rogue slowly approached the downed Riders. The Guardians surrounded them and aimed their guns.
“It’s over, Sentry.” Night Rogue glowered. “You both are defeated and out matched. Just admit defeat and had over your bottles and Panels.”
“It’s always the same with you, isn’t it?!” Flash snapped as he pulled himself up using the wall as support. “Panels this, Bottles that! You really care for nothing else, don’t you?!”
“I told you. It’s all for-!”
“-The greater good, I know! You made that clear, despite how twisted it really is!” Flash yelled back. “Well, I’m done! I tried talking with you; I want you to remember that. When we fought, I tried to reach out, tried to understand in hopes of whatever that is left of the friend I know is still here!...but I think you made your stance clear. You just don’t care.”
“Of course. But what is your point?” Night Rogue questioned. Stalk merely watched silently in interest.
“My point is that you’re all monsters!” Flash roared, standing in defiance. “And if that’s the role you really want to play…then I’ll just play mine!”
“And just role is that supposed to be?” He inquired.
Flash pulled out two new Fullbottles. One was green and resembled a turtle while the other was gray with a watch design. “The one who stops the Monsters!”
For once, Stalk was surprised by the appearance of the small items. Flash grinned under his mask and shook the bottles; more math equations flew around them. He twisted the caps and inserted them.
“TURTLE!”
“WATCH!”
“BEST MATCH!”
Flash turned the crank as red and gray panels lined up with him.
“ARE YOU READY?!”
“Henshin!” The runners converged, donning Build in a new suit of armor. The inorganic sections were colored an emerald Green. His right shoulder pad was a large, dome-like turtle shell. His left eyepiece was a swimming sea turtle. The Inorganic segments were a silverfish gray. Wrapped around his left arm were several watches. His left shoulder pad was also a clock face. His right eyepiece was a segmented watch and its strap.
“THE CLOCKWORK DEFENDER!”
“TURTLE-WATCH!”
“YEAH!”
Flash slid a finger along his eyepiece. “I have the Winning Formula!” His HUD lit up with the options this Best Match provided.
"Turtle?" Stalk asked, barely having enough time to fully process what he'd just seen before Rogue orders the Guardians to fire.
But as they did, Flash reached for the crank and spun it three times.
"ONE! TWO! THREE SECONDS!" The inorganic areas of his body glowed before a wave of energy shot out of the clock face on his shoulder. As it did, everything around the rider slowed to a near stop as the driver spoke out.
"THREE!" He acted fast, rushing around the room and plucking the bullets out of the air and pulling the guns out of the Guardian's hands. When he was halfway done, this taking about ten seconds, his driver spoke again.
"TWO!" He managed to get the last gun out of the Guardian's hand as his driver spoke again.
"ONE!" It was then he pulled the turtle shell off his shoulder and threw it around the room.
It moved like a frisbee, spinning and hitting each guardian in the head as it curved around the room. When it hit the last Guardian, it moved back over to Flash and he caught it as his Driver spoke.
"TIME!" In a flash, everything returned to normal and the Guardians all flew backwards with their heads exploding.
“What the?!” Stalk screamed as time resumed normally. Flash went over to his friend and shook him.
“Hey, are you alright?”
“Just waiting for my second wind…!” Sol answered. “And…did you just stop time?!”
A recovered Blood Stalk and Night Rogue took aim with their Transteam guns. The Rider smacked his green shoulder pad, which caused it to glow brightly. A domed energy shield formed and expanded around them, protecting the two from the energy blasts.
The shield maintained strongly. Build saw his opportunity and turned the crank of his Driver ten times.
“ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! FIVE! SIX! SEVEN! EIGHT! NINE! TEN SECONDS!”
“READY GO!”
The energy shield became intangible as the clock parts on his body glowed. The dome expanded outward and washed over everything. Like before, everything aside from Build slowed to a near halt.. Even more so, Flash felt supercharged. He rushed at the two armored fighters and delivered a relentless onslaught of punches and kicks, knowing full well they are unable to do anything.
“TEN!”
He disarmed both Armored fighters of their guns and blades and kicked their knees in.
“NINE!”
He grabbed their heads and slammed them together before throwing them to the ground.
“EIGHT!”
He punched both of them in the solar plexus and delivered axe kicks to the back.
“SEVEN!”
He used the turtle shell shoulder guard as a bludgeoning tool to bash them in the helmets and the neck.
“SIX!”
The rest of the time was spent assaulting the two with whatever he had left in his arsenal. The bodies of Stalk and Rogue were thrown about with his assault.
“FIVE!”
“FOUR!”
“THREE!”
“TWO!”
“ONE!”
As one final blow, Flash felt vindictive and put all his might to a single, devastating kick to Blood Stalk’s crotch.
“VOLTECH FINISH!”
By the time the countdown finished, one hundred seconds in Flash’s perspective had passed. He appeared in front of Sol as time resumed to normal. The room was a lit with an explosion as the armored fighters were thrown back from the force of the many blows. The battle was over. Flash then turned the driver once more.
“ONE! TWO! THREE SECONDS!”
The Inorganic segments glowed once more as a pulse washed over the room. Everything else within the room slowed down. He took amusement of his foes slowly getting up. He moved over and retrieved Pandora’s Box from its pedestal, and grabbed his friend. He kicked down one of the doors and ran through the halls, using his HUD to follow the prerecorded map that was stored.
Once the countdown timed out, time resumed normally. Night Rogue and Blood Stalk lied on the ground in pain, the latter especially. But the former pulled himself up first and followed after the retreating duo, gun in hand.
Stalk achingly stood up and hobbled after him, keeping mindful of and using his hands to support his bruised family jewels.
Flash had difficulty dragging both his friend while keeping a hold on Pandora’s Box. But he was determined to do so.
His HUD beeped, alerting him of the armor’s power reserves. Due to the self-quickening and slow down within the room, quite of bit of power was consumed. He supposed it was the price to pay for effectively manipulating Chronons as he did.
Both of their armors powered down, but he had made it to their bikes. Sol Burner went back to normal as he looked around wildly.
“Wh-what happened?! How did we get here?!”
“I’ll explain later!” Flash placed the Box in the back of the Machine Builder. He quickly covered it with a stored sheet before he hopped on. “Just Drive!”
“R-Right!” He followed suit and in seconds, the two drove down the road away from the factory.
Seconds later, Night Rogue broke through the door. He glared after the retreating motorcycles and took aim to shoo them. Unfortunately, they were out of his range. “Damn it all!” He roared.
“Oh, calm down, Shiny.” Stalk lowered his arm whilst smirking, despite the crippling pain. His voice was noticeably higher pitched. “We’re still in this game. All twenty Fullbottles have been made and purified. Now it’s time to start the next phase.”
Later…
The Riders made it back to the lab with no danger of pursuit. Their friends were relieved that they were alright. Due to the severed communications, they inquired about what happened.
Naturally, the room fell silent upon what they were told. Micro and Sandalwood were simply stunned. To think, that Lieutenant Shining Armor of the Canterlot Police Department was in actually the leader of Faust, Night Rogue. And more than that, he knew who Build and Cross-Z really were!
That shock became sympathy, as they also knew that Flash had viewed Shining Armor as a friend. The musician maintained a blank expression as he set the Box off to the side. Micro closed his laptop as he went over to his friend. “Hey…are you doing alright?”
“I’ll be fine.” Flash answered. “I was just surprised…but I’ll get over it.”
“Okay…I just can’t believe that he, of all people is the leader of Faust.”
“I know.” The eco-teen nodded. “So he’d been behind everything this whole time? This is blowing my mind! We just saw him a while back helping us fight that Square Smash!”
“It was a probably a trick to get us to trust him.” Sol said coldly. “He made it clear. He lied to use this entire time. Manipulating us for this ‘greater good’ plan!”
“Then…doesn’t that mean that he made the whole raid up the other day? That he did all that just to get the government off of his back? How did he even get Dusk Walker to pose as him?”
“Wasn’t he in on it too? Then who else can be in on this Faust business?”
“Maybe the police? I mean, didn’t they give him troops to form the raid party?”
“What about the government? Like Tirek Heavy Industries? That old man has been in cahoots with them too!” Sol added.
“Then just…how far does this conspiracy stuff run?!” Sandalwood held his head in his hands.
“I don’t know. But right now, it doesn’t matter.” Flash interjected. “Yes, Shining Armor is Night Rogue. I don’t know why or how he became as such, but it doesn’t matter right now. What matters is now we have Pandora’s Box, and it’s out of the bad guys’ hands.”
‘All that’s left is to figure out how Stalk bugged Micro.’ He finished in his thoughts. After the fight in the factory, his theory had proven fruit. Stalk had been spying on them somehow. But now he had an idea of where the source might be…or rather, who. He knew their infiltration route and how to exploit it, which explained all the opposition during their route to the Box. However, he did not know about the Turtle and Watch Fullbottles. He was genuinely surprised.
‘That means that it’s not Sol or Sandalwood that have been bugged, but it’s Micro. But how did he do it?’ There is no way for somebody to be bugged in a way that it is permanently present. Then it must be from something inside the lab, as the plans Stalk knew of were devised within the lab. But what could have been allowing the Cobra to spy on them? How was it possible if the room was sealed beforehand?
As he thought, his gaze drifted over to the closed laptop that Micro received through the mail. He froze. He recalled that the Gizmo’s laptop was sent through the mail by an unknown sender. Could…could it be?
“Uh, Flash? Is the Box supposed to be doing that?” Sol questioned, pulling the musician from his thoughts.
“Doing what?” Sol pointed behind them. They turned around to see the Box leaking a bit of gas from the seams. Then suddenly, a massive amount of Nebula Gas explodes out, causing the others to panic.
“Oh, crap!” Thinking quickly, Flash grabbed one of the Empty Bottles and sucked up the excess Gas. The emission then slowed down before stopping, allowing the bottle to suck up everything. “Phew…” He and the others sighed in relief.
The super computer then beeped, alerting about another news story.
“That’s odd. I wonder what the media’s up to now?” Micro wondered as he hit a few keys and pulled up the news channel.
All four pairs of eyes were locked on the headline on the screen.
[Arrest Warrants Issued: Flash Sentry and Sol Burner under suspicion of Pandora Box theft and Faust collaboration.]
On the screen was Lieutenant Shining Armor with a grave expression on his face. “People of Canterlot, it is through my investigation of Faust and the missing Pandora’s Box that I have come across the truth. Based on evidence I found at the scenes of the crime, it has come to my understanding that two students of Canterlot High, Flash Sentry and Sol Burner, are the ones responsible for the theft of Pandora’s Box.”
Sugar Cube Corner...
The patrons within the restaurant at the time hung onto every word. Those who knew the two well, such as Bulk, Brawly, Ringo, Vinyl, Octavia, Bon Bon, Lyra, and Wallflower couldn't believe what they were hearing.
Brawly dropped his sandwich, paying no mind to its contents splashing back at him.
Bulk screamed in a high pitched manner.
The sunglasses of Ringo and Vinyl fell off their faces due to how wide their eyes were.
Octavia coughed up her drink, shocked upon hearing her friends were supposedly responsible for such atrocities.
Both Bon Bon and Lyra dropped their drinks at the same time. They knew Flash well, and could not understand how he was a Faust Collaborator. He was a good person. How could he be a criminal?!
Wallflower stared at the screen silently. She was unable to process that the person she came to know as a friend was a criminal as described.
Their profile images were posted on the screen. “Not only are they responsible for stealing it from the Research Center, but they are also guilty of collaborating with Faust.
At Canterlot High School...
Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna had tuned into the news story.
They were promptly stunned by the revelation that two of their students were affiliated with such a heinous organization.
"This...this can’t be right." Celestia shook her head.
"But what else could it be, sister?" Luna questioned.
"Luna, I refuse to believe our students can do such things."
"But is there any reason to believe otherwise?"
Neither one had the answer as Shining Armor continued to speak.
"They are responsible for the mass kidnappings, notifying Faust where they may find enough people for their sinister human experimentations."
At the Sentry Household…
Scootaloo and Misty Veil had waited for Flash to come home for dinner. At the moment, they decided to watch television together. They stopped when the channel cut their programming for the breaking news report.
They were stunned by what they just heard. How could Shining Armor accuse Flash as a Faust collaborator and the thief of Pandora’s Box?!
Scootaloo felt her heart drop at what was being told. But she refused to believe it. Sure her brother may be annoying at times, but he’s a good person. He would take care of her when she got sick and supported her through thick and thin. She loved him and wouldn’t trade him away for anything else in the world. She thought that he was being framed somehow and vehemently denied the accusations.
Misty Veil, on the other hand, was in turmoil. Her son was being accused as a member of the organization that threatened to bring harm to her family. While she didn’t remember anything else about that particular incident, she knew enough that Faust was plotting something diabolical. She felt severe dread.
She didn’t want to believe it. She couldn’t believe it! Flash wouldn’t do something this heinous! At least not willingly! Was he being coerced? Was he being blackmailed?! Just for what reason would Shining Armor announce this without any prior notifications?!
The pressure was too much for her. The fact she might very well lose her son due to these circumstances shook her to the core. She worried that she would lose him just they lost Trail Blazer.
"It is through them that they were able to understand the building’s security and tip them off. If anyone has any information, please do not hesitate to report. We will be sure to find these criminals and bring them to justice. We are grateful for your cooperation.”
At The Sparkle Household…
The Rainbooms were gathered at the behest of Twilight Sparkle to try and study for the final exams that were around the corner. They had been taking a break with Rainbow turning on the TV to search for a show to watch while they had snacks.
As she channel surfed, she saw the headline on one of the channels and immediately switched to it. The girls remained transfixed to the story, unable to believe their ears. Twilight, most of all, couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her own brother was condemning her friends! Rainbow immediately shut off the news, unable to listen any more.
"...Flash...Sol..." Sunset whispered in dread.
The story continued with the reporters analyzing the announcement and reading the findings Shining Armor ‘discovered’. One example was how they were shown to be missing for periods of time during their field trip and a firsthand report of their lack of attendance during a Smash attack at Sweet Apple Acres. Micro muted the video, unable to bear hearing any more falsities.
The silence was tense and looming. It came to an end when a single shout was made.
“…oh, come on!” Sol Burner punched the bag so hard it flew off of its chain.
“Well…things just went from bad to worse.” Micro sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
“This is bad man…really really bad!” Sandalwood exclaimed.
“That damn liar!” Sol punched his downed punching bag. “He’s turning everyone against us to flush us out!”
“And it’s worse because no one knows the truth except for us. Because he got to everyone first, they’re more likely to believe his story over ours; doesn’t help when it’s an upstanding police lieutenant’s word against a bunch of secretive teenagers.” Micro added morbidly.
“What are we gonna do, Flash?” Sandalwood turned to his blue haired friend.
Flash had been wondering the same thing. His hand was wrapped tightly around the newly filled Bottle. What CAN they do, now?
To be Continued…