Kamen Rider Smash
Episode 4 – The Parallel Guardian
Data File #07: Factory Shootout
"A tip about a sharpshooter Mii with a strong reflector led us into a mess. The security company Perfect Life was involved and their dark secrets were put in the open when Kenshin was caught in the middle. Wolf and Dark Samus also showed up with Primids which we thought were long gone. Needless to say Kenshin would have been a goner had he not attained a new form, Lylat Outlaw. Using his new long range form he bested the Mii's, Primids, even sent Dark Samus and Wolf on the run. What worries me though is all this commotion is going on, yet Palutena hasn't spoken up yet. What could she be planning?"
"I'm hoping things can calm down a bit for us to deal with all this," Samus admitted as she looked through a stack of papers she was holding. "We've got two Mii's to question, plus the Perfect Life case to get on now that we presented the footage to Dedede. Things are starting to pile up and I don't like it."
"What can I say, the kid gets the job done," Captain Falcon chuckled. "To think in the span of a few cases he'd have done this much for us, huh?"
"Which is why I ordered him to take the day off," Samus mentioned as she glanced through the papers she was holding.
"He deserves a bit of a break, hopefully nothing too big pops up," Fox mentioned as he joined the others to help Samus with the paperwork.
"Who can work on the questioning? I'd like to handle this Perfect Life business myself if at all possible," Samus replied.
"I'll work on the questioning," Captain Falcon offered. "Shouldn't be too hard right?"
"So when are we going to address the elephant in the room?" Cloud asked as he was looking at a few pictures taken from Kenshin's live feed. "The fact that Wolf and Dark Samus showed up with Primids isn't exactly something to take lightly."
"I've actually got Shadow working on that, he's going to try and locate Mr. Game & Watch to confirm if he's been taken or not," Samus replied. "Needless to say it's a bit worrying that the Subspace Army might be making a return. But that at least confirms to us that Tabuu is on the move again. We at least have time to figure out a counterattack."
"What about the other regions? Any word on them yet?" Fox asked.
"No word yet," Captain Falcon replied. "Though granted a few of them disagree with CORE's creation, I doubt they'll be willing to let us know. They'd rather solve the problem on their own or work with Palutena."
"It can't be helped, for now let's try and do what we can to mitigate this problem," Samus suggested as the others nodded in approval.
"That… is a lot to take in," Junmei admitted as she rested her head in one of her hands. The Subspace Emissary, Resetting the World, Galeem and Dharkon alongside Origin Impact being explained. It was a lot for her to try and take in; especially since she was told her brother wasn't at ground zero after Tabuu was defeated. "So he hasn't turned up anywhere?"
"Afraid not," Dark Pit lied, it being easy for him since he could put the mission first and foremost.
Palutena had to send Pit away to do some chores in order to keep him from being guilty over lying to Junmei. She cleared her throat. "There's a chance he could be in Subspace with Tabuu, but attempting a rescue mission would need a lot of preparation and you're not combat capable."
Junmei heard this and stood up, putting both her hands on the table as she gave a serious stare towards Palutena. "Train me, give me a weapon, try and find some way for me to be able to fight. I have to find him; he's the only person I have left. I owe him for so much, so I refuse to just stand here and do nothing!"
"That's a sudden change of mood," Dark Pit remarked.
"The love between siblings is something that is very powerful," Palutena admitted, feeling a bit bad that she was lying to Junmei. But there was no telling if Kenshin was actually her brother aside from his name. Still she had to keep him an unknown factor for the time being. She then stood up from her seat. "Very well, come with me. I've been making preparations for the past month just in case you came to this decision."
Junmei stood straight before following after Palutena and Dark Pit, the two heading to another part of her temple. To Junmei's surprise there was a more industrial and technology based section built in. "This wasn't here originally was it?"
"No, I actually had it commissioned by several Mii Scientists when I approached them about a way to help you recover," Palutena explained as they made their way into the lab. "We've been studying a new hero that's shown up and found a way to copy his power. If everything goes well you'll be able to access this power."
"Okay, so what exactly is… it…" Junmei stopped as she saw at the back of the room was a blank mannequin with a Token Driver strapped on its waist. The Driver had a Smash Token as its power source as well, the Kanji for Echo being etched on it. The coloration of the Driver was grey with purple detailing and accents. "Oh you've got to be kidding me, a Super Nintendo colored Driver?!"
"Wait you know what the Token Driver is?" Palutena questioned in surprise as she turned to face the young woman.
"How the heck do you guys know about Kamen Rider?" Junmei asked as she immediately walked over to it, a few scientists being surprised by how close Junmei was to the equipment. "My brother and I used to watch that franchise when we were younger. Granted it's been a while since I actually watched one. But the point still stands, are you saying I'm going to become a Kamen Rider?"
"The girl is full of surprises," Dark Pit remarked with a chuckle, it seemed like Junmei would be fairly fast on the uptake.
"How exactly does this work?" Junmei asked as she looked over the Driver before noticing that several scientists were trying to force her back. "Oh sorry, just got a bit excited." She gave a sheepish smile before moving back.
"Please be more careful when touching my sensitive equipment!" The lead scientist called out a bit angered. "This is a delicate device."
"Sheesh," Junmei didn't really care for how sensitive the scientist was being about the Driver. Though she figured it would be best to change topics. "So who is this copied from anyway?"
"If one of you would care to explain," Palutena said.
"The latest hero in Smash City, Kamen Rider Smash," Another scientist said as holographic footage of Kamen Rider Smash's two fights played out. There was luckily no footage of Kenshin transforming, as it seemed the scientists were more concerned with the suits data in fights. "He only showed up recently, and is a complete mystery, which worries a lot of people."
"But Kamen Riders are protectors of the people, unless he's an Evil Rider but he doesn't seem like it," Junmei replied.
"There is a chance he's using the heroic act as a facade," Palutena suggested. "Studying his power closely it appears as though he draws some kind of variant of Subspace, like Tabuu does."
"He might be able to lead me to my brother then," Junmei figured. "But if I have to guess, I'm not strong enough yet, right?"
"Exactly, you two will meet in due time but for now we should focus on getting you combat ready," Palutena explained, she was hoping that if they did meet it would play out well enough in her favor.
"While you were healing and resting we studied your body, while not drawing from some variant of Subspace, you have a unique power that will allow you to transform just like he does," The lead scientist spoke up. "Though your power is so unique that you require a specific way of transforming, using what we call Echo Fighters."
"Remember the Tokens I mentioned that were dispersed whenever Smash Origin was defeated?" Palutena asked as Junmei nodded. "Well Smash doesn't seem to have a set pattern to the Tokens he uses. You however need to use the power of an Original Fighter and their Echo Fighter, a warrior who mimics their power similarly."
"Oh I think I remember echo fighters yeah," Junmei said, while Kenshin and she didn't play a lot of Smash later on in its life cycle, she did remember the talk of clone characters being labeled as Echo Fighters. This did make her wonder though how many terms from the game made their way into this world. "Do we have Tokens lined up for me?"
"We do actually, which is why when you're ready I'll send you and Pit to Altea to meet with Marth. He's acquired two Smash Tokens for me to use once I asked him," Palutena explained.
"Sounds good to me," Junmei gave a nod before an audible growl was heard. "Can I get some food first? The tea was wonderfully calming but I think I need something in my stomach before we start."
"Of course, I'll cook you up a feast," Palutena smiled before heading off.
"This is really weird…" Kenshin admitted as he walked through the streets of Smash City, a bit confused by the fact that Samus had actually given him the day off. "What am I supposed to do on my day off? And why couldn't I just nap all day?" He groaned out as he continued to wander the streets. Surely there had to be action happening that he wasn't aware of. Granted he was grateful considering how much of a close call he had during his previous fight.
"You seem troubled," A voice called from above.
"Yeah, I'm trying to figure out what to do for the day but I'm coming up blank," Kenshin sighed, not noticing the voice was coming from above him.
"Perhaps you could help me with something then, you seem to be the right guy for the job," The voice replied.
"Sure mysterious voice, whatever you say," Kenshin said before realizing he had no idea who was talking to him and looked around. Seeing no one he looked up and gave a yelp, stepping back as he saw Meta Knight standing on the light post above him. "Meta Knight?!"
Meta Knight nodded his body before wrapping himself in his cape, soon warping down to a nearby Mailbox as he stood face to face with Kenshin. "I know that we don't interact much but I was hoping to borrow you for a bit."
"Um sure, wait your in the know right? Cause you work with Dedede," Kenshin said, figuring that Meta Knight had to know of his identity.
"I am, which is why I'm requesting your assistance to begin with," Meta Knight replied. "There seems to be a group of thugs who are trying to make it big."
"Listen I don't deal with Mii's acting tough, especially if their just punks," Kenshin replied.
"Normally yes, however I've heard rumors that their leader has been leaving their victims charred and paralyzed at times," Meta Knight replied. "It sounds to me like he has the power of electricity. We both know that a Mii shouldn't have access to that kind of power."
"Fair enough," Kenshin gave a sigh, though he figured it could be an easy to retrieve Smash Token this time. "But only because it'll help me collect another Token and I need to do something instead of wandering around bored."
"I shall lead the way," Meta Knight said, his cape spreading into bat wings before he glided off, Kenshin running off after him.
"We gave it a few days, but now that we've called you here I'd like you to answer a few of my questions, after you tell me what happened of course." Captain Falcon said as he sat in an interrogation room, keeping a relaxed pose to show he wasn't going to go too hard on whoever he was questioning. He was currently facing the Mii Gunner who had turned into the Feral Islander, the Mii calming down with some coffee. King Dedede meanwhile was watching from behind the tinted glass of the room, both Falcon and the Mii unable to see him.
"I can tell you what happened to the best of my ability," The Gunner gave a nod. "My friend and I were sparring since I wanted to try and take on one of the bigger tournaments. Suddenly this bandaged man in a brown coat approached me and my friend and just tossed my friend to the side. He wanted me to make a contract or something and then punched me. I felt so much pain I just blacked out."
"What happened after that?" Captain Falcon asked.
"Fire… I remember feeling hot and then suddenly waking up surrounded by dozens of other Mii's," The Gunner explained. "I'm afraid that's all I can tell you."
"I see so nothing aside from feeling hot?" Captain Falcon inquired; he needed to be thorough with this.
"I'm afraid not sir, I'm sorry if I wasn't much help," The Gunner admitted.
"No you've been plenty of help," Captain Falcon admitted with a smile, he at least knew the guy Cloud ran into was the one who caused the transformation in the first place. "Go home get some rest and keep up with your training. You'll make a fine adversary for anyone if you put your mind to it."
"Of course, thank you," The Gunner gave a nod.
"I'll be right back and after that you'll be free to go," Captain Falcon said before exiting the room and going over to King Dedede after he closed the door. "Looks like the first Mii wasn't that willing to be turned into a monster."
"Yep, sounds to me like that bandaged man is the culprit," King Dedede mentioned, remembering Samus briefly mention him when he demanded his report on Kenshin.
"From what we can gather, we can assume this bandaged man hails from the same world Kenshin is from." Captian Falcon theorized. "He may have some connection to Tabuu or just Subspace given all the brief Subspace Portals opening up that we've detected. Tabuu also had the ability to corrupt our essence to create a monstrous power."
"So possibly Tabuu found someone from an outside world and gave them some of his power. Or maybe someone found what was left of Tabuu after Origin Impact and took up that power. We assume he's alive, but what if someone took up the mantle?" The president suggested as he began to pace in thought. "But continuing, that person starts to collect Smash Tokens and uses whatever power they have to corrupt it, and this Mii was just a random target."
"More than likely, Samus looked into the background of this one and he's just a Gunner who frequents small tournaments," Captain Falcon replied. "We can't figure out a pattern just yet."
"Bring in the next one then," King Dedede suggested. "See if we can learn something through him since Fox reported the second monster was more unique."
"Of course," Captain Falcon agreed before heading in to the interrogation room to dismiss the gunner.
"This place is incredible!" Junmei called out as she spun while moving forward, they were currently in the main capital of Altea, a large sprawling town with a castle at the center. "Kenshin would love it here…" She gave a soft smile.
"Glad you're enjoying yourself," Pit smiled, glad to see Junmei was looking a lot more upbeat than usual. "Unfortunately we won't be seeing the castle today."
"Aw fine…" Junmei sighed with a light pout, figuring that the trip was too good to be true. Though if the castle wasn't their destination, that just made her curious. "Where are we going anyway?"
"We're going to meet with the man that Marth entrusted the Smash Tokens to," Pit replied. "Instead of keeping them in the castle and putting it at risk, they hid them in the city."
"That makes sense," Junmei nodded, getting the gist of why they'd do something like that. "Then lead the way."
"Right," Pit gave a nod before heading through a small open plaza that had a path running towards the castle. His destination however was a storage house that was along the path. Once there Pit gave a knock on the door, a small piece sliding away to reveal a pair of eyes before the small piece slid back.
The door opened up revealing Chrom and Robin, the former greeting the two with a smile and a wave. "Pit, I'm glad you could make it. And you brought a friend."
"Hello there," Junmei gave a bit of a shy wave; it was finally starting to settle in that the world she landed in was a big mishmash of famed characters.
"Sorry if we came on short notice, but we figured it would be best to get a head start," Pit admitted.
"A wise choice, come on in, we can give you the items out of view," Robin suggested as he moved out of the way. Junmei and Pit both entered while Chrom closed the door, the group heading over to a few boxes that were set up like chairs. To their surprise the floor was actually covered in wooden boards and not stone.
"Please sit, I'm sure it was a bit of walk to get here even if you didn't go all the way to the castle," Chrom offered as the two travelers sat on their own boxes.
"Alright, here we go," Robin said as he walked over to a certain plank of wood before lifting it slightly and reaching in. He pulled out a white cloth before going over and placing it on the box in the center of everyone. He unraveled the cloth revealing Marth and Lucina's Smash Tokens.
"So what are these supposed to do?" Chrom asked as he had heard Smash Tokens had great power, but no one was able to really tap into that power.
"They'll let me transform into what's called a Kamen Rider, an armored hero who fights against evil," Junmei replied, figuring it would be alright to let Chrom and Robin know.
"A Kamen Rider… Marth was informed about one in Smash City a day back, they were calling him Kamen Rider Smash." Robin mused. "Are you his partner?"
"Oh no," Junmei said as she held her hands up. "We haven't met yet, I do hope to meet him one day though."
"Now that we have the tokens though, I'm wondering if we can test them out," Pit said as he stared at the two, figuring it would be best for Junmei to get some practice in.
"I know a good spot for training where we won't be interrupted actually," Chrom suggested before a loud explosion was heard outside. The force of the explosion shook the storage building they were standing in. "What was that?"
"Clearly trouble," Pit said as he stood up. "Junmei stay here, we'll handle this."
"Sorry to say but this may just be my perfect chance for a test run," Junmei said, taking the two Tokens before heading for the front. Pit gave a yelp before following after her, Chrom and Robin quickly following to offer their support.
Kenshin continued to follow after Meta Knight before the two heard some yelling from an alleyway behind a diner. The two soon found a group of a few Mii's ganging up against Chef Kawasaki.
"Chef Kawasaki?" Kenshin questioned as he saw this, he knew the chef from his diner, the two getting along well due to Kenshin's love of Kawasaki's cooking.
"Hey now, I don't appreciate this!" Chef Kawasaki called out. "You can't just barge into my kitchen and threaten me just because you didn't like the food."
"You should have better food then," The Leader called out as he gripped his fist, electricity coming from it. "Now then how about making it more suited to our tastes then?"
"That's enough!" Meta Knight snapped as he revealed his and Kenshin's position to the gang.
"Ah! Meta Knight! Kenshin! Thank goodness you all are here!" Kawasaki exclaimed in relief. "Please get them to stop!"
"Oh, you punks here to get your asses kicked?" The leader asked as he and his gang members got in fighting stances.
"I'll take care of the hooligans, deal with the Leader," Meta Knight said, immediately warping over to two Mii's, he spun around, creating a tornado with his blade. The two Mii's were sucked closer before being slammed away by his attack. He quickly warped away when the remaining ones tried to swarm him, appearing above them and kicking off of them to force them to tumble.
"Okay Leader, let's do this," Kenshin said as he reached and grabbed the Mario and Fox Tokens he had on him, planning on doing this without transforming.
"You're no match for my thunder punch!" The Leader yelled out as he jumped up, punching at Kenshin.
Kenshin quickly held up his arm with Fox's Token, a small reflector barrier forming which blocked against the punch. He then followed up with a punch from his other arm, his fist lighting on fire as he decked the Leader right in the face. "Try again!"
The Leader coughed out as he slammed into the ground, giving a groan as he had let go of what he was holding. He was in fact managing to use a Smash Token's power, in this case, Pikachu's. "No way… I thought I was the only one who had special powers."
"Cut the crap you don't have special powers," Kenshin called out, seeing the Token and already figuring out what was going on. It was the same thing as Blaze, though the Gang Leader's usage of the Smash Token was less constructive. "Normally I wouldn't get involved but because you have a highly dangerous object with you, I'm going to have to relieve you of it."
"Under who's authority?!" The Leader called out as he grabbed the Smash Token, charging up electricity in his fist once again.
"The authority of King Dedede," Meta Knight replied, catching the leaders attention as it could be seen Meta Knight was now standing on a pile of Mii's that he had defeated.
"Screw the President!" The Leader yelled out before jumping and punching at Meta Knight. Meta Knight responded by drilling forward, becoming an orange blur as the two clashed. Despite using the power of a Smash Token, the leader cried out as Meta Knight struck through him. The force from the attack was enough to send him upwards.
Kenshin took this chance to move in, switching out Fox for Luigi before using Luigi's Token to jump up high. He managed to jump high enough to get above the Mii. Kenshin then lit his fist on fire with Mario's Token once more before punching down at the Leader. The Leader coughed out as he was struck in the stomach, being slammed into the ground in a daze.
"That takes care of that, I'll clean up this mess," Meta Knight said as he watched Kenshin pick up the Smash Token.
"Sounds good to me, I'll let Samus and the others know," Kenshin said as he looked over the Pikachu Token, wondering if it would be compatible with the next one he got.
"Thank you, thank you," Chef Kawasaki ran over. "What can I do to repay you two?"
"Get back to work, I'm sure there's plenty of customers waiting for your food," Meta Knight suggested.
"Actually… if you wouldn't mind could I get a complementary bowl of your really great Chili-Mac?" Kenshin asked with a sly smile, figuring now would be a good time to cash in his heroism points.
"Of course, you are one of my favorite regulars after all and you even saved me this time!" Chef Kawasaki gave Kenshin a pat on the arm before heading back inside.
"Sweet sweet free food," Kenshin rubbed his hands together before heading inside after the chef.
Meta Knight gave a sigh as he saw this, "For being a hero he still acts like such a kid. I suppose in his case that's a relief."
Junmei and Pit quickly made their way towards the source of the disturbance, the plaza they had passed through. When they arrived they suddenly skidded to a stop, Chrom and Robin nearly running into them due to the sudden stop. What had stopped them was an army of at least 50 Primid's, most having Beam Sabers or Boomerangs.
"Okay… so Tabuu's bringing the band back together," Junmei noted as she remembered the Subspace Army. "No wait, he's doing a remix, I don't remember tall dark and brooding and a female knight being a part of this before."
As Junmei had pointed out, walking to the front of the army was none other than the Black Knight and Corrin. "Surely you all jest, only four have come to face us?" The Black Knight remarked as he saw the four standing in their way. "One is the Angel from the Heaven's, another a civilian. There is only two of this land here; truly this country is in need of a shake up."
"I suppose we'll have to make do with them, three of them are fairly strong warriors," Corrin mused as she looked everyone over. "No clue on why that woman isn't running though."
"This isn't good, Junmei you should probably step back. We can handle it." Pit admitted as he quickly drew his bow, Chrom drawing his sword while Robin drew his sword and tome.
"Your concern is touching but there's no better time than the present with this chance," Junmei said as she took the lead and stepped forward.
"Take no step further girl!" The Black Knight drew his sword and pointed it towards her. "Do you really wish to get involved in this battle? You have no means to defend yourself, run off before you are slaughtered."
"Your concern is touching," Junmei gave a more sarcastic toned remark than what she gave to Pit. "But I think it's time for me to show you I'm not just some random person." She drew out her Token Driver before holding it to her waist, the belt strap forming and locking it in place.
[TOKEN DRIVER: ECHO!]
"What manner of tool is that?" The Black Knight questioned.
"Something tells me this just got harder," Corrin said as she could only guess that something Token based referred to the Smash Tokens they were to keep an eye out for.
"Let's dance," Junmei took out Marth's and Lucina's Smash Tokens before slotting both in at the same time. She then pressed down on the top left and right buttons. "Henshin!"
[PARALLEL COMBINATION!]
Energy sparked from the Tokens before shooting out to the side. Transparent versions of Marth and Lucina formed beside Junmei, though instead of becoming energy they shot towards her and overlapped with her body. They turned a bright blue before wrapping around her.
[MARTH! LUCINA! KAMEN RIDER ECHO: LODESTAR PRINCESS!]
The bright blue dissipated revealing Junmei's transformed state. She wore a bright blue bodysuit with yellow lines running down the sides. She gained thick knight styled armoring on her shoulders, chest, forearms and shins. The armoring had a dark blue coloration with red trimming and detailing. Her biceps and thighs had thinner blue plates for protection. Her helmet was fairly rounded, the front having a butterfly motif to it with bright yellow compound bug-like eyes. Her head crest was a bright red jewel that was embedded in a gold tiara that was molded into the top of her helmet. She wore a blue scarf that wrapped around her neck, it having a red back as it traveled down to her waist.
She had a brown sword holster attached to her Driver's belt now, in it a high tech replica of the Falchion Sword that Lucina held. However the gap in the hilt was no longer there as it was filled in, one side containing the kanji for Echo while the other side held a slot for Smash Tokens to be inserted.
She held up her ring and middle fingers on her right hand, swiping them slowly in front of her helmet, "I'll strike you all down here and now." She said before outstretching her arms, holding her hands close together as she imitated a wolf's mouth. "Kamen Rider…" she then gripped her holster with her left hand before using her right to draw her sword and aiming it towards the army. "Echo!"
"What's with these theatrics?" Robin asked, a bit surprised by Junmei's transformation but more so her choice of aesthetics.
"That was so cool!" Pit chimed in, stars in his eyes as he couldn't help but appreciate the flare Junmei added to her first transformation.
The Black Knight scoffed before slamming his sword into the concrete, resting both of his hands on it. "She is so eager to die. How about we help her?"
"I suppose we don't have much of a choice," Corrin sighed before raising her sword. "Attack!" With her word the Primids rushed in to attack, all brandishing their weapons or fists as they aimed to strike at Junmei.
"Allow me to prove to you my worth," Junmei spoke as she gripped her sword firmly before rushing forward. Her speed was surprising as she managed to cover more distance, reaching the Primid Army first. As she moved in she slashed, cutting through three Primid's in one strike. She kept moving forward and delivered two more strikes that cut through several more. Figuring she had gained enough distance she stopped and began cutting through any Primid that got close to her.
Several Primids rushed in and slashed with their boomerangs, Junmei bracing with her sword and blocking it. She then pushed forward, staggering the Primids before spinning and slashing through them. A few single Primids tried striking at her from different angles, Junmei countering with a kick to each Primid for the first few before transitioning into sword swings to cut the remaining rushers down.
Noticing that things were getting a little tighter, Junmei quickly leapt into the air before landing a distance away. She needed the Primids to keep rushing at her alongside not getting surrounded.
Pit quickly went to work, shooting arrows of light to strike down any straggler Primids in order to give Junmei an easier load to work with.
"That girl is incredible," Chrom admitted as he watched her, choosing to stand by for now due to the Black Knight and Corrin doing the same.
"Primids are fairly standard from what I've read, but the fact that she's this adept with a sword…" Robin trailed, a bit surprised himself. "Are you certain she had no prior training Pit?"
"Positive!" Pit said as he struck down one more Primid, leaving only a small grouping remaining.
Junmei readied her sword as the remaining Primids rushed to try and encircle her again; Junmei was quick however and tore past the front of the encirclement. She then stood her ground and held her sword close to her before giving a yell and spinning, slashing through the remaining Primid's as a result. "And that takes care of your army, Black Knight." She said as she turned to face the Black Knight. "I hope you realize you're not dealing with your average warrior."
"It matters not if you are a self proclaimed super warrior, anyone can kill those maggots," The Black Knight called out as he drew his sword out of the ground and began walking towards Junmei. "How about you face down the real deal?"
"Don't do it!" Chrom called out as he rushed forward, he knew that Junmei could handle Primids but the Black Knight was another matter. Corrin however stepped in his way and slashed at him, forcing him to block. She then spun around him before transforming her arm into a draconic fang, launching a ball of water out at Robin and Pit to knock the two back and keep them from rushing to Junmei's aid.
"You all will be dealing with me," Corrin called out as a draconic helmet formed on her face, readying her weapon as she planned to keep the three busy.
The Black Knight kept an open stance, walking slowly towards Junmei. The Rider rushed forward, aiming a horizontal slash and slashing past the Black Knight. Sparks flew but the Black Knight didn't flinch in the slightest.
"Is that all you have?" The Black Knight questioned as he turned, raising his sword up.
Junmei backed up in surprise; she had put a lot of strength into that slash so to see it do nothing was surprising. She dodged out of the way of the downward slash from the knight, avoiding it just in time. Junmei went in and slashed once before sending a kick at the Black Knight, though both did little to him. "Just what the hell are you?"
"Your wake up call," The Black Knight called out as he slashed at the rider, Junmei blocking but being staggered due to the strength of the strike. He then followed up with another slash, sparks flying from Junmei's armor as she was sent tumbling back.
"Junmei!" Pit called out before avoiding another water blast from Corrin.
"This is getting us nowhere," Robin called out as he held up his thunder tome, charging his magic as he dodged out of the way of Corrin's blasts of water. Chrom quickly moved in and slashed at Corrin to keep her occupied; even if she dodged he needed Robin to concentrate.
"Robin, make this count!" Chrom called out as he managed to clash blades with Corrin before grabbing her arms and getting her into a lock.
"Roger, Thoron!" Robin called out as he sent out a powerful beam of electricity, though his target wasn't Corrin it was the Black Knight.
"Jeez he hits like a truck," Junmei muttered as she held her chest, using her sword to help her slowly stand and keep herself from falling back down.
"Now for you to realize how foolish you are for rushing into this battle!" The Black Knight called out as he raised his sword only to suddenly give a yell, he was struck in the back by the Thoron spell and slumped forward, staggering as a result.
"Huh?" Junmei perked up when she saw this.
"Echo you need to use the opening that Robin gave you to your advantage!" Chrom called out as he struggled to keep Corrin in the lock.
"On it," Junmei noticed her sword had a Token Slot and removed Marth's Token from her belt, slotting it into the sword.
[MARTH!]
Suddenly Junmei's sword began to gather energy in it; she raised it high as the entire blade began shining brightly. Moving it down in a counter clockwise motion, the light created a trail of blades as she soon readied a slash with both hands and got into a crouching position. Without another word she suddenly launched towards the Black Knight, slashing past him. To everyone's surprise however her blade still shined greatly with energy.
[RIDER SLASH STRIKE!]
The Black Knight coughed out as the grip on his sword faltered, holding his stomach as he slowly turned towards Junmei. Junmei however let out a yell and lunged forward, releasing the energy from the tip of her blade and slamming it into the Black Knight. The resulting energy sent the hulking warrior flying into a nearby building.
"What the hell was that?!" Corrin quickly forced Chrom away before running to where the Black Knight was thrown.
"Not too bad right?" Junmei turned towards everyone and gave a peace sign before suddenly stepping forward and falling to one knee, her transformation dismissing itself.
"Junmei!" Pit rushed over to keep her from falling flat on her face. "What's wrong?"
"That Black Knight guy hits hard…" Junmei coughed out as she held her chest, despite wearing armor she still felt the leftover pain from that strike he got on her.
"Let's get you somewhere safe, we can leave those two for another day," Chrom suggested as he went over to help Junmei up with Pit.
"Are you sure?" Robin asked as he walked over.
"They lost their army and the Black Knight may be tough but he isn't stupid. They won't try anything," Chrom reassured.
"A tactical leave it is then," Robin said as he went to help the two with Junmei. He figured Chrom was right, plus they needed to see what kind of condition their Rider was in after that fight.
"Alright, sorry if this is a bit uncomfortable for you," Captain Falcon apologized; he was currently sitting with the co-owner of the vehicle garage. Specifically the one who was turned into a monster and defeated by Kenshin. "But can you tell me what happened before you were transformed? Maybe something while you were transformed?"
"Well… I had an argument with the other co-owner, my friend about the direction the business was taking due to lack of profit. After heading out all frustrated, there was this weird bandaged man sitting on a pile of scrap." The co-owner explained as he twiddled his fingers. "We talked a bit and he wanted to help me, made me realize I could keep things the same and bring in more business if I helped him. It was too tempting to pass up and I took his hand, but after that… nothing. I remember feeling intense anger, and a lot of smashing and carrying."
"Is that really all you can remember?" Captain Falcon asked, while the first Mii remembered the pain from Kenshin's attacks, it seemed as though this Mii remembered the feelings from his time as Vulpine Breaker.
"Actually…" The Mii started, staring at the table for a bit. "There are two words I do remember, the first is Malice."
"You remember the word malice and not the feeling?" Captain Falcon asked, a bit confused by what the Mii meant.
"Yeah, that word, and then what I think is a title or a name, Vulpine Breaker," The Mii explained as he scratched his head. "I'm not sure why I remember those two things but that's all I do."
"No actually that's fine, you've given me a lot to work with," Captain Falcon smiled; they had managed to hit the jackpot on this one that's for sure. Now they knew the Bandaged Man was trying to make contracts with people using Smash Tokens. Likely by corrupting those tokens and inserting them into a Mii, they would transform into a monster known as a Malice. Vulpine Breaker seemed to just be the name of the specific Malice that the Mii was turned into. "We just need to discuss a deal now considering that you are partially liable for the incidents involved, and we can't just let that slide."
"Yes sir," The co-owner said with a nod.
"Just give me a second," Captain Falcon said before exiting the room and walking over to King Dedede. "Not much but I think we just put some more of the pieces together."
"You can say that again, things are slowly starting to open up regarding these attacks," King Dedede agreed.
To Be Continued…
Samus: In this line of work you need to be prepared to make your fair share of unexpected enemies and allies. The question is which will you come across?
[Next Time – A Thunderous Duel]
Smash Token Ownership:
Kenshin – Mario/Luigi/Yoshi/Fox/Wolf/Pikachu
Junmei – Marth/Lucina
Meijin & Sayomi – Donkey Kong/Incineroar/Terry Bogard/Piranha Plant
Author Notes:
1. Now i know there is concern regarding an overarching mystery, needless to say, Kenshin's connection to Tabuu isn't supposed to be any kind of mystery whatsoever. It's fairly clear during the first chapter, and I feel no need to really make that the central mystery. I'm not planning on things to drag on in terms of certain aspects. Besides, as said that isn't exactly the main mystery here, there's one that is still in fruition that likely won't be completely taken care of till mid season.
2. Yes I did end up taking a bit of a hiatus, though not because I couldn't keep up with weekly releases. In fact I have a good chunk of chapters written already, and had a lot written before I even uploaded Chapter 1. I plan to keep up with my backlog so the likely plan is to post three chapters weekly and then take a break. Or at least here's hoping, the current stuff I'm writing is pretty big so it's taking a while longer to get back on track but we'll see. I'm also considering just doing updates every two weeks but I'm not sure yet. We'll just have to see.
