Kamen Rider Zero Arc 4
CH 2: Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Erika's eyes swept the lounging area as she entered it. As they came across Arata laid back on the couch, the snow leopard let out a slight huff in amusement. "You know we're supposed to be on high alert, right?" she said in a mocking tone as she walked over to join him on the couch. Arata craned his neck up and mumbled unintelligibly. Erika couldn't help but laugh as she sat down next to him. "You tired?"
"I…guess so…" he replied after finding his voice again. He let out a yawn as he laid his head back down. Erika laughed and sat back as well. As she kicked her feet up on a footrest, she noticed Tech walking by with Mira trailing behind her. Erika opened her mouth to speak up, but the two canines were already gone by the time the words left her lips. However, it was unlikely that Tech would've heard her call anyhow, as she was far too focused with the task at hand. With the base as it was at the moment, she needed to analyze the prints Mira had brought with her as soon as possible. It was only a matter of time before they reached the lab. Tech hurriedly opened the door for the wolf and allowed her to enter first. Once she was inside, Tech followed in after her and closed the door behind her. Mira then set her suitcase down on one of the tables.
"Alright," Tech sighed as she walked up next to Mira, "let's see these designs of yours."
"Of course," Mira agreed before opening up the case and presenting the contents inside. She stepped away from the table as Tech began to slip out several of the prints and lay them out in front of her. As her eyes scanned them all, Mira clasped her paws behind her back and looked around. "So…we are completely alone, correct?"
"That's right," Tech replied, not taking her eyes off of the prints, "No one will be able to interrupt us while we're in here." Mira nodded thoughtfully as she watched the vixen carefully. "Is there anything that you can tell me that isn't already noted on these prints?"
"Yes I can," Mira nodded as she reached into her back pocket. She carefully backed her way towards the door as she went on, "There are particular Dopants that are listed that I haven't noted the weaknesses of yet." A slight smile spread across Mira's muzzle as she reached the door's handle. She spoke up again just as her fingers clicked the lock. "The Edge Dopant can be defeated easily by subjecting it to extreme temperatures… And the Magma Dopant can be defeated in a similar manner. Cooling it substantially will neutralize its heating properties…" Still smiling, Mira injected the Memory she slipped out into the small of her back, instantly transforming her into her Dopant form. Tech furrowed a brow as she went over the list of Memories she had found.
"Wait a minute," she began, "None of those Memories are on this list… Come to think about it, aren't those Dopants ones that have been released befo—" She gasped as her eyes finally fell upon Mira.
"Oh, is that so?" she said as she slipped out a pocket watch and began to swing it, "My mistake…" Before Tech could shout out in alarm, her attention became fixated on the swinging watch. "…Sleep." Tech fell instantly, falling unconscious before even hitting the ground. Mira chuckled as she put the watch away. "Such luck," she sighed, "If 1 hadn't taken me in all on his own, I would never have been able to make him such easy prey. That definitely saved me the trouble of finding a way to sneak my Memory into the base. Oh how far ahead of schedule I am because of that… Now then…" She walked over to Tech and rolled her onto her back before kneeling down beside her. With a soft and gentle voice, she whispered into her ear, "Listen to the sound of my voice… It is the voice that you will grow to love… You will love this voice… You will love to obey this voice… You will obey…"
Erika perked up as she heard the sounds of laughter and happy chattering grow closer to the lounge room. To her surprise, it turned out to be Tech and Mira, who were entering the room as they spoke. Tech glanced up from her happy conversation and noticed the two felines. "Oh, hi you two," she greeted happily. Erika smiled and returned her greeting, whilst Arata jolted back awake before returning the greeting as well. "I've been getting to know our new 'guest,' and we've actually been getting along really well. She's really nice, and I think the two of you would get along with her as well. Particularly you, Erika. She's pretty knowledgeable in the realm of Memory design, just like you and I."
"Oh really?" Erika replied and looked over to Mira, who offered her a small wave.
"Well, I'm actually rather so-and-so," the wolf shrugged, earning a laugh from Tech.
"Oh don't be so humble," she said with a nudge to Mira, "Your analysis on those prints was astounding."
"Well thank you," Mira replied, raising a paw to hide a blush. Tech patted her shoulder before stepping away.
"Well, I'll let the three of you talk; there are things that need my attention. I'll catch up with you all later." She waved cheerfully at everyone before departing and leaving them all be. Once she was gone, Mira turned back to the two felines.
"Would it be alright if I sat with you three?" she asked politely.
"Oh of course," Erika replied, indicating an open spot with a paw, "By all means, go ahead." Mira smiled before walking over to sit down next to Erika. She let out a sigh as she relaxed.
"So, you are the angel that came to the rescue and swept me off my feet," she sighed as she looked over to her. A blush quickly spread across Erika's face.
"A-angel?" she laughed, swishing her tail beside her, "Y-yep, that's me alright. Tech must've told you then, huh?"
"She might have," Mira replied coyly, "but to be fair, your identities have been out in the public for the past couple of days now." Erika nodded thoughtfully at the statement. "Still though, I can't thank you enough for that. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't be sitting here today to talk about it."
"Oh come on, no need to thank me," Erika replied with a dismissive wave, "Just doin' my job. Besides, if there's anyone to thank, it's you. I was only able to beat those guys 'cause you told me their weaknesses." Both females laughed lightly, with Arata awkwardly offering a tired smile. Mira looked over to the panther with the same smile as before.
"So then you must be the famous Zero then," she said.
"Yep…" Arata replied softly, "thaaaat's me. No autographs please…" More laughs filled the room.
"But seriously," said Mira, "things must be getting really difficult for you two, now that the whole world knows your identities." Both felines nodded in agreement.
"Thankfully nothing bad has happened yet," said Erika, "but it's still troubling to say the least…"
"Our friends and family are probably gonna be put under watch," said Arata in a tired tone, "but for now…there really isn't anything that we can do…"
Mira nodded thoughtfully. "So then…does the facility have the info they need to find them?" Arata just lazily nodded his head.
"They've actually had a close eye on them ever since we joined," Erika explained, "I guess to make sure that no one else was going to randomly become a Rider or something…"
"Yes, that does make sense," Mira replied, making a mental note to herself, "I must say, though, the two of you wouldn't have been my first guess as the secret identities of this city's heroes."
Erika laughed and pointed a finger at the wolf, "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
Mira and Arata joined in her laughter before she went on to reply, "Well, neither of you look as though you've been through any sort of training. You two just don't have that…soldier look like everyone else here."
Erika smirked. "Well, you've got me there."
Mira smiled back at her and said, "Regardless, both of you are incredibly strong. By any chance, have either of you actually gone through training of any kind?"
"We've gone through a little bit," Arata explained, "The two of us have the basics down, at least."
"Well, he might," said Erika, pointing a thumb at him, "I'm well in to an advanced skill level."
Arata chuffed and rolled his eyes at her playfully. "Only because your Memory gave you the skills you have now."
"Skills are skills, Arata," Erika retorted, poking her tongue out at him. Arata narrowed his eyes at her and poked his tongue back at her. Their gazes went back to Mira as her laughter filled their ears.
"So you must have a lot of confidence in your abilities," she said, "but surely the both of you have some sort of…shortcoming? Do each of you maybe have a weakness that the other covers?"
"Arata sure does," Erika said before the panther could say anything, "I, on the other hand am the perfect one with no weaknesses." Erika laughed as she saw Arata roll his eyes. She then pointed a thumb back at him. "It's his back that I have to watch out for, especially with how reckless and stupid he can be at times."
Arata shrugged. "…She's not wrong."
Mira laughed and nodded, once again taking note. "So then, the two of you must make for a strong duo."
"Absolutely," Arata said with a bit of pride, "It's difficult for anyone to get the drop on us whenever we're working together. We found that out during Crusade's attack." Mira smiled at him and took note once more.
"But that's enough about us," said Erika, swishing her tail beside her, "I wanna get to know about you more. What did you do when you worked with The Earth's Tree?"
Mira smirked and flicked an ear. "Well, I worked on Memory analysis and assessment before I escaped." Erika nodded thoughtfully, listening attentively. Another smirk curled up at the corners of the wolf's lips. That was too easy, she thought, I got so much useful info out of them with so little effort… And keeping info from them should be just as easy. I'm sure anything that I say here will be passed off as the truth. Oh how delightfully gullible these "heroes" are…
"So what was it like?" Erika asked, "Working for them, I mean?"
"They worked me pretty hard," Mira claimed, "It's a big organization, but they still need everyone working there to be on top of their jobs. In my case, they had me constantly come up with new designs for the Memories' structures, with each new design needing to trump the last. It was exhausting work, and the knowledge that all of those Memories would be sold to dangerous and violent people made me feel that much worse."
Arata perked up upon hearing this. He thought back to what Crusade had said when he had been explaining himself to him. Hearing that these Memories were being sold to dangerous people felt…strangely comforting to Arata, as it at least confirmed some of Arata's concerns regarding the practice. Regardless, he still couldn't shake the feeling of doubt that Crusade had put in him. He was suddenly brought out of his thoughts as he heard Mira sigh.
"Honestly I…I'd rather not go into any further detail," she sighed, lowering her ears and gaze. Erika nodded in understanding and decided against prying any further. Mira then clapped her paws together and smiled at Erika. "But on the subject of designs, Erika. How about I finally show you the designs that I brought with me from The Earth's Tree? I'm sure that they will help out greatly in designing new Memories of your own."
Hearing this, Erika mirrored Mira's smile and perked up with excitement. "I'd love to! Arata, you gonna just be here?" She glanced over to him to see him nod in response. Her smile widened as she looked back to Mira. "Alright, let's go!"
Mira smiled and chuckled at her enthusiasm. With a swish of her tail, she stood up from her seat and started for the lab with Erika trailing behind. But before either of them could leave the room, Tech emerged from the doorway and stopped suddenly. "Oh, sorry," she apologized, having been startled from them being so close to the door upon her opening it, "Hate to break this up, but we need everyone to gather in the briefing room."
"Aww, really?" said Erika. Mira was thankful for this, as she had spoken up just in time to conceal a slight snarl that had escaped from her lips.
"Yup," Tech confirmed with a nod. She peeked her head in further to the room and looked to Arata. "That includes you too, Arata! Come on, we gotta go."
"Oh, alright," Arata replied before pulling himself up with a grunt. As Tech led the two felines away, Mira trailed behind with a scowl on her face.
No…it's fine…she thought, there will be plenty of opportunities… For the Valkyrie, as well as everyone else in this facility…
As Tech had said, everyone had gathered in the briefing room, troopers and technicians alike. Mira stood at the center of the room, all eyes glued on her as she went through a list of Memories that she had written down. "And then there is Jewel," she listed off, "It produces an extremely durable Dopant that's nearly immune to all physical damage. To take it down, you will need to find the weak points hidden amongst its body. You will be able to identify them by minute cracks on the gems covering its body." She glanced up from her list briefly to see everyone listening attentively. "There is also Gene. The Dopant it creates is capable of rearranging the atoms of any given object or person. However, the Dopant itself is weak, so it should be easily taken care of with enough well placed hits. Odds are that it will be accompanied by another Dopant, so be prepared to fight another in the case that that happens."
Her speech was brought to an abrupt halt as the alarms in the base suddenly went off. Everyone scrambled to their appropriate stations in a heartbeat, and within moments, the projector was on, and an image of a street was displayed up on the wall for all to see. And on that street, Lockon and the Dopant from before were rampaging once more. Mira nodded before looking back to the troopers.
"That's Kamen Hunter Lockon, and the Dopant with him is Time," she explained, "I'm sure by now that all of you are familiar with Lockon's abilities, but not his tactics. He keeps his distance and shoots from afar, as he is quick to run away due to his shortcomings in close combat. Your best bet if you plan to take him down is to get as close in as you can. When it comes to Time, it's the opposite. Her ability to freeze time around her has a limited range of the average block on a street. Once her ability is cast, everyone and everything but her is allowed to move freely within that space. However, anything that enters that area after she has cast her ability is free game, so long range sniper attacks will be the key to victory."
"Did everyone get that?!" 1 shouted. Once everyone nodded in response, he shouted, "2! You're taking the sniper role! Everyone else is on civilian evacuation first and foremost!"
"Yes sir!" everyone shouted. Then, on 1's command, everyone rushed out to deploy.
"MIRA!" Daiki screamed, destroying a car parked in his way, "We're COMING for you, you vile TRAITOR!" Time followed silently alongside him, allowing him to destroy anything and everything in his way. He stopped screaming momentarily as he spotted Arata and Erika zooming towards them. Hearing more engines coming from behind, he turned around and saw 1 and 6 swerve into view.
"Arata! Erika!" 1 shouted, "There are five civilians on the street you're approaching! Three to your left, one further down from them, and one to the right where Lockon and Time are approaching! Valkyrie, rescue the one near the attackers! Zero, evac the three to your left first!"
"Yes sir!" they both shouted before breaking off from each other to follow their given orders.
"6! There are four civilians hiding behind the rubble! You escort them to safety!"
"Roger that!" 6 shouted before zooming away.
"2, are you in position?!" 1 shouted.
"Yes sir," 2 answered, "I've got the two of them in my sights."
"Remain on standby until further notice!" 1 shouted at her over the chaos.
"Roger that," 2 replied, "Over and out."
Daiki snarled bitterly before throwing both of his arms to the side and roaring, "HAND OVER THE TRAITOR!" And in a fit of rage, he opened fire on everyone, only aiming in their general direction. Erika hastily swooped to the side and scooped up her target civilian, flying away with her before dropping her off on a distant rooftop. Meanwhile, Arata screeched to a halt in front of his target civilians and threw his cloak over his body, using himself as a shield as Daiki's blasts struck him. Daiki growled as he was suddenly pelted by shots coming from 1. He roared out in fury before swinging his full attention over to the trooper.
"Okay!" 1 shouted, dodging Daiki's blasts, "Civilians are all escorted away! Riders! Go in for the attack!"
"About time!" shouted Erika before she and Arata rushed towards the battlefield. Erika was the first to reach the attackers, and she greeted them with swift strikes from above. Meanwhile, Arata was speeding in on his bike and letting off several blasts from his gun that pelted them as they tried to defend themselves. Daiki tried to fight back by firing off his homing light orbs, but they were futile against the speed and precision of Erika. The airborne Rider eventually decided to touch down and engage Daiki head on.
"TIME!" But as soon as Daiki cried out to his Dopant partner, everything came to a sudden halt. Even Arata, who had leapt into the air off of his bike, hung in place like a moment in a photo.
"Shit," 2 cursed under her breath, looking through her scope, "Arata and Erika are blocking! I don't have a clear shot!" Time huffed before flexing her claws and striking away at Erika. She landed several good hits before knocking her off to the side for good measure. Her gaze then swung over to Arata, who was only a few feet away from colliding into Daiki. With a snarl, she rushed forward and volleyed him with a succession of blows. Still not satisfied, she charged forward before kicking him away, ensuring that he wouldn't come crashing back in. But as Arata was blown back, she stepped into 2's line of sight. With a smile, the trooper pulled the trigger and let off a round. Her shot landed right on target, and the round pierced into the Dopant's body. Time cried out in pain as time and space around her returned to normal. Arata and Erika let out similar cries of pain as they came crashing down.
Erika was the quickest to recover. Using her wings to right herself, she leapt right back into the fight and lunged at Daiki. The tip of her blade struck against his chest, and sparks came flying off of him. He frantically fired off as many shots as he could in an attempt to fend her off, but they did little more than stall for seconds at a time. But just as Erika was about to land another blow, time was brought to a halt once more by Daiki's Dopant partner. Time moved once more to strike at Erika, but 2 fired off another round and shot her once more. Instantly, time resumed, and Daiki was forced to take Erika's attack.
"Damn that SNAKE!" he hissed in fury, "She's already begun to tell them of our weaknesses!"
As Arata got back up, he immediately noticed how literally everyone was in action but him. With Erika attacking Daiki head on, and the troopers all providing support, Arata felt as though he had taken a back seat to the action. He clenched his fists before shouting out and rushing forward. "W-wait! Arata!" 2 shouted, "You're blocking the way!" It was too late to stop him, as once again, the area was brought to a sudden halt by Time. 2 snarled beneath her mask, unable to fire at the Dopant responsible.
"Now I see," mumbled Time, "the sniper is coming from that direction… Excuse me, Lockon…" She reached out and swiped one of Daiki's guns out of his paw and aimed it right at Erika. Without hesitation, Time unloaded shot after shot into the Rider. Each shot exploded against her body and sent her further and further back. 2 snarled and clutched her sniper tightly.
"Sorry about this, Arata," she hissed before aiming at Arata's shoulder. She pulled the trigger and fired off her shot, causing her bullet to burst against his shoulder and turn him just enough for her to get a good shot at Time. The Dopant didn't get enough time to react, as 2's next shot landed right against Time's side. She cried out as everyone was released from her hold. Erika and Arata both let out cries as physics asserted themselves upon them once more, with Arata falling face first to the ground and Erika crashing against one of the nearby walls.
"Jeez," sighed Daiki as he swiped back his pistol, "There's such a thing as 'please.'" He then clicked the panel on the back of it.
LUNA: MAXIMUM DRIVE!
He let out a shout before pulling the trigger and unleashing a cluster of light orbs into the air. They all circled around rapidly before focusing in a line and shooting towards 1 and 6. Both of them acted quickly and tried to blast them out of the air, but they all dispersed from one another and made that task extremely difficult. When their efforts were proven to be futile, they immediately switched to trying to dive out of the way of them. This too was futile, as it was only a matter of seconds before the orbs caught up to them and blew up against them. They cried out as their armor was disintegrated, and they were thrown back into their normal bodies. "Guys!" Arata shouted in concern as they fell to the ground groaning. Both troopers cringed as they dragged themselves to the side and under cover. Arata clenched his fist and picked himself back up. "Alright…" he growled as Erika dove back in, "looks like it's time to take that new form out for another spin…" With a grunt, he thrust his arm forward and summoned his icicle-like blade to his paw with a small blizzard. Without hesitation, he pried his Memory out of his Driver and plunged it into the hilt of his blade.
» FREEZE: MIRACLE DRIVE! «
Suddenly, his body burst into a howling blizzard that overtook the entire block. Daiki and Time both tried to fight against the freezing winds as Erika retreated from attacking them. Then, with a loud CLAP, the blizzard parted and revealed Arata in his heavier form standing proud. He reached down and pried his blade from the ground. "Valkyrie! Go high!" he shouted as he swung his blade backwards. Erika nodded and shot upwards, allowing Arata a clear shot as he swung his blade forward. The swing launched a wave of ice crashing into both Time and Daiki. Whilst Daiki dove to the side, the Dopant raised her arm and froze the area once again. However, 2 shot her and the rest of the place right back into regular time, forcing her to become entrapped in a large block of ice. With Time having nowhere left to run, Arata was free to rush forward with all of his might.
» FREEZE: MIRACLE CHARGE! «
A bright light burned from within Arata's blade before he drove it through Time's body, shattering the ice block and obliterating Time herself. Through the snow cloud kicked up by the explosion, the unconscious body of Time's true self flew out and skidded onto the pavement with her Memory flying out of her and shattering mid-air. Daiki let out a gasp as he witnessed this. "What…power…" he gasped, "Is this really how strong he's become?!"
"That's right, Lockon," Arata answered, pointing his blade at the armored wolf, "and you're—" Arata stopped as a sharp chill shot through his head. The grip on his blade faltered as he began to stagger forward. He let out a trembling breath as he held his free paw against his head.
"Zero?!" shouted Erika, growing concerned, "What's wrong? Are you alright?!" Arata tried to answer, but suddenly, his legs gave out on him and he collapsed to the ground. "ARATA!" Erika shouted in surprise.
"Now's my chance!" Daiki said to himself before blasting Erika with his Heat pistol. She cried out and shielded herself with an arm as Daiki made a run for it. 2 tried to shoot him down with several rounds, but unfortunately for her, the wolf was too quick and evasive for her. As a result, he disappeared from the scene. Erika cringed as she shook herself off, seeing that he was gone after the smoke had settled. However, when her eyes fell upon Arata's collapsed form and dulled out eyes, she shouted out in concern and rushed over to his side.
"Arata?!" she shouted, kneeling down and pulling him up by the shoulders, "Arata, speak to me! Are you alright?! What's going on?!" Not an answer. And to make things worse, he was completely limp. "Arata, can you hear me?! Arata! Arata wake up!" And still, no response. Her heart racing a mile a minute, she looked up from him and shouted, "Someone get help! Arata's not waking up!"