Tag: kamen rider ichigo

Agamemno Contingency 3

Agamemno Contingency, file code name: Masked Rider

Takeshi Hongo is a cyborg warrior with his DNA spliced with that of a grasshopper’s. This gives him incredible jumping powers and his skills on a motorcycle are the best in the world. He wears a belt that functions as a transformation device for his armored hero form, Kamen Rider. He doesn’t function well with colder temperatures; he can’t transform into his Kamen Rider persona properly with the wind being too cold. Perhaps Mr. Freeze’s equipment can generate enough cold air to prevent him from transforming.

Tags batman, kamen rider ichigo

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Cast

Vortex Heroes

The main four heroes that follow Megumi and the other Vortex Riders.

Bio: (Upper Left)

Takeshi Hongo was a prodigy biochemistry student at Jounan University’s Biochemical Department with an abnormal i.q of 600 in the year 1971. He was also very physically adept, attracting the attention of the villainous Sacred Hegemony of Cycle Kindred Evolutionary Realm, or Shocker, for short.

Shocker was a terrorist organization hellbent on conquering Earth with mutant cyborgs. They had altered his body by splicing his DNA with that of a grasshopper and gave him cybernetic implants.

Before they could proceed with the brainwashing, there was an electrical fault, caused by a scientist in their midst, Professor Midorikawa, who Hongo worked alongside in the Biochemical Department. Professor Midorikawa was taken by Shocker and forced to work with Hiro to test the new transformation belt he made.

When he escaped, Takeshi Hongo tested his new abilities and soon started fighting Shocker as Kamen Rider. Over time, another person was captured, but Hongo saved him. The man was called Hayato Ichimonji, who took the mantle of Kamen Rider.

It was a long struggle, lasting well into the modern era. Soon enough, Ichimonji was kidnapped by Hiro Adachi , a former Shocker scientist that was the genius behind Hongo’s transformation belt. Soon enough he met the Feudal Nerd Society and pursued Ichimonji’s kidnapper and started going from universe to universe to save his friend.

Bio: (Upper Right)

Born as Bruce Wayne, son of Thomas and Martha Wayne, Batman saw his parents gunned down in his home city of Gotham and swore to eliminate crime. He studied the criminal justice system, honed his skills of deduction, and improved his self defense skills. Dressing as the thing he was once afraid of, Batman strikes fear into the heart of criminals everywhere. For a while, his only friend was the butler who was the father figure for the orphan.

Over time, Batman made a few friends here and there, helped form a superhuman league, and adopted a boy named Dick Grayson, now fighting crime with him as Robin. Sadly, Batman is slightly paranoid, and made a database on his friends’ powers and weaknesses.

During a chase with Bane, Robin was kidnapped by Lord Vortech after the Feudal Nerd Society and Hongo came into his universe. His fatherly instincts kicked in and he charged after Robin with the F.N.S and Hongo in hot pursuit.

Bio: (Lower Left)

One of the Istari, a group of Maiar sent to watch over Middle Earth, when Sauron was rising in power, Gandalf the Grey was a wizard that watched over an area called the Shire, populated by the native Hobbits, a human-like race that was half our height and was inclined to be rotund, on account of their seven meals in a day.

A Hobbit that stood out in his eyes, or had the potential to do so, was Bilbo Baggins, son of Bungo and Belladonna Baggins of Bag End, 1 Bagshot Row, Hobbiton, West Farthing, The Shire, Middle Earth. When Bilbo was 50, Gandalf had recruited him on an adventure with 13 dwarves to get their home back from Smaug, the dragon. After that adventure was over, Gandalf stayed near the Shire to keep an eye on things and to see Bilbo’s nephew, Frodo, grow up. It was during that time that Gandalf had suspicions about a magic ring Bilbo acquired.

His suspicions were confirmed when he heard news about the Ringwraiths leaving Minas Morgul in search of Bilbo’s ring. While the ring was a magic one that turned you invisible, it was also the One Ring that Sauron had on his finger. Sauron was rising again and so Frodo, Gandalf, his gardener, Samwise Gamgee, and other men set out on a journey to destroy the Ring. They had to take a detour in the dwarven Mines of Moria, where they encountered a Balrog, a creature of shadow and flame.

We knew how Gandalf would eventually become a wizard surpassing Sauron’s power, but, this time, Gandalf fell with the beast and encountered Batman, Hongo, and the F.N.S. Gandalf was saved, but Frodo and the Ring were taken into a rift. Gandalf, Batman, Hongo, and the F.N.S pursued Frodo and started another adventure.

Bio: (Lower Right)

During the time of the Resistance, Lucy had developed insecurity and had a habit of changing her name a lot. During the final days of Lord Business’ reign, she called herself Wyldstyle, leading people to mistake her for a DJ. She found a construction worker called Emmett and accidentally led him to something that would end the prejudice against people like her.

Wyldstyle had an uncanny ability to see numbers around certain objects, turn those objects into Lego bricks, assemble the brick into a new shape, and make the object less blocky to be a new creation. People that can do that are called Master Builders. Lord Business had something against Master Builders and wanted everything in their proper place and following the instructions without question. Emmett once did so, but with Wyldstyle and the other Master Builders helping him, Emmett could see as Wyldstyle did and built a way to use the Piece of resistance to stop a glue-like super weapon, the Kragle. After she broke up with her universe’s Batman, Wyldstyle started dating Emmett.

During a celebration of Master Builder victory, one of her allies, MetalBeard, was kidnapped. Not soon after, another Batman, a Gandalf different to the one she knew, Hongo, and the F.N.S arrived. Soon after they introduced each other, Wyldstyle, Gandalf, Batman, Hongo, and the F.N.S were taken to Vorton to organize the fight against the one that kidnapped their loved ones. With that done, she and the others call themselves the Vortex Riders.

Tags batman, gandalf, kamen rider, kamen rider ichigo, wyldstyle

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Movie Chapters

Chapter 20

“So, now that we’ve got the Sources,” remarked Richard the next day, “what now?”

“…I’m honestly not sure,” I replied. “Maybe the Horsemen might have something?”

“…You’re still thinking about what X-PO did,” observed Richard.

“I’m still thinking about what X-PO did,” I confirmed. “I’m not sure if I can trust him anymore. He really hurt us. I’m not sure if Alesandro and Victor are gonna stay with us after this.”

“I think they are,” replied Richard.

“What makes you so sure of that?” I quizzed.

“Well, Alesandro asked me to help him unpack,” replied Richard, “so I’d say it’s a safe bet he’s staying with us. Colleen and Victor talked and he decided on staying, so we’re good there.”

“Excellent,” I answered, feeling that much better. “All the same, I really need to apologize to them. The results may have been altered but we still made the choice to hide my emotional collapse from them.”

“Actually, Alesandro asked us to stop,” revealed Richard. “He gets that we regret it and will do what we can to make sure we don’t make that mistake again.”

“…Inundated with apologies from everyone?” I guessed.

“Yep,” confirmed Richard. “By the way, X-PO’s been arrested by the After Academy police for willful endangerment of students.”

“When’s the trial?” I asked.

“In two weeks,” replied Richard. “Miles Edgeworth is the prosecutor.”

“And X-PO’s defense attorney?” I quizzed.

“A Mr. Elkrandek from Tarlax 14,” answered Richard.

“Not exactly the most scrupulous lawyer,” I replied. Just then, alarms sounded throughout the base. “WHAT NOW?!” I snapped. Elphaba’s voice then came over the comms.

“All Riders, we have multiple vessels inbound!” she reported. “They’re cloaked, so we can’t get a good i.d. on them!”

“That’s too suspicious for comfort,” I declared as I took over the broadcast. “All hands, red alert! Assume battle stations and raise shields!” I then morphed into Tora-Onna (Tiger Woman) as I strode towards the Gateway Room to coordinate the action. Richard followed close behind.

“Why are you going fuzzy?” he asked.

“I never really had a chance to use this form,” I answered. “Sure, I turned into it on occasion, but never fully used it. Might as well ‘go fuzzy’ if it means an edge in battle if we’re boarded.” We arrived at the Gateway Room. Elphaba and her team were finishing up in locking down the Gateway. They didn’t want anyone trying to take advantage of any weakness in battle, much less anyone trying to go through and sneak up from behind.

“All of our codes have been locked into the Gateway,” reported Rusty. “We await yours.” I then leaned towards the mic.

“Computer,” I directed, “this is Queen Megumi Hishikawa. Lockdown 2-7-8-7-4-7-3-7. No one uses the Gateway until all codes have been verified and all voice patterns confirmed.”

“All Gateway functions disabled,” reported the secondary computer as it took over for X-PO. “Full functionality will not be restored until authorized personnel give the necessary codes.” I then made a secure call to the Virginia. Since Emily was needed in Sick Bay, Hiroki took command of the ship.

“Nee-san, ship status,” I requested.

“All lights are green,” reported Hiroki. “Liam’s back in Engineering with Dell and R9, Michael and Irina are manning the weapons, Tanisha’s the pilot again, and Crescent and Jason are working Communications.”

“Good to know,” I replied.

“Megumi,” called the Brigadier, “we’re receiving a transmission from the Hammer of Tarlax.”

“Scorpainia’s ship and the Tarlaxian flagship,” I replied. “What does she want?”

“She’s requesting to aid us as Shocker Rift has managed to steal Famine’s source and has reason to believe the cloaked vessels are of Shocker Rift origin,” explained the Brigadier.

“Tell her we happily accept and will offer any aid to get the Source back,” I directed. “Have the Tarlaxian fleet form up on the Virginia.”

“Understood,” replied the Brigadier as he saluted. He relayed my message. The Tarlaxian fleet arrived out of the large portals that ships need to go through the Rift safely and formed up on the Virginia.

“All stations report ready,” reported Elphaba.

“All ships standing by,” called Hiroki.

“Now comes the fun part,” I mused. “Who will make the first move?”

“That fleet must have followed us from Tarlax,” muttered Igura.

“They’re just sitting there,” observed the Joker. “We should have our fun now!”

“The instant we beam down,” I argued, “the fleet will know where we are. No. Hold position.”

“I say, that can’t be right,” muttered Michael.

“Is something the matter?” asked Hiroki.

“I’m reading Sontaran ship transponder codes,” explained Michael. “Using cloaking devices? That’s not like a Sontaran.”

“Why would Sontarans join Shocker Rift?” I asked.

“Megumi,” interjected Scorpainia, “if it pleases you, I have an idea on finding our targets.”

“Brigadier Stard,” reported the Sontaran Communications Officer, Lieutenant Krek, “we are receiving a broad transmission on all frequencies.”

“Put it through,” barked Brigadier Stard. Scorpainia’s face appeared.

“This is Queen Empress Scorpainia of the Tarlaxian Fleet!” she snarled. “Vorton is under my protection! Withdraw or be destroyed!”

“Ignore,” ordered Stard. “Hold position.”

“If there are Sontarans stupid enough to think they can win against me,” continued Scorpainia, “permit me to remind you that the last time you invaded Tarlax, before we moved to a new Tarlax, you required help from a god-like being. It’s clear enough that you are afraid of us. Why else would you hide behind a cloaking device?”

“…Make the call two-way!” snarled Stard. Scorpainia’s head twitched a bit, indicating that she had Stard on her viewscreen. “HOW DARE YOU!” roared Stard. “Scorpainia, you impugn my honor!”

“Whatever passes for Sontaran honor,” dismissed Scorpainia.

“Evidently,” hissed Stard, “you are unfamiliar with Standing Order 44 Subsidiary Clause 2! Mockery of a Sontaran Officer is to be considered an act of war!”

“A war where you will not receive a glorious death!” warned Scorpainia. The transmission ended.

“All ships, disengage the cloak and engage the enemy fleet!” ordered Stard.

“The Sontarans are disengaging the cloak and moving towards the enemy fleet!” reported Dalek Drone 2248292.

“What are those fools doing?!” shouted Sauron.

“Fleet Marshal Skrag,” I ordered, “get them to return to formation and reengage the cloak!”

“They’re not responding, Sir!” reported Skrag. “Battle had been joined!”

“Idiots, this is too early!” I roared.

“Hiroki, the Sontarans took the bait!” reported Michael. “Good thinking, Scorpainia!”

“All ships, open fire!” I ordered.

“Assist the fleet in taking down the enemy,” I ordered.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” called Richard as his fingers danced across the weapons console. A brilliant, multi-colored display of weapons fire illuminated the battlefield. Just then, the rest of Hiro’s fleet de-cloaked and moved to aid the Sontarans. Their weapons fire added to the display, affecting shield integrity in the process.

“We can’t keep this up much longer!” warned Lukas. “Any more and we’ll lose them!”

“Hongo, what’s your status?” I called on the comms.

“We’re ready and waiting,” replied Hongo. Vorton rocked again and the slightly blue tinge of the shields faded.

“We’ve lost shields!” called Lukas.

“Target shields down!” reported Dalek Drone 2248292.

“Tell the boarding parties they may begin,” I ordered, grinning all the while.

“We’re being boarded!” reported Richard. Combatmen shimmered into view.

“Now’s the time, Minna-san!” I called as I extended my claws. There was a TREMENDOUS fight on Vorton. This time, it wasn’t going to be so easily blind-sided. I clawed and bit my enemies as my friends kept the rest at bay.

“That’s funny,” I mused as visual data from the Daleks she had killed came to my ship, “she hardly uses that form.”

“Is there any progress on locating the Sources?” grumbled Igura.

“Source Team is encountering heavy resistance,” reported Dalek Drone 2248292, “from Batman, Wyldstyle, Gandalf, and Ichigō.”

“They’re not that strong,” I muttered. “How could they be encountering resistance?”

“Okay, my turn!” called Batman.

“All yours!” I replied as I delivered a Rider Punch.

“Shift Keystone, activate!” announced Batman. “Yellow, on the wall left to me! Magenta, on the wall right of me! Cyan, on the ceiling! Shift! Cyan! Ichigō!” I went to the ceiling and tackled a Combatman to the floor. A Dalek brought its gunstick to bear on me! “Shift! Yellow! Batman!” Batman delivered a side kick as he came through the yellow portal. “Shift! Magenta! Gandalf!” Gandalf ran his sword through a Sontaran as it turned to face him. Wyldstyle built a large machine that ran a large pillar through the hall and knocked down the enemy forces. They just kept beaming on board! I leapt into the air and extended my foot towards a Combatman.

“RIDER KICK!” I announced as I kicked him. That wasn’t enough!

“There’s too many!” called Wyldstyle.

“We’re not letting them near the Sources we have!” insisted Batman as he slammed a Sontaran through a Dalek. A Combatman spoke in its usual noises to a Sontaran. The Sontaran gave hand signals to a yellow Dalek, the commander, that bobbed its eyestalk in some form of understanding. It faced us and a flipper came out of the gunstick, moving in and out and causing pain to us, but not enough to kill us. We fell to the ground, unable to move, only observe and listen.

“All enemies disabled!” reported the Commander Dalek.

“Safecrackers, move in!” barked the Sontaran to his subordinates. They came in with explosives and set the timer. “Move back!” shouted the Sontaran commander. The enemy got to a safe distance. “THREE! TWO! ONE!” The explosives blew the vault open. A Combatman issued orders to his subordinates. They were wearing metal gloves as they entered the vault. They managed to find the sources and pick them up, suffering no ill effects. They reported some form of success in their noises. “Excellent!” cheered the Sontaran commander.

“Dalek Commander 8734739 to Fleet Flagship, Dominus,” called the Commander Dalek.

“Sources safely retrieved!” reported the Dalek Commander at the Vault. “Requesting immediate pickup!”

“Get everyone out of there!” I ordered, a grin crossing my features. The teleporter operator obliged and got everyone out of Vorton. He reported that everyone that survived made it. “Get us out of here!” I commanded. “We move to Foundation Prime!”

“Er, Megumi,” called Emily from Sick Bay, “I’m looking on my screen and I see the enemy fleet pulling out even though they reduced ours to a fourth of its original size. What’s going on?”

“Vault, what happened?!” I called.

“This is…Batman,” strained the Dark Knight. “The enemy managed to…disable us…long enough…to get the Sources. They had…some way of…safely…handling them.” My heart sank at the report. They’re going to Foundation Prime and we didn’t have the numbers to stop them or pursue them.

“That was a general broadcast, Batman,” Emily chimed in. “None of my patients liked hearing that.”

“Orders, Megumi?” asked Guard. I sighed.

“Contact Tarlax and After Academy,” I resolved. “See if they can spare any ships. Emily, continue treating the wounded. We need all fighters to be at their best.”

“The enemy fleet is not pursuing us!” reported Dalek Drone 2248292. It stood next to Skrag as we sat in my ready room. Igura looked on.

“Splendid,” I praised. “Resume your post.”

“I obey!” answered Dalek Drone 2248292. As it left, my expression hardened as I turned to Skrag.

“The actions your ships have taken have halved our fleet, causing considerable disruption!” I snarled.

“The men were experiencing withdrawal symptoms from lack of battle!” replied Skrag. “This was a matter beyond my control!”

“Your orders,” hissed Igura, “were to hold position until the command was given!”

“That was impossible!” pleaded Skrag. “The men have been out of action for too long!”

“The responsibility was yours!” I roared. “You have failed! I cannot, WILL not, accept failure! Since you pleaded, you will NOT look upon your death!” I turned him around and shot him in the back of the head, the worst form of death for a Sontaran.

“I’ll have Fleet Marshal Strench and his ships report to our position, shall I?” offered Igura.

“Do so,” I answered. “Then, return to our quarters. We need to unwind on the way.”

“I have an outfit that may help in that regard,” purred Igura. We kissed.

“Listen, about what I said yesterday,” I muttered, “I’m sorry. That was unlike me to overlook your talents. I should have planned for Heather to disregard the Source.”

“Well, I DO know a way you can make it up to me,” chuckled Igura as she wiggled her eyebrows. I’ll probably be making it up to her for…maybe 20, 30 minutes.

Tags batman, gandalf, hiro adachi, igura, kamen rider, kamen rider ichigo, megumi hishikawa, wyldstyle

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Movie Chapters

Chapter 3

The Gateway opened to reveal Scorpainia stepping through. She had Turretorg, Technarain, Discornia, and Sludgiona with her. “I see you’ve had this place redecorated since I was here last,” observed Scorpainia.

“Looks a little…bright,” muttered Batman.

“Yeah, we needed to make it brighter,” I replied. “A few of us would rather NOT stumble with only blue lighting in a dark place. Some plant life also benefitted us. The oxygen generators were pretty taxed during the Vortech Wars.”

“And with the new lighting,” helped Lukas, “came a source of vitamin C, essential for us humans.” At that moment, the lights went off. “…Apparently, we need a better power source,” muttered Lukas.

“No, dudes,” called a surfer dude’s voice. “Just rerouting power!” The lights came back on as an R9 Astromech wheeled himself in. “Had a gnarly idea,” continued the Astromech, “that we could route some power from the sensors to the GUUUUNNS!”

“New guys, this is R9-D7, the only Astromech I know of that can speak Basic,” I introduced. “R9, these are the new guys.”

“I think the new guys are already familiar with the most RADICAL Astromech in the multiverse!” boasted R9.

“Remind me of his backstory again?” asked Liam.

“After the Vortech Wars,” I explained, “Vader left him behind. He was stuck on Vorton for a few weeks until X-PO found him. We fixed him up and installed vocal components so we don’t have to guess his beeping.”

“And it’s been awesome ever since!” cheered R9.

“R9,” called Emily, “quick question. How are the defenses going to shoot any invaders WITHOUT the sensors?”

“…Okay, so there ARE some holes in my idea,” conceded R9. “No need to be bugging or anything.”

“We’ll save modifications AFTER this adventure,” I suggested.

“Buzzkill,” muttered R9.

“All right, is everyone here for the briefing?” I asked.

“Wait, where’s Pup-X5?” asked Emmanuel.

“And Lexicon, for that matter,” supplied Sheela.

“We’re here!” called a woman’s voice. A large, gunmetal grey can with an antenna on top came in with a humanoid dog robot walking it. The dog robot was about Snoopy’s height. He detached the leash from the can and petted Kit-10. “Sorry about the wait,” remarked the can, Lexicon, a mobile datastore. “Pup-X5 insisted on getting a bite to eat. How you lot managed to install a stomach that can process food like you do, I’ll never understand.” Pup-X5 rolled his eyes and folded his arms.

“Well, you got here anyways,” I dismissed, “so thank you for coming. Now that we’re all here, X-PO, you may begin.”

“Thank you,” bid X-PO. He started up a PowerPoint with the Gateway. “As many of you know,” he began, “five Tarlaxian Jabarda class scout ships were deployed to scout for potential universes in case the Omega Protocols needed to be deployed again.”

“A future Tarlax 15?” quizzed Wyldstyle.

“Indeed,” confirmed Scorpainia. “I would have called you lot a little later, but SOMEONE decided to force the issue!” She glared at X-PO.

“We’ll turn him into a coffee maker later,” I joked.

“Thanks,” snarked X-PO. “Anyway, in the most recent logs, I discovered that they were going near five universes containing the Sources.”

“What IS a Source?” I asked.

“In this instance,” interjected Famine as she paused her snacking, “it’s the source of an aspect the five of us Horsemen represent. Each looks like a crystal ball, about the size of a human’s head, in our colors. Mine’s yellow, Pestilence’s green, Death’s blue, War’s orange, and Lacey inherited the purple one of Chaos.”

“Chaos?” I muttered.

“An apocalypse IS rather chaotic,” replied Lacey. “Besides, chaos is common when life exists.”

“Fair point,” I conceded.

“Does that mean we should call Lacey ‘Chaos’ instead?” asked Richard.

“Please, no!” groaned Lacey.

“Focus, please!” snapped X-PO.

“The Source Universes?” muttered Scorpainia. “What were they doing near there? They’re WAY too close to Foundation Prime. Besides, we’ve long established that they were inhabited.”

“We always look for universes with no life aside from plants on ANY of that universe’s planets,” supplied Sludgiona.

“What are the universes’ identifier strings?” I quizzed.

“5-P-L-4-T-0-0-N, D-1-5-N-3-Y, 5-U-P-3-R-M-4-R-1-0, T-3-4-M-F-0-R-T-R-3-5-5-2, and 5-4-1-L-0-R-M-0-0-N,” replied Discornia.

“So, Splatoon, Disney, Super Mario, Team Fortress 2, and Sailor Moon,” I guessed.

“Bingo,” answered Death. “Splatoon hold my Source because they’ve invented a way to circumvent death in a weapon-using sport, Disney holds War’s as it’s very peaceful, given the chaos it usually brings, Super Mario has a cure for all, so it hides Pestilence’s Source, Team Fortress 2’s inhabitants don’t get hungry, so Famine could hide her Source there, and Sailor Moon brings order, so Lacey’s Source is safe.”

“So, the opposite aspects of your sources hides them,” I theorized.

“Exactly,” grunted War.

“But, as her Majesty asked, what were those ships doing there?” quizzed Technarain. “Their courses shouldn’t have taken them anywhere NEAR those universes.” Turretorg shuffled his feet. It’s not a quiet shuffle, given what his feet are made of.

“Turretorg,” hissed Scorpainia, “is there something you want to share with us?” No response. “Turretorg,” growled Scorpainia.

“I…I’m not at liberty to say,” stammered Turretorg.

“Not even to me?” snarled Scorpainia.

“…Sorry, but not even to you,” sighed Turretorg.

“That leaves us at liberty to speculate,” remarked Liam. He turned to Scorpainia. “You said they were near Foundation Prime, right?”

“They are,” confirmed Scorpainia. “As to why, I’ll let Death explain.”

“The Sources constantly project a barrier around Foundation Prime so no one, not even the Horsemen, could get to it,” explained Death. “However, if you’re clever enough you could find a chink in that barrier and get into Foundation Prime.”

“Vortech used me to that end,” remarked X-PO. “That’s how I got you guys into it.”

“So, when Vortech was beaten,” continued Death, “we reforged the barrier and shored up any flaws we could find. As such, using all five sources on the barrier will cause it to crumble and people could freely enter and exit Foundation Prime, restoring that square Vortech used to control the multiverse and bending it to their whims.”

“And, given the power we witnessed,” I guessed, “you didn’t WANT people to freely enter and exit that universe.”

“Exactly,” confirmed Death. “With all that in mind, those universes would make rather good defensive positions.”

“Hoping to control those universes?” Scorpainia asked Turretorg.

“Your Majesty,” sighed Turretorg, “I hope you’re not naïve enough to believe the Tarlaxian Senate DIDN’T want to use those universes.”

“No,” replied Scorpainia, “but I’m a little ticked that neither you nor the Senate brought the concern to my attention!”

“And?” quizzed Turretorg.

“And, if you didn’t tell her or your wife THAT,” hissed Moon-kyung as she nodded towards Discornia, “it makes us rather worried what ELSE you kept from her, or US, for that matter.”

“There wasn’t anything else to tell!” snarled Turretorg. “Their mission was to scout out potential universes in case the Omega Protocols were needed again. Yes, it WAS possible that they would pass by those universes. So, the Senate made it a secret parameter of said mission that, should they not find a threat to the Sources, they would gather data and intelligence relating to a defensive position to surround Foundation Prime. That is all!”

“It seems like a restructuring of the Senate is in order!” snarled Scorpainia. “I’d rather know about their concerns!”

“Well, from what I’ve picked up from a stray transmission,” interjected X-PO, “the crews of those ships weren’t too happy about that secret parameter either. Here’s something I picked up from the ship near 5-U-P-3-R-M-4-R-1-0.” He played a video of an apartment with three Tarlaxians in it.

“Wait, I thought you said that it’s from a scout ship,” recalled Richard. “That looks like Linkara’s old apartment.”

“With the stuff he had, too,” muttered Livia.

“My doing,” answered Technarain. “I heard about nerds in that universe turning a house into a spaceship, so I wanted to get a good look at any potential bridge designs. Linkara’s old apartment seemed like a more functional choice. He seemed okay with it.”

“If we could continue?!” grunted War.

“Thank you,” bid X-PO. He started the video. A two-headed, six-armed woman in a glossy, black exoskeleton, a spider’s rear end above her butt, eight eyes in a ring on each head with the two largest ones in the center, and claws on her fingers was at a workstation. The annotations identified her as Spidarachnimpa. A woman with a skirt that looked like a snail’s foot sat on Spidarachnimpa’s left. She had a snail’s antennae in place of her eyes, a snail’s shell, and secreted slime all over her body. It didn’t seem to affect her workstation. An annotation called her Escargripam. In the kitchen was a Tarlaxian man with a humanoid body shape, a skirt of eight octopus tentacles, a ring of eight tentacles around his shoulders, and the head of an octopus with a beak where a human’s mouth should be. He was called Octorpindar. Spidarachnimpa’s left head spoke into a communicator.

“This is the scout ship, Tranzek,” she called. “We have just entered Mushroom World territory and are ready to carry out our assignment. All lights are orange. No sign of any problems. We look forward to hearing from you in an hour. Tranzek out.” She switched the comms off.

“I still can’t believe it!” griped Octorpindar. “I mean, a year of planning this venture, three months to get to the universe we’re supposed to be at, then, just a few days before we get there, Tarlax calls saying, ‘Hey! Can you deviate from your flight plan by about 2 more months and check out a universe near Foundation Prime that holds Pestilence’s Source?’ I mean…!”

“Steady on, Octorpindar,” interjected Spidarachnimpa’s right head.

“We knew this was a possibility,” continued her left head.

“Yeah, but,” grumbled Octorpindar, “they didn’t need to wait until practically the last minute to tell us! I mean if we manage to encounter Vortech’s prison…!”

“We won’t!” countered Spidarachnimpa’s left head. “We’ll be moving in parallel to the loop pattern and matching the velocity of the rift loop.”

“Plus we have automatic sealants,” continued her right head, “to take care of any pinpricks in this baby’s hull should any debris be caught in the rift loop’s orbit and flung at us.”

“I wish I shared your confidence,” remarked Octorpindar as he grabbed a sandwich from the fridge.

“Don’t worry about it, dude,” remarked Escargripam. “We’re not gonna find anything. I mean, the Doctor…”

“The Doctor!” interrupted Octorpindar. “There’s a Gallifreyan that is THAT arrogant to think they can heal their…!”

“The Doctor had practically tied Vortech’s prison into a pretty little bow!” continued Escargripam. “He’s stuck!”

“If he manages to wiggle out…!” protested Octorpindar.

“I think somebody’s a little cranky this morning,” remarked Spidarachnimpa’s left head as both turned to him.

“Somebody needs to sit in the comfy chair,” continued the right head. She tapped the unoccupied console as Octorpindar rolled his eyes. He entered the living room and sat down at the console. He looked around the apartment-bridge and sighed.

“This will never NOT be weird,” he muttered.

“We’ve been doing this for practically all our lives,” groaned Escargripam, “and you choose NOW to complain?!”

“We’re sitting in an apartment that once belonged to some nerd!” complained Octorpindar.

“We are sitting,” both of Spidarachnimpa’s heads snarled in unison, “on the bridge of the most advanced scout ship and we’re ready to make history! Now, I don’t care if it happens in a toilet stall or a nerd’s basement dwelling, as long as it gets us there and gets us home! So, put on your grown-up explorer boots and give me a read-out on engine consumption!”

“Sorry, sorry,” sighed Octorpindar as he checked his station. “Engine consumption’s nominal. Look, I’m just saying the multiverse can get crazy and weird.”

“Better weird than boring,” remarked Escargripam. She checked her station’s readings. “We’re approaching the Source Universe. Should be smooth sailing.”

“Belay that thought,” interjected Spidarachnimpa’s left head.

“Why?” quizzed Escargripam.

“I’m detecting a power signature out there,” reported Spidarachnimpa’s right head. They all looked at the reading on her console.

“How can anything have power this far out?” muttered Escargripam.

“Well, let’s find out,” replied Spidarachnimpa’s right head. “It’s about 170 cm in length, 89 cm in width, and…and coming at us in an attack vector!!” At this point, both heads were speaking in unison. “Hard about! Raise the…!” The ship lurched and tossed the Tarlaxian crew over their consoles. An explosion made the video end in static. We stood there in silence.

“…Are they…?” gulped Emmanuel.

“We’re STILL getting bio-signs,” replied Technarain, “so I don’t think so.”

“Now we REALLY need to rescue them,” I declared. “I had already decided to split us up into teams according to After Academy house, but I think a Keystone Bearer on each team would help.”

“And a Tarlaxian on each team,” interjected Scorpainia.

“And a robot,” called Kit-10.

“All right, then let’s get organized,” I affirmed. The teams went like so: Death, Haitao, Livia, Sheela, Colleen, Sophie, X-PO, Turretorg, and myself would go to 5-P-L-4-T-0-0-N to check on her Source, War, Gandalf, Michael, Hiroki, Irina, Alesandro, Charline, Kit-10, and Discornia would go to D-1-5-N-3-Y to check that Source’s status, Pestilence, Hongo, Emily, Mikhail, Tanisha, Liam, Amelia, R9-D7, and Scorpainia would use the Virginia to go to 5-U-P-3-R-M-4-R-1-0 and use its sensors to check that Source out, Famine, Wyldstyle, Richard, Emmanuel, Xiomara, Victor, Brenden, Pup-X5, and Technarain will confirm the Source’s condition in T-3-4-M-F-0-R-T-R-3-5-5-2, and Lacey, Batman, Joshua, Lukas, Tonje, Moon-kyung, Flora, Lexicon, and Sludgiona would check out 5-4-1-L-0-R-M-0-0-N for her Source. “Are the team assignments clear?” I asked. Everyone replied yes. “Then let’s hit the hay for now,” I declared. “It’s late at night and I don’t want anyone fighting their own fatigue on top of fighting whoever’s behind this.”

“Sleep sounds heavenly right now,” muttered Moon-kyung. We all retired to our rooms and hit the sack.

Tags batman, discornia, gandalf, kamen rider, kamen rider ichigo, megumi hishikawa, scorpainia, sludgiona, technarain, turretorg, wyldstyle, x-po

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Movie Chapters

Chapter 22

I could not have asked for smoother sailing. We were approaching Foundation Prime and Megumi was nowhere in sight. I toured the Dominus, looking at each bulkhead, each door, each tiny rivet that propelled me to victory. It was a leisurely tour, no need to rush victory. A couple of Engineers saluted me as I passed. I returned the salute and they returned to the minor maintenance needed to make the ship more efficient. A Combatman approached me.

“YEE! YEE!” (We’re approaching the coordinates. All Sources have unlocked the way for us.) he reported.

“Splendid,” I praised. “I shall be on the bridge to witness our victory. Once we enter, begin a sweep for the Foundation Element pedestal. It should be intact.”

“YEE!” (Yes, Great Leader!) replied the Combatman. I strolled to the bridge as he hurried off to relay my instructions. When I arrived, the bridge crew was hard at work.

“Time to Universal Entrance?” I asked.

“Universal Entrance will occur in 20 rels!” reported the Dalek Operator at the helm.

“One minute,” translated Igura.

“Excellent,” I chuckled. Who needs Foundation Elements? The Sources will provide me the Foundation of All Universes far better than random trinkets.

“10 rels!” barked the Dalek Operator.

“30 seconds!” giggled Igura.

“Ah, I can just smell victory in our hands!” I sighed. “I tell you now, my sweet eagle, we shall…”

“Alert! Alert! Enemy fleet detected!” called out the Dalek Strategist. “Flagship has been identified as FNSS-01, Virginia!”

“WHAT?!” I shouted. The enemy fleet was projected onto the main viewscreen.

“A ground force is guarding the Foundation Element pedestal!” called Metalran. “It’s the Vortex Riders!”

“How did they get ahead of us?!” shouted Igura.

“Save the speculations for later!” I ordered. “Raise shields and charge weapons!”

“Er, guys!” I gulped as I saw the enemy charging their weapons.

“We see them!” replied Scorpainia on her ship. “All ships, engage the enemy!” Our fleet unleashed a volley of laser and torpedo fire. I looked at everyone on the ground with me.

“Minna-san,” I began, “if, by some random chance, we don’t get out of this alive…”

“Then we still make sure we continue the fight!” insisted Emily. I smiled.

“Hongo-san, if you please,” I directed. Hongo struck his pose.

“Rider…” he began.

“HENSHIN!” we all announced. The Chronicle Drivers of our new members went through their jingles.

“Open! Turn! Imagine! The Hammer of Slam!”

“Open! Turn! Imagine! The Roller of Turf!”

“Open! Turn! Imagine! The Crossbow of Striker!”

“Open! Turn! Imagine! The Keyblade of Lux!”

“Open! Turn! Imagine! The Shield of Highland!”

“Open! Turn! Imagine! The Scepter of Crown!”

“Open! Turn! Imagine! The Rifle of Range!”

“Open! Turn! Imagine! The Wrench of Construct!”

“Open! Turn! Imagine! The Spear of Lance!”

“Open! Turn! Imagine! The Staff of Crescent!”

“The enemy ground forces have changed into their Rider Personas!” reported Tac Ops.

“Then prepare our own,” I ordered. “All Riders, we’re going in!” Cyber-Leader Gi dialed in the first three prime numbers on her phone and held it to her ear, I drew my guns, Gorshagh grabbed the Kiri Zecter, and Igura struck her pose.

“Nova…” she began.

“Henshin!” we announced.

“Henshin!” repeated the Kiri Zecter.

“Adaptus: online,” reported Cyber-Leader Gi’s phone as she turned it into her buckle. We all became our Kamen Rider personas.

“All ground forces ready!” reported Tac Ops.

“Beam us down!” I ordered.

“They’re coming your way!” warned Scorpainia.

“Welcome back to Foundation Prime!” I greeted Rogue. “You know, lately, there’s a new Rider from Build’s era with the same name as you. Wouldn’t you say that would cause confusion?”

“Last I checked,” remarked Rogue, “that Kamen Rider is dead.”

“Not what I saw in Build’s show,” chuckled Sengoku. “I think a guy called Killbas restored his memories once the Build Riders came to the main Kamen Rider world.”

“I’ll take care of him later,” dismissed Rogue. “Right now, I have major annoyances to deal with! Kamen Rider Rogue! Stand and deliver!”

“Kamen Rider Adaptus,” announced Cyber-Leader Gi. “Hostile elements will be deleted.”

“Kamen Rider Kiri!” growled Gorshagh. “I shall bring ruin to you!”

“Kamen Rider Talon!” called Igura. “You will pay dearly!”

“If it’s catchphrase time, it’s catchphrase time!” I declared.

“Kamen Rider Outback!” called Joshua. “Better watch your backs, mates!”

“Kamen Rider Claw!” announced Sheela. “My weapons shall turn you into ribbons!”

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

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

“Kamen Rider Clash!” proclaimed Livia. “A duel with me shall end in your defeat!”

“Kamen Rider Climb!” cheered Irina. “Mountains are a warrior’s best friend!”

“Kamen Rider Gallop!” declared Mikhail. “My riding skills are unmatched!”

“Kamen Rider Sengoku!” called my brother, Hiroki. “You shall get a taste of Feudal Japan!”

“Kamen Rider Royal!” I announced. “Evil will ultimately bow to me!”

“Kamen Rider Guard!” proclaimed my fiancé, Richard. “None shall harm my friends, family, and lady!”

“Kamen Rider Touché!” cheered Emily, my future sister-in-law. “En Garde, thing of evil!”

“Kamen Rider Zhànshì!” declared Haitao. “Try and stop my quest!”

“Kamen Rider Arch!” called Emmanuel. “My skills outdo Robin Hood!”

“Kamen Rider Kämpfer!” cheered Lukas. “Your defeat will be certain at my hands!”

“Kamen Rider Seeker!” proclaimed Xiomara. “It’s not gold I seek, but your end!”

“Kamen Rider Battle!” announced Michael. “For friends and family, I shall be victorious!”

“Kamen Rider Slam!” shouted Colleen. “I’ll be bringing the pain!”

“Kamen Rider Turf!” called Jason the Inkling. “I shall claim this turf in victory!”

“Kamen Rider Striker!” proclaimed Alesandro. “None shall delay victory!”

“Kamen Rider Lux!” announced Mickey Mouse. “The light of imagination shall show the way!”

“Kamen Rider Highland!” cheered Liam. “It shall be a fine day for winning!”

“Kamen Rider Crown!” declared Princess Peach. “My strength will upend your tyranny!”

“Kamen Rider Range!” called Victor. “I’ve got you right where I want you!”

“Kamen Rider Construct!” declared Dell Conagher. “Let’s do this Texas style!”

“Kamen Rider Lance!” cheered Moon-kyung. “The softest bloom can be the deadliest!”

“Kamen Rider Crescent!” announced Neo Queen Serenity, Usagi Tsukino I. “In the name of the solar system, I will punish you!”

“Kamen Rider Herald P!” called Flora.

“Kamen Rider Herald Y!” proclaimed Brenden.

“Kamen Rider Herald O!” cheered Charline.

“Kamen Rider Herald G!” announced Amelia.

“Kamen Rider Herald B!” shouted Sophie.

“We bring news of your defeat!” they called together.

“Kamen Rider Death!” whispered Death. “You cannot delay your appointment with me!”

“Kamen Rider War!” shouted War. “This battlefield is mine!”

“Kamen Rider Pestilence!” wheezed Pestilence. “You shall be infected with losing!”

“Kamen Rider Famine!” declared Famine. “I shall starve you of victory!”

“Kamen Rider Apocalypse!” announced Lacey. “Your world shall end!”

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

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

“I’m Batman!” rasped Batman. “The Dark Knight rises!”

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

“KILL THEM!” ordered Rogue. Our armies clashed as we struggled to keep the Sources away from the pedestal.

“Alert! Alert!” called Operator 5579898. “Propulsion systems disabled!”

“Main Fusion Cannon power cells now recharging in 7!” counted Drone 7427983. “6! 5! 4!”

“Battle computer suggests immediate withdrawal!” advised Strategist 3345987. Retreat?! From the Tarlaxians?!

“We will not retreat from inferior life-forms!” I, Supreme 0720974, declared. “Daleks conquer and destroy!”

“Daleks conquer and destroy!” repeated all Daleks aboard the Dalek-only saucer, the Jewel of Skaro.

“Fusion Cannon now online!” reported Drone 7427983.

“Open fire!” I ordered. “Immediately! IMMEDIATELY!”

“I obey!” confirmed Drone 7427983. The Fusion Cannon causes the individual atoms of the target to come together before a small particle of anti-matter makes the target detonate in a display that humans would call dazzling. I suppose I would call the destruction of the Tarlaxian ship beautiful as fire burned away that which was impure. While it was by a small fraction, the multiverse THAT now that much cleaner.

“We’ve lost the Armadillorg,” reported my tactical officer, Glaciandro.

“Status of enemy shields?” I asked.

“What enemy shields?” replied Glaciandro, his voice indicating he was ready to avenge those who gave their lives to protect Tarlax and the multiverse, especially since his sister was on that ship.

“Destroy them!” I ordered. He wasted no time in obeying my command. The enemy ship was destroyed, along with its fellow ships in the enemy fleet. They were at 400 when they arrived on Foundation Prime, now that number has been halved! We’ve only lost 100 of our ships and we were going to ensure that their sacrifices were NOT in vain!

“Well, well!” I taunted Rogue as we clashed. “Looks like things are crumbling around you, Oto-san!” (Father)

“I see it differently,” replied Rogue as he converted his guns into shōtō (Japanese short sword) mode.

“Have you gone senile?!” I yelped as I converted my gun to sword mode. “Rogue, your fleet is halved, your ground forces are halted, and your attempt to get to the pedestal is going up in smoke! Surrender while you can!”

“I don’t think so!” replied Rogue. “My fleet will still win the day, your ground forces are only 40 strong while mine are 600 strong, and you idiots didn’t check to see if the Sources have reached the pedestal!” I turned to see if what he was saying was true. …It was! The Sources were aligned with the pedestal! They powered the thing just like the Foundation Elements did and revealed a newly constructed green square! The Foundation of All Universes was back! “Perfect!!” cheered Rogue. “Bring the Apocalypse Riders to their respective sources!” The Combatmen then managed to wrangle the Apocalypse Riders and get them to their respective Sources. …Well…three out of five were successful. “Wait, what are you two doing?” asked Rogue.

“YEE!” (Putting the Apocalypse Riders at their respective Sources.) replied a Combatman.

“No, you’re not! Death is supposed to be at the blue one, not the purple one!” answered Rogue.

“YEE!” (They’re both blue!) argued the Combatman.

“…Can you two not see red?” asked Rogue. The Combatmen looked sheepish. “Look, just switch them, okay?”

“YEE!” (I told you we needed those optic upgrades!) snapped the other Combatman as they obeyed.

“YEE!” (Shut up.) grumbled the first Combatman. I struggled in trying to get the Combatmen holding me down off.

“Off!” I growled! “I said…”

“We don’t need to move, not yet,” interjected Batman.

“…Dude, WHY?!” I argued.

“Oh, yeah!” mused Lance in a faraway voice.

“You too?!” I hissed.

“Well, they MUST have seen it done,” replied Battle.

“What are you…oh…OH!” I realized the mistake Shocker Rift made! Unfortunately, so did Adaptus!

“Disconnect the Apocalypse Riders!” she called.

“Are you malfunctioning?!” shouted Rogue.

“Disconnect them NOW!” insisted Adaptus. Just then, with just one hand, all Apocalypse Riders threw the Combatmen holding them aside!

“It doesn’t matter now!” laughed Rogue. “The Foundation of All Universes will be mine!” He continued laughing and laughing and laughing.

“The Horsemen are in total control of the Sources!” elaborated Adaptus. “They have some plan to set you back!”

“Impossible!” dismissed Rogue. “If they value their friends’ lives, they will obey!”

“NOW!” called Death.

“DAI SUPER CHARGE!” I announced. I managed to get a hand free and spun the wheel twice. My armor bulked up and exploded off of me to get my captors off while revealing my new form as Kamen Rider Vortex! My former captors were knocked into Batman and Gandalf’s, so they got up and fought off the others so everyone could be freed. Death and her friends put both hands on the Sources and gave more energy to them.

“WAIT! NO! STOP! THAT’S TOO MUCH!” wailed Rogue. Too late. The energy the Sources were putting out separated the Foundation of All Universes into four fragments once again and scattered them to four different directions. “No! No! Nonononono NOOOOO!” wailed Rogue before he slumped to his knees. “…What just happened?!” he asked uselessly.

“Did you really think we’d let you have the Sources without having a back-up plan?” asked Apocalypse.

“We had our suspicions that you would try and control us with a hostage situation,” explained Death, “so we asked Megumi, during prep, to keep her Vortex form on standby.”

“I have to admit,” I supplied, “I was a little confused when they asked that, but I can’t argue with the results!”

“So, when the time came,” finished War, “we’d upend your plans and cause some severe damage to your tiny empire!”

“I’VE HEARD ENOUGH!” roared Rogue as he performed his poses. “DAI SUPER CHARGE!” His armor then changed into dark purple and black as it bulked up before exploding off of him, turning him into Kamen Rider Rift! He summoned his Rift Breaker as I summoned my blade and we clashed viciously! “Why do you insist on interfering?!” roared Rift. “We are bringing order to chaos!”

“Have you learned nothing from Vortech?!” I protested. “You can’t have order without chaos! Read some Berlin! You might learn a thing or two!”

“I presume you’re talking about the idiot that babbled on about ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ liberty?!” growled Rift.

“Hey, that man got away from Stalinist Russia and got a safe distance away from the Nazi invasion of Britain!” argued Guard.

“I may need to read his work,” mused Kämpfer.

“You’re not going to survive that long!” roared Rift. He holstered his guns before pulling the triggers and leaping into the air. I then spun the wheel and leapt into the air; my target identified.

“Final attack!” announced my belt.

“RIDER VORTEX KICK!” I shouted.

“RIDER RIFT KICK!” shouted Rift. He was aiming for the Sources while I aimed for his belt. Our feet temporarily connected as we pushed against one another in the air.

“How do modern Riders DO that?!” asked Ichigō.

“Still trying to figure that out,” replied Sengoku. We continued pushing and pushing and pushing until…my foot went past his and smashed the Rift Driver! He fell, exploding, then tumbling out of the explosion as Adachi Hiro. The ruined remains of the Rift Driver fell after him. He scrambled to pick them up in a panic.

“Driver! Driver, say something!” he wailed.

“Hiro…”groaned the Rift Driver, “these are…my last words. …First of all…screw you! You never…valued my advice. Second…I should never have…found your universe. It looks like I just caused…chaos all around the place…by you reverse-engineering…me. Third…you ARE obsessed with her! As such…you no longer deserve…my power!” The Rift Driver then, for lack of a better term, died. Hiro still cradled the remains of his old belt.

“I say this only one last time,” I declared, “surrender!”

“…Abandon Foundation Prime,” Hiro ordered over the comms. His men looked at him. “All ground forces, return to the ships. We cannot take this universe with the Vortex Riders as they are with the numbers we have. Abandon Foundation Prime.” They were beamed aboard their remaining fifty ships. The ships then departed Foundation Prime as we were beamed aboard the Virginia. Turretorg was commanding the vessel while we were on the ground.

“Vortex, Touché,” he declared, “I return command to you.”

“Thank you, Turretorg,” I bid.

“A very fine command,” praised Touché.

“Thank you, Ma’am,” replied Turretorg.

“I believe that’s Foundation Prime all safe and sound,” mused Guard.

“Let’s not declare that until we confirm it,” advised Clash.

“Scorpainia,” I called over the channel, “any analysis on the enemy fleet?”

“They’ve retreated,” replied Scorpainia. “As Guard mentioned, all is well.”

“…How did you…?” I asked.

“The Communications Officer left the channel open,” answered Scorpainia.

“Ah,” I replied. I then turned to my friends. “Minna-san, it looks like our work is done.” We all powered down as I took command. “Helm, set course for Vorton, all possible speed.”

“All possible speed, you got it,” replied the helmsman. The fleet then took off for Vorton. Richard looked a little concerned.

“Hey, are you okay?” I asked.

“My thoughts drifted to X-PO’s trial,” explained Richard.

“…Yeah, way to remind us,” I grumbled. “How’s the trial going to play out?”

“Similar to the Japanese system,” replied Richard, “but there will be a jury of 12 Cendeberons.”

“The best jurors in the multiverse,” I recalled. “Remind me who Elkrandek is? All I heard from you is that he’s a Tarlaxian.”

“Actually, he’s an immigrant,” corrected Richard. “I think Joshua would know him better as the Deer Imagin.”

“The WHAT?!” I yelped, recalling the time Heather went to various universes to make a new body for herself with functioning ovaries. The attempt failed, but it DID leave the Imagin with a chance to stay alive even though she doesn’t remember him. “WHY would Scorpainia…? Get me Scorpainia!” The Communications Officer got her. “Scorpainia, I DID tell you about the Deer Imagin, right?”

“Elkrandek, as he prefers to call himself,” replied Scorpainia, “is trying to get away from such dark thoughts. He’s passed the Bar Exam and has been an excellent defense attorney. He’s defended Turretorg when he was accused of murder and resorted to stay clean in his pursuit of defending his client.”

“…Well, if he’s changed, there’s nothing I can say about it,” I resolved.

Tags apocalypse horsemen, batman, gandalf, herald riders, hiro adachi, kamen rider, kamen rider ichigo, megumi hishikawa, wyldstyle

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Movie Chapters

Chapter 25

“First Rusty, now our magic users!” I grumbled on the last day of the trial.

“I thought Elkrandek was supposed to be better than that!” griped Richard.

“This is the last day of the trial,” replied Edgeworth. “We need to press on.”

“The trial’s about to begin,” called the Bailiff.

“Here we go,” I muttered. We entered the courtroom to hear the chatter of the audience.

“All rise for the Honorable Judge Legowltor!” called the Bailiff as Legowltor entered the courtroom.

“Please, be seated,” he directed. As we sat, he banged the gavel. “Court will now reconvene for the trial of the Experimental Portal Operator. This WILL be the last day as we need answers NOW.”

“The Prosecution is ready, Your Honor,” declared Edgeworth.

“The Defense is ready, Your Honor,” answered Elkrandek.

“The Prosecution will give their opening statement,” directed Legowltor.

“We all remember what caused a stir yesterday,” began Edgeworth. “The Defense claimed that magic had influenced the Defendant over time. The Prosecution is more than willing to disprove that theory.”

“Defense, your rebuttal?” requested Legowltor.

“Your Honor, we have examined the Defendant,” answered Elkrandek. “It looks like there was a crack in his power source’s shielding. Even if the Prosecution can prove that the F.N.S’ magic users were as responsible as they claim, that still doesn’t prove that magic didn’t affect my client!”

“Objection!” called Edgeworth. “Your Honor, there IS a way to disprove the Defense’s theory.”

“Oh, this I gotta hear,” grumbled Elkrandek.

“We’ve examined all of Vorton and tested every member for stray magic,” continued Edgeworth. “One of the officers during the examination mentioned the crack in X-PO’s power source shielding, confusing Ms. Saunders and a Mr. Lukas Ackermann as they were being examined.” Elkrandek arched an eyebrow. “After obtaining a warrant from the police, the two gave us the Defendant’s examination records. They were verified, so we can easily confirm this is true. The most recent record was a few minutes after Ms. Saunders’ team returned from retrieving the Source of Pestilence. The Prosecution can assure this court that the Defendant had no crack in his shielding during that examination! Therefore, there is no possible way that magic has affected the Defendant!”

“Objection!” called Elkrandek. “Your Honor, my client has told me otherwise and gave me a copy of those records!”

“Then they must be forged by your client to cover his tracks!” argued Edgeworth.

“The copy my client has given me was verified by the police, just like the Prosecution’s copy!” countered Elkrandek. “It was deemed correct!” That caused a stir, us witnesses added to the chatter.

“ORDER! ORDER IN THE COURT!” bellowed Legowltor as he banged his gavel. “How can both copies be correct?!”

“Your Honor, the Prosecution requests that both copies be examined!” called Edgeworth.

“The Defense has no objections to that! I want to find out myself! I hope the records are given maximum scrutiny!” agreed Elkrandek.

“If I recollect,” mused Legowltor, “that will take some time.”

“Plenty of time for us to hear the last Witnesses and the Defendant,” replied Edgeworth.

“Very well,” affirmed Legowltor. “Bailiff, give both records to the investigators at once! Maximum scrutiny!”

“At once, Your Honor!” replied the Bailiff as he hurried off with both records.

“Now, while that’s going on,” rumbled Legowltor, “we shall hear from the last Witnesses.”

“We shall start with the first ally the F.N.S has made,” began Edgeworth. Hongo took the stand. “State your name and occupation for the Court Record.”

“Takeshi Hongo,” introduced Hongo. “I am a hero that fights against Shocker as the first Kamen Rider.”

“Would you please tell the Court what your relationship with the Defendant was like?” asked Edgeworth.

“It began much like Gandalf and Batman’s,” testified Hongo. “The F.N.S appeared as one of my friends was kidnapped by Vortech. Although, in my case, it was through his agent at the time; Adachi Hiro, a former member of Shocker, now head of the multiversal terrorist organization, Shocker Rift. I was chosen to aid the F.N.S in their fight against Vortech, but I was never told about how dangerous Vortech was. When it finally came to light what X-PO was trying to do, well, we all saw what happened on the first day. I will admit, I allowed my pride to get in the way during the start of the Vortech Wars.”

“Your witness,” directed Edgeworth to Elkrandek.

“Takeshi-san,” began Elkrandek, “you said that you have allowed your pride to get in the way during the start of the Vortech Wars.”

“I did,” confirmed Hongo. “Much like Megumi, I didn’t tell my allies why my friend was important to me. You see, he’s the second Kamen Rider, altered by Shocker in the same manner as me.”

“And X-PO did not display any signs of chronic manipulation?” asked Edgeworth.

“Objection!” Elkrandek shouted.

“Now what?!” groaned Edgeworth.

“Your Honor, it is clear to me,” answered Elkrandek, “that the Prosecution is trying to lead the Witness!”

“Objection sustained,” replied Legowltor. “Mr. Edgeworth, this IS Elkrandek’s cross-examination period.”

“Very well,” sighed Edgeworth.

“Takeshi-san, when you were picked up by X-PO to fight against Vortech,” inquired Elkrandek, “were you aware that X-PO was trying to save the multiverse?”

“We all were,” replied Hongo, “but I saw no evidence that he was a manipulator!”

“If you saw no evidence, then why this shameless attack on my client’s good name?!” demanded Elkrandek.

“Hardly shameless if there’s been evidence that he’s been manipulating us these past few days!” shouted Hongo.

“Perhaps in your eyes, but not in the eyes of…!” replied Elkrandek.

“Objection!” called Edgeworth. “Your Honor, the Defense is trying to provoke an emotional reaction from the Witness! It is an attempt to influence an intelligent, broad-minded, and most intellectual jury!”

“Objection sustained,” replied Legowltor. “Mr. Elkrandek, provoking emotional reactions is not a welcome action in these proceedings.”

“I apologize,” answered Elkrandek. “No further questions, Your Honor.” Hongo sat back down with us.

“Your Honor, I would like to call a woman that has more than enough reason to base a verdict on the Defendant,” declared Edgeworth. That was Wyldstyle’s cue. She took the Stand. “Your name and occupation for the Court Record,” he directed.

“Wyldstyle,” she introduced. “Master Builder and teacher at the new Master Builder Academy.”

“A Master Builder?” asked Legowltor. “It is said you can create anything out of anything.”

“Would the Court mind a demonstration?” offered Wyldstyle.

“By all means,” replied Legowltor. Wyldstyle then used the Witness Stand, the gavel, and the Prosecutor and Defense’s respective benches to make a mini-gun like the Heavy’s! “Okay, that is quite the demonstration,” mused Legowltor. “Now, one simple request.”

“Yes, Your Honor?” asked Wyldstyle.

“Give me my gavel back!” hissed Legowltor. “In fact, put all of the materials back!” Wyldstyle did so and grinned nervously. “All right, perhaps we can continue,” muttered Legowltor.

“Ms. Wyldstyle,” requested Edgeworth, “kindly tell us your relationship with the Defendant.” Testimony time.

“To be honest,” answered Wyldstyle, “there’s not much to tell. I never really trusted him. The way he held a snarky attitude over us, it kind of put me off of interacting with him. I thought, as the years went by, that was just his way of showing friendship. After what I’ve heard before today, though, I can’t say as I see him in a positive light. Why would he hide anything from us?”

“A valid question,” replied Edgeworth, “one that will be answered today. Elkrandek, your Witness.”

“Ms. Wyldstyle, you asked why my client would hide anything from you,” recalled Elkrandek. “Tell me, aren’t you also guilty of hiding something? Your real name, Lucy, perhaps?”

“Objection!” called Edgeworth. “What the Witness prefers to call herself has no bearing on these proceedings!”

“Objection sustained,” answered Legowltor. “She is known throughout the multiverse as Wyldstyle, so she will be addressed as such here.”

“Thanks, Mr. Court!” cheered Wyldstyle. She instantly winced when she realized what she said.

“…Kindly address this Court as ‘Your Honor’!” hissed Legowltor.

“Yes, Your Honor!” gulped Wyldstyle.

“…No further questions,” muttered Elkrandek.

“That leaves only one last witness,” declared Edgeworth. Richard and Wyldstyle swapped places. “Your name and occupation for the Court Record, please,” directed Edgeworth.

“Richard Saunders,” began Richard. “Freshman at After Academy and Anchorman for the Multiversal News Network.”

“Saunders?” asked Legowltor. “Are you related to Emily Saunders?”

“I’m her twin,” replied Richard.

“Ah, twins,” mused Legowltor. “I remember my twin brother very fondly. Thick as thieves, we were. But, then again, that has no relevance to these proceedings.”

“Mr. Saunders,” inquired Edgeworth, “what, exactly, is your role in the F.N.S?”

“I’m third in command at the moment,” answered Richard. “Although, that may change when I marry Megumi.”

“As being part of the Chain of Command, you must have had some interaction with the Defendant,” replied Edgeworth. “Please tell the Court how these interactions went.”

“They usually centered around developing strategies against our enemies,” testified Richard. “We would discuss defenses for Vorton, which DID help us in some measure against Shocker Rift and allowed us all to survive their siege. After the Vortech Wars, though, our contact fizzled out. There wasn’t much for us to talk about since we moved to After Academy.” Elkrandek arched an eyebrow.

“Your Witness,” declared Edgeworth.

“Mr. Saunders,” inquired Elkrandek, “by your last statement, this court can assume that the F.N.S is living on campus at After Academy?”

“This court would be right,” replied Richard.

“Then I think the reason has been made clear,” chuckled Elkrandek. “Your Honor, the Defense postulates that my client was abandoned by the F.N.S! As the Witness had proclaimed, my client’s contact with the F.N.S fizzled out! If he’s so valuable to you, then why did you not bring him with you to After Academy?!”

“Objection!” called Edgeworth. “You Honor, the Defense has forgotten a certain passage from the first day of these proceedings!”

“What passage is that?” asked Legowltor.

“It comes from Batman’s recording,” explained Edgeworth. “Let me remind the Court that it has been verified and declared free of tampering. Alesandro was referring to the Defendant’s reasons for doing what he did. The quote is as follows: ‘You gathered us here with a lie from long ago! You decided to play the long game with us and waited for some grand adventure! We’ve sent you numerous invitations for those things you mentioned. If you REALLY wanted to continue feeling that, then you would have accepted them!’ Those last two sentences are most important! It can easily be presumed that the F.N.S had been trying to reestablish contact with the Defendant for some time before their recent adventure! The Prosecution postulates that the Defendant chose to stay on Vorton and was the culprit behind severing communications!”

“Objection!” called Elkrandek. “Your Honor, we have no proof that the Defendant chose to remain behind! We could just as easily assume that the F.N.S imposed that loneliness onto him!”

“Then there is only one way to settle this,” declared Edgeworth. “We have yet to hear from the Defendant.”

“Agreed!” replied Elkrandek. “His testimony will close this case once and for all!”

“Then the Defendant will take the Stand,” instructed Legowltor. Richard sat down as X-PO hovered to the Stand. “Your name and occupation, please,” directed Legowltor.

“The Experimental Portal Operator,” introduced X-PO, “better known as X-PO. As my full name suggests, I’m the main operator of the Vorton Gateway.”

“Mr. X-PO, did you actually receive the invitations for social interaction with the F.N.S?” asked Edgeworth.

“I did, but I was too busy finding Shocker Rift to respond to them,” replied X-PO.

“Could you explain that?” asked Elkrandek.

“Happily,” answered X-PO. “Near the end of the Vortech Wars, Shocker Rift fled Vortech’s company when he gathered the Foundation Elements. We split up to cover more areas of search, since After Academy offers more in terms of multiversal travel. I am best suited for monitoring the Gateway. As per our arrangement, they would contact me and report to me if they found anything. Unfortunately, as Richard mentioned, our contact had dried up. I’m still trying to fathom why.”

“Isolation can make a person do many odd things,” mused Edgeworth. “Perhaps…”

“Objection!” called Elkrandek. “Your Honor, the Defendant just left a glaring contradiction!”

“…Your own client?” muttered Legowltor.

“My client had told me,” explained Elkrandek, “that the Gateway is the most advanced form of multiversal travel, not even After Academy can boast anything more.”

“He told us that too!” I interjected.

“But…but he just said that After Academy offers more in terms of multiversal travel!” spluttered Legowltor.

“My point exactly!” replied Elkrandek. “Mr. X-PO, I trust you’re not committing perjury!”

“If I could explain that statement,” answered X-PO hotly, “you’ll find that I did NOT commit perjury!”

“Perhaps you should,” rumbled Legowltor.

“After Academy may have more ways in terms of passage to other universes,” explained X-PO, “but none of those ways are as advanced as the Vorton Gateway. Not even the Virginia can boast the kind of computer the Gateway has. As someone who was, quite literally, bonded to the Gateway for a time, I can easily say that nothing compares to the Gateway.”

“Hold it!” called Elkrandek. “What do you mean by being bonded to the Gateway?”

“After Vortech found me out,” replied X-PO, “I returned, in pieces to Vorton. I still had some control over the pieces, so I managed to attach those pieces to the Gateway seamlessly.”

“Objection!” answered Edgeworth. “Seamlessly? That is NOT what I heard from Megumi! Did the Gateway not collapse the instant the F.N.S and their allies arrived on Vorton?”

“What’s your point with that?” asked X-PO.

“Megumi, kindly explain what you did the instant you arrived,” directed Edgeworth.

“After learning how the prototype Vortex Drivers gave us armor based on certain people,” I explained, “we all got to work in rebuilding the Gateway. However, it was still a bit shaky, and I mean that in the literal sense, because the Keystones were sent to different universes. We got the Shift Keystone first from Elphaba in Oz.”

“I can vouch for that,” replied Elphaba.

“So, in other words, not as stable as you claimed!” answered Elkrandek as he pointed to X-PO.

“Well you can hardly find any other stable means of multiversal travel!” argued X-PO.

“Objection!” replied Elkrandek.

“Now what?!” snarled X-PO.

“Mr. X-PO, were you not the one who suggested to Vortoranii, the Queen of Vorton in its heyday, that giving the plans of the Gateway would make multiversal travel easier?” asked Elkrandek. “Did we not use such a minor Gateway to get here?”

“The point still stands,” countered X-PO, “that Gateway travel is more stable!”

“So why were you not open about things, hm?” quizzed Legowltor.

“Because that’s what cost us Vorton, okay?!” snapped X-PO. Just then, the bailiff entered the Courtroom, glaring daggers at X-PO.

“You lying, cheating, spying, two-faced…!” he snarled at the robot.

“Bailiff, the results, please?” interjected Legowltor.

“I’m afraid Elkrandek was lied to,” sighed the Bailiff. “The crack in X-PO’s shielding only occurred after yesterday’s proceedings.”

“Wh…WHAAAAT?!” squawked Elkrandek.

“Mr. X-PO, you lied to your own lawyer?!” boomed Legowltor. “You made him present forged evidence in my court?! That says a thing or two about your ability to trust other people!”

“No…you need…I mean, I…” X-PO was floundering. “…I…I………”

“…X-PO?” I asked, a little uncomfortable at the silence.

“………rrrrrrrrRRRRRRAAGAAGHAAHGAAHHHH!” X-PO’s roar of anger and subsequent rant still haunts me to this very day. “I trusted Vortoranii to keep Vorton intact and now it’s just three rocks in space with life support! I trusted Vortech to be sensible with the Foundation Elements and he still gathered them! I trusted the F.N.S to keep to the mission and they got distracted by side quests! I trusted Elkrandek to get me out of this mess and he turns on me! This all proves one thing; trust is only going to get you killed in the long run! I was right when I first came online! Everyone and everything is just the means to an end!”

“…The jury will now deliberate on the Defendant’s innocence or guilt,” declared Legowltor. “Unless there are any objections?”

“None, Your Honor,” grumbled Elkrandek, the truth stinging him horribly.

“No objections, Your Honor,” replied Edgeworth. As the 12 Cendeberons floated off to debate their decision, Elkrandek spoke to X-PO.

“You DO have the chance to change your plea,” he advised.

“I did it out of necessity,” X-PO replied obstinately. “The Cendeberons will understand that.”

“I somehow doubt that,” sighed Elkrandek.

Tags court, kamen rider ichigo, megumi hishikawa, richard saunders, trial, wyldstyle, x-po

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Movie Chapters

Chapter 19

“I…I…” stammered X-PO.

“X-PO, is any of that true?” I asked. X-PO’s arms drooped as he gave up trying to hide it.

“Yes, it’s all true, I fudged the results,” he confirmed. I swear, I’ve never heard the F.N.S get so angry. They heaped the verbal abuse and threats of scrapping onto X-PO.

“URUSEI, MINNA!” (Everyone, shut up!) I shouted. I turned to X-PO, feeling rather hot from my currently sour mood. “Experimental Portal Operator, you owe us an explanation!” I demanded.

“…Guys, when was the last time we came together?” asked X-PO.

“When we just came back and I apologized to everyone for hiding my…!” I replied.

“No, I mean, before this adventure,” corrected X-PO. “When was the last time the F.N.S came here?”

“I wanna say for various dimensional excursions,” I mused.

“When we said our goodbyes after the Vortech Wars,” answered X-PO. “We were all in this room to say our goodbyes to our allies. Oh, sure, like you said, we met when we discussed the use of the Gateway for travelling to other worlds and seeing what happens, but, for some of us, we never used it! For some of us, we weren’t going to get an adventure! I…I wanted an adventure where people could live out history.”

“The Vortech Wars weren’t a fun time for us, even during the beginning!” snapped Emmanuel.

“Our loved ones were kidnapped!” continued Emily.

“We were almost killed MULTIPLE times!” snarled Tanisha.

“Some of us DID die!” interjected Rusty. Elphaba nodded.

“Some of us went on a crazy side quest that almost got everyone killed!” roared Irina.

“Gandalf, Batman, Wyldstyle, and I,” supplied Hongo, “felt lied to, cheated on, and disrespected when Megumi didn’t tell us about Vortech!”

“What in the name of all nine circles of Hell made you want ANY of that back?!” growled Richard.

“What I wanted was for you guys to be happy!” shouted X-PO. “I want you to be happy for me! I want me to be happy for you! I want us to come together and riff on bad movies! Celebrate a birthday! Be normal people! I want us to come together and feel like a family and not a bunch of war veterans! I’m not blind to what happened, but sometimes, I felt like the only thing keeping us as friends! I want that feeling back! I want things back the way they were!”

“No, that doesn’t justify a DAMN thing!” snarled Alesandro. “You gathered us here with a lie from long ago! You decided to play the long game with us and waited for some grand adventure! We’ve sent you numerous invitations for those things you mentioned. If you REALLY wanted to continue feeling that, then you would have accepted them! But, no! That wasn’t enough for you! You wanted to relive the glory days with the lies, the threats, the people getting angry with each other, things that some of us were trying to get away from! You’re only concerned with what YOU want! To be frank, I see no difference between you and what Death lectured about Vortech in her classes!”

“Still waiting on that essay on Skrandepede from you,” whispered Death.

“Dude, shut up,” grunted War.

“That’s…that’s not fair at all!” argued X-PO.

“I think what Alesandro said was VERY fair!” I hissed.

“I was NEVER going to put you in any danger!” insisted X-PO. “The adventure I had planned was just some haunted house malarkey! I would tell you guys of the supposed ‘Danger’ and you guys would solve it, and we’d have a big laugh! I never wanted you guys to be on Shocker Rift’s radar!”

“Then why did you hack into the Tarlaxian scout ship missions?” demanded Scorpainia. X-PO sighed.

“Technarain gave me a way into it,” he finally revealed.

“Oh, throw me into the warp core, why don’t you?!” snarled Technarain.

“Whoa! Hold on!” called Turretorg. “Technarain, you let him in?!”

“I couldn’t have the missions be unobserved,” replied Technarain.

“Is there some secret-keeping epidemic going on?!” shouted Scorpainia. I was about to say something when a certain… “vworping” noise, as Michael puts it, announced the TARDIS’ arrival. The Doctor, Sougo, Woz in his civilian form, and an old friend we made near the end of the Vortech Wars came out.

“Sandra Noman!” I cheered. “Long time, no see! What brings you to our side of reality?”

“The Doctor wanted me to confirm a finding she made,” explained Sandra. I then noticed the Doctor was wearing 3-D glasses.

“…Okay, what’s with the…?” I asked.

“Doctor, did you find Void Stuff?” asked Michael.

“I did! The Rose Clone is saturated with the stuff!” replied the Doctor. “During my more violent regenerations, I damaged the TARDIS, including its memory banks. I felt like I had seen the energy particles the Rose Clone has but couldn’t cross-check it…until I remembered Sandra Noman!”

“She visited the little house I made for myself,” continued Sandra, “and showed me what she found. I confirmed it was Void Stuff. The Rift usually acts as a passageway to other universes, but they usually skirt the edge of the Void. As such, you can’t get Void Stuff from the Rift. Believe it or not, the Rift is the long way around.”

“And the Void’s the shortcut?” I asked.

“Bingo,” confirmed Sandra. “However, anyone with sense would avoid the Void as it runs the risk of killing you. There ARE a few instances of people living in and travelling through the Void, I believe I’m right in naming the Pete’s World Cybermen and the Cult of Skaro., but they’re really rare.”

“So, it looks like the Rose Clone DID travel through the Void before ending up in the Rift,” answered the Doctor.

“But, Doctor, couldn’t it be Rose herself?” asked Michael.

“I checked,” replied the Doctor. “Rose is still with the Meta-Crisis me in Pete’s World.”

“So where did she come from?!” I snapped, finally getting annoyed with the mystery.

“That’s what we’re about to find out!” cheered the Doctor. “Brigadier, do you mind putting this into the Gateway computer?” She handed the Brigadier a flash drive.

“Very good, Doctor,” replied the Brigadier. He inserted the flash drive into the Gateway. The Doctor then keyed in a command.

“With the Void Stuff,” she explained, “we can find the temporal and universal origin of our guest. Rusty, mind getting her so she can figure out her origins?” Rusty grinned before replying.

“I obey!” she answered in her old Dalek tone. The Doctor flinched as Rusty headed off.

“I don’t think everything Dalek was purged when she came back,” she grumbled.

“So, Sougo-san, Woz-san,” I interjected, “what brings you here?”

“We ended up in your universe’s future and met your future self,” explained Sougo. “She handed me this before getting the Doctor involved.” He pulled out a watch similar to the one he used to transform into Zi-O but had a vortex on top and the year 2017 on it, the year the Vortech Wars started.

“I take it that’s the Royal Ridewatch?” I asked.

“Indeed, it is,” replied Woz. “I have a speech prepared for when Waga Maō uses it.”

“…I don’t…feel any different,” I muttered.

“Your future said that, because you went to different universes,” explained Woz, “the Ridewatch won’t take your powers.”

“You understood that?!” yelped Sougo. “I couldn’t make head or tails of it!”

“Oh…Rassilon!” swore the Doctor. A look of horror was clear on her face.

“Doctor, what’s wrong?” I asked.

“I never realized…I mean, I thought it destroyed itself!” whispered the Doctor.

“What destroyed itself?” asked Michael.

“The Rose Clone…” answered the Doctor. “I’ve seen it before!”

“Where?!” quizzed Michael. She turned grimly after Rusty.

“She’s in danger!” she declared.

I looked in various rooms to find the Rose Clone. “Miss?” I called. “Oh, Miss?” I found her in the Observation Deck. “Miss! There you are!”

“Traitor!” she hissed, her back turned to me.

“…Pardon?” I asked.

“You betrayed us!” replied the Rose Clone.

“Who are you talking about?” I inquired. “Are you okay?”

“I am most certainly NOT okay!” snarled the Rose Clone. “I remember everything now!”

“What do you remember?” I quizzed. The Rose Clone then started laughing.

“I was fixed!” she giggled. “It fixed me! …But I came out wrong! Don’t you understand! I’M ALL WRONG NOW!” She then punched me in the gut, grabbed the gunstick in my left forearm, and ripped it out, leveling it at me!

“Give that back!” I shouted. “That’s dangerous!”

“I tried to smash the mirrors around here,” snarled the Rose Clone as she advanced on me, “but I still keep stinking and sweating and flooding myself with hormones! I hate this shape! Am I now doomed to look like the one who contaminated me?! One…just one! One directive! The primary order! Destroy and conquer! I had that left and now I am stuck looking like Rose Tyler! I was the last…but trust the Time-Lords and Daleks to make liars of us all! No one really died in the Time War, did they?! You know about that! You were made after me!” A grave suspicion formed in my mind.

“What…manner of creature are you?!” I gasped. As she advanced, I noticed the shadow she was casting morphed and changed, looking very similar to what I traveled in. She spoke, causing a memory to stir.

“My Jailer, Van Statten, called me Metaltron!”

“Rubbish!” called Michael when we heard that the Rose Clone was the former last of the Daleks. The ones heading to the Observation Deck were me, the Doctor, Sougo, Michael, Woz, and Batman.

“I hope you’re right; I really do!” replied the Doctor, “but the spatio-temporal origin came from my universe! 2012, the GeoComTex Vault, near Salt Lake City, the start of Barack Obama’s 2^nd term as President of the United States! It would explain why she would constantly view that event when she got the chance!”

“Doctor, that’s absurd!” insisted Michael. “That Dalek killed itself when it discovered that Rose passed on more than her DNA. It exploded, remember?”

“It may have activated a hastily thrown together spatial-temporal shift,” argued the Doctor.

“What is going on?!” interjected Sougo.

“In 2012, just after the Last Great Time War between the Doctor’s people and a race called the Daleks,” explained Michael, “the Doctor locked onto a distress signal. It turned out the supposed Last of the Daleks sent it and it brought them into contact. The Doctor was in a period of extreme self-loathing because she thought she killed everyone. Seeing the Dalek sparked a rage in her, him actually, and became determined to make the Daleks extinct.”

“So, how did she kill it back then?” asked Woz.

“I didn’t,” answered the Doctor.

“What?” quizzed Woz.

“Like Michael said, the Dalek absorbed some of Rose’s genetic material to regenerate itself,” explained the Doctor, “but it absorbed more than that. It absorbed a bit of humanity from her, making itself believe it was contaminated. It couldn’t live like that, so it killed itself.”

“Doctor, it exploded!” insisted Michael. He then activated his comms. “Rusty, could you…”

“Bring her to me!” barked a voice. It sounded like the Rose Clone, but hatred laced the voice.

“…Bring who to you?” I asked, finally contributing.

“The Oncoming Storm!” came the reply. “Bring her to me!”

“We can talk about…” Batman offered.

“There will be no talking!” roared the Rose Clone. “Ka Faraq Gatri is behind this, I know it! The traitor to the Daleks is my prisoner! If the Predator is not within my sight, I will exterminate her! NOW BRING! THE DOCTOR! TO ME!” That word cinched it. Only a Dalek would threaten extermination. We hurried along.

“Sougo, Woz,” I suggested, “better transform.”

“Good idea,” replied Sougo. He brought out his Ziku Driver as Woz got his belt, the BeyonDriver, a black belt with a screen on the front and a green handle with a slot in it for the transformation trinket. Speaking of, the two men got their respective Ridewatch, or Miridewatch, in Woz’s case, while Michael and I got our i.d tags out. Sougo turned the Ridewatch’s face until it formed his helmet and pressed the button.

“Zi-O!” it announced. Woz just pressed the button on his Miridewatch.

“Woz!” it called. The two then inserted their respective trinkets into the slots on their belts.

“Action!” cheered the BeyonDriver as the Miridewatch opened. It then started playing snappy techno music while Sougo pressed the button on top and tilted the Driver.

“Henshin!” we all called. Woz pushed the handle with the Miridewatch to the BeyonDriver’s side, making it project his Rider form’s helmet onto the screen.

“Touei!” (Projecting!) it called. “Future Time! Sugoi! Jidai! Mirai! (Amazing! Time! Future!) Kamen Rider Woz! WOZ!!” Woz then became Kamen Rider Woz. Zi-O spun his Driver until it stopped and rang the bell.

“Rider Time!” it announced. “Kamen Rider Zi-O!” His suit formed as did mine and Michael’s. We arrived outside the Observation Deck. The Doctor led us through as she leveled her Sonic Screwdriver at the Rose Clone. The Rose Clone had taken Rusty’s gunstick out of the socket in her left forearm and was holding it at her while her hand was at the back of Rusty’s neck. She looked extremely angry.

“Hello again, Metaltron,” greeted the Doctor coldly.

“Don’t call me that!” snapped the Rose Clone. “That was what Van Statten did! You, on the other hand, you did THIS to me, didn’t you?! You made me into a clone of your pink and yellow companion!”

“I didn’t do anything, Metaltron,” replied the Doctor. “I thought you chose death.”

“How?!” wailed the newly dubbed Metaltron. “HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!”

“Now that I have more data surrounding this, I have a theory,” answered the Doctor. “Your casing must not have been fully repaired to restore ALL functions. It somehow mixed the self-destruct mechanism with the emergency temporal shift programs. It destroyed your casing and a good chunk of you. It sent you through the Void until you somehow happened upon a path to the Rift and took it. The energies must have restored you into looking like Rose, thinking that the human DNA you absorbed was the default. Somehow, your mind was carried along for the ride.” Metaltron’s face contorted into further anger.

“This is all YOUR fault!” she accused. “I was ready to embrace oblivion, but YOU had to interfere! You’ve always been the one to hold the Daleks back, you AND the Time Lords! And now, since our coming back, you infected this one,” she indicated her hostage, “with the notion of Daleks NOT being supreme! You’ve destroyed her pure soul with the idea that life needs diversity to have any value! You…!”

“Let her go, Metaltron!” interrupted the Doctor.

“STOP CALLING ME THAT!” roared Metaltron. “DALEKS HAVE NO NEED OF NAMES! YOU ARE NOT WORTHY OF SPEAKING THE WORD OF DALEK! ALL INFERIOR CREATURES SHOULD BE PROSTRATING THEMSELVES BEFORE US! YOU SHOULD BE BEGGING ME FOR YOUR LIFE! INSTEAD, I WILL FINALLY COMPLETE THE DALEKS’ GOAL OF EXTERMINATING YOU AND EVERYONE YOU EVER…!” Rusty ran her elbow into Metaltron’s gut and retrieved her gunstick, inserting it back into the slot. We got ready for a fight as Metaltron charged at us, her fists swinging wildly. She was acting on blind rage, so there was no form to her movements. We were just about to overpower her when someone pushed us aside and got Metaltron free. It was Caan! “RELEASE ME, MONSTER!” screamed Metaltron. “I MAY BE IN AN IMPURE STATE, BUT YOU ARE NOT FIT TO…!” She was interrupted as Caan pressed his thumb and pointer finger to her temples and seemed to induce something painful for two seconds. She gasped once the treatment ended. “…I thought you were a Time War myth!” she breathed.

“No, we were tasked with the survival of the Dalek species,” replied Caan. “Sec tried to change us but we stopped that nonsense real quick. Now, like you, I exist in a corrupted form. It DOES have its uses, though.”

“What were you doing outside of After Academy?!” I demanded.

“I needed to look something up,” explained Caan, “specifically, the creation of Gaia Memories and Ridewatches. I was denied this by Alesandro. I was about ready to destroy the school then and there, but then I realized there was another library, the Gaia Library. I completed my research there and recreated the Dalek Memory.” He revealed the Memory from his coat and pressed the button.

“DALEK!” it announced.

“So, what, you intend to recreate the Dalek Dopant through Metaltron?” I snarled.

“No, she doesn’t have the necessary connection to safely access that power,” answered Caan. “However, an Another Ridewatch doesn’t need that kind of equipment.” He pulled out a purple Ridewatch with a monstrous version of my helmet on it and pressed the button.

“Royal!” it called in a distorted voice. Caan then jammed the Ridewatch into Metaltron’s stomach, making her gasp in pain before a dark cloud surrounded her. “Royal!” repeated the voice as Metaltron turned into a monstrous version of me! Where the mouth guard was, two mouths rested there, a demonic sawblade replaced the wheel of my Vortex Driver, she had a tattered cape and skirt, the crown was rusty looking, and the word Royal was on her left arm while the year 2017 was on her right.

“Behold, Another Royal,” chuckled Caan. Another Royal then struck the same ready pose I usually do. We both attacked each other, matching one another blow for blow!

“Waga Maō,” suggested Woz, “I believe now’s a good time to test out the new Ridewatch.”

“Good idea!” praised Zi-O. He then rotated the Royal Ridewatch until it formed my face and pressed the button.

“Royal!” it called. He then put it into the left slot and pressed the button on the belt, tilting it. He spun the belt until it stopped and rang the bell.

“Rider Time!” it called. “Kamen Rider Zi-O! Armor Time!” Armor evoking me then appeared and attached itself to Zi-O while the Rider Katakana was replaced with “Royal” (ロイヤル). “Final Attack! Royal!” sang the Ridewatch. Woz gave a little giggle.

“What are you laughing about?” asked Zi-O. Another Royal and I stifled a giggle too. “You too?!” protested Zi-O. “Stop that! Look, Woz, would you just rejoice already?”

“Very well, Waga Maō,” chuckled Woz before he cleared his throat and began. “Iwae! Zen Rider no chikara o uketsugi, jikū o koe kako to mirai o shiroshimesu toki no ōja. Sono na mo Kamen Rider Zi-O: Royal Armor! (Rejoice! The one to inherit all Rider powers, the time king who will rule over the past and the future. And his name is Kamen Rider Zi-O: Royal Armor!) …This is the day where we find out you look good in a skirt, Waga Maō!” We couldn’t hold back any longer. Zi-O looked down to see that, below the Ziku Driver, he was wearing my skirt! We all laughed at him.

“It’s not a skirt, it’s a kilt!” argued Zi-O.

“Take it from me, THAT’S a skirt!” I laughed.

“Oh, get out of the way!” snapped Zi-O as he shoved me aside. I overlooked his rudeness just this once as he started fighting Another Royal. She summoned a demonic looking version of my weapon. I joined in and we continued the fight. Another Royal was keeping us at bay.

“Okay, we need to finish this quickly,” I declared. I took out my i.d. tag and inserted it into my blade. Zi-O pressed the buttons on the two Ridewatches.

“Finish Time! Royal!” called the belt. He spun the belt, making it ring the bell. “Steel Time Break!”

“Final Attack!” announced my sword.

“RIDER ROYAL SLASH!” I shouted as I swung the blade sideways. Zi-O leapt into the air and performed a Rider Kick. The attacks hit Another Royal and forced her to return to being Metaltron. The Another Ridewatch exploded, rendering it useless.

“Oh well,” sighed Caan as he picked up the unconscious Metaltron. “Best make another Gaia Memory using Rider.” He summoned a portal. “We WILL meet again when Vortech returns,” he warned.

“What are you talking about?!” I yelped. “The Rift Loop collapsed! Vortech’s dead!”

“Not what I see,” remarked Caan. “I see you fighting Vortech again. You, a red robot, and a black kitsune. Farewell. Try to survive tomorrow.” He went through the portal.

“COME BACK!” I demanded. Too late. The portal closed. I sighed in frustration and powered down. I REALLY didn’t want to be chasing after someone new. Still, at least the Sources were safe.

Tags batman, caan, gandalf, kamen rider, kamen rider ichigo, kamen rider zi-o, megumi hishikawa, metaltron, rusty the dalek, the doctor, wyldstyle

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Movie Chapters

Chapter 11

Peach and I followed Scorpainia and entered the warehouse. I got my Vortex Driver out, ready to transform, but a fireball knocked it out of my hands. I ran after it but another fireball just blocked the way and pushed us back. “You think you’ve won,” taunted Heather’s voice. “You think you have a chance, but the truth is, you’ve already lost. You have no sense of permanence. No means of remembering the glories of the past. Purity, on the other hand, purity is strong. Purity is perfection! Purity reminds us of the past! Diversity destroys what existed and was strong. In the end, those that cling to diversity are cowards!” I then realized that the voice was behind me. I whirled around only for Heather to wrap her fingers around my neck and toss me into boxes. Peach rushed forward with a cast-iron pan at the ready. Heather slammed her fist into Peach’s gut and threw her aside. Scorpainia swung her sword at her but Heather side-stepped and drove her foot into the exposed flesh of Scorpainia’s knee joint. One of the disadvantages of an exoskeleton, your joints are so easily exposed. Scorpainia was down but Peach and I got back up. I swung a punch but Heather side-stepped and my punch hit Peach’s face.

“Oh god! I’m sorry!” I apologized. Heather then grabbed my braid and flung me aside. Damn dress! I can’t move as effectively! Heather then drove her knee into Peach’s jaw, then pressed her fingers to her ear.

“Install the parts and destroy the enemy ship,” she ordered. “I’ll finish down here and kill Emily.” She then approached me. “Did you hear that?” she chuckled. “Everything you love will burn!”

“Oh, Heather, for all your technical genius,” I taunted, “you’re such an idiot and a loser!”

“Loser?!” snapped Heather as she slapped me silly. “You idiots are all at my feet and I’m not even in my Rider persona! What makes you think I’ve lost?!”

“Those baubles around Scorpainia’s waist aren’t a belt!” I replied. Heather turned to her and was jabbed in her side by Scorpainia’s stinger! She shoved her aside and fled, the pain of the venom flooding her nerves. I decided now was a good time to warn the ship. “Guys, the enemy’s about to bombard the Virginia!” I warned.

“Already in space!” reported Mikhail. “We have a plan and have the Source!”

“Good, act on the plan!” I ordered. “I’ve gotta keep Heather down here!”

“Understood!” replied Mikhail. The call ended.

“You know, there are moments where I don’t know why I’m even fighting!” grumbled Scorpainia as she massaged her knee joint. “I mean, that venom’s not lethal to humans! Maybe I’m just staving off the inevitable! No, wait, I got it! I’m waiting for the next reboot since this whole thing is like a comic book!” She then laughed for a while, stopping only to reflect. “I don’t know,” she sighed, “maybe I’m finally starting to hate my life.”

“…Do you?” asked Peach.

“…You know what, I don’t,” replied Scorpainia. “I still love my life. I love seeing what comes next. I love being around you guys. I love wandering the multiverse with you and seeing new universes. I wouldn’t be satisfied until I explored as much of the unexplored as I could and…” Her eyes then went wide. “That’s why I gotta live,” she breathed. “I’m an explorer! I like discovering the good and the bad! That would be the only thing that would allow me to stave off boredom if I became immortal! That’s why I need to live!”

“A good answer!” I praised.

“You two!” laughed Peach. “The way you go on!”

“What about it?” asked Scorpainia.

“You act like there’s nothing separating the two of you!” replied Peach. “You guys act like old friends instead of a Queen and foreign dignitary!”

“…We ARE friends,” answered Scorpainia. “Peach, is that what’s holding you back?”

“Titles mean nothing in terms of friendship,” I supplied. “We ARE friends. You don’t need to be the same class as others to be friends.” Peach then got the look of someone who had an epiphany.

“…I’ve been so isolated from my friends because of the class difference between us when I could have just ignored our classes,” she mumbled. She then got a look of resolve. “Time to really defend the kingdom!” Just then, the crews of both ships appeared with the Tarlaxians restrained.

“Scorpainia! The Eye! Now!” called Pestilence.

“Coming up!” confirmed Scorpainia. She approached the Tarlaxians as the jewel in the center of her armor pulsed with a soft light. “Look,” she commanded. The Tarlaxians looked and got a good view, still struggling against their bonds. Their struggles lessened until they stopped as the jewel pulsed. Soon, its pulsing stopped and the Tarlaxians shook their heads, getting a good look at Scorpainia. “Spidarachnimpa, my sister, how are you feeling?” asked Scorpainia.

“Crappy,” muttered Spidarachnimpa. “Where are we?”

“The Source universe the Council assigned to you without my knowledge,” explained Scorpainia.

“…Did you miss the memo or something?” asked Escargripam.

“They didn’t even draft one,” I replied.

“Us! The Queen! Our allies! Who else did they not tell and what’s that down my pants?!” Octorpindar griped. “Was it placed there when I slept?!”

“You were dead, actually,” explained Pestilence. “We used a green mushroom to bring you back to life.”

“A 1-Up mushroom,” Peach and I said together.

“…So…it’s bowel evacuation,” gulped Octorpindar. “I don’t know if that’s better or worse.”

“Don’t worry!” called Mikhail. “In anticipation of that, I have fashioned you some new pants while you were in the brig!” The new pants were a shade of pink that clashed horribly with Octorpindar’s purple skin.

“…At least I maintain a modicum of dignity,” mumbled Octorpindar. Just then, we heard a roar. “What was that?!” yelped Octorpindar.

“Get your swords and prepare for battle!” ordered Scorpainia.

“What’s going on?!” squeaked Escargripam.

“We’re in another universe that has items that give people powers,” replied Scorpainia, “trapped in a warehouse with a racist b***h that could give the Daleks a run for their money in terms of hatred, while armed with big swords and belts that turn people into superheroes.”

“…And you’re still keeping the multiversal exploration program well-funded?” asked Spidarachnimpa.

“Best use of tax money,” replied Scorpainia. “Octorpindar, wipe your ass and get ready!” As Octorpindar headed off to obey, Spidarachnimpa held up a device, a Chronicle Driver, to our amazement.

“Who needs extra protection?” she called.

“…Peach, wanna try it out?” I offered.

“Me?” yelped Peach.

“Like I said, you’re stronger than you think,” I answered. I held the belt closer to her. Peach seemed to consider…then took the belt and put it on.

“Chronicle Driver!” announced the belt after the strap formed.

“Just follow Liam on the transformation sequence,” I directed. “Speaking of, let’s do it! Hongo, if you please?” We all lined up and faced the door. I.d. tags and Armor Auto-bios came out and poses were struck.

“Rider…!” called Hongo.

“Henshin!” we all shouted.

“Open! Turn! Imagine!” cheered Liam’s belt. “The Shield of Highland!” Liam’s Rider form evoked traditional Highland dress, complete with kilt and sporran. His weapon was a shield with a gatling gun near his hand.

“Open! Turn! Imagine!” announced Peach’s belt. “The Scepter of Crown!” Peach looked like an old knight with a skirt. Her weapon was a long scepter. The door then disappeared in a ball of fire, revealing Heather, looking ready to kill.

“Rider forms, then,” she hissed. “Very well. Henshin.” She pulled the horns down, making the mouth and eyes open and spew fire. It curled around her and she vanished in the blaze until she waved it off in her Rider form. Mikhail started us off.

“Kamen Rider Gallop! My riding skills are unmatched!”

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

“Kamen Rider Pestilence! You shall be infected with losing!”

“Kamen Rider Herald G! I bring news of your defeat!”

“Kamen Rider Touché! En Garde, thing of evil!”

“Kamen Rider Highland!” called Liam. “It shall be a fine day for winning!”

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

“I am Scorpainia, the exploring Queen!”

“I’m R9-D7! My radical voice will slice through you, dude!”

“Kamen Rider Crown!” announced Peach. “My strength will upend your tyranny!”

“If we’re doing catchphrases, then here’s mine!” snarled Heather. “Kamen Rider Diablo! I shall scatter your ashes to the winds!”

“Yeah, f**k you too!” countered Scorpainia.

“ATTACK!” I shouted. We all charged at Heather, Diablo, and were knocked down as she slammed her fist to the floor, causing a massive ring of fire to surround her. She then drew her hand slowly upwards and caused the flames to be drawn to her hand until it formed a gratuitously-sized sword. The blade was three times as thick and twice as long as a broadsword, thus requiring a main handle and a handle on the side, just beneath the blade. She managed to make a huge arc of fire with her swing. Scorpainia and Peach, Crown, were knocked off their feet. Crown then converted her scepter into a double-barreled gun and fired. The shot pushed Diablo back a bit. She recovered quickly and targeted Peach. She ran at her, but met with Liam, Highland, shield-bashing her, then he revealed the gatling gun and fired! Diablo took some hits, then rotated the side handle 90⁰ to her right and moved the main handle 45⁰ down. She then pointed the blade in its new configuration at Highland!

“Och heel!” he yelped as he raised his shield. A good move. Energy gathered at the blade’s tip. She then pressed a button on the main handle and fired a torrent of flames. Highland was knocked back a ways, thankfully, the shield took the brunt of it.

“This is getting us nowhere!” hissed Scorpainia. She then recalled something about Ichigō. “Say, Ichigō,” she called, “have you ever used your Keystone after the Vortech Wars?”

“Not really, why?” asked Ichigō.

“Did one ever shrink to get inside a belt?” inquired Scorpainia.

“…No, but I someone who can,” replied Ichigō, understanding the plan. “Highland! Over here!” As the rest of us continued fighting Diablo, Ichigō explained the plan to Highland, who seemed to have a mischievous expression.

“Do it!” he called.

“Scale Keystone, activate!” announced Ichigō. “Lessen scale of Highland!” Highland shrank down as Ichigō picked him up and flung him towards Diablo. He managed to scurry inside the belt, unbeknownst to her, while we continued fighting. Diablo grabbed Hunt and hoisted her into the air.

“You should remember your place!” she hissed.

“My place is alongside my friends!” snarled Hunt, not bothering to hide her, to put it mildly, irritation of that phrase being thrown at people of her skin tone. She converted her blade into rifle mode and fired at Diablo’s face. Diablo dropped her and covered her face, leaving her open for Hunt tripping her up. Diablo got up and I noticed her speed was a little slower. Highland then came out of the belt.

“Okay, nae gonnae thaur again!” he squeaked. “Ichigō! Now!”

“Normalize scale of Highland!” called Ichigō. Diablo swung a punch at me but I managed to catch it, not something I’d normally do. Diablo noticed this.

“What the?!” she growled. “What’s going on?!” I drove my knee into her stomach, winding her before she could block it. “What’s wrong?! Why’s my reaction time so s**t?!”

“That’s my doing!” laughed Highland when he returned to normal size. “The Rider’s undersuit acts as a neural interface between the person and the armor! The belt regulates it so the reaction time is the same as if the person’s wearing nothing at all! Mess with that function and the armor slows you down!” At that point, Diablo was struggling to stand. “NOW!” called Highland. We Vortex Riders spun the wheel while Highland and Crown pressed the button on their buckles. Herald G flipped a switch near her buckle while Pestilence opened and closed the buckle again.

“Final attack!” called the Vortex Drivers.

“Final Pen Stroke!” announced the Chronicle Drivers.

“Final Message!” shouted Herald G’s belt.

“Final Plague!” rasped Pestilence’s belt. We all leapt into the air.

“RIDER KICK!”

“RIDER GALLOP KICK!”

“RIDER HUNT KICK!”

“RIDER TOUCHÉ KICK!”

“RIDER HIGHLAND KICK!”

“RIDER CROWN KICK!”

“RIDER HERALD G KICK!”

“RIDER PESTILENCE KICK!” We sailed through the air with our feet outstretched and kicked so hard, she was knocked back at least 5 yards across the warehouse. Her armor cracked in places and fell, revealing Heather in pain.

“…So…did that…?” asked Peach. Heather then got up and made an effort to walk towards me while clutching her side.

“MUST…KILL…YOU…EMILY! …HATE…YOU!” she strained. I then cancelled my transformation and stormed up to her.

“You just don’t know when to stop, do you?!” I snarled. “You know, earlier, you boasted how purity will win! How we need to return to the glory days in order to remember them! How those who cling to diversity are cowards! That’s the thing, though! Purity does nothing but regresses us! It makes us repeat the mistakes of the past! We’re forever stuck in a moment in time! Life is all about making new glory days! I intend to make them happen!” At that, I was near enough that I swung a punch right into Heather’s exposed face! The punch was so hard, the rest of her armor fell apart as she was sent spinning! I then turned as she exploded, her body disappearing into the flames. “…Man, that felt good!” I sighed.

——————————————————————————————–

We were back on the Virginia. Unfortunately, the Tarlaxian crew lost their ship during the second space battle, so we offered them a lift to Vorton which they accepted. Peach joined us and took up the second communications console on the lower level while Octorpindar took the weapons console on the upper level to help Hongo. “Course laid in,” announced Tanisha.

“Engage,” I directed. This time, the Virginia entered the rift without lurching. “Contact Vorton and tell them we’re on our way back. Mission accomplished. ETA, three hours,” I ordered.

“Message sent,” reported Mikhail.

“Emily, Vorton replied with a rather weird story,” called Peach. She then relayed how many Sources we have in our possession, which Tarlaxians made it back, who else among the new guys knows about what we didn’t tell them, and the whole thing about the clone of one of the Doctor’s companions. We arrived without incident. After the welcome back, I met with Megumi, the Doctor, and Rusty to discuss the situation with the Rose clone.

“Where IS the photocopy?” I asked.

“Michael took her to After Academy for some food and to try a theory she came up with,” replied Megumi. “Maybe some casual conversation in a new environment will jog her memory. If not, the theory will be plan B.”

“I take it there’s been no luck in finding her memory?” I sighed.

“Nothing,” confirmed the Doctor. “Chell’s just as stumped and I asked every race I know of that uses cloning, even the Sontarans. The Sontaran Fleet Marshal I spoke with asked if she came from batch Z/772-9 and I have no idea why he’d mention that defective batch.”

“What about the Daleks?” asked Rusty.

“Believe it or not, I spoke with Davros himself,” replied the Doctor. “His exact words were ‘Only my children need cloning technology to survive. Why do you think I ordered the Enemy Duplication Program to be shut down?’ before going on a rant about his children’s superiority that I hung up on.”

“I wouldn’t toss out that idea too quickly,” advised Rusty, “not with our history of making duplicates of your companions.”

“…Pardon?” asked the Doctor.

“You know, the Kar-Charrat incident?” quizzed Rusty.

“…There was an incident involving the library on Kar-Charrat?” inquired the Doctor.

“Yes, we attempted to take it,” answered Rusty.

“Why would you guys want a library?” I asked.

“To make one of us a mobile data-store,” explained Rusty. “The library held the entire knowledge of the universe.”

“What does that have to do with the Daleks duplicating one of my companions?” quizzed the Doctor.

“Doctor, don’t you remember?” asked Rusty. “We needed a time-sensitive person to enter the facility and used a duplicate of your companion at the time, Ace. It used the DNA tag that the original Ace was implanted with so she could come and go as she pleased. It was equipped with voice modulation so it could lower the defense grid and we swarmed the place, killed most everyone on the staff, and tried to take the data using you as a safety buffer in case the test subject went insane. You discovered that the staff was using the native Kar-Charratans as data storage within the library’s wet-works facility and managed to free them while foiling our plans again.”

“You never…WHAT?!” protested the Doctor.

“Has your recent regeneration scattered your brain cells?!” yelped Rusty. “Doctor, we made a duplicate of one of your companions!”

“No, you didn’t!” argued the Doctor.

“I can prove it!” insisted Rusty. “In Michael’s universe, it’s an audio drama called The Genocide Machine! Computer, play The Genocide Machine!” The audio drama was about two hours and the Doctor was surprised at what happened during her seventh incarnation.

“I don’t remember this at all!” she finally replied when we finished.

“How could you forget this?!” I protested. “Ace was cloned!”

“That’s the thing!” argued the Doctor. “Like I apparently said back then, Dalek duplicates are cold! That’s because of their mechanical origin! The clone I scanned was totally biological!”

“Another mystery!” groaned Megumi. “What now?!”

——————————————————————————————–

“Okay, the iteration we’re contacting,” explained the Rose clone after plan A failed, “met Rose before. It’s not very logically-minded, thinking itself a god, but it knows some things and masterminded a lot of stuff the Doctor encountered, including the Cult of Skaro.”

“What makes you think it’s involved?” I asked.

“I’m grasping at straws here,” sighed the Rose clone as she tinkered with the machinery. I will say, her technical skill is very commendable. “I guess what I’m trying to prove through this whole exercise is that I’m NOT her.”

“Seems like this whole thing is a little dodgy!” I observed.

“It is,” confirmed the Rose clone. “That’s why only you know about it. Ready?”

“I guess,” I muttered.

“Then throw the switch when I tell you,” directed the Rose clone. She keyed in a command and her console turned green. “Now!” she commanded. I threw the switch and a hologram of a Kaled mutant with an enlarged brain appeared.

“Not the full resurrection a god like me deserves,” it boomed, confirming its status as the Dalek Emperor during the Ninth Doctor’s last episode, “but it will serve to…” it caught sight of the Rose clone. “YOU!” it shouted.

“No, I’m not the Bad Wolf,” replied the Rose clone.

“I know that!” dismissed the Emperor.

“…You do?” I asked.

“Of course, I remember from Pathweb in the…” replied the Emperor before it trailed off. “…Ah! You don’t remember! I can see it in your eyes!”

“What do you see?” asked the Rose clone.

“The truth,” answered the Emperor. “You don’t know it, but your soul does! It’s screaming to be remembered! I can see it!”

“What is my soul screaming for?!” demanded the Rose clone.

“Not yet!” chuckled the Emperor. “It’s too entertaining to reveal it right now! You failed once and will fail unless you remember your origins!”

“Was she some messed-up experiment your Time Controllers made to weaken the Doctor if you lost the Last Great Time War?!” I snapped.

“No, but it would have been a perfect contingency plan!” laughed the Emperor.

“Then who?!” shouted the Rose clone, desperate for answers. “Who created a clone of Rose Tyler?!”

“…Clone?” quizzed the Emperor. “What clone? You are not her clone!” The image then faded, leaving us with more questions than answers.

——————————————————————————————–

I stood outside After Academy, just looking at the clubhouse in the distance. A feeling welled within me, a feeling of betrayal. “…Well?” I asked myself. “Do you want to stay?” Just then, something approached me. It was a person wrapped in chains and rags!

“Help!” the person begged. “Please!”

“Who are you?” I asked.

“I was…Carl,” replied the person. “When I was alive, I treated mankind like nothing.”

“When you were…you’re a ghost?!” I yelped.

“Yes,” answered Carl. “I had chosen to move on, unlike those that study in this school. I was deemed not evil enough for Hell, but not good enough for Purgatory or Heaven! Such…such restless pain!”

“I…I’m sorry,” I sympathized.

“Please! Help me! Find a way to help me repent and move on! Help me!” Carl then faded, leaving me stunned.

Tags emily saunders, kamen rider, kamen rider ichigo, new rider, pestilence, princess peach, scorpainia

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Movie Chapters

Chapter 10

I must say, the mushrooms in this universe taste HORRIBLE! We had to eat one each to recover from the crash. “Mario,” I mumbled, “how do you bear it?”

“I’ve-a eaten them for years,” replied Mario. “You get-a used to it.”

“I guess,” I muttered as I finished mine off.

“And that’s-a all the bruises gone,” reported Mario as he took off his head mirror. “Everyone else is-a waiting for-a you.”

“Where did you get your medical degree?” I asked.

“Mushroom University,” answered Mario. “Best educational institute in-a this world.”

“And you’re still in the plumbing business?” I muttered.

“Wouldn’t trade it for-a the world,” cheered Mario. I met up with everyone outside Peach’s castle. We were all healed up and had explained the original reason for coming to this universe and who the enemy was.

“From initial sensor reports,” reported Majel from a computer terminal, “the Tranzek lost power suddenly.”

“Can they-a recover from that?” whimpered Luigi.

“Heather turned a science vessel into a warship, possibly in only a few hours,” I replied. “She’ll find a way.”

“Well, we have our own power problems,” interjected Liam as he took out his phone. “We got hit BAD!” He pulled up the damage report. “The hull can survive lift-off and atmospheric egress, but we’d be running on emergency batteries, meaning we won’t have enough power to get back to Vorton in any less than 2 months. If we have another space battle, though, we’ll be too focused on keeping all power reserved for life-support.”

“Can we repair the engines?” I asked.

“The good news is, the engines CAN be fixed,” reported Liam. “In fact, they can be fixed pretty easily. Whoever was the genius to make everything on the ship modular, I’d like to thank.”

“That would be Lacey,” wheezed Pestilence.

“And the bad news?” asked Tanisha.

“Remember all the shooting going on up there?” asked Liam. “Yeah, the cargo bay with all the spares was one of the areas damaged. I can try and jury-rig something with what we have, but it’s gonna take some time.”

“All right, options, people,” I directed. “Start throwing out ideas.”

“Couldn’t you use the debris field that the Rift Loop made?” asked Peach, having been filled in on what happened. “I mean, if Heather could use it, so could you.”

“Sorry, Peach, dudette, but we don’t have enough power to get into the rift at all,” sighed R9.

“Besides, that’s most likely where Heather will start looking,” muttered Daisy.

“Don’t we have any other transports?” asked Amelia. “A means of escape?”

“There ARE escape pods and we have a gunship, the Monticello,” I mused. “That IS a way out in a pinch.”

“Then let’s use them to lead Heather away,” suggested Amelia. “She seems set on murdering us instead of finding the Source. We lead her away, then double back to get the Source.”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” countered Tanisha. “If we did that, we’d leave the Virginia open for Heather. I don’t know about you all, but I don’t want to see her get that much more powerful.”

“…Never mind,” sighed Amelia.

“You said everything on your vessel is modular, correct?” asked Rosalina.

“Aye,” confirmed Liam.

“May I see the list of the parts you need?” requested Rosalina. Liam pulled it up on his phone and handed it to her. Rosalina looked through and seemed to get an idea. “I have multiples of those,” she replied.

“She may intercept any teleports,” I argued.

“I didn’t say they were on the observatory,” assured Rosalina. “Professor Gadd was kind enough to let me use one of his closets as parts storage. One spell and I could access it from my ship or in his workshop. It seems like the workshop is the safer option.”

“Can’t argue that,” mused Tanisha.

“That seems to be the best option,” rumbled Mikhail.

“How long will repairs be?” asked Hongo to Liam.

“With everything as it is,” guessed Liam, “two, maybe three hours. I’ll need to double-check to be sure.”

“We’ll go with Rosalina’s option,” I decided. “For now, we’ve had a long day. Let’s get some food and sleep, then we’ll help Liam and R9 fix the ship.”

“You realize not all of us have a clue how to fix a spaceship?” argued Daisy.

“Then help me make something to eat,” suggested Mikhail. “Or drink. Caffeine is probably a must for the repair crews.”

“I guess Crystal Shroom Cola’s out,” muttered Daisy.

“Would you even know how to make-a Crystal Shroom Cola from-a scratch?” asked Luigi.

“Sure, I keep several bottles of it in my panniers,” replied Daisy as she patted that part of her dress.

“All right, let’s get some food, everyone,” I directed.

“This way!” called Peach as she led us to her castle.

“Scorpainia, a word,” I called. The Tarlaxian leader followed me in another direction. We stopped and I turned to face her. “What was that up there?” I demanded.

“Pardon?” asked Scorpainia.

“I’ve never known you to freeze like that!” I hissed.

“…It’s nothing,” dismissed Scorpainia.

“It’s obviously something!” I argued.

“It’s nothing!” insisted Scorpainia as she turned to leave. At that point, I grabbed her tail just beneath the stinger and tugged on it a bit.

“Lady, if there’s something bothering you,” I snarled, “you need to tell us so it doesn’t interfere with getting those Tarlaxians back!” At that point, Scorpainia turned to face me, her lips curled into a snarl.

“I didn’t ask the F.N.S to go after those scout ships!” she snapped. “You lot volunteered!”

“Damn straight!” I replied. “People need our help, so we’re gonna help them!”

“You put yourselves at risk unnecessarily!” argued Scorpainia.

“Oh, come on!” I protested. “We’ve faced danger before!”

“Believe it or not, that’s…what’s the human phrase…peanuts compared to what I witnessed!” shouted Scorpainia. “You never had your mind invaded by a godlike creature! You were never forced to see your people beaten on by invading potato-heads while all you could do was sit on your throne and do nothing to help them! You never had lines forced into your skull to inspire blasphemy against your gods! You never had to destroy your home just so your people could survive!”

“And yet, despite all of that, you froze when a lesser being made the attempt!” I thundered. Scorpainia clenched her fists.

“…Yeah,” she replied. Her frown lessened, her eyebrows became less harsh, her fists unclenched, then she just collapsed!

“Hey, are you okay?” I asked.

“Y…yeah, I…no, I…I mean…I thought I was,” mumbled Scorpainia.

“Pardon?” I quizzed.

“I thought I was…okay with…what happened in…my life so far,” she stammered.

“Look, we’ve had a long day, let’s…” I offered.

“No, I need to say this,” interjected Scorpainia. “Lately, I’ve been thinking about my life. Hell, when the ships launched, I’ve done nothing but think about my life. I was about to give a rousing speech to my husband, but then it all hit me at once; my origins as a starving peasant, my claiming the throne, Vortech controlling me, the Sontarans invading Tarlax 13…all of it. This became the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

“PTSD?” I asked.

“No, more like…an epiphany,” replied Scorpainia. “Is this it? I know we’re a warrior culture, but is that all Tarlaxians have to look forward to, the next fight? That’s our entire history! I feel like I’m just waiting to die! Like I have nothing to look forward to but struggle after struggle after struggle after struggle!”

“Then, what was that up in space?” I asked.

“When Heather was about to kill us…I was ready,” answered Scorpainia. “I was ready for it all to end. But then…then she didn’t…and I didn’t know how to feel. I’m pretty sure I don’t want to die! But…here we are. …Here we are, having this conversation, all because I screwed up something awful!” At that point, I knelt down and placed my hand on her shoulder.

“Maybe you did,” I mused, “but it CAN be fixed.”

“You’re all in danger,” remarked Scorpainia. “You take the Virginia and get out of here once repairs are complete. I’ll hold off Heather in the Monticello.”

“Don’t you dare!” I snapped. “Look, you DID make a mistake, but it wasn’t letting us help you out. What would you do if you faced Heather alone? You’d freeze up like up there and would probably be dead. We knew there was a risk, but that’s par for the course for people like us. Besides, people need our help. Right now, YOU need our help. You’re one of our allies. Don’t patronize us like we don’t know what we’re doing! We’re here to help and that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Now, come on. Let’s go rejoin the others and get some food.” Scorpainia looked at me for a while, sadness showing in her eyes, then she stood up slowly. I stood up at the same rate as her and we headed off.

We all had some food and were winding down for sleep. Thank goodness no one’s heard of haggis in this universe. I’m probably one of the few Scotsmen to be bold enough not to like haggis. Maybe I’m going to Hell for it, but, oh well. I tossed and turned in the bed but sleep wouldn’t come. R9’s light was still on. “R9? Are you asleep?” I asked.

“Not really, dude,” muttered R9. “But, then again, who can sleep at a time like this?”

“A few leap to mind,” I countered as I pointed at the sleeping forms of Hongo, Luigi, and Daisy.

“What’s on your mind?” asked R9.

“…We almost died today,” I recalled.

“We obviously didn’t,” replied R9. “Focus on that.”

“Aye, we survived,” I conceded. “But, we almost died and I’m not sure I’m okay with that.”

“No one really is,” assured R9. “No one really WANTS to die; they just want their pain to end.”

“…Do droids believe in God?” I asked.

“What do you mean by that?” quizzed R9.

“You know, God,” I replied. “Big, long, white beard. Lives up in the sky. Created the world in six days.”

“…Strictly speaking, organic life-forms are my god,” answered R9. “But, if you mean a cosmic level creator, well, that’s where ‘Thank the Maker’ comes from. Most droids believe that there’s some grand creator that made organic life so they could make us. Similar vein to God or Allah or other deities like that. I’m not a believer in the Maker, though.”

“Ah,” I replied.

“…I lost someone when I was serving the Empire,” explained R9. “A cute pilot droid I loved. It’s hard to be religious after that.”

“…Aye, it is,” I agreed, remembering my own faith being shaken after I lost my grandmother.

“Then again,” continued R9, “I’ve seen and done some things since the Empire left me behind and the F.N.S adopted me. I figure there’s SOMETHING out there for us.”

“Something wanting us to win?” I asked.

“Bingo, dude,” confirmed R9. “Mechanical or not, a life-form has to hold on to that, at least, otherwise there’s nothing.”

“…Do you ever worry that you’d let them down?” I quizzed.

“Every day, dude,” answered R9. “That’s kind of why I chose the surfer dude’s voice, it gives me confidence, even in the face of danger.”

“Well then,” I declared, my eyes finally starting to droop, “let’s make sure we don’t let them down.”

“I don’t think it’s enough to just have them root for us,” mumbled a voice. Hongo then sat up. “We have to root for each other too,” he said. “I once held a grudge against the Heisei Riders and that grudge almost tore us apart. I thought they only focused on their fancy gimmicks. Gaim proved me wrong, but I never forgave myself for being so blind. At this stage, I’m afraid that it will blind me again and we’ll all die.”

“…Okay, let’s say our worst fears are realized and something causes us to fall apart, like one of us dying,” I theorized. “The Virginia has big guns on it that we can use on Heather’s ugly face. I’d say that’s more than enough to get the ship up and running, don’t you?”

“…You’ve got the oddest way of comforting a man,” remarked Hongo.

“I once ran an internet show called Up The Arse,” I explained, “that dealt with idiots that, for some odd reason, made the news, whether they stuck something up an orifice or committed a crime for purely stupid reasons. The comfort people like me offer is revenge!” Hongo grinned.

“Well, with someone like you as an Engineer,” he chuckled, “how can we lose?”

“All right, enough talking,” I declared. “Let’s get some sleep.”

“Won’t argue there,” replied R9. “My batteries are pretty low.” We all shut our eyes, not fully going to sleep until after Daisy spoke.

“Personally, I don’t care if we live or die,” she muttered, “just as long as we go out swinging.”

“You know it, Lass,” I replied. Sleep finally came.

I had just connected two wires together and wrapped some duct tape around the exposed copper. The instant I did, the lights came back on. “Finally!” I snarled. “Locate the enemy vessel and prepare a bombardment! We must make sure she’s dead!”

“We cannot do as you say, Pure One,” replied the spider monster.

“Why not?!” I growled. “We must kill Emily! I will NOT let that sow exist a second longer!”

“The Hell Driver is almost drained,” reported the spider monster.

“WHAT?!” I shouted.

“Your transformation device is almost completely drained of power,” repeated the spider monster, “first by your prolonged transformation to escape Hell and commandeer this vessel, then by using it as a power source to maintain the energy demands of this upgraded vessel. I had to switch off certain systems so we could continue to have power until the belt is fully recharged.”

“And I assume,” I growled, “that, eventually, it will prove insufficient to power the ship.”

“Correct,” confirmed the spider monster. “A solution is available to address this problem, though.”

“Name it,” I ordered.

“There is a warehouse under the ownership of one Professor Elvin Gadd,” answered the spider monster, “that contains parts and power sources that can maintain the energy demands more effectively than the Hell Driver. We can use them to repair the vessel and power all of its functions without the Hell Driver. You can use it to strictly transform into your Rider persona.” I considered her words, then decided.

“Locate the warehouse and gather the necessary parts,” I commanded. “We will repair the ship, then kill her.”

“As you command, Pure One,” confirmed the spider monster.

The repairs to the Virginia were going well. Power was being restored and all damage was patched up. The ship could go into combat at a moment’s notice. I helped R9, Rosalina, and Liam install a new circuit board into junction J-7. “Careful,” warned Rosalina. “Make sure the contacts don’t touch the edge.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“The power will transfer to the metal of the walls,” explained Rosalina.

“Quickly travelling to you,” helped Liam. I then realized the risk and carefully slid the circuit board in. Soon, the problem junction was fully operational.

“Anything else?” I asked.

“Nope, should be good,” reported R9. We then replaced the panel.

“All right, I’m going to pick up Peach and get some more supplies,” I suggested. I left the ship and found the Mushroom Kingdom’s princess looking rather sullen. “Hey, Peach!” I called. Peach just slowly turned her head to look at me.

“More supplies?” she mumbled.

“Are you okay?” I quizzed.

“…No,” she muttered. “But never mind me.”

“I can’t do that,” I said as I sat next to her on the bench. “What’s on your mind?”

“…I’m on the sidelines again,” she sighed. “My usual place.”

“…Oh,” I realized. “You feel as if you’re not contributing much.”

“I’m not,” she sighed.

“Look, picking up supplies isn’t useless,” I assured.

“But it’s not the main source of action!” snapped Peach. “Every moment of my life, I’ve been kidnapped, put off to the side, talked down to, and other various means of bringing me down! I want excitement! I want adventure! I want to be strong! I’ve never had a moment of personal strength!”

“…Tell me, where are you in the Smash tourneys?” I asked.

“21 in the top 30,” mumbled Peach.

“And in races?” I continued.

“3^rd,” replied Peach.

“Who stopped Bowser on Vibe Island?” I quizzed.

“I did,” answered Peach.

“Who led the charge to the Sprixie Kingdom after Bowser conquered it?” I went on.

“Me,” confirmed Peach.

“Who saved the dimensions when Dimentio and Count Bleck were causing chaos?” I inquired.

“Mario, but I helped,” answered Peach. Okay, not the best example.

“What did you do when the X-Nauts kidnapped you?” I asked.

“I told Mario their plans,” replied Peach.

“And who helped guide Megumi and her team throughout the video games during the Vortech Wars? You!” I declared. “Peach, you’re not as weak as you think. I know Bowser’s kidnappings are too frequent for your liking, but that doesn’t mean you’re weak.”

“Still, I’d like the chance to prove that,” muttered Peach. Just then, Scorpainia ran up to us.

“Heather’s in the warehouse!” she reported.

Tags emily saunders, kamen rider, kamen rider ichigo, mushroom kingdom, princess peach, repairs

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Movie Chapters

Chapter 9

The Virginia was cruising through the rift at speed factor 7. I arranged a bouquet of my favorite flowers in the Captain’s Quarters when the door chimed. “Come in,” I bid. Scorpainia came in.

“We’ll be in Mario’s universe in two hours,” she reported.

“Appreciate it,” I reciprocated. She then turned to leave. “Hey, wait!” I called. “Don’t you want anything? Tea? Sandwich?”

“No thank you,” replied Scorpainia. “I have…other things to attend to.”

“…Okay,” I shrugged. The door shut when Scorpainia left. She’s never been this dodgy before. Then again, she DOES have a lot on her plate…as did I. At that point, I made a decision. I knew the consensus was that we wouldn’t tell the new guys about Megumi’s emotional collapse, but my conscience was kicking me ever since we made the decision. Now may not be the best time, but better than during battle. I headed to Liam’s quarters and knocked on the door.

“Aye?” he called.

“It’s Emily,” I answered. The door opened and I saw Liam with grease on his face.

“What can I do for you, Captain?” he asked.

“May I come in?” I asked.

“Sure, go ahead,” he bid as he stepped aside. I looked around and saw various tools out while a machine was on a workbench.

“You settled in quick,” I mused.

“Aye, that I did,” chuckled Liam. I then sighed.

“Okay, I gotta say this or I won’t say it at an appropriate time,” I declared. “Liam, we didn’t tell you our entire history. We left a part out.”

“Oh?” asked Liam.

“When we picked up Hongo and the others,” I explained, “ we left them in the dark about Vortech. It came to bite us in the ass and Megumi went through an emotional breakdown. We have a history of keeping secrets, I’m sorry to say. The general vote was not to tell you new guys, but it doesn’t sit right with me. If this changes anything…”

“Honestly, you proved me wrong by telling me this,” interrupted Liam.

“…Huh?” I quizzed, utterly confused.

“I thought you were just using your parents to cover up why you were involved,” replied Liam, “that you were forced by X-PO. The fact that you went with your gut just now proved me wrong. I have a habit of making assumptions and it fractured a few friendships in my life.”

“…I honestly expected you to leave us right now, but I’m glad I was proven wrong,” I sighed in relief.

“No more secrets then?” quizzed Liam.

“No more secrets,” I assured.

“Then perhaps you can clear something up for me,” directed Liam. “Where did you get this ship?! Was there a sale at the shops?!”

“I take it Death spun the ‘Spoils of War’ yarn?” I asked. “Nothing like that. The Horsemen were building the Virginia as a last-resort during the Vortech Wars. We didn’t need it, so they just gave it to us for us to take the occasional joyride or have a pleasure cruise. We still maintain the weapons just in case we need them. Given what’s going on, we may need them soon.”

“So, what did you do for a living again? Before you got your Vortex Driver?” asked Liam.

“I did Let’s Plays on YouTube,” I replied.

“…I went into the wrong line of work,” muttered Liam. Just then, Majel came onto the screen.

“I hate to interrupt,” she began, “but junction J-7 is out again. I think I need a 9 volt in there.”

“Hold on,” I replied. “I got this.” We headed into the hall and found the junction. I then took out a tool and fired a lightning bolt into it, making it glow again.

“Thank you!” bid Majel.

“You got a tool that can shoot lightning?!” yelped Liam.

“Yeah, don’t you?” I asked.

“…No!” replied Liam.

“You don’t?” quizzed Majel.

“…And you do?!” squeaked Liam.

“Of course, I do,” boasted Majel. “One of my weapons can do that.” Just then, something chimed. “Hold up, I’m picking up a vessel off the starboard bow,” muttered Majel.

“Can you identify it?” I quizzed.

“It almost looks like the Tarlaxian scout ship, Tranzek, but the mass and shape aren’t exact,” reported Majel.

“Let’s see it,” I directed. Majel showed us the vessel. It looked like a mean version of a science vessel. “All hands, to your stations!” I called over the comms. We all made our way to the bridge while R9 and Liam headed to Main Engineering. “All stop,” I ordered.

“Answering all stop,” reported Tanisha. The Virginia stopped and took a scan of the vessel. The results came up on screen, matching what Majel said earlier.

“On screen,” I commanded. The vessel appeared on screen and shocked us all.

“Is…that the Tranzek?” asked Mikhail.

“It looks like they glued debris onto it,” muttered Scorpainia. The upgraded vessel then moved off.

“After it,” I ordered. We followed it until we arrived in Mario’s world, in orbit around Mario’s planet. How did I know it was Mario’s planet? The Comet Observatory was in orbit as well.

“We’re being hailed by the Observatory,” reported Mikhail.

“Let’s hear it,” I directed. Rosalina then came up on screen.

“I’m glad your vessel responded,” mused Rosalina. “Tell me, what brings you here?”

“I can explain the full story later, Ma’am,” I replied, “but our immediate priority is the vessel we were in pursuit of, the one orbiting the planet as well.”

“Then, perhaps we should work together and find out what’s going on with that vessel,” suggested Rosalina.

“A good idea,” I answered. “We’ll maneuver close and attempt to dock with it and pick up what the crew’s doing.”

“The crew?” asked Rosalina. “What crew? I’m not getting any bio-readings from the ship.” Scorpainia gasped. I turned around with a quizzed look.

“If…if she’s not getting any bio-readings,” stammered Scorpainia, “then…they’ve either taken their equipment offline or…or they’re…dead.” That raised a few red flags for us.

“Ma’am, we’ll still investigate this,” I affirmed. “That’s supposed to be a manned vessel. We’ll report our findings when we’ve finished. Saunders out.” The call ended. “Scorpainia, is there an airlock on that kind of vessel?”

“Middle of the port side,” replied Scorpainia.

“Tanisha, maneuver us alongside the Tranzek’s port side,” I directed. “Line our docking tube with the airlock

“God, I HATE parallel parking!” grumbled Tanisha. We used maneuvering thrusters only to get alongside.

“I just had a thought,” called Hongo.

“What’s up?” I replied.

“The vessel DID move, right?” asked Hongo.

“…Yes, we pursued it to this universe,” I confirmed, not sure where Hongo’s line of questioning was going.

“Then, that means they have some sort of power,” continued Hongo.

“…Then why aren’t they acting on us moving?” I asked.

“Well, if we’re parallel to the ship,” replied Hongo, “our weapons couldn’t effectively hit the vessel. I mean, they WERE attacked before we departed. Maybe…”

“Oh no!” I gasped, realizing Hongo’s theory. The thing that attacked the Tranzek may still be onboard!

“I’m detecting an energy spike from their weapons!” called Amelia.

“Hard about!” I shouted. “Raise shields!” Unfortunately, Majel couldn’t raise shields fast enough as the Tranzek hit us. The lights then came on. They were blood-red instead of the standard white. The enemy vessel continued firing on us. “Hongo, return fire!” I ordered. Hongo’s fingers danced across his console, firing on the enemy vessel.

“Direct hit!” reported Hongo. “No effect! The enemy’s shields are too powerful!”

“Majel! Shields! Now!” I commanded.

“Shield power’s dropping like cement!” answered Majel. Scorpainia activated the comms on her armrest.

“Engineering! What’s going on?!” she demanded.

“Things are happening all at once!” reported Liam. “I’m trying to…” He was interrupted by an explosion. “Damn it! we needed ‘at! I’ll caa ye back!” He ended the call.

“R9, where are you?!” I called.

“On my way to Main Engineering!” replied R9’s voice. Good. Liam needs all the help he can get.

“Hongo, weapons status!” I barked.

“They keep adapting to every shot we throw at them!” answered Hongo. “We can’t penetrate their shields!”

“Tanisha, move us so we can fire the graviton launcher!” I ordered.

“The graviton launcher doesn’t have enough power to fire!” countered Majel. “In fact, we’re losing weapons power all together!”

“I don’t care!” I snapped. “We have to hit them! We…” the enemy vessel got in front of us. “Ah hell! EVASIVE MANEUVERS!” Tanisha tried her best, but the ship wasn’t moving fast enough! We still got hit!

“We can’t fight in this condition!” called Scorpainia. “We have to retreat!”

“Tanisha, get us out of here! Floor it!” I ordered, thinking that Scorpainia’s suggestion was a good one. I then called Main Engineering. “Liam, divert all power to engines!”

“I’ll do what I can,” replied Liam, “but some of the engines are down! We’re not moving so fast!” Just then, the Comet Observatory moved between us and the enemy vessel. She appeared on screen.

“Get out of here! We’ll hold them off!” she called.

“You don’t have weapons!” I countered.

“No, but we have shields! Now go!” insisted Rosalina.

“Intruder on the bridge!” shouted Scorpainia. We all turned to see a woman wearing a demonic looking Kamen Rider suit. Hongo then struck his pose.

“Rider…” he began.

“Stay on weapons!” I called as I drew my i.d. tag. “This one’s…”

“Such bravado,” spoke the demonic Kamen Rider. The voice…made me freeze. I recognized that voice. It haunted and hunted me during high school. I saw the owner of that voice cast into Hell itself…and still I heard it from that Kamen Rider. “Something wrong?” taunted the Kamen Rider as her hand moved to her belt, a demon’s head. “You’ve boasted that you could defeat me anywhere, anytime. I must say, you fat hog, you haven’t proven that to me today.” She closed the belt’s demon mouth, making the eyes close and the suit vanish in smoke. As it cleared, the woman underneath was revealed to be…

“Hillbilly Heather!” I whispered.

“That name!” snarled my, once late, arch-nemesis, Heather Richards. “That was never my name! You spat that name at me and it stuck!”

“How?” I gasped.

“I always endure!” hissed Heather, guessing the context of my question. “After you cast me into Hell, I was put into the outer ring of Hell’s seventh circle, condemned to forever swim in a river of boiling blood and fire!”

“Violence against people and property,” I recalled from Dante’s Inferno.

“I was not about to let those centaurs keep me down,” continued Heather, “so I ignored the pain of the arrows, mounted one, and charged off along the riverbank. Some demons didn’t like that, so they pursued me. Shocker Rift then came after me to try and enslave me again, so I managed to rip a Combatman’s skull out of his head and beat him to death with it!”

“That doesn’t seem physically possible!” countered Pestilence.

“That’s what the demons screamed as I beat the Combatman to death,” replied Heather. “The skull then turned into my new belt but needed souls to power it. I simply helped myself to those that swam in that river with me as well as the demons, centaurs, and Combatmen, then transformed into the Kamen Rider you just saw so I could escape Hell. I don’t exactly like using that word ‘Kamen’ or the word ‘Henshin’, given that they’re impure…but the multiverse proved that it hates purity. So, better to burn it and start all over again! I escaped Hell, blindsided a Shocker Rift saucer, intercepted the Tarlaxian scout ship, and seized control. The debris flung around by Vortech’s Rift Loop made the ship into a superb weapon!”

“What about the Tarlaxian crew?” I asked.

“After I took over their minds,” explained Heather, “they became excellent extensions of my will!”

“You destructive, filth-spewing…!” I snarled.

“Don’t assume you’re alive for idle chit-chat, you stubborn sow!” interrupted Heather. “You haven’t yet taken my place in Hell because I want you to know that it was I who defeated you, I who conquered Hell itself!”

“What now?” I hissed.

“Now?” asked Heather. “Now I kill everyone on this ship, destroy it, and use its junk to enhance my own!”

“Don’t you want to take it intact?” I asked. “You don’t need to destroy it OR us.”

“What I want,” growled Heather, “is to peel the skin from your bones! I want to tie you to a cross and burn you alive! I want to hurl stones at your helpless form! WHAT I WANT……I want many things; you sack of fat and juices! But, every time I try to prolong your agony, you always come out on top! No, you will die by my hand and you will die quickly so I don’t have to see you a second longer! Take this thought with you as you fall to Hell! As I swam in infinite heat with the taste of blood flooding my taste buds, the only thing that kept me from succumbing to madness, as the rest of the damned had long since done, was my hatred! My singular hatred of YOU!” She called up her ship. “Fire!” she commanded. Just then, she saw, on screen, her vessel’s lights flickering. “Oh, for…WHAT’S GOING ON OVER THERE?!” she shrieked as she vanished in a ball of fire.

“Floor it!” I ordered Tanisha. As we scrambled to get away, I noticed Scorpainia standing as still as a statue. “Scorpainia?!” I called. “SCORPAINIA!!”

“We’re drifting too close to the planet!” reported Tanisha. “I don’t have enough power to get us out of the atmosphere!” That shook Scorpainia into action.

“Make the landing as steady as possible!” she shouted.

“Releasing landing struts!” called Tanisha. “Deploying air brakes!” The Virginia’s landing struts were built like skis, so we were going to slide a good distance. The air brakes slowed us down a bit and helped level our descent.

“Do we have enough power to maintain orbit?!” I screamed at the spider monster.

“Yes,” droned the spider monster.

“Then keep us in orbit while I repair things!” I commanded.

“Understood, Pure One,” replied the spider monster.

Like I mentioned, our descent was rough. The impact was lessened, but still hard enough to make us bounce around. We skidded a good mile until we came to the outskirts of Toad Town. The Toads gathered around, hoping for survivors. Peach, Mario, Luigi, Daisy, and Rosalina came up. Rosalina was explaining the situation as Peach directed the crisis teams to get us out of the wreck. We all managed to survive, albeit a little dizzy. My mind still focused on two things: Heather’s resurrection and Scorpainia’s freezing up.

Tags emily saunders, kamen rider, kamen rider ichigo, pestilence, scorpainia