This will be the last chapter in the Gifted Inmates arc (I know, short right?) but not the last time we see the V3 crew. I'll be using them more in this story, and in fact in this series. But now, we set up for the major battle hinted at during Nine Phantom Thieves. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Danganronpa, the Persona series, or Super Sentai.

Chapter 44: Ascension, Social Studies, and the Twenty-One Core Medals

The entire Gifted Inmates academy was in a frenzy. Numerous Trash Yummies, led by a clearly deranged Armored Rider Sage, were attacking in full force. The Kamen Riders hadn't yet gotten back from their various other locations, but luckily Keebo's lab was reinforced and untouched, leaving him plenty of options to defend his friends and their adopted home. This helped him even when Sage brought a group of larger robots to fight, though compared to the autonomous Keebo these remote controlled models were inefficient at best and piles of scrap waiting to be junked at worst.

Inside the school building, much rumbling could be heard. "Will Keebo be okay?," Gonta asked. "He'll be fine," Miu assured him, "I was able to modify his jet pack and most of his weapons to make them more efficient. I couldn't get to all of them, but the ones I hadn't gotten to yet are already efficient enough for this force. We should be more concerned with keeping our own butts alive." Just then, a massive explosion caused part of the entrance to hall to fall away, revealing a staircase.

"Oh hey, it's an underground bunker," Kokichi noted, "Convenient. Well, being on the surface seems dangerous, so we may as well test the rabbit hole." He, Kaede, and Shuichi went down and moved through the hallway, moving away some of the debris as they did. At the end of it was a large door that looked designed for an evil mastermind's lair. Kokichi sighed when he saw this. "Of course... I've been waiting all this time for my lab to be revealed, and it winds up being the last one we get. It's like the main protagonist of a video game or something."

"Well Kaito always says we're the heroes of our own story," Kaede noted. The door opened up to a large cavern with a highly advanced platform-type base inside. In addition to a cybernetic-looking throne, which Kokichi immediately sat in, there were various pranking tools, disguises, and a large high-tech car. "It's everything a Supreme Leader like me could dream of," Kokichi noted, 'Though the circumstances of its reveal could be a lot better. It's even got my groups logo and a network to contact them. Come to think about it..."

He turned on the network. Instantly the faces of several young men and women that looked to be about Kokichi's age turned up. When they recognized him, the briefly freaked before putting on various clown accessories and makeup. 'What's up chief?', a larger one asked, 'We weren't sure if you could contact us.' "There's here at the Gifted Inmates academy," Kokichi replied, "Can you use our hacking code to get in contact with Hope's Peak Academy? We need the help of the Kamen Riders to turn back the invading forces."

'On it!,' the group said at once. "Hacking code?," Kaede asked. "Just a little something to put hilarious easter eggs into people's mobile devices," Kokichi admitted, "We could do more with it, but that would be breaking our rules." "This place is pretty cool looking," Shuichi admitted, "But it also seems like supervillain lair from a kids' show." "Well I am one step above a kid," Kokichi reminded him, "I think I can afford to be a bit of a cliched, goody, evil mastermind."

The shaking got a little worse, prompting the trio to head back out. There they found Kaito, Maki, and Ryoma. "Most of the group got outside before this debris blocked the door," Ryoma explained, "Though Kiyo wanted to return to return to his research for something. Probably those Orange Medals. A invasion like this will get the attention of the security team, after all." "And if it doesn't," Kokichi said, "I managed to find my lab which has direct access to D.I.C.E. I had them contact the main academy in an effort to get the Riders' attention."

The group got the debris out of the way, just to see a group of Trash Yummies trying to come in. Ryoma narrowed his eyes as he got out a tennis racket and a large shotput ball. Before the Trash could react, Ryoma had launched a killer serve that seemed rather literal as the creatures exploded. "Pretty pathetic for kaijin," he noted, "It may have larger than what I'm used to, but it was still just an iron ball." "Think you could use that trick against the larger robots?," Kokichi asked.

"Probably," Ryoma surmised, "Assuming they're in a tight enough spot." "Good, 'cause I believe I see one just to the right of us," Kokichi replied, pointing down the hallway to reveal a large blue robot that looked like it was dressed in priest robes. Ryoma launched another serve, damaging the robot and causing it to retreat. The group then headed up several floors to try and find Korekiyo, Maki stopping to get some weapons from her own lab, which proved effective at making the robots retreat while also managing to take out the Trash Yummies.

Korekiyo was finally seen outside Rantaro's lab, striking at several Trash with the katana from his own lab. Rantaro was also there, using a few guns that didn't look like they had come from Maki's lab. Himiko was also there. "Glad you guys are safe," she said, "Kiyo said he needed to keep those Orange Medals safe from those monsters." "Rantaro, where did those guns come from?," Maki asked. "From my own lab," Rantaro explained, "I've had some firearms training"

"Do you know where anyone else is?," Kaede asked. "I think some of the others may have headed for Kaito's lab," Korekiyo suggested. "There is a fortified bunker there," Kaito noted, "That's probably where they'll be." Clearing away some of the loose debris, the group made their way to Kaito's lab. There they found Tsumugi, Kirumi, and Angie. "Thank goodness," Angie said, "Atua said you guys were alright, but I must confess I was having doubts."

"Oh yeah," Tsumugi said, "I found a document containing information about our families and friends here. Kaede, you never said you had a twin sister." The others looked at her, dumbfounded. Especially Shuichi, who suddenly felt awkward since he and Kaede had started a relationship. "Don't worry you guys," Kaede said, "Kaori may looked like me, but she has a few distinguishing features to differentiate us, like how she keeps her hair shorter."

"Not like it matters, since the fingerprint confirms this is Kaede we're looking at," Tsumugi admitted, "But it does come out of left field. And then gets hit right outta the park, Gorenger style." Maki sighed. "Let's find our remaining friends. Besides Keebo, who's still fighting outside, there's still Miu, Gonta, and Tenko missing." "I think they headed for the library," Kirumi said, "They wanted to get below ground for safety reasons."

The group headed down to the basement, where sure enough they remaining three students were in the library. "This look like everyone," Gonta noted, "'Cept Keebo, but fighting still going on so he probably okay." "The hidden door in the library just opened," Tenko said, "Part of the electricity surged, caused the card reader to malfunction. The door opened automatically as a result."

The inside of the room looked like a security center combined with a museum. An empty rack with outlines resembling the Kamen Riders' Drivers could be seen against one wall, and out from it were statues resembling other Kamen Riders. "Gonta recognize some of these figures," Gonta noted, "They bug men who visit Reptite village." "All the Kamen Riders who preceded OOO," Korekiyo realized, "Immortalized in tribute to the legacy they left behind." "There's hallways leading out elsewhere," Himiko noted.

"I think I know where they go," Kaede said, "We saw those doors in the utility closets on the first floor bathrooms. Now the symbols make sense. Ten symbols for the male Kamen Riders, and six for the female ones. This is their base while monitoring the academy." Just then, a beeping sound came from Miu, who took out what looked like a communication device of some sort. "Keebo, are you alright?" 'Still fully functional,' Keebo replied, 'I can hear motorcycles in the distance coming closer. My fight blew off one of the walls of the classrooms on the second floor. Head there and I'll get everyone to safety.'


OOO and the other Riders found their way to the academy. Most of the infrastructure was intact, but it was clear all the work they did on it would need to be done all over again. Though the Kamen Rider Shrine was still intact, somehow escaping all the devastation. As the other Riders started attacking the Trash and the giant robots, OOO zeroed in on Sage. As the sniper took aim, OOO started out swapping his head piece. "Lion! Tora! Batta!"

Sage found himself blinded as OOO moved in, changing to a combo to close the distance easier. "Lion! Tora! Cheetah! La-Tah La-Tah, La-Tora~~Tah!" OOO leapt onto the hill where Sage was stationed and started striking at him with his claws, generating razor wind as he did so. Sage quickly leapt away and activated one of the robots, a giant brown one that also had a sniper rifle. Undeterred, OOO swapped to a different combo. "Ptera! Tricera! Tyranno! Pu-To-Tyrannosaurus!"

Slamming his hand into the ground, OOO pulled out the Medagabryu and brought out a few Cell Medals, which he inserted into the weapon. "Gulp!" Taking aim at the robot as it started to fire, OOO pulled the trigger. "Putotyranno Hissatsu!" "Strain Doom!" The two shots collided, but the one from the Medagabryu proved stronger, blasting through the other shot and disabling the robot. Just then, Korekiyo showed up. "OOO! I found these in my lab!" He showed the Orange Medals, which OOO recognized. "Those are..."

Korekiyo nodded. "I saw they were similar to your own Medals and thought, 'What if?'" He tossed the Medals to OOO, who slotted them in and activated his O Scanner. "Cobra! Kame! Wani! Bura-Ka~~Wani!" Now covered in the orange Burakawani combo, OOO took a defense stance that made use of the buckler shield split across both his arms. Seeing the new form, Sage took aim and tried to fire below the shield. The shot hit, but OOO seemed to barely flinch. Chuckling, he said, "Looks like my new form can heal easily."

Surprised, Sage fired off a few more shots, only for OOO to block them with the Kame shield. Even in the low-light conditions of the area, his new infrared sight let him pick out Sage easily. He leapt over and started attacking with the Wani legs, which generated giant crocodile heads with each attack, damaging Sage. OOO soon pulled out his O Scanner again to swipe it. "Scanning Charge!" OOO flew across the ground in a slide kick as three orange rings appeared between him and Sage, ending with a giant crocodile head appearing at the edge of the kick. "Warning Ride!"

The attack chomped through Sage, deactivating the transformation as the left-over cube spit out a young boy with blue hair. "I thought as much," OOO said, "We started looking up your friend Monaca's classmates. Out of all of them, she was close with only four. And you, Nagisa Shingetsu the Li'l Ultimate Social Studies, was the only one unaccounted for." With the battlefield mostly cleared out, the other Armored Riders showed up. Dark turned to Mage. "Looks like you still don't understand... Nagisa, we still have a chance to complete our goal here."

Nagisa picked himself up. "Got it, Big Sis." He placed the odd Driver, which looked like a remote control for a child's toy, and hit a button on it. "Henge!" The cube reappeared, changing Nagisa back into Armored Rider Sage. OOO nodded. "So you think to outnumber me. Not a bad strategy, but I still have an ace up my sleeve." He got out the Green Medals. "Kuwagata! Kamakiri! Batta! Ga~ta-Gata-Gata-Kiri, Ba! Gatakiriba!" "What will changing your combo do for you now?," Sage asked, almost condescendingly.

"Actually," Dark said, "That form let's him multiply himself." "And he can take advantage of that to use all his combos at once," Fenrir added in. Sage suddenly became a lot more nervous. Sure enough, OOO split into seven forms, each taking a set of medals. "Taka! Kujaku! Condor! Ta~Ja~Dor!" "Lion! Tora! Cheetah! La-Tah La-Tah, La-Tora~~Tah!" "Sai! Gorilla! Zou! Sagozo... (Drum beat) Sa-Go-Zo!" "Shachi! Unagi! Tako! Sha-Sha-Shauta, Sha-Sha-Shauta!" "Ptera! Tricera! Tyranno! Pu-To-Tyrannosaurus!" "Cobra! Kame! Wani! Bura-Ka~~Wani!"

The seven combo stood in formation, and then energy started to crackle between them. They looked at each other in shock as light began to part through the darkness, lighting them up. Somehow, Hajime understood, and he and all his copies activated their O Scanners at once. "Scanning Charge!" The charge, rather than activate a finisher, caused the energy to hit its peak and surround the copies, finally exploding in a brilliant flash. From their vantage point, the Gifted Inmates looked on in wonder. "It's happened...," Angie realized, "This is the ascension Atua has foreseen!"

Hajime felt the full force of his past-life memories return, and it made him realize why the ascension failed last time. Not only did he try it with only fifteen of the twenty-one Core Medals, he tried to take on the power on his own, rather than splitting it apart evenly among multiple bodies. "Looks like I've finally made it!," OOO called out, "Now I, Hajime Hinata, have become the god of desire!"

(Search Kamen Rider OOO - Anything Goes Special Edit)

The seven combos went to attack the seven Armored Riders. Burakawani resumed his attack on Sage, blocking the shots fired while striking with his legs. After a bit, he activated his finisher. "Scanning Charge!" "Warning Ride!" Sage found himself overwhelmed by the same attack twice. Meanwhile, Sagozo was hitting hard against Fighter, striking her multiple times and breaking through her defenses. Once she was staggered, Sagozo made his move. "Scanning Charge!" "Sagozo Impact!" Fighter was hit hard by the attack, knocking her out of her transformation.

Shauta was using his liquid form to easily evade Priest's missile, catching a few with his Tako legs and Unagi whips. After nailing Priest with a few of his own missiles, Shauta readied his own finisher. "Scanning Charge!" "Octo Banish!" Priest was quickly knocked out of his transformation as the drill attack hit him hard. Mage was having trouble of her own as Latoratah easily evaded her magical attacks, slashing at her with literally blinding attacks before readying his finisher. "Scanning Charge!" "Gush Cross!" Mage found herself overwhelmed as the slashing claws struck through her armor.

Hero found himself overwhelmed by numbers as Gatakiriba continued to multiply, the replaceable numbers rendering his drills useless. After a number of attacks, Gatakiriba readied his finisher. "Scanning Charge!" "Gatakiriba Kick!" The numerous duplicates centered their flying kicks at Hero, knocking him out of his transformation. Fenrir was also having trouble facing Putotyra, the very combo that managed to deliver her first wound. Needless to say, it was causing some PTSD. After knocking her around, Putotyra readied his finisher. "Scanning Charge!' "Blasting Freezer!" Fenrir managed to escape this one without suffering a major wound, but she still got knocked out of her transformation.

Finally, Dark was dealing with Tajador, his flying skills making him impossible to hit. The other combos tossed him their head Medals, which along his own was placed inside the Taja Spinner. He then applied his O Scanner. "Taka! Kuwagata! Lion! Sai! Shachi! Ptera! Cobra! GI-GI-GI-GIGA SCAN!" OOO was enveloped in burning energy as he flew fist-first towards Dark, smashing into her with tremendous force, canceling her transformation.

Junko got up, barely. "If you think this ends here," she said, clearly out of breath, "Then you're deluding yourself. I still have one more card to play." She pulled out a small sphere, a "good-bye" present from Fumiko. She tossed it in front of OOO, creating a blinding light. By the time it faded, she and the other Armored Riders had vanished. After gathering his copies and canceling his transformation, Hajime walked over to Kyosuke. "Did we get any recordings of that?" Kyosuke nodded. "The question is, will the steering committee accept it?"

To be continued...

Junko has now been exposed for all to see. But she's not ready to quit yet. We still have some final fates to change, this story is far from done. But now Hajime has accomplished his goal, having ascended to become the god of desire. So that's one hurdle out of the way. Also, I deliberately waited until the Burakawani combo was unveiled to use Tajador's Giga Scan because it felt more appropriate to do with all seven sets of Core Medals. Hope you liked it's premier. Read and review.