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Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Cast

Queen Empress Scorpainia

Bio:

Hailing from the poorest Tarlaxian family, Scorpainia was a bug-type Tarlaxian. She was beaten on by her peers as they squabbled over the little resources they had. Her fighting skills were honed both in public, and in private. She was one of the few Tarlaxians that knew the truth about her government. For a while, the Tarlaxians were going through a hard time, a great famine. The Senate, spokesmen of the people, were being strong armed into submission by her predecessor, King Emperor Armadillorg. However, Scorpainia knew of the corrupt clergy and so desired change. At the urging of her people, she marched onto the Senate building where Armadillorg was giving a speech to Tarlax 11. It was directed to the senate, the clergy, and the people.

She then demanded to challenge the King Emperor to combat over the Eye of Tarlax, the symbol of power for whoever rules the Tarlaxians. She won the initial fight, and so was given the Eye. She had to endure the raw, savage pain the Eye puts out as a byproduct of its power and knowledge for five minutes. She did so and the High Priest, a humanoid Owl and Unicorn hybrid called Owlicoragh, proclaimed her the Queen Empress and said that, by Tarlaxian tradition, her predecessor must die. She then spat in Owlicoragh’s eye, a grievous insult among Tarlaxians. She then gave evidence of the Church’s corruption and gave Owlicoragh one, simple order, step down or die.

Owlicoragh chose to fight her and seize power the old fashioned way. The duel ended with a dead Owlicoragh at Scorpainia’s feet. She was about to be given the mantle of the priesthood, but, instead, she chose Armadillorg as her High Priest. For a while, they ruled in coalition, moving to another universe until a drought hit them. Armadillorg had died in his bed and was replaced by Metalran, who was an agent of Vortech and ended up placing her under his spell and under Sontaran sway.

She was freed by Lacey Thanatos as she trained to become Kamen Rider Apocalypse and so moved the Tarlaxians to a new Tarlax 14 where they could fight with their gods, the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and defeat Vortech once and for all.

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Chapter 3

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

“Looks a little…bright,” muttered Batman.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Buzzkill,” muttered R9.

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

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

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

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

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

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

“A future Tarlax 15?” quizzed Wyldstyle.

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

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

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

“What IS a Source?” I asked.

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

“Chaos?” I muttered.

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

“Fair point,” I conceded.

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

“Please, no!” groaned Lacey.

“Focus, please!” snapped X-PO.

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

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

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

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

“So, SplatoonDisneySuper MarioTeam Fortress 2, and Sailor Moon,” I guessed.

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

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

“Exactly,” grunted War.

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

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

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

“Not even to me?” snarled Scorpainia.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“And?” quizzed Turretorg.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“If we could continue?!” grunted War.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Why?” quizzed Escargripam.

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

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

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

“…Are they…?” gulped Emmanuel.

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

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

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

“And a robot,” called Kit-10.

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

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

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Chapter 9

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

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

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

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

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

“Aye?” he called.

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

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

“May I come in?” I asked.

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

“You settled in quick,” I mused.

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

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

“Oh?” asked Liam.

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

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

“…Huh?” I quizzed, utterly confused.

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

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

“No more secrets then?” quizzed Liam.

“No more secrets,” I assured.

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Hold on,” I replied. “I got this.” We headed into the hall and found the junction. I then took out a tool and fired a lightning bolt into it, making it glow again.

“Thank you!” bid Majel.

“You got a tool that can shoot lightning?!” yelped Liam.

“Yeah, don’t you?” I asked.

“…No!” replied Liam.

“You don’t?” quizzed Majel.

“…And you do?!” squeaked Liam.

“Of course, I do,” boasted Majel. “One of my weapons can do that.” Just then, something chimed. “Hold up, I’m picking up a vessel off the starboard bow,” muttered Majel.

“Can you identify it?” I quizzed.

“It almost looks like the Tarlaxian scout ship, Tranzek, but the mass and shape aren’t exact,” reported Majel.

“Let’s see it,” I directed. Majel showed us the vessel. It looked like a mean version of a science vessel. “All hands, to your stations!” I called over the comms. We all made our way to the bridge while R9 and Liam headed to Main Engineering. “All stop,” I ordered.

“Answering all stop,” reported Tanisha. The Virginia stopped and took a scan of the vessel. The results came up on screen, matching what Majel said earlier.

“On screen,” I commanded. The vessel appeared on screen and shocked us all.

“Is…that the Tranzek?” asked Mikhail.

“It looks like they glued debris onto it,” muttered Scorpainia. The upgraded vessel then moved off.

“After it,” I ordered. We followed it until we arrived in Mario’s world, in orbit around Mario’s planet. How did I know it was Mario’s planet? The Comet Observatory was in orbit as well.

“We’re being hailed by the Observatory,” reported Mikhail.

“Let’s hear it,” I directed. Rosalina then came up on screen.

“I’m glad your vessel responded,” mused Rosalina. “Tell me, what brings you here?”

“I can explain the full story later, Ma’am,” I replied, “but our immediate priority is the vessel we were in pursuit of, the one orbiting the planet as well.”

“Then, perhaps we should work together and find out what’s going on with that vessel,” suggested Rosalina.

“A good idea,” I answered. “We’ll maneuver close and attempt to dock with it and pick up what the crew’s doing.”

“The crew?” asked Rosalina. “What crew? I’m not getting any bio-readings from the ship.” Scorpainia gasped. I turned around with a quizzed look.

“If…if she’s not getting any bio-readings,” stammered Scorpainia, “then…they’ve either taken their equipment offline or…or they’re…dead.” That raised a few red flags for us.

“Ma’am, we’ll still investigate this,” I affirmed. “That’s supposed to be a manned vessel. We’ll report our findings when we’ve finished. Saunders out.” The call ended. “Scorpainia, is there an airlock on that kind of vessel?”

“Middle of the port side,” replied Scorpainia.

“Tanisha, maneuver us alongside the Tranzek’s port side,” I directed. “Line our docking tube with the airlock

“God, I HATE parallel parking!” grumbled Tanisha. We used maneuvering thrusters only to get alongside.

“I just had a thought,” called Hongo.

“What’s up?” I replied.

“The vessel DID move, right?” asked Hongo.

“…Yes, we pursued it to this universe,” I confirmed, not sure where Hongo’s line of questioning was going.

“Then, that means they have some sort of power,” continued Hongo.

“…Then why aren’t they acting on us moving?” I asked.

“Well, if we’re parallel to the ship,” replied Hongo, “our weapons couldn’t effectively hit the vessel. I mean, they WERE attacked before we departed. Maybe…”

“Oh no!” I gasped, realizing Hongo’s theory. The thing that attacked the Tranzek may still be onboard!

“I’m detecting an energy spike from their weapons!” called Amelia.

“Hard about!” I shouted. “Raise shields!” Unfortunately, Majel couldn’t raise shields fast enough as the Tranzek hit us. The lights then came on. They were blood-red instead of the standard white. The enemy vessel continued firing on us. “Hongo, return fire!” I ordered. Hongo’s fingers danced across his console, firing on the enemy vessel.

“Direct hit!” reported Hongo. “No effect! The enemy’s shields are too powerful!”

“Majel! Shields! Now!” I commanded.

“Shield power’s dropping like cement!” answered Majel. Scorpainia activated the comms on her armrest.

“Engineering! What’s going on?!” she demanded.

“Things are happening all at once!” reported Liam. “I’m trying to…” He was interrupted by an explosion. “Damn it! we needed ‘at! I’ll caa ye back!” He ended the call.

“R9, where are you?!” I called.

“On my way to Main Engineering!” replied R9’s voice. Good. Liam needs all the help he can get.

“Hongo, weapons status!” I barked.

“They keep adapting to every shot we throw at them!” answered Hongo. “We can’t penetrate their shields!”

“Tanisha, move us so we can fire the graviton launcher!” I ordered.

“The graviton launcher doesn’t have enough power to fire!” countered Majel. “In fact, we’re losing weapons power all together!”

“I don’t care!” I snapped. “We have to hit them! We…” the enemy vessel got in front of us. “Ah hell! EVASIVE MANEUVERS!” Tanisha tried her best, but the ship wasn’t moving fast enough! We still got hit!

“We can’t fight in this condition!” called Scorpainia. “We have to retreat!”

“Tanisha, get us out of here! Floor it!” I ordered, thinking that Scorpainia’s suggestion was a good one. I then called Main Engineering. “Liam, divert all power to engines!”

“I’ll do what I can,” replied Liam, “but some of the engines are down! We’re not moving so fast!” Just then, the Comet Observatory moved between us and the enemy vessel. She appeared on screen.

“Get out of here! We’ll hold them off!” she called.

“You don’t have weapons!” I countered.

“No, but we have shields! Now go!” insisted Rosalina.

“Intruder on the bridge!” shouted Scorpainia. We all turned to see a woman wearing a demonic looking Kamen Rider suit. Hongo then struck his pose.

“Rider…” he began.

“Stay on weapons!” I called as I drew my i.d. tag. “This one’s…”

“Such bravado,” spoke the demonic Kamen Rider. The voice…made me freeze. I recognized that voice. It haunted and hunted me during high school. I saw the owner of that voice cast into Hell itself…and still I heard it from that Kamen Rider. “Something wrong?” taunted the Kamen Rider as her hand moved to her belt, a demon’s head. “You’ve boasted that you could defeat me anywhere, anytime. I must say, you fat hog, you haven’t proven that to me today.” She closed the belt’s demon mouth, making the eyes close and the suit vanish in smoke. As it cleared, the woman underneath was revealed to be…

“Hillbilly Heather!” I whispered.

“That name!” snarled my, once late, arch-nemesis, Heather Richards. “That was never my name! You spat that name at me and it stuck!”

“How?” I gasped.

“I always endure!” hissed Heather, guessing the context of my question. “After you cast me into Hell, I was put into the outer ring of Hell’s seventh circle, condemned to forever swim in a river of boiling blood and fire!”

“Violence against people and property,” I recalled from Dante’s Inferno.

“I was not about to let those centaurs keep me down,” continued Heather, “so I ignored the pain of the arrows, mounted one, and charged off along the riverbank. Some demons didn’t like that, so they pursued me. Shocker Rift then came after me to try and enslave me again, so I managed to rip a Combatman’s skull out of his head and beat him to death with it!”

“That doesn’t seem physically possible!” countered Pestilence.

“That’s what the demons screamed as I beat the Combatman to death,” replied Heather. “The skull then turned into my new belt but needed souls to power it. I simply helped myself to those that swam in that river with me as well as the demons, centaurs, and Combatmen, then transformed into the Kamen Rider you just saw so I could escape Hell. I don’t exactly like using that word ‘Kamen’ or the word ‘Henshin’, given that they’re impure…but the multiverse proved that it hates purity. So, better to burn it and start all over again! I escaped Hell, blindsided a Shocker Rift saucer, intercepted the Tarlaxian scout ship, and seized control. The debris flung around by Vortech’s Rift Loop made the ship into a superb weapon!”

“What about the Tarlaxian crew?” I asked.

“After I took over their minds,” explained Heather, “they became excellent extensions of my will!”

“You destructive, filth-spewing…!” I snarled.

“Don’t assume you’re alive for idle chit-chat, you stubborn sow!” interrupted Heather. “You haven’t yet taken my place in Hell because I want you to know that it was I who defeated you, I who conquered Hell itself!”

“What now?” I hissed.

“Now?” asked Heather. “Now I kill everyone on this ship, destroy it, and use its junk to enhance my own!”

“Don’t you want to take it intact?” I asked. “You don’t need to destroy it OR us.”

“What I want,” growled Heather, “is to peel the skin from your bones! I want to tie you to a cross and burn you alive! I want to hurl stones at your helpless form! WHAT I WANT……I want many things; you sack of fat and juices! But, every time I try to prolong your agony, you always come out on top! No, you will die by my hand and you will die quickly so I don’t have to see you a second longer! Take this thought with you as you fall to Hell! As I swam in infinite heat with the taste of blood flooding my taste buds, the only thing that kept me from succumbing to madness, as the rest of the damned had long since done, was my hatred! My singular hatred of YOU!” She called up her ship. “Fire!” she commanded. Just then, she saw, on screen, her vessel’s lights flickering. “Oh, for…WHAT’S GOING ON OVER THERE?!” she shrieked as she vanished in a ball of fire.

“Floor it!” I ordered Tanisha. As we scrambled to get away, I noticed Scorpainia standing as still as a statue. “Scorpainia?!” I called. “SCORPAINIA!!”

“We’re drifting too close to the planet!” reported Tanisha. “I don’t have enough power to get us out of the atmosphere!” That shook Scorpainia into action.

“Make the landing as steady as possible!” she shouted.

“Releasing landing struts!” called Tanisha. “Deploying air brakes!” The Virginia’s landing struts were built like skis, so we were going to slide a good distance. The air brakes slowed us down a bit and helped level our descent.


“Do we have enough power to maintain orbit?!” I screamed at the spider monster.

“Yes,” droned the spider monster.

“Then keep us in orbit while I repair things!” I commanded.

“Understood, Pure One,” replied the spider monster.


Like I mentioned, our descent was rough. The impact was lessened, but still hard enough to make us bounce around. We skidded a good mile until we came to the outskirts of Toad Town. The Toads gathered around, hoping for survivors. Peach, Mario, Luigi, Daisy, and Rosalina came up. Rosalina was explaining the situation as Peach directed the crisis teams to get us out of the wreck. We all managed to survive, albeit a little dizzy. My mind still focused on two things: Heather’s resurrection and Scorpainia’s freezing up.

Categories
Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Movie Chapters

Chapter 11

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Understood!” replied Mikhail. The call ended.

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

“…Do you?” asked Peach.

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

“A good answer!” I praised.

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

“What about it?” asked Scorpainia.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Who needs extra protection?” she called.

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

“Me?” yelped Peach.

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

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

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

“Rider…!” called Hongo.

“Henshin!” we all shouted.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I am Scorpainia, the exploring Queen!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Not really, why?” asked Ichigō.

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

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

“Do it!” he called.

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

“You should remember your place!” she hissed.

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

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

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

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

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

“Final attack!” called the Vortex Drivers.

“Final Pen Stroke!” announced the Chronicle Drivers.

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

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

“RIDER KICK!”

“RIDER GALLOP KICK!”

“RIDER HUNT KICK!”

“RIDER TOUCHÉ KICK!”

“RIDER HIGHLAND KICK!”

“RIDER CROWN KICK!”

“RIDER HERALD G KICK!”

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

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

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

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

——————————————————————————————–

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

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

“Message sent,” reported Mikhail.

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

“Where IS the photocopy?” I asked.

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

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

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

“What about the Daleks?” asked Rusty.

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

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

“…Pardon?” asked the Doctor.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“No, you didn’t!” argued the Doctor.

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

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

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

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

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

——————————————————————————————–

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

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

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

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

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

“I guess,” I muttered.

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

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

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

“I know that!” dismissed the Emperor.

“…You do?” I asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

——————————————————————————————–

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

“Help!” the person begged. “Please!”

“Who are you?” I asked.

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

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

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

“I…I’m sorry,” I sympathized.

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

Categories
Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Chapters

Chapter 69

“Shut it down! Shut it down!” shouted Batman as we arrived on Vorton. Rusty closed the portal.

“A ‘please’ would be nice,” snarked X-PO. No one dignified that with a response. “Relax, it’s already shut down. What’s the problem?”

“No problem,” panted Wyldstyle as she handed off the Diamond Scarab. “Nothing. No. Unless you count LORD VORTECH BEING THERE?!”

“I certainly would!” declared Gandalf.

“Vortech was there?!” yelped Tanisha as my team and I cancelled our transformations.

“Yeah, I noticed he was around,” muttered X-PO.

“…Pardon?” I hissed as venom tinged my voice.

“What?” asked X-PO. “Look, do you guys really think he wouldn’t try to settle this himself after his minions failed him?”

“You didn’t think to tell us that, why!?” I asked.

“We can dismantle him later,” stopped Elphaba. “Take it from someone who was a bad guy once, getting your hands dirty means a master-plan’s in the works.”

“Elphaba’s right,” replied Batman. “Vortech’s up to something. We need to rescue our friends now.”

“Indeed,” concurred Gandalf.

“We can’t exactly do that,” reminded Emily, “until we map out Foundation Prime’s location.

“Well,” replied X-PO, “here’s how you make a map where I’m from. I’ll use the Foundation Elements to calculate the dimensional coordinates of Foundation Prime.”

“How long will that take?” I asked.

“That’s the bad news,” winced X-PO. “It’s gonna be two days.”

“WE DON’T HAVE THAT LONG!” shouted Wyldstyle.

“Actually, we probably have longer,” replied Sheela. We all turned to her. “Think about it, why would Vortech want to let a Foundation Element slip through his fingers? He wants us to feel some victory before he strikes.”

“That,” supplied the Brigadier, “or he’s waiting for us.”

“In either case,” finished Lukas, “he’s going to wait as long as we do.”

“Which means,” I realized, “he wants us to witness his victory. Well, we’re not going to let him win. I want everyone to take the two days needed to prepare for the fight. The Vortex and Apocalypse Riders need to be there to beat him anyways. Once we have the coordinates, I’ll get us there.”

“Not going through the Gateway?” asked X-PO.

“We can’t afford to do so,” I replied. “Vortech may use it to get here and take the Foundation Elements we have. I’ll get us there.”

“This is it, then,” mumbled Okaa-san’s voice. She and Lacey came in. Lacey was in a new dress Mom had made for her. “My baby girl,” said Okaa-san, her voice quivering in sadness and fear.

“Okaa-san, I’ll come back,” I promised. “We’ll ALL come back. I promise on my honor as the reigning monarch of the Feudal Nerd Society, we WILL come back, and we WILL come back victorious!”

“We’re gonna hold you to that,” replied Mr. Archer. “It’s not just your life or your brother’s life at stake, but ALL our children’s’ lives.”

“Trust me, their lives will be handled with great care,” I assured.

“…All right,” said Mr. Archer.

“Well now,” mused Emily, “on to some questions. What dimension did you go to?”

“Scooby Doo’s world,” I replied.

SCOOBY DOO?!” yelped Emily. “AW MAN! I would have died to go there!”

“And I managed to do a bit of burglary on Vortech’s person,” I continued. I pulled the bag out. “And we’ve got more studs here,” I pulled out the bag from the fountain.

“The amount you stole from Vortech,” counted Vortoranii, “was 100,000. And that bag has 745,000. Now we have 4,246,000.”

“Is that good?” asked Wataru.

“It’s enough to buy your own universe,” replied Vortoranii, “just not enough left over to start an economy with.”

“…Our own universe?” I said, intrigued. “We may need to look into that when this is over.”

“Oh boy, Megumi’s thinking on godhood!” teased Richard.

“Am not!” I protested. “I’m fine with being a queen!”

“I don’t know,” chuckled Lacey, “being a god has its perks.”

“All hail Megumi the Eternal!” teased Lukas.

“Oh shut up!” I laughed.

“Okay, enough,” called Okaa-san. The teasing broke up and Wataru snickered.

“You guys are ridiculous,” he observed.

“That’s part of our charm,” I replied. “Will you be staying with us?”

“I cannot,” answered Wataru. “The Fangires are coming back for some odd reason. But, I will join you in the final battle.”

“Maybe you can gather the other Riders we’ve encountered,” requested Hongo.

“Who are they?” asked Wataru.

“Here,” called Lukas as he handed a pen and paper to Wataru.

“We met Wizard,” I began in the order we met them, “Bravo, Fourze, Den-O, OOO, W, Brave, Kabuto, Amazon, Ghost, Ex-Aid, Para-DX, Poppy, Drive, Gaim, Build over there,” I pointed out Sento as he worked with Rusty on the Gateway, “and now you.”

“Got it!” affirmed Wataru.

“Tell everyone,” instructed Hongo, “to meet at Arakawa Nature Park when the call comes out.”

“Arakawa Nature Park, right,” confirmed Wataru. “Sayonara, minna-san!” The Gateway opened for him and he headed home.

“Right,” I declared. “Let’s get started!”


I arrived back on Foundation Prime to see Igura leaning against a wall. “I don’t see anything in your hands,” she observed.

“Lost the Diamond Scarab to the Vortex Riders and Kiva,” I replied. “As of right now, I am in urgent need of good news. Tell me you have something of value.”

“Something,” answered Igura, “and someone.” She stepped aside to reveal a man I had hired gather Foundation Elements for me on this adventure!

“Hiro?!” I asked.

“And I bear a gift for you,” answered Hiro as he produced an over-sized key. “The Foundation Element of D-1-5-N-3-Y. And I have something else as well.”

“Do tell,” I invited.

“Look there,” replied Hiro as he pointed to a screen. I did so, a little disappointed at what I saw.

“Dimensional coordinates?” I muttered.

“VORTON’s dimensional coordinates,” Hiro explained. “The main base of operations for our enemies.”

“Vorton?” I asked. “I thought I had left it a lifeless rock in space.”

“Evidently, X-PO had a hand in restoring the life-support systems,” replied Hiro.

“And you didn’t get any of THEIR Foundation Elements?” asked Igura.

“They harassed me for too long,” explained Hiro. “I had little time to make my escape. On top of that, X-PO didn’t remember Foundation Prime’s coordinates.

“Hence why you were in D-1-5-N-3-Y,” realized Igura.

“It matters not,” I assured. “Let’s see, X-PO is most likely using the Foundation Elements they have to calculate Foundation Prime’s coordinates. Let me see, they have Chen’s staff, the cake, the Palantír, the PKE meter, the game token, and the Diamond Scarab. More than enough to find us. It will take two days for him, so we will prepare for them to siege us while YOU, Hiro, will take THEIR Elements once they are inside the base!”

“Understood,” said Hiro, grinning manically.


“Are you sure?” I asked young Flora.

“Positive, Your Majesty,” replied Flora as she fiddled with her now purple ascot. “Lacey herself told us.”

“With the Vortex Riders mustering,” muttered Brendan, “Tarlax needs to be ready.” I had considered his words.

“Miss Kendall,” I asked Amelia, “how goes the new project you and Sludgiona are working on?”

“Not well,” sighed Amelia. “They’re too unstable. If we gave them to the Vortex Riders now, they would explode at the first opportunity.”

“I am NOT giving them bombs to put on their waists!” I snarled. “We’ll have to proceed without the project. Miss Moore, tell the Horsemen we’re training for the final fight. Miss Elmira, put my warriors through some drills.”

“Got it!” called Sophie as she headed back to After Academy in a swish of blue petticoats.

“On my way,” answered Charline as she headed to the camp. We may be monstrous, but the Tarlaxians will not let the multiverse fall! I, Queen Empress Scorpainia, rightful ruler of the children of Tarlax, disciple of the Four Horsemen we Tarlaxians worship, swear this!


Lacey and Flora had informed me of what’s going on in their respective locations. The Heralds were a bit miffed that they weren’t inducted into the F.N.S but conceded that they hadn’t interacted with Megumi all that much. So, it begins. The final stretch of this war is approaching us. I pray my allies, no, my FRIENDS, can save their loved ones. I smoothed out my dress as I walked towards the selectively-permeable wall leading to my balcony. There was a slight tingle as I passed through it and I was greeted with a clear night. I hoped it was a good omen. This war has proven to be rather long. War was busy training her troops in the courtyard below. I had hoped for a peaceful solution with Vortech, hoping he’d never find Foundation Prime, but it was a vain hope. Even I, Death herself, can make mistakes on an incalculable magnitude.

Categories
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.

Categories
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.