Episode 43: Moonlight Dance
On warm summers day in Japan, a teenaged Shiore and her older brother Satoshi stood opposite one another in the courtyard of the Shirayuki house. They were both in kendo gear, both gripping a bamboo sword as they stared down the other. Their mother stood off to the side. She wore a loose fitting white kimono with a blue trim and a matching snow pattern. Her long navy blue hair was tied up into a messy bun, the woman holding a lit pipe as she watched both her children before raising her free hand.
After a moment, she swung down her hand, the two siblings dashing towards each other as a direct result to their mother's command. They seemed evenly matched, both parrying the strike of the other before returning with an even more powerful strike of their own.
This went on for sometime, Shion looking up and noticing sun moving a good amount in the sky until her attention was caught by a servant coming up to her.
"Lady Shion," the servant bowed to him, "you have a visitor."
"Oh?" Shion smiled warmly at the servant, " tell me Tanaka, who does me the honor on such a lovely summer's day?"
"Ryubee Sonozaki," the servant told her, "is what he said his name was."
Her smile dropped, turning into a glare as she crossed her arms while shifting into a more upright stance, "What was does that loathsome creature want with me?"
The sudden harsh words of his mother caught Satoshi's attention. His gaze drifted towards Shion as his sword slowed, allowing Shiore to land a hard whack onto the top of his head.
"Got you big brother," Shiore giggled, only to be shushed by Satoshi as he raised his hand over his mouth then pointed to his mother and the servant. Shiore blinked, raising a brow in confusion as she looked toward her mother.
"He didn't say," the servant told her quietly, "he is in the parlor, right now."
"Any of his goons?" Shion asked.
The servant shook his head, "Only his eldest daughter."
With a smirk, Shion shook her head and laughed, "Perfect." She looked to her son and motioned towards herself, "Satoshi, with me please."
"Yes mother," Satoshi bowed he and Shiore both placing down their swords before hurrying over to their mother.
Shion stared at Shiore for a moment, managing to force a smile at her daughter before reaching out a hand. "Shiore, my dear." She spoke as she undid her daughter's braided ponytail allowing her long hair to flow down her back, "I think it's about time for your father's medicine. Would you mind getting it to him, with his favorite tea?" She managed a slight laugh as she cupped Shiore's cheek, "you know how he loves to complain."
Shiore nodded, "Yes, of course mother. Right away." Her own smile widened before she bowed to her family and Tanaka before running off to the other end of the house with a wave.
"Mother, Tanaka could have gotten the tea… why send Shiore off?" Satoshi asked, looking over to see Tanaka handing Shion a sheathed katana.
"There are many things in this world I'd rather your sister be kept safe from," Shion told her son as she slipped the sword into the sash of her Kimono. She looked at her son in the eye with a sharpened gaze, "the demons who cling to the Sonozaki name are one of them."
On the other side of the house, Shiore sat at her father's bed side as he drank his tea with a slight cough between sips.
"Careful father," Shiore cooed with a grin as she took the cup back from him, "you don't want to burn yourself."
"Thank you, Shiore," Otoya smiled at her, patting her on the head. "With you here…" he coughed once again, "I'm already starting to feel better."
"That's good," Shiore smiled, "I was thinking, once you're all better we could maybe take a trip?"
"A trip?" Otoya raised a brow, "to where?"
"Fuuto," Shiore told him, "I know its a bit windy, and kinda muggy over there right now. But it looks like there's a lot of fun stuff to do there."
"Shiore," Otoya grinned while shaking his head, "I hate to burst your bubble, but nothing good ever crawled out of Fuuto."
"Tell that to my children then," Shiore pouted, holding up a keyring loaded up with small mascot charms. "You know I'm a sucker for mascots, and Fuuto's is one of the good ones I'm missing."
"I see…" Otoya let out a heavy sigh, eyeing the tea pot, "alright, I suppose I could be convinced…" he looked up to his daughter as he regained his grin, "with another cup of your tea of course."
"Sure," Shiore nodded, slipping her keyring away as she picked up the tea pot. "Uh oh.." she muttered, finding out that the pot was empty once she picked it up.
"Oh no…" Otoya frowned, "are we all out of your tea?"
"Not to worry," Shiore smiled, collecting the pot and the cups back on to the trey she had carried them on as she stood back up. "I'll go make us some more."
"You Shiore, are going to make a very good wife someday to a very lucky someone," Otoya told her as he laid himself back down.
Shiore playfully glared at her father, "Should they earn me first."
Otoya laughed, wiping a tear that formed in his eye. "You're reminding me more of your mother the older you get."
"I wouldn't go that far.." Shiore muttered as she walked off, "mother is… a rare beast of a lady to say the least."
On the other side of the house, Shion sat in her family's living room with her son on his knees by her side. She shot a glare to the older gentleman and younger woman who across from her, blowing out a puff of smoke from her lips before putting out her pipe.
"Sorry," she spoke gruffly, "but neither of my children are for sale. Unlike you, I do not marry my children off to the highest bidder for personal gain." She shut her eyes, looking away from the pair. "We are done here, now leave."
Ryubee's oldest daughter Saeko glared at Shion. "How could be so rude?!" She asked, gritting her teeth. "I would show some respect to your guests if I were-"
Ryubee held a hand out in front of his daughter, silencing her in an instant. "Very well, we will honor your decision," the old man smiled as he got up, then bowed. "It was my hope to add your family to my museum, but your decision is yours to make. Good day to you and yours, Ms Shirayuki."
Saeko looked to Ryubee, "Father." She muttered under her breath.
Ryubee glared at Saeko, "They gave us their answer, now it is time for us to leave." He regained his smile in an instant, motioning his daughter towards the door.
The pair made their way out from the Shirayuki house and back onto the street, a well dressed butler bowing to them as they opened the door. Before either of them could enter the car however, a loud boom shook through the sky as Ryu-O landed feet first only a few feet away from their car.
The ground broke apart, Ryubee standing still with a grin as Saeko fell to the ground. Climbing back to her feet, she slapped on her dopant driver and pulled out a golden gaia memory.
"Why you!" She roared at Ryu-O.
"Saeko," Ryubee called out to his daughter, causing her to look back to her father. "This matter does not concern us." He pointed back to Ryu-O, Saeko looking back to see that the snarling hunched over Ryu-O was marching towards the Shirayuki house.
Saeko froze, looking back to her father once again, "Then… what should we do?"
"We were asked to leave," Ryubee smirked, getting into the car, "so we will leave." Saeko got in, the driver closing the door behind her as Ryubee sat back comfortably. "Let this be a lesson to them, that I hope they will learn from."
Back with Shiore, the young girl walked along the outer corridor of her house.
"Yuki wa shiroku, daichi wo somete. Sora he tsuzuku michi wo tsukuru. " She sang to herself as she headed back to her father's room with a trey in her hands that carried two new cups and a fresh pot of tea. Musunda te ga, maboroshi no you de, tooku mieru senaka ni fureta... "
She stopped suddenly, her eyes catching a small spark as it flew down from the sky above and landed on top of the teapot. Her eyes shot open as she let out a gasp. Her gaze was then drawn to the front of the house where she could now see black smoke billowing up and into the air which darkened the sky.
Shiore dropped the trey, hot tea and shattered china going everywhere as she darted towards the fire. "Mother!…" she panted as she ran, "Brother!"
{Insert Opening Theme: "Alones" by Aqua Timez}
As the sun began to set over Ardent City Alex and Madison walked along the docks at the Ardent City waterfront. With their hands locked together stayed behind, they watched Ashley trudge along further down the walkway with her head hung in defeat.
"We are gonna find that dopant," Madison whispered to Alex, "right?"
Alex looked to his girlfriend, managing only a slight nod.
"Guys…" Ashley spoke up as she placed her hand on a bench while letting out a heavy sigh, "think we can take a rest for a minute?"
Alex and Madison exchanged a glance then nodded to each other. "Yeah, of course," they said in unison, Ashley instantly sitting down on the bench and just slumping into it. Her head rolled back, allowing her eyes to stare blankly up to the sky.
Alex pulled out his phone then pulled Madison off to the side, "I need to give Carter and Cole a call, see where they're at." Madison took one glance back to Ashley then followed Alex, the two heading over to the end of one dock.
Ashley's trance was disturbed after a moment once she felt something lumpy underneath her. Glancing over to her left, she found that she had been partially sitting on a half opened prussian blue duffle bag.
"Oh come on," she groaned, pulling the bag out from under her only for it to fall from the bench and onto the ground. "OH CRAP!" Ashley jumped as the contents spilled onto the ground, quickly shoving everything back into the bag before unveiling under the clutter a fully uncovered M9 Beretta pistol. She froze, her hand hovering over it as her heart beat slowed to a halt, "Oh crap… is this loaded?!"
"Nah, it's not loaded," Ashley heard coming from in front of her.
Ashley's heart stopped, slowly poking her head up to see a curvy yet muscular young woman standing above her. In spite of how cold it was out, she only had on a blue pair of sweatpants and a tight fitting white tank top. With her long brown hair tied back in a ponytail, she stretched her arms out which allowed her biceps to flex. Ashley's heart skip a beat as a result, starting it up again at a faster pace.
"Oh, that's a bit of a relief then," Ash managed an awkward laugh, trying her best to not stare at the girls arms as she got up and handed the bag back to her. "Sorry, it fell over. I wasn't trying to steal anything, I swear."
"Hey, shit happens. I did just leave it there after all." The woman said while taking the bag from Ashley and while extending a hand to Ashley, "Name's Kayla."
"Armsley," she blurted out while taking hold of Kayla's hand, her face turning bright red as she did so. "Gah! I mean Assley." Her face turned a brighter shade of red, "ASHLEY! I'm Ashley!"
"Well, nice to meet you Ashley," Kayla chuckled, relaxing into a warm grin at the girl in front of her. "So, mind if I ask what you're doing here?"
Ashley huffed. "Wondering where in hell my life went wrong," she said with a sad laugh.
"Ah, I ask myself that question too." Kayla said with a sigh and a nod. "But, in asking that question you should also ask this," she looked to Ashley and raised a brow at her, "what can you do from here on?"
Ashley looked at her and blinked, her heartache beginning to fade the longer Kayla spoke.
"Well…" she gulped, "Maybe by not beating myself up over things I can't control could be a start?" The slightest sense of a grin coming to her face.
"That's the best start," Kayla said with a warm smile. "Because if you focus on the stuff you can't control, all you'll do is make yourself depressed and regretful. Besides, someone as cute as you shouldn't be either of those things."
Ashley's eyes widened, her heart fluttering as she looked to the girl in front of her. "Y-You... You think I'm cute?" She asked as she began to blush.
Kayla nodded, "I also think you should call me sometime." she winked at Ashley as she handed her a card. "Sorry if I don't answer right away… or even for a bit actually. I'll be at boot camp once I get back to the states."
"Oh… you're in the military?" Ashley asked, her heart racing as she took the card "how much longer are you here for?"
"Only till tomorrow sadly. I've been up here visiting some family." Kayla said while putting the strap of her duffel bag over her shoulder.
"Speaking of, I gotta get going. But hey, next time I'm up here or you're in Seattle; let's get to know each other, kay?"
Ashley laughed a bit, "I'm a bit too broke to fly out to Seattle right now."
"Then how about you and me go for coffee next time I'm in town?" Kayla asked her. "My treat."
Ashley smiled at her then nodded in agreement, "I'd love to."
With that, Kayla headed off with a wave goodbye which was returned by Ashley with a wave of her own. It was only after Kayla was well on her way that Alex and Madison came up to Ashley, Alex slipping his phone into his pocket while Madison pulled out her own.
"Who was that?" Alex asked, raising a brow as he looked down the road just before Kayla disappeared over the horizon.
Ashley smirked, holding up the card she had been given, "A golden ticket, that's who."
Madison's eyes shot open, "She gave you her number?!" She screamed with a grin, nudging Ashley on the shoulder with both of her fists, "Nice going there Ash you sly beast you!"
"I am not," Ashley laughed, continuing to blush as she fixed her gaze on the card she held in her hand, "I just… happened to be in the right place at the right time."
"Right place or not, I'd write that number down in your phone or something," Madison told her with an ever widening grin, "or even just put it away for now."
"I know, I know," Ashley told her with a nod, still staring at the card, "just… let me look at it for just a second longer, okay?"
"NOOOO!" Roared a slithering voice from off to the side, Viper's forked tongue swiping the card right from Ashley's hand before dropping it into his own from where he stood facing the docks.
Alex and Madison gasped, Ashley simply glaring at Viper as she hopped the bench. "Now that was the biggest mistake you've made all day you scaly little twat."
She pulled out her gaia memory, as did Alex. The pair struck the activation buttons to dawn their drivers. "SHIFT! BLAST! DIVER!" Cried the memories as Alex came to Ashley's side.
"HENSHIN!" Shouted the pair.
With a flick of their wrists, they opened their drivers to their active positions. "SHIFT! BLAST! DIVER!" roared the memories once again as their respective armor formed around them with a raging typhoon for the both of them.
"I've got your back Ash," Alex said as he aimed his Corona Blaster at Viper, "do what you've gotta do."
Ashley nodded to Alex then refocused her gaze upon Viper with a glare. "Listen up worm!" She barked at him, "hand over that card right fucking now or I'm gonna make sure you won't be able to breath upon of the mauling I was gonna give you regardless," she said, pulling her warglaives off her hips and raising them agressively at the dopant, "got that?"
"You… want this…" Viper held up the card, "that badly?" He smirked, "If I return it?... Will you go out with me?"
Ashley gritted her teeth at him, "Get bent." She snarled.
"Get… bent…?" Viper tilted his head to the side as he gripped the card with both his hands. He sucked his teeth then shook his head, "Wrong answer." With one quick motion, Viper tore the card into several pieces and tossed them into the air laughing maniacally as he so.
The two riders and Madison gasped, Alex ripping the Diver memory from his driver and quickly replacing it with another memory before resetting his driver.
"BLAST! RUNNER!" cried the two memories as Alex rushed over to Viper, his bottom half switching from teal blue with fins on his shins to vibrant red with sneakers on its feet.
"Aw, what are you gonna do?" Viper laughed, only to gasp as Alex leapt into the air to catch as many card scraps as he could.
A quick slash from Ashley's glaives rushed over him, knocking Viper to the side before forcing him into a tumble to the ground.
"Eyes down here you worm," Ash said with a glare, aiming her glaive at him.
As Alex landed on the ground, he opened his hand to eye ball the scraps. "That all of 'em?" He questioned.
"Oh, I wouldn't concern yourself over that," a voice called out as Mirror came down from above and landed in front of the still kneeling Alex, "cause I'm about to rip YOU to pieces."
Off to the side, Madison watched in a panic while frantically texting Cole the same message of 'Dopant by the water front!' followed by 'HELP!'
"Come on Cole," she gripped her phone and bit her lip, "Where are you two?"
In a side street across town, the cat like Burglar dopant dashed from lamp post to lamp post in their attempts to dodge oncoming fire balls that seemed to lag only slightly behind their movements. Burglar looked over their shoulder, gritting their teeth to see Carter in his Ryu-O form rocketing towards them from the air.
"Damn it!" Burglar grunted, eyeing the bag they still clenched in their hands, "what the hell is this that's got these two so barking pissed at me?"
Burglar turned their gaze forward once again, only to gasp as Cole leapt up in front of them in his Rock form. He gripped his hammer with both hands, resting it over his shoulder as he stared down Burglar.
"Bad Kitty," He said in a flat monotone before swinging his hammer at full force upon Burglar.
The raw power behind Cole's swing shot Burglar into the brick wall of a building. With a loud splat and an impression being left on the wall, Burglar fell into the alleyway below the wall and landed on a pile of garbage.
"Me… ow…" Burglar groaned, looking over to the side only to find Cole and Carter standing above them and glaring down to them with their weapons tightly gripped in their fists.
"Last chance," Carter told Burglar firmly, aiming the Ryu-O buster at their throat, "now hand it over."
Burglar gulped, holding the bag up. "Yeah- Sure, take it!" They
Carter swiped the bag, looking inside and grabbing the small box that it carried. "Cole, you handle the rest."
"Gladly," Cole pulled his Rock memory from his driver and slammed it into its slot on the Rock Smasher.
""ROCK! MAXIMUM DRIVE!" The memory cried as the blade on the back of the smasher flipped forward into an axe, the weapon itself beginning to charge while Cole raised the axe over his head.
"WAIT! I GIVE!" Burglar pleaded, holding their hands over their face, "PLEASE DON'T!"
"Sorry, rules are rules," Cole told them before bringing the axe down upon Burglar, cutting through the dopant form and shattering the memory in one blow.
As the dust cleared, a lean girl with teal hair in a grunge style outfit lay knocked out where Burglar once was.
Cole blinked, "A girl?" He questioned in a surprised tone of voice.
"People can do stupid things under the right circumstances," Carter said as he and Cole pulled their memories from the drivers and reverted to their civilian forms, "what gender they are hardly matters."
"I suppose that's true…" Cole said with a sigh, giving the girl a sad look as he knelt down beside her. "Guess I'll call Sampson."
Cole dug out his phone while Carter opened the box he held to reveal a silver heart shaped locket with a snowflake molded into the face of it and a dial on the side of it. Along the edge were the words 'Snow Falling.' Gripping the dial, Carter wound it up a bit before releasing it and allowing the locket to play a chilling yet comforting melody with a slow almost lullaby like tempo to it.
Cole checked his phone, reading the several texts he had gotten from Madison before shooting to his feet. He turned on his heel, looking Carter in the eye, "We have to go."
Back at the waterfront, Alex chased after Mirror through a nearby park while passing civilians evacuated the area upon seeing the combatants. Aiming his blaster at Mirror, he unleashed a barrage of shots only for them to be absorbed the moment they touched the dopant's reflective skin.
"What?!" Alex gasped, pulling his gun back as he stopped dead in his tracks.
"You idiot!" Mirror laughed at Alex, turning to face him while placing his hands on his hips, "those types of attacks have no effect on me!" He raised his left arm until Alex's image was reflected within the mirror shield he wore on his forearm. "You on the other hand."
Suddenly, the shots Alex had just fired from the corona blaster were launched out from the shield and back at Alex. The rider ducked to the ground as the blast struck the earth around him, kicking dust and rocks into the air.
Mirror continued to laugh as bits of rock rained down on him, only for one stone to strike him right between the eyes. "Huh?" Mirror winced, holding his head before checking his reflection in his mirror shield. "WHAT?!" He gasped himself. To his horror, the center of his face was now cracked.
Gritting his teeth, he looked back to Alex as the dust cleared only to find Madison standing over her rider boyfriend with an arm of rocks and a rage filled glare in her eyes directed at Mirror.
"COWARD!" Madison shouted as she continued to hurl rock after rock at Mirror, the dopant being forced to raise both his shields just to defend himself, "YOU'D BE DEAD IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE THOSE SHIELDS TO HIDE BEHIND!"
Alex's eyes shot open as he noticed the shields beginning to crack more and more with each stone Madison threw. "Madison," Alex called to her calmly.
"WWHAT?!" Madison roared, snapping her head around to look at Alex in the eyes of his mask. She blinked, then blushed, "Oh…" she spoke far more gently, "Yes?"
"I know how to be beat him now thanks to you," he said as he rose to feet, closing his driver and pulling the Diver memory from it and replacing it with Star. "I can handle it from here. Now get behind me."
Madison nodded then quickly hopped behind Alex. Alex narrowed his gaze upon Mirror and clenched his fist tight, "Cole, Tara, Carter… Shiore," he thought to himself, "lend me your strength, wherever you are."
A caw filled the air as the Xtreme memory descended from the sky and connected to Alex's driver, Alex himself pulling out the Maximum memory from his back pocket.
"Aw, what now?" Mirror continued to laugh, "you think some bird is gonna save you?"
"I was really hoping I wouldn't need it, but you've left me no choice," Alex stepped towards Mirror while placing the Maximum memory into the Maximum Drive slot on the side of his belt. "Your rampage ends here."
Alex split his driver open once again, "MAXIMUM! XTREME!" Roared the two memories as Alex ascended to his bright pink final form, the Maximum Defender forming on his left arm with X-Calibur housed within it.
As Alex drew X-Calibur from the Maximum Defender, Madison stood in awe of the new Xtreme that stood before with her hands clasped together. "Whoa…" she muttered under her breath, "so cool."
"Pink?!" Mirror laughed, tilting his head to the side. "What self respecting man wears pink to a fight and expects to win?!"
Alex swung his sword down upon Mirror, shattering both of the dopants shields with one stroke. Mirror was left breathless, his whole body being shook as Alex raised up his foot and knocked Mirror to the ground with a swift kick to the gut.
"This one," Alex boasted, shooting his sword out to the side.
"YOU LOOK GOOD IN IT AL!" Madison cheered from the side lines. "ONLY THE MANLIEST OF MEN WHERE PINK!"
"Thanks Maddy!" Alex called back to her, looking down to Mirror. "Now then, we're finishing this."
Mirror began to sweat, "W-What are you gonna do?"
"Good question, what with me being on my own," Alex said as four gaia memories flew out from the center of his rider form and inserted themselves into a slot on X-Calibur's guard. "Guess I'll need to improvise."
"BLADE! MAXIMUM DRIVE! KICKER! MAXIMUM DRIVE! BLAST! MAXIMUM DRIVE! DIVER! MAXIMUM DRIVE!" Cried each memory as they slid themselves into place, a fifth memory shooting out from Alex's armor and into hilt. "STAR! MAXIMUM DRIVE!"
"IMPROVISATION!" Shouted Alex as he rose the fully charged X-Calibur before bringing it down upon Mirror, "ALTERNATIVE MEMORY STORM!"
Mirror cried out as his dopant form broke apart in an explosion, the memory he housed within him ejecting itself from body before shattering in the process.
Back at the docks, stood at the water's edge with his back to the ocean with Ashley marching towards him from in front of the snake like dopant.
"Y-You have no reason to be doing this!" Viper barked as he shook in fear of the advancing rider, "I-I know you better than anyone! I'm just a nice guy who wants to date you!"
"First, if you were as nice as you say you are, you'd get the fact that no means no," Ashley told him firmly as she came to a halt only a few feet away from him. "Second," she slipped one of her warglaives onto her hip, then raised the now free hand she had held it with while staring him dead in the eye, "if you really knew me as well as you say…" she continued to raise her hand until it was over her head, "you'd know how far in over your head you are right now."
"W-What?" Viper muttered.
A few drops of water fell onto his shoulder from above as a shadow began to cover the ground he stood on. He quickly looked up to see a massive bubble of water right over his head, catching a glimpse of it before it was dropped onto him with the quickly lowering of Ashley's arm. Contorting the body of water with hands, she forced Viper in a respectful kneeling position and shifted enough water so that only his face was unsubmerged.
"I'll give ya a tip though," Ashley told him as she ripped her shift memory from her driver, "the next time you like someone, get to know them for real. And clean yourself up too, that doesn't hurt either."
"SHIFT! MAXIMUM DRIVE!" roared her gaia memory as she slipped into her warglaive, pulling her second one off her hip.
"WAIT!" Viper pleaded, "CAN'T WE TALK?!"
"Sorry, we're done here," Ashley told him firmly, raising up her glaives and ducking into a leap ready stance. She pulled back on the trigger in her warglaive before jumping at Viper. "SHIFTING TYPHOON!" Ashley cried out, cleaving through Viper with her fully charged warglaives and shattering his dopant form with memory along with it.
Ashley landed on the surface of the water behind Viper, raising the density of the water itself so she could kneel on its surface. Viper meanwhile fell to his knees, "I'M A NICE GUY!" He barked as sparks flew off him seconds before bursting into an explosion.
Desire sat outside Vainglory's lair, eyeing the three defeated dopants from the gemstone of her ring.
"Hmm, they lasted a lot longer than I was expecting," she smirked, "though it was a nice distraction for a time." The image in her ring shifted to that of Shiore who sat alone in her condo, sanding down the blue crystals in her arm with a file. "Regardless, I'd say its high time we move on to the main event."
Back at the waterfront, Junn and the former Mirror dopant being cuffed and shoved into the back of a patrol car by Marcoh and Sampson. As the two officers slammed the door of the car the trio of ex-dopants stared at each other then let out a unified sigh.
"So, how long are those three going to be put away for?" Carter asked, glaring at Burglar from where he stood behind the officers.
"Probably anywhere from a few days to a month," Sampson told him, "given their ages and small nature of their offences."
Carter looked him in the eye, "But they might have hurt people!"
"Under the influence of META's gaia memories," Marcoh told him firmly, "or would you like to join them in there, given your history with the organization?"
Cole stood beside Carter, glancing to him before looking to the two officers. "They're only victims, right?" Cole asked, "Taken advantage of due to their.. circumstances?"
"Exactly," Sampson nodded. "Given the right push, anyone will do anything when they're desperate. That's the sad fact about being human."
"Speaking of desperate," Marcoh spoke up, looking Cole in the eye, "I received a fairly desperate call from Tara earlier this afternoon."
Cole and Carter sweatdropped.
"Oh yeah," Sampson grinned ear to ear, placing his hands on the boys' shoulders. "Something about Ms Fubuki's birthday, right?"
The two boys nodded as they shook under Sampson's tight grip. "Yeah… what about?" Cole managed a nervous grin.
"Marcoh and I.. we are invited," Sampson raised a brow as he met Cole's gaze, "right?"
Cole's grin widened, "If you want to be."
"Great, than the gifts we bought months ago won't go to waste," Sampson smiled, releasing the two as he went back to the cop car.
"Months ago?!" Cole jaw hit the floor. "You mean you two knew this whole time?!"
"We are the police Desmond," Marcoh told him, "you all gave us your personal information when you registered as defenders of the city. Ms Fubuki included."
Carter raised a brow at Marcoh, staying silent.
"Oh.. I see…" Cole muttered, "what.. what else do you know about her? Just curious."
"Sorry Desmond, but Ms Fubuki asked us not to disclose that information. Even to you or the other riders," Marcoh told him.
"Now then, with that all cleared up," Sampson cleared his throat, opening the door of the second cop car that did not hold the three dopants. "Shouldn't we be going?"
Cole nodded then looked to Alex, Madison and Ashley who sat on a bench by the shore. "Can you maybe, give them a minute?"
Alex held out the scraps of the card he caught in his hand, "Sorry Ash… but this was all I managed to grab… I'm sorry..."
"Its okay," Ashley held her face, letting out a heavy sigh, "it isn't your fault the universe hates me today."
"I told you to write it down Ash," Madison chimed in, patting her friend on the back.
"Maddy…" Ash shot a glare at the other girl, "Not in the mood."
"I know…" Madison looked at her, holding up her phone which displayed a perfectly readable photo of the card with Kayla's number on it, "that's why I took this," she smiled at her friend, "just in case."
Ashley stared at the photo in disbelief, her lower lip quivering as she reached out her hand to grip Madison's phone. "Maddy…" she muttered, "have I mentioned how much I love you?"
"I love you too Ash," Maddy smiled while managing a chuckle, handing her phone over to Ashley. "Now do yourself a favor, call her and ask her out."
"But she's going home tomorrow," Ashley told her, looking up to meet her gaze.
"I know," Madison crossed her arms, continuing to grin at Ashley, "which is why you're going to ask her out tonight."
"What about the party?" Ashley looked to Alex, "and Vainglory?"
"I'm sure the others will understand, and I'll call you when its time to face my fath- face Vainglory," Alex said with a grin of his own, placing his hand onto Ashley's shoulder. "The way I see it, you've more than earned this."
Ashley stared at the two of them, tears flowing down her face. "Alright," she nodded, wiping her eyes as she got up and dialed the number. "Alright I will…" she raised the phone to her ear, the phone rang a few times before it was finally picked up. "Kayla?... Its me, Ashley…" She called out, her face bright red as she thought over her next words carefully, "Would now be a bad time for that coffee?" She nodded once, then again. "Alright," she smiled from ear to ear, "I'll be there."
{End of Part A}
{Start of Part B}
An hour or so passed by and while night fell upon Ardent City, Tara stood in the now snow themed Cat's Eye staring up at her faithful bird Kree as he hung streamers to the ceiling.
"A little to the left…" she instruction with a motion of her hand, "a little more… more… more…" the streamer snapped, part of it falling onto Tara's face. She blinked for a moment, then gave Kree a thumbs up. "Perfect."
"You do know that I am a gaia memory guardian, right?" Kree asked his partner, fluttering down to perch on her shoulder, "Not a party planner?"
"I know," Tara grinned, petting her friend on the head, "but everyone knows its easier to hang stuff when you have wings."
Kree managed a slight chuckle, "Fair point, my lady."
"Partner," Tara glared at the bird on her shoulder, pointing a finger at him. "No titles with us."
Natalie looked up from where she sat a table, cutting out chibi versions of Shiore from construction paper with white wolves to go with them. "Are you talking to me or the bird?" She asked, taking a sip from the bottle beside her. "Cause it's starting to confuse me… What with you apparently being the only one who can actually hear him."
"Well maybe if you were shit faced, it wouldn't," Tara stuck her tongue out at her manager as she hopped over to the table Natalie sat at. "Speaking of-" she swiped the bottle, "you're cut off."
"Hey!" Natalie tried to grab the bottle but missed and face planted onto the table. "I haven't even.. drunk that much.." she yawned.
"Oh Natalie," Tara cooed, patting her sleepy manager on the head. "Yes, yes you have." Her smiled continued as she looked over her manager's work with the chibi Shiores and wolves, raising a brow at one that looked off.
"They're bad I know…" Natalie yawned once again, "cut me a break, you gave me one photo of the girl. One very blurry photo of the girl."
"Oh no, its not that," Tara laughed a bit as she held up the piece that caught her attention. "But… may I ask why you clued a wolf head onto one of the Shiore bodies?"
Natalie poked her head up and stared at her mistake, "I dunno…" she blinked, "blame the booze." She muttered before her head slammed back down onto the table.
"Natalie… do you want to go home?" Tara asked, patting the older woman on the head once again.
"I'm not leaving you in charge," Natalie let out an even heavier yawn than before.
"Okay," laughed Tara with a grin, "then how about you rest until you sober up a bit?"
Natalie gulped, then after a moment to think about it she nodded, "Deal. Just.. let me rest my eyes, okay?" She yawned once more while her eyes began to shut, the woman with chestnut hair falling asleep almost instantly.
Tara grinned warmly to the sleeling Natalie, pinching her cheek when the chimes at the front of the cafe sounded. Tara's face lit up as she whipped her head around to the door.
"There you guys are," she smiled as Alex, Madison, Cole, Carter and Sampson entered the cafe. She placed her hand to her lips, motioning to Natalie as she approached the group. "So, how was your hunting?"
Carter and Madison each held up the bags containing their gifts, Sampson holding up two.
"A bit of a small haul.. but I think it will do," Tara look to them with a nod. She did a head count, then raised a brow, "But we're missing a few people, aren't we?"
"Marcoh had to drop off our troublemakers at the station," Sampson told her, "but he should be along in time."
"Good, good," Tara nodded before looking to Alex and Madison, "what about Juicy Butt?"
Madison and Alex looked at each other, a smile coming to both their faces. "She has a date," they said together, "but we'll call her once it's time for the after party."
"A date?" Tara blinked, "and she didn't think to invite them?"
"Out of the question," Madison told her, forming an x with her arms. "Rider business ruined her date with the girl I set her up with. We won't be taking our chances with the new girl just yet."
"Fair enough," Tara held her hand up, placing her other hand on her hip. "Now then, I hope you all had fun today because it's time we get serious."
"Serious?" Alex raised a brow at her. "I thought we were throwing a party."
"We're throwing a party for Shiore, and do you see her standing here?" Tara asked, motioning to beside herself. "Someone is gonna need to go and get her."
Madison raised her hand, "I uh.. I know where she lives."
"Then I'll give you a ride," Sampson volunteered. "It'll be a lot faster if I-"
"I'll go," Carter pulled out his Ryu-O memory as he headed for the door. "If I fly, I'll be there and back in a second."
"Oh! Okay…" Madison gulped. "Wait, do you even know where you're going?"
"Tara has my number," Carter told her, "have her text me the address." He slammed the door to the cafe as he made his way out, the cafe falling so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
"What uh…" Alex finally spoke, "what was that about?"
"Seriously?" Tara glanced at him, dumbfoundedly. "Do I need to spell this out for you?" Alex nodded, Tara proceeding to smack him upside his head "You idiot! He likes her!"
"Ow!" Alex barked out in pain before rubbing his head. "How was I supposed to know?"
"Its pretty obvious, kiddo," Sampson said with a grin.
"Yeah, even I coulda told you that much," Madison chimed in, Cold simply nodding in agreement.
"Geez.. was I the only one who didn't know?" Alex questioned.
"Well… there might be just one other person who's as dense as you are about these things," Tara smirked as she held up a finger. "But I have a feeling that she is about to find out."
Outside the cafe, Carter walked down the cold night street. With a heavy heart beat he could feel in his feet, he gripped his phone in one hand and his Ryu-O gaia memory in the as he awaited the address. As his phone buzzed, he raised it to his face about to red it when he suddenly felt a sharp pulse shoot off from the Ryu-O memory.
He raised a brow at the memory, slipping his phone into his pocket before lifting the memory up a bit. Lifting his arm, the memory began to glow the closer it got to the sky line. He moved it to the right, resulting in the glow fading. Realizing this, he moved it towards the left which made the glow stronger. Passing a cluster of tall buildings in the distance, the glow faded ever so slightly which made Carter shift it back until the memory was the brightest it could possibly be.
He narrowed his gaze upon a tall building on the horizon. "There," he muttered to himself.
The young man struck the activation button of his gaia memory. "RYU-O!"
Within the shroud of her darkened condo, Shiore sat before a mirror with her sleeve pulled up. She was continuing to file down the crystals on her arm until they were smoothed out nubs that just barely passed her skin. The only source of light in the room was a single lit candle, which sat beside the mirror.
Shiore's gaze was locked on her arm, the girl letting out a sigh as she inspected her work. A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she placed her arm down, covering her arm again with the sleeves of her shirt and sweater. She then glared at the Shira memory which lay on the table in the center of the room next to the Yuki memory and a single kunai knife.
Suddenly, a crackling spark that broke off from the candle beside her causing her to jump back with a gasp. After a few rapid breaths, she glared at the spark which had burned into the table that held her mirror. Leaning over the candle, she blew it out in a single breath.
"Father!" Her own voice echoed in the back of her head, Shiore finding herself back to that night three years ago. "Father, are you alright?" Her past self called out, clinging to the older man who knelt coughing on the floor beneath her.
The pair were in a bunker below the Shirayuki house. Satoshi was by their side with his hand, but his eyes were fixed on his mother who stood by the bulkhead steel doors at the front of the bunker. Armed servants stood around her and a sword was gripped tightly in Shion's hand.
"Shiore…" Otoya muttered between coughs, cupping his daughter's cheek as he managed a grin while turning his head to her. "Worry about yourself, not me. It's my job to protect you and your brother after all."
As Otoya spoke, a loud bang erupted from the other side of the door. All eyes turned to it, Shion gritting her teeth.
"So, it's found us," Shion said as she drew her sword. "Tanaka," she called to her one servant while keeping her gaze fixed upon the door, "Take Otoya and the kids, get them as far away from here as possible."
Tanaka looked to Shion with a heartbroken look, then quietly nodded. "As you wish… my lady…" he said as he went over to the back wall where Shiore, Satoshi and Otoya were before pulling on a wall to reveal a secret passage.
"NO!" Shiore cried out bolted to her mother only to be caught by Satoshi, "I'm not leaving! Not without you mother!" Tears ran down her face as she squirmed, trying desperately to get out from her brother's grasp.
Shion took one look at Shiore, then turned her back to her. "Shiore…" Otoya coughed, forcing himself to stand as he looked to his daughter, "listen to your mother.. if you and Satoshi die here, then its all over for us."
Shiore froze as she stared at Otoya, "Father… what are you…"
Otoya kissed Shiore on the forehead and patted Satoshi on the head. "Satoshi, hold on to your sister," he told his son looking him in the eye. "No matter what, you are not to let her go. Do you hear me?"
Satoshi nodded, Shiore trembling as her brother looked to Tanaka. "Young lord… we must go," Tanaka told him, leading the siblings down the passageway.
"FATHER!" Shiore cried, reaching her hand out to Otoya as she was pulled away from him. "MOTHER!"
Once his children and Tanaka were through the passageway, Otoya closed it before taking his place at his wife's side. He gripped her hand as a servant handed him a sword of his own, the two staring down the bulkhead door as the demon on the other side continued to bang it's fist down upon it.
"Otoya…" Shion muttered, a single tear running down her cheek, "you are a fool."
"Of all your suitors, you still chose to marry me," Otoya managed a smirk, glancing towards her, "do you regret that now?"
"There is not a second of my life that I regret," Shion told him.
"Even this part of it?" Otoya asked, glancing back to the door as the banging continued.
Shion managed a smirk of her own, Ryu-O's fist tearing its way through the door only inches away from her face. "Especially not this part of it."
Within the escape tunnel, Tanaka and Satoshi ran out from it and into a small parking garage filled with black cars with the wolf emblem of the Shirayuki family emblazoned on the doors of all of them.
Tanaka and Satoshi darted to one of the cars, the old servant unlocking the front door while Satoshi went to the back. With each step he took, Shiore never stopped hitting him on either his shoulders or his arms.
"BROTHER! PUT ME DOWN!" She continued to cry, "We have to go back! Mother and Father are still in there! We can still-!"
Before Shiore could say another word, the escape tunnel they had just left from erupted into an explosive ball of fire. A gasp escaped the lips of Shiore, Satoshi and Tanaka as their eyes were grabbed towards the inferno.
With a demonic snarl, Ryu-O marched out from the fire with only a stumble to his step and a single katana driven into his side. The siblings knew from a glance as the demon ripped out the sword from its body and tossed it towards them, the sword belonged to their mother.
Satoshi stared down the demon, then eyed his sister. With a trembling grip, the boy opened the back door of the car and threw his sister into it, locking the door before slamming it in her face as she tried to get out.
"Tanaka," the boy said firmly as he turned his gaze towards Ryu-O, "take Shiore… and get her as far away from here as you can."
Tanaka simply nodded, getting into the driver's seat as Shiore stared at Satoshi from the inside of the car. "Big brother?..." She muttered as Satoshi pulled out the Yuki memory from his pocket, Tanaka staring the car and driving away. "BIG BROTHER!"
Satoshi raised up the Yuki memory as he stared down Ryu-O, hitting the activation button. "Yuki!"
Satoshi closed his eyes, the yuki driver forming around his waist. "Henshin…" he spoke softly as Ryu-O stood only feet away from him, eyeing the gaia memory the boy held with a snarl.
The car drove towards the exit of the garage, Shiore slamming her fist down on the headrest of the seat in front of her.
"DAMMIT TANAKA! TURN AROUND!" She barked at him with tears staining her cheeks, "I'm not leaving without him!"
"It was your brother's orders I get you out of here, and since he is the head of the house no.. his word is to be taken over your own," Tanaka told her, swallowing his emotions as he eyed Shiore in the rear view mirror, "Besides, even if we did turn around, what could you possible do against that thing?!"
"I CAN FIGHT!" Shiore barked once more at him, Tanaka slamming his foot down on the break which stopped the car dead in its tracks.
"No you can't Lady Shiore…" Tanaka gripped the wheel of the car, turning his head back to look the girl dead in the eye with his own that were shaking. "Shion and Otoya, even your own brother.. They all stayed behind to give you a chance to get out safe. Don't you see that?"
"Of course I do!" She told him, "but how can I live with myself if I just sit here and do nothing?!"
Tanaka's heart sank to his stomach, the old servant taking in a big gulp. "You don't have a single clue what that thing is.." he muttered to her, "Do you?" Shiore shook her head, to which Tanaka let out a heavy sigh, "they call it, Kamen Rider Ryu-O, champion of the Hono clan."
Shiore's eyes widened, "You mean.. It's the same as our own Kamen Rider Yuki?" Tanaka nodded, Shiore looking back over her shoulder and out the rear window. "Then that makes even less sense.. I thought the Hono Clan was destroyed the others!"
"Destroyed or not, it's still out there," Tanaka turned himself around and placed his hands back on the wheel. "Which I'm going to do all that I can to protect you." Before Tanaka could so much as move the car, he suddenly heard the back down open with footsteps quickly following. He gasped, whipping his head back around to see Shiore running back to where in the direction that had just left from which was now engulfed in fire. "LADY SHIORE!" he called out to her, "COME BACK HERE!"
With a heavy breath and even heavier steps, Shiore ran back to the flames with her fists tightly clenched. "Please big brother…" she panted as her heart began to swell, "please be alright."
With a sudden gasp, she stopped dead in her tracks as her eyes shot open in horror. The sight before her was one Shiore would never forget, that of her older brother Satoshi beaten and torn in one hand of Ryu-O, with the yuki driver and gaia memory clenched tightly in the other. The demon snarled as he held the belt, staring at it longingly.
Fighting back a series of violent trembles, Shiore balled both her hands into fists before charging right towards Ryu-O and grabbing her brother. "LET HIM GO!" She demanded, punching Ryu-O in the cut on his side, "RIGHT NOW!"
With each punch Shiore threw at him, Ryu-O was barely phased. Turning ever so slightly to the girl who was wailing on him desperately with all she had, he tossed Satoshi to the ground then drove the fist he held the driver in right into Shiore's gut.
With a heavy wince and a cough of blood, Shiore caught Ryu-O's fist and stared him dead in the eye with rage, sadness and terror in her own. "You aren't getting rid of me that easily," she spat at him, ripping the yuki driver and memory from his fist, "demon!"
As Shiore ripped the driver from him, Ryu-O knocked her away with a heavy punch to the side of her head causing her to crash to the ground next to her brother. Holding her head, she got up almost immediately and looked to her brother.
"Brother?!" she called out to him, gripping his hand and checking for a pulse. The moment she grabbed his cold hand however, she realised the very cruel reality she found herself in as her heart sank deeper than it had ever sank before. She gritted her teeth, beginning to emit a snarl of her own as Ryu-O began to slowly approach her.
She rose to her feet, slapping the Yuki driver onto her waist as she stared him down. She gripped the driver she now wore, about to activate it when suddenly a pair of red orbs broke through the ceiling of the garage. One struck Ryu-O and the second hit the ground close to Shiore knocking her from her feet once again.
"Dammit," Muttered Shiore as clawed the debris from her eyes, looking back to where Ryu-O stood before. "What the hell now?!" Her heart stopped as in Ryu-O's place lay a boy with white skin in a red shirt with a brown head of hair.
Those were the only details that Shiore could make out, as Spite flew down from above and stared down the boy. "My darling, look what you've done?" she sighed, paying no mind to Shiore or her brother on the opposite side of her. "Looks like we'll need to do some further testing," she spoke as she knelt down and scooped the boy up, "and keep your locks tighter as well."
Shiore glared at Spite, gritting her teeth at the green dopant while reaching out a hand to grab her only for Spite to fly up and out from the hole she had made in the ceiling. As Spite got away, Shiore balled her hand into a fist and struck the ground beneath her, curling up into a ball beside her brother as she began to cry.
"Lady Shiore! Master Satoshi!" Tanaka's voice called out as he ran up to the scene, falling silent with a gasp once he saw what had happened.
"Tanaka…" Shiore muttered between sobs as she gripped her brother's body. "I swear… I swear Tanaka so help me…" She wiped her face, staring up at the hole as her sobs transformed into a beastly growl. "I will not rest, not until Ryu-O, and everyone else he is connected to…" she gripped the driver around her waist, "is dead!"
With sudden knock on the window of her condo, Shiore was snapped back to the present. She looked over to the doors that lead over to the balcony, which currently had the curtains drawn over it. Slowly rising to her feet, Shiore grabbed the Yuki and Shira memories and slipped them into the pockets of her sweater. She blinked for a moment as she eyed the kunai knife that lay on the table as well, deciding after a moment to pick it up as well and slip it into her sleeve.
Stepping quietly towards the balcony doors, she drew the curtains. Once they were opened, she took a step back once she saw the face of Ryu-O standing on the other side of the glass. Glaring at him, she slid open the doors.
"What do you want?" she asked, gripping the knife she concealed under her sleeve.
Carter stared at her, letting out a breath, "You… actually…" he extended a hand to her. "Tara decided to throw you a party, considering its your birthday tomorrow and all… so, I came to collect you."
Shiore narrowed her gaze at him, taking yet another step back, "How does she know when my birthday is?" she asked him directly.
"I… was the one who told her…" Carter admitted, extending a hand to her, "I say it in your file at the station… I'm sorry."
"Save it," Shiore told him, raising a hand as shades of purple began to swirl in her vibrant blue eyes. "It doesn't matter how she knew. Tell her that I appreciate it, but I'm not going." She glared at him, "I'm busy."
"Busy with what?" Carter glared at her, raising a brow under his mask. Shiore didn't answer, which resulted in a huff from Carter. "That's what I thought, now come on." Without letting Shiore protest, Carter reached forward and took hold of her hand before lifting her onto his back.
"Hey!" Shiore barked as she was pulled onto Carter's back, "What are you doing?!"
"You'll see," he told her. Without a second of delay, Carter kicked off the rail of her balcony and took off into the night sky.
Shiore gritted her teeth with a snarl, her arm pulsing for a moment as the violent energy began to invade her eyes once again. Both however were retracted the moment Shiore looked down to the city below her, then up to the moon that lit up the sky without a cloud in sight. For the first time in a very long while, Shiore simply allowed herself to breath and take in scene that was in front of her. It was truly a perfect night.
The view she was being shown however was only to last a moment, as just as quickly as Carter had taken flight he landed once again on a dock floating on the water's edge. Upon touching the ground, Carter set Shiore down. He held her hand with one of his own as he pulled the Ryu-O memory from his driver and powered down as he turned to face her.
"Now then," he spoke, looking her in the eye, "what's the real reason you don't want to go? Everyone put a lot of work into this, and it's all for you." He told her as he gripped her hand, "Don't you see that?"
She stared at him, tightening her own grip around the hand that held hers as she looked into Carter's eyes. "I'm going home tonight… that's why…" she told him.
"Are you serious?!" Carter barked at her, pulling her forward as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "What about the party? What about Vainglory?!"
Shiore shook, turning her head away from him to avoid his gaze, "The others will be fine… without me..."
"Don't be ridiculous," Carter told her, grabbing her by the chin and forcing her to look him in the eye. "Yuki.. we need you.. I need you."
"Ryu-O…" she muttered, the shades of violent returning to her eyes as she stared into his, "... did you do it?"
"What do you mean?" he asked, raising a brow.
"You know what I mean," Shiore narrowed her gaze at him, "did you do it?"
"Yuki… I could never," Carter gulped before throwing his arms around her. "I… I love you."
Shiore's heart skipped a beat as the male held her tightly, the girl wrapping her own arms around him as she gripped the kunai knife under her sleeve.
"Ryu-O…" she muttered under her breath. "You're a liar."
Before Carter could react to what Shiore had said, he felt a sharp pain from the girl he held plunging her knife into his back. With a gasp from the both of them, the pair released each other from their grasp as Shiore jumped back, dropping her blood stained knife as Carter dropped to his knees. With the violent in her eyes fading in an instant, Shiore locked eyes with Carter as they both shook all over. Turning on her heel, Shiore was about to run away when Carter grabbed her sleeve.
"Wait!" he called to her.
"Don't touch me!" Shiore barked, pulling her arm back only for her sleeve to rip and reveal the blue crystals underneath. They had grown back out, and were pulsing more violently than ever.
With another gasp from the two of them, Shiore's eyes swelled up with tears. Without another word, she turned back around and took off into the night leaving the bleeding Carter on the dock still clinging the scrap of Shiore's sweater.
Back at the Cat's Eye, Cole held Tara on his shoulders while she attaching the remaining streamers to the ceiling, Madison arranging Shiore's gifts in a neat little pile on a table off to the side while Alex sat beside her staring out a window to the night city. Feeling a sudden pain in his gut, Alex jumped to his feet resulting in all eyes in the room turning to him.
"Alex…" Cole spoke, raising a brow, "something wrong?"
Alex looked Cole in the eye, balling his hands into fists, "Carter and Shiore…" he muttered, "we have to find them. Now."
Back with Shiore, the girl held her pulsing arm as she ran along the waterfront. After a while, she eventually reached the end of the water front's boarwalk, falling to her knees upon realizing she could no longer go any further in her current direction. Staring out to the water for a moment, her eyes drifted down to her crystal covered arm than grabbed one of the pale blue shards as tightly as she could. Gritting her teeth, she pulled down hard on it and snapped it in two.
"GAH!" she cried out in pain, the agony from the snapping of the crystal being enough to force her onto her side. "Dammit…" she trembled, "Damn it all… to hell…"
"Oh my," a soft voice cooed from behind her, "that certainly looks painful, doesn't it?"
With a gasp, Shiore looked to the source of the voice to see Ms Seraphina standing behind her with a smirk on her face.
"What do you want?!" she snarled at the woman, holding her now bleeding arm.
"Oh no my darling flower," Ms Seraphina knelt down in front of her and cupped her cheek, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her Desire memory. "It is what you want that matters to me." She gently caressed Shiore's cheek with her thumb. "So tell me, that boy," she raised a brow, "you wish to kill him, don't you?"
Shiore glared at Ms Seraphina, smacking the Desire memory from her hand, "Mind your own business! Get away from me-" She reached into her sweater pocket and pulled out the Shira memory, "before I-" he arm pulsed again, the shards growing out even further causing Shiore to drop the Shira memory onto the ground.
"Nice attempt at thwarting me my flower," Ms Seraphina cooed to her, picking up the Shira memory as she continued to cup Shiore's cheek. "But unfortunately for you…" her skin turned pale blue, her wings sprouting from her back as she assumed her succubus form, her yellow eyes staring into Shiore's, "my power is not bound to something as simple as a gaia memory."
Shiore shook in the grasp of the being before her, "Who… what are you?"
"I am Desire," the demon told her, placing the Shira memory into the slot on Shiore's driver, "and I am about to make yours come true." With one simple motion, Desire slid the driver into its active position.
"SHIRA!" roared the memory, Shiore letting out a cry of agony as the power of the memory overtook her.
Shiore's cry echoed through the waterfront, transforming into the howl of a wolf by the time it reached Carter who stood clinging to the rail on the docks with one hand and the wound on his back with the other.
He froze, raising his head to the direction the howl erupted from as his heart beat slowed to a crawl. "... Shiore…"
{Insert Ending Theme: "Magia" by Kalafina}
Next time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme
With the battle with Vainglory only hours away, the riders find themselves facing one of their own.
Will Shiore's story end the way Carter's began?
All will be decided when Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme Act Five continues in:
Episode 43: Shira's Midnight Howl
Yuki, remember who you are!