And we begin what appears to be another two-parter, with a rather interesting creature. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider or The Rising of the Shield Hero.
*Kamen Rider is seen driving along a reservoir walkway with another figure in a grasshopper-themed outfit on an identical motorcycle. We now introduce Kamen Rider 1 and Kamen Rider 2. The music begins with a close up on Kamen Rider 1's face as the title appears.*
Rising of the Kamen Riders
Here they come! Shocker! The evil army of Hell!
*The two Riders race along a large field.*
Targeted by its dark and scary shadow
*They lap around each other.*
Protecting the peace and justice of the world
*A close up of 2 is seen, highlighting the differences in his outfit and helmet, including a white strip along the middle of the helmet, and a black undersuit not seen with 1.*
Go! (Go!) Go! (Go!) Let's Go! The spectacular machine!
*The two Riders drive up a nearby hill, making a spectacular leap.*
Rider Jump! Rider Kick!
*They continue to race across the hill, and a grassy field.*
Kamen Rider! Kamen Rider!
*They drive down a dirt road, 1 in front.*
Rider! Rider!
*They leap past each other in a daring stunt.*
Rider Jump! Rider Kick!
*They start driving down an empty highway.*
Kamen Rider! Kamen Rider!
*They start swerving through a construction sight.*
Rider! Rider!
*They somehow drive up a skyscraper before making a leap across the rooftops.*
Naofumi has now been joined by fellow cyborg Ren Amaki.
*A scene of Ren's forced remodeling by Shocker is shown, before cutting to the twin Riders.*
Remolded by Shocker and saved by his girlfriend from the FBI, Ren becomes Kamen Rider 2.
*Shots of Spider Man, Gebacondor, Geckgeras, Cactogron, and Lizardlon are featured.*
Together with Naofumi, re-titled as Kamen Rider 1, they fight for humanity's freedom!
*The two Riders pose, ready to do battle.*
Chapter 20: Larval Monster
Up in the mountains, a teacher and student were hiking in search of new and undiscovered species. At one point they stopped as the young student checked his map. "Seems the path splits briefly before meeting back up again. We should each take a different path." The teacher nodded. "Alright." He grinned. "Just don't go hogging all the credit for finding a new species." The two of them laughed as they split up. As the teacher looked around his path, he saw something giant and furry. Curious, he walked over to examine it.
"Now this looks really rare," he said, "I've never see a caterpillar this big before." He started taking a few photos as he got closer. But as he realized he was running out of film, he got startled when the "caterpillar" turned out to be more humanoid than he realized, standing up on two legs. This was the monster Poison-Mothdar, another creation of Shocker. The teacher ran for his life, stopping only when his camera wound up dropping into a nearby stream. He wound up slipping and falling off the cliff, much to Poison-Mothdar's amusement.
Meanwhile, the racing club was taking a trip to the mountains themselves. "Ah…," Raphtalia said, her tail wagging, "So nice and peaceful out here." As the girls went to the river to wash up, they heard children singing. Malty took a closer listen. "Is that… Light of the Fireflies? But that's meant as a graduation song. Why are they singing it now?" The singing was coming from the nearby Motosugi Elementary School's Higashi Valley Branch. The girls noted that the children and teacher seemed oddly said for a graduation ceremony.
As the song ended, the female teacher stood up. "Well, I suppose this is farewell children. Take care now, and stay safe on your way home." The children all left with waves of farewell and various goodbyes. Rishia looked to the teacher. "Sensei, what's going on here?" "Oh," the teacher said, noticing the girls, "Did you come here from sightseeing at the waterfall?" "Actually," Eclair said, "We drove up here." The teacher nodded. "Well, in that case I should warn you to stay away from that waterfall."
"Did something happen there?," Malty asked. "People who go up there always go missing," a young boy said, "We're going to be leaving the village soon. All of us." "There's also been talk of a huge caterpillar monster stalking the waterfall," the teacher said, "Only a few who have seen it have lived to tell the tale." The girls looked at each other. "Where giant monsters and disappearances occur," Malty noted, "Shocker is no doubt involved. We should head back and let the boys know."
Malty and Rishia returned to the camp while Naofumi and Ren joined their girls as they went looking for clues. As they did, the young student from earlier ran into them. "Ah, excuse me," he said, "Have any of you seen a man in his fifties just up that way…" He pointed near where the group came from. "Wearing a white hunting cap?" "We haven't really seen anyone that way," Ren admitted, "If you need help looking, our base camp is down that way." The young man nodded. "Thank you."
Down below, Motoyasu was arguing with one of the fleeing villagers. "Listen, I don't know what fanciful tales you think you know about this creature," he said, "But we've dealt with these sorts of things before. Trust me, our friends are just fine." He noticed the young man from earlier heading down. "Excuse me," he said, "I ran into a group just up the waterfall and they said I could find help down here." He explained the situation. Tobei and Motoyasu looked at each other. "Looks like this one is all hands on deck," Tobei said. They and the two remaining girls headed back up, not noticing the suspicious man in a tuxedo and top hat watching them.
Said man soon looked in on the other group as they continued to climb up the waterfall. "Be careful," Naofumi said, "If there is a Shocker base here, they won't hesitate to attack." Raphtalia stopped and looked around. "The weather's turning. Not a good sign." Eclair screamed. "Caterpillar!" The others readied themselves, but blinked when it turned out to an ordinary caterpillar. "What the heck Eclair!?," Raphtalia called out, "You nearly gave me a heart attack. Eclair sighed. "Sorry. Caterpillars in general tend to freak me out."
"Excuse me," said a low voice. The group turned to see the tuxedo man. "Is there a problem here?" The group looked at each other, then back to the man with raised eyebrows. "Nothing really," Ren said. The man shrugged. "Ah yes, there was a Mister Tachibana waiting for you over in the hut just that way. He went there to use the phone to request a police search, since you were gone for so long." "Is that so…?," Naofumi said, "I don't suppose you could show us the way?" The man smiled, oblivious to Naofumi's suspicion. "Of course. This way."
Ren and Naofumi lagged behind for a bit to check on the others, not knowing that Tobei had split off from his group, only to get captured by Combatmen. The girls all wound up in the same hut as well, which was quickly locked from the outside. "Well that's just great," Raphtalia said, "How did we wind up in a Shocker trap that we knew was coming!?" "We had to be clever in this one," the tuxedo man said, "The lot of you have always been getting in Shocker's way. With you as captives, the Riders will surely come to try and save you."
He motioned to this grunts, and Tobei was brought in. "You don't have all of us," he warned, "There was one more." "Oh, he was left alone on purpose," the man clarified, "Once he realized you are all missing, he will seek out the Riders to let them know. But rest assured, you will all be going to hell together." Malty chuckled. "Actually, since we're fighting against an evil organization, I think you mean heaven." The man blinked, then gave a more genuine laugh. "I suppose you may have a point. But the idea is the same… You won't be long for this world."
Meanwhile, the two Riders managed to meet up with Motoyasu and the student, who were still searching for the older teacher Koizumi. "What happened to the girls?," Ren asked. "We wound up splitting up," Motoyasu said, "Tobei too." Naofumi spotted a camera and picked it up. "That's Koizumi's camera," the student realized. Motoyasu frowned, looking around the location. "Yoshioka, do you think Koizumi could have missed his footing on that cliff?" "Not unless something startled him," Yoshioka noted.
Naofumi stood up. "Ren, you and I will go check that area out. Motoyasu, go with Yoshioka and get some help." Motoyasu nodded. As the two Riders climbed the cliff, a Combatman spotted them and reported their appearance to the tuxedo man. "Good. Take them to the dungeon." "Seriously, who has a dungeon?," Malty asked as she and the others were lead off. Outside, the two Riders were confronted by Combatmen. "Shocker," Naofumi said, "Looks like our hunch was right."
He and Ren quickly attacked the Combatmen, making some room. "Henshin!" They gave a great leap into the air as their Typhoon's activated, transforming them into Kamen Riders 1 and 2. Leaping down to the bottom of the waterfall, they began battling the Combatmen in earnest. They then noticed the tuxedo man and leapt up to confront him. "So you're Shocker's newest commander," 1 noted. The man chuckled before revealing himself to be Poison-Mothdar.
Meanwhile, Tobei and the girls were locked in a cell. "We should be fine," Tobei said, "I left my pipe behind before I was captured. If the Riders pick it up, they'll be able to the powerful transmitter inside to locate us." Meanwhile, Yoshioka and Motoyasu tried finding help in the village, only to learn only the female teacher and one student were left. "That monster has everyone too afraid," Motoyasu noted, "If they knew there was someone able to do something about it, they wouldn't be so quick to leave."
The fight against Poison-Mothdar was in full swing as the two Riders attacked him, dodging his explosive strings. "Where did you take Tobei and the others?," 2 demanded. "There's no need for you to know," Poison-Mothdar insisted, "Your lives will be mine soon!" Despite his bragging, the constant assault from the two Riders forced him to escape into the waterfall. As the Riders gave chase, 1 found Tobei's pipe, as well as the transmitter. "Clever Tobei. 2! We can find their base with this!" "Got it!," 2 replied.
They followed the signal into a cave hidden in the waterfall, locating the Shocker entrance. A nearby camera alerted Poison-Mothdar to their presence. "Seems we have a visitor. Prepare to have the prisoners executed!" The Riders soon found themselves herded into a large cell, the thick doors locking behind them. "Not good," 2 said. Another door opened, showing their friends tied up to electrical towers. Poison-Mothdar entered. "Welcome, Riders. Now sit back and enjoy the show."
He signaled to a Combatman, who readied a console, causing the towers to start electrocuting Tobei and the girls. "This is what you get for getting others involved," Poison-Mothdar taunted, "Now surrender to us!" In response, 1 simply forced open the bars of the cell, then he and 2 fought past Poison-Mothdar and took down the Combatman. Poison-Mothdar tried to stop them from shutting down the console with his explosive strong, only it to destroy the console anyway when 2 dodged it, shutting down the electricity and letting 1 free the group.
"You should realize that we're not you Shocker," 1 said, "We will never abandon our friends, or the ideals we strive for!" He started to fight Poison-Mothdar while the others made their escape, dealing with a few Combatmen on the way. Nearby, Tobei and 2 found a munitions room. 2 opened one of the dynamite crates, and Tobei lit the fuse. Meanwhile, 1 was chasing Poison-Mothdar out of the cave. As they continued the fight, an explosion was heard, signaling the destruction of the hideout.
This distraction Poison-Mothdar as 1 leapt at him. "Rider Kick!" Poison-Mothdar was sent hurtling off the cliff and into the river, where he emerged as a cocoon. "I see…," 1 said, "Looks like we haven't seen the last of this monster." Later, with the village able to return to normal, the racing club headed off. Unfortunately, it seemed Professor Koizumi would never be found. Beyond that, there was the concern that Poison-Mothdar was clearly far from finished.
To be continued…
Yeah, you had to figure that a caterpillar monster that had the word "moth" in its name was never going to stay in its current form. We'll be seeing more of him next chapter. Read and review.