I'm starting to get why later seasons were never as long as this one. I mean, Shocker was literally trying everything at this point. Plus, you'd think they'd eventually send Zol back to the Middle East to maintain their position there. 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 31: Curse of the Amazon
Mount Tengu in the Southern Alps. Those who climb this mountain never come down again. Those at the foot of the mountain call it "The Mountain of Mysterious Disappearances". A pair of hikers were walking along a trail near this mountain, confused at the sign warning people not to hike there. Naturally there would exist those who simply can't resist the adventure. They would soon learn the reality as a dense fog rolled in. The older hiker soon lost his buddy. "Yamada! I can't see you anymore!"
The only reply he got from Yamada was a sudden cry, as if something has just grabbed him, or worse. The man saw Yamada, being held by a strange anteater-like humanoid. This was Antegabari, and he picked up Yamada and carried him off. The other hiker snuck ahead and confronted him. "What are you doing to Yamada, you monster!?" He tried attacking Antegabari with his hiking cane, to no avail. Antegabari laughed. "I'm going to perform a little experiment with your friend. Observe."
He extended his long tongue to pierce Yamada's beck, injected some sort of substance that dissolved him from the inside out. Antegabari scoffed. "Not what we need. What of you then? Will you be endure my 'Curse of the Amazon' bacteria?" The hiker struck back in anger, but nothing he did worked, and Antegabari knocked him to the ground. Antegabari had been brought in by Shocker from the depths o the Amazon. The secret to his success there was the mysterious bacteria he could produce, his "Curse of the Amazon", which he could inject into human bodies.
He observed the second hiker, who did not immediately dissolve. 'Seems we've been quite fortuitous,' Zol said over a loudspeaker, 'This one can endure your special bacteria quite well. We'll use him to further spread the bacteria into civilization. This way, we can exhibit the usefulness of our computer data.' "A fine idea," Antegabari said, "This way I can prove my power, and even defeat the accursed Kamen Riders!" He immediately emitted a fog that he could use to move around easier.
At the foot of the mountain, a young boy was arguing with the villagers about finding his brother, who had gone hiking up the mountain. "You can't go up there!," one villager said, "No one who goes up there ever comes down again! Besides, it would be suicide for a child!" The boy shook his head. "My brother's a veteran mountain climber! What if he's stranded up there, waiting for help!?" "But we've already been searching for three days," an older villager pointed out.
The boy would hear none of it, and pulled away from them to race up the mountain. He saw something come out of the brush. It turned out to be the hiker from earlier. The boy's eyes lit up. "Big Brother!" "Takeo," the man replied. The other villagers were surprised to see the man. "You're alright," the older villager said, "But what about your companion." The man grimaced. "Yamada was surrounded by fog, and died when he fell off the cliff. I was waiting for the fog to clear before coming down."
Takeo however, noticed something was wrong. The answer he gave seemed forced, and there was clear signs of sweat dripping down his face, and it almost looked like he was in some sort of trance. He carefully backed away, not sure what was going on. Nearby, Antegabari stayed hidden to observe as the villagers crowded around him. That night, the man looked to see Takeo had fallen asleep, then left the apartment to knock on the nearby door. "It's Izaki from the third floor. I have a request."
The man inside opened the door. "Huh? It's late Izaki, what did you want?" Izaki pushed his way inside. "You will become like me, and work for Shocker!" That's when Antegabari appeared from behind Izaki. "Now you will be obeying my commands!" The next morning, Takeo was speaking with some of his friends. "I really help but shake the feeling that he's not my brother somehow." "Well," Goro said, "Maybe it was just the shock of being between life and death."
Takeo shook his head. "Even his tastes changed. I've been keeping a close eye on him, and he hasn't even any rice at all. Instead he sneaks out in the middle of the night to eat something. Also there's something else that's odd. Ever since Bro came back… All the ants around the apartment complex have vanished." Goro tilted in his head in curiosity. It seemed unnatural that every ant would just up and vanish like that.
Goro headed for the racing club, where Tobei was working on one of the bikes. "Boss, I need to borrow the flashlight." Tobei looked at Goro. "Eh? What for?" "There's something weird at Takeo's apartment," Goro explained. He got the flashlight and headed out, running into Ren. "Oh, Ren! Perfect timing!" "Something wrong?," Ren asked. "My friend Takeo is finding weird things at his apartment," Goro explained. Ren looked interest. "Alright, but I'm contacting Naofumi just in case."
That night, as Izaki rose from his bed to wander again, he didn't notice Goro having hid in the nearby closet. He also didn't notice that Takeo was actually still awake. "Okay," Takeo said, "Ready?" Goro nodded. They followed Izaki as he headed for the construction sit for the new apartment block. He stopped at one point and bent over to slurp up a nearby any colony. "What in the heck?," Takeo asked. He rushed out to confront Izaki. "Bro, why are you eating ants!?" Izaki turned to look at him. "Inside my body lies the Curse of the Amazon bacteria. To nurture it, I must continue to eat ants!"
"Yeah, that sounds bad," Goro said, still hidden, "Good thing Naofumi and Ren are nearby. This whole 'Curse of the Amazon' stinks like another Shocker scheme." As if to prove his point, several Combatmen showed up. "Oh, crapbaskets…" That's when Antegabari appeared from behind Izaki. "Another Shocker cyborg!," Goro realized, "What's your plan this time!? And what are you doing with Izaki!?" "He's become a Shocker guinea pig," Antegabari explained, "And with him, I'm planting the bacteria invented by Shocker into the residents of this apartment complex, for the use of our sabotage."
"Wow," came Naofumi's voice, "You guys will tell kids anything they want to know, won't you?" Antegabari looked up in shock to see the two Riders on a nearby balcony. "You should be careful with that habit," Ren said, "There might just be someone out there willing to hear them out and believe them. That said, it's a little odd that you'd use ordinary people to carry out sabotage. You must have put some thought into this. So come on, spill. You were so keen to reveal your secrets earlier." Antegabari scoffed. "Get them!"
The two Riders leapt down and started dispatching the Combatmen. Goro and Takeo ran for it, pursued by Antegabari. "Oh no you don't," Naofumi said, "Ren!" Ren nodded, and they leapt into the air. "Henshin!" Their Typhoons activated, transforming into Kamen Riders 1 and 2. They continued to knock around the Combatmen, while 1 noticed Antegabari was holding the two kids. "Just try coming closer!," he taunted, launching his tongue. 1 dodged aside, the distraction letting the kids get away from the evil cyborg.
Antegabari launched an attack, 2 getting out of the way, but it was clear that Antegabari had sizable strength from the way he broke the stones in the nearby wall. He chuckled, then bashed around 2 as one launched his attack. "Rider Kick!" Antegabari simply knocked 1 away. "Damn…," 1 said, "This one's strong…" Antegabari laughed as he walked off. "These Riders are no match for me!"
Goro had gotten seriously injured during the incident. Ren and Naofumi came in, sporting injuries of their own, but otherwise on their feet. They walked over to Goro, who was still in shock seeing the Riders lose a fight. "Hang in there Goro," Naofumi said, "The Kamen Riders won't lose! No matter what, they will always find a way to win, no matter what!" Outside, Naofumi clenched his fist. "Come on man," Ren said, "You've lost before. This is only a temporary setback."
"But I've never done so right before Goro's eyes before," Naofumi pointed out, "With the others it's one thing. They're all adults, so they now I can still get up again. But Goro's a boy. He looks up to the Riders. They… We… Are his heroes. What child can handle it when their hero loses right before their eyes? And on top of that, he got injured by the Shocker cyborg! And right, now, I can't even up the will to defeat Antegabari…" Ren breathed deep, then socked Naofumi. "Don't forget that we're supposed to be Kamen Riders! We not protect justice and humanity, but the dreams of all children! We can't just flee after a loss, or Shocker will think they've won!"
And so, the two Riders started training harder, with Motoyasu helping them by being a training partner for their techniques. As the training continued, Naofumi found his kicks becoming stronger, able to smash through a boulder that was at least as strong as Antegabari's claws. Ren smiled, aiming his kick at a similar sized boulder and successfully doing the same. "Now we can face off against Antegabari." Naofumi smiled, his confidence restored in full.
The trio returned to the apartment, discovering that Antegabari had already injected his Curse of the Amazon into the people there. There was no sign of him around, however. Naofumi realized something. "Izaki first went missing at Mount Tengu. I'll bet that's where Shocker's hideout is. Motoyasu, can you keep watch here?" Motoyasu nodded. The two Riders stood in position. "Henshin!" The leapt into the air to transform, hopping on their Cyclones to head off for Mount Tengu.
Once there, they were confronted by Antegabari and his forces. "So you haven't learned your less yet?" "Oh we've learned a lesson," 1 said, "Just not the one you want us to learn!" the two Riders quickly attacked the Combatmen, taking them out one by one. 1 then leapt to confront Antegabari. "For the sake of Goro, and all the people you've infected, I will defeat you this day!" Antegabari scoffed. "I've already proven you are no match for me! Mount Tengu shall be your grave!"
The two clashed, Antegabari launching his tongue, which 1 grabbed. He then leapt into the air with a spinning kick. "Now feel this, my new strength! Rider Kick!" Antegabari tried to block it like before, but the spinning action let 1 dodge the claws and strike Antegabari, sending him sprawling down the hill where he exploded near the bottom. Nearby, the Riders found the now abandoned hideout, which contained a cure for the Curse of the Amazon. Motoyasu used it to cure all the infected people.
Meanwhile, 1 visited Goro in the hospital. "Goro." Goro stirred awake, and smiled at seeing his hero still standing. "1!" 1 nodded. "There's no need to worry. I was able to Antegabari, and his victims are all recovering. So you make sure to get better, alright?" Goro nodded. Returning to his normal form, Naofumi was reminded of why he wanted to fight Shocker in the first place. It was for the sake of a future free for children like Goro.
To be continued…
Wow, this one was a little tough. Shocker's really trying to pull out all the stops trying to deal with this problem. We'll what else they have in store next chapter. Read and review.