A/N: Time for Review Answers!
Starwarriors: I thought so, too. And thanks!
Shadow 13: Ha, perhaps I'll do one of her, someday, if they give us more info about Molly's world. I feel as if Scratch and Molly are going to have a confrontation with the Ghost Council at some point in regard to Scratch not making the town as miserable as it used to be before Molly showed up. There's no way that Molly's influence on Scratch and the joy she's brought to Brighton hasn't gone unnoticed by them.
OMAC001: Yep, all part of the plan. Of course, this is all just teasing, we all know who's ending up with who at the end of the day, but it's still fun to play with Marcy's emotions, and Luz's. I'm so bad XP
snake screamer: Ha! Yeah, that's where it's all heading eventually. And it is typical for the protag to be oblivious to the love interest, I mean, really, it took Amity yelling "Stay away from my Luz!" before she finally figured out that Amity liked her like that. Also, I dare y'all to tell me that you didn't have a jaw drop moment when she Amity said that.
WaterDragonMaverick: Of course, I gotta have those two nerds geek out about their shows.
Lich arrived at the cave of the renowned witch, Xolatla. The undead Phantom could already feel the magical energy coming from this place just from standing at the mouth of the cave. Which was great, because it only meant that this next corpse would be even more useful. Barrel was standing behind Lich, he could tell the warrior toad was itching to try and kill him, but thanks to Lich's necromantic magic, Barrel had no choice but to obey him.
"I swear I will kill you when I am free," Barrel threatened.
"Yes, yes, like I haven't heard that threat at least thirty times since we left the tomb. Just guard the entrance, I don't need any unwanted interruptions," Lich ordered.
Barrel snarled at his unwanted master and turned his back to him. The king of the undead floated into the cave, he felt strangely at home when he saw the macabre decorations. Skull and bones arranged in different intricate patterns, glowing flowers that seemed to give off an ominous aura, and wall paintings of runes and glyphs plastered all the way as far as the eye could see. Lich felt right at home in this place. As Lich floated further in, he felt the magic begin to stir inside the cave. Suddenly, four magic circles appeared, two on either side of the walls, one on the ceiling and a fourth on the floor of the cave.
The four circles emitted violet electrical energy that formed a kind of cage around Lich. The undead Phantom hummed as he inspected the workings of the spell and nodded approvingly. "Not a bad ensnarement hex, masterfully made. I'd be worried if I was some fledgling sorcerer, but I'm not."
The eye sockets of the skull ornament on Lich's staff glowed bright as they released a burst of dark magic that pushed against the ensnarement hex. The hex tried to push back, but the magic of the undead Phantom was stronger than that. With one more burst of dark magic, Lich broke the hex and shattered the four magic circles. He continued to float further into the cave until he stopped and landed, feet first, on the ground. His glowing eyes narrowed as he inspected the area, he shifted his gaze to a rock and levitated it. With a flick of the wrist, Lich launched the rock down the cave and activated a trap. The entire way through came alive with black vines that had sharp thorns on them, lashing and whipping at the perceived intruder.
"Huh, not what I expected. Soul Rend vines, they cause physical and spiritual damage at the same time. I thought something like that only existed in the Boiling Isles. This world is starting to pique my interest," said Lich.
Now aware of the trap, Lich raised his staff and struck the butt of it against the floor of the cave. The moment he did, a wave of emerald flames shot down through the cave and burned the Soul Rend vines, causing them to release horrible screeching sounds. The undead Phantom chuckled, it seemed that the one enshrined in the cave was looking to test those who came to see them, either that or they really didn't want to see anyone.
Lich floated further into the cave until he came to an opening. There Lich saw a shrine, it was littered with magical items, plants and herbs, and symbols of arcane magic. At the center of the shrine was a mummy, perfectly preserved. Which was good for Lich as it meant that the resurrection spell wouldn't need as much magical energy. Lich reached out with his magic and readied to cast the spell, but the moment his magic came near the shrine it cancelled out. Lich tilted his head in confusion and tried again, but the result was the same, his magic was getting cancelled out with each attempt.
"I know why you are here, you unholy creature…"
Suddenly, the spirit of Xolatla appeared, she was a newt woman with long hair, rune tattoos, and a flowing robe wrapped around her body.
"Do you now?"
"You seek to use my body and soul to obtain something that does not belong to you. But I promise, controlling me will be no easy task."
"I'm willing to take that challenge."
Lich's staff glowed as he fired a black magic energy beam straight at the shrine. Xolatla conjured a violet-colored barrier around her shrine. Lich was a little annoyed that he had to try this go around, it seemed that even in death the magic users of this world still had some power. Xolatla made a few hand signs and not long after finishing them, created magic circle above and beneath Lich. The king of the undead stopped for a moment, and when he did, the two circles released their power, creating a column of violet energy that trapped him inside. The ancient witch made another series of hand signs and made two more circles appear, one on Lich's right and another on his left.
"The dead should remain dead; I will send you to whatever afterlife you belong to."
The two circles started to emit golden yellow light that was different from the others, it was more akin to holy, purifying magic. Lich growled when he felt the two circles' light begin to burn his body, trying to send him to the great beyond. "Heheheheh…Uncultured swine, I have rejected death."
Lich released more of his dark magic and overrode the magic circles that trapped him, and the two that were trying to purify him. Xolatla was shocked when she saw her magic hijacked by the monster, and now turned on her. Her barrier quickly shattered as the spells that were meant to trap and destroy Lich were now recast onto Xolatla, but instead of destruction, it transformed into a resurrection spell. The spirit of the witch was suddenly forced back into her mummified body, the wrappings coming undone as her corpse rejuvenated back into a more viable working body thanks to the black tar that was now oozing from the two circles and filling Xolatla's body.
With an explosion of power, the shrine was destroyed and from it rose the revived Xolatla. The ancient witch looked upon her body and glared menacingly at Lich. "You will pay for this!"
"If I keep hearing that from you and Barrel, I will just sew your mouths shut. Now, I have one more to get before I fully act, but that doesn't mean I can't disrupt them. Xolatla, Curse Founder, I want you to go to Newtopia, and curse either of these two." Lich created constructs of what Anne and Marcy looked like, he then created a third one of Luz and added, "But leave this one alone, she may be harmed, so long as it is not fatal. I need her alive. Now you're not going to give me any lip about you not obeying me, are you?"
Xolatla huffed and crossed her arms. "I am no amateur; I know the power and rules of necromancy. I couldn't disobey you or even attempt to kill you if I tried. I will go to Newtopia and do as you command."
"Good, for once someone with some sense."
The witch watched as Lich began to float away, but under her breath she whispered, "At least not directly…"
After debriefing Marcy on their little adventure and Marcy making a note to have a little look into District Six again, Anne decided to stay at the hotel tonight to check on Sprig, while Marcy decided to take the night shift and watch over Luz.
Marcy was a little nervous about sleeping in the same bed with Luz, after seeing how Luz was all over Anne, she wondered if that would happen tonight. Did she want it to happen? Marcy shook her head to try and dislodge those thoughts out of her mind.
Luz came out of the bathroom; she looked a little nervous as well as she rubbed her right arm and glanced occasionally at the floor. "Marcy, you really don't have to stay in my room, I could go to yours and sleep on the floor or something."
"No, you're a guest in the castle and a guest of a new world, it'd be rude to make you sleep on the floor," said Marcy.
"I just don't want you feel…weird about being in the same bed as me, that's all."
Marcy sighed as she smiled at Luz. "I don't feel weird, Luz. I'm not like the kids from your school, so you don't have to worry about me or Anne thinking of you differently."
Luz smiled softly as he approached the bed. "Sorry, I'm just used to tiptoeing around people that it's hard to let my guard down, even on the Boiling Isles."
Marcy decided to change the topic as Luz got into bed. "So, out of the Heisei Riders, which one is your favorite?"
Luz hissed as she sat down. "Ooh, that's a tough one, I really like them all. But if I had to really choose…I'd say Kamen Rider Xcal, he's the tenth Rider of the Heisei Era, and it was through him that I learned all about the Phase One Heisei Riders."
"He's the tenth anniversary Rider, right? The one that used swords that had the power of the nine other Riders?" Marcy asked.
Luz nodded. "Yep, say what you will about the story, but Kiba Murasame will always be my fave interdimensional Rider."
Marcy hummed and replied, "I can respect that. He has played a vital role in helping the other Heisei Riders, whether it was on screen or off screen. My favorite would have to be Atlas, I kind of like the psychological and Greek mythos themes."
"Mmm-hmm, also respectable, plus I love their BGMs," said Luz.
The two girls talked for what seemed like several minutes going on about what they liked about their respective series. For Marcy, she was having a lot of fun. Sasha wasn't as into Tokusatsu as she was, and Anne was a casual watcher and fan of the franchise, which was fine. But Marcy never really got to nerd out with someone about her love of Kamen Rider who wasn't on the other side of a computer screen.
At some point the two girls finally knocked out after exhausting each other of their knowledge. Luz made sure not to get as clingy she did with Anne when she slept in the bed, she had to admit, both Anne and Marcy were cute girls. But her heart was telling her differently, but she knew that that wasn't going to go anywhere, no matter what she thought she felt, Amity wasn't into girls, and she needed to respect that.
As they slept, a shadow entered the room. It was that of Xolatla, using her magic to hide her presence as she approached the sleeping girls. Her glowing eyes fell upon Luz, the one that Lich was after and had forbidden her from killing, the other was one that he had deemed a nuisance and needed eliminated. The old witch detested being used in such a way, but the rules of necromancy did not allow her to disobey the undead Phantom, but that didn't mean she couldn't try a less indirect method. She didn't know why the creature was so important to him, but she couldn't be held responsible if one of her targets killed Luz.
With that in mind, Xolatla began to work a spell in her hands, it appeared as a fluffy cloud of violet sparkling dust. She directed the cloud to go to Marcy, but as soon as the cloud reached her head, a green aura appeared around Marcy and stopped the cloud from reaching the teen.
What's this now? Xolatla tried again and again, but each time her curse was thwarted. What kind of power does this girl have? Fine then, nothing saying I can't curse the other girl.
Xolatla tried next with Luz, using the same curse to infiltrate her mind. This time the cloud managed to seep into Luz's head. The effects were starting to show as Luz began to squirm in her sleep, which was par for the course with a mind manipulation spell. Luz's eyes flew open as she bolted upright and gasped loudly, causing Marcy to startle awake.
"W-What's wrong? WHA?!" Marcy exclaimed as she noticed Luz's eyes were now glowing violet.
Luz had a panicked expression on her face, but then she turned to Marcy, and it shifted to anger. Without warning, Luz dove at Marcy, getting on top of her reaching for her throat. Marcy desperately tried to push Luz off but was having a hard time doing so as Luz was surprisingly strong.
"LUZ, STOP! WAKE UP!" Marcy yelled.
"I WON'T LET YOU PHANTOMS HURT THEM! MY FRIENDS! NONE OF THEM!" Luz responded.
Marcy was starting to sweat, Luz was getting closer and closer to her throat, but what worried her more was the mysterious glow in her eyes. Did this have something to do with her magic? Was her power having a negative reaction to being cut off from its world of origin? Suddenly, a yellow aura wrapped around Luz, and the Latina's ferocity quelled. Xolatla saw the aura and then gasped when she witnessed that same aura transform into a large owl. The owl construct turned its head in her direction, as if it was able to see her.
"Any intrusion into her mind and soul, I consider an act of aggression unto me!" La Lechuza declared.
The owl construct spread its wings and released a loud screech, a burst of magical energy was released, pushing out the curse magic of Xolatla and forced the witch out of the room entirely. Luz rolled off Marcy and gasped as she finally regained control over her body, she looked around in a panic and saw that Marcy was recovering next to her.
"Marcy! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that!" Luz apologized.
"It's alright, you didn't get to do anything to me. Something stopped you, and it looked like a large owl construct," said Marcy.
Luz's eyes widened for a moment, she smiled and spoke in her mind. Thank you, Lala.
"Don't misunderstand, I take any intrusion into my domain as a personal slight to me."
You're such a tsundere.
"I don't know what that means, but I more than sure it's something annoyingly endearing. But that's beside the point, something was trying to take control of you, and they were just expelled from the room!"
Luz's happy expression shifted to one of concern as she spoke to Marcy, "Lala says that I was being controlled by something!"
"Your 'Inner Phantom', right? Was it Lich?!" Marcy asked.
Luz shook her head. "She didn't sense him, but whatever it was it's gone."
Marcy bit her lower lip as her mind furiously went to work. Something tried to attack Luz, tried to make her attack her allies, but didn't attack to harm her. Lich wanted Luz alive, something to do with her magic, but what did he have to gain by making Luz attack her? Unless, whatever brainwashing that Lich tried on Luz was only because it didn't take for Marcy?
"Luz, we need to go to Anne, now!" Marcy stated.
"Anne, why?"
"I think it was trying to take us over, maybe it tried with me, but my powers might've stopped it. Your Inner Phantom snapped you out of it, but Anne…she'll never forgive herself if she hurts the Plantars," said Marcy.
Luz didn't question it any further, she quickly rushed over to grab the buckle of for her Driver and wrapped it around pajama shorts.
[Connect, Please.]
Luz pointed her hand towards the middle of the room and formed her magic circle. Marcy and Luz quickly ran through the portal and exited into the room at the Hemisphere Hotel. Unfortunately, they were too late. Luz and Marcy watched as a newt woman cast her curse onto Anne. The Thai girl started to squirm and writhe, causing the rest of the Plantars to stir awake.
"What's goin' on – GAAAAH!" Hop Pop exclaimed when he laid eyes on Xolatla.
"What the heck?!" Sprig shouted as he jumped to his feet.
"AAAAH! Black magic woman," said Polly as she pointed at Xolatla.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Marcy ordered.
Xolatla frowned, "Sorry, but I have my orders. Rise."
Anne's eyes shot wide open as she bolted out of the bed, she was panting and sweating as she looked around. Her dark brown eye color was replaced with a violet glow as she looked around. Anne's gaze eventually landed on the Plantars, and she sighed in relief. "Oh, thank frog, you guys are alright."
"Anne…are you…alright?" Sprig asked.
"Yeah, dude, why wouldn't I be?" Anne's gaze shifted to the middle of the room and that's when things got serious. "What the hell?! Guys get out of here!"
"You see it," said Polly.
"Yeah, why didn't you guys wake me sooner! There are two Fallen standing in the room!" Anne stated as she pointed at Luz and Marcy.
Luz and Marcy glanced at each other.
"Uh…is she talking about us?" Luz asked.
"Anne, what are ya talkin' about?! That's Luz and Marcy!" Hop Pop corrected.
Anne shook her head in disbelief at what Hop Pop said. How could he say that? Those two weren't her friends, they were monsters, the very things that were trying to kill them. Maybe it was some kind of power they were using, a mental manipulation ability that she was immune to? Whatever the case was, she needed to protect her family, and her friends.
"Don't worry guys, I'll take care of 'em!" Anne declared as she entered her transformation stance.
"Anne, stop, don't do this!" Marcy begged.
Lightning arced around Anne's waist as her MetamorphRing appeared.
"Marcy!" Luz exclaimed as she activated her WizarDriver.
[Driver On, Please.]
Tension filled the room as the Plantars watched the three girls ready to transform and fight, but then there was the newt, Xolatla, who was still floating in the air next Anne, the puppet master pulling the girl's strings.
"Henshin!"
"Henshin!"
Lightning, wind, and light erupted in the room, and soon each of the three girls had transformed into their alter egos of Amp, Ranger, and Witch.
[Connect, Please.]
"Let's take this outside!"
[Rubber, Please.]
Luz launched her right arm at Amp, grabbing onto her scarf as she jumped backwards and reeled in the lightning hero like a fish straight into the magic circle, with Ranger following close behind her. The Plantars watched all of this unfold before them as the portal closed and left them alone with the newt witch.
"Hmm, now that that's done, I need to speak with you."
Sprig broke out Silverbolt 2.0 and readied to shoot at the undead black magic user. "You just sent our friend to kill our other friends, and you want to talk?!"
"Yes, I do little frog child."
"Vengeance!" Polly shouted as she came at Xolatla with a mace.
The witch pointed her open palm at the pollywog and stopped her in midair, Sprig attacked next as he loosed a rock at Xolatla, but again the undead witch stopped the attack, freezing the rock in place and doing the same to Sprig. And just to ensure that the last frog would not do anything, Xolatla did the same to Hop Pop.
"Now, listen closely Lich is planning to – mmph!" Xolatla's mouth suddenly shut itself. After a moment her jaw loosened. "What in was…Never mind. Lich is going to – mmph!" Yet again, her mouth shut and prevented her from saying what she was going to say.
"Uh…what's going on?" Polly asked.
The witch growled indignantly at her current situation. "Dammit to frog, he's shrewder than I gave him credit for. He made it so that I can't even say what he's up to!"
"Wait, you're trying to help us?" Sprig asked. "Why?"
Xolatla looked at the frog child and said, "Because for one thing, he brought me back to life against my will! Second: he made me his puppet, and Xolatla is NO ONE'S puppet! And third: I just don't like him."
Hop Pop glared at the newt and said, "Then why did ya do that to Anne instead of help us?!"
"Because, old man, his necromantic spell compels me to do so. I cannot take any action against him, and I VERY MUCH want to. For the time being, I can only impart this warning. Lich has left the city, but he will be back and more dangerous than before. Deliver this message to those creatures before it is too late."
With the warning given, Xolatla released the Plantars and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
All three Riders fell out of the portal and outside the walls of Newtopia. Witch didn't want this fight to happen in the middle of the city, a battle between Riders rarely ended with zero collateral damage, and from what she had seen, Marcy as Ranger was considered a hero, and the last thing Luz wanted was for Anne to be seen as a villain for fighting the local superhero. So, she concentrated on sending them as far from the city as possible, which was where they were now.
Witch whipped Amp across the way, making her skip on the surface of the water until she smashed into a rock formation some ways away. "Sorry, Anne!"
Ranger jumped out just as the portal disappeared behind her. She aimed her Squall Sniper at Amp, albeit reluctantly. "Anne, snap out of it! We're not your enemies!"
Amp tore herself out of the rock formation, her once blue eyes were still glowing violet, indicating that she was under the control of the newt witch's curse. "You Fallen are more talkative than the last ones, but don't think for a second that's going to stop me from beating you, even two on one!"
"Can she not hear us?" Ranger asked.
"Whatever curse that newt cast on Anne must also be messing with whatever she hears as well as sees. No matter what we say she'll hear it as a threat," said Witch.
"Is there anyway to break the curse?"
Witch glanced to her chain link and eyed her Flash ring. "There might be." The hero of hope grabbed the Flash ring and placed it over right middle finger. "If her curse isn't too strong, maybe my Flash ring can dispel it."
The magical Rider was about to activate her ring, but Amp immediately dashed away. The sensor array in Witch's helmet alerted her to movement behind her, but by the time she did turn around, Amp threw a punch and decked Witch in the face, sending her flying and rolling along the water lain ground. Ranger was about to counter, but Amp threw a swift knee strike to her gut, making Ranger gasp in pain from the impact. Amp kicked at Ranger's feet, throwing her balance long enough to grab Ranger's left arm and throw her in the same direction as Witch. By the time Witch got to her feet she got hit with Ranger, putting them both on the ground.
Ranger coughed and held her stomach as she got on her knees. "Oh man, she's not holding back! She really sees us as Fallen and is trying to destroy us! Luz, use your ring!"
"I know! I know!"
Amp charged her right fist with lightning and punched the ground in front of her. The lighting coursed through the water, surging straight for the two heroes. Once the lightning reached them, small explosions erupted from their armor, making sparks fly from it. Amp took advantage of their weakened states and dashed straight for them; the hero of lightning struck Witch's right hand with enough force to jostle the Flash ring off her hand before plopping into the water.
"Oh c'mon! Sorry, again, Anne!"
Witch jumped back and got into her fighting stance, Amp did the same and the two Riders squared off. The magic Rider and electric Rider both dashed towards each other, Amp threw a punch at Witch, but Witch countered with a palm strike. The resulting impact created a small shockwave that caused the water to ripple. The two heroes traded blows, Amp's Muay Thai against Witch's Bagua Zhang martial style. Amp's quick and fierce strikes were evaded by Witch's swift footwork and deflecting blows, but in return, Witch would lash out with her own palm and elbow strikes. Unfortunately, Amp's speed was great and allowed the lightning Rider to dodge just as well as Witch was.
While this was going on, Ranger was having a dilemma as she raised her Squall Sniper and aimed it at Amp, only to lower it. She did this multiple times throughout the fight, unable to come to a decision as to what she should do. Well, Ranger knew what she should do, she needed to help Witch beat Amp so they could rid her of the curse. But every time Ranger raised her weapon to aid the other Rider, she remembered Anne, she remembered that underneath that armor was her best friend, her crush, someone who was being controlled. The person who always helped her and kept her safe back on Earth, and the thought of causing the person she cared about harm filled her with dread. Her heart and mind were at war with each other right now, and Ranger didn't know which to listen to.
Luz's fighting style is a perfect match against Anne's, and vice versa. They're matching each other blow for blow, but…
Amp dodged another palm heel strike and with a boost of her lightning closed in with an elbow strike into Witch's chest, which was followed up by a punch to the face and finished with a spinning roundhouse that threw Witch backwards. Amp jumped into the air and cocked back her fist, ready to strike Witch again, but before that could happen the ground rumbled, and a slab of dirt and rock rose like a column and blocked Amp from completing her attack. Witch was confused for a second until she spotted Ranger, whose right arm was glowing a bright blue. Ranger had engaged her Artificer Form and was now in the process of stopping Amp. A surge of Rewrite's energy coursed through the earth below, the moment Amp touched back down a dome of solid rock rose and completely engulfed the lightning hero.
Witch regrouped with Ranger and said, "Nice timing, what is that?"
"My Artificer Form, it basically allows me to transmute matter and buff my allies…" Ranger hung her head low and added, "I'm sorry, Luz. I can't help you fight her…I…I can't hurt her…"
Witch sensed the pain in Ranger's voice, and, for some reason, she felt as if there was something else behind that. "I understand, I won't ask you to fight a friend, especially since I can tell you care about her a lot. For now, look for my Flash ring, I'll stall her until you do. Oh, should I be aware of some of her form changes?"
"Uuuuhhhh…"
The answer came as the side of the rock dome was quickly melted away, allowing Amp to burst through, now in her Poison Form. "Thought you could get the best of ol' Anne, ey?! Well, you didn't!"
"Yeah, don't let her touch you, that's her Poison Form, she can create corrosive poison, as well as paralytic agents. She also has a Spike form that's high defense and physical power, and then there's her Trinity Form which combines all three forms' powers," Ranger explained.
Witch blinked under her helmet. "Okay, diverse. But I think I got it, just find my ring!" The hero of hope took off her Light Style ring and switched it out for another.
[Fire, Please.]
[Hi~HI~HIIII~!]
After switching to her Fire Style, Witch changed up her right ring.
[Flare, Please.]
"Bringing the heat, huh? Let's see what you got!" Amp goaded.
Witch brought her hands together and released a stream of flames right for Amp. Amp responded by bringing her own hands together and firing a corrosive stream of poison. The two attacks met each other in the center and set off an explosion that created a steam cloud from the evaporated water. Witch ran parallel to the steam cloud, keeping her eyes directly on it as she searched for movement. Just then Amp jumped out of the steam cloud and threw a poison laced punch at Witch.
The Rider of light coated her palms in flames as she intercepted the attack, the flames easily acting as a barrier against the plasmatic poison energy of Amp. Witch was managing to block most of Amp's fists, but when she saw the electrical Rider was getting too close, she released a burst of flames that was successful in pushing Amp back before she could land a blow.
"Okay, how 'bout this then!"
Anne pressed on the left hip device, her armor shifted and transformed into her Spike Form. In her right hand, Amp's Sting Striker appeared, she twirled the weapon around and slashed at Witch. The second hero responded by blasting Amp with a torrent of flames, but thanks to the enhanced defensive power of Spike Form, the flames barely harmed Amp as she plowed through the inferno and slashed Witch across the chest, causing sparks to fly from her armor. Amp swiped two more times before thrusting forward with the dual sided weapon, throwing Witch back a few feet.
"My turn!"
[Plant, Please.]
[Kooooooooo~jo~!]
[Connect, Please.]
A green magic circle rose from the ground and over Witch, changing her into Plant Style. Another circle appeared to her right, Witch reached into it and pulled out the WizarSwordGun, switching it to sword mode as she readied to duel Amp. Witch made the first move as she charged forward and swung her blade, Amp blocked the attack with her Sting Striker, sparks flying upon contact. Amp pushed the blade away and counterattacked, Witch took the blow head on, making more sparks release from her armor, but in so doing it allowed Witch to slash Amp across the chest and made sparks erupt from her armor.
The two warriors fought each other, trading heavy blows and creating more sparks with each hit. Witch raised her sword and Amp did the same for her Sting Striker, both girls brought down their weapons and slashed each other. Their attacks threw both of them back a few feet from the sheer force of the impact as they skidded backwards.
When Witch came to a stop, she chuckled and said, "You know, Anne, this would be fun if you weren't really trying to kill me and under the control of some evil sorceress!"
"Damn, you're tough! Whatever, I won't let you beat me! Time to pull out all the stops!"
Amp deactivated her current form and then pressed on both devices of her belt. The three colors of her different forms merged, transforming Amp into Trinity Form.
"This could be trouble, if you don't fight to truly defeat her, then she'll end up killing us," La Lechuza warned.
I know, but we can't go all out on her! Her mind's all bogged down by some kind of hex! We have to cleanse that first, but we need her to stay still long enough for us to do that…Witch looked down at her chain link and had an idea.
Witch unhooked the newest ring she made before she was thrown into Amphibia.
"We haven't used that yet, a first transformation with it will drain our mana quickly since we haven't had time to acclimate to it."
Right now, it's our best shot at overwhelming her without completing hurting Anne, thought Witch.
"Alright then, let's make this quick."
Luz took off the Plant Style ring and put on the new Owl ring.
[Ice Owl.]
[Hyoketsssssu~!]
Suddenly, an owl made of pure ice appeared behind Witch. The air was so chilly that the water around Witch began to freeze on the spot. The owl construct wrapped its wings around Witch, merging with her, and transforming her into the second version of her Super Form, Ice Owl Style. This form was like that of Light Owl Style, except the crystal chest plate was now a bright azure blue, the runic markings on the cloak were blue, and so was the visor on the helmet. The floating shoulder pauldrons were now angular in shape and had a blue diamond at the center. The eye shapes were the same as Ice Style, and the little wings on the top of the helmet matched the rest of the coloring. Just below the collarbone area was a triangle that had the Ice Glyph engraved into it.
Witch could feel how light this form was, it felt as if she might accidentally zip too far if she wasn't paying attention. She could tell that it was stronger than her Ice Style, offensive wise, but only marginally more so, at best it was half as strong as Plant Style in terms of defense, and half as powerful as Fire Style in terms of offensive magic. Still, that was more than enough for what she needed to do.
"Okay, Anne, let's dance!"
Amp released a battle cry and dashed straight for Witch, the speed of Trinity Form on full display. But just before Amp could reach Witch with her punch, the magical Rider zipped out of the way, making Amp miss her attack entirely, Amp was shocked but quickly recovered and threw a kick towards Witch. The kick might as well have been in slow motion as Witch, yet again, dodged the attack, weaved under it, and struck Amp in the chest with a palm heel strike. Amp skidded backwards as she clutched at her chest and growled angrily at her opponent.
"Damn, this Fallen got really fast all of a sudden," said Amp.
"Anne, you need to try and fight this curse! It's me Luz! Your friend!" Witch plead.
The color of Amp's eyes shifted, changing from violet to azure. They shifted back and forth for a little bit until the lightning Rider shook her head and the violet color returned. "I won't be tricked by you! You may sound like Luz, but I'm not falling for it!" Amp detached four of her spikes and created her twin Sting Strikers.
[Connect, Please.]
[Copy, Please.]
Witch summoned her WizarSwordGun and copied it, now dual wielding both of her weapons, and rushed straight for Amp. Amp slashed with her first Sting Striker, only to have it blocked by Witch's blade, and then, using the second WizarSwordGun, slashed Amp across the chest. Witch disengaged from the fight, and then rounded back to slash Amp in her back before retreating again. Witch repeated this process, going for a hit and run tactic, she did this mostly because she was buying time for Ranger to find the ring, and because even though her defense was a little better in this form, she knew Amp was still physically stronger and a blow from her in Witch's current form would probably do a lot of damage. So, Witch decided to speed blitz Amp, racking up the damage as she went along.
Meanwhile, Ranger was using her Artificer energy to sift through the waters, reaching out to sense the magic ring. Its energy was unique, so she hoped that by spreading a web of her energy via Rewrite it might show up as something anomalous. Ranger hadn't stopped keeping watch over the battle, she witnessed the moment that Witch transformed into her Super Form, and was now far faster than Amp was, despite her Trinity Form.
Guess that definitely confirms my theory, Trinity Form isn't our Super Form, otherwise Anne should be able to keep up with Luz. Hold up…
Ranger sensed something, she used Rewrite to manipulate the water, using it to create a bubble around the object and raised it into the air. The Chinese girl gasped excitedly when she realized that the object was Witch's Flash ring. Ranger snatched the ring out of the bubble and shouted, "LUZ, I HAVE THE RING!"
Right on time, Marcy!
"Let's hurry this up, our mana is almost depleted!"
Two magic circles appeared behind Witch, she then threw both her weapons into them, and put on her second newest ring.
[ VERY NICE! COCYTUS! FABULOUS! ]
La Lechuza appeared in the form of an ice construct, she flew around the battlefield for a moment before merging with her. Once she did, large metallic tail feathers appeared behind Witch, this was the Owl Tail. The Owl Tail fanned out and created a gust of cold air that allowed Witch to hover a couple of feet off the ground. The Rider of hope dashed once again towards Amp, even faster than she was before now with the added boost of the Owl Tail. Witch pirouetted as she closed in and slashed Amp across the chest with the sharpened ends of the Owl Tail, she danced around Amp and continued slashing with the tail feathers, before striking Amp in the back with a double palm strike.
Amp fumbled about until she managed to recover from the attack, but she was too late to stop what was coming. The Owl Tail glowed a bright arctic blue as Witch gathered her magical energy. Witch performed a front flip, and right as her feet pointed towards the sky, the Owl Tail flapped forward, sending a wave of arctic energy straight for Amp. The hero of lightning combined her weapon into a lightning shuriken and threw it straight for the incoming ice wave. However, the power of Cocytus completely overwhelmed the shuriken, freezing it where it was in midair as the ice wave continued towards her. Amp was about to run, but the ice had frozen the water around her ankles, briefly delaying her long enough for the wave to hit and wash over Amp. When it was over, only Amp's head was left untouched by the ice that fully encased her.
"MARCY! THE RING! NOW!" Witch ordered.
"CATCH!" Ranger shouted back as she threw the ring right for Witch.
[Light, Please.]
Witch switched out of her Ice Owl Style and back into her default Light Style. She quickly snatched the ring out of the air and used it before Amp had a chance to break free.
[Flash, Please.]
Witch raised the ring into the air, allowing the light of the Flash ring to shine down upon Amp. The lightning-based Rider tried to break free of the ice, feeling something happen to her as the light continued to shine. Her mind was getting clearer by the second, the eyes of her helmet shifting back and forth between violet and blue, and after a moment, Amp released a loud, grunting cry as the curse floated out of her head and erased by the light of Witch's magic. Witch landed on the ground and fell to one knee in exhaustion.
The eyes were now back to their regular blue coloring, which was followed by Amp looking around in confusion and asking, "Uh, what the heck are we doing outside the city? And why am I in a block of ice?"
"ANNE!" Ranger yelled happily.
"Thank goodness…" Witch sighed.
Ranger ran up to the ice and used Rewrite to completely dissolve it and the surrounding ice chunks that were created by Witch's attack.
"Mar-Mar, what happened to me? Why are we out here?" Amp asked.
"I'll explain later, right now, I think we need to check on Luz!"
Amp looked to where Witch was and quickly dashed straight for her. "Luz, are you alright?!"
"Heh…yeah…I just used a lot of mana…and I'm really…really…tired…" Witch collapsed into the water, and when she did her Rider form disappeared.
Amp hurriedly knelt next to Luz and picked her up so that she wouldn't drown. "I'm so sorry, Luz. I'll take us…back to the…castle and…wow I am really…tired right now…" Those were the last words Amp uttered as she too collapsed into the water and transformed back to her civilian form.
Ranger looked between her two friends and sighed heavily as she used Rewrite to create makeshift stretchers underneath them. With a flick of her wrist, the stretchers floated before Ranger. She used Rewrite to perform a quick scan of their bodies and found that both girls were just exhausted, Luz from mana drain and Anne from the fatigue of using Trinity Form.
So long as they're both alive, that's what matters. "COME! MACHINE ZEFYR!"
Sasha Waybright was currently working on her Rider powers, she found that she could force the power to obey her, at least to an extent. She retained control of herself while in her transformed state because, well, there was no way Sasha was going to relinquish control of her body to some unknown force.
It was the dead of night when she was training, enjoying the solitude that it brought her. Grime had gone out to spread the word of a coming revolution among the toads, starting with the closest tower, and left her alone with Percy and Braddock. She loved Percy and Braddock, but those two could get a little lovey dovey and it kind of annoyed Sasha on a level. That level being the fact that she was still coming to grips with what she had been trying to deny for the last three years now, her feelings for one Anne Boonchuy.
It frustrated Sasha, she never saw herself being 'like that'. Sasha tried to think back to other times before Anne, tried to comb over every part of her life that would've indicated to her that perhaps she was always like this and was just oblivious to it. She thought back to some boys at school, and while she did find them attractive, she never really felt a romantic connection. In fact, Sasha had received several love letters and confessions from boys, all of them either jocks, popular boys, or boys who thought they had a shot with her. Anne, aka "Angel of Death", was very helpful and letting them down gently, and most knew that if Anne Boonchuy was coming to you after asking Sasha out, or after the first date, then you knew it was over.
Sasha got a little sadistic kick whenever Anne would tell her about the reactions of the boys she had asked her friend to dump for her. She was the most popular girl in school, and despite all the failed attempts by others, it still didn't stop them from trying again. Then she started to think about the girls in their school, and that's where things got a little uncomfortable for Sasha.
Because whenever she thought about girls, her mind didn't snap to the other hundred plus in their school, no, her mind automatically traveled to not only Anne, but…Marcy, too.
"NOPE!" Sasha shouted. "No way, nuh-uh! Anne is one thing, but MARCY?!"
It wasn't like she thought the nerd girl was unattractive, quite the opposite, she was cute. And as annoying as some of Marcy's hobbies were, she had to admit, she loved how passionate Marcy was about them, and she admired Marcy's intelligence, Marcy was the smartest girl Sasha had ever met. There were times when she joked that one day Marcy would become a super famous scientist and won't have time to spend with her plebian friends. It was her response to that joke that she wouldn't forget.
"WHAT?! NO! I couldn't – wouldn't – ever do something like that to you two! You're my BFFs! I always want us to stick together, no matter what the future holds!"
Sasha joked that she was being dramatic and had teased her a little after, but it was kindhearted teasing, so Marcy didn't take it personally. But secretly, Sasha felt touched and moved by Marcy's words. She never thought she'd gain not one, but two best friends that she could possibly call "life-long friends", but on that day on the playground years ago, it happened.
The young blonde continued searching her memories, and every time it came back to Anne and Marcy, Anne and Marcy, why was it only Anne and Marcy and not or? Why was she feeling this way at all?
"Ugh…stupid alternate universe, making me think about things I don't want to think about!" Sasha cried out into the night.
*Snap*
Sasha flinched when she heard a noise coming from behind her, she gripped her heron sword tightly and whirled around shouting, "WHO'S THERE?!" However, the person behind her was not what she was expecting.
Standing a few feet away from her was a man, a human. He stood about six feet tall, of Asian descent, his hair was a sandy brown color, with dark colored eyes. He wore a dark-gray suit with a magenta shirt underneath, and around his neck hung a unique looking old camera that was also colored magenta. This man seemed to have taken her picture as he stood there with a nonchalant look on his face.
"Sometimes it takes being thrust into another world to grant us perspective on our own lives," said the man.
Sasha dropped her sword, letting it hit the ground with a muffled "thunk". Her eyes were wide with shock, she just couldn't believe it, another human, here, in Amphibia. "Y-You're human…YOU'RE A HUMAN!"
"That I am, and a devil to some." The man took another picture of Sasha's stunned expression. "That'll be a keeper."
"W-W-Wha – How – You – WHAT?!"
"I assume you have many questions for me, Sasha Waybright, and unfortunately, I'm not in a good position to answer them right now, as I need to check into something up ahead. I just popped by to get a close up of one of this world's Riders," said the man.
Sasha took a step back; he knew she was a Rider. But how? Did he see her transform? And how long has he been watching her for? Sasha quickly picked up her sword and pointed it in the man's direction. "Hold up! How do you know I'm a Kamen Rider?! And just who the hell are you?!"
The man released his camera and let it dangle freely around his neck. He then walked closer to Sasha, prompting the young teen to get into a fighting stance. Despite this, the man continued to walk, putting his hands in his pockets as he leisurely strolled. "I suppose it is rude that I don't introduce myself. My name is Tsukasa, Kadoya Tsukasa. And I am the Destroyer of Worlds."
"W-What do you mean, Destroyer of Worlds?!" Sasha asked.
"Believe me, it's not as terrifying a title as it sounds. Now, if you don't mind, I have business elsewhere," said Tsukasa as he walked right past Sasha.
"H-Hey wait – WAIT!" Sasha yelled as she ran and got in front of him. "You need to tell me right now why you're here, and more importantly, how you got here!"
"I'd love to, but it looks like our time is limited on that matter. Look."
Sasha watched as Tsukasa pointed forward, cautiously, she turned her head in that direction and spotted, what looked like, a toad standing sentry outside of an old cemetery. "What the hell…?"
Tsukasa walked forward again, ignoring Sasha in the process. The young blonde ran after him, keeping Tsukasa in front of her so as to not get surprised by him. Once they arrived at the gate to the cemetery, Tsukasa said, "I take it that Lich is in there?"
The toad glared at the man with his glowing eyes. "And if he is, what business is it of yours?"
"I'd like to confirm something, would you mind stepping aside?" Tsukasa asked.
The large toad held out his right hand, and when he did a construct hammer made of dark magical energy appeared in it. "As much as I would love to see you go in and give the defiler the brutal ending he deserves. I must follow my orders and keep anyone from entering and interrupting."
"Completely understand. Sasha-san, please keep him busy for a minute. Thank you!"
"What?!"
Tsukasa jumped straight into the air, did a somersault, and landed on the other side of the cemetery gate and proceeded to head further in. The toad that was guarding the entrance was shocked, along with Sasha, at how the man so nimbly got away from him. With one of his opponents gone, the toad forced to go ahead and do battle with Sasha.
"Sorry child, I don't do this of my own free will."
Sasha hurriedly jumped to the right as the toad brought down his construct hammer, causing the very earth beneath the impact area to crack in multiple directions.
Meanwhile, Tsukasa walked into the cemetery, not taking long to find who he was looking for form. The Phantom was already in the process of performing his resurrection spell, but Tsukasa cleared his throat to get Lich's attention.
Lich turned around and exclaimed, "Who are you?! Why are you here?! And…Why is there another human here?"
"To the first, Kadoya Tsukasa. And to the second: I'm just passing through," said Tsukasa.
The mysterious man reached behind his back and pulled out a Driver. The Driver was magenta in color and possessed many different symbols around the metal ring at the center. He placed the Driver buckle at his waist and allowed the belt to loop around and secure itself to him. Tsukasa detached the RideBooker on his hip and took out a single playing card, the RideBooker released an engine revving sound upon doing so. He then placed his hands on both sides of the buckle and pushed them outwards, activating the Driver.
Tsukasa held up the card and said, "Henshin," before slipping the card into the Driver and pushing the two sides back together.
Lich pointed his staff at Decade, and the dragons attacked. One of them launched a stream of black flames at him, but Decade managed to dodge that pretty easily, but then another came weaving towards him. Decade switched his RideBooker into sword mode and jumped into the air. He then stabbed the dragon and nailed it to the ground with his blade, Decade withdrew his sword and began running along the length of its neck just as two more were coming at him. Decade jumped off the dragon's neck and somersaulted in the air. Once he landed, he removed a card from his RideBooker and inserted it into his DecaDriver.
[Attack Ride: Invisible!]
The two dragon heads spotted Decade and launched two fireballs at him, but before they could reach him, the dimension hopping Kamen Rider disappeared. The two fireballs struck the spot where he last stood, but they could find no trace of him. While invisible, Decade took out another card and placed it into the DecaDriver.
[Kamen Ride: Kabuto!]
Just as the Driver announced this the invisible ability wore off, showing Decade as his entire form changed into a whole new Kamen Rider. A Rider with a large red horn and blue compound eyes, Kamen Rider Kabuto. Upon revealing his location, all six dragon heads turned in his direction and launched towards him. Decade took another card out and placed into the Driver.
[Attack Ride: Clock Up!]
Decade readied his blade and right before the dragon heads could reach him, they slowed down immensely to the point that they froze in place. Now in a state of accelerated time, Decade could get to work.
To Lich's eyes it appeared as if Decade simply vanished, because as soon as he did, the dragon heads were all sliced up and fell apart the moment that Decade reappeared. It all looked to have happened in an instant, but to Decade, it took a whole minute to destroy each of the heads.
"I'm going to get a little bit serious, okay."
Decade dismissed his current form and took out another card.
[Kamen Ride: Wizard! Hi-Hi, Hi-Hi-Hi!]
Decade's body was engulfed in flames and from those flames he emerged in the form of Kamen Rider Wizard, but he wasn't done yet as he activated yet another card.
[Form Ride: Wizard Flame Dragon! Bou-Bou, Bou-Bou-Bou!]
A construct fire dragon appeared and wrapped itself around Decade, transforming him into Kamen Rider Wizard: Flame Dragon Style. With magical power in hand, Decade charged for Lich and slashed at his barrier, to the surprise of the undead Phantom, Decade's blade sliced right through it and made him retreat into the air.
"Don't think you're safe from me up there," Decade warned.
[Form Ride: Wizard Hurricane Dragon! Byu-Byu, Byu-Byu-Byu-Byu!]
A wind dragon construct appeared and merged with Decade, switching him into Kamen Rider Wizard: Hurricane Dragon Style. A gust of wind whirled around Decade and shot him up into the air. Before Lich could react, Decade slashed the monster across the chest, causing sparks to fly from his body. With speed and grace, Decade rebounded off an air wall he created and propelled himself back towards Lich, slashing him in the back. More sparks flew, but Lich managed to release a burst of dark magic to push the hero away.
"Alright, let's see how you handle this," said Decade as he inserted another card.
[Final Attack Ride: W-W-Wizard!]
Dragon wings grew out of Decade's back, allowing him to fly around at great speeds. He circled Lich again and again, all the while releasing his elemental energy into the air, conjuring a storm cloud and a tornado. Green lightning raged in the cloud and fired down through the tornado and onto Lich. The undead Phantom struck back by invoking a grounding spell, causing pillars of earth to rise around him and act as magical lightning rods to offset the damage. Thanks to this, the full impact of the Dragon Thunder was mediated, but only enough for Lich to escape destruction, he was still damaged and thrown from the tornado once it was over.
Decade descended onto the ground and returned to his normal armor. The Destroyer of Worlds looked as if he was going to finish off Lich as he drew his own personal finisher card, but when Lich rose to fight again, he fell back to the ground and coughed up black sludge. After seeing this, Decade put the card back in the RideBooker and nodded his head.
"I see. Now I know what's going on," said Decade as he began to walk away.
Lich growled angrily and pointed his staff at Decade. "Don't you dare turn your back on me! This isn't over!"
"If you want to continue this fight, I have no problem doing that." Decade held up his left hand and revealed a device. It was black and magenta colored, with the number "21" and at the center were more Rider insignias. "But I guarantee you, that I won't hold back for round two."
Lich, for some inexplicable reason, felt fear grip his undead heart. This Rider was nothing like Luz Noceda, nor like the other two, he was something different. A Rider who has seen many conflicts, battle tested, and forged through hardships, his power magnified by these trials, and now he stands before Lich. This was an enemy that could easily stamp him out if he so wished. Bearing that in mind, Lich lowered his staff.
"Smart move."
"You can end me now, why not do so and aide your fellow Kamen Riders? Or is it that you bear some sort of grudge against them?" Lich inquired.
Decade chuckled at the absurd notion. "I am only here to judge of this world is worth destroying or not. Actually, the battle that is to come with you and those three girls will determine the fates of not just this world, but two others."
With that said a distortion in space appeared before Decade, a shimmering silver veil. That veil rushed towards Decade and once it passed over him, he disappeared.
Sasha transformed a few seconds after Tsukasa left her, she switched into Scutum Form as the toad warrior, who went by the name, Barrel, was faster than she had anticipated for a toad of his size. Not only that, but his strength level was far greater than Grime's. This forced the young blonde to go on the defensive as she tried to assess what the best course of action was to defeat him. She needed to get past this undead toad to catch up with Tsukasa, he was the first human Sasha had seen in Amphibia, the first adult human. He had to have possessed some device or vehicle that allowed him to enter Amphibia, and if she could just get her hands on it, she'd have leverage to make Anne come back to her.
Barrel twirled his large hammer around and swung it straight for Bellona. The Rider of fire raised her Aegis shield up just in time to catch the blow against it. Unfortunately, it wasn't without some amount of pain, as the impact was strong enough to resonate through her armor and into her arm, making it sting with each blocked attack. But Bellona grit her teeth through that pain and charged in with her Phoenix Wing sword, trying to cut the toad down.
Bellona managed to get a few good hits in, slashing off his arm and stabbing him in the chest to pierce his heart. However, he was undead, so the damage was not permanent. Black sludge oozed from his severed arm as it lashed out and reattached itself to the stump, making it so that it looked like nothing ever happened. The same happened to the heart stab wound, which was now rapidly healing and no longer there.
"Oh, c'mon! That's not fair! Even zombies in video games can't regenerate lost limbs!" Bellona bemoaned.
"Believe me, child, it is not as if I enjoy this existence. I need you to try and destroy me as best you can!"
Bellona looked at Barrel in confusion. "Wait, you want me to destroy you?"
"I was brought back from the dead against my will. I died a glorious death in the defense of the weak, I died a hero. That creature sullies my memory and torments my soul by bounding me to this mortal coil. I ask you, as a warrior, please release me!"
Sasha had heard of necromancy, mostly due to Marcy's fantasy games and anime shows, and she did know that there were crazy people in real life that practiced it, but she never thought she'd see it for real. Some monster brought him back to serve as his bodyguard, tore his soul from the afterlife and threw him into his own corpse. That's just sick! He doesn't deserve to live like this, it's not even living!
"Alright, big guy, I'll obliterate you completely!"
Bellona charged in again, Barrel raised his hammer and smashed it against the ground, sending a surge of dark energy through it to fracture the earth below their feet. Bellona stumbled as the dirt and rock underneath her became unstable, granting Barrel time to close in and smash his hammer into her midsection. The impact knocked the air out of her lungs and sent Bellona flying into a tree, snapping it in half before being stopped by a second.
Barrel wasn't going to give her too much time to recover as he ran right for where she landed. Bellona managed to regain her breath, but it was only in time for Barrel to grab her by the throat and drag her into the woods. He smashed her through one tree after another and then threw her like a rag doll straight for a fifth tree. Bellona threw her Aegis shield straight for the incoming tree, flipped around, and landed feet first onto it. Using it as a springboard, she launched herself towards Barrel, conjuring a new shield. With the extra speed and momentum, she shield bashed Barrel in the face, smashing his face and creating a symphony of cracking bones and cartilage. Barrel was thrown back as Bellona rolled to a stop on the ground, but Barrel finally stopped flying backwards as his face regenerated, and using his huge hammer as an anchor, he thrust it into the ground and slowed himself down.
Bellona panted from the effort of his fight, Scutum Form was her best way of defending against his attacks, but it lacked the finishing power she needed to put him down, but if she switched back to her default form, she'd gain back some attack power, but loose out on the increased defense. The decision was made. Bellona dismissed her Scutum Form and returned to Fire Form as she twirled her sword around.
"Alright then, if I'm going to do this, then I'm going all in!"
As soon as Bellona uttered those words, the left hip device began to glow. Bellona immediately understood what this meant and decided to use it now. She pressed down on the left device, and when she did, her entire left arm transformed. Her forearm was wrapped in a large gauntlet, with the top four knuckles having a protruding spike coming out of them. A pauldron was affixed to the shoulder, with an upside-down crescent armor panel. The gauntlet was colored purple and white, and Bellona's armor took on purple line warpaint.
"Cestus," Bellona whispered. "Forget defense, we're going full offense!"
Barrel looked upon this newest transformation and grinned. I see, she's just like her. Good, the Power of Calamity has found a good home in this one. "SHOW ME YOUR POWER, GIRL!"
Bellona cocked back her left fist, upon doing so, three panels opened and released jets of purple flame. When she thrust her fist forward, those same jets ignited and sent her flying towards Barrel at double the speed she had before. Barrel was taken by surprise by this speed increase and received a punch in the gut. He dug his heels into the ground to keep himself from flying backwards, and readied to attack, but Bellona disengaged, pointing her fist to the right and used the jets to give herself a speed boost, pushing her out of his line of attack. Bellona jumped in the air and used the jets to spin herself in midair, building up momentum as she came down with an overhead haymaker right atop Barrel's cranium.
The blow smashed through his skull, turning his head into mush as black ooze was splattered everywhere. Bellona jumped backwards, raised her left fist, and smashed it against the ground, propelling her into the air and high above where Barrel's body lay. The entire gauntlet, aside from the jet panels, glowed as it took in more and more energy. Once the Cestus had built up enough energy, Bellona pointed her oversized gauntlet right at Barrel's body as a fourth jet panel opened. She clenched it into a fist and fired the gauntlet off her arm, revealing a thin armor layered arm underneath it. The gauntlet's four jet panels bellowed with roaring flames as it descended straight down towards Barrel, his head was reforming, but the Cestus came down straight on his headless body. A large explosion went off, creating a dome of purple light that obliterated the surrounding trees and foliage.
Bellona flipped a few times in the air before landing on the ground in a classic superhero landing, her cape fluttering in the wind generated from her landing and the explosion. The Rider of fire held out her left arm, and from the explosion the Cestus flew out and reattached itself to Bellona's left arm. When the dome faded, Bellona saw that her attack had created not only a huge crater, but a deep one. She walked over to the edge and carefully peered down into it. As far as she could tell, there was nothing left of him.
Just then, a flash of green light went off in front of her, prompting the warrior woman to ready Cestus to fire off again. But she paused when she saw that it was the spirit of Barrel floating in front of her. The toad warrior bowed to the Rider and said, "Thank you for freeing me from my prison. Calamity of Strength."
Bellona's eyes widened when she heard that phrase, only the Fallen had called her that. "Wait, how do you know that phrase?! What does it mean?! What does 'Calamity of Strength' mean?!"
Before any answer could be given, Barrel's spirit disappeared, crossing over to the other side. Bellona growled in frustration, she needed answers to his power, but, despite this, she was happy that she could help the fallen warrior find peace again.
"Now, for that Tsukasa guy."
"What about me?"
"GAH!" Bellona yelped as she jumped backwards and nearly fell into the crater, but thankfully Decade reached out and grabbed her by the right wrist and dragged her back before she could plummet into it.
"Careful there, Sasha-san."
"You…You're a Kamen Rider, too?!"
Decade nodded. He then stepped closer and examined her form, Decade circled her and then stopped in front of her. "Huh, what a unique power, and yet, it has some similarities to Agito. Seems like these worlds might be worth not destroying after all. But we'll see how this ends."
Bellona had no idea what Decade was talking about, but she started to get angry when the legendary Rider turned around and started to walk away. The Rider of fire raised her left arm and pointed Cestus right at him. "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" Decade stopped and glanced over his shoulder. "If you're really a Kamen Rider, then you must have some way to get out of this world, right?!"
"I do, I can easily traverse through different dimensions and universes," said Decade.
"Then I need your help. Me and my friends are stuck here! We need to go back to our world, to Earth! We've been stuck here for months and still haven't found a way back! If you're as powerful as you say you are, then take me to them and take us home!" Bellona demanded.
Decade looked upon Bellona for a long minute, not a word was spoken during that entire time, and neither one moved from their respective spots. Finally, after two minutes of silence, Decade turned to fully face Bellona and said, "No."
Bellona was shocked, her left arm lowering. "W-Why?!"
"As you are right now, sending you and your friends back to your world would only hamper your growth. I haven't met your friends yet, but something tells me that you have a much longer road ahead before you fully realize who you are, what it is you want, and what it means to be a Kamen Rider. In your eyes I see ambition, a kind of ambition that I've seen in the eyes of other Riders, and such ambition often led to their own demise," said Decade.
Bellona shook her head as she growled in anger and pointed her Cestus back in Decade's direction. "SHUT UP! You don't know me; you don't know a thing! So, stop with the words of wisdom and take us home, or else!"
Decade chuckled and said, "You definitely remind me of a certain girl Rider from another universe. Don't worry, Sasha-san, you'll find your way home, in more than one sense of the word."
A Silver Veil appeared behind Decade and moved towards him. Bellona saw this and ignited her jet panels as she rushed towards Decade to stop him from leaving, but it was too late.
"I won't let you escape; I need to know who you really are!"
"Me? I'm just a passing through Kamen Rider, remember that."
Before she could reach him, Decade jumped backwards and allowed the Silver Veil to swallow him completely before it disappeared. Bellona stopped and frantically looked around, trying to find any trace of Decade, but to no avail. Bellona growled and then yelled her frustration into the night, her voice echoing throughout the forest. As much as she wanted to find that strange Kamen Rider, there was another matter she needed to investigate.
Bellona used the speed boost she got from Cestus and returned to the cemetery. She rushed through the gate and looked around, and that's when she spotted the dug-up gravesite. Bellona knelt before the grave and saw that the coffin and its contents were gone. In front of the open grave was a tombstone that read, "Here lies Donléon Espada. Archer of the Green Hills and rogue hero to the people."
"Whoever dug up Barrel also dug up someone else…sick." Bellona dismissed her Cestus Form and returned to Fire Form. Now that she was looking, Bellona noticed that most of the graves were empty now, all the bodies exhumed from their resting places. A sight that made her blood run cold with worry. "I don't know what's going on, but I hope Anne and Marcy aren't in the middle of this…"
A/N: This will be the only update until next weekend as it's my b-day tomorrow and I'm taking the weekend off! Happy Holidays everyone!