Anders' Past

James walked along the row of trees, looking around, a small smile on his face. He stopped and put his hands in his pockets as he looked down at a small part of the village. "Ever Village. Home."

He made his way down towards it and walked past the few buildings that sat there. He looked around, "At least there's no sign of the Dynasty…but there's no sign of anyone… What happened here?" he asked himself quietly.

He walked onto the road and looked out ahead, "Up there is where it all happened…," he muttered. He looked down, "If…if only things had been different that day…"

[Decade 23. 6:27-6:31 (note: edit in time stamp: "Five months ago")]

Three Riders were on the outside of a building. One flipped off of the balcony with a shout, joining the other two. The three came together, one red, one green, and one yellow. Each one had a large "A" on the side of their helmet and chest, as well as shoulder armor.

"Be ready," the yellow one said as they ran forward.

[Decade 23. 6:32-6:39]

He shouted as he fought black roach-like monsters back.

The green one shouted as he fought more of them back. The red one shouted – a woman – and fought off one.

[Decade 23. 6:41-6:50]

She shouted as one got her from behind and held on. Another struck her in the chest.

The green one took some blows. The red Rider fell to the ground and was struck repeatedly.

"No!" the yellow one shouted as he took a series of blows as well.

"Lucas!" the red Rider shouted.

[End Decade footage]

James was hiding behind a tree, watching, "No…no!" he shouted, moving from his cover, "Lucas! You have to keep fighting!"

The green Rider rose and kicked a roach back.

[Decade 23. 7:01-7:04]

"Tasha! Lucas! We need to fall back!" He turned and pushed past some roaches.

[Decade 23. 7:05-7:08]

"Lucas is still…," Tasha started, then shouted and ran off.

[End Decade footage]

Lucas rose, his armor flickering. It vanished and a dark haired young man stood there. More roaches closed in on him. "Come on!" he shouted, kicking one back. He turned and kicked another one, but one thrust him to the ground.

"Brother!" James shouted, running out from behind the cover. He shouted and kicked a roach back, reaching down for his brother. "Come on, get up! Please!"

Lucas came up to his feet, but he swayed, "James…this…this is the place they're all coming from. If we can destroy this building, we can stop them…"

"How?" James questioned. He pulled Lucas back as more roaches approached.

"Take my belt," he said, reaching for his waist. He gripped the belt, but it remained in place, "You'll have to fight."

"No…I can't fight!" James told him, "I'm not like you! I'm not Rider material!"

"You have a drive to protect. You are my brother. You are a strong man. Show them…show them your power!" Lucas screamed out as the monsters dragged him away.

"Lucas!" James shouted. He turned and ran into the building. He ducked past two more roaches as he came into a room with multiple computers. He ran towards one of them and started to hit it and do whatever damage he could.

It started to break down and shut off. He moved to another and slammed a chair into it. Roaches ran inside, but he was already on the move. He moved to another monitor, but a deck of cards sat there. He picked them up as he ran, getting outside. He looked back and kept running, but then he stopped suddenly as a portal appeared around him.

"No…," he muttered, "No…"

It shattered and a belt formed in his hand. He looked at it. "Why aren't I gone? Why didn't they take me?" He looked back and then lowered the belt to his waist. "Oh well. Their mistake." He flipped through the deck and then tucked it into his pocket as he drew his hand out. The belt flashed and a card appeared in his hand, which he slid over his belt.

"Power Ride!"

James shook his head, "So many mistakes that day. So much…so much more could have been different if only…if only I'd been strong enough to become Ace!" he shouted. He turned around as he heard movement, seeing two black roaches behind him. "So, you guys are fast to respond," he muttered. He lifted his belt and showed it to them, "Yeah, I still have this. And yes, I'll tear through you like I tore through your allies five months ago." He turned to face them, loading it onto his waist. "Power Ride!"

"I wish James were here," Mina told Will as the two walked through the woods.

"Why?" Will asked as he pushed a branch aside.

"Well, we're in his hometown. We don't know what this place is like, or where we're going. He never told me what happened here, anyway. Did he mention it to you?"

Will shook his head, "No. All I know is that the Dynasty took it over a few months ago."

"Same," Mina said. As Will reached up to grab a branch, she flicked her wrist, causing it to move. He nodded and walked onwards. She followed just behind him. "So, what do you think?" she asked.

"About what?" Will questioned.

"About this place," she said, "This is personal for James. He attacked you to get his shot at Apollo in our hometown. What do you think he'd do here, in his own?"

"I think he'd save it," Will said. He stopped and looked back at Mina, "What are you getting at?"

"He's driven, just like we are. But James is…he's harder to keep under control. He has a temper when it comes to the Dynasty, it seems like. I don't know how else to really put it. We should watch him, make sure he doesn't do something stupid."

"Well," Will gestured out, "we can't. He's not here, and we don't know where he is, or quite where we're going."

"You don't know where you're going, you mean," she said, "I can detect the village."

"And am I going the right way?" he asked.

"I wouldn't be following you if you weren't," Mina told him. "Not too much farther."

He nodded, "Can you feel anyone?" he asked.

"I feel people," she said, "Don't worry."

"But are they people, or those machine soldiers again?" Will asked, "Or something else?"

"They're human. I can feel that much," she said.

"Good."

The two came out of the woods soon enough, but were greeted by a black roach-like monster.

"Mina!" Will called as he lifted his belt.

"I don't know why I can't feel it!" she responded, throwing her hand out. It was thrown back, "Go!" she shouted.

He loaded the belt and lifted his card, "Power…"

As the monster got up, a man ran out of the woods and tackled it, knocking it back. A woman came out after him, shaking her head.

"Do you have to do something like that, Vic?" she questioned, wearing a belt on her waist.

"Well, yeah," Vic said, putting his belt on as he moved back to join her, "I mean, they can detect it when we transform, after all."

"But you can't beat it without the belt," she told him, "You just knocked it down for a few moments."

Vic sighed, "There's no winning with you, Tasha."

Will and Mina looked at the two of them. Vic looked and smiled back, "Another Rider? Hold on," he said, "We'll show you how Ace employees handle this!"

"Wait, Ace?" Will shouted.

"Power Ride!" both of them shouted as they triggered their belts. Energy cards flew forward.

[Decade 22. 8:08-8:27 (note: edit out man at about 8:14)]

The cards passed over, forming their red and green armors.

"Ok, let's make this quick," Tasha said.

"Got it!" Vic said, punching one fist into his other hand.

Both ran forward, but the roach ran to meet them.

Vic punched but the monster leapt over it and struck him. The two Riders kept striking and evading blows from the roach until they kicked it back, causing it to roll away.

[End Decade footage]

"This thing seems tough," Will said, lifting his card, "Power Ride!"

He swiped the card through his belt.

[Decade 22. 8:39-9:09]

His armor took color and he ran forward, drawing his sword.

The other two Riders moved into a defensive stance.

Will shouted as he slashed the monster a few times.

Both other Riders lifted their namesake weapons. Both slashed a card through.

"Power"

The weapons began to glow with energy. Vic shouted and slashed at the roach while Tasha fired an arrow. The attacks destroyed the roach.

Lance moved forward, pointing his weapon, "Who are you anyway?" They moved forward, "That belt seems familiar…"

"I'm an ally," Will stated.

[End Decade footage]

"We're travelers," Mina said, "We're here to help free this place from the Dynasty."

She and Will turned and looked around. Roaches were coming from the forest.

"No!" Vic shouted, "There are too many!"

"I still can't feel them," Mina muttered.

[Decade 22. 9:19-9:27]

Will looked back, "Think we can take them?" Will asked.

"No, we can't," Vic said as they backed away.

"Come on!" Tasha shouted as she ran off with Vic.

Will looked a bit, "Alright…come on, Mina!" He ran off.

[End Decade footage]

The three Riders and Mina came to a stop in the woods. Everyone undid their belts, returning to normal form.

"So, you know Ace?" Tasha asked Will.

Will nodded and drew out Spade's cards, "We met them. Worked with them too."

"Wait…," Vic took the card from Will's hand, "That's why it looks familiar! That's…"

"I know, a Dynasty belt," Will said, "We've been over this before. I'm not Dynasty." He gestured to Mina, "We're not."

"And why should we trust you?" Tasha questioned, "Sure, you helped us destroy a roach, but…"

"You're Ace employees. Talk to Commander North!" Mina told them.

"You know what, I'm not getting into this," Tasha said, "Sure, we should be suspicious, but if there's anything I've learned in these five months, it's that sometimes we're too suspicious."

"Oh, that's it?" Will asked, "We're good?"

"No," Vic said, shaking his head, "I mean, we're not going to steal your belt or anything. Or talk about plans or anything important in front of you. We're going to watch you until we can confirm."

"Just call your boss," Mina said.

"There's a perimeter around this village," Tasha said, "We'd have to leave it to get a signal out."

"Then why don't you?" Will asked.

"Because you can enter, but if you leave, the enemy knows where you are. They'll hunt us. We had issues with one roach, imagine an army," Tasha said.

"Ok, so, let's summarize," Mina said, "You only somewhat trust us. You're not going to give us any real information. You're all trapped inside this village's perimeter, or the enemy finds you. You can't get a signal out either, so you're forced to trust us, or be wary. So, if we offer to fight by your side, your answer is…?"

"We'll fight with you, but we'll be watching you carefully at the same time," Tasha said.

"Fine," Will said, "Ok, so, what do we do?"

"What do you mean?" Vic asked.

"Where's the enemy?"

"Who knows?" Vic said, "We're basically a two-person resistance team. There's no actual enemy that we know of. Just an army of roaches that never seems to end."

Mina and Will looked at each other, "So…we're stuck here for a while then," Will said.

Mina nodded, "It sounds like that…"

"Come on," Tasha said, "I don't like being this close to the attack. We're going to keep moving."

They ran on and pushed through the woods.

James looked at the village, sitting behind a tree. He sighed, "So close…yet…yet where is the enemy? There has to be an enemy. There has to be something to defeat! Some way to actually save my home…"

He moved back and looked away from the village, "Lucas…I wish I'd been stronger that day. I wish I could have become Power Rider Ace. I wish…I wish I could have given us all time to regroup and fight back. I was too weak and…and our home fell."

"I'm going to do something important with my life!" the older child said.

The younger one looked at him as they both sat on the swing set. "What are you going to do?" the younger asked, "Are you going to be a policeman? A firefighter?"

"I don't know," the older one said, "But it'll be something. Something better than both!"

"What's better than those?" the young one asked.

"A hero!"

"But they are heroes!"

"A firefighter goes and puts our fires. A policeman helps people. A doctor heals people. I want to be all of them, and more!"

"What job is that?"

"I don't know, but someday I'll do it. You can do it too James!"

"I can't," the young James told his brother, "But I believe in you! Go do it!"

Lucas smiled, "Someday I will," he said.

Lucas stood in a dark uniform at the swing set. James stood there in his Golden Grove uniform.

"You were accepted," Lucas said with a smile, "I knew my brother could do it."

"Yeah, but that only means so much," James said, "I don't know what I'm going to do with my life yet."

"You have time," Lucas told him, "Don't worry."

"But you always knew what you wanted, so that's easy for you to say," James said, "I'm…what, ten years behind?"

Lucas laughed, "Ok, maybe my dreams as a child were a bit farfetched. I mean, being a Rider doesn't make me a firefighter or a medic."

"But you still help people. You still do what you wanted to all those years ago. You get to be a hero."

"You'll be in college though. You won't get to see it," Lucas said.

"I'll be back next summer," James told his brother, "And by then you'll be trained. I'm looking forward to seeing that."

Lucas smiled, "Next summer, then."

The two brothers shook hands and looked at each other, then pulled into a hug.

Again the two brothers stood at the swing set. James still wore his uniform from college, but his brother wore normal clothes again, and a belt.

"I see things went well for you," James said, "You're here now. Is Ever Village that important that they sent a Rider here?"

"Three Riders," Lucas told him, "This is our home. Of course it's important."

"But important enough to send three Riders?" James asked.

Lucas smiled, "It's temporary."

"How temporary?" James asked.

"Temporary enough that we need someone to drive a support vehicle, and your summer off is just about long enough."

"You'd let me come with you into danger?" James asked.

"No, not quite," Lucas said, "Parked just outside of danger. How's that?"

James smiled, "A chance to work with my brother? I'm in."

Lucas smiled and the two brothers embraced.

"What will you need me to do?" James asked his brother.

"Field support. We'll get you a vehicle, a communication system, things like that. You'll be close, but you won't be in the danger."

"What if I want to be in the danger?" he asked.

Lucas smiled, "You're my brother. I appreciate you wanting to put yourself in that position, but I can't let you."

James sighed, "You're not a cool brother, you know that?"

Lucas laughed, "Oh come on, I'm plenty cool. I'm letting you be a part of this, after all."

James smiled, "Yeah. Thanks."

James stood up and walked away. "I need to find the others," he muttered, "Tasha and Vic have to be here yet, somewhere. They wouldn't give up."

Mina held the belts in her hand while the group sat by a river in the woods.

"If you don't trust us, why give her your belts?" Will asked the two Ace Riders.

Vic shrugged, "It was Tasha's idea."

She shot him a look and then looked to Will, "Because as much as we say we don't entirely trust you, we still trust you to some degree. Besides, she's psychic. If you're the enemy, we're done either way, right?"

"I guess?" Will said, "I don't know."

"You would be," Mina said, not looking at them.

"Or so you say," Vic told her.

"Trust me. Believe what I say," Mina said. She set the belts down, "I don't know if I did anything, but I may have cloaked them for a bit. I'd say you have a few minutes of transformation time before they can detect you again."

Tasha picked up her belt and looked at it, "Ok, so we need a plan then. Months ago there was a facility where the roaches were coming from. It was a Dynasty laboratory. We could hit that, but I'm pretty sure they've moved by now, since the entire village is theirs."

"We don't have anywhere to strike then," Vic commented, "Unless we want to get a sneak attack on the ones in the village itself."

"Don't worry, I'll help too," Will said.

"And I," Mina told them.

Tasha nodded, "We need the help."

"I have the feeling that you actually trust us, but you're just trying to play suspicious," Mina said, "Maybe because you've gone so long on your own?"

Tasha smiled at her, "Smart girl. But there's more than that."

"What would that be?" Mina questioned.

They heard movement around them. "Maybe they are traitors," Vic muttered, "The roaches found us."

"We stopped," Tasha said, "It's not like we went too far. Besides, the perimeter is just ahead. It wasn't hard to find us here. We were cornered."

"I guess," Vic muttered.

"You two hide," Tasha said, "Go in the woods, watch. We don't want the enemy to know more fighters are here. We've got this group."

Will and Mina nodded and moved into the trees.

"Let's do it," Vic said, reaching for his belt.

"Power Ride!" both shouted.

[Decade 22. 15:07-15:26 (note: edit in lasers)]

The cards finished giving them their armor and they ran forward. The two Riders engaged the three roaches and were being overwhelmed. They shouted as they were struck around.

Something blasted the roaches in the back, taking them down.

[End Decade footage]

Both Riders picked themselves up, "What was that?" Tasha called.

Will and Mina glanced out from the trees, "Is that James?" Will muttered.

Mina nodded, "Yeah, I feel him…"

James was running out of the tree cover, holding his blaster, belt on his waist.

[Decade 22. 15:29-15:31]

"James Anders…," Vic muttered.

[End Decade footage]

"Power Ride!" James shouted as he ran, swiping the card over his belt.

[Decade 22. 15:33-16:37 (note: edit in lasers)]

His armor formed as he ran.

"James Anders!" Vic shouted.

James ran past him, at two roaches. He engaged them and fought the third. The two Riders watched as he kept fighting.

"I'll end this!" he shouted, drawing a card. He leapt over the roaches and loaded it.

"Gate Blast"

He charged and fired, destroying the monsters.

"That belt," Vic muttered, "Those powers…" He looked to Tasha, "You see it too, right?" he asked angrily.

"Yeah," she responded.

He moved forward, "James…you have some explaining to do…"

"What?" James questioned as Vic threw a punch at him. "Hey! I'm…," James started as Vic grabbed him, "a friend!"

"No, you're not!" Vic shouted, "You betrayed us! Just like…"

Tasha moved towards them and then explosions struck around them. More roaches came running, so the three Riders stood together. A red blur struck, and Will stood behind them, sword in hand as they exploded.

"I think someone needs to explain some things," Will said as he sheathed his weapon on his hip.

[End Decade footage]

The group walked and talked as they went through the woods.

"What were you saying about me betraying you?" James questioned Vic, "Just like who?"

Vic shook his head, "I have nothing to say to you."

Tasha remained silent. James looked to her, "Tasha?"

"I…don't know what to tell you," she said.

"So, Vic attacks me, then nobody explains it," James said, "I thought we were friends!"

"Look, things are complicated," Tasha said, "We're trying to save our home, we'll deal with this later."

"We have four Riders now," Mina said, "I think there's a good chance at taking out their headquarters, wherever it may be."

"I know where it is," James muttered.

Vic stopped, but said nothing.

"How do you know that?" Tasha questioned.

"I was spying on the village," James responded, "I snuck around a bit. If nothing else, I found a monster commanding them. I can lead us there."

Vic shook his head, but Tasha shot him a look. She nodded, "Yeah, let's check it out."

They came out of the woods and moved onto a road which sat empty ahead of them. The group of five moved on.

"I don't like being this exposed," Tasha muttered.

[Decade 22. 20:30-20:36]

Numerous roaches leapt into view, impeding their path. A monster stepped forward as well, wielding a sword and shield, looking insect-like itself.

[End Decade footage]

"That was the leader," James said, loading his belt onto his waist.

"Let's deal with them quickly," Will said.

Mina moved, going to cover as everyone put on their belts.

"Power Ride!" the four shouted at once, swiping cards or opening belts.

[Decade 22. 20:43-23:16]

Everyone stood, armored.

"Go," the monster hissed, sending the roaches forward. He walked after them. The Riders engaged the roaches.

The leader moved for Will, then shouted as he swung his sword down. The roaches moved to avoid being struck. Will evaded and took hits from roaches in the process.

Tasha and Vic kept fighting. Will fought roaches and the leader at the same time. James continued to fight without firing. The Riders kept up their individual fights for now.

Vic used his lance and shouted, slashing through some roaches with his charged attack.

"Power"

He destroyed five.

"Power"

Tasha fired, destroying more.

"Power Summon! Omicron Troopers!"

Troopers ran from James' summon, rushing at the roaches. The roaches were destroyed and the summons faded.

"James!" Vic shouted as he and Tasha came up from behind. James turned back to look. He rested his lance on his shoulders, "Good job fighting. You've grown up."

"Thanks," James told him.

Vic lowered his lance back to the ground, "Of course," he ran forward, "You're a traitor!" he shouted, swinging. James shouted and ducked him. Vic continued to swing at him.

Will kicked his enemies back and lifted his other belt. He loaded a card and pressed the buttons.

"Legend"

"Grand"

"Dragon Knight"

"Phi"

"Spade"

"Echo"

"Beet"

"Rail"

"Fang"

He touched his own emblem.

"Legacy"

"All Riders Combine" rang out.

His armor changed forms and the monsters ran at him.

He slashed through them, shouting. He moved his belt and hit a button.

"Fang"
"Emperor"

He turned and his cards changed as a regal form of Fang appeared. Both did the same motions and lifted their swords. They shouted, sending shockwaves from their slashes, wiping out the roaches.

James evaded every swing of the lance, shouting at Vic, "Stop this!" he shouted.

"No!" Vic shouted at him. "You're just like your brother!" he screamed, thrusting his lance for James, striking him.

[End Decade footage]

James picked himself up, groaning.

[Decade 23. 0:35-0:37]

Vic slashed him again, into the wall.

[Decade 23. 0:38-0:45]

James rolled and took another thrust to the chest, going back. He took a slash to the chest next.

[End Decade footage]

James lay on the ground. Vic stood there, looking down at him. "You and your brother betrayed us! He was working with them! He joined the Dynasty! If you stayed behind that day, that means you had to be with them as well! That, and your Dynasty belt makes enough proof for me!"

Tasha said nothing as James looked at her.

"I'm not a traitor," he hissed.

"You're a traitor," Vic hissed, "You're the enemy, not the savior of this village. This isn't your home anymore, James!"

James glared at him, "This is my village…this is my home…," he rose to his feet, "And my brother was not a traitor!" he screamed.

22: 8:08-8:27, 8:39-9:09, 9:19-9:27, 14:45-14:48, 15:07-15:26, 15:29-15:31, 15:33-16:37, 20:30-20:36, 20:43-23:16

23: 0:35-0:37, 0:38-0:45, 6:27-6:31, 6:32-6:39, 6:41-6:50, 7:01-7:04, 7:05-7:08

Total footage: 5:13