Kamen Rider Ex-Aid 'Tricks' Bonus Stage: Quiz Chronicle

by Ri2

After a tough battle, Emu decides to finally ask Poppy on a date. Unfortunately, the happy moment is ruined when a certain 'god' comes back from the dead once more to challenge him to a test of wits to earn the right to Poppy's hand. Can Emu best Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroto Dan GOD's most irritating challenge yet? With your help, he just might!

26. Boss Stage 8

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me.

…

"So… Yokai are real," Nico said after a moment. "You know, I'm not even surprised anymore."

"They're very real," Emu confirmed. "And not nearly as friendly as the ones in Yokai Watch."

"Aren't most of the Yokai in Yokai Watch little shits that screw around with humans for the heck of it?" Nico recalled.

"Yeah, these Yokai are a lot worse than that," Emu told her.

"Well, it's a good thing we have Mizuki here. All those Yokai were defeated by ninja Sentai, and as a ninja herself, she should be able to give us the answer," Parad suggested.

"Dude, just because she's a ninja doesn't mean she knows all ninjas," Kiriya chided him. "Don't be a fucking racist."

"I don't think racist is the right term," Taiga told him.

Kiriya frowned. "Well, I'm sure it's something -ist."

"Actually, I do know them. We go to a lot of the same conferences," Mizuki spoke up.

"Oh," Kiriya said.

"Then you do know the answer," Hiiro assumed.

Mizuki bit her lip. "… Not… Exactly. You see, the thing is… Both the Kakurangers and the Ninningers fought Yokai. And… I believe all of the Yokai in the question were fought by both teams."

"… Oh. Oh, that is a problem," said an alarmed. Parad.

"Wait, both teams fought the same monsters? Is that allowed?" Asked an incredulous Nico. "I mean, that sounds like laziness to me."

"She's not wrong. The Kakurangers fought the Yokai Army Corps, while the Ninningers fought the Kibaoni Army Corps," Emu spoke up.

"What's the difference?" Parad asked.

"One is a group of Yokai born from the darkness within human hearts that were sealed away by legendary ninjas 400 years ago and led by an incarnation of evil, the other is a group of Yokai created by using cursed shuriken to possess inanimate objects and vehicles and led by the reincarnation of a warlord who was killed by a group of legendary ninjas nearly 450 years ago," Emu explained.

"… Yet. Totally lazy," Parad complained.

"And let's not even get started on how many monsters of the week throughout Sentai history are based off of baku, complete with the same dream gimmick," Kiriya grunted.

"Satsuki, is there no way for you to determine which Yokai was beaten by which team?" Hiiro asked.

Mizuki shook her head despondently. "I'm sorry, Hiiro-sama. Without pictures, I can't possibly tell which variety of Yokai are being referenced."

"Then… How are we supposed to answer the question?!" Nico demanded.

"We're not," Taiga said, glaring at Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD. "Isn't that right, Kuroto?"

"That's Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD yelled. "And of course this question can be answered! It's not my fault if you aren't smart enough to figure out which Yokai are which."

"It is your fault, since you're giving us these Yokai without context, and even if we did somehow manage to guess correctly, you'd probably claim we were completely wrong, and trigger another boss fight anyway!" Parad said angrily.

"Come now, does that really sound like something I would do?" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD asked innocently.

"Do you really want us to answer that?" Taiga snarled. Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD laughed ungraciously.

"And here we thought the last question was impossible," Kiriya grumbled.

"You know, it really is a shame Mondo left. He could probably give us the correct answer," Satsuki lamented.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. All we know is that he isn't here, and we must find a solution on our own," Hiiro pointed out.

"Except… I don't think there is a solution," Emu confessed. "I think we're going to have to take a hit on this one."

"You mean… Fail, and trigger another boss fight?" Parad asked in concern.

Emu sighed. "Unless anyone else has a better idea?"

Nobody did.

"I'm very sorry. Once again, I have failed," Mizuki lamented.

"It's not your fault, Mizuki," Satsuki assured her. "This question is clearly rigged. There's no way to get the right answer."

"Even so, I cannot help but blame myself," Mizuki said unhappily.

"You know, it's a pity you didn't get help from the ninja Sentai after all. Maybe they'd have been able to magically give us the answers through your Gashat through the power of… Um… Is there some kind of magical force that binds all ninjas together?" Nico asked uncertainly.

"Nintality," Mizuki reported.

"Right, that."

"Where were they, anyway?" Taiga wondered.

"Probably off on a new adventure of their own. We can't expect everyone to just drop what they're doing and spontaneously help us out," Kiriya suggested.

"Well, it'd better be a damn big one," Parad said grumpily.

…

"HEXTUPLE CONNECTION! FINAL GADGET!"

A tremendous blast of power fired from the massive bazooka formed from the combined weapons of the Hurricanegers, Gourangers, and Shurikenger, annihilating the last of the remaining Gareppas and sending Furabiijo and Wendinu flying.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! NOT AGAIN!" Furabiijo wailed.

"CURSE YOU, NINJAS! WE'LL BE BACK FOR REVENGE!… IN ANOTHER 10 YEARS, GIVE OR TAKE!" Wendinu howled.

"Looks like we're blasting off agaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaain!" They shouted as they vanished over the horizon.

Neko paused in the middle of her frenzied battle with the Ninningers to spot the briefcase containing the mallet, shuriken, and the nail, tumbling through the air, having been dropped by the two former members of Jakanja when they were launched skyward. "The briefcase!" She gasped.

"Neko! Get it!" Kyuubi cried, glancing away from her largely one-sided fight with the Kakurangers. "I'll hold them off!"

She spread her tails, tremendous balls of Foxfire forming on the ends of them and launching into the air, zigzagging wildly about and bombarding the three groups of ninjas, who cried out as explosions blew them away.

"I'm on it!" Neko cried, leaping into the air and catching the briefcase, landing safely on the ground with the piece of luggage held tight to her chest. "I got it! Kyuubi, I got-"

She was cut off when a katana burst out from her stomach. She choked on her words, blood dripping from her mouth and from the wound.

"No," said Ninjaman as he withdrew his sword from her back. "I've got you."

Neko's eyes rolled back in her head, and she collapsed to the ground, still clutching the briefcase.

Kyuubi's eyes widened in horror. "NEKO!" She howled in fury and terror, unleashing a tremendous blast of Foxfire which sent the Kakurangers flying. Roaring in incandescent rage, she charged towards her fellow Yokai, blue fire washing over her and causing her to transform into a colossal nine-tailed white and gold Fox with red markings the size of a house, leaving flaming footprints in her wake as she rapidly ate up the distance across the quarry, darkness dripping from her jaws.

If NInjaman had eyes, they would probably be very wide. "Somehow, I get the idea I've just made a tremendous mistake-"

He was cut off when Kyuubi viciously grabbed him in her jaws, ripped him in half, and hurled the pieces away, much to the horror of his friends.

"NInjaman!" NinjaBlack cried.

"Wow, good thing that was my straw dummy, or else I'd be dead," NInjaman, standing right next to the black ninja, commented, startling everyone.

"Wait… Straw dummy? But…" The confused HurricaneBlue began, pointing at the dismembered pieces of NInjaman in the distance, which were clearly not a straw dummy.

"Yes, it sure is a good thing that was your straw dummy," NinjaBlue said loudly. "Play along, unless you want him to realize he couldn't have actually survived that, and should really be dead," he hissed to the others.

"… Okay, I know I'm not the smartest-" Takaharu began.

"That's an understatement," his cousin Yakumo muttered.

"But even I don't see how that should work," Takaharu protested.

"Just go along with it, big brother. It's not worth it," his sister said, patting him on the shoulder.

Kyuubi curled herself around the injured Neko, conjuring a wall of fire around them and summoning several dozen Dorodoros to keep the ninjas distracted. She gently started licking her partner's gaping wound, the hole in her chest growing smaller with each lick until finally it was sealed shut. "Neko? Neko, can you hear me?" She asked gently, an undercurrent of terror and desperation in her voice.

"Nnnngh…K…Kyuubi?" Neko asked weakly, eyes flickering open to see the giant vulpine head gazing down at her in concern and relief.

"Yes, I'm here. Don't strain yourself, you took a very bad hit back there," Kyuubi told her companion.

"I… I was run through… I should be…" Neko began.

"Fine," Kyuubi said firmly, nuzzling the feline affectionately. "You're perfectly fine. You just need some rest, that's all."

"The… The briefcase!" Neko gasped, suddenly remembering. "I got… I got the briefcase!"

"You did. You did very well, Neko. Rest now. I will take it from here," Kyuubi promised her.

"We can… We can get them back now…" Neko whispered, tears running down her cheeks. "We can… We can finally…"

"Yes. We'll be a family again. We will open the Seal Door right away…" The mighty kitsune glanced up at the three teams of ninjas, who had almost finished defeating her minions. "Just as soon as I finish up here."

"Kyuubi?" Neko cried in alarm. "We don't… We don't need to fight them. We have what we came here for. We can go. We don't need to deal with them ever again."

"No. They tried to kill you. They tried to take you from me. That is unacceptable," Kyuubi snarled, eyes burning with hatred. "If I let them live, they'll never stop coming after us. For the safety of our family, and our future, they all must die."

"Kyuubi-" Neko protested.

"Shhh. Rest now. Let Kyuubi handle everything," the Fox soothed, breathing gently onto Neko's face. Without a word, the feline Yokai immediately fell into a deep sleep.

In a ripple of flame, Kyuubi assumed her human form just as the ninjas finished off the last of her underlings. Bending down to pry the briefcase from Neko's claws, she calmly told the heroes, "I didn't want it to come to this, you know. This never concerned you. If you had just stayed out of it, and let us go on our way, Neko and I could have our happy ending, and you would never need to hear from us again."

"The minute we heard you were trying to open the Seal Door and free Daimaou, this became our concern," NinjaRed insisted.

"Did you really think we were going to just sit back and let you destroy the world?" KiNinger asked.

Kyuubi snorted. "Free Daimaou? Destroy the world? You really don't have a clue, do you? I don't give a shit about that old bastard, and I'm fine with the world the way it is."

This came as a surprise to everyone. "Wait, what? But… Then why are you trying to open the door?" KuwagaRaiger asked.

Kyuubi pointed a claw at the Kakurangers. "Why not ask them? It's their fault Neko and I have been forced to go to such lengths to begin with."

"What? What are you talking about?" Asked the confused NinjaWhite.

"Where do I start? Maybe it had something to do with you killing my sister Kitsune and Neko's sister Bakeneko. Or maybe it had to do with you sealing the door between the human and Yokai world and starving so many of the Yokai living here of the energy they need to survive." Kyuubi's eyes narrowed. "Or maybe, just maybe, it's because when you sealed away Daimaou and so many of the other Yokai, our children got trapped on the other side!"

"Your… Your children?" Shurikenger cried in disbelief.

"Oh… Oh no…" NinjaBlue whispered.

"Wait, you're both girls, how could you-" a confused Takaharu began.

"Not the time!" His sister hissed.

"They could be adopted," MomoNinger suggested.

"They aren't, actually, but that's irrelevant," Kyuubi snarled. "We've been spending decades trying to find a way to rescue our kin from the other side without causing too much collateral damage to the world we've come to love, but nothing's worked. Breaking open the Seal Door is our only hope of bringing back the Yokai we love."

"I… I'm sorry about your family," NinjaWhite said sincerely. "But… We can't let you open the door."

"If you want to see your family so badly," NinjaYellow said, brandishing his sword. "Then allow us to send you to them on the other side."

Kyuubi threw back her head and laughed. "Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you? Another Yokai beaten, another monster of the week defeated and forgotten about? Well, I have no intention of being another mark on your list of conquests."

"Do we have one of those?" Takaharu wondered.

"Bring it. You aren't the first nine-tailed fox we've beaten," StarNinger bragged.

Kyuubi laughed again. "You speak, of course, of that (literal) bastard Kyuemon? That mewling daddy's boy who couldn't cut it as a ninja, so had to steal the power and skill of his rival? The fact that you refer to him and myself in the same breath shows that you really don't know who you're talking to. That pretender Yokai was naught but a cub sucking on his mother's teat compared to me. Who do you think it was that taught him all the magic he knew? And as for my sister… Well, I love her dearly, but I was always the stronger of the two of us."

"… I don't think she's blowing hot air, guys. Something about her seems… Familiar… And terrible beyond imagining," commented the unnerved MidoNinger.

"You keep saying we don't know who we're dealing with. Just who are you, then?" NinjaRed asked.

Kyuubi grinned, the briefcase opening up and the three items inside floating out to hover before her. "I have lived for 9999 lifetimes. I have studied underneath both Inari and Tomomo Mae. I am the first and greatest master of Yokai Sorcery. I am the one who even King Enma fears. I am blood-sister to Amaterasu no Okami, Creator of all that is good and mother to us all. I am a mother, a sister, a lover. And most importantly, in this instance… I am the one who will erase you ninjas from the face of the earth for what you've done to my family."

"You know, technically, your beef is with the Kakurangers, they're the ones you have the most history with and we just got called in to help-" KuwagaRaiger started, only to be hit by an irate HurricaneBlue. "I'm just saying!"

"I have been known by many names in many times…" Kyuubi continued. "But the name you shall know me by, the name you shall die with on your lips, is Kyuubi no Okami, the Yokai God!"

Kyuubi snatched the mallet out of the air and slammed the Yomi Shuriken on to it, giving it a spin. "Yokai Sorcery: Swelling Corpulence!"

She lightly bopped herself on the head with the mallet. Purple flames engulfed her, and she began growing in size until she became a colossal giant towering over the ninjas, Neko cradled gently in one of her now-immense hands.

"Wait, she made herself big before we defeated her? Is that allowed?" Asked the surprised MidoNinger.

"It happens now and then," HurricaneRed told her.

"Everyone, summon your strongest mechas! This is going to take everything we've got!" NinjaWhite declared.

Roughly 3 to 4 minutes of shouting, stock footage, and lengthy transformation sequences later, the three ninja teams were arrayed before Kyuubi in Super Kakure Daishogun, Revolver Tenrai Senpuujin, and Super Ha-Oh Shurikenjin (a newer configuration created to utilize MidoNinger's OtomoNin, Kaerumaru), as well as Ninjaman, who had assumed his giant form of Samuraiman. The Yokai smirked, which was not the reaction most monsters would have when faced with such considerable firepower. "So you're going all-out… Good. Too bad it won't be enough, since I'm just getting started!"

Placing Neko on her shoulder, she took out the Izanami Nail, supersized like the rest of her. Placing it on the ground, she raised the mallet into the air. "Yokai Sorcery: Demon's Gate Invocation!"

She slammed the mallet onto the nail, driving it into the earth. The Nail pulsed with dark power, an elaborate spell seal etching itself across the ground in purple flames. The seal flashed, and eight lines of fire radiated outwards from the Nail, a chain of explosions erupting down their length and knocking the four giant robots back. Fissures spread outwards from the eight lines, following the markings of the spell seal precisely, and then the entire quarry floor exploded as… Something emerged from beneath.

"What… What is that?" Asked a horrified MidoNinger.

"Are those… Are those tentacles?" Asked KabutoRaiger, seeing eight long, flailing appendages writhing about in the debris cloud. "It is some sort of giant octopus?"

"No… No, I think it's something much worse than that," said a horrified NinjaWhite.

Samuraiman gasped. "Wait! I think… I think I recognize this beast! But… It cannot be, my masters, the Three God Generals, vanquished it ages ago, at great cost!"

Kyuubi cackled. "They did… But not well enough, I'm afraid."

As the debris cloud settled, the ninjas were able to behold the true face of the horror the ancient fox had conjured up… All eight of them. Eight massive serpentine heads wearing samurai helmets hissed and snapped at the air, their long black-scaled necks curving and weaving through the air, joining into a sick central trunk with a gigantic palace mounted on its back. A throne was embedded in the front of it, a throne in which Kyuubi, dwarfed by the great snake she had conjured up, was seated, the sleeping Neko resting on a cushion in her lap, a lengthy nine-pronged sword clutched in the hand that was not holding the mallet.

"Behold, ninjas, the instrument of your destruction, the eight-branched giant snake… Ultimate Yokai: Yamata no Orochi!"

The eight heads roared in unison, jets of fire shooting into the air as the ninja Sentai looked on in horror.

And on a nearby ridge, Rentaro Kagura, Kamen Rider Shinobi, looked on. "Looks like I've got my work cut out for me…" He muttered.

…

"So, it's agreed then? We forfeit the question and take whatever Bugster boss fight comes of it?" Emu asked the others.

They nodded reluctantly. "Loathe as I am to admit it, I don't really see any other option," Hiiro said in disgruntlement.

"So which of us do you think will be picked this time?" Nico asked.

"I think he's either going to have to let Satsuki go after all, or pick one of us again," Taiga reasoned.

"He could also send out Poppy," Parad suggested.

"You really think he would?" Kiriya asked skeptically.

"Probably not, but he doesn't have a lot of options at this point," the Bugster replied.

"Taiga, if Satsuki is chosen, can you perform the compatibility surgery on her?" Emu asked Hiiro.

The surgeon nodded. "Of course. I already have a spare Gamer Driver and a new Gashat I commissioned for her ready."

"Your foresight and generosity, as always, knows no bounds, Hiiro-sama," Satsuki said gratefully.

"… That's one word for it…" Taiga muttered.

"All right, then… Here goes…" Emu took a deep breath. "Kuroto-"

"That's Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD yelled.

"There's no way we can figure out the answer to this question. I forfeit," Emu said very, very reluctantly. "The question, not the game, just to be clear. I'm still in that."

Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD shrugged. "Well, if you're sure…" Emu recoiled, crying out in pain as he jerked back, his Rider Gauge dropping slightly. A buzzer sounded, the lights flashed chaotically, and the monitor changed to show a big thumbs down and emoji sticking its tongue out. The Bugster audience booed and started throwing things at the stage.

"Do you really need to do that every time?" Emu complained, clutching his chest in pain.

"Yes," Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD said bluntly.

"So, are you going to tell us what the right answer was?" Nico asked, scowling.

"Mmm… No, I don't think so," Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD sneered.

"Is that because you're just that much of a prick, or because you honestly don't have an answer selected since you were going to say whatever we guessed was wrong anyway?" Kiriya questioned.

"… Shut up," Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD growled. "Anyway, since you weren't able to come up with an answer for my question, you all know what that means!"

He slammed a fist onto a large red button on his podium. Air horns blew, and the audience cheered as the words BUGSTER TIME flashed on the screen with a wobbling Virus head sandwiched between them. The screen then changed to show two young boys in a park, screaming at each other and playing tug-of-war with a handheld game console while a very tired-looking woman sitting on a bench nearby feebly pleaded for them to cut it out.

"Allow me to introduce twin brothers Sou and Shu Yamaruma," Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD announced. "Both of them love video games. Unfortunately, they are incapable of playing nice or sharing, and are constantly fighting over their toys, much to the detriment of their parents, who keep having to pay to replace all the rather expensive electronics they keep breaking in their tantrums."

Parad shook his head in disgust. "Kids can be so petty. Why can't they get along as well as Emu and me?"

"Parad, I had to physically restrain you the other day just so I could get a chance to play the new Final Fantasy game," Emu pointed out. Parad pretended not to hear him.

"So which of the kids is going to be a victim this time?" Taiga asked in resignation.

Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD grinned. "Why not both?"

…

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

"MINE!"

"MINE!"

"Boys, please, can't you please just share the game?" Mrs. Yamaruma moaned. "Mommy is getting a headache, and she really doesn't want to have to pay to replace another one of your games…"

The twins stopped fighting… Because they were doubled over in pain, the forgotten handheld clattering to the ground between them. Their mother stood up in alarm. "Boys?!"

The brothers cried out as an orange mass formed on their backs, bursting out and splattering on the ground behind them, growing, rising, and taking form. Mrs. Yamaruma screamed and backpedaled as the new Bugsters took their form…

A pair of Bugster Viruses in blue jumpsuits under black chest armor, one with red sleeves and the other green, both of them with thick black mustaches?

"It's-a me, Futago!" The red Bugster declared with a terrible Italian accent.

"Okie-dokie!" The green one spoke up.

Mrs. Yamaruma stopped screaming and stared at the Bugsters, dumbfounded. Her sons did the same.

…

The family weren't the only ones who couldn't believe their eyes.

"Did… Did you just create Mario Brothers Bugsters?!" Asked an incredulous Nico.

"What? No! Don't be preposterous!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD said quickly. "These are the Futago brothers, a legally distinct intellectual property owned by Genm Corp. with no relation whatsoever to a pair of brothers owned by a certain other videogame company. Any perceived similarity between the two is totally wrong and you should feel bad for thinking so."

"Wait a minute, I remember these guys," Emu realized. "They're from a terrible Mario Brothers rip off your company made before launching the Mighty franchise as your flagship years ago. Nintendo came down on you guys so hard your company nearly went bankrupt!"

"A grossly disproportionate reaction! Futago Brothers wasn't a rip off, it was a homage!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD insisted.

"Literally the only thing that was different was that you altered the sprites and changed the names," Parad said bluntly. "And didn't even do a very good job of that, considering just how much of the base code was exactly the same as the game it was quite clearly copied and pasted from."

"Look, it was my father's idea, okay?!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD insisted. "I had nothing to do with it!"

"I seem to remember your name being mentioned a lot in the credits-" Nico recalled.

"Anyway! This dynamic duo, which is totally not a rip off of another, more famous dynamic duo, shall be faced by… Oh damn, I suppose it's going to have to be Satsuki," Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD grumbled in irritation. "She's already gone out once, but this will be her first time officially doing it."

Satsuki took a deep breath. "I am ready. I shall not fail."

"Out of curiosity, what are you going to do if there's another boss fight after this?" Kiriya asked Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD.

"I'll… Deal with that when the time comes," Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD said evasively. Damn, I thought I'd have enough data by now! I'm still not quite there yet… I may need one or two more boss fights, after all…

Hiiro produced another Gamer Driver and Gashat. "Satsuki, we must perform the compatibility surgery on you immediately. Everyone, you should reprise your roles from last time. This should be exactly the same, except that Mizuki will be serving as nurse this time-"

The surgeon was interrupted by a scream, and they glanced up at the monitor to see that the Futago brothers had produced hammers and were starting to beat up Mrs. Yamaruma, while her helpless sons watched on, pleading with the Bugsters not to hurt their mother. The villains ignored them.

"Oh, shit, the mom!" Nico cried.

"If they keep beating her up like that, she might be dead by the time Satsuki gets there!" An alarmed Taiga realized.

"Hiiro, is there any way to speed up the surgery?" Emu desperately asked the surgeon.

Hiiro shook his head regretfully. "There isn't. I almost pushed it too far operating on Mizuki as quickly as I did the last time. If I were to work any faster, I would run the risk of killing Satsuki."

The martial artist took a deep breath. "… Very well. If that's what it takes-"

"Satsuki, no!" Mizuki protested.

"Mizuki, I must do this. Do not fear. I have absolute faith in Hiiro-sama's skills," Satsuki assured the ninja.

"While it gratifies me to hear that, even if I ignored all safety procedures and rushed the surgery as quickly as I could, I am uncertain you would be ready to fight before that woman is killed," Hiiro said uncomfortably.

"Then it's a good thing I'm going instead," Parad spoke up.

Everyone looked at him in surprise. "Parad, what are you talking about?" Emu demanded.

"Yes, explain yourself! You already had your turn!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD pointed out.

Parad smirked. "Ever since I fought Salty, I've been subtly probing Kuroto's-"

"That's Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD interjected.

"Firewalls to see if I could find any loopholes or weak points I could use to teleport out in case of emergencies," Parad explained. He grinned. "And it just so happens that I found one right now."

"WHAT?! IMPOSSIBLE!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD shrieked.

"You can? That's great!" Emu said in relief.

"Wait a minute… Is this an excuse for you to get another turn and a chance at a new power up?" Nico asked suspiciously. "Because you've been bitching about that for a while now."

"I'd be lying if I said that wasn't part of the motivation," Parad admitted. "But right now, that doesn't matter. That woman, and those kids, need help, and right now I'm the only person who can give it to them. Once upon a time, I wouldn't have given a crap about that and focused on my own desires. That's not the sort of person I am anymore. Emu's taught me otherwise, just like the rest of you. And yeah, it would be nice if I got a new game out of this… But that's not why I'm doing it. I'm doing it because it's the right thing to do."

Kiriya chuckled. "We've taught you well."

"Parad… Good luck," Emu said, putting a hand on his partner's shoulder.

"We will proceed with the surgery while you're gone," Hiiro told the Bugster. "That way, Satsuki will be ready for the next boss fight."

"Assuming there is one," Taiga added.

"There's definitely going to be one," Nico said pessimistically.

"Wait, no! You can't do this! I forbid it!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD said desperately, realizing that, once more, he had no control over the situation. "I-if you go out there, I'll release the new virus strain! Thousands of people could die, and it will be all your fault!"

The threat gave Parad pause… Until he heard another scream from Mrs. Yammura. His eyes hardened. "No, Kuroto, it'll be your fault for forcing us into this situation the first place. If you really want to unleash this new virus you've been holding over our heads all this time, go for it. It's not going to stop me from going. Yeah, maybe hundreds or thousands of people will get sick… But right now, all I can do is help the person in front of me. That's what it means to be a Kamen Rider."

And with that, he vanished in a flurry of pixels, leaving Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD behind to scream in impotent fury as his friends applauded.

…

Elsewhen…

As a hideous monster somewhat resembling a locust rampaged through the streets, a pretty young woman in a silver jacket and skirt with a feather in her hair and a tall, older, grim-looking man in a purple and black jacket watched from a nearby rooftop, unbothered by the screams of terror and agony rising up from the city below.

"So… That's Another Agito?" The girl, Ora, asked the older man.

"Another Another Agito," the man, Sworz, corrected her.

She raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that one too many 'Another's?'"

Sworz sighed. "There's already a Rider called Another Agito. So, this Another Rider has to be named Another Another Agito."

Ora considered this for a moment. "… So, does that make it an Another Rider for Agito, or Another Agito?"

"Yes," Sworz said bluntly. She rolled her eyes.

Below, two young men arrived, strapped on Drivers, and pulled out watches.

TIME DRIVER!

RIDER TIME!

ZI-O/GEIZ!

"HENSHIN!"

KAMEN RIDER! ZI-O/GEIZ!

AGITO/ANOTHER AGITO!

ARMOR TIME! AGITO/ANOTHER AGITO!

"Huh, guess they weren't sure either, so grabbed both Ridewatches just to be safe," Ora observed as Sougo and Geiz transformed. Sworz grunted.

"Rejoice! The one to inherit all Rider powers, the king of time who will rule over the past and the future! And his name is Kamen Rider Zi-O! Agito Armor!" Woz proclaimed from below. "Oh, and Geiz is here too." Geiz grunted.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sworz asked as Ora started walking away.

She rolled her eyes. "Come on, you know how this goes by now. We create an Another Rider that's supposed to be super strong and impossible to beat, then somehow they find some new form or trick that defeats the Another Rider and leaves us no closer to putting a new king on the throne than we were before."

"It might be different this time," Sworz said, though he didn't sound like he truly believed it.

"Honestly, I'm starting to wonder what the point of it all is," she griped. "And what with that new Woz around, there's so many people trying to change the future now I have absolutely no idea what the timeline is going to be like when this is all over, or if we are even going to get the future we want. And then there's whatever that Tsukasa guy is up to."

"I don't trust him," Sworz growled.

"You don't trust anyone."

"I especially don't trust him. We should have just made an Another Rider from his power when we had the chance," Sworz grumbled.

FINISH TIME! GROUND TIME BREAK/ANOTHER GROUND TIME BREAK!

There was a roar of agony and a tremendous explosion as Another Another Agito was defeated, reverting back to his human form, his Ridewatch popping out of his body and breaking.

"That was fast," Ora commented. "Think it's a new record." Sworz pounded a fist on the railing in frustration.

Neither of them were aware that they were being watched from a distance.

"Targets are in sight. Should we take them out?" TimeBlue asked, staring at the Time Jackers, Riders, and their entourage through a pair of futuristic binoculars from atop a building.

"Are all the Time Jackers and the second Woz present?" Asked the voice in his ear.

"Negative, I only have eyes on two Jackers and the black Woz," TimeBlue reported. "Though I don't know why he's called that since he's dressed more in dark brown."

"Then do not engage," said the voice, his superior, Yuri. "We want to be able to get them all at once, without any of them escaping into the timestream and causing more trouble. Continue observation for now."

"Roger that."

The blue TimeRanger wasn't the only one on the rooftop spying on the Time Jackers. Unfortunately, his companions were a bit less… Professional.

"Momotaros, let me look through the binoculars! I want a turn!"

"NO! Get your own, brat, these are mine!"

"Come now, senpai, surely there's no harm in sharing?"

"There is when I just know one of you idiots will break them by accident! These aren't cheap, you know!"

"As your prince, I command you to give me those binoculars!"

"Shut up, Sieg, you're not my prince! I never voted for you!"

"That's not how a monarchy works, you cretin!"

"Zzzzzzzz."

"Would anyone like some shiitake?"

"I hate every last one of you."

"Captain, why exactly did you send these… Colorful individuals with me?" TimeBlue asked, grimacing at the bickering Imagin.

"Because if I had to be around them for a minute longer, I'd have killed someone. They're your problem now."

"Dammit."

The blue Ranger started when he heard screams, and turned to see that Ryutaros had fallen off the side of the building and was desperately clutching to Momotaros' binoculars, choking the red oni due to the strap being wrapped around his neck. The other Imagin were trying to help, but kept getting in each other's way, and a minute later all of them went over the edge, desperately grabbing onto each other to keep from falling to their deaths, and choking Momotaros even more as he struggled not to get pulled over as well. (Also, Kintaros was still sleeping. Somehow.)

TimeBlue groaned as he got up to help them. "This is going to be a fun assignment…"

…

The Futago Bugsters continued pummeling Mrs. Yamamura with their hammers, the shocking violence they were inflicting on her made even more disturbing by the constant random phrases they spouted in terrible Italian accents. Their mother's screams and sobs caused Sou and Shu great distress, causing their flickering and fading to increase in frequency as their symptoms worsened, drawing closer and closer to death.

As the red brother raised his hammer, preparing to cave the woman's skull in, someone shouted, "HEY! Wario and Waluigi! The hell do you think you're doing?!"

The two brothers spun around to see an irate Parad striding towards them. "It's-a me, Futago!" The red Bugster declared in irritation.

"Okie-dokie!" The green one agreed.

Parad snorted. "That's right, I forgot, you're not Wario or Waluigi. Mistaking you two rip-offs for them is an insult to those guys… Yes, even Waluigi! Even the most despised and underappreciated guy in the Mushroom Kingdom has more dignity than you, even though he'll probably still never get into a Smash Brothers game!"

"Mamma Mia!" The brothers shouted angrily.

"Who… Who are…" Mrs. Yamaruma whimpered, barely able to see through her swollen eyes.

"Don't worry ma'am, I'm a professional. I'll take care of things," Parad promised her. "Someone should be here any minute to take care of you."

As if on cue, Jiro suddenly appeared on his motorcycle. "I made it as fast as I could!" The heavily-armed doctor declared as he hopped off his bike and rushed over. "There's been a lot of people in need of medical assistance today, what with all those Bugster battles you and your friends are having all over the city!"

"Sorry," Parad said apologetically. "We're doing the best we can."

"Oh, I don't blame you, it's all that bastard Kuroto's fault," Jiro assured Parad, waving him off as he knelt down besides Mrs. Yamamura and opened his medical kit.

…

"That's Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD yelled.

...

"You can relax now ma'am, you're in good hands," Jiro said soothingly as he got to work.

"But… My sons…" The wounded woman pleaded.

"You can leave that to me, ma'am," Parad told her, giving her a thumbs up. "I'll take it from here." He glanced at the two brothers. "Hey, you kids like video games, right?" The twins nodded hesitantly. Parad grinned. "Good, because I think you're going to love this!"

He strapped on his Gamer Driver and pulled out his Gashat Gear Dual, slamming it into the belt.

| DUAL! CLICK AND LOAD! |

"Max Henshin Plus!" Parad cried as red and blue pixels formed around him, the holographic title screens for Knockout Fighter and Perfect Puzzle appearing behind him.

| CLICK AND OPEN! MIX UP! PERFECT KNOCK-OUT! |

A holographic screen passed over him, garbing him in the red and blue raiment of his ultimate form, Kamen Rider Para-DX Perfect Knockout level 99. He pounded a fist into his hand. "I'm getting excited. Let's do this!"

A wave of pixels surged out from him, causing Energy Items and several large blocks to materialize all over the park. The Bugster brothers raised their hammers and charged at Parad, yelling vaguely Italian-sounding battle cries at the top of their lungs.

Parad summoned his Gashacon Parabragun and charged forwards to meet the two brothers. As the red brother swung his hammer at Parad's head, the good Bugster dodged it and lashed out with his ax, ripping through the modified Virus's side as he rushed past. The red brother cried out in agony and disintegrated, causing the green brother to cry, "Futago! Mamma Mia!"

"Don't worry, you'll be seeing both your brother and mother again shortly!" Parad promised. Switching his weapon to its gun mode, he fired several rapid-fire shots at the Bugster, blasting the hammer out of his hand and sending him staggering back, stunned. Before he could recover, Parad switched back to his ax and rushed the Bugster, swinging his weapon in a massive chop which lopped the green brother's head off, the severed cranium arcing through the air before landing at the feet of the Yamaruma twins. The brothers stared at the head, eyes bulging.

"… Dude, there were kids watching," said a horrified Jiro.

"Oh, shit," Parad swore, realizing his misstep.

Mrs. Yamaruma sighed. "I'm pretty sure they've seen worse in the games they play…"

"There's a difference between simulated violence and the real deal," Jiro pointed out.

"Crap. Looks like I'm going to have to be a responsible authority figure," Parad groaned. "Okay, kids, don't decapitate anyone in real life, unless they're monsters. And even then, make sure they aren't friendly ones first."

"Is that the lesson we should be teaching here?" Jiro asked skeptically.

"You got any better ones?" Parad retorted. "Oh, right. Kids, from now on, share your video games. There's nothing wrong with playing co-op." The two boys nodded wordlessly, awestruck by just how cool their savior was.

…

"Well, that was… Kind of anti-climactic," Nico complained.

"Well, they were modified mooks, what do you expect?" Kiriya pointed out.

"Still, I was expecting more from a boss fight," Taiga commented.

Hiiro, having just finished performing the surgery on Satsuki, frowned. "… If the Bugsters have been defeated, why are the boys still showing symptoms of Game Illness?"

And that's when Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD started laughing.

…

"Now that my work here is done, I should probably head back-" Parad began, only to be startled when a pair of large purple pipes rose up from the ground nearby. "What the-"

"Yahoo!"

Both Futago brothers jumped out of the pipes, the number 99 appearing over their heads before changing to 98.

"The heck?" Cried the startled Jiro.

Parad swore, realizing what this meant. "They've got extra lives!"

…

"You gave them extra lives?!" Emu cried in disbelief.

Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD cackled. "Of course I did! I had to give them SOME sort of advantage! And those aren't the only surprises they have up their sleeves…"

…

Parad groaned. "So that means I have to kill them nearly 200 more times before they're beaten? That bites."

"At least they're just mooks," Jiro pointed out. "I'd help, but I'm tending to the lady. You should be able to handle it, though, you're a pretty strong Rider."

"I suppose so." Parad cracked his neck. "All right, let's do this." Brandishing his ax, he charged at the revived brothers.

He swiped his weapon at the red one, who blocked it with his hammer. In the split second when Parad's axe rebounded off, the green brother sprung onto his sibling's shoulders, then hopped off again, locking his legs around the surprised Parad's shoulders and smashing his hammer onto his head repeatedly. As the startled Parad drove his ax into the personal space invader's back to get him off, the red brother press his palm to the Rider's chest and generated a fireball at point-blank range, the fiery projectile exploding and knocking Parad back even as the green brother disintegrated.

Parad shook his head, trying to regain his bearings, only for the green brother to abruptly respawn from a pipe behind him, hammer raised to deliver another blow to Parad's head. Parad dove to the side, spinning to bring his ax up to bear and slice the brother in half, only to get struck by a fireball from the red brother, who'd been waiting for him. As the flames washed across Parad's form, the green brother respawned again from a new pipe directly in front of him and thrust his palm into his chest, releasing a blast of green electricity that sent him flying back, shaking and sparking.

The red brother ran towards him, trying to clothesline him from behind with his hammer, but Parad managed to duck in time and rip his ax through the Bugster's side, deleting him. As the red brother popped out of a new pipe moments later, Parad quickly switched his weapon to its gun form and started wildly firing at both brothers, rocking them backwards with repeated energy bullets until they vaporized.

This only gave him a moment's reprieve, however, because the brothers popped back up moments later right beside him and swung their hammers at him. Parad had anticipated this, however, catching the hammerheads in both hands. He yanked them out of the startled brothers hands, threw them into the air, then swung his ax in a spinning strike, cleaving through both of them before grabbing the hammers on their way down and smashing through both of their skulls.

Not that it mattered, because they both popped up again moments later, none the worse for wear aside from their life counter ticking down. Parad groaned. "Man, this is going to take forever! There's gotta be a way to speed this up…"

He gestured, causing Energy Items to fly from all over the place and form a grid over his head…

And was horrified when the brothers leaped into the air, each of them grabbing one of the tokens! "Wait, what?!"

"Here we go!" The two brothers shouted as they absorbed the power-ups, the red brother using Iron-Body, while the green one used Speeding-Up.

…

"They can use Energy Items?!" Cried a horrified Emu.

Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD shrugged. "And why not? The characters they're based off can! And besides, it's not like you lot use the things that often anyway!"

"… Guy's got a point," Kiriya admitted grudgingly.

…

The green brother rushed towards Parad at incredible speeds. Parad attempted to anticipate his movements and catch him with a swing of his ax, but the Bugster dodged at the last minute and slammed his hammer into Parad's side, knocking him back. The red brother caught him, wrapping his arms around his chest and pinning him in place so that his brother could slam his palm into his chest and electrify him.

Parad cried out in pain and struggled against his captor, but the metallized Bugster's hold was too strong. He tried to slam his head into the Bugster's face to weaken his grip, only to give himself a headache due to the virus's metal skin. Getting an idea, he drove his knee into the green brother's crotch, startling him and causing him to shift his hand and touch his brother's arm instead. Both Parad and the red brother cried out in pain as electricity coursed through their bodies, the red brother vaporizing, freeing Parad and allowing him to grab the horrified green brother and rip his head off, killing him.

Unfortunately, both brothers respawned moments later, each of them snatching up an Energy Item. The red brother immediately used his power-up, Instigate, drawing Parad's attention and causing him to completely miss the fact that the green brother had grabbed and thrown a Shrink token at him until it was too late, and he suddenly found himself less than an inch tall. "Uh-oh."

Screaming, he ran for his life as the brothers chased after him, jumping all over the place to try to stomp him beneath their feet or crushing them beneath their hammers. Thinking quickly, Parad used his power to summon several Items towards him. The Bugsters immediately grabbed two of them, but Parad had been counting on that, and the one he really needed, Recover, was absorbed into his body, healing him partially and causing him to shoot back to his regular size, catching the surprised brothers with a double uppercut that sent them flying. He whipped out his weapon in blaster form and shot them out of the sky, causing them to explode.

Parad groaned as the brothers immediately popped back up seconds later. "Oh, come on! This is getting ridiculous!" Spotting a nearby Item, he got an idea. "Well, I may not have extra lives, but I can certainly do this!"

He grabbed Separation, using it to split into eight identical copies. "Okay, let's try it this way!" All eight Parads said at once, making the same motions. As one, they charged towards the brothers.

Alarmed, the red brother volleyed fireballs at the eight Parads, but the heroic Bugsters batted them away with their axes, the projectiles flying back through the air and striking the brothers, engulfing them in flames and destroying them. They respawned moments later, but the eight were already upon them and started hacking at them with their axes, killing them again immediately. The brothers popped up again separately and further away, and the eight Parads exchanged looks before splitting into groups of four, each going after one of the Bugsters.

The red brother grabbed an Emission item and immediately used it to release a blinding flash of light. The four Riders immediately recognized the item and shielded their eyes with their weapons to keep from being blinded, but in that second when all eyes were often, the red brother grabbed an Invisible Item and used it to disappear. Realizing what must have happened, the four clones quickly stood back to back, switched their weapons to gun mode, and rotated in circles, shooting energy blasts in every direction. A small explosion indicated they'd hit and terminated their target, and they cheered...

Until the red brother respawned right in the middle of them and unleashed a spinning hammer smash, destroying all four of them. "Thank you so much for playing my game!" He bragged, pointing a thumb at himself and posing with his hammer slung over his shoulder.

The green brother, true to his inspiration, wasn't doing quite as well. The four clones were constantly on his back, cutting him to pieces every time he tried to grab an Energy Item and blasting him every time he respawned, the combined fire of the four Parads easily destroying him whenever he popped up. Finally fed up, the next time he respawned, he yelled, "Here we go!" Just before being blasted to pieces.

The Parads waited for a moment, but he didn't appear again. "Did we get him finally?" One of them asked at last.

"No, that doesn't make sense, he still had plenty of lives left…" Another murmured.

"Guys, why hasn't his warp pipe gone away?" A third observed.

The ground started shaking. The green brother popped out of the pipe with a cry of "It's-a-me!"

And then another green brother popped up. "It's-a-me!"

And another. "It's-a-me!"

And another. "It's-a-me!"

And another. "It's-a-me!"

And another. "It's-a-me!"

And another, and another, and another, the life counter steadily ticking down with each new green brother that emerged from the pipe, until the four clones found themselves faced down with several dozen duplicates of the green brother.

""Let's-a-go!" all of them shouted in unison.

"… Okay, I call hax. You're not supposed use extra lives that way," one of the Parads complained.

"Look, this could work in our favor. Conservation of ninjutsu," another suggested. "As one guy, he was irritating, but as many, we should be able to wipe the floor with him in droves."

"Also, we'll be able to tear through his life counter that much faster this way," a third agreed.

"Yeah, with all of us working together, we should be able to… Wait, what's he doing?" Asked the alarmed fourth Parad, spotting the red brother, who had hopped onto a floating block, carrying an alarming number of Energy Items under one arm.

"Let's-a-go!" The red brother cried, hurling the Energy Items into the crowd of siblings below.

"Okie-dokie!" Several of the brothers cried, grabbing the Items and using them to power up significantly.

"… Oh, fuck," all four Parads said at the same time as the drastically enhanced Bugsters charged them.

The next few minutes were a frenzied nightmare. The four clones were quickly swamped and carried away from each other by the tide of green brothers. They fought valiantly, cutting down Bugster after Bugster, but they just kept coming, while the red brother continued to hop around from block to block, throwing Energy Items at his siblings from on high to keep powering them up and occasionally breaking blocks or making brief sojourns to find more to keep his supply replenished.

It was only a matter of time before the four heroes were overwhelmed. One clone got hit by a stray Shrink token from behind, and was gleefully stomped and smashed flat by the surrounding Bugsters before he could recover. A second one broke his fist trying to punch out a brother just after he had gotten an Iron-Body power up, and a pair of brothers using Muscular grabbed him by the arms and ripped him in half. The third clone found himself pulled spread eagle when two brothers using Stretch grappled his arms, and their siblings pounded at him until he finally disintegrated. And the fourth clone (the original, by default), now finding himself the sole focus of all the Bugsters, was swiftly overrun, brother after brother using the powers of Muscular or Iron-Body jumping onto him, trapping him beneath a huge dogpile of green Bugsters which only kept on growing as more and more brothers hopped on, their combined weight pressing him into the ground, causing him to cry in pain as bit by bit the life was squeezed out of him and his Rider Gauge steadily depleted.

Parad cried for help, begging someone, anyone, to save him…

But buried beneath the mountain of Bugsters jabbering in faux Italian, his voice was drowned out.

Jiro, who had been too busy tending to Mrs. Yamaruma's wounds to help (beyond shooting at any Bugster that wandered too close to his patient) swore and stood up. "Shit! Hang on, Parad, I'm coming to-"

"Wait."

Jiro started, having failed to notice the mysterious man right next to him approach. Shou and Shu gasped, eyes wide with recognition and wonder. "What? Who the heck are you?"

The man smiled. "A friend. Continue treating that woman. I'll help Parad."

And without another word, he strode past the confused Jiro and the awestruck siblings, heading towards the growing heap of green Bugsters. As he approached, the viruses stiffened, sensing his presence, and turned to stare at him. Instantly, all of them fell silent. Even the red brother, who had been about to throw some more Energy Items to his brothers, seem to be frozen in place.

The man stopped. "Move, please, or be moved."

The Bugster stared him wordlessly. And then, quietly, all of them shuffled out of his way, the brothers making up the dogpile practically tripping over themselves to disentangle themselves and get out of the man's path as he approached, exposing the broken and beaten body of Parad. By the time the man reached the prone form of the Rider, he was surrounded by a huge mass of Bugsters, staring at him in absolute terror mixed with awe.

The man bent down and extended a hand. "Here, brave Rider. Let me help you up."

Parad groaned and squinted up at the figure bent over him. For a moment, backlit by the sun, he thought he was looking at God. And then his eyes adjusted to fully take in the man who was offering him some assistance, and he absolutely knew he was looking at God.

…

"No," Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD whispered, dumbstruck.

"No way," Nico whispered in awe.

Emu was trembling in excitement. "Is that… Is that…"

…

"Am I… Dead?" Parad wheezed. "Because that's the only reason I can think of… For why none other than Shigeru Miyamoto would be standing over me, offering me his hand."

The man chuckled. "You aren't dead, Parad, but you are pretty close. Don't worry, though. I really am Shigeru Miyamoto, and I'm here to help."

…

Nico and Emu squealed in joy. Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD made a noise which was… Difficult to interpret, a complicated mix of incredulity, astonishment, reverence, and despair.

"Who's that?" Taiga asked. Everyone stared at him in disbelief.

…

"Shigeru Miyamoto… Is here to help… Me?" Parad questioned, stunned. "That… No. That can't be right. This is a hallucination, something my mind has whipped up to keep me calm as I die a horrible death via dogpile. There's no way you could be here to help me. I… I'm not worthy."

Miyamoto smiled and helped Parad up, his very touch filling the Bugster with warmth and happiness, his Rider Gauge refilling to maximum as a sensation of transcendental bliss washed over him. "Oh, but you are worthy, Parad. More so than you know. I've been following the adventures of you and your friends for a long, long time now. You might even say I'm a bit of a fan of your work. I had actually intended to approach you and your comrades about a certain business venture in the near future, but when I sensed you were about to be defeated at the hands of a shallow rip-off of one of my most cherished creations, made by a man unworthy to call himself a game designer, I knew I could no longer stand aside and watch."

"But… But Miyamoto-sama… How can you possibly help?" Asked an awestruck Parad, still unable to fully bring himself to believe that this was actually happening. "You're not a Rider."

Miyamoto smiled, a twinkle in his eye. "Oh, no?"

With a flick of his hand, he produced what looked like a modified Switch console as a belt materialized on his waist.

Parad's eyes widened. "No."

"Yes," Miyamoto said with a grin.

…

"NO!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD shrieked.

"YES!" Emu and Nico shouted giddily.

…

"You might want to stand back for this next bit," Miyamoto told Parad, the Bugster quickly scrambling back to comply. The dozens of brothers surrounding them instantly did the same thing.

Miyamoto slid the device in his hands into the dock on his belt and powered it on, causing a startup screen with the Nintendo logo to appear.

| NINTENDRIVER! SWITCH ON! PRESS START TO PLAY! IS YOUR BODY READY? |

"It is." Miyamoto calmly pushed the Start button. "Henshin."

The screen on the Switch flashed, and suddenly a huge grid appeared on it, tiny icons filling each square.

| GAME START! |

The squares on the grid suddenly projected themselves out into the real world, enlarging to form dozens of overlapping rings circling Miyamoto. Parad realized, to his wonder, that each square contained the title screen of one of the hundreds of games Nintendo had created over the years. As the rings revolved around and around Miyamoto, particles shaped like the letter N swarmed his body, solidifying into a red outfit with white highlights. Armor resembling the SNES with a Wii U pad embedded in the front formed over his chest, the screen on the controller switching on to reveal the Nintendo logo. Greaves looking like they were made from modified N64s formed on his legs, with the controllers forming his boots. Armor resembling Gamecubes materialized on his shoulders, with 3DSes forming on top of them, their screens flipping up to reveal the Nintendo logo. A large Wii remote fastened itself to his left arm, the nunchuck joystick appearing in his grip, while a Power Glove looking cooler and more useful than the real one had ever been appearing over his right arm. A helmet with a large red N on the forehead covered his face, the katakana for Nintendo forming over his eyes, which resembled the headset of a Virtual Boy, though far cooler and more practical than the real one had ever been.

| PLAY IT LOUD! GET N OR GET OUT! WHO ARE YOU? WII WOULD LIKE TO PLAY! TAKE A LOOK INSIDE! HOW U WILL PLAY NEXT! SWITCH IT UP! |

The rings condensed and converged on Miyamoto, and little golden statues of Nintendo's most famous characters materialized all over his armor, with the one for Mario forming a sort of crown atop his head.

| NOW YOU'RE PLAYING WITH POWER! |

…

"OH. MY. GOD," Nico shouted.

"This is the most amazing thing I have ever seen," Emu whispered, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Truly this is the best of all possible worlds," Nico moaned.

"A world of infinite wonder and possibilities, where miracles can come true before your very eyes," Emu agreed ecstatically.

"So… He's another game designer that's also a Rider? Does that mean he's going to be evil?" Taiga asked uncertainly.

Immediately Emu and Nico whirled on him, death in their eyes. "YOU TAKE THAT BACK," Nico bellowed.

"SHIGERU MIYAMOTO IS A WONDERFUL MAN WHO MAKES GAMES THAT FILL PEOPLE WITH JOY AND INSPIRATION. KUROTO IS NOTHING LIKE HIM," Emu roared.

"They're right, I'm not," Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD wailed despondently.

…

"… This is the best day of my life," Parad whispered, tears of joy streaming down his cheeks.

Without warning, Satoru Iwata appeared, wearing spiritual robes and holding what appeared to be an instruction manual for the NintenDriver, which he dramatically read from. "Rejoice! The one to inherit all Nintendo powers, the king of games who will rule over the past and the future! And his name is Kamen Rider Nintend-O!"

"And it just got better," Parad moaned.

…

"Wait, isn't that guy dead?" Kiriya asked.

"I think he's a ghost," Hiiro said, squinting at the beloved former president of Nintendo. "He's got one of those headbands with triangles on."

…

"Mr. Miyamoto, you're a Kamen Rider?!" Parad asked giddily as Iwata vanished.

Miyamoto nodded. "I am indeed. I have you and your friends to thank for it, actually. After the creation of the Gamer Driver by Genm Corp. and all the publicity it got from the Riders who used it to fight video game monsters in real life, quite a few other video game companies recognized the promise of such technology for future consoles and games. After promising to collaborate with Genm on a number of future games and port several games onto each other's systems, Nintendo was able to acquire a Gamer Driver of its own, which we were able to reverse engineer and use to create my NintenDriver. I am not the only such Rider who was born from such a deal, but I daresay, without bragging, that I am the most powerful."

"Why didn't we hear about this?" Parad demanded, amazed.

"We're still doing our best to keep it quiet since there's a lot of remaining stigma from Kamen Rider Chronicle," Miyamoto explained. "Until we can guarantee that games using this technology can't actually be used to hurt people, it would be ill-advised for us to try to capitalize on it. Additionally, we feel it might be best to wait until the last of the victims from Kamen Rider Chronicle and the Bugster outbreak have been recovered so nobody can accuse us of ignoring or making profit from such a tragedy."

Parad nodded in understanding. "Right, right, that makes sense. Does this…" He started trembling with excitement. "Does this… Does this mean… You and I are going to fight together?!"

Miyamoto chuckled amiably. "While I would be honored to do so… If I were to do that, then I don't think you would get the chance use your new game to its fullest potential."

He opened his hand, and N-shaped particles clustered together to form a double-sided Gashat, which he handed to Parad. The Bugster's eyes widened in disbelief, and he was so overwhelmed with emotion that he found himself unable to speak in coherent sentences and jabbered nonsense syllables while squealing at the top of his lungs. "This! Legend Gashat! This! This! This!"

Miyamoto laughed. "Yes. 'This.'"

"Hug! Can I! You!" Parad shouted.

"Certainly," Miyamoto said, extending his arms. Parad immediately embraced him, sobbing and uttering indecipherable noises of gratitude and joy.

…

"So… Jealous …" Emu and Nico snarled.

"Well, now you know how Parad felt about everyone else getting power ups but him," Kiriya pointed out.

"Not that he can claim that, anymore," Taiga added.

"He gave him a Gashat. Of course he gave him a Gashat. Everyone's giving out Gashats!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD yelled, throwing up his hands in exasperation.

"To be fair, at least Miyamoto is actually a videogame developer," Hiiro pointed out.

"And one better than you in every way imaginable," Nico added.

"IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MAKE ME FEEL BETTER?!"

"No," everyone said. Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD screamed in wordless incandescent fury.

…

"I've had dreams just like this," Parad whispered, finally able to regain control over his tongue. "Would it… Would it be weird if I called you dad? My real dad is a total pain, and you've done more for me in the last few minutes then he has in my entire life."

"If you like," Miyamoto said graciously. "In a way, I see many videogame characters as my children."

"Thanks, dad!" Parad exclaimed, hugging Miyamoto even harder and shedding more tears of joy.

…

"HEY! You can't just disown me like that!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD protested.

"I think he just did," Taiga observed.

"Parad, how could you?" Emu cried, betrayed. "That was my dream, too!"

"Wait, Emu, if Parad's kind of your brother, then doesn't that mean Miyamoto is, by extension, your father as well?" Kiriya pointed out.

Emu considered this for a moment. Then he started hollering with joy, while a livid Nico stamped her feet in envy.

…

"Now, Parad, why don't you take that new Gashat out for a spin?" Miyamoto suggested as Parad finally, reluctantly let him go.

"Sure thing, dad!" Parad said happily, raising his Gashat and giving the Futago Bugsters a look which sent chills down their spines. "Let's-a-go!"

| SUPER MARIO BROTHERS! |

"HENSHIN!"

| DOUBLE CLICK AND OPEN! CLICK AND OPEN! LEVEL UP! MARIO BROTHERS! LET'S-A-GO! MARIO BROTHERS! MAMMA MIA! SUPER MARIO BROTHERS! |

As the hologram for the cover of Super Mario Brothers slammed into Parad's chest, his suit transformed into armor resembling everyone's level 1 form, only wearing a set of blue overalls, a cap which was red on one half and green on the other, and a thick bushy mustache.

He looked ridiculous.

He looked amazing.

"I'm getting excited…" Parad said giddily as Miyamoto nodded proudly and everyone else regard him with awe and disbelief. "But I think I can go even further than this!"

| CLICK AND CLOSE! |

"HENSHIN PLUS PLUS!"

| CLICK AND OPEN! |

…

Emu's eyes widened. "Wait… Is what I think is about to happen… About to happen?!"

He got his answer when he suddenly vanished in a flurry of pixels, much to everyone's astonishment.

"What? What?! WHAT?!" Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD shrieked.

"So… Much… Jealousy…" Nico moaned.

…

| DOUBLE UP! THE UNSTOPPABLE BOND OF BROTHERHOOD! WE ARE! SUPER MARIO BROTHERS! |

As the brilliant flash of red and green light which had consumed Parad died down, where one Rider once stood now were two, each looking like the two halves of Mighty Brothers XX, only both were wearing blue overalls, caps, and big bushy mustaches, but one was red and the other was green. The two Riders turned their heads to look at each other…

"Wait a second, why are you the red one?!" Parad shrieked, suddenly realizing he was the one in green.

"Well, you usually are my player two," Emu pointed out smugly.

"That's not fair! This is my Gashat! Dad! Make Emu make me Mario!" Parad whined, pointing at Emu.

"Now, Parad, there's no shame in being Luigi," Miyamoto told the Bugster soothingly.

"Well, of course you'd say that, you don't have to be him!" Parad protested indignantly.

"He's right, Parad. Remember, Luigi is a little faster and can jump higher than Mario," Emu pointed out, putting a hand on his partner's shoulder. "Plus, he fights ghosts!"

"Yeah, and you could become a ghost! Ghost Gamer, specifically," Parad complained. He reached for his Driver. "Here, I'm going to change back then try again. Maybe I'll be Mario next time."

"Parad, come on," Emu protested. "Don't be that guy!"

"He's right, there are worse Brothers you could be," Miyamoto pointed out. "Like Waluigi."

Parad froze, hand on his Driver's lever. "… Wait, is that a possibility?!"

Miyamoto said nothing.

"… Oh, fine," Parad grumbled, reluctantly removing his hand from his Driver. "I guess I can be Luigi… This time."

"That's the spirit!" Emu said, nudging him. "Now, why don't we show these fakes what a real sibling duo can do!"

Parad couldn't help laughing. "Okay, now you're talking my language! All right, let's do this!"

| GASHACON BREAKER M/L! |

Pixels flowed out of their Drivers and formed a pair of hammers resembling the Gashacon Breaker, only one was red and blue while the other was green and blue. The two Riders grabbed them and swung them a few times through the air before striking an intimidating double pose that caused the horde of green Bugsters surrounding them to scream and try to run away.

"MAMMA MIA!" The red brother shouted, catching his siblings' attention. He held up several Energy Items. "Let's-a-go!"

"I think not," Miyamoto said, raising his Power Glove-encased right hand. "That's quite enough of you lot abusing those for evil, I think." His gauntlet glowed, and the Energy Items in the red Bugster's grasp, as well as all the others around the area, flew towards Miyamoto, who caught them in his right hand. He nodded at Emu and Parad. "That should even things up a little. Gentlemen, I leave the rest to you. I look forward to seeing you both in action. And remember to have fun!"

"We will, dad!" Both Riders said eagerly.

"Wait, he's not your dad, he's mine!" Parad protested.

"You're basically my brother, so that makes him my father too," Emu argued.

Miyamoto shook his head and chuckled in amusement as he walked over to the bench where an astounded Jiro was tending to Mrs. Yamaruma, her two sons staring at him in disbelief. "Boys will be boys, eh, Mrs. Yamaruma?"

She blinked at him in confusion. "How do you know my name?!"

"I know of all who foster love for Nintendo in their hearts," Miyamoto said sagely. "… Not in a creepy way."

"Right," she said, not sure she believed him.

"Sou, Shu, how would you two boys like a new video game?" Miyamoto asked the sick boys.

"I would! I would!" they chanted eagerly.

"Boys!" Mrs. Yamaruma cried in alarm.

"Actually, that's a good idea. Keeping their spirits up will delay the virus killing them and give Emu and Parad more time to defeat the Bugsters," Jiro intuited.

"That, and I believe they require a lesson in learning how to share," Miyamoto said wisely.

"So, which of you punks want a beat down from some REAL super brothers?" Parad taunted, swinging his hammer through the air.

"We'll save the patient, with no continues!" Emu added.

"Unlike you guys, who are so weak you'd be finished by now if you didn't have so many!" Parad jeered.

The red brother fumed and hopped up and down angrily before pointing at his brothers. "Let's-a-go!"

"Okay-dokie! Here we go!" The green brothers chorused. They started jumping on top of each other, glomming together to form a large sphere of twitching, jabbering Bugsters. The red brother hopped down and kicked the giant ball, sending it rolling towards Emu and Parad.

"Ack!" The two Riders leaped to the side, and were surprised by just how far they jumped. "Whoa, did you see that?!" Parad cried, startled.

"Well, it makes sense, our powers are based off of Mario and Luigi, the original platforming heroes," Emu pointed out. He frowned as the giant ball came to a stop several meters away, and the red brother ran towards it for another go. "Hey, Parad, does something about this attack seem familiar to you?"

"Hey, yeah," Parad realized. "It's from that one Mario and Luigi game, right?"

"You know, there've always been a few moves from that series I've always want to try in real life," Emu commented.

"Same here! Now seems like as good a time as any!" Parad enthused.

"Let's start things off with a Splash Bros.," Emu suggested. "You know what to do, right?"

Parad scoffed. "You have to ask?"

As the red brother kicked the giant green ball back towards them, Emu jumped into the air, landing on Parad. The Bugster caught him, and tossed him back into the air, where Emu started twirling with his arms out, slowing his descent. Parad ran after him and jumped up before his partner could hit the ground, grabbing on as they were bounced back into the air and landing on top of the ball, rebounding off of it and knocking off several Bugsters, who vaporized.

"Now it's my turn to start things off! Bounce Bros.!" Parad declared. He jumped onto Emu, who bounced him into the air, where he started to twirl. Emu jumped up to grab his feet as Parad passed over him, and they spun through the air, landing on the ball with enough force to break it apart, sending Bugsters flying and killing several.

"Let's-a-go!" The red brother yelled angrily.

"Okie-dokie!" His replied, pulling themselves together and hopping on top of each other to form a massive stack two or three stories tall. The red brother jumped on top of them, and they started leaping into the air, coming back down with enough strength to crater the ground.

"Chopper Bros.!" Emu cried, raising his hammer.

"Yeah! Wait, not that-" Parad began, only for Emu to smash him hard enough to drive him into the ground. He leaped towards the giant stack, and an irate Parad burst of the ground right beneath him, hitting him with an uppercut which launched Emu even further skyward. Emu raised his hammer as he fell and brought it down on the stack, plowing through the front and killing several of its constituent parts.

"Knockback Bros.!" Parad shouted, surprising Emu from behind with a hammer blow to the head that compressed him into a ball. Before Emu could react, he swung his hammer at the ball in a golf swing, sending it flying into the already destabilized stack, knocking it over and killing several more Bugsters.

"Hey, a little warning next time!" Emu yelled in irritation as he painfully uncurled himself and stomped back over towards his partner.

"Oh, like the warning you gave me?" Parad replied.

"I told you what attack we would be doing!"

"Without my input, and zero time to prepare!"

"Boys!" Miyamoto yelled.

"What?" They shouted at him.

He pointed behind them. They turned just in time to see the red brother swing an absolutely gargantuan hammer comprised of his green siblings down on them, smashing them into the ground.

"… Right…" Parad grunted as the red brother lifted the hammer off of them, preparing for another swing. "In the middle of a fight. Not a good time."

"You good with a Fire Bros.?" Emu asked.

"We can do that?" Parad asked in surprise.

"Only one way to find out," Emu pointed out.

The two Riders peeled themselves out of the ground and rolled to the side just before the red brother slammed his hammer back down on them. "Parad, heads up!" Emu cried, hurling a massive fireball at Parad.

"What do you know, we can do it after all," Parad remarked, swinging his hammer at the fireball and sending it flying at the red brother just as he was raising his hammer for another swing. The brother was instantly destroyed in a fiery conflagration, and the giant hammer flew into the air, end over end, landing right on top of the red brother just as he finished respawing, killing himagain.

"You know, that handle looks like it would make a pretty good lightning rod. Thunder Bros.?" Parad offered.

"Sounds good," Emu said, cupping his hands.

Parad ran over to his partner and jumped into Emu's hands. The other Rider flung him skyward, and Parad started rubbing his hands together, green electricity crackling between them. When he was right over the hammer, he fired a massive green thunderbolt down at it, the "handle" of the weapon conducting the electricity through the entire mass, the Bugsters screaming in agony before being blown apart, both in the sense that the hammer was broken and several of the brothers were killed as well.

"I am the God of thunder!" Parad proclaimed as he landed.

"You are not," Emu countered.

"Sure I am! I have the hammer and everything!" Parad replied, pointing to his weapon. "Wait, what are they doing now?"

The Bugsters had regrouped again, but this time, instead of forming one massive construct, they were organized into several groups of varying size scattered around the area. The red brother generated a fireball and tossed it at one of the groups of green brothers, who bounced it into the air, causing the projectile to grow in size as it arced towards the next group, who bounced it towards the next, and the next, and so on, as the red brother raced all over, trying to keep up.

"I recognize this attack," Emu recalled. "Think a Swing Bros. would work?"

Parad shrugged and extended his hands. "I don't see why not."

Emu grabbed Parad by the hands and started spinning rapidly, faster and faster, until the two of them appeared to be a red and green cyclone. When Emu finally let go of Parad, his partner was flung through the air, plowing through – – and killing – – the red brother, and several of the clustered green brothers.

The remainder panicked and started scurrying about, desperately trying to catch the now-gigantic fireball before it could hit the ground. Parad shook off his dizziness and ran towards Emu, jumping in the air as he yelled, "Cyclone Bros.!"

Emu immediately understood and began spinning in place. Parad landed on top of him and the two were off, twirling like an oversized top across the ground and plowing through any Bugster in their path, the two Rider's hammers sending brothers flying. Just before the massive fireball could hit the ground, the duo slammed into it, their hammers sending it flying towards the largest group of brothers, who'd been trying to form another construct, obliterating them in a fiery blaze.

"That was awesome!" Parad gushed.

"I think I'm going to throw up," Emu moaned, queasy from all the spinning. "Wait, what are they doing now?"

The green brothers had once again regrouped, and now had them surrounded on three sides, with a single green brother standing in the empty space on the fourth side. The red brother rushed over and smacked the lone brother with his hammer, sending him spinning towards the two Riders like a whirling dervish, hammer extended to smash them. Emu and Parad evaded him with quick dodges, but the Bugster spun past and into some of his brothers, who obligingly smacked him back with their hammers. The Bugster spun back towards the Riders, this time moving faster, and while they were able to dodge him, he just rebounded off of his siblings and became even faster, bouncing back and forth around the enclosed space like a pinball and bashing Emu and Parad every time they were a little too slow to dodge.

"I don't suppose we have any other Bros. attacks?" Emu grunted, picking himself up after getting bowled over only to immediately get tackled by Parad before he could get knocked over again.

"I'm pretty sure all the other Bros. Attacks require some sort of item or gimmick to work," Parad recalled.

"Yeah, that's what I figured," Emu said with a sigh. "And if I remember this attack right, it ends with the target being crushed beneath a giant wall of Luigis, or this case, green Futagos."

"Then we have to stop that before happens. Remember how Chopper Bros. starts?" Parad asked.

"Huh? Wait, you mean…" Emu realized. "I thought you hated that."

"Yeah, but I'll know it's coming this time. Come on, hurry!" Parad urged.

"Well, okay." Emu bashed Parad over the head with his hammer, driving him into the ground. He then took a few steps back, body tense as the spinning Bugster whirled towards him…

Only for Parad to erupt from the ground the instant the Bugster passed over him, flinging him into the air with a startled. "MAMA MIA!"

"Cyclone Bros.!" Parad yelled, jumping towards Emu.

"Right!" Emu started spinning the instant Parad landed on him, and the duo twirled towards the Bugsters, who were distracted by seeing their brother flung into the air. They ricocheted back and forth between the ranks of siblings, deleting several their number before eventually breaking out of the enclosure they'd been trapped in. Furious, the red brother gave a signal, and the remaining brothers piled on top of each other to form a giant wall which started tipping down towards Emu and Parad…

Only for Emu to fling Parad skyward, the Bugster intercepting the green brother they'd sent flying a minute ago and smacking him with his hammer, knocking him into the teetering wall and causing it to topple over in the opposite direction, crushing the alarmed red brother and scattering their numbers again.

"Ha, we're certainly whittling away their numbers!" Emu remarked as Parad landed. "There can't be more than a couple dozen left!"

"Still enough for them to try one last move," Parad observed as the red brother respawned and organized his siblings into a large hollow inverted cone. He smashed the narrow bottom of the cone with his hammer, sending his brothers, twirling across the ground towards the two Riders. "Care for another Cyclone Bros.?"

"Ugh, fine. But if we have to spin for too much longer, I really am going to throw up," Emu complained. Parad jumped on top of him, hammer extended, and the duo spun towards the tornado of green Bugsters.

The two cyclones slammed into each other and rebounded, both of them wobbling, green brothers getting knocked off of the big mass and disintegrating. They quickly rallied and spun at each other again, clashing and rebounding again and again.

Alarmed to notice that the number of his siblings was diminishing with each unsuccessful clash, the red brother decided to help his brothers out, jumping onto a block, generating a large fireball, and smashing it towards Emu and Parad with his hammer. This didn't have quite the effect he intended, however, as Parad's hammer batted the fireball away, striking a block and obliterating it. Irritated, the red brother started lobbing volley after volley of fireballs at the Riders, only for each one to get deflected by the spinning hammer, causing explosions to blossom across the battlefield.

It was inevitable, really, that one of the deflected fireballs would eventually strike the green cyclone, destroying several of its constituents and causing it to begin wobbling and veering erratically all over the place. "Mamma Mia!" The red brother cried in alarm.

"I think they're ripe for the finish!" Parad decided, hopping off of Emu.

"Let's… urp… Use regular attacks… I don't think I've got it in me for a Critical Finish right now…" Emu moaned as he stumbled about, looking queasy.

"Oh, fine. I thought you had a tougher stomach than that," Parad complained.

He jumped into the air, bouncing off a block and rising higher, charging green electricity in his hands. On the ground, Emu poured his energy into forming a massive fireball in his hands. At the same time, they released their elemental fury, Parad blasting the green Bugsters from above with an emerald thunderbolt, while Emu struck them from the ground with a crimson fire blast. The fire and lightning combined to form a tremendous explosion of red and green which sent the siblings flying, wailing in agony as they were engulfed in red flames and green electricity, vaporizing before they could even hit the ground.

"MAMMA MIA!" The red brother cried.

"Sorry bro, but your mother isn't going to be able to help you," Parad remarked as he landed, exchanging an elementally charged fist bump with Emu, green sparks and red embers flashing from the point of contact. "And neither can your daddy! Not like he ever helped anyone but himself, anyway."

…

"I'm feeling rather personally attacked right now," Ultimate Final Super Great Neo-Shin Kuroking Dan Supreme GOD complained.

"Good," everyone else said.

…

A large purple pipe appeared, and a green Futago Bugster popped out of it. He looked up in dismay as his life counter appeared and ticked down to zero, indicating he was on his last life. "Mamma Mia!"

"Looks like we missed one," Emu commented.

"Shall we finish him off, and then deal with his brother?" Parad suggested, patting his hammer against an open palm.

Growling angrily, the red Futago hopped over to his brother and put a hand on his shoulder. "Let's-a-go!"

"Okie-dokie!" The green brother agreed.

The red brother concentrated, a red aura forming around him, and a green aura around his brother. Their life counters appeared over their heads, the red one's rapidly ticking down, while the green one's started increasing.

"Wait a second… He's transferring lives! He can't do that!" Parad protested.

"… Kind of looks like they are," Emu pointed out.

The red brother's life counter reached to zero, and he staggered back, looking substantially weaker. The green brother, positively brimming with power, flexed his muscles. "Oh yeah! Let's-a-go!"

The purple pipe appeared, and the life counter began decreasing once more as several dozen new green Futagos jumped out. "Oh, come on!" Parad complained.

"Wait, something seems different," Emu murmured with a frown.

"Here we go!" All of the green brothers jumped into the air, converging in space… And then, with a brilliant flash of green light, fused together, creating a gargantuan green Futago at least 50 meters tall!

As the Riders gawked in disbelief, the red Futago laughed and jumped into the air, landing on his brother's hat. Posing, he declared, "Let's-a-go!"

...

TO BE CONTINUED...