Bahamut: No one has attempted to guess the Kamen Riders, Corvus.
Me: Oh well, works more for me anyway. It'd spoil the ending completely.
Mewtwo: Of the SuperS Arc?
Me: Uh, of course... The SuperS Arc... Yeah...
DISCLAIMER: I OWN WHAT IS MY OWN.
Kamen Rider Daikaiju: Epic of the Cosmos
By Corvus no Genmu the Prince of Slumberland
Ascension! Transform to the Super Power
"It was a dark and stormy night." How many stories have begun with such a phrase I ask you. Too many in fact, the phrase in itself is plain, simple, and rather ordinary set-up for any kind of beginning and maybe even a few endings. This phrase has been used time and again for all sorts of situations, not a single anything but bad.
This dark and stormy night would turn out no different.
The rain was coming down in dark torrents, making the city lights of Juuban seem almost like fireflies dying on the wind. There was no thunder or lightning, not even a harsh wind. Just seemingly endless washing away the light and bathing the city in darkness. Those still wandering in the midnight hours chose the better part of valor and chose to drive in their seemingly safe vehicles to remain dry from the storm. Many drove without fear, a few only feeling slightly nervous at the strength of the storm, but on their island nation, they were used to such things and so pressed on, knowing almost subconsciously that they would be safe from harm.
One such individual would not be so lucky.
He was driving a late-night delivery in his vehicle, a large truck if you must know, and had no need for speed his urgency so low. He was as relaxed as any person could be driving the raining night, an easy-going smile on his face. He wasn't listening to any music, chosing to listen to the soft sounds of the rain instead. He was one who appreciated nature despite his gruff appearance.
A whinny of a horse startled him out of his reverie and there, in the shadows, came a winged specter, a horn of gold glinting despite the lack of actual light. He cursed and turned his wheel tight, he had never struck anything, car or animal, and he'd be damned if he did so now. The water-soaked road seemed to swerve under his truck's tires, causing them to turn sharply in the opposite direction, sending his vehicle plowing headfirst into the wall. There was a loud crunch as metal compacted tightly together and a muffled woosh as the precious cargo of sake burst into flames on its accord. The man had only enough time to look up into the eyes of the ghostly Pegasus before his car exploded in an inferno of fire.
--
"So what do you think, Little Brother?" asked Shiro, holding up the newspaper which featured a story of a pegasus attacking people in the dead of night. There was only one fatality thus far by those that did survive wouldn't be living the hospital anytime soon.
Eiji glared at the paper for a moment before focusing once more on the horizon. He and the other boys were at their own secluded spot in the park, where a large cliff looked over the greenery and one could see the towers of glass and steel just beyond the sea of green.
"I don't know, there's been photographs…" He sighed. "But still, it seems odd."
"Well I don't believe it." Morisato stated. "This guy knows who we are as well as the girls. If he was really a bad guy out to hurt human life, why help them and us? Why not kill us in our sleep?"
"Don't be stupid, Akichi." Takuya snorted. "We know nothing of this unicorn."
"Pegasus," argued Shiro. "The girls say his name is Pegasus, and didn't you see for yourself that he helps them destroy the Remless, Takuya?" The ponytailed boy snorted eloquently and turned away.
"Doesn't change things. Just means he's got a soft spot for pinky and her mom." Takuya mentally shook his head. That concept was going to take some getting used to.
Eiji shook his head. "That still doesn't make any sense either. Future queen or not, what does he gain from helping them? He could be an enemy."
"Do you really believe that, Little Brother?" Shiro asked quietly. He had seen Pegasus' light and knew more instinctively than mentally that the winged horse was pure good given physical form.
"…Hrmph." Eiji remained silent, looking down across the park. The truth was, Eiji didn't know what to think when it came to the winged-unicorn, horse, whatever he was. The horse was an enigma and Eiji didn't care for those in the least. Enigmas meant unknown and unknown often meant death in his old life. 'Still…' he sighed. 'That horse must mean something to the animal freaks and if what Takuya said was true…'
"Let's go and check out the scenes of the crime." said Eiji. "This thing, whatever he is, is still a living being and has to leave some sort of trail to follow."
'This Pegasus might hold all the answers.'
--
Zirconia wasn't happy, and when she wasn't happy, you most certainly wouldn't be either. The Amazon Trio was proving to be as useless as she first assumed they'd be. Not only had they failed time and again in finding and capturing Pegasus, they were losing more of their forces against the Sailor Scouts and those infuriating Kamen Riders! It was bad enough, in Zirconia's opinion that Pegasus had obviously allied himself with the Sailor Scouts and had already helped to destroy several Remless but the Kamen Riders…
They were a far bigger threat.
They were cruel, they were merciless, and, dare she believe it, downright evil when it came to destroying the Remless. Were they not so adamantly against them, Zirconia would have considered taking the Kamen Riders under her wing. They were a group that obviously believed that failure wasn't an option, a trait that the Amazon Trio was distinctly lacking.
"Zircon, come here." The flaming, winged eyeball flapped over towards his mistress and landed on his perch atop her staff. "Show me once more." Zircon's blazing red eye flashed and an image of Gojira appeared, visor aflame with light.
"I want you to deliver a message for the Amazon Trio. No matter where you go, no matter what disguise you take, I will find you and when I do, I'll not allow you the chance to escape. I'll kill you with my bare hands and send whatever soul you have left back to Hell. So swears Kamen Rider Gojira."
Zirconia smiled wickedly, a disgusting sight to behold. She could feel it, that animalistic rage behind the words, something that the Amazon Trio should have possessed but lacked. It was rather ironic that their enemy would be more like a caged animal than they were. "Yes, he would make a great member of our little circus, wouldn't you say, Zircon?" The eyeball shivered in fear. His mistress wasn't there when the Rider had him in his clawed grip and she hadn't seen how merciless he was. She had an inkling but she had no real idea of the power that Gojira had.
No one did.
--
Fish-Eye sighed somewhat mournfully. While this young boy was quite the catch, he didn't have Pegasus in his dreams, which meant another target to destroy, not that he cared really. Star soccer player or not, he had spurned him and Fish-Eye wasn't one to take such a thing lightly.
"Hold it right there!" Fish-Eye turned, surprised by the familiar voice but inwardly was quite pleased. Sailor Moon stood beside her young protégé atop the monkey bars, her arms folding across her chest as she glared down at the blue-haired villain. "As an older woman I can't allow you to assault innocent, little pretty boys! For love and justice!"
"Pretty soldiers in sailor suits!" piped the younger Sailor Mini Moon.
"Sailor Moon!"
"Sailor Mini-Moon!"
"In the name of the moon we shall punish you!" the duo proclaimed together.
Fish-Eye smirked. "There you are, pumpkins." He blinked in surprise as the duo jumped high into the air.
"Super attack!" The Moon duo dove down, feet first towards Fish-Eye. "Double Sailor Kick!" Fish-Eye moved to the side and watched as the pair slammed hard into the ground.
"What part of that is a super attack…?" he scoffed. Fish-Eye's eyes widened and he backflipped out of the way as a pair of fireballs, one made of plasma the other pure radioactivity, shot past where he stood just a moment ago. He turned and mentally cursed. He had expected the Kamen Riders to show up but not all at once!
Gojira cocked his cannon for another shot. "I missed hitting you the last time we met, I won't miss again. You won't be raping another person's dreams ever again, you dreamless fish-freak." Beside him, Anguirus and Rodan brandished their weapons while Gamera kept his half-bowed position, his Terra Blaster aimed straight at Fish-Eye who glowered at the Black Rider, a hand straying towards his side where Gojira's blast had grazed him.
"Believe me, you didn't miss. Come here, my Remless!" His shadow stretched out, the Dead Moon symbol flashing at the head. "The merry-go-round, Mawashitarou!" The horned head of Pegasus appeared out of the shadow, earning shocked gasps from the two Sailor Scouts. The horse stretched upwards until he was reared back on his hind legs. Gojira's eyes narrowed and he moved his G-Force Cannon towards the new Remless. This wasn't Pegasus, whatever it was. Pegasus was white and had eyes that were windows to his soul, this thing had no such traits.
The mock-Pegasus laughed and flexed his forearms as his human head popped out through a slit on the base of the equine neck of his costume, a speed appearing on his lower half as his upper body became more humanly defined. Anguirus nearly dropped his hammer in shocked revulsion.
"Oh, that is so not right…"
Sailor Mini-Moon glared at the Remless. "So it was a fake…"
Sailor Moon leaned towards her, and whispered, "Now, Mini-Moon…" She didn't want to see this eye-sore more than she had to. Mini-Moon nodded and placed her hands together in prayer.
"Please, Pegasus! Protect everyone's dreams!" Gojira watched intently. He was the only one who hadn't witnessed the Moon duo's combo attack. Sailor Mini-Moon held up her Crystal Carrilon, a bell with a heart-shaped symbol made of crystal glass, and waved it through the air, the melody ringing lightly. "Twinkle Yell!" The crystal-heart flashed brightly with dream energy before Pegasus appeared in a flash of light.
Gojira stared up at the horse in surprise before focusing towards Mini-Moon. 'She truly has the power to summon him? Why?'
Fish-Eye smiled quite evilly. "I won't let you have it so easily… Mowashitarou!"
The merry-go-round Remless nodded and flexed his muscles tightly as five stone horses burst up from the ground. Mowashitarou lifted his arms up and began to spin in place. "Twirl, twirl, twirl, twirl!" He began to speed up with the stone horses following in his example. The faster they spun the more dark energy began to sprout upwards to form a dome over the group trapped between them. Pegasus' eyes widened before he dove downwards towards the darkening sphere but was too late. He was repelled backwards with a spark of energy.
"Pegasus!" gasped the Moon Duo in shock. They had always believed that Pegasus couldn't be harmed but now they were proven wrong.
Fish-Eye laughed. "Too bad… he can't come into this sealed world! Without Pegasus' power, there's no way to win because you can't use your attacks." He looked towards the Kamen Riders and laughed once more. "And it seems your weedy friends can't help you either!"
Sailor Moon and Mini-Moon looked towards the Kamen Riders and gasped in horror. Both Anguirus and Rodan were face down on the ground, struggling to push themselves back up while Gamera was on his knees. Only Gojira remained on his feet and it didn't look like he'd stay that way for long. It was obvious to the Sailor Scouts that all four of the Riders were in great pain. Whatever the Remless was doing to keep Pegasus from reaching them, was also hurting their friends.
Fish-Eye laughed and brandished several throwing knives in his hand. 'Which to chose, pumpkins or weeds?'
Outside the dome, the remaining Sailor Scouts had arrived onto the scene, having followed Rini and Serena to see how Rini's young romance drama would play out but had transformed upon sensing the dark energy the black dome was emitting. Sailor Jupiter glanced upwards, her eyes catching a patch of glowing white light and blinked in shock.
"That's… Pegasus…!"
"So it's our enemy after all…!?" gasped Sailor Venus. From where they were standing, it looked as though it was Pegasus that was creating the dark dome, Mowashitarou and his merry-go-round horses moving too fast for any of them to see.
"But now isn't the time for that!" said Sailor Mercury, catching a faint glimpse of Sailor Moon and Mini-Moon inside the dome as well as… she couldn't see, the dome was too dark.
Electricity sparked around the lightning rod that came from her tiara before moving into her hands. "Sparkling Wide Pressure!" Jupiter hurled the electricity like a discuss towards the dome as her fellow Scout followed suite.
Fire began to flow from Sailor Mars fingers as she drew a large circle in the air. The flames burned bright as they formed eight orbs of fire, each with a different kanji written upon them. "Burning Mandala!" The great balls of fire converged tightly into Sailor Mars outstretched hands before shooting forwards as burning rings of celestial flame.
Both attacks collided into the dark dome and, with sparks of energy, where wisked out lke a dying flame upon a candle wick. Sailor Jupiter cursed under her breath. "It didn't work!"
Inside, Fish-Eye had finally reached a decision. While the Kamen Riders posed a threat, it wasn't they who had the power of Pegasus at their literal beck and call. "If I can defeat Sailor Moon, everyone's as good as nothing… I can take care of them in any way that I wish!" He raised his knives up and prepared to throw. "Now, this means victory is mine!"
Gojira cursed and tried to move to defend the two but fell flat on his face. Fish-Eye had absolutely no ability when it came to throwing his knives! He missed the two Scouts by several feet, if not more so! 'Damn it, I knew the fish-freak was weak… but this is just degrading…!' Gojira cursed a foul oath and struggled to his feet once more, pain overtaking his body. 'Shit, what is this…?' He collapsed onto his knees. 'I've never felt… such agony…!'
But he wouldn't scream.
He would die before he would scream.
Back outside…
"Now our's chance!" Sailor Venus led the charge towards the dome as Fish-Eye distracted himself with his meager attempt of winning against Sailor Moon.
"We have to rescue them!" Sailor Mercury truly meant it, not be able to actually see how poorly Fish-Eye was fairing. The group was held back and, with an explosion of energy, were hurled backwards away from the dome.
"It's no good…" Sailor Jupiter muttered, glaring at the dome, silently wondering where Gojira and the other Kamen Riders were. Surely they would have shown up by now… "Damn… what should we do…?"
"All of you… Become Super Sailor Soldiers…" The Scouts looked up as Pegasus gently floated downwards to stand between them and the dark dome. "I will give you power…" He looked at them with eyes of red, asking them to trust him. "Please, synch up your hearts to my pulse…"
"What did you say?" asked Sailor Jupiter, surprised that the winged horse could speak to them through telepathy.
"Believe in me… Accept my power…" Pegasus pleaded with them.
"Wait a minute. We have no guarantee that you're on our side!" protested Sailor Mars.
"She right!" agreed Sailor Venus.
"This may be a trap that you set up for us," said Sailor Mercury. Pegasus regarded them for but a moment before turning and charging towards the dome, golden horn first. He was repelled just as easily as before.
"Pegasus!" Mini-Moon raced towards the horse but was pushed back by the energy dome. Pegasus tried once more but was repelled with greater force this time. His knees shook as he strained to remain his feet. He was not meant to stay in the real world and the more time he spent in it, the weaker he became.
Fish-Eye brandished a saber in his hands and smiled. "This is the sure way after all!" He grinned and took a step forward. Pegasus gasped and charged once more at the dome and was again repelled.
Gojira cursed and pushed himself to his feet. Warning systems were flashing all across his visor, telling him nothing but bad news if he continued to struggle against whatever force was pushing down upon him and his fellow Riders. There was a snap and Gojira collapsed against the ground, as his armor fell away into the wind. His eyes were struggling to remain alight with their crimson glow but they faded away to reveal glazed eyes as his lungs stopped taking in precious oxygen.
Behind him, the other Riders were no better condition and were completely deprived of their armor. Fish-Eye immediately took notice and grinned even wider. Forget Sailor Moon, this was an open opportunity to get revenge against the Kamen Riders!
Pegasus knew this but there was nothing that he could do, his power wasn't enough. He looked once more towards the Sailor Scouts. "Please… trust me… Their lives are in danger…" Getting no immediate response from the Scouts, he charged against the dome and was pushed back even farther, collapsing onto his knees.
"Pegasus!" cried Mini-Moon as she watched her secret friend struggle to help her and her friends from the dome prison. She pressed her hands lightly against the dome, lest she be repelled, and whispered. "Pegasus…!"
"I'm sorry…" Pegasus struggled to his hooves and looked upon her with eyes filled with despair. "I can't save you with just my power…"
"Pegasus…" The winged unicorn raised himself up for another charge but collapsed to his knees from the strain. By now, Mini-Moon had, had enough.
"Please…!" She screamed through the dome. "Everyone, trust my Pegasus…!" The Scouts outside exchanged looks.
"All right…!" Sailor Venus stepped forward.
"Lend us your power." Sailor Mercury clasped her hands together. Pegasus looked back at them and spread his feathered wings as he flew upwards, his horn shining with a golden light. A halo of light spread upwards along the girls' bodies as they Sailor Suits altered to match those of a Super Sailor Soldier.
The four looked to each other and nodded before charging forward.
"Venus Love-Chain Encircle!"
"Sparkling Wide Pressure!"
"Burning Mandala!"
"Shine Aqua Illusion!"
The attacks were the same in name and in concept but in not in form. No to compare them to what they once were would be like comparing a butterfly to a caterpillar, they were connected but they were no longer the same thing. Their power enhanced to the Super level, the attacks were bigger, stronger, and flashier than ever before and had more than enough power behind them to destroy each and every one of Mowashitarou's stone horses. The dark dome flashed a myriad of colors before it exploded upon itself, leaving no barrier between them.
"Impossible… this can't be!" Fish-Eye's sword had vanished and he looked ready to bolt.
"Now Sailor Moon!" exclaimed Sailor Mini-Moon. Pegasus' horn flashed once more and Sailor Moon's Kaleido-MoonScope appeared in her hands.
"Moon Gorgeous… Meditation!" A crystallized ball of light shot out from Sailor Moon's weapon and flew through the air like shards of an actual kaleidoscope. Upon striking the Remless, the shards imploded upon themselves, again like a kaleidoscope, and destroyed everything of the Remless save for its shadow which soon disappeared after the symbol upon its head disappeared.
"STAGE OUT!" cried Mowashitarou as he faded out of existence.
Pegasus landed lightly beside Mini-Moon as the group stared Fish-Eye down in a fierce stand-off.
"It wasn't supposed to be like this…!" He jumped up into his ring-of-water and disappeared with a final cry of, "You'll pay!"
Relaxing, Mini-Moon turned towards Pegasus and smiled. "Pegasus."
The Scouts turned to look at the stallion as he looked at them and though he did not seem to be doing so, he was smiling. "Thank you… for trusting me…" He faded like sparkles on the wind. The Scouts watched as he vanished from sight before Sailor Moon suddenly remembered.
"Oh no, the boys!" The other four Scouts turned to her in surprise before looking towards where the four defeated Kamen Riders lay. Names were exclaimed loudly as transformations were cancelled out, each girl moving towards their guy and kneeling beside them. Ami felt Morisato's wrist and checked for his pulse, it was there but it was extremely weak. She then noticed that none of them, Morisato included, were actually breathing.
"They're not breathing!" she exclaimed, "Quick, give them some CPR!" The other girls were quick to comply, silently thankful for listening to Ami's prodding about learning the basic emergency medical techniques.
After several nerve-wracking minutes, Morisato coughed loudly before groaning as he slowly sat up. "What the heck was that…?" he coughed again before suddenly noticing Ami sitting beside him, her eyes sparkling with relief. "Ami? What's wrong?" She choked and suddenly threw everything to the wind as she wrapped her arms tight around Morisato's neck. He blinked in surpise but didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her waist. "Ami?" She shook her head and pressed herself against him even tighter. If she hadn't… if they'd…
Takuya coughed and uttered several unmentionable words before he sat up. "Shit, what the hell did I miss?" He blinked and licked his lips. "And why do I taste like strawberry?" A loud sniffle came from beside him and Takuya turned to see a crying Mina sitting beside him. "What the hell? What's wrong with you now, blondie?" She didn't respond, lunging at him and wrapping her arms tight around his waist and pressing her face against his chest. "What the—" Takuya growled and made as though to shove her off but sighed in defeat and patted her head, not understanding what her damage was but knowing she needed some reassurance. Had they not hesitated… if they'd gotten there sooner…
Shiro gasped and sat up with a start. He shook his head before wincing and placing a hand against his forehead, wincing in pain. "Oh kami-sama… that was an experience I'd rather not go through again…" His eyes flashed orange and he looked at Rei. "Lady Rei? Is something the matter?" He gasped in shock just before her lips touched his own once more as she pulled him to her. He blinked several times, his face gaining a rather interesting shade of pink, before reciprocating the kiss. 'I've nearly forgotten,' he thought. 'How good it feels… loving like this…'
Eiji's eyes flashed crimson before returning to normal as he groaned and cursed under his breath. "Damn it… that… what was that…?" Emotions were fluctuating around him, tingling at the edge of his mind while a sea of relief and concern stormed beside him in the form of his girlfriend. He sat up and looked at her in concern. "Lita? Lita, what's wrong? Did that Remless hurt you or the others?" Wrong thing to ask. Lita sniffled loudly and grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pressed her lips fiercely against his own. Before Eiji even had time to process and return the kiss, she was suddenly hugging him, muttering, "Sorry, I'm so sorry," over and over. He looked down at her, concerned, before looking towards Serena and Rini.
"What happened?"
--
"Wait a tick," said Morisato. "Our armor had disengaged? On its own?" The group had relocated to the fruit parlor that they had often frequented since they had met and had somehow become their impromptu base of operations at times. "It's never done that."
"Never?" asked Ami. "Not once?"
"… I well, I mean to say…" Morisato suddenly looked nervous.
"What Morisato is trying to cover up is that the only way our armor would have come off is in three ways. One is obviously by our own choice. Second, we took too much damage for the armor to remain in one piece and so disengaged itself to heal." Shiro answered. "Third…" He looked uncomfortable. "Well, it didn't actually happen so there's no need for that…"
"Shiro," sad Rei warningly.
"Dead." Eiji suddenly said. "We'd have to be dead for the armor to disengage." He winced at the looks and emotions he was feeling at the base of his mind, and suddenly snapped. "Oh stop it all of you! We're fine, we didn't die and our armor wasn't damaged! Whatever that dome was made of, it was doing exactly what the dampening field is doing now except ten-fold. It was like… like someone was trying to disconnect our souls from our bodies. That must be what caused our armor to disengage. There's no other explanation for it."
Ah but there was.
There was one other way the armor would have vanished back into their K-Zectors but none of them had done it, not after watching their friends die by using—Eiji shook his head. It'd be best for everyone if that memory was buried away, never to be remembered. It was one thing to have it occur with his friends and allies, but if Eiji himself had undergone the same… There would be nothing left of the Eiji he was.
"I'm still sorry… if we had trusted Pegasus from the start…" Lita murmured guiltily.
He smiled gently at Lita and placed his hand atop her's and whispered, "I'm fine, we're fine, and you're fine. Everything will be fine."
Though Eiji considered himself a psyhic, he was by no means a seer who could view the paths of the future. He was right to say that they were all fine now but they certainly would not be in the days to come. For in the late darkness of that very night, where even the eyes of the Dead Moon were closed and unseeing, a faint flicker of temporal light could be seen in the park where one time-traveler and six dimensional travelers had already come through. It shifted and pulsed before suddenly expelling a small form out onto the ground. The figure struggled for breath before shakily rising to its feet. It looked about warily, as though already aware of the human-life that surrounded it, before sniffing the air and, seemingly catching a scent it did not like, ran towards the river and dove into its pristine waters. Its dark shadow disappeared into the water and vanished from sight.
To Be Continued...
Next Time, on Kamen Rider Daikaiju: EoC!
Zirconia: You have failed me for the last time Amazon Trio! Find me Pegasus or you'll join the rest of the garbage. What…? Why do you not possess dream mirrors of your own? Hehe… Hahahahahahaha! You don't even realize it do you? Even when your enemies, the Kamen Riders, mocked you for it, you've never considered the idea? Hahahaha! You are truly useless, Amazon Trio! Perhaps I should find some better replacements for you after all…
The Animals Three; The End of the Amazon Trio!
Me: Should I? Shouldn't I? Should I? Shouldn't I? Should I? Shouldn't I? Should I? Shouldn't I? Should I? Shouldn't I? Should I? Shouldn't I? Should I? Shouldn't I? Should I? Shouldn't I? Should I? Shouldn't I?
Bahamut: What, the hell, are you doing?
Me: I'm trying to decide whether or not I should reveal our newest 'guest'.
Mewtwo: WHAT? You can't! It'd spoil everything!
Me: I know but I'm so tempted! That's it! I'll tell them! In code! "Yu iryqg kdv urphwklqj!"