I nearly forgot to include OOO's Medal usage last chapter. I fixed it before starting on this one. But anyway, as I said last chapter, Episode 28 of Kamen Rider OOO was episode 1000 of the Kamen Rider series overall, counting all the way back to the first Kamen Rider series. I had to improvise to emulate that, so I hope you enjoy. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.
Chapter 28: The Eight Mirror, Photography, and the 1000th Kaijin
Hajime and Sendo ran into each other as they returned to the shoot from the bathroom. "So Sendo," Hajime said, "What have you been doing since you left Shocker?" "Working various odd jobs," Sendo said, "Being a Combatman was about more than fighting. We were trained to perform a variety of menial tasks. Which is good, because it means I never had trouble finding work in society. Lately I've been working as janitor at the Kogami Foundation, it's how I was discovered for this movie. Kogami always runs background checks on all his employees, regardless of their position."
"I've heard Shocker tried to make a comeback several times," Hajime noted, "You ever try returning to them?" Sendo shook his head. "Not after their intention to switch to completely inhuman soldiers. Me and the few surviving Combatmen saw what happened to those that were killed by the new kaijin Shocker was using. It was clear our Great Leader had gone mad, and if the Kamen Rider didn't defeat him, his own madness would lead to his downfall." He looked at his Combatman mask. "I haven't worn this in forty years. Never had a reason to until now."
He looked at the Shocker based set. "But seeing this... The old glory days... In those days I truly believed in Shocker's goals." He teared up a little. "You know, the first Kamen Rider was supposed to be our front-line soldier. But the scientist who worked on him foresaw what the rest of us were blind to." "All actors to the set," Date said. As Hajime reactivated his transformation, he saw Mirror talking with the other Rider and went to join them. Nearby, Junko peeked into the set.
"Shocker was supposed to be the biggest force of evil ever to grace the Earth," she said, "But they're strictly small time." She held up a picture of Mahiru. If her predictions regarding film crew movement were right, and they usually were, the Ultimate Photographer would be passing by shortly. "Should have picked someone else for your cameraman," Junko said slyly. As she waited, she heard something, likely Mirror's Driver given the context, call out, "Goldphoenix! Odin!" At first Junko was concerned she had miscalculated and they were already filming. Until she saw Mahiru start walking up to her. As she readied the Black Medal, there was another sound of, "Time Vent!"
Fenrir watched from above, waiting for the signal when she would descend and attack. The new Photographer's Despair had the power to stun any enemy with its powerful camera, meaning she could move in and defeat all those Riders without much effort. As soon as she saw the flashes, she dove into the set from the catwalks, but then noticed something. "Where is everyone?" Dark moved into the set. "That's weird... I'm sure I heard Mirror's Driver activating." "You did," came Mirror's voice. "Steal Vent!" Suddenly Photographer's Despair found its camera flying out of its hands and into Mirror's.
The two Armored Riders than found themselves surrounded by thirteen Kamen Riders. "But how?," Dark said, "How did you know about my plans?" "Because they worked," Mirror said, "Or at least, they had worked. But while your plan was in motion, I used this." He got out his Time Vent card. "This card lets me send myself or someone else back in time, anywhere from a day to a year depending on what I need. If its someone else I send back, I can choose whether or not they go back with their memories intact." "Don't tell me," Fenrir said in realization, "You sent yourself back a full day."
"You're plan caught us a little off-guard last time," OOO explained, "So Mirror used the Time Vent card to go back one day. A little earlier he was explaining this to the rest of us. As he caught up to the future, he was compelled to activate his Odin form and use the Time Vent card again to complete the loop. We then hid out of sight and waited until you two showed up, wondering how your plans could be thwarted." Mirror held up the camera. "One little Steal Vent later, and hello change in the timeline." He crushed the camera, which burst into Cell Medals.
Angered, Dark took a swipe at Mirror, who slotted a card into the Visor on his staff. "Guard Vent!" Using the Gold Shield conjured onto his arm, Mirror blocked Dark's attack. "Date, got those cameras running?" "Yep," Date said, "Nothing like a little improv to help a story." "We need more room for this," Joker said as she got out a new Gaia Memory. "Zone-Joker!" "Let's change the venue." In an instant, the entire area was swapped for the nearby academy grounds. She then turned her attention to Fenrir as she deactivated the Zone Memory.
"Let me handle this," Birth said, slotting a Cell Medal into his Driver, "There's something I really wanted to try." "CLAWs Sasori!" Birth's CLAWs all manifested and separated from him, combining to take the basic shape of a scorpion. The Springer Haken and Brighton Bit formed the tail, the Salamander Launcher formed the body, the Haze Crawlers formed the legs, and the Vermillion Bucket and Solent Edges formed the claws. "Wow," Joker said, impressed, "That's pretty neat." Birth nodded. "It's got enough power to take on a Greeed."
To demonstrate, he swung his arm, causing the Sasori to swing its claw and send Fenrir sailing. Meanwhile, Mirror slotted another card to take on Dark. "Sword Vent!" He hooked his staff to his back before grabbing the twin Gold Saber, using it to parry Dark's attacks and counter-attack. Then he noticed the remaining Kaijin Yummy approaching. "They're getting anxious," Sendo said, worried, "They smell combat and are eager to join in." "We can't focus on the real threat while they do that," Mirror noted. He took out staff to slot in a new card. "Advent!"
This summoned the majestic Goldphoenix, which flew through the group, its razor-tipped wings taking out a few of them. "Mirror," OOO said, "Let's finish this in one strike." Mirror nodded. OOO slotted in his ultimate combo. "Taka! Kujaku! Condor! Ta~Ja~Dor!" He swiped his O Scanner again as Mirror slotted in another card. "Scanning Charge!" "Final Vent!" OOO shot into the air as Goldphoenix flew in behind Mirror. "Prominence Drop!" "Eternal Chaos!" OOO dive-bombed the Kaijin Yummies while Goldphoenix erupted in a blinding light. The two attacks reduced the Yummies to Cell Medals.
"One last kaijin to deal with," OOO said, "Joker, I need some water for this." "On it," Joker said, getting out another Gaia Memory. "Ocean-Joker!" "Shachi! Unagi! Tako! Sha-Sha-Shauta, Sha-Sha-Shauta!" Every Rider, both Kamen and Armored, got out of the way of the giant pool Joker conjured with the Ocean Memory, but the Photographer's Despair was caught up in the waves. The CLAWs Sasori was effortlessly skiing on the surface, OOO lashing his whips around the joints to jet-ski closer to the Despair.
Once close enough, OOO let go and swiped the O Scanner. "Scanning Charge!" He propelled himself into the air and wrapped his whips around the Despair, coming in with a diving kick. "Octo Banish!" The Despair was destroyed as the pool subsided. "And that's number 1000!," OOO said in triumph. He then saw Sendo addressing the Combatmen Yummies. "I know this is hard on all of us. And I am grateful for the memories. But Shocker's day is done. Still, I am proud to see the return of the Combatmen to arms, even temporarily. EEEEE!" "EEEEE!," the Yummies responded as they faded into Cell Medals. "And cut," Date said, "Print that. Kogami's gonna love this."
During the time of The Tragedy, Mahiru remembered something important during the Island Killing Game. The fact that the video game Monokuma presented was not based on real events as he claimed. Sure, they could have been, except she remembered Fuyuhiko's little sister was still alive, at least as far as they knew. Remembering this fact restored her hope, and stopped the Island Killing Game after just one murder. A murder that, as it turned out, wasn't even real, as she learned after being released from the New World Program.
To be continued...
I hope you like how this chapter was structured. I know I like how things are working out so far. But I bet a lot of you are wondering about Monaca. We'll get to her soon enough. Some things just need time to set up. Read and review.
