March 24th 2012, Somewhere in Southern Africa
"The excavation had lasted quite a while longer than our proposed time period. The University must be furious with us? And who could blame them? Fourteen grown men who are digging in the dirt. Word had leaked sometime ago (at least at Southampton), that Shaka, the despot was one of them that terrorized this region of the great dark continent." said Doctor Thaddeus Earl teacher from the Southampton community. A little unorthodox. He sat behind his makeshift desk as he jotted down some of his thoughts into his longhand journal. He is a real hand's on man; he really enjoys getting the students involved, even if that leads to illegal activities. But that was not as important as what they were doing in South Africa, they were searching publicly for an undisclosed battle site of Shaka Zulu's campaigns. But that was not true.
"Doctor! I think we've discovered something quite significant!" the doctor stood and followed one of his pro bono assistants. He eagerly lead him down the inclination to "the pit", they walked into the newly excavated area. Down into the makeshift tent, Fred turned on an electric torch as they entered into an even darker area. Fred quickly turned off the torch as they entered the latest room.
"Fred what in God's name... " But then Doctor Earl's mouth slowly dropped open as another light quickly filled the covered room. What followed the birth of this mysterious light was the soft sound of a drum beat that seemed to grow in volume within several second intervals of 15 to 25 seconds. It was as if an ancient drum was being beaten right next to the two men's ears. Then a bright flash enveloped the room and the drumming disappeared. Suddenly, there were screams coming from outside the tent. Both men barely had enough time to turn about before they came face to face with a cloaked group of men.
"The Last Man who attempts to progress mankind towards his enfeebling design for humanity, that same man who seeks only comfort, is tired of the mediocrity of life but is unwilling to cause the change needed for progress. You are one of those men Doctor Thaddeus Earl. You wish for mankind to grow stale, impotent and dumb. I am one that cannot allow that, I SHALL never allow people like you to progress humanity to such ends!" Both men suddenly fall to the ground. Dead.
The man furls back his hood and the other men vanish folding back into this central man. Upon his hood falling back it reveals, a dark haired figure with a set of piercing silver eyes. His ears were quite longer than most and they came to a point on the end. His skin a pale shade of ivory he walked past the fallen men and towards what they were looking at. He grasps the tarp and with a firm tug collapses the entire tent onto himself. Slicing a large hole through the material, a rainbow cannonade of color bursts into the sky.
Suddenly, the material catches fire and quickly burns into nothingness. The man stood, dressed in the darkest armor with platinum lining the edges and the trim. As he looks down the rainbow light begins to dull. What lay beneath him was a dull black stone sarcophagi with ancient Chinese calligraphy inscribed on it sides. The man raised his arm and the box stood upright. The lid lifted from the box and inside lay four stone belts.
"Finally, the tools of those, which cause our troublesome of annoyances. Now you are mine!" but as the man grabs at the stone belts they vanish, along with the stone sarcophagi. But the man did not seem at all surprised by this; merely he had no emotion that one could verify. Just a blank stare and an empty face as his eyes looked up to the sky.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Lucas Prescott graduated top of his class. Made all the right choices in his educational career, and most recently has been appointed to Administrative Chief of Aeronautics at NASA. He was making his hourly walkthrough as one of the technicians, pale as a ghost came running down the hall towards him. "What's going wrong, Ando?" said Lucas. Ando Takahashi slowed down and took a moment to check his breath and gain his head.
"Luke, the readings from the Discovery... You will never believe what their cameras caught!" said Ando as he hands the printouts to Lucas. They were turned over so as he turned them around he saw a strange image. Something that could have more than likely have been photoshopped but not from Discovery, not with this group. Ando could be called a lot of thing but a prankster he was not. Lucas took off, if he was going to uncover the truth behind these photos he was going to the source.
He headed down the hall with haste on his feet. He entered "the Nerd realm" where the most intellectual of the NASA team went to relax, play X-Box and just chillax. As Lucas entered the room, it was completely dark except for the television monitors giving off the light of their video games. He felt the wall and the motion activated the lights, as they quickly illuminated the room he heard a choir of groans and booing. Most turned around threw empty pop bottles.
"What are you doing Luke!?" yelled one of the technicians.
"Sorry, guys. I have a question? Which one of you forged these photos? Whoever did it, fess up now, and apologize to poor Ando. He's having his monthly panic attack over these pics. So whoever did it just come forward." the room remained silent, the cliché cricket should have been ideally chirping
"Luke? What are you talking about?" said another as he adjusted his glasses and wipes something orange onto his shirt. Lucas stood there a moment decided to push his luck a little further. He left the room and saw that Ando was just now coming up to "the realm". Lucas rushed down the hall and into command center. He walked down to the head supervisor.
"Chuck, seriously, what's the deal with these photos that Ando brought me?" Charles Cline has a tenure at NASA and surely would know the truth. Charles looked at Lucas from over his glasses. With a look that cut the doubt right from his mind.
"Lucas, there's something you need to see." said Chuck as he began to walk towards his office, following closely, Lucas notices as they walk back up the steps that everyone was staring at him with a somber look on their faces.
They entered into Charles' office. They both took a seat and Charles stays silent for an unusual amount of time. "So what is the deal with these pictures?" said Lucas and again Charles gave him that same cutting look.
"Lucas, how many people have you shown the photos too?" asked Charles.
"No one, sir?" said Lucas, feeling the need to be a bit more formal with his old friend, considering the tone he was receiving it just felt like the right thing to do.
"Good. I was the one that sent Ando to find you. Those images are now top-secret material. All the staff in the radio room have been debriefed on the contents of those photographs." said Lucas.
"And what exactly are the contents on these photographs?" said Lucas.
"What does it look like Lucas?" asked Charles. Then Lucas felt a little unsure if he should answer but decided to say it out loud anyway.
"It appears that gigantic palaces are now satellites around Earth?" said Lucas as he half expected at the very least a smile. But Charles kept a very straight face.
"Those photos were taken about eight hours ago. An unseen force pushed Discovery into Earth's orbit and burned up over the South Pacific. No one survived."
"And no one here will get any inkling to tell the outside about it." as the two men turn and see a radiant platinum haired woman standing in the doorway. She has dark hair and piercing silver eyes, and her long ears come to a point at the end. The two men begin to stand as both suddenly fall over. The woman turns and sheathes an ornate looking sword. As she walks through the offices, everyone is lying on the ground, and all are dead. "We do not forgive those that lead mankind down the path of comfort and mediocrity. The Last Man's world will not come to pass for that is the will of the Nakshatras."
Masked Rider GENBU:
Legend 01: A man in the woods... heralds to the Future.
Opening Theme: "Starlight" by Muse
Legend 01a: A man in the woods...
"Love was something I did not believe could happened in this day and age. But, Chise is everything to me. No matter what our teachers said, she was going to be great no matter what. I think that was why we made so much sense to one another. We met through our parents, like anyone else. Our father's both work for the same company and had met through corporate picnics. I think they had wanted us to eventually get married, we were too young and too independent minded to think that far ahead in our lives. I suppose that makes a lot of sense when you're a child, who is living for the moment. I also now, suspect my parents were just being their usual worrywart selves. Since, in Japan there has been a steady decline in the number of children being born, even around the time that I was born. Which is not just a figure on paper anymore. If you look at Japan, there are more pet owners than there are parents. She was, especially back then, someone that I wanted to just be around and so much of her became what I thought and dreamed about. She just plain amazes me. Truly, with everything she places her heart into.
Her dream is to become someone of influence; of course, that could mean just about anything? I am pretty sure it gave the class advisor many headaches when we attended Hibiya. We began to become more over the summer of our first year of high school. We traveled to Kochi in Shikoku to visit my aunt and uncle. It was a nice holiday and we shared our first kiss walking along the beach, we drank ramune and ate pocchi all night long. We had so much fun blowing all my part-time job money. But I didn't care; slowly but surely she had become the mold from which all other women in my life to come, would be judged according to.
It was in the first semester of college that Chise decided to leave school, wanted to 'find' herself, as if that was ever her problem. I had too much riding on my education; I couldn't muster up the courage to leave home with her. However, we made a promise to find each other that someday; we would meet again after we had found ourselves and be 'Us' again. Then she left and it has already been 3 years. She probably just wanted a reason to get away. She never seemed happy when she was in Tokyo and who could blame her. You ever wonder why the Japanese have the highest suicide rate? If you think that's funny then you must not be Japanese. Granted, I'm not speaking for everyone, most can produce contentment with their lives but not everyone is so lucky. I don't know what her dreams are anymore.
I miss her so very much.
I finally set on my own journey, though mine may be a lot less meaningful than Chise, however, I don't believe I need to make it have meaning. I'll discover it along the way, for that is the meaning behind any true journey. I made it across the sea, and I walked the length of half the United States. It's taken me over 2 years, because of certain pitfalls and setbacks. I went to see one of the great splendors of the north woods. I visited the Lake of the Woods, not really sure why, it just felt like a place to be at the time. So I decided to camp up there for a few weeks. It'd be a great cliff-note for me before I head back to Japan. Been feeling a little homesick the last few months and think it is high time I return home."
Uesugi Shinji, Heisei 24, Aug. 28th (sometime around 20:45 PM)
Shinji awoke to the sound of birds outside his tent as he could feel the mid morning sun heating his tent up like a small solar oven. He stretches and sits up. He let's himself smiles as he happily rubs his eyes and let's out a final yawn. He wipes off the top of his sleeping bag and rocks forward inside his tiny tent and begins to rummage through his bags.
After he finishes getting dressed, he steps out of the tent and looks up at the sky. "Konnichiwa! Ohayou Sekai!" Shinji again stretches seemingly waving at the sun and the plants around him. Then he spots a motorboat as it bobs up and down on the water, it draws closer and he sees the familiar face of the ranger that he had spoken to before he left from Baudette, Minnesota. The man pulled the boat up until it hit land; he shuts off the engine and walks over tossing the anchor down as he jumps out. He waves his hand as Shinji runs up to greet him.
"Mr. Uesugi, how are you doing?" said Robert Goggleye. Shinji extends his hand and they briefly share a handshake.
"Good, Mr. Goggleye. This area is very beautiful." says Shinji.
"That it is. I was just coming to check up on you. Make sure you are all right out here? You know this is the area that was hit with that bizarre wild fire that went through the area about six years ago. I mean, you are just a hair's breadth away from the Gunflint Trail." said Robert.
"Oh, really? I thought as much but it seems the area is coming back from it very well. Much new life has began because of it, so everything found a way of working itself out." as Shinji turns and looks at a charred tree, near the bottom by the roots blades of grass and even a small sapling had begun to push its way through the charcoal remains.
"Well, I see everything is fine. So I think I am going to head back. But if at any time you want to get picked up... you have a cell phone on you right?" asked Robert. Shinji, who is half shaking his head in a befuddled agreement, not really paying the man any attention, He continues to stare, looking down at the small tree that until recently was still hiding inside the old. Dead tree. Robert smiled and shook his head as he launches his boat. Shinji was the kind of person that was amazed by the smallest things that life produces. It was a childlike wonder for life that kept him so grounded. He suddenly snapped out of his trance and ran back to his tent and came out a moment later carrying a small black digital camera. "I better take some pictures for Makotoneechan... and my research paper for when I decide to return to Toudai..." Shinji laughs to himself as he snaps a few more shots. "If I ever decide to return."
After he eats lunch, he got ready to go hiking adjusting the straps on a secondary backpack that he had brought. He took a few deep breaths and started off heading up an incline. Sighs of the fire could still be seen, but life and nature has a way of covering her wounds. Everywhere the grass and small trees were beginning to spout up. As he walks through he periodically stops and takes a few more pictures of the surroundings, he smiled to himself as he took periodical breaths and lets out some fairly heavy sighs as he continues through the area.
As he walks down a small hill, his soul is shaken to its core. He hears a noise similar to ice breaking. Then just as suddenly, the ground disappeared below him as he fell into the darkness of the earth. Now, Shinji could have guessed at how much time has passed. But as he begins to pick himself up he is already beginning to feel the fall. He does a very slow push up his arms scream at him as they tremble under his own weight. He slowly sits up resting on his knees. He rolls his head around and feels his neck pop several times, until he is looking straight up. Light streamed down coming more from his left. He instinctively ran his hands down to his shorts and pulls out a clear plastic compass. Holding it as level as he can it spins 'round as the red end points towards him.
"So I'm looking south." as he stands he turns and is now facing north. He looks up and then did a quick once over, over him-self to just see that he wasn't cut or too badly hurt. Yeah, Shinji was not always the brightest person when it came to himself. As he dusts himself off he checks himself one more time and then he goes through his gear to make sure none of it was broken in the fall. Shinji repacks his bag and as he stands up and straightens himself. His jaw slowly begins to drop.
Shinji stands on the inside edge of the crater that spreads out 60 meters in diameter. The trees were all flattened. Shinji knelt a moment and touches the earth, grabbing up some of the loose topsoil watching as it shifts out of his hand. "What the..." as Shinji walks forward, he looks around and doesn't recognize any of his surroundings. He turns around again and sees a shape that makes him scratch his head. The shape of the crater was not in the typical pattern; it was not simply an indentation but was in the shape of a turtle? Then, a spine tingling feeling creeps up his arms as he feels like someone is standing behind him. He turns to come face to face with a cloaked figure. He notices the thick crushed velvet hooded cape that covers the persons face.
"You who is undetermined... Your life is X you are an unknown variable to us." as the figure pulls back the hood and reveals the platinum haired female that appeared before the NASA crew. "Are you choosing to live a comfortable life?" Shinji looked at the woman a moment and an innocent smile crept across his face.
"Do you know? That it is a particularly odd question to ask someone?" said Shinji. "But wouldn't that be in fact the ideal life for anyone?" and before he can say anymore the woman comes flying at him with sword drawn and pointing outward. The blade swings around and cuts through the air. Shinji moves out of the way but is overcome with an intense pain in his left arm, as he looks down crimson blood flows down it.
"The World of the Last Man will not come to pass." said the Nakshatras girl.
"I never said I believed in a world like that?" as Shinji dodges another swing of her sword, this time cutting the strap of his backpack. "But if the world was that of comfort, then no one would fight... No, one would feel pain... Or for that matter, no one would love. If that were the world of comfort that you speak of then I would reject it. I would fight to change it!" as he balls his hands into fists and stands with his feet firm to the ground and glares at his attacker. The girl abruptly halts, holding her sword in mid-swing as it hangs just over Shinji's face.
End of Part 1a
Legend 01b: Heralds to the Future.
Shinji was standing in an unfamiliar place. But he recognized it just the same. A forest as dark as could be, with a heavyset amount of fog concealing the ground all the way up to his waist perfectly. The trees were photographic negatives of themselves. Where they were completely black except for their shadows, which were as white as snow. He looks around him and sees nothing.
"What are you looking for?" says a familiar voice. Shinji looks to see where it sounds from but it sounds from every single direction at the same time. "I'm not in any one place, but I am in every place that you go..."
"Are you in someway apart of me?" called out Shinji to the darkness.
"You could say that?" said the voice with a playful laugh. "Do you remember this place?" Shinji looks around and feels at a loss.
"I'm sorry? Am I supposed to have?" asked Shinji.
"Maybe? But maybe not? What you don't know doesn't always hurt you? Then, again..." said the voice as it trailed off into the distance. Then far away on the edge of the horizon a light starts to shine. Beaconing him to come to it, and like a moth fluttering towards the flames. Shinji begins to walk towards the mysterious luminescence.
As he saunters forth, he is overcome with other nostalgic feelings. Some are very happy. Times when he was young when his world was only Super Robots and Super Sentai. The countless hours he spent after school and during the weekend, where they all replayed their favorite heroes. With these he laughs with the memories that continually fill his thoughts. With the few that came that were much sadder, he cried and was not at all ashamed of it. When his maternal grandfather had passed away. His thoughts lingered to his parents and his younger sister and he began to think about them all more. Shinji legs give out as he collapses, falling back into the fog that surrounds his feet.
"And so another undetermined variable is solved." said the girl with platinum hair, as she sheathes her sword, Shinji lay on the ground, his torso removed from his legs. As the girl turns, She is as unemotional as before. Then on the wind a great sound overcame her. The echoing of grand drums begins to beat. She shakes her head believing it to be just in her mind, but then a second resounding beat of invisible drums sets thunder to the air. Following faintly behind it was the wisps of a word, a word that sent fear into the emotionless girl. She turns and sees floating above the corpse one of the stone belts, this one is as onyx and has a royal purple gem inset in the buckle.
Shinji slowly opens his eyes, as the haziness leaves his eyes he begins to look around. However, his eyes are immediately drawn upward right to the object that now hovers less than 2 meters above him. Then just as abruptly the belt fell and he quickly sat up as it landed on the ground right where his head was just resting.
"But that... That cannot be! It's impossible! He is but a Last Man not worthy of such prestige!" as she lifts herself off of the ground and soars over with sword in hand. "YOU ARE A LAST MAN!!" Shinji begins to stand and in his right hand he grabs the stone belt. As if driven by instinct he flicks his wrist and the belt wraps around his waist. The back of the belt latches closed around his waist and Shinji looks up, and for the first time he sees emotion on the otherwise robotic attacker. A word resounds in his head and he almost feels both nostalgia and revaluation in himself from this word. A feeling of urgency comes over him to say it aloud, like the first time Aladdin found out when his mother rubbed that very special oil lamp.
"HENSHIN!" screams Shinji as he clenches both his eyes, unsure at what would happen next. Both hands are clenched into fists as the light on the belt flashes, resonating with Shinji's heartbeat. A unseen force knocks back the oncoming Nakshatras girl back, she hits the ground hard. As is suddenly back on her feet with a simple breathe.
Suddenly struck aback and for one second in the brilliant after glow the image of a gigantic black turtle. As the image fades, a black dressed figure walks towards her. Adorned in a second skin and a helmet that resembles the turtle, the eyes light up in a golden yellow tint. The girl sneers and grabs a handful of dirt. Quickly whispering something to the dirt she tosses it scattering it away from her. As the fragment hit the ground, a large bulb begins to push its way out of the earth. The skeletal figure that appears is quickly covered in earthen matter. Resembling the golem from Jewish folklore.
"How can this be?! Isn't he one of them? Gingyou! Take care of his Last Man." as the girl turned and began to walk away from Genbu. "If you manage to defeat the Gingyou I will grant you the knowledge of my name." as she vanished. The earthen creature made no noise and stared with empty eyes at Genbu.
"So I don't suppose I could talk you out of doing this?" said Genbu as the creature lunged at him. It grabbed hold of his neck and began to choke him, lifting him off of his feet. Genbu frantically punches at the Gingyou's head, but since it was not technically a living thing it could not be disturbed by a blow to the face or head, nor could he rely on the other human weak points. He slowly begins to loosen up, his body going limp.
"Chise... forgive me. I think I may be going on ahead of you." as he closes his eyes and begins to let himself fall to unconsciousness. The eyes on the helmet slowly go out. The Gingyou waits. Emotionally watching his prey to see if it still shows any signs of life. If it could talk, it surely would have given some spiteful quip about the enfeeblement of his efforts. Though anyone could see that it was mysteriously lacking. It grew tired of his toys mistaken playfulness and tosses the body away from him. The crack of thunder rumbles on a sudden gust of wind. It turns and slowly begins to walk away and in that moment. The body as it falls it slows down finally, stopping as it hangs midair. The head rolls forward slowly as the eyes on the helmet light up. The jaw line on the helmet begins to crack, as a guttural voice begins to moan. His head flicks up as the surroundings explode in bursts of black flames. The feet slowly touch the ground as the flames grow in intensity.
Genbu moan grows as his arm curl his fingers gnarled as the jaw piece begins to drip with something that appears to be saliva. The color of his suit begins to turn from black to purple and his eyes turn to a deep shade of crimson. As he charges forward, the armor around his right arm begins to twitch and increase in size. "ARRRGH! Screams Genbu, as the Gingyou was not ready for what happens next. The heavy armored arm is thrown out, striking the golem in his chest. The force from the punch sends the creature rocketing back. As it flies backwards each of its limbs, its arms and legs are segmented from the body. They then begin breaking up each into thirds, which each then shatter into dust. As the torso hits the ground, a symbol resembling a crude turtle shell appears as the body explodes becoming like the rest of its body.
Genbu walked up to the dust he looks over the dust. A deep angry breath crept from his lungs, fuming out from the mouthpiece of his helmet a thick, hot white fog, like when you breathe into the cool air. The only thing is it is the about sun just started to set and it was still on average about 80∫ outside. He kneels and grabs up a handful of the dust. Watching as it falls through the crakes in his fingers, this only seems to make him all the angrier. Then the armor begins to flash and suddenly disappears, rolling off of his body like steam as it rises away from him. The helmet lets out one final bellow as the steam is suddenly sucked back into the belt. Shinji blinks his eyes completely exhausted, as he falls to the ground out cold.
Shinji stands on the beach in Kamakura. He can hear seagulls squawking in the background as he looks down and feels the waves as he push against his ankles. He looks up, coming towards him was a feminine figure. He knows the figure all too well. A smile came over his face as one word fell out of his lips.
"Chise." said Shinji as he opens his eyes. A bright white ceiling greets him as he rapidly blinks, before rubbing some sleep from their corners. He lifts his head and looks around the room. He was in a hospital, which was a matter of fact. He began to sit up but fell back his strength still drained.
"So you managed to defeat my doll." said the Nakshatras girl as she steps out of one of the rooms many shadows. "Shimai."
"Does this mean that we are enemies? Shimaidono." said Shinji looking a little worried.
"Not at the moment. For being a Last Man, you fought like something more? I do advise you to take care of yourself... because when I come to take your life, you had better be at your strongest. I prefer an honest fight... if you are a who you are? Genbusama." said Shimai. Shinji gave her a hesitant smile as she then vanishes, disappearing back into the shadows from whence she came. He leans his head back and clears his face of any expression it was holding. He looked back up to the ceiling and began to think of making plans for his trip back home. He just has to remember to pick up some souvenirs, or Makotoneechan would be very mad at her elder brother.
Ending Theme: "Rolling Star" by YUI