//------------------------------// // The Faded Sword // Story: Kamen Rider Justice // by RuinQueenofOblivion //------------------------------// Fancy Pants was seated behind his desk in the SMILE headquarters. He took a deep breath as he looked over the reports from what had happened over the past few days. He rubbed his temples a little, this was going to be hard to explain to them, he had known there was going to be consequences for everything going on, he had just hoped that it wouldn’t happen here. First there was the matter of the death of the most recent monster’s host. Agent Tempest Shadow had acted on emotion, even with the evidence against the man, she had killed an unarmed man in a fit of rage. That had been covered up, but it was still going to have consequences. Tempest was currently on required leave with the Driver handed over, and he was going to have to make a choice about her going forward. Then there was the matter of Scootaloo and her friends. They were civilians who were involved with the war with the Order, but they were still just civilians. How much longer could they survive fighting these monsters before it got to them too? How much longer until they had gazed into that abyss for too long? But at this point, he was starting to think that it wasn’t going to be his choice anymore. This was going to be a hard thing to talk to them about. He finally sighed and pressed the intercom button on his desk. “Send them in.” “Right away,” his secretary said as the doors opened and Scootaloo, her friends, Sweetie Drops, and Tempest Shadow came into the office. “Is everything okay? Why were we called here?” Scootaloo asked as she looked at the others and at Fancy Pants. “There’s someone who needs to talk to you all about how we’re going forward in the fight with the Order,” Fancy Pants told them as he took off his monocle and wiped it off. “Scootaloo, I’m going to have to ask you to hand over your Driver.” “Wait, what?” Scootaloo asked as she placed her hand on her jacket pocket where the Driver was. “Why?” “Because we can’t keep putting civilians in danger right now,” an unknown male voice said as a side door opened and a man stepped out. He was dressed in an American military uniform with General’s stars and was holding a hat under his arm. “You’ve been doing well enough, Miss. Dash, but I don’t think you should be putting yourself at risk as long as we have alternatives to putting civilian lives at risk.” “What about the Order?” Scootaloo asked. “They’re out there, and we’re basically going on holiday. They’ll take this as a chance to attack, you know it and I know it!” “Which is why Agent Sweetie Drops will remain active, and we will be backing her up with a project sent to us from Japan,” the General said as he looked at each of them in turn. “I understand your concerns, but we have measures in place to counter the Order.” “Hey, I didn’t go off the script, so why am I being punished here?” Scootaloo asked, slamming a hand on the table. She looked towards Tempest. “Apologies.” “Geez, thanks for throwing me under the bus kid…” Tempest deadpanned. “But the kid’s got a point. She didn’t exactly do anything wrong. I was the one who acted rashly here.” “General McAllister along with other higher ups at SMILE are concerned about the use of civilians in fighting the Order,” Fancy Pants explained. “They believe that Agent Drops along with this project of theirs and SMILE agents will be enough to do this without putting yourself or your friends in further risk. I don’t agree with it personally, but my hands are tied here.” “Bullshit, this is complete and utter bullshit. I’m sorry, but…” Scootaloo said. “Nobody in Japan ever seems to have a problem with civilians putting on Rider suits right and left every year and handling their monster problems do they?” “She’s got a point,” Tempest said and everyone looked at her again. “Just sayin’. I mean, I’ll bet you money if someone just drops all pretense of the secret identity thing, nobody in Japan would give a flying f-” “Language!” Fancy warned. “My point stands,” Tempest went on. “You don’t exactly see the Japanese government stepping in to give someone like… oh, I dunno, someone like OOOs trouble do you? Nobody gave a crap about a guy running around dressed like a traffic light back then did they?” “I’m not entirely disagreeing with you, but what about the Riders who died in combat? Or how about the lives lost because of inexperienced fighters?” McAllister countered. “I am not discounting what Miss. Dash and her friends have done, but the decision has already been made by myself and the others in charge of SMILE.” “So this meeting’s just a formality, then,” Scootaloo said. “Okay, yeah, I admit we’re not the best we could be at our jobs, but right now… I don’t see one Rider being able to stand against the Order. No offense to Sweetie, but she’s just one… well, two people in one suit. A privatized version of Double. I’m just being realistic here.” “You yourself stood alone against the Order for a while, Miss Dash,” Fancy said. “Yeah, and I got my ass kicked half the time. It was only when Sweetie transformed for the first time did things really start to turn around,” Scootaloo countered. “Yes, which is where our friends in Japan come in,” McAllister said as he glanced at Fancy Pants. “Years ago they developed a series of Rider systems, the latest upgrade of which they shipped to us and we’ve made a few improvements of our own. We will be deploying one of these Riders to assist in dealing with the Order.” Tempest frowned, there were only two systems that really came to mind. The Birth System, -and frankly she doubted Kogami would let the military have that- and… Oh, the G3 system. Huh. Yeah, that fit. “Forgive me if I speak out of turn, but-” “You both already have,” Fancy put in. Both Scootaloo and Tempest shared an awkward look. He waved a hand. “But go ahead.” “The G3 system, right? Unless someone loaned you the G3-X variant with its Cerberus, I don’t see you making much of a dent in the Order’s agents. The G3 system was just barely effective against the Lords, and that was almost two decades ago. What good would it do you now? It’s old hardware,” Tempest said. “The only reason the G3 unit still use it nowadays is for first response.” “We’ve made some special upgrades to the system using the notes from previous fights against the Order,” McAllister replied. “I understand your concerns, but we have everything under control.” “You say you understand my concerns,” Tempest spoke. “But I don’t think you do. See, what I remember from looking over Sumiko Ozawa’s notes is that the only real way to breach a kaijin’s skin is with lots of bullets fired in rapid succession. That wimpy Scorpion pistol isn’t going to cut it. You need the GX-05 Cerberus.” “Agent Shadow, you are emotionally compromised, you are in no place to say anything,” General McAllister said as he narrowed his eyes. “We are confident that the G3 system will be sufficient to fight the Order. Your concerns have already been considered and addressed, and I would recommend you do not speak further if you don’t want to have more charges filed against you.” Tempest frowned. “Whoever’s going to be put in that suit is going to get themselves killed.” One look at Scootaloo’s expression confirmed she was thinking the same. 00000 Later that night, Scootaloo returned home in a fairly foul mood. “A-And they just dismissed her concerns right out of hand! Like, it’s like her worries didn’t even matter!” Scootaloo ranted over dinner that night, complete with hand gestures at the appropriate moments. “Are they trying to get that soldier killed?” “Scootaloo, calm down,” Sweetie sighed. “Take a deep breath, you’re not doing anyone any good by acting like this.” “I know, but… just… gaaaaagggh…” Scootaloo grumbled. “I agree with you,” Sweetie told her. “I don’t think this General is thinking this through very well, but there’s nothing we can do about it. We still have the Soul Metal weapons and bullets though. If it comes to that we can use those to help, hopefully.” “Yeah… I suppose…” Scootaloo mumbled as she crossed her arms, looking rather childish actually. Sweetie leaned in and kissed the darker skinned girl lightly on the lips. “Scoots, we both know they’re going to realize their mistake sooner or later. All we can do is hope that it’s before it’s too late.” “I wonder who they’re going to put in the suit,” Scootaloo wondered. “Anyone we know, you wonder?” “I don’t know,” Sweetie admitted. “I’ve never heard of G3 before, but if it’s the military or SMILE or whoever then it could be anyone probably.” “I hope whoever they are, they’ve got a last will and testament written out,” Scootaloo muttered. “Whoever thought it was a good idea to drag the G3 armor out of retirement for this? They need a good smack to the head. If you ask me, that rumored ShotRiser being constructed by ZAIA would be a better option.” “I don’t know, I’ve seen pictures of its CEO, he looks like a puppy kicker to me,” Sweetie commented. “You’re so judgemental,” Scootaloo returned, poking her wife in the chest in playful fashion. “He looks like a really nice, uh, guy. No pun intended. Seriously, who names their child Gai? Like, I can see the issues can’t you? Where’s that Gai? Which guy? That one, that Gai in this photo. Which guy?” Sweetie was giggling. “You’re terrible.” “It’s a viable concern!” Scootaloo said. “Like, does he have a sister named Gurl?” “I met a Gai once, really… enthusiastic,” Sweetie said. “He was… odd, a good kind of odd but still odd. Really loved the color silver for some reason. Oh god, all this talk about these Gais -great, see you got me doing it!- is giving me a headache.” “Okay, so what should we talk about instead?” Scootaloo asked. “Wedding plans?” Sweetie offered. “That’s coming up fast, and oh dear god we’ve still got to find the right flowers and the venue and oh dear god maybe we should just elope and save ourselves the headache?” She took a few short sharp breaths to calm herself, and stop from hyperventilating. Sweetie mumbled: “...you think my older sis can loan me her fainting couch? Think I’m going to need it…” “Sure, I’ll bet she’d be willing to ship it here from New York,” Scootaloo chuckled. Then she smiled a little and placed her arms around her fiance’s waist. “Or I could just catch you.” “Mhmm…” Sweetie mumbled as she rested her head in Scootaloo’s neck. “That’d be nice. Please tell me we at least found the caterers? I forgot if we did or not…” “Oh, yeah… oh boy,” Scootaloo said as she thought back to that. “Fancy Pants said he was going to bring in some people he knows, but I don’t know if that’s going through after, you know, all that happened.” “Surely a wedding doesn’t exactly fall under SMILE authority,” Sweetie muttered in distaste. “Great, so now just because Tempest had one slip-up every part of our lives is dictated? Again, can we just elope and save ourselves the trouble?” “At this point, I’m tempted to say yes,” Scootaloo groaned. “I’m sorry we got dragged into all of this, Sweetie. I just want you to be happy.” “Tell that to this general guy…” Sweetie muttered. “I’m starting to agree with you. I really don’t like him.” “Yeah… how about we just spend a little time pretending we’re a normal couple?” Scootaloo said with a slight smile before adding jokingly. “If we even remember what that’s like at this point.” Sweetie gave her a long deep kiss. “I’ll see what I can do…” 00000 “Check systems,” Fleur said over the G3’s radio, safe and secure in a small room off to the left. “Check right leg. Confirm operational status. Can you confirm? Corporal Gallus, can you confirm?” “Confirmed,” Gallus said from inside the G3 suit. “All systems seem to be reading green so far.” His statement was short and direct. Right to the point. Years of military training were at play. “Check left leg. Confirm the operational status of that for me, will you?” Fleur said, flipping through the pages of the G3’s manual, roughly translated into English. “Slow and steady steps, yes that’s it.” Gallus moved his left leg slow and steady as she told him. “It’s a little sluggish, it doesn’t feel like the simulations.” “It’s old, nearly an antique by powered armor standards. For it’s time, yeah it was something. Sumiko Ozawa was and still is a genius, no question about that. But that said,” Fleur said over the radio. “This suit is no longer the new kid on the block. If there wasn’t still a use for mass produced suits like this, it’d be in the scrap pile. Improvements can only go so far. It’s still an old system, and with it come some compromises.” “Yes, well, Kogami was keen not to see his Birth system in military hands,” Gallus answered in slight annoyance, as several targets popped up from the floor. He pulled out the scorpion pistol, and with the precision of a trained soldier took aim. One target fell, and then another, Gallus turning to face them as necessary. Bang, bang, bang. Three shots fired, and three targets down. All headshots. Fleur’s eyes widened. Consider her impressed. Wow, they hadn’t been lying about how good Gallus actually was. No wonder he’d been chosen. “Can you blame him?” Fleur asked, her voice a crackle. “Besides, the way the Birth system works… mass producing it wouldn’t be the smartest idea. There are only so many Cell Medals left. Imagine running out in the midst of battle. Just imagine.” “I am imagining, thank you for that mental image by the way,” Gallus deadpanned holstering the scorpion. “So tell me, there’s four Riders that we know about, right? Sweetie, Tempest -though for how long is another question- and Scootaloo. Who’s the fourth, do you know?” “No, Kamen Rider Empress has not been identified beyond that name,” Fleur replied with a sigh. “And she’s something of a mystery at that. I know it’s not a lot of information to go on, but all the information we have on her is on the tablet.” “So she’s a wild card then,” Gallus replied. “Is she a friendly, or someone to be taken down? Do we know? I’d rather not make any more enemies than necessary.” “Well, at least we know you won’t fly off the handle and do something stupid. Good to know. Several of the G3’s past users have been… less than ideal, apparently.” “I’m well aware of Toru Hojo and his… personality. I can assure you that I will be different. I’m not so weak as to ditch my suit mid-battle,” Gallus said, his tone nearly emotionless. Fleur could guess why. That whole leave no man behind thing that came with being a Marine. Hojo, to him, was absolutely against everything he stood for. Abandoning civilians in mid-battle due to his own cowardice was beyond horrendous. “Now, can we move on?” “Very well then,” Fleur decided with a sigh. “Now, I think we should really put this suit through its paces. Shooting at stationary targets can only get you so far. Sweetie Drops, can you get in here please?” “Wait wait wait, wha….” Gallus trailed off before he heard the Driver’s very distinctive proclamation. “Oh, for fuck’s sake… Oh yeah, real nice Fleur! I hate you right now, you do know that right?” “Oh, I know you mean love,” Fleur said leaning back in her chair. “You’ll come around. Ulp, speaking of love, you’ll really love this one.” “LOVE CONQUERS ALL THINGS!” “I have a vision of the near future of me looking back and regretting my life choices,” Gallus said, going for the scorpion again. Shots rang out even as Amores leaped from crate to crate, at one point drawing back her bow. An arrow came screaming towards Gallus, and he just narrowly rolled out of the way in time. He attached the GG-02 Salamander, and pressed the trigger. A grenade boomed out of the barrel, and Amores fired off another arrow. An explosion, and a cloud of smoke filled the room. Gallus was blinded for a few moments, and before he could get the G3’s infrared vision online… He was struck from the side, Amores doing a spin, her bow transforming to a combat staff mode. Amores struck him in the side, before dealing a swift upper-cut. Her staff spun in her hands like a whirlwind, striking Gallus in the knees and bringing him to the floor. “You need room to improve,” Amores said. Gallus’ faceplate retracted long enough for him to grin at her in wiley fashion. “Do I?” he asked, and the faceplate snapped back into place, before Amores found herself on the ground. Gallus had struck faster than she could react and had righted himself, Amores readying herself for round two. She struck, and Gallus raised his arms to block her blow. He kicked her in the chest, and Sweetie stumbled backwards. Gallus lunged forwards, a fist aimed squarely at her face, before Sweetie flipped sideways in mid-air and was soon atop of Gallus. With a wrestling maneuver, she threw him to the ground in a hold. Her legs were locked around him, but Gallus was calm. Sweetie couldn’t figure out why. Then he pressed a button on one of the suit’s legs, and a gas was sprayed into her face. Coughing and wheezing, Sweetie let the suit’s filters get to work. But they weren’t fast enough, and Gallus grabbed her by the shoulder. Before he could do anything however, Sweetie kicked him in the shin. Gallus stumbled back, but quickly regained his footing. Sweetie spun her staff and aimed to strike him in the chest. Gallus reacted, forcing his knee upwards and Sweetie found herself watching her staff fly up into the air and out of her hands. Gallus flicked his wrist, and a modified version of the old GA-04 Anthares popped out. He fired, and the hook attached itself to Sweetie. Gallus wrenched her forwards, but a karate chop cut the wire. Sweetie threw her hand upwards, and her staff landed back in her hands, changing to bow mode. Gallus went for his scorpion as Sweetie fired, both weapons having their shots meet head on several times. Sweetie ran forwards, before going into a slide, with the bow string drawn back. Gallus leaped upwards and grabbed the light above him, just as a bolo attempted to ensnare him. He jumped to another crate, and leaped off with the unicorn combat knife in hand. Sweetie blocked every swing with her staff, before knocking him away with a kick to the chest. She swung her staff wide, and Gallus ducked to avoid the strike. Forcing himself into a roll, Sweetie would have been knocked off her feet had she not reacted. And react she did, leaping to the left. They drew their weapons, and aimed. Once more, shots were knocked out of the air, and both progressed back to melee combat. Sweetie, with her staff and Gallus with the unicorn knife. Every time one was poised to strike, the blow was blocked. Every single time. Sweetie, at one point, wrenched Gallus’ arm behind his back and shoved him forwards. Gallus caught Sweetie’s punch, before drawing back a fist of his own. Sweetie twisted Gallus’ wrist, and punched hard. The twin cracks echoed throughout the room, both combatant’s faceplates shattering. “And… and to think this is just a simple sparring match!” Sweetie panted out before canceling out her transformation. Gallus removed his helmet, tossing it aside. The helmet clattered to the floor. “Okay, I think it’s safe to say Gallus can handle himself,” Fleur said her face considerably pale. “Point… uh, proven I suppose?” Gallus could only smile awkwardly and wave nervously, before sliding up against a crate in exhaustion. Sweetie was soon to follow. “Yeah, I think you’ll do just fine,” she decided. “Yeah, just fine.” 00000 “Okay, so the man’s up to the task,” Fleur said. “But I’m still not sure about the suit.” She was in an office with the General. Truth be told, Agent Shadow’s words had still stuck with her. The truth was, the suit was out of date, and had barely managed against the Lords. Sure, there had been a few improvements here and there, but not enough to make Fleur comfortable with sending Gallus out in the field. “I dunno, the suit seemed to do fairly well against your best agent,” McAllister said. “Your best Rider.” The slight against Agent Shadow hadn’t gone unnoticed. Fleur wasn’t happy. Tempest’s mistake was all too human, she was just trying to protect her family. Nobody could fault her for that one. “If I may, sir,” Fleur said cautiously. “You’re being a bit harsh. Agent Shadow…” “Is a liability who you should cut loose,” McAllister snapped. “Her temper makes her a dangerous wild card. She shot someone in cold blood. Now, I don’t know about you but that worries me.” “The host was a psychopath!” Fleur shouted. “He threatened her family! Ask yourself, would you do no different? Hell, out there in Iraq and Pakistan and all those countries? You’re no better. Your hands are hardly clean yourself. You’re just as dirty as she is.” “Maybe, but I only do what I have to,” McAllister replied simply. “I’m a soldier, I just do my job and nothing more. What your Agent Shadow did was murder, plain and simple. Yes, maybe she thought she was cleaning up the world, but was it necessary? Her job was done, the monster had been defeated. We don’t need a real life Punisher going out and dispensing justice. Playing judge, jury, and executioner. That is for the courts to decide, not one woman with power and a chip on her shoulder! Will that be all Agent De Lis?” “No, that will not be all,” Fleur said, having worked herself up into a fury, her French blood ablaze with a passion. “Right now, if you send Gallus out there with only Sweetie for backup he’s going to get himself killed. Do you or do you not understand? The Lords nearly destroyed G3 several times had Agito not arrived. The man inside it may be up to the task… but the suit? But the suit, it’s going to get him killed the moment he attempts fighting an agent of the Order!” Honestly, she didn’t like McAllister barging his way into base as he did. Secretly, she suspected Fancy thought the same. They could handle the Order without military interference. McAllister was just someone thinking he knew everything there was to fighting monsters he actually knew nothing about. She wanted to toss him off base, actually. The Order was their speciality, not the US Government’s. SMILE knew how to fight the Order, not them. “So what would you have me do huh?” McAllister asked. “Stand by and let you make a bigger mess than you have already? You’ve been acting without restraint for far too long. I don’t want to be your enemy, I want to be your friend. Don’t make me into your enemy, I’d really rather we work together on this. We both want the same thing Agent De Lis, the Order in the ground. Please keep that in mind.” “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help.” -Ronald Reagan.” Fleur De Lis said. “Please keep that in mind.” 00000 Vignette Valencia, former reporter and now disgrace. Nobody would ever take her seriously as a reporter now, -assuming they ever did- and she knew it. Arrested! Arrested! What did she do wrong? The public had a right to the truth! They had a right to know who their Riders, their heroes really were! She just did the proper thing and gave them what they wanted. So why did they hate her so? Why did she have to rot in a cell? She was Canterlot’s darling! She’d given them the biggest story of the year, but no, it seems they didn’t want it! Ungrateful, that’s what they were! Truly, they were! They should have been grateful for her little expose! “Lunchtime,” one of the guards said as he placed the tray of plain looking food and water on the slot in her cell for sliding things over to her. Vignette nearly retched. That wasn’t food, that looked like something pulled out of a toxic waste disposal unit. It barely even qualified as edible! “Um… mister guard sir… I-I think there’s been a mistake here… That’s not food.” “It's food, I don’t know what you were expecting, a five star meal?” The guard said. “You’re going to have to live with it.” “Live with… live with it?” Vignette shrieked gesturing to the food. “This stuff looks like it could kill me!” The guard just waved her off and walked off, grumbling something about maybe then he wouldn’t have to put up with her whining anymore. She heard the door opening and shutting with a loud slam as the guard left. “Bastard…” Vignette muttered, taking a deep breath as she looked at the food. “One for the money, two for the show and three for hoping this stuff doesn’t give me a heart attack.” She took a small bite out of the food, holding back the bile in her throat threatening to rise. Good god, was this what she’d been allocated to? Forced to eat crap like this? Footsteps again, Vignette looked up. “Oh, back to humiliate me some mo…” Her breath caught in her throat. Standing there was a man dressed in a black coat with a hat pulled down over his face and leaning on a cane. “How the mighty have fallen,” he said in a calm voice with a smile barely visible. “You’re… you’re one of them aren’t you?” Vignette whispered. “Like, you’re one of the Order!” “I am, and I am here to offer you a deal. You want revenge on the people who locked you away here, I can give that to you,” he said as he placed his hand in his pocket and took out a card. “All you have to do is work for us.” “One question, just one question,” Vignette said, eyeing the card. “One question before I get my new powers.” “Go ahead…” the agent said with a tired air. “Do I get to write my expose?” Vignette asked. “I think the public deserves to know who all of their heroes are…” “Oh, why of course,” the man said as he leaned on his cane a moment. “You are free to do whatever expose you want.” “There’s a but coming, isn't there?” Vignette said. “There’s always a catch. I didn’t get to be where I am now by being stupid.” Oh, the irony. The agent had to just resist commenting on that. “No tricks, take this deal and you will learn everything you need to know,” the man said as he held the card out to her. “You will know all you need to know in order to expose the Riders for who they are.” Vignette smiled in glee, a mad sort of smile that gave even the agent pause. She took the card from his hands, and said: “Gladly!” Vignette felt the power envelop her, and she closed her eyes, before clenching her fist. Her eyes shot open before she punched right through the wall in an explosion of blue light. “Newsflash, tonight there’s going to be a jailbreak! Reporter Vignette Valencia on the scene and covering it as it happens!” Guards ran up even as the now transformed Vignette stepped out of the ruined wall, the agent taking this as his cue to leave and fading into the shadows. Vignette was now a solid gold, her face frozen in a permanent expression of serenity. Three swords were strapped to her hip. Bullets bounced off of her, and Vignette raised her hand, a cutlass forming in it. “Oh, now well that won’t do at all! You really need to learn how to treat a lady! You’re getting punished for that.” The three swords flew out and impaled the officers, then they shot back into their scabbards. “Much better,” Vignette said serenely before patting her blades. “Oh, mommy does love her new toys.” She continued her way through the jail, cutting down anyone who stood in her way. She looked at a security camera, and then at a guard. Holding up the body, she said: “See this one here Justice? This is the last survivor. He’ll live… but only if you come to me, sit down like a nice girl and have an interview with me. Full transparency and all. No more secrets. The people deserve to know really.” With that she punched the camera’s lights out. 00000 “That was taken just a few short hours ago,” Fancy said as he paused the video. Massaging his temples, he muttered: “...just when I thought we were through with her…” McAllister was in the room with him, along with Fleur and Sweetie. “And now she knows who Kamen Rider Justice really is based on your reports,” McAllister commented as he looked at the video for a moment. “I thought every precaution was taken in the holding cells. How did he waltz in there?” “He’s the Devil,” Sweetie commented, getting a look from the General. “We’re still compiling information on him honestly, but everything points to him being the Devil. Likely he’s the most powerful member of the Order on Earth, we didn’t account for that possibility.” “I see, well this is a breach of security, I want this Valencia tracked down before she can further compromise our operations,” McAllister said. “Agent Drops, you and Corporal Gallus will take point on this. I want all our satellites scanning for the Order’s activity.” “Sir, Corporal Gallus is a capable fighter, but he’s never fought an Agent before,” Sweetie Drops pointed out. “We’re going to need more…” “That was an order, Agent Drops,” McAllister interrupted. “Once we know where she went, then we’ll intercept her. The Corporal is going to have to get field experience with the G3 suit, this is the perfect opportunity to do so.” Fancy sighed and Fleur was soon to follow. “You mean to tell me he’s never been out in the field with the G3?” Fancy asked his tone one of anger. “I thought Gallus was already experienced in using the suit!” “He coulda fooled me honestly,” Sweetie said. “He seemed to know what he was doing, considering he was kicking my ass.” “Yes, well, simulations…” McAllister started. “Simulations are nothing compared to actual field experience,” Fancy frowned. “There are so many variables that a simulation just can’t account for. Plus, Fleur mentioned to me that Gallus said the suit was a bit sluggish compared to your simulations. That says to me your simulations aren’t perfect.” “Exactly when would he get field experience? The only monsters on American soil are the Order,” McAlister pointed out. “But we are confident in the Corporal’s abilities and your techs will take a look at the suit before he goes into the field.” Fancy conceded his point. All the same though, he wondered if the General really knew what he was doing. He knew McAlister, he was a good man yes, but blind to certain things. Arrogant even, one might say. His heart was in the right place, but Fancy did have to wonder… “I agree that simulations are no replacement for actual combat experience, but Corporal Gallus has served his country in the past, it’s why he was selected for the program,” McAllister continued. “I have the utmost faith in his ability as a soldier.” “They wouldn’t put someone who’s green in the suit sir,” Sweetie agreed. “McAllister’s got a point, where would you even simulate a fight against an actual agent of the Order?” Another member of SMILE ran into the room. “Sir, we’ve found her.” McAllister smiled. “Grab Gallus, tell him to grab the suit.” 00000 “Oh Justice…” Vignette said. “Where are you? Come on, you wouldn’t keep a girl waiting would you?” A light shone through the window, with the sound of a helicopter outside. The guard, tied up in his chair shielded his eyes. “Huh, and hear I thought she was going to just burst in on her bike…” Vignette muttered. “I was hoping she’d make an interesting entrance at least. Oh well, time to greet tomorrow’s front page news.” She walked out and her eyes widened slightly. Above the warehouse parking lot hovered this massive VTOL craft, the side door opening with a hiss. Gallus stood holding a briefcase, as the craft turned so that it’s front lights shone directly down on Vignette. “Vignette Valencia,” Gallus stated through a loudspeaker. “You’ve conspired against the United States government with the Order of the High Arcana. You’re to be placed back in custody and returned to your cell. Surrender or we will be forced to take more extreme measures.” “I’m offended, really,” Vignette said. “You couldn’t be bothered to grant my one request? MY ONE REQUEST? It was a simple enough matter really, AND YOU COULDN’T EVEN BOTHER TO GET THAT RIGHT?” “We don’t negotiate with terrorists, because make no mistake that’s what you are now,” Gallus said. “We just bring them down.” “And how do you plan to do that?” Vignette said as Gallus leaped down from the craft, still with briefcase in hand. “Oh, oh. Don’t tell me, you’ve got a suit of your own stashed away in there!” “Actually…” Gallus said as he placed the briefcase down, kicking it open before he stuck his hands inside. With a mechanical whirring sound, he pulled out what looked to be a chest plate, and shoved it onto himself. More armor plates expanded outwards, and rapidly began to cover his whole body. “Well, now that you mention it…” He raised his scorpion pistol and reloaded it’s magazine. His faceplate clicked into place as the final piece. The suit’s optics pulsed a bright red. “Kamen Rider Generation 3, heading out.” “Alright then, Iron Man,” Vignette said, drawing her cutlass. “Thrill me.” “Keep those weapons trained,” Gallus said to the pilot, “Keep them on standby, when I give the word… pump her full of lead.” “Yes sir,” the pilot said with a nod. “Good luck.” Vignette grinned as she pointed her cutlass at Gallus. “Well, if you’re such a hotshot, I suppose I could use a little bit of a warm-up. Come on, show me what you’ve got!” “Gladly,” Gallus said, firing off several rounds from the scorpion, and Vignette stumbled. Gallus kept up the fire, reloading as necessary. He did a spin kick, kicking some dirt into Vignette’s face before slamming his elbow into her face, before slamming a boot onto her foot. Tossing her behind him with one swift motion, he was surprised to see Vignette recover so quickly. “My turn,” she said with a grin as she pointed her cutlass at him again. The three swords flew out of their scabbards and slashed at Gallus quickly. “Do you really think that some guns are going to be enough to stop me?” “Well, there’s that old saying of never bringing a sword to a gunfight…” Gallus muttered, shooting the swords out of the air. “Point proven, I think.” Vignette just punched him in the face, before flipping and managing to hit him in the chin with her foot. She flicked her wrist, and the swords came rocketing back at Gallus. The Rider’s eyes widened under his helmet. He rolled to the left, and equipped the salamander. He pressed the trigger, and Vignette was sent flying back by the explosion of a grenade. “Okay… maybe you’re better than I expected,” she said as she stood back up. Despite being hit with the explosion she looks mostly unharmed. She pulled her hand back and the three swords pulled back to her, hovering in mid-air around her. “But I’m not going to let you beat me! Not until I have my story!” She pointed forward and the three swords came together and glowed with energy before rushing forward at Gallus. Gallus fired the salamander again, shattering the swords. He pressed the trigger again, and Vignette slid backwards using her cutless to stop herself. She growled as she gripped her cutlass and stared Gallus down. “You want to play it like that? Fine, then I’m going to stop holding back,” she said as she lifted her cutlass again and the swords reformed in their scabbards. “You’re going to regret this, Rider.” “Oh please, don’t make me laugh,” Gallus said, spraying some gas from his suit. Vignette coughed and gasped for air, only for Gallus to lunge out of the smoke with the destroyer blade at the ready. He slashed at her several times, the blade vibrating at such a high frequency that it would rip open armor and slash through skin. At least… that was the theory. In practice, not so much as after several slashes, the vibrating blade actually broke clean in half. “Did you really think it was going to be so simple?” Valencia said with a laugh as she kicked hard at Gallus in the chest. “Your suit is nowhere near as strong as the other Riders the Order has fought and it isn’t geared towards fighting us. You don’t stand a chance at all.” “Us?” Gallus asked, rolling to the left, and firing the anthares. Pulling Vignette forward with the cable, he elbowed her in the face several times making her stagger. Disconnecting the grappling cable, he knocked her to the ground with a leg sweep. “Listen to yourself, you’re giving yourself over more and more to the Order!” “I don’t care, not as long as it gets everything done,” Vignette stated, righting herself and slashing Gallus across the chest. He cried out in pain and Vignette closed her advantage, scoring several more slashes. “You’re a traitor to your own kind!” Gallus said. “Surely no story is worth this!” “Justice’s is!” Vignette screamed, before she was blown backwards by an explosion. Atop a rooftop sat Amores, bow drawn back. Gallus waved his hand, and Vignette was forced onto the run by the VTOL’s cannons. One SMILE agent rushed into the warehouse to rescue Vignette’s captive, while Amores and G3 gave chase. Into the nearby woods they ran, under cover of night. “I told you you should’ve taken point,” Lyra’s voice echoed in Sweetie Drops’ mind. “You saw how much damage she took.” “I know… I know…” Sweetie Drops said as she looked around for any sign of Valencia before tapping her helmet’s communications system. “Do you see anything, Corporal?” “Zilch, geez for a woman covered in gold you’d think that… LOOK OUT!” Gallus shouted as three swords sliced through the air. He pulled Sweetie out of the way even as the blades circled back around to their owner, Vignette directing them like a conductor would her orchestria. “Well, well, you’d think a couple of Riders would be better prepared than this,” Valencia laughed as she directed her swords once more towards them, the two just barely managing to get out of the way. “So, are you going to actually get Justice here, or do I have to knock you around a few more times?” “She’s not needed to beat your sorry ass,” Sweetie said. “Besides, she has more important things to worry about.” “What could possibly be more important than me?” Valencia said as she stomped her feet and finally pressed the sword blades against their necks. “Now, it seems I have your attention.” “Yeah, sure,” Gallus said, whipping out the scorpion and shooting Vignette in the leg. She lost her focus, and the blades dropped as Vignette cried out in pain. “You’ll pay for that…” she hissed as she knelt down, grabbing her leg. “I will kill you both!” “Tell it to the judge,” Sweetie said as she and Gallus rebounded off trees, Vignette recovering and slicing at the air, before they kicked her into the dirt, boots meeting face. Vignette rolled, and slammed her feet into both of their faceplates before flipping back onto her feet. She flicked her wrist, and her blades rocketed towards the two Riders. Both rolled to the left, and fired their weapons at Vignette keeping her off balance. Sweetie rushed forwards, spinning her bow and slicing into Vignette’s skin. She changed it to combat staff form and delivered a few good solid blows. Changing it back to bow form, she sent Vignette flying through a tree with an explosive arrow. “Well, you’re in trouble I see,” a voice said from the forest as Granforca came out of the forest, cracking his knuckles as he’s joined by Caesar. “Lucky for you we’re here to help you out.” Caesar grabbed Valencia as he eyed the two Riders and drew his sword. “Get out of here, we’ll handle these Riders,” he said as he pointed his sword at Gallus. “That equipment might look impressive, but you’re fighting our Agent who is still getting used to their new form. You won’t stand a chance against us.” “Perhaps,” Gallus admitted as the trees began to blow like they were under the force of a hurricane. “But I have something you don’t.” “Oh, and what’s that?” Caesar asked. “A lot more guns than you.” Heavy gunfire riddled the two agents, as Gallus shared a nod with Sweetie and they leaped up into the VTOL. “Another time then…” Granforca growled. “Another time.” 00000 “General, it was a good test but the G3 suit isn’t equipped to actually defeat an Order Agent,” Fancy Pants commented as he watched the footage from the battle. “While Gallus was capable of damaging her, that’s about it really. And this is when she’s not nearly as strong as she could be, the Agent is just going to get stronger.” “Agreed, although it looks like Gallus is well up to the task of defeating Vignette given if not for the damage output he might have taken her down,” McAllister said. “His coordination with Agent Drops was impressive.” “I don’t think it’ll be that simple, but yes their coordination was impressive,” Fleur sighed. “This isn’t a problem that can be solved by just throwing more bullets at it. We have to be careful and our Riders are better equipped for the job as well.” “Better equipped you say?” McAllister asked. “So all you’re saying is Gallus is just lagging behind?” “I’m saying that the reason that the Tarot Riders are successful is because they draw on the energy from the same source as the Order,” Fleur sighed. “It’s why they are so effective in fighting them. The G3 suit doesn’t have that same edge.” “Rest assured, I can fix that…” McAllister said before reaching for his phone and dialing a number. “...Yes, can you put Takahiro Omuro on the line? I’d like to request a favor, we need a bit of an equipment upgrade…”