Chapter 11: Treasure Hunt!
Kamen Rider Kuuga whistled to himself as he cleaned out his house's garage. As he cleaned, the first rider of the Heisei generation came across many objects he'd gathered during his travels around the world. One of Kuuga's favorite things to do besides learning a new skill every year was go on adventures all over the world. But the travels that Kuuga enjoyed the most were treasure hunts because he could get to explore ruins and the journey was quite fun too.
"Perhaps this time I should bring a few friends along. But where to head off to this time?" Kuuga said to himself as he folded out a map of the world. His eyes brightened up when he spotted a certain region. "Ah! The amazon jungle! A jungle adventure sounds lots of fun! Now to see who I should bring along."
Kuuga scratched his chin as he thought about who to bring along with him. Having a few extra hands to assist would be good, so Kuuga figured he could invite a sentai team to join him on his treasure hunt. And as luck would have it, there was a sentai team that specialized in recovering treasures: the Boukengers! Wasting no time, Kuuga contacted the sentai team.
"Yes, I'm planning an expedition for the Amazon jungle." Kuuga stated from his end of the call. "I'll be leaving in a few days' time. Oh? You already have transportation provided? That's great! Uh huh. Uh huh. So, I'll be meeting you at the docks. Great! See you all then!"
Kuuga whistled his theme song as he finished the rest of his cleaning and took to preparing for his trip. However, Kuuga realized something important. A guide would be needed for the area. Fortunately, there was an individual that Kuuga knew who knew the place like the back of his hand. The first Heisei Rider immediately whipped out his phone and dialed them up. Breathing a sigh of relief once the call ended, Kuuga went back to packing.
The days leading up to the treasure hunt passed by quickly, and the day of the expedition arrived in practically no time at all! Kuuga was riding towards the docks on the Trychaser 2000. But as he rode towards adventure, a long figure watched him from the rooftops.
"So. The adventurer of the riders is off on a treasure hunt, eh?" The figure said as he twirled around a gun. "Well then! It's time I live up to my title as a treasure sniper!"
The figure slotted a card into his gun and extended the barrel section of it before firing! A second later, the figure had turned invisible! Letting them tail Kuuga without being seen! Kuuga, as expected, was unaware he had someone trailing him as he pulled up at the docks and saw the Boukengers waiting for him.
"Hey there!" Kuuga waved. His eyes went wide when he saw the massive battleship docked in front of him! "Whoa! That's your ride?!"
"Yup!" Bouken Red nodded enthusiastically! Excited to be going on a treasure hunt! "This here is GoGo Voyager! We have more GoGo vehicles in the hold for when we need to go on land."
"It's been a while since we went on a treasure hunt." Bouken Black said as the group began to board GoGo Voyager. Unaware of the invisible stowaway on their vessel. "This should be fun!"
"I bet!" Bouken Blue nodded in agreement.
"Plus, we never got to explore the Amazon before!" Bouken Pink beamed.
"C'mon! Let's get going!" Bouken Yellow cheered!
With that, the group of adventurers set sail! As they travelled, Kuuga couldn't help but hum the Indiana Jones theme as the phantom image of a map highlighted their path across the world. Before long, GoGo Voyager had docked into port. Now the adventure could really begin! The Boukengers had combined their default vehicles into the trailer vehicle Daibouken to serve as a mobile base and means of transport through the jungle while Kuuga would follow them on the Trychaser. A quick purchase of supplies later, and the band of adventurers was ready to journey through the jungle!
"Oh! I almost forgot!" Kuuga exclaimed as he fished through his pack and pulled out a bunch of bananas. "Ah! Here we go!"
"Bananas?" Bouken Blue tilted his head in confusion.
"They're for our guide." Kuuga answered. "The one who'll be showing us to the ruins where our treasure hunt's taking us."
"Is our guide a monkey?!" Bouken Red exclaimed.
"No." Kuuga shook his head with a chuckle. "But he is pretty wild."
The Boukengers were puzzled when they heard a strange cry come from the jungle!
"GIGIGIGIGI!"
A green blur dashed out from the trees and leaped towards Kuuga! While the Boukengers frantically summoned their weapons, Kuuga just remained calm as the blur zipped past him and snatched the bananas from his hand! It was then that the blue was revealed to be Kamen Rider Amazon! The wild rider happily munching on a banana as he walked over to the group.
"Just what I was in the mood for!" Amazon said as he scarfed down whatever was left of the banana he'd bitten into before moving on to the next one. "Y'know, I was half tempted to come in swinging on a vine like Tarzan."
"Why didn't you just ride your bike to meet us?" Bouken Black as he scratched his chin. "Don't you have one like all the other Kamen Riders?"
"Eh. I only stick to the bike when I'm in the city." Amazon shrugged. His chest puffing up with pride as he looked toward the jungle. "But out here, my feet and the vines carry me farther than a bike!"
"Makes enough sense." Bouken Yellow nodded. "Probably comes from living out here."
"You can take me out of the jungle, but you can't take the jungle out of me!" Amazon boasted! However, he caught a whiff of an unfamiliar scent. "Hm?"
Diend was stunned to see Amazon starting to sniff him out! The treasure sniper was sweating bullets as Amazon inspected each of the adventurers carefully by getting up in their faces and sniffing them!
'I can hide from sight but not from smell!' Diend mentally panicked as Amazon got dangerously close to revealing him! 'If I move, he'll hear me! That'll give him more than enough to drag me out of hiding!'
The instant Amazon was in front of him, Diend kept as still as a statue! For a moment, it seemed as though Amazon was on to him. That is, until Amazon looked to the left of Diend and saw the Mole Beastman pop out from the ground.
"Oh, Mole!" Amazon greeted. "What brings you this far from the treehouse?"
"Storm clouds are gathering." Mole answered. "You might want to set up camp pretty quick once you're in the jungle. Good luck on your treasure hunt, Amazon! And don't be afraid to call me if you need some digging done!"
With that, Mole burrowed back underground and back towards the tree house that he and Amazon inhabited. Not wanting to get delay their journey any longer, the group of adventurers set forth into the jungle. Amazon was swinging from the trees above while Kuuga and the Boukengers followed in their vehicles. Diend was tailing the group, but he had to be more careful as Attack Ride: Invisible had worn off. A good way into the jungle, and the small band of treasure hunters stopped to break for lunch.
"Hey Amazon. Want some of our food?" Bouken Red asked. "We brought extra provisions in case we'd be out here longer."
"Nah." Amazon shook his head. "There's food all over the place for me! Some of the best comes from the river!"
"Oh! I'll come with!" Kuuga said as he pulled a fishing rod out from his backpack. "So what kind of bait do you recommend, Amazon? Also, what's the best fish to catch?"
"Bugs are pretty good lures." Amazon answered. "As for the best catch: anything but piranhas. Voracious little things are peskier than mosquitos."
"You'd know from all your times diving into the river to catch some lunch, right?" Kuuga chuckled as he and Amazon made their way to the river. Kuuga sat on the bank and cast his line while Amazon dove into the river to hunt for bigger fish. However, as the pair fished, Diend peeked out from behind the trees.
"Hmm. Those to seem occupied with snagging the catch of the day." Diend muttered to himself as he opened his card booker and flipped through the various extra riders he could summon. "Ah! Drake! Perfect for aquatic environments!" Diend slotted the card into his gun, the Diend Driver!
"KAMEN RIDE: DRAKE!" The gun called out as Diend pulled the trigger! Three phantom images of Kamen Rider Drake hovered around before solidifying into the dragonfly rider!
"Huh?! What the-?!" Drake whipped his head about before his sight landed on Diend. "Oh. You. What do you want Diend? I was about to hit the shower."
"Funny you should mention something related to water, Drake." Diend chuckled. "You're going for a little swim in the river to capture Amazon."
"Fine." Drake sighed. "Just let me Put On first." Drake called back his Masked Form's armor and jumped into the river. Sure enough, he caught sight of Amazon pursuing some fish.
However, Drake soon had some unwanted company in the form of a school of piranhas. The school of ravenous fish stared at Drake, and Drake stared right back. In the blink of an eye, the piranhas snapped their jaws open! Revealing their sharp teeth! Drake panicked and swam as fast as he could back onto dry land! The dragonfly rider panting heavily as he whipped out his zector which doubled as his gun and fired at the water to deter any piranha pursuers he might've attracted! Drake then turned to face Diend and initiated the Cast Off sequence of his armor! The pieces of armor clobbering Diend as they burst off from Drake!
"Next time, call me when there's a pool party." Drake huffed as he faded away.
"Well that summon was a bust." Diend sighed as he looked through his cards. "Riotroopers and Zect Troopers wouldn't do much good. Especially since I'm trying to avoid a guns-blazing sort of fight. Not to mention, I've had to make it all this way on foot!"
Diend scrolled through his cards when he came upon the card for Kamen Rider Psyga. It was then that a lightbulb appeared over his head.
"Why take the ground when you can go sky high?" Diend chuckled as he slotted the card into his driver and pulled the trigger! An instant later, Psyga was summoned.
"Hm?" Psyga looked around in confusion. "This isn't my and Orga's apartment."
"Yeah, yeah. I know." Diend waved off Psyga's inquiry. "Look, I need you to give me a lift. Kuuga's off on a treasure hunt with the Boukengers, and I can only get so far on foot!"
"Couldn't you just summon my jetpack?" Psyga asked.
"No. No I can't." Diend grumbled. "Stupid Decade and being able to turn into Riders and summon their weapons! He gets access to that whole arsenal and what do I get?! A bunch of summons!"
"Uh. . . If you're not going to be needing me-"Psyga began before Diend leaped onto the back of his jetpack!
"ONWARD TO TREASURE!" Diend shouted as he pointed forward with the Diend Driver!
"Dude. I think you need to see someone about your collecting habit." Psyga sighed as he powered up his jetpack and took off!
Back with Kuuga, Amazon and the Boukengers, they were still on lunch break. The group was shocked to see the massive fish that Amazon had caught from the river! Then again, considering Amazon's massive appetite, it was no wonder he'd gone for the biggest fish to fry.
"So about how many days away are the ruins?" Bouken Blue asked.
"About two days at the most Less since you've got vehicles." Amazon answered cheerfully as he cooked his fish. "If you need a digger, I can call Mole." Amazon then pulled out a banana-shaped phone. "The rain's going to be here any minute, so we'd best wait out the storm here."
As the group of adventurers set up their camp, Diend was riding on Psyga's back as they flew above the jungle. Unfortunately, the boom of thunder made it quite clear they should return to being earthbound immediately.
"Diend?" Psyga asked as he took note of the thunder growing louder! "I'd say now's a good time to land. Besides, those guys you're following aren't moving either."
"And risk losing ground?! Forget it!" Diend snapped! "Nothing will bring me down!"
In that exact moment, the pair was struck by lightning! The two of them were zapped so hard you could see their skeletons as they were shocked! Both Diend and Psyga were motionless in the air for an instant before their charred bodies fell to the jungle floor with a thud! Psyga faded away into pixels from the impact while Diend just lay there with swirls in his eyes!
A few hours had gone by before the storm passed, and Kuuga and his group of adventurers were on the move once again. They decided to stop by Amazon's treehouse for the night since it was halfway between their destination. Morning soon came, and the band of adventurers set out again. Amazon once again swinging from the vines as they traveled. However, Diend was once again tailing them. This time he'd taken to following them by going along the river. He was using a reed as a snorkel, but he soon ran into trouble in the form of a crocodile. Not wanting to be breakfast, Diend bolted out of the water so fast he was running on it while shooting behind him to drive off the crocs! By the time Diend had gotten away, he hadn't realized he was right in the path of Amazon's swing!
"AMAZON!" Kuuga called out! "Watch out for that-!"
Kuuga's warning came too late as Amazon crashed into Diend! The two riders rolling for a bit before they hit a tree! Both were seeing stars as their tumble was terminated!
"You know, I should've expected Diend would show up." Kuuga muttered to himself. "Decade did tell me that he was a bit of a treasure fiend."
"Anyone get the number of that monkey?" Diend asked as he stumbled around.
"No. But we've got yours." Bouken Yellow stated as she pulled out some rope and tied Diend up! "That should keep the thief in one place for now."
"We're almost at the ruins." Amazon said as the group saw what looked like a path worn down by time. "Ah! Here we are!"
The ruins were what the group expected to see. Crumbled architecture and nature gradually claiming dominance to where civilization once stood. And upon what looked like an altar sat an armlet similar to the one Amazon wore.
"Here we have the treasure! The GaGa armlet!" Amazon declared proudly. "Well, you guys feel free to gawk at it. I've got to do some cleaning up around here."
"Wait, what? Why?" Bouken Pink asked.
"These ruins are where Mole and I lived before we built the treehouse." Amazon answered as he dusted the ruins. "I left the armlet here because it really ties the ruins together. Y'know?"
"Yeah." Bouken Black nodded. "It does give a good mystical vibe to the-. . . Uh, guys? Why's the armlet gone from the altar?"
The group of adventurers looked to the right, and saw the armlet hovering in the air while moving. However, a quick toss of some rubble from Amazon revealed that Kamen Rider Diend had cloaked himself! Diend was sweating bullets as Kuuga and Amazon got into fighting positions while the Boukengers summoned their weapons!
"You guys better back off!" Diend threatened as he waved his gun back and forth! "Or I'll make you regret crossing paths with the Cyan Treasure Sniper!"
"Oh yeah?" Bouken Red snorted. "You and what army."
"This one." Diend replied evenly as he slotted two cards into his driver and activated them!
"KAMEN RIDE: RIOTROOPERS!"
"KAMEN RIDE: ZECTROOPERS!"
Both teams of grunts readied their weapons as they guarded Diend! The cyan rider gave off a smug aura as he turned away from the group of adventurers.
"Now then. Time to add this beauty to my-EH?!" Diend blinked as he saw that the GaGa armlet had vanished from his hand! The treasure sniper whipped his head about until he caught sight of a monkey inspecting the armlet. All was still for a few seconds before Diend abruptly ended the silence. "GET THAT MONKEY!"
The Riotroopers and Zectroopers saluted and marched towards the monkey! Unfortunately for one Riotrooper in particular, the monkey had casually discarded a banana peel whilst inspecting the GaGa armlet. Said Riotrooper had the displeasure of slipping on the discarded peel and letting out a scream as he flipped into the air before colliding with the ground!
"Wilhelm!" One of his fellow Riotroopers cried out in concern as the summon faded away!
Meanwhile, the monkey had noticed both groups advancing towards himself. Not wanting to get trampled, the monkey ran! The Zectroopers wasted no time in unloading their firearms on the monkey to try and steer him back towards them, but their aim was completely off! It also didn't help that both teams of grunts were batted away by Bouken Black's hammer! And he was more than willing to bonk the monkey on the head!
"STAY STILL YOU!" Bouken Black hollered at the top of his lungs! "IT'S HAMMER TIME!"
Unfortunately, Bouken Black encountered the same fate as Riotrooper Wilhelm. The only difference being that Bouken Black also got bumped on the head by his own hammer falling back down after his slip-up. The monkey let out a impish snicker as he took note of Bouken Black's misfortune. However, his run was soon halted when Amazon blocked his path.
"I know the armlet looks nice and shiny. But my friends here really wanted to see it." Amazon said to the monkey. "So could you please give it back? I'll give you a banana!" Amazon brought out a single banana as proof of his offer. The monkey simply shook his head.
"A bunch of bananas?"
Again, Amazon's offer was meth with a head shake.
"A bunch of bananas, a mango, and a pineapple?" Amazon offered. As he set the variety of fruits down in front of the monkey. The monkey stroked his chin in thought before grinning and handing the armlet over to Amazon. "You drive a hard bargain good sir!"
It should go without saying that everyone present was shocked at the exchange between Amazon and the monkey. Amazon just beamed as he presented the armlet to his friends.
"So. Would you like it gift-wrapped?" Amazon asked.
And everyone else fell to the ground with a thud.
Author's Note: *ahem*. . . I LIIIIVE!