第5章:EXALTと暗愚王

Chapter 5: The EXALT and the King

Ex-Aid quickly rolled to the side to dodge a barrage of shots from Snipe. He managed to get behind a pile of loose stones. He couldn't stay there for long as the Gashacon Magnum wouldn't take long to obliterate the pile. He leapt away and managed to hit an acid barrel and then acquire an energy item.

Hansha!

He glowed slightly as Snipe's bullets began to bounce off his body, flying back to their origin. In an instant, Snipe was pelted by his own gunfire, knocking him down from his perch atop a large hill.

Once Ex-Aid saw his opponent tumbling down a hill of gravel, he ran to meet him at the bottom. Before Snipe could pull himself up Ex-Aid was ready to finish it.

Mighty Critical Strike!

He leapt into the air before transitioning into a kick. Instead of hitting Snipe however, he kicked the hill behind him. The hill exploded into a cloud of dust as their surroundings began to shift. It was as if their surroundings were an out-of-focus photograph.

After a moment, their surroundings changed to the Shepherds' training grounds. Both Riders' armor dissipated. "Alright then, that experiment was a success."

"Yeah." John agreed as James helped him to his feet. "On a related note, I'm going to go train for an hour or two." He declared before turning to continue with his day.

"Ok, just don't overwork yourself too bad." James called back to him as he went to carry on with his own day.

"How do I do this part?" James groaned to himself as he sat at his desk looking at his plans to reverse engineer a system that could play the Gashats as games. "Damnit, I'm a software designer not an electrician!" At every step he got more and more frustrated, due to Ylisse's medieval level of technology, he essentially had to invent every component.

After a few more minutes of trying and failing to figure out how to construct the circuitry (As he was too afraid of causing permanent damage to actually try disassembling anything.) He stopped for a moment, took a deep breath and a step back, and reassessed the problem.

"Before I can build this thing, I need to have a power source. So! Setting aside the electrical engineering, mostly at least, I need to invent the battery! So how am I going to do that, I'd need to find someone who would know a lot about any possible energy sources- Miriel!" He cut himself as he left his tent to find the mage who might be able to help him.

It only took a few minutes to find her in the library. "Miriel, hello." he attempted to catch her attention, but to no avail. He tried tapping on her shoulder, again she didn't notice. Hesitantly he tried the one thing he was totally sure would work.

Mighty Action X!

The bright colors and loud noises finally caught her attention, fortunately without seeming to make her angry. "Yes?" she asked in her usual monotone.

"I have something I need to discuss with you about my attempts to reverse engineer the Gamer Driver." he stated, pulling the belt out of one his large pockets for visual aid.

"I see, what did you want to discuss?" James proceeded to explain his dilemma as well the basic theory of a battery as well as talking about other issues he's been having. After listening to his problems and ideas, Miriel spoke up. "That is most fascinating, I must research this further." She quickly moved to a different section of the library where James didn't think he'd be able to get her attention again. "I wonder if Daiki would anything about this?" he wondered before leaving the Library.

"Thanks for helping me with this, man." John said as he lifted a set of make-shift weights.

"Not like Teach could just leave a friend hanging." Vaike declared as he watched John lift, putting a question in his head. "Why did you ask me to do this again?"

John sighed, "Like I said last time, James's body is better suited to transform than mine, so in order to keep up I'm strengthening myself so I can better handle fighting as a Kamen Rider." Vaike clearly didn't get it. "I'm trying to keep up with James." he simplified, which Vaike did understand.

"Very good, your form is improving at an incredible pace." Chrom praised as he and Yume sparred.

"Thank you captain, that means a lot coming from you." She replied before taking another swing. Her goal in this particular training session was simply to land a hit on Chrom with her wooden training sword. While she hadn't managed to do so yet, she got just a bit closer with every attempt.

"It's nothing special," he assured, "I just want to see my Shepherds become the best they can-" He was cut off by a heavy training sword striking his head.

"You got distracted." She stated bluntly, though she was smiling ear-to-ear.

"I suppose I did, good job." He spoke through his teeth as he clutched his head. "I think that's enough for now, so I'll be off." As he left, Yume noted that he was heading for the infirmary tent and couldn't help but laugh just a little bit.

At the edge of camp, Kellam kept a small garden. It made for a nice hobby when he wasn't doing anything else, and he had set it up to be easy to move and restart as needed. At the moment he was just watering them and making sure they were healthy. "Hey, there." Kellam nearly jumped out of his armor. He turned around to see Daiki approaching.

"H-Hey." Kellam stammered back, still caught off guard.

Daiki came up and sat next to Kellam. "So you've got a little garden here?" He gestured to the garden in question.

"Yeah, i-it's like a small piece of home." Kellam noted as he watered the plants.

"Huh, back home, there wasn't really a need or the time for gardening." Daiki mused as he remembered his day-to-day life back in his original world.

"Well, maybe I can teach you some stuff?" Kellam nervously suggested.

"That sounds like it would be nice. Where would we start?"

"Well, come back here at the same time tomorrow so I can show you."

"I will, but 'til then, I've got something I have to get ready for."

After a couple more days, the shepherds and their new allies reached Ylisstol. Chrom and Lissa didn't waste any time going to report to Emmeryn. Meanwhile, Yume was trying to give her brother a tour of the city.

"And on this street we have…" She audibly paused as she inspected it. "What looks like a bakery and a haberdashery."

Daiki suppressed a chuckle before playing along. "I wonder if the haberdashery could make me a hat? I was thinking of wearing one when I transform, you know, like Skull."

Yume couldn't help but laugh "What kind of hat could fit your handlebars and that pink mohawk?"

"Maybe a big straw hat I could hold in place by spearing them with it." He continued to laugh for a bit until the two both calmed down and stopped laughing. "Ahh, that felt good y'know? We haven't really had time to just spend time together since we got here."

Yume merely nodded. "C'mon, let's get something to eat before we head back." She gestured to the bakery before going to take a look at what they had.

"...Then Regna Ferox will support Ylisse?" Emmeryn asked, to which Chrom gave a curt nod. "Thank you, Chrom. I knew sending you was the right choice."

"Yeah," James added from a chair he had set up next to the wall. "Ferox has some tough warriors, plus our excursion led to the recruitment of another two Kamen Riders."

"Maybe our people will finally be safe from-" Before Chrom could finish, Emmeryn's head guard, Phillia came running into the room.

"Your Grace! M-milord! Forgive me, but I bring alarming news!" James slowly got up from his seat.

"Philia! Slow down, please! What's happened?" Emmeryn worked to calm down the near-panicking pegasus knight. James took a few steps towards the exit.

"Plegian soldiers have been sighted inside our southwest border! They attacked a village in Themis and abducted the Duke's daughter." She explained. Lissa's eyes widened in horror, prompting James to recall everyone he knows.

"B-but that would be...Maribelle! Chrom, we have to do something!" That's when it clicked in James's head, Plegia was playing at multiple levels of emotional manipulation.

"There's more: King Gangrel of Plegia claims Lady Maribelle invaded HIS country. He demands we repay reparations for this "insult."" Philia added somberly.

"And we're to believe a dastard like the Mad King of Plegia?" Chrom angrily called back.

"Probably not, but we still need to keep a level head." James stated, "If we act too eagerly, we risk giving Gangrel an opening to get what he wants." While James didn't actually know what Gangrel actually wanted, but Ylisse, the people and the government opposed him which was enough for now in James's.

"Exactly" Emmeryn acknowledged the tactician.

"We should put a sword in his gut and be done with it! The Mad King has been trying to provoke war with Ylisse at every step! He won't stop until he drags this whole continent to hell with him!" At this point Chrom's face had gone red with anger.

"I agree with the prince, Your Grace. We must demonstrate to Plegia that such actions have consequences." Philia's tone was much calmer though just as firm.

"I understand your feelings, Chrom. Truly I do. But if we give him the war he wants, then we lose, no matter what the outcome. Our last conflict nearly ruined the halidom. It left Ylisseans homeless and starving." She stated firmly, "We cannot repeat that mistake. I will offer parley with King Gangrel."

Everyone else, save for James gained expression of horror. "Emm, no! You can't!" Lissa cried out.

"Please reconsider, Your Grace. He cannot be trusted to act in good faith! "

"So we either choose to march to war or leave Lady Maribelle to die? No. I will not accept that." Philia recoiled slightly.

"...Forgive me, Your Grace. I spoke out of turn. I know you will always stand by your own principles. Pray, allow the pegasus knights to accompany you, though."

" I'm going, too. ...Someone has to save you from your good intentions." Chrom stepped forth.

"And I want to be there for you AND Maribelle!" Lissa added in.

"I wouldn't be much of a Kamen Rider if I didn't help." James noted.

"As you wish. Thank you all. Your strength will be mine." Emmeryn had a warm, motherly smile.

Several hours later, Chrom and James were doing a quick run-down of everything they would need. "Well then! Is everyone ready to go? It's a long march through the western mountains to the Plegian border." Chrom checked.

"I think so," James responded before he heard someone walking up behind them and turned around accordingly. He saw a guy who looked something like 13-16 years old, or was maybe just short.

The guy spoke up, "Captain! I'm all packed! When do we leave?!" He inquired.

"Ricken? How did you... Go back inside. You're not old enough for this mission." Chrom responded firmly, a bit too firmly in James's mind.

"But, Captain! You know my skill with magic! You know I can handle myself!" Ricken countered, though he didn't seem to notice that he was pouting slightly.

"I'd feel safer with your magic here, protecting the garrison. All right? We're off, then. Be good." Chrom stated clearly, before gesturing to James that they leave, which they did leaving Ricken alone in the hallway.

"'Be good'? Gods, how old does he think I am? ...Well, I'll show him just how good I can be!" Ricken declared to himself before leaving, not noticing that Daiki was following him.

Several hours later, after near constant marching, they reached the mountain range that acted as the border between Ylisse and Plegia. Specifically at a pass directly west of Ylisstol, which James now found himself pondering several uses for.

As they approached the meeting sight, John noticed something. "Where's Daiki?" True to his word Daiki was nowhere to be found.

"He said he had a plan." James half-lied, it was true that Daiki was following a plan, he just hadn't come up with it himself.

Shortly afterwards, they came to a cliffside where several people could be seen standing. The most prominent was a man with messy red hair and an equally messy beard. His most notable trait however, was the shiny, golden crown on his head that made clear to James that this was Gangrel.

Next to him was a tall woman with silver hair who was wearing an extremely revealing outfit. As much as James wanted to be attracted to her beautiful body, her expression filled him with an apprehension that made him want to put as much distance between them as possible.

Then there were the other three, he recognized them immediately. The first had the appearance of a young man whose clothes had a mismatched green sleeve. His appearance was the most appropriate for the pseudo-medieval world they were in.

Next to him was another young-looking man wearing a sweater with a pixel pattern. Unlike the other man who had a very serious expression, this one looked like he could hardly contain his joy.

Next to them was a woman with bright pink hair and a brightly colored dress with a similar pattern to the excited man. James was having a harder time deciphering her expression then anyone else present.

"What's this, then? The exalt herself, in all her radiance? I fear I must shield my eyes! Bwa ha ha ha!" Gangrel was the first to speak.

"King Gangrel, I've come for the truth of this unfortunate incident between us." Emmeryn stated clearly.

"The truth? I can give you the truth." The silver-haired woman responded.

"Perhaps milady might first share her name?" The exalt asked politely.

"You may call me Aversa."

Before anyone else could speak, James stepped forth. "And the other three," he pointed at them, "Are Graphite, Parado, and Poppy Pipopapo."

"He even knows who we are, this is getting more and more interesting." Parado mused.

"I see." Emmeryn noted to both Aversa and James. "Is Maribelle unharmed?"

"Who?" Gangrel tilted his head and scratched in an exaggerated manner. "Oh yes, that little blonde brat." He gestured over to where a pair of Pelgian soldiers wearing animal skulls as helmets were holding Marabelle.

"Unhand me, you gutter-born troglodytes!" She shouted as she tried to free her arms from her captor, prompting one of them to sigh.

"Maribelle!" Lissa cried out, catching Maribelle's attention.

"Lissa? Darling, is that you?" Maribelle tried to look for Lissa, but couldn't due to the cliff obscuring her vision.

"This girl crossed the Plegian border without our consent. And what's more... She wounded the brave Plegian soldiers who sought only to escort her safely home." Aversa stated in a calm, collected voice.

"LIES! You speak nothing but lies, hag! Did they not teach the meaning of the word "truth" in wretched-crone school?!" Maribelle yelled furiously, prompting a chuckle from one of her guards, though the other remained still and silent.

" ...You see? No manners at all. Such a nasty little bird simply had to be caged." Aversa taunted.

"Such a violent temper speaks to her guilt. This will call for a weighty punishment. And if she were to later confess to being an Ylissean spy? My goodness! It would take an act of CONSIDERABLE good faith to repair our relations." Gangrel had a smug grin that made James really want to kick his teeth in.

"I have done nothing wrong! It is they who should confess! They are the ones who invaded Ylisse. They razed an entire village! When I attempted to intervene, they took me and dragged me across the border. Let the plundered shops and charred homes of that village serve as my proof!" One of the guards recoiled due to Maribelle's rant.

"That would only prove Ylisse has a bandit problem—something I hear oft of late... But indeed, tonight I shall weep salty tears into my pillow for your dead villagers." At this point, It was taking the fullest extent of James's self restraint to not just transform and crush Gangrel's rib cage with a rider kick.

"Your Grace, please!" Maribelle cried out, worried that the Exalt might believe the Mad King.

"Peace, Maribelle. I believe you." Emmeryn assured before turning back to Gangrel. "King Gangrel, I request that you release this woman at once. Surely you and I can sort out these affairs without the need of hostages." She requested firmly.

"Without so much as an apology? Why should I even bother with parley? I'm within my rights to have her head this instant and be home in time for supper." The Mad King laughed.

"You black-hearted devil!" Chrom shouted as James had to hold out his arm to keep Chrom from advancing further.

"Control your dog, my dear, before he gets someone hurt." Chrom could only grit his teeth at the response. "Now then, Your Graceliness. Perhaps we can arrange a trade? You give me the Fire Emblem, and I return Mari Contrary here, in one piece." Gangrel's smile was stretched as wide as it possibly could be.

"You would ask for Ylisse's royal treasure? But why?" The Exalt's voice was filled with confusion and concern.

"Because I know the legend!" the King's facade of a fool collapsed for a moment. "The Fire Emblem is the key to having all one's wishes realized. I have desired it for years. YEARS! ...Yet my birthday comes and goes each year, and nothing from Ylisse. Heheh…" and the mask went back on.

"The Emblem's power is meant for a single purpose, King Gangrel: to save the world and its people at their hour of most desperate need. Would you claim a more noble wish?" Her voice had a tone of genuine curiosity.

"I want what every Plegian wants—a grisly end for every last Ylissean! What could be more noble than that?" He started laughing like a madman.

"What?" Emmeryn took a step back in horror.

"Surely you have not forgotten what the last exalt did to my people? Your father named us heathens! His "crusade" across Plegia butchered countless of my subjects and my kin!" Emmeryn's expression changed from shock to sorrow.

"...I have never denied Ylisse's past wrongdoings. But I have sworn to never repeat those mistakes. Ours is now a realm of peace." Gangrel scowled.

"Yours is now a haven of hypocrisy! Now give me the Fire Emblem!" He snapped.

"No, Your Grace! I'd sooner die than act as a bargaining chip for this filthy reprobate!" Maribell called out. The more animated of her guards seemed genuinely surprised.

"No, Maribelle…" was all Emmeryn could say.

"Ugh... Taaaaaalk talk-talk-talk-talk. It's time to speak louder than words! This negotiation is over, Your Luminosity! I shall have the Emblem if I have to pry it from your shiny dead hands!" Gangrel hollered as a number of Plegian soldiers who had been previously hiding emerged from behind a number of rock faces, the nearest pair of which charged the Ylisseans.

"Your Grace! Stay Back!" Yume immediately jumped in front of the Exalt to protect her. The first of the Plegian's tried to attack Chrom with his axe, Chrom smoothly blocked with Falchion before stabbing him in the chest. His partner didn't even get a chance to swing his weapon as John managed to get up behind him, and slashed him with the gashacon bugvisor.

"Stay back! Or you'll all suffer the same fate!" Chrom shouted furiously as he wiped the blood from Falchion.

"Now that's a declaration of war if I've ever heard one... A big, messy war that will bleed you Ylisseans dry." he cackled like a mad man as Aversa sauntered over to Maribelle.

"Poor, stupid girl... Are you really worth fighting a war over? Years from now, you'll be remembered only as she who destroyed House Ylisse."

Aversa's harsh words combined with both how she had wound up where she was and what was happening, Maribelle broke down and started to cry. "No... That's not... Oh, Lissa... Please, no…" The mere thought of her dear friend being hurt caused her to nearly, shut down emotionally.

One of her guards than lifted his axe with the intent to behead Maribelle, however, in that moment, the silent guard removed his bone helmet, rammed it into the other's face and lodged his axe into his torso. As the guard dropped dead, his killer ruffled his hair slightly.

"Maribelle! Go! You're free!" Maribelle and the treacherous guard looked and saw Ricken running towards them.

"RICKEN?! What are you doing here?" Maribelle jaw dropped as he came up to them.

"Worry about that when you aren't in mortal danger." the guard butted in.

"Oh, is this your little boyfriend? Isn't he just precious." Aversa mocked before turning to the traitor. "And you, you thi-" She was cut off by a gust of magic wind, courtesy of Ricken. "Nngh! W-wind magic?"

"Don't talk down to me, witch!"

"And here's one from me!" The guard punched Aversa hard enough that she spat blood as she pulled herself up.

"Come on, Maribelle!" Ricken called to her.

"Right, but what about-" she was cut off by the guard, activating a gashat.

Bakusou Bike!

"2nd gear, henshin." he inserted his gashat and skipped straight to level 2.

Gachan! Level Up! Bakusou Dokusou Gekisou Bousou Bakusou Bike!

He transformed directly into his bike form, causing both Ricken and Maribelle to pause, as neither had actually seen it before. "What are waiting for? Climb on!" they hesitated for a second before complying. "Oh, wait," Lazer realized, "Helmets!" then a pair of motorcycle helmets appeared on his seat. "Put these on, I can go really fast so you want to wear these." the again, complied and put on the helmets (though Maribelle whined about what it would do to her hair.) and they drove away.

As they left to try and rejoin their allies, Aversa pulled herself off the ground and wiped the blood from her face. " Wretched whelp! I should… and that other one… No. Our soldiers have them outnumbered. The brats will be dead long before they can reach their comrades." She then turned to rejoin King Gangrel.

Speaking of, Gangrel was laughing like a madman, "I have my war! Captain Orton!" He looked to one of the soldiers he had brought to the border, a thin, scruffy man with red hair riding a wyvern. "Remain here, and take down as many Ylisseans as you can. You can expect reinforcements from the forts as well. Now, do your best—at doing your worst!" Orton saluted in response before Gangrel turned to the other three. "You lot! You stay and fight too!"

"Nah," Parado causally responded. "I think I'll let these two have some fun without me." he mused before vanishing in an orange light.

"I don't need you to tell me to fight" Graphite noted before leaping down from the cliff.

As the battle started, James turned to his allies, "Phillia, you and the Pegasus knights keep the Exalt safe. Yume, I need you to handle Poppy, i'm pretty sure you're the only one here who can easily clear her game." Several of the Shepherds paused at his words. James quickly glanced around the battlefield and noticed Graphite staring at him. "Lon'qu, I need you to rendezvous with Lazer and Ricken."

"Wait, Ricken is here?" Chrom questioned in a concerned tone.

"Yeah, I figured that he could be useful in getting Maribelle to safety, and Daiki can keep them safe until we can get them back to the main group." James responded calmly until he glanced up and noticed Graphite staring down at him. He took a deep sigh, "John, you'll help Chrom route the enemy. For moment to moment tactics, defer to Virion. Looks like I've got my own distraction."

Mighty Action X!

"Henshin!"

Gashatto! Let's Game! Metcha Game! Mutcha Game! What's your name?!

"I'm a Kamen Rider!"

Once he had transformed, he leaped up to meet Graphite, who had jumped down. When they met in mid-air there was brief clash of blows. They both landed on a ridge in the middle of the clifface. "So, you are my first prey." Graphite mused with a smirk.

Gashacon Bugvisor!

He raised the same weapon John used periodically. "Cultivate," he declared before pressing the 'A' button.

Infection! Let's Game! Bad Game! Dead Game! What's your name?!

The Bugster!

Graphite's body pulsed and bubbled as dark mist. When the mist subsided, Graphite had changed into a monster. He had a green body with an oddly plant-like texture, He had spikes, belts, and skulls scattered across his body. His face had no discernable eyes. He raised a double-edged polearm with two massive fangs for blades and charged.

"Dai Henshin!" Ex-Aid charged as well.

Lazer managed to reach a fort on the eastern side of the pass, placing them above the Shepherds. "Alright," Lazer said, "We should be able to hold out here until help can arrive." Both his passengers nodded. After a second, Lazer spoke up again, "Uhh, Ricken?" This was all the boy needed to remember something important.

He dug around in his pack for a second before finding what he was after, a staff. "Here, Maribelle, I thought this would help." He handed her a staff.

"Thank you." Maribelle replied. As she did so however, Lazer noticed a group of Plegian soldiers approaching.

"Look alive, we've got company!" He called out before charging the soldiers.

As James went to engage with Graphite, Yume looked up to ledge he had been standing on, at Poppy Pipopapo. "James asked me to take on that one, with the pink hair." Chrom nodded in understanding. Yume then activated her gashat.

Taddle Quest!

"Henshin."

Gashatto! Let's Game! Metcha Game! Mutcha Game! What's your name?!

"I'm a Kamen Rider!"

Once she had transformed she started leaping up to confront Poppy. While she was less agile than Ex-Aid, Brave was still considerably more mobile than a normal human, as such, she was easily able to get up to where Poppy was standing.

Gachan! Level Up! Taddle! Meguru! Taddle! Meguru! Taddle Quest!

She wasted no time leveling up, even though it quickly caused her take a not insignificant amount of damage. "Ahh, and John decided to build up a tolerance to that?" she shook her head before looking to Poppy, who had taken an amateurish fighting stance.

"Hi!" Brave called out in an uncharastically excited and bubbly tone. While she was too far up the cliff to be heard by most of her comrades, all three other Riders had figured out what she was doing and couldn't help but smile.

"Uh, hi?" Poppy greeted back in a genuinely confused tone.

"I heard you like to dance" Poppy nodded, still clearly confused. "Than let's do that instead of fighting." She pressed the button on the slot holder.

Stage Select!

There was a flash of light, and they both disappeared.

Gachan! Level Up! Ba-Ba-Bang! Bang-Ba-Bang! (Yow!) Bang Bang Shooting!

Snipe pelted the frontline of Plegian soldiers with magnum shots as he lead the charge towards the enemy commander, Chrom close behind. As he looked further up the cliff he could properly see the Wyverns and their riders. "Hey, Virion, any suggestions on dealing with the guys on flying lizards." He didn't actually know what to call them, but knew enough about Ylissian culture to not throw around the term 'dragon' carelessly.

"Wyverns are very similar to pegasi" Virion stated, "They will fall with a well placed arrow. I imagine that your weapon would have similar effects."

"Thank-" He was cut off when he was blasted by a shot of fire magic, causing his Rider gauge to go down by nearly a quarter. He quickly pulled himself up, only to note that his allies were distracted by another group of Plegians while he had to deal with a pair of mages, one who dressed like Ricken and Miriel, and one who wore a skull for a hat.

"This won't be easy." Snipe muttered as both mages readied more magic.

Gashacon Breaker!

Ex-Aid back stepped to escape another powerful swing from Graphite's weapon, the Graphite Fang. While he could damage Graphite without much trouble, doing so would leave him open for a potentially fatal attack.

"I had hoped for a decent challenge." Graphite mused before redoubling his attacks.

Ex-Aid could only keep dodging and deflecting attacks, however, he could only do so for so long. After what felt like a long time of dodging, he slipped slightly. This gave Graphite an opening to hit him with one, powerful strike that sent him flying.

As Ex-Aid struggled to pull himself up, Graphite readied his weapon as it started to shine with a crimson light similar to the light produced by the Riders' Critical attacks.

"Gekido Ryūga!" He slashed his weapon, letting loose a wave of crimson energy that totally engulfed the cliff they were standing on.

Hansa!

Ex-Aid pulled himself to his feet as best he could before bracing himself. As the wave of energy washed over him it returned back to its origin, at first, eventually the attack overwhelmed the energy item and threw Ex-Aid back.

"Raghh!" Lazer cried out as he charged through Plegian soldiers, Ricken using wind magic take out those who got in front while Lazer's tailpipes fired energy blasts at any would-be pursers. Even when any of them would be injured Maribelle would heal them with her staff.

"You guys are better than I expected." Lazer admitted as he turned down a slope towards the area where Philia and the pegasus knights were guarding Emmeryn. "But, my job is still to get Maribelle to safety. Ricken, I want you to stay back with her in case things go south." The two both reluctantly nodded. "If you just nodded, I can't tell; I can't actually like straight at my passenger even when I'm not driving." he pointed out in an exasperated tone.

"Right, well we did nod I'll make sure to keep Maribelle safe." Ricken confirmed.

"Good, cause we're almost there." Between them and there destination, there was one last group of enemies. Lazer revved up, until the enemies started to drop dead one by one from the back. Those noticed and tried to flee, or just tried to attack Lazer, they would be taken out by wind magic. Once the last of the enemies had fallen the culprit became clear, Lon'qu.

"'Bout time you got here." Lazer commented, Lon'qu didn't bother to respond. If Lazer had a proper face, he would've smirked. The group then made their over to Philia.

Brave and Poppy were standing on a stage in the middle of a large, Tokyo-esque city. They were dancing to pop music, Brave copying Poppy very closely. They had an audience consisting of minor bugsters, strange beings with heads that resembled chickens, who seemed to really be enjoying themselves.

They had been dancing for a couple songs now. This third one was quite a bit faster than the previous two. This was when Brave actually started to have trouble keeping up with Poppy's dancing.

"You're doing really good." Brave complemented.

"Uh, thank you?" Poppy responded, clearly confused.

Brave redoubled her efforts to keep up with Poppy's dancing.

The two enemy mages dropped to the ground, as it happens, the Gashacon Magnum was faster than their magic. Unfortunately for Snipe, he was still separated from his group.

With now clue as to how to find his allies he started to climb upwards toward the presumed location of the enemy commander.

He leapt from outcropping to outcropping. He only stopped when he was struck in the back by a thrown hand-axe. "Ok, that was careless of me," Snipe admitted as he turned around, were it not for his Rider form,that axe would've probably killed him instead of bouncing of his back near harmlessly. When he turned around he saw a large group of Plegian wyvern riders. "How nice, I don't have to look for you."

Bang Bang Critical Finish!

Gekitotsu Robots!

As soon as the new game area formed, the small robot charged Graphite to distract him. While it couldn't deal much damage, it was agile enough to barrage him with hit and run attacks. "Thanks Geki." Ex-Aid thanked the robot, using the name he had come up with for it.

Kaifuku!

"Item get." Ex-Aid spoke weakly as his Rider gauge refilled thanks to the energy item. "Dai Dai Dai Henshin!" Geki flew back to Ex-Aid as he slotted in the gashat, closed, and reopened the Gamer Driver's lever.

Gachan! Level Up! Mighty Jump! Mighty Kick! Mighty, Mighty Action X!

A Gacha! Buttobase! Totsugeki! Gekitotsu Punch! Gekitotsu Robots!

As soon as the level 3 attached to Ex-Aid, he had to quickly moved his armored arm to block the Graphite Fang. As soon as he deflected Graphite's weapon, Ex-Aid's weapon: the Gekitotsu smasher switched from his right arm to his dominant left.

Ex-Aid made use of this basic tactic of blocking with the smasher before switching arms to keep attacking. He eventually managed to push Graphite back a fair way, however while this trick was effective, Graphite still got his fair share of hits in.

Gekitotsu Critical Strike!

He launched the smasher at Graphite, who merely readied his own attack. "Gekido Ryuga!" Graphite let loose his own finisher, destroying the smasher immediately, though it did manage to create an area that was untouched by the attack; it also produced a large cloud of smoke.

Mighty Critical Strike!

Ex-Aid jumped out of the smoke his legs glowing with energy.

"You think that's going to be enough, Gekido Ryuga!" His weapon charged up again, albeit a bit slower than before. Before he could launch it, he was interrupted

Bakusou Critical Strike!

Graphite was struck across his back. He turned to see Lon'qu, who had also slashed him with killing edge. This slight distraction was just enough. Ex-Aid slammed into him with strong kick with both legs. Even if he was using Mighty Action X, just being at level 3 powered it up.

Graphite was thrown back violently. "Pretty good, I look forward to our next meeting," he groaned as he clutched an apparently broken rib before disappearing in a flash of orange light.

"Thanks, man" Ex-Aid called out, "You really save my...my…" Before he could finish, he collapsed.

"James!" Lazer called out as he watched his friend, whose armor had dissipated, unceremoniously fall over face first.

After a couple more songs, Brave and Poppy returned to the battlefield. "That was fun, I'd love to do it again." Brave complemented.

"Really?" Poppy asked.

"Yeah."

Poppy looked really happy. "Well, then I want you to have this." She handed Brave a bright yellow ghashat that read 'Dorimifa Beat.'

"Thank you." Brave took the gashat.

Game Clear!

A ring appeared similar to the one the Rider's icons appeared on, in this case featuring the artworks of the gashats, Dorimifa Beat's had the word "CLEAR" over top of it.

"Neat" Brave noted.

"Uh, bye." Poppy waved as she disappeared the same way as the other Bugsters.

Snipe watched as the only surviving wyvern rider retreated. He waited a moment to catch his breath, once that was done, he returned to his ascent. It took only a couple jumps to get up to the top of the mountain, where it strangely plateaued. As he took in his surroundings, he saw something coming for him in his peripheral vision. He quickly dodged as a hand axe moved by him, only just missing, until it struck the gashacon magnum. Snipe cursed as his weapon tumbled down the side of the mountain.

"I take it you're the boss here, what might your name?" Snipe asked wyvern rider who had thrown the axe in a faux-polite voice.

"Orton," he replied, "now, I won't ask for your name. Only your life!" He charged, Snipe leapt over top of him and landed a kick to his back. Orton's wyvern responded by slamming Snipe with its tail.

After Snipe landed on the ground, the wyvern stomped on his chest. Snipe could see Orton readying his axe, until his wyvern unexpectedly lurched to the side. As Snipe pulled himself up he saw an arrow pierced through wyvern's wing and into its side.

"Go!" Snipe recognized Virion's voice.

"Alright!" Snipe called out as he readied an attack.

Bang Bang Critical Strike!

His leg charged with energy as he jumped into the air, flipped once and extended his leg as he flew towards Orton.

"Your end has come!" As Snipe's kick landed, almost certainly killing Orton, Chrom charged from just below where the mountain flattened out and decapitated the Wyvern with one swing.

As Snipe landed, standing on Orton's chest, the wyvern rider spoke, "This matters not. Soon war will be upon...your soil... Heh heh" He laughed until he became silent and forever still.

"Maribelle! Are you hurt?!" Lissa cried out to her friend as she, and the other Shepherds regrouped with Philia and Emmeryn.

"Nothing I didn't return twofold, darling." Maribelle assured.

"I'm glad your safe," James noted as he walked over, supported by makeshift crutches, catching Maribelle off guard.

"Who...? Oh. It's you." She scowled slightly.

"Yeah, Yeah, I know you're not really fond of me. I'm still glad you're not dead." He waved off.

"Oh, it's not a question of fondness. I am simply protective of Lissa. My treasure is very sensitive, and... Wait. Am I really justifying myself to a commoner? Gods... Yes, well, I do...apologize for being curt. And... And... And you have my thanks for your part in the rescue. There, I said it!" She eventually shouted.

"Whatever, I need to go tell Chrom and Frederick about what did," He gestured to his injuries, "this to me."

"Yes, of course." Maribelle responded as James went to go do just that.

Meanwhile, in a tent the pegasus knights had set up during the battle.

"Forgive me, Emm. I acted rashly." Chrom apologized solemnly.

"It's all right, Chrom. King Gangrel is the one at fault here. You were only protecting me." Emm assured. Chrom looked like he felt a bit better.

"The Mad King will be rallying his forces, if they have not mobilized already. I suggest we make haste back to Ylisstol and discuss our strategy." Frederick stated.

"Of course, Frederick." The Exalt agreed before letting out a small, near imperceptible sigh. "It seems war is upon us. We must protect the Ylissean people at all costs."

Game Clear!

Oh boy, it feels good to be back at it. After the first Side Quest Chapter left a sour taste in my mouth it took quite a while to even to make the file for this one, which I normally do as soon I post the previous chapter, even if I'm not going to write it yet. I originally wanted to get this chapter out by the time Zero-One debuted, but that didn't happen then there was I went to a major con in my area and I was just in the mood for other stuff. oh yeah, Zero-One, as of writing this author's note I haven't seen episode 4, but I've really enjoyed so far. I find the characters interesting, I like Zero-One's world and the is great. As much as Seiji Takaiwa will be missed as the main suit actor, Yuya Nawata gives Zero-One so much energy and I love it. Anyway, upside to the delay? I get to post this on my birthday! Yeah, September 23rd is my birthday and as such is also the end of my gap year. which means I'm going to start looking at higher education that might suit me. On another note, I've decided on a secondary project to either keep me from getting burnt out or at least giving me something to write if I get burnt out on Kamen Rider, which has happened before. This project isn't in a state where I can give you a preview or even a title,but I can tell you it'll be a crossover not featuring Kamen Rider and that you'll probably see it by New Years because I write slow. either way, I'm glad to be back and as always I'm Time-Space lord Eon saying See you Next Game!

PS: This chapter may be the longest individual document I've ever written, including college level classes I took in high-school! go me!