Episode 056: Be Yourself


Author's Note #1:

- This is the part two continuing from the previous chapter left off, "Stranger Ranger". It now enforces the morale for the previous chapter.

- Plus, I added some elements from that episode from Powerpuff Girls entitled, Major Competition into this chapter, where it involves a wannabe superhero, but doesn't have superpowers. But, the Girls were are living lie detector gambit to expose the lies.

- This is not the first time where Xanatos Gambits occur in this story. Back during the Genm Arc of the story, Go has been mastering the gambits involving Genm's downfall to perfection. The trope Xanatos Gambit refers to any predictable outcome that leads to a victory to the planner, which was named after David Xanatos, one of the villains of Gargoyles. In this chapter, Samus decides to do another Xanatos Gambit to expose the person who is lying to his friends being a Kamen Rider.


-Masaki-

In the middle of the fight between the Space Explorers and the Black Cross Armada, a civilian made his presence known in the battlefield, it happens to be the same man in the Drupers who bragged himself to his friends that he is a Kamen Rider, Masaki.

The Riders who saw the presence of the civilian are distracted as they thought they gained the upper hand, the Armada commanders turned the tables.

"Consider this a draw for now, Kamen Riders!", said Viper because he can't win a fight if there is an interference. The Armada commanders decided to withdraw for now. But, when the Kamen Riders still noticed the presence of Masaki spectating the Kamen Riders' fight.

"What are you doing here?", Mitsuzane calls out the civilian who witnessed the fight. "You could've got yourself killed, you know."

"It's not cool to sneak up on people.", Makoto added. "Don't you realize what you've done?"

As Specter tries to reprimand the civilian who stumbled into the fight, Samus cools him off.

"Makoto, enough.", said the bounty hunter as she handles the civilian. While the Kamen Riders stayed in their transformed forms, Samus turns her attention to the civilian. "By the way, sir. What's your name?"

"Masaki.", the man replied.

"Masaki-kun, you shouldn't lie about being something you are not.", Samus spoke in a reprimanding tone.

"Yeah, you almost got yourself AND we ourselves killed", Go added.

Masaki confesses that this is actually the first time he stumbles into a fight between Kamen Riders and an army of evil space aliens.

"Never thought I'd get into a real battle…", said Masaki.

"I know you want to help us.", Samus replied, "Being a Kamen Rider takes a lot more other than a belt, special powers and serious training are required to fight these monsters."

"To call yourself a Kamen Rider to gain attention is not what a real Kamen Rider is about.", Mayu added.

"For now, we gotta go.", Mitsuzane spoke as he and the other Space Explorers moved on to search for the enemy. Masaki is still standing as he persists asking with the Kamen Riders.

"Hey, where are you going?", the civilian asked.

Only for Go to profusely swear at him, "Man, just get the fuck out of here, will ya?!"

"Go, watch your language next time!", Samus's voice echoed as Go runs back to the party, at the same time a reprimanding tone in response of swearing at a person.

Elsewhere from a distance through a rooftop building, Pallad seems to be watching the Space Explorers' current activity. Ever since his alliance with the team, Pallad learned something after fighting each of the Space Explorers, he eventually comes to respect them, which lead him to betray Kuroto and let the team kill him.

"Fate is like a fighting game.", the Bugster higher-up spoke. "It seems they are fighting a different enemy other than us Bugsters. I hope they can defeat those interlopers, or the world won't be a playground if those aliens keep showing up."


-Game Overs and Mission Fails-

Meanwhile, a fight between Kamen Riders Ryugen and Para-DX ensues…

Ryugen in his Melon Energy Arms squares off with Para-DX in a one-on-one fight, this time Para-DX gains the upper hand as he uses three Energy Items in conjunction – Divide, Muscular, and Speed-Up. Considering the fact that Para-DX uses an Energy Item for Status Buff, he and duplicates of himself overwhelm Ryugen with high-speed attacks. Until Para-DX switches the dial of his Gashat Gear Dual to Knock Out Fighter.

*Dual Up! Explosion Hit! KNOCK OUT FIGHTER!*

Para-DX's face changes into the red one now with the blue one facing backwards. His shoulder-pads turn into boxing gloves. And he then turns the dial of the GGD at a 180 degree angle back and forth to activate the finisher. "Kimewaza!", the Gashat Gear Dual declared, and by inserting it back on the Gear Holder, it said "DUAL GASHAT!"

When Para-DX throws a jolt haymaker at Ryugen, the Gashat Gear Dual exclaims "KNOCK OUT CRITICAL SMASH!", and the punch was able to throw him to a wall. And the power of Para-DX's attack is powerful enough to knock Mitsuzane out of his transformation.

"Mitsuzane, what happened?", Samus voice still echoed on his earpiece, "Respond! Respo-", and he blacks out as he collapses on the ground.

Mitsuzane wakes up in the bed; it seems it was all a nightmare all along. It was 10:00 pm on the clock, and the Space Explorers returned to the Command Tower two hours ago.

Samus notices Mitsuzane's sudden nightmare attack when the latter woke up, but it's not related to the events three years ago, but an entirely complete different level.

"What's wrong, Mitsuzane?", the bounty hunter asked, tapping his back.

"I keep getting visions of being attacked at lightning-fast speeds, and ended up getting a K.O. punch in a blink of an eye.", the young Kureshima described in what happens to be a vision of him fighting Kamen Rider Para-DX. "It's not quite déjà vu, but getting caught unprepared with that kind of an enemy gives me the feeling that how much more punishment I'm going to take."

"It may be that kind of a fight symbolizes that if this particular opponent emphasizes so much on attack and speed, and the slow your reaction time, it's invoking that he's trying to catch off guard without knowing it."

As Mitsuzane sums it up, it implies that his subconscious warns him not to take too much damage when his body tells him to.

"If you encounter a kind of opponent like that, take Para-DX for example.", Samus continued, as taking note of Mitsuzane's vision of him and Para-DX fighting, as Para-DX uses Puzzle Gamer to mix up Energy Items randomly and use suitable ones in the field of play, while Fighter Gamer enforces relentless beat downs until his opponent is K.O'd. "In this case when this opponent uses speed that is unseeable to the naked eye. Just anticipate once he tries to get close. And speaking of that K.O. punch, treat this as if this was boxing. Just simply avoid his punches with precise timing."

Mitsuzane took Samus's advice, the latter reminds him that he, like the rest of the crew, already have enough experience to fight a Level 50 Rider, even though Samus herself has achieved Level 50. And fighting enemies is not about the level or the stronger forms, it's about the dedication and experience as a Kamen Rider.


-Lie Detector Gambit: A Second Bragging Right-

The next day…

The party, composing of Mitsuzane, Makoto, Mayu, and Samus once again frequented on the Drupers. They once again observed Masaki bragging to his friends entitling himself as the "orange" Kamen Rider.

"So, that's the guy bragging to his friends that he's a Kamen Rider?", Mitsuzane looked at the conversation from a distance with disapproval.

Samus herself is appalled upon hearing the conversation. A Kamen Rider is nothing to be bragged off, despite if one desires to be one. She observed the man continued his bragging rights to his friends, while most of them are unaware of Masaki's lies. Sometimes, to dream to become a superhero is something a child can do early in his years, but as far as Samus is concerned as she saw the liar mouthing with his forked tongue, it's enough to appall her.

"You know, the other Kamen Riders, they're not bad.", said Masaki. "But, I pretty handle those monsters all by myself."

"You can't be serious…", Mitsuzane muttered.

"It shows a regular guy who seeks attention.", Samus added. "I have an idea. Let's get out of here."

Samus plans a gambit to expose the liar, but comes with these variations: One, if an Armada monster attacks, and lure Masaki into the fight, doing so, it will make Masaki starts cowering at the sight of an Armada foot soldier or their recruit aliens. Two, make Masaki test his strength, if he likely fails, the chances that his lies will be exposed. And either of the variation of the plans makes it easy to lure any Armada recruit monsters.

And so, the party chose plan number two: lure them into the Space Explorers' training area in the forest which leads to the Zawame Guardian Tree.


-The Lie Detector Gambit-

The team head into the forest where they began their blindfold training, that is, Samus puts her teammates into a training while they are blindfolded, where it needs the use of senses instead of vision. Not only this training is vital, it is also important to lure Masaki into exposing his lies.

"I know you guys can do this.", Samus instructed, "Use your senses. Rely more than your vision."

Around the Space Explorers' surroundings are many plastic bottles dangling, as well as a wooden obstacle in order for anyone to scale into it.

"Ready? Begin!", Samus says go and starts to pull the ropes which allow the "floating" bottles to scatter around for each of the Space Explorers to strike at the bottles, use their reflexes and scaling their obstacles with their eyes closed.

As the party do their virtuous training, Masaki snuck up on the forest to find the Kamen Riders. Within seconds, the Space Explorers are close to finishing their training, at the same time sensing the presence of Masaki.

He's here. Samus spoked to herself, sensing the civilian's presence, and gives the signal to her fellow Space Explorers to transform.

Once Masaki reached the place on the way to the Guardian Tree, when he sees what appears to be a training grounds within the northern terminus, he sees the Kamen Riders approaching him.

"Hey, man. You know it's a bad idea to stalk other people.", said Mach.

"I… uh…", the civilian spoke nervously.

The "orange" Kamen Rider he entitles himself to his friends, taps him on the shoulder. He realizes that the orange Kamen Rider is actually a female.

"You shouldn't followed us here.", Huntress spoke. "I know you want to be like us. But, it takes a lot more than just desire or a belt to be a Kamen Rider. It takes dedication, and an amount of training."

"You wanna know what we do?", Ryugen showcase his skills as he kicks one of the dangling bottles and vaults over a wooden obstacle. "Like that. Now, give it a try!"

When Masaki tries the same move Ryugen does, he fails miserably when he misses a kick, and attempted to vault on the wooden obstacle. Not only he fails not once, not twice, but three times. The Space Explorers finally managed to expose his lies. And Masaki learns the hard way about lying to his friends.

"I just wanted to see what it means to be looked up to for once. Like you guys.", the civilian said bitterly. "But, I get it. I'm no superhero."'

"But, we don't always feel like heroes either.", Specter feels Masaki's dismay. "But, we take our mission to defend innocent people like yourself very seriously."

"It's obvious that you're a good guy, Masaki-kun.", Mage said, encouraging the civilian what he wants to do best, be himself. "So, maybe the best way you can help the world is just being yourself."

The Space Explorers' comms began beeping as the Tower's Mission Control (via Adam and Rinna) alert the Riders of another wave Black Cross Armada forces attacking.

"We need to get going.", said Huntress. "For everyone's safety, you need to stay here. Come on, guys."

The Kamen Riders left the scene to deal with another Armada monster.


-Pinocchitroid-

The Black Cross Armada sent another recruit to deal with the Kamen Riders, a woodpecker alien called Pinocchitroid.

"I'm done reading fairy tales, and now we gotta deal with this alien Pinocchio?!", Go starts to make a dry comment over the woodpecker alien sent by the Armada.

"Well, I thought the same thing with Samus about that lie detector gambit.", Mitsuzane deduced. "Now, then. Time to get serious!"

"Right.", Samus replies as she pulls out her Gashat Gear Dual Alpha and turns the dial to select the Perfect Puzzle X game.

(*cues: "Dive Into the Mirror" by defspiral from the Japanese dub of Kamen Rider Dragon Knight*)

*Perfect Puzzle… X! What's the next stage?*

"Dual Gashatto!", the Gamer Driver exclaims after Huntress inserts the Dual Gashat into the two slots of the Driver. Then, she closes the Gamer Driver's lever and opens it again. "Gacchan! MUZZLE UP!", Huntress's suit changes color from orange to white and most of the armor began to change drastically as tetris puzzle ornaments began to materialize around Huntress's armor, "Aka to ao no kousa! Perfect Knock Out!", thus, completing her transformation into Puzzle Gamer Level 50.

[~Mune no oku furueru omoi tashika na shoudou~] (The thoughts shaking within mea certain impulse)
[~Tojikometeta honnou wo hanate~] (Unleash the restrained instinct!)

"Get them!", Pinocchitroid instructs the foot soldiers to attack the Kamen Riders. And mayhem ensues…

*Shin Kaigan: Sin Specter! Pride! Greed! Lust! Wrath! Envy! Gluttony! Sloth! Break Deadly Sin!* / *MIX! Jimber Dragon Fruits! Ha Haa!*

Specter changes into Sin Specter, while Ryugen changes from Budou Arms to Jimber Dragon Arms by inserting the Sin Specter Eyecon and equipping the Sengoku Driver with the Genesis Core Unit and the Dragon Fruits Energy Lockseed, respectively.

The other three Space Explorers (Mach, Mage, and Necrom) deal with the Arachni- and Scorpitroid hordes, while Huntress, (Sin) Specter, and Ryugen deal with Pinocchitroid.

[~Mugen no sekai e tobikome imatozasareta doa hiraite~] (Fly towards the endless world now and open the closed door)

Even in their stronger forms, Huntress, Specter, and Ryugen managed to keep up with the Black Cross Armada's monsters, even if it takes three Kamen Riders using Drago Knight Hunter Z for example. Pinocchitroid starts jabbing the Kamen Riders with its elongated beak, while Huntress continues doing Para-DX's tricks whenever in his own Puzzle Gamer form: mixing and manipulating the Energy Items around the battlefield to select what suits the situation.

[~Kokoro wa itsudemo shinjitsu wo utsushidasu MIRROR~] (The heart is a MIRROR that always reflects the reality)

Huntress gives herself three Speed-Up tokens, she gives Specter three Muscle-Up Energy Items, and Ryugen with three Iron-Body Energy items. When Pinocchitroid attempts to jab its beak on Mitsuzane, it didn't affect him at all. Since the Energy Item he acquired turned him into metal, making the Armada recruit's attacks ineffective, allowing Ryugen to counterattack.

"Tsumi Dai Kaigan!", Specter's Ghost Driver declared as he prepares for his Deadly Sin Finisher, as six angelic wings spawn on Makoto's back. He then leaps into the air and delivers a flying punch. "PRIDE FIST!"

[~Kizutsuku koto nado osorenai de Jibun rashiku aru tame~] (Don't be afraid of hurtful things just be yourself)

The punch connects, knocking Pinocchitroid back to a corner. When the Armada recruit stands up, he finds himself being overwhelmed by lightning-fast attacks by Huntress due to the Speed-Up energy items. Pinocchitroid is dizzied after sustaining too much beatdown from the Kamen Riders. Mach, Necrom, and Mage finished off the mooks.

*TADDLE QUEST! BANG BANG SHOOTING!*

Huntress pulls out the Taddle Quest and Bang Bang Shooting Gashats, summoning Brave's Gashacon Sword and Snipe's Gashacon Magnum. Once Samus grabs the Gashacon Magnum, she twirls the weapon before shooting Pinocchitroid. Afterwards, she grabs the Gashacon Sword and toggles it into Ice Mode and mashes the B Button ten times, when the blade comes contact to the Armada commander, it froze him solid.

[~Iradachi wa kimi wo Tsuyoku kaeteiku saDIVE INTO THE MIRROR~] (Grief will make you stronger… Dive into the mirror!)

"Time to let the truth to set you free!", Samus banters as she inserts the Taddle Quest Gashat in the on the Gashacon Magnum, while she inserts Drago Knight Hunter Z on the Gashacon Sword again, with the weapon toggled back to Fire Mode.

"Taddle Drago Knight CRITICAL FINISH!", both Gashacon Weapons declared as Huntress fires the Gashacon Magnum, this time it fires a stream of fire (similar to a flamethrower) because of the Taddle Quest's affinity for the elements of fire and ice. Then, Samus creates a "X"-shaped projectile with the Gashacon Sword and hurls it at the target.

"I'm not gonna lie ever again!", Pinocchitroid shouted its last words as he dies in the explosion.

*Kaishin no Ippatsu!*

"Target purged.", Samus proclaims the closure of the battle as the Space Explorers once again averted another Armada attack.


-The Truth Sets You Free-

The following day…

When Masaki shows up in the Drupers, his friends gave him a round of applause, not realizing that Masaki is not in a good mood, after he realizes his lies.

Masaki decides to reveal the truth. "Everybody, this is hard for me. To tell the truth, I am not a Kamen Rider.", and the crowd laughed at first to see that he [Masaki] was lying. "No seriously. But, the Kamen Riders are the real heroes and great people too. They're super nice to me even after I… lied. Guess I wanted the attention. Anyways, I am sorry and I hope you can forgive me?"

The crowd just decided to leave anyway, they realized that Masaki was lying all along, and he ends up losing friends. And of course, lying is a bad idea.

Instead, Masaki went on to buy a parfait at Bando's counter. At the same time he runs into Makoto, who is all by himself. The civilian befriended the man in blue leather.

"It took a lot of courage to do that.", said Makoto, looking at Masaki.

"Huh?"

"The Kamen Riders will be proud of you.", Makoto continued.

"Thanks.", Masaki replies. "That means a lot. Hey, have we seen each other before?"

"No. I'm Makoto."

"Masaki. Actually a new Masaki, because I learned a big lesson about myself today."

Makoto listens to Masaki's experience about the latter's encounter with the Kamen Riders. And Makoto tells him that the truth will always set him free. After Bando serves a parfait to Masaki, Makoto takes his time talking with the common man before leaving.


See you next mission…


Author's Note #2:

The monster-of-the-chapter, Pinocchitroid is a reference to the fairy tale character, Pinocchio. Because of the one-shot character, Masaki lies to his friends that he is a Kamen Rider, which is ironic because Pinocchio is known for lying, whenever he lies, his nose extends even further to the length of that of a woodpecker's beak.