THE NEXT DAY, RENEGADE HQ: BLAKE'S ROOM, 3:57 AM
Despite being exhausted from he and Andrew's daring escapades, Blake found himself unable to fall asleep. The young man had spent the last three hours pondering as to whether the decision he and his friend had made was wise. Yes, Blake was free from having to follow Dan's orders; yet now he must perform the task he wished to avoid, fighting his fellow Kamen Riders. Resolved to relieve his mind of the stress, Blake rose from his bed and headed for the common area of the complex. As Blake entered the chamber, a light flickered on. Sitting on a couch beside the lamp was Jason, still in his proper-UFE attire and with a half-eaten loaf of bread on his lap. With a slight smile, Jason inquired, "Can't sleep either?" Blake nodded in affirmation and replied, "I was thinking of getting a midnight snack, but I can see that may no longer be an option". Jason shook his head and raised his arms, "Don't worry, this isn't the food from the communal fridge. Lauren went out and scored some bread because I needed the carbohydrates or else, I was going to pass out". Blake smiled and walked over to the fridge in the adjacent room. The kitchen had what were white tiles that had since been tainted by time, now tinted yellow. Next to the refrigerator was an oven with a microwave suspended above it. Based upon how worn down the numbers printed on the microwave were, Blake figured that it had seen extensive use, whereas the oven had noticeable cobwebs within it. Opening the refrigerator, Blake found it mostly barren except for the few cans of tomato and chicken noodle soup on its center rack. Disappointed, the young man closed the fridge and walked back to the common room. Upon entering the room, Blake found Jason watching the television in front of the couch with its volume muted. Without his glasses, Blake failed to discern the text on the screen but was able to recognize the shape of his, Ashley's, and Andrew's hair. "What's going on?", asked Blake. Jason turned to face him, "You're in the thick of it now". A knock on the doorframe on the other side of the room grasped the attention of both men. "Well", Andrew began, "it looks like we're famous". "More like infamous", Jason corrected. Blake attempted squinting to read the words on the TV but to no avail. "What does it say?", asked Blake. Andrew walked his way over to the couch, "It says 'UFE releases more information on domestic terrorists hiding within the American territory'". Jason grimaced, "Well, that's one way to get the people's attention, switching out the word traitor for terrorist". Andrew noticed and frowned when he saw the partially consumed bread on Jason's lap. "What's with the bread?", Andrew said. "It's the food I got for him to eat an hour ago", a voice stated behind the three men. The three men turned to find Lauren and Ashley standing within a doorframe. Lauren, wearing a baby blue robe over a grey t-shirt and black pajama pants, strutted her way over to Jason and hit him on the back of his head. "Ow!", yelled Jason, "What did I do now?" Lauren glared at him, "You should be in bed sleeping, not out here socializing. You need your rest". "I'm fine", said Jason whilst feigning a yawn. Andrew turned his head towards Ashley, "What's gotten you up, Ash?". The black-haired magician pointed at Lauren, "She wants me to put him to sleep". "What?!", Jason's eyes widened, and he turned to face Lauren again, "You were going to magically roofie me?" Crossing her arms, Lauren replied, "It was either that or I knock you into a whole new level of unconsciousness". Jason looked down and smirked a little, "Lauren, do you remember how I always tell you how much I value our friendship?". Lauren looked puzzled, "You've never told me that you valued our friendship". The smile on Jason's face widened, "And now you know why". Before retorting with an undoubtably clever response, Lauren noticed Ashley's expression become grim as she watched the television. On the news, the reporters were displaying footage of Ashley as Kamen Rider Wiseman using her explosion ring to cover her escape with KickHopper and PunchHopper. The aftermath of her explosive spell was unknown to her, until now. Thankfully there were no fatalities, but there were many people with third-degree burns and damage from debris being flung in their general direction. "Oh my God. I…I did that?", Ashley asked. Jason arose from the couch and turned to face the saddened young woman, "If you didn't do what you did, you, Trevor, and Eli would have been captured, or worse". Lauren walked toward Ashley and placed a hand on her shoulder as a comforting gesture. "Are you talking about us?", a voice asked from the doorway. As everyone turned to face the voice they were met with Trevor and Elijah walking into the common room. Jason smiled at seeing his closest friends and joked, "I was only saying how you guys are the absolute worst". Elijah retaliated in a tone of comedic intent, "At least were no murderers". The room fell silent and Jason's face went stone cold. Lowering his head in regret, Elijah began to apologize, "Sorry man, I didn't mean to suggest…" Before Elijah could finish his sentence, Jason raised his right hand and stated, "It's fine, but I think that remark would be best utilized at least 10 years from now".
With the awkwardness of Elijah's remark no longer tainting the air around them, Andrew raised his hand. Lauren laughed in response, "What are you doing, this isn't school dude". As his hand descended, Andrew stated in a serious tone, "The reason this is all happening is because of Annie's death and your part in it. I've heard Dan's loquacious speeches and convincing sermons on your betrayal to the Kamen Riders; however, I have yet to hear your side of the story. So, if you don't mind my asking, what happened the day Annie died?" Once again, the room became dead silent, but was soon broken by Jason's statement, "I'll do you one better, I will tell you what happened and how exactly I escaped the UFE". A smile developed on Andrew's face, as well as Blake's and Ashley's. Everyone followed Jason to the couch as he prepared to tell his side of the story. "Before we begin", started Jason, "I want to establish a little background knowledge that only the council before your commencement as Kamen Riders Build, Cross-Z, and Wiseman began. Kamen Rider Kuuga, the first of our generation and the Rider Andrew and Lauren found frozen in a containment unit, has this form that we refer to as his Ultimate Form. This form, as you may expect, possesses incredible power and can only be matched by Kamen Riders Decade, Odin, and Poseidon. Typically, Kuuga can access this form using his own free will; however, there have been instances where he would enter this form without his consent and go on a murderous rampage". Andrew's, Blake's, and Ashley's eyes widened with shock and terror; to them this sounded like a horror movie. "I understand not telling the public about this, but why weren't the other, low-level Riders informed of this. I mean, it sounds like a big deal?", queried Blake. Jason nodded, "You're right it is a big deal, but how would you feel having all your friends and acquaintances look at you and wonder when you're going to become a monster?" The three listeners nodded in understanding. Jason continued, "It was embarrassing for him and he tried everything in his power to prevent any more 'outbursts' but he knew something had to be done if he couldn't control himself. So, Kuuga brought those he trusted most into a room: Kamen Riders G3, Femme, Blade, Decade, and me to discuss the real possibility of…euthanizing him". By this point, Ashley's mouth was wide open, Blake was frozen, and Andrew looked at Jason with disbelief. "What was your plan?", inquired Andrew. Jason responded, "We had quite a few in mind". Shaking his head, Andrew corrected himself, "No, I mean what was the plan you suggested?" Coldness swept over Jason's face followed by sadness, "My plan was to utilize my Hyper Form to capture Kuuga before he finished transforming and send him into the depths of space. That plan was turned down". "Why", said Andrew, "because its cruel and inhumane?" Jason's head quickly snapped to face Andrew, "No, because he would fly back to Earth in a matter of days, maybe even hours. Kuuga in his ultimate form is godly in power, throwing him into space would merely activate his adaptive capabilities and allow him to no longer need oxygen to survive. The truth is we never finished developing a plan to kill Kuuga; he was…is our friend and none of us want to kill him". Ashley then queried, "I'm guessing one of Kuuga's outburst precipitated Femme's death?" With a nod of affirmation, Jason cleared his throat so that he could tell the rest of the story.
UFE HQ; ADVANCED COMBAT TRAINING ROOM; 5 WEEKS AGO
With a loud crash to the floor, Jason found himself laying on his back with the wind knocked out of him. "That…was much better", stated the young man to his opponent, "But, you still have a notable weakness in the way you hold the bo staff". A hand with the red painted fingernails of his opponent, a blonde-haired young woman with beautiful blue eyes and dressed in classic UFE black attire, reached for Jason's hand and helped him to his feet. "You're only saying that because I bested you for the…third time now", the young woman stated with pride. A prominent smile grew on Jason's face, "That's because I let you beat me three times…in a row". "Yeah, I'm sure that's the reason", sarcastically responded the woman. With his smile slightly fading, Jason commanded, "Again, Annie. Fight me again". Annie looked at the man standing across from her with a look of concern permeating her eyes, "No, Jason. I think I know why your fighting ability has been poor recently and I think you know as well". Jason nodded and his disposition began to show a state of tame sadness overcoming him. With a sigh, Jason stated, "Do you want us to stop 'seeing' each other?" Annie walked over to Jason and replied, "That is not what I'm saying at all, but clearly something about our new relationship is causing you turmoil; I can even sense your aura in distress". Turning around, Jason looked at himself in a large wall-encompassing mirror that was located on one of the sides of the studio he and Annie were in. The mirror reflected a room with stained wooden floors, white concrete walls, and a woman who he cared for deeply giving him a worrying glance. Annie placed one of her hands on the upper part of Jason's back to comfort him. Jason walked away from Annie's touch in response and stated, "Doesn't this feel wrong to you? I mean, you are engaged to Dan for God's sake. Our responsibilities as Kamen Riders must come first and we shouldn't let what is an affair be a risk not only for our own reputations but also for Dan's and the other Kamen Riders". Continuing to follow his movements, Annie wrapped her arm within his and asked, "Are you saying that you don't care for me anymore?" Turning to look into her gorgeous blue eyes, Jason replied, "Of course not, I'm just highly concerned with the real possibility of your infidelity being uncovered and you getting hurt as a result". In a swift movement, Annie twirled in front of Jason and wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, "Listen to me, I care about you deeply as well and may even love you, and yes I am also concerned about what might happen if we are discovered; yet I feel a connection with you that Dan and I never had. Do I love Dan? Yes, he and I have basically grown up with each other and been friends our entire lives, so it's only natural that we had developed feelings for one another. The first two years with him as a boyfriend were great but this past year he has been put under extreme stress from the High Council and he, unfortunately, brings that home with him". For a moment, Jason's face became filled with a mix of emotions of anger, sadness, and concern. Cocking his head, the young man inquired, "Annie, has Dan hurt you". Annie responded by shaking her head to indicate the negative and said, "No, he hasn't. Dan has been distant and is spending more time with the other Riders and not his fiancée. I know that sounds selfish but compared to the first few years we were together, it's like I'm about to marry a stranger". Slowly, Annie began moving closer and attempted to try and kiss the man she may be in love with. Before Jason could decide to reciprocate or reject the advance, a loud cacophony escaped both of their commlinks. As their communication devices rang, the two started to recognize the specific channel the tone was associated with. Both Annie and Jason grew pale as the latter grasped his commlink and answered it, the voice of Kamen Rider Decade yelling at them. "Jason, Annie…" Decade began, "it's Gary, he's starting to lose control of his Ultimate form. You need to get down here now!" Jason quickly replied, "Alright Jed, we are on our way. What is your location?" It took a few seconds to hear an unmuffled reply amongst the cries and destruction occurring in Decade's location, but eventually a response was heard, "Narsaq, Greenland". Annie and Jason dropped their training equipment, ran out of the room, and proceeded to sprint to the garage of the UFE headquarters. Annie activated her commlink, "Jed, Jason and I are going to take the closest Jump Gate to get to your location, expect an ETA of 8 minutes". Jason followed up, "I just reached out to Marc, he will be there a little after us. I'm going to have Art stay back to not alarm the others. Jed, do you think you can hold off Gary?" A worried voice came through the commlink, "Umm…yeah. I expect we have a few minutes or so before he loses complete control of his actions". With a cold voice, Jason stated, "Do what you must". After concluding the call, the two Riders grabbed their respective Rider Machines, made their exit, and headed for the Jump Gate.
Upon exiting the Jump Gate, the two Riders immediately heard the distant sounds of intense combat. "Well that doesn't sound great", remarked Jason. Annie nodded the affirmative, "Let's just hope it looks better than it sounds". Speeding through Narsaq on their motorcycles, Annie and Jason eventually were able to identify Kamen Rider Decade and the other Riders with him. Encased in magenta armor with large green eyes on the helmet, Decade waved the two incoming Riders down. After pulling in, Jason began to recognize the other Riders with Decade: Kiva, Wizard, and Kuuga. Kuuga, however, was not facing the rest of the Riders; rather, he was standing in front of a blue wolf that had external cybernetic implants throughout its body. "What the Hell is that thing?", asked Annie. Decade answered, "When I had first arrived here I thought it might have been a Wolfen but I wasn't sure, so I called Kiva and Wizard to get their opinions". Kamen Rider Kiva, already in her blue Garulu form, stepped forward and spoke with a heavy breath, "It's not Wolfen in origin from what I can tell. It has to be alien or a science experiment gone wrong". Jason cut off Kiva and inquired, "That's the least of our concerns right now, how is Gary doing?" Decade sighed, "See for yourself". Slowly, Jason called for his Kabuto Zecter and when it arrived, attached it to his belt and bypassed the Masked form by turning the horn of the Zecter. As his armor materialized and his belt yelled, "HENSHIN! CAST OFF: CHANGE BEETLE", Kuuga turned his head violently to face him. Annie transformed into Kamen Rider Femme and stood beside Kabuto. A clear look at Kuuga indicated he was more than halfway through his transformation in his Ultimate form, with the black armor of his Amazing Mighty form showing signs of spike growth and eyes flickering from red to black. With a growl, Kuuga uttered, "You all need to leave here now! I can't control myself much longer". The roar of another motorcycle penetrated the air. As the Kamen Riders turned to face the sound, they saw Kamen Rider G3 dismount his Guard Chaser. "Hey Marc", said Decade as he walked over to the blue rider. At the desire of not wanting to be ignored any longer, Wizard spoke, "Jed, what is going on here?" Rather than letting Decade answer Wizard's question, Kabuto ordered, "Brianna, get into your Emperor Form. Meghan, Infinity style Now!" Sensing the urgency in Kabuto's voice, the Riders followed his orders. "Gary", Jason began, "it's going to be okay. Just breathe slowly and take back control". Behind Kuuga, the wolf creature stood up on its hind legs as if it were human and slashed at Kuuga's back. With the final flicker of red to black, an aura of the latter color followed by gold lightning emanated from Kuuga's belt. With lightning-fast speed, Kuuga grasped the wrist of the wolf creature's arm, crushed it, and then landed a successful uppercut upon the monster's jaw, sending it flying toward the stratosphere. Kuuga, now fully transformed into his ultimate form, leapt into the air and flew after the wolf. With a raise of his hand, Kabuto called forth the Hyper Zecter. As the flying lever flew to Kabuto, he grabbed it, attached it to the side of his belt, and pressed down on it. "HYPER CAST OFF: CHANGE HYPER BEETLE!", the belt screeched as the armor on Kabuto shifted and changed color. The horn on Kabuto's helmet extended, the chest now possessed a large silver plate and fins appeared on his wrists and ankles. In a quick movement, Kamen Rider Kabuto slammed the button on the Hyper Zecter, "HYPER CLOCK UP!". Time was now at a near standstill. Kabuto dashed over to Wizard and Decade and placed one hand on each of them. With intense concentration, the fastest Kamen Rider to ever live brought the two Riders into Hyper Clock Up. "What the Hell?", asked Wizard. Kabuto answered, "I've brought you two into my current time. I don't have much time though, so I'll make this quick. Meghan, you must use your Blizzard Ring to freeze Gary. Jed, once he escapes from Wizard's spell, transform into your Complete Form; you are the one with the best chance of bringing him down". Both Riders nodded and Kabuto relinquished his grip on them. "HYPER CLOCK OVER!", yelled Kabuto's belt. While waiting for Wizard to begin her spell, Kabuto ran over to Femme and ordered, "When he gets back, keep him busy". "You got it", Femme said in return as she pulled out a card from her advent deck and placed it into her Blanc Visor, "SWORD VENT!". Blancwing, Femme's advent beast, flew out of the closest building's reflective windows and sent the Wing Slasher towards her master. With a loud crash, both Kuuga and the monster landed on the ground, the former held the decapitated remains of the latter in his hands. In a graceful acrobatic movement, Femme retrieved her weapon and engaged Kuuga in combat. As Femme's blade was about to make contact, Kuuga grasped the weapon and punched the white Rider in the gut, sending her flying backwards. Using his ability of pyrokinesis, the now enraged Kuuga lit Femme aflame, cries of agony escaping her mouth. "Annie!", Kabuto screamed, "Meghan, what is taking so long?" Wizard yelled back, "Sorry, but I need to concentrate". The Blizzard Ring on Wizard's left hand glowed blue and she placed it on her WizarDriver, "CHŌĪNE, BLIZZARD, SAIKŌ!". A blue sigil appears in front of the magic-based Kamen Rider and freezing gusts of wind and snow escape from it. Kuuga's movements began to slow until he stopped and became an ice sculpture. With a flick of her wrist, Wizard bended the water of a nearby lake toward Femme to extinguish the flames burning her body. Kabuto went over to Femme and assisted her to her feet, "Are you alright?" "Fine", Femme replied, "but we don't have a lot of time, I'm assuming you told Jed about your plan". Kabuto gave her an affirmation and walked her over toward the other Riders. Signs of Kuuga's imminent escape became apparent as steam began lifting itself from his ice prison. Decade pulled out his K-touch, a touch screen with the logos of all the council members, and began the transformation sequence, "FINAL KAMEN RIDE: DECADE!". A sudden wave of heat indicated Kuuga's release as he now charged at the other Kamen Riders in a blind, animalistic rage. During Kuuga's charge, Decade finalized his transformation into his Complete Form and slid a card into his driver, "ATTACK RIDE: ILLUSION!". Two duplicates of Decade appeared next to the original and all three ran towards Kuuga to engage him in combat. Kabuto looked towards Kiva and G3, stating, "You two, assist Jed in fighting Kuuga". The two Kamen Riders nodded and ran to engage the enemy. "I'm fighting too", Femme told Kabuto. Kabuto scoffed, "Like Hell you are. Unless you pull out a Survive card from your advent deck, you can consider yourself benched". "The Survive card is with Steven right now. And, while I think it is sweet of you to want to protect me, remember this: I have been a Kamen Rider long before you became a blip on the UFE's radar. I can handle myself. Now let me do my job!", argued Femme. Kabuto took a step back and let Femme enter battle with the others.
At this point, Kamen Rider Kiva found herself telekinetically pushed 25 feet and hit the side of a concrete wall. Kabuto gave a silent signal to Wizard, indicating that she should heal Kiva. Taking out his GS-03 Destroyer, a sword that utilizes high frequencies to inflict damage, G3 made a direct attack on Kuuga's neck which caused the latter to stumble back slightly. "How'd you manage that?", asked Wizard from a distance. G3 turned to face Wizard, "My Rider System was based off of Kuuga to best him in combat, so I figured that some of my weapons may have an impact". Filled with naïve confidence, G3 began slashing away at Kuuga with his weapon; however, with each slash, the out-of-control Kamen Rider stumbled less and less. "Marc", Kabuto yelled, "you need to back off! He is adapting to your attacks!" Unfortunately, Kabuto's warnings came too late as upon G3's next strike, Kuuga grabbed the weapon by the blade and kicked G3 squarely in the chest. The impact of the kick sent the Rider 70 ft away from the battle and towards a brick building where he collided with it face first. Sparks began flying off the armor and Marc's face was now visible through the cracked helmet. Decade's luck was not much better, the duplicates he had created were quickly dissipated and Kuuga managed to pick him up and slam him into the ground, rendering him unconscious. As Kabuto began running over to Marc, he saw Femme start her assault on Kuuga.
Her maneuvers were swift yet graceful, allowing Femme to dodge Kuuga's brute force attacks. Although the Kamen Rider clad in white landed a couple of hits on her target, she was halted by a sudden hand on her throat. Choking in the grasp of Kuuga, Femme was forced to gasp for breath. After confirming that Marc was still alive, Kabuto ran over to help his lover. In an effort to save Femme, Kabuto pleads, "Gary, you've got to fight this. Look what you are doing, you're killing one of your friends. Please, you have to let her go". Silence permeated the battlefired as Kuuga winded his arm holding Femme back, like an Olympic thrower being ready to toss a javelin. With the sound of a thunderclap and the speed of an enhanced cheetah, Kuuga thrusted his arm forward and threw Femme towards the sky. Kabuto's heart dropped in that moment, the love of his life has been through years of wear and tear as a Rider but being thrown by an entity with nearly unlimited power was a first. Thinking quickly, Kabuto had to decide between helping the rest of the team stop Kuuga or save Femme. Slapping the button on his Hyper Zecter, Kabuto raced after the comet that was Femme flying towards an undetermined destination. After travelling 806,460 square miles, the trajectory of Femme's descent became more apparent. Despite being far away, Kabuto was able to see that Femme had maintained her armored form. "Thank God", Kabuto thought to himself, "She has about 7.5 seconds till impact; fortunately, I'll be directly beneath her in 0.68. Now, I need to fly up and catch her at an equal speed to prevent her neck from snapping". Unfortunately for Kabuto, the Hyper Zecter decided to prematurely bellow, "HYPER CLOCK OVER", and time began to resume at its normal pace. Then…
RENEGADE HQ: COMMON ROOM, 4:45 AM
Before Jason could finish the story, a news story appeared on the television that caught everyone's attention. The news headline read, "Terror in London: Hostages Taken Inside Centurion International Bank". Jason grimaced, "Looks like story time is over", and turned to face Blake. "Want to go and handle this with me", inquired Jason. Blake smiled, "I might as well, I can't sleep anyway". As the young men rose to head out, Lauren stepped in front of Jason, "You are not going anywhere Jason! You need to sleep! Even if you weren't sleep-deprived, how do plan on getting over to England!?" Taking a deep breath, Jason responded, "This crime is clearly garnering international attention; therefore, the rest of the Kamen Riders are going to respond at some point. So, Blake and I will wait by the European Jump Gate and slip in when the others do". Blake chuckled in response, "Sounds good to me". Trevor, Elijah, and Ashley all smiled whereas Lauren rolled her eyes and her stating, "If you don't die somehow, then I'll kill you when you get back". The boys then grabbed their jackets and headed outside.