Kamen Rider Zero: Arc 4
CH 4: Loyalty
Erika MOVE! shouted Valkyrie. The Rider snapped herself out of her shock before diving to the side, once again narrowly avoiding one of Arata's attacks.
"Arata!" she shouted, "What's gotten into you?!" The other Rider didn't answer with words. Instead he answered by hurling out yet another wave of ice. Erika growled as she jumped out of the way of that one and was caught off guard as Arata came running at her. She quickly threw up her blade to guard against a swing, skidding back an inch or two as Arata's sword collided against hers. She growled in anger and confusion as the two of them fought against each other's strength. "Answer me, damn you! Why are you doing this?! We're your friends, remember?!" Hearing this made Arata visibly hesitate. This gave 2 the chance she needed to land a round on him from her perch. Arata cried out in pain as he stumbled forward, shoving Erika aside as he tried to recover. "W-wait! Guys!" Erika shouted as she regained her balance, "Wait a minute!"
Her shouts went unacknowledged as 1 came back in to land some shots of his own on Arata. Arata growled in defiance as he whirled around to hurl a wave of ice at the commander. However, the commander merely rolled out of the way and continued firing at him. "Erika, don't you dare hesitate!" Erika heard 2 shout over the intercom, "If Arata's seriously turned on us, then now is not the time to be leaving yourself open!"
"B…but…" Erika stammered, staring at Arata in disbelief.
BEHIND YOU! Valkyrie shouted. Unable to react in time, Erika was blasted in the back by one of Daiki's fireballs. She cried out in pain as she staggered forward and quickly spread her wings to shoot up into the air.
"Erika!" came 1's voice, "Don't forget why we're here! We're protecting the lives of the people of this city! We are NOT here to contemplate why Arata's decided to betray us!"
"But…I…" Erika trailed off, the grip on her blade faltering.
Erika, look OUT! Valkyrie shouted frantically. Once again too slow to respond, Erika was unable to dodge the incoming attack. She cried out as her body was suddenly encased in ice. Unable to move her wings, she came crashing down onto the ground, the block of ice trapping her instantly shattering to pieces and her body slamming into the ground in the process.
"Erika!" shouted 2 as she provided her cover fire, "Are you alright?"
"Y-yeah," she replied as she picked herself back up, "I-I'm ok…"
"Erika, retreat for now!" shouted 1, "You're too emotionally compromised to be able to help us right now!"
"B-but what about Arata?! I can't just leave him—" she cut herself off as she defended herself against Daiki's and Computer's attacks. She snarled as she spread her wings and flew back to gain some distance. "I'm NOT going! Besides, there's no one else here that can handle Arata's level of power but ME!"
» FREEZE: MIRACLE CHARGE! «
Erika's heart leapt as Arata came rushing at her with his blade glowing brightly. Left with no time to evade, Erika threw her blade up and blocked Arata's swing, crying out as she felt the full force of the blow radiate through her blade and into her body. She skidded back several feet this time as Arata powered through the rest of his momentum. By the end of the attack, Erika was gasping for air. She quickly spread her wings and shot back several more meters away from the battle scene. Arata didn't give chase this time, instead choosing to watch her from afar with his blade lowered to the ground. "Just…stay out of this, Erika," he shouted to her, "…Please…" The statement caught Erika by surprise. She was left totally speechless as Arata turned away to return his attention to 1. He breathed in deeply as he raised his blade back up. Then, with a shout, he swung his blade forward and hurled out another ice wave. As soon as 1 tried to roll out of the way, Arata threw another wave, trapping the commander in ice as well.
"DAMMIT ARATA!" 2 screamed through the com link as she shot round after round at Arata, "I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR US! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Arata cringed as her rounds struck him. He chose not to answer the trooper and instead shielded himself with his cloak. He clutched his sword tightly as he prepared to make another swing, this time aiming at where 2 was perched. But the moment he was about to swing, the light in his eyes blacked out and he collapsed to the ground. Everyone including Daiki gasped in shock as he hit the ground.
"What the hell?!" he growled as he rushed to his side and returned fire on 2, "What are you doing?! Get UP!" He nudged Arata with the back of his heel, but the Rider didn't move a muscle. With a snarl, Daiki squeezed the panels on his pistols.
HEAT: MAXIMUM DRIVE!
LUNA: MAXIMUM DRIVE!
He let out a roar as he pulled the triggers, unleashing clusters of light orbs into the air along with one large orb of fire. All of the orbs slammed into the ground around the Dopant and the two of them, kicking up a huge dust cloud that obstructed 2's view. Out of desperation, she fired off rounds into the smoke in hopes of at least hitting one of them. It took a moment for Erika to realize that now was a good time to blow the smoke away with her wings. By the time she did, the only ones occupying the field were her and 1, who was still frozen in place.
"He's with you?" Mira whispered into her phone, holding it close as her eyes scanned the area around her. She carefully eyed the few furs who passed her by, trying her best to remain inconspicuous and casual in her appearance as she spoke to her brother. "And he hasn't woken up yet? …I see. Keep an eye on him. When he wakes back up, make sure that he is still intent on helping us. He will remain under my spell for as long as he continues to believe that what he's doing is what he wants… Don't give him a chance to question his own actions. And remember; he is not your slave." She hung up before Daiki could say anything in return. She smiled as she pocketed her phone, standing up from the wall she had been leaning against and glancing into the briefing room, where nearly everyone had gathered. With everyone so distracted over Arata's "betrayal," no one could suspect her of doing anything strange or questionable. This made it all the more easier to slip into the data room without anyone so much as batting an eye at her. Now then…she thought as she switched one of the computers on, back to work…
Arata's eyes snapped open as he sat up abruptly. He breathed heavily as he scanned his surroundings. Already, he could tell that he wasn't in the facility or the hospital (two places he had grown greatly accustomed to over the past few days). He tried to even out his breathing as he ran his paw through his head fur. His ears perked as he heard footsteps nearing his room. He turned in time to see a sharply-dressed wolf step inside. "The boy's finally up!" Daiki exclaimed, tossing his paws up in the air as he walked up next to the couch Arata was laid across, "Good, because I was starting to wonder whether or not it was time for me to dispose a body…" Without so much as asking, Daiki sat himself down next to Arata with a huff. "So then, mind telling me about what happened to you back there?"
"Back…there?" Arata asked, furrowing his brow as he tried to remember what happened. He drew a sharp breath as the memories returned to him. After rushing out of the facility, he defended Lockon and the Dopant against Amnesia.
"Hey," said Daiki, snapping his fingers in front of Arata's eyes, "I asked you a question, Mr. Cape-man. Why did you just randomly faint in the middle of that fight? Were you trying to make things more interesting for yourself or—"
"Wha-n-NO! Why would I do that on purpose?! And who even are you anyways?"
"Who am I? You're asking me who am I?!" Daiki asked as though it had been a stupid question, "Does my GREATNESS not exude familiarity?" Arata blinked and shook his head, making the wolf scoff in disgust. "Fine then; I'll tell you. I am THE…Kamen Hunter, LOCKON! The one that will DEFEAT you groveling Riders!" It took Arata some time (enough for the wolf to get mad) before he finally put meaning to Daiki's words. A smile spread across the wolf's muzzle as Arata's eyes lighted up in realization and recognition. "Really though, how could you not recognize my dulcet tones?"
"In my defense, I did just wake up from passing out."
"Which is something that I STILL need an explanation for. So OUT with it! What's wrong with you, boy?"
Arata bit his lip as he was suddenly reminded of his condition. He glanced off to the side as he tried to come up with an alternate explanation. "…Exhaustion… I haven't gotten a lot of rest with all of these attacks going on…"
"Heh, that's good to hear," said Daiki before he caught himself, "I mean, it would be good to hear if you weren't on our side now… Which REMINDS me!" The wolf stood up suddenly and pointed at him. "If you plan on working with us, then you need to understand who you work beneath. And that would be ME." Daiki began to pace the room as he went on. "So remember who's in charge, here. Me. Not you. Me. I don't care how many power-ups or what-not you manage to get your paws on. From now on, you work under my orders. Do you understand?" Arata narrowed his eyes at him slightly but held his tongue, choosing instead to nod silently. "Good. Then your first order is to get your act together. We're staging another attack later tonight, and we can't have you collapsing in the middle of the fight again. It's just plain inconvenient after all."
Arata furrowed a brow at the mention of another attack. "But no one's getting hurt, right?"
"What?"
Arata stood up to meet Daiki's height, giving the wolf a serious look. "When we go out on this attack, we won't be hurting anyone, will we?"
Daiki chuffed and rolled his eyes. "Listen, kid; we may be staging attacks, but at the end of the day, the damage we deal isn't faked. Odds are that some people are gonna get hurt at one point or another—"
"NO," Arata cut him off, "No one is going to get hurt if I'm gonna be doing this. Not on my watch."
"…Excuse me? Are you forgetting who's in charge here?" Daiki shoved Arata back with a harsh push. "Don't start thinking you're hot stuff just because you're some wannabe hero. You came here to work with us, so you play under our rules."
Arata snarled and stepped forward. "The only reason I'm here is because I'm trying to find out if I've been fighting on the wrong side. If it turns out that I wasn't, then I go right back."
Both furs let out low growls as they stared each other down, neither flinching from the other's gaze. "Well…you sure seem to know why you're here, don't you?" Daiki asked, not budging an inch, "Glad to see it…" Arata didn't question him, seemingly too caught up in his own actions to notice anything strange. With a huff, Daiki turned away and started for the door. "Staying or not, you work under me as long as you're here. Otherwise, you're about as useless to us as the rest of Amnesia is…" Arata kept his eyes on the wolf as he stepped out of the room, not comfortable with taking them off of him until he was actually gone.
"You can't be serious!" Erika shouted in protest, "After everything we've been through, you're ready to just drop Arata like that?!"
"Erika, I'm going to be frank with you," said 1, "We don't doubt the idea of something having influenced Arata. However, we CAN'T ignore the possibility of him truly having turned on us. If we let up on him during a fight, and it turns out that he has no plans of coming back to us, then we are going to be in for a LOT of trouble."
"We can't forget how strong Arata has become, Erika," 2 spoke up, "The fact that someone that strong is now on the enemy's side is already troubling enough. But going easy on someone with that kind of power is FAR more concerning."
"This is the same discussion we had back when you weren't in control of your abilities," said 1. The troopers' reasoning only seemed to further aggravate the snow leopard.
"But you guys can't expect me to just…TAKE OUT ARATA like that! He's my friend, dammit!"
"We are NOT asking you to take him out, Erika!" 1 shouted back, "We need you to take him DOWN."
"I KNOW!" Erika shouted in distress, lashing her tail around behind her, "I know…I just…" She cringed and turned away, stuffing her face in a paw as she tried to recollect herself. "Don't you have some kind of disabling device like you had for mine, Tech?"
"We do," Tech answered, "Well…did…anyways. The only working one we have is grounded to the base. It'll be our last line of defense if he manages to get here." Erika pressed her lips together and huffed through her nostrils.
"Erika…we need you to do this for us," said 1 in a gentler tone, "You said it yourself back there; No one else here can handle his level of power but you. I understand why you wouldn't want to hurt him after everything you two have been through…but it must be done…"
Erika refused to turn back around, as facing away from all of them was the only way she felt she could hide her emotions from them. "…Can someone at least tell me why Arata turned on us?" Everyone else held their tongues, leaving the room in an uncomfortable silence. As they stood there, 1 and Tech shared knowing looks with each other. Though they didn't know the exact reason, they had a feeling that Arata's ALS had something to do with it.
Tech walked over to the feline and placed a paw on her shoulder, but she merely stepped forward and shrugged it away. With a sigh, the vixen said, "Well…I don't have an explanation…but I at least have a hunch…" Erika's ears perked, though her gaze remained where it was. "I think we can all agree here that the boy…tends to jump the gun a lot… He really hates sitting around and doing nothing, especially when he's capable of helping out in the situation… And…with his recent exhaustion spells…maybe he feels like he's…running out of time…"
"Running out of…" Erika turned around with an exasperated expression, "What are you talking about?! Why would he feel like he's running out of time?! It's just supposed to be exhaustion, right?" Her eyes widened. "…Is…is that…is that not what's going on here?" Tech bit her lip and backed up a bit, her tail twitching behind her with nervous energy. This only emboldened Erika, and she took a step forward. "Tech, tell me. What's really wrong with Arata?"
"Erika, I," Tech stammered, backing up another step, "We-we're doing the best we can—"
"Is it serious?" Erika cut her off, once again taking another step forward, "Is it why you said he's running out of time? Tech, PLEASE tell me. If-if there's something going on with him then I HAVE to kno—"
"ERIKA," 1 barked, grabbing the two females' attentions with his voice alone. Erika settled down only slightly as she met his stone-cold gaze. "There's no need to linger on that point… Right now, we have more important matters to attend to. We need to be sure that you're ready to defend the city. Footage of Arata betraying us is circulating and spreading like a wildfire, and it's left the city and its people in a state of great concern. To them, they've lost their most trusted hero, and right now, you are their last pillar of hope… If you can't handle that responsibility, then The Earth's Tree has already won… Do you understand that?" Though her anger and fear hadn't been quelled, Erika could see the Komodo dragon's point. At the end of the day, she was still the city's Rider. And now more than ever, the city needed their Rider. She hated the idea of fighting against someone she so deeply cared about, but as long as he was working with the enemy, it was hard to imagine it being easy to avoid fighting at all.
"I…understand…" she sighed in defeat, her ears and tail drooping as she turned away once more.
"Thank you," said 1 in a gentler tone, "Trust me; none of us relish the thought of fighting him too. So let's do our best to bring him in as quickly as possible."
"Mmhm," Erika muttered quietly before stepping away. Without another word, she walked out of the room and disappeared from the group.
"Don't," 2 said as Tech started for Erika's direction, "Just give her some space… She'll come around when the time comes…" Tech chewed at her lower lip, waving her tail around anxiously. 2 swished her own milky tail behind her as she glanced to the side. "…I hope…"
Several hours later into the day, Arata found himself waiting with Daiki in a dark alleyway. He glanced up absentmindedly at the moon as he leaned against a brick wall. Every now and then, he glanced over to the wolf next to him. He still wasn't sure if he could trust him, let alone all of The Earth's Tree. Yes, he was intent on doing this, but that didn't make him feel any more comfortable with them than he was before. And the fact that Daiki didn't even seem to be concerned about the people he and his group was endangering didn't help either.
"It's rude to stare," Daiki spoke up. Arata blinked and quickly turned away. The wolf chuffed at him. "Are you normally this spaced out? You've been staring here and there for several minutes straight already."
"I just have nothing to say," Arata huffed, scooting away from him slightly.
"Heh, well aren't you just a joy to be around?"
"What are we even waiting for, anyways? This attack is supposed to happen tonight, right?"
"Jeez, calm down, cat. We haven't even been waiting here for that long." Arata growled slightly and folded his arms in frustration. "We're just waiting for Computer to show up. Once he's here, then we can start. Why? Are you afraid of missing your bed time?" The panther said nothing in response. Daiki smirked and rolled his eyes. "Fine, be that way. I could care less either way…" He glanced to the side as he noticed movement from his peripheral vision. His smirk widened out to a smile as he recognized the approaching fur. "Ah! There you are! And not a moment too soon!"
The feline huffed as he walked up to the two furs. He then glanced over to Arata and said, "So…you must be Zero, then… I gotta say…I'm a little underwhelmed."
Arata chuffed and turned the other way with an irritated flick of his tail. "Don't mind him. It's past his bed time" said Daiki with an amused smile, "Alright, come on then. Best to start before Mr. Cape man gets any crankier with us." The unnamed feline nodded as everyone pulled out their respective devices.
COMPUTER!
TRIGGER!
FREEZE!
The next instant, everyone had transformed. Daiki stretched his arms and legs as his transformation completed before stepping forward and drawing out one of his guns. "Well come on, then," he urged the others, "No need to keep the public waiting!"
Arata…what's wrong with you? Erika thought, slumped in her seat, You constantly throw yourself into the line of fire…you care so little about your own wellbeing…and you even keep secrets from me… When are you going to start thinking about how you make us feel? When are you going to tell me what's going on with you? She jerked up as the alarm rang through the building. She was on her feet and out of the lounge room within seconds after getting up. By the time she reached the briefing room, the screen was already displaying live feed of the city. Her heart dropped as her eyes fell upon a familiar silhouette.
"Arata's returned with Lockon and the Dopant from earlier today," announced Mira, "Since we now know that Computer can also affect Erika's sword, it is important that Computer is swiftly taken care of. If your equipment fails with Arata still on the loose, I cannot guarantee a victory…"
"2, taking down Computer will be your number 1 priority," said 1, "6, you and I will handle Lockon to the best of our ability. And Erika?" Erika flattened her ears as 1 turned to her, "I think it goes without saying who your target will be…" Erika bit her lip and nodded, holding back the urge to hiss. "All civilians are already out of the area, so we go directly to our targets. Does everyone understand?"
"Yes sir!" shouted 2 and 6.
"Yes sir…" muttered Erika.
"Then MOVE OUT!" he shouted before everyone scrambled for the garage. It only took a minute or so for the team to deploy, and the group was racing towards their destination by the next. "Erika," said 1 through their com link, "do you have them in your sights?"
"I see them," Erika replied in a low tone.
"I'm going to my post," said 2 before she swerved away from her other two troopers.
"6, you swing around to their rear. I'll attack from the front."
"Roger that!" said 6 before she swerved away as well.
"Erika, I need you to keep Arata's attention on you," 1 went on, "Do NOT let him get to any of the others."
"…Got it," Erika answered him before she too broke off from the group. As she soared higher up into the air, she locked her sights on Arata. For a moment, she just hung in the air and watched him, feeling a mess of emotions stir up within her. Then, clenching her fist around her blade, she clapped her wings and shot through the air at an incredible speed. Arata didn't even know what hit him by the time she slammed into him. With a roar, Erika hefted him up with her and carried him away with her into the sky.
"The hell?!" Daiki snarled, watching the two of them as they flew further and further away. Even 1 and 2 couldn't help but feel caught off guard.
Erika didn't keep them up in the air for long. She swung around and aimed for a clearing before finally releasing Arata from her grip. The Rider crashed into the ground and rolled as Erika glided onto the ground smoothly. "Alright! Spill it!" she spat in a bitter tone, walking towards Arata as he climbed back up to his feet, "What the hell's making you do this?!"
"Erika…" Arata sighed as he stood straight. Erika thrust the tip of her sword towards him.
"I'm really SICK. And TIRED. Of you KEEPING things from me! So TELL ME, DAMMIT! Tell me why you've been collapsing! The REAL reason!" The command caught him off guard, and he found himself speechless. This only seemed to further aggravate her, as she snarled before rushing forward with her blade held out to her side. Hastily, Arata drew out his own blade to block an oncoming attack. "Tell me before I goddamn KILL you!" Arata grunted as he blocked another swing, this one harder than the last. He huffed out unexpectedly as Erika managed to land a firm kick to his gut, and he stumbled back as a result.
ASCENDING DRIVE!
Arata cried out as Erika hurled an energy wave straight into his face. He rolled across the ground as the attack swept through him and petered out against a wall. He groaned as he got back up and had to scramble back up to his feet to block another swing. "SAY SOMETHING, DAMMIT!" Erika screamed, shoving him back hard as they caught each other in a hold.
"Who told you?!" he eventually shouted after blocking another strike.
"That's NOT what I want to hear from you right now!" Erika shouted back, leaping into the air to deliver a jump kick to his shoulder, "Just cut all of the bull and tell me what's actually going on with you!" After landing back on the ground, she lunged forward and struck Arata's chest with the tip of her blade.
Arata growled as he tried to gain some space between him and her. He parried a swing before shouting, "You don't need to know about that right now!"
"Like HELL I don't!" Erika snarled as she delivered a firm strike to his side, "You're my GODDAMN CHILDHOOD FRIEND! One that wouldn't even BE in this situation if it weren't for ME! So drop the dumbass HERO act and just tell me!"
With a growl of frustration, Arata struck her back and shouted, "Even if I DID tell you, it wouldn't change anything! You can't stop it! I can't stop it! NOBODY can stop it!"
"What the hell is 'IT'?!" Erika snarled as she delivered a counter-hit, "And WHAT makes it unstoppable?! Is it incurable?! Is it a disease?! What, Arata?! WHAT?!"
Arata roared out in distress before knocking Erika away with a hard swing. Once she was away, he tore his Memory out of his Driver and plunged it into his sword.
» FREEZE: MIRACLE DRIVE! «
Arata spun his blade around before driving it downwards. Once the tip hit the ground, his body burst into a raging blizzard that disoriented Erika and repelled her even further back. She shielded her face with her arms until a loud CLAP parted the blizzard, revealing Arata in his next form. He quickly pried his blade out of the ground before turning his wrist and swing upwards, hurling a wave of ice at Erika. The armored snow leopard flicked the dial on her Driver as she dove to the side.
ASCENDING DRIVE!
She shouted out and hurled a wave of her own before even hitting the ground. The attack struck him head on, but he barely budged a single step from the impact. As the rest of the wave swept past him, he let out a battle cry and rushed forward with his blade held out in front of him. Erika was back on her feet in time to rush forward and meet his charge. Their blades clashed and sparks flew everywhere. "STOP it already!" he shouted at her, taking his turn to shove her back from their hold, "It's MY problem to deal with! NOT yours!"
Erika quickly rebounded and lunged at him. "Like it or not, your problems ARE mine! They've BEEN mine ever since you ran out of my lab to defend me! Stop PRETENDING like you have to face everything ALONE!"
Arata threw another ice wave at her, but she easily maneuvered around it. He grunted as Erika swooped in and collided blades with him. "JUST. DROP. IT. The only thing that I'll accomplish by telling you what's wrong is making you GRIEVE and WORRY over me!"
"YOU THINK I'M NOT DOING THAT NOW?!" Erika shouted, her anger seeming to give her a temporary bout of strength. Arata growled as he struggled against her in a hold, with Erika managing to shove him back several feet even with his heels digging into the ground. "You goddamn IDIOT! Do you even REALIZE how worried and depressed I've been ever since you abandoned us?! You know how TERRIFIED I've been over knowing that something's wrong with you that you never told me about?! You NARROW-MINDED-" Erika paused to release her hold and deliver an upwards swing that knocked both of Arata's arms out of the way. "SELFISH-" She stopped again to deliver a repeating arc of upwards strikes, each one sending sparks through the air and knocking Arata back a step.
ASCENDING DRIVE!
"THOUGHTLESS BASTARD!" she shouted before hurling a wave directly into Arata. He cried out this time as the attack managed to force him back even further.
DESCEND!
As the smoke cleared, Arata saw his opponent standing in her alternate form, with her ghostly-white cape flowing in the wind behind her. He wasn't left with any time to ogle, however, as Erika rushed forward and quickly closed the space between them. He was once again thrust into the defensive role as the other Rider took the initiative to attack. "FINE! Don't wanna tell me?! Then you'll have plenty of time to reconsider once I drag your unconscious ass back to the hospital!"
Feeling his own anger well up, Arata shoved her away and shouted, "You think you're gonna be ABLE to do that?!"
"You bet your ASS I do!" she shouted back as she regained her footing, "Count on THAT!"
DESCENDING DRIVE!
She let out a battle-cry as she hurled yet another wave at Arata. Letting out a roar of his own, Arata hurled his own wave at hers, and the two attacks collided to thrust the area into a cloud of ice.
» FREEZE: MIRACLE CHARGE! «
He's coming! Valkyrie warned Erika. Sure enough, Arata came bursting through the clouds and greeted her with a powerful swing. Erika skidded back several inches as she blocked the attack. Having been given a FIRM reminder of the new level of strength Arata's current form granted him, she withdrew with a backwards leap and readjusted her stance.
DESCENDING DRIVE!
As Erika threw out another attack, so did Arata. Same as before, their waves collided and flooded the area with icy clouds. Arata remained on his toes, scanning left and right for any disturbances. He was about to take a step forward, when all of a sudden, he felt his legs give out on him. He grunted as he collapsed to his knees, grimacing as he propped himself up against his blade. Not now…he thought, Dammit not NOW! His heart leapt as he saw Erika burst through the clouds from above with her blade raised over her head. He hastily brought his own blade up to defend himself, and he managed to block the incoming attack. However, the force of Erika's impact knocked him onto his back, leaving him vulnerable. Seizing the opportunity, Erika lunged forward and swung down at him with all of her might. Arata hastily rolled out of the way before launching a wave at her, effectively trapping her legs in a block of ice.
Erika's heart throbbed as she realized her predicament, and she frantically slashed at the block and thrashed about to try and free herself. As she did, Arata struggled to rise, even with the support of his sword. Just as he thought Erika wouldn't notice, she looked up from her work and froze. "A…Arata…" she called out, her voice trembling slightly, "What…what's going on with you?!" With a grimace, Arata forced himself back onto his feet.
» FREEZE: MIRACLE CHARGE! «
He stood in place and panted as he allowed his blade to charge up. Right away, Erika resumed in her struggle and picked up the pace. As much as he wanted to end the fight now, Arata's legs still refused him that option. He was forced to wait until he could feel strength return to his legs. He tightened his grip on his sword as he heard a sharp crack come from the block of ice that kept Erika trapped. He tried to take a step forward, but the leg he stepped with nearly gave out on him. He growled as he righted himself again to wait. Another crack sounded out, making Arata feel even more anxious. He had a feeling that she would have freed herself by the time he was ready. Another crack, and Erika glanced up from her work. She was still thankful that Arata hadn't moved, but this did anything but set her mind at ease. Why wasn't he attacking her now? What was wrong with his legs? Why was this something that couldn't be fixed? Arata let out a roar that snapped Erika out of her thoughts before he charged forward with his blade held out to the side. Frantically, Erika smashed and clawed at the ice block keeping her in place, hearing more and more cracks come from it with every strike. Through some kind of miracle, Erika managed to break free just in time to duck through Arata's devastating swing. As she ran past him, she landed a firm slash across his side, staggering him long enough to allow her to gain some more space between them. He fell back down to his knees as his stagger came to an end, leaving his back completely exposed. However, Erika hesitated in attacking. Yet again, she was witnessing what had to be the effects of whatever condition affected him.
Arata…she thought with dread, her heart aching for him at this point. She hissed out a breath as she tightened her grip on her sword. Then, with her free hand, she pried her Memory out of her Driver. Just as Arata whirled around to face her, she twisted the device into her sword.
vVv DESCENDING SLASH! vVv
As Erika's eyes flashed, Arata's body froze in place. She circled her sword around before raising it high in the air, allowing the aura surging around her body to focus around the blade. "…ARATAAAAA!" she cried out before swinging downwards and hurling a massive wave of energy at him. Unable to move, the armored panther was forced to take the attack head on. He cried out in pain as the attack swept through him and carried him along several meters. Once the attack finally petered out, he rolled across the ground a few more feet before finally coming to a stop. Erika remained where she stood and waited with baited breath. She wanted him to stay down. She didn't want to have to keep this up. All she wanted now was to bring her friend back home…
But to her dismay, Arata stirred. Using his sword as leverage, he clawed back up to his feet and stood before her. His shoulders heaved with every breath as he struggled to maintain his balance in his weakened state. He tried to raise his sword back up from the ground, but he ended up tripping and had to jab it back in to prevent himself from falling over. Arata growled with frustration as he locked gazes with Erika, who only stared back at him. Sucking in a breath, he pried his sword out of the ground again and took a rugged stomp forward.
"…Arata…enough…" Erika sighed, lowering her blade to the ground. Arata took another step, pausing to ensure that he still had balance. "…Arata…" It seemed her words fell upon deaf ears, as Arata continued to trudge onwards. He grunted as one of his legs suddenly gave out on him, and he had to once again lower his blade to catch himself. He caught his breath before prying his sword back out and resuming. Erika shook her head and plugged her Memory back into her Driver. Holding her blade out to her side, she began to walk towards Arata. His heart began to race as he realized that she was coming for him. He tried to widen his stance, but that only resulted in him losing his balance again. He cried out as he hastily caught himself with his blade. But as he leaned against it, it dug into the ground deeper than he expected, making it difficult to remove. After regaining his balance, he frantically tugged at it to try and free it. Though his gaze remained low, he knew that Erika was drawing nearer and nearer with every passing moment. He desperately tugged at his weapon praying that none of his limbs would give out on him now. His heart leapt as he finally managed to pull it free. He let out a roar as he lifted his sword over his head and swung down on Erika,
who was no longer in her armor.
Arata barely managed to stop his swing in time, with his blade barely touching a hair on her forehead. He panted heavily as they gazed into each other's eyes, his heart hammering adrenaline through his system. "Arata…enough…" Erika repeated herself, "We both know by now that you don't want to fight…" Arata felt his paws tremble, making it difficult for him to keep a grip on his sword. Erika reached up and gently shoved it aside, making it fumble out of his hand and clatter onto the ground. Still, his paws trembled, and he grabbed one in the other as he stepped back. But with every step back that he took, Erika took one forward. This went on until Arata finally got himself to stop. Erika's paw was on his shoulder before he even realized that she had raised it. "No more games, Arata. It's time that you started talking."
With a flash, Arata's armor faded, and he too stood before the snow leopard exposed. With it gone, Erika could now see the pain and distress stricken across his face. "Erika…seriously…don't make me do this right now."
"Then WHEN?! After I find you knocked out cold on the floor again?! After I find you back in the hospital?! After someone ELSE tells me what the hell's going on?!"
Arata bit his lip and averted her gaze. It was clear that her statement had gotten to him. "…Erika…I'm serious… You're going to regret it if you make me tell you…"
"I ALREADY regret making you run out of my lab! I ALREADY regret forcing you into all of this! Do you honestly think that NOT knowing what's wrong with you will make me feel ANY better?!"
"YES! I DO, ERIKA! I REALLY DO!" This time, it was Erika who was rendered speechless for a moment. She lowered her ears as she saw a tear trickle down the panther's cheek.
"…Arata…why are you doing this? Is whatever's wrong with you really so bad…that it would make you turn on us?" Arata didn't answer her, but in doing so, the question itself was answered. This made her choke up for a moment.
"Erika…I know I've been pretty reckless since that day… I know I tend to jump the gun a lot… But…this time, it's different… I don't know…how much time I have left… So I just wanna make SURE…that I'm fighting on the right side…" Erika snarled and whirled around to face the other side, stepping away and covering her face. "…Erika…after meeting Crusade, my world was flipped around… How am I supposed to fight against these people…when they're only trying to do what they think is right? I feel terrible for turning on everyone, but…I'm gonna feel WORSE if I find out that the time that I had left was wasted on fighting for the wrong reasons. I…I NEED to know, Erika. I need to know before my time is up."
"…And you couldn't find that answer with us? With ME?!" Erika whirled back around with tears of her own gathering in her eyes, "Do you realize how much that hurts to hear?! It's almost as bad as knowing that you don't…that you don't TRUST me with your secret!"
"I TRUST you! More than anyone else I know! And that's WHY I don't want to burden you with my problem! You realize how important you are to me?!"
"Do YOU realize how important you are to ME?!"
Silence hung in the air.
"…Arata…if what you're saying is true…and you really have only a limited amount of time left…then I'm going to be…I…" She winced and turned away. "Do you REALLY want to spend the time you have left…fighting against us?" Arata felt his throat tighten up as she said this. "Arata…I DON'T want my last memories of you to be of you as my enemy… You don't have to do this… WE…don't have to do this…"
"…What?"
Erika held her paw out. "We can both find the answer, Arata… Together…"
Meanwhile, the battle raged on between Amnesia and Lockon's duo. Lockon himself defended against 2's sniper rounds with his light orbs, and Computer kept the other two troopers occupied by shooting electric bolts out of the various street lights and lamp posts that his wires could reach. Said troopers were hidden behind a broken down building, with the wall behind them being the only thing keeping them from being shocked. "We're pinned down here!" 6 shouted over the chaos, "When's Erika coming back?!"
"I see her!" 2 called, "She's flying in from above! And…it looks like she's got Arata with her!"
"What?!" 1 exclaimed as he looked up at the sky. Just as 2 had said, Erika was closing in on the battlefield. Hanging off of her was Arata, whose arm was slung over Erika's shoulder and vice versa.
ASCENDING DRIVE!
With a swipe of her blade, Erika hurled down a wave in front of Computer and Daiki. Right away, this brought their attention to the two of them as they descended down upon the ground. After Arata let go of Erika, the two Riders stood side by side. 2's heart sank as she noticed that the two of them weren't facing Daiki and the Dopant, but rather towards 1 and 6's cover. "…Erika?" she called reluctantly, "You're…facing the wrong way…" Erika didn't move, remaining about as still as a statue. This made 1 and 6 begin to feel restless.
"C'mon, Erika… Talk to us…" said 6, tightening her grip on her gun, "You got Arata back on our side, right?" Neither of the Riders said anything. Their weapons remained still as they stood there.
"…Erika?" said 1.
"…Sir," came Erika's voice, "I'm going to have to ask you to take your team…and leave…" The troopers' hearts sank as they heard this.
"…So…we lose you too…huh?" sighed 2, lining up her shot. "Well then…you leave us with no choice…" At that, she pulled the trigger. As her shot rang through the air, Erika whirled around and stepped in front of Arata, slashing 2's round out of the air. Once she did, 1 and 6 leapt out from their cover and opened fire on the two Riders. Arata ran between them and Erika and threw his cloak up to shield them from their bullets.
ASCENDING DRIVE!
The two of them whirled around in unison to allow Erika to hurl a wave towards the two troopers. Both of them leapt out of the way as the wave swept past them and petered out further down the street. They continued to unload their bullets at the Riders as they ran for cover again. "Guys!" said Tech, "It's time to retreat! This isn't a fight we can win right now!"
"B-but—"
"No," 1 cut 6 off, "She's right. We gotta go." With a growl of defeat, 6 followed her commander as he ran in the other direction. As they left, 2 let off one final round before rushing away from her perch. Erika deflected the round before the battlefield finally fell quiet. She looked to Arata before glancing over to Daiki, who was clapping as he and Computer approached them.
"Well, well, well," he laughed, holstering his pistols, "Isn't THIS a fine turn of events? Now BOTH of the city's precious Riders have given their loyalty to The Earth's Tree. If we didn't already have something to do, I'd be CELEBRATING right about now—" Daiki stopped as he and Computer were suddenly trapped in a block of ice. Arata lowered his blade as Erika rolled her shoulder.
"Yeah, I just got one word for the two of you," she said as she flicked the dial on her belt.
ASCENDING DRIVE!
"Psyche!" she yelled as she hurled a wave at them that busted them right out of their icy prison.
» FREEZE: MIRACLE CHARGE! «
Arata let out a battle cry as he rushed forward and slammed his blade through Daiki and Computer. Sparks flew off the two of them as they crashed into the ground. "Freeze 'em up, Arata!" Erika called, twisting her Memory into her blade, "We'll finish this up in one last blow!"
^^^ ASCENDING SLASH! ^^^
"On it!" Arata cried before hurling another wave of ice at the two adversaries. Whilst the wave caught Daiki in the leg, Computer was completely frozen in place. Having set them up for her, Arata ran off to the side to allow Erika a clean shot. With a shout, she swung her blade upwards and hurled a massive wave of energy at her trapped targets. The attack tore through the street and rammed through Computer.
Daiki, however, was lucky. Being that his ice was on his leg, he managed to break free before the attack could reach him. He ran straight for the buildings as the wave petered out down the street. Erika was about to run after him, but as she took her first step, her armor shattered to pieces and left her unprotected. Once she realized this, she turned to Arata and shouted, "Quick! Before he gets—" She stopped herself as Arata collapsed to his knees. She caught her breath before rushing over to his side.
"I'm alright…" he panted, "I'm alright…" He leaned against his sword as he pushed himself back up. His gaze remained on where he had last seen Daiki as he sighed. "He got away though…"
"He gets away all of the time," Erika said dismissively, "It's not something we ought'a worry about. If anything, I'd be more concerned over how pissed 1 is gonna be over is." With a wave of her tail, she slung Arata's arm over her shoulder and pulled him along. "C'mon, let's make sure Computer doesn't get up and run on us as well. Then, after 1 gets done with berating our asses, I can drag you over to the recovery room. You need from how hard I kicked your ass today." Arata chuffed and laughed, too tired to come up with anything witty to say.
"I can't believe how easily you're taking this loss," said Daiki, "We LOST ZERO. How are you so CALM about this? He was our PAWN for crying out loud!"
"A pawn that served his purpose…" Mira replied, smirking slightly as she swapped her phone over to the other ear, "and it can't be helped. It was a decision that he wanted to make, and therefore my influences on him became obsolete."
"You may be alright with this, but I doubt Headmaster will be so nonchalant."
"He trusts me and the decisions I make. Why do you think we were able to do this in the first place?"
"What, you mean your little subterfuge?"
"Mmhm."
Mira heard her brother sigh. "Fine. You've got me there. But I still can't believe that you're not the least bit bothered by the fact that we lost Zero."
"Oh, believe me; I'm bothered by it. However...I recently came across an interesting bit of info that grabs more of my attention… Very…intriguing info…"
"…What do you mean?"
The smile on Mira's face widened. "For now, all I'll say is that we have more loyal customers than we originally thought…"