//------------------------------//
// Golden Drive Arc 2: How Do I Keep Banno In Check? 
// Story: A Golden Drive Through Equestria 
// by Psyga315 
//------------------------------//

Applejack and I waited in the hospital’s emergency room, though for different reasons. By the time the ambulance got here, Applejack’s grandmother went under and we feared the worst. I was there mainly for moral support, as Big Mac was busy taking care of Apple Bloom. However, there was another reason. True to what Applejack said, she arranged for the police to escort me out once we got word on her grandma’s condition.

I looked over to see the officer that’d be taking me in. He seemed to be an old man, somewhere in his sixties, possibly seventies, with gray greased back hair. Over his police uniform was a dirty, ragged sheepskin jacket. I noted the blue skin. All these colored skins made me think I’m in Springfield, or at least a variant of it. Looking at him, though, I felt some sense of security. In a way, he reminds me of Jun, the Chief of the Special Crimes Division in Kamen Rider Drive. Maybe it’s because I just wanted him to break out a phone and show us our fortunes.

Banno, surprisingly enough, chose to be silent for the next few hours instead of gloating like he’d usually do. Guess it’s because he doesn’t want unwanted attention when it’s pretty clear he has limited power. … Limited… I thought back to the fight and how Gold Drive was depowered in under a few minutes. Then I thought further back to his defeat. Banno, reduced to a snivelling coward begging for his own son not to kill him and how he utterly failed. I remembered as he was smashed into tiny pieces.

I wasn’t sure if this Banno was the Banno I saw get destroyed, or how he managed to survive if he did. Maybe those guys on the image boards were right and he used that girl he healed as a backup drive. … Remind me to never let him digitize people as a safety precaution. Perhaps the depowering was a result of said destruction. Before I could dwell further on the subject, the doctor stepped out. 

“It’s a miracle, I gotta admit.” He muttered.

“Huh?” Applejack asked.

“She was shot in the arm at a close range. Any other time, this would most surely be fatal or otherwise critical for someone her age, but for some reason, her body didn’t quite react fast enough to the wound and so we were able to extract the bullet and patch her up before it got worse.” He said.

“So you mean…” Applejack asked.

“Yes. Your grandmother is going to be fine. She’ll be out of the hospital before Monday.” He said. Applejack smiled.

“Oh Thank God…” Applejack began to shed some tears as she quickly wiped them away. As the doctor left, Applejack calmed down and gave me an intense stare. “I’m startin’ to think I know how Granny managed to survive. That… thing those robots did. Where we couldn’t move at all?” She said.

“Look, I don’t know anything about-” I said before Applejack stomped her foot.

“BULLCRAP! You know something about them, didn’t ya? I saw it in your eyes when they came over! And what about that gold dude? Awfully convenient for him to appear soon after ya left.” She said. She didn’t have to hear me stammer to know that she had caught me, as I felt myself sweat.

“Well… It is convenient…” She just glared at me.

“With that same belt?” Applejack said. I backed up and began to stammer. Damn, she got me with the one thing that most of us Rider fans considered a plot hole in Drive. That’s when the police officer got up.

“Hey, I think it’s time for us to go. I mean, this was the condition, right? You stay until you hear word of Granny’s status?” He asked.

“Y-yeah.” I said.

“We’ll take it from here, young lady.” He turned his head to Applejack. “If we find out anything about these… robots… You will be the first to know.” He got up and walked off, taking me with him. I turned back and I saw her shoot a dirty look to me. I sighed as the cop took me away to the police station.



I sat at the interrogation room with the officer in front of me. In between us were a plate of donuts. The place was awfully silent. Though that was before he spoke up.

“Wanna know a little secret?” He asked me. I shrugged, though part of me felt like this secret was going to be big. Especially since he leaned in. Intrigued at what the secret could be, I leaned in too as he whispered. “We tend to put these donuts out, not for us, but for the perp.” He said. I pulled away and rolled my eyes. “Hey! It’s an honored tradition! This is how we test their guilt.” He said. I sighed as I took a donut. “See? You’re not guilty. If you were, you’d hesitate.” 

“Well, only because you told me.” I bit into the donut. For once, I ignored everything that happened around me as I just let the donut enter my mouth. I pressed my tongue up to press the chocolate against the roof of my mouth. I smeared it against the roof before I swallowed the rest. I then proceeded to lick the rest of the chocolate in my mouth… 

But why the hell did it taste like a juniper berry? As I continued to lick, I tasted more of the chocolate. That’s when I realized I wasn’t tasting juniper, I was smelling it. I looked to the old man and realized a pungent fragrance from him. It smelt like Axe, but with quite a dash of, as I said, juniper. I shrugged off the smell to continue my conversation. “So why? Why did you tell me?” I asked.

“Because I knew you were guilty when you were talking to that girl. I know a liar when he gets caught, and I know when someone has a lot to hide. And you have something to hide, don’t you?” He asked me. I nodded. I looked to him.

“Yes. I do. Before we begin… I wanna just have you do something. You might find it strange, but trust me, it’s important.” I cleared my throat and spoke up. “Say Roidmude.” I said. I waited for his response. If he were to ever mess up the pronunciation, then I might have some idea of what’s going on in the police department.

“… Roidmude.” And with that, that idea was shattered. I sigh in relief, knowing that is not a possibility. “Now, do you mind telling me why I had to say that silly word?” He asked.

“I was just making sure.” I said. That’s when he raised an eyebrow.

“Wait… Are they the robots that girl was talking about?” He said. Crap. I didn’t realize he could turn the question around until it was too late. However, before I was forced to answer, someone came into the room.

“Hey there.” He said. He had spiked up dark blue hair and was wearing a police uniform as well. His skin was also blue. He looked to the old cop and crossed his arms. “Wind Rider, I’ll admit, it’s cute, but you can’t be doing this anymore. You retired, remember?” He said.

“Oh! Soarin’, I was just buttering her up for you.” He chuckled as he got off his chair.

“Wind Rider, I know you were trying to interrogate her.” Soarin’ simply glared to him, his eyebrows weren’t furled like an angry person would, but rather just a simple annoyed look.

“I…” Wind Rider sighed. “Alright, fine.” He walked off, but not before he turned around and glared at Soarin’. Okay, now that was an angry glare. One so angry, it shattered any sense of protection I had from him. The idea of him being akin to Jun was long gone. Wind Rider left as Soarin’ looked to me, not even knowing that Wind Rider shot a glare.

“Alright, now that he’s gone, I have some questions to ask you.” Soarin’ said.

“… Sure, fire them away.” I said.

“Well, for one…” He took out a folder and showed me a picture. It was me in in a lab coat, not unlike Ryoma Sengoku’s… In fact, I was dressed exactly like Ryoma, complete with the silver highlight, but the only difference is that the person had a more muscular face, telling thanks to his Adam’s Apple and a stubble on his square jaw, and, as I had guessed, differently colored skin. This time the skin was silver. He slammed his hands on the table and looked to me with shimmering eyes. “Are you the famous Professor Silverbolt?” 

“W-what!?” I asked.

“You look like him! I’ve seen your show. You know, Popular Science for Kids?” He asked me. 

“… You do realize I’m a girl, right? And… you know…” I pinched my arm to show him my flesh colored flesh. 

“Yeah! But in one of your experiments, you’ve proven that both a sex change potion and a skin change potion could work! You must have disguised yourself after your grand trip!” He said.

“Grand… Look, I’m sure you’re mistaken. I’m not this… Silverbolt guy. My name is Kelly Randell, I’m about five years younger than this guy, and I am a girl!” I pressed my hands up against the table and glared to him.

“… S… So you’re not Professor Silverbolt?” Soarin’ frowned and I retracted back to my seat. I myself frowned. I looked at the picture of Silverbolt. Seemed it was a missing poster, though there didn't seem to be anything indicating a reward. 

“No. She is.” A tall woman with pink skin entered the room. She had multicolored hair. Part of it was sea green, another part was pink, and part of it was sky blue. She wore a yellow business coat with a purple shirt and purple pants and had a sun-styled badge on pinned her coat. “It was a weird trip she had. She must have used those potions to get out of a jam or something.” She said.

“Oh hey, Principal Celestia! Long time no see!” Soarin’ got up and his frown turned upside down.

“Soarin’, I see you’re still as handsome as ever. I remembered when you graduated from my school.” Celestia smiled as she pinched Soarin’s cheek. I retched and turned away.

“H-hey… Not in front of the perp…” Soarin’ said.

“Right. Sorry.” Celestia stood straight and looked to him. “So, any ideas of what to do?” Celestia asked.

“Well, I’m not sure. Another cop, one who wasn’t even on duty, took the notes of what happened to her.” Soarin’ said.

“Look,” I interjected, “long story short, I need protection. Gangsters are after me because I have something they want.” I said.

“Oh, why didn’t you say so in the first place!?” Soarin’ said. He reached his arm over to me and grabbed me. “Alright! You’re comin’ with me. I’ll put you on Soarin’s signature 24/7 Witness Protection Program!” Soarin’ said.

“… Um… Is it too late to ask for Wind Rider?” I sadly learned firsthand why it’d be hard to trust the quirky heroes.

“Sadly yes.” Soarin’ said. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.” He said. Celestia stepped forward.

“Before you haul her off, I’d like a word with her.” Celestia said.

“Sure thing! Anything for my favorite Principal!” Soarin’ left the interrogation room as Celestia sat. The two of us stared at each other before I sighed.

“I’m not-” I tried to speak, but Celestia spoke up.

“Silverbolt. I know. Everyone knows that the potions he used in the show were just props. However, he was a brilliant scientist. Perhaps the smartest person to ever teach at Crystal Prep. What I find weird is that he disappeared one day, and then a month or so later, someone who looks like him appears.” Celestia said.

“Well, do you want the truth that you’ll probably put me in a padded cell for or do you want me to be as vague as hell?” I asked.

“Vague will do. I don’t want to know every detail.” She said. I took a moment to breathe before I talked.

“I’m not Silverbolt. I’m just dressed like him. One minute, I’m at… home, the next, I wake up in a barn house and was told that some guys wanted me for something. I can’t explain the rest without making it sound unbelievable.” I said. Celestia leaned forward and rested her head on her clasped hands. I backed my seat away as she let her pinkies hang and cross each other as she hid her mouth.

“Alright. That’s all I needed to hear. Tell you what: I’m in need of a professor at my school. If you could agree to pretend that you’re Professor Silverbolt, I’ll help protect you from these people.” Celestia said.

“How can you be so sure of that? I’m sure that Soarin’ would be able to protect-” I asked, though Celestia interjected.

“You have some doubts with him. I can tell. And if your story is what you claim it to be, you won’t be seeing any shelter anytime soon. Luckily for you, I can fix that.” Celestia sat back. “My school’s library doubles as a temporary housing unit for people like you who are without a home. We had a student come to our school with no prior transcripts. She just… appeared out of the blue. I simply let her in, because I feel like everyone needs a home. I feel like you need one too.” Celestia got up and put a paper slip on the table. “Think about it, okay?” She walked away as Soarin’ popped back in.

“Alright! Ready to begin the protection of your life!?” Soarin’ asked.

“… Sure.” I muttered.





The drive to Soarin’s house consisted on nothing but gushing about how awesome Silverbolt was. Every now and then, he’d bring up a super cool feat he’d pull, or something he’d invent.

“Oh! And then there was that time you made some slime for that awesome Game Show! You know, Whoops?” He said.

“Uh… Yeah! Who could ever forget… Whoops…” I said.

“Yeah! You made some pretty cool observations about the slime, like how you could make it be like quicksand if you make a pool out of it, or how it’s pretty much Play-Doh but… well… slimy!” He said.

“Yeah…” I figured that the best way to go about this was to just say yeah a lot.

“Oh! Could you take me on a tour of your place when you have the chance? I wanna see your newest inventions for myself!” He said.

“… Probably?” Crap. I don’t even know where Silverbolt’s place is. How would I be able to find it? I’ll have to do some research when I’m alone. Luckily, before I even got to answer, Soarin’s car pulled into a simple one-story house.

“Well, here we are! Welcome to your protection!” Soarin’ said. As we got out of the car, I could hear a loud electric guitar playing in the garage. I bobbed my head a bit to the music as Soarin’ tapped onto the garage door. “Hey! Guess who’s comin’ over to stay for a little while!” Soarin’ said. The door slowly crawled up as I saw the person who was playing the guitar.

He had spiky blue hair, much like Soarin’, but it was more of an electrical blue. His skin was pretty normal colored compared to most of the others. He had a black leather shirt with a red and white stripe streaking across his jacket. He had a white shirt. On it was a blue shield and a yellow lightning bolt. Other than him wearing jeans, that’s all I noted of him. He took off the guitar and looked to me. 

“Huh? Who’s this?” He asked.

“Son, this is Professor Jetstorm Silverbolt. He is perhaps one of the smartest scientists around!” … Did Soarin’ just compare a comic relief character in a science show for kids to someone akin to Albert Einstein? Come to think of it, Celestia also brought that comparison up... I massaged the temples of my head as his son stepped forward and offered me his hand.

“Hey, name’s Flash.” He said. After taking some close consideration, I shook his hand. My urge to quote the famous Queen song, but thankfully I resisted. 

“I’m gonna get your room set up, alright? Flash, I’m gonna make dinner soon so you might head inside.” Soarin’ said.

“Alright, pops.” Flash and Soarin’ got into the house through the garage door. I sighed and sat on the folding chair that Flash was sitting on before.

“So, you thought 001 was active?” I jumped as Banno spoke. For a while, I actually forgot my waist had a mad scientist on it.

“Woah!” I replied back.

“Heh heh… I caught you by surprise, it seems. You should be thankful I didn’t speak up during that interrogation.” Banno said.

“Well… I was wondering why you weren’t talking.” I began to breathe.

“I had the same suspicion you did and thought that 001 was also manipulating the police's memory. However, I knew that wasn't the case. If it was, Roidmudes everywhere would have rushed in the moment you were in that interrogation room. I’m not exactly sure which of the Roidmudes are active, who’s leading them, and if they are doing the same things they were doing before.” Banno said.

“Before… So they were destroyed before… You were destroyed before.” I said.

“Yes. But now we live again!” Banno let out a loud laugh before I muffled the face of the belt.

“Shush! So how… how are you guys back?” I asked.

“Well, it should be obvious. Someone repaired us.” Banno said.

“But you guys were obliterated! There’d be no way for you to come back!” I said.

“It’s something that makes even me curious. Whoever brought us back from utter destruction is someone who is more brilliant at science than I am. Someone I envy…” Banno growled. The door opened as Soarin’ entered.

“Well, dinner’s ready! Come on in!” Soarin’ said. Banno muted himself again as I walked into the room.





Dinner passed smoothly. Ironic considering how much of it was spent with me cast in the shadow of a supposedly wonderful scientist. Soarin’ introduced me to my room in the attic. As I entered, I began to sneeze at the dust that had flown around.

“Oh! Whoops! I gotta clear the air!” Soarin’ opened a window as the dust flew off into the night’s breeze. “There we go! Couldn’t let Professor Silverbolt sneeze himself to death, can we?” Soarin’ asked. I remained silent. I had picked up the routine enough to know that every time he brings up a bizarre scientific detail, he’d- “You know, like you showed that one time in Popular Science?” bring up an episode of Popular Science. To which I respond with:

“Oh! Yeah. I remember. Last I checked, that was for people with allergens to dust, right?” Some of the ‘science’ introduced in the show had some accurate truths.

“Oh no! You showed how sneezing could actually kill in that one experiment where you used powdered fire!” Some of the science introduced in that show it seemed.

“… Yeah.” How the hell does someone akin to Bill Nye the Science Guy wind up doing these special effects and pass them off as science? And how many people like Soarin’ eat this crap up? Powder that you could apparently incinerate yourself with if you sneeze it? A potion that could change the pigment colors of skin I might buy, but most of this seems… crazy.

“Well, see you tomorrow! Oh! And if you have a new crazy idea, feel free to invent it!” Soarin’ walked off. Does he even realize he’s supposed to protect me? I probably shouldn’t be going Urkel when I have killer robotic body snatchers that could stop time out for my blood. I sighed and got to my window. I looked over at the starry sky. 

“This protection’s not going to last forever, you know. They’ll keep coming.” Banno said.

“… I know.” I said.

“So you’d also know the only thing that could stop them, right?” Banno asked. I bit my lip. As far as I know, I’m the only Rider in this town. Even if there’s a slight chance that there’s another Rider, my bond to Banno might make teaming up with them hard. Especially if those Riders were Shinnosuke and Gou. However, as I looked to the Driver, I remembered just what Banno said.

“Humanity will cower before my feet! Oppressors will fall before my might!” I can’t let that happen. I just can’t.

“I’ll find another way. I won’t transform. Even if I could die, I’d rather let that happen then let you take the wheel again.” I said.

“Ah, I’ve seen you’re committed to this. Are you prepared to face the consequences then?” Banno asked.

“Like I said. If I am to die, I’ll accept it.” I said.

“Heheheh. There’s a difference between saying you’ll die and going through with it. Trust me, you’ll feel it. Besides… I’m not talking about your fate. Think closely about all this, or you may regret it.” This was all Banno said before he shut himself off. As I looked at the Driver, I began to think of just how little I know about the place I’m in and just how little protection I have.

I needed to know more about this place, and I realized that there was only one way to do so, and it wasn’t staying over at a fanboy’s house. I took out a slip of paper from my pants pocket and read the number. With my phone out, I dialed the number and let it ring a few times before it clicked.

“Hello, Celestia? I think I’ll take that job offer.” I told her.





The school bell rang as I walked through the halls. Most of the students turned a blind eye to me as I straightened up my tie and read the directions towards my classroom. It was a simple enough deal. Teach kids basic science, live in library away from fanboy cop. Simple as pie. 

“So, how shall we demonstrate the difference between alternating currents and direct currents? I was considering purchasing a cattle prod and teaching the students first hand.” Banno spoke up. I muffled the belt with the ends of my jacket.

“No! We’re not using the students as test subjects!” I said to him.

“You’re just like Krim. All work and no fun.” Banno muttered. I rushed to the class room to avoid any suspicion. Luckily for me, the only student in the class when I walked in was a girl with gray skin, long light blonde hair and… Were her eyes screwed up? Questions for later. She didn’t seem to pay too much attention to me outside of a wave of her hand, so I had time to button up my shirt to hide the Banno Driver before the rest of the students rushed in.

I wasn’t expecting the workload to be around fifty students, and I had to double check the attendance list to see just how many were gonna be in this class. And that’s when I nearly broke down at the names. At first, I just passed off names like Applejack and Big Mac as nothing more than cute. Then I read more of their names.

First there was Rainbow Dash. A simple scan of the room helped me find who this student might be. A female with long rainbow colored hair with blue skin, who raced to the end of the room and hopped over her desk. Next was Pinkie Pie. I just scoped across the room and spotted a pink colored girl to associate the name. Frankly, the names turned into a cute little game. Rarity? Well, find the person that looks elegant as hell. Fluttershy? Gee, I wonder who that girl hiding her gaze behind her long pink hair is named. 

Flas- Oh crap. I looked and saw Flash Sentry over at the front row and right next to him, Applejack. I gulped as Flash waved to me while Applejack just looked at me. No glare, no smile, just a stare. As I looked at the names and slowly spiraled into insanity with the simplistic names that no actual person would have, I heard an oomph and looked up as I saw a girl in a black leather jacket fall over. As she got up, I noticed how her hair was a mixture of red and yellow and her skin being of an orange color.

Reading the list, I notice two names, Sunny Glenway and Sunset Shimmer. Well, red, yellow, and orange seemed to be like the setting sun, so ‘Sunset Shimmer’ it is. She turned around to me and frowned.

“Teacher! Applejack tripped me!” I noticed as she was right next to Applejack, who turned her head towards both me and Sunset. My heart raced as I focused between addressing the situation and just beginning the class like nothing happened. When a few silent seconds passed, she spoke up again. “On purpose!” 

“Did not!” Applejack screamed.

“Did too!” Sunset replied. My hands trembled as I fumbled between the attendance and a piece of chalk that I was going to use to write my name… or rather Silverbolt’s name.

CRUNCH. 

That sound. That delightful sound of a student crunching into a large jar of candy was enough to help divert the situation.

“You!” I pointed to him as I tried to pull off an elegant teacher’s voice. I walked over to the student and noticed how comically overweight the person is. And bald. And… familiar. I hesitated a bit before I breathed in and took the jar from him. “You will have this at the end of the school day.” God was my attempt at a British accent horrid. However, as I held the cylinder container containing popcorn, marshmallows, and other assorted snacks, the student barked out a “hey!” and strutted his head forward. 

As I looked down at his jar, he looked down at my waist. As I was looking down, I saw that part of my jacket was still undone and a soft yellow glow coming from a chrome black belt could be seen. The moment I realized he was looking at Banno was the moment I recognized him. “Oooooon second thought…” I said and handed him back the jar. “Why don’t you just… put it away when I do the lectures, okay?” I sheepishly said as I backed away from him. He looked daggers at me with a chuckle. 

“Students! Back to your seats!” I shouted as I hurried back to my desk.

“B-but…” Sunset tried to protest. 

“No buts! SIT!” I screeched. Any students who were busy being distracted, including Sunset and the fat man, stopped and looked at me. Sunset Shimmer quickly went to her seat without any fuss. I breathed in. “Good… Now, my name is Professor Silverbolt…” I went over to the chalkboard and wrote out the name. “And I have been reassigned to here from Crystal Prep because…” I struggled to think of an idea. Well, time to go for the simple one.

“Because I realized just how much better Canterlot High is, am I right?” I said. A majority of the students cheered and laughed. Well, save for three; the fat man, Sunset, and Applejack. 





The rest of the class was simple. All I had to do was recite what I learned in my high school science class and bam, I just finished an hour of class. Perhaps one day I’ll let the TV be the teacher and show them an old episode of Bill Nye… Or whatever show they had on.

However, as I walked down the hall, Banno and I had to talk to each other about what I saw.

“That was a Roidmude. The fat guy’s a Roidmude.” I muttered.

“I figured as such. So, how will you handle this? Oh, right. I believe it involved being a dumb martyr.”  Banno said. 

“I didn’t expect a Roidmude to infiltrate the school, aright?” I said.

“If you thought a Roidmude infiltrated the police force, then chances are they might have also set up operations elsewhere too. During my time in their captivity, I’ve learned just how many of them used their copy’s job and identity to set up their schemes.” Banno said. 

“… True. Should have expected they’d pull tha-” And that’s when Applejack slammed her hand against the locker and looked to me.

“Alright, sugar cube, you tell me what’s goin’ on right now!” Applejack said.

“Wah!” I jumped back. Great, now I have to deal with her.

“Who were you talkin’ to?” Applejack asked.

“Uh… someone over Bluetooth.” Applejack only furled her eyebrows.

“Really?” She tapped on the driver’s LCD display as Banno grunted. “I can see the belt’s face.” 

“Stop poking me! Do you know who I am?!” Banno said. Applejack just shot up a look at me.

“See? You have something to hide, don’t you?” Applejack said.

“I… Yes… No?” I stammered. That’s when Banno began to speak.

“I am the glorious Professor Banno! I’m not something to be poked!” Banno said.

“Oh hey, the toy talks.” Applejack said. She knelt over and viewed him at eye level.

“T-Toy!?” 

“Those robots, what were they?” Applejack asked. Banno coughed a bit before he answered.

“They are the Roidmudes, my inv-” I began to muffle him.

“Y-yeah! They’re Roidmudes, and they’re deadly people that you have to avoid at all costs… eheh…” I chuckled.

“Well, ya seem to be doin’ a piss poor job at that.” Applejack pointed to behind me. I turned around and saw a Spider-type Roidmude behind us as students began to panic and run off. I heard more panicking on the other side of the hall as I turned to see a Cobra-type Roidmude coming to us as well.

“Look what we have here!” I turned again to see the fat man walk to us with his jar. “That little girl and her belt!” He said.

“Applejack, get away from here as fast as you can.” I muttered.

“No way! I’m not goin’ anywhere until I hear some answers!” She said.

“Idiot! Do you know what they can do?” I said.

“I know! I saw what they did to Granny!” Applejack said.

“You’ll get your explanation in due time, this isn’t something to gamble your life over!” I said as the Roidmudes closed in.

“This is going to be fun!” The fat man chuckled as he set down his jar. With a loud scream, he transformed into a stone monster: The Crush Roidmude. The three of them activated the Slowdown particles, freezing almost everyone in their place, Applejack included. The three Roidmudes then rushed to me as I punched the Spider-type in the face, followed closely by a roundhouse kick to the Cobra-type. When the Crush Roidmude ran to me, I ran up the lockers, bounced off of them, and kicked the Roidmude in the face. As I landed, I looked at my hands.

“Holy crap! How did I do that?” I muttered. The two minor Roidmudes ran and grabbed me as the Crush Roidmude got his hammer hands ready.

“Well, that was fun. Time to die!” He began to swing both of them towards me. My heart pounded. I closed my eyes as my legs began to kick up, using the Roidmude’s rocky body as a support for myself to spring back. As I did a back flip, the two hammers hit the two Roidmudes instead. Not enough to crush them, but enough to bonk them together and let go of me. I landed on top of the Crush Roidmude and jumped off. I ran, grabbing Applejack’s arm to take her with me.

“No! She’s getting away!” Crush said. I could hear playful bonks as the Roidmudes bickered about what transpired.





The thing I began to notice about the Slowdowns is that they do act in a radius. By the time me and Applejack got to the cafeteria, she was able to move her arms and legs like normal. I set her down as I sat down too. I breathed heavily as Applejack moved over next to me.

“So, anything else about these… Steroidos?” Applejack asked.

“Look, you’re on a need to know basis!” I snapped at her, though Applejack just snapped back.

“Well, I guess I need to know now that those very monsters that hurt my Granny are stalking the schoolyard!” She said. I stayed silent. She got me there.

“As I was saying before I was rudely quieted, the Roidmudes are my invention.” Banno said.

“Oh, and did you add the part where they become killer robots?” She asked the belt.

“Well, by adding, you mean adding in the negative emotions of humankind to the point where they become misanthropic of the species and vow to wipe them off the face of the Earth… Then yes. I did.” Banno said. I pulled my hair out. Damn it, Banno! Why do you always have to dig your own grave?! 

“And Professor Silverbolt, is she in on this too?” She asked.

“No. She and I have entered a rather… unwilling partnership long after my invention.” Banno said.

“Well, you’re right about that.” I muttered.

“So, how’s trying to die for a pointless cause working out for you?” Banno asked.

“…” I had to think back to when I was almost a pancake. Had it not been for my sudden rush, I would have died right there. I shook and blinked. With each blink, I noticed my eyes getting wetter and wetter.

“After a near-death experience like that, will you reconsider the whole ‘not transforming’ thing?” Banno asked. I shook my head.

“I… can’t…” I muttered.

“Transforming? What the hay is he on about?” Applejack asked.

“Well, allow me to spell it out for you.” Banno said as I could feel the Slowdown particles shake my body briefly. Applejack resumed being frozen. The previous few times this happened to her, I could hear her screaming. Now, while the groan could be heard as a shriek, there was no doubt that she was getting upset at this. Luckily, we were just a while away from a janitor’s closet. I picked her up and hurriedly went into the closet. As I closed the door, I heard the Crush Roidmude talk with his minions.

“Scour the area! Leave no stone unturned!” He said. “In other words… do what we usually do!” With that, I heard several smashes.

“BANZAAAAI!!!” I heard several gunshots and various walls getting blown apart. By the time the screams got to me, I had to peak outside. The cafeteria was now in ruins as debris from the roof had come down. I saw most of the debris falling in slow motion onto the panicked students trying to run away from it. I scanned the area and noticed at least two of the students weren’t so lucky and had their legs caught in some of the rubble. All while the Roidmudes roamed around and destroyed all in their path.

“Hey… What’s going on?” Applejack asked me. I began to stammer as Banno spoke up.

“Ah, such destruction, such chaos. I’m a bit sad that I didn’t give them enough credit.” Banno laughed. I shut the door and tried to muffle him again. His laughter stopped. “But do you see now? If you don’t transform, people will get hurt. People will die.” Banno said.

“…” As I saw the chaos and carnage unfold, all I could think of was how it was similar to the Global Freeze, an event in which all 108 Roidmudes stopped time across a fourth of the world and relentlessly murdered people left and right.

“Right now, you’re the only one who can do this. Like it or not, you will fight. Not because I say so, but because your martyr complex says so. Blood shall be on your hands, Kelly. Will you live with that guilt?” He asked me. I looked to my hands. As soon as I heard the sound of a crying girl, I gripped my hand. I looked to Applejack. Although she was frozen, I could see the wavering in her pupils that she was scared.

“... No. I won’t.” I said.

“Exactly what I needed to hear. Start my engine!” He said. I ran out of the closet and towards the Crush Roidmude. 

“HEY!” I shouted to the Roidmude. He turned around and slammed his hands together.

“Alright! Now it’s a fight!” He said.

“Indeed it is. HENSHIN!” I said as I turned the Advance Ignition.

“Henshin…” Banno said as my body changed into Gold Drive’s form. As the armor snapped on, I felt my body go numb as Banno took over. Banno leaped over onto an intact table and kicked Crush in the face. While he reeled back slightly, Crush was ready for a counter attack and slammed his hand on the table. As the table broke, Banno was launched into the air. He spun in the air a few times before he hit the ground. As the Crush Roidmude closed in, he threw a punch.

BANG!

Metal clanged against solid rock. Banno could see that his fist hadn’t even made a dent in the Roidmude’s armor.

“Is that the best you can do, Banno?” He said as he readied his hammers for the final blow. Banno smirked as he turned his Advance Ignition. The circuitry on his body flared up and expelled a pulse of red and yellow light as he held up his hand. A blue-blade sword with a steering wheel attached to it flew to him. As he grabbed it, I felt my hand tingle a bit. That’s when I noticed a bright, white light. 

I noticed that, from inside the helmet, the blood-red visor had now shifted to a more neutral white color, almost like Drive’s visor. Seemed I wasn’t the only one who noticed it.

“W-What happened?” Banno said. It took a moment for me to notice the sword I was holding weighed me down. As the Crush Roidmude swung, I realized that I was back in control of my body and I turned the steering wheel part of the sword.

“TURN!” 

I spun around and slashed the Roidmude, knocking him away. I flexed my muscles.

“Man, it’s good to be behind the wheel.” I said. I took a moment to look at the weapon I got. The Steering Sword. I wasn’t surprised that Banno was able to summon it due to an ability known as Gold Conversion, something I actually wanted to try myself. I turned on the Advance Ignition as I heard the vrooming of three cars. This actually threw me off.

Gold Conversion was known to steal the weapons that Drive and his team uses… However, while he was able to also steal the Shift Cars, said team managed to fix them and ensure they didn’t get stolen. How was I able to summon them, then? Banno said himself that the battle between him and Drive ensued, and so the Shift Cars wouldn’t have been able to be summoned.

I recalled how Banno mentioned a scientist managed to bring him and the Roidmudes back… I would have wondered if they also managed to uncoat the Shift Cars, but that’s when I felt my body go numb and I saw the visor go red again as Banno took one of the Shift Cars, a green spiky car. He placed it onto his Shift Brace as yellow lightning sparked all over the car. One of the Roidmudes ran for Banno, but he punched the Roidmude in the gut. I briefly saw his fist generate a golden aura of spikes before it impaled the Roidmude. As it stumbled back, he swiped another Shift Car, a purple one.

He held up his right hand and created a golden lance, only for it to change into a goldish-purple shuriken. He threw it at the Roidmude as it bisected him for a short moment before he exploded. His Core, 060, hovered a bit before it exploded. Banno looked to the rubble and saw a couple of people trapped underneath them.

“Let me guess, you want me to save them, right?” Banno asked.

“Yeah!” I said.

“Hmm… I think I have an idea of what’s going on. Here, let’s test this out.” Banno turned on the Advance Ignition. As Funky Spike and Midnight Shadow flew away, three more Shift Cars came. The red visor turned white again as I could feel my arms and legs. As if it was a soft ball being tossed to me, I tossed the Steering Sword away, grabbed the three Shift Cars and looked at them. A fire truck, a police car, and an ambulance.

“I knew it. Every time we activate Gold Conversion, we switch spots.” Banno said. I ran over to the rubble and swung my arm. I relied on the strength Gold Drive’s original host, a Cobra-type, known for their superhuman strength, to knock the debris away. Sure enough, I was able to do so easily. The debris flew at a fast speed from my punch, only to slow down once it was a few inches away from me. I placed the Mad Doctor Shift Car into the brace. The circuit wheel flared up as I placed my right hand on the student’s broken leg as a golden light bathed it. When the light died, the student slowly got up. I ran and did the same for the other student. As a Roidmude caught up to me, I replaced Mad Doctor with Justice Hunter. I turned around and fired a large golden energy ball that soon turned into a cage to trap the Roidmude in.

That’s when I could feel my body start to change back. I could hear the systems shutting down. No! It can’t end like this! We need to destroy the other Roidmudes! However, I noticed that our time transformed was much longer, by about two minutes.

Two minutes… That’s when I developed a theory of my own.

“Take the wheel.” I said as I turned on the Advance Ignition. Mad Doctor and Justice Hunter flew off and a red hand gun with a door fused to it came into my hands. My body went numb as the shutting down noise stopped. Banno came back on and fired at the Roidmude. He opened up the door and closed it in a second.

“CHARGE!” 

With no time to waste, he slotted an orange car onto a hole made within the gun and aimed. 

“THE FINISHER! MAX FLARE! FULL THROTTLE!” He fired a blast of hot fire towards the Roidmude. He was knocked away and exploded. Leaving its Core, 074, to roast in the flames and explode. He turned to the Crush Roidmude.

“You got some nerve killin’ my bros like that!” Crush said.

“And you got some nerve trying to hunt me down like a dog. I won’t forgive you for that! And I have the feeling my host feels the same way. Take the wheel and take him out!” Banno turned the Advance Ignition as the Steering Sword flew to me. I grabbed it and slotted the last Shift Car, Fire Braver, into the Shift Loading Panel located on the sword. I turned the steering wheel three times before I swung my sword.

“TURN! TURN! U-TURN! THE FINISHER! FIRE BRAVER! FULL THROTTLE!” 

As I did, the golden energy overlapped my sword, creating the aura of an extension ladder with a metal claw at the end of it. I spun around multiple times as the ladder grabbed Crush. The metal hand squeezed onto the Roidmude and cracked his stone armor. As it tossed him, I stopped spinning and held up the Door Gun. With a pull of a trigger, I fired a large flaming beam to the Roidmude.

“I’M TOAST!!!” He screamed as he exploded. His core flew downwards as I fired at it next, destroying it instantly. As I sighed in relief, I heard people chattering as time resumed.

“Look at him!”

“What is he?”

“A superhero in our midst?” Banno chuckled and held out his arms.

“You may call me Gold Drive!” He said. I could hear the shutting down noise again. I realized what it meant and I ran out of the cafeteria. 





As I got as far from the school as I could, my transformation cancelled and I was back to myself. 

“I knew it.” I muttered.

“Knew what?” Banno asked.

“Our time as Gold Drive seems to have been limited. I’m not sure yet if it’s because of any programming glitch or if it’s intended. I might have to guess the former due to your ability to last longer in…” I caught myself before I said show. I wasn’t sure how he’d react if I told him that I saw him on a TV show and that’s how I managed to know about the Roidmudes.

“Yes. I think it’s due to that. I was practically smashed into tiny pieces. There’d be no way I could be repaired properly after that.” Banno said.

“There’s a silver lining, Banno. When we use Gold Conversion, we reset the time allotted and fight for an extended period of time.” I said.

“And that’s where the problem lies. When I copied Krim’s data for construction of the Gold Driver, I think I cribbed some of his data regarding Type Tridoron. Couple that with the fact that I never used my Driver’s transformation program on a conscious creature, and I have ended up with a bug that I haven’t fixed.” Banno said.

“Our ability to switch.” I said.

“And sadly, it’s tied to our Gold Conversion. And that’s our problem: In order to extend the time of us being Gold Drive and utilize our arsenal to the best of our ability, we have to constantly switch.” Banno said.

“I… don’t see it as a problem. We can work on it, but if we manage to perfect it, I think we can turn this glitch into our greatest tool.” I said. I rubbed my head and massaged it. How the hell did I manage to become so smart now?

“And how would we do that?” Banno asked.

“I have an idea.” I said. I walked away from the school.

“So. Gold Drive, eh, sugar cube?” Applejack’s voice freaked me out as I jumped and fell onto the floor. I turned around as Applejack stomped on my leg. “Anything else you’re hidin’ from me, or is turnin’ into some masked ne’er-do-well the last detail?” Applejack said.

“No, Gold Drive is all that was left to discuss.” Banno said. Applejack took her foot off my leg.

“Good. Since I’m on a need-to-know basis, any additional detail you have or ‘conveniently’ remember, I’ll be the first to know, got it?” Applejack handed me a slip containing her number. “Oh, and if it helps, let the belt do the talkin’. He’s a lot more honest than you’ll ever be, sugar cube.” With that, she walked off.

“W-we’re not going to seriously let her know everything, right?” I asked Banno.

“To be frank, I don’t see the point in keeping secrets, and that girl seems pretty unsusceptible to deception. Our choices are simple, we kill her and have our secrets die with her.” Banno said.

“No! Not in a million years!” I said.

“Or we could piecemeal her bits of the truth, twist it to our liking, and lure her with half-truths. It’s not deception, since we are telling her the truth.” Banno said.

“…” I looked as Applejack walked away. From how far she was right now, it seemed that she didn’t hear a single thing me and Banno spoke about. However, I had to admit. He’s right. Eventually she’s gonna get herself involved into the Roidmude conflict, and when that happens, she’s going to need all the information she could get.





“That’s the sixth Roidmude this week, sir.” An old man with short, curly white hair spoke to a man with a goatee. The two were in the latter’s office in the middle of the night. Standing in between the latter’s desk were two of his henchmen, both dressed in white tuxedos as well.

“That Banno bastard…” The goatee man in a white tuxedo and a red shirt slammed his hands on the table. “He’s gonna kill us all over again!” 

“You think it’s time to bring him in?” An African American man wearing a cowboy outfit leaned back against the wall, his left leg pressed against it and arms crossed.

“Yeah… Yeah! Let him handle the mess! Hang on…” The mob boss pulled out a drawer from his desk and took out a small silver necklace. On the necklace was the emblem of a rose flower. He pressed it up to his lips and whispered:

“Thus kindly I scatter.”

A gust of wind broke through in the office as the cowboy held his hat and the scientist’s lab coat bellowed in the wind. The gang leader sat in his chair and smirked as a flurry of rose petals scattered about and summoned the person he wanted:

A boy cross-dressed as a character from a popular web show holding a red mechanical scythe. The two henchmen screamed and averted their eyes from them, giving out cries of “Grim Reaper!”

“Greetings, Grim Reaper.” The leader said to him. The boy simply looked to the person.

“Who’s my target this time?” Ross asked.