The Blunt Sword
“We only have a few months before the convergence,” Caesar said as he stormed into the throne room where Priellit was seated as usual. “And we’ve done nothing but further this Rider’s skills so far. You’ve got a lot to answer for.”
“I am simply the vessel which the Wheel of Fortune works through,” Priellit said without looking at him as she shuffled through the summoning deck. “You’re blaming the wrong person Caesar. Or perhaps you would rather try and explain things yourself.”
Caesar just grumbled a little as he looked at her. “You’re lucky that we only have you as a vessel, what do the cards tell you?”
Priellit placed the deck down in front of her and placed her hand on it. “The Wheel is in Motion, the time has come,” she said as she drew the top card off the deck and eyed it with her uncovered eye. “The Eight of Swords is in play. We need someone who is trapped, who’s beliefs limit themselves and hold them back.”
She spoke some words and the card vanished from her hand as Caesar frowned a little.
“An Eight card is stronger than anything we’ve sent at her so far,” he said. “But every time we send a new card we risk losing it. What stops her from just defeating it?”
“Well, you could send a member of the court,” Priellit said with a shrug. “Though I believe Kuagua ran off on his own. Perhaps he can be, persuaded to lend a hand to our new operative.”
Caesar frowned a little and shook his head. “It may be our only option, we cannot spare anyone else right now. Very well, I will, direct him in the right direction.”
“Good,” Priellit said as Caesar walked off. She glanced back at him for a moment and shook her head.
Caesar was very much still set in his ways. There wasn’t much that could be done to convince him, and he didn’t particularly like Kuagua. She just hoped that she was doing the right thing by directing them in this way.
00000
“Scootaloo, do you ever wonder where you come from?” Sweetie asked as Scootaloo looked up from her dinner. It had been a week since Scootaloo had beaten Vikotano and the two of them were enjoying a dinner together alone.
“Hmm, what do you mean?” Scootaloo asked as she took a bite.
“Well, I mean you never really talk about your birth family beyond your parents,” Sweetie said as she played with her pasta. “I’ve been kind of thinking about it lately is all. If you don’t want to talk about it it’s fine.”
“Yeah, I honestly don’t know much about my family,” Scootaloo admitted. “I’ve got a mixed heritage, that much I know. My mom was from Costa Rica and my Dad, well, he never really liked talking about where he came from, he said he’d tell me more when I was older but…”
“Yeah,” Sweetie said with a sigh. “I’m sorry for bringing it up. I’m sure you don’t really want to talk or think about it.”
“No, it’s not that, there’s just, not really anything to talk about,” Scootaloo said as she took another bite of her food. “Sometimes though, I would like to know if I have any more family out there. Maybe I should look into it sometime, what do you think?”
“I’d be glad to help you out as best I can,” Sweetie said with a soft smile and then paused for a moment. “Scootaloo, maybe me and Apple Bloom should try to help you out with the monsters. I mean, we’ve been kind of sitting on the sidelines while you do it, I want to be able to help you, you know?”
Scootaloo paused a moment, Fancy and Fleur said that you needed to be a Rider to actually damage one of the monsters. But, was it possible to be able to at least help hold them off? She looked at Sweetie and finally nodded a little.
“I’ll talk to Fancy and see if they have any gear or something you can use,” Scootaloo finally said with a soft smile as she took her girlfriend’s hands in her’s. “I would like to have you fighting by my side Sweetie. But at the same time I don’t want you to be in a position where you could get hurt.”
“Then I’ll just have to rely on my Kamen Rider girlfriend to protect me,” Sweetie said with a chuckle as she leaned over the table carefully and kissed Scootaloo. “I love you so much Scoots. Every day I’m with you is the happiest day of my life, and I want to help keep you safe.”
“Okay, we’ll at least try,” Scootaloo said with a soft smile. “I love you too Sweetie, I love you more than anything.”
“So, lets finish…” Sweetie started to say when Scootaloo’s cell phone rang and she sighed a little. “Now what is going on?”
“Its Fancy,” Scootaloo said as she read the caller ID. “Sorry Sweetie, I should probably answer this.”
She hit the accept call button and Sweetie sighed a little as Scootaloo raised it to her ear. “Hello?”
“I’m sorry for interrupting your evening, but we need you to investigate monster sightings tomorrow,” Fancy’s voice said on the other end. “We’ve already got a team moving that way but if there is something going on with the Order we’re going to need your help.”
Scootaloo sighed a little and looked at Sweetie with a shake of her head. “Where is it?”
“There’s a reservation about an hour’s drive away from Canterlot,” Fancy replied. “I honestly don’t have a lot of information on what’s going on there. There have just been some, disturbing accounts from the reservation that seem to coincide with the readings we’re picking up. The thing is that the locals are, less than forthcoming about what’s been happening.”
“So, you’re hoping that they might be more open if we go?” Scootaloo asked and Fancy paused for a moment. “What? Fancy, talk to me.”
“There is, a possibility yes,” Fancy finally replied. “If you and your friends can check it out, we can back you up as best we can.”
“I’ll talk to them,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “If they agree, we’ll all leave tomorrow. But they do also have to go to work.”
“Don’t worry about that, we have a cover story for this kind of thing,” Fancy said. “We’ll get in contact with their employers and tell them that they will be out of town. You don’t have to worry about them, just let us know what you decide.”
“Alright, I will,” Scootaloo said as she hung up the phone and put it away.
“Another monster attack?” Sweetie asked as Scootaloo started to eat again.
“Maybe, it sounds like there are some reports and readings coming from a Native American Reservation about an hour away,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “He wants us to go there and help the team, maybe try to get the locals to open up.”
“Alright, when do we leave?” Sweetie asked.
“What, just like that?” Scootaloo asked and blinked in surprise. “I thought you’d at least try to argue with me a bit first.”
“Scootaloo, I told you that we’d back you up whenever you need us,” Sweetie said with a soft smile. “I love you Scootaloo, and I want to help you as best I can. If you want to go on this mission I’ll go with you.”
“Thanks,” Scootaloo said with a smile as she gave her a nod. “Don’t worry about work, Fancy said he has some sort of cover story planned for that so you and Apple Bloom will be fine if she comes too.”
“Well that’s good,” Sweetie said as they started eating again. “Are you going to be okay? I mean, you’ve been through a lot lately.”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Scootaloo said with a soft smile. “We’ll talk to Apple Bloom when she gets home later. If she wants to come we’ll all go, if not, well, she can probably survive for a few days without us. I’m sure she won’t throw any crazy parties or something.”
Sweetie just chuckled as the young women went back to eating together.
00000
“Are yah sure this is tha right way?” Apple Bloom asked as they turned down a road that ran through a desert..
“Yeah, my phone says this is the way to go,” Sweetie Belle answered as she looked at the map option on her phone. “There will be a turn somewhere up ahead that we’ll need to take, but that’s not going to be for a few miles.”
Scootaloo stayed silent as she looked out the window at the desert as it went past them. There was nothing for miles but the occasional brush. She wasn’t really sure what to think about going on this mission, but she knew she had to.
She kept thinking about what Sweetie Belle had talked to her about last night. Should she really put them in danger? Even if they were able to help, that was something that she didn’t want to risk. But, if there was a way to help fight the monsters without being a Rider, it might be a good thing to have some back-up.
She just hoped that they could figure out how to do it without putting her friends at too much risk.
“What tha heck…” Apple Bloom said as she looked at something up ahead and started to slow the car down. “Scootaloo, Sweetie, do yah see what Ah’m seein’ up there?”
Scootaloo turned around as she and Sweetie leaned forward to see what was up ahead of them. Lying in the road was a body, but it wasn’t like anything they had ever seen before. It looked, wrong somehow, it looked like a deer but it was too, unnatural looking. Like it was put together from different animal parts and didn’t even have a tail.
“What is that thing…” Sweetie asked as the car pulled to a stop. “Do you think it was hit by a car?”
“That wouldn’t explain why it looks like that,” Apple Bloom said as she started to reach for the handle on her door. “Let’s check it out.”
Scootaloo had a sudden feeling in her gut that something was wrong. There was something about the animal that felt, wrong to her even more than it appearance. It felt like if they got out of the car then something horrible was going to happen to them.
She grabbed Apple Bloom’s arm and shouted. “Don’t get out!”
“What?” Apple Bloom asked as she and Sweetie looked at her confused. “Ah don’t get it, its just a dead animal in tha road.”
“I don’t know, there’s just something that feels wrong about this,” Scootaloo said as she leaned up and looked up at the sky. “If it’s dead then shouldn’t there be scavengers around here like vultures or something?”
“Yeah, maybe,” Sweetie said. “Are you okay Scootaloo?”
“I don’t know, but I think we need to get moving,” she said as she looked back at her girlfriend. “That thing doesn’t feel right to me.”
“Alright alright,” Apple Bloom said as she started the car up again and started down the road, swerving around the strange corpse and started down the road again towards the reservation, Apple Bloom looked up at the rearview mirror and her eyes went wide. “What tha…”
Scootaloo and Sweetie looked behind them and their eyes went wide when they realized that the body had stood up and was starting to move as it lumbered after the car and picked up speed.
“Go, go, go!” Scootaloo shouted as the car picked up speed down the road, thankfully it was empty as they flew down the road, trying to outrun the monstrosity that was now chasing them.
“What is that thing?” Sweetie asked as she looked at Scootaloo.
“I have no idea!” Scootaloo said as they held onto each other. Apple Bloom looked back at them for a moment as the car sped up, Sweetie kept an eye on the map as they were getting close to the turn.
“Apple Bloom, we need to turn soon,” she said. “Is that thing still chasing us?”
Apple Bloom glanced in the rearview mirror again as the monster seemed to be chasing them. She let up on the gas a little as she pulled on the turn down the road ahead before picking up speed again as they could see the reservation in the distance.
As they finally reached the town they slowed down a little. In the mirror she could see that there was nothing chasing them anymore. She pulled over onto the side of the road and the three of them were breathing heavily, their hearts beating a mile a minute.
“What tha hell was that thing?” Apple Bloom asked as she looked back at her friends.
“Whatever it was, it wasn’t human,” Sweetie Belle said as they heard the sound of sirens as a police car pulled up behind them. “And now we’ve got the cops coming, great.”
A man with dark hair stepped up to the window and tapped on it as Apple Bloom rolled her window down.”License and registration please,” he said as Apple Bloom took out the information. “You ladies were coming in pretty fast, mind explaining what’s going on here?”
“Yah wouldn’t believe us if we tried ta tell yah,” Apple Bloom said as she looked back at her friends.
“Try me,” he said. “Or I’ll have to write you a ticket, you wouldn’t want that would you?”
“No,” Apple Bloom said with a flinch. “We, saw somethin’ down tha road that was chasin’ us fer a bit.”
“You saw something?” The officer asked with a raised eyebrow. “What kind of something?”
Scootaloo paused a moment before she described what they had seen. The officer surprisingly didn’t laugh them off and instead listened carefully, he frowned a little when she finished describing the creature and what had happened.
“You ladies are very lucky,” he finally said. “You’re on Navajo land, you likely crossed paths with a Skinwalker. If you want my advice, you need to go speak to Spirit Talker. She’s our local medicine woman and she can ward off the evil spirit so it doesn’t pursue you.”
“Uh, okay,” Apple Bloom said. “Where can we find her?”
“Take the road and head for the center of town, she’s the third house on the left,” the officer said as he walked back to his car.
“Well, that didn’t go too badly,” Sweetie said as Apple Bloom started the car up again. “Do you believe what he said about the Skinwalker thing?”
“Ah don’t know,” Apple Bloom admitted. “Ah think Ah remember seein’ somethin’ about them on YouTube or somethin’. Ah think we should talk ta Spirit Talker just in case, we did see somethin’ out there.”
“Yeah, agreed,” Scootaloo said as they started down the road again towards the town. She sighed a little and wrapped her arm gently around Sweetie Belle who looked up at her worriedly. “It’s going to be okay Sweetie, I don’t know what we saw there but we’ll be fine.”
“Do you think it’s why we’re here?” Sweetie asked.
“Maybe,” Scootaloo said.
“Ah’ll bet it is, we got called here lookin’ fer a monster and we just saw one,” Apple Bloom pointed out. “Well, lets see if we can find anythin’ out at least.”
They pulled into town and headed for the house that they had been directed to.
00000
Scootaloo knocked on the door but there was the sound of arguing coming from inside. The three friends only caught some of the conversation through the door, mostly it seemed like they were arguing about something being built.
“Should we come back later?” Sweetie asked as she looked at her friends.
“Ah don’t know, maybe…” Apple Bloom started to say when the door swung open and a casually dressed man stormed out and past the three friends. “What was that about?”
“My sincerest apologies,” an old woman’s voice said as she walked up to the door. She had greying hair that went down to her shoulders and gave the three young women a smile. “Can I help you three? We don’t get outsiders here very often.”
“Yes, uh, we were told to come here by an officer after, well you’ll probably have a hard time believing us…” Scootaloo said as she described what happened on the road. “I know it sounds crazy…”
“Unfortunately, this is far from the only sighting of such a creature in recent days,” Spirit Talker said with a sigh. “You’re all fortunate though, there are those who were not so lucky. The Skinwalker doesn’t always live its victims alive.”
“You mean there have been other attacks?” Sweetie asked.
“I’m sorry, it is taboo to speak of such things,” Spirit Talker said. “But I can at least bless you so that you are not pursued by…”
She paused when she looked at Scootaloo again. There seemed to be a flash of recognition in her eyes which just left Scootaloo confused for a moment.
“Uh, is everything okay?” Scootaloo asked.
“What’s your name?” Spirit Talker asked.
“Scootaloo Dash,” Scootaloo asked as she looked at the old medicine woman confused for a long moment. “Why do you want to know?”
“Come inside, I’ll bless you and tell you more,” Spirit Talker said as she gestured for the young women to enter.
Scootaloo blinked a little as she looked around the house. It was a pretty ordinary house, though it also had several artifacts that looked like they came from Native American cultures around it. Spirit Talker gestured for them to take a seat as she took out items and started to work on them.
Once she finished she sat down and sighed a little. “Normally we do not speak of these things to outsiders, but the fact of the matter is that we need help,” Spirit Talker said. “Yours is not the first encounter with a Skinwalker, I’m afraid that it won’t be the last.”
“What are they?” Sweetie asked.
“A shaman who has the ability to turn into an animal,” Spirit Talker said with a shake of her head. “They’re dangerous, using their power to lure victims out. They can sound like a friend, or even a family member.”
“Ah see,” Apple Bloom said with a frown.
“Well, we’re here following reports of a monster,” Scootaloo said. “Is it possible there’s a connection between the Skinwalker attacks and the readings that we were sent here to investigate?”
The old woman paused for a moment and sighed. “If it was anyone else then I wouldn’t tell you. Director Fancy Pants is a shrewd one I’ll give him that, I didn’t think he’d find you.”
“I’m confused, you know the Director?” Sweetie asked. “And what’s so special about Scootaloo?”
“Scootaloo, were you ever told anything about your family?” Spirit Talker asked the dark skinned girl. “Specifically about your father?”
“No, at least not about my father,” Scootaloo said as she looked at her confused. “Why do you ask?”
“Scootaloo, your father was Navajo,” Spirit Talker said. “He was my son and had a lot of potential to be a shaman. I’m your grandmother Scootaloo, I can speak to you of these things because you are my flesh and blood.”
Scootaloo sat there in stunned silence for a long moment. She hadn’t expected that at all, this was really her grandmother?
“Then, what happened?” She finally asked. “Why did he leave?”
“Back when SMILE started out, Fancy Pants approached me me looking for help,” Spirit Talker said with a sigh. “This was, 23 years ago now I believe it was. There’s not a lot of love for government agents around here you understand, but your father he believed that he could do some good, so he agreed to leave with him.”
She sighed as a tear ran down her face. “Are yah okay?” Apple Bloom asked.
“We kept in contact from time to time, I found out he was married and that he had a daughter on the way,” Spirit Talker said. “Then when the Order attacks began contact dropped off more and more until he went quiet. When Fancy Pants showed up at my door I knew he was gone, he even offered to have you move here but…”
“But you didn’t want a reminder of your son?” Scootaloo asked and she nodded sadly. “I’m sorry, I had no idea. My adopted family never told me anything about you or where my Dad’s family came from.”
“A shame, but unavoidable,” Spirit Talker said. “You’re here to help the SMILE team they already sent right?”
“Yeah,” Scootaloo said with a nod.
“If this thing is a servant of the Order, then I hope you know what you’re doing,” Spirit Talker said. “And if it is a Skinwalker, then that is our business. Do we have an understanding?”
“Yeah, of course,” Scootaloo said. “We’re just here to help.”
“Thank you, I admit I didn’t expect such a thing to happen in these lands,” Spirit Talker said. “I hope that you can help before it is too late.”
Scootaloo nodded. “Where can we find the SMILE agents?”
“They’re in an area outside of town,” Spirit Talker said. “Take the road until you find it, it’s impossible to miss.”
“Thank you,” Scootaloo said and they headed out again together.
00000
Finding it was easy enough. Outside the town there was a large vehicle that served as the mobile command center for the SMILE team which was surrounded by tents and other gear. Apple Bloom pulled the car to a stop as the three friends climbed out.
“Well, look who showed up,” Agent Sweetie Drops said as she waved them over. “You’re a long way from Canterlot.”
“The Director said you needed help, so we’re here,” Scootaloo said with a shrug. “I was a bit surprised to get the call to come here. What do you know about what’s been going on?”
“Not a lot,” Sweetie Drops admitted. “We’ve been using handheld scanners and we’re pretty sure there’s an Order Agent here. The problem is that we don’t know anything more about that except a few slash marks that could’ve come from a sword.”
“Which means we’re dealing with a monster of the Swords suit,” another agent, this one had darker skin and reddish hair. “Along with wands they’re the ones that typically use melee weapons and hand to hand combat.”
“Wait, but didn’t the Five of Cups use Tomahawks?” Sweetie asked.
“Well, yes, that was an exception not the rule,” the newcomer said before looking at Scootaloo. “You’re the new Rider then? I’m Agent Pharynx, second in command of this operation behind Agent Drops.”
“Nice to meet you,” Scootaloo said and offered a hand that the man didn’t shake. “We managed to get some information from the local Medicine Woman, as well as an encounter on the road. We encountered something they call a Skinwalker, do you think it might be connected?”
“What do we have on Skinwalkers?” Sweetie Drops asked as she looked at a man in glasses who was working on a computer.
“Let’s see, Skinwalkers, Skinwalkers…” The tech said as he adjusted his glasses a little and looked it over. “Here we are, Skinwalkers are a creature from Native American mythology, however there are also numerous modern day sightings. All of them have similar stories, all unnatural animals that will even walk on two legs. They can mimic the voices of relatives of their intended victims, some even say they take on the voices of their victims after they kill them. SMILE has amassed a large amount of records of these things along with other similar creatures throughout the world.”
“Is it possible they’re real?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“We live in a world that’s been plagued by demons, interdimensional empires, vampire like creatures, beings created by eating fruit, and Undead representations of animals that fight to see what species rules the world,” Pharynx pointed out. “Honestly I have little doubt that such creatures could exist in some capacity.”
“Yeah, that doesn’t exactly make me feel better,” Apple Bloom said with a flinch.
“Don’t worry, we have guards around the clock guards around here,” Sweetie Drops said. “Nothing hostile will be allowed to approach. You can all sleep peacefully tonight, I promise.”
“Okay, thank you,” Scootaloo said with a sigh of relief. “I just hope you’re right.”
“Well, we’ve been here for a few days now and we haven’t run into any problems,” Pharynx said. “Honestly if it wasn’t for the readings and attacks we’ve investigated I’d say we were on a wild goose chase.”
“Hopefully it won’t turn out to be anything too dangerous, but that’s why I’m here,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “So, where do we stay?”
“We’ve got an extra tent and bedrolls, that’s about all we can offer you,” Sweetie Drops said. “I know it’s not much, but it’s the best we can offer right now. I would prefer to keep you close in case we need your help.”
“Alright,” Scootaloo said with a nod.
“You have your Driver right?” Pharynx asked.
“Right here,” Scootaloo said as she patted her bag where the Tarot Driver was. “I wouldn’t leave home without it if there’s a chance of a monster attack.”
“Good,” Pharynx said with a snort. “The last thing we need is a Rider without their Driver, especially with that thing out there.”
“Don’t worry about Pharynx, you’ll be fine,” Sweetie Drops said as she shot Pharynx a look. “Once we know exactly what we’re dealing with here then we should be fine, I hope.”
“Yah hope?” Apple Bloom asked. “That doesn’t exactly fill us with confidence.”
“No, no, we’ll be fine,” Sweetie Drops said quickly. “Don’t worry about it. Just get settled in and ready for tomorrow, okay? We need to know what we’re dealing with out there, so we’ll be doing patrols around the area.”
“Understood,” Scootaloo said with a sigh.
She just hoped that this was going to be okay.
00000
“So, what do yah think has SMILE all worked up?” Apple Bloom asked that night as they got their bedrolls situated in the tent. “They’ve been on edge all day.”
“They’re in the middle of territory that belongs to people that aren’t exactly about to trust them and there’s some sort of creature out there,” Sweetie pointed out with a sigh. “I don’t blame them for being on edge right now.”
“Do ya’ll believe what Spirit Talker told us before?” Apple Bloom asked. “About tha Skinwalker Ah mean. It sounded kinda, weird ta me.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Scootaloo said as she brushed her hair back. “I’m not even sure if I believe she’s actually my grandmother, but she makes a convincing case for it. I’m just, worried you know? What if I’d be setting myself up for disappointment if it turned out that she wasn’t really my grandmother?”
“Maybe you should go talk to her tomorrow,” Sweetie suggested as she laid on the bedroll next to Scootaloo and leaned over and gave her a kiss on the lips. “This is your chance to learn more about your father’s side of the family if it’s true. I’d take it.”
“Yeah, okay,” Scootaloo said and snuggled up to Sweetie.
“Don’t forget Ah’m in here ya’ll,” Apple Bloom said with a roll of her eyes as she rolled over on her side. “Try ta keep it down will yah?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Sweetie said as she ran her hand slowly along Scootaloo’s side. “Scootaloo here is just too tempting not to…”
Scootaloo just laughed a little and kissed Sweetie again. She was about to say good night to Apple Bloom when they all heard the sound of gunfire coming from outside.
“Stay here,” Scootaloo said as she grabbed the Tarot Driver and cards out of her bag as she gave Sweetie one more kiss. “I’ll be right back.”
She opened the tent and stepped out just as the guards were lowering their rifles. Sweetie Drops and Pharynx came into view just as they looked out at the desert. “What’s going on?”
“I saw something out there…” one of the guards said as he gripped his rifle tightly. “It looked like something walking towards us…”
“Let me see those binoculars,” Sweetie Drops said as she took out a pair of binoculars and focused them as she searched the area. “All I see is a coyote, I think you just panicked.”
“I swear, it wasn’t there before… there was, something walking on two legs out there,” the guard said.
Sweetie Drops sighed a little and looked at Scootaloo and Pharynx. “It’s probably nothing, but what are we getting on the scanners?”
Scootaloo for a moment thought that the guard had overreacted as she looked at Pharynx who frowned a little. “What is it?”
“I’ve got a strong reading coming from that way,” he said as he held up his handheld scanner and looked at them. “There’s something out there that’s emitting the same energy signature as the other Order Agents.”
“Alright, Pharynx you stay behind, Johnson, Nichols, you’re with me,” Sweetie said and then pointed at Scootaloo. “Dash, suit up, I need you on this.”
Scootaloo nodded as she placed the driver on her waist as the belt formed around it.
“Henshin!” She said as she slid the cards into the slot on the Driver.
“TIME TO TIP THE SCALES!” The voice said as the black and green armor formed around her and the Arcana Rapier appeared in her hand.
“Let’s go,” she said as they walked forward into the desert.
00000
Scootaloo had to admit she was nervous despite walking in the armor while flanked by three armed government agents. Sweetie Drops was holding a handheld scanner in front of her as she tried to pinpoint the location of the readings.
“I’ve got something in this direction,” she said as she raised the binoculars to her eyes again and scanned the area. “There’s something out there.”
“Do you know what it is?” Scootaloo asked as she gripped her sword’s hilt.
“It looks like that Coyote a… wait, no,” Sweetie Drops said as she focused in. “What the Hell is that thing…”
The other agents held their guns out at the advancing creature. Scootaloo raised her sword out as she waited for the creature to approach.
“Scootaloo…” A voice said from that direction, Scootaloo nearly lost her grip on her sword as it sounded like Sweetie Belle, but it was more distorted, almost unnatural sounding. “Come on Scoots, you want to see me don’t you?”
“That’s, not good,” Sweetie Drops said as she glanced at Scootaloo. “That’s not your girlfriend, whatever it is out there is trying to trick you into following it. We need to lure it here.”
“Right,” Scootaloo said as she held the sword upright again. “Come and get us whatever you are, I’m not afraid of you!”
“You should be,” the distorted voice said from around them as a figure started to approach, Scootaloo gripped the sword tighter. Its outline looked like the same creature they had seen on the road earlier, but this one was carrying a long sword that dragged along the desert floor.
“Open fire!” Sweetie Drops said as she and the other agents fired at the advancing creature but it didn’t phase it.
As it got closer Scootaloo could start to make out its features in the moonlight and she gulped a little. The creature was vaguely humanoid with an inhuman face and a body that looked like it had been patched together from several skins. It also had antlers pointing out of its head, but even they felt, off somehow. It was carrying a long sword with a basket shaped hilt cover. She couldn’t make out his chest, but she saw a circular mark on it.
“Outsiders…” he said in the same twisted voice as he walked forward, the blade of his sword scraping against the desert again. “You are not welcome here, these are our lands. You must leave, now!”
“You’ve been attacking people in this town, you terrorized me and my friends earlier on the road,” Scootaloo said as she pointed her sword at the monster. “I’m not going to stand back and let you hurt innocent people!”
“Kamen Rider Justice, I should have known you would be here,” the monster said with a sneer in his voice. “I am Alupah, the cleanser who will drive your kind out of our lands. You will not be allowed to remain.”
“I don’t care what your reasons are, you’re putting innocent people at risk,” Scootaloo said. “And I can see your future and it’s not bright.”
Alupah snarled and held his sword upright at Scootaloo as the Rider narrowed her eyes from behind her mask. “Then have at me Rider, unless you’re afraid.”
Scootaloo scowled as she lunged forward, thrusting towards the monster as he swung his sword around and caught her blade with his own. The twisted mouth of the creature smirked as he pushed Scootaloo back.
Scootaloo flinched a little at that, she had to admit she was still getting used to using the Arcana Rapier while it felt like Alupah had a much better idea of what he was doing. She had to keep him at arm’s length if she even wanted a chance.
“You’re sloppy,” Alupah said with a laugh as she tried to hit him again with her sword only to have it be blocked once more. “I’ll bet you hardly even know how to use that sword you’re holding in your hand.”
“I know enough, and I fought two of your compatriots with it!” Scootaloo said as she slashed at him again, this time managing to get her blade in and sending sparks fly as he took a step back. “Not so high and mighty are you now?”
Alupah just snorted as he took another swing at Scootaloo but just barely missed her as she took a step to the side and thrust her sword at him again. The monster let out an animalistic growl as he pulled his sword around and swung at her only to have their blades meet.
“She’s not doing bad,” Sweetie Drops commented.
“Agreed, but her form is all off,” one of the other agents said as she loaded another magazine into her gun.
Scootaloo and Alupah’s blades met again as the Rider tried to get in another thrust only to have it parried by the monster. Scootaloo was getting more frustrated at this point while the monster swordsman was keeping on the defensive for the most part.
“You’re hardly what I’d call a threat,” he said as he parried another blow. “I don’t see what Caesar and the others are so worried about. I’ve seen children that fight better than you!”
“Don’t listen to him Scootaloo, he’s just trying to psych you out!” Sweetie Drops shouted at her.
“It’s working…” Scootaloo muttered to herself as she thrusted at the monster one more time only to have her sword caught and knocked out of her hand.
Alupah laughed as he swung his blade down and caught Scootaloo across the chest which threw her back against the desert floor as her armor vanished from around her. She struggled to get up to her feet only to have the blade of the monster’s sword pressed against her.
“You’re nothing more than a novice, Kamen Rider,” he said with a smirk as he raised his sword. “If I bring back your head, I will be rewarded greatly. This is your end…”
He let out a scream as something hit him from behind. He reached behind him to extract a dagger made of some metal that glinted in the moonlight. “What the…”
“Soul Metal, its toxic to your kind,” a voice said as they turned to see Spirit Talker standing there, Scootaloo could see a glint from several more daggers. “We learned a long time ago how to fight your type monster, now run back to your masters!”
Alupah looked down at Scootaloo and then at the old woman before he removed his sword from Scootaloo’s neck and turned into a bird that flew off.
“Thank you,” Scootaloo said as Spirit Talker offered her a hand and pulled her up. “How did you know we were out here?”
“A young man saw the monster heading into the desert towards your camp,” Spirit Talker said as she gave Sweetie Drops and the other agents a small nod. “I suppose that was what you came here to find.”
“Yeah, someone in your town has been overtaken by a card spirit from the Order of the High Arcana,” Scootaloo said with a sigh as she put her Driver and cards away. “They must be what’s been attacking everyone.”
“Yes, I was afraid of that,” Spirit Talker said. “Come, you need to get back to your camp.”
“Right,” Scootaloo said as they headed towards the camp, something was still bugging her though. “How exactly do these things work? Alupah seemed to take on the traits of a, you know, one of those things.”
“That’s one mystery we never solved,” Sweetie Drops said. “They sometimes seem to take on different forms and powers. This one appears to be a shapeshifter, I’m afraid that this won’t be the last we see of him either.”
“Right…” Sweetie Drops said as we walked back towards camp.
00000
“Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle said as she ran up to her and hugged Scootaloo tightly. “Are you okay? What happened out there?”
“I’m fine, just a little sore,” Scootaloo said as she flinched a little at the pain caused by her girlfriend’s touch. “Did anything happen here?”
“No, but we were worried about yah,” Apple Bloom said as she walked over to her friends. “What happened?”
“It was a monster from the Order, some sort of shapeshifter,” Scootaloo said as she looked at her friends worriedly for a moment. “What if it comes back?”
“Then we’ll stop it,” Sweetie Belle said with a soft smile as she kissed Scootaloo gently on the lips. “We were scared something would happen to you Scootaloo, are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, that, thing managed to force me back but Spirit Talker helped us,” Scootaloo said as she looked back at her grandmother. “Thank you again.”
“You are welcome Scootaloo,” Spirit Talker said with a nod.
“I’ll escort you back to town,” Pharynx said as he walked off with Spirit Talker towards one of the vehicles.
“Alright, everyone stay on guard, we don’t know who that thing was or if it’ll be back,” Sweetie Drops said. “Scootaloo, try to get some sleep if you can. We’re going to need you well rested for tomorrow.”
“What’s tomorrow?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Tomorrow you’re going to need some proper sword fighting training,” Sweetie Drops said. “And if that thing comes back, we’re all going to have to work together to deal with it.”
“Right,” Scootaloo said, though she felt like sleep wasn’t going to come easily. “Good night.”
She and her friends headed back into their tent as Scootaloo put the Driver and cards away again. She laid back down on the bedding as Sweetie laid down next to her and snuggled with her, gently wrapping her arms around her.
“I love you Scootaloo,” Sweetie said softly as she kissed the darker skinned girl gently on the forehead.
“I love you too,” Scootaloo said as she held Sweetie close to her. “I don’t want anything to happen to you, I’ll keep you safe I promise.”
Sweetie kissed her deeply, Scootaloo closed her eyes as she returned the kiss. Her hands moved slowly along Sweetie’s back, the two young women losing themselves in the kiss as they let their worries melt away.
“Get a room yah two,” Apple Bloom said with a chuckle. “This ain’t a private tent yah know.”
“We know,” Scootaloo said with a grin as she looked over at Apple Bloom before she added jokingly. “You know you could go sleep outside.”
“Heck no, Ah ain’t goin’ out there with whatever that thing is,” Apple Bloom said.
“Then you’re going to have to live with it,” Scootaloo said as she kissed Sweetie Belle again which just made Apple Bloom roll her eyes and shut off the lantern.
“Fine, just keep it down, Ah want ta sleep,” she said with a laugh as she turned over on her side and closed her eyes.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle smiled a little as Scootaloo wrapped her arms around Sweetie. They drifted off to sleep in each other’s embrace.
00000
Miles away in Canterlot, Fancy Pants was sitting on a bench in the park reading a newspaper. He noticed a few stories about Kamen Rider Justice as well as a few strange reports of something in the city.
“Don’t look up,” a woman’s voice said as a woman with a hat pulled down over her features took a seat on the bench next to him.
“I saw what happened to the sex offender, your handiwork I’m guessing,” Fancy Pants said without looking up at the woman.
“He was scum,” the woman said. “But he mentioned that SMILE has a new Kamen Rider, I have to admit I was surprised to hear that.”
“Kamen Rider Justice,” Fancy Pants said as he turned the page. “She’s still refining her abilities as a Rider but she’s getting the hang of it.”
“Good,” the woman said. “She’s going to need it with the Order coming back all of a sudden.”
“I was hoping you’d have some information on that,” Fancy Pants said. “You always knew more about the Order than any of us. A shame you didn’t come before they vanished last time.”
“They’re waiting for something, something that only comes around every 13 years,” the woman said. “It’s what gives them the power to do this, I was never privy to the details but they called it the Convergence.”
“Interesting,” Fancy Pants said. “And what about you? You don’t have to stay gone you know, there’s a lot of good you can do for the organization.”
“I’m not ready to come back yet,” the woman said. “There are still things that I must do, people I have to protect. Besides, you never agreed with my methods before.”
“Times change, and so do people,” Fancy Pants said. “The fact of the matter is that we need all the help we can get. You and the others are the best chance we have at defeating the Order and you know that.”
“Perhaps,” the woman said. “But you don’t need me right now, right now I have things that must be done as I said. Perhaps in time I’ll come back.”
“Very well,” Fancy Pants said with a sigh. “But if you have any more information I would appreciate it if you…”
As he said that he realized he was alone. He lowered the newspaper and looked around to find that there was no one else there. He sighed and got up, he’d need to head back to headquarters now and hope that everything was going okay.
From a distance, a woman watched him from the back of a motorcycle. She turned it on and sped away down the road.
00000
“I’m Agent Johnson,” one of the agents from the night before said as she went through some equipment while Scootaloo waited. “Your fighting style last night was sloppy, the monster was right about that. You’re going to need to learn how to use a rapier properly if you want to fight Swords Suit monsters.”
“So, what are we going to do about that?” Scootaloo asked as Johnson took out two sticks that looked like they were made of plastic or something similar and tossed one to Scootaloo.
“These have about the same weight and shape as the Arcana Rapier,” Johnson said as she held her own stick out at Scootaloo. “Come at me, I want to see your technique for myself so I can see what I’m working with here.”
“Alright,” Scootaloo said as she moved forward and swung the stick around only to have it be caught and knocked to the side by the agent.
“Again,” Johnson said and Scootaloo tried the same a second time only to have the stick be pushed down to the ground by the Agent’s. “Your form is all wrong, the rapier isn’t a weapon you flail around with. It’s a sword built for fast stabs and thrusts, like so.”
Johnson took a pose that put one foot behind her and struck fast, pushing the stick past Scootaloo’s defenses before she could even bring it up and stopped just short of actually hitting her.
“Your opponent uses a Broadsword, it’s heavier and not as fast,” Johnson said as she went in for another strike against Scootaloo which she tried to block but she just missed and was nearly hit again. “You have the speed advantage over him, but he will try and use your attacks against you. You need to use the weight of his sword against him, fight him, strike fast and avoid his attacks. Now, copy my stance, your stance is important, the smaller your profile the harder it’ll be for your opponent to hit you.”
“Okay,” Scootaloo said as she stood in the same stance as Johnson and held the stick in the same way.
“Now, come at me again,” Johnson said as she gave Scootaloo a nod. “Fight like I showed you, move quickly and make sure that your strikes are fast and precise.”
Scootaloo nodded as she moved forward quickly, striking out with the stick as she tried to hit Johnson who barely caught it with her own.
“Better, but you need to go faster,” Johnson said as she pushed the sword back after a moment. “The Rapier can be used to slash and cut but you have to make sure you’re careful. You have a stabbing weapon here, this is not a weapon to be used lightly.”
“Right,” Scootaloo said as she took a step back as the two fighters circled around a little, Scootaloo finally thrust forward again and the sparring match continued.
“Well, Scootaloo’s startin’ ta get tha hang of this,” Apple Bloom said after a while as she and Sweetie Belle watched the two fight. “Do yah think she’s goin’ ta be okay?”
“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Sweetie Belle said with a sigh as she watched the two of them fighting one another. Scootaloo was getting better with each try, but Johnson had more experience with the style. “What do you think?”
“Probably,” Apple Bloom said with a sigh. “How do we even know how these monsters work? She’s goin’ up against somethin’ that probably knows how ta use a sword better than any livin’ swordsman.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Sweetie said with a shake of her head. “Lets just hope that she gets the hang of this before she has to fight against that thing again.”
Scootaloo and Johnson kept fighting for a little while before Scootaloo finally took a step to the side and dodged another stab from Johnson and caught it with her stick. She pushed it to the side and swung right at Johnson’s chest, pressing right against it.
“Well done,” Johnson said as she finally lowered her stick as Scootaloo did the same. “As long as you remember everything I’ve taught you, you’ll do fine against that thing.”
“Thanks,” Scootaloo said as she handed the stick back to Agent Johnson. “You gave me a lot of good tips on what to do. I just hope that it’s going to be enough to take on that monster.”
“You’ll be fine, just be careful,” Johnson said as Scootaloo went back to her friends. “We’re keeping an eye out for that thing anywhere in town. Wherever it shows up, we can take it out, I promise. In the meantime, Agent Sweetie Drops suggested that you get familiar with the town.”
Scootaloo nodded as they headed back to their car and started it up. It was time to learn more about where Scootaloo’s family came from hopefully.
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img00.deviantart.net/f1c7/i/2014/154/c/7/eight_of_swords_by_janeesper-d7kuhym.jpg
Oh, that does not sound good...
Well, if a man and a woman love each other very much...
Huh, yeah, I wonder...
Oh, I know where this might go.
Pants to be darkened.
Huh, the police are not stupid, nice
Let me just quickly load this gun here.
Well, hi granny
Hey Pharynx
Ah, the insanity of the Toei verse. But just for fun, let's see: GoGoFive, or the guys from the Ultimatum, the Zangyack, Fangire, Inves, and Undead... are Undead.
Being currently on Faiz, that reminds me of the time they forgot the Faiz Driver at home, that thing is unwieldy though
Sounds like one of the patchwork Yummy. Oh, and regardintg the Sweetie impression: BAAM!
Soul Metal? I have not seen a single Horror in this story, where did that come from?
So he does know more than he lets on.
How do you come to that conclusion?
So, one question does the Order have some mukes, aka footsoldiers?
9264333
Indeed, I needed a good card for what I wanted to do
No, no it does not.
I'm pretty sure Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle know the birds and the bees at this point, if not, well they've got lots of practice, if you know what I mean
.
Yeah, that's part of why I wanted to do this chapter.
Yes, muwhahahahahahahahaha!
Interesting note, this was actually based on a reportedly real encounter with a Skinwalker in the Southwest where they were pursued while in a car and crossed paths with a Navajo police officer who let them pass for obvious reasons.
Yes, muwhahahahahaha!
Yeah, I wanted to take this chance to expand on Scootaloo's family more, so I made her a mix of Spanish and Navajo.
Yeah, I figured, Changeling... why not make him a government agent?
Yeah, Undead is pretty easy to figure out, they didn't really think outside the box on that name.
Yeah, good thing I just went with the belt buckle that forms the belt thing right? Kiva's got it easy, his transformation trinket flies around and makes the belt appear when he bites down.
Well again its based on the story of the skinwalker and how it would gather skins and stuff.
1. Its called a shout out, there's no harm in a shout out.
2. Its actually more a reference to Phosphorous, which has its roots in the idea of the soul, I just wanted to call it that.
Yes, we'll get into why he's being so quiet about it later, I'm sneaky.
Because its the sword suit? I dunno, its just a guess not an absolute.
I haven't really made any yet, but maybe.
Huh, interesting. Coming from a mixed bag of locales myself, mostly from Europe I approve of this.
Oh, fucking hell... I know exactly what that thing is. RUN!
Sound advice, listen to Scoots.
Bit on the nose name, although I shouldn't talk but best plan right now. I was hoping in a dark way issues on a reservation meant Skinwalker. It is All Hallow's Eve after all.
Okay, very interestin'...
No duh! Also, love an appearance from my favorite grumpy be-Er, bug.
Reminds me of Shroud, dunno why.
Really great chapter Ruin, also love the Blue Sky Organization like group SMILE is turning out to be, even inducting Apple Bloom and Sweetie in their cause to serve as the Yuki and Megumi style back-up, only without needing their asses saved every single damn time by the Rider(s). Great villain of the week as well. Best chapter yet I'd say.
9264501 Glad you liked it, and yeah, the Skinwalker was where I wanted to go with this. It also gave me a chance to expand on Scootaloo's family a bit as you saw, I liked the idea of her coming from a mixed heritage so I just went with it.
9264469
Oh, now that is interesting.
Yeah, that works.
Yeah, the Undead are quite... uninspired as a name.
Yeah, the belt forming drivers are quite handy, still, sometimes you wonder where they keep that thing, especially something like the Gamer Driver, seriously that thing is massive.
You are right, I just wanted to tease you a bit
Huh, interesting.
9265067
We have such dirty minds don't we?
Yeah, I listen to a lot of horror stories on YouTube including Skinwalker stories, its where I got the idea to use it in the first place.
Whether or not that was actually the Monster of the Week though, I'll never tell.
He'll be a recurring character in Justice, but I have plans for him in a future story.
Really Blade had bigger problems than just an uninspired name for its monsters, I don't think most of it was very inspired. Still, had Hajime, I like him, and the ending.
Yeah, who knows, I get around that by having Scootaloo keep it in a bag or whatever she has on hand.
Speaking of Kiva, I actually finished watching it today, I liked it... other than the what the frak where did that come from ending.
Haha.
Really, this universe has enough to worry about between, well everything that's ever attacked it in all the franchises that share a universe to have to worry about Horrors on top of it.
Plus that would just get weird because of all the Toei actors who have appeared in Garo and the alternate timelines thing and, yeah, simpler just to say its a reference..
I don't actually know what I would even do for footsoldiers.
9265099
Oh, you have no idea
Really cool, and sometimes not knowing is better than knowing.
Won't take long anymore till I get to it, just the last 12 episodes of Faiz and I'm there, then I can make my own opinion on the matter.
Still got a few series to go through till I get to Kiva, but it will come, it will come.
Yeah, that world is just under constant danger.
Whenever they nowadays use Blade footsoldiers, they use the ones from the end of the series since it hadn't really any. Who knows, they are not really needed I would say, Drive didn't have any as well, technically, I don't count untransformed Roidmudes as footsoldiers, that just feels wrong...
9265126
Oh well, they make a cute couple, and I have plans for the future.
As Pharynx said, in a world like this one, such beings could exist.
Watch out for the true enemy of Blade, THE LENS FLARE!
Seriously, there's a lot of lens flares in Blade, its kind of annoying really
Trust me, its worth a watch, I watched it this month for October and I loved it.
Yeah I'm not really watching the Kamen Rider shows in any order, heck after I finish W I'm going back to the Showa era with Black and then probably Fourze after that.
Luckily, heroes will always step up to fight back and save the world, that's what really counts.
The problem with the way I planned the monsters of the week as well as the commanders is that it makes it difficult to make footsoldiers. Likely they just don't have any.
9265153
Yeah, I heard
We'll see about that... eventually.
True, true.
Like I said, they are not really needed, hell ZI-O also doesn't seem to have them.
9265173 Of course now in my universe because the plot calls for it things are spreading to America. Really, groups like SMILE make sense, government sponsored organizations to fight monsters in case they ever attack there, especially after what happened in Gaim.
9265175
Yeah, the first time America was ever attacked on their own ground will sport some change.
9265183 Well the first that we know of, we do know the Showa era riders dealt with threats outside of Japan so its possible that they were hit before but not as hard as in Gaim.
9265185
That might be true, but you really can't ignore a missile rain, now can you?
9265192 Technically SMILE predates Gaim, going back over 20 years and they fought the Order before, after all with major threats going after earth the smart thing would be to prepare just in case, but Gaim certainly would've put things more on edge, not just because of the missiles but also because the Inves spread worldwide.
9265195
Definitely true. And after this, I'm sure they have all the funding they are going to need.
9265202 Yeah, they're going to become a recurring fixture of my Kamen Rider universe. They won't always be the ones who made the Drivers and stuff like in Justice, but they'll be there.
9265210
Like the idea, like the idea. But that is not really a surprise, now is it?
9265216 Pharynx is going to appear in at least one sequel, I like him.