Beep! Beep! Beep!

The alarm sounded as obnoxious as ever, ringing through her bedroom without mercy. With a groan, Splash dragged herself up from her warm mattress and grabbed her phone, silencing the loud sound. Another groan later, she had dragged herself upright and was now sitting on the edge of her bed. She didn't feel all at that rested, less so than usual, if she was honest. No wonder, honestly; yesterday was a long day.

Stretching herself, she finally managed to find the motivation to rise from the bed and pull herself to the kitchen. One could have mistaken this morning for any other if not for the floating ghostlike demon beside her humming a song she had heard yesterday while walking through the city. Apparently, an earworm Id could not get out of her head, much to Spray's delight. No matter how much she tried to shut her up, the humming would return within a few minutes. Eventually, she had just given up.

What she hadn't given up on was her new coffee pot. It wasn't shabby at all, which honestly surprised her, given Spray Can was usually a cheapskate like no other. But this one was sturdy and even looked kinda neat, even she had to admit that. Her former friend had apparently decided to make a more personal payment, decorating it with Colour's, his, and her former tagger symbols. From the looks of it, he had used an airbrush for it. She had no idea how he had managed that this quick with his crutches, but she also didn't really care.

A quick chuckle and shake of her head later, the coffee had been poured into her thermos and into a cup for her breakfast.

"He can be quite cute when he wants to, doesn't he, "Id mumbled, leaning on the edge of the table and watching Splash eat.

"I guess," she shrugged, taking another sip. "It's the least he can do after the shit he put me through, right?"

"Perhaps, but I still find the extra effort charming," she giggled. "So, what are we gonna do today, my worse half?"

"Better half," she scuffed, taking another sip. "And what do you think? Work! Like every weekday."

"Oh, but that's boring! We both know you don't really wanna go. You wanna do something fun, exciting, riiiight?" The demon knowingly said. It was a real pain to argue with someone who knew what you were thinking, at least on a fundamental level.

"Sure, and rent's gonna just pay itself, eh, dumbass? That's not how I get to do things. I'm just gonna enjoy my off hours. After this whole Rider business is over, maybe I can finally get something to paper again," she muttered, finishing her coffee.
"Or I'm just gonna sleep some more when I'm home. We'll see." Id simply rolled her eyes as they left the building and headed to another oh-so-exciting day of work.

()E+I()

Thankfully, she managed to arrive just in time for work, ready for all the usual bullshit. And it was just that for the first half of her day, her boss was still a bitch, the higher-ups unreasonable, and her workload enormous. All in all, one of the workdays of all time.

What wasn't typical was the chatter in the office. Whenever Thorough Sketch was out of earshot, she managed to catch snippets of conversation, but instead of bitching about work, or Fortuna forbid, politics, today the topic seemed to be a different one.

She didn't catch much at first, but with each snippet she heard, a picture started to assemble. They were talking about something big that had happened last night—the monster attack!

Apparently, people had caught her fight on phones, mostly snippets, but "Kamen Rider Ego" and "Kamen Rider Id" were clearly able to be picked out from the footage, or at least that was what she caught. The conversations circled around how scary the monster was, how much property damage they had caused, and, most importantly, how cool the Rider was!

At first, she had simply shaken her head while Id had snickered into her ear, "poking" her in the side and pointing between her and herself. She couldn't help but smirk a little bit herself. There was no way in Tartarus she had anticipated this kind of reaction. It was like an inside joke no one but she knew, which made this whole situation even funnier to her.

She hadn't even noticed the fact the smile never slipped off her lips as Swift Pen leaned over, whispering into her ear: "Sleep well?"

"Huh?" She muttered, looking over to her coworker with a befuddled expression.

"Well… You look happy… More than usual, I mean…" She stammered, stumbling over her own words. "I mean… Not that you aren't happy… But… I…”

“I… guess…” She returned, her cheeks flushing lightly. Anyone with even the worst hearing imaginable would have noticed that she sounded… not rather convincing.

"You really need to work on your lying some more, or I'll become obsolete if you just give all your feelings away like that," Id fixed next to her, Splash turning her head and giving her a piercing glare. "You know I'm right," the demon added before retreating back into Splash.

"Was… That your demon?" She whispered back, looking to where Id had disappeared.

"Yeah… Her name is Id and… Wait, how do you know what a demon is?" Splash raised an eyebrow.

"Uhm… Ebony told me… What they were after you left… yesterday," she returned hastily. "You just… talked to air right now… I just… assumed."

"Ah… Yeah, I guess so. But don't worry, she can't actually do anything. She'd have to be able to touch something first for that," she nodded.

"Ok… Good to hear. I don't want to deal with her. The way she fought was terrifying," she sighed in relief.

"I don't care if the whole city is talking about it!" It suddenly shouted through the office, making Swift almost fall out of her chair, and even Splash spun around in shock. Thorough Sketch was standing in the middle of the room, glaring at everyone. "If I hear anything about Kamen Riders again today, I will make you regret it! You are supposed to work!"

Swift quickly pulled her chair back to her tablet and got back to work. Splash, meanwhile, just rolled her eyes, smirking. The fact that she had managed to annoy her boss like this was certainly something worth celebrating, even if she couldn't share it. This was a joy she'd keep to herself and would not mind one bit. But still, she had to get back to work so as not to sour this little delight.

()E+I()

She really was in a good mood. Even the food didn't taste nearly as bad as usual. Not that the sludge she had on her plate could be considered real mashed potatoes, but she would manage.

Taking the first bite, her mind drifted back to work, or rather, the conversations that had run rampant. Even though Sketch had cursed and bitched some more, she couldn't suppress the talk about the local Rider. And even if it was awkward to hear about 'Her gorgeous curves' from a coworker, there was a weird sense of pride about it she couldn't quite a place.

"Thanks again… Splash," Swift quietly returned, eating her salad hastily.

"Eh, nothing really," she dismissively returned. I said I'd pay, and I'll pay. I'm a woman of my word."

"Well, mostly because you don't wanna feel bad if you forgot," Id chuckled into her ear, in that sly, mocking tone she had already learned to loath.

"Shut up, Id," she muttered, exasperated, before taking another bite.

"She seems to be… quite the bother… doesn't she?"

"You can say that again," Splash sighed, turning over to her coworker. "Be glad you don't have one," she added.

Swift looked back at her with a weak smile and what sounded like a light huf. "I… I guess so. But… Maybe you are approaching her wrong? Don't you usually… you know… bargain with demons?"

"Brilliant idea; bargaining with demons ends so well every time," she chuckled, taking another bite.

"I don't know, I like the idea. A deal with the devil? What can go wrong?" The crafty demon added, Splash not even bothering to look over at her.

"Yeah, fat fucking no from me. I have seen the movies. I'm not stupid," she dismissively returns.

"I… See. Well, it's your demon, so… I'll leave it to you."

"Yeah, don't worry, it's fine," Splash said with a weak smile.

"Ok… Oh! I just wanted to say… You were fantastic yesterday! You… fought like you just escaped from Tartarus," Swift added, an awkward smile on her lips.

"Hehe, I guess so," Splash returned, scratching the back of her head. The light blush on her cheeks was barely noticeable. "I'd be lying if I didn't have a little bit of fun, but that was all from me. I really don't wanna deal with any of that shit for longer than necessary."

"I… I know what you said last time, but… Are you really sure?" She raised an eyebrow, having put down her fork, and now looked directly.

"Yeah, are you really sure?" Id repeated, hovering right next to Swift's face.

"Yeah… I'm sure," she returned with a sigh, followed by a quick glare at Id. "As fun and… exhilarating it is, and as much as I like the compliments they have about me, it's not just all fun and games. I'd be risking my life and the life of everyone around me, and honestly, fuck that noise. I'm not cut out for being a hero. The other Riders or the Power Rangers? Maybe? But me? Not in a thousand years," she sighed, poking around in her mashed potatoes.

"I… See. I understand. That's a lot, isn't it?"

"Yeah… If I would do it, every fuck up would be on me. And I don't care enough for people to stick my neck out for them. I mean, I'm no monster, so I don't want them to be killed, but besides that? Why should I risk myself for others? It's just… Too much pressure, you get that? But yeah, if I would fuck up, it'd be on me. I'd be responsible, and I just… Don't want to deal with that," Splash looked over to Swift, brows furrowed.

She simply nodded and looked back down to her salad. "No shame in that, I guess. I'm sure Colour will see it that way as well."

"Yeah… Colour… I'm sure he will," she groaned, looking back at her own food as well. "Anyway, different topic. Anything interesting on your end?" Splash awkwardly segued, which was followed by Swift telling her about her weekend with her parents that was coming up. She didn't really care all that much, but any topic was better than this.

()E+I()

Thursday was pretty much like Wednesday; there was lots of annoying work and lots of talk about the Rider, and in general, it was just a normal day. Time didn't really fly by, but it was certainly a relatively mercifully short day, only interrupted by Id's stupid comments, and before she even knew it, she was back to bed and sound asleep.

()E+I()

Friday felt similar but a lot less quick. The talk about the Riders was finally dying down, something she was happy about, she thought. As expected, this chapter of Fillydelphia would soon fade away and be forgotten again. But she had to admit, it was kinda shocking how fast that was happening. She had expected at least till next week. Oh well, not like she cared, right?

Work simply moved along sluggishly until she returned home; she crashed again, falling asleep after a good while just lying in her bed.

()E+I()

The alarm on Saturday was set to 1 AM, but even still, she barely got out of bed and, mainly through the nagging of Id. Dragging herself out of the pillows and into some clothes was even worse than when she was working. But she had some chores to do and some food to buy, so the threat of starvation did finally get her moving.

That said, it didn't mean her day was gonna improve. The line at the grocery store was so long that she felt like she would turn to stone before she ever got to leave. Things just didn't want to move, and nothing was interesting on social media to read. She really didn't want to start a conversation with a stranger in the line, so she simply bored herself out of her mind. She was shocked when she realized she had only waited five minutes for her turn.

Once back home, she collapsed onto her couch, only putting away the expirables, leaving the rest of her purchases on the kitchen table. And there she remained, putting on some videos and just hitting autoplay.

()E+I()

She groaned as she woke up the next day. Apparently, she had fallen asleep on her couch, the autoplay having sent her to some sort of sports documentary she wasn't even interested in for a minute, but just didn't feel like standing up yet, so she didn't bother changing the video. She just kept looking at the moving pictures, drifting in and out of consciousness.

It wasn't till her phone rang that she woke up again properly. Judging by the light shining through her window, it was probably already 2 PM. Groaning, she dragged herself up enough to grab her phone before falling back on the couch.

"Yeah…" she groaned into the phone, sounding like she had the energy of a sloth.

"Where are you, Splash? You wanted to meet up for some coffee today. I've been waiting for fifteen minutes already," a familiar, energetic but also disappointed voice came from the other end. "Don't tell me you forgot."

"Shit!" In an instant, Splash was up, and the tiredness pushed out of her mind within seconds. "I'll be right there, Snapshot!"

()E+I()

Splash was jogging through the city, already out of breath, but she was already unfashionably late, so she had no time to waste. Or at least, almost no time. There was one thing still left to be done after she had gulped down the sandwich pieces she had grabbed on the way out.

"Ok, what do you want?" She huffed out in between her breaths, coming to a stop just a corner from where she was supposed to meet Snapshot. She dared to take a little peak around the corner. She could see the small park covered in cherry trees, or rather, the leafless husks of cherry trees. She could barely make out a familiar figure leaning against one of the trees and checking his phone.

Slinking back behind the corner, a rather demonic face greeted her, staring directly at her. She would have jumped back, but that was somewhat hard, given she was already leaning against the wall. She settled for a gasp instead.

"Id! Don't do this again!" She hissed, letting out a deep sigh, which did not help at all in catching her breath.

"Awww, but it's so fun. You'll get used to it, so don't worry," the demon chuckled, dismissively waving her clawed hand. "Anyway, what do you mean by 'What do I want'?"

"Don't waste my time! You know what I mean!" She hissed back, glaring at Id, before adding an exasperated: "What do you want to keep quiet during this?"

"Oh, now I get it. You don't want brother dearest to think you are weird. Well, weirder than you already are," she giggled, much to the annoyance of Splash. "Fine, fine. I'm no monster," she giggled back. "So, Splash. You want me to keep out of this, right?"

"Yes!" She returned sternly. "Even if I question my sanity for thinking my impulses could control themselves."

"Well, to be fair. It sounds ridiculous, but I'm not just your intrusive thoughts. Otherwise, I'd just blurt out any thoughts you might have. Like when a cute boy or girl walked past you on the street," Id continued, the smugness in her voice unmistakable. "I'm more now. I'm my own being while also being you. Is that clear?"

"Not in the slightest! But what I get from it is that you have some impulse control."

"Basically," she shrugged. "That's one way of breaking it down. I know what you want deep down, and I'm gonna make it happen. Simple as that. And just being an annoying demon hovering over your shoulder shouting out your deepest, darkest desires would not be conducive to that. So, you can bargain with me, and I will hold off on that deal. After all, you can trust yourself, can't you?"

"Yeah… Sure… I'll just trust you for now," she sighed, defeated, shaking her head. "So, what do you want."

"Mhhhh… Now that, that is an interesting question," the demon mused, stroking her chin.

"And don't forget, we don't have all day," Splash added rather impatiently.

"My, rushing me so I don't get ideas. I know how I think. Man, I'm clever, but yes. Time is not something we should waste. So, here is the deal!" Leaning forward, the demo whispered into her ear, barely suppressing a mischievous giggle: "I'll keep out of this and let you two talk uninterrupted. You can hold me to this, and if I disturb you, your part of the deal will also be off. And you will… Have some fun with a friend after work."

Splash looked befuddled at the demon, blinking several times before her brain caught up. "That's… it?" The demon nodded. "I… was expecting something… a lot worse."

"Look, you may not really get that yet, but I'm you. And I want me to feel good. Not a hard concept, is it?" Splash had to begrudgingly nod. It weirdly made sense. "Good. And you have been a wound-up, lustless little pile of misery the last few days. Oh no, scratch that, the last year or so. You need to get out more! And that means spending time with your friends!"

"But… I don't have… friends," Splash encountered, still looking mighty confused at the floating figure in front of her.

"Oh, we both know this is bullshit. You may have patched things up completely with Colour Contrast, but you are considering it. And if that's too much, try Swift. You don't even dislike her. And really, you two already spent each day chatting. What else is that than a friend?"

"Uhh…" Splash couldn't give a proper answer to that. The fact she was being verbally beaten by herself was a bizarre and, honestly, kind of humiliating experience. But the demon was right. She didn't entirely want to admit it, but Swift was the closest to a real friend she had currently. "Fine, you win," she huffed, crossing her arms.

"Good girl," Id chuckled before adding: "Now get out there! You earned some time with your brother."

With a frustrated groan, she pushed herself around the corner, heading over to where she had seen her brother. He wore his usual Haywaii shirt, the white flowers with yellow highlights on a black background, over a yellow undershirt. His white trousers covered his new sneakers. His rich, blond hair was messy, but in a weirdly meticulous way, while his skin was just as white as she remembered him. His eyes sparked in a warm and friendly purple.

"Ah, there you are! Was almost afraid you'd fallen asleep again," he waved towards her, jogging over to her. "Don't tell me you still practice your 'It's weekend, no one cares when you head to bed '-routine."

"Charming as ever, you little idiot," she groaned but couldn't hide her smirk. "How have you been? Vlogging still going well?"

"Well, I've not been canceld, so, that's a good sign," he smirked, putting an arm around his sister and smiling at her, before immidiatly letting go of her again. "You couldn't have taken a shower, at least yesterday? Ughhh, you reek!"

Splash looked at him, took a sniff herself and had to begrudgingly admit, she really needed a shower. She kinda… just forgot to take one since… Oh Fortuna, since Friday! "Uhmmm… I plead the fifth," she quietly muttered, before she instictivly caught a spraycan.

"Here, freshen up a bit," Snapshot shook his head, closing the flap of his bag once more. "You really need to take better care of yourself, sis."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," she muttered, quickly applying some of the deodorant before chucking it back at him. "But glad to hear things are going well for you. How's mom and dad?"

He shrugged before adding: "Oh, you know, the usual. Getting way too invested in small things, but in general, it's good. And for you, well, besides the fact they cut the water to your shower, obviously?"

"You little," she gritted before just sighing. "Alright. Work is still shit, my coffee pot broke this week, and I was dragged into some bullshit with Spray Can and Colour Contrast, but that is also over. So all in all, could be worse," she just shrugged.

Snapshot just raised an eyebrow before continuing: "Spray and Colour? Really? Those two are just trouble if you ask me."

"Oh, they are, but… sometimes you just gotta get involved," she muttered, letting out an almost wistful sigh. "But it's done now, so don't worry."

"Alright, if you say so. Any art you finished recently? I really liked the last piece you made. Was very… abstract?" He tried to continue, brain clearly struggeling to find a good descripter.

"Art-critic of the century, aren't we?" She giggled, feeling herself relax a bit, a stiffness in her shoulders, she hadn't even noticed till now, starting to lose.

"Look, I know I like it; the why is just the problem," he shrunk down a bit, rubbing the back of his head. It's still good, though…"

"Yeah, yeah, I believe you," Splash shook her head with a soft smile. "But no. Art-block still hitting me like a truck," she groaned. "It's! The! Fucking! Worst!"

She looked absolutely exasperated, Snapshot awkwardly looking back at her. "Any idea why?"

"Well, I have a list. My boss, the job, having no- almost no friends, the fact I live in this city, the fact the only aknowledgement I get is from-"she stoped herself before getting into a bit too much detail about her short stint as a Rider. She was sure he wouldn't mind, probably even find it cool, but she was not interested in another drawn out discussion about giving up the Driver.

"Is from…"

"Nothing, just got too into it. That's all," she dissmivly returned, quickly jumping onto anything else as not to get nailed down on this. "Not like you know that, with your channel. I'm honestly shocked no-one has asked for a photo yet."

"Ok, I'm not that well known," he awkwardly returned, his cheeks flushing bright pink. "But I getcha. It's hard to relate when I just have to open up a video and see someone praising me."

"Truly a curse," she added with a dry, deadpan expression.

"Yeah, yeah, suffering from success. But it's not all that great, either. Most of my users would flip on a dime the first chance they'd get. They really only like the image I put out there. They don't really know… me. That's why any praise coming from you or anyone else who knows me properly is infinitely more worthwhile than thousands of their comments."

"I'd take some praise over no praise," she returned, almost a bit too dismissively.

"Can't fault you for that," he sighed. "But you got praise recently? What was it for?"

"You wouldn't be a fan," she awkwardly pressed out. "It's… related to Colour and Spray."

"It wasn't anything illegal again… right?" He stopped, looking over at her with a worried expression on his face.

"Let's file under; no one would convict me for it," she laughed nervously. "It was… something good, let's put it that way. Anyway, nothing I'd be in trouble for."

"Right…" He shook his head like he was talking to a dog that had gotten his head stuck in the door again. "Are… you still doing it?"

"No…" she said, her voice a bit disappointed. "Way too much work, way too much responsibility, even if it was kinda fun."

"Hey, a bit of responsibility isn't bad. Maybe give it a try?" Snapshot gave her a quick smirk. "I could offer an alt-"

"Yeah, yeah, your church. I already told you I'd pass," Splash chuckled. "And for the other, I think it's kinda out of my-"

"Down!"

A loud scream echoed across the plaza, and Splash's instincts sprung to life. She knew the voice, it was Id, and she sounded nothing like she'd ever heard before. That was pure panic. Without thinking, she grabbed Snapshot and dragged him down to the wet ground, and not a second too late as something sailed over them. Something white, pink, and black before it crashed into the bench next to them.

With a loud crash, the wood spintered and broke, as the something was dragged acros sthe ground. Splash pulled her head up and froze. That couldn't be right… That was… her? No! It was Ego! She was looking at Ego!

Her mind was racing when she felt her wrist being grabbed, Snapshot dragging her up and away from the Rider. He was shouting something, but she just wasn't listening. This just felt… wrong…

Her eyes darted around, saw the scared and running people, but also several that were staring in awe at the Rider, pulling out their phones and starting to film. It weirdly stung, each look of amazement another stab to her heart.

Snapshot pulled once more, managing to divert her attention from the Rider that was pulling herself back up again, only to make her eyes focus on another figure approaching her. It was a bulky-looking one, with white fur covering its body, a blue winter jacket covering its upper body, and a beard of blue icicles covering a bearlike face.

With a loud scream, the Deadmen rushed forward, swinging its arms, the Rider akwardly stepping backward, not daring to go on the offensive. Not that it helped her much as the creature struck her in the chest, sparks erupting from it as she stumbled backward, clearly trying to catch her breath.

The monster was just about to deliver another strike when two shots rang out from the other side of the park. With a loud screech from the Deadman, the blasts of energy erupted from its back, making it turn around.

The second part of the duo had arrived. The figure looked almost like Id, but it was marginally bulkier, straining against the clothing she wore. Further, the outline of the face under the mask seemed to be a bit more brutish as well. Spinning the paint gun in her hand, she dashed forward, kicking the Deadman away from the other Rider.

"She stole my weapon!" Id hissed out of nowhere, the jealousy clearly on display.

Before Splash could add anything herself, she was once more pulled by her brother. Turning around, she stared into a completely exasperated expression. "As much as I sometimes wouldn't mind seeing you beaten to a pulp, I'd rather avoid seeing it firsthand!"

Splash groaned but followed his lead, pulling further away from the fight, hearing the sound of explosions and trees falling behind them. But she couldn't help herself; once out of the splash zone and around a corner, she ducked behind it, staring back at the fight.

"Are you serious!?" Snapshot shouted at her, eye twitching.

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

Both Splash and Id said in unison, their voices overlapping, making him take a step back, clearly taken aback by her quick and stern answer.

Turning her attention back to the fight, she watched how the two new Riders struggled with the bear monster. The area around the three had been covered in several icicles, growing from the ground, trees, anywhere seemingly, something that gave its two opponents a lot of trouble, or at least the human part of the duo. She carefully tried to take a step forward, only to pull her leg back again, seemingly afraid to slip, much to the monster's delight.

With no such problems, it dashed forward before suddenly jumping directly at the Rider like a really big, needy child. Slamming its arms around her, it dragged its opponent to the ground before tipping her under it with all the weight it must have had. Not wasting a second, its arms came down again and again and again, hitting her square in the face. Sparks erupted from her face with each hit, followed by a pained grunt, only occasionally overshadowed by the malicious laughter of the Deadman.

While the monster kept pummeling the human Rider, the other part of the duo glared over before dashing forward, using the gun to blast away the ice in front of her. It didn't take long till she had reached the two, still struggling in their beatdown. While dashing around the monster, the demon Rider removed the Vistamp from her Driver and slammed it into the gun.

()ColourBurstDuo!()

Once more, the weapon started to glow, and she was blinded by the time she moved in front of the monster. The ice-bear Deadman barely had time to look up and into the barrel of the ridiculous gun.

()Colour Shot!()

A bright pink explosion filled the entire park with light, so bright Splash had to cover her eyes and even then, it hurt like hell. The loud boom did not make her feel any better.

When the light finally faded, there was nothing left of either combatant, simply vanished into thin air. Without even thinking, she rushed towards the newly formed crater, looking around and trying to figure out where they had gone. Snapshot was not far behind her.

"OK, what in Tartarus was that?" He shouted at her from behind. "You could have gotten yourself hurt or even killed!" He spun her around, forcing her to look directly at him. His face was a mix of various expressions, mostly worry.

Splash awkwardly opened her mouth before closing it again, avoiding her brother's look. "I… Look, nothing ever happens here. I just... Wanted to see it from as close as possible," she shrugged dismissively.

Snapshot looked dumbstruck at her like he heard the words, but they just wouldn't compute. "Are… Are you serious?" He finally managed to simply stammer out, eyes still glued on her. She just shrugged her shoulders, making him look at her even more like she should be institutionalized. "Are you really serious?"

"Maybe not my brightest hour," she admitted with a light blush on her cheeks.

"Oh, really?" Snapshot hissed back at her before grabbing her by the wrist and dragging her away from what was left of the park. Their little dinner had just become extra awkward, and she knew she wasn't gonna get out of his claws for the foreseeable future.

()E+I()

The day had really gone by like molasses after their encounter with the Riders. Snapshot drilled her for every bit of information he could, mostly how anyone could be this dumb and why she had such a death wish. The worst part was, she couldn't even blame him. If he had pulled this stunt, she'd be cussing him out like an old sailor; the fact he wasn't simply showed his superhuman restraint, which didn't mean he wasn't making her suffer for her idiocy like any good sibling would.

About four hours later, two more than she had hopped, he returned her to her apartment door. He looked awful and exhausted.

"OK, here we are," he sighed, streatching a bit. "Don't forget, we have a family dinner next week on Friday, ok?" He tried to smile, but it just didn't wanna happen.

"Yeah, yeah, I won't," she groaned. She really would love to forget it, but she'd never hear the end of it so that really wasn't an option. "Not like you'd let me anyway. Also… Kinda surprised you haven't jumped on the opportunity to livestream this today."

Snapshot huffed lightly, crossing his arms. "Really? You think I would do that when my sister is in trouble?"

"Not really," she smirked back. "But once you are home, you-"

"Of course! It's my job, after all. And given the chaos in the city right now, my viewers can use someone who'll tell them things will turn out fine," he returned with a warm smile.

"Ok, you saint," she returned, shaking her head. "See you around!"

She was about to close the door, but he stopped it with his hand.

"Something left to say?"

"Yeah. If you need someone to talk to, just call me. Even if you don't. You've… Not really been yourself today. You're my sister; just looking out for you."

She nodded, before slowly closing the door behind her. Once it locked shut, she kept staring at it, listening to his footsteps as he disappeared into the hallway and down the stairway. Only after she no longer heared him did she pull herself off from the door, dragged herself towards her couch, discarded her jacket and collapsed into it with an exasperated sigh. She felt spent!

She must have remained there for a good twenty minutes before she was pulled from her haze by a familiar voice.

"I'll honor our deal!"

"Huh?" She groaned, pulling herself up, looking utterly confused at the demon hovering next to her.

"What do you mean?"

"The deal was, as long as I'd stay out of your meeting, you'd spend time with a friend of yours," the demon continued, her voice showing no sign of her usual playfulness.

"Haven't forgotten that, but give me some time, ok?" She groaned, threw one of the couch cussions at her, which sailed straight threw her.

"No, you don't have to." That got Splash to raise her eyebrow. "You heard me. I got involved back then, so I broke the deal. Simple as that."

"You really… You really consider saving my life as getting involved?" She returned, her mind trying to crack what the demon was really going for.

"Yes, or am I wrong here?"

"I'm technically you did get invol- But why are holding yourself to it?" She stared at the demon, the exhaustion drifting into the background.

"I simply hold myself to our deals. I'm trying to avoid rules-lawyering. It would be beneficial for both of us if we could trust these deals, isn't that right?" Id simply stated, still lacking her usual lightness.

"I guess… That said… I think I should… you know…" She muttered, eyes drifting away from the demon again.

"Yes, I know, but please, speak it out," it came back, the playfulness creeping back in, at least a bit.

"Even when you save my life, you are insufferable," she groaned before adding a simple "Thank you for saving mine and Snapshot's life. I… Will think about… spending some more time with my… friends," she added before her head slammed back on the pillows.

"Appreciated," the demon said warmly. "But now, maybe go to your bed. I feel your sore back as well, you know that?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure!" With a groan, she pulled herself off the way too-comfortable couch and headed for her bedroom.

()E+I()

She hated to admit it, but she was gald for Id sending her to bed. She would have totally complained all day about her back if she hadn't moved sleep places yesterday. Not that it made work all that more bearable, but at this point, she took what she could get.

In general, work was as usual, some annoying commissions from the higher-ups, her boss chewing some coworkers out, and the office gossip. Today's topic; the Kamen Riders, again. She hated to admit it, but today, she was mostly annoyed at the fact every conversation turned towards the fight sooner rather than later. Wasn't there at least something else anyone could talk about?

Well, there was, but the topic wasn't all that much btter. Swift had come into the office looking like she rand face first into a stop sign. She had a black eye and several bandages and plasters all over face.

The rumor mill moved fast, especially in a place as dull and miserable as this. The theories ranged from an abusive boyfriend and a mugging to some truly ridiculous shit like getting caught in the middle of a gang war. Whatever anyone theorized, it did not seem to make Swift Pen feel any better, spending most of the morning hidden behind her sweater collar.

She even managed to avoid an of Splash's questions, at least until lunch. Splash simply planted herself next to her, like usually honestly and started, before Swift had any chance to back out.

"Ok, what happened? You look like your face kissed the asphalt." She looked straight at her, expression rather unamused.

"It's… Nothing. I… You know… slipped on my socks… and kinda… fell down the stairs," she meekly returned, sinking so much into her sweater that one could think she was a turtle.

Splash just raised an eyebrow before returning: "Bullshit. You wanna tell me that a blue eye and scrapes all over are the results of slipping down your staires? Where did you get that from? Domestic Abuse 101?"

"I…" she stammered back, avoiding her piercing look. "I don't have… a relationship… That couldn't be it…"
Splash sighed, rubbing her temples.

"Wow, she is bad at this", Id muttered, shaking her head as well while Swift just whimpered.

"Id, not now, please!" Splash groaned, almost looking pleadingly at the demon.

"Fine," she huffed before disappearing back into her.

"Splash… I… Please, this is nothing serious… Just drop it, ok?" Swift tried to say, grabbing her tray tightly.

"I'll drop it if you tell me what is wrong," Splash remained firm, arms crossed in front of her.

Swift looked to the side for a moment before nodding weakly. "I… I have to go…" Without another word, she grabbed her tray and bag, rushing away from Splash as fast as she could.

She was about to shout something after her and follow when she noticed Id pointing at something. She would have told her off again when she noticed where she was pointing: Swift's bag. It was open, and for the briefest of moments, she could see something rather familiar inside it—something mostly white, with purple and dark blue highlights.

"You gotta be shitting me," she muttered in utter disbelief. "She couldn't be…"

"You saw it, didn't you? And you really think Ebony wouldn't jump on her if he had the chance?" Id returned, her voice carrying a murderous undertone.

"Oh, we are going to have words…" Splash continued, her tone starting to mirror Id's.

()E+I()

Her mood hadn't really imprived, it had shifted. From energyless to pure rage, mostly at Ebony for tricking her into this, after all, that was the only reasonable way for this to happen, right?

He and, honestly, a bit at Swift. How could she be so damn reckless? Especially with her sorry performance yesterday. It was just a matter of time till she'd get killed doing this stupid, idiotic, thank-

Splash's thoughts were interrupted by her phone ringing. She only now realized that she had been staring at the wall, ranting at herself, occasionally interspersed by Id, mostly agreeing with her, for what was probably a good hour by now.

With a groan, she looked over to her phone, to see who was calling her, when she froze. It was Colour! What did he want? He couldn't have been done already… Could he? She hadn't expected him this early; she had hoped he'd be gone for at least two or three weeks, but-

"Are you gonna pick up, or not?" Id, who had hovered into her field of view asked, before clearing her throat, pointing at the phone.

()E+I()

"You work fast, you know that?" Splash muttered, having packed herself up in her thickest and coziest dark pink jacket. It was a memento from her tagger days, still showing several washed-out paint splotches all over. The white, fluffy collar stained in a faded rainbow of colors by now. She hadn't worn this jacket in ages, but when she looked into her closet, it almost seemed to scream for her.

"What, had hoped for a bit more time away from me?" He chuckled, having ditched the spikes and the anarchy shirt, but still seemed to keep trying on the mohawk. All in all, it seemed to suit him far more.

"You know her too well," Id interrupted her, the mocking tone in her voice only too familiar at this point.

"Shut up, Id!" She growled, swatting through the demon, who disappeared back into her.

"They can be annoying, can't they?" He sighed as the two headed up a rooftop in a rather familiar part of town. It wasn't too far off where she had beat him to a pulp if she remembered correctly.

"You can tell me that again," she chuckled, stretching herself a bit. "And yeah, Id was right. I had hoped I'd still have some time to… work through some things."

"Nah, I get it. Shit's complicated. You didn't need to come, but appreciate it all the same, really."

They moved up the fire ladder of a building, making sure no cops were in any way close by, a process that was deeply ingrained in their minds by now. It was almost nostalgic, if she had to admit it.

They were up on the building in no time, the cool wind blowing the snow through their hair and clothes as they stood at the edge of the roof. They could see the basketball court, or rather, what was left of it, from here.

"Didn't wanna forget the beating I gave you?" She raised an eyebrow, looking over to the location of their fight. It felt weirdly distant, but still… Also fresh.

"Something like that. It was weirdly inspirational," he sighed, looking awkwardly away. "Kinda like a new start, so to speak."

"Well, I'm not gonna mock ya. No promises on Id though."

"Oh, I will," she giggled from inside her. That was something she really didn't wanna get used to if that was even possible.

With another sigh, she pulled herself free from the view and turned back to Colour. "So, where is it?" Crossing her arms, she raised an eyebrow.

"Ri-Right!" He muttered, shaking his head, before pointing towards the wall of the small stairway that led to the roof. Given that there was still some light, she didn't have to get her phone out to see the piece of art properly.

It's not that she didn't do this within a few seconds anyway to take one, two, maybe a dozen pictures of it. Her jaw must have hit the floor, at least if one were to believe Colour's whistle.

"Damn, I didn't expect that reaction," he stated, clearly in disbelief at what he saw.

He should have, though. Besides the fact this was even better than what she had seen at the skatepark from him, solely from a technical standpoint. She looked at a stylized image of both Kamen Rider Ego and Id, punching through a wall, colors exploding everywhere, but still keeping the bodies of the Riders pristine. It was a splash of life in this drab city.

"I… You made this?" She stuttered in disbelief. "On your own?"

"Well, yes and no. You know how it is," he shrugged.

"He got help," a second, growly voice added before a black demon with dark blue lines all over his body appeared from inside him. His eyes glowed a threatening gold while his white teeth looked like he was perpetually hungry for a big, fat steak.

Colour just shook his head, before pointing at the demon. "Splash, Id, this is Greee. Greee, Splash Page, and Id, even if you know them already."

The demon glared at Splash before crossing his arms with a huff. "Ha, still as scrawny as I remember her. Even from closer."

"Still strong enough to beat you out of my friend," she huffed back, leaning in clover towards the ghostly figure.

"Pah, you just got lucky. Without that scientist, you'd be so-"

"Enough, Greee!" Colour groaned, the deamon letting out a displeased 'tsk', but retreating back into him.

"So, yeah. He stuck around," Colour nodded with a resigned sigh. "Not all bad, though. Legitimately got some good tips when it comes to art. Is that a thing with Id as well?"

"I…"

"She wouldn't know, hasn't touched a pen, digital or otherwise, in a solid month, if it wasn't related to work," the demon interrupted her, which earned her a piercing glare from Splash.

"You have art block?" Colour asked, taking a step closer.

"Look, no of your business!" She gritted back, her head snapping away from him with a sour expression etched into her face.

"I… I guess, but… Still… Any idea why?"

"Look, I don't and I'm not hear to talk about my art," she hissed back, with maybe a bit too much venom in her voice. "I'm here because I wanted to see your art and… It's… Better than anything I made in… ages." Her voice shifted fto a far more somber tone, shoulder slacking down a bit. "You're really good. You always were."

"Hey, I appreciate the compliment, but… I'm here because… I wanted to apologize. I was simply afraid after what Spray said, and that kept me from doing the right thing and reaching out to you. That's what friends should do. Even if you don't think of me like that any longer, I still see you as one, and… Well, friends look out for each other, so… What's the matter, Splash?" His voice was calm, too calm for her liking. No underlying motives, no snide undertone, no nothing. It was… honest, and that was something she hadn't heard in a long while.

"Friends…" she simply said before letting out a long exhale, her breath fogging almost immediately. "I'm not… sure I'm ready for friends right now…"

"Then see it as a stranger for now. If you really don't want to be friends again, I won't bother you after today," he returned, she could hear the suppressed hurt in his voice. "But if I'm not your friend and we won't see each other again, what's the harm in telling me what's wrong?" Colour raised his head with a warm smile.

"You and me both know this is bullshit, right?" She sighed after several cold, quiet moments.

"But is it wrong?" Colour simply returned, raising an eyebrow.

"I hate your logic sometimes," she groaned before leaning over the border of the roof, looking back to where they had fought. "Fine. Whatever, I'll tell you what's been bothering me."

"Ever since my so-called friends left me to clean up the pieces of our mistake and abandoned me," she hissed, the venom she had been building up for over a year at this point being unleashed in one moment. "I've been trying to cope with losing my future, some of my closest relationships, and my art! I've felt miserable ever since! Every day is a drag, a struggle to get out of bed, get screamed at by my bitch of a boss, get back home, and feel too exhausted to even hold a pen! That's what's been bothering me!"

Splash's breath was visible in thick, white clouds coming out her mouth, her expression angry, but also expecting.

"You've got every right to be angry... "Colour nodded, taking a step towards her. "But... I know you're going to hate me for saying this, and it'll probably ruin any chance of getting our friendship back, but I gotta be honest. At least now, you deserve that after I hid from you for so long. That's not all. You wouldn't be this angry about this alone. There is more, and your anger is fresher and deeper. But if you keep pushing everyone away, bottling it up, you'll never get out of this! Stopp wallowing in your own self-pity and ask for damn help already!" Colour shouted back, glaring at her, his eyes almost like daggers that pierced through her defenses like they were butter.

"I... You .. How dar-" Splash started, her voice rising with every word as she was interrupted by Id.

"He always had a good read on you, but never dared to say anything, didn't he?" The demon said, so nonchalant it boiled Splash's blood. "What? You and me both know he's right? So, do you want to tell him, or should I? Because he's getting that info one way or another."

Splash's fist shook. She wanted nothing more than to throttle her demon, punch her lights out, and shut her up for good, but... She couldn't do anything! She hadn't made a deal! She couldn't stop her physically! At best, she could attack Colour, but... even now, she wasn't that angry at him... Id had planned this from the start! She had fallen right into her trap! And it left her only one out...

"Fine! I'll tell him, alright!" She screamed back, head spinning back to Colour as she took a step towards him, making Colour step back on instinct. "My life sucks! I live day to day! I've been getting looks from everyone like I'm worthless! Nothing I do matters to anyone; nothing makes me feel anything, but then! Then I got this feeling of power! This freedom of being a Rider! It was fun! Exhilarating! Exciting! And the compliments! People cared about what I did! People saw what I did! I finally felt good! I finally felt like there was something that could wash away the gray of my life! But it wasn't worth it! Too much responsibility, too much of a burden for people who never gave a damn about me! They'd judge me for every mistake I'd make! It was too much! I knew that!"

She grabbed Colour by his collar and pushed him against the wall with his art before continuing to shout at the shocked man: "But why do I feel so much worse now! Why do I feel even emptier now!? Why... Why do I hate Swift Pen for taking the Driver and becoming a Rider? Why is every compliment she gets an insult to me!? Why do I want it back!? Why can't I just be fucking happy for once!?" She shoved Colour to the side before slumping against the wall herself. Her breath was ragged, her body shaking, and her head hidden behind her hands. "Why can't I just be happy..."

Colour looked at her, eyes wide, mouth open, unsure what to even say for several seconds, until pulled himself up. "Splash?" He smiled down at her with a weak but genuine smile. "Fighting and being seen made you happy, right?"

She weakly nodded.

"Then take that happiness! Play the damn hero for yourself, not them! Because I can tell you, nothing will change if you don't take some risks and effort! The reward is worth it compared to the risk, at least for you! And once it isn't, stop! You said it yourself, they didn't give a damn about you, so you don't owe them anything! Fight, have fun, save people, get their praise! Be a Rider and be happy! Who gives a crap why; just do it! The only way you will ever feel content again is if you start moving again!"

Splash didn't answer, but her breathing had calmed noticeably. Id looked at both of them, not saying anything either. They remained like this for a solid minute before Colour raised his voice once more.

"I'll... Leave now..." He quietly moved towards the fire ladder and began climbing down but stopped once more as he was almost about to disappear completely. "Call me when you feel ready. Or don't. That's a choice you have to make."

With that, the man disappeared into the night, while Splash remained on the building and only when she no longer haired the sounds of the ladder, did she finally break. It started slowly, light sniffs, that quickly grew into loud sobs, as she pulled her knees closer to herself, crying into the cold night, with no one but her demon and the painting of herself.

Author's Note

God, this chapter became way bigger than I had anticipated.

I had to split it in two, or it would have been way too long for my liking.

On the plus side, I got to end it on my favorite scene, so that's a bonus.

Thank you for the patience, even if it wasn't nearly as long a wait between this than the first two chapters.