Tag: lacey

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Movie Chapters

Chapter 4

With the Gateway having been fixed so that the seven person limit was removed, we didn’t need my power as Vortex. My team, Team Death, assembled first. “Coordinates set,” reported Rusty. “Whenever you’re ready.”

“Shall we, Megumi?” offered Death.

“Minna,” I called, “ikuze! CHARGE!” We charged into the portal, flying through the rift.

Next up was my team, Team War. “Okay, Michael,” called Elphaba. “Your path is set.”

“Off we go!” I called. War gave off a battle-cry as we charged into the portal.

I had already taken everyone up to the Virginia. I adjusted the rose rings around my wrists as we arrived at the bridge. It was multi-leveled. The pilot sat in the center of the bridge’s lower level in a chair that looked like a multi-axis trainer, the chair astronauts use to simulate disorientation on reentry. The walls had half a TARDIS console built into them. The Captain, me, would sit in a chair on the level above the pilot and the First Officer would sit in the seat behind me, facing the back of the bridge in order to relay commands. I was showing off the consoles, starting from port, then going to bow, then starboard, then stern. “Welcome to the bridge!” I began. “We’ve only got a limited amount of time, so let’s go through it quickly. The port consoles are science stations, the bow consoles are weapons, the starboard consoles are in charge of communications, and the aft consoles command Engineering when the Chief Engineer is on the bridge. Now, positions. Liam.”

“Aye?” gulped Liam as he was snapped out of his awe.

“You know technical stuff, right?” I asked.

“…I hit things,” replied Liam. “They get fixed.”

“Splendid,” I answered. “You’ll work with R9 as an Engineer. Amelia, Pestilence, you work the science stations.”

“Got it,” confirmed Pestilence as she and Amelia took their respective consoles.”

“Hongo, you work the weapons,” I directed.

“Both consoles?” asked Hongo.

“Only one needs to be used,” answered Mikhail, “but we’re people who prefer back-ups. So, when one explodes, the other kicks in when only one person’s working the weapons.”

“Now THAT makes sense,” replied Hongo.

“Speaking of working consoles,” I interjected, “Mikhail, you’re in charge of communications.”

“да,” (Da, yes) confirmed Mikhail.

“Tanisha, you’ve flown ships before,” I recalled.

“Not this type,” remarked Tanisha. “I need to familiarize myself with the controls.”

“It’s like a video game,” I assured. “Think of the space battles in Star Wars: Battlefront II, the 2005 release.”

“Ah, the good one,” remarked Tanisha.

“Where does that leave me?!” protested Scorpainia.

“It leaves you as my First Officer,” I answered.

“YOUR First Officer?!” exclaimed Scorpainia.

“Megumi legally transferred ownership of the ship to me,” I explained. “As such, I’m it’s captain.”

“I see,” replied Scorpainia.

“Make sure my orders are carried out and smack anyone who says or does something stupid,” I instructed.

“Smacking limbs ready,” reported Scorpainia.

“All right, man your stations,” I directed. “Majel, ship status.” An image of the late Majel-Barret Roddenberry appeared on screen. She was in one of her Lwaxana Troi dresses.

“Still in standard orbit,” she reported, “and this a.i. is really, REALLY bored!”

“Is that…?!” gasped R9.

“No, it’s the a.i. based off of her,” I answered. “When she heard that I needed a shipboard computer, she volunteered. After I explained that it would have a full range of emotions, she planted the idea of an interactive image in Lukas’ head and suggested herself. This was after her guest lecture on how much influence women had in early science fiction. I agreed and so Lukas coded Majel here.”

“And I’ve been stuck orbiting Vorton for a while now,” muttered Majel.

“Well, our new adventure may stretch your engines,” I replied. “We’re going to universe 5-U-P-3-R-M-4-R-1-0 to rescue some Tarlaxian explorers.”

“OOOH! Going outside Vorton!” cheered Majel. “Ready and waiting!”

“Tanisha,” I instructed as I sat down, “set a course for 5-U-P-3-R-M-4-R-1-0. 50% of speed factor 1 until we’ve cleared orbit, then punch it to speed factor 7.”

“Got it,” confirmed Tanisha as she pressed the necessary buttons. As Scorpainia moved to sit behind me, I noticed something.

“Hey,” I whispered to her, not wanting to draw the bridge’s attention to it, “are you all right?”

“What do you mean?” replied Scorpainia in the same whisper.

“Your claw’s shaking,” I answered. Scorpainia’s right claw was shaking a bit. She looked at the claw and saw it shake. She then opened and shut it a few times, making it stop twitching.

“Must be getting old,” she chuckled. I could see it in her eyes, something’s terrified her. We were on a time crunch, though, so I put it to the back of my mind.

“Course laid in,” reported Tanisha.

“Engage!” I ordered in my best Picard impression. The engines hummed, the lights brightened…and the ship lurched, nearly throwing me out of my seat. Scorpainia yelped as the same happened to her while everyone else held onto their consoles as they fell.

“I’ll just correct the orbit, shall I?” gulped Majel.

“Vorton’s hailing us,” reported Mikhail.

“Put them through,” I directed. “They probably want to know what’s going on.”

“Is everything all right up there?” asked Richard.

“Just learned that the controls ARE similar to the space battles of the 2005 Star Wars: Battlefront II,” replied Tanisha, “but with inverted controls.”

“I think we need to learn how to fly this thing,” muttered Scorpainia.

“Majel, why don’t you pull up some tutorials?” I suggested.

“Tutorial system: engaged,” replied Majel. “We’ll start with step 1: Crash Avoidance.”

“When that’s done,” called Liam, “que up Snakes on a Plane.”

“Dude! Do it!” agreed R9.

“…All right,” mumbled Majel. “Queuing up Snakes on a Plane, directed by David R. Ellis and starring Samuel L. Jackson and…”

“Majel, cancel that order,” I interrupted.

“AW!” protested Liam and R9.

“You guys go on without us,” called Emily to my group.

“Okay, if you say so, Sis,” I muttered.

“We should probably get going,” mumbled Famine as she finished her chicken wings.

“All right, then,” I declared. “ATTACK!” We charged into the portal and fell through the rift.

“Moon-kyung,” called Joshua, “wish to do the honors?”

“Me?” I gulped.

“Why not? Let a new girl try her hand in a command position,” replied Lacey.

“…Well, I DID want to join the army when I was a girl,” I conceded. “Time to get some practice in. Gaja!” (Let’s go!) We charged into the portal and headed to our destination.

“There IS one thing I never liked about manning the Gateway,” muttered Elphaba as Ms. Moon-kyung and her group departed.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“The waiting,” explained Elphaba.

“No one really likes waiting,” I replied.

“I’m actually fine with it,” signed Chell. Thank goodness Tanisha taught Rusty, Elphaba, and I how to understand American Sign Language.

“Why?” asked Elphaba.

“Back home,” continued Chell, “I was constantly put into dangerous situations by GLaDOS, never getting a moment’s rest. I’m fine with just waiting.”

“Well, maybe it’s the old bad guy in me,” sighed Elphaba, “but I would stave off the ennui by conquest.”

“You’ve REALLY got a bad case of jitters if conquest staves it off,” remarked Rusty. I snorted holding back a laugh.

“I don’t know if you noticed,” I remarked, “but your old associates in the Dalek Empire are the twitchiest bunch in our universe.”

“And knowing that there’s a hostile multiverse out there,” interjected Elphaba, “we need to be ready for attack. THAT’S what’s making me twitchy.”

“In MY day,” I replied, “we took on Daleks, Cybermen, Autons, Zygons, and all manner of space thuggery, and it doesn’t get more hostile than THAT!” Just then, the Gateway’s control console beeped. Elphaba took it.

“This is Vorton,” she introduced.

“It’s Emily,” called Young Miss Saunders. “We finally got the ship controls hammered out. We’ll see you later.”

“Good luck,” bid Elphaba. As soon as communications ended, the Virginia left orbit, opened a rift, and vanished into it. Rusty and I saluted, you’re familiar with the salute of the United Kingdom, as it left.

“All right,” declared Elphaba as she took charge, “we’re all going into one hour shifts monitoring various aspects. Rusty, you’re monitoring the power systems. Brigadier, you’re monitoring weapons. Chell, medical monitoring for you. I’ll monitor the Gateway for any rift activity. We switch at the end of our shifts, Gateway to medical to weapons to power to Gateway. Understood?” We all confirmed our duties. “Perfect, let’s…” the Gateway beeped again, interrupting her. Since she volunteered for Gateway duty, she checked the console. “Someone’s coming through!” she yelped.

“Shocker Rift?” asked Rusty as she readied her gunstick.

“…No,” reported Elphaba. “A blonde woman in rags.”

“What was she doing in the rift?” I asked.

“Does it matter?!” signed Chell. “Bring her in! She’s unprotected!” Elphaba opened a portal and brought the woman to the platform. Rusty’s eyes went wide.

“I know that face!” she breathed.

“Pardon?” I asked.

“From the Pathweb, the shared intelligence of the Daleks!” explained Rusty. “From the Doctor’s memories as well! I know that woman!”

“Who?” asked Elphaba as Chell picked her up and carried her to the medical bay. “Who is she?”

“…Rose Tyler!” declared Rusty.

Tags batman, death, emily saunders, famine, gandalf, kamen rider, kamen rider ichigo, lacey, megumi hishikawa, pestilence, war, wyldstyle

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Movie Chapters

Chapter 17

We had Cybermen chasing us all around the warehouse, some of us going through doors a la Scooby Doo. The Cybermen then decided waiting outside the doors would curb that. What their logic centers didn’t count on was that we would all meet at another door that they weren’t watching. We tip-toed past the Cybermen and sighed once we thought we were far enough. …Did you know Cybermen can hear beyond what we can? They heard us sigh and resumed the chase. I doubled back once I was sure I had gotten them off my back. The plan required me to use a bit of the Source’s power and I needed that in my hand. I’m the only one that can control it, being a Horseman of the Apocalypse. I noticed that the Sailor Senshi were having a hard time using their attacks against the Cybermen. They must have used Usagi I’s knowledge. They managed to get the Sailor Senshi down to the ground and were about ready to shoot them! Better act now! “STOP!” I shouted, getting the Cybermen’s attention. “HARM THEM IN THE SLIGHTEST AND I DESTROY THE SOURCE!” I tightened my grip on it to emphasize my point.

“Give us the Source, Lacey,” boomed the Cyber-Deputy.

“Never!” I answered.

“Then we shall kill you and take it,” declared the Cyber-Deputy. “In any event, your threat is meaningless.”

“Meaningless?!” I repeated. “How?!”

“How could you have destroyed the Source?” asked the Cyber-Deputy. Oh, son, you just invited me to teach!

“Well,” I answered as I began my lecture, “what I would have done is to place the Source neatly here,” I set it down in front of me, causing the Cybermen to observe it, “and use a pinpoint attack on it, thus causing the chaotic energy in it to be released. Now, of course,” I nodded to Sailor Mars, “I’m having trouble figuring out what pinpoint attack to use on it.”

“You were a fool to admit your plan,” if I didn’t know better, I’d say the Cyber-Deputy was boasting. “We shall not permit you to attack the Source.”

“Maybe not me, no,” I mused as Sailor Mars got the idea and managed to get her hands free so she could mime pulling an arrow back on its bow.

“MARS FLAME SNIPER!” she shouted. A fiery arrow launched itself at the Source. The Source then absorbed the attack, the que for me to pick it up and thrust it at the Cybermen. The Source then spat out more powerful fire arrows right at the Cybermen’s chest units, making them give out their death rattle before falling to the floor. The Sailor Senshi then picked each other up. I came up to help them.

“The tiniest tad of warning would have been good!” griped Sailor Moon.

“Don’t be rude!” chided Sailor Jupiter.

“It’s all right,” I assured. “Let’s just focus on helping out Moon-kyung.”

——————————————————————————————–

Cyber-Leader Gi stopped her attack and looked over the railing to see the end result of what happened. “Things crumbling around you?!” I taunted.

“These losses are acceptable,” dismissed Cyber-Leader Gi. I picked up a loose stone, big enough to fit in my hand. “…A rock?” asked Cyber-Leader Gi. “You possess only one projectile.” More Cybermen approached.

“Then the question becomes,” I taunted, “who’s next and who’s lucky?”

“You cannot do much damage to us with only one projectile,” called a Cyberman.

“Maybe,” I remarked, “but one of you is gonna get it. So, who’s it gonna be?”

“Destroy her,” ordered Cyber-Leader Gi. I chucked the rock at her head, causing her to fall off the cat walk, while ducking, making the other Cybermen shoot each other in the chest unit, eliciting the death rattle. I looked over the railing and grabbed a hanging rope, climbing down it while the others converged onto Cyber-Leader Gi’s currently still body. I was hoping I didn’t kill her. Lacey checked for life signs.

“Okay, the organic bits are still alive, but the metal ones suffered some damage during the fall,” she reported. “They’re in a protective lockdown until the damage is fixed. If we’re gonna do it, we need to do it NOW!”

“…Sailor Moon, strike the Source,” I directed. Sailor Moon nodded, then summoned a wand with a gold crescent moon on it, then twirled before making a giant circle with it.

“MOON HEALING ESCALATION!” she called. The attack then struck the Source and Lacey channeled the energy around Cyber-Leader Gi. She started thrashing around in pain as the Source’s energy coursed through both her organic and metallic systems. Just then, she was surrounded in bright light. I could barely make it out, but it looked like Cyber-Leader Gi was turning into two women, one in a dress, the other in Cyber-armor. The glow faded and the two women were floated gently to the ground. One was Cyber-Leader Gi, the other…the woman we sought to free. Sailor Moon ran up to her and moved her up, shaking her to wake her. “Mama! Mama, wake up!” she begged. Just then, the woman groaned and slowly opened her eyes.

“…Chibiusa?” she whispered.

“MAMA!” cheered Sailor Moon as she hugged her tightly. Neo Queen Serenity, Usagi Tsukino I was all right! She was freed from the Cybermen’s influence.

“You had us worried, Meatball Head!” shouted Sailor Mars.

“Oh, and you wouldn’t do the exact same thing?!” argued Neo Queen Serenity.

“Not without backup!” replied Sailor Mars.

“Just admit it!” snapped Neo Queen Serenity. “You’d have gone at them alone!”

“Would not!”

“Would too!”

“Would not!”

“Would too!”

“Would not!”

“Would too!”

“GUYS!” shouted Sailor Moon. “More pressing matters?! The people still under the Cybermen’s control?!”

“Your Majesty,” I interjected, “do you remember anything about the Cybermen’s endgame?”

“That’s the thing,” replied Neo Queen Serenity, “I’m aware of Cyber-Leader Gi’s personal thoughts. She was bent on making herself the Cyber-Planner of a new Cyberman Empire, separate from Shocker Rift’s influence.”

“The Cybermen aren’t content with Shocker Rift?” I asked.

“No, they view their service to Hiro as a step back, as does everyone else within the organization aside from the original Shocker. The ones that hate their servitude the most are these creatures called…Deylex?”

“Daleks,” I corrected, “and I can understand why. So, Shocker Rift is near the edge of civil war.”

“Shocker Rift chose this universe because of the Source,” continued Neo Queen Serenity, “but the Cybermen went along with it to establish it as the capital of their new empire. That’s where recent events come in and I DON’T need the Cyberiad to help me along.”

“What did they do?” I asked.

“They infiltrated Crystal Tokyo and first went after the ones that came from such a highly dense population that no one, in general, would notice,” Neo Queen Serenity went on. “They selected certain Cybermen to go into other parts of the globe and take the population there. They converted Earth about a year ago. The whole process took a month. When the authorities were made aware of it, it was too late. The Cybermen had a stranglehold on Earth. We made the palace a refuge for people to escape the Cybermen. The last act I had decided on before going after the Cybermen alone was to declare Earth unsafe. The automatic quarantine lasts for a hundred years unless I give the order to end the quarantine. Until the Cybermen are gone, I’m not comfortable with ending them yet.”

“I think a solution is available,” mused Lacey.

“You mean you can get rid of them?!” gasped Neo Queen Serenity. Before Lacey could answer, a laser shot flew between me and Sailor Moon. We all turned to see Cyber-Leader Gi standing upright with some sort of pistol in her right hand. It looked like a flip phone with the number pad and screen facing her and the ends on a joint keeping them at 120⁰ from each other. It had a cylinder on each end, one of them acting as a gun barrel.

“Sorry,” gulped Lacey, “I thought freeing Her Majesty would get rid of her.”

“Give me control of the Source,” demanded Cyber-Leader Gi.

“I can’t!” replied Lacey.

“Then I will kill Neo Queen Serenity,” threatened Cyber-Leader Gi.

“Didn’t you hear me?!” argued Lacey. “I can’t, even if I wanted to! The Source will only fry your sense of logic if you try to control it!”

“I am still connected to the Cyberiad,” replied Cyber-Leader Gi. “The Cybermen still control this planet. You kill me, the Earth dies. The choice is yours.” We all hesitated.

“…Guys, it’s over,” I declared. Everyone turned to me. “She’s right, we can’t win this one. We can only surrender.”

“Shocker Rift will…” began Cyber-Leader Gi.

“Not to Shocker Rift,” I interrupted. “The Cybermen.” She didn’t catch my wink to Lacey.

“…Most rational,” complimented Cyber-Leader Gi.

“What do you need done?” asked Lacey as she held the Source.

“The Cybermen must claim its power,” ordered Cyber-Leader Gi. “Order the Source to spread it across the Cyberiad.”

“It’s going to need both Neo Queen Serenity AND Sailor Moon’s power,” replied Lacey. Cyber-Leader Gi turned to the two.

“Donate your power to the Source,” she ordered.

“You can’t…!” protested Sailor Moon.

“Do you understand Cyber-Leader Gi’s instructions?” asked Lacey. The women turned to her to see her wink at them.

“…Perfectly,” muttered Sailor Moon. “Moon Healing Escalation.” Neo Queen Serenity gave her power as well as her daughter. The Source pulsed as it was overflowing with power.

“Now, do YOU understand her instructions?” Lacey asked the Source. “Yes, I believe you do.”

“Your jamming device,” demanded Cyber-Leader Gi. It was my aPod, far superior to any iPod. I surrendered it to Cyber-Leader Gi. “A new era begins for the multiverse,” she declared as she clenched her fist and crushed my aPod. After this, I’m gonna have to either save up for my own or beg my girlfriend, Malffurem, for a new one. “Imagination,” droned Cyber-Leader Gi, “freedom, pleasure, all will fade. This world will become the new Mondas. Deploy the Source.” Lacey let the Source hover into the air before it took off outside. “We shall watch its progress,” declared Cyber-Leader Gi. She pulled out a small console and set it up so we could see the Source. It moved into the stratosphere and started pulsing, sending purple light around the globe. Cyber-Leader Gi had a monitor that displayed the status of all Cybermen on the planet. The Cybermen across the globe started glowing purple. Then…it happened…the purple light dissolved the metal of the Cybermen and replaced it with flesh, restoring the human population of Earth! “…No,” muttered Cyber-Leader Gi.

“Yes,” I declared.

“But…how?!” floundered the currently confused Cyber-Leader.

“Simple,” I dismissed.

“The Source was under my control!” insisted Cyber-Leader Gi. “I ordered it to surrender its power to all Cybermen!”

“Ah, but Neo Queen Serenity and Sailor Moon’s power lies in healing,” I explained. “The Source can only act and amplify the power it is given.”

“When you gained control of the Source through me,” supplied Lacey as the Source returned to her hand when it finished turning the Cybermen back into humans, “I asked them if they understood you. I didn’t say anything about obeying you.”

“Now, with there being only ONE Cyberman and a whole planet of people that knows how dangerous you can be,” finished Neo Queen Serenity, “life can resume as we hunt for you! Earth is now safe for travel again!”

“…You’ve made your last and fatal mistake,” declared Cyber-Leader Gi as she pressed 2, 3, and 5 on the keypad, the first three prime numbers. She then held it to her ear. “Henshin,” she declared before closing the angle of the gun so both long sides could join together. She then inserted the contraption, plugs first, into a harness on her waist. Handles popped out the side and eyes and a mouth opened, making the buckle look like a Cyberman’s head.

“Adaptus: online,” called a Cyberman’s voice before she glowed gold. The glow faded to reveal a Kamen Rider style Cyberman, with black handles.

“Kamen Rider Adaptus,” she announced in the Cybermen’s usual voice. “Hostile elements will be deleted.” She pressed the right eye on her buckle, then the left, then the mouth.

“Summoning Gunblade,” reported the belt. A Cybergun appeared with blades running along the top and bottom of the barrel.

“Right, fight time, everyone!” I announced. We all got ready.

“Henshin!” we called. My belt shouted “Open! Turn! Imagine! The Spear of Lance!” as we transformed and converted our weapons from melee to range. We all scattered and fired. Adaptus slammed her fist into the ground causing us to lose our balance.

“Of all the types of people to be a Kamen Rider!” groaned Outback. The Sailor Senshi were firing off their attacks too, but to no effect. Adaptus just kept on fighting. Neo Queen Serenity was off to the side, feeling hopeless.

“I thought I’d never wish for my powers back,” she sighed, “but now I need to protect my people and I don’t have the means to do so! What can I do?! I want to help!”

“Might I suggest this?” burbled Sludgiona. She tossed Neo Queen Serenity a device…the same device I was wearing around my waist!

“What are you waiting for?!” I called. “Make sure you say ‘Henshin’!”

“I’ve seen Black and Black RX in my day!” remarked Neo Queen Serenity as she put her new Chronicle Driver on. “I know what to say!” She held out her Armor Auto-bio and opened her Chronicle Driver. “Henshin!” she called before inserting the Armor Auto-bio and closing the belt.

“Open! Turn! Imagine!” called the belt. “The Staff of Crescent!” Her new Rider persona looked similar to her old outfit when she was Sailor Moon.

“No,” floundered Adaptus. “That is…illogical! You…cannot fight!”

“Can and will!” countered Neo Queen Serenity. We all grouped up.

“Kamen Rider Outback! Better watch your back, mate!”

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

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

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

“Kamen Rider Apocalypse! Your world shall end!”

“Kamen Rider Lance!” I announced. “The softest bloom can be the deadliest!”

“I’m Batman! The Dark Knight rises!”

“I am Sludgiona, the slimy creator!”

“I am Lexicon! There is historical precedence for your failure!”

“I am the Pretty Guardian who fights for love and Justice!” pronounced the current Sailor Moon. “I am Sailor Moon! And now, in the name of the moon, I’ll punish you!”

“Protected by Mercury, the planet of water!” announced Sailor Mercury. “The Guardian of Wisdom! I am Sailor Mercury! Douse yourself in water and repent!”

“Protected by Mars, the planet of fire!” called Sailor Mars. “The Guardian of War! I am Sailor Mars! In the name of Mars, I’ll chastise you!”

“Protected by Jupiter, the planet of thunder!” proclaimed Sailor Jupiter. “The Guardian of Protection! I am Sailor Jupiter! I will let you feel so much regret, it will leave you numb!”

“Protected by Venus, the planet of beauty!” cheered Sailor Venus. “The Guardian of Love! I am Sailor Venus! Allow me to punish you with love!”

“Protected by Pluto, the planet of underworld!” called Sailor Pluto. “I am Sailor Pluto!”

“Protected by Neptune, the Planet of Oceans!” announced Sailor Neptune. “Guardian of the Deep Sea! I am Sailor Neptune!”

“Protected by Uranus, the Planet of the Wind!” proclaimed Sailor Uranus. “Guardian of the Heavens! I am Sailor Uranus!”

“Protected by Saturn, the planet of Ruin!” called Sailor Saturn. “Guardian of Silence! I am Sailor Saturn!”

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

“NOW!” I called. The Vortex Riders spun their wheels while Crescent and I pressed the button on top of our buckles.

“Final attack!” called the Vortex Drivers.

“Final Pen Stroke!” cheered the Chronicle Drivers. We leapt into the air and performed our kicks.

“RIDER OUTBACK KICK!”

“RIDER SWING KICK!”

“RIDER KÄMPFER KICK!”

“RIDER HERALD B KICK!”

“RIDER LANCE KICK!”

“RIDER CRESCENT KICK!”

“RIDER APOCALYPSE KICK!”

“Everyone!” called Sailor Moon. “Lend them your energy!” The Sailor Senshi charged us as our kicks hit Adaptus, causing her to be knocked back and reverting back to Cyber-Leader Gi. She dialed a number on her phone and held it to her ear.

“Cyber-Leader Gi, requesting immediate evacuation,” she called. “Repeat, immediate.” A portal opened for her and she dove headfirst into it.

“And that, as they say,” I declared as we all powered down, “is that.”

“I need to call Papa,” realized Sailor Moon. She activated her communicator.

“Sailor Moon,” came Endymion’s voice, “we’re getting reports that the Cybermen have turned back into humans!”

“They’re true, I promise,” assured Sailor Moon. “We also got someone back!” She handed the communicator to Neo Queen Serenity.

“Hello, Mamo-chan,” she greeted. This time, there was love in her voice.

“…Usako?” breathed Endymion. “Is it…I mean, are you…?”

“I’m back,” confirmed Neo Queen Serenity. “We can end the planetary quarantine. I’ll be home straight away.”

——————————————————————————————–

We returned to the palace and told Endymion what happened. The people that took refuge heard the story and cheered. They were free and were released back into Crystal Tokyo to find their loved ones. Endymion and Neo Queen Serenity were still together as we told him what happened with Cyber-Leader Gi. “A Kamen Rider?” he muttered. “I thought they ended that franchise with the movie, Kamen Rider J.”

“You mean you don’t know about the Heisei Era Riders?” asked Lacey.

“Heisei Era Riders?” asked Neo Queen Serenity. “There were Kamen Riders that were called Heisei Riders?”

“Yeah! They got that name in the year 2000, 19 years before Emperor Hirohito abdicated. Oh, wait, you took the throne in the 21st century in this universe. Is there a tv show called Kamen Rider Kuuga in your universe?”

“No, I don’t think so,” mused Neo Queen Serenity.

“Hey!” protested Usagi II. “Who took the cookies?!” Neo Queen Serenity looked up at the ceiling, looking very nervous. “…Mama,” hissed Usagi II.

“Let her have this,” suggested Rei, Sailor Mars. “She’s been the Cybermen’s prisoner for too long. For once, she can eat whatever she wants.”

“I do that anyway!” snapped Neo Queen Serenity. “I AM Queen!”

“A chubby one,” muttered Rei.

“I heard that!” snapped Neo Queen Serenity. “Who’s the one who ate those cupcakes before this all went down?!”

“How did you know that?!” shouted Rei. “Spying on your own subjects! There ought to be a law against that! Maybe I SHOULDN’T let you have cookies!”

“At least I didn’t wear heels in battle!” argued Neo Queen Serenity.

“Your boots had just as much of a heel as my shoes do!” countered Rei.

“You’re always trying to annoy me!” accused Neo Queen Serenity. “Don’t you remember that time I saved your life?!”

“Yeah, I remember!” replied Rei. “Wasn’t that when you tripped and fell on your face?!”

“Oh yeah?! Well, next time, I won’t even bother!” declared Neo Queen Serenity.

“Fine!” answered Rei.

“Fine!” confirmed Neo Queen Serenity.

“Fine!” finished Rei. The two ladies then folded their arms, turned their backs to each other, and hmphed. Ami, Sailor Mercury, let a small giggle loose. Batman leaned to Usagi II.

“Are they always like this?” he asked.

“Ever since they met in High School,” groaned Usagi II. “When I travelled back in time as a little girl, I saw them fight like that firsthand.”

“…Time travel?” moaned Batman, not liking the subject.

“Ami-chan,” remarked Neo Queen Serenity, “might I ask what’s so funny?”

“You just went back to basics real fast,” she replied. “I’d have thought being Cyber-Leader Gi would be traumatizing.” Neo Queen Serenity then went deep in thought.

“…I hurt everyone as her,” she mumbled.

“That wasn’t you, Usako,” insisted Endymion.

“I don’t know about that,” argued Neo Queen Serenity. “I DO have a sense of order. The Cybermen may have amplified that, but it was still my desire to create order. That desire made people look the same and I do NOT want to inflict that kind of harm again.”

“Mama, you’re not Cyber-Leader Gi,” replied Usagi II. “You’re not a Cyberman of ANY rank. The best way to not be a mindless drone is to wake up and enjoy life in both its order and its chaos.”

“…I need to bring her back into this universe,” decided Neo Queen Serenity. “Moon-kyung, do you mind if I join you?”

“Your Majesty, I would be honored,” I replied. “That is, if your family’s okay with it.”

“…Keep her safe,” instructed Endymion.

“Will do!” I replied. I then called up Vorton. “Guys, mission accomplished! We’re ready to go home!”

“Understood,” came Megumi’s voice. “I’ve asked all of us to meet in the Gateway Room. We have…something to discuss.” The portal opened and we all headed off to meet with Megumi and the rest of the F.N.S. I was introduced to Jason the Inkling, Mickey Mouse, Princess Peach, and Dell Conagher, the newest additions to the team, much like Neo Queen Serenity, Usagi I, was. She introduced herself. I noticed that Victor and Alesandro were standing at the back, glaring at us. “I’ll get right to the point,” began Megumi. “I hid the fact that I didn’t tell Batman, Hongo, Wyldstyle, and Gandalf about Vortech and also hid the fact that I had an emotional collapse after that. I told you guys that we never kept secrets, but that was the fattest lie I’ve ever told. I know Emily and Joshua told Liam and Moon-kyung, but that doesn’t excuse what I did, or rather, DIDN’T do. Colleen Doyle, Alesandro Ortiz, Liam McIntyre, Victor Young, Deung Moon-kyung, I’m sorry for hiding this from you. I should have just obeyed my conscience and told you. Whether or not you decide to stay with us, know that I will always consider you a member of our family and, as such, try to do right by you.”

“…I appreciate that,” replied Victor.

“We all do,” supplied Colleen.

“…Arigatou gozaimasu,” (formal Thank You) thanked Megumi as she bowed, a little misty eyed. “Now, Richard, your team found something?”

“It’s related to the vote we took on whether or not we’d tell the new guys,” he explained. “Pup-X5 noticed that the results of the vote were tampered with.”

“Tampered?!” yelped Emily.

“Yeah, what raised a red flag for me,” read Pup-X5’s tablet, “was that Emily and Joshua swore up and down that they voted no, but the results say yes. I took another poll and found major discrepancies. The only ones that matched were those who actually said no, Hiroki and Xiomara.”

“You two?!” protested Megumi. “Why you two?!”

“They didn’t need to know EVERYTHING!” argued Hiroki.

“Right now, that’s not the point,” interjected Richard. “We need to figure out why we got the wrong results.”

“Techies, you know what to do,” directed Megumi. We all headed off to figure out this mystery.

Tags batman, cybermen, deung moon-kyung, kamen rider, lacey, new rider, sailor moon

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Chapters

Chapter 66

“I was the princess,” muttered Kaitlyn.

“The TARDIS is not a toy!” shouted 70-year-old me.

“Er, where IS the Den-Liner crew?” I asked.

“After we came back,” explained Joshua, “the Den-Liner came here to pick them up. They’re already gone.”

“And WE need to go as well,” continued 70-year-old me.

“It’s nice to know that my future is in good hands,” I replied.

“You were the one who made that choice,” observed 70-year-old me. She opened up a time rift. “Goodbye, Megumi.”

“Goodbye, Megumi,” I bid as we both bowed. They all soon went back to their original time. “Oof! My head!” I complained. “Time travel’s just one nuisance after another!”

“Speaking of time,” interjected Richard, “it’s against us. Heather’s probably finishing it up now!”

“Get Emily and have her join us in the Gateway Room,” I directed. “Batman, Hongo, Wyldstyle, Gandalf, Lacey, with me.”

“Not that I want to question you,” argued Richard, “but are you sure sending Emily after Heather is a good idea?”

“Heather may attack in a blind rage,” I admitted, “but she can cause damage. I want a medic with us. Besides, it might be the best way for Emily to get closure on Heather. I can just imagine her face now as she lords victory over her old nemesis and high school bully.”

“Very well,” conceded Richard. He headed off to find Emily as the rest of the team joined me. Lacey called up Death on her phone and informed her we would meet her at After Academy. After she finished the call, she gave the technical team the coordinates and they set the Gateway for that location. Rusty gave the thumbs-up as Emily joined us.

“Ready to close the book on her?” I asked.

“Do you even need to ask?” replied Emily.

“Let’s go, then!” I declared. The rift opened and we charged through.

After Academy is certainly opulent, I can tell you. The Four Horsemen joined us a few seconds later. “Had to confirm something,” whispered Death.

“And?” I asked.

“Nothing you need to know just yet,” whispered Death. “Come. We have work to do.” We made our way to a cave on the outskirts of the school and had examined all of the bits and pieces of technology strewn about the place.

“Does she even know what half this stuff is?” I asked.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she found out,” muttered Emily. That got our attention. “Heather has more in common with the Daleks than just her racism. She’s a genius in terms of mechanical skill.”

“A pity she didn’t put it to good use,” I lamented.

“There she is!” whispered Hongo. Heather was busy using a solder on something, her knockoff Apocalypse Driver, in all likelihood. We then saw her put the tool down.

“Done!” she cheered. “It’s finished!” I nodded to my team.

“So are you!” roared Emily.

“You!” snarled Heather as she turned to us.

“Heather, you don’t want to do this!” I warned.

“What I don’t want,” insisted Heather, “is interference from you freaks!” She came at us with wild punches. Hongo struck his pose and we got our i.d. tags out. The Horsemen and Lacey we’re ready as well.

“Rider…” called Hongo.

“Henshin!” we all announced. We changed and the fight began. Heather tried to slam her fists on to my head, but Apocalypse kicked her in the stomach. Heather tried to change her target to Apocalypse and did a roundhouse, but Apocalypse jumped out of the way so Ichigō could catch her foot. He then flipped her into the air, leaving her open to Batman’s knife-hand jab to the gut. Gandalf held her in the air with his magic while Wyldstyle made a giant fist out of the rock and slammed it onto Heather. Death then grabbed her legs and tossed her to War, who kicked her over to me. I drove my knee into her spine. While she was trying to pull herself together, Famine bit her arm, leaving a gaping wound for Pestilence to fire a gas at her. She briefly broke out in spots, but they vanished on account of the fact she was already dead. Touché then grabbed her hair.

“For everything you ever did to me and for those people you’ve killed!” she declared. She grabbed her nemesis by the throat and tossed her into the cave wall. “It’s over, Heather,” commented Touché. “You’ve lost. Your small-minded obsession towards purity is weighing you down.”

“IT IS NOT SMALL-MINDED!” roared Heather as she held up her knock-off Apocalypse Driver. “PURITY IS WHAT KEEPS US GOING! CAN’T YOU SEE THAT?!”

“Heather, don’t do it!” warned Apocalypse.

“SHUT UP!” bellowed Heather. “I’m coming back and no one’s gonna stop me!” She then put the Driver on…and felt the consequences. She was zapped multiple times and convulsed in pain while a bright light filled the area. It expanded to cover us all and blind us. When we regained our vision, well, I can’t speak for everyone’s belief in their sight, but I CAN speak for my own, because I couldn’t believe it! There, wearing a photo-negative version of the Apocalypse Driver, was an equally photo-negative version of Lacey! Heather picked herself up and examined herself. She was still transparent. “No!” she yelled. “No, this is all wrong! IT’S SUPPOSED TO BRING ME BACK! I’M SUPPOSED TO HAVE A FULLY FUNCTIONING BODY!”

“You have an annoying talent for whining,” replied a voice. It sounded like Apocalypse’s voice, but with a slight echo.

“How are you doing that?” I asked as we cancelled our transformations.

“Who are you talking to?” asked Lacey.

“…You,” I replied, confused. “You made your voice go all echoey.”

“No,” contradicted Lacey. “I didn’t say anything. And I can’t make my voice have an echo.”

“Well, it WAS your voice,” replied Richard.

“No, it was mine,” corrected the voice again. At that moment, we all turned to Lacey’s Negative Clone.

“…Did YOU speak?” I asked.

“I should hope I did,” remarked the clone. “I have been dormant for eons since the dawn of eternity. I exist as a voice for the Void.”

“The Void?” whispered Death. “Oh, this is brilliant!”

“The Void,” wheezed Pestilence, “is the counter to the multiverse. While everything exists here, nothing, and I do mean NOTHING, exists in the Void.”

“I have been born,” continued the Lacey Clone, “as a guardian of the Void. Specifically, I guard the multiverse against the Void. There must be a balance between everything and nothing. Even if Vortech were to succeed in his plans, the Void would remain.”

“That’s why there should be only ONE Apocalypse Driver!” hissed Death as she turned to Heather. “I warned you about what would happen if you went through with this! You ignored me and easily half the multiverse! Even Caan could see what your machinations could have wrought, and he’s a Dalek!”

“I will NOT be condemned to never having offspring!” shouted Heather. “If the multiverse won’t let me have children, I will happily burn it!”

“That CAN’T happen!” insisted the Lacey Clone. “The power would be uncontrollable! You’d be erased along with the multiverse before you had a chance to breed!”

“You’d destroy the multiverse just to make all life like you?” asked Emily. “You sound like a Dalek.”

“Being barren is unbearable!” protested Heather. “Being DEAD is unbearable!”

“Heather Richards, your unholy crusade nearly destroyed everything!” declared the Lacey Clone. She snapped her fingers and a fiery hole opened up beneath Heather. She grabbed the edge before she fell. “All of Hell wants a word with you!” hissed the Lacey Clone.

“NO! YOU CAN’T SEND ME DOWN THERE!” screamed Heather as she tried to pull herself up. The Lacey Clone stepped on her hands.

“The decision was already made by both Man and God,” she insisted. She then kicked Heather down to Hell.

“I HATE YOU!” roared Heather as her screams mingled with those of the Damned. The Lacey Clone shut the hole and there was silence.

“That was…utterly terrifying!” mumbled Hongo.

“That’s the point of monsters like her,” replied the Lacey Clone. “In any case, it’s good to see you all, finally.”

“…Finally?” asked Lacey.

“The Void has had a consciousness of its own,” explained the Lacey Clone. “It’s been waiting to explore the multiverse without causing imbalance. Heather’s attempt to come back to life was the chance it needed. So, I have a belt that gives me a suit just like you guys do. I guess you could call me Kamen Rider Void.”

“What about your civilian name?” I asked. “I don’t know about the rest of us, but in my head, I’ve called you Lacey Clone. Do you have a different name?”

“…You know, I think I just thought of one,” replied the Lacey Clone. “Call me Sandra, Sandra Noman.”

“Noman?” asked Lacey. “That means ‘not a person’. Are you sure you want that?”

“I’m of the Void,” replied the newly christened Sandra. “I think it’s appropriate.”

“Well, all right,” I sighed. “In any case, can we count on you in the final fight against Vortech?”

“I must disappoint you,” answered Sandra. “My powers are too out of control and getting a handle on them will take time, long after the final fight against Vortech. I must apologize.”

“Will you at least consider joining After Academy?” whispered Death.

“It sounds like an excellent school,” mused Sandra. “I might join it. I’m on the fence about it, though.”

“If you DO want to,” wheezed Pestilence, “you need merely ask us.”

“And no hurry in choosing a house,” assured Lacey.

“Thank you, all of you,” replied Sandra. “Until next time.” Black mist then surrounded her until she and the mist vanished.

“That…was intense!” I breathed. “There IS one more thing I need to do.”

“What’s that?” asked Lacey.

“Lacey and Horsemen,” I called, “how would you like to be members of the Feudal Nerd Society?”

“We haven’t had new members in a LONG time!” cheered Emily.

“It’s only been a year since Sheela joined us,” I replied. “It’s all your choice.”

“I’d be a fool NOT to join!” declared Lacey.

“I suppose it won’t hurt,” whispered Death.

“Eh, why not?” grunted War.

“This could be fun,” wheezed Pestilence. “Count me in!”

“I want in on this!” mumbled Famine as she finished her protein bar.

“What about you guys?” I asked, turning to Batman, Hongo, Wyldstyle, and Gandalf.

“I must respectfully decline,” replied Gandalf. “But, thank you.”

“Sorry, I have to say no as well,” remarked Batman.

“Yeah, sorry,” muttered Wyldstyle. “When this is over, I’m gonna be busy with the Master Builder Academy.”

“And I must say no was well,” answered Hongo. “I do apologize if I have disappointed you.”

“Like I said,” I assured them, “it’s all your choice. I understand.”

“But, if you want to reconsider,” offered Emily, “just come find us.”

“Thank you,” replied Batman.

“Now, kneel, Lacey and Horsemen,” I instructed. I’m probably one of few people the Horsemen ever kneeled to. I drew my blade and tapped their shoulders as if I were knighting them. “And rise, Dame Lacey Thanatos, Duchess Death, Dame War, Lady Pestilence, and Lady Famine!” They rose as new members of the Feudal Nerd Society!

“Now comes the real question,” declared Lacey, “who do I see for a dress?”

“My mother can help in that regard,” I answered.

“She’s made the costumes for the entire F.N.S,” explained Emily. “She’s always open to ideas.”

“I’ll ask her for help when we get back,” declared Lacey.

“Speaking of,” I remarked. I then called up Vorton. “X-PO, mission accomplished. Heather is no more and the knock-off Apocalypse Driver DIDN’T destroy the multiverse. Boy, have we got a story to tell you all!”

“One rift home coming up!” cheered X-PO. “And we’ve found the next Foundation Element!”

“We’ll remain here,” whispered Death. “But, we’ll join you in the final battle! Good luck!”

“Thank you!” I called as we jumped through.

Tags apocalypse horsemen, batman, emily saunders, gandalf, hell, kamen rider, kamen rider ichigo, lacey, megumi hishikawa, wyldstyle

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Chapters

Chapter 56

We made our way to a landing pad in two hours. The new Gotengo-A looked like the one in Godzilla: Final Wars but was a little trimmer. Admiral Douglas Gordon, I still remember him as a Captain, came out to meet us as well as Biollante. She saw Zilla, ran towards him, and hugged him, wrapping all four legs around him. Zilla reciprocated, earning a raised eyebrow from Godzilla. “Biollante? Explanations?” he asked.

“We’re dating,” replied Biollante. Godzilla’s eyes went wide.

“Er, Biollante, could you excuse us for a sec?” he hissed. Biollante sensed what Godzilla was gonna do.

“Be gentle with him, all right?” she requested as she released Zilla. Godzilla then slowly advanced on him with a disarming smile. Zilla gave a nervous grin and a small wave. Godzilla dropped the grin and hoisted him above his head.

“Break her heart and I boil yours!” snarled Godzilla. He was then grabbed by the tail and pulled backwards to fall on his face. Biollante had released her leg’s grip on his tail.

“In what way was that gentle?” she hissed.

“So, you have the coordinates?” asked Admiral Gordon.

“We do, indeed,” answered Mothra. “I’ll give them to your navigator.”

“Excellent,” grunted Admiral Gordon. “Let’s get going.” We all boarded the Gotengo-A and made ourselves comfortable.

“You know,” I pondered aloud, “what would Kiryu’s brain be doing in geostationary orbit?”

“Good question,” replied Admiral Gordon. “Maybe…” the alarm interrupted him. “Report!” he shouted to Tactical.

“We have an intruder on board!” reported Tactical. “It’s in the cargo hold!”

“What is it doing?!” I asked.

“Just walking around!” replied Tactical.

“Security! Cargo hold, on the double!” barked Admiral Gordon. My team and the Kaiju-men joined him as we made our way to the cargo hold. On the way, Batman chose this opportunity to talk.

“Tora-Onna would help,” he suggested.

“Out of the question,” I shot down.

“You’re being absurd!” snapped Batman.

“I can’t scare these people!” I replied. “Besides, X-PO told me that the belts have self-repair functions.”

“How long?” asked Batman.

“That, he didn’t say,” I answered. Our conversation was cut short as we arrived at the cargo hold. The intruder was surrounded.

“Hands in the air!” barked Admiral Gordon. The intruder turned and faced him. It was a Japanese woman in her late 40’s. She wore a dress similar to my old princess one, but in red and gold, and she wore my crown.

“About time!” she griped. “You guys came later than I remember.”

“Lady, who are you?!” asked Admiral Gordon.

“Obaa-san,” (Grandmother) I interjected, “we need some questions answered.”

“Watch it!” snapped the woman. “I’m still in my late 70’s. My 30 something twin daughters don’t have children yet.”

“Late 70’s?!” I asked. “Lady, you look like you’re in your late 40’s!”

“Oh?” she asked. “I aged more gracefully than I remember.”

“Lady, who are you?!” I hissed, repeating Admiral Gordon’s question.

“Take a look, a deep look, Queen Megumi Hishikawa,” answered the woman. Wait, what?

“You know my name?” I quizzed. I then examined her face. Something seemed…familiar. I ran my hand down my nose, she mirrored my movements. I ran my hand across my cheek, she mirrored me again. I then traced an imaginary wrinkle up my other cheek, she did the same! “No!” I gasped. “You’re…”

“Yep,” replied the woman.

“All of it?” I asked.

“Uh huh,” answered the woman.

“Even the wrinkles?!” I asked.

“Yes!” she said hotly.

“You’re me… at 70 years old?” I queried.

“YES!” she confirmed.

“How did you…?” I asked my future.

“Something called a Hyper-time hole,” explained 70-year-old me. “It allows me to go into any point in a universe’s timeline. I just hope this is the point where I made the right decision.”

“On?” I asked.

“My deciding to use Tora-Onna, or rather, you deciding to do so,” answered 70-year-old me.

“Oh no, not you!” I snapped.

“Yes, me!” hissed 70-year-old me.

“Tora-Onna?” asked Admiral Gordon.

“Megumi has a monster form, a mutant tiger cyborg,” explained Lacey.

“And you didn’t tell us?!” roared Admiral Gordon.

“It’s not a side I use frequently,” I answered.

“Well, we need an edge,” insisted Mothra.

“Yes, and I can’t have you just blatantly ignoring that side,” snapped 70-year-old me.

“Well, I can’t just use her willy-nilly!” I snarled. “Now, go back to your time and take that stupid purple hole with you!”

“Purple hole?” quizzed 70-year-old me. She followed my finger and saw the hole above us. “That should have closed,” she muttered.

“Well, you used to be me,” I mused. “What happens next?”

“I don’t remember,” replied 70-year-old me.

“…How can you forget THIS?!” I quizzed as I pointed to the two of us…me…her…whatever.

“Hang on!” protested 70-year-old me. “It’s hardly MY fault! You’re obviously not paying enough attention!” She tossed me a Sonic Screwdriver while she took out a gold scepter with a blue orb on it. “Now, help me reverse the polarity!” she commanded. I switched the Sonic Screwdriver on while she pressed a button that opened the orb and released a blue light. The purple hole stayed. “It’s…not working,” muttered 70-year-old me.

“You’re BOTH reversing the polarity,” rasped Batman.

“Yes, that was the…” I reminded.

“YOU’RE reversing the polarity, then YOU’RE reversing it back,” interrupted Batman. “You’re CONFUSING the polarity.” At that point, someone came through the hole and it closed. The figure dusted itself off. It was an older Japanese woman, in her 90’s by the look, having white hair, a warmer dress, and a cane. She looked around the place.

“Ah, the Gotengo-A,” she sighed. “That takes me back.” She then saw the two of…me. “Ah! I remember! The points of my life converging!”

“Another me?!” I yelped.

“I’m as surprised as you!” called 70-year-old me.

“Well, to answer the question you DON’T usually ask a lady,” remarked the oldest me, “I was celebrating my bicentennial.”

“200 years!!” I yelped. “You look like you’re in your 90’s!”

“I’ve forgotten how much I’ve stated the obvious,” sighed 200-year-old me. “So, this is the point where the Scaredy-cat and the Ridiculous Queen Mom come together.” Did…I just get insulted…twice over…by me?! “Have you done anything towards your mission?” asked 200-year-old me.

“Well, we’re finding Kiryu’s brain,” I answered.

“And I was telling this nitwit not to be afraid of Tora-Onna,” snapped 70-year-old me.

“Just as I thought,” muttered 200-year-old me. “Nothing.”

“Nothing?!” I said hotly.

“What is your real mission here, hm?” asked 200-year-old me.

“My real…oh, yeah,” I recalled, remembering why I came to this dimension in the first place.

“Heather’s trying to make another Apocalypse Driver!” gulped 70-year-old me.

“Thankfully, you and your team are on the right track,” replied 200-year-old me. “She’s near Kiryu’s brain on the Xilien ship it’s on.”

“What?!” I yelped.

“The Xiliens?!” roared Godzilla. “Those nitwits that controlled a good chunk of monsters?! I’ll roast them!”

“All hands,” ordered Admiral Gordon, “prepare boarding parties! Get weapons online! We’re facing the Xiliens again!”

“Now, what do the Xiliens usually want, hm?” asked 200-year-old me.

“Well, er…” began 70-year-old me.

“A certain resource?” I finally answered. “Like water, or our mitochondria?”

“It’s water again,” replied 200-year-old me. “So, stop stalling and kick Xilien ass!” She then made another purple hole and jumped in!

“Hey!” I called.

“You let her get away!” accused 70-year-old me.

“Did not! That was you!” I protested.

“Girls, PLEASE!” called Lacey.

“Who’s a girl?!” the two of me asked, offended. I like to consider myself as an adult.

“We need a forward boarding party,” replied Lacey. “Who’s leading it?”

“Me!” called the two of me. We then looked at each other. “ME!” We glared at each other for a while.

“Oh, for the love of…!” hissed Batman as he fished out a coin. He handed it to me. I looked on both sides. It was Two-Face’s double-headed coin. I showed it to 70-year-old me.

“Call it, clean or marred?” I asked.

“Marred,” replied 70-year-old me. I tossed it and slapped it to the back of my hand. “Well?” asked 70-year-old me as I looked.

“Bad luck, Obaa-san,” I replied. She bristled at that remark and the tone I used.

“All right,” she sighed. “Just be careful.”

“Careful?” I asked. “I seem to forget when I get to be your age that a Kamen Rider does NOT become one by being careful.” I picked Godzilla, King Ghidorah, Batman, and Biollante. I needed heavy hitters to take out whatever resistance we met. We soon arrived, the Xilien ship taking the form of the saucer that arrived in the Showa Era. Ghidorah clenched his fists. I put my hand on his shoulder. “Easy,” I called. “Wait until we’re inside.” We went nearer and nearer…and nearer…and nearer still!

“Okay, we’re in weapons range right now,” rumbled Admiral Gordon. “Why aren’t they shooting us?”

“Someone asleep at the switch?” asked Lacey.

“That, or it’s a trap,” guessed Batman.

“We’re running alongside the Xiliens’ ship now,” reported Tactical.

“Send out an airlock and get ready to board,” ordered Admiral Gordon. My team got ready and the airlock docked with the ship. We started cutting our way through. Once the metal was cut sufficiently enough, we forced the doorway into the ship. Once the metal cooled, we went in. What I saw, ladies and gentlemen, had to be seen to be believed. Three men were asleep at the console. They were men I had seen on YouTube before! One of the men had a black, bowl style haircut, the second had red, curly hair at the back and sides, but none on top, and the third was a fat, bald man. It was Moe, Larry, and Curly, the Three Stooges! Batman and Lacey saw them and their jaws dropped.

“You were right!” I whispered to Lacey as the Stooges snored. “Three times over, even!”

“What are THEY doing here?!” asked Lacey.

“I’m supposed to be the World’s Greatest Detective,” mused Batman, “and even I don’t know!”

“They must have blundered their way here,” I whispered. I then waved 70-year-old me’s assault team of Zilla, Mothra, Admiral Gordon, and the blundering Kiryu. 70-year-old me saw the Stooges and rubbed her eyes.

“How?!” she whispered.

“Does it matter?!” I asked. “Our assault may go a little more smoothly! To the bridge! We’ll find the Controller there.” We proceeded to the bridge, making sure not to get caught. When we arrived, Heather was there, talking to a Xilien. Well, shouting at, I should say.

“I’ve been doing things for you for a while now and the belt you said you have hasn’t arrived in my hand yet!” she roared. “$5,000! No less!” The Xilien shook his head. “X, you are a criminal! A cheat! Your impure savagery knows no bounds!”

“Hold your tongue, human mongrel,” hissed the Xilien Controller, X, “or these negotiations are concluded in a very messy way. THAT is my final request! The United States’ Federal Gold Reserve is simply the cost of doing business with my people!”

“Doesn’t power mean anything to you?!” roared Heather. “I guaranteed an entire universe for you! But, you will only get it once I have the belt!”

“You told me of the power it has,” replied X. “Which is why I sent you on those tasks, which, for human scum, you did well. You allowed Monster 2-1 and Monster 2-2 to get captured and taken to the G.D.F base. You took Kiryu’s brain, rendering the smartest monster in 15 countries useless. Now, we need valuable materials for an economy. That’s why the price is what it is.”

“I should have hired the Klan!” snapped Heather. “You’re nothing but incompetent filth!”

“No, worm, that is you, not me,” replied X. He turned to one of his men. “I know this requires touching her but get this piece of human garbage into the brig!”

“At once, Controller,” confirmed the man. He grabbed Heather roughly, who spewed thousands of racist phrases at him, the insulting J word being among them. The man just responded with “Shut up, vermin.” They were off the bridge before X found something else to rant about.

“Why aren’t our scanners back online?!” he roared. “Those three should have fixed it an hour ago!”

“That’s your first mistake,” I muttered. I was promptly shushed.

“I can’t understand it, Controller,” remarked a Xilien woman. “They’re supposed to be members of the Scientific Elite!”

“Well, clearly not!” snapped X. “Commander 0-2-9, go find them! Order them to hurry up or be executed!”

“At once,” obliged the woman. We made ourselves scarce as she went through the door. After a few seconds, we heard her wake the Stooges up.

“Gee, sorry, Ms. Xamper,” apologized Moe’s voice. “We were just…”

“I know, I know,” replied the woman, Xamper. “Look, there’s a circuit board. And there’s a computer bank. But, the computer bank is no good without the circuit board. Not one itty bitty bit of good. YOU HALF-WITS! Get to fixing this thing or else!”

“Or else what?!” asked Larry.

“Or else we see if members of the Scientific Elite can run around with their heads cut off!” threatened Xamper.

“Well, fellas,” gulped Larry, “let’s get to work!”

“I think you got something there!” yelped Moe.

“So help me, if you twits mess this up…!” roared Xamper. She didn’t get very far as something clonked her on the head. The Stooges made frightened noises and ran past us and onto the bridge with Xamper in hot pursuit.

“That’s our cue!” I called. “CHARGE!” The Kaiju-men gave off their signature roars as we stormed the bridge. The whole bridge crew was surprised by our entrance and we managed to get into various grappling matches. I managed to tackle X to the floor, shoving theories of how he came back to life to the back of my mind. I then shoved X’s coat over his head.

“What’s going on?!” he demanded as he tried to restore his vision. I then delivered a swift kick in his pants and he tumbled into his chair. He soon got out of his situation and his hair spiked up. He was in his Keizer state!

“Not good!” I yelped. He then delivered several blows to my person. As I hit the floor, I noticed how many bruises and cuts I had. I was outclassed, and I didn’t have a functioning belt! “All right, multiverse, you win!” I shouted to the heavens. “You want Tora-Onna? You got her!” I then felt my muscles expand, a tail came out, my mouth and nose became a muzzle, my human ears shrunk into my head while tiger ears came out from the top, and fur and metal appeared everywhere. My dress had changed into pants, must be Shocker Tech that changed my clothes, and I unsheathed my claws, roaring at Keizer X. We then clashed again, this time the blows were equal. While that was going on, King Ghidorah was fighting Xamper. They matched blow for blow.

“Oh, how I’ve ALWAYS wanted to do this to you, Monster 0!” giggled Xamper.

“It’s King Ghidorah!” roared Ghidorah.

“Apologies, ‘Your Majesty’!” mocked Xamper. Ghidorah blasted the woman with his Gravity beams. “You would strike a lady!?” she protested.

“I strike at any evil, gender be damned!” roared Ghidorah. Xamper then round-housed him into the wall.

“Well, I tried,” she sighed. She then fought with greater ferocity. At that point, green gunk landed on her back. It was apparently acidic as she screamed in agony. She face the one who threw that at her. Biollante had taken a different form. She still looked human, but her hair was darker, the rose that usually adorned her hair wasn’t, her fingers looked like the toothy vines she used for attack, and her teeth were more jagged. “Plant Witch!” roared Xamper as the acid sap stopped its effects. Her hair spiked up. It was another Keizer!

“Come at me!” taunted Biollante. Xamper threw Ghidorah at Biollante and the two Kaiju-men crumpled in a heap. They picked themselves up, telling each other to watch it. At that point, Heather came in, holding a laser gun.

“NOBODY MOVE!” she shouted. “I got you J*** covered!” Then, I heard it, the familiar “Nyuk Nyuk!” as Curly flipped a switch. “WHO PUT OUT THE LIGHTS?!” squawked Heather as she took a few shots in the dark, literally. Curly had turned the lights off and we started blundering into each other. Godzilla lit a match.

“Nee-chan! You there?!” he asked before someone snuffed the match and he fired his atomic breath wildly into the ceiling. Curly lit another match.

“Here I am, Moe!” he called before he turned to me. “NYAAAaaaAAAaaaAAAAH!” he screamed before I snuffed the match. I guess I scare people easily. X then activated a Xilien flashlight.

“Careful around here!” he barked before two people decked him. I then found a match and struck it.

“Batman, where are you?!” I asked. Someone grabbed my shoulder. I yelped and punched the guy. It was Batman! “Batman, I’m sorry!” I gasped. Batman accepted the apology and switched the lights on. The Kaiju-men and Admiral Gordon were picking themselves up, Heather and the Xiliens were out cold, my team rushed to my side, and the Stooges had tangled themselves up and were fighting.

“Curly, get your foot out of my eye!” demanded Larry.

“Whose feet are you talking about?!” protested Curly as he bit a hand, making Moe scream.

“Okay, apple-head, you asked for it!” Larry started twisting the foot and screaming in pain. “OW, THAT’S MINE!” cried Larry.

“Get them loose!” I snapped. We all disentangled the Stooges. Moe then turned on Curly.

“That’s my hand, not a ham!” he shouted before smacking Curly on the forehead. “What’s the matter with you?!”

“Hey, let him alone!” protested Larry.

“What are you butting in for?!” snapped Moe. He then held his fist out. “See that?” Larry smacked it down and the fist went in a circle on Larry’s head.

“Gentlemen!” called 70-year-old me. The Stooges looked behind themselves. “I mean you three,” sighed 70-year-old me.

“Oh, us!” replied Moe. The Stooges went over to her. “What can we do for you, Madame?”

“Could you boys tell me how you got here?” asked 70-year-old me.

“Yeah, how did you guys pass yourselves off as Xilien Scientists?” I asked. The Stooges turned and made scared noises. “What’s the matter with you?!” I snapped.

“The fur!” hissed Godzilla. “Lose the fur!”

“What fur?” I asked. I looked myself over and realized I was still Tora-Onna. “Hey! I still feel like me! I don’t need to be afraid of Tora-Onna anymore!” I then reverted to my human state. At that point, a band of light flew onto the bridge and wrapped around my waist. It then died down and formed the Supreme Vortex Driver! I heard Vortoranii yawn.

“That was a nice nap,” she sighed. “What did I miss?”

“You chose NOW to repair yourself?!” I protested.

“Actually, I simply switched that function off while I was dissected,” explained Vortoranii. “I wanted to see how well you fought without a belt and it seems you did pretty well! I was afraid you were using me as a crutch.”

“You could have told me this was a test of my natural abilities!” I snapped.

“That would have broken the test,” replied Vortoranii. “In any case, what ARE you three doing here?”

“Well, we were doing our plumbing business,” answered Moe, “when a blue hole opened under us. We landed in the corridor out there.”

“Then Xamper came up, thinking we were scientists,” continued Larry. “We were about to correct her.”

“Then we saw the guards,” supplied Curly. “So, we were promoted to scientists!”

“And we’ve been trying to fix the ship for a week now,” finished Larry.

“Oh boy,” I sighed.

“Yeah, but the way we wired things, one touch on the controls,” boasted Moe, “and the ship goes crashing down.”

“Let’s hold off on that,” I suggested. “We need to find this guy’s brain.” I indicated Kiryu.

“Ha HA!” laughed Kiryu as he shoved Curly. “Roly poly!”

“What did HE drink?!” asked Curly.

“Must have hit the Mectacoconane too hard,” replied Moe, making up a drink.

“Fellas, let’s find his brain!” declared Larry.

“Where?” asked Moe.

“Well, uh,” stammered Larry.

“Oh, ignorant, eh?!” snapped Moe as he smacked Larry. “Hey, onion-head, where can we find his brain?”

“Well, it, um,” replied Curly.

“Oh, don’t know, eh?!” snarled Moe as he smacked Curly.

“Wait a minute!” protested Larry. “Do YOU know where we can find his brain?!”

“No, what’s it to you?” growled Moe.

“Oh, nothing,” replied Larry. “Just wanted to know.”

“Maybe it’s in that file cabinet,” I suggested. The Stooges started looking in the open drawer.

“Nothing but papers,” muttered Larry. He shut the drawer so hard that it opened the bottom one. It hit his feet. Larry started clutching his feet.

“Stand aside!” declared Curly. He shut the drawer and the middle one opened, going right into his tummy. He started holding it to make the pain go away, then he wagged his finger at the drawer, going “hhhMMMM!!”

“You lame-brains can’t do anything right, can you?!” snapped Moe. “Get out of the way! I’LL show you how to close it!” He shut the middle drawer and ducked down when the top drawer slid open. “See?” called Moe. “That’s using your brain!” He then got up and hit his head on the drawer’s underside.

“Guys!” announced Zilla. He was holding an ovular shaped object, colored in silver. It had some sort of port on the underside.

“That’s Kiryu’s brain!” cheered Biollante. “Zilla-chan, where did you find it?!”

“In X’s coat pocket,” replied Zilla. “I was frisking him for any plans on his person. Let’s install the brain before we crash the ship.” As Mothra and Ghidorah got to work, the Stooges started groaning.

“X had the brain the entire time!” said Larry, exasperated.

“How do you like that?!” asked Curly.

“I DON’T like it,” replied Moe. “And I don’t like this cabinet! But, it’s a matter of principle with me! I’m gonna shut that drawer if it’s the last thing I do!” He slammed the drawer, but Larry and Curly had their hands on top of the cabinet with their fingers going over. The drawer smashed their fingers and slid forward again to smash Moe in the face. As Larry and Curly rubbed their fingers to get rid of the pain, Moe shook his head. “That’s the last thing I’ll do,” he sighed. We then heard a groan. We turned to the source to see Kiryu holding his head.

“Kiryu? Buddy?” asked Zilla. “Pull my finger?”

“…Don’t be infantile!” snapped Kiryu as he swatted the finger away.

“He’s back!” cheered Mothra.

“You know,” teased Zilla, “you’d still be the smartest monster in 29 countries if you’d lighten up a bit!”

“15 countries,” corrected Kiryu. “Why is that so difficult to remember?”

“Whatever!” dismissed Zilla.

“It’s obviously NOT a ‘whatever’ if Kiryu insists you use the right number!” replied 70-year-old me.

“A good chunk of White America in a nutshell,” I remarked.

“HEY!” protested Zilla.

“Kiryu-san,” I continued, “the Xilien ship is under our control, but we can’t risk any powers on Earth trying the Xilien plan of taking our water. These three have wired the controls in a way so we can crash the ship. You might want to hold on to something.” Kiryu nodded and went to brace himself. We all followed suit. “Okay, boys!” I called to the Stooges. “Get this ship out of the sky!”

“She wants us to take over!” cheered Moe.

“What are we waiting for?!” asked Curly. The Stooges started fiddling with the controls. The ship then started turning and falling! The Gotengo-A was following us closely as we made our way to the crash site. When we landed, the Xilien ship was a smoldering wreck. We picked our way out and saw we were near the G.D.F base!

“Success!” cheered Moe as he and his friends shook each other’s hands.

“Congratulations all around,” I praised. I then grabbed Heather by the hair. After checking to make sure she had a pulse, which she did, I shook her awake. She then saw me.

“LET GO!” she barked.

“Nothing doing!” I replied. “You’re coming with me!”

“What about him?” asked Heather as she pointed behind me.

“Nice try,” I said, totally deadpan.

“Er, ma’am,” gulped Kiryu, “I don’t think that was a lame attempt at distraction.”

“What are you…?” I asked. I then saw X right behind the Stooges! “EEEEEEE!” I yelled in terror.

“What song is that?” asked Larry.

“Guys, be careful! He’s behind you!” I warned.

“Who?” asked Moe. X then blew on Moe’s left shoulder. He turned to Curly. “Don’t breathe down my neck! I don’t like it!” X then blew on Curly’s shoulder.

“It’s all right for YOU to do it!” snapped Curly.

“Do what?” asked Moe.

“Breathe down my neck! Onions, too!” clarified Curly.

“You’re crazy!” remarked Moe. Larry then giggled as X blew on his shoulder.

“Stop it! You tickle me!” he protested.

“Who?” asked Moe.

“You!” replied Larry.

“You’re both nuts!” called Moe. X then blew on Moe’s shoulder again. He then grabbed X’s shoulder and realized something. “H-hey, C-C-Curly,” he stammered, “ha-ha-have y-y-you got a l-l-leather coat on?!”

“No,” replied Curly as he looked behind him. He then saw X and put on a terrified face. “But, HE does!” All the Stooges screamed as X drew a sword.

“NOW!” he shouted. “I’M GONNA CUT YOU ALL INTO LITTLE PIECES!” He charged at me and swung the sword. I used a pipe to block it. “YOU INTERRUPTED MY PLANS! YOU KILLED MY CREW! YOU CRASHED MY SHIP! I’M GONNA CUT YOUR HEAD OFF!” I rolled out of the way and instinctively went for my i.d tag, then paused.

“No,” I remarked. “It’s gonna take a monster to bring down a monster like X.”

“Then, stand aside!” said Godzilla. He performed his drop kick and toppled X. X got really mad and started punching repeatedly. Godzilla got away from the man, readjusting his jaw. “Xiliens are similar to humans,” mused Godzilla to X. “The average man can’t make a dent in me, so how did you dislocate my jaw?”

“How is he talking normally?” asked Lacey.

“If he IS similar to humans,” continued Batman, “Godzilla should be slurred after a jaw dislocation.”

“He has something called RG-1 cells,” I explained, “or Regenerator G-1 cells.”

“Judging by the name alone,” guessed Batman, “he can repair damaged tissue at an accelerated rate.”

“Exactly,” I confirmed. “Although, in Japan, we call them Organizer G-1 cells.”

“On the topic of biology,” remarked Godzilla, “on the rare occasion I’m allowed to hit a guy, they crumple in a heap after two punches. How are you still standing?”

“You assume me to be the average Xilien,” hissed X. He went Keizer again and decked Godzilla. Soon, it went into a full-blown brawl. Just then, X’s watch beeped and spat an object out to Heather. She grabbed it and grinned.

“That’s all five!” she laughed.

“What?!” I yelped.

“I finally have the four Apocalypse Dial parts and the belt!” replied Heather. “Apocalypse’s power is mine!” She then got out of my grip and fled through a portal.

“NO!” I screamed, the implications hitting me. If she got all four Dial parts and the belt, I think I can safely say the others failed as well. “DAMNATION!” I shouted.

“Easy, kitty,” assured 70-year-old me.

“EASY?!” I roared, pointing a hairy finger at her. I was turning back into Tora-Onna. “THAT MONSTER JUST TOOK OFF WITH A MEANS TO GET LACEY’S POWER AND YOU’RE TELLING ME TO TAKE IT EASY?!”

“Because it will work out in the long run,” assured 70-year-old me. “Lacey’s DNA is the default.”

“How does that…that…that…that may have been Heather’s biggest mistake yet!” I realized.

“I don’t follow,” remarked Lacey.

“Your DNA is locked into the Apocalypse Driver’s systems,” I clarified. “With a ghost in possession of its power, the device will think it’s you and make your body!”

“That’s right, the Reconstitution Function!” recalled Lacey. “In the event my body gets destroyed!”

“So, Heather’s going to look like Lacey?” asked Batman.

“More like a damaged clone of me,” replied Lacey.

“I guess that’s the reason why my future came to help,” I mused.

“What future?!” roared X as he tossed Godzilla. Godzilla soon steadied himself and got into a fighting stance. “At the moment,” growled X, “I’d say it’s unknown! Like an X-Factor!” Godzilla seemed to be hit with some idea.

“X-Factor,” he muttered. “Unknown…no…no, it can’t be!” X then took off his watch.

“Genetic dampener offline,” reported the watch before X stomped on it. His shoulders then bulked up, his eyes went red, and a tail came out. I then realized what got Godzilla so spooked.

“Monster X!” I realized. X turned towards us with an evil grin. “But…but Godzilla fried you!”

“A bit of me survived and the Xiliens reforged me,” explained X. “I was then placed in cold storage after Controller 0-1-2 was selected! She didn’t find my desire to return here and squash you agreeable, since she found an “innovative and creative” solution to her people’s problem. I was kept locked up the entire time! After breaking out, I took a genetic dampener and hid myself among the Xiliens. Over time, I gathered people to my cause, people dissatisfied with the current condition and wanted to invade Earth. I got us a ship and, well, the rest is history.”

“Yeah, you hired three humans to fix your Youfoe!” replied Larry.

“Youfoe is something that you say to your enemy,” corrected Moe. “THAT was a SAUCER we crashed!”

“Saucer?” asked Curly. “That’s something you put a teacup on!” That prompted a slap from Moe.

“Did you just identify yourselves as humans?!” asked X.

“Yeah, that was your first mistake, believing us!” taunted Moe.

“Guys,” gulped Godzilla, “you REALLY want to stop!”

“What’s the matter with you?” asked Lacey.

“That thing nearly killed me at the end of the Millennium Wars!” replied Godzilla, referring to the events of Godzilla: Final Wars.

“And now, we’re right where I need to be,” growled X. “After a little growth spurt, SpaceGodzilla, Gigan, and I will conquer this world and make a new one where humans are nonexistent! A dead rock orbiting an unfeeling sun!”

“That wasn’t our deal!” shouted a voice. We turned to see SpaceGodzilla and Gigan coming out. Gigan had his hooks ready. “I’m supposed to rule this planet,” snarled SpaceGodzilla, “a LIVING planet! NOT A LIFELESS HUSK!”

“Your desires are irrelevant,” dismissed X. “If you will not take this chance, then you and Gigan will have served your purpose. Find another world to rule.” SpaceGodzilla charged at X who back-handed him, then used some sort of remote to bathe himself, SpaceGodzilla, and Gigan in some sort of light. That light…was not good. The Kaiju-men grew, and morphed, and changed, until they were back in their monster forms. Gigan took the appearance he had in Final Wars. Monster X was about to level a building when he got a tail smack from SpaceGodzilla. Gigan then fired his cables and wrapped them around Monster X. He then activated the Buzzsaw and pulled Monster X towards him. The damage was awful.

“I just received word,” reported Kiryu. “We’re to utilize our Kaiju-Riser.”

“Your what?” I asked.

“In the event any evil monster regains their original form,” explained Biollante, “a Kaiju-Riser is to be used to return any good monster to THEIR original form and combat the threat.”

“In other words,” said Godzilla as a primal grin crossed his face, “it’s back to basics!” His grin faded. “Unless the U.N. has something against ME getting into the fight!”

“Are you kidding?” asked Kiryu. “The Japanese delegation wouldn’t go through with the Kaiju-Riser in this instance unless YOU were the one to permanently put Gigan and SpaceGodzilla down.”

“You mean…turn them into ash?!” said Godzilla happily.

“I have their death warrants right here,” replied Kiryu as he tapped his brain. We then heard jets. We looked up to see a pair of fighter jets carrying Kiryu’s big Godzilla-like body. One of the jets then bathed the area in light.

“This is it!” cheered Godzilla as the changes started coming. His mouth and nose became a large snout. His skin was replaced by charcoal grey scales. His eyes moved outwards a little. His pinkies sunk in. His legs became more trunk-like as his mass shifted down a little. He grew up to his full height of 150 meters. Mothra’s head tilted up as it morphed into her monster head. Her arms shrunk in and her legs made up her abdomen. Her insect legs came out and she grew to her full length of 72 meters. Biollante’s arms separated into vines with Venus fly-trap mouths. Her human skin was replaced by layers of green plant matter as her rose wilted. Her mouth extended to crocodile lengths and was filled with teeth! She grew upwards to her height of 120 meters. Zilla hunched over as his lower jaw got bigger and his upper jaw extended. He became covered in charcoal grey scales as his pinkies shrunk in and he became more T-Rex like. He was the runt at a height of 55 meters. King Ghidorah’s arms went over his head as the hands became dragon heads. His middle neck stretched upwards and his head became a dragon one. His legs became trunk-like as he was covered in gold scales and grew to become Godzilla’s height.

“Success!” I called. I shook hands with the Stooges, Lacey, Batman, Godzilla, and…wait a minute. Who did I shake hands with last? I turned to Godzilla and…oh no. Godzilla and I were literally seeing eye to eye! I heard everyone gasp in surprise! We were Kaiju sized!

“I will admit,” muttered 70-year-old me, “I forgot this bit.”

“And we’re complaining…why?” asked Lacey. I opened my mouth, then shut it as I realized there was no reason to complain.

“Quick question,” I asked 70-year-old me, “do I need to use Tora-Onna?”

“Nah,” replied 70-year-old me. “The belts are repaired. You can use your Rider mode.” Godzilla gave a confused grunt.

“You’ll see,” I assured. 70-year-old me and I got our i.d tags out and Lacey got her hand on the dial. I then noticed 70-year-old me had a blue ring around the tag reader in the center of her belt. It looked almost the ring of the Gateway on Vorton, but with eight Keystones instead of five. “Nice belt,” I commented.

“Oh, this old thing?” asked 70-year-old me. “It’s just something you’ll pick up after…never mind, I said too much.”

“All right, then,” I declared. “Henshin!”

“Henshin!” announced Lacey.

“Henshin!” called 70-year-old me. We all then went into our Rider forms.

“What the?!” yelped Moe. Larry jumped into Curly’s arms. The Kaiju made confused noises as well as surprised ones.

“Never mind that,” I replied. Kiryu’s big body’s eyes then started glowing yellow. “Are we all ready?” I asked. Everyone gave confirmation noises. “Then, Godzilla-san, lead the way!” Godzilla stamped his foot and gave a challenge roar. Monster X, Gigan, and SpaceGodzilla heard and gave of roars of defiance. That was the cue as we charged towards the evil Kaiju. They charged at us as well and we met in the middle. SpaceGodzilla quickly made a crystal fortress. The Stooges jumped the crystals and started whacking SpaceGodzilla. Curly managed to smack his snout down. SpaceGodzilla threw the Stooges off of him and he levitated Curly. Curly was calling for help, even when he was placed in a ring of crystals.

“HEY MOE! HEY LARRY!” cried Curly. “I’M SURROUNDED! GET ME OUT!” His hands went through the spaces the crystals made.

“Hold on, kid!” called Moe. “We’ll have you out!” They grabbed his hands. “Ready! Pull! Heave!”

“Ho!” shouted Larry as they pulled.

“Heave!” commanded Moe.

“Ho!” replied Larry as they pulled again.

“Just a second!” called 70-year-old me. “I got this.” She drew out a gold i.d tag! She then swapped i.d tags.

“Harry Potter Steel!” announced her belt in its original voice. The wardrobe closed, then faded to reveal her in armor based off of Harry Potter in his school uniform!

“You visited Harry’s world?!” I breathed.

“Toured Hogwarts!” cheered 70-year-old me.

“Cool!” I called. 70-year-old me drew her sword and pointed it at Curly.

“Take it easy now!” he yelped, fearing the worst.

“Wingardium Leviosa!” chanted 70-year-old me as she swished her sword, then flicked it. She then raised Curly out of the crystal prison. Curly yelped as he came out. His friends then brushed him off.

“Easy kid! Easy!” assured Moe. SpaceGodzilla roared in frustration. He then readied his deadly Corona Beam but was interrupted by Zilla popping out of the ground and sucker-punching him. A light then traveled up Zilla’s spines as he fired green flames from his mouth. It annoyed SpaceGodzilla but didn’t hurt him.

“The shoulders!” I shouted. “Smash the shoulder crystals!” Zilla nodded and started smashing his hands on them. They were cracking, but at a slow rate. The Stooges joined in and accelerated the cracking. Soon, they shattered! SpaceGodzilla roared in pain, then focused his rage on Zilla. Zilla quickly dug a hole and disappeared under the streets. SpaceGodzilla looked around and Biollante took her chance. She fired her corrosive sap and burned him. SpaceGodzilla turned and roared at her, but Biollante gave a roar of defiance. SpaceGodzilla charged but was ensnared by her vines and tossed onto a crystal, impaling him. He gave a dying roar, became light particles, and reassembled in his Kaiju-man form, but with a hole in his chest. SpaceGodzilla was dead. Zilla popped up and joined Biollante in a victory roar.

“Don’t celebrate just yet,” I replied as Gigan took a swipe at me. I ducked but was hit by his laser vision. Randy then leapt onto Gigan’s shoulders and slammed his fist on his head. He then started shaking his hand in pain as Gigan tossed him off. Mothra then grabbed him and flew through the air with him in her grasp. She was gonna throw him into a building, but Gigan took control of the flight pattern and went upwards. He then cut his means of propulsion and put his back to the ground. Mothra was going to be crushed! King Ghidorah helped her out by having his left head chomp on Gigan’s tail. Mothra let go of Gigan as he was thrown to the ground. King Ghidorah was about to fire his gravity bolts when cables wrapped around the left and right neck. Gigan got up and started pulling King Ghidorah towards him, the buzz saw on his front spinning. Gigan has been known as a sadist and a lunatic. If he had human features right now, a wicked grin would be crossing his face. I stepped in and severed the cables with my blade. “Ghidorah! Duck!” I called. King Ghidorah ducked his heads down. “Dai Super Charge!” I announced. As the armor flew, some hit Monster X on the head. The rest hit the Stooges.

“Hey!” snapped Moe. “Why don’t you call your shots?!” Gigan then fired new cables at me, but I grabbed them and started spinning. I spun so fast, Gigan was taken into the air. He was screeching at me.

“What’s that?” I called. “Let go? Okay!” I released the cables and Gigan flew into one of the crystal towers. It crumbled and landed on him, crushing him. He turned into light particles and reassembled into his smaller form, next to SpaceGodzilla’s corpse. Gigan had fallen. “That’s two,” I counted. “Let’s help Godzilla!” Godzilla, Batman, Kiryu, and Apocalypse were all on top of Monster X. He wasn’t taking it well, so we swarmed him. He was a match for us and threw us all off. Batman fired his grapple gun around his legs. Monster X then fell onto his hands. “That was a mistake,” I gulped.

“When is it a mistake to topple a monster?” asked Batman.

“When getting on his hands allows him to turn into a quadrupedal, three headed, winged monster!” answered Apocalypse. Monster X’s arms then turned into trunk-like feet as wings sprouted from his back. The neck elongated as the head became dragon like. Two more heads grew from the shoulders as the wings spread. Monster X had just become Keizer Ghidorah! He fired gravity beams as Godzilla fired his atomic breath. Godzilla’s beam was overpowered as he was blown back. Keizer Ghidorah ran forward and bit down on Godzilla. He was draining him again!

“GET OFF OF HIM!” I roared as I leapt onto Keizer Ghidorah. He flung me off and then flung the drained Godzilla onto me. At that point, everyone shrunk down. We were human-sized again and Keizer Ghidorah was mocking us.

“Look at you all,” he taunted in our heads. “Pathetic ants beneath my feet. Not even the clone and our cyborg could defeat me. It took a maser cannon to charge you, Godzilla. Now, there is none. You have nothing to help you.”

“Not…true!” grunted Godzilla. It was then that I saw orange markings on him. I then remembered his predecessor doing something like this, but not by choice.

“Godzilla, this is all involuntary, right?!” I gulped.

“Oh no, unlike my predecessor,” replied Godzilla. “I purposely put myself in my Burning State.”

“But, that will put you into meltdown!” I cried. “And there aren’t any freezer cannons around to stop you from destroying this place!”

“I have an idea,” assured Godzilla. “Trust me. If the forecast is right…” a crack of thunder interrupted him. “…And it is.” The rain then came down. It was followed by flashes of lightning. “Step back,” advised Godzilla. I did so and lightning struck his spines repeatedly.

“Lightning never strikes him unless…” I then realized his plan. “He’s not turning himself into an atom bomb, he’s turning himself into an EMP blaster!” I said. His spines went white and the orange markings died down. He aimed at Keizer Ghidorah and fired! The electricity and radiation ravaged Keizer Ghidorah as he shrunk down into his Kaiju-man form. It looked similar to King Ghidorah.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!” he roared.

“I combined the lightning I attracted and stored with a heart I was putting into meltdown,” answered Godzilla. “I then channeled it like my Spiral Red Atomic Blast. That got me safely out of my Burning State and cooled me off.”

“But, with the resulting radiation…!” cried Keizer Ghidorah.

“You’re now locked in your Kaiju-man form,” responded Kiryu as his humanoid robot body jumped down from his giant one. “Clever move, I need to utilize it.”

“You stupid lizard! I’LL KILL YOU!” roared Keizer Ghidorah. Godzilla gave a grunt as Keizer Ghidorah charged at him. They locked hands and tried to overpower each other.

“Hold on!” cried a voice. Godzilla and Keizer Ghidorah were tossed aside by my 200-year-old self! “You whipper-snappers can’t do anything right, can you?!” she snapped.

“Whipper-snappers?” I protested.

“I always wanted to say that,” sighed 200-year-old me. “Hey, X! I brought someone with me.” She moved aside to reveal a woman in Xilien clothes. Keizer Ghidorah’s eyes went wide.

“No! You didn’t!” he yelped.

“Who’s she?” asked Godzilla.

“Karna!” replied X.

“You bet; it is!” hissed the Xilien woman. “Karna, Controller 0-1-2 of Planet X. I’ve heard about the whole situation from Queen Megumi’s future. It seemed too outlandish, but now that I see the destruction that was wrought, I see otherwise. Godzilla, making an EMP blast like that would have ruptured your heart!”

“Listen, lady,” snarled Godzilla, “I was trying to…”

“Save it,” interrupted Karna. “I know. The genetic jigsaw puzzle here was sore about losing to you after our previous invasion! X, I warned you that an invasion was ill-advised. You ignored me!”

“I will NOT live knowing that a planet and monster that was behind my downfall still exists!” roared Keizer Ghidorah. “If I cannot destroy Godzilla, I will destroy this insignificant rock!”

“I told you, revenge is destructive all around!” shouted Karna. “You could have destabilized the peace we Xiliens finally achieved!”

“Wait, are you just doing this for political gain?” I asked.

“If you wish to paint that kind of selfish picture, then yes,” replied Karna. “We finally terraformed our planet to look similar to yours and now no longer need to scavenge other worlds for resources. Nor do we need to rely on computers to run our lives. This nitwit here hated the fact that our world looked like Earth as it reminded him of his defeat here. So, he gathered other Xiliens that hated the current lifestyle we hold dear and took a ship to settle scores with Godzilla.”

“His existence is unbearable!” wailed Keizer Ghidorah.

“I hear THAT from select humans,” muttered Godzilla.

“Monster X,” declared Karna, “through your act of rebellion, you have proven yourself to be a failure in the cosmos.” She then whipped out a gun and fired a laser at him. His monstrous parts shrunk into his flesh and he was returned to his Xilien form. “You shall remain here, on this world, in a weaker form.”

“No! You can’t!” cried X.

“Godzilla, he’s yours to deal with,” declared Karna.

“Oh, I have something special in mind!” snarled Godzilla. X backed away, scared. Godzilla strode forward, raised his hand…and slapped handcuffs on X! “X, you’re under arrest for assault on humans and unauthorized reversion to your monster form!” declared Godzilla. X was trembling in fury.

“I HATE YOU!” roared X as the G.D.F took him away.

“That was…surprisingly mature of you,” I remarked.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” replied Godzilla. “I only did it because killing a human or Xilien is no challenge.”

“Sure, put on the tough guy act,” I countered. The rain had finally died. “Typical,” I sighed. “We save the day and the weather clears up.” Godzilla turned to the sun and let out a roar of victory.

“Well, we didn’t complete our original objective,” observed Batman. “Let’s get back to Vorton.”

“Good idea,” I agreed. “X-PO, we need a rift home.”

“You’re about to see a gloomy sight,” replied X-PO. A portal opened for us.

“You coming?” I asked Godzilla.

“Unfortunately,” rumbled Godzilla, “I must decline. The human I imprinted on, Gojo Azusa, is expecting me after the fight. I can’t forget my mother.”

“Anyone else?” I asked the other Kaiju-men.

“Biollante and I have had too many dates called off,” replied Zilla.

“We’re having one tonight!” declared Biollante.

“I just recently laid my eggs,” answered Mothra.

“I’m still needed in the Kaiju-men Police Force,” replied King Ghidorah.

“And I need an overhaul for both of my bodies,” answered Kiryu.

“Hey, Kiryu,” called a fighter pilot. “As long as you’re smart again, I have a question. With the old Kaiju-Riser, I could make only the Kaiju-men grow, practically every time! If you’re such a genius…!”

“I AM a genius,” snarled Kiryu, “but, I expected more control from your fat fingers!” The pilot looked at his hands.

“They’re proportional to me,” he replied.

“Well, I got the data from your plane’s black box,” snapped Kiryu. “Quit jabbing the controls so hard! The impact sets the Riser function to all organics in the radius of the beam!”

“…Oops,” muttered the pilot. “Sorry.”

“So THAT’S why Godzilla and I could see eye to eye!” I realized. “Well, that was a narrow escape, but I have to take the Stooges back home.”

“Hey, maybe you can tell us about these candies!” called Curly. He had a bag full of something. He fished an object out and was about to eat it! It was a purple stud!

“GIMME THAT!” I snapped as I swiped the bag and stud.

“Don’t be greedy!” called Curly. “There’s plenty for everybody!”

“You twit, you were about to eat money!” I snarled.

“Money?!” yelped Moe.

“Yeah, these are studs, our main currency,” I answered. “Vortoranii, how much is in here?”

“429,000,” counted Vortoranii.

“Putting our new total at…” I started doing some math, “…3,401,000 studs.”

“And, at the least value, a 10 value stud is the equivalent of $500,” replied Vortoranii. “So, at the moment, we have $170,050,000.”

“Wait, we’re millionaires?!” I yelped.

“Yeah, and they can be converted to your universe’s cash,” answered Vortoranii. “Any form of cash, Yen, Euro, Australian Dollar, U.S. dollar, you name it.”

“You imbecile!” snapped Moe to Curly. “You were about to eat money!” He was about to poke Curly’s eyes, but Curly put his hand between his eyes. Moe then slapped Curly, resulting in Curly holding that area, then Moe poked his eyes.

“Hey, let him alone!” protested Larry.

“What are you butting in for?!” snarled Moe. He then smacked Larry’s forehead, the force knocking him into the portal. “HEY, WAIT!” called Moe as he went after Larry. Curly was trying to hit on Mothra. Moe came up behind him. “Grab your ear,” he commanded. Curly did so and Moe yanked on Curly’s arm, dragging him into the portal and following him shortly.

“…Sorry,” I said to Mothra. “Those nitwits hit on any pretty girl.”

“Even if they’re spoken for?” asked Mothra. She showed a ring on her finger. “Like myself, Mrs. Anguirus?”

“Anguirus?!” I yelped. “You married him?!”

“Sure did,” replied Mothra. “He’s living on Infant Island with me.”

“Well, congratulations!” I cheered. “How is…?”

“HEY!” called 70-year-old me. “Everybody else already left! Hurry up!” She was right!

“Oh, crap! Gotta go!” I answered. “I hope we meet again, Godzilla! Maybe we can spar! Sayonara!” I then followed 70-year-old me and the portal shut while Godzilla gave a farewell roar.

Tags admiral gordon, batman, biollante, godzilla, kamen rider, lacey, mechagodzilla, megumi hishikawa, three stooges, xilien

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Chapters

Chapter 55

Everything was set. Our teams assembled in the Gateway room. I was giddy with excitement. Lacey kept a hand on my shoulder to calm me down. Batman didn’t understand why I was excited. “Come on, Batman, don’t tell me you never saw a Godzilla movie!” I giggled.

“I wasn’t pleased by the lizard,” he rasped. “Why would a mutant iguana want to stomp around Manhattan?”

“Not Zilla! Godzilla!” I protested. “Your first introduction to the Godzilla franchise was the 1998 movie?!”

“Why would Alfred let you watch that?!” asked Lacey. Batman rolled his eyes…I think…they’re just white holes! In any case, I led the way and we went through the rift to arrive in Tokyo! I looked up to see if any monsters were stomping around yet. …Nothing. Not a single scale of the big guy.

“Aw,” I moaned. I found a newsstand and paid for the paper. The man gave a grin as I looked through for any sighting of Godzilla.

“One of his fans?” he asked. “I never understood why some kids would like him, considering he’s destroyed Japan numerous times.”

“He’s also saved our people,” I countered.

“At the cost of trillions in terms of property damage,” argued the newsstand owner. He then moved his gaze somewhere else and looked on in fear. “Er, you might want to leave!”

“Why?” I asked. “If it’s a bad guy, I can stop him.”

“Not this one!” yelped the owner. He then got out at least 10,000 Yen. A well-dressed man came up. His eyes gleamed and he cracked a friendly smile.

“Ah, that’s right, it’s payday, no?” remembered the man. He took the money. “Interesting that you were so prompt, still, pleasure doing business with you.” He then saw me and my team. “Ah, new citizens? Good. 10,000 Yen every 2 months.”

“For what?!” I asked.

“A protection racket,” guessed Batman. “Specifically, protection from you and your goons.”

“Goons?!” snapped the man, feigning offense. “Tsk, tsk, tsk, that’s just mean to call my employees ‘goons’. Just for that, 30,000 Yen a month so they can get proper restitution from you insulting them.”

“There’s a saying in America,” I replied. I was quoting from The Three Stooges. “Millions for defense, but not one penny for tribute!”

“Are…you sure…you want to go down that path?” asked the man as he cracked his knuckles.

“I’m not afraid of a mere mobster!” I hissed.

“Careful,” warned Batman.

“Mobster?” asked the man. “No, monster.”

“Yeah, you’re a hulking man, but I’ve taken down bigger,” I boasted.

“Really?” quizzed the man, not believing me. “When?”

“A giant elephant monster for starters,” I replied. The guy probably wouldn’t know an Oliphaunt if it sat on him. I drew out my i.d tag. “You should be small potatoes compared to what I’ve faced.”

“What are…potatoes?” asked the man.

“…Starchy, root vegetable?” I ventured.

“Your words make no sense,” sighed the man. He then raised a gloved fist.

“Henshin!” I announced as I ducked. I then rolled and went through the armor circle, becoming Kamen Rider Royal. The man was surprised.

“Impossible!” he breathed.

“Impressed?” I asked. He then smirked.

“You’re more than meets the eye,” he said. He then grabbed me, Lacey, and Batman. “Let’s see what you’re made of.” He then jumped to the top of a building and threw us down on the roof. “Away from prying human eyes,” remarked the man. He got into a fighting stance. I drew my sword and leveled it at the man. This was no ordinary human. The guy charged. Foolish error, I had a sword. I slashed across the guy’s face.

“Give up?” I asked.

“Hardly,” laughed the man. His face had no wound!

“Okay, I KNOW my sword made contact!” I yelped.

“It did,” remarked the man.

“Guys, use whatever force necessary to bring him down, but do NOT kill him! I want answers!” I ordered. Batman and Lacey nodded. Lacey then got ready.

“Henshin!” she announced. I then saw her transform and become Kamen Rider Apocalypse. She then set her belt’s dial to a scythe-like symbol.

“Death Scythe!” called the belt. Apocalypse then chopped into him. He flinched but knocked her off. I saw the wounds stitch themselves up and heal with no scar tissue.

“Nice try!” laughed the man.

“Okay, at worst, you should be paralyzed in pain!” protested Apocalypse.

“Oh, it hurts, believe me!” growled the man.

“All right, that’s it!” I snarled. I then grappled with the man. “Who are you?!” I then got his i.d tag. “Well now,” I chuckled, “let’s find out.” The man was confused. I then swapped my i.d tag for his. The announcement of the Steel Change surprised me.

“SpaceGodzilla Steel!” announced Vortoranii.

“What?!” I yelped. The wardrobe changed my armor. I could see something on my shoulders from my peripheral vision. I looked down my front to see a red abdomen and navy-blue armor. I felt a tail from the base of my spine and something was going up my back. I felt around my helmet to find a horn on top. I then proceeded to whack the guy’s fedora off to find the same horn. He seemed to panic.

“No! Give it back!” he cried. All of a sudden, something was swarming us! They were air drones with weapons.

“SPACEGODZILLA! FREEZE!” yelled one of the drones. “SURRENDER! YOU CANNOT ESCAPE!”

“Damn you!” roared the man. He then punched the roof, making crystals grow, and chucking three of them at our heads, making us black out.

Wind brushed past my face, waking me up. It must have been the AC as, when my vision cleared, I saw walls. I felt something constricting me below my shoulders and glanced down, hoping to see something to kick away. No such luck as I was trapped in crystal. “Er, this isn’t Jennamite, is it?” I asked, worried that I was trapped in Avatar: The Last Airbender’s world instead of my intended giant monster infested destination.

“I don’t know what this ‘Jennamite’ is,” hissed a voice, “but I can assure you it isn’t that.” A figure stepped out of the shadows. I heard groans of awakening and saw Batman and Lacey shake their heads clear. Lacey then got a good look at the figure.

“Oh, hi, evil mutant mobster!” she quipped. “…Wait, I’m probably still dizzy from the flying crystal at my face, but did Megumi’s belt just call you SpaceGodzilla?”

“It did,” replied the man. I was confused.

“Gotta say, SG, you’re looking a little shorter than I remember,” I remarked.

“Only thanks to you apes causing my decreased height!” snarled the apparent Godzilla Space Clone turned human.

“I’m…not up to speed,” I answered. “How are you human?”

“Human after a fashion,” replied SpaceGodzilla. I then noticed that the monster’s signature shoulder crystals were poking through the jacket he was wearing.

“So, what happened?” I asked.

“Given that you’re not from our universe, I think explanations are in order,” mused SpaceGodzilla.

“What?!” I yelped.

“Tell me, where are your belts?” asked SpaceGodzilla. I then looked down and tried to find it as best I could, given that I was stuck in crystals that messed with my vision.

“On that table!” called Batman. Lacey and I turned to see my Supreme Vortex Driver and Lacey’s Apocalypse Driver being dissected! The man doing the dissecting was in leather, had cybernetic hands, and I saw a red visor over his eyes when he turned to SpaceGodzilla.

“Confirmed,” reported the man. “These people are extradimensional.”

“Thank you, Gigan,” replied SpaceGodzilla. At that point, Lacey and I started laughing. “And, WHAT, may I ask, is so funny?” asked SpaceGodzilla.

“You got the Cyborg Space Chicken on your side?!” I howled in laughter. Gigan then fiddled with the controls on his arms and the hands were replaced with the hooks he was known for. He slashed across my face.

“Keep laughing,” he hissed.

“I don’t fear you!” I snarled. “You’ve proven to be a coward!” He slashed across my face again.

“And YOU, ape, are proving to be a major annoyance!” growled Gigan.

“Gigan, enough,” commanded SpaceGodzilla. Gigan backed off and used a hook’s tip to press a button on his arm and restore the hands. “Now, explanations about my species current…circumstances.”

“All monsters are human now?” I asked.

“Yes,” replied SpaceGodzilla. “The humans’ top geneticists had discovered that they could remove certain base pairs from our DNA. I say certain base pairs, because they also discovered that some monsters, like Anguirus, cannot survive without the necessary base pairs, M-base being chief among them. The United Nations saw a way to weaponize it and lured us to an all-out slugfest which they took advantage of and removed those base pairs that gave us our appearance. We were, for all intents and purposes, human. However, they didn’t count on the fact that those same base pairs they couldn’t remove determined our powers. They eventually contained us and instituted the Kaiju Human Act. It was designed to keep tabs on all monsters turned humans. The drones are to keep unruly Kaiju-men, as Japan and, eventually, the rest of the world has called us, in check. Dangerous Kaiju-men, like myself and Godzilla, are on a more active watch while others, like that genetic accident of a butterfly…”

“MOTHRA’S A MOTH!!” I shouted.

“Whatever,” dismissed SpaceGodzilla. “Kaiju-men like her are gainfully employed. She, herself, is working as a liaison with the United Nations. Why she scrapes to you apes when she has unbelievable power is beyond my comprehension!”

“Because she actually gives a damn about us!” I snarled. I then noticed that the room had gotten darker. I looked down to see my prison lose its luster. I wiggled a bit and the crystals shattered. I then freed Lacey and Batman and we got into a brawl with the two monsters turned humans. Lacey and I gathered up our currently disassembled belts and we took off like Battra out of Hell if I may mangle the expression. We escaped some sort of bunker and were accosted by the JSDF, the Japan Self-Defense Forces, our united military forces. “Er, you’ll forgive us if we don’t put our hands up!” I quipped. The commanding officer, an elderly man, snapped his fingers and pointed to a soldier. The soldier grabbed some sort of scanner and ran it over us. He concluded scans after a minute while I looked back to make sure SpaceGodzilla and Gigan weren’t following us.

“They have the same bases to their chromosomes as us,” reported the soldier. “They’re all human.” The commanding officer waved us over.

“Gladly!” I thought as we took up their offer. I then heard footsteps, heavy ones, and whirled to see SpaceGodzilla and Gigan come out.

“These humans aren’t worth it,” boomed the commanding officer. “Take some advice from someone who was led down that path and cease this nonsense!”

“This does not concern you!” roared SpaceGodzilla. He generated crystals and threw them at the commanding officer. He jumped high for any human and landed in front of the two Kaiju-men.

“I can’t let you hurt them in your pointless quest to make us the only life-form!” declared the man.

“Ghidrah, it’s not up to you anymore!” shrieked Gigan. The man, Ghidrah, as he was called, then revealed his bat-like wings, his twin tails, and elaborate hand shapes. They looked like Eastern Dragon heads. He then gave off a roar that only one Kaiju could roar, the roar of a flying hydra monster!

“King Ghidorah!” I breathed. “He’s here!” SpaceGodzilla and Gigan then gave off their monster roars and charged at King Ghidorah! Ghidorah then fired electric blasts from his hands at Gigan. Gigan took the brunt of it, then activated his hooks, charging in and slashing at Ghidorah. SpaceGodzilla then generated crystals and fired on the soldiers. “That’s it!” I snapped. “Hen…SHIMATTA!”

“Oh yeah, our belts were taken apart,” sighed Lacey.

“There IS another option,” mused Batman.

“Bad idea!” I countered, getting where Batman was going. “Tora-Onna will put the soldiers in a panic. I’d rather keep that side in reserve.”

“Well, if you’re not gonna fight, I am!” rasped Batman as he decked Gigan. Gigan didn’t like that as he fired his harpoon cables at Batman. Batman rolled out of the way and Gigan’s harpoons buried themselves in the ground.

“What are you waiting for?!” asked Lacey as she snapped her fingers and changed her outfit to another one. This one had a reasonable skirt and blue petticoat size, a shirt with white fluff around the neck and arms, the skirt sporting white fluff at the hem and waist, purple tights, black, fingerless, forearm length gloves with the same white fluff at all openings, and black boots with a white strap and white fluff around the mouth of the boot. Her foot smashed into SpaceGodzilla’s crown. He started clutching it in pain.

“Should have hit somewhere else!” he snarled. His dorsal plates glowed, and the deadly Corona Beam came streaming out of his mouth. We rolled out of the way and made a run for it towards the soldiers.

“This is nuts!” I called.

“Will you make with the stripes already?!” snapped Batman.

“Why will you not listen to your friend?” asked a strange voice. It sounded like two women talking at once. I looked around but couldn’t find the source. “Down here!” called the voices again. This time, I found the source on the jeep’s wheel well. There, at their full height of 21 centimeters, dressed as island priestesses, were the Shobijin (Small Beauties), or the Cosmos, as some people address them. “Will you not assist your friends and use your monster form?” asked the Shobijin.

“Are you two nuts?!” I protested. “That’ll cause a panic among the people!”

“Is it the people you’re afraid for, or yourself?” asked the Shobijin. I then heard a loud chirp. Everyone looked up to the sky to see an island goddess with large moth wings, blue insect eyes, and a pair of fuzzy antennae on her forehead. She landed with grace and glared at SpaceGodzilla and Gigan, particularly Gigan. The wings folded around her like a cloak.

“Hello, Gigan,” she said softly. “I thought I made it clear to you that this planet is not to have you on its surface.”

“Like I’m gonna listen to a glorified bug that has to lay two of herself!” shrieked Gigan.

“Hey! Don’t be dissing Mothra!” I snapped.

“Thank you,” said the woman softly. She then put on a business manner. “SpaceGodzilla, Gigan, in the name of the United Nations and the Kaiju Human Act, you are under arrest for assaulting humans with intent to kill! We can do this the easy way, or the hard way!”

“We do not fear you!” declared SpaceGodzilla.

“You should,” warned Mothra. She unfolded her wings and started flapping them. A golden powder littered the area. SpaceGodzilla and Gigan started getting drowsy, then fell flat on their faces, snoring. Mothra slapped handcuffs on them and they were thrown in an armored truck. Mothra then turned to King Ghidorah. She gave a smirk.

“…They should fear you?!” asked King Ghidorah.

“I have sleep powder that can last for a hundred years,” answered Mothra. “Not a small nap to wake up from. Now, shall we head to base?” She invited us to her jeep, which we accepted.

The base we were taken to was a large one. The military welcomed us warmly. Mothra seemed to be a popular Kaiju-man. She reciprocated the welcome and led us to a room once we had a moment. Ghidorah followed us after SpaceGodzilla and Gigan were locked up. “As you can guess,” answered Mothra, “I’m Mothra, Guardian of Infant Island and friend to these two.” She gestured to the Shobijin on her desk. “And the man behind you is King Ghidorah.”

“Yes, I got that,” I replied. “I’m Megumi Hishikawa. This is Lacey Thanatos and Batman.”

“Hello!” called Lacey.

“Good to meet you,” rasped Batman.

“Now, pardon my asking,” I interjected, “but, didn’t King Ghidorah try and destroy this planet once upon a time?”

“Yes, and then protected it alongside Mothra and Baragon when Godzilla was possessed by the souls of Japan,” recalled Ghidorah.

“Being humanish has allowed King Ghidorah to understand the humans,” continued Mothra. “Now, a question for you. The data we recovered from SpaceGodzilla and Gigan said that you weren’t from our world.”

“And that data is, sadly, correct,” I replied.

“So, multiverse theory became multiverse principle,” mused Mothra.

“You’re familiar with the multiverse?” asked Batman.

“Despite appearances,” replied the Shobijin, “Mothra is familiar with the basics in science.”

“I’ve worked with Kiryu (Machine Dragon) a few times,” replied Mothra.

“Kiryu?” asked Batman.

“He’s mainly known as the current Mechagodzilla,” explained Mothra. “And we’re having a problem with him.”

“Has he gone rogue?” I asked.

“No, thankfully,” replied Ghidorah. “He currently lacks the mental power to do so.”

“Eh?” I quizzed.

“Follow me,” said Mothra as she placed the Shobijin on her shoulder. We all left the room and headed to where the Kaiju-men under her watch dwelt. It was a large room with a TV screen taking up the entire wall, some gaming systems, and a bank of computer consoles. I could swear I heard some childish laughing. I turned around to see a humanoid robot in silver, a helmet covering a mouth, spines running down the back, and yellow eyes and a tail. The robot had a childish expression. He was running around a pole with his other hand out and whapping a powerfully built man repeatedly. The sight made me clamp my mouth shut so my squee wouldn’t deafen everyone. The man had maple leaf spines, a tail, amber eyes, and claws on his fingers and toes! It’s him! It’s the King of the Monsters! The robot’s hand repeatedly whapping him was annoying him.

“Er, is that…Kiryu?” I muttered. The robot then laughed.

“Hey! Pull my finger!” he laughed. Something was seriously wrong.

“If only that were his normal brain talking,” snarled Godzilla. “Then I would get some satisfaction of hitting him!”

“I don’t…” I muttered.

“Kiryu has a primary and secondary computer like his large body’s pilots and Godzilla’s brains,” explained Mothra. “The primary brain handles the advanced cognitive functions while the secondary brain handles the basics.”

“How basic are we talking about?” I asked.

“It makes Megalon look like a genius,” growled Godzilla.

“So, what happened to the more advanced brain?” asked Lacey.

“Someone took it,” replied Ghidorah. “And…”

“You don’t know who,” guessed Batman.

“Happened to you before?” asked Mothra.

“More times than I can count,” remarked Batman. “Mind if I take a crack at finding it? I’ve had some experience finding missing computer brains.”

“Knock yourself out,” offered Ghidorah. Batman took over a console and started his search.

“Megumi, a question,” called Lacey as she summoned her usual school outfit. The Kaiju-men were startled.

“How can she move in that?!” whispered Godzilla to Mothra.

“I want to know myself,” muttered Mothra.

“What happened during the battle?” Lacey hissed to me. “You didn’t use Tora-Onna!” In all honesty, I should have figured THAT question would be asked.

“The Shobijin got it right,” I replied. “I AM afraid of Tora-Onna.”

“Why?” asked Batman as he worked.

“That…THING…is alien to me,” I gulped.

“But, you worked so hard to get her under control!” countered Lacey.

“I can vouch for that,” confirmed Batman.

“Tora-Onna was brought under Shocker Rift control, remember?” I reminded.

“You were told to snap your mother’s neck,” countered Batman. “You then disobeyed, snapped her handcuffs, and then proceeded to make Hiro blow up.”

“Guys, that thing where I was walking towards my mother,” I argued, “that was me about to obey Hiro. He’s got a grip on my mind, somehow, and staying in human form as long as possible is the best way to detain that grip.”

“That’s the problem with you humans,” scoffed Godzilla. “You spent so much time trying to deny the animal part of your brain that you forgot the advantages that part brings in combat.”

“Hey, don’t be hating on humans,” called a voice. Godzilla tensed up.

“Mothra, you didn’t ask for H.E.A.T to swing by, did you?” he asked.

“We need Dr. Tatopoulos’ help,” replied Mothra.

“I will NOT work with that tuna eating Yankī!” (a name the Japanese use for their delinquents) roared Godzilla.

“Who’s a delinquent?!” snarled the voice. We saw an American Kaiju-man come into view. He had spines that curved towards his head and…oh Lord…he’s wearing a Yankees hat! He was accompanied by a brunette man, a red-headed woman, a raven-haired woman, a heavy-set, bearded blonde man, and a Hispanic man. A wheeled robot came up.

“And the aforementioned Yankī arrives,” growled Godzilla. The American Kaiju-man, Zilla, from what I could see, snarled.

“And he’s a Yankees fan, why not!” I sighed. “Yankees suck! Go Red Sox!”

“You Sox fans are just jealous that the Yankees are better!” roared Zilla.

“Zilla Tatopoulos!” warned the brunette man. Zilla subsided like a child would with an irritated parent. The man then turned to us. “Please excuse my son, he can be a bit hot-headed. I’m Dr. Nick Tatopoulos.”

“I’m Dr. Elsie Chapman,” introduced the red-head.

“Dr. Mendel Craven,” answered the portly man.

“Randy Hernandez,” greeted the Hispanic man.

“Monique Dupre,” said the raven-haired woman, coldly. She spoke with a French accent.

“Wait, is that Batman?!” yelped Randy.

“The very same,” I replied. “I got him from his universe. I’m Megumi Hishikawa and this is Lacey Thanatos.”

“Hello!” called Lacey.

“What brings you here?” I asked.

“We got word that you guys needed help finding Kiryu’s brain,” answered Nick.

“That’s what we’re trying to do,” rasped Batman. “If there’s a technical person on your team, I would appreciate the help.”

“That would be Randy and myself,” answered Mendel. They sat down next to Batman and started work.

“So,” muttered Monique, “Mechagodzilla Mark III is missing his brain? When were you going to tell us?”

“It was going into the report,” assured Mothra. “We’ve just been…”

“Busy, yeah, the G.D.F is always busy,” interrupted Zilla. “But you guys are usually nice enough to tell the Kaiju-men Watch Committee when the report is delayed due to something coming up.”

“Bureaucracy is more important than protecting the apes?” asked Godzilla.

“No,” answered Ghidorah. “Zilla has a point, it WAS a lack of professional courtesy.”

“I’m sure it can be rectified easily,” I mused.

“True, but it’s still annoying for both parties,” replied Zilla. “H.E.A.T’s been busy too. We’re trying to find Ts-eh-Go, the mutant Scorpion. He’s busted out of Kaiju Max, our top Kaiju-men prison.”

“If someone like him can break out,” growled Godzilla, “then it just proves that rehabilitation is the worst idea. Perhaps we should get rid of a certain pair of Kaiju-men in our hold.”

“We are human to a certain extent,” chirped Mothra. “Thus, we are subject to human laws. That includes ALL Kaiju-men having a fair trial.”

“Those two have tried to destroy our world!” snarled Godzilla.

“Killing is the easy way out,” hissed Batman.

“Not one of you nitwits!” roared Godzilla. “The only way to ensure your enemies’ defeat is their destruction!”

“Which begets more enemies,” countered Batman.

“I…kind of…have to agree with Big G here,” sighed Zilla.

“Zilla,” protested Nick.

“You didn’t object when I roasted Queen Bee!” snapped Zilla.

“Queen Bee?” I asked

“A Mutated Queen Bee,” explained Mendel. “It was terraforming a resort to make room for her hive. Zilla roasted her by…AHA!”

“What?” asked Godzilla.

“Found it!” called Mendel.

“You…found it?!” said Godzilla in disbelief.

“Kiryu’s brain?” I asked.

“It uses an algorithm similar to my Bat-computer,” remarked Batman, “albeit, more advanced. The G.D.F makes good hardware and software. His brain is located somewhere in geostationary orbit around Osaka.”

“We’ve been trying to find it for months!!” snapped Godzilla.

“And this is why you should trust H.E.A.T,” boasted Nick.

“How are we going to get up there?!” asked King Ghidorah. “Fly?!”

“Did the winged Hydra monster say that?” I muttered.

“Neither he nor Mothra can get there,” answered Godzilla. “It’s too high.”

“The air is thinner up there,” supplied Mothra.

“But King Ghidorah flew through space!” I recalled.

“They’re part human,” reminded Lacey. “They need oxygen as much as we do.”

“Wait, there IS the Gotengo,” recalled Zilla.

“The Gotengo! Of course!” cheered Mothra. “And I know who to call!” She used a console and dialed a number. There was a dial tone for a few seconds, then a girl appeared on the screen. She had long, wavy, green hair adorned by a rose on the left side, a leafy green strapless dress, some pinkish red markings on her collarbone, long, green opera gloves with a slight vine appearance in the fingers, and tendrils with mouths around her workspace. I could guess who she was quickly.

“Biollante?!” I yelped. “But she’s an enemy!”

“WAS an enemy,” corrected Godzilla. “That human’s soul helped her settle things after our last battle.”

“So, Erika’s back?” I asked.

“Er, yes and no,” remarked Biollante. “I’m still a new life-form with my own feelings and experiences, but I remember Erika’s. Does that make sense?”

“Perfectly for me,” replied Lacey. Biollante arched an eyebrow. “I’ve dealt with dead things like that,” elaborated Lacey.

“She’s from another universe where the dead and living go to school together,” I explained. The explanation satisfied Biollante but was replaced by confusion at seeing me and Batman.

“They just helped us find Kiryu’s brain,” replied Mothra.

“Oh, thank you!” squealed Biollante with a big, fat grin. “Where is it?!”

“It’s in geostationary orbit around Osaka,” reported Mothra. “Can you get us the Gotengo?”

“Ooh,” winced Biollante. “That’s a problem. The Gotengo was decommissioned two months ago.”

“WHAT?!” we all yelled.

“Hold on!” called Biollante. “I didn’t say getting up there was impossible, just that you can’t use the original Gotengo. After the original was decommissioned, the UN made a new one and had Admiral Douglas Gordon in command of that ship. I’ll just call up the Admiral and we’ll get you up there.” She then stood up and I realized that, instead of human legs, she had four, large, trunk-like, greenish roots for movement. She turned and flicked a switch behind her, calling up a man of European stock.

“Biollante,” grunted the man. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Hi Admiral Gordon! We found Kiryu’s brain!” cheered Biollante. “Mothra and her friends need the Gotengo-A.”

“Just point me in the right direction and I’ll be there,” replied Admiral Gordon. “Gordon out.” The transmission ended and Biollante turned to us with a grin as bright as her food source.

“Well, looks like you guys get to rescue a brain!” giggled Biollante. “Bye!” She terminated communications.

“…Siblings,” muttered Godzilla.

Tags admiral gordon, batman, biollante, godzilla, h.e.a.t., lacey, mechagodzilla, megumi hishikawa, mothra, zilla

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Chapters

Chapter 43

“That was a week ago, Your Highness,” said Emily as she finished. I was reeling from the shock.

“That’s…wow…that’s a lot to take in,” I breathed. I then shook my head and turned to Lacey. “Kamen Rider Apocalypse?” I mused. “Congrats! Now we can beat Vortech together!”

“Can’t wait!” cheered Lacey.

“Question,” interjected Mrs. Acqua. “Why are you still in your school uniform?”

“The staff sometimes wears the student uniform to bring them to their level,” replied Lacey. “I think this is gonna be standard dress for me. I don’t know. Haven’t decided yet.”

“Have you picked a color yet?” I asked.

“I was thinking of using purple,” answered Lacey. “A nice, calming color.”

“Can’t wait to see you in action,” I giggled. I turned to Emily. “So, feasting for a week?”

“Special orders from the Dinobots,” explained Emily, “after taking over management of this establishment.”

“Speaking of, where’s the newly christened Siege?” I asked.

“Over here,” snarled the velociraptor. “Siege, Maximize!” Siege transformed. “Welcome to Jurassic World,” he greeted. “Forgive the lack of staff right now, but there is a human to deal with.”

“Lead me to her,” hissed Mrs. Saunders. “She’s under arrest!”

“HELP!” cried a voice.

“That was her!” called Emily.

“Quick!” I directed. We all ran like Hades down Main Street to see a woman, Heather, by Emily’s description, locked in combat with a robot. The robot seemed to gain the upper hand as it wrapped its pincers around Heather’s throat. Heather tried to get out of the robot’s grip, but to no avail. She was thrown down and I heard snapping. Emily rushed to her and checked her over. She dropped her shoulders and turned to us.

“She’s dead,” she pronounced. I turned to look at the robot. It stayed there, so I examined every detail. It had a single grey antenna, a square head and rectangular body, arms with pincers, and a single yellow eye. It floated like X-PO did and summoned a rift to escape.

“STOP!” I demanded, but it was too late.

“Damnation!” roared Mrs. Saunders. “She had valuable intel on Vortech’s plans!”

“First Hiro, now this!” I hissed.

“What about Hiro?” asked Richard.

“Oh, yeah,” I explained. “After I became Kamen Rider Vortex for the first time, Hiro blew himself up.”

“He’s dead?!” yelped Haitao.

“I’ll explain on the way back,” I promised. “X-PO, we need a rift back!” A rift opened up. “Shall we?” I called. We all entered the rift.

I had managed to secure permission to begin a little expedition from Vortech after my embarrassment in Jurassic World. Ambassador Hell accompanied me. We headed to a universe in Cluster N. The landscape was a barren, dark one with nothing but grey sand. The gravity was 1/6th of what we’re used to. Ambassador Hell looked around and stopped when he saw what was in the sky. “Nice, lush planet, is it not?” I remarked.

“We’re on a planet’s moon?!” he asked. “How are we breathing?!”

“In most versions in this dimensional cluster,” I replied, “the moon has an atmosphere. This specific universe is 5-U-P-3-R-M-4-R-1-0.”

“Is…that a…church?” asked Ambassador Hell.

“A sham wedding was stopped in that church,” I answered.

“Is that a taxi?!” yelped Ambassador Hell.

“And tourists are around,” I mused.

“But…the moon is a barren wasteland, isn’t it?” asked Ambassador Hell.

“Indeed,” I replied, “but, it isn’t this universe that’s our destination.”

“Then, why are we…?” Ambassador Hell’s question was answered as we stopped at a crater. “A gateway?”

“Our very own,” I confirmed. “Salvaged from the wreckage of GLaDOS’ bungling. Come! We’re going to the outskirts of Hell itself!” I activated the Gateway and we entered to arrive at another wasteland with a blood-red sky and air filled with the screams of the damned. Ambassador Hell looked down the crater to see many of the people were once under his command.

“I had underestimated how many of our allies are here,” he hissed. “Curse all Kamen Riders to this very pit!”

“Come,” I called. “Our destination is in sight.” We approached a large building with gargoyles.

“A tomb? Here?” asked Ambassador Hell.

“One said to contain guardians,” I answered. “Come now, Ambassador, you’re not averse to desecration, are you?”

“It’s just that being here evokes powerful memories,” replied Ambassador Hell, “considering the fate of my brother.”

“Ambassador Darkness of the Badan Empire, correct?” I mused. “Then, you shall delight in our purpose here. For our actions here shall ensure that we avenge our fallen comrades.” We entered the tomb and located a coffin

“Don’t touch that!” snapped a voice.

“Says…who are you?!” I asked. The creature was humanoid, was grey-white, had a large tail, black lips, and purple areas on the scalp, shoulders, sternum, and lower legs, which had three toes. He had a halo above his head.

“I am Frieza,” introduced the creature. “At the moment, I’m supposed to guard this tomb. Anything to get away from that absurd tree! Much as I prefer to allow desecration, I’m on assignment to prevent it. So, if you value your lives, back off!”

“Hold that abomination off!” I ordered.

“Hold him off?!” protested Ambassador Hell as he turned into Garagaranda. “I’m the leader of an organization! I don’t hold things off! I squash them!” As he held Frieza off, I opened a coffin and took out my blades. I used a small one to get the eye and used a larger one to get the left hand.

“I have what I need!” I called. “Vortech, Garagaranda and I need a rift home!” Garagaranda shoved Frieza away and we entered the rift.

We had returned to Vorton to cheers. Everyone was back, well, aside from Death. We told everyone the events of what went on in Jurassic world and told them about the robot that killed Heather. I then told everyone what happened in Chima. After the story, I called for silence. “Everyone,” I began, “I’m just reminding those that heard, but the Jurassic team needs to know. There’s been an idea floating around that I should be crowned Queen of the F.N.S.”

“No kidding?!” asked Emily as she wiggled happily in Joshua’s lap.

“No kidding,” I confirmed. “So, I need everyone’s opinion. To save time, I need everyone to speak with their families and we’ll tally family votes. Okaa-san, Hiroki Nee-san, you two will have to debate alone. I’m not voting.”

“We understand,” assured Okaa-san.

“All right, get debating. Let me remind you that a single no vote will defeat the motion,” I declared. “I’ll call you in five minutes.” The F.N.S, our families, Hongo, Batman, Wyldstyle, and Gandalf departed. Ben and his team, Ursula, and the Dinobots were staring at the Star Destroyers hovering above Vorton.

“I swear I saw those before,” mused Ursula as she turned into Vanessa.

“A pleasure to see you,” boomed Vader’s voice.

“YOU AGAIN!!” shouted Vanessa.

“You know him?” I asked.

“We were on the same side for a while during an event called the Balance Wars,” snarled Vanessa. “If memory serves, you and your Emperor nearly killed us all when you fought each other! Loki wasted too much power to get us out of the Death Star Mark III!”

“Perhaps it would be in your best interest to not underestimate the power I wield,” rumbled Vader. “Your magic is nothing compared to the Force.”

“You prattle on and on about that Force nonsense,” hissed Vanessa, “but, in the end, anyone can wield it! It’s nothing special, just a…!” She didn’t get very far as Vader held out his hand and Vanessa started gasping for air.

“I find your lack of faith disturbing,” growled Vader.

“LET HER GO OR OUR ALLIANCE IS OVER!” I thundered.

“As is your will,” complied Vader. He released Vanessa. She coughed and spluttered.

“Vader, it would be in your best interests NOT to choke people that annoy you,” I warned. “You want my help, reign it in! Whatever beef you have with her is irrelevant. Unless Vanessa wishes to stay, I’m sending her home after the vote.”

“I’m not staying a second longer!” snapped Vanessa.

“Truth be told,” rumbled Grimlock, “Dinobots need to go home.”

“I must return as well,” replied Siege.

“I don’t know about you guys,” cheered Ben, “but I’m staying!”

“Not without me, you are not!” protested Rook.

“I’m staying too,” called Gwen.

“I see no reason to not kick butt and take names,” mused Kevin.

“I’m in, too,” declared Max.

“Very well,” I said. I then heard footsteps. “Five minutes, already?” I muttered. “All right, we’ll start with the Saunders.”

“The Saunders say yes!” called Emily.

“Archers?” I asked.

“The Archers say yes,” replied Michael.

“Kuznetsovs?” I quizzed.

“The vote is yes,” answered Irina.

“Akintolas?” I queried.

“We say yes!” cheered Mr. Akintola.

“Ackermanns?” I gulped.

“The vote is yes,” reported Mrs. Ackermann.

“Babineauxs?” I mumbled.

“Oui, you should be Queen!” called Emmanuel.

“Haugens?” I asked, hoping for a “no” vote.

“You will make a fine Queen. The vote is yes,” replied Tonje.

“Elizondos?” I said weakly.

“Of course, we say yes!” cheered Mr. Elizondo.

“Acquas?” I quizzed.

“Sì!” called Livia.

“Williams?” I mumbled.

“God save Queen Megumi!” praised Mr. Williams.

“Kumars?” I mumbled.

“Yes, of course!” replied Sheela.

“Lins?” I quizzed.

“We say yes,” said Mrs. Lin.

“Okay, my family has the final say,” I said, really hoping for a “no” from them.

“And we say yes!” cheered Okaa-san. “You shall make a fine Queen!”

“It’s…decided…then,” I whispered, feeling the weight of the crown, even though I was still wearing my tiara.

“I’ll make you a new dress!” cheered Okaa-san.

“Okay,” I mumbled, nervously.

“No worries, Megumi,” assured Richard. “You’ve led us this far and haven’t let us down. I feel confident in following you.”

“Thank you,” I sighed. “I just worry about that kind of power going to my head.”

“Just remember your friends,” reminded Okaa-san. I smiled.

“Friends do keep one grounded, don’t they?” I mused. I was feeling a little more confident about being Queen. “When my new dress is finished, we will hold a coronation.” I decreed.

“God save the Queen!” cheered Michael.

“God save the Queen!” called everyone.

When we returned, Vortech met us as he held a female version of his right arm. “And, what do you intend to do?” he asked.

“The hand and eye I had obtained from Hell are merely tools to allow me into After Academy,” I explained. “The arm I requested should serve as a buffer for the power that resides in the school. Power that I intend to use!” We stopped at the Medical Ward with the Rani by the surgery table. “So, you CAN do it?” I asked her.

“I mean, yes, I CAN do it,” she replied, “if you’re certain that’s what you want?”

“Like nothing I’ve ever desired!” I declared, making it clear that there is no going back.

“Then, prepare for…” said the Rani.

“No anesthetic!” I demanded as I laid down. “I want to bear witness as you upgrade my limbs and eye!”

“Coming up,” complied the Rani. She got to work on my right arm first. The pain was excruciating, but I managed.

Tags batman, gandalf, igura, kamen rider, kamen rider ichigo, lacey, megumi hishikawa, surgery, wyldstyle

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Chapters

Chapter 41

We arrived at Jurassic World and I was bouncing up and down like a little girl on Christmas. “Dinosaurs! Dinosaurs! Dinosaurs!” I giggled.

“Take it easy,” calmed Haitao. “You’re gonna gain hyper speed if you keep that up.”

“But…Dinosaurs!” I cheered. “And…park! And…Dinosaurs!”

“You already said ‘Dinosaurs’,” observed Michael.

“Because they’re awesome!” I called. “I wanted to be a paleontologist when I was a little girl!”

“And now, you’re studying current human anatomy,” muttered Mikhail.

“Come on, you can’t tell me you’re not excited to see Jurassic Park?!” I called.

“Jurassic Park, yes,” agreed Richard. “But, Jurassic World?” He pointed to the sign above the gate. It said, “Jurassic World”.

“Oh COME ON!!” I shouted. “One movie was enough!”

“Tell THAT to Hollywood,” muttered Richard. “Oh well, like life, the fandom will find a way.” I resorted to grumbling.

“Oh well, at least it can’t get any…uh oh…” I yelped. “Maybe that phrase doesn’t work in this universe!” Something then flew over the wall, nearly crushing us. We got out of the way, thank goodness. “Then again,” I sighed, “it’s probably a multiversal constant.” The object pushed itself up. It was Grimlock! “Well, I’ll be!” I chuckled.

“Dad’s favorite Transformer!” called Richard. “More so than Optimus!” Grimlock was in his T-Rex mode when he shook off the dirt.

“That not nice!” he shouted over the wall.

“Er, Mr. Grimlock,” I asked. “Who are you fighting?” Grimlock saw us.

“Not more!” he moaned.

“More?” I quizzed. “What’s going on?!”

“Me Grimlock not waste words!” boomed Grimlock.

“Er, I don’t like the sound of that,” gulped Michael. Grimlock transformed, leveling his gun at us! “I don’t like the look of it either!”

“Grimlock, wait!” I pleaded. “We’re not here to hurt you!”

“Funny, me not believe you!” roared Grimlock as he squeezed the trigger.

“Grimlock, stop!” called a voice. “They’re associates of mine!” The voice sounded familiar.

“You serious?!” roared Grimlock as he turned to his left. A brunette woman with wavy hair came up, sporting cold, yet lovely eyes, a pale blue dress with a slightly darker corset, and a golden seashell necklace.

“You again?!” I called.

“Hello, Dr. Saunders, Ms. Kuznetsov,” greeted the woman.

“You know crazy witch lady?” asked Grimlock.

“She was someone that I saved along with Irina,” I explained.

“What are you doing here, Ursula?” asked Irina.

“Vanessa, you mean,” corrected Ursula. “Here’s the thing, I made a deal with Ursula when I was young. I was afflicted with a disease that no one could cure at the time. No one WANTED to, as I didn’t conform to the ideal image a woman was supposed to be at the time, in 1427. So, I met a young girl who was recently banished from her kingdom. She was the first undersea dweller I met, a Cecaelia. She was cast aside because of her natural abilities with magic. I felt a kinship with her and so told her my story. She told me of the conditions of her banishment, being stripped of magic, and so needed someone who was cast out of society to regain her magic. I asked her how the process would be done. She said it needed the two outcasts to meld with each other, body and soul, and she had the means to do so.” She lightly touched on the shell. “With the Gold Nautilus, Ursula and I joined and became one. Two minds, one body that changes, one soul.”

“So, it’s like Split-personality, but the body changes with the personality?” I ventured.

“In a sense, yes,” shrugged Ursu…Vanessa. “Now, Miss Irina, if memory serves, you were about to deck Ursula in the face when Starscream trapped us.”

“That option remains in play,” hissed Irina.

“I would expect nothing less,” chuckled Vanessa with a wicked grin. “But, for now, I have a proposal.” She paused for dramatic effect. “Join me in defeating our shared enemies.”

“You have all sorts of power,” argued Livia. “Why ask for our help?”

“Because the enemies have something I lack that I’m sure you lot have,” replied Vanessa, “knowledge on a device called the Omnimatrix.”

“You mean the Omnitrix?!” I yelped. “Why should we fight Ben?!”

“Ben?” asked Vanessa. “No, a girl called Heather. She managed to extract the Omnitrix from Mr. Tennyson and threw him in an underground genetics lab, along with his grandfather, cousin, police partner, and villain turned friend.”

“Heather?” I quizzed, making sure I heard the name right.

“I don’t know much about her,” replied Vanessa. “In any case, she’s got allies, an unholy melding of flesh and metal, a humanoid squid, a talking jet, and your enemies, Shocker Rift, I believe.”

“Trying to find the Foundation Element, no doubt,” guessed Haitao.

“In any case, our past alliances, villain, hero, Dinobot, Maximal, they no longer matter,” declared Vanessa. “Not while the enemy is in control!” That was when the earth shook in a rhythm, like footsteps.

“Oh, Ursie! Grimmy!” boomed a deep, feminine voice. “Guess who’s the little chickadee who unlocked a Vaxasaurian!”

“Little chickadee?” repeated Richard. “Didn’t…no, she’s in prison, right?”

“You don’t think…” I guessed. That was when a female Vaxasaurian stomped through the trees. Vaxasaurians are a beige, humanoid, dinosaur-like species from the planet Terradino. They have four fingers on each hand with large grey nails, possess dinosaur tails and reach up to twelve feet. Females dress in caveman clothing and wear bones to attract mates. This Vaxasaurian had a black circle between her navel and bust with a green hourglass inside. Her eyes were green as she looked up at Grimlock, who was at least ten feet taller than her.

“Me no afraid of you!” roared Grimlock. “Me still bigger than you!!”

“Really now?” asked the Vaxasaurian in a hillbilly drawl. She then demonstrated a Vaxasaurian’s natural ability to grow up to five times its original height, in this case, sixty feet. She grinned evilly at us.

“…Me need to have Perceptor, Wheeljack, and Ratchet work on me Grimlock’s mouth/brain filter programs,” mumbled Grimlock.

“That won’t save you,” growled the hillbilly Vaxasaurian. “I’ll squash you and then squash that fat, rose obsessed freak! She never removed her impure, fat body from the planet and managed to get me…”

“In prison!” I shouted, realizing who the Vaxasaurian really was. “That’s where xenophobic murderers like you will always rot, Hillbilly Heather!” The Vaxasaurian looked at me and got angry.

“You!” she growled. She slapped down on the hourglass symbol and shrunk, changing shape into a muscular, bipedal, tailless tiger. Her front was white, as well as her muzzle, feet, and hands. She had four fingers on each hand with a large, black claw coming out of the wrist, pointing to the fingers. Her eyebrows were boned and black in the shape of anger. The symbol was still in between her navel and bust and she wore a leotard and black shorts. “rrrrRRRRRAAAAAYYYYYGGGE!” she roared.

“You mean Rath!” I roared back

“LET ME TELL YA SOMETHIN’, EMILY SAUNDERS, THE FATSO WHOSE MOTHER PUT ME IN PRISON!” bellowed Heather, “HEATHER HAS THE OMNITRIX, SO HEATHER NAMES THE ALIENS! AND HEATHER’S NAME FOR THIS FORM IS RAYGE!” She then went on all fours and charged. I dodged and whipped out the i.d tag.

“Henshin!” I announced. My team followed suit.

“HENSHINNING’S GOOD!” roared Heather. “RAYGE CAN HENSHIN ALL DAY!” Vanessa then fired energy blasts at Heather who shrugged it off. “THAT’S ANOTHER MISTAKE, URSULA THE SEA WITCH!” yelled Heather. “WHEN YOU SHOOT RAYGE, IT JUST MAKES RAYGE MAD!!”

“Bad kitty!” shouted a voice. A spear of black mist flew past Heather’s Appoplexian face. Everyone turned to see Death with nine others, just one young man among the other ladies. The young man and five young ladies were in grey sweaters with an ascot, each in a different color, and wore a really large skirt with petticoats reaching to the ankles that matched the colors of their ascots.

“WHO ARE YOU?!” bellowed Heather. “You wanna fight me?! LET’S GO!!”

“Believe me when I say,” grunted the orange skinned, armored woman, “you do not give credit to the Appoplexians. One of my spouses is one and he would call you a disgrace.”

“LET ME TELL YA SOMETHIN’, ORANGE MONGREL!” roared Heather. “RAYGE WILL TEAR YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND APART!!” She charged at the woman, who managed to hold her back with her pinky.

“Pathetic,” grunted the woman. She flicked Heather’s forehead, sending her into the wall of Jurassic World. “You, a weakling that subscribes to racial purity, specifically white purity, dare challenge me? I am War, and it is diversity that makes my troops stronger!” The woman, War, drew a large sword and charged at Heather. Heather started glowing and slammed her claw into the ground, creating a shockwave that knocked War off her feet.

“War, get back!” whispered Death. “She’s carrying the Foundation Element of 8-3-N-1-0!”

“What?!” yelped War.

“The Omnitrix is a Foundation Element?!” I shouted.

“Power of that magnitude was never yours!” snarled War. She charged at Heather while getting a belt out. The buckle looked like a grey sphere with a sword of the same color halfway out. She put the belt on. “HENSHIN!” she bellowed. She slid the sword down so the guard rested on the sphere. Orange light filled the air, then faded as War’s Rider form decked Heather. The entire suit was orange armor with a black undersuit. The helmet was pointed with red eyes and a fearsome fanged teeth decal over where the mouth should be. Swords roughly the length of her lower leg were pointed towards her feet.

“War, NO!” warned the raven-haired girl in white petticoats. Too late. Kamen Rider War kicked but flew through the air as Heather dodged. Heather then grabbed War’s leg and flung her into us.

“All right, that’s it!” I hissed. “I’m declaring this Hillbilly Heather Hunting season!”

“I’M AFRAID IT’S ALREADY FATTY HUNTING SEASON!” roared Heather. She charged at me but missed as I dodged.

“Like I’m afraid of an amateur fighter like you!” I boasted. “It’s Appoplexian Hillbilly Heather hunting season!”

“FATTY SEASON!” roared Heather as she decked me. I recovered.

“Rayge season!” I argued as I kicked her stomach. She recovered.

“FATTY SEASON!” roared Heather. She slammed her fists on my head. I shook my head from the disorientation.

“Rayge Season!” I countered as I tripped her up. Rayge got up again and grabbed me by the throat.

“FATTY SEA…!” began Heather. War then kicked her in the back. I summoned my horse and converted it to flight mode. A plan was in my head. As I was lifting off, Heather recovered. “HEY! LET ME TELL YA SOMTHIN’, EMILY SAUNDERS, THE FATSO WHOSE MOTHER PUT ME IN PRISON! NOBODY GOES UNLESS RAYGE SAYS THEY CAN GO! ‘CAUSE RAYGE GOES BEFORE EVERYBODY! SO, NO GO, YO!” I went higher and Heather grabbed onto my vehicle. “IS THAT ALL YOU GOT?! ‘CAUSE RAYGE’S GOT TONS MORE! IN FACT, I SHOULD GIVE YOU SOME OF MINE, SO IT’LL BE A FAIR FIGHT! AND, AFTER THAT, EVERYTHING I GAVE YOU, I’M GONNA TAKE IT ALL BACK AND MAKE YOU LIKE IT!” I was over Jurassic World and made a nose dive for one of the streets. “CRASHING’S GOOD TOO! RAYGE CAN CRASH ALL DAY!” I did a barrel-roll, insert Star Fox meme here, and managed to get her off. “OH, AND NOW YOU’RE USING GRAVITY?! WELL, GIVE UP GRAVITY! YOU CAN’T BEAT RRRRAAAAYYYGGGE!” She hit the ground, hand first, and her claw was stuck in the pavement. I stuck around long enough to see her trying to pull the claw out. “LET ME TELL YA SOMETHIN’, PAVEMENT OF MAIN STREET! LET GO OF RAYGE’S CLAW!” I rejoined the others.

“It’ll be a while before she gets out somehow,” I figured.

“Then we need to go,” grunted War as she cancelled her transformation.

“We run away?!” wailed Grimlock.

“It’s not running away!” snarled War. “We’re consolidating our resources…further away from the battlefield.”

“My offer still stands,” called Vanessa. It took a few seconds to consider before a flash of green light came from the park.

“She must have transformed,” I guessed. “All right, we’re in, but Death and the others are coming with us.”

“You CAN be counted on to listen to reason,” praised Vanessa. “Grimlock, dear, if you please?” Grimlock called up their home base.

“Grimlock to base, requesting Ground-Bridge,” he demanded. “We have more people.” A swirling green vortex opened.

“Richard, you’re the biggest Transformers nut in our family,” I recalled. I had already admitted I was a fan of the G1 universe to the F.N.S, the original cartoon, the old Marvel comics, and Beast Wars, and it felt like a weight was lifted from my shoulders. “Maybe you spotted a Ground-Bridge in the early cartoon? Because I don’t remember either side having one.”

“No, the Ground-Bridge is a recent invention,” answered Richard. “Debuted in Transformer: Prime. I don’t know how G1 Grimlock got ahold of one.”

“We’ll worry about that later,” whispered Death. “Right now, we need to regroup and introduce ourselves.”

“If you could step this way,” offered Vanessa as she went through the vortex. Grimlock followed, then Death and her team, then I covered the retreat, in case Heather blind-sided us. After I stepped through, I was led to a large, underground bunker. The other Dinobots saw us and started asking questions.

“THAT IS ENOUGH!!” snarled a voice. A brown velociraptor stomped into view. “The absurdity of you Dinobots knows no bounds!” growled the dinosaur.

“Dinobot?” Richard and I both yelped. The velociraptor faced us.

“I take it YOU are from another universe,” guessed Dinobot. “Dinobot, MAXIMIZE!” Dinobot shifted to robot mode, complete with snarling blue face. “So, what brings you here?”

“We’re here to get something called the Foundation Element,” I answered. “An object unique to this universe that keeps it in the multiverse, thus keeping all of space-time in check.”

“I have not seen anyone else in my universe asking for such an object,” answered Dinobot.

“No, but, from what Vanessa’s told us, you’ve seen one in action, the Omnitrix,” I replied. “And it’s in the hands of a psycho that nearly killed me.”

“So, we have a common enemy,” mused Dinobot as he got out of my face. He was easily nine and a half feet. “And these are your friends?”

“Well, seven of them are,” I replied, “but I don’t know the rest.”

“Then, perhaps,” suggested Dinobot, “introductions are in order. I am Dinobot!” Vanessa slid into a large pool of water and turned back into Ursula.

“I am Ursula, and my human form is Vanessa,” she introduced.

“Me, Grimlock.”

“I’m Slag,” called the Triceratops.

“Call me Swoop,” declared a bot with folded Pteranodon wings.

“I’m Snarl,” called a bot with Stegosaurus plates on his back.

“I’m Sludge,” cheered a big-footed bot.

“I’m Emily Saunders, mission leader for my team,” I began.

“I’m Richard, Emily’s brother.”

“I am Haitao Lin.”

“I’m Livia Acqua.”

“Michael Archer, ladies and gentlemen,” Michael bowed.

“Irina Kuznetsov.”

“I’m her brother, Mikhail.”

“I am Death.” Everyone shied away from her. “I’m not here on THAT kind of business. No one’s dying right now.”

“I am War.”

“I’m Pestilence,” wheezed the green skinned woman.

“I’m Famine,” mumbled the bony, yellow haired woman as she stuffed her face.

“I am Lacey Thanatos,” introduced the raven-haired girl. “And, if things go well, Kamen Rider Apocalypse.” She adjusted her hair flower.

“Um…my name…is…Flora Nightly,” whispered a plump girl with white petticoats and ascot. She had blue hair and a pink rose on a green bow on the left side of her hair. It was obvious she was shy.

“I’m Charline Elmira,” cheered a muscular girl with brown, wavy hair and orange petticoats and an ascot.

“Call me Sophie Moore,” called a short girl with hair as white as Tonje’s, a black headband, and dark blue petticoats and ascot.

“I’m Amelia Kendall,” introduced a tall girl with lavender hair, a yellow circle on her forehead, and green petticoats and ascot.

“And I’m Brendan Patterson,” finished the boy. He had black hair, the same yellow forehead circle as Amelia, and yellow petticoats and ascot.

“What brings you here, Death?” asked Livia.

“I’ll let Lacey explain it,” replied Death. Lacey grinned.

“I’m here to take my final test to become Kamen Rider Apocalypse,” she declared. “I had to take written and practical tests from the Four Horsemen, I took the written bit of my final, now I have the practical bit to do.”

“So, you need to destroy a universe?” asked Ursula.

“Hardly,” assured Lacey. “I’m supposed to show how much control I have over my powers.”

“And why are your classmates here?” asked Dinobot.

“After an…incident,” began Brendan, I noticed he was careful with how he phrased it, “the five of us became heralds of the apocalypse.”

“Basically, we warn people their world will end,” explained Amelia.

“And help the Horsemen fight those who want to hurt the multiverse,” said Flora, quietly.

“A little micromanagement,” I mused.

“But, enough about us,” called Lacey. “What brings Dinobot and his namesakes here?”

“Ursula too, for that matter,” I mused. “I thought you would be back in your universe.”

“I didn’t wake up in my universe,” explained Ursula. “I was in Vortech’s grip, a prisoner, away in a dungeon. The Dinobots and Dinobot were there with me. They tried to get me to spill on where my universe’s Foundation Element was.”

“Me too,” supplied Grimlock. “But me didn’t know what Foundation Element even was until Emily explained it.”

“Same with me, but Vortech didn’t believe us,” continued Ursula. “Eventually, we escaped by following Igura here and are trying to get ourselves back.” I started mulling over what Ursula said.

“All right, it seems we can solve all our problems here,” I resolved. “My people have the tech needed to get you guys home and we have a Foundation Element vault. We also have knowledge of our enemies. If you guys help us get the Omnitrix and Ben and his team back, along with this universe’s Foundation Element, we can get you guys home. Deal?”

“Usually, I’M the one who makes deals,” mused Ursula, “but, we’re pressed for time. Deal.”

“Sounds good to me,” whispered Death, “but, do you mind if my team and I joined you on Vorton?”

“Don’t mind at all,” I replied. “I’m sure Megumi would love the help.”

“You have deal with Dinobots,” rumbled Grimlock.

“All right!” I cheered.

“And my services are at your disposal,” answered Dinobot.

“All right, we need to find a way into the park as that’s where the enemy seems to be concentrating itself. Most likely, the Foundation Element is there,” I guessed. “I have some ideas of a plan, but it’ll take timing, cooperation, and it’s extremely dangerous when we carry them out.” The Dinobots started smiling. “Everybody else in?” I asked.

“Let’s do it!” cheered Richard.

“Nothing we can’t handle,” boasted Lacey.

“I shall prove to our enemies what happens when a Sea Witch is trifled with!” snarled Ursula.

“Then let’s get to work,” I declared “First off, we share info. I’ll start with the Omnitrix. As you can tell, the Omnitrix is a device that can turn you into any alien life-form. The life-forms are all arranged in playlists of ten. As of now, the Omnitrix has 1,000,912 aliens. 99 are unlocked, 70 have been named, and the original holder, Ben Tennyson, has transformed into 62. You saw what a Vaxasaurian can do, but you need knowledge on that tiger alien, the Appoplexian. Richard, take over.”

“Appoplexians,” supplied Richard, “are powerful, argumentative, and extremely aggressive. Their brains are hard-wired for anger. They believe any problem can be solved by hitting it. The traditional greeting of an Appoplexian is to engage in a wrestling match to establish who’s dominant.”

“Sound like Me Grimlock’s kind of people!” cheered Grimlock.

“They also have Sludge’s level of dimness,” replied Richard.

“…Would you repeat that?!” snarled Sludge. He was cleaning his gun.

“Of course not, I’m sorry I said it,” said Richard, hurriedly.

“I should hope so,” muttered Sludge.

“The Omnitrix has the ability to scan and analyze new DNA,” warned Richard, “so, Cybertronians should watch themselves.”

“Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa,” I stopped. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, yeah,” realized Richard. He didn’t tell me earlier when I pretended not to like the Transformers. “Cybertronians have something call CNA, Cyber-nucleic acid.”

“…And that’s their genetic code?!” I yelped. “They have base pairs like us that determine traits?!”

“Yeah,” confirmed Richard.

“I confess, I’m amazed you didn’t know,” rasped Dinobot.

“When was this revealed?!” I asked.

“Same series as the Ground-Bridge,” explained Richard.

“Okay, now that THAT bomb’s been dropped,” I muttered. “Time to teach you about the Omnitrix’s current user. Heather is an old bully from way back. She views everyone that isn’t someone like her has impure genetics. She found me as an easy target and made fun of and hit me whenever she got a chance. My parents, friends, brother, and I tried everything, but the school system wouldn’t deliver justice. I was near enough to commit suicide and I was about to write a note when I heard the door open. I deleted the note to see Mom looking frustrated. She’s a member of the Fredericksburg Police and was investigating a crime. Judging by the face, I’d say it wasn’t going well. A string of burglaries and attacks on citizens was rampant all over Fredericksburg. Some victims died while the ones that didn’t were blinded by someone in stealth gear. When she showed me an image, the shape looked familiar. ‘Did you get a DNA match on anyone?’ I asked her.

“‘I tried, but we couldn’t find anyone,’ replied Mom. ‘Why?’

“‘The body type looks a lot like a classmate,’ I answered. ‘We’re doing a DNA swab thing at school tomorrow. Can you guys do anything on them?’

“‘Well, given that the scientists have to give us the data on the DNA,’ replied Mom, ‘we should.’

“‘It may be that I’m wrong, but I think the person you’re after goes to my school,’ I guessed. Mom seemed to consider this. The next day, Heather was surprised to see me. I grinned sweetly as we went to science class. We did the whole cotton swab thing and went on with our lives. Later, at night, the perp came in through my bedroom window. It came up to my desk where ‘I’ sat. The perp then stabbed ‘me’ in the back of my head. The perp then lifted the mask to make her final mistake. It was Heather.

“‘Fatty, you REALLY should have let your depression take over,’ she sighed. ‘It would have made things easy for both of us. You’re dead, so I can explain easily. You come from a long line of mongrels. I, on the other hand, am pure. That’s why my victims are hurt or killed. So many people badger on and on and on about diversity making us stronger when that is a fat lie! Fatter than you were! Diversity just gobbles up pure ideals and tries to mix them! It destroys perfect civilizations!’

“‘It brings new wisdom and new culture!’ I roared, making Heather gasp. ‘It makes a better civilization!’

“‘What in the name of…?’ yelped Heather. ‘How?! I skewered you like a sow from the pen, ready for barbeque!’

“‘You Backwoods Blunder!’ I insulted. ‘We’re not playing chess! We’re playing poker!’ The lights came on to reveal the large doll she thought was me. The police and I came into the room. ‘And I was bluffing!’ I finished.

“‘Heather Richards, you’re under arrest!’ roared an officer.

“‘The newspaper had your disguised image from when you robbed Hyperion Espresso!’ I declared. ‘The body shape looked familiar, but I needed to be sure.’

“‘So, you convinced your mother to get a copy of the results of the DNA swab test!’ hissed Heather.

“‘Ding! Ding! Ding!’ I confirmed. ‘But, the police had no idea you held to out of date ideals like ‘racial purity.’ Honestly, I’m surprised you’re NOT the result of inbreeding.’

“‘I’ll see you in Hell, mongrel!’ promised Heather. ‘I’ll be found innocent!’ The thing is, she was wrong. She was guilty as Hell and sentenced to ten years in prison.” Everybody was wide-eyed when I finished my story.

“I was with my old Robotics club at the time she was arrested!” yelped Richard. “Why didn’t you tell me you were that close to committing suicide?! Or Mom and Dad, for that matter!”

“I asked them not to tell you,” I replied. “And, at the time, I didn’t want you to worry about me. In hindsight, I made a mistake.”

“A big, fat one!” agreed Richard. “Still, now I know what the events were that got Heather locked up. Now, we need to figure out how she got out.”

“Before that,” I switched gears, “Dinobot, Dinobots, do you have any idea about the talking jet?”

“No, but Ursula claims to see it,” replied Dinobot.

“Ursula, can you describe it?” I asked.

“It was white with red and blue and had purple symbols on the wings,” answered Ursula. She made an image of the Decepticon logo. “It spoke in a screechy voice too,” continued Ursula.

“Him again?!” I snapped.

“First, he invades my mind, and now this?!” snarled Irina.

“You know him?” asked Dinobot.

“It’s a he?” quizzed Ursula.

“His name is Starscream,” I replied. “He’s the second-in-command of the Decepticons, Grimlock’s enemies.”

“And enemies of Autobots,” growled Grimlock.

“But, how does Starscream have a body again?!” asked Dinobot.

“For those who don’t know,” supplied Richard, “a recreated form of Megatron vaporized him, but his spark, soul and heart of a Transformer, is a mutant one. It can’t fade away, so he comes off as a ghost.”

“A robot ghost?” muttered Lacey. “Now I’ve heard everything!”

“And there’s a humanoid squid and unholy fusion of flesh and steel,” reported Ursula.

“We can name both of them,” whispered Death. “They were both on watch after the events in their native universes. The squid is one that Ben Tennyson faced numerous times since he was ten years old.”

“Not Vilgax!” I moaned.

“The Ruler of Vilgaxia, himself,” confirmed Death.

“That doesn’t add up,” muttered Richard.

“Why?” asked Michael.

“Vilgax wants the Omnitrix,” I explained, helping Richard. “So, why would he let Heather have it?”

“To fulfill his end of his alliance with the…how did Ursula put it…unholy fusion of flesh and steel,” wheezed Pestilence. “I can put a name to him, for Dinobot flew to Prehistoric Earth on the same ship with him.”

“One of my former Predacon colleagues?” asked Dinobot.

“Much worse,” wheezed Pestilence. “He hates organic life, took a famous Decepticon’s name, and turned into what fans called an evil Barney the Dinosaur.”

“Evil…Barney…no! No, it can’t be!” I gulped.

“Oh, but it is, yeeesss!” wheezed Pestilence.

“Megatron?! Impossible!!” snarled Dinobot.

“Another one?!” wailed Grimlock.

“The way you guys are talking,” I sighed, “it sounds like he became a techno-organic Transformer.”

“He did, and he hates that form,” grunted War.

“I picked up a conversation between him and Vilgax,” called Charline. “It was for a recon assignment for War.”

“She passed with top marks, as usual,” grunted War as she grinned with pride.

“Thank you,” reciprocated Charline. “It was in a universe that was a barren wasteland. Megatron had gotten the Omnitrix first. He transformed in a glowy, purple aura from beast to bot and got the Omnitrix to his left wrist. It expanded to fit around a wrist his size. ‘Yes!’ he cheered. ‘I have control over a Foundation Element! And, with it, I can escape this wretched, misshapen form!’ This Omnitrix is the one that was used in Ben 10: Omniverse, a square watch design with a holographic selection ring. Megatron started scrolling through the aliens and his smile dropped with each passing alien. ‘There’s no Cybertronian form in here!’ he snarled. ‘All the other lists are locked! I’m still stuck in this hideous frame!’

“‘Technical difficulties?’ asked a voice. Vilgax then stomped into view.

“‘Not really,’ dismissed Megatron as he regained his composure. ‘It has come to my attention that Cybertronian genetic material is not in the Omnitrix’s database. I cannot use this wretched form as it’s hardly pure machine. Once I scan a pure Cybertronian, I’m cured.’

“‘Not an easy task,’ mused Vilgax. ‘Admit it, Megatron. We need Heather, we need Shocker Rift and its associates, and, more importantly, we need each other.’

“‘No, I NEED the Omnitrix to cure me of this fleshy form,’ argued Megatron. ‘You, on the other hand, WANT it to defeat this ‘Ben Tennyson’. That’s a bad basis for an alliance.’

“‘I no longer need THE Omnitrix,’ declared Vilgax. ‘Not when one is being made for me. I have enough clout to make one for you with pure Cybertronian CNA.’

“‘And, in exchange?’ asked Megatron.

“‘I require your technology,’ demanded Vilgax. ‘A powerful weapon as the Omnitrix for your most powerful Cybertronian weapon.’ Megatron stared for a while, then started laughing.

“‘That’s it?’ he chuckled. ‘You have gall, Vilgax. I admire gall, yeeesss! We have a bargain!’ At that point, I decided to withdraw and report.” Charline’s news sunk in.

“What’s our move here?” asked Livia. It took a while, but I came up with a plan.

“All right,” I declared, “here’s what we’ll do…”

Tags apocalypse horsemen, beast megatron, ben 10, emily saunders, grimlock, jurassic world, lacey, omnitrix, ursula/vanessa, vilgax

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Chapters

Chapter 40

“That’s a joke, I’m sure?” asked Vortech.

“No, my lord,” sighed Sludgiona. “Hiro Adachi is dead. Kamen Rider Vortex has awoken.” Vortech went deep in thought and worry.

“We’ve just entered our darkest hour, then,” he mused. I felt weak in the knees.

“Pardon me,” I mumbled. I stumbled off to my quarters, my mind in a whirlwind of emotions. First my failure in Jurassic World and now this?! My fiancée dead?! I finally reached my quarters and let myself collapse on the bed. My entire body was wracked with sobbing. I don’t know how long I was crying, but, Ambassador Hell opened my door.

“Igura,” he began, “given the…situation, Lord Vortech has ordered the building of a fallback position. But, know that you are free to use my troops to initiate a counter-attack against the…”

“COUNTER-ATTACK?!” I shrieked as I hurled a vase at Ambassador Hell’s head. He ducked. “Perhaps you fail to remember the reports of two Kamen Riders cleaving a mountain or flooding an island! With Vortex and Apocalypse having awoken, and our strongest warrior dead, our enemies can destroy us all with a wave of their hand! We must level the playing field, if not tip the balance of power back in our favor, in order to properly give Hiro the eternal rest that is his!”

“Is there not a weapon to rival their power?” asked Ambassador Hell.

“Correct, the Foundation Saber,” I replied. “But, it’s locked within the vaults of After Academy. Only students and staff can freely enter and exit that campus. Even then, only Lord Vortech can use it, and he has no intentions of doing so.” My tears were spent, as was my rage. If anything, Ambassador Hell’s words gave me the means to move on and come up with an idea. I started laughing. “But, I might get that access and wield that power if I were to control such genetic material!”

We arrived back on Vorton, the home team cheering at our return. Hiroki hugged both me and Okaa-san. There was a lot of hugging going on. Families were being reconnected. “Quite the reunion,” I called.

“So nice to see our families!” cheered Tonje as she hugged her mother and grandmother.

“Move aside!” declared Mrs. Linda Saunders. “I want to see my babies!”

“I beg your pardon?” asked Hiroki.

“My babies! Emily and Richard!” answered Linda.

“Didn’t they meet up with you?” asked Emmanuel as he helped his aged father sit down.

“No,” I replied. “I thought they would be here by now.” At that point, a rift opened and Lacey came through with Death, three other ladies who I presume the rest of Death’s team, and five other people, one man and four girls. The man wore a skirt. “Lacey, welcome,” I greeted. “I would have baked a cake for you, but we just found that Emily’s team hasn’t come back yet.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much,” assured Lacey. “They’re all right. They’re waiting for you guys.

“Then get us to the dimension they’re in!” demanded Fred. “I want to see my sweet, baby girl and my strong son!”

“But the Gateway can only send seven to a certain dimension,” I replied.

“Not with your current powers,” whispered Death. “You can go there without a Gateway and summon others. You just need to think of your targets.” When I heard that, I grinned like a maniac.

“Henshin!” I announced. My suit formed. “Super Charge!” The color changed and the suit bulked up. “And…Dai Super Charge!”

“HIT THE DECK!” warned Okaa-san. Everyone hit the floor as my armor flew off.

“Ooh! Can’t wait!” I giggled

“Nice suit!” complimented Hiroki. “What do you think of it?!”

“I was too busy fighting the late Hiro Adachi to find a mirror,” I replied.

“He’s dead?!” yelped Lukas.

“He blew himself up, rather than let us help him with his wounds,” I recounted. “The balance of power is in our favor.”

“I need to find him and collect him then,” whispered Death. “Lacey, sweetie, could you accompany Megumi in my place while she retrieves her friends?”

“Of course,” answered Lacey. “And, Megumi, if it’s a mirror you want…” she then summoned dark mist, let it surround her legs, made it grow, and then got it off her legs to make a mirror with a black frame.

“She can use magic?” muttered Gandalf.

“Magic beyond what you’re familiar with,” explained Lacey. I looked in the mirror to see my suit. It was gold with cream tiger stripes. It had a crown with three points, the middle one being the largest. There was a blue jewel in the crown’s center with my helmet’s antennae behind the crown. It had a cape and a skirt that opened under my belt, to allow for easy kicking, no doubt. My eyes were cream colored this time.

“Oooh, Megumi likes!” I giggled.

“With that kind of suit, and the power it supposedly comes with,” remarked Hiroki, “we may start calling you ‘Your Majesty’.”

“Queen Megumi Hishikawa,” mused Emmanuel. “I like the sound of that.”

“I’m not married,” I countered.

“Queen Elizabeth I was unmarried,” replied Joshua’s dad, Tim, “and she ruled England for some time.”

“How about this,” I suggested. “I’ll be called Queen Megumi ONLY by unanimous vote. All right?” Everyone nodded. “Good. With that out of the way, Lacey, why don’t you introduce your friends?”

“Gladly,” agreed Lacey. “This is War.”

“Greetings,” grunted the armored woman.

“Pestilence,” introduced Lacey.

“Hello,” wheezed the green woman as she waved.

“Famine,” announced Lacey.

“Hey!” mumbled the bony woman as she scarfed down some wings.

“And my classmates, Amelia,” continued Lacey

“Good evening,” answered the tall woman.

“Sophie,” announced Lacey.

“Yo,” said the short, stocky girl.

“Flora,” called Lacey.

“Um, hello,” said the plump girl, in a quiet, shy tone.

“Charline,” introduced Lacey.

“What’s up?” called the muscular girl.

“And Brendan,” finished Lacey.

“Nice to meet you,” greeted the man.

“My classmates have joined on as our heralds,” explained Lacey.

“Well then, welcome to the war against Vortech,” I said. “Now, with that out of the way, shall we? Lacey, Mr. and Mrs. Saunders, Mr. Kuznetsov, Mr. Archer, Mrs. Acqua, and Mr. Lin, care to join us?”

“Of course,” replied Mr. Longwear Lin. “I want to see my son!”

“Any idiot that keeps me a second longer from my little pirates,” hissed Mr. Sergei Kuznetsov, “is going to be a dead man.”

“Then let’s not wait a second longer,” I declared. “Let’s go! X-PO, the coordinates, if you please!”

“Coming up!” said X-PO. He beamed the info into my belt and I started concentrating. I focused on the parents, Lacey, and myself. All of a sudden, portals opened beneath us.

“I need to learn how to open them where I waaAAAAAAAAANT!!!!!!” I screamed as we all fell into the vortex. We tumbled, not so gracefully, through the vortex until we landed in front of a set of gates. We looked up to see the sign read “Jurassic World”.

“Seriously?” scoffed Linda. “Didn’t they learn from the first movie?”

“WHO YOU?!” boomed a voice. The earth shook in a rhythmic pattern, like footsteps, and a metal 80’s T-Rex stomped into view. It was grey with red eyes, was walking erect while dragging the tail, and had the hands down with the fingers pointing down. “What you doing here?!” roared the T-Rex.

“Grimlock?!” yelped Fred. The T-Rex turned its head.

“How you know Me Grimlock name?” snarled Grimlock.

“We come from another universe where…” I began.

“More?!” wailed Grimlock. “Why more coming here?! If you from Shocker Rift…!”

“No no no!” I halted. “Listen, we’re friends with other Riders! Have you seen Kamen Rider Touché?”

“For all Me Grimlock know,” boomed Grimlock, “you spies for Shocker Rift!”

“Signore Grimlock, aspetta un momento!” (Mister Grimlock, wait a minute!) called a voice.

“That voice!” recognized Mrs. Acqua. That was when a certain mermaid obsessed Italian woman ran up.

“Mamma!” cheered Livia.

“Livia, mia figlia preziosa!” (my precious daughter) called Mrs. Acqua as Livia hugged her. They started talking in their native Italian, with happy tears going down their faces.

“Er, Me Grimlock no understand why fish girl crying and hugging,” muttered Grimlock.

“Grimlock, I’d like you to meet my mother!” introduced Livia.

“Oh,” mumbled Grimlock, looking rather embarrassed.

“Mr. Grimlock!” called Fred.

“Er, yes?” quizzed Grimlock.

“I’m a huge fan of yours!” cheered Fred. “Could I get your autograph?!”

“Er, you have autograph pad?” floundered Grimlock, a little out of his depth.

“Can we focus on something else, like getting your children back?” I asked.

“Er, I’m sorry, Signorina, who are you?” Livia asked.

“What? Livia, it’s me! It’s…oh, wait, I’m still suited up. Hold on,” I replied. I then cancelled my transformation.

“Megumi?!” realized Livia. “You did it?!”

“I did it! I’m Kamen Rider Vortex now!” I confirmed.

“That lady one who train with beasts?” asked Grimlock.

“That’s the one!” replied Livia.

“Then she need to see her friends!” declared Grimlock. “Follow me, everyone!”

“Watch your step, though,” warned Lacey. “The place is a little wet.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

“I helped them out and flooded the place,” explained Lacey. The doors opened and we entered Lake Jurassic World. The place was flooded out. There were a few islands, one of them had a table with a lot of food. There, feasting, were Emily, Richard, Michael, Irina, Mikhail, and Haitao. There was a brunette teenage boy with green eyes, and Ursula the Sea Witch at the table as well.

“This is the good stuff,” sighed Richard. “A real homemade ice cream cone.” He raised his cone as he munched on his burger.

“You know,” mused the brunette, “I feel like I’m back at Burger Shack.”

“I’d love to try that stuff!” called Richard.

“With a smoothie in my hand,” continued the brunette, “and propping my feet up after a hard day’s battle.”

“Only,” joked Emily, “a hard day’s battle is just your typical Saturday of fun and games for you and Rook.”

“And Gwen and Kevin, don’t forget them,” supplied Richard.

“So, that IS Ben 10 I’m seeing,” I observed. Everybody turned to see us.

“Megumi?!” called Emily.

“Not just little old me,” I replied. I then moved to reveal our families.

“No way!” breathed Richard.

“Daddy?!” called Emily as tears of happiness glistened. Both Saunders kids ran to their parents and tackle-hugged them.

“Welcome, Lords and Ladies, to Jurassic World!” greeted Haitao.

“You utter scamps!” shouted Mr. Alexander Archer. “A merry hunt you’ve led us on, making us sick with worry, and we find you feasting!”

“Father, we are simply sitting of a field of victory, blessed by Nike herself,” countered Michael, “and we’re enjoying a few well-earned comforts. The salted pork is particularly good.”

“…S…Salted Pork?” muttered Mr. Archer, salivating slightly.

“We’re under orders to relax,” explained Mikhail as he and Irina pulled up a chair for Sergei. “Strict orders from Dinobot, who’s taken over management while the other Dinobots and Owen Grady deal with a problem.”

“What problem is that?” I asked.

“I called her Hillbilly Heather,” elaborated Emily.

“How’d SHE get out?!” yelped Mrs. Saunders. “I got charges to stick on her two years ago! After she tried to kill you when you didn’t commit suicide!”

“There’s a tale for you,” replied Emily. “Pull up a seat and I’ll tell it.”

Tags emily saunders, feast, final upgrade, grimlock, igura, jurassic world, kamen rider, lacey, megumi hishikawa, water

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Chapters

Chapter 38

I had many things to consider. How were we going to ultimately finish Vortech? What about those universes that had their original history altered? Will the Vortex Riders keep their belts? If so, what will happen to their home universe? I had scurried into my office at After Academy. I say office, but it was more of a bedroom with a desk than an office. A bit crude of me to hide, since it was near the end of the month-long Halloween Festival at the school, but I needed the privacy. My office was done up in the skeletal motif I’m associated with. I heard the door open but was so deep in thought. “Death?” asked a voice. “War was asking after you. She wanted to know about the construction of…”

“A secret ship…” I muttered.

“Considering all staff and students know about the ship,” replied the voice, “and that wasn’t what I was talking about being built, I don’t think it’s a secret.”

“No,” I mused in a lower whisper than usual, “I think we should make one.”

“Death?” asked the voice.

“We have the technology and magic,” I whispered, “we just need the resources. Maybe I should detail some mining operations, see if we can get some things.”

“Death, what are you talking about?!” asked the voice harshly. I was snapped out of my reverie to see Lacey and Scorpainia at the door. Lacey was in a navy blue walking mermaid tail, a red tutu and leotard with black tulle, a pair of devil horns with a halo in the center, and a set of black angel wings. Scorpainia was in her usual armor, on a visit. “You don’t usually go all bony unless you’re thinking deeply about something,” observed Lacey. I looked at my hands to see that I had, indeed, adopted the look most cultures associate me with, a skeleton in a black cowl and robes.

“Sorry, sweetie,” I whispered as I put flesh back onto the bones and changed my robes for my dress. “I was just thinking.”

“About?” asked Scorpainia.

“Things,” I whispered, vaguely. I elaborated on that as I moved to sit on my bed. “Specifically, what we have and DON’T have.”

“I don’t follow,” commented Lacey as she and Scorpainia followed me. Lacey sat on a bench while Scorpainia sat backwards in my desk chair. I rested my chin on my hands.

“It’s been a while since War visited Foundation Prime,” I whispered. “Oddly enough, he never really made a move against us, even when we freed Scorpainia. Nothing new, nothing different, nothing out of the ordinary that would normally get my attention.”

“I thought we wrote that off as a lingering after effect of the Foundation Saber,” recalled Scorpainia.

“I know,” I whispered. “It’s just…there’s something Vortech’s playing at. The fact that I don’t know worries, concerns me about the future.”

“I don’t see much point in dwelling on it,” mused Scorpainia. “Future predictions tend to be wrong anyways. It’s good to have a plan, but some things aren’t foreseen.”

“‘The chessboard is the world, the pieces are the phenomena of the universe’,” I started quoting. “‘The other player is hidden from us. We know that his play is always fair and patient, but we also know, to our cost, that he never overlooks a mistake, nor makes the smallest allowance for ignorance.’”

“I think you forgot a bit of that quote from Dr. Thomas Huxley,” reminded Lacey. “After the ‘phenomena of the universe’ bit, he said, ‘The rules of the game are what we call the Laws of Nature,’ and then he goes into the other player.”

“And against a force of nature like Vortech, the last of the Vortonians, we’re woefully unprepared,” I sighed. “It feels that way to me, at least. We’re trying to get new people to help and whatnot, but…it’s not shaping up to be enough. Not when the BIG fights come. Some of them, the Vortex Riders can hardly call them fights. The only reason they’re alive right now is because Megumi found help and put aside her pride. What happens when one of Vortech’s flunkies does something completely out of left field, who doesn’t care about a greater plan and just feels like stomping them?”

“By that same admission though,” countered Scorpainia, “why should they care about bothering Megumi if it’s beyond revenge or the like?”

“Tell that to Hiro,” I whispered. “He’s considered a hired gun in Vortech’s plan. One part of the Rogue Driver’s legend suggests that it can make its host ascend to godhood. And, even at THAT level, Megumi is still capable of getting her rear handed to her! Hiro tricks people in so many ways. And it’s not just him. The Daleks have pestered us more times than I can count. Shocker and its splinter group, Shocker Nova continue to take us completely by surprise! Then there was that whole fiasco with the Sontarans in the universe you were commanding before, Scorpainia. That was a defective clone batch! Imagine what a perfect one could have done!” I sighed. “We try to develop new weapons, train new fighters, plan something the enemy wouldn’t expect, but…I don’t know. Maybe we’ve lost the knack for it.”

“But we still win through,” observed Lacey.

“And that’s even MORE terrifying, though,” I whispered. “The Sontarans were robbed of their prize when Scorpainia made a last-ditch effort to stop them. The Omega Protocols are a last resort and defective Sontarans suppressed the Tarlaxians enough that they needed to move from that universe. That’s not something Scorpainia does willy-nilly!”

“Well, sitting and examining a battle down to the tiniest detail, even though we won with honor,” declared Scorpainia, “isn’t going to help us win. What do you suggest we do?”

“We need…information, knowledge,” I whispered.

“I think I know one place we can start looking,” helped Lacey. “It’s the reason I came here in the first place.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“It’s about the Foundation Saber,” explained Lacey. “I think it’s trying to say something. Whenever I pass by that room we’re keeping it in, I hear something like a very soft, low voice trying to say something. I already told War and Scorpainia told Pestilence and Famine.”

“How long has this been going on?” I asked.

“About a couple of days,” replied Lacey. “I checked with the nurse to make sure I wasn’t going crazy, but she found a psychic aura around it. That was when I told War.”

“Good thing you told us,” I whispered. “We’ll look into it after the Halloween Festival is over. Scorpainia, I need you to look into something else.”

“At your disposal,” assured Scorpainia.

“When you inherited the Eye of Tarlax,” I whispered, pointing to the jewel in her armor, “you said there was an underlying message in it. A message of reinforcement. We haven’t done a lot of study of it, but I think it’s time we learned what it means. Get your scientists and mages on it. In the meantime, I’ll see what War wants to make. Something to do with the Foundation Saber?”

“Bingo,” confirmed Lacey.

“I’m on it,” called Scorpainia. She opened a rift and returned to her new universe, Tarlax 14.

“In the meantime, I think we had better rejoin the festivities,” I suggested to Lacey. I helped her up as she got herself steady in her tail. We then walked out the door as I changed my dress into a costume of a Black Chess Queen.

“Time to move some pawns,” quipped Lacey. I chuckled softly at her joke. As we walked, Lacey got an idea. “I just need to do a written portion of Pestilence’s Apocalypse final, right?”

“Right,” I confirmed

“I think we can use our examination of the Foundation Saber to be that bit!” said Lacey. “I write down what we’re doing, what my theory is, and what the results are, and use that!”

“A lab report!” I whispered. “She will love that!” I then heard a rustling noise. “Lacey,” I whispered.

“The plants behind us, I heard it too,” confirmed Lacey. We both cautiously crept towards the plants, moved our hands toward them, and shoved them aside to see five students, Lacey’s friends. They had all gone the path of gothic angel, devil, sea creature tutu-wearing ballerinas, one of them being a male. The young man was Brendan, whose sea creature was an octopus mermaid, a Cecaelia. The tallest girl was Amelia, whose sea creature was an eel mermaid, an Anguillimer, as she called it. The short and stocky girl was Sophie who was a seahorse mermaid, a Hippocamini, as she called it. The third one, a shy girl by the name of Flora who was an Orca based mermaid, an Orcimy as she called it, was hiding behind Brendan. The last one, the spunky Ms. Charline, was a shark based mermaid, a Selayne, as she called it. “Eavesdropping, are we?” hissed Lacey.

“We weren’t dropping any eaves!” yelped Brendan. “We were just trimming the plants!”

“They’re office plants,” I whispered. “They don’t need trimming. How much have you heard?” No one said a word. “All right, let’s do Sir Terry’s method,” I then deepened my voice. “HOW MUCH HAVE YOU HEARD?” I said in my Discworld voice.

“We didn’t understand much of it!” cried Amelia. “All we heard was a sword giving Lacey some mental problems, some fiasco with Sontarans, a fight with Vortech, that’s all, we swear!”

“You went to the beginning of that conversation!” snarled Lacey. “I don’t believe it!”

“Please, Ms. Death, Ms. Lacey, don’t hurt us!” whimpered Flora. “Don’t turn us into anything…unnatural!”

“…No?” I whispered. “Well, I think I know something for you five. Lacey’s going to be our Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse. She needs a herald and I think the rest of Horsemen need one each. You will be our heralds.”

“We won’t disappoint you! We swear!” called Sophie.

“I don’t think you will,” I whispered. “Now, no more eavesdropping. Clear?”

“Crystal clear!” gulped Charline. “It won’t happen again!”

“Good,” I sighed. “Now, don’t you have a play to rehearse?”

“Come on, you guys,” directed Lacey. “We’ve got work to do.” As they walked away, Lacey asked Amelia how her character was getting along. I sighed with a grin as I headed to Pestilence’s lab. She needed to know what Lacey was planning.

Tags after academy, ballerina, classmates, death, lacey, merfolk, musing, planning, room, scorpainia

Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Chapters

Chapter 30

Tarlax is…well…WAS a lush place in the multiverse. The trees would always bear fruit, crops were plenty, food of all kinds was available to even the poorest Tarlaxian. I wish I could say that was what the Four Horsemen and I were greeted to. Instead, we got a Mordor like landscape. The people were starving and being smacked around by a race of potato headed, three fingered trolls, the Sontarans. We proceeded to a formerly ornate castle. It was run down now, silhouetted against a red sky. “You should have come here at the height of their Empire,” sighed Death, taking the form of an old woman. “Their entertainment was second to none, the criminal justice system was superb, the Empress was fair, yet firm, and their warriors would make Sontarans and Klingons cry.”

“Then why are there Sontarans here?” I asked.

“Part of Vortech’s design,” growled War, looking like a girl in cardboard armor. We approached the castle, but a guard stopped us.

“We only wish to see your Queen Empress,” assured Death.

“You will have to leave the staff here,” replied the guard, a hulking brute in Roman Centurion gear and a bladed tail.

“Would you take a grandmother’s walking stick?” I asked. “This little girl here would be very disappointed if you remove something of value to her grandmother.” I was referring to War, who gave me a dirty glare. The guard considered my words, then let us pass. The halls were…tall. No real tapestries, though. I was picturing something more opulent. We went towards the throne. On it sat a bug-like humanoid, modeled after a scorpion, I’d say. It had four arms. Two of them ended in scorpion claws while the other ended in clawed fingers. It had its tail wrapped around the waist like a belt, had two big black eyes and six smaller ones beneath the large ones. It had a fang on each side of the mouth and a pale brown carapace. It looked female, but I couldn’t vouch for that until Death spoke.

“The welcome in your hall has gone down, Queen Empress Scorpainia,” she observed. That answered the question about its gender, I guess. Her advisor whispered something to her. The advisor was bipedal, had large, red, metal arms and a triangular head with the point facing us.

“Why…should I…welcome strangers?” groaned Scorpainia.

“A just question, My Liege,” agreed the advisor. He then strode towards us. “Late is the hour in which these false witches come, requesting money to help us when we cannot pay. Our money must go to the Sontarans on our world so they may better defeat the Rutans.”

“But what about the people?!” I wailed. Death motioned for silence.

“I’m afraid our resources must go to keeping our Empress alive,” answered the advisor. “Without her, this universe will die.”

“She seems to be dying anyways,” observed Death.

“Metalran…” wheezed Scorpaina. The advisor, Metalran, headed for the throne. She seemed to whisper something, but it was unintelligible.

“You see?” asked Metalran. “Her mind is troubled and you would heap more troubles?”

“Hold your forked tongue behind your teeth!” snarled War.

“Or what, little girl?” asked Metalran. It was then he noticed the design on the toy sword. “The Horsemen!” roared Metalran. “I told you potato trolls to keep the Four Horsemen from our door!” The Sontarans were confused but trained their rifles on us.

“Now,” declared Death. She and War dropped the disguises and held off the Sontarans. I knocked Metalran down and rushed for the throne.

“I’ve heard tales about your magnificence,” I said to Scorpainia. “Those tales will be told again. Queen Empress Scorpainia, old friend of my teachers, I will release you from the evil side of darkness that has taken you.” She started gurgling with laughter.

“You have no power here, student of Death,” she laughed. I had a feeling that the voice wasn’t her own. I then revealed my belt, but Scorpainia laughed. “What is that? Something to free her with?” I knew it. Someone’s speaking through her.

“Whoever you are, release her,” I demanded.

“Or what?” giggled the person through Scorpainia’s mouth.

“Or you shall bear witness to Kamen Rider Apocalypse, one of two people capable of beating Vortech!” I declared.

“Impossible!” dismissed the person. “There is no Kamen Rider Apocalypse!”

“Wanna bet?” I asked. “Henshin!” I turned into Apocalypse before the enemy’s eyes. After I put my suit on, I turned the dial on my belt to Death’s symbol.

“Death Scythe!” announced my belt. A scythe blade appeared on each of my wrists as energy gathered in my hands.

“I don’t know who you are,” I snarled, “but I will extract you like poison from a wound!” I surrounded Scorpainia with energy and saw a figure of a man. I remembered the shape from one of Death’s lectures. This was Lord Vortech!

“If I go,” warned Vortech, “Scorpainia and Tarlax die!”

“Let Death be the judge of that!” I countered. I saw a slave chip on Scorpainia’s shoulder and a thread that connected Vortech’s consciousness to Scorpainia. I charged at Scorpainia with both blades flashing, one striking the slave chip, the other severing Vortech’s connection with Scorpainia. Once both were severed, Scorpainia fell forward in her chair.

“My Lady!” called Metalran. He rushed forward to catch her. When he did, he turned to me. “You would dare bring harm to my Empress?! You have made a costly mistake!!”

“No, Metalran,” growled Scorpainia. “She has healed me!” Her claw then grabbed Metalran’s throat. “YOU, on the other hand, kept me in the dark!” Metalran dropped the act.

“It is…better…to stand with…Lord Vortech…than to…oppose him!” he choked out.

“Run home to your master and tell him he has no prize in this universe!” demanded Scorpainia. She released him. Metalran caught his breath and turned to the Sontarans.

“KILL THEM ALL!” he ordered before leaving through the vortex. The Sontarans raised their guns at us. Scorpainia grabbed a strange fruit that was triangular and purple. She ate the whole thing, then made a disgusted noise. Apparently, it tastes bad, but restores a Tarlaxian to full strength. Her carapace went from pale brown to reddish brown. Her face contorted to an animalistic snarl. She then bellowed as laser fire bounced off her shell. One of the guards outside heard the commotion and saw Scorpainia destroying the Sontarans. His face brightened as he ran through the city to spread the news. Soon, the Tarlaxians ate the same fruit Scorpainia did so they could be on equal footing with the Sontarans. The fight soon became chaotic. War, Death, and I were following Technarain, a metallic humanoid with a scalp shaped like brain. We were starting to get tired.

“Okay,” I muttered as I gave a chop to the back of a Sontaran’s neck, “any bright ideas?”

“There are the Omega Protocols,” grunted War as she beheaded a Sontaran.

“Out of the question,” snapped Technarain.

“What are you, deficient?!” snarled War. “The Omega Protocols are your people’s only chance!”

“There’s an invading force in this universe!” declared Technarain. “The Omega Protocols will do the work for them!”

“I’ll be the judge of that!” boomed Scorpainia as she leapt onto a Sontaran and injected him with the poison in her tail. She then started glowing red. Technarain saw this, sighed, then followed suit. Soon, every Tarlaxian was glowing red. Blades then formed from blue light. They had a circle around the handle and extended past both ends. They were built out of some blue metal. All blades then started glowing blue. “Initiate the Omega Protocols! Start the Apocalypse!”

“What!?” I yelped. The Tarlaxians slashed and made dimensional rifts everywhere.

“Those are rift blades,” grunted War. “I believe you can guess why.”

“But that many rifts will tear this universe apart!” I recalled, thinking back to Pestilence’s lessons on multiversal stability.

“That’s the intent behind the Omega Protocols,” replied Scorpainia. “A universe can’t be taken if there’s no universe to take. The Vortonian Identifier String would call this universe T-4-R-L-4-X-1-3, Tarlax 13. What do you think happened to the other 12?”

“Wait,” I guessed, “then those energy masses we passed on the way here, those were your previous universes?”

“And this whole mess HAD to happen when we got this universe the way we liked it!” snapped Technarain. All Tarlaxians turned into silver spheres and fled through the rifts. Meanwhile, the Sontarans were in disarray. A trooper brought his gun to bear on us. His commanding officer, a Colonel Starn, stopped him.

“Sir, we cannot let the Tarlaxians steal our prize from us!” called the trooper. “Let me take them out! I will slaughter them like the dogs they are!”

“Brave of you, Trooper Draggh,” lauded Colonel Starn, “but we also cannot afford more losses. And your opponents would have been Death and War. Woman though they are, they would have killed you where you stood and the battle would not have added to the glory of the Sontaran Empire. We will withdraw to Foundation Prime. Our primary mission was achieved anyway.” The trooper complied and followed the retreat with Starn covering the rear.

“Before you leave,” called Scorpainia to Death, “I have something for you.” She fished out an i.d tag. “On this tag is a list of Tarlaxians that were enslaved and those that joined Vortech willingly. I obtained it before Vortech placed me under that spell.” She then saw me. “What’s the matter with your student?”

“But…I don’t…who…” I stammered.

“It’s not uncommon,” whispered Death. “Many species have a similar defense mechanism.”

“I…guess,” I sighed. I shook my head. “Can I have that list? I think Kamen Rider Vortex is gonna need it.”

“I think she’s on Vorton,” whispered Death.

“I thought it was destroyed,” questioned Scorpainia.

“The new Vortex Riders have restored power to the Gateway and the atmospheric generators,” grunted War. “They’re using it as a base of operations.”

“I’ve never been to Vorton,” I told Death. “Where is it?”

“The center of the dimensional vortex,” whispered Death. “Just follow the pull of the vortex past the Transformers cluster. You can’t miss it.” I hopped on my horse and did as she instructed.

“The whole trip took about two hours,” said Lacey as she finished. She then gave me an i.d tag with no decoration on it. “Just put this into your belt and you’ll know who’s friend and who’s foe.”

“Thank you,” I lauded as I bowed. “Would you like to stay a while?”

“I’m afraid I can’t,” sighed Lacey. “My training regimen’s a little harsh and I need to get back to stick with it. It was nice meeting you. I hope we see each other again.” She hopped on her horse and took off through the vortex again. I was left alone again, for a few seconds. X-PO floated by.

“There you are!” he cheered. “Lukas, Batman, Rusty, Elphaba, the Brigadier, and I have just located the next Foundation Element!”

“Wonderful news!” I exclaimed. I then pressed the intercom button on the Gateway. “Everyone, come to the Gateway room at once! Our quest is about to gain more fruit!”

Metalran, his loyalists, and the Sontarans had returned to my domain. Starn was angry with Ambassador Hell, with the feelings of the Shocker leader being mutual towards the Sontarans. Davros joined in the argument as well as Metalran. By this time, I decided to call for silence. “Let us see what had transpired,” I demanded. “Starn, you say that Ambassador Hell did not give you the reinforcements you requested, but, Ambassador Hell, you say there was no such request. Starn, you accuse Metalran of not preparing your troops properly, but, Metalran, you say that your own informant was incorrect in the political situation of your previous universe. Ambassador Hell, you blame Davros for not preparing your men against Daleks, hence why you believe Starn made no reinforcement request, but, Davros, you say that your Daleks would rather die than work with Shocker.”

“An excellent summing up,” mused Ambassador Hell. “You know, Lord Vortech, you would have made a very good judge.”

“You forget, Ambassador, I AM your judge,” I hissed. “Your jury and executioner, too!” I then bowed in mock politeness. “If need be.” I turned to my right-hand man and his fiancée. “Only Hiro and Igura have not weighed in and accuse anybody.”

“Because the whole thing has nothing to do with us,” replied Hiro. “Igura said she has news about the next Foundation Element. I wish this whole thing were put aside so she can get on with it.”

“Excellent!” I cheered. “A shining example of knowing one’s duties! Listen to me, all of you! I am not concerned with this petty argument! One thing concerns me, and one thing alone, we must gather the Foundation Elements!”

“But it’s the dispute here that’s preventing us from doing so,” reminded Hiro.

“Exactly,” I agreed. “So, let me offer a simple solution! The Orcs will retrieve the new Foundation Element as well as our fiery friend and enigma obsessed ally. The Sontarans are to remain here as guards in case anyone tries anything foolish. Davros, you are to work with the Rani and help her create a new body for the Yeti. Ambassador Hell, you are to tell your men to await my orders as they have proven untrustworthy in terms of success. Metalran, you are to tell your loyalists to hunt Scorpainia and kill her! Now, get moving!” No one argued as they moved to obey. Igura headed to the Orcs to brief them of the situation. I went to my throne to rest.

Tags apocalypse horsemen, hiro adachi, lacey, lord vortech, scorpainia, sontaran, tarlaxian