Episode 9: One's Resolve
Kamen Rider Shifter could hardly believe what he was seeing.
He and the Rainbooms had been fighting to protect their friend, Derpy, from the Mimics that had been after her. And they had failed. The Mimics had gotten to her and a Dove-like Mimic had somehow encased her in a cocoon of amber. But that wasn't the most shocking thing. What they couldn't believe, was that the Mimic had then transformed into Derpy.
The girl looked over her new body, as Twilight realised what this meant. "Mimics...can mimic people."
The other Mimics managed to get away from those they were fighting and jump over to the new one, looking her over and nodding. "And what shall we call you, my dear?" Frill asked, as the Derpy lookalike smiled.
"Grace," she replied. "Grace-Kal-Lutz." The others nodded, only to suddenly find a bunch of green spikes flying towards them. But they managed to avoid the attacks and turned to Shifter, who continued to fight at them.
"Release her!" He cried. "Release her right now!"
"Or what?" Gule asked, as Grace reverted back to her monster form.
She shot forward and threw several darts at him, Shifter firing his spines to respond. The two attacks collided with one another and cancelled the other out, as Grace took to the air and flew out of Shifter's range. The Kamen Rider responded by taking out another Mimicore.
"FLIGHT!
As he changed forms, the Rainbooms had snapped out of their shock and realised they had to help Derpy. Pinkie started throwing sweets at the Mimic Generals, the three forced to move away from the cocoon. Applejack then ran over to it and with all her strength, punched the amber. But all that did was hurt Applejack's hand.
"Augh!" She cried, "what's this thin' made of?"
"Something that will never break," Gule stated before Maya fired a bunch of webbing towards them. The girls leapt away, as Flight Form Shifter flew up to fight Grace.
But as he did, the Mimic launched a bunch of feather darts towards him. He dodged as best he could, getting hit a few times, but managed to reach her and threw a punch. However, Grace was able to deflect the attack and punched him back.
"Pathetic!" She cried, also dealing him a kick that knocked him down.
"Augh!" Shifter groaned, realising this was exactly what Shining had told him. He needed Flight to get close enough to fight her, but he had no way of actually fighting her.
Grace launched several more darts, which flew down and stabbed his wings. This caused them to cease up and he fell to the ground, barely managing to land properly whilst the other Mimics knocked the Rainbooms away.
"Let's get out of here," Frill announced. "Grab the girl and let's go." They nodded and moved over to the cocoon, Shifter looking scared of this.
"NO!" He tried to fly, but couldn't. And as he took out his Strike Mimicore, the Mimics prepared to attack. But before they could, an engine filled the air.
They all looked around and saw Morphic, racing towards them on his bike. And before any of the Mimics could try and stop him, he pointed his Blitz Blaster at them and fired.
The lasers flew towards them and the Mimics were forced to take evasive manoeuvres, moving them away from the cocoon. Twilight then used her magic to lift the cocoon and pull it towards them, Applejack grabbing it as soon as it was over to them.
"My cocoon!" Grace cried. "Give that back. It belongs to me!"
"She doesn't belong to anyone!" Sunset yelled. "And I don't care what you say, we're gonna find a way to free her." The Mimics glared at them, as Gule jumped in front of them and unleashed a bright light. They all flinched at the light and were forced to close their eyes. When they opened them again, the Mimics were gone.
Morphic got off his bike and rushed over to them, seeing the cocoon and being shocked when he saw who was inside it. "What happened?"
"The Mimics," Pinkie cried. "They did this to Derpy. One of them trapped her in this weird slimy stuff and then changed to look just like her." Morphic was shocked to hear this and turned to Shifter, who nodded in confirmation.
"Can't you two do anything?" Rarity asked. "Break her out of it?"
Morphic held up his blaster. "You sure about this? There's no telling what breaking her out could do to her."
"It can't be any worse than letting her stay in there," Twilight pointed out. Morphic nodded and fired, the lasers hitting the crystal but doing nothing to even scratch or melt it.
"BLADE!"
They looked around and saw Shifter change to Blade Form, summoning his swords and slashing at the cocoon. But like before, nothing happened. Nor did using Rush, Pierce, Tough or Strike Form against it. The crystal just wouldn't crack.
"What do we do?" Fluttershy asked, as sirens filled the air. The police and paramedics had arrived and the Kamen Riders knew they had to leave.
Morphic got on his bike and raced away, whilst Shifter changed to Flight Form and took to the air. As they left, the cops rushed over to the girls and asked what had happened. They then saw Derpy in the cocoon and were shocked by what the girls had said.
The paramedics quickly got to work, trying to figure out if she was even still alive. All the while, everyone began to look rather suspicious. If Mimics could become humans, that meant anyone could be a Mimic. Anyone they knew, could be a monster.
Back in their base, Grace was standing in front of a mirror in her human form.
She looked herself over and smiled, though when she tried to make her eyes look straight she was having trouble. The other Mimics watched this and rolled their eyes. "Will you stop fawning over yourself?" Gule asked. "We didn't go through all that trouble so you could look good."
"I know," Grace replied. "But I'm just enjoying my new look. I can't wait to go out and strut my stuff."
"You won't be strutting anything," Frill stated. "By now, the whole city should know about what happened to the girl. You go out and people are gonna realise you're not human." Grace frowned, clearly annoyed she wasn't allowed to do what a Mimic did best. "We created you for a reason. What does your host know about Flash Sentry?"
Grace sighed and closed her eyes. "Quite a lot. His favourite food is mashed potatoes and sausages. He hates spicy food. He broke his arm when he was nine. Is scared of sock puppets."
"Scared of sock puppets?" Gule laughed. "Is there any way we can use that against him?" The others didn't know, but they were also chuckling. "Whatever. Let's focus on him fighting you. There's no way he'd attack someone with his friend's face."
"Maybe," Grace frowned. "But what about my cocoon? What if those humans find a way to free my host?"
"Impossible," Frill stated.
"You also thought the humans wouldn't have a way to fight back against the Mimics." The three frowned, knowing she was right. "I'd rather not take the chance they have a way to free my host. Who knows what that'll do to me? We need to get her back and quickly."
"Fine," Gule told her. "I'll help you get her back. Then we can focus on stopping Shifter." Grace nodded as the two headed out, whilst Maya and Frill watched them leave. They considered going with them, but decided to leave it to the pair of them. They had their own work to do.
Canterlot was in a complete panic.
News of Derpy being attacked by the Mimics and getting encased in amber had spread like wildfire. Soon, the entire city knew about it. And they knew about the Mimics being able to copy the appearances of humans.
Derpy had been taken to the closest hospital and there, several doctors and even a few scientists had been working to figure out what had happened to her. All the while, Derpy's family and several friends were there.
This included the Rainbooms, who had been asked multiple questions about what had happened. But the answer they gave weren't very helpful, so all they could do was sit around and pray for some answers. And as they waited, two more figures arrived.
"Flash?" Twilight got up, seeing Flash walking towards them with Shining. "Are you okay?" She noticed the bandages around Flash's head.
"I'm fine," Flash assured them. "What happened to Derpy? The last thing I remember is getting blasted back and everything was fuzzy. Then I woke up getting seen to by a paramedic." He already knew what had happened, but he needed to make it look like he didn't to hide his identity.
The Rainbooms told him everything and Flash did his best to look shocked and horrified. "Mimics can copy people?"
"It seems so," Sunset nodded. "But I don't think they can do it easily. That Mimic that copied Derpy didn't do so until she was trapped inside the cocoon.
"So they need to seal someone in a cocoon in order to copy them?" Rainbow asked, the others nodding. "And was it just me, or did that Mimic seem to get smarter after it captured her? It didn't talk before it captured Derpy."
Everyone thought about this and realised she was right. The Mimic had gotten smarter after capturing Derpy.
"Mimics have the ability to copy the abilities of different creatures," Twilight realised. "Cheetah speed. Spider webbing. Bird flight. They mimic what allows that animal to thrive. And what makes humans thrive is our sapience and intellect. And that's what allows Mimics to grow smarter."
Flash frowned, not liking the sound of it. He then thought about the other Mimics. The Generals who could also talk. If they needed a human to become smart, did that mean there was a trio of humans trapped the same way Derpy was?
The Mimics had wanted to take Derpy somewhere. Was it the same place those humans were being held?
Before anyone else could make that assumption, a doctor stepped into the room looking worried. "How is she?" Derpy's mother asked, the others listening intently.
The doctor sighed. "As far as we can tell, she is alive. It took some doing, but we were able to detect brain activity coming from within the cocoon. But it's very weak. Almost like she's in a coma."
"Can you free her?" Derpy's father asked, but the doctor shook his head.
"We've tried everything. Tools, acids, different levels or cold and hot temperatures. Nothing will break whatever she's trapped inside of." This announcement caused everyone to feel bad, as Derpy's father punched a nearby wall.
"Why didn't the Kamen Riders stop this!?" He yelled, Flash and Shining both flinching at this.
"They tried," Twilight told him. "They did everything they could to protect her. But the Mimics were just too strong." Derpy's father didn't seem to accept this and the Riders understood.
Flash remembered the battle and how useless he had been against the three generals. He needed to get stronger and find a way to save Derpy. And there was only one way he was gonna do that.
When nobody was looking, Flash snuck away. But Shining noticed him leave and followed. "Where are you going?"
"If there's a way to free Derpy from that cocoon, there's only one person who might know it." Shining nodded, understanding what Flash was gonna try and do. "Can you stay and keep Derpy safe? The Mimics tried to take her before. We can't leave her unguarded again."
"Don't worry," Shining assured him. "I'll keep her safe. Good luck." Flash nodded and ran out of the hospital, leaving the building and looking around. After a minute or so of searching, he found an area where nobody was watching and there were no cameras.
"I know you're there!" Flash cried. "I need to talk to you. Please." He waited and after a few moments, believed that the figure wouldn't answer him.
But before he could call out again, a white light appeared in front of him.
Flash blinked and shielded his eyes, as he stepped into the light and found himself back in the dark void. The light disappeared behind him, dropping him in total darkness. "Hello?" Flash looked around. "You there?"
"I am," the figure replied before appearing out of the shadows. "I figured you would ask for me, after what happened to your friend. I'm so sorry that happened to her."
"Tell me," Flash told him. "Can I get her out of there?"
"The material that makes up the cocoon is indestructible. So long as the Mimic that created it survives, nothing will free her from its hold."
"So I have to destroy the Mimic." Flash frowned. "Why didn't you tell me Mimics could do that? Turn into people. Who knows how many Mimics I've been surrounded by."
The cloaked figure nodded. "The Mimic's abilities to impersonate those they trap is their greatest power. With it, they can infiltrate even the highest of governments. Force the worlds they're trying to conquer to surrender without even lifting a finger. I didn't tell you or Morphic, because I didn't want you to drive yourself insane with paranoia. I fear that will be the fate of your world now that this information is revealed. To defeat the Mimics, your world must work together. But this might cause your world to turn on itself."
"I'll deal with that when it happens," Flash told him. "Right now, I just wanna save Derpy. That's why I'm here. If defeating Grace is the only way to save her, then I need something to give me the edge over her. I need another Mimicore."
The figure sighed. "As much as I'd like to give you another Mimicore, those things don't just grow on trees. New ones are in the process of being made, but it takes time. And I don't have one available for you right now." Flash's body shook, hating that he had no way to save his friends. "Besides, you don't need a new form to save your friend. You need to learn to use the ones you have in a new way."
"How?" Flash asked, only to suddenly hear a sound to his right. He looked around and saw a device, sitting on a table next to him.
The device looked like the handle to some kind of weapon, Flash stepping over and picking it up. When he looked it over, he noticed the glass section and felt the gap that could have something placed inside.
"Wait?" Flash took out his Strike Mimicore and checked, realising it could fit inside the glass perfectly. "What is this?"
"The Shift Striker," the figure replied. "Like you, it has the power to transform based on the Mimicore it's combined with. Using it, a Rider can wield the power of two Mimicores at the same time. If you were in your Strike Form and gave this the Pierce Mimicore, you would be able to fight in hand to hand whilst also having a ranged attack. I believe it's exactly what you need."
Flash could hardly believe it. This was exactly what he had been needing, Shining words from earlier ringing in his ears. "With this, I can beat Grace and save Derpy."
"Yes. However, there may be issues." Flash gave him a curious look. "You're connected to the Mimicores. Using them in the Shift Striker may result in a backlash I haven't foreseen. I'd suggest trying to use it here. That way, if something happens, I can help fix it before there's a problem."
Flash nodded, his Driver appearing as he activated the Mimicore.
"STRIKE!"
He quickly opened the draw of his driver and placed the Mimicore inside, holding the Shift Striker in hand as he struck a pose. "Henshin!" He slammed the draw closed, as the device activated.
"MIMIC! LIGHTNING BUG!" The Driver unleashed the slime and Flash was soon sealed within a cocoon, which then shattered to reveal him in Rider form. "Illuminate the light, striking through the darkness!"
Once the armor solidified, he took out his Pierce Mimicore.
"Alright," Shifter looked between the two devices. "Here goes nothing." He activated the Mimicore, the device lighting up as he slotted it into the slot. The screen slid perfectly into the glass case, locking into place so it wouldn't fall out. The metal part of the device remained outside the case, which Shifter could use to pull the Mimicore out when needed.
As soon as the Mimicore was in place, the Shift Striker lit up.
Shifter could feel the Mimicore's energy flow into the weapon. But as it did, something happened. "AUGH!" His head exploded with images and a flood of emotions flowed through his mind. Anger, fear, hatred. He was feeling them all at the same time, in an overwhelming amount.
The weapon began to change but before it could, Shifter dropped the Shift Striker and the figure watched it fall to the ground.
"What happened?" He asked, the weapon no longer glowing and returning to its normal state with the Mimicore inside. "You need to hold the weapon for it to transform." He turned to Shifter and saw him clutching his head, the Rider clearly in pain. "You okay?"
Shifter panted, as he turned to the cloaked man. "I...I don't know. When it started changing, it was like something inside me awakened. Like it was trying to break free. I was angry, scared and I hated absolutely everything that came into my head." He stood up straight, his head no longer feeling the pain. "But I feel fine now."
"I see," the figure nodded. "Those were most likely your natural instincts kicking in. The Mimicores hold the data of everything that makes up the animal it copies. That includes their natural instincts. Being a human, you're able to handle the instincts of one. But it's possible two might be too many."
"So you're saying if I use this thing, I could turn into a feral animal."
"The natural instincts of the animals is heightening your own primal instincts. But they're still your instincts. With focus, you should be able to control it."
"Alright," Shifter nodded and turned back to the weapon. He reached down and after a moment's hesitation, he picked it up again. And when he did, the device lit up and began to change. But Shifter was once again bombarded with the images and feeling he felt before.
This time, the images were more clear and Shifter could make them out. He saw images of a firefly insect, only it was trapped in some kind of amber. Just like what Derpy was trapped in.
The images then shifted to show what appeared to be Gule-Far-Tar. But the Mimic wasn't attacking him. Instead, he was looking happy. And finally, he saw another image. This one was of himself. Multiple images of himself flowed through his mind, one of him from behind, another of him turning to look in his direction, another of him looking absolutely terrified. And finally, one of him on the ground looking defensive.
As he saw this image, the emotions he had been feeling increased and Shifter couldn't take it anymore. "Augh!" He dropped it and staggered back, panting as he fell to the ground.
The cloaked figure watched, clearly concerned. He took out a device and without Shifter noticing, he scanned the Kamen Rider. "Could the other one be taking control?" He asked, though Shifter didn't hear him. "Could the Shift Striker be causing him to become free? Or could their link be growing stronger?"
"I'm not giving up!" Shifter got up and grabbed the device, which once again glowed whilst Shifter was struck by the images and overwhelming emotions once again. "AUGH!" He held on and tried to block them out, refusing to let this chance to save Derpy slip through his grasp. No matter what, he would find a way to wield this power.
Back at the hospital, Shining and the Rainbooms were still waiting outside her room.
Derpy's family were inside her room, the doctors hoping that hearing voices she knew might help her break out on her own. But so far, nothing had happened. "What do you think Derpy's feeling right now?" Fluttershy asked, the others turning to her. "Do you think she's still conscious?"
"I hope not," Twilight frowned. "I can't imagine what being conscious through something like that would be like." The others agreed, fearing Derpy might never be the same even if she was somehow freed from it.
Shining moved over to a section of the hospital hallway that allowed him to see outside. And when he did, he saw a large crowd of people. Most of them were reporters, who wanted to get an image of the cocooned girl for their story. Luckily, nobody had been able to get inside. The last thing Derpy's family needed, was to be shown on nationwide television.
But as he watched the reporters, he suddenly sensed something. A Mimic. "Oh no." Suddenly, a loud crashing sound filled the air and a scream soon followed. It came from Derpy's room, the Rainbooms turning to it whilst Shining ran inside.
When he did, he was greeted to the sight of Grace and Gule. The pair had knocked the humans around the cocoon away and Grace grabbed Derpy, looking ready to fly off with her. "Oh no you don't!" Shining tried to run in and fight, but Grace flapped her wings and unleashed a powerful gust. "AUGH!" The next thing Shining knew, he was being thrown backwards through the doors.
The Rainbooms saw this and all ducked, as Shining was thrown over them and crashed into the ground.
"Shining!" Twilight cried, but the others pulled her into the room.
"Stay away from her!" Pinkie threw several sprinkles in their direction, Gule and Grace being forced away from the cocoon. Twilight then pulled the cocoon towards them with her magic, but Grace had other ideas.
"I don't think so!" She unleashed a powerful gust, which caused the windows to shatter whilst the girls were thrown back into the walls. And as Twilight hit the wall, she accidently threw Derpy's cocoon towards the window.
"NO" Rainbow cried, using her super speed to run towards it and grab the cocoon before it could fall out of the window.
Gule used this opportunity to leap forward and deal a kick to Rainbow, knocking both her and the cocoon out of the shattered window. "RAINBOW!" Her friends yelled, but Rainbow quickly hit her geode and transformed.
Once she had her wings, she started flying and did her chest to carry the cocoon. But it was so heavy, she was barely able to hold it as she was pulled down to the ground. She finally managed to place the cocoon on the ground, whilst the crowd that had gathered started taking pictures.
Gule and Grace flew out of the window and flew down, Rainbow seeing this and looking ready for a fight.
The Rainbooms followed after, Twilight and Fluttershy flying whilst the others slid down a slide of Rarity's gems. They reached the bottom, as Gule and Grace began to attack Rainbow and get her away from the cocoon.
The crowd began to run away, whilst Pinkie and Applejack ran in to fight. Pinkie threw a bunch of sprinkles at them, but the Mimics pushed through and Gule dived down to deal a kick to Pinkie's chest. As she was thrown back, Applejack threw a punch at Gule. But he blasted her with a bright light, forcing her back.
Twilight started grabbing everything she could in her magic and throwing it at them, whilst Rarity launched her gems towards the Mimics. But Gule was able to avoid them all whilst Grace used her feather daggers to attack back.
Rainbow tried to speed up and hit her hard and faster, but Grace unleashed a powerful blast of wind to push her back before she could. As she hit the ground, Gule flew at her and tried to stab her with his claws. But Rarity was able to shield her just in time.
Gule's claws scrapped along the gem wall and he spread his wings, ready to fly over it and get her.
But before he could, a laser hit him in the back. "Augh!" He staggered forward and glanced back to see Morphic, who walked towards him from wherever he had come from. The other Riders smiled, but wondered where Shifter was.
In the dark area, Shifter was once again trying to get the Shift Striker to work.
"AUGH!" He cried, feeling the overwhelming emotions wreck his body. He had actually changed to his Blade Form, hoping using another form might be the key. But he was still unable to use the weapon and the images her was seeing were just as vivid.
Eventually, he couldn't take any more and dropped the device. He staggered back and fell to the ground, panting as the device laid on the ground beside him.
The figure sighed, beginning to believe he wouldn't be able to wield the Shift Striker. But as he was about to suggest a break, an alarm went off. "What's that?" Shifter asked, as the figure snapped his fingers.
A holographic screen appeared in front of him, showing the battle that was currently taking place at the hospital. "Looks like Gule and Grace are trying to make off with your friend." Shifter looked worried and got up, staring at the screen and seeing everyone fighting their hearts out. But it was clear, Grace wasn't going to be destroyed by their efforts.
"I have to get over there," he announced. "Can you send me back to where I was before?" The figure nodded.
"However, you still haven't gained control of the Shift Striker. I'm not sure if you can beat her without it." Shifter looked down at the device, concern flooding through him. He felt himself at a crossroads. Did he take the device and try again in battle, or leave it and try to save Derpy on his own. What should he do?
Morphic and Gule continued their fight, Morphic attempting to blast Gule with the Mimic staying close to easily deflect his hand whenever he tried to shoot him.
"You're not taking that girl!" Morphic cried, trying to throw a punch at Gule. But the Mimic was too fast and dodged it.
"Mimics take what we want. And eventually, this entire planet will belong to us." He unleashed a blinding light, forcing Morphic back before leaping forward and dealing a kick to his chest. This knocked him flying back, Twilight seeing this and grabbing part of the damaged road to throw at him.
Gule barely managed to avoid this and leapt back, as Grace threw a feather dart at her. "Twilight!" Rainbow ran forward, "look out!" She pushed her out of the way and the dart hit her wing, damaging it as she cried out.
"Rainbow!" Twilight gasped, as Rainbow was forced out of her ponied up form. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Rainbow nodded. She tried to transform again, but it didn't work. Her geode must have needed time to fix her wing before she could change. And that meant their best flyer was out of the fight.
The others were distracted by this and Grace unleashed a powerful gust of wind, which swept through the air and sent all the Rainbooms flying out. Rarity tried to shield them, but the wind just pushed her gems into them and they were all knocked away from the cocoon.
Grace laughed, as she flew down and landed next to her cocoon. "Face it. You can't beat me. I'm taking my cocoon and there's nothing you can do to stop me."
"I don't think so!" Before Grace could react, a blue blur flew past and slashed at her.
She cried out, getting knocked away from the cocoon. And as she hit the ground, the blue stopped to reveal Blade Form Shifter. "Grace!" Gule rushed over to her, as Grace began to pick herself up.
Shifter prepared to charge again, but Grace and Gule spread their wings ready to take off. "Sneak attacks don't work twice," Grace told him. "Just give up. You can't beat me in any of your forms."
Shifter stared at the two Mimics, then at the cocoon holding his friend.
He then reached behind him and took out the Shift Striker, the weapon staring back at him and making the Rider feel uneasy. He still hadn't been able to use its power. But it was clear he needed it to beat these guys.
"I've gotta try!" He took out another Mimicore and activated it.
"STRIKE!"
After a moment's hesitation, he slotted the core into the device and it powered up. The device began to glow and once again, Shifter was bombarded with the powerful emotions and the images flashed in front of his mind. "AUGH!" He cried, everyone seeing this and looking worried.
Shifter tried to hold on, but he could feel the emotions overtaking him. His grip on the device was loosening. If he didn't let go, he didn't know what would happen.
But before he could lose his focus, his eyes fell on Derpy once again. One of his best friends and someone who had always been there for him, even when he was being an idiot. "Can't...give up!" His grip on the device tightened. "I won't...let them...take her!" The images and emotions grew more vivid, but Flash forced all of them down as the device finished its transformation with a bright burst of light.
As this light flew over everyone, Gule felt something. The feeling he had been sensing whenever he and Shifter were close. And this time, it was more vivid and he realised what it was. "It can't be."
The light began to fade and everyone turned their attention back to Shifter, who was now carrying the transformed Shift Striker in hand.
The device hadn't changed much, though there were some differences. The Metal of the crossguard had turned orange and part of the handle had changed, now having an orange trigger with a black finger guard around it. But it was the top that had changed the most, as it now had a orange metal box running along the top. And coming out the end of that box was an orange stick, roughly twenty centimetres long and pulsing with an orange glow.
"That's it?" Grace asked. "After all that build up, that's all it is. What a letdown."
Shifter said nothing and pointed the device at her, pulling the trigger and causing the orange stick to glow. Then, it unleashed an orange beam of light, which flew towards Grace faster than she could react.
"AUGH!" She cried, as the beam slammed into her and she was knocked back.
Everyone was shocked by this, Shifter turning the weapon towards Gule and firing. The Mimic General was still reeling from his realisation and didn't react, as the beam slammed into him. "GYAH!" He staggered back, whilst Grace picked herself up and charged forwards.
Shifter quickly pressed a button on the side of the device, causing the black box on top to suddenly shift ninety degrees upwards. Now only the back of it was connected to the main body of the weapon, whilst the orange energy stick suddenly extended to three times its size. The weapon was now a glowing futuristic rapier, which Shifter could probably use to attack with incredible speed.
And that's exactly what he did, using his Blade Form's speed to close the gap and thrust the end of the stick into Grace's chest.
She cried out, as Shifter pulled back and attacked several more times with blinding speed. Eventually, she spread her wings and leapt up into the air. Shifter stopped his attack and took out another Mimicore, activating it whilst opening the draw of his Driver.
"FLIGHT!"
"Shape Shift!" He quickly replaced the Mimicores, causing his armor to melt, reshape and change colour.
"MIMIC! OWL!" The armor reformed, the large wings appearing on his back. And as Shifter removed to Strike Core from his weapon, the belt spoke up. "Flying through the sky, seeking prey with all seeing vision!"
Everyone watched, as Shifter placed the Blade Mimicore into the Shift Striker. And as he did, the weapon began to transform again. But this time, Shifter wasn't assaulted with the strange images and emotions. Did he not have to worry about that anymore?
Transformation complete, the parts of the devices that had once been orange were now light blue. And coming out of the top was a blade, just like the ones Shifter had when he was in his Swordfish Form.
Shifter swung the sword around, though not as fast as he had when the weapon was in its Strike Form. But it was clear that this weapon had a lot better cutting power.
Grace saw this and looked worried, as Shifter's wings grew and he took to the air. "I hope you're ready," he told her. "Because the winds of victory have shifted." He then charged, flying forward at high speed.
The Mimic started firing her projectiles towards the Rider, but Shifter easily dodged and deflected them away as he got in close. Once he did, he swung the blade around and slashed at her. "Augh!" She cried, the tip of the blade slicing down her chest.
"Raaaah!" Shifter wielded the sword in both hands, Grace barely able to avoid getting cut anymore. Shifter then swung his leg around and kicked her, the Mimic too focused on the sword to notice it and dodge.
She cried out, as she was sent rolling through the air. Shifter then dived down and swung his sword as hard as he could, once again managing to get the tip of his blade to cut into the Mimic's front as she screamed.
"Awesome!" Rainbow cheered, seeing Grace having a lot of trouble. "That new weapon of his, really packs a punch."
Twilight nodded, analysing how the weapon worked. "He can use one of his Mimicores on himself, whilst using another in the weapon. This gives him two powers that he can mix together."
Morphic was also watching and very impressed. "This is just what he needed." He then turned to Gule, who had recovered from his earlier shooting. Morphic expected him to jump into the fight, but the Mimic just stood there. "What's he up to?" Morphic was ready to attack, just in case Gule tried anything. But he had a feeling he wouldn't need to.
Grace growled as she felt some of her slime seeping out of her body. "Damn you," she cried before she started throwing feather darts at Shifter with blinding speed.
The Rider did his best to avoid and block them, but there were just too many. As such, he removed the Blade Core and replaced it with another one.
"PIERCE!"
The device had once again changed, to a much greater extreme than it had before.
This time, it was partly green. And instead of having a weapon coming out the top, it was coming out the side with the Mimicore connected to the weapon. This one was a long rectangular tube, which was mostly black with green lines running along it. The whole thing looked like a futuristic rifle, which Shifter held it like.
As the feather darts flew towards him, he held the weapon up and pulled the trigger. Doing so caused a long green bullet to fire out of the end, looking just like one of his quills. The bullet shot through several feathers, cutting right through them without losing any speed. And eventually, it struck Grace in the shoulder.
"AUGH!" She screamed, her arm going completely dead. "What just happened?"
"Oh yeah!" Shifter smirked as he fired another spike towards her. This one, Grace was able to dodge. Shifter realised that whilst this weapon had more power, the bullets weren't as fast as the weaker Strike shots.
Grace used her one working arm to throw a feather dart towards Shifter, but the Rider dodged the projectile and fired his own at her. The pair kept this up, firing several shots at one another as they continued to fly around. And eventually, one of them got hit.
"GAAAAAAAH!" Grace screamed, as the green bullet stabbed her wing and caused the limb to just stop. This forced her to only glide, causing her to fall to the ground as Shifter replaced his Mimicore in the Shift Striker.
"STRIKE!"
The weapon transformed again and Shifter quickly changed it to the rapier, the Kamen Rider flying in and dealing several quick strikes to the Mimic. He focused on the areas that had already been damage, causing those injuries to get worse until Grace couldn't take any more.
Her wings gave out and she fell to the ground, whilst her opponent hovered over her.
"Time to end this." Shifter removed the Mimicore from the weapon before pushing it back in, causing the Shift Striker to light up as he hit the side of his belt.
"CLIMATIC FLYING STRIKE!"
Shifter's wings grew until they were four times their normal size. Like with his normal finisher, he beat his and created a powerful gust. This gust flew over to Grace and before she could stop it, she was lifted into the air. "WOW!" She tried to fight it, but her injured wings could break free.
The wind morphed into a tornado, which spun Grace around and around. And as it did, Shifter flew into it.
She saw him coming and gasped, throwing several feather darts towards him. But Shifter used his Shift Striker to deflect them all, as the blade glowed brighter and brighter. "No! PLEASE!" She tried to fly, but couldn't. "DON'T DO THIS!"
Shifter heard this and felt a bit of pity. "Will you free Derpy?" He actually stopped flying towards her, giving her the chance to think about her answer. And eventually, she glared at him.
"I can't!"
"Then you leave me no choice!" He charged forward, his weapon pulsing with energy. Grace screamed, as he thrust the weapon forward and stabbed her with it.
The Mimic's screams echoed through the air, as the tornado disappeared and Shifter was flying past her. He landed and as he did, he swung his repair around with an orange light following before it returned to its base form. When it did, Grace was surrounded by an explosion. The Mimic's cries were drowned out by the blast, as the fireball faded to reveal she was gone.
Everyone was shocked by this, including Gule.
Then, a cracking sound made them all look down and see the cocoon around Derpy was breaking apart. Once every part of it was cracked, the cocoon fell apart and Derpy fell out of it onto a pile of broken amber.
"DERPY!" Her friends cheered, rushing over to her.
"No!" Gule cried, as Shifter turned his attention to him. Morphic was also ready, his Blitz Blaster aimed at the Mimic. Shifter did the same with his weapon, switching to gun mode and pointing it at Gule. The Mimic General's gaze shifted between the pair until he growled. "This isn't over." With that, he unleashed a bright light from his body and blinded everyone.
When the light faded, Gule was gone.
Shifter and Morphic ran over to where he was, but there was no sign of him. They then turned to Derpy, who Rainbow was helping sit up. "Come on. Wake up!" Then, the girl's eyes began to flutter open.
"Wha?" She looked around. "What happened?"
"Derpy!" Pinkie hugged her, "you're alright!"
"I am?" Derpy asked. "What am I alright from?"
"You don't remember?" Sunset asked, with Derpy holding her head. "You were attacked by a Mimic. it...got you. Trapped you inside a cocoon. Then it transformed into you."
Derpy continued to hold her head, clearly trying to think back.
"The last thing I remember is a bird creature approaching. After that...just a bunch of blurry images. It's like...I don't know. Like a dream I can't quite remember."
"We should get you inside," Twilight suggested. "Your parents have been worried sick and you might have been affected by whatever happened, more than you realise." Derpy nodded as Rainbow and Applejack helped her back to her feet. Twilight then turned to the Kamen Riders. "Thank you. For saving her."
"Don't mention it," Morphic nodded.
"It was my fault she got captured anyway," Shifter stated. "I won't let that happen again. I promise." They nodded, as sirens filled the air. "We'd better get out of here." Morphic nodded and the two summoned their bikes, quickly getting on them and racing off whilst the Rainbooms helped Derpy back inside.
To say her parents were happy to see her was an understatement. Derpy was also happy to be back, and thankful to the Riders for saving.
In the Mimic hideout, Frill and Maya were upset to discover Grace's destruction.
"So much for that plan!" Maya growled. "The Rider wasn't hesitant to attack her at all. By the looks of it, using his friend pushed him to get even stronger. Now what do we do?" Frill wasn't sure.
He turned to Gule, who was sitting off to the side. "What's up with you?" Gule turned to him. "You've been stuck in dreamland since you got back here. We need to focus on coming up with a way to beat the Riders. A little input would be appreciated."
Gule said nothing and walked off, the other two Mimics sharing a confused look.
Gule entered a room alone and thought back to the battle, when he sensed Shifter's power and recognised it. "Sheave-Far-Tar," he whispered. "Could you really be him. What are you doing, helping the enemy?" His fist clenched, "brother."
Back at the hospital, Derpy was laying in her bed.
She had undergone a bunch of tests, but the doctors had been unable to find anything wrong with her. As far as they could tell, her experience in the cocoon had left her without any lasting effects.
There was a sudden knock at the door and she turned to see Flash step in, still wearing his bandages. "Hey," he smiled, "glad to see you're alright." Derpy smiled back, as Flash stepped over to her. "You are okay, right?"
"Yeah," Derpy assured him. "I'm fine. Though things are still a blur."
"Well don't try and force yourself to see what happened. You might want to forget about what happened to you. I know I'd rather forget about something like that."
"I guess," Derpy nodded. "But it's weird, having these gaps in my memory. I feel like I should know what happened, but I just can't put the pieces together." Flash nodded at this. "What about you?"
"Me?"
Derpy frowned. "I don't know why, but you're one of the few images in my head that aren't blurry when I tried to remember what happened. It's like I was thinking about you whilst I was trapped in the cocoon. Or something like that. It wasn't just you I was thinking about. It was everything about you. Your likes, dislikes. Even your family."
Flash frowned, wondering what that could mean.
"Don't worry about it," Flash told her. "I'm sure it didn't mean anything." Derpy didn't look so sure, but nodded and changed the topic.
Flash remained as long as he could, the two talking about anything that would keep her mind off her experience. Eventually, visiting hours were over and Flash had to head out. Derpy would be staying a few more days. But once she was out, Flash promised they would hang out.
As Flash left her room, Shining was waiting for him and the two left together.
"So she's alright?" Shining asked, with Flash nodding. "That's good. Hopefully, the Mimics won't try and do that to her again. I'd hate for her to have to spend her life in constant fear."
"Yeah," Flash nodded. "But we've got bigger issues right now." Shining raised an eyebrow. "If Twilight's right about the Mimics and those that talk can only do so because they captured a human, then that means there are at least three others who are trapped and need saving."
"You're right," Shining nodded. "And that's only the ones we know about. There could be dozens, maybe even hundreds of Mimics. Hiding in plain sight." They looked around, unsure whether they should be paranoid or not. There was still so much about the Mimics they didn't know.
What other surprises were in store for them at this point?
In the dark void, the cloaked figure was watching the holographic screen.
On the screen was the battle that had just taken place, with Shifter using his new weapon with impressive skill. "Not bad. Not bad at all." The screen disappeared and the figure walked through the dark room, eventually coming to some kind of wall.
Part of that wall opened up, revealing a pair of doors that light began to seep through and fill the room. The figure walked through these doors, into some kind of laboratory. Multiple different pieces of equipment lined the walls, the figure clearly familiar with all of them.
"They grow stronger every day. But so do the Mimics." He headed towards another set of doors, which also opened as he approached. "Things are beginning to change. Humans know that Mimics are able to copy humans. It won't be long before the Riders realise the truth."
He stepped through the doors, into a small dark room. And when a weak overhead light came on, it revealed two amber cocoons inside the room.
These cocoons were just like the one that Derpy had been trapped in, being the size of an average human. And inside each one was a human.
Flash Sentry and Shining Armor, the two appearing to be in some kind of sleep. They stood perfectly straight within the cocoons, their eyes closed as they were sealed inside the rock. The cocoons had wires and sensors connected to the rock, scanning the ones inside.
The figure stared at the two trapped individuals, fearing what might happen if the truth came out. He prayed that before then, the Mimics would be close to defeat. For the Kamen Riders remained the only thing that could stop them and save their world.
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To be honest, I knew that Flash would be a mimic due to some clues but damn, I didn't think Cloaked Figure would be the one who essentially using their bodies for his agenda.
Not to mention Flash or rather Mimic that posed as Flash's real name is Sheave-Far-Tar and he's Gule's brother.
On the lighter note: Flash got a sweet weapon!
media.tenor.com/2eAT_fLMnVEAAAAM/newman-seinfeld.gif
Oh, Flash finally got his own weapon? Nice!
Okay, this is getting weird and interesting…. I am surprised that Gule is in his head which explains why they sense familiarity with each other.
Okay, Cloaked Figure… what are you talking about?
Wait, Gule figures it out?!
Ha! Remember the old saying, Grace? Never judges a book by its cover!
Why that question sound ominous?
Wait? WHAT?!
So, Sheave-Far-Tar wasn't some gibberish words that Flash speaks…. IT WAS THE NAME OF GULE'S BROTHER?!?!
Why I had a feeling there's one more?
What are you talking about, Cloaked Figure?
Wow, okay this was a lot bigger than I was expecting it to be. The Riders managed to save Derpy and Shifter got his new weapon, which will be very helpful going forward. I was actually afraid for a moment that if the Mimic was destroyed than the original would die with them, but fortunately that wasn't the case and Derpy was saved after Grace was destroyed. That also means that once the Generals are destroyed, the real Timber, Chrysalis, and Neighsay should be okay (regardless of my feelings about any of them).
But two big bombshells. We have a reason for why Guile keeps acting up around Shifter. It seems his brother is Sheave, the name Flash said previously. On top of that, the ending is even more shocking, since it implies the Flash and Shining that are the Riders aren't the actual Flash and Shining! I don't know how to feel about that, and now I don't even know if this cloaked figure that's been helping them is a good guy or not.