The snow was still falling slowly toward the earth, cold, uncaring, and solitary, yet so numerous. At least, that was how it felt to Splash as she stared out the window into the courtyard and saw the empty water feature in the middle. Her hands were tightly clasped around a cup of steaming hot coffee, making the snow feel even colder.

With a frustrated sigh, she turned her gaze towards the man sitting on the other end of the table, intensely focused on a laptop he had pulled out and was typing away at.

"So, answers! Now! "She simply stated, her expression hardened once more as she glared at the man in his labcoat, who appeared to be lost in his own world.

"Yes, yes, I know. You want answers. And I said I'd give you some, but I need to know which answer you do care about," he simply returned, not even looking up at her.

"Oh, I don't know? How about what the fuck any of this even was!?" Splash hissed back, eyes like daggers.

"Oh, how very specific," he returned with an overly exaggerated eye roll.

"He's got you there, Splash," a third, sly voice added, making Splash almost jump up, spinning around and staring at a see-through shadow.

"Ok, I know what! What the fuck is this!?" She spat out, loud enough to make a few eyes turn towards them, making her grit her teeth at "Id".

"I have a name, you know? You gave it to me, after all. I'm hurt, Splash," the… creature returned, and even if she couldn't see it, she knew it was grinning smugly. Splash glared at her ghostly form, simply floating there, somehow connected to her body.

"What she is? She is your demon. It is she, right?" He returned, not looking up, grabbing the coffee beside him and taking a long sip from the mug.

"Correct, it is she. After all," the demon motioned down at her body, which had a clear, feminine shape. "How could anyone mistake my irresistible, feminine charm?" The irony was more overtone than undertone in her voice. Splash just looked at her in a mix of confusion and exhaustion.

"Now that you avoided misgendering the demon, can we get back to the fact that I have a demon sticking out of me!?" Splash hissed back, apparently not silent enough since a few people looked at her somewhat perplexed, resulting in her giving Id another glare.

"Oh, quiet down. It's not a literal demon from Tartarus. It is your demon, your inner demon," he returned in such a casual manner that only furthered Splash's aggravation.

"Oh, yeah, that calms me down right away. If I knew what any of that meant!" Splash huffed back, crossing her arms, the wrinkles on her forehead only growing.

He looked up at her with a labored sigh and simply stated: "I guess I have to start at square one, Foxy. Are you familiar with the concept of an inner demon?"

"I’m sorry, a what now?” She simply returned, a genuine look of confusion on her face.

“She’s clueless. You gotta spell it out for her,” Id added, shrugging with her shoulders and shaking her head with a light chuckle.

“Shut up you….” She grumbled back, only to be cut off by him.

“An inner demon can be best described as the voice inside your head that tells you to do the first thing that comes to your mind. It’s a part of your subconscious, unrestrained by morality, thought, or any other form of tempering. Some say it is your purest essence; others, it is a voice that guides you to a righteous path. But one thing is certain: it consists of all the emotions we keep bottled up. Regret, anger, and sorrow coalesced into a being with a singular goal. Act!” He finished, his eyes looking at her for the first time, a cold certainty in them.

“My… subconciouss… She’s… Me?” Splash raised an eyebrow before staring at Id, who simply tilted her head in return.

“Correct, at least partially. She is a part of you, not all of it. And from the looks of it, we have a demon of the Devil variety here,” he finished.

However, Splash’s continued confused look made him sigh and go on: “A demon born from selfish desires and thoughts. They spawn from people who look out for themselves first and foremost. Who feel like they lack something, at least most of the time.”

“Oh, thank you, Mr. first-year psych student, with his bullshit!” She growled back. “If I wanted to be insulted, I could have just looked for Colour again.”

“Oh, don’t be mistaken. I’m not judging you. I’ve seen enough goodhearted people with a devilish demon and enough awful ones with an angelic one. Only because one’s desires spawn from a selfish place doesn’t mean they are wrong. Just as angelic demons aren’t born perfect, either. A demon birthed from the wish to guide others and from helping them can just as easily be twisted into a controlling, overbearing, intolerant obsession. A demon is nothing more than unshackled desires, good or bad; it really doesn’t matter to them,” he finished, leaving a silent Splash Page on the other side of the table.

“Right… Either way, not like it matters. Where did she come from, and how do I get rid of her?” She responded, her voice a lot calmer, but one could still feel the edge in it.

“Oh, how cute. She thinks she can get rid of me,” Id added, her ghostly elbow leaning on Splash’s shoulder, earning her another glare.

“For the how, she manifested separately from your subconscious once you put on the Driver. Just like using a Vistamp would have. As for getting rid of her, I have to concur with your little kitsune, Foxy, you ain’t. Better get used to it, I guess,” he simply shrugged, yawning even.

“Get used to it!?” She shouted out, completely ignoring all the angry looks she was attracting. “How am I supposed to get used to it! Everyone will think I’m a freak!”

“Oh, calm down, Foxy,” he returned disinterestedly, already back on his laptop. “Not like anyone without a demon can see her. Just have to be a bit more careful when talking to her.”

“I… That… Grrr!” She growled, fist clenching her fist as she glared at him.

“My, our little scientist is really asking for it, ain’t he?” Id slily whispered into her ear.

“Yeah, he really do-“ She muttered to herself as she suddenly stopped mid-sentence and glared at the demon. “You! Stop trying to manipulate me!”

“Me!? Manipulate you!? Why, I would never!” It came back as a response from Id, sounding as fake as the demon could muster, which only ticked Splash more off.

“Foxy, Kitsune, are you done with your little game now?” It cut through their little argument like a knife as he spoke up again. “ Because as amusing as your little spat is, we still got things to do. Next question. And make it quick, Foxy.”

Splash narrowed her eyes, internally agreeing with her demon but swallowing that thought… for now.

“Colour. What… was he and the bird?”

“Ahhhh! Now you are asking the right questions!” He returned with a chuckle as he pulled out the ‘stamp’ they had retrieved from the bird monster. “This is a Vistamp! A device able to awaken one's inner demon with just one willing press of a button!” He imitated the motion of stamping himself with an unnerving grin.

“And you expect me to believe a stamp like that could turn you into a monster? Yeah, fat chance,” she scoffed back, crossing her arms.

“I mean, we got a hero who uses disks to transform, so, really. Is that so far-fetched, Foxy?”

She simply remained quiet.

“See, I knew you were at least moderately intelligent,” he smiled back, cutting off her restored as he continued nonchalantly. “But yes, these babies are what creates the 'Deadman'. The monsters you’ve seen. They are a human's inner demon being brought to the outside and changing the host's body into something stronger. Simply put, once humans willingly unleash their demon, they switch places. The demon takes control while the human sits back and has to watch it act. Most are actually quite content with that arrangement,” he shrugged.

“Wait… So… That wasn’t Colour, but…” She started to mutter, only for him to cut in once more.

“Exactly! That was his demon. And my, it really went to town on you. Seems your separation left some marks on him. Poor fellow,” he continued, playing up his empathy far too much.

“Shut the fuck up!” She simply retorted, a cold glare directed at the strange man. “You don’t know a damn thing about this! I also don’t give a damn about what you think or who you think is at fault here. All I want is for this to be over already. So, you better tell me how I turn him back, or you’re staying longer in this hospital than you’d like!”

Raising his hands, he returned in an annoyingly calm voice. “Easy, easy, Foxy. I’ll tell you. You simply need to knock them out; at that point, the demon won’t have the strength to keep control and return to where they spawned. Question is, would your friend even want that.”

“Don’t you want to punch him anyway?” Id added, not even looking at the man.

“We’ll punch him later,” Splash returned, nodding at her demon. “For now, we still need him. Much as I hate it.”

“Exactly! I knew you’d be a great fit to be my hero,” he chuckled, but there was the hint of a genuine smile under all the smugness.

“Listen, I’m not anyo-“ she tried to return as she was interrupted by a familiar voice.

“Ah, there you two are…” Spray simply said, his voice still quite exhausted. Splash turned around, looking at him, two crutches firmly pressed under his arms. His leg had been covered in bandages, and his face was still swollen, at least where his skin showed under the plasters.

“So, how… are you?” Splash simply asked, Id hovering behind her, eyeing him as well.

“A broken leg, a few cracked ribs, but besides that, mostly only sore,” Spray muttered in return, noticeably avoiding her gaze.

“Good, good..” she returned. “They call you a dumbass without feeling bad about it. What in Tartarus did you drag me into!?” Looking over to his scientist “friend”, she added a snippy “And who the fuck is this guy anyway?”

“You know, you could have just asked,” the man replied drily. “But sure, let’s do it the roundabout way,” he added with a shrug.

“Su… Sure…” Spray returned, awkwardly sitting down, taking an uncomfortably long time. “Splash, that’s… Ebony Sun, right?”

Ebony simply nodded in return.

“He… approached me yesterday, telling me where Colour was and… told me to contact you this morning,” he continued, avoiding eye contact with Splash. “I… really didn’t want to, but he said we needed you.”

Splash turned back to Ebony, raising an eyebrow. “You needed me? Why?”

“Is this a question that really interests you? You simply were a good test subject for the Driver. Simple as is. Don’t have to think much of it. Mostly because your friend, I’m sorry, ex-friend was the Deadman. You can call it luck, probability, or fate, whatever floats your boat, Foxy. Either way, the why doesn’t really matter; the what does far more,” he simply returned, the smug look on his face letting her brows throw even more.

“Sure, whatever. And the what is? What even is Colour doing with one of those-“

“Vistamps!” He interrupted, almost as if he had known the fact she had forgotten the name already.

“Yes, yes, that thing! What is he doing with something like this? How did he even get his hands on it? And why was he fighting that bird ‘Deadman’?”

“Oh, simple, he joined a cult,” he responded far too nonchalantly.

“That is not an answer. Also, the fuck?” She almost instantly threw back, only realizing halfway through what she had just heard.

“You heard me. Your Colour joined a cult. Comedia, to be precise. They are a Deadman cult entirely composed of devil-type demons. They use their club, Cataclysm Paradise, as a recruiting ground for their religious war with the Children of True Love, an angelic cult from the city. Your friend is just another in a long line of marks for them, really,” Ebony started to recite as if this was the most normal thing in the world. “These two cults are current-

“Great, demonic gang war was exactly what this city needed right now. But, no offense-“ Splash interrupted him, with a clearly strained tone in her voice, only to be interrupted herself by the sly demon beside her.

“Offense very much intended.”

Splash glared at Id, who gave her the best “innocent as the day you were born”-impression she could muster in return.

Splash simply sighed and shook her head. How the hell was she supposed to get used to… this?

“Look, I don’t care about this little turf war from Tartarus; I just want to get this over with and save my friend from himself, ok?” She finished, her expression softening a bit, the day's exhaustion clearly setting in now.

“But you should care about it. How will you fight your enemies as a Rider without knowing them,” Ebony returned, matter of fact.

“I think you’re not getting it, numbskull. I’m not a Rider. At least not for long. I’ll get Colour back, make sure he doesn’t get his hands on the stamp, and then I’m out. I don’t wanna play hero! Why should I? To help some shmucks who don’t know me, have never done anything for me, and would ignore me at the drop of a hat? Yeah, fat chance!” She huffed back. “I’m not your hero. I’m not anyone's hero! And I don’t wanna be! Got that?”

Ebony actually looked up from his laptop at this, about to reply something, but no words came out of his mouth.

“Oh, you caught him off guard? That’s new,” Id chuckled in her ear, Splash swatting her away like a particularly annoying fly.

“Welll… Fine,” Ebony finally found his voice again, but his tone had soured lightly. “Not like you are my only potential Rider. Either way, it doesn’t matter right now. Maybe you’ll change your opinion once we are done. Either way, we have to finish this first.”

“Good. Glad we are on the same page,” she muttered, tempted to roll her eyes at his comment but decided to be the better woman. She did, however, catch Id, rolling her head mockingly beside her. Oh, this was going to be a pain in the butt. “So, how exactly are we gonna do that?”

“Oh, don’t worry! I have just the plan,” he simply chuckled, seemingly having regained his composure.

()E+I()

Meanwhile, not too far from where Splash had clashed with the two Deadman, Colour had snuck back into an abandoned subway station. A place filled to the brim with spray paint and old, damaged furniture, creating a “comfy” hangout for him.

But the atmosphere was far from comfy right now. Tense was a far more apt description. A man with a white, light pinkish complexion and vibrant pink hair leaned against one of the pillars. Dressed in a dark brown angler vest, complete with a matching hat, and sporting a warm smile, the man didn’t evoke any intimidating presence, but that certainly didn’t seem to calm Colour.

“So, if I got this right, our bird friend has been dealt with?” He simply asked, not breaking his smile for a second.

“Yea…” Colour returned, keeping his gaze fixed on a wall entirely opposite to him, seemingly admiring his own work. “She won’t be a problem anymore.”

“That’s good. So, where is the stamp?”

“The… stamp?” He stuttered back, his breath quickening a bit.

“Yeah, the Vistamp? You didn’t just leave it there, right?” The man chuckled back before adding a second. “Right?”

“Of- Of course, I didn’t just leave it there,” he returned, trying to add a few light chuckles that only come off as exceedingly awkward.

“Then where is it?” The man asked, whispering right into his ear. In an instant, Colour spun around, staring directly into his smile. He could have sworn he was leaning against the pillar at least 10 meters away.

“Some… Someone… may have taken… it,” he stammered back, his words coming out of his mouth without any further thought. The man raised an eyebrow. “Riders! Riders took it!”

“Riders?” He dropped the smile for a moment, his eyes focusing on Colour, as if they were trying to pierce right through his head and into his brain. “Who? Alchemy? Charge or Monster? Or even Gaia?”

“I… None of them… They… They were new! – I’ve never seen them before,” He stammered back, sweat dripping off his forehead as he was examined meticulously. “They… Called themselves Ego and… Id… I think. They used a stamp to… transform.”

“I see…” He gave him one more look before pulling back, his smile reappearing like it had never left. “Clever boy. Trying to claim the Rider’s victory for your own, weren’t you?”

“Wh-What? N-No! I’d nev-“ He respondede back, the panic in his voice barely disguised, if at all.

“Shhhh! Don’t worry. I think that’s a good quality to have. Knowing what others want to hear. But, you should maybe pick your battles better,” he chuckled. “Maybe, next time, get all their stamps before calling in the big shots, boy. Then you might even real in your catch.”

“You… You want me to… fight the Riders?”

“Want? Me?” The man laughed mockingly and shook his head. “I don’t want anything from you. I was simply giving you some tips, you get me?”

“Yes… I understand… Oleander,” Colour nodded, nervously looking at the man.

“Well, that’s lovely. Now, if you excuse me, I have some information to share. Have fun, boy,” Oleander added, waving his hand, before heading out of the subway station.

The moment he left, Colour deflated into one of the damaged couches he had dragged down here and let out a loud sigh.

“Motherfucker! Guess we aren’t done just yet, Splash… Guess I get to show you I’m better than you now,” he muttered before transitioning into an excited chuckle. “What do you mean ‘Are you sure we should do that’? You should trust me, man. I know what you want. Now, zip it, we’ve got work to do!” He added to seemingly no one.

()E+I()

Spash Page was a wreck. Or at least, that’s how she felt and probably looked. It had been past midnight when she came home, and even though she felt exhausted, sleep just didn’t want to come. Absolutely not helped by her demon making constant, snarky remarks whenever she was just about to drift off. She may have gotten three hours of sleep in, max. Worst of all, Id seemed no worse for wear, or at least was good at hiding it.

The constant chattering and giggling from the demon was just the cherry on top. Until now, she had managed to avoid shouting at her, but the glares she gave the creature had been noticed. Especially by Swift Pen, who was glancing over nervously at her every chance she got.

It wasn’t till lunch that she finally spoke up after paying again for her meal.

“Anything… happened yesterday? I hope your friend is OK,” she carefully tried to breach the topic.

“Didn’t I tell you not to worry? It’s my problem, not yours. So forget about it,” she tried to dismiss with a shake of her hand.

“You… Sure? You look… Awful,” she tried again, the worry written on her face, which only became more pronounced with every second that passed.

“Yes!” She hissed back.

Swift immediately jerked back, eyes wide open as she stared at her. After staring at her for a few seconds, Splash's expression turned into a frown.

“Oh my. And I thought I was the monster in this relationship?” Id playfully whispered into her ear.

“Shut it!” Spray hissed through gritted teeth, her look trying to take Id into focus, but the demon was hiding behind her, chuckling.

“Hey, I’m not the one responsible here. That’s on you,” she returned. “I may have wanted to hiss at her, but you did it. So, I’m innocent. That’s how it works, right?”

Splash simply gritted her teeth, which only seemed to make Swift Pen all the more concerned for her.

“You… You real sure… You seem… On edge…” She tried once more, her voice quiet and quite shaky.

“I… Sorry. I’m fine. I just… Barely had any sleep tonight and last night… Was kinda… Eventful,” she sighed, her posture relaxing a bit. “But, really. Don’t worry. I’ll deal with this shitshow today, and then I never have to worry about it ever again. And everything will go back to the usual, shitty normal,” she continued with a light chuckle.

“You still don’t want me around for this then?” Swift asked one last time, the embers of hope carried by her soft voice.

“No, I really don’t. This is not your problem. And it’s almost over anyway. You don’t need to get involved,” Splash returned, her voice with a light, awkward undertone.

“O… OK…” Swift nodded, almost sounding disappointed. “If you say so.”

“Hey, I said don’t worry. Tomorrow’s food is on me, OK?” Splash chuckled, Swift nodding absentmindedly in return.

“I give this apology a four out of ten. Still needs some work,” the demon chimed in, earning an exhausted exhale from Splash.

()E+I()

“So, what exactly is your great plan now?” Splash muttered, arms crossed, rolling her eyes as she walked next to Ebony.

She met up with him following work, shortly after she said goodbye to Swift.

“Oh, simple, really. He’s not done with us yet. He’ll want the stamp! That means he’s gonna keep an eye on us. It’s dead simple,” he casually returned, flipping the lime green Vistamp up before catching it again.

“You said your plan was more than just aimlessly wandering yesterday! Sure doesn’t look that way!” She huffed, her eyes wandering across the crowds that kept on ignoring them like anybody else. “This is barely a concept!”

“It’s not aimless! I know where we are going. Spray gave me a good hint. We need a secluded place, but will not let him just sit idly by. You should know where we are going,” it returned before he casually started to whistle.

“You can’t be fucking serious!”

“Oh, we both know he is,” Id added with a chuckle, right next to the exasperate Splash Page.

“Hey, I think you got it. And really, do you think he’ll be able to resist this chance? Too much buried emotion. It’s like a shitty telenovela. Unable to be contained.”

“Right, yeah, great comparison,” she hissed back. “How do you even know about this place?”

“My guess is on Spray. He was never one for keeping his mouth shut. Well, except that one time,” the demoness mused next to her before floating into her field of view.

“Correct, Kitsune! He did inform me of your… split-up point yesterday after you left for bed, Foxy. Missed all the fun reminiscing,” he encountered, turning around and giving her a smug grin.

“Yes, fun, sure,” she groaned before looking up at the quickly darkening sky. They weren’t far off now, a fact that made her weirdly uncomfortable if she was honest.

“By the way, Foxy, we are being followed!” She was about to turn back when she heard a hiss from Ebony once more. “No looking! Don’t wanna scare off our little prey, now want we?”

“Yes, we don’t want that, riiiiight?” The demon joined in, the sweet voice just annoying her further.

“Oh, haha, very funny.”

“Thank you, I’ll be here all week, every week,” Id returned, with a delighted smugness in her voice.

It didn’t take long till they had reached their destination. An old city park with a basketball court and, most importantly, a perfect wall for tagging. The fact that rarely anyone ever came here was the cherry on top. Or, it was when she still indulging in her hobby. Nowadays, she avoided the park; too much jealousy, if she was being honest.

They stepped into the court and towards the wall covered in a new set of graffiti, probably not even a day old, as Ebony stopped dead in his tracks before simply stating, his voice above a simple conversation: “You can come out now! I knew you were following us for a while now.”

A sudden gasp for air and some nervous footsteps later, the unknown stalker made themselves known, something Splash did not expect. Instead of a wannabe punk, it was a petite, pink woman, Swift Pen.

“I- I mean… It’s-“ She started to stammer, clearly caught off guard by her quick discovery.

“Swift? What are you doing here!? Didn’t I tell you I didn’t need your help?” Splash burst out, stepping closer to her coworker, who took a slight step back.

“You really got a way with words, Splash. Really. Some people could learn a lot from you,” the demon added in a deadly dry tone.

“Zipp it, Id!” She hissed to her side, not that it seemed to bother Id in the slightest.

“I… I’m sorry… I was just… worried… ok?” Swift finally managed to stutter out, her hair falling over her face, allowing her to hide a bit behind it.

“I’m fine…” She sighed, shaking her head. “I really don’t need any help her-“ She tried to get through to her once more. For as much of a doormat Swift was, she was damn stubborn, Splash had to admit.

“Oh, you do need help. At least if you don’t hand over your two stamps!” A voice echoed across the court, making everyone spin around and towards the wall. On top of it, a familiar face greeted them, Colour Contrast. He was sitting right on it, almost lounging on it.

“Colour! Couldn’t you have waited a few more minutes till I solved this? Seriously?” She huffed back, glaring at the young man, who rolled his eyes instead and jumped off the wall.

“As if I care. Just give me the things, and this is all over,” he simply stated, taking a few steps closer to them. Swift looked nervously at the man.

“Yeah, fat chance that. I may not really care about any of this, but I’m not dumb enough to hand a cult this shit!” She returned dismissively.

“Fine!” He shot back with a snippy tone. “Then I just have to take what is rightfully mine, I guess!” From his pocket emerged a dark blue Vistamp; Splash could swear she could see a fish on it, even from this distance.

()Anglerfish!()

Pieces of paper, almost like being kicked up by a gust of wind, swirled around him before covering his body in them. The lines on them started to glow a deep blue before a shockwave pushed them away, once again revealing the Anglerfish Deadman, who wasted no time rushing towards her, starting with one Tartarus of a haymaker.

Eyes widening, Spalsh barely managed to duck under the swing, rushing past him, only to be caught by his backhand, sending her flying into the fence. Her back slammed into it, followed by a series of blunt pain in her back, accompanied by a ringing sound; she wasn’t even sure if it was coming from the fence or her head.

“Splash!? You OK!?” It finally pierced through her dazed senses, only now realizing she had been sent flying next to Swift. The woman looked mortified; her already pale pink skin had turned utterly white, and one could see the fear in her eyes.

“No… No, I’m not,” she growled through gritted teeth, pushing herself up. “But I will be, really damn soon…”

“Oh, you better be. After all, he deserves to be taught a lesson,” Id added in a sneering tone.

Pulling out the Driver she had been given, she slammed it on her waist as Colour kept approaching, each step more forceful than the last.

()Psyde-Driver!()

“Get to cover…” Splash simply said, her hand tightening around her own Vistamp.

“But-“ Swift tried to argue.

“I said go!” She shouted back, raising the Vistamp above her head.

()Fox!()

Slamming it down, she simply screamed a loud, angry: “Henshin!”

()Flip Out! F-F-Fox!()

()Draw Up!()

(Sketch-(

)Splash-)

()ing!()

(Paint-(

)Spray-)

()ing!()

()Kamen Rider()

(Ego!(

)Id!)

()Ego Plus Id!())

Id once more appeared around her, holding the giant stamp before slamming it down on her, the armor congealing as she burst forth from it, directly at Colour, smashing her fist into his stomach and sending him staggering back despite his weight.

“Hey, hey, leave me some of the fun as well!” Id shouted from behind her, casually strolling next to her.

“Well, if you want some, you gotta be faster then,” she dismissed her before dashing forward again.

Almost like a gunshot, the next hit echoed out across the park as Ego’s fist slammed into Colour’s fist, as both combatants tried to push the other back. But instead of giving Colour another solid smack, he proved far stronger than the Rider, knocking her fist back, followed by a backhand that sent her flying backward, once more into the chainlink fence, and right through this time.

Managing to dig her fingers into the concrete, she caught herself again, letting out a long exhale. “That’s all? Come on, hit me like you mean it!” She shouted back, pulling herself back into a standing position.

He simply glared at her, arching the palm of his hand like a claw, as a bright glowing ball of orange energy formed inside it. With a loud scream, he rocketed the orb directly at her.

The explosion was massive; a good three fence segments were consumed instantly as pieces of metal rained down on the snow around them, quickly melting it. As the smoke had settled, Ego had barely managed to get out of the blast radius, her breath clearly labored. But she had done what she wanted.

Utterly unnoticed by the Deadman, Id leaped upward, jumping on his shoulders, before hooking her feet around his waist, or at least as far as she could. He had completely forgotten she was even there in the first place. Loud screams and grunts were all he could muster as he bucked like a fish on land, and the Rider had gotten comfortable on top of him. “Gotcha! Guess the angler was caught this time,” the demon chuckled, aiming her paint-tube gun at the back of his head and unloading a salve of shots at him.

His screams grew only louder with each impact, quickly shifting from surprise and pain to simple fury. It didn’t take long till his hand gripped tightly around Id’s foot, and with one mighty pull, he slammed her down onto the concrete, pieces of stone shooting up in the air as he let her slam into the ground, leaving a deep crater behind, before rolling a few meters further. His hand flared up with energy again as he hissed: “You might not be really her, but this will be just as good!”

Id barely managed to get up off the ground enough to see the ball being slammed at her, or at least, she would have if another kick from Ego hadn’t diverted the course. The Rider hat dashed forward, crouched under his arm, and pulled her knee up just in time to send the bomb sky high, followed by an explosion that lit off the night sky like a firework.

“Always getting in my way, are you…” The Deadman hissed as he tried to strike out at her once more, his uppercut missing her by, at most, the tip of a thinger.

“Oh, I’m getting in your way? Good joke! You were the one who abandoned me! You left me on my own because of Spray’s advice! And here I am again, saving your ass!” Splash shouted back, dodging once more and delivering a solid punch to his gut, the fat over his body shaking like pudding, but it didn’t bother Color much. “The only one who was always in your way was you! You didn’t trust your own talent. I wasn’t holding you back; you were!”

With a loud, primal scream, he summoned two more explosives in his fists, but instead of chucking them at her again, he dashed forward and used them like a bludgeon. Splash's eyes widened underneath her helmet, trying to dodge, but she already knew she wasn’t fast enough.

BOOM!

Splash was thrown backward, feeling the immense heat of the explosion wash over her, but she had expected worse. It hurt, sure, but it wasn’t like being hit by a truck strapped with C4. As she opened her eyes again, she was lying a few meters away from the monster, but to her surprise, he looked like he had also been thrown off his feet.

“Careful there. If you, I die as well,” a familiar voice whispered in her ear.

With a groan, she pushed herself back to her feet, only to be greeted with a green Vistamp.

“Present from Ebony. He thinks turning this into a ranged fight might improve our odds,” the demon chuckled as Ego grabbed the stamp.

Pulling the Driver back into the starting position, she replaced her fox Vistamp with the new one.

()Hawk!()

Flipping the stamp back into position, Id turned translucent again, grabbed a giant Vistamp, and slammed the thing on top of her, the lime green covering her current armor.

()Flip Out! H-H-Hawk!()

()Draw Up!()

(Soar-(

)Roar-)

()ing!()

(Fly-(

)Cry-)

()ing!()

()Highspeed Hawk Hunter()

“Don’t think just using a different stamp will save you from me!” Colour shouted as he pushed himself up once more, two more bombs already forming in his hands. With another loud, piercing scream, he catapulted them at the two Riders.

A gust of smoke and dust kicked up as they hit the ground, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction, only to turn sour once more as the wind was blown away, two figures shooting up into the sky, completely unharmed.

Ego’s pink had been replaced by lime green, her helmet now resembling that of a hawk with deep red bug eyes. Two wing-like scarves extended from her back and wrapped around her neck, and a stylized hawk stamp appeared on her chest.

Id’s sweater far more resembled a flying jacket now, just like Ego; the pink had shifted to lime green. Her mask resembled the Tengu Deadman, just far less long. Her tail had changed to a bird's tail feathers, and two bird wings emerged from the jacket, flapping behind her.

Screaming even louder, the Deadman threw more and more of his bombs up into the sky, each one lighting up the night and drowning out even the light of the approaching sirens. But no matter how many he threw up, they only kept illuminating the two figures gliding through them like an obstacle course.

“Distract him already!” Ego shouted over at Id, her voice barely carrying over the explosions. Still, the demonic Rider dashed lower, or more precisely, shot towards the ground, only turning back up before hitting the ground. Like a bullet train, she raced towards Colour, whose look fixated on her, about to unleash another explosion on her.

BANG!

Another loud scream filled the air, the glowing orb in his hand fizzling out as he stumbled backward, holding his shoulder. He growled, trying to ignore the sizzling wound on his shoulder, eyes darting across the sky to find the attacker until finally-

There she was! Ego was flapping her “wings” in the air, holding herself steady while aiming what could only be described as a rifle at him. Its main body was a bright white, with the underlying structure being black. Lime green paint splashes covered the gun, and at the back of it all, there was what looked like a white bottle with a hawk symbol attached to the firearm, with a slot for a Vistamp to be inserted. As he looked over to his shoulder, he only realized the green paint covering it.

Then he felt another sudden surge of pain, as sparks burst off his side, Colour only realizing after a few moments that he was screaming out in agony. As he looked behind himself, he barely caught a glimpse of a spiraling Id, that had seemingly corkscrewed herself into him with her wings.

Panting, he glared at her before rushing straight forward, pushing past the searing pain, his only aim to crush that damn Rider in his hands.

Id simply jumped backward, pushed further by her wings, when he had barely made it halfway towards her; something followed by an explosion of sparks and pain across his stomach. Small feathers had crashed into him, clearly launched by the demon from her wings.

“Well, seems you are lucky we took care of your bird friend, Colour,” Id chuckled, stroking her chin. “Because clearly, you weren’t gonna manage it even if you tried.”

With another loud scream, Colour rushed forward, even powering through another salvo of feathers, and tried to clock Id straight in her face, only for the demon to barely manage to weave out of his swings once, twice… But the third time he would hit, he could see it, and so could Id. His fist raced forward, straight towards her-

“Gah!” It echoed across the court as the lime paint exploded all over his face, sending him tumbling backward as the pain finally set in. Desperately trying to wipe away the stain, his eyes darted across the sky, searching for Ego, all while Id, slyly slipped behind him and got some distance between them.

There she was!

The damn Rider was flying circles around him in the air, firing shot after shot with her gun at him; each he managed to just stop with one of his bombs, something that made finding her harder and harder as the dust and smoke clouded the air between them.

“Get back down here and fight me!” He bellowed across the sky; the only answer he received was another paintball he caught out of the air.

“Oh, am I not enough for you?” Id’s voice came from behind. Spinning around, he was greeted by a foot in his face that once more pushed him backward as Id landed in front of him. She had shot herself towards him and readjusted midair to turn her speed into force. “Ego, now is your chance!”

“I wasn’t done yet!” It came back as a response, and the sky cleared up enough now to reveal the Rider kneeling on a nearby building and inserting a Vistamp into the gun.

()ColourSplashDuo!()

()Hawk!()

The gun started to glow a bright green, illuminating the position of the Rider even clearer.

“Well, I still needed a distraction, after all!” Id shouted from behind him, grabbing his arms simultaneously and, with one swift motion, shut up into the air, Colour in tow. As much as he struggled, he didn’t manage to dislodge the Rider from himself until he was at least four dozen meters off the ground. At that point, Id simply dropped him, shooting further into the air.

“Sorry, Colour, you lost!” Splash said, her voice was soft.

()Hawk Colour Splash!()

Pulling the trigger, a green beam of energy shot toward the Deadman, hitting him square in the chest and halting him in midair. Green bolts of energy surged across his body as his screams echoed across the city's roofs until finally…

BOOM!

The explosion was bigger and brighter than any that had come before, and through it all, one could see the hawk symbol she carried on her chest in the middle of the explosion. Under her helmet, a broad smile crept across her lips as she saw the explosion, the green emanating from it, and the shockwave that had kicked up the snow around her.

Without wasting another moment, she had already dove off the building, sweeping into the explosion cloud before shooting out onto another nearby building, the wannabe punk in her arms.

With an exhausted sigh, she lowered him back to the ground, where he groaned, slowly opening his eyes as he looked up at her. “Splash…” He simply muttered as she slowly pulled himself up into a sitting position.

Meanwhile, she had canceled her transformation and stood above him in her regular clothes, her demon curiously hovering beside her. Her expression was tired and stiff as she looked down on him before finally breaking the awkward silence. “You are a fucking idiot!”

Colour just blinked for a few moments before letting out a quiet chuckle, nodding in agreement. “I guess I am… I’m sorry…”

“No.” She simply returned.

“No?” He asked, tilting his head lightly, the confusion written on his face.

“You heard me. No, I don’t accept your apology.”

“I… I understand… After what I did… Or rather, didn’t do, I really can’t blame you,” he sighed, lowering his gaze back to the ground.

“Not that!” She hissed back, making Colour look back up in confusion. “That you are such a weak-willed idiot! You are fucking talented! Why don’t you get it! Back at the skatepark, I meant it when I said the work was good! It’s damn good, and it got so much potential to grow! Why do you not just realize that you don’t need any fucking cult or me to get there? You always look for someone to prop you up, but you don’t need it! You never need it! Grow a fucking spine! Take what you fucking want, and don’t depend on others again!”

Colour’s lip shook, his breaths became deeper, more ragged as his hands tightened around the snow on the rooftop. “You’re right…” he weakly pressed out before letting out a pained grunt as he pushed himself back up. Shakily and slowly, but he did until he stood face to face with Splash. “You’re right. I’m a coward… A coward who always needs someone to tell them that I’m doing right. When you praised my art, when Spray told me to keep quiet and abandon you, and now with my demon… I’ve always needed support more than I should have, but that stops now! I’ll try and- No! I will stand on my own feet and take what I want, starting now! Starting with you!”

Splash's eyes widened, taken aback by the last part of Colour's proclamation. “With… me?”

“Yes! I know you probably don’t wanna see me ever again after today, but I do! I missed you! I wanted to reach out, but I never did! I want you back, not as a support, but as a friend! It may never be the same, we probably will never tag again, but I just… Want to… Have you around!” Colour looked at her, his eyes reminding her of his eyes from back at the skatepark, which were just… less bitter. There was a fire in them that she had never really seen in them.

“Oh my, seems your words had a far bigger effect than you had anticipated,” Id whispered into her ears, knocking her out of the thoughts that had crashed down on her like several rivers.

Before she could answer, the door to the roof was pushed open as Ebony and Swift burst through, both clearly out of breath.

“Found you, Foxy!” The scientist shouted, still catching his breath. “Good job down there!” He chuckled, raising his hand at her. “So, where is the Vistamp of Fishy here?”

With an exasperated sigh, she shook her head. Without wasting another word, she pulled the Driver and the two Vistamps out from her pocket.

“You sure about this,” Id’s sickly sweet voice asked. “I know how-“

Before the demon could continue, Splash threw them at Ebony's feet, who stared at them for a few seconds before looking at her in a mixture of surprise and horror.

“What?”

“What do you mean, ‘What’? I’m done! Our deal is finished. I’m just giving you your hero stuff back,” she shrugged, making moves to simply walk off.

“You- You want to quit? You want to give up the chance to do something important? Be a hero? Be… A Rider?” Ebony shouted back, grabbing the device and taking a few frantic steps towards Spalsh.

“Yes! Like I said, I’m no one’s hero! I don’t care. Thank you for helping me save this idiot. Seriously, thank you! But that was all I wanted! If you want a hero, you must look for someone else,” she returned dismissively.

“You really want to just-“

“Yes, Id, I want!” She forcefully returned to the demon.

“But… How could you not want to be a Rider! The 'Deadman' aren’t defeated! They’ll come back! They will turn this city into a warzone! You could have the power to make a difference! To change people for the better! To touch them… deep inside? How could you not want to!?” Ebony exclaimed, his questions turning more and more into shouts with each word he spoke.

“Splash…” Swift muttered, barely audible, as she fidgeted awkwardly with her fingers, looking at Splash worriedly.

“Do you just not get it, or do you just not want to?” She hissed back, stepping towards him, glaring directly into his eyes. “I’m not a hero! I’ll never be a hero! I can’t change people by simply beating up monsters! And I don’t want to! The world doesn’t work like that! I just want to be happy! And burdening myself with a responsibility like that, why would that make me happy? Maybe ask Alchemy or the other Riders if they know someone to play hero for you. Maybe they’ll find someone who can live up to your dream, but it’s not me!”

Ebony glared at her, his fists clenching, and she half expected him to swing for her, but he simply took a long, deep breath and turned away from her.

“We’ll see about that! I saw the potential in you! I saw that strong demon! I know I found you for a reason! And you’ll see it soon as well!” Ebony growled, shoving the Driver and the Vistamps before turning away from her with another huff.

“Yeah, right, sure,” she muttered and started to move before stopping a few steps away from the door. “As for you, Colour. Call me when you make something better than what you did back at the skatepark. Something from you this time, then we’ll see!” The man simply nodded with a relieved sigh. “See ya tomorrow, Swift,” she added before slamming the door shut behind her before the woman had even a chance to respond.

“We’ll see how you hold up, Foxy,” he muttered, looking over to the two other people on the roof until his eyes stopped on Swift Pen, a smirk forming. “Or perhaps…”

()E+I()

Meanwhile, what remained of the basketball court had been covered in the red and blue light of police cars. Officers swarmed the scene, trying to get as clean of a perimeter as possible. But the air was different, more tense than one would expect, even after a battle like this. And it was all flowing towards one point, one person.

A woman dressed in a black suit and a light blue shirt underneath. Her skin was a pale yellow, and her blue hair was tied behind her in a ponytail. On her hip was a badge, but instead of an average police officer badge, it simply read “MRG – Magical Research Group”. A government agency that had only recently stepped into the limelight ever since magic became an undeniable fact of life and not just something swept under the rug. They nowadays coordinated the Kamen Riders and dealt with anything that could turn into a monster threat. It was no wonder they were here right now.

Leaning forward, the agent was looking at something lying in the snow. It had already been covered by a light layer, hiding it at least decently well, even if parts of the blue shined through it. “What do we have here…” she muttered as she pulled the strange stamp-like device out from under the snow. “A Vistamp…”

Author's Note

And here we have Chapter 2, which only took... almost 2 years... Ups!

Yeah, sorry for that; I seriously hope the wait for the next one won't be as long as this.

As an apology, or at least somewhat one, have a look at our favorite demon in all her glory, Id: