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Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Chapters

Chapter 50

“HOW DO THEY KEEP FINDING MY FOUNDATION ELEMENTS?!” roared Lord Vortech as he smacked the Stunticons and Snatcher around. “Every time I send you fools to retrieve one, they’re right behind you!”

“Don’t blame us!” protested Lex. “They obviously have some sort of technology to find them!”

“Oh, but I AM blaming you!” snarled Vortech. “I picked you nitwits because you were the most powerful in your universes! You still allow those idiots to challenge you and defeat you!”

“Not true!” argued Motormaster. I rolled my eyes.

“This whole thing went down with Hiro’s death,” I sighed.

“You think me unaware of that, Ambassador Hell?!” roared Vortech. “That’s why Igura’s out there! But an edge cannot come quickly enough!” He looked among us. “I have to find out how they’ve been doing it, find out where they’re hiding!” His eyes stopped on the image of a Foundation Element as he got an idea. He started laughing. “And I think I know exactly how to do so!”


We returned to Vorton and presented the token. “Nice job, everybody! Good on the new guys too! Congratulations! And, just think, years ago, that adventure would have cost you one whole quarter!”

“Hey, uh, mind if we stay a bit?” asked Sonic.

“It-a looks like you-a need some help,” observed Mario.

“I can help as well!” called Peach.

“Sounds reasonable!” I mused. “Well, Gamer Riders? Shinnosuke-san?”

“I’m afraid we have to go,” replied Emu. “Poppy has a job as a nurse when she’s not guiding us Gamer Riders and I’m a doctor.”

“I just got hired as head of Genm Corp.’s design department for their games,” answered Parado.

“And I’m a police officer,” remarked Shinnosuke. “We all have jobs that demand our attention.”

“Then, farewell, and I hope to see you in the final battle against Vortech,” I declared. X-PO opened a portal for them and they headed back home.

“Hey, do these mean anything to you?” asked Sonic. “I was collecting them in Defender before that alien trapped me in there.” More studs, whoopee.

“How many?” I asked Vortoranii.

“We’re at 2,697,000 studs now,” she counted.

“Any extradimensional excursions that went on during our hunt for the Foundation Element?” I asked.

“No,” sighed Richard happily. “It’s been pretty quiet.” That was when the alarm sounded.

“PO-Lambda has been detected!” reported X-PO.

“WHAT?!” I yelped. “Why did we detect him again?! He should have left Vorton!”

“All indications are that the intruder never left,” replied X-PO.

“That doesn’t make sense, why would he stay?” muttered Emily.

“We have an opportunity to ask,” I replied. “Emily, Richard, Mr. and Mrs. Saunders, X-PO, you’re with me. Livia, show our new arrivals around. X-PO, where’s PO-Lambda?”

“Still on the Executor,” reported X-PO. “Kämpfer, Vader, Death, and Apocalypse are searching the ship right now. The lockdown’s still out of commission. We can beam up with the teleporter.”

“Good idea,” I remarked. “Henshin!” I transformed back into Royal. “We need as much power in reserve as we can get.”

“You know, you CAN call us by name,” replied Mrs. Saunders

“Discussion for another time, Mama,” answered Emily. “Henshin!” She became Touché again.

“Henshin!” announced Richard as he turned into Guard. “Mom, Dad, might want to get a firearm. I’m not sold on the stormtroopers’ shooting.”

“Neither am I,” commented Mr. Saun…Fred. “I’m gonna find out why they’re so crappy at it after this is done.” They grabbed rifles and we headed to the teleporter. We beamed to Vader’s location.

“Ah, I see X-PO’s responded to the alarm,” mused Kämpfer. “Good. The intruder is in the repair bay for the droids on this ship.”

“Lead on,” I directed. The ship lurched again! “What’s going on?!” I demanded. Kämpfer took out his tablet and got the sit-rep.

“The ship is accelerating!” he reported. “The intruder has limited control!”

“I thought our technical teams installed the new safeguards,” snarled Vader.

“We did!” protested Kämpfer. “And triple encrypted them! There is no way the intruder should be able to get into the ship’s systems!”

“Well, it’s clearly possible, because he did it!” snapped Apocalypse.

“That’s irrelevant,” I argued. “What’s our heading?”

“Working on it!” assured Kämpfer. “Ah! Got it! …What?”

“What is it?” I asked.

“We’re just going faster,” reported Kämpfer. “Our orbit is still around Vorton.” I was confused as everyone else.

“We…aren’t leaving?” I asked.

“If I were the toaster-possessing ghost,” replied X-PO, “I would bring the guns around and start shooting stuff!”

“Even then, that’s a waste of power,” commented Fred. “With the shields raised, a Star Destroyer could steamroll through anything in its path and not even scratch the paintjob.”

“Kämpfer, Apocalypse, get to Engineering and see if you can slow us down,” I directed.

“Ja!” confirmed Kämpfer.

“On it!” obliged Apocalypse.

“And if there’s a radiation leak, don’t be a hero!” I called as they headed off.

“Very little risk of that, I can assure you!” replied Kämpfer. They were out of sight.

“Your Majesty,” muttered Guard, “there’s something rotten here, but I can’t put my finger on it!”

“We’ll get our answers from the intruder,” I affirmed. We made it to the Droid Repair bay. “On my signal,” I directed. “Three! Two! One! NOW!” We charged in, making a lot of noise and seeing an Astromech Droid stab PO-Lambda with something. It started screaming and shaking! It then rose up and started putting off a bright light! It then changed into a profile of a human skeleton, then the skeleton went from human to humanoid tiger and back to human again, all while muscle flowed back onto the bones. Organs came back and filled the empty spaces. Skin was restored! Hair grew back! The figure faced us and spoke.

“Sā, Rogue Driver!” it called in a man’s voice. A red vortex opened. A device like my belt flew into the man’s hands. Reality hit me.

“No!” I breathed. “That’s not possible!”

“Oh, but it is!” chuckled the Rogue Driver. “Took you long enough to come back. Let’s get you decent.”

“I agree,” said the man. He then put the Rogue Driver to his waist and it made a belt strap wrap around. Pistols then appeared, one on each side of his waist. Blue pants then flowed over his legs as black boots appeared on his feet. A green shirt materialized on his upper torso and a brown trench coat appeared to cover his body. He unbuttoned the coat and put his hand to the air. A short, flat topped, brown hat appeared and he put it on. “Genomorphic upgrade to host body, successful,” reported a man I hated. “Resurrection, complete!” Death took a sand timer out from her robes. There were Japanese characters on it. 足立ヒロ. They translated to Adachi Hiro, my biological father. The sand was all in the upper bulb. Kamen Rider Rogue was back.

“Guys,” gulped Fred. “The man, he looks like…!”

“He is!” I snarled.

“I am!” replied Hiro.

“How?!” hissed Death. “You blew up in Chima!”

“Only thanks to that twit that ruined everything!” snarled Hiro as he pointed at me. “But, if you must know, I took a page out of someone’s book and turned my soul into living data!”

“Lord Vyce did that to face Linkara!” remembered Guard.

“That tin-plated dictator was nothing,” dismissed Hiro. “While most of my organic material and cybernetics were nothing but ash after I detonated myself, I flew around the multiverse, looking for a way to get a new body! I briefly returned to my home universe and scoured an old base for answers. I had to possess the dead body of a Combatman and go through the files.

“The data I came across showed how to turn a soul into data, so I made the ultimate sacrifice and did so. The data also said that there were ways to make a new body. Project: Ghost Body was where Shocker stored the genetic information and needed cybernetics to make a new body so they could use monsters over and over. I took that data and made numerous attempts to get to Foundation Prime, but I was met with a problem. Vortech was the one who sent me and retrieved me. I didn’t know Foundation Prime’s coordinates. So, I found an old PO robot and possessed it while the events of Touché’s excursion into Jurassic World went on.

“I tried recruiting Heather, but she stupidly brushed me aside. I overheard you wanting to find her, no doubt to get information, so I removed her. I then went to the Ghostbusters’ universe and followed you but altered my exit so I wouldn’t be caught immediately. However, you used the PKE meter to find me, and here we are. Your Dalek is dead and I live.”

“Forgive us if we don’t throw a party,” muttered X-PO.

“Ah, X-PO,” observed Hiro. “You were the one who found Foundation Prime, you will get me back there.”

“I hate to be the bearer of GOOD news,” snarked X-PO, “but Vortech deleted that when you guys fired me!”

“Nonsense!” dismissed Hiro.

“It’s true! That’s another reason why we’ve been getting the Foundation Elements!” insisted X-PO.

“You seriously don’t remember the coordinates of YOUR discovery?!” hissed Hiro, his smirk fading. “Never mind, this vessel will do nicely.”

“If you think I’m going to let you take this ship,” declared Linda, “I have a couple of laser bullets willing to disagree with you!”

“And I’M willing to order Vorton’s destruction!” I snarled. “When it goes, so do our Foundation Elements!”

“You’d never dare!” challenged Hiro.

“Dai Super Charge,” I announced. I then concentrated on portals throughout Vorton and brought everyone on board.

“OI! What’s going on?” called Joshua.

“X-PO,” I ordered, “activate the secondary a.i.”

“On it,” confirmed X-PO. It took a few seconds.

“Secondary a.i online,” intoned a voice.

“Secondary a.i., this is Queen Megumi Hishikawa,” I answered. “Activate Vorton Destruction sequence. Destruct sequence 1, code 1, 1-A.”

“First destruct sequence code recognized,” reported the a.i.

“Guard,” I directed.

“Secondary a.i., this is Sir Richard Saunders,” answered Guard. “Activate Vorton Destruction sequence. Destruct sequence 2, code 1, 1-A, 2-B.”

“Second destruct sequence code recognized,” reported the a.i.

“X-PO,” I commanded.

“You gave X-PO that kind of power!?” snarled Hiro.

“Secondary a.i., this is the Experimental Portal Operator,” called X-PO. “Activate Vorton Destruction sequence. Destruct sequence 3, code 1, 1-B, 2-B, 3.”

“Destruct sequence ready,” reported the a.i. “Set time and initiate final code to begin countdown.”

“Set Vorton Destruction,” I ordered. “Command code 0-0-0-Destruct-0 30 minutes.”

“Destruct sequence completed and engaged,” called the a.i. “Vorton will detonate in 30 minutes.”

“X-PO, Priority Vortech alpha! Abort Vorton Destruct sequence!” demanded Hiro. X-PO’s eye flashed red. “WHAT?! But, that only happens when the code’s been deleted! And it was tied into the coordinates of………you told the truth! Vortech really DID wipe the coordinates from your memory!”

“Took you long enough to realize that,” snarked X-PO.

“You can try whatever trick you may have previously installed in X-PO,” I hissed, “but, when he was tossed aside and I proved myself, he chose ME to lead him! I’m the one in control here! So, I suggest you…!” I didn’t get far as Hiro fired! He then drew his i.d tag.

“Henshin! Dai Super Charge!” he announced. He went straight to Kamen Rider Rift and proceeded to barrel through us and enter the corridors.

“After him!” I shouted. We took off and ran after him as he headed to the bridge. He managed to lock us out.

“Engineering to Megumi, what’s going on?” asked Kämpfer.

“Hiro’s back,” I replied. “Vorton’s gonna blow in…25 minutes now. We’re locked out of the bridge. Can you get us in?”

“2 minutes to let me do so,” called Kämpfer. The ship’s comms activated.

“Relinquish control of the ship to me, or I gas you all, pick up the Foundation Elements, and let Vorton explode,” shouted Rift.

“…1 minute, then,” remarked Kämpfer.

“Good work,” I called to Kämpfer. “As for you, Rift, I recommend you back off!”

“I have no reason to,” dismissed Rift. “Not when Foundation Prime needs to be raised.”

“I like how you have new ears,” I commented, “and yet, you’re still hard of hearing! There’s no way for us to get from here to Foundation Prime, much less contact it!”

“I have traveled throughout the multiverse and have seen universes of pure majesty!” declared Rift. “I have seen ancient mindless evils that fill in the cracks and eat dimensions just for a snack! I have heard tales of an Outer God made of pure glitchy data that was convinced to commit suicide by a fat, screechy comic book nerd! Contacting Foundation Prime for help is ‘small potatoes’, I believe the expression is. You are but a flea that I can brush aside!”

“There are reasons for us not finding Foundation Prime, much less talking to it!” I insisted.

“A fabrication by the original Vortonians, at best,” snarled Hiro, “a ruse by you, at worst. Either way is irrelevant.” At that point, the bridge opened and we crept in. Hiro was still working at a console. I then converted my sword to gun mode and leveled it at Rift. I almost pulled the trigger, but Rift brought out his weapon in bazooka mode and fired! “Did you really think I would fall for that?” he quizzed.

“Vorton Destruction sequence aborted,” reported the secondary a.i. No!

“You think you can beat ME?!” roared Rift as he fired. “I am Adachi Hiro, the vanquisher of Death herself! My life shall continue until the multiverse is all one! You are but the footnote in the pages of my glory! And when they build statues of me, trampling over you, you shall be remembered as…”

“Excuse me,” interrupted a soft, woman’s voice.

“WHAT?!” roared Rift as he faced a woman with bronze hair, a bronze dress with 13 panels of four spheres, a sleeveless top, a choker with two rings, a hairband with a light on each end, a blue dot in the center of her forehead, and silver gauntlets with a plunger resting on the right forearm and a Dalek gun resting on the left forearm.

“That’s my friend you just insulted,” said the woman. She then used the plunger to grab Rift’s chest and toss him over her head. Death was confused.

“I want the life-timer of the woman in front of me,” she whispered as her eyes glowed. A sand-timer came into her hands and she looked at the name. Her eyes went wide. “Impossible!” she whispered.

“What? What is it?!” I asked. Death turned to the woman.

“You squishy, green maniac!” she whispered with a grin.

“Who are you talking about?!” I demanded.

“RUSTY!” cheered Death. “He’s…she’s alive!” She pointed to the woman. I gave the woman a look. On closer inspection, her dress DID look like a Dalek.

“Well?” asked the woman. “Aren’t you going to say thank you?” She held a hand to her ear.

“Well, Rusty,” I mused, not believing her, “I suppose that 2,000,000 stud reward you gave us will have to go back so you can spend it wisely.”

“What are you talking about?” asked the woman. “I gave you 220,000 studs. This was before Vortoranii became your belt’s a.i and it made the total, at the time, 600,000. I was there when you were crowned Queen and functioned as a member of your Tech support staff.” I don’t believe it! It really is…!

“RUSTY!” I cheered as I ran forward. I hugged him…her and laughed in joy. “But…how…we fired your body into a star! How are you…?”

“The Dalek?!” roared Rift. “IMPOSSIBLE!”

“You know what, you can explain later,” I said to Rusty.

“Of course,” agreed Rusty. “Now, as for you, for causing a radiation leak, as I would have put it earlier, EXTERMINATE!” She fired from her blaster and Rift glowed teal with his skeleton showing. He screamed but didn’t crumple to the floor. Instead, he swatted the beam aside. Odd, given that it was light and radiation. Rift panted.

“That…hurt!” he gasped. “Did you really think I wouldn’t be altered to prevent death by a Dalek blaster? I was surrounded by xenophobic maniacs when we recruited Davros and those tanks!”

“Huh,” I muttered. “Swing and a miss, Rusty.”

“In all honesty, I should have figured that,” replied Rusty. Rift then fired on us and escaped the bridge.

“He’s going for the hangar!” yelped Death.

“I’ll cut him off!” called Rusty.

“No!” I countered. “Does your plunger still work as a computer interface?”

“Manipulator arm,” corrected Rusty. “And, yes, it does.”

“Talk to the ship’s computers and slow down our orbit,” I directed. “I’ll face Rift.” I charged off before anyone could stop me. I saw Rift walking the corridor and looking out the window. He got visibly angry. I peeked out my window and could see our orbit slowing down. Thank you, Rusty. I then aimed my weapon at Rift’s window, waited, and fired! The window shattered as the air was being sucked out into space. I grabbed an overhead support and Rift grabbed my leg!

“Activating emergency bulkheads!” called X-PO’s voice over the comms.

“Belay that!” I ordered

“What?!” yelped X-PO.

“I have business that requires an open window!” I replied. I felt Rift climbing up my leg. At that point, I raised my other foot and slammed it onto Rift’s head. “I! HAVE HAD! ENOUGH OF YOU!” I said as I kicked. One final kick was enough to send Rift flying through the window and into space. His suit should give him enough air for five hours, more than enough to make a rift for himself. He flew past Vorton. “Okay, X-PO, you can close the bulkheads!” I called. An emergency blast door slid over the window, stabilizing everything. I let go of the overhead support and let myself tumble to the floor. I then cancelled my transformation. “…Wheeeee…” I sighed.


Emily had just checked us all over after that hair-raising escapade. We gathered in the Gateway room after our check-up. “Well, all in all, that could have gone worse,” I mused.

“COULD HAVE GONE WORSE?!” protested Mr. Babineaux. “The creature that kidnapped us came back to life and nearly made you destroy our base of operations! The rest of us were surprised to be evacuated that quickly! I’m still trying to process the information!!”

“Papa,” calmed Emmanuel. “Perhaps this event happened for the best. We have an old friend back, Hiro’s been defeated as usual, and the Executor is back in control.”

“There IS an explanation waiting,” I recalled. “Rusty, how DID you come back? We fired your body into a star, per your last wish.”

“That’s where things got tricky, even for me,” answered Rusty. “After you fired me into a star, my shell’s computers switched on. I was surprised but decided to take advantage of the situation. You do recall that Azmuth was studying my shell?”

“I remember,” I muttered. “I argued with him a lot about it. Eventually, I caved.”

“Good thing you did,” replied Rusty. “When Ben confronted Azmuth about it, I beamed into the Omnitrix and collected and copied various genetic samples, combining them into one. I then beamed myself and the samples to the Codon Stream on Primus. My new body then rose out of the stream and started testing out the limits. By all appearances, I was human, but I noticed holes on my forearms. I then realized those were for armaments, specifically, mine. I had to get back, so I waited for a ship. Azmuth then arrived on a ship with a female Chimera Sui Generis named Myaxx. I snuck aboard the ship and waited for take-off. It took a few days, but I was taken to Galvan Mark II. Azmuth was creating his own Gateway. It didn’t have the proper codes to connect to Vorton, but I still remembered them. I generated my own portal to the closet here as I was still nude. I then found clothes that would emulate my shell. Once I was dressed, I returned to the upper levels and found my shell in its glass case. I took the armaments and then teleported to the Executor’s bridge.”

“And then you gave your dramatic reveal,” I chuckled. A couple of tears came down. “It’s good to see you again!” I gave him…her…I gave Rusty a hug. Rusty reciprocated.

“I guess, the question is, what pronouns are we using?” asked Elphaba.

“Yeah, that leads to another question,” muttered Tanisha. “Why a female body?”

“I just thought it looked cool,” replied Rusty. “So, female pronouns are preferred.” I then broke off the hug.

“Still, it’s good to have you back!” I cheered.

“Good to BE back,” replied Rusty. Lukas then entered, looking pale and weak.

“WHOA!” yelped Emily as she led him to a bench. “Dude, are you okay?!”

“Nein,” muttered Lukas, shakily, “nein, I’m NOT okay. I…er…I recently undid Hiro’s control over the Executor.”

“Do I even WANT to know how he got control?” I asked.

“Well, to answer that,” replied Lukas, “he connected like an Astromech. He then copied over code and altered a few things. All in all, not that different from when Tech Support takes over your computer.”

“So, why are you so spooked?” asked Emmanuel.

“Because, in going through the code,” clarified Lukas, “in getting it back to the settings before he got in and updating the security software, I discovered something. He copied something over.”

“What did he copy?” I asked, fearing the worst.

“He copied…Vorton’s coordinates,” gulped Lukas.

“WHAT?!” shouted Batman.

“He’s got our location locked in the Rogue Driver,” confirmed Lukas.

“Wha…when did he do that?!” I asked.

“I’m not sure,” replied Lukas. “My best theory, given what went on, it was as he accelerated the Executor’s orbit. He used it as a false trail to distract whoever would be on to him. …Even then, the whole plan was, er, half-assed, I believe the expression is.” I ran my hands down my face.

“We’re in a precarious state, everyone,” I muttered.

Categories
Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Chapters

Chapter 47

I made my displeasure clear to Zod. I slammed him to the ground, threw him into the wall, and tossed him across the room. “YOU UTTER FAILURE!” I roared. “I thought having a Kryptonian would give me an edge, but you’re an utter failure! You allowed mere humans to best you! And you didn’t raise a finger to take the Foundation Element from Batman!”

“My Lord, this is but a temporary setback!” yelped Zod.

“That put us back by two years!” I roared. “Luthor! Continue punishing him, I grow fatigued.” Lex Luthor put on a pair of gloves with Kryptonite knuckles and dished out more pain onto Zod. I headed to my quarters and heard somebody being strangled. I put my ear to the door and heard Igura.

“You promised me that the Foundation Element would confirm the lead you had obtained and that it would be an easy heist, and what is the result?!” she snarled. “A lost Foundation Element! A lead lost! A Tarlaxian freed! And Megumi stronger and with more allies!”

“One thing…” choked out her hapless victim, Metalran, if my guess on the voice is right, “…you fail to realize…is that…!”

“ENOUGH PRATTLE!” screeched Igura as I heard her toss Metalran into a wall. “If I am to find Hiro’s soul, it will have to be through other means! I must deal with this matter myself!” She exited the room and ran into me. “Lord Vortech!” she gasped. “I didn’t…how much have you heard?”

“Enough,” I replied. “So, it was Metalran that gave you the tip that Hiro’s soul was back in your universe.”

“Even if that were true,” she muttered, “the trail is cold. If he was there, he’s long gone. I must continue the search through other means. Excuse me.” She left to search again.

“Good luck,” I bid.


“Another Foundation Element!” cheered X-PO as we returned. “Nice work! You guys have exceeded my expectations!”

“Yeah, that’s kind of my thing,” rasped Batman.

“I can’t believe you guys entered the Ghostbusters universe!” muttered Mr. Saunders. “The GOOD one!”

“For the last time, the 2016 one wasn’t bad!” protested Mrs. Saunders.

“Not this again!” wailed Emily.

“Let’s not do that garbage, okay?” pleaded Richard. “That’s as stupid as the Star Wars vs. Star Trek debate.”

“So, what do you want to do next?” asked X-PO. “Maybe kick back? Have a cappuccino? See what’s on the DVR?”

“What we want to do next,” interjected Gandalf, “is rescue our compatriots and save the entire multiverse!”

“Wow, this guy’s more literal than I am,” muttered X-PO, “and I’m a robot! Okay, the next Foundation Element is located within a trans-reality pocket dimension.”

“What does that mean?” asked Batman. Chell then signed what X-PO meant.

“It means,” translated Tanisha, “it will be…weird.”

“Sure,” murmured Wyldstyle. “That’ll make a change. You see who I’ve been hanging out with? Weird’s not a problem for me.”

“You want weird?” countered Elphaba. “You should see Mr. Saunders’ nonsense!”

“It’s not nonsense!” protested Mr. Saunders. “Wait here, I need to show you guys something!” He disappeared.

“Mama, should I be frightened?” asked Emily.

“This IS your father we’re talking about,” gulped Mrs. Saunders. We waited a good ten minutes before Mr. Saunders came back. Oh, lord, I wish he didn’t! He was wearing a full-face mask with red compound eyes and wings behind them. The outfit consisted of his old army gear and an absurd American Flag design on the belt buckle!

“I am…KAMEN RIDER FRED! I have new socks!” announced Mr. Saunders. Cue the crickets. “Uh…guys?”

“What the hell are you dressed up as?!” yelped Richard.

“I’m Kamen Rider Fred!” replied Mr. Saunders.

“…I think I forgot to…brain…without a…something!” stammered Turretorg.

“My life is NOT gonna burn bright,” moaned Takeru. “It’s gonna fizzle out with a whimper of pain from what I’m seeing right now.”

“My eyes!” wailed Hongo.

“Daddy,” cried Emily, “you make me want to punch a bunny!”

“Not mine!” I protested.

“But, with my new powers of American Awesomeness,” continued Mr. Saunders, “I will fight crime, protect the innocent, work for world peace, and…!”

“FRED, YOU TAKE THAT STUPID COSTUME OFF RIGHT NOW,” roared Mrs. Saunders, “OR, I SWEAR TO GOD, I WILL TASE YOU IN YOUR JUNK!”

“Oh, come on!” protested Mr. Saunders. “I have a mask and belt and everything!”

“CHANGE! NOW!” everyone roared. Mr. Saunders slumped and walked off in a somber tone.

“Now that THAT’S burned into my skull,” I muttered. “Takeru, I believe this is goodbye.”

“Bye, everyone!” bid Takeru. “Oh, before I forget, do you guys know these?” “These” were studs.

“That’s 150,000,” counted Vortoranii. “2,154,000 studs in total.” Emily then slapped her forehead.

“I forgot to add our 358,000 studs from our excursion to Jurassic World!” she wailed.

“Come on!” I cried.

“Sorry!” replied Emily.

“Now we’re at 2,512,000 studs!” muttered Vortoranii. “This is absurd!”

“Are studs valuable?” asked Takeru.

“They were when the Vortonians existed,” replied X-PO. “I would stick to your currency though. Studs probably aren’t legal tender in your universe. Speaking of, your ride’s here.” A rift opened for him.

“Goodbye!” called Takeru. He went through. Hiroki then released his breath.

“Something you want to share with us?” I asked.

“I didn’t want to say this in front of Takeru,” explained Hiroki, “but I didn’t like the TV show based on his adventures.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because there was so much wasted potential!” ranted Hiroki. “On top of that, Takeru’s allies were trying too hard to be funny! I just…felt disappointed. He’s the second Rider that disappointed me.”

“Who’s the first?” asked Okaa-san.

“With all due respect, ZX (pronounce Zecross),” answered Hiroki. “Again, they didn’t expand on the story enough! The whole movie he starred in could have easily been an entire TV series!”

“I suppose so,” conceded Okaa-san.

“So, how does a PKE meter work?” I asked, changing the subject.

“When it’s on,” explains Richard as he turned it on, “these arms rise up and start flashing to indicate that there’s some form of psychokinetic activity. It functions as a ghost radar. Once it finds something, it beeps at a certain pace until it finds or loses something. If it loses something, the arms go lower, the flashing slows down, and the beeping goes at a slower rate. Gaining something is indicated by the opposite actions.” Then, it happened. The arms raised and started flashing.

“…Seriously?!” gulped Wyldstyle.

“Suits on,” I recommended.

“Rider…” began Hongo.

“Henshin!” we announced.

“I heard a Henshin!” called Mr. Saunders as he came back in his usual clothes. He saw us. “What’s going on?”

“We’ve got a ghost, Daddy,” said Touché. Mr. Saunders then dropped the lovable idiot act and assumed his army colonel persona.

“What’s our move here?” he requested.

“We find this thing,” I replied. “Richard, take point.”

“On it,” he confirmed. He led us around the room and stopped when the arms went higher and flashed more rapidly at the West Door. He scanned down the hall both ways. We followed him to his right. We went down it until we stopped at an armory.

“Better have those that can use weapons to grab them,” suggested Arch.

“Agreed,” I replied. “Those that can fight, grab a weapon.” The fighters did so as we left. The PKE meter went nuts as we faced the end of the hall. There was a transmat at the other end and the robot that killed Heather was at the other end, fiddling with it. The fighters then returned. “Stay close!” I whispered. “No one move yet!” The robot carried out its work. It then put down the tools it was using and hovered back a bit to admire its handiwork. “ATTACK!” I ordered. The robot turned and saw us. It pulled a gun on us and fired. We fired back. “Try not to damage its head!” I called.

“What about it damaging ours?!” protested Mr. Babineaux. The robot then engaged the transmat and vanished in blue light.

“Kämpfer!” I ordered. “Find out where he went!”

“Hey, what’s going on down there?” asked Max’s voice over the comms. “Something beamed onto the Executor and…” static then drowned out Max’s transmission.

“Max?” I tried. “Mr. Tennyson!”

“That robot must have severed communications somehow,” guessed Sengoku.

“Maybe with Team 10,” I argued, “but Vader’s up there as well.” I opened a communications channel with Vader. “Lord Vader, have you gotten eyes on a stowaway on your ship?” I was greeted with static. “Vader? Darth Vader! ANAKIN!”

“Er, doesn’t go by that name,” reminded Claw.

“What’s going on here?” asked an old voice. We all tried to locate the voice’s source. “Down here!” it called. I looked down to see some sort of tiny, grey, humanoid, frog-like creature with big eyes and dressed in green robes. It had some sort of grey extensions on its head and liver spots.

“Azmuth!” called Touché.

“You know him?” I asked.

“He’s the guy who created the Omnitrix,” answered Guard. “Also, the smartest being, in his words, in three (possibly five) galaxies.”

“Even people from other universes can remember it?” croaked Azmuth. “Why can’t Ben?”

“What are you doing here on Vorton?” I asked. “How did you get here?”

“Some lady calling herself a doctor dragged me into her impossible box and brought me here,” replied Azmuth. “She said she knew why I lost contact with my Omnitrix and where my Ultimatrix rig vanished.”

“THE Doctor,” I corrected. “She’s THE Doctor, a Gallifreyan, a Time-Lord, er, Lady, er…whatever.”

“In any case, she’s onboard a warship called the Executor,” continued Azmuth. “Trying to take care of the communications breakdown, no doubt.”

“We need to get up there!” I declared. “There’s a killer robot on the loose!”

“So, get us up there!” insisted Climb. I was confused by her question, then remembered.

“Dai Super Charge!” I announced. My armor bulked, then the bulk flew off as I made a rift beneath us. We ended up on the Executor’s bridge, with Vader trying to speak to the Doctor. She was wearing a lighter coat and pants with suspenders over a black shirt with a rainbow across her front. She was using her tool-kit as well as a new Sonic Screwdriver at some sort of console.

“Madam, it would be wise to…!” protested Vader.

“I’ll take it from here, Lord Vader,” I announced. Vader and the Doctor looked up to see me.

“How did you get on board?” asked the Doctor.

“Easy when you’re Vortex,” I replied. “Did you find any intruder?”

“Yes, that robot from Jurassic World,” answered the Doctor. “The one you talked about.”

“So, he DID end up here,” I mused. “He’s making our newest Foundation Element go haywire.” Guard held up the PKE meter. It was beeping again, but steadily.

“That way,” remarked Guard.

“Lead on,” I directed. Vader, some stormtroopers, and the Doctor joined us. We headed down the corridors for a bit until the blast doors closed.

“Open the blast doors! OPEN THE BLAST DOORS!” ordered a Stormtrooper as a trio of them tried to get the door open.

“Er, guys,” called Ben’s voice over the comms, “what’s going on?”

“Ghost possessing a robot,” I replied. “Can Gwen find out where it’s going?”

“Sadly, no,” answered Gwen. “If it’s a ghost, there’s no mana to track.”

“It’s possessing a robot?” asked Max. “We should be able to track via the electric charge it uses to move. Ben, can you use Grey Matter to find him?”

“Easy enough for the little guy with the mega brain,” boasted Ben. I heard a sound that indicated the Omnitrix was changing Ben. “UPGRADE!” shouted Ben’s normal voice in a robotic undertone. “Oh, COME ON!”

“Ben, what did I say about banging on my Omnitrix?” snapped Azmuth.

“Azmuth?!” called Upgrade. “I didn’t push down on the core THAT hard! Anyways, I can work with this. There’s a computer terminal here.” Ben went silent for a while, then spoke again. “He’s trying to gain access to Engineering,” reported Upgrade. “Uh oh, he found me! He’s…typing a message. He can’t speak, so he wants me to read his message aloud. He can hear us.”

“Let’s hear it,” I directed.

“And, I quote, ‘Relinquish access to Engineering or I detonate this ship like an atom bomb!’” relayed Upgrade.

“I don’t respond well to threats,” hissed Vader.

“‘Your intimidation factor does not work on me, Sith Lord,’” replied Upgrade. “Er…that’s the…”

“I know who spoke, thank you,” dismissed Vader. “Intruder, I can cause undue pain to your body from here. Cease your operations at once.”

“‘Considering that I currently have the body of PO-Lambda 2279,’” relayed Upgrade, “‘I see no reason to be afraid.’”

“‘PO-Lambda?’” I asked. X-PO then came in.

“I heard the whole thing on the way here,” he answered. “So, the ghost has PO-Lambda?”

“What does the name mean?” I asked.

“Well, what do the letters in my name stand for?” asked X-PO.

“Experimental Portal Opera…that thing’s another you?!” I realized.

“A Lambda class Portal Operator Robot,” confirmed X-PO. “A more advanced version of me. 2278 was the last of the class sold before Vorton went the way it is. 2279 was finished in terms of physical build, but never got on the shelves because the A.I wasn’t ready yet.”

“You say that as if your type of robot was meant to be sold as if it were a TV set,” I mused.

“No, sold like TV antennas,” corrected X-PO. “The Gateways were the TV sets. The Vortonians simply viewed other universes for entertainment and only interfered when authorized to do so.”

“But, an entire species…” I muttered.

“It’s more like a contract between PO Robot and Owner,” replied X-PO. “We PO Robots have to go through an extensive interview process as well as our potential owners. There has to be compatibility between the two, otherwise, there’s no real respect.”

“So, it’s not slavery to you?” I quizzed.

“Not really,” replied X-PO. “I mean, yes, there ARE wackos who would use a PO Robot for evil gains, Vortech is a prime example, but, for the most part, we’re good judges of character.”

“I see,” I muttered.

“You’re not worried about abusing my abilities, are you?” asked X-PO.

“…That worry extends to everyone,” I murmured. Everyone stared.

“I will admit,” answered Claw, “I did NOT expect that from calm, collected Megumi Hishikawa.”

“Sorry,” I replied, “it’s just that I know what being taken advantage of looks like and I worry about that. I’m the daughter of a creature that did that.”

“Now, stop that!” snapped Okaa-san. “I don’t want to hear you use that kind of talk. You are NOT that monster.”

“Okaa-san’s right,” agreed Sengoku. “If you did take advantage of anyone, the F.N.S wouldn’t be here.”

“You helped us when we needed it,” reminded Guard. “That’s why we said you should be Queen. We know, deep down, you’ll be there for us. And, rest assured, we’ll be there for you.”

“I don’t normally make friends,” rasped Batman, “but the F.N.S has helped me in more ways than you could imagine.”

“This whole adventure, hell-raising though it is,” assured Ichigō, “is exciting. I wouldn’t get anywhere without you.”

“Thanks, everyone,” I answered, smiling under my helmet. Then, the ship lurched! “Ben, what on Earth was that?!” I called.

“The intruder went past the firewalls I set up!” answered Upgrade. The blast doors then opened to reveal Team 10. There was a black computer terminal with green circuit lines and the Omnitrix symbol.

“Can you get the Doctor, Rusty, and Kämpfer to engineering?” I asked. “They may need to fix whatever damage the intruder caused.” A mound of the colors that currently make up the terminal with a green circle rose up. The circle acted as the eye.

“It’s gonna be tricky, but I can manage,” replied Upgrade. “Rusty’s on the other end of the ship.”

“Rusty, this is Megumi,” I called over the Comms.

“Awaiting commands!” reported Rusty.

“Ben’s going to open a path to Engineering for you,” I explained. “Kämpfer and the Doctor will meet you there. You need to fix whatever damage the intruder caused.”

“I obey!” obliged Rusty.

“Let me go with them,” suggested Azmuth. “They need a genius.”

“Sure, like they need you going on about how you’re the smartest being in 12 galaxies,” snapped Upgrade as the eye changed shape to show irritation.

“Three, arguably five, galaxies,” corrected Touché. “Why is that so difficult for you to remember?!”

“Whatever,” dismissed Upgrade.

“Besides, the more geniuses, the merrier,” I continued. “Be careful, Azmuth.”

“Of course,” assured Azmuth. The Doctor let Azmuth onto her shoulder and she and Kämpfer took off.

“Vader, Brigadier, Guard, Ben, with me. We’re gonna try and regain control of the ship from the bridge,” I directed.

“Not a good idea,” countered Upgrade as the black and green circuit color melted off, formed a puddle, and then a figure rose from the puddle made of the stuff, but had a green front with green underarms and black circuit lines. This was Upgrade in his original Galvanic Mechamorph state. The Omnitrix symbol was on his chest. “The intruder is on his way to the bridge,” reported Upgrade. “He’ll try and stop us.”

“Then you and Vader keep him off of me and Guard’s back,” I replied.

“He’s not on the main bridge,” reported Vader. “I can sense him going to the backup bridge. We need to get down there quickly.”

“I may have a way,” answered Upgrade. He slapped the Omnitrix symbol and changed shape in a green light. He looked like a stereotypical ghost with one eye on a track and chains on his neck and arms. “GHOSTFREAK!” he announced in a harsh whisper. “I was hoping for Big Chill, but this will do. Which deck?”

“Deck 2, 10 floors below,” answered Vader. Ghostfreak then got me, Vader, and Guard close together and phased us all through the floor. We went down 10 levels before arriving at the backup bridge.

“Okay, that was weird!” I shuddered The intruder then arrived and Ghostfreak and Vader started fighting it. The intruder pulled out his gun and fired while Vader tried to crush its armor with the Force. It didn’t go well as the intruder wiggled out of his grasp and fired on Vader’s control panel. He started having trouble breathing. I went to fix it while Ghostfreak charged at the intruder, intending to knock the ghost in the machine out. The intruder wasn’t having it as he dodged Ghostfreak numerous times.

“All right, this song and dance is making me very angry!” hissed Ghostfreak. “It just makes want to unleash my ever-growing…” he slapped the Omnitrix symbol as he changed into “rrrrrRRRAAAATTHHH!” he said. The robot then shot Rath’s wrestling shorts. They burned up as Rath ran around, slapping on the fire. It died and revealed his crotch. It was covered in fur, but Rath seemed to get madder. “You…you burned up my pants!” He then roared and slammed the robot onto the floor and punched it a lot. “LET ME TELL YA SOMETHIN’, GHOST POSSESSING A ROBOT! YOU CAN BURN ME! YOU CAN BURN MY HOUSE! YOU CAN BURN THE THINGS I STAND FOR! YOU CAN EVEN BURN MY FEELINGS, IF I HAD ANY! BUT NO ONE, AND I MEAN NO ONE, BURNS AN APPOPLEXIAN OF HIS HIGHLY ADVANCED SENSE OF SHAME!” He was about to slam both fists down when the intruder caught them and tossed him aside. “KARATE’S GOOD!” roared Rath. “RATH’S GONNA CALL YOU KARATE-BOT, KARATE BOT!” The ship lurched again and Rath crashed onto the intruder.

“Backup bridge to engineering, what’s going on?!” I called.

“There’s a radiation leak!” replied the Doctor’s voice. “One of the engine batteries ruptured! It’s contained, but we can’t get in to plug up the leak!”

“Vader, how bad is the radiation in the batteries?” I asked.

“It’s enough to kill anyone, even beings like me, in 10 minutes,” explained Vader.

“Oh boy,” I sighed. “Try to find another way to plug up the leak and filter out the radiation, Doctor. I’m still locked on trying to get the ship under control.”

“On it!” called the Doctor.

“Sir, now really,” snarled the Brigadier to the intruder. “Can’t we just get connected?” He extended a probe and jammed it into the PO Robot’s head. The intruder didn’t like that, so he sent electricity down the probe and shocked the Brigadier.

“Alistair!” I called.

“I’m fine,” assured the Brigadier, “though, I think my systems are damaged. We need more power, like, more power than Rath has!” Rath got an idea.

“LET ME TELL YA SOMETHIN’ SIR BRIGADIER ALISTAIR GORDON LETHBRIDGE-STEWART, FOUNDING CYBERMAN OF THE UNITED NEBULAR INTELLIGENCE TASK-FORCE, THAT’S A GREAT IDEA! THERE’S A TIME TO GO HERO, AND THERE’S A TIME TO GO ULTIMATE!” Rath turned the Ultimatrix rig key and slapped the Omnitrix symbol down. He got bigger, his fur went a darker shade of orange, he gained claws on each finger and another claw on each wrist, and his mane looked a lot like Wolverine from Marvel Comics. He had a vest that looked like it had green cat’s eyes and new pants. “ULTIMATE RATH!” he roared. He then looked himself over. “Cool! Wait, I’m keeping a level head? That’s all I ask for when I turn into Rath!”

“I guess Evolved Appoplexians get a cooler head in millions of years of worse case scenarios,” I mused.

“Nice!” cheered Ultimate Rath. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to kick a ghost in a robot’s rear!” Ultimate Rath then charged on all fours at the intruder. He leapt onto him and decked him. The intruder’s robot body sparked and went offline. “That was for Rath’s pants!” roared Ultimate Rath. The Omnitrix symbol then started flashing red. “And this is a perfect time to power down,” chuckled Ultimate Rath, “now that the threat is over.” The Omnitrix beeped and then Ultimate Rath shrunk down to Rath, then went back to Ben.

“Just so you know,” I criticized, “we were shaking like Jell-O when you fought as Ultimate Rath.”

“Sorry, I never used Ultimate Rath before,” answered Ben with a sheepish grin. The Comms then beeped.

“Go ahead,” I called.

“The leak has been sealed,” reported the Doctor.

“All right!” I cheered. “How did you guys do it?”

“We didn’t,” answered Azmuth. “Rusty did. Manually. In the infected zone.”

“…But…the radiation…” I stammered.

“Megumi, you need to get to Engineering, NOW!” called Kämpfer. A worst case scenario entered my mind.

“Guys, MOVE!” I shouted. We ran to Engineering. When we entered, there was a transparent wall with us on one side and Rusty on the other. The Brigadier and I rushed to the wall, but Lukas and the Doctor held us back.

“Get out of the way, Doctor!” demanded the Brigadier.

“You can’t go in!” argued the Doctor.

“But, the radiation! He’ll die!” cried the Brigadier.

“Brigadier! Sir! ALISTAIR!” snapped the Doctor. The Brigadier and I stopped struggling. “He’s already too far gone.” They released us, allowing us to walk over to the infected zone. Rusty wasn’t twitching as much. His dome swiveled slowly as the eye was getting dimmer. He then rotated his body slowly.

“Let…me…see…you…” he croaked. “The…real…you…” Rusty’s casing then opened, slowly. His real self was looking a sickly brown as his eye was opened slowly. I cancelled my transformation as the Brigadier opened his helmet. “Do…not…grieve,” said Rusty weakly. “I did…what was…needed.”

“Rusty, there was a plethora of droids!” I cried, tears coming down my face. “They didn’t have organic components!”

“They…did not…have…the needed…skill…” wheezed Rusty. One of his tentacles touched the glass. The Brigadier put his hand up to it. “Alistair…” he continued, “I…hope…this…banishes…any doubt…you held…about…me…”

“Any doubt I had was banished ages ago, old chap,” mumbled the Brigadier. “You’ve become more than a Dalek. You’ve become my friend.” There was a few seconds silence.

“I…am in…pain…” reported. Rusty. I moved to speak, but Rusty cut me off. “This…is fine. …I…will die…so you…may live. …But…before…I die…I’m glad…I met…you…”

“Rusty, we can help!” I wailed.

“No…you…cannot…” countered Rusty. “…I…die…for a good…cause. …The needs…of the many…outweigh…the needs…of the few…as Spock…would…put it. …Good…bye…my friends.” Rusty’s real eye closed, his true limbs drooped as well as his shell’s limbs, and his eyestalk stopped glowing once it went down. Rusty, the friendly Dalek…was dead.


The Brigadier retrieved Rusty’s last wish from a backup computer in his shell. Rusty wanted his real body to be taken out of the shell and fired into a star, to symbolize his rebirth from normal Dalek soldier to our friend. When the radiation levels were acceptable, we got Rusty out and decontaminated his body. We preserved him for a while so we could set up his funeral. It took place in the Gateway room and we all wore dark clothing. Batman had gotten out of his Bat suit and put on normal funeral clothes, putting on the persona of Bruce Wayne. He even dropped the raspy voice he uses as Batman. The Brigadier had his armor painted black. Someone knocked on my door. “Yes?” I asked, a little shaky as Okaa-san laced me up.

“Megumi, dear, it’s time,” whispered Death.

“On my way,” I mumbled. Okaa-san followed me, her hand on my shoulder to reassure me. Soon, we arrived. A track with a little coffin on our end and the controls behind the coffin rested. It was open casket, so we could see Rusty’s real self. Two of his tentacles were resting as a corpse’s hands would, clasped together, and his eye was closed. I took my place at the controls. Okaa-san was behind me as well as Hiroki. Hongo and Wyldstyle were on my left while Bruce and Gandalf were on my right. “Minna-san,” I began, “today, we gather to honor the death of a friend, Rusty the Dalek. Before an encounter with his people’s greatest enemy, the Doctor, Rusty’s ship was attacked and destroyed. He survived, but with damage. That damage allowed him to see a star being born and see what a beautiful thing life is. During an encounter with the Doctor, he joined the humans and made a name for himself. Over time, he became friends with Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. Then, both he and the newly-christened Brigadier joined us and became our allies, helping us when needed. He gave his life so we may continue the fight against Lord Vortech. I, for one, will fight in his name, as I know you all will. I must say, out of all the souls I met in the multiverse, his was the most…diverse.” I nodded to Mr. Saunders.

“Present…ARMS!” he barked. Everybody raised a weapon in salute. I then pressed a button on the controls and Rusty’s coffin moved. It went slowly to allow us to say goodbye. Soon, it left the rail from Vorton and floated to one of the stars, where his body was consumed to make new fuel for that star. Rusty was returned to cosmic shores.

“I will not say ‘do not weep’,” said Gandalf softly, “for not all tears are an evil.” As we departed, Emily and Okaa-san joined me in my quarters. We sat on my bed. At that point, I let myself cry uncontrollably. I was embraced by Emily and sobbed as she held my trembling frame. Okaa-san held us both. We all wept for Rusty. Emily then saw something and directed me to look on my dresser. Azmuth was standing there.

“I am…sorry you’re going through this,” he whispered. “From what you said, Rusty had evolved beyond the hatred that was bred into his species.” I sniffed before answering.

“Yes,” I mumbled. “Personally, I think he would have been a worthy host of the Omnitrix.”

“Very much so,” agreed Azmuth.

“Azmuth,” called Emily as she dried her eyes, “as long you’re here, I have a question.”

“Go ahead,” replied Azmuth.

“Ben had the Omnitrix taken from him when he was in Jurassic World,” recalled Emily. “After it got itself off the thief, I was its new host for a while. When I had it, I couldn’t access my belt’s powers or suit. Could the Omnitrix have blocked that somehow?”

“I’m not sure,” answered Azmuth. “The Omnitrix never did that before. I’ll look into it when I get back.”

“Okay,” I mumbled. Azmuth departed.

“Do you need anything?” asked Emily.

“I just need to be alone for a bit,” I whimpered.

“Okay,” sighed Emily. She and Okaa-san left as I laid on the bed. For the first time, I felt my own mortality, and the mortality of my friends. I laid still for a while.

“…Rusty,” sang a woman’s voice.

“AUGH!” I screamed in surprise as I tumbled off my bed.

“AUGH!” screamed the woman.

“AUGH!” I screamed as I picked myself up.

“AUGH!” screamed the woman.

“AUGH!” I screamed.

“AUGH!” screamed the woman.

“…AUGH!” I screamed.

“AUGH!” screamed the woman. “WHY ARE WE SCREAMING ‘AUGH’ OVER AND OVER?!”

“DOCTOR, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!” I shouted.

“Rusty never got a good tribute song!” replied the Doctor.

“Get the hell out of my room and let me grieve in peace!” I snarled, the anger I thought I had gotten over was coming back.

“Rusty needs a song!” protested the Doctor. “He needs to be immortalized somehow!”

“I heard screaming!” whispered a voice. It was Death.

“I was screaming at the Doctor,” I replied. “Doctor, if I let you sing a tribute to Rusty, will you let me be?!”

“Of course,” assured the Doctor. I sat down, and the Doctor sang to the tune of Amazing Grace.

Rusty, Rusty,

How great was he,

That saved people

Like thee?

I never thought,

I would find heart,

But, a heart, I see,

In Rusty!

The Doctor finished. “Wasn’t that lovely?” she asked. I just glared at her. “My work is done.” The Doctor entered the TARDIS and departed.

“I should go, as well,” whispered Death.

“Death, wait,” I called.

“Hm?” hummed Death.

“I know that you and the Apocalypse Riders will see him,” I began, “but, do you think we mortals will see him again?”

“He IS dead,” whispered Death, “and no one can cure it, so…”

“But, is there hope?” I asked.

“There never was,” whispered Death, “just a fool’s hope.”

“…I guess,” I sighed.

“I’ll let you be,” whispered Death. “We shall meet again, before the end.”

“…Bye…” I mumbled. Death left and I got ready for bed. We had already had dinner, so I just brushed my teeth, put on my nightgown, and got into bed. “…Goodbye, Rusty,” I mumbled. “Thank you.”

Categories
Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Chapters

Chapter 39

Day 1: The Beaver tribe had just finished our training field and were given a new job to reinforce some buildings in the Lion Temple. This would definitely serve our purposes. “All right,” called Daisuke, “you want to be beast?”

“Yeah!” I shouted.

“Then we begin today!” declared Daisuke. “We start by running through that maze!” We got into position. “Go!” shouted Daisuke. We ran in and that’s when I got the full brunt of it. Balls on chains whacked into my sides, sending me into the air. When I landed, a bunch of arrows whizzed past, one of them sticking into my butt. As I ran, a wall popped up and I ran smack dab into it. I passed out. Later, I woke up at the start with Daisuke shaking his head. “We have lots work to do,” he muttered.


Day 4: I was doing some laps around the training field with Daisuke passing me a couple of times, but I was hardly sweating.


Day 6: Weight training was going miserably. Daisuke was lifting a quarter of a ton while I could barely lift 10 pounds.


Day 13: Chin-ups. My grip was so awful, I fell on my butt a lot.


Day 17: Swimming. This one went a little better. In fact, it seemed to make Daisuke change tactics. “You say Hiro tiger cyborg?” he asked.

“Yes,” I confirmed.

“Tigers good swimmers,” remembered Daisuke. “We going at this wrong way. We need to use tiger strengths, like swimming. Running also strength. We need to work on power in arms, tree climbing, and jumping.”


Day 25: Daisuke’s new Tiger regimen seems to be working. I was climbing trees rather well.


Day 28: I don’t know the full details of what happened, but I can tell you what went on in my mind. Daisuke and I were sparring, rather brutally, I might add. I was falling on the kicks and punches of traditional fighting, but Daisuke grew up in the wilds. He didn’t pull any punches. After a few minutes, he slashed across my face and something happened. For a while, my vision went red, and then I blacked out. I woke up looking at the ceiling of the healing hut next to the training field. “Wha…happen…?” I asked, groggily.

“We were hoping YOU could shed some light,” replied Batman. He brought out a camera, showing what happened. When Daisuke slashed across my face, I twitched for a while. My face seemed to contort into a primal rage. My eyes…were not human. If anything, they looked more beast like. All of a sudden, my mouth and nose elongated into a feline’s mouth. My ears sunk into my head while rounded ears sprouted from the top. My muscles were rewriting themselves and bulking out while hair was sprouting all over my body. The hair was taking an orange color and black stripes were coming out too. My fingers and toes then unsheathed claws as metal piping sprouted from my arms, legs, and back. Monster-me then unleashed a roar and went on a savage rampage, knocking Daisuke off his feet. At that point, he crouched and got into a defensive stance, getting his fingers in a claw fashion as he snarled. He then raised his hands up, then crossed them across his chest, then uncrossed and raised them again.

“A-MA-ZON!” he roared. His eyes turned a demonic red as his body changed. He turned into a lizard based Kamen Rider with a white scarf. “Amazon!” he announced. I presume this was the name Hiroki used for Daisuke’s rider form. We charged at each other and grappled. It seemed I was fighting blindly, and Amazon saw this. He got the upper hand quickly and delivered an uppercut. I was sent spinning as Amazon leapt at me. “Jaguar Shock!” he said before his helmet split apart enough for his teeth to sink into my arm. Apparently, that’s when I passed out again and he brought me to the healing hut. I saw my arm in bandages and my own form in the usual human one.

“Well, that could have gone better,” I sighed.

“No focus on bad,” encouraged Daisuke. “We need know why you went nuts.”

“It seems like a scratch did it,” I observed, “but why? I’ve been shot at, blown up, stabbed at, poisoned, and what have you. A simple scratch to my face shouldn’t have done that.”

“When you finished healing, we continue training,” declared Daisuke.

“Sensei,” (Teacher) I countered, “with all due respect, we need to finish training as quickly as possible.”

“Can’t do that when hurt,” replied Daisuke. “Rest. Nothing will…” Tanisha’s belt buzzed.

“Happen?” I said, completing Daisuke’s sentence. “Who is it? Vorton?” I asked Tanisha. Her eyes went wide.

“No, Vader. And he wants to meet in front of the Lion Temple,” she replied.

“Vader? You’re talking about Darth Vader, right?” I yelped. Tanisha nodded and I gulped.

“Who’s Vader?” asked Batman.

“A very dangerous man,” gulped Tonje. “Once known as a Jedi Knight, Anakin Skywalker, he was seduced by Darth Sidious to become his apprentice. One of the best pilots in the Galactic Empire and one of the most powerful Sith Lords, Vader is a very skilled cyborg.”

“Another cyborg?” hissed Batman. “Robin’s friend is one! That’s enough!”

“Regardless,” continued Tonje, “he also possesses a skill with something called the Force, that universe’s name for magic, if you will.”

“So, a dark wizard, then?” guessed Gandalf.

“A dark wizard/knight, yes,” I replied. “Am I good to move?”

“Megumi, you’re not about to agree to meet Darth Vader, are you?!” asked Tanisha.

“I want to see what he wants,” I declared. “I’m fully aware of his reputation in his native universe, but I want to hear him out, get a bead on who’s side he’s on and all that.”

“He’s probably on Vortech’s side!” argued Tanisha.

“But why would his master, Emperor Sheev Palpatine, bother?” asked Tonje.

“Sheev?” I muttered. “That’s his first name?”

“Think about it, you two,” continued Tonje. “Palpatine wouldn’t dare have anyone over him. He’s too power hungry for that.”

“True,” conceded Tanisha, “but who’s to say that he won’t bide his time like with the Republic?”

“Another point,” I muttered, “there IS the Rule of Two to consider.”

“Rule of Two?” asked Hongo.

“There’s always two in the Sith,” I explained, “a Master and an Apprentice. And the Apprentice must kill their Master to take their place.”

“You think this may be part of Vader’s plan to kill his master,” guessed Batman.

“Yes,” I confirmed. “We’re going to meet him.”


We arrived at the Lion Temple Entrance, where a vessel was waiting. The center cockpit was spherical and had connections to curved wings on the side. A hatch opened from the top, allowing a figure to jump out. There he crouched, with the Lions ready to strike at a moment’s notice. “Lower your weapons,” I called to the Lions. “He’s been expecting me.” The figure stood up. Standing at 6’7”, the figure was clad all in black. His helmet evoked that of the Samurai, minus the crest. A control panel was on his front. A black cape was held by his metallic shoulder pads and a silver tube was clipped to his side. His breathing was deep and clearly assisted by the machinery that makes up a good chunk of his body. Darth Vader stared right at me.

“You are wise to have them stand down, Your Highness,” he said in his familiar booming, deep voice, “In any case, I am NOT here to fight, but to give you this.” He held out a glowing orb.

“That’s a Chi Orb!” called a Lion.

“Fire Chi, if memory serves,” mused Tanisha. Wyldstyle’s scanner went crazy.

“It’s also putting out the same energy signature as the Foundation Elements,” she reported when she checked it. “We’re being gifted the Element of this universe!”

“And your loved ones, bar a Mr. Hayato Ichimonji, a Mr. Dick Grayson, a Mr. Frodo Baggins, and a Mr. MetalBeard, are in Crocodile Swamp, under the combined ‘benevolent’ care of Shocker Rift and Crooler,” boomed Vader.

“Then the ones you named are still on Foundation Prime,” guessed Batman.

“Correct,” confirmed Vader.

“In my universe, everything about you is detailed,” I commented. “I know you too well. What do you want in return?”

“A place in your organization,” replied Vader.

“Say what?” yelped Tonje.

“Vortech had attacked my universe and nearly destroyed my master,” explained Vader. “That kind of blood is reserved for the apprentice, so I want to show him the power of the Dark Side of the Force.”

“But we’re practically Jedi,” I argued. “Besides, you have an army. Why come to us?”

“Because this endeavor requires something beyond the scope of even the Emperor’s command,” replied Vader, “your power, the very power you’re attempting to tap into, Your Highness.”

“Then I see no reason to have a Sith Lord in my team,” I declared.

“On the contrary,” countered Vader. “You and Kamen Rider Apocalypse may be our only hope to defeat Vortech, but only I can provide you with troops.”

“You think our team is insufficient?” I asked.

“Do you really think guerilla tactics will stop someone like Vortech?” boomed Vader. “Like the Emperor, he doesn’t need to worry about every single detail. He has many soldiers at his beck and call.”

“You can provide us troops?” I ventured.

“If you let me join, I can give you the vast resources of the Empire,” offered Vader. It took a few seconds to consider.

“ABSOLUTELY NOT!” shouted Batman. “Dealing with a reformed witch and a living trashcan is bad enough but having an unrepentant villain in our ranks?! Besides, he’s working his own agenda!”

“One that’s being interfered with,” I countered. “Lord Vader, forgive my suspicion, but how long do you think our alliance will last?”

“As long as mutually beneficial,” replied Vader.

“And after we beat Vortech?” I continued.

“I will return to my universe to destroy my master,” declared Vader.

“Like with Starkiller?” I quizzed.

“Make no mistake,” growled Vader, “this time, I will require no such apprentice.” Judging by the tone, Vader needed my decision now.

“All right, you can join us,” I said.

“Megumi, what are you doing?!” yelped Tonje.

“Meg, NO!!” wailed Tanisha. Oh, how I hate that nickname. Everyone in the F.N.S knows that!

“We’re at war, right now,” I declared. “We need soldiers.” I then fired up my communicator. “X-PO, get me in contact with Hiroki and Emily.”

“What, no ‘Hello, X-PO, I have an update for you on my training’?” snarked X-PO.

“Just do it,” I hissed. X-PO grumbled, but I was soon connected. “Hey, guys,” I called. “How are you holding up?”

“Well, the Dinobots, Beast Wars Dinobot, and the Dinosaurs they’re based on are rampaging across the island to stop Igura, my childhood tormentor, and Beast Era Megatron in a techno-organic body from getting the Foundation Element,” reported Emily. “The Genetically modified Dinos haven’t been spotted, so I don’t think they’re joining in the fight. Oh, did I mention that we’re in Jurassic World?” She then blew a raspberry. “The first movie was enough.”

“Nothing exciting on my end,” commented Hiroki.

“Well, I’m about to send some your way,” I sighed. “Make all necessary preparations for Darth Vader’s arrival. He’s joining us in our war against Vortech.” There was a long silence. “…Guys?”

“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR TINY LITTLE MIND?!” shrieked Emily.

“That’s the second time that phrase was used towards me today,” I hissed. “Frankly, I’m getting annoyed.”

“Nee-san, you’re talking about letting Darth Vader, a Dark Lord of the Sith, join us!” yelped Hiroki.

“He gave us the Foundation Element of this universe, told us that our families are here, and can provide us troops,” I argued. “We need his help.”

“Oh, how considerate of him!” yelled Emily. “That will totally pardon his sins!”

“Look, I’m not thrilled about it either, but we need every advantage we can get!” I snapped. “Lord Vader, do you have Vorton’s coordinates?”

“I do, Your Highness,” confirmed Vader.

“Then Hiroki will receive you and whatever troops you decide to bring,” I replied. “And, Hiroki, Emily, Vader is to be treated with respect, is that clear?!” After a pause, I heard two people sigh.

“Crystal clear,” mumbled Hiroki.

“We understand,” muttered Emily.

“Good,” I declared. “I’ll stay behind to focus on a new development that happened to me. I’ll tell you all about it when I get back. Megumi Out.” I ended communications. “Lord Vader, forgive us if the welcome is…less than welcoming.”

“I understand,” replied Vader. “I shall see you on Vorton.” He entered his TIE fighter and took off. A rift opened for him and he went in.

“Megumi, I must continue to object,” hissed Tanisha.

“Noted, and I will deal with the consequences if it turns out to be a poor choice,” I commented. “For now, I need to control my animal side.”

“Not control,” argued Daisuke. “That always bad idea to try to control and suppress. Treat tiger side as partner, like you do with horse.” The thought never occurred to me. I considered my sensei’s words. In all honesty, it makes sense.

“When do we begin again?” I asked.


Five…weeks. …Five weeks since I came here, and only now does Hiro decide to move us. “Where are you taking us?” I demanded.

“That’s not your concern,” hissed Hiro. “What IS your concern is that you will bear witness to an experiment.”

“What experiment?” I asked.

“You’ll see,” said Hiro cryptically. We arrived at an intricate wooden structure. “Megumi! I’m calling you out!” That was when a rock knocked him flat.

“Go away, Hiro!” roared my daughter’s voice. “I’m busy doing much more important…”

“MEGUMI!” I shouted, hearing her. My daughter’s head then appeared. She saw us and jumped down.

“Let them go,” she threatened, “or I’ll…!”

“Begin the experiment,” ordered Hiro. A burbling sound was heard as a tiny bit of goo appeared behind her. Sludgiona then sprouted and grabbed Megumi from behind.

“LET HER GO!” demanded Fred. Hiro took out a ring and flung it at Megumi. It opened up and slapped around her neck. Sludgiona then released her as the collar started shocking her. After half a minute, her face went into a primal rage and my sweet, little girl turned into a cyborg Tiger monster! She gave off a roar before she seemed to calm down.

“YEE! YEE!” reported a Combatman.

“Excellent news!” chuckled Hiro. “The Neuro-collar works! Megumi is now under our control! I have the perfect test! Megumi, snap Haruna’s pitiful neck!” What happened next will always scare me. She moved slowly to obey!

“Megumi, please!” I begged, tears coming down. “I’m your mother! It’s me! Haruna Hishikawa! The one who saved you from his grasp once before!” She advanced on me. “Megumi! I beg you! Don’t do this!” She was right in front of me, her new form towering over me. Then, I heard a snap.


“YES! THE TEST IS SUCCESSFUL!” cheered Hiro. “I can’t believe it! I finally have my daughter under my control! We’ll conquer the multiverse in a flash! We’ll…! What do you want?!” he asked the Combatman that was tapping his shoulder. The Combatman pointed over to my location, where I was holding the crumbly remains of Okaa-san’s (mother) handcuffs.

“Hashire!” (Run!) I urged Okaa-san. When he saw Okaa-san run, Hiro goggled.

“Wha…?!” he spluttered. “What are you doing?! I said kill her!”

“Hiro-sama!” reported the Combatman. It seems us Shocker Cyborgs can understand what the Combatmen are saying when they say “YEE!” “The Neuro-collar is being rewritten!”

“Override!” ordered Hiro as he lined up his sights on my mother.

“I’m trying!” yelped the Combatman. “The transponder isn’t…!” I didn’t hear the rest of what he said as I ran towards Hiro, unsheathing my new claws.

“KON’ARO!” (shortened version of a phrase used when saying “You Bastard!”) I roared. Now, that phrase is one to avoid if you want to stay away from a fight in Japan. In this instance, I was aiming to start one. I swiped at Hiro so hard, he was sent spinning into a nearby pond. I took the liberty of destroying the collar. Okaa-san made it to safety as she turned to the enemy forces.

“It appears my daughter still has a will of her own,” she observed.

“MASAKA?!” (Are you kidding me?!) shouted Hiro as he got out, soaking wet. He turned to another Combatman. “Trace the problem to its source and fix it!”

“The problem is that you underestimated me again,” I declared. “Did you really think I wouldn’t try to use this form to my advantage?”

“You pest!” snarled Hiro. “You learned how to master it?!”

“I had help from Amazon,” I replied. Daisuke grinned. “He was getting me on the right track, but we had to deal with moments of uncontrollable rage. I blacked out during those events, but I took the time to meditate to try and understand that side. Now I know. It didn’t know what its prey was. Now, it has a clear picture of you.”

“Baka Ne!” (You dolt!) insulted Hiro as he changed into his Cyborg form. “I’ve been using this longer than you have!”

“Ikuze, Tora-otoko,” I challenged. We charged at each other and fought like animals. Meanwhile, Batman and the others fought off the enemy ranks to free the rest of the hostages. It took some time, but our families were freed!

“All right, that’s it!” swore Hiro as he loaded his i.d tag. “Henshin!” I got out my own.

“Henshin,” I whispered. We then formed our suits and clashed.

“I will enjoy ripping you in half!” declared Rogue.

“You can try,” I challenged. “You’ll fail, like always. Super Charge.”

“SUPER CHARGE!” roared Rogue. We ran at each other as we became more powerful and drew our respective blades. We kept striking until we entered a blade lock. “It doesn’t look like your belt hasn’t given you any more power!” laughed Proto-Rift.

“You rely too much on your tech,” I mused. “Besides, I can see freed hostages right now, one of my objectives is complete.” Proto-Rift whirled around to see Sheela’s parents being freed. The hostages were safe in the training field. Hongo then struck his henshin pose as Tanisha and Tonje took out their i.d tags.

“Rider…” began Hongo.

“Henshin!” announced my friends. The trio then transformed and attacked the rest.

“I’ve just about had it! Dai Super Charge!” shouted Proto-Rift. His bulky armor flew off and we ducked in time. Rift then charged our ranks, knocking me down in the process. “Your heart may be in the right place, Megumi,” he snarled before he kicked me in the chest. “But, you have much to learn before you can, ever again, hope to stand your ground against me. A moment, sadly, that will never come!” He raised his blade.

“A-MA-ZON!” roared Daisuke’s voice. Amazon then tackled Rift. “Jaguar Shock!” he announced before he clamped his jaws onto Rift’s arm.

“GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!” shouted Okaa-san before she leapt onto Rift’s head and started slamming her fists down on his head. Rift then flung the two off him and grabbed their throats. At that time, my belt started glowing. I looked down, realizing what was going on.

“Are you…certain…I’m worthy of this power?” I asked.

“You have no idea,” assured Vortoranii. My belt then started compressing into its original shape, but it kept the cream and gold. While that was going on, Rift was talking to Amazon and Okaa-san.

“I never faced you before, wild-man,” he mused. “And you, lady, oh, I remember you! You ruined what would have been the greatest experiment ever. So, if you will both kindly die, I will…” His voice trailed off as Amazon looked behind him. Hiro turned to see me with the new belt. His helmet’s eyes showed his real ones went wide. He then tossed his captives to the ground and charged at me. I held my hands up in the air, like in my final Super Charge pose, rotated them down to cross in front of me, then moved my left fist to my hip and held my right hand out with my pinky and thumb down.

“Dai Super Charge!” I announced. I then got into a fighting stance as the bulk of my armor flew off. My power increased and the previous armor struck Rift, knocking him flat. He picked himself up as everyone saw what I looked like now. I couldn’t see, but I could feel the power radiating from me. “Batman, Ichigō, Wyldstyle, Gandalf, Hunt, Swing, Amazon-sensei, to me,” I declared. All the people I named ran right to me and formed up. “Minna, catchphrase time. I will finish this time.”

“Kamen Rider Swing!” began Swing. “I’ll be taking your legs!”

“Kamen Rider Hunt! I shall always get my prey!”

“I am Gandalf the Grey! Prepare to see some fireworks!”

“I’m Wyldstyle! Time to think outside the box!”

“I’m Batman! The Dark Knight rises!”

“I am the start of a group of warriors! I am Kamen Rider!”

“Kamen Rider Amazon!” called Amazon. “I show you who is true king of jungle!”

“Kamen Rider Vortex,” I declared. “Evil will ultimately bow to me.” Rift twitched before he called up someone on his communicator.

“Drop the mountain on them!” he ordered. We looked up to see a mountain falling towards us. I readied my blade, charged it with energy, and swung it. The energy slash cleaved the mountain in two and the halves fell away from us. Rift was trembling in rage. “Kamen Rider Rift!” he roared. “Stand and deliver!” He readied his blade, but we were too quick for him. Batman threw a batarang. Gandalf charged it with magic, thus it exploded on contact with Rift’s blade. Wyldstyle built a catapult, asked Amazon to step on, and launched him while Amazon readied himself for his finisher.

“DAI SETSUDAN!” he announced as he sliced into Rift. Ichigō, Hunt, Swing, and I leapt into the air for our kicks.

“RIDER KICK!”

“RIDER HUNT KICK!”

“RIDER SWING KICK!”

“RIDER VORTEX KICK!” Our kicks hit their mark and we landed. Rift’s transformation was canceled and Hiro started sparking. I got up to see that a look of defeat was in his eyes. “Hiro-san,” I commented, “I know we’ve had our differences and tried to kill each other.”

“I’m not hearing this!” snapped Okaa-san.

“But, I’m not without mercy,” I assured. “Let us help you and I promise you WILL be safe from Vortech’s wrath.” I held out my hand. “What say you?” Hiro snarled.

“You…just want…information!” he spat. “And…even if you didn’t, I will never…accept help…from…you! You…robbed me…of my advantage! You robbed me…of any respect I’ve had within…Shocker Rift! You…disgraced me…in the eyes…of Igura! I have nothing! And…I will give you…nothing!” He stood up. “Shocker…Gundan……BANZAI!” (Long live the Shocker Army!). He exploded, leaving nothing but ash. The enemy retreated, taking Sludgiona with them.

“Stupid man!” shouted Hunt.

“Yes,” I muttered, “I was rather hoping he would accept.”

“What for?!” called Okaa-san.

“He was right,” I replied. “I needed information. I also wanted to show him that mercy isn’t weakness. It seems he didn’t accept that.”

“Vorton to Team Chima,” called X-PO’s voice. “We’re reading a massive power signature. What’s going on?”

“Megumi just became Kamen Rider Vortex,” reported Ichigō.

“And there was a hostage situation here in Chima,” I supplied. “Tell everyone that our loved ones are safe, but Ichimonji, Robin, MetalBeard, and Frodo are still in Vortech’s clutches.”

“And we’ve got the Foundation Element!” called Wyldstyle.

“I’ll open a rift!” cheered X-PO.

“Everyone!” roared a voice. Lagravis, Crominus, and Ewald came running up. Lagravis clapped eyes on me. “Who are you?” he asked.

“It’s me, Megumi, Your Majesty,” I assured as we cancelled our transformations.

“So, your training is over?” asked Ewald.

“Indeed, it is,” I confirmed. “We must be going now.” A portal opened for us.

“Will you stay with us?” Hongo asked Daisuke.

“I must go home,” replied Daisuke. “Call me if you need me.”

“We’ll get you home when we get to Vorton,” I promised.

“Before you go,” called Crominus as he drew out a bag, “my son found these. Please accept them as a gift for getting rid of Shocker Rift.” You guessed it. Studs.

“390,000 studs,” counted Vortoranii. “We’re at 2,004,000 now.” A rift opened for us.

“You have my thanks,” I said as I accepted the gift.

“And you have ours,” replied Lagravis. We bowed to each other before my team, our families, and I departed.