Kamen Rider Smash
Episode 7 – Mask of Justice
Data File #10: Research
"The most in terms of incidents that had happened lately were Roaders from the Subspace Army causing trouble. I can only assume they were meant to distract us, but for what reason? But there is progress being made, we've found a possible connection between the Mii's who have accessed a Smash Token's power up until now. Other than that, all we can really do is to simply wait until something pops up again."
All was peaceful in Smash City, it seemed as though despite all the crazy happenings in the daytime, nothing much happened at night. Well that is except for a small storage warehouse this time. Rumors had said it was home to many valuable items, including a possible source as to where various Mii's were getting great powers.
Of course this had heightened the curiosity of one Phantom Thief, Ren Amamiya. Luckily for him only few individuals knew of his true identity as Joker. Despite that he managed to run around freely for the most part during his nights as Joker. He figured that this warehouse could be his big break and he had scoped it out a few days prior. There didn't seem to be any guards as it was locked up fairly tight, and it was only rarely used in the day.
"Now I do hope you have some juicy secrets for me," Joker spoke to himself as he made his way across buildings, soon jumping and landing on the roof of the warehouse. Opening up the edge of the window he placed a wooden plank to hold it up so he could escape from there again. He then slipped through and dropped down, landing on a stack of high boxes. Using the moon light to have a decent bit of lighting he surveyed the storage warehouse.
To his surprise there was a section that had huddled boxes, almost as if they created a small makeshift room out of the boxes. He landed before entering the room and finding a box that was recently covered, opening it up revealed to him that there were three Smash Tokens lying in a silk cloth. They were Bowser, Samus, and Dark Samus.
"Like what you see?" A voice asked as Joker turned, surprised to see a Mii wearing extravagant blue armor and a red cape, holding a sword and a shield. The Swordfighter even had spiked golden blond hair. "Sorry to break it to you, but you can't use those. Mr. Thief."
"Well now," Joker said as he put his hands in his pockets, since it was a Swordfighter and he was alone he didn't need to raise his arms or pretend to be caught off guard. "Who says I want to use them."
"I figured that much, quite the tempting bait don't you think?" The Swordfighter mentioned as his sword suddenly glowed a bright white. "Perfect enough to draw you here for me." He then jabbed forward, a burst of light shooting out before the burst itself transformed into dozens of arrows.
"Arsene! Makarakarn!" Joker ripped off his mask as his Persona Arsene appeared, forming a barrier that bounced most of the arrows back at the Mii, to his surprise the ones scraping against the sides managed to chip the reflector.
"Not so fast!" The Swordfighter held out his free hand since his shield was mounted on his armor, forming a bright blue bomb that launched out and hit the arrows, creating an explosion between them.
Joker wasn't expecting the explosion and was forced back by it. "Alright, who are you?"
"I am the Warrior of Light, Serlon!" The Swordfighter called out as three golden yellow triangles appeared behind him, stacked in a triangle shape with a gap at the center. "And I will rid Smash City of trash like you!"
"That symbol!" Joker was caught off guard by this as the symbol's glow grew brighter and brighter, covering the entire room in light.
The next day, there was no word on anything happening at the warehouse, it was as if the events of the past night didn't even happen at all.
"So that's one lead busted," Kenshin sighed as he walked through Smash City. He and the others had responded to a report of a fight going too far. They had found a Mii who was believed to be in possession of a Smash Token due to them being on the list they compiled. But they were too late as the Token was taken by what the Mii described as a bandaged man. "Just what is that man's game?" He questioned in thought before suddenly bumping into someone. "Oh I'm sorry about that."
"You should really watch where you're going Kenshin," The person he bumped into said before Kenshin realized said person was Ren in his uniform. "How have you been?"
"Ah, Ren it's been a while. You haven't bugged CORE lately." Kenshin smiled, he had met Ren a while back when he had first gotten into the city, and while the two were acquaintances they never did really hang out together.
"Well hey even with my job I try not to get into that much trouble," Ren said with a shrug. "You know my M.O. is one that hardly involves you all."
"Fair enough, doesn't mean it's not a headache for Dedede though." Kenshin admitted as he rubbed the back of his head. "Anyway I've been doing fine, how about you?"
"Perfectly alright, though it sounds like the city is getting fairly dangerous." Ren mentioned. "Monsters and super powered Mii's showing up."
"Don't tell me you've been parading around trying to deal with them," Kenshin sighed. "You know that's pretty danger-wait how do you know about the super powered Mii's?"
"So you have experience with them then?" Ren asked his expression perking up as he realized Kenshin had the information he needed.
"Okay yes I do but let's do it somewhere a bit less in the open, how does talking the details over lunch sound?" Kenshin offered.
"Fine by me," Ren gave a nod before the two headed off.
"Finally here, seems a bit sudden to me…" Junmei spoke to herself as she was currently overlooking Smash City from one of the higher buildings.
"It's been several days since the Malice attacked you," Dark Pit replied. "And we informed you not long after you got that new form of yours."
"Yeah I get there aren't going to be many other chances in Altea, I've gotten by with a lot of luck so far," Junmei replied. "But why exactly can't I have yours and Pits Tokens again? I thought Palutena mentioned finding them?"
"If you were paying attention you'd remember that she said she was getting them sent to her now that she had found out their locations," Dark Pit called out. "She's not going to get them for a bit, so our best bet is finding more echo matches."
"The question is where though?" Junmei asked.
"Probably with Mii's who have defected to the New Subspace Army," Dark Pit remarked.
"So it's not just big names like the Black Knight and Corrin?" Junmei asked as she crouched down a bit, putting her arms around her legs.
"We can only assume so; the Black Knight has to have a base in close proximity to Altea's main capital. But it's being hidden by Mii Supporters. Mii's make up the bulk of the population so get them on your side and they can help you blend in well." Dark Pit stated as if it was fact.
"Then I suppose a thorough investigation is in order, if I can find Subspace Supporters then I can find one of their bases and destroy it." Junmei said as she stood up before turning for the entrance to the stairs. She was starting to put together the clues she was given as she walked slowly in thought. "That woman had a Smash Token she corrupted. If the Subspace Army has a base then they likely store Smash Tokens there for the Generals to use. And if all goes well I'll find an Echo Match."
"I'll leave the information gathering to you then," Dark Pit said as he crossed his arms. "Contact me whenever you get the location, we'll hit it together."
"Roger," Junmei turned and gave a salute with two fingers before flicking them forward.
"You've certainly grown from the timid teen I once met," Ren remarked as he saw Kenshin's collection of Smash Tokens, the Rider having spread them out on the table while they were waiting for their orders. Kenshin himself had also taken the liberty of briefly explaining the Smash Tokens and their latent abilities.
"I'm able to access their power fully because of the Driver," Kenshin said as he put his Tokens away again. "Mii's normally shouldn't be able to. But we discovered a select few can due to them being in close proximity to where Origin Impact ended."
"So it's tied to that day huh?" Ren mused as he thought back on the events, giving a slight wince as a few bad memories came up. "How strong are the powers usually?"
"They usually gain attributes of the person the token is based on," Kenshin explained. "And those either expand their arsenal or grant them new abilities."
"So what you're saying is they can be put on the level of an actual fighter like say Samus or Mario," Ren theorized as his friend gave a nod of confirmation. "That explains the insane power he was packing…"
"Okay so I gave you what I know you little trickster, spill the beans on what you're clearly holding in," Kenshin said as he leaned forward, giving a small smile.
"Well if you have to know, rumors have been spreading about those Tokens," Ren explained as he leaned forward. "And how there is apparently no coincidence that people have gotten their hands on them. I managed to find a location where the deals were apparently being made but it was a trap. A Mii was waiting for me, said he wanted to rid this city of trash like me."
"Sounds to me we've got someone who wants to take matters into their own hands," Kenshin replied. "But considering you're asking me for details… how bad was it?"
"I'm not sure which of the three he had, but he definitely had Link, Zelda, or Ganondorf's Token," Ren explained. "I'd recognize the Triforce anywhere."
"Hold up, he actually had a visual representation of that?" Kenshin questioned as the thief nodded. "Okay yeah, that gives away he's very in tune with that Token. How did you even get away?"
"Being a wild card allows me to easily defy expectations. So, can I count on you for some help then?" Ren asked, figuring that Kenshin would be willing to help him after all the information that was given. "After all, you are collecting those Tokens right? And there were three more where that came from."
"Fine then, but we make our move as soon as possible," Kenshin replied. "He probably thinks he scared you away so showing up again alongside me will hopefully catch him off guard."
"After our meal then," Ren suggested, and it wasn't long before the waitress brought them their orders.
"Can't topple the schemes of a rampaging Mii on an empty stomach after all," Kenshin remarked as he went to dig in.
Junmei passed through the streets of Smash City, hands in her pockets as she glanced around. She heard rumors of Kamen Rider Smash and all the things he had gotten involved in. She wondered if she'd run into the Rider but was also trying to hear rumors of the Subspace Army.
"Listen dude, I can get you in real easy, otherwise I wouldn't be the great recruiter Nikko for nothing'." One Mii said to another nearby Junmei causing her to stop.
Junmei noticed the Mii that named himself Nikko was wearing a black suit and sunglasses, having blonde hair. The suit and glasses were enough to tip her off that he was very shady. She feigned looking around before taking out her phone and fiddling with it and moving off to the side. She kept in hearing range but looking busy to keep from drawing suspicion.
"Are you sure though? I don't want to get you in trouble," The other Mii replied. "Why not just find an Inkling or something? There's not many of them but I'm sure they're better than me."
"Inkling's aren't exactly the most loyal to the Subspace Army, any attempts at recruiting one has gone up in smoke," Nikko mentioned. "I could care less if your good or not dude, I just want to know if you're committed."
"I mean… I guess if it's commitment I could always try," The nervous Mii admitted.
"That's the spirit, listen, you know that museum a few blocks from here? We'll be meeting there," Nikko replied. "There's plenty of new recruits along with you so don't worry about being nervous."
"But aren't you worried about Smash?" The nervous Mii asked.
"Don't worry about Smash, I heard Hajime's been keeping him busy with Shadow Bug attacks," Nikko replied. "Just meet us there in an hour and everything will go smooth. I promise. The Subspace Army is like, the best."
"If you say so," The skeptical Mii sighed as he watched his friend head off. He gave a sigh before looking at his phone. "I should probably head over there soon so I won't be late."
'Bingo' Junmei thought to herself as she went into an alleyway, looking at her phone and pulling up a map to find the nearest Museum in the area. She had to think on the name though, Hajime was the first notable name she had heard, and she knew the woman's name likely wasn't that. So she wondered how many high class generals there were in the Subspace Army.
Hajime was currently laying on one of the rooftops, staring at the sky before he soon saw Meijin hovering over him. "Yes partner?"
"We've got an issue, two issues," Meijin replied as he watched his partner pick himself up into a sitting position. "The Mii's that have been using Smash Tokens have a source. And that source has three very powerful Tokens in their possession. Smash is likely to confront him."
"So you're saying we should take those Tokens first? Leave it to me," Hajime said as he stood.
"No, I need you to deal with something else," Meijin explained causing his bandaged friend to stare at him. "There's a second Kamen Rider, Echo. She already has two forms and she's in the city as we speak."
"Crap, she's likely to pick up on the trail too then, we only need Kenshin claiming the Smash Tokens," Hajime realized. "I'll take care of her, do you know where she is?"
"I'm afraid I don't, just keep an eye out for her and distract her wherever she is," Meijin replied. "I'll deal with getting those other Tokens."
"Not even risking it with Kenshin this time huh?" Hajime asked.
"Kenshin's use is getting close to done, we never needed them all. We just needed a good chunk, which he'll have on him after this next battle," Meijin replied. "But once the dust settles we'll plan our next move. Remember though, you're looking for a normal looking human this time."
At the warehouse it was once again quiet, though Serlon waited nearby the entrance, figuring that Ren would come again with backup. He figured whatever backup Ren would have would help him uncover all of the real trash in Smash City. "It is my duty to bring this city to peace. The great hero's power blesses me thus I must be a hero while he is not here."
[FOX! WOLF! KAMEN RIDER SMASH: LYLAT OUTLAW!]
Suddenly glass shattered as Kenshin and Ren both landed at the center of the warehouse, the two transformed into Kamen Rider Smash: Lylat Outlaw and the Phantom Thief: Joker respectively. As the glass rained down they got off their knees before standing up fully.
"Well now," Serlon turned as he narrowed his eyes, seeing Kenshin. "Well now indeed. I shouldn't be surprised that the so called hero is now teaming up with the phantom thief."
"My M.O. is always corrupt individuals who think they can abuse their power," Joker mentioned as he took out his gun, aiming it at Serlon. "And you fit that bill a little too well."
"I've also heard you've got quite the stash of Smash Tokens here," Kenshin said as he drew Volpe and Lupo, aiming them at Serlon. "And that you're the reason Mii's have been getting involved in incidents they shouldn't."
"Don't make me laugh," Serlon called out as he drew and aimed his sword at them. "We Mii's are the only ones fit to be heroes and deal with the corrupt. We dealt with monster during Origin Impact, we can deal with anything. Vigilante's like you all aren't needed."
"So you admit to it then, you gave Blaze and Fuma their Smash Tokens," Kenshin said as he kept up his aim. There wasn't any denial yet, but he needed a confirmation and confession.
"Blaze was the first yes; I told him it was a good luck charm to help him against the corrupt Perfect Life that caused him such strife!" Serlon called out as he took a step forward. "I was ready to see it all happen, see Blaze in his moment of triumph. I had tipped Perfect Life off to his location because I wanted him to take out the CEO in one swoop."
"But it didn't happen that way, I got to him first, and then the Subspace Army came in right after." Kenshin finished and corrected.
"You had no idea how much my blood boiled, and he just let you have the Token I gave to him too!" Serlon called out. "So I figured sending an assassin against you would be the best way to go about things. Fuma was an up and coming ninja, giving him Greninja's Token was the best choice. Of course he wouldn't kill so I expected him to simply trounce you and then I could take your equipment. Even if it was a friendly duel, I still had a chance."
"But then the CEO was transformed into a Malice and interrupted us. As a result I ended up getting a third form and foiled your plan yet again." Kenshin replied. "Let me guess the guy with the Lucario Token was also a guy who was going to challenge me, right?"
"You took care of him too?!" Serlon called out, almost fully shouting in anger.
"No, my enemy took care of him because he had a Smash Token," Kenshin replied. "I did find him after that, beaten up and near death."
"Damn it so he did fail," Serlon hissed before several shots were fired at him, the Mii quickly raising his shield, an energy version of Link's forming and enlarging to protect him.
"Yeah, you've officially pissed me off," Kenshin growled out as he and Joker had opened fire.
"Your actions have resulted in kind hearted Mii's being thrown into a war their not ready for," Joker stated as he reloaded his gun before taking out his knife. "I, Joker, hereby declare that we will defeat you Serlon, the corrupt hero of justice, and then take your treasure as recompense."
"What he said," Kenshin agreed before the two broke away from each other and began running along the sides while shooting at Serlon, they had the advantage in range. If they could keep the warrior's attention divided then they could win.
The nervous Mii had eventually met up with several others at the entrance to the Museum, a few of the guards coming over and ushering everyone in as the Museum seemed to be under Subspace Army authority. Once they were escorted in the guards returned to the entrance to turn anyone who wasn't for the meeting away. After a while a good crowd of Mii Brawlers, Gunners, and Swordfighters were formed at the main hall. There were several Mii Gunners wearing special tactical outfits, all of them having the Subpsace Army sigil on their tactical gear.
In front of them all was a small podium with microphones and speakers set up. Nikko showed up and gave a wave to everyone to relax them as two Mii's with suits came in.
The first suited Mii picked up a microphone before testing it a bit. "Hello? Can you all hear me?" He asked as he got several nods. "Good, I'm glad you all could make it. You all have been recruited for one purpose, to join the Subspace Army."
"It doesn't matter if your good or not, what matters is if your committed," The second suited Mii said after he picked up the second microphone. "We need more support, that's all. It doesn't matter if you're low in tournament rankings, fairly normal, if you want to help and have the spirit to do so then go ahead."
"With the Subspace Army you'll get several unique membership plans depending on which path you choose to take," The Insider explained. "Today we'll be discussing the various plans and options you can choose from, and we encourage you to join after this."
"I have a question dears, is there free dental?" A voice asked from the entrance of the Museum, everyone turned to see Junmei dragging the two unconscious guards before dropping them. "Or even better, I'd like to work in a secret lab, mind telling me the location of one of those?"
The tactical Mii Gunners quickly moved forward and aimed their weapons at Junmei, all of them standing at the ready while the two suited Mii's and Nikko drew out swords.
"Who are you and why did you attack our guards?" The first suited Mii questioned.
"Just a passing through Kamen Rider…" Junmei said, a lot of wide eyed reactions occurring as she placed her Token Driver on before slotting in Marth and Lucina's Tokens and activating the transformation. "Remember that!"
[MARTH! LUCINA! KAMEN RIDER ECHO: LODESTAR PRINCESS!]
After transforming into her base Rider Form she drew out her sword, holding up her left arm before running her blade along the armor, sparks flying. "I may not be Smash but I'm just as dangerous. The name's Kamen Rider Echo!"
"Okay first test everyone! Band together and take her out!" The second suited Mii ordered.
"If I were you boys I'd just run off and not bother," Junmei suggested, trying to appear more imposing but only so she could thin the herd. Despite her bluff it seemed to work as many potential recruits dropped their weapons before running forward while flailing their arms up in the air. Most ran past her and out the Museum, planning on forgetting the entire event even happened. The nervous Mii from earlier was among them and Junmei recognized him on his way out. "That was a very wise decision." She said to no one in particular.
"Kill her!" Both suited Mii's yelled out as the remaining recruits charged while the tactical gunners began shooting.
Junmei accessed Lucina's power, gathering energy in her sword as she charged forward. She then held her hands close and began rapidly spinning the sword around clockwise. Soon enough an energy barrier formed at her rapid spinning of the sword. The shots began to be deflected and most hit the recruits or forced the tactical gunners to stop and rethink their approach.
Junmei soon stopped when she reached the Tactical Mii's, taking out Terry's Token before slotting it in. The Tactical Mii's quickly surrounded her in this time. Any recruits that could still stand also circled around her, trying to keep her from slipping out.
[TERRY BOGARD! RIDER SLASH STRIKE!]
"Come on!" Junmei slammed her sword into the floor, suddenly an explosive burst of energy erupted from all around her. The Tactical Gunners and Recruits yelled out as they were all thrown away.
"I-Impossible, to take them all out with such little effort…" One suited Mii called out.
"Now then, we can do this the easy way or the hard way," Junmei called out as she began to take a step towards the three lead Mii's.
"Whoa now miss! Can't have you doing anything hasty," A voice suddenly called out as Hajime was at the entrance, having picked up a guard who was barely conscious.
Junmei turned to see Hajime before getting in a fighting stance, "You… are you Hajime?"
"Wow, aren't I popular huh? Seems like you're definitely going after something here," Hajime said before flipping Lucario's Smash Token in the air before grasping it, corrupting its power before slamming it into the guard. "Hey you three in the back, you better use my new friend to beat her otherwise we're going to have a problem!" He then dropped the guard who began writhing in pain before taking off, figuring that Junmei was too much of a greenhorn to take seriously in a fight.
"Sir yes sir!" The trio called out before jumping off the stage and rushing for Junmei.
"Crap," Junmei looked behind her, she knew she should focus on the Malice forming from the barely conscious guard but she needed to keep from being skewered. She turned and braced her blade with both hands, blocking all three blades. As she worked on pushing them back an explosion of aura occurred from where the Mii was, signaling to her that the real fight was just about to begin.
"We've got you beat!" Kenshin called out as he and Joker had managed to deal decent damage to the Mii with their hit and run tactics. Serlon had tried to counter with arrows of light and energy bombs but both weren't enough to easily catch and punish one of them.
"I have the blessing of the Hero of Legend! I will smite all enemies in my way!" Serlon called out as he slammed his sword against the ground, it glowing brightly as white chains suddenly shot out, latching onto various boxes and crates in the warehouse.
"Joker what's going on?" Kenshin asked as he stopped in his tracks.
"You've got me this is entirely new," Joker admitted as he saw the chains before noticing the boxes starting to shake. "Dodge now!"
"Wait what-?" Kenshin was barely able to get out what he was saying when the chains threw the boxes from all around towards the center. Kenshin yelped as he was caught against a box, all of them crashing against each other, the debris flying everywhere and forcing Joker back as a result.
Serlon gave a laugh as he removed his sword, walking towards a recovering Kenshin. He used his shield to smack Kenshin before stabbing at him, sparks flying as the Rider was forced backwards.
"Alright, no more Mr. Nice Rider," Kenshin growled out as he slammed both buttons on his driver for a finisher. He aimed before shooting out energy wolves from Lupo to try and pin Serlon down. The Swordfighter responded by forming a barrier that resembled the Triforce, blocking and dispersing the energy wolves before launching it at Kenshin.
"I'm not about to let that happen," Joker sped towards Kenshin, summoning Arsene as he shot towards the Rider. "There!" He grabbed Kenshin before using Arsene to launch them upwards with his wings, dodging the Triforce attack. The two then landed and rolled on the ground, Joker quickly getting up and getting in a defensive stance.
"Just give into your fate as rats, you cannot win," Serlon said as he brandished his sword and began walking towards the two. "I have the great hero's power on my side, you cannot-"
"Shut the hell up already!" Kenshin called out as he fully stood up. "You're no hero; you're just trying to fool yourself into thinking your one! You wouldn't have risked the lives of those Mii's and you wouldn't be so petty about us!"
"Says the villains wearing masks while I don't hide who I am," Serlon called out.
"We show our true selves more than you do even with our masks," Joker remarked as he held his mask slightly. "You've gotten so caught up in that power that you've formed your own invisible mask and lost yourself in the façade."
"Even though we hide our faces, we show our true selves in these forms!" Kenshin called out as he took out Pikachu and Greninja's Tokens, slotting them both in. "We won't be beaten by someone pretending to be a hero!"
[PIKACHU! GRENINJA! KAMEN RIDER SMASH: THUNDER SHINOBI!]
In a flurry of water and electricity, Kenshin transformed into his ninja based form, drawing out his sword as he rushed forward. He disappeared into sparks as Serlon slashed forward, appearing behind the Mii and slamming his leg into the Mii's back. Serlon threw his shield back as he turned, trying to slam into Kenshin only for him to hit nothing.
Joker used this chance to use Arsene to power up his gun, using its special function, firing more bullets with one pull of the trigger. The flurry of bullets managed to force Serlon to stagger backwards. Kenshin followed up by appearing above Serlon and slamming his sword down. Serlon blocked but was surprised by the amount of power Kenshin had put into his attacks.
"You won't beat me!" Serlon yelled out as he released a bright burst of energy from his body, he had managed to hit something though as he could hear the damage being dealt. To his surprise he had completely torn up a dummy of Kamen Rider Smash.
Kenshin quickly gathered energy in his blade before releasing bolts of thunder that slammed against the ground around the Mii. Kenshin then performed a hand-sign, the bolts creating an energy net that trapped Serlon within it.
"Let's end this, he's down," Joker called out as he took out his knife. "It's time for an all out attack!"
"We'll need a bigger party to finish this in style," Kenshin initiated his finisher.
[FOR GLORY!]
Kenshin suddenly split into three versions of himself, all of them adopting different stances before launching forward. Joker ran forward alongside the trio, all four becoming blurs as they slammed past and through Serlon multiple times. Serlon gasped out as he was launched into the air as a result.
[THUNDER SHINOBI K.O.!]
A singular Kenshin and Joker landed, their backs facing Serlon. Kenshin adopted a classic hand sign pose a ninja would normally do while Joker held his left arm up, fixing his coat sleeve. Right as the two posed Serlon gave a yell as he exploded from the energy build up. Both gave a sigh of relief as Serlon fell to the ground unconscious, their bodies relaxing after that fight.
"I'll handle the Mii, you get your treasure," Kenshin teased as Joker gave a grin, the two exchanging a nod before the latter took off. Kenshin then walked over, not dismissing his transformation as he walked over to the charred Mii. He then rummaged the Mii's pockets before finding the Link Token. Kenshin gripped it tightly as he had to contain his anger. "You don't deserve this Token."
"Hey Smash we've got an issue!" Joker called out from where the makeshift room was.
Kenshin was snapped out of his thoughts and quickly ran over. Once at the makeshift room he walked forward before stopping at the sight of an open crate, the cloth that held the Smash Tokens was there but they were no longer there. "I thought you said they were here."
"Yeah, well we weren't the only ones targeting him," Joker said as he handed Kenshin a business card. There was nothing on it but a dragon's face, no signature, no message, nothing.
"Damn, seriously?" Kenshin asked.
"The only likely answer is that someone was using me to find the Tokens, and then used our fight as a distraction," Joker mused as he looked over the card. "They're definitely skilled if they were able to get the drop on me regarding this treasure."
"The question though is why," Kenshin admitted as he was trying to poke his brain for any new revelations about the Malice. He knew the bandaged man had a hand in creating them, but what purpose did it serve? Was there an end goal to creating monsters out of Smash Tokens, or were they all just attempts to keep him from getting the Tokens more easily?
"I suppose if we're done here I can head out and you can call your bosses," Joker mentioned.
"Yeah, I suppose we are done." Kenshin admitted.
"Still thanks for the help, I was right when deciding to come to you first," Joker held out his hand.
"Well you at least got me a new Token so this mission wasn't a total bust," Kenshin admitted as he shook the phantom thief's hand.
Meijin meanwhile whistled as he tossed the Smash Tokens up and down, having entered and stolen them right after the fight had started. He walked casually along the warehouse roof before jumping to a nearby roof. "I think I've found my match. I should get the twins to Ridley though." He said as he continued to toss the Tokens up and down.
Junmei gave a yelp as she dodged against an aura sphere, her opponent Aura Jackal having sent it out at her. The Aura Jackal was a blue furred bipedal jackal monster, having a large body with longer arms. He had black armoring on its shoulders, forearms, shins and a cross strap chest piece. On the top of his head was a black helmet that covered its snout and had long ears pointing upwards, two red glass pieces covering its real eyes.
The Rider moved in and slashed at the Malice only for him to get behind her, slamming his arm into her back. Junmei barely managed to get footing and turned to try and spin slash, only for her sword arm to get grabbed. With her momentum stopped she was let go just as Aura Jackal sent his foot at her stomach, slamming and pinning her to the ground with it.
"Damn these monsters are tough," Junmei gasped out as she barely managed to shift her sword, sending a jab and managing to slice into back of the Malice's shin. Aura Jackal howled out before jumping away from her. Junmei breathed a bit heavily as she used her sword to help her stand.
"Not so tough now huh, let's finish her off boys!"Nikko called out as he rushed with the other two to clash blades again. Junmei decided to let them have their fun, blocking against their slashes with ease. She shifted her head, hearing the sound of Aura Jackal forming an aura sphere once more. Junmei kept her clash while shifting her legs, suddenly jumping up and landing behind the three Mii's. She then sent a wide kick that sent them stumbling forward.
Aura Jackal let out a yell as he launched the aura sphere, the energy attack crashing against the three Mii's and sending them all flying to the sides as a result.
"Now then, let's change things up," Junmei took out Ryu and Ken's Tokens, swapping them out before initiating her form change.
[RYU! KEN! KAMEN RIDER ECHO: FOCUS BURNER!]
In a flash she transformed into her close quarters combat form before rushing towards Aura Jackal. The Malice did the same, both stopping once they were in striking distance of each other. Junmei reeled her right arm back, blue flames gathering around her fist. Aura Jackal did the same with his right arm, aura gathering around his fist. The two then punched at each other, the punches clashing and canceling out the flames and aura.
The two clashed further before pulling back, both landing before launching forward. The two gathered their respective energies and lunged forward with their right arms again. The two fighter's energies were equal but this time created an energy backlash that forced the two away from each other.
Aura Jackal launched forward, using great speed to suddenly dash to the sides to try and confuse the Rider. Junmei figured the best choice would be gathering fire around her arms, crossing them together and creating a small shield of flames. Aura Jackal used the defensive stance to jump into the air, spinning around and creating an aura tornado, launching downwards like a drill towards Junmei. The aura and fire clashed as the two fighters collided, an explosive reaction occurring from the energy buildup.
Junmei staggered back but found her footing, jumping up and sending a flying kick downwards. Aura Jackal had just found his footing when Junmei's foot slammed into his knee and forcing him to kneel. Junmei landed and shifted her body jumping up and slamming her other knee into Aura Jackal's chin, managing to send the Malice tumbling back.
Junmei gathered blue fire in her hands before cupping them together, forming a fireball as she reeled her arms back and got in a tossing stance. Aura Jackal slammed his hands together, forming an aura sphere before pushing it forward. Junmei threw her fireball forward, both attacks clashing against each other before exploding in the middle of them.
"Evenly matched," Junmei hissed, realizing that this would be another close match just like with Crimson Lobo. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, her thoughts drifting to her brother as she opened them immediately. Wasting no more time she went to activate her finisher.
[FOR GLORY!]
Junmei stood her ground gathering blue fiery energy around her right arm, charging up for her finisher. Suddenly Aura Jackal shot out of the smoke, gathering an aura sphere in one hand as he closed in. He landed on the ground, sliding across it before attempting to slam the sphere into Junmei.
[FOCUS BURNER K.O.!]
The female rider yelled out as she threw her right palm forward, grasping against the aura sphere. She gripped tightly causing the sphere to break and destabilize, an explosion occurring right between the two. Dust and smoke was kicked up as the result of their fight was covered up. It took a good minute for the smoke to settle, revealing the two were still in their clashing stance, both unmoving. Though Junmei's right hand was now clasped around Jackal's hand.
It seemed as though the two had been given a draw, as neither had fallen down or backed down from the clash yet. Both were unmoving however, awaiting the answer to their clash. Suddenly cracking was heard, Aura Jackals arm began to chip and crack up, turning black before it spread all over his body. The Malice froze up as the shell around the Mii cracked and shattered. Junmei relaxed her stance as she turned her right fist towards her, opening up her hand to reveal the Lucario Smash Token.
"I won't lose to anyone," Junmei reminded herself before walking over to Nikko, noticing that he was still barely conscious. She grabbed him by his shirt before shaking him slightly. "Alright, I want some answers now."
"Anything you want, please! I didn't know any better! I'll quit I won't do it again!" Nikko cried out causing a slight bit of disgust in Junmei.
"Tell me where the main lab is in this town, the one where they do experiments," Junmei said as her grip tightened.
"Yes ma'am!" Nikko called out in fear as he barely managed to give a salute.
"Good, I appreciate it," Junmei said before letting go of the Mii and dismissing her transformation. She then took out her phone and dialed it. "Yes it's me, I've got the location coming already so meet me here and bring some friends. You've got a lot of people to detain."
"So what am I supposed to be looking at?" Fox asked as he was currently head first on the workshop table that Samus was using, watching while she worked.
"Kenshin's new weapon," Samus said as she began working on the finishing touches. It was a small handle that connected through two points towards a knuckle styled block of metal, the knuckle being almost twice the size of a normal fist. The front of the knuckle had a button that held the Smash Symbol while the top of the knuckle had a slot tokens to be inserted. Of course the knuckle weapon was still unpainted and had various wires and pieces missing at the moment.
"Okay I get that it's his new weapon… but why not use a hammer for his base form?" Fox asked, still a bit confused on why she was just working on a harder fist.
"Because his base form is more based for hand to hand combat, I want the weapon to be an extension of his fists," Samus explained as she continued to tinker on it. "Thus it's suited for both arms and has a Token Slot to make use of the Tokens abilities."
"So how long will it be till it's complete?" Fox asked as he lifted his head from the table.
"Probably tomorrow, the hard part is getting everything working. Detailing and painting are the easier parts," Samus explained. "I want this out as soon as possible."
"But you don't want to burn yourself out," Fox added to which the bounty hunter nodded. "Good choice, I get that there's something off about this whole situation but we need to be on the top of our game."
"Exactly, I'm hoping to put in as much work today as I can," Samus agreed. "I just hope it'll be enough."
"It will be, don't worry," Fox reassured as he gave a pat to Samus' shoulder. "The kid's strong, and this upgrade will definitely help him."
"Right," Samus agreed before going back to work.
To Be Continued…
Palutena: Darkness lets the light shine, and light gives birth to darkness. As confrontation draws near you must continue to better yourself, lest you fall into darkness.
[Next Time: Tools of Duality]
Smash Token Ownership:
Kenshin – Mario/Luigi/Yoshi/Fox/Wolf/Pikachu/Greninja/Link
Junmei – Marth/Lucina/Ryu/Ken/Terry Bogard/Lucario
CORE – Incineroar
Meijin –Donkey Kong/Bowser/Samus/Dark Samus
Sayomi – Meta Knight/Ganondorf
Hajime – Piranha Plant
Authors Note:
Yep, still alive. Admittedly the first month of the year got a bit crazy towards the end given KH III ReMind came out so most of my attention was put onto that. Not to mention Rider's slightly been burning me out with Zero-One so that's caused a lack of muse when it comes to writing. But I've been binging a few things on my watch list for a bit so I think I'm getting the inspiration to write back. I wouldn't expect a consistent upload schedule but I'll at least try one Chapter a month. When during the month? No clue but more than likely on a Saturday like all the updates have been in the past.
