Hey there everybody, it's your pal Fenikkusumaru again along with Serpentdragon, here to bring to you another chapter of Kamen Rider Kabuto: Days of Ruin! I thank you guys for your patience and we're to reward you guys! So here it is!
Disclaimer: Same thing.
The next day had come by and all of us got up really early in the morning. After cooking a light breakfast for the entire battalion with the help of Koji and Rika, we all gathered all our camping, equipment, and weapons, putting them in the transports before heading east to look for more survivors.
Brenner was driving a huge Humvee with Lin in the front passenger seat and Koji, Rika, Will, Stauffenburg, Kabuto, and I were all in the back seats. Our vehicle was flanked by tanks to protect us.
"So, do we have any idea what exactly we're looking for?" I asked, looking at the window.
"Basically any sign that would indicate there's someone around," Koji said, adjusting his sunglasses.
"But given how the world is now, it's gonna be pretty hard to find survivors." Rika pointed out.
Kabuto, sitting on my shoulder, sighed as he looked out at the land and said, "It's really sad to see what Earth looks like right now. I wish I could've seen what it was like before the meteor shower."
"Well it was pretty amazing." I said. "There were cities bustling, the grass was green, and people going about their day happily."
"Wow that does sound amazing." Kabuto said.
"Yes, it does. But now…"
"Now it's, red like the blood spilled from 90% of the population," Koji lamented. "The change in color is something I often use in my songs."
"And it's something that we had to adapt to." Lin reminded us.
Stauffenburg, feeling awfully uncomfortable in the situation said, trying to lighten things up, "So… You guys wanna hear about the new project I'm working on?"
"What's that?" Will asked.
Smiling, he said, "I'm glad you asked!" Reaching into his briefcase, he pulled out a Tablet laptop to show blueprints for a motorcycle. "I call it a Rider Machine!"
"What does it do?" I asked.
"It's a specially designed motorcycle for each Rider. Just like the Riders, they have a Masked and Rider Form, each with its own abilities," the scientist explained. "Plus, it can handle all kinds of terrain!"
"How much of the project have you finished?" Will asked.
"I actually finished most of the components for the prototype, designed around Kabuto as he was the first ZECTer. They're in my Masked Rider Project equipment," Stauffenburg said, "But all I need is a motorcycle that can actually perform to the specifications needed for the Rider Machine to perform at peak performance."
"Well you won't be able to find any motorcycles in this desolate wasteland of a planet." Rika said.
Koji then said, "If we find one in working order somewhere, though, my platoon might be able to fix that bad boy up enough."
There was silence for a little while until Will, looking at the sky, said, "It's so strange, not seeing the sun. When will the sky return to normal?"
"Years, Decades? Who can say?" Lin said.
Will looked at Lin incredulously, "Decades?!"
Brenner chuckled from the driver's seat as he said, "Don't make that face, Will. We'll be okay. As long as there's life, there's hope. Ain't that right, Sergeant?"
Koji smiled and nodded as he said, "You bet, Captain!"
"As long as there's life…" Will muttered.
"Right," Brenner nodded. "The world we know is gone, but we can't give in to despair. Someday things will be set to right. We'll have peace, and the life we had will return. That's what I believe. That's why we must help everyone we can."
"Um…" Will said not understanding it.
"Keep it simple: never give up. If you can do that, anything is possible. Got it?"
Will smiled at that and proudly said, "Got it!"
Koji smiled as he said, "Alright, Will. You might just make it as one of the Wolves after all."
"You think so Staff Sergeant?" Will asked.
"Maybe… If you play your cards right, you could." Koji said.
I looked to Will and said, "Don't mind Koji. He just likes to tease people. It's his way of showing he likes you, as annoying as it can be."
"Oh, come on, bud, you don't know what you'd do without me."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" I waved off.
(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 2: A Single Life
We soon arrived at a desolate ruined city and set up camp on the outskirts of it. Koji and his Tech Platoon had set out to the ruined city to look for survivors. Meanwhile, as promised Lin was training me in military hand–to–hand combat. …However…
"WHOA! OW!"
…I was getting my butt kicked by Lin.
"And that is why you never let your opponent get behind you." Lin said smugly as she had me on my knees, holding arm behind my back painfully as she pushed down on my shoulder with one foot.
"Duly noted…" I winced.
Lin then let go of me and helped me back onto my feet. "Alright, get set up. Let's try it again."
"Yeah, okay…" I said as I got into my stance again. She then got into her stance and charged at me.
Lin was about to land a punch at me, but I was able to block the punch and sidestepped while I'm at it. I then crouched down and attempted to sweep one of my legs and trip her to get her off her feet, but she jumped to avoid it.
"Better!" She shouted as she landed a few feet away from me before coming at me again with a flurry of jabs. I blocked some punches while sidestepping others and after a while, I counterattacked with a few jabs of my own while adding a few kicks.
Lin, though, finally managed to catch my right leg in one side kick I tried and then delivered a powerful punch to my inner thigh.
"GH," I winced in pain. Lin saw the chance and picked me up, throwing me over and pinned me to the ground.
"Of course, don't let how good you're doing go to your head." Lin advised.
"I'm not." I smirked. "I'm just seeing an opportunity!" I then caught Lin off guard when I swept my leg to trip her then pin her to the ground with me on top of her. Wait… that didn't sound right.
Lin looked up at me as she said, "Good… because in a fight, you need to take every opportunity to win."
*BAM!*
"OOOOH," I shouted as I felt Lin slam her knee into my "best pals," throwing me off her.
Chuckling, Lin got up and said with a smirk, "Any opportunity." Looking to the nearest medic, she said, "Get an ice pack for him?"
"Yes ma'am!" The medic said before going to get the ice pack.
"Ow…" I wheezed.
Lin smiled at me sympathetically as she said, "Sorry about that. I just wanted to make a point that in a fight in this world there are no rules."
"You certainly made that obvious…" I got out. The medic then returned with an icepack for me, handing it to me, as I silently thanked him.
"Are you okay?" Lin asked as I slowly sat up.
"I'll be fine…" I said as I placed the pack between my legs, "Hah, hah, hah, hah, ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…"
She then helped walk me over to a fallen beam from some building to sit down on. "There, that should be less painful for you."
"Thanks." I panted.
"No problem." Lin said.
Just then, Lin took out her radio as she heard Koji say over it, ["LT, this is Tech Lead. I think we have a sign of survivors, over."]
"Copy that Shinamori. Get those survivors out of there."
["We're trying to, ma'am,"] Koji replied as he said, ["But we've got a bit of an issue. My men have the equipment to get rid of this debris, but we lack the man power. Could use some reinforcements, over."]
"Alright, Captain Brenner, Kurogasa, and I will be over there shortly."
["Copy that. We'll see you soon. Also, I might suggest bringing Will. It'd be a good chance for him to see what combat engineers can do,"] Koji suggested.
"I'll talk to Captain Brenner about that, over and out." Lin said before turning off the radio and looking to me. "You feel okay to walk?"
"I think so." I said before standing up. I was a bit wobbly, but I stood my ground.
Lin smirked as she said, "You got spirit I'll say that." She then helped to steady me as she said, "C'mon, let's go."
"Right," I nodded.
We arrived at the place where Koji and his men were. Seeing us, Koji waved to us slightly as he said, "Over here! It seems like we got someone down here!"
"Let's hope they're okay." I said, as Lin, Brenner, and I along with Will arrived at the scene.
"Good work Shinamori." Brenner nodded.
"Thank you, sir." Koji said before turning to me and Will. "Kurogasa, Will, I can use some help."
"Sure thing man," I said. "C'mon Will."
"Right," Will said, following with me after Koji as we went to the spot with some power tools. The three of us began cutting away at some of the debris as the rest of Koji's men did in other spots.
Luckily, we found more civilians alive, buried under the rubble and took them in, while some of us only found corpses. Just then, though, Will, looking down a hole we uncovered, shouted, "Hey! There's someone over there! Hold on! I'm coming!"
"Whoa hold on, slow down, Will!" I said, as I went to help him out.
A few of Koji's men followed after us and, looking down at the hole, Will found we saw a girl around our age lying at the bottom. The girl had long, light blue hair with bright yellow eyes, a white dress with yellow straps making an X across the collar, a black choker around her neck, a long blue pendant, purple and red tie–dye leggings, and black–brown high heeled ankle boots.
A corporal from Tech Platoon asked, "Is… Is she alive?"
"I don't know." I said.
"Well, let's get her out of there!" Will insisted.
Koji, who just arrived after us, looked to Sergeant Rusk saying, "Sergeant, go get the second jeep. It's got a tow cable on it. Drive it here. I'll lower myself and, Will down and get her out."
"You got it, Boss," Rusk replied as he ran off to get the jeep.
Quickly, Rusk came over with the jeep, handing harnesses to Koji and Will. Once they slipped into them, Rusk hooked them up to the tow cable's hook and they repelled down into the hole. Carefully, they picked up the girl and, once Koji tugged on the rope, signaling he wanted Rusk to bring them up, the crank reversed direction and pulled the two up.
"That's it, Rusk, nice and easy!" Koji said.
Finally, the three of them were back top side. Setting the girl down gently on the ground, Will examined the girl up close as the corporal again asked, "So, is she alright? Do we need a medic?"
"I think so." Will said. "Her breathing is really faint. Come on! We've got to get her back to camp!"
"I'll call for a medic!" The corporal shouted as he ran off to get help.
Another soldier, a private, then said to Will, "It ain't worth the trouble, kid. I doubt she's long for this world."
"I'm not giving up! If you won't help, I'll carry her myself!"
"Are you serious?" The soldier asked incredulously.
"That's enough, Private!" Koji shouted at the soldier, making him back down.
"He's right!" I shouted in agreement. "As long as there's life, there's hope, just like Capt. Brenner says!"
"Open your eyes…" Will, said to the unconscious girl. "I know there's not much to see, but you can't give up. You're alive, you know? And where there's life, there's hope."
There were a few moments of silence…
Then suddenly… she opened her eyes!
"…Who… Who are you?"
"She's awake!" I gasped.
Will smiled widely as he said, "Yes! You heard me! You're alive!"
"P–Please… Tell me… Who are you?" The girl asked.
"I'm Will. I'm with Brenner's Wolves. What's your name?"
"I… I don't know."
"Huh?" Koji and I asked confused.
Looking to all of us, in a mix of confusion and fear, the girl replied, "I… I don't remember. I don't remember anything."
"You think she's got amnesia Koji?" I whispered.
Whispering back, Koji nodded, replying, "Sounds that way. It's the only thing I can think of."
"I… I don't remember. I don't remember anything." The girl said.
"Ok, Ok, don't worry. You've been through a lot. Everything's going to be fine."
"…All right."
I then piped in, saying, "We should get her back to the base, let Rika get a look at her to make sure she is okay."
"Right," Will, nodded.
Meanwhile, Brenner and Lin were at another part of the site tending to the other survivors until he got a call from the radio, ["Captain Brenner! Do you read? This is Dr. Stauffenburg! We have a problem!"] Stauffenburg cried out in the radio.
Grabbing his radio, Brenner replied, "I read you, Doctor. What's the word?"
["I detected a swarm of Salis Worms a few clicks from your position and are headed towards you and the search party!"]
Brenner's eyes widened. "Worms? On their way here?! How long do we have before they reach our position?"
["Five minutes, at most! Kabuto is on his way there!"]
Brenner nodded. "Right, I'll alert Kurogasa and my men!" Looking back to us, he shouted, "Guys, we got Worms on their way! Kurogasa, Kabuto is on his way! Get ready!"
"Aw man, Worms?!" I complained.
"Not what I had in mind." Koji gritted.
"All nonmilitary personnel fall back! This is now a combat zone!" Brenner ordered. "Get that tank up there and block the road! Koji, I want half of your men to get the survivors out of here!"
Koji nodded as he said, "You got it, Captain! Alright, Platoons A and D, with me! Platoons B and C, get any survivors out of here!" He then looked to me. "You ready?"
"Yeah," I nodded.
"What's happening?" The girl asked.
"Don't worry, you're safe. You're with the Rubinelle Army now." Will assured as he picked her up bridal style.
"Rubinelle…" The girl pondered, as if she'd trying to remember something. "Rubinelle is one of the two main countries on this continent. At the last known date, the army employed 1,296,973 men."
"What the…" I said surprised.
"How do you know that?" Will asked surprised too.
"Rubinelle and its neighbor have been at war for a century." The girl continued. "Despite several armistices, the fighting has never truly ended. Ten percent of Rubinelle's GDP is expended on weaponry and research. The last recorded assessment of its military strength was "Excellent"."
Will blinked at the girl in amazement. "How did you know that?"
"I… I don't know. I don't understand." The girl said.
Huh? Okay, this doesn't make any sense. She doesn't know her name, yet she's all statistics on the Rubinelle Army? Who is this girl?
"AIBOU," Kabuto shouted as he flew into sight, distracting me from my question. Flying over to me, he said, "I'm here! You ready to beat down some Worms?"
"Huh?" I asked startled before saying, "Oh, y–yeah I'm ready!"
"ZECT…" The girl murmured.
All of us looked to the girl then in amazement. "You know ZECT!?"
"ZECT is one of the primary weapons providers for the Rubinelle Armed Forces, developing some of its most advanced weaponry, including the ZECTers of Native origin."
What in the–
"Okay, this girl is starting to freak me out." Koji said a bit scared.
Brenner said, "We can't afford to worry about this right now, Staff Sergeant! Will, get the girl out of here! Koji, get your men into position! And Kurogasa… suit up!"
"Yes sir!" I nodded then placed the Rider Belt around my waist. "Alright, Kabuto, let's do this!"
"Yosha, Ikuze aibou," Kabuto cheered.
Kabuto then flew into my hand and I caught him with my hand on his underside as my right arm crossed over my body and shouted, "Henshin!" before sliding him into place on the Rider Belt.
HENSHIN!
The hexagonal panels began forming all over my body, forming my body armor as I entered Masked Form as Kamen Rider Kabuto. I immediately got into position with Koji's men as we saw the Salis Worms come into view.
"At the ready, boys," Koji shouted.
"Yes sir!" The soldiers shouted aiming their guns at them.
Giving me a thumbs–up, Koji said, loading his shotgun before putting it on his back as he grabbed his M–16, "We got you covered, buddy."
"Thanks." I said before turning to the Salis Worm army. "I'm going in!" I shouted before charging at the army.
"Open fire!" Koji then shouted as his men began firing on the Worms with their automatic rifles, their bullets buzzing past me as I grabbed my Kunai Gun, shooting as well as I charged forward. One of the Worms I hit rolled across the ground before hoping back up and charging at me.
"No you don't!" I shouted before firing my bullets at the Salis Worm that charged at me making sparks fly off.
Meanwhile, Koji dodged under the claw of a Worm that was slashing at him before blasting it with his shotgun. "Eat this!"
*BANG!*
The shot from his shotgun sent the Salis Worm flying a few feet.
Thanks to Koji and his men holding off the other four, I could focus on the one challenging me. Switching my gun into axe mode, I ran towards the Worm and chopped my axe down across its face. Sparks flew and I continued to slash the Salis Worm in front of me until it finally exploded in green flames. "Haha, I got one! One down: four to go!" I shouted as I turned to help Koji's soldiers with the other four Worms.
Meanwhile, as the fight was going on, The Beast and his men were coming up on a craggy hill from the outskirts of the ruined city and noticed the fight going on.
"Heh heh heh… Looks like my old friends, the Wolves," Beast grinned as he looked through his binoculars. Spying Koji, he then said, "And even better, that punk who almost killed me. Now I can finally put him six feet under." He then looked behind to see his army ready and waiting. "Alright, you roaches, move out! We got us some Wolves to put down!"
All the soldiers shouted, "YEAAAAHHHH!" Some of them hopped into the three tanks the Beast brought with him while the rest ran in front, beside, and behind, charging downwards.
"Heh, heh, heh… I'm so gonna enjoy this…" The Beast chuckled.
As we continued to fight with the Worms, Brenner and Lin coming with a squad from 1st Platoon to help us out, we had destroyed a second Salis Worm.
"Keep firing! Keep firing!" Brenner shouted as he used a 9mm pistol to shoot at a third Salis Worm.
Rusk then, with his teeth, pulled the pin from a grenade, "Fire in the hole!" Lobbing the grenade, it flew through the air, hitting the ground as several of the soldiers hit the deck, sending the other two Salis Worms flying.
"Alright, let's do this!" I said before flipping Kabuto's horn slightly. Blue electricity crackled throughout my entire armor as the segmented armor on my arms, the armor on my chest, and the armor on my helmet spread out while steam hissed from it. "Cast Off!" I shouted, before flipping the horn completely, making Kabuto's gold side of his horn prominent and the shell of his body open up.
CAST OFF!
The pieces of armor for Masked Form came, flying off me, bits of it hitting the three Worms as they tried to get back up as I switched into Rider Form, the beetle horn coming up and bisect the lens.
CHANGE: BEETLE!
"Alright, time to Clock Up!" I said before pressing the Clock Up pad on the side of my belt.
CLOCK UP!
My whole world suddenly slowed down and I saw everything in slow motion. Looking to the Salis Worms that were trying to get up while in slow motion, I ran towards and gave them a few punches and kicks.
Kabuto let off an excited laugh as he said, "Nice job, Kurogasa! You're already getting the hang of this!"
"Yeah, I guess, but I still got a long way to go!" I said before switching my Kunai Gun to dagger mode and slashed two of the three Salis Worms. In real time, the Worms flipped through the air with sparks from the punches and kicks as the two I slashed exploded from the slashes in green flames.
"Alright, that's four down and one to go!" I cheered.
CLOCK OVER!
When I slowed back into real-time, Brenner and Koji both shot me a thumbs up. "Nice work, Kurogasa!" Brenner shouted.
"Way to go, bro! Now let's squash this last bug!" Koji shouted as he switched back to his M–16.
"You just read my mind!" I grinned behind my mask, but then…
*RATATATATATATATATATATATA!*
"Hahahahaha, I'm ba~ck!"
Looking up, much to our chagrin, charging forward in a dust cloud, was the Beast and his bandits. "Dang it!" Koji shouted.
Brenner growled, spitting on the ground angrily. Looking to me, he said, "Kurogasa, can you finish off this last Worm!?"
"You got it Boss!" I said with a two–finger salute, before turning to the Worm who was… already molting?! Oh crap!
A long, jagged crack formed along the Worm's exoskeleton as it began to molt. Each second, more cracks formed upon.
"I gotta destroy it before it evolves!" I shouted, turning my Kunai Gun back to axe mode.
"Kurogasa, no," Kabuto shouted, but it was too late.
I shouted, "HEE–YAAAAAAH!" as I slammed my axe down, only to be sent flying as my blow destroyed the Worm's exoskeleton, finishing its evolution.
When I could finally see it, I was disgusted. It had big red ruby eyes with a long pointed sucker. Its thorax–torso was black like coal as were its arms and legs which were covered in white stripes like a reverse zebra. Its wings were translucent silver and on its arms were each three curved blades. As for the sucker, I could have sworn I saw in it a circle of vampire fangs. This was the Mosquito Worm.
"Yabai…" Kabuto muttered.
"Man and I thought the Locust Worm was disgusting." I said. All of a sudden, he disappeared in a blur. "Oh crap, it clocked pp!" I said before hitting the Clock Up pad again.
CLOCK UP!
I ran towards the Worm and slashed at it with my axe, only for it to fly up and dodge my attack, slashing at my head with the blades on its right arm. Sparks flew as I groaned in pain, falling to the ground.
"Ow…" I groaned.
"You okay aibou?" Kabuto asked.
"Yeah… peachy…" I groaned.
"No time to get peachy! Here it comes!" Kabuto warned.
Looking in the direction of the buzzing, I saw the Worm come flying at me, slashing its blades against themselves threateningly. "Wait for it… Just like Lin taught me…" I said as I watched, "NOW!" I then dropped to my back just in time to avoid the slash from both sets of arm blades as I kicked up, slamming both my feet into its stomach as I slammed it head first into the ground.
I then jumped back to gain some distance.
"Nice work!" Kabuto praised.
"Thanks!" I said. "And I think it's time we finished this!"
1!
2!
3!
I then pulled Kabuto's horn back to reveal its red side, charging up my power before I slammed the horn back down, revealing the yellow side again as blue electricity began charging in my chest and horn.
RIDER KICK!
But as soon as that happened, the Mosquito Worm… flew away?!
"What the…?" I said as I watched the thing fly away. All the energy I charged up dissipated as I watched the Worm flee. "That's weird."
Kabuto detached from me and my armor disappeared into motes of hexagon energy before being absorbed into the belt. "What the heck! We're about to finish off and then it flew away!" Kabuto fumed.
It must have sensed it was going to get squashed," I said as I watched the spot the Mosquito Worm disappeared into. Looking to Kabuto, I then said in shock. "Oh no everyone! I need to get back to the others. They're still fighting the Beast and his men!"
"They can take care of themselves! We need to go after the Worm!" Kabuto exclaimed.
"But–"
*BOOM!*
Kabuto and I went flying as a mortar exploded not too far from us. Luckily, I didn't get any shrapnel wounds, but man, did that hurt, hitting the ground after that. Pushing myself up, I said, "We can worry about the Worm later, Kabuto! The others need us now!"
"Doooooh…" Kabuto said. "Fine, but we better be quick about it!"
I nodded as I grabbed Kabuto out of the air, "Deal!" I then slid him back onto my belt to transform again, "Henshin!"
HENSHIN!
The hexagons appeared and formed into my armor once again before I ran to help Koji and the others.
During the firefight, the Beast roared as he saw Koji finally during the battle. "Kill anyone of them you want, boys! But leave that one to me! He nearly took my head, so I'm going to take his!"
His men near nodded as they continued firing while the Beast then took out a grenade launcher and shot at Koji.
"Boss watch out!" Rusk shouted as he pushed Koji aside, and when he did–
*BOOM!*
Rusk expected to find himself, dead, only to find that I had fallen down in front of him, the front of my armor in Masked Form blackened from taking the RPG hit. "Ugh… That hurt… more than I expected…"
"Kurogasa," Koji cried out.
"You okay?" I asked Rusk.
Rusk nodded as he got back up, scrambling for his rifle. "Y–Yeah…! Thanks, Kururugi!"
"No problem…"
"What the– What kind of freak are you?!" The Beast roared.
Turning to the Beast, I said, turning my Kunai Gun into gun mode, "You can call me Kabuto: Kamen Rider Kabuto."
"What?" The Beast asked confused. "Bah, whatever, it doesn't matter to me! You're gonna be like all the others: DEAD!" He shouted before launching another grenade.
Whipping my gun forward, I fired two laser blasts at the RPG, exploding it in midair. "Go, Koji!" I shouted.
"Right," He shouted back with a nod, running forward as he began firing towards the Beast.
"Think again you fool!" The Beast shouted before… a tank rolled out from out of nowhere and fired at us?!
Koji and I leapt out of the way of the blast as it exploded, sending us further back than we would have just by jumping. "HAHAHA, Didn't see that coming, did ya, punks!?"
"Man, we ain't gonna get nowhere with that tank firing at us!" Koji gritted.
I looked to my friend and said, "If I cover you, can you destroy or disable that tank?"
"I can do that."
"Good." I nodded, before coming out of hiding. I flipped Kabuto's horn slightly and the armor spread itself out, ready to eject. "Cast off!" I shouted then flipped the horn completely to the other side and his shell opened up.
CAST OFF!
The armor shot off of me, sending in all directions before the horn appendage rose up and bisected the lens.
CHANGE: BEETLE!
Now in my faster, more streamlined Rider Form, I began running, distracting the Beast and his men as well as the tank, taking potshots at them with my Kunai Gun. While they were so focused on me, Koji began to sneak through the debris towards the tank, setting up a det–pack as he did.
"What's wrong? Am I moving too slowly?" I taunted. "Perhaps I should move faster!"
The Beast roared angrily as he loaded a new clip of ammo into his AK-47 and fired wildly at me. "ERGH, HOLD STILL SO I CAN CRUSH YOU, COCKROACH!"
Koji had finally managed to get to the tank. Looking back at me, he smirked as he said to himself, "Nice job buddy. Now it's my turn." Climbing up onto the tank, he knocked on the top hatch. When the gunner opened it up, Koji grinned with a wave and said, "Special delivery!" He then dropped the demo–charge down into the tank's cockpit, slamming the hatch lid down, hitting the gunner on the head. Hopping off of it, he then ran to cover as the tank exploded.
"What the–" The Beast shouted turning around to see the explosion.
"Pay attention!" I shouted while I was already in front of him. When he turned around to see me–
*POW!*
I kicked him where the sun doesn't shine.
"YEOOOOOW," The Beast roared in pain as his eyes nearly popped out of their eye sockets, causing him to drop to his knees, dropping his rifle as he cupped his family jewels.
"Heh, right out of Lin's book," I said to myself, thinking back to my earlier combat lesson. However, before I could deal with the Beast, several of his men opened fire on me and their combined fire forced me to pull back. "But where's Koji?"
Meanwhile, Koji found himself in a bit of a bind. After I knocked their leader out, several of his soldiers had gathered to keep me pinned, which by extension kinda pinned Koji down as he knew he couldn't run fast enough to get past them. "Dang… What do I do now?" Then, looking over his shoulder, he saw something in the back of a pick–up truck for the Beast's forces. "Eh?" Crawling over to it carefully, he pulled the tarp of to reveal: a motorcycle, 'No way!' He thought. 'Please, still be working, baby!'
Thankfully the key was in the ignition and when he turned the key…
*VROOM!*
"Alright, KAWABONGA," He shouted as he revved it up before riding right off the truck bed. He then rode straight down the hill. The Beast's soldiers as they saw him ride straight for them leapt out of the way as he rode off a rock and flew through the air, "WOOHOO!"
"What the–" I said surprised.
Koji then shot me a mock salute as he rode past and shouted, "Let's get out of here buddy! Mission accomplished!"
"I like the sound of that." I said as I stood up and got on the motorcycle behind Koji. Once he felt my armored arms around him, he revved up the motorcycle again and then drove off to join the rest of the unit.
"Grrrr… get back here!" The Beast roared, but it was no use.
Koji and I laughed as we rode away, Kabuto hopping off my belt as I detransformed. Before long, we were home free and back at the base. "HAHAHA, Did you see the look on his face!?" Koji asked.
"I sure did!" I laughed too. "The best part was when I kicked where the sun doesn't shine!"
Koji and I fist bumped as we hopped off the motorcycle. My buddy then said, "Yeah… Of course, now the Beast probably has an even bigger price on my head."
"And I think he's gonna be going after me too." I added.
"Yeah, after hitting him in his manhood and for helping me out, he's probably gonna be interested in killing you, too."
"But right now, he isn't our problem!" Kabuto suddenly intervened, catching our attention. "That Mosquito Worm is still on the loose!"
Koji looked to me in shock as he said, "The Worm escaped!?"
"Yeah…" I sighed. "Just when I was about to do the Rider Kick it flew away."
Koji frowned thoughtfully as he said, "Well, we can't do anything about it now. But I'll let Capt. Brenner know. For now, let's go find out what happened with that survivor."
"Right," I nodded.
Koji and I headed to the infirmary where Brenner, Lin, and Will were waiting as Rika finished her check up on the girl we found. "So, how is she?"
"Just a few bruises here and there, but other than that, she's fine." Rika said.
"Find out anything new about her?" Koji asked.
"Other than the fact that she has amnesia and that she somehow knows all the military stuff, which by the way freaked me out a little bit, no."
"Hmmm…" I said as I thought, feeling bad for the girl.
"How did it go out there, boys?" Brenner asked as he, Lin, and Will joined us.
"We routed out the enemy." I said.
"And we got ourselves a new motorcycle!" Koji added.
Stauffenburg, who despite being all the way down the hall, heard Koji's statement and gave out a huge "HOORAY!" as he charged down the hall. "Excellent! Now, I can use it to begin construction on my first Rider Machine!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa easy there Speedy, calm down," Koji said, holding him back.
Stauffenburg took a few deep breaths as he said, "Sorry, just got really excited."
Kabuto scoffed. "That's your excuse for everything! Do you know how many times you nearly fried my motherboard because of your 'excitement!?'"
"Pfft, you're fine."
"Say that to the other ZECTers!"
Stauffenburg grumbled as he tried to catch Kabuto, only to have the mechanical beetle easily fly out of his hands, giving him a raspberry as he flew about.
"Okay Kabuto calm down." I sighed as I finally caught him. "You need to relax."
Kabuto then crawled onto my shoulder as he said, "See, this is why I like you, Kurogasa. You can actually be calm."
"I AM CALM!" Stauffenburg shouted before getting the Vulcan Nerve Pinch from Rika, knocking him out.
"Guys, yelling and screaming isn't what my patient needs right now."
"Heh, heh warui…" Kabuto chuckled sheepishly.
Rika smiled then as she said, "Daijobu." Becoming a little more serious, she then looked to Brenner and said, "Captain, the girl is asking to see Will."
Lin looked confused as she said, "Why Will?"
"He was the one who showed the most concern when we rescued her. She probably feels safest with him," Rika explained.
Koji snickered at that, and I knew what that meant, "Koji, don't you tease him." I frowned.
Koji smiled at me and said, "Oh don't worry, buddy, I won't. See, as an academy cadet that means Will, will, one day be an officer, so I can't. Besides, I doubt his reactions would be as fun as yours."
My eye twitched at that, "You wouldn't dare…"
Koji winked at me as he said, "Care to find out?"
"Koji, don't you do it…"
Just then, Koji winced as he felt Rika's nails dig into his ear. "Iteiteiteiteite, Okay, okay, okay!"
"That's what I thought." Rika scoffed before she let go. As Koji nursed his ear, Will, went into the room to see the girl.
"Geez, you really need to ease up on those pinches…" Koji winced.
Rika waved off the comment dismissively. "Or maybe you need to toughen up, Soldier Boy."
"Ugh…" Koji groaned. This is gonna be a long day…
"How are you feeling?" Will asked as he approached the girl.
"I'm… okay…" The girl said.
"That's good to hear." Will smiled. "For a while there, I thought you were going to die."
The girl nodded as she continued to say nothing as she sat on the bed. Cautiously, Will sat down next to her, putting a uniform jacket over her shoulders as she seemed cold. "Don't worry… We'll take care of you as long as you're with us."
The girl smiled gently as she nodded at that.
Will smiled as well, glad that the girl seemed okay. After a few moments of silence, he said, "Hmmm… still… we should think of something to call you, at least until we learn what your real name is."
"We can… do that later…" The girl said before she yawned a bit. "I need… sleep…" She then looked to Will and said, "But… I just… wanted to say… thank you, for saving me."
"You're welcome." Will said.
As the girl fell asleep, Rika came in the examining room and said, "We have an extra tent she can stay in. Could you help me get her into the wheelchair so I can wheel her over?"
"Sure, I can do that." Will said, with with a nod. Gently, Will scooped her into his arms and placed into the wheelchair. Rika then began to roll her out, but a military nurse instead offered to do it.
"I'll take over from here. You have other patients to look after." The nurse said. Rika nodded and thanked the nurse as she rolled the girl out of the infirmary.
While the soldiers of the Rubinelle Army were busy moving about, doing their work to keep things going on the base, the Mosquito Worm was hiding off in the distance, the tongue inside his long sucker licking the outside of his sucker as he looked at all the machines. Making buzzing noises, it crept up towards the machines while evading the soldiers from spotting it.
Quickly flying up over the fence, it crawled over to one of the generators and, attaching its sucker to the generator, it began to suck the energy out of it, causing electrical fluctuations to occur.
"Hey you, what are you doing over there?!" A soldier shouted.
When the Worm heard this, it detached from the generator and flew into the soldier, knocking him to the ground as it assimilated his form.
"What the–" the original soldier got out surprised.
The Worm quickly turned into the soldier, smiling evilly before returning to its Worm form. It then grabbed the soldier's head and with one powerful twist broke his neck. It then went back to sucking out the energy from the generator.
This was not gonna be good…
Back in the main part of the base, Koji, Brenner, Lin, Will, Rika, and I having left the infirmary, we became extremely confused as the lights and the other electrical devices began flickering on and off.
"Huh?" Will said confused.
"It looks like we got somewhat of a power outage." Brenner noticed.
"That's weird," Koji said, looking at the lights. "Captain, want me to get one of my guys to check it out?"
"It's probably nothing." Brenner waved off. That's when all the lights suddenly went off.
"And now that nothing became something." I said.
"Yeah, nice going jinxing us," Kabuto commented. Brenner shot Kabuto a look, making the ZECTer back down.
Suddenly, we heard the sound of screaming, gunfire, and explosions from outside.
"We're under attack!" Will exclaimed.
Kabuto looked to me and said, "Aibou, the Worm! That must be it!"
"Are you sure?" I gasped.
"I'm positive!" Kabuto said. "That Mosquito Worm must be the one that sucked up all the power in this here joint!"
"Dang it," I shouted.
Koji looked to me as he said, "Shall we squash this bug for good, buddy?"
"Yeah, let's do it!" I said. "Let's go Kabuto!"
"Oh yeah, it's time to squash that Worm!" Kabuto cheered before flying into my hand.
I caught him and shouted, "Henshin!" and slid him on my belt.
HENSHIN!
The red hexagons quickly covered me as I entered Masked Form, Koji running after me outside.
"Sir, we should get the rest of the troops out there to help!" Lin suggested.
With a nod, Brenner said, "Right! Mobilize all of Alpha and Bravo Companies, and keep Charlie on standby!"
"Yes sir!" Lin nodded.
"What can I do?" Will asked.
"You can protect that girl. She's your responsibility now."
Will was a little shocked by that, "M–My responsibility?"
"Yes, your responsibility. Keep her safe. Have Rika help you out." Brenner said before he and Lin ran off.
Will nodded hesitantly as he replied, "Yes, Sir." He then grabbed an M–9 pistol and ran to the girl's tent.
"Hey, wait up!" Rika shouted going after him.
When we arrived outside, things had gotten pretty crazy. Thanks to the energy boost the Mosquito Worm got from the generator and a few other electrical devices on the base, it had grown stronger, its body having gotten bigger, its arm-blades getting larger and sharper, and its speed having increased, even when not Clocked Up.
"Whoa, that thing's on electrical steroids!" Koji cried out.
Kurogasa, even clocked up, I don't know if we can keep up with that thing!" Kabuto replied.
"We'll find a way Kabuto." I said. "We just gotta find a way."
["I might just have it!"] Stauffenburg said over Koji's radio.
"Huh? Dr. Stauffenburg?" Koji said, bringing the radio to his mouth to talk into it. "Is that you?"
["You bet it is! And thanks to my nonstop work, I have my Rider Machine prototype ready!"] Stauffenburg replied excitedly.
Koji and I looked at each other in disbelief. "You really have the Rider Machine done?" I asked.
I could practically hear the muscles and bones in Stauffenburg's neck move as he nodded over the radio, clearly excited. ["Yes! If you Clock Up and hurry here quickly, you should be able to get it and be back on the field in time to finish off the Worm!"]
"Alright then, I'll see ya in a couple minutes!" I said. "Let's go Kabuto!"
"You got it, aibou!" Kabuto said excitedly as I flipped his horn slightly and the parts of my armor began opening to Cast Off.
"Cast Off!"
CAST OFF!
As the bits of my outer armor detached and I entered Rider Form.
CHANGE: BEETLE!
I then tapped Kabuto to enter Clock Up mode.
CLOCK UP!
The world slowed down to a near standstill, the only one still moving aside from me being the Worm. But due to the energy it absorbed from the generator, it was moving slightly faster than me. Luckily, it was too distracted, eating the energy from another generator to notice me running past.
"I better make it quick." I said as I started running to where Dr. Stauffenburg is at.
Quickly, I arrived at the workshop Stauffenburg was using. Exiting Clock Up mode, I went over to him and said, "Alright, Doc, is it ready?"
"You bet it is! Meet your new ride: The Kabuto Extender!"
The Kabuto Extender was the same Honda CBR1000RR that Koji had gotten. Its front half was heavily protected like a shell having a red beetle horn on it. It was red while the back half was silver. "Whoa! This is amazing!" I said as I examined the Rider Machine.
"I knew you'd like it." Stauffenburg grinned. As I got onto it, Stauffenburg then explained, "Just like you, it has two forms: Masked Form, which is what it is currently in, being more defended, and its Ex Mode, which helps for finishing off enemies."
I revved up the engine a bit before nodding to the doctor as I said, "Alright, thanks, Doc. I'll put this to good use!"
"I'm sure you will. Now get going! Who knows what that Worm's doing now?!"
I shot him a thumbs–up as I revved the engine and rode out of the garage, heading back to the battle. The Worm was no longer in Clock Up mode, sucking out energy from a third generator with several of the soldiers on the ground, dead or knocked out, I couldn't tell. Koji was firing at it with his M–16, but by this point, the Worm was completely unaffected.
"Oi, aibou, let's test out your new toy!" Kabuto suggested.
"My thoughts exactly, aibou, let's go!" I shouted as I rode towards the Worm. Grabbing my Kunai Gun, I raised it and began shooting at the Worm, causing it to stop its draining of energy and then, after switching it into axe form, I slashed at the monster, the power of my slash combined with the speed of the Kabuto Extender sending the Worm flying halfway across the base.
"Yeah, take that!" I cheered.
"Whew… that's a sweet ride man!" Koji whistled.
"Thanks!" I shouted with a two finger salute as I turned around and rode towards the Mosquito Worm again as it tried to get back up.
"No you don't!" I said, before I pressed a button on the Kabuto Extender.
CAST OFF!
Suddenly, the front part of the Kabuto Extender popped off as the front wheel split in two and spread apart. Then, a giant lance/spear–like weapon came sticking out the front of the motorcycle. "Whoa! Looks like we're going jousting, Kabuto!"
"Yeah, it does! Let's skewer that bug!" Kabuto said excited.
I then hit the Clock Up button on Kabuto.
CLOCK UP!
"Alright, big and ugly, it's time to skewer ya!" I said as I revved the engine more towards the Mosquito Worm as the spear like horn charged up with energy and… my motorcycle started to hover?
"What the– We're floating, Kabuto!"
"Yeah, in Clock Up mode, it looks like the Extender can defy gravity!"
"That's even better!" I grinned. "Alright, let's do this!" I said before going at full speed. The Mosquito Worm noticed me and tried to get away, but I wasn't gonna let it. The Mosquito Worm spread its wings and flew into the air, trying to fly away. But as I let out a yell, I pushed the engine of the Kabuto Extender to the max and, with the energy all around the lance I impaled the Worm, flying right through it as blue electricity began covering its body before it exploded in green flames.
"WOHOO, GOOD JOB AIBOU!" Kabuto cheered.
"Yeah, thanks!" I smiled.
I then landed the Kabuto Extender to the ground and after that-
CLOCK OVER!
When I landed, the Kabuto Extender returned to Masked Form and immediately, the soldiers still alive began to clap and cheer for me as they came over to congratulate me.
"Hoo–rah, you squashed that bug!" One soldier praised.
"Yeah, that thing was toast!" A second added.
Koji ran over to me and high–fived me as I de–henshined. "Dude, that was incredible! I have got to get me one of those puppies!"
"Yeah, if you can find one that is," I chuckled.
He just chuckled at that as Rika, Brenner, and Lin approached me. "Kurogasa, that was incredible!" Rika said as she hugged me.
"Heh, heh, thanks Rika." I chuckled, hugging her back.
Lin then said with a smirk, "I'm impressed, Kururugi. One training session, and you're already getting tossed around less."
"Uh… thanks." I blushed a bit.
"Oooooh, do I hear the sound of a heart fluttering?" Koji teased.
"Koji~" I growled.
Brenner then came forward before anything else could come from my friend's mouth as he said, "Way to work out there, kid. You made the whole battalion proud out there."
"Thanks Captain." I smiled, but then realized something. "By the way, where're Will and the girl?"
"Will's been with her in the tent we gave her to stay in, making sure she was alright," the captain explained.
"Okay, that's good." I sighed in relief. "I was afraid they might be attacked."
"Well, they're okay. One of the soldiers radioed me on their condition." Brenner said. "Anyways, let's all head back to base and tend to the survivors."
Unknown to them, a small mechanical bug robot the size of a flash drive recorded everything that happened. It was now on its way back to where it came from and after flying a while longer, the bug robot returned to its master's hand.
Taking the robot, he set it on the lab table and plugged it into the computer near him and began to watch the footage, namely Kurogasa's battles with the Mosquito Worm. "Hmmm… Interesting… I must learn more of these… ZECTers… If I could harness its power for myself…"
There you go people, that's the second chapter of Kamen Rider Kabuto: Days of Ruin! And we already got some foreshadowing at that last part! Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next chapter!