Kamen Rider SideRide Chronicles: Oscura's Encore

Intermission: A Cool Pool Day

Marcy knocked on Luz's door.

"Coming!" Luz answered before she went and opened the door to see the Taiwanese teen standing outside her room with Sasha. "Sasha, Marcy, what's up?"

"We're just here to return something to you," Marcy replied as she held the Command Buckle out to Luz. "Thanks so much for letting me use it."

"Yeah, thanks," Sasha added, looking guilty. "If you hadn't given that to Marcy, I might've killed her."

Luz looked at the Command Buckle, which had to be one of her most powerful Buckles besides her Oscura Buckle. Only a fool would decline if offered such power.

"Nah, you keep it," Luz declined. Yes, Luz was a fool, a sentimental fool.

"Are you sure?" Marcy asked, surprised by Luz's generosity.

"I've got a lot of Buckles anyway. Plus, in case something happens, it'll be good for you to have something powerful to protect yourself with," Luz reasoned.

"Oh, thank you, Luz!" Marcy smiled gratefully. "Now, Sasha and I can pull off an awesome Gundam-style double team!"

"I do want one thing back though," Luz interrupted. "Excuse me." She darted into her room to collect the item. It was the Ninja Buckle. "The Magnum Buckle for this."

"You want to trade for the Magnum Buckle?" Marcy asked, surprised again.

"Yeah, and this Buckle is way more compatible with your ID Core anyway," Luz said as she handed the Ninja Buckle to Marcy. Marcy dug into her pocket and handed the Magnum Buckle to Luz. "Thanks."

"You just want that Buckle?" Sasha questioned.

"It's got sentimental value," Luz smiled warmly. It had been hers before it fell into Marcy's hands and before then, it had been used by her dad. "What about you? I have the Beat Buckle if you want that back."

"Nah, I'll pass," Sasha declined. She was going to stick with the Monster Buckle in Anne's memory. "C'mon, Marcy. Later, Luz."

As the two girls started to leave, Luz left the room and got out in front of them.

"Wait up! Me and Amity were about to head to one of the training rooms to have ourselves some fun at the pool. Why don't you two join us?" Luz offered.

Sasha rubbed the back of her head, feeling awkward about the invitation.

"I…I don't know, Luz. I mean…after all the shit I've given you, won't it be weird to have me there?" Sasha glanced at Marcy. "And don't let me stop you from going, Mar-Mar. If you want to join them, then go ahead."

Marcy crossed her arms in front of her chest and shook her head, sighing in frustration.

"Sashy, stop it. All of that is in the past. A good chunk of all that was because of Boscha," said Marcy.

"Yeah, but the other 'chunk' was my stupid ass believing her."

Luz walked up to Sasha and patted her shoulder.

"Hakuna Mata, Sasha. No worries."

Sasha snorted as she laughed.

"Did you just quote the Lion King to me?"

"Hey, it fits, doesn't it? You gotta put your past behind you. Yesterday's enemy is today's friend and all that jazz," Luz justified. "So, stop beating yourself up, throw on a swimsuit, and come and have fun with us! Also, how can you say no to that adorkable face?"

Sasha glanced at Marcy, who was now giving her the puppy dog eyes as she waited to hear the blonde's answer. The blonde teen chuckled and rolled her eyes as she sighed.

"Guess I can't say no to that, can I? Alright, let's do it."

"Yes!" Marcy cheered with her arms in the air.

Training Area 0017 (Swimming Pool)

Sasha was standing on the diving board, dressed in a two-piece red swimsuit with the DGP logo printed across her chest while her blonde hair was tied into a ponytail to keep it out of her face. Over her eyes, she had on a pair of goggles.

She stepped over to the tip of the board and did a few hops before leaping off. She dove straight into the pool, her body positioned to pierce the water headfirst.

After a moment, her head burst out of the surface and she lifted up her goggles.

"Whoa! I so needed that!"

"Nice jump, Sasha!" Marcy applauded, wearing a two-piece swimsuit that had a blue top and green bottoms, also with the DGP logo across her chest.

On the other end of the pool, both Luz and Amity came out of a water slide with a splash, riding on a two-person pool float.

Training Room 0017 contained a swimming pool and besides a diving board, it also had a water slide. The tube of the water slide descended from a tower before making a few twists and turns until it finally spat out the people on the other end, landing them in the pool.

Following the Zombie Game, the four players decided to have a fun day at the pool to unwind. They really needed it since Sasha had been freed from Boscha's influence while Amity had found closure after facing her mother's spectre for the last time.

Luz and Amity paddled their float over to the edge of the pool before they got out together.

"Hey, the slide's awesome! Give it a try!" Luz called.

"OK, we will!" Sasha called back, eliciting a laugh from Marcy. "What's so funny, Marbles?"

"It's funny. Before yesterday, you were super gung-ho about wanting to fight Luz, but now we're all getting along," Marcy observed, smiling. Sasha swam over and pulled herself out of the pool to sit beside Marcy.

"I've learned my lesson, Marcy, about a lot of things. I used to be such a control freak. Being under someone else's control, it helped me realise how toxic I was," Sasha admitted. "I wish I realised that before Anne died."

"What matters is that you finally realised it and decided to change," Marcy comforted.

"You should listen to her, Sasha. Take it from someone who made a crap ton of bad choices and mistakes." Luz casually took a seat next to Sasha, while Amity sat on Luz's left. "I learned a lot from all the mistakes I made four years ago, but I am by no means perfect now. Still learning, still improving. It's better that you learn this now rather than later when you're an adult and the world is a lot less forgiving."

"And if that's not enough, look at how much I changed," Amity added.

Sasha chuckled a little and nodded in understanding. However, her expression fell a little as she realised something.

"It's nice that I did figure this out…but depending on who wins and becomes the God of Desire, our memories will be rewritten. I won't remember any of this, and I'll go back to being that control freak again..."

"I don't know about that. Zoe, my old bully, she changed after the Slasher Game and now we're friends. So, even if you forget about the DGP, there's still a chance you could change," Luz refuted.

"It's true. And considering that Zoe was a total bitch to us throughout high school, and tried multiple times to humiliate Luz - failing each time mind you – then there's definitely more than enough hope for you." Amity glanced over at Marcy. "Plus, unlike Zoe, you have friends who actually love and care about you. If anything, it might spark that change faster than you realise."

"What do you mean?" Sasha asked.

"Looking back on it, I can't say for certain, but I think something triggered Zoe to remember, or rather, feel that she was a jerk and wanted to change. Maybe Marcy, and Anne, will be the thing that sparks it for you when you go back to your normal lives," Amity explained.

"Yeah, after we bring Anne back, all this will be over," Sasha sighed. "I'm gonna miss being a Kamen Rider. Even if I don't remember it, I'll feel like I lost something that made me cool."

"Sash, you're already cool," Marcy countered. "And you're so badass."

"Thanks, Marce," Sasha smiled appreciatively.

"Of course, Luz is more badass, just for the record," Amity retorted, feeling cheeky.

"Amity, come on," Luz groaned.

Marcy leaned slightly forward, looking in Amity's direction.

"Uh, heh-heh, sorry, Amity, but I've got to say that Sasha is waaaay more badass than Luz, no offence."

"What is happening right now?" Sasha questioned in confusion.

"Oh, our girlfriends are trying to compete to see who has the better partner," Luz answered, causing Sasha to blush.

"Oh, um, Marcy and I, we're not like that," Sasha denied.

Marcy leaned up against Sasha, rubbing her shoulder against the blonde's.

"Well, not officially yet. It's semi-official," Marcy clarified.

Luz and Amity both had confused looks on their faces.

"Soooo…friends with benefits then?" Luz suggested.

Sasha and Marcy went bright red.

"NO!" they yelled simultaneously.

"It's always right to the gutter with you," Amity bemoaned.

Sasha regained her composure.

"We're…We're waiting for Anne. Look, this might sound weird and all…but Marcy and I, we want this to be something between the three of us. Of course, this wholly depends on how Anne feels. But I honestly want to give it a try," she explained.

"So, like a throuple then?" Amity questioned. In the Demon Realm, a polyamorous relationship was acceptable, and she had seen relationships that involved more than two people that were very loving. One of her old classmates even had two dads and one mom.

"I remember you two telling me that kind of thing is accepted in the Demon Realm. But, you know, it's kinda not here," Marcy informed.

"It's one of the things I love about the Demon Realm besides the magic," Luz admitted. Nobody was discriminated against for their sexual orientation or gender identity.

"Considering that we just accept it as normal, it never became an issue for us," Amity added, shrugging.

"So, like, how do same-sex couples have kids there?" Marcy asked curiously. "I mean, I know adoption is possibly a thing, but how do two men or two women have kids? Do you use surrogates or what?"

"Magic," Amity and Luz answered in unison.

"C'mon, there has to be more than just that," Marcy begged.

"No, it's all magic. If I had to explain the exact process to you, we'd be here for hours," Amity argued.

Luz nudged Sasha in the side with her elbow as she grinned a little.

"Watch out, Waybright. Looks like Marcy's thinking of putting a bun in your oven."

"W-W-What?!" Marcy exclaimed. "Nononononono, I'm just strictly asking out of scientific curiosity! Nothing more! I swear!"

Sasha, deciding to get a little cheeky herself, glanced at Marcy in mock disappointment.

"Marcy, does that mean you really don't want to have a kid with me? I mean…I can't blame you, considering how controlling and toxic I was…I probably wouldn't be that good of a mom…"

Marcy spluttered and began waving her hands around frantically as she tried to come up with a way to explain herself.

"No! No! Sashy! Y-Y-You would make a great – no – an awesome mom! A-And I mean, if I could, I would, b-b-but – Ow!" Macy's rambling was cut short after Sasha flicked her forehead.

"Take a chill pill, Marce. I'm just messing with you. But back on topic, yeah, we're just going to hold off until we can get Anne back."

Luz placed her right hand on Sasha's shoulder.

"And are you going to be okay if she says she doesn't want to?" she asked.

"Honestly, yes. I've been…" Sasha's face scrunched up as she remembered how she treated Anne all these years. "I pushed and ordered Anne around. Ever since Marcy moved away, I was afraid of losing Anne too. So, I made sure that she was always at my side and in the process…I made her dependent on me…I stunted her growth as a person. If Anne doesn't want to be in a relationship with me, or join us in a throuple, then I'm not going to force her. It's her decision and I will respect it."

"And, Marcy, what about you? Are you going to be okay if this doesn't work out?" Amity asked.

"Just like Sasha said, this isn't just our decision to make between the three of us. I wasn't exactly a good friend to Anne too. I realised that after moving away and taking a step back, I've changed because of it. But if Anne doesn't want to be with either of us, or be part of a throuple, then that is her decision. If she's still willing to at least be friends with us, and maybe start over, I'll be happy with that," Marcy confessed.

Luz smiled after hearing Sasha and Marcy's answers. They were willing to leave this all to Anne, no matter what the outcome might be. So long as their friendship could at least remain intact or even become something better, it was still going to be a win for all three of them.

'At least when Anne comes back, it'll be a new beginning for the three of them. Although, I am hoping that they'll be together-together,' thought Luz.

'Happily ever after? Heh, I don't see it lasting. Sasha will screw it up somehow. You should just swoop in and snatch up Marcy and Anne. You can't tell me that you don't find those two the least bit attractive. If we had our empire, we'd have all four of them at the foot of our throne, in Star Battles slave bikinis, with collars around their necks, and chains leading right to our hand as they–'

"HEY, WHO WANTS SOME DRINKS?! I WANT A DRINK! I'M GOING TO GET US DRINKS!" Luz suddenly yelled as she quickly stood up and rushed to the door, exiting the training room.

Sasha and Marcy blinked, confused by Luz's outburst.

"Uh…is Luz okay, Amity?" Marcy asked, concerned.

"Uh…y-yeah, just Luz being Luz. Heh, she can be so random at times. You get used to it," Amity lied. She knew exactly what that was about, and it very much worried her. However, she couldn't let Sasha and Marcy know, not yet, not until she could find a way to help Luz.

Meanwhile, out in the hallway, Luz was thumping her head against the wall as she growled in annoyance.

"Dammit, stop! Just stop! I don't see them like that!" Luz argued.

'But you can't say that seeing Amity in that outfit isn't enticing.'

"…I mean, I wouldn't mind seeing her in one…"

'Now add three more, and you're good to go.'

"Ugh! Thank you, you just ruined that fantasy for me!" Luz complained as she headed for the lounge.

"Say, Amity, I've got a question for you," said Sasha.

"What is it?" Amity asked.

"Look, feel free to say no, but…what did Luz look like when she was…you know..."

"When she was Empress Oscura," Amity finished.

"Sasha, seriously?" Marcy questioned disapprovingly.

"No, no. I'm just curious. I'm off that Oscura crap, but I guess…Boscha's description of what happened kind of got me wondering," Sasha clarified.

Amity sighed heavily. It wasn't as if she could completely blame Sasha for being curious, especially after all the half-truths that Boscha had fed her. Perhaps seeing what Luz looked like in the past would give Sasha and Marcy a clear idea of the suffering that she had gone through.

"Alright…" Amity drew a spell circle and pointed it out in front of them. Within seconds the form of Empress Oscura appeared before them, hovering over the water.

"Whoa…"

"Oh my gosh…"

The first thing that Marcy and Sasha noticed were the scars. There were so many of them covering Empress Oscura's arms and what her cleavage window exposed, but what really drew their gaze was, of course, the big X-shaped one right in the middle of her face. The second thing was her eyes, which had a glowing violet slit in the middle of them, giving the woman before them a demonic gaze that could pierce directly into your soul and make your blood run cold.

"I'm the reason Luz had those scars," Amity confessed, feeling ashamed. "I didn't give them to her myself, but I might as well have."

"Is that the 'curse' you were talking about?" Sasha asked her.

"The Everlasting Oath, a binding ritual between two parties with terrible consequences if broken," Amity explained.

"How…How many are there?" Marcy inquired about the scars, her voice quivering a little.

"One for each time she attempted to do magic. I have no doubt that there wasn't a part of her that didn't have a scar on it."

Sasha and Marcy were in shock. They had heard plenty of stories of self-harm, either through whispered rumours, or hearing about such things from counsellors who promoted awareness while encouraging students to seek help. Seeing something like this, it was just so…they really didn't have the words to describe it.

"Did they…Did they hurt?" Sasha reluctantly asked. She knew it was a stupid question but considering it was magic, she needed to know for sure.

"They did. The curse would cut her, then sear the cut close. It was a painful reminder, as well as a visual one," Amity answered shamefully, still feeling incredibly guilty over causing her beloved fiancée so much pain in the past. "She was so desperate to get back what she lost, Luz performed an ancient and forbidden ritual. In so doing, she forged a Philosopher's Stone."

"Luz told me about that," Marcy replied. "I'm still surprised something like that even exists."

"Okay, I'll bite, what the hell is a 'Philosopher's Stone'?" Sasha inquired.

"According to myth, the Philosopher's Stone would allow alchemists to perfectly transmute worthless metals into precious metals like gold or silver," Marcy explained. "They also believed that it would allow them to create an elixir that would grant them immortality."

"Oookay. Still not sold on how it made Luz into an all-powerful evil empress. I mean, making endless silver and gold isn't bad, and immortality is badass I guess. But you can't exactly take over an entire realm with just that."

"Well, some of the legends of the Human Realm seem to differ a little from the ones of the Demon Realm. Forging a Philosopher's Stone requires a sacrifice. She learned about it from a book in the Forbidden Stacks in the library where I worked. When she performed the ritual, she called forth her inner Phantom and sacrificed it, forging her Philosopher's Stone as a result. The stone that Luz made, it granted her power. I don't say that lightly. You've seen what she can do with her Oscura Buckle, and that's limited due to it not possessing a Philosopher's Stone. She could do almost anything when she had it. The limit was only her imagination. According to Luz, it allowed her to create whatever she wanted, including her original Driver."

"Wait, she made herself into a Kamen Rider with magic?" Sasha asked, gobsmacked.

"Yes, and it was just a random thing she created to test out the stone's power. Besides that, it also amplified her darker emotions, slowly corrupting her. With each spell she cast, she allowed the darkness to slowly take over her soul."

Sasha looked back at the illusion image of Empress Oscura and then back at Amity.

"Uh, question: why does this version of Luz look older?" Sasha inquired. "Weren't you and her, like, fourteen when this happened? She looks like she's in her twenties."

"Luz speculated that the stone aged her body to a point where she would be physically strong enough to wield its power without putting too much strain on herself," Amity answered. 'Now that I think about it, Alt Anne and Alt Luz's bodies grew whenever they transformed too. Was their power ageing them up the same way as Oscura's for the same reason?'

"Anyway, it was with this power that she was able to overwhelm anyone and everyone who faced her," Amity continued her explanation. "It wasn't even a contest when it came to battling her. In fact, it wasn't a battle at all. She was the most powerful being in the entire Demon Realm. Not even Emperor Belos was a match for her, and he was the most powerful witch in the Boiling Isles until she came along. And by far, her strongest feats of magic were created in the form of her Sin Spells. You've seen them in action during the DGP, but those are watered-down versions compared to the originals. With one spell, the Gluttony Spell, she managed to erase the sigils of every single denizen on the Boiling Isles. Those were magical seals placed on witches and demons to limit their magic, and she just erased them. All of them, at the same time."

"Jesus, no wonder Boscha was so hellbent on killing her, she was OP as fuck," Sasha realised. "She could do anything."

"Well…that was before the real monster came out." Amity drew another spell circle as she prepared to alter the image. "During the final battle, Oscura created her most powerful ring yet, and obtained a form that embodied her nihilistic and dark mindset."

The image of Empress Oscura quickly morphed and now what floated before them was the form of Scyn Oscura, a six-winged being of darkness, a monster.

"She looks like a fallen angel," Marcy observed.

"Fitting…considering how full of light and hope she was before…before I snuffed it out."

"And you're saying that Anne – the other Anne and Luz – managed to beat that?" Sasha pointed.

"It was a fight for the ages. Tell me something: did you guys happen to catch news footage of a strange phenomenon happening over a town in Connecticut about four years ago?" Amity asked.

Sasha did recall seeing some news footage that was circulating around the internet back then. The government claimed it had been a hoax that was made by someone going ham with VFX programs and trying to go viral by passing it off as real. There were a lot of people online speculating that it was a government cover-up, but those speculations were viewed as conspiracy theories more than anything. Witnesses claim to have seen barriers forming over a town, huge beams and explosions, and a giant mechanical owl. There were some who believed they had seen a black-winged being fighting against two other beings, one with six wings of white and black and another that was sparking with blue lightning.

"No way…" Sasha gasped. "You're not saying that footage was real, are you?!"

"It was," Amity confirmed. "Oscura managed to create a portal that would've allowed her to bring her army of monsters and herself into the Human Realm. But the other Anne and Luz fought her, which caused their fight to spill into your world for a bit before they brought her back to the Demon Realm to finish the fight."

The teen witch waved her hand. Now, Scyn Oscura was joined by Empress Oscura, and Luz as she was at fourteen. Sasha and Marcy looked upon the three states of the girl they had come to know during their time in the DGP. They looked at the young version of Luz, who looked defeated, depressed, and covered in scars. Then to the Empress who obtained great power and became an iron-fisted ruler of the Demon Realm. And finally, to the ultimate monster she became.

"I can understand why Boscha couldn't forgive Luz for all she did as Empress Oscura. When it was over, there were calls to have Luz put to death for her actions, for the lives she took, and for the pain she inflicted. Her entire goal during the last DGP season was to atone for her sins by bringing back those lives. And she succeeded, even if some people squandered that second chance…" Amity concluded.

Marcy had a stray tear fall from her eye and wiped it away.

"I can't believe she's been carrying, that both of you have been carrying, this kind of pain for years," Marcy sniffled, becoming very sad.

"Well…I didn't think it was possible for me to feel more like shit than I did a moment ago, but I was wrong." Sasha pressed her right hand against her forehead, angry at herself for believing all of Boscha's lies and persecuting Luz. "Every time I called her evil, every time I compared her to her old self…I was just dragging up these painful memories…"

"Sasha, don't beat yourself up about it. If there's one thing Luz and I have learned from all this, it's that we can't dwell on the past. Like I said, we all failed Luz. Her mother figure, her best friends, and me…we all had a hand in creating Oscura. But we have to move on, take what we learned from the past, and move forward to make a better future. Luz will never forget what she did in the past, and neither will I, but we're not going to let the past rule us. Otherwise…" Amity glanced at the ring around her finger and smiled. "We wouldn't be able to find the kind of happiness we have now." With another wave of her hand, Amity dismissed the three images.

"You two really have been through so much, but it also speaks to how strong you both are. I don't think just anyone could go through all of that and have the strength to try and rise above it. I'm happy for you two, even more than I was before. You two deserve to be happy," supported Marcy.

"Hmm..." Sasha hummed as she crossed her arms.

"What are you thinking about, Sashy?"

"Okay…I know this is going to sound really messed up…but...Empress Oscura looked really hot."

Amity's left eye twitched. Marcy was just silent but then raised her left hand and bopped Sasha on the head.

"You really need to get your head checked," Marcy stated.

"Seconded," Amity concurred.

"Easy. It was just a joke, jeez."

"Oh, Waybright~" Sasha suddenly felt two arms draped around her from behind, making her whole body go stiff as she felt someone's lips close to her left ear. "You should've told me that you wanted someone to dominate you. I would've been happy to make you scream my name as you writhed with agony and pleasure, and made you worship me as your Empress~"

"Uh…Uh…N-Noceda…?" Sasha stammered.

"Sasha, I want you to stay still. Can you do that for me?" Luz requested.

Marcy was in a bit of shock as she watched Luz press herself against Sasha's back, her face turning as red as Amity's.

"Uh…W-W-Why?" Sasha stuttered.

"Shh, be a good girl and stay still," Luz ordered.

Sasha gulped and remained still. She started to feel Luz pull back and away from her, slowly, but she kept her hands on Sasha's shoulders.

"Sasha."

"Y-Yeah…?"

"I think…you need to cool off!"

Before Sasha could react, Luz pushed the blonde forward and right into the pool where she landed with a loud splash. Sasha managed to surface as she coughed and sputtered water out of her mouth. She turned around to see Luz, who was now giggling up a storm at managing to push her into the water.

"NOCEDA!" Sasha yelled.

"Gotcha, Waybright!" Luz cackled.

'Oh, thank God, I wasn't ready for what might've happened,' thought Marcy.

'Oh, thank Titan, it wasn't Oscura,' thought Amity.

Both Marcy and Amity were completely relieved.

As all the players slept, the Mole sat alone in their room, speaking privately with the Game Master on their Spider Phone.

"None of them suspect a thing," the Mole reported.

{Good. Keep suspicion away from you until the end and you will get your wish,} the Game Master advised them.

"Don't forget our deal, Mr. GM."

{Don't worry. I won't. You have been the most entertaining player. It's only fair that you receive a bonus.}

"I'm only playing this game to get what I want."

{Be that as it may, you have been quite profitable for us. Sadly, Luz Noceda is starting to become more trouble than she's worth.}

"You let me worry about Luz. I know how to deal with her."

Dr. X: We'll be taking a small break from the main story because coming soon, we will be doing a movie fic for this story. So, stay tuned for it. I guarantee you'll love what we have planned.