20: Guidance
“Remind me why you invited me to this again?” Adagio had to ask. “...’Nata, look, I’m not a baker.”
There she was, at one of Sonata’s baking classes for… some reason she had yet to figure out. Sonata, being herself had pretty much embraced her the moment she’d gotten out of the hospital -possibly causing a few cracked ribs- and resolved to get her more positive time with her siblings. Adagio could appreciate the thought, but she had work to do.
“Well, we’ll just have to fix that won’t we?” Sonata beamed. “Besides, you’re always so stuffy at your job. Look, I know you love it, but you never take days off for yourself. You’ve been working a straight week and a half since you got back.”
“I have sick days to make up, m’kay?” Adagio said to her. “Contrary to popular belief, I can’t just go off and take off whenever I feel like it even to save the world. Not unless I want to get fired.”
“I mean, fair enough,” Sonata said. “But at the very least you need to loosen up.”
“I didn’t get to my level of success by ‘loosening up’ as you put it,” Adagio deadpanned. “I got there by working hard. Fact is, I only have an hour before I have to rush back over to the National Aquarium, and I don’t exactly have time to kill learning how to bake cakes.”
“...Adagio, look…” Sonata whispered. “It’s just… well, after the other Adagio showed up, I… well, I got worried okay? Worried I was going to lose you.”
“To what?” Adagio whispered back. “I can handle myself.”
“And yet you got yourself put right into the hospital for the second time this year,” Sonata whispered back. “I… I just don’t want to lose my sister like I lost… da.” she choked back her tears.
Adagio’s eyes widened in recognition before she hugged her sibling briefly. “You’re not going to lose me, I’ll be right by your side. And if you ever need me, I’ll come running.”
“Promise?” Sonata asked.
“Promise,” Adagio smiled before she went back to kneading the cake dough in front of her. “...wait, you’re not doing this so I can become a housewife, are you? Because I’d…”
“Never stand for that?” Sonata asked. “I dunno, it might help you reign Ankh in if you knew how to appease his stomach. Isn’t that the way to a man’s heart and all?”
Adagio actually had to fight back a laugh at this. “You’re a goof, you know that right?”
“But I’m your goof,” Sonata said tossing a piece of cake dough at her sister.
“Oh, okay,” Adagio said holding up a wad of dough. “You want to go there? Seriously, you wanna go there?”
Sonata was then covered by cake batter and dough. What happened next, well it could only be described as a small civil war breaking out as the two tossed ingredients back and forth and soon they were on the floor laughing like fools possessed.
“...what’s… what’s gotten into us?” Sonata giggled, unable to stop herself from laughing. Adagio didn’t look to be that far behind seeing the frankly ridiculous state of her sibling. “It’s been years since we’ve been this dumb! I could get tossed out of class for being like this!”
“And… and yet here you are!” Adagio said clutching her chest as she came very close to doubling over in laughter. “God, I’ve missed this. Just… I have, okay?”
“See, I knew my sister was in there somewhere!” Sonata shouted. “It wasn’t just some stick in the mud wearing my big sis’s body!”
As Adagio wiped away tears of laughter, Sonata had to smile. Mission accomplished, it would seem. Truth be told, there was more to this than what Sonata was actually telling her sister.
“Wait wait wait,” Sonata said. “Hold up, back up the bus. You’re telling me you actually went ahead and bought out Denver National Aquarium, and then you went ahead and called Ghost-Guy?” she asked in stark disbelief pointing to Eiji and then pointing to Takeru.
Eiji nodded while Sonata held her head and muttered: “...I think I need to sit down for a moment. Chair please?”
As her sister fell back into a chair, Aria crossed her arms. “Bit of a big buy, isn’t it? Especially all for one woman…” she remarked suspiciously. “And you’re saying all of this is to make Adagio ‘happy’?”
“More accurately,” Eiji said. “It’s to lower her stress levels. As we’ve studied, and noticed, the more stress is put upon her to fulfill her desires, the more likely she is to go berserk while in a full medal combo. I hold no illusions about denying she will get ahold of another sometime soon. It may be tomorrow, it may be the day after that. But at the rate she’s going, she will have another full set in her hands soon.”
“So all you’re doing is easing her burden, huh?” Aria remarked raising her eyebrow even further not entirely believing him. She sighed “Okay, well, I can respect that. God knows her life is pretty stressful enough between being outed as a superhero and all that comes with it, along with her regular day job.”
Aria sighed, sometimes she wished Adagio had taken up a normal everyday job, like as a police officer or something, not a marine biologist. Okay, yeah it paid well and Adagio was clearly happy with her work but it wasn’t an easy job. Oh well, at least Adagio got to travel to far off corners of the globe whenever the Aquarium needed new exhibits. She’d heard rumors they wanted the skeleton of a blue whale as of late, so that meant she could see Adagio now booking tickets to Canada or somewhere.
“Do you suspect any other reason?” Takeru said. “I’ve known Eiji for a while now, he’s very… transparent.”
Sonata had to fight back the mental images assaulting her then if not futilely, and Takeru had to hide his laughter at the small droplets of blood leaking from the youngest Dazzling sibling. “Something your sister clearly has ideas about, it seems...” Takeru couldn’t resist the snark.
Aria blinked before glancing over to Sonata and she had to fight back her laughter. “Yes, well, forgive her but my sister can be a bit of a ditz at times.”
“Yea… HEY!” Sonata started to agree before she let out a shout of: “Hey, I resemble that remark!”
“...Not helping your case ‘Nata…” Aria drawled. “Oh well, if your relationship with Takeru doesn’t work out, well then! I think I’d really like to take you up on a dinner date if you’ll have me!”
“I… I…” Eiji stammered out as Takeru fought back laughter of his own and Sonata grabbed a tissue to stuff into her nose. “I already have someone actually.”
“So I see…” Aria commented looking to the small box on a nearby desk which looked to be able to contain medals. “So I see…”
“It’s not Adagio,” Eiji said flatly. “Now if you can stop kidding around…”
“What? It’s not like I get many opportunities to take the piss out of a big businessman really!” Aria commented holding a hand to her chest. “So you’ll have to forgive me if I savor my every moment of this.”
“...Is she really Adagio’s sibling?” Takeru muttered as he leaned over to Eiji. “They seem so…”
“Different?” Eiji whispered back. “Yeah, they’re related. Believe me, I checked. Twice.”
“Oh well, might want to check again…” Takeru drawled. “I’m somewhat skeptical.”
“Is there any other reason you called us to your headquarters other than to explain your latest business endeavors,” Sonata asked. “Cause I got culinary classes to get to, and I’m pretty sure Aria has that Valkyrie bike of hers to get back to work on…”
“Well,” Takeru said. “What I’d actually like the two of you to do, no what WE would like the two of you to do is just… keep Adagio’s stress levels down as much as possible. Don’t care how you do it, but the only thing that Adagio should be worrying about is her beloved leopard seals.”
“Wait, she’s getting another?” Aria muttered. “Kill me now… She’ll never get out of the aquarium, and then there will be more freaked out kids. One’s bad enough as it is!”
“Kids, or leopard seals?” Sonata teased. “Cause I dunno, I rather like Arthur…”
“You would!” Aria sniped. “You haven’t seen his teeth!”
“Are we sure the freaked out kids we’re talking about here don’t include you?” Takeru commented to himself hoping Aria hadn’t heard. She had, and sent a nasty glare towards the former ghost which went unnoticed. Sonata meanwhile just blew a raspberry at her sister.
“...Okay, yeah, they’re related,” Takeru admitted to himself before speaking again. “You do understand what we’re asking you two to do right?”
“Yeah, sure,” Sonata commented. “Keep ‘Dagi from going completely and utterly crazy, and becoming some sorta wild animal? Yeah, I think we can do that. I mean, how hard can-”
Aria quickly clamped a hand over her babbling sister’s mouth. “Please do not finish that sentence. Last time you asked that, I was stuck for a month trying to fix up your car’s transmission.”
“But you fixed it in the end, didn’t you?” Sonata commented. “So all’s well and good right?”
Aria facepalmed. “...Completely missing the point sis…”
She half-expected her sister to then remark “I miss every point!” with a cheery little grin. Given her general ditziness, she wouldn’t have at all been that surprised.
“Relax Ri-Ri, I-”
“Please don’t call me that…” Aria grumbled with a little twitching of her eyes.
“Relax Ri-Ri,” Sonata said again completely ignoring her. “I got this in hand. I’m the epitome of responsibility! Adagio will stay completely relaxed under my watch, just wait and see!”
Takeru then turned to Eiji as Aria launched herself at her sister, pulling at her hair and asked: “You sure you got the right people for this job…?”
“I’ll get back to you on that…” Eiji answered.
That was Sonata’s job now, to keep her sister completely at ease. She would say she was succeeding. They were like Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long, they were that tight.
“Oh, by the way! I just remembered!” Sonata suddenly cried with a snap of her fingers. “Didn’t you promise to give Vignette an interview?”
“I politely declined,” Adagio answered. “I have far too much work to do nowadays to worry about such things.”
“You mean you’re getting ready to sue for defamation of character, right?” Sonata said raising an eyebrow.
“Meh… that too,” Adagio shrugged. “Vignette’s a bitch -there, I said it!- so she gets what a bitch deserves.”
Sonata blinked. “...wow, I thought you’d be defending her for like, forevvvvvverrr!”
“My patience wears thin with everyone eventually,” Adagio answered simply. “Even with her. After her little shark hoard nearly got me and my doppelganger killed, guess it finally ran out.”
“And you’re sure this has absolutely nothing to do with Vignette nearly ruining your reputation and taking Ankh from you?”
“...Well, okay, that might be playing a part in it,” Adagio admitted with a small shrug of her shoulders. “Okay, yeah that’s totally it.”
“Thought as much,” Sonata smirked. “Goodness knows you were so hung up on the birdbrain, as anyone blessed with the gift of sight could tell…”
“I WAS NOT!” Adagio barked, catching the attention of the rest of the class. She blushed and muttered: “...Go back to work, nothing to see here…”
“Denial isn’t just that river in Egypt, don’t you know?” Sonata mumbled before patting her sister on the back. “Anyways, don’t you worry none. I’ll have Ankh back on your side before you can say ‘Boo!’. Just you watch and see, okay?”
“...what are you going to do?” Adagio asked suddenly very nervous. Whether that was for her sister or for Ankh, she couldn’t tell yet.
“Oh, a little bit of this, and a little bit of that,” Sonata commented. “I’m going to needle him until he’s completely back under your thumb again! In fact…” she grinned.
“In fact what?” Adagio asked not sure she really wanted to know.
“In fact… When I’m done with him, you might even say he's… henpecked?"
Instead of the reaction of laughter Sonata was probably hoping to get, Adagio only gave her sister a flat stare. “‘Nata? For all our sakes, please don't ever pun. Again. Ever. It doesn't suit you.”
“Awwww…” Sonata whimpered hanging her head. Gilda could only just pat her on the back in sympathy even if she was secretly thanking Adagio for that.
“Actually,” Sonata then suddenly said perking right back up. “Going back to the subject of doppelgangers, whatever happened to our own? You ever find out?”
“You presume I’ve actually stopped to care enough about them, to go ahead and find out,” Adagio replied with a snort. Okay, yeah, that was a lie. She was… mildly concerned about her other half. But the way she figured it, they were in good hands. She’d seen them near Canterlot High earlier that week, accompanied by Sunset and whom she swore was Fluttershy. But Fluttershy had never been that nicely dressed, so it couldn’t have been her… right? Oh well, if the rumors were true about that horse statue in front of the school then that meant the other Dazzlings were back in their homeworld.
Which was a great relief to Adagio, to be honest. For so many reasons.
Actually, Adagio had never felt happier with her life. Maybe it was the fact that she had something to fight for, as cheesy as it sounded. Maybe it was that she finally had friends beyond her work colleagues, who were nice enough she supposed but were hard to talk to beyond sea life. Well, except Star Hunter but he was another matter entirely.
Star Hunter was… well, he was a special case if Adagio were, to be honest. He went sorta above and beyond just a ‘work colleague’ if the fact that Adagio had contacted him to talk when her other pony world counterpart was running about. She wondered if that meant anything, or she was just really that desperate for someone to talk to and know if everything was alright. Maybe she was just that poor of a judge of character given she thought Ankh of all people could be her boyfriend.
Yeah, she needed to really work on her priorities. Clearly they were… skewed.
Speaking of that, Adagio checked her watch and nearly yelped. “Look, ‘Nata I gotta get going, you work on getting into… Omega or whatever that restaurant in France is okay? I’d rather not have my boss screaming at me anytime soon.”
“You go get him girl!” Sonata cheered pumping the air and Adagio paused, wondering what that meant. She brushed it off, it was probably Sonata just being strange as usual really.
Sonata had to laugh. If her sister only knew who her new boss was.
Adagio swore she felt like she was being watched that evening, like she swore it.
“Star,” Adagio said as she went over some paperwork relating to the whale bones being transferred in. “...you think I’m going paranoid on you?”
“Is that a rhetorical question?” Star Hunter said going at that exact same paperwork. He had earbuds resting nearby, some song playing faintly out of them. Adagio couldn’t quite catch it, all she knew was that it involved roses and red. She never knew he was that much of a romantic. “Like, is it?”
Adagio gave him a flat look. Star held up his hands in a surrendering motion. “Look, all I’m just saying is that it’s probably a good thing!” he continued.
“...you’re supposed to be reassuring me here Star…” Adagio muttered rubbing her head. Yeah, that was definitely a headache coming on, she mused to herself.
“Well, for all you know, some Greeed may come out of the shadows any moment now, and quick as you like, you’d slap on the belt and give them an ass-kicking!” Star shouted punching the air.
Adagio gave him a faint smile, well at least he was trying. She adored Star, even if he was a bit of a doofus at times. There was a reason she kept him around as a friend. “Still…” Adagio said casting a glance upwards. Ankh maybe? “Doesn’t make me feel any better knowing that. Okay, yeah, I know, I’m a target now. Still don’t have to like it.”
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, then I may have hotwired the fire alarm system to my phone,” Star Hunter said and Adagio stared at him. How… no, she probably didn’t even want to know. “...My brother’s a techie, okay? In any event, if Kazari crawls around here again, he’s going to get quite a nasty surprise… Cats, after all, do hate water!”
Adagio then finally lost her composure and fell over laughing, wiping tears from her eyes. The whole scenario was just so ludicrous and Star Hunter’s solution was just so novel she couldn’t help but laugh. “True as it may be,” Adagio said trying to regain her composure if failing. “We could just dump Kazari into the leopard seal enclosure, that’d teach him!”
“I dunno,” Star said jotting something down on his notepaper. “I’d think Kazari would give Arthur and Morgana indigestion…”
“That he would,” Adagio agreed in between fits of laughter. “That he would…”
She honestly didn’t get Kazari, of course, this could be said about all the Greeed but Kazari just made her… well, he made her want to take a shower, and not the nice long cold kind. The cat really just made her worry about whatever he was going to do next, even if he was the Greeed she’d encountered the least. And that, she supposed what was what made her worry. It meant she could never get a proper eye on him, get inside his head. He wasn’t like Uva or Ankh, who wore their emotions on their sleeves. And he was certainly not like Gamel, who was just plain stupid.
Adagio suddenly went to her phone, bringing up the medals she’d encountered so far and their powers.
“Okay… Green Medals,” Adagio murmured to herself. “Electricity, blades, and duplication. Blue medals, water-based powers. Yellow medals? Abilities resembling big cats. Red medals? Unknown, but probably bird related. Gray(?) medals… well, probably pretty obvious that they correspond to heavy animals somehow…”
“Count the medals one two and three…” came Star’s voice and Adagio yelped before her heart slowed back to normal. He’d evidently been looking over her shoulder. “...sorry, just thought of that on the fly I suppose. Sounded good to me, but hey, what do I know?”
“No,” Adagio said supportively. “That actually sounded… well, pretty good. I say you should send that off to Sunset, she might actually make a song out of that!” she teased enjoying the… interesting shade of red Star Hunter’s face became.
“R-Really, you think so?” Star Hunter stammered out. “...you think Sunset Shimmer would be able to make a good song out of… well, my inane ramblings?”
“Never know until you try, right?” Adagio said patting him on the shoulder, declining to mention the poster of Sunset dressed up in gothic lolita she knew Star Hunter kept around. Fanboys, Adagio mused to herself with a shake of her head. Mind you, she could understand the interest. Not musically, as Adagio was not a heavy metal fan but in work ethic. Sunset, well from what she could tell anyways was very business-oriented. Adagio, well she saw her as an interesting sort to say the least. While, understandably, Sunset didn’t trust her, Adagio could see her as a potential ally.
The fact that Sunset seemed to be able to make Rainbow her bitch from what Rarity told Adagio had nothing to do with it. Probably.
She would have to ask how Sunset managed to reign the rather wily girl in at times, God knew that could come in handy for her someday. Adagio could already feel a headache coming on just thinking about Rainbow. It sorta reminded her of the kind she got thinking about Ankh, only less pleasurable. At least Ankh was cute when he wasn’t being a pain in the neck. Adagio couldn’t say the same about Rainbow really.
“...The birdbrain…” Adagio grumbled upon reflex.
“Birdbrain, you talking about Ankh again?” Star Hunter said, looking up from his work. “Or Rainbow? I can hardly tell the two apart at times.”
Adagio blinked before she started laughing again. “Never change, eh Star?” she asked. “Never change…”
Star looked at her. “I’m not sure if that was a compliment, but yeah, I’ll take it if it was!”
In the shadows, a bat fluttered about before resting itself on the rafters above. So far, so good, it seemed. Best things stayed that way.
“Well, that’s interesting, isn’t it! It’s downright funky!” Kaisei Mogami said with a cackle, nearly falling over himself in glee at his genius. “I’ve finally done it! I’ve done it!”
“So, pat yourself on the back a little more hmm?” Starlight remarked crossing her arms. “We’re nowhere near done yet, and while I don’t doubt your genius we still have a long ways to go yet.”
She cast a glance to the nearby laboratory table. On it rested a distinct flash drive-like device that was marked with a letter T. “We still need the proof of concept.”
“Oh, don’t you worry any Madam Starlight,” Mogami commented with a little cackle. “My genius knows no limits! I’ll make this, along with that special other little project you’ve assigned to me work! It’ll be all funkyed up!”
Starlight rubbed her forehead with a pained grimace. That man… he loved the word ‘funky’ and all of it’s variations far too much. If he wasn’t such a genius, he would have driven her around the bend a long time ago. He sorta reminded Starlight of Dan Kuruto, in his irritating obnoxiousness the way he flaunted around his genius mind. Still, he was one of her best men to work on such projects. That little moment of breaching the time-space continuum a few weeks back to bring in those from lost timelines was one of his first major projects. Even if that surgeon had stepped in, it wasn’t a complete ‘wash’ as people put it. After all, the Night of Safari Gashat was now the property of Foundation X.
The possibility of lost timelines or those had yet to come was still an intriguing prospect to explore, and Starlight couldn’t wait to see exactly where this research led them. It could open up a new era for the Foundation!
“Are you sure, Madam, that coming to the States when you did was such a good idea?” Mogami asked. “It’s taking a grave risk as it is, isn’t it? Especially when your Driver is far from finished.”
“Sometimes problems call for desperate solutions,” Starlight replied as her lips curved into a smile. “Plus, showing how powerless Eiji in the face of the Foundation and our might was an added bonus.”
“Oh, I see how it is,” Mogami commented. “You just want to prove to Eiji that he shouldn’t have rejected you that time, is that it? I never thought the Iron Lady of X could be so… petty.”
His own lips curved into a smile before Starlight gave him a deathly glare. “Watch your tongue, you’d be wise to hold it before I cut it out!” she hissed out, her voice reminding Mogami of that of a rattler’s tail. “Let’s see how you work when you can’t talk. I dare say, it’ll be all… funked up?”
Mogami let out a low growl. “Very well then, I’ll continue my work in silence. In fact, I think I know how to prove the Night of Safari is worth pursuing. Time to put it to some… practical use. Let us see how our dear OOOs handles the powers of the animal kingdom turned against her!”
He let out a mad laugh as Starlight’s hologram flickered out of existence. So let the games begin.
Adagio didn’t quite know how, but she found herself following a Greeed reporting. And it had led her to the sewers right underneath Denver. She groaned, she was definitely going to need a shower after this.
As she followed the Taka candroids who’d picked up the scent of the Greeed, apparently, she found herself in front of a huge waterfall, sludge pouring down it. “...Today started out so well…” she thought to herself. She knew this was likely to be a trap, she’d have been stupid to have thought otherwise. But what better way to catch Kazari or Ankh by surprise and gain their medals than to spring the trap?
She heard what sounded like the roar of a tiger, and Adagio smirked as she transformed in a flash of blue light. What she did not expect was something that decidedly not resembled Kazari jumped out of the shadows. It bore a blank silver face, with tan and brown armor on it.
The creature charged before Adagio leaped over it, grabbing it by the shoulders to do so. She landed behind it, and sent the monster sprawling through the wall with a massive water shuriken from her weapon.
“...Looks like Kazari’s gotten imaginative with his yummies. Credit to him I suppose.” Adagio remarked as the creature took swipes at her, Adagio blocking the blows with the Ookamiuo spear. Using it like a harpoon, she stabbed away at the monster, before water gathered at its tip like a drill. She thrust it forwards sending the monster sprawling into what looked like a lab.
“...Okay then,” Adagio mused looking around her to see tanks with various liquids all around her. “I’m going to go out on a limb here, and I’m guessing this place wasn’t built for Prohibition!”
The creature had disappeared and Adagio allowed herself to relax only to be tackled by Gamel.
“...well, okay then,” Adagio groaned out in pain. “Guess I’ll be getting myself some Gray Cores then!”
She swung her weapon, slashing into Gamel’s skin sending silver cell medals flying. A powerful punch sent her sprawling into another room and knocked her out of her transformation. Adagio quickly grabbed at her Cores before Gamel could steal them and take them back to his ‘mommy’. She needn’t have bothered, as Gamel gave up calling after her after a few minutes.
“...He probably thinks I’m dead,” Adagio whispered to herself. “And being too stupid to think otherwise, he probably thought his mother’s cores got shattered as well.”
She pitied Gamel, she honestly did. He was far too stupid to realize the other Greeed were playing him like a puppet, really. She wondered if he’d ever realize before it was too late.
Adagio’s eyes widened in shock as she realized the tank she was resting herself up against had a man inside it. He was about… well, Adagio would guess fifteen, seventeen at most with bleached blond hair. “...Someone’s running experiments? Well, guess I should free this little lab rat and get him, and me for that matter out of here.”
It didn’t take a genius to realize who had lured her here. That creature, as he was clearly not a yummy of any sort. He’d probably lured Gamel here as well, hoping to test his powers against both a Rider and a Greeed.
Drawing back her fist, Adagio punched through the glass of the tank, and the kid inside tumbled out. Adagio’s fist was caked with blood, the glass had cut into her skin. Not her brightest move, but she was short on time.
“Come on,” she said to the teen. “We’re getting you out of here.”
“W-Who are you?” the kid breathed. “...Oh, oh no. You’ve gotta get out of here! X, they’ll kill you if they discover you broke me out! You need to run!”
Filing away the name X for later, Adagio sighed. “Not without you kid, okay? Trust me, it’d go against the grain if I just left you to rot and let… whoever pull a few more experiments on you like some sort of lab rat! Please don’t tell me you’ve got Stockholm Syndrome okay? Cause if so…”
She heard the squeaking of a bat, and raised an eyebrow. Bats, in a sewer cave? Oh, there were so many jokes to be made about that.
“Who are you again?” the teen asked.
“You first,” Adagio said as she helped him along towards the nearest exit. The likelihood of them actually getting out of here without being caught was… highly unlikely but Adagio had to try. She just had to. “Seriously, if you don’t give me your name I’ll probably call you something stupid like Eleven or something. And I am not shortening that name to El!”
Yes, Adagio had seen Stranger Things, at least the first season anyway. What about it?
“El, I like that name actually. I’d heard them call me… Elias, I think while I was in my tank.”
“...You gotta be kidding me…” Adagio muttered. “Oh, I swear, if you turn out to have psychic powers I’ll…”
She paused when Elias gave her a strange sort of look. “...Never mind.” Adagio mumbled under her breath.
Together, they slowly made their way out of the laboratory only to be stopped by Gamel, who let out a low growl. Adagio sighed, you just had to be kidding. Since when was her luck ever this bad?
“I’m really getting tired of today,” Adagio said as she slung her belt and driver around herself. “Alright, Gamel… I’ll tell you this for starters! Never underestimate my ever-changing abilities! And trust me, they will be changing here in a minute soon as I grab your Cores! Henshin!”
Elias watched with awe as the belt sang out “Same, Kujira, Ookamiuo: Sa-Ra-Mi-Uo! Sa! Ra! Mi-Uo!” and transformed Adagio. The Rider went forth and struck with the fury of a typhoon as a gray core medal went flying into her hands.
“Same, Gorilla, Ookamiuo!” the belt sang as Adagio tossed her spear aside and punched Gamel with the force of the great apes sending him sprawling into a few metal crates.
“Come on, we’re running!” Adagio shouted as she grabbed Elias. “...Again.”
“Who-”
“Who am I?” Adagio finally answered. “Well, since you’re asking, it’s Adagio Dazzle. Kamen Rider OO- DUCK!” she started and then shouted as Gamel grabbed at her, only for Adagio to punch him in the stomach with a powerful right hook.
“As I was saying…” Adagio muttered. “We’re leaving!”
Running, with Elias on her shoulder, Adagio made a break for it, and found herself outside the lab and back in the sewer systems again. “...Now, how did this maze go? Oh well, suppose I’ll head to the nearest latter, look for a few landmarks up top!” Adagio decided really not having time for this today.
She pulled out a Taka Can and transformed it letting it fly. “Okay, show me the way boy!”
“But he’s a robot,” Elias said in confusion. “He has no assigned gender. Logic dictates that you call-”
“...Just go with it okay?” Adagio asked as the wall was smashed in, Gamel having given it a good solid headbutt. “And besides, does it look like we really have the time to argue the point of the matter!”
Adagio would have to give Gamel this, he was certainly determined, that was for sure.
“I don’t think we have the time nor the ability to outrun him,” Elias noted. “Logic dictates that-”
“Well, screw that!” Adagio said. “I got you out of that madhouse, and I’m not letting you experience freedom briefly! I don’t leave others behind, it’s not my way. All life is precious, so that means yours as well!”
“A-All life is… precious?” Elias repeated, even as Adagio flashed back to words which she’d taken to heart.
“I just want you to understand this. No matter how hard it burns in your heart, that pain whenever you fail to save someone -even if that person never deserved it in the first place- you are not alone. You are never alone, and do you know what you do with that pain? You hold it tight. You grasp out with it, and you say no more. You say this should never happen to anyone. You keep that person’s memory alive in your mind, and you say no more. Their pain becomes your pain, spurring you onwards. It helps you pave a path to tomorrow, to the next battle and how you’ll win it. How you’ll reach out a hand, and save the next person. Do you understand this?”
“As long as…” Adagio whispered, her eyes glowing briefly as she sliced into Gamel with her spear. “As long as there is a hand whom I need to reach out to help, I shall extend my hand!”
Two more Cores landed in her hands and were swiftly replaced in her Driver. “Sai, Gorilla, Zou: Sagohzo, Sa-Goh-Zo!” it proclaimed with a snarl.
Adagio let out an animalistic scream as she beat her chest like one of the great apes and performed a scanning charge on Gamel. Elias could only watch in a mix of awe and fear as Adagio manipulated the very gravity of the earth itself to bring Gamel within reach and punch him. HARD.
Gamel was sent flying skywards up through the streets in almost comical looney tune style fashion. Adagio panted hard as she turned upon Elias, eyes flashing a sharp purple. Then, before she could do anything, musical notes of all things hit her as Takeru, in Beethoven Damashii stepped out of the shadows. He pulled his hood backward, whispering in a gentle tone: “That’s enough Adagio, the battle’s over now.”
A brown bat flapped over his head, having been watching Adagio all day. All week even.
Adagio just let out a growl and charged at Takeru, fist drawn back. Takeru caught the fist, before sending Adagio staggering back with a palm thrust. He played the ‘keys’ on his uniform surrounding Adagio in musical notes like a prison.
“Guess there’s no choice for it then,” Takeru murmured. “Going to have to knock you out of that transformation. ...This is why I told you to train, Adagio.”
He knew he shouldn’t be blaming her, she was a victim here. It wasn’t her fault that Adagio had such a strong desire to save others. In fact, if the situation were different he’d actually be proud of her. He had heard her declare that all life was precious after all.
Grabbing another Eyecon, Takeru slotted it into his driver as what looked like an overly large spider crawled up and transformed. It fused with his weapon, and soon he was holding a massive hammer.
“Kaigan: Benkei! Intimidating Sworn Brother! Tougher Than Any Other!” the Ghost Driver proclaimed, and Benkai’s soul lived up to its reputation. In ancient times, Benkai had defended his Lord against an army of 500 strong, killing 300 soldiers and dying on his feet. Such fear was his reputation, was that the army had only noticed he was dead upon closer inspection.
With a few powerful swings of his hammer, Takeru soon knocked Adagio out of her transformation. Her cores were pocketed as Adagio lay on the ground. “Are you alright?” Takeru asked as he helped her up.
“I… I went berserk again, didn’t I?” Adagio asked and Takeru nodded before Adagio breathed: “T-Thank you… Sensei. For saving me from myself.”
“It’s what I do,” Takeru smiled warmly, and Adagio felt her heart flutter. “Now let’s get you home, okay?”
Neither of them noticed two things. One, Elias had vanished in the chaos and two, Kaisei Mogami peeked his head out from behind a wall. “You want me to grab him now?”
“No, wait till he changes to his most powerful Luminaries. That’s when we strike…”
“Yes, Madam Starlight…” Mogami grinned, Night of Safari dangling from one finger...
Late that night at in the middle of Denver, Adagio found herself in an old wooden building overlooking a lake, with the building itself mostly Spanish style in construction. Water lapped softly at outside, birds crying in the evening hour.
All around her, a maze of forested paths that quite honestly, one could compare to an eldritch location. At least in Adagio’s opinion. It did seem to change each time she tried to find the building first few times without a map It amazed her how one could find themselves in the middle of the place several times and still have no idea how they’d gotten there or where they even were, to begin with.
Finally, with a bit of help from Takeru’s bat friend she’d managed to find the pavilion.
“...why does his robot buddies have to be cooler than mine? I mean, mine just transform into soda cans,” Adagio thought to herself as she sat in legs crossed position, trying to block out the rest of the world. “He gets lanterns, clocks, and phones…”
“Block out the rest of the world,” Takeru instructed laying on a soft mat opposite her. While it was no shrine, the peace and serenity of this particular park would substitute in a pinch. “There is nothing but you, and when you realize this? The impossible transitions to the possible. When you realize nothing is lacking, the whole world belongs to you.”
Adagio was at peace, at least that’s what Aria hoped.
“...You really sure this is what’s going to work?” the woman asked, crossing her muscular arms.
“Do not doubt Takeru-Dono!” Onari said in a hushed whisper, almost sounding like a hiss. “Takeru-Dono has trained much harder students than this! He can train your sister!”
“The place to improve the world is first in one’s own heart and head and hands,” Takeru said. “Do not rush to improve yourself, do not think you can handle everything all at once. Know what you can handle, and then you’ll truly be free. Life is a balance of holding on and letting go.”
“...I dunno, sounds like Zen nonsense mumbo-jumbo if you ask me!” Aria hissed back at Onari, even as the twosome listened to Takeru’s teachings. “Did he just get that garbage off th-”
Onari then put Aria in a headlock shouting: “Do not disrespect Takeru-Dono!” whilst hitting her atop the head with his staff.
He was then soundly dropkicked into the lake.
“...what a whackjob…” Aria grumbled with a huff and watched with an expression of amusement as Onari pulled himself out of the waters.
Onari opened his mouth to speak before Aria interrupted him holding up a finger. “...Lemme guess, there’s rules against that? Don’t care, really.”
“You’re a little juvenile delinquent, aren’t you?” Onari observed.
“Meh, more like got a lot of issues I gotta get off my chest,” Aria replied. “So, about the same thing really.”
Onari shoved a book into her hands. ‘Zen and You, 500 Easy Secrets to Improve Your Life’ it read. Also, it read: ‘Approved by the Daitenku Temple.’
Aria facepalmed before she sighed. “...I dunno, Onari. It’s just, well, I’m fairly skeptical about the supernatural and zen. Not much good it’s done me. If it helps my sister, good on Takeru I suppose. But…”
Onari sighed as he sat down beside Aria. “I know, most people don’t believe in this stuff either, even in the homeland. People have busy lives, pushing and shoving just to get to that next moment. It’s… hard, but for every person me and Takeru help, just to try and ease their lives if only just a little? Well, it’s…”
“Satisfying?” Aria finished. “...Yeah, I’d say that. Adagio… That girl... she always gets carried away, with her work and her life in general. Sometimes I feel that she'd drive me crazy if I were anyone else, really. But, as her sister, I gotta help her.”
“Eiji made a good choice,” Onari smiled. “I feel you will.”
“Yeah, yeah, now we’re getting all mushy, and deep…” Aria grumbled. “I hate that. But you know what? I think… if I ever have to, I know who to call to help me manage my own life.” she said with a smile and Onari smiled right back.
Meanwhile, Takeru continued his teachings. “Every experience is a lesson. Every loss is a gain. If you chase two rabbits, you catch none. Simply put, if you continue to gnaw at the bit at things you can’t change, you will cause yourself unneeded stress in the long term. Now, I ask you, what can you change?”
“The fate… the fate of the city,” Adagio whispered. “And the Greeed, I want to change them. I want to show them that they don’t have to be monsters anymore.”
A bold claim, that was for sure. But as I said, Adagio had taken Eiji’s words to heart. If there was a hand she could continue to reach out towards, and extend her own to she would continue to do so. The Greeed, she felt, were not monsters by choice. Some of them were capable of love, like Gamel and Mezool. Perhaps even Ankh. Maybe that’s why she chose to take Ankh in, way back then. Because she felt he could be helped, and if possible, she would help him.
“Oh, so you say this Ankh character won’t have a chance in getting spared, and yet I will. That’s hypocrisy in action for you. Yeah, I think I’ll pass.”
“I'll find an opening in you and save you from your own greed. Even if that means defeating you.”
“I’d be actually impressed if you did, Adagio Dazzle,” Ankh smirked. “This way! The yummy’s not far…”
“Ankh, like I said. It’s not within me to decide other people’s worth. That should never be an option. And I will save Rainbow, and I will save you no matter how difficult the path is.”
Yes, Adagio decided back then. She would help others in need, no matter if they didn’t want it or didn’t know if they needed or wanted saving. That was her desire.
Takeru knew this as well, Adagio’s desires were pure. But it was because of how pure they were that meant she was going to have trouble managing them. The hardest part of this job was knowing, no matter how much you wanted to, that you couldn’t save everyone.
A low rumble echoed from outside, and Takeru stood up to see both Mezool and Gamel walking forwards out of the treeline.
“...So, I heard an interesting little story,” Mezool said crossing her arms and transforming into her Greeed form. “Seems your little friend, Tenkuji, well she stole some of my son’s medals. I’m taking them back.”
“Let me handle this,” Takeru said before Adagio stood up. “Adagio…”
“No, we handle this,” Adagio stated firmly in a tone that left no room for argument. “I swore to change the fate of the Greeed and so I shall.”
“But if you go out of…”
“Control?” Adagio asked. “I trust you to bring me back. But right now, I feel as if nothing can stop me now! Gamel, Mezool, listen up! The tides are as ever-changing as my own abilities, now don’t you ever underestimate the powers of the animal kingdom!”
“That’s my sister…” Aria thought with pride as she watched Adagio and Takeru transform together.
“Kaigan: Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, Ieyasu! Who Will Unite the Warring States? Tenka tōitsu!”
“Sai, Gorilla, Zou: Sagohzo, Sa-Goh-Zo!”
Together they charged into the hoard of Waste Yummies, Mezool turning into water to get behind Adagio, only to be punched through trees. Takeru just cut down the Waste Yummies with his blades. Adagio had to blink just to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. Was one of those blades based off a pair of… sunglasses?
“Omega Drive: Tenkatoitsu!” the Ghost Driver shouted as an image of a golden eye appeared behind Takeru as he slashed through a hoard of Waste Yummies.
Uva leaped out of the trees, ready to strike only to be blasted backward by a palm strike from Onari. “You shall not touch the Master!” he screamed.
“Triple Scanning Charge!” cried the Medajaribur as another hoard of Waste Yummies bit the dust. Gamel was judo flipped into the lake by Aria, who shared a fistbump with her sister.
“Nice moves,” Adagio complimented as she ducked to avoid a swing of Mezool’s water blades only to slash her across the stomach sending the Unagi and Tako medals into her grasp.
“Hey, you need to give yourself more credit,” Aria said pummeling Mezool across the face. “You’re not so bad yourself!”
Mezool steadily got up, only to be walloped in the face by twin haymakers from the duo, who turned and high-fived one another. Dazzling Sisters one, Mezool… zippo.
“Well, this seems to be all going well,” Onari commented backhanding Uva. “It looks like for all their bluster, they can’t handle all five of us!”
“Maybe you just need a different opponent then!” came a voice as another Driver joined the fray.
“Equalize, Scienticize! Energize, Solarize!” Starlight’s MiraiDriver proclaimed as the Foundation X scientist sent all five of them sprawling with an energy wave.
“Who…” Takeru groaned out in pain as he picked himself up off the ground clutching his shoulder. “Who are you?”
“Nobody really,” Starlight said smacking him to the ground. “Just someone trying to make the world a better place. You’d do best not to resist.”
“You’re… You’re with them,” Takeru realized with no small amount of horror. “Foundation X.”
“Well, you’re half-right,” Starlight said. “But half right is still right. Now, be a good boy and cough up those… eyecons is it? I heard you were in the city, and I just couldn’t miss the opportunity. For science and all that.”
“You’re not getting them…” Takeru said while pulling the lever of his driver. “Not while I live and breathe.”
“We’ll just have to fix that, won’t we,” Starlight remarked slamming a button on her driver. “Your codename is Ghost right? Time to make you live up to that moniker!”
“Omega Drive: Tenkatoitsu!”
“Scienticize! X Kick!”
The two attacks connected, and Takeru was sent flying with the Nobunaga Eyecon flying from his driver. Starlight caught it, only to be besieged by a flurry of punches from Adagio.
“SCANNING CHARGE!”
“Oh, is that the best you got?” Starlight said pressing a button on her driver even as she was dragged forwards. “I thought you’d have learned from your betters!”
Like Takeru before her, she was knocked out of her transformation. Unlike before her however, Starlight showed no interest in her transformation trinkets.
“I’ll come back for those later,” Starlight decided. “I have what I need for now.”
Aria and Onari leaped in front of her. “You want them, you’ll have to go through us…” Onari growled out protectively.
“...You are serious, aren’t you?” Starlight said with no small amount of disbelief. “You saw what I did to them, full-fledged Kamen Riders in their own right! And you think you can stop me?”
“Hey, it’s our job,” Onari said. “We protect them, while they pick themselves up. Besides, we don’t have to stop you for long.”
“Oh, and why’s that?” Starlight asked.
“We just have to buy time!” Aria declared as she and Onari moved out of the way to allow Takeru to deliver a powerful Grateful Omega Drive to Starlight’s chest. She staggered back, still holding the Nobunaga Eyecon.
“Damn you!” Starlight hissed out as she heard the sound of police sirens, and felt her suit’s power began to reach its limits. “Oh well, I think I have what I need for now. I’ll see you again, hopefully someday soon Mister Tenkuji! And you as well, Miss Dazzle.”
She bowed, before teleporting off in a purple flash of light.
“Who…” Adagio breathed. “Who was that? And what did she mean?”
“I don’t know, but I have a feeling we’ll be finding out soon enough…” Takeru said.
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9879718
We all know you have nothing like shame.
KAMI DA!
I raise you a rainbow! So, what did I buy?
Right now, she looks more like she is possessed by Legend Rider Eyecons.
Until now, unsure. The question is in what capacity this will come back and influence her character ark. If it#s well implemented, then ok, when not, then this was just for shock value.
AR Legend Rider in this case.
Fair.
Mhm, so pretty much on pare with Alchemy's Final Form, minus the jump hight, that is only half. Still, not someone you would want to face.
9879734
I was thinking more his father or Kusaka, but yeah, sure, let's go with that.
...and here I was expecting a dirty joke...
Spoilers? It gets worse.
9879827
Nah, don't worry, I don't write an abridged story here
Oh boy...
Siblings...
Oh boy...
Liar!
Ok, I know what this is a reference to, but The AgitΩ was in Japan.
Oh... Oh boy, we are a year early I see.
Oh my god, I love this way of tieing in existing continuity.
Then something goes wrong and Oma steps out...
So, is he a Quark? Yes, I watched Eternal. What about it?
Eiji called, he wants his line back.
Oh boy, she is going up against a Legend Rider... She's fucked!
Because Ghost had a killer toyline.
Onari, never, ever, change.
Ok, that was a good line.
Bleh, screw that thing.
Oh boy, this is interesting...
Oh boy...
9885662
Are you really that surprised given the Dazzlings' origins in myths?
Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.
He's branched out!
Well, I wouldn't go that far. I just needed a named X employee to fulfill the mad scientist role. It just so happened Kaisei happens to tie in with the crossing over worlds bit. Pure coincidence, yep!
"Mogami, what'd you do?"
"It's not my fault, honest!"
"Shukufuku no Toki! Saikō, saizen, saidai, saikyō Ō! Ohma Zi-O!"
King of Fuck You, I Win!
Imitation is what again?
About one of the only nice things we can say for it really, aside from an adorable protag.
...you know what, I'll just blame Amazons for Ghost's general failure. It's sorta true anyways.
I don't use it often, but when I do...
Considering it gets its ass beat within five minutes...
Now think, if one of Ghost's most powerful forms can't damage Starlight, what can...?
Yay, finally finished reading this, great chapter really, just not feeling up to snarking on it right now, sorry.
9900470
Do I need to understate how bad this is, if Starlight can handle Ghost's most powerful form without even flinching?
9901457
Tenka Tōitsu isn't Takeru's strongest form, that's Mugen. Tenka Tōitsu is more of an upgrade form akin to the Deep Specter, Yujou Burst, and Toucon Burst Eyecons. ... Besides, that Damashii should be Specter's, not Ghost's, considering one of his Eyecons are part of the form. Although, the Shinseigumi Eyecon does have the character Makoto as it's Transformation Time face.
10014474
Ah, but can we say that it's not his strongest form given it took down a foe that Mugen could barely even scratch? Thing is, movie final forms have a tendency to be more powerful than TV Final Forms. Case in point, Super TaToBa, CycloneJokerGoldXtreme, or Cross-ZBuild Form.