*Camera switches on.*

*In front of the camera is Triple M and Ice, sitting in the chairs waiting for the camera to start, which it already did.*

M3: *Finally seeing that the camera was on.* "Oh...Welcome back. I'm sure you all know who I am…"

IceBite: "Ditto…"

M3: "Not much to say for now, so I'll just start the chapter."

*Camera switches over.*

*Chapter 3 starts.*


Arc 2: Knights in Training

Chapter 3: Trial Run

Being among the recruits who heard Marth's words, Connor knew he was closer in his goal to being a Knight. Of course, that meant he had to assigned to something and that ended up being a Platoon.

Heading to the location where they were told to meet up, Connor eventually found himself crossing paths with the pair that went ahead of him.

Thankfully for Connor, when they saw him, no odd looks were given. Connor chalked it up to the fact these two didn't hear about what he did when he was being tested.

As it became clear they were heading the same direction, Connor spoke up, "So which Platoon are you two assigned to?"

"7th Platoon," the girl in the pair replied.

"Same here," the young man added.

"That's good, because I'm assigned to 7th Platoon as well. Nice to meet you two." Connor politely responded.

"Nice to meet you too...I'm Daniel and this is Katarina," the young man commented.

"Oh right...I'm Connor." Connor retorted after he made sure to remember their names.

They continued heading towards the meeting location, but it was clear it was going to take a bit of time. Connor decided to pass it by saying, "Pardon, do you mind if I ask where you're from, Daniel?"

"...Any reason why?"

"I'm from a small village in Orleans...And well, I'm interested in learning where other people come from. I may find someone who's also from Orleans or maybe from some place I never heard of." Connor elaborated.

"...I'm from the newly forming empire to the north-west, the Imperium of Avalon," Daniel replied.

"Hmm...I never heard of that one before. Sounds like a nice place to be live in." Connor commented.

"Yeah, highly advanced too, far more than any other place I've seen here…" Daniel replied.

"Maybe I'll got there someday when I'm exploring the world later in my life. So, thanks for telling me about it." Connor retorted.

"So...let's find out who our fellow Platoon Members are…" Daniel said, as the others soon arrived.

Two of the three that approached were Cavaliers, the third an Archer. One of the Caveliers, one in blue armor, spoke, "I'm Luke! Or if you prefer, you can call me Luke, the Paladin of Dawn!"

"I am Roderick. It is a pleasure to meet you. So, is that everyone?"

"U-um... I'm a new recruit, too. My name is Ryan. I'm an archer."

Connor made sure to introduce himself again to the other three, while Daniel and Katarina did the same. And with that, the meeting was underway.

"It looks like that's all six of us... Well, what's the plan for today?" Daniel asked.

Katarina replied, "There was an order from Sir Jagen. Today's mission is to decide who the new commander will be."

"Commander? Gotcha! Well, I'll be commander if you guys all insist!" Luke spoke out.

"I didn't say anything of the sort yet, Luke." Connor replied back.

"Nobody's insisting anything, Luke…" Roderick agreed.

Katarina then spoke up, "Excuse me. I'd like to recommend Daniel."

Daniel's eyes widened. "Katarina?"

"Daniel is a really strong individual. And he didn't abandon me during the mock combat yesterday, even though I couldn't fight."

"Most...of my strength is in my gear, though…" Daniel admitted.

"You still didn't abandon me yesterday…" Katarina repeated.

"And even if you rely on gear, it's something you can work on. Speaking of which, what gear are you referring to, Daniel?" Connor commented before following up with a question.

"...Uhm...just my combat gear: each kind gives me certain abilities, and the variety I have lets me answer a variety of scenarios…" Daniel answered.

"... ...Wait, I think… You're the guy who defeated Jagen in that mock battle. I was the next guy who had to have a mock battle with the replacement." Connor said after hearing that and looking at Daniel again.

"Ah, I see…" Daniel replied, "If you know that, you must have seen my 'Genm' Identity… … ...Yeah, each set of gear gives me a different identity…"

"Well...Now that I know that, I'd think you be fine as a commander." Connor retorted.

"Alright then, I challenge him!" Luke declared, "Daniel, if you beat me, I'll cede the position to you."

"Huh? H-how has it come to this?" Katarina asked, shocked.

"Well, I'm not saying this to crush your spirit, Luke, but I don't think you'll be better than Daniel if you stick to challenging him." Connor said in response.

Luke...ignored him. "It's a challenge, man-to-man! Daniel, you're not afraid to fight me, are you?"

It wasn't Daniel that answered. "Don't be silly. Daniel won't lose to you," Katarina countered.

"So we'll decide with a battle. That'll let us see who's got the skill to be commander," Roderick stated. He and Luke left to get ready for the battle.

"Well...I'll just stick to watching from the sidelines. Good luck by the way, Daniel. You probably won't need it." Connor said as he moved away to stay out of the battle.

After Connor moved off, Katarina realized what she did. "I'm sorry, Daniel. That was selfish of me... But I couldn't stand hearing them make fun of you…"

Daniel sighed. "It's alright...From what I've seen of Luke so far, the only way to get a message into his thick skull is probably to beat it into there…"

"...That's a very...colorful way of thinking…" Katarina commented, "Anyways, our opponents are Luke and Roderick, and Connor's staying out of it...I guess that means that Ryan's on our team."

"Y-yes. I'll do my best," Ryan replied.


Soon, the two teams arrived at the designated area. Meanwhile, Connor sticked to be outside the boundaries of the area, where he could watch the battle without getting involved. This was somewhere near the middle of said area as well.

On the other side from Daniel, Katarina, and Ryan, Luke and Roderick planned out their plan of attack. "Luke, how should we go about this?"

Luke replied, "Roderick, you wait at the back. I'll fight alone! It's just Daniel and that kid, right? If that's all, I should be able to handle it. I'll show them my true strength."

"You're at it again...? Fine, have it your way. But I think underestimating your opponent will get you into trouble," Roderick replied.

Back on Daniel's side…

"So, are you going to use Genm again?" Katarina asked.

"Not exactly…" Daniel said, as he stepped towards Luke, and pulled out another Gashat.

"Daniel," Luke began, "I've heard rumors about you! Sir Jagen said that there was a recruit who stood out from the rest of us!"

"Yeah, so?"

"Yeah, that's right! And I bet you're hogging all the attention, overshadowing the rest of us! I'll beat you here to prove I'm the best! Prepare yourself!"

"Very well," Daniel said, as he held his Gashat like a gun, pointing it in Luke's direction…"But you asked for it…"…and pressed the button.

"Bang Bang Shooting! (Upbeat military rock music)"

The Bang Bang Shooting Title Screen appeared behind him and an energy wave like the one from yesterday appeared over the battlezone. Instead of Chocolate Blocks, however, the things spawned by the wave were blue metal barrels.

Hearing the device thing Daniel was using saying that and seeing the energy wave, Connor didn't feel like Luke was going to have a chance. Of course, he kept this to himself for the moment.

Meanwhile, Luke and Roderick got a little nervous: they remembered the armored warrior that defeated Jagen...and they began to realize they were challenging him now. Ryan was also a little nervous, but not as much.

Daniel then declared, "Henshin," and inserted the Gashat into his Driver.

"Gashat! Let's Game! Metcha Game! Mutcha Game! What's your name?! I'm a Kamen Rider!"

A series of icons, depicting a bunch of faces, and he tapped the one in front of him, which was different this time, depicting a goggled face with a visor over one eye and a helmet on its head. The icon spun off and landing in front of him, and expanding, soon consuming his body. When it dispersed, armor was on him.

The resulting form resembled Genm Level 1...if Genm Level 1 had a helmet and a visor over his right eye. Daniel had become Kamen Rider Snipe, Level 1.

"Phase 2," Snipe announced...before flipping the lever on the Driver.

"Gachan! Level Up! Ba-Ba-Bang! Bang-Ba-Bang! (Yow!) Bang Bang Shooting! (Go!) (Upbeat military rock music)"

A 'screen' depicting a humanoid version of the new armor appeared and washed over him...revealing...

Just like Genm's transformation from Level 1 to Level 2, Snipe's also turned the deformed form into a proper humanoid form, while still keeping the notable features, in this case, the 'helmet' on Snipe's head, and the visor over his right eye. It also added a lime-green mantle hanging off of Snipe's right shoulder. Daniel had become Kamen Rider Snipe, Level 2.

Then a ring of energy appeared around Snipe, with an image of a kind of gun on it sliding along the ring.

"Gashacon Magnum!"

Snipe grabbed at the image...and the gun depicted in the image came into his hand.

"Kamen Rider Snipe...Shooting Gamer...Level 2…"

Luke charged...only to face a barrage from the Gashacon Magnum. The Cavalier was driven back by the attack, forced to re-evaluate his strategy.

Connor kept his focus on Snipe, seeing if there was a weakness that could be used against him. So far, not much...

Seeing an opening, Snipe removed his Gashat from his Driver...and inserted it into the Gashacon Magnum, while switching it to a rifle-like mode.

"Zu Kyūn!"

"Kimewaza! Bang Bang Critical Finish!"

Using the rifle, while still keeping the power down to non-lethal levels, Snipe fired on Luke, who was knocked down by the blast.

"Guah...?! I-impossible... The future hero, Luke, defeated…"

"As I thought, Luke couldn't win alone. I guess I'll have to fight, too," Roderick commented.

As he approached, though, Snipe turned, inserted the Bang Bang Shooting Gashat back into the Driver...and closed it, as he pulled out a new Gashat, which he then activated.

"Shakariki Sports! (Upbeat Rock Music)"

He then...inserted this new Gashat into the Driver.

"Gashat!"

Finally hearing the name, Connor noted the name of the devices Daniel was using. He also was a bit taken back as this was the second one he was using so far. It made keeping track of potential weaknesses harder.

"Phase 3."

He then pulled the lever again…

"Gachan! Level Up! Ba-Ba-Bang! Bang-Ba-Bang! (Yow!) Bang Bang Shooting! (Go!) (Upbeat military rock music) A Gacha! Shakariki! Shakariki! Bad Bad! Shaka to Riki to Shakariki Sports! (Upbeat Rock Song and Drum Bang)"

The Gashat summoned a bicycle, which flew around Snipe, before attacking itself to his armor, with a sports bicycle helmet-like structure appearing on his head.

"Kamen Rider Snipe, Sports Shooting Gamer, Level 3…"

Roderick then said, "Daniel, I've heard the rumors about you as well. I need to see your ability firsthand, especially if you're to become the commander. I ask you this, as a fellow squire of Altea."

"...Okay, what's the point of the bike then?" Connor thought to himself after seeing the new appearance.

Snipe then charged, having switched the Gashacon Magnum back to handgun mode…

"Ba Kyūn!"

...And firing at Roderick, who dodged, trying to get close...that only served to make Daniel's (admittedly poor) aim that much better, and eventually, he had Roderick stunned. He then took the Shakariki Sports Gashat, and put it in the side slot of his Driver...before pressing the button…

"Kimewaza! Shakariki Critical Strike!"

Snipe then...removed one of the wheels from his armor, empowered it with energy (not much in order to avoid permanent injury, but enough to make the energy visible)...and threw it at Roderick. The wheel impacted...and caused an explosion, knocking Roderick and his horse backwards.

Snipe then closed the lever on his Driver and removed the Gashats.

"Gashun."

Then, he turned back to Daniel. "Well...looks like I win…"

"...Seems like he'll be effective against normal combatants. Though how would he do against someone like me?" Connor thought to himself as he entered the area to head towards Daniel.


Reaching Daniel first before Luke and Roderick, Connor ends up saying, "Congratulations on winning, Daniel."

"Thanks...just glad I didn't need to pull out the metaphorical big guns yet…" Daniel replied, "Would rather keep some things under wraps… … …"

"I can understand why...You'd definitely would be good as our commander after I saw that. Connor replied. "That being said though, I'd like to challenge you as well."

"...Why?" Daniel asked.

"Well, I'm not challenging you to be commander, that's for sure. But, I felt that the battle was one-sided...So, I'm stepping to see how you'd do against someone like me." Connor explained, but not being overconfident in his tone.

"...Ok… … ...what's different about you again? I...kinda didn't get the chance to watch your fight…" Daniel replied.

"...I'm a rather decent sword user. Other than that and a 'little' trick I do, not much…" Connor answered.

"...Alright...I guess we could do this…" Daniel replied, as he got his Bang Bang Shooting Gashat back at the ready.

"Oh, and tell Katarina and Ryan to please sit out for this one, okay? It's just the two of us for this battle." Connor made sure to say before he forgot.


The two went to the opposite sides of the area, as their platoon members stood at the sidelines in the middle.

Daniel once more repeated the process to become Kamen Rider Snipe, Level 2.

"Bang Bang Shooting! (Upbeat military rock music)"

"Gashat! Gachan! Level Up! Ba-Ba-Bang! Bang-Ba-Bang! (Yow!) Bang Bang Shooting! (Go!) (Upbeat military rock music)"

"Gashacon Magnum!"

Connor, meanwhile, equipped his sword he was lugging around and kept watch on Snipe...Waiting for him to attack first.

After a short while of waiting, Snipe shrugged. "You gonna do something, or what?"

"The same question could be asked to you my friend." Connor replied.

"I've got the ranged weapon: I don't really need to go anywhere: you're the guy with the melee weapon, and would have to approach me to attack…" Snipe replied.

"Fine...Just be ready." Connor warned...as he broke into a sprint and charged toward Snipe.

At that, Snipe began opening fire. His terrible aim didn't help as Connor closed the distance and dodged the projectiles headed his way.

Once close enough, Connor slashed his opponent and slashed again as he elegantly maneuvered around Snipe to avoid getting hit.

Snipe backed off, before switching the Gashacon Magnum to Rifle Mode.

"Zu Kyūn!"

He then backed off further, and began firing. His rate of fire diminished...but since the shots homed on their target, it didn't matter all too much.

Connor did his best to dodge, but the homing projectiles still ending up hitting him. The pain was all he needed to know as he sprinted towards Snipe again as he fired.

More projectiles hit, but Connor closes the distance yet again and rams the hilt of the sword into Snipe's weapon to disarm him. Following that, Connor lands more sword slashes on Snipe before he backs off slightly.

"Sunovabitch...didn't think I'd have to use this…" He then pulled out a new Gashat. This one gold, and with the depiction of a Dragon's head on top. He then pushed the button on the Gashat.

"Drago Knight Hunter! Zed! (Upbeat Funk Rock Music)"

"Phase 5," Snipe declared, as he closed the lever on his driver, inserted the Gashat, and pulled the lever again.

"Gachan! Level Up! Ba-Bang-Bang! Bang-Ba-Bang! Yow! Bang Bang Shooting! A Gacha! Do-Do-Drago! Na-Na-Na-Kni~ght! Dra-! Dra-! Drago Knight Hunter! Zed!"

A robotic-like dragon thing appeared, flew around, and then split apart, turning into a sword, a gun, a dragon head-like mantle/helmet, cuirass and pauldrons, and leg armor. Said armor and weapons attached to Snipe.

"Kamen Rider Snipe, Hunter Shooting Gamer, Level 5!" Snipe declared.

"Nice armor..." Connor commented as he charged and tired attacking Snipe again…

...This time his sword swipes being blocked by the sword now attached to Snipe's right arm, and then shot with the gun on his left.

Not expecting that, Connor took the brunt of the damage as he backed off...a lot weaker.

"...Good job so far, Daniel. Your gear...is able to account for my attack plan." Connor stated aloud.

"That's the beauty of Gashats: there's a game for every occasion…" Snipe replied.

"Well, I'm...going to say sorry in advance. It's time for my 'trick'..." Connor said as he sheathed his sword…

And...quickly changed into his Guardian form.

What Snipe saw was a tall, lanky creature with insectoid-like features, with 5 toes arranged like a hand's fingers. Its neck came up and forward, with the head mounted on the front of the neck.

"Hmmm...creature versus Dragon Hunter then...very well…" Snipe analyzed.

"Technically, it should be Guardian versus Dragon Hunter…" The Guardian replied...before he started channeling electrical energy, shifting its white colored parts into the darkish blue coloration.

Once ready, he fired off a strong blast of electricity into Snipe and it landed. Following that, the Guardian started moving to avoid getting picked off at range.

Snipe staggered at the hit. "Well...ain't that a kick in the head…" He then swung around...the tail on the armor growing into a full-sized dragon tail, which he swept towards Connor.

The tail ended up missing as Connor responded by channeling up again, this time going for a bit longer. With that, Conor dodged the tail in time again as he fired two electrical blasts to Snipe.

The blasts collided, as Connor advanced while he began channeling ice energy, as his body changed from the dark blue to this greenish icy coloration...

Seeing this, Snipe charged energy as well and waited… … …

As Connor finished channeling...coating his entire body in the ice energy and fired off a very strong blast of the element towards Snipe…

...Who retaliated by firing a massive stream of fire from the 'mouth' of the Dragon Fang, spraying it in Connor's general direction.

The fire ended up missing as Connor dodged...as his ice blast ended up hitting Snipe after that. It did a significant amount of damage, which Connor made sure to follow up on.

Removing the ice energy, Connor channels fire energy in its place while gain a red coloration and rushes towards Snipe to land a blast of fire energy up close.

The blast hits, finally bringing Snipe to the ground in defeat, undoing his transformation.


Connor removed the energy he was channeling and offers his hand to help Daniel up.

"I got to say...You put up a great fight. So, I thank you for letting this happen." Connor politely said as continued to hold out his hand.

Daniel sighed, before accepting the hand up. "I had more Gashats, but...REALLY didn't want to show my hand TOO much...was already pushing it by going Level 5…"

"It's fine...I was making sure I didn't hurt you too much with those attacks of mine. Though tell me if I overdid it, Commander Daniel." Connor replied back after he reverted back to his human form.

"Him?" Luke questioned, approaching, "Frankly, since you won, YOU should be the Commander!"

"Except I'm not going to. Daniel's still the Commander as far as I'm concerned…" Connor retorted. "After all, if we were really fighting he'd definitely win against me."

"What're you talking about? You beat him hands-down!" Luke replied.

Roderick then said, "He means if they were both fighting at full power: they were both holding back…"

"And even with Daniel here holding back, I was actually on my last ropes before I did my trick…So, take that as another reason why he's still Commander." Connor added.

Luke sighed. "...Alright…"

Katarina then approached. "So, Daniel...looks like you're Commander now…"

"Gah, but I don't get it! I was so confident in my skills! How did I wind up losing?!" Luke finally groaned.

"Because we didn't fight together. We took turns fighting Daniel one-on-one. That's why we lost to him," Roderick replied.

Ryan then spoke up. "Yeah, my brother once said the same thing... Even if we are weak individually, we can become stronger by working together with our friends."

Luke then commented, "...I see. I thought I could be the victor through my strength alone. But I guess I was wrong. Fighting together is far more important.."

"Luke... I'm so glad. You understand now," Katarina commented.

"Yeah, it's all clear to me! It looks like being the leader is more trouble than it's worth! So I'll leave this bothersome job to Daniel! I'm sure it'll be a joy working under him! Daniel, I'll be looking forward to your help!"

Katarina slumped. "...Does he really get it?"


Soon after that, Connor spoke up again.

"So… ...As a fellow platoon member, I'd like to ask a favor from everyone…If you all don't mind."

"What is it?" Daniel asked.

"Can...you quiet about...my trick? I..don't want word to get out about what I can do." Connor replied with a bit of nervousness.

Daniel sighed. "...Alright…"

Everyone else agreed as well, causing Connor to follow up saying, "I thank you all...Now, if anyone needs me, I'll be resting over there…The battle took a lot out of me."

And with that Connor departed...to a short distance away as he laid on the ground, taking it easy as he looks up to the sky.

Meanwhile, Daniel thought over what happened...to him, this was just a reminder that while he was powerful...there WERE probably things that COULD beat him out there...and he had to be ready for them… … …


*Camera switches over.*

M3: "Hmm...The second mock battle in this chapter was certainly something…"

IceBite: "Yeah… … ...I guess…"

M3: "I know they weren't fighting for real, but still the fact that Connor managed to 'defeat' Daniel is impressive to say at the least."

IceBite: "... … ...Still kinda surprised he DID win…"

M3: "Well, he did using his sword skills in the beginning and his trick at the end there…While your guy just relied on his equipment."

IceBite: "Well, he could have easily used his Bugster abilities, but…" *shrugs* "Besides, ALL Kamen Riders primarily use their equipment at first, especially those like the original Ex-Aid who don't have any real combat experience…"

M3: "So I take it that in-story you doesn't have real combat experience with using normal weapons? Cause there was a few points where he had some pretty bad aim…"

IceBite: "Pretty much… … ...heck, it seems the only 'me's around these parts with ANY TRUE combat experience is Emperor Mitchell and Dark Prelate Mitchell… … ...Not sure if Farseer Mitchell really counts, to be honest…"

M3: "Maybe with him being a Knight in 7th Platoon, he'll get the combat experience he needs…"


M3: *Moving on.* "Of course, another thing on my mind is Connor asking everyone in 7th Platoon to be quiet about his Guardian form…"

IceBite: "Yeah, didn't a bunch of recruits already witness it when he fought Arran? Not to mention Arran himself, for that matter…"

M3: "Well, chances are that's why he ended up in 7th Platoon with Daniel. As for the recruits and everyone else, they may have not really said anything about it given what happened before Connor went up."

IceBite: "A guy donning strange armor, or a guy turning into some kind of creature… … ...part of me still thinks Connor's earned his fair share of attention…"

M3: "If that's the case, then he'll probably try to play it low key till the attention fades off. After all, even your guy didn't know about the details with Connor's mock fight with Arran. So chances are word hasn't gotten out that FAST yet…"

IceBite: "Maybe… … …I mean, I know my guy doesn't know the details, but MAYBE the attention will fade..."

M3: "We'll just have to see how that turns out…"


M3: *Starts wrapping it up with, "And I think that is it. Anything else you want to say, Ice?"*

IceBite: "Not that I can think of…"

M3: "Then 'we' will see you later…"

*Camera turns off.*