A/N: Thank you all for your reviews! I see the Amity chapter is quite popular and I'm glad it lived up to the hype I've been building up for her. Now without further ado, let's see our newest Rider in action! And be sure to tune in tomorrow at noon CST USA to see the FINALE ep!
Amity walked to Hexside, but it felt different, she was different. Ever since Amity was successful in sealing Bast, her senses have felt sharper, her magic felt stronger, too. Before she could come back for sure, Amity's father had to run a few tests to make sure that there were not any ill effects from the experiment. Thankfully, there were none. If anything, it seemed there were some unexpected benefits from her sealing Bast. For one thing, whenever Amity created an Abomination, the creation was bigger and stronger than before, she could even make it less bulky and more streamlined, granting the chunky goo monster greater speed and strength.
Upon advice from her father, Amity was told to be careful with her magic use. A modest increase in magical ability is not unheard of, but if Amity showed off just how much stronger her spells had gotten, it could raise some eyebrows. Amity finally arrived at the steps to Hexside, she took a deep breath and held herself with the poise and dignity that came with being a Blight. She walked up the stairs and entered through the main doors, there were a few students who were looking directly at her, some were whispering, no doubt there were rumors about why she had been absent lately, but a quick glance from the, still, top student of Hexside silenced those whispers.
But that didn't bother her so much. As she walked, Amity searched for Willow, Gus, and Skara, hoping to catch up with them after all this time away, and hopefully maybe, Luz might've come back to Hexside. Before she turned the corner, Amity heard a loud, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE LEAVING?!"
Amity stopped and peeked around the corner, that's when she spotted Boscha and her crew, but it seemed that the triclops was not in a good mood as she looked upon Amelia with an expression of disbelief, and, if she wasn't mistaken, maybe shock.
"I'm sorry, Boscha, but I need to a break from you," said Amelia.
"W-What?! 'A break'?! After everything that happened?!" Boscha exclaimed.
Everything that happened? Did I miss something? Amity thought.
Amelia walked up to Boscha and took one of her hands into both of hers. "Look, Bosch, I'm grateful that you were looking out for me, and that you risked your life to protect me from…those two. But after everything that happened, I just need some distance, some time to myself."
Boscha tried to say something, but it looked like her mouth couldn't form the words right now.
"I'll be here for you when you need to talk to someone, but for now, let's just put some distance between us," said Amelia as she let go of Boscha's hand and started to walk off.
Amity expected Boscha to retaliate then and there, she didn't like it when someone decided to go against her, case in point, herself and Skara. Maybe the others will know what's up? After that little scene, Amity finally found her group of friends. It felt good to think of them that way. To have an actual group of friends that she was happy to be around and enjoy spending time with. She saw Skara and Willow, hand-in-hand she might add, talking with Gus, she couldn't make out what they were saying, but it seemed to be a pleasant topic considering they were smiling and laughing.
Okay, Amity, first day back since you sealed your Phantom and became a Kamen Rider. Now I just got to keep this a secret from my friends and the girl that I love, while also trying to keep them and this island safe from the threat of the Phantoms…no pressure.
"Oh, this will be fun to watch."
Amity gave an internal roll of the eyes. Unfortunately, sealing Bast did not have the added effect of silencing her voice. Although Bast could no longer manifest herself as a vision in Amity's eyes, the young witchling could still hear the Phantom's voice, and from time to time she'd chime in, like now for instance.
I can handle keeping this secret from them.
"Personally, you should tell them. All this 'secret identity' stuff is sooooo annoying."
Oh yeah, that's sounds great! I'll just blab to everyone around me that I just got Kamen Rider powers and that my dad can probably make more of these devices! Then I get hauled in by the Emperor's Coven and the same will go for my dad!
"See, not all bad."
Ugh. No, until I can establish that these MagiDrivers are safe enough to use, and until we have a better method of sealing creatures like you, we need to keep this a secret.
"I guess this'll be fine, now that I think about it, it'll be more entertaining to watch."
After that little bout of back and forth, Amity walked up to her friends, and said, "Hi, everyone."
Skara gasped as she opened her arms and cried, "Amity! You're back!" she then proceeded to hug the green haired witch tightly. "We've missed you!"
Amity smiled and responded, "I've missed you guys, too."
"We were starting to worry about you, you've hardly ever missed school, I mean, you hurt your leg and you were still here," said Willow.
Skara finally released Amity, allowing her to answer Willow. "Yeah, I had to help my dad with some project for Blight Industries, it was kind of grueling. But everything worked out and now I'm back." Amity glanced about the area and asked, "Has Luz come back to school yet?"
All three of them shook her heads.
"No, we haven't seen her since the Petrification Ceremony, and she hasn't sent us any messages," said Gus.
"I saw that you guys were there…" Amity began to rub her right arm, feeling a bit of guilt creep up. "I'm sorry I wasn't there with you to help."
Skara pouted as she gave Willow a sideways glance. "I'm still a little peeved that you didn't call me to come with you!"
Willow blushed and patted her girlfriend on the shoulder. "Skara, it's better that you didn't, Gus and I got chewed out by our folks. I can't imagine how much worse it would've been for you, either of you, if you came."
Skara sighed, she hated to admit it, but Willow was right. Her parents would've given her an earful and then some if they found out she had gone to the ceremony and instigated that little act of defiance. It was by the sheer grace of the Titan that they didn't tell her to break it off with Willow. "I know, you're right, but still, I wish I was there to help."
Willow smiled and gave her Skara a kiss on the cheek. "Just knowing that you would've if you could is enough for me."
Gus rolled his eyes at the open act of affection, but he smiled nonetheless, happy that his friend was able to find someone that she liked and who liked her back. "Anyway, we're thinking of heading to the Owl House after school, just to check on Luz. Wanna come?"
Amity blushed, she knew Luz was okay, she had seen her not too long ago. But she wasn't opposed to seeing her again. "Sure, I'll come with."
The bell went off and with that the kids began to move to their morning classes. The Abomination teacher was grateful for Amity's return, but at the same time drilled her to make sure that Amity's skills had not waned in the time she had spent away from school. Amity was more than happy to show the teacher that she hadn't gotten rusty in the slightest. Thanks to the power boost from Bast, her mana was able to make Amity's spells much stronger and allowed her to perform different spells that the teacher was sure might trip her up. He wasn't looking to humiliate or make Amity fail, she was the top student in her class for a reason, there were certain expectations to be met, and Amity made sure to meet them.
Gym was not a difficult class for her, but Amity made sure to put more of an effort into the workouts and activities they gave them. Now that she had the power to fight against Phantoms, not only did her magic skills need to be strong, but so too does her body. Witch fought hand to hand with almost every Phantom she had faced, on top of using her magic, mixing them together in a unique magic combat style. If Amity wanted to be at that level, she'd need to train up her body to handle the physical portion of being a Kamen Rider.
Amity took a break and headed to the benches, once she got there, she practically chugged down her bottle of water.
"Haven't seen you work that hard before." Amity glanced to her right and saw Boscha walk up to her. "At least not since you quit the grudgby team."
Amity scoffed and responded, "What do you want, Boscha?"
"I couldn't help but notice that the leader of your Luzer club hasn't shown up for the last few days," she said.
The green haired witch raised an eyebrow at that remark. "And what do you care? You never liked Luz."
Boscha scowled at Amity. "So did you, and now you're…I don't know what's up with you, but after Grom Night, you've completely changed."
"We all can't stay the same forever, Boscha." Amity grabbed another bottle of water and drank some before adding, "Maybe you should take a hint."
"Tch, I still don't get what's so great about her…I mean…sure, she helped me out, but that doesn't make her my friend or anything! I am not going to get sucked up into that mess," said Boscha.
Amity did a double take as she stared at Boscha. "Wait, what do you mean she helped you out? How did Luz help you?"
Boscha suddenly became silent.
"What happened?" Amity asked as she stood up and faced her former friend.
"Some stuff happened with Amelia a couple of days ago…some Phantoms were involved…"
"PHANTOMS?! AS IN MORE THAN ONE?!" Amity exclaimed as she grabbed the demon girl by the shoulders and began shaking her. "Is she alright?! Is she hurt?! Did Witch help you?!"
"S-S-Stop w-w-with t-t-the s-s-shaking!" Boscha demanded as she forced Amity to release her. "She got hit in the head while…while protecting me. We got stuck in a cave for a minute, but she let me use one of those weird paper things. The human told me to go and help Amelia and that she'd be okay. After everything was over, Witch told me that she took the human back home or whatever."
"And you just took her word for it?!"
"She's supposed to be a hero, right? Saving people is her whole thing, so why shouldn't I believe her?! She saved me and Amelia not too long ago!" Boscha shot back.
Now Amity was worried, there had been a Phantom attack, and more than one was involved, and according to Boscha, Luz had gotten hurt. All of this happened while she was trying to get control of Bast. Amity's hands balled into fists, anger welling up inside of her. I took too long trying to get you under control, and Luz was in danger that whole time! She needed me and I wasn't there to protect her!
"Now that would be ironic, you went through all that trouble trying to seal me and gain my power, only to find out that your crush is no longer with us. You would've gained his power for nothing."
Shut up you!
Amity wanted to leave right now, she wanted to run straight to the Owl House and find out if Luz was alright. But she knew if she did, her mother would have a fit about it, and that was the last thing she needed. For the first time in a while, Amity couldn't wait for school to end.
School eventually did end, and not a moment too soon. Amity hurriedly gathered her things and waited outside of the school, patiently, for the others too arrive. She tapped her foot repeatedly against the stone pathway, becoming more antsy by the second. It was taking everything in her not just go off and run straight to the Owl House to see if Luz was alright.
Just stay calm, Luz is more capable than she was before. Boscha said that Witch took Luz back home, but…
"You're still worried that Witch might've lied and just left Luz to die in some cave out in the middle of the nowhere."
You're just a regular ray of sunshine, aren't you?!
"I aim to please."
Suddenly there was a great rumbling that shook the area. Amity had to brace herself as the tremors got stronger. Just then, a pillar of stone rose from the town, and then several more. A Construction witch is probably angry or something.
"Hmmm, nope, wrong. That was a Phantom."
Don't mess with me, Bast.
"I'm not, that was definitely one of my kind. I can sense their energy. And they're not being very subtle."
Amity's eyes widened as her gaze turned towards the pillars of stone. She was a Kamen Rider now, she had the power to stop the Phantom, but she needed to check on Luz. Her heart and mind were at war with each other, finally, Amity just asked herself the simple question, "What would Luz do?" With that as her guiding star, she ran towards the commotion. If Luz knew I was a Rider and found out that I didn't help someone just to go to her, she'd never forgive me!
She continued to run until she entered the town proper, she was met by several citizens running away from the commotion, but Amity managed to push her way through to see the Phantom responsible for this. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your point of view, Bast was right, it was a Phantom.
The creature stood about ten feet tall, its arms were big and bulky, like a gorilla, and was riddled with muscles across its body. The Phantom was the color of dirt and had rock-like spikes growing out of its shoulders, knuckles, and head. The Phantom had a large horn in the middle of its face, which looked like a big nose. It also sported yellow glowing eyes and grinned maliciously as it beat its chest and shouted, "WHERE ARE YOU WITCH! COME AND FACE ME!"
Amity hid in a little alleyway as she watched the monster bellow into the air as it continued to pound its chest.
"SHOW YOURSELF WITCH, OR TROLL BURY THIS ENTIRE TOWN SIX FEET UNDER!" The Phantom smashed his right fist into the ground, causing another powerful tremor that shattered glass and made one building collapse into a heap. "TROLL AIN'T ABOUT TO GO LOOKIN' FOR YA! TROLL'S HERE TO FIGHT! ARE YOU A COWARD OR WHAT?!"
Amity glanced about, normally Witch would've arrived by now. Surely Witch heard this thing, it was calling her out. Just then, several Coven Scouts appeared, twenty in total, all of them surrounding the monster. They wasted little time as they each cast an attack spell, all twenty spells converged on Troll and exploded upon impact. To no one's surprise, when the dust settled, the Phantom was still standing.
"Let me tell ya somethin' chumps, Troll ain't got the time to deal with you! So, step off!"
Troll raised both of its fists and slammed them into the ground, creating a shockwave that made the land beneath him ripple like water, creating a land wave that threw the Scouts in every direction.
Amity ducked back into the alley, her heart was pounding, this wasn't the first time she had seen a Phantom up close, but this was the first time she was going to do battle with one. Witch hadn't arrived yet, and at the rate things were going, Troll would cause more damage before she did. At the very least, Amity could distract it long enough to–
NO! Amity slapped herself across the face. I'm a Kamen Rider now, I'm not here to delay or distract! I got these powers to fight and destroy the Phantoms, and I'm going to do just that!
Amity reached into the pockets of her uniform and pulled out her two rings. She held her right hand over her waist and as she did, a bright golden glow was emitted as an announcement was released.
[Driver On.]
Amity took a deep breath as she widened her stance, raised her left hand into the air, and exclaimed, "Henshin!" before pressing the left ring into the docking port on the left side of the MagiDriver.
[Ready, Open!]
[Roar of the heavens!]
[The Goddess Descends!]
A magic circle appeared beneath Amity, that same circle rose, passing over her body, and transforming the promising young witch into the Boiling Isle's new hero, Kamen Rider Heka. Heka looked upon her form, it was still a shocking sight to see. She was still getting used to the feeling of being older in her current form, her father had deduced that the power aged her body up to a point so that she could physically handle her Rider powers, which was why she also returned to her original age when she changed back.
"Alright…"
Heka looked up and jumped as high as she could, which was pretty high as she cleared the buildings and was already twenty feet in the air.
"WHOA!" Heka exclaimed.
Technically, this was the first time her powers would be battle tested. And until now Amity hadn't tested out what her physical capabilities were while in Rider form. It looked like today would be the official field test. Steeling herself, Heka glanced about and found a rooftop she could land on. Once gravity took hold, Heka allowed herself to fall, landing on the rooftop with graceful ease, just like a cat. Heka looked down from her perch, gripped her staff, Lady Luck, tightly in her hand and shouted, "HEY!"
Troll heard her voice and chuckled, "Alright, finally, Troll was starting to think you were afraid of Troll–!" The Phantom finally turned around and looked up, but when he did, he was confused. "Uh, you're not Witch, who the heck are you?"
"Ahem, I am Kamen Rider Heka. A new Rider here to defend the Boiling Isles from the likes of you!" Heka declared as she pointed her staff at Troll.
"Tch! Let me tell ya somethin' He-ka! Troll's only here to fight Witch! Troll ain't got time to fight wannabes!" Troll stated.
Heka's eye twitched under her helmet. "A 'wannabe', huh?" The gold armored hero flipped her staff around so that the bladed part was pointing upwards. "See what you think that after this!"
Heka crouched low and spring boarded off the roof and right for Troll. The bulky Phantom lost track of her for a moment, but then she reappeared about five feet behind him. Heka was bouncing on her left foot as she tried to steady herself before planting her other foot on the ground. The golden Rider glanced back behind her, looking at the spot where she was and to where she was at now.
Holy Titan, I'm way faster than I thought! I didn't even have time to attack!
Troll cocked his head to the side in confusion and asked, "Troll wants to know, is this, like, your first day or somethin'?"
Heka glared at the Phantom indignantly and shouted, "NO!"
Troll raised an unconvinced eyebrow. "Uh-huh, listen, tell Witch to get her ass here! Troll ain't fightin' some rookie!"
This only infuriated Heka more, she knew she was new, she knew she was a rookie, but being called out by a muscle-bound monster like Troll was grating on her nerves.
"Ugh, calm down Little Miss Perfect. No sense in getting riled up, you're making me look bad by default."
Oh, so sorry, Amity thought in a sarcastic tone.
Heka got into a ready stance, it was fine that the monster wasn't going to fight, it just made her job that much easier. Now that Heka had a basic idea of her speed, all she had to do was concentrate, and focus on what she wanted to do. Heka could feel her mana flowing through her body, becoming concentrated in her legs. The golden Rider sprinted forward, once again disappearing. Troll paid it no mind, but suddenly sparks flew from his right shoulder. Heka reappeared to the right of Troll; she then fist pumped with her left hand in triumph that she landed a blow.
However, Troll simply brushed the spot where she had struck him. "Ya done yet?"
"Hardly!"
Heka dashed again, this time striking Troll from multiple angles and causing sparks to fly from his body with each successive hit. Despite her numerous attacks, the bulky Phantom showed little to no signs that the damage was even hurting him. After one more attack, Heka skidded to a stop, panting from the frequent attacks as she tried to assess what her next move should be.
Titan help me, he doesn't even care what I'm doing to him! He's just shrugging it off!
"Maybe it's time you use the Roulette?
Heka glanced at her staff, she flipped it around so that the Roulette was pointed up. Something told her that this feature of her weapon was a double-edged sword, but right now, nothing else was working on the monster, so better to gamble at this point.
Are you going to tell me how to use it or are you just going to let me figure it out?
"Speak your intention, do you want to increase your attack power or lower his defense? After you speak your intention, pull the tail and wait to see what you get."
That was strangely helpful…
"Don't thank me, at this point, I'm stuck inside of you now. If you died, I could just migrate to another Gate. But since you've sealed me inside, your death means my death. So, I have every intention of ensuring that doesn't happen."
Heka didn't trust Bast, but if there was one thing she was sure of, it was that Bast cared about her survival. The new Rider stood tall and said, "Increase my attack!" She then pulled on the tail lever and the Roulette began to spin.
[Spin 'round and 'round!]
Troll was curious as to what was happening and watched with intrigue. The Roulette continued to spin, after a few seconds it began to slow down, the green lit area went through several numbers before it stopped.
} WINNER: 11 {
The golden parts of Heka's armor began to emit a bright glow, even the blade at the end of the staff was glowing. Heka flipped the staff around and dashed at Troll once again, this time the result was different. Heka slashed Troll across his chest, sparks flew from the impact, but this time around, Troll grunted in pain as he stumbled backwards. Heka capitalized on this and blitzed the monster, repeatedly striking him, it got so bad that Troll had growled angrily and struck the ground, causing it to quake. Heka saw the land wave and jumped high into the air to avoid it, she flipped once in the air before landing on the ground, taking a ready stance as the glow faded from her armor and blade.
"LET ME TELL YA SOMETHIN' HE-KA, THAT HURT!" Troll yelled.
"Well good, it was supposed to! Now, let's do that again! Increase my attack!" Heka grabbed the tail lever but found that it wasn't budging. "Wait, what?!"
"Only works once for whatever you asked of it. You can't increase your attack again."
YOU'RE JUST TELLING ME THIS NOW?!
"Don't get your panties into a bunch, Little Miss Perfect. You still have other options, for instance, lowering his defense to make him more vulnerable to your attacks."
But that will only work once, right?
"Only for today, if you don't beat him today, you can do it again tomorrow. But I think it'd be better if you finished this today."
"Alright. Lower his defense!"
[Spin 'round and 'round!]
Troll flinched when he saw the Roulette spin again, Heka smirked under her helmet when she saw that. The Phantom mocked her earlier, but now the monster realized that she wasn't an opponent to take lightly. The Roulette eventually came to a stop.
} WINNER: 13 {
A golden aura outlined Troll, the Phantom looked at its body with shock, but not fear. Heka's smirk grew as she turned her staff around and dashed to attack.
"WAIT, DON'T ATTACK, YOU LOST THE BET!"
Heka struck Troll, but the moment she did, the impact rebounded and caused a shockwave to erupt from his body. That same shockwave buffeted Heka, damaging her armor as sparks flew off from it. Heka was thrown backwards until she smashed through the wall of a building. The golden Rider groaned in pain as she lied there on the floor, wondering what had just happened.
"Why did it feel like I just struck the side of a mountain?"
"I tried to warn you! You lost the bet!"
"It said I was the winner!"
"Ugh, no, HE was the winner, not you!"
Heka raised an eyebrow. "Now you lost me."
"The golden numbers are amplifiers, and the purple ones are de-amplifiers. When it landed on the gold number, it increased his already impressive defensive powers, which resulted in the rebounding of your attack."
Heka picked herself up and asked, "How is that possible?! It's my power! It shouldn't make my opponents stronger!"
"That's how it is when you gamble. Lady Luck is a fickle mistress, and that's why you should use it with caution!"
Troll didn't know what happened, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. The lumbering Phantom was about to make a move, but then something strange occurred. His body suddenly burned, and mana was quickly getting eaten away at. "What kind of cheating is this?! Troll will be back, wannabe! And next time, Witch better be here!" Troll raised his arms and spun like a top, drilling a hole through the ground, and exiting the battlefield.
Heka picked herself up and looked on in confusion. "What? How – why did he leave? He had the advantage."
"You're welcome."
"What do you mean, 'you're welcome'?"
"A side effect of my power. The power boost earlier sped up the process a bit. My power eats away at other Phantoms' mana, I guess you can say we're burning them slowly over time. The greater the damage inflicted, the more their mana is eaten away. If they sustain too much damage, then the effect stops eating their mana and eventually moves onto their life force. Which is why Troll had to retreat, he felt the burn."
Heka wasn't sure if she liked that the battle ended this way, it was a sloppy fight, not something she would've liked to call her debut battle. But the Phantom was gone for now. Her helmet showed a display that read [Time Remaining: 6 minutes]. "Guess that's all for now…" Amity used her agility and jumped over several rooftops before landing in the forest, whereupon she changed back and dismissed her MagiDriver. Amity glanced in the general direction of where the Owl House was, she then sighed and said, "Sorry, Luz, I need to talk to dad about this battle."
Meanwhile, Willow and Gus were heading to the Owl House, they heard the rumblings from the town and wondered if Luz had gone to intercept since they could hear something close to the sounds of battle echoing from their position, but so far, they hadn't seen any sign of their friend. It wasn't unusual for Luz to either ride into battle on her flying machine or use one of her portals to move instantaneously to the town. But for some reason, something felt off about this.
Once they got to the Owl House, Willow knocked on the door, waking up Hooty. "Oh look, company!"
"Hooty, has Luz gone out to fight the Phantom already?" Willow asked.
The house demon looked anxious upon being asked that question. "Uh…Oh hoot…that's um…EDA, WE HAVE COMPANY!" Hooty extended himself out from the door and smashed through second floor window.
There were sounds of a struggle for about a few seconds before Hooty retracted himself and plopped Eda onto the front porch. "DANG IT, HOOTY! What's wrong with you today?!"
"Ms. Eda!" Gus and Willow exclaimed.
The Owl Lady turned her attention to her front and saw Luz's friends standing there. "Oh…that's why you dragged me out here." Eda glanced over her shoulder at a sweating and whistling Hooty. "Real nice, Hooty."
"Eda, there's a Phantom attack in town! Does Luz know?!" Gus asked.
Eda bit her bottom lip, this wasn't good, not at all. "Uh…okay kids, there's something I need to tell you, and you're not going to like it."
The Owl Lady explained what happened yesterday, how Luz had saved a girl by the name of Amelia from becoming a Phantom and took two of them out at once. Then earlier that day she took Luz to The Knee and they managed to create two more powerful rings, this was news to both of them as they weren't aware of the first two rings. But Eda continued her story, retelling how a Phantom by the name of Lich attacked them and was trying to steal Luz's magic. A portal like the one Eda had opened behind the Phantom and Luz kicked him into it, unfortunately, the portal sucked her in as well, and now Luz was gone. The two young witches didn't know what to say, or what to think. There was a Phantom attack happening right now and their protector was gone, not just that, their best friend was sent Titan knows where and possibly trapped with a Phantom who has a vendetta against her.
"W-W-We have to help her! We have to save Luz," said Willow.
"That's what Lily and I have been trying to do," said Eda.
"Uh, Lily?" Gus asked.
The door opened as Lilith exited and asked, "Edalyn, what in the world is going on? That house demon dragged you out and – oh…I didn't know we were expecting company…"
Willow and Gus yelped as they jumped back and drew their spell circles.
"Did she do it?!" Gus asked. "Cause I swear, this time around, we're gonna–!"
Eda shot up and waved her hands as she said, "Whoa, whoa, hey, cool it kiddos! Lily's not with the Emperor's Coven anymore! She lives here now."
Willow and Gus dismissed their spell circles, now remembering that they did see Lilith in the cage with Eda, and that she, King, and Luz rode on Eda's back as they left the Conformatorium. They weren't really sure what that was about, but it seems that she was in fact no longer working for the Emperor.
"Alright, but I still have my suspicions," said Gus.
"So, what can we do? How can we get Luz back?" Willow asked.
Eda ran her hand through her long hair and said, "We don't know, we've been researching ever since it happened, but without magic we can't even do anything even if we found something."
"Wait, you can't use magic?" Gus asked.
"Neither of us can, Goose," said Eda. "Lily took on half of my curse, and because of it, our magic is gone."
Lilith stepped up and demonstrated by drawing a spell circle, the blue circlet of magic glowed for about two seconds before it dulled and turned to ash. "As you can see, my sister and I have been rendered powerless. But that's not stopping us from finding a way to get her back."
"Then let us help!" Willow exclaimed. "You two may not be able to use magic anymore, but we still can!"
Eda didn't like the idea of having Luz's friends help with this. "Look, whatever we do find will more than likely be some heavy-duty magic, stuff that you kids haven't ever tried before. On top of that, none of you even have your staffs yet."
"Maybe, but that wouldn't stop Luz! You know she's probably doing whatever she can to come back, so can we really call ourselves her friends if we don't do the same?!" Gus proposed.
Lilith smiled at the young witches before her and said, "That human really does have a way of inspiring others, doesn't she?"
"You don't know the half of it, Lil. Alright, but first, we need to find out what's going on with this Phantom situation," said Eda.
"EDA, EDA!" King exclaimed as he ran to the front door. "Oh, hey, Willow, Gus. EDA, YOU HAVE TO COME SEE THIS!"
King practically dragged Eda back inside the house, with Lilith, Willow, and Gus on her tail. They gathered in the living room where the crystal ball had been set up. Gus' dad was currently reporting on the Phantom attack.
[A Phantom attack has occurred in Bones Borough. While this kind of thing has started to become commonplace, this particular attack was different. The Phantom, known as Troll, was actively challenging Kamen Rider Witch to a fight, going so far as to issue said challenge in the middle of town for all to see.
What was stranger about this event is that Witch did not show up to meet the challenge of this Phantom. Prompting the Emperor's Coven to engage the Phantom, however, the Phantom proved to be the stronger and easily defeated the Coven Scouts.
But that's when things got even stranger, ladies and gentlemen. Eyewitness reports say that they saw a new Kamen Rider!]
"WHAT?!" Everyone exclaimed.
"HOOT?!" Hooty exclaimed.
[At first people speculated that it was possibly another change of costume as Witch has shown to modify her uniform in the middle of a fight. But that was not the case here. Witnesses claim that this is in fact a new Rider, based on the facts that her voice sounded different from what we heard from Witch, also, this new Rider goes by another name. Kamen Rider Heka.
We are still gathering details as they come in, but rest assured, we will update you, our viewers, as soon as more information comes to light on the Boiling Isles' newest Kamen Rider.]
To say everyone was in shock would be a gross understatement. A new Kamen Rider had appeared on the Boiling Isles, someone other than Luz had the power to transform into a Kamen Rider, but that would also mean that they were someone who was at the Sabbath ritual and was able to conquer their Inner Phantom. Willow, Lilith, Eda, and even King were more than a little concerned about this, questions were raised in their minds. Who is this new Rider? Are they a human like Luz? Are they working for the Phantoms? Or worse, working for Belos?
For all the worrisome things plaguing their minds, there was one among them who was less worried and looked downright giddy. Willow turned her attention to the youngest witch among them and asked, "Gus, why don't you look as worried as the rest of us?!"
"Because it's the Secondary Rider!" Gus exclaimed.
"I'm sorry, what?" Lilith asked.
Gus drew a spell circle and conjured some images up for them to see. "In almost every Kamen Rider series that I've studied, there's always a Primary Rider, the main hero of the tale. And then there's the Secondary Rider, a Kamen Rider who acts as either the partner of the Primary or, sometimes, the Rival. And…occasionally…sometimes becomes the antagonist of the story," he admitted.
Willow pinched the bridge of her nose as she said, "Gus, this isn't some human world entertainment story! It's real!"
"Yes, and yet, here we are. Another Rider, a mysterious new hero who has come when our main hero is nowhere to be seen! I've been wondering if one would show up, and now one has!"
"I've said it before, and I'll say it again, that kid scares me," said Eda.
"Agreed," King replied.
"So, if your logic persists, that means this Rider is…an alley?" Lilith inquired.
Gus rubbed the back of his head as he thought about that answer. "I mean…possibly. We don't really have much info, my dad just reported that she fought the Phantom, but we don't know how she faired. I'm sure we'll see something on Penstagram or some recording of the fight by the news will pop up. In the meantime, let's see about helping Luz get back!"
"Well, that could've gone better, Amity."
Amity had returned home not too long after the battle with Troll. And as expected, her father had an Abomination Drone, or AD, watching and recording the fight between Amity as Heka and Troll. Now that she was watching her actions from a bird's eye view, Amity felt embarrassed, she was all over the place, fumbling about like a newborn trying to figure out how to walk. Even though she managed to land some blows against the Phantom, overall, it was a sloppy fight. Devoid of the elegance and preciseness that Witch deployed in her battles against the Phantoms. Compared to Witch, she was truly a rookie when it came to fighting technique.
"I'm sorry, dad, my debut of the MagiDriver was a complete mess, and I failed to defeat the Phantom," said Amity.
"On the contrary, you did provide some additional data. We only checked to see if your transformation was stable, which it is, we never got the chance to try out your combat capabilities. This battle gave us plenty to work with." Alador brought up some stats of his daughter's normal physical abilities and had the stats of herself as Heka stacked side by side. "Your agility and speed are significantly higher than normal, along with your strength level. The armor that is generated by the transformation has proven to be durable, and there doesn't seem to be any lingering side effects after a battle."
"Other than soreness from getting hit with my own attack," Amity commented.
"Ah, yes, the 'rebound' effect. Your staff has the unique ability to enhance or debilitate you or your opponents, but its power is based on random luck much like a gambling roulette. I would say your staff is your most powerful weapon, but at the same time, your most detrimental item as you never know for sure if it will grant you what you want," said Alador.
Amity clenched her fists, she may have the power of a Kamen Rider, but she knew nothing about being one. She had none of the skill and none of the knowledge, and no better was that proven to her then the events of earlier. "Ugh…I may be the perfect test subject, but as far as being a fighter, I'm subpar at best."
Alador glanced at his daughter, he could tell that her battle, while taking a physical toll, did seem to harm her in an emotional way. Admittedly, he was never good when it came to emotions, emotions weren't quantifiable, they were ephemeral, they swayed back and forth, and were always hard for him to read. Even amongst his own family. It was Odalia who often helped him in that department, she became the face of Blight Industries and its president, being an Oracle witch granted her the power to read people much better than most, and she was very good at her craft. Alador was good with Abominations and tinkering with mechanical devices and finding a way to merge the two together to create unique items and gadgets, or in the case of their company, weapons.
He mostly left the raising of their children to Odalia, only chiming in when Odalia told him he needed to say something to them as a parental authority figure. If he was being honest, these last few days he had spent with Amity was probably the first time he had ever spent one on one time with any of his children. And right now, he wasn't sure what to say to help his daughter feel less inadequate about her skills. So, he tried to be objective about it.
"Your skills when it comes to magic are par none, Amity. Hexside, Glandus, and Epidermis all teach the basics of combat against other witches and demons, but in this case, you're not fighting a witch or a demon, and you're not using conventional magic to do it. You're using a completely different magic system and fighting a foe that doesn't adhere to the Coventional Rules of Engagement that you've been taught. If you are to be successful in combatting the Phantoms, you'll have to adjust your way of fighting."
Amity nodded to her father in understanding.
"Alright, I'll be analyzing the recordings of this 'Troll's' abilities." Just then Amity's stomach made a growling sound that her blush. "And perhaps you should procure yourself some sustenance."
"Sorry…and yes, I will."
Once their meeting was done Amity exited the subbasement and regular basement before heading into the kitchen. "I recommend something sweet."
And why's that?
"You need to replenish our mana reserves and eating something sugary has the necessary calories to convert into mana energy. That being said, I'm not suggesting that you gobble down raw sugar."
Amity had noticed she felt a bit weaker since the battle was over, drained actually. The young witchling relented to the advice of Bast and grabbed some cookies from a box in the pantry. Amity munched down a couple of the cookies, and once she had there was an immediate feeling of rejuvenation. "Whoa…you weren't kidding."
"Best to keep some of those on hand after a battle, don't want run your tank low."
"But does that mean I'm limited to only sugary foods?" Amity asked.
"No, you can still eat your regular foods. They will provide energy to replenish your mana, but not as fast as something with sugar will."
Amity took the box with her upstairs to her room; the cookies would fill her for some time until dinner was ready and serve to refill her mana. "Noted. And you're being strangely helpful."
"Well, since I'm for all intents and purposes stuck in here, I need to think of my survival. And my survival entails making sure you don't die. That being said, that fight was sloppy, and ungraceful."
Amity entered her room, threw the box of cookies onto her bed, and threw off her cowl. "What do you expect?! That was my first ever fight! It's not like I routinely combat monsters! Ugh! How does Witch do it?!"
"Hmm, she is a very skilled fighter, and she knows how her powers work. I am now genuinely curious as to who she is."
Amity plopped onto her bed, staring straight up at her ceiling as a thought came to mind. "Where was Witch? It's not like her to not show up when there's a Phantom?"
"Well, she might've sensed you."
"What do you mean?"
"There's a chance that Witch might've sensed our power, and when she did, she stayed back to see what you were capable of. It's just a theory, mind you, not really rooted in anything other than a hunch."
If Witch had been there and wanted to see Amity in action, then for sure the hero was not impressed by Amity's performance. Now she wondered if Witch appeared, would she take away the MagiDriver because of her incompetence? Amity furrowed her brow and sat up. "I'm not giving up that easily! I became a Rider to protect Luz, and by Titan I will become a strong enough Rider that even Witch will acknowledge me!…But how am I going to do that?"
"UGH! Stupid little wannabe, burning me with her sneaky magic! Troll will make her regret that," said Troll he was lied in wait in a cave.
"Troll." The Phantom turned around and watched as a black smoke cloud laced with red lightning appeared behind him. And from that cloud appeared Set. "We have questions."
Before Troll could reply, both he and Set were engulfed in his cloud. The world around Troll spun around for a moment before he was set down. Troll held his head for a moment until the world stopped spinning, and then he replied, "Let me tell ya somethin' Set, Troll doesn't like being magical whisked away like that!"
"Do pardon my subordinate's travel method."
Troll went still as he heard the echoing voice coming from behind him. The Phantom slowly turned around and peered at the darkness at the other end of the tunnel, now looking at five pairs of glowing eyes, all of which were directed right at him. Troll, for all his bravado, was not stupid. He could easily sense the power of this Phantom, how it far exceeded that of Set and himself. In fact, Troll felt that if he made the wrong move, the one behind those eyes would snuff him out like a candle in the wind.
"Now then, Troll, perhaps you can enlighten me as to what happened today?" Tiamat politely asked.
"T-Troll went out to fight Witch, S-Set told us about the offer, so Troll took it! T-Troll isn't about sneakin' and schemin', Troll wanted a straight up fight!"
"Hmm, and instead of Witch, you were confronted by some new Rider, correct?"
Troll nodded his head. "Y-Yes, Heka, she called herself Heka! B-But she was a complete amateur! Not even worth the effort!"
Set stroked his chin and said, "She seemed to make you retreat nonetheless."
Troll growled at the Phantom General's remark. "Troll was caught off guard, but Troll won't let that happen again! Agh!"
The five eyes of Tiamat raised a brow at Troll's condition. "It would seem you are still suffering from some lingering effects of that new Rider's magic. Let your wounds heal first, and upon your recovery, battle her again. One Rider is one too many, but two is unacceptable. Eliminate this Kamen Rider Heka."
Troll nodded and asked, "Hey, does the offer extend to her too?! Set told Troll that if Witch is destroyed, the Phantom who did it is allowed to do whatever they want! Does that include this one?!"
Set's eyes glowed red. "How dare you think to change the generous offer that Lady Tiamat has granted you and the other Rogues, I should–!"
"The offer extends to Heka as well. To this, I give this offer only to you and you alone, Troll. Recover, and then fight this Rider with all you've got, fight her for the freedom to do as you please," said Tiamat as she interrupted Set.
Troll double fist pumped in triumph, the new Rider was inexperienced, a complete rookie, while Witch was tougher and well versed in combating Phantoms. As far as Troll was concerned, his freedom was as good as his already. "Alright, Troll will get better, and when Troll does, Troll is gonna unleash a world of hurt on–!"
Set dismissed the Phantom, teleporting him back to his hiding hole. "Lady Tiamat, are we really going to offer that buffoon the chance to so easily gain his freedom? That new Rider will be an easy defeat for him, barely worth the effort, we should make him fight both of the Riders!"
"As I said, one Rider is one too many. Two, well, that simply will not do. This new Rider is a fledgling, and if the enticement of freedom makes Troll fight this fledgling Rider without holding back, then it is a win-win. But what concerns me about this new Rider is how they managed to gain their power?"