Chapter 7: The Shadow of Justice
"This is Agent Shade. I'm in the auditorium… This is where all the eggs are – oh, shit."
Leon broke off when he saw that about a dozen Pupaworms had him surrounded from all sides. It was a bad move on his part; he had offered to scout ahead, underestimating the Worms' numbers. Even as he held his Kunai at the ready, he realized even a Rider such as himself couldn't go up against this many Worms alone. Just then, though, there came the sound of gunfire as the Worms exploded in green fireballs around him. He then turned toward the source.
"Leon, that's what you get for being too full of yourself," chastised an older man wearing a mask with swirl patterns; he seemed to be the leader of the ZECT Troopers assigned to this mission – the elite squad known as SHADOW. He then turned to his members, and then to Leon. "Leave this to me."
"Thanks, Eric – I mean, Wraith…" Leon acknowledged grudgingly as he made his way to where the SHADOW Troopers were.
"SHADOW, clear the area," came Eric's next command.
The Troopers then opened fire on the Worm eggs, which exploded one by one. At that moment, though, there was a scream as one of them was attacked by an evolved Worm that bore semblance to a mosquito. Eric then raised his right hand into the air and looked in its direction. "Come! TheBee Zecter!"
As a creature resembling a hornet flying straight into his right hand, he stepped forward to confront the monster. "Henshin!" he shouted as he placed the Zecter on a brace on his left wrist.
As it echoed this word, a bulky armor, different in appearance from Kabuto's and Gatack's, formed all over his body. The Worm made the first attack, a forward thrust with the spike on its arm, but Eric dodged this and countered with a punch to its face. Another stab came, which he parried and countered with a left body blow. The Worm then kicked him away as it began to move at blinding speed, sending SHADOW members flying as it ran around.
Eric then flipped out his Zecter's wings and turned it backwards. "Cast Off!"
"CAST OFF – CHANGE WASP!"
Pieces of his armor flew off as Eric changed into his leaner Rider form, a black-and-yellow armor whose overall appearance befitted his Zecter's name. He then swiped his fingers across the buckle. "Clock Up."
Time literally slowed down as Eric and the Worm fought it out, the battle slowly but surely turning in the former's favor. Now free of his heavy, restrictive Masked Form armor, it was easy for him to duck and weave around the Worm's attacks. Dodging a particularly deadly blow to his face, he countered with a haymaker that sent the Worm flying. He then followed this up by mauling it, punching again and again as it lay quite still on the ground.
A few moments later, Eric then pressed the button on his Zecter. "Rider Sting!" he shouted; electricity seemed to be playing on the TheBee Zecter's stinger.
"RIDER STING."
The Worm exploded after one final punch. Eric stood up and reverted, turning to look at Leon with a grave expression on his face. "You're lucky we were here," he scolded, grabbing him by the collar. "If you pulled a stunt like that by yourself, they'd have eaten you alive!"
Leon defiantly tore away from Eric's grip. "Sorry, sir, I'll keep that in mind next time," he apologized sarcastically, complete with a mocking bow. He glared at his elder as he straightened back up. "Your being older doesn't give you the right to order me around, last time I checked…" He turned his back on Eric and the SHADOW Troopers, raising a hand in farewell as he kicked the door open. "Later, old man!" he called, mounting the Kabuto Extender and riding off.
Eric stared after him, letting out a snort in disgust. This was what he saw coming when he learned who Michael had given the Kabuto Zecter to. It wasn't so much that he resented being talked down to by a snot-nosed kid, but that he refused to acknowledge his error. "Alright boys, we're pulling out," he said to his men after a moment. Damn kid…
"THE FUCK!?" burst out Leon when Michael told him of the new arrangement, one evening a week after that mission. Eric was being assigned to their area, too? Bullshit! He glanced briefly at Percy, who looked slightly confused and wrong-footed, before returning his gaze to Michael. "B-B-But there's already me and Percy!" he nudged his head in the latter's direction. "One more'll just mess things up…"
Michael smiled at him, a small, regretful, apologetic smile that said plainly that he had no control over the situation. "Sorry about this, guys," he looked at both of them as he said this, "C'mon, though, Eric's not a bad guy. He's just a bit… old-fashioned, that's all." With that, he left the living room. A moment later, the rumbling of his bike's engine told Leon that he had gone. He then punched the wooden table in front of him, causing the vase on it to wobble dangerously.
"Dammit…" Leon grumbled, clearly resenting the circumstances. He didn't like having Eric around; he sure as hell wouldn't appreciate being told what to do in his own territory. But at the same time, he didn't really want to bother the higher-ups about it; they'd probably just laugh in his face. Well, he'd better not get in my way…
"…Leon?" Percy said suddenly, making him jump; he'd forgotten that Percy was here, too. "We'd better sleep, it's already late." He pointed at the wall clock, which read 1:17 AM. He smiled at his friend before going to his room. "Goodnight, bro," he called before closing the door and diving onto his bed. That's right, he thought. Nothing like a good night's sleep to cool your head, right?
The next day started out as it usually did. They woke up at 6 in the morning, heated up last night's dinner, did their morning business and then prepared to go off. Leon mounted his bike, but just as Percy prepared to get on the Gatack Extender, he shook his head with a slight grimace. "Not today, bro," he said gently. "We're not exempt from the coding scheme, y'know."
"What!?" Percy flushed, incensed; he'd never heard this before. Besides, it went against what Leon said about bending rules! "What happened to 'screw the rules, it's an emergency'?" he demanded.
"Don't worry about it," Leon reassured him. "It'll only be while we're stuck with the old fart," he said, taking a jab at Eric. "He'd love an excuse to call us out. Anyway," he added as he looked at his watch, "Get on already! You've got class, right?"
So they rode at top speed to Mendiola, as usual earning themselves a load of curses and invectives from drivers they overtook. Deftly they made their way through traffic, slipping through tiny gaps and making jumps that nearly made Percy wet his pants – or throw up. This was exactly why he didn't like riding with Leon, and he let this out at the next stop light. "Dude, are you nuts!?" he demanded. "You're gonna get us both killed, at this rate!" But his only response was to laugh.
Then they saw them.
Two cars overtook them and did quick 90-degree turns, blocking their path. The doors opened as a total of eight grown men came out. A second later, they all transformed into Pupaworms, two of which molted into a black Worm with a pair of antennae that resembled a cockroach's. Leon and Percy likewise dismounted the Extender as their Zecters came to them.
"HENSHIN!" they shouted, which their Zecters echoed a moment later. And then, "Cast Off!"
"CAST OFF – CHANGE BEETLE!"
"CAST OFF – CHANGE STAG BEETLE!"
The armor pieces killed three of the Pupaworms right from the get go. Both Leon and Percy then activated Clock Up, hacking and slashing at the Pupaworms from all angles. When Clock Over occurred, they all exploded. And then, the cockroach Worms began their own attack; Leon barely dodged the heavy arm swung his way, countering with a quick slash from his Kunai. A few feet away, Percy was doing a little bit better; his Caliburs allowed him to keep his opponent at bay.
Then suddenly the Worms were dancing around them, too fast for either of them to counterattack. They went Clock Up once more, allowing them to keep up with the monsters, Leon landing kick after kick into his opponent's gut and Percy slashing away in all the painful areas. As they reeled in pain, the two decided to finish the battle. "One – two – three."
"Rider Kick!" they called together, which the Zecters echoed yet again. Both then proceeded to execute their final attacks; a flying heel drop from Leon, and a flying side kick from Percy. As the Worms exploded, Leon reverted to his human form. Percy was about to do the same, but –
"You'll be late," Leon reminded him. "It's still a long way to school from here. Sorry, you've got to walk, bro!"
Percy started. Oh crap! That battle cost them precious minutes, and school wasn't exactly walking distance from here. "What!? I can't make it on foot!" he protested. "And I don't have my bike today, remember!?"
"My teacher once told me," began Leon, as he always did. "To one not accustomed, walking distance becomes distant walking. Besides," he laughed, pointing at Percy's Rider belt. "Why don't you use that little guy over there? You'll get to school and still have time to use the bathroom or something!"
"What - ?" Percy wondered. And then he understood. "There we go! Thanks, Leon!" he exclaimed, slapping his right waist pad. "Clock Up!"
And disappeared into the distance. Leon stared at the spot he had vanished for a moment, then got back on his bike. "I'll be close by if you need me…" he muttered to himself. He then rode off; he and Eric were to meet at a nearby coffee shop.
Meanwhile, Percy (still in Rider form) got to their classroom within seconds of Clock Over. The absence of his classmates told him it was probably flag ceremony; everyone was required to go downstairs. This was a good thing for him right now. It meant that he could revert right here, and still no one would know. Reverting to human form, he pulled out the Zecter as it hovered in front of him for a few moments.
"Lemme know if something happens, alright, little guy?" Percy addressed the Gatack Zecter fondly. When he came to think of it, the Zecters seemed like adorable little guys – and unlike animals, they didn't need to be fed, nor did they crap in the wrong places. In fact, they didn't make a mess at all. It was this reason that he treated his the way he did. After a few moments, it nodded energetically, then flew off.
Thump.
Percy turned toward the sound; what he saw utterly horrified him. It was Emily and Kathy, the latter of whom had an astonished look on her face. Oh crap… what do I do now, then? He thought. As it was, it was a good thing Rianne apparently wasn't with them, or he'd be even more screwed.
"I – I can explain…" he began awkwardly.
tbc
