[2011-01-30 18:37:29] <Haruka_Emmerich> = =
[18:42:32] <Haruka_Emmerich> Ile Seguin, Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris. Two years after the Void Hour Incident.
[18:44:51] <Haruka_Emmerich> "Love what they've done with the place." Aelita whistled as she surveyed the cultural complex that had sprung up over the years atop the island. Hard to believe that fifty-ish years ago, all this shiny architecture used to be a car plant with a digital prison underneath.

[19:01:02] <Axel_Wildfire> "It's not the kind of thing you'd expect in the middle of a city. Like a mini-Eden." Wyll turns in a slow circle to take in the ultra-modern landscape. He's changed up his outfit lately, defaulting to a set of Chinese clothes he'd picked up between bounces around the world; pure-black silk, with a white dragon embroidered on the back (and an identical one curling around the left pants leg)... though he's still wearing black boots, which kind of throws the outfit off a little bit. "Didn't think you were the art-museum type, though."

[19:06:25] <Haruka_Emmerich> "Well then, you're not thinking hard enough." The pink-haired lady has herself managed to default to some mix of her SHOCKHOUND garb and civilian wear: pink jacket, red corduroys, yellow T-shirt proclaiming to the world "I AM BOSS" even though she'd ceded that title to a certain German Fangire a good while ago. "Or maybe you ARE, and could use a couple hours putzing around in a museum to unwind. I know I've been starved for culture ever since I'd set up shop in Alaska."

[19:10:15] <Axel_Wildfire> Wyll laughs and shakes his head. "Sure, why not? Though I bet that at least half the pictures will be of that." he points through a gap in the buildings towards the Seine proper. "So we may as well save ourselves the entry fee and go for a walk on the riverside."

[19:16:20] <Haruka_Emmerich> "Heh...landscapes ARE better up-close and personal..." And so Aelita turned toward the alcove in question, inhaling deeply in sync with the circuit lines under her shirt faintly glowing blue...not like anyone around the duo seemed to care, for some reason.

[19:25:43] <Axel_Wildfire> Normally, that would set off alarm bells, but Wyll is apparently too distracted to care. "Enjoying being back home?" he asks gently, making tentative steps in the direction of the river.

[19:28:59] <Haruka_Emmerich> "This ain't home anymore for me...doesn't mean I'm not enjoying it, though." The faint crinkle of aluminum foil cut into the air as Aelita withdrew a Kinder Surprise from her jacket and unwrapped it.

[19:30:47] <Axel_Wildfire> "Fine then, *homeland*, Miss Insistent Terminology." he snorts faintly.

[19:35:08] <Haruka_Emmerich> It takes a minute for her to respond on account of the chocolate eggshell in her mouth, but... "We'll...call that close enough. Nice enough place, after you discount my family getting wiped from existence by the old management."

[19:36:05] <Axel_Wildfire> Wyll winces and puts a gentle arm around her shoulders. "Sorry."

[19:38:10] <Haruka_Emmerich> "Don't bother apologizing. Not after I've made it work out so well..." Her gaze drifts to the orange capsule from the chocolate egg. "Wonder what today's surprise will be..."

[19:40:33] <Axel_Wildfire> He tips his head back and sighs. "There are things that you shouldn't say, Aelita."

[19:41:32] <Haruka_Emmerich> She pulls the halves of the cylinder apart to reveal a miniature blue hippo, dressed in cowboy garb - six-guns akimbo and all. "Promo sheet says: 'Memories of the untamed land come to life! Collect all 6 Frontier Happy Hippo Summer 206X!' Heh."

[19:47:30] <Axel_Wildfire> "... jeez, I'm jumpy. I'm so used to having someone say that and everything going to shit." Wyll looks visibly relieved.

[19:51:09] <Haruka_Emmerich> As if to give credence to Wyll's paranoia, a series of screams and the telltale report of ionized laser fire rang out from the plaza the duo had just departed.

[19:52:49] <Axel_Wildfire> He groans and sags against Aelita. "Me and my big mouth..."

[19:54:35] <Haruka_Emmerich> "Kaijin been common knowledge since SEES cleaned house; no one's gonna mind if we henshin and take care of-" And then Aelita catches a glimpse of just WHAT the lasers are coming from. "...son of a FUCK."

[19:55:22] <Axel_Wildfire> "Hm?" Wyll turns to look, visibly irritated with the disturbance.

[19:58:14] <Haruka_Emmerich> One of the creatures responsible - a brown insectoid thing with a slicked-ivory back and nozzles for extremities on its four legs - turns to the pair as they advance.
[20:00:00] <Haruka_Emmerich> "Tarantulas...but they couldn't possibly..."

[20:09:52] <Axel_Wildfire> "Apparently they could." Wyll's already undoing the tabs on his shirt, revealing a black t-shirt underneath (in plaintext, "We Are The Writing On Your Wall"). "You alright?"

[20:13:44] <Haruka_Emmerich> "Yeah. Just another reason for me to piss on Sex Machine's grave next time we stop in Japan." And there's the ZX Belt, snapped around her waist all one-handed-like. "Likely story, they're what's left of the XANA fragments SHOCKER had used to build Susanoo."

[20:15:45] <Axel_Wildfire> "Great." he draws his own Driver from beneath his overshirt, unspooling the belt with a flick of his wrist and performing his usual (blatantly impossible) belt put-on with an absolute lack of attention payed. "I doubt it can get through SKULL FORM's resistances."

[20:19:13] <Haruka_Emmerich> "I'd just not bother getting hit if I were you." And the Susanoo Brace snapped onto Aelita's left forearm as the timeworn pose was struck. "Henshin...ZE-CU-ROOOOOOSSSSSSS!"

[20:21:02] <Axel_Wildfire> "That was on top of not getting hit." Wyll returns drily, drawing his first card from it's holster. >>STANDBY READY<<
[20:22:06] <Axel_Wildfire>  /Really, though, why here? You'd they'd be back where they belong, so why here, unless they're targetting Aelita?/ He shakes the thought from his head. "Let's Ride, Decade!"
[20:22:09] <Axel_Wildfire> >>DRIVE IGNITION<<
[20:22:14] <Axel_Wildfire> >>D-D-D-DECADE<<

[20:27:11] <Haruka_Emmerich> Pre-fitted with the golden trim of Susanoo Mode, Kamen Rider ZX lazily extends a pointer finger to the digital beast. "Now...Return to the Past." A flick of that wrist, and Aelita's suddenly brandishing the Ridol Whip, charging at the creature.

[20:31:04] <Axel_Wildfire> "Whoa, slow down - oh, nevermind." Wyll shakes his head and uses her distraction to load up yet another card.

[20:32:47] <Haruka_Emmerich> A vault into the air, and the ninja Rider slams the polearm right into the creature's back, impacting just below the "pupil" of the stylized eye and eliciting a screech as the Tarantula slumps over.

[20:35:34] <Axel_Wildfire>  /Let's do something appropriate./ >>KAMEN RIDE DRIVE IGNITION<<
[20:35:44] <Axel_Wildfire> >>ZEEEEEEEED EX<<
[20:36:07] <Axel_Wildfire> Wyll's action grinds to a halt as the ZX half-transformation takes place, and there's the distinct *thud* of his glove hitting his faceplate.

[20:37:49] <Haruka_Emmerich> "...shit, must've gotten the X and ZX sound chips jumbled..." Aelita mutters as she scans the plaza for more targets.

[20:38:37] <Axel_Wildfire> Wyll groans again. "This is the last straw, I swear to god I am dismantling this thing and fixing it's voice." he complains, drawing a third card. >>ATTACK RIDE DRIVE IGNITION<<
[20:38:43] <Axel_Wildfire> >>LASER KUNAI<<
[20:39:51] <Axel_Wildfire> The weapon (or weapons, it - or they - seem to defy being counted) pixellate into his hand, and Wyll spins once and hurls them as a barrage of needling lasers.

[20:45:37] <Haruka_Emmerich> The knives slam into the beast's exposed back, digging in before the entire assemblage explodes in a shower of raw digital energy. "Damn! Was that me setting it up for ya, or did I really make those better than the real thing?"

[20:50:23] <Axel_Wildfire> "Option 1." he calmly disengages his Ride, reverting back to standard P-DCD and moving to join Aelita.

[20:51:57] <Haruka_Emmerich> A series of distended snarls as another trio of the beasts pivoted toward the two Riders, one rearing back and sitting on its hind legs as the foreleg lasers began hailing toward ZX.
[20:55:14] <Haruka_Emmerich> Aelita's right leg turns a stark white with jagged edges as she cuts left and moves in. "Don't. Even." And then she pushes off her left, spinning toward the Tarantula with an all-too-familiar whirlwind kick. "FANG STRIZER!"
[20:57:48] <Haruka_Emmerich> Twin otherworldly slices accompany the kick's impact, the monster howling as its face gets a nasty new gash and one of its forearm emitters is sliced through up to the elbow.

[20:59:24] <Axel_Wildfire> "Aelita, there's four of the pricks. This can't be coincidence." Wyll chimes in, switching to a different mode. >>KAMEN RIDE DRIVE IGNITION<<
[20:59:33] <Axel_Wildfire> >>Y-Y-Y-YUUUUKI SKULL FORM<<
[21:06:02] <Axel_Wildfire> This one is done slightly differently; instead of the usual 'overtake' modeswitch, this one starts as black 'scraps' surrounded by blue fire that hang in the air around him - and then flip onto his own armor with a *clang*, resolving into... it's almost like mail, complete with a high helm and dull golden eyes that glow briefly on startup, along with a trenchcoat, though only the right-hand coattail is actually there. The Proto Driver, too, morphs into a wicked, curving broadsword. "Alright then."
[21:12:10] <Axel_Wildfire> Wyll runs one hand down the flat of the swordblade, imbuing it with a dull white glow, then swing it to one side and *whips* it across in front of him. The result is not a wind cutter as much as a slicing *typhoon* that tears down the straight and utterly pulverizes the two Tarants to Aelita's right. "You got the last one?"

[21:16:28] <Haruka_Emmerich> "Make that last TWO and it's a deal." Aelita motions to a final Tarantula scampering towards its sole surviving mate as the Ongekibo Rekka snap into her arms. Twirling them more akin to a Hawaiian fire dancer than a taiko drummer, Aelita sends a flurry of fireballs toward each foe.
[21:21:03] <Haruka_Emmerich> The countless flames make their mark, but rather than merely catching the monsters alight, the fires of Pure Sound seem to sink into the Tarantulas, plumes of half-digital smoke pulsing from deep within as the last two XANAbeasts' very code is melted away, eventually leaving a pair of deflated husks.

[21:22:38] <Axel_Wildfire> "Nice. Didn't know you danced, either." Wyll reverts his Ride and moves to join her again, looking around for any more sign of trouble. "This is really not good."

[21:24:58] <Haruka_Emmerich> "What, aside from the five or six injured we've got here?" Belt and brace are stashed safely away as Aelita cancels her own henshin. "Throw up a 112 and let's get these people stabilized!"

[21:27:13] <Axel_Wildfire> He drops his henshin, sighing as he pulls for his phone. "I'm referring to the fact that your past is suddenly jumping out at us bearing lasers."

[21:33:11] <Haruka_Emmerich> "Malicious junk data, nothing more." The pink-haired lady kneels by one of the bystanders, yanking off his suit and tying it around the laser wound in his gut. "Those things were designed to pick off schoolchildren. Against Riders, they ain't shit."

[21:36:35] <Axel_Wildfire> "That's not the point, the point is that they shouldn't *be here*. If anything they'd be lurking around SHOCKER's old base where Susanoo got made, not *here*! It looks more like you got targeted, honestly." Wyll cuts off as the emergency line is *finally* answered, give clear-cut and concise instructions and information to the dispatch.

[21:38:50] <Haruka_Emmerich> "And here I thought we'd get to leave all that crap in Iwatodai behind..." Aelita cracks her knuckles as she switches patients. "...but no matter. I'll put those ghosts to rest with my own hands."

[21:39:48] <Axel_Wildfire> Finished, Wyll hangs up and returns his phone to his pocket, picking a third casualty and doing what he can. "That's a funny way of saying 'we'."

[21:43:49] <Haruka_Emmerich> "She'd expect no less of me...no, of *us*." A grin as she staunched the bleeding in a woman's arm with a sock. "Not like I'd ever bother getting rid of you anyway. Too much fun."

[21:48:14] <Axel_Wildfire> He returns the grin. "Never heard that one before."

[21:50:26] <Haruka_Emmerich> "You're more amusing than you think, Wyll. Think it comes from the company you used to keep."

[21:51:57] <Axel_Wildfire> "... what?" Now Wyll just looks confused.

[21:53:17] <Haruka_Emmerich> "Rape Machine told me EVERYTHING about what went down in The Shed. Whether I asked her to or not."

[22:07:16] <Axel_Wildfire> "Pfft." now he seems annoyed. "And half of it was probably made up, knowing her."

[22:10:41] <Haruka_Emmerich> "Eh, I've taken everything she says with a grain of salt ever since she got bored with me. Scars never stuck, and all that." A blush and a flicker of blue. "Long and short of it, though, you're closer to Alexice than you'd think. The good parts, at least."

[22:26:28] <Axel_Wildfire> For some reason, this makes him blush. "Don't joke. He's way better than me."

[22:34:48] <Haruka_Emmerich> "Doesn't mean you're not still good enough." A pat on the shoulder.

[22:35:27] <Axel_Wildfire> Wyll reaches up and closes his hand over hers gently. "Thank you." he says quietly, and it looks like he *seriously* means it.

[22:42:10] <Haruka_Emmerich> "...you're welcome." The telltale wail of ambulance sirens approaches. "Now let's bail before questions get asked...you good for a swim?"
[22:42:44] <Haruka_Emmerich> Aelita starts dragging Wyll back toward the coast walkway, giggling all the while.

[22:45:58] <Axel_Wildfire> He grins and lets her drag him, at least for a moment, before sliding an arm around her waist. "Is that a rhetorical question?"

[22:50:31] <Haruka_Emmerich> "Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyep." She spins it into a quick hug before tossing him over the railing, jumping in after.
[22:51:37] <Haruka_Emmerich> = =