Horseshoes and Hand-grenades

Note: Takes place inbetween XII Spirit of the Web and XIII Web of Sin

Intermission: 19-3-15-17-16-9-15-14/19-16-9-4-5-18/3-18-1-2

"The true portrait of a man is a fusion of what he thinks he is, what others think he is, what he really is, and what he tries to be."

-Dore Schary

Back in Amanogawa High, while Zodiarts, Kamen Riders, serpents, students, teachers, and one android were battling it out, Mari Yamamoto of Amanogawa High's Photography Club wheeled the unconscious bodies of both Sarina Sonada and Natsuji Kijima toward infirmary. The photographer prayed that both Ohsugi and Haruka-sensei were able to save Miura from the darkness and stop Gentaro from achieving Ophiuchus's will. Until then, someone had to place two unconscious former Zodiarts away from prying eyes. Sonada was said to be on a sabbatical, and Kijima was declared missing. How was she going to explain that the two were taken into space, sent into suspended animation and then the geography teacher traveled to retrieve them by going through an abandoned locker? Anyone who listened to that story would declare her insane!

She was fortunate to find a cart for towels close by and dumped both bodies inside before wheeling them off to the school infirmary. No one was going to pay attention to a girl pushing around sweaty towels—they'd just assume that she would be doing this for a fellow athlete at the school and pay it no mind. Or at least, that's what she hoped.

"Mari!" cried a voice. "Mari, is that you?"

Mari turned and saw Abe and another Amanogawa High student approaching her. She stopped the cart and immediately covered Sonada and Kijima's sleeping forms with sweaty towels. She then turned around with a big smile plastered on her face and her camera out.

"Abe-kun!" she said. "What are you doing here? And who's that with you?"

"Oh him?" Abe pointed to the teenage boy with brown hair down to his shoulders and a chain necklace with a silver wolf claw dangling around his neck. "This is Teruhiko Satake. You know, the son of the Special Sunday Class teacher?"

"O-Oh! Now I remember him. So uh, what are you doing here?"

"Chosuke and Motoyama told us to keep an eye out on anything suspicious regarding the Zodiarts," said Teruhiko. He gave Mari a wary glance. "What about you?"

"Um, well…" Mari struggled to find the right words. "There's…something I need to tell you…"

"I'll say. Why are you wheeling around the old towel cart? I mean, Miura's no longer on the Football team and…"

"It actually involves what's inside the cart," Mari stepped away and brushed the towels aside. "Um, like what you see?"

Abe and Teruhiko leaned forward and looked at the two unconscious bodies.

"WHAT THE—"

0-0-0-0-0-0

"HECK?!"

That was the unanimous cry from the students in the Music Room once Mari, Teruhiko and Abe wheeled in the missing Zodiarts. No one said a word as Mari panted for breath, preparing for the screaming and yelling that would occur from what she delivered. Aside from Teruhiko and Satake, Mari also noticed fellow Glee Club members Taira and Ibuki, and both Cheerleading Club President Jun and Track and Field member Rumi joining the cause. Abe explained that Chosuke's gang was creating a diversion of 'Kamen Rider graffiti' all over the school, distracting Yuuta Suguira and the rest of the student body by leaving a mess of spray paint everywhere.

"But this can't be possible!" said Rumi. "Principal Hayami announced that Sonada was taking a sabbatical from teaching, and Kijima-kun was declared missing during Spring Break. How can they be here?"

"Ohsugi-sensei delivered them from the locker in the old storage room," Mari explained, sitting down. "He didn't have time to explain what else was going on, but he took Haruka-sensei with him on a time-traveling train to Kyoto in order to help the others out."

"If it wasn't for the fact that I've actually witnessed these Zodiarts attacks, I probably wouldn't have believed that," said Abe, crossing his arms. He then turned to the towel cart where both Kijima and Sonada were sleeping. "What do we do with them?"

"They can't attack us without Zodiarts switches, right?" asked Jun. She peeled the banana in her hand and took a bite before continuing. "So what can they do to us?"

"They could be reinstated as Zodiarts," said Mari. She pulled out her camera and pressed a button. "Take a look at this."

The other Amanogawa High students watched with horror as they heard Miura's voice through the recording. Then, the recording shifted to reveal the man standing right behind the poor photographer.

"Wait, I know that man!" said Rumi, pointing to the camera. "That's the chairman's bodyguard, Ko Tatsugami!"

"He's also in on this?" asked Teruhiko. "Oh, that's not good."

"What do you mean?" asked Taira. "Do you know him?"

"My dad always ranted about him," Teruhiko scoffed. "Tatsugami was known as the 'Red Lion' in the streets that he grew up in, always beating people up and such. It's said that one day, a stranger came in and offered him something more. I think we know what happened next."

"And if he's in league with those Zodiarts, we're all going to be in trouble." said Abe. "What do we do now? We can't just leave Sonada and Kijima asleep. We have to wake them up and get them to tell us what they know."

"And how will that help our situation?" asked Ibuki. "They're pure evil! They can't be redeemed that easily!"

"We have to try," said Mari. "What would Gentaro do in a situation like this? He'd do his best to befriend them and get them to open up. Maybe we have to do the same."

"If we do, then it'll have to be in a place where no one can disturb us," said Rumi. "Does anyone know where to go?"

"I think I do," said Mari. "Come on, we're going back to that locker. I think that Ohsugi-sensei was trying to keep somethingsecret."

0-0-0-0-0-0

Leading the resistance group toward the same locker, Mari opened the door to reveal the tunnel of Cosmic Energy waiting for everyone. The other Amanogawa High students gasped in awe as Mari took the first few steps toward the light. Everyone else followed her, amazed at what the tunnel would lead them to. Mari found a door at the end and opened it, stepping into the Rabbit Hatch, the Kamen Rider Club's secret headquarters.

The students looked at the Rabbit Hatch. On its walls were photographs of the seven Kamen Rider Club members having fun, on top of the ceiling stood the Kamen Rider Club's banner, and there was enough paraphernalia for the group to keep the teens comfortable as they went through their daily club duties.

"So, this is where Miu-sempai goes to," said Jun, halfway through a bag of banana chips. "It's so beautiful."

"Look!" said Rumi, pointing to a silver star resting against the window. "It's the trophy I gave Kengo after winning the Mile Run!" She went toward it and traced her name with a finger. "Kengo…I hope you're all right."

Abe, along with his Taira and Ibuki started to throw their voices across the Rabbit Hatch. Hearing the sound bounce back made them look in wonder. This would've been a perfect place to practice for the upcoming choir festival.

Mari looked at the open window and saw the Earth staring back at them from a distance. It was so beautiful. If only Miura was standing by her side to see such a thing.

Teruhiko set Sonada and Kijima's bodies against the wall of the Rabbit Hatch, frowning at them. A part of him wanted to bash their heads in for all the trouble they caused, but the group would gain nothing from this if that happened.

"Guys," he told his fellow students. "How do you suppose we wake them up?"

"I know!" Jun rummaged through her bag and pulled out her canteen. "A splash of cold water always helps me out when I'm sleepy."

"That'll have to do." Teruhiko opened the canteen and dumped its contents onto the Zodiarts. Sonada and Kjima woke up with a start before looking at the Amanogawa High students staring at them.

"Oh, everyone!" said Sonada, giving them a pleasant smile on her face. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Cut the crap, Sonada-sensei," Teruhiko growled. "You're the one who gave me that switch as Scorpio Zodiarts, didn't you?"

"Why, whatever do you mean? The last time I saw you, I was discussing how things were doing with your father."

"Things are doing much better now," Teruhiko replied as he narrowed his eyes. "At least my dad and I actually say nice things about one another."

"Ooh, my head," said Kijima, rubbing his head. He then stared at Mari, Jun and Rumi and laughed. "Oh, it looks like I'm being treated by the Weird Sisters today."

"That's. Not. Funny." Rumi replied, narrowing her eyes. "Now, are you guys going to spill the beans or are we going to have to do it for you?"

"What are you talking about, Gloomy? Wipe that frown upside down and stand a little taller, why don't you?"

Rumi held back the urge to kick Kijima over the head. The last thing she wanted to be teased about was her height—it's not exactly her fault that her hormones decided to make her a giant. Just as she was about to do so, Jun stopped her.

"I'll handle this," she whispered. She then knelt toward Kijima and handed him a bag of seaweed. "Want some?"

"Mm, don't mind if I do," Kijima opened the bag and shoved the seaweed strips down his throat. "It's strange—I'm so hungry that I could eat a horse."

"Or maybe a Pegasus," Abe whispered to his fellow Glee Club Members. Taira and Ibuki only nodded their heads in reply.

"Sonada-sensei," said Mari. "Um, this may be a little bold for me to ask but…I always wanted to know a bit about your school life. Like, how are you related to Principal Hayami and Chairman Gamou? In fact, how did you get your job at Amanogawa High?"

"It's a sweet story actually," Sonada stood up and smoothed her skirt before talking. "I didn't have a happy time in Amanogawa. I was bullied by a lot of the meaner girls at school and didn't make a lot of friends. Then, I met Principal Hayami—who was a senior at that time I entered—and he liked me." She let out a sigh. "We were girlfriend and boyfriend soon after."

"And then Principal Hayami left for college while you were still stuck with a few more years as a high school student," said Abe. "Did you two maintain a…long-distance relationship?"

"We did. When I heard that he was becoming a Principal to the school that we first met, I worked hard to obtain a teaching degree to work alongside him." Sonada placed a hand to her heart and sighed once more. "That was so many years ago—and even now he still calls me his 'Little Pup.'"

"Little Pup?" Mari looked at the table behind her and saw an astronomy book partway open to a particular page. She started to inch closer toward it and asked, "Why would he call you something like that?"

"Because of her eyes, maybe?" Kijima suggested. "Oh, maybe it's the way she gives him all of those kisses when they're alone."

"That's a scary thought," Taira muttered under his breath.

"Well, why don't we all take you out for some fresh air?" Jun suggested, wrapping her arms around Kijima. "Come on Kijima! I have a new routine for you to see at the front of the campus!"

"Well, that's nice of you!" Kijima took another piece of seaweed into his mouth. "And I can't wait to see all of your friends again!"

Jun giggled as she left the Rabbit Hatch with a wave of her hand. She also pointed to Kijima and gave a wink to her fellow students before disappearing. The Glee Club took this as a cue to look at each other.

"Oh, Sonada Sensei," said Abe. "The Glee Club will be happy to escort you to the front gates. I'm sure you'd want to return home after all this time and get back to becoming our beloved homeroom teacher."

"Why thank you, Abe-kun," Sonada flashed her sweet smile as she and the Glee Club walked off. "I'd be delighted to hear what you've been up to since I last saw you…"

Sonada's words faded away as the door to the Rabbit Hatch closed. Soon, the only ones left on the moon were Mari, Rumi and Teruhiko.

"I don't like the smiles on their faces," said Rumi. "They're definitely hiding something from us."

"Indeed," Mari pointed to the page of the astronomy book that read CANIS MINOR on top. "Is this familiar?"

"'Canis Minor, otherwise known as the Lesser Hunting Dog'…" Teruhiko mumbled as he read the entry of the constellation before seeing the bottom: "See also: Canis Major (Greater Dog) and Canes Venatici (Hunting Dogs)."

"Hound Zodiarts," he whispered, stepping back. "Then that means…"

"Sonada's been a Zodiarts before we even enrolled!" Rumi finished. "And if that's true, Principal Hayami is also…"

Mari nodded her head as she closed the book. "Jun and Abe were smart to bring both of them out in the open." She said. "Now, all we need to do is fight them."

"But how?" asked Rumi. "If they can still transform into those Zodiarts, wouldn't we need like a superhero to stop them or something?"

"Except we don't have a superhero to stop them," said Teruhiko. "Remember? Gentaro's working for the bad guys now."

"What about Kamen Rider Meteor? Do you think he could help us—"

"No. I don't think we should trust him at all. Chosuke-san told me everything regarding him and let me tell you, it's not pretty."

"Then what do we do?" asked Mari. "We have to stop them somehow."

"Then let's do so," Teruhiko pulled out a length of chain from his pocket. "Come on, I think I know a great place to get some weapons."

0-0-0-0-0-

Takashi Sakate looked through the list of students who would be attending his detention services tomorrow. Some of the names he recognized for their notoriety as troublemakers, while some were new students who arrived late or failed an important test. At the very least, he knew that none of them were going to turn into monsters ravaging across the school campus or whatever.

At the thought of rampaging monsters, Sakate stared at the picture frame resting on his desk. There, he saw a younger him with his own son smiling underneath the shade of the cherry blossom trees. Why did he forget those happy days in the pursuit of becoming such a strict disciplinary figure? That was the reason why Teruhiko turned bad and transformed into a Zodiarts. He had been a complete fool this whole time.

If it hadn't been for Gentaro, Teruhiko would be rampaging as a monster for the rest of his life while his body was left in a coma. Satake couldn't thank Gentaro enough for what he had done. Even if bumping his test score to a 50 wasn't enough to say 'Thank you', it was enough to show that Gentaro wasn't a 'bad boy' as he thought.

The sound of footsteps caught his attention. Satake turned to his son, Rumi and Mari entering his office, looking as if they finished running a mile. Teruhiko smiled to his father and lightly clasped onto the chain necklace around his neck.

"Dad," he said. "Do you still have your teaching staff on you?"

"I carry it on me at all times," Satake answered, turning to the lone wooden staff resting against his file cabinet. "But why would you need it right now?"

"I'll explain later," Teruhiko picked the staff up and handed it to Mari. "Rumi, where do they keep the javelins and shot put balls?"

"I think they keep some at the storage locker near the racing track," Rumi answered. "Why do you ask?"

Teruhiko replied with a sly grin on his face. "I think it's time for a little more practice, don't you think?"

Satake turned to the three students nodding their heads and smiling. He turned to his son as if to ask, "Teruhiko, are you returning to your delinquent ways?" Teruhiko caught the look in his father's eyes and shook his head.

"Dad, I don't know what's gonna happen," he said. "But I love you, and I'm sorry for acting like such a jerk." Teruhiko gave his father a hug before walking off. "Rumi, Mari, let's get going."

"Teruhiko!" Satake cried, standing up. "It's about the Zodiarts, isn't it?"

"Let's just say that I'm gonna squash the scorpion that poisoned my thoughts," Teruhiko answered with a smile. "I'll see you later tonight."

"G-good luck!" Satake cried seeing the three students leave. He then turned to the picture on his desk and picked it up, tracing the smile on both his and his son's faces with a finger.

"Good luck," He whispered.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"One, two, three, four! Five, six, seven, eight!"

Jun counted a rhythm as she showed Kijima the new cheerleading routine she was working on. Ever since Miu promoted her to president of the Cheerleading Team, she discovered that she was pretty good at creating new routines and leading the team to victory. Miu would keep an eye out on her every now and then, but deep down, she knew that the Queen of Amanogawa High chose wisely.

Since she wasn't dressed in her cheer-leading outfit, Jun had to make do with a simple white tee, black shorts and sneakers to portray her routine of back-flips, cartwheels and jumps toward Kijima. She would see Kijima lightly tap his fan against his hand to her rhythm, but she also knew that she couldn't keep this up forever. After learning that Tamae also became a Zodiarts, she knew that she couldn't sit around and act like a ditz. She needed more focus and drive to ensure that an incident like that would never happen again.

"And, finale!" she cried, her legs forming splits and her arms in the air. Kijima laughed and clapped his hands as Jun panted for breath.

"That was side-splitting, Shigeno-san!" he said. "You've really cheered me up. Get it?"

"Yeah, I do," Jun slowly stood up and reached for her duffel bag, pulling out her second bag of banana chips. She tossed them into her mouth as she added, "I'm glad you're back though—you always cheer me up with your puns! The Rakugo Club's gonna be so happy to see you back, alive and healthy!"

"Aww, that's really nice of you to say. Say," Kijima looked back and forth. "Where's your friend of yours? You know, that Queen?"

"Oh, Miu?" Jun began to sweat. "She's...at the University. Yeah! She's there studying to become a...um..."

The voices of Abe, Taira and Ibuki singing nearby saved Jun from becoming a stuttering mess. Turning around, she saw the Glee Club singing a ballad to Sonada. She closed her eyes and began to hear the words.

"Are you going to Scarborough Fair? Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme...Remember me to one who lives there; she once was a true love of mine..."

While Jun listened to the lyrics, she did not notice Kijima slowly approaching her, his left hand raised into the air. Just as he was about to bring it down...

He was surprised to see Jun turning around and kicking it back. When Jun lowered her leg, she gasped at what she saw. Kijima's left arm was a humongous crab claw.

"K-Kijima!" Jun gasped. "Your arm...it's..."

"Oh this?" Kijima snapped his claw and smiled. "I got this recently, and it's made me a little crabby, don't you think? In fact, I'm so crabby that I need to chop up your head to make me feel better!"

Jun jumped out of the way as Kijima threw powerful jabs at her. She stepped back as Kijima's crab claw was about to pierce her leg, waiting until it neared the ground before she brought her knee toward Kijima's face. The former Zodiarts of the Crab stumbled back, a hand on his nose.

"Well," he said. "I wasn't expecting a ditz like you to be so...flexible. However, that won't be saving the troubadours from Sonada's poison."

"Poison?!"

Jun heard three cries before turning around. Sonada's ponytail transformed into a scorpion's stinger and rose into the air. The poison-tipped stinger lashed out at the Glee Club, the three members falling onto the ground in pain. Jun could see a shadow of a smile on Sonada's face and placed a hand to her mouth.

"No…" she whispered. "You couldn't…"

"We could…" Kijima said with a smile. "Oh, and are you sure it was smart to keep your back towards me?"

Before Jun had a chance to ask why, she felt something pierce through her back. She let out a gasp and turned around, seeing Kijima's crab claw pulling out a large, glowing halo from her body. She fell to the ground as he tapped her on the head with his fan.

"I am such a big fan of yours, Shigeno-san," he chuckled. "But now, I think it's time for me to end this for you."

"W-What is that thing?" asked Jun, pointing to the halo in Kijima's hand. "What are you going to do with—"

"Your soul?" Kijima's grin grew wider, but his eyes still held a malevolent glint that made Jun shudder. "I'm just gonna use it to give me a bit more power so I can crush Ryusei Sakuta for what he did to me! So until then…"

The claw opened wide as Jun closed her own eyes, afraid to see what would happen if her own soul was snipped in half. As she feared for the worst…

There was a loud CRACK! Jun opened her eyes to see Mari slam a wooden staff across Kijima's face and the former Cancer Zodiarts falling onto the ground in pain. The photographer picked up Jun's soul from the large pincer and placed it back into the cheerleader's hands.

"Are you alright, Jun?" asked Mari. "Did he hurt you?"

"I'll be all right," Jun replied, standing up. She felt her soul return to her body and placed a hand close to her heart. "Thank goodness you came just in time. Where did you go?"

"Let's just say that Teruhiko raided the Track-And-Field team of weapons. What happened here?"

"Kijima grew a giant crab claw and Sonada-sensei's ponytail is a scorpion stinger! She just poisoned Abe-kun and his friends and GAH!"

Before Jun finished her sentence, she felt a slash down her back. She fell onto her knees as Mari looked up. Sauntering toward them was Sarina Sonada, her ponytail lashing out like a whip. Mari grasped onto the wooden staff tighter and focused, ready to deflect the stinger right back at Sonada's face should it strike.

"Oh, don't be like that Yamamoto-chan," Sonada stated calmly. "Shouldn't you be with Miura at this moment?"

"I would if it wasn't for the likes of you!" Mari snapped. "How am I supposed to save Abe, Taira and Ibuki? You have an antidote for the poison, right?"

"Me? Of course not." Sonada narrowed her eyes. "Why the hell would I want to take care of these crying, whining idiots? They never did anything to help me out back at Amanogawa High. They abused me, bullied me and I had no one to turn to. Until…Principal Hayami came."

"And then he made you the Canis Minior Zodiarts and then Scorpio Zodiarts, correct?" Mari tightened her grip even more. "You monster! You made Miura into the Orion Zodiarts and forced him on that withdrawal! What type of person are you?"

"I am a person who worships the king who saved me from my darkness," Sonada answered. "And I shall spread his will by taking you down!"

"Not if I have anything to say!"

Sonada turned around to see Rumi running toward her, a pole in hand. She stomped the pole into the ground and leapt into the air. Sonada's ponytail prepared itself to scratch at Rumi's exposed leg, but was grasped by Jun, who had another hand close to her heart. This resulted in Rumi's foot slamming against Sonada's face before Rumi landed on both feet and raised her hands into the air.

"That was for you and your stupid Zodiarts for causing Jin to become a monster!" Rumi said, pointing at Sonada. "If you try anything like that again, I will pull out every single tooth from that crocodile smile you give to everyone!"

"You little bitch!" Sonada freed herself from Jun's grasp and lunged toward Rumi, her fingernails growing into sharp talons. Rumi ducked out of the way as she brought out the vaulting pole and used it to block the powerful attacks. Mari turned just in time to see Kijima about to attack with his claw, but blocked it with the wooden staff.

"Mari, Mari, quite contrary," Kijima sang. "How does your garden grow?"

"With silver bells, cockle shells and MY FOOT TO YOUR FACE!" Mari screamed, proceeding to slamming her foot to Kijima's face. "What are your parents going to say when they find out that their son is a sociopath? Have you ever wondered about that?"

"I've wondered and pondered and thought about that for quite some time," Kijima used his crab pincer to grab onto the wooden staff. He closed the claw as the staff broke in half with a loud SNAP! "And I decided that it's so much fun to create little scenarios with lies and words. I mean, you do the same with pictures."

"I portray people with smiles and happiness on their faces. I portray the happiness in life. But you? You're just a monster."

"Am I? We'll just see about that."

Mari picked up the halves of Satake's teaching stick and tossed them at Kijima, only to find Kijima swatting them aside. She turned toward Jun, whose face was turning white, and then back to Rumi, who was struck with Sonada's stinger ponytail on her arm before turning back to Kijima. She had to wait a little longer for Teruhiko to arrive with the shot put balls, and the Glee Club was afflicted by Sonada's deadly poison. There was no one to fight alongside her, no tools to fight with, and no knight in shining armor to end this madness. She was alone…but she wasn't going down without a fight.

"You can take my soul or poison me," she said. "But know this: the members of the Kamen Rider Club know that you're here and they'll come back and beat your asses so hard, you wish that you were back at the Dark Nebula!"

"Those namby-pamby do-gooders aren't here, are they? So until then…" Kijima took a step toward Mari and said, "What am I going to do with you?"

You're going to take my soul away, I know that… Mari thought to herself, clenching her fists. She felt her heart pounding against her chest as she thought, What do I do? The Zodiarts are too strong for us to fight against. Did we do the right thing? People are going to die and we don't know how to stop it…if there's anyone listening…please…Mari saw Kijima's claw about to pierce through her heart. Answer me!

She stepped back, only to be met with something scratching her neck. Turning around, Mari saw Sonada's ponytail retracting and Sonada slowly clapping her hands. The photographer fell to her knees, feeling the poison seep into her bloodstream. Her vision began to blur and saw the Zodiarts smiling at her, silently gloating their easy victory over the school. It was over. She was done for.

Miura...Mari thought to herself as tears fell down her face. I'm so sorry...I couldn't save you...I couldn't free you from the darkness...What do I do?

"I can save you," said a voice. "I will not let you children succumb to this tragedy."

W-who are you? asked Mari, feeling the voice echo in her mind. A-are you a serpent? Like the one that's possessing Gentaro?

"I am not in league with Ophiuchus in any shape or form. I have heard your cries of pain and was summoned by your pure heart. You wish to capture the smiles and happiness of those around you. Are you willing to give up so easily?"

I'm not actually surrendering; I'm just not able to fight back as I thought I could. Mari answered back. What do you want from me?

"To help you. I can stop these monsters from hurting you and heal your friends of the toxin that is slowly killing them. All I need is your answer, Mari Yamamoto."

Please help! Mari cried. We're all about to die! Please save us!

"Very well...close your eyes and imagine a rainbow wrapping around your body. Then, say my name."

Mari took as much air as she could through her lungs and concentrated on the image of a rainbow. No, she imagined she and Miura dancing in the rain and watching the rainbow appear when the sun finally decided to reveal itself. She saw herself taking a picture of the rainbow with Miura by her side. With that image burned into her mind, she began to speak.

"I...gah!" Mari found Kijima's claw hand wrapped around her neck, squeezing any oxygen that was left in her lungs. She tried to pull the claw away, but her arms weren't listening to her head. The poison was spreading too quickly.

"Ah, ah, ah..." said Kijima. "I really don't want you calling for help. Don't want too many witnesses."

"I...I..." Mari still tried to sputter the name of the serpent. "I..."

"You what?" asked Sonada, tugging on Mari's hair. "What do you have to say, bitch?"

"I...I...IRIS!"

A beam of light escaped Mari's heart and slammed right into Kijima's chest. The former Zodiarts of the Crab stepped back as the light wrapped around Mari's exhausted body, lifting the poison out of the young girl. Mari inhaled through her mouth before standing up. Rumi and Jun, barely alive from the poison slowly killing them, looked as seven bands of light wrapped around the photographer's body. They levitated her into the air, dyeing her clothes in a myriad of colors and bleaching her hair white. Forming in her hands was a rain stick decorated with blue snakescales. Draped around her neck was a white cape with a red snake arched to resemble a rainbow, When Mari opened her eyes, they were the color of emeralds.

"What trickery is this?" Kijima growled. "What are you?!"

"I am the avatar of the Rainbow Serpent," Mari answered, her voice fused with another. "I am Iris, the Messenger of Happiness!"

Raising the rainstick into the air, Mari slowly tilted it to hear the beads inside pour down. She lifted her arm and pointed the stick to her side as sparks of blue light showered over the tired bodies of Jun, Rumi, Abe, Taira and Ibuki. Sonada's arm trembled with rage at the sight of the teenagers slowly waking up.

"You!" said Rumi, picking up her pole. "You're going to die!"

"That goes for you too, Kijima!" said Jun, her lips turning into a frown. She pulled out a lollipop from her pocket, unwrapped it, and then placed it in her mouth. "You're a jerk!"

"You figured that out now?" Kijima asked sarcastically. "Why Kazashiro-san promote you to Club President is a decision I shall never understand."

"Be quiet, Kijima," Sonada hissed. "We need to harvest these souls to complete it!"

"Complete what?" asked Abe, approaching Sonada with a shot put ball in hand. Taira and Ibuki also carried similar projectiles. "What's so important that you need to harm the students—students that actually like you—and transform them into monsters?"

"A brat like you couldn't comprehend what Principal Gamou desires," said Sonada, gnashing her teeth. "He wishes to form that day: the Day of Awakening. On that day, everyone will know of his power and might! Everyone shall worship him as a god! Everyone will-"

"Make sure you shut up, Sonada-sensei."

Sonada turned around and screamed when a shot-put ball smacked her across the face. The shot-put ball dropped to the ground as Sonada felt blood trickling down her nose. She snarled and turned to where the ball was thrown, seeing both Takashi and Teruhiko Satake wielding similar shot-put balls in hand.

"Where were you?" asked Rumi, stomping toward Teruhiko. She slapped him over the head. "We nearly died because you took your sweet time with the ammo!"

"Don't blame me!" said Teruhiko, rubbing a hand where Rumi slapped him. "My dad stopped by the shed and offered to help me carry some of the shot-put balls because he didn't want to see me go 'back into my delinquent phase' as he put it." He took a glance at his father. "Isn't that right?"

"No son of mine is getting involved with these damned monsters without backup!" said Satake, pulling his glasses off. He glared at Sonada and Kjima and added, "Let's take care of these delinquents once and for all."

The circle of students and teacher loomed over both Sonada and Kijima. The two knew the odds—they were outnumbered at least four to one, their attempt to poison or extract their souls would be in vain, and even more and more students would eventually come and see what was going on. They were doomed.

"Well," Kijima laughed. He then snarled. "It looks like we're going to have to make our exit, don't you think?"

"No!" Sonada growled. "We can take them out! We—"

"You know, this is probably why you got your ass handed to you by Gentaro and Ryusei. You're just too damn stubborn to realize that you're beat. Besides…" Kijima lowered his head. "Master Gamou wants to see us once more."

Sonada sucked in her cheeks as she shot a glare at her partner. Her brown eyes began to flicker and became black before she and Kijima vanished in a cloud of Cosmic Energy. Mari slowly descended to the ground, a hand on her head as she reverted to her original form, the rainstick still in her hand.

"Mari!" said Abe, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Are you all right?"

"I-I think so," Mari replied, blinking her eyes. "There was so much energy…I was almost consumed by it."

"Is this what's really going on in the school?" asked Ibuki. "I mean, when Abe told Taira and I about the whole Perseus Zodiarts thing during Christmas, I thought it was a…"

"Joke?" finished Rumi. "No, this isn't a joke. This is real, and we have to start training to fight against these Zodiarts before they start landing an assault against the school."

"I better call Motoyama and tell him what we saw," said Abe, picking up his cellphone. "I hope he's doing all right as Kamen Rider Den-O."

"And until then," Satake placed his glasses back on and cleared his throat. "I think you all might want to give me a full explanation as to what I've been missing. Something tells me that I'm gonna be involved in this one way or another…"

"Dad," said Teruhiko, placing a hand on his father's shoulder. "Welcome to the resistance group. You are now an honorary member of the Cosmic Hunting Dogs."

"You just made that name up on the fly, didn't you?" asked Jun.

"So what?" Teruhiko shrugged his shoulders. "That's technically our job now. We might as well give ourselves a title that fits our occupation."

0-0-0-0-0-0-

Mitsuaki Gamou watched as both Sarina Sonada and Natsuji Kijima teleported in front of him. He raised an eyebrow at the animal-like features that they both possessed, but stayed quiet as Sonada bowed toward him.

"My lord," she said, her head bowing in fealty. "We have returned from our imprisonment in the Dark Nebula. We are here to serve you once more."

"I see," said Gamou. "How were you able to escape in the first place?"

"That…is a secret," Kijima laughed. "We don't wanna give it away so quickly, do we?"

"No, you don't. That also leads me to one other question, though."

"And what is, Chairman?"

"What did Virgo do to let you activate your Zodiarts powers without the use of a Horoscope switch?" Gamou smiled as his eyes began to glow red. "I hope that you two will tell me all that you know."

We interrupt this story to give you a very important message.

To everyone who's read and reviewed this story, I give you a thank you from the bottom of my heart. Fourze has had the most amount of named characters out of all the Kamen Rider shows so far-seriously, check out its tvtropes page, it's HUGE! I've been doing my best to give all these characters their time to shine as there is so much potential that you can give them if you just dig deep enough. Why focus on the main characters every single time when you can also flesh out the secondary characters that are also important?

Second, I'm amazed at how the readers have stated how much they like Chuta Ohsugi. His original role in the story was comic relief and having a big crush on Sonada before discovering the Kamen Rider Club and becoming its faculty adviser. The only thing that irked me was that he never used his new role to discover the identities of the Zodiarts at all. In fact, he didn't know about Principal Hayami and Sonada being Zodiarts until the THIRD to last episode of the show and that was JK relaying information toward him. Can you believe that?!

Also, for those of you who don't understand the italics in most of Kijima's speech, he's part of the rakugo club. It's basically him kneeling down with a fan in hand while stating a comical story. He also makes lots of puns-which evident when one sees the fansub translations-so that's to emphasize his speaking patterns.

Last, this will not be the last of the Intermissions. There will be more in the future, but I will announce those in a later time. Also, I am going to be posting a few more one-shots in the following weeks: "Who Desires?" a prequel to Horseshoes, "Twelfth Night", a collection that details the origins of the Zodiarts, "Goldfrapp", a collection that tells of the 7 Kamen Rider Club Members, the 4th tale for "Tears to Shed", and "Black Swan", which delves into the one and only Cygnus priestess Misa Torizaki. Be on the lookout, all right?

Next time: Returning back to Kyoto, Ryusei is fighting Shun, Leo Zodiarts is up against three Kamen Riders, the Kamen Rider Club Girls-plus Yukina-are surrounded by Dustards, and the team of Ohsugi, Haruka, Hana and Miu must hurry to receive medical aid. Day 1 of this field trip is coming to a close, but even when the sun sets, there's still activity that needs to be addressed.

XIII-2: "Of Sins and Shadows" coming up next.