Chapter 23
Sento's head hurt. It was not an unusual state for him but it always concerned him. A single hit to the head killed over 100 brain cells. For him to still be feeling the effects could only be bad news for his brain. And without his gadgets, Sento wasn't quite sure where he'd be. They were reliable. Maybe they didn't always work but they rarely did anything completely unexpected and they were there like old friends when he needed them most.
Like his leg: which also hurt. Or his arm: which hurt even more. Why did he hurt so much? Had one of his experiments exploded? Had Banjo finally given up patience on waiting for his latest upgrade? Or had Misora realised he'd taken the last chocolate from the fridge again?
None of those scenarios seemed quite right.
Sento forced his eyes open, intent to gather further reference points for his quandry.
A lot of unfamiliar faces greeted him.
Sento jolted upright. Or tried to. The sheets around him were tucked in tightly and there were quite a few cords coming from places he couldn't quite see.
"Where am I?" he asked, trying to work his uninjured arm free of the crisp white sheets.
"Build?" one of the figures asked.
He stopped at the reference to his Rider name and took a closer look at one of the nurses. She looked familiar. He was sure he'd seen her before but where…
"Poppy Pipopapo?" he asked hesitantly.
She smiled, the expression strange without the bright pink hair and red lipstick he was used to.
"Why-" he started.
Poppy put a finger to her lips and winked at him.
He took the hint and by the time everyone had left, Sento had managed to recall everything.
"Where are the others?" Sento asked once only he and Poppy were left.
"They're ok," Poppy said, pulling the covers free and helping him to stand. "Takeru woke up a few hours ago and Emu's up and about already."
Sento moved gingerly as Poppy handed him his IV train.
"They told you about the other Rider?"
"We already knew. We've been working on identifying them."
"And?"
"And your friends can fill you in shortly. They've been waiting hours to see you."
Sento followed her, keen to argue, until he saw Misora, Gentoku, Kazumi, and Banjo.
They all saw him at the same time and the following moments were too much for him to register in his slightly woozy state. There was a lot of yelling, pats on the back and hair ruffling.
He was helped towards the tables and chairs of the waiting area. To his surprise, Takeru was already sitting nearby, also surrounded by friends. Sento gave him a wave as they passed and Takeru grinned at him.
Sento looked around.
"Where's Emu?" Sento asked Poppy as she slapped Banjo's hand for giving Sento an extra enthusiastic shove onto a waiting chair.
"He's with Parado."
"You found him?!" Sento asked.
Poppy nodded. "He's-"
"Parado's awake!" Someone called.
The reaction was immediate. Everyone was moving and Sento was hoisted upright by Banjo before he could even protest. He was dragged through the hallway and squeezed into the crowded hospital room that presumably held Parado.
"I'm so glad you're ok!" Sento heard Emu sobbing. "What happened to you? Where have you been? How were you hurt?"
The crowd shifted and Sento finally caught sight of the strange man he had tentatively befriended during the Enigma incident. The Bugster certainly looked worse for wear. He was as pale has he had been before collapsing after using the Ex-Aid bottle and there was a bold cut on his forehead as well as bandages wrapped around the wrists propped atop the covers. Parado sat up and grabbed Emu's wrist.
"She's coming for you," he said.
"What? Who?"
"The Unknown Rider. She was looking for you."
"It's ok. We escaped."
"She won't stop. She's crazy."
"Did she do this to you?"
"I'm fine. Her injection didn't even do anything other than make me a little dizzy."
"She injected you with something?!"
"I'll run some extra tests," Poppy interjected.
"No need," Parado said, shifting uncomfortably and pulling something from the pocket of his colourful pants.
He lifted the bottle and gave it to Emu.
"What is this?" Emu asked.
"A vial of whatever she put in me."
"I'll analyse it!" Poppy offered, snatching the bottle from Emu's grasp.
Sento was pulled aside to make way for Poppy as she ran from the room.
Someone's phone rang in the ensuing silence and Akari took the call.
"Hiiro? How are you guys going?" There was a short pause. "What?! Are you all ok?" Tension filled the room and everyone's attention shifted.
"How much?" she continued, expression dark. "Yeah. Her name is Amu Kimura. She worked on the Enigma project too."
Her expression lightened. "Really?" she made eye contact with Takeru and then the others. "I'll pass it on. What about the cure?"
She waited again and this time her gaze shifted to Parado. She covered the mouthpiece.
"When did she inject you?"
Parado shook his head. "I don't know. When I woke up? But whatever it was is gone. She said the test she ran came back clean."
Akari made eye contact with Emu this time and Sento watched as the Doctor's eyes widened. Sento had come to the same conclusion as the two of them. Parado was likely another test subject for the virus. His different biology would have negated the effects but the virus had been in his system. As he had experienced some symptoms, it was even likely that his body had produced anti bodies. The very same anti-bodies that could be used to create a cure for the Gamma World residents.
"I think we may have a solution," Akari said into the phone. "I'll call you back soon…yep. You too. Talk to you soon."
She hung up.
"They were attacked," she explained. "The Unknown Rider destroyed their research but no one was seriously hurt. They think combination attacks can take out the copies."
"How did they get to the Gamma World?" Takeru asked.
"My remote," Sento realised, checking his coat to confirm his suspicions. "I must have dropped it."
Akari nodded and turned to Parado. "We think you may have the key to the cure. If Poppy's tests come back positive, can we take some blood?"
Parado nodded.
As if summoned, Poppy came rushing back to the room, charts in hand.
"I think it's the virus from the Gamma World!" she exclaimed.
"I'll do the tests," Emu said.
"You should rest," Akari protested.
"I need to see this through," Emu said firmly.
"I'll stay with him," Poppy said.
Akari reneged and put her efforts toward ushering the rest of them out of the room. They waited out the door in a bundle of thoughtful silence.
"I want to go," Takeru said.
"You've got a concussion!' Akari argued.
"We need to go," Sento said.
"Idiot!" Banjo said, slapping him over the back of the head. "You can barely stand. We can handle it."
"Combination attacks are required," Sento said, rubbing the back of his head and fending off another attack simultaneously. "We do not know the limit of her copying ability. We need all the Riders we've got to play it safe."
"You guys are hurt. Hissatsu attacks will only do more damage."
"We'll take it easy," Takeru said quietly.
"She's got a portal remote," Sento said. "If we fail, it won't only be the Gamma World Residents we have to worry about."
"Fine. But only if you rest until we are ready to fight this Kimura-san."
"But how will we find her?" Kazumi asked.
"She will come back to make sure her experiment doesn't fail," Akari reasoned. "She's testing it because she's not sure it'll work. She will definitely check on the Gamma World to make sure it's working."
"I can set up an alert to notify us when she's on the Gamma World," Sento said.
"You can?" Banjo and Kazumi looked at him in surprise.
Sento smiled smugly. "Of course. I'm a genius."
Less than 20 hours passed before the alert came through.
"I've locked her remote's access. She's trapped there until the next portal," Sento said.
"We've just finished analysing the cure," Emu said.
"Everyone ready?" Takeru asked.
There was a nod of mutual agreement so Sento opened the portal and they all stepped through.