"Hisakawa!"
"Invictus, what are you doing!?" Tetsuya tried to call out to his friend but was unsuccessful as the masked man continued running towards the old man.
Despite his situation, the stranger stood still with his hands behind his back and with a smile on his face. "My child. How I've missed you."
"Shut up!" Invictus yelled as he jumped to the air and thrust his claws forward, aiming for the man's head. However, his wrist was caught by a hand covered in a blue aura. This did not surprise him, however, and he continued shouting at the man, "You are not my father and I am not your child!"
"As rebellious as ever, I see," the newcomer commented with an unamused expression, "No matter, your siblings will be teaching you some manners."
After those words were said, the flying Effigy landed right behind the old man. Its lithe body was covered in feathers of different shades of brown. It had sharp talons on its feet and hands, all limbs having three digits each. Large wings are folded on it's back. Unlike the other Effigies whose heads vaguely resembled that of humans, this creature's head was clearly that of a falcon with sharp eyes and a hooked beak. Like other Effigies, it had two red markings running parallel down its body.
Hisakawa stepped aside as the Falcon Effigy dashed forward and grabbed Invictus by the throat. It immediately unfolded its wings and flew just above the ground whilst dragging the Kamen Rider through the dirt and past the Hayashi siblings. It then lifted him up just in time to slam his back onto a building, causing it to crack.
"Invictus!" his two companions exclaimed in worry.
They both try to run toward him to help but they get stopped when a yellow blur gets in their way. Before they could get in defensive stances, the blur hit Lacrima in the solar plexus before it hit Arx's left temple, forcing the two onto the ground. Arx looks up and sees the Cheetah Effigy back on its feet but it had its hand on its injured torso.
"Poor child," he heard the old man speak as he walked to the creature, "Let me ease your pain." He puts his hand over the deep holes in the monster's body. Blue light emanates from his hand. The Effigy purrs as its wounds started to close until there were no signs that they were ever there.
At that, Tetsuya's eyes widened. "How…"
Hisakawa looks down at the man and does something that sent chills down the Rider's spine as much as it confused him. He smiled at the Rider as if he knew the man behind the helmet. "Pay careful attention, young one," Hisakawa starts, "This is the result of my search for the secrets of the universe."
The creature let out a high pitch sound as it went straight for Arx. Its eyes implied what it intended to do. It wanted to kill the man. He closed his eyes and prepared for impact…
… but it never came. He looked up to see his sister in front of him holding a rapier. The Effigy was a few steps away from her. She had forced it to take a step back before it could lay a claw on Arx.
"Onii, help Invictus. I'll hold this thing off until he comes here," she commanded.
"But—"
"No buts!" she admonished, "He's the only one fast enough to truly keep up with this." She then turned to face her brother. "Besides, I can handle this." She immediately turned back to her target and kept the rapier pointed at it, determined not to let it catch her off guard.
Tetsuya smiled and decided not to say anything anymore. He nodded and got up before running off in the direction of his other companion. He saw the masked man with his arms crossed over his torso, trying to fend off the flying Effigy as it swooped down repeatedly at him. His body was covered in claw marks and he was breathing heavily.
Arx took the Blade Mode disc out of his belt and pulled out another one. He inserted it into his belt and spun it around.
"Reading!" the belt announced.
He pushed the disc further into the belt to stop it. The center of the buckle showed the symbol of a rook piece that was full of holes and had crosshairs over it.
"Start! Shoot 'em up! Arx: Gun Mode!"
The armor pieces on Arx's limbs were reduced until only a few plates and the downsized rook shoulder pieces were left. However, the chest armor was increased in size. This was the system's Gun Mode.
He spun the disc again and stopped it when the buckle showed the symbol of a gun with a noticeable scope and a long barrel.
"Chosen! Sniper incoming!"
The aforementioned weapon materialized in the Rider's hands and he immediately looked down the sights. He contemplated on which body part to aim for. He decided not to go for the head as it was too small of a target and the Effigy is moving around too much and too fast for his next shot to be successful. He also opted out of shooting the torso. Although it would divert the creature's attention to him, that would be the only thing it would do. Shooting the arms or legs would also yield the same result. That only left one target. A target large enough to shoot with good certainty and will make enough of an impact on the Effigy's performance.
Right before the monster swooped in for another attack, Arx locked onto his target and quickly pulled the trigger. A blue bullet flew out of the barrel at a high velocity. Due to it being made out of plasma, it did not make a lot of sound as it exited the muzzle. The projectile shot through the air and burned through the Effigy's right wing, causing it to stop its attack as it tries to stop itself from falling to the ground. Unfortunately for it, Arx's gun did not need to be reloaded. He pulled the trigger again, this time shooting the left wing.
The creature refused to go down easily. Enduring the pain, it angled its body carefully to maximize its speed as it swooped down at the Rider. Tetsuya's eyes widened behind his helmet. He quickly tried to dive to the side to avoid the attack but the monster's talon managed to make a gash on his side. He dropped down to the ground but so did his opponent.
"Tetsuya!" Invictus exclaimed. He tried to run toward his downed companion but the older man stopped him.
"No, don't worry about me. Get to Amaya," he commanded.
"But you're hurt," the masked man argued.
Tetsuya chuckled to himself as he stood up. "As I said, don't worry. It'll take a lot more than this to take me down. Now, go!"
Invictus stayed silent for a few seconds before he finally nodded. "Got it!" He then ran off to help the woman.
Meanwhile, the winged Effigy also found its way back on its feet. It let out a cry as it tried to show off its claws and make itself look bigger. However, its opponent was hardly intimidated. He spun the disc on his belt until it landed on a symbol of a shorter gun with a long magazine.
"Chosen! Assault Rifle incoming!"
His current weapon dematerialized to make way for the new weapon. Without wasting a second, he sprayed a myriad of bullets at his opponent who had no choice but to cross its arms and already injured wings in front of its body to protect it from most of the damage. The projectiles burned through its flesh but its defense worked. Although its wings and parts of its upper body had several holes, it had the strength to fight back.
And fight back, it did.
It dashed toward Arx with a great burst of speed before bringing its right hand down onto the man's shoulder. The man groans in pain but could not counterattack as the Effigy followed it up by swiping its left hand upwards from his right hip to left shoulder. Arx staggered due to the blow but thanks to the armor, he did not suffer any major injuries. He quickly put his gun against the creature's exposed stomach and let loose a barrage of bullets.
However, the Effigy remained on its feet and knocked the weapon aside. It grabbed him by the neck and slowly dug its talons through his suit. Tetsuya put his hands on the monster's own and began prying it off him. Before he could succeed, the creature clenched its other hand into a fist and punched him three times in his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. The Effigy finally let him go but due to the lack of air in his lungs, his feet failed to keep him upright.
He heard footsteps coming toward him but they didn't stop in front of him. He looked up to see the Effigy walking past him. He followed its gaze and saw his two companions fighting off the other monster. They were putting up quite a fight but if the Falcon Effigy joined the fight, he doubted that the duo would come out alive.
He looked to the side and saw the gun that he dropped. He slowly crawled towards it before reaching out to grab it. He pushed his body off the ground and forced his legs to remain stable as he got up to a standing position. He then aimed at the Effigy's back and pulled the trigger, burying a number of bullets into its back. It was only enough to force it to let out a squawk of pain and divert its attention but that's what Tetsuya intended.
"I'm sorry but those two are under my protection, " he spoke as he spun the disc in his belt and stopped it when the center showed the symbol of a gun with a long barrel and no magazine.
"Chosen! Shotgun incoming!"
The Effigy began to charge at him but Arx let out a spray of bullets, forcing it to stop and cover its body with its arms while small discs replaced the assault rifle with a white futuristic shotgun. The Rider wasted no time as he immediately pulled the trigger. The bullet that came out split into many smaller rays of light and each one found its mark, burning a number of holes on the Effigy's body.
The monster let out a loud cry before charging once again but Arx would not let it. He shot his gun once again but this time, the monster dove away from the bright fragments. The man pulled the trigger again but the creature managed to avoid getting hit again. The gun was fired once more and once more, the Falcon Effigy dodged and came out unscathed. It was now near enough to the Rider. It jumped and prepared to bring down its claws on the Rider but it found itself stopped short by the gun's barrel.
"Gotcha!" Arx remarked before pulling the trigger. The force of the blast not only created a hole in the Effigy's torso but also sent it soaring backward. "Time to finish this off." He spun the disc one last time until it showed its original symbol.
"Chosen! Finished incoming!"
The monster forced itself to its feet only to be met with the gun's barrel glowing bright blue. Shortly after, Arx pulled the trigger. The bullet split into a multitude of fragments that stopped in the air and surrounded the Effigy before bombarding it. Black smoke came out of the body before exploding, leaving behind the bloodied corpse of a falcon.
Lacrima calmed her beating heart as she kept her eyes on the Cheetah Effigy. She knew the moment she panicked, she would lose. She had to focus and avoid getting overwhelmed by the monster until her partner came.
The creature finally made its move. It got its body close to the ground to prepare to run but it was forced to take a step back as a wind-infused blade flashed across its vision. It tried to go around the blade but came face to face with it anyway. It stopped just in time to only suffer a missing whisker.
The woman circled around the monster so it does not get the idea to run away to either its master or its fellow Effigy. However, she still could not go on the offense. She doubted she could move and react fast enough, let alone faster than the cheetah's.
The monster tried to move again but Lacrima caught sight of its movement. She quickly thrust her blade at its head, forcing it to avoid the attack again but this time, instead of stepping back, it ducked under the blade and dashed toward the woman. She tried to jump aside but the Effigy was faster. It swiped its hand and hit Lacrima across the torso. It did not stop there, however, and kept scratching and leaving marks on the woman's green armor.
Amaya crossed her arms in front of her to protect herself from the barrage of swipes and started to charge her power. She then unleashed a small shockwave to throw the Effigy off balance. As soon as the attacks stopped, she capitalized on it by thrusting repeatedly at the monster. She failed to notice that she had just made a grave mistake. She went on the offense without a partner.
After taking a few hits, the creature regained its bearings and weaved through the sword thrusts. No matter how fast they were, the Effigy was faster. After moving its body to barely avoid one of the thrusts, it grabbed onto the rapier. Due to it having no cutting edge, its hand was not cut. It pulled the sword and along with it, its user. It then brought its leg up and slammed its knee onto the lady's abdomen before planting its elbow onto the back of her head, leaving her in pain on the ground. It licked its lips before opening its mouth and trying to bite Lacrima.
"Not so fast!"
The Effigy then felt blades slash across its back. It turned around only to be met with a right hook to the jaw and an uppercut to the jaw. A foot then hits its stomach with enough force to send it away from its attacker.
"You're too slow," Invictus mocked the monster before looking at his companion. "You okay there? You almost became an air flavored snack there," he asked as he extended his hand.
Amaya rolled her eyes and took the hand, allowing her partner to help her stand up. "Took you long enough."
They then heard a high pitched cry and saw the Cheetah Effigy dash at them. Invictus immediately stood in front of Amaya and knocked away the clawed hand that was coming for his face before grabbing the wrist of the other hand. He then stepped aside and allowed Lacrima to stab her blade into the monster's shoulder.
As soon as she pulled it out, the Effigy managed to pry itself from the man's grip before spinning around and planting its foot on the Rider's left temple. It then moved its body to avoid an oncoming thrust. It moved closer to the woman before repeatedly hitting her torso with its fist. It finished the attack up with an upward swipe with its claws the sent her feet off the ground followed with a haymaker to the head that sent her back to the ground.
However, she recovered quickly and tried to sweep the monster off its feet with a kick. It jumped over the attack but this was what Amaya was expecting. Shortly after, Invictus came in with a right punch to the jaw, capitalizing on the fact that it can't dodge while in the air. Not allowing it to recover, Lacrima made wind blow from below the monster to keep it from touching the ground. Invictus ran towards the Effigy before jumping and bringing his knee up to hit its chin, sending it upward.
"Jump!"
Not needing to question his partner, the Rider jumped into the air as Lacrima created a small shockwave to propel him upward. Due to his speed, he managed to catch up to the Effigy. He then put his hands together and slammed them down onto the monster's head. The force of the blow caused it to bounce up from the ground once it made impact. Amaya took the opportunity to land a couple of slashes on the creature's body before it landed on the ground once more.
The pair of Kamen Riders regrouped and carefully watched if the Effigy had enough energy left to fight anymore. The Cheetah Effigy was fast. It could still catch them off guard even if it was injured. Sure enough, it began to get itself off the ground. The two took defensive stances but they soon heard a nearby explosion. Them, along with the Effigy, looked to the source of the sound and saw Arx standing over what was left of the Falcon Effigy.
Tetsuya looked to the two and gave a thumbs up before starting to walk to them. The two Riders smiled and looked back at their opponent, eager to finish things off. However, the creature seemed less enthusiastic. Its legs were shaking as it slowly stepped away from the two. It then turned around and tried to run but it stopped in its tracks and went down on its knees. Its red markings were glowing brightly as the Effigy writhed in pain.
"Where do you think you're going, child?"
The three Riders looked to the one who spoke and saw the old man once again. A bright red ball of light was sitting in his hand. The closer he got to the Effigy, the more it seemed to suffer.
"You want to retreat?" he asked the monster with a sympathetic tone. However, it did not last long as his expression turned blank. "That's too bad. Disobedient children must be punished."
The red markings glowed brighter as the Effigy struggled, writhed, and suffered more and more. Its body slowly reduced in size as its fur thinned out and fell off and its skin became more and more wrinkled. Finally, black smoke came out of the body as it crumbled down to dust. The smoke was then absorbed into the red orb of light in Hisakawa's hand. He then clenched his fist and the orb turned into a thick black liquid. The old man then shook his hand to get the remaining liquid off.
The siblings were wide-eyed as they watched the events unfold in front of them. They could not speak for a few seconds after it finished but Amaya decided to ask the question in both of their minds.
"What… What just happened?"
They looked to Invictus but to their surprise, his eyes were also wide and he was trembling. At first, he looked afraid but his eyebrows knitted together as his fists clenched. He then growled at the old man.
"Hisakawa, you monster!"
He then dashed toward the stranger and thrust his clawed hand at him. However, he was stopped when his arm was coated by a faint blue aura.
"How many times must you fight me like this?" Hisakawa asked with disappointment in his voice, "You should already know that there is nothing you can do against me."
Not bothering to respond, Invictus shouted as his build became bigger and horns grew out of his head. Now in his Power Form, he put more force behind his hand. It moved slightly but with a flick of Hisakawa's hand, he was stopped in his tracks again. The Rider did not give up. He growled as he threw a punch with his other hand only to have the same thing happen to the limb.
Invictus still refused to give up. He roared as red markings appeared on his body. His scream became a combination of rage and pain. The blue auras around his arms shattered as he swung his fists repeatedly at the old man. Hisakawa dodged the attacks with relative ease but the punches were getting more and more accurate despite the masked man's rage. Soon enough, Hisakawa had to use a blue force field on his palm to block a right straight from the young man. He then conjured a similar force field on his other hand to block a left hook. He kept blocking whatever punch came his way but he noticed that the blows were getting stronger and stronger.
Meanwhile, the red markings on Invictus began to fluctuate less and glow brighter each time they appeared. Finally, they stopped flickering as Invictus roared louder than before.
"Are you sure you want to use that much of the Effigy's power?" asked the old man.
"Invictus!" the siblings shouted at the same time as they noticed their friend's struggle.
Before they could come to help him, he pulled back his right arm and punched with all his might. Hisakawa put his hands together to form a bigger shield but he found himself being knocked back a bit from the blow. Invictus was not done yet. He pulled his other hand back and punched with the same amount of strength. It did as much as the previous punch. He was about to throw another one when Arx ran to him and pulled him away from the old man.
"Invictus, stop!" he yelled as he struggled to keep the masked man in his grasp.
At the same time, Hisakawa felt a gust of wind pushing him away from Invictus. He looked toward the direction from where it came and found Lacrima. His eyes flashed with recognition.
"So you're that woman's successor," he supposed.
"Considering that I found this belt in that forest of yours with strong evidence to suggest that it used to be owned by someone else, I guess so."
Lacrima closed her belt and put her finger on the blue slot before opening it back up.
"Aqua."
Blue light came out of her belt and showered her. The green parts of her armor became blue, finishing her transformation to Aqua Forma. She then formed blades of water around her arms and charged at the old man. She expected him to stop her like how he stopped Invictus at first but to her surprise, he dodged the attack and planted a fist on her stomach. Also to her surprise, he summoned four blue balls of light and launched them at her. She quickly recovered from her pain and reformed the water around her arms to a shield. Strangely, the balls fizzled and were put out in the water. She figured it was because her water was magic as well.
She formed claws made out of water on her hands and charged once more. Once again, the blue aura did not appear anywhere on her. Instead, he let her get near him before grabbing both of her wrists as she tried to swipe at him. As she struggled against his grip, Hisakawa observed her. It seemed to Amaya that he was looking through the visor and into her eyes. Suddenly, his eyes flashed with recognition once more.
"No wonder you look so familiar," he said, "I never thought I'd ever see you, Hayashi Amaya."
Amaya's strength dropped along with her stomach. "How… did you know…"
Before Hisakawa could say more, Invictus finally got free from Arx's hold. He ran to the old man with a growl as he threw a fist at him. The wizard kicked Lacrima backward before putting up a blue shield of light to stop the blow.
"Don't you dare say another word," warned the masked man.
Hisakawa merely smirked. "I was beginning to wonder why you were in the city. It seems that against all odds, you found your way back to them."
"Shut up!"
"No wonder you became more rebellious, my child."
"Shut up!"
"No matter. Once I'm done with them, I'll be your only family again."
"I said shut up!!"
Invictus pulled back his fist once more and threw another punch this time, Hisakawa's shield shattered as he was sent flying back toward a wall where he crashed through.
Invictus breathed heavily as he struggled to stay on his feet only to fall to the ground on his back. His red markings slowly began to dim and disappear along with his monster form. The two siblings ran to check on him but they heard the sound of rubble being moved around.
Hisakawa used his magic to move everything out of his way as he calmly walked out of the building. Although he was covered in powdered cement, he looked relatively unharmed. The two took on defensive stances in front of their unconscious friend but the old man made no attempts to attack.
"It seems things have taken an interesting turn," he commented to himself before looking at the siblings, "I will see you again soon, Tetsuya and Amaya." He then looked at Invictus. "You too, Yuuya."
With a wave of his hand, blue light covered him and temporarily blinded the siblings, forcing them to cover their eyes. When the light died down the man was no longer there.
"What just happened?" asked Amaya as she sent her armor away.
"I don't know either," answered her brother as he did the same with his.
They then looked at their friend but what they saw made Amaya gasp and made Tetsuya question his eyes.
Invictus' mask fell off. He looked noticeably older than earlier that day. He seemed closer to Tetsuya's age than Amaya's. To complement it all, he had a full beard on his chin. He was clean-shaven when they left the house.
They then heard footsteps rapidly coming toward them. However, they could not take their eyes off the man on the ground.
"Hey, guys. Are you o—" Daisuke then stopped himself as he saw who they were looking at. "Wh-who's that?"
"That…" began Tetsuya, "… is Invictus… I think."
