Ryuga followed behind the Smash as it lumbered away.
The Smash was struggling; it was confused and tired after being forced to transform back and forth between Tatsuya and its current monstrous form.
Man and beast traveled for quite some time, with Ryuga making sure to conceal himself behind bushes, trees, and other cover while tailing the Smash.
Eventually, they both exited a small forested area, and Ryuga looked up at the tall structure looming before him.
"The Sky Wall..."
Several rectangular, fortified outposts, abandoned by the military, lay beneath the Sky Wall. Its walls were covered in moss and dark stains. Each building was connected by vaulted walkways and stairs.
Random pieces of equipment and cargo lay scattered outside the old base, providing Ryuga with numerous places to hide while he stalked the Smash.
"It's heading inside..."
The Smash was making an effort to reach a distant section of the rundown fort.
Ryuga nodded, a smirk forming at the corner of his mouth. He was confident that his plan had worked.
"So, the Faust base is this creepy place? Great."
It was indeed the secret base of Faust. Ryuga and the Smash arrived just as a shift change was occurring. A set of guards appeared on top of the walkways. Ryuga had been lucky that no one had noticed him and the Smash approaching the base before this.
Noticing the sudden appearance of the guards, Ryuga beelined towards the nearest building and quickly flattened himself against the wall. He was near the corner of the building when he spotted another armed guard and lost sight of the Smash.
"Now, where'd he go?"
He edged toward the corner and poked his head out slowly to take a look in the direction that the Smash seemed to have been headed.
Ryuga's eyes widened. There were at least eight guards patrolling near a set of stairs leading into an entrance of the base.
"I guess that's the entrance."
"Banjo-Ryuga detected!"
"Oh, crap!"
Ryuga half-turned and leaped at the sound of a voice behind him.
A Guardian bot, armed with an advanced-looking rifle fitted with a long bayonet near the end of its muzzle, advanced on Ryuga, launching an immediate attack.
Reacting swiftly, Ryuga plunged his hand into his coat pocket and pulled out his bottle, giving it several quick shakes before dropping into a boxer's stance, adrenaline coursing through his veins.
The Guardian jabbed its bayonet forward. Ryuga dipped his shoulder just in time, narrowly avoiding the lethal stab and catching the robotic limb as it extended. With a fierce grip, he twisted the arm down, forcing the bot off balance.
He countered with a flurry of strikes, delivering a powerful cross followed by a hook, each punch reverberating as he connected with the metal exterior of the robot. Sparks flew with each impact; the Guardian's reinforced alloy dented with each blow.
The clamor of their scuffle drew the attention of the nearby guards, who were still surrounding the entrance. Like a swarm of hornets, they rushed over to assist their mechanical ally in fighting off Ryuga.
Bang!
In a swift movement, Ryuga slammed the bot against the wall, using its own momentum against it just as the first guard arrived. The man swung a punch at Ryuga, but he ducked under the attack, his instincts finely tuned.
Ryuga weaved to the side, planted his foot, and executed a precise trip, watching as the guard stumbled forward. In one fluid motion, he followed up with an uppercut that impacted the man's jaw, sending him crashing to the ground.
Before he could relish his quick victory, three more human guards charged at him, determination etched on their faces. Ryuga pivoted on his heel, sidestepping the first guard's wild swing. He countered with a sharp shot to the liver, causing the man to double over.
In a seamless transition, Ryuga spun around, catching the second guard's wrist mid-swing and yanking him forward. With a powerful punch to the stomach, he knocked the wind out of the man before twisting and throwing him against the nearest wall.
The final guard advanced cautiously, weapon drawn, but Ryuga was already a step ahead. He feinted left, luring the guard into a reaction. As the guard reached for him, Ryuga executed a swift judo-style toss, sending the man crashing to the ground with a resounding thud.
But before Ryuga could fully recover from the momentum of the throw, a hard piece of steel struck the back of his head, sending stars exploding across his vision.
"Don't move!"
A gun was pressed to the nape of his neck, its cold steel biting into his skin. Ryuga felt a surge of danger course through him as he assessed his surroundings. As he glanced nervously at the reflections of light on the barrels now pointed at his face, he realized four more weapons had joined the first.
His heart raced as he took a deep breath, weighing his options. Outnumbered and surrounded, he knew he had to stay calm. The odds were against him, but he had one more ace up his sleeve.
With a quick flick of his fingers, he prepared to activate the bottle he had been shaking earlier. If things were going south, he was ready to unleash more chaos. He just had to wait for the one gun touching his head directly to leave for a moment before striking again.
"Now, let's talk…" Ryuga said, a sly grin spreading across his face even as his heart pounded.
There were at least a dozen combatants surrounding Ryuga now. One guard grabbed Ryuga by the collar and pulled him all the way to his feet.
"Hey! Let me go!" Ryuga hollered in their faces. He didn't think anyone would fire in this tight of a circle, so he had no problem yelling at them.
"You're under arrest!" The gun barrel that had first been stuck to the back of his head traveled to the side of his temple, the owner of the handgun yelling right back at Ryuga.
Ryuga was about to respond when the roar of a bike gained everyone's attention.
A purple and yellow figure burst into sight, exiting the forested area where the Smash and Ryuga had earlier been. The bike he was on raised its front tire as it approached, gaining momentum.
Sento had recovered from being knocked out by Ryuga and had tracked them down as Kamen Rider Build. Build had made up for lost time because the Smash and Ryuga had been on foot, allowing him to catch up quickly with his bike.
Build let the front tire fall back to the ground and produced his 4-Panel-Sword.
Shing! Shing! Shing!
The trigger on the handle of the sword was pulled three times very quickly, selecting the 'Wind' ability comic displayed on the third section of the blade.
WIND SKILL!
The blade called out as the skill was activated.
"Ryuga, duck!" Build shouted as he cut horizontally with his blade.
TORNADO SLASH!
A fierce blast of air hurtled from Build's position toward the guards and Guardians that were still standing. Ryuga had not hesitated and dropped to the ground despite the gun barrels pointed or resting on his head. The men surrounding him had not been as decisive and suffered for it.
Whooosh!
They were all blown away from Ryuga, some being flung dozens of meters away, with others bouncing off the wall of the fort.
Build slid his bike to a stop right in front of Ryuga.
"Ugh..." Ryuga looked up from where he was lying down on the muddy ground at the sleek form of Build, who was looking especially stylish with his ninja/comic form.
"...You..."
Build shook his head at Ryuga. "We'll talk later. Get on!"
The Kamen Rider nodded his head back towards the rear of the bike, then leaned over to grab a passenger helmet for Ryuga to use.
Ryuga paused for a moment before snatching the helmet out of Build's hands. He hopped on as some of the victims of Build's earlier attack were rising to their feet. Many more were pouring out from inside the buildings, having been made aware of the fight at this point.
"Don't move! Stop them! Do not let them escape!"
One of the troopers waved his arms hysterically while shouting at the rest of the guards and bots as they frantically tried to get back into some manner of formation.
Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing!
The 4-Panel-Sword was activated again, and this time vast amounts of thick, white smoke immediately started rolling out, covering Build and Ryuga in an instant.
CONCEALMENT SKILL!
BOOM!
The smoke spread further and further until nothing within a one hundred-foot radius of where Build had activated the skill was visible.
BRRAAPPP!
The bike carrying Build and Ryuga became visible as they pushed through the edge of the smoke; they had made a clean getaway.
Build and Ryuga got onto the nearest street and raced away in uncomfortable silence.