Episode 6: 2 v 2
It was a slow day at Atori Café, and Ren was taking some time for himself in the room he stayed at in the café. As he sat on his bed, Ren removed the necklace he wore beneath his sweater and gripped it tightly. Staring sadly at the pair of rings that adorned it. The face of a woman materialized in Ren's mind as he stared at the rings.
"Eri… "Ren said to himself as he closed his eyes and put his hand against his head. "Whatever it takes. To have you with me again, I'll do whatever it takes. I don't care who tries to stop me, or how strong they are. I'm not afraid." But despite telling himself this, Tezuka's words seemed to play repeatedly in Ren's head.
"Have you ever had to kill another person?"
Tezuka's question had been repeating in Ren's head quite frequently now, and it was one Ren already knew the answer to. Or at least, he thought he did. There was only one way to revive Eri: The Rider War's wish. And to get it, all the other Kamen Riders had to be defeated until only one was left standing. Despite how long he'd been active as Kamen Rider Knight, Ren hadn't encountered any other Riders, just Mirror Monsters. That is, until Shinji Kido stumbled into the fray as Kamen Rider Ryuki. At first, Ren had no qualms about trying to kill Shinji. But Shinji revealing that he got into the Rider War by accident made Ren stop himself. Especially upon hearing that Shiro Kanzaki played no part in introducing him to the Rider War.
'And then the idiot declared he'd stop the fighting.' Ren thought with a frown. 'What right does he have to deny Eri's revival?! This is the only way I can save her, and that idiot's just running around playing hero! Does he honestly believe he can get the other Riders to listen to him? He's so naïve!' Ren sighed in frustration.
'He's also one of the few people to be nice to me. I think I need to step out. A ride around town ought to clear my head.' Ren grabbed his coat and was on his way out when Shinji stepped into the café.
"Oh! Hey, Ren!" Shinji greeted warmly.
"Kido." Ren nodded. "What brings you here? Hoping to drag me along while you play superhero?"
"No. But I am here because of you." Shinji said as he reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope. "Here you go."
"What this?" Ren asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Some of the money I owe you. About 1000 yen." Shinji replied. "I've got to cover gas, electric, and water at my apartment, plus food. You never said I had to pay you back all at once, so I figured you could accept it in installments. This was before my pay for the week, so I'll probably be able to give you more next time."
'I want to say I was joking, but this could really help with paying Eri's hospital bills.' Ren thought as he accepted the money. "Anything else you'd like to drop on my doorstep, Kido?"
"Not really." Shinji shrugged. "Just going to drive around a little bit. My boss let me off early today because things were so slow, so now I'm just riding around town. Also… " Shinji's face took on a serious expression.
"I've been standing by for any Mirror Monster attacks. And chances are where there's an attack, it's likely we'll run into either Scissors, Abyss, or both at once."
"You plan to take on two Riders at once?" Ren asked with a raised eyebrow. "You're either brave, crazy, or an idiot."
"Didn't you say that you'd crush all the other Kamen Riders?" Shinji countered. "Just staying here isn't going to help you do that any sooner."
"… You win this round." Ren stated flatly as he grabbed his helmet. 'But I guess even idiots can have good ideas sometimes.' Shinji just chuckled as he put on his goggles and helmet. Earning a stare from Ren.
"What?" Shinji asked.
"… Get a helmet like mine if you can." Ren answered. "You won't have to worry about your goggles breaking."
"I'll do that when I get a bike that's as cool as yours." Shinji smiled. "So, are we going to keep chatting about bikes? Or are we going on patrol, Batman?"
'Why does he keep calling me that?' Ren thought with a sigh as he started up his motorcycle.
Before long, the two heroic Riders were patrolling the city, keeping their ears peeled for the ringing of mirror noise. The pair was also keeping an eye on any windows for Mirror Monsters on the move. Ren was watching one side of the street while Shinji was keeping an eye on the other. And as luck would have it, Shinji spotted a pair of Zelles hopping in one of the windows. However, something was odd, the Zelles didn't look like they were stalking something. No, it looked like they were trying to flee. One of the Zelles even appeared injured given its shaky movements. Mirror Monsters were relentless in the pursuit of their targets, and very few things could make them turn tail. Only a stronger Mirror Monster, or a Kamen Rider, could have made such a sight possible.
"Ren!" Shinji called out! "Two Zelles! Left side of the street! One of them looks injured!"
Ren nodded, and the pair dismounted their bikes after crossing to the other side of the street. Once they were certain no one was looking, the two whipped out their Advent Decks and held them up to a nearby window. The V-Buckles materializing around their waist.
"HENSHIN!" Shinji and Ren cried out as they adopted their transformation poses before slotting their Advent Decks into the V-Buckles! Greyscale images of their armor spiraled towards them before colliding together and transforming the pair into their Rider forms!
Ryuki and Knight jumped into the mirror and mounted the waiting Ride Shooters, speeding off towards the Mirror World and the battles that awaited them. The instant they arrived, Ryuki and Knight dismounted from their rides and began scanning the area for any sign of the Zelles. They didn't have to look far as the Zelles stumbled right into their view, looking about ready to collapse.
"Looks like our partners are going to have any easy meal." Ryuki remarked as he prepared to open up the Dragvisor. But before he could, a familiar announcement rang through the air.
"FINAL VENT!"
A whistling sound echoed through the air before a human-sized ball crashed into one of the Zelles! The monster was sent flying and exploded mid-flight, yielding an energy orb from its destruction. As the smoke cleared, the figure that had crashed into the Zelle stood up. It was Kamen Rider Scissors. Enraged at the death of its comrade, the second Zelle stamped its foot and leaped into the air, intent attacking Scissors with a powerful dive kick! It wouldn't get the chance as a blast of pressurized water slammed into it, knocking it to the ground.
"Quite the jumpy ones, aren't they, Crabby?" Abyss whistled as he strolled up to Scissors with the Abyssclaw in his right hand. "Isn't this a lot more fun than just waiting for the monsters to strike?" Scissors didn't respond and just folded his arms.
"Geez. Sorry for trying to get along with my co-workers." Abyss groaned. "Well, no sense in dragging this out." Abyss drew a card from his Advent Deck that depicted his symbol on it with an ocean blue background and slotted it into the Abyssvisor.
"FINAL VENT!"
Upon the visor's announcement, a humanoid shark shot up from a puddle-like portal on the ground! Its head resembled the gauntlet that was Abyss's Strike Vent and in its hands were the Abysssabers. The monster shared the same color scheme as Abyss. This was Abysslasher, the contract monster of Kamen Rider Abyss. Abyssslasher then tossed the Abysssabers to Abyss, who caught them, and soon got behind his master. Abyssslasher then fired a stream of pressurized water from its mouth to launch Abyss forward right towards the wounded Zelle. The Zelle tried to retreat, but it was too late as Abyss closed in and thrashed away with his swords! Once Abyss ceased his slashing, the Zelle died in an explosion, Abyssslasher ravenously descending upon the energy orb that was released. With the Mirror Monsters dealt with, Abyss and Scissors turned their attention to Ryuki and Knight.
"Now with that out of the way," Abyss said as he brandished his swords. "Time to earn my salary."
Both Ryuki and Knight immediately went on the defensive as Abyss and Scissors charged at them, Scissors attacking Knight while Abyss went after Ryuki. As the shark Rider charged at him, Ryuki opened the Dragvisor's card chamber before rolling out of the way of Abyss's incoming swing. Meanwhile, Knight was using the Darkvisor to parry strikes from Scissors' visor.
"Perfect. I can settle the score from last time." Knight said as he blocked Scissors' swing and shoved the crab Rider back!
Meanwhile, Ryuki had come out of his roll and drew a card from his deck. With Abyss baring down on him, Ryuki hastily slotted the card into his visor and shut the chamber.
"GUARD VENT!"
Upon the Dragvisor's announcement, the Dragshield materialized in Ryuki's hands, blocking the vicious swings of Abyss's swords! While the shark Rider was briefly jolted from striking Ryuki's shield, Ryuki used the small window to bash Abyss with the Dragshield! Forcing Abyss backward and buying Ryuki some valuable breathing room. Not wasting any time, Ryuki drew another Advent Card from his deck after opening up the Dragvisor. Right as Abyss regained his bearings, Ryuki slotted the card he drew into the Dragvisor and shut the visor's chamber.
"SWORD VENT!"
In an instant, the Dragsaber descended into Ryuki's right hand, the dragon Rider gripping the sword tightly while keeping his shield raised.
"Jeez. It's times like this I wish my visor didn't dematerialize for my swords." Abyss sighed. "Oh well. Getting to dual wield more than makes up for it!"
Ryuki braced himself as Abyss charged at him and started hammering away with his swords, the Dragshield taking the brunt of the hits. When Abyss raised his Abyssabers to bring them down simultaneously, Ryuki slashed Abyss across his chest, sparks erupting from the hit! Ryuki continued to strike back with a series of hits from his sword aimed at the same area.
'Can't afford to let up!' Ryuki thought as he kept up his counterattack! Slashing with as quick as he could to score as many hits as possible! 'I don't want him dead, but I need him to back off!' One final slash, and Ryuki kicked Abyss in the stomach, sending the shark Rider sprawling to the ground!
"Ngh! Damn, dragon-boy! Didn't know you could hit that hard." Abyss groaned as he used his swords to prop himself back up. "Only people with something to fight for can hit like that. So, what's your stake in this fight?"
"Scissors had his Contract Monster feed on innocent people!" Ryuki answered! "Because of that, I promised that I'd see him answer for his actions and be brought to justice!"
"That explains why you've got it out for Crabby. Too bad batty-boy's beat you to the punch there." Abyss remarked as he watched Knight and Scissors summon their signature weapons to renew their clash. "But I wasn't talking about our little scrap here. No, I mean what's your stake in the Rider War. You know me, I could care less about the wish, my boss is paying me more than enough to fight for him. I'm already getting my wish granted, so what about you? What's your angle in all of this?"
"I'm not interested in the wish either." Ryuki answered as he tightened his grip on his weapons. "I'm fighting to protect people from the Mirror Monsters and stop the Rider War!"
"So, you've got a goal that you want to accomplish on your own, huh?" Abyss asked before throwing his head back and laughing and casually pointing one of his swords at Ryuki. "Ha ha ha! Well color me impressed, dragon-boy! That's something I can really respect! It all sounds like you're trying to play superhero to me, but it's a wish you're trying to make come true with your own efforts! Besides, I never bought into the whole 'defeat the other Riders and your wish will be granted' bit anyway."
"And why's that?" Ryuki asked.
"Simple. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is." Abyss replied. "It's been a nice chat and all… but I'm on the clock right now!"
Abyss rushed at Ryuki, his Abyssabers at the ready! Ryuki was surprised at the sudden charge but kept his cool in the face of the oncoming Abyss. Taking a deep breath, Ryuki steeled himself before jumping over Abyss's charge and kicking Abyss in the head while airborne and forcing the shark Rider to drop his swords. Abyss was sent into a tumble and soon found himself staring down Ryuki's Dragsaber.
Meanwhile, Knight and Scissors were still duking it out, Knight's lance clashing against Scissors' pincer gauntlet! The crab and bat Riders glaring at each other from beneath their helmets as sparks erupted from their weapons locking.
"I'm surprised you're working with another Rider." Scissors remarked with a distorted voice. "Why bother working together when we're all supposed to kill each other?"
"This coming from the guy who needed Abyss to save his hide when Ryuki, Raia and me had him cornered?" Knight shot back before shoving Scissors away. "Besides, when I must fight those two, I'll do it face-to-face. I won't resort to cheap tricks like the trap you set for Ryuki."
"Looking down on me, are we?" Scissors chuckled. "Don't be ridiculous. All that matters is making sure you're the last Rider standing. How you win and fight is irrelevant."
"Maybe to you it is," Knight's tone sharpened. "But all the Kamen Riders are willing to fight and die to realize their wishes. That's something I can respect, and I'll give that respect through facing any of them head-on!"
With that declaration, Knight charged at Scissors, the Winglancer poised to run the crab Rider through! Thinking fast, Scissors dismissed his Scissorspinch and opened up the Scissors Visor before drawing a card from his Advent Deck. Once the card was slotted in, Scissors snapped his visor shut, a familiar shield materializing in front of him to intercept Knight's charge! Knight was slightly jolted from the impact, but quickly recovered, striking Scissors's shield repeatedly in an effort to break the crab Rider's guard!
"I bet it's easy for you to talk so big when you've got an extra Rider waiting in the wings!" Scissors growled as he was gradually forced back by Knight's assault.
"Even without Raia, you're still outnumbered." Knight replied as he backed away from Scissors and dismissed his lance before drawing a card from his Advent Deck. The card depicted what looked like multiple copies of Knight's helmet. Knight opened up the Darkvisor, and slotted the card in without delay.
"TRICK VENT!"
At the visor's announcement, two copies of Kamen Rider Knight split off from their template! An instant later, two more copies materialized, Scissors utterly stunned at the small force facing him. All of the Knights charged in unison before splitting up to surround Scissors. Scissors looked about frantically as the Knights circled him. They were all completely identical, but only one was the real Knight. Suddenly, one of the Knights slashed at Scissors, prompting the crab Rider to raise his shield to defend himself! The Knight's attack was blocked, but this left Scissors vulnerable to a strike from behind. An opportunity that one of the other Knights didn't waste any time capitalizing on. Before long, Scissors found himself being constantly slashed and batted around by the circle of Knights! A situation that Abyss took note of.
"Figured Crabby would land himself in trouble again." Abyss sighed. "Looks like you and Batty-boy win this round, dragon-boy!"
"You could at least call me by my actual Rider name." Ryuki stated. "It's Ryuki."
"I'll keep that in mind." Abyss smirked before firing pressurized blades of water from his Abyssvisor at the dragon Rider! With Ryuki off his back, Abyss ran to Scissors while still firing projectiles from his visor, destroying some of the Knight copies that Knight had summoned. "We're pulling out, Scissors! No sense dying before we get our first paychecks!"
Scissors glared at Abyss for a moment before turning his attention to Knight. "We'll settle this next time, Knight."
With that, the pair of villainous Riders retreated through the nearest window, leaving Ryuki and Knight in the dust. Satisfied that the battle was over, Ryuki let out a sigh of relief.
"Well, we did better than last time, wouldn't you say?" Ryuki asked Knight.
"You seemed like you sort of knew what you were doing." Knight remarked. "But you're still an idiot for not finishing off Abyss."
"Finish him off when I don't even know his abilities?" Ryuki said flatly. "Come on, Ren! Abyss wouldn't be a mercenary Rider if he didn't have something special that gave him an edge over any other Rider! Heck, maybe his armor's unique ability is that it can deflect Final Vents!"
"Hmph. Guess you're not a total idiot after all." Knight nodded. "Come on, let's get out of here."
"I'm with you on that." Ryuki nodded. "Man, I would've been in trouble if you'd used that card on me back when we first met!"
"You just might find yourself facing it later on, Kido." Knight cautioned. "Because you could certainly use some work when it comes to fighting multiple opponents."
Beneath his helmet, Ryuki blinked. "Wait, did you just… offer to help with my training?"
"Consider this compensation for the money you gave me earlier." Knight smirked beneath his helmet. 'I wonder, is this what's like to have a friend?'
AN: Hey everyone! Sorry it took forever to get this chapter done. I've been pretty busy with college lately, and I've been re-reading some of my favorite stories. I'm so happy to see you've all been enjoying the story so far, and that you've been patient with me getting chapters out. Your reviews are the highlight of each new chapter I post!