Manehatten Noire: Fang and Nazcaby The BricklayerChaptersPart One: The C that Swept InPart Two: The C that Exchanges HandsPart Three: The R that ArrivedPart Four: The L that was Cast AsidePart Five: The M that Started it AllPart Six: The Final QEpilogue: Case Closed/The E that Ends ItPart One: The C that Swept InBaby, baby, naughty baby, Hush, you squalling thing, I say. Peace this moment, peace, or maybe Bonaparte will pass this way. Baby, baby, he's a giant, Tall and black as Rouen steeple, And he breakfasts, dines, rely on't, Every day on naughty people. Baby, baby, if he hears you As he gallops past the house, Limb from limb at once he'll tear you, Just as pussy tears a mouse. And he'll beat you, beat you, beat you, And he'll beat you into pap, And he'll eat you, eat you, eat you, Every morsel snap, snap, snap. -Traditional English Lullaby Out of all the cases Philip Finder of Brumby had ever found himself handling, none he ever found more life-changing than that of which he called the case of the Shrouded Woman. It was Manehatten, the last Thursday in March. It was unusually cold for this time of year, he remembered. Strikingly, frost bitingly cold. In hindsight, perhaps he should have considered it as an ominous warning for what was about to happen. One Cherry Popped had just gone out for the day, to do her weekly shopping. She was this big famous actress, hailing from Trottingham -As all the big name mare actors seemed to, must have been the accent- and strikingly beautiful with her crimson red mane that flowed like a bloody waterfall. She was never to come back. Now, Philip wasn’t quite sure on the details of what exactly happened, at least not at first but he did have a working theory. “Take my car,” Cherry’s lover at the time, one Tidal Fury had suggested. Half Saddle Arabian, he was. “I’m certainly not going to be going anywhere for a good long while.” “Buck no, I’m taking mine! Yours handles like a tugboat!” Cherry refuted. Little did the poor mare know it, but Tidal was one of those Gaia Memory dealers that had been popping up lately in the streets. Now, Philip wasn’t quite honestly sure where these Memory Dealers were getting their crap, or where they even came from but here they were, in his city. Now Gaia Memories? How to describe them? Well, one thing you should know is that they were all mysterious devices resembling either USB Flash Drives or ribcages that contains all of the Earth's knowledge of whatever it happened to represent. What Gaia Memories did, in layman’s terms, turned you into a monster. It all depended on what memory you stuck in your arm or wherever. Might have been your ass, Philip had heard that a Dopant as these monsters were called had done such a thing. Say, for example, you had a memory based on the mighty Quetzalcoatlus. You’d turn into a giant monster resembling the extinct beast for a short time. Now, you would want more and more of this power, like any other good drug and you’d keep on taking it until eventually… Well, the results were never pretty that was for sure. Philip had seen the remains, or what little of them there were, of ponies who died from Memory Overdose as it was beginning to be called. Ponies, good ponies were getting killed no thanks to these things, and Philip intended to make sure nobody else ever died. Not while he was alive anyways. Now back to Cherry. Her muzzle always remained closed in photographs, as Philip understood it due to a rather nasty overbite. Filmmakers always found ways to work around this, and made her a star. She’d attracted many a lover with her prominent features, and as you might expect from a mare with a such a name, took them under her wing. Of course, she didn’t always return their feelings or take interest in some of them, leaving them out to the cold. Yes, she hopped from stallion to stallion, never staying with one for too long it seemed. Not even her current lover was immune, as in her thoughts men were like fine wine, you savored them for a little while before moving onto the next batch. Needless to say, various sources weren’t -Philip’s partner amongst them- overtly fond of the ‘Woman’ as they called her in polite company. It was on 11th Avenue in the district known as Hell’s Kitchen where it happened. She was visiting another lover of hers, in this apartment when a 911 call was suddenly placed from across the street by a pony who heard the sound of a window smashing and then this white dreadlocked creature sprinting away from the apartment. When police got there, it was already too late. Both Cherry, and her lover at the time -A pony named Blue Moon- were both frozen solid, and the word “slut” was carved on the apartment wall. And so the case began for Philip Finder, when he showed up at the scene with his ever-faithful companion and chronicler Daring Do. Now, Daring was a security expert for museums, AKA a hired thief who broke in and tested every aspect of the systems from top to bottom. Like Watson, she also wrote down Philip’s many adventures and published them in her personal blog, omitting names and changing others for privacy’s sake of course. “Lefty!” a voice barked out to Philip as he entered the room, adjusting his signature stone gray trilby as he did so. It was a cop, Phil never cared to remember the name. A cop who had this odd prejudice against left-handers. You got all types, Philip figured to himself. Yellow crime scene tape had been set up around the area, and various police photographers were snapping every picture they could get their grubby little hands on. Ponies were being warded off from the area, press amongst them the little vultures. Oh sure, Philip knew, they’d get ahold of this story eventually but points for to the police for trying at the very least. Now Philip was one of the world’s only consulting detectives. In other words, he solved the crimes the police couldn't. In Daring’s words, that was about half of them. He looked frankly unassuming, with his trilby and his light green vest. Like any other pony on the street, and that was the whole point of it. No need attracting any more attention than you needed to, especially amongst the criminal element. Now, the crime scene itself was a bit… odd. It was cold, yes, but the window was shut, and even if it had been smashed open -Which it had- there was no reason for two bodies to have frozen solid this fast. At least, not in any scientific manner. A cop reached out before Daring slapped his hand away. “You moron, you want to shatter them upon touch? Cause that’s what’s going to happen soon as you do so! They’ve been frozen solid, or haven’t you noticed?” “Oh shut up,” the cop who’d called Phil ‘Lefty’, some dude named Makura said. “Don’t you think I know that?” “If your brain was as large as your ego…” Daring muttered, having no time for Makura’s nonsense. “Hey, speaking of which, how goes the relationship between you and Sargeant Swift Wind?” “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Makura denied, a red blush rising to his face. “I knew from the start, no thanks to your deodorant,” Philip muttered quietly, but Swift Wind, a mare of some years heard him. “It’s for men! That’s why it’s called deodorant!” she piped up. “Then why are you wearing it?” Daring sniped as in the background, Philip pulled out a magnifying glass and began looking at the shattered window for any traces of blood or whatnot. Swift Wind’s face was now as red as Makura’s. “...Oh, think it just vaporized. Swift Wind, word of advice. Actually, two words. Don't talk out loud, you lower the IQ of the entire street. And secondly, at least use perfume to mask the smell.” “Okay, now this is extremely odd…” Philip muttered. “What, the two people frozen alive?” Makura snarked, and Philip looked at him. “No, not that,” Philip replied, and Makura blinked at him in surprise. Philip groaned, Makura really wasn’t cut out for this job in his opinion. “You know how normally when people bust open a window, smash right through it they leave traces of blood or ripped clothing behind yes?” “Yeah,” Makura replied. “So, what are you getting at?” “There’s neither here. Well, at least of the normal kind.” Philip said, in his gloves holding up a piece of tattered white cloth of some unknown fabric and on it, icy blue blood. “...Doesn’t look like any form of blood I’ve ever seen…” Daring muttered, leaning in for a closer look. “Exactly, best we send this off to the lab for testing, see what it turns up,” Philip remarked. “For now, we’re an at an impasse. Lots of people who would have wanted to see this poor woman dead, former lovers mostly so that leaves us with a lot of suspects.” “You know what this looks like, don’t you Phil?” Daring asked in worry. “Yeah, a Dopant case. It figures, doesn’t it?” he grumbled, shaking his head. “Should have known this right from the start, when I heard of two bodies frozen alive. Thought it might have been a spell, but there was this nagging thought in the back of my mind…” “Hold on, what’s this…?” Daring asked, holding up what looked to be the ripped edge of a photograph showing a part of Cherry Popped when she was alive. Philip took it from her, still wearing his gloves. “Just couldn’t help himself, could he? Criminals and their egos…” he muttered in distaste. “But why leave only part of the photograph behind? If you were doing this for your ego, I’d imagine you’d take a selfie for Celestia’s sake! A little tribute, I mean we already know this criminal has an ego by his little… signature.” Philip continued, gesturing to the wall carving. Daring shuddered at the carving. The whole thing rendered her at unease, to say the least of it. It was clearly obvious from this alone, that the criminal had a grudge and held it severely. She did not want to run into this guy, although she had a feeling like most cases she and Phil took she would run into him (or her, she wasn’t sexist) anyways. That was always the way of things, wasn’t it? She groaned, why couldn’t this just be a simple museum break-in? Those were always easy enough to work out. “Maybe he got nervous, or he was intelligent enough to leave only a snippet of the photo behind,” Daring suggested. “I’d go with nervous, as intelligent crooks -if there ever was such a thing- would never leave behind such a big clue. I’m only speculating at this point, and you know how much I hate to do that, but this was his first kill and so he wasn’t fully prepared for who might come after him.” “Yeah, the long arm of the-” Daring shot her a glare. “Swift, what’d I say about speaking? And Philip, you said first kill. Does that mean…?” “Yeah, whoever did this? He or she is only just getting started. Note how Cherry and her lover were frozen together, that suggests someone in love with her, and angry at her latest tryst. And Cherry’s had a lot of them, which means a lot of potential victims. Boys, better prepare yourselves, because if I’m right and I pray to Celestia that I’m not, we’ve only just seen the first incident of many.” And on that ominous thought, Philip took his leave, grabbing his coat which billowed behind him in the cold evening air with Daring swift to follow leaving the grisly crime scene behind. It was going to be a long week, that much was for sure. Time to get started. Unbeknownst to them, a woman, hiding in the shadows wearing a long trench coat, fedora hat and shades over her eyes watched them leave. Yes, these two would do. Yes, these two would do just nicely. Philip’s apartment was fairly modest, just like him. A piano laid in one corner of the room, which Philip played and practiced in his rare moments of off time. The far side of the living room, wall to wall bookshelves packed with every sort of thing imaginable. Books littered with information like the extinct species of ancestral arthropods known as the Anomalocaris to just simple things like how to play the saxophone or even various hard-case crime novels. There was even a ancient pony’s skull, or at least a replica of the Piltdown Pony’s forged one sitting in there amongst various taxidermied bugs resting in jars of fluid. Outside a heavily blinded window that let almost no sunshine through was both a rain gauge and an anemometer. Leading away from that was Daring and Phil’s shared bedroom, which at the moment was being repainted so the two had to share the couch. Not that either of them minded, they still had curiously great lovemaking besides. In the kitchen, boiling an egg was Daring, her distinctive pith helmet laying beside her on the countertop, her vest tossed off to the side and hanging on a coat rack. She had a passion for this particular type of headgear, just as Phil liked fedoras and trilbies, specifically ones made by the Windscale fashion company. Next to this, were two Gaia Memories, noted ‘Injury’ and ‘Cockroach’ specifically kept locked tight in glass cases. These ones were those that had been recovered by Daring in hopes of her and Phil being able to study their abilities. This was in hopes of figuring out how they exactly transformed ponies and whatnot into Dopants and more precisely, how to reverse the effects without killing the monster in question as they had been forced to do more often than not. “Ugh, every day it seems this city gets dirtier,” Daring muttered, as Phil played an old Aussie traditional song on his piano. The Dying Stockman, in memory of his late mother. “We’re losing good ponies Love. I admit, I wasn’t a fan of that woman, not in the slightest, but still…” Phil stopped his playing and nodded, making a grunting sound of agreement. “Exactly. And what’s worse, we don’t even have the slightest clue as to where these Gaia Memory dealers are getting their shit, and handing it out to people. Could be under a bridge, could be in a dark alley, could be in an abandoned office building in uptown, probably a combination of any one of these places!” Phil held up another Gaia Memory in its case, this one marked Money. It had come from a classic boiler room scam that he’d helped the local outfit of the police’s white-collar crime division shut down. Classic pump and dump, as it it was called in the business. Basically, what you had was a bunch of junior Gordon Geckos selling bad stock. What the guy in charge did, he buys half a million shares of dollar stocks and then gets his boys to inflate the price by selling it over the phone. Whenever the stock peaked, he dumps it leaving the buyers often penniless. The police had enough, and were clueless as ever so Philip went undercover as a new guy, (Alias wasn’t important) hoping to get rich fast. Blew the whole scam wide open in just a matter of days, but that’s when the guy in charge, one Impossibly Rich pulled out the Money Memory and transformed into this monster and tried to kill everyone including Philip to cover up his deeds. Sadly, it got to the point where Philip was forced to fire upon him. The memory ejected itself, and the police were left with another body to burn. The sad thing was, killing these memory users and the memory ejecting itself meant there was no trace of it left in the body to learn from. “You know, one of these days I really wish you’d invest in a lab microscope and all that crap,” Daring remarked. “Lab Work always takes too long, lots of red tape and paperwork to go through. We need some sort of clue here!” “I would, if we had the money and the space. Can you honestly see all of that fitting on the kitchen counter, where we eat might I remind you?” Philip asked, eyebrow raised. “So, we could make room, couldn't we?” Daring remarked with a shrug of her shoulder. Philip groaned. “...Never mind.” The bitterly cold snowfall had changed to a harsh form of sleet and was currently pounding down on the roof outside. Only the devil himself could love this sort of weather, and may Celestia have mercy on those stuck outside in it. Philip had to take his motorbike, and park it in this nearby underground garage just so it wouldn’t get wet. He loved that thing, sometimes more than Daring herself. Boys and their toys, the mare often thought to herself when thinking of that thing. “Funny thing, we got this faxed letter earlier today now that I think of it,” Daring remarked. “Came from this unmarked postage, read it and said it was from your archenemy. Don’t know who that could be, as you’ve got a few I’d imagine but it turns out he wasn’t so pleased with Popped Cherry getting frozen either. Said he hated beautiful mares getting offed. Offered you money to solve the case.” “Almost a pity really. If I didn’t accept cases from scum, I would have split the fee. Need the money. However, I know he’s scum. In fact, I believe he’s likely to be heading up the group who distributed the Gaia Memories from my guess,” “How so?” Daring asked, and Philip replied with: “Think about it Daring, why would he send a faxed letter, instead of using his or her own handwriting? He’s obviously wanting to stay anonymous to me at this juncture, so that could mean he’s someone very high up in society, and very dangerous if my hypothesis is correct. At the time being, we are not ready to face him, not without proof anyways.” “Said he was concerned about you, that you’re getting in too deep for this,” Daring remarked. “Odd yes, I know.” “No, not odd at all really,” Philip refuted. “That just means he’s afraid of us, which is good. Eventually, he’ll slip up and we’ll have hi-” A knock on the door disrupted Philip’s musings. “Now who the devil would be out at this time of night, and in this blasted weather?” he muttered to himself before going for the door. As it turned out, it was one Tidal Fury, looking every inch of his name. “Who did it?” he growled out, lightning flashing in the background illuminating his furious facial features. “Who did it?” Philip reached for his baton just in case, but for now, he had to play it cool. “Sadly, we’re still working on that. It’s only been the first night since she was killed after all,” Philip sighed, gesturing for Tidal to sit down on the couch. “Cup of coffee? Tea? I have some Lebanese laying around here somewhere if I remember correctly… Soothes the nerves quite well.” “Only thing I want to is to find out who killed my love.” Daring scoffed as she ate her eggs. “Hardly your love, if she’s been going around whor-” Philip shot her a warning look, and she shut up at once. “You don’t know anything about her…” Tidal whimpered, taking some of the offered coffee and a sandwich. Two tomato slices, mixed in with some feta cheese. Classic Arion recipe. One of Philip’s favorites, the pony of various tastes he was. Really, Manehatten was a cauldron of a little bit of everything mixed together, so it was nigh-impossible to find something you didn’t like. Even Grand Central’s bar had the best clams this side of the East Coast. “S-She…” Tidal started, his voice trembling with every word. Philip laid a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, just take your time,” he stated his voice soft, patient and kind but still firm. “Just tell us what happened, all of it. No need to rush.” “Okay, it was like this. She wasn’t going over to that guy’s apartment to have sex with him, not in the slightest!” Tidal whispered, Daring leaning over the back of the couch in peaked interest. “She was actually going over there to break off her relationship with him, just like she’s been doing with all of her previous lovers in the past few weeks! We… we were going to get married, a-and then this happens!” Tidal whispered, fighting back a sob and bringing out a little black box and opened it, revealing a diamond engagement ring. “By Celestia…” Daring whispered, fighting back tears and honestly feeling sorry for the poor man. As much as she wanted to deny it, he was telling the truth. Nobody could fake that kind of emotion in their tone, that kind of despair. Philip let out a small, and barely noticeable growl. Tears never suited this city, not in the slightest. Whoever did this, he or she was going to pay. Then, to both of their surprises, Tidal fished out a gold-toned Gaia Memory marked ‘Beast.’ “Here, take this, before I ever get tempted to use it myself and avenge my wife.” “Where… where did you get this?” Philip asked in shock. “Alright,” Tidal admitted, his shoulders falling in resignation and shame. “I admit it. I’m a Gaia Memory Dealer.” Both Philip and Daring glared at the man harshly. “You piece of shit…” Daring snarled, wanting to throttle him right then and there. “You mean you’re part of the slime who’s been dealing out these things on the street, the things that have been turning ponies into Dopants, just like the one that killed your wife!?! You’re no better than they are!” she barked. “Daring!” Philip barked. “Look at the man! And I mean really look at him, does this look like the face of a killer?” He pointed to Tidal Fury, who’d put his head in his hands and was sobbing heavily no longer able to fight back tears. He kicked a briefcase towards Philip and Daring, who opened it and were stunned to see it filled with Gaia Memories that had presumably never been used. “G-Give these to the police, turn me in if you will,” Tidal sniveled. “You’re right, I’m no better than them, these Dopants. I’ve only recently begun to realize that. I was going to have one of my men drop this off at the police station and take the blame for my crimes. But now I see it’s better if I own up to them myself…” he whispered before he spotted something through his tear-filled eyes. “Hold on, what’s that?” he asked, gesturing to the ripped piece of a photo on Philip’s coffee table. “Just a ripped piece of photo, probably left behind by the killer in his haste,” Philip replied, shrugging his shoulders. “What of it?” “I… I recognize that photo, moreover I know who took it!” Tidal stated, his heart being filled with a new resolve, and a new unquenchable fury. “It was in the newspapers a while back, for this movie premiere. I remember it well, it was the film called: “From Ash to Ash, from Dust to Dust”. Real solid tragedy. Taken by this guy, named Grape Vine. Has his own studio on the lower East Side and everything, does all kinds of photos for famous models and the like. Gets paid handsomely for it.” “Then that’s our first real clue,” Philip smirked. “In the morning, when the weather clears up and it gets warmer, we’re going to have a look at that studio, and talk to this Grape Vine character. But for now, you stay the night with us. Much too cold for you to be out walking about. I’ll lock the Gaia Memory up, and throw away the key so you can’t get to it. Get a good night’s rest, you’ll be needing it in the morn. I deeply suspect we all will. They said that once you left Manehatten proper and crossed over into any other part of the city, you weren’t in New York anymore. Philip Finder was inclined to disagree. He thought New York was New York, simply just a different part of it. It was a melting pot of different cultures, ponies, griffons, and zebras had been coming here for generations, adding their own little tidbits to the city and making parts of it their own. Now, Philip would normally have used his motorbike which he called the Typhoon to ferry him and Daring across the Brooklyn Bridge to this little place down the river past the Lower East Side where he heard Grape Vine had recently bought this old warehouse and converted it into a loft/photography studio, but today was different. He had Tidal with him, using Tidal’s personal car which was of Germane make. Now, it was against Daring’s wishes to bring the obviously emotional pony on the case but Philip had two reasons for doing this. One, he needed to keep an eye on Tidal and having him along would be the best way to do that, and two Tidal knew Grape and his area better than him. He knew he was taking a dangerous risk, but in the end, it all would hopefully pay off as long as Tidal kept his cool and didn’t try to throttle Grape. If he did… well, that’s what Daring’s taser was for. “You know, I was reading just the other day in the newspaper that all the old bridges, they’re deteriorating. Lack of city funding for the upkeep. Shame really, this old girl’s a fine one. Ever looked across the bay at night, or in the evening?” Tidal asked. Around his neck, on a chain was his engagement ring. He was currently smoking a cigarette. Daring grimaced at this, but let it slide. She supposed he was allowed one after what he’d been through. Still, her suspicions weren't off him yet, after all he had a whole briefcase full of Gaia Memories and one in his pocket. Who's to say he didn't have another, hidden out of sight? “Can’t say that I have really,” Philip replied, keeping his eyes on the road. It was slick, after the rain last night, which had continued into the early morning. Far too easy to have a spinout. “Damn shame,” Tidal replied. “Probably the finest sight you’d ever see. You know that old song, “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay?” That’s exactly what I feel like doing at times, just wasting time and watching the setting sun glinting off the bridge and the windows of the buildings. Sadly, the bridge in its current state may just be a memory someday soon.” “Yeah, at times it does feel like the whole infrastructure of the city is crumbling, thanks to higher-ups like Silvertongue taking all the money for themselves to fund their wealthy lifestyles and not help the city. Sometimes I just wonder why I bother helping this city really. It’s… it’s just taxing, y’know?” “Every little bit helps, you give the ponies hope Phil,” Daring said, giving him a peck on the cheek. “And it’s not just the city Phil, heard there was a water main break in Las Pegasus this other day, filled an entire hotel with sewage. Pipes were old, and not well maintained. City’s crumbling, just like this one.” “Whoever heard of water mains breaking like ten, twenty years ago?” Tidal asked. “Seriously, back when I was a lad, never would have happened. Higher ups would never have controlled the cities. Nobody would have been living in the streets, scrounging up what little they could. Honestly, Phil, this is why I turned to Gaia Memory dealing, just trying to make a living. And look at what it brought me. There’s that old saying, you reap what you sow eh?” Phil’s only response was a grunt and a nod as they pulled up to Grape Vine’s loft, stepped out of the car and knocked on the door. “So, about this Grape Vine character, how big of a photographist is he?” Phil had to ask, as they were let inside by this guy in a nice gray suit. “You have no idea how big,” Daring remarked. “Name any famous model, or actress, he’s done her. In both senses of the word probably,” she remarked before she licked her lips. “Photos are good, really good. You should check out the magazine spreads he’s done.” Phil stared at her. Daring grinned unashamedly. “What, you’re often out on cases without me, and a girl needs something to keep her company on those long lonely cold nights. And as a daki of you isn’t available…” she trailed off. “How bad are the photos?” Phil asked, his mind beginning to wonder. “Let’s just say they’re… imaginative, and that’s all you’ll ever know.” Daring smirked. “She scares me,” Tidal remarked in a whisper, and Philip could only nod. The loft, as you would expect it was this big open space that let in a lot of light that was perfect for the shutterbug. Grape, he was this purple unicorn pony, with glasses that were slightly on the geeky side and a brown mane. He wore this nicely pressed suit with a little pin that looked like a peacock on it. “Oh, now that is excellent!” Grape Vine called out in his distinctive New Yorker tone that had a hint of a southern accent in it. It was like a nice bourbon in some ways, you couldn’t make out all the finer details. He snapped a few photos of a mare wearing this very thin negligee -Philip was blushing at this point- that left very little to the imagination, as she lay on a red velvet couch. “Just make it look, oh this little less slutty I’d suppose and more teasing. Not like I’m going to have sex with you, but like let’s say you want to imagine me with the clothes off if you catch my drift.” “Uh, Mr. Grape Vine sir?” Daring asked, tapping him on the shoulder. “We’d like to have a few words with you.” “Okay Fleetfoot, just take five m’kay? Get yourself a drink or something. Can’t keep this lady waiting.” Grape said, waving Fleetfoot off before turning back to Daring. “Well, you’re a fine one aren’t you?” “She’s taken,” Philip growled out protectively. “Philip Finder, PI. We’re here to ask about anything you might know in relation to the Cherry Popped homicide.” Grape shook his head, and sighed sadly. “Ah yes, heard about that. Sad day for everyone in Manehatten, and the world really. Great actress, and fine beauty, going to miss taking pictures of her really. Such a loss.” “Funny, I think she got a restraining order against you,” Tidal growled out, and both Daring and Phil shared a look their eyes widening in surprise at this new little detail. “And you are…?” Grape asked before he looked at the chain around Tidal’s neck and more specifically the ring attached to said chain. “...Oh. My deepest condolences to you, my good sir.” “What’s this about a restraining order, then?” Philip questioned. “Agh, back in the day I may have made some stupid choices, got a little too drunk for my own good and got a little too handsy,” Grape admitted, with more than a touch of shame as he hung his head. “Actions which I deeply regret to this day, I might add.” he continued, taking a sip of a glass of bourbon. “Think of me what you will, but I’m no Gaia Memory user and certainly no killer. Sure, I take the odd heaping of heroin now and then, but it helps jog the brain. Three patch problems you know, for the crosswords.” “...Weirdest excuse I ever heard to take some drugs,” Daring muttered. “You do realize that’s not helping your case right? Admitting you’re an addict to something. One could easily speculate that-” “I take Gaia Memories on the side to get another kick?” Grape finished for her. “Yes, I do admit that, but if ya ask me, Gaia Memory users are scum. Nothing but trouble for this beautiful city of ours. Violence in the streets. You heard about this Smilodon Dopant, and this Dopant seemingly based on a Triceratops going head to head recently? Turned out they were two mob buddies from this crime family trying to settle who got to have a date with this girl. Killed several good ponies in the crossfire!” Grape snorted in disgust. “Good ponies!” “I did hear about this, yes,” Philip remarked. “A good friend of mine in the SWAT division, Tempest, he put those two down personally with a sniper rifle shot from across the street.” “Still, does make one wonder, if one could harness the power of the Gaia Memories for good eh?” Grape asked, walking over to the window, and looking at the city skyline before him. “They’re powerful, dangerous, but if you could control that power in some way… Ah, you’ll have to forgive a buck for his fantasies. Always been a friend of superheroes, ya know? Thought about doing my next calendar about them. Had this mare, Suri Polomare commission outfits and everything just to give the city hope!” He snapped his fingers as he turned to Daring. “Say, you could be in it! You’ve got a good body, and you’d certainly attract some attention and turn some heads! Hell, I’d send an early advance copy to your coltfriend!” “No thanks,” Daring growled crossing her arms, getting some seriously bad or at least creepy vibes off this guy. Maybe he, in the end, was harmless, if not a little bit of a perv but there was that restraining order. She looked at Phil, and at once knew he shared the same thoughts by the look in his eyes. “Ah, well. A buck can hope can’t he?” Grape shrugged to himself. “Now take my advice Philip Finder, you stay out of these Dopant cases, too dangerous for you. You’re a good detective,” he stated, resting a hand on his shoulder. “After all, I heard about your exploits on the internet but nowhere near ready to take on Dopants. Especially not this one, if he can freeze you in a single touch.” “...Now how do you know that?” Philip asked eyes narrowed in suspicion. “I don’t, just speculating here. But that’s what I think happened to Cherry, if you ask me,” Grape shrugged. “Dopant came to her, froze her solid with just a touch of his finger. Just like that,” he remarked, snapping his fingers. “Oh, believe me, you may not think I’m ready to take on Dopants but I’ve put a few down. And this one will be no different. Just gotta keep my distance, and the finger on the trigger.” Grape smirked. “That’s the spirit. Forgive me for gettin’ poetic here, but set your selfishness free and shut that self-control of yers up. Take this guy down, whoever he is.” “Yes, if it comes to that I will,” Philip said. “But remember, these are ponies, zebras, and griffons under those monster skins. Would like to try and reason with ‘em first.” “Like that’s ever worked in the past…” Philip thought to himself privately. “I hate to say it,” Tidal put in. “But I’m with Grape on this. Shoot this guy down, before he gets you. He’s not going to stop, not till all of my wife’s lovers are dead. This guy, if what I’ve heard about him is correct, he’s got one serious grudge to bear. Question is why? He have a crush on my wife, and she didn’t return his feelings?” “Your guess is as good as mine Tidal,” Philip shrugged. “But the only real way to find out, from the mouth of the Dopant himself.” “So, how you plan to find him? Or unveil his true self?” Grape asked, and Phil gave him a suspicious look. “You ask a lot of questions don’t you?” “Concerned citizen,” Grape replied. “So sue me!” “Okay, plan on setting roadblocks throughout the city with the police’s help, he won’t be able to leave the city. Got some DNA from the crime scene itself, we’ll know who he is.” Phil replied. “Ah, I gotcha,” Grape smiled. “Cunning really, and I wish ya the best of luck in your endeavors. Believe me, soon as this guy is put down, I’ll sleep better at night. Think we all will, really. Just be careful about it, m’kay?” Grape waved them goodbye as the threesome left his studio. “So, you think he’s our guy?” Daring asked. “Bit of a creep, yes, but he seems like a nice enough man at heart. Definitely seems to despise Dopants.” “Honestly, part of my mind wants to clear him,” Philip replied before sucking in a breath. “But the other part…?” “Yeah, I get ya,” Daring replied. “I’ll do a little breaking and entering later. Grab what DNA I can, and hand it off to the lab and see if we get a match. And if I happen to stumble across a Gaia Memory…?” Philip nodded. “Grab one of his ties if you can. Bound to be some DNA there.” “Why do you say that?” Daring had to ask, before Tidal spoke. “Because nobody ever washes a tie,” he said before he opened the car door. “Well, best we be getting off. If you’re right Philip, you’ve got a long week ahead of you. Best you get an early night’s rest.” However, as soon as he opened the passenger door, he found himself face to face with the woman who had been watching Philip and Daring a few nights before. Bandages covered her entire face, even her eyes. Why she would wear sunglasses then, was a mystery but yet there they were on her face. In her lap was a thick black briefcase. “Who the hell…?” Tidal exclaimed, jumping backwards in shock. “Tidal Fury,” the woman sniffed. “Most ironic name ever. Well, good thing you don’t factor into what I have in mind.” “Just who are you exactly?” Philip asked, eyes narrowed. “My real name is irrelevant, you may call me Shroud,” the woman answered. “I am here to offer you a proposition, Philip Finder, and Daring Do.” “Shroud, noun. A: a length of cloth or an enveloping garment in which a dead person is wrapped for burial. B: a thing that envelops or obscures something.” Philip thought to himself. “Both equally fitting.” “So, what is your… proposition?” Philip asked. “And I think I should have a say in this, that’s my car and besides Philip’s helping me with a case that-” “Involves your late wife-to-be and a Dopant. I’m quite well aware of the details,” Shroud replied with a dismissive wave. “And this factors into that. Look into the case.” She opened up the briefcase with a distinctive clicking sound, and inside the case was this section of five different USB flash drives each marked with a different letter of the alphabet and two other items. Both were the exact same in nature and design. They were each small belts with a big, red buckle with a device on it. A slot for something sat at the right side with the left end having more buckle holders, for if the user had a smaller waistline or something. “Okay, so you’ve got some fancy devices that wouldn’t look out of place on some sci-fi themed fashion line and some USB flash drives. Why should we care?” Daring asked. Shroud somehow managed a glare even without visible eyes. “Because, this is what will allow you two to defeat the Dopants ravaging this city,” Shroud replied and held up one of the flash drives. “Now this, this is a Gaia Memory.” “Okay, stop right there. Not interested in sticking a drug in my arm and turning into the very same monsters I swore to fight.” Philip snarled. Shroud ignored him and continued on. “I do not care what you think,” she said. “I work for an organization who wishes to stay anonymous, which has been able to refine the Gaia Memories and use them in conjunction with these belts. Their power has been weakened, yes, but these T2 Gaia Memories as we call them will not turn you into a monster of any sort.” Shroud continued, tossing a light blue Memory marked with the letter N into Philip’s hand. “A drug is still a drug,” Philip refuted. “I’d want more and more of that power, and I have no guarantee you’re not lying and that these do the opposite of what you say and just turn me into a monster anyways. One that the police would not be able to stop. The devices, just plastic accessories to sell your lie.” “Believe what you will, but sooner or later there will come a time you and Daring will see I’m right.” With that, she slipped out the other side of the car and when Philip and Daring gave chase they found she had only vanished into the shadows. Unusually, Philip was still clutching the T2 Gaia Memory… To Be Continued... Author's Note Jazzy theme plays... Okay, yes, a Kamen Rider Double homage. I'm actually doing this. Really, I must thank Layton13 and Ruinqueen of Oblivion for supporting me in this idea, and Ponyjosiah for both creating the Ponyville Noire universe and providing a writer's workshop which can be found on Youtube if you dig deep enough for writing mystery stories. Now, the multiple parts. In keeping with the classic Double tradition, the case will be split up into multiple parts. Not just because I'm an evil bastard, but because it's more practical this way as each part is planned to be fairly lengthy. Now, the first part, the build-up to the case. The second part, exposing the Ice Age Dopant's identity, defeating him or her, and then the aftermath. The third and final part, taking down the organization that supplies the Gaia Memories. Makes sense? Well, I hope you enjoy what I've written so far. Comments, thoughts, and constructive critique are welcomed. Now, time for someone to start counting up their sins! Part Two: The C that Exchanges HandsIt was a good thing Daring broke into Grape Vine’s house later that night because little did she know it but Philip’s earlier theory was about to come true. The serial freezing incidents had started, and with great vigor. It seemed every other day a new report about one of Cherry’s former lovers being frozen solid and then shattered came in. Philip and Daring had been personal witnesses to several bodies -Or what was left of them anyways- being bagged and tagged. It had been a Saturday of all days when the first of many bodies had turned up. Science Teacher at a local high school, one Star Hunter. Dark blue furred pegasus, with the constellation of the hunter Orion on his arm. It was about one of the only ways to identify him. That was his Cutie Mark, like Phil’s was a magnifying glass and Daring’s a Compass Rose. Quite sadly, both Daring and Phil had been walking home after a date at the local bar when they saw the police cars outside the house. A young man was sobbing. It was Star Hunter’s son, a teenager named Star Tracker. And then they saw what little remained, just icy chunks of various body parts of Star Hunter being bagged and tagged. “Please…” Star Tracker had pleaded, clutching onto Philip’s vest like a lifeline. “Please tell me you’ll find who did this to my dad! I’ve read your marefriend’s blog and everything! You’re a masterful detective! I know you can do it!” Philip had simply laid a hand on his shoulder and said: “Trust me, kid, I will. Trust me. I knew your father, good friend of mine. Helped me solve the cases of the Constellation Killer and the Hillside Strangler. Rest assured, his death will not go unavenged.” It would only be the first of many bodies to turn up. In the week that followed, several other stallions met this grisly fate including Tempest Wind’s brother one Black Gale. This was when the case became deeply personal to Tempest, who swore he’d shoot the killer in the head. He’d had to be taken off the case. Of course, Daring had no time to think about all of this going on right now, as she had what she hoped would be solid proof to unmasking the Dopant behind these incidents in her hands… It was later that very same day when Daring and Philip had met up with Grape Vine for the first time. Descending slowly on a small line through the skylight and dressed in a dark navy blue turtleneck sweater. Daring slowly dropped to the floor, being very careful not to make much noise as she did so. The sweater itself, it wasn’t particularly flattering, but it did the job. Shadows themselves were actually not black as commonly thought and would actually have had Daring’s silhouette show up in the moonlight, so therefore dark blue was the color of choice. Daring crept across the floor being careful to mind her steps and walk softly by slowly shifting her weight onto each hoof with every step, before quickly taking cover behind a couch when she saw a security camera sweeping its gaze across the room. “Cute, really cute…” Daring muttered, thanking Celestia that she’d swallowed a little gem that disguised and distorted her voice for an hour or so, so this way even if she was caught on camera nobody could prove it was her via voice alone. Of course, she had a way of dealing with that damned camera as well. Namely, setting up one of her own. Placing a small camera on the coffee table and aiming it at the loft’s camera this would freeze the image shown in the little security crystal inside the camera. “Okay, easy enough. Now, time to find that closet.” Daring told herself, heading for the bedroom. Blushing slightly when she saw Fleetfoot, the mare from before curled up under the sheets clothing tossed on the floor she slowly opened the closet door hoping and praying it wouldn’t make any creaking noises. Inside, was a collection of suits and ties along with a safe. A thought struck her. If Fleetfoot was here, where was her presumed lover AKA Grape Vine? Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. She then heard a toilet flushing and her eyes widened. She didn’t have much time. Screw the safe for now, and just grab any random tie and get out! Quickly grabbing a tie, she took a chance and made a break for it, pressing a button on her wristwatch making it turn into a small spider that silently grappled up to the skylight and pulled her upwards with a small zipping sound. Daring wiped beads of sweat off her face as she closed the skylight door after pulling the previous line up. That was too close for comfort for her liking. Now, at the labs of the NYPD, Daring and Philip went to find an old friend in one Twilight Sparkle, probably the best forensic scientist you’d ever come across. She claimed she could kill you, do away with the evidence and nobody would ever catch her. Philip wasn’t entirely inclined to believe her of course, given there was no such thing as the hypothesized Perfect Crime but she’d done good work in the past. As ever, Twilight’s lab was a mess with beakers and microscopes being scattered across the tables befitting the state of the poor mare, almost being constantly turned to for the crimes and solving them forensically. She honestly needed a lab assistant, but really the mare was rather stubborn and always declined. Her dark purple mane was a frazzled mess and her glasses slightly askew, and her lab coat was immaculately clean with it actually being the only part of her that actually looked nice. Philip swore that if the young mare actually took some time out to clean herself up a little, she might be able to score a date with that young Flash Sentry patrol officer she’d been eying. She, of course, denied this but everyone knew better when they saw her eyes wander. “Philip, Daring, nice to see you again,” Twilight said, her eyes briefly wandering to a framed piece of newspaper about a young officer -No surprises as to his name- taking down a cocaine dealer and noting about talks of a possible promotion. Soft classical music played on violins and the like played through speakers in the background. Twilight often liked to listen to music while she worked. “I assume you’re here about the uh… odd substance found at Cherry’s homicide scene?” “...God, that poor mare.” Twilight murmured to herself as Philip nodded. Twilight walked over to the mass spectrometer that sat in the far side of the room. Her pride and joy, her baby as she called it. “Well, Major Mass-Spec here, he’s been-” “Major Mass-Spec?” Daring whispered. “So what, she’s naming her toys now?” “Let her have her fun, okay?” Philip whispered back as Twilight continued unimpeded. If she’d heard anything from either of them, she ignored it. “-You know, doing what he does and been analyzing the blood sample and the DNA off that tie you brought in,” Twilight said. “Even if I don’t know where and probably don’t want to know where you got it,” she mumbled, this last part to herself. In simplest terms, Mass spectrometry measures the masses and chemicals within a given sample, used to determine the elemental or isotopic signature within said sample and to elucidate the chemical structures of chemical compounds. “So, what’s the news?” Daring asked impatiently, arms crossed and hoof tapping slightly on the floor. She had no time for this science crap right now, she needed answers and she needed them now. The sooner Twilight determined the identity of the Dopant, the better and the sooner she and Philip could put him in cuffs. She had no doubt in her mind as to who it was, she just needed proof Grape was him. While she didn’t know if her coltfriend shared the same thoughts, she suspected knowing him that he in fact did. It was in his nature, after all, as soon as he got a case he would follow it to the end and chase down every lead. Truth be told, Daring had often been worried about this quality of Phil’s, often worrying from time to time that it’d lead him to do something reckless and wind up getting himself killed. Honestly, Daring hated to sound like one of those housemares who’d grown weak and doted upon their husband’s every living need and resigned themselves to things like knitting and crap, but she honestly didn’t know what she’d do without Phil by this point. They were two of a kind, partners from back to front. She would work with no one else and that was that. “Well, I’ve got good news and bad news. Actually, maybe they’re both good news depending on your perspective. Found your serial killer,” she chirped up merrily before grumbling: “Good news for us, and Manehatten but bad news for him and his carpet if you take your usual approach and shoot him in the head.” she muttered. “Try not to do that this time, okay? The cleanup crew is getting really rather piss-sorry, peeved about all of this okay?” “It’s okay, you can say pissed off, nobody would blame you,” Daring remarked. “Not going to, don’t curse remember?” Twilight reminded. “Right, one of those die-hard Celestia’s Witnesses,” Daring muttered in disgust. “Anyways, out with it. Who is it? Don’t have time to waste here, there’s a mass murdering Dopant with a grudge on the loose,” “Okay, the blood and the DNA on the tie? Exact same, they match up right down to the letter. Traces of iron and ice in both of them, and there’s enough DNA for me to square down a match with Major Mass Spec. Guy’s been on the criminal records database before, arrested for stalking Cherry Dopant -No surprise there- so I give you…” Twilight said, using her fingers to imitate a dramatic drumroll. “Mr. Grape Vine! Not sure how he did it though, but got away and left a trace of blood. Dopant armor, hard to break and I doubt a window would do it.” Philip’s eyes narrowed. “I knew it, I knew it was him. He was too nice, talked way too much about Dopants and Gaia Memories for it not to be off in some way. Lied right to our faces about Gaia Memories being scum, the bloody hypocritical dingo,” he nickered in disgust before posing a theory. “Now here’s what I believe happened…” Cherry Popped had pulled up outside the apartment, and slowly made her way to her former lover, one Night-in-the-Gale. Odd name yes, but Philip had heard weirder really. Now, there was no hiding the fact. Night-in-the-Gale was a pimp as if you couldn’t already tell from his flashy gold jewelry and his straw hat with the pink band. But drugs or anything else of the like wasn’t what had attracted Cherry to him. He was just that handsome and had this charisma. Plus, it helped he treated his girls with respect, and that he’d saved Cherry’s life back in the day when some gangster -Another former lover of hers perhaps unsurprisingly- tried to take a drive-by shooting at her with a Tommy gun. He’d shoved her to the ground, ended up with a few glass shards from a shattered window in the back for his trouble but by some miracle he’d lived. Philip knew all of this course because he was a simple officer on the force when this happened an odd decade ago. He was the one who made the arrest of said shooter after Night-in-the-Gale had identified him via a photo. Now, Philip could only speculate from here on in what happened, but he guessed this much. Cherry and her former lover were talking, with Cherry explaining she was getting married to Tidal Fury. Now, there had been signs of a struggle in the apartment itself, chairs and tables knocked over so perhaps the two had a bit of a spat or maybe Night-in-the-Gale had fought back against the attacker. Philip could only guess. Windows had been shuttered, so nobody could really tell what went on within. Either way, the unknown assailant was soon to arrive, judging by the timing of when local neighbors told the police they’d seen Cherry arrive and when they heard the sound of glass breaking and a dreadlocked creature jumping out the side window. Dreadlocks fit both the description of Tidal Fury and Grape Vine’s manestyles so it could have been either of them if Philip didn’t know better. Now, Philip obviously had no knowledge of the Dopant’s powers aside from the fact that he could freeze his victims to the point of Absolute Zero. So again, he could only guess what happened next. Grape Vine entered the building, in through the roof as nobody saw the creature entering the building through a door. It would have been a very noticeable sight to be sure. Maybe he entered through a rear entrance instead, not the roof and made his way up through the apartment hallways. If this happened, people were too scared to talk about it. Now, what happened next, Grape froze the two poor souls solid, and Philip didn’t quite know how he managed it but he managed to crash through the side window back in his normal pony form. Maybe by sheer force of will, and maybe all Dopants could eject their Gaia Memories. Not like enough alive ones had been brought in to know. In any case, Grape had gotten away almost clean. Almost. He couldn’t help himself and carved ‘Slut” into the room’s wall somehow and when he smashed through the window he’d left behind a blood trace. Now, Philip surmised he’d been using the Gaia Memory for so long, it’s properties had mixed into Grape’s blood giving it this icy blood appearance. Next, Philip threw open the lab doors and shouted to the chief of police. “Get me every cop you can spare, and get them watching every possible lover of Cherry’s that’s still alive! Me and Daring, we’ll be watching one ourselves, Mr. Tidal Fury as I imagine Grape isn’t too pleased with learning he was set to marry Cherry!” With that, he grabbed his trilby and his coat and rushed out the door with Daring following close behind. And so, not even an hour and a half later Daring and Philip found themselves sitting outside Tidal’s house in the suburbs just watching and waiting. Philip was sitting atop his bike -the Typhoon- with a pair of binoculars in hand, and Daring rested behind some trash bins out of sight. Eventually, even sooner than expected they heard the sound of an engine rumbling and saw an old Bugatti Type 50 pulling up. Pure white in color, which was frightening, strikingly fitting for the driver, the car was a work of art. It was a sleek and shiny design, a nice wheel cover stretching up and over the wheels in a curved manner The trunk of the car was relatively small compared to the rest of it, sticking out like a jagged lump on its back with two spare tires hanging off of it. The roof curved over the seats smoothly comfortably seating one person. One person who was now making his way up the steps to the door of Tidal’s house. “Oh no, you don’t!” Daring shouted, leaping over the top of the trash bins and pulling out a pistol, the distinct cocking of the weapon being quite audible on the otherwise quiet streets. “Really?” Grape asked in distaste. “Pointing a pistol at me, when I’m just visiting a friend to give him some support in his time of need?” “Funny that,” Philip remarked. “You arrested for stalking Cherry back in the day, and you calling yourself one of Tidal’s friends even if you only spent less than an hour in his presence and he made his distaste for you quite clear.” “He’s grieving. Lashing out, pushing others away. Surprised he hasn’t done it to you yet really. Now, drop the gun Daring, and maybe we can talk like civilized ponies eh?’ “Yeah, I’d hardly think a guy with a Gaia Memory with an intent to use it to kill, and ice in his veins quite literally in this case would be called civilized.” Philip retorted. “Believe me, we checked. Now, while we never found the Gaia Memory, you’d be surprised what the art of Mass Spectrometry can do. Face it, you dingo, you got sloppy. You got amateurish.” Grape’s face contorted into on of rage. “Damn you, damn you and you not staying out of this like I warned you! Oh well, both you two and Tidal, going to have to pay the consequences…” he sighed, holding up a Gaia Memory with the letter I on it, and injecting it into his forearm. \ Ice Age! / “Reason you never found my memory?” Grape asked, now having turned into a pure white monster wearing a inca style headdress. “Not stupid enough to keep it laying around. Now, why don’t you just… chill out?” With that, he fired a blast of pure ice from his fingertips, as Daring and Phil rolled out of the way with the blast of cold air freezing the plants behind them solid. “Oh, really think we were stupid enough to let you have Tidal once we knew you were after him? Alerted him early, man’s on his way to a police safe house right now. So, that means it’s just you VS us.” Daring smirked, before pulling out a very familiar belt as she ran to avoid a barrage of icy spikes sent her way. Philip’s eyes widened. “Daring, that’s-” “Shroud’s little device? Yeah, held onto it. She might have a point here, if the only way to stop this monster is to use his own powers against him, so be it.” Daring stated, and held up the refined Gaia Memory she’d taken, a white one with a F on it and pressed down on it. \ Fang! / Drawing on her deeply hidden love for Japanese television dramas, and her even deeper hidden love for superheroes, she called out a singular, yet simple phrase as she slammed the Gaia Memory into its slot on her belt. “Henshin!” As the memory was slammed into the Driver, a small roar like a dinosaur echoed from it and Daring suddenly found herself clad in an almost pure white costume. Sharp detailing, blood red eyes and a white chevron as the head crest with a black line shaped like a W reaching across from shoulder pad to shoulder pad, Daring was completely transformed, her famous whip holstered on her left hip and golden wings folded on her back. “Now… Count up your Crimes!” Daring shouted, pointing a finger at the Ice Age Dopant. “So, the little pegasus can ride her bike after all, and actually be more than just this piece of eye candy…” Grape Vine growled out, fully embracing his role as the Ice Age Dopant. “Very well then, let’s dance!” White mist crackled around Grape Vine as he curled his fingers into fists. Throwing them to his side, two gauntlets formed on them, before growing all the way up into sleeves. Once they hit his shoulders, they morphed his chest and legs into a bulky white armor with black marks on it. Whipping his head back, a vicious torrent of snow burst out of his neck and froze around his head as he thrashed it back down and stared at Daring; a helmet with two black eye marks replacing it. “One thing I have to question,” Daring asked, as she went for her whip and grabbed Grape by the wrist pulling him forwards before slashing him across the chest with a summoned wrist mounted fang. “Why? Why did you do it? Why did you kill all of those men and Cherry?” “Because she was a slut, and they deserved it!” Grape hissed out, his voice having gone as cold as the winter frost. People had started to gather, coming out of their apartments and grabbed their camera phones. Daring grimaced, the stupid idiots were only going to get themselves killed. Meanwhile Grape continued ranting on and on. “You know something, I loved her. Followed Cherry everywhere, and did she even give a hoot in Hell about me? No! So she deserved exactly what she got!” “Now you’re just complaining to give yourself a reason to fight. That’s not love, that’s just obsession!” Daring shook her head and readied her blade. “What a loser you are.” “I. Am. Not. A. LOSER!” Grape smashed his foot against the ground, and in split seconds, an icy arena made of spikes formed around him and Daring. “And I’ll prove it right here and now, by taking your Gaia Memory and its power for myself!” “Yeah, sorry,” Daring remarked throwing her wrist fang like a boomerang, cutting into Grape’s armor before it reattached itself to her wrist. “You’re just a druggie who doesn’t know when to quit, looking for his next fix. Consider this me giving you a reason.” “Can a druggie do this?!” He threw his hands to Daring, and a blizzard of icy knives were hurled towards her. Shots rang out, and Daring turned to see Philip holding a smoking Glock pistol. “You want to tussle with my marefriend, you dingo? You have to deal with me as well.” He blew out the smoke and ran over to the ring only to be knocked aside by a blast of icy winds from Grape. “Philip!” Daring shouted in fear, noticing the Earth Pony’s bleeding head, small droplets of blood oozing out onto the pavement. Grape could only laugh. “Look at you, you don’t even have powers, or if you do you’re too scared to use them!” He cracked his neck as he drew a pair of daggers from his suit. “Meanwhile, I can do anything I could ever want. Life without limits is so good, isn’t it?” To demonstrate, he thrust his hands up, causing an icy pillar to sprout from Daring’s feet and knock her sky high. She unfurled her wings, and used her whip to grab onto a nearby gargoyle head and swing over the Ice Age Dopant before summoning yet another fang blade, this time on her shoulder. As she landed behind Grape, she detached it and held it out like a sword. She managed to get a few strikes in but was kicked backwards. Grape rolled back into Daring and grabbed onto her legs, channeling his ice powers through his hands. It coated both of her legs, and even the lower half of her torso in ice. Smirking, he flipped away and held out his daggers at her. “Both a loser, and a coward.” Daring cut through the ice with a single swing of her sword. “Why don’t you just hit me with those things, instead of just relying on your element powers for everything?” “That’s just it, though. Life without powers is weakness! Using nothing but a blade to do your work is weakness! Weakness needs to be purged!” Grape roared, his Dopant side taking him over further and further. He lunged forward and swung his blades in scissor-like fashions, clashing against Daring’s own sword. Each and every hit was followed by contrails of ice, which acted as a pair of additional daggers for when they couldn’t hit her physically. “This? This is power. Why don’t you use yours like I do? Cut loose a bit? Be a TRUE Gaia Memory user.” He raised his blade for the final strike, only for it to be shot out of his hands. Philip was back up again, holding his smoking pistol. “Because she’s a Masked Rider, that’s what she is. Not a monster like you. Actually, no. Hey partner?” Philip asked, mentally telling himself to screw fear and break the chains of fate, fear, and hesitation. “Shouldn’t it be we? Not just you?” he asked. “Yeah, you’re right,” Daring answered. “Guess you finally stopped being afraid of Shroud right?” “And her remarks. Looks like she wasn’t lying about one thing. Whatever this sort of power is, it is needed to stop the Dopants. Stop monsters like him.” Philip declared, pointing a finger at Grape before holding up a T2 Gaia Memory marked with the letter N. “You too?” Grape almost stumbled backward at the sight of the Gaia Memory. “Well, the more the merrier, I say. Come on! Show me no mercy… Just like a true Gaia Memory user would.” “No, not a Gaia Memory User,” Philip corrected and pressed down on his Gaia Memory. “A Masked Rider.” \ Nazca! / “Henshin!” Philip stated, slamming the Memory into his belt. He was covered in a pure black bodysuit, that soon found itself covered in orange Tron lines as an eagle owl themed helmet formed around his head, with two glowing yellow lamp-like eyes functioning as the visor. The crowd, which had been eagerly snapping photos and taking videos with their camera phones began shouting and cheering: “Masked Rider!” over and over as two orange condor-like wings of light manifested from Philip’s back. “No weapons?” Grape tilted his head. “Looks like you’re a dud. Meanwhile, I have the upper hand.” Clicking his fingers, a series of ice golems appeared all around him. “Wear them down!” “Yeah, hate to break it to you mate but they’re just ice. Easy enough to smash,” Philip remarked, feeling a new strength filling him with his new powers, and slamming a fist into his palm. “Alright then you little stalker, time to get your arse kicked.” “Oh really?” Grape smashed his hands together and sent the golems running. “Hope you’re strong enough to punch through Absolute Zero!” “Time to see what other Gaia Memories Shroud offered us, and what they can do.” Philip thought to himself. “Well, bring it on Ice Man!” he shouted, slamming another Gaia Memory into the little slot on the right side of his waist. \ Heat! / Philip’s hands became encased in red-hot flame as his whole suit changed to a bright crimson shade. Philip took a few sharp short breaths out of fear of the flame with old memories being brought to the surface before that fear faded remembering there was a far greater threat to worry about. Plus, unlike normal fire, this felt warm and comforting instead of rendering all to ash. He easily began punching his way through the ice clones and then smashing bits of Grape’s ice armor, before kicking him down the street into a car. “Now, you said all of this crap about you hating Gaia Memory users and the chaos they bring to your streets, and yet here you are throwing away your principles!” Philip shouted, as he caught a kick from Grape. “Or was that a lie as well?” He created a flaming orb in his hands and tossed it at the Dopant making him stagger back as Daring slashed him across the chest with another wrist blade. “Yeah… I admit I hate Dopants, and anyone who uses them damned Gaia Memories…” Grape grimaced. “Then why are you even using one in the bloody first place, you hypocrite?” “Because… Because like I said, Cherry spurned my affections, went off to open her legs with some other man! She deserved everything she got, and then some!” “Not much of a reason, all that says is it’s all about you,” Philip replied, punching the monster in the face with another flaming fist. “Besides, can’t say I blame her for not being into you. You’re hardly handsome, and you groping her like that? Real turn-off for a woman.” With that, he punched Grape again making him stagger, as the crowd’s cheering continued to grow ever louder. “You know, I don’t really believe in Gods, or the Holy Mother, considering if they existed why would they let crap like you flounder I have to ask. But I will say this. She raises up your enemies, namely us, with her right hand, and she smites you with her left which is what we’re about to do to your Gaia Memory given powers.” Philip stated, striding forwards. “Nngh!” Grape howled out in fury. He tried to stand, but clutched one of his legs in pain. “Normally, I really don’t like to hit a man when he’s down, but you’re not a man anymore. Just a monster.” Philip remarked, tossing the Heat Memory aside and placing the Nazca memory in its place adorning his fist in a golden light. Daring did the same with her Fang Memory, and a fang blade formed on her left leg. \ Nazca! Maximum Drive! / \ Fang! Maximum Drive! / “Not sure I have a name for this attack, so I’ll just call it Fang Streiser!” Daring shouted as she took to the skies before coming down with a roundhouse kick to Grape’s face shattering his headdress as Philip just socked Grape in the gut. Grape flew backwards, landing on the ground. He tried to reach for his own Gaia Memory, but it only shattered before his very eyes. “Huh, just like Tidal’s dreams of marrying the mare you killed. Shattered before your very eyes.” Philip remarked as he and Daring disengaged their transformed state with a sound and an effect like glass shattering as their costumes fell away. Philip smirked as he heard the sound of police sirens in the background. Helping Grape to his hooves, he kicked the stallion into Makura’s arms. “There, believe that’s the man you’re looking for. Do with this scum as you wish.” Philip said, before getting on his bike and revving the engine by pressing down on the handlebars. Daring wrapped her arms around his waist. “Now if you excuse me, I believe Daring’s got to write up this case on her blog,” he stated, putting on his helmet and saluting them. “Trust me,” Daring said with a seductive grin. “That’s not all I’ve got planned tonight…” Philip shuddered in anxious wait before he drove off into the night. Unbeknownst to them, Shroud watched from the shadows, and smiled as she turned her head away and vanished into an alleyway. “Phase one complete.” she thought to herself. Philip couldn’t sleep a wink that night, and it wasn’t for the reasons you would have thought. It was 5:00 AM precisely, and Philip was lying awake in bed, a nude Daring by his side cuddling him like a pillow. Philip’s eyes drifted towards the nightstand, where all six T2 Gaia Memories rested. Heat, Nazca, Fang, and three others sat there. Two marked with the letter T, and one marked with a P. He grimaced to himself, something was wrong here and he knew it. Why would Shroud just give these sort of powers and those Lost Drivers as she called them to him and Daring out of the goodness of her heart? Nobody did that, at least nobody without some sort of agenda in his world. No, there was something else at play here and he knew it. It was all in the wording Shroud used. “My real name is irrelevant, you may call me Shroud,” the woman answered. “I am here to offer you a proposition, Philip Finder, and Daring Do.” “Shroud, noun. A: a length of cloth or an enveloping garment in which a dead person is wrapped for burial. B: a thing that envelops or obscures something.” Philip thought to himself. “Both equally fitting.” “So, what is your… proposition?” Philip asked. “And I think I should have a say in this, that’s my car and besides Philip’s helping me with a case that-” “Involves your late wife-to-be and a Dopant. I’m quite well aware of the details,” Shroud replied with a dismissive wave. “And this factors into that. Look into the case.” She opened up the briefcase with a distinctive clicking sound, and inside the case was this section of five different USB flash drives each marked with a different letter of the alphabet and two other items. Both were the exact same in nature and design. They were each small belts with a big, red buckle with a device on it. A slot for something sat at the right side with the left end having more buckle holders, for if the user had a smaller waistline or something. “Okay, so you’ve got some fancy devices that wouldn’t look out of place on some sci-fi themed fashion line and some USB flash drives. Why should we care?” Daring asked. Shroud somehow managed a glare even without visible eyes. “Nngh…” Daring moaned out, slowly waking up for whatever reason. “Come on Phil, you’re still awake?” “I’m sorry, but Daring… I just feel as if there’s something more here. Like we’re being played like a violin by Shroud and only she knows all the notes.” “You’re paranoid, Phil. That’s what it is,” Daring said, wrapping the bedsheets around herself and walking towards the bathroom feeling nature’s call. As she shut the door, Philip sighed. “Maybe, but when you’ve been in this job as long as I have… Well, it’s strange how paranoia can link up with reality now and then,” Philip remarked. “Perfect paranoia is perfect awareness, really. You can’t blame me can you?” “No, I suppose not.” Daring said from behind the bathroom door. “I mean, what does Shroud have to gain from all of this?” Philip had to ask. “Altruism? Yeah, I don’t think so. Altruism, Noun: the belief in or practice of disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others.” he said, still continuing to think on Shroud’s little conversation with them. “Because, this is what will allow you two to defeat the Dopants ravaging this city,” Shroud replied and held up one of the flash drives. “Now this, this is a Gaia Memory.” “Okay, stop right there. Not interested in sticking a drug in my arm and turning into the very same monsters I swore to fight.” Philip snarled. Shroud ignored him and continued on. “I do not care what you think,” she said. “I work for an organization who wishes to stay anonymous, which has been able to refine the Gaia Memories and use them in conjunction with these belts. Their power has been weakened, yes, but these T2 Gaia Memories as we call them will not turn you into a monster of any sort.” Shroud continued, tossing a light blue Memory marked with the letter N into Philip’s hand. “A drug is still a drug,” Philip refuted. “I’d want more and more of that power, and I have no guarantee you’re not lying and that these do the opposite of what you say and just turn me into a monster anyways. One that the police would not be able to stop. The devices, just plastic accessories to sell your lie.” “Believe what you will, but sooner or later there will come a time you and Daring will see I’m right.” “I know what it means, thank you very much,” Daring stated. “I did take basic grammar school you know.” she deadpanned. “I’m just saying, she seemed all too eager for us to use those Gaia Memories, and while I’m not grateful for the power they gave us to help stop Grape Vine and put him behind bars where he belongs I can’t help but wonder where this is all leading up to,” Philip said as the sound of a toilet flushing was heard in the background and Daring returned wrapping the bedsheets around herself once more. “No, I don’t think this case is over yet.” “Oh come on Phil,” Daring said, sitting beside him. “Grape Vine’s locked up!” “Yes, but what about Shroud? I have this feeling that we’re like lab rats to her, and what’s this group she’s talking about? How do we know she doesn’t have some ulterior agenda? And what about Tidal, what will he do now? Daring, I have to ask. Are you willing to ride with the Devil?” “Thought you stopped believing in the Holy Mother and Gods years ago, you said it yourself in the battle with Grape.” “Yes, but the Devil? Well, he’s an entirely different matter. And I firmly believe he is clad in Shroud’s clothing. She is using us, and we both know it. She wanted us to use the Lost Drivers, and the Gaia Memories. Us, and nobody else. Maybe a less paranoid buck would say it’s just because of our personalities, our good natures at heart, but…” “Yeah, I get what you mean. We’re stubborn, determined to get what we want. We wouldn’t stop at anything once we set our minds to something. Perfect qualities for test subjects for whatever she’s planning,” Daring mused. “Yeah, you’re absolutely right Phil. Something’s hinky here, and I don’t like it. But right now, best we get some rest. We’ve got that visit to pay to Tidal in the afternoon, see how he’s doing now that his wife’s killer has been dealt with.” Philip, still mulling over the thoughts of Shroud and her mysterious agenda finally let his weariness catch up with him and he fell to sleep not even a half an hour later. Very much later that same afternoon, like at around 3:00 or so Philip met up with Tidal Fury at a bar in the Upper East Side. “Bit early for drinking, innit?” Philip inquired, eating a bagel he’d grabbed from a shop across the street. While he was returning from there, he’d noted some kids playing a video game called “Space Defender” in some arcade. Philip personally never had a passing interest in video games but he’d overheard the basic premise from some teenager. It had the same basic one as most of the games of it’s type: i.e, that there were hostile forces in the universe and that they were out to get you. They’d leap out at any moment and if you were good enough you could survive for a while. Sooner or later though, one of them was bound to do you in. Philip admittedly, well he couldn’t argue with that. “I think I deserve a drink, or a smoke or whatever after what I’ve been through. Hell, might even take up some Hash just to soothe the pain,” Tidal remarked, fingering his neck chain. Philip felt some sorrow go out to the poor man, didn’t deserve any of this even with what he did. Philip, he’d managed to wrangle the cops into keeping him from getting locked up by getting Tidal to confess to all of the names of the other Memory dealers in town. Even now, they were being rounded up and arrested as the two spoke. “Still have the Beast Memory? Still holding onto it?” “Yeah, I am,” Philip answered. Tidal took another swig of his beer. “Good.” “Now, none of that talk. No need to turn to drugs, or anything. You’ll find another woman, someday.” “I’m… I’m honestly not sure I will really,” Tidal confessed, and took a deep hesitant sigh. “Y’know, thought about calling up a prostitute the other day. Hell, even thought about watching some old crappy porn flick and jacking off to it, but I couldn’t y’know? Felt disloyal to my wife’s memory.” “That’s only natural. I confess, if I’d lost Daring I’m not sure what I’d do. Go on a rampage against who took her from me and the… Well, honestly I don’t quite know. Kill myself? Perhaps. When you lose someone that close to you like I did with my mother a few weeks back you’re in this sort of state where you don’t know if up is down and the like. Daring was my rock, helped me through all of that. Now, I’m going to be yours. Going to get you through all of this shit.” “Thank you,” Tidal smiled at him. “No, seriously man. Thank you. So heard you and Daring brought in my wife’s killer. They’re calling you Masked Riders now. Masked Riders Fang and Nazca. Bit pretentious, isn’t it?” “Yeah, I’m not too fond of the names myself. Daring is a little, but me?” Tidal just chuckled. “Just… Just thank you. Thanks for bringing my wife’s killer to justice. Streets are a lot safer thanks to you, and now there’s a way to analyze Gaia Memories now that you didn’t kill Grape as you had so many other users before. Maybe the police can finally figure out how they work, render them all useless with some big-ass magic spell or something.” Philip shrugged. “Maybe, who’s to say really? Come on, I’ll buy you another drink. On me.” Across town, rising high above any other building in Manehatten was this massive steel structure called the Shard, jutting out from the city skyline like a jagged piece of glass, thousands upon thousands of windows. Nobody knew what went on inside, but suspicions and rumors mongered as they tended to do. Things like mad science experiments, to just simple things like the great and the good hanging out for parties after making good deals on stock. Nobody ever really knew. Well, almost nobody. Deep inside, near the top floor was this lab. Wall to wall T2 modeled Gaia Memories stored in cases, and computer banks gathering data from them and feeding that very same data to various sources. In the middle of the room was Shroud, and another man. Handsome, almost ludicrously so with a pure white coat and long flowing golden locks. “So, am I correct in hearing that we know these new Gaia Memories work as intended?” the man asked, and Shroud nodded. The man smirked and handed over a wad of huge cash to Shroud via a briefcase held by a dark-suited man. In return, he was handed a red-tinted T2 Memory of his own marked with an F and a Lost Driver. “Thank you Shroud, or should I say Maria S. Cranberry?” Blueblood asked. Author's Note Okay, so yes, Grape. He's the Ice Age Dopant. I sorta have this rule when using my own ponysona. Make them the butt monkey in whatever story they get put in. So far, Grape's been put through psychological trauma in Going Deep Under, and now he's a mass murderer here. And yes. I know, the Masked Rider thing. I know you diehards would lynch me for this, but think about it for a second. Would it really make sense for Manehattenites or an Aussie like Phil to randomly call himself something in Japanese? Only reason I used Henshin is because it has a better ring to it than it's English translation in transform. (Also, huge thanks to Shadowmane PX-41 for writing out the first half of the Dopant battle.) Now, as ever, comments, thoughts, and constructive critique are welcomed. Part Three: The R that ArrivedFor the next few weeks, everything seemed to be a daze for Philip and Daring really, instead of cracking down on hard-boiled cases or checking museum security systems it was chasing after Dopants and taking down the Gaia Memory Dealers. At one point, Daring and Phil had teamed up when clients or friends came into their apartment, clients or friends both of them recognized but much older. For example, there was the doorman at Manehatten’s hotel, the Grand Royale that Philip had saved from being thrown behind bars for murder, looking fifty years older. Then, there was the director of Manehatten’s Natural History Museum who Daring had helped in the case of the Chameleon Thief looking like an old maid. Finally, there was a street musician now looking like the lead singer of Jagged Stone whom Philip had previously helped when he’d seemingly lost his singing voice only for it to turn out a jealous idol had stolen it via a spell. Eventually, through a case that led them through so many twists and turns, the culprit had been discovered, a Dopant who stole people’s life forces so she could stay eternally young. \ Old! / The Gaia Memory absorbing itself into her skin, the mare, one White Lightning transformed into a rust-colored monster wearing what looked to be this massive headdress. Philip and Daring shared a nod, knowing what to do. \ Fang! / \ Nazca! / “Henshin!” they shouted, as they slammed their Gaia Memories into their belts and turned into Masked Rider Fang and Nazca respectively. “Well, well, well. Looks like we have some troublemakers.” The Old Dopant chuckled to herself and coiled energy between her hands. “Aren’t you a little too young to be fighting me? I have to say, credit goes where credit is due, must have had a hell of a time trying to track me down.” “Yeah yeah… shut your yap. You’re just disgusting,” Philip remarked. “Stealing people’s life forces just so you can live forever. We all have to die sometime,” he continued as he dodged the Dopants punches before surmising a theory. “I think you’re just too afraid of death to even admit that. Why else would you keep on stealing year after year like you are?” “What’s so wrong with cheating death, I ask you?” The Dopant asked, almost pouting like a child. “Plus, being an adult is the worst thing ever conceived. Always dealing with bills, taxes, children you’ll eventually have, ugh! It’s a total NIGHTMARE!” White Lightning, Daring remembered, was this former pop musician who made it big when she was a kid, going on to score hits throughout the decade until she finally reached the age of 18 and people seemingly finally got tired of her. Good riddance to bad rubbish really, Daring thought even as she struck the Old Dopant across the chest, her music was always crap. People just finally woke up and smelled the roses. “Speaking of nightmares, think fast!” White Lightning charged forward and landed a hit on Philip ripping out his youth and beauty in the blink of an eye before it vanished into her own body, turning her back into a teenager and she seemed to regain her fighting strength throwing a flurry of kicks and punches at Phil making him stagger before final one hit knocked him to the ground. “Ah… Much better.” “You… You’re just not ready to face adult life are you?” Philip asked, throwing a fireball after slamming his Heat Memory into his belt and picking himself up off the ground. Sadly, with how creaky his body was, it was a rather weak toss. “Look, I empathize with you, I really do. Being an adult, it’s hard. Painful sometimes even, life’s a bitch. Especially in this town, but growing older I’ve found, it makes you all the more wiser, and all the experience and knowledge I’ve gained is something I wouldn’t give up for the world.” “Trust me, if there was a way I could make everyone young again, I’d take that chance. But sadly, the past is the past and the past always seems to curl up into a ball and die.” White Lightning walked back up. “What about you, miss?” She looked at Daring Do. “How was your life when you were younger? A kid, carefree and innocent, without having to worry about any grown-up garbage and political bull?” “Yeah, sorry, but quite honestly I prefer being an adult. So much more fun really,” Daring said. “Let’s face it, so much more crap you can get away with. Of course, I’ve done plenty of stuff I’ve regretted, drinking for one. Trust me, I’ll look back on those times when I was younger as possibly some of the best times in my life, or maybe the worst. Age brings wisdom, reminds us to not repeat our mistakes. “You’re just like all the rest, then. Tainted and ruined by this grown-up garbage…” White Lightning scowled and fired off another wave of her ooze at Daring Do. “Fine then, if that’s the case, I’ll bury you myself, just to show you how SHIT being a grown-up is all about!” Daring Do rushed forward into battle, strafing left and right to avoid the waves of ooze and get up close and personal with the Dopant. From there, they clashed, throwing punches and kicks at each other as fast as they could, with neither side giving the other an inch. Unfortunately for Daring, White was very fast and spry in her young state, and she finally managed to break through and hit Daring square on her nose; knocking her back into Philip. White Lightning smirked, and pressed her hand to a metal pillar secreting her ooze, and turning it to rust with the metal pillar falling towards Daring and Phil. Daring’s eyes widened under her helmet, and she pulled her boyfriend away just in time before the pillar fell on them. “Told ya. Grown-ups are bad at stuff, because they’re old. Getting old makes you rusty, while staying young keeps you going.” White Lightning looked over Phil’s body. “This is what we should all be; young, beautiful, and energetic. Not old, cranky, tired, and lazy!” “You know, I happen to like Daring as she is, cranky and bitchy,” Philip remarked. “Wish I could say the same for you, your particular form is rather unattractive. Now, you like a good unfair fight right? Time to see what happens when the horseshoe’s on the other hoof.” Phil said, pulling out a blue Gaia Memory and exchanging the Heat one for it. \ Trial! Maximum Drive! / Ignoring the aching pain in his joints, Philip seemed to began traveling at super speed, faster than White Lightning could blink. He’d resumed his default Nazca appearance, except the lines on his body had turned a bright blue, his eyes now a solid orange and a small countdown clock had appeared on his waist, counting down from ten seconds. White Lighting’s eyes darted from left to right, and she tried to fire off more pools of ooze, but Philip just dodged between them. “Wh… what are you?!” She asked, mortified at his power to fight back; despite his rapidly advanced age, and throwing out another flurry of kicks and punches that Philip dodged easily. His countdown clock continued ticking down, now at 3.3 seconds. “Just… Just someone who’s doing his duty as a Masked Rider, that’s all,’ Phillip remarked. “Now, count up the moments till your crimes are judged!” he shouted. With one final hit, White Lightning’s Gaia Memory ejected itself from her body and shattered as a glowing blue T of hard light projected itself over her body. “NO! What have you done to me?!” She asked, as all of her age began to grow back, and then expand. What was once a teenage girl quickly warped into a thirty-something-year-old as everyone found their lifespans returning to normal and resuming their proper age. The time on his countdown clock, the one that displayed how long it took to defeat this Dopant in Trial Form? 9.8 seconds. “Let me ask you something, Masked Riders,” White Lightning coughed and spluttered. “Why do you HATE people? Why do you hate people so much that you’d keep them from reaching their full potential and reliving their glory days, like me?” “Because,” Daring said as she and Philip canceled their transformations and Daring cuffed Lightning. “We can’t relive our pasts, that particular section of our lives? They make us into what we are today, we learn from them and our mistakes. Seems you never did.” “And I never will. I DON’T WANT TO BE AN OLD CRONE!” She thrashed and swung around in her cuffs, trying to break free. “I don’t want to pay taxes, I don’t want to see bills, I don’t want any of that other bullshit and garbage! I just want my friends, when I was a star… Where are they?” “Simple,” Philip said as the police drove up. “They grew up and moved on. You didn’t.” Curiously, there was one Dopant that always seemed to get away, and pop up again for another fight against Manehatten’s popular new heroes. It was a curious sort, never speaking so nobody could ever really figure out who it was using whatever Gaia Memory the Dopant possessed. Once again, with Daring and Philip chasing down after a Gaia Memory dealer, the yellow Dopant had decided to show himself. Or herself, it wasn’t really easy to tell. Neither pony knew exactly why this Dopant always seemed to have an obsession with them, he or she just did. It wasn’t just whenever they tracked down Gaia Memory dealers, it could be at times like when they were walking home from the police station or from a bar. It just seemed to have an obsession with them. What looked like an eldritch abomination made entirely of gold stood before them. Long, thin tentacles stood before them, almost like a set of golden scarves. The head and its’ collar spikes were black as night, with a few gold waves on the face to make it stand out. A yellow moon sat below its’ neck and hung daintily on his centre tendril. It didn’t utter a word, and instead let out a series of distorted moans and groans instead. “Here we go again…” Daring muttered as she and Philip held up their Gaia Memories, the Dealer scampering off into the shadows. Philip grunted, he could be dealt with at a later date. They knew who he was. \ Fang! / \ Nazca! / “Henshin!” they shouted before turning into Fang and Nazca once more, with the Dopant whipping his arms around and conjuring up men in black suits wearing ribcage themed masks. Philip and Daring were quite familiar with this Dopant’s abilities by now, he could conjure up illusions. Very masterful illusions, but illusions all the same. “End this one quick…” Philip muttered, tossing the Heat Memory to Daring who switched it out for her Fang one while Philip himself pulled out a Memory marked with a T that resembled a pistol. \ Heat / \ Trigger! / Daring’s costume turned a sharp red, while Philip’s turned blue and a machine pistol strapped itself to his chest in a holster. As the masked men charged, Daring’s fists lit up with flame and she began punching them out of existence and Philip just shot the masquerade men as he called them with the Trigger Magnum. To them, it was just target practice before the monster. The usual stuff for them. As the brawl began against the Dopant, Daring and Philip had to both attack and dodge at the same time, as the tentacles on its’ body were wide-reaching and covered a lot of ground around him. If they slipped up at any point, it would strike them and have an opening for more attacks. As one tendril lashed out like a whip Philip jumped over it and spun in mid-air, landing on top of a nearby dumpster before Daring threw a fireball and made the Dopant stagger backwards. Philip fired a burst of machine pistol blasts from the Trigger Magnum, and then placed his Gaia Memory into a special slot on the weapon. Similarly, Daring readied her own Maximum Drive, and her fist began glowing with a white-hot flame. The Dopant, taking this as his cue to leave got smart and created illusions of two prior Dopants the twosome had defeated, the Cockroach and Money Dopants and let them take the strikes as he vanished. “Shit!” Daring swore and stamped a hoof in frustration as she and Philip canceled their transformations. “Again with the vanishing act.” All Philip could do was lay a hand on her shoulder in sympathy. Unknown to either of them, a familiar woman, face still wrapped in bandages watched from the shadows. Each time they fought a Dopant and used a Gaia Memory and a Maximum Drive, their Drivers sent the data gained right to the labs. Phase two was now complete. It was rare when they caught a break from any of this. Philip was actually thankful when he had to deal with someone’s brother being poisoned via a vial of strychnine. He was in his living room, with another man -One Green Thumb- sitting across from him. Philip gauging his reactions and watching him carefully. He seemed nervous about something, almost as if he wanted to be anywhere but here. Daring, in the back of the room, was leaning against the wall. Currently, Philip was in the middle of explaining his theory as to what exactly happened to Green Thumb’s brother. It was a simple open and shut case really, something Philip was thankful for. For once, no overly complicated clues to find, or leads to chase down. “...This was right about the time that I began to believe in fact that your brother did not die by his own hand as you claimed but was murdered.” “Nonsense!” Green Thumb sputtered out. “The vial was found in his own right hand!” “Right hand,” Philip acknowledged with a nod. “Exactly, we’ll get to that little detail in a moment. The fact that it was found in his hand at all was the first clue as to what really happened…” “Hmm,” Daring nodded. “Now, the vial itself, it contained strychnine which when taken would cause a pony to thrash about violently.” “I’d find it difficult to imagine someone like this being able to hold onto that vial without dropping or breaking it,” Philip continued. “The vial was found intact. Therefore, I believe the vial was placed in his hands only after your brother died. The real culprit was the cigarette I found in the room. Upon closer inspection of the room where your brother was found, I discovered a fresh burn mark on the carpet, along with the aforementioned cigarette. A quick trip to the labs, and a favor used revealed it contained trace amounts of strychnine.” “What about the suicide note?” Green Thumb asked nervously, and Philip smirked. He had him. “It was written in my brother’s own hand, for the Mother’s sakes!” “With a little bit of time and practice, handwriting can be forged. While it takes a trained eye to notice certain discrepancies, they can be found given enough time,” Philip remarked. “...For example, whether someone is right or left-handed.” With that, he tossed a small book towards Green Thumb, who caught it in his left hand, and when he noticed this his eyes widened in shock now knowing as soon as he’d come into Philip’s apartment he might as well have confessed. As the police arrived, Philip sighed. “That was easy, too easy and I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’m actually thankful for it,” he muttered. “I do admit, a challenging case to tax the mind and get the little gray cells at work is nice from time to time.” “Just be grateful that one didn’t have a Gaia Memory on him,” Daring muttered. “I swear, these Dopants are running us ragged.” “Er… I don’t know if this is the right time,” a young beat cop named Bee said nervously as he walked up to Philip and Daring. In the background, a massive sign atop a rooftop advertised 'Destiny's Child Laboratories, Transform Your Life!' It was a place that had been in Manehatten for a while, medical research mostly. It had several labs set up all over town, each hiring only the best and brightest. Nobody quite knew where the main lab was, and it was a subject of curiosity amongst many. Personally, neither Daring nor Phil gave a crap as to this place, not like that they exactly needed to drop by and pay them a visit. Well, they used to not give a crap anyways. But medical research, they'd begun to wonder if these labs were responsible in creating the Gaia Memories that conveniently just started popping up in Manehatten at the same time Destiny's Child set up shop, three years ago exactly. “But Tempest, he needs to meet you at Sleipnir’s Island. Says an old friend of yours wants to… talk.” “Who’s the old friend?” Philip asked Bee, who winced, fearing Philip and Daring’s reaction. It didn’t take long to guess who Bee meant. “...Wait, you don’t mean…?” Daring trailed off, eyes widened. “Yeah, that photographer, the first Dopant you defeated as Masked Riders. Grape Vine himself.” “Damn it…” Philip muttered. “Why him? Why now?” “Hell if I know, but Tempest wants you over there. Says you really need to hear this.” “Guess there’s only one thing for it then…” Philip sighed, his shoulders slumping. He wasn’t looking forwards to this, at all. “If you need help, I can-” Daring started, only to be cut off. “No, this is something I have to do by myself. Besides, Tempest will be there with me, he’s one of the best. Besides, I want you to keep an eye on Tidal. It’s been several weeks since his fiancee’s killer was found, I’m worried about what he might be doing now.” With that, Philip hopped on his motorbike and sped off down the streets of Manehatten… A thick coating of fog surrounded Sleipnir's Island even as the small boat approached it. Coating the surrounding waters like a thick soup, Phil and Tempest found themselves barely able to see a few feet in front of them, and if not for the local captain’s knowledge of the surrounding waters and a ‘Point Me’ spell as it was called cast by another officer they surely would have run aground on rocks. Phil didn’t like sailing in this weather, but the forecast called for quite a bit of fog this week so there was no getting around it. The thick concrete curtain wall of the castle-like structure along with one of the guard towers loomed eerily out of the mist, with trained snipers scanning the area from the tower. For decades, Sleipnir's Island had housed the most hardcore convicts, the ones incapable of reform. It had been closed down about ten years back, but with the emergence of Gaia Memory using criminals and no prison strong enough to house them except local jails which were already horrendously crowded, citizens had lobbied for this place to be reopened. Finally, eventually faced with no choice the Mayor had finally given in and so Sleipnir's Island once more paid hostess to criminals of the worst kind, those who were called by the chief of police “Evil without purpose or reason”. Personally, Phil believed that some of these criminals were victims in a sense as well. Take for example one Hoofer Steps, who’d played host to carrying the Accel Memory after she’d caught her love Feather Bangs cheating on her with another woman. Hell, Phil himself had been hired by Hoofer when she’d started suspecting she was being played. He’d watched and tailed Hoofer’s fiancee for several days and finally caught him in a motel with another mare with photographic proof. Junebug, he believed the name was. Or was it Carrot Top? Not like he was expected to know every damn name in this city. In any case, when Hoofer found out, needless to say, she was pissed. She’d bought the Gaia Memory, and nearly used her speed abilities granted to her by it to run her former fiancee down. Phil had stopped her with a Trial Maximum Drive, and took care of the problem for her, and punched the sorry excuse for a buck’s lights out even as Hoofer herself was taken away. He didn’t hold all such sympathies for the crooks housed in Sleipnir's Island, (Grape alone was proof enough of that.) but he didn’t believe all of them deserved to be locked up. But what could he do? He couldn’t lobby for change, not with people like Silvertongue feeding the mayor cash by the truckload. “You alright?” Philip asked, laying a hand on Tempest’s shoulder, the pegasus clutching his sniper rifle ever more tightly. Tempest was a stormy gray coated buck with a black mane, as befit his name. “Me personally, I wouldn’t recommend going into the same building as the type of guy who killed my brother, let alone the same room as him.” “I’ll be fine,” Tempest grunted out, the fifty-something pony sighing to himself. “‘Sides, we all have to face our demons sooner or later. I’m not going to be in the same room, I’ll be outside waiting though if things turn ugly.” “...If you say so,” Philip replied, his voice wary not entirely believing him as the boat pulled up to the docks, with the captain using a line to pull them in closer. “But if you ask me, I’d rather have Arc or Bee with me right now, just saying.” “They have their jobs, I have mine,” Tempest replied as he stepped off the boat via way of a gangplank. “And you have yours, Philip,” he continued, before tilting his head in curiosity. “Masked Riders Nazca and Fang, that’s what they’re calling you and Daring, right?” “Yeah, not a fan,” Philip replied as they entered the old prison, entering A-Block after passing through the security checkpoint, with Tempest being forced to surrender his weapon temporarily, with Philip being forced to do the same for his baton as they were checked over. “Honestly, bit too pretentious for my tastes. I was never even a fan of being known as this famous detective, and now look at me, being called a superhero!” he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. “I mean, I’m just a guy doing my duty to protect the city I love, isn’t that enough?” “Eh, you know ponies. They need someone to look up to and idolize when pretty much everything else has gone to shit. Brings them a feather of hope, really,” Tempest grunted. “And honestly, you’ve brought the most hope this city’s seen in a while really…” “I suppose…” Philip muttered as the twosome finally arrived at Grape’s cell, with the mass-murderer looking surprisingly calm despite being locked up with probably no chance of seeing the light of day ever again. Phil had heard he was on death row, actually with the Chair being lined up just for him. Tempest’s fists clenched, but he kept his cool even as Phil entered the cell. “So, what’s it all add up to in the end, eh?” Philip asked, staring Grape down, the other pony clad in an orange jumpsuit and cuffed. “You didn’t get your mare, and here you are in a cell stripped of all your pride and all of your women you so loved and sentenced to death. So, you pleased with how your life turned out?” “Surprisingly, yes,” Grape remarked. “Sure, Ah’m a killer, no gettin’ around that and Ah’m gonna die soon but Ah won’t go quietly.” “Oh, so you dragged me here to kill me, that it?” Philip asked, reaching for his baton on reflex. “Going to try and strangle me or something?” “Oh hardly,” Grape laughed. “Ah’m pissed at someone, but not at you. No, Ah’m pissed at the person who put us both in this position, running us around like little rats in a maze.” “...Can you just get to the bloody point?” Phil asked, starting to get agitated. Grape burst out laughing, a cold and harsh laugh. “Oh, don’t tell me yer that much of an idjit?” Grape remarked. “Surely you, with all of your famed observation skills took notice of mah Gaia Memory. It wasn’t like the others, was it? No, yer too afraid to admit that Ah had the same type of Gaia Memory as you yerself did…” Phil flinched, although he tried to deny it Grape was right. He had taken notice that unlike the usual rib cage styled Gaia Memories, Grape’s resembled a flash drive before it had shattered. A T2 version of the Ice Age memory. “So ya did notice, good! Nice to know ya’ve still got it! Come on now, use those little gray cells and think, who could have given moi such a thing, and why?” Grape pressed. “Ah don’t like being used, and neither do you Ah’d suspect. And yet someone is doing exactly that, using us as little lab experiments. Woman with her face wrapped in bandages, ya probably ran into her getting yer own Memories and those fancy belts,” he continued. Phil flinched again, and Grape laughed once more. “Knew it, nobody in this city just gives anything out like that for free. Altruism is a dyin’ thing, and y’all know it. You, Tempest, and Daring. No… Someone’s playing you like a violin and before Ah go, Ah wanted y’all to know that. Be mah sword, and strike ‘em down for me!” The cell door slammed shut, and Tempest looked at the now slightly shaking Phil in surprise. “You alright?” he asked in concern. “Let’s go,” Phil growled as Grape’s laughter echoed in his ears. “I have all I needed to know.” Meanwhile, as per Philip’s request, Daring had taken to tailing Tidal and found him at a bar. It was a little place down in Hell’s Kitchen, one of those hole in the wall places you probably wouldn’t know about or take any notice of if you were a simple passerby. Daring’s nose wrinkled as the smell of booze and cigarette smoke reached it, and she made a noise of barely disguised disgust. “...Al the dirty jobs,” she muttered. Taking a look around at the ponies dressed in shabby or dirty clothing and comparing that to her rather nice and frankly flattering red dress she felt rather overdressed and sticking out like a sore thumb. She was honestly expecting Tidal, thanks to his rather sizeable income to actually go someplace nice like Cherry Jubliee’s, not a damn dive bar with walls covered in graffiti and the like. She was expecting Tidal to treat himself to something nice, like a steak dinner with a few friends not booze his troubles away. She sighed upon seeing Tidal at the bar and ordering a glass of Wild Pegasus Whiskey, half-expecting for the poor pony to wind up in the drunk tank by the end of the night. Or dead. She didn’t particularly care which. But a job was a job, and she if nothing else carried them out even if she didn’t have to like it. Personally, she didn’t exactly have any real love for Tidal Fury dead fiancee or not given he was a Gaia Memory Dealer, and by association one of the sources of their troubles. Hell, for all she knew he could have given out that Memory which created the Illusion Dopant as she called it which seemed to follow her and Phil at every turn. She sighed in disgust upon seeing a rather scantily dressed pony in just jeans and a bra leaning up against a post outside the window. “Place just keeps on getting classier and classier by the moment, doesn’t it?” Daring thought to herself, barely able to keep herself from rolling her eyes. “I swear, if someone tries to pick me up for a night in, they’re getting tossed into the wall.” Loud rock music blared from a nearby jukebox, Daring could barely catch half the lyrics. “...Wake up Rouse your tough spirit from its slumber Awaken your spirit as you fight Reaching past the barriers of time, someday I shall find it Follow these links “Into the world of mystery Perhaps that is my destiny Am I scared to find out? No way Destiny's play, make the connections “Just like how the music each one of us makes is unique We each have our own destinies Only I will map out my own destiny “Unleash a force yet undiscovered I can hear a mysterious voice in the dark Calling out to me Telling me the follow the melody Into the abyss of time Perhaps this is my destiny…” “So,” Daring commented as she sat down beside Tidal. “What’s a nice pony like you, uptown boy doing all the way down here in Hell’s Kitchen drinking what’s probably rotgut disguised as whiskey?” “Taking in the sights and sounds of the city,” Tidal answered. “What else? Could probably ask you the exact same damn thing, given you’re all dressed up for a night on the town.” Daring gave him a look, not entirely believing him. “Really, is that all…?” she drawled out, looking around her and gesturing with a hand to the slimy drug dealers, the drunkards and even the prostitute outside. “Because if I was taking in the sights and sounds of the city, I’d choose someplace a Hell of a lot better than this shithole. I mean, fuck, even one of the sports bars down on Harlem or whatever would be a nicer place than… well, whatever this is.” “Hey, I find to get to know a city best, you have to experience all of it, even the… less than sightly parts of it,” Tidal remarked in a polite tone. “But let’s get serious, you’re tailing me aren’t you?” “Good, so you do have a few brain cells more than I actually believed you did. Philip asked me to, out of concern. So yeah, dressed myself up even if I didn’t have to like it expecting you to go to someplace nice, maybe a piano bar not the bottom end of town with whores on every street corner!” She shouted, before flipping a coin to a mare near the jukebox. “Hey lady, class this place up a bit, will you? That music in the jukebox there? It’s shit! Give us something classy, like Sinatra or something!” And so the music was changed, from the loud blaring rock to something much more to Daring’s tastes. Soft piano music, smooth jazz really. “Okay, much better. Least something here aside from me and you is much more fitting for Manehatten nights. This here, less of an assault on the ears.” “I’ll drink to that,” Tidal agreed. “So, what’s your particular poison?” “Manticore Rare,” Daring said, placing some cash on the bartop and smiled when a glass of it was poured in front of her. She took a sip and smiled. “Simple pleasures, eh?” “Yeah,” Tidal replied as the two clinked their glasses together. “To simple pleasures, and our shitty lives!” Daring gave him a look. “Yeah, I knew it. That’s what you’re here for aren’t you?” Daring remarked. “You know what my greatest weakness is, aside from seeing a good piece of artwork like the Mare Lisa or something locked up in someone’s vault and not being enjoyed? My greatest weakness? Occasionally, I give a damn. Like right about now, about you and you drinking your troubles away.” “Lady, you’re a very perceptive asshole,” Tidal glared, and Daring smirked in return. “I’ve been called worse. But yeah, I’m perceptive, and occasionally caring enough to tell you that you’re being an idiot, and that if I was your fiance and alive instead of six feet under in some cemetery somewhere I’d be punching you in the face right about now for disrespecting my memory by killing myself with flask after flask of some stinkin’ rotgut that dares call itself whiskey.” “What, you starting a support group anytime soon, plenty of people have lost loved ones you know,” Tidal said, getting drunker and drunker by the moment as he downed another glass. “Plenty to Gaia Memory users. You could probably make a good sized list. See Fleetfoot out there?” he asked, pointing to the mare outside the bar who was now getting into some stallion’s car. Daring’s eyebrow raised, for the first time she realized that was Fleetfoot, she’d just never paid much attention. Wasn’t like she was expected to care about every pegasus in the city after all. “Believe it or not, she loved Grape Vine, and now she loses him to a Gaia Memory in a sense.” “Like I’d waste my time circle-jerking with a bunch of whiners, and Fleetfoot and go whine about losing her precious lover and trophy boyfriend to someone who cares. Grape Vine brought that stupidity down on himself, nobody forced him to inject a Gaia Memory into his own body,” Daring replied, and Tidal gave her a look. “Like I said, I only very rarely give a damn about someone, but when I do there’s usually a reason. Now, I don’t like you. Hell, you’re part of this city’s problems with that damn Gaia Memory dealing you used to do,” Daring continued. “By all rights, I should have taken you to the police station and let them throw you in the bin. But Philip cares for you, dunno why, and so, therefore, I care even if you are a piece of shit that stinks to high heaven. Or maybe that’s just the booze, I dunno.” “Newsflash Daring, the real world is not about happy endings. It's about taking the life you have and fighting like hell to keep it,” Tidal snapped. “You want to know why I started dealing Gaia Memories? I grew up in a poor neighborhood, place not too far from here. People got shot almost daily, druglords ran the fucking place,” he continued. “I really didn’t have much choice in starting to deal Gaia Memories, nobody would hire some street slime from my neighborhood and if I didn’t do something I would probably wind up homeless and parentless thanks to who I had to pay protection money towards! So yeah, I dealt out a few here and there, hoping the kingpins would all kill each other and guess what? So they did,” he chuckled darkly. “But there are people who would have happily helped you if they knew…” Daring trailed off, and even as the words left her mouth she didn’t believe them. Some parts of town, and some people nobody really gave a damn about. She knew that only too well from personal experience. It was the reason why she turned to thievery in the first place, and if she hadn’t been arrested and requested by museums to put her talents to proper use testing their security systems than she might have probably been lying dead on some rich pony’s sitting room floor. Loathe as she was to admit it, she actually liked being called a hero by some. Actually reminded her that even a bitch like herself had the capacity to change, break the chains that bound them to whatever the hell life they were leading and take the stage for their own. She knew it sounded ridiculously poetic of her, but right now it was the only way she could think to describe her current feelings on the matter. “Barely had a proper education as it is, it was only after I got the money from dealing the damn things that I could even think to afford to get a good degree! Believe me, if I’d known the Hell I was about to help unleash on the streets, I would have stopped right then and there, but the money came in and I was young, foolish! Idiotic!” he roared, smashing the shot glass on the countertop, his voice breaking with Tidal barely fighting back sobs. “But… but I just couldn’t stop, I wanted more and more of that money to provide a life for me and my family, one we could never even dream of achieving. And then I met Cherry, she was able to look past my flaws and accept me for what I was. I promised to stop dealing, and then just as we were about to marry… It happened. Frozen solid into a photographer’s sick idea of a fucking sculpture!” The dam finally broke and Tidal began to sob heavily, and Daring not entirely sure why pulled the pony into a hug whispering “Shh… It’s going to be okay.” to him. “Holy Mother, what have I got myself into…?” Daring wondered to herself. Author's Note Okay, I apologize for taking so long to write this up, but unlike the C arc, this chapter wasn't written in tandem to them. Hell, the entire C arc was originally envisioned as one singular chapter, till I realized how long it'd be. Now, really have to thank Eagle-Paladin of Shadows for letting me use his character Tempest here, and for proofreading his lines to make sure I'd done a good job on his personality. And another thank you to Shadowmane for helping with the two Dopant fight scenes. Sorry if there's very little info on the real main villain here, namely the mysterious user with the "F" memory, but I did throw you a bone here and establish at least part of Maria's connection to all of this. Besides, I wanted to focus more on the victims here, like Tidal. Cherry's killer may have been locked up, but Tidal's still a major player here on my gameboard as it were. Now, as ever, comments, thoughts, and constructive critique are welcomed. Part Four: The L that was Cast AsideManehatten Police Station: Groaning, Tidal found himself groggily waking in a cell, with a very heavy headache, the morning sun coming in through a window not making his life any easier at the moment. “The drunk tank,” Tidal thought to himself. Lovely. Absolutely just bloody fucking lovely. If the papers get wind of this…” He then mentally facepalmed, chances are they already had given the sight he made of himself down in Hell’s Kitchen in that dive bar between him and Daring. Someone with a camera, anyone really, could have snapped a photo and sent it off to some local newspaper, and there it would be. His drunken, sorry state of a mug plastered all over the morning edition of the Manehatten Enquirer. “Well, well, well, so sleeping beauty awakens from his slumber,” came Phil’s voice from somewhere in the background, sounding rather disgusted and annoyed. “Thought we were going to have to find a bucket of ice-cold water and dump it all over your bloody head to get you up.” He was leaning up against a wall, outside the cell doors. Daring was nearby, arms crossed and if possible, looking even more annoyed and pissed off than Philip himself. Granted, looking pissed seemed to be Daring’s usual state from what Tidal could see so it was frankly hard to tell really. “I say we do it anyways,” Daring remarked, in a tone that made it almost impossible to tell if she was joking. “Just to be sure.” “How did I…?” Tidal trailed off, not sure he wanted to know. “You have Daring to thank,” Philip grumbled, clearly quite crabby and put off. “Apparently, from what she told me, you collapsed as soon as you started sobbing your pretty precious little heart out and she hailed a car to drive you all the way here. Not your finest hour, I gotta say…” He tossed, sure enough, the Manehatten Enquirer into Tidal’s cell, and it read as clear as day: “Rich Socialite Crashes and Burns in Hell’s Kitchen! Finds new love in Daring ‘Danger’ Do?” complete with pictures of him sobbing into Daring’s chest and Daring leading him to a patrol car. “Now,” Philip said as an officer handed him a cup of hot coffee straight off the pot and upon the first sip his demeanor seemed to improve mildly. “Not really a fan of the second part, inaccurate though it may be but the first half? Seems to describe exactly what happened to you, doesn’t it? You know, there’s a little thing about me I ought to share ‘bout now. Some may call it a character flaw, others might call it a good thing. In my line of work, you gotta know when to walk away from something, whether it be a case or a person,” he continued. “But some cases or people just won't let you go. They just grab you by the reigns and hold you tight. Like you, you’re an interesting piece. Dunno if I feel sorry for you, or I should just shake my head and call it a day as chances are you’ll probably continue on your downward cycle without someone to knock some good sense into you.” Daring flipped him a coin, golden in color that read 24 hours recovery. Tidal knew exactly what kind of coin it was, one for AA members. “Take my advice, there’s this place down near where we live -You haven’t forgotten the location of that have you?- and go to it,” Daring remarked. “Chances are it’ll do you a world of good. Now listen, don’t know if you remember but I hate circle jerking. But these guys, pulled me out of a hole I wasn’t sure I was going to get out of, did me a world of good and I’ll be forever grateful for them for that. Consider this a rare show of kindness from me, stopping you from doing something truly stupid,” Daring remarked. “Listen, I get you,” Phillip continued, continuing to look Tidal directly in the eye, and now he rested a hand on his shoulder. The pony wasn’t sure quite when exactly, but at some point, Philip had stepped into the cell. “Lost everything you had, or loved, and now you’ve got to build your life back up. Few of us have been there, more times than we can count,” Philip continued, almost sounding as if he was speaking from experience. Given his age, and the general effect Manehatten seemed to have on ponies it wouldn’t have surprised Tidal if he was. “But the important thing, life goes on. World doesn’t stop turning, although may seem like it to you. Life continues on, and that’s the main thing. Look, I’ll be the first to admit me and Daring are absolute crap at giving advice, but we’re trying to help you here mate. You’re a good guy, something that Manehatten’s sorta low on. Don’t want to see this city swallow up another pony into it’s bowels, that’s all.” Going for his pants pockets, Tidal fished something out of them. A very distinctive ribcage-themed Flash Drive-like device with an S on it. Philip and Daring shared a look as the Gaia Memory was handed to them. “...Knew he had a spare on him…” Daring grumbled to herself. “Yeah. Smilodon memory,” Tidal admitted. “Planned on using it myself someday soon in my grief, just to take back my city, or at the very least take down Grape Vine. Would have snuck into Sleipnir's Island somehow, ripped him to shreds. ...Not worth it though, not anymore. Would have gotten me locked up just like he was. Made me no better than Grape really, a murderer out for blood for a frankly stupid reason. Revenge, it’s a cycle. Guess this is me breaking it,” Tidal continued. “You’re right Phil, the world doesn’t stop turning. Life goes on, and we rebuild. City’s gone to shit, but I’d like to think with ponies like you out there you might just be able to polish that shit into one Hell of a diamond.” “Cheesy as all hell, but…” Philip remarked as he tossed the Smilodon Memory to Bee, taking note of the pony’s crescent moon bracelet. He’d sworn he’d seen that design somewhere before. “I’m proud of you Tidal, you know that right?” Tidal mumbled something, before just waving them off having quite a lot to think about now about what he’d do next, and a hangover to wear off. In the break room, Philip and Daring reconvened. In the background, one of the hottest new numbers from a local band played off a radio. “All this while I have been feeling a little something Just a few more pieces I'm searching for in the puzzle Using your heart, using your body, fill the gaps It's a stimulating effect Something lets me change! “The power of the wind that blows into this city Drawing it into myself Transforming with that flowing strength Let's go change destiny! “Cyclone Effect, Don't stop it You can surely become stronger yeah… Cyclone Effect, Don't stop it…” “You think he’ll be alright?” Daring asked, taking a sip of her coffee. “Last night, the state I saw him in, and now that we know he was thinking of using a Gaia Memory…” she trailed off, before seeing the look on Philip’s face. She knew that expression, it was the one he always wore whenever he was lost in thought for some reason or another. “Oi, Equus to Philip, you in there?” she asked, waving a hand in front of his face. “Sorry, just thinking to myself. Gaia Memories, heard that phrase someplace before,” he remarked to himself, pacing back and forth across the room even turning down the radio -Much to Bee’s displeasure, who was dancing to the song- so he could think more clearly. “Not sure where, but I distinctly remember it being before the first Dopants and dealers even showed up in the city. Just can’t quite figure… What were you saying?” “Tidal,” Daring replied with a small sigh. As much as she liked it when Philip got to thinking on a case -It was kinda sexy really, in it’s own way- he needed to be focused on the here and now, at least for the moment. “I was just asking for your opinion. You think he’ll be alright?’ “Honestly?” Philip replied. “You want my honest opinion?” “Yeah, don’t see anyone else in the room named Phil around here, do you?” Daring drawled. “Honestly, with him?” Philip remarked. “I’m honestly not sure. He’s… Well, like I said, he’s one of those types that will continue on his downward spiral until someone knocks some sense into him, and even then I’m not sure it’ll help. He needs something to do, if you ask me, something to get his mind off his wife,” “So, we’ll just have to get him a job at the office, he can be our receptionist. The Mother knows we get some fairly stupid cases not even worth our time on occasion,” Daring shrugged. “No, no. Not right now,” Philip sighed. “Not with all the Gaia Memories hanging around our office, probably would just keep his mind on the loss of his wife which is the exact opposite of what we want,” “You got any better ideas?” Daring asked, eyebrow raised. “Cause I sure as hell don’t have any. Gaia Memories, like it or not, they're a fact of life in this shithole of a city right now. Can’t get away from ‘em, no matter how hard you try.” “...Sadly, you have a point there,” Philip muttered before he snapped his fingers in remembrance. Now he remembered where he’d seen the little pendant on Bee’s bracelet before. ...What looked like an eldritch abomination made entirely of gold stood before them. Long, thin tentacles stood before them, almost like a set of golden scarves. The head and its’ collar spikes were black as night, with a few gold waves on the face to make it stand out. A yellow moon sat below its’ neck and hung daintily on his centre tendril. It didn’t utter a word, and instead let out a series of distorted moans and groans instead. “Here we go again…” Daring muttered as she and Philip held up their Gaia Memories… “No, no…” Philip muttered, shaking his head. “It couldn’t be, could it?” He steeled himself, only one way to find out. “BEE!” he barked out, making the young beat cop jump, his plastic coffee cup hitting the floor spilling what little left of his beverage remained inside it. “Y-Yeah?” Bee asked nervously. “The pendant, I’ve seen something like that on a Dopant. Listen, I know you’re a good cop, and I sure as Hell know you’d never take a Gaia Memory, not after a user put Arc Light in the hospital but I need to know where-” Philip began before Bee sighed. “Where else you might see this?” Bee asked. “It’s almost completely one of a kind. Almost. Only other person who might have something like this, it’d be my sister. Fleetfoot, but I haven’t heard from her since Grape Vine got binned. Before that actually, we sorta lost touch about a year or so ago…” he trailed off. Something in Daring’s head triggered itself, the mare thinking back. “Just make it look, oh this little less slutty I’d suppose and more teasing. Not like I’m going to have sex with you, but like let’s say you want to imagine me with the clothes off if you catch my drift.” Grape remarked. In front of him, was this pegasus mare. Light blue in coat color, and with a white mane. Grape snapped a few photos of a mare wearing this very thin negligee -Philip was blushing at that point- that left very little to the imagination, as she lay on a red velvet couch with gold armrests. Around her neck, and Daring admitted this wasn’t particularly eye-catching at the time was this necklace with a golden crescent moon pendant. Now that she thought about it, Daring had caught a glimpse of this pendant when Fleetfoot was getting into this car with a stallion for a night in the previous night, right at that little dive in Hell’s Kitchen. “Something wrong?” Bee asked in worry, noting the look of concern on Daring’s face. “Y-Yeah,” Daring trailed off, figuring it best she spared the poor guy from the truth. This was something she had to handle herself. “Your sister, she might be in trouble.” “W-Well, let me help! She’s my sister, you don’t just leave family behind!” Bee exclaimed. “Look, I admire your loyalty, I really do,” Daring said. “But this is a bit above your pay grade. You’re a beat cop, just a simple beat cop and the trouble your sister is involved in? Not going to lie to you here, it’s Dopant related. Let me and Phil handle this okay?” she asked sternly, but her face softened for a brief moment. “Don’t worry, we’ll get your sister back.” “No, you will,” Philip corrected her. “Me, I’ve got to go hunting in the public archives, down at the library. I need to find out where I’ve heard the term Gaia Memory before, and I suspect looking through newspapers would be a good place to start. Marwari, that keeps cropping up in my mind. I need to know why,” he stated. “Besides, me and mares? We really don’t go so well together, especially if they’re crying. Sorta your realm of expertise Daring.” “What if Fleet goes Dopant on me?” Daring hissed out, her voice just low enough so that only Philip could hear it, nobody else. “You can handle it,” Philip said, handing her the Trigger Memory. “I know you. Remember the Kiva-La incident? Where we had this possible thestral biting ponies and sucking them dry for some mad cult?” “Yeah, I do. Turned out it this mare named White Feather was chasing after her brother to bring him to justice, after he’d escaped from a madhouse in their home country of Transalfangya. Both Dhampyrs and White actually requested my help to bring her brother down after her own thestral blood proved to be not enough. The first real case I ever handled without you.” Daring remembered. “And you did it well,” Philip replied. “Now I know you can do the same here. Kicking arse, that’s your specialty, not mine. Me, I’m more of the bookish research type and you know it. I’m more suited for information gathering.” “Don’t sell yourself short,” Daring smiled. “You’ve been getting awfully good at using the Nazca and Heat Memories, you don’t even have to have me fly you anywhere any more. Kinda miss that.” “I don’t,” Philip shuddered in remembrance, remembering every single time Daring picked him up for a surprise sudden flight back home thinking it much more fun for him than riding his motorbike. Philip begged to differ. “Point is, you can handle yourself just fine, but if that’s what you really want to do right now…” Daring trailed off. Well, I can find Fleetfoot. Should be easy enough, things called the address and telephone books do exist for a reason.” she said with a wink, before hitting the streets. There was a loud revving sound, and Philip sighed. “That’s… That’s my bike!” he shouted to no avail before grumbling. “She’d better bring it back in one piece…” Manehatten Public Library: With more than a hint of trepidation, and worry for what he’d exactly find, Philip found himself going up the steps past the famous twin stone lion statues and entering Manehatten’s Public Library. Now, the Manehatten Public Library, for decades -In fact it’s lifespan stretched back more than over 100 years- had and has been an essential provider of free books, information, ideas, and education for all Manehattenites. When it was found, probably nobody knew exactly what the MPL as it was called would become. But today, it was and still is Equus’s largest public library system, featuring a unique combination of varying local neighborhood branches and four scholarly research centers stretching all over the island’s districts. Upon entry, rows and rows of bookshelves greeted him, the distinctive sound of pages turning and books being stamped echoing throughout the seemingly endless halls. For some, it was probably quite intimidating. Not for Phil through, it wasn’t the first time he’d been here on some specific case. Take for example, the case of the Ghost of the Hotel Royale. When Philip had heard of this case, he’d scoffed right from the get go as he’d never believed for one moment in the supernatural. What had been going on apparently, was people vanishing from their rooms without leaving any trace of themselves behind, and doors were locked every time so nobody obviously just let themselves in. Or did they? Apparently with a bit of digging, Philip found out this hotel had a really rather dark history that the currents weren’t keen on elaborating on, and to be honest he could sorta understand why upon further reading. The hotel, it was in fact the location for one of Equus’ first recognized serial killers, one Sharp Blade. A century ago, Sharp had purchased an empty lot, indistinguishable from any other empty lot in the city. Nobody knew exactly what he had in mind for it. But all the same, construction began just soon after Sharp had purchased it for a two-story mixed-use building, with retail spaces, on the first floor and apartment spaces on the second. When Sharp opted out of paying to pay the architects and the steel company upon request saying he’d only pay them after the job was finished and it was to his satisfactions. They sued, but somehow both lawsuits just… went away. Furniture suppliers were to eventually find that Sharp was hiding their materials, for again which he had never paid, in hidden rooms and passages all over the building’s layout. Their search made the papers eventually and any investors for the planned hotel Sharp Blade had, they just up and pulled out of the deal when a friend in the building showed them the articles. Sharp had used these hidden rooms and tunnels to construct a murder castle if you will. The entire end result was quite disturbing to say the least. Now, in the present day with the Ghost of the Hotel Royale, Philip had been stumped as to how and what was happening. Secret passages were some of the last thing on his mind back then, he was a simple officer for the Manehatten Police then. He never put much thought into things like hidden passages and the like in those days, but the case kept nagging at him so through a strange series of events -Which was it’s own story- he found himself with Daring. Once Philip had done the digging on the history of the Royale, and together the two had caught the perp, a copycat killer by the name of Steel Edge. Sadly, because Steel was the son of one of Manehatten’s high socialites, Philip was warned away from the case. In fact, he was encouraged to take an early retirement. He did out of pure disgust, but not without turning the evidence into the papers and the chief of police at the time along with Steel both faced charges. That was how Philip and Daring became partners, in a sense, working from the shadows to bring criminals to justice without police bureaucracy holding them back. But that was then, this was now. Philip was currently searching through stacks of old newspapers dating back a few years, seven at most. Any articles with news relating to the nation of Marwari, he put aside for further reading. Then, upon stumbling across a specific article he smiled. Now he finally had that missing piece of info that’d been alluding him, and nagging away at his brain. “Co-Founder of Destiny's Child Laboratories Dies in Horrific, Brutal Attack! Drug User Blamed!” “Now I remember…” Philip thought to himself, snapping his fingers in remembrance and letting out a declaration of: “I’m on fire today!” drawing him a few glares from other ponies and a hiss from the librarian. “Saffron Masala, that was her name. Wife of Blueblood, poor guy. From what I read, Blueblood had met her on a sightseeing trip to Marwari and got caught up in a whirlwind romance. Now, before this attack happened, apparently they’d been developing drugs, with the usage of a new substance found in Marwari calling them Gaia Memories to hopefully heal any illness in the world,” Philip thought to himself in remembrance. “Saffron, she was the brains of the project really, Blueblood providing the funding coming from a huge family. Granted, this project was bleeding his family’s money dry and they were about to cut him off. Think they did really.” Reading the article further, it seemed some unhappy employee had used the research in their own way, turning herself into a horrific fire monster and killing Saffron. But Philip had to wonder, did she really die that day? Saffron, she was a remarkably intelligent mare and it would be all too easy for her to disappear from the public eye if everyone thought she was dead. Now, Philip had no doubts this fire monster -Most likely an early Dopant- was real, but what was the connection? Did the employee not get paid, or was there something else more unscrupulous going on behind the scenes? “Now that I think about it,” Philip mused to himself thinking back to when he’d first met a certain shrouded mare. “Shroud, I believe I saw the smallest hint of a chipped unicorn horn sticking out from under her hat, and she spoke with this hint of an Indian accent. Plus, if she’s really Saffron Masala it would provide ample reason for her to cover her face, considering it’s probably burned and scalded and all.” Then Philip remembered Grape’s words, and his comment about Altruism, along with his own theories. “Shroud or Saffron is testing us, but for what purpose?” Philip asked himself. “Well, I suppose there’s only one way to find out eh? Ask the mare herself,” he stated, grabbing his hat and jacket and running out the nearest door to the streets, and he smirked when he saw this pegasus mare with an electric yellow mane polishing off her old Harley. Hopping onto the bike, the mare let out a loud: “Hey, give that back, ya bastard!” as Philip revved the engine before he tossed her a sack of coins. “I promise, I’ll pay you back. But I’m going to need this, it’s important!” he shouted to Lightning Dust before the tires squealed and he drove off down the streets his bike pointed firmly at the building known as the Shard. Now, this was just a hunch but he’d long suspected this was where Destiny’s Child worked out of. His suspicions had only been heightened when he heard from an old friend on the force that laboratory equipment -Like none he’d ever seen- had been moved into the Shard a few months back. “Now then Shroud, or whatever your real name is,” Philip thought to himself as he continued to pick up speed. “Time to have words, I think. Played me and everyone else like chess pieces long enough I believe. Time to turn this into a totally new game I think.” Swerving and weaving past trucks, cars, and other assorted traffic, Philip only picked up speed as he continued his madcap dash towards the massive glass structure engine roaring and howling loudly like some sort of wild animal. While it was no Typhoon, it would have to do for the time being, and it wasn’t like this bike had its perks. It had some sort of old time charm, really and definitely made quite the entrance. They’d know he was coming for sure, and that’s exactly the way Philip wanted it really. He grimaced when he heard the sound of police sirens coming from somewhere behind him. He sorta figured someone would probably see him breaking a few speed limits and performing some decidedly dangerous driving, but it wasn’t like he had the time to tangle with the cops right now. A wiser man may have thought, why not bring the cops into this? They could provide valuable reinforcements. But no, Philip was quite pissed off by now, being used like a pawn on a game board. No, this was a personal score that he had to settle, and nobody was going to get in his way… Meanwhile, Daring found herself at Fleetfoot’s apartment. Unsurprisingly, it was located in the Hell’s Kitchen part of the city, and really wasn’t particularly easy on the eyes. The entire block was in disrepair, with ponies on every street corner. Some, whoring themselves out as mares of the night like Fleetfoot herself and others with steely gazes and guns in their pockets. In short, it was the last place Daring would want to be in at any moment, but she had to do this. Not just to put a Dopant and potential threat to the city out of business -Daring winced, she had to choose her phrasing better, putting it like that sounded as if she was going to kill Fleetfoot- but to help Bee, who was possibly one of the only ponies Daring would ever happily call a friend. She wasn’t sure why, but she saw a little bit of herself in the young buck. Maybe it was that determination, that drive she once possessed, who knew? It was a mystery, even to her. But the point was, tears didn’t suit him and neither did they suit his sister. Grasping her Fang and borrowed Trigger memories in her hand and pocketing them in her jeans, she used one powerful thrust her of her leg, and knocked the apartment entryway door down with one powerful hoof shouting out: “Hey Fleetfoot, it’s your grief counselor, we’ve come to hug!” Anybody who was near her, saw the dangerous look on Daring’s face and wisely scattered to the shadows or took cover behind the front desk. The inside of the apartment was no more attractive as the inside really. Dark and dingy, with what she swore was mold on the carpets that lined the corridors, lights flickered on and off sporadically. Subconsciously, on pure instinct, Daring went for her whip and grasped it tightly just in case someone tried to attack her from the shadows. She really didn’t want to pull off someone’s finger and have some very interesting things to explain to the cops when they got called, but you never could be too careful in neighborhoods like this. Remembering Fleetfoot’s apartment number from the address book she’d looked up, she made her way upstairs to the third floor and found the correct number. “Hey Fleets, you in there?” Daring asked, gently knocking on the door. Might as well go for the polite and careful approach first, before going for the dangerous and reckless one. She was dealing with a Dopant after all. “It’s Daring! You know, that friend of your brother’s? I just want to talk, that’s all.” No answer came, so Daring opted to pull out a lockpicking kit and use that instead. Eventually, after a few moments, she heard a satisfying click and she gently pushed open the door. The interior of Fleetfoot’s apartment was tiny, barely enough to support one pony. Wasn’t an ideal place for a fight if it came to that. She looked around the room, and noted bottles of bourbon laying on a nearby table, along with a set of jeans made for a male. A t-shirt lay nearby as well on the carpet below alongside a bra and panties. The stench of sex, a heavy musty smell was quite prevalent in the air. Evidently, Fleetfoot’s lover had opted to stay for more than just that one night it seemed. “I need a lover that won't drive me crazy Some girl that knows the meaning of, ah- Hey hit the highway!” Daring sung to herself absentmindedly under her breath. She saw a stallion, dark-furred with a midnight blue mane snoozing under the covers, and heard the sound of a shower running. Daring opted to sit herself on a nearby armchair, and wait. Eventually, Fleetfoot emerged dressed in a bathrobe, before her eyes widened upon seeing Daring. “D-Daring, what are you doing here?” she asked, recognizing the mare from her visit to Grape Vine’s old photography studio. “Gaia Memory, hand it over now,” Daring asked, holding out her hand with Fleetfoot’s eyes widening. “How…” “You can thank your brother for giving me the clue I needed. That pendant on his bracelet, same one you have as a Dopant. So, have to ask, what’s with stalking us at every corner eh?” Daring remarked. “G-Grape Vine…” Fleetfoot whispered, her voice trembling as she reached for a Gaia Memory with an L on it on her bedside table. “It always comes back to that bastard doesn’t it?” Daring sighed. “Look, I’m going to give you some-” \ Luna! / the Gaia Memory proclaimed as Fleetfoot stuck it in her arm, the device absorbing itself into her skin underneath. Daring sighed, and slapped on her Lost Driver and whipped out her own Gaia Memory and activated it. \ Fang! / The two began trading blows, with Daring staying out of reach of the Luna Dopant’s long whip-like arms as best as she could in the confined space and leaping out the window to the alley below, using her wings to slow her descent. Daring flipped backwards as Fleetfoot landed, and sent two balls of energy towards her, before Daring kicked a metal barrel at her only for Fleetfoot to slice it in half. Daring activated her arm fang, and used it to slash at Fleetfoot, with the mare turned Dopant gyrating in such a manner to keep herself out of range. “Listen, you think you're the only one who've lost a pony close to you? You think you're the only one dealing with pain? You think you can take your shit and dump it on me? You don't get to do that! So you take your goddamn pain and you live with it, Fleet!” Daring shouted as she pressed down on the Trigger Memory, slammed it into her Driver with her costume turning blue and gaining a magnum strapped to her chest inside a holster. “You lost your loved one? Welcome to the goddamn club! I lost my parents in some random accident! Do you see me trying to kill every shitty driver? No! Because I don't work my shit out on other ponies! And for the record, Grape was snake-fuckingly-crazy anyhow! He had his eyes on only one mare, and it wasn’t you!” Slamming the Trigger Memory into a slot on the Magnum, it proclaimed: \ Trigger, Maximum Drive! / before Daring fired a single charged shot of energy at Fleetfoot, knocking her out of her transformation with the Luna memory ejecting itself and shattering like glass. Fleetfoot fell to the ground, sobbing and Daring to this day still didn’t quite know why she did it, but she only pulled the mare into a hug. Didn’t punch her lights out, didn’t cuff her. She just pulled her into a hug. “Listen, like I said, I-” “Lost someone close to you, I heard,” Fleetfoot whispered, her whole body shaking as Daring held her, Daring’s own transformation now canceled. “I don’t know why, I suppose I did lose myself for a bit but when I heard you locked Grape up I…” “Went nuts?” Daring asked, and Fleetfoot had the decency to look ashamed. “I had no plans on using the Luna Memory anymore, not till you showed up, that was in self-defense. I’ve been reading in the papers what happens to Gaia Memory users, how they get locked up in Sleipnir's Island never to see the light of day. I read in the papers about Grape Vine’s last words before he got the electric chair, how he never regretted killing Cherry. I just wanted that thing to be out of my life, I was planning to destroy it later today, toss it in the sea! But then, you just showed up out of the blue, and my rage, and my anger took over, and-” “It’s okay, you don’t need to say anymore. Listen, I’ll defend you in court. Me and Phil both will, I promise you that. Here, go to my place. Hide out there and we’ll turn you into the cops ourselves. Hell, maybe Bee will put in a good word for you.” “I’d… I’d like that. Thanks, Daring.” Fleetfoot sniffled. Just then, Daring’s phone rang, and seeing the number she answered it. “Yeah?” “It’s Phil,” Tempest’s voice came from the other end of the line. “He stole someone’s bike, went on a madcap dash through midtown traffic, and smashed right through the front gates of the Shard!” “He what!?!” Daring shouted. “That idiot! Listen, hold back. Don’t arrest him yet, I have a feeling he’s onto something, and I also have a feeling he’s going to need my help.” “Okay, I’ll try,” Tempest said. “But a few of these boys, they’d love nothing better than to see Phil arrested for the crap he just pulled. I can’t guarantee anything.” Daring nodded, and placed the phone in her pocket before looking at Fleetfoot who could only nod. “Grab yourself some clothes, head to my place. Me, I’ve got to bail Phil out… again.” Daring said, breaking into a sprint and hopping on Phil’s bike before gunning the engine and driving off. Across town, Philip stood ina lobby, goons scattered about laying unconscious and two glass doors behind him smashed wide open, the borrowed Harley laying on the ground as well. “Now, who's next?” Philip growled out. Author's Note Okay, a few words to say about this chapter. First off, I'm really sorry about the exposition, wanted to give a little bit more backstory to this world's Philip Finder and Daring. On Philip, this chapter was actually meant to show off his flaws a bit more, considering up till now he's been mostly this perfect guy with access to a Lost Driver and some pretty powerful Gaia Memories. Ponyjosiah13 stated on him, and I quote: --He sometimes struggles to control his anger, and when he gets really angry, somepony's going to the hospital --He can be very blunt and isn't always great at displaying his emotions --He's got a bit of an ego: he's a great detective, and he knows it --He lacks a certain cunning that Daring has. He's a blunt-force person: if he's hit with an obstacle, he'll try to ram his way through it rather than think about ways around or over it --He's not a morning person. At all. He basically can't function until he gets some coffee. Also, the Smiledon memory. Originally Tidal was going to inject it after some long rant about the crappiness of this city or something, he and our two Riders fight and then he gets handed the AA coin after the memory break was performed. Also on Gaia Memories, the Luna one. Now, for a while I was confused on why a moon based memory would do things like performing illusions, but a certain someone informed me that aside from being a homage to the classic Kamen Rider villain turned anti-hero Shadow Moon, it's based on all the mysteries and legends based on the moon over the years. Part Five: The M that Started it AllAuthor's Note Okay, so it's all led up to this. Philip and Daring VS Blueblood. (Also, huge thank you to RuinqueenofOblivion (Go check out her story Kamen Rider Justice eh will you?) for writing some of the flashbacks seen in this chapter. Part Five: The M that Started it All Manehatten: The Shard “Move, move it!” stallions in white lab coats shouted as they began packing up their research, as an alarm klaxon blared in the background. A woman, with a chipped unicorn’s horn and bandages covering her face, serenely watched a familiar trilby-clad stallion smash into the front lobby of the building 20 floors below via security camera with a bike. She’d seen the security footage outside the Shard as well, Phillip using a ‘borrowed’ Harley-Davidson decked out in green lightning bolts to take out more security guards. It was fairly impressive she had to admit, if not quite brazen. Philip popped a wheelie as he smashed through the gates, the security guards’ pistols firing all the while before he spun his bike in a circle creating a huge cloud of smoke making it impossible for the guards to know where to shoot. Then, a revving of the bike’s engine was heard and Philip leaped out of the smoke using a sheet of metal as a makeshift ramp before throwing the bike sideways in mid-air and using it to block the shots as several security guards -Oddly dressed in white coats- leaped towards him only to get knocked on their arses. Still in mid-air, Philip gripped the handlebars of the bike and kicked another guard back into some barrels. Two members of the oddly dressed troupe of guards drove up on bikes of their own and rushed towards Philip, pulling out electric stun rods of some sort. Philip let them drive up alongside him before doing a split kick to knock them off their bikes. Philip grabbed one of the stun rods and used it to knock down several more of the guards before tossing it aside before he revved his engine once more and headed right for the front doors smashing right through them, glass shards cutting into his fur and drawing blood. The bike screeched to a halt as it slid along the floor with Philip jumping off of it, only to find himself face to face with more guards. “Hmph,” she chuckled as she saw the security guards in suits pour out of the woodworks to greet him, with the pony in the gray trilby pulling out a baton as the various guards pulled out Masquerade Gaia Memories and inserted them into their arms. \ Masquerade! / “How many of you dingos are there?” Philip asked himself as he shook his head and spun his baton in his hand, the ribcage-masked warriors charging towards him. “What, do they mass produce you all?” “Suppose the game’s up now, isn’t it? Guess it would always lead up to this in the end, as I suspected. Philip was never a complete fool.” Shroud sighed. She looked to a nearby chessboard, and moved a black pawn piece and used it to knock away a white pawn. Several other pawn pieces lay scattered throughout the chessboard, all of them white. Philip meanwhile, was punching and kicking his way through the Masquerade Dopants, at some points even shattering their masks with hard right hooks or powerful kicks. Now, most of the time this should have been impossible, a regular non-Gaia Memory using pony taking on a hoard of dopants and winning. But the Masquerade memory, it was never particularly powerful. In fact, it was probably the weakest memory and that was why it was so easy to mass-produce. It really didn’t provide any physical enhancements, at least any major ones and the users generally kept their sanity throughout it’s usage. But on the downside, an experienced fighter could easily make a punching bag out of you, even if you were in a group of other Masquerade users simply because of the aforementioned issue. “He’s a determined little bastard, isn’t he?” Shroud mused to herself as she watched Philip easily beat up the Masquerade Dopants, all without even engaging his own Gaia Memory. “Bit more brute force than I would like, but all in all, he was the perfect test subject for the T2 Gaia Memories. Grape Vine, he was far too crazy to gather good data from, and Daring? She would have figured out she was being used by me long before I could gather any data. But Philip? He’s just the right amount of stupid and sane for my liking.” “Now, who's next?” Philip growled out. As the old saying went, ask a question and someone would answer. Only one more foe remained for Philip but he would probably be the worst of the lot. He happened to be a massive stone-gray stallion, who ripped open his lab coat to reveal his heavily muscled chest, before flexing those muscles and letting out a hiss as he stepped in front of the elevator door having no intent on letting Philip pass. “Oh boy…” Philip blinked, and swallowed nervously before he let out a growl and imitated the gesture with a mock-flex and a taunting drawl of: “Bring it on, macho man.” Philip studied the man, just by his stance alone he could tell he was an experienced fighter so getting past him would not be easy. However, if he could catch him off guard somehow then he would have a chance. Already, he had an advantage. It seemed said ‘macho man’ did not take kindly to being mocked, and like a rampaging bull he charged with Philip rolling out of the way before spinning around and kicking the massive man from behind knocking him to the floor. Philip grabbed the man in a leglock, twisting his ankle in such a way to prevent him from escaping the hold before pulling out a taser he’d ‘borrowed’ from a guard and firing it at the man knocking him out. “Okay, experienced, but stupid,” Philip mused as he got up off the floor and dusted his hands off. He groaned out in pain as he clutched his chest. A few of the Masquerade Dopants had gotten in a few lucky shots to the gut punch-wise and had probably cracked a few ribs. He could weather it though, he’d have to. Destiny’s Child had to be stopped, no matter the cost. As Shroud watched, she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked to her left and saw her husband standing next to her. “He’s a determined one, isn’t he?” Blueblood remarked, slapping on his Lost Driver. “Should I go put a stop to his tomfoolery right then and there?” “No,” Shroud said. “Let’s let him meet us on our turf. Let him think he’s winning, just for the time. Then we rip his world apart.” “What about Daring, the other mare?” Blueblood asked, frowning in concern, not just at the sheer prospect of Fang showing up even if she did have a powerful memory. She was not to be underestimated. No, he was frowning because of the way his wife was speaking, the way she spoke of ripping Phil’s world apart. Lately, she’d become somewhat of a shadow of her former self, and while some of that could have been blamed on the Heat Dopant which scarred her beyond recognition, she’d been keeping secrets. Far too many for Blueblood’s liking. “If she comes, then you can deal with her as well,” Shroud said. “You’re almost at the crisp of your goal, our goal!” “Yes… yes.” Blueblood whispered, and thought back to how this all stated. Marwari: Four Years Ago A stranger in a strange land, that’s what Blueblood would have been if not for one Saffron Masala. Sure, he had the money from his family’s estate to do what he always wanted to do, help the world but he didn’t have the brains. Nor did he speak the local language. Both of which amounted to huge roadblocks for him and his ideals. Nopony ever said it would be easy to make them come true, and if Blueblood were a lesser buck he probably would have turned and run away but a lesser buck Blueblood was not. But there he was, nonetheless, right smack dab in the middle of Marwari’s capital city of Delhi. It was hot, cramped, and to make matters even worse and probably more humiliating for the early twenties something or other year old, it was right in the middle of the rainy season. The rain poured down, drenching Blueblood to the bone, soaking his long luxurious golden locks of hair and probably ruining his expensive and rather nicely pressed suit to add insult to metaphorical injury. This was not how one of Manehatten’s most exquisite social butterflies should look! “Oh for the White Mother’s sakes, does anyone speak Equestrian, or at least know Equestrian?” Blueblood called out in frustration, cursing himself for not taking that foreign language class back in college that his parents had pressed him on. He wanted to be someone different from them, someone completely new. His parents, they always just soaked themselves in their cash and their wealth not doing anything except going out to the country every now and then and hunting the local wildlife and showing off their kills to their equally rich friends. No! No, that would not do for Blueblood. He, despite technically being a Baron back in his home country of Trottingham wanted to be something else. Somepony else. He didn’t want to be one of those guys AKA the stereotypical trust fund baby who just flaunted their wealth and did nothing with it aside from spending it on expensive flashy cars and wining and dining with attractive women. No, he wanted to be something more. Someone that would be remembered as eternal in the pages of history. It was a big dream yes, some would say impossible but to Blueblood impossible was only a word made up by people who didn’t have the courage to break the chains that bound them and reach out and touch their dreams. “Anyone?” Blueblood bellowed over the din of honking cars’ horns, the chatter of ponies going about their daily lives despite the horrid weather and the sounds of foot traffic. “Is… Is there anyone who can help me?” Blueblood, obviously couldn’t understand a word of the map he was given no thanks to it being written in the local language. He’d been hoping for an Equestrian-speaking guide but from what he’d gathered because of it being the peak of tourist season none were available so he’d just have to make do with his phone’s translation app. One small teensy little problem with that. As it turned out, he’d bought one of the cheap ones that really didn’t… well, work. Case in point? When he’d tried asking for directions for the hotel he’d booked to a local mare, what his saying had come out as was asking for melons and so now he was holding two fresh honeydew melons under his arms looking decidedly ridiculous and ripe for ridicule. “Bloody apps, never trust a machine ever again in my entire life…” Blueblood grumbled as he walked through the city streets, brushing past some rather indignant tourists. If Blueblood wasn’t a prouder stallion, he might have thought of asking them for help, but the buck always liked to do things on his own. Get places without any form of help, rise to the top like a fighter and come out swinging. He was stubborn like that. In another life, he probably would have made a damn good boxer. But now, he was reduced to asking around desperately to anyone he could for directions for a place to spend the night. Well, almost anyone. He ignored the mares in the street corners as he definitely didn’t want to pick up any form of foreign disease if he hadn’t already no thanks to the mosquitos flying about. Bloody blood-suckers. Eventually, worn out from exhaustion and the scorching heat, Blueblood collapsed in the middle of the street. Now, Holy Mother only knew how many hours later, but eventually the Manehattanite found himself awakening in somebody’s bedroom, his clothes being dried on a washing line hanging outside the window, which overlooked the city. “Okay…” Blueblood murmured to himself as he climbed out of bed wrapping the sheets around himself to protect his modesty. “...So, where am I?” He gently pushed the bedroom door opened and began walking down the hall, the wood floor beneath him creaking with every step. “Hello?” Blueblood asked nervously only to find himself in a kitchen, with a rather beautiful unicorn mare wearing a indigo dress -Golden hoops had been put through her ears- that matched her brilliant orange coat and her simply enchanting magenta eyes beautifully. “Ah, you’re awake.” the mare remarked, with a small wave, her curled fuschia mane tied up in a ponytail. “Sorry ‘bout the melons, couldn’t exactly save them.” “...Wasn’t a fan anyways.” Blueblood admitted, with a small sheepish smile. “I have to ask, why did you…? I mean, nopony’s that kind, you could have just left me in the street like that, went about your day. So why?” he asked, confused. Back where he came from, nobody just helped each other like that. Nobody did, it was dog eat dog back in Manehatten. Kindness was a rare virtue. “Do I need a reason?” the unknown mare asked with a smile. “You needed help, and that was good enough reason for me. I believe in helping others.” “No… No, you don’t get it. Back where I come from, Manehatten, nobody helps each other. Not without a price,” Blueblood replied, genuinely confused. “Dog eat dog, you understand?” “It doesn’t sound like a very nice place to me,” the mare said with a shake of her head. “Not with all these dog eaters.” “Oh, Manehatten has its charms. You ever seen the city, at sunset sitting on the dock of the bay? The windows glistening in the setting sun? It’s almost heaven. And then there’s the food, and I know most Manehattenites would have their jaws drop in shock for one of their favored boys saying this but there’s the dirty water hot dogs you can find on almost any street corner.” “It sounds wonderful, but I can’t say that I’ve ever been there,” the mare said with a shake of her head, and a laugh. A wondrous laugh, sounding like bells really. “Perhaps you can show me someday?” “Yeah, maybe. Still, I’m very curious to discover the wonders of Marwari, partially the reason I came to your country in the first place really.” Blueblood admitted, a small red flush creeping up to his cheeks. “I cannot say it is much like Manehattan, but it certainly has its charms,” the mare replied with a smile. “I apologize, my Equestrian is… how would you put it? Not very good?” “It’s fine, I’m just grateful to meet anyone who speaks it at all,” Blueblood remarked, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, even if he wasn’t entirely sure why he was embarrassed to begin with. “Translation app I got on my phone was rubbish, led to the melon incident, and I couldn’t find a guide who spoke a word of both your language and mine thanks to it being the height of tourist season.” “Perhaps, I could show you around?” the mare suggested. “I’m not a guide, but I know the sights of the city.” “Yes… I would like that,” Blueblood smiled before frowning as he realized something. “What’s wrong?” the mare asked, and Blueblood laughed sheepishly once more. “It’s nothing, but… I… I never did get your name now did I? Spent all this time talking, and yet...” Blueblood trailed off. She laughed and gave him a smile. “It’s Saffron Masala,” she said with a charming smile. “And what is your name?” she asked, extending a hand. “Blueblood. Alexander Blueblood the Third.” Blueblood answered, taking Saffron’s hand and shaking it. “Saffron, that’s a nice name. It suits you.” “As does yours,” Saffron said with a smile as she gave him a nod. “Well Blueblood, where would you like to go first?” Blueblood blushed red once more, and smiled. “Anywhere you like.” Saffron smiled, before chuckling. “What?” Blueblood asked. “Before we go anywhere, might I suggest you dress yourself properly?” she asked, gesturing to the bed sheets wrapped around Blueblood’s waist. “...Ah, yes. Quite. Forgive me for that little err,” Blueblood apologized. “You don’t know where I can find a dry set of clothes do you?” Saffron only laughed harder, and Blueblood flushed even redder. Noticing his embarrassment, Saffron smiled. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you. You can borrow some of my brother’s clothes, he moved out a few weeks back but didn’t exactly collect all of his belongings. Forgetful sort, sadly. Down the hall, to your left. Just past the bathroom.” Eventually, after Blueblood had found some proper clothing, Saffron took her new friend to her father’s restaurant in downtown Delhi. Coriander Cumin’s, the exterior sign read in big bright neon letters. “...Well, that’s certainly… bold.” Blueblood remarked, rather at a loss for words blinking over and over to make sure he was seeing things correctly. “Yes, I apologize, but my Father you see, he wanted to grab ponies attentions. Make them want to step inside, see what’s what as you say.” “...Well, he’s certainly managed to pull that off,” Blueblood murmured to himself as he stepped inside the restaurant. Inside, there were tables with pink chairs lining them and large archways separating the different parts of the restaurant with elaborate designs. “Personally, I wanted him to call it the Tasty Treat or something more humble but my father’s rather stubborn and set in his ways really.” Saffron said, dressed in traditional Marwari clothing, a type of colorful midriff-baring blouse called a choil worn alongside another piece of traditional clothing called a sari. Blueblood just wore a nicely pressed suit as ever, colored a sky-blue shade and nicely pressed. He may have been in a foreign country far from home, but that didn’t mean he had to look like a slob or someone off the streets. He was fickle that way. “His way or the highway right?” Blueblood asked, as the two seated themselves. “Oh, I wouldn’t go that far…” Saffron said. “He’s stubborn, yes, but not what you’d call his way or the highway. Oh, here he comes now!” she exclaimed excitedly, waving her father over. He was a rather heavy-set stallion, but looked rather friendly, to be honest. Pleasantly plump, as Blueblood might have put it, with Coriander bearing a small mustache and a shortly cut raspberry mane with hints of gray in it. Like his daughter, he was a unicorn. “Saffron, didn’t know you’d be stopping by!” Coriander exclaimed in a boisterous tone of voice, scooping his daughter up for a hug before letting her down, Saffron’s cheeks considerably flushed by her father’s public show of affection. “And with a stallion at that! You should have told me you were bringing your boyfriend by!” ““Dad, he’s not my boyfriend,” Saffron said with a roll of her eyes. “He’s just a friend… That I just so happened to take into my house and talk to while he was dressed in just a bedsheet,” she mumbled quietly to herself, hoping her father hadn’t overheard. “Yes, just a friend!” Blueblood agreed, nodding his head fervently. “Just a friend!” “If you say so…” Coriander trailed off. “Denial isn’t just a river in Baladi, as they say…” he teased before raising an eyebrow. “So, your friend, doesn’t look like he’s from around here. He’s new in the city I assume?” “He’s from Manehattan, I’m showing him around the city now,” Saffron said with a smile. “Ah, a Manehattenite, we don’t get those too often around here,” Coriander remarked. “Usually too snobby!” “Father!” Saffron chided. “Be polite, he’s a guest!” “No, no, it’s quite alright,” Blueblood remarked. “Usually Manehattenites, the social butterflies who come to this part of the world are quite snobby really. On behalf of my city, I apologize for their behavior.” “Well now,” Coriander smiled, taken quite off guard. “I accept your apology. Really Saffron, if you don’t scoop this one up for yourself quite quickly, Ganesh knows someone else will!” “As I told you before, I-I’m not interested in a boyfriend right now!” Saffron stuttered out, though anyone with a brain could see it was quite the opposite, her stutter betraying her feelings. “If you say so…” Coriander trailed off with a small knowing smirk, the kind only a father could give. “Anyways, what will you be having Mr…?” “Blueblood. Just call me Blueblood Mr. Cumin.” Blueblood said, and Coriander laughed. “No, call me Coriander! No reason to rest on formalities, everyone’s a guest here!” Coriander stated. “Consider whatever you order, on the house. First meal always is, wets everyone’s appetites and gets them to come back just like that!” he proclaimed, with a snap of his fingers. Blueblood couldn’t exactly blame him for that, Coriander was a businessman first and foremost. And judging by the awards decorating one of the shelves nearby, a very successful one at that. “I… I honestly don’t know what I’ll be having. I guess I’ll just try the Curry Vindaloo, about the only Marwari food I actually know of.” Blueblood admitted sheepishly. “You sure, that’s only for the brave really,” Coriander warned. “Very spicy!” “So what? What’s life without a little risk?” Blueblood replied, seemingly in challenge. “Marvelous, quick and to the point!” Coriander laughed. “I love it when a customer knows what they want! I’ll be back shortly, you just spend time with my darling daughter okay?” Chuckling to himself, Coriander walked off humming an old song under his breath going something like: “Pyaar Se Pyar Hum…” “I apologize for him, he really wants his grandchildren even if I’m not interested in such an idea,” Saffron sighed, shaking her head. “Like I said, stubborn and demanding and yet…” “You still love him for it?” Blueblood asked, and Saffron nodded. “Family,” Blueblood continued. “Can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without them.” “So, I have to ask,” Saffron remarked. “What exactly brings you to my country anyway?” “Wanted to be someone different, that’s all. Wanted to help change the world, somehow. I’ve been hearing rumors of something called the Memory of the Earth uncovered in a temple by a local foundation. ...Actually, your family’s foundation now that I think of it. Was it not a Rajiv Cumin who uncovered this?” “Yes, yes it was. My uncle actually,” Saffron admitted. “So, what’s your interest in what’s basically a giant crystal?” “Well, back in Manehatten I’ve been recently donated a sample by a friend over here who thought I might find it interesting,” Blueblood explained. “Said if it was used properly, it could change the world. Personally, I thought he was talking a load of shite if your pardon my language but when I did some studies on the small piece I did discover it radiated some sort of power. I wondered to myself, could it be used for medical purposes, cure cancer and all that?” “So you came over to this country to see it for yourself, right?” Saffron inquired, and Blueblood nodded. “Welp, that settles it. Between you and me, I honestly want to have more to my family’s legacy than just some restaurant. I never told you what I did for a living, did I?” “No, you didn’t,” Blueblood mused. “Least now that I think of it…” “Well, pleased to make your acquaintance. Dr. Maria ‘Saffron’ Masala Cranberry at your service, Alexander Blueblood the Third.” “Well, dare I say it,” Blueblood smirked. “Between my family’s money, and your brains we might be able to just change the world…” “Yes, quite,” Maria Cranberry replied as she leaned across the table to kiss him before pulling away. “I believe this could be the start of one very lucrative partnership.” At first, Blueblood mused, it really was a partnership. Nothing more, and nothing less. That’s how it would seem to be with very little romance involved with both of them far too wrapped up in their work to even really have a love life as such. But the feelings were there, and that was all that mattered to Blueblood. Least, that’s what he kept telling himself for a good while. In the back of his mind, he did want his relationship with Saffron or whatever she chose to call herself to progress beyond a simple office romance if you will. Didn’t really seem to be happening through. That would all change though, in time, Blueblood remembered. If only that hadn’t happened. Tossing his F Memory in midair and then catching it, he turned his attentions back to the computer screens where a schematic of the building was displayed. On it, the elevator that contained Philip Finder was climbing higher and higher. He growled, Philip definitely had the tenacity he was famed for. No matter, he would deal with him soon enough, Blueblood mused as he grip on his Gaia Memory tightened. Looking around the lab to the little glass jars that used to contain Gaia Memories, he wondered to himself. Where exactly had his wife gotten the funds to continue her research? After the Incident as it was called, and actually even before that the money was beginning to dry up. Blueblood was beginning to burn through his family’s funds. Saffron said she could dip into her family coffers for more money to continue their research, but Blueblood denied it saying that a place like her father’s deserved to stay in business. Denying him the money to pay the bills would simply be cruel! He also wondered, where had these strange stallions in white coats come from? They’d shown up just one day in the Shard, without warning only asking to help out and further the research to higher levels. That was the day the path to creating the T2 Gaia Memories was forged. Before, there had been the T1 memories of Saffron and Blueblood’s own design, but they were often unstable and only very few containing the most powerful Memories such as the prototype to the one Blueblood currently possessed provided workable copies to use in Lost Drivers. He would have to ponder this later, Blueblood mused as he watched the elevator climb higher and higher. Far below, on the streets of Manehatten Daring had finally arrived to a scene of absolute chaos where police, fire, and rescue vehicles had all pulled up, officers having their guns trained on strange men in white coats. “Well, looks like you were right Daring,” Tempest remarked as he smoked a cigarette, the stormy-gray pegasus looking at the Shard warily. “There was something more going on here. No, you weren’t right. Philip was. As he always is. Starting to make us cops look inferior, you know?” “Can’t believe I’m saying this, but Lefty was right on the money,” came Makura’s voice, the stallion having a rifle trained on the suited men. “Searched these guys for any sort of ID, and came up with nothing. Their faces? Not in any criminal database from what Twilight and the NCIC are telling us. They’re ghosts, really. Can’t fathom how guys like this are…” “Ghosts?” Daring suggested. “Yeah. We’ll figure out who they are later, right now Philip needs our help. Can you get a chopper in the air?” “I can scramble one on the fly, but I have to ask… why?” Tempest inquired. “I mean, Philip could be anywhere in that building and we’d have no way to find out exactly where that anywhere is!” “Wrong,” Daring corrected holding up a ring. “Me and Phil, both got one of these. Sorta like Promise Rings in a way, except they’re enchanted, and both have our DNA in them. I have some of Phil’s blood inside this ring, and Phil has some of mine. Safeguard of ours. Can never be too careful. You can track ‘em easily enough with a blood-finding spell. ...Or it would be that easy if Twilight was around, I know she’s one of the only unicorns I would trust to perform it. God fucking damn it!” she swore, before Bee put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll figure something out. Besides, Phil can take care of himself… right?” Bee asked, not entirely sure if he could believe that. “Y-Yeah, he can.” Daring murmured, not believing that either. “Hey, I-I hate to ask,” Bee stammered out. “But Fleetfoot. I overheard you and Phil talking about her. Is she in trouble? Is my sister in trouble?” he demanded. “No,” Daring stated with a reassuring smile. “No, your sister’s absolutely fine. Wish I could say the same about Phil. If only we knew where he was…” A certain pegasus stallion smirked, and Daring turned to him eyebrow raised. “Ah, remember how I said Twilight and the NCIC are telling us nothing?” Tempest asked, before he gestured to a police van and Twilight’s head peeked out of it, before she gave a little wave. “Girl insisted on coming along as soon as she heard Philip might be in trouble.” Twilight was rapidly swept up in a hug by Daring. “Never thought you’d finally be out of that lab. Thought you’d stay in there till the day you died. Wish you could have picked a better time to circumvent that though…” Twilight just touched her horn to Daring’s ring, and both lit up in a purple glow before a purple beam of energy shot upwards to somewhere around the building’s top floors. “There, that’s where he is!” Daring shouted before turning back to Tempest. “Now, get that damn chopper in the air. NOW!” she roared, before extending her wings and rocketing upwards after Phil creating a small shockwave that sent cars flying back and a small sonic boom in the process. “...She does realize that was police property right?” Makura asked. “You tell her,” Tempest remarked. “Me, I’ve got a chopper to get in the air!” Back inside the Shard as Blueblood walked down the long corridor that led to the elevator, he thought back to how this seemingly all started… Marwari: Three Years Ago “So Mr. Blueblood, what does it feel like to be called the Da Vinci of our time?” one reporter of many asked Blueblood outside of the Marwari Branch of Destiny’s Child Labs. It had been a year since Saffron and Blueblood’s first meeting, and in that time great progress had been made. Diseases like Ebola, Tuberculosis, and the coronary artery disease had been cured, all due to the simple work of a Gaia Memory titled ‘Medicine’. A bit on the nose, yes, but it worked, and it told ponies around the world exactly what they were getting. Saffron had suggested calling it the Utopia memory instead but Blueblood shot that down saying it was a bit too pretentious for his tastes. “Hate it,” Blueblood remarked. “For one thing, I don’t paint. Honestly, I adore the praise, I do, but please, me and my wife, we’ve got important work that must be done,” he said with a smirk, holding up a wedding band. This simple remark and simple gesture started up a new gaggle of comments, and camera flashes. “How long have you two been married?” one asked. “Is Doctor Saffron expecting?” another inquired. Blueblood said nothing, and simply turned on his hoof and headed back inside the lab building still smirking. “Was that really needed?” Saffron asked as hoards of lab workers readied more and more of the Medicine Gaia Memory for shipping. “Probably not, no, but I wanted to leave them with a little show. Just something to wet their whistles. Tell them something’s happening, otherwise, they’ll start… inquiring.” Saffron sighed, and let out a groan in remembrance of a few days before dealing with a guy from an organization calling themselves simply Foundation X. Nothing more, nothing less. Just Foundation X. Their leader had asked simply this of Saffron: “Are you two really naive enough to think that just because you have an idea, it belongs to you and you alone? Your grandfather he helped give us the Balefire Bomb. Now, what kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish as you two?” Saffron had simply told him to get out, and Foundation X had bothered them no more. But they would not be the last of their kind to come crawling out of the woodwork. Production, as much as Blueblood had hated to say it had been slowing to a crawl lately. They’d been getting contracts from other organizations around the world, people like weapons manufacturers saying that if the memories of the earth could be used to cure things like plagues, what else could they be used for? Blueblood and Saffron had both engaged in a great many arguments with these organizations and companies, saying that the Gaia Memories were only to be used for good intent, and certainly not for warmongering. “They’ll keep coming you know,” a mysterious man said to them once, with a Neighponise accent and a short crimson mane. “You developing this sorta tech? All you just did was open yourself up to a wider universe beyond your imagination.” “Who are you?” Saffron had demanded of him. “Nobody. I’m just a passing through… advisor,” the man replied, looking as if he was about to say something different but thought the better of it. “Remember this, you’re not the first and certainly won’t be the last. I’d advise you to watch yourselves. A storm’s coming, you can count on that.” With that, he’d taken his leave but not without leaving both Saffron and Blueblood shuddering for some reason. He never reappeared, and Blueblood and Saffron hoped everything he was saying was false, but it was not to be. As then there came that day. \ Heat! / That’s how it had started, that’s how it had all started. A new memory, developed in secret by one of the scientists at Destiny’s Child laboratories who didn’t share the same views as Blueblood or Saffron. Someone who believed in making money from more than just simple medical usage from the Earth’s powers. She’d turned herself into a monster made of flame, with just a simple injection of the Gaia Memory into her skin, Before, usage of Gaia Memories was recommended only with the usage of special drivers as they were called. Huge, bulky and unfashionable as they were, these Gaia Drivers were the only safe way to use the full amount of the Earth’s power as it was given to you. The Dopant, as the newspapers would call it from a combination of the words doping and mutant strode through the factory lighting up everything in her sight until she finally reached the main offices. Guards pulled out pistols to try and stop her, but bullets were just melted before they could reach her. The guards, well it was better not to speak of what exactly happened to them. Saffron stood firm, her magenta eyes narrowed as she pulled out a small sword. “You think I’ve run this lab for a year or lived in this country for as long as I have, without learning how to defend myself?” With a few lashes, her sword turned into a whip keeping the Dopant at bay long enough for Blueblood to grab her in a sleeper hold. At least, that was the plan, but Blueblood was only knocked to the ground and could only watch in horror as Saffron let out a horrific scream over the blaring alarms as the Dopant placed her hand to Saffron’s face. The fur on the mare began to hiss, letting off steam as it caught alight and Saffron’s screams only increased. Finally, a shot to the back from a local police officer downed the Dopant. When Saffron awoke in the hospital in Delhi, she could only scream at what she had become. Her brilliant fur, melted away revealing only scorches and burns underneath. Then, that scream became a mad laughter as she finally realized. Realized exactly what Gaia Memories could do. Life would never be the same for her, and neither would it be for Blueblood as he swore to stomp out monsters like the one who had maimed his wife for his eternal legacy. Blueblood shook his head to clear himself away from his reveries as the elevator doors opened to reveal Philip, fists clenched as he strode towards Blueblood. The two traded blows briefly, before Blueblood took advantage of Philip’s earlier wounds and punched him in the gut making Philip stagger before Blueblood kicked him through a door and into an office that overlooked the city. “You’ve got some nerve, some balls I’ll give you that Finder,” Blueblood snarled as he strode towards him, pulling out a red magnum as he did so. “But don’t you get it? I’m only trying to do what’s best for the city! You’ve heard the news reports, the ones coming out of the Neighponiese countries? The ones of Masked Riders, or Kamen Riders as they’re called over there fighting off monsters? Well, I’m about to join them at last, and stomp out every Dopant this city has or ever will produce!” he roared. “Don’t you get it?” Philip coughed out. “Your wife… she’s using you. I’ve looked into Destiny’s Child Labs, and I suspect you have at times. Your funds, they dried up a long time ago, didn’t they? So where is she getting the money to supply the making of more Gaia Memories? For that matter, where are these Dopants coming from? For a guy so smart, you’re so stupid.” Philip growled. “Shut up, shut up!” Blueblood screamed in denial, before pressing the trigger. \ Bomb, Maximum Drive! / A series of energy balls were sent towards Philip, and once they hit they exploded sending him flying out the window… and into Daring’s arms. “See, this is what happens when you charge off without me,” Daring remarked with a teasing grin. “Shit like this.” she said as she sat Philip down on the floor. “Who… Who do you think you are!?!” Blueblood roared. “I am a pony, a Detective, and also… a Masked Rider.” Philip stated, wiping away the blood from his mouth. “Hey, partner. Don't you mean ‘we?’” Daring asked, eyeing her partner critically. “Yeah, you're right.” Philip admitted. “Aren’t I always?” Daring smirked before pulling out her Gaia Memory and slamming it into her Driver with Philip mirroring her movements. \ Fang! /\ Nazca! / “Henshin!” As the transformations finished, both Daring and Philip turned to Blueblood and said in unison: “Now… Count up your Crimes!” Part Six: The Final QSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Epilogue: Case Closed/The E that Ends ItFoundation X Headquarters: Tokyo, Taishū Ryu Terui had thought he’d seen the last of Foundation X, and to be frank after the events of teaming up with Kamen Riders Mach and Drive to defeat Roidmude 077 as it was called he thought he’d be hanging up his Driver and Memories for good, settle down with his wife and daughter. But apparently, fate had different plans in store for him. He’d heard of the goings on in Manehatten, New York lately, new Dopants and even three new Kamen Riders -Including a second Eternal of all things!- appearing to fight them. And now, through a series of events relating to Manehatten’s police force he’d finally learned the location of Foundation X’s headquarters. He knew he should have left this to others, there were plenty of other Riders who’d tangled with Foundation X from what he’d heard, but he couldn’t just live and let be. In his pocket, he fingered a picture of his wife, holding up her new-born daughter taken a few years back just before the whole Megahex Crisis he’d heard about. “Akiko, Haruna…” Ryu thought as he stepped inside the main building, Masquerade Dopants rushing up to greet him. To a normal, untrained human, their increased strength and numbers might have presented a few issues but Ryu? He’d dealt with their like before. Swinging his katana around, he easily cut down the Dopants. “I promise by Kami, I will come back to you and this group will never trouble us again. And after this, I’m hanging up my belt forever.” He flashed back to about a few days ago, when he told his wife he was going to be taking on Foundation X, try to finally bring down Neon Usland and her particular bout of insanity. “You’re absolutely sure about this?” Akiko had asked, looking him in the eye with dead seriousness. In the back of the room, behind the corner of a doorframe lurked Haruna sucking her thumb and watching anxiously. “...Foundation X? I mean, I understand what you’re doing here, but…” She gestured to Haruna. “Yeah, I know. If I fail at this, they’ll come after her, and anyone close to us. Philip, Shoutaro, the Fuuto Irregulars…” Ryu trailed off, clenching his fists hard enough to draw blood. “I’ve already told Philip and Shoutaro, asked them to stay out of this. Shoutaro protested and requested he help but Philip talked him down, knew this was a personal thing for me.” “But-” Akiko started, before Ryu held up a hand to stop her. “No, I have to do this. Foundation X is like Hydra from those Neighmerican comics, you cut off one of their heads, they’ll just grow another. They have to be burned to the ground at the very source, and now thanks to a friend of mine in Manehatten we finally know where that source is.” “I… I understand. To be honest, hearing the sheer idea of Foundation X finally being put to rest would make me sleep better at night. But you going in alone like that…? Even with your Trial and Booster upgrades, I’m not sure that-” Ryu laid a hand on his wife’s shoulder. His distinctive red leather jacket, the one that read: “The spiritual state of nothingness makes even fire itself cool.” It was an old praise, one derived from the Buddhist philosophy. Personally, Akiko thought it tacky, and unneeded and that her husband looked much better in his suit. Not that she ever brought this up, considering how stubborn Ryu was about his garb, and how much he dwelled on the past at times. She honestly suspected that’s why he alone -aside from not wanting Philip and Shoutaro to be put in unnecessary danger- was taking on X. He wanted to deal with them personally after how much Jun Kazo AKA the Utopia Dopant had nearly come close harming her and the city he loved so much. “Who said I’m alone? As soon as I learned about Dove’s Child Laboratories being the headquarters for Foundation X, I received a contact. Someone who’s been in in the Kamen Rider business I suppose you could say since the beginning. He’s the commander of this whole operation, gathered up a few Riders who have a bone to pick with Foundation X as well.” Akiko sighed in relief, at least her husband wasn’t going into this alone. “Just… Just be careful, okay? Come home safe.” “I will Chief,” Ryu smiled, using his old nickname for her before kissing her on the forehead. “I promise you that.” Of course, Dopants were not the only thing X had up their sleeve, as evidenced when Ryu found himself faced with a man in a white suit with the Birth Driver around his waist and a silver Cell Medal in hand. “Ah, mou… This is so troublesome…” Ryu muttered as the X member changed into a gray and silver robotic-like warrior with green detailings. Ryu slammed on his driver and pulled out his Gaia Memory just in time to dodge a shot from the Birth Blaster. “Hen-SHIN!” Ryu exclaimed, inserting the Accel Memory into his Driver, and twisting the motorcycle handlebars on it as the Driver made an engine revving sound. \ Accel! / With a flash of red energy, he changed into Accel, a red warrior with a blue visor over his eyes resembling a motorbike’s headlights. “Saa, furikiru ze! Zetsubō ga omae no gōru da!” he proclaimed as he clashed swords with Kamen Rider Birth, his Engine Blade meeting his opponent’s own in a shower of sparks. “Now X, got a message for you, not just from me but from everyone who you’ve screwed about with. Ruined their lives. I’m asking you now to count up your sins!” Blocking a blow from Birth’s sword once more, before kicking him in the stomach making Birth stagger back, Ryu was then forced to raise his blade to block a shot from the Birth Blaster. Birth fired off several more shots, and Ryu activated his Maximum Drive, turning into a motorcycle and slamming right into Birth sending him flying through a wall. Ryu resumed his normal state, and smirked under his helmet before his eyes widened as he saw Birth stumble out of the wreckage. “He… He survived that? Impossible!” Ryu shouted to himself, wondering if it was time to bring out his version of the Trial Memory. “Aw mou, this guy’s going to be tougher to take down than I thought. Guess X upgraded Birth’s armor. Least I should be thankful this particular Birth doesn’t seem to have as many modes as his predecessor. Last thing I want is to be facing his Birth-Day mode and it’s armaments.” Ryu rolled to the left and then to the right to avoid Birth’s shots from his weapon, before loading up the Jet Memory into his Engine Blade. “Like I said, Despair is the only thing awaiting for you at the finish line.” He then performed three consecutive slashes in the shape of one giant red glowing A on Birth, and this time the damage was noticeable. Birth’s armor was cracked and his helmet partially shattered. But then, Ryu’s eyes widened as Birth’s armor began to regenerate. “Right, Foundation X… Damn labrats of theirs can do almost anything they set their minds to. This guy doesn’t need pure power on his side if he can take whatever I can throw at him. Come on guys… where are you?” “You’re just one man,” the newest Birth stated. “And Foundation X is many,” he remarked as Waste Yummies, creatures created from Cell Medals joined in the fray alongside more Masquerade Dopants. “How do you possibly expect to win?” “Who says he’s alone?” a white Rider asked as he used a Rider Kick to destroy some of the hoard, before slamming his left boot into the ground and creating a massive shockwave that knocked several more into the ground. “You’d be surprised on what’s created when friends band together. A Rider’s friendship… Well, it can even take on the Universe! Compared to that, you guys are just so small!” “Thank Kami, it’s about time…” Ryu thought to himself sighing in relief. “Who do you think you are?” Birth asked as the newest Rider launched a series of freezing missiles at him from his other boot making Birth stagger back. The new Rider, he’d removed some sort of switch from his belt, and then replaced it with another. Astroswitches, the source of this Rider’s power. Created from cosmic energy, each represented one of many different scientific principles. Each materialized some sort of armament called a Fourze Module. “Representing the 2011 graduating class of Amanogawa High School, Gentaro Kisaragi!” The newest Birth’s eyes widened under his helmet, and he staggered backwards in shock just in time for Accel to slash him across the chest once more with the Engine Blade. “B-But your powers… They were destroyed!” Ryu chuckled, as if at some private joke. Poor guy didn’t know who he was messing with. Foundation X wasn’t the only one with partially insane geniuses on their side. “Gachan! Level up! Mighty Jump!Mighty Kick! Migh~ty Actio~n X!” “Right on time…” Ryu thought to himself. “Took him long enough, but…” “Call it a favor, a blessing from God!” another Rider’s voice exclaimed as he leaped in, this one black and purple with what looked to be a game controller as his chest plate, and anime styled hair on his helmet. “Remember me X? You stole from God, and now I must give you your judgement. In short, today’s just going to be a really bad day for you lot…” “Hasn’t changed much I see…” Ryu thought to himself. “I need to talk to Emu about his friend’s little… quirks. I really hate egotists like him.” It really wasn’t going to get any better for Birth and X, as evidenced by a red and gold medal of sorts rolling up to Birth’s feet, before a hand picked it up with the owner of that hand apologizing profusely. “Sorry, so sorry I got lost, and for the lateness. You’d be surprised how hard it is to keep track of these things! Henshin!” he called, running what looked to be some sort of scanner across his belt. “Super Taka, Super Tora, Super Batta: Su~perTatoba,Ta-To-Ba!” With this call, he transformed into yet another type of Rider, one with green legs, a yellow chest plate and a crimson red helmet resembling a hawk or condor’s head. On both of his wrists were absurdly sharp claws. “You’ve got some nerve…” Birth growled. “No, I’d say that applies to you, taking up that identity like it’s just something to be tossed around. Me, I’ve got this little set of words to live by,” Eiji stated, placing a hand on his chest. “Wanna hear them? If there is a hand reaching for help, and I don't reach out my hand when I can, the regret would make me wish I were dead... I reach out my hand, because I don't want that. And everyone’s crying out for help because of what you’ve done over the years, you and your damned Foundation.” he stated firmly, pointing a finger right at the newest Birth. Fourze/Gentaro nodded, remembering how a Foundation X member killed the love of his life right in front of his eyes, all for her power. With that, he activated his Cosmic Switch slamming it into his own Driver. “Cosmic On!” “Kid’s got a point,” a final voice joined in, as a fifty to sixty-something-year-old man wearing what looked to be a miniature turbine around his waist stepped into this. “You bunch, you’ve been hanging about far too long. Should have stepped in when everyone first heard of you, I regret not doing that. Name’s Takeshi Hongo, and the man who fights for freedom of everyone in this world. Henshin!” With that, all five Riders charged into battle. Today would be the day Foundation X would fall. That was a promise. “So, in conclusion I suppose, everything’s back to normal,” Daring typed on her blog’s website. “Okay, maybe not entirely normal, but everything’s calmed down. The threat of the Dopants, and the Destiny’s Child Group has passed. “Me and Philip, we’re still protecting the city as it’s Masked Riders. Speaking of Riders, heard a new one popped up in Taishū recently. Calls himself Kamen Rider Ghost. Least I think it’s a he, I’m not sure. God knows I’ve been mistaken for a guy in my suit at times. Not sure how that could happen, I mean I certainly don’t have a boyish figure! Apparently, Ghost uses the powers of fifteen different historical figures to fight evil. Well, best of luck to him and I tip my hat for someone willingly taking on the burden being a Masked or Kamen Rider carries. “Now, Tidal Fury. I’d say he’s beginning to pull his life back together really, he’s not started dating anyone new and I wouldn’t blame him as I believe you only fall in love once but he’s getting back to normal. Gave up Gaia Memory dealing as promised, even sold out some of his fellow dealers. Now, he’s one of our informants. Like one of our own Baker Street Irregulars in a way I suppose. Just not homeless.” “Speaking of ponies we’ve helped, Fleetfoot. We managed to keep her from being sent off to Sleipnir's Island. Apparently someone ‘convinced’ -And by that, I mean bribed- the judge to let her off of her crimes, as long as she helped others with dealing with the aftereffects of Gaia Memory addiction. Doing quite well from what I hear, and she and Bee have apparently reconciled. Think she’s dating someone now as well, some colt in the Blue Angels by the name of Soarin’. Fancy that. “But on ponies we’ve helped… Honestly, I’m worried about Blueblood, finding out your wife was a madmare who experimented on and dealt out Gaia Memories for a living… That’s harsh. That’s just fucked up. As for what became of him, and the Eternal Memory? I dunno. Maybe he chucked the Memory in the sea. Maybe he’s living the quiet life now, pulling himself back together at his family home as he said. Maybe we’ll never know. All I can do is hope for the best in that buck…” New Jersey: Blueblood Family Residence Blueblood sighed to himself as he found himself once again wandering the halls of his family’s country manor home aimlessly. For a brief moment, he imagined himself chasing after children through the hallways, with Saffron -devoid of any scars- laughing all the while while cooking up family recipes in the kitchen. He sniffed the air, and for a moment he imagined the phantom smell of a spicing hot curry wafting from the kitchen. “If only…” he thought to himself as a small tear dripped from his eye, the stallion eying the Lost Driver and the Eternal Memory he’d set on a nearby table. Ever since his battle with Saffron alongside Philip and Daring, it’d stopped working. Glitched out on him really. Whenever he tried to transform back into Eternal, it was only for a brief second and it was really a shadow of itself frankly lacking all the power the Memory originally granted amongst other things. He’d called it the Red Flare mode, as it lacked the blue accents of Eternal’s true form, replacing those blue flames on the armor’s wrist gauntlets with red ones. The transformation only lasted for about three minutes tops, and that was if he was if luck was on his side. Usually, it wasn’t these days. He knew why of course the transformation never lasted, or why the Eternal Memory couldn’t be used to its fullest extent anymore. His faith had been shattered, his faith in leaving behind an eternal legacy as Manehatten’s hero. He’d never been a hero, in hindsight. He’d just been a man that had been used by his wife. He flashed back, to just only a few short days ago. It’d been two weeks since the battle atop the Shard, and after finally mustering up the courage he’d gone to talk to his wife. “Why?” he asked her, the bars of Sleipnir's Island separating them. “Just… why?” “You know why,” Saffron replied, the bandages on her face having been removed. Once again, Blueblood could see her face in all it’s ugly burned and charred glory. The handprint from where the Heat Dopant had touched her was still present, blackening the broiled skin and fur that surrounded it. “Simply put, I wanted to make a bit of money, all to further humanity’s evolution. Show them what they could really be if they really tried. If you had given me more time, I would have worked out, ironed out the flaws in the original memories. Stopped them from being so… addictive.” she replied, in a perfectly calm state of voice. It was odd really, she’d already been put on death row. Blueblood remembered an old quote, went like this. “Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.” “I wanted to grant life, a new form of life to everyone around me, better everyone and yet you stood in my way. You, Philip, and Daring,” Saffron continued. “Those Gaia Memories I gave you all, they were just a test bed, to see what powers they truly beheld. I chuckle at the irony,” she laughed humorlessly. “The Pony Memory? The one Philip used to defeat me in the end? It was meant to draw on all the power of every pony race. Alicorn, Earth Pony, Pegasi, and Unicorn. I wanted to mass produce that memory, give it to everyone and accelerate life’s growth.” “Fine way of going about it, funding drug dealers and working with a terrorist organization,” Blueblood replied, his voice flat. Emotionless. “You speak about granting life, but… There is no life to be found in violence. Every act of violence brings us closer to death. Whether it's the mundane violence we do to our bodies by overeating toxic food or drink or the extreme violence of child abuse, domestic warfare, life-threatening poverty, addiction, or state terrorism. That’s what you did Saffron, if I can even call you that anymore. You threatened death to this city, this city I so loved…” Blueblood replied, his voice now beginning to crack, tears threatening to break. “You made this city weep, and that I cannot forgive. Not even if you’re my wife. I loved this city, and I still do, and you made it cry tears of sorrow.” “Oh, the shackles that bind us, morality. Ethics. They’re just rules made up by those who don’t dare to dream high enough,” Saffron continued. “Weep not for me, but for those poor sad fools. That Pony Memory? It was never meant to be used but only once before it would shatter in a self-induced Memory Break, just once to see what it could really do. It all comes back to that single memory. In hindsight, it was a folly of mine to hand it out to that fool Philip. Had way too many ethics. He’s a good man, and maybe… Maybe…” she trailed off, choking on her laughter. “Maybe what?” Blueblood asked, wanting to know exactly what Saffron was trying to say. “Maybe you’re right, and maybe I was a fool. He and you my dear, perhaps you’re better ponies than I ever was, or will be,” she coughed out. Blueblood rushed inside her cell, fear casting itself across his features as his breath caught in his throat and his heart started to race. He knew what was happening, a Memory Overdose. Those who used unrefined Gaia Memories far too much, or far too many had the grave risk of this occurring. And it seemed Saffron had fallen to it. “Weep not for what I am Alexander, but for what I could have become,” Saffron coughed out, her entire body beginning to turn to dust little by little, and Blueblood sobbed. “J-Just hold on a little longer Saffron, p-please!” Blueblood whispered through his tears. “No, it’s my time. Do not grieve, we all know this was never meant to be. As soon as I became consumed by my rage, and my hatred… I died. I died, and now for just one brief moment in time, I got to live again. So thank you Alexander Blueblood the Third. Thank you....” she whispered, before finally turning to dust in her husband’s arms, her wedding ring clattering to the floor with a small clinking sound. And finally, Blueblood let the tears flow as he let out a scream of rage and grief. In the present time, Blueblood wiped away his tears before he turned to the TV, hoping to catch his favorite television drama. Suddenly, the opening credits of that drama were replaced by a special news broadcast. Along the bottom of the screen, ran a message in bright red letters. It said: “Dopants overwhelm Masked Riders Fang and Nazca! Is this the end of our city’s beloved heroes?” Above that, he saw a creature, silver in skin tone and with a singular eye firing off electric blasts of energy at Philip and Daring, the two barely holding their own. Blueblood’s eyes whipped back to the Lost Driver and his Gaia Memory before he jumped off the couch. He knew what he had to do. Slamming the Gaia Memory into his Driver, he stated one simple word even as his horn glowed a brilliant arctic blue. “Henshin.” A few hours or so before, Daring and Phil alongside Arc and Bee had been combing the city’s warehouses and train depots for a group. Rumors had been in abundance that a new bunch, calling themselves Dai-EXE had been handing out new Gaia Memories. It seemed this city’s curse of having evil without purpose or reason would still persist. Service revolvers and flashlights in hand, Arc and Bee searched a nearby warehouse with Philip and Daring doing the same to one opposite them. “You lot see anything?” Phil called. “Not a person to be found, maybe these rumors are simply that,” Arc commented, the unicorn shaking his head. “Rumors.” “I dunno,” Bee remarked. “Tidal seemed pretty damn sure of himself when he caught wind of all this. Man’s an expert on picking up street rumors it seems,” “True enough I suppose,” Arc replied. “Hey. You hear about what happened over in Taishū? Apparently, this group of masked warriors raided Dove’s Child Laboratories, took down Foundation X. Arrested their head chairwoman, this Neon lady.” “Sounds pretty badass, really. Wish I could have been there to see it,” Bee remarked. “...Or maybe not, from how chaotic I heard it got.” “Clear!” Daring shouted from behind them, as she and Phil rushed inside the warehouse to join them. Flash was right behind them, having joined up at the very last moment. “Oh relax,” Arc said, ruffling Bee’s hair. “I would have been able to protect ya, you doof.” “Oh, you two need some alone time?” Daring teased in a flirtatious tone of voice. Arc faltered in his stance. “What? Eh? Who said I like Bee?” Arc stammered out. “...Just about everyone who watches you two…” Flash muttered to himself. “Seriously, the day you two stop dancing around each other…” “I say we shove ‘em in a closet and see what happens!” Daring replied with a devious grin. By this point, both Bee and Arc had considerable red flushes cast upon their muzzles. Suddenly, everyone heard the sound of weapons cocking as a bunch of guys in leather jackets filed into the room. Each jacket had the EXE logo on the back, which was basically a green lightning bolt. In the lead of the group, was a mare with an electric-yellow mane slicked backwards and sky-blue fur. “Lightning Dust. Such a pleasure to see you,” Phil stated, though his tone indicated otherwise. “Wish I could say the same, you still owe me my bike!” the mare snapped. “...You’re still hung up about that?” Philip muttered to himself even as Lightning’s henchponies turned into various Dopants. Masquerade ones were the most prevalent here but there were others as well like a Luna Dopant, and a Heat one as well. “Man, you know how to hold a petty grudge. Well, nothing for it I guess. Henshin!” he stated as he slammed his Nazca Memory into his Driver. Daring soon followed and mirrored her boyfriend’s movements with her Fang Memory. Gunfire echoed throughout the warehouse as Arc, Bee, and Flash opened fire on the Dopants, but they were outnumbered and outmatched. A Jewel Dopant jumped Bee, and pinned him to the floor as Arc let out a shout. Flash stayed calm, and like Tempest before him fired at the Jewel Dopant’s waist knowing that’s where the armor’s shatterpoint would be. Daring then followed up with a Rider Kick before twirling around to avoid a blast of energy from the Luna Dopant. A shot rang out from Arc, and the Luna Dopant crumpled to the ground dead. His memory flew from his body, and into Daring’s hands before she slammed it into her Driver. Her whole costume turned yellow, before like Mr. Fantastic, her body split apart into various halves and her right arms stretched out to barrage the Heat Dopant with a flurry of punches. Sadly, a swing from a Metal Dopant’s bo staff smashed her through a wall, bricks flying everywhere and canceling her transformation. The Luna Memory went flying before being smashed to bits by the Metal Dopant’s hoof. Daring, however, was quick to recover and swung her whip pulling the Dopant’s bo staff out of his hands, before quickly transforming back into Fang and taking the Dopant down with a Memory Break. Daring then had to fly backwards as the Heat Dopant leaped out of the warehouse firing fireball after fireball, before getting in close and attacking with a flurry of flaming punches. Daring managed to fend these off with twin arm fangs before slashing the Dopant across the chest several times and then spinning like a tornado she took him out with a Memory Break. She looked to the left, and saw Phil in Trigger mode firing upon who she could only figure was Lightning Dust as a Dopant. Lightning managed to block with her metal armor or dodge the shots, and fired a jolt of lightning at Philip even as news choppers hovered overhead filming this whole thing and Daring let out a scream of terror. Suddenly, before the bolt could reach Philip, a blue flash of light lit up the area, and when the flash cleared Blueblood stood in his full Eternal armor, having used the cape to block the strike. “B-Blueblood?” Daring whispered as she ran up. “Yeah, call this returning a certain favor. Now… How does it go again? That catchphrase of yours? Oh yes… Count up your crimes!” he said, pointing directly at the Energy Dopant/Lightning Dust. “Agreed,” Philip smirked as he went back to Nazca Mode. “Let’s finish this.” All three ran forwards, using a box and cardboard ramp as a springboard before all three activated their Maximum Drives and slammed into Lightning smashing her memory before they landed behind her, and Blueblood turned on his hoof facing the now unconscious Lightning before stating: “Now… Enjoy your Hell!” giving a thumbs-down gesture Romane Emperor style. “Case… closed.” Daring stated as Arc ran up, and cuffed Lightning with Bee and Flash doing the same to the rest of the other former Dopants. Time flew by, and Blueblood became a valued member of the detective agency, helping out when he could. Recently, the threesome had heard of a mysterious set of killings all revolving around a new pop single called Smiling Princess. Already, Philip had a theory. “Subliminal messages underlaid in the song by a-” Philip started, with Blueblood finishing. “Dopant or a highly skilled unicorn? Well, Finder, I believe the game as they say, is ahoof!” he declared before all three brought out their Gaia Memories. \ Nazca! / \ Fang! / \ Eternal! / “Henshin!” FIN Author's Note Welp, that's the end of this little jaunt, and experiment. Okay, now a few things? The scene with Ryu and the Legendary Riders? Gratitious fanservice, and could have been done with just Ryu? Maybe a little, but Foundation X has gone on for far too long without being stopped completely, so I decided to remedy that and I figured it made sense for the Riders involved to be ones who've dealt with X before. Well, except in Hongo's case. I figured if there was anyone better to lead a team of Kamen Riders, why not the very first? Now, Blueblood and Saffron's final scenes? Done well? Not sure, I just wanted to bring that to a final closure, and actually show off what happens when you do overdose on Gaia Memories. Anyways, as ever, your comments and thoughts, and your critique are welcomed. Till next time, dear readers, After all, I'll ride with you and no others.
Part One: The C that Swept InBaby, baby, naughty baby, Hush, you squalling thing, I say. Peace this moment, peace, or maybe Bonaparte will pass this way. Baby, baby, he's a giant, Tall and black as Rouen steeple, And he breakfasts, dines, rely on't, Every day on naughty people. Baby, baby, if he hears you As he gallops past the house, Limb from limb at once he'll tear you, Just as pussy tears a mouse. And he'll beat you, beat you, beat you, And he'll beat you into pap, And he'll eat you, eat you, eat you, Every morsel snap, snap, snap. -Traditional English Lullaby Out of all the cases Philip Finder of Brumby had ever found himself handling, none he ever found more life-changing than that of which he called the case of the Shrouded Woman. It was Manehatten, the last Thursday in March. It was unusually cold for this time of year, he remembered. Strikingly, frost bitingly cold. In hindsight, perhaps he should have considered it as an ominous warning for what was about to happen. One Cherry Popped had just gone out for the day, to do her weekly shopping. She was this big famous actress, hailing from Trottingham -As all the big name mare actors seemed to, must have been the accent- and strikingly beautiful with her crimson red mane that flowed like a bloody waterfall. She was never to come back. Now, Philip wasn’t quite sure on the details of what exactly happened, at least not at first but he did have a working theory. “Take my car,” Cherry’s lover at the time, one Tidal Fury had suggested. Half Saddle Arabian, he was. “I’m certainly not going to be going anywhere for a good long while.” “Buck no, I’m taking mine! Yours handles like a tugboat!” Cherry refuted. Little did the poor mare know it, but Tidal was one of those Gaia Memory dealers that had been popping up lately in the streets. Now, Philip wasn’t quite honestly sure where these Memory Dealers were getting their crap, or where they even came from but here they were, in his city. Now Gaia Memories? How to describe them? Well, one thing you should know is that they were all mysterious devices resembling either USB Flash Drives or ribcages that contains all of the Earth's knowledge of whatever it happened to represent. What Gaia Memories did, in layman’s terms, turned you into a monster. It all depended on what memory you stuck in your arm or wherever. Might have been your ass, Philip had heard that a Dopant as these monsters were called had done such a thing. Say, for example, you had a memory based on the mighty Quetzalcoatlus. You’d turn into a giant monster resembling the extinct beast for a short time. Now, you would want more and more of this power, like any other good drug and you’d keep on taking it until eventually… Well, the results were never pretty that was for sure. Philip had seen the remains, or what little of them there were, of ponies who died from Memory Overdose as it was beginning to be called. Ponies, good ponies were getting killed no thanks to these things, and Philip intended to make sure nobody else ever died. Not while he was alive anyways. Now back to Cherry. Her muzzle always remained closed in photographs, as Philip understood it due to a rather nasty overbite. Filmmakers always found ways to work around this, and made her a star. She’d attracted many a lover with her prominent features, and as you might expect from a mare with a such a name, took them under her wing. Of course, she didn’t always return their feelings or take interest in some of them, leaving them out to the cold. Yes, she hopped from stallion to stallion, never staying with one for too long it seemed. Not even her current lover was immune, as in her thoughts men were like fine wine, you savored them for a little while before moving onto the next batch. Needless to say, various sources weren’t -Philip’s partner amongst them- overtly fond of the ‘Woman’ as they called her in polite company. It was on 11th Avenue in the district known as Hell’s Kitchen where it happened. She was visiting another lover of hers, in this apartment when a 911 call was suddenly placed from across the street by a pony who heard the sound of a window smashing and then this white dreadlocked creature sprinting away from the apartment. When police got there, it was already too late. Both Cherry, and her lover at the time -A pony named Blue Moon- were both frozen solid, and the word “slut” was carved on the apartment wall. And so the case began for Philip Finder, when he showed up at the scene with his ever-faithful companion and chronicler Daring Do. Now, Daring was a security expert for museums, AKA a hired thief who broke in and tested every aspect of the systems from top to bottom. Like Watson, she also wrote down Philip’s many adventures and published them in her personal blog, omitting names and changing others for privacy’s sake of course. “Lefty!” a voice barked out to Philip as he entered the room, adjusting his signature stone gray trilby as he did so. It was a cop, Phil never cared to remember the name. A cop who had this odd prejudice against left-handers. You got all types, Philip figured to himself. Yellow crime scene tape had been set up around the area, and various police photographers were snapping every picture they could get their grubby little hands on. Ponies were being warded off from the area, press amongst them the little vultures. Oh sure, Philip knew, they’d get ahold of this story eventually but points for to the police for trying at the very least. Now Philip was one of the world’s only consulting detectives. In other words, he solved the crimes the police couldn't. In Daring’s words, that was about half of them. He looked frankly unassuming, with his trilby and his light green vest. Like any other pony on the street, and that was the whole point of it. No need attracting any more attention than you needed to, especially amongst the criminal element. Now, the crime scene itself was a bit… odd. It was cold, yes, but the window was shut, and even if it had been smashed open -Which it had- there was no reason for two bodies to have frozen solid this fast. At least, not in any scientific manner. A cop reached out before Daring slapped his hand away. “You moron, you want to shatter them upon touch? Cause that’s what’s going to happen soon as you do so! They’ve been frozen solid, or haven’t you noticed?” “Oh shut up,” the cop who’d called Phil ‘Lefty’, some dude named Makura said. “Don’t you think I know that?” “If your brain was as large as your ego…” Daring muttered, having no time for Makura’s nonsense. “Hey, speaking of which, how goes the relationship between you and Sargeant Swift Wind?” “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Makura denied, a red blush rising to his face. “I knew from the start, no thanks to your deodorant,” Philip muttered quietly, but Swift Wind, a mare of some years heard him. “It’s for men! That’s why it’s called deodorant!” she piped up. “Then why are you wearing it?” Daring sniped as in the background, Philip pulled out a magnifying glass and began looking at the shattered window for any traces of blood or whatnot. Swift Wind’s face was now as red as Makura’s. “...Oh, think it just vaporized. Swift Wind, word of advice. Actually, two words. Don't talk out loud, you lower the IQ of the entire street. And secondly, at least use perfume to mask the smell.” “Okay, now this is extremely odd…” Philip muttered. “What, the two people frozen alive?” Makura snarked, and Philip looked at him. “No, not that,” Philip replied, and Makura blinked at him in surprise. Philip groaned, Makura really wasn’t cut out for this job in his opinion. “You know how normally when people bust open a window, smash right through it they leave traces of blood or ripped clothing behind yes?” “Yeah,” Makura replied. “So, what are you getting at?” “There’s neither here. Well, at least of the normal kind.” Philip said, in his gloves holding up a piece of tattered white cloth of some unknown fabric and on it, icy blue blood. “...Doesn’t look like any form of blood I’ve ever seen…” Daring muttered, leaning in for a closer look. “Exactly, best we send this off to the lab for testing, see what it turns up,” Philip remarked. “For now, we’re an at an impasse. Lots of people who would have wanted to see this poor woman dead, former lovers mostly so that leaves us with a lot of suspects.” “You know what this looks like, don’t you Phil?” Daring asked in worry. “Yeah, a Dopant case. It figures, doesn’t it?” he grumbled, shaking his head. “Should have known this right from the start, when I heard of two bodies frozen alive. Thought it might have been a spell, but there was this nagging thought in the back of my mind…” “Hold on, what’s this…?” Daring asked, holding up what looked to be the ripped edge of a photograph showing a part of Cherry Popped when she was alive. Philip took it from her, still wearing his gloves. “Just couldn’t help himself, could he? Criminals and their egos…” he muttered in distaste. “But why leave only part of the photograph behind? If you were doing this for your ego, I’d imagine you’d take a selfie for Celestia’s sake! A little tribute, I mean we already know this criminal has an ego by his little… signature.” Philip continued, gesturing to the wall carving. Daring shuddered at the carving. The whole thing rendered her at unease, to say the least of it. It was clearly obvious from this alone, that the criminal had a grudge and held it severely. She did not want to run into this guy, although she had a feeling like most cases she and Phil took she would run into him (or her, she wasn’t sexist) anyways. That was always the way of things, wasn’t it? She groaned, why couldn’t this just be a simple museum break-in? Those were always easy enough to work out. “Maybe he got nervous, or he was intelligent enough to leave only a snippet of the photo behind,” Daring suggested. “I’d go with nervous, as intelligent crooks -if there ever was such a thing- would never leave behind such a big clue. I’m only speculating at this point, and you know how much I hate to do that, but this was his first kill and so he wasn’t fully prepared for who might come after him.” “Yeah, the long arm of the-” Daring shot her a glare. “Swift, what’d I say about speaking? And Philip, you said first kill. Does that mean…?” “Yeah, whoever did this? He or she is only just getting started. Note how Cherry and her lover were frozen together, that suggests someone in love with her, and angry at her latest tryst. And Cherry’s had a lot of them, which means a lot of potential victims. Boys, better prepare yourselves, because if I’m right and I pray to Celestia that I’m not, we’ve only just seen the first incident of many.” And on that ominous thought, Philip took his leave, grabbing his coat which billowed behind him in the cold evening air with Daring swift to follow leaving the grisly crime scene behind. It was going to be a long week, that much was for sure. Time to get started. Unbeknownst to them, a woman, hiding in the shadows wearing a long trench coat, fedora hat and shades over her eyes watched them leave. Yes, these two would do. Yes, these two would do just nicely. Philip’s apartment was fairly modest, just like him. A piano laid in one corner of the room, which Philip played and practiced in his rare moments of off time. The far side of the living room, wall to wall bookshelves packed with every sort of thing imaginable. Books littered with information like the extinct species of ancestral arthropods known as the Anomalocaris to just simple things like how to play the saxophone or even various hard-case crime novels. There was even a ancient pony’s skull, or at least a replica of the Piltdown Pony’s forged one sitting in there amongst various taxidermied bugs resting in jars of fluid. Outside a heavily blinded window that let almost no sunshine through was both a rain gauge and an anemometer. Leading away from that was Daring and Phil’s shared bedroom, which at the moment was being repainted so the two had to share the couch. Not that either of them minded, they still had curiously great lovemaking besides. In the kitchen, boiling an egg was Daring, her distinctive pith helmet laying beside her on the countertop, her vest tossed off to the side and hanging on a coat rack. She had a passion for this particular type of headgear, just as Phil liked fedoras and trilbies, specifically ones made by the Windscale fashion company. Next to this, were two Gaia Memories, noted ‘Injury’ and ‘Cockroach’ specifically kept locked tight in glass cases. These ones were those that had been recovered by Daring in hopes of her and Phil being able to study their abilities. This was in hopes of figuring out how they exactly transformed ponies and whatnot into Dopants and more precisely, how to reverse the effects without killing the monster in question as they had been forced to do more often than not. “Ugh, every day it seems this city gets dirtier,” Daring muttered, as Phil played an old Aussie traditional song on his piano. The Dying Stockman, in memory of his late mother. “We’re losing good ponies Love. I admit, I wasn’t a fan of that woman, not in the slightest, but still…” Phil stopped his playing and nodded, making a grunting sound of agreement. “Exactly. And what’s worse, we don’t even have the slightest clue as to where these Gaia Memory dealers are getting their shit, and handing it out to people. Could be under a bridge, could be in a dark alley, could be in an abandoned office building in uptown, probably a combination of any one of these places!” Phil held up another Gaia Memory in its case, this one marked Money. It had come from a classic boiler room scam that he’d helped the local outfit of the police’s white-collar crime division shut down. Classic pump and dump, as it it was called in the business. Basically, what you had was a bunch of junior Gordon Geckos selling bad stock. What the guy in charge did, he buys half a million shares of dollar stocks and then gets his boys to inflate the price by selling it over the phone. Whenever the stock peaked, he dumps it leaving the buyers often penniless. The police had enough, and were clueless as ever so Philip went undercover as a new guy, (Alias wasn’t important) hoping to get rich fast. Blew the whole scam wide open in just a matter of days, but that’s when the guy in charge, one Impossibly Rich pulled out the Money Memory and transformed into this monster and tried to kill everyone including Philip to cover up his deeds. Sadly, it got to the point where Philip was forced to fire upon him. The memory ejected itself, and the police were left with another body to burn. The sad thing was, killing these memory users and the memory ejecting itself meant there was no trace of it left in the body to learn from. “You know, one of these days I really wish you’d invest in a lab microscope and all that crap,” Daring remarked. “Lab Work always takes too long, lots of red tape and paperwork to go through. We need some sort of clue here!” “I would, if we had the money and the space. Can you honestly see all of that fitting on the kitchen counter, where we eat might I remind you?” Philip asked, eyebrow raised. “So, we could make room, couldn't we?” Daring remarked with a shrug of her shoulder. Philip groaned. “...Never mind.” The bitterly cold snowfall had changed to a harsh form of sleet and was currently pounding down on the roof outside. Only the devil himself could love this sort of weather, and may Celestia have mercy on those stuck outside in it. Philip had to take his motorbike, and park it in this nearby underground garage just so it wouldn’t get wet. He loved that thing, sometimes more than Daring herself. Boys and their toys, the mare often thought to herself when thinking of that thing. “Funny thing, we got this faxed letter earlier today now that I think of it,” Daring remarked. “Came from this unmarked postage, read it and said it was from your archenemy. Don’t know who that could be, as you’ve got a few I’d imagine but it turns out he wasn’t so pleased with Popped Cherry getting frozen either. Said he hated beautiful mares getting offed. Offered you money to solve the case.” “Almost a pity really. If I didn’t accept cases from scum, I would have split the fee. Need the money. However, I know he’s scum. In fact, I believe he’s likely to be heading up the group who distributed the Gaia Memories from my guess,” “How so?” Daring asked, and Philip replied with: “Think about it Daring, why would he send a faxed letter, instead of using his or her own handwriting? He’s obviously wanting to stay anonymous to me at this juncture, so that could mean he’s someone very high up in society, and very dangerous if my hypothesis is correct. At the time being, we are not ready to face him, not without proof anyways.” “Said he was concerned about you, that you’re getting in too deep for this,” Daring remarked. “Odd yes, I know.” “No, not odd at all really,” Philip refuted. “That just means he’s afraid of us, which is good. Eventually, he’ll slip up and we’ll have hi-” A knock on the door disrupted Philip’s musings. “Now who the devil would be out at this time of night, and in this blasted weather?” he muttered to himself before going for the door. As it turned out, it was one Tidal Fury, looking every inch of his name. “Who did it?” he growled out, lightning flashing in the background illuminating his furious facial features. “Who did it?” Philip reached for his baton just in case, but for now, he had to play it cool. “Sadly, we’re still working on that. It’s only been the first night since she was killed after all,” Philip sighed, gesturing for Tidal to sit down on the couch. “Cup of coffee? Tea? I have some Lebanese laying around here somewhere if I remember correctly… Soothes the nerves quite well.” “Only thing I want to is to find out who killed my love.” Daring scoffed as she ate her eggs. “Hardly your love, if she’s been going around whor-” Philip shot her a warning look, and she shut up at once. “You don’t know anything about her…” Tidal whimpered, taking some of the offered coffee and a sandwich. Two tomato slices, mixed in with some feta cheese. Classic Arion recipe. One of Philip’s favorites, the pony of various tastes he was. Really, Manehatten was a cauldron of a little bit of everything mixed together, so it was nigh-impossible to find something you didn’t like. Even Grand Central’s bar had the best clams this side of the East Coast. “S-She…” Tidal started, his voice trembling with every word. Philip laid a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, just take your time,” he stated his voice soft, patient and kind but still firm. “Just tell us what happened, all of it. No need to rush.” “Okay, it was like this. She wasn’t going over to that guy’s apartment to have sex with him, not in the slightest!” Tidal whispered, Daring leaning over the back of the couch in peaked interest. “She was actually going over there to break off her relationship with him, just like she’s been doing with all of her previous lovers in the past few weeks! We… we were going to get married, a-and then this happens!” Tidal whispered, fighting back a sob and bringing out a little black box and opened it, revealing a diamond engagement ring. “By Celestia…” Daring whispered, fighting back tears and honestly feeling sorry for the poor man. As much as she wanted to deny it, he was telling the truth. Nobody could fake that kind of emotion in their tone, that kind of despair. Philip let out a small, and barely noticeable growl. Tears never suited this city, not in the slightest. Whoever did this, he or she was going to pay. Then, to both of their surprises, Tidal fished out a gold-toned Gaia Memory marked ‘Beast.’ “Here, take this, before I ever get tempted to use it myself and avenge my wife.” “Where… where did you get this?” Philip asked in shock. “Alright,” Tidal admitted, his shoulders falling in resignation and shame. “I admit it. I’m a Gaia Memory Dealer.” Both Philip and Daring glared at the man harshly. “You piece of shit…” Daring snarled, wanting to throttle him right then and there. “You mean you’re part of the slime who’s been dealing out these things on the street, the things that have been turning ponies into Dopants, just like the one that killed your wife!?! You’re no better than they are!” she barked. “Daring!” Philip barked. “Look at the man! And I mean really look at him, does this look like the face of a killer?” He pointed to Tidal Fury, who’d put his head in his hands and was sobbing heavily no longer able to fight back tears. He kicked a briefcase towards Philip and Daring, who opened it and were stunned to see it filled with Gaia Memories that had presumably never been used. “G-Give these to the police, turn me in if you will,” Tidal sniveled. “You’re right, I’m no better than them, these Dopants. I’ve only recently begun to realize that. I was going to have one of my men drop this off at the police station and take the blame for my crimes. But now I see it’s better if I own up to them myself…” he whispered before he spotted something through his tear-filled eyes. “Hold on, what’s that?” he asked, gesturing to the ripped piece of a photo on Philip’s coffee table. “Just a ripped piece of photo, probably left behind by the killer in his haste,” Philip replied, shrugging his shoulders. “What of it?” “I… I recognize that photo, moreover I know who took it!” Tidal stated, his heart being filled with a new resolve, and a new unquenchable fury. “It was in the newspapers a while back, for this movie premiere. I remember it well, it was the film called: “From Ash to Ash, from Dust to Dust”. Real solid tragedy. Taken by this guy, named Grape Vine. Has his own studio on the lower East Side and everything, does all kinds of photos for famous models and the like. Gets paid handsomely for it.” “Then that’s our first real clue,” Philip smirked. “In the morning, when the weather clears up and it gets warmer, we’re going to have a look at that studio, and talk to this Grape Vine character. But for now, you stay the night with us. Much too cold for you to be out walking about. I’ll lock the Gaia Memory up, and throw away the key so you can’t get to it. Get a good night’s rest, you’ll be needing it in the morn. I deeply suspect we all will. They said that once you left Manehatten proper and crossed over into any other part of the city, you weren’t in New York anymore. Philip Finder was inclined to disagree. He thought New York was New York, simply just a different part of it. It was a melting pot of different cultures, ponies, griffons, and zebras had been coming here for generations, adding their own little tidbits to the city and making parts of it their own. Now, Philip would normally have used his motorbike which he called the Typhoon to ferry him and Daring across the Brooklyn Bridge to this little place down the river past the Lower East Side where he heard Grape Vine had recently bought this old warehouse and converted it into a loft/photography studio, but today was different. He had Tidal with him, using Tidal’s personal car which was of Germane make. Now, it was against Daring’s wishes to bring the obviously emotional pony on the case but Philip had two reasons for doing this. One, he needed to keep an eye on Tidal and having him along would be the best way to do that, and two Tidal knew Grape and his area better than him. He knew he was taking a dangerous risk, but in the end, it all would hopefully pay off as long as Tidal kept his cool and didn’t try to throttle Grape. If he did… well, that’s what Daring’s taser was for. “You know, I was reading just the other day in the newspaper that all the old bridges, they’re deteriorating. Lack of city funding for the upkeep. Shame really, this old girl’s a fine one. Ever looked across the bay at night, or in the evening?” Tidal asked. Around his neck, on a chain was his engagement ring. He was currently smoking a cigarette. Daring grimaced at this, but let it slide. She supposed he was allowed one after what he’d been through. Still, her suspicions weren't off him yet, after all he had a whole briefcase full of Gaia Memories and one in his pocket. Who's to say he didn't have another, hidden out of sight? “Can’t say that I have really,” Philip replied, keeping his eyes on the road. It was slick, after the rain last night, which had continued into the early morning. Far too easy to have a spinout. “Damn shame,” Tidal replied. “Probably the finest sight you’d ever see. You know that old song, “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay?” That’s exactly what I feel like doing at times, just wasting time and watching the setting sun glinting off the bridge and the windows of the buildings. Sadly, the bridge in its current state may just be a memory someday soon.” “Yeah, at times it does feel like the whole infrastructure of the city is crumbling, thanks to higher-ups like Silvertongue taking all the money for themselves to fund their wealthy lifestyles and not help the city. Sometimes I just wonder why I bother helping this city really. It’s… it’s just taxing, y’know?” “Every little bit helps, you give the ponies hope Phil,” Daring said, giving him a peck on the cheek. “And it’s not just the city Phil, heard there was a water main break in Las Pegasus this other day, filled an entire hotel with sewage. Pipes were old, and not well maintained. City’s crumbling, just like this one.” “Whoever heard of water mains breaking like ten, twenty years ago?” Tidal asked. “Seriously, back when I was a lad, never would have happened. Higher ups would never have controlled the cities. Nobody would have been living in the streets, scrounging up what little they could. Honestly, Phil, this is why I turned to Gaia Memory dealing, just trying to make a living. And look at what it brought me. There’s that old saying, you reap what you sow eh?” Phil’s only response was a grunt and a nod as they pulled up to Grape Vine’s loft, stepped out of the car and knocked on the door. “So, about this Grape Vine character, how big of a photographist is he?” Phil had to ask, as they were let inside by this guy in a nice gray suit. “You have no idea how big,” Daring remarked. “Name any famous model, or actress, he’s done her. In both senses of the word probably,” she remarked before she licked her lips. “Photos are good, really good. You should check out the magazine spreads he’s done.” Phil stared at her. Daring grinned unashamedly. “What, you’re often out on cases without me, and a girl needs something to keep her company on those long lonely cold nights. And as a daki of you isn’t available…” she trailed off. “How bad are the photos?” Phil asked, his mind beginning to wonder. “Let’s just say they’re… imaginative, and that’s all you’ll ever know.” Daring smirked. “She scares me,” Tidal remarked in a whisper, and Philip could only nod. The loft, as you would expect it was this big open space that let in a lot of light that was perfect for the shutterbug. Grape, he was this purple unicorn pony, with glasses that were slightly on the geeky side and a brown mane. He wore this nicely pressed suit with a little pin that looked like a peacock on it. “Oh, now that is excellent!” Grape Vine called out in his distinctive New Yorker tone that had a hint of a southern accent in it. It was like a nice bourbon in some ways, you couldn’t make out all the finer details. He snapped a few photos of a mare wearing this very thin negligee -Philip was blushing at this point- that left very little to the imagination, as she lay on a red velvet couch. “Just make it look, oh this little less slutty I’d suppose and more teasing. Not like I’m going to have sex with you, but like let’s say you want to imagine me with the clothes off if you catch my drift.” “Uh, Mr. Grape Vine sir?” Daring asked, tapping him on the shoulder. “We’d like to have a few words with you.” “Okay Fleetfoot, just take five m’kay? Get yourself a drink or something. Can’t keep this lady waiting.” Grape said, waving Fleetfoot off before turning back to Daring. “Well, you’re a fine one aren’t you?” “She’s taken,” Philip growled out protectively. “Philip Finder, PI. We’re here to ask about anything you might know in relation to the Cherry Popped homicide.” Grape shook his head, and sighed sadly. “Ah yes, heard about that. Sad day for everyone in Manehatten, and the world really. Great actress, and fine beauty, going to miss taking pictures of her really. Such a loss.” “Funny, I think she got a restraining order against you,” Tidal growled out, and both Daring and Phil shared a look their eyes widening in surprise at this new little detail. “And you are…?” Grape asked before he looked at the chain around Tidal’s neck and more specifically the ring attached to said chain. “...Oh. My deepest condolences to you, my good sir.” “What’s this about a restraining order, then?” Philip questioned. “Agh, back in the day I may have made some stupid choices, got a little too drunk for my own good and got a little too handsy,” Grape admitted, with more than a touch of shame as he hung his head. “Actions which I deeply regret to this day, I might add.” he continued, taking a sip of a glass of bourbon. “Think of me what you will, but I’m no Gaia Memory user and certainly no killer. Sure, I take the odd heaping of heroin now and then, but it helps jog the brain. Three patch problems you know, for the crosswords.” “...Weirdest excuse I ever heard to take some drugs,” Daring muttered. “You do realize that’s not helping your case right? Admitting you’re an addict to something. One could easily speculate that-” “I take Gaia Memories on the side to get another kick?” Grape finished for her. “Yes, I do admit that, but if ya ask me, Gaia Memory users are scum. Nothing but trouble for this beautiful city of ours. Violence in the streets. You heard about this Smilodon Dopant, and this Dopant seemingly based on a Triceratops going head to head recently? Turned out they were two mob buddies from this crime family trying to settle who got to have a date with this girl. Killed several good ponies in the crossfire!” Grape snorted in disgust. “Good ponies!” “I did hear about this, yes,” Philip remarked. “A good friend of mine in the SWAT division, Tempest, he put those two down personally with a sniper rifle shot from across the street.” “Still, does make one wonder, if one could harness the power of the Gaia Memories for good eh?” Grape asked, walking over to the window, and looking at the city skyline before him. “They’re powerful, dangerous, but if you could control that power in some way… Ah, you’ll have to forgive a buck for his fantasies. Always been a friend of superheroes, ya know? Thought about doing my next calendar about them. Had this mare, Suri Polomare commission outfits and everything just to give the city hope!” He snapped his fingers as he turned to Daring. “Say, you could be in it! You’ve got a good body, and you’d certainly attract some attention and turn some heads! Hell, I’d send an early advance copy to your coltfriend!” “No thanks,” Daring growled crossing her arms, getting some seriously bad or at least creepy vibes off this guy. Maybe he, in the end, was harmless, if not a little bit of a perv but there was that restraining order. She looked at Phil, and at once knew he shared the same thoughts by the look in his eyes. “Ah, well. A buck can hope can’t he?” Grape shrugged to himself. “Now take my advice Philip Finder, you stay out of these Dopant cases, too dangerous for you. You’re a good detective,” he stated, resting a hand on his shoulder. “After all, I heard about your exploits on the internet but nowhere near ready to take on Dopants. Especially not this one, if he can freeze you in a single touch.” “...Now how do you know that?” Philip asked eyes narrowed in suspicion. “I don’t, just speculating here. But that’s what I think happened to Cherry, if you ask me,” Grape shrugged. “Dopant came to her, froze her solid with just a touch of his finger. Just like that,” he remarked, snapping his fingers. “Oh, believe me, you may not think I’m ready to take on Dopants but I’ve put a few down. And this one will be no different. Just gotta keep my distance, and the finger on the trigger.” Grape smirked. “That’s the spirit. Forgive me for gettin’ poetic here, but set your selfishness free and shut that self-control of yers up. Take this guy down, whoever he is.” “Yes, if it comes to that I will,” Philip said. “But remember, these are ponies, zebras, and griffons under those monster skins. Would like to try and reason with ‘em first.” “Like that’s ever worked in the past…” Philip thought to himself privately. “I hate to say it,” Tidal put in. “But I’m with Grape on this. Shoot this guy down, before he gets you. He’s not going to stop, not till all of my wife’s lovers are dead. This guy, if what I’ve heard about him is correct, he’s got one serious grudge to bear. Question is why? He have a crush on my wife, and she didn’t return his feelings?” “Your guess is as good as mine Tidal,” Philip shrugged. “But the only real way to find out, from the mouth of the Dopant himself.” “So, how you plan to find him? Or unveil his true self?” Grape asked, and Phil gave him a suspicious look. “You ask a lot of questions don’t you?” “Concerned citizen,” Grape replied. “So sue me!” “Okay, plan on setting roadblocks throughout the city with the police’s help, he won’t be able to leave the city. Got some DNA from the crime scene itself, we’ll know who he is.” Phil replied. “Ah, I gotcha,” Grape smiled. “Cunning really, and I wish ya the best of luck in your endeavors. Believe me, soon as this guy is put down, I’ll sleep better at night. Think we all will, really. Just be careful about it, m’kay?” Grape waved them goodbye as the threesome left his studio. “So, you think he’s our guy?” Daring asked. “Bit of a creep, yes, but he seems like a nice enough man at heart. Definitely seems to despise Dopants.” “Honestly, part of my mind wants to clear him,” Philip replied before sucking in a breath. “But the other part…?” “Yeah, I get ya,” Daring replied. “I’ll do a little breaking and entering later. Grab what DNA I can, and hand it off to the lab and see if we get a match. And if I happen to stumble across a Gaia Memory…?” Philip nodded. “Grab one of his ties if you can. Bound to be some DNA there.” “Why do you say that?” Daring had to ask, before Tidal spoke. “Because nobody ever washes a tie,” he said before he opened the car door. “Well, best we be getting off. If you’re right Philip, you’ve got a long week ahead of you. Best you get an early night’s rest.” However, as soon as he opened the passenger door, he found himself face to face with the woman who had been watching Philip and Daring a few nights before. Bandages covered her entire face, even her eyes. Why she would wear sunglasses then, was a mystery but yet there they were on her face. In her lap was a thick black briefcase. “Who the hell…?” Tidal exclaimed, jumping backwards in shock. “Tidal Fury,” the woman sniffed. “Most ironic name ever. Well, good thing you don’t factor into what I have in mind.” “Just who are you exactly?” Philip asked, eyes narrowed. “My real name is irrelevant, you may call me Shroud,” the woman answered. “I am here to offer you a proposition, Philip Finder, and Daring Do.” “Shroud, noun. A: a length of cloth or an enveloping garment in which a dead person is wrapped for burial. B: a thing that envelops or obscures something.” Philip thought to himself. “Both equally fitting.” “So, what is your… proposition?” Philip asked. “And I think I should have a say in this, that’s my car and besides Philip’s helping me with a case that-” “Involves your late wife-to-be and a Dopant. I’m quite well aware of the details,” Shroud replied with a dismissive wave. “And this factors into that. Look into the case.” She opened up the briefcase with a distinctive clicking sound, and inside the case was this section of five different USB flash drives each marked with a different letter of the alphabet and two other items. Both were the exact same in nature and design. They were each small belts with a big, red buckle with a device on it. A slot for something sat at the right side with the left end having more buckle holders, for if the user had a smaller waistline or something. “Okay, so you’ve got some fancy devices that wouldn’t look out of place on some sci-fi themed fashion line and some USB flash drives. Why should we care?” Daring asked. Shroud somehow managed a glare even without visible eyes. “Because, this is what will allow you two to defeat the Dopants ravaging this city,” Shroud replied and held up one of the flash drives. “Now this, this is a Gaia Memory.” “Okay, stop right there. Not interested in sticking a drug in my arm and turning into the very same monsters I swore to fight.” Philip snarled. Shroud ignored him and continued on. “I do not care what you think,” she said. “I work for an organization who wishes to stay anonymous, which has been able to refine the Gaia Memories and use them in conjunction with these belts. Their power has been weakened, yes, but these T2 Gaia Memories as we call them will not turn you into a monster of any sort.” Shroud continued, tossing a light blue Memory marked with the letter N into Philip’s hand. “A drug is still a drug,” Philip refuted. “I’d want more and more of that power, and I have no guarantee you’re not lying and that these do the opposite of what you say and just turn me into a monster anyways. One that the police would not be able to stop. The devices, just plastic accessories to sell your lie.” “Believe what you will, but sooner or later there will come a time you and Daring will see I’m right.” With that, she slipped out the other side of the car and when Philip and Daring gave chase they found she had only vanished into the shadows. Unusually, Philip was still clutching the T2 Gaia Memory… To Be Continued... Author's Note Jazzy theme plays... Okay, yes, a Kamen Rider Double homage. I'm actually doing this. Really, I must thank Layton13 and Ruinqueen of Oblivion for supporting me in this idea, and Ponyjosiah for both creating the Ponyville Noire universe and providing a writer's workshop which can be found on Youtube if you dig deep enough for writing mystery stories. Now, the multiple parts. In keeping with the classic Double tradition, the case will be split up into multiple parts. Not just because I'm an evil bastard, but because it's more practical this way as each part is planned to be fairly lengthy. Now, the first part, the build-up to the case. The second part, exposing the Ice Age Dopant's identity, defeating him or her, and then the aftermath. The third and final part, taking down the organization that supplies the Gaia Memories. Makes sense? Well, I hope you enjoy what I've written so far. Comments, thoughts, and constructive critique are welcomed. Now, time for someone to start counting up their sins!
Part Two: The C that Exchanges HandsIt was a good thing Daring broke into Grape Vine’s house later that night because little did she know it but Philip’s earlier theory was about to come true. The serial freezing incidents had started, and with great vigor. It seemed every other day a new report about one of Cherry’s former lovers being frozen solid and then shattered came in. Philip and Daring had been personal witnesses to several bodies -Or what was left of them anyways- being bagged and tagged. It had been a Saturday of all days when the first of many bodies had turned up. Science Teacher at a local high school, one Star Hunter. Dark blue furred pegasus, with the constellation of the hunter Orion on his arm. It was about one of the only ways to identify him. That was his Cutie Mark, like Phil’s was a magnifying glass and Daring’s a Compass Rose. Quite sadly, both Daring and Phil had been walking home after a date at the local bar when they saw the police cars outside the house. A young man was sobbing. It was Star Hunter’s son, a teenager named Star Tracker. And then they saw what little remained, just icy chunks of various body parts of Star Hunter being bagged and tagged. “Please…” Star Tracker had pleaded, clutching onto Philip’s vest like a lifeline. “Please tell me you’ll find who did this to my dad! I’ve read your marefriend’s blog and everything! You’re a masterful detective! I know you can do it!” Philip had simply laid a hand on his shoulder and said: “Trust me, kid, I will. Trust me. I knew your father, good friend of mine. Helped me solve the cases of the Constellation Killer and the Hillside Strangler. Rest assured, his death will not go unavenged.” It would only be the first of many bodies to turn up. In the week that followed, several other stallions met this grisly fate including Tempest Wind’s brother one Black Gale. This was when the case became deeply personal to Tempest, who swore he’d shoot the killer in the head. He’d had to be taken off the case. Of course, Daring had no time to think about all of this going on right now, as she had what she hoped would be solid proof to unmasking the Dopant behind these incidents in her hands… It was later that very same day when Daring and Philip had met up with Grape Vine for the first time. Descending slowly on a small line through the skylight and dressed in a dark navy blue turtleneck sweater. Daring slowly dropped to the floor, being very careful not to make much noise as she did so. The sweater itself, it wasn’t particularly flattering, but it did the job. Shadows themselves were actually not black as commonly thought and would actually have had Daring’s silhouette show up in the moonlight, so therefore dark blue was the color of choice. Daring crept across the floor being careful to mind her steps and walk softly by slowly shifting her weight onto each hoof with every step, before quickly taking cover behind a couch when she saw a security camera sweeping its gaze across the room. “Cute, really cute…” Daring muttered, thanking Celestia that she’d swallowed a little gem that disguised and distorted her voice for an hour or so, so this way even if she was caught on camera nobody could prove it was her via voice alone. Of course, she had a way of dealing with that damned camera as well. Namely, setting up one of her own. Placing a small camera on the coffee table and aiming it at the loft’s camera this would freeze the image shown in the little security crystal inside the camera. “Okay, easy enough. Now, time to find that closet.” Daring told herself, heading for the bedroom. Blushing slightly when she saw Fleetfoot, the mare from before curled up under the sheets clothing tossed on the floor she slowly opened the closet door hoping and praying it wouldn’t make any creaking noises. Inside, was a collection of suits and ties along with a safe. A thought struck her. If Fleetfoot was here, where was her presumed lover AKA Grape Vine? Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. She then heard a toilet flushing and her eyes widened. She didn’t have much time. Screw the safe for now, and just grab any random tie and get out! Quickly grabbing a tie, she took a chance and made a break for it, pressing a button on her wristwatch making it turn into a small spider that silently grappled up to the skylight and pulled her upwards with a small zipping sound. Daring wiped beads of sweat off her face as she closed the skylight door after pulling the previous line up. That was too close for comfort for her liking. Now, at the labs of the NYPD, Daring and Philip went to find an old friend in one Twilight Sparkle, probably the best forensic scientist you’d ever come across. She claimed she could kill you, do away with the evidence and nobody would ever catch her. Philip wasn’t entirely inclined to believe her of course, given there was no such thing as the hypothesized Perfect Crime but she’d done good work in the past. As ever, Twilight’s lab was a mess with beakers and microscopes being scattered across the tables befitting the state of the poor mare, almost being constantly turned to for the crimes and solving them forensically. She honestly needed a lab assistant, but really the mare was rather stubborn and always declined. Her dark purple mane was a frazzled mess and her glasses slightly askew, and her lab coat was immaculately clean with it actually being the only part of her that actually looked nice. Philip swore that if the young mare actually took some time out to clean herself up a little, she might be able to score a date with that young Flash Sentry patrol officer she’d been eying. She, of course, denied this but everyone knew better when they saw her eyes wander. “Philip, Daring, nice to see you again,” Twilight said, her eyes briefly wandering to a framed piece of newspaper about a young officer -No surprises as to his name- taking down a cocaine dealer and noting about talks of a possible promotion. Soft classical music played on violins and the like played through speakers in the background. Twilight often liked to listen to music while she worked. “I assume you’re here about the uh… odd substance found at Cherry’s homicide scene?” “...God, that poor mare.” Twilight murmured to herself as Philip nodded. Twilight walked over to the mass spectrometer that sat in the far side of the room. Her pride and joy, her baby as she called it. “Well, Major Mass-Spec here, he’s been-” “Major Mass-Spec?” Daring whispered. “So what, she’s naming her toys now?” “Let her have her fun, okay?” Philip whispered back as Twilight continued unimpeded. If she’d heard anything from either of them, she ignored it. “-You know, doing what he does and been analyzing the blood sample and the DNA off that tie you brought in,” Twilight said. “Even if I don’t know where and probably don’t want to know where you got it,” she mumbled, this last part to herself. In simplest terms, Mass spectrometry measures the masses and chemicals within a given sample, used to determine the elemental or isotopic signature within said sample and to elucidate the chemical structures of chemical compounds. “So, what’s the news?” Daring asked impatiently, arms crossed and hoof tapping slightly on the floor. She had no time for this science crap right now, she needed answers and she needed them now. The sooner Twilight determined the identity of the Dopant, the better and the sooner she and Philip could put him in cuffs. She had no doubt in her mind as to who it was, she just needed proof Grape was him. While she didn’t know if her coltfriend shared the same thoughts, she suspected knowing him that he in fact did. It was in his nature, after all, as soon as he got a case he would follow it to the end and chase down every lead. Truth be told, Daring had often been worried about this quality of Phil’s, often worrying from time to time that it’d lead him to do something reckless and wind up getting himself killed. Honestly, Daring hated to sound like one of those housemares who’d grown weak and doted upon their husband’s every living need and resigned themselves to things like knitting and crap, but she honestly didn’t know what she’d do without Phil by this point. They were two of a kind, partners from back to front. She would work with no one else and that was that. “Well, I’ve got good news and bad news. Actually, maybe they’re both good news depending on your perspective. Found your serial killer,” she chirped up merrily before grumbling: “Good news for us, and Manehatten but bad news for him and his carpet if you take your usual approach and shoot him in the head.” she muttered. “Try not to do that this time, okay? The cleanup crew is getting really rather piss-sorry, peeved about all of this okay?” “It’s okay, you can say pissed off, nobody would blame you,” Daring remarked. “Not going to, don’t curse remember?” Twilight reminded. “Right, one of those die-hard Celestia’s Witnesses,” Daring muttered in disgust. “Anyways, out with it. Who is it? Don’t have time to waste here, there’s a mass murdering Dopant with a grudge on the loose,” “Okay, the blood and the DNA on the tie? Exact same, they match up right down to the letter. Traces of iron and ice in both of them, and there’s enough DNA for me to square down a match with Major Mass Spec. Guy’s been on the criminal records database before, arrested for stalking Cherry Dopant -No surprise there- so I give you…” Twilight said, using her fingers to imitate a dramatic drumroll. “Mr. Grape Vine! Not sure how he did it though, but got away and left a trace of blood. Dopant armor, hard to break and I doubt a window would do it.” Philip’s eyes narrowed. “I knew it, I knew it was him. He was too nice, talked way too much about Dopants and Gaia Memories for it not to be off in some way. Lied right to our faces about Gaia Memories being scum, the bloody hypocritical dingo,” he nickered in disgust before posing a theory. “Now here’s what I believe happened…” Cherry Popped had pulled up outside the apartment, and slowly made her way to her former lover, one Night-in-the-Gale. Odd name yes, but Philip had heard weirder really. Now, there was no hiding the fact. Night-in-the-Gale was a pimp as if you couldn’t already tell from his flashy gold jewelry and his straw hat with the pink band. But drugs or anything else of the like wasn’t what had attracted Cherry to him. He was just that handsome and had this charisma. Plus, it helped he treated his girls with respect, and that he’d saved Cherry’s life back in the day when some gangster -Another former lover of hers perhaps unsurprisingly- tried to take a drive-by shooting at her with a Tommy gun. He’d shoved her to the ground, ended up with a few glass shards from a shattered window in the back for his trouble but by some miracle he’d lived. Philip knew all of this course because he was a simple officer on the force when this happened an odd decade ago. He was the one who made the arrest of said shooter after Night-in-the-Gale had identified him via a photo. Now, Philip could only speculate from here on in what happened, but he guessed this much. Cherry and her former lover were talking, with Cherry explaining she was getting married to Tidal Fury. Now, there had been signs of a struggle in the apartment itself, chairs and tables knocked over so perhaps the two had a bit of a spat or maybe Night-in-the-Gale had fought back against the attacker. Philip could only guess. Windows had been shuttered, so nobody could really tell what went on within. Either way, the unknown assailant was soon to arrive, judging by the timing of when local neighbors told the police they’d seen Cherry arrive and when they heard the sound of glass breaking and a dreadlocked creature jumping out the side window. Dreadlocks fit both the description of Tidal Fury and Grape Vine’s manestyles so it could have been either of them if Philip didn’t know better. Now, Philip obviously had no knowledge of the Dopant’s powers aside from the fact that he could freeze his victims to the point of Absolute Zero. So again, he could only guess what happened next. Grape Vine entered the building, in through the roof as nobody saw the creature entering the building through a door. It would have been a very noticeable sight to be sure. Maybe he entered through a rear entrance instead, not the roof and made his way up through the apartment hallways. If this happened, people were too scared to talk about it. Now, what happened next, Grape froze the two poor souls solid, and Philip didn’t quite know how he managed it but he managed to crash through the side window back in his normal pony form. Maybe by sheer force of will, and maybe all Dopants could eject their Gaia Memories. Not like enough alive ones had been brought in to know. In any case, Grape had gotten away almost clean. Almost. He couldn’t help himself and carved ‘Slut” into the room’s wall somehow and when he smashed through the window he’d left behind a blood trace. Now, Philip surmised he’d been using the Gaia Memory for so long, it’s properties had mixed into Grape’s blood giving it this icy blood appearance. Next, Philip threw open the lab doors and shouted to the chief of police. “Get me every cop you can spare, and get them watching every possible lover of Cherry’s that’s still alive! Me and Daring, we’ll be watching one ourselves, Mr. Tidal Fury as I imagine Grape isn’t too pleased with learning he was set to marry Cherry!” With that, he grabbed his trilby and his coat and rushed out the door with Daring following close behind. And so, not even an hour and a half later Daring and Philip found themselves sitting outside Tidal’s house in the suburbs just watching and waiting. Philip was sitting atop his bike -the Typhoon- with a pair of binoculars in hand, and Daring rested behind some trash bins out of sight. Eventually, even sooner than expected they heard the sound of an engine rumbling and saw an old Bugatti Type 50 pulling up. Pure white in color, which was frightening, strikingly fitting for the driver, the car was a work of art. It was a sleek and shiny design, a nice wheel cover stretching up and over the wheels in a curved manner The trunk of the car was relatively small compared to the rest of it, sticking out like a jagged lump on its back with two spare tires hanging off of it. The roof curved over the seats smoothly comfortably seating one person. One person who was now making his way up the steps to the door of Tidal’s house. “Oh no, you don’t!” Daring shouted, leaping over the top of the trash bins and pulling out a pistol, the distinct cocking of the weapon being quite audible on the otherwise quiet streets. “Really?” Grape asked in distaste. “Pointing a pistol at me, when I’m just visiting a friend to give him some support in his time of need?” “Funny that,” Philip remarked. “You arrested for stalking Cherry back in the day, and you calling yourself one of Tidal’s friends even if you only spent less than an hour in his presence and he made his distaste for you quite clear.” “He’s grieving. Lashing out, pushing others away. Surprised he hasn’t done it to you yet really. Now, drop the gun Daring, and maybe we can talk like civilized ponies eh?’ “Yeah, I’d hardly think a guy with a Gaia Memory with an intent to use it to kill, and ice in his veins quite literally in this case would be called civilized.” Philip retorted. “Believe me, we checked. Now, while we never found the Gaia Memory, you’d be surprised what the art of Mass Spectrometry can do. Face it, you dingo, you got sloppy. You got amateurish.” Grape’s face contorted into on of rage. “Damn you, damn you and you not staying out of this like I warned you! Oh well, both you two and Tidal, going to have to pay the consequences…” he sighed, holding up a Gaia Memory with the letter I on it, and injecting it into his forearm. \ Ice Age! / “Reason you never found my memory?” Grape asked, now having turned into a pure white monster wearing a inca style headdress. “Not stupid enough to keep it laying around. Now, why don’t you just… chill out?” With that, he fired a blast of pure ice from his fingertips, as Daring and Phil rolled out of the way with the blast of cold air freezing the plants behind them solid. “Oh, really think we were stupid enough to let you have Tidal once we knew you were after him? Alerted him early, man’s on his way to a police safe house right now. So, that means it’s just you VS us.” Daring smirked, before pulling out a very familiar belt as she ran to avoid a barrage of icy spikes sent her way. Philip’s eyes widened. “Daring, that’s-” “Shroud’s little device? Yeah, held onto it. She might have a point here, if the only way to stop this monster is to use his own powers against him, so be it.” Daring stated, and held up the refined Gaia Memory she’d taken, a white one with a F on it and pressed down on it. \ Fang! / Drawing on her deeply hidden love for Japanese television dramas, and her even deeper hidden love for superheroes, she called out a singular, yet simple phrase as she slammed the Gaia Memory into its slot on her belt. “Henshin!” As the memory was slammed into the Driver, a small roar like a dinosaur echoed from it and Daring suddenly found herself clad in an almost pure white costume. Sharp detailing, blood red eyes and a white chevron as the head crest with a black line shaped like a W reaching across from shoulder pad to shoulder pad, Daring was completely transformed, her famous whip holstered on her left hip and golden wings folded on her back. “Now… Count up your Crimes!” Daring shouted, pointing a finger at the Ice Age Dopant. “So, the little pegasus can ride her bike after all, and actually be more than just this piece of eye candy…” Grape Vine growled out, fully embracing his role as the Ice Age Dopant. “Very well then, let’s dance!” White mist crackled around Grape Vine as he curled his fingers into fists. Throwing them to his side, two gauntlets formed on them, before growing all the way up into sleeves. Once they hit his shoulders, they morphed his chest and legs into a bulky white armor with black marks on it. Whipping his head back, a vicious torrent of snow burst out of his neck and froze around his head as he thrashed it back down and stared at Daring; a helmet with two black eye marks replacing it. “One thing I have to question,” Daring asked, as she went for her whip and grabbed Grape by the wrist pulling him forwards before slashing him across the chest with a summoned wrist mounted fang. “Why? Why did you do it? Why did you kill all of those men and Cherry?” “Because she was a slut, and they deserved it!” Grape hissed out, his voice having gone as cold as the winter frost. People had started to gather, coming out of their apartments and grabbed their camera phones. Daring grimaced, the stupid idiots were only going to get themselves killed. Meanwhile Grape continued ranting on and on. “You know something, I loved her. Followed Cherry everywhere, and did she even give a hoot in Hell about me? No! So she deserved exactly what she got!” “Now you’re just complaining to give yourself a reason to fight. That’s not love, that’s just obsession!” Daring shook her head and readied her blade. “What a loser you are.” “I. Am. Not. A. LOSER!” Grape smashed his foot against the ground, and in split seconds, an icy arena made of spikes formed around him and Daring. “And I’ll prove it right here and now, by taking your Gaia Memory and its power for myself!” “Yeah, sorry,” Daring remarked throwing her wrist fang like a boomerang, cutting into Grape’s armor before it reattached itself to her wrist. “You’re just a druggie who doesn’t know when to quit, looking for his next fix. Consider this me giving you a reason.” “Can a druggie do this?!” He threw his hands to Daring, and a blizzard of icy knives were hurled towards her. Shots rang out, and Daring turned to see Philip holding a smoking Glock pistol. “You want to tussle with my marefriend, you dingo? You have to deal with me as well.” He blew out the smoke and ran over to the ring only to be knocked aside by a blast of icy winds from Grape. “Philip!” Daring shouted in fear, noticing the Earth Pony’s bleeding head, small droplets of blood oozing out onto the pavement. Grape could only laugh. “Look at you, you don’t even have powers, or if you do you’re too scared to use them!” He cracked his neck as he drew a pair of daggers from his suit. “Meanwhile, I can do anything I could ever want. Life without limits is so good, isn’t it?” To demonstrate, he thrust his hands up, causing an icy pillar to sprout from Daring’s feet and knock her sky high. She unfurled her wings, and used her whip to grab onto a nearby gargoyle head and swing over the Ice Age Dopant before summoning yet another fang blade, this time on her shoulder. As she landed behind Grape, she detached it and held it out like a sword. She managed to get a few strikes in but was kicked backwards. Grape rolled back into Daring and grabbed onto her legs, channeling his ice powers through his hands. It coated both of her legs, and even the lower half of her torso in ice. Smirking, he flipped away and held out his daggers at her. “Both a loser, and a coward.” Daring cut through the ice with a single swing of her sword. “Why don’t you just hit me with those things, instead of just relying on your element powers for everything?” “That’s just it, though. Life without powers is weakness! Using nothing but a blade to do your work is weakness! Weakness needs to be purged!” Grape roared, his Dopant side taking him over further and further. He lunged forward and swung his blades in scissor-like fashions, clashing against Daring’s own sword. Each and every hit was followed by contrails of ice, which acted as a pair of additional daggers for when they couldn’t hit her physically. “This? This is power. Why don’t you use yours like I do? Cut loose a bit? Be a TRUE Gaia Memory user.” He raised his blade for the final strike, only for it to be shot out of his hands. Philip was back up again, holding his smoking pistol. “Because she’s a Masked Rider, that’s what she is. Not a monster like you. Actually, no. Hey partner?” Philip asked, mentally telling himself to screw fear and break the chains of fate, fear, and hesitation. “Shouldn’t it be we? Not just you?” he asked. “Yeah, you’re right,” Daring answered. “Guess you finally stopped being afraid of Shroud right?” “And her remarks. Looks like she wasn’t lying about one thing. Whatever this sort of power is, it is needed to stop the Dopants. Stop monsters like him.” Philip declared, pointing a finger at Grape before holding up a T2 Gaia Memory marked with the letter N. “You too?” Grape almost stumbled backward at the sight of the Gaia Memory. “Well, the more the merrier, I say. Come on! Show me no mercy… Just like a true Gaia Memory user would.” “No, not a Gaia Memory User,” Philip corrected and pressed down on his Gaia Memory. “A Masked Rider.” \ Nazca! / “Henshin!” Philip stated, slamming the Memory into his belt. He was covered in a pure black bodysuit, that soon found itself covered in orange Tron lines as an eagle owl themed helmet formed around his head, with two glowing yellow lamp-like eyes functioning as the visor. The crowd, which had been eagerly snapping photos and taking videos with their camera phones began shouting and cheering: “Masked Rider!” over and over as two orange condor-like wings of light manifested from Philip’s back. “No weapons?” Grape tilted his head. “Looks like you’re a dud. Meanwhile, I have the upper hand.” Clicking his fingers, a series of ice golems appeared all around him. “Wear them down!” “Yeah, hate to break it to you mate but they’re just ice. Easy enough to smash,” Philip remarked, feeling a new strength filling him with his new powers, and slamming a fist into his palm. “Alright then you little stalker, time to get your arse kicked.” “Oh really?” Grape smashed his hands together and sent the golems running. “Hope you’re strong enough to punch through Absolute Zero!” “Time to see what other Gaia Memories Shroud offered us, and what they can do.” Philip thought to himself. “Well, bring it on Ice Man!” he shouted, slamming another Gaia Memory into the little slot on the right side of his waist. \ Heat! / Philip’s hands became encased in red-hot flame as his whole suit changed to a bright crimson shade. Philip took a few sharp short breaths out of fear of the flame with old memories being brought to the surface before that fear faded remembering there was a far greater threat to worry about. Plus, unlike normal fire, this felt warm and comforting instead of rendering all to ash. He easily began punching his way through the ice clones and then smashing bits of Grape’s ice armor, before kicking him down the street into a car. “Now, you said all of this crap about you hating Gaia Memory users and the chaos they bring to your streets, and yet here you are throwing away your principles!” Philip shouted, as he caught a kick from Grape. “Or was that a lie as well?” He created a flaming orb in his hands and tossed it at the Dopant making him stagger back as Daring slashed him across the chest with another wrist blade. “Yeah… I admit I hate Dopants, and anyone who uses them damned Gaia Memories…” Grape grimaced. “Then why are you even using one in the bloody first place, you hypocrite?” “Because… Because like I said, Cherry spurned my affections, went off to open her legs with some other man! She deserved everything she got, and then some!” “Not much of a reason, all that says is it’s all about you,” Philip replied, punching the monster in the face with another flaming fist. “Besides, can’t say I blame her for not being into you. You’re hardly handsome, and you groping her like that? Real turn-off for a woman.” With that, he punched Grape again making him stagger, as the crowd’s cheering continued to grow ever louder. “You know, I don’t really believe in Gods, or the Holy Mother, considering if they existed why would they let crap like you flounder I have to ask. But I will say this. She raises up your enemies, namely us, with her right hand, and she smites you with her left which is what we’re about to do to your Gaia Memory given powers.” Philip stated, striding forwards. “Nngh!” Grape howled out in fury. He tried to stand, but clutched one of his legs in pain. “Normally, I really don’t like to hit a man when he’s down, but you’re not a man anymore. Just a monster.” Philip remarked, tossing the Heat Memory aside and placing the Nazca memory in its place adorning his fist in a golden light. Daring did the same with her Fang Memory, and a fang blade formed on her left leg. \ Nazca! Maximum Drive! / \ Fang! Maximum Drive! / “Not sure I have a name for this attack, so I’ll just call it Fang Streiser!” Daring shouted as she took to the skies before coming down with a roundhouse kick to Grape’s face shattering his headdress as Philip just socked Grape in the gut. Grape flew backwards, landing on the ground. He tried to reach for his own Gaia Memory, but it only shattered before his very eyes. “Huh, just like Tidal’s dreams of marrying the mare you killed. Shattered before your very eyes.” Philip remarked as he and Daring disengaged their transformed state with a sound and an effect like glass shattering as their costumes fell away. Philip smirked as he heard the sound of police sirens in the background. Helping Grape to his hooves, he kicked the stallion into Makura’s arms. “There, believe that’s the man you’re looking for. Do with this scum as you wish.” Philip said, before getting on his bike and revving the engine by pressing down on the handlebars. Daring wrapped her arms around his waist. “Now if you excuse me, I believe Daring’s got to write up this case on her blog,” he stated, putting on his helmet and saluting them. “Trust me,” Daring said with a seductive grin. “That’s not all I’ve got planned tonight…” Philip shuddered in anxious wait before he drove off into the night. Unbeknownst to them, Shroud watched from the shadows, and smiled as she turned her head away and vanished into an alleyway. “Phase one complete.” she thought to herself. Philip couldn’t sleep a wink that night, and it wasn’t for the reasons you would have thought. It was 5:00 AM precisely, and Philip was lying awake in bed, a nude Daring by his side cuddling him like a pillow. Philip’s eyes drifted towards the nightstand, where all six T2 Gaia Memories rested. Heat, Nazca, Fang, and three others sat there. Two marked with the letter T, and one marked with a P. He grimaced to himself, something was wrong here and he knew it. Why would Shroud just give these sort of powers and those Lost Drivers as she called them to him and Daring out of the goodness of her heart? Nobody did that, at least nobody without some sort of agenda in his world. No, there was something else at play here and he knew it. It was all in the wording Shroud used. “My real name is irrelevant, you may call me Shroud,” the woman answered. “I am here to offer you a proposition, Philip Finder, and Daring Do.” “Shroud, noun. A: a length of cloth or an enveloping garment in which a dead person is wrapped for burial. B: a thing that envelops or obscures something.” Philip thought to himself. “Both equally fitting.” “So, what is your… proposition?” Philip asked. “And I think I should have a say in this, that’s my car and besides Philip’s helping me with a case that-” “Involves your late wife-to-be and a Dopant. I’m quite well aware of the details,” Shroud replied with a dismissive wave. “And this factors into that. Look into the case.” She opened up the briefcase with a distinctive clicking sound, and inside the case was this section of five different USB flash drives each marked with a different letter of the alphabet and two other items. Both were the exact same in nature and design. They were each small belts with a big, red buckle with a device on it. A slot for something sat at the right side with the left end having more buckle holders, for if the user had a smaller waistline or something. “Okay, so you’ve got some fancy devices that wouldn’t look out of place on some sci-fi themed fashion line and some USB flash drives. Why should we care?” Daring asked. Shroud somehow managed a glare even without visible eyes. “Nngh…” Daring moaned out, slowly waking up for whatever reason. “Come on Phil, you’re still awake?” “I’m sorry, but Daring… I just feel as if there’s something more here. Like we’re being played like a violin by Shroud and only she knows all the notes.” “You’re paranoid, Phil. That’s what it is,” Daring said, wrapping the bedsheets around herself and walking towards the bathroom feeling nature’s call. As she shut the door, Philip sighed. “Maybe, but when you’ve been in this job as long as I have… Well, it’s strange how paranoia can link up with reality now and then,” Philip remarked. “Perfect paranoia is perfect awareness, really. You can’t blame me can you?” “No, I suppose not.” Daring said from behind the bathroom door. “I mean, what does Shroud have to gain from all of this?” Philip had to ask. “Altruism? Yeah, I don’t think so. Altruism, Noun: the belief in or practice of disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others.” he said, still continuing to think on Shroud’s little conversation with them. “Because, this is what will allow you two to defeat the Dopants ravaging this city,” Shroud replied and held up one of the flash drives. “Now this, this is a Gaia Memory.” “Okay, stop right there. Not interested in sticking a drug in my arm and turning into the very same monsters I swore to fight.” Philip snarled. Shroud ignored him and continued on. “I do not care what you think,” she said. “I work for an organization who wishes to stay anonymous, which has been able to refine the Gaia Memories and use them in conjunction with these belts. Their power has been weakened, yes, but these T2 Gaia Memories as we call them will not turn you into a monster of any sort.” Shroud continued, tossing a light blue Memory marked with the letter N into Philip’s hand. “A drug is still a drug,” Philip refuted. “I’d want more and more of that power, and I have no guarantee you’re not lying and that these do the opposite of what you say and just turn me into a monster anyways. One that the police would not be able to stop. The devices, just plastic accessories to sell your lie.” “Believe what you will, but sooner or later there will come a time you and Daring will see I’m right.” “I know what it means, thank you very much,” Daring stated. “I did take basic grammar school you know.” she deadpanned. “I’m just saying, she seemed all too eager for us to use those Gaia Memories, and while I’m not grateful for the power they gave us to help stop Grape Vine and put him behind bars where he belongs I can’t help but wonder where this is all leading up to,” Philip said as the sound of a toilet flushing was heard in the background and Daring returned wrapping the bedsheets around herself once more. “No, I don’t think this case is over yet.” “Oh come on Phil,” Daring said, sitting beside him. “Grape Vine’s locked up!” “Yes, but what about Shroud? I have this feeling that we’re like lab rats to her, and what’s this group she’s talking about? How do we know she doesn’t have some ulterior agenda? And what about Tidal, what will he do now? Daring, I have to ask. Are you willing to ride with the Devil?” “Thought you stopped believing in the Holy Mother and Gods years ago, you said it yourself in the battle with Grape.” “Yes, but the Devil? Well, he’s an entirely different matter. And I firmly believe he is clad in Shroud’s clothing. She is using us, and we both know it. She wanted us to use the Lost Drivers, and the Gaia Memories. Us, and nobody else. Maybe a less paranoid buck would say it’s just because of our personalities, our good natures at heart, but…” “Yeah, I get what you mean. We’re stubborn, determined to get what we want. We wouldn’t stop at anything once we set our minds to something. Perfect qualities for test subjects for whatever she’s planning,” Daring mused. “Yeah, you’re absolutely right Phil. Something’s hinky here, and I don’t like it. But right now, best we get some rest. We’ve got that visit to pay to Tidal in the afternoon, see how he’s doing now that his wife’s killer has been dealt with.” Philip, still mulling over the thoughts of Shroud and her mysterious agenda finally let his weariness catch up with him and he fell to sleep not even a half an hour later. Very much later that same afternoon, like at around 3:00 or so Philip met up with Tidal Fury at a bar in the Upper East Side. “Bit early for drinking, innit?” Philip inquired, eating a bagel he’d grabbed from a shop across the street. While he was returning from there, he’d noted some kids playing a video game called “Space Defender” in some arcade. Philip personally never had a passing interest in video games but he’d overheard the basic premise from some teenager. It had the same basic one as most of the games of it’s type: i.e, that there were hostile forces in the universe and that they were out to get you. They’d leap out at any moment and if you were good enough you could survive for a while. Sooner or later though, one of them was bound to do you in. Philip admittedly, well he couldn’t argue with that. “I think I deserve a drink, or a smoke or whatever after what I’ve been through. Hell, might even take up some Hash just to soothe the pain,” Tidal remarked, fingering his neck chain. Philip felt some sorrow go out to the poor man, didn’t deserve any of this even with what he did. Philip, he’d managed to wrangle the cops into keeping him from getting locked up by getting Tidal to confess to all of the names of the other Memory dealers in town. Even now, they were being rounded up and arrested as the two spoke. “Still have the Beast Memory? Still holding onto it?” “Yeah, I am,” Philip answered. Tidal took another swig of his beer. “Good.” “Now, none of that talk. No need to turn to drugs, or anything. You’ll find another woman, someday.” “I’m… I’m honestly not sure I will really,” Tidal confessed, and took a deep hesitant sigh. “Y’know, thought about calling up a prostitute the other day. Hell, even thought about watching some old crappy porn flick and jacking off to it, but I couldn’t y’know? Felt disloyal to my wife’s memory.” “That’s only natural. I confess, if I’d lost Daring I’m not sure what I’d do. Go on a rampage against who took her from me and the… Well, honestly I don’t quite know. Kill myself? Perhaps. When you lose someone that close to you like I did with my mother a few weeks back you’re in this sort of state where you don’t know if up is down and the like. Daring was my rock, helped me through all of that. Now, I’m going to be yours. Going to get you through all of this shit.” “Thank you,” Tidal smiled at him. “No, seriously man. Thank you. So heard you and Daring brought in my wife’s killer. They’re calling you Masked Riders now. Masked Riders Fang and Nazca. Bit pretentious, isn’t it?” “Yeah, I’m not too fond of the names myself. Daring is a little, but me?” Tidal just chuckled. “Just… Just thank you. Thanks for bringing my wife’s killer to justice. Streets are a lot safer thanks to you, and now there’s a way to analyze Gaia Memories now that you didn’t kill Grape as you had so many other users before. Maybe the police can finally figure out how they work, render them all useless with some big-ass magic spell or something.” Philip shrugged. “Maybe, who’s to say really? Come on, I’ll buy you another drink. On me.” Across town, rising high above any other building in Manehatten was this massive steel structure called the Shard, jutting out from the city skyline like a jagged piece of glass, thousands upon thousands of windows. Nobody knew what went on inside, but suspicions and rumors mongered as they tended to do. Things like mad science experiments, to just simple things like the great and the good hanging out for parties after making good deals on stock. Nobody ever really knew. Well, almost nobody. Deep inside, near the top floor was this lab. Wall to wall T2 modeled Gaia Memories stored in cases, and computer banks gathering data from them and feeding that very same data to various sources. In the middle of the room was Shroud, and another man. Handsome, almost ludicrously so with a pure white coat and long flowing golden locks. “So, am I correct in hearing that we know these new Gaia Memories work as intended?” the man asked, and Shroud nodded. The man smirked and handed over a wad of huge cash to Shroud via a briefcase held by a dark-suited man. In return, he was handed a red-tinted T2 Memory of his own marked with an F and a Lost Driver. “Thank you Shroud, or should I say Maria S. Cranberry?” Blueblood asked. Author's Note Okay, so yes, Grape. He's the Ice Age Dopant. I sorta have this rule when using my own ponysona. Make them the butt monkey in whatever story they get put in. So far, Grape's been put through psychological trauma in Going Deep Under, and now he's a mass murderer here. And yes. I know, the Masked Rider thing. I know you diehards would lynch me for this, but think about it for a second. Would it really make sense for Manehattenites or an Aussie like Phil to randomly call himself something in Japanese? Only reason I used Henshin is because it has a better ring to it than it's English translation in transform. (Also, huge thanks to Shadowmane PX-41 for writing out the first half of the Dopant battle.) Now, as ever, comments, thoughts, and constructive critique are welcomed.
Part Three: The R that ArrivedFor the next few weeks, everything seemed to be a daze for Philip and Daring really, instead of cracking down on hard-boiled cases or checking museum security systems it was chasing after Dopants and taking down the Gaia Memory Dealers. At one point, Daring and Phil had teamed up when clients or friends came into their apartment, clients or friends both of them recognized but much older. For example, there was the doorman at Manehatten’s hotel, the Grand Royale that Philip had saved from being thrown behind bars for murder, looking fifty years older. Then, there was the director of Manehatten’s Natural History Museum who Daring had helped in the case of the Chameleon Thief looking like an old maid. Finally, there was a street musician now looking like the lead singer of Jagged Stone whom Philip had previously helped when he’d seemingly lost his singing voice only for it to turn out a jealous idol had stolen it via a spell. Eventually, through a case that led them through so many twists and turns, the culprit had been discovered, a Dopant who stole people’s life forces so she could stay eternally young. \ Old! / The Gaia Memory absorbing itself into her skin, the mare, one White Lightning transformed into a rust-colored monster wearing what looked to be this massive headdress. Philip and Daring shared a nod, knowing what to do. \ Fang! / \ Nazca! / “Henshin!” they shouted, as they slammed their Gaia Memories into their belts and turned into Masked Rider Fang and Nazca respectively. “Well, well, well. Looks like we have some troublemakers.” The Old Dopant chuckled to herself and coiled energy between her hands. “Aren’t you a little too young to be fighting me? I have to say, credit goes where credit is due, must have had a hell of a time trying to track me down.” “Yeah yeah… shut your yap. You’re just disgusting,” Philip remarked. “Stealing people’s life forces just so you can live forever. We all have to die sometime,” he continued as he dodged the Dopants punches before surmising a theory. “I think you’re just too afraid of death to even admit that. Why else would you keep on stealing year after year like you are?” “What’s so wrong with cheating death, I ask you?” The Dopant asked, almost pouting like a child. “Plus, being an adult is the worst thing ever conceived. Always dealing with bills, taxes, children you’ll eventually have, ugh! It’s a total NIGHTMARE!” White Lightning, Daring remembered, was this former pop musician who made it big when she was a kid, going on to score hits throughout the decade until she finally reached the age of 18 and people seemingly finally got tired of her. Good riddance to bad rubbish really, Daring thought even as she struck the Old Dopant across the chest, her music was always crap. People just finally woke up and smelled the roses. “Speaking of nightmares, think fast!” White Lightning charged forward and landed a hit on Philip ripping out his youth and beauty in the blink of an eye before it vanished into her own body, turning her back into a teenager and she seemed to regain her fighting strength throwing a flurry of kicks and punches at Phil making him stagger before final one hit knocked him to the ground. “Ah… Much better.” “You… You’re just not ready to face adult life are you?” Philip asked, throwing a fireball after slamming his Heat Memory into his belt and picking himself up off the ground. Sadly, with how creaky his body was, it was a rather weak toss. “Look, I empathize with you, I really do. Being an adult, it’s hard. Painful sometimes even, life’s a bitch. Especially in this town, but growing older I’ve found, it makes you all the more wiser, and all the experience and knowledge I’ve gained is something I wouldn’t give up for the world.” “Trust me, if there was a way I could make everyone young again, I’d take that chance. But sadly, the past is the past and the past always seems to curl up into a ball and die.” White Lightning walked back up. “What about you, miss?” She looked at Daring Do. “How was your life when you were younger? A kid, carefree and innocent, without having to worry about any grown-up garbage and political bull?” “Yeah, sorry, but quite honestly I prefer being an adult. So much more fun really,” Daring said. “Let’s face it, so much more crap you can get away with. Of course, I’ve done plenty of stuff I’ve regretted, drinking for one. Trust me, I’ll look back on those times when I was younger as possibly some of the best times in my life, or maybe the worst. Age brings wisdom, reminds us to not repeat our mistakes. “You’re just like all the rest, then. Tainted and ruined by this grown-up garbage…” White Lightning scowled and fired off another wave of her ooze at Daring Do. “Fine then, if that’s the case, I’ll bury you myself, just to show you how SHIT being a grown-up is all about!” Daring Do rushed forward into battle, strafing left and right to avoid the waves of ooze and get up close and personal with the Dopant. From there, they clashed, throwing punches and kicks at each other as fast as they could, with neither side giving the other an inch. Unfortunately for Daring, White was very fast and spry in her young state, and she finally managed to break through and hit Daring square on her nose; knocking her back into Philip. White Lightning smirked, and pressed her hand to a metal pillar secreting her ooze, and turning it to rust with the metal pillar falling towards Daring and Phil. Daring’s eyes widened under her helmet, and she pulled her boyfriend away just in time before the pillar fell on them. “Told ya. Grown-ups are bad at stuff, because they’re old. Getting old makes you rusty, while staying young keeps you going.” White Lightning looked over Phil’s body. “This is what we should all be; young, beautiful, and energetic. Not old, cranky, tired, and lazy!” “You know, I happen to like Daring as she is, cranky and bitchy,” Philip remarked. “Wish I could say the same for you, your particular form is rather unattractive. Now, you like a good unfair fight right? Time to see what happens when the horseshoe’s on the other hoof.” Phil said, pulling out a blue Gaia Memory and exchanging the Heat one for it. \ Trial! Maximum Drive! / Ignoring the aching pain in his joints, Philip seemed to began traveling at super speed, faster than White Lightning could blink. He’d resumed his default Nazca appearance, except the lines on his body had turned a bright blue, his eyes now a solid orange and a small countdown clock had appeared on his waist, counting down from ten seconds. White Lighting’s eyes darted from left to right, and she tried to fire off more pools of ooze, but Philip just dodged between them. “Wh… what are you?!” She asked, mortified at his power to fight back; despite his rapidly advanced age, and throwing out another flurry of kicks and punches that Philip dodged easily. His countdown clock continued ticking down, now at 3.3 seconds. “Just… Just someone who’s doing his duty as a Masked Rider, that’s all,’ Phillip remarked. “Now, count up the moments till your crimes are judged!” he shouted. With one final hit, White Lightning’s Gaia Memory ejected itself from her body and shattered as a glowing blue T of hard light projected itself over her body. “NO! What have you done to me?!” She asked, as all of her age began to grow back, and then expand. What was once a teenage girl quickly warped into a thirty-something-year-old as everyone found their lifespans returning to normal and resuming their proper age. The time on his countdown clock, the one that displayed how long it took to defeat this Dopant in Trial Form? 9.8 seconds. “Let me ask you something, Masked Riders,” White Lightning coughed and spluttered. “Why do you HATE people? Why do you hate people so much that you’d keep them from reaching their full potential and reliving their glory days, like me?” “Because,” Daring said as she and Philip canceled their transformations and Daring cuffed Lightning. “We can’t relive our pasts, that particular section of our lives? They make us into what we are today, we learn from them and our mistakes. Seems you never did.” “And I never will. I DON’T WANT TO BE AN OLD CRONE!” She thrashed and swung around in her cuffs, trying to break free. “I don’t want to pay taxes, I don’t want to see bills, I don’t want any of that other bullshit and garbage! I just want my friends, when I was a star… Where are they?” “Simple,” Philip said as the police drove up. “They grew up and moved on. You didn’t.” Curiously, there was one Dopant that always seemed to get away, and pop up again for another fight against Manehatten’s popular new heroes. It was a curious sort, never speaking so nobody could ever really figure out who it was using whatever Gaia Memory the Dopant possessed. Once again, with Daring and Philip chasing down after a Gaia Memory dealer, the yellow Dopant had decided to show himself. Or herself, it wasn’t really easy to tell. Neither pony knew exactly why this Dopant always seemed to have an obsession with them, he or she just did. It wasn’t just whenever they tracked down Gaia Memory dealers, it could be at times like when they were walking home from the police station or from a bar. It just seemed to have an obsession with them. What looked like an eldritch abomination made entirely of gold stood before them. Long, thin tentacles stood before them, almost like a set of golden scarves. The head and its’ collar spikes were black as night, with a few gold waves on the face to make it stand out. A yellow moon sat below its’ neck and hung daintily on his centre tendril. It didn’t utter a word, and instead let out a series of distorted moans and groans instead. “Here we go again…” Daring muttered as she and Philip held up their Gaia Memories, the Dealer scampering off into the shadows. Philip grunted, he could be dealt with at a later date. They knew who he was. \ Fang! / \ Nazca! / “Henshin!” they shouted before turning into Fang and Nazca once more, with the Dopant whipping his arms around and conjuring up men in black suits wearing ribcage themed masks. Philip and Daring were quite familiar with this Dopant’s abilities by now, he could conjure up illusions. Very masterful illusions, but illusions all the same. “End this one quick…” Philip muttered, tossing the Heat Memory to Daring who switched it out for her Fang one while Philip himself pulled out a Memory marked with a T that resembled a pistol. \ Heat / \ Trigger! / Daring’s costume turned a sharp red, while Philip’s turned blue and a machine pistol strapped itself to his chest in a holster. As the masked men charged, Daring’s fists lit up with flame and she began punching them out of existence and Philip just shot the masquerade men as he called them with the Trigger Magnum. To them, it was just target practice before the monster. The usual stuff for them. As the brawl began against the Dopant, Daring and Philip had to both attack and dodge at the same time, as the tentacles on its’ body were wide-reaching and covered a lot of ground around him. If they slipped up at any point, it would strike them and have an opening for more attacks. As one tendril lashed out like a whip Philip jumped over it and spun in mid-air, landing on top of a nearby dumpster before Daring threw a fireball and made the Dopant stagger backwards. Philip fired a burst of machine pistol blasts from the Trigger Magnum, and then placed his Gaia Memory into a special slot on the weapon. Similarly, Daring readied her own Maximum Drive, and her fist began glowing with a white-hot flame. The Dopant, taking this as his cue to leave got smart and created illusions of two prior Dopants the twosome had defeated, the Cockroach and Money Dopants and let them take the strikes as he vanished. “Shit!” Daring swore and stamped a hoof in frustration as she and Philip canceled their transformations. “Again with the vanishing act.” All Philip could do was lay a hand on her shoulder in sympathy. Unknown to either of them, a familiar woman, face still wrapped in bandages watched from the shadows. Each time they fought a Dopant and used a Gaia Memory and a Maximum Drive, their Drivers sent the data gained right to the labs. Phase two was now complete. It was rare when they caught a break from any of this. Philip was actually thankful when he had to deal with someone’s brother being poisoned via a vial of strychnine. He was in his living room, with another man -One Green Thumb- sitting across from him. Philip gauging his reactions and watching him carefully. He seemed nervous about something, almost as if he wanted to be anywhere but here. Daring, in the back of the room, was leaning against the wall. Currently, Philip was in the middle of explaining his theory as to what exactly happened to Green Thumb’s brother. It was a simple open and shut case really, something Philip was thankful for. For once, no overly complicated clues to find, or leads to chase down. “...This was right about the time that I began to believe in fact that your brother did not die by his own hand as you claimed but was murdered.” “Nonsense!” Green Thumb sputtered out. “The vial was found in his own right hand!” “Right hand,” Philip acknowledged with a nod. “Exactly, we’ll get to that little detail in a moment. The fact that it was found in his hand at all was the first clue as to what really happened…” “Hmm,” Daring nodded. “Now, the vial itself, it contained strychnine which when taken would cause a pony to thrash about violently.” “I’d find it difficult to imagine someone like this being able to hold onto that vial without dropping or breaking it,” Philip continued. “The vial was found intact. Therefore, I believe the vial was placed in his hands only after your brother died. The real culprit was the cigarette I found in the room. Upon closer inspection of the room where your brother was found, I discovered a fresh burn mark on the carpet, along with the aforementioned cigarette. A quick trip to the labs, and a favor used revealed it contained trace amounts of strychnine.” “What about the suicide note?” Green Thumb asked nervously, and Philip smirked. He had him. “It was written in my brother’s own hand, for the Mother’s sakes!” “With a little bit of time and practice, handwriting can be forged. While it takes a trained eye to notice certain discrepancies, they can be found given enough time,” Philip remarked. “...For example, whether someone is right or left-handed.” With that, he tossed a small book towards Green Thumb, who caught it in his left hand, and when he noticed this his eyes widened in shock now knowing as soon as he’d come into Philip’s apartment he might as well have confessed. As the police arrived, Philip sighed. “That was easy, too easy and I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’m actually thankful for it,” he muttered. “I do admit, a challenging case to tax the mind and get the little gray cells at work is nice from time to time.” “Just be grateful that one didn’t have a Gaia Memory on him,” Daring muttered. “I swear, these Dopants are running us ragged.” “Er… I don’t know if this is the right time,” a young beat cop named Bee said nervously as he walked up to Philip and Daring. In the background, a massive sign atop a rooftop advertised 'Destiny's Child Laboratories, Transform Your Life!' It was a place that had been in Manehatten for a while, medical research mostly. It had several labs set up all over town, each hiring only the best and brightest. Nobody quite knew where the main lab was, and it was a subject of curiosity amongst many. Personally, neither Daring nor Phil gave a crap as to this place, not like that they exactly needed to drop by and pay them a visit. Well, they used to not give a crap anyways. But medical research, they'd begun to wonder if these labs were responsible in creating the Gaia Memories that conveniently just started popping up in Manehatten at the same time Destiny's Child set up shop, three years ago exactly. “But Tempest, he needs to meet you at Sleipnir’s Island. Says an old friend of yours wants to… talk.” “Who’s the old friend?” Philip asked Bee, who winced, fearing Philip and Daring’s reaction. It didn’t take long to guess who Bee meant. “...Wait, you don’t mean…?” Daring trailed off, eyes widened. “Yeah, that photographer, the first Dopant you defeated as Masked Riders. Grape Vine himself.” “Damn it…” Philip muttered. “Why him? Why now?” “Hell if I know, but Tempest wants you over there. Says you really need to hear this.” “Guess there’s only one thing for it then…” Philip sighed, his shoulders slumping. He wasn’t looking forwards to this, at all. “If you need help, I can-” Daring started, only to be cut off. “No, this is something I have to do by myself. Besides, Tempest will be there with me, he’s one of the best. Besides, I want you to keep an eye on Tidal. It’s been several weeks since his fiancee’s killer was found, I’m worried about what he might be doing now.” With that, Philip hopped on his motorbike and sped off down the streets of Manehatten… A thick coating of fog surrounded Sleipnir's Island even as the small boat approached it. Coating the surrounding waters like a thick soup, Phil and Tempest found themselves barely able to see a few feet in front of them, and if not for the local captain’s knowledge of the surrounding waters and a ‘Point Me’ spell as it was called cast by another officer they surely would have run aground on rocks. Phil didn’t like sailing in this weather, but the forecast called for quite a bit of fog this week so there was no getting around it. The thick concrete curtain wall of the castle-like structure along with one of the guard towers loomed eerily out of the mist, with trained snipers scanning the area from the tower. For decades, Sleipnir's Island had housed the most hardcore convicts, the ones incapable of reform. It had been closed down about ten years back, but with the emergence of Gaia Memory using criminals and no prison strong enough to house them except local jails which were already horrendously crowded, citizens had lobbied for this place to be reopened. Finally, eventually faced with no choice the Mayor had finally given in and so Sleipnir's Island once more paid hostess to criminals of the worst kind, those who were called by the chief of police “Evil without purpose or reason”. Personally, Phil believed that some of these criminals were victims in a sense as well. Take for example one Hoofer Steps, who’d played host to carrying the Accel Memory after she’d caught her love Feather Bangs cheating on her with another woman. Hell, Phil himself had been hired by Hoofer when she’d started suspecting she was being played. He’d watched and tailed Hoofer’s fiancee for several days and finally caught him in a motel with another mare with photographic proof. Junebug, he believed the name was. Or was it Carrot Top? Not like he was expected to know every damn name in this city. In any case, when Hoofer found out, needless to say, she was pissed. She’d bought the Gaia Memory, and nearly used her speed abilities granted to her by it to run her former fiancee down. Phil had stopped her with a Trial Maximum Drive, and took care of the problem for her, and punched the sorry excuse for a buck’s lights out even as Hoofer herself was taken away. He didn’t hold all such sympathies for the crooks housed in Sleipnir's Island, (Grape alone was proof enough of that.) but he didn’t believe all of them deserved to be locked up. But what could he do? He couldn’t lobby for change, not with people like Silvertongue feeding the mayor cash by the truckload. “You alright?” Philip asked, laying a hand on Tempest’s shoulder, the pegasus clutching his sniper rifle ever more tightly. Tempest was a stormy gray coated buck with a black mane, as befit his name. “Me personally, I wouldn’t recommend going into the same building as the type of guy who killed my brother, let alone the same room as him.” “I’ll be fine,” Tempest grunted out, the fifty-something pony sighing to himself. “‘Sides, we all have to face our demons sooner or later. I’m not going to be in the same room, I’ll be outside waiting though if things turn ugly.” “...If you say so,” Philip replied, his voice wary not entirely believing him as the boat pulled up to the docks, with the captain using a line to pull them in closer. “But if you ask me, I’d rather have Arc or Bee with me right now, just saying.” “They have their jobs, I have mine,” Tempest replied as he stepped off the boat via way of a gangplank. “And you have yours, Philip,” he continued, before tilting his head in curiosity. “Masked Riders Nazca and Fang, that’s what they’re calling you and Daring, right?” “Yeah, not a fan,” Philip replied as they entered the old prison, entering A-Block after passing through the security checkpoint, with Tempest being forced to surrender his weapon temporarily, with Philip being forced to do the same for his baton as they were checked over. “Honestly, bit too pretentious for my tastes. I was never even a fan of being known as this famous detective, and now look at me, being called a superhero!” he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. “I mean, I’m just a guy doing my duty to protect the city I love, isn’t that enough?” “Eh, you know ponies. They need someone to look up to and idolize when pretty much everything else has gone to shit. Brings them a feather of hope, really,” Tempest grunted. “And honestly, you’ve brought the most hope this city’s seen in a while really…” “I suppose…” Philip muttered as the twosome finally arrived at Grape’s cell, with the mass-murderer looking surprisingly calm despite being locked up with probably no chance of seeing the light of day ever again. Phil had heard he was on death row, actually with the Chair being lined up just for him. Tempest’s fists clenched, but he kept his cool even as Phil entered the cell. “So, what’s it all add up to in the end, eh?” Philip asked, staring Grape down, the other pony clad in an orange jumpsuit and cuffed. “You didn’t get your mare, and here you are in a cell stripped of all your pride and all of your women you so loved and sentenced to death. So, you pleased with how your life turned out?” “Surprisingly, yes,” Grape remarked. “Sure, Ah’m a killer, no gettin’ around that and Ah’m gonna die soon but Ah won’t go quietly.” “Oh, so you dragged me here to kill me, that it?” Philip asked, reaching for his baton on reflex. “Going to try and strangle me or something?” “Oh hardly,” Grape laughed. “Ah’m pissed at someone, but not at you. No, Ah’m pissed at the person who put us both in this position, running us around like little rats in a maze.” “...Can you just get to the bloody point?” Phil asked, starting to get agitated. Grape burst out laughing, a cold and harsh laugh. “Oh, don’t tell me yer that much of an idjit?” Grape remarked. “Surely you, with all of your famed observation skills took notice of mah Gaia Memory. It wasn’t like the others, was it? No, yer too afraid to admit that Ah had the same type of Gaia Memory as you yerself did…” Phil flinched, although he tried to deny it Grape was right. He had taken notice that unlike the usual rib cage styled Gaia Memories, Grape’s resembled a flash drive before it had shattered. A T2 version of the Ice Age memory. “So ya did notice, good! Nice to know ya’ve still got it! Come on now, use those little gray cells and think, who could have given moi such a thing, and why?” Grape pressed. “Ah don’t like being used, and neither do you Ah’d suspect. And yet someone is doing exactly that, using us as little lab experiments. Woman with her face wrapped in bandages, ya probably ran into her getting yer own Memories and those fancy belts,” he continued. Phil flinched again, and Grape laughed once more. “Knew it, nobody in this city just gives anything out like that for free. Altruism is a dyin’ thing, and y’all know it. You, Tempest, and Daring. No… Someone’s playing you like a violin and before Ah go, Ah wanted y’all to know that. Be mah sword, and strike ‘em down for me!” The cell door slammed shut, and Tempest looked at the now slightly shaking Phil in surprise. “You alright?” he asked in concern. “Let’s go,” Phil growled as Grape’s laughter echoed in his ears. “I have all I needed to know.” Meanwhile, as per Philip’s request, Daring had taken to tailing Tidal and found him at a bar. It was a little place down in Hell’s Kitchen, one of those hole in the wall places you probably wouldn’t know about or take any notice of if you were a simple passerby. Daring’s nose wrinkled as the smell of booze and cigarette smoke reached it, and she made a noise of barely disguised disgust. “...Al the dirty jobs,” she muttered. Taking a look around at the ponies dressed in shabby or dirty clothing and comparing that to her rather nice and frankly flattering red dress she felt rather overdressed and sticking out like a sore thumb. She was honestly expecting Tidal, thanks to his rather sizeable income to actually go someplace nice like Cherry Jubliee’s, not a damn dive bar with walls covered in graffiti and the like. She was expecting Tidal to treat himself to something nice, like a steak dinner with a few friends not booze his troubles away. She sighed upon seeing Tidal at the bar and ordering a glass of Wild Pegasus Whiskey, half-expecting for the poor pony to wind up in the drunk tank by the end of the night. Or dead. She didn’t particularly care which. But a job was a job, and she if nothing else carried them out even if she didn’t have to like it. Personally, she didn’t exactly have any real love for Tidal Fury dead fiancee or not given he was a Gaia Memory Dealer, and by association one of the sources of their troubles. Hell, for all she knew he could have given out that Memory which created the Illusion Dopant as she called it which seemed to follow her and Phil at every turn. She sighed in disgust upon seeing a rather scantily dressed pony in just jeans and a bra leaning up against a post outside the window. “Place just keeps on getting classier and classier by the moment, doesn’t it?” Daring thought to herself, barely able to keep herself from rolling her eyes. “I swear, if someone tries to pick me up for a night in, they’re getting tossed into the wall.” Loud rock music blared from a nearby jukebox, Daring could barely catch half the lyrics. “...Wake up Rouse your tough spirit from its slumber Awaken your spirit as you fight Reaching past the barriers of time, someday I shall find it Follow these links “Into the world of mystery Perhaps that is my destiny Am I scared to find out? No way Destiny's play, make the connections “Just like how the music each one of us makes is unique We each have our own destinies Only I will map out my own destiny “Unleash a force yet undiscovered I can hear a mysterious voice in the dark Calling out to me Telling me the follow the melody Into the abyss of time Perhaps this is my destiny…” “So,” Daring commented as she sat down beside Tidal. “What’s a nice pony like you, uptown boy doing all the way down here in Hell’s Kitchen drinking what’s probably rotgut disguised as whiskey?” “Taking in the sights and sounds of the city,” Tidal answered. “What else? Could probably ask you the exact same damn thing, given you’re all dressed up for a night on the town.” Daring gave him a look, not entirely believing him. “Really, is that all…?” she drawled out, looking around her and gesturing with a hand to the slimy drug dealers, the drunkards and even the prostitute outside. “Because if I was taking in the sights and sounds of the city, I’d choose someplace a Hell of a lot better than this shithole. I mean, fuck, even one of the sports bars down on Harlem or whatever would be a nicer place than… well, whatever this is.” “Hey, I find to get to know a city best, you have to experience all of it, even the… less than sightly parts of it,” Tidal remarked in a polite tone. “But let’s get serious, you’re tailing me aren’t you?” “Good, so you do have a few brain cells more than I actually believed you did. Philip asked me to, out of concern. So yeah, dressed myself up even if I didn’t have to like it expecting you to go to someplace nice, maybe a piano bar not the bottom end of town with whores on every street corner!” She shouted, before flipping a coin to a mare near the jukebox. “Hey lady, class this place up a bit, will you? That music in the jukebox there? It’s shit! Give us something classy, like Sinatra or something!” And so the music was changed, from the loud blaring rock to something much more to Daring’s tastes. Soft piano music, smooth jazz really. “Okay, much better. Least something here aside from me and you is much more fitting for Manehatten nights. This here, less of an assault on the ears.” “I’ll drink to that,” Tidal agreed. “So, what’s your particular poison?” “Manticore Rare,” Daring said, placing some cash on the bartop and smiled when a glass of it was poured in front of her. She took a sip and smiled. “Simple pleasures, eh?” “Yeah,” Tidal replied as the two clinked their glasses together. “To simple pleasures, and our shitty lives!” Daring gave him a look. “Yeah, I knew it. That’s what you’re here for aren’t you?” Daring remarked. “You know what my greatest weakness is, aside from seeing a good piece of artwork like the Mare Lisa or something locked up in someone’s vault and not being enjoyed? My greatest weakness? Occasionally, I give a damn. Like right about now, about you and you drinking your troubles away.” “Lady, you’re a very perceptive asshole,” Tidal glared, and Daring smirked in return. “I’ve been called worse. But yeah, I’m perceptive, and occasionally caring enough to tell you that you’re being an idiot, and that if I was your fiance and alive instead of six feet under in some cemetery somewhere I’d be punching you in the face right about now for disrespecting my memory by killing myself with flask after flask of some stinkin’ rotgut that dares call itself whiskey.” “What, you starting a support group anytime soon, plenty of people have lost loved ones you know,” Tidal said, getting drunker and drunker by the moment as he downed another glass. “Plenty to Gaia Memory users. You could probably make a good sized list. See Fleetfoot out there?” he asked, pointing to the mare outside the bar who was now getting into some stallion’s car. Daring’s eyebrow raised, for the first time she realized that was Fleetfoot, she’d just never paid much attention. Wasn’t like she was expected to care about every pegasus in the city after all. “Believe it or not, she loved Grape Vine, and now she loses him to a Gaia Memory in a sense.” “Like I’d waste my time circle-jerking with a bunch of whiners, and Fleetfoot and go whine about losing her precious lover and trophy boyfriend to someone who cares. Grape Vine brought that stupidity down on himself, nobody forced him to inject a Gaia Memory into his own body,” Daring replied, and Tidal gave her a look. “Like I said, I only very rarely give a damn about someone, but when I do there’s usually a reason. Now, I don’t like you. Hell, you’re part of this city’s problems with that damn Gaia Memory dealing you used to do,” Daring continued. “By all rights, I should have taken you to the police station and let them throw you in the bin. But Philip cares for you, dunno why, and so, therefore, I care even if you are a piece of shit that stinks to high heaven. Or maybe that’s just the booze, I dunno.” “Newsflash Daring, the real world is not about happy endings. It's about taking the life you have and fighting like hell to keep it,” Tidal snapped. “You want to know why I started dealing Gaia Memories? I grew up in a poor neighborhood, place not too far from here. People got shot almost daily, druglords ran the fucking place,” he continued. “I really didn’t have much choice in starting to deal Gaia Memories, nobody would hire some street slime from my neighborhood and if I didn’t do something I would probably wind up homeless and parentless thanks to who I had to pay protection money towards! So yeah, I dealt out a few here and there, hoping the kingpins would all kill each other and guess what? So they did,” he chuckled darkly. “But there are people who would have happily helped you if they knew…” Daring trailed off, and even as the words left her mouth she didn’t believe them. Some parts of town, and some people nobody really gave a damn about. She knew that only too well from personal experience. It was the reason why she turned to thievery in the first place, and if she hadn’t been arrested and requested by museums to put her talents to proper use testing their security systems than she might have probably been lying dead on some rich pony’s sitting room floor. Loathe as she was to admit it, she actually liked being called a hero by some. Actually reminded her that even a bitch like herself had the capacity to change, break the chains that bound them to whatever the hell life they were leading and take the stage for their own. She knew it sounded ridiculously poetic of her, but right now it was the only way she could think to describe her current feelings on the matter. “Barely had a proper education as it is, it was only after I got the money from dealing the damn things that I could even think to afford to get a good degree! Believe me, if I’d known the Hell I was about to help unleash on the streets, I would have stopped right then and there, but the money came in and I was young, foolish! Idiotic!” he roared, smashing the shot glass on the countertop, his voice breaking with Tidal barely fighting back sobs. “But… but I just couldn’t stop, I wanted more and more of that money to provide a life for me and my family, one we could never even dream of achieving. And then I met Cherry, she was able to look past my flaws and accept me for what I was. I promised to stop dealing, and then just as we were about to marry… It happened. Frozen solid into a photographer’s sick idea of a fucking sculpture!” The dam finally broke and Tidal began to sob heavily, and Daring not entirely sure why pulled the pony into a hug whispering “Shh… It’s going to be okay.” to him. “Holy Mother, what have I got myself into…?” Daring wondered to herself. Author's Note Okay, I apologize for taking so long to write this up, but unlike the C arc, this chapter wasn't written in tandem to them. Hell, the entire C arc was originally envisioned as one singular chapter, till I realized how long it'd be. Now, really have to thank Eagle-Paladin of Shadows for letting me use his character Tempest here, and for proofreading his lines to make sure I'd done a good job on his personality. And another thank you to Shadowmane for helping with the two Dopant fight scenes. Sorry if there's very little info on the real main villain here, namely the mysterious user with the "F" memory, but I did throw you a bone here and establish at least part of Maria's connection to all of this. Besides, I wanted to focus more on the victims here, like Tidal. Cherry's killer may have been locked up, but Tidal's still a major player here on my gameboard as it were. Now, as ever, comments, thoughts, and constructive critique are welcomed.
Part Four: The L that was Cast AsideManehatten Police Station: Groaning, Tidal found himself groggily waking in a cell, with a very heavy headache, the morning sun coming in through a window not making his life any easier at the moment. “The drunk tank,” Tidal thought to himself. Lovely. Absolutely just bloody fucking lovely. If the papers get wind of this…” He then mentally facepalmed, chances are they already had given the sight he made of himself down in Hell’s Kitchen in that dive bar between him and Daring. Someone with a camera, anyone really, could have snapped a photo and sent it off to some local newspaper, and there it would be. His drunken, sorry state of a mug plastered all over the morning edition of the Manehatten Enquirer. “Well, well, well, so sleeping beauty awakens from his slumber,” came Phil’s voice from somewhere in the background, sounding rather disgusted and annoyed. “Thought we were going to have to find a bucket of ice-cold water and dump it all over your bloody head to get you up.” He was leaning up against a wall, outside the cell doors. Daring was nearby, arms crossed and if possible, looking even more annoyed and pissed off than Philip himself. Granted, looking pissed seemed to be Daring’s usual state from what Tidal could see so it was frankly hard to tell really. “I say we do it anyways,” Daring remarked, in a tone that made it almost impossible to tell if she was joking. “Just to be sure.” “How did I…?” Tidal trailed off, not sure he wanted to know. “You have Daring to thank,” Philip grumbled, clearly quite crabby and put off. “Apparently, from what she told me, you collapsed as soon as you started sobbing your pretty precious little heart out and she hailed a car to drive you all the way here. Not your finest hour, I gotta say…” He tossed, sure enough, the Manehatten Enquirer into Tidal’s cell, and it read as clear as day: “Rich Socialite Crashes and Burns in Hell’s Kitchen! Finds new love in Daring ‘Danger’ Do?” complete with pictures of him sobbing into Daring’s chest and Daring leading him to a patrol car. “Now,” Philip said as an officer handed him a cup of hot coffee straight off the pot and upon the first sip his demeanor seemed to improve mildly. “Not really a fan of the second part, inaccurate though it may be but the first half? Seems to describe exactly what happened to you, doesn’t it? You know, there’s a little thing about me I ought to share ‘bout now. Some may call it a character flaw, others might call it a good thing. In my line of work, you gotta know when to walk away from something, whether it be a case or a person,” he continued. “But some cases or people just won't let you go. They just grab you by the reigns and hold you tight. Like you, you’re an interesting piece. Dunno if I feel sorry for you, or I should just shake my head and call it a day as chances are you’ll probably continue on your downward cycle without someone to knock some good sense into you.” Daring flipped him a coin, golden in color that read 24 hours recovery. Tidal knew exactly what kind of coin it was, one for AA members. “Take my advice, there’s this place down near where we live -You haven’t forgotten the location of that have you?- and go to it,” Daring remarked. “Chances are it’ll do you a world of good. Now listen, don’t know if you remember but I hate circle jerking. But these guys, pulled me out of a hole I wasn’t sure I was going to get out of, did me a world of good and I’ll be forever grateful for them for that. Consider this a rare show of kindness from me, stopping you from doing something truly stupid,” Daring remarked. “Listen, I get you,” Phillip continued, continuing to look Tidal directly in the eye, and now he rested a hand on his shoulder. The pony wasn’t sure quite when exactly, but at some point, Philip had stepped into the cell. “Lost everything you had, or loved, and now you’ve got to build your life back up. Few of us have been there, more times than we can count,” Philip continued, almost sounding as if he was speaking from experience. Given his age, and the general effect Manehatten seemed to have on ponies it wouldn’t have surprised Tidal if he was. “But the important thing, life goes on. World doesn’t stop turning, although may seem like it to you. Life continues on, and that’s the main thing. Look, I’ll be the first to admit me and Daring are absolute crap at giving advice, but we’re trying to help you here mate. You’re a good guy, something that Manehatten’s sorta low on. Don’t want to see this city swallow up another pony into it’s bowels, that’s all.” Going for his pants pockets, Tidal fished something out of them. A very distinctive ribcage-themed Flash Drive-like device with an S on it. Philip and Daring shared a look as the Gaia Memory was handed to them. “...Knew he had a spare on him…” Daring grumbled to herself. “Yeah. Smilodon memory,” Tidal admitted. “Planned on using it myself someday soon in my grief, just to take back my city, or at the very least take down Grape Vine. Would have snuck into Sleipnir's Island somehow, ripped him to shreds. ...Not worth it though, not anymore. Would have gotten me locked up just like he was. Made me no better than Grape really, a murderer out for blood for a frankly stupid reason. Revenge, it’s a cycle. Guess this is me breaking it,” Tidal continued. “You’re right Phil, the world doesn’t stop turning. Life goes on, and we rebuild. City’s gone to shit, but I’d like to think with ponies like you out there you might just be able to polish that shit into one Hell of a diamond.” “Cheesy as all hell, but…” Philip remarked as he tossed the Smilodon Memory to Bee, taking note of the pony’s crescent moon bracelet. He’d sworn he’d seen that design somewhere before. “I’m proud of you Tidal, you know that right?” Tidal mumbled something, before just waving them off having quite a lot to think about now about what he’d do next, and a hangover to wear off. In the break room, Philip and Daring reconvened. In the background, one of the hottest new numbers from a local band played off a radio. “All this while I have been feeling a little something Just a few more pieces I'm searching for in the puzzle Using your heart, using your body, fill the gaps It's a stimulating effect Something lets me change! “The power of the wind that blows into this city Drawing it into myself Transforming with that flowing strength Let's go change destiny! “Cyclone Effect, Don't stop it You can surely become stronger yeah… Cyclone Effect, Don't stop it…” “You think he’ll be alright?” Daring asked, taking a sip of her coffee. “Last night, the state I saw him in, and now that we know he was thinking of using a Gaia Memory…” she trailed off, before seeing the look on Philip’s face. She knew that expression, it was the one he always wore whenever he was lost in thought for some reason or another. “Oi, Equus to Philip, you in there?” she asked, waving a hand in front of his face. “Sorry, just thinking to myself. Gaia Memories, heard that phrase someplace before,” he remarked to himself, pacing back and forth across the room even turning down the radio -Much to Bee’s displeasure, who was dancing to the song- so he could think more clearly. “Not sure where, but I distinctly remember it being before the first Dopants and dealers even showed up in the city. Just can’t quite figure… What were you saying?” “Tidal,” Daring replied with a small sigh. As much as she liked it when Philip got to thinking on a case -It was kinda sexy really, in it’s own way- he needed to be focused on the here and now, at least for the moment. “I was just asking for your opinion. You think he’ll be alright?’ “Honestly?” Philip replied. “You want my honest opinion?” “Yeah, don’t see anyone else in the room named Phil around here, do you?” Daring drawled. “Honestly, with him?” Philip remarked. “I’m honestly not sure. He’s… Well, like I said, he’s one of those types that will continue on his downward spiral until someone knocks some sense into him, and even then I’m not sure it’ll help. He needs something to do, if you ask me, something to get his mind off his wife,” “So, we’ll just have to get him a job at the office, he can be our receptionist. The Mother knows we get some fairly stupid cases not even worth our time on occasion,” Daring shrugged. “No, no. Not right now,” Philip sighed. “Not with all the Gaia Memories hanging around our office, probably would just keep his mind on the loss of his wife which is the exact opposite of what we want,” “You got any better ideas?” Daring asked, eyebrow raised. “Cause I sure as hell don’t have any. Gaia Memories, like it or not, they're a fact of life in this shithole of a city right now. Can’t get away from ‘em, no matter how hard you try.” “...Sadly, you have a point there,” Philip muttered before he snapped his fingers in remembrance. Now he remembered where he’d seen the little pendant on Bee’s bracelet before. ...What looked like an eldritch abomination made entirely of gold stood before them. Long, thin tentacles stood before them, almost like a set of golden scarves. The head and its’ collar spikes were black as night, with a few gold waves on the face to make it stand out. A yellow moon sat below its’ neck and hung daintily on his centre tendril. It didn’t utter a word, and instead let out a series of distorted moans and groans instead. “Here we go again…” Daring muttered as she and Philip held up their Gaia Memories… “No, no…” Philip muttered, shaking his head. “It couldn’t be, could it?” He steeled himself, only one way to find out. “BEE!” he barked out, making the young beat cop jump, his plastic coffee cup hitting the floor spilling what little left of his beverage remained inside it. “Y-Yeah?” Bee asked nervously. “The pendant, I’ve seen something like that on a Dopant. Listen, I know you’re a good cop, and I sure as Hell know you’d never take a Gaia Memory, not after a user put Arc Light in the hospital but I need to know where-” Philip began before Bee sighed. “Where else you might see this?” Bee asked. “It’s almost completely one of a kind. Almost. Only other person who might have something like this, it’d be my sister. Fleetfoot, but I haven’t heard from her since Grape Vine got binned. Before that actually, we sorta lost touch about a year or so ago…” he trailed off. Something in Daring’s head triggered itself, the mare thinking back. “Just make it look, oh this little less slutty I’d suppose and more teasing. Not like I’m going to have sex with you, but like let’s say you want to imagine me with the clothes off if you catch my drift.” Grape remarked. In front of him, was this pegasus mare. Light blue in coat color, and with a white mane. Grape snapped a few photos of a mare wearing this very thin negligee -Philip was blushing at that point- that left very little to the imagination, as she lay on a red velvet couch with gold armrests. Around her neck, and Daring admitted this wasn’t particularly eye-catching at the time was this necklace with a golden crescent moon pendant. Now that she thought about it, Daring had caught a glimpse of this pendant when Fleetfoot was getting into this car with a stallion for a night in the previous night, right at that little dive in Hell’s Kitchen. “Something wrong?” Bee asked in worry, noting the look of concern on Daring’s face. “Y-Yeah,” Daring trailed off, figuring it best she spared the poor guy from the truth. This was something she had to handle herself. “Your sister, she might be in trouble.” “W-Well, let me help! She’s my sister, you don’t just leave family behind!” Bee exclaimed. “Look, I admire your loyalty, I really do,” Daring said. “But this is a bit above your pay grade. You’re a beat cop, just a simple beat cop and the trouble your sister is involved in? Not going to lie to you here, it’s Dopant related. Let me and Phil handle this okay?” she asked sternly, but her face softened for a brief moment. “Don’t worry, we’ll get your sister back.” “No, you will,” Philip corrected her. “Me, I’ve got to go hunting in the public archives, down at the library. I need to find out where I’ve heard the term Gaia Memory before, and I suspect looking through newspapers would be a good place to start. Marwari, that keeps cropping up in my mind. I need to know why,” he stated. “Besides, me and mares? We really don’t go so well together, especially if they’re crying. Sorta your realm of expertise Daring.” “What if Fleet goes Dopant on me?” Daring hissed out, her voice just low enough so that only Philip could hear it, nobody else. “You can handle it,” Philip said, handing her the Trigger Memory. “I know you. Remember the Kiva-La incident? Where we had this possible thestral biting ponies and sucking them dry for some mad cult?” “Yeah, I do. Turned out it this mare named White Feather was chasing after her brother to bring him to justice, after he’d escaped from a madhouse in their home country of Transalfangya. Both Dhampyrs and White actually requested my help to bring her brother down after her own thestral blood proved to be not enough. The first real case I ever handled without you.” Daring remembered. “And you did it well,” Philip replied. “Now I know you can do the same here. Kicking arse, that’s your specialty, not mine. Me, I’m more of the bookish research type and you know it. I’m more suited for information gathering.” “Don’t sell yourself short,” Daring smiled. “You’ve been getting awfully good at using the Nazca and Heat Memories, you don’t even have to have me fly you anywhere any more. Kinda miss that.” “I don’t,” Philip shuddered in remembrance, remembering every single time Daring picked him up for a surprise sudden flight back home thinking it much more fun for him than riding his motorbike. Philip begged to differ. “Point is, you can handle yourself just fine, but if that’s what you really want to do right now…” Daring trailed off. Well, I can find Fleetfoot. Should be easy enough, things called the address and telephone books do exist for a reason.” she said with a wink, before hitting the streets. There was a loud revving sound, and Philip sighed. “That’s… That’s my bike!” he shouted to no avail before grumbling. “She’d better bring it back in one piece…” Manehatten Public Library: With more than a hint of trepidation, and worry for what he’d exactly find, Philip found himself going up the steps past the famous twin stone lion statues and entering Manehatten’s Public Library. Now, the Manehatten Public Library, for decades -In fact it’s lifespan stretched back more than over 100 years- had and has been an essential provider of free books, information, ideas, and education for all Manehattenites. When it was found, probably nobody knew exactly what the MPL as it was called would become. But today, it was and still is Equus’s largest public library system, featuring a unique combination of varying local neighborhood branches and four scholarly research centers stretching all over the island’s districts. Upon entry, rows and rows of bookshelves greeted him, the distinctive sound of pages turning and books being stamped echoing throughout the seemingly endless halls. For some, it was probably quite intimidating. Not for Phil through, it wasn’t the first time he’d been here on some specific case. Take for example, the case of the Ghost of the Hotel Royale. When Philip had heard of this case, he’d scoffed right from the get go as he’d never believed for one moment in the supernatural. What had been going on apparently, was people vanishing from their rooms without leaving any trace of themselves behind, and doors were locked every time so nobody obviously just let themselves in. Or did they? Apparently with a bit of digging, Philip found out this hotel had a really rather dark history that the currents weren’t keen on elaborating on, and to be honest he could sorta understand why upon further reading. The hotel, it was in fact the location for one of Equus’ first recognized serial killers, one Sharp Blade. A century ago, Sharp had purchased an empty lot, indistinguishable from any other empty lot in the city. Nobody knew exactly what he had in mind for it. But all the same, construction began just soon after Sharp had purchased it for a two-story mixed-use building, with retail spaces, on the first floor and apartment spaces on the second. When Sharp opted out of paying to pay the architects and the steel company upon request saying he’d only pay them after the job was finished and it was to his satisfactions. They sued, but somehow both lawsuits just… went away. Furniture suppliers were to eventually find that Sharp was hiding their materials, for again which he had never paid, in hidden rooms and passages all over the building’s layout. Their search made the papers eventually and any investors for the planned hotel Sharp Blade had, they just up and pulled out of the deal when a friend in the building showed them the articles. Sharp had used these hidden rooms and tunnels to construct a murder castle if you will. The entire end result was quite disturbing to say the least. Now, in the present day with the Ghost of the Hotel Royale, Philip had been stumped as to how and what was happening. Secret passages were some of the last thing on his mind back then, he was a simple officer for the Manehatten Police then. He never put much thought into things like hidden passages and the like in those days, but the case kept nagging at him so through a strange series of events -Which was it’s own story- he found himself with Daring. Once Philip had done the digging on the history of the Royale, and together the two had caught the perp, a copycat killer by the name of Steel Edge. Sadly, because Steel was the son of one of Manehatten’s high socialites, Philip was warned away from the case. In fact, he was encouraged to take an early retirement. He did out of pure disgust, but not without turning the evidence into the papers and the chief of police at the time along with Steel both faced charges. That was how Philip and Daring became partners, in a sense, working from the shadows to bring criminals to justice without police bureaucracy holding them back. But that was then, this was now. Philip was currently searching through stacks of old newspapers dating back a few years, seven at most. Any articles with news relating to the nation of Marwari, he put aside for further reading. Then, upon stumbling across a specific article he smiled. Now he finally had that missing piece of info that’d been alluding him, and nagging away at his brain. “Co-Founder of Destiny's Child Laboratories Dies in Horrific, Brutal Attack! Drug User Blamed!” “Now I remember…” Philip thought to himself, snapping his fingers in remembrance and letting out a declaration of: “I’m on fire today!” drawing him a few glares from other ponies and a hiss from the librarian. “Saffron Masala, that was her name. Wife of Blueblood, poor guy. From what I read, Blueblood had met her on a sightseeing trip to Marwari and got caught up in a whirlwind romance. Now, before this attack happened, apparently they’d been developing drugs, with the usage of a new substance found in Marwari calling them Gaia Memories to hopefully heal any illness in the world,” Philip thought to himself in remembrance. “Saffron, she was the brains of the project really, Blueblood providing the funding coming from a huge family. Granted, this project was bleeding his family’s money dry and they were about to cut him off. Think they did really.” Reading the article further, it seemed some unhappy employee had used the research in their own way, turning herself into a horrific fire monster and killing Saffron. But Philip had to wonder, did she really die that day? Saffron, she was a remarkably intelligent mare and it would be all too easy for her to disappear from the public eye if everyone thought she was dead. Now, Philip had no doubts this fire monster -Most likely an early Dopant- was real, but what was the connection? Did the employee not get paid, or was there something else more unscrupulous going on behind the scenes? “Now that I think about it,” Philip mused to himself thinking back to when he’d first met a certain shrouded mare. “Shroud, I believe I saw the smallest hint of a chipped unicorn horn sticking out from under her hat, and she spoke with this hint of an Indian accent. Plus, if she’s really Saffron Masala it would provide ample reason for her to cover her face, considering it’s probably burned and scalded and all.” Then Philip remembered Grape’s words, and his comment about Altruism, along with his own theories. “Shroud or Saffron is testing us, but for what purpose?” Philip asked himself. “Well, I suppose there’s only one way to find out eh? Ask the mare herself,” he stated, grabbing his hat and jacket and running out the nearest door to the streets, and he smirked when he saw this pegasus mare with an electric yellow mane polishing off her old Harley. Hopping onto the bike, the mare let out a loud: “Hey, give that back, ya bastard!” as Philip revved the engine before he tossed her a sack of coins. “I promise, I’ll pay you back. But I’m going to need this, it’s important!” he shouted to Lightning Dust before the tires squealed and he drove off down the streets his bike pointed firmly at the building known as the Shard. Now, this was just a hunch but he’d long suspected this was where Destiny’s Child worked out of. His suspicions had only been heightened when he heard from an old friend on the force that laboratory equipment -Like none he’d ever seen- had been moved into the Shard a few months back. “Now then Shroud, or whatever your real name is,” Philip thought to himself as he continued to pick up speed. “Time to have words, I think. Played me and everyone else like chess pieces long enough I believe. Time to turn this into a totally new game I think.” Swerving and weaving past trucks, cars, and other assorted traffic, Philip only picked up speed as he continued his madcap dash towards the massive glass structure engine roaring and howling loudly like some sort of wild animal. While it was no Typhoon, it would have to do for the time being, and it wasn’t like this bike had its perks. It had some sort of old time charm, really and definitely made quite the entrance. They’d know he was coming for sure, and that’s exactly the way Philip wanted it really. He grimaced when he heard the sound of police sirens coming from somewhere behind him. He sorta figured someone would probably see him breaking a few speed limits and performing some decidedly dangerous driving, but it wasn’t like he had the time to tangle with the cops right now. A wiser man may have thought, why not bring the cops into this? They could provide valuable reinforcements. But no, Philip was quite pissed off by now, being used like a pawn on a game board. No, this was a personal score that he had to settle, and nobody was going to get in his way… Meanwhile, Daring found herself at Fleetfoot’s apartment. Unsurprisingly, it was located in the Hell’s Kitchen part of the city, and really wasn’t particularly easy on the eyes. The entire block was in disrepair, with ponies on every street corner. Some, whoring themselves out as mares of the night like Fleetfoot herself and others with steely gazes and guns in their pockets. In short, it was the last place Daring would want to be in at any moment, but she had to do this. Not just to put a Dopant and potential threat to the city out of business -Daring winced, she had to choose her phrasing better, putting it like that sounded as if she was going to kill Fleetfoot- but to help Bee, who was possibly one of the only ponies Daring would ever happily call a friend. She wasn’t sure why, but she saw a little bit of herself in the young buck. Maybe it was that determination, that drive she once possessed, who knew? It was a mystery, even to her. But the point was, tears didn’t suit him and neither did they suit his sister. Grasping her Fang and borrowed Trigger memories in her hand and pocketing them in her jeans, she used one powerful thrust her of her leg, and knocked the apartment entryway door down with one powerful hoof shouting out: “Hey Fleetfoot, it’s your grief counselor, we’ve come to hug!” Anybody who was near her, saw the dangerous look on Daring’s face and wisely scattered to the shadows or took cover behind the front desk. The inside of the apartment was no more attractive as the inside really. Dark and dingy, with what she swore was mold on the carpets that lined the corridors, lights flickered on and off sporadically. Subconsciously, on pure instinct, Daring went for her whip and grasped it tightly just in case someone tried to attack her from the shadows. She really didn’t want to pull off someone’s finger and have some very interesting things to explain to the cops when they got called, but you never could be too careful in neighborhoods like this. Remembering Fleetfoot’s apartment number from the address book she’d looked up, she made her way upstairs to the third floor and found the correct number. “Hey Fleets, you in there?” Daring asked, gently knocking on the door. Might as well go for the polite and careful approach first, before going for the dangerous and reckless one. She was dealing with a Dopant after all. “It’s Daring! You know, that friend of your brother’s? I just want to talk, that’s all.” No answer came, so Daring opted to pull out a lockpicking kit and use that instead. Eventually, after a few moments, she heard a satisfying click and she gently pushed open the door. The interior of Fleetfoot’s apartment was tiny, barely enough to support one pony. Wasn’t an ideal place for a fight if it came to that. She looked around the room, and noted bottles of bourbon laying on a nearby table, along with a set of jeans made for a male. A t-shirt lay nearby as well on the carpet below alongside a bra and panties. The stench of sex, a heavy musty smell was quite prevalent in the air. Evidently, Fleetfoot’s lover had opted to stay for more than just that one night it seemed. “I need a lover that won't drive me crazy Some girl that knows the meaning of, ah- Hey hit the highway!” Daring sung to herself absentmindedly under her breath. She saw a stallion, dark-furred with a midnight blue mane snoozing under the covers, and heard the sound of a shower running. Daring opted to sit herself on a nearby armchair, and wait. Eventually, Fleetfoot emerged dressed in a bathrobe, before her eyes widened upon seeing Daring. “D-Daring, what are you doing here?” she asked, recognizing the mare from her visit to Grape Vine’s old photography studio. “Gaia Memory, hand it over now,” Daring asked, holding out her hand with Fleetfoot’s eyes widening. “How…” “You can thank your brother for giving me the clue I needed. That pendant on his bracelet, same one you have as a Dopant. So, have to ask, what’s with stalking us at every corner eh?” Daring remarked. “G-Grape Vine…” Fleetfoot whispered, her voice trembling as she reached for a Gaia Memory with an L on it on her bedside table. “It always comes back to that bastard doesn’t it?” Daring sighed. “Look, I’m going to give you some-” \ Luna! / the Gaia Memory proclaimed as Fleetfoot stuck it in her arm, the device absorbing itself into her skin underneath. Daring sighed, and slapped on her Lost Driver and whipped out her own Gaia Memory and activated it. \ Fang! / The two began trading blows, with Daring staying out of reach of the Luna Dopant’s long whip-like arms as best as she could in the confined space and leaping out the window to the alley below, using her wings to slow her descent. Daring flipped backwards as Fleetfoot landed, and sent two balls of energy towards her, before Daring kicked a metal barrel at her only for Fleetfoot to slice it in half. Daring activated her arm fang, and used it to slash at Fleetfoot, with the mare turned Dopant gyrating in such a manner to keep herself out of range. “Listen, you think you're the only one who've lost a pony close to you? You think you're the only one dealing with pain? You think you can take your shit and dump it on me? You don't get to do that! So you take your goddamn pain and you live with it, Fleet!” Daring shouted as she pressed down on the Trigger Memory, slammed it into her Driver with her costume turning blue and gaining a magnum strapped to her chest inside a holster. “You lost your loved one? Welcome to the goddamn club! I lost my parents in some random accident! Do you see me trying to kill every shitty driver? No! Because I don't work my shit out on other ponies! And for the record, Grape was snake-fuckingly-crazy anyhow! He had his eyes on only one mare, and it wasn’t you!” Slamming the Trigger Memory into a slot on the Magnum, it proclaimed: \ Trigger, Maximum Drive! / before Daring fired a single charged shot of energy at Fleetfoot, knocking her out of her transformation with the Luna memory ejecting itself and shattering like glass. Fleetfoot fell to the ground, sobbing and Daring to this day still didn’t quite know why she did it, but she only pulled the mare into a hug. Didn’t punch her lights out, didn’t cuff her. She just pulled her into a hug. “Listen, like I said, I-” “Lost someone close to you, I heard,” Fleetfoot whispered, her whole body shaking as Daring held her, Daring’s own transformation now canceled. “I don’t know why, I suppose I did lose myself for a bit but when I heard you locked Grape up I…” “Went nuts?” Daring asked, and Fleetfoot had the decency to look ashamed. “I had no plans on using the Luna Memory anymore, not till you showed up, that was in self-defense. I’ve been reading in the papers what happens to Gaia Memory users, how they get locked up in Sleipnir's Island never to see the light of day. I read in the papers about Grape Vine’s last words before he got the electric chair, how he never regretted killing Cherry. I just wanted that thing to be out of my life, I was planning to destroy it later today, toss it in the sea! But then, you just showed up out of the blue, and my rage, and my anger took over, and-” “It’s okay, you don’t need to say anymore. Listen, I’ll defend you in court. Me and Phil both will, I promise you that. Here, go to my place. Hide out there and we’ll turn you into the cops ourselves. Hell, maybe Bee will put in a good word for you.” “I’d… I’d like that. Thanks, Daring.” Fleetfoot sniffled. Just then, Daring’s phone rang, and seeing the number she answered it. “Yeah?” “It’s Phil,” Tempest’s voice came from the other end of the line. “He stole someone’s bike, went on a madcap dash through midtown traffic, and smashed right through the front gates of the Shard!” “He what!?!” Daring shouted. “That idiot! Listen, hold back. Don’t arrest him yet, I have a feeling he’s onto something, and I also have a feeling he’s going to need my help.” “Okay, I’ll try,” Tempest said. “But a few of these boys, they’d love nothing better than to see Phil arrested for the crap he just pulled. I can’t guarantee anything.” Daring nodded, and placed the phone in her pocket before looking at Fleetfoot who could only nod. “Grab yourself some clothes, head to my place. Me, I’ve got to bail Phil out… again.” Daring said, breaking into a sprint and hopping on Phil’s bike before gunning the engine and driving off. Across town, Philip stood ina lobby, goons scattered about laying unconscious and two glass doors behind him smashed wide open, the borrowed Harley laying on the ground as well. “Now, who's next?” Philip growled out. Author's Note Okay, a few words to say about this chapter. First off, I'm really sorry about the exposition, wanted to give a little bit more backstory to this world's Philip Finder and Daring. On Philip, this chapter was actually meant to show off his flaws a bit more, considering up till now he's been mostly this perfect guy with access to a Lost Driver and some pretty powerful Gaia Memories. Ponyjosiah13 stated on him, and I quote: --He sometimes struggles to control his anger, and when he gets really angry, somepony's going to the hospital --He can be very blunt and isn't always great at displaying his emotions --He's got a bit of an ego: he's a great detective, and he knows it --He lacks a certain cunning that Daring has. He's a blunt-force person: if he's hit with an obstacle, he'll try to ram his way through it rather than think about ways around or over it --He's not a morning person. At all. He basically can't function until he gets some coffee. Also, the Smiledon memory. Originally Tidal was going to inject it after some long rant about the crappiness of this city or something, he and our two Riders fight and then he gets handed the AA coin after the memory break was performed. Also on Gaia Memories, the Luna one. Now, for a while I was confused on why a moon based memory would do things like performing illusions, but a certain someone informed me that aside from being a homage to the classic Kamen Rider villain turned anti-hero Shadow Moon, it's based on all the mysteries and legends based on the moon over the years.
Part Five: The M that Started it AllAuthor's Note Okay, so it's all led up to this. Philip and Daring VS Blueblood. (Also, huge thank you to RuinqueenofOblivion (Go check out her story Kamen Rider Justice eh will you?) for writing some of the flashbacks seen in this chapter. Part Five: The M that Started it All Manehatten: The Shard “Move, move it!” stallions in white lab coats shouted as they began packing up their research, as an alarm klaxon blared in the background. A woman, with a chipped unicorn’s horn and bandages covering her face, serenely watched a familiar trilby-clad stallion smash into the front lobby of the building 20 floors below via security camera with a bike. She’d seen the security footage outside the Shard as well, Phillip using a ‘borrowed’ Harley-Davidson decked out in green lightning bolts to take out more security guards. It was fairly impressive she had to admit, if not quite brazen. Philip popped a wheelie as he smashed through the gates, the security guards’ pistols firing all the while before he spun his bike in a circle creating a huge cloud of smoke making it impossible for the guards to know where to shoot. Then, a revving of the bike’s engine was heard and Philip leaped out of the smoke using a sheet of metal as a makeshift ramp before throwing the bike sideways in mid-air and using it to block the shots as several security guards -Oddly dressed in white coats- leaped towards him only to get knocked on their arses. Still in mid-air, Philip gripped the handlebars of the bike and kicked another guard back into some barrels. Two members of the oddly dressed troupe of guards drove up on bikes of their own and rushed towards Philip, pulling out electric stun rods of some sort. Philip let them drive up alongside him before doing a split kick to knock them off their bikes. Philip grabbed one of the stun rods and used it to knock down several more of the guards before tossing it aside before he revved his engine once more and headed right for the front doors smashing right through them, glass shards cutting into his fur and drawing blood. The bike screeched to a halt as it slid along the floor with Philip jumping off of it, only to find himself face to face with more guards. “Hmph,” she chuckled as she saw the security guards in suits pour out of the woodworks to greet him, with the pony in the gray trilby pulling out a baton as the various guards pulled out Masquerade Gaia Memories and inserted them into their arms. \ Masquerade! / “How many of you dingos are there?” Philip asked himself as he shook his head and spun his baton in his hand, the ribcage-masked warriors charging towards him. “What, do they mass produce you all?” “Suppose the game’s up now, isn’t it? Guess it would always lead up to this in the end, as I suspected. Philip was never a complete fool.” Shroud sighed. She looked to a nearby chessboard, and moved a black pawn piece and used it to knock away a white pawn. Several other pawn pieces lay scattered throughout the chessboard, all of them white. Philip meanwhile, was punching and kicking his way through the Masquerade Dopants, at some points even shattering their masks with hard right hooks or powerful kicks. Now, most of the time this should have been impossible, a regular non-Gaia Memory using pony taking on a hoard of dopants and winning. But the Masquerade memory, it was never particularly powerful. In fact, it was probably the weakest memory and that was why it was so easy to mass-produce. It really didn’t provide any physical enhancements, at least any major ones and the users generally kept their sanity throughout it’s usage. But on the downside, an experienced fighter could easily make a punching bag out of you, even if you were in a group of other Masquerade users simply because of the aforementioned issue. “He’s a determined little bastard, isn’t he?” Shroud mused to herself as she watched Philip easily beat up the Masquerade Dopants, all without even engaging his own Gaia Memory. “Bit more brute force than I would like, but all in all, he was the perfect test subject for the T2 Gaia Memories. Grape Vine, he was far too crazy to gather good data from, and Daring? She would have figured out she was being used by me long before I could gather any data. But Philip? He’s just the right amount of stupid and sane for my liking.” “Now, who's next?” Philip growled out. As the old saying went, ask a question and someone would answer. Only one more foe remained for Philip but he would probably be the worst of the lot. He happened to be a massive stone-gray stallion, who ripped open his lab coat to reveal his heavily muscled chest, before flexing those muscles and letting out a hiss as he stepped in front of the elevator door having no intent on letting Philip pass. “Oh boy…” Philip blinked, and swallowed nervously before he let out a growl and imitated the gesture with a mock-flex and a taunting drawl of: “Bring it on, macho man.” Philip studied the man, just by his stance alone he could tell he was an experienced fighter so getting past him would not be easy. However, if he could catch him off guard somehow then he would have a chance. Already, he had an advantage. It seemed said ‘macho man’ did not take kindly to being mocked, and like a rampaging bull he charged with Philip rolling out of the way before spinning around and kicking the massive man from behind knocking him to the floor. Philip grabbed the man in a leglock, twisting his ankle in such a way to prevent him from escaping the hold before pulling out a taser he’d ‘borrowed’ from a guard and firing it at the man knocking him out. “Okay, experienced, but stupid,” Philip mused as he got up off the floor and dusted his hands off. He groaned out in pain as he clutched his chest. A few of the Masquerade Dopants had gotten in a few lucky shots to the gut punch-wise and had probably cracked a few ribs. He could weather it though, he’d have to. Destiny’s Child had to be stopped, no matter the cost. As Shroud watched, she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked to her left and saw her husband standing next to her. “He’s a determined one, isn’t he?” Blueblood remarked, slapping on his Lost Driver. “Should I go put a stop to his tomfoolery right then and there?” “No,” Shroud said. “Let’s let him meet us on our turf. Let him think he’s winning, just for the time. Then we rip his world apart.” “What about Daring, the other mare?” Blueblood asked, frowning in concern, not just at the sheer prospect of Fang showing up even if she did have a powerful memory. She was not to be underestimated. No, he was frowning because of the way his wife was speaking, the way she spoke of ripping Phil’s world apart. Lately, she’d become somewhat of a shadow of her former self, and while some of that could have been blamed on the Heat Dopant which scarred her beyond recognition, she’d been keeping secrets. Far too many for Blueblood’s liking. “If she comes, then you can deal with her as well,” Shroud said. “You’re almost at the crisp of your goal, our goal!” “Yes… yes.” Blueblood whispered, and thought back to how this all stated. Marwari: Four Years Ago A stranger in a strange land, that’s what Blueblood would have been if not for one Saffron Masala. Sure, he had the money from his family’s estate to do what he always wanted to do, help the world but he didn’t have the brains. Nor did he speak the local language. Both of which amounted to huge roadblocks for him and his ideals. Nopony ever said it would be easy to make them come true, and if Blueblood were a lesser buck he probably would have turned and run away but a lesser buck Blueblood was not. But there he was, nonetheless, right smack dab in the middle of Marwari’s capital city of Delhi. It was hot, cramped, and to make matters even worse and probably more humiliating for the early twenties something or other year old, it was right in the middle of the rainy season. The rain poured down, drenching Blueblood to the bone, soaking his long luxurious golden locks of hair and probably ruining his expensive and rather nicely pressed suit to add insult to metaphorical injury. This was not how one of Manehatten’s most exquisite social butterflies should look! “Oh for the White Mother’s sakes, does anyone speak Equestrian, or at least know Equestrian?” Blueblood called out in frustration, cursing himself for not taking that foreign language class back in college that his parents had pressed him on. He wanted to be someone different from them, someone completely new. His parents, they always just soaked themselves in their cash and their wealth not doing anything except going out to the country every now and then and hunting the local wildlife and showing off their kills to their equally rich friends. No! No, that would not do for Blueblood. He, despite technically being a Baron back in his home country of Trottingham wanted to be something else. Somepony else. He didn’t want to be one of those guys AKA the stereotypical trust fund baby who just flaunted their wealth and did nothing with it aside from spending it on expensive flashy cars and wining and dining with attractive women. No, he wanted to be something more. Someone that would be remembered as eternal in the pages of history. It was a big dream yes, some would say impossible but to Blueblood impossible was only a word made up by people who didn’t have the courage to break the chains that bound them and reach out and touch their dreams. “Anyone?” Blueblood bellowed over the din of honking cars’ horns, the chatter of ponies going about their daily lives despite the horrid weather and the sounds of foot traffic. “Is… Is there anyone who can help me?” Blueblood, obviously couldn’t understand a word of the map he was given no thanks to it being written in the local language. He’d been hoping for an Equestrian-speaking guide but from what he’d gathered because of it being the peak of tourist season none were available so he’d just have to make do with his phone’s translation app. One small teensy little problem with that. As it turned out, he’d bought one of the cheap ones that really didn’t… well, work. Case in point? When he’d tried asking for directions for the hotel he’d booked to a local mare, what his saying had come out as was asking for melons and so now he was holding two fresh honeydew melons under his arms looking decidedly ridiculous and ripe for ridicule. “Bloody apps, never trust a machine ever again in my entire life…” Blueblood grumbled as he walked through the city streets, brushing past some rather indignant tourists. If Blueblood wasn’t a prouder stallion, he might have thought of asking them for help, but the buck always liked to do things on his own. Get places without any form of help, rise to the top like a fighter and come out swinging. He was stubborn like that. In another life, he probably would have made a damn good boxer. But now, he was reduced to asking around desperately to anyone he could for directions for a place to spend the night. Well, almost anyone. He ignored the mares in the street corners as he definitely didn’t want to pick up any form of foreign disease if he hadn’t already no thanks to the mosquitos flying about. Bloody blood-suckers. Eventually, worn out from exhaustion and the scorching heat, Blueblood collapsed in the middle of the street. Now, Holy Mother only knew how many hours later, but eventually the Manehattanite found himself awakening in somebody’s bedroom, his clothes being dried on a washing line hanging outside the window, which overlooked the city. “Okay…” Blueblood murmured to himself as he climbed out of bed wrapping the sheets around himself to protect his modesty. “...So, where am I?” He gently pushed the bedroom door opened and began walking down the hall, the wood floor beneath him creaking with every step. “Hello?” Blueblood asked nervously only to find himself in a kitchen, with a rather beautiful unicorn mare wearing a indigo dress -Golden hoops had been put through her ears- that matched her brilliant orange coat and her simply enchanting magenta eyes beautifully. “Ah, you’re awake.” the mare remarked, with a small wave, her curled fuschia mane tied up in a ponytail. “Sorry ‘bout the melons, couldn’t exactly save them.” “...Wasn’t a fan anyways.” Blueblood admitted, with a small sheepish smile. “I have to ask, why did you…? I mean, nopony’s that kind, you could have just left me in the street like that, went about your day. So why?” he asked, confused. Back where he came from, nobody just helped each other like that. Nobody did, it was dog eat dog back in Manehatten. Kindness was a rare virtue. “Do I need a reason?” the unknown mare asked with a smile. “You needed help, and that was good enough reason for me. I believe in helping others.” “No… No, you don’t get it. Back where I come from, Manehatten, nobody helps each other. Not without a price,” Blueblood replied, genuinely confused. “Dog eat dog, you understand?” “It doesn’t sound like a very nice place to me,” the mare said with a shake of her head. “Not with all these dog eaters.” “Oh, Manehatten has its charms. You ever seen the city, at sunset sitting on the dock of the bay? The windows glistening in the setting sun? It’s almost heaven. And then there’s the food, and I know most Manehattenites would have their jaws drop in shock for one of their favored boys saying this but there’s the dirty water hot dogs you can find on almost any street corner.” “It sounds wonderful, but I can’t say that I’ve ever been there,” the mare said with a shake of her head, and a laugh. A wondrous laugh, sounding like bells really. “Perhaps you can show me someday?” “Yeah, maybe. Still, I’m very curious to discover the wonders of Marwari, partially the reason I came to your country in the first place really.” Blueblood admitted, a small red flush creeping up to his cheeks. “I cannot say it is much like Manehattan, but it certainly has its charms,” the mare replied with a smile. “I apologize, my Equestrian is… how would you put it? Not very good?” “It’s fine, I’m just grateful to meet anyone who speaks it at all,” Blueblood remarked, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, even if he wasn’t entirely sure why he was embarrassed to begin with. “Translation app I got on my phone was rubbish, led to the melon incident, and I couldn’t find a guide who spoke a word of both your language and mine thanks to it being the height of tourist season.” “Perhaps, I could show you around?” the mare suggested. “I’m not a guide, but I know the sights of the city.” “Yes… I would like that,” Blueblood smiled before frowning as he realized something. “What’s wrong?” the mare asked, and Blueblood laughed sheepishly once more. “It’s nothing, but… I… I never did get your name now did I? Spent all this time talking, and yet...” Blueblood trailed off. She laughed and gave him a smile. “It’s Saffron Masala,” she said with a charming smile. “And what is your name?” she asked, extending a hand. “Blueblood. Alexander Blueblood the Third.” Blueblood answered, taking Saffron’s hand and shaking it. “Saffron, that’s a nice name. It suits you.” “As does yours,” Saffron said with a smile as she gave him a nod. “Well Blueblood, where would you like to go first?” Blueblood blushed red once more, and smiled. “Anywhere you like.” Saffron smiled, before chuckling. “What?” Blueblood asked. “Before we go anywhere, might I suggest you dress yourself properly?” she asked, gesturing to the bed sheets wrapped around Blueblood’s waist. “...Ah, yes. Quite. Forgive me for that little err,” Blueblood apologized. “You don’t know where I can find a dry set of clothes do you?” Saffron only laughed harder, and Blueblood flushed even redder. Noticing his embarrassment, Saffron smiled. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you. You can borrow some of my brother’s clothes, he moved out a few weeks back but didn’t exactly collect all of his belongings. Forgetful sort, sadly. Down the hall, to your left. Just past the bathroom.” Eventually, after Blueblood had found some proper clothing, Saffron took her new friend to her father’s restaurant in downtown Delhi. Coriander Cumin’s, the exterior sign read in big bright neon letters. “...Well, that’s certainly… bold.” Blueblood remarked, rather at a loss for words blinking over and over to make sure he was seeing things correctly. “Yes, I apologize, but my Father you see, he wanted to grab ponies attentions. Make them want to step inside, see what’s what as you say.” “...Well, he’s certainly managed to pull that off,” Blueblood murmured to himself as he stepped inside the restaurant. Inside, there were tables with pink chairs lining them and large archways separating the different parts of the restaurant with elaborate designs. “Personally, I wanted him to call it the Tasty Treat or something more humble but my father’s rather stubborn and set in his ways really.” Saffron said, dressed in traditional Marwari clothing, a type of colorful midriff-baring blouse called a choil worn alongside another piece of traditional clothing called a sari. Blueblood just wore a nicely pressed suit as ever, colored a sky-blue shade and nicely pressed. He may have been in a foreign country far from home, but that didn’t mean he had to look like a slob or someone off the streets. He was fickle that way. “His way or the highway right?” Blueblood asked, as the two seated themselves. “Oh, I wouldn’t go that far…” Saffron said. “He’s stubborn, yes, but not what you’d call his way or the highway. Oh, here he comes now!” she exclaimed excitedly, waving her father over. He was a rather heavy-set stallion, but looked rather friendly, to be honest. Pleasantly plump, as Blueblood might have put it, with Coriander bearing a small mustache and a shortly cut raspberry mane with hints of gray in it. Like his daughter, he was a unicorn. “Saffron, didn’t know you’d be stopping by!” Coriander exclaimed in a boisterous tone of voice, scooping his daughter up for a hug before letting her down, Saffron’s cheeks considerably flushed by her father’s public show of affection. “And with a stallion at that! You should have told me you were bringing your boyfriend by!” ““Dad, he’s not my boyfriend,” Saffron said with a roll of her eyes. “He’s just a friend… That I just so happened to take into my house and talk to while he was dressed in just a bedsheet,” she mumbled quietly to herself, hoping her father hadn’t overheard. “Yes, just a friend!” Blueblood agreed, nodding his head fervently. “Just a friend!” “If you say so…” Coriander trailed off. “Denial isn’t just a river in Baladi, as they say…” he teased before raising an eyebrow. “So, your friend, doesn’t look like he’s from around here. He’s new in the city I assume?” “He’s from Manehattan, I’m showing him around the city now,” Saffron said with a smile. “Ah, a Manehattenite, we don’t get those too often around here,” Coriander remarked. “Usually too snobby!” “Father!” Saffron chided. “Be polite, he’s a guest!” “No, no, it’s quite alright,” Blueblood remarked. “Usually Manehattenites, the social butterflies who come to this part of the world are quite snobby really. On behalf of my city, I apologize for their behavior.” “Well now,” Coriander smiled, taken quite off guard. “I accept your apology. Really Saffron, if you don’t scoop this one up for yourself quite quickly, Ganesh knows someone else will!” “As I told you before, I-I’m not interested in a boyfriend right now!” Saffron stuttered out, though anyone with a brain could see it was quite the opposite, her stutter betraying her feelings. “If you say so…” Coriander trailed off with a small knowing smirk, the kind only a father could give. “Anyways, what will you be having Mr…?” “Blueblood. Just call me Blueblood Mr. Cumin.” Blueblood said, and Coriander laughed. “No, call me Coriander! No reason to rest on formalities, everyone’s a guest here!” Coriander stated. “Consider whatever you order, on the house. First meal always is, wets everyone’s appetites and gets them to come back just like that!” he proclaimed, with a snap of his fingers. Blueblood couldn’t exactly blame him for that, Coriander was a businessman first and foremost. And judging by the awards decorating one of the shelves nearby, a very successful one at that. “I… I honestly don’t know what I’ll be having. I guess I’ll just try the Curry Vindaloo, about the only Marwari food I actually know of.” Blueblood admitted sheepishly. “You sure, that’s only for the brave really,” Coriander warned. “Very spicy!” “So what? What’s life without a little risk?” Blueblood replied, seemingly in challenge. “Marvelous, quick and to the point!” Coriander laughed. “I love it when a customer knows what they want! I’ll be back shortly, you just spend time with my darling daughter okay?” Chuckling to himself, Coriander walked off humming an old song under his breath going something like: “Pyaar Se Pyar Hum…” “I apologize for him, he really wants his grandchildren even if I’m not interested in such an idea,” Saffron sighed, shaking her head. “Like I said, stubborn and demanding and yet…” “You still love him for it?” Blueblood asked, and Saffron nodded. “Family,” Blueblood continued. “Can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without them.” “So, I have to ask,” Saffron remarked. “What exactly brings you to my country anyway?” “Wanted to be someone different, that’s all. Wanted to help change the world, somehow. I’ve been hearing rumors of something called the Memory of the Earth uncovered in a temple by a local foundation. ...Actually, your family’s foundation now that I think of it. Was it not a Rajiv Cumin who uncovered this?” “Yes, yes it was. My uncle actually,” Saffron admitted. “So, what’s your interest in what’s basically a giant crystal?” “Well, back in Manehatten I’ve been recently donated a sample by a friend over here who thought I might find it interesting,” Blueblood explained. “Said if it was used properly, it could change the world. Personally, I thought he was talking a load of shite if your pardon my language but when I did some studies on the small piece I did discover it radiated some sort of power. I wondered to myself, could it be used for medical purposes, cure cancer and all that?” “So you came over to this country to see it for yourself, right?” Saffron inquired, and Blueblood nodded. “Welp, that settles it. Between you and me, I honestly want to have more to my family’s legacy than just some restaurant. I never told you what I did for a living, did I?” “No, you didn’t,” Blueblood mused. “Least now that I think of it…” “Well, pleased to make your acquaintance. Dr. Maria ‘Saffron’ Masala Cranberry at your service, Alexander Blueblood the Third.” “Well, dare I say it,” Blueblood smirked. “Between my family’s money, and your brains we might be able to just change the world…” “Yes, quite,” Maria Cranberry replied as she leaned across the table to kiss him before pulling away. “I believe this could be the start of one very lucrative partnership.” At first, Blueblood mused, it really was a partnership. Nothing more, and nothing less. That’s how it would seem to be with very little romance involved with both of them far too wrapped up in their work to even really have a love life as such. But the feelings were there, and that was all that mattered to Blueblood. Least, that’s what he kept telling himself for a good while. In the back of his mind, he did want his relationship with Saffron or whatever she chose to call herself to progress beyond a simple office romance if you will. Didn’t really seem to be happening through. That would all change though, in time, Blueblood remembered. If only that hadn’t happened. Tossing his F Memory in midair and then catching it, he turned his attentions back to the computer screens where a schematic of the building was displayed. On it, the elevator that contained Philip Finder was climbing higher and higher. He growled, Philip definitely had the tenacity he was famed for. No matter, he would deal with him soon enough, Blueblood mused as he grip on his Gaia Memory tightened. Looking around the lab to the little glass jars that used to contain Gaia Memories, he wondered to himself. Where exactly had his wife gotten the funds to continue her research? After the Incident as it was called, and actually even before that the money was beginning to dry up. Blueblood was beginning to burn through his family’s funds. Saffron said she could dip into her family coffers for more money to continue their research, but Blueblood denied it saying that a place like her father’s deserved to stay in business. Denying him the money to pay the bills would simply be cruel! He also wondered, where had these strange stallions in white coats come from? They’d shown up just one day in the Shard, without warning only asking to help out and further the research to higher levels. That was the day the path to creating the T2 Gaia Memories was forged. Before, there had been the T1 memories of Saffron and Blueblood’s own design, but they were often unstable and only very few containing the most powerful Memories such as the prototype to the one Blueblood currently possessed provided workable copies to use in Lost Drivers. He would have to ponder this later, Blueblood mused as he watched the elevator climb higher and higher. Far below, on the streets of Manehatten Daring had finally arrived to a scene of absolute chaos where police, fire, and rescue vehicles had all pulled up, officers having their guns trained on strange men in white coats. “Well, looks like you were right Daring,” Tempest remarked as he smoked a cigarette, the stormy-gray pegasus looking at the Shard warily. “There was something more going on here. No, you weren’t right. Philip was. As he always is. Starting to make us cops look inferior, you know?” “Can’t believe I’m saying this, but Lefty was right on the money,” came Makura’s voice, the stallion having a rifle trained on the suited men. “Searched these guys for any sort of ID, and came up with nothing. Their faces? Not in any criminal database from what Twilight and the NCIC are telling us. They’re ghosts, really. Can’t fathom how guys like this are…” “Ghosts?” Daring suggested. “Yeah. We’ll figure out who they are later, right now Philip needs our help. Can you get a chopper in the air?” “I can scramble one on the fly, but I have to ask… why?” Tempest inquired. “I mean, Philip could be anywhere in that building and we’d have no way to find out exactly where that anywhere is!” “Wrong,” Daring corrected holding up a ring. “Me and Phil, both got one of these. Sorta like Promise Rings in a way, except they’re enchanted, and both have our DNA in them. I have some of Phil’s blood inside this ring, and Phil has some of mine. Safeguard of ours. Can never be too careful. You can track ‘em easily enough with a blood-finding spell. ...Or it would be that easy if Twilight was around, I know she’s one of the only unicorns I would trust to perform it. God fucking damn it!” she swore, before Bee put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll figure something out. Besides, Phil can take care of himself… right?” Bee asked, not entirely sure if he could believe that. “Y-Yeah, he can.” Daring murmured, not believing that either. “Hey, I-I hate to ask,” Bee stammered out. “But Fleetfoot. I overheard you and Phil talking about her. Is she in trouble? Is my sister in trouble?” he demanded. “No,” Daring stated with a reassuring smile. “No, your sister’s absolutely fine. Wish I could say the same about Phil. If only we knew where he was…” A certain pegasus stallion smirked, and Daring turned to him eyebrow raised. “Ah, remember how I said Twilight and the NCIC are telling us nothing?” Tempest asked, before he gestured to a police van and Twilight’s head peeked out of it, before she gave a little wave. “Girl insisted on coming along as soon as she heard Philip might be in trouble.” Twilight was rapidly swept up in a hug by Daring. “Never thought you’d finally be out of that lab. Thought you’d stay in there till the day you died. Wish you could have picked a better time to circumvent that though…” Twilight just touched her horn to Daring’s ring, and both lit up in a purple glow before a purple beam of energy shot upwards to somewhere around the building’s top floors. “There, that’s where he is!” Daring shouted before turning back to Tempest. “Now, get that damn chopper in the air. NOW!” she roared, before extending her wings and rocketing upwards after Phil creating a small shockwave that sent cars flying back and a small sonic boom in the process. “...She does realize that was police property right?” Makura asked. “You tell her,” Tempest remarked. “Me, I’ve got a chopper to get in the air!” Back inside the Shard as Blueblood walked down the long corridor that led to the elevator, he thought back to how this seemingly all started… Marwari: Three Years Ago “So Mr. Blueblood, what does it feel like to be called the Da Vinci of our time?” one reporter of many asked Blueblood outside of the Marwari Branch of Destiny’s Child Labs. It had been a year since Saffron and Blueblood’s first meeting, and in that time great progress had been made. Diseases like Ebola, Tuberculosis, and the coronary artery disease had been cured, all due to the simple work of a Gaia Memory titled ‘Medicine’. A bit on the nose, yes, but it worked, and it told ponies around the world exactly what they were getting. Saffron had suggested calling it the Utopia memory instead but Blueblood shot that down saying it was a bit too pretentious for his tastes. “Hate it,” Blueblood remarked. “For one thing, I don’t paint. Honestly, I adore the praise, I do, but please, me and my wife, we’ve got important work that must be done,” he said with a smirk, holding up a wedding band. This simple remark and simple gesture started up a new gaggle of comments, and camera flashes. “How long have you two been married?” one asked. “Is Doctor Saffron expecting?” another inquired. Blueblood said nothing, and simply turned on his hoof and headed back inside the lab building still smirking. “Was that really needed?” Saffron asked as hoards of lab workers readied more and more of the Medicine Gaia Memory for shipping. “Probably not, no, but I wanted to leave them with a little show. Just something to wet their whistles. Tell them something’s happening, otherwise, they’ll start… inquiring.” Saffron sighed, and let out a groan in remembrance of a few days before dealing with a guy from an organization calling themselves simply Foundation X. Nothing more, nothing less. Just Foundation X. Their leader had asked simply this of Saffron: “Are you two really naive enough to think that just because you have an idea, it belongs to you and you alone? Your grandfather he helped give us the Balefire Bomb. Now, what kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish as you two?” Saffron had simply told him to get out, and Foundation X had bothered them no more. But they would not be the last of their kind to come crawling out of the woodwork. Production, as much as Blueblood had hated to say it had been slowing to a crawl lately. They’d been getting contracts from other organizations around the world, people like weapons manufacturers saying that if the memories of the earth could be used to cure things like plagues, what else could they be used for? Blueblood and Saffron had both engaged in a great many arguments with these organizations and companies, saying that the Gaia Memories were only to be used for good intent, and certainly not for warmongering. “They’ll keep coming you know,” a mysterious man said to them once, with a Neighponise accent and a short crimson mane. “You developing this sorta tech? All you just did was open yourself up to a wider universe beyond your imagination.” “Who are you?” Saffron had demanded of him. “Nobody. I’m just a passing through… advisor,” the man replied, looking as if he was about to say something different but thought the better of it. “Remember this, you’re not the first and certainly won’t be the last. I’d advise you to watch yourselves. A storm’s coming, you can count on that.” With that, he’d taken his leave but not without leaving both Saffron and Blueblood shuddering for some reason. He never reappeared, and Blueblood and Saffron hoped everything he was saying was false, but it was not to be. As then there came that day. \ Heat! / That’s how it had started, that’s how it had all started. A new memory, developed in secret by one of the scientists at Destiny’s Child laboratories who didn’t share the same views as Blueblood or Saffron. Someone who believed in making money from more than just simple medical usage from the Earth’s powers. She’d turned herself into a monster made of flame, with just a simple injection of the Gaia Memory into her skin, Before, usage of Gaia Memories was recommended only with the usage of special drivers as they were called. Huge, bulky and unfashionable as they were, these Gaia Drivers were the only safe way to use the full amount of the Earth’s power as it was given to you. The Dopant, as the newspapers would call it from a combination of the words doping and mutant strode through the factory lighting up everything in her sight until she finally reached the main offices. Guards pulled out pistols to try and stop her, but bullets were just melted before they could reach her. The guards, well it was better not to speak of what exactly happened to them. Saffron stood firm, her magenta eyes narrowed as she pulled out a small sword. “You think I’ve run this lab for a year or lived in this country for as long as I have, without learning how to defend myself?” With a few lashes, her sword turned into a whip keeping the Dopant at bay long enough for Blueblood to grab her in a sleeper hold. At least, that was the plan, but Blueblood was only knocked to the ground and could only watch in horror as Saffron let out a horrific scream over the blaring alarms as the Dopant placed her hand to Saffron’s face. The fur on the mare began to hiss, letting off steam as it caught alight and Saffron’s screams only increased. Finally, a shot to the back from a local police officer downed the Dopant. When Saffron awoke in the hospital in Delhi, she could only scream at what she had become. Her brilliant fur, melted away revealing only scorches and burns underneath. Then, that scream became a mad laughter as she finally realized. Realized exactly what Gaia Memories could do. Life would never be the same for her, and neither would it be for Blueblood as he swore to stomp out monsters like the one who had maimed his wife for his eternal legacy. Blueblood shook his head to clear himself away from his reveries as the elevator doors opened to reveal Philip, fists clenched as he strode towards Blueblood. The two traded blows briefly, before Blueblood took advantage of Philip’s earlier wounds and punched him in the gut making Philip stagger before Blueblood kicked him through a door and into an office that overlooked the city. “You’ve got some nerve, some balls I’ll give you that Finder,” Blueblood snarled as he strode towards him, pulling out a red magnum as he did so. “But don’t you get it? I’m only trying to do what’s best for the city! You’ve heard the news reports, the ones coming out of the Neighponiese countries? The ones of Masked Riders, or Kamen Riders as they’re called over there fighting off monsters? Well, I’m about to join them at last, and stomp out every Dopant this city has or ever will produce!” he roared. “Don’t you get it?” Philip coughed out. “Your wife… she’s using you. I’ve looked into Destiny’s Child Labs, and I suspect you have at times. Your funds, they dried up a long time ago, didn’t they? So where is she getting the money to supply the making of more Gaia Memories? For that matter, where are these Dopants coming from? For a guy so smart, you’re so stupid.” Philip growled. “Shut up, shut up!” Blueblood screamed in denial, before pressing the trigger. \ Bomb, Maximum Drive! / A series of energy balls were sent towards Philip, and once they hit they exploded sending him flying out the window… and into Daring’s arms. “See, this is what happens when you charge off without me,” Daring remarked with a teasing grin. “Shit like this.” she said as she sat Philip down on the floor. “Who… Who do you think you are!?!” Blueblood roared. “I am a pony, a Detective, and also… a Masked Rider.” Philip stated, wiping away the blood from his mouth. “Hey, partner. Don't you mean ‘we?’” Daring asked, eyeing her partner critically. “Yeah, you're right.” Philip admitted. “Aren’t I always?” Daring smirked before pulling out her Gaia Memory and slamming it into her Driver with Philip mirroring her movements. \ Fang! /\ Nazca! / “Henshin!” As the transformations finished, both Daring and Philip turned to Blueblood and said in unison: “Now… Count up your Crimes!”
Part Six: The Final QSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Epilogue: Case Closed/The E that Ends ItFoundation X Headquarters: Tokyo, Taishū Ryu Terui had thought he’d seen the last of Foundation X, and to be frank after the events of teaming up with Kamen Riders Mach and Drive to defeat Roidmude 077 as it was called he thought he’d be hanging up his Driver and Memories for good, settle down with his wife and daughter. But apparently, fate had different plans in store for him. He’d heard of the goings on in Manehatten, New York lately, new Dopants and even three new Kamen Riders -Including a second Eternal of all things!- appearing to fight them. And now, through a series of events relating to Manehatten’s police force he’d finally learned the location of Foundation X’s headquarters. He knew he should have left this to others, there were plenty of other Riders who’d tangled with Foundation X from what he’d heard, but he couldn’t just live and let be. In his pocket, he fingered a picture of his wife, holding up her new-born daughter taken a few years back just before the whole Megahex Crisis he’d heard about. “Akiko, Haruna…” Ryu thought as he stepped inside the main building, Masquerade Dopants rushing up to greet him. To a normal, untrained human, their increased strength and numbers might have presented a few issues but Ryu? He’d dealt with their like before. Swinging his katana around, he easily cut down the Dopants. “I promise by Kami, I will come back to you and this group will never trouble us again. And after this, I’m hanging up my belt forever.” He flashed back to about a few days ago, when he told his wife he was going to be taking on Foundation X, try to finally bring down Neon Usland and her particular bout of insanity. “You’re absolutely sure about this?” Akiko had asked, looking him in the eye with dead seriousness. In the back of the room, behind the corner of a doorframe lurked Haruna sucking her thumb and watching anxiously. “...Foundation X? I mean, I understand what you’re doing here, but…” She gestured to Haruna. “Yeah, I know. If I fail at this, they’ll come after her, and anyone close to us. Philip, Shoutaro, the Fuuto Irregulars…” Ryu trailed off, clenching his fists hard enough to draw blood. “I’ve already told Philip and Shoutaro, asked them to stay out of this. Shoutaro protested and requested he help but Philip talked him down, knew this was a personal thing for me.” “But-” Akiko started, before Ryu held up a hand to stop her. “No, I have to do this. Foundation X is like Hydra from those Neighmerican comics, you cut off one of their heads, they’ll just grow another. They have to be burned to the ground at the very source, and now thanks to a friend of mine in Manehatten we finally know where that source is.” “I… I understand. To be honest, hearing the sheer idea of Foundation X finally being put to rest would make me sleep better at night. But you going in alone like that…? Even with your Trial and Booster upgrades, I’m not sure that-” Ryu laid a hand on his wife’s shoulder. His distinctive red leather jacket, the one that read: “The spiritual state of nothingness makes even fire itself cool.” It was an old praise, one derived from the Buddhist philosophy. Personally, Akiko thought it tacky, and unneeded and that her husband looked much better in his suit. Not that she ever brought this up, considering how stubborn Ryu was about his garb, and how much he dwelled on the past at times. She honestly suspected that’s why he alone -aside from not wanting Philip and Shoutaro to be put in unnecessary danger- was taking on X. He wanted to deal with them personally after how much Jun Kazo AKA the Utopia Dopant had nearly come close harming her and the city he loved so much. “Who said I’m alone? As soon as I learned about Dove’s Child Laboratories being the headquarters for Foundation X, I received a contact. Someone who’s been in in the Kamen Rider business I suppose you could say since the beginning. He’s the commander of this whole operation, gathered up a few Riders who have a bone to pick with Foundation X as well.” Akiko sighed in relief, at least her husband wasn’t going into this alone. “Just… Just be careful, okay? Come home safe.” “I will Chief,” Ryu smiled, using his old nickname for her before kissing her on the forehead. “I promise you that.” Of course, Dopants were not the only thing X had up their sleeve, as evidenced when Ryu found himself faced with a man in a white suit with the Birth Driver around his waist and a silver Cell Medal in hand. “Ah, mou… This is so troublesome…” Ryu muttered as the X member changed into a gray and silver robotic-like warrior with green detailings. Ryu slammed on his driver and pulled out his Gaia Memory just in time to dodge a shot from the Birth Blaster. “Hen-SHIN!” Ryu exclaimed, inserting the Accel Memory into his Driver, and twisting the motorcycle handlebars on it as the Driver made an engine revving sound. \ Accel! / With a flash of red energy, he changed into Accel, a red warrior with a blue visor over his eyes resembling a motorbike’s headlights. “Saa, furikiru ze! Zetsubō ga omae no gōru da!” he proclaimed as he clashed swords with Kamen Rider Birth, his Engine Blade meeting his opponent’s own in a shower of sparks. “Now X, got a message for you, not just from me but from everyone who you’ve screwed about with. Ruined their lives. I’m asking you now to count up your sins!” Blocking a blow from Birth’s sword once more, before kicking him in the stomach making Birth stagger back, Ryu was then forced to raise his blade to block a shot from the Birth Blaster. Birth fired off several more shots, and Ryu activated his Maximum Drive, turning into a motorcycle and slamming right into Birth sending him flying through a wall. Ryu resumed his normal state, and smirked under his helmet before his eyes widened as he saw Birth stumble out of the wreckage. “He… He survived that? Impossible!” Ryu shouted to himself, wondering if it was time to bring out his version of the Trial Memory. “Aw mou, this guy’s going to be tougher to take down than I thought. Guess X upgraded Birth’s armor. Least I should be thankful this particular Birth doesn’t seem to have as many modes as his predecessor. Last thing I want is to be facing his Birth-Day mode and it’s armaments.” Ryu rolled to the left and then to the right to avoid Birth’s shots from his weapon, before loading up the Jet Memory into his Engine Blade. “Like I said, Despair is the only thing awaiting for you at the finish line.” He then performed three consecutive slashes in the shape of one giant red glowing A on Birth, and this time the damage was noticeable. Birth’s armor was cracked and his helmet partially shattered. But then, Ryu’s eyes widened as Birth’s armor began to regenerate. “Right, Foundation X… Damn labrats of theirs can do almost anything they set their minds to. This guy doesn’t need pure power on his side if he can take whatever I can throw at him. Come on guys… where are you?” “You’re just one man,” the newest Birth stated. “And Foundation X is many,” he remarked as Waste Yummies, creatures created from Cell Medals joined in the fray alongside more Masquerade Dopants. “How do you possibly expect to win?” “Who says he’s alone?” a white Rider asked as he used a Rider Kick to destroy some of the hoard, before slamming his left boot into the ground and creating a massive shockwave that knocked several more into the ground. “You’d be surprised on what’s created when friends band together. A Rider’s friendship… Well, it can even take on the Universe! Compared to that, you guys are just so small!” “Thank Kami, it’s about time…” Ryu thought to himself sighing in relief. “Who do you think you are?” Birth asked as the newest Rider launched a series of freezing missiles at him from his other boot making Birth stagger back. The new Rider, he’d removed some sort of switch from his belt, and then replaced it with another. Astroswitches, the source of this Rider’s power. Created from cosmic energy, each represented one of many different scientific principles. Each materialized some sort of armament called a Fourze Module. “Representing the 2011 graduating class of Amanogawa High School, Gentaro Kisaragi!” The newest Birth’s eyes widened under his helmet, and he staggered backwards in shock just in time for Accel to slash him across the chest once more with the Engine Blade. “B-But your powers… They were destroyed!” Ryu chuckled, as if at some private joke. Poor guy didn’t know who he was messing with. Foundation X wasn’t the only one with partially insane geniuses on their side. “Gachan! Level up! Mighty Jump!Mighty Kick! Migh~ty Actio~n X!” “Right on time…” Ryu thought to himself. “Took him long enough, but…” “Call it a favor, a blessing from God!” another Rider’s voice exclaimed as he leaped in, this one black and purple with what looked to be a game controller as his chest plate, and anime styled hair on his helmet. “Remember me X? You stole from God, and now I must give you your judgement. In short, today’s just going to be a really bad day for you lot…” “Hasn’t changed much I see…” Ryu thought to himself. “I need to talk to Emu about his friend’s little… quirks. I really hate egotists like him.” It really wasn’t going to get any better for Birth and X, as evidenced by a red and gold medal of sorts rolling up to Birth’s feet, before a hand picked it up with the owner of that hand apologizing profusely. “Sorry, so sorry I got lost, and for the lateness. You’d be surprised how hard it is to keep track of these things! Henshin!” he called, running what looked to be some sort of scanner across his belt. “Super Taka, Super Tora, Super Batta: Su~perTatoba,Ta-To-Ba!” With this call, he transformed into yet another type of Rider, one with green legs, a yellow chest plate and a crimson red helmet resembling a hawk or condor’s head. On both of his wrists were absurdly sharp claws. “You’ve got some nerve…” Birth growled. “No, I’d say that applies to you, taking up that identity like it’s just something to be tossed around. Me, I’ve got this little set of words to live by,” Eiji stated, placing a hand on his chest. “Wanna hear them? If there is a hand reaching for help, and I don't reach out my hand when I can, the regret would make me wish I were dead... I reach out my hand, because I don't want that. And everyone’s crying out for help because of what you’ve done over the years, you and your damned Foundation.” he stated firmly, pointing a finger right at the newest Birth. Fourze/Gentaro nodded, remembering how a Foundation X member killed the love of his life right in front of his eyes, all for her power. With that, he activated his Cosmic Switch slamming it into his own Driver. “Cosmic On!” “Kid’s got a point,” a final voice joined in, as a fifty to sixty-something-year-old man wearing what looked to be a miniature turbine around his waist stepped into this. “You bunch, you’ve been hanging about far too long. Should have stepped in when everyone first heard of you, I regret not doing that. Name’s Takeshi Hongo, and the man who fights for freedom of everyone in this world. Henshin!” With that, all five Riders charged into battle. Today would be the day Foundation X would fall. That was a promise. “So, in conclusion I suppose, everything’s back to normal,” Daring typed on her blog’s website. “Okay, maybe not entirely normal, but everything’s calmed down. The threat of the Dopants, and the Destiny’s Child Group has passed. “Me and Philip, we’re still protecting the city as it’s Masked Riders. Speaking of Riders, heard a new one popped up in Taishū recently. Calls himself Kamen Rider Ghost. Least I think it’s a he, I’m not sure. God knows I’ve been mistaken for a guy in my suit at times. Not sure how that could happen, I mean I certainly don’t have a boyish figure! Apparently, Ghost uses the powers of fifteen different historical figures to fight evil. Well, best of luck to him and I tip my hat for someone willingly taking on the burden being a Masked or Kamen Rider carries. “Now, Tidal Fury. I’d say he’s beginning to pull his life back together really, he’s not started dating anyone new and I wouldn’t blame him as I believe you only fall in love once but he’s getting back to normal. Gave up Gaia Memory dealing as promised, even sold out some of his fellow dealers. Now, he’s one of our informants. Like one of our own Baker Street Irregulars in a way I suppose. Just not homeless.” “Speaking of ponies we’ve helped, Fleetfoot. We managed to keep her from being sent off to Sleipnir's Island. Apparently someone ‘convinced’ -And by that, I mean bribed- the judge to let her off of her crimes, as long as she helped others with dealing with the aftereffects of Gaia Memory addiction. Doing quite well from what I hear, and she and Bee have apparently reconciled. Think she’s dating someone now as well, some colt in the Blue Angels by the name of Soarin’. Fancy that. “But on ponies we’ve helped… Honestly, I’m worried about Blueblood, finding out your wife was a madmare who experimented on and dealt out Gaia Memories for a living… That’s harsh. That’s just fucked up. As for what became of him, and the Eternal Memory? I dunno. Maybe he chucked the Memory in the sea. Maybe he’s living the quiet life now, pulling himself back together at his family home as he said. Maybe we’ll never know. All I can do is hope for the best in that buck…” New Jersey: Blueblood Family Residence Blueblood sighed to himself as he found himself once again wandering the halls of his family’s country manor home aimlessly. For a brief moment, he imagined himself chasing after children through the hallways, with Saffron -devoid of any scars- laughing all the while while cooking up family recipes in the kitchen. He sniffed the air, and for a moment he imagined the phantom smell of a spicing hot curry wafting from the kitchen. “If only…” he thought to himself as a small tear dripped from his eye, the stallion eying the Lost Driver and the Eternal Memory he’d set on a nearby table. Ever since his battle with Saffron alongside Philip and Daring, it’d stopped working. Glitched out on him really. Whenever he tried to transform back into Eternal, it was only for a brief second and it was really a shadow of itself frankly lacking all the power the Memory originally granted amongst other things. He’d called it the Red Flare mode, as it lacked the blue accents of Eternal’s true form, replacing those blue flames on the armor’s wrist gauntlets with red ones. The transformation only lasted for about three minutes tops, and that was if he was if luck was on his side. Usually, it wasn’t these days. He knew why of course the transformation never lasted, or why the Eternal Memory couldn’t be used to its fullest extent anymore. His faith had been shattered, his faith in leaving behind an eternal legacy as Manehatten’s hero. He’d never been a hero, in hindsight. He’d just been a man that had been used by his wife. He flashed back, to just only a few short days ago. It’d been two weeks since the battle atop the Shard, and after finally mustering up the courage he’d gone to talk to his wife. “Why?” he asked her, the bars of Sleipnir's Island separating them. “Just… why?” “You know why,” Saffron replied, the bandages on her face having been removed. Once again, Blueblood could see her face in all it’s ugly burned and charred glory. The handprint from where the Heat Dopant had touched her was still present, blackening the broiled skin and fur that surrounded it. “Simply put, I wanted to make a bit of money, all to further humanity’s evolution. Show them what they could really be if they really tried. If you had given me more time, I would have worked out, ironed out the flaws in the original memories. Stopped them from being so… addictive.” she replied, in a perfectly calm state of voice. It was odd really, she’d already been put on death row. Blueblood remembered an old quote, went like this. “Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.” “I wanted to grant life, a new form of life to everyone around me, better everyone and yet you stood in my way. You, Philip, and Daring,” Saffron continued. “Those Gaia Memories I gave you all, they were just a test bed, to see what powers they truly beheld. I chuckle at the irony,” she laughed humorlessly. “The Pony Memory? The one Philip used to defeat me in the end? It was meant to draw on all the power of every pony race. Alicorn, Earth Pony, Pegasi, and Unicorn. I wanted to mass produce that memory, give it to everyone and accelerate life’s growth.” “Fine way of going about it, funding drug dealers and working with a terrorist organization,” Blueblood replied, his voice flat. Emotionless. “You speak about granting life, but… There is no life to be found in violence. Every act of violence brings us closer to death. Whether it's the mundane violence we do to our bodies by overeating toxic food or drink or the extreme violence of child abuse, domestic warfare, life-threatening poverty, addiction, or state terrorism. That’s what you did Saffron, if I can even call you that anymore. You threatened death to this city, this city I so loved…” Blueblood replied, his voice now beginning to crack, tears threatening to break. “You made this city weep, and that I cannot forgive. Not even if you’re my wife. I loved this city, and I still do, and you made it cry tears of sorrow.” “Oh, the shackles that bind us, morality. Ethics. They’re just rules made up by those who don’t dare to dream high enough,” Saffron continued. “Weep not for me, but for those poor sad fools. That Pony Memory? It was never meant to be used but only once before it would shatter in a self-induced Memory Break, just once to see what it could really do. It all comes back to that single memory. In hindsight, it was a folly of mine to hand it out to that fool Philip. Had way too many ethics. He’s a good man, and maybe… Maybe…” she trailed off, choking on her laughter. “Maybe what?” Blueblood asked, wanting to know exactly what Saffron was trying to say. “Maybe you’re right, and maybe I was a fool. He and you my dear, perhaps you’re better ponies than I ever was, or will be,” she coughed out. Blueblood rushed inside her cell, fear casting itself across his features as his breath caught in his throat and his heart started to race. He knew what was happening, a Memory Overdose. Those who used unrefined Gaia Memories far too much, or far too many had the grave risk of this occurring. And it seemed Saffron had fallen to it. “Weep not for what I am Alexander, but for what I could have become,” Saffron coughed out, her entire body beginning to turn to dust little by little, and Blueblood sobbed. “J-Just hold on a little longer Saffron, p-please!” Blueblood whispered through his tears. “No, it’s my time. Do not grieve, we all know this was never meant to be. As soon as I became consumed by my rage, and my hatred… I died. I died, and now for just one brief moment in time, I got to live again. So thank you Alexander Blueblood the Third. Thank you....” she whispered, before finally turning to dust in her husband’s arms, her wedding ring clattering to the floor with a small clinking sound. And finally, Blueblood let the tears flow as he let out a scream of rage and grief. In the present time, Blueblood wiped away his tears before he turned to the TV, hoping to catch his favorite television drama. Suddenly, the opening credits of that drama were replaced by a special news broadcast. Along the bottom of the screen, ran a message in bright red letters. It said: “Dopants overwhelm Masked Riders Fang and Nazca! Is this the end of our city’s beloved heroes?” Above that, he saw a creature, silver in skin tone and with a singular eye firing off electric blasts of energy at Philip and Daring, the two barely holding their own. Blueblood’s eyes whipped back to the Lost Driver and his Gaia Memory before he jumped off the couch. He knew what he had to do. Slamming the Gaia Memory into his Driver, he stated one simple word even as his horn glowed a brilliant arctic blue. “Henshin.” A few hours or so before, Daring and Phil alongside Arc and Bee had been combing the city’s warehouses and train depots for a group. Rumors had been in abundance that a new bunch, calling themselves Dai-EXE had been handing out new Gaia Memories. It seemed this city’s curse of having evil without purpose or reason would still persist. Service revolvers and flashlights in hand, Arc and Bee searched a nearby warehouse with Philip and Daring doing the same to one opposite them. “You lot see anything?” Phil called. “Not a person to be found, maybe these rumors are simply that,” Arc commented, the unicorn shaking his head. “Rumors.” “I dunno,” Bee remarked. “Tidal seemed pretty damn sure of himself when he caught wind of all this. Man’s an expert on picking up street rumors it seems,” “True enough I suppose,” Arc replied. “Hey. You hear about what happened over in Taishū? Apparently, this group of masked warriors raided Dove’s Child Laboratories, took down Foundation X. Arrested their head chairwoman, this Neon lady.” “Sounds pretty badass, really. Wish I could have been there to see it,” Bee remarked. “...Or maybe not, from how chaotic I heard it got.” “Clear!” Daring shouted from behind them, as she and Phil rushed inside the warehouse to join them. Flash was right behind them, having joined up at the very last moment. “Oh relax,” Arc said, ruffling Bee’s hair. “I would have been able to protect ya, you doof.” “Oh, you two need some alone time?” Daring teased in a flirtatious tone of voice. Arc faltered in his stance. “What? Eh? Who said I like Bee?” Arc stammered out. “...Just about everyone who watches you two…” Flash muttered to himself. “Seriously, the day you two stop dancing around each other…” “I say we shove ‘em in a closet and see what happens!” Daring replied with a devious grin. By this point, both Bee and Arc had considerable red flushes cast upon their muzzles. Suddenly, everyone heard the sound of weapons cocking as a bunch of guys in leather jackets filed into the room. Each jacket had the EXE logo on the back, which was basically a green lightning bolt. In the lead of the group, was a mare with an electric-yellow mane slicked backwards and sky-blue fur. “Lightning Dust. Such a pleasure to see you,” Phil stated, though his tone indicated otherwise. “Wish I could say the same, you still owe me my bike!” the mare snapped. “...You’re still hung up about that?” Philip muttered to himself even as Lightning’s henchponies turned into various Dopants. Masquerade ones were the most prevalent here but there were others as well like a Luna Dopant, and a Heat one as well. “Man, you know how to hold a petty grudge. Well, nothing for it I guess. Henshin!” he stated as he slammed his Nazca Memory into his Driver. Daring soon followed and mirrored her boyfriend’s movements with her Fang Memory. Gunfire echoed throughout the warehouse as Arc, Bee, and Flash opened fire on the Dopants, but they were outnumbered and outmatched. A Jewel Dopant jumped Bee, and pinned him to the floor as Arc let out a shout. Flash stayed calm, and like Tempest before him fired at the Jewel Dopant’s waist knowing that’s where the armor’s shatterpoint would be. Daring then followed up with a Rider Kick before twirling around to avoid a blast of energy from the Luna Dopant. A shot rang out from Arc, and the Luna Dopant crumpled to the ground dead. His memory flew from his body, and into Daring’s hands before she slammed it into her Driver. Her whole costume turned yellow, before like Mr. Fantastic, her body split apart into various halves and her right arms stretched out to barrage the Heat Dopant with a flurry of punches. Sadly, a swing from a Metal Dopant’s bo staff smashed her through a wall, bricks flying everywhere and canceling her transformation. The Luna Memory went flying before being smashed to bits by the Metal Dopant’s hoof. Daring, however, was quick to recover and swung her whip pulling the Dopant’s bo staff out of his hands, before quickly transforming back into Fang and taking the Dopant down with a Memory Break. Daring then had to fly backwards as the Heat Dopant leaped out of the warehouse firing fireball after fireball, before getting in close and attacking with a flurry of flaming punches. Daring managed to fend these off with twin arm fangs before slashing the Dopant across the chest several times and then spinning like a tornado she took him out with a Memory Break. She looked to the left, and saw Phil in Trigger mode firing upon who she could only figure was Lightning Dust as a Dopant. Lightning managed to block with her metal armor or dodge the shots, and fired a jolt of lightning at Philip even as news choppers hovered overhead filming this whole thing and Daring let out a scream of terror. Suddenly, before the bolt could reach Philip, a blue flash of light lit up the area, and when the flash cleared Blueblood stood in his full Eternal armor, having used the cape to block the strike. “B-Blueblood?” Daring whispered as she ran up. “Yeah, call this returning a certain favor. Now… How does it go again? That catchphrase of yours? Oh yes… Count up your crimes!” he said, pointing directly at the Energy Dopant/Lightning Dust. “Agreed,” Philip smirked as he went back to Nazca Mode. “Let’s finish this.” All three ran forwards, using a box and cardboard ramp as a springboard before all three activated their Maximum Drives and slammed into Lightning smashing her memory before they landed behind her, and Blueblood turned on his hoof facing the now unconscious Lightning before stating: “Now… Enjoy your Hell!” giving a thumbs-down gesture Romane Emperor style. “Case… closed.” Daring stated as Arc ran up, and cuffed Lightning with Bee and Flash doing the same to the rest of the other former Dopants. Time flew by, and Blueblood became a valued member of the detective agency, helping out when he could. Recently, the threesome had heard of a mysterious set of killings all revolving around a new pop single called Smiling Princess. Already, Philip had a theory. “Subliminal messages underlaid in the song by a-” Philip started, with Blueblood finishing. “Dopant or a highly skilled unicorn? Well, Finder, I believe the game as they say, is ahoof!” he declared before all three brought out their Gaia Memories. \ Nazca! / \ Fang! / \ Eternal! / “Henshin!” FIN Author's Note Welp, that's the end of this little jaunt, and experiment. Okay, now a few things? The scene with Ryu and the Legendary Riders? Gratitious fanservice, and could have been done with just Ryu? Maybe a little, but Foundation X has gone on for far too long without being stopped completely, so I decided to remedy that and I figured it made sense for the Riders involved to be ones who've dealt with X before. Well, except in Hongo's case. I figured if there was anyone better to lead a team of Kamen Riders, why not the very first? Now, Blueblood and Saffron's final scenes? Done well? Not sure, I just wanted to bring that to a final closure, and actually show off what happens when you do overdose on Gaia Memories. Anyways, as ever, your comments and thoughts, and your critique are welcomed. Till next time, dear readers, After all, I'll ride with you and no others.
