Me: Bahamut, I swear to God...

Bahamut: NO! You'll only break it like you did yours!

Me: I DID NOT- Sigh... look, let me borrow it long enough to post the next chapter and then you have it right back.

Bahamut: ... Promise.

Me: What? Oh come on.

Bahamut: Promise or no new chapter.

Me: Fine, I promise to give you back your laptop now may I PLEASE borrow it?

Bahamut: You already are.

Me: What? Ah, microphone-typer. Nice.

Bahamut: Break it, and I'll break you.

Me: Yeah, yeah...


DISCLAIMER: I OWN WHAT IS MY OWN.


Kamen Rider Daikaiju: Epic of the Cosmos

By Corvus no Genmu the Prince of Slumberland

The Brothers Ishida; Soldiers of the Sky Clash!

Eiji supposed that he should be feeling a bit ashamed over what he was about to do but then the reminder of what Ritsuko was capable of, not to mention the idea that she was possibly not alone in this, changed his mind instantly. He just hoped that Morisato could run interference long enough for him and Shiro to explain the situation to the girls.

They were already seated around their form of headquarters. How they had managed to get a base of operations installed under the Crown Arcade, Eiji didn't know seeing as it was a pair of felines that had introduced them to the base in the first place. Shiro himself didn't really question it and Takuya could have cared less. As for Morisato… well, let's just say introducing him to technology from a kingdom long turned to dust yet still on the same, if slightly bit lower, level compared to their own wasn not a good idea.

'At least he managed to hook our systems up with theirs.' Eiji mentally sighed. While the attempt had worked, it had caused every video game in the arcade above to suddenly go haywire. Needless to say, Andrew was not happy but seeing as he had no idea it was them, they were off the hook. Andrew still hadn't figured out how he had managed to receive one of KaibaCorp's prototypes as compensation for the business lost that day.

With Shiro watching his back, Eiji quickly made the combo on the console of the Sailor V game, letting his thumb rest on the right button. A hushed whir of gears moving and the outline of the doorway appeared in the way beside the game. Eiji waved a hand through it and smiled at seeing the hologram remain in place as his arm passed through the wall. He gave a discreet nod to Shiro before descending down the hidden staircase.

--

Rini was deeply annoyed, and with a good reason this time! Oh yes, these two weeks had been one of the best this year for a number of reasons. She and Hotaru were reunited, quite tearfully might I add, and she had another transforming hero as a friend, one that was closer to her and Hotaru's age, the Kamen Rider Kishin otherwise known as Hudson. His quirks took some getting used and his shyness was quite endearing really, but once the boy had fully realized that she wouldn't stop being his friend just because of the odd coloration of his eyes and his hair, he became the best male friend she ever had.

The teasing she could deliver to the pair's relationship was an added bonus.

Then there was their training in the martial arts with Eiji-sensei, or Ryu-sensei as Hudson liked to call him, with Lita sometimes adding her own two cents into the mix. Because of the seizures Hotaru suffered and Hudson's damaged lungs, the two were kept at a lighter pace than her and often performed more meditation than she did.

Oh now she was getting sidetracked again!

"Why can't we be in the meeting too!" she asked. The three of them were currently in Hotaru's room, virtually denied access to leave and take part with the discussion that was about to take place. Michiru and Haruka were at the meeting and Setsuna was currently talking with Shiisa. There was an opportunity there but it was wasted since the two of them used words big enough that, tried as they might, couldn't even pronounce themselves let alone figure out what they meant.

"They adults." Hudson shrugged. "We're nothing but kids."

"But we're Sailor Scouts, and you're a Kamen Rider! At least you should be there!" argued Rini.

Hotaru shook her head. "Technically, I'm not as I haven't transformed as often as you have and Hudson…"

"Is not trusted yet…" The boy muttered. "With good reason. It might go berserk again." A time ago, the 'it' in that sentence would have been referring to himself but that time was over and the 'it' in question was the dreaded berserker inside the K-Zector imbedded within Hudson's body. "Hud—I can't take the risk of transforming into Kishin."

"What happened anyway? I've never seen Haruka-papa look so mad…" Mad, not exactly. Furious, you've got a winner.

"I don't know really…" Rini sighed. "Just that another Rider suddenly showed up and Rodan went… well, the district had seen better days." She refrained from using the word 'berserk' around Hudson as his version and what Rodan's were different. Not by much but just enough.

"Another Rider?" asked Hotaru. "What did he look like?"

"She. It was a girl, and kind of… I don't know… like a purple dragonfly?"

"That sounds kind of pretty," mewed Diana, eyes sparkling at the image while Rini sweatdropped. Pretty was the not the word she'd use to describe that Rider's form and armor.

Hudson blinked. "Really, a dragonfly? Hmm… better than grasshopper…" He licked his lips and suddenly, the girls knew exactly what he meant.

"Eww! Hudson!"

--

"Where's Takuya?" asked Mina, seeing that it was only Eiji and Shiro entering with the door closing quietly behind them. Eiji moved to the large computer and took a seat at its control board while Shiro sat down beside Rei.

"No offense, Lady Mina," said Shiro. "But do you really think that Takuya's calmed down any since yesterday?"

"… No…" she whispered. Darn that girl! She had ruined White Day for her and the other girls! Well, not so much the other girls but it was still ruined for her and that's what mattered most here! "Who was that girl and why was Takuya so…"

"P.O.ed?" asked Eiji, typing at the computer. "Give me a minute here… ah, here we go." An image of the Rider from yesterday appeared next to a picture of a purple haired girl around the same age as Darien and Shiro.

"Is that her?" asked Lita, quirking an eyebrow at how on edge she suddenly felt at the girl's image, which showed her smiling the way a cunning fox would her prey.

"It is and if Takuya finds out we still have her file in our data banks, he'd go on a smashing spree so don't tell him anything about this." Eiji turned in the chair. "I mean it, this girl is an extremely sore point with him and even mentioning her name sets him off."

"Who is she?" asked Luna. Eiji looked to Shiro who looked back with an empty expression that spoke that it was Eiji's choice to tell them.

"She is Ritsuko Ikari, Kamen Rider Megaguirus and…" His eyes gained a reddish tint as he allowed himself to feel a measure of the rage that Takuya felt when it came to this particular female. "Takuya's ex."

Stunned silence reigned before everyone started to speak at once. Only when Shiro slammed his metal arm down onto the table, denting it, did they quiet down and stare at him in shock. He remained strangely silent and unapologetic.

Eiji shot the older boy a confused look, his empathy telling him that he was angry and… afraid? He'd ask him afterward. "Okay, to answer what I believe Ami was trying to ask… No, we don't know how she got here or how she survived. She was captured and executed for her crimes, or so we assumed. My father was the executioner and had, apparently, used the G-Force Cannon to kill her."

Artemis gulped. "Not really merciful was he?"

He shot a burning glare at the feline. "Nor was she when she ate Takuya's sister."

That earned him many gasps and sharp exclamations from the girls.

"She-She ate Takuya's…" Serena looked quite green in the face, beyond horrified at the idea.

"Not in the literal sense!" Eiji quickly assured. "Her M-base allows her to move at superhuman speeds, roughly over a hundred miles per hour and that's when she isn't feeling particularly hungry. However, because of this, she needs a vast amount of nutrients, nutrients that she can't get from eating normal food, so she goes after the next best thing."

"Human energy…" whispered a stunned Luna. "Just like the Negaverse…"

"Nearly." Eiji agreed. He and the other Riders had been told the history of the Scouts, nothing was kept secret between them any longer though that did not mean they had answered questions that hadn't been asked. This applied to either side.

"Fortunately, she can't see energy, not like I can," Shiro spoke for the first time. "She won't feed on you girls because she has to."

"She will because she'll want to." Eiji spoke bluntly. "When she realizes how close we are to you girls… Look, if you see her, don't bother being discrete, scream, call for help, do anything you can to prevent her from using her K-Zector or getting close to you and wait for one of us to get there to help."

"… No…"

"What?" Everyone looked at Mina, who was looking down at her lap, her fists clenched tightly as tears dropped down her face.

"I… I won't let Takuya keep hurting like this… if I… if I ever see her… I'll blast her myself!" She looked up, her expression clearly stating that she meant what she said.

"Mina… you couldn't possibly…" Eiji shook his head. "Look, as much as I despise saying this, Ikari was one of our best. There's no way you'd manage to take her down even if she didn't use her M-base."

"There's also those that came here with her…" Shiro spoke darkly, earning a sharp glare from Eiji.

"Shiro. What did you See?"

Shiro remained silent for a long moment before looking up towards Eiji, concern and fear in his brilliant green eyes. "I think it was a Crystal…"

"You saw a Crystal?!" Eiji all but roared. "And you didn't SAY ANYTHING?! Why?!"

"Because the Crystal was imbedded in Ikari's neck!" exclaimed Shiro. "Whatever force that sent her here is either in league with or is the cause of the Crystal Incursion on our old world!"

Eiji had nothing to say to that, he couldn't with the alarm system going haywire as the computer overrode his files to display a city street where two familiar forms were causing rampant chaos. "Oh God…" Eiji felt sick to his stomach at the sight of the pair. "It's the Ishida brothers…"

--

Roughly a half-hour ago…

Two teenaged boys were walking down the street, one age sixteen and the other fourteen. Both were brothers though you couldn't really tell by first looking at them. The oldest was dressed in a tight black muscle shirt and black cargo pants. Despite the warm weather, he wore a long trench coat, also black, and a pair of white gloves over his hands. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses and the forelocks of his dark hair falling over his eyes. He was tall for his age but not overly so. His name is Seifer Ishida.

His younger brother was the same height but had a much bigger build since he had enough natural-gained muscles to make a veteran wrestler green with envy. He was wearing clothes that were far to tight on him but given his large frame, it wasn't all that surprising. Unlike his brother, he actually wore some color though they were merely dull shades of brown and orange. His eyes were a golden yellow and slightly dulled, as though there was not much activity going on behind them, and around his arms were fighting bandages wrapped tight enough that one couldn't see what lay beneath them. His name is Takao Ishishida.

It was quite apparent that Takao was having a merry time walking beside his brother, who did not anywhere near as happy with the situation. Seifer was silent as death as Takao continued talking about the sights around them, completely heedless to the stares he was getting.

"That building there! There, big brother!" he pointed at a random building. "I knocked that one down!"

"I'm sure." Seifer sighed. He loved his brother dearly but he really, his slight handicap could be a real problem. He wasn't dumb per say just… well… a few eggs short of a full dozen.

"Yeah, it was all big and woosh!"

Another sigh from Seifer. This outing that Takao insisted on doing was proving to be increasingly boring but what choice did they have? There was still some time yet before the plan could be executed and though he would never admit it, even to himself, Seifer was fascinated by the world that mirrored what his own was like all those years ago before the Crystal Incursion.

So many targets…

"Hmmm…" He glanced downed briefly at the walkie-talkie strapped to his belt and shut it off. He was done with sightseeing. "Brother."

"Yeah, yeah?"

"Do you want to do something really fun?" Seifer asked in his silken voice.

"Oh, oh! Yes, yes! Something fun!" Takao was bouncing up and down like a child being asked if he wanted to go to Disney Land. "Can we, please?!"

"Yes." Seifer reached up to the leather collar on his neck, or more specifically the buckle. "We can. Execute. Kaiju Spirit Evolution."

"Yays!" Takao mimicked his brother's motions. "Execute! Kaiju Spirit Evolution!"

"WAKE UP!"

With an explosion of light, the cocoons that had been wrapped tightly around the pair burst open to reveal their new selves.

Seifer's armor was completely black save for its armaments which were a row of sharp curved blades starting at the top of his head that extended down to his back. His visor was dark red while the helmet was shaped rather like a some form of cybernetic mantis with the mouth-guard shaped like a bladed beak of a bird. The armor itself was tight fitting, looking lightweight in comparison to the other Riders' armor, and had several wires and cords running between them on the arms and legs. Strapped to his hips were a pair of curved swords that looked to be made of bone, the Hitokiri.

"KAMEN RIDER GIGAN!"

Takao's armor was thick and incredibly heavy looking as it did resemble a humanoid beetle. His helmet was shaped rather like a rhinoceros beetle's head save for the silver, star-tipped horn which was barely a foot long on his head. The bodysuit was a dirt-colored brown as was the armor though the armor itself was etched in stripes of yellow. He had no hands but a pair of large drills attached to his forearms, which he affectionately called his Drillbits.

"KAMEN RIDER MEGALON!"

Brother eldest looked to the younger and smiled beneath the helmet of the assassin. "Try and keep up this time."

--

"Tak-kun, slow down!"

"BITE ME!"

Morisato wondered just what he was thinking by accepting this idea in the first place. Takuya NEVER listened to him before and now the very imagination of such a concept seemed as farfetched as, as, purple dinosaurs!

"Tak-kun, we can't just go wandering around the city hoping to somehow run into her!" exclaimed Morisato. "She's too smart to just stand around waiting for you to come and lob off her head!"

"Damn it, don't you think I know that, Akichi?!" Takuya growled. "I need something to happen here so I can kick some ass and if it has to be a bunch of idiot punks, then they'll do just fine!" An explosion rocked the streets before maniacal laughter followed in the wake of the dust. Takuya looked on in disbelief, having recognized the voice behind the laughter, before grinning a feral smile. "Looks like I just got my wish." Takuya ran blindly into the dust, using it as a cloak to hide himself as he transformed. Cursing to himself, Morisato followed after him knowing that if the Ishida brothers were here, the situation was about to get worse.

Way worse.

--

"Looks like Morisato and Takuya are aware of the situation…" muttered Eiji as he watched Anguirus and Rodan engage the brothers Megalon and Gigan respectively. He winced at the impacts and various damages that were being accumulated via the two powerhouses.

"Shouldn't we help them?" asked Ami, her eyes never leaving Anguirus' form as he fought against Megalon.

"By the time we'd get there the fight will already be over." Eiji pointed at his two subordinates on the monitor. "Those two trained with Gigan and Megalon and know how to fight them better than anyone else here… hopefully, Morisato won't resort to the underhanded method he often used in their spars.."

"Underhanded method?" asked Lita.

"Hey Taco! You're mama was a cockroach!" Eiji palmed his face as Megalon went berserk, screaming. "NO ONE INSULTS MAMA!"

"Little Brother, it would seem that things are not going to turn out better." Shiro said, his tone rather icy. Surprised, Eiji looked up at the monitor and growled low in his throat.

"Those two… What the hell are they doing there?"

--

"What the hell are you doing here?!" screeched Rodan, sending a bladed gusts of vacuumed air at Gigan, who teleported some distance away from sword-striking range.

Sailor Uranus scoffed. "Helping you if that wasn't already obvious."

"Like I'd want help from you!"

Anguirus was fairing better than Rodan but not by much in his own conversation with Sailor Neptune.

"Look, Outer Senshi or not, this is way out of your league! Stay out of the way or lives are going to be lost!" Anguirus was practically pleading but like her partner, Neptune was stubborn. However, she wasn't heartless as Rodan's sudden yell gave up a strong indication.

"They don't give a damn about innocent lives!" Rodan dodged a blast of laser energy from Gigan's cycloptic eye. "Look at their damn rap sheet sometime, Anguirus!"

Neptune flinched and looked more than a bit ashamed while Uranus looked righteously pissed off. "HEY! Like you're one to talk! Look at all the damage you two have caused!"

Were this a few days earlier, Rodan would have brushed her off or snapped a sharp retort but within two days, his old hatred and beliefs were overflowing in his mind and it was all he could do to not break the hearts of his—of Mina and her friends. Haruka, Sailor Uranus, was another case entirely with him and the fact that she was neither a friend or a ally made her an enemy of the worst kind in his eyes. So he allowed the sea of rage and unadulterated hatred drown him in its burning waters, not because he wanted to relieve himself of the stress of these two days' past.

By this point, he didn't give a damn anymore.

"Damage to the city! Not to innocent people's hearts! Not like you'd know what a heart is if it was staring you right in the face, you cross-dressing homosexual FREAK!"

There are few things in this world that Uranus' patience can last against in and out of uniform and right now, Rodan had crossed a line and entered dark territory that even Setsuna knew better than to bring up certain memories around Haruka and that memory was of the family that, as of recent years, she was now disowned from.

"Uranus World Shaking!" Rodan's eyes widened beneath his helmet before he leapt skyward, twisting his K-Zector around.

"Cast-On!" Rodan was hidden by a bright explosion of of light that, with a robotic cry of, "CAST-ON! CHANGE SORA BUSHI!" died away to reveal himself as an winged samurai, the first Soldier of the Sky.

"You wench!" He screeched. "Don't you dare screw with me! Sonic Winding Slash!" He sent a wave of vacuumed air down at Uranus, who rolled out of the way and landing on her feet with her Space Sword in hand.

"Rodan!" Anguirus roared.

"Uranus!" Neptune screamed.

"Stop it!" The two yelled in unision but their cries fell on deaf ears as the two blooded warriors began to fight against each other with years of old hatreds pushing them beyond the limits of their morality.

Gigan and Megalon, confused at first, were now watching the spectacle with great amusement.

"Big Brother, cans we have some popcorn?" Megalon asked. His earlier rage at the Brown Rider was completely forgotten as he watched with great joy as he futilely tried to stop his comrade from killing the tomboy while, likewise, defending him from the pretty water lady..

Gigan chuckled, more amused at the sight of his mutual enemies fighting against each other than his younger sibling's question. It would be so easy to rush in and kill them with a single strike to each of their necks… but where, pray tell, is the fun in that?

"Tell me, Brother, do you still carry those… hrm, loogies of your's?"

--

"So… do I have to ask or do you already know?" Shiisa grinned at Setsuna's obviously annoyed look.

"Mistress of Time I may be but omniscient I am not." Setsuna looked quite imperious with that pout but it was still rather cute to Shiisa, who was actually into her occasional holier-than-thou attitude that she often got during a particularly informative rendezvous with the Time Gates.

Chuckling and shaking his head, Shiisa got straight to the point. "Setsuna, do you know how the Kamen Riders got here?"

"I believe it was you who informed me, Shiisa." She said rather sardonically. He suddenly frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh?" She blinked, the only expression of her surprise.

"You're never this grumpy unless something's wrong. Do you need chocolate or something?" For all her years in life and outside of time, it still took Setsuna a moment to register just what Shiisa was implying. Needless to say, the mark on his face wouldn't be going away anytime soon.

"I'll admit I may have deserved that." Shiisa was actually grinning at her, completely unrepetent. The fact that Setsuna was so emotional around him made him very happy. 'Wow, that actually hurt…!'

Let it never be denied that Shiisa Miyrabi was a strange character.

"Back to business, I meant to ask, do you know how we got here, the full mechanics?"

Setsuna sighed and leaned back against the couch. "Truthfully, I do not. I believe it may have something to do that you and your family come not only from another time, but another dimension. It makes tracking you down very difficult even for one like myself."

"Really?" He had a teasing smile on now but decided to let the joke drop when he realized the full implecations. "Damn. That means we can't track their movements either."

"They?"

"… Setsuna, you have to realize first and foremost that what she did, what she would have kept on doing, was completely unforgivable."

"I see… this wouldn't have anything to do with what happened yesterday in the shopping district now would it, Shiisa?"

"Eheh… In a way…" He went on to explain of the sudden return of Ritsuko Ikari and how impossible it should have been for her to be alive let alone here in this dimension. Through out it all, Setsuna remained silent, only speaking to ask a question or two. Now she sat across from him digesting the information he had given her and Midoriko's hypothesis. It was a reasonable idea but Setsuna had herself made sure the Gates to this dimension were sealed shut after the attack by Pharaoh 90 but then, how did Shiisa and his brood get here? By another more powerful force than she?

Unlikely.

Not entirely impossible, but still unlikely.

For the second time in her life, Setsuna truly felt completely and utterly at a loss.

"Shiisa… have you ever heard of a Time Divergence Point?"

--

Anguirus knew that somehow, someway, he was going to be blamed for all this. With the events occurring madly around him, he couldn't fault Eiji for it either. The Scarred Rider was trying to combat against not only two Sailor Senshi but his own bloody teammate who wasn't making it any attempt whatsoever to be civilized with the two young ladies.

Not that Anguirus could blame Rodan for he too held little respect or liking to the two Senshi that had all but broken any true standings they had as Sailor Scouts, at least in the eyes of the Kamen Riders. Sailor Saturn, young as she was, couldn't be blamed as she had only recently come into her powers, powers that made her nearly ostracized by her own team and Sailor Pluto had two incredible feats backing her reputation. The duty of watching over time itself and the respect and love of Anguirus' teacher. One was already impressive but the other was downright shocking.

Who knew Sensei had a thing for ladies like Setsuna? Obviously not Anguirus though that really wasn't the point right now. The point was, if Sailor Neptune didn't stop trying to halt the fighting between Rodan and Uranus by blasting at the Winged Rider then Anguirus was going to start bashing in some heads just like he was—

"Oh. Shit." He just remembered who and what he and Rodan were initially fighting. Leaping over a 'Deep Submerge' and dodging one of Uranus' wild swings of her Space Sword, Anguirus saw that the Brothers Ishida were standing back and watching this fight in obvious amusement. Megalon, seeing Anguirus' eyes on him, waved heartily while his brother pointed down.

Anguirus looked and saw, much to his horror, a dozen of Megalon's special organic napalm bombs rolling straight towards Rodan and Uranus, both of them with their swords locked and foul words and oaths shooting back and forth between them.

"Rodan!" Anguirus leapt forward, urging all of his power into creating a shield strong enough to keep the two of them safe but at the same time push back the two Outer Senshi. How he succeeded in doing so, Anguirus didn't know as he was nearly knocked unconscious from the explosions punching his force shield to immediately notice something rather odd.

"Oy, Anguirus, how the hell are you doing this?" Anguirus wearily opened his eyes and saw that he was hovering in midair, his arms spread out as his force shield crackled around the two Riders like an energy bubble.

"Huh… don't know…" He never had a need to create a full shield like this, not around himself anyway and certainly not when he was jumping through the air.

"Well, whatever you're doing, don't stop! I got an idea!" Oh dear, what terrible feelings of dread such a phrase could create when spoken from someone like Rodan. Said Crimson Rider turned and, with a flap of his holo-wings, sent the force shield rolling forward like a hamster ball.

In the opposite direction.

"Rodan, what are you doing? The bad guys are that way!" Anguirus was also, but not overtly so mind you, concerned over the two Outer Senshi they had left behind, possibly wounded, in the hands of the "Demolition Brothers".

Rodan suddenly activated his boosters before answering, "Just trust me!" It was only when they were roughly over a mile or three down the street and out of sight of the apparent destruction taking place from whence they came did Rodan stop and turned around. He kneeled to the ground and spread his holo-wings as wide as he could, the rocket boosters on his back glowing brightly but releasing no form of explosion.

In an instant, Anguirus realized just what Rodan had planned. "ARE YOU MAD?! You'll kill the girls too!"

"Pity." The boosters suddenly activated with a muffled explosion as Rodan cried out. "Maximum Thrust!"

--

"A Time Divergence Point?"

"I'm sure that you have been curious as to why I never warned Queen Serenity of the attack from the Negaverse and its Queen?" She asked, her mask of neutrality settling nicely over her face. Shiisa noticed this instantly but knew Setsuna would feel more comfortable talking with the mask then without it and baring her emotions to him.

"… For a time it has. I merely assumed that it was destined to be."

"No. It wasn't." A few cracks had appeared and some of her grief, her anger, slipped through in her eyes. "In the months before the attack, the Time Gates could not show me the future though it had done so before. Up until then, I had seen the Silver Millennium continuing on past even my time as Sailor Pluto. Then, the Time Divergence Point occurred."

She looked at him with dead eyes having practiced this speech not for him, but the others who would, eventually, come to her and ask her the unasked question. "A Time Divergence Point is a point in time that is balanced entirely on a single finite event, an event capable of saving… or destroying a future."

"Destroy a—But that can't be!" exclaimed Shiisa. "Rini is here isn't she? Then that means that Crystal Tokyo thing is still going to happen right?"

Setsuna nodded. "That is the only future I can see and even then, it is a small image lost in a sea of grays." There was a faint shiver in her shoulders. "I… I'm scared Shiisa…"

"Setsuna…"

--

Anguirus winced as his force field strained against breaking the sound barrier twice over and struggled to keep it from breaking. His armor and abilities were not built for this! Rodan remained steadfast in his resolve and drew his sights on two familiar female forms.

He grinned.

--

"I don't know what's going to happen, if Crystal Tokyo will not happen or if it means its end, I just don't know…" Tears were falling down from her garnet orbs. "I don't want to lose them, not again…"

"You won't." Shiisa promised, moving to sit beside her and wrapping an arm tight around her shoulders. "You know this problem better than I, but I am entirely on your side… as are my students and their girls I'm sure. I for one will not let this future, our future, die, if I can give my mouth to shout, my body to bleed—"

She suddenly lurched and embraced him tightly. "Don't say that!" she hissed, her tears soaking his chest. "Don't bleed for anything! Don't say that ever again!" She was as nakedly honest and insistent as she had ever been in eons past with anyone, and Shiisa was surprised at the immediacy, the vehemence of her reaction.

--

Time itself seemed to slow to a snail's crawl as the unstoppable object drew ever closer to the two Scouts with their backs turned against the rapidly approaching threat. In that instant in time, Rodan unconsciously came to a crossroads. To continue meant doing that which he would never be able to take back but to stop meant something worse than that.

The answer came in the memory of a smiling Mina Aino, holding his hand and telling him of her love for him through her shining eyes.

Screaming angrily, Rodan gave a mighty flap of his holographic wings and pushed the spinning field faster, harder than before until it suddenly rolled up an upturned piece of roadway and was sent above and over the two Sailor Senshi to crash straight into Rodan's intended targets.

The Brothers Ishida.

--

"Hey! Take it easy, Setsuna-chan. Sshhh… easy. I'm not planning on having to bleed for anything except a shoddy razor." Shiisa lightly brushed his hand against her face, wiping away the tears. "We are on the same side, you and I." He smiled despite the wetness in his own eyes. "But you have to know that I'll always be one of the first into the melee to keep everyone safe. For my students, for the Scouts. For you."

Setsuna exhaled hotly. "I don't want to feel this angry but… I cannot control it," she sighed. "Of course I understand how you feel, with your whole life devoted to keeping people safe and…" She paused and sat up straight now, trying to place the neutral mask but. "I suppose I just panicked, I'm sorry. I suddenly saw you being overrun by youma or something, I don't know, just you lying there… tortured… dying…" She gulped a breath of air and her voice became very tight in its attempt to fight a sob, "and all because of this blasted Time Divergence Point! I don't want to… I don't want to lose you. Is that selfish of me?" She convulsed with a sob.

"No, jeweled heart, no…" Shiisa placed a hand on her knee. He found himself suddenly growing calmer, not emotional, not angry. "We both know we have to protect what is right, but we also want what we… love, I guess is the right word. Right for me at any rate," he sighed, laying his head on her shaking shoulder. "It's an old conflict of hearts' desires, dear. But it's normal, it's not selfish."

"Just don't die, and I won't have to kill you." As soon as she said it, Setsuna realized the mistake she had made.

"That may very well be the most profound statement you've ever made!" crowed Shiisa, laughing loudly.

--

"I think… I'm going… to barf…" Anguirus moaned. He was facedown on the ground and quite ill from intense speeds of Rodan's foolhardy attack.

"You think that's bad? They got away." Rodan growled, surveying the crater the two of them stood in the middle of, ignoring Neptune and Uranus as they slid down to join them. "Gigan teleported them out halfway into our attack. We hit them hard, but we didn't kill them."

"So basically, you failed." Sailor Uranus snarled.

"Haruka!" Neptune hissed at her partner. She did not want their earlier fight to start up again as neither she nor Anguirus had the strength to stop them if they went at it. In fact, the two were so weak, one from exhaustion and the other from as well but adding in that surprise bombing, well, it wasn't that big a surprise to see them de-transform back into Morisato and Michiru. Rodan and Sailor Uranus were glaring at one another as they walked up to each other, canceling out their transformations so that, by the time they stood face-to-face with equal height against each other, it was Takuya and Haruka having the glaring contest.

The two glared liquid death at each other for a long moment until, suddenly, their fists collided against the other's jaw. The two stood there, Takuya's fist pressing against the right side of the Tenoh's face and Haruka's fist pressing against the right side of the Yashima's face. Slowly, they lowered their fists and unclenched them but kept their hands up, palm skyward. They glared at each other for a moment more before sudden spitting a glob of blood into their hands and smacking them against each other and shaking the other's hand.

"Damn you're a rotten wench ain't ya?" Takuya was grinning, despite the blood in his mouth.

Haruka's was almost as bad but she was smiling too. "Not as much as you, you arrogant little bastard."

--

"What the hell just happened?" Eiji would have been shocked to have heard Shiro curse but what he and the others had just witnessed was far more shocking.

"I think… Takuya made a new friend…"

"With Haruka…?" Lita had trouble wrapping her mind around the concept. The tomboyish lesbian being friends with a woman… well not so much hater as he once was but he held no fondness for them. Not to mention the both of them were incredibly hotheaded.

"That's… nice. Right?" Mina couldn't grasp it herself any better really but upon seeing the smile on her boyfriend's face, she realized that she honestly didn't care. Takuya, the Takuya they knew and the one she loved, was back. Though it certainly was a good thing that Haruka was partners with Michiru otherwise there would be trouble.

--

"So, what's up Doc?" a teenaged girl, possibly eighteen years of age, entered the large chamber that served as Gendo's medical bay where two familiar brothers were currently resting from their recent escapade. "How are the Tweedle-Twins?"

Gendo stiffened for a moment but continued typing away at his laptop. "They'll be out for the next few days, which is more beneficial to us if Seifer isn't going to at least attempt to reign in Takao's childish needs for destruction."

There was a pause before the girl spoke again, this time in a much softer, more respectful tone. "We were told that you would be joining us in gathering the appropriate materials. Is this true, Gendo-sama?"

The fingers paused for a moment before continuing on. "Yes. He doesn't want to take any chances with this. With the Ishida brothers and Ritsuko unable to fight for the time being, he is pushing the plan ahead of schedule."

"Isn't he concerned about these… Sailor Scouts?" she asked.

"If he is, he does not speak of it with me," said Gendo, "nor should he. They are not what I expected but it is of little consequence now that we are united for a common goal."

"Oh hell yeah, this shit is going to be freaking awesome!" The rough and gruff voice returned as the brunette's attitude did a complete one-eighty. "I'll see ya in the rise then, Doc!" She left without another word.

Gendo turned and Saw her leave. A nearby labrat suddenly stiffened and dropped to its side as its lifeforce was forcibly drained from it, leaving nothing but a gray husk behind. It was true that Gendo was not looking forward to such a meeting as it would be inconvient to their plans but at the first opportunity to present itself to him, Gendo would take infinite pleasure in having his vengeance.

His daughter was not dead in body but what was left of her was certainly not his Gabriel.

Gendo would make certain that he would return the favor to his young nephew.

Shiro Saito had taken his happiness, so Gendo would, eventually do the same.

He swore it on his honor as a Kamen Rider.


To Be Continued...


Next Time, on Kamen Rider Daikaiju: EoC!

Luna: Just when we assume that things can't get any worse, the enemy goes for a simultaneous assault! The odds are against them but still they are overpowering the Riders and the Scouts! Bittersweet reunions between blood, sweat, and tears are abound in the next tale alongside a unspeakable taboo. Will the ultimate descration be made?! Tune in, next time to find out!

The Resurrection Part One; Strike at their Hearts


AUTHOR'S NOTES: Seeing as my laptop is currently out for repairs/virus cleaning, the next chapter, or two, might be a tad late. They really wouldn't be if SOMEBODY let me borrow their laptop every once and a while!

Bahamut: Back off, it's mine!