Scene #7713: KRE: And Now...

Owner	Pose
Chase	There's once again, another broadcast warning of a Bugster sighting. It follows with the same general health warnings, as well as the location of the monster. Both for civilians to stay clear of, and for Riders and other do-gooders to take advantage of. The destination this time is Ajinomoto Stadium, just one of many stadiums in the country of Japan, but for some reason or another, an extremely popular haunt for kaijin and their ilk. Inside, a fight is already taking place in the field itself, a black and purple Kamen Rider getting promptly smacked with an anthropomorphic cheetah wielding a wooden club. There's a comically large 'hit' SFX that appears as they sail through the air, landing several feet away as they turn their attention to those of the group that are already there. "Alright dudes and dudettes. Best back off from me now before you end up like mister dark, dull, and boring over there. Only warning you once, ya dig?" They point their wooden club at the rider who is currently struggling to get back up, before resting it against their shoulder as they wait.
Kale Hearthward	Another day, another monster sighting. Kale arrives on a direct as-the-hawk-flies path from the nearest warpgate, and lands gently (perching, really) on the barrier separating the field from the stadium seating, taking no aggressive actions (yet) as he just watches for a moment. "Hey," he calls. "Going to need you to stop..." "... doing... whatever it is you're doing. What is it you're doing?" He looks around. "I mean - besides beating up whoever it is over there?"
Featherman Neo	Featherman Neo is here! He leaps forward at the stadium, skidding in front of the Bugster, and posing. "Featherman, fly!" And as he poses, he takes advantage of his mind reading INTUITION. He tries to see if this Bugster, unlike the other, has actually awoken or not. The other seemed to be following a script. Is the Cheetahman, too, or has he achieved personhood? This matters only in so much as it indicates how far Featherman Neo will possibly escalate. "Stop at once, Bugster! You assault my fellow masked hero, and I can't allow you to succeed!" Another pose. Gives him more time to scan.
Rita Ma	Rita the perfectly ordinary girl is here, leaping down from the seats to land gracefully on the field. In the past she's come unarmed; this time there are crossed swords strapped to her back, in addition to the light leather satchel by her side. She's just about to reach for one of the blades when he speaks. Her eyes widen in response, a hand coming up to cover her mouth. Monsters that hurt people need to be killed. But... the Bugsters from before weren't people themselves. If he's causing havoc for no reason, I'll put him down, but...! There's obvious unease on her face as she weighs her options. Talking seems like the least bad one. "What do you have against that masked man? Why are you fighting?" (But just in case, her physical form shimmers slightly as her invisible true body steps out of its disguise-wrappings, leaving them behind. The Rita that's standing there in the open is now nothing more than a hollow decoy.)
Go Shijima	The Ride Macher is a white superbike with a red stripe, matching Kamen Rider Mach's color theme. Mach is already suited up in 555 form, the bike's engine whining with a pitch that suggests far more sophistication in design than its relatively normal appearance would suggest. Normal, that is, except for two black protrusions at the front--blasters of some sort. Mach's bike weaves in and out of traffic, at one point cutting into a wheelie to launch from a conveniently placed set of construction materials in the approximate shape of a ramp. The bike's engine roars as Go gives the accelerator all it's got, landing after the jump and riding -up- the exterior wall of the stadium. Some thing that heavy, coming down from such a height, doesn't seem like it'd land gracefully. It probably wouldn't, without guidance from Mach's suit thrusters, which allow it to glide smoothly over the seating and onto the green. When it lands, he pulls it into a tight drifting brake, leaping off of the side, landing on his feet and giving Aries a two fingered salute. "Sorry," he says. "It takes a lot more than one warning to get through to me." His right hand makes an apologetic shrugging gesture... but his left hand hovers towards the Front Wheel Shooter at his hip. There's a glance to the purple and black rider. "Kamen Rider Mach. What's the situation? Has this one... you know... 'realized himself' yet?" He doesn't know the word the gamer doctors use for it.
Cantio	-EARLIER- "More Bugsters? Are they in...? No. Good. Then.... No, I'll head out. I can collect more samples this way." -NOW- There's a brief flash of light from behind one of the many convenient body-covering corners in the stadium, followed by Cantio stepping out to face the black and purple Rider along with the anthromorphic cheetah. As always, she's dressed in her usual white and purple/pink jacket skirt combo thing, and her hands are actually free for once as she approaches the pair along with several other familiar and unfamiliar faces. "Hold it right there! Explain yourself now, or...!" There's a long pause as Cantio stares right at the club-wielder, opening her mouth for a moment before shutting it. She shakes her head quickly, then straightens up slightly as she stuffs her hands into her pockets. "Please, let's work this out. If you're capable of speech and..." She glances over at Go and Featherman. "Realized...? If you've done that, then you should understand this much. Your best bet at getting out of this unharmed is showing us you're not a wild monster. What do you say?" As she speaks, however, she's keeping her hands on the miniaturized sword and drones in her pockets. She's not making the first move to attack, but she does have her guard up! Sort of.
Hibiki Tachibana	The last encounter with a Bugster, at least as far as Hibiki is concerned, a lot of things happened. Enough that there's still some lingering anxiety somewhere in her chest at what might happen this time, though that still comes second to getting herself together and getting to Ajinomoto as quick as her legs will carry her. This reminds her of the last time kaijin showed up at a stadium... "The black Kamen Rider...!? We got here in time for once!" Hitting the field (after a convenient off-screen transformation) just in time to see him sent flying, she comes to a stop at the sidelines and shifts her attention towards the Bugster. At first she looks angry, and then just confused. "...Wait a second..." She does a point at him, squinting. "One of the Cheetahmen!?" She squints harder. "...No, you're too low quality to be one of the ones I met before!" The finger point becomes a clenched fist, though one that she keeps close to her chest while staring him down. "...What are you trying to do here? Now that all of us have shown up, you can't really think you can fight against all of us, can you?"
Hamada Haru	"Don't use it to transform unless you have to," Doctor Hamada had warned her son, after giving him the blaster. The weapon that Hamada Haru carries in his hand has the look of a short-barreled submachine gun, closer to a pistol than to a carbine or a rifle, and certainly not meant for distance engagements. A series of tubes -- three colored, one in red, another in green, the third in yellow -- run towards the mounting point of what appears at a glance to be some sort of magazine. Two of the magazines are in Haru's pocket. The default loadout is still present in the weapon. Haru emerges from the outer ring of the stadium -- where concessions line the walls -- through one of the numerous seating exits that pepper the interior of the stadium. There are already many people here to intervene; most of them have something to say. Hamada Haru does not. He levels his weapon and fires a volley of three shots along the flank of the cheetah, as is customary.
Xion	While most of the party roll up to face the Cheetahman (relation? no relation?) bugster -- or even fire the customary greeting of Three Shots from off screen -- Xion appears from a two-dimensional tear in space, stepping out directly into a squatting crouch next to the fallen black and purple Kamen Rider. "You've had a really rough day, haven't you? But, if your transformation hasn't fallen off, you can still fight, right? Second wind!" She encourages with a big smile, offering a hand up. "This is going to go south really fast so if you need more than, like, a cup of water, you should hurry up." She suggests with an urgent pump of her fingers.
Chase	"Realized? The heck y'all talk- Oh! You're talking about my host guy. Naaah, man, not yet, he's still kicking by like a thread. Kinda a bummer, which is why I showed up to wreck this place to put the final nail in the coffin, so to speak. Then this lame-o showed up and ruined my vibes." He squints his eyes at Hibiki for a second, before turning to Cantio. "Nah dudette. You and I know that ain't happening. It's either you leave or you join your compadre over there chillin on the floor, and I'm starting to think it's the latter that's about to happen. Like, no hard feelings or whatever." Adopting a combat stance, the cheetah kaijin is caught completely off guard by Haru's blasts, stumbling a bit in a daze. "This was all within my predictions as the Game Master. I would be worrying about yourself right now." The mystery rider turns their head to Xion as they speak to them, before turning their attention back to the Bugster. The black and purple rider takes advantage of the opening, ignoring the robed girl's hand and jumping up and latching onto the back of the man cheetah. Whipping out a strange game-like device, they stab the monster in the side of the arm, eliciting a pained roar as it suddenly elbows them off of it and straight into Xion. Communication now having completely broken down, it attacks, jumping high into the air and phasing straight through the ground behind Hibiki. A wooden club smacks them straight in their backside, much like a baseball bat, and attempts to send them flying towards the source of where Haru shot them. The rest of the group receives a beating. A flurry of kicks and club strikes too fast for theeye aimed at their joints in an attempt to cripple them and leave them on the floor.
Featherman Neo	"You're right. You're not there yet. Even so, I don't want to destroy you...but a life hangs in the balance. I'll do what I must to save that life..." There's a glance from Featherman Neo to Go Shijima. If the people working with the hospital have any plans, it's time to see them. For now, Featherman summons a locket. SNAPSHOT The locket opens after being placed into the belt, revealing Featherman Engarde, the armored knight. FEATHERMAN ENGARDE - SUMMON As Featherman Engarde appears, the disarming strike blasts into Featherman Neo, knocking him backwards with sparks, but he calls out. "Let's go!" Featherman Engarde goes lance first, moving to impact hard with the Cheetahman Bugster, energy gleaming from the lance, as Featherman Neo himself draws his knife, leaps forward, and slashes three times, each moving to carve into areas weakened by the piercing strike.
Cantio	"Your host is still alive, then... Good. That means there's still time." Cantio lets out a relieved sigh as she draws her sword from her pocket, timing the expansion of the blade with it coming out of her pocket so it looks like she's just pulling a fully-sized claymore out of her pocket. Resting that on her shoulder, Cantio glances over at Chase before turning back to the cheetah kaijin. "No... No, I understand. It's unfortunate that you and your host's r existence are tied to the other one dying, so I can't blame you for doing this. But it's like you said." Shifting her left foot forward, Cantio adopts a defensive stance as she brings the weapon to shoulder level and points the tip right at him. "No hard feelings. And..." She glances over at the mystery Rider. "The same to you. We'll bring this one down, and then we can figure out the rest from there." Lunging forward as the kaijin starts hurtling around with that club and martial arts strikes, Cantio steps into the blows rather than away from them, barely mitigating the impact by getting hit by them a little too early each time. With each strike, however, she strikes back forcefully with her own as if just trying to trade blows like this is some sort of punchies contest! The club strikes one arm, and her other shoves the hilt of her sword into the kaijin's face. He kicks her in the side, and she drags the blade sideways to try and carve into that same leg. He strikes her chin with the club and launches her backwards, and she flips in midair to fire off barrage of lasers at his ankles to try and blow right through them.
Hamada Haru	Something is angled Haru's way. He doesn't bother to wait and see what it is, instead angling his blaster back at himself and pulling the trigger. A bank of mist pours out across his form and Hibiki -- assuming she doesn't stop HERSELF -- passes harmlessly through him. The smoke clears immediately afterwards, and Haru twists the cartridge free and swaps it out for another one in his pocket. There's a light flash of the tubes along the blaster's side before it belches forth another cloud of mist-- but no, it's not mist. A great buzzing sound fills the air as a cloud of something races after the Bugster. It's only evident what they are when they do eventually catch up to it -- not coincidentally at all, they're completely unconcerned with things like SOLID WALLS, able to become smoke and pass through them not unlike Kamen Rider Tetra had. Locusts. Aggressive, deconstructive mechanical locusts that start simply trying to chew the Bugster's kaijin parts off at an extremely rapid pace-- though it is less 'chewing' and more 'obliterating', even if in relatively small bites on an individual basis. The cloud could strip the stadium around them apart in moments, though, so it's hard to regard it as a cloud of very rapid tiny actions when seeing it in force.
Kale Hearthward	"... Oh, oh right-" Kale gets whacked right off of the wall he's perched on, and when he gets back up he has more than a few bruises. "... Right, you're one of those. The diseases." He pulls out one of his swords. "So this isn't a monster hunt... It's a medical operation." He jumps back up onto the wall - and from there kicks off into a flying strike, trying to simply apply sword several times! That's how you cure diseases, right? You apply sword until the disease is no longer the patient's main problem.
Hibiki Tachibana	Whatever the black-and-purple Kamen Rider just did, Hibiki remembers seeing it only once. The very first Bugster they responded to, Mr. Alfredo himself (no that's not his real name), also got jabbed with something right as they arrived on the scene before getting uncerimonously shoved down a bunch of stairs. Some kind of debuff to make it easier on them or something...? But if that was the case, he didn't have to be an asshole and leave them to handle it on their own all those times before...! She doesn't get to mull over it for long though, because she's promptly surprised by the disappearing act and sent tumbling away like an armored fastball to threaten anyone in her way. She can't stop herself from hitting Haru - and going right through him with a surprised yelp - but she does correct herself before going too far with a push against the ground and a flip back up to her feet. Where she gets a good look at him from behind for a moment. "Whoa...cool gun..." That moment of awe only lasts a second before she narrows her eyes back at their foe. "...You don't even care if it means killing someone to do that? --Alright then. No hard feelings...!" Bracing a foot against the ground, she kicks back off to close back in past Haru towards the half-cheetah, half-man, all Bugster at high speed. She launches herself in a short leap over him in an arc to carry her to his other side, one that has her briefly upside down--when she launches a barrage of punches mid-fall towards his back. At the last moment before she hits the dirt headfirst, she does a thruster-assisted correction to help brace her hands against the ground, using the leverage to push herself back for a double-booted kick.
Rita Ma	Rita's eyes widen. She reaches for the sword over her left shoulder while leaping backwards, hoping to buy just enough time before impact that she can draw it and parry- -but the impact never comes. As the Cheetahman Bugster swings at her, her body unravels into nothingness. No amount of speed can hit what was never really there. She lurks in invisibility for a few moments, watching the flow of battle play out. The more she can glean about this monster's movements and habits, the more cleanly she can take it down. Cantio's words make her breath hitch, the soft sound being the only sign of her continued presence. Of course. It's a Bugster, so its life is tied to that of its host. They can't both live. For just a moment, I'd forgotten that. There's no point at all in asking questions like 'is it a person'. There's a noise of audible sharpness coming from (apparent) thin air as she draws her dual shortswords. She's completely artless with them; technique beyond the intuitive basics escapes her. But that doesn't matter: Rita has the advantage of invisibility, and is patient enough to wait for an opening where even her meager skill can't possibly fail. That opening comes when Hibiki delivers a double-booted kick to the Bugster's chest. Just before the instant of impact, the monster can feel a tiny prick of steel between its shoulderblades: Rita shimmers into view and braces her shortsword right behind it so the force of Hibiki's fearsome blow will drive it onto her blade. The Bugster before didn't have blood, but it did have a kind of 'vital information' I could eat. This one looks more like an animal- I wonder if it'll be the same way? ... Ugh. Why am I already thinking about things like that?
Xion	Xion does not get normal snubbed. Xion gets advanced, black-as-a-primary-color Rider snubbed. The whole situation is a snub, but she wasn't talking to the odd Cheeta-man. Even as they cavalierly speak about draining the life away from someone else. She doesn't even see it coming. This Mysterious Rider. . . Xion can't read his heart. It's too foreign to her, a strange enigma. She had thought he was like her, cloaked in black, but-- Collapsing to the ground in Nomura Female Distress Sprawl #7, Xion looks up more embarrased than harmed. "Really? We'd help you if you just asked!" She protests, bringing up her right arm as Starlight shwinks into existance ready in her hand. "But doing this... The way you are, it's really awful!" Buoyed by the bright cooperation between Rita and Hibiki, Xion moves from a knee-up crouched position to a dead sprint without the intervening frames of shifting, spinning in the air to aim a trip spray of seeking Ruin-blasts at the Cheetahman which each detonate into colorless magic implosions. The backswing of her strike hooks Starlight around Mighty Asshole X around the shoulders and pulls him back. "What's the big idea, anyway? You're Kamen Rider, right? We're way past the phase where everyone can excuse just being a random jerk to their coworkers!"
Go Shijima	Go wheels around, at the sight of blaster fire rushing past him. Haru is opening fire right away. A palm is extended towards him. "Wait! He might have...!" But he hasn't--by the Bugster's own admission, his host is just barely holding on. His own feelings match Featherman's and Cantio's--not that he has much time to express them before Aries is upon him. "You're pretty fast!" In fact, he's blistering. Go is only able to keep pace because of Mach 555's high-speed configuration, and even then, he isn't able to reach for the Zenrin Shooter while the Bugster is in his space. Palms deflect, his feet vying for advantageous position with the Bugster's, resulting in a series of rapid-fire flurries between the two of them, only relenting when the Bugster moves to attack the next of Mach's allies. It's then that he takes the opportunity to mash the buttons on his driver--not to switch forms, but to make a call to the hospital. "This is Go Shijima. Let Dr. Hojo know we've got a Bugster here--if Rita needs to get another sample, or if you need anything else--we need to know now! The host doesn't have much time!" The Zenrin Shooter is unholstered, and Go makes a few patient (yes, really) shots, waiting for uninterrupted line of sight, dashing forward with enough speed to kick up blades of astroturfed grass in his wake. He's a dynamic fighter, leaping over Rita to launch an overhead kick, springing backwards to blast a few more times before zipping around Haru to come back for a pass of lightning-fast punches aimed at Aries' chest.
Chase	The kaijin trades blows with Cantio, each hit causing them to retaliate, and them to retaliate back. Execpting another blow from their sword, they're instead peppered with gun fire, causing them to raise their club up in an attempt to protect themself. The two Feathermen slam into the bugster's club head on with knife and spear, causing them to reel back as Kale follows up with his own sword thrust that completely breaks his guard. Tachibana returns with a vengeance, to deliver a double kick to the rubbersuit's now unguarded chest, sending them flying and tumbling back until they hit Rita's blades. It doesn't go all the way, there's some sort of rubbery resistance that makes the monster weirdly durable, but it does puncture. They let out a comical yelp as they pull themselves off, before attempting to swat the girl away. The blow lacking any sort of grace to it, instead rooted in pure retaliation because like, who stabs a person they just met? Then come the locusts and a ray of energy bullshit from Nomura Girl and Kamen Rider Super-1 The Sequel. An attempt to beat them off proves useless, up until the bugster jumps and glitches up through the floor yet again, which helps to shake off the metal pests. A hole in their backside, their clothes close to tatters. Things are looking rough. So he pulls out another wooden club, and crosses them together, the pieces of wood glowing as he raises them over his head. He slams them into the ground, creating a firey eruption that blasts underneath everyone there.
Featherman Neo	As the fiery eruption comes underneath, Featherman Neo suddenly leaps upwards, landing on top of Engarde's shoulders. The explosion rattles Engarde, who is more heavily armored, while the flames only lightly burn at Featherman Neo. Both spark, but are still going, as Featherman Neo draws his pistol in his other hand. "Cheetahman! Face the double trouble! Feathermen, go!" Featherman Neo fires an explosive shot straight at the Cheetahman Bugster, uses the smoke to disguise his movements, and moves to impact with the knife to slash across his face. Featherman Engarde charges up the lance again, and then rushes forward, moving to impact with all his might and try and pin the Cheetahman for the blows of the others!
Kale Hearthward	Kale lands easily, flourishing his blade after the dashing strike. "Yeah. That's how it's done," he says. "Really, I don't get why those Kamen Rider doctors have such a hard time with-" And then the ground erupts beneath him. There's a loud, delayed squawking noise, and then Kale dives out of the eruption zone, rolling on the ground to put his burning clothing out. "... Okay then." "Okay, then! Clearly, I haven't been serious enough here!" He brings his sword up to his beak, blowing into it and causing the blade to twist around into a spiral shape. "I'm not going to be shown up here - Breath Weapon Periactus will ensure that you're eradicated by my hand!" Maybe Kale has just had a bad day. Maybe he's just hoping to show off that he's the cock of the walk here. Maybe he's trying to impress Shijima. Maybe he's just upset that his clothes have several very unslightly burn marks on them. Maybe, in the end, it's just Kale being Kale - a factor that should never be discounted. But for whatever reason, as he kicks off of the ground again, jet boots accelerating to maximum speed as he comes in low towards the bugster, skimming along the ground as he swings his spinning drill-sword at it, Kale's pushing himself a bit too hard right now. He's probably going to strain himself a bit too much in the process.
Hamada Haru	The Cheetah bugster takes out two whole weapons. This is a problem, not because of the quantity of weapons but because of what it chooses to do with them. Hamada Haru pulls a notecard out of his pocket, reads it rapidly, and then twists the cartridge loose from his weapon. He shakes it thoroughly and replaces it... An announcement rings from the handgun as the bottle is connected to the magazine port. L O C U S T "Vaporize," Haru says, sweeping the barrel of the transteam gun through the air adjacent to himself. M I S T M A T C H A great cloud of mist engulfs his body, golden-yellow light flashing violently and illuminating his silhouette, briefly presenting his untransformed self's shadow before being replaced by an armored and horned suit. L-L-LOCUST LOCUST F I R E ! The final announcement heralds a burst of energy like lightning, Dynamic Era's visor and a turbine symbol on its chest lighting brightly for an instant while the mist still lingers. Crackles and pops of energy dance in the air around him like fireworks for a moment, repelling the oncoming attack with the output of the transformation. The mist does not clear naturally-- the transteam gun gleams for a moment as its front end elongates, assuming the form of a gunblade. Dynamic Era raises the weapon into the air and swings. A brilliant gleam dances against its edge, and as the weapon falls the mist is sliced. The stadium is sliced, the parking lot behind it is sliced, a stop sign on the road outside demarcates where the strike ends as it falls bisected on the ground-- and this strike, too, falls across the Cheetah Bugster. Though it appears like a flash of golden-yellow and comes and goes quickly, it is not a strike of pure physical force. It is a projection of those same deconstructive nanites earlier-- but this time far more aggressive and specialized, gobbling up matter cleanly and swiftly and leaving as little as possible behind.
Chase	"Hojo's currently out of commission...Sorry. If you can get a sample yourself somehow, we'd really appreciate that. " Go gets an answer from what sounds to be an older man. He sounds a bit ragged, probably overworked himself. Despite this, there's the sound of pots and pans banging followed by angry shouting, before the phone cuts out. Meanwhile, Mystery Mighty X is caught by Xion. They don't seem bothered by it, nor do they seem thankful either, instead just gently brushing her aside as they explain themselves calmly. "My goals are beyond your comprehension, little girl. As for my role, I am not just a mere Kamen Rider. I am The Game Master. You would be wise to address me as such in the future." During their explanation, they pull out a blank cartridge, slotting it into the device they're holding before holstering it onto their belt.
Cantio	Rolling backwards from the sword-gunfire, Cantio lands in an almost-cool kneeling pose with her sword held to her side, then snaps herself back onto her feet as the kaijin contends with so many people at once. SHe holds one hand to her head as she focuses magical energy into it, then sweeps it in front of her as healing energy follows everyone except for the cheetah Bugster along with giving them a minor boost to their fighting ability! "Er... So you don't know each other?" She glances at Xion and Mystery Rider briefly, furrowing her brow for a moment. "But... Wait, no, that makes sense if you're all wearing masks most of the time. But do you not have a..." She glances over at Go as well. "A common radio frequency or something? Or are you like that other mysterious one from the other times with the wall bypassing trick?" Unbeknownst to Cantio, Haru is right there, and he changes into something she still doesn't recognize. "Another new one...? Is he with you?" She looks from Dynamic Era to the mystery rider, then to Featherman. "And your... No. You look too different from them. You're more like..." There's an almost childlike gleam in her eyes as she tries to figure out an appropriate comparison point, but her attention is soon grabbed by the cheetah kaijin again when he begins dual-wielding. She prepares for another flashy display of power, but instead... She gets clobbered from below (figuratively) by an explosion (literal)! Cantio yelps as she's thrown back by a fiery burst and covered with smoke, and a potentially familiar pillar of light erupts from the top of that smoke while another possibly familiar musical tone chimes from the billowing smoke. "Divinity Driver, set! Two...? No. Three beats. Moving in!" As expected, Cantio bursts out of the smoke, clad in her usual white and pink leotard-armor with a floating shield circling around her as she charges right for the cheetah kaijin. Noting Rita's use of swords this time around, she slows down in her charge briefly and raises her weapon, waving it briefly as if trying to get her attention with it somehow. "It's not all about brute force with a weapon like this. Just slicing them repeatedly over time is progress!" She chimes in with an almost cheerful tone that contrasts sharply with how much she's trying to just carve up the kaijin. She's going for rapid slashes instead of committing to decisive blows, however, targeting its extremities and trying to wear it down with a whole lot of pesky and annoying nicks and cuts instead. She's also keeping an eye out for Hibiki, circling around the kaijin while trying to draw its attention away from wherever she might be coming in from next.
Go Shijima	Haru's new belt is that powerful?! I could swear he just cut through the stadium itself! The Bugster raises both clubs, and Go stops in his tracks, scanning for some form of telegraph or sign as to where the attack might come from. Quickly, he mashes a button combination on the car-phone in his driver--555. ALWAYS MACH 555 The sudden boost of speed is exactly what he needs to quickly leap into the air, but the eruption is so fierce that he still ends up catching the tail end of the blast. The thrusters on his suit speed his descent, and he hits the ground running. His speed builds at an alarming rate--though Aries is no slouch himself, he's observed. He's going to need it, against this guy. That speed AND power... it's no wonder Kale is trying to end it so quickly! If Hojo's out of commission and we need a sample, we'll have a very tight window...! "Everyone! One of us needs to get a sample from him before he's destroyed!" She's got the swords--and, for that matter, so do Kale, Cantio, and, he supposes, Xion, as well. The Feathermen could likely get one, too. But Aries is strong and fast enough to frustrate attempts to get them--more hands is less work, and so by the time Mach's speed makes him a blur, he's racing around Aries, making dime-stops to throw out distracting elbow strikes, stiff-arm him to keep his clubs from his allies, and harass him with strikes from the Zenrin Shooter's spinning wheel. When he's got Aries' attention, he makes his move, dialing-- 787/STOP Mach makes an attack and retreat in one swoop, flipping backwards over the apex of Kale's charge to let loose a kick with the motion of his backflip, aimed at Aries' chin. He twists in midair following Kale's impact, and once he has a clear shot, a red hologram STOP flies towards the Bugster. "If you haven't gotten one, grab it now! I don't know how long I can hold him! And you!" Go feathers the trigger twice more to lather on the Heaviness, looking over his shoulder at the Game Master. "Be a kindly Game Master, and throw your players a bone! If you can help... do it, please!"
Hibiki Tachibana	Hibiki flips back up to her feet after her attack, flashing a quick grin (hard as it is to see beneath her scarf) and a nod towards Rita. Then it's back to the Bugster with narrowed eyes, just in time for it to smash into the ground and cause eruptions from right underneath them. That's an unexpectedly clever attack. "Agh--!?" She's too slow to get out of the way, and vanishes within the flaming eruption as it consumes her. One would expect her to get carried along and blown back out of it in a shower of toku sparks, but she actually fights back against it with her Symphogear's thrusters to hold her ground. While rearing a fist back, the piston inside of it slotting back as a faint golden glow builds up within the gap in the machinery. A light that is subjected to the mechanism slamming back forward loudly as she punches down into the ruined stadium astroturf. It funnels the energy forward into her fist and then further down still, ejecting it down into the earth. Where after a short delay, the area directly beneath the Bugster shines and quakes, before it explodes upwards in a pillar meant to catch it dead center. Returning the favor. But immediately after, before the eruption of her own has even finished, she kicks off from her crouching position and into her own attack-- To go into a thruster-assisted kick to kick him while he's hopefully off-guard, back in Rita's direction. "I'll return the favor this way too! Head's up, Rita! Hah!"
Xion	There are frames of activity, a clear causal line that Xion takes through the powerful ground eruption, where each step slides around the bursts of the floor, the cascades of the ground sliding around her like smoke over water. Untouched, she circles with a traced-line of darkness and mismatched action frames, and scoops up Genm. "Game master? ... Okay, that's fine Game Master. Then, thanks for letting me beta test!" Her Keyblade hooks around Genm's shoulders and comes up with a new dangling keychain with a purple controler and black faceplate - which she flicks into her hand. "I'll be clearing this quest without any problems -- Cat-man!" Xion axe-throws her keyblade at the Jaguarcheetacougerboy, the boomeranging weapon cleaving through in a two-pass X that carves out a medallion from the Bugster as well. "Now I've got your power." She announces, largely for Go's benefit. He asked!
Rita Ma	Rita's eyes widen as the Bugster tries to swat her away- well, one of them does. Her left eye is scrunched shut; her right scans from detail to detail almost fast enough to blur, soaking in everything it can about his attack. I hate what my body's done to this eye. Colors are all washed-out, but shapes are crisper, and fast things don't blur. If I could get my old eyesight back, I'd take it, but... I work with what I have. "It's useless," she says firmly, trying to project more certainty than she really feels. When he crosses his clubs and strikes the ground, she leaps upwards hard enough to shatter the ground underfoot, launching herself easily a hundred feet into the air to escape from the flames below. While she's up there, she takes just a moment to lick her shortsword's blade. Did it leave any of that 'vital information' behind...? T What can I say? He's a person, and I don't even know what he's done that's so bad... but he has to be killed so someone else can live. I can't tell him to surrender. Of course he'd fight to the end. What else can he do? ... No, this is worse than letting my hunger get ahold of me. I know what I have to do. There's no sense in fretting about it. Her voice is almost firm and heroic when she shouts, "I've got it, Hibiki!" Invisible tentacles stab into the turf as Rita's silhouetted against the sky, leaving little holes in the ground. She's yanked downwards by them into a gravity-assisted diving strike, crossing her shortswords like shears. The reason becomes evident at the moment of impact: she's got them crossed on either side of the Bugster's arm, using her own momentum plus Hibiki's knockback to try and carve right through the limb- or, at the very least, shear off a ribbon of 'flesh'. One of the swords shatters dramatically under the stress. That's why she's got two of them!
Chase	Aries doesn't even get time to stand up and dust their pants off after finishing their attack as Kale and Featherman hyper slam into the bugster with a massive drill sword and heroic lance. While neither blade pierces through as they were quick enough on that front to not get totally blindsided, the spinning blade does graze and tear apart at their side, while the lance pins them on the other side. The constant grinding of the drill against his flank creates a purple mist, up until the combination of Mach's mighty (action) kick and Aries' own power enables them to push off. Free once more, they ignore their wound, preparing to counter attack before they're suddenly frozen in place by a massive stop sign. Cantio then follows up with a bunch of sword slashes, dancing around them until Hibki follows up with a similar technique to what they just used, which knocks them high up in the air, allowing for the Gear user to easily follow and kick the bugster towards Rita. Without any way to stop themselves, they barrel right on through Rita's sword trap, an arm getting caught between the blades and not so much as cutting as shearing off from the stress. With their feet now touching the ground however, they're able to flip over and behind the girl after the loss of their arm, now holding the stump as they land only to realize there's no coming back from this. "Well, dang. This is a major bummer." That realization made, they still put up a token amount of resistance as they bring the club in their hand to guard the keyblade from bisecting them. That is, until the Mystery Rider pulls out his own sword, loading in a gashat into the side of the weapon as they join in the attack. DOUBLE MIGHTY CRITICAL FINISH! Both attacks go through, leaving a glowing X along with an additional line on their body. Before they have a chance to violently explode, the massive deconstructing blade created by Dynamic Era crashes on them. Like the stadium and everything else that stood in the golden blade's way, the bugster is devoured, leaving absolutely nothing left, and completely bypassing the explosion usually associated with the death of a kaijin.
Chase	GAME CLEARED! Mystery Rider X removes the gashat from their weapon and reinserts it back into their belt. The device they previously holstered makes a ding, prompting them to reach for it and remove the blank greeble they had inserted. The empty label slowly fills itself in with artwork depicting various types of video game mascots and bold letters spelling 'ACTION MASTER 52'. Turning to the group, and specifically eyeing Xion, they speak... "Beta? This was merely the alpha. As both reward for your help and punishment for the sin of copying my work, allow me to show you what a beta test really looks like." To Be Continued...