The two ships had reached Captain Patrica Looden’s ship hovering over Arsha’s home of Largandra while under attack from a flying tour bus. Every crew member had their duty uniforms on. Even Lardeth had dismissed his cloud dress and swapped it out for his duty uniform. Sonic, Amy, Vector, Death, Charline, Peach, Lacey, Jason, and Hiroki were on the Endeavor’s bridge while the Autobots and Buzzsaw in his box were in the High Sky’s cargo hold. “Lardeth, we need to reach the attacker,” declared Arsha.
“The Autobots are already trying to reach this ‘Soundwave’ character,” reported Lardeth.
“Message sent,” Ultra Magnus chimed in. “I find highly unlikely that Soundwave will…” The ship was hit by the tour bus’ laser fire!
“I take your point,” muttered Lardeth. “Ms. Dreltem, Mr. Drentar, attack pattern gamma. Target his propulsion.” The High Sky fired on Soundwave, but he proved elusive. As he dodged and weaved the ship’s weapons, he continued firing on Patrica’s ship, the Sailing Patch. The Endeavor was having just as bad luck in hitting Soundwave as the High Sky.
“Captain, Patrica’s hailing us and the High Sky!” called Relper.
“Put her through,” directed Arsha. Lardeth and a woman with purple hair, an eyepatch, and eight, purple octopus legs appeared. The woman, Patrica the Cecaelia, was being shaken by Soundwave’s fire.
“I must compliment you two,” praised Patrica, “you are Elven in your punctuality.”
“Fire up your engines and follow us out of here,” directed Arsha.
“An excellent suggestion, Arsha, assuming we had any power for engines at this time,” replied Patrica.
“What’s your status?” asked Lardeth.
“Our engines are gone,” reported Patrica, “our shields are down, and we have no weapons to speak of. We’re running on minimal power to keep us from crashing onto Largandra’s populace and a fourth of my crew is dead.”
“Prepare to evacuate the ship,” advised Arsha. “We’ll bring you aboard.”
“You’ll have to drop your shields before you can use your teleportation spells!” answered Patrica.
“My ship can take more of a pounding,” assured Lardeth. “We’ll take you aboard. Arsha, I trust you can keep Soundwave off our backs?”
“We can,” declared Arsha. “Patrica, once Soundwave is gone, we’ll tow your vessel to the shipyards.”
“You two are certainly Realmfleet’s finest,” praised Patrica. “Looden out!” The call ended as the High Sky maneuvered alongside the Sailing Patch.
Soundwave, meanwhile, rolled his holo-form’s eyes.
“Dudes, that ISN’T what I said at all,” he grumbled to himself. “Organics. Can’t even follow a simple instruct…is that…?” he noticed a Spark signature on one of the ships, a DECEPTICON Spark signature. He fired up his comms. “This is Soundwave, calling the Decepticon on the enemy vessel. Identify yourself.
“Just little old Buzzsaw,” replied the ‘Con on the other end. Soundwave released a breath.
“Thank Primus!” he praised. “Did you find any other Decepticons here?”
“Sorry, was put in an awkward position that was preventing me from searching,” sighed Buzzsaw. “The natives here shoved me into a crate.”
“How powerful is your prison?” asked Soundwave.
“Pit, I could break out easy,” assured Buzzsaw. “I was just biding my time, knowing you were looking for me as well. I’ll be out shortly and join you.”
“Good to hear,” answered Soundwave. “Soundwave out.” He ended communications and found the door for the High Sky’s cargo bay.
Buzzsaw decided now was a good time to break out. He flashed his talons and raked them across the box’s interior. “Hey, anyone hear that?” asked a crewmember. That was when the box’s wall broke.
“HE’S OUT!” called Strongarm as she raised her weapon. Buzzsaw was quicker on the draw and fired at her foot. The rest of the Autobots drew their weapons and attacked. Slash had her sword and rotary shield rake across Buzzsaw’s backside and fired Optic Beams. Buzzsaw dodge-rolled out of the way, allowing the Optic Beams to hit a control panel.
“Oh no!” gasped a female Elf with orange trim on her duty uniform, signifying her status as an Engineer.
“What’s wrong?” asked Swoop.
“HANG ON!” warned the Elf as the cargo bay doors started opening.
“Captain!” yelped the Dwarf Communications Officer. “The cargo bay doors are opening!”
“Bridge to cargo bay, what’s going on down there?!” called Lardeth over the comms.
“Buzzsaw’s out!” replied Ultra Magnus. “The controls for the cargo bay doors were destroyed in the fight!”
“Repair team to cargo bay!” ordered Lardeth. “Fix the controls for the cargo bay doors!”
“Negative!” countered Ultra Magnus. “Wait until we’re outside the ship!”
“What?!” protested Lardeth.
“Trust me!” urged Ultra Magnus. “We won’t hit the populace below!”
“…Repair team, hold on until the Autobots and Decepticon are outside,” Lardeth finally conceded.
“Captain,” called Malak on the Endeavor, “restricting our fire to Soundwave’s propulsion is not proving fruitful! He’s too small!”
“Launch drone fighters 1 through 56,” ordered Arsha. “He may be small enough for them.”
“Drone fighters?” asked Oak.
“If he’s as dangerous as the Autobots say,” explained Arsha, “I’m not prepared to lose any men to him.”
“I see,” replied Oak.
“Launching drone fighters 1 through 56,” reported Malak.
“The Endeavor’s launching their drone fighters,” reported Lardeth’s Merman Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Drentar. “56 have been sighted.”
“Launch our own drone fighters, 1 through 56,” ordered Lardeth. “We should have launched them sooner.” He activated the comms. “Transporter room, what’s your status?”
“Captain Felompha, this is Patrica,” replied a voice. “Almost half of my remaining crew is still on my ship. We need at least three more minutes!”
“Looks like we’re going to find out how much of a pounding this ship can take!” grimaced Lardeth.
“Captain, the Autobots and Buzzsaw are outside!” reported his Communications Officer. “They’re…in an air dogfight?!”
“They can fly?!” yelped Lardeth. “Hail the Endeavor!”
“Channel open,” reported the Communications Officer as Arsha appeared on screen.
“Arsha, can you find the Autobots and Buzzsaw flying around us?” asked Lardeth.
“I was about to ask you that,” replied Arsha. “Looks like Buzzsaw’s forming up with Soundwave and helping him deal with our drone fighters.”
“Captain, three more drone fighters have been destroyed by an unknown assailant!” reported Drentar. “Sensors describe it as looking like the King of the Vorkloks of Dr. Snood fame!”
“On screen!” ordered Lardeth. “Transmit the image to the Endeavor!” The image and story were relayed to the Endeavor and Hiroki, Sonic, and Vector widened their eyes.
“Davros!” hissed Hiroki. He turned to Arsha. “Let us go topside!” The bridge crew looked at him in shock. “Trust me! We can get him off your backs!”
“…Send our extradimensional allies topside,” ordered Arsha. Various teleportation spells were cast as Hiroki and his allies were transported to the top of the Endeavor’s hull.
“Can anyone find Davros?!” called Hiroki.
“Up there!” reported Death as she pointed upwards. Davros was firing on the drone fighters, aiming for the Transformers currently engaged in their dogfight.
“Let’s bring him to our level, then!” declared Hiroki. All Riders then brought out their belts.
“Vortex Driver!”
“Chronicle Driver!” The belts were fastened on and all Riders got their transformation gimmicks out.
“HENSHIN!” they shouted. Hiroki inserted his i.d. tag and spun the wheel. Peach and Jason inserted the Armor Auto-bios and pressed the shelf down.
“Open! Turn! Imagine!” cheered all two Chronicle Drivers.
“The Scepter of Crown!”
“The Roller of Turf!” All Riders were ready. Hiroki was Kamen Rider Sengoku, Charline was Kamen Rider Herald O, Death was Kamen Rider Death, Peach was Kamen Rider Crown, Jason was Kamen Rider Turf, and Lacey was Kamen Rider Apocalypse.
“Get him down!” commanded Sengoku. The Riders converted their melee weapons to ranged mode and fired, attracting Davros’ attention. Davros swooped in and landed on the hull. “I must admit,” mused Sengoku, “I didn’t think you’d try to attack a pair of heavily armed ships on your own. Weren’t you in the Under-realm when last we saw each other? How did you gain control of a Realmgate?”
“That is of no consequence!” boomed Davros. “What IS of consequence is that I pay you back for assisting W and Royal in humiliating me!” Then came another voice.
“DALEK! UPGRADE!” announced the voice of a Gaia Memory.
“Upgrade?!” yelped Hiroki.
“EMPEROR!” continued the Gaia Memory’s voice. Davros went from standard Emperor Dalek to humanoid monster evoking an Emperor Dalek.
“Well, I must admit, I didn’t think you’d obtain the Gaia Memory Enhancing Adapter,” gulped Sengoku. “…Okay, that’s a mouthful.”
“It’s one of my own design,” boasted Davros, the Emperor Dalek Dopant. “I’d prefer to make you suffer for the embarrassment you’ve caused me on Vorton!”
“You need a hobby,” snarked Sengoku. The Emperor Dalek Dopant raised his left hand and showed his palm to reveal a blaster hole in it. “LOOK OUT!” warned Sengoku. Everyone got out of the way as the Emperor Dalek Dopant fired. The Riders then converted their weapons to melee mode and attacked. The Emperor Dalek Dopant managed to deflect their blows easily. Just then, Sengoku slapped his forehead. “Dopant, I forgot!” he hissed to himself as he took out the W i.d. tag. He swapped out his i.d. tag for the new one and the selection wheels came up. Since Davros was based on a creature that resides in metal, his first option was Heat. He then picked Trigger for his weapon.
“W HeatTrigger Steel!” called the Vortex Driver.
“HEAT! TRIGGER!” called out the voice of the Gaia Memories. Heat’s rock and roll guitar music played, then Trigger’s rock guitar riffs followed after. Sengoku’s wardrobe then attached armor based off of Kamen Rider W in HeatTrigger form. He converted his blade to ranged mode and fired, causing small explosions to erupt on the Emperor Dalek Dopant’s exterior. Still, he didn’t flinch.
“Nice try,” taunted the Dopant.
“Really didn’t wanna try this,” sighed Sengoku. He inserted the i.d. tag into his rifle.
“Final Attack!” it called. He then took it out and put it back into the belt. His hand hovered over the wheel when Apocalypse stopped him.
“Sludgiona warned against this!” she protested. “Death may be taking your soul if you try!”
“What’s going on?!” called Turf.
“His i.d. tag is charged with powerful energy reserved for only one final attack!” explained Death. “He took it out before he unleashed the attack and put it into the belt to charge it with more energy than his body could handle! Sengoku, no!”
“If I don’t try,” insisted Sengoku, “Davros will kill everyone below!” He managed to get Apocalypse off of him and spun the wheel.
“Final Attack!” called the belt as energy flowed violently around him.
“R…Rider…Sengoku…W…Heat…Trigger Twin…Finish!” strained Sengoku. “Twin…Maximum!”
“TRIGGER! MAXIMUM DRIVE! HEAT! MAXIMUM DRIVE!” announced the belt before it looped on “MAXIMUM DRIVE!” He then made an effort to raise his rifle on the Emperor Dalek Dopant. It was a greater effort to pull the trigger, but he did so. The shot knocked him off his feet and caused him to black out.
Hiroki woke up, no longer in his Rider form and on some sort of medical bed. He groaned as he tried to form a sentence. “Easy,” called a calming, male voice. “It was touch and go for a minute. You’re safe now.” Hiroki looked to see a Merman in a tank of water that moved like a wheelchair. The Merman wore a white tube top with a red cross on the front. “I am Doctor Shanerda Elegrel, Chief Medical Officer of the Largandra Shipyards.”
“…Win?” Hiroki managed to get out.
“Your friends are outside, waiting to fill you in,” explained Shanerda in his soothing voice. “Do you feel well enough to receive them?”
“Yes,” groaned Hiroki as he slowly got up.
“Good,” replied Shanerda. “I’ll send them in.” His tank glided across the floor as he opened the door. “You may see him,” he directed. Death led the crowd with a stern look on her face. Arsha, Patrica, and Lardeth joined the crowd, as did the Autobots’ holo-forms.
“How do you feel?” whispered Death.
“I ache all over,” groaned Hiroki as he rubbed his shoulder.
“You’re about to sting in a certain place!” hissed Death. She then wound her hand up and slapped him across the face. The resulting clap of her hand meeting his cheek echoed throughout the medical ward, causing everyone to gasp. Hiroki held his hand to the currently stinging cheek. He figured out why she slapped him.
“What I did,” he hissed, “was to stop Davros from killing innocent people!”
“At the cost of your own life!” snarled Death. “That was a stupid gamble! You were out for two hours! I was worried I would have to do my job!”
“Well, you didn’t!” argued Hiroki.
“Not a viable excuse!” shouted Death. “I better not hear about you or ANY of you Riders doing something this stupid again, all right?!”
“…Fine,” sighed Hiroki.
“Good,” hissed Death. She then took a breath and adopted a calmer expression. “Now, perhaps you would like to know what happened once the attack hit Davros.”
“That would be nice,” replied Hiroki.
“He reverted back to his Emperor Dalek state,” reported Lacey. “Unfortunately, he was picked up by our enemies.”
“Hiro found him,” grumbled Jason.
“And he and Megatron arrived to pick up Davros, Soundwave, and Buzzsaw,” continued Sonic.
“So, they’ve found this universe,” sighed Hiroki.
“From what I’ve heard on the other end,” muttered Arsha, “one of my enemies, Dr. Cytanek Yavenag Borg, was operating the portal.”
“…Dr. C. Y. Borg?” chuckled Hiroki.
“Wait, wasn’t she executed?” asked Patrica.
“Her original body was,” replied Lardeth, having heard the story before.
“Original body?” quizzed Death.
“She’s found a way to transfer herself to another body when the previous one expires,” explained Arsha.
“That’s ridiculous,” countered Death. “She’d have to digitize her soul in order to do so.”
“And she did,” confirmed Arsha.
“…Immortality,” realized Death.
“Elves would call it unnatural immortality,” supplied Lardeth, “the worst kind.”
“It looks like our enemies have come together,” sighed Ultra Magnus.
“Speaking of,” interjected Hiroki, “how bad was Soundwave’s attack?”
“It’s going to take at least a full week for all of our ships to be repaired and restocked on necessary equipment,” replied Arsha.
“I mean no disrespect to those of your crew that lost their lives, Captain Looden,” continued Lardeth, “but I’d say we got off light with Soundwave.”
“What about those fighters?” asked Hiroki.
“Drone fighters,” answered Arsha.
“That’s lucky,” muttered Strongarm. “How many did you guys launch?”
“56 each,” replied Arsha. “Only four of mine returned.”
“I only had ten left,” supplied Lardeth.
“Fourteen!” gasped Hiroki. “Out of 112!”
“Admiral Rokalla’s coming to debrief us,” reported Arsha. “He’s gonna want to know about you guys.”
“We’ll be happy to cooperate,” assured Hiroki.
“Then, the question I have,” remarked Slash, “is what was Soundwave doing attacking Patrica’s ship?” Everyone turned to her.
“Why are you lot looking at me like that?!” she protested. “I’m the victim here! He must have intercepted a transmission I was making to Realmfleet.”
“Why would he do that?” asked Lardeth.
“Haven’t the foggiest,” replied Patrica.
“Think hard,” urged Arsha.
“Various members of your crew,” continued Lardeth, “said you had initially intercepted a transmission from Reb Rojam.”
“Of course I intercepted one of her transmissions,” confirmed Patrica. “That’s what Protector Pirates do, intercept transmissions from unsavory pirates.”
“What, exactly, were you doing intercepting Reb’s transmissions in the first place?” asked Arsha.
“All I know,” explained Patrica, “was that my First Mate, may his soul be in the Divine Ones’ eternal embrace, had heard a rumor that someone in Reb’s fleet had developed personal Realm crossing technology without the use of a Realmgate. Such a rumor was making him a little nervous. When the First Mate gets nervous, I get nervous.”
“And that’s all?” quizzed Arsha.
“It was enough for me to order my spies,” replied Patrica, “to gather any information concerning that. Lo and behold, they intercepted an advertisement relating to such technology being given to the criminal underworld. I decided that Realmfleet would pay a little more for such technology, so I attacked Reb’s ship. During the fight, she vanished, surprising her crew. Later, her hubby vanished as well. We managed to grab the device and took off, ensuring that Reb’s ship didn’t pursue. After which, I transmitted a message to Realmfleet, advertising the technology and what I was willing to sell it for.”
“And that’s when Soundwave intercepted your transmission and attacked your ship, killing a fourth of your crew?” guessed Arsha.
“I guess he wanted to modify it so he could go home,” mused Patrica. “In any case, I destroyed the cargo before he could get his hands on it. I wasn’t about to let a knock-off Conquertron take it and warp it into a weapon.”
“He’s a Decepticon,” corrected Ultra Magnus. “But, you do raise a point. If Soundwave got his hands on it, we would have had the entire Decepticon Armada leveling cities here.”
“Then we need to find a Temporal Stop quickly,” declared Death. “We find that, line it up with other Temporal Stops, we find our allies, then defeat our enemies’ combined forces.”
“I guess we’re going to have to start with a search around Largandra,” muttered Arsha.
“After Rokalla debriefs us,” supplied Lardeth.
“Then we wait, for now,” declared Death.