[RP] Justice Riders: Planetary Defenders! ==INVASION==

[Enthalpy]

Kyoto Tower

Raphael stopped paying close attention partway through. "I wouldn't be a threat anyways," muttered Raphael. It was true, if dishonest.

Ugh... This is a waste of time. If Sevaline won't stop trying to kill us as long as she lives... There are no other options. It wouldn't be to just to make a promise I can't keep. And where'd be the "HONOR" in that, Kalcion?

Raphael invisibly grimaced, and he glared at Charlotte. You told me that it wouldn't have been just for her to renege on her promise after I told her what you'd done... Gah. Why did I even bother. You'll twist away, all while that Kalcion is twisting this for her own ends. You're let her walk all over you because you did that! A dizzying bout of logic(?), there. Well, however you untangled that.

So what'll you do now? She's going to betray us all, and you're just making concessions. Pathetic. You're a liability to the Riders, you know?!

Raphael sighed. "...Anything else we're needed for?"

[gotMLK7]

Kyoto Tower

Prim didn't turn back at Charlotte's words, but she loosened up, and she smiled to the sky in relief.

"...Thank you. Thank you so much."

At Raphael's question, she shook her head. "No. You should go figure out a countermeasure to the missiles before it's too late. I'll...I'll try and work things out from up here, see what I can find." This time she did turn back, and pumped a fist confidently with a smile of determination. "I-I believe in you guys! You can figure something out! Go Go Justice Riders!"

----

Club

Jack sighed. "Alright, I'll bite," he said. "I could throw a blanket over a bear and it'd be better hidden than whatever's on your mind." The Green Rider straightened up and looked down to Sora, crossing his arms expectantly. "So. Mind filling me in on what's got your brain so distracted today, miss? You sound like a nervous wreck."

----

Iyashi Hospital

As Ami bust in to Kenshin's hospital room, she was met with a nurse giving her a "Ssssssh." She then pointed to a bed in the corner of the room. There, Kenshin was lying down, the sheets of his bed drooping over where his right leg was supposed to be. At the side of his bed was Rin, his 8-year-old daughter, and Wakana, his wife. Rin was staring at the floor facing away from her father when she glanced up and saw Ami in the room. She tugged at her mom's sleeve and pointed to the Rider. Wakana seemed to rub her face before turning to greet Ami.

"Ah, hello there! Here to visit Ken, I presume...?" Wakana was smiling and surprisingly jovial, but the red under her eyes suggested it was a front. "Sorry to intrude, I just got here myself. I'm not really ready to leave yet, though, if you don't mind. I've gotta keep this big lug company still." She glanced towards Kenshin, who was staring back at Ami with a strained expression before turning his head away from the women.

Wakana nodded to the nurse, who pulled up another chair for Ami by Kenshin's bed. Wakana patted it in invitation for Ami to sit.

[GuardianDreamer]

Kyoto Tower

Now that their conversation with Prim was more or less complete, Charlotte knew that there was no reason to delay giving the information she had acquired to someone with more authority than her. It was a boring, predictable move, the type that she generally preferred to avoid... But now probably wasn't the time for her to think of extremely silly ways to deliver the information. The threat of humanity possibly being wiped out really did make her feel guilty about goofing off all of a sudden. Clearly the most heinous crime of all.

Charlotte briefly glanced at Raphael's general direction, as though waiting to see if he would have any strong reaction to the conversation ending. ... She quickly realized the flaws in this plan when she reminded herself that he had the power to be invisible. That was kind of his thing. Oh well, maybe it was for the best. If Raphael DID have any sort of strong emotional reaction that he let himself show, Charlotte would probably be tempted to comment on it. And while she probably would have taken great joy from making jokes at his expense, having an argument after what had just happened might result in a fight. She doubted it would be particularly serious, but she would have a LOT of explaining to do if she got into a fight with a fellow Rider immediately after obtaining key information. Not to mention that she would have to explain it to Prim, and it would make her seem less trustworthy. Again, a different version of herself probably would have welcomed it and treated it as a joke. ... Having some semblance of a conscience made it hard to act like much of a trickster when the world was at stake. Who knew?

She decided not to say anything to Raphael, at least not yet. Instead, she glanced at her Morpher. She still wasn't used to making calls on it, considering how long it had been, but she quickly figured it out. ... Honestly, she didn't know how to break the news to her fellow Riders, but some kind of attempt was better at no attempt at all. In her mind, she imagined that the headquarters would be busy, but she did not know just how panicked everyone truly was, mostly because she still had no clue about what happened to Kenshin.

And so, unaware of some events but possessing information of great importance, Charlotte sent a call to Headquarters.

[Enthalpy]

Kyoto Tower

Work things out from up here...? We're just falling your plan. Well, not we. She is. Raphael cast a contemptuous look at Charlotte while she was turning away from him and to her Morpher. You don't deserve to wear that. You'll do more harm than good, you know, as you're proving right now. Predictable images flashed through Raphael's mind. Vespine announcing her hatred of justice, Uezama's foolhardy charge and subsequent callousness, demented renegades like Seiichi, and then Kenshin who had let this all happen in the first place...

Raphael went to pick up his blaster, not conscious of what he should do with it, but conscious of the fact that he needed to take some kind of action, even if he wasn't sure what it was. But passivity was how he had let Kenshin take the Riders here, so that couldn't work... As for what would... All he needed earlier was the coordination to take the shot, and then the Riders wouldn't have to waste their time evaluating the Kalcion liar.

And Charlotte would be gone too. She'd be blamed for acting rashly, out of the Riders. If only you had been strong enough...

I have the strength!

You said it yourself. You can't even take the shot when it counts. It would do you no good now, of course.

Jack promised me more powerful weapons! With those, there would be no mistake. More power, that's what I need...!

Yes, then Raphael would be in a position to save the Riders. He had to get these new powers as soon as possible. Go to HQ now? No. It'll only be a few seconds, and right now, I need to supervise her... prevent her from tricking the others into falling for that liar.

And so, Raphael waited.

[Ami]

Iyashi Hospital

As Ami bust in to Kenshin's hospital room, she was met with a nurse giving her a "Ssssssh." She then pointed to a bed in the corner of the room. There, Kenshin was lying down, the sheets of his bed drooping over where his right leg was supposed to be. At the side of his bed was Rin, his 8-year-old daughter, and Wakana, his wife. Rin was staring at the floor facing away from her father when she glanced up and saw Ami in the room. She tugged at her mom's sleeve and pointed to the Rider. Wakana seemed to rub her face before turning to greet Ami.

"Ah, hello there! Here to visit Ken, I presume...?" Wakana was smiling and surprisingly jovial, but the red under her eyes suggested it was a front. "Sorry to intrude, I just got here myself. I'm not really ready to leave yet, though, if you don't mind. I've gotta keep this big lug company still." She glanced towards Kenshin, who was staring back at Ami with a strained expression before turning his head away from the women.

Wakana nodded to the nurse, who pulled up another chair for Ami by Kenshin's bed. Wakana patted it in invitation for Ami to sit.

Ami nods, in a sot of stunned silence. Against all her muscles tightening against themselves to not do it, she absently pats where the leg should be- as if it would reappear if she did so, or there was some sort of trick bottom to the bed. As if this were all a joke that she hadn't caught on to yet.

"Yeah," she croaks out after another moment, "I'm here to see him, I was going to watch him until you got here, but you are here." A beat. "And I'm here." A beat. "And he's... here."

Flash was silent. Flash may have not been the greatest friend to the Riders since creation, but Kenshin was powerful. Whatever happened must have been dire. An obvious analysis, which he kept to himself.

But Ami couldn't stay silent. As her mind emptied, it seemed that all thoughts just tumbled out of her mouth haphazardly. "So I don't understand what's going on. Entirely. I blacked out for a while and woke up like this." She points to the new equipment, for a moment before the hand limply returns to where it came. "And I uh... I came here. Already covered that."

The carmine rider gulped.

"Is he uh..." eyes close, breath in, "is he okay?" Eyes open, breath out. "I mean, y'know... besides the..." Her eyes met Wakana's for answers, but locked there to not look at the absent leg.

[gotMLK7]

Kyoto Tower

Charlotte's call had a delay before being picked up from the Justice HQ.

"Hey? This, uh, Amber?"

The voice wasn't that of Kenshin's, Wakana's, Phineas's, or even GiGi's. It seemed to be a random Rider that answered the call.

"This is Razzmatazz at HQ. We're, uh...dammit, we're kinda busy with something right now, so this better be important! What's your status?"

He sounded somewhat panicked and distressed...

----

Iyashi Hospital

Wakana took a hold of Kenshin's hand, rubbing it gently with her thumb. She was still smiling as she looked at him, but it wasn't hard to see how much she had to try to maintain it. Rin drooped down to the floor, hugging her legs to her chest and sniffling to herself. Wakana avoided Ami's gaze for a bit.

"...Apparently," she said, "he tried to take on the final boss at the start of the third act. Heh...not surprised, really. But, it...it happens. That grouch Dr. Phineas is whipping up a replacement for his leg as we speak. That man works freakishly fast...Ken will probably be on his feet again by later today, if he's stubborn enough."

Kenshin seemed unfazed by the teasing. He kept averting his own gaze. Wakana's grip on his hand seemed to tighten.

"...But I think he'll be just fine," she said. She finally returned Ami's gaze, and her tears were flowing again despite her smile. "...H-He's tough, y'know! The man I love wouldn't lose to something like this!" She glanced at him again. "I know him better than that. Don't I?"

He still couldn't look them in the eyes; he blushed and turned his head away. Wakana chuckled.

"You can be such a drama queen, dear." She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and turned back to Ami, her smile a bit more natural now. "Well, it's nice to see at least one of you has matured. It's been a while, huh? Digging the new look!" She gestured to the new equipment with a giggle. "It...means a lot to me you came to see him, if I'm honest. And I'm sure it means a lot to him, too, hmmm?"

No response.

"See? Drama queen. He can get like this when he's in a grumpy mood." She cut the teasing for a bit and leaned back in her seat. "Go on. Feel free to talk to him if you want."

Kenshin turned his head and tried to sit up as he began to object, but Wakana shot him a glare that silenced him. He blushed as he nestled back in his bed and voided eye contact once more.

[Ami]

Iyasha Hospital

"Yeah, the whole war thing sorta makes visits hard. Plus, I've been studying like crazy because of the whole scholarship business. And I've been training a lot and..." Ami squeezes her eyes shut for a moment, and takes a breath. "I've missed you, Wakana." Ami's eyes dart to Rin and sees her... yet doesn't. It was an odd, dissociation-like moment where it was almost a rush of memories cascading into the space Rin occupied.

She saw herself. She saw every little kid that's passed through the infirmary.

Unfuse.

What?

Unfuse now.

Would that I could. I know what you want to do, what I guess we want? Fusion's weird, lady.

Fine.

... Are you sure? This isn't what you came here for.

Another deep breath, and Ami rises from her seat. "You," she sternly glared at Kenshin, "get your strength back, you're not done." She turns to Wakana and struggles with words for a moment. "As a doctor, I give you full permission to punch unruly patients. Um. Deputized. Duly. Deputy Doctor."

Ami then moved outside the room, and closed the door only to stop for a moment a few steps away.

You want options?

Same brain.

Hm... I have an idea.

Twenty Minutes Later

Ami walks in, holding a small box.

You do things like this in battle all the time. This will be easy.

With a nod, Ami approaches Rin with a small box. She sits in front of the child and opens the box to reveal nothing. "Rin?" A beat. "Today sucks. While I just woke up, you didn't have the luxury of being unconscious through any of this."

Ami puts the box down. "This is probably going to be one of the worst days of your life. Worse yet, I can't promise anything won't suck or there won't be even worse days." Opening the top lid, Ami reveals the box to be empty, even picking it up to allow Rin to confirm it herself.

"I'll promise you this, kid." Ami puts the box down and closes it. "Your dad? Me? Your mom? We'll make sure that there'll be better days. There has to be. And you want to know why? There was a time when I was just as sad and scared as today. Not only that, I was starving, and I kinda wanted to die because... that isn't important What's important is that during the worst day of my life, your dad found me, gave me hope. A reason to live. And after I got done screwing things up at every opportunity, he even liked me enough to kick my... butt. And I learned from that and made something of myself." Ami picks up the box again with one hand, but motioning with the other in front of Rin as a classic misdirection. "Someday you're going to tell some other sad little kid something like this, and you're going to be right."

Ami presents the box again. "Because your dad? Me? The rest of the Riders, and even more Kalcions than I originally bargained for?" Well, hopefully, the parlay talks are still bothering me, but I think there's something that can work. "We're going to fight for peace, and then you are going to become the strongest darn person in the world that'll be able to do anything you want."

Ami opens the box, and out pops a teddy bear ill-fitted for the box. It may have been noticeable, but Ami's trick took some mild concentration- she'd been practicing this speech in her head the entire time she shopped to compensate. "So take this, and be as sad as you want today. You're more than entitled to that. There's going to be times for crying, and times for laughing, and times for having to do things even when you're crying. But maybe this will make today slightly less horrible."

[GuardianDreamer]

Kyoto Tower

It was incredibly odd to hear Razzmatazz's voice as the one to answer the call, mostly because Charlotte had been expecting... Well, maybe Kenshin? Wakana? Phineas? Even GiGi seemed more likely, though she had been hoping it wouldn't be GiGi because the last time the two of them had talked, GiGi had been very aggressive and admittedly a bit terrifying (not that she would ever admit to any hints of fear, of course). ... Oh well, no matter! The others were probably just busy. And it was always those with seemingly-minor roles who turned out to be important later, so maybe Razzmatazz could help!

"Hm... I don't take it you're one for theatrics, and in truth this is information that I should present as bluntly as I possibly can. So... I'd advise you to take out a pen and paper for this..." Charlotte said. It wasn't any fun not acting as over-the-top as possible, but as it turned out, trying to save the world left very little room for acting silly. Who'd have thought!

Doing her best to tell the story as clearly as possible, Charlotte talked about her encounter with Prim and Raphael, and the information that she had learned from Prim.

Spoiler : OOC :

Yeah, so... I thought about writing out everything that Prim had said, but decided it would be incredibly redundant. If either got or Enthalpy need to ask specific questions about the way Charlotte presented information so they know how to react, just ask me in private. This seemed like the best solution for moving things along.

I also thought about having Charlotte sense the enmity from Raphael, but decided against it. Partially because I thought it would make her seem like way too much of a mind-reader (she thinks Raphael is extremely annoyed with her, not that he actually hates her) and partially because I thought she'd be focused on other things.

[gotMLK7]

Iyashi Hospital

Rin took the teddy bear in her hands and stared at it. She still seemed tired, dazed even. Her eyes never left Ami during her speech, though. As tired as they were, her eyes were glued to the Rider the whole time. And now she looked at that bear, seemingly unsure of how to respond to it all. Wakana looked down at her somewhat nervously, and Kenshin's eyes seemed to be drifting over to the scene. Eventually, Rin replied.

"...I don't...get a lot of this," she said. "I don't get Daddy being the Crimson Rider...and I don't get what you're saying, about stuff in the future. It feels really weird." She started choking up a bit. "A-And scary. And...watching Daddy getting beat up, and...and..." She sniffed back tears, and didn't finish her sentence. "I-I really don't get it all! It all feels so...so weird, and scary..."

Wakana bit her lip. She seemed to be choking up. Kenshin's eyes were shut tight. But Rin wiped her eyes on her arm, and suddenly, she looked up towards Ami.

"B-But okay!" She looked...determined. "I'll believe you, Miss Ami! I don't get what's going on with the aliens and stuff, but I know the Justice Riders are awesome! And...And Daddy's awesome, too!"

Kenshin's eyes shot open, and he looked towards his daughter in shock.

"S-So, uh, I don't know a lot of what's going on! Even if it's been going on for a while..." Rin went on. "But you guys are, like, superheroes and stuff, right? So you guys gotta go out there and do superhero stuff! Don't worry about me! And don't worry about Daddy! He's, like, the top superhero! He can handle this! Right, Daddy?!"

"U-Uh..."

"Yeah, he can!" She was pumped now, with a fire in her eyes. "Thank you for the teddy, Miss Ami, but don't worry about me! It's like you said, I gotta be the strongest person in the world, like you and Daddy, so I gotta learn this kinda stuff, I think! But you're all already the strongest people in the world, so you gotta go out there and beat those aliens' butts! So...uh...y-yeah!"

She was breathing heavily from the overexcitement. There was a silence, then filled by a restrained chuckle.

"Pfft...R-Rin, you..." Wakana was covering her mouth, trying not to laugh, and doing a poor job of it. "Pfthaha...Hahahahahaha! Y-You watch too much TV, Rin! Where'd you pick up that cheesy monologue schtick?! You sound like a little superhero!" She was laughing boisterously now, and she pulled in her daughter for a hug. Rin looked confused about it, asking what she said that was so funny, but the two seemed in higher spirits.

"You sound...just like your father."

Wakana looked back to Kenshin. "Well? You heard the ladies. You've gotta go out there and save the world still, don't you? Make happier days for everyone."

Kenshin looked up at Wakana, smiling sweetly at him. Rin, clutching her bear and looking at him expectantly. Ami, trying her best to be a role model...when it felt like just yesterday she was the one needing one. Kenshin sat up in his bed. He was bare-chested aside from the gauze and bandages strewn about his body. He stared at where his leg used to be. His hand was shakng...so Wakana put a hand on top of it. And Rin followed. He clutched his fist now, and finally, he looked Ami in the eyes.

"A-Ami...thank you. I...uh..."

"Honey," Wakana interjected, "you're crying."

"E-Eh?! No I'm not!"

"You are~"

"Wooooah, Daddy's crying!"

"Am not!"

Wakana and Rin giggled. Kenshin was doing a bad job at choking back his tears...so he stopped trying. He spun around in his sheets, his bandaged stump of a leg now hanging over the side, and he bawled.

"I'm...I'm sorry! I'm sorry for being so stupid! I...I lost the fight! I'm a superhero, I'm not supposed to lose fights! And...and...I've got, no idea what I'm doing as a leader! I'm not as strong as anyone thinks I am...I'm just some stupid kid playing superhero, trying to be cool! B-But...! But I...I WON'T BACK DOWN!" He rose his fist in front of him and looked Ami in the eyes, even as tears flooded down his face and his voice was cracking. "I've got no idea what the hell I'm doing, but I'm going to win this war, dammit! Because we're superheroes! And n-no matter what hardship...SUPERHEROES WIN, DAMMIT! So let's kick those Kalcion asses all the way back to their solar system!" He was an emotional wreck...but he was a determined emotional wreck.

----

Kyoto Tower

"S-Seriously?! Damn it...DAMMIT! Why does today have to be so difficult?!"

Razzmatazz sighed on the other side of the radio.

"Well the Doc's rushing to the hospital right now because the big ol' boss man Kenshin took on Malchior himself and is now down a friggin' leg. So like, we're not in the best position to be dealing with this right now. Gah...a-alright! I'll spread the news! You, uh...god, I don't know, do whatever you can! We'll figure out something! Thanks for the tip!"

The transmission ended abruptly.

----

INCOMING MESSAGE FOR ALL JUSTICE MORPHERS

"Hey! This is Razzmatazz at HQ with an urgent announcement! Or, uh, several! So if you haven't heard, Crimson's been critically injured fightin' Malchior! He's in stable condition and he should be kicking it again soon, but we've got more urgent things to deal with! We got an informant from the Kalcion! Gave us some info about a lost King on our planet that kicked off all this crap or something like that. And that informant also claims that the Leviathan's gonna be launching some goddamn potent missiles at us any minute now! Missiles that'll either wreck our entire supply of Zords or wipe out a good chunk of Japan's population. So...d-do something, alright?! I don't know what, I don't know how, but...friggin' do something! Cuz right now is a good time for miracles! So...y-yeah! Good luck, I guess! God, I suck at this announcement thi-"

[The Ash Raichu]

Stadium:

Well, this is patronizing... Soul could only think to herself, completely at the mercy of the gentle giant standing before her. The one that just wouldn't shut up. Like, seriously. How long was this guy going to keep talking? Soul didn't even know how much time had passed, but she heard a message bleed out from her Morpher. Gohra could probably hear it, too. Heck, Gohra could probably hear it better than she could in the state she was in. Something about missiles and a king or something? Soul couldn't focus, and as the transmission ended, so did her consciousness. She just laid passed out on the roughed up stadium ground.

[gotMLK7]

Stadium

Gohra turned towards Soul. "What was that...?"

He noticed the girl had slipped out of consciousness. But he could have sworn he heard something over her Morpher radio. And what he heard seemed...

Gohra walked over to Soul and kneeled down by her. "Pardon me," he said, as he gently grabbed her wrist to see the Morpher. He took a moment to figure out which button was the radio. "Hello? Am I currently heard...?"

"Huh...?! W-What the hell?!" Razzmatazz's voice came out the other end.

"Good!" Gohra proclaimed, talking into Soul's wrist. "Pardon me, but might I ask you to repeat the announcement you just made...? I'd like some clarification on it, if you'd be so polite, sir."

"You...How the hell'd you get on this transmission?! Where's Amethyst?!"

"She's merely unconscious, do not worry. But I believe I asked you a question, and it is rude to not respond to it, sir."

"Screw that! You're not getting away with this, you-"

Gohra snapped. "I SAID REPEAT YOURSEEEEEEEEEEEEELF!"

"Hrk! Grrr...I said we've got your number, General! We've got the info on your missile attack plan! And we aren't gonna let you-"

"Missile attack..." Gohra's voice was strangely solemn. "So I did hear you correctly...a missile attack. And that's coming from the Leviathan...yes?"

"....Uh...y-yeah? But you're not getting away with-"

"Missiles," Gohra interrupted. "I was not informed there would be...missiles. And you said they're enough to wipe out a part of the population? And to destroy a majority of your weaponry? Am I correct?"

"....A-Am I missin' something?"

"I...was not...INFORMED..." Gohra laid Soul's hand down gently, as Razzmatazz shouted over the other side trying to reach him. "Missiles...Capable of downsizing the population. Striking down innocents to force warriors into a gambit...disabling their weaponry simply to crush them harder..." Smoke began to seep from Gohra's pores, and his fists shook as he spoke. "Such tactics...are they the work of that man? To force the enemy into a corner, simply to destroy them harder than ever...to seek cheap tactics to cause despair rather than to show our true warrior spirit...to seek ABSOLUTE DOMINANCE like this...There...THERE IS NO...."

His eyes shot open, and his soul seemed to burn with sheer rage.

"THERE IS NO HONOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR!!!"

He slammed his foot to the ground in anger, cracking the ground beneath him. He shouted his fury to the heavens, teeth gnarled like the fangs of a beast. The smoke seeped through his injurues as if his insides were actually on fire. But he pulled himself back just enough to prevent his Titan Trigger from activating.

"THAT DAMN SNAAAAAKE! THIS IS UNFORGIVABLE! IT IS AGAINST OUR IDEALS, IT IS AGAINST HIS MAJESTY'S WISHES! WE SEEK VICTORY, BUT DO YOU SEEK UTTER DESTRUCTIOOOON?! I REFUSE! I REFUSE TO GIVE YOU THE SATISFACTION, YOU MONSTER! THIS IS NOT THE IDEAL I WILL FIGHT FOR! I'VE GONE THROUGH WITH YOUR PLANS BEFORE, BUT THIS...THIIIIIIIIIIS!!! NO MORE! I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO SULLY OUR NAME IN AN OCEAN OF HUMAN BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!"

Gohra looked to the sun as it set. His rage faltered for a brief moment. "Heh...heheheh...HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I see! So...it truly has come to this. Alright then, humanity...it's time to prove yourself, then! You better leave me satisfied..."

Gohra walked over to Soul and picked up her Morpher again. "Heed me, Justice Rider! I have a demand! I want you to deliver a message for me."

"Why the hell should I?!"

"If you care for your lives or your nation, you'll do as I tell you!" Gohra shouted back. "But it is ultimately your weight to carry if you ignore me."

"...What is it."

"I want you to inform the Purple Rider...one Hayate Kawaguchi...to come to the shore. I will be there, waiting for him. That is all."

He let go of Soul's hand before he could get a response. "Thank you," he told her. "You may have lost in combat here today, but your presence here may be the difference between life and death for the people of your nation. You may never learn this, but I hope you can live with pride in your heart regardless."

Gohra sighed to himself. "We have gone to so much effort with this planet...it feels as though my entire life has been spent trying to figure out how to deal with this mess of a war. Perhaps I've just grown too attached to it to let things end in such a sad way. But I suppose I may as well see this through to the end and see if it's really worth the effort."

He smiled. "One last battle. To see if my life is worth laying on the line for the sake of my enemy. I've devoted so much of my life to the pursuit of honor...it would simply be madness to die with a whimper now! It must be a bang!" He looked back to the sunset.

"Well...if nothing else, it's a beautiful day to die."

He left the stadium, and made his way to the shore.

----

Justice HQ Training Gym

The Razzmatazz Rider shoved through a crowd of panicked Riders as he got through the doorway of the gym. He fixed his hair in annoyance and cleared his throat.

"I HAVE A MESSAGE FOR HAYATE KAWAGUCHI!" he shouted.

[Ami]

Iyashi Hospital

Ami crossed her arms, and tilted her head. "Since we don't have time for some sort of training montage, are you going to hop there, or are we going to swing by base to get a fancy robot leg? It's recommendable we at least check on the zord situation, given our recent message."

[gotMLK7]

Iyashi Hospital

Wakana and Rin giggled at the suggestion, but Kenshin just rubbed his eyes and looked back towards Ami confusedly. "Zord situation? Did I miss...?" He sighed. "I'm sure I'll figure out shortly. Though, if I'm being honest, I'm a little hesitant to head back to the HQ just yet...I don't know if I could survive the Doctor's wrath right-"

At that moment, the door swung open, and a shiver travelled down Kenshin's spine. At the door stood...Doctor Phineas, panting with exhaustion and carrying a silver leg in one arm. A couple doctors and nurses were trying to tell him to calm down and not just rush into waiting rooms, but Phineas didn't seem keen on paying attention to them right now. Even from behind the shades, Kenshin could tell the good doctor was glaring daggers at him.

"KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENSHIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!" he shouted into the room, marching in past the doctors with leg in hand. "I OUGHTA BEAT YOU WITH THIS LEG, DAMMIT!"

"O-O-Oh hey, D-Doctor! I...uh..." Kenshin scooted back in his bed in fear. Wakana chuckled nervously as she held onto a confused Rin. "L-Listen, I'm very-"

"VERY SORRY YOU GOT YOUR DAMN LEG SLICED OFF AT THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME?!" Phineas shouted in his face. "WE'RE STARING DOWN A MISSILE CRISIS AND YOU'RE OFF TRYING TO BE A BADASS ON YOUR OWN?!"

"U-Um...A-At the time it seemed...like a good...idea..." He chuckled to himself awkwardly, trying to avoid eye contact with eyes he could barely even see. He looked back, though, when he dissected the doctor's words. "W-Wait, missiles?"

"Grrraaauuugh...Dammit, you're lucky you have me, you stupid kid!" The doctor rolled up his sleeves and turned to Kenshin's rather concerned nurse, pulling out a wallet from his pocket to show her his credentials. "YOU! You're my assistant for this! We're popping this sucker on and getting him out of here as fast as possible!"

The nurse scanned her eyes over his ID, her eyes widening at the sight. "U-uh, y-yessir! Will do, Doctor, sir!" She moved around to the other side of the bed and began prepping Kenshin's position and sheets for surgery.

"W-Wait," Kenshin tried to object, "r-right now? Right here?! You can't just pop a new leg on me just like that! M-My kid's watching, and Ami! H-Hold on, don't touch that-! And what's with the missiles and the Zords-?!"

"I'll explain while I work!"

"P-Please don't-!"

"Haaa ha ha ha, w-well, I think that's our cue!" Wakana stood up and grabbed Rin's hand tightly. "I think this is a good time to wait outside, ey, Ami?"

"I'm sorry," the nurse said to them. "You three can wait in the hall until we're done. I promise he'll be good as new soon enough."

----

Iyashi Hospital Hallway

And so Rin, Ami, and Wakana were escorted outside.

Spoiler : OoC :

Gonna wait a post to get Kenshin back in action. Wanted to rush through this process a bit, not bother beating around the bush, but figured I'd give a brief window for Ami to respond before finishing up. I guess technically her medical training could theoretically let her help out but she's probably less likely to convince the doctors at her age than the overqualified Phineas, so I figured it'd be easier to just comedically boot her and the others out for now. Less explaining I have to do about the process of quickly attaching a metal leg, anyway, so hey, easier on me. If you wanna respond to anything, you're free to, otherwise I'll get Kenshin out of there shortly.

[lazyplague]

Training Gym

Swish! Went the sound of Hayate's fist as it pierced through the air. He wasn't punching at anything in particular, more like he was afraid-- If he stopped punching, would something punch back at him? Hayate wasn't thinking about this specific issue, but he did feel the fear of SOMETHING coming at the end of this training session. He didn't know what, but it was coming. The feeling of dread and despair that came at the end of a neutral time for Hayate had been recurrent. He knew it was coming, and he was afraid.

"I HAVE A MESSAGE FOR HAYATE KAWAGUCHI!" Only confirmed that. Hayate tensed as he turned around.

"W-what is it?" Hayate said, shaken, as he turned to see who he would later always remember as the "Harbinger of the end." Razzmatazz never intended to be seen as that, however that was all Hayate could do.

[gotMLK7]

Training Gym

Razzmatazz took a deep breath to compose himself, then marched over to Hayate.

"I'm going to leave this up to you," he said, "because I don't know how trustworthy this situation really is. But I'll let you know, regardless." He crossed his arms and stared at the floor as he spoke. "The Kalcion General...Gohra Kanorath...he wants to meet with you. Personally. He took out the Amethyst Rider and spoke to me through her radio to tell me that. Normally I wouldn't even humor the guy...but he warned me that ignoring him would be risking the lives of everyone in Japan. I'm guessing it has somethin' to do with the incoming missile attack from the Kalcion we got tipped on, but I can't say for sure what that guy is thinking."

He looked Hayate in the eye now. "Regardless, though, he wants to see you at the shore. Whether you think you're up to this, that's up to you to decide. I told you what I know, so my job here's done. I don't know what that bastard is thinking...but you're a pretty decent guy, so I trust your decisions on this matter." He tilted his head expectantly. "Ya got that?"