Tonight was the first night I spent away from Soarin’s house. I discussed with him about leaving, and to my surprise, he seemed pretty chill with it. You’d think if your own idol is leaving your house after you invited them to stay, you’d go pretty psychotic and force them to stay. I was worried that he’d force me to stay at his place after what happened with Crush earlier in the day.
However, when I brought the situation up to him, he said something about his superior telling him to overlook it. It didn’t feel right to me that he, or anyone for that matter, would over look something as major as “I’m gonna sleep in the place that a robot attack happened at.” Thankfully, the library provided a good place to test out the newly attained abilities of the Gold Drive system and allow me to take my mind off these concerns.
I stared at the table where it contained a collection of all the Shift Cars, Signal Bikes, and even weapons I was able to summon with Gold Conversion. Well… almost all of them. For some reason, Lupin’s stuff and the Shift Fruits Car were unable to be summoned. Also, the cars belonging to the future Drive, the Next Shift Cars, were absent, but I disregarded them due to… well… being from the future. I sat there and constantly took pictures of the collection. If there was ever a chance I could go back home, I am so posting this on my Facebook.
There were reasons for collecting them beyond testing the extent of the Gold Conversion. I always had a lingering thought in my head that if Banno and the Roidmudes are here, chances are that one of the other Riders might be here too. For a precaution, I used the Gold Conversion to summon the Shift Cars, including the ones that change types. If on some chance the other riders are here, they’re definitely gonna be looking for the Shift Cars.
I’ll admit, this seems like a villainous thing to do, hold the Shift Cars hostage and see if anyone shows up, but I’m not exactly sure where anyone is. The only Roidmudes I managed to fight so far are ones I bump into or were actively looking for Banno. Chances are, I’ll lure the other Riders by the latter method. Now what to say to them once they find me and the Shift Cars?
“Oh hey, sorry for kidnapping your cars, I just wanted you to come here so I can talk to you! Oh, don’t mind the evil black-colored belt with the face of your sworn enemy on it, please?” I shudder to imagine what’d happen if Gou of all Riders was the one to find me. Chase might be one to understand me, though I’m not sure how Shinnosuke would handle it with Krim.
I’m not even sure if they would even be there. I wonder if there were other people like me who bought whatever toy that Zoloto douche had for sale and got teleported here. Maybe they are the Mach, Drive or Chaser I’ll come across. I had multiple ideas of just who or what would also be in this world. So I decided to put the Shift Cars in one place for safe keeping. There was, however, a third reason I summoned them.
“Alright Banno, it’s show time. Henshin.” I turned on the ignition key and transformed into Gold Drive. Banno turned around and looked ahead. He saw that the library had been arrayed where walking in a straight line would be impossible. Bookshelves had been rotated, books had been piled on, and even the tables acted as make shift hurdles for him to overcome. He broke off into a stride. The first obstacle in his path was a table. He simply slid under the table. Turning the key, he summoned the Dimension Cab as I took over.
I quickly plug the cab into the brace and flung a portal in front of the bookshelf that was in my way. I jumped through and came out on the other side. I continued to run. I leaped over a small pile of books as I turned the key in mid-air. Fire Braver came to me as Banno tagged in. Taking out the cab and putting in the truck, he created a golden energy ladder-arm to vault himself over a larger pile of books and launched himself up onto the second floor of the library. Banno took a moment to breathe. We cleared my portion of the obstacle course. Now it was his.
He turned the key as Midnight Shadow came to me. I grabbed it and in no time, I heard the sound of a tennis ball shooter humming as its familiar PFOOT PFOOT PFOOT sound rang out. I tossed several energy shurikens towards the balls, each of them puncturing the balls. I bobbed and weaved through the hail of tennis balls as I continued to attack them with my shurikens. I turned the key. For this course, Banno encouraged me to use my imagination for which Shift Car to use to stop the ball machine.
I chose one as it rolled over to Banno. He grabbed it and inspected the road roller.
“Rolling Gravity?” He asked. He chuckled and placed it into the Shift Brace. He created a golden version of the 10-Ton Weight and lobbed it towards the machine. As it dropped, it created a small bubble where the balls were slowed and began to drop to the ground. Banno ran over and shut off the machine, which was also slowly hovering. He counted down as he turned the key.
Another Shift Car and the Door Gun came to my hands. As I began to control my body, a stream of fire came blasting at my face. I took the Shift Car that he summoned and placed it into the gun with almost no idea of what it is I got. To my relief, the gun shot an arctic breeze that stopped the fire and froze both the lighter and the aerosol can that caused it. I yanked them off their strings for good measure. I turned the key as Hooking Wrecker came to me. Banno grabbed it and activated it. He created an energy hook to lasso himself off from the second floor and right onto the final portion of the obstacle course.
Before him was a table. On the table was a bunch of broccoli. He stood and looked at it. He tapped his foot and tapped his finger onto his wrist. He became idle for a moment before the transformation cancelled.
“What the hell is this!?” Banno asked me. I picked up the broccoli.
“The final portion of the test! You just had to pick up the broccoli!” I said.
“What kind of test is that!? We were doing so well on the previous obstacles!” Banno said.
“Yeah! They required us to use Shift Cars to fit the situation. However, there’ll be times where we won’t be able to use Shift Cars and we won’t have time to discuss our battle plan. We just have to learn to trust each other’s instincts and know what we want without communicating them.” I said.
“Mmmph… You make a good point. Anyways, I think we should clean up before that teacher gets here.” Banno said. I checked the time. 7:00 AM. Usually by this time, the teachers would have come to the school already, especially the one Banno’s talking about. I checked the doors. They don’t seem to be open, and no one seemed to be walking towards them. Highly strange considering the teacher works the library like she’s the librarian of the place.
“Y-yeah. We should.” I said. I transformed back as we hurried to clean the library. Having the ability to slow down time around you made doing chores a breeze.
Once we were done cleaning up, Celestia called me over to her office. No doubt she wanted to know about the disaster that happened yesterday, especially when I saw Soarin’ and an officer I didn’t recognize in her office as well. I opened the door.
“You asked for me, Principal?” I asked her.
“Yes. I’ve called the police on a very important matter. One I have taken heavy concerns over.” Welp, game over, man, game over. I look to Soarin’ as he gave me a sheepish smile. I gulped as the other cop, a yellow skinned woman with orange hair that was spiked up to resemble a burning fire, took out a folder and laid it on Celestia’s table. She opened up the folder and I sighed as it was not of the destroyed cafeteria, but rather of a pink-skinned woman with purplish pink hair. The librarian.
“Celestia has filed a missing persons report on one Cheerilee, a teacher here at this school.” She said.
“If you’re going to ask me where I was, I was-” I tried to explain, but Soarin’ held his hand up.
“Discussing about moving out. I filled Spitfire in on the details.” He said.
“Don’t worry. You’re not here for questioning.” Celestia said. “She was meant to take the kids of her art class out on a field trip to the art museum to see the newest sculpture exhibit that just opened. With her absence, I was considering asking you to sub for her.”
“W-what!? Me? But I just became a teacher yesterday!” I stuttered.
“I know. Your experience is like that of a substitute’s. You’ll fit in fine.” Celestia said.
“But who will substitute me?” I asked. Celestia simply smiled.
“I asked my sister Luna to handle that.” Celestia said. I looked at Celestia’s sun-styled pin and I almost had half a mind to face palm as I realize just what her sister’s name would entail. It’s sad that ‘Luna’ is the most sensible name and it still somehow fitted into a theme of sorts. “Your class is waiting for you out in the parking lot.” She said.
“Well, guess I better get going…” As I turned around, that’s when Spitfire spoke up.
“There is something else I wish to discuss. Another missing person. A student of yours by the name of Sunny Glenway.” I turn to look as Spitfire held a photograph of a bald man. The very same bald man I killed yesterday. I backed up into a wall as I saw it. “Care to tell me what happened with him? Or what the deal was with the damage in the cafeteria?” Spitfire asked.
“Well… I…” I closed my eyes. I almost expected Banno to bail me out. That’s when I heard the door open. Suddenly, Spitfire’s tone of voice changed.
“C-chief!” I opened my eyes.
“Spitfire, don’t pester the professor with your interrogations. She has little to no involvement in the incident yesterday. Besides, I’m personally looking into the reports. I thought I told you and Soarin’ this when we first heard about the cafeteria incident.” He said.
“W-well, you know how Spitfire is… She’s pushy and determined to know the truth… and…” Soarin’ leaned in to whisper to the chief. “She never smiles.” That’s when he got elbowed in the back.
“I heard that!” Spitfire said. The chief sighed.
“Spitfire, I know how much you want to get to the bottom of this, but rest assured, I’ll find this out myself. I don’t need you or any member of the force getting into something you may not comprehend. I already had to excuse Wind Rider the other day.” He said. That’s when I had a gnawing sense of doubt in my head.
“Of course, my apologies, Mr. Tachibana.” Boom. As soon as she said that, my head snapped to see the chief. He was around fifty or so years old, balding, seemed to have let himself go despite the cleaned up police uniform, and the shocking part of it all: his skin color was normal. Tachibana looked to me with a grin while I just stood there, my bottom jaw shivering and just close to chattering with the upper jaw.
Tachibana stepped out of the way to allow Soarin’ and Spitfire out. I look to Celestia as she just smiled and waved. I stepped out as Tachibana followed me. When we were far away from the others and alone, I stopped and got ready to turn the ignition.
“Alright, let’s get down to business, Judge. Hen-” I said.
“Relax. I’m not here for Banno or you.” Tachibana said. I stopped.
“You’re not?” I asked. I turned around as he shook his head.
“I’m merely here to clean up the mess that Crush made. Some Roidmudes are more… fussier than others. What we do is based around subtlety, and we can’t have that when they turn an entire school upside down.” He said.
“… Why are you really here? You’re outing yourself and expect me to just accept that you’re corrupting the cops?” I look to him. I remembered this vigilante Roidmude, hunting down and killing criminals to lure out another criminal to fulfill his template’s desire for revenge. The mere idea of him taking a similar role to 001 and corrupting the officials from the inside was enough to churn my stomach.
“Well, I noticed how involved you are with one of my officers.” Tachibana said.
“Rest assured, I moved out of his house. I now have little to do with him.” I said. Tachibana just smiled and nodded.
“Good. Stay out of my way, and I’ll stay out of yours.” Tachibana said. He walked away. As he did, I asked him.
“Miss Cheerilee… her disappearance wouldn’t have anything to do with the Roidmudes, right?” I asked. Tachibana chuckled.
“Why don’t you find out for yourself?” He said. I was now left with what I could possibly consider a clue. ‘Find out for myself.’ I shuddered as I thought to myself of the fact that I’m going to an art museum. If that was meant to confirm that, yes, Roidmudes are there, then I know exactly who I’m gonna confront.
“010?” Banno asked as we were on the bus. The loud motor followed by chattering students muffled our communication, which made our discussion much easier to convey.
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure he has something to do with Cheerilee’s disappearance.” I said.
“It’s a little odd of you to pick out a specific Roidmude out of the 108. Then again, given your past assumptions, I cease to be surprised.” Banno said. At that moment, I gulped. I knew where he was going to go with this. “Your assumption of 001 corrupting the police coupled with your shockingly accurate guesses of which Roidmude is which has me a bit suspicious of your knowledge. Not to mention the fact that you also know of our demise.” Banno said.
“… If you want an explanation, I’m not sure if the one I’ll give will make sense.” I said. How does one say to another: “Oh, yeah, I saw you on TV and I remembered how your son murdered you with an axe!”? Fortunately, the bus was close to arriving at the museum.
“I’m not going to probe you for details just yet. Besides, you already have one person on your back for that.” Banno said. That’s when I remembered Applejack. I pulled out my phone and looked at the numbers. Among all the friends and family I have, I also had Applejack’s number, though I simply named her Jack, in case I ever get back to my world. Banno’s right about that. I know so much about the Roidmudes and Applejack just put herself on a first-to-know basis. I took out the phone and texted her:
‘Cheerilee’s disappearance is no coincidence. It’s a Roidmude plot. Will text more details later.’
Once that was done, the bus stopped and everyone rushed off the bus, save for one. Now, when I say she was white, I don’t mean in a racial way, like she’s Caucasian. I mean that she was literally white. Like, white as a sheet white. She had purple hair that curled out and I just knew from her posture that she’d have some sort of posh lady accent.
“Professor Silverbolt…” Called it. “Thank you again for taking us in Cheerilee’s stead.” Remembering the ‘game’ I played, I knew she was Rarity.
“No problem, Rarity. Anything for my newest favorite school in the state.” I said with a sheepish smile as I buttoned up my coat to hide Banno. I got off the bus along with my class. There, a man with glasses greeted me. The human-skin color now made me suspicious. So far the only human-skinned people were Roidmudes who didn’t bother to get a new body. However, the problem was that I couldn’t pin down what Roidmude he might be. Yes, he had glasses, but I would have known that he was Brain, one of the commanders of the Roidmudes, if I saw him with his handkerchief and had lighter brown hair. This guy lacked either of those. I shrugged it off. Maybe he’s an exception to the technicolored humans in this town.
“Welcome! We’ve been expecting you, Canterlot High! My name is Michelangelo Jones. You must be here for my newly opened statue exhibit, yes?” He asked.
“Y-yes.” I said. Well, his name isn’t Japanese like Tachibana’s, but his name sounded… too normal. For once, I thanked the cute quirk of everyone having weird names, since now it seems that the only normal names are the ones I should be afraid of.
“Right this way!” He said. He walked into the museum as the rest of the students and I followed. As we entered the museum, I took a look at much of the paintings. None of them, absolutely none of them were of elegant women. Strange. If Paint was involved, he would have littered the place with-
My eyes stopped to one painting. It was a painting of a white deer with golden antlers grazing in the middle of a dark forest. I felt drawn to the painting. I walked over and looked at it closely. I didn’t understand why I was so lured by a simple painting of a Bambi-reject. I looked at the background on the far left corner. It was a simple red dot. Why would the artist put a single red dot amidst the greens? I squinted my eyes. Seemed a bit of peach was mixed in with the greens as it surrounded the dot… almost like a face.
“Ah! You like it?” A voice broke my concentration. Next to me was a guy, around the students’ age, in a brown sweatshirt and khaki pants. He also wore glasses and had normal brown skin. “The painting’s called ‘King of the Forest’. There’s actually a whole story behind the painting, if you’re interested in hearing about it.” He said. I shook my head.
“Oh, thanks but I think I’m good.” I said. He simply nodded.
“Okay. I understand.” He then took my hand and smiled. He leaned into my ear and whispered: “Please, enjoy your stay…” His voice resonated in my head as I felt a tad woozy. The person then walked over to the girls and continued his greeting, starting with Rarity. Before I could lean in for a closer listen, Michelangelo went up to me.
“Ah, you’ve met Trenderhoof, I see.” He said. Trenderhoof… Aright, normal enough name for this place. He’s off the hook.
“Yeah.” I said.
“He’s such an amazing artist with his words. I’m proud for him to be my student.” He said.
“With his words… You mean a writer?” I asked him.
“Yes. But the way he writes, he paints with his words.” He holds his hand up towards the girls. “See, look how easily swayed the girls are! Only a passionate artist would be able to have that much sweet talking.” He said. As I looked at Trenderhoof clasping Rarity’s hand with his own, I felt a chill go down my spine. Especially once he leaned in and whispered to Rarity. “Though, personally, I wish for them to marvel at my handiwork.” With that, he took his leave as the girls smiled. I raised my eyebrow at how there seems to be only females in Cheerilee’s class, or at the very least, a majority.
The two left as I breathed in. There was a lot for me to soak up. I clapped my hands.
“So, who wants lunch?” I said.
I think the first indicator that this is not my world, outside of everyone having technicolor flesh, was when, despite McDonald’s having a huge influence in fast foods, to the point where you couldn’t go an hour on the highway without encountering at least one by a truck stop, the closest thing I could find to a McDonald’s in the cafeteria was a clone called McGoofy’s.
Kamen Riders seem to be no stranger to parallel universes. I never watched the show, but apparently there was one Kamen Rider show that dealt exclusively to parallel universes. I only knew the bare minimum of it because of a crossover he had with the first Rider I actually watched, Double.
Other than it being a piece of crap according to Kamen Rider fans passing themselves off as critics, that’s all I know about that rider. Maybe if I had seen the show, I probably would have a better idea of the situation I was in with Banno and this world. As I thought about it, I stared at my alternate universe version of a Big Mac.
Big Mac… I remembered Applejack’s oddly named brother. The thought of Applejack got me back to the phone. She hadn’t responded. Of course, she’s probably in class. I decided to text her the rest of the info.
‘I have reason to believe that a Roidmude is at the museum and that he’s converting women into paintings. I can handle it on my own.’ I stopped texting. I remembered how, when the police were hot on Roidmude 010’s trail, he stashed the paintings in a far off warehouse. If I flub up, chances are he’ll do it again with Cheerilee and possibly any others he had converted into paintings. I took a bite into my Big Mac and continued the text.
‘I might need back up. Namely transportation… if you have.’ I shouldn’t be asking my students for favors like this. Especially since I felt like I could put them in mortal danger. I’m not Fourze, damn it! I’m a mad scientist wearing a mad scientist as a belt! However, I didn’t want to risk losing to the Roidmudes just because I lacked a big fancy car to help he chase them down like the Tridoron, Drive’s vehicle.
As I hit send, I could hear Rarity chatter about finding her prince charming.
Oh God.
“He was so dreamy! Oh, he was so romantic… he made my heart flutter.” Rarity said. I could hear similar talk from the other girls. Ugh, one of the many things I hate about high school: girls gushing over boys.
“Gag me with a spoon.” I muttered. Rarity turned to me.
“What was that?” She asked. I rolled my eyes.
“Look, Rarity, I know you have this puppy love thing goin’ on and everything, but I’m pretty sure that Trenderhoof guy’s just some hipster playboy. Next thing you know, he’ll have the hots for a hick.” I said. Rarity looked to me with a dirty glare not unlike Applejack’s.
“How dare you say that about Trenderhoof? He’s the handsomest man I have ever seen!” Rarity slammed her hands on the table.
“You just met him today. For a minute. It’s like you want to marry him or something.” I said.
“I do!” Rarity said. I resisted every urge to bash my head against the table, since I fear I’d get burger juice and sesame seeds all over my forehead on accident.
“Rarity, do you honestly believe that fairy tale bull?” I said. “There’s more to love than just the cliché love at first sight. There’s dates, there’s getting parents’ approval, financial problems… I swear, if the crap you spout about love at first sight was true, there’d be a lot less divorce rates.” Rarity looked away.
“Well, you just don’t know what love is like. He is to me what Prince Blueblood is to Princess Platinum!” She said.
“The who to the what?” I muttered. Rarity sighed as she got up and took me by the arm. She proceeded to drag me out of the cafeteria and towards the paintings where I met Michelangelo. She pointed to the painting next to “King of the Forest”. It was an oil painting of two people dressed in royal clothing, dancing and waltzing like they were in some sort of Disney film. Both were white-skinned like Rarity, and in fact, one of them looked exactly like Rarity save for the dress and jewelry. The other was your generic Prince Charming with blonde hair.
“It was a lovely yet tragic tale of two lovers, both from different kingdoms.” Rarity said. I immediately groaned.
“Oh joy, it ends in a suicide pact, right?” I asked. I turned to Rarity, who just stared at the painting. “Uh, Rarity?” I asked. She just seemed to… zone out. She proceeded to turn away from me and walk like a zombie, following the crowd of the other class members. I shook my head.
I instantly knew what was going on.
But I was too late.
“Follow me…”
My legs picked themselves up as I felt pulled towards the others.
“Come with me…”
I tried moving every muscle in my body, but I couldn’t free my body from the control the voice had over me. It wasn’t like with Banno’s control, where I felt my body flex and move to every attack, but rather, it felt like I was a puppet and the voice was the puppeteer.
… Voice. That was the Roidmude I’m fighting today, it seems.
As were lead into the basement, I knew we weren’t alone. All the girls that Trenderhoof spoke to were there too. All of them standing and droning off. And yet, Trenderhoof was not to be found anywhere. I looked around for him.
“Ah, welcome…”
Of course, I knew he would take the form of my ideal man.
I just didn’t realize that said ideal man would be Ryoma himself.
“I’m thankful that you are here today.”
This is not Ryoma, I thought. Even if it was his voice, it still wasn’t him. I knew it was someone else, even without knowing it was the Voice Roidmude using his powers to appear as my ideal man. Ryoma definitely had the charm of a mad scientist. This Ryoma spoke smoothly. The other Ryoma, the one I knew, spoke harsher and quicker. A sociopath at his finest. Not some cheap ass swindler.
Despite this, I was still enamoured. I still admired his physique, his looks, and his devilish smile. And I wasn’t the only one who fell for this.
Many of the other girls fawned to him. They called him by various names. Some of them names of students I had on my attendance list, like Flash Sentry or even Big Macintosh. Then Michelangelo walked in.
“Alright, shall we get this show on the road then, Voice?” He asked the false Ryoma.
“Not quite. I enjoy swindling these women… It’s nostalgic… Just a while longer, please?” He asked. Michelangelo tsk-tsked.
“I know, but remember that what I do is nostalgic to me too. Tell them to make a pose.” He said. Well, the prick confirmed it. He’s Paint. I struggled to move my hands, but Ryoma simply looked at me and said:
“Don’t fight it. It’ll be over shortly.” I grunted. I looked around as my arms sluggishly moved to a refined, folded position. To my surprise, there weren’t any signs of paintings of women. You’d think if I saw the Paint Roidmude in the flesh, his modus operandi, trapping women in paintings, would be highly noticeable. The only thing I found were statues. Statues of…
Women…
When I saw the stone statue of the librarian, a chill went up my spine as I saw a ghost of her trying to break out of her prison.
“Help me…” Cheerilee whispered out to me. My body tried to shake itself awake. That’s when I noticed the one thing Voice didn’t freeze up: my mouth.
“Snap out of it, girls!” I said to the crowd. “These two are nothing but monsters!”
“Monsters. Heh… Oh, if Heart was around to hear this.” Michelangelo mused. He walked over to me and grabbed Banno. “Well, nothing you say will snap them out of this. We’ll be taking back our creator now.” He struggled to pull him out of my waist.
“Difficult, isn’t it?” Banno said. Michelangelo let go of the Driver.
“Well, taking you alive was a bust. Fortunately, our leader has made it so that we won’t need you for our survival. And considering how you accelerated our extinction at the hands of the real monsters… I figure I’ll save my brethren the trouble and destroy you myself.” He walked away. I could feel Banno tremble on my waist.
“H-hey, stupid! You should start my engine already!” Banno spoke out. I figured having his life on the line would result in him losing his cool. As much as I would want to, my arms were frozen in place and I was unable to. The only thing I could probably do was shout a bit of banter.
“The only monster I see is you, Paint!” I shouted to him. Michelangelo stopped. He snickered.
“Paint? Is that what you want to call me?” He broke out into a fit of full-out laughter. “You mistook me for… my teacher?” He turned around and took off his glasses. Wait… Teacher? I could barely gasp as he transformed. He wasn’t the Paint Roidmude as I had realized.
When his body transformed into his true form, I could see the resemblance of the Paint Roidmude. His left arm is comprised of nothing but tubes excreting gray clay that was connected to his robotic body. Instead of a painting in his chest, it was a face reminiscent of the Statue of David’s face. Everything else, from his piping to even his artist’s hat, was the same, save for the fact that his entire body was a silvery gray instead of gold.
“I have become something more than my teacher. As it turns out, my talent wasn’t in drawing or painting for that matter.” I now remembered him. Roidmude 084. He was simply a minor, unadvanced Roidmude who worked with the Paint Roidmude as a student, only to be stopped and killed by Kamen Rider Drive. “Behold, my true talent! My… DESTINY!” He waved his arms as particles began to flash.
The density shifted as gray strands began flying from the Roidmude’s clay hand to the girls, starting with Rarity. The strands fell onto the skin of them and began to harden like rock. The process was very slow, but it allowed me to see the anguish the girls were faced with as their control from the Voice Roidmude was taken away, only to notice that they were slowly being turned into stone. The Roidmude turned to me and chuckled.
I was next. As soon as he was done turning some of the girls into stone, I would be next… and I would be killed.
Just then…
Clatter.
A small, metal object fell onto the floor. My salvation. It took me five seconds for the vibrations and sound of the metal hitting the ground to snap me out of it, but once it did, the girls and I broke down into an insane, screaming fit.
It was a flaw of the Voice Roidmude’s power. While he may have worked his hypnotic voice on us, it had the side effect of messing with our hearing, to the point where it’s now sensitive to something as simple as a fork clattering onto the floor would render us insane.
And fortunately, insane was the best mood to be in right now. As I screamed and dropped to the ground, I flailed my arms in the right way so that they’d hit the ignition. Then I let Banno handle the rest.
“Henshin!” Banno cried out as I transformed into Gold Drive. As Banno took over, my body stopped. This kind of feeling of being controlled by him, compared to how I felt being controlled by Voice, was much better. Even when he laughed, I was given a sense of calm, knowing that he would handle it. “You will pay dearly for even considering robbing the world of its greatest scientific mind!” Banno ran and threw a punch towards the Roidmude, only for a girl to run in the way of it and receive it instead.
“You forgot I was here too?” I could see the illusion of Ryoma shatter and in its place, Trenderhoof. He transformed into the Voice Roidmude, a robotic body with his entire upper body filled with nothing but brass tuba-like horns. “If I may, Sculpt?” The Voice Roidmude called more girls to my area as they blocked me. Banno struggled and pushed them out of the way, only for more of them to dogpile him.
“Pitiful women! They should be obeying me! Not the walking scrap!” Banno shouted. “I’m giving you a Shift Car. Use it!” Banno turned the ignition as the circuitry on Gold Drive’s chest lit up. A glowing orb with a slight digital look to it appeared from it and towards the Shift Brace. I saw its solar grid and instantly knew it was Burning Solar. I activated it and my entire body lit up with a flash. The girls instantly backed away as I ran towards the Voice Roidmude and decked him in the face. As I continued to, I slowly stopped.
Because he asked for it.
“Stop!” He said. And I did.
“What are you doing? Don’t you remember the little time limit we have?” Banno asked. My fingers drooped towards the ignition.
“No, don’t turn-” The Voice Roidmude tried to tell me, but I already turned it. Banno took back control as he continued to lay fist after fist onto the Roidmude’s face. That’s when I heard the screaming. As soon as Banno was done beating up the Voice Roidmude, he turned around and saw the Sculpt Roidmude finishing up on turning a quarter of the girls, Rarity included, into statues. Most of them had held their hands up in horror, others raised their arms mid-insanity, as if they were laughing. Banno himself chuckled.
“I admire how you Roidmudes want to make humanity your toy… But I’m afraid to say that they, along with you, are my toys to do what I want. If you think you can simply take them away, you have another thing coming!” Banno tried to go after Sculpt, but suddenly, a sharp, painful gunshot hit us in the chest and we were knocked down.
I looked to see where the gun was coming from as I heard the casing clatter onto the ground. I saw a mass of rose petals fall and scatter about as I saw a girl in a red cloak walking towards me, holding a familiar mechanical scythe. Upon closer inspection, I knew it wasn’t a woman. I recognized the man.
It was Ross from the Con.
“The Grim Reaper!” The two Roidmudes shouted.
“Go… I’ll take care of the Kamen Rider.” Ross said. The two Roidmudes nodded and rushed off. The Sculpt Roidmude pressed his clay hand onto Rarity. She, along with the rest of the girls that were turned into statues, transformed into the gray strands and entered his hand as he ran off. Banno simply looked at Ross.
“Banno! Go after them!” I said to him.
“They called him the Grim Reaper. You know very well what that means.” He turned the ignition. Yes. I knew exactly what that meant.
Roidmudes are known to get rowdy, like Crush and Iron. They’re also known to attract attention, like Paint and Sculpt. And so, a solution was made by their leader, Heart. They would have someone who would hunt down these rowdy Roidmudes and defeat them, allowing them to be reset by Banno. As necessity, this Grim Reaper had to be on par with the Roidmudes he fights… and by extension, the Kamen Riders that were also made to fight the Roidmudes.
The Steering Sword flew to my hands. I knew that I couldn’t just walk away.
I had to fight him.
“So, you must be the Kamen Rider I was told to hunt down.” Ross said.
“What the hell are you doing with the Roidmudes?” I asked him.
“It’s like they said, I’m their Grim Reaper.” Ross said.
“I know, but… why?” I asked.
“Because this world needs a hero.” Ross said.
“A hero… That’s a laugh…” Banno chuckled.
“For once, I agree.” I readied my sword. “You’re really messed if you think those monsters are heroes.” I ran to him with my sword in hand. He smirked and fired off a round from his scyth- wait he used his scythe as a gun?
Oh, right… It was also a gun. Sadly, I realized this too late, as he used the recoil to fly towards me. He swung his scythe at me. As it connected with my armor, he swung around again, connecting. He repeated this in the span of six seconds, with six blows landed per second. He leaped over and choked me with the blade end of his scythe.
“I know.” He muttered before he fired. With the force of the recoil, he went into a drop kick. He knocked me back and onto the ground as I heard the clatter of another casing. I turned the ignition. Banno got up as he got the Zenrin Shooter, a gun where it had a motorcycle’s front wheel as a sort of blade. He fired at Ross, though he struck the bullets away with his scythe at a blinding speed.
That’s when I noticed that the particles have returned to their normal form. They had been since Voice and Sculpt went away.
“Banno, you thinking what I’m thinking?” I told him.
“Oh yes...” Banno turned the ignition as the circuit tire turned on and flashed. The particles shifted again and now Ross was under Slowdown.
“Now let’s get out of here and-” I ran off…
Only for Ross to strike me.
“Sorry, but that won’t work on me.” Ross spoke, not in that shocked way that victims of Slowdown would undergo, but rather in a normal way. That’s when I realized… He was able to land so many blows on me in the span of six seconds… He flew towards me and blocked the shots in no time…
“Banno… I think he…” I muttered.
“To be able to move during a Slowdown without access to a Core Driviar… H-he has super speed?!” Banno blurted it out.
“Call it… my Semblance.” He ran, though it was here I noticed that his fighting was significantly slower than before. He was still able to move, though at a pace where we would be able to fight him on a more fair level. I turned the ignition to summon a weapon capable of handling the scythe. A long blade on the end of a stick? Well, time to say hello to the Signal Ax…
Though as soon as the ax came to Banno, he dodged out of the way as the ax impacted onto the ground and stuck there.
“Gaah!” Banno shrieked.
“Relax! It’s not going to kill you! … Again.” I muttered. I should have realized that Banno would probably still have memories of meeting his end with that weapon. I could hear Banno growl as he hesitated in picking up the ax.
“Hmph. Just be sure that it’s nowhere near me, okay?” Banno said. With both the Signal Ax and Zenrin Shooter, he swung the weapons at Ross. He blocked it with the shaft of his scythe. He pushed up and knocked Banno away. With two heavy swings from his scythe, he slashed at the armor and kicked up a huge amount of sparks from the armor. He proceeded to aim and fire two sniper rounds at him. The last shot blew him away. He landed on the wall behind him, cracking a bit as he fell down.
“That’ll do it for today.” Ross walked off while the Gold Drive armor canceled out. As I got up, I noticed something. There was nothing irritating my ears. No swindling voice, no metal ringing, nothing. I looked around and noticed the various discarded bullet casings.
That’s when I gripped my hand. I felt full, complete control again. No longer was I Voice’s puppet. I chuckled.
“Now, I am free. There are no strings on-”
Before I could even finish that quote, I heard a muffled scream coming from the Cheerilee statue. I ran and checked behind. It was Trenderhoof. But… didn’t Trenderhoof-
Right, Roidmudes can copy people. Forgot that. Trenderhoof seemed to be bound and gagged like a typical damsel in distress… if said damsel was a dude. Well, regardless of gender roles, I untied him.
“Th-Thank… Wait… Professor Silverbolt! Oh thank God!” Trenderhoof suddenly grappled me. That’s when I noticed that Trenderhoof wore a different sweatshirt. The copy wore something that was brown and akin to a turtleneck, while this one wore a simple, purple vest-style sweatshirt. The make of the shirt reminded me a lot of how my school uniforms were designed.
“I-I’m not… Look, you’re safe now and-”
“What were you doing with those students from Canterlot High? Were those rumors of you transferring to them true?” Trenderhoof asked me.
“Yes, now shut up. I need you to call the authorities, let them know that a man named Michelangelo Jones kidnapped a dozen girls. I’ll handle the rest.” I said. Before Trenderhoof could say anything, I ran off, only to trip over something. I got up and saw what was on the ground…
It was a padlock. No. The lock was bulky… big enough to fit in the palm of my hand. I gripped it… I had felt this same feeling before. It was roughly bigger than a Lockseed, a collectable toy that was in Kamen Rider Gaim. I dropped it to the ground.
Clatter.
It was that exact same noise that drove me mad and broke me from Voice’s hold. I picked it up, though this time I gripped it harder. I could feel my face freezing into a smile. I felt… genuinely enjoyed by this. I wasn’t sure why. At least until my mind flashed to something.
I could see my hands hovering over something that looked exactly like the Lockseed I held. Huge compared to normal Lockseeds and lacked a fun, colorful front, instead showing raw bits of metal and wiring. I saw one of my hands reaching for a screwdriver and the other reaching for what seemed to be the metal frame for the Lockseed. I place the frame onto the Lockseed and screw it into place. The plate was all black save for a center that was molded into a red rose. That’s when I could see the serial number: L.V.-02.
I soon see myself pick up the Lockseed and tossing it to a man with a goatee and a bowler hat wearing a black waistcoat.
“Here you go, Sid. Now, I presume these kids will be able to test it properly?” It was at this point that I realized that I was remembering a memory that wasn’t mine.
“You’re underestimating them. These punks are highly competitive. All I have to do is say that this is part of a new game and they’ll use these in no time.” Sid said as he held that Lockseed together with another, white and pink Lockseed. As he walked off, the picture faded away…
And I was back to looking at the unfinished Lock Vehicle. I looked around. Trenderhoof was gone. Must have went to call the cops already. I ran off as well. Who knows how much time I’ve wasted looking at the Lockseed.
As I left the museum, I spotted a red pick-up truck pull into the parking lot. The window slid down and I saw Big Macintosh behind the wheel.
“Hop in.” Big Mac said. Just then I heard a buzzing. I pulled out my cellphone.
Yep. It’s Applejack.
‘Okay. Big Mac’s on his way. You’re lucky that he left school early to tend to Granny.’
I nod and got into the car as Big Mac drove off. I looked out to see if there were any Roidmudes running about, though I failed to see any.
Then I noticed a similar pickup truck. Its back was filled with the statues of the girls.
“Hey, follow that truck!” I told Mac. He complied and chased after the truck. I could see one of the Roidmudes, Sculpt, emerged out, transformed into his Roidmude form, and fired off a chunk of hardened clay at us. Big Mac drove out of the way and skidded right into a ditch.
Fortunately, we were unscathed, though the popping of the airbags made me jump. I looked outside and saw the truck slowly speeding away. I turned to Big Mac, who checked himself to see if there were any injuries.
“No. I don’t want to drag innocents into this.” I muttered.
“So, we’re giving up? Alright. Let the Roidmudes get away with their prizes. We’ll live another day.” Banno piped up. However, I clutched onto the Lockseed.
“No. We’re not giving up. Banno, this thing I hold is incomplete, but I know what it is. It’s a vehicle.” I said.
“Hm… So, you want me to program it, so to speak?” Banno asked.
“Yes. I’m just not sure if we’ll have the time to create it.” I said. Banno simply chuckled.
“You underestimate me. Transform, and I’ll have this device ready to use in five seconds.” Banno said.
“And then what?” I asked. My mind flashed back to his declaration of world domination again.
“I wouldn’t mind cleaning up those loose ends. After all, they nearly killed us. I don’t want them to try again and succeed.” Banno said.
“… Alright. Henshin.” I said. I turned the ignition and became Gold Drive. I ignored Big Mac giving me a wide-eyed stare, and Banno possibly did the same. Banno held the Lockseed, then clutched it hard with his left hand. I saw golden energy surge from his left forearm towards his hand. The light enveloped the Lockseed as he continued to clutch it, to the point of crushing force. Eventually, the Lockseed was nothing but glowing bits of gold data. However, it was only for a brief while before the light faded. In its place was a new Lockseed I have never seen before.
Put up on the front was a metal frame resembling a sunflower. The center, however, had a wheel instead. Printed on one of the metallic petals was L.V.-05, printed in the same style as the other Lock Vehicles, with a slash through the words as though it was cut with a sword. As with most Lockseeds, this had the hook part of the lock on the very top, and a button on the side to activate it. Banno turned the ignition as I took over.
I looked over to Big Mac again.
“You good?” I asked.
“Eeeeyup.” Big Mac quickly nodded.
“Good. Call the cops. I’m closing this case.” I got out of the car.
Without any further time to lose, I popped the Lockseed open and tossed it into the air. The Lockseed transformed into an ATV the size of Big Mac’s truck. The petals of the sunflower formed to make guards for the four wheels, while the hook became more or less its hood. I got onto it and drove off onto the highway where the Roidmudes were getting away.
The highway was conveniently empty for this chase. Though, I hardly remembered the Kamen Riders ever getting stuck in traffic. However, about a minute into the drive, I switched over to Banno. As I did, I summoned a trio of Shift Cars.
“So, I see you’ve noticed my modification to this vehicle?” Banno said. I nodded as I spotted something on the dashboard. Something that even Ryoma Sengoku couldn’t add to the Lock Vehicle: Shift Car capability. On the dashboard were three slots for Shift Cars, arranged in a triangle. Banno looked to the side where the Shift Cars were catching up to him. He chuckled as he saw a red sports car, a black buggy, and a green garbage truck.
“Exactly. Let’s see what we can use.” I said. The Shift Cars leaped up into the dashboard and plugged into their slots.
“SPEED! WILD! TECHNIC! ENGINE EXTENSION!” I shudder as I heard Banno’s voice announcing the Shift Cars. It felt… unnatural. I heard the roar of the engine as Speed was called up first.
“SPEED!” The engine revved up as the highway and the blue sky blurred together. Before I know it, we were pulled up right next to the Roidmudes, who properly freaked out.
“GAH! Kamen Rider! What happened with the Grim Reaper!?” Voice asked. I saw him behind the wheel.
“Your precious Grim Reaper does what all dumb villains do: leave without landing the final blow!” Banno said with a laugh.
“H-he what!?” Voice said as Sculpt held his hand out and grabbed my hand. My hand slowly turned into stone.
“WILD!” Banno rammed the ATV next to the pickup truck and knocked Sculpt’s hand off with the knock back. He drove into the truck again and caused it to careen over. It crashed into the railing as the Roidmudes got out. The truck flipped over, taking the statues with it.
“TECHNIC!” Two mechanical tentacles, much like Banno’s own tentacles that he would use in the show, sprung out and grabbed the statues before it settled them down. Banno got out of the car and turned on the ignition for me. I saw the two Roidmudes in front of me. I cocked a grin.
They’re going along for the ride.
I pressed the red button on the Shift Brace.
“THE FINISHER!” Banno announced. “… W-what did I just say?!” Banno asked. I ignored him and crouched. Gold energy built up into my right leg as I broke into a sprint and leaped in the air. “FULL THROTTLE!” I extended my right leg and Rider Kicked the first Roidmude I saw, Sculpt. As soon as my foot made contact, his body exploded. As the smoke cleared, I noticed something: the lack of a Core. I looked to my right and saw why.
Sculpt was running away. Hmph… Seemed I destroyed a copy.
“H-hey! What about me!?” Voice shouted out. I grunted.
“You’ll get your just desserts. Banno!” I said as I turned the ignition, giving him control of my body as three shift cars went his way. Banno ignored them and ran to Voice, feeding him punch after punch. By the third punch, Voice was knocked onto the pavement. Voice held out his right hand, which I recognize as a megaphone-like appendage. His hand emitted a loud sonic shrill that caused tiny sparks to explode on the pavement before hitting us. Banno stumbled back before he took the first Shift Car: Rolling Gravity.
Rather than summon a ten-ton weight to lug around, Banno instead focused his golden energy into his fist and slammed it onto the ground. This golden energy created a shockwave that overpowered the sonic blast. As the shockwave hit Voice, a field of gravity kept him down as Banno switched out Rolling Gravity for Spin Mixer.
It’s probably the first time I ever saw the Tire for the Shift Car appear. Each of the Shift Cars came with a Tire, though since me and Banno relied a lot on Golden Energy, a special type of power that super-evolved Roidmudes possessed, there wasn’t a time where we would need to switch out tires.
Thankfully my body is numb when Banno controls me, as the Spin Mixer Tire came right for me and popped out the red circuitry off my chest. The Tire spun around as it spat out blobs of concrete. Voice, while in midair via the gravity well, fired off several sound blasts, though the blobs managed to collide with and destroy them. One of the blobs managed to get past the barrage and hit directly on his pseudo-arm cannon, sealing it shut. I could hear the sound trying to get out of his cannon. It got louder and louder. I also noticed that the cannon was getting bigger and wider.
“Oh shi-” Before Voice could say anything else, his arm cannon exploded and he was now armless. Banno fired a few more blobs, essentially sticking him to the railing as the energy well dissipated. Banno switched out the Shift Car for Rumble Dump and he turned the ignition. It’s me now. Crap. Gotta have to think of a cool one liner…
“Silence is golden, wouldn’t you agree, Banno?” Well, it’s the thought that counts. I pressed the button on my Shift Brace.
“Yes, I would agre- THE FINISHER! S-seriously!? I put in that feature in there?!” I couldn’t help but snicker, but I had to defeat the Roidmude. I leaped up in the air as the Spin Mixer Tire went away and the circuitry returned. Doing the same thing to the Sculpt Roidmude, I preformed the signature attack of all Kamen Riders, the Rider Kick, though this time, there was a golden energy drill attached to my foot. “FULL THROTTLE! RUMBLE DUMP!” I couldn’t resist shouting it out:
“RIDER ROCKET DRILL KICK!!!” I shouted as I held one arm out as if it had a rocket attached to it. The drill bore into the Roidmude before his body broke down and blew up. I backflipped and landed on my feet as his Core, 030, floated a bit before it blew up. I turned around to the statues as my transformation cancelled out.
“Putting the switching feature was one thing, but the habit of announcing crap like ‘The Finisher’ and ‘Full Throttle’!?” Banno, however, was rambling.
“Hey!” I managed to shut him up. “Let’s take these guys back to the museum. If Sculpt’s modeled after Paint, these girls will break out in a short while.” I said. Banno sighed as we got onto the ATV and activated Technic again to carry the statues.
As I arrived back, the police were already there. No sign of Tachibana, however. Soarin’, however, was there. As was Spitfire. Great. I drove the ATV away from the museum. I really wouldn’t want to explain to the snippy police officer what I was doing with near perfect statue recreations of real people and why they suddenly broke free and became real people.
I was quite surprised that I was able to find a warehouse so close to the museum. I stopped by and dropped off the statues. I looked and admired the ATV.
“Sweet. My very own ride. Well, obviously I’ll get a ride. I’m a Kamen Rider after all.” I chuckled.
“And to think we’d spend our time carpooling with that cowgirl’s family.” Banno said.
“So… what other neat stuff you put in there? A twelve stroke engine?” I hopped onto the ATV to get another feel for it.
“They don’t make twelve stroke engines, idiot.” Banno said.
“Hey, you’re a genius that made intelligent robots who take human forms and slow down time. I’d figure you’d at least do something no one else did with an ATV.” I said.
“I did! I scrimped and salvaged the mechanics I found in the device you gave me and added in Krim’s designs! I even added in Shift Car capability to make up for the lack of a Core Driviar. Are you questioning my intelligence?” Banno asked.
“No… I’ll have to say, you did a mighty fine job with this, and I thank you. This is definitely the broccoli I asked you to pick up.” I patted the ATV. “Though it’s a sunflower… Needs a name… Oh! SunDriver! G-Get it? It’s a sunflower, but I’m Kamen Rider Gold Drive, so I’m really a Driver?” I said. Banno groaned.
“I was going to appreciate your compliment, but now I wonder if I should let you remain in my world once I take it over.” Banno said. The sense of dread took over any joy I had with the newly attained Lockvehicle.
“And how, pray tell, do you hope to achieve that?” I asked.
“Whoever brought the Roidmudes back also brought me back too. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say that he would bring back the Sigma Circular as well.” Banno said. I began to remember something. The Roidmudes I faced kept everything. Their personality, their forms, even the humans they copied… It wouldn’t be any stretch to ask:
“So, you expect that the Roidmudes would retain their Super Evolutions?” The level beyond mere Evolution. A golden version of their old, Advanced forms.
“Exactly! We may have five Super Evolved Roidmudes to power up the Sigma Circular, maybe more! Think of the possibilities! If this is all possible, we could rule everything twice over! Assuming you want to be on my good side…” Banno said. I gripped onto the handlebar of the ATV. How could Banno be so stupid to think that I would join his side in world domination? Before I could counter-argue, I heard the sound of stone cracking. I had the SunDriver set down the statues as they cracked open. They faded away as I saw the girls be free. I immediately went to Rarity first.
“Ugh… my head…” She looked to me as she held her head. “Darling, can you tell me what just happened? All I remember was talking to you about my love for Trenderhoof.” She asked.
“Oh, well, we just went out for some air. That’s all.” Good thing Applejack wasn’t around. Otherwise she’d throttle me.
"This far ahead? We really should get going to the museum. I'm pretty sure school was over an hour or two ago."
By the time we went back the museum, the sun was setting. I went over to the police… That’s when I saw Trenderhoof. Talking with Spitfire. Crap. Crap. Crap.
“Alright, so a robot came to you when you were at the museum… then became you, taped you up, and threw you into the basement?” Spitfire asked.
“Yeah! That’s what happened!” Trenderhoof said. Spitfire just shook her head and took out the handcuffs.
“I’m taking you in.” Spitfire said.
“F-For what!?” Trenderhoof asked.
“Outright making up stories to the police. We better get the true story when we interrogate you.” She said. Before I could intervene, Big Mac came up too.
“It’s true.” Big Mac simply said. Double Crap.
“Oh? And how do you know?” Spitfire turned to him.
“They wrecked my truck.” He pointed to a tow-truck behind him as it carried his pickup. Next to Big Mac was Cheerilee, sipping from a cup of coffee as she nodded. Great, more people to talk about this Roidmude attack.
"I remembered being at the museum ago before I saw Big Mac lead me away before I blacked out. But... I remembered being trapped..." She said. Spitfire glared to Big Mac.
"I wasn't at the museum the night she vanished." Big Mac said. Trenderhoof piped up.
"Yeah! I noticed that there was a statue that looked just like Cheerilee. But I was too busy being tied up by the robot me." Spitfire just groaned.
“Can someone tell me what actually happened!?” Spitfire said. I stepped forward. I took a deep breath.
“I can.” I said. Spitfire just glared.
“Oh. Lovely. You just also happen to be involved in this incident too.” Spitfire said.
“Professor Silverbolt! There you are! That’s the guy, officer. He freed me from the robot’s clutches!” Trenderhoof said.
“… Really?” Spitfire looked to me. Her glare became less angry and more… tired. “Alright, Professor. Can you attest to the claims of… robot attacks?” Spitfire asked.
“…” I bit my tongue. If I tell them the truth of Roidmudes, I’ll just be labeled as a crazy and probably be put in the looney bin. If I lie, it’ll bite me in the ass once the attacks start being more frequent… Especially since I know these Roidmudes enough for it to be an inevitability.
Again, Banno’s advice helped.
“Perhaps. When I arrived on the scene, there were no robots to be seen. However, with the possible advancements of science, you can’t just eliminate the possibility of robots existing just yet.” I said.
“I can. And I will.” Spitfire said. Well, she’s living proof that you don’t need Freeze to muck up the police.
“What I can tell you is that there were kidnappers in the museum. I managed to catch them in the act during a class field trip and I chased them out. They won’t be coming back anytime soon.” I said.
“Oh… Well, aren’t you the little vigilante? Okay. If anyone’s being taken in, it’s gonna be you.” Spitfire readied her cuffs. Well, it’s Morton’s fork. Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.
“Spitfire, you know we don’t have any anti-vigilantism laws.” That voice. I gave a small sigh of relief as I smelled the juniper. Spitfire simply groaned.
“Wind Rider, who invited you?” Spitfire asked.
“No one. When I saw police cars piling onto the museum, I had to see what was up. And it seems I picked the right time too. Seems I’m not the only one who needs to be reminded of stuff.” Wind Rider said. “Besides, this whole robot story is exactly the same kind of story that the Apples had a couple of days ago.”
“It doesn’t prove anything!” She said.
“It does when the exact same thing happens. I overheard the whole thing. Boy, you said the robot copied your appearance, right?” Wind Rider asked. Trenderhoof nodded. “The incident at the Apples Residence had a robot copy the appearance of one of their legs. This is vital information to have, Spitfire. For someone as eager to dig up the truth, I’m surprised you didn’t piece this together. Besides, three different people are all saying the same thing. Pretty sure it's not one big collaborated story.” Wind Rider said.
“Well… I…” Spitfire said.
“With that said, I’ll take my leave before Soarin’ gets mad at me for doing your job. Again.” With that, Wind Rider walked off, but not before he patted me on the back. “Keep up the good work.” He said. I just smiled and nodded. Wind Rider’s being the sanest of the cops despite being a retired geezer.
“I guess I’ll look further into this… Robot thing. Don’t think this isn’t over.” Spitfire then went up into my personal space, to the point where our noses touched. “We’ll cross paths again, and next time, no one will be bailing you out.” After a brief push from her face, she stormed off. Rarity then approached me and looked at Trenderhoof.
“Hmph. You’re a Crystal Prep student? I should have known better than to adore you.” She said.
“W-wait, what!?” Trenderhoof exclaimed.
“I can’t believe I fell for a pitiful excuse like you! I wouldn’t date you if you were the last man on Earth!” With that, Rarity turned around as I followed her. “You’re right, Professor Silverbolt. Love isn’t just what it was cracked up to be.” She said. Suddenly, I had the weirdest urge to laugh. What’s scary was that Rarity laughed along with me… as if on cue. My body shivered. This random burst of laughter could be the work of another Roidmude. However, for a moment, the laughter died down and I could breathe again.
That’s when I saw Soarin’ with another officer. The latter held a ziplock bag containing the bullet shells that came from Ross during our duel…
That’s when I thought of something.
“Banno… Suddenly I doubt our Grim Reaper is dumb…”
Sculpt ran out of breath and stopped. He was pretty sure that Gold Drive would not go after him. It was night time now. He was near a closed up shop. Humans need sleep, right? That’s when he heard someone approach him.
“Sculpt…” Sculpt turned around and saw a middle-aged man in a police uniform approach him. It was for a brief moment before his body morphed into a black-colored Roidmude with green lines going down both the right side of his face and his right arm. The left side of the Roidmude’s face was a recreation of a human’s face.
“J-judge!” The Sculpt Roidmude fidgeted as Judge rested a black and green stick on his shoulder. “How’s the work on infiltrating the police?”
“Difficult. Especially when you have to constantly cover up your allies’ mistakes.” Judge tapped the stick repeatedly on his shoulder. “A shame Freeze isn’t around. He would have ensured your hijinks would go unnoticed.” As Judge closed in, Sculpt held up his hand.
“Rest assured, my hijinks resulted in our enemies making a mistake! I know the host of Gold Drive! If we inform the others, we’ll be able to kill her and take back our creator!” Sculpt said. Judge just chuckled.
“Nice try. But I’m afraid your bargaining chip isn’t effective. I know who Gold Drive is too. And even if I lacked that information, it still doesn't excuse your ruthlessness!” Judge began to beat the Roidmude with his stick as electricity sprang from it and zapped the Roidmude. Two hits later and Judge knocks the Sculpt Roidmude onto the ground. As Sculpt struggled to get up, he saw rose petals drifting down. He looked up and saw the red-hooded Reaper standing on the rooftop of the building they were in front of.
“The Grim Reaper’s here! Now you’re gonna get it!” Sculpt laughed. “Grim Reaper! Help me! This Roidmude is trying to kill me!” He shouted to Ross. That’s when Judge laughed. “H-hey! What’s so funny?” He asked.
“You think he’s after me? Why do you think we have a Grim Reaper in the first place?” Judge looked to the Roidmude before he morphed back to his human guise. “To make sure rowdy Roidmudes like you don’t drag the rest of us down.” Tachibana looked up to Ross and gave a quick nod.
Ross vanished, leaving behind several rose petals. The Sculpt Roidmude turned and tried to run, only for him to see Ross standing in front of him. Ross slashed overhead at the Sculpt Roidmude. As the hit landed, he swung the Crescent Rose around and struck him again. And again. And again. And again. Each strike came from a new direction. He even placed in a few shots to the Roidmude’s head, by that point, it was overkill. He barely gave the Roidmude time to counterattack. He planted the scythe on the ground and fired one more shot. It knocked the Roidmude into the air.
Ross leaped into the air and for a brief moment, he stayed in the air and readied his scythe for one final slash as the moonlight shined brightly. He fell right into the path of the oncoming Roidmude and ran his blade through him. As he landed, the Sculpt Roidmude didn’t scream. His body broke apart into rose petals as his Core simply fluttered out of it.
“Nice job.” Tachibana patted Ross on the shoulder. Ross gave a brief smile as the Core floated upwards.
“Nice job!? He let the Kamen Rider get away! I saw the Rider chase us down! Voice died because our Grim Reaper didn’t finish off the Kamen Rider!” Sculpt said. Ross just stood there before he smirked.
“I just thought a few attacks would render her unable to fight. Seems she’s tougher than I thought.” Ross said. That’s when Sculpt’s core noticed the casings fired from the Crescent Rose.
“No… You didn’t… You broke Voice’s control over the Kamen Rider on purpose, didn’t you!? You… You traitor! Wait until I tell this to the boss!” The Core tried to float away before Tachibana took out an iPad.
“Unfortunately, you’re slated to be reset.” He said.
“Judge! This human maybe assisting the Kamen Rider in killing our brethren! Are you just going to allow him to get away with that?” Sculpt’s core, 084, said.
“You are just as guilty, are you not? You left Voice to die, after all.” Judge held up the iPad as the Core began to get sucked not it.
“Judge… Have you really betrayed us!?” These were the last words 084 said before it got sucked into the iPad. Tachibana put it away and looked to Ross.
“I’ll see to it that 084 will forget about your involvement. But be warned. I might be able to cover the Roidmudes’ attacks, but I can’t cover yours. You screw up, and I won’t be there to save you.” Tachibana said. Ross thought back to what Kelly said to him:
“You’re really messed if you think those monsters are heroes.” Ross looked to Tachibana who nodded and walked off. Ross collapsed the Crescent Rose and put it on his back. As he followed him, he thought of his retort:
“That’s why I’m here. To make it better.”