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Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Cast

Elphaba Thropp

That dress was hard to make.

Bio:

The Wicked Witch of the West from the Land of Oz, herself! The Western Country had known fear and terror under her rule. That is, until she ran into Megumi Hishikawa and her Vortex Riders. Instead of Dorothy melting her, it was them and a friend, Kamen Rider Wizard.

Death decided to give her another chance, and she took it, regaining her magic over time, and becoming a part of the support staff with Rusty and The Brigadier.

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Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Chapters

Chapter 7

As we tumbled through the vortex, the enemy was showing his displeasure for failure. “I GAVE YOU A SIMPLE JOB!” roared Lord Vortech as he swung his staff at Hiro. Hiro flew to the other end of the rapidly finishing fortress of Foundation Prime. As he flew, Vortech’s minions, the Vortexons, featureless humanoids that were made of the same stuff as their master, looked on. “I told you to get the Keystone located in that absurd little dimension and you let a green skinned woman get it! Don’t forget that I can easily destroy you for failure, Hiro!”

“There’s something you’re forgetting, Vortech!” Hiro roared as he charged at his employer and decked him. “If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be able to get Ichimonji’s typhoon! If I recall, that’s one of the Foundation Elements. If I didn’t discover the Rogue Driver and reverse engineered it to make a transformation belt for my colleagues in Shocker, my native dimension would very well be a null dimension and it would pass your notice!”

“And if I recall, I was the original genius behind the Rogue Driver’s construction!” snarled Vortech. He threw a punch, which Hiro caught. He then raised his staff and was about to bring it down when he felt the barrel of one of the Rogue Driver’s guns at his belly.

“It’s been so long since you built me,” boasted the Rogue Driver, “that you forgot that I know your weakness.”

“I’m not afraid to cheat to win,” exclaimed Hiro. Vortech considered what was said.

“Point…taken,” He lowered his staff and backed off. “Perhaps I overreacted. A Foundation Element is on its way, so a Keystone isn’t a big loss.”

“A wise decision,” praised Hiro as he holstered the gun. A portal opened to deposit Dorothy and her friends in front of the throne that just finished.

“Ah,” mused Vortech. “Good guys?”

“I might be a villain!” called the Scarecrow.

“Ignore him,” hissed the Tin man.

“Thank you, to the left, please,” responded Vortech as he sat on the throne. The Vortexons grabbed the group at their master’s mental command. “Oh, and you won’t be needing those lovely ruby slippers anymore, my dear!” A Vortexon took the slippers off. Dorothy and her friends were place in separate cages near Robin, Frodo, MetalBeard, and our parents.

“Have you got any idea where we are or what’s going on?” asked Robin.

“Sorry,” replied Fred, Richard and Emily’s dad, as he spoke for all our parents.

“A nightmare, maybe?” asked my adopted mom, Haruna.

“Might as well be,” mused Ichimonji as he wore a different belt without a fan inside.

“I know it’s not Kansas,” observed Dorothy. “They took my slippers.”

“They took the One Ring, too,” recalled Frodo.

“And the Kryptonite I was holding,” exclaimed Robin.

“And my treasure chest of ill-gotten booty,” sighed MetalBeard.

“And my belt, the Typhoon,” reported Ichimonji.

“They did not steal anything from us,” observed Sergei, Mikhail and Irina’s dad.

“Maybe we’re not important,” mused Amanda, Fred’s wife.

“My treasure…” moaned MetalBeard.

“Don’t worry, MetalBeard,” assured Robin, “We’ll get it back.” MetalBeard brightened at this. “And then I WILL have to return it to the rightful owners.” The grin faded.

“I’m Frodo Baggins, madam,” said Frodo. “Who are you?”

“Dorothy Gale,” introduced Dorothy. “This is the Scarecrow.”

“Scarecrow?!” yelped Robin.

“Not Jonathan Crane,” assured Angela, Xiomara’s mother.

“Oh,” Robin sighed with relief.

“And this is the Tin Man,” continued Dorothy. “And that’s the Cowardly Lion.” Said talking animal was muttering “I DO believe in spooks!” over and over. While introductions were made, the Vortexon with the slippers approached his master.

“Excellent!” cheered Vortech. “Place them with the other elements.” The Vortexon obeyed. Vortech then used his magic to lift them and place them on their images in the hole in the floor and reactivate the shield over it. He cackled once the job was done.

“Must you cackle?” protested Hiro.

“It’s therapeutic,” explained Vortech. “You should try it.” Another portal opened and released a clown in a purple suit and an old man in white robes and a staff. “Bad guys?” asked Vortech. “Excellent. To the right, please.”

“I am Saruman the White,” protested the man in white. “I am not a ‘bad guy’!”

“Pfft! Please!” scoffed the clown.

“Look!” cried Vortech, putting on a show of fear. “Sauron!”

“My lord!” yelped Hiro, pretending to be scared. “What brought you here?!”

“My lord, Sauron!” exclaimed Saruman as he turned and kneeled. “It is I, your faithful serv…!” All he saw was the fortress’ interior. He realized he was played for a fool as he heard the clown laughing at him.

“If I recall,” mused Hiro, “Sauron is a Dark Lord. Doesn’t that imply evil, Saruman?” Saruman was about to argue but couldn’t get the words out and slumped his shoulders in defeat. “And then there’s you,” said Hiro to the clown. “You call yourself the Clown Prince of Crime. Wouldn’t crime be evil? Not that I complain about your work, Mr. Joker.”

“Well, at least SOMEONE appreciates my work!” cheered the Joker. “Unlike a certain bat in my belfry and his Boy Blunder!”

“I heard that!” called Robin. The Joker pretended not to notice.

“To your right, you say?” quizzed Saruman to Vortech.

“If you don’t mind,” confirmed Vortech. He pointed to the weapons pile on his right. “You’ll find lots of fun weapons and we can offer you some excellent opportunities to use them!”

“Well,” giggled the Joker, “we’d have to be crazy to refuse that offer!” Vortech arched an eyebrow and hmmed in confusion.

“Er, I hate to ask this of a comedian,” winced Hiro, “but can you explain the joke?” The Joker twitched.

“That means we’re in,” he groaned.

“Follow me to the weapons range,” called Hiro. “I’ll get you acquainted with our arsenal.” The two bad guys from different dimensions followed him with the Joker laughing his head off.


While that was going on, we arrived back at our base of operations. The gateway was still in one piece. “Goodness,” exclaimed Gandalf, “I almost lost my staff that time!”

“Same here,” agreed Wyldstyle, “except with my lunch.”

“Yeah, I almost threw up the apples I had,” muttered Tonje.

“I don’t understand why Fili was so against apples when he got to Lake Town,” said Gandalf.

“Given that he was in a barrel that smelled of apples before he got there,” replied Michael, “I’d have the same reaction if I were in his position.” Batman took out the gateway piece and examined it. It jumped out of his hands and floated in the air.

“Hey, nice job!” called the voice from earlier. “You brought back the Shift Keystone.”

“Keystone?” quizzed Wyldstyle. “What’s a keystone?”

“I’m guessing it’s this,” mused Batman as he pointed to the Gateway piece as it attached itself to the right-most area. Batman’s left hand then floated in the air and glowed purple before a purple gauntlet materialized with the Shift Keystone’s symbol.

+KEYSTONE POWERS ARE NOW IN YOUR POSSESSION+ announced my belt. +GATEWAY 20% STABILIZED+

“Oh, so that’s why they’re called Keystones,” realized Tanisha. “They’re holding the gateway together like a bridge!”

“Hey, Haruto,” announced the voice, “I found your dimension. You can go home whenever you wish.” The gateway opened a portal.

“In that case,” bid Haruto Soma, “I must say farewell.”

“It was an honor to fight alongside you,” praised Hongo.

“Yeah, alongside, instead of against,” Haruto pointed out. “Last time we met, it was you and the other Showa riders against us Heisei riders.”

“And you proved that you’re still worthy of the name Kamen Rider,” praised Hongo. “Farewell, Haruto-san.”

“Farewell, Hongo-san,” called Haruto. “Farewell, everyone.” He jumped into the portal while we all waved goodbye.

“Now,” I quizzed my belt after the portal closed, “what’s the idea with the studs we got from Glinda?”

+THEY ARE MADE OF A VALUABLE METAL CALLED NONEXISTIUM+ explained my belt. +IT IS FOUND IN FOUR COLORS+ +A STUD IS A MEANS OF CURRENCY+ +THE NOW EXHAUSTED BLACK STUDS USED TO HAVE A VALUE OF ONE+ +THE COMMON GOLD STUDS HAVE A VALUE OF TEN+ +SLIGHTLY LESS COMMON SILVER STUDS HAVE A VALUE OF ONE HUNDRED+ +RARE BLUE STUDS HAVE A VALUE OF ONE THOUSAND+ +THE RAREST PURPLE STUDS HAVE A VALUE OF TEN THOUSAND+

“Glinda gave us a cash reward!” exclaimed Emmanuel. I grinned wickedly.

“Money!” I cheered.

“Easy,” called Batman. “What about the gauntlet I got?”

+WHEN CONNECTED TO A SPECIAL TRANSMITTER, THE KEYSTONE GAUNTLET WILL ALLOW YOU TO USE THAT SPECIFIC KEYSTONE POWER+ explained my belt. +CURRENTLY, YOU ARE BONDED TO THE SHIFT KEYSTONE THAT WE HAVE OBTAINED IN DIMENSION W-1-Z-A-R-D-0-F-0-Z+

“So, this thing can give me the power the Witch had when we fought her?” asked Batman.

+AFFIRMATIVE+ confirmed my belt. +HOWEVER, THAT GAUNTLET IS HARDWIRED TO YOUR DNA+

“No one else can use it,” I guessed. “Still, impressive technology. Where did it come from?”

+THIS DIMENSION IS THE TECHNOLOGY’S DIMENSION OF ORIGIN+ boasted my belt, as much as a monotonous voice can give a boasting tone.

“What is this place anyway?” asked Wyldstyle.

+THIS IS ONE OF THE THREE REMAINING FRAGMENTS OF THE MULTIVERSAL PLANET, VORTON+ said my belt.

“Remaining fragments?” asked Richard. “You mean, we’re floating on a dead planet?”

+AFFIRMATIVE+ confirmed my belt.

“Then, how are we breathing?” I asked.

+EMERGENCY POWER KEEPS AN ATMOSPHERIC FIELD AROUND THE FRAGMENTS+ explained my belt. +WITH THE GATEWAY RESTORED AND A KEYSTONE HOLDING IT IN PLACE, THE FIELDS WILL LAST INDEFINITELY+ +FOOD DISPENSERS ARE ALSO FUNCTIONING AS WELL AS THE SHOWER ROOMS+

“Shower!” I exclaimed. “Did you guys hear that? What a wonderful word!”

“I suggest some food and cleaning ourselves of any filth we’ve acquired,” commented Richard. “I haven’t had a decent shower since we left Castle Nerd Skull.”

“An excellent idea!” cheered Emily.

“I agree!” I affirmed. We all departed for the showers and got ourselves cleaned. Our clothes were put in machines marked “Clothes mended and washed while you wait.” Once my shower was finished, I found my dress neatly folded and my tiara sparkling like new in a basket in my changing stall. I got myself dressed and walked out while adjusting my tiara on my head. I met up with the others with clean clothes over at the cafeteria.

“Ye GODS!” exclaimed Michael. “I never felt so clean!”

“I will admit,” mused Batman, “even a hero like me needs a clean uniform.”

“And food is waiting for us!” I called. My belt talked me through how to operate the replicator and soon I was greeted with something from my home country, a comfort food, really, Chazuke, or Ochazuke made with light fish stock poured over rice and topped with things like umeboshi and grilled salmon, my personal preference of toppings. This is one of my favorite rice dishes. Soon, everyone got their meals and we sat down and ate. Those from Japan, Hongo, Hiroki, and I, said “Itadakimasu” (I gratefully receive) before we ate. We all ate our meals and had our drinks in happiness. For just that moment, we didn’t care about a dimensional crisis. Hiroki said his late father would say that if the entire human race got together to eat and drink and be merry, conflict would be nonexistent. I wish I met the man. After we ate, we Japanese said “Gochisosama” (Thank you for the meal) and we all found our bedrooms. We bid each other good night and flew off to Dream Land.


Back in the Merry Old Land of Oz, in the Witch’s throne room, a Winkie in his old gear and green makeup examined the puddle of green liquid that was once a person. He then took a vial and put a portion of the liquid into it and pricked his finger to let blood drip in the vial. The next step was to put a drop of water into the mixture, cork it, and shake it. He turned to leave when he saw a woman in a black ball gown with a skeletal motif, a black cloak, skull makeup, and black orbs for eyes. She looked at the vial, then back at the Winkie.

“Nardo will not appreciate that,” she whispered. “He needs this freedom.”

“Freedom?” scoffed the Winkie. “We were starving before the Witch came. Many of us would rather have food than freedom. Now, out of my way!”

“Even though you know my power, you still give me orders?” asked the woman. “True, it wasn’t her time, but she will not rule here again.”

“Get out of my way!” snarled the Winkie.

“Try and move me!” hissed the woman. She flicked her wrist and summoned a scythe. The woman then got into a defensive stance. The Winkie charged, with the intent to knock her down. It didn’t go so well as she used the staff part of her scythe to trip him up. The vial flew out of his hands as she spun in a circle with the scythe pointing at the ground. It opened a vortex beneath her. She remained floating above it as if she were on solid ground. The vial tumbled in as the Winkie was thrown into a wall, knocking him out. She took a book from her cloak and skimmed over it until she found what she was looking for. “A pity,” she said. She turned to the unconscious Winkie. “Looks like I’ll be back for you in ten minutes. A stress induced heart attack is a rather painful way to go, but you insisted on working yourself to death. In a way, you chose to be a slave instead of living your life to the fullest. I cannot say where you’ll go. Farewell. Your fate is sealed. Forget you ever met me. A freak portal took that vial out of your hands.”

“My lady, hold for a moment,” called a woman’s voice. The woman in black turned to see a Winkie woman in her natural yellow clothes.

“Widow Netterop,” whispered the woman. She smiled. “Good to see you.”

“So, it’s true?” asked Widow Netterop. “The Witch had secret police?”

“I’m afraid so,” confirmed the woman. “I wish it weren’t true, but she feared rebellion from both the Flying Monkeys and your people. However, it DID make her vulnerable to outside influence, as I’m sure you’ve heard.”

“Has the Emerald City been informed about this crisis going across the dimensions?” asked Netterop.

“I spoke with the Wizard of Oz himself,” whispered the woman. “He is preparing accordingly, with the resources available. I would suggest to your brother that he do the same.”

“I’ll tell him at once,” assured Netterop. “Would you like to stay for a while? My daughter is preparing Chicken Soup. She hasn’t seen you in a while, good Lady Death.” The woman, Death, considered.

“I don’t see why not,” she finally decided. “Lead the way. I’ll deal with this man in ten minutes.”

“If you don’t mind my asking,” quizzed Netterop as she led her oldest friend out of the tower, “how will he die?”

“Stress induced heart attack,” whispered Death. Netterop shut the door behind them. The click of the lock woke the Winkie. He had forgotten his encounter and realized the vial was gone. Inside the vortex, the vial cracked and shattered. The mixture then grew into a humanoid shape. It then formed a mouth and a feminine shape. It screamed from pain of the vortex winds reforming her into Elphaba Thropp, the former Wicked Witch of the West.

Categories
Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Chapters

Chapter 6

“So, how did you get here in Oz?” I asked Haruto-san after Hiroki and I explained to everybody who he is.

“I was fighting a new Phantom that I had never seen before,” explained Haruto, “when that lunatic Rider, Hiro, decided to interfere. He killed the Phantom, leading me to believe that he was a friend. That was a mistake. He opened a portal, threw me inside while saying that I’m one less interference. Somehow, it ended in a town of little people, about half my height. I was met with a woman in a gown similar to yours, but in lightish pink, a tall silver crown, and a staff with a silver star on the end of it.”

“Must have been Glinda,” mused Emily. “In the books, she’s the Good Witch of the south while in the 1939 movie, the one that this dimension is set in, she rules the north.”

“I didn’t get her name at first,” continued Haruto, “because once I introduced myself so I could ask her questions, one has to be polite in a new land, a bunch of black boxes with red eyes and clawed fingers on tendrils started attacking.”

“That description sounds a lot like the Micro-managers from my dimension,” said Wyldstyle, “but Lord Business had taken them apart for Master Builders to use as they see fit. Heck, one of his robots in a saloon girl disguise became a Master Builder!”

“In any case,” continued Haruto, “I turned into Wizard and fought them off, helping the Munchkins rebuild their town and part of the yellow brick road, as well as their red one. Glinda helped out as well and finally introduced herself to me, calling me a good wizard. She offered to help me since I helped the Munchkins. I told her that I needed to go home and she told me of the Emerald City, the Wizard of Oz, and how to get there. That’s when the Munchkins started singing Follow the Yellow Brick Road. And now, I’ve put it back in my head!”

“Americans call it an earworm,” muttered Hiroki.

“Appropriate name for it,” murmured Haruto.

“I can think of worse earworms,” I countered. “There’s Frozen’s…” My horse then started whinnying nervously. The same was with the other horses, even Shadowfax.

“My lady,” called Gandalf, “we’re near the Haunted Woods Dame Emily spoke of. I recommend we continue on foot. The horses are too restless.”

“Good idea,” I agreed. “Dismount!” We all got off our horses and reassured them that we’ll be back. Batman got out of the Batmobile, locked it, and Wyldstyle, Hongo, and Haruto dismounted their bikes. We had to crawl under a fallen tree to enter the woods.

“I believe the castle that witch spoke of lies beyond these woods,” mused Gandalf. We traveled farther near a tree with an apple and encountered more flying monkeys. “Oh dear, more of these repulsive creatures?” We fought them off, but a monkey I sent flying knocked the apple off the tree. The tree started moving as it revealed a face and arms!

“What do you think you’re doing!” snapped the tree. “Oh, you!” He started hurling things at us! Gandalf cast a barrier to protect us.

“I’ve never heard of an Ent that acted and spoke in such terrible ways!” he cried.

“That thing is no Ent, it’s a menace!” countered Emily. “We need to get it out of here!” It was then I heard someone’s stomach growl. I turned to Lukas.

“That wasn’t mine!” he argued. “Herr Haruto used a donut ring, remember? I already had food!”

“That’s right,” confirmed Hiroki. “You were the only one to refuse a plain sugar donut! It’s your stomach that growled!”

“Not true!” I protested. A louder growl came through. We all realized it was everyone’s stomachs. “Oh, for God’s sakes!” I shouted to my stomach. “We’re on a journey to save the multiverse! What do you want?!” My stomach growled louder. “Oh, complain, complain, complain! That’s all you do!”

“Your highness,” called Emily, “I have an idea.” Her voice got louder. “We’ll just find another, more respectable tree, without apples like his!”

“Are you hinting my apples aren’t what they ought to be?!” shouted the tree.

“Oh no!” countered Emily. “We just don’t want little green worms!” That got the tree mad as he started plucking the apples off of his branches and started throwing them instead of the debris in the forest. I then got the idea.

“You call that a throwing arm?!” I shouted. “Come on! My grandma throws harder than that!” That wasn’t an empty taunt. My adopted grandmother’s throwing arm is scary strong! That made the tree madder and he started throwing twice as fast. It went from taunt to throw to taunt to throw that even Batman started joining it. Soon the tree went back to throwing debris. “Haruto-san, do you have a spell that can get rid of the tree?” I asked.

“As a matter of fact, I do!” he cheered. He then put a ring on with an axe design and waved it over the hand shaped belt buckle, the Hand Author.

“Chop, please!” announced the Hand Author’s voice as it summoned a giant axe, scaring the tree into running away.

“Okay, you can…” my request came too little, too late as the axe chopped down the other trees, blocking our path, “…get rid of the axe.” I finished lamely.

“Gomen’nasai!” (I’m sorry!) gulped Haruto.

“Can’t be helped,” replied Gandalf. “In any case, I believe we have something to tide us over.”

“Apple break, everyone,” I announced. “We’ll clear the debris later.” Us dress wearers held our topmost skirts for the apples to rest while the rest gathered them up. Once all apples were retrieved, we put them in a pile and started munching. We had a 10-minute break and finished them off in that time frame. We tossed the cores into the bushes and approached the debris. Haruto used a levitation spell ring to clear it.

“My Lady, the way is clear,” he called.

“Haruto-san, you are too kind,” I replied as I curtsied. We proceeded to another clearing which had another roadblock of rocks.

“Your Highness,” requested Emmanuel, “permettez-moi.” He then started hurling the rocks out of the way. Say what you want about him and his clothing preferences, but Emmanuel is very strong.

“Merci!” I thanked. The others were impressed.

“Ah, yeah!” cheered Wyldstyle. “Now that was cool!”

“Maybe,” replied Emmanuel, “but the bridge to the castle is out on the other end.”

“Drat,” I hissed. “Is there any indication of a grappling hook?”

“I’m afraid not,” reported Emmanuel.

“What about the debris?” asked Gandalf. “We could use it to repair the bridge.”

“That would take too long,” I countered.

“Not as long as you have magic,” replied Haruto. I turned to him.

“You think you guys can build a bridge?” I asked.

“If we have at least three more magic using folk,” replied Gandalf.

“All right,” I cheered. “Richard, use Gandalf Steel and help Haruto and Gandalf lift the debris to form the new bridge part. Hiroki, Wizard Steel with me. We’ll go into flame style and solidify the debris so it can support our weight. Haruto, what ring would accomplish that?”

“A ring called meld works best,” explained Haruto. “Before you ask to borrow that ring, I’d like to point out that during our fight on the yellow brick road, your ‘Wizard Steel’ had the same ring loops as mine. The meld ring was on there. It has a design of metal shards forming a river.”

“Thank you,” I replied. That makes the job a lot easier. Hiroki, Richard, and I struck our henshin poses.

“HENSHIN!” we announced. Our armor formed and almost immediately, we swapped out our i.d tags for the magic ones.

“Gandalf Steel!” called Richard’s belt. While the wardrobe dissolved, Hiroki and I chose the flame style.

“Wizard Flame Steel!” announced our belts. “Flame, please! Hi! Hi! Hi, hi, HI!” Our flame style armor appeared and we got our rings on.

“Everyone in position?” I asked. Everyone confirmed. “Let’s do it!”

“Levitate, please!” called Haruto’s Hand Author as he, Gandalf, and Richard brought the debris to the destroyed section of bridge and formed the shape. Hiroki and I mimed flipping the levers on a WizarDriver and heard the chant of “Lupachi magic, touch to go!” We scanned the meld ring.

“Meld, please!” announced our belts as a wave of heat washed over the debris to make a solid patch for the bridge. Batman looked at the castle.

“A gigantic castle for just one person?” he mused. A grin formed on his face. “I’m beginning to like this witch!”

“You’re not gonna try and upgrade your base into a castle, are you?” asked Xiomara.

“Hmm,” pondered Batman. “The Bat-Castle has a nice ring to it.”

“And when the people of Gotham mistake you for a vampire?” asked Xiomara. I never thought anything of the “spooky” persuasion would make the Dark Knight shudder, but apparently, vampires do.

“Don’t remind me!” he shuddered. “I’ve met some guys that dressed like vampires wanting to suck my blood with special syphons around the canines! Forget it, no Bat-Castle!”

“Oh boy,” gulped Emily as Richard, Hiroki, and I cancelled our transformations.

“What’s the matter?” I asked.

“We’ve got Winkies patrolling the castle!” reported Emily. The Winkies in this dimension were green-skinned like the Witch and wore gray outfits with orange designs, signifying rank, most likely, and black boots. They all carried halberds and chanted “Oh-Ee-Yah, Ee-Yo-Ah!” to keep the rhythm of their march. A patrol was marching into the castle.

“Crud,” I swore. “With the Witch in possession of a gateway piece of unknown power, she probably doubled the guard!”

“Then why don’t we walk in there?” asked Haruto.

“Are you out of your tiny little mind?!” I yelped.

“Well, there is a disguise ring,” explained Haruto.

“That’s right,” exclaimed Hiroki, “the Dress-Up ring!”

“The what?!” asked Wyldstyle.

“Haruto can go in disguise if a mission against a Phantom needs stealth,” I explained. “But, the question is, can it work on all of us?”

“I don’t know,” mused Haruto as he put on a ring with the design looking like a dragon with a bow tie on. “Let’s find out.” He then waved it over the Hand Author.

“Dress-Up, please!” announced the Hand Author. Haruto then stuck his arm out and runic circles passed over us, putting us in Winkie outfits. It also gave us the skin color of the Winkies. Batman blinked at the outfit.

“I look ridiculous!” he hissed.

“Just go along with it!” I whispered back. “Emily, since your our resident expert on all things Oz, you lead us in.”

“Follow my lead, everyone!” called Emily. We got into two lines, with Emily leading in between. She set the marching rhythm and started chanting “Oh-Ee-Yah, Ee-Yo-Ah!” We soon followed suit and marched right up to the drawbridge with the portcullis already lowered. The Captain of the Guard stopped us.

“I don’t recall a patrol in that formation!” he barked. He turned to Emily. “What sector were you patrolling?”

“Sector 21, sir!” answered Emily.

“The Western Border, I see,” mused the Captain. “Anything to report?”

“A cantankerous apple tree started hurling objects at us,” reported Emily. “We got rid of it.”

“How did an Eastern Talking Tree wander in here?” asked the Captain to himself. He shook his head. “In any case, anything else to report?”

“No, sir,” replied Emily. “Nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Right,” finished the Captain, “Off you…” he was interrupted by another group of Winkies coming up the path. “Wait your turn!” barked the Captain. “I need to clear the patrol for Sector 21 here!”

“That’s us, sir,” said the head of that patrol. Uh oh! The Captain arched an eyebrow.

“That’s impossible,” he snapped “These soldiers are the patrol for Sector 21!”

“No, sir, we are!” argued the Patrol Commander.

“Sir,” called one of the Guard Captain’s immediate subordinates, “permission to point out some observations?”

“Permission granted,” replied the Captain.

“First, sir, you will recall that our women are being admitted into the army?” asked the subordinate.

“Right,” confirmed the Captain.

“Well, sir,” elaborated the subordinate, “didn’t our master say that they will be part of the army next week?” Uh oh times two!

“Hey,” realized the Captain, “yeah, you’re right!”

“Second, sir,” continued the subordinate, “article 9, section 2, paragraph 3 states that all soldiers must be well groomed, subsection 4 states that beards are not allowed!” He pointed to Gandalf, Mikhail, and Richard. Uh oh times three! “Third, sir,” continued the subordinate, “that bridge wasn’t repaired until a few minutes before they arrived! My conclusion…”

“YOU LOT ARE THE IMPOSTERS!” roared the Captain. The disguise was cancelled. “SOUND THE ALARM! RAISE THE DRAWBRIDGE! GET THESE INTRUDERS IN CHAINS!” ordered the Captain.

“Well, time to go in Marine style!” called Richard.

“Marine style?” asked Hongo and Haruto.

“We’re fighting our way through!” I translated as I got my i.d tag.

“Now THAT I can get behind,” cheered Tonje.

“Driver on, please!” announced the Hand Author as it turned into the WizarDriver. Haruto then flipped the levers and the familiar chant of “Shabadoobie, touch to henshin!” started playing.

“Rider…” began Hongo. Haruto took out the flame style ring.

“HENSHIN!” we all shouted.

“Flame, please! Hi! Hi! Hi, hi, HI!” sang the WizarDriver. Soon, all riders were in their suits and we started fighting off the Winkies. Arch tossed one into the moat. Insert Wilhelm scream here. Our weapons knocked down a bunch and Ichigō used his own fighting style to get rid of them. “Excite, please!” announced the WizarDriver. Wizard then grew to gigantic proportions to kick the Winkies away. The enemy was gone, but the problem of the drawbridge remained.

“There should be some outdoor controls,” called Batman.

“I see them in that guard house,” replied Kämpfer. “Batman, help me out. The rest of you, clear off. Let the techs work.”

“I hope the Wicked Witch isn’t expecting house guests,” gulped Wyldstyle.

“Considering we did raise a ruckus and knock over all the soldiers,” countered Tanisha, “the possibility of a ‘warm’ reception is very high.” The sound of chains snapping made a red light go off in my head.

“Back away!” I shouted. Everyone was clear when the drawbridge went down. The portcullis was still down, but there was a mechanism that a batarang could spin. Batman tossed one and the portcullis went up. We charged inside to see the Witch above us.

“So, you made it inside, did you?” she screeched. “Well, I hope you like it here, because I’m going to make sure you never leave!” She cackled as she fled to her tower room. The door with a flying monkey design closed behind her.

“Uh oh,” gulped Wyldstyle, “I thought things were going a little too well.” We fought off some more Winkies and headed to the wooden stairs with a candelabra on top. A flying monkey flew in and knocked it over, setting it on fire. It revealed part of a wall jump panel and a box hidden underneath. “Time to think outside the box,” chuckled Wyldstyle as her relic detector found a grappling hook. Kamen Riders Clash and Swing, Livia and Tonje respectively, activated Batman Steel and together with Batman, they pulled the box apart. The box contained panels to complete wall jumping. Once they were set up, Kamen Rider Zhànshì, Haitao, and Kamen Rider Battle, Michael, activated Wyldstyle steel and wall jumped up to the top level. A couple of Winkies swung their halberds but were no match for two of my 15 best friends. Once they were finished with the guards, Battle and Zhànshì let down a rope to let the rest of us up. When he got up, Gandalf magically picked the lock on the door to open it up. Once opened, we went up the stairs to the Witch’s tower, opened the door, and poked our heads inside. We then cautiously stepped inside to see the gateway piece.

“Maybe she’s not here,” whispered Wizard.

“That, or she’s hiding,” countered Batman. Sadly, the Dark Knight was right.

“So,” screeched the Witch, “you’ve come to steal my treasure, have you?” She then held the piece in her hands. It started glowing and made three portals in the air. One was cyan, one was magenta, and one was yellow. “Shift! Witch! Yellow!” said the Witch. Another yellow portal opened beneath her and she was sucked in. She ended up coming out of the yellow portal in the air. “And you think you’ll escape with it, do you?” she said to us. “You won’t even escape with your lives!” She cackled as usual.

“Why can’t you two do that kind of magic?” Batman asked Gandalf and Wizard. Gandalf harrumphed at that comment.

“That kind of magic is beyond what I’m capable of,” argued Wizard. “Besides, what she’s doing is not really magic.”

“Exactly!” supported Gandalf. “All she’s doing is moving faster than the eye can follow!”

“Then let’s find a way to stop her!” exclaimed Wyldstyle.

“Go ahead and try!” shrieked the Witch. “You can’t steal my new toy from me! I’m the only one who knows how to use it! It’s of no use to you! What are you people, anyway?”

“Steal?” asked Ichigō.

“We are no mere burglars,” argued Gandalf. “Although, I do happen to know a rather good one.”

“As for who we are,” began Outback, “Kamen Rider Outback! Better watch your back, mate!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Kamen Rider Sengoku! You shall get a taste of Feudal Japan!”

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

“Kamen Rider Guard! None shall harm my friends, family, and lady!”

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

“Kamen Rider Zhànshì! Try and stop my quest!”

“Kamen Rider Arch! My skills outdo Robin Hood!”

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

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

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

“Kamen Rider Wizard! Saa, showtime da!”

“Erm, I am Gandalf the Gray!” stammered Gandalf, as he was unused to saying a catchphrase, “I shall weave a spell of defeat over you!”

“…I’m Wyldstyle! And I am not a DJ!” Wyldstyle figured she’d get that out of the way, not that the Witch would know what a DJ is.

“I’m Batman! The Dark Knight rises!” Really? Going with a movie title? Not that you’d know about that.

“Time to go the Heisei route,” muttered Ichigō. “I am the start of a group of warriors! I am Kamen Rider!” He then struck his starting Henshin pose, his red scarf flapping in the breeze.

“You’ll be called corpses when I’m through with you!” shrieked the Witch.

“Guys,” called Sengoku, “I have a plan.” We huddled up so she couldn’t hear us. “Emily, old Greenie over there hates water, right?”

“Right,” confirmed Touché, “in the book, she was so wicked, all the liquid in her body had dried up.”

“Well, first, we need to find a way to close those portals,” planned Sengoku. “I’m going to need some cages and chains to hold them in the air.”

“They’re all over the room,” observed Batman.

“My bind ring should hold them,” supplied Wizard.

“Excellent!” cheered Sengoku. “All we need to do is taunt her so she gets down. When that’s done, I want a Master Build of a hydro cannon connected to Wizard’s WizarSwordGun in gun mode. For the Finale, I’ll need a water shooting strike with Batman and Gandalf aiming the cannon’s barrel at the Witch.”

“What do you want the rest of us to do?” asked Arch.

“The Witch will make her soldiers fight us,” explained Sengoku. “We’ll hold them off.”

“I’ll be taunting her,” cheered Touché.

“Then we have a plan!” I exclaimed. “Minna, ikōyo!” (Everyone, let’s go!) Touché, Wizard, and Guard started hurling insults while Batman, Wyldstyle, and Gandalf gathered bars for cages and the rest of us kept the monkeys and Winkies at bay.

“Stay in the red mist, that’s just fine!” began the Witch. “Your thoughts, your moves, your…”

“RIDER KICK!” shouted Ichigō as he leapt up into the air, pulled his left leg up, stuck his right leg straight out, and kicked her off her broom.

“All right, mister!” snarled the Witch. “You’ll pay for that! The form I see shall seal your fate! Let the man’s armor be my new shape!” Green fire surrounded her and formed some sort of suit. Once the flames died down, the suit turned out to be like Ichigō’s, but it was black with a point on the helmet, green eyes, and a green mouth cover. She then started delivering punches with the same power as Ichigō.

“Bind, please!” announced the WizarDriver as the cages were finished. One of them had a Flying Monkey, but we got rid of it. The cages were raised.

“Sheesh!” I taunted. “You’re too slow, Witchy-poo!”

“I’ll show you slow!” snapped the Witch. “Shift! Witch! Cyan!” She found herself in a cage. “What the? Shift! Witch! Magenta!” Another cage. “Shift! Witch! Yellow!” Another cage. “Shift! Witch! Magenta!” Back in the cage. She started shaking it until it dropped on the crystal ball. “Curses! CURSES! My crystal ball! My new powers are…gone! GONE!!”

“I think I’ve got an idea to keep her preoccupied,” called Wyldstyle. “Seeker, Battle, time to get building!”

“Arch, Guard!” I ordered. “With me!” The three of us leapt into the air with both feet in front of us. “RIDER ROYAL KICK!” I shouted.

“RIDER GUARD KICK!” announced Guard.

“RIDER ARCH KICK!” called Arch. Our kicks threw her for a loop while Wyldstyle, Seeker, and Battle finished the pump. I grabbed her shoulder and got her i.d tag.

“Time to change styles!” exclaimed Wizard. He flipped the levers on his belt, making it chant again. This time, he scanned a ring that had the visor of the flame style ring, but it had a diamond shaped sapphire instead of a ruby.

“Water, please!” announced the WizarDriver. “Sui-Sui, Sui-Sui!” The chant almost sounded like Beach Boys music. A blue runic circle came down over his head to his boots, changing the outfit from red to blue, even changing the jewel shapes on his coat and giving his helmet a point at the top of the eyes. He tossed Wyldstyle, Seeker, and Battle his WizarSwordGun and helped them complete the Hydro Cannon. The Witch was still dazed from three simultaneous flying kicks, so Batman and Gandalf adjusted the cannon while Wizard pulled the thumb on the hand to open it. It started chanting “Come on and shoot! Shake hands! Come on and shoot! Shake hands!”

“The finale!” called Wizard as he scanned the water style ring.

“Water, shooting strike!” announced the fancy gun/sword hybrid. “Sui, sui, sui! Sui, sui, sui!” He pulled the trigger and unleashed a torrent of water on the Witch. Once over, she gave us a mad look as she shrieked in fear.

“YOU CURSED BRAT!” she shouted.

“Bat,” countered Batman. I think you guys know who said this part.

“I’m melting! MELTING! Oh, what a world, what a world! Make sure to cancel my newspaper delivery!” I will admit, asking to cancel your newspaper delivery as your final words shows remarkable foresight on your part, but it’s still a weird choice of last words. The Wicked Witch of the West had melted away and all that was left of her existence were her clothes, hat, and broomstick. Arch poked the remains with his foot to check if she was alive. After confirming her death, we cancelled our transformations. Haruto released a sigh of relief.

“I’ve never been in my suit that long,” he panted.

“Starts to smell after a while,” I agree.

“Speaking of smell,” quizzed Gandalf, “how do you suppose she ever took a bath?” Wyldstyle sniffed the air.

“Maybe that isn’t monkeys we can smell?” she guessed.

“Phew!” exclaimed Michael as he sniffed. “And I thought the French smell bad!”

“Pardon?!” hissed Emmanuel. Thankfully, a bubble floated in before there was another British and French war. It dissolved to reveal Glinda in all her pink and silver wearing glory.

“Well!” she called. “I see that there are quite a few good witches and wizards here!”

“Lady Glinda!” yelped Emily as she got on one knee. We all did the same.

“No need for that,” assured Glinda. “You’re all heroes. It is I who should be kneeling to you.” That was when Winkies and Flying monkeys burst into the tower and saw the remains of their former master.

“She’s…she’s dead!” exclaimed the Winkie leader. “You killed her!”

“Who are you?” asked the Monkey Chieftain. I realized that we don’t have a group name…until now.

“We’re called the Vortex Riders and…” I was about to apologize, for all the good it’ll do, when the Winkie leader knelt down.

“Hail to the Vortex Riders! The Wicked Witch is dead!” he announced. The rest of the Winkies and Monkeys genuflected and repeated the Winkie leader’s words. Well, most did, but those that got down didn’t see.

“Erm, thank you,” I stammered. I wasn’t sure how to respond to this situation. When one of the F.N.S kneels, he or she is playing the role of a reigning monarch’s subject. It’s just an act for us that we enjoy to the point of hamming it up. These are people that live such a life 24/7. I’m not an actual princess, but they don’t know that.

“Please, let us help you!” pleaded the Winkie leader. “What do you wish?” Great, a reward.

“Er, if it’s all right,” I said, “I would like to know your history with the Witch, as well as other past political dealings. In exchange, we shall give you the history of our native dimensions.”

“Hold on!” yelped Hongo. “What are you trying to do?!”

“Megumi, we can’t just open political discussion with people from other dimensions!” shouted Hiroki.

“I have to agree with your brother, my lady!” affirmed Emmanuel.

“But Dorothy didn’t complete her journey!” argued Glinda. “She was kidnapped before she reached the Emerald City! This whole journey was to show how her actions and decisions affect everyone! You must help us get her back!”

+THIS IS INTERFERENCE WITH A DIMENSION’S NATURAL FLOW+ replied my belt, arguing with Glinda. +SUCH AN ACTION IS A…+

“Do we really have a choice at this point?” I asked. My question was directed to everyone. There was silence for a moment. I knew they were trying to figure out a good counterargument before I made my decision final. Time to act now. “Look, I get that there’s a non-interference clause in the multiverse somewhere, but in this time of crisis, we need all the help we can get. With people helping us in their native dimension, we can at least stabilize the mess. Imagine what all dimensions could do if we all assisted each other in a time of crisis.”

“She’s right,” mused Emily.

“Are you out of your tiny little mind, Em?” exclaimed Richard.

“Damage to this dimension has already been done,” said Emily. “We weren’t supposed to kill the Witch, Dorothy was. Even then, it’s by an accident when she puts out the Scarecrow.”

“Good thing I got her i.d tag,” I mused. “We can use her power to our advantage.”

“That power is best in your hands,” agreed the Winkie leader as he rubbed his face. Many more did the same. Apparently, the green skin tone was nothing more than makeup as human skin tones appeared on most of the faces. “Once we have established treaties with the Gillikins, the Munchkins, and the Quadlings, we shall aid you in your cause!” said the leader.

“Munchkins, I’ve heard of,” muttered Richard, “but Gillikins and Quadlings?”

“The Quadlings are my people,” explained Glinda. “My friend, Locasta Tattypoo, is the real Good Witch of the North and rules the native Gillikins.”

“Then why did you rule the North as well?” asked Emily.

“Because Locasta had to deal with her Wicked predecessor, Mombi, again,” Glinda explained. “She asked me to rule the North in her stead while she dealt with Mombi permanently. She’s back in the North while I must return to the South.” She turned to the Winkie leader. “Good Sir Nardo,” she said, calling him by his name, “I would be delighted to help you rebuild the Western Country. It shall shine yellow once again!”

“My thanks, Glinda!” cheered Nardo. “And Vortex Riders, when next we meet, the Western Country shall be in its former glory!”

“I look forward to it,” I affirmed. Then a certain oddity I became used to happened.

“Another rift!” called Wyldstyle.

“Before you go,” announced Glinda, “take these as a reward.” She handed us some small discs of different colors, gold, silver, blue, and purple. “The total should be 125,000 studs.”

“Er, thank you?” I stammered, uncertain of their use.

+EXPLANATIONS WILL BE OFFERED WHEN WE RETURN TO OUR BASE OF OPERATIONS+ explained my belt.

“Batman!” called Gandalf as he pointed to the gateway piece. It was being sucked in!

“On it!” exclaimed Batman. He used his grapple gun to snag the gateway piece and pull it towards us. The portal’s size started fluctuating.

“I believe the rift is becoming unstable!” observed Gandalf. “Shall we take our leave through it?”

“I’m coming with you guys until I find a way home!” called Haruto.

“Where do you think this one leads?” asked Wyldstyle.

“Wherever it is, it’s gotta be better than this garish nightmare!” muttered Batman. “Come on!” We all jumped into the portal and found our vehicles floating there as well. We tumbled towards our new destination.

Categories
Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Chapters

Chapter 5

Our destination was a bright, sunny place with a yellow road leading to a green city. It seemed familiar, but I couldn’t place my finger on it. “We are NOT in Gotham anymore,” muttered Batman.

“I would have had a more pleasant journey on the back of that Balrog,” commented Gandalf as he checked Shadowfax’s hooves since he landed hoof first on the road. Hongo took a deep breath and smiled.

“The air reminds me of the countryside I would sometimes pass,” he sighed in peace. “What’s disagreeable about this place?”

“It’s so…colorful!” hissed Batman as he tensed up.

“Yes,” mused Gandalf as a peacock strutted by, “it is rather pleasant.” The peacock gave a squawk of approval. Wyldstyle was looking at her scanner.

“I can’t see MetalBeard,” she sighed.

“Well, something’s close,” replied Emmanuel. “You’re still tracking that signal.”

“This way,” called Batman. He was about to go off the path when Gandalf stopped him.

“I believe the correct course of action is to follow the yellow brick road,” he commented.

“Why does that sound so familiar?” asked Emily. “In any case, it may lead to a missing gateway piece.”

“Ah ah ah!” called a voice that made me snarl. “That’s not for you!”

“Hiro!” I hissed. The tiny sliver of hope I had that I was wrong vanished when I saw him.

“Interesting that we should find ourselves here,” mused Hiro.

“Whatever business you have does not concern this dimension!” I hissed. “Leave at once!”

“Actually, it does,” countered Hiro. “My client had detected an energy signature that he recognized in this dimension. Considering he’s paying me for my jobs, I’m not leaving.”

“And suppose someone gets in your way?” asked Mikhail. Hiro started laughing.

“Who’s going to get in my way? You?” he asked. “Don’t be stupid. Megumi may be the strongest out of you lot, but she couldn’t withstand my assault!”

“You cheated!” snarled Richard.

“I didn’t see any wrestling ring ropes back home,” replied Hiro.

“Back home?” I quizzed. “You mean Hongo-san’s home dimension?”

“And my native dimension,” elaborated Hiro. “I’ve had the Rogue Driver for some time.”

“It’s how that organization got the idea for a transformation belt,” supplied the Rogue Driver. “What was its name…er…Seeker? Soaker? …er…”

“Shocker?!” shouted Hongo.

“That’s it!” confirmed the Rogue Driver.

+INTERFERENCE WITH A DIMENSION’S NATURAL FLOW IS A CLASS 5 OFFENSE+ announced my belt.

“Considering that the Queen ain’t here to enforce it anymore,” countered the Rogue Driver, “I see no reason why I should care.” Hiro then shot a carriage at the side of the road, blocking the path.

“Catch you later!” called Hiro as he jumped over the carriage.

“COME BACK HERE, YOU COWARD!” No sooner had I shouted that, I heard Hiro hit the other side of the carriage.

“WHAT’S THE…BIG…IDEA!” he shouted in a voice that was rapidly getting slower.

“Apologies,” rasped a voice that didn’t mean the apology, “but I’ve been plucked from my universe and dumped here in this absurd wonderland. On top of that, you…landed on…my…head! …That’s a…declaration of…war…” I then heard two thuds.

“It…can’t be!” I stammered, a grin forming on my face as I recognized the voice.

“We’ll need to find a way past this roadblock,” rasped Batman. “Let’s look around.”

“The carriage seems to stretch past both sides,” Gandalf pointed out.

“There is the old brute force method,” mused Richard.

“I think I see a hook for the grapple gun,” I called. “Batman, mind helping me attach it to the carriage? It looks like a two-person job.”

“Sure,” affirmed Batman. It was indeed a two-person job as Batman held the hook into place while I attached it to the fabric of the carriage. Once it was attached, I struck my henshin pose.

“HENSHIN!” I announced and activated my suit. Then I swapped my i.d tag with the Batman one. The wardrobe closed on me.

“Batman Steel!” called my belt. Once that was done, the wardrobe dissolved as I had donned the cowl. Batman and I then fired our grapple guns and pulled until the carriage split apart. It revealed Hiro lying on a bed of poppies with Prince Vegeta of Dragonball Z fame! I squeed, then zipped the lip as it might wake the Saiyan Prince. Not a single person in the poppies stirred.

“Okay,” gulped Wyldstyle, “so I’m guessing those are NOT normal poppies. Do we have anything that will help us cross safely?”

“Driver,” I quizzed my belt as I switched to my default i.d tag and allowed the wardrobe to don the “royal steel”, as it was called, on my body-suit, “do our rider forms have a means of breathing?”

+AFFIRMATIVE+ confirmed my belt. +ALL SUITS HAVE A REBREATHER IN THE HELMETS+ +YOU CAN EVEN BREATHE IN THE VACUUM OF SPACE+

“My helmet also lets me breath in air that’s not suitable for normal humans,” replied Hongo, “and the horses for the Vortex Riders are machines, so they don’t need to worry, but that leaves Gandalf-san and his horse, Batman-san, and Wyldstyle-san.”

“Actually,” countered Wyldstyle, “with the parts from the carriage, I can upgrade my bike to help the horse.” Shadowfax seemed to agree wholeheartedly with that idea.

“You can ride with me, Gandalf,” offered Batman as he entered the Batmobile. Gandalf then boarded the vehicle while Wyldstyle upgraded the bike to allow Shadowfax to ride, the rest of the Vortex Riders transformed. We all got on our respective steeds, Shadowfax entered the new bike, Batman activated the Batmobile and we all moved around the sleeping Prince Vegeta and Hiro. We soon got away from the deadly poppy field. Gandalf and Batman got out of the Batmobile.

“I think this contraption,” mused the gray wizard as he patted the Batmobile, “could almost give Shadowfax a run for his money.” Shadowfax heard that and snorted in offense. Then, we heard something ahead of us.

“Is that…singing?” asked Wyldstyle. The lyrics sounded familiar. Emily’s eyes went wide in delight when she heard it.

We’re off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz!

We hear he is a whiz of a wiz, if ever a wiz there was!

If ever, or whether a wiz there was, the Wizard of Oz is one,

Because, because, because, because, because, because,

Because of the wonderful things he does!”

“IT’S OZ!” shouted Emily. “WE’RE IN THE MERRY OLD LAND OF OZ!”

“And everyone can give me the idiot prize!” I berated myself. Emily had played The Wizard of Oz until she scratched the DVD back at the abandoned factory, which I lovingly christened Castle Nerd-Skull.

“Then Dorothy and her friends must be singing their way to the Emerald City!” guessed Richard.

“It’s not just singing,” mused Gandalf, “it’s a singing scarecrow, amongst other oddities.”

“The Scarecrow!” snarled Batman. “I knew it! This is all a hallucination!” He charged towards Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion.

“I think he’s going crazy,” observed Wyldstyle.

“‘Going’, my dear?” asked Gandalf. “He’s wearing a bat costume.”

“You guys don’t understand,” explained Xiomara, “there’s a member of Batman’s Rogues Gallery called the Scarecrow that uses gas to commit his crimes. The gas targets your phobia and makes you suffer hallucinations based around that phobia.”

“So, if I breathed the fear gas, I’d start seeing spiders crawling all over me and freak out?” asked Mikhail.

“Exactly!” confirmed Xiomara.

“But the Scarecrow from Oz really is a scarecrow!” yelped Emily.

“He’s having the same kind of misunderstanding I had!” realized Hongo.

“After him!” I called. I say that a lot, don’t I? Batman was moving from hiding place to hiding place very quickly until he stopped in front of Dorothy’s gang.

“You’re coming with me, Scarecrow!” he hissed!

“Another one to join us on our journey!” cheered Dorothy. “And what are you missing?”

“A sense of humor,” replied Batman. “Hand him over!”

“But why ever would we do that?” asked Dorothy.

“Because he’s a heartless villain!” explained Batman, losing patience.

“No,” countered the Tin Man, “I’m heartless. He’s brainless.”

“Batman!” called Xiomara as we caught up. “That’s not a person making it move! It’s just straw!”

“What?” yelped Batman. “Then how is he moving?”

“I don’t know,” replied Xiomara, “but that’s not Dr. Jonathan Crane! That’s a real scarecrow!”

“Am I still a villain, though?” asked the Scarecrow.

“I s-s-see something s-s-scary!” stammered the Cowardly Lion as he pointed to the portal behind them.

“What? Is it Toto again?” asked the Tin Man in a callous tone. Wait, what?!

“Oh my!” cried Dorothy. “You ARE heartless!” That’s when they started getting sucked into the portal. “Oh no! Not another tornado!” The portal then closed once they were inside. A faint bit of laughter could be heard.

“What on Middle-Earth is going on?!” yelped Gandalf.

“Yeah, who was that laughing?” asked Wyldstyle.

“I don’t…know!” hissed Batman, his patience for this whole mess at an end.

“Emily,” asked Richard, “was the Tin Man always a jerk before he got a heart?”

“No, he was still kind before he met the wizard,” replied Emily.

“Look!” called Wyldstyle as she pointed down the yellow brick road. “Is that one of the missing pieces from the gateway?” It was a purple oval with a symbol of three circles in an upside-down triangle pattern. The points started from cyan, to yellow, to magenta with arrows pointing in the direction I had described.

“Yes,” confirmed Batman. “Let’s grab it and get out of this place!”

“What about Vegeta?” I asked.

“Who?” quizzed Batman.

“The man with the pointy hair asleep with Hiro in the poppies back there!” I explained.

“Do we need him?” asked Batman.

“No, but I do,” said a voice. We all turned to see a cat-like humanoid with purple skin, no fur, and Egyptianesque clothing. His tail flicked lazily. “I see someone reactivated the gateway,” observed the creature. I trembled a bit but held it in check.

“Er, can someone explain who he is and why he knows the guy in the poppies?” asked Emmanuel.

“That’s Lord Beerus,” I gulped, “God of Destruction in the Dragon Ball franchise.”

“And I am honored to meet you!” called Emmanuel, getting the scope of the guy. He knelt down in front of Beerus.

“Oh, please, get up!” hissed Beerus. “I can’t stand groveling.” I wanted to argue the point as various episodes had him act indifferent to groveling, even slightly enjoying it, but who argues with a god of destruction? “In any case, I’m taking Vegeta back with me. He’s got training to do and gallivanting across the multiverse is the last thing he needs.”

“A tournament’s coming up?” I asked.

“As a matter of fact, yes,” confirmed Beerus. He headed over to the poppies “In any case, I’ll just take Vegeta here and be on my way.”

“Er, Lord Beerus!” I called as he entered the poppies. Oddly enough, he wasn’t affected as he picked up Vegeta.

“You were about to say something?” asked Beerus as he slung Vegeta over his shoulder.

“Er…never mind,” I murmured. Beerus shrugged and turned to leave before he tripped over Hiro. He then angrily kicked him out of the poppies and disappeared. I wish he hadn’t done that, but them’s the breaks. He then left in his own manner as Hiro woke up.

“Oooogh,” he groaned. “What hit me?” He looked around to see that we were strategically walking away from him. Unknown to us, he followed.

“We’re almost there!” called Gandalf as the gateway piece came closer with each step we took. “Goodness, this has been remarkably easy, hasn’t it?”

“Oh, you just had to jinx it, didn’t you?!” hissed Batman.

“I can’t believe a wizard would ever say that!” cried Lukas. That was when we heard an evil cackle.

“And the Wicked Witch of the West decides to buzz us!” hissed Emily. The Wicked Witch was indeed flying overhead on her broom, green skin, black clothing, hat and flying monkeys completing her look.

“Now that the meddling do-gooder is gone, all of Oz is mine!” cackled the Witch. “So long, Dorothy! So long!” One of the monkeys ooked, tapped her on the shoulder, and pointed at the gateway piece. The Witch got a look at the thing. “What’s that? Something magical?” A grin as wicked as her attitude appeared on her face. “It looks so pretty! It feels so powerful!” She turned to the flying monkeys. “They can’t have it!” she ordered. The monkeys got into formation and dived with her in front.

“It would appear we’re not the only ones interested in the gateway pieces,” observed Gandalf.

“GRAB IT!” I shouted as I mounted my horse. The rest of us got on our horses/vehicles and charged at the gateway piece.

“No!” called Hiro from behind us. “No, it’s mine!” He summoned a demonic looking motorcycle and sped off after us.

“Get away from my property!” ordered the Witch. “…Whatever it is!” Some monkeys almost scalped us with a sweeping dive!

“We’ve got monkey dive-bombers!” warned Batman. “…Can’t believe I just said that.”

“Ugh,” groaned Wyldstyle. “This place makes Cloud Cuckoo Land look normal!” Hiro then used a mechanism in his bike’s seat and launched himself at the Witch, knocking her off the broom. I sped towards the gateway piece and leaned to grab it when Hiro shot my rear and knocked me off my horse! The Witch then threw Hiro into me and ran for the piece while I grabbed Hiro by the legs and used him as a club to knock her away.

“So,” said the Witch as she summoned an ugly looking green fireball, “you won’t take a warning, eh? I’ll take care of you now!” She then cackled wildly as she trapped us all in a ring of green flames. I then heard a yelp as a man in casual clothes run out of the flames slapping his rear to put it out. I was too busy fighting the Witch and Hiro to give the man much thought. I then got out the i.d tag and struck a pose.

“HENSHIN!” I announced. I then leapt through the blue circle and became Kamen Rider Royal. “Kamen Rider Royal!” I said. “Evil will ultimately bow to me!”

“We’ll see about that!” countered the Witch. She got back on her broomstick and took to the air to cast more ugly green fireballs!

“That broomstick of hers,” observed Wyldstyle, “it’s defying gravity somehow!”

“Thank you, Captain Obvious!” called Irina. The man that had his rear on fire had put it out and grinned.

“Magic against magic,” he chuckled. “This should be fun.” He then put a ring on his right middle finger with a hand design on it and held it in front of his belt buckle with a hand design like the ring.

“Driver on, please!” announced a voice. That’s when everybody payed attention to the man as a silver belt with a black hand with gold trim appeared around his waist. He then flipped some switches on both sides of the belt, making the hand move from the right to the left. The belt started singing, of all things. “Shabadoobie, touch to henshin! Shabadoobie, touch to henshin!” The man put a ring on his left middle finger. It had a smooth cut, round ruby in the center with some sort visor on top that was connected to a hinge.

“Henshin!” announced the man as he flipped the visor on the ring over the ruby, giving it eyes. He then held the ring over the belt.

“Flame, please!” called the belt. A red runic circle appeared on the man’s left side and passed through him. “Hi! Hi! Hi, hi, HI!” (Pronounced “he”, not “high”) He ended up in a black suit with a black trench coat, silver shoulder pads, square cut rubies running down the front of the coat, a red interior of the coat, and a silver helmet with a ruby on the face with the ring’s visor design on the face. I had only seen one Kamen Rider series from start to finish, and that’s the rider!

“Saa, showtime da!” (Now, it’s showtime!) announced the rider.

“Kamen Rider Wizard!” I cheered. The Witch blinked, then an evil grin crossed he face again.

“Your outfit just gave me an idea!” she said. “A spell to halt the progress ahead! To freeze, to bind my foes in red!” She cackled again. A slew of red chains wrapped around us all! Kamen Rider Wizard slowly moved his arms to get his hands on the belt’s levers and swapped the hand to the right again. The belt started singing again!

“Lupachi magic, touch to go! Lupachi magic, touch to go!” He then moved his hand to a ring strap which were silver with an orange gem in the center. They each had a design on the top. The one Wizard grabbed had a dragon poking its head and wing out of a portal. He replaced the hand ring on his hand with the new ring and scanned it on his belt, the WizarDriver. “Connect, please!” said the belt as a small red runic circle appeared near his hand. He put his hand in and grabbed some sort of intricate silver gun with a left hand making a fist on the end of it. He pulled the trigger and shot the broom the Witch was on. She fell off and it broke her concentration, thus making the chains disappear.

“You bothersome little worm! I’ll get you for that!” she shouted. She then started swinging her broom around like a weapon. I got an idea and touched Wizard’s shoulder. My belt then got the Wizard i.d tag. I then stole a ring with a shovel design.

“Hey!” protested Wizard.

“Borrowing!” I replied. I swapped my i.d tag with the Wizard one.

+IDENTIFICATION TAG HAS MULTIPLE FORMS+ said my belt. +SELECT FORM+ Four circles appeared in front of me with the different form rings for Wizard. I picked the one with the square citrine. The wardrobe closed around me. “Wizard Land Steel!” said my belt. It then said “Land, please! Dododo Dododon, Don Dododon!” in the WizarDriver’s voice. This form takes the trench coat of wizard with whatever gems it’s studded with, in this case, citrine. I couldn’t resist.

“Saa, showtime da!” I announced.

“First my ring, then my land style, now my words!” cried Wizard.

“Like I said, I’m borrowing them,” I countered. I then mimed flipping the levers on the WizarDriver and heard the familiar chant of “Lupachi magic, touch to go!” I then scanned the ring I swiped from Wizard over my driver. From the words of “Dig, please!” I’d say it was a dig ring. Several yellow runic circles appeared. The parts of the ground they were hovering over disappeared in dust, leaving holes once they vanished. Some of us tumbled into the holes, the Witch included. She poked her head out to address her troops.

“What are you flying fools waiting for?!” she screeched. “Attack! Attack!” The monkeys started throwing rocks at us. One of the rocks knocked the Witch’s hat off! “Watch it!” she screeched as she jammed it back on her head and dived into the hole.

“Just when I thought today couldn’t get any MORE strange!” rasped Batman. He dove into a hole to get away from the monkeys. The rest that didn’t fall in the holes I made originally followed suit. I heard a bunch of people say “Henshin!” with only one “Rider…HENSHIN!” over them. I met with Kamen Rider Arch, Emmanuel in the tunnels connecting the holes.

“Thoughts, your highness?” he asked.

“It’s probably going to turn into a whack-a-mole game,” I guessed “10 points on whacking your enemies, minus 20 on hitting the Witch.”

“This whole fight is making me see red!” protested Arch.

“Stay in the red mist, that’s just fine!” called the Witch. “Your thoughts, your moves, your actions are MINE!” Red chains appeared around us again. From what I saw overhead, Kamen Rider Kämpfer, Lukas, was lifted out of the hole. Her mistake, his gain, as he leveled his updated crossbow at her hat and fired! The crossbow bolt knocked the hat off, making lose concentration again. She screamed in frustration. “I’ll teach pesky little troublemakers like you to get in my way!” she snarled. At that point we all got out. Rogue was about to fire when I sucker punched him, leaving Wizard open to fire his WizarSwordGun. He didn’t leave it in gun mode and instead unfolded it into sword mode.

“I have it!” called Ichigō. He had the gateway piece in his hands. In retrospect, he shouldn’t have said that.

“A spell to halt the progress ahead! To freeze, to bind my foe in red!” This time, the chains wrapped around only Ichigō. Rogue charged to get the gateway piece, only to get tackled by the monkeys.

“GET OFF ME, YOU OVERSIZED WINGED MACAQUES!” he shouted.

“Tufted Capuchins, actually,” countered a voice. Rogue turned to see a monkey’s fist deck him. Meanwhile, more of the now named Winged Capuchins had gotten their hands on Ichigō and got the gateway piece back on the ground from all the movement. Arch had let an arrow fly towards the Witch, making her dodge and retreat to the air.

“I’ll get you, my pretty,” she swore, “and your giant dog, too!” She was referring to the Dark Knight.

“I’m a bat…man!” he replied.

“Seize the shiny and fly! Fly back to the castle!” ordered the Witch to her troops. “And what did I tell you about speaking?!” One of the monkeys rolled his eyes and started scratching his pits.

“Ook, ook,” he muttered. He then charged towards the gateway piece.

“Nuh-uh!” protested Wyldstyle as she ran towards the piece. “No you don’t!” She leapt up to grab it. Too little, too late. The monkey already grabbed it. She fell face first on the road. As the monkey started flying to rejoin the witch, she started taunting us.

“You’ll have to be faster than that, my fine lady!” she boasted. “Without my sister’s ruby slippers, you’re no match for me! Away, my pretties! Away!” The whole troop flew off towards the west, where her castle was. The flames had died and Rogue was mad.

“THIS IS YOUR FAULT!” he roared at me. “IF YOU HADN’T INTERFERED, THIS WOULDN’T HAVE HAPPENED!”

“I hold no responsibility over this,” I countered.

“Bah!” snapped Rogue as he cancelled the transformation. He then boarded his bike. “When next we meet, you won’t survive!” he swore to me. His bike then summoned a portal as he sped through. I then turned to Wizard.

“How did you get here?” I asked.

“I’ll explain on the way,” he replied as he used the connect ring again to summon his motorcycle. He then dehenshined into Haruto Soma. “For now, that piece may be my only way home and I need to get home now. Phantoms are invading again and I need to stop them.”

“Then help us and we can get you home,” I offered.

“After her!” called Batman as he boarded the Batmobile.

“Hey, that’s my line!” I shouted as I mounted my horse. We all got on our vehicles, dehenshined, and sped off into the west.