Chapter 37: Two Can Play at That Game
I've gotta believe!
(Kirito and Ex-Aid are back to back, facing a horde of Bugsters. They lift their weapons and charge as the title appears)
I don't wanna know heta na shinjitsu nara
(The SAO gang are chilling out together in a nearby café)
I don't wanna know shiranai kurai ga ii noni
(Suddenly, all bystanders all transform into Ride-Players)
Why? Why? Why? Why? Kizukeba I came too far
(Brave remembers the time that Yuko died, with Asuna's afterimage looking at him; Snipe remembers the time he was defeated by Graphite, with Sinon's afterimage looking at him)
Tomaranai kanjiru kono yokan wa
(The Riders and the SAO gang together walk towards the horde of Ride Players)
The new beginning
(The Riders hold up their Gashats)
Michi no ryuoiki ima wo kirihirakunda
(The Riders transform into their Lv 2 forms)
I've gotta believe!
(The SAO gang turn on Ordinal Scale)
(Turn it on!) soutou
(Together, they all charge at the Ride Player horde)
EXCITE! EXCITE! Takanaru
(Ex-Aid goes into Lv 20, and splits into XXL and XXR; Brave twirls into Lv 50, sending a bunch of Ride Players back)
EXCITE! EXCITE! Kokoro ga
(Snipe jumps into Lv 50, and rains fire upon the Ride Players; Ex-Aid jumps down in Lv 99, and slams the ground)
Michibiku ano basho e kakenukete ikudake
(The Ordinal Scale players make their way through the horde one by one)
(Hey!) I'm on a mission right now
(Klein, Lisbeth, Silica, Agil, and Leafa stay back, while six figures strike a battle-ready pose. Ex-Aid raises the Breaker to his face, while Kirito goes into his battle stance. Asuna also goes into her battle stance, while Brave flips his Sword around, so he could grab the blade with his free hand. Sinon and Snipe both their weapons tightly)
(Hey!) I'm on a mission right now
(A silhouette of Kamen Rider Para-DX Lv 99 glares at them, with his eyes glowing)
EXCITE! EXCITE! Kotae wa
(Ex-Aid and Para-DX smash their fists together)
EXCITE! EXCITE! Kotae wa
(The SAO gang fight various Bugsters from all of the games from the Gashats)
(One!) kono te no naka
(Snipe and Sinon go back to back)
(Two!) susumubeki Life
(Brave and Asuna slash right next to each other)
(Three!) ikitekudake
(Ex-Aid and Kirito together jump up and slash downward, cutting back to the title)
Emu had just slapped Rika right across her face. This had just stunned everyone, especially Poppy.
"Let's play, shall we?" Emu smiled. "The most thrilling game."
Everyone didn't know how to respond to that, but Hiro stepped in their stead.
"Intern! Wake up!" He shouted, grabbing Emu's shirt.
However, "Emu" didn't comply. He just placed his hand on Hiro's chest and pushed him away. After that, he reached into his pocket and pulled out… the Gashat Gear Duel? However, he seemed unfazed by this, and he just twisted the knob of the Gashat.
KNOCK OUT FIGHTER!
THE STRONGEST FIST! ROUND 1! ROCK AND FIRE!
"Henshin." "Emu" said with a smile, pressing the Gashat.
DUAL UP!
EXPLOSION HIT! KNOCK OUT FIGHTER!
Suprising everyone, "Emu" transformed into Para-DX Knock Out Fighter form. The SAO gang all gasped quietly.
"What the hell…?" Kazuto muttered.
"How the hell did he turn himself into Para-DX?" Taiga asked.
Para-DX just scoffed, and simply swung a punch, sending a fire flame strike their way. Luckily, they were all able to dodge the attacks. Para-DX chuckled, as he just turned around and faced the other direction.
"I think I've had enough of this doctor spiel." He stated in Emu's voice.
And with that, he took a couple of steps, pixelating away. Leaving everyone else stunned. They had no words for this. Poppy, however, just froze by what just happened. Her savior spent this whole time trying to turn her back, only for him to turn…
Later, back in that server room in the GENM Corp. building basement, Graphite waited impatiently, sitting on a server computer.
"Yo, Graphite!" called a voice.
Graphite turned around to see Emu just casually walking towards him. Alarmed, Graphite quickly pulled out his BugVisor and aimed it Emu.
"Ex-Aid!" He demanded. "How did you get here?!"
However, Emu chuckled and raised his arms in defense.
"Hey, hey! Calm down!" He assured. "It's me. Me!"
Then, suddenly, two streams of blue and red clouds pixelated out of his body and formed into a figure. Emu, his face groaning with pain, collapsed on his stomach on the floor. The blue and red streams formed into a smiling Pallad.
"Pallad, it was you?" Graphite sighed, sitting down on another server. "Don't scare me like that."
Pallad just patted Graphite's shoulder, but Emu was still on the floor. He wanted answers.
"Just what did you do to my body?" He asked in a demanding voice.
Pallad looked down at Emu. While he was still kind of salty from Emu not being able to play with him, he was still smiling.
"What happens when you don't play with me." He replied innocently.
He then reached over to a small case, where he pulled out a Gamer Driver. Emu was surprised by this, but soon realized that it could be the one Genmu used before his Dangerous Zombie phase.
"So… I had a thought." Pallad then said. "If I leveled up too… maybe that would convince you to play with me."
He then put on the Gamer Driver, and pulled out his Gashat Gear Duel. He inserted it, and then he opened up the Driver, but nothing happened. Pallad looked down at the belt, and just sighed.
"Figures I can't use something made for humans…" He admitted, taking off the Driver and pulling out his Gashat.
"Pallad." Graphite interjected. "We don't have to do that. We should just get rid of him right now!"
He aimed his BugVisor at him with a malicious intent, but Pallad grabbed Graphite's arm, and pulled the BugVisor away from Emu.
"I'm the only that beats M." He told him.
"Why?" Emu asked, still trying to recover from the pain. "Why do you want to fight me that badly?"
Pallad shook his head. He crouched down to Emu, and picked him by his shirt.
"I told you, man!" He said. "This… is what you wanted."
Emu stopped at that. Pallad just given him a massive information dump on him. He didn't know how to process this.
"Me…?" He muttered.
"PIPUPEPO PANIC!" Poppy roared loudly.
"How did Emu transform into Para-DX?" Nico asked.
"There's no way Emu would quit being a doctor too!" Poppy roared again. "There's…"
"Gotta be a reason!" Both Nico and Poppy declared.
The remaining heroes had returned back to Hiro's office. To recollect themselves from what they just witnessed Emu doing, they were just resting for now. Suguha had also joined, and was filled in on what was going on.
"There's only one reason." Taiga stated in that.
Everyone turned to Taiga for an explanation, but Hiro spoke up.
"Pallad always had a strange obsession with the intern." Hiro explained.
He recalled back to the previous chapter. When Emu had just reprogrammed Poppy, Pallad was going on about how there was no point in a game if he never got to play with him.
"In addition…" He went on. "Everytime we tried to operate on him, no Bugster came out."
"Yeah…" Kazuto muttered, getting an unnoticeable glare from Asuna. "Not a time I really like to look back at."
"There's only one logical deduction out of that." Hiro finally concluded.
Meanwhile, Pallad was just dragging Emu out somewhere, still holding onto him by his shirt. They went on for a little bit until they had made their way over to some swings. Once they got in front, Pallad just tossed Emu back on the ground.
"As a child, you were always alone." Pallad said. "You were always busy thinking up ideas for games."
Emu recalled back to his childhood then. He remembered drawing up pictures using crayons of two colored warriors, which eventually became the basis of Mighty Brothers XX. Pallad, taking that into consideration, got on a swing and began riding it.
"While all along, you were just longing for someone to play with." He went on. "And that someone… is me."
Emu stopped again. Pallad was just getting more and more confusing to him.
"What are you saying?" Emu asked again.
Pallad jumped off of the swing. He finally decided to drop the bomb.
"Our hearts, feelings, and even memories…" Pallad fainlly revealed. "Were linked together. We are as one."
Then, Emu and Pallad both looked together. The creation of Mighty Brothers XX, all the times Genmu was close to take Emu's Gashats, and even the death of Burgermon. They were both feeling the same emotions back then. They just expressed it differently. Now, this wasn't just a coincidence.
"Wait…" Emu suddenly realized. "You're my…!"
"Bingo!" Pallad smiled. "I'm the Bugster you're infected with!"
Emu was speechless now. Everything about Pallad now made sense to him, if he was telling the truth. Emu's personality switch whenever he transformed, his lust for gaming, all of it.
"You're… my Bugster?" Emu stuttered.
"Your longing was what created me." Pallad explained. "That's why I keep saying that it is our destiny to fight!"
Pallad's eyes glowed red, and subsequently Emu's eyes glowed red as well. Emu then started to moan in pain, as orange pixels developed all over his body. Pallad dissipated into two streams of red and blue again, and they went into Emu's body. After a bit, Emu stopped moving as the streams faded away. Eyes glowing, Emu stood back up.
"You're me." He declared. "And I'm you."
He then put on his Gamer Driver, and pulled out a Gashat. He pressed it, activating the Game Area.
MIGHTY BROTHERS XX!
"Henshin." He uttered, inserting the Gashat.
DOUBLE GASHATTO!
He also opened up the Driver.
GACHANN! LEVEL UP!
MIGHTY BROTHERS! FUTARI DE HITORI! MIGHTY BROTHERS! FUTARI DE VICTORY! X!
Emu transformed into Ex-Aid Level 10, complete with the half-and-half colored hair. However, he was going to just stay in this form, as he just closed the Driver back up.
"Dai Henshin." He uttered again, opening up the Driver.
GACHANN! DOUBLE UP!
ORE GA OMAE DE! OMAE GA ORE DE! WE ARE! MIGHTY MIGHTY BROTHERS! HEY! DOUBLE X!
Ex-Aid split into XXL and XXR. However, something was off. XXL looked a bit timid to fight, but XXR just casually turned his head to XXL.
"Now… fight me… M." XXR chuckled in Pallad's voice.
"Pallad is a Bugster born from Emu?" Rika asked.
"Wait… that doesn't make any sense." Nico replied.
There was a short silence, but then, Asuna broke it.
"Wait, remember what Genmu said?" She started. "He said he planted the Bugster virus in Emu 16 years ago!"
"And that virus took 10 years to grow inside Emu into Pallad." Kazuto finished.
"Then… I lost to Pallad 6 years ago?" Nico asked.
"I guess so." Shino replied. "Using Emu's body, calling himself the Genius Gamer M."
"And once that was done with." Hiro added in. "Dan Kuroto used Zaizen Michihiko to separate Pallad from the intern."
"But…" Silica spoke up. "What about Emu's sudden aspiration to become a doctor?"
"When Pallad was separated from him…" Hiro replied. "He began using 'boku' again, returning to his original self."
"So… if we defeat Pallad…" Taiga concluded. "We'll cure Ex-Aid of his game disease."
While the others were developing ideas on how to defeat Pallad, Pallad himself was doing something he wanted to do for a while.
A cute couple were just enjoying a trek down a forest path, but they were stopped by XXL stumbling in front of them. When XXR jumped in, the couple quickly ran away. XXR stood XXL up, and began to punch him indiscriminately. One punch made him fall on his knees. As a response, XXR went to the other side and just kicked him away. XXL groaned from the pain, but XXR was just bored still.
"M, come on!" He whined. "What fun is there in fighting a punching bag?"
XXL just whined, seemingly not wanting to fight. He just panted heavily as he propped himself up. XXR just grabbed the Gashacon KeySlasher and the Maximum Mighty X Gashat and just tossed it over to XXL.
"Here." XXR said. "That should be enough of a handicap, right?"
XXR, then ran towards XXL. XXL quickly rolled out of the way, grabbing the items along the way. However, XXL did not use the items to fight back. He just cradled them in his hands while XXR just continued to wail on his fists at him. Finally, with one punch, XXR knocked XXL into a tree. XXL collapsed on his knees again.
"M, c'mon!" XXR whined again. "You can do better. I mean, I started Kamen Rider Chronicle just so I can play with you!"
XXL stopped at that. Pallad had started this mad death game just so he could play with him?
"Saving lives without continues, you say, huh?" XXR went on. "It's also your longing that brought upon humanity's doom."
"No…" XXL choked out. "That's not true!"
"But it is…" XXR said. "You killed them."
XXL continued denying, but all that fueled XXR's ambition to fight M.
Meanwhile, Nico, Taiga, and Shino left the hospital to get some air.
"Looks like I have to apologize…" Nico admitted. "To Emu."
"Is that so?" Taiga chimed in. "You're surprisingly well-behaved."
"I mean…" Nico continued. "All I've been thinking of is just beating him."
"If that's the case…" Taiga finally deduced. "I'm not needed?"
"Not exactly." Nico revoked. "I want to beat Pallad now."
Taiga scoffed, while Shino just smirked and shook her head.
"That girl is quite the handful, isn't she?" She commented.
Taiga sighed exasperatedly, and just walked on, with Nico right behind him.
Meanwhile, back in the hospital room, the others were just sitting patiently. It was silent for a good while, but Poppy broke it.
"Hey, Piro!" She screamed. "If we don't get to Pallad soon, Pemu will…!"
"Calm down!" Hiro shouted, silencing Poppy.
That got everyone's attention actually, they all turned towards Hiro.
"At the very least, we now know the form of his game disease." Hiro stated. "All I have to do now is operate on him."
"But, isn't Pallad, like, really strong?" Rika asked. "If he hides inside Emu again, we might not ever be able to get him out!"
Everyone murmured in agreement, even Hiro. However, that didn't stir Poppy away from her resolve.
"Emu saved me." She said. "Now, it's my turn to the same for him!"
"I want to return his smile!" She declared.
Hiro scoffed at that, but not in the negative way.
"Looks like the intern finally rubbed off on you." He admitted.
Poppy smiled at that, but the tension was still there.
"Man…" Kazuto muttered. "Dan Kuroto left us in quite the dilemma, huh?"
Everyone murmured in agreement. However, something happened with Poppy. Suddenly, a flash of a young boy displaying some kind of blueprint to an adult woman. He said a few words, but the only things she was able to hear were the words "Bugster" and "countermeasure". She slightly jerked at what she saw.
"Wha… what was that?" She asked herself.
"Poppy?" Keiko asked. "What happened?"
"Was that…" Poppy muttered. "The memory of the person I infected…?"
"Memory?" Keiko repeated.
She wanted more questions, but one of the phones rang. Hiro quickly got up and answered it.
"This is Cyber Rescue Center." He said.
"Bugster… countermeasure?" Poppy repeated quietly.
"Thank you. Please evacuate the scene as quickly as you can." Hiro ordered, hanging up. "I have the intern's location."
He looked up, but Poppy was gone. He looked around to the others, but they looked oblivious as well.
"Where did Poppy Pipopapo go?" He asked.
"Can't say." Asuna replied. "She just grabbed Yui and disappeared."
Hiro couldn't wait for Poppy to return. So, he just left the office, with the SAO gang trickling after him.
Meanwhile, back at the fight, XXL was still refusing to fight back. He was back to back with a tree, but can't really do anything about it, as XXR has him pinned down.
"This is getting really boring now!" XXR complained. "I gave you a weapon and a Gashat, so use them!"
Just then, Hiro and the SAO gang walked up. Shortly after, Taiga, Nico, and Shino also came along. They were surprised by what they saw.
"What the hell?" Kazuto asked.
"Wait, it's just M?" Nico asked. "Where's Pallad?"
"Why is he fighting himself?" Taiga asked also.
XXR sighed, and he just simply grabbed XXL by his collar and tossed him aside.
"Man, and here I was, thinking we'd finally be left alone…" He complained. "But we still have a peanut gallery."
When XXR spoke, everyone immediately recognized that voice.
"Wait, you're Pallad?" Hiro asked.
"Everyone…" XXL sighed, panting.
XXR, ignoring the others, just walked a few steps closer to XXL.
"M." He started. "Mighty Brothers XX allows one to become two. As such, we share each other's genes and memories."
"With that said, remember!" XXR requested. "Remember how you're still alive."
XXL paused, as he looked back. He then realized it. Back in Chapter 26, when Genmu told him that he had game disease, he had burst into a cloud of the Bugster virus. However, there was more. It showed Pallad's side of that story. The memory showed that when Pallad dissipated, he had assimilated into Ex-Aid's body, saving him from the game disease.
"At that time, I…" XXL began.
"Normally, you'd have vanished right then and there." XXR confirmed, snapping his fingers. "Gonzo."
"So that's what happened?!" Shino remarked.
"So, you took over Emu's body and released his stress?" Rika asked.
XXR looked back and nodded in approval, but he quickly turned his attention back to XXL.
"You babble on about saving lives without any continues…" XXR continued. "When you got a continue yourself."
XXL couldn't believe any of this. He… actually met death and lived?
"Whether I let you live or die depends on my puzzle now." XXR went on. "You have no power over your own fate… but I do."
XXL, finally getting things sorted out in his mind, stood up as he finally gripped the KeySlasher properly in his hands.
"Stop screwing with me…" He said, irritatedly.
XXR couldn't help but chuckle at that.
"Irritated now, are we?" He chuckled. "Then show me that you can change your fate with your own hands."
"You'll never be cured of your game disease unless you beat me." XXR added in an ominous tone. "Fight me."
XXL, now knowing he can fight, raised his KeySlasher.
"Let's do it then!" He declared.
XXR now lightened up, as he raised his fists in delight. XXL, swinging the KeySlasher around, then charged. The two now engaged in a battle, and the others couldn't do anything about it.
The fight eventually moved over to an open quarry. XXL was now going forth with his attacks, while XXR was just doing most of the dodging. XXl swung the KeySlasher around, and the first strike hit XXR's arm. The second strike was a downward slash, getting a critical hit on XXR. For some strage reason though, XXR was chuckling. XXL, ignoring this, pressed the yellow button on the KeySlasher.
ZU-KYU-KYU-KYUNN!
After that, he inserted the Maximum Mighty X Gashat into the KeySlasher.
MAXIMUM GASHATTO! KIMEWAZA!
XXR stood up hastily as XXL carefully aimed the KeySlasher at XXR.
MAXIMUM MIGHTY CRITICAL FINISH!
XXL fired, the beam landed right onto Pallad's chest. The program within that attack coursed its way through XXR's body, turning his orange DNA streams into clear blue. When the beam's effects subsided, XXR reverted into Pallad, clenching his chest and falling on his knees. XXL sighed a relief, but immediately afterwards, he was forced out of his transformation. However, he was still pixelating orange on his face.
"Intern!" Hiro called, running over to him.
The others quickly followed suit. They reached Emu, and they made haste. Rika and Keiko propped him up. While the others just crowded around him.
"Ex-Aid won this battle." Taiga declared.
"Get… out…" Emu spluttered. "Of my body!"
Strangley still, Pallad was laughing away. He was smiling, and that's not something you would see from a loser.
"Fate… is a like a puzzle, right?" He commented.
"What are you saying?" Rika chimed in. "You lost!"
Pallad chortled as he just stood back up.
"Lose? Me?" He retorted. "I never lose."
Everyone stopped at that. Just what was Pallad going on about?
"Now that I've been reprogrammed, I have M's human genes." He went on. "This means I can now level up!"
He then reached behind him and pulled out the Gamer Driver that he had back at the beginning.
"Using this little guy here." He smirked.
"Wait, how does he have one?" Suguha asked.
"Probably the one Genmu used…" Taiga seethed.
Pallad, nonchalantly, just put on the Driver. He pulled out his Gashat, and smiled happily.
"My soul's stirring." He whispered as he inserted the Gashat.
DUAL GASHATTO!
THE STRONGEST FIST! WHAT'S THE NEXT STAGE?
When he inserted, the Game Area activated. However, it wasn't just one color. The Game Area was blue and red, as if two Gashats were activated.
THE STRONGEST FIST! WHAT'S THE NEXT STAGE?
Pallad did a little pose as the transformation sequence went on. After swinging arms around, he was ready.
"Max Dai Henshin!" Pallad called as he opened up the Driver.
GACHANN! MAZARU UP!
AKAI KOBUSHI TSUYOSA! AOI PUZZLE RENSA! AKA TO AO NO KOUSA! PERFECT KNOCK OUT!
Pallad then changed into Para-DX, but it was different. His body pixelated into both forms of Para-DX Level 50, but it was different. The forms somehow merged together diagonally, and they just passed through Pallad. He was now in an armor, completely clad with red and blue. Even his eyes were different. One of his eyes was red, while the other was blue. This pattern repeated through out his suit, complete with the gold accents.
"Perfect Puzzle… Knock Out Fighter…" He said slowly. "Two Level 50 games, now one. And its name… Perfect Knock Out!"
PERFECT KNOCK OUT!
Everyone froze at that. Para-DX was already powerful when he was at Level 50, but now, at whatever level he is on now, how could they keep up with him?
"Kamen Rider Para-DX…" He concluded. "Level… 99!"
(Cue Real Game-Rayflower here)
"Wait, Level 99?" Nico spluttered. "Seriously?"
Everyone froze at that. Emu was the only one who could access that high of a level for the longest time. Now, they lost their only favor in the balance of power. Para-DX, chuckling, slowly began to move forward. Taiga and Hiro quickly moved up front.
"Get Ex-Aid out of here!" Taiga ordered.
The SAO gang complied, as they helped Emu get out of harm's way. Meanwhile, Taiga and Brave put on their Gamer Drivers and pulled out their Gashats.
BANG BANG SIMULATIONS!
TADDLE QUEST!
"Phase 50!" Taiga shouted. "Henshin!"
"Proceeding to Level 2." Hiro said. "Henshin!"
DUAL GASHATTO!
GASHATTO!
GACHANN! DUAL UP!
GACHANN! LEVEL UP!
SCRAMBLE DA! SHUTSUGEKI! HASSHIN! BANG BANG SIMULATION! HASSHIN!
TADORU MEGURU! TADORU MEGURU! TADDLE QUEST!
Taiga and Hiro quickly transformed into Snipe Level 50 and Brave Level 2 respectively. Then, the two just charged at Para-DX.
Snipe went high, while Brave went low. However, Para-DX dodged the attacks by simply sidestepping out of the way. Snipe stumbled a bit, while Brave quickly recovered by drawing out his Sword. With the fire blade, he struck at Para-DX. Para-DX didn't even seem to bother, as he just tossed the Sword aside and landed a fiery punch of Knock Out Fighter right onto Brave's face. This provided Snipe with the opportunity to fire at Para-DX. Again, Para-DX protected himself from that attack by summoning an energy shield, shaped like puzzle pieces from Perfect Puzzle. This frustrated Snipe, as he just kept on firing at Para-DX. However, Para-DX just summoned his own weapon into his hands.
GASHACON PARABLAGUN!
"Ranged combat, huh?" He smiled, pressing the A button on the Parablagun. He then swung the axe blade around, revealing a gun barrel.
ZU-GANN!
He then pulled the trigger once, dissipating one of Snipe's shots. He then pressed the B button three times.
ICHI-NII-SAN!
He then pulled the trigger once, and three bullets shot out. However, they seemingly just warped around the shots that Snipe fired, and landed directly onto him, causing critical damage. Snipe, got on one knee, but was still up.
SAN-RENSA!
"Aw man, is that seriously all you got?" Para-DX asked condescendingly.
He pulled out his Gashat and inserted it into the Parablagun.
GASHUNN!
DUAL GASHATTO! KIMEWAZA!
After that, he raised one of his hands, and two Energy Items came to him. One landed on him, and the other landed on the Parablagun itself.
METALIZE! BUNSHIN!
PERFECT CRITICAL FINISH!
"You little punk…!" Snipe growled as he closed his Driver and opened it back up.
GACHANN! KIMEWAZA!
GACHANN!
BANG BANG CRITICAL FIRE!
Snipe closed his gauntlets, and fired a barrage of bullets at Para-DX. However, Para-DX split into several clones, so all of the bullets had to fly around to hit their target. One Para-DX clone, the realone, pulled the trigger of the Parablagun, fired a powerful, metal blast. That was enough to launch Snipe back into a rock.
ALL CLEAR!
Snipe grunted on the ground, as the Gashat ejected automatically out of his Driver, cancelling out of his transformation.
GASHUNN!
"Taiga!" Nico called as she quickly made her way over to him.
Shino also came along too, as she had to make sure that Taiga was okay too. Emu, who had been watching this while leaning on a rock, couldn't do anything about this.
"Stop…" He moaned.
However, that one comment sent a shock to his system, as he balled up in pain and slightly jerked in pain. Para-DX laughed delightfully at his first win in his new form. However, he didn't stop Brave from getting the Gashat Gear Dual β that had ejected from Taiga. He quickly activated it.
TADDLE FANTASY!
"Proceeding to Level 50!" He shouted. "Henshin!"
Para-DX fired at Brave, however, a magical glyph appeared in front by the monster summoned forh by the Gashat. Brave inserted the Gashat and opened the Driver quickly.
DUAL GASHATTO!
GACHANN! DUAL UP!
TADORU, MEGURU! RPG! TADDLE FANTASY!
Brave quickly turned into his Level 50 form, and charged at Para-DX. He swung his sword around, but Para-DX dodged them effortlessly. When brave landed a slash on his shoulder, it didn't faze Para-DX at all. That was his cue to make his move.
"Close range this time?" He smiled, pressing the A button again.
He then swung the barrel around, revealing its prior axe blade.
ZU-GONN!
He then lodged the axe into Brave's torso, getting some distance between them. Brave went for another slash, but Para-DX deflected it by blocking it, and then throwing it aside. Brave then threw a punch, but Para-DX caught it. He then flipped Brave around, and struck a downward slash right down his back. He then kicked him, causing him to fall over a rock. He then used that rock to jump up, and land a more powerful downward slash, knocking Brave back again. He then pressed the B button again. Seven times this time.
ICHI-NII-SAN-YON-GOU-ROKU-NANA!
Para-DX went at Brave, as the latter raised his Sword to block. However, the force of the axe was too powerful, and Brave lost the grip of it. Para-DX then used it to land another axe swing on Brave's shoulder, making him roll on the ground.
NANA-RENDA!
"Huh." Para-DX remarked. "Guess a game on Easy difficulty is quite boring."
Brave stood up, panting, and readied for his next attack. Para-DX just pulled out his Gashat again and inserted it into the Parablagun.
GASHUNN!
DUAL GASHATTO! KIMEWAZA!
Again, he grabbed two Energy Items to assist. Again, one landed on the Parablagun, while the other landed Para-DX himself.
MUSCLE UP! SPEED UP!
KNOCK OUT CRITICAL FINISH!
Brave closed his Driver, and then opened it again, preparing for another attack.
GACHANN! KIMEWAZA!
GACHANN!
TADDLE CRITICAL SLASH!
Brave, swinging his sword around, made an X-shaped slash, and sent it towards Para-DX. However, the attack was negated as Para-DX destroyed the attack with simple tap, and then he faded past Brave, landing a powerful axe slash right across his torso. Brave gasped, and just fell to the ground.
K.O.!
Brave was also forced out of his transformation.
GASHUNN!
Emu wasn't going to put up with this anymore. He stood up to go up against Pallad, but his game disease prevented him from going any further.
"Emu, don't push yourself!" Rika said. "You'll only worsen your condition!"
"I… can't just sit here!" Emu spluttered, still hurting from his game disease.
"Don't worry." Asuna spoke up, standing up. "I'll handle it from here."
"Asuna…?" Kazuto asked. "What are you doing?"
However, Kazuto couldn't get an answer, as Asuna just darted forward.
"Ordinal Scale, on!" She called out.
After pixelating into her Ordinal Scale outfit, she quickly darted past Para-DX, grabbing something off Brave as well. Para-DX turned to see the strawberry blonde blur, now in the form of Asuna.
"Well, well, well!" Para-DX smiled. "Look at what the cat dragged in!"
"Shinonon!" Asuna called. "Help me out!"
Shino looked up, and saw Asuna. She looked back at Taiga, and grabbed something off of him as well. She then stood up and ran over to Asuna as well.
"Ordinal Scale, on!" She shouted.
With her Ordinal Scale on, she joined Asuna beside her.
"Shall we?" She asked.
Asuna nodded, and the two revealed what they got from their Riders. Asuna got the Taddle Quest Gashat, while Sinon, unsurprisingly, had the Bang Bang Shooting Gashat. Para-DX silently cooed in interest. The two girls pressed their Gashats.
TADDLE QUEST!
BANG BANG SHOOTING!
With their Game Areas spreading, they then pressed their Gashats again.
TADORU MEGURU! TADORU MEGURU! TADDLE QUEST!
BANGBABANG! BABANGBANG! BANG BANG SHOOTING!
The two girls then changed. Sinon got the garments and colors of Bang Bang Shooting, complete with neon yellow changes on her outfit, and the sash over her neck. Meanwhile, Asuna got a small shield that covered her lower left arm, and she also got blue gloves. Her outfit also slightly changed as well, the color changed to the blue of Taddle Quest.
"Let's go!" Asuna called.
When she said that, the Gashacon Sword appeared into her hand. She flipped it around, while Sinon aimed the Gashacon Magnum at Para-DX. She fired, while Asuna dived towards Para-DX.
Asuna fenced the sword like her rapier from Sword Art Online, but Para-DX was easily dodging all of them.
"Y'know, this is getting a bit repetitive." He chuckled.
He paid close attention to all of Asuna's strikes. He opened his hand quickly grabbed her hand when one of her strikes was right by the left side of his head. He then twisted the arm around, flipping Asuna around. He raised the Parablagun, and just slashed down her back. Asuna roared in shock, as she stumbled a bit. Para-DX used that opening to twist the knob on his Gashat to the Knock Out Fighter side. He then closed and opened the Driver.
GACHANN! GACHANN!
KNOCK OUT CRITICAL SMASH!
Para-DX quickly ran around Asuna and eventually got in front of her. As he ran around, he pressed the B button five times.
ICHI-NII-SAN-YON-GOU!
He then swung the Parablagun as powerful as he could, landing a critical hit. Asuna was launched back, and tumbled on the ground. She groaned in pain.
K.O.! GOU-RENDA!
"Asuna!" Kazuto cried, hastily making over to girlfriend.
Para-DX would've also gone to him, if Sinon had caught his attention. She was still firing at him, albeit missing some shots. Para-DX sighed, as he just pressed the A Button and turned the axe blade around, revealing the gun barrel again.
ZU-GANN!
He fired several shots again. Unlike Snipe, the shots swerved around Sinon's shots, and landed all over her body. Sinon got on her knees from the damage.
"Man... and here I thought you were a sharpshooter." He remarked, reaching for his Gashat again.
Sinon, in response pulled out the Bang Bang Shooting Gashat and inserted it into the Magnum.
GASHATTO! KIMEWAZA!
She stood up, legs shaking, and aimed at Para-DX.
BANG BANG CRITICAL FINISH!
"Quick to the trigger, are we?" Para-DX smiled.
He just twisted the knob of the Gashat to the Perfect Puzzle side. He then closed the Driver and opened it up again.
GACHANN! GACHANN!
PERFECT CRITICAL COMBO!
Para-DX then carefully took aim at Sinon, but he pressed the B button nine times, just to be safe.
ICHI-NII-SAN-YON-GOU-ROKU-NANA-HACHI-KYU!
Both pulled their triggers. However, Sinon was quick to the draw, as she fired hers much faster. But because of this, Para-DX just simply sidestepped out of the way. Para-DX's shot was a lot more effective. With one shot, nine bullets fired out and they landed all over Sinon's body. Sinon screamed as the attack damaged her thoroughly.
ALL CLEAR! KYU-RENSA!
Para-DX laughed as Sinon fell to the ground. Luckily, Suguha quickly came to her aid. Emu, had seen enough, despite protests from Rika and Keiko, he ran up and confronted Pallad.
"STOP IT!" He bellowed, putting on his Gamer Driver.
Emu also pulled out his Maximum Mighty X Gashat. He was still pixelating orange, but he didn't care. He pressed it, activating the Game Area.
MAXIMUM MIGHTY X!
Emu, breathing heavily, still pressed on.
"Max Dai Henshin!" He shouted, inserting the Gashat into the Driver.
MAXIMUM GASHATTO!
He then quickly opened up the Driver.
GACHANN! LEVEL MAX!
SAIDAIKYU NO POWERFUL BODY!
Transforming into Ex-Aid, he quickly slammed down the smaller Ex-Aid on the Gashat.
MAXIMUM POWER! X!
Ex-Aid quickly got into the massive Level 99 armor and stared down Para-DX. He wasted no time, as he quickly closed his Gamer Driver and jumped into the air.
GACHANN! KIMEWAZA!
In the air, he quickly opened up his Driver. Then, he extended one leg out for a kick.
GACHANN!
MAXIMUM CRITICAL BREAK!
Para-DX looked up, and smiled intensely. He threw the Parablagun aside, and after switching the Gashat Gear Dual's knob into its default position, also closed the Driver up.
GACHANN! URAWAZA!
He waited, and then he opened up the Driver. Using that, he jumped into the air and did the same kick as Ex-Aid.
PERFECT KNOCK OUT CRITICAL BOMBER!
The two kicks met with sizzling energy sparking between them. However, nothing really lasted, as Para-DX quickly overpowered Ex-Aid, tearing through him. Ex-Aid was forced out of his transformation, as he fell to the ground.
GASHUNN!
K.O. PERFECT!
In contrast, Para-DX landed gracefully in front of him. He was really happy right now. With that satisfaction on his mind, he cancelled out of his transformation.
GACHANN! GASHUNN!
Pallad smiled as he walked up to Emu.
"We're on the same level now." He declared. "The only one that decides your fate… is me."
Emu, still pixelating orange, was now out of breath. Quickly, Rika and Keiko walked over and picked him up.
"You can't beat him right now!" Rika stated.
"We have to go for now!" Keiko added.
Then, the two girls quickly helped Emu escape. However, Pallad wasn't having any of this.
"M is mine." He declared.
He then dissimilated away into a cloud of red and blue. Emu's eyes suddenly glowed, making Rika and Keiko stop. Emu stood up on his own, and then did something incredible. He punched Keiko away from him, while he kicked Rika into a dead bush nearby. He smiled back, raring to get going.
"Pallad!" called a voice.
"Emu" looked up and saw Nico walking up to him. She had a look of determination on her face.
"I'm going to beat you next time!" She declared.
"Emu" smiled at that.
"Alrighty then!" He laughed. "It's been six years after all."
And with that said, "Emu" just walked away. Nico clenched a fist, as she just watched on. Hiro and Taiga somehow gathered themselves up, and made their way over. Kazuto walked in, carrying Asuna in his arms, while Suguha had Sinon slouched over her shoulder. They didn't know what to do now.
Now, while all that was happening, what's Poppy and Yui been up to?
They had been searching. The two had just entered a small room, complete with servers and a small desk with a computer screen, and even a pool table. If one was to recall, this is where Dan Kuroto hid out during the last arc.
"Is this the place?" Yui asked, flying beside Poppy.
"I think…" Poppy said.
Suddenly, a memory flashed inside Poppy's mind again. It was the same young boy, delivering something to the same adult woman. Poppy held her head, and slightly twitched, but Yui quickly grew to her human size and supported her.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"Yeah…" Poppy replied.
However, she was still lingering on about the two words that was in her first memory callback. "Bugster" and "countermeasure".
"Just what is a Bugster countermeasure…?" She asked herself.
Then she saw an image of that young boy walking over to a door. Popyp quickly followed after that boy, and found herself in front of said door. Carefully, she opened it to reveal an empty room with a poster inside. She walked in, followed by Yui.
"There's nothing in here." Yui commented.
Poppy ignored as she carefully looked at the poster. She then pulled it off, and moved it aside. She looked at the black wall that was behind it, but what got her attention was the small silver notch. She pulled on it, and the wall opened ajar. There, in front of both her and Yui, was now a bunch of computers and hard drives. In addition, there was also a table. And on that table, was a small chest box and a booklet.
"It doesn't look that old…" Yui commented. "Do you think it was here recently?"
"I guess so." Poppy replied.
Yui then reached over to the booklet. She read the title on the front.
"'Level 0'?" She muttered.
Yui then looked through the booklet while Poppy carefully opened the chestbox. To their surprise and dismay, the chestbox contained… a Gamer Driver and… Proto Mighty Action X? Poppy picked up the Gashat, and looked it over.
"Proto Mighty Action X?" She asked. "But… the color's different."