ACCESSION 2: Information, Discussion, and Explanation! A Team Is Made!

In the New World Discovery Club, Noriko sighed as he finished explaining last night's events about how he and his sister met Ikaros when she fell out of the sky from that black hole.

"This is fascinating, Noriko. She's obviously an inhabit of the New World." Sugata said, pleased that his theories were correct.

"I still can't believe Sugata was right, or that this girl's wings are actually real." Tetuso commented as he observed the Angeloid. "She could possibly be an Angel or something else for all we know."

"She is an Angle!" Eri defended, hugging the Angeloid while rubbing her cheek against hers. "If she wasn't, then she wouldn't have landed on the spot where Onii-chan and I were at the other night."

"That's only because Sugata knew where it was going to be at. Besides, it's not like she came specifically for wither you or Noriko, right?" Sohara questioned with a slight frown.

"Wrong! Obaa-chan said this; 'For you…there is never such a thing as coincidences or accidents, only the guiding wish of the world. That wish is yours bestowed by the world!' And that's why I believe Ikaros-chan appeared before Onii-chan." Eri firmly said, while placing her head against Ikaros' breast using it as a pillow. "Ah, this is so comfy~!"

"That sounded pretty cool at first, until she did that…"Tetsuo sweat dropped.

"Eri-chan is back to her playful self again." Sohara said with a sweat drop of her own.

"It's cute how your sister has a new playmate." Mikako commented with amusement.

Noriko shot her a look.

"I guess anything is possible. That could be why she came to you." Sugata added.

"Anyway, that's only half of the craziness we encountered so far." Noriko said as Kabuto Zecter flew on his shoulder.

"Half the craziness?" snorted Sohara. "Please, I doubt almost being smashed by falling pillars is nothing compared to the bug-like monsters that were about to kill us!"

"I agree with you there."

"And our new friend here has the answers to the questions I've been wondering, since I came across one of those monsters and saw Noriko transform into that suit of armor." Sohara looked at the Zecter. "Isn't that right?"

"Yes." answered Kabuto Zecter.

"Oh right, I almost forgot about our other new friend here." Sugata said, lightly pushing up his glasses. "Your name is Kabuto Zecter, right? I must say I've never seen something like you before, a sentient machine that is capable of feeling emotion and other qualities."

"Why thank you." Kabuto Zecter said.

"As much as I'm curious about the talking robotic beetle, we don't have enough time to be discussing this. Our classes are going to start any minute." Tetuso stated.

"I agree." Noriko nodded. "We'll go to my house after school and finish our discussion there. For the meantime, let's go on about our day and pretend as though nothing happened."

"Why can't we all just get together during lunch and talk about it then…?" Sohara asked.

"Don't you have club activities during lunch today, Sohara?" Noriko began as everyone knew where this was going.

"Now that you mention it…" she trailed.

"With this new information Noriko has provided, I must begin to study all the new data meaning lunch and class breaks are needed for me to do this." Sugata said.

"Knowing you, that was your intention from the start." Noriko commented earning a smirk from him.

"Basically we all have stuff to do today." Mikako said. "For me, I'm…"

"We don't want to know!" Noriko and Tetuso simultaneously interjected with frowns.

"Anyway, Ikaros show Kabuto Zecter the way back home and make sure not to get spotted, okay?" instructed Noriko.

"Yes, Master." Ikaros nodded.

"EH!?" exclaimed both Eri and Kabuto Zecter. "Why can't they/I stay…?"

The older Kazuyuki sighed knowing something like this would happen. Well at least from his sister, not Kabuto Zecter.

"They can't stay because both of them stand out too much. I'm sure people will start to talk once they've realized Ikaros' wings are real and not for cosplay. And we can't have that on our consciousness." he then shifts his gaze to Kabuto Zecter. "As for you, I have no doubt you'll agree pretending to be a toy; but I am concerned you won't hold still long enough to get through eight hours of school. Plus, you might end up talking to either myself or Eri in one of our bags while being around other people. And we don't have a toy remote control to fake controlling you."

"I won't say anything!" Kabuto Zecter said.

"But can you hold still for eight hours straight?" he asked.

"Of course…!"

"Really?" he shot him a look.

"Okay, probably not." Kabuto Zecter reluctantly admitted.

"Aww…" Eri sadly pouted.

"It's okay, we'll see them back home." assured the older Kazuyuki.

"Well then Master, we shall be on our way." Ikaros said, spreading out her wings as she took flight to the skies.

"Alright, I'll follow the angel lady." Kabuto Zecter sighed. "Listen Noriko, if there's any danger nearby I'll be able sense it and come to your aid, alright? Also, you can always call upon me as well."

Noriko nodded.

Kabuto Zecter also took flight as well.

As the group watched them fly, Noriko sighed knowing their lives are going to get crazy now.

"I actually want school to be over now." Sugata said. It was obvious he wants to learn more about these bug-like creatures Sohara mentioned and wishes to know what information their robotic friend has.

"Well aren't you a lucky dog, Noriko." Mikako began with a mischievous grin.

"Don't you dare start…" frowned Noriko.

"Being related and living together with your cute little sister, who is just as lovely as an angle herself. And now you're actually living with a gorgeous angle girl."

"Shut up."

"C'mon, let's go to class before we're late." Tetuso said as they left the room.


(Kazuyuki Residence)

Everyone gathered around the living room as it was time for Kabuto Zecter to explain the events that happened this morning, with those monsters, Noriko's transformation, and those soldiers too.

"Now that everyone is here, it's time for me to share my own information with you all. First off, those monsters are called Worms." Kabuto Zecter began.

"Worms…?" questioned Sohara.

"That's an interesting name…to say the least." Tetuso commented.

"Why are they called Worms? From what I saw they took the form of a chrysalis instead of a worm." Noriko said. Despite them being ugly, he could tell what insect they were motif after.

"To be blunt, it was the organization who those troopers work for are the ones who decided to call them Worms. I don't know why, but it's probably because it was simpler or something." Kabuto Zecter said.

"Makes sense to me." Sohara said.

"Anyway, their chrysalis forms are just shells waiting to be hatched. As you've seen before, that one Worm managed to molt, thus gaining a more powerful body taking the form of whatever insect it has." he explained.

"Interesting." spoke Sugata. "So how exactly do these, well hmm…?"

"Is that brain of yours stuck, Sugata?" Mikako asked with a giggle.

"I thought it would be odd to keep calling these lesser Worms by their given species name. I'm trying to figure out if there's another term for them, so we won't keep calling them 'Worms'."

"They're called Sails Worms." Kabuto Zecter informed.

"Sails Worms, eh?" he pondered.

"Just give them a name based on something they take after. Yeah, I can kind of see how that works out." Tetuso said.

"Putting that aside, I suggest we get back to the main topic and start discussing their abilities next." Noriko said.

"Agreed." nodded Sugata.

"Okay then, what do you want to know first?" Kabuto Zecter asked.

"Let's start with their ability to copy the appearances of other people. After what I saw today, I can't just let something like that go." Sohara said.

"Yes that is good reasoning. And a good question also." Kabuto Zecter said. "I tell no lie when I say that Worms do have the ability to copy the appearances of other human beings. However that's not the worse part that ability, they can also gain the memories and abilities of the person they mimic, and can sound like them also."

"Are you kidding me!?" Sohara exclaimed.

The rest of the group seemed concerned about this as well.

"This is something I wouldn't lie about." Kabuto Zecter replied.

"Then we're basically all screwed if these things gain the memories and abilities of other people, especially if it's someone we all know who's close to us." Tetuso said.

"I still won't hesitate to kill 'em all." Mikako said with a smile.

"And you're just plain evil!" Tetuso yelled.

"So I won't be able to tell between my friends?" Eri said while clinging onto her brother.

"Hold on, I think we're jumping the gun a bit." Noriko spoke catching their attention. "If the Worms can mimic a person along with gaining their memories and abilities, then it won't be a problem unless they come across someone we personally know or if they decided to copy one of us."

"I would say you're half right about that, but the main problem is that we won't be able to tell them apart unless you have some kind of plan of course." Mikako said.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I don't." Noriko reluctantly admitted.

"Don't worry, I know how to tell apart Worms from humans." Kabuto Zecter said making everyone look at him.

"Really...?" Eri hopefully asked.

"While they can mimic a person by looking at them, they can't copy the scent of whoever they pose along with their heat temperatures as well."

"If that's the case, I might be able to come up with something that'll help." Sugata said.

"That's good…" Sohara sighed in relief.

"No casual killings then." Mikako disappointingly said.

"What is wrong with you!?" Tetuso exclaimed.

"Anyway, that's all I know about the Worms." Kabuto Zecter said.

"Oh! Then let's talk about those strange looking swat guys we saw!" Eri said.

"Strange looking swat guys…?" Tetuso blinked.

"She means the Zect Troopers." said Kabuto Zecter.

"Zect Troopers?" they all questioned.

"They're foot soldiers that work for ZECT."

At this point everyone blinked at this.


(ZECT)

Ogata paced through the hallways of ZECT as he was heading towards the science department, where the organization's scientists work on weaponry and armor to fend off the Worms. And of course, research is much included as well. Knowledge is power after all. However, even with their studies and advanced upgrades there was nothing better than the Masked Rider System, a power which allows the user to be donned in a suit of armor to gain the power of Worms in order to fight on equal grounds with them. It was their only effective weapon until now.

The Investigator sighed as he entered the scientist department center.

"Ogata…" Tadokoro called out making the younger man look at him.

"Tadokoro-san?" questioned Ogata.

"I had a feeling you would be here." he said.

"To be honest, it was never really my intention to hide the fact that I would be coming here."

"That's true."

"Anyway, you already know why I'm here. I need to find out how the Zecters escaped from their containment."

"And you were hoping to speak with someone about that, right? Well then you're in luck." Tadokoro said, confusing the man.

"Huh?" Ogata blinked.

"I actually came here to meet with an old friend of mine who happens to work at this department." Tadokoro informed.

"Who is this person?" Ogata asked, curious.

"His name is Akihiro. From what I heard he was actually one of the scientists who help create the Zecters. And I think it was his job to keep status reports on them. Apparently, he was the last one to have seen the Zecter when they escaped." he explained.

"I see. If it's not too much trouble may I join you to meet with him?" Ogata asked.

"I see no harm in it." Tadokoro replied before one of the scientists walked up to him.

"Tadokoro-san." a male scientist began.

"Yes?"

"Dr. Akihiro would like to see you now."

"Thank you. Oh, and do you mind if I bring my colleague with me as well?" he asked gesturing to Ogata.

"I suppose that's okay. As long as he's with you, then it shouldn't be a problem."

"Thank you." Ogata lightly bowed then followed his senior investigator.

Once they walked inside the room both were greeted by the sight of a middle aged man, with short black hair and brown eyes looking for something on his messy desk stacked full of papers.

"Ah, Tadokoro!" he smiled upon seeing the older man.

"It's been a while…Akihiro." Tadokoro said with a smile.

"Who's your friend?" Akihiro asked looking at Ogata.

"My name is Ogata Simon. I'm one of Tadokoro-san's colleagues, nice to meet you." Ogata introduced himself before respectfully bowing to the scientist.

"Likewise." smiled Akihiro. "Is there anything I can help you two with?"

"We came here to find out how the Zecters managed to escape." Tadokoro said making his old friend letting out a tiresome sigh.

"I can't say I didn't see this coming." Akihiro said with half hearted laughter. "You don't know how many investigators I had to speak with to explain the situation. That includes our boss, too."

"It's no surprise. You were the last one to have seen the Zecters before they escaped, right?" Ogata said.

"I was doing their daily check-ups to see if they still needed any work. At first everything seemed fine, until the blackout occurred."

"Blackout…?" both men pondered.

"You probably don't know about it, since it was very late and most investigators were still out on duty or had gone home during the time." Akihiro explained.

"I see." Tadkoro said.

"Didn't the backup generator work when this blackout happened?" Ogata asked.

"Normally it would, but when it wasn't working I realized something was wrong." Akihiro said, remembering the events of that night.


(Three Days Ago)

Akihiro was taking notes on the Zecters to see if they needed any more work, the said sentient machines were in their containers with heavy restrictions so that they wouldn't escape or attack him. Even though they were immobile, he could tell they were watching him like hawk. But he paid no mind to them, since he knows he's safe.

"Everything seems to be in order." he said to himself while checking off the done assignments. "It shouldn't be too long before finding them suitable partners. Once I send out the information, I'll need to do some blood samples next."

Suddenly the lights went off.

"Huh? A blackout…?" he questioned before looking at the Zecters. "At least the restrictions are still in working condition. That's good. In any case, why isn't the generator working?"

WHACK!

Akihiro then lost consciousness when something hit him on the head.

A few minutes later, he woke up and the power was back on.

He winced in pain remembering that something had hit him on the head, standing on his feet he was about to get an icepack before looking at his laboratory with a surprised expression.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!?" he shouted.

His lab was a complete mess as he noticed the Zecters along with their transformation devices were all gone! There were four holes on the ceilings, two holes on one side of the room, and one beneath his feet which made him freak out a little.

"I am so screwed."


(Present)

"It was obvious someone knocked me out and freed the Zecters, since they couldn't have broken out of their restrictions by themselves." Akihiro said. "And whoever it is has to be one of us, a Zect member…"

"So we have traitor." Ogata frowned.

"Do you perhaps have the security camera of that night by any chance?" Tadokoro asked.

"No. I gave it to the high ranking officials. They were the first ones to speak with me about the matter before the others did. So almost everyone is aware there's a traitor amongst us. However most of them have been quiet."

"Perhaps that is best. It would only cause a panic and distrust amongst ourselves."

"Agreed." nodded Ogata.

"Thank you for your cooperation." Tadokoro said.

"No problem." Akihiro said.

"Let's go, Ogata."

"Yes." replied Ogata.

They left the office.

"A traitor, huh…?" Ogata thought.


(Kazuyuki Residence)

"So you're saying that ZECT is a secret organization that builds and designs high-tech weaponry in order to fight the Worms, as they deal with them away from public eye?" Tetuso surmised.

"Yeah." replied Kabuto Zecter. "And like before, the Zect Troopers are foot soldiers the work for them as they are commanded by high ranking field agents."

"I see. Then whoever their field agent was must have high status to control the ones we saw this morning." Noriko said.

"Not to be rude or anything, but why aren't you with ZECT? I mean from the sounds of it, they seem better suited to take on the Worms instead of us. We're just high school students." Sohara said.

"To be honest, I never liked ZECT. Some of them lack any concern for civilian life, especially the Zect Troopers despite an agent giving the orders." Kabuto Zecter said. "At least from what I've seen during the time I was searching for a partner."

"Well isn't that interesting." Mikako said with a mischievous grin.

"Wipe that stupid look off your face." Noriko frowned. Honestly, she found that part way too entertaining for his taste.

"Come now, Noriko. We all know I'm giddy for the casual killings. If these Worms are still around by the time we graduate, I'll enlist myself to become a field agent and order these suckers to murder everyone they see while causing a whole lot of hell fire!" Mikako proclaimed.

"Monster!" yelled Tetuso.

"I'm just kidding."

"I seriously doubt that!"

"Is she serious?" Kabuto Zecter asked, worried.

"Just forget about her. Mikako is always like that." Sugata sighed, lightly pushing up his glasses. "So, I guess you and Noriko are the only ones to fight the Worms."

"On the contrary, I'm not the only Zecter out there." he said catching everyone's attention.

"You mean there are more of you?" Sugata asked, intrigued.

"Of course…! I can't be the only means of fighting the Worms. There are six more Zecters out there. Well seven, including myself." Kabuto Zecter explained.

"If we're able to find the Zecters, do you think they'd be willing to partner up with one of us?" the Satsukitane heiress asked causing shivers down Noriko and Tetsuo's spines. She'd just use the power for her own twisted plots!

"I don't know. It's hard to say because each of us have preferences in what we look for in a partner. In short, it's based on characteristics really."

"So…? What? Are you saying you guys look for someone who shares your own personal traits or is that just something in your system?" Tetuso asked.

"I guess a bit of both. Mostly to the characteristic traits, thought. For example, Noriko has something I've always been looking for in a partner. So I decided to go for it. When he was in danger, I could instantly see he was ready to go down fighting and yet…still carries that mysterious vibe around him." he explained.

"So it is based on characteristics, then." Mikako said somewhat disappointed.

"Thank God!" both Noriko and Tetsuo thought.

"What kind of insects are they? Tell us, tell us…!" Eri cheerfully said.

"Yes. It would be wise for us to know what type of insects your friends take after." Sugata said.

"And name them, too. So we'll know who they are and know what to do if we ever come across them." Noriko added.

"Got it." agreed Kabuto Zecter. "Their names are Gatack Zecter, Sasword Zecter, Drake Zecter, TheBee Zecter, Punch and Kick Hopper Zecters. Each of them is motif after a stag beetle, scorpion, dragonfly, wasp, and two grasshoppers respectively."

"Does each of them require a belt to transform, like from what Noriko told us?" Sugata asked.

"No. Only Gatack Zecter, the Hoppers, and I require a belt in order for our partners to transform. The other three Zecters have different transformation tools for whoever they partner with." he informed.

"I see."

"That reminds me…" Tetuso began with crossed arms looking at his long time friend with a somewhat suspicious gaze. "How come you didn't tell us about this belt? And how long have you had it too?"

All eyes were on Noriko.

"Now that I know what the true purpose of this belt is…I suppose it's about time I tell you how it came into my possession." Noriko began.


(Seven Years Ago)

It was their third week in Sorami as the Kazuyuki siblings were walking home from school.

"Onii-chan, let's go to the playground!" Eri happily suggested, pulling her brother's sleeve.

"Alright, alright…I guess we can spare a few minutes before curfew." Noriko smiled as they ran towards the playground. "What do you want to play first, Eri?"

"Hide and seek, hide and seek…!" Eri said, jumping up and down.

"And I'm it, right?" Noriko said making the girl nod.

"Make sure you count to ten and don't peek!" Eri told him as she ran off to find a hiding place.

"Yeah, yeah…" Noriko nodded, covering his eyes with his hands before counting. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten…Ready or not here I come!"

Noriko began searching for his sister as he scanned the area. There was no doubt his sister is a good hider.

"Come out, come out where ever you are…" Noriko began as he searched underneath a bench only to find nothing." I'll find you, Eri."

He continued to search for the girl until something caught his eye.

"Huh?" he blinked, walking over to a silver belt that was on the ground and picked it up. "A belt…?" The young boy tilted his head when he looked to see a figure of a person standing across from him.

Noriko could only stare at the figure as it stared back. Though it may seem like two strangers are staring at each other for no reason, they were actually communicating without any words being said or exchanged. And for some reason, through this odd exchange of looks Noriko seemed to have understood something and nodded in response.

"I understand." he replied, putting the belt in his backpack.

Afterwards the figure soon vanished from sight.

"Onii-chan, let's go home! Grandma will get worried if we're late!" Eri called out breaking him out of thought.

"Y-Yeah…" he nodded looking back at the spot where the figure stood before following his sister back home.


(Present)

"Or at least…I think that's how I found it." Noriko said. To be honest, he really couldn't recall anything from that moment except for finding the belt.

"I remember you were spacing out looking into the distance. But I never saw anything, though." Eri said as she remembered that day as well. Although she was hiding from him, so she has no idea what he was doing when he was looking for her.

"A few days after, I showed the belt to my grandmother and told me to never reveal it to anyone until the time was right." Noriko said making his friends look at each other in confusion.

"Uh huh…" Eri nodded her head while her arms were crossed. "That defiantly sounds like something grandma would say."

"Even if I did show you the belt, it wouldn't have been very interesting since it did nothing back then. But now that we've met Kabuto Zecter, it's actually worth presenting since we know I can transform."

"When you put it like that, I guess you were in the right." Tetuso said nodding his head. It was true that if his friend did show him the belt, he would've just found it boring and tell him it was a piece of junk before dragging him out to play somewhere around the city. That's just the kind of guy he is.

"Speaking of this transformation…" Mikako began. "Care to show us? I'm really curious about this armor and want to see what it looks like."

"Indeed. It would be helpful if we see this suit for ourselves." Sugata said with a smirk. If Noriko agrees to this, then he'll be able to obtain more data than before.

"Not to say that I don't believe you about this armor, dude. But I do want to see it for myself, too." Tetuso said.

"Come on, Onii-chan! Show them, show them, show them...!" Eri happily cheered.

"Yeah, let's see it Noriko." Sohara said.

"You already saw it." Noriko pointed out.

"Aw, come on. It wouldn't hurt to show them how cool we are!" Kabuto Zecter said.

"Sigh. Alright, I'll do it." Noriko said putting the belt around his waist as Kabuto Zecter flew into his hand.

"Henshin!"

"HENSHIN!"

Kabuto stood in his place after the hexagon energy particles surrounded his body and donned his armor.

"Whoa! Awesome!" awed Tetsuo.

"I must say that is one of the most incredible things I've ever seen today." Sugata said, collecting data in his laptop as he tried scanning the armor into his newly made profile.

"Certainly intriguing." complimented Mikako. "So? Care to show us what you can do in that suit?"

"Nice try." Kabuto said as the Zecter flew off the belt's slot and dismissed the armor. "But I won't use the suit unless it's an emergency or when a Worm shows up. Plus, Kabuto Zecter is the one who'll decide if I transform or not since he's the main source of power."

"No." spoke Kabuto Zecter.

"Huh?" Noriko blinked.

"True, I can decide whether or not to let you use my power, but since you haven't given me a reason to leave you or do anything that would betray your personal traits…then you don't need to worry. I will let you use my…no, our power as much as you need."

Noriko nodded in response.

"Oh hey, I just remembered something!" Sohara spoke catching everyone's attention.

"What is it?" Eri asked.

"Remember when Noriko fought that Worm?" she began earning a nod from the younger Kazuyuki. "It was moving so fast we couldn't see it with our eyes, and when Noriko got rid of that bulky armor he did the same thing too!"

"Oh, that's right! Onii-chan was moving so fast he easily caught up to that Worm and beat it!" Eri smiled.

"What is this topic now?" Sugata asked, intrigued about this 'super speed' topic.

"Ah, you're talking about Clock Up." Kabuto Zecter said.

Everyone looked at the Zecter and questioned…

"Clock Up?"

"It is part of the Masked Rider System, a special ability that each Rider has whenever they get rid of the heavier armor, thus turning them into a sleeker and lighter form. Plus, as the name suggests, they can move as fast as Worms themselves." Kabuto Zecter explained.

"Wait, you mean the Worms have the power to move super fast!? Damn, if they're mimicry and copying a person's memories and abilities wasn't enough, we gotta deal with their speed!" Tetuso groaned.

"Don't worry, that's only when a Sails Worm has molted into their new bodies."

"You're saying we have to nothing to worry about unless the Sails Worms have molted into their evolved forms." Sugata surmised.

"Correct."

"Well I guess that's something…I suppose." Sohara said.

"Just how exactly is fast is this Clock Up ability?" Sugata asked wanting to know what kind of speed this power travels.

"The Clock Up ability can move at mach speeds. I can't estimate by how much, but it's somewhere along those lines." Kabuto Zecter said. "And there is a time limit to how long a Rider can stay in Clock Up, just to let you know."

"I first noticed it when I entered Clock Up." Noriko spoke. "Everything around me had slowed down, yet I was still moving normally. Although I did feel my time in that world wasn't going to be long."

"It seems unfortunate that there's a time limit." Mikako spoke before evilly grinning. "But if I were a Rider, Id' just use the ability to mess with everyone as much as possible!"

"For our sakes, I pray that doesn't happen…!" Tetuso frowned making his long time friend nod.

"Well anyway, I guess we should be on the lookout." Sugata said, standing from his seat then looked outside. "Well whaddya know…it's already gotten dark out."

"Oh my, it has certainly gotten late, now hasn't it?" Mikako mused as they looked outside.

"Obviously, we got too much into the subject that time slipped away from us." Tetuso said, scratching the back of his head.

"You have to admit this topic isn't an ordinary one, like most peoples. From all this talk about the Worms, Sohara and Eri's testimonies about seeing them, and witnessing Noriko's transformation is prove enough that this isn't something anyone could handle. Plus there is Ikaros, too." Sugata said briefly glancing at the Angeloid, who had been quite during the whole conversation.

"Anyway, I think it's about time we head home." Sohara said.

"Aww, you're leaving already? I was thinking we could play some games now that we're done talking about the all serious stuff." Eri sadly frowned.

"Don't worry, Eri-chan. I live right next door, so you can always come over to my house and hang out any time." Sohara assured the younger Kazuyuki.

"The same goes for me, too. My house isn't too far from this area either." Mikako said.

"Absolutely not!" declined Noriko, glaring at the purple headed girl.

Eri pouted until Ikaros gently patted her head. "Oh, right!" Her smile brightened as she glomped the Angeloid. "Ikaros-chan is living with us now meaning I can always play with her!"

"Did…did she just dismiss us?" Sohara questioned now feeling like something that was tossed aside.

"Oh my…it seems as though Eri-chan has taken a level of cruelty." Mikako said.

"That's right…" Noriko spoke, walking beside his sister who still hugged the Angeloid and gently patted her head. "…stay by the angle's side, and never fall into the dark clutches of the devil."

"Still going on about that, eh?" Mikako mused.

Soon the two flared comical battle auras as their eyes sent out electricity against each other's fighting for dominance.

Noriko merely sighed and escorted them to the front door to see them off.

"Have a good night you guys." Sohara waved.

"Thank you for the interesting day, Noriko." Sugata said.

"You know we'll be seeing each other regardless." Mikako giggled.

"Isn't that a shame?" Noriko and Tetsuo simultaneously thought.

"What a damn beast." Tetuso sighed then looked at his friend. "Alright then man, I'll see ya later. If you ever need anything just make sure to call, and I'll be there to help whenever I can."

"Same goes for you." Noriko said.

Tetuso nodded.

"Bye bye, everyone…!" Eri happily waved as they saw them off.

"Come on…get ready for dinner." Noriko said walking inside the house.

"Okay!" Eri happily cheered. "Onii-chan, what are we having, what are we having?"

"It's a surprise."

"Why do you have to keep me guessing?"


"Fire!" a Zect Trooper yelled as they were trying to destroy a few Sails Worms that suddenly appeared in the middle of the night. "We cannot let a single one molt!"

"Yes!"

The Worms were easily overpowering the Zect Troopers as they were being slain one by one. Soon two Sails Worms' temperatures began to rise as they began to take on new forms.

"Oh no…!" gaped another Trooper. "Two are about to molt! Quick! Hurry up and destroy them!"

They focused their attention on the two molting Worms and desperately fired their Machine Blade Guns at the said creatures. However their efforts were fruitless as the two Worms evolved into new powerful forms.

The first Worm is a red humanoid Geophilid. Its whole body was covered in red exoskeleton, centipede-like armor as the right arm is large and thick with long black clawed nails, while the left however, is fairly thin not providing much power foe its attacks. Finally, the head resembled that of a Geophilid with antennas and large black eyes.

The second Worm is that of a brownish green Praying Mantis. On its arms were folded blades that look sharp enough to cut through anything and anyone, as they were deadly to those who aren't careful enough. Its head resembled that of said insect with antennae and large eyes.

The two Worms were moving in high speeds causing the Zect Troopers to panic in fear. They couldn't see where the Worms were moving and are attacking from, which made it a lot harder than it needs to be from when they were Sails Worms. But now, this is just a man slaughter! Blood began to gush out of the Troopers' bodies when the Mantis Worm sliced them from head to toe, while the Geophilid Worm simply used its claws slashing their armors delivering deep cuts that will defiantly leave scars for life.

Once the two Worms halted their assault, the rest of the Sails Worms gathered around the two as they went their separate ways and quickly sped away from the area.


(Kazuyuki Residence)

Noriko awoke to the sight of Kabuto Zecter flying over him around in a circle.

"Good morning, Noriko!" Kabuto Zecter greeted.

"Yeah, morning…" he slowly sat up from bed. "How long have you been up?"

"I've been up for quite a while now. But I don't need to necessarily sleep, since I'm a machine and all. Even so, I find sleeping comfortable." Kabuto Zecter said.

"I see. So you can choose to stay up all night, or just go into sleep mode whenever you feel like it." Noriko said while getting out of bed as he stretched his arms.

"…Pretty much…" replied the Zecter. "Though I could always stay awake and simply wonder around and about, but that wouldn't be any fun since I'll just be alone without my friends to hang out with."

"You must really want to see them."

"Of course…! In a way all of us are like brothers, so it's only natural that we'd have an attachment for one another. I hope they've found good partners or at least some good potential candidates."

"I'm sure your friends know what they're doing when it comes to picking a potential partner. They have to be a good judge of character, right?" Noriko said. "And whoever they're partners are; I'm sure they'll do what it takes to protect people against the Worms."

"Yeah!" agreed the Zecter.

"I should start making breakfast." Noriko said as he headed downstairs to the kitchen.

When Noriko got downstairs he raised a brow in curiosity as he watched Eri digging through the refrigerator most likely looking for something.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Oh, Onii-chan…" Eri said, noticing her brother. "I'm looking for something to eat, but there isn't any food left in the fridge."

"What?" Noriko questioned, walking over to the fridge only to see that there was nothing but some little portions that was only enough for one person. "That's right. I used what little food we had left to cook dinner for three people."

"Is that so…?" Eri said, rubbing her stomach. "Does that mean we'll have to get a bigger refrigerator? Ikaros-chan is our new house resident after all."

"Maybe." replied Noriko. "But let's see how it goes for the next couple of weeks, and then we'll discuss about buying a new fridge."

"Okay…" nodded Eri.

"In any case, we need to go grocery shopping." Noriko said already making a list of things they need. "I should have enough to buy food that'll last all three of us for at least a month or so."

"Thank goodness." Eri smiled.

"For now, I'll just make you whatever we have left." Noriko said pulling out what little food they have left and noticed Ikaros wasn't present. "Is Ikaros in your room?"

"Yes!" she happily nodded. "I'll go get her."

"No need." spoke Kabuto Zecter entering the kitchen with Ikaros. "She's already here with me!"

"Ah, good morning, Kabu-chan…!" Eri smiled at the Zecter.

"Kabu-chan…?" Kabuto Zecter pondered. "Well I am a dashing fellow, after all."

"A good morning to you as well, Master." Ikaros said.

"Yeah, morning…" Noriko said starting to make Eri's food. No, Eri and Ikaros' food since the Angeloid has to eat as well. "Eri when I'm finished making the food, you and Ikaros have to share alright?"

"Of course! I don't want Ikaros-chan to starve first thing in the morning." she said.

"Do we have a food situation?" asked Kabuto Zecter.

"I forgot that I made what we had left for dinner last night. So I'm using what little we have right now to make Eri and Ikaros' breakfast. They'll be sharing." Noriko told him.

"It must be difficult now that you're providing for one extra person now." Kabuto Zecter said.

"Don't worry about it. I already came up with a plan for that. For someone of my caliber, it shouldn't be too hard." Noriko explained.

"Oh! That's my partner! Just what you would expect from him…!" Kabuto Zecter said.

"Master…" Ikaros spoke.

"I wish she would stop calling me Master." Noriko inwardly sighed as he looked at the Angeloid. "What is it, Ikaros?"

"Might I add a suggestion to this little problem we have?" she said.

"Suggestion…? What kind?" he questioned.

"This…" she pulled out the same card that was used to teleport them away from the area, where he saved Sohara and fought the Worm. Not to mention they had to get away from the Zect Troopers, too.

"That card…" Noriko began.

"If you make a wish, then I shall grant it by using this card as it will respond to your desires." Ikaros said.

"Wish…?" Noriko questioned, confused.

"Yes. If you recall back when we were at that place, I asked if you had an order for me. And you replied if it was possible for me to get us out of there and to somewhere safe."

"I remember saying that, yes." the older Kazuyuki nodded.

"However, you never specified a precise location, so the card had to react to your every thought and desire, which lead us to that school place from the other day." Ikaros explained.

"Wait, so the only reason we arrived at the school was because this card read my thoughts and responded to my emotions?" Noriko said trying to surmise what he heard is correct.

"Is that true, Onii-chan?" Eri asked.

"Well, I can't be too certain about that. The first thought that came to mind was heading back here to the house, but then I rethought about it and knew the school would be safer because there were many students outside at the time." Noriko explained with a thoughtful expression.

"Were you actually thinking about it? Not saying I don't believe you or anything, but we just need to be sure." Kabuto Zecter said.

"I'm positive I did."

"As I said before, you can use and wish upon this card however you see fit. And this card will grant it. Also, for additional information, it is a teleportation device that was manufactured from the Synapse." Ikaros said.

"Synapse?" questioned Kabuto Zecter.

"Yes." nodded Ikaros. "Based on your request, should you ever want an object of sorts, I order the equipment I need from the Synapse."

"And this Synapse place is…?" Noriko trailed hoping to get some answers.

"I have no stored memory data regarding the Synapse, for I have only awoken just yesterday and met you." Ikaros told him.

"I see." Noriko said with a somewhat distant look. He was momentarily lost in thought before shaking it off. "Well anyway, I guess I know what I'm getting into with that card."

"You only have just that card, right?" Kabuto Zecter asked.

"I have more of these cards and they're all used for the same purposes." Ikaros said.

Noriko sighed as he barely finished making the girls' breakfast. Now that he knows what those cards are meant for, it would be wise for him or anyone else not to use them in case of an emergency, like for that situation they were in the other day when those Zect Troopers slowly closed in on them. Other than that, it seems like they won't be getting anywhere with this Synapse place anytime soon, since Ikaros has no details about it. Well at least he knows something more about the Angeloid and possibly the woman that appears in his dreams, too.

"In any case, should I not have enough money to buy some certain things that we'll need, I guess I'll use a card for that purpose only." he told them. Hey, he has to make at least some uses of those cards somehow. Might as well be house work.

"I know! Let's use one of them right now to provide us with more breakfast for Onii-chan, and plenty of juice!" Eri happily suggested.

"She does have a point about the breakfast thing, Noriko. You should probably use a card to have it send you something to eat." Kabuto Zecter said.

"Alright hand it here." Noriko said as the Angeloid gave him a card.


(With Ogata)

"This is terrible…" Ogata uttered as he watched the dead Zect Troopers being put in body bags, while some of the surviving members were being sent to hospitals.

"It sure does." a familiar voice agreed making the man sigh.

"Somehow I knew I'd be running into you today." Ogata began, turning to face a woman the same age as him with long brown hair tied in a ponytail and matching eyes. "…Misaki…"

"It's good you see you too, Ogata." Misaki walked next to him while observing the scene. "Looks like our Worm did a real number on them."

"You could say that again. According to the reports of a Trooper, two Worms molted and are now running around in the city somewhere. One of them mentioned the Worms are working separately, since he saw the two part ways after they defeated them." Ogata explained.

"I see. This case will defiantly be a tough one."

"What are you talking about?"

"Didn't you hear? I was assigned to be your technician." she explained.

"What? No one told me anything." Ogata said, slightly surprised that his old friend will be working with him.

"Let's get along again, Ogata."

"Yeah." he sighed.

"So what's the plan for finding one of the Worms?" Misaki asked.

"Don't know. There are Troopers out there investigating their whereabouts, so until we hear back from them we can't do anything." Ogata said.

"A waiting game, eh?" mused Misaki.

"In any case, let's do what we can to find the Worms ourselves." Ogata said as they headed into the control room in one of the vans.


(Parking Lot)

The Geophilid Worm is searching for someone to mimic along with people to slaughter as well.

A car had just parked and the owner had stepped out.

"Aw man, if I keep arriving so late I'm bound to be fired for sure." a man wearing a business suit sighed.

Soon the Geophilid Worm appeared before him as it jumped from above the ceiling.

This surprised the man as he looked at the Worm in fear. He slowly stepped back away from the creature, but then fell on his behind as he attempted to crawl away.

The Geophilid Worm then lifted its hand and attacked the man before taking on his form once he was done with him.

As the disguised Worm was about to leave, three black vans arrived and out came the Zect Troopers with their Machine Blade Guns.

The Geophilid Worm changed back into its original form as it glared at the Troopers.

"I'll call Investigator Ogata…!" said a Zect Trooper as the rest simply nodded and took fire.


(Shopping District)

"Shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping~!" Eri happily sang as she lightly swung a bag full of food back and forth, while walking around the district with her brother and Ikaros.

She wore a white shirt with a yellow vest over it, along with a pair of jean shorts and sneakers.

"You keep swinging that bag around and if something falls, you're paying with your own money." Noriko told his sister.

He wore a red shirt with a black jacket over it, black cargo pants, red and black boots.

"That's so mean, Onii-chan! Next thing you'll be telling me is that you'll reduce my allowance as well." Eri said with puffed cheeks, until she realized her mistake. "Eeep!"

"You really are a good little sister, thank you for the suggestion." Noriko smirked.

"Oh no, I dug my own allowance into the grave!" Eri said with comical tears lightly streaming down her face, as she went over to Ikaros and rested her head on her shoulder.

Ikaros wore a white tank top with pink stripes, light blue sweater that Eri let her keep, and brown shorts.

Noriko, at first, was reluctant to let her out of the house due to her wings since they were a problem; however the Angeloid informed him that she could shrink her wings to a minimal size, but not enough to completely camouflage them. Though they were small enough to be cover by a jacket.

The Angeloid simply patted the younger girl's head before spotting something that her master requires. So she picked it up and called out to him.

"Master…?" Noriko turned to face her only to see the radishes in her hand. "This one of the foods that you require, is it not?"

"It is. Thank you, Ikaros." he said walking over the Angeloid, grabbing the radishes off her hand before paying for it. He thought it would be a good idea to teach Ikaros how to do things normal people do, since it's clear she has no grasps on human society.

"Noriko!" cried Kabuto Zecter, flying towards them.

"Ah, Kabu-chan!" smiled Eri.

"What's wrong?" asked Noriko.

"There's trouble! I sense the location of a Worm not too far from here!" he informed them.

"What!?" exclaimed Eri.

"Lead the way." Noriko said before they followed the Zecter.


(Parking Lot)

When the Kazuyuki siblings, Angeloid, and Zecter made it to the location they were greeted by their friends.

They were dressed in their street clothes save for Sugata who still wore his school uniform.

"Tetsuo…?" Noriko blinked.

"Sohara-chan, Mikako-chan…!" Eri smiled as went to the hug the girls to which they returned.

"Greetings, Noriko." Sugata waved.

"You called them while we were heading over here…." the older Kazuyuki frowned at his sister, who playfully stuck out her tongue at him. "I really can't keep my eye off you for a second."

"Hey, come on man, remember what I said before just call whenever you need help and I'll be there. Sides you and I are partners after all." Tetuso said.

"True." nodded Noriko.

"And the same goes for us." Sohara spoke. "We're here to help no matter what."

"Well I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm just here to see the action." Mikako said.

"Then get the hell out of here…!" Noriko and Tetuso frowned.

"You already know my reason. I'm just here to collect data." Sugata said tapping his bag that his laptop was in. "Above all else, it would be bad if we let these things go rampant."

"Uh, guys…? I don't mean to interrupt our little friendship moment here, but we still have to stop that Worm!" Kabuto Zecter told them.

Everyone nodded then ran inside the building.


Once they were inside the first thing that came to their attention was the dead Zect Troopers.

"Gosh this is horrible…!" Sohara gasped.

"Damn! These Worms are extremely tough to take on this many…!" Tetuso remarked.

"Remember what we learned the other day…? It's due to their superhuman speed that allows them to take out this many." Sugata reminded. "We'll need to be on guard. More importantly, we'll be relying on Noriko and Kabuto Zecter."

"Y-Yeah…" he nodded understandingly.

"I think we'll be able to hold our own." Mikako spoke, catching everyone's attention only to earn shocked looks from Tetuso, Sohara, Eri, and Kabuto Zecter.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" yelled Tetuso as the Satsukitane heiress carried a Machine Blade Gun. "Are you out of your mind?"

"We can't let Noriko have all the fun, now can we? Besides, we have to be able to defend ourselves against the Worms as well. If not the evolved ones, then certainly we should be able to hold off the lower ranked ones with these beauties." she explained.

"She does have a point." Sugata agreed, grabbing one of the weapons as well.

"Not you, too!" shouted Tetuso. "Ah fine, I suppose I'll use one also!" He picked up the weapon then examined before figuring out how it works.

"Then I'll use one, too!" Eri announced.

"That's the spirit, Eri-chan." Mikako giggled.

"Ah, no…!" Noriko slapped the Machine Blade Gun away from the Satsukitane heiress's hands seeing that she was about to give it to his sister. "I won't let my sister fight nor will I let her use an odd weapon of all things."

"But I wanna help!" Eri pouted.

"Ikaros, Sohara…look after Eri and stay close behind the others." Noriko instructed.

"Okay…" nodded Sohara as she grabbed both girls by the arm and stayed close to their friends.

Soon six Sails Worms appeared as they circled the group catching them at a corner.

"They're here." Noriko grimaced.

"Noriko!" cried Kabuto Zecter, flying into his hand.

"Yeah, let's do this quickly."

"Henshin!"

"HENSHIN!"

Kabuto charged at the first three Worms that were in front of him while his friends were using the dead Zect Troopers' weapons to shoot the other three.

Kabuto easily avoided the Worms' attacks as he simply knocked them to the side while dealing with one, and then did the same to another and so on. He sent jabs to a Sails Worm before back kicking another that tried to take advantage that its comrade seemed to have given it, then the third one charges toward him when the beetle warrior knocked the other back.

"I've had enough of this!" Kabuto pulls out his Kunai Gun in Axe Mode. He then slashes the Worms causing them to fall on the ground before he jumps on one, stabbing it with the weapon as it explodes in green fire. He then focuses his attention to the remaining two and shoots them once he changed his weapon into Gun Mode.

He then dashes towards them and quickly changes his weapon into Kunai Mode before slashing them. Both remaining Sails Worms exploded and Kabuto shifts his attention over to his friends, silently thanking the heavens that they were managing to hold their own against the other three Worms.

"I'm coming!" he runs towards them but was sent flying back against the wall.

"Are you alright!?" Sohara cried.

"Master…." Ikaros quietly said as she stared at the Geophilid Worm.

The Geophilid Worm let out a roar as it glared at the beetle themed warrior.

"An evolved one, eh? So be it." Kabuto said as he reaches for the horn.

"Cast Off!"

"CAST OFF!"

His bulky armor scattered the parking lot as the Worms got hit.

"CHANGE BEETLE!"

Tetuso and the others stared at Kabuto in awe.

"So that's what his other form looks like…" Tetuso began.

"Let's see what this lighter form can do." Sugata said with an observant look.

Kabuto and Geohpilid Worm stared at each before…

"Clock Up!"

"CLOCK UP!"

They disappeared out of sight as Tetuso and the others could only see blurs going at each other.

"Wow, they really are fast." Mikako commented before the three Sails Worms in front of them suddenly blew up.

"Thanks for that, buddy." Tetuso said as they continued to watch the blurs go at it still.

Unbeknownst to them, Ikaros' eyes turned into a shade of orange as she could see what was going on.


(Inside Clock Up)

Kabuto slashed the Geophilid Worm with his weapon making it cry in pain. It then stepped back from the beetle themed warrior before letting out a furious roar, then charges towards him again. Kabuto avoided the Worm's attacks with ease and kicked it making it flying against the wall.

"CLOCK OVER!"


(Outside Clock Up)

Tetuso and the others were able to see Kabuto in normal speeds again when he exited Clock Up.

Kabuto slowly walked over to them as the Geophilid Worm growled and ran towards him.

"Noriko, look out! That Worm isn't dead yet!" Sugata shouted.

"Obaa-chan said this…" Kabuto began as he pushed one of the buttons.

"ONE!"

"You can achieve anything when you truly believe. The same will go for those around you, for they are your true comrades. In order to reach Heaven, comrades are needed for your accession! Because…"

"TWO!"

The Geophilid Worm was getting closer while his friends save for Tetuso and Mikako were looking on with worry.

"Please, just hurry up and end this!" Sohara cried.

"THREE!"

"Rider Kick!"

"RIDER KICK!"

Kabuto spun around 360 degrees as he kicked the Geophilid Worm causing to explode after the contact.

"…they are the only ones for you." Kabuto finished as he pointed a finger in the air.


(Kazuyuki Residence)

Noriko sighed as they were having a little party at his place.

"Why are we having this here again?" he asked.

"Duh, it's to celebrate us becoming a team of course!" cheered Sohara.

"Yeah!" cheered Eri.

"It's wonderful that we all became a team." Mikako said.

"I must say it is nice." Sugata commented.

"Being on a team with her is a freakin' nightmare…" Tetuso frowned.

"Ditto." agreed Noriko.

"Team…?" Ikaros questioned, watching her master and friends.


(With Ogata and Misaki)

"We were too late." Ogata grimaced at the dead Zect Troopers.

"It couldn't be helped. We didn't get their message until the last minute." Misaki said.

"But still…" Ogata trailed before changing subject. "Anyway, is there new information on that other Worm from the night before?"

"No."

"I see."

"Let's go back and give a full report of what happened today." Misako suggested.

"Yeah…" nodded Ogata.


The Mantis Worm secretly watched a dojo from afar as it cuts down a tree.


Alright everyone, that is for today. I will see you next time.