Now for the conclusion to the battle against Mushroomorg. Seriously, I hate mushrooms… 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 25: Counterattack
Mushroomorg was ready to finish Naofumi, not realizing that Ren had noticed this and snuck aboard the truck by clinging to its roof. "Let's not kill him just yet," Mushroomorg said as he prepared the death blade, "First we wake him up, that he might experience the agony of death." He motioned to the scientist, who injected Naofumi with a special chemical. Naofumi woke up quickly and started struggling against his bonds. "So you've come around," Mushroomorg said, "Now your body will get sliced in half! Slowly, so that we can have some fun listening to your screams!"
As the blade started to descend, one of the Combatmen reached for Naofumi's leg restraint. He then quickly shoved the lead Combatman out of the way and shut off the blade. "What are you doing!?," Mushroomorg called out. The Combatman unmasked himself to reveal Ren. "Saving my friend and partner!" With one restraint loose, Naofumi was able to free himself and got out from under the blade, the two Riders knocking around the Combatmen. As they prepared to make their escape, Ren grabbed one of the vials the scientists had used to wake Naofumi up.
They quickly leapt out of the hideout, transforming into 1 and 2 as they did. Just as they got to the outside, they bumped into something invisible. "I see," 2 said, "So they're using a light beam barrier. This explains how they could hide their truck." "The two of us should be able to force our way through," 1 said. They nodded, and rammed the barrier at full strength, causing an explosion as they did but otherwise getting through unscathed. 2 handed 1 the vial. "They injected you with this while you were unconscious. It's what caused you to wake up." 1 nodded in realization. "I see…"
The vial was handed to Koike. "I'll have to run some tests to be sure. But this definitely seems like some sort of plant chlorophyll." "What would that have to do with mushrooms?," Ren asked. "They don't," Koike said, "Mushrooms are more fungus than true plant. They don't possess chlorophyll, and thus cannot photosynthesize. In fact many mushrooms thrive better in areas without sunlight. But they still need nutrients, so they absorb them from other plants and even animals."
Naofumi's eyes widened. "So what would happen if this were to be injected into the comatose children?" Koike considered it. "I'd rather not run tests on living children. But if this is indeed chlorophyll, there's a good chance it would undo the spores and allow them to wake up." A small dosage proved effective, but they only had so much of the chemical. "At least we know it works now," Ren said, "Koike, we need to analyze this and get it ready for production. Mass production. I guarantee there's going to be a lot more victims very soon."
Meanwhile, the girls were watching Kimiko and Hiroshi as they had another tennis match. Hiroshi soon fell sick again, causing the group to run over to check on him. Kimiko soon followed suit. By the time they got them to the hospital, several people had touched them, causing a serious breakout. It spread quickly as more people tried to run from it, with others helping them without realizing what was going on.
News of the spreading contagion reached the rest of the racing club, and the Riders went to check on the progress of the antidote. Fortunately, Koike was almost done, having finished just as Naofumi and Ren walked in on him. With the antidote completed, they hurried with over the hospital where their friends were, in special containment suits, and started applying it. One by one they successfully cured each person.
Great Leader caught wind up this, and was not pleased. 'Our experiment was a complete success, but once again the Riders stand in our way. With the antidote in their hands, they can undo all the chaos created by the poison spores. Mushroomorg, go and defeat the Riders once and for all! This time do not try any tricks to increase enjoyment! There will time for that once Shocker stands unopposed!' Mushroomorg nodded and got his troops ready.
Later the two Riders and Motoyasu were celebrating with their girlfriends after they got discharged from the hospital, leaving only Rishia and Tobei to watch the racing club headquarters. Rishia was outside, leaving Tobei all by himself when Mushroomorg suddenly intruded, turning himself into a giant mushroom to ambush anyone inside. Tobei spotted him and tried to fight back, only to get caught when he got a face-full of Mushroomorg's spores. "Only one here," he noted, "No matter. One will be enough for bait." He directed his Combatmen to collect Tobei.
Meanwhile, the others were talking to each other. "So Naofumi," Malty said, "You never did explain how you found Shocker in the first place." "It was completely random," Naofumi said, "I noticed some suspicious people making notes on all the racers in my motocross league. At first I thought they were bookies, but something about them seemed off. So I followed them, and wound up stumbling on Spider Man's hideout. I knocked out one of the grunts and took his place, then learned about the cyborg project. After learning how evil Shocker is, I decided to take matters into my own hands. So I stole enough of their tech to make myself a cyborg."
He then got a call on his cell phone. "What's up?" 'We have a problem!,' came Rishia's voice, 'That weird mushroom guy from Shocker just kidnapped Tobei! He wants to use him for bait to get to you guys!' Naofumi scoffed. "For crying out loud. If they want us dead so much why not just attack us whenever they get the chance!? All these stupid death traps just give us new ways of breaking out! We'll go look for him!"
The Riders returned to the racing club while the others headed back for where the hideout was, only to run into trouble when several mushrooms sprouted, turning into Combatmen to attack. The group battled through the tunnels, taking out Combatmen as they did. Unfortunately, Mushroomorg also showed up. "Well this stinks," Motoyasu said, "It's too bad he's poisonous or I'd consider eating him. Mushrooms are actually one of my favorite foods." Mushroomorg chuckled. "Flattery will get you nowhere."
He started his spore attack, only for Motoyasu to charge at him to interrupt. It worked for a few seconds, but not for long as Mushroomorg managed to tag him after a second attempt. "Have them tied up. Before long the Riders will be here, then we'll be able to witness their end. This time we'll be sure to get both of them." Ren and Naofumi had already been to the racing club HQ to confirm Rishia' safety, and learned that it was Mushroomorg who was attacking.
They hurried to the hideout area, where Mushroomorg was waiting on the cliff. "So you've arrived. We've already defeated your allies." "Can you never once just stick with targeting us?," Ren asked, "You guys have already tried holding our friends captive. Spoiler alert, it never works!" They started climbing and battling Combatmen, only for Mushroomorg to set off an explosion near one of the cave entrances. However, the blast only sent the two flying and triggered their Typhoons, transforming them into 1 and 2.
This let them jump to the top of the mountain. "Bombs have never been effective either," 1 quipped. "You people are so obstinate!," Mushroomorg said. "Hello there Pot," 1 retorted, "Name's Kettle. Have we met before? Seriously, have you not learned your lesson regarding underestimating us!? Or does each commander operate in ignorance of his predecessors!" In response Mushroomorg leapt back and motioned to his Combatmen. "Get him!"
The two Riders battle the Combatmen through the tunnels, 1 using a rapier that one Combatman had dropped. Meanwhile, Malty turned her head over to Raphtalia. "There's a knife in my belt… Go for it." Raphtalia nodded, and carefully pulled the knife out and started using it to cut through their bonds. They got free soon enough, knocked out the nearby Combatmen, and started working on the others. Before long, 2 was mopping up what was left of the Combatmen while 1 confronted Mushroomorg.
The two of them dueled as 1 leapt over Mushroomorg's spore attack. He soon disarmed the monster, then splattered a vial of the chlorophyll chemical all over him. "2!" 2 came out of the tunnels and leapt at Mushroomorg, 1 doing the same. "Rider Kick!" Their attacks collided with Mushroomorg, sending him flying across the cliff. "But I had finally gotten free from prison!," he called out as he landed, exploding on impact with the ground.
The interior of the hideout was thankfully safe from the explosion, letting the two Riders apply the antidote to the children still inside the place. Naturally they were thankful to the heroes that saved them. With the base raided for any useful information, the two Riders left, leaving the empty hideout to blow. Shocker had nearly scored a win this time, but so far nothing they could do could bring down the twin Riders. But there was no doubt they would try to rectify that in the near future.
To be continued…
Oh man am I excited for the next chapter. You'll see when it gets here. Read and review.