Reviews:
KoutaMamba24: First I'd punch him...then follow it up with a kick to the nuts.
HackerEX: Yeah, we made sure to give this chapter the attention it deserves.
Magic Detective: Yep. And some much needed closure.
Shooting Star Dragon 3000: ...You need something to calm down with, dude? *passes glass of water*. And yeah, Faiz is coming.
Sakura Kudo: It's slowly killing him, like it was killing Otoya.
Furyuu: I can promise you this: Tsukuyomi will get her transformation much earlier than in the show.
ChaosSonic1: Trust me, Kivat the 1st will appear. I've not seen any Taisen movie, so I can only make an educated guess.
Cursed Rider: Oh, trust me; this whole chapter will be all sorts of cathartic.
Flame1hedgehog: Oh, congratulations of graduating. Yeah, we've got loopholes compared to plot-holes.
HAZZARD OVERFLOW: Well, that would be telling. But it will be answered later.
Zero Shadow-01: Thank you for all your support.
Here are some reviews answered by our own Greyking46:
Zero Shadow-01: Thanks for the support.
HAZZARD OVERFLOW: Yes, Oma Zi-O DOES have the power of every Rider... in the canon of the TV show.
KRNexus: Except Maoh, Demon King, isn't something you can go 'Oh, I will take the demon out of demon king' when Maoh is a word with a VERY precise meaning.
Flame1hedgehog: Congratulations on graduating! And yes it will.
RedRat8: Some random woman who wasn't in the show.
Cursed Rider: *scary, puppy killer grin appears*
... DAMN IT! We should have done a Kaixa Day refernce!
MKDemigodZ-Warrior: Just don't let your 'Eyes Glaze Over'!
Pyrovian: *Laughs*
Sakura Kudo: *laughs harder*
Shooting Star Dragon 3000: Hope you have $300, because Kivat the 1st is Premium Bandai!
merendinoemiliano: Yeah, that is our weakest aspect of writing. Unfortunately, with the Kivat 2nd/3rd thing implies that it IS a thing and so we ran with it.
KoutaMamba24: Dude... stop. Every week you have been asking us questions about Zero One. This is NOT a Zero One story, your questions have nothing to do WITH the story! I was fine with the first few, but if all you want to do is ask us questions about the show AFTER what this story is based on then can you stop? If they where questions about Rider in general, I would not have minded. But... JUST Zero One questions every chapter for a month or so? Please stop.
QuestionFan: Once again, I left this till the end. Because it is big. And this is going to be the last one I am responding to. If you review this chapter with another counter argument review, I will not be responding to and will be ignoring it. As I went through these same questions and arguments a few dozen times already, about MY OPINION, about the show and just being met with the response of "No, you are wrong so stop having this opinion" and that is not fun!
And don't worry, to end this response I will give you an example of how it comes across to me that you are doing "No, you are wrong" responses, I don't think you intend them to come off that way because you are not being rude but that is how you are coming across.
Also one thing I am confused by. You seem to really hate our story so I am confused why you keep checking our reviews and reviewing every chapter. It is a bit weird. Sorry for the tangents. So, I will be responding to your review from the bottom up since it is easier.
The difference between Shinnouske and Gentaro with Show!Sougo is that Show!Sougo has this sense of self-entitlement which is never called out on it. Shinnouske can be lazy, but it is a character flaw he is called out on. Gentaro is not lazy, he is just bad at school. But Show!Sougo refuses to do school work or go to higher education, when he wants to be a King. When a king would need to know about economy and social structure and so much more but he shows his self-entitlement by just expecting kinghood to fall into his lap and everything will be perfect
The characterisation between fic!Hiryu and show!Sougo was not intentional. It just came out like that. The plan was for him to be the simple opposite of fic!Sougo with the dream of being king. If there are parallels that potentially proves my point.
You took my Shedinja parallel too literally.
With your thing about how show!Sougo should have looked up to more polarizing historically figures rather than JUST Nobunaga... I agree. If they did show that interest it would have strengthened show!Sougo's character and helped flesh him out subtly . The PROBLEM is the only one they mentioned is Nobunaga, the one who basically invented the term Demon King/Demon Lord, AKA Maoh.
The reason Nobunaga is the problem, as well as the fact the "I am going to become the nicest, kindest demon king" does not mean what you think it means, is what the word Maoh ACTUALLY means. It isn't some generic word/term for evil, it is not some fancy made up term from pop cultutre, it is an ACTUAL WORD WITH A REAL DEFINITION. The term maoh, which can translate to demon king or demon lord, is a combination of the word Oh, meaning King, and the word mazoku, meaning a Maoh is the king of mazoku.
Mazoku are devils and demons of pure evil, who do the worst things imaginable. A maoh is the king of mazoku meaning they are stronger and worse than their subjects. Nobunaga called himself a maoh in his famous letter as a way to strike fear, the word basically being used and literally translated into meaning "I am basically the devil and will slaughter you as the king"
So Show!Sougo's description of calling himself the "Nicest, Kindest Demon King" LITERALLY means he is saying he will be the "Nicest, Kindest, King of Evil who will kill and slaughter". A maoh is not a good person, saying you will be A maoh basically means you are saying you want to slaughter people and be a tyrant to force them under your rule
Yes there has been plays on this concept in other shows, the best example I can think of is "A Devil Is A Part Timer" where that shows Demon King was more honourable and arguably a better person than the so called 'heroes' most of the time, but he gets his POWER from peoples MISERY which is why he is evil, and they are showing him as a good person AFTER he became the vile king, they are doing a redemption arc bit not saying he was a good person all along.
The episode 15 bit you mentioned is not an explanation for why he WANTS to be King. That was Swartz telling him he WOULD become king. That is not a character motivation. And even if it was, it is a very petty and stupid one. And yes you are arguing with your head cannon as previously shown in the show, stated by me and backed up by the show before this, Sougo didn't care about Oma Zi-O being such a terrible person and killing/hurting people. It was the directors faulty here, as they never showed Sougo having doubt about his dream or having a visible realisation of what this all meant.
As for Sougo with the fight scenario. He lost those fights but he DID fight. He was not loosing THAT bad to Ex-Aid, Another Ghost and Decade-Hibiki only won their fight when Another Ghost suddenly stole Sougo's soul and Decade and Zi-O Decade Armour where on par with each other. Oma Zi-O was the fight person who he could not even properly hurt, he was the first person who just BEAT him. The first person he saw as someone actually stronger.
So, now to talk about your "No, you are wrong" thing comes across. Here is a part of my response last chapter:
"And then what he says when he sees FOOTAGE of Oma Zi-O, that literally being "Awesome, I'm going to be king! It's a shame about those other guys but I get to be king!" and what he says before he transforms being something that literally means "I am going to be the kindest, nicest mass murdering tyrant King ever!""
And this is how you responded:
"Your interpretation of Sougo's "kind demon king" speech as Sougo claiming that he will be the "nicest mass murdering tyrant" also holds some problems considering in that episode, Sougo claims that he will never do the same atrocities Oma Zi-O did, and stated that he wanted to be a kind demon king, which Oma Zi-O also proclaimed himself to be."
I gave MY OPINION and how I saw that scene, what my thoughts and readings where, and you responded with "Your interpretation (...) has problems". When I pointed out WHY I thought that (being that Sougo said "Sucks about people dying, but I get to be king") which is why I dislike him and how that, to me, colours what he says and does, on top of the MEANING of Maoh, you literally went "Yes but I think your opinion is wrong because I do not see it that way"
My 'rants' against people are just me stating my opinion and explaining it to them and I keep getting dragged into arguments to defend myself when I did not want to debate my opinions at all, and was just answering peoples questions. Which, in the past, lead to some morons giving me death threats over PM as I have mentioned in a previous reply, hence why I stopped responding to these sort of reviews. And why I shall not be responding to any more of these sort of reviews from you. I like to respond to reviews for fun, I like to give my opinions when asked, but when I am badgered by several people demanding I defend said opinions in a form I do not want to debate in, I do not want to respond.
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
Kamen Rider Zi-O Revised
Does a New Beginning JustiFaiz Past Sins?
Co-Writer GreyKing46
We do not own these characters. All rights belong to Shotaro Ishinomori, Ishimori Productions and Toei Company
It was a week since the events with Another Kiva and it felt even longer for Sougo. Sometimes at night, he would wake up in a cold sweat. Feeling his throat getting strangled, the crack of his ribs rending from pain, the abyss of Oma Zi-O's burning red visor scorching into his eyes, seeing the horrid visage of the monster from 2068.
Luckily, Tsuki had been there
She had become his rock in this...but the haunting sight of Oma Zi-O was burned into his mind. Whether that was good or not was up for debate, after all; what kind of King gets so bent out of shape by a small scratch?
"Morning, Sougo." Geiz spoke as he was eating breakfast
"Hey."
"I take it you had another nightmare?" He asked, almost abrasively, but it was mostly because this was old hat to him.
Sougo simply nodded as he sat down. "I don't know how you two continued. I mean, I was only there for. An hour? And-"
"Sougo, stop. Tsuki and I lived there. We had to be hardened, I know it was tough, but you're home now." Geiz answered
"But I... Could only scratch him. I nearly died and my last try... I only managed to scratch him..." Sougo mumbled
...
"I'm. I'm sorry, but did you just say 'I only managed to scratch him'?" Tsuki asked as Geiz had dropped his spoon.
Sougo just nodded, keeping quiet about it but that confession made both Tsuki's and Geiz's jaws drop.
"My strongest attack... It only scratched him. He just brushed.. He just brushed off everything else I did. I was nothing to him."
"Sougo. In all the time Oma Zi-O's been around, he's never been hurt." Geiz stressed. "You hurt him!"
"It's like any attack just... Didn't exist to him! They didn't just bounce off, it's like they just faded into nothing! But you hurt him! That's amazing!" Tsuki agreed
"It is?" Sougo asked
"It is." She nodded, holding his hands. "Sougo, this means we can make a difference."
"Oh..." he blinked in shock, his brain stopping.
"You're not going brain dead on us yet; are you?" Geiz joked.
"N-No." Sougo stammered in response. "Of course not. I'm fine."
"Good." Tsuki answered, squeezing his hand gently in relief.
Sougo smiled back, squeezing it back
*elsewhere*
In a secluded part of town, a woman was carrying a bag with flowers and cleaning utensils, to go and visit a graveyard.
She soon arrived at a small grave, holding back her tears.
As she knelt down, she began to brush off the mildew and creeping plants, replacing the withered flowers and incense. She sprayed the gravestone with a cleaning solution as the black stone shone with the engraved name 'Satoshi Yamada'. Something so small...Someone so young.
She knelt down and began to pray.
She hoped that her son was at peace, hoping that he would hear this prayer.
"Kami, please. Look after my son." She whispered gently.
"Mama?" A faint voice asked, catching the woman off guard and froze her in place. "Why're you crying?"
"... What?"
The woman turned around and saw a young boy, maybe six years old and wearing a pair of shorts, a blue shirt and small strap shoes. "T-Toshi?" He whispered in shock, seeing her son before her...Was she hallucinating? Going mad?
Just then a series of people stepped out from behind trees, joining the boy.
"Wh-What's going on? Toshi, come here." The woman panicked, wanting to protect her son.
"I'm fine mama." 'Toshi' said happily "These are my friends! They brought me back!"
"'Your friends'? But, Toshi. How?" The woman asked, holding her son's arms gently to make sure he was real.
Suddenly all the people gamed the same... Terrifying grins. The sort of grin they could kill a puppy.
Meanwhile, a man walked around from a tree, using a wet wipe to scrub his fingers.
"Who's this Toshi? Another friend of yours?" The man asked as he emerged.
"I am Masato Kusaka. And I am taking my place as king!" he smirked as he pulled out a RideWatch.
"K-King?" Toshi's mother asked in worry, hugging Toshi in fear. "Toshi, we have to run." She panicked, not wanting her son to be hurt again but he didn't even budge.
"T-Toshi?" She whispered in worry, seeing her son not moving or leaving with her.
"Oh, what's the matter? Won't you bow?" Masato asked as he pressed the button.
FAIZ!
*the next day*
Sougo, Tsuki, Geiz and Tsukasa were at the Kougami Foundation, in front of the big man himself... Well, in his office. For some reason, despite being called to meet him, he had not arrived yet.
"Why are you here?" Geiz huffed.
"I am your teacher and senior Rider. Kougami expects me to look after you, on some level. And since he is paying me extra, since I need to skip classes now and again for Rider business, I'm not saying no." Tsukasa said simply.
"I wonder what this is all about." Sougo commented softly... Before familiar music began to play.
"Happy birthday to you~, Happy birthday to you~" the jolly cake boss sang as he entered the room while pushing a trolly. On top was a large cake... And on a lower shelf where three new RideGadgets "Happy birthday, new Ride Gadget crew!~ Happy birthday to you!"
"What the-?" Sougo blinked in shock as he saw the RideGadgets and the cake.
"Is-is this for us?" Tsuki asked.
"Of course. Looks like one of you is excited for it." Mr Kougami smiled as he pointed at Geiz who eyed up the cake.
"Don't know what you're talking about." he coughed.
"Well, our first piece is the Spider WatchDroid, made with the assistance of Phillip!" Koguami cheered as he picked up a black and yellow RideWatch with a normal wristwatch strap. He attached it to his left wrist, turning the RideWatch faceplate until the arrow was pointing upwards
Track Mode
"Now point, and press the button." Kougami explained as he demonstrated, shooting a tiny metal disk onto one of the walls of his office "It's a simple tracker but it works for several cities worth of distance. Just..." He turned the dial now so it was pointing right, towards his fist.
Search Mode
"And then..." he added, pressing the button.
Foe
He then showed the watch, which now had a map with two blinking dots "The yellow dot is you, the red is your enemy. Press the button again and..."
Friend
"You can find each other." Kougami smiled "Next, you turn it like this and..." he now tilted the dial so it was pointing to the left, at his arm
Capture Mode
He then pointed it at a cabinet and pressed a button, shooting an energy Web at it and capturing it.
"Whoa! Okay, that-that's amazing." Sougo double-took in shock.
"This'll come in handy." Tsuki admitted.
"So what're these other RideGadgets? Who made them?" Tsuki asked as she looked at them.
"We made them, my dear. With help from other riders and any organisation assisting them." Kougami explained cheerfully as he twisted the dial downwards on the SpiderWatch.
Live Mode
And the machine suddenly jumped off his arm, the watch strap splitting into eight spider legs while a small head and abdomen section extending out.
"Oh, now that's adorably creepy." Sougo admitted as the SpiderWatch leapt into Sougo's hands.
"Hi buddy." he smiled and patted its head.
"Next is made with the help of the Fourze crew. The Burger WatchDroid." Kougami smiled, holding up a... Burger.
"Okay. And what's this guy do?" Geiz asked, still eyeing up the cake.
"We're going to have to make an effort not to eat this one." Tsuki joked.
It was a brown RideWatch with beige dials on both the top and the bottom, giving it a crude burger like look. However, the dials were slightly out of alignment. Kougami twisted the top dial slightly, aligning them... And of popped open.
The dials swung to the side and down, forming generic tier wheels. A head popped up out top and a pair of small 'arms' extended.
"This is what it does." Kougami said, pressing the button on top.
Camera, On
Suddenly the robot's eyes light up, showing a projection of the scene where Kougami brought it into the room.
"A spy device? Clever." Tsukasa commented.
"Was this designed by the Fourze group, cause...this is just cute." Tsuki asked as she looked at it.
"Yes it was." Kougami nodded.
"So we've got a spider and a burger. What's this last one?" Geiz asked
"This." Kougami smiled as he pulled out a blue watch with an orange button and dial. When he pressed the button it called.
Dragon!
The small item suddenly 'jumped' out of his hand. It twisted itself so the dial was on its back, a pair of wings folding out from its main body before some small legs extended from under it and a tiny dragon head extended out. The small robot gave a familiar, musically tuned roar, before it flew around the three.
"The Dragon WatchDroid... Made by Sento, right?" Sougo smiled
"Exactly." he nodded proudly "Made especially for Ms Tsukuyomi here."
"What? For me?" Tsuki asked as she looked at it and then landed gently in her hands.
"Exactly! It's designed to attach to your FaizPhoneX, giving you a laser sight and an enhancement to your shots! It even has several modes, selected by turning the dial! Fire, ice, elec and steam! SPLENDED! Is it not?" Kougami explained happily
"Yeah, it certainly is." Tsuki nodded, patting the Dragon WatchDroid on its head.
"Lucky." Sougo pouted playfully, while Geiz eyes the cake.
"Now! Let us eat and celebrate!"
"I call dibs!" Geiz immediately spoke up, holding a plate and spoon ready for consuming, making Sougo and Tsuki laugh.
"And for you, Sougo-Kun!" Kougami smiled as he held out an envelope.
"What's this?" Sougo asked as he opened it up and his eyes widened.
One hundred and sixty million yen?!
"Sixteen Another Rider's defeated! I believe this is the correct payment?" Kougami smiled
"I-I juh- I. Ah!" Sougo stammered before-
Thump!
He fainted. This amount of money was too much for his brain to comprehend.
"Sougo!" Tsuki yelled in shock while Tsukasa laughed.
Suddenly the good nature was broken as the TakaWatchDroid rushed in.
Warning! Warning! Another Rider! The droid proclaimed.
"Well. Looks like you three need to get to work." Tsukasa yawned.
"And what're you going to do? Sit here and eat cake?" Geiz asked.
"You said it not me." Tsukasa waved off, waking to a chair.
"Geiz, let's go." Tsuki urged
*time skip*
The two Riders drove off, following the Taka WatchDroid. "I wonder which Another Rider it is this time?" Geiz wondered.
Soon the group caught up to the city, where people were running away from monsters. Beings all made of marble looking armour.
"What the heck are those?" Geiz wondered in shock.
"I don't know, but they're attacking people." Sougo answered, getting his RideWatch out.
ZI-O!
OOO!
"Right behind you." Geiz responded.
GEIZ!
GHOST!
"Henshin!"
The two span their Ziku Drivers and transformed into their states.
RIDER TIME! KAMEN RI~DER~! ZI-O/GEIZ!
ARMOUR TIME!
TAKA! TORA! BATTA! OOO!
KAIGAN! GHOST!
Zi-O: OOO Armour and Geiz: Ghost Armour.
"Tsuki, help get everyone away." Geiz instructed.
"Got it." She nodded. "Come on, Dragon." She spoke to her new pet RideGear.
The dragon gave a small roar, the two rushing off.
"Let's go, Sougo." Geiz followed up.
"Right with you." Sougo answered and ran with him.
The marble monsters were attacking people and buildings, almost indiscriminately.
The two rushed forward and slashed, hitting the strange monsters and sending them back.
"These things are tough." Sougo commented as he slashed at a strange marble creature, who tried to ram him back.
"But not that strong." Geiz added, kicking them away.
"Are we sure these are monsters?" Sougo asked in concern.
"They're breaking stuff!" He answered.
"Yeah... But..." Sougo mumbled.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
"Oh, this is precious." A snarky voice remarked, clapping their hands.
"Huh?" they blinked.
"You two. Trying to fight back like this." The figure came out, wearing a brown jacket and black trousers, wavy brown hair and a demonic smile.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Masato Kusaka. That's who. The one who'll rule as 'King'." The man introduced himself.
"Oh no...Not another one." Geiz groaned as the man began to clean his fingers.
"Why? Is that so wrong to be a King?" Masato smirked. "After all. I've got my means right here." And pulled out a RideWatch.
FAIZ!
"Henshin." He smirked, an evil and insane smirk, as he held the watch high into the air before he plunged it into his chest. Black and purple lines of light crisscrossed over his body, brightening like a dark star. And then in an 'explosion' of light, it faded, revealing the Another Rider
This Another Rider was probably the veiniest of the Another Riders to date, pulsing red veins, silvery grey boots and arm-guards, clawed black hands, a skeletal rib-cage with red veins defining it and a rib-like belt with a dark blue buckle. And finally his head, the helmet was warped and veined, piercing yellow eyes, piranha-like teeth and jagged red antennae with a green jewel in the centre between his eyes.
"I see it, Zi-O." Geiz commented as they saw it before he rushed in once more.
THUD!
CLANG!
"Huh?" Geiz gasped as his fists were caught by Another Faiz.
"Heh." he smirked and punched him.
Geiz was flung back, seeing how strong this Another Rider was. "Argh! Zi-O. He's strong."
"Are you okay?" Sougo asked as he caught him.
"I just got hit. What do you think?" Geiz grunted as he got up.
"Awe~ isn't that precious?" Another Faiz quipped, glaring at them. "Well, I guess I should keep going. Get them." He ordered his minions and ran forwards.
Sougo frowned, rolling his arms as he readied his claws.
The marble monsters rushed in and attacked Sougo and Geiz, overwhelming them with their numbers.
"Oh no!" Tsuki gasped.
The small Dragon WatchRoid roared as it wanted to go in and fight, but also to protect Tsuki.
"I know, but what can we do?" She asked sadly.
It responded by suddenly flying into her pocket.
"What're you-?" She asked before he pulled out her FaizPhoneX. It dropped the phone into her hand, where it fell into gun mode, before the dragon attached on top of it. "Oh, so that's what." Tsuki realised. "Okay, let's do this!" She spoke, grabbing the FaizBlaster and began to shoot at the marble creatures...with a LOT more 'oomph' than before!
She flinched as her feet were pushed back lightly, two large energy bolts shooting through the air like missiles.
BOOM!
"Whoa! That's amazing." She exclaimed as she felt her hands shake from the recoil as she had blown up three of the monsters.
The monsters froze as they saw Tsuki having shot out and destroyed three of their comrades, stunned to see how powerful that weapon was.
"What if I do this?" she smiled, pressing the '5 button' a few times.
EXCEED CHARGE!
The FaizPhoneX began to charge up, sparking at the nozzle of the gun as she aimed it at the monsters.
BOOM!
"Ahhhh!" Tsukuyomi yelled as she was sent flying back.
And crashed into the floor, almost falling into a bin from the recoil.
"Tsuki!" Sougo called out in worry, before the explosion got the large majority of monsters caught his attention.
"Let's... Get... out of here." Geiz panted.
"No. We're not done playing yet." Another Faiz glared, his yellow eyes shining momentarily.
Sougo frowned, pulling out the JikanGlade.
FINISH TIME! FOURZE!
Holding the gun he opened fire, gripping the gun.
The bright light and explosion gave the two time to escape, getting Tsuki and get the heck out of there.
They raced off, hurrying out of there.
Another Faiz hissed as he threw the smoke away "Darn it!" he roared in anger.
"I've got Tsuki!" Sougo spoke.
"We'll head back to Kougami Foundation. I've never heard of this guy!" Geiz followed up as they rode on their RideStrikers.
"Go ahead run. I'll still reign as King." Another Faiz growled as he stood by and watched the Riders leave.
*Time Skip*
"I'm sorry about the recoil, I didn't expect it to be this powerful." Mr Kougami apologised.
"I'm just glad we did that training ith Hibiki, it could've been a lot worse." Tsuki admitted
"So what's this 'Faiz' guy? Do you know?" Geiz asked
"... Here." Tsukasa frowned and held out a card "Go to this address for your answers."
Tsuki sighed as she took her shoe off, seeing the small heel having almost completely snapped off
"Guess this isn't going to be good." Sougo mumbled as all this was going to get crazy.
"Yes." Tsuki nodded, wiggling her broken heel slightly
"I'll get you a new pair." Sougo offered kindly.
"Thank you, Sougo." She answered.
"Can you flirt later, please?" Geiz asked
"Leave them be." Tsukasa commented "As you will learn; when you're in love that stuff is just... Natural. Small lines showing your feelings and support. You'll grow up one day, sport. Now, go to that address. They will be able to tell you about Faiz."
Geiz sighed and nodded, still not liking that Tsukasa was still this bossy jerk...but he was a jerk that was right.
"Let's go." Tsuki spoke as she 'hobbled' with the others.
"I've got you." Sougo smiled and picked her up.
"Thank you." She blushed as he carried her out.
"Any time." he smiled.
The three got to their respective bikes and drove off.
Racing through the town... Until they arrived at a small laundry-mat
"...Is he serious? A Public Laundry Wash?" Geiz asked
"At this point, we should go with the flow." Tsuki responded as she slipped off her other shoe, just carrying them as they walked into the store.
Ring, ring.
"Hello? Anyone here?" Sougo asked as they entered
"Be right with you." A voice responded
"This place is nice." Geiz commented
"Thank you. We try and keep it as clean as possible." The voice responded and soon walled out. "So, what can I help you with?"
"Hey, yeah, can you tell us anything about Kamen Rider Faiz?" Sougo asked, seeing the woman who emerged and he quickly took note of her name badge reading 'Mari'
"F-Faiz?" Mari stammered as she heard that name. "How do you know that name?"
Sougo and Geiz shared a look before they showed off their belts and ride watches.
"I see." The woman spoke and sat down. "You're the newest ones."
Mari was a brown-haired woman who was wearing a blue jacket and white shirt, black stockings and a thigh-length skirt.
"No surprise you've heard of us. Probably from one the veteran Riders; right?" Geiz asked
"That's right, after what's been going on, it's kind of hard not to have heard of you and the 'King of Space and Time'." Mari pointed to Geiz and then Sougo. "Follow me."
The three looked at her and followed, going into the back room.
Mark walked towards a cabinet, opening it and a suitcase that was inside. She looked through it for a bit, before she placed a large bulky belt onto the table "This is Faiz."
"That's just the belt." Sougo commented
"Yes. And it's also Faiz." Mari stated as she sat down, and she instantly looked so many more years older.
"Did this belong to someone close to you?" Tsuki asked.
"Yes." she said sadly "... Takumi... Inu..."
"'Takumi-'. Was he the Kamen Rider?" Geiz asked
"He was an amazing man."
"But what happened?" Sougo asked.
"He died." She frowned as she held the Faiz Belt.
"What?" Sougo asked.
"He died... Back in 2004." Mari whispered.
"Impossible!" Geiz gasped "We have records of Faiz being active as long as every other Rider!"
"Faiz is a difficult Rider to accurately describe, but. I don't suppose you've ever heard of something called 'Orphanocs'." Mari responded.
"No, we haven't. What are they? What do they look like?" Sougo asked.
"They are the dead, still alive." Mari answered. "White statue-like creatures that seemed like the next step in human evolution. When you died, you had a slim chance of becoming an Orphanoc as your body rapidly... 'evolves'. And like people, there were good and bad Orphanoc's. Some good one's started a tech company called Smart Brain... Which got taken over by the bad ones. Only Orphanocs can use the Faiz belts... Takumi was one of the good ones."
"Wait, 'statue-like'? Like the ones we're fighting now?" Geiz whispered to Tsuki.
"Most likely." She nodded
"I'm sorry; 'was' one of the good ones?" Sougo asked sadly
"Yes. While they seemed like the next step... It was only an extension of life. The more you live... The more you use this power... The sooner you die again. Today, there is only one Orphanoc left alive."
"Who is it?" Sougo asked gently, trying not to be abrasive or rude.
"It is our friend, the snake Orphnoch. His name is Naoya Kaido."
"And I'm guessing he won't help." Sougo frowned, knowing that he wouldn't help or threaten the time he had left.
"Oh he will, he's just out delivering people their clothing."
"Oh. Really? That's great." Geiz responded
"Is there any way to fight these Orphanocs?" Tsuki asked
"Hit them really really har... Wait. Fight these Orphanoch's? What are you talking about?" she frowned
"Someone calling himself the 'King' has appeared and summoned Orphanocs. We don't know his name, but the guy had...a really freaky smile." Sougo explained
"He's SUMMONED Orphanochs?!"
The three jerked back by her response, shocking them, but responded accordingly. "Yeah. That's right." Sougo nodded. "Who is he?"
"He said he's called Masato Kusaka." Geiz added
...
Mari fell from her chair, looking up in raw horror as she shook "No... No... It's impossible!"
"Why? Who is this guy?" Sougo asked as he tried to help her up.
She slapped his hand away as she reeled in reflex fear, this person was someone so terrifying to Mari. "He-he-he can't be back! He can't be back!" Mari screamed in pure terror "He died! He's dead!"
"He's back though. I'm sorry." Geiz apologised "Who is he?"
"He's. A monster." Mari stated simply. "A delusional creature who sees himself a master."
She gripped her heart, shaking "He was... Obsessed with me. He manipulated other people for his own amusement and to get them out of his way, so he could get what he wanted."
Tsuki frowned and knelt down to her level. "I'll be here to look after you. I promise."
"Because you did so well last time." a voice chuckled from behind them
The four froze as they heard that, immediately turning around and readied their weapons and drivers.
"Kusaka..." Mari whispered in horror, it was true. He was there... Exactly as she remembered him, he hadn't aged a day.
"Oh, Mari. Look at you. You've gotten...older." Masato sighed as he looked at her. "Beautiful."
"Stay away from her!" Tsuki glared as she readied her blaster.
"Oh? With that pea-shooter? You can't even hurt me with that!" Masato responded
"Henshin!"
"Alright then, let's go." Masato smirked evilly and activated the Another Faiz RideWatch in himself and transformed into his perverse form of the true Kamen Rider he was based on.
He stretched and roared, smirking as he glared at them.
"Tsuki, Mari, run!" Sougo instructed
"Come on." Tsuki helped her up.
"Get over here!" Masato glared and ran at them, only to be blocked by Sougo and Geiz in their transformed states. "Get them!" He ordered
The Orphanocs appeared and began to surround them, barring the entrance while Tsuki and Mari were getting enclosed in.
Specifically three main ones.
Mari saw the three Orphanocs and was stunned. With Masato back...they were back too.
The one on the left was a womanly figure Orphanoc with a beak-motif mask and feathers under her arms.
On the right was a knightly, horse-motif and heavy armoured Orphanoc with heavy plating.
And finally in the centre leading the three, a wolf-shaped Orphanoc with spikes on his shoulder and mask.
"Y-Yuka? Kiba? Takumi?" Mari asked in awe and shock
"Wait... Takumi? As in Faiz?" Sougo gasped
"Oh yeah. Inu. He was so grateful for me bringing him back, he's working for me. Inu, prove your loyalty." Masato ordered menacingly.
The wolf gave a snarl, walking forwards like a mindless puppet.
"Takumi. Please, wait. It's me. It's Mari." Mari panicked as she saw her friend, only to be met with snarls and glares.
"Tsuki, run!" Geiz and Sougo called out as they both charged into battle
*in the future*
Woz was in the library once again, trying to find the Book of Oma Day. He felt terrible, trying to rectify what was wrong.
His hands were shaking, remembering Sougo's battle with Oma Zi-O
"My Overlord, stop! If you kill yourself, you won't exist!"
"I AM OMA ZI-O! THE KING OF TIME! I SAY WHAT HAPPENS OR NOT!"
The sight of Oma Zi-O just pummelling Sougo, just playing with him for hours. How little he cared for his previous self's life.
It... Confused and scared him.
How little regard he had for life other than his own, how he reacted from that small scratch on his belt. Woz was terrified. "Who... is Oma Zi-O?"
He stood up and began to walk away, going to get some air and away from the library...he felt wrong, just sitting there.
He held his head, frowning softly.
"What should I do?" He whispered to himself, only the echoes on the wind and the castle were his response.
He reached into his pocket and felt something. His MirideWatch. He pulled it out and looked at it, his gift from his Overlord...and a promise to protect him. What could he do; but fight.
But that was part of the problem...Who was his Overlord?
Was it Oma Zi-O; the King who he had served since exposing the Resistance in this time period.
Or Sougo? The young King in training who treated him as...as a person.
Woz fell to his knees, clutching his book and RideWatch in his arms. Who did his allegiance belong to?
*back in the past*
"ARGH!" Both Geiz and Sougo were fighting as best as they could, Sougo wearing the Kiva Armour and Geiz with the Wizard Armour fighting against the Orphanocs and against Masato
They were thrown down the streets, crashing hard and rolling away.
"This guy...Damn it." Geiz slammed his hands into the ground in annoyance and pain.
"We need to get the Orphanocs away from him." Sougo tried to get back up
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
"Get away from us!" Tsuki panted as she kept firing at the Orphanocs, trying to protect Mari alongside another man, who had a bulky black and white belt strapped to his waist.
"Takumi, c'mon. It's us. Your friends!" The man spoke. "You to Kiba, Yuka! You're not going to let HIM control you, are you?!"
The three growled, trying to speak...but it was just guttural roars. Though Takumi could only get a single word. "C-cuh-Can't."
"Henshin." The man, Kaido, spoke into his gun before he attached it to his hip
Stand by
Complete
The man began to transform into a fully black-suited Kamen Rider with silver markings going over his body, covering his feet, to his hands, silver and black pointed with 'VE' shaped lines, piercing yellow eyes with silver antennae on his black helmet.
"Takumi, keep fighting!" Mari called out
She walked forward, ignoring the situation as the other riders all rushed forwards
The two other Orphanocs roared and almost bore their 'fangs and claws' at her but they held them off.
"Damn it all; why don't you run?" Sougo grunted, trying to help.
"They won't. They follow me. Inu, take Mari away." Masato ordered
"Takumi." Mari said passionately, reaching up for his face "... Don't do this... Not because of him. I... I..." suddenly the woman jumped forwards and hugged him tightly, hugging the wolf creature tightly. It froze just as quickly, looking like a statue "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. For everything!"
Takumi froze, his arms raising up slowly almost robotically...and gripped Mari around her chest in a hug. Masato smirked as he saw this, seeing Takumi doing as he was told...but he wasn't running with her. How? This was impossible. "M-Ma. Ri." Takumi muttered as he held her.
"I'm sorry for always talking down to you! Insulting you! Making fun of you for not being able to handle hot food! For taking you for granted! You are my hero Takumi! And you didn't deserve it! You are the greatest, most human guy I know! Don't let a monster use you like a puppet!"
"Didn't you hear me, Inui? I said 'take her'!" Masato ordered, demanding at this point.
"Ma. Ri." Takumi began to get through, not as the Wolf Orphanoc, but as himself. "You. So. Rry."
"I am." Mari cried as she looked up at him.
"What is that?" Sougo asked suddenly. The new riders followed his line of sight... And saw the Wolf Orphanoch's shadow was replaced with the image of a naked man, who was copying the wolf's movements.
"Ah! I did not want to see that!" Geiz yelled.
"Me neither!" Tsuki yelled.
"Why?!" Sougo agreed.
"Kids." Kaido rolled his eyes, using the Delta Gear's gun to blast at the Orphanoch's around him.
"Kiba! Bitch! Get them!" Kusaka ordered, catching Sougo off guard.
"Gah!" the future king yelled as he was backhanded away, a blank Ride Watch bouncing from his person.
The Horse and Crane Orphanoch's rushed at Mari and Takumi, ready to strike... And the Wolf suddenly span around, catching their blows.
"Kiba. Yuka. Snap out of it." The wolf growled, before he threw them away. The two grey-skinned monsters crashed against a wall hard has the wolf's body glowed, changing shape before everyone's eyes until a human male stood there in its place.
"Ta. Ku. Mi." Kiba grunted, trying to speak normally as the man was revealed, standing there calmly before Mari. He was brown-haired with kind eyes, standing nude in the shadowy state he was in, seeing his friend standing there. While he was trying to kill them.
The Horse and Crane groaned, reverting back to their own human forms. Like it was an instinct to revert when hurt like that.
Yuka peered through the marble monstrosity that was her Crane Orphnoch self and revealed her true self through the shadows. Long brown hair with brown eyes, soft skin and a crying face.
She was in tears, wearing some blue jeans and a white top. She was resting there, exhausted and angry.
Kiba was a young man with smartly brushed, short brown hair wearing a dark blue shirt and pants.
"No! How is this possible?!" Kusaka roared.
"... Simple Kusaka." Takumi grinned "Despite us being physically different... We are still human, heart and soul. We still hold onto our humanity. We want to live our lives, to be happy. To help people. We are human, at the end of the day. But you? You are selfish and hate-filled, you manipulate and kill for your petty desires. And in the end, you don't even care about your obsession, you don't care about Mari, more than your ego and power. You hate all Orphnoch and want to kill us all, seeing us as monsters... But at the end of the day Kusaka, we are more human than you ever will be. "
"I! N! U! I!" Kusaka roared
"Takumi! You're back!" Mari cheered, hugging him and crying.
"Yes, Mari." He smiled softly
"This asshole... At it again." Kiba panted, standing up on shaking legs
"It doesn't matter what you think!" Kusaka roared "I'm Faiz now! I am! ME!"
"You'll never truly be Faiz." Takumi responded with a glare.
Quick, take this!" Tsuki threw a Blank RideWatch at Takumi who caught it, a clock hologram appeared and circled around it, turning the blank RideWatch into a silver-based, dark grey face-plate RideWatch with Faiz's helmet on the screen.
FAIZ!
Takumi looked at the item and blinked in confusion before he shrugged, tossing the watch up and down "Huh, cool." He commented before looking at Kusaka "But you realise you've just proven yourself to be a coward, refusing to make this as a fair fight."
"You still can't transform. I call this a fair fight!" Masato ran at them and tried to him them, only to be blocked by the Orphnochs that Geiz and Sougo threw at him.
"Really? Ha." Takumi laughed "You really are pathetic. I thought you were the best."
"I am!" Kusaka snarled, his form flashing red as he pushed the riders back "Fine! There! You can transform! Now I can kill you and prove it! You're worthless, Inui! And I'm going to show everyone!"
"Gotcha." Takumi smirked, throwing the RideWatch to Geiz "Kid! Catch!"
"Way to go, Takumi." Kido smirked.
"Takumi!" Mari called, passing the suitcase holding all of the Faiz Gear to him.
As she did a dimensional curtain opened, Tsukasa walking through it... While he was dragging Kaito along via his ear.
"Ow, ow, ow! Damn it! Let go of me!" Kaito snapped as he was dragged along.
"Tsukasa?" The Riders asked
"This asshole?" Kusaka responded
"Who?" Takumi asked
"Kamen Rider Decade." Sougo explained
"We haven't met before." Tsukasa responded
"Give it." Tsukasa said to Kaito "I know you've got them."
"Fine, you jerk." Kaito growled and pulled out the belt.
"NO!" Kusaka glared and went to attack them.
Sougo frowned, rushing forwards and blocking the attack
"Here. Kiba, Yuka, catch." Tsukasa called as he threw a black and gold belt at Kiba, and a white and blue one at Yuka.
"Thanks Mari." Takumi smiled as he took the case and opened it, pulling out a large and bulky silver and red belt.
"This... This belt gives me a weird sense of Déjà Vu." Kiba blinked as he attached his belt.
Yuka did the same, glaring daggers at Kusaka.
"Some say fighting is a sin, Kusaka." Takumi said as the three walked forwards, all three of them pulling out flip phones which matched their belts and flipped them open. Yuka typed three numbers on her phone quickly
3! 1! 5!
"But if it's you, anyone would be willing to sin to kick your ass." Takumi continued, Kiba following Yuka's lead.
0! 0! 0!
"I'm going to beat you. And save Mari's dreams." Takumi frowned, typing in his own code.
5! 5! 5!
Geiz rotated the dial of the watch, hitting the button atop, as the three phones gave off the same cry.
STAND BY!
FAIZ!
"Henshin!" The three revived Orphnoch's called, Takumi holding the phone high into the air, before they slammed the phones into their belts and closed the Drivers.
COMPLETE!
"Ha!" Geiz called as he span his belt.
ARMOUR TIME! COMPLETE! FAIZ~!
Geiz's armour gained black armour on his legs and arms, dark grey torso side-armour with light silver chest armour, silver phones that looked like Faiz's transformation phone opened up. Geiz's helmet changed to reminisce Faiz's helmet with the word 'Faiz' written in Hiragana.
Meanwhile Takumi, Kiba and Yuka were surrounded by red, gold and purple lights respectively revealing three similar rider forms.
Takumi was now in a black bodysuit Kamen Rider armour, silver plating with red grid-lines and large yellow visor eyes with his Rider Belt around his waist. Kamen Rider Faiz.
Kiba was clad in green to near black armour with golden edges and motif, silver clasped boots and arm guards, a silver chest-piece under a red gem in the centre of his chest. Quadrangle, claw-like, shoulder-pads with golden edges to match his gold-edged chest-plate. His mask was like a sun-crown with a red visor for eyes, the gold edges on his helmet almost looked like the symbol of 'Omega'. He was Kamen Rider Orga.
Yuka was in a pure white suit with deep purple/blue lines across it. On her back was what looked like a high tech black jetpack. And her eyes were a deeper purple/pink colour. She had taken the form of Kamen Rider Psyga.
"There. Now it's evened up." Takumi smiled as he flicked his wrist.
He stood there confidently and grinned, the battle was on.
The three Revived Riders ran at Masato and began to fight, while Geiz was helping Sougo push back the Orphnochs. "You're slipping, Sougo." Geiz joked.
"I'm just glad you're here." Sougo responded, punching an Orphnoch, though felt bad about hitting a dead person.
ZI-O! II!
Tsuki looked in shock, watching in wonder while she rubbed her forehead.
"Are you okay?" Mari asked as she looked at her, worried that she was hurt somewhere.
"I... Don't know." she admitted.
Now, with all the Riders fighting, they had a much better chance against Masato than before.
"Faiz, dodge right!" Sougo called out as he had transformed into Zi-O II.
Masato threw a punch at Faiz, only for Takumi to effortlessly dodge it, per Sougo's instructions and threw a punch right in the crazed monster's face back.
On his hand was a camera which had turned into a knuckle duster, giving off a powerful shockwave at the impact.
Orga rushed forward, slashing with his mighty sword.
"HRARGH!" Orga slashed and connected on Another Faiz's body, causing him to spark and fly back.
Psyga, meanwhile, was flying around with her jetpack and unleashed a barrage of energy blasts from it as Another Faiz flew there in the air.
Masato screamed, crashing into the ground as he was overwhelmed by the onslaught of the attack. "Let's end this, Sougo." Geiz spoke to his friend.
"You've got this." Sougo patted his back...since his shoulders were covered by two large cell phones.
"No!" Kusaka roared in rage, standing up with red energy flowing off his body "I! Am! Going! To! Kill! You!"
"Mari. Do you have it with you? The big one?" Takumi asked.
"No, it's with the Vajin." Mari smiled.
"Right." Takumi nodded as he removed the phone from his belt and input new buttons.
5! 8! 2! 1!
AutoVajin, Come Closer!
"What's a-? Whoa!" Sougo asked before he dodged out of the way when a motorbike rushed towards them, hitting Masato in the back.
As it came to a stop, Faiz took a large bulky 'thing' off the back of the bike.
"Argh, you son of a-!" Masato glared before he saw the thing in Takumi's hand.
Takumi immediately pulled out the Faiz transformation device and inserted it into the strange thing.
Awakening!
And immediately pressed buttons on its surface.
Standing by!
Lights span around the circle in the strange object in Takumi's hand as a bright laser struck Takumi's antennae, which reversed the colours of his grid-lines and his bodysuit. Black lines and red armour, with his silver armour becoming a lighter shade as it stood out more.
"Damn it, NO!" Masato slammed his fists into the ground and tried to rush-attack Takumi.
1! 4! 3!
Blade Mode
Takumi unfolded the weapon, turning it into a large gun... Whose barrel then digitised, becoming an energy blade he slashed across Masato's stomach as he tried to pass.
"Let's take it up a notch." Takumi added, attaching something to his wrist.
'Are we even needed?' Sougo thought before he saw what was about to come. "Yuka, on your left!"
"Right!" she nodded and dodged
Geiz smirked, beating down on Another Faiz
"ARGH!" Masato screamed, feeling much more pain while Geiz was fighting him.
"Kid, move!" Takumi called out as he readied the weapon in his hands as he slotted a mission memory into the Faiz Phone, having taken it out of the AxelWatch.
Complete
Suddenly Faiz's form began to shift. The Black photon blood on his form sparked until it was white, the silver chest armour opening up and revealing a bunch of tech and a glowing 'core'. Finally, his yellow eyes flashed for a few seconds before they settled into a deep burnt orange.
Start Up!
"What's going-?" The two Time Riders asked before they saw Takumi moving at incredible speeds as the whole world had just slowed down for him.
3! 2! 1! Time Out!
"On?" Sougo asked before they saw Masato explode and landed on the ground in pain, sparking as his form was glitching in and out.
"NoOoOoOoOo..."
"Let's finish this." Orga snarled, opening his belt and hitting the enter button
Exceed Charge
Orga's sword was enveloped in golden light as he stabbed forward. A massive holographic energy sword shot out and held Another Faiz frozen; before Orga jumped into the air. The energy sword morphed into a golden cone of energy which held him frozen still.
"Yeah." Yuka added, hitting her own belts enter button.
Exceed Charge
Psyga shot into the air, twisting before she came rocketing down via her jet pack, the guns shooting out a small blast. The blast hit Another Faiz, transforming into a purple energy cone.
"Check." Kaido said into his phone/gun.
Exceed Charge
He quickly took aim and pulled the trigger, shooting a blue energy cone which hit Another Faiz in the chest. He jumped into the air, performing a double-footed kick.
Exceed Charge
Having entered the needed code, Faiz AxelBlaster form stabbed his weapon forward. The weapon shot out its own energy cone, which stabbed Another Faiz. Takumi took a crouching position before he took off in a super speed spring and jumped into the air.
"Geiz!" Tsuki yelled, throwing the FaizPhoneX at him.
"Oh?" he blinked and caught it "I... Right." He nodded, attaching the phone to his ankle.
FINISH TIME! FAIZ!
Geiz jumped into the air, the FaizPhoneX shooting out a dark red energy cone which joined the other three.
As one the four Riders came rocketing down towards Another Faiz, Geiz spinning his belt.
EXCEED TIME BURST!
As the four touched the energy cones they... Disappeared along with them.
All four turned into pure energy and shot out on the other side of Another Faiz. Takumi landed in his crouch, while Kiba stood tall and confident. Yuka landed softly, standing up almost elegantly. Geiz, meanwhile, landed and walked away like a badass, as Another Faiz exploded behind them.
The Another RideWatch was shattered, destroyed forever as Masato was lying beaten, battered and bleeding.
"Way to go!" Sougo cheered before he saw all the Orphnochs fade back to normal humans.
They all looked around, tired or exhausted.
"M-Mummy?" Toshi appeared, trying to look for her, scared as his new friends appeared back to normal. "Where are you?"
"Why don't we go find her?" Sougo offered, his kind heart showing through.
"Okay." He gulped and nodded.
"What's your mum's name?" Sougo asked Toshi as they left.
"What do we do with him?" Kiba asked as he looked down at the unconscious Kusaka.
"I don't know...He was dead when we last saw him." Takumi answered
"Meaning...he's not from now. He's from the past." Tsuki realised.
"Huh?"
"He was brought from the past. To here." Tsuki answered. "We have to send him back."
"But how do we find that out?" Kaido asked
"Easy." Tsukasa said, making himself known again as he walked forwards... And kicked Kusaka hard in the face
"ARGH! Hnn! Fff-!" Kusaka grunted in pain, his face now having the front end of a boot print.
"Oof! That's not good." Tsuki winced as she saw him almost draw blood.
"Not hard enough." Takumi spoke, readying a kick of his own and...
THUD!
"ARGH! You-!" Kusaka snarled as his hands gripped his face
"Get up!" Takumi ordered as he grabbed Kusaka by the shirt and forced him to his feet. "Now, tell us. How did you get here?"
PTOO!
"S-Screw. You." Kusaka spat blood and spit at Takumi.
Takumi sighed and threw a gut punch into him. "Talk!"
Kusaka grunted and coughed. "Some. Purple guy."
"'Purple guy'?" Geiz and Tsuki asked, instantly triggered by it
*flashback, 15 years ago*
Masato Kusaka coughed up blood as he was washed on the shore of a beach, broken and bleeding.
He was crawling up the beach as best as he could, trying to salvage whatever dignity he had left.
And suddenly time froze.
"Well, well. Look at you." A voice spoke, standing on the beach and before Kusaka.
"H-Huh?" Kusaka looked up. "The hell are you?"
"My name is Swartz. And without my help, you will die."
Kusaka looked up at him, reaching up and tried to claw at him. "I-I don't. Want to die." He struggled.
"Good." Swartz smiled. "Come with me." As he grabbed Kusaka by the wrist and yanked him up.
Faiz
*end flashback*
"So. You survived that." Takumi frowned, glaring at him. "Looks like we will have to fix that then."
"Wh-what do you mean?" Kusaka asked in fear.
"We have a Time Mazine." Geiz responded. "We'll put you back."
As he said that the large Machine arrived, Geiz going inside to piolet it
"P-Put me back? No. No, you can't! I'm the hero! I'm the-!"
THWACK!
Mari slugged him one in the face. "That felt good." She smiled
"Yeah." Takumi smiled sadly at Mari
"It's good to see you, Mari." Kiba responded, hugging her gently as they boarded the Time Mazine.
"It's good to see you guys too." Mari answered as she saw them enter the large robot and disappear into the past.
"It is." Kiba nodded, flinching as... Suddenly... Dust fell from his hand "Darn it, we have limited time left."
"We have to do this now." Yuka followed up as Geiz piloted the Time Mazine.
"Two thousand and four. Location...okay, I got it." Tsuki typed on the console.
"Wait. What's going on?" Mari asked in shock as she saw the dust
"With the Another RideWatch destroyed, how you were able to change, the right timeline is catching up." Geiz explained as they travelled through time.
"Without Another Faiz's power, which is what revived us, we are fading away again." Yuka explained sadly.
"No." Kaido hissed as he clenched his fists, he didn't want to see his friends die again!
"I'm sorry, but...this is how things happen." Tsuki apologised.
"That's fine." Takumi nodded.
"Fine? We're going to die." Yuka responded with a chuckle.
"It's not like we haven't done it before." He reminded. "Third time, though."
"Yeah, I guess that's true." Kiba answered.
"Okay, here we go." Geiz spoke as they arrived in the past.
"No! No!" Kusaka yelled as he got up and tried to attack Mari "I'm not dying!"
"Yes. You are! You're going back!" Takumi pulled him back and stopped him from grabbing her.
"You're not! I'm not going to die!" Kusaka screamed, flailing about like a screaming child.
Geiz rubbed his ears since this guy was causing painful reverberations in the Mazine, opening the hatch of the Time Mazine, giving Takumi the chance to get rid of him.
"Everyone dies Kusaka. Everything ends. Now accept it." Takumi said darkly before he kicked him off the Mazine
Kusaka screamed as he was flung off the Time Mazine, splashing into the ocean below. "Let's go, there's nothing left here." Geiz spoke as he closed the hatch and began to leave.
Down in the ocean, Kusaka raised himself from the briny depths and coughed, almost drowning as he crawled up the stones of the beach.
He spluttered as he was beaten and bruised, feeling his body corrode to dust as he couldn't maintain his human self anymore...however 'human' is a relative term.
He coughed up water, dragging himself across the sand... To the feet of Kamen Rider Kaixa, Kiba.
*back to the future*
Geiz slowly lowered the Time Mazine to the floor, letting the group collect their thoughts...and ready to move on. "Geiz, I think you misplaced the location." Tsuki commented.
"I know." Geiz answered. "I found Sougo, he's with that kid and the mother."
"Really?" Tsuki asked.
"Yeah, he's...He's Sougo. He's got a big heart." Geiz answered. "You're gonna need to be there too, Takumi."
"Okay." Takumi nodded as he left the Time Mazine, focussing to keep his body as solid as possible.
"Wh-what's happening?" Toshi's mother asked as she hugged her son, Sougo unsure what to do in this situation.
"I... Well..." Sougo said nervously.
"Mum. I-I don't feel good. I don't want to go." Toshi frowned, hugging his mother, while he began to turn to dust.
"No, no, no! Toshi! Toshi, please! Don't go! Not again!" Toshi's mother began to cry as her son turned to dust within her arms and hugged herself as he vanished, leaving her once again. Her heart was broken, tears staining down her cheeks as she had lost her son for the second time. She wailed in anguish, losing her baby boy, losing her child; she was broken. She fell headfirst into the ground as she felt the dust in her hands and arms, sobbing into the dirt as Takumi walked forwards and saw the distraught woman, he only had a little time left himself. "I-I'll never. Never forgive them. They stole-My baby boy!" The woman cursed, enraged at Sougo. Vile towards the Kamen Riders...and vengeful at Kusaka for bringing her son back, only for them to take him away again.
"Lady. Would your son want that?" Takumi said, walking out from behind a tree "People don't normally get second chances. And that was technically his third chance. You got to spend time together again. But... Everything dies, lady. It isn't always fair... But obsessing with the past, refusing to let go, isn't any kind of life at all. It is my job to protect people's dreams, but if you refuse to move on... What dreams do you have that are worth protecting? What dreams would your son want you to have? "
Toshi's mother looked up at Takumi and wiped the dirt from her face and tears from her eyes. "Who? Who are you? How could you know?" She asked
"I'm no one." Takumi shrugged "I was a Kamen Rider, not anymore. I used to be alone, I didn't want anyone to get close because I refused to let my past go. I let my past consume me when my friends realised who I am. But every human, if they are Homosapien or something more, is worth protecting and having a life of their own." He turned around and started walking away "Because you always have friends and family. You just need to be sure you don't push them away."
Sougo listened to what Takumi was saying and looked at the woman, wondering what she was about to say and do. "I...Toshi was." She cried and looked at the dust in her hand. "Goodbye." She whispered and let the dust fall away.
"Hey Mari." Takumi smiled sadly to his friend as the group... Regrouped.
"How'd she take it?" Kiba asked.
"As well as anyone could." Takumi sighed in admittance, feeling his hand already turned to dust, before he sat down.
"No!" Mari cried and hugged him.
"Mari. It's okay." Takumi sighed and hugged back, while Yuka and Kiba were turning to Sougo, Tsuki and Geiz. "Thank you." He nodded, holding out the Faiz Ride Watch. "Take it. You're going to need it."
"Thank you, Mr Takumi." Sougo spoke, taking the RideWatch from him.
Tsuki nodded before she gasped, her eyes dilating softly.
*? ? ?*
A young Tsukuyomi was sat in a giant room, it was... Giant, expensive and lavish. She was sat in the middle of a carpet, as big as the sea, playing with some dolls.
She felt safe here, somewhere warm and kind...Someplace that she had forgotten. What this home? Her home?
She heard two people talking, both older men, laughing. Before they walked into the room. One was Takumi, wearing a smart grey suit.
The other... She couldn't see his face for some reason but she knew. It was her father.
"Ah, daughter. Playing?" Tsukuyomi's father asked kindly as he looked down at her.
Tsuki nodded in response and held up a doll in her hand. "Am I in the way?" Tsuki asked timidly.
"Of course you're not." Her father responded.
"Ah, this is the princess?" Takumi asked as he reached into his coat pocket.
"Yes, this is my little-." Tsukuyomi's father spoke, saying her name, but it was muffled or blocked out.
"Well, I have a gift for you." Takumi responded as he pulled out a gift for her. It was the FaizPhoneX! "This is our newest creation at Smart Brain, I'm sure it will protect you." He smiled.
The young Tsuki's eyes widened as she saw that, reaching out and took the FaizPhoneX. "Thank you, Sir." She responded kindly as she looked at it and was curious what it does.
*end*
"...ki? ...uki? Tsuki? Are you okay?" Sougo asked as he and Geiz had shaken her out of whatever she was in.
"You were standing vacant for a while." Geiz followed up.
"I... Remembered something." she whispered
"Really? What was it? What exactly do you remember?" Geiz asked as Sougo held her hand.
"I. Remember the phone. Takumi...and. And an older man, I think he was my father." Tsuki answered honestly. "They gave it to me." she whispered, gripping the FaizPhoneX.
"That-that's good though; right?" Sougo asked in confusion. "I mean, you're getting your memories back."
"I know... But..."
"Tsuki, it's alright. It's going to be okay." Geiz reassured her. "We'll get your memories back and we'll do it together."
"Yes... But... Mr Takumi..." she commented, looking at him.
"What about me?" Takumi asked as he sat with his friends.
"You were there. Older. A president of some tech company called Smart Brain. And you looked younger."
"I looked older, but looked younger?" Takumi asked. "Wait, I owned Smart Brain?" Takumi asked.
"That's right." She nodded.
"That's impossible." Mari frowned "Smart Brain shut down ten years ago. And Takumi was never president."
"And I'm about to die again." Takumi added.
"I don't want you to go, Takumi!" Mari hugged him again as the current conversation was once again shelved.
"I've got to, Mari. No stopping it." Takumi answered, "I can be at peace."
"But then who-?" Mari asked
"You've still got friends. And we'll always be together." He answered. "Trust me, Mari. It will be okay."
Mari didn't respond, she just held onto Takumi as he continued to fade. "Hey, you three...Look after her. Okay?"
"I'll continue to do so Takumi, don't worry." Kaido nodded "I'll miss you three."
"We miss you to." Yuka smiled
"See you on the other side again, Takumi." Kiba smiled
Dust began to heavily fall from them, the three slowly fading into nothing
The Riders from the past, the Riders who died, once again left to the afterlife. Sougo, Geiz and Tsukuyomi standing there with Mari, who helped her up and brought her home with Kaido walking with them.
To be continued
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