We continue to watch Shocker waste resources trying to kill two men. Let's see how it goes this time. 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 32: Beautiful and Deadly
A young girl was at a flower shop picking out a bouquet. "These ones too," she said, "My sister loves those." "Oh," the shop lady said, "So these are for your sister." The girl nodded. "Yeah, she's getting married soon, so this will be the last birthday she'll spend with me." "So she's that old," the lady said, "Well, in that case, why not also bring here one of these." She handed the girl a bright red flower. "Consider it a present." As the girl left with her flowers, the shop lady turned into a much older hag. "This will be the thirteenth."
This woman was actually a Shocker cyborg named Poison Dahlian. Heck, she wasn't even truly human to begin with. She actually started life as a two-hundred-year-old man-eating flower from a jungle in New Guinea, which Shocker found and turned into a monster. She shifted into her one-eyed flower form. That night, the girl, Atsuko, was giving her older sister the flowers. As the two sisters confirmed they'd still be family, the red flower started beeping.
Poison Dahlian's came from the flower, compelling Atsuko to sleep as Poison Dahlia herself appeared in the window. The older woman tried to escape, but something was holding the door shut. Soon enough, she fell asleep too. Poison Dahlian entered in her hag form, having been holding the door closed. "Look like the Coercion Hypnotism Sound Waves were effective." She cackled before motioning to some Combatmen. "Take the woman." As the Combatmen did, Poison Dahlia reverted to her monster form and took the flower.
As the Combatmen did their task, a drunkard was limping near. At first they ignored him since he obviously wasn't paying attention. But then he approached calling out, "Taxi! Hey, I need a ride home. Huh? Those are some odd uniforms. Come on, you aren't allowed to refuse a passenger!" The Combatman driving rolled his eyes, slamming the driver-side door into the man and making him stumble. "Hey now! You're not allowed to use violence!" He started climbing something, freaking out when he saw it was Poison Dahlian.
The man tried to run, but Poison Dahlian caught him and attached a sucker to him, dissolving him and absorbing the leftovers. She then returned to her hideout with the woman in tow. "Looking a tipsy there, Poison Dahlian," Zol said as he greeted the agents. "Sorry about that," she replied, "I just a recent meal, and the human in question was quite inebriated. Not to worry, I still got our newest Shocker slave." She indicated the woman. Zol nodded. "Good. Have her working with the others. We need skillful fingers like her to produce our poison crystals. The extraction process is quite exacting, after all."
"We're receiving more of the flower extract from my home in New Guinea on a regular basis," Poison Dahlia noted, "I'll be sure to abduct more women to keep up the production." Zol nodded. "This poison is quite potent. Dissolved in water, a single drop can kill a hundred people. Dispersed as mist late at night, and countless households will not be waking up to see the morning." He laughed. "It's more than enough for an entire city, no matter how large. I call… Operation Poison Smog."
"I see there's more than one monster in this room," the woman said, scowling. Zol smirked. "Flattery will get you nowhere." "Colonel," Poison Dahlian said, "Shall we test the Smog of Death on our guinea pig captives?" "Not a bad idea," Zol said. He turned to the Combatmen. "Make sure she's out of the way for the demonstration. No use wasting a fresh slave for this." The Combatmen nodded, and two more worn slaves were dragged in. Everyone except them was giving special gas masks before Poison Dahlian presented an aerosol spray.
Once emitted, the two slaves were on the ground dying in seconds. "It's even more effective than I could have dreamed," Poison Dahlian said in amazement. 'Poison Dahlian,' Great Leader said over the intercom, 'Remember that Shocker does not permit failure. We gave you life beyond just a flower. We can remove it just as easily. If this operation fails, then only death awaits you! Either by our hand, or if you are truly unfortunate, at the hands of the Kamen Riders!" Poison Dahlian nodded in acknowledgement.
When Atsuko woke up the next morning, there was no sign of her sister or the flower. As ran out of the house looking for her sister, Naofumi and Ren happened to ride up. "Whoa there!," Ren said, stopping just before reaching Atsuko. "You should be more careful," Naofumi said, "It's dangerous to just run out into the streets. What's got you so flustered?" "Something's happened to my sister," Atsuko explained. She then saw clothes of the drunkard Poison Dahlian had killed the previous night.
Among the clothes was a large plant leaf. Naofumi picked it up. "Well now. What do you make of this, Ren?" "Not sure," Ren said, "These are clearly men's clothes, and moreover, this belongs to salaryman." "You know," Atsuko chimed in, "When my sister disappeared, a plant went missing as well. This leaf came from that plant." Now curious, the guys brought the leaf to Raphtalia. "Interesting," she said as she examined a portion of the leaf under a microscope, "This leaf contains a large amount of animal protein. Almost like its from a carnivorous animal."
"Maybe it's a type of carnivorous plant like the serracenia," Naofumi suggested. "Maybe," Raphtalia admitted, "But there's not many species of plant that are carnivorous. Not to mention, this plant is also extremely poisonous. Just being near it is setting off my demi-human animal instincts." "I was wondering why your tail was so stiff," Ren said, "But it's clear that the owner of those clothes we found could have become nourishment for this leaf." "And whatever plant it belonged to," Raphtalia said with a nod.
As the Riders took Atsuko home, the racing club girls went to the flower shop she mentioned to investigate, Motoyasu keeping watch. Unfortunately, Poison Dahlia was expecting them all, and the girls and Motoyasu got captured after a quick struggle. Naofumi and Ren managed to arrive in time to safe Motoyasu as he was being driven off. Poison Dahlian arrived and laughed. "Let me eat you!" She threw a rope around Naofumi's neck attempting to pull him closer.
However, when he was close enough, he managed to fight her off, causing her to wind up sinking her suction mouth into a hapless Combatman instead. "When did my life become a B-movie?," Motoyasu asked as he watched in horrid fascination. Poison Dahlian scoffed as she dropped the empty clothes. "A waste of a good soldier." "I think it's time to get serious," Ren said. Naofumi nodded as they unveiled their Typhoon belts. "Henshin!" Leaping into the air, they transformed into Kamen Riders 1 and 2.
With their added strength, they quickly overwhelmed Poison Dahlian and the remaining Combatmen, forcing the plant monster to flee. "They've also got the girls," Motoyasu noted. 1 nodded. "Alright. We'll help them first." They hurried back to the flower shop, only to find it was closed for rent. "Why go for young women?," Naofumi asked, "Just what is Shocker's latest scheme?"
Later, along with Tobei, the guys hid in various disguises around a park filled with flowers. They soon heard a young woman scream for help. Sure enough, it was Poison Dahlian, working to replace one of the captive women who had died from the poison. After a bit of searching in the area where they found some discarded men's clothes, Naofumi and Ren found the entrance to the Shocker hideout. Inside, they found the poison production lab, as well as Atsuko's sister.
The two Riders quickly dropped in and attacked the Combatmen guarding the lab, letting the girls escape. However, there was no sign of the racing club girls. Zol then entered with the girls captive. "So what will it be, Riders?," Zol said, "Would you prefer these young ladies get eaten?" Naofumi scoffed, but he and Ren surrendered. The lowered guard let Malty clock Poison Dahlia, starting up a fight that even Zol got involved in. Getting beaten down by Ren, Zol growled. "Drop it now!" Poison Dahlia hit a switch, draping a large net on the two Riders.
Soon enough, Poison Dahlia had dropped in on Motoyasu and Tobei. "Greetings gentlemen. Naofumi and Ren are waiting for you." Several Combatmen emerged. Tobei was ready to fight, but Motoyasu stopped him. "Wait Boss. It might be more interesting to follow them. If nothing else, it would be better to die as one." Poison Dahlia laughed. "You certainly have a great resolve!" She had them brought to where the two Riders were bound over a burning pit.
At Poison Dahlia's command, the fire pit was lit ablaze. Tobei and Motoyasu immediately went into action, using the chain they were bound to to trip up their captors, then using it as leverage to pull the stakes down. Motoyasu kicked off one of Naofumi's restraints, letting him break free and then free Ren in turn. As Motoyasu and Tobei kicked the fire pit onto the attacking Shocker agents, Naofumi and Ren leapt into the air. "Henshin!"
Transformed into 1 and 2, the Riders hopped on their Cyclones and started running down the Combatmen. Poison Dahlian struck with her whip to attack, trying to draw in one of the Riders. 2 grappled with her, ultimately launching her into the still burning fire pit, where the flames completely incinerated her. "That was far too close," 1 said, "For a moment I thought they had us. The girls should still be at the hideout. Let's raid it and have it destroyed." 2, Motoyasu, and Tobei nodded.
Atsuko was glad that her sister had returned, and invited the racing club to the wedding as a way to say thank you. The bouquet was tossed, and the four racing club girls went gaga for it, having it ultimately land in Raphtalia's hands. "Yahoo!" Ren and Motoyasu knowingly nudged Naofumi, who grinned sheepishly. Still, it was a good time to celebrate. Shocker's poison smog operation had been crushed, costing them valuable resources. It was a siege war of attrition, and not Shocker had limitless resources. The Riders knew this, and were determined to keep fighting.
To be continued…
You'd think after a while, Shocker would just give up on japan for a while, conquer the rest of the world, then hit Japan with everything they had afterward. Then again, we wouldn't have a show if they did that. Read and review.