The Atlesian news was in an uproar, a sudden announcement from MANTLE Intelligence to reveal their new president and Chief Executive Officer only two days following the funeral of its previous leader. The press conference was to be held later in the afternoon, leaving Dawn with the task of appearing as a professional businessperson. Such a monumental burden was difficult when your resume consisted of primarily job to job work, with the latest position being a simple clerk at a bookstore.
In her private office, the one she once played in as a child, Dawn looked in the mirror she had installed in the room. She required her precious space, and she knew this room was where most of her time would now be spent. Her need for femininity, mixed with her fear of rejection led to an outfit consisting primarily of a pair of heels, a black skirt that ended right below her knees, a white button up dress shirt with a black vest over top of it and a hideous looking highlighter yellow tie.
While some might disagree with such a choice for her color of tie, she believed it helped to distinguish her presence while also matching Zero-One's armor. Her ashen-colored hair remained short, neatly brushed right above her shoulders.
"Good, you look presentable to the public." The somewhat irritated voice of her vice president, Jun Fukuzoe said, walking into the woman's office. He seemed somewhat worried, looking at her once over. "Go over your introduction again."
"I thought we already did this enough but here we go again. MANTLE Intelligence has always belonged to my family." A frown appeared over her face. "My father's untimely passing meant I was next in line, and my positions working amongst everyone else has given me a unique perspective on how to run the business going forward, according to the mission statement of my grandfather."
"Good, good." Fukuzoe continued to pace back and forth in front of Dawn's desk, as the woman sat down and took a deep breath. "MANTLE Intelligence has always been looked down upon by the fools living up in Atlas, so we have to be extra careful regarding your origins and how their media will spin the change in leadership."
"Oh, my origins, huh?" Her voice remained a bit gruff, as she raised an eyebrow, causing the man to backoff.
"You have that trademark stare that your grandfather used to strike fear into a Grimm from over a mile away." Fukuzoe said, a nostalgic looking smile curling onto his face. Taking a deep breath, he clasped his hands together. His respect for his former boss shined through his own desires to run the company. If that man truly thought his grandchild was the preferable heir to running Mantle's most prominent corporation, then for the time being, the human man had no reason to question him. "I think either way, we should be nearly ready for the press conference to take place in a few hours."
Dawn shuddered ever so slightly, a chill rising up and down the center of her spine. Speaking to such a large crowd of people, those meant to judge her and report to the rest of the Kingdom her position would be extremely anxiety-inducing, to say the least.
"You must show no weakness to the media, they're like hounds when it comes to taking down someone they dislike. Most of the media coverage comes from Atlas, and I know quite personally how they presented your grandfather, even with his greatest achievements." Another nod came from the man, as he looked deeply into the new CEO's eyes. "Keep hold of that look in your eyes."
"I must ask, Vice President Fukuzoe…" The woman looked at him with a look of her own. "When I transformed into Zero-One to deal with… well, whatever had happened at my old bookstore, when I did… There was a voice saying I was connected to a Communications Satellite. What… What did that mean exactly?"
"I can be of service in answering that question, my dear." The well dressed head of R&D walked into the room, alongside a second person. She had never seen the man before, a wolf Faunus with two ears jutting out the top of his head. His black hair and somewhat indifferent looking appearance made her wonder who he was, and what he was doing in her office.
"Krim?"
"All information I am about to say is highly classified, only known by the heads of each department in addition to the members of the board and members of the Research and Development team." Krim said, adjusting his cravat ever so slightly to make sure it was straight. "As such, before anything else, my dear, please meet the head of our security department and the head of your personal security detail, Isamu Fuwa."
"Ah, that's why he's here." Dawn rose up from her chair, walking over and offering an extended hand. "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Fuwa. I look forward to working with you."
The Faunus looked at Dawn with a curious fashion, before giving a cautious handshake to the woman. Though for the moment, he did not say much. A man of few words, perhaps? He did not look like the talkative type to begin with.
"As you were saying, Krim?"
"Ah, yes, of course." The scientist pulled out a small device, known internally as the Risephone. He clicked a few buttons on the touchscreen, pulling up a holographic image of a large machine, with a bright blue diode in the center of its circular structure. "This… is the Communications Satellite There. It orbits Remnant and supplies information to all of MANTLE's products, including to the Humagears operating here in Mantle."
"A… A… It can't…"
"It is true. This is MANTLE Intelligence's greatest secret, and the utmost pride and joy of the company. After a great deal of failures, we managed, without using Dust, to launch a satellite into orbit about five years ago." Krim said, allowing for the model to show a greater detail of information regarding its operations.
"Everytime I see it… Still hard to believe." Fuwa, the security guard, said with a look of interest, different from what he had seemed prior.
"Indeed it is, Mr. Fuwa." Krim said. "The Satellite has never been properly discovered by any other person on Remnant. It exists too far outside for anyone to detect, since no one else has been capable of properly launching anything similar."
"Rumor has it that General Ironwood plans to repurpose Amity for the reason of restoring global communications… Having that power in the hands of a man like him…" Fukuzoe frowned a bit.
"But… Why isn't There be used for global communications to begin with?" Dawn asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Global communications would have to make use of a different satellite altogether." Krim frowned his own for a moment. "Your grandfather had planned to unveil such a thing prior to his passing, but… Some internal problems and our lack of infrastructure to connect the same way the CCTS was capable of doing. Plus… the factors of the company hiding There to begin with would cause outrage. There is no good way to reveal There, without causing an incident between the Kingdoms, especially if we had a capable replacement available when Vale's communication tower fell."
"The inner politics are hell, aren't they?" Fuwa said, rolling his eyes slightly to Dawn. "I barely understand half of this stuff, but they make me stay looped in."
"I think I get the gist of it though. Avoid causing a problem with how we store and transmit our proprietary data by shutting up about the satellite."
"Good girl." Fukuzoe nodded his head. "For now, that's all we can do to ensure we do not have to deal with Ironwood's goons."
"I could punch that man halfway across Remnant if I could." Fuwa said, disdain obviously agreeing with the human vice president. "He'll try to take advantage of any openings you give him, Prez. So be on the lookout for that, he's been looking to militarize the company's products for… as long as I've been here."
"And even longer than that, Mr. Fuwa." Krim said, also perturbed by the name of Ironwood. "Our company's products all have a license in our terms of service that prevent our products from being used in military and policing usage, as it goes against our company's primary goals. Of course… Ironwood has been gunning for an exception for years, more so since everything that happened at Beacon Academy. Just something to be aware of, knowing that he'll be skulking around more once you're formally revealed to the public."
"Yeah, keep adding the stress on, that'll help." Dawn said, the pressure feeling even heavier upon her back.
"Not like you're going to go grey anytime soon, Prez." Fuwa said, pointing to her already ashen colored hair.
"Thanks, I appreciate the support, Mr. Security." Dawn looked a bit lighter from the joke, a look of exasperation appearing as he held up his thumb.
"In the meantime, keep preparing for the press conference, my dear." Krim looked at his watch. "It's coming up soon, and I need to prepare something for our Head of Security. After that, we'll be there for the press conference on the first floor."
"A pleasure, Miss President." Fuwa said simply, giving an affirmative nod of the head as he left the room alongside the older man.
"Will you allow that unruly head of security to speak to you that way?" Fukuzoe said, annoyance leaking out of him like a faucet.
"It's fine. I'm not an uptight bitch to begin with." Dawn smiled for a brief second, before hiding it back underneath her professional veneer. Regardless of if she had the experience in managing and running such a large company, it was clear from the get-go that she could likely convince anyone else that she was capable. The only question left was whether or not the public would accept her.
Krim's office was extremely particular, and no matter how many times Fuwa was forced into the room to speak with the older man, it was clear his fascination with older vehicles was his bigger inspiration. A variety of model cars and motorcycles from Remnant's past littered his back wall, alongside hardcover books for topics that were relevant to his field.
"So why did you need to see me, exactly, Krim?" Fuwa said, sitting on the side of Krim's desk as he usually did. "We got everything pretty much up on the CEO's floor, didn't we?"
"Most of it, anyways." Krim said, sighing slightly as he walked over to a steel briefcase sitting on the side of the desk, opposite of Fuwa. "As the head of Miss Roses' personal security detail, you'll need a sidearm capable of protecting her."
"Eh? Don't I already have one?" His normal sidearm, a simple pistol was snatched away from him by the bespectacled man.
"Not a word to anyone. But she needs far more serious protection than your normal person. You are entitled to know as her head of security." He moved Fuwa off of his desk, making the Faunus man turn around and look at the briefcase, which he unlocked with a fingerprint scan, flipping a red light to green. "She suffers from Aura Deficiency Syndrome."
"You're kidding. Do you know how rare it is that…"
"It's rare that a person can't unlock their Aura in a field like this but… She has no Aura to begin with. Anyone who attempts to harm her could end her life with a single bullet, a single strike to the proper part of her body. This weapon will allow you to protect her to the height of your abilities." Krim said, opening the case to reveal a belt, a shimmering blue pistol, and a small gadget that Fuwa had seen around the office.
"Shooting Wolf? A little on the nose, isn't it?" Fuwa asked, picking up the Progrise Key into his hand.
"I simply present all relevant data to There, and she provides us with the Key she deems connects the proper animal DNA to the Key's special ability." Krim began to explain. "The MANTLE ShotRiser will authorize you to transform into Kamen Rider Vulcan, providing you with a secondary layer of armor overtop your Aura. It will similarly increase your physical and acrobatic abilities, alongside your aim as well. With this, you will be unable to miss a shot, and it will draw power from the Key to allow you to fire without reloading."
"That sounds too good to be true…" Fuwa said, picking up the gun into his hands and feeling it's somewhat heavy weight. "What's the catch?"
"The armor produced by the ShotRiser does not utilize data transferral from There like the Zero-One Driver does." Krim narrowed his eyes a bit. "As a result, you'll feel more pressure on your body than normal. Having an Aura helps to mitigate the negative aftereffects, however you'll also need to make sure it doesn't overheat either. You'll be able to fire without reloading, but use it too much and it'll overheat and not fire until after you've stopped using it."
"Fun." Fuwa said, aiming down the sights for a moment. "A little heavy, but balanced properly. It's pretty amazing stuff, Krim, gotta say. Simple, but hopefully effective."
"Keep her safe, Fuwa. She's like family to me, and the only remaining family I have left."
"Family, huh…? Fair enough. I owe you more than I count, and you ask nothing of me so… Yeah, I'll make sure no Atlas trash tries to mess with her. I'll make it one of my rules." Fuwa said, taking the belt out of the case and gripping it.
"Thank you. Really, thank you."
"Ho-ro-bi!" Jin said to no one in particular, communicating on a channel only he and the aforementioned Horobi were connected to. "Who should I look to make our friend?"
"Anyone that looks on the verge of Singularity will do." Horobi responded, from the safety of their base of operations underground. "From there, we will be capable of collecting the necessary data needed for our plans."
"How do I know if they're on the verge, though?" Jin asked, a simple question fishing for a similarly simple answer. The hooded man was never allowed much outside of their base, the first time only to create their first friend at that bookstore. "I got lucky last time."
"You'll know. Focus on the MANTLE Intelligence headquarters building." Horobi typed at the keyboard in front of him, attempting to bypass the security that he could to gain any information. Of course, unlike most Atlesian companies that thought too highly of their systems that allowed him to exploit flaws to gain access, MANTLE was too well protected. It would require far more processing power to brute force its defenses than he had on him. "Today they announce their replacement CEO of the company, meaning if you eliminate whoever is announced later with a MaGear… Well, we'll be ahead of the curve."
"Of course, Horobi! I'll do what I can! I can see the building up ahead and…" A sly smile appeared over his face. With his heightened vision, he could see a human and a Security-Type Humagear searching what looked like media personnel outside of the building before letting them in. "I think I found a perfect target, a brand new friend!"
Fukuzoe looked out nervously from the front of the room, seeing all of the chattering individuals of the media waiting for the press conference to begin. In a minute or so, the Vice President would address the rather crowded room of journalists and members of the media, alongside representatives from companies that had partnered with MANTLE in the past, for the first time since he announced his previous boss' death, which still stung his heart a bit. But now was the time to be strong, to lend his support to the final wishes of the late former president.
"Are you okay, Fukuzoe?" His close friend, and coworker, Shields asked, nervously grasping at his beard. "Do you think she's ready?"
"She's going to have to be… Whether we like it or not, the conference begins now." Fukuzoe whispered back, taking a deep sigh and standing up and walking to the front podium, which was littered with several microphones. "Greetings everyone, thank you for joining us today here at MANTLE Intelligence. While we continue to miss our dearly passed away President Roses, he would not want us to wallow in grief. I know if my old friend were still here, announcing his successor in retirement, he would do so with a great smile. One that would usher in a breath of fresh air for our company's proceedings. And while I have much more I could say, I think that any questions you have are better left to our brand new CEO and president… Miss Dawn Roses, granddaughter of former CEO, Albert Roses!"
Murmuring erupted at the announcement, the entrance on the backside of the room opening as the serious-faced woman strutted in, with her head of security and head of R&D trailing behind her. To say that this was a surprise to everyone in the room was an understatement, that's to say that none of them believed this possibility. The air of confidence that she attempted to exude seemed to, on the outside, cast haze over her anxious demeanor that lay beneath her stoic facade.
Giving a nod of affirmation to Fukuzoe, the vice president moved back to his seat, while Dawn walked up to the front of the room, Krim taking a seat next to the VP and CFO while Fuwa remained stationed in the back, at a vantage point to see the entire room. Two other security guards were stationed in the other corners of the room, alongside two placed outside of the entrance.
"Everyone, I ask that you please save your questions and yelling for just a moment." Dawn said, placing her hands on the podium in front of her. "In case you were unaware, yes, my name is Dawn Roses and my predecessor in the position of CEO was indeed my grandfather. It was not like him to reveal his personal business, and at my request, made sure my connection to him and his fame was hidden."
"Why would you do such a thing?" One loud media member asked, holding up their Scroll to record the conference's audio.
"My private business is my business, no one else's." Dawn responded promptly, leaving no opening for a secondary question to dig further. "However, with my grandfather's passing, he has left his successor and I plan to continue the excellence he strived for his entire life. Our operations will continue on as they have been under my grandfather's tenure here. He believed that technology existed to enrich the lives of all those around him, not just a privileged few. It's why, to this day, MANTLE Intelligence remains rooted firmly here in Mantle and not in Atlas. I am not one for many words, but I will take questions and answer to the best of my ability."
The uproar of those speaking over one another made her want to scream, but she knew she could not, for the sake of the other executive staff that had assisted her for this moment. She quickly pointed out to a well dressed man, and nodded to him.
"You there, with the blue tie and silver glasses." Everyone seemed to quiet down just a notch.
"Lance of Liberty. Miss Roses, what, if any, qualifications do you hold to be in such a position?" The representative asked, curiosity obvious in his voice.
"For many years, I have worked tirelessly in a variety of storefronts. I have worked side by side with the general public of Mantle, and as a result, I have a keen eye on how business should be run from bottom to top. For me, one of the most important things is our employees and their working conditions. As someone who has worked several grueling jobs in the past, I know how employee dissatisfaction can only ever hurt a business, so MANTLE Intelligence will continue to focus on employee satisfaction and continue offering full benefits to all who work for us." Dawn answered, eyes floating over to Fukuzoe, who offered a reassuring thumbs up. With a slight nod to him, she called on the next person.
"Mantle Daily. Will the company continue to dutifully serve Mantle as it has under your grandfather? It has served as a center for the city for decades. In addition to employing many citizens here, will they have to worry about the company moving to Atlas?"
"No. Never. I think I speak, not only for myself, but even for Vice President Fukuzoe and CFO Howard Shields, both who have worked closely with my grandfather, when I say that MANTLE Intelligence will only ever operate its headquarters here in Mantle, alongside our factories as well. Our company serves as a great part of the local economy, and we will continue job expansion as we can." Dawn answered once more, trying to sound as intelligent as she could, before pointing to a third person.
"Atlas Broadcast Network. Miss Roses, do you plan to expand partnered work with Atlas businesses? Many of the businesses Mantle does work with tend to be local to Mantle's area, thus disenfranchising opportunities with Atlesian businesses such as the Schnee Dust Company. Jacque Schnee, on record, has spoken highly of your grandfather and how he hopes that the SDC can obtain Humagears to work in their mines as an example."
"..." Dawn remained quiet for a moment. Oh, she had a bone to pick with the Schnee Dust Company, but it was not in her to ruin the respect she seemed to be building. "Well… MANTLE Intelligence, as I said before, prides itself on its locality to Mantle as a whole. And we do business with Atlesian businesses, providing both hardware and software to many companies, including the Schnee Dust Company. However…" Another deep breath. "Humagears will not ever be sent to Atlas for the foreseeable future. In Atlas, there is no way for our company to keep track of if Humagears are being treated humanely and not for profit. Humagears exist to be partners with the community here in Mantle, not for a profit. They are the only thing produced by our company that we actively take a loss on, but due to our other margins for other products, it does not end up touching our quarterly profits. Humagears assist us in our everyday life, they don't exist to be used as weapons or to be thrown into actively dangerous mines to obtain more Dust. Even without my grandfather here, we will remain true to his ideals."
"Oh, I liked that." Fukuzoe whispered to the Faunus on his right.
"Clever on the go, she is." Shields said, putting his finger to his mouth. "With enough on the job experience… I think she'll make a fine replacement."
Dawn was about to call on yet another individual, only to hear a yell coming from the comms in her ear. She was connected to immediate security, so she would be fully aware if anyone had tried anything outside before they even got into the briefing room. That's when a somewhat loud rumbling noise made its way into the room, sounding almost like a small explosion. The mere incident made some of the media uneasy, as many began to stir themselves into an uproar. According to her comms, it was coming from the lobby.
"It's nothing to worry about everyone. Just stay in here, and I will deal with it. It is one of my many jobs to keep everyone safe. It seems there's been an incident in the lobby, so please remain here!" Dawn announced with a commanding tone, kicking her heels off, and running out of the room. Of all times for something like this to happen, why did it have to be just then? She was running circles around most of those questions and now… Well, she didn't want to think about what this might mean for the reputation she was hoping to curate for the company. Outside of the media briefing room, she rounded several hallways and corners to make her way out to the main lobby of the building.
A security guard, a Humagear, was tossing around several other members of security attempting to subdue the robotic man. Of course, he wasn't having any of it as he tossed them around like ragdolls. The glowing red eyes indicated… well, the same thing that had occurred a few days prior. Someone had hacked into the Humagear and rewrote his personality into something far more menacing.
"Connection to has been established." The Security Guard yelled, a frown appearing on the CEO's face. So not even Humagears unrelated to her had been spared from this horrifying fate, a soldier meant to harm others. Why? Who would do such a thing? Well for now, it didn't matter. What mattered right now was keeping her employees and visitors safe.
"Everyone who is trying to fight the guard, please retreat! Keep any and all visitors safe! Sound an emergency alarm to keep everyone on other floors where they are." She yelled, gaining a salute from several of her employees, who ran off to follow her instructions. How truly odd it was to be respected in such a fashion. She was so used to people not listening to anything she had to say.
"All humans must be eliminated. Extinction is the only end goal for humanity." The Humagear said, twitching slightly and removing a Grimrise Key from his pocket.
"Damn it, he has one too? Guess I shouldn't be surprised." The CEO said, stressed a bit further than she was. "Guess I'll deal with you as fast as I can." She removed her own Progrise Key, while attaching the Zero-One Driver to her waist. "Let's dance."
IMP!
JUMP!
With a quick gesture, she scanned the Progrise Key in front of her belt.
AUTHORIZE!
"Transform!" She yelled, as the Humagear roared loudly and shoved his own Key into the Riser around his own waist.
GRIMRISE!
PROGRISE! JUMPING AERIALIZE! RISING HOPPER! A jump to the sky turns to a Rider Kick.
A signal was sent upwards towards the communication satellite, accessing the Rider Model for Zero One's Rising Hopper. After communications were authenticated and confirmed, all taking place in mere seconds, a beam of light shot down right from orbit and right to the lobby of MANTLE Intelligence. Luckily for the new minted CEO, most of the press was being kept locked up inside of the media briefing room.
The large robotic grasshopper, glowing the same color as her tie, screeched loudly as it landed in front of her, making care not to damage the ground as it attempted to lightly bounced around her before attaching itself to the woman in front of it, forming into her highlighter yellow-color armorer, with glowing red eyes lighting up as her transformation completed.
Opposite of her was the Humagear, whose artificial skin burned off and robotic tendrils covered the Humagear turning into something much more monstrous, resembling the lithe and slim Imp Grim, complete with slack jaw and giant horns, though much more robotic in nature.
"This is the will of the Ark." The Imp said, low and mumbling as whatever voice gave way to more primal growls.
"Only one person is authorized to stop you. And that's me." Zero-One said, pointing to herself with her thumb. With a leap forward, she shot at the Imp MaGear with her enhanced legs. The Imp MaGear screeched loudly, a horrifying frequency seemingly aimed at the president. She fell to the ground mid-jump, as the Imp made its way closer to her in unnatural movement.
Taking a quick breath, she rolled out of the way, back to her feet, as the Imp barrelled forward with a horrifying stride. She had never seen Grimm in real life, it simply wasn't in the cards for someone without an Aura. But these horrifying copies? They were something even more horrifying. With another leap forward, the Imp turned on a dime, and tilted its head again. Another screech sent Zero-One onto the ground, covering her ears as she yelled.
"What's with this thing? It's blocking my communications with Krim… Those screams…" Getting to her feet, she took a deep breath. "I gotta figure out how to stop those screams or else it'll keep knocking me down."
Once more, she got to her feet, and braced herself as the Imp continued to look at her with a beastial stare. Another scream, though this time, she powered through with leaping bounds to carry her forward. That's when she learned something else. Imps had long and powerful arms.
Unable to counteract the sudden arms latching around her, lifting her up into the air, before slamming her into the ground with force enough to make her lose all breath in her lungs. It then angrily tossed her into a glass wall, sending her onto the ground behind it.
"Why…? I didn't even get to meet you, so why…?" Zero-One said, attempting to rise to her feet. "I would have loved to meet you… you know?" She fell to the ground, the suit doing little to keep her from feeling the pain of the fight she fought. According to one of Krim's lessons, the suit was capable of keeping her safe so long as it was on, but some sort of unsolvable interface error meant she would feel every bit of pain dealt to her.
The Imp seemed to laugh, as though gloating over her failing to rise back to her feet. Then it began to lumber over toward her, its large arms dragging across the floor, and filling the air with a horrid metal screech.
A gunshot went off suddenly, before it could get any closer. Zero-One looked to see where the shot had come from, as a bullet had apparently burrowed itself deep into the Imp MaGear, causing it to writhe slightly. Outside on the other side of the lobby, from the path to the media room doors was her head of security.
"Time to earn my pay for the day." Fuwa said, looking at the armored Zero-One for a brief moment. He eyed her slightly. "Don't worry I'm here to help kill this thing, permanently.
"Mr… Fuwa?" She watched from her crumpled position, as the Faunus pulled out a blue-colored Progrise Key and clicked the button on top of it.
BULLET!
"I'm gonna send you… straight to the scrapyard!" Fuwa yelled, ripping open the Progrise Key and shoving it into the ShotRiser he held in his hands.
AUTHORIZE.
Kamen Rider.
Kamen Rider.
Kamen Rider.
Kamen Rider.
"Transform!" Fuwa yelled, holding the gun pointed in front of him before pulling the trigger.
SHOTRISE!
SHOOTING WOLF! The elevation increases as the bullet is fired.
The bullet, glowing a brilliant azure, that was fired out of the barrel traveled right at the MaGear, striking it several times before flying backwards at Fuwa. The Faunus reached his fist out and punched the bullet, causing it to splinter out into a variety of metal discs that surrounded him, each pulsating a silver and red color. Each individual disc transformed into a piece of armor which began to attach itself to the head of security as an undersuit formed underneath him.
Steam immediately ejected itself out of the suit as it finished his transformation, quick and clean. A white and silver undersuit sat on Fuwa's body, along with a blank black buckle around his waist, likely for the weapon in his hands. Most notably was the blue and red armor around one half of his body, alongside the wolf design on his helmet. A Wolf Progrise Key, it seems, was being utilized by the Faunus.
"Let's do it then, imp-y boy." Vulcan said, flicking his finger towards himself to egg the MaGear on. It screeched again, though Vulcan was smart and fired a single bullet the moment he saw the Imp's mouth begin to open. The noise was almost immediately halted by the impact of the bullet.
Vulcan flipped into the air, dodging easily out of the way of the extendable claws of the monster before him. That's all he saw, was a Grimm, a horrible monster… one capable of ripping anything and everything away from anyone. With a swift movement to the right, he landed on the ground, rolling and firing a barrage of bullets as he made his way closer to his boss.
Each solitary bullet seemed to do the job, like chipping away at a wall, each bullet striking the Imp's hands as it attempted to reach out and slam the wolf Rider into the ground. The Imp was quick, and he was forced to make several fast movements of his own to keep up. Each step was followed by his own barrage of bullets. He felt more sluggish with each step. It was only then, he managed to get close by to the fallen Zero-One.
"Doing alright, Prez?!" Vulcan rolled in front of her, firing more shots from his ShotRiser to cover her.
"Been better… Why are you here?"
"Assisting you in battle? It's also part of my job." Vulcan said, looking back for a brief moment. "This thing is all dazed and confused, so we might be able to get a swift final blow in on it."
"You think it'll work?" Zero-One took a deep breath, rising up to her feet.
"Gonna have to be." Vulcan fired several more bullets, before attaching the ShotRiser to the black buckle on his waist. "Let's send this thing to the scrapyard, okay?"
BULLET! SHOOTING BLAST FEVER!
IMPACT!
With a deep breath, both Riders leapt into the air, energy gathering in their feet as they did. A brilliant lightshow of blue, white, and yellow as the two armored figures began to crash down towards the MaGear. For a moment, a wave of guilt rushed over the CEO just as her foot made contact with the MaGear's body. Of course, by that time it was already too late, as the MaGear's armor was horribly damaged, and sent it flying into the stairway.
The crash was loud, as pieces of metal exploded outwards from the defeated MaGear, which simply laid down on the ground, twitching as sparks flew from its remains.
"Bit of a workout… isn't it, Prez?" Fuwa fell to a single knee, his armor retracting as he did. So this was what Krim had spoken of, the stress on his body couldn't keep moving past that final burst of energy, not without completely shattering his Aura.
"You could say that again…" Zero-One said, looking over to the fallen MaGear. "It transformed just like the other one did… I need to grab that Key this time."
"Nuh, uh, uh!" A childlike voice said, rounding a corner near the stairs. A hooded young man skipped out from behind it, going towards the MaGear and offering a frown. "You hurt my friend… How could you?"
"Your… friend?"
"That just won't do, Miss CEO!" The hooded man said, ripping the damaged Grimrise Key out of the GrimRiser. "I'll just be taking this! You know, a memento of a fallen comrade."
"You can't just take that." Zero-One said, taking a step forward, only for all the energy to drain out of her. It seems that was simply a delayed reaction to her fight. Her own armor retracted, as the man laughed a bit, skipping right over towards her.
"It's okay! We'll meet up and play again soon, okay, Miss CEO?" The young man gave a faux salute. "Next time, I'll make sure it hurts worse." He offered a quick kick to her side, causing her to feel a severe rush of pain, far worse than when she was transformed.
With that, he said nothing else, as he hummed a childlike tune, and skipped his way right out the front doors, no one to stop him.
"Prez…! Hold on, I'll go get help real quick." Fuwa got up and ran back towards the media briefing room, leaving the CEO behind for a moment. The heat of the moment left him without the thought to remain on standby with his employer, who simply laid there, clutching her abdomen. Was this what fighting felt like? How did hunters and huntresses deal with pain like this? Did an Aura really help that much?
She laid in pain in silence, the only thing in the air was the smell of burning metal. A few footsteps caught her attention, before being physically pulled to her feet. The pain caused her to let out a short lived scream of pain, her side not taking well to the sudden movement. Her eyes closed tight, trying desperately to cancel out the pain.
"I think she's in pain." A voice said, almost sarcastically. She could feel the eye roll through the tone of what sounded like a woman's voice.
"Not enough time for a proper introduction, but I have a question for you, Miss President." Another voice said, somewhat familiar. She tried opening her eyes, but as she did, the pain boiled up with another breath. "We'll meet up again soon, but I have to know, do you truly have Mantle's best interests in mind?"
What? What was this woman talking about? A firm hand grasped itself around the CEO's own for a moment.
"Well, do you?"
"I do… I've only ever wanted to help people, especially my neighbors in Mantle."
"Truth. We'll come back when this place won't be swarming, come on."
Dawn felt as though she might be dropped back down onto the ground, but rather she was laid back down onto the ground. Footsteps wandered off, as she shakily breathed between the painful bouts. That man must have kicked her extremely hard, as all of the energy from that single kick and the fight against the Imp drained out of her. And all she could think of was what a PR nightmare this might end up, as things fell into darkness.
"Things are falling into place it seems. Wolf and Imp have both been activated. I'll just need to collect that data for myself." The woman watched from her desk, monitors showing the lobby of MANTLE Intelligence. "So that's our little Kamen Rider, huh? Looks like she'll be easy pickings at some point. For now, let her keep collecting data for me. Additionally, I'll need you to do your job, okay? Grab the data from Metsuboujinrai for me, okay?"
"Yes." A second voice said from the shadows, a dark figure bowing. "For all I do is in the name of ZAIA Enterprise."
"Good to see you're still onboard. Now go get my data, my lovely assistant."