Kamen Rider Zero Arc 4

CH 1: The Garden Weed

A couple days had gone by since the attack on the city had taken place, and things were slowly returning to normal. Though a couple of buildings had been reduced to rubble, nothing felt different for the most part. The city still thrived, though the amount of people leaving it far outweighed the amount going into it. Still though, the recent victory over "The Great Crusade" had brought a sense of comfort to the people of Jinsoku. Though it had been a frighteningly close victory, Kamen Rider Zero and his new ally known as Kamen Rider Valkyrie had successfully won the city back from its oppressors. And with Crusade and his crew behind bars and awaiting judgement, the people of Jinsoku were beginning to feel as though they had nothing to fear. With their two heroes watching over the city, there was only a handful of furs that didn't feel safe and secure.

Daiki was among those furs.

However, for this wolf, his troubles lied elsewhere. Upon his return to the city, his boss, known as Headmaster by him and his peers, had given him infuriating news. Not only was he being set in the sidelines, but taking his place would be his own sister. This made Daiki's blood boil, and with no other way to exert his anger, he furiously paced the room. On the other hand, Mira, the aforementioned sister, was greatly amused by her younger brother's antics. This was made crystal clear by the smile that was spread across her muzzle.

"And before I got the chance to properly prove myself too!" Daiki snarled, "Which I could have done, had it not been for Crusade's invasion!"

Mira chuckled in amusement and waved her tail lightly behind her. "That's precisely why you've been put on the sidelines, brother," she quipped, earning herself a cold stare from her sibling, "You've taken too long to prove yourself. The Headmaster is an impatient man, and therefore grew impatient with you." Daiki chuffed bitterly, but Mira went on. "And let's not forget; after all of the attacks that you led, you've produced inadequate results. You've been using up valuable resources and have come back with almost nothing to show for it. None of your actions have spurred buyers, and therefore you've become a liability to the eyes of the Headmaster." Daiki snarled harshly before knocking something over with a swing of his arm. Mira merely chuckled and rested her chin atop one of her paws. "Don't worry, little brother. There's still a task for you to complete." Daiki's ears perked and he turned to face her. "From the information we gathered from Crusade's attack, it would seem that Zero has achieved a stronger form. Couple this with having the Valkyrie as an ally, the Headmaster has been convinced that the two of them must be dealt with. If they grow too strong as a group, then it is likely that the public will have more confidence in them than the Headmaster is comfortable with.

"Therefore, you will be playing a role in dealing with Amnesia and the 'Riders.' BUT!" Mira held up a finger as she saw Daiki's muzzle open, "You are to do so under my direction, and my supervision."

Daiki scowled and turned away in disgust. "Listen to you?" he scoffed, "Ha! And what makes you think that I'll do things your way?"

Mira smirked slightly and stood up from her seat, placing her paws behind her back. She let out a sigh as she walked towards the angry wolf. "Well…I suppose you have a point…" she sighed, looking up at the ceiling innocently, "There's nothing to prevent you from disobeying my orders…" She stopped next to him and furrowed a brow, tilting her head. "…Oh wait." As swift as a viper, she lashed her arm forward and snapped her fingers right next to Daiki's ear. Instantly, Daiki's body went limp and he collapsed to the floor like a ragdoll. Mira let out a laugh as she knelt down next to Daiki, rolling him over gently until he was lying on his back. "There actually is something that's preventing you from disobeying me… You." She spoke in a soft whisper and gently ran her paw down Daiki's head fur. She chuckled before going on. "You were so naïve to think that you were immune to my hypnosis methods… You were so adamant about being the one in charge…and the ironic truth was that, in reality, you wanted to obey… You always wanted to obey…" She wide smile spread across her muzzle. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be so subjective to my methods…" She planted a soft kiss on her brother's cheek before standing up and stepping over him.

"Now you're going to help me achieve my goals… NOT the other way around. Now, you're going to help me get to the top…as my stepping stone…" She eventually reached her desk and pulled a drawer open, slipping out the Memory inside and holding it up. The swirling 'H' shimmered in the light shining through the window. Mira smirked and ran a finger down the device. "And you, my dear brother, will be the first of many…"


Meanwhile, furs were clamoring about the Amnesia facility, or at least what remained of it. Several rooms had been repaired, but the facility was still a mess for the most part. Therefore, for the time being, the team was making do with what they had. "Thanks, Arata," Erika nodded to the panther as he handed her a box from the back of the truck he was standing in. The panther nodded back to her before stepping away to bring out another box. As he disappeared from Erika's view, the snow leopard stepped away to join the hustle and bustle of team members going in and out of the facility. Knowing that she would be back soon, Arata went over to the nearest box and hoisted it up. However, as he lifted it, his arms and legs suddenly went weak. Arata fumbled and dropped the box back down as he stumbled and fell onto his rear. He groaned slightly as he took the time to recompose himself.

What…just happened? he questioned as he pat his limbs down, trying to feel for any abnormalities. Not noticing anything strange, Arata blinked in confusion and pulled himself back up to his feet. Before he took another shot at lifting the box, he heard shouts coming from outside of the truck. Worried about a surprise attack, he hurried out of the truck and leapt down onto the ground. He scanned the area frantically for an attacker, but instead of finding one, he was surprised to see Dave and Vince, his two friends, barging into the facility with 6 chasing after them.

"THERE you are, Arata!" shouted Dave as the two of them clamored over to him in his baffled state. As soon as they reached him, they began to barrage him with a series of questions. Arata couldn't find it in himself to answer any of them, as he was still in shock that they were here in the first place. Either way, neither of the two furs were able to ask the rest of their questions as they both suddenly started convulsing out of nowhere. They soon collapsed to the ground, granting Arata a view of 6, who stood over the two of them as she reeled back in her Taser cords.

"What's wrong?! I heard shout…" Erika trailed off as she stepped back outside, coming across the sight of the two collapsed furs. "…Oh…" She then turned around and opened the door, "I'll go get the first aid kit…"


"So how long have you two been Riders?" asked Vince, massaging the area he had been tased from. Arata twiddled his thumbs on his lap.

"For a while, actually," he answered, "at least ever since I was first seen on the news…"

"I actually only recently became one," Erika answered, "right around the time the…facility was damaged…" She swished her tail nervously behind her as she looked away from the group.

"So is that why you went missing for so long?" asked Dave, resting his paws on the makeshift table they had made.

"You could…say that…" Arata replied, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. Erika on the other hand didn't comment.

"Well that does explain a lot," said Vince.

"But why didn't you guys ever tell us?" Dave questioned.

"What would be the point in telling you?" said Erika, speaking up from her silence, "All that would do is make you guys worry unnecessarily."

"Well we could've helped!" Dave argued, waving his paws around hysterically.

"How though?" Arata questioned, giving the husky a look.

"Well I could've helped fight those things!" he said with a confidence that couldn't possibly be mistaken for sarcasm. A silence passed through the group as everyone stared at him. "…What?!"

"Dave…this isn't like the games we've played," said Arata, "The Dopants here mean business. You know how many people get seriously injured from Dopant attacks? All you'd be doing is putting yourself in danger if you tried to help us out."

"But isn't that what you guys have been doing?" countered Dave, pointing a finger at both of the felines, "Putting yourselves in danger, I mean?"

"That's cuz we can afford to take a hit or two," Erika countered back.

"Well that's because you guys can become Riders," said Dave, "But if you made us Riders, then we could do the same!"

"It's not that simple, Dave," said Arata. Erika slowly raised a paw.

"Well…it…actually kind of is…" she muttered quietly. Arata shot her a look before returning his gaze to Dave.

"Look, it's still a dangerous job," he continued, "and we are putting our lives on the line by doing it…" Arata's thoughts began to drift as his mind flashed back to what Crusade had told him when he was under his captivity.

"All that they've been doing is giving the people a good scare and demonstrating what kind of power the Gaia Memories can give to them," he had said, "All of these 'attacks' you've seen have been nothing but advertisement campaigns. They're meant to encourage their customers to buy into them is all. It's like an exhibition, a demonstration, demos and the like. Completely harmless."

So then…Arata thought, are we…legitimately putting our lives on the line? Are we in as much danger as we're putting ourselves out to be in?

"Well, I for one should definitely be a Rider," said Dave, "I'm sure I can take down a couple of those Dopants myself."

"I'm not making either of you Riders," Erika snapped flatly, pointing a thumb towards Arata, "I've already gotta look out for his ass, so I don't need to look out for two more." Hearing this, Arata snapped out of his own thoughts and shot her another look, only getting her to stick her tongue out at him playfully.


Daiki grumbled as he followed along behind his sister, towing along the briefcase she had shoved onto him. As they walked, Mira had a smile on her muzzle. "…Lemme guess," Daiki grumbled in a volume loud enough for Mira to hear, "you're gonna use your…'method,' right?" Mira only answered him with a nod, not even bothering to look back at him. Daiki rolled his eyes. "You're such a cheat, you know that?"

Mira chuffed. "In this line of business, all that matters is getting sales. It doesn't matter how, so long as I get them."

"It's still a cheap tactic…" Daiki muttered under his breath, looking to the side. Mira ignored his comment and continued on her way. It didn't take long for her to spot a trio standing around amongst the foliage of the area. Her smile widened and quickened her pace, calling out to them to get their attention. By the time they turned their attention to her, she was standing before them.

"Good morning, everyone," she greeted them all, bowing slightly, "My name is Mira Kawazaki, and this is my brother, Daiki."

Daiki glared at her. "Did you seriously forget to use our codenames?"

"Ignore him. He's a bit on the immature side…" Mira said, ignoring him and further aggravating him, "So then, I believe you three are interested in purchasing some Memories from us? It would greatly please The Earth's Tree if you did."

"We are…considering," said the female of the group. Mira raised a brow and noted her behavior.

"Well then," she began, "I'll have to find a way to convince all of you then…" Daiki rolled his eyes at this comment. Mira then stepped back and motioned towards her brother, indicating for him to step forward. Once he did, he opened up the briefcase and presented the contents inside to the trio. They all stepped forward to take a peek inside. As they looked over their array of Memories, Mira stepped away and carefully slipped something out of her pocket. "Do any of you see something you like?" she asked, putting on a smile, "Feel free to ask me anything."

"None of these Memories inherently impress me," said one of them, frowning slightly.

"Oh? Are you sure?" Mira replied, carefully stepping around to circle around them, "Why don't you take another look?" With all of their backs turned, the wolf was free to walk behind them unnoticed. Keeping her paws behind her back, she opened her palm and carefully pressed the end of her Memory against it. The device snaked into her before reacting to her body, causing it to morph and change. One of the three buyers glanced back before exclaiming in surprise and frantically backed away. The other two looked back and did the same, seeing that the wolf that had been standing there before had transformed into a pale white creature in a purple dress.

A Dopant.

Before any of them could get away, Mira slipped out a pocket watch from behind her and swung it gently from side to side, captivating them all as their gazes became fixated on the small clock. As their eyes followed the watch, Mira slowly walked forward and closed the gap between them and her. "…Sleep," she commanded. Immediately, the trio fell to the ground unconscious in one big heap. Mira giggled to herself and pocketed her watch as she knelt down to rearrange the trio. Daiki huffed and closed the briefcase, stepping away to leave his sister to her dirty work.

"Now then…" she whispered, running her hands down their heads, "You all want to become stronger… To do that…you all want your own Gaia Memories… Well…to do that…you will need to buy them from us…The Earth's Tree…" She made sure to pet each and every one of them, soothing them in their unconscious state. "So you'll want to buy them from us…and you won't hesitate in getting them from us… You want this to happen… You want to buy… You want to obey…"


Soon afterwards, Mira and Daiki were walking once again, both of whom were carrying the same moods they had carried beforehand. However, this time around, the trio of potential buyers, now turned into actual buyers, were following faithfully behind them.

"…I still say you're cheating," muttered Daiki, leaning over to his sister so that the trio couldn't hear. Mira huffed in irritation.

"This isn't a game, Daiki," she retorted, "It's a business… Maybe if you had treated it like one, then you wouldn't be in the position that you're in now."

"Right…about that," Daiki replied, glancing over to his sibling, "what exactly am I supposed to do now?"

"Well…our current objective regarding those two Riders requires that we knock them down a peg or two," Mira explained, "With there being no other competition with us but them, the Headmaster wants The Earth's Tree to reassert its dominance."

Daiki rolled his eyes. "And I'm guessing that I'm still not allowed to just take him out of the equation entirely?"

Mira gave him a mocking smile. "Congratulations, dear brother. You were able to put 2 and 2 together." Daiki only huffed dismissively. "But we're not just stopping there. That team, Amnesia, is also something that must be taken seriously. And do you know the most effective way of dealing with an enemy?" A shark like grin spread across the wolf's muzzle. "You have to gain their trust first…"


With Vince and Dave having gone back, the two felines were able to get back to work. Once again, they were helping out with moving in boxes from the cargo truck. They had gone back to their previous roles, with Arata fetching the boxes inside and Erika taking them into the facility. "Arata!" Erika called as she walked back outside, "Can you fetch another box for me, please?!"

"Alright!" he called back as he made his way to the back of the truck. With a bit of a grunt, he grabbed onto the box and hoisted it up. But as he turned around and walked forward, he felt his legs suddenly give out. He shouted in surprise as he tripped onto the floor with a loud thud.

"Arata!" Erika exclaimed, climbing up and rushing over to the panther's side. He cringed as Erika helped him sit up. "Are you okay?!" she asked in concern, sliding aside the objects scattered around them.

"I-I'm fine," he replied, massaging the areas of his body that had cushioned his fall.

"What the heck happened?" Erika asked, "D-did you just trip over something?"

"I-I don't know… My legs just felt kinda…weak."

"Weak?" Erika echoed, furrowing a brow, "Well…maybe you're just tired. When was the last time you rested?"

Arata shrugged sheepishly. "I can't remember, honestly…" Erika clicked her tongue before sliding what remained of Arata's box over to herself.

"Just go sit down for a minute," she said firmly, "I'll just take care of this."

"Alright," Arata nodded, seeing that the snow leopard was leaving no room for debate, "Thank you…" As Erika began to gather up the things that had been scattered, Arata went over to the edge of the truck and sat there. What the heck is going on with me? he questioned himself, massaging his legs absentmindedly. As he sat there, he pondered whether he really did just need a breather whilst Erika carried what she could into the facility. She eventually emerged back outside, paws empty and ready to grab another crate. Before she could climb back up though, a loud siren echoed from the facility itself. Both her and Arata jumped in surprise and looked to each other in confusion. As everyone else that was outside with them rushed back into the facility, the two of them decided to follow their lead and rushed in as well.

As they came in, the "briefing room" they had scrapped together was crowded with furs. A scene was being projected onto the clearest wall, with Tech standing by her computer and frantically trying to get everything set up as quickly as possible. "What's going on?" Erika shouted as she took Arata with her to the front of the room.

"Someone sounded the Dopant alarm," Tech explained, keeping her gaze locked on her work, "There's activity somewhere in the city." The two felines looked up to the projection and saw a troubling scene. From what they could see, there was a total of three Dopants rampaging down the street. However, looking more closely, it was easy to tell that they weren't merely trying to get attention.

They were all in pursuit of someone.

"I don't know why," said Tech, "But they're chasing after that woman. And things just get worse, I'm afraid." As the first of the Dopants began to slip out of view, the silhouette of Lockon come into view. Tech's fingers flew across her keyboard, and the scene expanded to allow everyone to see the entire street. And with this view, it was now very clear that the sights of the attackers were all focused on the woman that they were chasing.

"2! 6! Valkyrie! Zero!" 1 shouted, immediately grabbing everyone's attention, "We deploy IMMEDIATELY! There are citizens out there that have YET to get to safety! Our number one priority is to safely evacuate everyone still out in the open!"

"YES SIR!" shouted 2 and 6.

"Y-yes sir!" shouted Erika and Arata afterwards. 1 then waved a sharp motion.

"Then transform and roll out!" At that, everyone scrambled into action, rushing to get to their appropriate stations.

"Hah, nerd reference," Erika snorted. Arata shot her a look. "I know, I know. Let's go!"


Mira was gasping for breath as she ran for her life, running past crowds of furs as she narrowly avoided gunfire from afar. She pushed through the crowd to a clearing in the street, but stopped in her tracks as two Dopants dropped down from the sky and blocked her way. One was covered in scales and bared its teeth at her, fluttering its wings out and lashing its tail against the pavement. The other floated above the ground for a moment before seemingly gaining weight in one moment and landing. Mira grit her teeth and turned around, surprised to see that her way had been cleared up there as well. However, this fact quickly turned into fiction as Daiki stepped into view, accompanied by another Dopant. "You treacherous snake!" he spat at her, tightly gripping the handles of his pistols, "How DARE you go against the wishes of the Headmaster! You'll PAY for what you've done!" Mira slowly backed away, hugging a suitcase against her chest. Just as the gunner was about to make a move, the sounds of engines filled the air. Suddenly, sparks flew off of Daiki and the Dopant beside him, and they both staggered away from Mira. After recovering, they turned to look and saw the Amnesia troopers riding in on motorcycles with a gun raised in their free hands. And trailing behind them was a figure clad in white armor with a cape fluttering behind him.

"Zero…" Daiki snarled under his breath, glaring at the Rider with a fiery passion. With a roar of rage, Daiki turned and opened fire on the incoming group.

ASCENDING DRIVE!

However, before he could let out a second shot, a wave of energy collided against him and his accompanying Dopant, knocking them to the ground upon impact. Daiki hissed out a breath and craned his neck up to see Erika swooping through the air with her bright wings spread. She landed on the ground as they struggled to recover and quickly brought her blade up to guard herself as the two other Dopants came in for the attack. After fending them off and knocking them away, she backed up towards Mira and stood at her side. "Are you alright?" she asked, looking back and forth between each attacker. Nearby, Arata and the troopers screeched to a halt and dismounted their bikes, gripping their guns as they aimed down their sights.

"UNDO YOUR TRANSFORMATIONS AND SURRENDER NOW!" 1 shouted, "THIS IS YOUR ONE AND ONLY WARNING!"

Daiki laughed as he finally climbed back up to his feet. "Do you honestly think that we'd turn ourselves in?!"

6 rolled her eyes beneath her helmet. "It's honestly just a formality to ask, really."

"Valkyrie! Evac the civilian!"

"Yes sir!" Erika shouted as her wings spread again. She grabbed Mira before taking to the skies, with the dragonic and ghostly Dopants following after them.

"OPEN FIRE!" 1 shouted before the air was filled with gunfire. Daiki grunted as he took the brunt of the damage. Shielding himself with an arm, he used his other to return fire before he glanced back at the Dopant behind him.

"TIME!" he shouted at her, "DO SOMETHING!" The Dopant then thrust her arms out, causing the entire scene to come to a sudden halt. Bullets were frozen in place, and everyone but her was stuck in a statue-like state. If it had not been for the clouds still moving in the sky, it would have seemed as though time itself had frozen. This was not the case for the Dopant, however, as she weaved her way through the scene with a casual ease. She soon reached Arata and the troopers and flexed her short claws. She suddenly lashed out and struck each and every member with enough force to knock them into the air. However, instead of sailing through it, they merely hung in the air where Time's claws had left them. Once she had struck each of them, she retreated back to Daiki's side and waved her hand. Suddenly, Arata and the others flew through the air and crashed onto the ground, groaning as they picked themselves back up. Daiki quickly shielded himself with both arms as the bullets continued down their path and peppered him. He let out a sigh and glanced at Time. "Thanks," he said simply, "now let's go after that traitor." At that, both of them took a running start and ran after where they had seen Erika and the others fly off to.

A strike from behind! the Valkyrie warned Erika. She looked back before frantically dropping altitude. A stream of flame singed the top of her helmet as she descended, only ceasing as Dragon closed his mouth to cut off the flame. He snarled before dropping down after her. Erika growled and suddenly spread her wings, bringing her descent to an abrupt halt and allowing Dragon to zip past her. Erika took this chance to flick the dial on her belt.

ASCENDING DRIVE!

Erika readjusted her grip on Mira before yelling out and slashing her blade to send an energy wave down upon Dragon. He cried out in pain as the attack struck him down to the ground. Behind you! Valkyrie alerted her. She whirled around and narrowly avoided a strike from Ghost. She shot back and spaced herself out from him before clapping her wings again and shooting off with Ghost in hot pursuit.

"Hand over the traitor!" Ghost hissed bitterly.

"Traitor?" Erika questioned, glancing at Mira. She then glanced back, seeing how intent the Dopant was at keeping pace with her. "Jeez, these guys must really want your skin!"

"It's because I'm an ex-member of The Earth's Tree!" Mira shouted over the wind, earning a shocked gasp from Erika, "I was trying to deliver these documents to Amnesia, but these Dopants came after me to stop me!"

"Damn," said Erika, "No wonder these guys are so pissed!" She cried out suddenly as she felt something strike her heel. Not bothering to look back, Erika clapped her wings again and wheeled around to try and shake off the Dopant. "SOMEONE GET THIS GUY OFF OF ME!"

"On it," came 2's voice through their intercom. Down below, she aligned her sights with Ghost in her scope. After predicting where he'd be by the time she pulled the trigger, she aimed down her sights and fired off her first round. As the sound of her sniper echoed through the air, Ghost stopped in place and hung in the air. However, the bullet was still perfectly aligned with him and zipped straight for him. But instead of colliding against him, the bullet soared right through him and left him completely unharmed. 2 gasped, caught off guard from the lack of damage she had done to him. Ghost then shot off again and continued his pursuit. Seeing that he was still after her, Erika growled.

Looks like I'm gonna have to land, she thought, Maybe I can drop this chick off somewhere safe… "1!" she shouted, "I'm gonna try and lose this guy in another area! I'll have to leave the initial battle scene to do this!"

"Roger that!" 1 shouted, "Over and out!" Having alerted the team, Erika flew off and soared through the air, with both Ghost and Dragon flying after her and Mira. Seeing this, Daiki and Time looked to each other and nodded, deciding to retreat for now. Time allowed Daiki to get a head's start as she awaited 1 and the others to come after them. Once Time noticed that Daiki was well away from herself, she thrust her arms out and froze the area around herself once again.

LUNA: MAXIMUM DRIVE!

The team was forced to sit there frozen and watch as a string of light orbs came flying out at them. Each one struck them hard and knocked them farther and farther away from Daiki and Time. They were eventually freed from Time's trap and flew across the street, landing on the ground with smoke streaming off of their bodies. With them all taken care of, Time followed Daiki into the darkness of the buildings and disappeared from sight.

"Dammit," Arata cursed under his breath, hitting his fist against the ground as he pulled himself back up.

"Don't worry about them," came Tech's voice, "Erika is still in need of help!" Once they had all recovered, the team remounted their bikes and revved them back to life before zooming towards where Erika and the others had flown off to.

Dammit, Erika cursed, there's no way that I'll lose these guys carrying her around… I gotta land… "1!" she shouted, "I gotta land! I'll be at the clearing near 5th Street!"

"Roger that!" said 1, "We're heading there now!" With that taken care of, Erika tightened her grip on Mira and swooped towards the ground before slowing her descent to land safely. After letting go of Mira, Erika turned to see the Dopants coming down to rush her. Erika hastily shoved Mira away before whirling around to engage the two of them. Ghost was the first one that she reached. She lunged at him in an attempt to strike first, but instead of her blade clashing against his body, it pierced through him with no resistance whatsoever. In fact, even "pierced" didn't seem like the right word, as the entire blade went through him as if he was made of nothing but air. Caught off guard by this, Erika wasn't able to react in time when Ghost side-stepped her and struck her in the shoulder. She grunted and staggered backwards, holding her blade out to discourage the Dopant from attacking.

Though this worked on Ghost, it didn't work on Dragon. He rejoined the fight and struck Erika with one of his claws. Erika stumbled back and fought to regain her footing. She hacked and slashed at him, but her blade merely bounced off of his thick scales as though it was made of nothing but plastic. Erika cried out as Dragon slammed his claws into her chest and sent her rolling. Once she reached her feet, her heart leapt as Ghost came back into view. She slashed out at him, but once again her blade soared through him and left no evidence of the attack behind. She quickly brought her blade up to guard as Ghost struck her and staggered her once again.

"You have to strike when Ghost is moving!" Mira suddenly shouted, much to the surprise of Erika, "It can only phase through objects when standing completely still!"

"What?!" Erika exclaimed, struggling to regain her balance. Ghost roared out and came running at her. Acting purely out of instinct, Erika slashed out wildly at Ghost. Miraculously, Erika's sword struck true to her aim. Sparks flew off of the Dopant as her blade slashed against his torso and knocked him away from her. Regaining her balance, Erika stood straight and clutched her blade tightly. She was right! she thought, So she's legitimately the real deal then?! Using the newfound knowledge that Mira had given her, Erika kept Ghost at bay with well-timed swings. Her attention was suddenly torn away from him as a stream of fire swept her way. She hastily spread her wings and dove to the side, narrowly avoiding Dragon's attack.

"Not all of Dragon's scales are impenetrable!" Mira shouted again, "It has weak spots on the front of its neck and body!" Wanting to test the wolf's credibility once more, Erika clapped her wings and shot forward before lunging at Dragon's chest. Once again, her blade landed true to her aim, and its tip struck Dragon right in his chest. Sparks flew everywhere and Dragon let out a cry of pain as he was blown back. He snarled as he backed away to recover.

Now's my chance! Erika thought. Wasting no time, she flew back and pried her Memory out of her Driver. She twisted it into the handle of her blade as she landed back on the ground.

^^^ ASCENDING SLASH! ^^^

Ghost suddenly dove at her, but she merely kicked him away and sent him tumbling towards Dragon. With the two of them lined up, Erika took that chance to launch her attack. She swung upwards and hurled a wave of energy at the two Dopants that tore through the ground. The attack struck both of them, and they cried out in pain as their Dopant bodies combusted into neon clouds of smoke. Once the smoke cleared, their real bodies fell to the ground, and their Memories snaked out of them before bursting to pieces. Erika panted heavily and planted her blade into the ground, using it as leverage to lean against. She perked as she saw Arata and the others ride in on their bikes and arrive on the scene. "Are you two alright?" he asked as he dismounted his bike, eyeing the unconscious bodies on the ground as he hurried over to Erika's side.

"We're fine," Erika replied, motioning towards Mira, "In fact, she helped make things easier for me. As it turns out, she's an ex-Earth's Tree member!" The rest of the group all gasped in shock, looking back and forth between her and the wolf. Taking this as her cue to speak, she stepped forward.

"It's true," she began, "and it's why those Dopants were after me. I was trying to reach your facility, but Lockon and his cohorts found out about my plans and tried to stop me."

"Plans?" said 1, stepping forward and confronting Mira, "what do you mean by that?"

Mira nodded before opening up the suitcase she had been carrying and presenting it to him. "I left in an effort to deliver these to you. I've brought with me an array of blueprints and notes about the Memories that come from The Earth's Tree. I've abandoned them and wish to sabotage them by giving you these prints. They reveal the hidden weaknesses of the Memories that they have produced." As 1 stared at the case and the prints contained inside, 6 stepped up and looked to her commander. As he pondered, Erika decided to speak up.

"I think she's telling the truth," she said, "She actually told me how to defeat those two Dopants."

"That's right," said Mira, closing the case, "and I can do this for the rest of the Dopants that appear as well. I'm very knowledgeable in the Dopants that were recently produced. In fact, I have a list of all the Memories that are currently in circulation."

1 suddenly held up his hand and stepped forward. "Alright, that's enough for now. It would be best to continue this discussion in a safer and more private location. For now, I'll bring you to the base. The rest of you take care of those two! Meet us back at base as soon as you are all done!" 6 and the others all shouted in acknowledgement before getting to work.


The team watched in silent apprehension as they watched Mira and 1 through the one-way mirror. As they listened to 1 ask Mira question after question, Erika leaned closer to Arata. "So, you think we should trust her?" she asked in a hushed whisper.

"I'm not so sure," he shrugged, "but if it turns out that she's telling the truth, then she'd be really valuable to have around…"

All eyes went to the door as 1 emerged from it. 2 stepped forward and approached him as he closed the door behind him. "So what do you think?" 1 sighed and folded his arms across his chest.

"Well, according to Tech, all of her records check out, and she's shown no signs of lying about any of the information that she's shared so far."

2 folded her arms as well. "But what do you think?"

"…She seems trustworthy to me," 1 answered, "For now, we will keep her under our protection." He then turned his attention to the rest of the team. "Listen up, everyone! It seems that The Earth's Tree is VERY intent on trying to get her back. So it's safe to assume that they will have their eyes set on our base to get her back. Therefore, I want everyone on high alert at ALL times!"

"Yes sir!" everyone shouted back, earning a satisfied nod from the commander.

"Dismissed," he said, prompting everyone to scatter. As Erika left, she glanced back at Mira, who was sitting quietly where she had been left. It struck her as odd to see her appear so calm and collected, despite the situation that she was currently in. But she pushed the thought aside and followed Arata out of the observation deck. And because of this, she failed to see the slight smile that spread across Mira's muzzle.