Kamen Rider Gavv positioned his Vrocanbuggy in the deep shadows of a bridge arch, the stone cool against his back. From his vantage point, he observed the Left Bank. The Evillustrator stood by the Seine, his tablet glowing softly as he added final, luminous touches to a small, charming boat. It pulsed with drawn lights and shimmering decorations, clearly meant for a romantic evening.
Gavv considered an immediate strike. He could descend, disrupt the date, and quickly take down the Akuma. However, the Evillustrator's powers were tied to his artistic output; a direct assault might cause him to lash out, creating dangerous illusions or barriers that could endanger Marinette. Gavv could not risk Marinette's safety in a premature confrontation. He decided to wait, assessing the situation as a quiet hum filled the air. He knew the villain's akumatized object was likely the tablet or stylus, and destroying it quickly would be paramount, but only when Marinette was absolutely safe.
Then, Marinette arrived. Her pigtails bounced as she approached the Evillustrator, a small smile gracing her lips.
"Happy birthday," she said softly, her voice carrying faintly on the evening breeze.
Gavv tensed, his golden visor tracking her every movement. He remained ready to intervene at the slightest sign of danger, his senses on high alert.
Marinette carefully stepped onto the small, elegant boat, its drawn lights reflecting on the dark water like scattered jewels. The Evillustrator, his eyes wide with a gentle pride, guided her to a seat. He lifted his stylus, and with a flourish, began adding swirling patterns of light and delicate flowers to the boat's interior, making it truly magical.
"Oh, Nathaniel," Marinette breathed, her voice soft with genuine admiration. "It's beautiful. You're so talented."
"For you, Marinette, I can draw anything," he replied, his own voice hushed. "I have so much more to show you."
Just then, a thick layer of clouds drifted across the moon, momentarily plunging the riverbank into deep shadow. The vibrant drawn lights on the boat flickered, growing dim. The Evillustrator gasped, his hand freezing mid-air as panic crossed his face.
"I—I can't draw like this," he stammered, his usual confidence gone. "I need… I need light."
Gavv observed from his hidden position, his golden visor picking up the subtle shift. So he can't draw without light, huh. This was a critical weakness, a vulnerability he now understood completely.
With a rapid stroke of his stylus, the Evillustrator quickly sketched a luminous, ethereal moon directly above them. The soft, glowing light instantly restored the scene's enchanting ambiance, but Gavv had already noted the momentary lapse, filing away the information for later use.
The little boat drifted gently along the river. Marinette, with a soft expression, tried to reason with the Evillustrator.
"Nathaniel, your art is amazing, truly," she began, her voice a gentle murmur across the water. "But using it to hurt people, it's not right. Why do you do it?"
"I only go after Chloé," the Evillustrator insisted, his glowing eyes fixed on Marinette. "She's cruel, and she deserved it. I promised you I wouldn't hurt anyone else, and I will keep that promise."
Suddenly, Cat Noir landed on the boat with a theatrical thump, disrupting the quiet conversation. Marinette shot him a frantic look, shaking her head subtly, trying to convey a silent message not to attack. She needed more time.
"Hey there, little kitty," Cat Noir purred, twirling his staff.
Marinette turned back to the Evillustrator, trying to salvage the moment. "Nathaniel, maybe I could draw something with you?" she offered, hoping to distract him. "It could be fun."
The Evillustrator's gaze flickered between Marinette and the newly arrived hero. His eyes narrowed.
"My pencil, Marinette," he demanded, his voice suddenly hard. "Give it back."
"No, Cat Noir, attack him now!" Marinette shouted, abandoning her feigned pleasantries.
The Evillustrator's face twisted with raw hurt, his glowing eyes darkening with a deep, crushing rage. He had opened himself to Marinette, revealing his vulnerabilities, only to find her leading him into a trap. It felt like Chloé all over again, but this time, the betrayal was from someone he had genuinely admired.
"You tricked me," he spat, his voice laced with venom. "You're just like Chloé!"
"Come on! Seriously? Why is everybody comparing me to Chloé tonight?"
Enraged, the Evillustrator lashed out, his foot connecting with Cat Noir's staff. The unexpected impact sent the hero's weapon spinning, knocking the pencil from Marinette's hand. The villain snatched his stylus from the air, his movement surprisingly swift. He quickly sketched a transparent cube, its invisible walls materializing around Cat Noir and Marinette with a whoosh, trapping them inside.
"I'm breaking my promise," the Evillustrator snarled, his voice a distorted echo of Nathaniel's usual shyness. "Chloé will learn a lesson she'll never forget, and so will you, Marinette."
He raised his pencil, intending to erase the boat and send them plunging into the cold river below. Just as his stylus touched the air, a blast of molten chocolate slammed into his hand.
CRACK!
The force of the impact shattered his concentration, sending a jolt of pain through him. Kamen Rider Gavv, now clad in the deep brown armor of his Chocodan form, landed lightly on the bow of the boat, his Chocodangun smoking. Marinette, imprisoned within the cube, stared at him with wide eyes, a flicker of desperate hope igniting within her.
Kamen Rider Gavv leveled his Chocodangun, the rich chocolate brown of his armor stark against the darkening river.
"Don't move," he commanded, his voice a low rumble.
Marinette and Cat Noir, still trapped in the shimmering cube, watched with relieved expressions. The Evillustrator scoffed, a sneer twisting his pale purple face.
"Are you here to stop me too?" he demanded, his stylus glowing with an impatient energy.
"I would have let you go," Gavv stated, his tone flat. "Hurting an innocent woman is unacceptable."
"Chloé is not innocent!" the Evillustrator screamed, his voice cracking with fury.
"I wasn't referring to Chloé," Gavv clarified, his gaze briefly flicking to Marinette, a silent reassurance. The Evillustrator's eyes widened slightly in confusion, a beat of hesitation crossing his face.
Then, his rage surged. He began sketching furiously, his stylus a blur of motion. Drawn daggers, jagged saws, and sharp shards of glass materialized, glittering menacingly in the faint moonlight, aimed directly at Gavv.
Gavv calmly bit down on a chocolate Gochizo.
[CHOCO! ]
[CHOCODANGUN! PAKI! PAKI!]
A second, gleaming white Chocodangun manifested in his left hand, matching the dark brown one in his right. He braced his stance on the rocking boat, the dark water of the Seine churning below them. The Evillustrator's drawn weapons flew forward, a frantic, desperate assault. Gavv, with precise, almost lazy movements, raised both Chocodanguns. He unleashed a rapid barrage of molten chocolate bullets.
BANG BANG BANG!
The shots exploded on contact, shattering each of the Evillustrator's drawings into a spray of glittering pixels and soft, sweet-smelling dust that hung in the air like faint smoke. Gavv's dual-wielding was a blur of dark and white, a calm, disciplined storm against the Evillustrator's wild, undirected creativity. The boat rocked gently under their feet. The Evillustrator stumbled back, startled by the unexpected counterattack, his glowing eyes wide with disbelief as his creations dissolved around him.
[CHARGE ME! CHARGE ME!]
Gavv launched himself, agile and fast, up the side of the boat's small cabin, leaping high into the air. From his back, a thick, dark chocolate cape unfurled, expanding rapidly and enveloping the Evillustrator in a massive, opaque chocolate dome.
"I can't see!" the Evillustrator screamed, his voice muffled from within the sweet, confining shell.
From above the dome, Gavv aimed his dual Chocodanguns downward, a silent, determined focus in his golden visor.
[CHOCODAN FINISH!]
He fired.
BOOM
The chocolate dome exploded from the inside out, blasting the Evillustrator backward across the deck. He hit the sturdy wood, skidding to a halt as his pencil rolled from his grasp, landing with a soft clink on the boat's floor. The sudden silence that followed was heavy with the lingering scent of rich, melted chocolate.
Gavv landed silently on the boat deck, the subtle clink of his boots barely audible over the lapping water. His dual Chocodanguns dissipated into sweet-smelling vapor, leaving behind only the lingering scent of chocolate. He stepped toward the defeated Evillustrator. The akumatized villain lay still, his vibrant purple skin fading, his glowing eyes dim. Gavv's heavy boot came down, crushing the fallen pencil under its weight with a sharp CRACK. A dark butterfly fluttered into the air, freed from its prison. Gavv opened his Gavv organ, the blue mouth extending with a wet SLURP, consuming the akuma in a single, decisive snap. The battle was over. Gavv stood over the unconscious Nathaniel, a silent guardian on the riverbank, his mission completed.
***
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