Scene #8177: The Return: 1989

Owner	Pose
Timespace Riders	March 3, 1984 Twin Peaks, WA Glastonbury Grove 2:12 AM For those who have been to this place before, absence likely will not make the heart grow fonder. For those who have not, even those without any form of supernatural awareness can feel that this is not a safe place. A clearing sits in the forest of pines and firs that envelops Twin Peaks. The starless sky does little to illuminate it, and yet, what scarce light there is reflects in myriad eyes perched on spindly branches. The feeling of being watched is here almost a palpable sensation, and not a pleasant one. A primordial undercurrent of unease tugs at the corners of the mind here, hearkening back to the slumbering vestiges of one's earliest ancestors. The moon is reflected in a bubbling pit of tar, ringed with stones. Those with mystic senses know it to be an inactive gateway of some sort, and those who were part of the investigation some time ago know that gateway leads to the Black Lodge, a place of spiritual testing fallen to the wayside and largely under the control of the dark spirits who once served as ministers of its trials. Travel here was arranged courtesy of the would-be King of Time, Sougo Tokiwa. It's hard to describe the sensation of traveling through time, save that the eyes must adjust after the passage. Either way, a bridge has been crossed, from 2014 to 1989--one that only exists when a Rider's power is stolen. The thieves are here, as Sougo said they would be. "Well, Eiji," says a man in a suit, standing just a few feet from that bubbling tar. He looks exactly like Dale Cooper--but there's no warmth in that slightly-gaunt face of his. This man is his doppelganger, the summation of his worst qualities, the ills which he failed to overcome. He turns over a futuristic looking pocketwatch in one hand. The LCD display on the face reads '1989.' "You're a man of your word." The man with him wears an apocalyptic garb, clearly marking him as neither of this world nor this time. His dark hair falls about either side of his face, and would give him a carefree look if not for his determined grimace. "There's nothing I wouldn't do for my king. Destroy the false Zi-O, and you can keep the power of Drive for as long as you live." 'Eiji' turns to leave, his faded longcoat rustling, before he stops in his tracks and looks straight at the gathered investigation team. "It looks like you have your work cut out for you, Cooper." Woz smiles 'sweetly' at 'Eiji.' "I wondered who the mysterious benefactor might be," he muses with a theatrical flick of his wrist. "You are, of course, mistaken about which king is false... but I will gladly educate you while my Demon King claims his due."
Corona Arclite	This place has Corona's hackles rising on end. As if the weird sensation from the means of travel here hadn't already left her 'properly paranoid' nerves on edge. But sure enough it's brought them to where they need to be, and who they needed to deal with was here. The way things have lined up she doesn't even bother taking her goggles off. Just draw her custom bolter heavy pistol from it's holster, resting the other hand on the upper back of the weapon and giving it a jerk back to make a pleasingly audible CHRCHNK as it's loaded and armed. "Can see this ain't gonna be a settled by talkin' it out sorta deal, so how's 'bout we not beat 'round the bushes y'all." Which seems to be directed as much to the rest of the investigators as it is towards their likely opponent. Already her gaze is focusing on Fake Cooper, goggles feeding to the analytical device built into her gunslinger gauntlet. Tail gives an agitated twitch behind her.
Shotaro Hidari	Next to Woz and Sougo were two other Riders. Each one had a belt on. One was dressed in retro-style clothing that would make him fit at home in the 1920s. The other was dressed in a variety of bizarre fashions, with his hair done up on one side with a hair clip. Philip, the one with the clip in his hair and on the right closes his own book. "Well, it seems you have an issue of your own, Woz. We'll leave you to take care of this one.." Shotaro, the one on the left walks forward and is joined by Philip. "You have a lot to answer for, False Cooper and False Drive. We got a lot of questions of our own for you...but those can wait. I am sure you're not going to give anything up easily," Shotaro says, pointing his hand right toward the fake Cooper. Shotaro grabs a purple USB stick in his left hand, while Philip grabs a green one in his right. Philip presses a button on his first, as a voice calls out its name. "CYCLONE!" Philip slides his Gaia memory into his belt and presses down. It materializes in Shotaro's belt. Shotaro pushes down on it with another call out of its name. Shotaro presses the button on his memory, which calls out a different name. "JOKER" He slides his memory into the belt and presses down. Which gets another call out. Pushing both memories down, he then spreads the two drivers out, in the shape of an X. "CYCLONE JOKER!" Philip passes out somewhere behind Kamen Rider Double, the armor itself being blown on by a strong blast of wind. Forming everything and including a scarf. The Purple side of Double points toward Fake Cooper and speaks. "Now, it's time to count up your sins."
Hellwarming Trio	Ominous magical locations aren't anything particularly unknown for the trio of yokai these days. They've seen their fair share of mystical oddities before, and even the strangeness of Twin Peaks has ingrained itself enough upon their minds that the lingering feeling of imminent danger doesn't occupy their minds for too long, even if Satori has to calm Utsuho and Rin down enough to not crowd around her the entire time. What holds the three's attention for far too long is the actual method of getting to this specific place at this specific time, with Satori considering the implications of their presence here while the animal yokai contend with the notion that they might see their younger selves here. Luckily, the sight of Cooper's errant double gets the three of them back on track, and they join the lineup with Satori standing to the side of Philip while Utsuho and Rin continue the long line by standing beside Corona. "This explains everything. How you got this messed up from how cool you used to be..." "It's that Eiji guy, ain't it? Then we'll just kick his ass, so stay outta our way!" "Step aside, please. My pets may have some fondness for you still, but I don't know you. I won't bother holding back if you get in our way." With their pre-fight posturing complete, Utsuho and Rin start floating as they get their flames conjured and ready above them while Satori... Gets relegated to catching Philip when he abruptly passes out. She's not nearly as (physically) strong as whoever else might be used to doing this, though, so it'll take a while longer than it usually does to drag him to safety.
Tamamo	"It occurs to me that we have not spoken together overly long, afore now, Tokiwa-san. Know, at least, that I thank you for your assistance in this matter. Has it yet been long enough that I should say 'how nostalgic'? Ah, perhaps not. Moreover, I see that there shall be little time for touring the past." Tamamo is present in her full robes, her mirror appearing behind her with a small gesture, materializing as if from nowhere, formed from gathering embers. Though she was speaking to Sougo, she pauses to look toward Philip as he passes out. "Are you... quite alright?" Toward Kamen Rider Double, Tamamo asks, "Does he require assistance, or is this... usual?" Tamamo gives Corona a nod. "We seek to return that spirit to the place from which it came, and return the man we recall, after all. It is only natural that we should meet resistance." She pulls a trio of talismans from her voluminous sleeve, and studies the designs, speaking loudly enough for the False Drive to hear. "Now, shall it be a freezing hell, or a burning one? Which is it that you might prefer? It shall only be a short stay, as I have not such leisure as to mete your full punishment."
Tamamo	Shotaro Hidari says, "That's normal...you see he's..." The right side of W speaks up, and Philip says, "Here now." Tamamo says, "Oh, I see! And will you be comfortable, when you awake in your usual body? We do not have a... oh, one moment, I believe I have..." Tamamo rummages inside her sleeves for a moment, her hands entirely hidden, before she pulls out a travel pillow, and kneels down by Philip's unconscious form to place it under his head.
Shotaro Hidari	The Right side of W speaks up again, "Thank you, Mrs. Tamamo. Getting back to my body does sometimes cause a stifness in the neck," Says Philip.
Petra Soroka	Petra steps delicately on the ominously cursed pine forest floor, cringing at the loud crack of unavoidable twigs snapping beneath her heavy combat boots. For all the uncomfortable pressure of the surrounding atmosphere, Petra is dressed better than usual, wearing baggy green cargo pants, a pale blue cardigan over a black turtleneck, with a fluffy brown vest over it all, both hands currently tucked in the pockets of that vest. The grip of her gun also slightly protrudes from her right side pocket, fingers wrapped around it warily. Petra nods at Corona, grateful for the initiative not only being taken, but commanded for her. "Same as last time, then." She pulls out her gun and points it at the fake Cooper, the barrel wavering only slightly. Something about the pool of tar stirs something animalistically uncomfortable in Petra, and she adjusts her stance to face away from it.
Timespace Riders	"Sounds good to me, 'partner,'" Cooper says to Corona, mocking her drawl. The doppelganger's eyes gleam with malicious intent when W gives the catchphrase, going wide as his whole-hearted, unhinged laughter echoes through the clearing. In a flash, the expression becomes a murderous grimace, as he grips the dark Ridewatch and plunges it into his own sternum. "I'd never have made it out, if it wasn't for the other me's 'sins.' If you boys wanna count, I hope you packed a lunch." While Woz and his counterpart armor up and disappear further into the forest, illuminated in flashes by showers of sparks. Cooper is surrounded by the same murky temporal energy as before, his guttural howl somewhere between pain and exultation. DRIVE. Sougo, too, armors up--using a new armor, conjured from the device the mysterious rider Decade had given him. o/` Ka-meeen Rider! o/` ZI-O. . . D-D-D-DECADE! Bulkier, more square, the flat faceplate resembles a strange cross between a clock's face and a barcode. "It's no trouble, Tamamo... I can't watch this reflection stain the memory of the real thing any longer!" Woz, locked in battle with Eiji elsewhere in the forest, can still be heard rejoicing. "Don't hold back on my account, girls," says Another Drive to Satori and Petra, leveling a laser pistol that resembles a dented car door. "You'll live longer." The clearing is awash in red light as he fans out an arc of rapid-fire blasts. Traveling in a trajectory like the spokes of a wheel, each one burns hot enough to core the trees. He capitalizes on the seconds immediately following the attack to make a beeline for Zi-O, attempting to overwhelm with his speed, throwing a flurry of vision-blurring punches at the would-be Demon King. Zi-O uses the flat of an unwieldy-looking straight sword to block, and despite the armor's bulky appearance and the weapon's shape, it looks like he's holding his own noticeably better than the first time they fought.
Shotaro Hidari	Shotaro and Philip have a game plan coming into this. They also have experience with fighting him, but he does not have the experience of fighting them. Philip already gives away the secret of the Door Gun to the others, and Double is already reacting to the gun itself. He runs, rolling between trees to get out of the shot's range before Shotaro's side of W slips out a different memory. "TRIGGER!" "CYCLONE TRIGGER!" Out of the tree line, Double is now GREEN and BLUE, and holding a gun in his hands. The Triggermagnum fires a volley of air shots, aiming to take advantage of the time Another Drive needs to reload the door, aiming to try and keep him pinned and on the defensive, while others can take advantage of this. "Don't worry, we'll have all the time in the world once you're behind bars, doppelganger," Shotaro's side of Double speaks, readying the next shot of his gun. "And once you're taken care of, the real you will be free to regain his life, the one you have plotted to destroy."
Hellwarming Trio	"Like hell we're gonna hold back!" "You totally would've." "You would." Another Drive takes shape, and he brings out that familiar-but-not door gun. Already havinga vague idea of what to expect, Utsuho and Rin zip over towards where Satori is to provide her (and Philip's body by extension) with cover in the form of firing right back at those blasts to intercept the bulk of them while using their own bodies to soak up the rest. When the dust clears, Rin is surrounded by a cloud of blue wisps while Utsuho is physically surrounded by a glowing, fiery aura. "You're fast, but-" "-You can't dodge everything!" The pair charge at Another Drive, with Rin sending the wisps at him in wide arcs to converge on him from multiple directions while Utsuho goes for the tried and true method of charging straight at him to slam directly into the Rider while covered in those nuclear flames. ""Tell me, Another Drive. You're not the Cooper they know, but you've surely seen unique things. Powerful things. Terrifying things greater than yourself. Tell me, what have you seen?"" Satori calls out as she finishes dragging Philip behind somewhere safe, making sure to get Tamamo's pillow in place before coming back out to join the fight. More importantly, she's trying to probe into his mind, to find what might set off a panic response in Another Drive even if he doesn't actually tell her.
Corona Arclite	The honed insight of a gunslinger almost immeadiately picks out the pattern in their foe's firing. Swiftly Corona takes a step and then turns sideways to position herself between two of the laser 'spokes' to avoid being hit directly. Though the beam generates enough heat energy for it to register as it zorchs past her. It's a short rippling rise in temperature that Corona, being who she is, pays it little mind. Her gear is made to withstand the fluxations with minor variance in performance. The sidestep also puts her in right into the stance she wants, extending her arm up and out with the bolter in her grip. "Quality over quanity, boy!", she snorts and pulls the trigger. By how loudly the weapon barks as it fires one might think an entire barrage is coming but no it only fires one. Granted that one shot is an explosive round fired at hyper linear velocity.
Petra Soroka	When Another Drive mentions "holding back", Petra furrows her brow and glances at the rest of the investigation team. "Wait, I'm still mixed up with all the Rider terms, is this guy, like, technically a person? He's just a reflection of one, right?" The barrel of her gun slowly sinks from inattention, and right in that moment, Petra is struck dead-on with a laser, the blast knocking her down and away, separated from her gun. She is clearly lacking the honed insight of a gunslinger. The gasp of shock at the moment of impact is drowned out, but the squealing hiss of pain that Petra releases seconds later while prone isn't. Struggling back up to her knees, standing momentarily beyond her, her wound becomes apparent, an angry, blistering mark on her left shoulder, scorched through her layers. She scans the ground for her gun, and, spotting it, kicks forwards towards it, scooping it up and firing it into the ground with a single motion, propelling her into a sort of recoil-powered cartwheel through the air that lands her behind Another drive. Her gun is pointed directly at him, the moment she hits the ground, gripped tightly in her right hand as her left one dangles uselessly. She hesitates, flips the gun upwards and fires, driving her elbow down into Another Drive's back, knocking him to the ground. "What's with that stupid looking gun anyways?"
Tamamo	Whatever Tamamo had been planning, it had not, apparently, included being shot. One of the fanned lasers is dead on her, and it's only by breaking through the invisible ward placed in its way, which shatters with a sound like glass, that it's blunted enough to only cause scorched cloth and ugly burns when it hits her. "Oh, gh--" Even as she pulls out a healing talisman, slowly returning her skin through from that ugly and messy red to a fresh pink, paling from there, the string of "Ow-ow-ow-ow!" continues. She draws hissing breaths that turn relieved when the healing is mostly finished, within the space of others being far more aggressive and attention-grabbing. One would hope, at least, that a flaming hell-raven on an interception course would grab someone's attention. Okuu's very bright, in that way. Once she's gathered herself, Tamamo begins moving around the edge of the clearing, first appearing as if she's looking for an angle of attack from behind Another Drive, but it's the ofuda she leaves in her wake, plastered against the trees at seemingly random angles, that are the true purpose. She just needs some time to setup, which their opponent having been in wait for them wasn't giving her.
Timespace Riders	"Why wait, 'Double?' Let's count up Agent Dale Cooper's sins -right now.-" As Double had mentioned, he does indeed have to reload--but this is like saying that singers have to breathe. The reflection seems to have inherited the real Cooper's experience with firearms and training, as a consequence of having his memories. What follows, when he breaks from engagement with Zi-O to retreat behind the treeline, is a tense firefight in the darkness. Another Drive zips between trees knowing that the Triggermagnum is just as capable of penetrating, but counting on their profiles to occlude his. "Did he tell you he slept with his partner's wife? Asks the dark rider, reloading just as Double had described, before bouncing between trees in an erratic series of jumps, springing from their thick trunks to rain more lasers down, illuminating the dead leaves and bubbling tar at the center of the clearing. Did he tell you how he watched, when Earle found them together and killed her? Did he tell you he hasn't visited old Windom once since then--not even a letter to that loony bin they threw him in?" He doesn't seem to notice what Tamamo is doing, being too busy airing his real counterpart's worst tendencies before the investigation team. Petra's elbow strikes him, but even at speed his sense of balance borders on supernatural. With a snarl, he pivots on a heel and brings the pistol upwards in a counterattack, attempting to club her across the temple. Corona's counterattack forces him backwards, the armor's engine revving as he makes an agile reverse handspring to evade it, then takes off in single-minded pursuit of Zi-O again. "What about Audrey--sweet, precious little Audrey--did he tell you how hard it was to resist taking that little tease up on all those offers she was making? Maybe I'll pay her a visit after I'm finished with you." "This town has been through enough already! These people deserve better than you!" With a shout of determination, Zi-O charges Another Drive, making a shoulder to hip cut that the dark rider struggles to deflect. Not finished, Zi-O's knee crashes into Another Drive's midsection, before a shoulder check pushes him back. Zi-O reads a feint, waiting out the real attack before making a forceful thrust with that unwieldy straight sword of his. It's hard to find something this creature is afraid of. He was, after all, spun up by the Lodge to make the real Cooper face -his- fears. Focused as he is on killing Zi-O, Satori at least has plenty of time. Digging far enough down, she can find one thing--to be unmade, as all reflections are when the beholder steps away from the mirror. He has transgressed, by leaving the Lodge, and fears the day when he will no longer be able to escape it. For now, he may come and go as he pleases, using the many gateways besides just this one to appear and disappear as he likes. Everything he has done, everything he will do in the future, is for the purpose of preventing its pull upon him, of escaping the cold, binding metal of a very particular ring, which promises to return him no matter what plans are laid. The vision of that ring strikes terror into him, for better or worse. He isn't fighting with the same clear-minded malice as before, but the sight of the ring makes him redouble his efforts, his red armor becoming an eye-straining blur in the moonlit grove. His speed becomes such that the same artificial gravity from the first encounter is present again, instilling a slowing, hallway-nightmare kind of sluggishness to any attempts to catch him.
Shotaro Hidari	"When he uses the field, you'll need to disconnect from being Double," is a memory Shotaro has, Philip sitting across the table from him. He holds the Fang Memory in his hands. "I've made a modification to Fang to overcharge the speed. It'll put a lot of strain on me, but I'll be able to compensate for the reduction in speed." "Yeah, but...you're not as.." But Philip holds up a hand, "It'll be fine, you'll be there with me to help me maintain control, and to guide me so I don't splatter myself. It'll give us an edge that he won't expect. More than that, we'll have a limited amount of time to use it. We have to make it count.." Right now, these memories flood back to Shotaro, who's falling slowly through the air. It's like fighting in the deep ocean, and with every shot he takes it feels like he's fighting for every bit. Even as Drive comes back, smashing against his body and sending him sprawling onto the ground. To Drive, it'll look like Shotaro was hit so hard he was forced out of his rider form. What he might not have seen is Shotaro tearing the memory from the belt and hiding it by laying flat on the ground. Philip, wakes up, just outside of the field, and holds a hand up. There is a metallic roar, as a T-Rex-looking robot jumps into his hand, with an addition to his neck that looks like a collar. Philip arranges the robot dinosaur until it looks like a white Gaia memory with a T-rex head connected to it. Shotaro struggles, fighting to press down on the swapped Gaia Memory. "FANG!" "JOKER!" "FANG JOKER!" Philip is now covered in the Kamen Rider armor, while Shotaro is face-first into the ground. There is an outrageous burst of speed from the two-in-one Kamen Rider, as he bursts through the field, and right towards Cooper. "Those crimes are not his, but yours. We know all about what you did to Cooper's partner, what he was researching, and what he did to his own wife. We did more than a little digging, especially into your sordid activities." Repeatedly FangJoker attempts to strike Another Drive across the chest before he crouches down. A blade grows out of the white side of Double, as he leaps out, and spins mid-air. He attempts to drive the blade forward, aiming to try and have it 'bite' into Another Drive, and try and tear off a huge piece of him.
Corona Arclite	Well that wasn't the most impressive start to the fight. Corona huffs out of the corner of her mouth as she holsters the bolter for the time being. This is going to take something more than primed firepower. There it is. The surge of speed, the warping of reality to create the overbearing effect, the feel of something trying to drag against every movement. Against the state of being. It's followed by a hiss, and the dull thud of mechanical movement. Which keeps thumping, again and again. Corona moves... and it's not nearly as sluggish at might be expected. Pistons hammer and gears whirr as whatever she's intergrated into her boots and gloves is humming to live to try and counter the nightmare corridor slowdown. Like a proper gadgeteer Corona learned from the previous encounters and has tried to anticipate and adapt. It's not completely countering it but it's keeping her from being bogged down into an easy target as she shifts between attacks to at least avoid any direct hits. At the same time she draws two of her smaller specialized guns, holding them up as she flicks the cylinders with her thumbs to spin them. And then they keep spinning, creating glowing crackles around the weapons as they aren't standard revolver drums but microsized generators spinning around pulsarium shards, generating large amounts of ionized energy despite their compact size. With which she starts firing, each shot a shearing jolt of current that arcs through the air with the blitzing fury of lightning, bending and forking in multiple directions. Why try to chase him down moving like that when she can discharge attacks into as much of the space he's going to be moving through as possible?
Petra Soroka	Petra brings her elbow down, but her arm can't move at the superhuman speeds that Another Drive is, especially with the artificial gravity field. When she whiffs, she starts falling forwards, catching Another Drive whirling around to bash her in her periphery, and instead of catching herself, she leans fully into her fall. When she's parallel with the ground, Petra kicks her feet backwards and fires her gun, spinning her head out of the way of his improvised club, and catching his gun with the enhanced impact of her chunky boots. Finishing the flip by skidding on her knees, Petra turns to face Another Drive, and shouts, "What, you're condemning Cooper for making a mistake and sleeping with someone, and then for refusing to make that same mistake again? People can change! You're scraping for sins after listing a single one." <J-IC-Scene> Tamamo says, "These are not spirits of great familiarity to myself, and yet, if it is true that Mr. Cooper may yet be rescued, it is because he exists as a separate self from the man before us." So, a non-person, an acceptable target. Petra steadies her gun, lines up the iron sights, gingerly braces her wounded left hand on the grip. Even with the slowing aura, half of 10000 foot-pounds of force is still a crippling attack. Petra tenses herself to resist the incoming recoil, and fires.
Hellwarming Trio	Another Drive throws out the details of Cooper's past indiscretions, and that comes with a whole host of confusing, conflicting thoughts about the man that Utsuho and Rin had held in high regard during their time in Twin Peaks. It also serves to anger them further in a visible sense, with Utsuho leveling her control rod at Another Drive while Rin takes a low stance on all fours. "So what if he did some stupid stuff before? Humans do plenty of dumb things!" "Doesn't mean we ain't gonna like 'em anyway! Besides, that was probably all you!" Moving in opposite directions this time, Utsuho takes to the sky towards Another Drive's left while Rin bolts across the ground to his right, the pair managing to move far more adeptly than they've managed in their past encounters with him. They narrowly keep out of range from the initial burst from his expanding heaviness field, but their maneuver necessitates getting close to make further dents in his armor. Nevertheless, they charge right in, with Rin lashing out at his legs from below with clinging flames trailing behind her strikes as a distracting move. Utsuho dives on him from above, using that control rod like a burning lance to just ram it directly into him with the aid of more conventional gravity and a localized explosion to bolster her speed. That's when Satori comes back in. Noticing the reaction to the strange ring and vaguely recognizing some of the things she had dug out of the deeper recesses of this Cooper's mind, she gets to work trying to redirect him towards her allies. Those gateways that Another Drive had relied on so much appear before him, but there's something wrong with them. It looks like they're leading to the Lodge. Does Satori herself know what it looks like? Not really, but she can use what it looks like in Cooper's mind, as though his power over those gateways isn't quite working the way it should. The rings, too, appear, seeking to bind him once more, but only truly being a threat on the way towards Zi-O.
Tamamo	Thanks to her low threat profile and Double's direct interference, Tamamo gets the time she needs to complete a circuit. This doesn't go quite as well as she'd liked only because she hadn't expected Another Drive to immediately leap into the forest for a firefight amongst the trees. "Does he not expect us to enter without him...? No, I suppose we cannot do so now, in any case. The door is not quite so easily opened." When the heavy field hits, however, her own is ready. There's a warping in the air, like a heat shimmer, as the dead of night is lit by golden rays, surrounding the tarry center of the clearing with warm, Summer breezes, as if it were not early March. The difference is hardly noticeable from outside the border marked by the trees Tamamo has touched. Beyond that, night continues, as if stepping through the border transported one to another time and place, where the power of the Sun was strengthened. It is, of course, exactly that, providing stable ground from which Tamamo can align the land with her own spirit, and distance those inside from the Heaviness. However temporary, it's an establishment of the Authority of the Sun. It is also, largely, impossible to tell what she's done from outside, apart from the fact that she's now standing straighter, brighter, and beckoning Another Drive to join her. The moment he passes the border and enters her field, the light will hit all at once, together with the cursed talismans she's quietly spreading. "Come, come. Though you speak of sins, were not mine greater? You would not know, perhaps, and yet, I still stand. It was my own decision to continue. Eternal banishment may well befit some, but even were I to agree with such judgment, I would not allow you to roam. Nor would the Black Lodge, is this not so? No matter what weighs Mr. Cooper, this is no resolution. No justice is served by allowing your escape, spirit. Come and face the chaotic heavens." 'Chaos Heaven' is the crafted curse that causes lightning to strike from clear skies, but she'll give away that one for free.
Timespace Riders	Another Drive is caught by Double's attack, once the two-in-one rider switches to a form fast enough to catch him. The armor is dense, but like many rider armors, can only mitigate so much kinetic energy before some bleeds through to the user. The grotesque car-crash armor crunches beneath the impact, and a shower of sparks erupts a split second after. Zi-O rushes in and forms a pincer with Double, his sword impacting Another Drive's back, using his considerable strength to hold the counterfeit rider in place. Both Petra's gun and Corona's find their mark easily, with him trapped as he is, and his howling seems in that moment more than itself, a noise that transcends his imitation of human anatomy. The tar in the center of the clearing bubbles and a foul-smelling, dizzying miasma escapes from beneath it. Satori's manipulation of his fears must be driving him to use the powers available to him as a creature of the Black Lodge, to try and bring a measure of it here. But there's no room--not with Tamamo having established the authority of the sun in its place. Struck by lightning again and again, he demonstrates an unnatural resilience, even as the armor blackens. It gives way before he does, taking the Heaviness with it--and then, as it had with Naoya Kaido, time stops. The servant of the other Zi-O, Eiji, appears in his garb of muted colors. Corona's arcing lightning hangs frozen in place, poised over the unarmored Cooper with Tamamo's like the fangs of some forgotten animal. Purple-green static flickers around it, around Petra, skidding from her recoil, around the muzzle flash from her gun, around this Zi-O and Double, locked with their swords pressed against the unarmored Cooper. "Truly, the false king has mustered formidable allies," he says, looking dismissively at the snarling cooper. "Fight harder, spirit," he bids, kneeling to pick up the futuristic pocketwatch that had fallen to the ground. "Or neither of us will get what we want." Eiji's hand moves to plunge the watch into Cooper's chest. But it's stopped cold by a familiar, glossy purple scarf. "I thought I was rid of you," sneers Eiji. "Unsurprisingly, you were wrong twice~," calls the purple-armored Woz, standing tall in the branches of a Douglas fir. With a grunt of effort, he wrenches Eiji's hand back, sending the pocketwatch flying safely into his grasp. Eiji spits in frustration, giving chase further into the forest--and when he disappears to pursue Woz, so, too, does the temporal displacement. The power of Another Drive is gone--but the doppelganger evidently hasn't had his druthers yet. When time resumes, a wave of force erupts from him, blasting Zi-O and Double off. He procures his personal sidearm--a magnum revolver--and rolls behind the nearest tree, opening fire. One strikes Zi-O, and it's clear that there isn't normal ammunition loaded in that thing. A geyser of sparks erupts from the point of impact, a visible, molten tunnel bored into the chestplate as he scrambles for cover. Cooper makes another shot for each person present, snarling a threat. "You like that?! Specially made by the Bureau for kaijin, but they'll kill all of you just as good!"
Petra Soroka	The eternal plight of time stop: no one else can see the drama that happens within it. To Petra, it just looks like Another Drive is bombarded by the team's flurry of attacks, and his defenses shatter, opening him up for a finishing blow. "Hey!!" She sounds excited, childishly so. "That's it, right? No more tricks?" With the Rider gun gone, Petra doesn't notice the revolver being drawn until too late, diving too slowly to dodge. The shot hits her in the side, shredding her already ruined vest and incinerating a scoop of flesh. This is what she gets for not wearing her lucky bomber jacket! But Remee just had to send it to the dry cleaners, because it was ragged and stained with blood! Petra whines in pain, but invigorated by the finish line being in sight, pulls herself close up to Cooper, something much easier to do without the slowing aura. She points her gun at someone who, for all appearances, looks like a pretty normal guy, and fires, emptying the magazine.
Shotaro Hidari	"ZI-O!" Both sides of Double call out at once. The enhanced speed of the two-in-one Kamen Rider moves to try and catch the falling Kamen Rider, to try and get him out of harm's way after the powerful shot he took. A burst of speed leaves Zi-O in Tamamo's field, and another move has him directly in front of Cooper. The shot Cooper fired hit two trees on either side of the path he took, and two bullets will be found lodged in those trees. The right hand of Double presses down on the head of Fang. Once. Twice. Three times. The combined Kamen Rider releases a roar, the two were on the same frequency...angry. This man has driven a good man's name through the mud. Hurt another man trying to do right by the world...and has repeatedly hurt his friends and allies. "There is something a friend of ours would say right now...and for you, I think it's fitting," says Shotaro's half. Philip's half knows exactly what is up. "Despair only awaits you on this path you have taken." Double smashes his hand at his chest of Cooper, aiming to punch him. Again and again, aiming to stagger him before he flashes under Cooper, and aims to launch him into the air. The blade on Double's foot spins in a wide roundhouse. Around and around he goes until the face of Fang can be seen. It bites down, aiming to try and tear the spirit in front of him in half. An explosion rocks the forest, leaving only the letter F after the round house is complete.
Corona Arclite	As soon as the temporal distortion is gone Corona's augmented gear can clock up to full speed, and it is her turn to be the bolt of motion. Not as fast as the Riders, but it's fast enough to save her skin. A powerful leap to the side and then she fires her grappler from one glove, snaring one of the surrounding trees with its hook and using her momentum to skid into a curve and swing herself around the tree. Moments later there is a thunderous sound of splintering and sparks as the round of the Anti-Kaijin Revolver smashes into the thick trunk! It splits the tree literally in half as it tears through the wood, branches scattering as two sections of trunk leer to the sides at unnatural angles. Fortunately Corona had ducked down as soon as her boots touched the ground again, so even through the round penetrated the hefty truck it passed over her, pelting her with splinters and pinecones at unusually high speeds but it's not the deadly strike a direct-hit would of been. So she's not complaining. Corona pulls a different weapon from her seemingly bottomless personal arsenal, loading it and locking the weapon shut. Instead of standing up she gets down to the ground entirely to take advantage of her lithe size to lean around the splintered remains of the trunk and take aim. Fires. A spherical projectile tumbles across the ground, until it finally rolls to a stop at Fake Cooper's feet. A click, and small metal needles poke out of it... THEN it explodes, sending the very thin penetration spikes out in an upward burst designed to shred through armor via hitting from the vector a lot of people forget about -- underneath.
Hellwarming Trio	Satori's focus today is rather plain to see: Rather than on doing direct damage to Another Drive, her efforts up to this point have been almost entirely on redirecting his thoughts. Rather than a fight, she's opting to mess with the creature, to keep that fear fresh in his mind. She has plenty of faith in her companions and in her pets, especially considering how fired up and outright angry those two are about Another Drive's use of Cooper's face and past. Speaking of pets, the pair are once again coming in with their fires called around them, the raven with her body wreathed in air-distorting flames, and the kasha with the unending trail of white-hot wisps. Before they can converge on Another Drive, however, the false Zi-O appears, and the stoppage of time holds them in midair. They don't even notice the strange goings on once time returns to normal, but they do notice that burst of energy from Another Drive. Utsuho, being the girthier of the two, naturally ends up holding her ground (in the air) while Rin has to dig her hands into the ground to keep herself from getting sent flying. The momentary distraction means they lose track of their target, but Satori's quick to get them back on track by whistling and pointing at him. "Don't lose your heads, girls. He's taken cover." "Like that'll do anything. But now we know you're not even close to the real thing!" "Yeah! The real Cooper wasn't anywhere near as dumb as you. We've got enough fire to burn the whole dang forest down!" "Please don't. Just the one will do." Once again, the three combine their efforts to aid in not only flushing Another Drive out of cover, but to try and put an end to him. The anti-kaijin shots force them into cover for a moment as well, although it's largely in the form of Utsuho and Rin letting loose with another burst of flames to keep the worst of it from reaching them and their master. It also gives them a little more time to get their bearings straight and their aim focused in the right direction. Rin rushes in first, leaping from tree to tree with that trail of wisps following behind her. Somehow, they don't set those trees on fire despite the clear heat coming from them, but they form a rather sizable net that starts to home in on Another Drive's position. As that happens, Satori conjures up that accursed ring again, the unnaturally moving thing glinting in the flames of those oncoming wisps to force him to once again confront that fear roughly when Petra starts blasting at him. Utsuho, meanwhile, goes higher and higher, stopping only when she's crested far over the top of the tree. Her control rod goes up as an artificial and Geiger counter ticking sun bursts into existence above her, then surges back into her body. She plunges back to the earth moments later, driving all of that heat into a single point downwards at Another Drive while timing her move with Double's own attacks aimed at launching him upwards.
Tamamo	'Those crimes are not his, but yours. We know all about what you did to Cooper's partner, what he was researching, and what he did to his own wife.' "Truly, is it so? Do you claim your own sins as his, Another Drive? Or is it that you claim those thoughts upon which he had yet to act as if they had been done? Please elaborate, as I must know just that upon which he must be reprimanded when he is freed." Once again, Tamamo finds that she's not quick enough to avoid being shot. This is proving a lesson more than a little painful, as she hasn't even had time to properly renew her wards, though the anti-kaiju round is instead intercepted by her outstretched hand and a burst of light, shattering just in front of her, yet still transferring nearly its full weight of impact to her body. She's lifted from her feet, then comes back down on them, catching herself with a poise uncanny in shoes that tall. This time, her robes are smouldering in a large area around her arm, her sleeves torn, but the healing itself is quicker. Her bounded field won't be harmed only because she was pushed back, and the breeze is one that whispers of growth and renewal. Green spring sprouts appear beneath her feet as she breathes in, and restores herself a second time, the forest taking just the fringes of that accelerated blessing. If only her knight were here, to take this pain from her. She'll have to be strong, regardless. "There was a purpose to your existence. You sought for more, as well any might -- or so a mortal might say, but we know better, do we not? You had no right to leave that space. 'Freedom' was ever an illusion, for you, a place beyond your grasp. Would you seek to become greater than the universe, all by yourself? Do you believe that man's favor would be enough to overturn the heavens? Oh, to stand against great odds and emerge victorious is the stuff of grand tales, to rebel against tyrants and uncaring gods, but did you believe you were a hero?" While Tamamo speaks, she spreads her hands in an all-encompassing gesture, and strengthens the light around her. There's a trick to it, a charm she's weaving, pulling Another Drive into her own gravity, enforcing it within the space over which she'd established her Authority. She's hard to ignore, hard to deny, hard to refute -- the idea of resistance becomes ever more futile, a denial of 'but it should be different' even having importance. It's the oppressiveness of the Sun as a body too great for human hands to move. She can't be stared down, nor will any attack reach her. (In fact, any attack would easily reach her, but her Charm suggests otherwise.) "No, of course it was not so. You sought only and ever to be the villain, even within your own tale. You were brought forth to be such. You were the test, and that man failed. You erred in thinking this should allow you to be more. You failed to join this world from your very first step. You failed to prove that the rules should be broken for your sake." There's no flashy curse that follows. There doesn't need to be. The force of Tamamo's words and their meaning is enough on its own. "It is not merely that you deserve to return. It is inevitable. The heavens care not that you should wish your chains be broken. Return to your cage. You know there is nothing else you can do. Even to struggle, to suffer, has no meaning." There are other words she'd say, if she thought there was some motivation that they could share. Instead, it's only this sense of ironclad, draining futility.
Timespace Riders	Petra's magdump has the result she wants. The bullets pierce him, and he bleeds. He stays standing when he emerges from behind cover to fire again, possessed of some unnatural form of constitution or pain resistance that has him powering through the upwards explosion of Corona's grenade even as blood trickles down his face and forms a gruesome mask with his leering eyes. They are locked on an imaginary image of a ring, which he breaks into an animalistic dead sprint to escape. He hadn't shown any fear of his own life as such, or shown any care to whatever injuries he might suffer--but the sight of that ring is enough to have him wordlessly racing for escape. Utsuho crashes into him without having to adjust her trajectory even slightly, nor does he give any special effort to avoiding Double's finishing strike. When he impacts with the ground after having been launched so violently into the air, the momentum from his feral sprint still carries him a ways, skipping across the ground, skin visibly burnt. He impacts with the trunk of a tree, yet is still, somehow, alive, even if the fight is out of him. He opens his mouth to make a rebuttal towards Tamamo, undeniably something vile given the hateful look in his eyes. Words don't come out. But what does is a thick, syrupy black bile, shot through with solid clumps of what might be taken for creamed corn, were it not for the way that merely looking at it flags deep, instinctual alarm bells. He fades, and so does the foul smell of the miasma from the tar pit. With him, the bile he spit up vanishes, too. Elsewhere in the forest, there is a bright flash, and the ticking of clocks echoes between the rows of trees. The owls, malevolent watchers, disperse, taking to the night sky in a susurrus of wingbeats.
Corona Arclite	Corona Arclite stands up from her firing position on the ground as the corrupt Rider pukes what passes for his guts up and fades from existance. Stows her weapon and straitens out her stetson. "Welp. That's one doppleganger that's now a dopplegoner."
Shotaro Hidari	FangJoker lands, back to the explosion as the creature dissolves into black bile and hatred. His head looks up to Tamamo, with a nod. He looks towards Zi-O, hoping that he would be alright, but right now Philip has other problems. His hand moves to remove the Joker Memory, followed by the Fang Memory. Seconds later, Shotaro wakes up, groaning. However, it's Philip who immediately collapses to the ground, under the strain of both his own wounds and over-exertion. Shotaro moves to catch his partner and lowers him gently to the ground. "Philip, you over did it this time...you should really leave that to the professionals," to which Shotaro gets a weak laugh out of Philip. "Yeah, next time I'll leave the stupid decisions to the professional..." he says before passing out. "Philip!" Shotaro calls out, listening... "Just passed out...geeze...he can't just get away with going overboard, he has to get a parting shot on his way asleep. Such a selfish jerk.." he says with a grin.
Hellwarming Trio	Settling back onto solid ground once more, the yokai trio finally let themselves exhale with the end of the battle against Another Drive. The creature's apparent demise, although somewhat disgusting to look at, overall ends up being quite a relief for them, although their energy levels are fairly low considering the circumstances. "So now that he's gone... Uh." "The belts should be goin' back where they're supposed to, yeah?" "Zi-O and Woz would be the experts there. Although... Where did those two go, anyway?" As if on cue, there's a flash and clock ticking in the distance, and they start heading that way to check things out. "There was still something strange about when he disappeared. While he was still..." Satori pauses, gesturing vaguely with her hands like she's kneading flour or something. "... Falling apart? I felt something unnerving from looking at it." "Wasn't just me, then? Maybe they've seen it before and know what's up, then." Rin suggests, giving up on walking after a few moments to just float onwards. Satori follows suit a moment later, and then Utshuo shortly after that. "I don't remember getting that feeling the last time we were here way back." Utsuho adds with a troubled noise. "Wonder if it's got something to do with that Eiji guy."
Timespace Riders	Zi-O removes his belt, the DecadeArmor vanishing in a flash of pink light. Sougo Tokiwa is a little worse for wear, but it seems Cooper's anti-kaijin ammunition didn't strike all the way through his armor. His retainer, Woz, emerges from the woods with a smug expression on his unarmored face. "Indeed," he says to Corona, before twirling an index and holding it aloft. "Or at least, almost. According to this book," says the retainer, holding that unusual tome and reading from it, "A few years after his banishment to the Black Lodge at Tamamo's hand, he recovers enough strength to come and go freely. He will still exist in 2014, albeit without the power given to him by the false prophet Eiji Hino." 'False prophet' and the talk about kings probably is enough for Utsuho to guess that this Zi-O isn't the only person trying to claim the throne of Time. "During her curse, Tamamo spoke of an inevitable return--a final calling to the Black Lodge which precludes any future attempts to leave," he says, with a gracious nod to her, before turning his attention back to the pages of his book. "As I explained in detective Hidari's office, the doppelganger intends to substitute a psychic construct known as a tulpa for his own form, when the time comes for him to be recalled. If his plan succeeds, then the tulpa is sent in his place and he may remain in this world as he pleases. However..." Woz's lips curl in a sly smile. "There is a ring, in Xion's possession, which, forced upon the false Cooper, will prematurely shunt him into the Lodge, eject the real Agent Cooper into our world, and irreversibly trap the doppelganger within the Black Lodge.~" Sougo nods, taking the futuristic pocketwatch from Woz as the retainer closes the book. In his hands, the twisted appearance melts away into something more benign, a bright silver with red trim and a cameo featuring the armored visage of the real Drive. Gone is the car-crash, crumpled grimace, and '1989' changes to 'AU22' on the LCD chronometer. It is, in fact, the exact pocketwatch that Remee produced at the beginning of the investigation, and which Lilian is presently withholding. "I'll be there to help with that, too--but first, I need to go give this to the Drive that Remee got it from. Everyone... thank you for your help," he beams--before he and Woz both step through a gate comprised of interlaced, concentric gears overlaid with two large clock hands.
Shotaro Hidari	Shotaro speaks up at the back of Sougo. "You should rest the moment you have a chance to, Sougo," Shotaro says without a second thought. "Do not stretch yourself too thin, even if you think that is what you should do. We're not done yet, as your retainer says..." he says, looking over at Woz. He says picking up his partner, but Woz will know that Shotaro is not unlike Sougo in this regard. Too many times has Shotaro put others before his own health. Maybe that's why he's warning Sougo to not do the same. It also might have something to do with Philip in his arms. He takes him towards Tamamo and lays the man down. Philip is going to need to be healed, having strained himself with the modified Fang Memory. "Perhaps you should seek the aid of a healer before you continue."