Once again, so sorry for the long wait. I got so wrapped up with other things that I couldn't even think about this story. Just so you'll know, I never abandon a story permanently. So if there are any stories you want me to get back to then please send me a PM.
Sector 2: Price of Friendship
Vicky and Michelle were sitting next to each other on the steps. Vicky looked at her friend next to her, who was looking down in sadness and confusion. She still couldn't believe it. Sweet, timid, and affectionate Michelle was a Kamen Rider.
Michelle was just as confused, but more saddened. She, just like all other Zector Riders, got word of an outsider that stole the new Destiny Driver and a girl named Elisha from the facility. They had all been given direct orders to attack the outsider on sight. The thought that Vicky was Kamen Rider Destiny was too much, and she didn't know what to do.
"I don't believe this," Vicky said, "You're a Kamen Rider?" Michelle nodded, her face not changing. "How did someone as sweet as you become a Kamen Rider?" Vicky asked. Michelle took a deep breath to calm her nerves before she spoke.
"It started after you left," Michelle began, "I couldn't stop thinking about you. You were so brave, so strong, I wanted to be just like you. You taught me to speak my mind, so I went up to my parents and insisted on taking martial arts. I trained for five years straight, and once I got my black belt, I began entering tournaments. The last tournament I entered was here in Metropolis, and even I was surprised by how well I did, I got the gold medal," Vicky raised her eyebrows on that one, and actually nodded congratulating her, "That was when I met her," Michelle finished, thinking about that time.
Flashback
Michelle was in the dressing room by herself. She had taken off her Gee jacket and was in a black sport bra and her Gee pants. She had taken her hair out of the ponytail she put it in for training, when she heard clapping from behind her. Michelle turned around and saw the Administrator standing at the door, clapping.
"Impressive fighting for such a sweet looking girl," the Administrator said.
"Who are you?"Michelle asked, stepping back slightly. There was something about this woman that was just plain scary.
"I rarely give out my real name. You can call me Administrator."
"Administrator...?"
"That's right, I'm the mayor of Metropolis, and the head of Zector Industries. I was watching you fight just now, and I was absolutely impressed. So quick, and so flexible, yet at the same time ferocious and unforgiving. You even did a number of moves I had never seen," the Administrator walked over to Michelle, "How would you like to join Zector as the newest Kamen Rider?"
"Kamen... Rider...? What's that?" Michelle asked.
"I think it would be better if I showed you, rather than tell you," the Administrator said leading Michelle out to the arena. There she saw all five judges standing in a circle around the Administrator's top Rider, Josh.
Draco was flying around Josh looking at the judges, "You know, you probably don't need my help with these guys," Draco said, making Josh chuckle.
"Probably not, but the boss wants me to go all out for this demonstration."
"Well, when you put it that way, Kaosu, ikuze!!!" Josh grabbed Draco and held him to his hand, "Gyabu!!!" Draco said biting Josh's left hand.
"Henshin!!!" Josh said putting Draco on his belt, transforming into Kamen Rider Chaos. Chaos then began fighting all five judges at once. Michelle was shocked watching this.
"What the?! Who is that?!" she asked, making the Administrator laugh.
"That is Josh. He's our top Rider, codenamed Kamen Rider Chaos," the Administrator explained as Chaos continued to fight. The fight ended all too quickly, and before they knew it, Chaos was surrounded by all five judges like before, only why were all groaning in pain.
"Amazing..." Michelle said, the Administrator turned to her.
"And that could be you," Michelle turned to her suddenly in shock, "Of course your Rider System would be different, but you would be just as powerful as he is right now," the Administrator then handed Michelle a Zector badge, "What do you say? Want to make a difference? Want to help people?"
Michelle held the Zector badge, thinking about her decision.
End Flashback
"After that," Michelle continued, "I immediately called my parents and had my things moved here. They weren't too happy, but they knew that they couldn't stop me. I've been here ever since."
Michelle was looking at the badge that was now hers. Vicky was too shocked by what she was hearing. Michelle really was a Kamen Rider. Vicky understood why Michelle did it, and if she didn't know the whole truth about Zector then she wouldn't have had a problem with it, but Zector was after Elisha, and she had promised Elisha that she would protect her.
"Michelle," Vicky said taking Michelle's hand, "You know that I'm not a thief. You should know better than anyone where I stand."
"I know!" Michelle said, clearly upset a little, "I know that you're not a bad person, that's why this is so hard for me," Michelle got up and walked off a bit. For a while she just stood there with her back turned to Vicky, "I think you should leave this Sector," Michelle said, shocking Vicky.
"What?!"
"If the Administrator finds out that you're here in this Sector, then I'll have no choice but to attack!" Michelle shouted. She was then trembling, showing that she was crying, "Please Vicky, I don't want to fight you!" before Vicky could protest, Michelle ran off.
"Michelle!" Vicky shouted running after Michelle a bit. She then stopped and watched as her friend ran away, "Damn it..."
Unknown to them, Josh and Draco were in the distance watching them, Josh smirking.
"What are you thinking Josh?" Draco asked his partner.
"Nothing," Josh said trying to play it off, "Just that it might be a good idea for us to sit this one out," that shocked Draco. Since when did Josh ever pass up the chance at a serious fight? Not to mention that Josh wanted to fight Destiny the most, so what was he thinking?
Josh then pulled out his radio, "Hey boss," he said.
"Yes Josh, what is it?" the Administrator asked from her office.
"I just got word from the civilians in Sector 2. The outsider was seen here in Kamen Rider Neko's territory," Josh said, and he wasn't lying. He actually did know that Vicky was in Sector 2 for a while, and he did find out from the civilians by asking for the description of her human form, so he wasn't bending the truth at all. He just waited until Vicky ran into Michelle.
It was just too fun...
"I see. This is the perfect chance to see Neko's true power. I want you to send her a message for me," the Administrator said, not knowing that Josh was smiling evilly on the other side.
"Sure thing boss, whatever you say," Josh said with a toothy grin.
That following morning, Vicky was in deep thought. She didn't know what to do about Michelle. She hadn't told Elisha yet about her being a Kamen Rider, mainly because she didn't want to hear "I told you so". Vicky was literally hit out of her daze by Elisha actually, who hit her on the head with a newspaper, hard.
"Ow!" Vicky said glaring at Elisha, "What the hell was that for?!"
"Two reasons," Elisha began, "One, to test that out," Vicky rolled her eyes at that, "Two, to snap you out of whatever daze you were in and ask you what was wrong."
Vicky raised an eyebrow, "You were worried about me?" she asked.
"Well, it's been three hours since you woke up, and you've been quiet the whole time, something very uncommon with you," Elisha stated, making Vicky sigh in aggravation. Did Elisha enjoy getting on her nerves? Vicky sat back in her chair and closed her eyes.
"What if you found out something about a really close friend, something that could really tear you and that friend apart?" Vicky asked. Elisha sat on the bed next to her, going back to her picture.
"Michelle's with Zector, isn't she?" Elisha asked, making Vicky jump a bit, but then sigh.
"Yeah, she is. Please don't say I told you so," Vicky said.
"I won't," Elisha stated. For a few seconds they were both silent, "What do you want to do?" Elisha finally asked.
"I don't know," Vicky said. This was too hard for her. Michelle was more than just her best friend, she was like a sister. Vicky knew that even if she left the sector, she would probably end up fighting her anyway. Vicky decided that she needed some fresh air, so she got up and walked to the door, "Stay away from all windows, and if anyone asks, no one's inside, got it?" Elisha nodded, and Vicky left the inn to think.
As for Michelle, she had just gotten up around the same time as Vicky, and was now lying down on her couch. She had already showered, cleaned up, and eaten breakfast, but she was still wearing her dark blue bathrobe. Michelle looked at the Advent Deck on her coffee table, which she used to transform.
"Give me a sign Terra. What should I do?" Michelle asked, Terra being the name of her saber toothed tiger partner. At that moment, Michelle heard the doorbell ring. She got up and looked through the peep hole. On the other side she saw Josh standing at the door. Michelle was shocked to see him, but she still answered the door, not opening it, just speaking through it.
"Hello?" Michelle asked, slightly concerned by why he was here.
"Hi, Michelle right?" Josh asked.
"Yeah, that's me."
"Um, can I come in?" Josh asked. He knew that he probably could have given her the orders from outside, but this would be the first time he got to see Kamen Rider Neko up close outside her armor, so he wanted to talk to her in person.
Michelle on the other hand was a little more reluctant. While she did like company, she liked to know in advance so she could get ready.
"I'm not exactly dressed for company," Michelle said.
"That's okay, this isn't a formal visit. Just two comrades talking about work. I'd like to see you in your natural habitat of sorts," Josh said, making Michelle giggle a bit. She then opened the door, shocking Josh, "Um, wow."
"What?" Michelle asked.
"When you said you weren't dressed for company, I figured that implied sweat pants and a T-shirt. If I caught you at a bad time-"
"Not at all, this is how I spend my mornings," Michelle said, making Josh's face red.
"Really...?" Josh asked.
"Well, living alone has it's perks," Michelle explained leading Josh inside. Truth was it was normal for her to spend the entire day in her bathrobe if she didn't have to go anywhere. Since she lived alone she didn't have to impress anyone, and it was just more comfortable than the fancy gowns she always wore as a child.
Josh and Michelle sat in her kitchen, "I guess I better get to the point," Josh started, "I'm sure you got the message about the outsider who stole the Destiny Driver," Josh said, making Michelle jump slightly.
"Um, yeah, I heard of her," Michelle said.
"Well, we have information that she's in your sector. The Administrator wants you to take her down and take back the Destiny Driver and Elisha," as Josh spoke, Michelle's heart was sinking more and more, "Michelle, are you okay?" Josh asked, snapping Michelle back to reality.
"Oh, yes Josh, I'm fine..." she said, although she was far from fine. She was horrified. Now that Zector knew that Vicky was in Sector 2, she was going to be watched. She had no choice...
She had to fight Vicky...
Vicky was riding on her motorcycle through Sector 2 still thinking about the current situation. She stopped in shopping district, hoping that shopping would cheer her up like always. Sadly, that wasn't the case this time, because she couldn't even bring herself to get up from her bike this time. She sighed leaning forward, not sure if she was sad, angry, scared, or all of the above. She did know that she was frustrated by this whole thing.
"You look troubled," she heard from behind her.
"Huh?" Vicky looked and saw a ramen noodle cart. Behind it was an old man with a bald head, big glasses, a white beard, and wearing an orange shirt with flowers on it, light brown shorts, and a green apron.
"A young lady like yourself shouldn't have troubles. Youth is a time to be free and enjoy life," the old man explained.
"Yeah well, life kind of sucks at the moment," Vicky said, making the old man chuckle.
"Well, nothing a bowl of ramen can't cure. Please, have some," he said.
"I guess I am a little hungry, sure." Vicky said sitting down at the cart, "Um, chicken flavor please," she requested. In only a few seconds she was looking at what looked, and smelled, like the best ramen in the world. She tasted it first, and was shocked...
It was the best ramen in the world!
"This is amazing! I don't think I've ever eaten ramen this good!" Vicky said with a smile, she then continued eating. The old man looked pleased.
"Always happy to put a smile on someone's face," he said, "But besides that, what's got you so upset," he asked. Vicky put the empty bowl down and looked serious again.
"Well, I have this friend. She's a really good friend, and someone I haven't seen in ages. But I found out that she's working for my enemies. The way she spoke to me last night, it sounded like she might be my enemy now, too..." the old man was nodding listening to Vicky's problem, "What should I do?"
"Friendship is a difficult thing to manage," the old man said, catching Vicky's attention, "The closer you are to someone, the harder it gets, but the important thing is to not let the hard times ruin the friendship. You'll disagree, of course, but as long as you work through your problems, you'll never loose your friendship."
"Yeah... you're right," Vicky said with a renewed spirit, "Michelle and I made a promise to be friends forever, and I can't let this thing ruin our friendship. I'm not leaving this sector without my best friend," she turned to the old man, "Thanks, mister..."
"Okazaki," the old man said, introducing himself.
"Well Mr. Okazaki, thank you for your advice and the noodles. Um, how much will that be?" she asked going into her wallet, but Okazaki stopped her.
"Your money is no good here. As long as I can see you smile, that's all the payment I need," he explained, making Vicky smile even more.
"Okay then, thank you," she then ran back to her motorcycle and started it up, "I'll see you later Mr. Okazaki!" Vicky called out right before riding off on her motorcycle. Okazaki smiled watching her ride off.
As Vicky rode through the city, she noticed that she was being followed. She looked and saw someone on an indigo and silver motorcycle. The person was wearing their helmet, but the blue hair coming out of it told Vicky who it was.
Michelle...
Vicky led Michelle to an old amusement park. It was abandoned, so just in case this got ugly they wouldn't hurt anyone.
They stopped in the center of the amusement park. Vicky got off her motorcycle and faced Michelle, who got off of her motorcycle and took off her helmet. The two friends walked towards each other a bit, but still stood a good few feet away from each other.
"Tell me Vicky, that girl from yesterday, that was Elisha wasn't it?" Michelle asked seriously.
"Guess there's no point in hiding it anymore. Yeah, that's Elisha," Vicky stated, also seriously.
"I was afraid of that," Michelle looked down and closed her eyes, "Vicky, don't make me do this..." Michelle said silently.
"Huh?" Vicky asked. Michelle then looked at Vicky with tears in her eyes.
"Please, give me the Destiny Driver and Elisha!" Michelle pleaded, shocking Vicky, "I don't want to fight you!"
"Michelle..." Vicky said looking down, "I don't want to fight you either."
"Then please, turn yourself in!"
"That's the thing, I can't," Vicky said looking at Michelle, "I made a promise to Elisha that I would defend her no matter what! She trusted me with her life and this..." she continued pulling out the Destiny Driver, "I can't surrender, not even to you."
Michelle knew that she would have to fight Vicky, but deep down inside she really wanted to believe that it wouldn't come to this.
"So, that's your decision?" Michelle asked Vicky, who looked back at Michelle and slowly nodded, "Then you've left me no choice..." Michelle looked down and pulled out the Advent Deck from her pocket, "Gomenasai... (I'm sorry...)" she then thrust the Advent Deck forward and purple electricity came from the Deck and wrapped itself around her her waist. Seconds later, a silver belt with a large open part in the front appeared around her waist.
"So, you're really going to do this," Vicky said putting the Destiny Driver on. At the same time, the black band that was her belt wrapped itself around her waist, and she pulled out her first card.
"My hands are tied now. You've told me that you'll fight till the end, and I have direct orders to bring you in," Michelle then held her Advent Deck above her, "Henshin!!!" she shouted. She then put the Advent Deck in the open slot of the belt. It looked like the deck went inside the belt a little, and it then started spinning extremely fast making a loud whirring sound. Michelle then elegantly stood up straight as a large purple ring of energy appeared around her horizontally. The ring then split apart at the center to switch from horizontal to vertical creating a sphere. The rings went back to horizontal, but this time the armor appeared around her. The ring vanished and Michelle had become Kamen Rider Neko.
"Defend yourself, Kamen Rider Destiny!" Neko commanded pointing at Vicky.
"You're not giving me any choice!" Vicky said holding her first card forward, "Henshin!!!" she said turning the card around and inserting it into the Destiny Driver, and closing it.
KAMEN RIDE: DESTINY
After Vicky transformed into Kamen Rider Destiny, she pointed to Neko, "Prepare yourself, Kamen Rider Neko!" Both Riders pulled out cards and activated them at the same time.
SWORD VENT
ATTACK RIDE: SLASH
With their swords out, the two Riders charged at each other, both ready to fight harder than they ever fought.
To be continued...
I'll try not to take so long this time. Please review.