The Light Beyond Despair

by Ultimate Mayhem

Mimic Mystery

Sunset and her friends stood in the Gym floor of the building which currently had an entirely padded floor. Recently they'd received a new piece of equipment. A laptop which was linked to the same database Sunset had used to learn about the other Riders. Mercy explained to them she'd made it as a more portable way to not only identify enemies as they appear but also allowed her to look up information on the Rider forms of her friends. What caught Twilight's interest the most was that their files gave extremely precise information such as their striking power, fastest running speed, and max jump height. She showed them, and they became impressed, but they confused about was how some parts of the information were very specific. For example, there was a file for Gaim in Orange and Ichigo arms while at the same time there was one for Zangetsu in Melon Arms alone. They also saw that in Kabuto’s file, after using Cast Off, Sunny's max running speed, which they assumed didn’t include her speed when she Clocked Up, came out to her moving about 39 MPH.

Currently the Riders are in loose clothing and are sparring while Twilight records them using the laptop's camera to track their current skills in their civilian forms. Since she'd been doing this for much longer than the others they had been sparring with Sunset one by one.

Sunset asked for volunteers and, to her surprise, Lemon wound up being the first to do so. Right now, Sunset and Sunny were facing off. Twilight noticed that with each sparring match Sunset was mostly defending while attacking sometimes. As far as she could Sunset was testing how each of the fought and how they would react to different situations like when she mostly remained offensive against Octavia who was not only able to protect herself but landed a few hits when Sunset got close. Out of all of them Sunny was the one who seemed to keep Sunset on her toes. The others were feeling very tired from their matches with Sunset, but she was surprised that Sunny was forcing her to be defensive. If they didn't know for a fact that the two were sparring they'd think they were fighting to the death or something. The others watched amazed, mostly the transfers because they'd assumed that Sunny's skills were basic. Now they realized that if anyone had messed with her at Crystal Prep she probably could've put them in the hospital without breaking a sweat.

"I am so glad no one ever made her mad back at Crystal Prep." said Indigo. The other four agreed while Vinyl and Octavia were surprised at how similarly dangerous the two seemed to be. The two continued to attack and defend until Sunset raised her hand, signaling Sunny to stop.

"Why didn't you strike straight?" asked Sunny.

"If you're asking why I didn't use my boxing training, it's because I only use it for stress relief." replied Sunset. "I've got a pretty good idea of where each of you need to improve. I'll type up a brief report for each of you so you can know where to focus. From there it'll be up to each of you."

"Can we train here?" asked Indigo.

"When there's free time, sure." replied Sunset. "Since there's communication throughout the building we can always keep in touch." The others nodded.

"Is there a locker room?" asked Indigo.

"The floor below this one." replied Sunset.

"Sweet. I gotta take a shower." said Indigo.

"All of you head to the showers. There's blank uniforms in all the lockers if you need to change clothes. The AI that runs this place does laundry so within a few hours your clothes will be clean." said Sunset

"Do we just leave it on the ground?" asked Vinyl.

"There's a hatch." replied Sunset. "Come back up once you're all set." she instructed. The group went down a floor where most of them went in to shower before the elevator went up. Sunset and Twilight returned to what she pretty much considered to be her penthouse.

"So, how's the data look?" Sunset asked.

"Very promising. I was actually surprised Vinyl’s so well trained. She doesn't seem the type to be violent."

"I don't know Vinyl all that well but what I do know is that she's never been the type to let herself be pushed around." replied Sunset going to the fridge and getting a piece of a cake which she'd topped with whale gummies she'd made and a spoon.

"It was nice of you to give all those cakes to those destroyed shops so they could raise money to rebuild." said Twilight.

"I wouldn't really put it that way since I was just trying to get rid of them." replied Sunset digging her spoon into her cake before putting it in her mouth.

"This might just be me but it seems like you might be eating too much cake lately." said Twilight looking up from the laptop.

"One of the other Riders told me that sweets help replenish energy from fighting and I have to keep my energy levels at their peak for when I use the other modules. That way I can switch as needed." explained Sunset.

"How many modules do you have?" asked Twilight.

"I came with five but actually I've synchronized with fifteen of them total which is actually more than my partner."

"Your partner?" asked Twilight confused.

"My Driver was made to work in a manner similar to the power of the Pretty Cure. In other words, there's modules that have to be activated simultaneously." explained Sunset.

"So, you and someone else have to activate them at the same time?" asked Twilight.

"Pretty much." said Sunset. "On the plus side the stew's just about ready."

"So why did you want to do this today?" asked Twilight.

"It seemed like the best time since you guys seem the types to finish your homework fast." said Sunset.

"So, you really don't plan on going back to school?" asked Twilight.

"If I can find a way to control the Furia module and not just redirect it then I might." replied Sunset.

"Redirect it?" asked Twilight.

"I'm sure you've realized that since I got back I've only used it twice. When Indigo stopped me and when we were running through Helheim. When I fought Zeal, I was able to fight because it was him. It's like aiming a gun."

"You were fueled by rage and were directing it to him." guessed Twilight.

"Right. I can't go back to school because as of right now the only method I have of controlling myself is redirecting that rage which, I'm sure you realize, wouldn't be ideal in a place full of people."

"Indeed." said a voice. The two turned to see Sunny Flare in the uniform. "This uniform leaves a bit to be desired."

"Maybe but at the very least the entire thing is made of a near indestructible material." replied Sunset.

"Really?" asked Twilight surprised.

"Yeah. It's why I always wear it." replied Sunset.

"I suppose functionality over appearance isn't a bad choice." said Sunny. "In any case was there an actual reason felt it was necessary for you to test us?"

"To find ways to balance our little team as we are now." replied Sunset. "It's good to be able to plan on the fly but it never hurts to have a few plans ready. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to figure out which of us work well with who and things like that." It was then they heard something which sounded like a phone vibrating as the others went in.

"Whose phone is that?" asked Twilight.

"It's not a phone." replied Sunset as she walked up to the coffee table and grabbed something from under it. "I was wondering where I'd left this. I fell asleep and lost track of it." she said pulling out a large book. "This is the diary I told you about before." she said opening it.

"What's it say?" asked Lemon.

"I've been telling her about what's been happening here. She says she'd like to get to know the six of you."

"Even me?" asked Twilight surprised.

"Especially you. She's interested in what differences exist between you two." replied Sunset.

"I suppose it would be interesting to find out how we're different."

"I can point out a pretty big one." said Sunset getting their attention. "Because Twilight was Princess Celestia's personal student, even though she was something of a bookworm recluse, she was still confident around others. She didn't consider friendship to be worth her time, usually just blowing others off, figuring her time was better spent studying."

"I guess in that regard we're similar." said Twilight. There was a groan and they turned to see Indigo's hands glowing.

"I guess in all the excitement I hadn't gotten the chance to tell you." said Indigo.

"How long has that been happening for?" asked Sunset.

"A while." replied Indigo.

"After you got your Driver?" guessed Sunset. Indigo nodded.

"Do you know what the deal is?" asked Vinyl.

"I have an educated guess." replied Sunset. "Indigo step in front of the tv." Indigo did as she was told as Sunset grabbed her communicator, tapped on something, stepped close to her but still keeping a distance, and pointed the part that looked like a camera which projected a light which passed over her.

"Your communicator has a scanner?!" asked Twilight excited.

"Well yeah. Otherwise how do you think we'd scan things out in the field." replied Sunset as the light faded.

"What does it say?" asked Indigo.

"Actually, I'm sending the scan to Nee-san so she can run it through the database." replied Sunset.

"So, you don't know what it is?" asked Indigo.

"I have a suspicion but that's about it." replied Sunset as the tv came on showing Mercy.

"Sunset?" she asked.

"You got the scan?" asked Sunset. Mercy nodded.

"Why'd you send it though?" asked Mercy. "I'm sure you can identify the energy in the object."

"That's why." replied Sunset. "The energy isn't coming from an object." she said as she held up Indigo's hand.

"Oh my. This is interesting." said Mercy.

"So, what is it?" asked Indigo as Sunset let her go.

"Cosmic energy." replied Mercy.

"Cosmic Energy!?!" yelled out the other girls causing both Mercy and Sunset to cover their ears.

"Yes. Cosmic energy." said Mercy uncovering her ears.

"Should I be worried?" asked Indigo.

"Not really." shrugged Mercy.

"So, I'm not, like, radioactive or something?" asked Mercy. Mercy looked at Indigo with an incredulous expression before she started laughing.

"I guess that's a no." said Indigo.

"I'll talk to you later." said Sunset as she ended the transmission with Mercy still laughing.

"So..." began Indigo.

"You're fine." replied Sunset. "It's just a hypothesis but I'm pretty sure your body's absorbing a portion of the cosmic energy you use to transform and making more on its own."

"Is that possible?" asked Twilight.

"Like I said it's just a hypothesis." replied Sunset. "It's the most I can think of right now."

"Did this happen with the other Rider that uses cosmic energy?" asked Indigo.

"I don't know." replied Sunset. "I met Fourze but we've only talked a couple of times." she explained. "If you start feeling weird or if something else happens call me." Indigo nodded. It was then the tv came on again.

"Sunset we've got a call." said Mercy.

"What's going on?" asked Sunset.

"Robbery in progress by invisible thieves." replied Mercy.

"Alright. We'll check it out." said Sunset.

"There's one more thing." said Mercy getting their attention. Her image was show in PIP where they saw the larger image was security footage of someone signaling to a truck of some kind. That someone was Luna which surprised them. "What do you want to do?"

"Do me a favor. Look up if she has a record. If she does please copy it, send it, and then erase it." instructed Sunset, surprising the others, before turning. "Let's go." she instructed. The group got in the elevator and headed down, with Twilight stopping in their...command center.

Once they headed out Twilight ran a communication check to make sure the others could hear her.

"So, what do you think?" Indigo asked Sunset.

"If this is going where I think it's going this might be a bit tricky." she replied. "Twilight, how's the area look?"

"There's police officers checking the area."

"Alright. Keep me posted if anything happens."

"Aren't we headed there?" asked Lemon.

"No." replied Sunset.

"We're heading to see Vice Principal Luna, I assume." said Sugarcoat.

"We are." replied Sunset.

"You know where she lives?" asked Vinyl surprised.

"They." replied Sunset. "I had Nee-san check their files for their addresses and both Celestia and Luna live together."

"I guess they really are close." said Vinyl. It wasn't long before they pulled up to a very nice neighborhood, at a pretty big looking house which was white and had two floors as far as they could tell. They parked on the outside of the garage before looking around.

"Nice place." said Lemon.

"So what are we gonna tell her?" asked Vinyl.

"A working theory." replied Sunset as she went up and rang the doorbell. They waited a moment before Indigo got impatient and rapidly rang the doorbell before Sunny pulled her back from her ear.

"Hey! Ow! Quit it!"

"If they didn't answer either they're both busy or they're not home." said Sugarcoat rolling her eyes.

"So, what do we do now?" asked Lemon.

"We'll have to split up and look for them." said Sunset. "We'd better split into pairs in case we're ambushed." she instructed placing a hand on the side of her helmet. "Twilight do you know how to use facial recognition software?"

"I have a pretty good idea." replied Twilight sounding a little cocky.

"Run it and look for both Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna everywhere in the city and then call us."

"Understood." said Twilight.

"So do you know what's going on?" asked Vinyl.

"I have a very basic idea." replied Sunset. "What I get so far is that they have a Worm impersonating Vice Principal Luna and made sure the Worm was caught on camera so she'd be a suspect. If I'm right then they either want her in jail or are using her as a way to locate her sister. Whichever it is there's risks involved for both of them so if we find them we have to take them back to the tower."

"We can probably keep them there for today and maybe tomorrow since it's Sunday, but what do we do on Monday. They're gonna have to go to work." said Lemon.

"During that time you guys are gonna have to watch over them." instructed Sunset. "Alright. Here's how we're gonna split. Indigo and Octavia, Sugarcoat and Vinyl, Sunny and Lemon, and last Sour with me." The others nodded and got back on their bikes. They split up, heading in the four cardinal directions.

The groups wandered around looking for the two older women which proved to be a nearly impossible task since there seemed to be families walking around everywhere and their skin and hair colors, while not common, would mix into the blurs of color they saw everywhere. Every couple of minutes they'd check in since Twilight was focusing more on trying to find the Principals through the city's network. They kept searching for almost two hours before Twilight finally found them, but got a little too excited which caused her to yell into the comms which nearly caused them to fall off their bikes.

"Oh. Sorry." said Twilight sheepishly.

"Everyone okay?" asked Sunset. They each confirmed they were fine. "Okay. Good. Did you find them Twilight?"

"Yes. Principal Celestia just got money out of an ATM from a Maxxmart Super Center on Fifth Avenue." replied Twilight.

"Alright. Who's the closest?" asked Sunset.

"Octavia and Indigo." replied Twilight. "Just make a U turn and you'll see it once you go past the traffic light you just turned at."

"Understood." said Octavia.

"Just don't take too long." added Indigo.

"Do all of you know where to go?" asked Twilight. All of them responded the same, affirming that they at least had an idea of where they needed to go.

Octavia and Indigo pulled into the parking lot which was pretty full. They went around for a bit, figuring it would be easy to find them considering how tall Principal Celestia was. They rode around for a bit but had no luck. Afterwards they parked and went into the store. The two wondered where their search should begin in such a massive store. Since all the registers are in the front they decided to start by walking through the front to see if they might be paying. As they did they spotted a certain rainbow haired girl with an older woman who had the same skin tone as her. The girl spotted them as well, looking at them surprised, especially since Indigo's eyes started glowing, somewhat like Sunset's only they were a light blue color.

"Calm down." said Octavia. Indigo took a deep breath, remembering their current objective. The two started walking away with the intent to split up.

"Hey." said a raspy voice. The two stopped.

"Hello Rainbow." said Octavia. Indigo refused to acknowledge her presence.

"I just wanted to thank you for protecting Scootaloo."

"It's Lemon Zest you should thank." said Indigo. "She's been protective of anyone younger than her since her little sister disappeared a few years ago." she said walking away. Octavia sighed and then followed. The two tried to figure out where to start their search. If their Principals are living together they could be getting groceries but since it is the weekend they could just be looking. Indigo put a hand on her head while Octavia crossed her arms.

"Indigo? Octavia?"

The two continued trying to figure out a starting point but were startled when both of them felt a hand on their shoulders and turned.

"Are you two okay?" asked Celestia. The same thought went through their heads.

'That was much easier than expected.'

"What are you two doing here?" asked Luna.

"We came looking for the two of you." replied Indigo.

"Why?" asked Celestia.

"Something happened and long story short, we need you to come with us." explained Indigo.

"Why can't you explain?" asked Luna.

"Because if Sunset's right something might be..." began Indigo before they heard screaming outside. The four ran outside and saw another Luna who had flipped over a car with one hand.

"Is that enough of an explanation for now?" asked Indigo. The two women just stared in shock. As the fake Luna began to advance they heard an engine in the distance. They became surprised to see a rose bud appear in the air which knocked her down. When she got close to the others she swerved before the light on the bike seemed to fire out what looked like spores of light which revealed several black and white creatures who seemed to be in cloaks, dragging themselves.

"What are they?" asked Luna as Sunset removed her helmet.

"Ganma." she replied. "Foot soldiers to be precise."

"So, do you have a plan?" asked Indigo as Sunset's motorcycle returned to its lock form.

"I'll get them back to base. I'll be back as soon as I can to help you out. The others should be by momentarily."

"How are you gonna get them away?" asked Indigo.

"It's easy." said Sunset walking up to the Principals. "Hang on to me." she instructed. The two nodded and placed their hands on her shoulders. There was a puff of smoke and then they were gone.

"I totally forgot she could do that." said Indigo.

"We should focus on our own situation." said Octavia putting on her Sengoku Driver.

"Oh. Right." said Indigo putting on her Meteor Driver.

"Meteor, Ready?"

"Melon! Lock on!"

"Henshin!" called out the two.

"Melon Arms! Tenka Gomen!"

The two ran in and started attacking the foot soldiers. The Luna Worm changed to its natural form and then sped up. The two noticed it but weren't really able to do much when they were struck a few times and thrown back.

"Any ideas?" asked Meteor. It was then they saw a black and blue blur move by them before the Worm was thrown back. After they saw Next stop in front of them.

"Are you two okay?" he asked in his distorted voice.

"Yeah. Thanks for the help." said Meteor. "Where have you been?"

"Upgrading my systems." replied Next.

"This should even out the playing field a bit." said Zangetsu bringing out her shield and drawing her Musou Saber. As the three were about to charge Zeal stepped out.

"You have your orders. Stop wasting your time." The Worm nodded and left as the Ganma disappeared. He then turned to them. "Let's see if you're any good."

"We're not push overs." said Meteor. She immediately charged in.

"Wait!" yelled out Zangetsu. Unfortunately, it was too late. Meteor struck Zeal who didn't move.

"Not bad kid." he said as his right hand began forming what looked like black smoke.

"No way." said Meteor in shock before Zeal struck her with a hit which caused a burst of black smoke to burst from her back before she was thrown with black lightning causing sparks on her suit. Next jumped and caught her. The lightning paralyzed her as her transformation was undone. For a moment Indigo's body began glowing allowing her to place a hand on her chest. Zeal laughed and then walked away.

"Hey, wait!" Indigo yelled out standing up before falling to a knee with a hand on her chest.

"Hold her." said Next. Zangetsu nodded and placed Indigo's head on her lap. Next stood up and held out his hand causing a light to cover her. "According to my readings her sternum is cracked. It seems an energy within her is trying to heal the crack but something else is interfering with it." he said as the others arrived.

"What happened?" asked Sunny.

"She took a hit from Zeal." replied Next. "Whatever energy he produces seems to be in her wound. It's keeping it from closing."

"Then we've gotta get her back to the base. Maybe Sunset will have a way to help her." said Lemon.

"Just in case I'll ask my own Medic if she has a possible solution." he said.

"Thank you for your assistance." said Zangetsu. He nodded. "I'll get in contact with you if I find something." The others nodded as he left.

They arrived back a few minutes later with Vinyl having ridden on Indigo's bike while Indigo herself rode with Octavia. Once they got back inside they saw the two Principals eating some cake. Octavia was helping Indigo walk who still held her chest. Sunset came out of the kitchen with tray with three cups of tea. She noticed Indigo and put the tray on the table before running up to her.

"What's wrong?" asked Sunset causing the Principals to turn to them.

"Zeal showed up." said Indigo having some trouble breathing.

"Her sternum's been fractured." explained Sugarcoat. Sunset went up to one of the pillars and knocked on it twice causing it to open, revealing several vials with a glowing red liquid. She pulled out an injector and placed one of them in it before injecting her arm. Once the liquid was gone Indigo fell unconscious.

"What was that?" asked Celestia as the two went up to them.

"A sedative." replied Sunset. "It works by utilizing the nanites in our blood to temporarily dull any pain." she explained. "She should wake up within the hour." she said as she held up her hand causing what looked like a holographic keyboard to appear in front of it surprising the others.

"What the heck is that?" asked Vinyl.

"Nee-san upgraded the systems of this place. It pretty much makes every floor of this place into one giant computer." explained Sunset.

"That's amazing!" yelled out Twilight causing Sunset to cover her ears.

"You've got access to very advanced technology here, don't you?" asked Luna.

"Nii-san and Nee-san know more about the tech from the core than anyone else." replied Sunset. "I have a basic idea of how it works but not the specifics of system itself." she explained. "Put her on the couch lying on her back." Octavia nodded, placing her on it. She took a step back as a light seemed to go over her. After a screen popped up which showed Indigo's unconscious form.

"Next said there was some sort of energy which was keeping her from regenerating." said Octavia.

"There's more to it than that." replied Sunset. "This was the same energy which kept me from being able to regenerate when..." she began before she stopped. The others remembered.

"When you lost control." finished Sunny. Sunset nodded.

"Is she in danger?" asked Celestia concerned.

"To be completely honest I don't know." replied Sunset. "When I lost control Indigo was able to knock me out because, just like Fourze, her cosmic energy has a link to her bonds. Thanks to this she was able to weaken the influence of the Furia module. All I can tell right now is that the cosmic energy her body started producing is trying to heal the fracture along with her nanites but the foreign energy is keeping it from doing so."

"Is there anything we can do?" asked Octavia.

"Possibly. I'm sending the data to Nee-san now." replied Sunset typing something before the screen and keyboard disappeared.

"In the meantime what do we do?" asked Lemon. "I guess we keep going with the sleepover."

"Sleepover?" asked Celestia and Luna surprised.

"Yeah. We decided to have a sleepover for the weekend." replied Sunset. "Since they had homework we took care of that last night and started training earlier today."

"So, should we keep going?" asked Vinyl looking at Indigo. Sunset turned to look at the unconscious girl.

"Probably not since we'd all be more worried about Indigo." said Sunset. "Not to mention we don't know what the Worm's objective is."

"Do you know what it wants?" asked Celestia.

"I've got a guess at most." replied Sunset. "The Worm, while in Vice Principal Luna's form, sent Ganma to attack, making sure it was seen. As far as I can tell they want to give the police a reason to detain her."

"Since Worms can take on the appearance of others I imagine they might have some impersonating police officers." said Twilight.

"Then their objective would more than likely be to capture Vice Principal Luna." said Sunny.

"Why would they want her, exactly?" asked Sugarcoat.

"Maybe for us to give up our Drivers." suggested Sour.

"I don't think so." said Sunset. "I've got the feeling there's a missing piece to this whole puzzle. Possibly more we're not seeing." she said turning to Twilight. "Did Nee-san send the files?" Twilight nodded. "Alright. For now, everyone relax. I'll take a look at the files and see if I can find anything."

"What files?" asked Celestia.

"I'm afraid that's classified for now." replied Sunset. "For now, just trust me. There's something we're not seeing but I'm sure we'll find it."

"Hey Sunset." called out Vinyl. "What do we do if the Worm shows up again?"

"I'm gonna have to let you guys handle it while I go over the information we have available." replied Sunset.

"I'm sure we'll be able to handle it." said Sunny. Sunset nodded.

"If you get hungry there's a number of recipes and I'm sure we've got the ingredients to make most of the recipes." instructed Sunset before leaving.

"What exactly is she looking for?" asked Luna.

"The reason someone might be targeting either or both of you." replied Sugarcoat. "Do you have any possible ideas of why they might target you?"

"None that immediately come to mind." said Celestia. It was then they spotted the Kabuto Zecter flying above them. Sunny turned to it.

"What's wrong?" The Zecter began to move erratically.

"Oh dear."

"What's it saying?" asked Sour.

"That three more Worms appeared taking on Vice Principal Luna's form." replied Sunny.

"Then we better head out." said Vinyl.

"Not yet." said Twilight catching their attention. "We have to consider one detail. Since we're talking about Worms they'll probably be able to Clock up." The Principals weren't sure what that meant but the others understood. In their current situation Sunny's the only one who can fight them but she obviously couldn't be in multiple places at once.

"I'm sure I can match them." said Sour surprising the others. "When I transform several energy items spawn in those chocolate blocks and one of them lets me move fast."

"That's right." remembered Lemon Zest.

"Then that's two down." said Vinyl. "Yo Tavi, think you might be able to think up a plan to fight one of those Worms?"

"Perhaps." replied Octavia. "Sour, do you know how long does the speed power up last?"

"Not really. I've only used it once so far."

"I'll head down to the control room to track them." said Twilight heading out.

"So we've got three new Worms to deal with and we're down two team mates." said Sunny. "I guess that means we'll need to split into pairs."

"We know Sunny and Sour can keep up with them." said Lemon.

"Hey Lemon. Your Engine memory can do different things, right?" asked Vinyl.

"Yeah. Once I put it in the sword it has three functions. Jet which heats things up, steam, and Electric."

"You learned it fast." said Vinyl.

"I tested the other two in battle. The jet thing Twilight told me about."

"I suppose the best choice might be for Sunny to be accompanied by Sugarcoat, Vinyl should go with Lemon Zest, and I'll go with Sour Sweet."

"Alright. We've got our teams so let's head out." said Lemon.

"Just be careful out there." said Celestia. The six turned and smile before nodding. Once they left the two Principals stood there feeling uncertain of what to do.

The Riders transformed before getting back on their bikes and headed out.

"Can you all read me?" asked Twilight.

"Kabuto all clear."

"Necrom all clear."

"Gaim all clear."

"Accel all clear."

"Zangetsu all clear."

"Ex-Aid all clear."

"Alright. The first Worm's about two and a half miles northwest of the tower. The second's about four miles east. The third's about three miles south." explained Twilight.

"Alright. We'll take the one south." said Gaim.

"We'll take the one northwest." said Ex-Aid.

"Then we'll head east." said Kabuto. "Everyone remember one thing. We need to find out exactly why they're after Vice Principal Luna so if possible try to get some answers."

"Understood."

"Got it."

Sour and Octavia arrived at their target first, spotting the fake Luna very quickly since she was flipping a car over. The two stopped and put on their Drivers.

"Once you transform make sure to change stages to something with a lot of sand." said Octavia activating her Lockseed as Sour activated her Gashat.

"Melon!"

"Mighty Action X!"

"Got it." said Sour.

"Lock on!"

"Gashatto!"

"Henshin!" called out Octavia slicing her Lockseed.

"Dai Henshin!" called out Sour pulling the handle on her Driver.

"Soiya! Melon Arms! Tenka Gomen!"

"Mighty Jump! Mighty Kick! Mighty, Mighty Action X!"

"Hey everyone." they heard Twilight call to them. "Sunset just came by and she said her sister installed something in the lights of the bikes that can reveal any Ganma in the field."

"Really?" asked Lemon surprised.

"Then it wasn't just hers." said Zangetsu. "Did she say how to activate it?"

"There's a soft pad in the center of each bike. You have to press it softly." explained Twilight. Zangetsu went to her bike and felt on the center feeling the pad. She pressed it and a light shot out of her headlight which seemed almost like glitter revealing several foot soldier Ganma dragging themselves towards them.

"Is that standard?" asked Ex-Aid.

"She says it's been standard for about thirty years but it isn't a function that's used often since Ganma attacks are usually more focused around Italy." replied Twilight.

"Well, this makes things much easier." said Zangetsu before turning to Ex-Aid. "Change the stage."

"Beach?"

"It doesn't matter anymore. We just need to get them away from the civilians."

"Gotcha." said Ex-Aid pressing the button on her slot."

"Stage Select!" The roulette appeared behind her and turned before stopping on what looked like a junkyard.

"Alright. Keep them busy while I find the power up." said Ex-Aid jumping away.

"Wait, what?!" asked Zangetsu surprised.

"This isn't like with Sunny's belt. I have to look for the power up." yelled out Ex-Aid as she broke a block which was empty and jumped to another one.

"Right. I probably should've considered that." muttered Zangetsu drawing her Saber. She charged in and started slashing at the Ganma who didn't put up much resistance, even though they outnumbered her.

As Zangetsu fought Ex-Aid continued smashing blocks until she found an Energy Item. Unfortunately it was a violet one which showed someone radiating light.

"Octavia cover your eyes!" she yelled out. Reacting immediately she turned away as the item went into Ex-Aid and she released a large burst of light which blinded all the Ganma and the Luna Worm. Seeing a chance, she re-sliced her lock twice.

"Melon Au Lait!" Zangetsu's Melon Defender started glowing before she threw it. The shield flew around causing most of the Ganma to explode. It didn't take long for the Luna Worm to recover and see its lackeys destroyed so it transformed. Zangetsu noticed and took a defensive stance but was caught by surprise when it clocked up and struck her from behind first before following up with several run by strikes which knocked her back.

"Alright. Defending won't work since it moves faster than I can track."

"I might be able to help you." said Twilight. "I can calculate its trajectory to anticipate its moves."

"Then I'll leave tracking to you." said Zangetsu as Ex-Aid smashed another empty block.

"Oh, come on!" yelled out Ex-Aid quickly becoming annoyed after having smashed four more blocks.

The Worm clocked up again as Zangetsu stood up.

"Block right!" She turned with her shield and avoided damage. "It's coming from behind." She turned again and successfully blocked another strike. "Block in front." She followed the instruction and blocked another.

"Tōmei-ka! Kōsoku-ka!" Zangetsu heard. She turned and saw as Ex-Aid became invisible surprising her.

"Watch your back!" The Worm almost struck her but was thrown back by something. The Worm was hit several times causing several sparks from its body. It got up as Ex-Aid became visible behind it holding her weapon as though she were holding a croquet mallet. To Zangetsu's surprise she hit it really hard on its rear launching it into the air and then hit the A button.

"Schakin!" called out her weapon as the blade extended from it and she inserted her Gashat into it. "Gashatto! Kimewaza!" it called out as it started charging up purple and blue electric energy. "Mighty Critical Finish!" At the same time Zangetsu resliced her lock three times.

"Melon Sparkling!" called out her Driver as her Saber started glowing. The two jumped and slashed it as Zangetsu used a block in front of her to jump back while Ex-Aid created one at her feet which she used to do the same. The two jumped back and slashed it a second time causing it to explode before they landed.

"Alright!" cheered Ex-Aid.

"I fear we went overboard." said Zangetsu.

"What do you mean?" asked Ex-Aid as their surroundings changed back.

"We were supposed to interrogate it." replied Zangetsu causing Ex-Aid's eyes to widen under her helmet.

"Ah crap."

"Hopefully the others have better luck...and self-control." said Zangetsu as they undid their transformations and left.

Vinyl and Lemon were forced to stop when a crowd of people started running towards them and went by them.

"I guess we're headed the right way." shrugged Vinyl.

"Do we have a plan on how to deal with the super-fast monster?" asked Lemon.

"I can help you but you're going to have to take out the Ganma first." said Twilight.

"How?" asked Vinyl.

"I've got you on view right now. Once it starts attacking I can calculate where it's gonna go." replied Twilight. "Just remember you have to take out the Ganma first."

"Right." said Lemon pressing the pad on her bike releasing light particles which revealed several foot soldiers. The two put on their Drivers.

"Orange!"

"Accel!"

"Henshin!" called out the two.

"Soiya! Orange Arms! Hanamichi On Stage!"

After the two brought out their weapons and charged in. As they fought there was something that caught their attention. Namely that the Worm didn't seem to be anywhere in sight. It didn't take a long time for them to take care of the Ganma and then began looking around.

"Twilight?" asked Gaim.

"I don't see it either. I think it's trying to stay out of...get down!"

The two were startled and dropped, narrowly dodging an attack.

"Did you see where it went?" asked Accel.

"The alley next to the clothing store." said Twilight.

"Alright." said Accel with a smirk under her helmet.

"Engine!" At that she inserted it into her weapon.

"It's moving towards Vinyl!" At that Accel rolled in front of Gaim with her blade sideways and pressed the trigger.

"Electric!" It was then it released a large burst of electricity which stunned the Worm mid attack.

"Alright. Now that you can't move we'd like to ask you some questions." said Accel. The Worm tried to turn away. "Why Vice Principal Luna?"

"I'm not saying anything." Said the Worm as an image of Luna's face seemed to appear at the side of its own.

"I didn't wanna have to do this but..." began Accel before pressing her blade to its shoulder releasing another electric shock. "Tell me what I want to know." she said starting to get angry. Hearing her over their comms actually scared Twilight a little. She guessed it was probably something she didn't know about since it was only recently she'd gotten to know Lemon and the others. Gaim looked at Accel feeling a bit concerned.

"Why Luna?" asked Accel again. Holding her blade to the Worm's face. The Worm laughed.

"You're an interesting girl." it said. "All I'm gonna say is that the answer is in the time lost."

"Time lost?" asked Gaim. She was about to ask what it meant but a few blasts hit it causing it to explode as Accel shielded herself. She turned to where the blasts had come from and spotted Pixie who was still holding out her Bugvisor. Accel looked at her for a moment, feeling an odd sense of familiarity. Pixie smiled before disappearing in a flurry.

"Well, crap." said Gaim closing her lock as Accel removed her memory.

"I guess we had a bust here." said Vinyl scratching her head.

"Not a total bust." replied Lemon. "At least we know to look at time lost, whatever that's supposed to mean. Twilight?"

"I'm not entirely sure what that means either. I'll run a search to see if it might be some sort of project or something."

Sunny and Sugarcoat arrived surprised the street was empty. Sugarcoat saw there were a lot of Ganma in the street which Sunny couldn't see.

"Are there any here?" asked Sunny.

"A lot of them." replied Sugarcoat putting on the Mega Ulorder.

"Stand by. Yes, sir! Loading!"

"I'll leave them to you." said Sunny as the Zecter went into her hand.

"Henshin!" called out the two.

"Tengan! Necrom! Mega Ulorder! Crush Invader!"

"Henshin. Cast Off. Change Beetle!"

Necrom drew out her weapon in and pushed the handle causing the hand at the end to turn revealing the barrel of the weapon. She began firing causing them to start going after her. After she pulled back the handle, resetting the hand part of her weapon and charged at them. In the meantime, Kabuto looked around trying to spot the Worm.

"Clock up." she called out tapping the pad.

"Clock up."

She ran, just barely stopping the Worm from hitting Necrom in the back with her weapon in its kunai mode.

"Not bad." complimented the Worm.

"Why are you after Luna?" asked Kabuto.

"Who knows? I just follow orders."

"You expect me to believe you were sent here looking like her with no idea of why?"

"What do I care what you think? Since you're here I'll do the doc a favor and get rid of you." replied the Worm as it swung forcing Kabuto to jump back.

"What Doc?" she asked. Instead of answering the Worm started attacking her. She blocked with the blade of her weapon and started counter-slashing. "I guess you're serious about not sharing any information." she said switching her weapon to gun mode. She dodged the Worm's attacks one after another until got very close, giving her a shot at point blank.

"You're not bad Rider."

"Then perhaps you'd consider giving me the information I seek." said Kabuto.

"I'd sooner die."

"Yes, you will." replied Kabuto.

"One, Two, Three."

"Rider Kick." she said before pulling the horn of her Zecter back.

"Rider Kick."

She jumped and delivered her kick which threw the Worm back before it exploded.

"Clock over."

Kabuto looked to see Necrom finishing off the last few foot soldiers. Once she was done she went up to the beetle themed Rider.

"Did you find out anything?"

"Only one thing. It seems they're working for some doctor." replied Kabuto as the two undid their transformation.

"Girls, Sunset said she needs us back here. I think she may have found something.

"We're already on our way back." said Octavia.

"Same here." said Lemon.

"We just finished here so we're heading back." said Sunny as they got back on their bikes.

It wasn't long after they returned but were surprised that Vinyl and Lemon seemed to be running a bit behind. The other four were surprised when they saw Twilight wasn't in the control room. The door opened causing the four to turn but they saw Vinyl and Lemon arrived with a few pizza boxes.

"We brought lunch!" said Lemon happily. The others looked at the two. "What? We got hungry."

"You do recall Sunset decided to make lunch, right?" asked Sunny.

"Oh yeah." said Lemon. "Oops."

"It's fine." said a voice behind them. They turned to see Sunset and Twilight standing behind them.

"Where were you?" asked Vinyl.

"Sunset's sister sent back the analysis of the data from Indigo's injury." replied Twilight before the two moved out allowing Indigo to step in.

"Yeah. I just wish there had been an easier way." complained Indigo.

"What do you mean?" asked Sour.

"We had to use a defibrillator on her." replied Sunset. "The energy was weakened enough to allow her cosmic energy to get rid of it and heal her."

"So, what'd I miss?"

"Three more Worms appeared and we took care of them." replied Lemon. "No big deal."

"Were you able to get any information?" asked Sunset.

"Not much." replied Sunny. "I found out they were sent by some doctor."

"We didn't have much luck either." replied Vinyl.

"The Worm just said something about lost time." added Lemon.

"Interesting." said Sunset.

"Did you find anything?" asked Sugarcoat.

"Something. Nothing. Hard to say." replied Sunset confusing the others. "I'll go get Principal Celestia."

The girls looked at each other, confused by what Sunset had said before Twilight turned to them.

"Come with me I guess" she said stepping into the elevator. The others followed.

"Did you see what she was looking at?" asked Indigo.

"No. She only came in the room when she said she'd forgotten something and then told me about the lights." replied Twilight placing her thumb on a numberless button. It lit up before the elevator started moving again.

"Where are we goin'?" asked Vinyl.

"I'm not entirely sure." replied Twilight. "Sunset just told me how to get to the room she was checking the files in and told me that we needed to wait there." she explained as the door opened. They entered a very big room which had nothing. It was just a big white room.

"I guess this helps her focus." said Sugarcoat.

"So, you didn't find anything?" Sunny asked Octavia.

"We got caught up in the moment and forgot to ask." replied Sour.

"So what do we do while we wait?" asked Vinyl.

"Truth or dare?" asked Lemon.

"NO!" yelled out Sunny, Sugarcoat, Sour, and Indigo surprising the other three.

"What's the deal?" Vinyl asked Twilight who shrugged.

"This girl is insane when it comes to dares." said Indigo pointing at Lemon. "She literally once dared me to eat a plate of spaghetti."

"That's not so bad." said Twilight.

"ONLY the plate." added Indigo.

"She once dared me to only give compliments for a full twenty-four hours!" accused Sugarcoat. Vinyl tried to imagine what that was like while Octavia simply considered the implication.

"While I'd love to hear about that we've got more pressing matters to attend to." The girls turned and saw Sunset standing there with Celestia behind her.

"What is this place?" asked Celestia.

"I guess the best way to put it would be to describe this room as one giant computer." explained Sunset before turning. "We need you to tell us about what happened to Vice Principal Luna?" she asked looking at Celestia straight in the eyes. She remained silent. "From what I've read she disappeared for close to eight months when she was eleven. Before disappearing, she was a polite, well behaved kid who always did her best academically. Afterwards she turned rebellious up until her sophomore year when she went to juvenile hall for shoplifting and assaulting several security guards."

"How did you find out about that?" asked Celestia.

"The agency I'm working for is sanctioned by all the governments in the world. It's how we keep track of threats worldwide. I asked Nee-san to send me the files for you and your sister." explained Sunset. "I also asked her to erase her criminal record."

"You could go to jail for that." said Celestia.

"Maybe but it's the only way to keep her safe for now. The only reason I can think of for the Worms to take on Vice Principal Luna's appearance is to get her arrested. In doing so they probably decided to have someone infiltrate the police station to take her. If I'm right then the only conclusion I can draw right now is that it has to do with that time she went missing."

"That must be what the Worm meant by lost time." said Lemon.

"I don't know if it'll help much because I don't know much about it myself but if you think it'll help I'll tell you what happened. Just don't tell Luna." The girls looked at one another and nodded before turning back to her.

"You have our word." said Sunset.

"It started when we were young..."

Author's Note:

There's nothing new to introduce for this chapter but for those who've been patiently waiting I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'll try to get the next one out much faster. Honestly this one took long than normal because early on I was writing a contest entry. Thanks to everyone on Discord who's helped me and thanks to everyone who enjoys reading this.

Comments

[The Dark Brony]

No worries mate.

[DavisSentoV5]

This was so worth the wait. The action was great, dialogue is on point, more Luna & Celestia, Twilight is having a blast with the new lab & a new villain maybe on the way. I love it!

[Ultimate Mayhem]

8518825 I'm glad you enjoyed it

[DavisSentoV5]

8518984
I always enjoy a great Kamen Rider story!

[DovahLord1233]

Hello Everypony! I’m new to Fimfiction.net, and I need some tips to help me get started!! Thx!!

[fanreader999999]

Crossover

[Nighlocktheawesome00]

9045274
You're welcome.