Project: KIZUNA

by Goddra2

It's been seven years since wreckage of the International Space Station Peace fell to Earth, and now a bitter Hoshikawa Subaru must come to terms with the alien who last saw his father and the ones who want him dead.

7. Voodoo

Subaru was not in a particularly fantastic mood this morning. Prodigious physical and mental exhaustion combined exquisitely with the creeping stench of Utter Fail that had followed him home only a few hours ago to mix into a Misery Smoothie... and Subaru hated smoothies, so that was enough with the metaphor.

Likewise not abetting the ascendant motility of his disposition was that blasted noise issuing from the ground level that indicated someone was at the door. Groaning, and drooling a little, to boot, Subaru found himself being roused not only by the jingle of the tone but by his personal alarm clock. "Son of Daigo, the doorbell is ringing."

"Thanks, War Rock," Subaru sighed, wiping drowsy spittle from his chin and dragging on an unbuttoned shirt. He felt the comet tail erupting from his head - well, erupting gave it perhaps a tad too much credit. Between a lack of upkeep over the last few hours and being mashed into the pillow, it looked rather droopy and tired - a good deal like him, he joked weakly, too tired to crack a smile, which was partially due to his rather sore jaw, but that was another story.

It was a bleary trip down the stairs that Subaru made at five-thirty in the morning, though he was quickly roused into a more wakeful state when he tripped and collapsed at the foot of the stairs. Cursing, he got back up and made his staggering way over to the door, which was ringing. Again. And again.

Whoever was at the door had better be ready for some choice words.

The urgent ringing continued, though Subaru had no fear that it would bother his mother, who happened to be the heaviest sleeper he knew, and was still passed out in her room, graceless as ever in her underwear, still as far gone as she had been when Subaru returned home, finding her snoring in front of some noir film she had no feasible interest in. He could only assume her sleep had deepened without the noise of her room's television.

As her room was around the corner and down the hall, Subaru didn't bother dealing with the elder woman as he approached the door. No way was he letting anyone in this early, he figured, and then he summoned a wavescreen to figure out just who, exactly, he was gonna cuss out this fine morning.

"Hello, Hoshikawa-san, it's good to see you ag-." Brrzzzzzzh. The screen burst into a mess of pixels and dissolved into thin air as Subaru punched a hole in it. With a huff, he turned around and headed for his room. He wasn't feeling particularly mature enough to deal with her at the moment. His still-twinging jaw from the smack she'd given him wasn't helping much.

Ding-Dong!

Nope.

Ding-Dong!

You wish, sister.

Ding-Dong! Ding-Dong! Ding-Dong!

"Go away!" demanded Subaru, wheeling around and glaring at the door.

"Hoshikawa-san," enunciated Shirogane Luna (with surprising clarity and force) from the other side of the doorway. "You're hardly being fair. I merely gave you a cordial greeting - there was no need to be so rude."

In exasperation, Subaru marched back over to the door and threw it open. "Go away," he ordered. "You aren't welcome on this property, and that counts as trespassing."

"Goodness me, you certainly know how to charm the opposite sex, don't you?" "Daunted" was a poorly-chosen adjective when describing Shirogane Luna. "Do you have a moment?"

"No," grunted Subaru, attempting to slam the door shut again, cursing his sleep-deprived mind for not thinking before he'd opened it, only to find it refused to close - it took him a moment to realize Luna had caught the door and, through what was apparently sheer force of will (no way those slim, manicured little fingers could have caught and held this thing on their own), was holding it open. "Damn it, go away!"

"Hoshikawa-san, apparently your education is worse than I thought. The proper response would be, 'Why no, Iinchou, I have plenty of time. After all, my days are largely spent here in my home, languishing about and feeling sorry for myself. I would be delighted to have your company! Please, come on in!'" And then, without missing a beat, "Why, thank you, Hoshikawa-kun, I think I will."

Luna of The Monstrous Arm Strength proceeded to throw the door fully open (Subaru was yanked aside with it and into the wall) and strolled gracefully in. "Why, what a lovely living room, Hoshikawa-san. So quaint."

War Rock retreated to a corner of the room near the ceiling, allowing himself a pleasant view. This would be entertaining.

Subaru shut the door, glaring venomously at the intruder as she allowed herself to settle onto the couch. "One phone call, and I could have you hauled off to court."

Luna allowed herself a smug little smile. "Are you sure? It sounds like the fees might be a bit over your head." And then there came a slightly wider smile. "Tell you what, if you can't afford it, I'll pay for the lawyer."

Subaru seethed. "What the hell do you want?"

"Glad to see you're awake bright and early, if only for reasons of spite and nothing else."

"I'm not awake, and it's not bright," Subaru muttered, gesturing out the window towards the cloudy sky (that's just what everyone needed today, humidity). "That's a D grade. Screw that, 33%'s an F."

"Hoshikawa-san, could you at least try to be civil, for courtesy's sake if not mine?"

"No. I'm tired and going back to bed. Get lost."

Luna felt a muscle twitch - if Hoshikawa thought being woken early in the morning was excuse to be so rude, he had another thing com- no. No, she mustn't sink to his level. She had other things to worry about at the moment.

Still, for someone who had not quite woken up, Hoshikawa Subaru was doing a remarkable job of getting under her skin. On top of that, he had enough apprehension to him that she'd learned long ago she couldn't simply flaunt her credentials, political or athletic, and gain his affections. Hoshikawa's deference was a long, long way off. If at all possible.

"Look, Hoshikawa-san," she said very slowly, forcing herself to remain calm. "I understand we haven't quite gotten along spectacularly in the past few weeks, but I came all the way down here because I wanted to talk to you."

"Shame, that," grunted Subaru, stalking over to the kitchen counter. It wasn't like she'd let him go to bed.

Luna, who clearly had no such problems with something like a lack of slumber, followed him. Maybe she was a vampire... or something. What kind of mythological creatures went without sleep, again? Zombies? Moon rabbits?

Whatever she was, she was here. And making herself his problem. Again. It hadn't even been two whole hours, for crying out loud!

Dammit, why couldn't people just leave him alone most of the time and and just make themselves useful when he felt like using them?

There was a clunk right beside his head loud enough to startle him out of his moment-of-not-exactly-empathy. Subaru whipped his head up to find out what was going on to find out what exactly she had dropped so precariously close to his noggin - and then he realized with a start he was looking at the same cube Luna'd made him tote around yesterday, when Ushijima had dropped it. He fixed the gold-haired joshikousei with a glare, an annoyed question about her desire to smash his head in already forming... only to find she was conspicuously out of costume. "No uniform?" Subaru asked before he could catch himself.

Luckily, Luna decided to file the not-exactly-cheerful tone of the sentence in the same cabinet as an early morning I-need-coffee bit. "School's been closed indefinitely," she explained offhandedly. "It's getting too expensive to run the air conditioning, and without it, the school can't reasonably obligate students to remain, as frankly it would be akin to stuffing upwards of hundreds of children into boxes for hours on end. Like most of the dances, really," she added as an afterthought, a small smirk playing across her lips.

Subaru had only been vaguely paying attention - just enough to add a disinterested "Hmm" here and there. He was listening, honestly, he was - it was just that he was finding a great deal of preoccupation with certain other aspects of the conversation. Mainly the woman who was attempting to speak with him.

The first thing he'd noticed was that Luna hadn't set her hair up in her trademark supercurls - instead she'd taken her cascade of thick, golden hair and looped it into a loose but manageable ponytail knot that still managed to spill down below her waist. Another was that she had developed something of a tan over the past few weeks, and her complexion was clear and smooth. He noted that was taller than her by two or three inches, though it probably wouldn't amount to much given his penchant for slouching and her junoesque posture.

In lieu of her uniform, Luna had instead opted for something Subaru had seen increasingly around town, mostly on the more chic-savvy of the girls - a sleeveless, tunic-like dress that had been fashioned out of what looked like high-quality cotton. On top of that, the short length of the skirt, the cut of the neckline, and the rather tight belt of fabric around the middle all gave Subaru a rather remarkable opportunity to study his - the, THE - class representative's figure. He found himself torn on whether Luna's well-toned thighs and hips deserved more attention than the gentle swell of her breasts. The interplay between the white fabric and her bronze skin wasn't helping. Nor was the fact that the outfit reminded him rather strongly of the slave girls from video clips on classical Ameroupan Grome.

Subaru caught the look on her face just in time to avoid wishing the clouds might provide some rain later today.

"Well, I can't fault you for being inattentive, I imagine," Luna sighed, rolling her eyes. "Still, if you must stare, could you be at least a smidgeon more discreet, Hoshikawa-san?"

Subaru coughed awkwardly and muttered an apology. Luna rolled her eyes again, and reminded herself that she was here for a reason. Of course, that was the hard part. "Ah, Hoshikawa-san, I, er, I..."

Subaru gazed curiously at her, raising an eyebrow as he noticed her cheeks turning red. "You okay?"

"I- I'm fine!" Luna snapped. "I just, I just... I just have a small headache, is all." Smooth, woman. Way to make even the truth sound dubious. And, why, exactly, was she feeling so hot under the collar? "Hey! Wh- Where are you going?" she demanded, startled at her reaction to Hoshikawa rising from his seat, but too proud to retreat even the slightest. Of course, for all his apparent acedia, Hoshikawa was in good enough shape to pull enough weight when he wanted to, as Luna found out when he managed to guide her unobliging self onto the recently vacated barstool without actually having to strongarm her.

"Sit," he ordered. "I'll go get you some water."

Luna sat, stunned at how easily Subaru had moved her, and not a little disturbed at how little resistance she'd managed to muster, even while every fiber of her being protested having to take orders. And from a lazy little nobody like Hoshikawa Subaru, at that!

Subaru was more than a little surprised himself, to be honest. And, then again, he wasn't in the slightest. He found himself remembering with a small pang of conscience that he'd ended their last conversation on a pretty sour note. As just Hoshikawa Subaru, he couldn't properly apologize for it yet, but he still ought to make some ammends.

He pulled the refrigerator door open and made a noise of surprise. "Forgot we had this," he noted in mild surprise. "Here you go. Okay?"

Luna nodded, finally rid of the flush in her cheeks. "Lemonade is fine, thank you."

Subaru sighed - well, he might as well get it over with. As if he had no idea why she was here. "So, what's up?"

"Hmm?" Luna cast a curious glance at him, only for Subaru's eyes to narrow slightly.

"Don't play coy with me," Subaru said quietly. "Every time we speak I generally end up being on the receiving end of a request or order. For you to come all the way out here without your posse makes it more suspicious, not less. So, let's have it."

Subaru was actually feeling rather proud of himself for not messing around, even if Luna seemed to take her sweet time coming to a conclusion. She gazed at her reflection in the glass for a moment before lifting the ice-cold glass and passing it across her forehead. Her eyes closed for a moment and her lips parted to savor the glass' refreshing coolness. Perhaps from the heat, she took slightly less care than she should have; Subaru - damned hormones - found himself studying a drop that had spilled over the rim onto her chin, where it hung for a moment, then precipitately fell into the depths of Luna's cleavage, leaving a slim, liquid trail across one of her breasts.

"Discretion is the better part of valor, Hoshikawa-kun," Luna pointed out. "You might want to look into learning how to be a tad more stealthy."

Subaru coughed awkwardly. "Sorry. Couldn't help it."

"Hoshikawa-san, don't start with me," Luna chirped, glancing coyly at Subaru. "As you're neither an idiot nor a minion, I think we can both safely assume you have a reasonable grasp of self-control."

The fact that Luna wasn't taking a swipe at his eyeballs seemed to suggest that Subaru ought to make a note that she seemed to be more open when she was on the receiving end of certain kinds of attention. Honestly, he wasn't all that far off - for all the respect Luna commanded, she also managed to inspire enough fear that the boys who she might take a fancy to (not that Hoshikawa Subaru was anything of the sort) tended to find her presence and attentions awkward at best and dire at worst. The several times such issues had come up tended to leave Luna in a bitter mood; she'd apparently made the mistake of believing men had spines.

"You certainly like those backhanded compliments, don't you?" Subaru asked. "So, if you don't mind, why are you here, again?"

Of course, the flipside of that was that, while Hoshikawa didn't fear her, he didn't respect Luna much, either. She was going to have to work on that.

"Well, as it so happens, I - uh..." No, not again! Luna willed herself to calm down - she needed Hoshikawa's help, she came out here to ask for it, it was only a few words and a question mark. "Umm, do you remember our conversation yesterday?" Okay, so it was a few different words than that.

"The one where you slapped me?"

Luna bit down on the retort she wanted to spike him with. "Well, er... Gonta's missing."

Subaru's eyes widened, keeping in form with being shocked. "What happened?"

"Well, I- I was walking around earlier, trying to clear my head..." Another dodge on why she'd been out so late last night? "I ended up seeing some flames near Ushijima's home and by the time I got there, there were dozens of police and an ambulance." An ambulance? But Subaru remembered making sure no one would've gotten hurt last n- oh, God, no. "U-Ushijima-san, Gonta's mother, was being carried on a stretcher. His mother was found all alone in her room - I don't think she'd left in ages. The sheets were filthy, the room was a mess, she'd been suffering from major malnourishment... She was having some kind of nightmare, except she was awake. Something about lizards."

War Rock forced himself to remain silent - and he saw Subaru doing much the same. In the time he'd known Subaru, he'd discovered that Daigo's son was far more guarded with his self-expression than the humans War Rock had known, even Daigo himself. Still, the reminder of the woman had apparently not gone very well with the boy - War Rock himself was upset about the fluke of their memories, but Subaru looked almost ill.

"I- Is she okay?" Subaru ventured.

"I don't know," Luna responded quietly. She could remember the horrid churning of her stomach from when she had found Ushijima's house surrounded by that blockade, and how horrid Ushijima Momoko looked when they'd wheeled her out on a stretcher. "I just... don't know."

"And Ushijima wasn't there?" Subaru ventured.

Luna shrugged helplessly. "He was nowhere to be found. I- I just... Could you help me find... no, that won't help, I just- I don't know what to do."

Subaru raised an eyebrow. In the midst of her stutterings Luna seemed to have realized that a search party wouldn't be useful for this particular problem. The issue wasn't that Ushijima was missing so much as it was Taurus Fire existed - as Taurus Fire, Ushijima and Taurus could have hidden anywhere on the planet, plotting their next move. Luna had to realize at least that much after last night, when she'd seen this unfold firsthand.

Subaru sighed, and set his glass on the counter, getting up and moving over to the window. It was still bleak, and indeed, looked as though it might rain later that day - which, combined with the heat, would probably generate the atmospheric quality of a swamp.

"Hoshikawa-san?"

Subaru looked over his shoulder at Luna, who was looking at him with something almost approaching expectance. "Yes?"

"I... I need help. I don't know what to do about any of this, and you're the only one who knows anything about the situation in town, so..."

"Situation?" Subaru repeated, feigning curiosity. "What, the weird monster thing?"

Luna bit her lip and nodded. No where to go but forward. "I- I haven't been entirely honest with you, Hoshikawa-san. I did see Gonta-kun last night, a few hours ago, really. He- He transformed into one of... them."

Subaru wasn't sure which was more surreal, the premise of the absurdity that had inflicted itself on his life, or the fact that he was now calmly talking with a girl about a mutual acquaintance who had been possessed by an alien, and on top of that trying to keep his own involvement in the whole freakshow hidden from the public eye.

"I'm sorry," Subaru muttered. "I wish I could help."

Luna looked up at him suddenly. "But you've dealt with these things before, haven't you? You-"

"Dealt with them?" Subaru repeated rather loudly, feeling his heart skip a beat. "Yeah, sure, I dealt with them. I ran away! What, you want me to fight these things?"

Luna stared at him inscrutibly for a moment. "Of course," she said at length, her voice cooler than he'd expected, and all the more biting for it. "My mistake. I don't know what I thought you could do in this situation. I guess panic obscured my judgment. Of course, you're not the person I'm looking for. Too miserable to be a help to anyone." She abruptly stood and moved to the door, tucking the strange cube underneath her arm without the slightest fuss. "I apologize for intruding on your home, Hoshikawa-san. I have business to attend to."

"Business?" Subaru repeated, not entirely certain why he was speaking up again, but pretty sure that it had something to do with being called 'miserable'. "What business?"

"I need to find Ushijima Gonta," Luna replied calmly. "And I have a certain suspicion that I know where I'll find him. Good day to you."

"Hey!" Damnit, what was wrong with him? Why couldn't he just leave this alone? "Wait!"

Luna waited at the door, which she'd pulled open, but once he'd gotten there, he managed to look at the cold gaze she was aiming at him, and realized he had very little to actually say. "I, uh... J- Just don't do anything stupid." Yeah, like he was any good at that himself.

Luna cocked an eyebrow at him. "I'll keep that in mind, Hoshikawa-san. And the same to you."

And then she'd left, Subaru reduced to watching her stalk away from his house from the window when she shut the door in his face.

"I could have handled that better," War Rock noted, floating over to Subaru. "You don't like mornings much, do you?"

Subaru made a grunting noise and trudged angrily into the kitchen - he could tell War Rock was still with him more by the increase in temperature that followed him than by noise or sight.

"Should I point out now that she seems to be suspicious of you, or have you already figured that out on your own?"

"Shut up," Subaru groaned, returning to the counter and wilting across it. And him panicking like that probably hadn't helped.

He massaged his temples briefly and glanced at the unfinished glass of lemonade Luna had left behind. He found himself imagining a scene in which he had called it half-empty and she - just to be contrary - insisted he see it as half-full. And then he sighed, because now he was officially daydreaming about bickering with Shirogane Luna.

He needed to meet more women. Less loud and rigid ones.

On the other hand, he'd successfully averted her raising any questions about his own activities, if only by apparently shooting his standing with her in the foot.

"I hate myself," Subaru groaned.

"Luna seems to be of accord with that opinion," War Rock contributed, sounding amused. Honestly, after several weeks spent tagging along with Hoshikawa Subaru, who was a great deal less intriging than his father, War Rock found himself wishing someone would oust them as RockMan. It would certainly be more interesting than the boy's strategy of Do as Little as Possible to Get By.

"So," he spoke up. "We need a plan."

"No we don't," Subaru pointed out. "We know where he's going to strike, we just have to stake it out until then."

"So you do plan on taking action?"

"I plan on killing Taurus Fire," Subaru corrected. "After that, we're problem free, right?"

"Supposedly," War Rock agreed. "On the other hand, we'll still need to deal with the beacons."

"That's your job," Subaru pointed out. "You're the only one who knows anything about them."

There was a pause, and then, "How generous of you."

Subaru shrugged. "If I touch them, we're both dead, right? It's your job."

War Rock made a grunt of annoyance, but offered no counter-argument. Given the time, he could feasibly puzzle them out and release their energies, but - and he didn't tell Subaru this - it wouldn't be quite as simple as the boy considered. As War Rock had never told him any different, it was entirely reasonable for Subaru to assume that it would be similar to solving the same puzzle several times.

Unfortunately, this was about as far from the truth as possible, though War Rock was still stupefied by it. Why was Taurus Fire - the brashest and least subtle glory-hound in all of Cepheus' employ - composing a system of beacons to summon each and every member of the High King's staff of war?

War Rock wished he had remembered to interrogate Taurus the night before. Of course, finding time to do so had not been, perhaps, the greatest of his priorities.

---

Taurus Fire crashed down easily upon the asphault, within only a few feet of RockMan's prone form. His massive body, over ten feet of armor and flames moved with an ease Subaru's pain would only let him envy. From where he'd landed, he didn't have to walk over, or even to take so much as one step - reaching out one massive arm, Taurus Fire plucked RockMan off of the ground, dangling him by the head held between his first two fingers and thumb.

"Your contention ends tonight, by my hand," Taurus growled, his voice the rumble of a furnace, his body heaving with fury. "I will kill you here and now, and this nightmare will all be over!"

"Are you sure you want to do that?" asked War Rock with startling nonchalance. Subaru had to admire his ability to remain calm, but, then again, this wasn't the first time someone had come close to killing Subaru and had forgotten about War Rock. "There's something about your Denpa-Henkan that you obviously don't understand. Killing us would only deny you the answer."

Taurus Fire snarled, a spurt of fire shooting from his nozzle dangerously close to Subaru's head. "Fine. Tell me, and I might let you live but for a moment longer. When this issue has been cared for... then shall your reckoning have come. So, tell me, War Rock... or, no, RockMan," he said after a moment, deathly calm, turning his attention to Subaru. "Will your answer buy you time to escape my wrath?"

"Feedback, probably," Subaru groaned, less than comfortable in Taurus Fire's hand. "Gonta's ideas have apparently been affecting how you think, too."

"Impossible. There is no interface between us," grunted Taurus, though the fact that he did not crush Subaru's head suggested he was still listening.

"Dude, you're inhabiting his body," Subaru was running too much out of both patience and breath to go for gentle, here. "You've been in direct contact with his brain the whole freaking time. Maybe you two weren't aware of it, since Ushijima was conking himself out everytime you wanted to tango, but between Gonta's strain trying to keep you down and your strain trying to keep him going, I'm willing to bet there was a little bleed through.

"Gonta went a little nuts the other day while you were recharging," Subaru pointed out, the image of the boy howling and whaling on a tree passing through his mind. "I'll bet you were wondering how his hands got so wrecked. How do you know he isn't affecting you likewise? Perhaps he doesn't think he's turning into a giant flaming minotaur - but he certainly seems to have been sitting on the question of whether something was wrong with him for quite a while - those nightmares of his have been working against you."

Taurus bellowed again and flames burst from the ports on his chest, back, and from the jets on his elbows - he pitched Subaru hard into the ground in his rage. In his pain, Subaru was only barely aware of the sound of War Rock speaking - he managed to pull himself together fast enough to jump to his feet as Taurus' flames simmered.

"Perhaps you are correct, RockMan. Your words do not please me, though they certainly do not offend reason. But now that I understand this issue for what it is, I can more readily solve it. And I shall be able to do such without an annoying insect pestering me."

Taurus Fire loomed suddenly, and Subaru suddenly wondered how effective Gonta's attempt at binding Taurus actually was. He spread his arms wide, and suddenly Subaru remembered when they first met and how massive Taurus Fire really was. "Hey, now, I thought you said I could have some time."

"You have had it. You chose not to run when I was talking," Taurus said, his voice descending into a low, quiet grumble, just loud enough for Subaru to hear. "And now I will kill you. I am perhaps not at my greatest strength, though you are hardly a challenge to me, Hoshikawa Subaru, son of Daigo. Do not be surprised," he laughed as Subaru gaped in shock. "It is not exactly hard to come to that realization. Your father certainly spoke as much as you do."

"Hey, the past tense isn't cool." Fantastic. Subaru loved street-fighting. "War Rock?"

"Ready."

"Do I look concerned with being cool?" Taurus retorted, and it took Subaru a moment to realize what he was getting at.

"Good grief, I wasn't talking about the temperature, you moron." Apparently Taurus and Gonta hadn't had much in the way of lively conversation. "Hey, Ushijima! Wake up in there! I need you to translate for me!"

Taurus Fire bellowed, unending streams of fire surging from every port on his body. "Wretched creature, burn where you stand! FIRE BREATH!"

Blistering flames streaked forward, but Subaru had been here before. "C'mon, Ox Man!" he called, shooting away from the flames and behind Taurus Fire. "You've got to keep up with me!"

Taurus whipped around and cast his fist at Subaru. There was a crash, and Taurus was struggling to free his arm of where he'd driven it into the asphault. Subaru allowed himself the briefest of respites to sigh.

"Wave Battle, Ride On!" said Subaru, and six Battle Cards shimmered into view.

Taurus Fire ripped his arm free and, with more speed and agility than Subaru could ever have imagined in a creature his size, he surged toward his target. In less than a second, Taurus Fire was upon them, mighty fist raised skyward - with a roar he brought it down like a titanic maul.

"ANGER PUNCH!"

Subaru screamed in pain as the fist crushed him mercilessly into the street, the sheer might of the blow ripping through his body and into the asphault - rough, jagged fissures radiated from where the force had escaped Subaru, taking the wild paths of least resistance. Taurus Fire had smashed open a crater in the street, with RockMan as the bull's-eye.

"RockMan!" War Rock was roaring. "Get up! GET UP!"

"Yes, RockMan," grumbled Taurus, picking him up by the head again. "Rise, so that I may have some sport."

"RockMan!" War Rock bellowed again.

Subaru didn't answer - his head was throbbing in agony, and the only reason he knew he still had a functioning body was that its parts were all in pain.

Taurus bellowed with laughter, flinging RockMan into the air and catching him like a softball just below his shoulders - the agonizing pressure immediately switched targets from Subaru's head to his chest. "This is it?" the general demanded harshly. "This is your best bet? Your last stand for me to see?"

"I'm... not... standing," Subaru mumbled, contrary to the end. "And you... can't... see!" he finished in a louder voice, aiming War Rock's head at the one section of Taurus Fire's body not covered in armor. "Tail Burner!"

Blistering, MeraMander-won flames streamed from the red and green jet Subaru had summoned, engulfing Taurus Fire's head in a vicious, surging flamethrower. Taurus howled in pain, hurling Subaru away as he clutched at a helmet he could not remove to grab at eyes he could not reach.

Subaru landed roughly, but gratefully. "Recovery 30!"

The second-level healing program did its work, and Subaru sprang away. With a roar, Taurus ripped his head down, seething at Subaru - his eyes streamed tears that would only hiss and steam when they touched sizzling armor. "Filth!" he howled. "Scum!"

Subaru sucked in a breath, glancing at the nearby houses - he could see little pairs of eyes looking fearfully down on the battle. Someone had probably already called the police. Hopefully. "Sorry about that, War Rock. He caught me by surprise."

"He more than caught you. You were the nail and he was the hammer."

"Uh, excuse me?"

"Your mother makes for quite the entertaining running commentator when she watches the television and consumes alcohol."

"...I don't want to know. I REALLY don't wanna know."

"What? Is professional wrestling bad?"

Taurus scrubbed at his eyes a final time and then roared, swinging his arms wide and lowering his head. Flames exploded from his back and elbows - Subaru saw Taurus Fire pawing at the ground with ungulate legs. There was a roar like a jet engine, and then the behemoth was upon them. "Ox Tackle!"

This time, Subaru was ready.

He lunged forward, at Taurus' oncoming, stampeding legs, casting his untransformed hand at the ground and feeling - willing - the surge of power throughout. It gathered in his trembling hand, and then he pushed it out. "Ground Wave!"

There was a POW, and the area of the street directly before his hand smashed open into another crater - a small, but very real wave of power ripped forward through the asphault, leaving a jagged crack behind it. And then it smashed into Taurus Fire's right foot as it was descending, tearing into his limb. His balance off, Taurus stumbled, and then his flaming jets carried him one bound too far and he flew helplessly over RockMan's downed form, crashing into the street beyond; his Ox Horns slicing into and catching on the foundation beneath, causing him to tumble heavily down the road, his horns carving large strips out of the street.

"Give it up, Taurus," said Subaru, righting himself. "You're not wanted here."

Lying there in the street, Taurus Fire's great bulk heaved as he sucked in breath - was he fueling his internal system with oxygen? Subaru tensed, feeling rather ready for whatever Taurus was planning. He quickly summoned a New Draw, and prepared himself for Taurus' bellows and threats.

Of course, that left him completely put off when the monster began to laugh instead.

"Puny creature," he said, getting easily, almost languidly, to his feet. "You should have fled when you had the chance."

Subaru was quick to pull himself back together - he fell into a ready stance and prepped his next Battle Card. "What are you getting at?"

Taurus was apparently enjoying quite the private joke, considering his chuckle was causing him to actually heave with mirth. "Up until now, I have only been able to fight you under my own power. But now the odds are in my favor, you'll discover."

Odds? But it was just him and Taurus Fire wasn't it?

And then realization hit him harder than a combined punch from both Taurus and the Jammer. "Gonta's awake?"

"Believe it, jerk," growled Gonta's voice, issuing from Taurus Fire. "It's over for you."

"It took some doing," Taurus explained, dropping his voice to an uncannily quiet whisper. "but I finally woke him - he was quite interested when I told him we were hunting the boy who'd caused him so much trouble."

Subaru gritted his teeth, tensing slightly. "And what happens now?"

"Simple," said Taurus Fire with Gonta's raised voice. "I kick your tiny blue ass, put up the last beacon, and then Iinchou's going to see how useful I really am."

Oh, great. Gonta was awake, alright, if by "awake" he meant he'd fallen out of bed.

"And how will that work, exactly? What will she do with those beacons?"

This actually seemed to work for a moment, causing Taurus Fire - or Gonta within him - to hesitate.

"Simple. We will not only prove how useful you are when simply at her beck and call, we will show her how useful you are when exercising your full power," answered Taurus smoothly. "Come, Gonta, I will show you true might."

He was either delirious or exhausted, because the answer seemed to satisfy Gonta. "So there!"

"Seriously? What, does she want to take over the planet?" Subaru challenged, backing up slightly. "C'mon, man, think!"

"He can't hear you," War Rock spoke darkly. "Taurus is only letting in the noises he wants the boy to hear. All else he blocks."

Taurus Fire planted his massive feet, his arms spreading - Subaru could hear the wail of police sirens in the distance, and, if they were as out of their league as the road's desolation suggested, Subaru would have to move Taurus Fire out and away from the residential district. And from anything that could catch fire.

Well, perhaps they should focus on the residential district part, first.

And if he were going to lure Taurus Fire anywhere, he would need to cut off any other outside influence. He flicked his left arm, the flames from War Rock's skull engulfed it and receded, leaving a second Tail Burner in its place. "C'mon, you big Ox - you want another sting?"

Taurus Fire lunged forward again, furious - and his fury was exactly what Subaru was counting on. It made people predictable. Standing his ground, Subaru aimed the Tail Burner steadily, and then launched the flamethrower. "Mahi Plus!"

Taurus howled furiously, again assaulted by a servant's flame, his momentum carrying him past RockMan to crash again into the street - hissing and sputtering, Taurus struggled to correct himself, only to bellow all the greater when he recognized a familiar paralysis gripping him.

"C'mon, ugly!" Subaru called, leaping to the top of the nearby roof. He looked down at Taurus, whose shivering body refused to yield. "I'm escaping again!" And with that, he hopped off the roof and out of sight.

"Are we... fleeing?" War Rock wondered aloud, only for Subaru to shush him. He held up three fingers, and then ticked them off one by one. As the final finger fell, there was a massive shriek of anger and rage, and the ground rumbled with the sound of a stampede.

"Now, we're fleeing," Subaru said, with the kind of grin that spoke of thrill and panic and the imminence of death.

Taurus Fire erupted from around the corner, pouring out so much flame his whole body was enshrouded in heat and light - a furious, raging tide of fire and rage, every footstep stamping another liquified hole in the asphault. His beady eyes, gleaming white lights, found his target and Taurus Fire bellowed again. His body was slung so low to the ground his massive, armored arms were serving as makeshift forelegs, grabbing at the street and hauling Taurus Fire forward as his powerful legs propelled him from behind.

Subaru pivoted on his heel. "War Rock, fly!" And then they were off, blue and red streaks tearing down the street faster than people could see, leaving a trail of smashed earth and steaming asphault in their wake.

"I thought you had a plan!" War Rock cried.

"I do!"

"Sharing is caring!"

"No, it's not!" Subaru shot back, feeling rather than seeing Taurus advancing by sheer propulsive force. Finally, they emerged from the main residential district, Taurus Fire's limbs smashing into the ground with a sound of galloping thunderclaps. He glanced forward to check where they were - they were just finishing crossing the western bridge over the river that ran through the center of the town.

"Now! Air Spread - Plus Twenty!"

War Rock called the launcher, firing a round of explosives at the ground directly behind them, each now three times as powerful. Three tightly-packed BOOMs told him he'd hit his mark.

The explosion had not been intended to meet Taurus head on, instead catching him at an angle and thus bypassing the sheer forward force of Taurus Fire's momentum. With a cry, Taurus Fire was launched into the air, stunned so utterly his flames immediately dissipated as he crashed into the ground again. His initial attempt to return to his feet were abruptly halted when Subaru nailed him with a Plasma Gun, leaving him to crash to the ground.

"That's how many times, tonight?" Subaru asked, exhaustion sapping emotion from his voice and leaving it cold. "I told you before, Taurus - now, leave this planet and take your miserable beasts and soldiers with you. We've got enough problems around here without you stirring the pot."

"N-No," Taurus Fire protested weakly. "No, I'm not... we're not finished with you, yet."

Subaru loaded another Battle Card, a Long Sword. He approached the frozen monster, holding the tip at its throat. "Yes. You are."

"Y-You're going to kill me?" Taurus Fire whimpered - Subaru hesitated, unsure of whether he'd heard Gonta's voice.

"Subaru, end it," War Rock urged him, his voice low. "This is no different from a Jamming - though I estimate it will leave Taurus assuredly dead. I doubt anyone here will miss him."

Subaru could hear sirens in the distance, approaching. Finally, peace was at hand - with Taurus gone, no one would be able to summon the FM-ian army. War Rock could puzzle out the beacons at his leisure and release them, freeing Kodama from this wretched heat. Earth would pass by, unnoticed. The shining greatsword extended from his arm, unshaken by the stress or weakness of normal human flesh.

"Goodbye, Taurus," Subaru said quietly, raising his weapon.

"NO!"

Startled, Subaru whipped his head around. "Huh? OOMPH!"

"Don't you dare!" Luna screamed at him, striking at every inch of his face she could reach. "Don't you dare kill him!"

Where the Hell had she come from? Subaru cancelled the Long Sword so he could better remove her hands from around his throat, managing to pry one of her hands off when War Rock bit down firmly enough to secure the other without hurting it. "How'd you get here?" demanded Subaru.

"Like I couldn't see the massive, moving fire?"

Subaru groaned, rolling his eyes. Fantastic. Just what he needed. And then he saw a red blur.

"RockMan!" roared War Rock.

"Look out!" Subaru shouted, yanking Luna away from Taurus Fire.

"Anger Punch!"

WHAM. Subaru and Luna went flying through the air, the girl caught up as safely as RockMan's arms could allow as they crashed to the ground and went tumbling along the asphault.

"FOOLS!" Taurus bellowed, on his feet and looking not even slightly worse for the wear. Subaru quickly glanced at his left arm, which had taken the brunt of both Taurus Fire's comeback and the landing. He winced, seeing little, pixellated trails of light float away from what would be bone-crushing to a normal human - the stinging in his right arm and legs told him he would need to invest in better Recovery options.

"Are you okay?" he asked quickly.

"I- I'm fine," Luna mumbled, dizzily. Her face was scratched, and it looked like her arm was bleeding - only a shallow cut, nothing too serious. What drew Subaru's attention were the small specks of water he could see in the corners of her eyes.

"Stay here," Subaru ordered in the most authoritative voice he could muster. Righting himself, he turned to face Taurus Fire, who was flexing his arms and stamping his feet. "Taurus, you haven't won." He flicked his arm, summoning another draw of cards and selecting a pair. "I can keep this up all night."

"As can I," Taurus answered, small, ready blazes issuing from the ports on his chest. "With Gonta at my side, nothing can stop me!"

Subaru readied himself. If Taurus was that desperate for a fight, things would really go sour. "Gonta! C'mon, pull yourself together! You know better than this!"

"Shut up!" Gonta's voice raged. "Don't you dare tell me what to do!"

"So you're just going to take over the world, huh?" Subaru challenged him. "Seriously, think! What the hell do you want to get out of all this?"

"RockMan, dodge!"

Subaru cursed - he'd let down his guard. With a grunt of pain, he was hoisted aloft by Taurus Fire's gargantuan arm, which had shot out and snatched him before he'd even seen the jet launching it.

Taurus bellowed aloud with laughter, crushing RockMan in his fist and smashing him down into the asphault. Subaru grunted in pain, and gagged as Taurus smashed him downward again. "Let's see how you like it! Fire Breath!"

The stream of fire exploded from Taurus Fire's mechanical muzzle. War Rock cried something unheard over the screaming. Laughing, Taurus Fire ceased spraying him with flames and pitched him hard into the ground, which he followed up by lifting a hoof and stomping it down onto the Shooting Star pendant embedded in the center of RockMan's chest - he drove it down with all the force he could muster. He smashed his fists into RockMan's form twice more before halting.

Luna gasped, the color drained from her face. RockMan was lying at Taurus Fire's feet, limp - his mouth was hanging open and a small stream of blood was leaking from the corner. All along his body, great holes had been ripped in what Luna had assumed was his uniform - only for her to find instead of muscle and bone, strange, blurred colors were racing back and forth where Luna could see underneath his surface - little trails of bizarre light were leaking from these ruptures, strange rings of it swirling around where the flesh had been wholly torn off. War Rock's head had fallen still, his fierce red eyes blank; the flames flickering out of the back had died to mere embers.

"Useless!" Taurus roared. "Completely useless! But now, RockMan, great thorn in my side that you are, I will end you here and now - and nothing shall impede me again!"

"How much do you want to bet?"

"Anger P-" Taurus froze, his fist stuck in the air as if it had caught on some invisible line. "What? What is this?"

Subaru murmured, his head throbbing - slowly, awareness returned to him. Most of it pain.

"Ushijima Gonta!" Luna exclaimed, marching over - actually marching - and coming to a militaristic halt directly between the massive Taurus Fire and RockMan, tiny by comparison. "Shame on you!"

Taurus Fire staggered back as if struck by something heavy - it was ludicrous! He was to lead armies, to conquer worlds, who did this tiny, insignificant- how could she possibly...?

Subaru gaped at her, or he would have, if not for the fact that his head was in a very ungainly position relative to lower half and any attempts to look upward, much as his teenage hormones would enjoy themselves, might prompt Luna to stomp on his nose to try and stem the fresh bloodflow, so he opted to ponder the ridiculousness of it all while staring off to the side.

"Gonta! Answer me!" Luna demanded, her voice stunningly imperious for a teenage girl in no more than a bathrobe. "I know you're in there!"

"I-Impossible," War Rock could only mumble. "How...?"

Subaru grunted, dragging his limp hand over to where War Rock's was lying. "New Draw," he hissed in pain - please, oh, God, please let there be a... YES. He flopped his limp, useless-from-the-elbow-down hand over to where the cards shimmered in the air. Work, he demanded of his arm. WORK, DAMMIT. His anger turned quickly into desperate pleading as his flopped hand missed the card he was going for a second time.

"Ushijima Gonta! ANSWER ME!"

Taurus Fire cringed - actually visibly cringed - at the sheer command in Luna's voice. "I-Iinchou...? Wh-What's going... NERAGGH. NO. NO, I WILL NOT BOW AT THE FOOT OF SOME FALSE QU- QUEEEEEIIIin- Iinchou...?" Taurus Fire reared back, clutching at his helmet. "S-Something's wrooooaaaAAAAGHH! SILENCE! SLEEP UNTIL I WAKE YOU!"

"GONTA!" Luna ordered. "Gonta-kun, come on! I'm talking to you!"

Subaru lunged a third time, forcing all his willpower into reconnecting to that hand. Massive, searing pain ripped through him at once - but he had his fingers back. He shot his hand out a third time - YES.

Taurus Fire's head raised, and they heard him bellow at the sky, shooting a massive stream of flames into the starry sky. "I am Taurus!" he roared. "And I shall not be conquered!"

He brought his head down with a stomp of his foot, and Subaru knew what would happen when he saw the first lick of flame spurt from his chest. As Taurus brought his head down, Subaru focused on one thing and one thing only - the Fire Nozzle. There was a flash of warm, blue light, and suddenly he was between Luna and Taurus, the girl tucked protectively in his left arm, and his free hand grasping the end of Taurus' snout, the beginnings of a Fire Breath leaking through the gaps. "Bug off, Freak."

And then he launched three Ground Waves directly through Taurus Fire's head, all at once.

POW.

Taurus Fire was blasted off of his feet and launched through the air, sailing backwards over the bridge across the river, gracelessly spilling onto the ground and tumbling along until he collided with a bright red, old-school mailbox off to the side of the road on the corner near. He collapsed to the ground, though Subaru kept his stare on him. The monstrous half-alien shuddered, hoisting himself up onto one arm - the Visualizer honed in on the wreckage of material and tubing that had been Taurus Fire's snout - and then the beast collapsed woodenly.

Subaru let out a sigh.

"Y-You're okay?" Luna wondered, breathless.

Subaru nodded. His lack of rejoinder led the two of them to reflect on the severity of the moment.

"Wh- What about him?" murmured Luna, biting her lip and indicating Taurus Fire's limp form.

"Good question." Subaru paused to summon another draw - and noted he was low on offensive Battle Cards. He selected a Cannon, deciding to hold his other cards in reserve, and stepped closer.

"Taurus!"

Luna stiffened, her eyes widening fearfully - Subaru immediately dodged back over to her, taking hold of her again in case they needed to retreat. He summoned the Cannon and held it ready.

A dark shape had appeared, materializing from whatever shadow it had been hiding in. The Jammer did not acknowledge either RockMan or Luna until it had managed to hoist Taurus up by tossing his arm over its own shoulder. Weakly, Taurus rumbled, looking straight at Luna. "See, child - such is true loyalty. A servant who remains loyal when its master is in need. Accept this as teaching, that you might inspire loyalty not out of desperation for a cold, distant light, but as for a burning, intimate fire. That way you might not drive your subordinates into the arms of those who would destroy you."

Subaru heard Luna gasp, felt her freeze. "What... what are you saying? This... this is my fault?"

Taurus snorted, a bizarre, angled spurt of flame shooting out from a mashed tube and off to the side. The Jammer, still silent, tensed... and then they disappeared, just... gone.

"Vanished," War Rock noted. "Perhaps there is a large wave hole nearby. Their echo is gone," he reaffirmed. "We may relax."

Subaru sighed, letting out a long, slow breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Well, that was exciting," he muttered. "How are- whoa. Hey, what's wrong?"

Luna wasn't moving, staring at the space where Gonta had been. "H- He said it was my fault. My fault..."

Subaru winced, unsure of how to calm her. She'd bitten her lip, and he could see her eyes were watery. "Hey, calm down. It's okay."

"No, it's not!" Luna shot back tearfully, rounding on him. "If- If something happens... and- and Gonta... what if he- he- he dies? You- you were going to kill him!"

Subaru hesitated. "Not him, in particular," he pointed out. "I was going for the cow. I get rid of him, save the kid, everyone's happy. Like with the Jammer from a while ago."

Luna might very well have been petrified, realization dawning across her face. "I- I- Oh, my God..."

"Unfortunately," War Rock spoke up, looking up from Luna's side at Subaru. "Our job is now all the harder.

"With the child awake, Taurus may more effectively conjoin them together, mind and body, which, to keep things simple, will make it all the harder to reduce Taurus Fire into the individuals of Taurus and the boy. He has now had waking moments as Taurus Fire, and we know from you," War Rock look pointedly at Subaru, "that Denpa Henkan is quite the rush."

"Not helping," Subaru grunted, seeing the color drain from Luna's face. "Hey, we'll get him back. It'll be fine," he added in what he hoped was a reassuring voice. "He's got some fight in him left. Taurus had to shut him down so he could get away."

Luna brushed the backside of her hand against her face, pawing lightly at the water collecting in the corners of her eyes. "But... but, I..."

"Hey," Subaru said, quietly but firmly; he squeezed her reassuringly. "It'll all work out."

Luna blinked back more tears, shaking her head - Subaru realized with some relief she was trying to regain self-control, rather than argue with him. "I- I apologize. I wasn't thinking and I made everything worse. I just..."

"Saw a friend with a sword at his throat," Subaru supplied, not bothering to hide a chuckle at the absurd situation. "I don't blame you." He paused, something buzzing in the back of his mind. "What are you doing out here, anyway?"

He glanced back to the street, filled with potholes, cracks, and what looked like pools of molten asphalt, trailing towards them from across the bridge over the river and farther north and east.

Luna hesitated. "I wasn't too far away, actually. I-"

Subaru paused, for the first time getting a good look at Luna. He blushed - Luna was wearing nothing but her underwear and a bathrobe. Her hair was down, a mess, actually, and now that he got a better look at her eyes... they were red and far too puffy, no way from tears as recently as the ones she'd just been shedding.

What had she been doing out here, crying?

"Hey, are you okay?"

Luna looked away. "I'm fine. There's nothing wrong." Her voice was clipped, short. But Subaru was far too experienced at evading questions to be so easily put off the scent. Still, her shoulders had grown very stiff - and that probably meant she wasn't going to come clean, least of all with him.

"Eesh, it's late," Subaru noted, summoning a small clock. "Or, well, early. And, with my luck, you probably live across the bridge?" Subaru ventured, taking another glance out at the ruined structure.

The sirens were still wailing in the background, but Subaru figured they were probably still trying to figure out where the tracks led. The road was too messed up for cruisers, or at least not for such a low budget, wheels-only station like the Kodama Police Department. He could see some lights ahead, probably some men with flashlights running along where wheels couldn't proceed. It would still take them a good fifteen minutes of full-out running to get within a natural field of vision, by RockMan's estimate, probably longer due to the dark.

Luna nodded, grateful for a change of topic. She pointed her finger at the mailbox that Taurus Fire had crashed into - no, at the building beyond.

"That's... what?" Subaru said, wracking his brains. "The Northridge Echo Condos? You live there?"

"Westridge," Luna corrected him. "Suite Twenty-Three."

Subaru blinked. "Ah," he said. "I was just planning on dropping you off at the front door."

Luna paused. And then she blushed. "I, ah, I... the door would be fine."

Subaru coughed awkwardly. "Well, uh, I'll get you across the bridge, then?"

For the first time, they both sddenly became aware of the fact that Subaru hadn't let go of her since blasting Taurus into the maibox. "So, uh, give me a second - okay, comfortable?"

"No," War Rock answered, knowing he would just be ignored. The flames leaking from the back of his head had died to a small flare, though Luna probably would've expressed discomfort at an earlier point if they really burned.

Luna blushed. "Just to establish, this is a one-time thing! I'm just letting you carry me, understood? So nothing suspicious on your part, or I'll- EEEK!"

Subaru grinned, hefting Luna's body in his arms suddenly and making her jolt, wrapping her arms around his neck to secure herself. "Hey! I said no funny business!"

Okay, so the next time Luna wanted to extract respect from someone, it would need to be while she was wearing something a tad less intimate than her bathrobe. At least he wasn't too horrible about- "EEEEEEEEEEK! !"

While she'd been thinking, RockMan had walked her to the edge of the river and leapt clean over... without bothering to warn her.

"Sheesh, chill out," Subaru chuckled, landing easily. "You're totally-" WHAM. (Note to self - Shirogane's fists are harder to dodge when your arms are full of her).

"Put me down!" Luna demanded, her face bright red. "Put me down, now!"

"Alright, already," Subaru muttered, feeling his jaw. He crouched down and lowered her to her feet. "There. And just to note - no harm done. See, I know what I'm doing."

"Sure you do," Luna shot back. "You didn't give me any time to prepare - my robe could've caught the wind, and then you'd be sorry!"

"Fine," Subaru grumbled. "Fine, whatever. Owww," he murmured - his jaw was growing sore. "Did you have to hit so hard?"

"Oh, please," Luna muttered, crossing her arms huffily and looking away. "You took it from that minotaur thing."

"Yes, and that hurt a lot," Subaru pointed out. "The next time you see someone fracture their jaw, you go right ahead and tell them to suck it up because they've already had broken ribs that night."

"Fractured?" Luna repeated curiously (Subaru paused, hearing an echo of what sounded like concern). "Really? Here, let me see."

"Whoa! Hey, hold on a second. Ouch!"

"Oh, you big baby, hold still!" Luna grunted, trying to get a better look at the skin not obscured by the helmet.

"Oy, leggo!"

"C'mon, let me see!"

"I said to let go!" Subaru shouted, seizing and yanking her hands away. "It's fine, I don't need you grabbing at it."

Luna blushed. "Well, you said it hurt! I was just trying to help!"

"I don't need help!" Subaru shouted, slightly surprised at the vehemence of his statement. "Not from you.

"W-Well, you're home, now," he muttered, feeling guilty when he saw her stung expression. "So... so, just, good night."

And then he was gone, leaping back across the river and leaving Luna standing in the pre-dawn air, wrapped in her bathrobe. "HEY! Where are you going? Come back, here, I'm not finished with you! I- I- What, I can't say good night, either?" she trailed off with a murmur, wondering why, exactly, she was so upset. "You could've at least let me finish, Jerk," she added sullenly, watching him disappear southward in spite of herself. Quietly, miserably, she shrank back into the shadows of the complex - she had a job to do, and her first stop was Ushijima Gonta's house.

Subaru wasn't listening, having slipped through the window over his bed, reverted, and passed out from exhaustion... only for Luna to get her indirect revenge by denying him his sleep two hours later.

Not that he would get any sleep at all for the next week.

---

There were two reasons why Hoshino Ryuta was in a foul mood tonight.

First and foremost, he was in the Driver's Seat. Now, this particular phrase was generally used to denote a sense of empowerment and control in the steering of one's own livelihood, but the poignant irony of the evening was that in spite of Ryuta's literal placement behind the wheel, he was roughly as in control of his life as an ant whom had found its way onto the palm of a particularly inquisitive child.

Secondly, he was experiencing the night life. Now, the night life he'd imagined himself enjoying involved (and which he certainly wasn't enjoying now) involved bright lights, scantily clad women, and perhaps a bit of dancing. Compare that to now, in which he had to shift himself every now and again to keep the butt-end of his spine from throbbing too painfully and take constant sips of coffee in order to keep his eyes from sinking backwards into the pit of his skull.

As it so happened, the closest thing to a scantily clad woman in the truck happened to be Shirogane Luna, who just so happened to be the reason he was here, on top of that. Of course, any untoward attentions on his part would earn him the sensuous, throbbing pleasure of a black eye - one such instance he had just narrowly avoided six days ago. He still remembered that sick, I-just-had-way-too-much-rich-food-and-it's-gotta-go-NOW feeling of fear that one morning when Luna had not only drawn him out of his house with a voice like honeyed sugar, she'd seized him by the throat, pinned him against the wall just outside the door and presented a well-prepared, excellently researched argument towards the end that he should donate his time, effort, and legally-approved Navi Card: ownership to a good cause.

"Your Transers are both on silent, correct?"

Now, normally Ryuta wouldn't have minded this in the slightest - the premise of cruising around in an invincible truck scouring the neighborhood for a nationally famous arsonist that even had the police stumped was certainly entertaining - however, Ryuta found himself realizing that perhaps this wasn't quite so fantastic an idea as it sounded. However, Luna had both the kind of imperious presence and single-minded fanaticism that made any attempt to question her wisdom to seem both very foolish and painful.

Of course, sheer physical exhaustion wasn't exactly doing him any favors, either.

"C'mon, Iinchou, let's-"

"No."

"I didn't even finish my-"

"No."

"Iinchou, I do believe Hoshino-sa-"

"NO."

For the first time in his life, Saishouin Kizamaro felt a certain degree of solidarity with Hoshino Ryuta. Of course, he might've said the same thing if it were a serial killer in Hoshino's place. Frankly, the look of thwarted ferocity currently warping Luna's face would've made even the world's worst psychotic break down and blubber.

Of course, even a psychotic would follow a certain degree of logic, twisted and small as it might be. Ryuta, on the other hand, plunged fearlessly on. Or, rather, brought the car to a complete and sudden stop. "Look, Iinchou, we've seriously got to-"

"No! No, we will not stop!" Luna shouted suddenly. "People are in danger out there!"

Ryuta glanced at the dashboard. It was almost midnight, and the onboard map pinned them somewhere in West Kodama. "Iinchou, we aren't going to find this guy. Look, the Raider's got the police stumped. It's not like we have any leads on him. And besides, what the hell am I doing here? Where's Gonta?"

Kizamaro winced at the expression on Luna's face, quickly stepping in. "Ushijima's missing, Hoshino-kun," he squeaked.

"Wait, what?"

"He's been missing for a week and his mother's in the hospital."

Ryuta was glad he'd stopped the truck; if he hadn't, he might've crashed it for gaping. "Whoa whoa whoa! Hold on! Start from the beginning!"

"That IS the beginning," Luna muttered. "Kizamaro and I spent all week looking for him. We would've used this," she gestured at the truck, "but I haven't received my DrivingMan Card, yet."

Ryuta raised an eyebrow. "I know. But still-"

"We're not stop-"

"Dammit, shut up! Let me finish!" It was a testament to his exhaustion and stress that Ryuta had forgone his usual nature in favor of shouting. It was a testament to Luna's that she shut up. "Luna, you aren't helping anyone! I understand where you're coming from, but you have to realize, even with this 'watch committee' you put together, we haven't got a hellbound snowball's chance of doing anything worthwhile! We're not going to find the Raider, we're not going to find Gonta, and we're putting ourselves in the hospital by pretending that we can!"

Luna glared at him for a moment, but faltered and looked down. Kizamaro remained silent, sure that he was now dreaming. Or maybe Luna wasn't quite as invincible under such great stress. "I- I'm sorry. You're right, Hoshino-san. Forgive me for dragging you all around like this, please."

Ryuta was mildly surprised at himself for not rejoicing in the victory, and he heartily suspected it was the sound of utter defeat hollowing out her voice. "N-No problem," he answered. "Hey, DrivingMan, let's go home, hey, Bud?"

In the center of the dashboard was a screen, displaying a humanoid figure that looked like the child of a dragster and a robot. "Sure thing, boss!"

There was a small hum, and Ryuta placed his hands on the wheel. Kizamaro glanced at his Transer and winced at the midnight timestamp. Hopefully his father was still asleep.

Ryuta sighed, glancing out the window... and then noticed that they hadn't gone anywhere. "Yo, Driving... uh..."

"Hi, there," said the figure on the screen with a voice like silk, who was most definitely not DrivingMan. DrivingMan was off to the side, trying to cope with the hole punched through its chest by the lightning blade of the Raimei-zan. "How's everyone doing?"

Luna froze, thinking. This... this person was new to her, most definitely not one of the Jamming monsters she was used to. Jamming had distinct features and statures; this new being was a pitch dark silhouette with only a gleaming smile to see. "Wh-who are you?"

"A friend... well, no," the figure said, chuckling to himself. "Most definitely not."

He withdrew the blade from DrivingMan, watching it collapse to the floor and explode with a gurgle. "Oh, don't worry," he said reassuringly to Ryuta. "All Navi Cards are just instances of the core data; your Bud is just fine, though you'll probably have to reapply for another card. And I'm almost certain that the Drving Man core has sent out an alert by this point... oh, look at me, I'm rambling.

"Well, to business. Miss Shirogane, might I be correct in assuming that, while piloted by Hoshino-san, you are, in fact, the true owner of this vehicle?" Luna's lack of response was taken as an invitation to continue. "Or, well, not a vehicle, specifically. This is a Matter Wave, is it not?"

Luna fearfully nodded her head.

"Ah, magnificent. I was just in the market for one. You see, I have an associate who could have a great deal of fun with this. Certain events need to transpire tonight, or, well, everyone will be dead from this heat wave of mine." The figure shrugged nonchalantly. "Sorry things got this bad; I'm new at this whole sort of plot-thing. Lots of loose ends to deal with on my end that leave me pressed for time, and when I get them done, I'm really rather tired. SO, back to business."

"Hoshino-kun," hissed Kizamaro, "what are you doing? We need to get out of here!"

"Ah, ah, ah!" The figure sang chidingly. There were several thumps and a small hum - the vehicle's interior was suddenly briefly lit and dimmed just as quickly. "There. No more open-able doors. Now, Saishouin-kun, please sit."

Another brief glow, and Kizamaro found himself struggling against sudden tethers that had once been his seatbelt.

"What do you want?" Luna demanded. "Are you the Raider?"

"Close," the figure acknowledged. "I'm his boss. Of sorts. If he knew he had a boss. Which he doesn't, really, so I guess-" For all the surreal lack of features, the figures face and mouth were certainly elastic enough to supply expressions. "Oh, whoops, there I go, again! Well, lessee, you've all been kind, so I guess I'll let you in on what I'm up to.

"We discussed whether this was a Matter Wave a few moments ago," the figure pointed out. "As I said, I was in the market for my associate; you see, we need one for tonight's heist. Thank you so much, by the way, for providing it, Shirogane-san. I can always count on your far-reaching wealth to get me out of a tight spot, huh?"

Luna refused to yield her expression to anything less than stoic. "What do you want?"

The figure paused, thinking to himself. "I don't think I'll be telling you, specifically." And then he paused again. "Oh, God, I just had a wonderful idea.

"You see me, correct? Now look out the window. Now back to me. Now back out the window. You'll see a figure there. Correct, that's Ushijima. Hold on tight." There was a loud noise as Gonta seized the front of the truck and hoisted it easily into the air. Kizamaro had begun to scream, which wasn't helping Luna's attempts to keep her own beating heart in check. Ryuta, for his part, was convinced he was dreaming. "Look down, there's a flash." Kizamaro, strapped tight against the seat, screamed in agony as the blinding light of Denpa-Henkan filded the street. "Oh, jeez, forgot about you. Now look again. It's a minotaur wearing armor. Guess what? He's the Raider. Now back at me. See this proto-Jamming here next to me? Yeah, he's for Hoshino-kun. Now if you'll all just hold still for a moment..."

Ryuta hesitated. "Wait, what's for me?"

"Our little lightning round is over. I'll be taking the Matter Wave," the figure said with a shrug. "Thanks for playing."

"That doesn't even have any coherent progression," Kizamaro whined.

"Hey, I'm new at this! Cut me some slack!"

Luna screamed as the vague, shadowy mist exploded through the screen.

---

The solid barrel of Jammer torso made for a fantastic springboard. Subaru landed easily atop the building, pausing in the dark night to listen to the sounds below. The Inspector was passing out orders, shouting something at Lieutenant Sakurako. He paused, taking a moment to load a few Battle Cards - he could hear the sounds of gunfire below and the thick, rapid-fire CHINK noises told him the hard rubber was ricocheting harmlessly off. He heard Sakurako announcing that the bullets didn't seem to be working, and Heiji answering with a heartfelt "No, Shit!"

There was a crash and a sudden rumble - Subaru nearly lost his footing as a massive thrill rushed through the building's structure. He jumped to the edge, looking down to find the Jammer had smashed its fist into the wall, creating a hole. Curiously, the Jammer made no attempt to retrieve its fist, and, indeed, created a second hole with its free hand. There was silence for a moment, as RockMan and the Heiji's squadron watched the Jammer - and then, with a vision no human could match, Subaru saw tension ripple along the Jammer's arms and leave its legs, allowing it to crouch down.

"He's going to jump," Subaru realized aloud. "He's going to pull himself up and jump, like a slingshot."

"What?" asked War Rock.

"MOVE IT!" Subaru explained, leaping back from the edge as tension returned to the Jamming's legs - with enviable ease, it catapulted itself straight up fifty, sixty feet into the air. "Jamming Vulcan!"

A spray of vulcan fire sliced through the air, ripping into the roof and side of the building as the Jamming rocketed upwards, far beyond Subaru. It cast itself into a spin, its indiscriminate fire ripping through everything beneath it - Heiji shouted in pain, clutching at his arm where the vulcan shot had sliced through it. "Fall back! Fall back!"

"Hey!" Subaru shouted. "Leave them out of this!"

The Jamming straightened itself and landed dramatically on the edge of the roof, rising out of its crouch to tower over Subaru. "Or what?"

"Cannon!" BOOM. "That's what," Subaru added snarkily, hearing the Jammer smash into the ground below after being knocked off of the roof. He approached the edge, surveying the scene below. "Detective! You okay?"

"I've been better," Heiji shouted back - his arm looked bloody beneath the wrappings above his elbow. "What the hell is that thing?"

"A Jammer!" Subaru called back. "And not the friendly, neighborhood variety, either," he added under his breath.

"Since when have these creatures ever been friendly?"

Below, the Jammer rolled smoothly backwards, reverse somersaulting into a crouch and quickly springing backwards into the air like a gymnast. It reached the wall of the second story of the cafe and launched upwards at Subaru without so much as adjusting its speed. "Show off. Moe Ring!"

Subaru took only a moment to aim as War Rock's head was replaced with the launcher - a ring of fire burst into life and shot forward, slicing easily through the Jamming's right arm and knocking him off balance - the Moe Ring's return scored it no victory, as the Jamming took refuge by latching onto the side of the building below Subaru.

"Eesh," Subaru muttered. "Is it me, or is this getting too easy?" And then he paused, looking upwards. When had it gotten so cloudy? He could've sworn the night was clear only ten minutes ago.

"Oh, you wanted a challenge?" said a light, warm voice that made Subaru's insides freeze solid. "Allow me to oblige!"

Subaru screamed in pain - blistering, white hot AGONY coursed along his back as something crashed into him and exploded, blasting him off of the roof. He crashed limply to the ground, his vision blurring from the pain. "RockMan! RockMan, are you okay?"

"Do I look like I feel?" Subaru muttered, slowly managing to prop himself up. "What the hell was that?"

"An assault from the rear," supplied War Rock, helpful as always. "I was unable to perceive our assailant."

"That's alright - ack!" Subaru sprang to the side as the Jammer he'd been dealing with leapt off the building and brought its fist crashing down upon the street, the downward descent only lending more momentum to its massive cudgel of a fist. "I didn't get anything off him, either. Shit, that hurt," Subaru added with a wince, feeling where he'd been struck.

He dodged aside again as the Jammer morphed its arm into a gatling. "Jamming Vulcan!"

"Okay, seriously, enough," Subaru muttered. "Sword!"

The Jammer glanced vaguely at the massive, pixellized gash in its side with the vague, clinical interest of a biologist. And then it gurgled, crumpling to the floor and peeling away from its unhurt human host.

"Is that it?" called Heiji after a moment of silence.

"Not by a long shot," Subaru answered, springing back to the top of the roof, ignoring the detective's shouts from below.

Whatever surprise he'd felt from the fact that his attacker chose to stick around and wait for him Subaru chose to mask. "So, I'm assuming that you got me with that potshot?"

The figure chuckled - even with the Visualizer's enhanced visual capabilities, Subaru couldn't see the figure clearly in the dark... or, the dark thought suddenly occured to him, maybe the newcomer was willingly distorting the filter of the Visualize Visor. "Yup, guilty as charged. You wanna make something of it?"

"Well, you turn around and let me knock you off the roof, I'd say we'd be even." Subaru remained wary in spite of his chosen words; besides the figure was the towering stature of a fourth Jamming.

The stranger burst out laughing, actually doubling over - an effect that was startling enough even without the familiarity of this person's voice tugging at the back of Subaru's mind. "Just like that, huh?" he laughed. "You're funny, kid!"

Subaru didn't answer, waiting for the figure's laughter to peter out. "Oh, come on, where's your sense of humor? It was funny!"

"I think you might have punched it out of me. It might be somewhere in the rubble."

The dark figure grinned - a massive, eerily bright grin that contrasted spookily with his otherwise black body. Subaru glanced at the figure's outline, feeling something churn when he realized his outline seemed to be blending into the night sky beyond him. "Was that you?" he asked, the words coming to him suddenly. "Were you the one who tipped the Satellite Police off?"

The cheshire grin curled almost evilly. "Maybe. Satellite's been looking pretty stupid, lately, what with all the incidents going on. The beaureaucracy's been looking for someone to blame. Those, what did you call them, Jamming - they like to go a little crazy."

"They're easy enough on their own," Subaru noted calmly, his mind racing - okay, so he had a Wide Sword on board, and a pair of Recovery 30s in reserve, plus whatever cards War Rock would draw. "One on one, they're kind of easy, now."

The figure's grin widened impossibly far in the darkness, and Subaru wondered if the figure was screwing with his Visualizer for effect - and then the newcomer threw his head back and laughed. "That's not quite their fault, Hoshikawa-kun," the figure chuckled ominously, causing Subaru to bristle like never before. "It's not that they're easy so much as that you've just gotten too good. You gave Taurus quite the run for his money last week, if I recall."

Subaru paused, the figure's mention of Taurus and the Jamming resonating in his head. "Hey, mind if I ask you a question?" Subaru ventured suddenly.

"Oh, how rude of me. Please, you can call me the Conductor."

"Not my question, but thanks, anyway."

"Oh! Well, then, not at all, but I don't know if I'll answer."

"The Jamming that came to get Taurus," Subaru began slowly, recalling something that had seemed odd to him. "It didn't call him 'Lord' Taurus, like it did before."

The "conductor" chuckled approvingly. "Very good, Hoshikawa-kun. You are correct, the Jamming do not serve Taurus. At least, their loyalty is not to him."

"But aren't they here because of him?" Subaru demanded.

"Yup."

"And what exactly do you have to do with this? Did you come here to screw with me?"

"Specifically? No. That's just a perk. No, I'm here about Taurus."

"You want him to stop him putting up the last beacon?"

The conductor laughed again, this time high and cold. "Oh, no, no, no, Hoshikawa-kun... or, rather, RockMan. No, I very much want him to put up the last beacon."

"I thought you claimed interfering with us wasn't your purpose here," War Rock said suddenly.

"It's not primary, anyway," the figure answered smoothly. "I came here to ensure Taurus put up a usable beacon, which means I have to ensure he gets the chance."

Subaru dropped into a fighting stance. "Well, we seem to have come to an impasse."

The figure laughed again. "Oh, no, I don't plan on fighting you - don't worry. Besides, as fantastic as your skills are, you're nowhere near my skill level. If I wanted to, I could slay the both of you, here and now."

"But you haven't, yet," Subaru pointed out. "Which suggests you have some other purpose for us."

"Well, you'd certainly make my job easier," the figure answered pleasantly. "Oh, look, here he comes, now."

Looking where the figure pointed, Subaru saw a blazing red light, obscured by the dark buildings. Of course, he already knew what it was, though the ground thrumming with his massive, heavy steps certainly helped identify him from a distance away.

Taurus Fire was on the move.

"He's coming from the east," Subaru noted suddenly, glancing at the intended target, "and he'll have to turn south. He won't even see the cafe's roof to respond to it..." And then his eyes widened. "Is that what this is all about?"

The figure laughed loudly again, enjoying what seemed to be quite the good time. "Bingo! Hahaha, I'm psyched you figured it out so quickly. Glad to know I'm not dealing with one of those gung ho idiot hero types. I don't think I could stand that. I had the cops here because I figured they would respond to my information by showing up with some force - with plenty of cruisers to blow up, thus putting on a nice little show for Taurus, so, even if there's no red roof left after all this, the flames will draw him anyway." He shrugged.

"I must give you points for figuring that out about the red, Hoshikawa-kun, it was very clever, if a little unsatisfactory, I admit. The whole red thing was weird, sure, but it sure was convenient to mess Taurus up for us, let me layer some extra music into the beacons, give 'em some extra juice, then send him off to bed. Thanks to Ushijima-kun, whenever that red color hits his brain, he has to pause to figure out how to react, and normally I'd bet he'd be just fine - but that pause opens a little window for me to let myself in.

"You see, you really should have wondered, Hoshikawa-kun, just how Taurus retained enough sense to pull together a beacon when the color red obviously left him in no state to think clearly. Of course, he should be wary of the color by now, but he's never been good at self-control, you probably realize, and on top of that, he has no capacity to protect himself mentally. I simply have to get him to see the color, and, boom, I'm in. Technically, I probably don't even need the red roof... but patterns are fun."

"And you can't put up a Beacon, yourself?" War Rock ventured. The figure shrugged easily in reply.

"Unfortunately, I'm a Source with no power working at being a Manipulator." Subaru paused. A what doing what? "Given the situation, my rightful powers are currently denied me, and I have no way of accessing them at present - which is why Taurus Fire, a Source himself, is so fantastic a tool. My goodness, even these Jamming do better as Sources than I can at the moment. They're following my orders," he added in a conspiratorial whisper, "because I can get them more power sooner than Taurus ever could with them as his lieutenants."

War Rock made a noise of recognition, dark as it was, though Subaru had no idea what the figure was talking about.

"Don't worry, Hoshikawa-kun - it takes a little getting used to, but you'll get it, someday. Or die, maybe, I dunno. My business is with the big fella and getting him up here.

"Unfortunately," the figure added at length, his voice darkening. "It seems my little vanguard was taken care of too easily. I never figured you would've gone for help, Hoshikawa-kun. Goodness, who would you even know who could take on a Jammer?"

"Help?" repeated Subaru blankly. He remembered suddenly the other two occupants of the diner - had this guy not known about them? "I didn't-"

"Don't play games with us," growled the conductor, his cheshire teeth clenching suddenly. "We're not all that fond of liars. There were two other Jamming here. What. Happened. To. Them?"

"But, I'm not-" Subaru shut his mouth when he heard War Rock hiss at him. His mind, on the other hand, was still flying - two plus Subaru's meant three, and the conductor's assistant seemed to be the doctor's fourth.

The figure seethed for a moment, and then, slowly, his grin returned - and Subaru was now officially creeped out by having to go on the smile to judge this guy's temperament. "Ah, sorry, we tend to lose our temper, sometimes. Please forgive our rudeness. Well, anyway, it seems we have to go get Taurus Fire's attention over here. Be a dear and help us out, would you?"

"Seriously, quit switching in and out of the plural. It's creepy," Subaru pointed out. "And the condescension isn't helping."

"Oh, that's okay - we've had years to get used to it. Now, hold still."

More blurry shapes appeared in the Visualizer's readout - though Subaru wasn't nearly so sure whether he should trust it, especially considering that these new blurs seemed to be leaking and billowing out of the stranger's own haze in the center. And then he caught sight of four pairs of very familiar LED eyes. "Now, hold on a second-"

"Oh, don't worry," chuckled the figure. "You won't have to fight all four. Just three will do."

The blurs seperated from the figure's body, taking on more solid forms - the darkness receded into the mere night's shadow, and suddenly they had been joined by three more towering Jamming. "So, what's number four doing here- oh, no. No way." The fourth Jamming moved for the first time since Subaru'd noticed it, revealing a pair of limp, familiar forms.

"Yes way, Hoshikawa-kun," said the figure, dropping the humor from his voice. "This is how it's going to work out - you're going to help me put on my little show, and then let Taurus do his work, or Shirogane-san and Saishouin-kun, here..." He gestured to Luna's and Kizamaro's rigid forms - the fourth Jamming was dangling them by their heads. "Well, let's just say there'll be a stunning correspondence between what happens to them and what happens when you mash potatoes.

"Poop," he added after a moment, actually stroking his chin with his hand. "I think I need to work on my threats. Mashed potatoes are hardly the most intimidating of foods. I wonder, what about watermelon? Pumpkin? Hoshikawa-kun, what do you think- ah, yes, that is a Wide Sword."

"Let them go," Subaru said evenly. "Or I swear I'll kill you."

"I admire your bravery," said the figure, "or perhaps your bravado... but you'll find me harder to vanquish than a mere Jammer. As remarkable as they are, I'm afraid their unions tend to degrade. I think someone will need to work out a system to change them between hosts, like a four quarters plot in farming. It takes a good deal of will and self-control to handle a Jamming virus without negative side effects. Unfortunately, it seems like War Rock and Taurus have been taking up all the good host stock. I'm afraid these ones aren't nearly up to your standard," he admitted with what sounded like rue.

"Even with all those classmates Iinchou was gathering at your suggestion, few of them made for solid stock, and even so, normal viruses aren't all that fantastic at Denpa-Henkan, so I figured a few more than normal should suffice, if only to slow you down. Beggars can't be choosers, after all. Though you won't have any help, this time."

"Ooh, I know!" he exclaimed suddenly. "Here, just to let you know there're no hard feelings - after Taurus Fire sets up the final beacon, you can go ahead and do your thing."

"How... generous of you," Subaru noted. "And if I take issue with Taurus putting up the beacon?"

"Well, until I think of a more intimidating food, I'm going to ask you to visualize mashed potatoes." The fourth Jammer, behind the figure and the others, lifted its arms and shook them a little - Luna's and Kizamaro's bodies rocked back and forth slightly in the air. "Poop. I understand the situation is vexing, but I haven't ever really had to worry about effectively intimidating someone before. That's always been his thing."

His? And, wait, what happened to the plural?

"Well, anyway," the figure said and shrugged, "Taurus has gotten close enough, so I don't suppose you could be a pal and call him over, would you?"

"And if I say no?"

The figure sighed. "I really wish you wouldn't make me do this, but..." He lifted a hand, and a crackle of power danced between his fingers. He snapped his fingers, and suddenly the little crackle of energy shot from his fingers and past Subaru. There was a loud roar and a sudden blaze of light - Subaru whipped his head around to find the cafe on fire. "Well, he's bound to find it, now.

"Oh, don't worry about him," said the figure. "You have your own problems to worry about. Boys?" The other three Jamming shifted suddenly, now limber and ready. "Now, I want to see a good, clean... Ah, hell. Go nuts."

"I don't suppose you have a plan?" War Rock ventured, startling Subaru.

"Yeah. Stay alive."

---

Heiji winced, testing his arm. "Has anybody got a read on that bullet?"

"It's, uh, not a bullet," Sakurako spoke up. He held up the long, needle-thin and dagger-sharp slug, as black as the asphault. "We, uh, don't know what it is. And we won't, apparently."

Heiji whipped his head around, just catching the needle dissolving into light and dust. "Well, shit." He leaned easily against a nearby lamp post, surveying the young kid that had been left behind when the weird smoke-thing disappeared from the monster's fallen form. Well, he seriously doubted they could press charges - he highly doubted that the kid became that monster on purpose.

He glanced up at the rooftops across the street, where Kamen Rider had disappeared. He sighed. "Any luck with that radio?"

"Nothing yet," Sakurako reported, shrugging. "The consoles won't react, either," he added, wincing. "Everything's hung. We're stuck here at the bonfire."

Weird. Heiji paused, thinking back to the cab incident. That first time, only their communications tools had been shut down, and they'd come back when Kamen Rider blew up what he assumed was the first Jammer-thing. Now the whole electrical systems of their cruisers were on the fritz. Maybe it was a function of proximity - the closer they got, the stronger the effect? But the Jammer was dead, now, so it should be back to normal, unless it was completely conked out. Possibilities filled his mind, not least that there were other of those things lurking around. He could've sworn he'd heard an explosion earlier, but he'd figured it was Kamen Rider dealing with the Jammer.

At least nothing else had caught fire.

"Anybody bring marshmallows?" he asked, gazing at the still-flaming two-cruiser wreck. A couple of the men gave weak chuckles, though they all cut off suddenly when the earth rumbled.

Heiji stiffened, listening. There it was again - Heiji checked his holster for his gun, wishing he'd brought something with a little more kick. Shock rubber was great for stunning normal people, but whatever was making the earth thrum like that was probably going to be a lot harder to deal with then those Jammer-things, and those were already invulnerable to the rubber.

"So, anyone up for a fight with the Raider?" he asked, grinning.

Instead of a spoken response, Heiji was answered with what sounded like a strange buzzing noise, almost like the crackle of electricity. And then he saw it - the small, dancing sparks, descending from the rooftops and dancing into the open door of the cafe. He had only seconds to react. "Get back! Get out of there!"

The roar of the sudden fire startled even him - a couple of officers had been too close for comfort, but nothing worse than a first-degree burn. "What the hell was that?"

"It wasn't me!" insisted Sakurako, beside a still cruiser.

"I never said that!" Heiji shot back. "Just- stay back!"

Great. An enemy that could start fires wherever it wanted. Whoop. Heiji glanced back at the rooftops. "C'mon, Kamen Rider," he grunted. "What's going on?"

He didn't have long to wait. Kamen Rider arrived with remarkable punctuality, almost as if he'd read his mind - and then Heiji saw him crash into the ground. "Oy! Kamen Rider, you okay?"

"Get- Get back," Subaru coughed, struggling to his feet. "More... coming!"

"More?"

There was a roar like a motor revving up, and then something massive landed on a cruiser in the rear. Heiji spun around to find another Jammer rising from the wreckage, this one balanced atop what looked like a MoeRoader virus. No, it wasn't riding it - they were joined. "Oy, what's going on, now?"

There was another rumble as something crashed to the street, and then a third noise. Two more Jamming had descended, each likewise balanced on a MoeRoader - though Heiji could see their other armaments in the lamplight. Their bodies were patterned with the yellow material of the Mettorio viruses, and MeraMander bodies wrapped around their right arms, warped and fused to them. Welded to their backs were massive launchers - CannoBases.

"Yippee," muttered Heiji. "You certainly know how to make friends, huh, Kamen Rider?"

Subaru chuckled, loading two Recovery cards to make up for getting blasted earlier - he'd spent his Wide Sword discovering the Mett armor. "Somebody really wants the Raider's attention."

The J-Fusions rumbled to life ("Jammer" certainly was no longer adequate), circling around RockMan and Heiji, who had been close to where he'd fallen. "So, is it just me, or do these things have virus armaments?"

"Yep," RockMan reported. "Mets, Bases, Roaders - all the local ones."

"And you used a Ground Wave earlier, didn't you?"

"Yep. Why do you ask?"

"Huh? Oh, just curious." Heiji suddenly thought of the radios and the messed up electronics of the cruisers - so, if the Jamming weirdness affected a local area...

"Look, these guys are after me," Subaru pointed out, drawing his thoughts. "So, I'll make a break for it, and then you and your men get out of here."

Heiji grunted as though in assent - no point in telling the kid that the cruisers were out of commission. On the other hand, Heiji believed he'd discovered something quite a bit better than shock rubber.

"You ready?" Subaru asked.

"Sure," said Heiji, only to find he wasn't the one being addressed.

"Always," said War Rock - Heiji almost fell over in shock.

"Good. Heat Ball!"

Subaru summoned the softball-sized orange and brown sphere, promptly pitching it up as hard as he could. It flew two, three stories into the air. "Ground Wave!"

Subaru sprang forward, slapping his hand against a stunned Jammer's chest and blasting it away. "Go! Go!"

Heiji shook his head violently - everyone'd been preoccupied with watching the Heat Ball. The Jamming surged past him to get at the kid, allowing him to jog back over to his squadron. "Sakurako! Get over here!"

"Inspector! Are you okay?"

"Stop quibbling, you moron! Oy, you two, over here! How's everyone doing?" he asked, dropping his voice to a whisper.

"We're good, though nobody wants to go near the other cruisers."

"Not a problem. So," he said, grinning in the firelight. "Who's up for a Wave Battle?"

Sakurako face-faulted. "I-Inspector? Did you just-"

"I know damn well what I said," Heiji chuckled. "Wave Battle was designed specifically to fight against Denpa Viruses, and, well, just look at those things. They're freaking virus walkers! Not to mention that this little baby," he paused, slipping out his Wave Scanner - Model 000, the prototype terminal he'd been given specifically by the head of AMAKEN, "has been going absolutely berserk all night. I'm just willing to bet that we can pull something off. It sure as hell works for Kamen Rider, at any rate.

"Now then, get the guys together - we're gonna do a little huddle."

Subaru fell to the ground, springing aside as a stream of Jamming Burner flames stripped through the air and seethed along the asphault. He leapt up, bounced off of another Jammer's chest and flew into the air. He snagged the Heat Ball as it was falling back down to Earth and pitched it hard against the gathered Jamming. There was a satisfying grunt in the explosion.

Subaru landed easily on his feet, dropping into a ready stance and loading a Long Sword. Okay, so the armor was located along their necks and chests, so maybe a strike at their joints?

The billowing smoke obscured his vision, though he was certain they hadn't escaped, since anything their size, no matter how fast, would have to have left- the smoke burst open and the Jamming rocketed away, leaving Subaru to curse at the situation.

With no other recourse, he lunged after the closest Jammer, sliding under its Burner flames. "Long Sword!"

Subaru sliced cleanly through the Roader, his diagonal strike severing the Jamming from both its base and its MeraMander-fused arm. Without skipping a beat, he curled into a ball and rose easily to his feet, turning around just in time for the air to explode around him.

"Jamming Bomb!"

Subaru gasped in pain, smashing through the window of the cafe and crumpling to the floor. "Okay, that hurt," he moaned, very, very grateful he'd spent time raising enough money to bolster his Transer's memory, not in part because doing so translated directly into increased stamina for RockMan.

"RockMan, dodge!"

"Jamming Bomb!" This time, two voices were crackling at him.

With a cry and a wild leap, Subaru lunged back through the broken glass just as massive black orbs hurtled past him - he was luckily across the street when they went off.

KABOOM.

The sheer force of the explosion blasted the remaining walls outwards, ripping them from their foundations in massive chunks. With a mighty crash, the rest of the building came tumbling down, leaving a massive pile of rubble.

The viral Jamming remained steady, not so much as bothered by the brick and mortar shrapnel. They turned as one to Subaru, who found his hackles rising in anticipation.

"Oy, Kamen Rider - Hit the deck!"

Subaru did as told, dropping to the floor - he glanced over to find Goyouda Heiji posing atop one of the few remaining vehicles, fierce and ready against the firelight, his wounded arm in a sling and covered by his billowing trench coat - he was a stubborn man, heat be damned. "ALL UNITS, OPEN FIRE!"

"Wave Battle, Ride On!" chorused the squad as one.

Subaru sucked in a stunned breath. "The hell-?"

"Gatling, Level 3!"

"Green Ink!"

"Power Bomb, Level 2!"

"Ice Meteor, Level 2!"

"Tail Burner!" Heiji roared, aiming his good hand at the gathered Jamming, clutching his Wave Scanner firmly.

Subaru's mouth slid open as he saw the ghostly, transparent shapes of the weapons materialize around the squad's Transer's and the inspector's strange new terminal. Others cast their hands upwards, summoning the doom of titans from the sky.

Heiji's jet, the closest, fired on the nearest Jamming, the sudden force blasting it into its comrades, just to be caught in frozen waves of ice descending from above. And then the Power Bomb struck, shattering the ice with its impact and allowing the rest of the attacks to shred into them.

Subaru shielded his eyes, peeking out after the light died down.

He couldn't believe it.

---

"Well, I'll be damned," whistled the barkeep quietly after a moment, looking at the pile of limp, harmless bodies in the middle of the street from where he was leaning - against the nextdoor building he'd smashed his tank gun into only a few minutes ago. "What exactly happened, there?"

"Hmm?" Dr. Hikari looked up from brushing rubble off of his coat. "Oh, that would be the Green Ink - the capsule does basic impact damage and breaks open, spreading said ink on the ground. Wherever it touches, grass sprouts, digging new roots into just about anything." He checked his pockets for any extra debris. "'Course, there's absolutely no nutrient material in the ground, here, so it's all likely going to die, soon enough."

"You know that's not what I'm talking about. Not really, anyway."

"Well," the doctor began slowly, "I would imagine that the Jamming are the cause of their own doom. Viruses are less powerful than most of the creatures like War Rock and Taurus, so instead of having enough power to alter their wave-particle states, Jamming're stuck in between - a limbo state of sorts - they have to alter the area they want to move around in, projecting the missing elements to extend the realm of their 'limbo' or something along those lines."

"With, what, those antennas?" said the barkeep, clearly struggling to keep up.

"Yes, and now that I think about it, I believe they actually leave their limbo state. Snapping the antenna reduces one to its viral state, it doesn't cause it to get sucked back into limbo, which would suggest the Jamming can't sustain itself in the real world. It's probably an automatic process, since their unions aren't properly self-contained, like RockMan and Taurus Fire, so they essentially leak concentrated Jamming-Denpa into the surrounding area, possibly radiating it for miles, and the altered waves are what screw with communications equipment.

"However..." The barkeep rolled his eyes. The doctor was on a roll. "...that fountain of waves also alters the 'field state', let's call it, of the physical world as well, which allows for Jamming to act as material entities in the real world, or, well, the non-dennou one. RockMan and Taurus Fire are self-sufficient, so they don't need to alter anything besides their own particle and wave properties to change planes, though I wouldn't be surprised if they amplified the effect Jamming's effect, something like a prism."

"You're going supernerd on me again," groaned the barkeep. "Just spit it out."

The doctor rolled his eyes so hard the barkeep wondered if they would get plummet back into his skull. "Fine. The Jamming have to spread their weirdass magical voodoo shit to let them show up and smash crap. Unfortunately, since they have to spread that same weird shit into an entire place, it makes crap like Battle Cards useable, too, if they're around, and shit. There, happy?"

"See, was that so hard? You didn't have to add that last 'shit', though."

"Yes, I did," sighed the doctor, looking back out at the street. "I wanted you to understand."

There was a pause, and then, "Hey, wait a sec-"

The doctor wasn't listening. He was thinking again, which meant it was time for the barkeep to tune him out. "Though it seems that others can only tap into it in a limited amount, so I'd have to wonder if it diminishes with distance into simple radio interference, or if multiple people call on it at once, it gets split between them. It certainly seems to be an amplified effect when more of them are around..."

"So the street is still screwed, huh?" interrupted the barkeep, sounding not a little like a man struggling to keep the conversation on an accessible level.

"That's about the size of it. Don't laugh, they'll probably fine the officer when they figure out who did it."

The barkeep laughed anyway, though he kept his voice down to avoid attention. The detective had almost caught him when he'd busted down that wall. He wasn't used to waging battles in cramped, crowded places like the city. Give him a cave or a pit, any day. The bigger, the darker, the better.

"Hey, didn't you mention hostages?" the barkeep asked, glancing over back at the street. "I don't see any-"

"Look up." The doctor's voice was suddenly curt.

"Ah. Gotcha. Is that who I think it is?" The doctor made a noise, but remained silent, which was out of character enough for the barkeep to look back at him with a raised eyebrow. "Figured. Didn't expect he'd show up, huh?"

"Didn't know he was involved," corrected the doctor.

"You sound like you're not as surprised as you should be."

"You get in this business long enough, 'expect the unexpected' becomes a motto."

"Fine," sniffed the barkeep, looking back at the street. "Be that way.

"So, are we going to try and rescue the kids?" he asked without pausing.

"We're not supposed to."

"Oh, please, you've had plenty of help when you were in trouble."

"Yeah, and you'll remember I kept getting into more trouble."

"Oh, please. So, tell me, why exactly, aren't we saving the kids? Do you not want to be noticed?"

"That's about the size of it."

"But I figured you didn't care whether they noticed or not, since I'm pretty sure they're watching the neighborhood quite closely. (I'm blaming this all on you when they chew us out, by the way, just a heads-up). What, are we suddenly supposed to be mindful of him up there... oh, nevermind."

"Took you long enough," muttered the doctor. "He's enough of a loose cannon, as it is. No need to set him off."

"How are you so sure he hasn't already noticed you?"

"Because we've been sitting here and prattling for far too long for him to have noticed us and not attacked. He's got too much manipulation in him to leave things to chance."

"Wow. You and the kid have some serious issues with each other, huh?"

"Yeah, well, he keeps trying to kill me."

"Everyone keeps trying to kill you. Hell, I keep trying to kill you. Your threshold for mortal wounds is beyond comprehension."

The doctor chuckled. "Yeah, well, I've got too many important things in motion to let him screw any of them up, so I'm lying low. Here's hoping he hasn't noticed Rajione, yet."

"Raji-what?" the bartender glanced curiously at the doctor.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out," chuckled the doctor.

"Oh, come on," grumped the barkeep. "Don't I even get a clue this time?"

"Okay, okay - how good are you at astronomy and history?"

"That's not a clue!"

The doctor shushed him, pointing out to the street, where from the sounds of it, Lieutenenat Sakurako was having a grand old time. Dr. Hikari sighed - that good time was about to end very, very soon.

---

Author's notes:

So, I hate me. And you hate me. And Taurus hates me.

Quick, general apologies for this taking so long. Not like I owe you anything, but it's not cool to keep people hanging.

Taurus is proving too hard to simply finish up for what I want to do with this; you'll notice this chapter is longer than the others. I swear, someday I'm going to plan this all out and rewrite it so it's not so clunky. Or maybe I'll keep this around as a first draft and write a whole new version.

I'd write more, but you're all probably read out and I have to go anyway. I'll have more satisfying notes in the next chapter.

Until then,

Ride On!