Round two with the moth man. This is gonna be good. 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 21: Metamorphosis
At the Osaka-Kobe College of Science, Yoshioka was speaking with the press about the recent incident. He went to get the camera for evidence, only to find it was now missing, along with the photos it took. "Not here. But I'm sure I left it here." "Yoshioka," came a familiar voice. Yoshioka turned around and was surprised to see Professor Koizumi, somehow alive and well. "Professor? You're alive?" "Yes, sorry to worry you," Koizumi said, "I wound up losing my way and was unable to contact you." He heard the commotion outside. "Let me handle this."
Tobei checked the papers later. "So Koizumi was found alive, but claims the giant caterpillar was made up by Yoshioka as a publicity stunt. It got Yoshioka expelled as a result." "Something's fishy," Eclair said, "We all saw that caterpillar." "Come to think of it," Naofumi said, "We never confirmed Koizumi's body. For him to appear out of the blue like that and claim it all a hoax…" "You think he's an impostor?," Tobei suggested. Naofumi nodded. "Ren, get the Cyclones. We're taking a trip to Osaka." "Got it," Ren said.
Meanwhile, Koizumi was speaking with Yoshioka, who was working on a chemical designed to accelerate the growth cycle of cocoons. After a successful demonstration, Koizumi invited the man into his secret lab. Speaking of cocoons, Naofumi and Ren nearly got run off the road by a very familiar cocoon dropping in right in front of them from the nearby hill. They stopped and went to investigate, and as they got close the cocoon stood up vertically. "I got a bad feeling about this," Ren said.
The cocoon hatched, revealing a newly reborn Poison-Mothdar, now resembling on actual moth. "I have returned Riders! This time, I'll your lives!" "Poison-Mothdar!," Naofumi called out. The Shocker cyborg chuckled before literally flying to a nearby cliff, where several Combatmen emerged. The two Riders leapt after the moth and battled the Combatmen. During the fight, Poison-Mothdar revealed a new ability to fire explosive shots from his fingers.
Fortunately, Raphtalia and Eclair drove up at that point. "Guys!," Raphtalia called out, "Over here!" The two Riders ran over and got the girls away as Poison-Mothdar fired at the vehicle. "This was just a test!," he called out, "We will meet again!" And with that, he flew off. "That was Poison-Mothdar!," Eclair realized. "Yeah, fully metamorphosed," Ren said, "And packing some new firepower. So why are you two here?" "I got a call from FBI headquarters," Eclair said, "Seems Shocker is up to something in Osaka. They also found the account of Professor Koizumi suspicious, especially in light of my own report." "Well," Naofumi said as he walked over to the Cyclones, "Luckily for us he didn't out all of our means of transport."
The group arrived at the university, but there was no sign of Yoshioka. On a nearby wall was a dagger with the emblem of Shocker on the hilt. 'Too late Kamen Riders,' came Poison-Mothdar's voice, 'Yoshioka is with me.' "So you were just trying to delay us," Eclair realized. 'Indeed,' Poison-Mothdar replied, 'This is the benefit of Shocker's limitless power!' "Limitless my ass!," Naofumi called out as he ripped the dagger out of the wall and crushed it.
Meanwhile, Koizumi was driving Yoshioka to the location of his lab. "So this is where you do all your research?," Yoshioka asked. Koizumi just smiled. Yoshioka was lead inside, then locked inside when Koizumi pushed him into the room. Koizumi peered into the window, then revealed himself to be Poison-Mothdar in disguise. "You walked right into my trap. Now, I'll explain what I want from you." He had Yoshioka brought to a lab with a container holding several medium-sized cocoons.
"I see you're surprised at the size of them," Poison-Mothdar said, "Each and every one of these is a cyborg crafted by Shocker. However, they require months to grow into full adulthood. Shocker wants them as soon as possible for a new attack." Yoshioka frowned. "So you need my growth formula…" "Exactly," Poison-Mothdar replied, "And before you think about refusing, I'd like to draw your attention to the viewing screen over there." Yoshioka gasped with he saw his daughter Miki on the screen. "Refuse us and she will be abducted," Poison-Mothdar warned, "And trust me when I say our agents are not trained to be gentle when doing so. However, I am willing to offer you a little time to think it over."
Little did Poison-Mothdar know, the racing club already suspected that Miki might be targeted. The girls were already in position, posing at waste paper traders. A car with a woman came out, and approached Miki. "Miki. Your father's been in an accident. I was asked to bring to him in the hospital." However, "Miki" turned around and was revealed to be Goro. "Sorry! Miki's not here right now!" He threw his ball at the woman, who was in fact a Combatman in disguise. "You damn brat! You tricked me!"
He tried to attack, only to get blindsided by Malty. "Your fault for being so predictable. Your boss shouldn't have broadcast that he had Yoshioka, or we never would have thought to keep an eye on his daughter." Rishia then grabbed the Combatman from behind and suplexed him. "Next time keep the taunting to a minimum!" The Combatman got up to try attacking, only to get kicked right between the legs by Goro, causing him to drop to the ground in pain. "At least we know everything still works down there," Malty noted.
The girls brought the Combatman to the hotel. Motoyasu cracked his knuckles. "Okay, buddy pal. From what we've experienced so far, you Combatmen are only marginally stronger than the average human. So tell us where your hideout is, or I start cracking ribs." But before he could say anything, the Combatman was blasted by Poison-Mothdar flying by the window. Up on the roof, Naofumi and Ren spotted him. "Hey!," Ren called out, "We're down here you overgrown butterfly!" Poison-Mothdar growled, making bombing runs as the Riders dodged his attacks.
"I think we have his attention," Naofumi said, "Activate Typhoons!" Ren nodded, and the two readied themselves. "Henshin!" They leapt into the air, their Typhoon belts transforming them into Kamen Riders 1 and 2. Together they kicked Poison-Mothdar to the ground and started battling him. Before long, Poison-Mothdar had enough and leapt up to a higher ledge. "This isn't over, Riders! We will have the girl!" And with that, he flew off.
Meanwhile Goro was keeping an eye on Miki. Miki didn't seem to like Goro, or boys in general according to her, thinking him too mean when she tried using a toy telescope to find her father. Meanwhile, a collection of children was getting there photo taken for a souvenir. The photographer happened to be Tobei in disguise, using the job to keep an eye on the city is case Shocker made another attempt at capturing Miki. It wasn't long before Motoyasu and Malty found him. "Didn't expect you to travel so far from the racing club," Motoyasu noted.
"I have an assistant keeping the place locked down while I'm away," Tobei noted. As they talked, Poison-Mothdar showed up out of nowhere. "Ha! Osaka belongs to Shocker, you fools! Those who trespass are to be eliminated!" He called for several Combatmen to attack. The trio fought them off, facing off against them at a nearby bridge, with several Combatmen winding up in the river. While they were busy, a few more Combatmen managed to grab Goro and Miki, who were walking by.
Before long, all five of them were tied up and brought to a nearby field in view of Osaka Castle. As Poison-Mothdar prepared to execute them, he got interrupted as Kamen Rider 2 rode in, scattering the Combatmen keeping guard. The lead Combatman threw his knife to attack, but 2 caught it and freed the captives. Another Combatman ran up. "Boss, Yoshioka has complete the growth formula for the cocoons." "Alright then," Poison-Mothdar said, "We'll withdraw."
He flew off the hideout and let the Combatmen inside, not noticing Motoyasu sneaking in while disguised. Poison-Mothdar observed the formula Yoshioka gave him. "Excellent. Now apply it." "No don't!," Motoyasu called out, "That'll cause terrible problems!" Naturally, this got him caught by the other agents, but luckily the two Riders had managed to follow Poison-Mothdar. Yoshioka poured the chemical into the batch of cocoons. But instead of the expected result, the cocoons started dissolving.
"What is the meaning of this!?," Poison-Mothdar demanded. "Did you really think I'd agree to your demands?," Yoshioka said, "This formula was designed to dissolve cocoons." Outside, 1 and 2 heard a knocking. "That must be Motoyasu," 2 said, "He must be in a dungeon." After finding the direction of the sound, 1 tapped a morse code signal, letting Motoyasu know they were on the way. Motoyasu backed away from the wall as the two Riders smashed their way inside.
They fought their way through some arriving Combatmen just as Poison-Mothdar was having Yoshioka transported to the dungeon. "You won't be saving yourself this time, Poison-Mothdar!," 1 announced. He knocked the Combatmen aside while 2 attacked Poison-Mothdar, Motoyasu getting Yoshioka away from the combat area. "We managed to get your daughter to safety," he said. "Thank goodness," Yoshioka replied, relief in his voice.
Poison-Mothdar hurried outside, where he could more easily maneuver, as the two Riders beat up his Combatmen. 2 eventually cornered Poison-Mothdar along the castle wall. "A bit of advice. Never say an area belongs to you until you've conquered the castle!" The two traded blows along the wall, Poison-Mothdar flying to get a better position with 2 leaping after him. Eventually, 2 was able to get above Poison-Mothdar and came down with a flying side kick. "Rider Kick!"
Poison-Mothdar was struck and wound up crash landing onto the nearby hideout, exploding on impact and taking the hideout with him. "And that's the end of Shocker's mass-production of cyborgs," 2 noted. 1 ran up. "Good job, 2. Now we really have seen the last of Poison-Mothdar." Later the racing club was preparing to leave for Tokyo, and it seemed Miki had actually gotten used to Goro.
Yoshioka laughed, glad to see his daughter in good spirits after everything. "I must thank you again for helping us." "Hey, don't sell yourself short," Ren said. Naofumi nodded. "You had the courage to refuse Shocker's demands, even pulled a little subterfuge right under their noses. If not for you, I doubt we could have won this battle." The group set off, though Naofumi and Ren insisted on driving the Cyclones instead of taking the plane. But while Shocker was beaten this time, everyone knew another attack was only just around the corner.
To be continued…
Pretty sneaky of Yoshioka, wasn't it? Makes you wonder if he suspected something from the very beginning. Either way, another day saved. Read and review.