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The Past Ends, The Future Begins3,637 words
Past Pain, Present Threats7,354 words
New Friends meet former4,688 words
Take The Stage5,079 words
Storm Unleashed5,619 words
Aftermath6,942 words
Time Out5,143 words
Rider Trap5,551 words
Let's Game8,034 words
Accelerated Zest8,255 words
Mimic Mystery7,895 words
Hostage Time7,729 words
Fun and Dream6,102 words

Aftermath

The last couple of days had been pretty uneventful. After her use of the Furia module Sunset was unconscious for about a day and a half. She woke up feeling a bit sore but whatever had disrupted her nanites seemed to no longer be affecting them though she did still a bit of fatigue. Over the last couple of days Sugarcoat, Vinyl, and Indigo asked Sunset about what she'd researched having to do with their individual Drivers and powers to learn as much as possible. During that time Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had been absent. Most of the school didn't think much of it. The only ones who had any idea why they were absent were their friends and the Shadowcolts.

The eight were in the Principal's office having been called in because Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna had a feeling they might have an idea for why Pinkie and Fluttershy had been absent.

Though there was a bit of an awkward silence at first they explained what happened those few days ago.

"So the reason Sunset didn't return to school is because she fears she'll lose control." said Celestia. The eight nodded. "And you saw first hand when she lost control?" They nodded again.

"I'm still a little sore from it." said Vinyl.

"What exactly happened?" asked Luna.

They explained what happened making sure to include that the Rainbooms showing up was what caused Sunset to lose control.

"Then I suppose it is impossible for her to return." said Celestia.

"Not impossible." said Twilight causing everyone to look at her. "The other day when she made the shortcake she said that when she gets a new module she has to bond with it. It's possible she has to synchronize with it which would explain why she couldn't use any of them when fighting the demon."

"You're thinking she could learn to control it if she can synchronize with it." concluded Sugarcoat. Twilight nodded. "We'd have to talk to her about it."

"If she is able to then she could come back." said Octavia. "We should definitely discuss this with her later."

"So was she able to stop herself?" asked Luna.

"No. I stopped her." replied Indigo.

"How did...?" began Celestia as Indigo pulled out her Meteor Driver and explained what about how she'd met with her brother and how after she'd gone to find them before having to knock out Sunset.

"How was she afterwards?" asked Celestia.

"She was out for a day and a half." replied Sunny. "After waking up she was sore for a while but she's fine now."

"That's good to hear." said Celestia feeling relieved.

"Perhaps we should go see her." Luna suggested.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea." said Lemon.

"What do you mean?" asked Luna.

"When we gave her your message she said she would contact you but that first she had to deal with some personal issues." explained Vinyl.

"I suppose it's understandable considering what she's been through and is currently facing." said Celestia. "Very well. Thank you for this information. You may go." The eight girls nodded and left.

"What are you thinking sister?" asked Luna.

"As much as I'd like her to return she's correct to stay away for now. I trust her to find her way."

"What about the two who are absent?" asked Luna.

"There isn't much we can do to help them." said Celestia. "Heart might be able to but they'd have to be here."

The three Rainbooms who did show up for school were in the music room. After they saw Sunset lose control all of them had constant nightmares. The guilt was more than Pinkie and Fluttershy could bare resulting in them not being willing to go to school. Every once in a while the others still hung out in the music room despite not having the drive to play anything.

"So how's Pinkie?" Rainbow asked Applejack.

"Maud says she cries herself dry, goes to sleep, and then wakes up screaming." replied Applejack. "How's Fluttershy?"

"Not doing much better." replied Rainbow. "I still can't believe that was Sunset."

"I suppose those Shadowbolt girls were right." said Rarity feeling discouraged. "It would've been better to leave things be."

"How are you Rainbow?" Applejack asked.

"We thought we knew how badly we messed up when the girls confessed they were Anon-A-Miss but seeing Sunset like that...knowing we were the ones who did that...I keep wanting to believe we can be friends again but..."

"At this points it feels like nothing we do will ever make it possible for us to be friends with her again." Rarity said as covered her face to hide the tears.

None of them noticed someone in blue jeans was listening to them. He walked away from the door.

"It's just about time for me to take a drive." he said with a smirk.

The day went pretty normal for everyone. Once they were done the Shadowcolts went to visit Sunset as they normally did but today they had decided to surprise her by taking her somewhere to help her relax.

Once they arrived at Sunset's place they found her practicing the violin. For a while Octavia had been wondering whether or not she should bring her Cello for them to practice together.

'Perhaps I'll ask her later.' she thought to herself.

The group waited for her to finish before approaching her.

"You're very good." said Sunny.

"Thanks. I just do this to relax." replied Sunset. "So what's up?" she asked.

"Well..." began Vinyl. "It kinda seems like you don't go out unless there's a bad guy or something so we thought you might wanna go out. You know. Just to hang out."

"Oh. I don't have anything that needs to be done so sure I guess." shrugged Sunset.

"Alright!" cheered the others surprising Sunset.

"Am I missing something?" asked Sunset confused.

"Sorry. We just kinda thought it'd take some convincing to get you to go out." explained Indigo.

"You figured I was one of those all work and no play kind of person?" she asked with a smirk.

"Kinda." replied Indigo.

"I train often but I know that if I never relaxed my body would more than likely break down." said Sunset. "So where are we going?"

"That's a surprise." said Lemon.

"Okay." said Sunset placing her violin on a stand. "Let's get going. To be honest it does get pretty boring being here alone."

"You don't have a TV?" asked Lemon Zest.

"Yeah but I've never really been one to watch TV. Before I was living in an abandoned factory so I didn't have the luxury of watching television."

"Really?" asked Vinyl surprised. Sunset nodded.

"So are we going or what?" asked Sunset with a smile. The others looked at her and then walked out with Sunny and Lemon taking her hands. They put a blindfold on her and led her. Lemon even put her her headphones on Sunset so she couldn't hear where they were going.

Sunset wasn't sure how long they walked but after a short while she felt they entered a vehicle of some kind. It felt like a while longer before someone removed the headphones and the blindfold was untied. After they removed it she opened her eyes and saw they were in the middle of an amusement park.

"Welcome to Wonder Park." said Sunny.

"I don't remember this place being here before." said Sunset.

"It's been open for about a month." replied Sunny. "My Uncle opened it so we got in free." she said handing everyone bracelets. "These will give us access to everything." she explained as they took them and put them on.

"Alright. So what should we go on first?" asked Vinyl.

"I've heard roller coasters are a good way to start the day at an amusement park." said Sunset.

"Roller coaster it is." said Sunny.

The group went on the roller coaster and had blast. They were even laughing when they got off and went on a few more rides.

During that time Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity had gone to see Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. They'd convinced Pinkie to go with them and together they'd gotten Fluttershy to finally leave her home.

After they'd seen Sunset just over a week ago they'd figured that once they explained their side of the story she'd forgive them and return. They had planned to take her to Wonder Park to celebrate her return. After their encounter they realized Sunset wouldn't return so the three who did attend school decided to take the other two to the park in an attempt to cheer them up. They played a few games and went on a few simple rides since they figured Fluttershy wouldn't be able to handle the more thrilling rides. They had fun for a while but when they got out of the Funhouse they were giggling until Applejack bumped into Fluttershy who had stopped quite suddenly.

"Are you okay Fluttershy?" asked Applejack. The others looked at her as she stood frozen in place. They looked at her face and saw the shocked expression she had. They looked in the direction she was looking and realized why she'd gone stiff. Getting off a ride called the Dragon Twister was Sunset with the girls most of the students were now calling the Shadowcolts. The nine of them were smiling like they'd been having a blast but when they saw Sunset smiling and laughing with them the Rainbooms felt a flurry of negative emotions they weren't too familiar with. Regret, jealousy, sorrow, some anger, but most of all heartbreak. For a moment they stared before Fluttershy drew their attention by running away in tears. It took a second for them recover and chase after her.

Sunset and her friends were currently walking, wondering what ride they should go on next. As they walked they failed to notice a somewhat young girl in a pink hoodie walking by with a giggle.

"It's time to play." she said as an older looking guy who looked around eighteen. His body rippled becoming what looked like a human sized larva creature with legs which then seemed to molt. After it did it looked very much like a humanoid insect. The creature stepped out from behind a booth. At first people thought it was an employee in a costume but when it started attacking they ran in a panic.

The others had finally gotten Fluttershy to leave the bathroom in time for them to witness the attack. The five froze just before Seikō, Necrom, Meteor, and Gaim caught the creature by surprise by striking it from behind together. The others were helping the people who were afraid and getting them out of the area.

The four Riders looked at the creature as it got up but when it got up Seikō became surprised.

"Watch yourselves." she ordered.

"Why?" asked Meteor right before the creature moved at blinding speed surprising the three less experienced Riders. All four of them were struck repeatedly almost simultaneously before the creature ran off.

"That's why." said Seikō getting up.

"What the hell was that?" asked Gaim as they undid their transformations.

"A Worm." replied Sunset. "They're extremely dangerous."

"How dangerous could they be when they're called worms?" asked Indigo. "It just ran away."

"Worms are dangerous because they can imitate anyone. We still don't know how but it's been found that when a Worm imitates someone they get all of their memories becoming a perfect duplicate."

"What else can they do?" asked Sugarcoat.

"Outside of imitation they have two forms. The first is sturdier. They're slow but take little to no damage from most Riders. After molting however they're more vulnerable but can move almost at the speed of light."

"Do you have a module that could help?" asked Sugarcoat.

"Not really. Even the crater trick wouldn't work because the Worm could attack me several times in the time it'd take me to raise my fist, much less strike the ground." explained Sunset. "Maybe if I used the module of someone from Whip's team." she thought out loud with a hand on her chin.

"Why not use Cure Whip?" asked Sunny.

"The use of hers lets me use frosting as a weapon. Unfortunately that wouldn't stop it. It might slow it down but given how fast they move it's likely its speed would dry it out and it would just crack off." explained Sunset. When she looked up she noticed something in her peripheral vision. She turned and saw her former friends looking at them. She glared at them but her friends were surprised when they saw her eyes glow blood red as she clenched her fists. She turned away from the former but the current saw her baring her teeth which had all become sharp. Sunny and Indigo placed their hand on her shoulders. She saw the encouraging smile they gave her and sighed causing her eyes and teeth to return to normal. "I need my medicine." she said walking away. The others went with her leaving the Rainbooms feeling worse than before.

The sun had already gone down by the time they got back to Sunset's place. Sour had called her parents and said she was helping a friend so they wouldn't freak.

Once home Sunset stumbled in surprising the others. She went to one of the columns and placed her hand on it causing it to open. She then pulled out a gun-like injector and a vial with a light green liquid. She put the top of the vial on the back of the injector before injecting herself in the arm. Once the liquid was gone she pulled out the injector and sighed.

"Damn it. I was hoping I could stay in control without having to use this." she said feeling angry at herself.

"What was that?" asked Twilight.

"Nee-san calls it Resin." replied Sunset. "While I was being trained it was found that I could be on the edge of losing control even when I'm in civilian form. When that happens I become stronger and faster but the longer I let myself be at the edge the lower my chances of regaining control of myself. So Nee-san made that serum for me." she explained.

"What's in it?" asked Sugarcoat.

"I don't know. All I do know is that if anyone else takes it they'd fall into a coma." replied Sunset.

"So how come the same thing didn't happen when you went to the school?" asked Vinyl.

"I had been forced to focus on fighting an enemy. The adrenaline from that was enough to keep me from losing control for a couple of minutes." she replied before smiling and turning to Indigo. "I don't think I ever thanked you for keeping me from hurting them."

"It's cool. I'm just glad I didn't hurt you too badly." replied Indigo.

"I'm tougher than before so I can handle a beating." said Sunset with a smirk. "In any case I'll contact Nee-san to see if she has any ideas on how we can fight a Worm. The rest of you should go since you've got class."

"Good point." said Lemon. "We'll see you tomorrow." she said as the others left, minus Sunny.

"You're not heading home?" asked Sunset.

"I've got no one waiting for me and you stay alone so I'd say we could both use the company." replied Sunny.

"Interesting way to disguise your concern for me." said Sunset with a smile.

"You saw right through me." said Sunny returning the smile.

"If you really wanna stay then I'd recommend you at least head home to bring a change of clothes since you really don't seem like the kind of person who's okay with wearing the same thing multiple days in a row." said Sunset.

"While I'm not so fickle I suppose it would be preferable not to wear the exact same set of clothes." said Sunny. "I'll back in a bit." she said taking off. After Sunny closed the door Sunset turned with a scowl.

"Is there a reason you felt the need to spy on me?" The coffee table split and folded allowing the floor under it to open revealing a projector which showed Mercy who was looking to the side with a smile.

"It's nothing." she said. "In any case what did you need?"

"We faced a Worm not too long ago." explained Sunset.

"And you need help?"

"Right. All four of us tried to fight it but it caught us by surprise."

"Numbers won't help when the enemy that fast." said Mercy. "Your best chance would probably be to hit it with a wide spread attack."

"Wide spread? Like the archer mode Sparkle Sword?"

"Kind of but the bigger problem is that to cover the necessary range you'd have to use it at 100%."

"I see. Would the Beat Shockwave or the Happiness Hurricane work?" asked Sunset.

"I doubt it. The only other option you'd have would be to match its speed but as I recall it's you, Necrom, Meteor, and Gaim. I have something that might help a bit. I'll have it delivered so you should receive it by tomorrow."

"Understood." said Sunset. "I'll try to see if I can come up with something else."

"Alright." said Mercy. "I have to attend to something but I'll call you back in a bit. Oh and Sunset?"

"What is it?"

"Later we'll have to check to see if we can find who the Worm imitated. It's possible it might try to kill whoever it imitated along with anyone they're close to."

"Understood." said Sunset. The projection vanished and Sunset decided to make something to eat.

Once Sunny got back with a change of clothes and some PJs Sunset explained what she'd spoken to Mercy about.

"Then these Worms are much more dangerous than we thought." said Sunny.

"Sunny you said the park belongs to your uncle, right?"

"Yes."

"Do you know if the park has an active security system?"

"Yes. My uncle preferred to have it installed as they built it to avoid possible problems with the wiring." replied Sunny.

"Then we'll probably need to access it." said Sunset as the projector reactivated.

"I'm back." said Mercy.

"What were you doing?" asked Sunset.

"I got a new ring today but since I'm usually busy so I hadn't had a chance to test it." explained Sunset.

"So what does it do?" asked Sunny.

"It creates an amplifying barrier." replied Mercy.

"For regeneration?" asked Sunny.

"No. Both Sage and I have rings to create barriers. The one I just got creates a barrier that deflects any attack with double the force."

"That's great." said Sunset.

"So what should we start with?" asked Sunny.

"Right. First I'll need know where you fought."

"Wonder Park." replied Sunny.

"Sounds fun." said Mercy as they watched her typing on two separate keyboards.

"What time?" asked Mercy.

"We got back here at about six forty five so probably around six." replied Sunset.

"Alright. Let's see what we've got here." she said. "Alright. Just found your fight." she said. "Let's see..."

"I would've thought she'd need the password." Sunny whispered to Sunset.

"Nee-san is a really good hacker." Sunset whispered back.

"This is interesting." said Mercy surprising them. "Check this out." she said as a window was projected showing someone in a pink hoodie walking next to a guy with light blue skin and blue hair who wore jeans with a red dress shirt, a light pink tie, and a gray suit jacket that they had a barely visible lightning bolt at the collar. The two walked into a place between two booths near the bathrooms before the Worm stepped out.

"What do you think?" asked Sunny.

"I'd say the person you'll need to look for tomorrow is Thunderbass." said Sunset.

"Do you know him?" asked Sunny.

"Not really." shrugged Sunset. "I know he's a musician but that's about it. Nee-san?"

"Give me a sec." said Mercy as she began typing. "According to this he's got a younger sister who disappeared a few years ago but beyond that it's just him and his parents. From the looks of things they should be safe for now so just check on him tomorrow."

"Understood." said Sunny.

"Sunset be on stand by. It's possible it might attack during class."

"I know." said Sunset.

"Are you gonna need me to send you more Resin?"

"I've only used one vial so far."

"Okay. If you need any more just call."

"Right. How are the others doing?"

"Their mission hit some complications as it tends to happen but they'll be fine. It is entirely possible Chase and Marika might finish within the next few weeks though."

"That's great." said Sunset with a smile.

"Alright. Be careful you two." said Mercy as the transmission ended causing the projector to return into the opening and it to close.

The two spent most of the rest of the night watching movies on the large television that had been included with the penthouse like apartment. They'd made some popcorn allowing Sunny to see the place had been more than fully stocked with all kinds of food and snacks.

"Would you mind if I asked something?" asked Sunny.

"You can just ask." said Sunset.

"Who are Chase and Marika?" asked Sunny.

"Two members of my team." replied Sunset. "They're pretty much siblings even though he's not human."

"Not human?"

"It's complicated." said Sunset. "You'll understand when you meet them."

"It seems meeting your other friends will be interesting."

"They're my family." replied Sunset.

"So they're the reason you became strong?" asked Sunny.

"They're the reason I'm too stubborn to let the monsters beat me." replied Sunset.

The two went to sleep at around 9:30 since Sunny had class so Sunset let her stay in one of the extra rooms. That night Sunny dreamt something strange. She walked through the halls of Crystal Prep but there was no one else there. She was unsure what was going on and eventually she got tired of wandering around aimlessly. She went to the cafeteria and sat down to try to think. It was then the exit doors opened letting in a blindingly bright light. Sunny turned but could only make out a silhouette.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am the man who walks the path of heaven. The one who will rule over everything." he said. "And you are the one who will follow my path."

"Follow your path?" asked Sunny trying to get a good look at him but the light kept her from being able to make out anything past his silhouette.

"You've hidden from the world your true skills."

"I..." began Sunny looking to the side. "Even as a child I picked up on anything I was taught quickly but I was always alone because the other kids were either jealous or they thought I was a know-it-all. Aunt Cinch was happy about it but I always hated being alone."

"And that is why you hold back your talent even now." Sunny nodded. "Do you wish to help your friend? Do you desire the power to fight along side her?"

"Yes." she replied with no hesitation. "I will do anything."

"Then show your true talents to the world. It is then when you'll be able to take hold of the power you desire." he said as the light engulfed her.

She woke up early the following morning and tried to remember her dream but found most of it escaped her. There was just a thought in her mind that kept repeating. Show your true talents to the world. She got up and got ready. Sunset was still asleep so after showering she prepared something for both of them and left Sunset's portion under a plastic cover.

As she left she sent the others a message for them to meet up at the café in the shopping district that Sunset had shown them. The eight of them met up and Sunny explained what they'd found out the night before.

"So who do we need to check on?" asked Indigo.

"I believe Sunset referred to him as Thunderbass." said Sunny.

"I know him. He's an alright guy." said Vinyl.

"So we need to check if he's okay?" asked Octavia.

"That's the plan." replied Sunny.

"Then we should get going." said Twilight.

The eight headed to school. When they got to school they split up and got to looking for Thunderbass. They split up into three groups since the only ones who knew what he looked like were Vinyl, Octavia, and Sunny. They looked around until they Octavia's group spotted him coming out of the cafeteria. They texted the others to meet them near entrance before going up to him. They asked him if he'd seen anything odd recently. He'd replied that he hadn't outside of the what happen when Sunset returned.

Afterwards they met up with the others just a little bit before the bell rang. They told them they had nothing as they headed to class. School went as it usually did, although just like the days before Fluttershy and Pinkie were absent, but with one main difference. Since their transfer the other students had noted the six of them were above average in everything they did whether it was athletics or academics. Today, however, there was something different. While most of the other former Shadowbolts had been doing about the same at CHS as they had been at Crystal Prep but with less pressure today Sunny was breezing by everything, doing things even her friends had been unaware she could do. Even showing that her own athletic ability rivaled Indigo's and Rainbow's.

After school the Shadowcolts went to Sunset's place. When they got there Sunset gave a small box to Vinyl who was somewhat surprised. When she opened it she saw a new lockseed only this one had a strawberry with LS-06 on it.

"So how's this gonna help us?" asked Vinyl.

"That lockseed will give you a lighter armor and a smaller weapon." replied Sunset. "If you use it on your Musou Saber you'll be able to use a more wide spread attack."

"Musou...what?" asked Vinyl.

"The weapon you get when you transform. The sword with the gun."

"Oh. So that's what it's called." said Vinyl. "So what's the plan?"

"I'll explain in a bit. First there's something else I need to show you." replied Sunset. The others became curious and followed her to the elevator only instead of pressing a floor to pressed 3, 5, 11, 2, 17, and 28. After she pressed the floor numbers a screen turned on the opposite side from where the numbers which showed an arrow pointing down as it moved. After about a minute they felt the elevator stop. Once the doors opened Sunset led them into a dark area. When the lights came on they saw two motorcycles. The first was light blue while the other was green.

"What's going on?" asked Indigo.

"Nee-san decided you needed your own vehicles. These are prototypes for Meteor and Necrom made for you two. She's working on some other ones for you two but she's working on the others but hopefully you'll like these." explained Sunset. Sugarcoat and Indigo looked surprised for a moment before Indigo ran up to the blue bike and started hugging it.

"This is so cool!" she said excited.

"Hey, what about me?" asked Vinyl. Sunset handed her a lockseed only this one had a whitish pink flower on it. She looked at it confused.

"It's a Lock Vehicle like mine. This one's called the Sakura Hurricane."

"Sweet!"

Sunset turned to the others.

"You guys should stay here."

"What do you mean?" asked Lemon.

"The enemy we're facing now is able to move almost at the speed of light." began Sunset.

"And if it realizes we're friends the Worm might grab one of us." finished Sunny. Sunset nodded.

"As annoying as it is she's probably right." said Sour Sweet with her hands on her hips. "So what do we do in the meantime?"

"Actually there's something Nee-san wanted tested and now's a pretty good time for it." said Sunset with a smile. "Follow me." she said leading them back into the elevator. She pressed 9, 3, 10, 17, 13, and 22. Once she did the screen flashed and the elevator moved. When the doors open they were in a floor that had a lot of tech which included several monitors on the walls, a few desktop computers, and a central console which had a single seat with a circular keyboard. Sunset went to the console and pressed a button causing everything to activate. Then she hit a few keys causing three parts of the floor to open and rise. The three pillars opened and revealed three injectors which all had a glowing light blue liquid in them. She grabbed them and handed them to the other three Riders.

"What is it?" asked Sugarcoat.

"Nanites." replied Sunset. "They'll help accelerate your regeneration should you get hurt and your vitals can be monitored from the base or here."

"This is amazing." said Twilight looking around like a child in a toy store. Indigo and Sugarcoat injected themselves while Vinyl looked uncertain for a moment before doing the same. The three felt a bit odd for a moment but it passed. "So I guess you'll want us to keep an eye on you?" she asked.

"Not only that. The nanites will track us so you'll be able to see us via the traffic cameras. Each monitor will keep track of numerous cameras within a mile of each of us should we be in a situation where we have to transform so we'll need you to watch our backs.

"Got it!" said Twilight jumping into the seat of the central console excited. The others looked at her a bit surprised not having expected that reaction from her.

"Alright. Let's go." said Sunset. The four headed back down to the garage where they transformed. Seikō showed Gaim how to expand her bike while Necrom and Meteor got on theirs. After Seikō led them out surprising them when they saw the exit was only a block away in an alley.

"Can you read us?" asked Seikō.

"Loud and Clear." replied Twilight.

"Any sightings of the Worm?" asked Necrom.

"Actually you guys might wanna head to the skate park about ten blocks west of your current location." replied Twilight.

"I figured you'd figure the system out quickly." said Seikō smiling under her helmet.

"It's amazing! I'd heard of this system being used by the military to monitor hotspots but there wasn't much detail." replied Twilight as they headed to the skate park. "There's just one more thing Sunset. One of them is with him."

As this had been happening the Rainbooms who had gone to school decided they were gonna have to get over losing Sunset's friendship. Since Fluttershy and Pinkie were absent the other three decided to do their own thing after school to try to decide what they should do next. Rainbow had taken her bicycle to school so she could blow off steam. Once class ended she rode off to the skate park. She was doing tricks to clear her mind. She did this for a while before someone called out to her. When she stopped and turned she saw Thunderbass waving at her. She went up to him, leaning her bike on the pole he was near.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing." replied Rainbow.

"We may not be as close as we were when were kids but I know you well enough to know the only time you come here is when you're either angry, frustrated, or confused about something. So which is it?" he asked. Rainbow was about to lie but then stopped herself with a sigh.

"All three." replied Rainbow. He looked at her concerned and she explained their encounter the week before when Sunset lost control. She then explained how she'd gone with her friends yesterday to Wonder Park and that they'd seen her, including how seeing Sunset with those other girls made her feel and how when she saw them her eyes started glowing.

"Wow. That sounds rough." he said.

"Yeah and since then I just...I needed to blow off some steam."

"So you miss her?"

"Well yeah."

"It's pointless." said an oddly familiar voice. They turned and saw another Thunderbass walking towards them.

"Whoa." said the two.

"Are you my twin or something?"

"No. I'm the one that's gonna replace you." he said walking towards them as a girl in a pink hoodie stepped out from behind him.

"Let's get our bait." said the girl.

"Understood." said the fake Thunderbass. He held out his hand but was caught off guard when a few blasts threw him back. The girl in the hoodie simply looked back before turning to the direction the shots had come as four motorcycles landed between the two pairs, ridden by the four Riders.

"Oh goody. You're here." said the girl in the hood as she threw it off revealing she had straight pink hair tied in twin tails, wore a white costume with light pink frills, mid length boots, and a green plaid bracelet that almost resembled a scrunchie. Her skin, however was a much darker shade of pink. "Show them what you've got." she said with a smirk. The fake Thunderbass got up and yelled as his body rippled changing to his Worm form.

"Now!" yelled out Seikō. Gaim nodded and took off her orange lockseed causing the orange part of her armor to fold up into the fruit form before it disintegrated. After she took out her new lockseed.

"Ichigo!" the voice said as a hole with a zipper opened above her head with a metal strawberry coming out of it which had the tip folded to the side. She put the lock on her Driver. "Lock on!" it said before she sliced it. "Soiya! Ichigo Arms! Shushutto Spark!" it said as the strawberry landed on her helmet before folding on her forming another chest and back plate with the part of the strawberry with leaves going on her left shoulder. The Worm sped off as Gaim put the lock on her Musou Saber.

"Lock on! Ichi! Jyu! Hyaku! Sen! Ichigo Charge!" it called out as she swung her weapon upwards forming an energy strawberry which exploded releasing several throwing knives, which each had a strawberry on it, striking around them. A few did hit the Worm but it moved fast enough to keep from taking too much damage from most of them. It was then they heard something.

"Drive Type: Next!" called out another voice. They group turned and saw a Rider in a black suit and armor which was accented with blue lines which had a mostly black helmet with blue visors which looked like headlights, a black and yellow tire which went from the left should to below the right arm, a belt which had a circular screen which had an N with a circle over and under it, and a wrist brace that had a small black, blue, and yellow car. The knew Rider held out his hand materializing a sci-fi looking gun that had a blade coming out of the top of it. He pointed the barrel forward and fired at the Worm throwing it back.

"You can't beat a worm's speed." said the girl as it sped up.

"We'll see about that." said the Rider in a distorted voice as he used his palm to hold the back part of the car and pull if upwards three times.

"Ne-Ne-Next!" said the belt. After he seemed to move at the same speed as the Worm. The two collided with the new Rider slashing the Worm a few times before the two were separated a small explosion between them. They looked and saw the girl aiming a blueish weapon towards them. "Time to go." she said seriously before they both vanished surrounded by what looked like pixels. Seikō and the others went up to the new Rider.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am Kamen Rider Drive Next." he replied walking away. Seikō narrowed her eyes but then went up to Thunderbass.

"That creature will come after you again until it kills you. When it does use this to contact us." she said handing him a small device about the size of a quarter which had a button. Rainbow wanted to try to talk to Sunset but hesitated. Thunderbass took the device.

"Since you're here maybe you could talk to Rainbow." he said.

"There's nothing to talk about." said Seikō in dead tone. Thunderbass was about argue when there was an explosion of smoke. When it cleared the Riders and their bikes were gone. Rainbow sighed.

A few blocks away Heart, Medic, and Brain stood in an alley as Drive Next arrived.

"How do you feel?" asked Heart.

"Perfect." replied Next.

"Let's get you back to our lab so we can run some tests. Just in case." said Medic. Next nodded before undoing his transformation.

"Nice Drive!" said his belt as they left.

Author's Note:

Here's the what's new!

Gaim Ichigo Arms: