Chapter 0002: The Beast Wars of Time Begin! Part 3:
The Coronation of 2018!
In the rural suburbs of Divinity City - about 6:15 in the morning - Logan and his friends were waiting by the gate leading up to the mountains via a dirt trail for Ezekiel with their rides so they can finally start Project: Mountain Run. Before they could even go, however, Zeke had to make some finishing touches with their rides. He told them before they go up there camping, they should go riding up there in style. It took a summer's worth of begging and convincing, but Zeke finally managed to get them to let him give the rides new paint jobs. Of course, the others were reluctant at first, since Zeke isn't exactly the best at art; they were all worried he would make the bikes and go-kart look so bad, the kids at school would be given another reason to call them all lasers. They tried to take their minds off the fact and started thinking about what a great experience this camping trip will be.
Logan was pacing back and forth in front of the mountain trail. He was thinking about the "dream" he had yesterday. He was considering telling his friends about it, but he doesn't know how they'll react. Logan was also considering canceling the trip up the mountain, but got rid of that thought, knowing that he and his friends have been looking forward to it all summer. As he went through his thoughts, his friend Oliver noticed the worried look on his face and spoke up.
"What are you worried about, man?" He asked, catching Logan's attention, "This camping trip is bound to change our lives for the better."
"That's what I'm worried about, Oliver," Logan replied, "I'm worried something bad will happen if we're not prepared…"
"Logan, relax, okay?" Oliver said, "We all have our driver's licenses, and we've studied all the trails on the mountains, and the location for our trip is secluded from any animals-"
"That's not what I meant, Oliver," Logan cut him off, surprising Oliver and Nikki.
"Then what do you mean, man?" Oliver asked in confusion, wondering why his friend was acting so strange.
"Well, uh…" Logan stuttered, a bit hesitant to tell him and Nikki the truth of his worriedness. Luckily, he didn't have to answer due to them hearing a truck's horn. They turned their heads to the main road and saw a transport truck with Zeke in the passenger seat and his father in the driver's seat. On the truck's trailer, their rides, the Mountain Runners, were strapped down, with noticeable paint jobs. The first Runner was a motorcycle that was painted silver, white and gray with red lights up front, looking like a face and some magenta highlights. It had a black seat and controls, and two hands of a clock above the lights. The second Runner was also a custom-built mountain bike with parks from a dark blue motorcycle, a black cushion seat, and some homemade metal wings welded onto the sides, resembling those of a giant bat. The third and final Mountain Runner was a homemade four-seat mountain crawler with custom parts to make it more maneuverable up on the mountain's terrain. It was painted red upfront and blue in the back, and had a GPS computer in the front seats, while the back seats were holding camping equipment. On top of the crawler were the tents needed for spending the weekend up at the clearing on the first mountain.
Needless to say, the gang was speechless at the sight of the Mountain Runners' paint job. Normally Zeke's artistic were either sloppy or just painful to see with the naked eye. But these were a major improvement compared to past art he made.
As the truck stopped and Zeke and his father got out, Logan was the first to speak up, "Whoa, Zeke… these things look awesome."
"Thanks, man," Zeke replied, "But I had a little help from Dad."
"You're welcome, Zeke," His father smirked as he went back to unhook the straps holding the Mountain Runners in place. He appeared to be a middle-aged man with black hair and brown eyes, wearing a red checkered shirt, dark blue jeans and a blue football cap with the Chargers' logo on it. He unhooked the straps before the kids all got up onto the trailer to guide their bikes and crawler off and towards the gate. Zeke and Nikki's father then went to the gate, unlocked the chains keeping it in place, and opened it for them and their friends.
"Remember kids, be careful up there," "If something bad happens, radio home or the ranger station up there. If all else fails, you head down the mountain immediately. Understand?"
"Yes, Dad," Zeke and Nikki replied.
"Don't worry, Mr. Bishop," Logan reassured him, "We'll be back before you know it."
"Let's hope so because Zeke and Nikki's mom is acting a bit hysterical on heading up there by yourselves,"
"When is she ever not worrying?" Oliver said as he admired the blue bike.
"Touche, but still…" Mr. Bishop said with an adjustment of his hat, "Stay safe up there."
"We will!" The friends all exclaimed with nods.
"Good to hear," Mr. Bishop said as he got back in his truck, "Have fun up there, kids!"
Mr. Bishop then drove off back towards the back to his workplace, leaving the kids with their respected vehicles.
"Alright, now that that's settled," Zeke began to explain, "Let me show you guys the features these babies have."
"Explain away, Zeke,"
"Oliver, you have the Sapphire Beast Mountain Runner, with offroad suspension, slick maneuverability, and off-the-charts speed," Zeke introduced Oliver's bike, "You should have no problem getting traversing the rough mountain terrain."
"Nice!" Oliver complimented as he literally hugged his own bike.
"Nikki, you and I have Savage Twin Crosser, also with offroad treads and suspension, but with room for supplies and tough reinforced steel," Zeke explained further, "There's also a custom-built radio transmitter for long-range communication - which is really for emergencies - and a wireless hotspot for our GPS."
"Why do we need a GPS?" Nikki asked in confusion.
"Again, in case of emergencies," Zeke replied before facing Logan and his bike.
"I take it this one's mine?" Logan asked in interest.
"The Royal Time Striker," Zeke explained, making Logan think that was a pun on his old dream, "Built with everything; reinforced steel, off-road suspension and treads, a clock, and off-the-charts speed."
"Wow, Zeke," Logan said, "These are amazing."
"Glad you guys like them," Zeke said before grabbing four helmets from the back seat of the Savage Twin Crosser, "Grab your helmets, everyone."
Everyone went over to grab their helmets. Even they know it's dangerous to operate powerful machinery without protection. After everyone grabbed a helmet, they went to their respected Mountain Runners. They all strapped on their helmets, hopped on and into their vehicles, and were now prepared to disembark on their journey up the first mountain.
"Ready, guys?" Logan asked.
"Ready!" They all replied in enthusiasm.
"Alright," Logan said as he kicked up the kickstand, "Nikki, initiate launch sequence."
"Go it!" Nikki exclaimed as she and her brother strapped in and began counting down, "Ten… Nine… Eight… Seven…"
As she counted down, Oliver kicked up his kickstand and began revving up his bike.
"Six… Five…"
Logan began revving up his bike as well, with a face of determination.
"Four… Three…"
Zeke then started up the crawler by inserting the key and pressing the startup button.
"Two… One…"
"GO FOR IT!"
The teens then went full throttle and sped off past the gate and up the mountain trail. The four teens traversed the rough terrain with sharp turns around rock formations, jumps above gaps, and skidding under, launching over or ramming into fallen down trees. Logan and his friends were yelling in excitement with a few "yahoo"s, "yeah"s, and "right on"s.
"Zeke, Nikki, you guys have done it again!" Logan exclaimed loudly.
"This is amazing!" Oliver commented in loud excitement.
"Took a whole summer to do this, and it was worth it!" Nikki yelled as they began heading up the mountain.
"So where to, Zeke?!" Oliver asked.
"Just keep heading up and look for the largest clearing there is!" Zeke explained loudly, "That's where we're caping for the night!"
The four friends zoomed up the mountain without a care in the world. However, in doing so, they failed to notice a young man watching them. He appeared to be an eighteen-year-old man with white skin, black hair, blue eyes and wearing a unique style of clothing, colored in black and red, with a black body harness over his shirt and a red symbol on the back resembling a clock. He stared at the group in anger and determination in his eyes.
"Oma Zi-O…" He seethed before revealing a silver bike with resembling a watch with red lights, "I will stop you… one way or another…"
He then revved up the bike and sped on after them. However, he failed to see a blue and red creature stepping out from the cover of the trees. It growling and eventually stalked after them, like a predator stalking its prey.
TWIN FANG MOUNTAIN; 8:32 A.M.
At the Maximal base, the Maximals were gathering some of the scattered parts from their ship. Since their ship was damaged by the Predacons, some parts were scattered across the planet. A few landed nearby, but most were sent much farther away. And that's not the least of their worries; the parts have been laying on the planet for millions of years, so they must be almost defective by now. Nevertheless, the Maximals must retrieve the lost components and back on their mission with retrieving the Key and Golden Disk, arresting the Predacons, and returning to Cybertron. However, doing these tasks would prove to be difficult.
"How's it looking, Rattrap?" Optimus asked the rat, who was scurrying within the exterior armor via a large hole, looking for anything out of place. The rat robot's then popped his head out from the hole.
"Eh… no good, boss monkey," Rattrap said worriedly as he jumped out onto the ground and explained the situation, "The shields are an easy fix, but dat's the least of our worries; the online defense network and onboard weapons are completely wrecked! That makes dis ship good enough as a target for the Preds."
"Is it possible to repair both of them?" Optimus asked hopefully.
"If we had the right parts, then it would only take a few days," Rattrap sighed before exclaiming, "But we don't have the right parts, so it'll take months if not years!"
Just then, Cheetor appeared from the ship via the platform before jumping off and onto the ground.
"Man, when do we stop repairing and start exploring?!" Cheetor complained anxiously, "I can't wait to take these new beast forms on a test drive!"
"Easy, Cheetor," Optimus held his hand up, gesturing the cat bot to be patient, "We're still recovering from that crash, so it's best we take it easy. Not to mention, we're low on supplies on a planet we know nothing about, and that includes its geography. We can't just go exploring while we're blind."
As they conversed, Rhinox set up what looked like an alien camera drone before sending it up into the sky. Rhinox turned on the computer console he was working with and activated the drones camera, revealing forests and something that definitely looked familiar to him.
"We may be blind, I think we actually might know something about this planet," Rhinox said, catching the attention of his fellow robot explorers, "Look!"
He gestured them to look at the computer screen and what the saw shocked them. It was a concrete road filled with speeding vehicles. To see vehicles like these it could only mean one thing: the planet they were on was Earth…
"Are those…?" Rattrap gasped in shock.
"Cars and trucks; human-made vehicles," Rhinox finished that sentence, "I recognize them from researching the Cybertronian Exploration Archives."
"Wait, if these are human-made vehicles, then wouldn't that mean…" Cheetor began, thinking the same thing the others were thinking with his hair standing on end.
"We're on Earth…" Optimus said in confirmation, "The legendary battlegrounds of the Autobots and Decepticons, and the birthplace and homeworld of Kamen Rider Build himself…"
The Maximals all looked at each other in both excitement and shock. Sure they were exploration team, but they weren't exactly expecting to find one of the most famous locations in Cybertronian history, let alone Earth.
"Heh, and here we thought being stuck on this rock was a problem," Cheetor asked, getting a tingling feeling in his circuits, "Do you guys think Build will give me an autograph if we ever run into him?"
"Haha, we'll see, Cheetor," Optimus assured the cheetah bot before getting serious, "But our primary focus now is scavenging for any parts we'll need to repair the Axelon."
Cheetor nodded in response as he continued watching the cars and trucks speed up and down the road. Needless to say, he was in awe.
"Man, look at them go!" He said in awe of the speed.
"Ah, they're fast alright," Optimus commented, "Reminds me of your vehicle mode back on Cybertron."
"Hey, you think that's speed?" Cheetor said with pride, "You haven't seen the Golden Rocket. Check this out!"
Cheetor then sped off like a jet toward one of the mountains, much to Optimus' dismay.
"Cheetor! No! We have to stay together as a group!" Optimus shouted out, but it was too late. Cheetor was already too far away to hear. Optimus then decided to contact via the commlinks. Optimus pressed his hand on the left of his chest to call his scout back.
"Cheetor, return to base immediately!" Optimus ordered, "We don't have time for this!"
The commander waited for a response, but all he got was static, not that Cheetor got his message anyway as he got farther and farther away. Something was interfering with communications, enough to make it impossible for Cheetor to receive Optimus' orders.
"Cheetor?" Optimus spoke again, hoping for a response as Cheetor disappeared from sight range, "Please, respond!"
"No good, the energon fields mess up the comm-links," Rhinox explained the cause of the interference, "Anything over a hundred meters, they ain't worth scrap."
"Well, that's just prime," Optimus sigh. Something told him it was going to be a long time before they got back up into space.
"So, uh…" Rattrap caught his attention before asking, "Is this your first day on the job or what?"
"Shut up, Rattrap," Optimus said to the rat, not in the mood for anymore complaining.
"Oh, yes sir," Rattrap stood up on his hind legs like a soldier, speaking sarcastically, "Ya know, I feel just heaps better knowing our lives are in your capable hands… "
Rattrap then looked out into the unknown world, not liking anything that possibly comes next.
"…We're all gonna die."
OPPOSITE SIDE OF TWIN FANG MOUNTAINS; 9:17 A.M.
On the other side of the mountains, the two flying Predacons, Waspinator and Terrorsaur, were soaring through the air, searching for the Key. Since last night when the Predacons decided to divide and conquer - a bit literally there - they've been searching for the legendary artifact nonstop for hours. Due to this, they were starting to get exhausted, with Waspinator growing more bored by the minute.
"Wazzpinator cannnnot feel winnngs," He complained with a buzz as he put some space between every other flap of his wings, "Where izz zzztupid Key?"
"Stop complaining, Waspinator!" Terrorsaur scolded him, "We'll find it when we find it!"
"Ohhh…" Waspinator groaned, knowing this might last a bit longer than he wanted. The flying duo then reached the location of the coordinates they were given to find and retrieve the so called "Key".
"Alright, these are the last known coordinates of the Key's location," Terrorsaur said as his on-board computer gave him trajectory patterns of the most possible crash site of the artifact, courtesy of Tarantulas, "According to the trajectory calculations from Tarantulas, the Key's should have landed right around here."
Terrorsaur's computer narrowed down the location of the relic to a cliff up high on the mountain, and concluded that was the location of the Key's crash site. The two Predacons then flew over to the crash site, though it didn't look like anything crashed there recently, most likely due to the fact that it has been millions of years since they've arrived. Some native organic could have moved it, or shifts in the Earth's crust. They searched the cliff, but there was no sign of the Key or the frequency matching the one they were looking for.
"Ugh, not here," Waspinator buzzed, ready to call it quits. Terrorsaur was also ready to get out of there, but before they could take off, he got a reading on his on-board computer. This got him curious, especially since the Key was emitting pulses of it's frequency. The duo then decided to follow the pulses and locate the source. It led them to a group of trees and bushes, which they passed through, surprisingly, finding a large hole leading down into the mountain.
"Hmm…" Terrorsaur tapped the side of his beak, "It appears the Key isn't just on the mountain, but inside it."
"Wazzpinator don't want to fly downnn there," Waspinator whined, not wanting to fly anymore than what he has to.
"We'll have to report this news to Megatron," Terrorsaur ignored the wasp before activating his commlink, "Terrorsaur calling Megatron, do you read me?"
All Terrorsaur could get on the opposite end of the line was nothing but static.
"Megatron, do you read me?!" Terrorsaur repeated the message, but there was still nothing but static "Argh, it must be energon interference. We'll have to go on without them."
"But Wazzzpinator don't want to!" Waspinator complained loudly.
"Would you rather let the Maximals get the Key first?!" Terrorsaur countered, reminding the wasp that there would be consequences for failing to retrieve the Key, courtesy of Megatron himself.
"Wazzzpinator going!" Waspinator exclaimed in fear before quickly flying down the hole, followed by the pterodactyl.
THE FIRST TWIN FANG MOUNTAIN; 11:47 A.M.
A few hours have passed, but Logan and his friends finally found a clearing for them to set up camp. They had to cross rough terrain and avoid obstacles with the help of their Mountain Runners, but it was definitely worth it to get them there. The clearing they had to themselves was basically a cliff surrounded by trees and bushes close to the mountain with a good view of the zenith and the horizon. They had parked their vehicles up close to the trees, since that was the only way to the road they traversed, set up a pile of sticks in a circle of rocks as the campfire, and were now pitching up their tents; four to be exact.
"Oh, yeah," Nikki said with an excited smile as she finished pitching up her tent, "This is definitely worth the wasted summer vacay."
"Agreed," Oliver replied as he had a bit of trouble setting up his tent, "Next summer we should spend building helicopters instead."
"We'll see, Oliver," Zeke said with a chuckle before pointing out facts, "Although that might take five summers, three of which just finding the parts."
"…" Oliver mumbled before shrugging his shoulders saying, "Eh, who needs a chopper anyway?"
The four friends laughed at the joke before finishing up what they were doing. After Logan was done, he sighed with a smile before looking at the cliff's view of everything. He walked closer to the ledge and stared from down below at the bottom of the mountain to up at view that was given. From there he could see Divinity City, the rural district and all cars and trucks heading in and out of the city. Logan just stared at the view, thinking of what his parents might think, but was interrupted by Oliver tapping his shoulder, releasing him of his trance.
"Logan?" Oliver said with a quirked brow.
"Yeah, Oliver?" Logan replied.
"You were staring off into the horizon, man," Oliver explained the state Logan was in bluntly, "Penny for your thoughts?"
"Eh, I was just thinking," Logan simply replied before reaching into his shirt and grabbing the locket watch his great uncle gave him yesterday and looked at it. The sight of the locket watch surprised his friends.
"Is that your uncle's pocket watch?" Nikki asked in surprise.
"Sure is, Nikki," Logan nodded, "He gave it to my father years ago, but was given back to him after Mom and Dad died. And just last night, he gave it to me."
"Oh, man…" Oliver said in disbelief.
"And it's not just a pocket watch either," Logan said as he opened it, revealing his parents, his great uncle Robert, his older sister Rose in her teen years, and him when he was six years old, "It's also a locket."
"Whoa…" Zeke commented in interest, "You know, there are only a few pictures I've seen of your parents, and this one just made the list."
"Yeah," Logan let out a sigh before looking at the picture, "Well, if they were still here, what do you think they would say and what they might think if they see me now?"
His friends looked at him, knowing he was a bit saddened by the memories of the picture. They knew he needed support right now, so that's what they gave him as Oliver placed his left hand on Logan's shoulder.
"Well, first of all, I'm pretty sure they'd say they were proud of you, for both school and riding all the way up here," Oliver said in support, "Secondly, they'd think they couldn't ask for a better son."
"Oh, shut up, Oliver," Logan chuckled as his frown faded away.
"I'm serious, Logan," Oliver said as they looked at each other, "You're a great guy compared to those snobbish rich jackasses down at the school. You're friendly, kind, funny and smart."
"Heh… I'm not that smart, man," Logan humbly said before looking back at the locket, "I do, honestly, wish they were still here."
"Hey, they're always with you, man,"Nikki said with a fist to the heart, "Inside your heart."
"Awfully poetic of you Nikki," Logan said jokingly.
"HAHAHA!" Everyone started bursting into laughter. They honestly couldn't ask for a day to get better than this. A they all finished laughing, Zeke felt a sensation telling him to do something real quick and real badly.
"Well, I'm gonna go in the woods," Zeke said before walking into the trees surrounding them, "Nature's calling my name and I need to lighten my load."
"Ugh, Zeke…" Oliver said in disgust, with everyone shaking their heads in equal disgust.
"TMI, my brothers," Nikki said as she set up a chair for her to sit on.
"Agreed," Logan nodded his head as he and Oliver sat on two other chairs, "I mean, I love the guy, but there are boundaries."
It wasn't too long after Zeke went to go, that the gang heard one of their walkie talkies go off.
"This is ground level calling the mountain team," The voice of Zeke and Nikki's father spoke from the talkie, "Do you read me, mountain team?"
Oliver then walked to the vehicles and grabbed the talkie before replying.
"I read you, Mr. Bishop," He said.
"Oliver?" Mr. Bishop said, not expecting his kids' friend to answer, "Where's Zeke and Nikki?"
"Oh, Nikki's here with me, and Zeke heard 'the call of nature'," Oliver replied with an air quote gesture.
"Ah," Mr. Bishop said understandingly, "Just remind him to try not to go on the wrong bush. Last time he accidentally squatted on poison oak."
"Ooh, ouch," Oliver winced with a chuckle, "I remember that; he had to put gold bond down there for days to keep it from getting itchy."
Logan and Nikki then laughed at the memory of the event.
"Yeah, just make sure that doesn't happen again," Mr. Bishop requested, sounding like he didn't want Zeke to go through that again.
"Yes sir, over and out," Oliver said before putting away the walkie talkie and at down in another chair. Logan and Nikki were confused as to why he wasn't going to go into the woods to tell him the news.
"Aren't you gonna go and tell Zeke the info?" Logan asked in curiosity.
"Trust me, he'll be fine," Oliver said as he grabbed a water bottle and opened it, "After all this time, he should know what poison oak looks like, am I right?"
"Eh, touche," Logan shrugged before grabbing a water himself and sipping down.
Three minutes have passed and Zeke emerged from a bush after doing his business. He zipped up his fly and took out a half full water bottle and poured it onto his hands, and did the same thing with a small hand soap container. Zeke washed off his hands with the last of the water he had and sighed.
"Alright, I hope that wasn't poison oak," He said hopefully as he began walking back to camp before hearing a twig snap, "Hm?"
Zeke stopped in his tracks before walking towards the assumed direction of the snapping sound. He peeked from behind a tree and saw someone along, partially hidden by a few trees.
"Hello?" Zeke called out to the figure, but it kept limping along. He squinted his eyes, hoping to see the details of the figure, but at his angle, it was indescribable. Zeke then noticed it was walking along towards their campsite. He then started to think the east crazy and most possible explanation for the strange figure.
'Probably some other camper trying to pull a prank,' Zeke thought with a smirk, not knowing the severity of the situation as an idea jolted in his brain, 'But wait 'till he gets a taste of his own medicine.'
Zeke quietly tip-toed towards the mysterious figure, wanting to scare him the same way he would scare them. He was eventually right behind him, and then…
"BOO!"
The figure then turned around immediately at the sound of Zeke's scare. Though it looked more monstrous than human, being red, black and blue with sharp teeth and claws, and eyes resembling a red rabbit and a blue tank, with the word "BUILD" on his chest.
"Hm…?!" The creature stared at Zeke, almost unfazed by his prank. Zeke laughed a bit, but was startled at the sight of this… thing. It didn't stop him from smiling though.
"Whoa… some costume, dude!" Zeke complimented before wanting answers, "Well, it's clear my prank didn't work that well, so come on, take that ugly thing off."
The creature responded by growling at Zeke. This didn't scare Zeke as he still thought it was a prank.
"Dude, seriously," Zeke said bluntly, getting bored of the creature's 'act', "You can stop the growling."
That did not stop the creature. It just walked closer and closer to Zeke with its growling getting louder and more aggressive every second. Eventually, Zeke had enough of the act.
"I mean it, man, knock it off!" Zeke exclaimed as he stepped forward and attempted to pry the creature's face off, thinking it was just a mask. It was when it wouldn't come off, and the fact the beast got him off by actually scratching a hole in his shirt, was when Zeke backed up and realized this was no joke.
"Oh, you're not joking, are you?" Zeke asked before chuckling nervously, "Hehehe…"
The monster replied with an inhuman snarl.
"RRRR!"
"AAAAAHHH!" Zeke screamed in fear before running off towards the camp site, with monster right on his tail. The scream he let out was so loud, the others could tell it meant trouble.
"What the…?!" Logan stuttered as they all stood up and looked to the woods, "Was that Zeke?!"
"If it is, it sounds like he's in trouble!" Oliver said, and their suspicions were confirmed when he came out running in a panicked sprint.
"M-Mon… Mos… Ster" He stuttered in fright as he stopped right in front of his friends.
"Zeke?!" Nikki said, not knowing what he was saying before slapping him right across the face to calm him down before yelling, "ZEKE, CALM THE HELL DOWN ALREADY!"
"M-M-M-MONSTER!" Zeke clarified in a terrified yell, confusing his friends.
"Monster?" Logan said with a quirked brow in disbelief, "What are you talking about?!"
"There's a monster in the woods!" Zeke explained, still panicking. His friends, however, weren't buying it, thinking it was just a ruse to rile them up.
"Dude, you're screwing with us," Oliver proclaimed.
"I'm not!" Zeke denied as he pulled out his shirt and showed them the scratch it left, "Things that nearly kill me I don't take lightly! You all know that!"
"Pfft, yeah right," Nikki scoffed "Zeke, there's no such things as monsters, and if there were…"
"Uh, Nikki?" Logan's voice caught their attention as they saw him staring at the woods. But they soon learned it wasn't the woods he was staring at, but the monster Zeke was yelling about. The sight of the beast made their jaws drop, and shake a bit in both fear and shock.
"…Okay, we believe you," Oliver said bluntly as the beast stared at them menacingly as the "eyes" blinked. Logan stared back at the beast, and felt a sense of familiarity around it.
'This monster?' Logan thought in shock, 'It almost looks like that character from my dream.'
The monster then suddenly charged at the group, ready to strike. The friends all spread out to avoid the monster's strike.
"Run!" Nikki shouted as she attempted to make it to the Mountain Runners before the monster quickly jumped into her path at inhuman speed.
"Where?!" Zeke shouted a reply, "There's only one way out and that's past Mr. Monster Man!"
The monster then summoned two basketballs made out of some kind of energy and threw them at the friends.
"LOOK OUT!" Oliver shouted as they barely dodged the basketballs. Oliver, Zeke and Nikki tried to make a run for it, but wound up running right into each other. As they fell to the ground the monster walked slowly towards them. Logan saw this and wasn't going to let his friends go without a fight.
"Guys!" Logan exclaimed as he grabbed the monster's right arm, but was shook off like water on a dog, "Argh!"
"LOGAN!" The friends shouted in shock as Logan rolled across the ground landing close to the ledge, with the monster approaching him now. As Logan attempted to get up, he then noticed something on the ground near his head. He grabbed it with his free hand and stared at it, feeling like he saw it before.
"What the…?!" Logan said as he stood up, unaware of how close the monster was getting to him, "This watch…?"
It then hit him; the realization of the truth about that dream…
"It wasn't a dream!" Logan remembered everything that happened yesterday, from gaining the watch, Geiz trying to kill him, Tsukuyomi saving him, to meeting Kamen Rider Build.
Just then, someone shot the beast from behind, stunning him and shocking Logan and his friends.
"Who the-what the-?!" Zeke stuttered before looking at the direction of the shots and saw the most beautiful girl he ever saw in his life, making him swoon, "Ooh…"
Logan recognized her: it was Tsukuyomi!
"It's her!" Logan exclaimed in shock.
"Who the hell are you?!" Oliver yelled in panic.
"Just get behind me!" Tsukuyomi exclaimed, and the sight of the monster getting ready to charge at them again was enough to make them oblige. The beast shot more basketballs at them, but Tsukuyomi blocked them with her shots. She then saw Logan with the very watch he had in his hand. Her eyes widened in fear as she caught his attention.
"No!" She shouted at him, "Get rid of that watch! If you use it then you'll destroy everything!"
"What?!" Zeke quirked a brow, not liking that they were having a conversation in the middle of a fight.
"Why are talking to Logan like that?!" Nikki asked in equal shock.
"Dude, you know this girl?!" Oliver asked in equal shock and confusion, knowing Logan's not one for talking to girls, especially ones older than him. Logan stared back down at his watch, remembering how Tsukuyomi said that with it, he could gain ultimate power.
"Get rid of it now!" She demanded, blocking more shots, "Give up that foolish dream of being a king already!"
Those words confused Logan's friends, especially about the fact she knows about his dream of being a king.
"It's not foolish!" Logan responded as he stood up and explained his reasons, "When I was a kid, I've always wanted to be king, to make a better world so people can smile and have nothing to fear. And I would protect that peace and happiness with my life. When I thought like that, the only choice is to become a king!"
Those words shocked Tsukuyomi. This was definitely not the demon king she knew in 2068.
"Yes…" A familiar voice spoke, and everyone saw that it was the strange man Logan ran into yesterday.
"You simply must become king," He said insistently, holding his book tightly with a smirk.
"Another strange dude?!" Oliver said, thinking all of this talk about being a king was bizarre, "Is everyone acting crazy today?!"
"Woz…?" Tsukuyomi spoke in shock, wondering why her enemy was here, "What are you doing here?!"
"The power of Zi-O is unrivaled throughout time," Woz explained before facing Logan again, "Use that very power and the very world, including past, present and future, will be yours to command."
"Again, is everyone here crazy?!" Oliver repeated with a more demanding tone.
"Duck!" Zeke said as a basketball from the monster came at them. They all ducked out of the way, hoping this ill-timed conversation would end soon.
"I see…" Logan replied to Woz before asking him, "But if I do so, wouldn't that mean becoming the most evil overlord in history?"
"Which is why you shouldn't do so!" Tsukuyomi shouted insistently, "Don't bring about that evil!"
"Logan, what the hell is everyone talking about?!" Oliver demanded answers.
Logan gave it every thought. If he were destined to be an overlord, then maybe he could rewrite his destiny. He never wanted to be evil, he wanted to bring forth a new peaceful age of prosperity. He then nodded in determination before speaking up.
"Alright," He said, "I've made up my mind."
"If I am destined to be king…" Logan proclaimed, "Then I shall follow my destiny."
That statement made his friends quirk their brows in confusion as Tsukuyomi stared at him in shock and Woz smirked triumphantly.
"But I won't be a tyrant," Logan explained further into detail, "As a matter of fact, as of this day, I promise to be greatest and most beloved king in history! The king who will save the world!"
Needless to say, that statement shocked everyone.
"Hm?!" Oliver said.
"What?!" Nikki exclaimed.
"Huh?!" Woz said as his smile was replaced with a shocked expression.
"Seriously?!" Zeke said in disbelief.
Just then, the watch in his hand then lit up bright as it changed from mechanical black to black with a white ring in front with the symbol for "Rider" on top and the year 2018 on the bottom, with and arrow pointing upwards and a button on top of the watch. It had transformed into a Ridewatch.
"The watch… it changed?" Logan stared at it in shock.
"Your belt, My King," Woz approached Logan with the belt Geiz was wearing on top of a red cushion with gold highlights, "You should know how to use it."
Logan then took the belt stared at it for a second before bringing down to his waist. It then wrapped itself around Logan, fitting snugly.
Ziku-Driver!
"Then let's do this thing," Logan declared as he held out the Ridewatch, rotated the ring - making a helmet face - and pressed the button on top.
Zi-O!
Logan the slid the Ridewatch onto the right side of the belt and pressed the button on top down, making the belt tilt counterclockwise. Four clocks appeared on the screen with a giant holographic one appeared behind Logan, ticking backwards. Logan then decided to pose for the action with his right arm down next to his belt and bringing his left arm right. The sight of this reminded Tsukuyomi of the statue of him in 2068, making her fear the worst. Logan then rotated his palm to behind him, ready to change into the new king of time.
"Henshin!" He exclaimed as he swung his left arm down and left, rotating the belt 360 degrees and locking it into place with a clock chime, with the Ridewatch and belt screen lighting up, saying "Zi-O". Reality literally rotated with the clock behind him, with magenta symbols forming and launching out. Giant wristwatch bands made out of energy then surrounded and rotated around Logan.
Rider Time! Kamen Rider~ Zi-O!
The wristwatches then dissipated as Logan was now in his new form. He was now clad in a black watch-like suit similar to Geiz's but with a silver watch band, and having the hands of time sticking out diagonally from his silver white-faced, clock-like helmet. He had some magenta and silver highlights on his shoulders, chest and legs, had magenta fingers on his gloves, which were armored with Ridewatch holders. The belt was then labeled with the year 2018, The magenta symbols then shrunk and came back at Logan and slammed into his face, making a magenta visor of Katakana Japanese.
カメン = "Kamen"
ライダー = "Rider"
As of this day, Logan Briggs will go by another name… Kamen Rider Zi-O!
"HUH!?" Logan's friends yelled in shock, feeling like they were dreaming, but knew they weren't
"Whoa…" Logan said as he stared at his new suit and hands. It was then a certain someone decided to give introductions.
"Rejoice!" Woz called out, with his book opened up as he introduced Logan in his new form, "He is the one to inherit the powers of all Riders! The King who shall rule over all of time and space! The overlord who shall control the past, present and future! He is… Kamen Rider Zi-O! Bow before your new lord and master!"
"No…" Tsukuyomi said disheartedly, feeling like she failed her mission.
"I think…" Logan said as he held his helmet before declaring, "I think I can do this!"
Logan then charged at the beast, ready to fight. What he wasn't expecting was to actually fight back against it and pushed it back with a punch to the chest. The beast held its chest in pain as Logan looked as his armored fist in awe.
"Holy…" He commented, knowing that never had his kind of strength before as he charged at the monster again, locking them in an all-out fist fight. Feeling like he wasn't needed anymore at the time, Woz closed his book and walked away into the forest.
'Such power…' Logan thought in awe, 'I barely could stand up to bullies back then. But know I'm strong enough to protect my friends, my family, and my future subjects from… whatever this thing is.'
Zi-O then punch the monster back again, but before he could land another strike, the monster threw an energy ball at him, sending him to the ground.
"Argh!" He groaned before starting to get up, "Ow… That hurt…"
Logan was then surprised by a watch-like sword with magenta katakana symbols appearing from his belt.
Zikan Girade!
Ken!
ケン = "Sword"
"A sword?" He said with a quirked brow under his helmet before the monster threw another ball at him.
Logan immediately stood up and blocked the shot with his new sword before charging at the creature. He pressed down on the trigger and swung the sword, sending the monster reeling back onto the ground.
"Ah, nice," Logan commented as he admired the sword. However, the admiration came to an end as the monster stood in a crouching position, looking pissed off.
"Why,you…!" It growled as it summoned another ball, dribbled it and jumped into the sky, ready to finish off the new Kamen Rider.
"Uh-oh," Zi-O said in panic before seeing a slot on the sword, making him wonder, "Wait, what if I…?"
Logan looked down at his Ridewatch before removing it from the Ziku-Driver. He then placed it into the slot on the sword, activating a new ability.
FINISH TIME!
As the monster dived towards him, Logan got into a pre-jump stance.
"It's time to end this!" He proclaimed as he jumped as swung his sword at the monster.
Zi-O… GIRI GIRI SLASH!
Zi-O swung the sword, cutting the ball in half and destroying it, and striking the monster as a clock appeared temporarily before exploding. The monster's body was then sent falling into the woods, defeated. Logan then stood up and placed the Ridewatch back into his belt, admiring its abilities
"Well, glad that's over with," Logan sighed in relief before putting his two index fingers on his forehead. Logan's friends then ran past Tsukuyomi to him, all of which in shock, awe and confusion. It was time for them to get some answers, and they wanted them now!
"Dude!" Zeke exclaimed in shock.
"What the hell, man?!" Oliver yelled in both anger and confusion, "Since when could you fight like that?!"
"And how do you know this girl?!" Nikki asked demandingly
"Uh…" Logan tried to find the right words, but was bombarded with another question.
"And more importantly, what's all this stuff about being a king?!" Oliver asked as they all stared at him in suspicion.
"Well, um…" Logan stuttered, trying to find a good way to explain all of this.
"You!" Another familiar voice called out. It caught the attention of Zi-O and his friends as they saw a teenage man around Tsukuyomi's age. Logan recognized the voice from yesterday, and knew it could only be one person…
"I take it you're Nathaniel Gates?" He hazarded a guess, making his friends even more confused. They wondered how he knew all these people all of a sudden.
"Why'd you choose to be king?!" Geiz demanded, wondering why Logan would choose a dark path towards destruction. Logan remained silent for a moment before giving him an answer.
"I guess… no…" He began with a straight face, "I knew this was my destiny from the day I was born!"
Those words, once they reached Gates' ears, shocked him. He knew those words from back in 2068, where Oma Zi-O rules. They were the exact words said to him and the resistance fighters by the demon king himself.
"You fools could never defeat me," Gates recalled the words, "Do you know why…?"
He then recalled the answer of Oma Zi-O's question.
"...Because I was born to be king…"
Gates clenched his fist in anger and determination. If that was true, then there is only one way to defeat Oma Zi-O and change the future… one way to save the world from annihilation… the destruction of Logan Briggs… AKA Kamen Rider Zi-O!
"If that's so…" Gates began as he removed his personal Ridewatch from its holder, "Then I have no choice; I will put you down myself!"
"What?!" Oliver, Nikki and Zeke shouted in shock, hoping that was just a metaphor.
"Uh-oh…" Logan said in realization, knowing that wasn't a metaphor. Gates then pulled out his Ziku-Driver and placed on his waist.
Ziku-Driver!
Gates then rotated the ring of the Ridewatch, which read "Rider" in Japanese and was dated 2068, into his Rider helmet and pressed on the button.
Geiz!
Logan and his friends watched as the future Rider began his transformation by inserting the watch and slamming his fist down on the belt's button. The screen of the belt, unlike Logan's, was showing binary code, and instead of a clock appearing behind him, there was a futuristic digital watch, rotating with digital numbers on it. Gates stuck his hands out forward, left above right, extended them out, rotated them clockwise before grabbing the tilted ends of the Driver.
"Henshin!" He called out with a stern face before spinning it. The watch behind him spun at the same time, making the belt say "Geiz" with a digital beeping. The giant yellow hiragana symbols for "Rider" appeared before launching out as red and black wristbands made of energy surrounded him, changing him.
Rider Time! Kamen Rider~ Geiz!
Gates was now Kamen Rider Geiz as the wristbands vanished, revealing his suit. The belt read 2068 as Logan's friends stared at him in shock and awe. Geiz then pulled out a black Ridewatch with an orange with and eye symbol and the year 2015. He rotated the ring and activated the Ridewatch.
Ghost!
Geiz then inserted the Ridewatch into the opposite side of the belt, making it light up orange. He slammed the button on the belt down again before grabbing the Driver and spinning it once more.
ARMOR TIME!
The function allowed Geiz to summon some kind of armor in black that imitated his movements as he approached. The armor spread out and latched onto his body, making a black helmet with orange face and silver horn on the forehead, a black chest plate with an eye symbol in front, giant eyeballs a shoulder armor, and black leg armor with orange highlights.
Kaigan! GHO~ST!
Geiz's visor then went blank as new Hiragana symbols attached to his face.
ごーすと = "Ghost"
This was new even for Logan, as he didn't know Geiz could do that. But right now was not the time for thoughts. Right now was a time to be worried.
"Oma Zi-O, prepare to die!" Geiz declared, feeling ready to kill Logan.
Those words made Logan and his friends gasp in fright.
"Wait, just… hold on!" Zi-O said, trying to settle a peaceful negotiation. But Geiz was in no mood to talk, only to fight. He summoned four Parka Ghosts from the shoulders and charged at him. The four ghosts attacked him, and he was able to either dodge or block the attacks with his sword before Geiz punched him in the chest. Logan held his chest in pain before turning his face towards his friends. He couldn't let them get in more danger than they already were, so there was only one thing for him to do.
"Guys, get out of here!" Logan exclaimed, shocking his friends.
"But Logan…" Oliver tried to argue, but Logan was not going to let them get involved in this battle.
"NOW!" Zi-O shouted insistently, "I'LL CATCH UP WITH YOU GUYS!"
Logan's friends were at a loss; they wanted to run away, but they didn't want to leave their friend behind. But they realized that Logan was buying them time to escape, so they abide by his wish and fled the scene. Logan saw the direction they ran through as he fended off against Geiz as best as he could. With a back kick from Geiz, Zi-O was sent stumbling towards the ledge.
"Argh!" He groaned before looking behind him, and downward for that matter. Zi-O gulped in nervousness, feeling like this was the end.
"You won't be catching up with anyone, Oma Zi-O!" Geiz proclaimed, "It's time to finish what I started!"
Geiz then pressed the buttons on the Ridewatches, beginning his finisher.
FINISH TIME! GHOST!
Geiz slammed the button on the Ziku-Driver again, grabbed both sides, and spun it around, making it beep. Logan could only watch as Geiz jumped into the air, with the hiragana extending out to Zi-O.
OMEGA TIME BURST!
Logan panicked as he brought his sword up in a defensive position. He had a feeling the sword wasn't going to be enough to stop Geiz as he quickly descended into a drop kick towards him. What they weren't expecting was Tsukuyomi in her Time Majin punching him off course, deactivating his armor and having him land roughly on the ground. Logan lowered his sword and stared at her in shock. She was trying to prevent him from becoming Oma Zi-O like Geiz. Why the hell would she save his life again.
"Wha-?!" Logan said in disbelief, "You saved me again?"
"Don't just stand there!" Tsukuyomi exclaimed to him, "Run!"
"Oh, right!" Logan exclaimed in realization before immediately following the path his friends took. Eventually, he found them, resting up from running away at another cliff.
"Hey, guys!" Logan caught their attention with a shout.
"Logan!" Oliver said in relief as his friend stopped in front of them, "You okay, man?"
"I'm fine, but what about you guys?" Logan asked in worry.
"Same here, but you owe us an explanation!" Zeke exclaimed with a glare, wanting an explanation to all of this, "Now!"
"Can't it wait until we get out of-!"
Logan's question was cut off by another tremor. Normally, the tremors are usually average and small, but recently they've been occurring more often and have been getting bigger. This tremor in particular was the biggest so far as it literally last five seconds and nearly knocked them off balance.
"Uh… you guys felt that, too, right?" Logan asked, fearing what that quake could have done.
"Oh, I felt it alright," Nikki replied in equal fear, "And I don't like it."
Just then, another quake occurred, and it was even bigger than the last one. It shook the mountain so badly, it made the group of friends lose their balance. The earthquake could also be felt in Divinity City as traffic lights sparked, street lamps broke and fell into the street, and a few crashes happened to a few cars. But that was nothing, the quaking seemed to be coming from inside the mountain, as the shaking was more violent there. The large tremor was so strong, it began ripping a hole in the mountain where Logan and his friends were.
"Ah, crap, the quakes are opening up the mountain!" Logan shouted in panic before the cracks enlarged, revealing a naturally-formed water slide.
"Water?!" Oliver said in shock before hearing footsteps nearby. They turned around and saw Geiz right behind them.
"Oma Zi-O!" He called out in determination, "You're finished!"
"Oh, no, I'm not!" Logan shot back before staring at the water slide.
Nikki looked at him and saw the look he was making, despite the helmet covering his face, "Dude, you're not seriously thinking of-"
"COWABUNGA!" Zi-O called out as he jumped into the mountain and down the water slide.
"He was, and he just did!" Oliver said before deciding to follow Logan's example, "Let's go!"
The three friends then jumped down into the mountain after Logan. Geiz tried to follow them, but another quake hit, sealing off the crack.
"NO!" He shouted as he tried to get to the crack before it sealed shut, but it was too late. The way into the mountain was closed off, probably for good.
"DAMMIT!" Geiz said in frustration, knowing that every day Zi-O lives, Oma Zi-O destroys.
Logan and his friends were sliding through the water as it carried them deeper and deeper into the mountain. Despite being in a dangerous situation, they were actually having fun. That fun, however, eventually had to come to an end as they all tossed into an underground cavern, hitting the stone ground, the impact was so hard, it knocked them all unconscious. The friends just laid there, without a hope of getting out of the mountain. But as they laid there, a light shone from a crack in one of the walls. This light seemed to react with the Zi-O Ridewatch, but Logan would be unable to use it until he woke up.
TWIN FANG MOUNTAIN; 12:07 P.M.
Cheetor was about a quarter mile away from the mountain Logan and his friends were camping on. He sped up, but when another quake hit, something on his on-board scanners detected a unique energy at a pulsing frequency. Cheetor hit the brakes once he got the spike, and looked up the mountain. The frequency seemed to be occurring a the exact same time as the quakes.
"What the…?" He said, baffled by the sudden appearance of the frequency, "What in the universe could that be?"
Cheetor looked up at the mountain, trying to see if his scanners can detect the source of the pulses. However, that proved to be difficult due to the fact that the energon fields were dampening the signal. It then dawned on him that the frequency matched that of the Key he and the Maximals are searching for.
"Better check it out!" Cheetor exclaimed as he attempted to use his commlink, "Cheetor to Optimus, I think I might've found the Key! Requesting back up!"
Cheetor's commlink only replied with static, due to the energon fields. He kept attempting to contact the Maximals though.
"Optimus?" Cheetor said into the commlink once more, "Do you read me?!"
Once again, Cheetor was met with more static. He sighed in frustration, knowing he would have to search fo the Key on his own.
"Ah, scrap, looks like I'm on my own," He said before looking up a the mountain one last time before back on the trail that led to it, "Full speed ahead!"
Cheetor sped off again towards the mountain, in search for the Key. Although, what he's not expecting is the enemy closing in on the mountain. Megatron, Tarantulas and Scorponok were heading towards the mountain, also in search for the Key. The leader growled in frustration as they couldn't find it anywhere, but was still determined to find it before the Maximals do. As they approached the mountain, something popped up on Taratnulas' scanners. It was an energy signature, but not that of the Key.
"Megatron, look over there!" Tarantulas caught his leader's attention, pointing one of his hairy spider limbs up at the mountain.
"Hm?" Megatron said in curiosity before he and Scorponok looked at what the spider was looking at. It appeared on scanners as a red animal symbol; one that is definitely not one of their own.
"The Maximals?" Scorponok suggested.
"Maybe…" Megatron replied before looking stern with his T-Rex face, "We can't risk letting them getting to the Key first! MOVE OUT!"
Megatron and his lackeys then made their way up the mountain, double-time. As they sped up, Megatron growled in anger, not wanting a weakling Maximal to get their filthy hands on the Key. But little did he know, he would encounter a new threat to his quest for power, one that will change not only the world, but the entire galaxy…