Welcome to my world

[runners_low]

[1]
A ha ha ha! It works! What's over there? I want to see!

[A Kamen Rider is walking around the White Chalice, looking around every corner with excitement and curiosity. But something is unusual about that Rider... the armored figure is much shorter than usual, and the high-pitched voice betrays the user as Felicita - who somehow got her hands on MarKus's Leangle Belt.]


[2]
[But, even as a Rider she eventually gets tired. Less than an hour later, Felicita is already de-henshined and resting on a wheelchair. She looks exhausted, but very happy.]

That was great. Thank you... it's almost as great as piloting Deva itself.
I don't know how to pay back for this...


[3]
[Speaking of Deva, it's time for the weekly training. Felicita got into her mobile suit's cockpit - with help, probably yours. The cockpit is tiny, cramped and dark. There are no monitor screens or standard controls, just a chair in the middle and a visor hanging from the low ceiling. And cables. Lots and lots of cables.]

Thanks. I'll be fine from now on.

[Felicita picks up the hanging cables one by one and starts inserting them into access ports on her body - arms and legs mostly, but there are also some on her back. Good thing her hospital gown comes with convenient holes, or else she'd be naked.]

I did this dozens of times before.

Comments

[2hell_weride]

It's fine, don't worry about it. Really, I didn't know if it'd work either so...

But like I said, it's much better than having to be inside a machine to get around, and only in battle at that. No wires. No chemicals. No mess.

[runners_low]

I don't mind these things, if it means I can pilot Deva.

...

I'm not saying this "rider belt" isn't great. It really is. But when I'm inside Mother's mobile suit, it feels totally different.

[2hell_weride]

I think I get that. Your mom made it for ya, so its like... Just got more comfort to it.

I had some friends around before who had other belts too. I would've liked to see if they work for everyone this easy or if there's some genetic or mystic connection. You start thinkin about that stuff when things come out of the TV and start falling in your lap!

[runners_low]

Yes, it's like that.

How many of these belts are there total? I thought they are super-rare.

[2hell_weride]

[[MarKus stops for a moment and actually thinks about it.]]

Somewhere around thirty or so... And that's just counting the Riders from TV shows with belts. I mean, they ARE one of a kind, technically. Working ones. But I'm sure somewhere in Fuso you can still find smaller, toy versions of the newer ones.

[runners_low]

Wait.

[Mental backtracking.]

So, this is a belt from a TV show.
Only, it works for real. It's not a toy, it's the real thing.

[2hell_weride]

Right. Exactly that. Here, let me tell you the tale of one of the "many" (yeah, air quotes) Rider Wars.

[[And so she is regaled with the story of Tsukasa, Decade, getting caught up in a Rider War on a colony. One of the killed Riders still had a working belt so MarKus took it up and has been using it ever since.]]

[runners_low]

[Felicita listens curiously for a while, but eventually she just has to ask.]

Why would Riders fight each other? To the death, even? I thought they were supposed to be the good guys.

[2hell_weride]

Ehhhhh... that... Well, not ALL Riders were the good guys. MOST of the time, yes, but, there were a couple of shows where there were one or two evil ones. One show had a whole War amongst themselves simply because they weren't allowed to co-exist because of their power.

[runners_low]

And it happened not just in the show, but in real life too...

[Looking a bit confused there.]

[2hell_weride]

Well, that happened in the show. What happened to me and Tsukasa was monster trickery. One side was certain the other side were monsters, or otherwise evil.