trans_9 | Destroy everything, connect everything.

"Tsukasa?"

Prompt as ever, Billy raced over to the Sensorium and stepped inside. There was...as, was that a Rider. He nodded, ducking his head down to check that his morpher was still there.

"What are you planning?" He was starting to get an inkling, but it almost never hurt to ask.

"Well, Mr. Cranston," Decade started, pushing himself off his bike, "I've been watching your training off and on. Quite frankly, I think you have a ways to go. So, if you're willing, I'd like to lend you some of my expertise in training. What do you say?"

"I do," he says quietly. It's been frustrating. Often it feels like he makes no progress at all, always outclassed.

At the offer of help, though, he nods. "Of course I'm willing. I have to improve, no matter what it takes."

And there's your answer. He forces any inferiority complex remnants to the back of his mind, preparing to be pulverized once more.

Skimming the comm channels paid off sometimes, it seems. The other Rider on board, at least the only other one he knew about, was offering training sessions?

Interesting.

Kazami wanders down to the Sensoriums to check things out. Decade will get a two-fingered salute when the man enters, but nothing to interrupt whatever dialogue they have going on. This would be a good time to gauge the other Rider on some of his skills, now that he's not distracted. And, of course, he might even be able to give Cranston some advice when he's done.

So Kazami conjures up his motorcycle and leans against it, watching the two men as they get ready.

"Excellent." Decade said, and he snapped his fingers. Beside him, a golden beast with black wings appeared behind him.

"I believe you recognize this character from your own world. Grifforzer, if my research is correct." He snapped his fingers again, and Goldar/Grifforzer started advancing toward Billy, sword drawn.

"Now, Mr. Cranston, defend yourself!"

"Goldar?!"

Oh yes, Billy knows this warrior. He hasn't typically fared well against him before. But if he can't fight Goldar on his own, he'll stand no chance against the Ohm.

It's morphin' time.

"Triceratops!" One flash of light and appearance of spandex later, Goldar is upon him. He dodge-rolls to the right, springing up with a Power Lance on guard. With the sword, leaving himself empty-handed would be a bad idea.

Decade's seen these powers before, at least a little. So, while there is a part of him that's interested in what he can do, he pushes that away. This is not for his sake, but for Billy's.

Goldar, though, sped up and thrust his blade straight toward the Blue Ranger's center diamond. "What are you going to do, Mr. Cranston? In an actual battle, you have to think quickly! Know your opponent and yourself!"

...Rats. He was going to get skewered. No. It's too early in the battle for that. Twisting to his left, Billy angled his lance to press the side of the blade against it and twist his body to the side. Stabbing at this point would do no good, as it would end in Billy being stabbed as well.

Disarming should be a priority, he thinks. But how? Goldar has a similar idea, and moves to wedge his sword under the lance. With a jerk, that should disarm Billy and leave him ripe for stabbing. Goldar aims low, driving forward and up.

What does Billy do? He shifts to a one handed grip and pulls the lance to the side as he moves, re-gripping it in a stabbing position and slamming in from one side. He still needed to keep his guard up and work on disarming, but one moment of bad timing could still spell doom for him.

Tsukasa smiled a bit under the mask of Decade. "Good idea, attempting to disarm your opponent. But this is a battle, Mr. Cranston, not a TV show designed for mass marketing! Cut down on the flashy moves!"

Goldar, on the other hand, switched tatics; thrusting his leg out to kick the Blue Ranger in the torso.

Not a TV show? Something wiggling in the back of his mind seemed to think that he'd been told differently once. But this was serious. That foot coming at him was very serious.

So serious, in fact, that it hit him hard and sent him flying backward before he could attack the new opening. Billy landed hard, rolling up with a Goldar coming at him from the sky, clearly intending to drive down for the kill. He thought of something that just might work...

He shot up near Goldar's head, driving into the back of the neck on his way back. If he could stun enough to knock the sword, perhaps he might stand a chance.

Not bad for a technical genius. Decade thought, watching as the Power Lance impacted the rear of Goldar's neck, causing him to drop his sword.

Goldar, however, was not done, yet. He grabbed the Power Lance and kicked Billy's side as hard as he could, sending the Ranger skidding along the ground. He picked up his sword, and advanced on his new position.

"I should say, Mr. Cranston; when I created this program, I added a condition. Grifforzer will keep attacking you until you either destroy it or you lose your transformation."

"Er---right," Billy grunted, pulling himself back to his feet. Just great. He'd temporarily done something, but now Goldar was armed and he wasn't. Way to be a bonehead again, Billy, he cursed.

What do I do? Keep eye contact with an opponent, right? And use tricks? No desperation charges, he'd just get thrown and stabbed. He waited until Goldar was four sword lengths away and feinted right. Once the swing had momentum and he was about to be skewered, he went left, driving into the side with a forceful elbow and kicking hard against the back of a knee. If he could cause a spin in one direction, a shove long enough to let him re-arm himself might be possible.

Decade saw the Blue Ranger glance toward his weapon, and he chuckled. Certainly seems to be thinking about his personal weapon a lot. What about his team weapon...Blade Blaster, I think it was?

He impressed with the feinting, though not quite so much the visible thinking that he was doing. "Not bad, Mr. Cranston! Looks like you have some combat instincts under the genius exterior!" He shouted, giving the young Ranger the necessary encouragement.

Goldar, though, wound up getting spun.

Okay, push time. Taking aim, he whacks Goldar between the shoulderblades hard---with the Blade Blaster in sword mode. The sharp, concentrated pressure should work better than his fists as long as there's some weight in the movement. It's a handy little tool, that.

Kicking down hard, he sprints to his weapon with one eye on Goldar the entire time. It's collected quickly, as Goldar is already on his way. He seems enraged, putting more force into his movements. Uh oh.

Wish you were here, guys, he thinks as he shifts into his next plan. Blade Blaster in one hand, shooting at the exposed face. Lance in the other, preparing to drop the smaller weapon and go back to stronger swipes if necessary. He remains in a fighting stance on the balls of his feet, ready to jump, drop, shift, or roll if necessary.

He watches Goldar's reaction to the shots, hoping for at least a little sloppiness. He needed an opportunity for some strong hits.

Goldar, sadly, did not show any obvious weak points. Decade could see a plan of attack, but he didn't know if Billy could.

"Remember, Mr. Cranston: Fight to your strengths! Make the enemy fight you where you're at your best!"

At my best...where is that? But isn't that too flashy?

It was a desperate move, but he felt no conceivable alternative at the moment. He leapt into the air and twisted over Goldar, weapons always pointing at Goldar to deflect the sword, then snagged it with his weapons and pulled as he fell. The boy was counting on momentum to do something here.

And if it did? Hopefully a pummeling from behind would follow immediately.

Goldar, sadly, let go of his sword. Then, he punched the Blue Ranger in the back. Repeatedly.

Decade was mentally wincing with each punch thrown. That has got to hurt.

"Some advice, Mr. Cranston? It's not flashy to use your speed to your advantage!"

"Ow---oh. Speed---ow, alright."

Stabbing back to give himself leverage to turn around, he keeps a low posture and runs, firing shots along the way. Just to be a pest. But how do I use it? Hit and run?

Thinking it was worth a shot, he ran from one side and swiped with the lance. Not enough off-balance force behind it to get drawn into a lock, but enough room to dance back should he have miscalculated again.

Goldar, being a glacier in comparison to the agile Ranger, was caught rather dumbfounded by the running and blasting.

Good, good...maybe he's starting to see the advantages of his transformed form. He has a good base of knowledge, and he's smart, but he needs confidence, and figuring out how to form plans on the fly. Decade thought, taking in the relative blur of Blue.

Goldar, though, was just swinging his sword, trying to hit Billy.

Oh, and did Billy mention that it hurt like hell to run? He was relying on the Power to somewhat dull the pain and keep him going for now, but man would it hurt when he demorphed.

His feet did the majority of the work. He went left, right, right, left, right----no particular pattern, just trying to stay one step ahead. Two would be grand, but he was still bad at this style of figthing. He watched Goldar's eyes (and the sword in his peripheral vision), trying to find an opening to stab. When he saw one, he did---and didn't stick around. That left him clawed in the side, but still free to move on his own.

From here, he wondered if this would be a pattern to see who outlasted the other.

Decade clapped his hands, and Goldar stopped in mid-swing. Taking a leisurely stroll over to the Blue Ranger's position, he said, "Analyze. What happened, both the good and the bad? What worked for you, and what didn't?"

Billy somewhat straightened his posture with an invisible wince. He still didn't trust even a simulated Goldar to stay in place, so a hand remained on his weapon and his body remained tense.

"I need to use speed. With gravity as it is, aerial attacks are too slow and leave me too vulnerable. I've yet to find a disarming technique that doesn't set me back, and even in this form I don't have the brute strength to win with that alone."

The whole time he watched Goldar, as if daring him to move.

Decade nodded. "Yes; although, I will say that, while you should avoid aerial attacks if necessary, don't shy away entirely from them. Use them if you can."

He gestured toward the Power Lance. "Do you know how to use that to keep your opponent at a distance? Because something of that length can, if used well, will keep you outside of a sword bearer's combat radius." He gestured toward the frozen Goldar.

"Even the worst option has its place," he said quietly.

"Not as well as I should," he frowned, looking down at the Lance. He'd used it on Ranger instinct. None of them had had formal training in the use of their weapons, though he tried to pick things up here and there.

Decade punched into the wall, and ripped out a roughly three feet length of rebar. Grabbing a card out of his RideBooker, *FORM RIDE! KUUGA DRAGON!* Rang out, and Decade became the blue-and-black speedy form of Kamen Rider Kuuga.

The rebar transformed into a blue and black staff, about the same length as the Power Lance. Kuuga!Decade strolled over and grabbed Goldar's sword, tossing it to Billy. "Come at me, but slowly. I'll show you some tricks that I have found to be useful when wielding a staff, and then I'll give you a chance to try them."

Destroy everything, connect everything.

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