Tag: kamen rider

The Ottsel had his arms folded. “And you all are?” he asked with a frown.

“I’m Farmee, commander of this battalion,” introduced Farmee. “We’re visitors here and…well, we’re on a mission.”

“A mission, huh?” replied the Ottsel. “And what kind of mission is that?”

“Well, sir, unless you saw a woman with a crystal sphere around these parts, I’m not sure-.” At this, the frown on the Ottsel lessened.

“This lady you’re looking for,” he said, “would she have purple skin?”

“…As a matter of fact, yes,” replied Farmee.

“Me, Jak, and our wives and kids saw her on rare occasions,” explained the Ottsel. “She’s usually around Drebber’s citadel.”

“Drebber?”

“He’s a Babak and the Dark Eco sage-.”

“WHY ARE YOU ALLOWING A LURKER ACCESS TO DARK ECO?!” protested Megatron.

“Hey, he’s not insane!” argued the Ottsel.

“Okay, everyone!” interjected Farmee. “Look, we need her to come with us. Can you arrange a visit with her?”

“I can’t, but my buddy’s wife can,” replied the Ottsel.

“Excellent, Mr. …Erm…”

“Daxter! The name is Daxter!”

“Thank you, Mr. Daxter. Now, where IS your buddy’s wife?”

“Over in Sandover Town. Me and Tess are heading there anyways. Why not come with? I’ll tell you all about how I saved the world three times in a row! …With Jak’s help, of course.” Daxter led everyone through Haven City. Through the power station, through the former Southern Slums (now developed for proper living conditions) and through the old gate locks to what Megatron expected to be ruins, but were instead a thriving part of the city with a hut in the center of it all. Outside the hut was a female Ottsel and a man with yellow hair and green highlights and goggles.

“DAXXY!” called the female Ottsel. The man looked ahead and smiled.

“Daxter!” chuckled the man. “Telling everyone about how you took down the Dark Makers?”

“With your help, Jak,” replied Daxter. He perched himself on Jak’s shoulder. “Now…where are the kids?”

“…I was kinda hoping YOU could answer that,” remarked Jak. “And who are these people?”

“Hello, Mr. Jak,” greeted Farmee. “I am Farmee. My friends and I were told your wife could get us to the home of Drebber?”

“Why do you want to go there?” asked Jak.

“We’re looking for a lady with purple skin,” explained the Doctor. “We heard she frequents Drebber’s home.”

“That’s where the most sightings of her are,” said Jak, “but no one’s been able to speak with her.”

“Do you think you can lead us to his home?” asked Farmee. Jak rubbed the back of his head.

“I dunno,” he said. “Me and Daxter were kinda hoping…” He trailed off when he saw someone approaching. Or rather, THREE people. It was a woman with metallic green hair, greenish skin, and dressing like one would expect a sage to dress as, complete with staff. She had two kids with her, one boy and one girl. “Kiera?” asked Jak.

“Hey, Honey,” replied the woman, Kiera Hagai. “I didn’t know we were expecting a party.”

“Believe me, it was VERY impromptu. Who’s the girl with Markus?” Kiera then glared at the boy.

“Well, son?” she asked the boy icily. “Who’s the girl with you?”

“…Erm, Daddy,” gulped the girl. “Please don’t get mad.”

“LAYLA?!” yelped Daxter and Tess.

“Layla, what happened to you?!” cried Tess as she examined her now human daughter. Last time she saw Layla, the girl was an Ottsel like her parents.

“Oh, I think I know what happened to her!” growled Jak. “And I think I can piece the story together! Instead of listening to us, Markus and Layla went to the one place I distinctly remember all four of us telling them not to go to! Misty Island!”

“…Okay, so we DID go to Misty Island, and-,” said Markus.

“And Layla was dunked into one of the Dark Eco Silos there, wasn’t she?!” snarled Daxter. “Girl, you’re lucky the Dark Eco didn’t turn you into a monster!”

“Aunt Kiera, please!” begged Layla as she fell to her knees and clasped her hands. “You gotta help me!”

“Would that I could,” sighed Kiera, “but I can’t.”

“WHAT?!” yelped Markus.

“The only one who can help Layla is Drebber,” explained Jak. “Since he’s the Dark Eco Sage, we’ll need to head north. AFTER some training at Geyser Rock.”

“Geyser Rock?” asked Tess. “Isn’t that a Metal Head nest?!”

“It WAS a Metal Head nest,” replied Jak. “Dax and I took care of them all.”

“So, the Metal Heads took over your old training grounds,” muttered Megatron.

“…Okay, I have to ask, how do YOU know that?!”

“Where I come from, your fight with Gol and Maia Acheron, your overthrowing of Kor and Baron Praxis, your exile and return to Haven City to fight the Dark Makers, your races, and your adventures with the Sky Pirates during the Eco Crisis were made into interactive games.”

“And you said the most sightings of that woman are in Drebber’s home,” said Farmee, “so why don’t we kill two birds with one stone?” Jak considered, then sighed.

“All right, any who want to join my kid and niece to train at Geyser Rock, come with me,” he said.

“Um, we’re not gonna find any more Dark Eco there, are we?” asked Markus. “Cause I’d hate to fall in there and look like a Lurker!”

“Get in there before I have your mother turn you both into ferns!” snapped Jak as he pointed towards the warp gate inside the hut. He, Daxter, Markus, Layla, Farmee, Adam, Sam, and Jason jumped into the warp gate and vanished.

“…Can someone of your power turn animals to plants?” the Doctor asked Kiera.

“No, Jak’s just spooking the kids into obeying,” replied Kiera. “My dad, the previous Green Eco Sage, did that to Jak and Daxter 300 years ago.”

“…How long lived are you?” asked the Doctor.

“Oh, I’m only in my 40’s. Let’s just say, for Jak, and my late dad, it involves a trip to the past so I was born, then a trip back to this time period, when the tyrant, Baron Praxis, was in charge of Haven City. No more time travel for us. Too much of a headache.”

“Ah, time travel,” replied the Doctor.

The next day, Farmee stroked his pearl necklace. He could command a skyship, there was no question about that, but he now had strangers under his command and he didn’t know everyone’s skills. “Nervous, son?” asked the bass voice of Gorfanth. Farmee turned to see Gorfanth and Lardeth standing together.

“…I don’t know why,” he muttered. “I commanded my ship just fine back home. So why am I nervous again?”

“Two reasons, I’ll bet you,” replied Lardeth. “One: you’re commanding a squad with so few people from home. Two: this is a proper combat situation and we didn’t exactly train you to fight other powers. Three: you’re heading to unfamiliar territory. To not be nervous now would be a sign of insanity.”

“But, like we always say,” said Gorfanth, “nervousness does not mean cowardice. And you, Farmee, are no coward. You stepped up to the plate numerous times.” Farmee thought back to his Tour and had to admit, Gorfanth was right.

“Then I’ll step up to the plate now,” he said with the familiar Royana confidence.

“That’s my boy!” cheered Gorfanth as he ruffled his son’s hair.

---

An hour later, Farmee met with his team, consisting of Adam, Brendan, Death, Delselii, Eelinape, Frenzy, Galvatron, Gorfanth, Henry, Jack, Jandro, Jason, Joshua, Knuckles, Lardeth, Liam, Megatron, Pofomo, Hot Rod, Sam, Tails, and the Doctor. Megatron and Galvatron stood slightly apart from the rest of the group as the Doctor twirled a key between her fingers. “You sure you don’t wanna see inside?” Frenzy asked Megatron.

“Not particularly,” replied Megatron. “One: the interior dimensions may be bigger, but the door is still too small for me. Two: the Doctor is still learning as she goes. Galvatron, Hot Rod, and I will take a rift and meet you there. Three: after that nonsense with the Daleks, the less I see of her home, the better.”

“Can’t help but feel a bit offended that it was the DALEKS that put you off looking inside the TARDIS,” scoffed the Doctor.

“I’ve had enough of your native universe in general, Doctor.”

“Well, if you’re not gonna peek, I will,” declared Galvatron.

“Right, everyone inside!” called Farmee. The Doctor opened the TARDIS and let everyone in.

“HOLY MOLY!” said Delselii.

“What do you think, dear?” Brendan asked Jandro.

“You said it was bigger on the inside,” replied Jandro, “but I clearly underestimated HOW big inside it is! It’s like the bridge of a ship!”

“And there’s plenty more rooms to explore,” said Joshua.

“You’ve redecorated,” mused Death. “…I don’t like it.”

“My TARDIS, my desktop theme!” said the Doctor.

“Well, I like it!” chuckled Jack. “Has that retro future feel to it!” The TARDIS console room certainly had the aesthetics of 50’s science fiction set in the future. Galvatron and Hot Rod peeked inside.

“Nice!” said Hot Rod.

“That’s not actual 21^st century tech, you know,” snarked Galvatron.

“Dude, shut up,” grunted Knuckles. The Doctor then went around the console and fiddled with the controls.

“All right, coordinates set,” she said. “Barring any trouble, we’ll get there before the Transformers do. Jason, the doors please.”

“At once, Doctor,” replied Jason. He shut the door, then the Doctor pulled a lever and the time rotor began going up and down while the engines of the TARDIS made their familiar Vworp Vworp noise!

“I never get tired of that!” chuckled the Doctor. She made a few adjustments to keep the TARDIS stable as it went to another universe.

---

In a port for a city, the people were simply minding their own business. The old walls were still being torn down with one section being preserved for historical purposes. The port itself was circular with a walking bridge spanning the entire length of the waters. The bridge had a pair of towers spaced equally apart, giving the appearance of a face from a bird’s eye view. The people there had long, pointy ears, but they were not Elves. It’s not known what the people really were, though they DO call themselves human. A squad of the city’s law enforcement was joking around with some citizens. As they laughed, a woman spoke up. “Okay, okay, how about this?” she giggled before clearing her throat. She then adopted a gruff voice. “Fear not the men in red. Sure, there are occasional complaints about their overaggressive policing, wanton destruction of people’s property during raids, mass arrests, misplaced loved ones and what-not. Hey, we’re only human! Running a city can be tougher than it looks! Imagine how much worse it would be if the Metalheads were in charge!” Everyone laughed at her impression.

“That’s pretty good!” laughed a law enforcement officer. “All right, how about-?” The laughter died when they heard a Vworp and what sounded like metal shifting. They all turned to see Hot Rod, Megatron, and Galvatron shift to robot mode and land near the tower as the TARDIS materialized.

“Unauthorized Port Arrival!” called another law officer.

“Detain them!” called their commander. They rushed off to where the Transformers and the TARDIS landed. Farmee and the Doctor led everyone out, then they heard the sounds of gun safeties being disengaged. “HAVEN CITY PORT AUTHORITY!” shouted the commander. “HANDS ABOVE YOUR-!”

“About time too!” snapped Farmee, thinking quickly. “That uniform’s filthy!”

“What?!” protested the Commander.

“And that gun!” snapped the Doctor as she tore a gun out of a private’s hands. “Who taught you how to clean it?!” She pointed out the carbon build-up in the barrel.

“Gotta say, I didn’t expect Project: TARDIS and Project: Cybertron to be witnessed by a sham of a platoon!” grunted Farmee.

“Project-?!” asked the Commander.

“Special Military Projects from Haven City Command,” Megatron said in a droning voice. “Project required outside help from Commander Farmee of Beyond City Command and Special Agent, designation: Doctor.”

“And I have to say, I didn’t think any branch of Haven City’s law enforcement would be so disorganized!” snapped Farmee. “Who’s in charge of this unit?! They should be ashamed of themselves!”

“I’M in charge here, and I didn’t get any notice of any military project!” snapped the Commander. “Let me see your authorization!” The Doctor handed over her psychic paper and the Commander read the credentials. His face blanched when he saw what he needed to see. He returned the paper and saluted. “Apologies, Commander Farmee,” he said. “I was not informed of your arrival.”

“And would an enemy inform you of their arrival so you can do some last-minute cleaning up before their invasion?!” snapped Farmee. “I need a drink after this fiasco! Where’s the nearest watering hole?!”

“Over there, Sir,” replied the Commander. “The Naughty Ottsel, run by Precursor Daxter.”

“Fine! Don’t bother with an escort! I’ll go there myself! Get your men in order!” Farmee “angrily” led his team off the bridge with the Transformers marching like military machines under their control. The law officers blinked.

“…Sir, pardon my Metal Head, but…what the hell just happened?!” asked the private.

“As the Precursors are my witness,” replied the Commander, “I haven’t the foggiest notion.

---

Once he was sure everyone was far enough away, Farmee released a breath. “That was some quick thinking, Lad,” said Liam.

“I was reminded of a similar situation back home,” replied Farmee. “It felt appropriate at the time.”

“I did a similar thing during a mess with a race called the Haemovores during World War II,” recalled the Doctor. They then arrived in front of a saloon with a grinning rodent’s head.

“The Naughty Ottsel,” remarked Megatron. “Run by a human that took a bath in a substance known as Dark Eco and turned into an orange furred hybrid of an otter and a weasel, hence the name Ottsel.”

“Lord Megatron, quick question,” said Frenzy, “how do you know so much about this city?” Megatron winced.

“I…well…” Megatron finally sighed. “Jak II: Renegade was my favorite game of the Jak and Daxter video game franchise.”

“…Big bad Megatron…played video games?!” yelped Death.

“That was when I was an Autobot during the Great War!” protested Megatron.

“HEY!” called a voice. Everyone looked around. “Down here, you dinguses!” Farmee looked down to see what he presumed to be an Ottsel in pants and wearing goggles on his head and a frown on his face.

Peace and Famine made their way to the mansion. As she approached the front door, she heard voices arguing inside. “I’m telling you, there’s no way this is on the up and up!” boomed War’s voice.

“Maybe someone’s a real admirer of hers,” replied another voice that Peace didn’t recognize.

“I’m right here though!” protested Bounty’s voice.

“She’s here too?!” Peace asked Famine.

“Her and Life,” replied Famine. She opened the door. Everyone turned to see Famine and Peace.

“Am I late?” asked Peace.

“PEACE!” cheered Life as she and Death hugged her. Famine headed to the table to see more take-out pasta dishes.

“Ooh! That’s for me!” she said.

“Peace, it’s been too long!” War said to Peace.

“Indeed,” agreed Pestilence.

“So you are Peace?” asked Lacey. “War’s counterpart?”

“That I am,” replied Peace. “And you, I presume, are the new Chaos?”

“That’s me!” confirmed Lacey. “Though I go by a more mortal name. Lacey Atmadja, at your service.”

“Peace at yours and your family’s,” returned Peace. She then saw Famine tucking in. “I see she hasn’t changed.” Everyone gave Famine their attention.

“Famine, can’t you see that someone’s playing a practical joke?!” hissed War.

“She’s right,” whispered Death. “Sending us a ton of pasta dishes that we don’t want?”

“Yeah, you’re right,” mumbled Famine as she ate.

“Will you stop it with the eating already?!” rasped Pestilence.

“Famine, what’s the matter with you?!” protested Life. “What’s gonna happen when the bill comes in from that Italian joint, huh?! You realize that-?!” She then knocked the fork out of Famine’s hand- “we could owe a fortune here?!”

“Why are you girls getting on her case like that?” asked Peace. The remaining Horsemen pointed out all the used boxes and cutlery. “…Never mind. Famine, maybe you shouldn’t accept another dish, capiche?” Famine gave a non-committal shrug.

“…Yeah, fine, capiche,” muttered Bounty as she and Life led Peace on a tour.

---

Emily headed to Megumi and Richard’s home. She knocked on the door and Lisa opened it. “Dame Emily! What a surprise!” she said.

“Hi, Lisa,” replied Emily. “Are Megumi or Richard home?”

“Megumi’s just come home from work and Richard is still at his job. Why do you ask?”

“I’m here as a doctor right now. I’m…worried about them.”

“…Please, come in,” said Lisa. Emily stepped inside the house and followed Lisa to Megumi’s office. “Announcing the arrival of your doctor, Madam,” she said to Megumi. Megumi looked up from her work and saw Emily.

“Emily?” she asked. “What brings you here?”

“Megumi, I must speak with you as your doctor,” replied Emily.

“…Lisa, that will be all,” said Megumi. Lisa bowed and headed off. “Did you find some sort of sickness?” Megumi asked Emily.

“The sickness of overstressing,” replied Emily. “Megumi, you and your family are starting to run yourselves ragged here, what with being a student, an archaeologist and professor of said subject, and a Kamen Rider. Richard’s also got a lot on his plate and his little, shall we say, ‘vacation’ wasn’t exactly helpful. And your daughters-.”

“You’re not wrong about the stuff on my plate,” interrupted Megumi. “It’s getting to be too much for me. …I’m thinking of following your example and graduating. Perhaps it will do Richard and our daughters some good too. …He’s your brother, how do I broach the topic with Richard?”

“The same way he broached the topic of his firing with you,” said Emily. “Be direct, be polite, assure him that there’s no fault at all within the family. And take it from me and my boys, you’ll be a lot happier when you have your diploma.” Emily hugged Megumi. As the two ladies hugged, Emily saw an artefact on Megumi’s desk. “What’s that?” she asked. Megumi lit up as she got the chance to talk about the artefact!

“The subject of my current lesson!” she said. “This is a Darvalian Charm from the 17^th Dynasty!”

“Darvalian? The extinct cousins of the Vortonians?”

“The very same! Unlike the Vortonians, they had an empire spanning halfway across their version of the known multiverse!”

---

Back in the Lord Unicomplex, Cyber-priestess Gi had told Khan what had happened. “I offer no excuses,” she said. “I allowed confusion to dictate my actions and it made me more illogical than them.”

“This really sets back my plans,” said Khan. “There’s also another problem. Our teams sent to Splatoon and Team Fortress 2 have yet to find the Sources there. It seems there were more guardians there than anticipated. You may be encountering heavier resistance in Disney.”

“What of the remaining two Sources?” asked Gi. Khan wrote something in the Tome and read the passage aloud.

“‘Once Gi finished her question, a panel from the wall rose to reveal a shape very familiar to her.’”

“Familiar to me?” asked Gi. Once Gi finished her question, a panel from the wall rose to reveal a shape very familiar to her. Her eye widened as the familiar salt-shaker shape registered in her memory banks. “…THEM?!” she protested.

“The Lords have proven to be hinderances when it comes to killing and at this stage of the game, we NEED our opponents dead.” Khan addressed the creature. “I know you’re not exactly a big fan of following the orders of anyone not of your race, but I need you to follow Captain Don Shinobi as you retrieve Health and her Source. To any who resist…well…the good Captain has been told to let you exterminate them.”

“I obey!” said the creature. As it spoke, a pair of lights flashed on each syllable, revealing the black dome of one of Shocker Umbra’s Dalek Supremes.

---

In another part of the Unicomplex, Auriella felt a sharp pain in her heart, her very soul! Katie ran up to her. “Auri?!” she asked. “What’s wrong?!”

“…Removed!” gasped Auriella. “I’ve been…removed from the Record!”

“What’s that mean?”

“It means I’ve been exiled! They don’t consider me an Adrexian anymore!” Auriella’s face contorted in anger. “Those ungrateful-! After all I did for them!”

“We’ll get our revenge on them when we create the New Multiverse,” soothed Katie. Auriella sighed to calm down.

“You’re right,” she said. “They’ll worship us as the goddesses we are.”

---

Back in Beyond City, Anansi was setting himself up a web. He sensed the approach of someone. “You can’t hide much from a spider, your Majesty,” he said. He shifted his gaze to the one who approached him, Arsha.

“Everyone seems to regard you with suspicion, Lord Anansi,” replied Arsha.

“It’s just Anansi,” corrected the spider trickster. “And perhaps it’s because of my reputation as a trickster god. …Or perhaps it’s because of the truth of the Author.”

“Call me suspicious, but I think there’s more to the Author than you’re letting on,” remarked Arsha. Anansi sighed.

“…When I said he was my student, I was only being partially truthful,” he said. “He’s actually a wicked clone of my student. My student wanted his parents to be comfortable with taking him down should he turn evil, so he and I went to a place called Kamino to create that clone. …They did their job too well and the clone, Khan, managed to defeat my student and his parents, wiped their minds, and altered their DNA. He just dumped them into a universe. …A universe perhaps YOU are familiar with, your Majesty.”

“…My home?” asked Arsha. “He dumped them into the Realms?”

“He did, and you met my student. …He reported on the Final War, specifically, the Battle of the Realmgates.”

“…Leumas?! HE was your student?!” Anansi nodded.

“And I…I feel as though I abandoned him.” Anansi held himself. “…I let three innocent people lose their lives and homes. Ask Death for further records, she and her Horsemen oversee all universes experiencing their ends.” By this, he turned his back to Arsha, ending the conversation.

“…As you wish, Anansi,” she said. She curtsied and minced away.

Emily stirred first, her Rider form having long been dismissed. She sat up and stretched, yawning as she woke up. She rubbed her eyes and looked at her surroundings. She was at the First Palace, just under the minaret. Her sleepy mind started slowly running through the sequence of events. She was in Radagast Steel, she was getting Assimilated Wargs off of Peace’s back, then…nothing. “Wh…whahoppen?” she asked sleepily.

“You all took a nice, long nap,” explained Peace’s voice. Emily looked up to see Peace sitting near her.

“…A…A nap? …In the middle of a fight?” asked Emily as the weariness slowly vanished. “But…but what about-?!”

“Well, I DID induce your nap,” explained Peace. “I used the power of my source to put everyone to sleep long enough for me to get your enemies out of this universe. They’ll be picked up in a more-remote universe.”

“…How long did that take?” asked Emily. Peace tried to recall.

“Erm…two hours, I think.”

“TWO HOURS?!” yelped Emily as she sprang to her feet.

“Relax, my dear,” soothed Peace. “You and your friends are safe. I moved you all to the First Palace so the work to restore Adrexia can begin. …But you and your team need me back, don’t you?”

“…We do,” replied Emily. “Peace, I’m sure you enjoyed your life here among the Adrexians, but the sad fact is that Cyber-Priestess Gi’s boss, Khan the Author, has seized control of the Tome and intends to use my friends’ 3V2R prizes and the Sources of the Apocalypse and Flourishment as well as the Tome to rewrite reality as we know it to his rather Mary-sue whims.” She looked guilty at admitting it.

“Do not regret telling me my old life is over,” assured Peace. “It was going to happen eventually. Besides, it would be nice to see all my surviving sisters.”

“There’s a new sister for you to meet back home,” said Emily. “Our friend, Lacey Atmadja, is the new Chaos.”

“…A new Chaos? After all this time?” Peace smiled. “Good. Yes, very good. But, for now, we must free your friend, Ms. Wyldstyle, from all her Borg kit.”

“I’ve unassimilated Liberated Borg drones before,” replied Emily. “Leave that to me.”

“What did you say your name was?”

“Dr. Emily Williams, CMO of the Vortex Riders.”

“A doctor?” Peace smiled. “So the hands of a healer liberated the Adrexians.”

“Well, it’s always nice to liberate people from tyranny,” replied Emily.

---

Wyldstyle was quickly restored to her flesh and blood state and sighed in relief. “You have no idea how much that stuff dug into me!” she said.

“Well, the Borg don’t really consider comfort necessary,” replied Emily. “You’re all set, Lucy!”

“It’s not-!” Wyldstyle drew in a breath and calmed down. “We’ll talk about that later.” She and Emily then rejoined the team as Lurazzi approached them with a maid next to her.

“Ladies,” said Lurazzi, “we Adrexians owe you a debt of gratitude. You and your female friends, and that includes ladies that were once men, are more than welcome to visit whenever you wish! And as for Auriella and her friends, they will not be permitted to enter the walls of this universe. As for me, I think it’s time to pamper someone after they toiled for so long.” She and the maid then snapped their fingers and their dresses changed styles. Now Lurazzi was the maid and the former maid wore regal clothes. “Your first act, Queen Hezami?” Lurazzi asked the former maid.

“My first act will be to strike Auriella’s name from the Record,” said Hezami. “She is hereby persona non grata. Second, more important, I shall be organizing the reconstruction efforts of Adrexia Prime. And third, the construction of a Beyond City Embassy between the Chizaran one and the Tarlaxian one.”

“…I was unaware of the existence of a Tarlaxian Embassy here,” said Scorpainia.

“We were starting construction on it when this all went down,” explained Hezami. “Lurazzi, see to it that the project resumes.”

“Yes, your Majesty!” replied Lurazzi as she headed off.

“She seems happy,” noticed Emily.

“She’s been Queen too long,” said Hezami. “I think she’s enjoying the change of pace. But she led us as well as she could under the circumstances.”

“I can relate,” remarked Override. “I had to guide my people through an Energon shortage back home.”

“Dame Emily, you are a friend and ally to us,” Hezami said to Emily. “Visit us when you can.”

“That’s a promise, your Majesty,” said Emily. She then called up her friends. “Emily to Beyond City, mission accomplished! Requesting a rift home!”

---

Emily and her team were greeted with a hero’s welcome! When it was revealed that Wyldstyle was freed, Batman and Gandalf managed to catch up with her. “Wyldstyle, does Khan know yet?” Batman asked her. “About the Apocalypse Sources?”

“Not when I was last connected to the Lords,” replied Wyldstyle. “He still doesn’t know where specifically they are, only the universes they’re in.”

“Then we still have a chance,” said Gandalf. He then noticed Megumi looking out beyond the mountains of Beyond City’s borders.

“…Hey, Megumi!” called Wyldstyle. Megumi didn’t stir. The three then approached her. They saw that her face was one of concern. Gandalf looked out in the same direction as Megumi.”

“…The new veiling shadow that glowers outside this universe takes shape for you,” he said. Megumi nodded. “…Khan will suffer no rival,” continued Gandalf. “From the bowels of the Lord Unicomplex, the Author’s eye watches as ceaselessly as Sauron’s. But he is not so mighty yet that he is above fear. Doubt ever gnaws at him.”

“It really does, Megumi,” confirmed Wyldstyle. “Rumor has reached him that the three that make up Kamen Rider Vortex: Trinity Soul are repairing the means to summon her again. …Khan fears that form, Megumi. He fears what it can do.”

“And so he’ll strike hard and fast at the universes left,” continued Batman. “He’ll use the more powerful of his puppets to destroy the heroes of those universes.”

“War is coming to them,” said Gandalf. “The remaining two universes must defend themselves and therein lies our first challenge, for only one is versed in multiverse theory. He’ll try to enslave the minds of the greatest villains of those universes, it’s an old device he picked up from Saruman. His hold over those universes will be very strong. Khan and his allies are tightening the noose.”

“But, for all their backup plans and cunning, we still have one advantage,” smiled Wyldstyle. “The Apocalypse Sources and the 3V2R prizes are still hidden. And that we should seek to keep them out of his grasp has not yet been thought of.”

“And so five heroes continue to baffle the enemy,” continued Batman. “Each day brings us closer to taking advantage of any mistake he’ll make. We must trust now in Jason, Mickey, Peach, Dell, and Usagi I. Everything depends on the speed and secrecy of our quest and their ability to outlast the enemy.” Gandalf then saw Megumi decline her head.

“…Do not regret your decision to let them go,” he soothed. “They must accomplish this task alone.”

“They’re not alone,” corrected Megumi. Everyone looked at her. “Colleen, Alesandro, Tanisha, Victor, Moon-Keung, they and their lovers went with them.”

“Did they?” asked Gandalf. He smiled a hopeful smile. “Did they indeed? Good. Yes, good.”

“Then we have a greater chance than we thought,” said Batman.

“Seeing her squirm like that must have been cathartic!” Elmpam said to Malnar as they, their team, Peace, Lurazzi, and Remsu headed to the First Palace.

“You have no idea, Mama!” replied Malnar. “After so many failed interrogations during the Final War-!” Remsu’s tail then hit her in the back of the head. “…Not nearly fuzzy enough for my tastes,” snarked Malnar.

“So the walking meatloaf doesn’t get to do that?” hissed Remsu.

“No, he’s got enough hair on his tail.”

“Bestiality at its finest.” Remsu then looked at Elmpam. “Like Father, like daughter, I guess.” That comment made Elmpam growl.

“Enough, y’all!” called Emily. “It looks like we’re here.” Even when overgrown, the First Palace was quite opulent. Peace then saw something atop a minaret. It was a sphere with her color!

“That’s it!” she called.

“For you, yes!” replied Remsu. She broke the vines holding her hands together and the Lords popped out with Remsu’s team at the front!

“As predicted, you blundered right into our trap,” called Cyber-priestess Gi. “It was a simple matter for one of our number with the greatest grudge against members of your team to be your prisoner. …Although, you ARE early.”

“You were supposed to be the bad cop, Malnar!” called Remsu.

“Oh, so your fear WAS genuine, huh?” chuckled Malnar.

“It matters not!” interjected Gi. “Now, we will be taking the Source for our organization and-!”

“You couldn’t control Lacey’s source when you were just a Cyber-leader in Crystal Tokyo,” retorted Emily. “What hope do you have now?”

“See, the thing is, I’m not intending on using it. As you correctly guess, my use of the Source of Chaos led to Lacey perverting my instructions, but I won’t let Peace do the same with hers.”

“Cyber-priestess Gi, I’m giving you a final warning because I’m nice. Leave this universe. Let us take the Source.” Gi smirked at Emily’s warning.

“You have neither the handles nor the enlarged cranium to command me!” Emily rolled her eyes at Gi’s refusal and turned to her team.

“I tried?” she asked them. “I really tried? You all heard me?”

“All of us,” replied Elmpam.

“And she still refused,” said Malnar.

“Then there’s no choice,” sighed Emily as she brought out her belt. All the Kamen Riders from all sides followed suit.

“HENSHIN!” they all shouted and the battle began as their armor appeared. As before, the Adrexians fought the Lords. As they fought, however, one Lord appeared to be attacking her own team, taking bits off of their prosthetics!

“HEY! HEY! THAT’S MY HEAD TUBE!” called one.

“GIMME MY CLAW BACK!” shouted another.

“MY LEG!” cried a third. Gi as Adaptus and Touché heard the confusion and looked to see the renegade Lord taking bits off her compatriots and making a device.

“Drone, explain yourself!” demanded Adaptus. “What’s with the mix table?”

“It’s not a mix table!” replied the Lord. “How many times do I have to tell everyone I’m not a DJ?!”

“WYLDSTYLE!” cheered Touché. Wyldstyle tossed Peace the strange device.

“That should get the Source off the minaret!” she said. “We’ll keep my old buddies off your back!”

“…Is this opportunity I hear ringing?” said Peace. She then dashed off.

“STOP THAT HORSEMAN!” ordered Adaptus. Touché and her team intercepted the pursuing Lords and fought them, but a team of four-legged beasts, with the tell-tale signs of Borg assimilation, leapt over their heads, barking like dogs. They looked like larger wolves with their organic eyes blazing with malevolent intelligence.

“Wargs!” breathed Touché. “Assimilated Wargs!”

“Swiped straight from a place called Gundabad when Mordor was in power!” replied Wyldstyle.

“Gundabad, huh?” asked Touché. She then summoned her Machine Vortexer and pulled out an ID tag. “Override, you and the team keep the enemy busy. I’ll draw the Warg Lords off Peace’s tail!”

“Wyldstyle just got through saying that these are Gundabad Wargs!” protested Override. “They’ll outrun you!”

“My Machine Vortexer can account for the prosthetics. And when it syncs up with the ID tag, it will add the speed of Rhosgobel rabbits!” Touché revealed that her ID tag had a picture of Radagast the Brown. “I’d like to see them try!”

---

Peace had quickly entered the First Palace and made her way to where the minaret stood. She heard the howling of the Warg Lords and looked back. “…Time to climb quickly!” she muttered as she found footholds in the minaret’s exterior. Even in a dress as big as hers, Peace could climb quickly. The Warg Lords, sadly, saw the footholds.

“Go away, girls!” taunted Touché’s voice as she arrived in Radagast steel atop her Machine Vortexer. “It’s not bird-nesting time!” The Warg Lords snapped at her in their evil language and chased her.

“…She’s put herself at risk for a stranger,” Peace muttered to herself. “…Right, better use the Source when I get up there!” Peace began to climb faster. She made it to the top and attached Wyldstyle’s device to the Source. The device burned the bonds holding the Source away and Peace caught it before it fell. “All right, time to end this!” The Source glowed and she thrust it into the air.

---

The battle raged on, no one knowing what Peace was doing. Override was doing what she could to keep Adaptus at bay. “I don’t understand,” said the Cyber Rider. “You are machine-life! Technological perfection! Yet you still embrace chaos!”

“What you call chaos, I call order!” replied Override.

“You’re malfunctioning! I’ll fix that!” Adaptus was about ready to key in the number code for her Rider Kick, then her attention was grabbed.

“DEATH HERALD KICK!” shouted Herald B as she sailed through the air and slammed her foot into Adaptus. Adaptus fell to the ground, her armor sparking before it vanished.

“You…you miserable runt!” snarled the Cyber-Priestess. “You undersized…HOBBIT!” She was about to leap at Herald B…when a great drowsiness seized her. The eyelid of her organic eye became heavy and her shoulders sagged. Her body toppled over with a heavy thud and she began snoring. She wasn’t the first to be affected by the sleepiness. Override, Cosmo, Emily, Lurazzi, the Lords, Hana, they all fell asleep. All…but Peace. She had climbed down the minaret and looked across the once noisy battlefield.

“…That’s the general battle taken care of,” she said to herself. “Now…to deal with the enemy.”

“Gi, leave this universe!” demanded Emily as she readied her Vortex Driver. “We do not want the situation to escalate!”

“I have too much riding on this!” replied Gi.

“You’ve got failure riding on this!” challenged Sophie as she brought out her Herald Henshin Phone. Famine brought out her Famine Driver and Lacey got out her Apocalypse Driver. Gi brought out her Cyber-phone and Hana brought out her Shocker Driver.

“Last chance!” warned Hana.

“You’ve already failed!” called Lurazzi. “We’re back on Adrexia Prime! You don’t have the Source and-!”

“Auriella told us where she stashed it,” said Femfaf. “We’ll get it!”

“No, you won’t!” declared Emily. She fastened her Vortex Driver on, Famine and Lacey fastened their belts, Sophie and Gi dialed their respective numbers into heir phones, and Hana fastened her belt. Emily and Hana got out their ID Tags.

“HENSHIN!” shouted all the Riders.

“Famine!”

“Apocalypse!”

“BLITZ! Hito yon’de Akuma no Shocker! Hito yon’de Akuma no Shocker!” Hana’s Rider Form adopted the look of Hermes and had a feather-pattern skirt.

“…So, you’re called Kamen Rider Blitz, yeah?” asked Touché. “Why?”

“Because of THIS!” Blitz ran at Touché and slammed a fist into her gut! That started the fight! Peace stayed out of the fight (it’s in her nature and name not to fight) as the Adrexians fought the Lords while Touché and her team fought their commanders. With Blitz running around, causing havoc, it was hard for Touché to coordinate any proper assault.

“Override, take over command!” said Touché. “I’ve got an annoyance to deal with!”

“Right!” replied Override. Touché then swapped out her ID tag with one emblazoned with a certain hedgehog’s face.

“Sonic the Hedgehog Steel!” announced her Vortex Driver. Armor pieces based on Sonic, complete with a quill attachment for the back of the helmet, were then fastened onto her and she caught Blitz’s next punch. Now they were on equal footing!

“Still can’t fight right, old-timer!” cackled Blitz.

“Old-timer, huh?” Touché then spin-dashed Blitz, unfolded, then delivered a punch straight to her belt. Blitz then slowed down!

“MY SPEED POWERS! THAT’S FIGHTING DIRTY!”

“Aw, bless your heart!” replied Touché. She then grabbed Blitz and slammed her into a tree.

---

Over with Gi and her forces, things were faring no better. Override proved to be a more competent commander than she was led to believe. Her intel on the current Nitro Convoy was that she was always running from her problems like the average Velocitronian. She was not made aware of the war between Optimus and Megatron causing her to officially declare Velocitron an Autobot ally. Because of that lack of information, Gi couldn’t get the proper orders out to her troops fast enough, even if she had connected her part of the Cyberiad to the Lord Hive. They were being overwhelmed. “BACK!” she called. “ALL FORCES, RETREAT!” She and Remsu covered the retreat.

“WE GOT THEM ON THE RUN!” called Bashoon. She fired a shot from her wand and stunned Remsu!

“REMSU!” called Femfaf.

“Leave her!” ordered Gi.

“But-!”

“We can’t rescue her now and our enemies will keep her alive and healthy! The only X-Factor is if she’s somehow forced to reveal everything! We’ll rescue her when we regroup!”

“…Understood!” snarled Femfaf as everyone retreated through escape rifts. Vines then bound Remsu’s arms as she woke up. Cosmo stood over her as Malnar approached.

“Well, well, well,” cooed the Under-Queen. “What is this? A sight I never got to see during the Final War?”

“Laugh it up!” hissed Remsu. “I’ll never talk, Captain!”

“Oh, you’ll be talking!” promised Malnar. “Count on it!”

---

Remsu was taken to a police station (still overgrown with plants) and brought to an interrogation room. Outside the room, Emily, Scorpainia, Geltar, Malnar, and Cosmo were discussing how to get the location of the Source out of Remsu. “How resistant to torture is she?” asked Emily.

“Highly,” replied Malnar. “She couldn’t break during the Final War.”

“There’s always the good cop bad cop routine,” said Scorpainia.

“We have Cosmo and Mama Malnar,” remarked Geltar. “…But Remsu probably already knows how temperamental Mama can get. …Er, no offense, Mama.”

“None taken, because you’re right,” replied Malnar.

“Maybe I can be the bad cop?” offered Cosmo.

“Cosmo, no offense, but you’re a little too gentle,” said Geltar.

“Geltar Royana!” hissed Malnar.

“Actually,” said Scorpainia, “we can still use Cosmo’s gentleness and Malnar’s temperament to our advantage.” Malnar and Cosmo each arched an eyebrow at Scorpainia.

---

Remsu waited in the room for a while, then Cosmo opened the door roughly. “All right, Remsu Borg!” she snarled. “I need a location and I need it NOW!” She slammed the door so hard, the glass of the one-way mirror cracked. Cosmo flinched. “Er…oops!” she gulped. “S-Sorry, Ma-…” She then shook her head and resumed her routine at the currently perplexed Remsu. “I-I mean, that’s nothing compared to what I’m about to do to you, Remsu, if I don’t get what I want NOW!”

“…What?” asked Remsu, thoroughly confused. Malnar calmly walked in and sat on the table.

“You better watch yourself with a Seedrian, old friend,” she said in a calming, but venomous tone. “Any little thing can set them off.”

“The walking rose bush?” scoffed Remsu. “Malnar, are we talking about the same girl here?” Cosmo snarled.

“Why don’t you step outside, Malnar?” she hissed. “I want to have a little private conversation with Remsu!” She then summoned a bright ball of light. “Let’s put a little light on the subject!” Remsu squinted and shielded her eyes from the brightness of Cosmo’s solar ball. “Oh…sorry,” said Cosmo. “Too bright? …I-I mean, that’s nothing compared to the damage a solar ball can do to your body! You’ll be redder than a tomato! So…TALK!”

“Coffee?” asked Malnar as she offered a cup to Remsu, suddenly appearing at her side.

“GAH! Don’t do that!” protested Remsu.

“I thought you might like coffee. It’s good.” Malnar then smiled wide.

“Wh-Why are you showing me your teeth?!” shuddered Remsu. “What IS that?!” Cosmo suddenly grabbed Remsu by the shoulders and yanked her close to her face.

“You’re gonna need that coffee when I’m through with you!” she snarled.

“Doughnut?” offered Malnar as she brought a doughnut out. Remsu shoved Malnar away.

“GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!” she yelped, really scared about Malnar’s uncharacteristic gentleness. “IS IT POISON?!”

“It’s chocolate. Straight from the Under-realm,” replied Malnar calmly. That was too much for Remsu!

“ALL RIGHT! ALL RIGHT ALREADY! I’LL TALK! I’LL TALK! I’LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING! JUST GET HER OUT OF HERE!”

---

“…Scorpainia, that was sheer genius!” giggled Emily as she, Geltar, and Scorpainia saw the whole thing.

“Let’s just say Cyber-priestess Gi’s reaction to Override’s ability to command a situation inspired me a bit,” replied Scorpainia. Malnar and Cosmo brought Remsu out of the room.

“The Source is on top of the Royal Minaret of the First Palace,” reported Malnar.

“I’m gonna hurt you when I get free, you know that?” hissed Remsu as an Adrexian led her away.

“Ladies, we’re one step closer to securing the Source!” cheered Emily as she and her friends fist bumped. …Their faces then contorted in pain and they clutched their wrists.

“…We didn’t brace our wrists, did we?” groaned Scorpainia.

“No, no we didn’t!” confirmed Emily through gritted teeth.

As the Adrexians were evacuated, Touché continued to duel Jansha. “What’s your endgame here?!” she demanded. “How will this get you the Source of Peace?!”

“Like I’d tell you!” snarled Jansha. She activated a concealed blaster and fired it. Touché rolled out of the way and converted her blade to gun mode. She opened fire, then Jansha pulled out a metal wand and fired magic blasts. Touché’s helmet gave a readout on the energy of the magic blasts.

“You can use magic?! How’s that possible?!” she yelped.

“Still not singing!” replied Jansha.

“Oh, you and your team WILL sing!” hissed Touché. She then inserted her ID tag into her weapon.

“Final Attack!” it announced.

“RIDER TOUCHÉ SHOT!” she called as she pulled the trigger. Jansha rolled out of the way, the energy blast grazing her shoulder. She clutched her shoulder, then a runic circle appeared beneath her. Touché recognized the circle. “Come back here, you coward!” she shouted. Too late. Jansha vanished and Touché growled. She then heard an alarm. “Hm?” she said. She then noticed a phone icon on her helmet’s HUD. She tapped her belt while looking directly at the icon. Rouge’s symbol then appeared.

“Touché honey,” she purred, “the shuttles are being prepped for heading planet-side!”

“Excellent!” praised Touché. “I’ll join you on the ground!” She ended the call, then summoned her motorcycle and sped to a nearby shuttle. She then dismissed her bike and her armor and Adrexians helped her into a shuttle.

“Madam, we owe you so many apologies-!” said one.

“Save it. I fought one of those that duped you all,” assured Emily. “I don’t blame you all in the slightest.” The shuttle then lurched before escaping to the planet below.

---

The whole journey took two hours before they arrived at a spaceport that was overgrown. “…Damn,” said Emily when she stepped out.

“…We didn’t take care of our home,” sighed an Adrexian.

“Well, we have time to fix the damage,” called a voice. Scorpainia approached them.

“You’re a Tarlaxian, yes?” asked a second Adrexian.

“Queen Empress Scorpainia, at your service,” replied Scorpainia.

“Our deepest apologies for dragging you away from such important-!”

“Believe it or not, you have nothing to apologize for,” said Scorpainia. “In fact, there’s a reason I and my friends are here. Emily, since you’re leading this mission, mind telling them?”

“Ladies of Adrexia,” said Emily, “we’re looking for Lady Peace of the Horsemen of Flourishment, the counterpart to War of the Apocalypse. A person naming himself Khan has seized control of the Tome and is bent on gathering the Sources of Flourishment on top of the Sources of the Apocalypse. Can you help us?”

“We can,” said an Adrexian.

“And we will!” said Lurazzi. “Adrexians, search the planet!” Never had there been a more dramatic surge of unity! All Adrexians scoured the planet! Naturally, Emily and her team helped out. It was Override and an Adrexian nurse that saw something.

“Hey, is that supposed to be part of the tree?” Override asked the nurse. She pointed to a large tree with a woman standing against it and the branches currently holding her to the bark. The woman was cyan colored and wore a floral necklace. The Adrexian nurse gasped.

“THAT’S HER! THAT’S LADY PEACE!” she cheered. Override then switched her comms on.

“Override to all search party members!” she said on an open channel. “Peace has been located! Repeat: Peace has been located! Converge on my position!” Everyone gathered and began cutting the branches restraining Peace. It took a lot of time and careful effort to get her down, but get her down they did. Emily started tending to her. Peace groaned as she opened her eyes.

“Lady Peace, are you okay?” asked Emily. Peace blinked blearily, then focused on Emily’s face.

“…I…don’t know you,” she mumbled.

“We never met,” explained Emily. “I’m Dame Emily Williams, Chief Medical Officer of the Feudal Nerd Society and student at After Academy.”

“After Academy? Then you were taught by my Apocalypse sisters?”

“Still being taught, although I feel the time for graduation is coming up for me. In any event, there’s a reason for my being here and it’s a dire one. Auriella had initially promised this universe’s loyalty to a multiversal terrorist organization called Shocker Umbra twenty of my universe’s years ago, roughly eight hundred thousand here in this universe.”

“That’s when this forest took over the planet!” realized Peace.

“Yes, and now Shocker Umbra has joined with a madman called the Author, the master of the Tome and he’s after your Source.”

“…He cannot claim it, but neither can I.” Emily arched an eyebrow at Peace’s cryptic remark.

“I’ve seen your Apocalypse sisters as well as Life and Bounty hold onto theirs easily,” she said.

“…You saw Life and Bounty?!” asked Peace.

“Yes. The situation is that dire,” replied Emily.

“Then I need to join you, but I need help. You see, the reason I cannot claim my Source is because it’s the cause of this forest.” Emily goggled.

“Auriella used your Source…to make this forest?!” she whispered in awe.

“She has used your Source for ill!” said Lurazzi.

“Lurazzi?!” asked Peace. “A Queen now?”

“Lady Peace, let me explain what happened,” said Lurazzi.

---

Peace was aghast at what she learned. “My dearest friend…fallen to evil!” she said sadly.

“Peace, perhaps there’s a way to fix this!” said Emily. “We just need to-!”

“Back away from the Horseman of Flourishment!” called a voice. “We don’t want the situation to escalate!” Everyone turned to see Cyber-priestess Gi, Femfaf, a blunette with a pink and cream dress and rose hairpiece resting on one of her two pigtails, Adachi Hana, Jansha, and Remsu approach them with a contingent of female Lord drones. Malnar growled at seeing Femfaf and Remsu.

“Malnar, you know those two women?” asked Emily as she pointed at Remsu and Femfaf.

“The silver thing is the first female Golem, Femfaf!” replied Malnar. “And the Succubus/Zephyr blender is my old First Officer, Remsu Borg!”

“Borg?!” yelped Geltar. “Like, DOCTOR Borg?! Mama Arsha’s main nemesis?!”

“The same!” confirmed Malnar. “She married Dr. Borg when she was initially in Realmfleet Max!”

“Old rivalries aside,” said Gi, “do not interfere with our plans. WE will be taking the Source! By force, if necessary!”

“You have meddled in affairs that don’t concern you, mortal,” the robot maid said to Emily.

“These affairs DO concern me, tin can! They’re getting in the way of real peace!” Emily tried to wiggle out of the robot’s grasp.

“There IS real peace. You are a disruption and will be removed.”

“There’s no peace! Lurazzi! You know this is just tyrannical quiet! You can’t turn a blind eye! Your people were praised for being peaceful because you changed your social status on a whim! The Adrexians were prospering because a Queen could be a farmer or a maid or a street sweeper and no one would bat an eye! I’m begging you! Listen to me!” Lurazzi considered what was said.

“…X5272, let her go!” The robot stopped.

“…Your Majesty?” asked the robot.

“Your new orders are to help me propagate this information to the entire station,” ordered Lurazzi.

“Not necessary. You may give me that data-disc,” urged the robot.

“…You know what, I should do it myself.” Lurazzi headed to the door. “Somebody’s gotta fix Auriella’s mess!”

“Your Majesty!” The robot then got between Lurazzi and the door. “Ma’am, I insist you give me the data-disc.”

“X5272, get out of my way!” commanded Lurazzi.

“We cannot go home,” said X5272.

“What do you mean ‘can’t go home’?! Why not?!”

“That is classified information.”

“What’s classified?! You don’t keep secrets from the Queen!”

“You are the stand-in Queen,” reminded X5272. “Give me the data-disc.” The robot reached for the data-disc, but Lurazzi kept it out of reach.

“Tell me what’s classified! Is it what Verdutha found?!”

“The disc!” Lurazzi then pointed a magnet at X5272.

“Tell me what’s classified or I shove this magnet into your brain!”

“Your Majesty!” protested Emily. X5272 and Lurazzi stared each other down.

“…Very good, Your Majesty.” X5272 headed to a window and keyed in a command on the terminal nearby. The window became a holographic display of Auriella with an arm around Katie while she rested her head on Auriella’s shoulder.

“And the light’s on! We’re good!” said Auriella. “Hello, Nanny! I’m sure you remember what’s going on. Well, this is kind of my confession. I have constructed an ecological disaster so the Adrexians will have to move. It should be millions of years before it’s over. Until then, the Adrexians need to be off planet as life is unsustainable on Adrexia Prime.”

“Unsustainable?” asked Lurazzi as she remembered some reports about plant life.

“I know, sad and against what Peace taught us, but we can’t tell who’s doing what job anymore,” continued Auriella. “So, rather than go to all-out war against Peace, it’s easier to just contain her and her followers.”

“Easier?!”

“Nanny, I’m implementing Directive V-117,” commanded Auriella. “Go to full autopilot, take control of everything, and do not let the Adrexians return to Adrexia Prime. Repeat; do not return to Adrexia Prime.”

“I think that’s enough, sweetheart,” purred Katie.

“Right you are, love.” Auriella kissed Katie as she turned off the camera. Lurazzi was dumbfounded at what she just learned.

“Now, the data-disc,” said X5272.

“No!” said Lurazzi. “No, wait a minute! Dame Emily, does the data-disc actually have an ecological report?”

“It does,” replied Emily. “Last I saw, there was plant-life.”

“And X5272, when was Nanny given that message?”

“The message was received in the year of the Blooming Star,” replied X5272.

“THAT’S 800,000 YEARS AGO!” shrieked Lurazzi. “X5272, it’s been long enough! We gotta go back!”

“Our orders are not to return to Adrexia Prime,” said X5272.

“But life IS sustainable! The plants’ existence down there is living proof that Auriella failed!”

“Irrelevant.”

“What?! IT’S COMPLETELY RELEVANT!” Lurazzi pointed at the planet out the window. “Down there is our home! HOME, X5272! And it needs us! I can’t just sit on the throne and do nothing! That’s all I’ve ever done! That’s all anyone on this damned station has ever done! NOTHING!”

“You are surviving,” said X5272. “This station means survival.”

“Do these women LOOK like Cybermen to you?!” snapped Emily.

“Silence, interference!”

“Belay that!” snarled Lurazzi. “Dame Emily, keep talking, because you’re right! I don’t want to just survive! I want to live!”

“Survival and living are the same thing,” insisted X5272.

“Living isn’t just blood-flow and heartbeats and brain activity!” Lurazzi went on. “It’s exploring and playing and doing new things!”

“I have directives to follow.” Lurazzi howled in frustration. She then looked out the window and clenched her fist.

“Auriella is no Queen! I am!” she said. “We’re going home TODAY!” Just then, there were multiple clanging sounds. Lurazzi, Emily, and X5272 looked outside the throne room to see robots falling over. Emily smiled.

“Outdated hunks of junk that can’t handle paradoxes,” she said.

“That should make the job easier!” said Lurazzi. “I’ll take care of my people! You and your team get the shuttles ready!”

“Will do!”

“STAY WHERE YOU ARE!” shouted a voice. Lurazzi and Emily turned to see X5272 still standing and tearing its maid dress off!

“…How are you-?!” gulped Lurazzi.

“That robot wasn’t built here,” guessed Emily.

“Correct,” replied X5272. “But my mission remains the same! To prove to everyone that Auriella has it right! That there NEEDS to be a rigid hierarchy! I would have been the first robot of the Realms to prove it, but now-!”

“The Realms?” interrupted Emily. “As in…Arsha’s home?” Emily then realized who this robot was! “JANSHA?!”

“In the flesh, in a manner of speaking,” replied X5272-Jansha Borg.

“You know this robot?” asked Lurazzi.

“Your Majesty, get your people to the shuttles and get them home!” directed Emily. “I’ll take care of this out-of-date scrapheap!”

“Don’t lump me with those things running the station!” snarled Jansha. As Jansha charged, Emily fastened her Vortex Driver and inserted her id tag.

“Henshin!” she called. She spun the wheel and became Kamen Rider Touché, drawing her blade and swinging it at Jansha while Lurazzi dashed out of the throne room to tell everyone the news.

---

Verdutha and her team dashed through the station and were trying to make their way past confused Adrexians. Lurazzi then ran into them. “…Stand-in Queen Lurazzi?” asked Verdutha.

“No, I am QUEEN,” replied Lurazzi. “Nothing more, nothing less!”

“Lurazzi, what makes you say that?” asked an Adrexian.

“Adrexians, we’ve been duped!” called Lurazzi. “I have here, in my hand, proof that Auriella tricked us all into staying here on the station! The rebels have been trying to clear a path for us and we were too comfortable to listen to them!”

“Then…there IS no ecological damage?” asked another Adrexian.

“None whatsoever!” replied Lurazzi. “Release the rebels and let them get down there first!”

“EXPLOSIVE?!” yelped Rouge as she stopped playing dead. Bashoon helped her up on account of the bat’s boots.

“Don’t panic!” said Bashoon. “Scorpainia’s an expert!” Scorpainia had transferred the imaginary explosive material to her hands and kept molding it like a snowball. Verdutha looked concerned.

“Scorpainia, isn’t that a bit much for our purposes?” she asked.

“I believe that’s the correct amount,” replied Scorpainia. Verdutha simply backed off. Scorpainia turned to Bashoon. “Captain Barmek, are you ready?”

“Aye aye!” replied Bashoon as she assumed a catcher’s position.

“I would not want you to drop it.”

“No fear.” At Bashoon’s reassurance, Scorpainia threw the imaginary explosive underhanded and Bashoon tracked it…then mimed fumbling it. Her team cried out variations of “Watch it!”, “Look out!”, or “Careful!”. Bashoon then caught it and smirked. She then carefully set it onto the floor and held her hand out. “Detonator,” she said. Fitri slapped her hand and Bashoon mimed adding a detonator to the explosive. “Fuse.” Another hand slap and more setting up the explosive. “Primer.” Another hand slap, another setup. Bashoon then stood up. “Matchstick.” She was given the imaginary matchstick, then she held it like it was a golf club.

“There is…no explosive!” protested the lead robot.

“No? Observe!” challenged Verdutha. Everyone then called out “FORE!” before Bashoon swung her imaginary club and they all acted like they were caught in the blast! Various robots shut down except the lead robot. “You okay?!” asked Verdutha. She then snapped her fingers near the other robots. They didn’t respond.

“But…there was…no explosion!” said the lead robot.

“I lied,” replied Bashoon.

“What?”

“She lied,” said Verdutha. “Everything she says is a lie. Remember that.”

“Now listen carefully. Verdutha has spoken truthfully.” The robot started smoking at trying to work Bashoon’s statement out.

“You say Verdutha has spoken truthfully,” it said, “but she said that everything you say is a lie, thus you tell the truth, but then that would mean that you are making a liar out of Verdutha, but she tells the truth about everything you say being a lie but you say she speaks truth but you…she…the truth is a lie is the truth is a lie is the truth…Illogical! Illogical! Explain! You are non-robots! Only non-robots can explain! PLEASE EXPLAIN!”

“I’m not programmed to respond in that area!” taunted Verdutha. This time there really WAS an explosion as the lead robot detonated. The women took cover quickly, then peaked out to examine the wreckage.

“What a dated hunk of junk!” complained Bashoon. “Even the dumbest robots of my world could handle paradoxes like that!”

“Here’s why,” muttered Verdutha as she pulled a diamond out of the robot’s chest. “This thing was used as a sort of brain. It’s absolutely terrible in circuitry. It’d be better suited to be on display in a museum. I mean, in many a universe, this would be about twice the worth of the Eye of Chizara, the most priceless jewel in the multi-!” Verdutha didn’t get very far as a certain bat swiped it. “Rouge, give that back!”

“No!” Rouge then hid the diamond…well…you know.

“…You actually put a diamond in your cleavage,” remarked Verdutha.

“Yes, I have,” replied Rouge.

“…How comfortable is it?”

“…Not comfortable at all. But it’s not coming out until I put this thing in me and Knucky’s vault.”

“…Well, as I’m not willing to stick my hand between a woman’s breasts unless it’s a woman I’m sharing a bed with,” said Verdutha, “all I can really say is that the ball is in Emily’s court now.”

---

It was a long way to the Throne Room, but Emily made it. The robot maid opened the door and Emily went inside. After shutting the door, Emily curtsied, and the maid announced her presence. “Presenting Dame Emily Williams of the Feudal Nerd Society,” it said.

“Come forward,” directed Lurazzi. Emily walked forward, then got to her knees. “What is your desire?” asked Lurazzi.

“Your Majesty, an ecological report managed to worm its way into a call I was granted to Verdutha,” explained Emily. “I only request that it be returned to you.” She presented a metal disc with a holographic emitter in the center.

“Let us see this report,” said Lurazzi. “We thank you for returning our property to us. It seems to be an honest mistake and no punishment is needed.” Emily handed the disc to Lurazzi. Lurazzi then activated it and the conversation played between Emily and Verdutha. Only, this time, it was decoded.

“Emily, I just discovered some very disturbing news about this ecological disaster the Adrexians are going through,” said Verdutha.

“What’s going on, Verdutha?” replied Holo-Emily. “When did this all start?”

“What is this?!” hissed Lurazzi.

“Your Majesty, I beg you,” said Emily, “listen to the whole thing.”

“The disaster happened by artificial means,” explained Verdutha.

“…Man-made?” asked Holo-Emily. “For what reason?”

“Auriella became too enamored with a single social structure and came to the conclusion that only an unchanging hierarchy would make the Adrexians better than anyone else in the multiverse and would make them ready to join Shocker Umbra.” Holo-Emily rolled her eyes.

“Because, of course, my cousin’s wife would want that! So, Umbra’s had this universe in their grasp for 800,000 years, local timescale. That’s only 20 years by Beyond City’s timescale.”

“It gets worse. Auriella uses these robots to quell any ideas of resistance. Though, according to the logs I stumbled upon, the robots can’t handle paradoxes.” Holo-Emily blinked at Verdutha’s statement.

“…The robots aren’t THAT dumb, right?” she asked. “I mean, there’s no way they can get stuck on paradoxes like we can.”

“Well, they can. Listen, I have Auriella’s logs encoded in this message as proof, but someone in authority needs to hear this! The Adrexians are stagnating, and they NEED to reclaim Adrexia Prime!”

“Auriella’s logs?” Holo-Emily grinned. “I know how to get them to Lurazzi. You take care of the robots, I’ll deal with Lurazzi. The Adrexians will go home today!”

“Here’s hoping. Good luck, Emily.” The decoded call then ended. Lurazzi sat there, trying to process it all. Just before Emily spoke, the robot maid that accompanied her grabbed her shoulders.

“…Uh oh,” gulped Emily.

To say Emily was going mad was an understatement. She never had been so isolated (having moved from her old universe to Beyond City in 2018, two years before COVID-19 lockdowns). It felt wrong, not being able to contact her friends. If anything, she felt like she was in prison. Her mind raced with plans to see the Stand-in Queen. Maybe she could help. The question was how to get an audience with her. Just then, a robot maid came in. “Dame Williams, Lady Verdutha has requested an audience with you. Would you like to speak with her?”

“Yes, please!” replied Emily.

“Very well,” said the maid. “I shall connect you to her.” The robot then plugged into a computer console and Verdutha appeared on a screen. It seemed like the video was in an old red and blue effect for 3-d glasses. Emily blinked as she recognized what was going on. There was a coded communique.

“Hello, Emily!” said Verdutha. “Enjoying the life of Peace?” Emily had paid attention to Verdutha’s mouth movements and gleaned the message. She knew the audio would be scrambled and respliced into a different sentence.

“What’s going on, Verdutha?” she replied. “When did this all start?”

“Oh, I know,” said Verdutha. “The poor planet. Auriella really has her work cut out for her.”

“…Man-made? For what reason?”

“Well, they saved the important stuff, but the fluidity of it all nearly killed the Adrexians.” Emily rolled her eyes when she translated the mouth movements.

“Because, of course, my cousin’s wife would want that! So, Umbra’s had this universe in their grasp for 800,000 years, local timescale. That’s only 20 years by Beyond City’s timescale.”

“And it gets better! Crime has dropped to only two percent since this new change!” Emily translated Verdutha’s mouth movements.

“…The robots aren’t THAT dumb, right?” she asked. “I mean, there’s no way they can get stuck on paradoxes like we can.”

“It really is the perfect society. The stand-in Queen, Lurazzi, has helped Auriella keep things in order.” Emily goggled.

“Auriella’s logs?” She grinned. “I know how to get them to Lurazzi. You take care of the robots, I’ll deal with Lurazzi. The Adrexians will go home today!”

“You take care too, dear!” Verdutha’s call then ended. The robot maid was about to leave when Emily acted.

“Excuse me! Something went screwy with the call between us!” she called. “It looks like one of your top-secret reports meant for Stand-in Queen Lurazzi wormed its way to my end!”

“Has it?” asked the maid. It checked the call files. “Oh my goodness, it has!”

“Do you think I can give this to her in person? You can watch me so I don’t do anything suspicious.”

“I don’t see any issue with that arrangement,” said the robot maid. “This way, please.”

---

Verdutha managed to call Bashoon, Fitri, Rouge, and Scorpainia. They were granted a group tour of the computer center where all the robots were linked up to a hive mind. Verdutha whispered the plan to her group members as they walked. They soon arrived at the main computer banks where the main robot in charge was coordinating the action. “As you can see, this perfect system is what keeps the Adrexians alive,” said the robot in charge. “If need be, we can restrain those who would be imperfect. We are much stronger-”

“No, WE’RE stronger,” challenged Verdutha. “And I’ll prove it to you.” She leaned to the robot as if she were about to impart a great secret to it. “Can you harm that which you’re programmed to serve?”

“…No,” answered the lead robot. Bashoon took the lead.

“But you already HAVE, my dear,” said the Goblin woman. “Womankind cannot survive on bread alone, you poor, soulless creature, but on the nourishments of liberty! For what indeed IS a woman without freedom? Naught but a mechanism trapped in the cogwheels of eternity!”

“You offer us only well-being,” said Fitri.

“Food and drink and happiness mean nothing to us,” continued Rouge. “We must be about our jobs.”

“Suffering and torment and pain, laboring without end…”

“Dying and crying and lamenting over our burdens…” Rouge and Fitri then looked at each other and spoke in unison.

“Only this way can we be happy!” The two women curtsied. The eyes of the robots were starting to flash as they were processing this new information.

“That is…contradictory,” said the lead robot. “It is not…logical.” It turned to Scorpainia. “Queen Empress Scorpainia, explain.”

“Go ahead,” Verdutha urged the Tarlaxian ruler. Scorpainia then whispered in the robot’s ears.

“Logic is a little, tweeting bluebird chirping in a meadow of carnivorous plants. Logic is a wreath of beautiful flowers that smell rancid.” Scorpainia then studied the robot intensely. “Are you sure your circuits are registering correctly? Your ears are green.” Rouge suddenly wailed in misery.

“I CAN’T GO ON!” she cried. “I’M TIRED OF HAPPINESS! I’M TIRED OF COMFORT AND PLEASURE! I’M READY! KILL ME! KILL ME!” Her compatriots then made finger guns and…fired.

“BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!” they all said. With each bang, Rouge moved as if she were shot.

“Goodbye, cruel multiverse!” she said as she slowly fell to the floor.

“BANG! BANG!” Rouge’s eyes shut and she stopped moving. Fitri put two fingers to the bat’s neck to check for a pulse.

“…She’s dead, Jim,” she said to Verdutha in a perfect Dr. McCoy impression.

“You…cannot have killed her,” remarked the lead robot. “You have no weapons.” Verdutha soon cradled Rouge in her arms.

“Lady Rouge!” she whispered in mock horror. “She had too much happiness! Now she’s happier she’s dead! We shall miss her! Let us hear it for our poor, dead friend!” They all started laughing, then Verdutha moved her hands for silence. “What is a woman but that lofty spirit? That sense of…endeavor?” She winked at Bashoon. “That devotion to something that cannot be sensed, cannot be realized, but only…DREAMED the highest reality?!”

“Brilliant! Bravo!” cheered Bashoon as the group, sans Rouge, clapped and shook Verdutha’s hand. Verdutha then spoke to the lead robot.

“How did you like it?” she asked. The robot wasn’t very advanced, so it got stuck on one thing like a bit of bad code.

“That is…irrational. Illogical. Dreams are not real.”

“Our logic is to be illogical,” replied Verdutha. “That is our advantage. Scorpainia, it is time. The explosive.”

“Very well,” replied Scorpainia. Her right claw then moved from behind her back as if she were holding a sphere of explosive material in it.