November 29 of 1975 was a major day in the spotlight for veteran tokusatsu actor Hiroshi Miyauchi. Not only did he get the chance to return to his breakout role as Shiro Kazami/Kamen Rider V3 for Kamen Rider Stronger, but over at Gorenger the episode airing centered around another of his starring roles, Akira Shinmei/Aorenger. Just thought that was neat. Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, Cyborg 009, or any other referenced media.

*Stronger, Tackle, and Stream drive along a large field in a V formation. Up behind them approaches a fourth armored warrior that seems modeled after a tank, complete with a tank turret attached to his back. His Rider Machine is a shrunken-down Panzer with himself acting as the turret. This is Kamen Rider Arsenal and his Atomic Panzer.*

Kamen Rider Stronger!

*A stylized S appears on the screen as the music picks up and we get our title.*

Cyborg Stronger

Ride as swift as wind! Flying through the skies!

*The four Riders race past each other in a stunt pattern.*

Black Satan has seen its end today

*Delza Army Corps appear on motorcycles.*

Protect Japan, the one home that we have known

*The Corps circle around the Riders as if trying to confuse them.*

Let my raging heart burn with justice now

*The Riders break free of the formation and begin their attack, Arsenal firing off his turret.*

Behold! My deadly Denshi Shock!

*The Riders start causing the enemy bikes to crash one after another.*

Your evil life will be stolen from your wicked form!

*The Riders confront the Corps on foot as they prepare to battle.*

Who am I? Ask, who am I?

*The Riders display their various powers.*

Kamen Rider Stronger

*Stronger activates Charge Up, Dispersing it to power up the other Riders.*

Joe Shimamura was transformed into Cyborg 009 by the Black Ghost organization, but escaped with his fellow 00 Cyborgs thanks to the scientist who made them.

*The Riders leap onto a cliff and pull off a few action poses.*

With the defeat of Black Ghost, Joe joins his girlfriend Francoise Arnoul, 003, and his best friends Jet Link, 002, and Albert Heinrich, 004, as they become the Kamen Riders Stronger, Tackle, Stream, and Arsenal to fight against the new evil of the Delza Army.

Chapter 35: V3 Arms Against Snake Woman

With the possibility of finding Delza's home base, the Kamen Riders and Tobei searched for a possible entrance, yet so far were having no luck. As Tobei continued searching, something caused his jeep to stall. "What's going on? This baby's never stalled on me before... Better check the engine." As he hopped out, he suddenly noticed a large snake had plopped into the passenger's seat. The snake looked at Tobei and stared emitting a hypnotic gaze. Unaware of this, Joe spotted Tobei's jeep and waved him over. "Hey Pops, did you a way in?" When Tobei kept driving without responding, Joe figured something was wrong.

Jet's eyes widened. "Wait, I think he's driving right at us!" "Scatter!," Joe called out. The team drove out of the way, but Tobei just turned around to try again. "Jeez, it's like he's possessed!," Albert called out. Francoise's superior eyes spotted something on Tobei's forehead. "One of Snake Woman's scales! Quick, box him in!" The team tried, but Tobei wound up clipping the Kabutoro and sending both it and Joe hurtling down a nearby cliff. Suddenly Tobei came to his senses, wincing in pain from his abdomen.

"You okay?," Albert said as he helped Tobei out. "Yeah," Tobei assured him, "But what happened?" He gasped when he saw the cliff. "Another ten centimeters and that's all she wrote..." "Yeah," Jet said, "Snake Woman hypnotized you into doing that to Joe. He should be fine. We cyborgs can survive worse than that. He might be immobilized, though, so we should hurry and get him before Delza decides to take advantage." Unfortunately, Joe was waking up to a large snake slithering across his chest.

To his shock, the snake transformed into Snake Woman. "You've got some nerve turning my friends against me!," Joe admonished. He tried to get up, but he seemed to be completely paralyzed. "Since my earlier scheme didn't work," Snake Woman said, "I decided to forgo the tricks and just kill you with my own hands!" Joe looked over to Snake Woman's left hand, which looked like a serpent's head. Snake Woman shrugged. "Well, metaphorically speaking." And with that, she dug the serpent head into Joe's body, injecting him with some sort of liquid that conked him out.

"That's the end for you!," Snake Woman declared, "Now that I've absorbed your electric power, I can pour my venom into your mouth and infect you! Even your cyborg body can't survive it!" "Joe!," came the voice of Tobei. "Uh-oh," Snake Woman said, "Looks like I won't have time to do it now. But I'll be able to do so later." She quickly disappeared before Tobei and the other Riders came running. The group found Joe completely out of it. "Not good," Jet said, "He's been drained of his electrical energy. Even the Super Electronic Dynamo is down. We have to recharge him quick.

"Seems Snake Woman managed to finish Stronger off," Emperor noted. "So it would seem," Shadow said, "But let's not rest on our laurels. We still have three more Riders to deal with." Snake Woman warped into the room. "I should have expected as much from you," Shadow said. "I am eager to please, my darling husband," Snake Woman replied, "I wasn't able to get much venom into Stronger's body, but even the small amount I gave him should kill him before long, especially without his electric powers."

Going back a few weeks prior to this moment, a single cargo vessel had departed from Alexandria, Egypt, heading for Japan. Eventually the ship pulled into Kobe harbor. Two local thugs in suits watched as a large crate was being escorted by local police. "Get a load of that security," the older thug said. The younger one nodded. "Whatever is in there has gotta be worth a fortune. We should try and grab it for ourselves." While the two men schemed, a jetliner was flying to Japan from Bangkok, almost following the exact same route.

Stepping off the plane were two men all dressed in black, one of which flexed a gloved hand. They approached a taxi. "Kobe harbor," one said as they both got in. "Yes sir," the taxi driver replied. Back at the harbor, the two thugs were approaching the crate. "It's frigging huge," the older one said, "What do you figure is inside this thing?" "The shipping manifest says it's from Egypt," the younger one said, "Must be a priceless gold artifact. Probably worth millions! Come on, let's crack it open!" He opened his briefcase and started using the tools inside to remove the crate's lid.

Once he got the lid open, he was surprised to find only a sarcophagus. "Just some mummy?" "Mummies were buried wearing fine jewelry," the older thug noted, "We may still come out of this with some quick cash. Plus the sarcophagus itself could be worth much to a museum." Just then the lid of the sarcophagus flew open on its own, shocking the thugs. The mummy inside started to stir to life as red liquid poured up from the floor. Whatever it was, it acted like glue, sticking the thugs' feet to the ground, rendering them helpless as the mummy started to stand up.

The bandages quickly flew away, revealing the mummy to be some sort of flesh golem merged with cybernetic components. He chuckled at the thugs, who were freaking out and trying to get free. "So you've seen my true form. I'm afraid the penalty for mere mortals in that regard... Is death!" He flashed a beam from the jewel on his headdress, which flash-fried the thugs to death, leaving them only skeletons. The skeletons quickly turned to dust. The mummy creature nodded and called forth a group of Delza Army Corps, all of them wearing the same headdress. "This is our first step towards conquering Japan!"

He then perked his head up as he noticed something. "Tch... Our uninvited guests have arrived." He and his Corps crossed their arms and disappeared. The two men in black then entered, one of them shocked at the pile of dust in red liquid, and the empty crate. "Damn, we're too late!" "Our bikes are already at the dock," the other one said, "Let's hurry and find that majin before he can join his fellows." The duo quickly rode off on a pair motorcycles, following the new majin to Tokyo.

Back with Joe, the other Riders were using electrical converters in order to keep his strength up. "Come on, Joe!," Tobei said, "You can't die on us after all this!" Fortunately for Tobei's nerves, Joe did start to open his eyes. "Pops... I got hit by Snake Woman's poison... Can't move..." "Let me trigger your Electrer," Tobei offered, "You should be able to negate the poison by changing into Stronger." "No good...," Joe said, "My electrical power was drained... I don't have enough to charge the Electrer..."

He then noticed the converters leading to the other Rider Machines. "One more charge... Should be enough to juice me... Pops... Get my Kabutoro..." "You got it!," Tobei said, and hurried over to grab the bike. Attaching the jumper cable and power converter, Tobei hit the ignition. Joe felt like lightning was surging through him, allowing him to trigger the Electrer. "Henshin!" "Stronger!" The familiar surge of energy flowed through Stronger's body, purging the poison from his systems. As he got up, he felt himself get tackle-hugged by Francoise. "Don't scare me like that ever again! Do you know how many times I thought you were dead!" Stronger smiled beneath his helmet. "Sorry, Francoise. Last time, I promise."

Just then, several pots with snakes in them appeared, the snakes quickly changing into Snake Corps. "I think Snake Woman was trying to finish us off," Jet noted as he went for his Graviton. Francoise and Albert went for their devices as well. "Henshin!" "Tackle!" "Stream!" "Arsenal!" The Riders quickly went to work, dispatching the Corps with several quick strikes. Snake Woman appeared before long. "This time I'll make sure it's your last fight, Stronger!" "Bring it on!," Stronger said, "You won't be beating us at full strength!"

While the fight was going on, the two mystery men were driving along the road, overseen by the mummy majin in his sarcophagus. Several explosions suddenly went off along the riders' path, causing them both to stop. The Delza Corps that was with the mummy appeared. "Get them!," one called out. The two men removed their helmets and started beating down the Corps. The Corps was shocked at how indomitable the men seemed, almost like they weren't human. The mummy majin emerged from his sarcophagus to confront the two men.

"Why have you been following me!?," he demanded, "Just who are you two!?" The darker-haired man laughed. "Shall we show them, Ryo?" The lighter-haired man smiled. "Indeed, Akira." They both threw off their coats and removed their sunglasses. The mummy majin was shocked. "You two! Akira Fudo and Ryo Asuka!" "Indeed," Akira said, "We've been tracking you all the way from Egypt!" "When we heard you were heading for Japan," Ryo said, "We had to hurry over. Can't let you rejoin Delza, after all."

The mummy majin growled. "So that's how it is. But now that you know my secret, I can't you leave here alive!" "Let us?," Akira said with a scoff, "Who says it's up to you?" He and Ryo continued to beat down on the Corps. The majin fired off his death beam, only for Akira to dodge it, causing a hapless Corps to get destroyed instead. "Lesson to be learned," Ryo said, "Never fire off your instant death attacks when your underlings are still in combat." The mummy majin fired off a few more shots, Akira and Ryo dodging before leaping up a large hill. "You ready?," Akira asked. "Oh yeah," Ryo replied. He got out his Rider Helmet, while Akira charged up his Double Typhoon. "Henshin!" "V3!"

Akira leapt off the hill while Ryo donned the Rider Helmet, both of them transforming into their Kamen Rider forms. "I bear the legacy of heroes! Kamen Rider V3!" "I am Kamen Rider Arms, here to atone for my wretched past!" They both pointed at the mummy majin. "Time to end you, Marshal Machine!" Machine fought against the two Riders, but he wasn't truly equipped to counter them, rolling down a hill as they both struck at him. He recovered and started firing off his death beam.

V3 leapt into the air as Arms dodged aside. "Freezer Shot!" "Power Arm!" Machine was hit with a powerful freezing effect, only to get smashed out of it by Arms's Cassette Arms system. V3 then took the dazed majin and tossed him into the air. Machine got up and started charging. "Demon Pyramid Red Barrier!" A pyramid of red energy surrounded the two Riders. Machine fired off his death beam again, laughing when he saw the Riders engulfed. However, his elation turned to shock when he saw the Riders had somehow disappeared. Arms had used his Drill Arm to create an escape tunnel.

"Damn it!," Machine cursed, "Where did they go!?" "Right here!," V3 called out from a nearby hill, Arms appearing next to him with his Operation Arm active. They both leapt into the air. "V3 Screw Kick!" "Operation Kick!" The two strikes knocked Machine unconscious, forcing him into his sarcophagus, which promptly flew off. "Damn," Arms said, "He got away again. Just when we finally managed to track him down." "Before long he'll be heading for the Delza Army's main base," Akira noted.

Meanwhile Stronger and his team were continuing their battle against Snake Woman. The serpentine majin managed to grab Stronger's wrist with her whip to try and drag him in for another venom shot, but she wouldn't get the chance. "Electro Fire!" Stronger hit the whip, made from metal cord, with his electrical powers, creating a circuit that fried Snake Woman. She stumbled back before leaping away. "Okay, you got in a good shot! But now how about this little trick of mine!"

She launched her cape, which wound up clinging to Stronger. Snake Woman laughed as the others tried to get it off, sparks coming out from within it as they did. Little did any of them know, Akira and Ryo were driving to the scene. "Henshin!" "V3!" Unaware of the coming Riders, Snake Woman bragged about her ability. "That cape is my secret weapon! It's made with conductive metal wire woven right into the fabric! Right now it's draining each of you of your powers! This is finally the end of Stronger!"

"Good thing there are more Kamen Riders out there!," came V3's voice as he and Arms arrived. Snake Woman was shocked. "Who are you two!?" Tobei was elated. "V3! Arms! What are you doing back in Japan?" "Good to see you again, Chief," V3 said, "We were cleaning up what was left of Black Satan's overseas operations when we caught wind of the Delza Army." "When one of their agents came here," Arms said, "We chose to follow. And not a moment too soon, it seems. Rope Arm!"

Snake Woman tried to intercept the grapple line, only for V3 to knock her back. Stronger's team started to recover as the cape from removed from his form. "You okay, Stronger?," V3 asked as he came over. Stronger nodded. "Long time, no see. I just wish we didn't need your help to finish this." "Hey, you beat Black Satan with our help," V3 pointed out, "It's just that the Delza Army is far more vicious." Stronger nodded. "Now if you'll excuse us, Snake Woman just made this personal."

Stronger's team proceeded to beat down Snake Woman, a much easier prospect without her cape. V3 and Arms dodged aside as a large King of Spades flew through the air, Shadow emerging from it. "Kamen Riders V3 and Arms. I'll deal with you myself." "You must be General Shadow," Arms noted, "Stronger's mentioned you in his reports." Shadow drew his Shadow Sword to battle the two Riders. Meanwhile, Snake Woman had managed to get her serpent hand around Stronger's leg. "This time I'll drain every last ounce of your electric power!" "Let's see if you can handle it all!," Stronger declared, "Charge Up!"

Snake Woman screamed in pain as the Super Electronic Dynamo flooded her with more electrical energy than she could absorb, knocking her into the hill. Stronger got to his feet. "Disperse!" The Charge Up form was split amongst his team, and they leapt into the air while holding hands. "Rider Energy Pinwheel!" The spinning wheel of electricity, magnetism, gravity, and atomic energy slammed into Snake Woman, sending her flying before she hit the ground with a great explosion.

Shadow whirled his head around and clenched his fist. "As if I didn't have enough reasons to want Stronger dead, now he and his team have killed my wife. We'll settle this later!" He tossed several playing cards into the air. "Trump Fade!" Tobei ran over to Joe and the others. "You did it! Thank the stars! I was actually worried there!" "That was some power boost you got there," Ryo said. Joe nodded. "You can thank Raphtalia for that." "Her Super Electronic Dynamo has been a real game-changer," Francoise said. "That's Raphtalia for you," Akira said, "The forces of evil have nothing on her scientific know-how."

Joe nodded. "Thanks for coming to help, Akira. We could sure use it." "We're just the first to arrive," Akira noted, "The others should be showing up soon." "Even Naofumi?," Tobei said hopefully. "Especially Naofumi," Ryo assured him. Tobei could almost swear he felt tears welling up in his eyes. It had been way too long since he'd seen his old friend. "That reminds me," Akira said, "We came here following a majin named Marshall Machine, a member of Delza that wasn't part of General Shadow's group." Ryo nodded. "And we think this means that Shadow isn't the true leader of Delza. For now though, we don't know who is."

"V3 and Arms!?," Emperor called out in shock. "Silence please," Shadow insisted, "I'm mourning a lost love." He laid down a Queen of Spades in reverence next to a freshly lit candle. "With Snake Woman lost I am out of allies," Shadow admitted, "And attacking Stronger now would be a fool's errand." "Then perhaps the time has come to stop focusing on killing Stronger," came Marshal Machine's voice. Shadow stood up in shock. "It can't be!" Machine appeared within the chamber. "I see you're doing well, General Shadow, all things considered. And I see you've entered a partnership with a Blessed."

Shadow sighed. "I see... So we've been forced to call in a warrior of your caliber." Emperor was confused. "When did you do that?" "Not me," Shadow clarified, "Our leader." Now Emperor was even more confused. "But I thought you were the leader. If not you, then who?" "Oh, you'll meet him soon," Machine assured him, "Something interesting is happening in Japan soon. And I am not the only majin visiting... From outside the country." The battle with the Delza Army was reaching a new level, with majin and Riders alike coming in from across the world. And only one would win in the end.

To be continued...

Now I just need to figure out who's appearing in the episode Joji Yuki returned in, the Amazon Pack or the Kamen Rider Battlefront. Read and review.