Kamen Rider Zero Arc 4

CH 3: The Consequences of Action

Arata's eyes fluttered open as the recovery pod he was sitting in popped open. Once his vision cleared, he saw Tech sitting in wait next to his pod. "…So…do you know what's going on?" he asked her with a bit of effort. However, from the grim expression written across Tech's face, he could tell that he wasn't going to like the answer.

"…There's no easy way of telling you this," she eventually sighed.

"…Tell me what?" he asked, sitting up slightly. Tech pursed her lips together and hesitated. She turned to the side and picked up what appeared to be a brain scan.

"I've ran you through several tests," she explained, keeping her eyes on the scan, "and…from what I can tell…it would seem that you've developed Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis…" She paused before meeting Arata's gaze once more. "…ALS…"

Arata's heart nearly stopped as soon as the letters left her lips. He sat back against the pod as he took the time to think about the gravity of what he had just heard. He had only heard of this disease every now and again, so he didn't know much about it. However, the one thing he did know about it was what had made his heart skip a beat.

There was no known cure.

Arata licked his lips to wet his suddenly dry mouth. After swallowing a bit of saliva, he asked, "Do you…know how this happened? Like…how I got it?"

"I have my suspicions…" Tech sighed, lowering the scan, "Do you remember what happened after Crusade destroyed your Driver?"

Arata cringed as the memory was brought up. "How could I forget? I felt so backed up against the wall that I ended up using my Memory to become a Dopant." Arata paused for a moment. "…Do you think…that's what caused it?"

Tech nodded grimly and raised the brain scan back up. "It's definitely possible. After all, you did jam the Memory into your head. From the scans I made, it appears that using your Memory that way ended up heavily affecting your brain stem as well as many nerves in your spine…"

Arata shook his head, still having trouble taking this all in. "I…I can't believe this… I felt fine over the past few days!"

"Well…it only means that the condition took several days to develop…" said Tech.

"I…I don't know what to say…" said Arata, "…Am-am I gonna be okay?"

Tech bit her lip, keeping her silence and causing Arata's heart to sink as a result. She thought of her words carefully before finally answering him. "Arata…I've tried everything I could… I've ran you through several rounds in the recovery pod, and…nothing made a difference… This disease is…just too difficult to defeat… I'm sorry…"

Arata's gaze fell down to his lap. For a while, all he did was stare silently at his paws. His ears flattened against his head, and his jaw hung open as though it had lost support. "…Does anyone else know?" he eventually asked, keeping his gaze low.

"Only us and 1 at the moment," Tech answered, "I haven't told anyone else yet…"

Arata pressed his lips together as he pondered to himself. "Could you…maybe not tell the others?" he asked, "…if…there's really nothing that can be done…then I'd rather not have everyone worried about me…"

"…It's a little late for that," Tech laughed lightly, knowing that her efforts to lighten the mood were futile. But even if it had worked, Arata wasn't showing any signs of it.

"Well…I don't want to worry them more…then…" he replied, "…Can you just tell them I'm…suffering from exhaustion or something?" Not hearing a response from her, Arata raised his eyes and gave her a pleading look. Still not getting anything from her, he begged, "At-at least keep it from Erika! She's the last person that I want to worry with something like this!"

Tech closed her eyes and let out a sigh of defeat. "Fine…I'll keep it from Erika…"

"Thank you…" Arata sighed in relief (though in the lightest sense of the word…). With nothing else left to discuss, Tech reached in to help Arata out of the pod. As they emerged from the medical treatment room, Erika stood up from her seat, having been waiting for them ever since they had gone in.

"Is he okay?" Erika asked in concern.

Tech faltered as she caught herself from telling the truth. After recomposing herself, she answered, "He's…seen better days…" This only deepened Erika's concern, and Arata stammered as he hastily spoke up.

"It-it's fine. I've just been kind of exhausted is all…" Erika narrowed her eyes at him before stepping up to Tech and pulling her aside to speak with her in private.

"Tech…" she whispered, leaning in close and hiding her muzzle from the other feline, "is he telling the truth? Is that really what's going on with him?"

Though it hurt her inside, Tech managed to get herself to nod. "He just needs to rest for a while," she replied, "he's been pushing himself pretty hard over the past few days after all…" Though she still seemed to hold some suspicions, Erika appeared to accept her answer.

"Um…Erika?" Arata called, grabbing her attention, "do you think you can help me over to the couch, please?"

"Coming," Erika called back before leaving Tech and coming over to his side. As she left, 1 stepped in and walked up next to Tech. Her and the commander watched as Erika helped Arata along.

"Did you tell him?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the two felines. Tech only nodded in response. "What about Erika? Did you tell her too?" This time, Tech shook her head. 1 closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "I don't blame you…" He paused and watched them leave before continuing. "…So…how long do you think he has?" Tech bit her lip.

"…Ten years…at the most…" she answered grimly. 1 slowly exhaled.

"…What a shame…" he sighed. Tech only nodded in solemn agreement.

Erika let out a huff as she lowered Arata down on the couch. As he sat back, the snow leopard sat down next to him. "So you're sure it's just exhaustion?" she pried. Arata nodded in response, deciding to hold his tongue. Erika gave him a worried look and reached out to gently squeeze at his shoulder. Seeing how concerned she was over him, Arata offered a nervous smile and tried to lighten the mood a little.

"H-hey," he began, "when did you suddenly become my mother? Look at how overprotective you're being right now… Heh…" Erika chuffed and gave him a wavering smile. "Well, if that's true, then that's true, then that would make you my little baby cub…" Both of them let out a laugh, but even this couldn't rid the air of uncertainty hanging over them. Their laughter soon came to an end, and the two of them ended up staring at each other in silence. After a while, Arata blushed and quickly looked away. "H-hey, so…is it alright if I take a nap? Like…alone?" he asked.

Erika stammered as she recomposed herself. "Oh-uh…r-right… Sorry…" At that, she stood up and walked away. Mira watched silently as she left, swishing her tail softly behind her. Once Erika was gone, the wolf glanced around the room, confirming that it was just the two of them.

"Mira? Are you there?" However, before she could move, a call from afar stopped her. "Mira, we need you here for something. Can you come over here please?" Mira clicked her tongue in irritation. Hissing through her teeth, she eyed Arata one last time before turning away to leave.

Within a couple of minutes, Mira found herself in a gathering with the rest of the team. Save for Arata, pretty much everyone in the base had gathered in the briefing room with 1 standing in the center. "As a reminder," said 1, "our recovery pod is still faulty, so we are still limited to 2, 6, Valkyrie and I as active members." Tech shuffled on her feet anxiously and looked to the side, chewing at her bottom lip. 1 disregarded this as he went on. "Erika, you will be acting as our vanguard. You are to lead attacks and attract the attention of our targets. 6, you and I are in charge of civilian evacuation. They are our number 1 priority and take precedence above all else in any and every circumstance." 6 nodded her head in acknowledgement. "2, you remain as our sniper. You're the best among us at cover fire by far." 2 smirked and gave him a nod of her own. 6 then let out a chuff.

"Just our luck, huh? Arata gets this big new form, and now he's out of commission for the time being…"

"…It is a shame," she replied, "I'm still having trouble figuring out how something like that was possible. If anything…it's nothing short of a miracle…" She shook her head. "But…just like a miracle, the form is fleeting, so it's probably not gonna be showing up at our command. We still don't know what kind of effects it has on Arata. It's possible that it's what's aggravating his…exhaustion…"

"For now, we should focus on the firepower that we have," 1 spoke up as he noticed the vixen begin to trail off. However, this statement seemed to pick Tech right back up, as a smirk crossed her muzzle.

"And on that tangent," she said with a smile, "Not to worry, everyone. 1, 6, 2, all of you are going to be getting upgrades of your own soon enough." The three troopers looked to her in confusion. Seeming to take this as her cue, Mira stepped forward and cleared her throat.

"Tech and I have been working together to develop stronger Memories for you and your team," she explained, "If things go well, you three as well as any trooper that comes back into action should be as strong as our Riders, if not stronger." As 2 raised a brow, 6 smiled and rubbed her paws together. "It won't be long. The Memories we have been working on have been developing rapidly. They should be ready to utilize in a matter of days." As she spoke, she gave a subtle glance down at the pocket watch in her paw and noted the time. A slight smile crept up her lips as she counted down in her head. "These Memories will improve on the ones you currently use and should provide tougher armor—" She stopped as the Dopant alarm blared in everyone's ears. Right on cue…she thought, smirking slightly as she pocketed her watch.

She feigned shock as best she could as everyone scrambled to their assigned stations. Once the projector sparked to life, the image of Daiki rampaging alongside a new Dopant was cast upon the wall. Once the image focused on this new Dopant, Mira spoke up. "That is the Computer Dopant!" she announced, "It has the ability to disrupt the functions of any technological device that it touches with the only exception being Gaia Memories! Do not let it near your firearms and vehicles! It will most likely cause them to malfunction if it gets its hands on them! There is no weakness that you can exploit, so you will have to fight it head on!"

"Understood!" shouted 1 before he turned to his troopers, "Erika, you are leading the attack! Engage both Lockon and Computer as 6 and I clear the area of civilians! 2, provide cover fire for everyone! Make sure that those two only tango with Erika and NO ONE ELSE!"

"Yes sir!" the two other troopers shouted in unison with a salute.

"ROLL OUT, TEAM!" he shouted before everyone rushed off. As they all left, Mira scanned the room. After carefully counting everyone off, she confirmed that everyone that worked in the facility was occupied in this room. In fact, the only two furs that weren't dealing with some sort of task was her and Arata.

The perfect opportunity for the two of us to have some one-on-one time…she thought as she slipped away and silently made her way towards the lounging room.

"I've got them in my sights!" Erika shouted as she soared through the sky. She tightened her grip on her blade as she scanned the whole area. "There are five civilians hiding behind some rubble to the northwest! And I see one hiding in the alleyway towards the east!"

"Roger that!" said 1, "Valkyrie, go in for the attack! 6, you evac the lone civilian!"

"Yes sir!" both females shouted before zooming off to their given tasks. Erika started things off by swooping in from above and greeting Computer with a strike to his head. As he staggered back, Erika landed in front of the two of them.

"Dammit," Daiki cursed before thrusting his pistols forward, "Hand over the traitor already! Otherwise we can't guarantee the safety of your precious residents!"

"Maybe you guys can't," Erika replied, whirling her blade around before taking on a stance, "but we can!" At that, she let out a battle cry and rushed forward.

Mira hummed to herself cheerfully as she casually walked down the hall leading to the lounging area. Her heels made soft clicks with every step she took. As she entered the room, Arata's ears perked from the noise. His gaze met Mira's as his eyes fluttered open. "Oh…Mira," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes and gingerly sitting up, "What's going on?"

"Oh, just another attack," she explained as she continued to approach him. Hearing this, Arata grabbed the head of the couch to try and get himself up faster. However, Mira held up a paw and said, "Don't worry, the team's got a handle on it. So just sit back and rest up." Arata kept his grip on the couch as he sat himself back down, clearly still feeling anxious. Mira smiled and sat down next to him. "My, my, how eager you are to jump into a fight." Arata blinked as she sat herself down beside him. Unsure of how to react, he merely sat there and listened. And as he sat there, Mira noted how fatigued he appeared. Fortune smiled upon me once again, she thought, now I won't even need to use my Memory on him. I can do this the old fashioned way… As she adjusted herself to get more comfortable, she subtly slipped out her pocket watch. "So tell me, Arata," she went on, "why are you so insistent on helping out all of the time?"

"Ummm…" Arata began, still unsure of how to go about the situation, "I just…don't really like the idea of just being…a bystander. Especially when I'm capable of doing something…" Mira nodded thoughtfully and held her watch up as if to check the time. Arata glanced at it as he went on. "I dunno… I guess I just feel as if sitting around and doing nothing is the same as doing the crime itself…"

"I see… I see…" she said thoughtfully as she began to gently swing the watch, "So do you want to put a stop to the attackers, or is there something more that you wish to accomplish?"

Arata's eyes continued to involuntarily follow Mira's watch as he replied, "I…guess there might be something more to it… I mean…when it comes to The Earth's Tree…I don't really agree with their…philosophy…"

Mira's eyes carefully scanned Arata's as they followed her watch, noting how focused they were on it. She smirked as she asked, "And what makes you disagree with it?"

"I…" he began, taking a notably longer amount of time to answer, "…I feel like…they're…forcing their ideas onto everyone…"

Mira raised a brow at this. "Well…that's an interesting way to put it… Tell me then; do you think that they are truly wrong? Or do you think that there is some ground to their philosophy?"

For a moment, Arata didn't answer. With his focus becoming more and more glued to the watch, he was becoming sluggish and distant. His jaw eventually fell open as he felt himself becoming more relaxed. "…They have…good…intentions… Maybe…they're just…a little misguided…"

Mira smiled as she began to swing the watch with more intent. "Arata, sit back…and relax," she commanded him with a soft and soothing tone. Without any hesitation, he obeyed her command and laid back. The wolf leaned in to swing the watch closer to Arata's face as she went on. "Your eyelids are feeling heavy… It's becoming harder and harder to keep them open… With every blink you take…your eyelids will feel even heavier than before…" Just as she said, Arata found it more and more difficult to keep his eyes open. Within a matter of seconds, they fluttered closed without any hope of opening back up any time soon. Mira smiled in satisfaction as she put away her watch. She scooted in closer and began to gently pet the top of the panther's head. "Let your body relax… Just let yourself go limp as you begin to sink into the couch…this soft…comfy couch…" A soft purr escaped from Arata's throat as she went on in a whisper. "Very good… Now I want you to let your mind go numb… Banish any thought or concern that litters your mind… Just…set it free… Clear your mind of any noise… Let my voice be the only noise you are able to hear… And you want to hear my voice…because of how soft and comforting it is to you… In fact…it's so comforting…that you can't help…but begin to drift off…into a deep…deep sleep… But don't worry…because you will still be able to hear my voice…my every word…every syllable that leaves my lips…

"You will be able to hear them all…and you want to hear them all…because they are the only words that mean anything to you anymore… You will listen to my voice… You will love my voice… You will obey my voice… You will obey me… You will obey every command I give you…and you will accomplish each and every command with as much passion and loyalty that you can muster…" She paused and sat back to admire her handiwork. Arata was out like a light. From the way he laid there, it seemed as though he had almost taken her command to sink into the couch literally. Not a single muscle twitched or budged, save for his stomach which rose and fell gently with each deep, slow breath.

I think I might have outdone myself, Mira thought with amusement, And how lucky have I been for the past few days? The boy is even doubtful over his own opinions… And now…I can use that against him…

Three behind, two on either side! Valkyrie shouted. Erika let out battle cries as she defended herself from the incoming light orbs. Though one of them nicked her shoulder, she managed to fend them off and knock them away from herself. As Daiki added more orbs to keep her occupied, Computer reached out to a nearby streetlamp. He clutched it, and streams of electricity danced up and down it. The light itself flickered before it burned out and shot a bolt of lightning out at Erika. With Valkyrie unable to warn her in time, the bolt struck her and sent electricity through her body. This stunned her long enough for Daiki to take advantage of. After firing several more orbs, he converged them all onto Erika in a barrage attack. The Rider cried out as she was struck back from the two attackers. Before either of them could come in for a follow up attack, sniper rounds from 2 struck their bodies and kept them at bay as Erika recovered.

Man…she thought, it's a pretty tall order to pit me against two guys…practically by myself… I guess this is what Arata put himself through before I was able to help him…huh?

INCOMING FROM BEHIND! Valkyrie warned her. Pushing the thought aside, Erika whirled around in time to knock away the line of orbs swooping down towards her. As she knocked the last one away, she reached down with her free hand and flicked the dial on her Driver.

ASCENDING DRIVE!

She then whirled around once more and hurled an energy wave at Daiki and the Dopant. Both moved further back to avoid getting caught up in the attack, granting Erika more space. "The last civilian has been evacuated!" shouted 1, "6 and I will now provide support!" Right on cue, gunfire from the other side of the street peppered Daiki and Computer. Both ran and ducked behind a car, seemingly for cover. However, once Computer laid his hand on the side of the vehicle, it became apparent that it wasn't the case. The car's engine revved to life before the car itself shot forward, zooming towards the two troopers at breakneck speed. Both of them jumped off to the side, but 6 ended up with the unfortunate fate of her leg getting caught from the side. She cried out in pain as she slammed into the ground, clutching her leg tightly. 1 rushed to her side as the car slammed into a wall. He quickly hooked her arm over his shoulder as he moved her out of the area. "Valkyrie! 2! Cover us! 6 is down!"

Erika let out another battle cry as she rushed in and lashed out at Daiki. The armored wolf snarled as he backed away from her and fended her off with light orbs. But the orbs did little but slow her down. To your right! Erika stumbled from the sudden warning. However, the stumble gave her ample time to notice the wires lunging out from Computer's body. She hastily backed away and sliced at the wires with her blade.

ASCENDING DRIVE!

She grunted as she hurled another wave out from her blade. It swept down the street and forced Computer to back away from her. But with her attention diverted away, Daiki managed to land several shots on her with his fireballs. She quickly recovered and shifted her attention back to him as she defended herself from his assault.

"Erika, the street is empty," said 2 from her perch, "You're clear to use Ascending Slash." Erika didn't even waste time with responding as she lunged forward to strike Daiki in the chest. As he staggered back, she pried her Memory out of her Driver.

YOUR RIGHT! Valkyrie suddenly warned. Erika turned and reflexively brought her blade up to defend against an incoming wire. However, instead of being knocked away, the wire latched onto the blade itself. Caught off guard, Erika hastily stuffed her Memory into her blade and twisted it into place. But rather than trigger her powerful attack, the sword only sparked uselessly. Her heart leapt as she realized that the Dopant had affected her sword by making it unable to respond to her Memory. She let out a cry of pain as several orbs of light came flying at her and slammed into her face. Still managing to keep a grip on her sword, Erika flew through the air before skidding to a stop on the street. Once she had landed on the ground, 2 began to provide cover fire from her post. Daiki anticipated this and began to counter-fire with shots of his own, destroying each and every round that was fired before they could reach him or the Dopant. As a result, the two of them approached Erika relatively unimpeded.

What the hell? she thought, How is it that I managed to survive Crusade's hoard of Dopants when I'm having so much difficulty with these two?! She groaned as she struggled back up to her feet. Before she could gather up the strength to rush forward, a wild blizzard swept through the entire area. Her heart leapt as the blizzard overtook the street and clouded her field of vision. Arata?!

As suddenly as it came, the blizzard swept by and opened up everyone's field of vision once more. And standing in the middle of the street was none other than Arata in his upgraded form. "Arata?!" 2 exclaimed, "What is he doing here?!"

"Yeah, what she said!" Erika exclaimed, shifting her gaze back and forth between him and the attackers, "You shouldn't be here! You should be resting back at the base!" She shook her head before re-assuming her battle stance. "Whatever. As long as you're here, you can help us beat these guys!" Wordlessly, Arata twirled his blade around and reeled back to take a swing. With a grunt, he swung his saber and hurled out a wave of ice.

ERIKA, MOVE! Valkyrie suddenly shouted, catching Erika off guard. Not one to question her, Erika hastily jumped to the side, expecting to dodge a wire or light orb that she hadn't noticed. However, rather than either of those things, what she ended up dodging was something that she never thought she would ever have to dodge in her life.

Arata's attack.

The wave swept right past Daiki and his Dopant companion and petered out down the street, only succeeding in freezing several street lights and the street itself. After recovering from her initial shock, Erika whirled around and glared at Arata. "WATCH WHERE YOU THROW THAT THING!" she snarled, "You almost HIT me!"

LEFT! Valkyrie shouted again. Erika dove to the side and glanced behind her, expecting the orb or wire to be coming at her this time. But she was proven wrong again, as another ice wave swept right past her. Erika gasped as she landed back on the ground, staring back at Arata in disbelief. The other Rider was staring right at her with his blade held at the ready. It was immediately clear to Erika that his attention wasn't on the attackers at all. He was focused purely on her, and judging by his posture, he didn't have any friendly intentions. He looked ready to swing at her, to go after her.

To take her out.

Erika stared back at him, the shock still taking time to register with her. And with a trembling voice, she called, "…Arata?"