Disclaimer: I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me.
…
The ultimate defeat and humiliation of Tsukasa Kadoya, the infamous dimension-traveling Kamen Rider Decade, took place on what at first seemed to be a day like any other.
While continuing their aimless sojourn across the multiverse, Tsukasa and the rest of the occupants of the Hikari Studio had arrived on an A. R. World which, at first glance, seemed like all the rest. Japan was being attacked by monsters bent on destroying the world and remaking it in their own image, and heroic Kamen Riders were fighting to stop them… Whenever they weren't too busy fighting each other, that was.
While trying to glean more information using the gigolo disguise this world had given him (humiliating, yes, but not the worst role a world had selected for him. The less he was reminded of that time he was a geisha, the better), Tsukasa managed to locate the local Riders, who appeared to be in a big, confusing melee fighting each other and the monsters – called "Megiddo" – while a guy in fancy robes holding a glowing book was sitting on the sidelines laughing maniacally. Deciding this was as good a time as any to intervene, Tsukasa had gladly changed out of his gigolo outfit and transformed into his Rider form, drawing everyone's attention.
"Touma, who is that devilishly handsome and incredibly powerful-looking Rider who makes me weak in the knees, just staring at him?" Kamen Rider Blades, the swordsman of water, asked in awe.
"I don't know, Rintaro," Kamen Rider Saber, the swordsman of fire, said rapturously. "All I know is he is truly the answer to all our prayers and can no doubt resolve all of our problems and save our world in the span of roughly 45 minutes. Who are you, O mysterious stranger?"
Of course, they didn't actually say anything like that, Tsukasa just liked to imagine they were thinking it sometimes. What they ACTUALLY said something was more along the lines of, "Touma, who in the world is that Homo sapien?" (Which was a weird thing to say, wasn't he a human as well?) Followed by, "I have no idea, Rintaro, but he appears to be a Rider. It doesn't look like he's from the Sword of Logos, though, seeing as how he doesn't have a sword of his own. Be on your guard, we don't know who he is or what he wants."
Taking that as his cue, Tsukasa delivered his catchphrase. "I'm just a passing through Kamen Rider. Remember that!"
The numerous Riders and monsters stared him blankly. "That… Doesn't tell us anything," Kamen Rider Buster, the swordsman of earth, complained.
"Well, this is unexpected…" One of the Megiddo, who resembled a druid, murmured. "Now, how can I use this to my advantage?"
"Master Logos, should I kill him?" Kamen Rider Sabela, the swordswoman of smoke, asked the man in the robes.
"Perhaps…"Master Logos murmured, intrigued. "He doesn't seem to have a sword… We don't know his intentions yet."
And that happened to be the cue for a certain recurring nuisance to deliver his usual line. "Don't listen to his lies!" Tsukasa's eternal thorn in his side, Narutaki, shouted as he suddenly appeared. "That is Kamen Rider Decade, the destroyer of worlds! Trust him if you dare, for he brings ruin and misfortune everywhere he goes!"
The locals started. "Wait, destroyer of worlds?!" Rintaro cried in dismay.
"As the sword that protects the world, I cannot allow such a threat to stand," Kamen Rider Saiko, the swordsman of light, proclaimed gravely.
Kamen Rider Kenzan, swordsman of wind, scoffed. "Please, he doesn't look that tough! Kento could totally take him, right, Kento?"
Kamen Rider Calibur, the swordsman of darkness, seemed shaken. "When I look at him… I see more dark features than I ever imagined. Is he a greater danger to the Earth then the Book of omniscience?"
"You can't destroy this world, I haven't conquered it yet!" Master Logos protested in dismay.
"Neither have we!" Shouted Zooous, the bestial Megiddo. "Besides, we had first dibs!"
"Don't listen to him!" Tsukasa's sidekick, Yusuke Onodera, shouted as he came into view with Tsukasa's other friend, Natsumi Hikari. "Tsukasa doesn't destroy worlds, he saves them! He leaves every world he visits better off than it was when he got there! Well, except for the ones that he leaves in worse shape. But everyone makes mistakes!"
Tsukasa facepalmed. "Yusuke, that's not helping."
"So… I'm confused," said the bewildered Touma. "Are you a destroyer or a Savior?"
"Definitely Savior. I travel the multiverse, going from world to world, helping people in need," Tsukasa sure to them. "I don't destroy worlds."
"Yeah, not anymore," Yusuke agreed. Tsukasa facepalmed again and an exasperated Natsumi elbowed him. "Ow! What?"
The local heroes and villains tensed. "'Anymore?'" Kamen Rider Slash, swordsman of sound, demanded.
"Okay, look, I did destroy worlds once, back when I was evil," Tsukasa admitted. "But I don't do that anymore! After I lost my memories, I remade myself into a hero, and now I save worlds instead of destroying them."
"… A former villain, reinventing himself as a hero of justice after losing his memories…" Touma murmured, fascinated. "I've always been fond of that sort of character in stories. Even written a few myself."
"Think we can trust him, novelist?" Ryo Ogami queried.
"Maybe-"
"Don't listen to him!" Narutaki interjected. "Sure, he SAYS he's given up destroying worlds, but then he goes right back to doing it anyway, then after-the-fact claims it was for a good reason and it was all part of the plan and he'll never do it again, honest, and then he just goes off and does it again anyway!"
"I-it's not like that!" Tsukasa protested.
"Yeah, Tsukasa's never done that!" Yusuke agreed. "… Except for the time he regained his memories and resumed leadership of the evil organization Dai-Shocker to conquer the multiverse. And the time he murdered a bunch of Riders and destroyed their worlds, though they got better later for some reason. And the time he became the leader of Dai-Shocker again, and killed just about every Super Sentai, though it later turned out he hadn't really. And the time he murdered a bunch of innocent people while looking for the one of them that was actually evil, and led a horde of monsters into a school of helpless students. Oh, and then there was that one time at the Christmas party where he drank too much eggnog and-"
"Yusuke, if you don't shut up, I'm going to let Kiva-la drain you dry," Natsumi snarled.
Natsumi's partner, Kiva-la, made a face. "I'd rather not, I don't like drinking stupid…"
"Master Logos, I think my sister's initial assessment was right. We should kill him," Kamen Rider Durendal, swordsman of time, suggested.
Master Logos nodded in agreement. "That's sounding more and more like a good idea by the minute."
"I don't suppose you'd be amenable to a temporary truce?" Reika Shindai asked Touma. "I have no more interest in seeing him destroy the world than you do."
"Yes, and if we stop them from destroying the world, that means it's free for us to do so later," the druid, Storious, pointed out amiably.
"… That idea sounds oddly more appealing than it should," Touma muttered.
"No, look, seriously! There's no need for that!" Tsukasa said quickly, slowly realizing he might be about to fight those who should be his allies again. "I'm not here to destroy your world, honest! I'm here to help you Riders against the evil you're facing!"
"What, you don't think we can do it ourselves?" Ren asked indignantly. "We didn't ask you here! We can handle this ourselves!"
"Ren, I don't think-" Touma started.
"No, seriously! Who does this guy think he is, just popping in out of nowhere to 'help' us, implying that we aren't capable of handling our own problems?" Ren insisted. "This is our world, we shouldn't need to rely on some outsider to clean up our mess!"
"That's not – that's not what I was implying all!" Tsukasa protested, feeling the conversation slipping away from him more and more.
Narutaki snorted. "That's typical Decade for you, always sticking his nose where it doesn't belong. First he shows up out of the blue, claiming he's here to help, next thing you know, your world is in ruins, and he's already moved on to the next-"
"Okay, seriously, will you just shut up?!" Tsukasa snapped at Narutaki, losing his patience. "Everywhere I go, it's the same thing! 'Curse you, Decade!' 'Decade is the destroyer of worlds!' 'Decade is the greatest evil there is!' 'Decade ate the last pudding!'"
"To be fair, you kind of did do that last one-" Yusuke started.
"SHUT UP, YUSUKE!" Tsukasa and Natsumi shouted at him.
"I mean, you've been doing this for years! You've been constantly chasing me and harassing my friends and I for years! What the Helheim did I do to you, anyway? What, did I destroy your world or something?!" Tsukasa demanded.
"Yes," Narutaki said coldly. "You did."
There was an awkward pause. "Okay, I didn't see that coming," Yusuke said after a minute.
"I… Wait, really?" Tsukasa asked, flustered.
Narutaki nodded slowly, an expression of pure hatred etched on his face. "My world was in dire straits and on the brink of an economic and environmental collapse. You showed up one day and offered to use your abilities to set things back to rights. We let you into our homes. We introduced you to our families. And then, once you earned our trust, you stabbed us in the backs, stole everything worth taking, and destroyed the planet, laughing all the while and telling us we had no part in your grand Multiversal Empire."
Another of the Megiddo, the wildcard Desast, whistled. "Nice."
"I was the only survivor," Narutaki continued angrily. "My thirst for revenge and hatred for your very existence the only thing keeping me going, I vowed to pursue you from world to world, hindering you as best I could to make sure the fate that befell my world wouldn't happen to any others. For the sake of my friends, my family, my entire world, I will never rest until you are removed from the face of the multiverse. You may tell others and yourself that you've changed, but I will always know you for what you really are: the destroyer of worlds."
"Narutaki… I… I had no idea…" Tsukasa stammered, shocked.
"No, of course you don't," Narutaki sneered. "Why would you even remember? We were just one world out of so many others. Why should you ever recall what you did to us, given you probably did it so often it became second nature?"
"Hey, that's not fair," Natsumi spoke up. "Tsukasa lost his memories! Of course he doesn't remember your world!"
Yusuke nodded. "Yeah!… Though I think he got back some of his memories when he returned to his home world and became leader of Dai-Shocker again, the fact that he still doesn't remember your world really doesn't speak well forAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He screamed as Kiva-la dug her fangs into his neck and started drinking.
"Narutaki, I… I'm so, so sorry," Tsukasa apologized. "I didn't… I had no idea-"
"You think an apology will make up for what you did?" Narutaki replied angrily. "There can be no forgiveness for your actions." He glanced at the locals. "You see why I oppose him now? Why you should help me in destroying him? He claims to be reformed, yet has relapsed again and again, and can't even be bothered to remember the worlds he's destroyed! Is this really a Rider you can trust?"
The locals considered this for a moment. Finally, Touma turned to Reika and asked, "So, is that offer for a team up still on the table?"
"Touma!" Rintaro cried in disbelief. "We can't team up with them! They have corrupted the Sword of Logos! They may be an even greater threat than the Megiddo!"
"Excuse me?!" Zooous bellowed, furious at this implication.
Desast laughed. "Shouldn't have said that."
"Look, everyone calm down," Natsumi spoke up. "Nobody has to team up with anyone. Tsukasa is NOT a bad guy, and he's not going to destroy your world."
"Thank you, Natsumi," Tsukasa said in relief.
"Because he knows that if he did, I would whup his ass so hard he'd need to be brought back from the dead again," Natsumi continued.
Tsukasa stared at her confusion, which quickly turned into mounting horror. "What are you… No, no, Natsumi, we talked about this-"
"You see, Tsukasa might be the Destroyer of Worlds," Natsumi continued, ignoring the Rider's desperate pleas. "But me? I am the Destroyer of Destroyers!"
Yuri tilted his head in curiosity. "What do you mean by that?"
"Yes, please elaborate," Ryoga Shindai commanded.
"Natsumi, don't-" Tsukasa begged her, but the girl ignored him.
"You see, I'm a Kamen Rider too! Kamen Rider Kiva-la, in fact," Natsumi bragged. "When Tsukasa was at his worst, killing Riders and destroying worlds left and right, I stepped up, transformed for the first time, and struck him down with all my might, saving the entire multiverse!"
"Natsumi, come on, we both know that's not how it happened-" Tsukasa stammered.
"And since Tsukasa was at that point the strongest Rider ever, the fact that I beat him at his most powerful means that I am one of the strongest Riders in any world, and I've only grown stronger over time!" Natsumi boasted.
Tsukasa facepalmed. "Goddammit…"
The locals exchanged glances. "If what she's saying is true, that would make her pretty powerful," Tetsuo pointed out.
Ren snorted. "There's no way she could ever beat Kento!"
Kento sighed.
"Oh, she totally could," Yusuke assured him, pale and struggling to stay on his feet due to Kiva-la sucking his blood. "She was able to take down Tsukasa when I couldn't! And I'm pretty strong, if I do say so myself."
"No, you aren't," Kiva-la chirped.
"Shut up," he growled.
"Perhaps this woman is the one we should be concerned with," Storious said warily, eyeing Natsumi with doubt.
"Out of curiosity, how exactly did you defeat Tsukasa at his strongest and most world-destroyingest?" Storious asked, trying to sound casual.
"Hmm? Oh, I ran my sword through his Driver," Natsumi explained.
"The Driver… I see… That's something I should keep in mind…" Storious muttered to himself.
Rintaro nodded. "Yes, that would be good information to know if this 'Decade' were to lose his mind and start trying to destroy our world."
Tsukasa facepalmed. "Can… Can we just get the inevitable misunderstanding-induced fight out of the way so we can focus on fighting the real bad guys? Because I'd really like to get off this topic as fast as possible."
"Actually, as a novelist, I'm a bit curious as to what method you used to destroy those worlds," Touma spoke up. "I've been hitting a bit of a writer's block with the villain for my latest novel, and I could use some ideas."
As Yusuke started explaining how Tsukasa had destroyed worlds in the past by killing Riders, which, understandably, didn't exactly do a good job of endearing him to the locals, Tsukasa glared hatefully at Narutaki, blaming him for all this. "Curse you, Narutaki."
The persistent thorn in his side cackled. "Fun to say, isn't it?"
…
Roughly 40 minutes later, the exhausted trio stumbled back into Hikari Studio. Eijiro Hikari, who for whatever reason had decided to wear his Dr. Shinigami outfit that day, smiled and looked up from the squid he'd been preparing for dinner. "Welcome back! How did it go?"
"Oh, not that bad," Yusuke said as he collapsed in a chair with a weary sigh.
"Yusuke, you almost got eaten," the worn-out Tsukasa groaned, slumping against a wall. "Twice."
"To be fair, that isn't really that bad for him," Natsumi pointed out as she just plopped down right there on the floor, stroking a purring Kiva-la. "Also, Tsukasa, you're on fire."
Without even looking, Tsukasa pinched out the small flames burning in his hair.
Eijiro winced, taking in their beaten-up, tired looks. "Narutaki showed up?"
"Narutaki showed up," they all replied, deadpan.
The old man tutted and shook his head. "What exactly does he have against you, anyway, Tsukasa? Did you destroy his world or something?"
"Yes," Tsukasa groaned.
Eijiro blinked, then nodded slowly. "Yeah, that would do it."
"He managed to rally just about all the local Riders against us," Natsumi muttered. "Even the evil ones."
"There was this crazy guy who kept trying to hit me with a book, rambling about how he was going to become the God of the New World or something, so he wouldn't let me destroy it first," Tsukasa grunted, taking an offered can of beer from Eijiro and immediately downing it.
"Then he got into an argument with some monsters who said they were going to be the gods of the New World, and then this creepy-looking guy with dark powers kept trying to kill us to change the future or something, and another monster ran around attacking everyone and this ninja kept trying to assassinate Tsukasa to make his senpai notice him, I think at one point I got turned into a keychain, I'm not really sure how that happened," Yusuke recalled.
"You got attacked by a cat girl," Natsumi reminded him.
"Oh, right."
"Was she cute?" Eijiro asked.
Yusuke shook his head. "No. She was really mean, though. Said some seriously hurtful things."
"Still, we sorted things out somehow, and now we never have to come back here again," Natsumi said firmly.
The boys nodded in wordless agreement.
"And in the next world… Natsumi, could you please not bring up how you killed me that one time?" Tsukasa asked, frowning at his female companion. "It's getting a little tiresome."
"Well, it's true," Natsumi replied, raising an eyebrow.
Tsukasa frowned. "No it's not."
Natsumi raised her other eyebrow. "So you're saying that I didn't kill you once?"
"You did," Tsukasa admitted grudgingly. "But only because I let you."
She smirked at that. "Right. Suuuuuuuure you did."
Tsukasa glared at her. "Natsumi."
She chuckled. "Oh, relax. I'm only doing it to protect you."
Tsukasa gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?"
Natsumi smiled. "Well, I know you let me win, you know you let me win, Grandpa and Yusuke know you let me win-"
"Actually, I didn't," Yusuke confessed, looking genuinely surprised. They ignored him.
"But they don't know that," Natsumi continued. "So when Narutaki goes around spouting his mouth off about how you're the Destroyer of Worlds and Yusuke is doing absolutely nothing to help change everyone else's minds-"
"Hey!"
"When I step up and tell everyone that I beat you once and could beat you again, it helps put them at ease and makes them less afraid of you if they think you're traveling with someone powerful enough to stop you if you ever go evil again," Natsumi continued.
Tsukasa blinked, surprised by the merit in this idea. "That's… Actually not a bad idea, Natsumi. Thanks."
"It especially helps that it's true," Kiva-la bragged. "If you ever did go evil again, my mistress could shut you down, no problem!"
Tsukasa chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Kiva-la, it's admirable how much faith you have in Natsumi, but-"
"Actually, she's right, I could stop you if you ever went evil again."
Tsukasa blinked and shot Natsumi a confused look. "What? What are you talking about?"
Natsumi gave him a serious look. "I've become a lot stronger since our first battle, Tsukasa. I genuinely believe that, in a real fight, I could take you."
Tsukasa stared at her in disbelief. "Natsumi, I've gotten stronger too. A lot stronger. Heck, my base form is more or less equivalent to my Violent Emotion form, and my new ultimate is even stronger, given that it's powered by 21 Riders!"
"It still got cheesed by Oma Zi-O, though," Natsumi pointed out.
"He's the strongest Kamen Rider villain ever, technically has the power of every Rider in history, and I was dying at the time," Tsukasa retorted defensively.
"If he was so strong, then how come he was beaten by Sougo Tokiwa using a new variant of his power-up form, which by all means should have been drastically weaker than both of you?" Yusuke wondered, genuinely curious.
Tsukasa, who was kept up at night wondering the same thing, ignored him. "Natsumi, I don't mean to downplay your accomplishments, but there's no way you could take me if I was going all out."
"I totally could," Natsumi insisted. "I've even come up with a foolproof strategy to beat you."
Tsukasa raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Have you now."
Natsumi nodded, and Kiva-la probably chirped, "She has! And a magnificent plan at that, as befits my beautiful and brilliant mistress! You see, all she needs to do is-"
Natsumi quickly covered her partner's mouth. "Hush, Kiva-la! Don't give it away!"
Tsukasa shook his head. "Well, while I'm sure it's a fine strategy-"
"It doesn't sound like you think it's a fine strategy," Yusuke interjected.
"Shut up, Yusuke!" Tsukasa hissed. "Anyway, Natsumi, while I'm sure you've put a lot of time into whatever plan you've come up with, I rather doubt it would work as well as you think it does. No plan survives first contact with the enemy, after all, and I can be a pretty powerful enemy when I put my mind to it."
Natsumi smirked. "So, I guess you wouldn't mind putting it to the test?"
Tsukasa shrugged. "I see no reason to do so."
Eijiro tsked. "That seems unwise, Tsukasa. Don't you think it would be a good idea to see what this strategy is? You have many enemies, after all, and if Natsumi's come up with a plan, it's possible someone else has come up with something similar. If a flaw does exist in your fighting style, wouldn't it be for the best for you to learn what it is and correct it before somebody less well-meaning can exploit it?"
"Hey yeah, that's good point," Yusuke agreed.
"Shut up, Yusuke," Tsukasa grunted.
"How about we raise the stakes a bit?" Natsumi suggested. "If my strategy fails, I'll stop telling people about how I killed you once, even in jest, since I know how much it galls your fragile male ego that everyone believes you got taken down by a girl in her very first battle."
"It doesn't gall my fragile male ego," Tsukasa insisted.
(This was a lie. It galled him quite a lot.)
"And if it works… You have to give me your power," Natsumi said.
Tsukasa started. "I'm sorry, what?!" He cried, staring incredulously at Natsumi, searching her lovely features for any hint of a joke.
He couldn't find any. Natsumi was completely serious.
"Why… Why in all the worlds would I do something like that?!" Tsukasa demanded, starting to get angry.
"It would be for your own good," Natsumi insisted.
"How would giving up being a Kamen Rider be for my own good?!" Tsukasa yelled.
"Well, it would certainly be better for your health," Eijiro pointed out. Tsukasa ignored him.
"I don't want your Rider powers," Natsumi insisted. "You can keep those. I mean your other powers. The ones pertaining to dimensions, reality, and the destruction of worlds."
"Why the hell would I ever give those up?!" Tsukasa snapped. "Assuming that I can, which is a big leap."
"But didn't you share your power with Sougo Tokiwa?" Yusuke pointed out. "And since that Swartz guy was able to steal your power, that means it must be possible to transfer it-"
"Shut up, Yusuke!"
"It's for your own good," Natsumi again insisted.
"How would it be for my own good?!" Tsukasa demanded.
"Because people would stop trying to kill you."
Tsukasa blinked. "What?"
"Well, fewer people," Natsumi amended. "I mean, let's be real, people will always try to kill you for one reason or another, especially in this line of work. But this would take away some of them."
"What are you talking about?" He asked, bewildered.
"A lot of the reasons we get in fights with other Riders or heroes is because Narutaki or someone else tells them that you're the destroyer of worlds, and they understandably assume you're a threat and try to take you out," Natsumi pointed out. "But if you weren't the destroyer of worlds anymore, those rumors would have far less weight behind them. And there's little chance of that sort of stigma happening to me if I were to have your power, since we all know Narutaki likes me and, if anything, would talk me up."
"Hey yeah, he probably would," Yusuke recalled.
"Plus, that would mean people would stop blaming you for things everywhere you go," Natsumi added. "Which we all know you hate, even if you pretend it doesn't."
Tsukasa considered this for a moment. "It… Would be nice if other Riders stopped attacking us whenever we got to a new world," Yusuke proffered hesitantly.
"That… Doesn't mean this is something I should do," Tsukasa murmured, sounding as if he was trying to convince himself. "This is… The role the worlds have chosen for me."
"Don't you think it's time you chose your own role, Tsukasa?" Eijiro asked gently.
Tsukasa gave no answer.
"If you're that bothered, I'd be willing to only take half your power," Natsumi offered. "I don't think I need all of it, but it would certainly help."
Tsukasa frowned at her. "Why do you even want it in the first place? We both know you aren't going to become a destroyer yourself."
"I'm not," she agreed. "But… I was recently offered a chance to help protect the multiverse on a much broader scale than the world-by-world method we've been using so far. I want to take it, but…" She bit her lip. "I need to be a bit stronger than I am now, and inheriting your power – even if it's just a fraction – would get me to where I need to be."
Tsukasa frowned at her. "Why didn't they ask for me?"
"Or me?" Yusuke asked.
"You have a bit of a stigma attached to you, Tsukasa," Natsumi pointed out in apology. "And Yusuke… I don't think they actually know who you are."
Yusuke pouted at this.
Tsukasa considered for a moment, but shook his head. "I don't know, Natsumi. Your heart's in the right place, but… I'm not sure you can even handle my power."
"If I can defeat you, won't that prove I'm capable?" She pointed out.
"I suppose," he admitted grudgingly. "But I'm not going to fight you, Natsumi. It's too risky."
She nodded, looking disappointed. "I understand, Tsukasa. I don't think less of you for refusing."
He smiled in relief. "Thanks, Natsumi."
"I can't say Daiki will feel the same way, though."
Tsukasa stiffened. "… I don't care what Daiki thinks about me."
(This was a lie. He cared very much what Daiki Kaito thought about him.)
Natsumi gave him a patronizing smile. "Of course you don't."
He glared at her coldly for a minute. She just kept smiling back.
Yusuke blinked. Kiva-la giggled. Eijiro continued preparing dinner.
"You'll stop telling people you beat me unprompted?" He asked finally.
"If you win," Natsumi confirmed.
"You won't," he insisted.
Her smile widened. "We'll see."
He narrowed his eyes. "Yes. I suppose we will."
"Then we're going to fight?" Natsumi inquired.
"We're going to fight," he confirmed. "For real this time. I'm not going to hold back."
"Good," she told him. "I wouldn't want it any other way."
Seeing the triumphant look in her eyes, Tsukasa got the worrying feeling that he had just made one of the biggest mistakes of his life.
…
After they'd fully recovered, they traveled to the next world over and headed to one of the ubiquitous abandoned quarries that seemed to be in every dimension they'd ever visited, far from prying eyes. As the two Riders squared off, Eijiro and Yusuke – the former wearing a T-shirt and carrying flags in support of his granddaughter, the other wearing a T-shirt and carrying flags in support of Tsukasa – made themselves comfortable at the edge of the quarry, and were soon joined by Narutaki, who brought popcorn, because of course he did.
Tsukasa frowned when he noticed his perennial foe watching with his friends. The bastard had the tenacity to wave at him. "Of course he's here… I'm kind of surprised Daiki isn't, though."
"Yeah, he's always game to watch you get humiliated," Natsumi agreed.
"I'm not going to get humiliated," he said a little too quickly. "You're going to get humiliated."
"Mm-hmm," she replied, not sounding like she believed that, or was particularly impressed by his amazing retort. "Are you ready to fork over your power when you lose?"
"I won't lose," he insisted, producing his Rider card.
She chuckled. "Just keep telling yourself that."
"I will!" Tsukasa shot back. "Keep telling myself that. Because I'm going to win! Not you!"
Everyone stared at him blankly. Narutaki burst into laughter.
Coughing awkwardly, Tsukasa inserted the card into his Driver.
KAMEN RIDE!
"Henshin!"
DECADE!
As Tsukasa changed to his Rider form, Natsumi extended a hand. "Kiva-la!"
"I am at your command, Mistress!" The adorable Kiva-bat squeaked, flying into her grasp.
"Henshin!"
A glowing mark appeared on her forehead and heart-shaped rings flew out of Kiva-la, bursting into fragments of purple stained light which covered her body, solidifying to form her Kamen Rider outfit.
She snapped her fingers. "Come, Tatsula!"
"Tension fortissimo!" Chirped an adorable silver Dragon as it swooped down from out of nowhere and struck her pauldrons, causing them to flip open to form silvery wings which unleashed a flock of silvery bats before landing on her left wrist.
"Henshin!"
The silvery bats swarmed onto her body, modifying her armor and causing her suit to resemble a silver and purple recolor of Kiva Emperor Form, a white and purple cape appearing on her back in a burst of purple flames.
"Now, Tsukasa," Natsumi declared, drawing her Kiva-la Saber. "Show me your full power!"
"Be careful what you wish for."
Tsukasa produced a large smart phone.
K-TOUCH 21!
He started pressing the Kamen Rider icons on the device in sequence.
DOUBLE, OOO, FOURZE-
Hearing footsteps rushing towards him, he glanced up just in time for Natsumi to deck him in the face. "Gah!"
She snatched the smart phone from his loosened grasp, hurled it far away, and shouted, "Hikari Secret Technique: Laughter Point!" Before driving a thumb into a spot on Tsukasa's neck.
He immediately collapsed to his knees, bursting into hysterical laughter as Natsumi applied pressure to his neck. "That's –hahahahaha – that's cheating!"
"No, I'm being pragmatic," Natsumi replied, applying more pressure. "You can't expect all of your adversaries to just stand around politely and wait for you to input the passcode to activate your ultimate form. I mean, seriously, isn't an 11 button password a bit much?"
"Hey yeah, even my cell phone password only goes up to six digits!" Yusuke realized. "I never go higher than four, though, because I always forget my password if it's too long."
"Don't you forget it all the time anyway?" Eijiro recalled.
Yusuke's head drooped in embarrassment. "Yeah, I do."
Narutaki was laughing so hard he nearly choked on his popcorn. "This is even better than I imagined…"
"Yield, Tsukasa!" Natsumi cried.
Tsukasa was laughing so hard his ribs were starting to hurt. Black spots swirled at the edges of his vision. He was having trouble breathing, and he felt like he needed to throw up. Even so, he defiantly cried, "N-never – hahahahaha! I'll never – haha – never give up!"
"Surrender, or I'll make you laugh so hard you start peeing!" Natsumi threatened.
"You wouldn't – ahahaha – you wouldn't dare!" He replied, calling her bluff.
Natsumi applied more pressure to his neck, and suddenly his crotch started feeling damp. "Wait! Hahaha - Stop! I give – hahahah - I give!"
"Tsukasa, no!" Cried a horrified Yusuke.
"Tsukasa, yes!" Cheered and ecstatic Eijiro.
"This is the best day of my life," Narutaki commented, a bright smile on his face.
Natsumi immediately removed her thumb, and Tsukasa fell onto his hands, coughing, shaking, and drawing in deep, shuddering breaths. "That…" He wheezed. "That was… Without a doubt… The most humiliating thing that's ever happened to me."
"Even more than the Christmas party?" Eijiro shouted.
"Even more humiliating than that."
"Even more humiliating than when we woke up in the same-"
"Yes, more humiliating than that, Yusuke!"
"Oh, it's even worse than that!" Narutaki cackled, holding up a smart phone. "I've been streaming the whole thing!"
Tsukasa groaned.
"Hey."
Tsukasa looked up to see that Natsumi was offering him a hand. "Sorry it went that far. I really thought you would break before I needed to make you wet yourself."
"You couldn't have come up with a less humiliating way to beat me?" He asked unhappily, accepting her help as she pulled him to his feet.
She shook her head. "You said it yourself, Tsukasa. You're pretty powerful. That's why I knew that if I had to beat you, I was going to need to be sneaky."
He sighed. "Well, I guess this teaches me a lesson or two about pride, arrogance, underestimating your opponent, or something like that." He grimaced. "I just wish it hadn't had to be such an embarrassing lesson…"
"If it helps, I don't think anyone else you ever fight is going to be able to replicate that move," Natsumi told him. "The proper amount of pressure and where to apply it is a Hikari family secret."
"Won't stop everyone from teasing me about it until the end of time," he grumbled.
"I certainly intend to!" Narutaki shouted happily.
"GO AWAY, NARUTAKI!" Tsukasa bellowed at the gadfly. Turning back to Natsumi, he sighed and reluctantly produced a blank card. "Well, a deal's a deal. You managed to defeat me, so my powers are yours. I just hope they bring you more happiness than they ever did for me."
He concentrated, and the card shimmered as energy was drained from him and into it, causing it to turn silver with the power of dimensions. He handed it to her, immediately feeling a great deal weaker the instant it left his hand… And strangely, found himself not minding it as much as he thought he had. It was as if a heavy burden he'd been carrying on his shoulders for so long he'd forgotten it was even there had at last been removed, leaving him feeling lighter and freer than he had in years.
He was no longer the Destroyer of Worlds, and maybe that wasn't such a bad thing after all.
"I promise you, you won't regret entrusting this to me," Natsumi promised, staring almost reverently at the incredible power in her hands.
"I know you won't," Tsukasa told her, and he meant it. "You've always been a better person than me. I know you'll use that power more responsibly than I ever could."
Eijiro cracked a grin. "And so, my granddaughter has ascended to become one of the most powerful beings in the multiverse… I am so very proud of her."
"Wait, does that mean I'm her sidekick now?" Yusuke wondered.
"You already were," Eijiro pointed out.
"Oh wow, that was great," Narutaki chuckled, wiping away a tear. "This video is never coming off my phone. A pity Kaito wasn't here, I'm sure he'd have gotten a kick out of it."
"Hey yeah, where is Daiki, anyway?" Yusuke wondered.
…
The Kamen Riders, Mei, remaining Megiddo, and Master Logos looked up at the sky in horror as the Book of Omniscience took form in the middle of a ring of Wonder Ride Books and sacred swords.
"I can't believe it," Touma whispered, aghast. "Despite everything we did, everything we fought for… It was all for nothing."
"This is it," Ryo said weakly. "The end of the world."
"If only there were some way we could have known this outcome might have happened!" Rintaro cried. "But surely none of us could possibly have foreseen something as horrible as this! If they had, I'm sure we would've taken any measures necessary to stop this catastrophe from taking place!"
Kento glared at him, seething with fury.
"This isn't fair!" Master Logos whined. "The power should be mine!"
"No, the power should be ours!" Zooous complained.
"And yet, instead it's… His," said a bewildered Tetsuo, nodding at Ren, who was standing beneath the opening book, laughing insanely.
"If only there were some way we could have predicted this shocking and unexpected betrayal!" Rintaro wailed. "Oh, the homeo sapienity!"
Kento clenched his teeth so hard they nearly cracked.
"Kento, you have to stop this!" Touma pleaded. "You're going to destroy the world!"
"That's the idea!" Ren shouted, eyes flashing with madness.
"But why? Why are you doing this?!" Ryo demanded.
"Because of HIM!" Ren cried, pointing at Touma, face twisted into a mask of hatred.
Touma blinked and pointed at himself in confusion. "Me? What did I do?!"
"Ever since you showed up, everything got worse!" Ren shouted. "The Megiddo ramped up their attacks, Master Logos went crazy-"
"Actually, I've been planning this since before you were born," Master Logos interjected.
"Kento stopped hanging out with me and everyone paid more attention to you, then he died, and then when he got back he turned into a jerk and sealed my sword for no reason and STILL ignored me," Ren continued raving, frothing with rage. "The world would be a better place if you weren't in it, you stupid novelist! So I'm going to use the Book of Omniscience to destroy the world and create a new one without you in it, where I'm the hero and get all the awesome power ups and toys and big destiny and most importantly, sempai will finally notice me!"
Everyone stared at him in disbelief.
"Seriously?" Ryo asked finally.
Kento facepalmed.
Master Logos gestured at Kento. "And you guys thought I was crazy?"
"IF ONLY WE HAD KNOWN THIS WAS COMING!" Rintaro shouted.
Kento had to physically restrain himself from strangling his former comrade.
"I honestly don't know if I should be proud or disappointed," Desast admitted.
"Disappointed," everyone told him.
"I know I am," Kento grumbled.
Touma gently held his childhood friend's hand. "Kento, if this is really the end, there's something I need to tell you. I've been in love with you for years-"
"I'm aggressively heterosexual," Kento interrupted him.
"Dammit."
"Not in the new world you won't be!" Ren cackled.
Kento shuddered.
"I have nothing to confess as well," Rintaro announced, turning to face a distraught Mei. "Mei, I've been in love with you since-"
"I'm in love with Touma," Mei told him apologetically.
Touma blinked. "Wait, really?"
"DAMMIT," Rintaro shouted.
"Master Logos-" Reika started.
He immediately cut her off. "Aromatic."
"DAMMIT."
"I've always hated you," Zooous told Storious.
"I've always hated you, too," Storious replied, touched.
They held hands and stared deep into each other's eyes.
"ENOUGH!" Ren shouted, eyes wide. "None of your stupid pathetic confessions of love or hate mean anything! Behold, as a new world dawns!"
The Book of Omniscience, now fully open, started glowing as it gathered its power to destroy the world…
Only for a silvery curtain to abruptly pass over it, causing it to disappear.
The Wonder Ride Books and sacred swords stopped glowing and fell from the sky, and everyone on the ground had to scurry to keep from being skewered by the giant blades.
The Kougouken Saikou shimmered, and a dazed Yuri materialized from it. "That was weird."
"What? What?! WHAT?!" Ren shrieked, tearing out clumps of hair.
"The hell just happened?" Asked a confused Ryo.
"Is this the new world?" Tetsuo speculated.
"If it is, then why am I still here?" Touma wondered.
"This… Is not a future I foresaw," a dumbfounded Kento murmured.
"Ew," remarked a disgusted Desast as Storious and Zooous started making out.
Without warning, Daiki Kaito appeared, holding the Book of Omniscience, now as big as a regular-sized book. "Treasures are irreplaceable. I'll be taking this," he told them, before disappearing in another silvery curtain.
Everyone stared at where the thief had just been, stunned.
And then, Ryoga shouted, "WHAT THE F-"
…
Cheeks very red, Tassel the storyteller slammed the book shut before staring at you, flabbergasted. "I did not see that ending coming."