Author's Note 1: I don't own anything except my OCs and what else I make up.

P.S. I'm still accepting OC riders & Lockseeds. See the AN of chapter 2 for details.

Chapter 3: Triple Threat

"Helloooooo, Zawame City and all you Beat Riders out there! This is DJ Sagara and boy-oh-boy, has it been an exciting week in the Inves Games. Not only did we see the debut of Armored Rider Gaim, but we also got to see a battle between two Armored Riders when former last place holder Team Valkyrie showed their own rider. With Gaim reaching third place & Valkyrie closing in at fourth place, it seems like we're reaching a new stage of the Inves Games!"

This report was coming online when a pedestrian was walking through the streets on his phone. However, he noticed a crowd gathering nearby and heard people mentioning that an Inves game was happening. He looked through the crowd and saw Team Valkyrie & Team Raid Wild facing each other in a nearby square.

"We clear on the terms? If I win, we get your belt." Hase, Raid Wild's leader stated as he pulled out two common lockseeds.

"That's a big if." Tatsuki replied with a smirk as she held out her Sengoku Driver (the name of which she had learned from Kouta) and placed it on her waist, the yellow belt materializing. She then pulled out her Apple Lockseed and unlocked it.

Ringo!

The familiar sight of a crack unzipping and the metal apple appeared overhead as Tatsuki locked the lockseed into place...

Lock On!

...And sliced it open with the tiny sword, causing the apple on fall and transform her into Armored Rider Valkyrie.

Come On! Ringo Arms: Desire Forbidden Fruits!

Hase then unlocked his two common lockseeds, letting two incorporeal & tiny Elemental Inves into this world as a yellow battle stage appeared. The coat-wearing Beat Rider gave a cocky smirk and closed his lockseeds.

Battle Start!

The two tiny terrors rushed at Valkyrie, but the apple-themed rider spun past them, evading their attacks. One jumped at the female rider, only to get slapped away.

"That's just sad." Valkyrie commented as she kicked the other Inves away. Deciding to finish the 'battle', she sliced her lockseed three times.

Ringo Sparking!

She pulled out her Sword Bringer as it glowed with energy and she slashed the Inves with a vertical swing, destroying them in an apple slice explosion. The crowd & Team Valkyrie cheered as Hase's lockseeds flew into Valkyrie's hands as she turned back into her civilian form. Raid Wild left feeling shamed as they walked away.

"Nice job, Tatsu-chan." Sora said as she congratulated her friend along with the rest of the team.

A little while later, Tatsuki & Sora were chatting it up as they walked to kendoist's apartment.

"If I was a betting woman, I'd say that our latest battle might push us to second place." Sora explained as she brought up the Team Rankings on the Beat Rider website.

"So that puts us behind Team Baron." Tatsuki said. While the two still had no idea about the forest (Kouta's information revealed that he didn't know that much about the forest aside from the fruits apparently being lockseeds) or what Burai was doing before he died, the two felt they might as well take advantage of their new possession to work their way to the top. "What do we know about the guy in charge of Baron?"

"Well, he's known for using three lockseeds at a time. Usually two C-grade lockseeds and at least an A-Grade lockseed against stronger opponents."

"How observant." The two women turned and saw a young man with a red & black coat and recognizable brown hair. "As expected from the team on the rise from last place."

"Y-You're Kaito Kumon!" Sora stuttered at seeing the leader of Team Baron as Tatsuki just observed the Beat Rider, who in turn looked at her.

"So you're Valkyrie's Armored Rider?"

"That's right. Name's Tatsuki Nagasawa." The brunette said as she held out her hand, only for Kaito to not take it.

"I must say, you definitely have more guts than Gaim's Armored Rider." He stated, confusing the two.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"Gaim's only fought people who come and challenge him. You on the other hand have gone out of your way to fight higher ranked teams. And there lies the difference." Kaito said as he gave Tatsuki a look that almost showed respect. "Gaim is a coward afraid of making enemies while you have no problem seeking and stepping on those weaker than you. The joy of crushing weaklings under you feet. You understand what it truly means to be strong."

Hearing this did not have the reaction Kaito expected. Tatsuki scowled and clenched her hands into fists. "Baka."

"Huh?"

"You think I fight to prove a point? To assert dominance?" She grabbed the Baron leader by his collar and gave a hate-filled glare. "I fight for fun. I fight to improve & challenge myself. What you're talking about isn't strength. It's being a bully." She let go of the beat rider and walked off in a huff, Sora looking in concern as she chased after her friend, leaving a confused looking Kaito behind.

'That was...unexpected.' The brunette man thought to himself as he pulled out his phone and dialed his teammate.

"Moshi, moshi." A voice said on the other end.

"Zack, it's Kaito. I need you and Peco to look up something."

"Sure thing, boss. What is it?"

"I need you to find out all you can on Valkyrie's Armored Rider."

Later that night, Tatsuki was lying in her bed, holding her apple lockseed as she stared up at the ceiling. What Kaito had said really ticked her the wrong way. She had heard about how the leader of Team Baron was one of the strongest Beat Riders in the game and him having a no-nonsense attitude. But it wasn't the fact that he was basically a bully with his ideal, but how close it hit home. She then heard a knock on her door.

"Hey, can I come in?" Haru asked from the other side.

"Sure." Tatsuki said, sitting up as her older brother entered her room.

"Sora told me about what happened with that Baron guy. How're you holding up?" Haru asked as he sat on her desk chair.

"I'm fine." The kendoist half-heartily stated, which her brother noticed and gave her a hug.

"Look, Tatsu. You don't have to keep feeling guilty. You haven't been like that in years."

Tatsuki said nothing as she hugged her brother in comfort back.

At Team Baron's Headquarters...

"Do we really have to bother with this?" Peco asked as Zack booted up his laptop.

"Kaito gave us direct order. You want to tell him that we ignored his request?" Zack asked before his teammate shook his head. The taller beat rider pulled up an image of Tatsuki. But to his surprise, Peco looked at the photo of the rider and yelled, falling out of his chair. "You okay?"

"T-that's Valkyrie?!" The lanky man asked with fear in his voice.

"Do you know her?"

"Know her? Anyone who went to Kozuki High would recognize her!" Peco said as memories of terrible high school days. "Tatsuki Nagasawa, the Kendo Demon of Kozuki!"

Two days later...

Tatsuki was walking through the streets, heading towards Valkyrie's stage in the north part of the city. However, her attention was drawn by several people running somewhere.

"Come on! There's an Inves game going on!"

Deciding to take a slight detour, the kendoist decided to follow and soon saw a crowd looking down from a ledge. Tatsuki looked down and saw Kouta facing off against Kaito Kumon.

'Kouta? What're you doing?' The brunette thought to herself.

"Looks like Baron's boss picked a fight with one of the Armored Riders!"

"You serious?"

"Hey, excuse me! Coming through!" Tatsuki turned and saw Team Gaim move through the crowd and look down at their teammate.

"What's he thinking?" Mai asked. "Why would he take an Inves challenge if it's not for the team or a stage?"

"This is no game. This is a duel!" Micchy stated, Tatsuki nodding in agreement.

"Bring out as many Inves as you like!" Kouta shouted at his opponent, his Sengoku Driver already strapped onto his waist. "You won't beat me!"

"Hm. I'm afraid we're beyond such trifles." Kaito replied before he reached into his jacket and pulled out a Sengoku Driver, surprising Kouta, Tatsuki & the rest of the crowd. The Baron leader then placed the driver on his waist, the yellow belt materializing and the Rider indicator changing. He then pulled out a banana lockseed.

"Henshin." He said as he unlocked it.

Banana!

The familiar sight of a crack unzipping overhead appeared, this time letting a metal banana fall through. Kaito then placed the lockseed onto his driver...

Lock On!

...and the triumphant horn music (which Tatsuki noted was the same kind that came from her driver) started playing, hyping the crowd up.

"Is Baron's leader gonna transform too?"

"That'd be Armored Rider...Baron, right?"

Both Tatsuki & Kouta glared at Kaito as he sliced open his lockseed.

Come On! Banana Arms!

The banana fell on Kaito, materializing his base red & silver form as he slowly started walking towards his opponent.

"Banana?! Bana-Banana?!" Zack yelled in surprise.

"I am Baron!" Kaito yelled as the banana unfolded, revealing his knight-themed helmet and a banana-themed lance that materialized in his right hand.

Knight of Spear!

"You can transform too?!" Kouta asked.

"Baron has an Armored Rider too?!" Micchy asked in shock.

'Why?!' Tatsuki yelled in her mind as she gripped the guard rails. 'Why is he a rider?!'

"I will show you the meaning of true strength." The newly-christened Armored Rider Baron stated.

"I don't think so!" Kouta exclaimed, pulling out his orange lockseed. "Henshin!"

Orange!

After the orange appeared and Kouta did this pose, he locked the lockseed into place...

Lock On!

...and sliced it open.

Soiya! Orange Arms: Hamaichi on Stage!

Kouta's transformation to Gaim finished and he got into a fighting pose. However, before the two riders could clash.

"Hold it!"

Everyone turned and saw a familiar lockseed dealer with a large wheel case walking towards the two riders.

"Come to rain on our parade, Sid?" Baron asked.

"Well, now we've got Armored Riders fighting each other, you can hardly call it an Inves games, can you?" The lockseed dealer stated. "So as I see it, we need to update the rules." The bowler-hat wearing man then pulled out two unfamiliar flower lockseeds, one a rose and the other a sakura petal. "These locks are on the house, just this once."

Sid tossed the lockseeds and Baron caught the rose one while Gaim caught the sakura one. "Open them." The two armored riders did just that. Much to everyone's surprise, the lockseeds floating into the air and started shifting & expanding before landing, revealing two flower-themed motorcycles.

'Holy crap! Haru's gonna flip when I tell him about this!' Tatsuki thought as her eyes widened.

"These Lock Vehicles are the newest tech." Sid explained. "They're still prototypes, but I trust you approve, gentlemen? Assuming you can handle them, of course."

"You want us to fight with these?" Baron asked as he inspected his given vehicle. "Interesting."

"Fine! Bring it on!" Gaim exclaimed. "But when I beat you, you'd better apologize for all that! Got that? You got some nerve calling me spineless."

"Hmph."

"What was-?! Don't hmph me, dang it!"

'So that's what he did.' Tatsuki thought to herself. A few minutes later, Sid had set up a live feed so the crowd could watch the race via a pad. The race started as the two riders zoomed ahead, jumping over a fence and heading for a restricted area. Baron pulled ahead before Gaim caught up. But suddenly, several petals appeared and the bikes starting spinning until both the vehicles and the riders disappeared in two flower-themed cracks.

"What the f&^k?!" Tatsuki yelled as she and the rest of the crowd were shocked at the sudden turn of events. The female rider turned to the lockseed dealer who tired to nonchalantly walk away. "Hey!" Sid turned and saw the angry kendoist walking towards him. "What did you do?!"

"Me? I just supplied the lockseeds. Like I said, they were prototypes, so there was no way of telling what would happen if they reached a certain speed." Sid explained.

"Bullshit! You just gave two kids untested lockseeds! What kind of dealer are you?" The brunette asked in a rage. Seeing an opportunity, Sid smirked.

"Maybe I do know something. But I won't give it away for free."

"What do you want?" Tatsuki asked.

"I've seen you online. You're Armored Rider Valkyrie. But I don't recall that particular lockseed you use or selling you a Warring Driver. So how about we play an Inves Game. If I when, you tell me how you got that lockseed & driver. If you win, I'll tell you what I know about what happened to Gaim & Baron." He then pulled out a lime-themed lockseed with the code 'L.S.-15' on it and another rose-themed Vehicle Lockseed. "I'll even throw these in."

"Fine." Tatsuki stated as the crowd gave the two some space. The brunette placed her driver on her waist and pulled out her lockseed. "Henshin."

Ringo!

She then locked it in place and sliced it open.

Lock On! Come On! Ringo Arms: Desire Forbidden Fruits!

After Valkyrie's armor & weapons fully materialized, Sid pulled out three lockseeds (two common ones and the lime lockseed) and unlocked them. A yellow ring appeared as two Elementary Inves & a Byakko Inves jumped out of the cracks. "May the best rider win." Sid said as he closed his lockseeds.

Battle Start!

The Byakko Inves roared and charged swing his claws, only for Valkyrie to block with her Apple Reflector. The apple-themed rider kicked it back as the two smaller Inves' flanked her and went for a jump, only for Valkyrie to pull out her sword and knock them away. The large Inves roared and unleashed a barrage of vine-shaped energy blasts that Valkyrie was forced to block. However, this gave the two smaller monsters a chance to jump and slash at the rider, making her stagger a bit before the Byakko Inves closed in and slashed her across the chest, making sparks fly as she recovered.

"Nice trick. But that won't work on me." Valkyrie yelled, charging forward and slicing up the two tiny Inves, knocking them out and leaving only the Byakko Inves to face her. The dragon-like creature let out another roar and unleashed another blast. Valkyrie blocked with her shield and sliced her lockseed twice.

Ringo Au Lait!

Energy gathered around the shield and Valkyrie pushed forward, launching an apple construct that trapped the Byakko Inves. She then jumped into the air and came down with her foot forward. "Fall!" Valkyrie came down and kicked through the construct, which then exploded and took the trapped Inves with it, ending the match. The crowd cheered for Valkyrie as Sid's lockseeds flew from his hand and Valkyrie grabbed them.

"Well, I'm nothing if not a man of my word." Sid said, tossing the rose lockseed at the apple-themed rider as well. "The truth is...I don't know much about where Gaim & Baron, but I do know it's where most of the lockseeds come from."

"And that's all you know...or all you're willing to tell me?" Tatsuki asked, having reverted back to her civilian form. Sid just gave a witty smile in response.

"I think I'll leave that up for you to decide. Either way, your fellow Armored Riders should be back before the week's end. Just have faith in them." He tipped his bowler hat and started walking away. "Until then, keep making the Inves Game more fun, Ms. Nagasawa."

Tatsuki looked at the retreating dealer before looking back at her new vehicle lockseed with a curious look. Unbeknownst to her, Peco was gripping the guard rails in anger as he glared at the kendoist.

'Why? Out of everyone, why her? A monster like doesn't deserve such power!' The lanky man thought in anger. 'If only I had one of those belts...' He then saw Sid walking away and a plan started to form in Peco's mind, a smirk appearing on his face.

To be continued...

Author's Note 2: Oh ho ho ho! I see another rivalry forming in this modern Warring Era!

Next time: With Gaim and Baron still missing, Tatsuki is left feeling helpless, afraid of what will happen if she uses her new Lock Vehicle. However, a new challenger appears, giving the kendoist the battle of a lifetime, even with the Lime Lockseed at her disposal. Come back next time as another battle between riders occurs in 'Marika Appears! Lime VS Peach!'.

Until then, please remember to read & review!