Kamen Rider Kabuto: Days of Ruin

by Fenikkusumaru

A deadly meteor shower has wiped out over 90% of the human population. Arriving in these space rocks, the deadly alien race, the Worms, have come to replace the identities of humanity. Now, an alliance of brave soldiers and civilians must join together to fight the Worms and human monsters as a new kind of hero: Kamen Riders.

1. Chapter 1: Days of Ruin

Fenikkusumaru: HELLO FANFIC READERS! I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

Serpentdragon: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Riders, Kaijin, and allies of all ages, please give a warm welcome to our returning champion: Fenikkusumaru!

Audience: YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

*Audience stands in ovation and fireworks and confetti go off.*

SD: How's that for a welcome back, aibou?

Fen: I feel great to be back man. Like the Phoenix, I've risen from the ashes.

SD: *Nods* Indeed. It's sure good to have you back for good this time.

Fen: Yeah. And to celebrate my return, I'm putting out a whole lot of new stories out on my homepage!

SD: Yep! And a bunch on my page as well! In preparation for Fen's return, he and I have begun working a whole bunch of Kamen Rider crossover stories, including two completely original Rider series, for you guys to enjoy, all leading up to one very special event!

Fen: That's right! Plus I got a new chapter of GX: Society of Light and the new 5D's sequel too!

SD: So, Fen, do you give them a little sneak peak of what we have in store for them?

Fen: I sure can! We've got some Kamen Rider crossovers going on. And they are:

Kamen Rider Kabuto: Days of Ruin (Kamen Rider Kabuto x Advance Wars: Days of Ruin)
Kamen Rider OOO: Unlimited Adventure (Kamen Rider OOO x One Piece: Unlimited Adventure
The Wizard of Zero (Kamen Rider Wizard x Familiar of Zero)

SD: And as for our original Rider stories, the first we have Kamen Rider Access, a story full of advanced technology, mind–controlling cyborgs, and espionage thrills as Kurogasa becomes a spy and fights the evil Bioroid Dominion and the criminal syndicate NOVA along with the mysterious Kamen Rider Infiltrate and Kamen Rider Secure. Next, in Kamen Rider Funk & Soul, Kurogasa and Koji step into platform shoes as the twin Riders Kamen Rider Funk and Kamen Rider Soul, princes of a groovy kingdom where disco never died as they fight against the monstrous Jiveless who threaten to darken their joyful land!

Fen: So now we got Blade, Kabuto, Kiva, W, OOO, Wizard, Duelist, Funk/Soul, and Access… hey… you thinking what I'm thinking?

SD: *Grin* you bet I am… Alright, guys, count up how many Rider stories that is right there? Notice anything about that number?

Fen: We'll let you ponder for a bit. Anyways, like I said, I got a new chapter of GX: Society of Light and the new 5D's sequel too!

SD: *Whispers* If you guys want a hint, look through mine and Fen's stories. There's a clue in one of them… *Wink* …But yes, as you guys can see, we have lots of goodies coming your way!

Fen: Now keep in mind people, I also got school going on, so I gotta give attention to that. I don't want to leave the moment I get back.

SD: Mhmm… I know what you mean, buddy, finishing up school myself. But don't worry guys, while chapters may not come flying out superfast, we'll keep pushing to give you guys what you want.

Fen: Other than that, it's great to be back.

SD: Alright, we'll I think that's enough talk for now. So, aibou, what do you say we get this party started, eh?

Fen: Let's do this! Here it is! One of my new stories! Or in the case, for my GX story, here's the new chapter!

SD: *Takes out Double Driver and Cyclone Memory* Shall we?

Fen: *Takes out Double Driver and Joker Memory* We shall.

CYCLONE!

JOKER!

Both: Henshin!

CYCLONE–JOKER!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen Rider Kabuto. All creative rights go to Shotaro Ishinomori. Any and all music used in this story, don't belong to me either. I also do not own Advance Wars: Days of Ruin. All creative rights got to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems Co., Ltd.

---

It happened without warning.

No one knew or saw it coming.

I didn't think that the Apocalypse would come in the form of meteors raining down on Earth.

The land burned, the sea dried, and the sky darkened.

The devastation was total.

Dust covered the entire planet, blotting out all traces of the sun.

We weren't prepared, and most of humanity paid the ultimate price, dying needlessly.

The world as we know it, no longer exists.

My name is Kurogasa Kururugi. I'm 21 years old, having brown hair in a style that one would think I was Kira Yamato from Gundam Seed and have blue eyes. I'm… or rather I was a chef of a diner I used to own. It was a very famous diner and I had lots of customers come in; especially soldiers from the Rubinelle Army. I was just minding my own business cooking… until it happened.

Meteors struck down without warning. Everyone was all in a panic and a lot of explosions took place. The booming noise rang in my ears and I heard the countless screams of people dying. The debris fell all over and I had to somehow protect myself from it. So I hid under the counter, hoping that it would provide me some protection. But it was all in vain as heavier debris crashed down and just like that…

Darkness…

---

(Cue Theme D–Technolife by UVERworld)

(Ienai itami kanashimi de kizutsuita kimi yo) The scenery is a barren wasteland, with a sky that blotted out the sun. The camera pans slowly to the right as Kurogasa, with his back facing the camera, looks at the barren wasteland on top of a cliff.
(Kesenai kako mo seoiatteikou ikiru koto o nagedasanai de) The camera then suddenly changes to a close up of Kurogasa's face before it went around his head, the camera's view being blocked momentarily when it reached the back of his head and when the camera finally circles to the side of his face, it showed Kurogasa as Kamen Rider Kabuto, before panning out showing him in his full armor. Looking up at the sky, a ray of light suddenly burst through the clouds shining on Kabuto before the screen goes white.

([WHOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAHHHH] tsunaida kimi no te o) The title Kamen Rider Kabuto: Days of Ruin appears on the screen and just before the song enters the next phrase, the ZECTers flew, crawled, and hopped around the title from behind and jumped towards the screen before changing to the next scene.

(Itsuka ushinatte shimau no kana) Koji sits on the edge of his bed, sadly looking at his guitar on one side, his rifle on the other, as Gatack flew up and lands on his shoulder.
(Usurete yuku egao to kimi wo mamoritai kara) Rika was in the medical wing of the base, sighing and wiping sweat off her brow as she tries to organize her medical supplies, Sasword crawling around on a table while Brenner, Lin, Isabella, and Will were discussing plans for their next move.

(Hibiku~ boku wo yobu koe sae kare) Kurogasa was cooking and Kabuto watched on his shoulder before Kurogasa noticed something from afar on the horizon.
(Toki ni sou kaze ni kakikesaretatte) Drake and TheBee fly past him as we see what Kurogasa was looking out: a swarm of Salis Worms flanking Dr. Caulder with Admiral Greyfield, Waylon, showing up one end of the battlefield along with Tasha and Gage on another end and they sending out their troops alerting the 12th Platoon.

(Kimi wo mitsu–ke–da–su) Kurogasa grabs Kabuto and transforms into Kamen Rider Kabuto, before casting off his armor and charging towards Dr. Caulder.

(Ienai itami kanashimi de kizutsuita kimi mou) Dr. Caulder snaps his fingers and Kamen Rider Punch and Kick Hopper appeared out of nowhere and jumped towards Kabuto for an attack only for the latter to dodge before going to attack them.
(Waraenai nante, hito kirai nante kotoba sou iwanaide) Koji transforms into Kamen Rider Gatack and leads the Tech Platoon with their heavy weapons attacking some of the Salis Worms as Brenner transforms into Kamen Rider TheBee and he, Lin, and Will attack the rest of the forces.
(Mienai mirai ni okoru koto subete ni imi ga aru kara) Rika and David "Deadeye" Stevens transforms into Kamen Rider Sasword and Kamen Rider Drake respectively and attack some of the Salis Worms.
(Ima wa sono mama de ii, kitto kizukeru toki ga kuru darou [WHOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAHHHH]) As Kurogasa battles Punch Hopper and Kick Hopper, Caulder surprisingly joins in and transforms into Kamen Rider Caucasus, going to punch Kurogasa, only for the latter to dodge and he and Caluder stared each other down.

(You and Me, two have spoken.) The Hyper ZECTer appears from the distortion of time and Kurogasa grabs it to become Hyper Kabuto.

([WHOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAHHHH] Itsuka wakariaeru kara) Kurogasa then grabs the Perfect ZECTer and he and Caucasus leap at each other, their attack causing a huge flash of light. When the light fades, we see Kurogasa, Koji, Rika, Brenner, Will, Lin, Isabella, Tasha, Gage, and Stauffenburg looking out into the sunset, the ZECTers with them as well before the song ends.

---

Chapter 1: Days of Ruin

Everything was silent.

Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound.

When I opened my eyes, I saw nothing but darkness. I didn't know where I was… my ears still rang from the explosions I heard earlier, and worst of all… I smelled the scent of flesh.

I knew what that meant. All the people in the restaurant died, and I'm the only one living. I still can't see, but I can tell by the smell that their dead bodies were lying around. As much as I wanted to mourn for theirs deaths, I had to get out of this debris and go above ground. So I slowly dug my way through the debris and pile of bodies, clawing through, in hopes that I would soon get out of this darkness. But that proved to be more difficult because I had an unfortunate injury of having my left arm dislocated. Still, I had to keep going. If I'm going to stay alive, then I have to keep going.

With nothing to eat and drink, I kept crawling my way up to the surface using both my legs and my one good arm. Every now and then, I'd rest from all the digging. Hungry, thirsty, and exhausted, I felt like that I wouldn't be able to make it at all. That soon came to reality as I gradually lost strength, got sick with the fever, and lost oxygen as time passed while coughing badly. And the worst part of all: I began to lose all hope. Is this how it's going to end for me? Am I to die alone in this darkness? …I guess that's what was meant to be.

Wait… What's that light? Could that… be my way out? Yeah… it has to be! I'm near!

With new strength, I tried my best to get to that light so I can get to the surface. I crawled and crawled using my legs and right arm, I was so close, but then… my exhaustion got to me… but I can't give up! I had to keep moving…! I need to keep going!

I WANT TO LIVE!

Using the last of my strength, I stuck my arm in the light. All I needed to do was push myself; up and out, but… I couldn't do it… I was so exhausted… no… this can't be happening…

I then felt myself beginning to lose consciousness. But as I was fading, I heard something… it sounded like… voices… It almost sounds distorted, but I can hear what the voices were saying and it was the only thing that kept me awake.

"Sir, I got movement in the rubble!" One voice exclaimed. "There's a survivor here!"

"Get 'em outta there now! C'mon, let's go!" Another voice shouted.

That second voice, as I listened to it, sounded rather familiar, though I wasn't sure why at first. I squinted as light hit my eyes and the sound of rocks being moved was heard. Then, I heard the voice again say, though this time only loud enough for me to hear, "K–Kurogasa!?"

I couldn't really see as my vision was still blurry. I've been in the darkness for so long, so I needed to regain my sight, but I knew who the voice belonged to. Or at least I thought I knew who the voice belonged to. "K… K–Koji…" I wheezed.

Upon hearing me say his name, I heard "Koji" shout, "Corporal, get a medic over here and bring him to Ri– the doctor!"

"You got it, Sarge!" the corporal replied before rushing off.

"The rest of you, let's get these rocks off of him!" "Koji" shouted. "Private, get the power saw. We're gonna need to cut that beam. It's too big to move as a whole."

"Yes sir!"

"C'mon, let's go! Move it! Move it! Move it!" "Koji" ordered, before saying to me, "Don't worry buddy. I'm gonna get you outta there, just hang on!"

It seemed like forever, but after only a few minutes, "Koji"'s men had gotten enough rubble off of me to pull me out of the debris pit I was stuck in. They laid me down on one of the bigger boulders just as the soldier Koji sent to get help returned with two medics.

"I got the medics, Sergeant!" the Corporal replied. "We'll get the civilian back to Battalion HQ and get the doctor to look at him right away."

"Thanks, Kowalski." "Koji" said as I was loaded onto a stretcher. "Hang in there, pal. You'll be in good hands. I'll come see you as soon as I can."

That was the last thing I heard before my vision darkened and I passed out.

---

Meanwhile, a few miles away from the wreckage of a city, a group of black armored soldiers wearing helmets that seemed to have been based on insects, were in the middle of an intense conflict with strange alien creatures.

"Keep firing! Don't let the Worms near the package! We must protect it at all cost!" One man shouted.

"But, sir, they keep Clocking Up! We can't keep up with them!" Another shouted as he fired at a fast moving blur, only to have it easily dodge the blasts.

"Platoon B, give me a sitrep on the package!" A third shouted at his communicator.

["Not good! We're getting the connection devices stored in a jeep for evac, but I don't know if we can hold them off long enough to get them out of here!"] The soldier on the other end said.

"Crap…" the third soldier said just before getting knocked to the side by one of the fast moving blurs.

"There's too many! We can't hold them off much longer!"

Just then, one of the blurs slammed into the back of one of the trucks, knocking one of the cases to the ground. Out of it came flying what appeared to be a red mechanical rhinoceros beetle. Attached to its feet was some silver belt buckle.

"Oh no, come back here!" A voice said in the truck as it belonged to a scientist and he came out of the truck carrying a silver briefcase. However, the robotic beetle did not listen and kept flying away. "Impossible…" Growling, he then looked to the opened briefcase and saw that within four similar robotic insects were still inside it: a blue stag beetle, a yellow wasp, a cyan dragonfly, and a purple scorpion. Also in the briefcase was, another silver belt buckle, a grip, a sword, and a brace along with a weapon that was a mix of an axe and gun together. It also looked like a kunai of sorts can be pulled out too. Grunting, he finally said, "Well, I can at least get these ones to safety." Closing up the briefcase, he put it and the one he was carrying into a jeep, as the soldiers kept the aliens busy.

However, bad luck was on his side as one of the blurs slammed into the back of the jeep and the briefcase holding the mechanical fell out and the mechanical bugs inside got out and escaped, leaving their attachment devices behind.

"NOOO, COME BACK!" He shouted, but his calls were for naught. The stag beetle, wasp, and dragonfly all flew away as the scorpion scuffled away as quickly as possible on and into the ground, all four of them splitting off into different directions. The scientist then hung his head low as he said, "Oh, my bosses are gonna kill me…"

A solider ran up to him and asked, "Hey, what happened to the package?!"

The scientist gulped. "Umm… Part of it is here," he smiled nervously, sweating profusely.

"You let the ZECTers escape?!"

"I didn't really have the chance to stop them!" The scientist defended. "It was either let them go and secure the rest of the package, or risk losing what we still have in order to chase down the ZECTers!"

"Well get them back!" The soldier shouted.

"ME?" The scientist bellowed, seeming offended. "I'm just a scientist! You're the soldier! You get them back!"

"I can't right now! It's either you retrieve the ZECTers back or stay here and die!" The soldier said before running off to take care of the aliens.

The scientist grumbled as he watched the soldier run off. "Wait a minute… I got the jeep. I got the gun and the attachment devices! Let them take the fall!" The scientist then got in the jeep, revved up the engine, and drove off as fast as he could.

---

What happened to me? Where am I? The last thing I remember was being buried in the rubble until I was supposedly saved by Koji. I was barely conscious, but I could still hear distorted voices. There were voices of distress and panic around me. What's going on?

"Get him to the operating table, stat!" A second familiar voice shouted. "Nurse, get me 20 mg of morphine!"

"Yes ma'am!"

That first voice… Rika…?

I then felt myself lifted through the air, a couple of military medics lifting me onto the operating table. Then, I heard "Rika" say to me as she got into the scrubs, "Hang in there, Kurogasa! Just hang on!"

I wanted to say something, but I couldn't. I was too hurt and injured to say anything.

"Okay, let's go now people! We need to pop his dislocated arm back into place and fix any injury he sustained from the debris!" "Rika" said.

From there, my memory went hazy. I caught glimpses here and there of what was going on around me, but just flashes. Nurses with their tools poking at my body, "Rika" and one or two other doctors discussing things to give me as they tried to close my wounds, and then everything went black for a while…

---

It was hard work as Rika and the nurses were working for two hours straight, but in the end, Kurogasa's arm was finally popped back into place and the nurses patched up any injuries that he sustained while he was buried in the debris. Rika wiped the sweat off her forehead after the scary two hours they went through. "Whew… good work people… Let's stitch him up and get him into the recovery area."

This was Rika Ryusaki, a civilian doctor who now works for the 12th Battalion of the Rubinelle Armed Forces. She had long burgundy hair that fell to her mid–back and has brown eyes and at the moment, she wore surgeon clothes, but will soon get out of it. While the nurses were tending to Kurogasa, Rika took off her surgeon mask and went outside the tent, seeing two commanding officers waiting outside.

One of them was a man who was in mid–20's having tannish white hair and black goatee with a scar on his left cheek. He wore a long sleeved tan combat jacket and pants decorated with segmented brown shoulder, elbow, and knee pads, a belt, and a pair of boots. He also sported the 12th Battalion crest on the left sleeve of his jacket. He looked rough, but his face shows that he was kind.

This was Captain Brenner, leader and commander of the 12th Battalion.

The other was female and Asian descent having long, flowing, black hair that fell to her lower back, wearing tan combat pants and brown boots, but she was wearing a sleeveless long tan trench coat that fell to her thighs, and was equipped with the same brown segmented shoulder pads. The coat was open to reveal a black sleeveless shirt that was short and exposed her stomach.

This was Captain Brenner's, First Lieutenant, Lin.

Brenner looked to Rika as she approached them and said, "How is our rescued civilian doing, Dr. Ryusaki?"

"He's fine. He'll make a recovery." Rika sighed.

"That's good to hear." Brenner nodded.

"It seems like you know him too." Lin added.

Rika nodded as she said, "Yeah, he's one of my best friends. He, Ko– I mean, Staff Sergeant Shinamori, and I grew up together."

"I see. Well that explains it." Brenner said.

The three then heard someone calling out and turned around to see Koji running towards them, "Rika!"

Koji was a 22 year old young man, standing about 5'10" with tan skin and dark brown hair and eyes. His hair was usually worn long in a surfer cut. However, to fit more in his uniform, he wore it neatly tied back in a ponytail. Down the side of his right eye was a long scar of an old combat wound. He was dressed in desert style fatigues with the sleeves rolled up over his elbows with tan combat boots on. On his head he wore a black military beret with the insignia for a Rubinelle Armed Forces combat technician and around his waist was a brown gear belt that included his pistol. "How's Kurogasa doing? Is he alright?"

"He'll be fine. He just got out of surgery." Rika answered.

Koji sighed in relief. "Phew… that's a big relief."

Lin nodded at Koji as she said, "You did a good job out there, Sergeant. If it hadn't been for you and your platoon, we might not have found any survivors."

"The world's been a living hell ever since those meteors hit." Koji reminded. "I'm just glad I was able to find my other best friend. It wouldn't be the same without him."

Brenner nodded before he grinned with a closed smile, patting Koji on the arm as he said, "Still, nice work out there, Sergeant. You and your men did well."

"Thanks Captain." Koji grinned back.

---

"Ugh… my head…" I groaned.

As I finally came to, I found myself in a makeshift recovery room, sitting up slightly and dressed in hospital robes. I had an IV sticking out of my left arm, bandages over several parts of my body, and in all different parts of my body, I felt either in pain or numb from where the morphine was still in effect.

"You're awake!" A voice said.

"Heya buddy." Another greeted casually.

Blinking, I saw two people coming in. Much to my disbelief, it turned out I was not delusional or dreaming when I thought I heard their voices. It really was Koji and Rika. "You guys! You're here! …Wherever here is!"

"Oh Kurogasa, you're okay!" Rika said as she ran over to and hugged me.

I comically, flailed about when she hugged me tight, "Itetetetetetete!"

She then let go of me and blushed bashfully as she said, "Sorry… It's just, gosh, we were worried about you."

"I know you were." I whimpered a bit. "Where are we anyway?"

"We're at the HQ for the 12th Battalion of the Rubinelle Armed Forces." Koji explained.

"The… 12th Battalion HQ…?" I asked.

Koji nodded as he sat down next to Koji, taking off his beret. "Yeah, it's the Rubinelle Army unit I'm attached to. I'm the platoon sergeant for the 12th's Tech Platoon, their combat technicians."

"Oh…" I said.

"I see you're awake." A voice said. The three of us turned around and I saw two people coming in. One of them was a man who was in mid–20's having tannish white hair and black goatee with a scar on his left cheek and he wore a uniform like Koji's. He looked rough, but his face shows that he was kind.

The other was female and Asian descent having long, flowing, black hair that fell to her lower back, wearing tan combat pants and brown boots, but she was wearing a sleeveless long tan trench coat that fell to her thighs, and was equipped with the same brown segmented shoulder pads. The coat was open to reveal a black sleeveless shirt that was short and exposed her stomach.

I slightly blushed at seeing her.

"Captain Brenner, sir!" Koji said, immediately standing up to face him and giving him a salute.

Brenner put his hand up to Koji as he said, "At ease, Staff Sergeant." Looking to me, he then said, extending his hand, "I'm Captain Brenner, commanding officer of the Rubinelle Army's 12th Battalion."

"Kurogasa Kururugi. It's nice to meet you." I said extending my hand and we both shook.

"And this is my First Lieutenant, Lin." Brenner gestured to her.

"Welcome to Brenner's Wolves." Lin nodded.

"Uh… thanks." I said, with me still slightly blushing. I have to admit, Lin looks cute in that uniform. Wait, what am I saying?!

Koji smirked at me knowingly, causing me to shoot him a glare. He had a much better way with women than I did. He chuckled a bit, at my expense before saying, "You know, Lieutenant, Kurogasa is actually quite the chef."

"Koji, what are you doing man?" I hissed.

Lin looked to Brenner as she said, "That could be handy, Captain. With our chef killed earlier, we could use someone who could cook actual food. Otherwise, we'll run out of field rations too soon."

"That's true." Brenner pondered.

"Uh…" I said dumbly.

"Oh don't worry Captain and Lieutenant; He's the head chef of his own diner and he makes the best burgers and fries in all of Rubinelle." Koji grinned, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

Rika nodded in agreement as she said, "Not just that, but a lot of other food as well: fried chicken, steak, and a whole lot of other stuff."

"And he makes a really good Cookies 'n Cream milkshake." Koji added.

"Guy~s…" I blushed bashfully.

Brenner chuckled as he said, "Alright, alright, Sergeant and Doctor, you've sold me." Looking to me, he then said, "So then Kurogasa, how would you like to travel around with my soldiers as our cook?"

"Well…" I began, thinking about it.

"I understand it's very sudden, but with how the world is now…"

"Yeah…" I mumbled. "I can still remember it clear as day. One minute I was minding my own business cooking and the next… bam, the meteors hit out of nowhere…"

Koji nodded as he said, "Yeah… We're still trying to assess the damage, but overall… we're thinking the meteor shower brought on cataclysmic damage… to the entire planet."

"What? Are you serious?" I gasped in horror.

"If you don't believe me, look outside." Koji said.

"I'll help you up." Rika offered. I nodded at that and I slowly got off the bed. With the help of Rika and Koji, I slowly walked to the entrance of the tent and when we opened up the big flaps serving as the door, my eyes widened in horror. The landscape had drastically changed. The once luscious green country of life has now become a barren wasteland of death. It was all rock and dirt, buildings were destroyed and beyond repair, and the atmosphere was blotted with dust and ash, not letting a ray of sunlight break through.

"No way…" I got out. I was so shocked, my knees suddenly buckled and Koji and Rika caught me.

Koji sighed sadly as he lifted me up back into bed. "Yeah… It's that bad. The sheer amount of dust sent up into the atmosphere blocked out a fair amount of the sun's rays, hence why any plants that survived are struggling to grow."

"Not only that… it's hard to find any livestock. Last month, we just finished the last batch of chicken and we've been eating spare rations since." Rika added.

I looked to Rika and asked, "Speaking of, Rika… You never joined the military. How'd you wind up with them?"

"I ended up like you one time. I was buried in the rubble and was hurt until Koji and his platoon dug me out of there."

Koji's usual confident look and boyish smirk turned serious as he said, "I was lucky I found her… She was in worse condition than you were in. I was just glad to see that she made it out alright."

"I see." I nodded.

"So in a nutshell, the meteors made this world a barren wasteland and we have to deal with it." Lin said.

"And we, Brenner's Wolves have made it our mission to look for survivors and care for them too." Brenner added.

"Hm…" I said. I was thinking for a while before turning to Brenner. "Well in that case… Captain Brenner, I'd be honored to help out become the 12th Battalion's chef. Just get me a frying pan and a chef's hat, and I'll get cooking."

Brenner laughed as he said, "Outstanding! Though, looking at you, I think it might be in your best interest to let yourself heal first, before heading into the kitchen."

"Okay."

*GURGLE*

Everyone looked at me and I looked down at my stomach before looking back up at them with a sweat drop and sheepish laugh, "And I'll probably need something to eat too while I'm at it."

Everyone in the room looked at me incredulously before bursting out into laughter. Koji, being the first to stop laughing, gently tapped my leg before saying, "Don't worry, bro, we'll get you some food."

"Just don't get too excited." Brenner said, after he stopped laughing. "All we got for now is canned bread and a bunch of energy bars."

"That's fine by me." I said.

---

So for a number of days, I've been focused on healing myself to full health and after those days, I was ready to go. Of course, I was still in hospital clothes, so I had to change. Fortunately, Brenner surprisingly had for me a spare chef uniform I can use that were my size and after changing…

"Ladies and Gentlemen, meet the new and improved Kurogasa: Official Chef of the 12th Battalion!" I declared after coming into the Briefing Room. I had on a pair of pants that were woodland style fatigues, a meshing of green, brown, and black colors with black combat boots, an olive green t–shirt, and a chef skull cap.

Koji, who was at a table reviewing some maps with Lieutenant Lin, grinned at me as he said, "Not bad, Kurogasa, not bad. You almost look like a soldier!"

"Heh… thanks." I grinned back.

Lin looked at me and raised an eyebrow as she did. "I have to agree. It's not bad."

I blushed, bright red as I scratched the back of my head sheepishly at Lin's compliment. "Uh… thanks."

I saw Koji smiling mischievously, and I glared at him. It's always like this. I have a weakness for the girls' charm and whenever I blush, Koji would usually joke me and this is no exception.

"Hey, Kurogasa, what's wrong, buddy? Are you feeling warm in here? You look red." he said with his usual grin.

"Red because you're starting to irritate me." I growled a bit.

Lin chuckled as she said, "Would you two like to be alone? I don't want to get in the way of a lover's spat."

As I looked at her flabbergasted, Koji laughed and said, "Oh don't worry, LT, we'll be fine again after we have our makeup session."

"I don't roll that way! C'mere so I can strangle you!" I shouted before I ran to him and he ran away.

"Oh, Kurogasa, I love it when you chase me, baby!" Koji yelled at me teasingly.

"SHUT UP!"

That was when both of us were suddenly stopped and our ears were pinched by… Rika!?

"Koji… Kurogasa…" Rika said irritated and I think I heard a vessel pop in her head.

I gulped in terror as I looked to Rika and asked, "Um… Y–Yes, Rika…?"

"Why am I seeing you two acting like little kids?" Rika growled.

Koji, unable to resist, teasing me, said, "Because Kurogasa isn't ready to admit the bond we have between us!"

*PINCH!*

"AH! Itetetetetetete! Okay, okay! I was teasing Kurogasa about his weakness to girls!" Koji winced in pain as Rika pinched his ear.

"Mattaku mou, you're always like this." Rika sighed before she turned to me. "And you need to stop overreacting!"

I groaned at her as I said, "I can't help it. I try not to…"

*PINCH!*

I flailed about as Rika pinched my ear hard, "Itetetetetetetetetetetete!"

"Try harder next time!"

"OKAY, OKAY, OKAY! I WILL! OW! SORRY! I'LL TRY! NOW PLEASE, LET GO!"

Rika let go, making us rub our ears in pain.

"Impressive." Lin said.

Rika smirked as she said, "I've been keeping these boys in line for years!"

Lin chuckled as she said, "I think you could teach some drill sergeants a thing or two."

"Maybe, but I'll stick with the doctor business for now."

Just then, Brenner came into the briefing room, as he stopped himself from running. "Everyone, grab your gear! Scouts have found a survivor and raiders are harassing him!"

Koji immediately got into his soldier mode as he asked, "What kind of raiders, Captain?"

"The ones led by The Beast himself." Brenner frowned.

Koji looked at his CO in disbelief, "Again?! That's the third time this week we ran into him!"

"Who's The Beast?" I raised an eyebrow.

Koji groaned as he said, "The Beast is a Rubinelle Army deserter. He used to serve as a special operations soldier, but after the meteor strike, he decided to capitalize on the chaos by turning his force into a pirate band, attacking people at will for whatever they have."

"Why do that? It's ridiculous!" I said a bit angry.

"Ever since those meteors hit, it's always been about survival and people will do any and all means to survive." Brenner reminded.

Lin nodded in agreement as she said, "Not to mention how easy it is. In effect, our battalion has been operating on our own. High Command was destroyed during the shower, making it near impossible to coordinate with other units. It made it simple for him to rogue."

"How many are we dealing with here?" Koji asked.

"He's sent in a pretty large group. Three tanks, supported by six or seven Humvees equipped for convoy escort, and I'd say two platoons of infantry soldiers with a squad carrying heavy ordinance: rocket launchers, mainly." Brenner explained.

"He's using all of that on one survivor?!" Rika gawked. "That's overkill!"

Brenner scoffed as he said, "Apparently he had been raiding a nearby town, taking supplies from some survivors and found this one on the way back to their base."

"Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's go save that survivor sir!" Koji urged.

Brenner gave a nod as he said, "I'm with you. Sergeant Shinamori, take Tech Platoon and take care of those tanks. I'll send 1st Platoon with two our own tanks to cover you. Sneak behind their lines, set the demo–charges on the tanks and blow them up."

"Yes sir!" Koji saluted.

"Uh… what can I do?" I asked. "I know I'm a chef and all, but…"

Koji looked to me and said, looking concerned, "Bud, I'm not sure you can do anything. I mean, you're not a soldier. Have you even fired a gun before?"

"Um… no…" I answered.

Koji sighed as he said, "Then it's probably best you just stay here, Kurogasa. Let me and the troops handle this."

"I guess…" I sighed.

"If you wanna help, you can cook until we get back. That way, when we get back, we can have food as our reward." Brenner suggested with a closed grin. Koji looked to me one last time, patting my arm and giving me as best of an encouraging smile as he could before he ran out to meet with his soldiers.

"Yes sir." I nodded.

"Good." Brenner nodded before turning to his First Lieutenant. "Let's go Lin. You and I will lead a squad to extract the survivor out of there, personally." Brenner said.

"Yes sir!" Lin nodded before the two ran out the briefing room, leaving only Rika and I.

Rika looked to me, placing her hand on my shoulder as she asked, "You okay?"

"I'll be fine." I sighed. "I just wish there was something more I can do other than cook."

Rika sighed too as she said, "I know. But hey, I mean… we all have our jobs in the unit. If it weren't for you cooking or me patching our troops up, the battalion couldn't help people."

"That's true." I shrugged. "Well, I guess we can pass the time doing our thing."

---

"Oh man, where are those ZECTers?" The scientist groaned.

Even though he had fled the battlefield, not wanting to deal with that soldier, he tried to find the ZECTers as he drove to the base. "At least I know the red one isn't very far thanks to my GPS. It's good to know that I can track these ZECTers with it…"

Honing in on its signal, he floored the pedal to the ground and sped after it.

However, unbeknownst to the scientist, a strange creature was following him.

The creature was an odd, insectoid looking being, with an emerald green color. Its shiny exoskeleton gave it the appearance of an insect chrysalis given humanoid form. While it's left hand had five fingers, albeit clawed ones, the right hand had instead three: a normal sized thumb and two very long scythe–like claws. However, perhaps most bizarre was that extending from its skeletal torso were what appeared to be the bones of two arms reaching up to cover the eyes of its face which looked like a smiling human skull.

The strange creature looked around for a while, before looking at the direction the jeep was watching. With a strange growl, it went on its way towards its target.

---

Cover fire! Cover fire! Give Shinamori cover fire!" Brenner shouted as a fire fight ensued.

The battle ensuing was, quite simply, crazy. Despite being outmatched, the soldiers of the 12th Battalion's 1st Platoon and their two tanks were doing well against the Beast's forces. They had managed to damage one of the Beast's three tanks and destroy four of six Humvees. Also, several of his soldiers had already been killed. That being said, though, the enemy had managed to surround Brenner and his men. However, he needed to buy time for Staff Sergeant Koji Shinamori and Tech Platoon to sneak over to the enemy lines and set the demo–charges on the enemy tanks and Humvees.

"Alright," Koji said as quietly as he could over the radio to his men as they snuck over, avoiding stray fire and grenades, "I'm going to take A, C, and D Squads to take out the tanks. Sergeant Rusk, you and B Squad rig those Humvees."

["Got it, Boss,"] Rusk said over the other end of the radio as his squad broke off.

"Shinamori to Lin, do you copy? What's your current status of extracting the survivor?" Koji asked.

["I'm taking 1st Platoon's E Squad to his position. We're about half a click away. What's the status of Tech Platoon, Staff Sergeant?"] She asked.

"Squad B's about to rig the remaining Humvees. Squads A, C, and D are going for the tanks." Koji answered.

["Alright, well you better move it. The rest of 1st Platoon is starting to feel the heat!"] The lieutenant replied.

"We're on it, over and out." Koji said. He then signaled his soldiers to speed as much as they could while keeping hidden. At last, they managed to climb up over the ridge and get to the enemy vehicles. "Alright, let's see what we can do here…" He said to himself before signaling one of his men to toss him the first demo–charge. The said man gave him the demo–charge and signaled two of his men to come with and guard him. The two men complied and they quietly went over to one tank without the enemy seeing them before placing the demo–charge on the tank.

Koji then tapped his radio and said, "A Squad report: demo–charge set. What's the status of the other squads?"

["C Squad report: demo–charge set."] One voice said.

["D Squad report: demo–charge set."] Another said. ["We're good to go."]

"Alright, let's pull out." Koji said.

As they started to move back, he suddenly heard gunfire that was way too close to be from the main battle. ["Staff Sergeant Shinamori, this is Sergeant Rusk! B Squad has been detected and we are taking enemy fire!"]

Koji's eyes widened, "What?!"

["We need some cover fire! Requesting backup!"]

"Err… Dang it," Koji growled, clenching his fist before replying, "Alright, we're on our way! Tech Platoon, move out!" Sliding his rifle off his back, he and his men surprised the Beast's soldiers that were attacking B Squad by popping up behind them as they began their attack to rescue their comrades.

"WHAT! Where did these punks come from?" The Beast roared.

The Beast was a monster of a man. Standing close to six and a half feet tall, he had a rich tan on his muscular flesh. He had long brown hair worn down in a wild man style with a full beard, a yellow bandana on his head, no shirt, green fatigue pants, dog tags, yellow arm bands, tribal tattoos all over his body, a full gear belt, and two belts of ammunition for his automatic rifle.

"Well, well, well, we meet again." Koji gritted.

"Huh?" The Beast said, before noticing him. "You…! You're that punk that almost shot my head off!"

Koji then smirked as he said, "Glad to see you recognized me. I'll make sure not to miss this time. Tech Platoon, take 'em down!"

"Yes sir!" His men said, before taking aim.

"Urgh… Get them, boys! And a bonus goes to the one who brings me the head of their leader!" The Beast shouted as he brought out his rifle.

The Beast's men took aim too and fired, making Koji's team take cover.

"Man, not what I had in mind!" Koji gritted.

["Koji, can you hear me?! It's Rika!"] Her voice panicked on Koji's radio.

Grunting as he just ducked back down in time to avoid having a bullet go into his eye, Koji replied, "Rika, this isn't exactly a good time right now!"

["It's Kurogasa!"] Rika said.

"What about him?"

["He's– He's–"]

---

30 minutes earlier…

"Okay, the food is set to go." I grinned to myself looking at the table of food. I was in the makeshift mess hall using the spare rations that the platoon and with Rika and some soldiers helping me out, we were able to cook up a mean dinner.

Rika smiled as she said, "It looks delicious, Kurogasa. And it's certainly better than what we've been having the past few weeks."

"Well, it's a good thing Koji came to my rescue, otherwise I'd stay six feet under forever." I said.

Rika chuckled as she said, "Well, we're all glad that he found you. I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to you."

"Yeah, I'm glad too." I smiled gently.

Just then, a soldier came into the mess hall. "Sir, the scouts have reported a jeep coming towards our base."

"Huh? But, Captain Brenner and those soldiers from 1st Platoon and Tech Platoon didn't take any jeeps." I replied confused.

"Well, it's certainly not one of ours." The soldier said.

"Is it the enemy?" Rika gasped.

"To be honest, we're not sure ma'am." The soldier replied.

Looking to one another, Rika and I nodded at each other before following the soldier out of the mess hall and to where the jeep was.

Stepping out of was a very nervous looking man who, looking at his lab coat, appeared to be some sort of scientist. He was talking very nervously to himself as we approached. "Oh man, why… I thought I was heading in the direction of my base… Oh, man, I hope these guys aren't raiders…"

"Uh… can we help you?" I asked confused, raising an eyebrow.

The man gave a very unmanly yelp, leaping into the arms of the soldier next to him who promptly dropped him. When he got up and dusted himself off, he said, trying to be as brave as he could, "W-When ZECT hears–hears what you're doing to me… You–You'll b–be sorry!"

Rika looked confused, "ZECT?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

The scientist blinked in confusion at me before saying, "Y–You're not… You're not going to hold me hostage? Torture me for information on the devices?"

"Why would we? I'm just a chef."

"And I'm a doctor. This is the 12th Battalion HQ of the Rubinelle Armed Forces." Rika said.

The scientist breathed a sigh of relief as he said, "Oh, thank the stars! I've been rescued by civilized people!" Sitting down on the front of his jeep, he then added, "I suppose then I can introduce myself: I'm Dr. Heinrich von Stauffenburg, I'm an electrical engineer and was one of Rubinelle's leading minds in the field of artificial intelligence."

"You mean like aliens?" I asked.

Stauffenburg shook his head. "You're thinking of extraterrestrial intelligence. I'm talking about artificial intelligence, like androids, robots, and the like."

"Oh…" I said dumbly.

I'm Dr. Rika Ryusaki. I'm the battalion's doctor and this is my friend Kurogasa Kururugi. He's the chef." Rika introduced. "What's a scientist like you doing all the way out here?"

Stauffenburg looked both ways quickly, as if he was trying to see if he was being watched. "I was being attacked." he finally admitted.

"Attacked? Attacked by what exactly?" I asked.

"Sorry, but that's kinda classified."

"Huh?" Rika and I said in disbelief.

Stauffenburg sighed as he said, "I'm sorry, but the company I work for, ZECT, was very clear that I keep what I'm doing a secret."

"What's ZECT?" Rika questioned.

"Sorry, but that's classified too."

Rika and I deflated at that.

"C'mon, how can we help you if you keep your mouth shut?" I asked.

The scientist sighed as he said, "I'm sorry, but I just can't– YOOOOOOOOU!" He suddenly shouted, leaping off the front of the jeep and pointing somewhere behind me. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you and your friends have put me through!?"

"Uh… what are you doing?" I asked confused.

"Sorry, he's talking to me." A voice said from behind me.

"Huh? Who said that?" I asked looking around wildly.

"Over here." The voice said. I looked over my left shoulder and saw… a hand–sized red mechanical Japanese rhinoceros beetle? "Hi!"

"Whoa!" Rika and I said startled as we backed off and the strange mechanical beetle got off my shoulder and hovered in the air.

As I looked at the thing in amazement, it flew close up to me and said happily, "My name's Kabuto… What's your name?"

"Um… Kurogasa…" I said uncertain.

The robot beetle flew around me a few times, making me feel like it was sizing me up. "Hmmm… I like you! A lot more than that stuffy scientist over there, anyway."

"Who are you calling stuffy?!" Stauffenburg snapped.

The beetle seemed to ignore him, so Rika asked, "Um… Hi there, Kabuto. I'm Rika. I, uh… I don't mean to sound rude, but… what… exactly are you? I've never seen anything like you before."

"Oh me? I'm a ZECTer!"

Rika and I looked at the mechanical beetle strangely, "A ZECTer?" we asked. But before he could say anymore, Stauffenburg grabbed the mechanical beetle to shut him up.

"What are you doing?! That's classified!"

Kabuto struggled in Stauffenburg's hands, trying to get out as he mumbled out, "Remme ger, I wusn't phinished talkun (Lemme go, I wasn't finished talking)!"

"Well, that's enough talking out of you Mister!" Stauffenburg snapped.

All of a sudden, we heard gunfire, *RATATATATATATATATATATA!*

Stauffenburg shrieked, "AHHHH!" letting go of Kabuto as he leapt into the air, this time… grabbing onto my head like a koala, causing me to fall over.

"Get off of me!" I snapped. I pushed Stauffenburg off of me as I got myself back onto my feet.

Kabuto floated next to my head as he said, "Uh–oh, sounds like we got trouble comin'!"

"What's going on?" Rika asked.

"Ahhhhh, what are you?! Get away from me!" A voice shouted.

"Keep firing! Keep firing!" Another shouted.

Kabuto then gasped as he shouted, "Oh no! The Worm found us!"

Now I was really confused, "Worm?" I asked.

"As in like an earthworm?" Rika added.

"Not that kind of Worm. I meant an alien Worm that came from outer space thanks to those meteors that hit this planet!"

Rika and I looked at the mechanical beetle in shock, "WHAT?!"

Kabuto then looked to me confused as he said, "You mean you guys didn't know?"

"NO!"

"Oh…" Kabuto replied before turning to us as he said, "Well, those Worms are alien invaders capable of copying the identities of life forms they come in contact with. They came in those meteorites to take over Earth!"

"Kabuto, that's classified!" Stauffenburg shouted.

Kabuto looked to him and gave Stauffenburg a big "SHOOSH!" Then, turning back to me, he asked, "You wanna help me defeat this one, Kurogasa?"

"Me? How could I help? I'm just a chef!" I said incredulously.

Kabuto got very close to my face as he said, "You may think you're just a chef, but I can see you got the heart of warrior in you. If you team up with me, I can help you transform into a Kamen Rider!"

"A… Kamen Rider?" I asked.

"Man, you ask a lot of questions." Kabuto said.

"That's because we're dealing with something unknown and we need to know." I pointed out.

"Look out!" The soldier that accompanied us, shouted.

We ducked just in time to avoid being knocked over by another soldier that was thrown through the air. "What the–" Was all the time I had to say before I finally saw it, the Worm Kabuto had told us about.

"What the heck is that?!" Rika said horrified.

"That's the Worm I talked about!" Kabuto pointed out.

It was insectoid like, with an emerald green color. Its shiny exoskeleton gave the appearance of an insect chrysalis given humanoid form. Its left hand had five fingers, albeit clawed ones, the right hand had instead three: a normal sized thumb and two very long scythe–like claws. However, perhaps most bizarre was that extending from its skeletal torso were what appeared to be the bones of two arms reaching up to cover the eyes of its face which looked like a smiling human skull.

Rika gagged as she said, "It's disgusting!"

Kabuto then nudged as he said, "Well, what are you waiting for!? Let's do it, aibou!"

"Uh…" I said uncertain. But before anything could happen, I noticed something strange with the Worm. "Kabuto…? What's happening to that thing now?" I asked as the Worm suddenly letting off steam and was changing color.

The mechanical beetle gasped as he said, "Oh no! It's changing form! It's maturing! Once it breaks out of its cocoon, it'll be more powerful!"

"Are you serious?!" I asked in disbelief. After a few seconds, it shed off its green pupa form to reveal an even more disgusting insectoid.

When the thing finally evolved, the Worm appeared to be a humanoid locust. It had a yellowish green exoskeleton with bulging purple eyes. Coming from its head were long antennae. Its legs were long and bent back for jumping. Underneath the shell of its back were three pairs of reflective, rainbow-like wings. And at the end of its arms were scythe–like blades like those of a praying mantis. This was the Locust Worm.

"Yabai… this isn't good…" Kabuto whimpered.

All of a sudden, the Locust Worm was gone in a flash.

"What the–"

"Oh no, it Clocked Up!"

"What does that mean?" Rika asked in a panic, trying to see the creature.

"The Worm's moving at the speed of light!"

I asked in shock, "The speed of light?! How is that possible!?" before seeing several of the soldiers on the base go flying.

"Oh man, this isn't good!" Stauffenburg said. "Alright, normally I wouldn't do this, but there's no other way. Kurogasa, I'll allow you to use Kabuto!"

"Wait, what?!" I asked confused. "What are ya talking about?"

"Kabuto, where's the Rider belt you carried around?!" Stauffenburg asked the ZECTer, ignoring me.

Kabuto titled himself up, so his horn was pointing upwards, revealing the Rider Belt was still attached to his feet. "It's right here!"

"How did it get there?" I asked baffled. "I didn't see you carry that on your feet!"

"I folded it up to my underside!" Kabuto shouted. "Now come on! Let's do this!" He then tossed me the Rider Belt. "Put it on your waist like a belt buckle!"

"Uh… okay?" I said, before I did what Kabuto told me to do. Suddenly, a belt extended from the buckle, going around my waist and attaching to the other side. "Alright, what do I do next?"

"Let me do the rest!" Kabuto said before flying around me and finding the tracks on the buckle, he slid on and locked into place and I heard mechanical sounds after he shouted, "Henshin!"

HENSHIN!

Suddenly hexagon panels formed from my belt and it kept spreading out all over my body until I was finally encased in the stuff. For some reason I don't know, I knew what I looked like.

My body was concealed in a black bodysuit, but the rest of it was concealed in heavy steel armor. The torso was thick and blocky with a high collar and the only color is around the collarbone area. The shoulder plating is rounded with silver steel and red on the undersides. Black disks reside near the joints, and the left one sported a red rhino beetle insignia for its makers, ZECT. The arms are layered with circular metal segments protecting the arms, and the helmet was also a piece of thick silver steel complete with a round blue visor and a crest of horns on the forehead.

I touched myself all over my legs, chest, arms, and head, looking down. "Eh? EH?! EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!"

"You like your new look?" Kabuto asked cheekily. "Kurogasa, you're now Kamen Rider Kabuto in Masked Form! Now, we can start kicking some Worm butt!"

"Yeah, but I'm not exactly the fighting type!" I pointed out.

"Just trust your instincts! And if you really need help, I can help!"

"O–Ok." I nodded.

That's when Rika ran, found, and got a radio from the supply tent. "Koji, can you hear me?! It's Rika!" She panicked.

["Rika, this isn't exactly a good time right now!"] Koji shouted back over the other end.

"It's Kurogasa!"

["What about him?"]

"He's– He's–"

["He's what!? Is he okay!? Is– DANG! Those bullets are getting way too close!"]

"Just get over here! You need to see this!" Rika shouted before turning off the radio.

As Rika finished, I suddenly felt something powerful slam into me, sending me flying backwards, "AHHH!"

"Kurogasa," Rika cried out, as I landed on my back.

"Ow…" I groaned.

Kabuto groaned in frustration as he said, "Maybe you're gonna need more help than I thought."

---

"Rika, are you there?! Come in, Rika!" Koji shouted, but there was no answer. "Crap!" He gritted before radioing Brenner. "Captain, I just got word from HQ! Something's going on over there!"

["Copy that, Sarge! We appreciate the stop in fire from those tanks, but where are you and your men?"] Brenner inquired.

"We're being pinned down here by The Beast and his men! I need some cover fire! What's the status of the extraction of the survivor?"

["We got him."] Lin replied, ["But we need a speedy way to get him back to base!"]

Koji suddenly smirked before firing a few rounds at the Beast's men. "Then maybe it's a good thing B Squad wasn't able to plant the charges on the Humvees."

["You got a plan?"] Lin asked.

"Yeah, I got one. I'll steal one of their Humvees and we'll get back to base that way! Captain, Lieutenant, get the survivor ready! As soon as I pull up to ya, we're going!"

["Nice job, Shinamori!"] Brenner praised. ["But move quickly! We need to deal with whatever disturbance is at the base!"]

"Copy that, over and out!" Koji said before turning off the radio. "Hey guys, give me some cover fire! I'm gonna steal of the Humvees and take the survivor back to base! As soon as I do, blow the charges up and get out of there!"

Once he got two of his men to give him covering fire, he managed to make it through the firestorm of bullets and make his way to one of the Humvees.

"Hey, I'm gonna be borrowing this now! See ya later!" Koji said cheekily to the Beast as he got in the driver's seat.

"DAMN YOU, PUNK!" The Beast shouted as he watched helplessly as Koji rode off with his Humvee.

"Alright, he's outta there! Blow those tanks to kingdom come!" Rusk said. On the command of Koji's second–in–command, the soldier holding the detonator hit the button, sending the tanks to kingdom come.

"NO! NOT MY TANKS!" The Beast roared, before saying, "Grrrr… head for the hills roaches! We're retreating for now!"

The rest of Tech Platoon gave a cheer as the forces of the Beast began their retreat. Rusk looked to the soldiers and said, "Hoorah, boys! Dynamite work! Alright, let's go meet up with the rest of the troop! Move out!"

"Yes sir!"

---

Meanwhile, the other fire fight ensued and Brenner and Lin were firing at the enemy with their pistols protecting the survivor. The young man in question seemed to be about to be in his late teens, possibly 19 with mid–length brown two–toned hair with the front part seeming white with the back part being brown and defined eyelashes. He also had black eyes, peach skin, stood about 5'9", and was dressed in a white t–shirt, a tan Rubinelle Army uniform shirt with the sleeves rolled up, red fingerless gloves, a blue tie, tan pants, brown shoes, and a gear belt with a pistol on it.

"Hang on Will, transport is on the way." Brenner assured.

The young man, now identified as Will, grunted and nodded as the medic patched up his wounds. "O–Okay…"

Just then, Koji came, riding up in a Humvee as the firing went down a bit. Smirking, he leaned out the window and said, "I managed to get a great deal on this baby down at the repo lot!"

"Nice timing Sarge!" Lin said.

"Is that the survivor?" Koji asked.

"Yes, this is Will. He's a Cadet at the Rubinelle Military Academy!" Brenner explained.

"He's a cadet?! No wonder The Beast was preying on him!" Koji said in disbelief.

Lin nodded, popping up over the Humvee to shoot at some of the trailing soldiers of the Beast as she said, "Yes, and now that've we gone through the obvious, I think it would be a good idea to get him in the Humvee and back to base to get healed!"

"Right; and we have to figure what disturbance we have over at the base! Get in!" Koji said.

Brenner hopped into the Humvee shotgun as Lin and the two medics tending Will carried him in. Once they were all in, Koji revved the engine and drove back to base as the rest of 1st Platoon and Tech Platoon covered their escape, holding off the last stragglers of the Beast's soldiers.

---

Gah! This is not what I had in mind! I'm getting my butt kicked all over the place by this Worm thing!

No matter how hard I tried, I was finding that in Masked Form, the Worm was just way too fast for me to keep up with when it Clocked Up. "Ugh…" I groaned, pushing myself up after the Locust Worm's last attack, "Kabuto… There has to be some other way I can fight that thing… something to even the odds, right?"

"There is, but that Locust Worm ain't letting ya do that!" Kabuto said.

"Well, you mind telling me what it is so I can make a plan to let me do it!?" I shouted.

"Catch!" Stauffenburg suddenly shouted, throwing something to me and I caught it. It was a weapon that was a mix of an axe and gun together. It also looked like a dagger of sorts can be pulled out too.

"What is it?" I asked.

"That's the Kunai Gun! It has three modes: Gun, Dagger, and Axe mode! It should help you out!"

Looking at the gun quickly, I said, "Seeing as it's too fast for me to get in close, best to start with Gun Mode. Alright, take this!" I then pulled the trigger, shooting just in time to hit the Worm as it tried to attack me, sending it flying backwards.

"Nice job!" Rika cheered.

"Alright," I cheered too. "Let's try Axe Mode next!" I said, before holding it by the barrel so that I was holding it like an axe. This time, I waited for the Worm to try and charge me again. Knowing it was moving faster than me, I needed to time my attack just right. When it came, flying towards me, I saw it move in and just before it slashed me, I slashed it instead, sending a stream of sparks off its chest as it fell back.

"Good going, aibou, you got it on the ropes now!" Kabuto praised.

"Thanks. I think I'm starting to get the hang of this." I said.

Kabuto then said, "Alright, but if we're gonna finish this thing off, we're gonna need to shed a little weight."

"How do I do that?" I asked, but before he could answer, we heard the sound of a vehicle coming towards the base.

"Whoa!" Koji shouted from the front seat. "What the heck are those two!?" He exclaimed, pointing to me and the Worm.

"I've never seen anything like it." Lin said.

"What's going on?" Brenner asked.

"Koji, there you are!" Rika shouted as the Humvee came, closing in on our position.

"Rika, what's goin on here?" He asked, still in the Humvee.

The Locust Worm then got back on its feet and set its eyes on Rika and the others in the Humvee, giving an insect–like clicking noise from its mandibles.

"This is bad! Kurogasa, it's about to attack them! You gotta Cast Off the armor!" Kabuto cried out.

"How do I do that?" I asked in a panic, wanting to stop that thing before it hurt my friends.

"Flip my horn slightly so the armor can spread out a little. Then you can flip my horn back completely!"

"O–Ok, I'll do that!" I said, before I did what I was told. I flipped Kabuto's horn slightly and I heard a charging noise as blue electricity crackled in my armor. The segmented armor on my arms spread out a bit, letting out steam, before the bulky armor on my torso, shoulders, and head did the same thing.

"Now say Cast Off and flip my horn completely!" Kabuto said.

"Right, here goes!" I said before holding on Kabuto's horn, "Cast Off!" I then flipped the horn to the other side letting the gold part of his horn that's under Kabuto show and his back slid open.

CAST OFF!

Suddenly, the pieces of my armor went flying off in little parts straight towards the Worm.

"Rika, look out!" Koji shouted, leaping out of the Humvee to try and protect her.

"AHHHHHHH, GET AWAY!" Rika screamed as the Locust Worm went towards her and Koji covered her. However, before it could get to them, the Worm was knocked away by the ejected parts of my armor.

Meanwhile, a horn appendage looking like a Japanese rhino beetle's horn rose up from my chest armor and locked in place in the middle, bisecting the visor.

CHANGE: BEETLE!

---

BGM: Full Force by RIDER Chips feat. Ricky

Looking at myself now, my armor is noticeably smaller than my Masked Form, and it appears much more maneuverable. My arms were free of the metal plating, minimally protected only by single sheets of steel running along my arms. The shoulder pads were red with a silver trim, fitting the curve of my real shoulders, appearing lightweight with an easy fit. My torso armor was completely crimson and looked thicker than the rest, but still light. The chest plate even looked like the back of a beetle's shell, covering my abdomen. My helmet was also red, and as said earlier, the horn appendage looking like a Japanese rhino beetle's horn rose up from my chest armor and locked in place in the middle, bisecting the visor, giving the appearance of two large blue eyes instead of the single visor of before.

"Captain, are you seeing this?" Lin gasped.

"I see, but I don't believe." Brenner said wide eyed.

Kabuto then said, "Kurogasa, say hello to Kamen Rider Kabuto – Rider Form."

"Sweet," I said looking over myself.

Kabuto murmured in agreement before saying, "In this form, you should be able to finish of the Worm as you now can Clock Up as well, putting you on an even footing."

"How do I do that?"

"See that square button on your right side of the belt?" Kabuto asked. I looked down and noticed it, making me nod. "Press it."

Eyeing the button, I pressed it down.

CLOCK UP!

As soon as I pressed the button, my whole world slowed down instantly, surprising me. "What the–"

"You're in Clock Up mode! You're moving at the speed of light!" Kabuto said.

Looking around, I saw the Locust Worm as it got up and started moving again, wanting to get me this time. However, now that I was moving at his speed, he didn't seem nearly as fast. "This is great! I can actually fight him now!"

"Then go for it!" Kabuto encouraged. Nodding, I ran forward, dodging a slash from the Worm before cutting it with my ax and then gave it a kick to the head. "Good! Good! Now hit him with your dagger! Hold the barrel of the Kunai Gun and a dagger should slide out!" Kabuto said.

Doing as my ZECTer instructed, I switched the gun to Kunai Mode. "Alright, what do I do now?"

"Slash at him!"

Kabuto finished just in time for me to dodge another attack from the Locust Worm, though this time it was far more ferocious. We went back and forth, exchanging slashes with our blades.

"Man, this guy is getting aggressive now." I commented.

"Then I think it's time to finish him off!" Kabuto stated. "It's to use your secret weapon: the Rider Kick!"

I asked, "Rider Kick?"

Before Kabuto could say any more–

CLOCK OVER!

Eh?!

Suddenly, I found myself going back to normal speed, only to have my body get slashed all over as the Worm kept going at light speed, "AGH!" I yelled as sparks flew off my armor and I fell to the ground. "Ka–Kabuto… Wha–What… What happened?"

"You ran out of time." Kabuto stated. "I forgot to mention that you only have a limited time to be in Clock Up mode."

"That bit of info would've been good before!" I complained, only to get kicked again by the Worm, causing me to knock over the jeep I got hit into. "Ugh… What do I do now?"

"Hang in there, Kurogasa!" Rika cried out.

"Eh? That armored guy is Kurogasa?!" Koji asked shocked.

"I'll explain later, Koji! Right now, we gotta help Kurogasa!" Rika exclaimed.

"Right," Koji said then shouted to the Worm, "Hey ugly!" getting its attention. Immediately, Koji grabbed a rocket launcher from the back of the Humvee and, in his best Al Pacino impression, shouted, "Say hello to my little friend!" He pulled the trigger and fired the RPG at the Locust Worm. The Worm stupidly tried to grab the RPG, but it exploded in his grip, sending it back into one of the tents set up on base.

"Hah! How do ya like me now?" Koji boasted.

"Nice job Koji!" Brenner praised.

"Still… Kurogasa being… in that armor…" Lin said stunned. "It's incredible…"

"What… What is he?" A guy who looked in his teens asked, who I've never seen before. Is that the survivor?

Rika looked to the survivor and said, "According to Kabuto, the robot beetle on his waist, he's a Kamen Rider."

Koji, Brenner, Lin, and the survivor looked confused, "Kamen Rider?"

"I can explain that later." Stauffenburg said.

"And who are you?" Brenner asked.

"Again, I'll explain later. Right now, Kurogasa has to defeat that Worm."

As the Worm got back on its feet and growled at Koji, I looked to Kabuto and asked, "Aibou, that Rider Kick thing you mentioned. It can finish off the Worm, right? How do I do it?"

"See the buttons on the side of my feet?" Kabuto said. "Press them from left to right."

"Okay." I nodded.

1!

2!

3!

"Now close me back up and put my horn back into place." Kabuto said next. I did as he requested and adjusted his controls. "Now flip my horn slightly to charge up for the kick." I grabbed hold of Kabuto's horn and flipped slightly, charging up the attack. Hearing the charging noise again the Locust Worm noticed me charging up for my attack and ran towards me before jumping at me.

"NOW FLIP MY HORN BACK!" Kabuto shouted, and I flipped the horn back to its place so that the gold part of his horn that's under him show and his back slid open again.

RIDER KICK!

Blue electricity crackled from Kabuto before it traveled up to the beetle horn on my helmet, and then down my right leg ending on my foot and as soon as the Locust Worm was really close to me, I did a 180 roundhouse kick, hitting my target, having my back facing the Locust Worm.

The Worm screeched out loud as it took the force of the blow, its body being covered by the electricity. Several seconds later, the alien exploded in a yellowish–green fiery explosion.

End BGM

---

"Wohoo, he did it!" Stauffenburg cheered.

"Amazing…" Rika said in awe.

"Dang…" Koji muttered, "I gotta get me one of those…"

"Incredible…" The survivor said in amazement.

"Yes… I've never seen anything like it." Brenner asked as Kabuto detached from my belt and my armor broke down into hexagon panels before being absorbed into the belt. Koji and Rika then ran over to me as I sat down on a fallen beam, breathing a sigh of relief while Kabuto sat on my shoulder.

"Bro, that was amazing!" Koji exclaimed. "How did you do that?"

"To be honest, I don't know…" I answered.

Rika then hugged me tightly, pressing her cheek against mine. "Well no matter how you did it, you're a hero!"

"OW! OW! OW! Go easy with the hug Rika!" I winced in pain. "That Worm did a number on me!"

Rika let me go, blushing in embarrassment as she said, "Sorry… You okay, though?"

Stauffenburg, meanwhile, was busy typing away at his laptop. "Oh, wow! That was amazing! The Masked Rider Project has exceeded expectations by 200%! Oh, this is FANTASTIC!"

"Who's that guy?" Koji asked with a confused deadpan.

"Uh… that's a long story." I sweat dropped.

"Then we can talk about it over dinner." Brenner said, approaching me along with Lin and the survivor. "I have to admit, it was impressive."

"Thanks, Captain." I said with a sheepish grin, scratching my cheek.

---

And so with that, after cleaning up around the base, and the rest of the soldiers that went out, coming back, we all went to the makeshift mess hall which thankfully wasn't destroyed by the Worm. The survivor introduced himself as Will, a Cadet from the once Rubinelle Military Academy. He was in the cafeteria eating lunch when the meteors hit and was able to get out, but the Beast got to him, and was about to kill him until Brenner and his team arrived.

"Wow, looks like we managed to get there just in time." Koji said, taking a bite of his chicken.

"Yeah, I thought I was gonna die, until you showed up." Will said.

"You did well to stay alive. I'm impressed." Brenner said.

"I didn't want to die."

"But anyways, now that things have calmed down, I can properly introduce myself. I'm Captain Brenner. I command the 12th Battalion, pride of the Rubinelle Army. And this is my second in command…"

"First Lieutenant Lin," Lin nodded. "Welcome to Brenner's Wolves."

"Thank you, Sir, Ma'am." Will answered.

Koji then said, "I'm Staff Sergeant Koji Shinamori, platoon sergeant for the 12th's Tech Platoon. These are my friends, Dr. Rika Ryusaki, our head doctor, and Kurogasa Kururugi, our chef."

Will looked at me in amazement. "Your chef is the guy who managed to destroy that freaky monster thing?"

"Well, yeah…" I laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of my head.

"Speaking of which, bud," Koji said, turning back to me, "Maybe now you can explain to the rest of us what the deal was with that alien… and the little robot beetle on your shoulder… and the eccentric and slightly creepy scientist."

"HEY!"

"Um… Sorry?" Koji shrugged to Stauffenburg.

"I'll have the scientist here explain it. He knows the stuff better than I do." I said.

Stauffenburg sighed as he closed his laptop. "I guess since you guys saved me, I owe you an explanation. I'll start with what I already told Kurogasa and Rika. I'm Dr. Heinrich von Stauffenburg, artificial intelligence expert from Rubinelle, and currently the project leader on a top secret project for ZECT."

"ZECT, you say?" Brenner said, his tone indicating he was familiar with the word.

"You know them?" I asked, puzzled.

Lin nodded, explaining to me, "ZECT was a well–respected but secretive weapons research and development corporation. Many of Rubinelle's most advanced weaponry came out of there."

"Exactly, thus was the reason why I always say that our stuff is classified."

"Yeah, I noticed…" I deadpanned.

"Anyway," Stauffenburg said, giving me the stink eye before continuing, "Given my skill in artificial intelligence, I was assigned as the lead designer on the ZECTer project, ZECTers being the robotic creatures like Kabuto. They were developed to fight the Worms."

"You mean that creature Kurogasa fought?" Brenner asked.

"Yes. These Worms can blend into the human population by copying the faces of their victims along with their memories. They only require a look at the human to copy their image, but once done so, they will kill the original at all costs. The Worm believes the person that was mimicked now exists as a part of them due the fact they also acquired their victims' personalities." Stauffenburg explained before adding, "In other words, the Worms can and will copy your entire existence."

Koji, Rika, Will, and I shuddered at the thought while Lin and Brenner frowned with worry.

"Oh man…" Koji muttered.

"That's pretty scary…" Rika trembled.

"These aliens are capable of doing such a thing?" Will asked.

"Yes." Stauffenburg said before opening his laptop and typed a few keystrokes before turning it around to show to us the Worm in its pupa state and adult state. "There are two stages to the Worms. The first is the Salis Form, taking on the shape of a chrysalis. A Worm in a Salis state normally have a green body, but there have been scenarios where it was not so. After a Worm is threatened or endangered, it goes to the second stage and it will molt, to reveal a stronger form that can move at blinding speeds which comes from their high metabolism."

"The Clock Up mode…" I muttered.

"That's right, Kurogasa. And after further research, it's later revealed that the Worms don't need to naturally molt, and their "cast" can be broken off or shattered. They also have the ability to revert back into a Salis form if necessary. And when a Worm is destroyed, it explodes into flames that share its predominant color."

"I see…" Lin said.

"So where did these Worms come from?" Will asked.

Stauffenburg pointed to the sky above and said, "They arrived in the meteors from outer space, originating on some far off planet."

"Excuse me?" Lin raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"You're meaning to say that those Worms came from the meteors that hit the Earth?" Brenner asked, looking shocked.

Stauffenburg nodded as he said, "Correct. That meteor shower was no accident… It was a stealth invasion."

We all looked at him in shock and disbelief, "WHAAAAAAAAT?!"

"Why would they want to invade Earth?" Rika asked.

"Earth's population was the closest one big enough to provide identities for their whole species." Stauffenburg explained.

"Besides the obvious…" Rika deadpanned.

"The Natives wanted us to protect them."

"Who are the Natives?" Koji asked confused.

"They are another species of Worms, but unlike the hostile ones, the Natives are peaceful and want to coexist." Standing up, Stauffenburg walked over to me and pointed to Kabuto. "As a matter of fact, they're the ones who helped me design and build the ZECTers."

"They built the ZECTers?" I asked.

"They sure did! Their technology was far too advanced than our own. I couldn't comprehend it at first, when they first showed me the blueprints for the ZECTers."

"Just how many of these ZECTers are there?" Koji asked curiously.

"There were five we built: Kabuto, Gatack, TheBee, Drake, and Sasword."

"And you based them off of the insects of our world?" Lin questioned.

"Yes." Stauffenburg nodded. "Kabuto is of course a red rhino beetle, Gatack is a blue stag beetle, TheBee is a yellow wasp, Drake is a cyan dragonfly, and Sasword is a purple scorpion."

"Then where are the rest of these ZECTers?" Will asked.

Stauffenburg gulped, pulling on his collar as he said, "Yes, um… about that…"

"We all kinda ran away..." Kabuto admitted.

"You ran away?" Will blinked.

"Well, more like flew away if you wanna get technical. Sasword did the actual running, or in his case, scuttled away."

"Why'd you guys run off?" I asked Kabuto.

"It's a bit hard to explain, but… the thing is, despite ZECT having picked Riders for us, because of our sentience, we are designed to pick the candidates we want to pair up with as Kamen Riders."

Brenner raised an eyebrow at Kabuto, "Kamen Riders?"

"It means 'Masked,'" Kabuto explained.

"He wants to know who they are." Lin clarified.

"Oh, right!" Kabuto said. "Kamen Riders/Masked Riders is the name given to the users of the ZECTers, hence the Masked Rider Project. Harnessing our power, they become encased in armor like Kurogasa was and gain access to a set of abilities that allow them to fight on par with a Worm."

"So… they're like super soldiers?" Rika asked.

"To an extent, yeah," Kabuto nodded

Looking to Stauffenburg, I asked, "So then these other four ZECTers are looking for people they think will make suitable partners/Riders?"

"Yep, I still have their attachment devices with me, so once we find them, maybe someone in the 12th Battalion can use them."

Lin looked to Brenner and said, "Those could certainly come in handy, Captain; especially if we run into more of those Worms."

"That's true." Brenner said. "Alright then, we'll rest up tonight and move out first thing in morning after breakfast. We still need to look for more survivors."

Stauffenburg then said, "Say, uh, Captain… I don't suppose you could find a place for me here in the battalion?" Nervously, he scratched the back of his head and said, "ZECT isn't gonna be too happy with me, and… besides that, I think I could be more help here."

"Of course, you're more than welcome." Brenner nodded.

The scientist breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Perfect! You won't regret it, Captain! With my scientific knowledge at your disposal, no one'll be able to stop you!"

"Let's not jump the gun yet. I'm not a guy who's all into science, but I'm sure you'll be a great asset in our battalion." Brenner said.

"I'm glad to hear you say that." Stauffenburg smiled.

---

"Whoo, what a day…" I sighed, as I plopped down on my sleeping bag.

Koji, my new roommate as he volunteered to let me stay with him even though as a battalion staff member earned a room of his own, chuckled as he sat down on his cot, taking out his blue electric guitar and began to softly play a blues riff. "You're telling me. First was that big victory against the Beast, then you becoming a superhero, more or less."

"Yeah, and I got a new friend in the form of a red mechanical rhino beetle." I added.

Kabuto came, flying into the room, buzzing happily as he rested on the desk and said, "Yep! And we're gonna be really good friends!"

Koji chuckled as he said, still playing, "You seem like a pretty cool dude, Kabuto. Who knows? Maybe if I'm lucky, I can team up with one of your friends."

"Hmmmmm…" Kabuto said as he flew over to Koji and circled around him. "Looking at you, I think you'd be good with Gatack."

"He's the stag beetle, right?" I asked, sliding into my sleeping bag.

"Yes, he is." Kabuto chirped.

Just then, the flap from our tent entrance opened up to reveal… Lin?

Koji hopped up to attention, "Lieutenant!"

Lin raised a hand. "At ease, I only want to talk with Kurogasa."

He gave me a grin before turning back to her as he said, "I'll leave you two alone then, Ma'am."

I shot Koji a glare as he and Kabuto went out before turning back to Lin. "What's up?" I asked as I got out of my sleeping bag.

"First of all, I'd like to say you did very well fighting off against that Worm."

"Uh… thanks." I said, slightly blushing.

"However… seeing your fight, I noticed that you only relied on your instincts, and that alone isn't going to help you survive in the world we live in now."

I looked at her sheepishly as I said, "Yeah, well… I've never had any formal combat training before."

"That's why I've come here. I want to teach you combat training."

"You want to teach me to fight?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes. With those Worms out there, you need to be prepared and know how to fight properly. So what do you say?"

I thought about her proposal for a while, and when I really think about it, it's definitely the best suggestion. When I fought the Locust Worm, I only relied on pure instincts. But as Lin said, that alone won't help and save me from seeing another day. I need to get stronger and better, so that I don't have to be a burden to anyone.

"You got yourself a deal." I nodded.

"Good answer." Lin scoffed with a smirk. "We'll start training after we move out and find a place to set up camp. Don't think I'll go easy on you though."

"I don't think you look like someone that would go easy on anyone." I said. "But I'll do my best."

"Good. Now get some rest. We got long day tomorrow."

"Okay. Good night." I said.

"Good night." Lin replied, before she went out of the tent and Koji came back in.

Koji smirked at me, leaning against the wall as he said, "So, should I be expecting a sock on the door?"

"Are you really gonna joke me right now?" I groaned with a facepalm.

He chuckled as he strode over to his bed and picked up his guitar again. "When do I ever not joke you when I have the chance?"

"Ugh… I'm not even gonna answer that."

Koji chuckled again before he began to play again. "So, seriously, what did the lieutenant wanna talk about?"

"She wanted to personally give me training on hand–to–hand combat."

Koji could barely keep from grinning as he said, "Is that what they're calling it these days?"

"What do you mean?" I asked confused.

Koji gave me a deadpan look before face palming. "Ugh… you're hopeless, sometimes… I was joking that it was euphemism for doing the horizontal tango… Think about it."

I thought about it for a moment before I groaned with a facepalm. "I'm not even gonna comment on that."

Koji shook his head before he began to play more blue riffs on his guitar. Looking to him, I asked, "You've started playing the blues now? Whatever happened to my buddy, the disco–loving ladies' man who always got the girls?"

Koji sighed sadly as he said, "After everything that's happened… Disco's groove didn't seem appropriate to me. It was all about fun and the joy of being alive. But after so much death… the musician in me got a lot more melancholy."

"Yeah, I noticed." I said. "Look I didn't mean to–"

"No it's okay. Things just happen and we gotta do what we can." He then gave me a sad smile as he said, "I know you didn't mean any offense." He then gave a soft chuckle as he said, "On the bright side, it's given me a chance to brush the rust off my guitar skills."

"Yeah, that much is true." I chuckled back. "Ever since you got into disco, you got rusty on the guitar."

Koji nodded as he said, "Yeah… mainly because guitar wasn't as prevalent in it."

I should probably give you guys a quick recap: As you know, Koji and I were best friends along with Rika. Our parents had all been best friends. For as long as I could remember, Koji had a passion for music, any kind. He loved the way it could inspire emotion in people. One day, while we were exploring his attic, Koji found a trunk full of his dad's old stuff from the 1970s: platform shoes, puka shells, Bee Gees records, and everything. And Koji loved it all. So, he started dressing in disco inspired threads, started talking the lingo, learned all the dances, everything. And the girls loved it, turning him into even more of a ladies' man than he was. Wanted to go to college to study music and open his own disco label, bring it back so people could enjoy the fun of it all again. Of course… after the meteor shower… Well, I guess you can already see for yourselves.

"Well, I don't know about you two." Kabuto finally said. "But this beetle is ready to snooze away."

Koji nodded in agreement, putting his guitar away. "I'm with you, little dude. After today's excitement, I could use a few winks."

"Yeah, me too," I said before sliding into the sleeping bag again. "I'll see you two in the morning."

"Alright, goodnight guys," Koji said as he turned out the lamp and hopped into his cot.

Kabuto then landed next to me, crawled into the sleeping bag slightly, and curled up on the part of my pillow that wasn't taken by my head. "Night, aibou,"

"Good night." I said before we fell asleep. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better. With the world we live in now and everything happening… somehow… someway… we have to survive…

---

Fen: Well, what a way to kick off my return! How do you like the chapter huh? Was it amazing or what!

Audience: WHEW! YEAH! ALRIGHT! *continues to clap and cheer*

SD: Haha! Sounds like they like it!

Fen: Thanks everyone!

SD: Glad you enjoyed, and hope, you guys come back for the next chapter and check out our other stories! And always, be sure to review!

Fen: Thanks for reading!