I'M BACK ! I'm really sorry if this chapter took its time coming out but as you probably know by now, we're in a very particular situation. Personally, I have to work from home which is hindering a lot with my writing schedule. And if you add the fact that staying home all day doesn't help in making me want to write, it explain why the chapter will take some time to come. I hope you can understand that and that you'll excuse me for the delay.

In those times, the best thing to do is stay at home as much as possible to prevent that freaking virus to spread even more than it already did and what better way to spend time than to read some fanfic, huh ? So stay safe and enjoy !

Chapter 55 : Cowboys and Cosmos

As soon as they entered the underground base, the shitstorm began. Shocker's soldiers, who were nowhere to be seen when the Riders came before, were now filling the long and once deserted hallway to fight and repel the groups of mages and Riders who had split up to try and found their Rider friends. For instance, one of those group, including Lucy, Alzack, Bisca and three Riders, Specter, Snipe and Meteor, was quickly progressing in one of those hallway, plowing through the Shocker' soldiers without much difficulties.

- "That's a lot of soldiers." Stated Alzack as he shot at the soldiers that kept coming like a never-ending human wave.

- "How can there be so much if Sento and the others came here before me ?" Asked Bisca, armed with a magical shotgun, unloading on the soldiers that came her way. "Is their army that big ?"

- "That's a possibility." Said Snipe, using the Gashacon Magnum to open a way. "But they also could have stay hidden and let those Another fight them to preserve their men."

- "That does explain a lot of things." Admitted Specter, using Tutankhamun's Damashii to fight. "But it doesn't change the fact that we have to get rid of them and quickly."

- "He's right." Agreed Lucy, whipping at their opponents. "We have to found Sento and the other as quickly as possible to help them before it's too late."

Agreeing with her, the Riders and mages kept progressing in the hallway, getting rid of the soldiers that came their way effortlessly until they reached a room. It was a large rectangular storage room filled with crates, container and scaffolding on the side, with a sort of hallway in the middle leading to a door. The room seemed empty, but the calm was creeping the heroes out.

- "It's too calm."

- "Yeah. But it's not like we have any choice on the matter. We have to continue." The group walked more inside the room but they were soon stopped when a gunshot rang through the room, sending Snipe to the ground.

- "What the hell was that ?!" Asked Specter as they all took position around Snipe, looking for the shooter.

- "I think I know." Answered Meteor, looking at something in front of him. "We're not alone." As soon as he said that, footsteps echoed from the darkness of the room and out of it walked, you guessed it, a monster.

The monster wore a yellow pant with a creepy dark green belt with studs and a demon skull shaped buckle and two empty holsters of some kind on his waist. His upper body was mainly made of a red armor hidden under a ragged poncho that hid his arms and his face only showed sharp teeth and one onyx eye, his other eye hidden behind a thick mane of dark hair.

- "I think we found your Another, Al." Stated Bisca before dodge rolling another bullet that didn't came from the Another Alzack in front of them but from somewhere else in the shadow.

- "And if I'm right…" Began Alzack before shooting a Sun Bullet in the shadow, the flash shedding light on the shooter. "…There's yours, Bis."

Indeed, the light had revealed another monster that was crouched down on a scaffolding in the back of the room. This one had its head inside a yellowish ten-gallon hat with bright green hair cut in irregular strands sticking out of it. Purple eyes shone behind target-shaped scope that were sticking out of holes in the hat as they were locked on her opponents. The armor she wore was a reminder of Bisca's, mainly black with white trim, covering most of her body, completed with blood red boots. In her hands was a sinister looking sniper rifle, blood red and covered in bones like designs with a skull shaped scope and cannon.

- "At least, we've got the good mages to take care of them." Said Meteor as the two monsters stood in their position, looking at them and not moving, at least for now.

- "We've got no time to lose." Added Lucy, a determined look on her face despite her evident uneasiness as she glanced at the two Another. "We've got to find the other and help them." She took a step, only for two bullets to be shot at her, bullets she managed to dodge at the last moment, one of the two grazing her cheek. Looking at the shooter, realizing it was the Another Alzack whose hands were now visible, guns attached to them.

- "I got the feeling we won't be able to continue as long as those two are here." Stated Snipe, holding his Gashacon Magnum in position, ready to shoot at the first opponent whose going to attack.

- "Maybe we don't need to." Added Specter. "Some of us can stay and take care of them while the rest continue."

- "You're right." Agreed Bisca, taking a step forward. "Then me and Al have to stay to take care of our Another."

- "But we're going to need Riders too." Added Alzack. "We just have to decide which one."

Luckily for them, they didn't had to think about it too much as the answer literally walked into the room. A full platoon of Shocker Soldiers walked in, led by two new creatures. The first one was dressed like knight of some kind, with shining metallic armor that covered his upper body covered with engraving that represented eyes and the front of his legs. He was holding a longsword with a jagged blade and his left arm was fused with a shield and blue eyes shone from behind a half broken helm. The other one had a pretty squared shape and was mainly grey and black, wearing some kind of military outfit, with a cannon shaped arm and a gatling on the other one.

- "Well, here's our answer." Said Specter as he took a step, imitated by Snipe. "The knight one is a Gamma…"

- "And the other a Bugster." Finished Snipe, turning to look at Lucy and Meteor. "We'll stay here with them. You two continue and go find the others."

- "Alright." Meteor then turned to Lucy. "Let's go."

- "Oh ? You think we're going to let you pass ? Preposterous !" Shouted the Knight, raising his sword. "If you want to pass, you'll have to get through us first."

- "Unless we're the one who will go through you." Said the Soldier, raising his guns and pointing them at the mages and Riders. "Alright, fire at will !"

Bullets began to rain down on them as the Knight rushed forward, aiming for Meteor and Lucy who were trying to get around them, only to be stop by Specter who jumped in the way. The rain of bullet also came to a stop, Alzack shooting magical bullet at his counterpart, Bisca summoning an assault rifle of some sort to fire at her sniping twin and Snipe opening fire on the Soldier Bugster who had to change his target, thus allowing Lucy and Meteor to slip out of the room, leaving their friends behind. The four monsters tried to stop them but they were quickly brought back to their opponents who stood there, ready to fight.

- "Well then. Let's do this."

And the fight began. Snipe and Specter rushed at their respective opponent, the doctor and the Bugster firing at each other along the way. Specter brawled with the knight Gamma, dodging his sword and dealing some blows while Alzack and Bisca fired at their respective Another. Bisca had summoned a rifle and fired at her Another, forcing her to go down from her perch and join the fight, replacing the sniper by a classic rifle, the two Bisca firing and dodge rolling continuously. And the same could be said for the Alzacks, one attacking with a spell only for the other to answer with the exact same spell. In a matter of minutes, the storage room became nothing more than a battleground, charred bits of woods scattered on the floor, the scaffolding either destroyed or toppled over, cracks and holes covering the walls, floor and roof due to the many missed and dodged attacks. At some points, the four fights not going anywhere, the riders decided to bring out bigger guns.

JET COMBAT ! A GACHA ! JET ! JET ! IN THE SKY ! JET ! JET ! JET COMBAT !

EYE ! BATCHIRIMIRO ! BATCHIRIMIRO ! KAIGAN : TUTANKHAMUN ! PYRAMID-WA SANKAKU ! OHKE-NO SHIKAKU !

Respectively changing into the jet fighter themed armor and Egyptian themed parka, both Riders return to the fight, dealing damages with much more ease than before, Snipe using the aerial superiority granted by Jet Combat to take the advantage over his opponent while Specter, now armed with the Gan Gun Hand's scythe mode, rivaled much more easily with the knight. But alas, things were not as simple and easy for the two mages. At first, they were even, but as the fight continued, the gap in strength was starting to show more and more. On Bisca's side, things started to go downhill when her evil twin began to use more than two guns at once. Bisca, armed with a rifle, had shot down one of the scaffolding that was still standing, the fall creating a distraction that allowed her to get closer to her opponent, requipping a shotgun in hope of dealing a large amount of damages at point blank range. When she got close enough, she saw that Another Bisca had yet to see her, which was perfect for her. However, that's when a shotgun cannon came out of her squared shoulder, pointing at Bisca and firing a buckshot at the green haired mage, dealing a whole lot of damages and sending her back, crashing down in a pile of crates, disoriented. And when she got her focus back, she realized her doppelganger was standing in front of her, two machine gun in her hands, and two others sticking out of her shoulder like turrets. Bisca barely escaped the bullet storm, a few of them reaching their target as the rest vaporized the crates she had landed into. Bisca was now in a tight spot, trying to fight something she couldn't face as the twin kept firing at her with the clear desire to shred her. Alzack wasn't in a better situation than his partner and for a reason that was much easier to understand, though just as hard to deal with. His opponent was a better shooter than him. With guns stuck to his hands, he was a much better quick shot, able to fire bullet twice as fast as Alzack could, which was the main reason why he was in such a bad shape, with a poncho covered with holes and burns and scratches all over his body and face. And if it wasn't enough, the bullets, no matter the shape, were much faster and powerful than his own, each one of his shot useless as they all got stopped by his evil twin ones. After a few minutes, while the Riders dealt a good share of damages to their opponent, Bisca and Alzack were more than in a bad spot, the young woman taking a rocket dead on while the cowboy took a grand total of 12 bullets in an instant, the two of them being sent to the ground as a result, landing near the Riders.

- "Looks like you're in a pinch, right there." Said Snipe as he landed and helped them to stand up.

- "They're far stronger than they look." Seethed Bisca, her body hurting from the explosion that just blew her away.

- "And the fact that they've got the same power as us isn't helping us feel any better." Added Alzack, putting a hand on his wounds as he glared at his opponent. "And our magic doesn't seem to be enough." He would say this due to the many times he managed to land some hit on his evil twin, hit that basically didn't do anything.

- "Maybe you need a little help." Said Makoto as he glanced at Taiga. "She's basically a sniper…"

- "And he's literally a cowboy." Finished Taiga before turning to the mages. "Looks like we've got exactly what you need."

GASHUN !

OYASUMI !

- "Here, take this." Taiga than handed Bisca his Bang Bang Shooting Gashat while Makoto gave Alzack the Billy the Kid Eyecon, the two mages looking at the devices in awe, and slight confusion for Bisca.

- "But… Don't you need it ? How are you going to fight without it ?"

- "You have to know that Kamen Riders aren't one trick ponies." He said as he took out a big Gashat with a yellow wheel on it.

- "Don't you worry about us and let's do this together !" Added Makoto, pulling out a white and purple Eyecon with a glaring red eye. The two mages looked at each other and with a nod, began to infuse their magic inside their trinkets. Alzack could feel the soul inside the Eyecon smiling at him and giving him a nod as he let his powers fuse with the magic and soon, they both held new trinket. Alzack held a light brown Eyecon with black buttons and Bisca held a green and dark blue Gashat with the picture of a woman in camo with a whole load of weapons by her side and firing at several target with a sniper.

- "Alright, time to do this." Said Alzack as he got back up. "You ready, Bis ?"

- "Of course I am, Al !" Answered his partner. "Let's make them pay !"

- "Tactics N° 50."

EYE ! BATSHIRIMIRO !

EYE ! BATCHIRIMINA !

BANG BANG SIMULATION !

SILENT SNIPER !

- "HENSHIN !"

GEN KAIGAN ! DEEP SPECTER ! GET GO ! KAKUGO ! GI ZA GI ZA ! GHOST !

KAIGAN : CONNELL ! DANGAN ! MAHŌ ! SAISOKU NO MUHŌMONO !

GACHAN ! DUAL UP ! SCRAMBLE DA ! SHUTSUGEKI HASSHIN ! BAND BANG SIMULATIONS ! HASSHIN !

GACHAN ! LEVEL UP ! SHIZUKANA SHI ! KANPEKINA SOGEKI-HEI ! SILENT SNIPER !

Along with the battleship clad Rider and his silver and purple ghost friend, the two mages were now wearing Rider armors according to the power they got offered. Bisca was wearing a green version of the Bang Bang Shooting Level 2 with dark blue linings all over the suit. The yellow cape was out of the picture as well as the helmet, replaced by a scope-like vizor, her green hair tied into a bun, her hat nowhere to be seen. As for Alzack, he was wearing the classic black armor of the Transient version of the Riders, and above that, he wore not a parka but a poncho, opened on the front to show the eye on his chest. He had no helmet, only wearing the cowboy hat that usually came with Billy the Kid, and the poncho, a darker brown that his usual poncho, looked like an armor on the upper part, mainly around the shoulder, and the poncho was also wrapped with cartridge belt. But not only did they got a complete makeover, they also had new toys to play with. Alzack had received two upgraded versions of his usual gun, more massive with eye designs on the handle and the cannon, and if Bisca had no weapon for now, she instinctively triggered one of her new power which made several digital screen appear, each one showing a gun and when she touched the assault rifle one by sheer curiosity, said weapon appeared in her hands, a white weapon with green designs lined with dark blue.

Soon, the battle started over and it was suddenly much more easier for the mage to deal with their evil counterpart. Alzack's bullets were much faster and stronger than before, but it wasn't the biggest change the mage from the west had undergo. In the time it took his opponent to aim and fire at him, Alzack had drew his guns and shot down each and every bullet fired by his opponent. And if it wasn't enough, he also had fired a few explosive rounds at the Another which had taken a step back with each explosion.

TORNADO SHOT !

Eyes shone on the tip of his guns as Alzack aimed at his opponent, firing two tornadoes that quickly fused into a single massive one which send the monster flying alongside the rubles in the room which got sucked in the attack, the monster crashing onto a wall before being buried under a pile of wood and metal. With his opponent temporarily out, Alzack turned to look at his partner and needless to say, he was impressed.

Bisca quickly realized that her new weapons were much more stronger, each shot dealing much more damages than before, but it wasn't the thing that surprised her the most. It was the scope on her eye that truly became her ace. If she focused on it, it could lock onto anything she wanted and use this lock to target automatically anything she wanted, be it people or objects. One of the first thing her opponent did when they started the second part of their fight was to pull out rocket launchers and send a whole salvo of missile to her. The Scope then kicked in, locking into each and every missile she then took out, shooting only one bullet for each projectile that exploded in mid-air after covering less than half of the distance between them. And she did all that while firing at will at her opponent, dealing a fair amount of damages that got emphasized by the 'HIT' that appear every time a bullet hit its target. However, she realized that some shots were followed by a 'GREAT', sign that it somehow did more damages. And using the fact that she had sent her evil sister to the ground after a buckshot fired at point blank range, Bisca used the scope and realized that it showed her red circle here and there on the monster, one on the forehead, one on her chest and two other on her shoulders. Curious, she had pulled a sniper rifle out of her inventory and fired a bullet in the circle on her chest and another one just next to it, the first one showing a 'GREAT' while the second a simple 'HIT'.

- "Al ! I can see those things weak points !" She shouted happily, looking at her partner who looked back at her.

- "That's great news Bis ! Do you think you can tell me where my twin got his own ?" He asked just as the Another Alzack pulled out of the rubbles and ran at his original, only to be shot down by three sniper shot, one to the head, one on the chest and the third on his belly.

- "Here they are !" Smirked Bisca, only for Alzack to shot at her, or rather behind her, her evil twin back up and ready to fire at her, Alzack's shot interrupting her easily.

- "Thanks for the tip, Bis. Now, let's see how it goes."

While the two mages now stomped on their opponents, in the meantime, the two Riders took care of their own problems with a lot less trouble than the mages. They were already destroying the Bugster and the Gamma when they were in their basic form, but now that they brought out the big guns, they were basically toying with them. The monster's attacks weren't even grazing the Riders who, using either their fists or their cannons, pummeled the creatures who were so overwhelmed they at some points that they couldn't even counter-attack. After a few more minutes of superiority, the four of them decided to finish it off as they had some other things to do after that.

GENKAI DAI KAIGAN ! DEEP SPECTER GIGA OMEGA DRIVE !

DAI KAIGAN ! CONNELL OMEGA STRIKE !

GACHON ! KIMEWAZA ! GACHAN ! BANG BANG CRITICAL FIRE !

KIMEWAZA ! SILENT CRITICAL FINISH !

Specter jumped high in the air, flying kicking the Knight Gamma with a purple energy covered foot while Snipe combined his arms cannons together and charging them with blue energy before firing it at his opponent, the two monsters exploding soon after. As for the mages, eyes appeared in front of Alzack's guns as he unloaded 12 bullets, 6 by guns, the 12 shots hitting home at a blinding speed, each bullet leaving a shining eye on the monster, eyes that exploded when the last one hit the Another Alzack, destroying it completely, while Bisca's weapons appeared all around the monster, firing at Another Bisca, pummeling her with bullets while the mage charged one sniper shot which then hit the monster with a 'PERFECT', the creature exploding as a 'GAME CLEAR' appeared out of the explosion. The room now free of enemies, the two mages and two Riders cancelled their transformations, Al and Bis looking at each other with large grin on their face.

- "That was awesome !" Bisca grinned like a child.

- "Yeah, it was." Admitted Alzack, just as excited.

- "I kind of understand your excitement, but we're not completely done here." Reminded Makoto.

- "He's right. We've got to keep going and find Ryusei and your blonde friend. They might need some extra help." Added Taiga.

- "You're right. Let's go, we've got friends to help."

/- With Lucy and Ryusei -/

After leaving their friends behind to take care of Alzack and Bisca's Another Mage with Makoto and Taiga to assist them, Lucy and Ryusei, who had yet to transform as he was more than used to fight than some other Riders, had followed the hallway and were now exploring more of the base, looking for one of their lost Rider friend.

- "I hope they'll be alright." Said Lucy, looking back at the way they came, thinking about those they left behind.

- "Don't be so worried, they'll be fine." Said Ryusei. "Besides, we've got our own problem to deal with." He finished just as Shocker Combatmen appeared at the other end of the hallway they were in, making Lucy turn around with a fierce look in her eyes, grabbing her whip.

- "Then let's show them what we can do !"

- "Not going to use one of your spirit ?" Asked the Rider.

- "No, not this time. They are all weakened because of that fake me fighting Gentaro and I won't let them get hurt even more." The answer of the blonde made Ryusei smirk before they both ran at the enemies. Even without his powers, Ryusei was a real pain to be dealt with thanks to his training, each one of his strike hitting home and dealing a fair share of damage, not a single Combatmen succeeding in even grazing him. As for Lucy, she might not be the strongest in hand to hand fighting, but she was strong enough to deal with some soldiers, mainly thanks to her mastery in whip wielding that allowed her to literally wipe the floor with opponent she had caught with her magical weapon. In a matter of minutes, the whole platoon had been disposed of, allowing the two comrades to keep looking for their friends.

- "Where the hell are they ? This base can't be that big, can it ?" Asked Lucy as they walk along yet another empty hallway.

- "I wouldn't be surprised if it was." Admitted Ryusei and then, they got a sign. At the other end of the hallway, a wall suddenly exploded, making the two of them look at each other and then, with a nod, run toward it to see what happened. When they arrived, they saw that it was Gentaro who had gone though the wall, the Rider back to his civilian clothes, his body bruised and his pompadour out of shape but otherwise still able to fight as he stood up, glaring at the hole he just made.

- "GENTARO !" Shouted the two as they ran to their friend, who turn his head just in time to see them approach.

- "Lucy ! Ryusei ! What are you doing here ?"

- "What do you think ? We're here to give you all a hand." Said Ryusei.

- "We saw what happened thanks to one of your Foodroids." Gentaro guessed Lucy was talking about Burgermeal but said nothing. "You were in trouble and it's not like Fairy Tail to let down a friend who's in need of help."

- "Yeah, I figured as much." Answered Gentaro with a smile before turning to the hole. "And to be honest, I do need some extra help with this guy."

Turning their head, Lucy and Ryusei saw none other than Another Lucy, standing in the middle of a room where it was defending some kind of generator. Ryusei and Lucy both stood on each side of Gentaro, eyes locked on the monster. Ryusei pulled out his Driver and put it on his waist as Gentaro pressed the red switches on his own to transform back again as Lucy clutched her whip in her hand.

METEOR, READY ?

3 ! 2 ! 1 !

- "HENSHIN !"

In a show of light and smoke, both Riders transformed standing side by side, armored and ready to fight while glancing at Lucy who had yet to pull out a key, which surprised Gentaro.

- "You're not gonna fight with your friends, Lucy ?"

- "This monster… The creatures he can summon…"

- "Yeah, the Horoscopes. Gotta say that surprised me when it first did it." Said Gentaro. "What's the problem with them ?"

- "Those creature… They are stealing the strength of the corresponding Stellar Spirit." Gentaro's eyes widen under his helmet. "And if they're weakened, I won't summon them to be hurt even more." Gentaro smiled, loving this state of mind of her before turning back to their opponent who had yet to move.

- "Alright then. Let's do this !" And they all rushed at the Another who immediately countered with two summon, the Taurus and Aquarius Zodiarts, which made Lucy's glare harden, the Stella Spirit mage rushing at her evil twin while Meteor fought Taurus and Gentaro faced Aquarius.

ELEK ON !

Switching to Elek State, Gentaro swung at Aquarius, the monster barely dodging the rod at each swing, throwing some attacks of his own that Gentaro dodged too, the fight pretty balanced. With Meteor, the fight was pretty much the same, Ryusei and Taurus both dealing as many blows as they dodged. For Lucy however, it wasn't exactly the same. Another Lucy's whip wielding was as good as the original, the two also evenly matched when it came to dodging. But Lucy wasn't the same as usual. She was driven by pure rage and fury aimed at this thing that not only dared to use her powers but also made her spiritual friends suffer simply by existing. As soon as Lucy managed to wrap her whip around her opponent, she had a way to vent of her anger. Using a strength she didn't knew she had, she lifted the creature and send it crashing into a wall then, pulling it back to her, Lucy Kicked her hard in the chest, sending it rolling to the ground.

- "Damn ! I never knew Lucy was this strong." Said Gentaro as he kicked at Aquarius with Chainsaw.

- "Looks like she want to make that Another pay for making her friends suffer." Explained Ryusei while side-stepping Taurus.

- "And when you're fighting for your buddies…"

SCISSORS ON !

- "…You're always stronger !"

JUPITER, READY ! OK, JUPITER !

They both struck their opponents thanks to an opening, the first slashing many times Aquarius with the Scissors Module while the second sent Taurus flying by slamming Jupiter into it. The Zodiarts hadn't been destroyed, but it gave an opportunity to the Riders to go and help Lucy. Or so they though. Another Lucy had yet to give up, summoning two others Zodiarts, namely Virgo and Sagittarius, which respectively blocked Fourze and Meteor while the Another managed to free itself from Lucy's whip and then summoning the Leo Zodiarts. Lucy glared at the feline monster and threw her whip at it, but it caught it and used it to pull her toward him and then punch her hard in the gut, sending her to the ground, breathless and spitting blood.

- "LUCY !" Shouted the Riders, worried for the blonde, Leo walking to her as they struggled with the Zodiarts, now two on one, making the fights pretty much one-sided as they had to not only fight Aquarius and Taurus but also dodge Virgo's black hole and Sagittarius' shots. As for the blonde, she got back up, her glare still intact despite the pain, once again running at the lion, her mind set on beating it so she could go and make her doppelganger pay. But the Zodiarts was a merciless opponent who didn't waste an opportunity to beat its opponent. When she got close enough, it took barely into account the whip slashes and the kicks she dealt, too busy beating her to a pulp, cutting her skin with its claws, drawing blood and sending the poor blonde to the ground. The Rider immediately tried to go help her as she was barely moving on the ground, but it only gave their opponents openings they instantly used, jumping and firing at them, which sent them to the other side of the room, away from Lucy who had yet to get back up.

*LUCY !* In her head, the blonde could hear her spirits talking to her. "Stop being so stubborn, moo ! Let us fight with you !"

- "I… I can't…" She muttered stubbornly.

*Princess, surely you can't be serious ? You need help and we're here to provide just that.* Added Virgo.

- "You're all… sick… Can't let you… get hurt…" She said as she pushed on her hand, pulling her upper body off the floor.

*You little brat ! When did you became so stubborn !* Roared Aquarius, her anger laced with a tint of anguish. *You can't fight that thing alone !*

- "I don't care…" Seethed the blonde as she lifted her head. Her hair where all out of place, blood was flowing out of the corner of her mouth, she had bad bruise all over her body and face, but her glare was just as fiery as before having lost nothing of her fury.

*Lucy, we're your friends ! You know that better than anyone !" Stated Leo, her Leo. "It doesn't matter if those things are stealing our powers, we can and will fight for you !*

- "I've always been… The one that has to be saved…" She remembered all those times she'd been helpless and needed someone to save her, the help often coming from her spirits. "This time, I'll be the one to save you all." She then stood back up, slightly wobbly on her legs. "So I'll fight to the end and win !" She ran at the Leo Zodiart once again, the monster side-stepping to dodge her sloppy punch and then grab her by the neck, lifting her in the air with one hand, her feet dangling above the ground. It was slightly choking her, lifting her other hand to deal one last and fatal blow. The Riders were frantic, trying to free themselves from their opponents, using either stealth or strength to pass by them but nothing worked. As for Lucy's spirits, they were all crying for her to summon one of them to save her and for a moment, she didn't reacted. She just stared at the roof of the room, wondering if she hadn't bit more than she could chew. She slowly dragged her hand to her pouch, feeling like she had no other way to pull herself out of this one when suddenly she was reminded of what Leo told her in her mind.

*… It doesn't matter if those things are stealing our powers …*

"They stole their power ?" Then she glanced at her evil twin and at the rusted keys dangling on her waist then at the lion beast that was strangling her. She then had an idea. The kind of stupid idea that only seems bright when you're out of option. She didn't knew if this could work, but her guts said that it could. She clutched Leo's key in her hand and closed her eyes, concentrating on her power, on the link she shared with her spirits.

- "What is she doing ?" Wondered Ryusei as he was blasted once again by Virgo.

- "I don't know. But her magic… Its growing." Added Gentaro, seeing a shimmering golden light coming out of her hand that slowly formed an aura around her.

- "Close… the door…"

- "What is she mumbling now ?"

- "CLOSE THE DOOR TO THE LION !"

In desperate cases, people often tend to pray for a miracle to happen and save them. Lucy didn't prayed for it. She shouted for it. And as soon as she did, much to everyone surprise, the Leo Zodiarts began to shine, particle of light coming out of its body as he let go of Lucy and took a few steps back trying to understand what was happening to him when he totally disappeared. Now free of the choker hold and using the fact that everyone, monsters included, were too shocked by what happened to do anything, Lucy threw her whip which wrapped around Virgo she then brought back down, straight into Sagittarius as they both got sent to the ground, the surprise allowing Fourze and Meteor to get rid of Aquarius and Taurus. The Another Lucy, the surprise passed, headed to Lucy, her spiky whip ready to lash at her, but this time…

MARS, READY ! OK, MARS !

CLAW, WHEEL LIMIT BREAL !

It was stop dead in its track by the two Riders that suddenly appeared in front of the monster which was sent flying by the double impact, the monster rolling on the ground as the Riders helped Lucy to stand.

- "Lucy, you were amazing ! How did you do that ?!" Asked Fourze, talking about what happened with the Leo Zodiarts.

- "Just like this thing is an evil twin of mine, those Zodiarts are evil copies of my spirits." Explained Lucy. "And since they used stellar spirit energy to exist, I figured that they were connected in some ways and if this guy can summon part of my spirits power, then I probably could send it back by closing the door. And apparently, it worked pretty well." Just then, the 4 Zodiarts left came running back for them, but Lucy reacted quickly enough and grabbed the four keys corresponding to the Zodiarts and managed to force them to close, the monsters disappearing in flashes of lights as Lucy fell to her knees.

- "Lucy, are you alright ?" Asked a concerned Ryusei as Lucy simply smiled tiredly.

- "Yeah. Looks like forcing door to close like that is pretty energy consuming." She said as she managed to get up.

- "It doesn't matter. Now thanks to you, we only have one bad guy to deal with." Said Gentaro, turning to their opponent while pulling out his NS-MagPhone.

N/S MAGNET ON !

- "He's right. Let's end this as soon as possible." Added Ryusei as he stood by Gentaro's side. But as they were about to attack, the Another Lucy pulled out two new keys and summoned two Zodiarts to face the Riders. "Libra and Pisces, huh ? Lucy, can you do that thing again ?"

- "I can't. And it's not a matter of having enough strength." Answered Lucy while gritting her teeth. "I don't have their keys. I can't close their door."

- "Then we'll have to deal with it the old fashioned way." Said Fourze as he fired at Pisces with his N and S Magnet Cannon while Meteor fought against Libra. Both Riders fought evenly with their opponent, but the fight quickly became unfair when they were joined by others Zodiarts. Orion, Altar, Hound but also Canis Minor and Lyra appeared to fought the Riders, each new summoning making Lucy's anger grew as she could feel her own Lyra and Plue suffer from the presence of their evil twins. And knowing that this suffering was shared by spirits all over the world didn't helped to ease her mind. Having a hard time, Meteor decided to kick it up a notch, pulling out his Meteor Storm Switch.

METEOR STORM ! METEOR ON, READY ?

Changed and now wearing the yellow and blue armor of his upgraded form, Meteor rushed back into the fight even harder than before, pushing back the Zodiarts. Gentaro was about to join in, but as he grabbed his Cosmic Switch, something stopped him. Somewhere within him, he felt like this wasn't the right thing to do. He looked at the Switch a moment, then at Lucy, then back at the Switch, feeling like he knew what he had to do. But first, he needed to by some time.

NS MAGNET LIMIT BREAK ! RIDER CHŌ DENJI BOMBER !

Gentaro, instead of switching stated, fired with his magnetic cannons at the Zodiarts, hitting Pisces as it was locked, crushed and destroyed by the magnetic bomb he had fired. This made the fight easier for Meteor who could take care of the rest while Fourze turned to Lucy.

- "Lucy, take this." He said as he handed her the Cosmic Switch, which she grabbed with slightly shaking hands. "This thing is your enemy to fight. You know what to do right ?" As she nodded, he smiled and joined Ryusei in taking care of the rest of the Zodiarts before holding back Another Lucy while the real one tried to infuse her magic in the device.

"Come on…" She was giving everything she had to the Switch, but it wasn't changing. "I used too much magic to force close those doors. Damn it… I have to succeed. I can't let my friends down when they needed me. Come on… Come on… COME ON !"

And then, as she was struggling to create an hybrid Switch, something she couldn't believe happened. Every stopped whatever they were doing when the a bright light shone on the roof of the room they were in, blinding them all for a few seconds before subsiding and letting people realized that the roof looked like it had been ripped apart, creating an opening showing a sky full of stars as if the room had been sent into space in which stood a massive old man wearing a shining armor, arms crossed as it looked at the battlefield beneath him.

- "What's that ?" Asked Ryusei as Gentaro's eyes widened under his helmet.

- "That's… It's the king of the Stellar Spirit." Said Gentaro, remembering the day he and Lucy met him when they tried to save Leo back when he was still known as Loki.

- "The king… What are you doing here ?" Asked Lucy, dumbfounded by the spirit sudden appearance.

- "Old friends, if I am here in front of you today, it is because I need your help as much as you need mine." Began the king with his deep voice, glaring at the Another Lucy. "This evil creature is causing my old friends to suffer and it also could threaten our world shall this continue. I may not be able to intervene directly, but I can give you some help to make sure this thing cease to provoke such grief and pain." As he said that, a ray of light fell from the starry sky and hit the Switch Lucy already infused with her magic, making it look like a massive silver key with an aquamarine upper part here and there with a golden star in the middle. "This will help you defeating that wretched being. I'll even allow you to rent the power of more than your own partners. Now, go and fight, dear friend."

Lucy nodded and got back up as golden light shone around her waist and formed a weird new version of the Fourze Driver. It was, just like the switch-like key, silver with aquamarine on top. However, while the original Driver had 4 slots with a screen and red Transwitches, this had 13 keyholes with one being larger and in the middle, located behind a round black screen. Not wanting to waste any more time, Lucy inserted the large switch in the corresponding hole, turn sideway.

STELLAR COSMOS !

Suddenly, Lucy's golden keys began to shine and float around her, circling above her head. And in addition, three golden keys appeared out of nowhere, joining the 9 others, completing the set, Lucy immediately understanding what they were. The Pisces, Capricorn and Libra keys. She now understood what the kind meant by renting more than her own partners. Even if it was for a short time, she was happy to be working with them. With the 12 keys by her side, she finally took a pose and put her hand on the Switch.

- "HENSHIN !"

STELLAR COSMOS ON !

The 12 Golden Keys inserted themselves in the 12 slots of the Driver as Lucy turned the Switch which star was now facing forward. Light shone from above as it enveloped Lucy who, after a few minutes, was transformed and ready to fight. She was wearing a silver suit with aquamarine boots, gloves, chest plate and pauldrons with a golden star on her chest, knees and hands, but also on the helmet she was wearing, her hair flowing out of it from the back. She was also holding onto a sword that looked like the Barizun Sword but with a different color scheme and without the lever nor the rocket casing around the blade which had a silver edge and a center that looked like a live starry sky.

- "Wow. Now that's what I call badass." Said Gentaro as he looked at Lucy who stood in the middle of the room, glaring at her evil twin.

- "I wonder what kind of power she'll have with this." Wondered Ryusei.

Another Lucy simply growled and pulled out a key, summoning the Cancer and Scorpion Zodiarts that immediately ran at their opponent, but Lucy wasn't even fazed. She simply lifted a hand and turned two of her keys.

CANCER ON ! SCORPIO ON !

The symbol of said spirits shone on the screen in the middle of the Driver and two sphere of light shot out of it, quickly taking shape to become the Stellar Spirit in question that both stood at Lucy's side. But they weren't exactly the same. They looked as if they had been upgraded, Scorpion's cannon much bigger and Cancer's scissors much longer and sharper, as well as some armor covering them both.

- "WE AAAAAARE !" Shouted Scorpio, blasting his Zodiart away with his sand.

- "Time to make them pay." Said Cancer as he slashed at the Cancer Zodiart with his scissors.

Both spirits, empowered by the Rider powers that were granted to Lucy, were plowing through the Zodiarts, sending them both back with each blow. And after a good two minutes of beating down, Lucy pulled le lever of her Driver.

CANCER SCORPIO STELLAR BREAK !

Scorpio took position, crawling and pointing his cannon at his opponent as Cancer's blades shone brightly. After charging up, the two spirits unleashed their attacks, two crab pincer shaped energy blade, each fusing with the sand shot by Scorpio, both attacks overpowering the Zodiarts, slicing though them easily as they exploded. Another Lucy, after seeing this, growled and summoned many Zodiarts of every kind, all of them rushing at Lucy while some, like the Altar Zodiart, fired at Lucy from afar. But the blonde hasn't shown everything she could now do. She grabbed a key that she turned to the other side and grabbed another one that she pulled out of the Driver and inserted in the sword handle.

AQUARIUS ON !

SAGITTARIUS ON !

First, water came out of the Driver and formed a tidal wave that crashed onto the Zodiarts that were rushing at her, sending them back as energy seeped out of her sword and formed some kind of bow she then aimed at the ones who had kept their distances. She then pulled Sagittarius out of the sword and replaced it with Taurus while also activating Gemini and pulling the lever one more time.

AQUARIUS GEMINI TAURUS STELLAR BREAK !

Using Gemini's power, Lucy created a double of herself, wielding the same sword, weapon that got surrounded by water that took the shape of a gigantic axe. Standing side by side, the twins first spun their axes around, sending a blast of swirling water at the Zodiarts, trapping them inside a whirlpool that they then slashed by bringing their axes down on it, which destroyed all the monsters much to the Riders shock, the two of them looking at the scene in awe.

- "She took them all at once ?! How strong is she, right now ?" Asked Ryusei, amazed by Lucy's performance and power.

- "I don't know, but now I'm sure of one thing : she can destroy that fake." Added Gentaro and indeed, Lucy wasn't going to make this fight last any longer.

LEO ON !

Blade shining with the power of Regulus, she ran at her Another who tried to hit her with the spiky whip she was armed with but Lucy's sword took care of the weapon, slicing it to bits as she kept running at her opponent. Once she was close enough, the first thing she did was to cut the Another hand, forcing her to let go of the key she wanted to use and then slice said keys, sending them scattering on the ground and away from Another Lucy, the original now free to pummel her evil twin, unleashing a flurry of light powered slashes that the Another couldn't dodge at all. With one last slash that sent it rolling to the ground, Lucy decided that it was time to finish this once and for all and for that, she took the Stellar Cosmos Switch out of the Driver and plugged it in the sword.

ALL STAR ! STELLAR COSMOS LIMIT BREAK !

The same kind of distortion that created the sky in which the Stellar Spirit King appeared, but this time, the whole room disappeared and Lucy and her Another got stuck in what looked like the middle of space, surrounded by planet and stars. Lucy held her sword with both of her hands as twelves ray of golden light coming out of the golden keys, each ball of light shooting through space and reaching their own constellation, making the said constellation shine behind Lucy. They then all fired golden beams of light at the Another Lucy, putting their symbol on the creature as Lucy swung her golden light covered blade, sending a crescent moon shaped energy blade at the monster, blade that triggered the explosion of the different symbols before exploding itself, the whole thing creating a galaxy shaped explosion that blew the monster to smithereens as the void around them disappeared, sending Lucy and the mage that had been turned into Another Lucy back to the room where Gentaro and Ryusei both stood.

- "That… was… awesome !" Shouted Gentaro, completely in awe at what he just saw.

- "I knew upgrading the Cosmic Switch with magic would make a really powerful form, but that was much stronger than expected." Admitted Ryusei as Lucy powered down, joining them.

- "Well, that was one hell of a fight." Sighed Lucy, her body still hurting from the beating she got. "But let's get back to what matters. What were you looking for, Gentaro ?"

- "Oh yeah. We were all looking for whatever they were using to power that thing that they are building. That's why we split up in the first place. But I wasn't expecting to face this kind of opponent."

- "Well, at least now this generator is defenseless." Said Lucy. "We better take care of this one and go find the others. I have a feeling this is only the beginning."

Nodding, the riders promptly destroyed the generator and ran out of the room with the Stellar Spirit Mage, looking for their friends, in hope to put an end to whatever Shocker was planning before it was too late, not realizing that this might already be the case.

DANGAN : Bullet / MAHŌ : magic / SAISOKU NO MUHŌMONO : the quickest outlaw / SHIZUKANA SHI : Silent death / KANPEKINA SOGEKI-HEI : perfect sharpshooter

There it is. I hope you liked it. Don't forget to review, fav or follow to show you liked it and we'll see each other later for some new chapter. See ya !

Next time : The bookworm's life burn bright. Panther, Tora, Cheetah. The birth of a dragon and the speedster second coming.