Kamen Rider Infected!

(And were back~! Hope everyone did enjoy the last chapter a few weeks back, and yeah, I understand that the story is...not that popular at the moment, but I promise that over time it will improve! So for now, lets just get on with the show shall we?)

(Like before, their are owners to certain elements in this story, and the list for them is right here:

The owners to said themes are:

-Valve

-Visceral Games

-Konami

-Newgrounds

-Radical Entertainment

-Shotaro Ishinomori

-Capcom

-And Crytec!

(With that said and done, its time for the next chapter!)

(Translation/speech graph)

"Talking" / 'Thinking'

In transformation: "Talking" / 'Thinking'

"Gauntlet announcement"

"Christoff talking" / 'Thinking'

*Infected sound, gunfire, explosion, etc!*

Chapter 2: The meaning of a Hero! Part 1!

It was late in the day, exactly two days after James had begun his journey towards Riverside, as we find James having a light debate with Christoff over a certain...issue.

"Look all I'm saying is that, compared to most beverages, beer is the most practical alcoholic drink out there!"

"That may be so, but it certainly has more quality and taste than cider does!"

Yeah, the argument started when James decided to ask Christoff some questions about his home and they somehow managed to arrive on the topic of Octoberfest.

After about 10 minutes of this, the two decided to call off the argument with the agreement that both cider and beer were good to drink. As they rode in silence, James looked around and noticed that the were beginning to enter one of the more forested areas.

"Hey, Christoff? I think we might be getting a bit closer to Riverside." Christoff didn't say anything, but nodded in thought as he took in the surroundings around them.

For a moment, James didn't say anything, but decided to ask something thats been bothering him for quite some time now.

"Hey, Christoff?"

"Hmm?" Christoff mumbled as he shifted his attention to James.

"Do you...have a way to show expressions? Like a hologram or something?" James asked as he had been somewhat curious about that. He never really knew what Christoff was doing and due to just hearing his voice, it drew up a lot of moments when he wondered what the man was feeling at the time.

"Expressions? Well, I do but I've never really messed with it till now." For a second nothing happened, but soon a small hatch opened up on the gauntlet as a hexagon-shaped screen popped up. The screen then turned on to reveal a small face made up smaller lines.

(AN: Basically, think of Mr. Belt but in a different shape.)

"Does this work?" James was surprised but nodded nonetheless as he then spoke. "Not bad, though I'm surprised that the Gauntlet had something like this built in."

"This Gauntlet holds many secrets James, some that even I am unaware of, but that only adds to the severity of keeping it safe." James nodded at this, seeing the logic as the Gauntlet could very well hold some rather interesting things inside it.

As they rode on in silence, James thought of something interesting.

'Wonder what I'd be called if I was a rider? I've already got a bike, some interesting weaponry, and a rider form, so what would my name be?' James thought as he continued to drive, not noticing that the area seemed to grow more and more quiet.

Christoff didn't seem to speak for a while as he was dealing with his own thoughts at the moment.

'To become an undead, when he was previously alive - what else is the serum capable of? It no doubt has some interesting effects, but what is its TRUE potential?'

Shaking off the thought, Christoff's face appeared again as he looked towards James.

"James?!" Christoff exclaimed as James looked towards him. "Whats up Doc?"

"I feel it'd be best for us to move on foot for now, I don't trust the area," Christoff said as he seemed to be alert as he was disturbed by how silent the forest seemed.

James seemed confused by this, but nodded as he stopped the motorcycle before hopping off. "Wait, how am I going continue on foot if I have to take this think with me?"

Christoff mused on the idea before speaking up once again.

"Try pressing the two different buttons on either side of the main dial, then turn the dial till it is facing north before pressing down on it," Christoff comments as James did as instructed before the bike began to shake.

Backing away, James and Christoff watched in amazement as the bike began to fold in on itself as it continued to get smaller and smaller. After a few minutes, the bike finally stopped shifting to reveal that the bike was now the size of a toy car.

As James picked it up, he couldn't help but comment. "Damn, its so small now! This'll be help out a lot later on." Pocketing the bike, James turned and began to walk down the road in silence.

Looking around, he couldn't help but admire the silence that filled the air. It was certainly a better thing compared to the screaming that the common often did.

James stopped, however, as he looked ahead and noticed a sign that was hanging slightly. Looking closely at it, he then muttered as he read it.

"Riverside...1/2 mile out," as he finished, he then woke Christoff up with a shake of the arm.

"Hey, Christoff! Look! We're so close now!" Christoff stirred as he read the sign and seemed slightly happy at the news, though still annoyed because he was woken up.

"Thats great, now then...CAN YOU NOT WAKE ME UP UNTIL WE GET THERE?!" James winced at the sudden volume change as Christoff soon went back to sleep, leaving James to his own thoughts.

"...alright..." James then continued to move forward. As he walked on, he couldn't help but remember something from his time in basic training.

~Flashback!~

"Move it privates! You've only got one more lap to go!" Exclaimed a certain Drill sergeant as she ran beside a group of at least 40 privates.

The Drill sergeant was a young woman around the age of 23, and around the height of 5"9'. She had light brown skin, short-cut hair that had a tomboyish-charm to it, and Dark-blue/brown eyes.

She was clad in standard military attire, which consisted of a camo-styled jacket and pants, a plain white shirt, and a pair of black combat boots.

This was Allison Ford, a Drill Sergeant thats been in the military for about 2 years now, but it would soon be 3 years in the next two months.

As the group continued to run, one person in particular stood out the most as he was slightly lagging behind, looking heavily exhausted.

She took notice of this, and decided to call him over to figure out what was wrong.

"Private James Mason! Front and center!" The young private, now identified as James, flinched slightly as he turned to her with a nervous expression.

As he approached her, he couldn't help but cower slightly under her stern gaze. Allison was a very strict person, but thats mostly because when she notices something is up.

After he approached her, she crossed her arms as she stared at him. "Private James, why do you seem so exhausted compared to the others?"

He shuffled slightly, but decided to answer. "I-uh-kinda had a hard time sleeping last night, and I was unable to pass out after 3 or 4 attempts, and ended up staying awake for the rest of the night." Allison didn't say anything for a moment, though you could clearly tell she was annoyed due to the tick mark on her forehead, as she then got closer to James.

He was worried about what she would do, but decided to try endure whatever she would dish out.

"You...MORON!" But in this case, he regretted his decision as she then slammed her fist into his head, promptly giving him a rather nasty bruise.

"What have I told you? If your not feeling well then inform me!" She scolded as she rubbed her temples in frustration. James was clutching his head in pain, but he couldn't argue her point. She had warned him before that if he did this again then she would make sure he understand the consequence, and look at what he did.

"Sorry," he said with a strained voice before he found himself hoisted upward before he was settled down...on her back.

...What?

"Geez," she sighed as she picked herself up, "I guess I've got no choice but to carry you back." At this, James began to panic as an embarrassed blush settled on his cheeks. This was way too bold.

"W-Wait, Allison! We can't do this, what'll the others say?!" James exclaimed frantically, though Allison didn't seem all too embarrassed by the action.

"They'll see that I'm assisting an over-exerted private back to the base since he's exhausted." She honestly didn't care what any of the other privates said, because she knew they wouldn't say much. She was protective when it came to the privates she looked after, but James was a case that even a few of the other sergeants knew not to mess with him. Less they face her wrath.

James was blushing in embarrassment, but he knew he wouldn't be able to get out of this. Sighing, he relaxed himself and slowly fell asleep, not noticing the small smile Allison had on her face.

'Heh, he's almost cute sleeping like this' Allison thought with a chuckle as she made her way back to the camp before the memory began to fade.

~End Flashback!~

"James?"

"James!"

James shook his head as he heard the shout and turned to see Christoff's face plate blinking with a caution sign.

"Christoff? What's wrong?" He asked as he listened closely, trying to pick up anything out of the ordinary in their area.

"I'm not sure, I've had the radar up since we started walking, and after awhile I had figured we were in the clear, but I picked up something!"

"Radar? We have a radar?" James asked in a confused tone as Christoff decided to elaborate.

"Yes, among the many features this suit possesses, its radar system is the most unique as it allows us to keep track of any motion within a given radius."

"...Okay, you seriously need to tell sometime later about these things," James said in a deadpan tone. Christoff gave an understood expression as the two then turned serious.

"So, what did you pick up?"

"I don't know, it was too fast to be just an animal. Whoever, or WHAT-ever was out there, its gone now." James nodded, but he remained on alert as he didn't wish to get ambushed.

Walking still, James noted that the forest now seemed almost devoid of life. Not a sound was made, even the wind had stopped.

"Its too quiet out here." James nodded, but stopped as he noticed something far ahead. Off in the distance, it looked as though several tents had been set up and a few vehicles were parked as if to form a barricade.

"I think we found one of the outposts, or what left of it," James said as he approached the vehicles cautiously, looking for any sign of movement.

As soon as he got close enough, he got a full view of the area. And it was not pleasant.

Several tents had tears in them, and blood splatters at the side of them. Supply crates were opened and practically cleaned out, from medical to food to even ammunition, nothing was left. But what disturbed him the most, was the fire pit.

Dug in deep, the fire pit was filled with charred corpses of either military personal or civilians. Looking at them, he noticed that many of them had traces of bite marks or deep gashes in their stomachs or sides.

"What...happened here?" Christoff asked slowly, greatly disturbed by the sheer brutality.

"I don't know, but I think someone might have gotten infected and attacked the others, and whoever was left...must've given them a more honorable death." Looking to the side, he noticed a body slumped against a crate and immediately looked away in horror.

It was a sergeant, based on the outfit and badge, but there was no way of identifying him as in his limp hand was a 870 shotgun, and a single used shell on the ground. Whatever remains of the head, were nowhere in sight as there was only skull fragments, blood, and brain matter.

Backing away from the sight, he breathed in slowly in an attempt to calm himself.

"Christoff...I think...I think we should go."

"Agreed, this place...its too haunting."

James nodded and turned and proceeded to leave, until he heard something.

*Snap!*

"Who's there?!" James said as he turned to the woods and looked around, keeping calm as he tried to focus. Slowly and quietly, he readied himself in case of a sudden ambush.

"Christoff, is your radar picking anything up?"

"Yes, but I don't know what-JAMES, YOUR SIX!?"

James' eyes widened as he turned to see something coming out from behind one of the trees. As soon as it got in the light, it turned out to be a young woman. At least, thats what he thought till he looked at her closely.

She looked around her early twenties, and was wearing a ripped up police uniform, namely torn at the arms. She had pale skin, almost completely white, with long white hair reaching down to her mid-back.

However, what features stood out the most were her hair and eyes. Her hands and nails had were soaked in dried blood, but her nails were not normal whatsoever as they were very long and very sharp.

Her eyes were yellow with no pupil, but were glowing brightly as she moved closer to him, while her neck had dried blood on it that came from a strong bite. James backed up slightly, more so from fear than intimidation, to which Christoff picked up on.

"James? What's wrong?"

"Christoff, that's one of the uncommons!" James whispered back quickly, giving the hint that Christoff had to remain quiet. "Its a witch, a very dangerous uncommon that attacks when startled and could kill someone in mere seconds."

"Oh dear, what do we do?"

"As long as we remain quiet, we may be able to give her the-

*Crack!*

-slip."

Looking down, James saw a now broken piece of glass and mentally cursed. Turning back quickly, he paled as the Witch was now staring at him, letting out a low growl as she flexed her claws.

James saw that she looked ready to charge, so did the most sensible thing he could think of...

...he ran...

Making a quick turn, James made a break for the barricade and promptly jumped over one of the smaller cars and ran down the dirt path. Behind him, the Witch quickly noticed what James was doing an let out an animalistic cry.

*Screeeeech!*

In mere seconds, she gave pursuit and quickly climbed over the cars and chased after James, who had managed a good distance in just a small amount of time.

"Christoff! Is she still after us?!" James shouted, not at all wishing to look behind him as he ran down the hill. "Yes, and she's picking up speed!"

"How?!"

"Because you decided to run on a down-hill slope!" Christoff shouted while James couldn't help but feel stupid. Why the hell didn't he go UP-hill?!

Quickly looking back, James gasped as he saw that the Witch was indeed getting closer. Thinking fast, James reached for the Merger Needle and placed it into the gauntlet.

"Standing by!"

"3!" The first light turns red.

"2!" The second light turns orange.

"1!" The third light turns green before they all turn blue.

"Henshin!" James shouted as he pressed down on the three buttons before light enveloped him again, before revealing his armored form.

Soon, James stopped running as he soon reached the bottom of the hill, which lead to a large clearing. He would've remarked how peaceful the area seemed, but he then remembered his current situation.

Turning, he was then greeted by the sight of the Witch once more, coming to a stop as well as she looked up and saw James. At first, she didn't recognize him due to the armor, but once she caught his scent she readied herself to attack again.

"Christoff, how can I hold her off for now?" James asked as he kept a hand behind his back, ready to grab one of his weapons if necessary.

"It appears that she's a melee fighter, but I don't think hand-to-hand will work here, use your sword!" James nodded and pulled out the upgraded machete before running forward.

Charging in, he attempted to go for the kill by aiming for her head, but to his shock, she ducked! Crouching low, she threw her arm up and dragged her claws across his chest-plate, causing some sparks to fly off. James recoiled, but shook it off before sending a kick to her mid-section, to which connected as it knocked her back several steps.

She clutched her stomach, before looking at him in pure rage before screaming out as she pounced on him. He couldn't dodge it as he soon was thrown onto his back while the Witch began to slash wildly at his armor, causing more sparks to fly off.

"Agh! Get off of me!" Grabbing hold of her clawed arms, he pushed her off of him before kicking her back. Picking himself up, he grabbed his sword once again and settled in a defensive stance. Seeing this, the Witch growled again as she crouched low and readied herself.

"I don't get it, most uncommon fight either clumsily or wildly, how is she so...different?" James muttered as he gripped the sword and readied himself.

Before the fight could start again, something stopped them in their place.

*RAAAAAUUUUGH!*

"What...in god's name...is that?" Christoff asked slowly as the ground began to shake frantically, as if a large herd of animals were charging toward them.

"Something bad, Christoff, something really bad!" Even the Witch looked frightened as it seemed to be shaking in fear before she took off running into the woods, leaving James behind.

As James looked and saw this, he turned around to see several trees shaking wildly while some of the smaller ones merely fell.

"We need to move - Now!" James turned and made a dash for the woods as well, going off in the separate direction of the Witch. As soon as he was out of sight, a large figure soon stomped into the clearing.

Its body was grotesquely muscular, save for its legs and head, and was covered in mud, twigs, and blood. It looked around with white eyes, trying to spot whatever made that noise, but merely grunted before going back through the trees, seemingly lost interest.

~With James~

After running for roughly ten minutes, James finally came to a stop as he leaned himself next to a lone tree, gasping for breath.

"Just perfect, now we have to deal with THAT thing!" James muttered irritably as he sat himself down after re-sheathing his sword.

"I am very concerned, James, just what ARE these uncommon?" At this question, James sighed.

"Uncommon infected are essentially a batch of mutated commons that possess different abilities. Witches, for example, can give off the impression of a crying woman and lure in anyone who is foolish enough to go near them. They can also take an enormous amount of damage before they die."

"Next up, are Smokers. They are considered a menace at long range due to their tongues, which can grab you and reel you in before they kill you."

"Boomers are next on the list, but don't take them lightly. They look comical at best, but if they vomit on you or worse, explode on you, common infected with swarm you in mere seconds."

"Hunters, they are your worse nightmare. They leap from building to building, and if they were to spot you, they'll pounce on you and rip you to shreds."

Christoff's faceplate looked utterly frightened by the information, but the next bit nearly choked him.

"Finally, there are Tanks, as in, what was about to find us back there. They are capable of smashing through walls, pulling concrete from the ground and throw it at you, and could crush you to death like it was nothing."

"OKAY! I understand now, just stop with these horrifying mental images!" Christoff blurted out, clearly not wanting to hear anything else as his faceplate closed up.

"Sorry," James said before he heard something off in the distance. Picking himself up, he approached the sound and realized it was the sound of crying. Looking from behind a tree, he spotted the Witch from earlier, curled up next to a tree and crying.

"Why does it seem so...human?" James asked no one in particular, keeping his voice down in order to not get caught. The question, however, didn't go unnoticed from Christoff.

"I am not sure, but after our fight with it earlier, I think I may know why."

"And whats that?" James asked until he noticed the forest darken slightly, and looked up to see that the it was close to night time. "Hold up, lets try and find a spot to relax."

He then moved away from the area and found a small clearing with a small stream nearby. Pressing back down on the three buttons, James' armor disappeared in a burst of blue light.

As James sighed, he rubbed his eyes in exhaustion. Today had proven to be nothing but trouble as all they had found was an abandoned camp, a skilled Witch, and a very pissed tank thats now wandering the forest with said Witch.

"So, you said you've got an idea?" James asked as Christoff's faceplate appeared, again with a serious look on it.

"Correct. After analyzing the fight, I think I have an idea as to why that Witch was capable of fighting like that, and the answer is memory."

"Memory?"

"Yes. After observing some of the common infected, I have deduced that among them, the uncommon are the only ones capable of possessing a living link to their memories due to their mutated state."

"That Witch, for example, seemed to possess some memory of her previous occupation. Looking at her attire, my best guess is that she was originally a Police officer or a member of the Swat."

James nodded as he noticed that some of those moves were often taught to officers as a means of either defense or offense. But with that said, another question came to him.

"But, how is that possible? Doesn't the virus usually affect their minds the most?"

"Even if they're dead, they still manage to cling to what bit of humanity they have left."

James eyes widened slightly, but he couldn't help but nod at that. He's seen something like that at least once when he was getting out of the city. When some people chose to hide in certain buildings without a single infected noticing them, the things always seem to know where they were.

As James sat around, his thoughts drifted back the that Witch. She was already infected, that was a fact, but she seemed like she was still...there.

Not just in body, but in mind.

He then couldn't help but feel upset at seeing was she had become. He couldn't have stopped it, but he felt like he could've at least stopped her suffering. But even then, that made him feel worse.

"I know she's already dead but...why do I feel so guilty?!" James asked himself quietly, wondering why all the feelings were just popping up, and he didn't understand why!

"James?"

James jumped at the sudden voice, but turned to see it was Christoff who had spoken up. "Whats up?"

"I have a question to ask; Why did you say 'Henshin' when you transformed? And where did some of those fighting moves come from? If I recall, they do not teach these in the military."

James stiffened at this, but sighed as he figured he may as well explain.

"Well...Christoff, have you ever heard of the Tokusatsu genre?" James asked as a confused face appeared for Christoff.

"I...can't say I have, what is it?"

"It means live-action drama. Its a genre that some shows in Japan have, including...the shows that I somewhat learned those moves from."

"And that is?"

"Its uh...its called Kamen Rider."

Christoff seemed intrigued by this as he released a questionative 'hmm', prompting James to continue.

"You see, the show itself originally centered around a man named Takeshi Hongo, a biochemist and motorcycle racer, who is captured by a mysterious organization called SHOCKER. Their goal is essentially to rule the world, and create their armies by kidnapping people and turn them into either cyborgs or monsters called Kaijen. Anyway, when Hongo is about to be put through the final brainwashing process, he is saved by a Professor named Hiroshi Midorikawa, who had decided to betray SHOCKER as he saw their mission as a nightmare. After that, Hiroshi is later killed by one of their Kaijen and this enrages Hongo, allowing him to transform into his Rider state and defeat him. After that, Hongo starts his battle against SHOCKER and their Great Leader."

Christoff seemed silent, until he spoke up.

"And, am I to guess that the reason why the armor, weaponry, and the motorcycle is because of said show?" James flushed in embarrassment, but nodded as Christoff released an amused laugh.

"I will admit, I am surprised at the mere aspect of the reason, but I can't help but find it amusing that the armor's entire was based around one single show!"

James seemed kinda uneasy, to which Christoff noticed.

"...Its not just one show, is it?"

James nodded, and explained that there were at least 32 Kamen Rider programs, along with a few Manga's, and several films that had been released over the years.

Christoff was astonished at the amount of shows and films, and more so by the mere aspect of the themes that each rider possessed. It was very peculiar indeed.

"Well, that certainly is interesting - a bit strange but still interesting."

"Thanks." James then settled into an awkward silence, one that even Christoff seemed to notice, and merely gazed a the rising moon.

"James, what is troubling you?"

James didn't say anything at first but sighed as he laid back.

"Its just...after I got this armor, I had begun to think about those shows a lot recently. The responsibility, the power, but...it made me think about what riders do the most."

"And that is?"

"Protect. They have often forgone their own happiness to protect others, and have even lost their own humanity in doing so! And, after seeing that Witch earlier I just...I can't help but feel responsible."

Christoff's faceplate made a sad face as he heard this. He hadn't thought that James would feel like this, especially after fighting an infected, but looking back it did make sense why he'd feel like this.

"James..."

*RAAAAGH!*

*Screeeech!*

The two jumped, though it was more from James than Christoff, as the two turned behind them and heard what could be best described as an utter onslaught.

"What was that?!" James exclaimed as he began to move towards the source of the sound, only for him to see a rather strange sight.

In another clearing, the lumbering form of the Tank from earlier was seen along with the exhausted form of the Witch. Looking around, James noticed that the trees and ground seemed to have claw marks or large dents in them, showing that these two had seemingly started a fight.

Looking at the Witch, James saw that she was bleeding from her mouth and had a gruesome bruise across her arm while the Tank had a few claw marks spread across its back and chest.

The Tank growled in anger before charging at the Witch, causing her to roll out of the way as it slammed its large fist into the tree behind her, nearly breaking it in half.

"Dear god, if this fight goes on she'll be slaughtered!" James muttered in worry, at this point not even caring about the fact that he was concerned for an infected.

Even if she was infected, he was too, and seeing this just didn't seem right to him.

"James, you need to make a choice here."

James looked down at the gauntlet in confusion. "A choice?"

"Yes. After hearing all of that information earlier, I can find it understandable that you wish to help her, but it runs the risk of getting seriously wounded by that monstrosity."

"Remember James, if you wish to be a hero, you must know that you'll have the option to either spare someone or destroy them."

James' eyes widened at this, and as he turned to the fight he began to think. Does he save her, or leave her to die? Before he could think more on it, he looked to see the Witch get knocked back, and as it tried to stand itself up its eyes soon connected with his.

Looking into them, he saw that the anger and rage from earlier was gone, but now seemed to hold...fear.

James closed his eyes and took in a breath before exhaling, and fixed a hardened glare on the Tank.

"Lets do this."

(And CUT! Okay, I have to say it again, sorry for the lack of updates on this story! I had hoped to finish it before two months went by, and next thing I realize four months have gone by! So I hope you all enjoy this new chapter!)

(Also, I wish to say that I'd like to see some more reviews for this story so I can know what you guys and gals think! Its what motivates me to keep up to date!)

(So, thank you guys for reading! If you liked it, post your thoughts in the reviews and follow and fave if you enjoyed! Have a good one, Ja Ne~!)