OathToOblivion: Yeesh. We're just blasting through here! Guess you were right, Joker.
Symbolic Joker: Ah~... . What I'm down about is CanadianRider's review. The Orange Samurai Debut's wasn't exactly spectacular, Kiva... . Guess I should've told you that before I let you post it eh? Well, let's try dragging out the fight scenes a bit more this time.
OathToOblivion: At any rate, as always, we don't own Heartcatch Pretty Cure or Kamen Rider Gaim.
Let's go! This is Our Stage now!
"I don't care about any of that. But…I will fight!"
Heartcatch Pretty Cure – Just Live More
Episode 02 – Knight of Spear! Cure Marine Takes the Stage!
(?/Gaim's POV)
"Wait, WHAT?!" D-Did I hear him correctly? Does he seriously not want to be a Kamen Rider? I mean, yeah, he would have to fight…but to just reject it wholesale like this; what does it mean? Oh wait, he's saying something. "You heard me. I... don't want to be a Kamen Rider." My gut feels like somebody has punched it. I just can't believe that he's doing this… but maybe he has a good reason?
"… Why? Why don't you want to be a Rider?" He looked startled, as if he didn't expect me to ask that question, then looked down again.
"…I don't know…Can I really live up to the name of Kamen Rider?" So that's it; he doesn't think he's worthy…but he had more to say. "I just think I'll get in the way. You don't really need me…" So it's a self-esteem issue, is it? Well, there's not much I can do, other than say…
"…It's not about whether you can live up to the name or not. It's about doing the right thing for the people who can't do anything. This was only my first battle myself, you know." He looked up in shock. "I'm worried…that there'll come a time where I alone won't be able to do anything. We DO need Kamen Rider Baron, and whether or not you think you're worthy of that title doesn't matter."
He looked torn. "But I'm not cut out for this kind of thing! You need someone you can rely on; someone who can get the job done! I can't do any of that!" I shook my head. This is totally not going well...
I spoke. "Look, a whole bunch of the past Riders didn't have a clue about how to use their powers at first. That's the first advantage we have!" I flailed the Orange Lockseed around. "We know how these work! We can do something with them!"
He got an angry look on his face. "Previous Riders faced a lot of hardship in their lives! Even Den-O, the most idealistic series in the franchise had its share of hardship! And we're in the middle of one of the darker entries in the Precure Timeline! Do you honestly expect that we can get out of this without scars?!"
I got angry too. "Well, what do you expect me to do about it?! I'm in the middle of this mess too, you know!" He got a rather interesting look on his face, kind of like he got hit with a sledgehammer. I calmed down; now was not the time for this. "I'm not saying I like that we're in the middle of this, but if there's a chance to make everyone happy, I'll take it!" He got a bit of an introspective look on face. Hopefully, he was considering what I said.
At any rate, I needed to address the other elephant in the room. "We need new names..."
He got a look on his face like he was run over by a reindeer. "Huh?! Why would we need new names? What's wrong with ours?"
I shook my head; he didn't get it. "Think about it: we come out of nowhere with foreign names, then weird stuff keeps happening? People are going to suspect us. To that end, I'm stealing Decade's name. Kadoya Tsukasa seems to fit the situation better anyway..."
He gave me an incredibly weird look. "Why the hell would you do that?! For starters, if you don't remember your name properly, then..."
I interrupted. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." He continued to give me a weird look. "Look, if you want to, you don't have to. But there must have been a reason you appeared with Baron's stuff. I have no doubt that you're the one meant to be Baron."
He looked at the Sengoku Driver for a bit...then gave it back to me. "Keep it for now. I'll make my decision later. In the meantime, I'll keep the Lockseeds so I can summon Inves if I need to."
He seemed to be still conflicted. I sighed; he obviously needed some more time to think about this. "Look, it's getting late. Hanasaki-san said we could stay the night here at the shop, so we should probably head inside." He nodded. I held out my hand for him to shake. "My name…my real name...is ******* **********. It's nice to meet you, at the very least."
He looked at the hand a bit, then shook it himself. "Thanks... I guess... ." He stayed quiet for a moment, before he spoke up. "Sora."
"Huh?" I let out in a confusion, that came out of nowhere.
"That'll be my name; Sora. It's nice to meet you too, Kadoya... Tsukasa." I smiled; at least on this point we were off to a good start. Although, I'm still going to try to convince him to be a Rider.
The next day…
(Sora's POV)
I was walking through the Heartcatch Pretty Cure small little town, which is called Kibougahana if I'm not mistaken. Currently, I was just thinking if I really should become Kamen Rider Baron, as I played with the Banana Lockseed. Though, I didn't have the Sengoku Driver on me for obvious reasons. If I put the belt on, there's no turning back after all. So it'll be stupid if I put it on for self-defense and a one-time thing when I could give it to someone else to fight alongside Tsukasa.
Changing his name though... geez. Doesn't he thinks through? He doesn't even look Asian that much... . *Sigh* Well, nothing I can do about it now. I can tell he's the 'pretty stubborned' type. Like he said last night; we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Though, does he really think it'll be that easy like in the show? We're here, we're going to have to fight for real. We mess up even once... , not only will we be goners but the people we'll be protecting will end up dying too... .
"Ugh!" I cried out as I fell down. Holding my head up in pain, I saw some thugs looking down on me.
"Watch where you're going punk!" The one in the middle, most likely the leader, told me.
"Sorry." I said as I got up before quickly walking away. But then one of them grabbed me by the shoulder.
"Hey! You think you could just stroll on our turf without paying the toll?!" Heh, with how goodie twoshoes the Pretty Cure world is, I didn't think these types of people existed. Guess that's wishful thinking on my part... .
"Look: I'm having a bad day. So I appreciate it if you didn't make it worse." I warned them. Last night, I found that I'm a lot more... flexible and stronger then before. Must be whatever magic that made me slim and Tsukasa deaged. Oh well, makes it easier to deal with punks like these... .
"Oh look here boys! We got a tough punk who thinks he's better then us!" One of them taunted.
"Remember; you idiots asked for it." I growled out.
Guess who won that little brawl? Hint; only one person walked out of that alleyway and he continued brooding through town.
Meanwhile, in the Desert Apostles' HQ…
(3rd POV)
"What was that? You say a new Precure has appeared?" This was Professor Sabaku, the Leader of the Desert Apostles. He had white hair, and his entire face was covered with a mask. Standing next to him was his second-in-command, Dark Precure, who had a single solitary wing on her left as well as a closed right eye.
Sasorina was at the platform below the one where his throne was, bowing down before him. "I slipped up merely because her sudden appearance caught me off-guard."
Professor Sabaku was not very impressed; he seemed to show little-to-no emotion at all. "If she manages to collect all the Heart Seeds, she could be quite a nuisance… ."
Sasorina had a confident look on her face. "Worry not. Cure Blossom is but one obstacle. I should be able to defeat her easily by myself." She then proceeded to get an irritated look. "However, the fact remains is that someone has gotten their hands on a Lockseed and Sengoku Driver. He'll continue to be a pest unless he's reined in like the others."
It was then that the figure on Sabaku's right spoke up. He had a Sengoku Driver as well, and the theme of his armor was based off a Durian. This was Kamen Rider Bravo! "Hmph. He'll fall in like the others once I have Gridon take care of him. What can one fool do against us anyway?" Bravo seemed to be the smug sort, but his inner thoughts revealed something interesting… . 'Ah~. Playing the villain is SO… cathartic. I should have comas like this more often… .'
Sasorina grunted, then teleported out to resume the hunt for Heart Flowers to wilt. "I shall be off then."
Meanwhile, on the hill that Tsukasa had been teleported to...
(Tsukasa's POV)
Okay, I thought this might happen, but it's still ridiculous. I had spent most of the day helping Hanasaki Kaoruko in her greenhouse, as well as randomly deciding to bounce ideas off her fairy partner from back when she was Cure Flower, Coupe. Yeah... I was kind of bored, I'll admit it. Although chiefly, I was worried about Sora.
Yeah, I probably shouldn't worry so much about him. Kid can take care of himself, and has the Lockseeds to summon Inves in a pinch. But to be honest, I couldn't help but do so anyway. I'm not really sure why; it just felt like we had some kind of bond, and his rejection of being a Rider had strained it...no, not like that you sick, twisted degenerates! Anyway, I was still holding on to his Driver, in hopes he would come to get it. If he didn't want to be a Rider by the end of Episode...4 at the latest, I'd find somebody else. I already had a pretty good back-up candidate in mind too...
At any rate, I had left to go escort Tsubomi home. If I knew my Heartcatch chronology correctly, we were in the middle of Episode 3, which meant a Desertrian. Which also meant Sasorina, which probably meant another Inves. Considering it was Blossom inspiring Marine that defeated the Soccer Ball Desertrian, I wanted to deal with any Inves that popped up so they wouldn't be thrown off.
So, Tsubomi had become Cure Blossom and was confronting the Desertrian and Sasorina, and I was about to get a closer look when I felt a chill behind me. I turned, and saw...Kamen Rider Gridon?!
...Yeah, it was Gridon all right, with his Acorn-themed armor as well as his hammer/nutcracker. I know I said I expected another Rider on the Desert Apostles' side, but to be honest, I had suspected Zangetsu, not this nut! After all, his Lockseed was on a lower level compared to mine and Sora's, being based on a nut. With that in mind, I concluded that he had to be a flunky.
I called out to him. "Gridon! Didn't expect to see you here, but do you mind if I ask who your boss is?!" ...Silence. Okay, he's not the talkative type and he's COMING RIGHT AT ME! AAH!
I ducked out of the way of his hammer swing and kicked him back. I then strapped on my Sengoku Driver and unlocked my Orange Lockseed.
ORENJI!
(ORANGE!)
LOCK ON!
"Henshin!"
SOIYA! ORENJI ĀMUZU! HANAMICHI ON SUTĒJI!
(ORANGE ARMS! FLOWERED PATH ON STAGE!)
With that, I became Kamen Rider Gaim and drew the Daidaimaru to fight back! But Gridon is a lot more competent than his counterpart in the show. I didn't have any time to draw the Musou Saber, as I was too busy trying to parry his hammer blows. I concluded that I needed to go all out from the get go, so I brought the Cutting Blade down again to initiate the first of three things the Blade can do in the transformed state.
SOIYA! ORENJI SUKASSHU!
(ORANGE SQUASH!)
"Daidai Ittou (Great Orange Strike)!"
Pushing the Blade down once activates the Hissatsu, whether it's a Rider Kick or an attack with the Arms' signature weapon. In this case, I charged the Daidaimaru with energy and slashed away at Gridon! ...Only to miss every single time because he slithered around like a snake. Okay, seriously, I know a few of those connected! ...I wonder if it has something to do with how he's not saying anything...
At any rate, I didn't get anymore time to think, because he frickin' blindsided me! Over and over again, he whacked me back with his hammer. I noticed in the corner of my eye that Erika had become Cure Marine over by the Soccer field. Good, maybe she could help me out with this guy after she was finished. This is exactly what I meant when I said that back-up is required!
Sora... where are you?!
(Sora's POV)
I was running.
Not running away, mind you. I don't know why...but I feel like something is calling to me. So I ran, towards to the direction I think is wherever the call is. Eventually, I arrived at my destination. And I was shocked. Because I was at a riverside where Cure Blossom and Cure Marine were battling a Soccer Ball Kaijin whereas Tsukasa...no, Gaim was battling...Gridon?! I was expecting Bravo or Zangetsu to be helping out the Desert Apostles actually...
I'm surprised that there's no Inves this time. Then again, with Gridon here, there's no need for an Inves on the bad guy's end is there? I took out my Banana Lockseed and looked at it. I could summon an Inves to help out Gaim...but...they would probably only be a hindrance for Gridon for a few minutes judging how easily he's fighting against Gaim. No...Gaim needs...another Rider. He needs...Baron...
Tch...I don't want this. I don't want to fight. I don't want to people to lose their lives because of my failures...
But..., then the answer would be simple, right? Fight, and win. Losing is not an option.
But that isn't our choice to make!
No! Life is decided by our choices! We lose, we get stronger, and win the rematch! And keep getting stronger until the war is won!
... Right... Keep getting stronger. Keep winning, so the next generation will have a beautiful planet to live in... .
"Gaim!" I called out to him. "Give me; ore no Sengoku Doraibā (my Warring Extreme Driver)!" He seemed to hear me, and in his shock he got hit by Gridon's little hammer. That caused me to wince a bit since that was my fault. When he was back on his feet, Gaim quickly checked himself for the Driver before producing one out of thin air. Yeah, I don't even want to know where he was hiding that thing...
"Sora, catch!" Gaim said before tossing me the Driver. I caught it and instantly placed over my waist, the strap quickly making sure it won't fall off anytime soon. A small trumpet noise played to signal that my Driver's blank Rider Indicator had been filled in with Baron's. I then unlocked the Banana Lockseed.
BANANA!
I hear the sound of a zipper opening. Looking up, I saw a giant mechanical banana coming down from the portal that lead to Helheim Forest. The portal closed as I inserted the Banana Lockseed into the Drive Bay.
LOCK ON!
I pressed down the lock of the Lockseed to secure it onto the Lock On Arm. Then, European style trumpets began playing from my Driver as everyone stopped what they were doing when they heard the music. "Another... Rider?" Blossom asked, surprising me when I heard her calling me a Rider.
"Eh~? What's a Rider?!" Marine asked her partner in confusion. She may have been told about Pretty Cures but she heard nothing about Kamen Riders, eh? Well, no more time to lose. I'm delaying it long enough. It's time for my... .
"Henshin...!"
COME ON! BANANA ARMS! KNIGHT OF SPEAR!
The mechanical banana fell down and covered my head, yet surprisingly I could still see clearly. I felt the Baron suit materializing from the banana and covering my body; strangely it felt like I was being splashed by water. When the suit fully materialized, the banana disassembled itself to form my chest armor and extremely large shoulder pads after it formed my helmet. I also felt something materializing in my left hand, and realized that I was holding the Banaspear in a reversed manner.
I had, successfully, transformed into Kamen Rider Baron's default form, Banana Arms!
"Looks like... the climax scene has arrived!" I declared as I spun the Banaspear into my right hand, holding it upright this time. The short spear in the shape of a peeled banana glowed for a moment before extending, the proof being the black part on the blade that was hidden before. I then charged towards Gridon.
"Shine, flowers!" I heard Marine declare as she prepared to finish off the Soccer Kaijin. "Precure Blue Forte Wave!" I didn't pay attention at what happened next though. How could I when I was too busy making sure my head wasn't slammed clean off my body?! Seriously, whoever is behind that mask is a much more competent fighter then the original Gridon!
And how is he so agile anyway?! No matter how many times I tried to stab him, he keeps moving with the flow and dodging effortlessly! Is he an acorn or a goddamn leaf?! I backed off along with Gaim, seeing as against this jerk double-teaming wasn't working.
"Gaim! We'll help out!" Blossom declared as she and Marine ran towards our side. ...Wait... aren't the Kaijin in Heartcatch Pretty Cure Humans? Taking the chance, I saw at the corner of my eye, the girl who had involuntary become a Soccer Kaijin had been turned back to normal. Good. Now we can focus on Gridon with no worries.
"Hmph." What's this? He's getting cocky? Good. Blossom and Marine charged alongside Gaim. However, I stopped when I heard a voice.
"Be Warned..." Turning my head around, I saw... the Mysterious Girl from Gaim! What's she doing here?! "Your Choice Will Now Change The Course Of Fate. Know That If You Continue Down This Path, There Will Be No Turning Back. You Will Have To Fight Until The Bitter End. Until The World Is Dyed Into Your Image."
"...I knew that I couldn't turn back once I put on this belt. That's one of the reasons why I didn't want to become Baron..." I admitted to her, though I realized that the others didn't notice that I was most likely talking to thin air. Probably too busy with Gridon..."But I put it on, and I know the consequences. So like you said; I'll fight until the bitter end!" I declared to the Mysterious Girl. "The world being dyed into my image is just a bonus if you ask me. After all, it's a good thing my image for the world isn't f*cked up, eh?" Despite my face being hidden by my helmet, I smiled at her. And she returned it with a sad, longing smile before vanishing when I turned my attention back to Gridon.
And I charged at him. He was distracted by Blossom and Marine. By the time he pushed them off, he was wide open when he turned around and took the Banaspear head on. ...*Snort* That must've sounded real misleading huh...? Go ahead, laugh. Cause right now I'm laughing too. Well, I wasn't literally laughing. More like an amused "Hmph." I turned to Gaim. "Let's finish together, aibou (partner)." I told him.
He nodded in response. "Wakata (Got it)!" He said as we pressed down the Cutting Blade of our respective Sengoku Drivers.
SOIYA! ORENJI SUKASSHU!
(ORANGE SQUASH!)
COME ON! BANANA SQUASH!
"Daidai Ittou (Great Orange Strike)!"
"Victory Spear!"
Again, Gridon had to push off the Heartcatch Duo from himself, allowing me and Gaim to attack him with our own Rider Slash combination attack. Instead of slicing through him, however, he was thrown further back. Sasorina quickly ran up to her partner in crime and tried to give him her support, as if it was enough to make him keep fighting.
"Come on! Get up you dolt!" Sasorina said as she roughly shook Gridon.
"...Tch..." Was the only response she got.
"Tch!" She replied back. "Damn you, Pretty Cure! Armored Warriors!" Sasorina cursed the four warriors in front of her.
"We're not Armored Warriors." I told her.
"We are... Kamen Riders!" Gaim declared to her.
That got a shock flowing through her system. "Nani(What)?! Don't bullshit me! Kamen Riders are Warriors of Evil!"
"No. They are Kamen Riders..." To our surprise, Gridon was the one who told her that. "However, that's just a title..." He told her as he painfully got back up. "Titles are shared by multiple people. They are Kamen Riders, just like me... They are...Gaim and Baron. Remember that." He told her as he got close to her. "Now let's go. We need to report this to Bravo."
And with that, along with Sasorina cursing us again, they disappeared. However, what shocked me and Gaim most was that the name 'Bravo'. Kamen Rider Bravo...was one of the newest Kamen Riders introduced in Gaim. And one of the most dangerous so far. If he's on the Desert Apostles' side...
(Tsukasa's POV)
So Bravo is the leader of the Riders working with the Desert Apostles? Well that's not good... Sora and I powered down from our Rider forms and looked at each other pensively. We both knew how devastatingly powerful Bravo can be, and if he's on the Desert Apostles' side, along with an incredibly competent Gridon and presumably Kurokage, we're in for the fight of our lives.
And...what's Marine doing, looking all suspiciously at us like that. "So you're Kamen Riders and so is that other guy..." Oh no, please tell me she's not going where I think she's going?
Sora interrupted her. "It's true that he and we are Kamen Riders...but we, all True Kamen Riders, fight for those who can't protect themselves. Don't lump us in with them!"
I broke up the argument. Now was totally NOT the time for this. "We'll explain later, Erika. Now don't you have someone to check on." I pointed to their friend Sayaka, who was still lying where they left her.
Blossom jerked. "Ah! That's right; come on, Erika!" She and Marine powered down and went over to Sayaka. I pretty much ignored their conversation, instead talking with Sora.
"So, it seems you decided to become a Rider after all, huh?" He nodded and had a bit of a...I don't want to say happy, but more like a relaxed look.
"Yeah. In the end, we make our own choices. You were right, it doesn't matter whether or not I'm worthy or not, as long as I fight." He then proceeded to get a serious look on his. "But...I saw the Mysterious Girl." Wait, what? The Mysterious Girl? The same one that comes to all of the Gaim Riders and warns them about what they're doing...
"...Now that you mention it, I haven't seen her at all. Which is strange, considering I've become Gaim twice now. I wonder why she hasn't shown up...?" Wait a second, something's nagging at me...AH! "Wait a minute! Why is she even here?! This isn't Gaim no Sekai (World of Gaim), so she shouldn't even be showing up!"
Sora reacted with shock. It was clear that he hadn't thought of that himself. "Could it be... because of us Gaim Riders...? Are we... going to have to go through whatever plot Gaim has...?" Sora asked fearfully. I'm starting to get a bit scared too. Back in our own World, Gaim had only just aired. We have no idea what Gaim has in store for us...
Calming myself down, I turned to him to calm him down. "Let's not worry about that right now." I turned to look at the girls, who had just said goodbye to Sayaka. "Right now, we need to focus on keeping them safe."
He looked at them as well. "...Yeah. Our presence messed up the Story of this World. So...we'll make sure, that Story goes on as it should, no matter what changes occur!"
I smiled. "Well said..., aibou."
Episode 02 - Fin
Symbolic Joker: ... You know Kiva, the name of our chapters are very misleading. You keep ignoring the Pretty Cure fights while making your fights too short. Cure Marine takes the stage... except she's ignored until she helps out with our fight... . So, I hope you'll stop doing that in future chapters... . Seriously, just put in the Pretty Cure scenes. Because there's a chance some readers didn't watch the series.
OathToOblivion: -sheepish laughing- Yeah, I have a bad habit of that, don't I? Sorry out there reviewers, but I promise you that there will be Precure fight scenes in Chapter 3! -mumbling- And maybe I'll try expanding my own fight scenes a bit...
Symbolic Joker: Don't forget about the civilian scenes now~. We are going to become huge impact to their lives. Of course there will be original discussions... .
OathToOblivion: At any rate, next time on Heartcatch Pretty Cure - Just Live More: Iron Breaker! Kunai Burst! The Arms Change of Friendship and Partnership!
