Hey, welcome to chapter 4 of Kamen Rider Kikai: Automata.
Now, onto the story.
"Speaking"
'Thinking'
*Sounds*
Locations
[Kikai Driver]
"So… Let me get this straight: You had a dream last night in which some voice tells you how we can return home?"
The following morning, Rin decides to immediately tell Yuma and A2 about the livid dream she experienced.
Needless to say, the white-haired android and the human/Roidmude hybrid were speechless with the number of details the little girl provided them.
"That's right, Onii-chan! We have to collect all the Rider Gears!" The younger Oozora sibling affirms to her brother with a firm nod.
Despite how crazy Rin's dream apparently was, Yuma instantly believes in her.
All logic be damned given his own unique status as Mechanical Lifeform with a human soul, and also the fact that his sister might have some sort of 'magical power(?)' resting somewhere inside of her heart.
And besides, they were siblings. A family. They knew each other and know that they should stick together in hard moments like this.
'Rin also told us about me using a Rider Gear of Kamen Rider Drive to fight some sort of new enemy… What was it that she called? A Shade?' Yuma thinks in deep thought. 'Could her dream have also been some kind of premonition? Maybe she experienced a vision of the future?'
"We should get moving soon now that it's morning," A2 calls the siblings as her words brought the mechanical-themed Kamen Rider out of his thoughts. "If we pick up the pace, we can reach the Resistance Camp in a few hours."
"Alright, sounds good." The blue-eyed brunette tells his female android companion before turning to his sister. "Are you ready to go, Rin?"
"Yeah, Onii-chan." Rin replies, having gathered all of the belongings she acquired during their 'journey' in a bag Yuma found around the area.
"Alright, let's go." A2 says as the trio leaves the abandoned building they were hiding at since last night, checking their surroundings to make sure they wouldn't stumble upon hostile Machine Lifeforms or YoRHa agents.
Gear 4: An Old [F]riend
Eventually, Yuma, A2 and Rin finally made their way towards the entrance of the Resistance Camp...
The uneven road the trio were on ran by a couple of buildings, and was leading them into an opening ahead. As they rounded the last building, Yuma heard a waterfall somewhere ahead in the nearby vicinity, probably connected to the stream which fed the pond just in front of them. There was a fair-sized bank on the other side of the pond, where another road in disrepair bordered a wall of buildings. An alley situated itself near the middle of the wall, bordered on the ground by two walls, which didn't do a great job at preventing access.
But what was truly interesting was what was going on in front of the walls. There was a number of androids standing guard both on the wall and on the ground. Remembering what A2 told you, these were probably Resistance Androids, due to how they were dressed.
The Resistance Camp is where the Androids that fell to Earth, before the YoRHa squads, are based. These Androids have organized their own resistance army and lend their support to the YoRHa ones as they share a common cause "for humanity."
The camp entrance is located southeast of the City Ruins. There is a transporter located inside the camp itself for fast travel. Fences are set up in a defense position, and the camp itself is hidden in a clearing behind some old buildings. The area is actually quite large and extends back to reveal homes and storage facilities.
The trio started approaching the base along the wall.
Seeing how fortified the Resistance's defense was made Yuma think of one of those typical post-apocalyptic movies in which humans face monsters while trying their hardest to survive and stay alive. The military-like attires of the Resistance Androids semmed to further emphasize his opinion about this.
Before Yuma saw the camp, his thoughts turned briefly to the whole android/human similarity in appearance. When he first met A2, the mechanical Kamen Rider found out that she didn't think the young man was an android at first- she thought he was a new type of Machine Lifeform, unlike her, given his more robotic appearance.
But then, the brunette explained to her about his Advanced Camouflage ability: In which Roidmudes can generate disguises through film layers around their body that function similar to the cerebral cortex. This is what allowed him to keep his 'human/android form'.
Learning that, A2 was now convinced that the Rider could also trick others into believing that he was another android. She wouldn't have known better either if she hadn't seen him fight before as the Human-Type Roidmude and in his Kamen Rider Kikai form.
So, at least for now, if he tried to play it cool, and weren't an idiot about betraying his identity, Yuma could probably pass as being an android towards the camp for a short while.
But Yuma's thoughts would next drift to someone else…
'Rin...' The blue-eyed brunette now thinks about his sister's situation.
Unlike him, she was still a human in both mind and flesh.
Besides, she was a child. That would attract the obvious attention on her.
When Yuma was talking with A2, the white-haired gynoid was briefly looking at the green-eyed girl, when they first met, with a look of curiosity and…
Fascination, was it?
He really hopes that the other androids don't make much of a scene over his sister being a human...
The Resistance androids guarding the entrance finally took notice of the unusual trio approaching them.
"I need to talk with Anemone. I'm an acquaintance of hers." A2 tells one of them, placing her hands on her hips.
"You YoRHa?" The male guard android asks her back, taking note of her features: The long white hair, the damaged black attire and her floating sword.
But then he next takes notice of the two behind the Attacker model, focusing first on Yuma and his unusual clothes.
"I never saw you around here. Are you from one of the other bases?" He asks the brunette.
"Yes." The Rider lies with a straight face. "We're travelers. I met A2 here and she helped by guiding us to this place."
"Us?" The man looks confused at the teenager's wording before he finally focuses on the last memeber of their trio.
"Hi?" Rin greets him shyly before hiding behind her brother's figure.
The guards all look in shock at the little girl, staring at the green-eyed brunette in disbelief.
Not having time for their stunned reactions, A2 gets the Resistance androids' attention on her.
"It's urgent." She emphasizes, gesturing to the 'sole' human being.
This semmed to be enough as the guards nod in understanding, letting A2, Yuma and Rin enter the camp's premises.
Still, one of the other guards couldn't help but ask while looking at Rin:
"Is she...?" The android all look at the green-eyed brunette in some sort of wonder.
"Yes, she is a human." Yuma confirms as his sister sticks next to him.
The other androids gasp at this as they still keep looking at Rin in fascination while watching the unusual trio enter the deeper parts of the camp.
Well, Yuma could say 'camp', but what he and the girls just entered was more akin to the entryway of a house. This would have been a small plaza, were the town not in ruins.
"*Gasp!*"
"Is that…!?"
"No way..."
"A human!?"
The trio was already getting quite the attention of every Resistance android they passed by on their way. And all the attention Rin was especially getting from their eyes made her a bit uncomfortable as Yuma tried to calm her down by gently patting his sister's head.
As for A2, she just keeps sending pissed-off glares to everyone else, making sure the others keep their distance from the trio. She doesn't want them troubling and stressing Rin any further.
There was definitely activity down the street to the left, where the camp proper was, A2 steered the Oozora siblings towards one of the many tents being managed by one of the place's members.
There were several consoles behind the female Resistance android.
She wore a white shirt stained tan with dirt and dust, fastened with a large black belt with a slightly oxidized brass insignia on her mid-stomach. A green cape and hood covered her shoulders and head, decorated by a number of repairing stitches whose colors rarely matched the fabric beneath. Her grey pants had a number of items strapped over them. There were spikes on her knees -you didn't know what they were for- and a red pouch on her right thigh.
This is Anemone, an old 'acquaintance' of A2.
Anemone is a leader of the Resistance. She has a steadfast personality and cares for her friends.
During the first major battle of the 14th Machine War, she encountered the YoRHa team led by A2 during the Pearl Habor assault.
The mission was to take out the machine server that was on the island. Despite the loss of most of the people who attended the mission including Rose, Anemone and A2 managed to destroy the machine server and nullify the machine threat of Hawaii.
Anemone from then on became the new leader of the Android Resistance.
As the woman turns to first look at A2, her expression becomes one of shock and surprise to one of delight.
"Number Two! You're still alive." She says in relief to the Attacker model.
"Sorry I haven't been in touch, Anemone." A2 says back.
"You survived. That's all that matters." Anemone continues as she shook her head. "Though I fear that all of your fighting companions are long gone. I had to kill Number 21 with my own hands."
"...I'm sorry." The white-haired female apologizes, her usually stoic face briefly showing some sadness.
"No. It's… Well, please make yourself at home in our camp. I'll have someone show you around-" The resistance android tries to offer.
"Not necessary." A2 cuts her off before looking at the Resistance android with a pleasing look. "I came here because I have a favor to ask you."
This got a confused look from the other female.
"A favor?" Anemone repeats, raising an eyebrow.
"They need a place to stay." The 'rogue' YoRHa gestures to the Oozora siblings, making Anemone finally take notice of them.
"Hey."
"Hi."
Yuma greets the woman as his sister does the same, shocking enemy even further with now with her known presence.
"*Gasp!* A… A human?" The Resistance android gasps, looking at the green-eyed brunette in a mixture of disbelief and fascination.
Just what is going on here!?
A2 places a hand on Anemone's shoulder.
"Can we talk somewhere else in private?" The long white-haired gynoid requests the other woman.
Later…
At the entrance of the Resistance's Camp…
"I have talked with Anemone. She has agreed to offer you and your sister a shelter here, Yuma." A2 tells the mechanical Kamen Rider as Rin is also present with them.
The blue-eyed brunette nods to her in understanding.
"Thanks, A2. For everything." Yuma thanks the ex-YoRHa. "For helping us reach here."
"Yeah. Thanks, A2 Onee-chan!" Rin also thanked the Attacker type next as well.
Seeing the child's happy expression actually made the former YoRHa agent a bit flustered.
"D-Don't get the wrong idea." She told the siblings, stuttering a little. "I just don't think it was right to leave the two of you and let a human stay any longer back at the forest. That's all."
This actually got an amused expression from Yuma as Rin giggles in accordance.
The Rider could see that A2 sudden change in behavior would make some think of her as a tsundere girl. Yuma could perceive how she grew a soft spot for Rin during this brief time the three of them traveled together.
But that said...
"So, I guess this is it, huh?" Yuma gives a look to A2.
She looks back at him with the same expression.
"Yeah. There's still some Machines loitering around elsewhere that I have to destroy." The long white-haired gynoid explains.
Stillness fell onto the ground, and everyone looked at each other.
There was a clear note of dismay at the thought of leaving, though. One that the Rider echoed with his depressed nod.
Realization finally hits in as Rin looks upset upon hearing this.
"You're leaving?" She looks sadly at A2. "Can't you stay with us?" She pleads.
Yuma sighs at this, getting on his sister's level.
"Rin, you have to understand that A2 also has things she needs to do." He softly tells the little girl.
This semmed to be enough to pacify the green-eyed brunette as she nods in understanding.
"Okay..." Rin says in acknowledgment before getting closer to A2, hugging the tattered Attacker model.
This earns a startled look from the female gynoid as her expression softens once she feels the warmth coming from Rin's hug. As such, the white-haired android returns the gesture, patting the child's head.
"I promise we will see each other again, Rin." A2 tells the younger Oozora. "As an android, one of my duties is to also look after you."
This earns a hopeful reaction from the little girl.
"You promise?" Rin asks.
A2 just smiles back at her, ruffling the brunette's hair.
"Yeah, of course." The gynoid confirms. "In the meantime, just try to stay out of trouble, okay?"
"Okay, I promise." Rin vows.
The two girls then made a pinky swear to further solidify their bond.
"What's this?" A2 asks the little girl, wondering the meaning behind such hand gesture,
"It's a pinky swear." Rin starts to explain passionately and dramatically. "The most sacred, serious, vowel anyone can ever swear to. If broken, you must suffer some serious consequences. These promises come straight from the heart and are sworn to value. Remember the code!"
"I see." A2 adopts a serious expression upon hearing that. "Alright. I won't let you down, Rin. I promise."
Satisfied with this, Rin separates from the older woman as the Attacker android spares one last glance at Yuma.
"Take care, A2." The Kamen Rider tells her. "Just… Look, don't die, okay?" He looks at her with an expression of concern.
The white-haired female lets a small snort at his request before smirking at him in return.
"Right. There's no way I'm going to let those stupid Machines kill me."
And with that said, she walks away from the entrance and towards the City Ruins while the Oozora siblings quietly watched her figure disappear from their sight of view.
No goodbyes were said as the three of them expected to see each other again soon.
Later…
In a private room
Yuma and Rin got to talk with Anemone about their settling arrangements.
Seeing how he might need someone else's help within the Resistance, the young man decides to tell everything to the camp's leader about his unique situation. He even showed her his Human-Type Roidmude form, which surprised the woman.
'A Roidmude... It can't be... So Yuma is another one of them?' The Resistance leader thinks as she watches him revert back to his human form.
The Rider was confused as to why the android seemed to be observing his forms, apparently knowing something about Roidmudes.
"Number Two actually told me everything about you two." Anemone tells the siblings, surprising them. "While I trust her, I'm also grateful for you deciding to be honest with me, Yuma."
"I suppose it's only fair given you will give us shelter." The Rider says to her in return. "But I really don't want to further drag attention towards myself and my sister here if possible."
Anemone now posses a worried glance.
"There's a slight problem with that." She looked away. "Secrets don't keep well here. Already, word has spread that a human girl is staying in this camp."
Well, shit.
"Yuma, as for tending to your sister's necessities, these two will help you." The Resistance leader says, gesturing for a pair of twin androids to enter the room and come closer.
They were two female androids that looked pretty similar to each other, with the exception of their hair.
One twin had wavy, auburn hair and wore a flower in her hair on her left. The other one had straight, auburn hair and pinned back her bangs with a flower on her right. Their black-and-white clothing seemed to possess a strange sense of fashion, but the Rider never had the eye for it, so who was he to judge?
"Oh well. What's your name?" The girl with wavy hair looked thoughtful for a second.
"So we're introducing ourselves now, alright." The blue-eyed brunette starts. "I'm Yuma."
"And I'm Rin." His sister follows up.
The straight-haired twin stepped forward before her sister could speak.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Popola, and this is Devola."
Devola shot a look at her sister.
"Don't worry. You two will definitely be under the Resistance's jurisdiction, and we'll make sure we'll do everything we can to protect the two of you." Anemone assures Yuma and Rin.
"This camp isn't in that much danger is it?" Rin asks warily.
"Oh! No, no, it's not in danger. Mostly."
"Hm." Yuma was almost reluctant to have to ask this question. "Anemone, what's the plan for us actually being in this camp?"
Anemone suddenly became dour.
"I've… tried to be reasonable with some of my confidants. They… haven't all seen your sister eye-to-eye. Rest assured, we all want the best for her. I can trust these two," Anemone gestured toward the twins, "To help with any medical problems that may arise or, God forbid, will arise. There are one or two more androids that will be arriving within a few days- they'll be better cooks, but the twins will do for now. Hopefully, we'll be able to start up life here for you and Rin with as few hindrances as possible."
"So you're getting things figured out behind the scenes?" Yuma asks.
"Yes, almost everything's in place."
"Great. One… kinda big question: How are you- if you will be, that is- going to let all the androids know that there is a human among them?"
All eyes turn towards Rin. She looks uncomfortable becoming the center of attention as she clings next to her brother.
"I don't want to go to the moon." She cries softly. "I want to stay with my brother."
Anemone took a deep breath, closed her eyes, crossed her arms, and then sighed deeply. The twins looked at the human child with soft expressions.
"I can't make the announcement until I come up with a plan to deal with YoRHa. The problem is, I know word's going to spread around -if it isn't already- and I can't say anything. The single fact of your sister being here is something that's far too large to hide forever. I trust my confidants with my life- several times daily, sometimes- but even they are prone to slip up with a few words."
"So you can't do much, in that regard." Yuma's expression became sour.
"No, but-" Anemone flinched. "Figures. Just now something comes up. Sorry, I need to leave. Right now."
Before she left though, the leader gave one last order to Popola and Devola.
"Take Yuma to talk with Tadashi. He is one of them."
She turned and ran out the door.
'Tadashi?' Yuma thinks.
That actually sounds like a Japanese name. The first one he heard ever since he and Rin arrived into this world.
And what does Anemone meant with them?
After a moment, he turned to Devola and Popola. "Is this normal?"
"Unfortunately." Popola was answering. "It's always 'something urgent', and she never tells us what it was."
Devola spoke up, looking between Rin and Yuma. "I think I know what your next question is going to be. No, we don't have food prepared for Rin right now. We also need to do some tests before to check her health."
"Devola!" Popola turned to her sister. "Rin would have had better and more pressing questions than that."
"Eh..." Rin was quite reluctant to say that she hadn't, in fact, been thinking of a different question. She tried her best not to look guilty, but…
Popola sighed. "Fine. I'll bring you two to make the medical tests later. Devola, you head on over to make a meal."
"Apparently, clearing out a room and having two 'random' people be given a bunch of esoteric scientific implements isn't normal around here." Devola did not look impressed about the lack of secrecy.
"We did everything we could to keep unwanted ears turned away, but..." Popola looked past Yuma and Rin and glared. The Oozora siblings followed her gaze and barely caught an android slipping back behind the wall. "It seems curiosity isn't something easily curbed."
'Great, so now Rin had a whole camp of eavesdroppers and spies.' Yuma thinks.
He was never one for intrigue.
Everyone filed out of the twins' house and headed back to the camp.
Well, Yuma could say 'camp', but what they just entered was more akin to the entryway of a house.
This would have been a small plaza, were the town not in ruins. There was definitely activity down the street to the left, where the camp proper was, but the twins steered him and Rin towards one of the two buildings which were in some state of repair.
Popola hurriedly opened the door and ushered the siblings inside- even Rin noticed the androids as a whole were far more curious this time around. She could almost feel their stares track her across the camp. It worried the little brunette that Resistance androids were equally suspicious and trying to figure out who she was and why a human was there.
How much longer she has before they found out more?
They hurried the siblings in, and only seemed to relax when the door was firmly closed.
The Kamen Rider took this moment to look around what, you guessed, was their house. To be completely honest, this looked pretty close to what he had expected most of the abandoned buildings to look like. Some of the walls were broken, exposing the underlying structures. In this room, at least, almost every flat surface (except the floor) was covered by something- tattered and faded books, broken parts, small machines, a couple of seashells. They could easily be mementos of the twins.
But what stuck out to Yuma and Rin were the black boxes that sat stacked on the ground near the door leading further in. Three were piled in a triangle shape, with a fourth sitting on top opened up, its lid somewhere else in the room. Its contents were probably medical in purpose, but what purpose it had was beyond them. Vials, bottles, flasks were placed in there with purpose and care, and with incredibly small labels.
Yuma reached in and pulled one out, trying to read it. They weren't even labeled in English! Were these barcodes? QR codes?
He heard a gasp, then someone rushing over to his side. The boy saw Devola lunge into view and expertly snatch the bottle from his hand, then put it back in the box. She turned back to him.
"Is that what you normally do when you visit someone else's home? Just start rummaging around their stuff without their consent?" For a half-second, the brunette thought back to all those video games he played where that behavior was encouraged.
"I'm sorry. I was just curious." Yuma took a step back.
This was their home, then. Devola seemed high-strung, having a low threshold before she would strike out at anyone near her. Best not to make her any angrier than she is now.
"Devola…" Popola sounded tired. Not physically tired, but mentally. Like she wanted one day where something didn't go wrong.
It caught Yuma and Rin off guard more than anything else.
These two seemed far more composed and level-headed outside, but now they…
Were they keeping up a façade?
"I think this is something that we all want to get done and over with. We were told to take readings on you. It shouldn't take too long, I don't think. It'll just be an involved process." Popola motioned Rin to move to the next room.
This room was far cleaner. A fifth black box sat in this room, and it seemed like it was completely unpacked. The contents had been laid out in a practically obsessive manner off to the right, while on your left, a cleared table and a chair sat separated from each other.
"Just have a seat in the chair." Rin heard Popola speak behind her.
She started to walk there, when Rin felt an arm sweep up under her knees and another one brace against her upper back and shoulders. Devola had picked the little girl up, and Rin saw her think for a second before she turned her head and called out the brunette's weight to her sister.
She set the green-eyed girl down, with her only apology being "We needed to get your weight".
The next hour (or even longer, Rin didn't know) was filled with the twins swapping out their tasks. They would either run some test on Rin- swabbing something, checking something over, they drew blood once or twice- or they were preparing some test or doing something with what they had just gotten.
They were silent, and took their work extremely seriously. A few times each, they looked upset or worried with the results they had. Sometimes they had to run into the entryway, dug around inside the black boxes, and came back with some number of chemicals in hand.
Eventually, the two sat back with a sigh. They did all the tests they needed to.
"Don't get too comfortable. Some of those tests are still running," Devola told Rin as she pointed to the preparation area, "and if any of those come back inconclusive, we'll need to run them again."
"How long will those take to run?" Rin asked back, pouting.
The android pursed her lips in thought. "Longest one's two days, but there are others that'll be done in an hour or two."
"Is there anything else you want us to look at?" Popola asked.
"No, I feel fine." The little girl says.
"Ok. In that case... Yuma, there's someone from the Resistance Anemone wants you to speak in the meantime while we check your sister's condition," Devola says to the Rider.
"Right... Some guy named Tadashi, was it?" The older brother asks.
"Yeah, that's him." She says, giving him the address about where to find this person.
Yuma decides to leave his sister with the twins since he and Rin took a liking to their company. He now believes she will be fine with the sisters for the time being.
"Be right back, Rin."
"Right, Onii-chan."
But before he left, there was one more thing he needed to check.
"Wait, Popola."
She stopped and turned back.
"Do you have any idea," Yuma continued, "of how long Rin's secret can be kept?"
Popola paused in thought: "I'd say you have a day or two, at maximum, before all the other androids find out about your sister. After that, it's uncertain. Word of mouth moves faster the more you try to keep it quiet."
The Kamen Rider sighed before responding: "Great. Thanks, anyway."
He turned to go back into the camp when Popola spoke up:
"You keep acting as though this is going to be horrendous. Have at least some faith that things could go well."
"We'll see. I'm not entirely convinced, though." Yuma closed the door behind him and listened to Popola and Devola check on Rin as he slowly descends the stairs.
Yuma walks out of Popola and Devola's house, and then to the right- toward the camp.
The brunette passed through the narrow entryway, and the next plaza came into view. He saw all sorts of androids milling about in the larger plaza, going about their business.
Most of the plaza was covered by various tarps strung up, allowing the shade to the androids working underneath.
There were some androids set up in their own areas, perhaps selling wares. One area was blocked off with curtain walls. It was probably an infirmary, judging by all the beds there.
'This must be the place.' Yuma thinks as he finally reaches the building where he is supposed to meet this particular resistance android.
He knocks on the door.
*Knock!* *Knock!*
"Coming! Just a sec!" A voice calls from the other side.
Huh?
Yuma widens his eyes in surprise.
This voice…
It's familiar…
Wait…
'Tadashi… No… It can't be...' The Rider thinks as the realization hits him.
The door finally opens to reveal the owner of the place.
It was a young man that semmed to be 17 Years old. He was wearing a red cap while having a cape of the same color wrapped around his shoulder with his resistance-like attire. This person had short black hair and brown eyes.
But what astounded Yuma about this guy was the fact that he knew the new figure before him.
Yes, he was another Japanese boy.
"Oh… Holy..." Yuma was the first to say something as the two of them exchanged looks of surprise upon facing each other.
"Y-Yuma?" The other boy manages to ask, recognizing the brunette as well.
"Y-Yeah..." The human/Roidmude hybrid replies, nodding his head with a dumbfounded expression.
"I-Is that you, Tadashi?"
After a long talk…
"Damn… I can't believe it. To think someone else ended here in this world."
The one now known as Tadashi speaks.
Tadashi was a friend of Yuma that the brunette made during high school, also being a fellow fan of the Kamen Rider franchise.
The two were now inside the ravenette's place, each talking about their unique arrival into this strange new world.
Apparently, Tadashi also went through the same thing his friend experienced before being transported into this new world.
"Say, Yuma." Tadashi calls. "I think I get why Anemone wanted you to speak with me."
"Is that so? You know why?" The other teenager asks.
"Here, watch this." Tadashi speaks with a smirk, rising up from the chair he was just sitting on.
The ravenette gathers red energy around his body as he transforms, shocking Yuma even further.
"Holy shit..." The Rider speaks, his jaws dropping.
What now stood before Yuma was another Roidmud, a Plain Spider Type one.
The Plain Roidmude is the initial form of the Roidmude monsters before evolving onto their advanced forms.
They are referred to by the numbers on their chest, which represent their Cores(souls).
"So, what do you think?" The Spider Roidmude asks.
The Kamen Rider takes note of the symbol on the chest plate of the other Roidmude.
'H-T… Himura Tadashi… The initials of his name… So the same happened to Tadashi as well?' Yuma thinks.
He also notices that Tadashi's Roidmude body is similar to the one of a Single Number Roidmude (Roidmudes from 001 to 009), having a gold-colored collar on his neck, with the addition of smaller frills around the collar.
"Does someone in the Resistance knows about this form of yours?"
"Anemone and a pair of twins."
"Devola and Popola?" The Rider asks as the Spider Roidmude nods back to him.
"Oh, so you met them already?"
"Yeah. How long have you been here in this world, dude?" Yuma asks his friend.
"I have been here for a couple of months already. Oh man, you have no idea how nice it is to see a familiar face here." Spider Roidmude reveals as he morphs back into his human form.
Huh?
Wait, what?
"Wait, hold on." A confused Yuma starts. "Rin and I have only been here for a couple of days. Besides, I literally talked to you hours earlier in the same day both of us got transported into this crazy world."
This earns a confused frown from Tadashi as he did indeed arrived into this world during the same night Yuma and Rin experienced their arrival.
What the heck is going on?
"I also received a confusing e-mail from some Mister X before arriving in this messed Earth. How strange. Maybe it must be something related to time and space working differently for us." Tadashi theorizes. "Not only I arrived before you and your sister, but I have been staying longer as well in this world."
"So what's the plan now?" Yuma asks him.
"I have been trying to find a way to go back to our home. But for the most part, I have been trying to do my best to adjust here in the Resistance camp." The other human/Roidmude explains. "I have been doing some small jobs and requests here and there."
This makes Yuma nod in understanding as he reveals a solution for the issue that affects the two of them.
"I have to find all of those Rider Gears if I wish to go back home with Rin. Maybe I will even find a way to turn my body back to normal later." Yuma explains about his sister's dream as his friend now adopts a hopeful look.
"Then let me help you guys as well." Tadashi offers. "Oh. And speaking of Kamen Rider stuff..."
The ravenette also had something else he wanted to show his friend.
"The Drive Driver and the Shift Brace..." Yuma mutters as he inspects said items that Tadashi hands to him.
"But that's not all." Tadashi interjects, showing yet another item to the Kamen Rider.
The red Shift Speed Shift Car.
Transformation Belt Drive Driver: The Driver one needs to use in order to become Kamen Rider Drive.
Unlike other conventional drivers, the Drive Driver only acts as a sensor, while the actual activation for the Shift Cars is performed on the Shift Brace.
The Shift Brace is one of Kamen Rider Drive's transformation devices. In this case, is the device that holds Drive's Shift Cars as a remote for his Drive Driver. Initially used by Protodrive, it was inherited for the completed Drive, first tested by Shijima Kiriko before Tomari Shinnosuke was recruited to become the new Drive.
Based on a sports car, Shift Speed is a sentient Shift Car that enabled Kamen Rider Drive to transform the default Type Speed. Matching the default form of his Rider Machine Tridoron, Type Speed grants Drive acceleration capabilities that enable him to move and attack at high velocities.
Because Type Speed is Drive's main form, it does not need any special requirements or emotional frames of mind for Tomari Shinnosuke to access. In the toyline, there is also a golden version of the Shift Speed Car, but it works like a normal Shift Speed Car.
"Incredible, how did you get these items, Tadashi? I can tell they aren't some simple toys, but the real deal."
"I just found them next to me when I woke up in this world." The ravenette explains. "I decided to keep them with me in case it becomes necessary for me to use them."
"Ah, I see. So does that mean you can become Kamen Rider Drive? I actually managed to become Kikai here." Yuma questions, feeling hopeful of having a powerful ally in the form of another Kamen Rider fighting by his side.
But Tadashi only shook his head in return.
"I actually haven't tested the Drive Driver yet, Yuma. I didn't exactly have the opportunity to do so." He explains, adjusting his cap. "Besides, there's something different with the Driver."
"Is it the absence of Krim Steinbelt's conscience?" Yuma deduces.
Krim Steinbelt was a scientist who invented and installed his consciousness within the Transformation Belt Drive Driver after his "death" by the Roidmudes. He is affectionately nicknamed "Mr. Belt" by his user, Tomari Shinnosuke.
Krim serves as the support unit for Shinnosuke when the latter becomes Kamen Rider Drive and can assist him later after achieving Shift Tridoron.
"Yeah. The Driver seems to work perfectly fine, but it doesn't have Belt-san's AI installed in it. But I can still hear his programmed voice though. I don't know what will happen once I attempt to transform with the Driver."
"Oh, I see." Yuma sighs. "That said, I really hope you managed to transform into a Kamen Rider like me, Tadashi." The brunette then materializes his Kikai Driver for the other human/Roidmude to inspect it.
"Interesting… So you can safely transform into Kikai with this Driver?" The ravenette inquiries, earning a nod from the brunette.
"Yeah, that's what I used to fight most of the Machines before coming here."
"Well, I can't become a Kamen Rider like you yet, Yuma. But there's some silver lining to obtaining Kamen Rider Drive's tech. Check this out, Yuma."
Tadashi shows his friend what appeared to be two other Shift Cars, one black and the other a red one. Both had a spider motif in them.
Yuma widens his eyes in disbelief, recognizing the items.
"Wait… Are these Viral Cores." He asks, checking them out.
The black one was a regular Spider Viral Core while the red one was a Neo Spider Viral Core.
The Viral Cores, powered by Core Driviars, are miniature car-like devices created and used by the Roidmudes for the purpose of sustaining, empowering, and evolving their existence. They are the Roidmude counterparts of the Shift Cars.
Normally, Viral Cores are used by the Roidmudes to evolve them from their weaker Plain forms into their stronger Advanced forms. Plain Roidmudes can also use three at the same time, or two at the same time if they have already evolved into an Advanced Roidmude, to transform into a Giant Roidmude based on their motif.
Like the Roidmudes, the Viral Cores come in three types.
Spider Viral Core: A Viral Core that can give a new body for the Spider Type Roidmudes' core upon completing their evolution. Unevolved Spider Roidmudes can also use three at the same time, or two at the same time if they have already evolved into an Advanced Roidmude, to transform into their Berserk Body.
The Roidmudes later gain access to Neo Viral Cores, completely red-colored variants of the standard Viral Cores created by Roidmude 001, that allow them to combine fuse Roidmude with a human to achieve an Advanced form.
However, these Viral Cores can be only used once, so if a Rider separates the combined Roidmude, the Roidmude reverts into its Plain form and requires a new Neo Viral Core to achieve an Advanced form again.
Since the Neo Viral Core works by fusing humans with their Roidmude partner through their darker hearts, using it can also increase the human target's negative emotions. Interestingly, the evolved form the Roidmude takes seems to be based on the human and not the Roidmude, as shown when Mitsuhide Nira caused both Roidmude 106 and Brain to evolve into the Thief Roidmude.
Like the Signal Bikes and Shift Cars, holding a Neo Viral Core allows a human to move normally during Heavy Acceleration, as well as said items do have a level of sentience.
Neo Spider Viral Core: An advanced Spider Viral Core that can be used by a Spider Type Roidmude to combine with a human.
"Tadashi, did you also acquire these Viral Cores alongside Drive's equipment?" Yuma asks his friend.
But the cap-wearing ravenette shook his head, adopting a pleased expression on his face.
"I actually reverse-engineered Kamen Rider Drive's Core Driviar technology." Tadashi calmly explains.
Core Driviars were devices developed by Krim Steinbelt, converted to act as the source of power for the Shift Cars, Tridoron, and later the Roidmudes. These allowed them to create or counter the Heavy Acceleration.
Krim allowed his (former) colleague Dr. Banno to use them in the creation of the Roidmudes, which in the end participated in their revolution.
"Eh? You what? But how?" Yuma asks.
"You see, Yuma, my brain also became like yours, working in a similar way to a supercomputer. I guess this is one of the benefits of turning into an AI. Anyways, using my newfound knowledge and some of the equipment of the Resistance that Anemone lent me, I was able to manufacture my own Viral Cores after analyzing the Drive Driver, the Shift Brace and Shift Speed." The Spider Roidmude reveals. "Now, as for the reason I decided to make these Viral Cores is to allow myself to prepare for the worst.
In case I get defeated by the Machines and my body is destroyed in the process, I could have a new prepared to use so long as my 'Core(soul)' survives. As for the Neo Viral Core, who knows? Maybe I might find someone who can synchronize with me. Just in case, right?"
The Roidmude's Core, also known simply as Cores, are the essence of the Roidmudes, acting as their 'soul'. They represent the Roidmudes' given numbers which distinguish them from each other.
The destruction of a Roidmude's Core results in their permanent death, but if their Core can survive the destruction of their body, they can be restored later.
Should a Roidmude's Core survive and escape the destruction of its body, it can make its way back to use methods of preserving and reviving Roidmudes.
A Roidmude's Core can be absorbed into a Viral Core which matches their Plain animal motif.
Yuma couldn't help but be impressed by Tadashi's insight.
"Yeah, what you said makes complete sense. The Viral Cores may have been labeled as evil items, but that was only mainly because the Roidmudes were using them for evil purposes in Kamen Rider Drive's series. But you deciding to use them is another matter. Considering our own unique situation, everything is fair. We should make use of all resources in our hands." The Kamen Rider says as his friend nods in agreement.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I thought," Tadashi affirms.
Having discussed and exchanged more ideas of what they should do next, there was only one thing left for Yuma to hear from Tadashi.
"Say, Tadashi. How was it when you woke up here? How did you meet Anemone and the twins? How did you end with the Resistance?"
"Well, you see, it all began when I-" Tadashi tries to explain.
*Boom!*
Only for the duo of friends to stop as they heard a loud explosion coming from outside.
Alarmed, the two young men decide to leave their chat for later…
Outside…
"Anemone, what's going on!?" Tadashi asks the Resistance leader as he and Yuma stumble upon her in the camp's plaza.
"Tadashi! Yuma! Thank goodness!" She looks at the pair in relief. "We're under attack! There are several Machines attempting to breach the camp's defenses. They are all coming from the entrance!" She explains.
"What!?" Yuma looks at Anemone in horror, quickly processing what he just heard from her.
The three of them look around to see several Resistance androids, armed with guns, already heading towards the camp's entrance to repel the hostile Machine Lifeforms attacking there.
"Shit, that bad?" Tadashi notes, frowning. "C'mon, Yuma. We have to help them!" He cries to the Rider as he soon rushes towards the battle.
Before following after his partner, Yuma spares one last glance at Anemone.
"Anemone, please just make sure Rin is safe, got it?" He requests from her.
"Don't worry. Devola and Popola are watchign her, Yuma. She will be fine with them." The Resistance leader assures.
This semmed to be enough to convince him as Yuma nods to Anemone.
"Alright."
And then, the Kamen Rider also rushes towards the battle, already producing the Mirai Driver around his waist.
At the Camp's Entrance...
Things seemed to have already escalated into a chaotic battlefield when Yuma finally arrived upon the scene.
He saw several Resistance androids hiding behind makeshift barricades as they fired upon incoming waves of enemy Machine Lifeforms that wanted to invade and destroy the Resistance's camp.
"Yuma!"
The brunette turns to see Tadashi approaching him.
"What's the plan, Tadashi?" The blue-eyed teenager asks.
"We gotta create some distance between the entrance and the Machines. That task will fall upon the two of us." The ravenette explains.
They immediately jump upon the enemy machines, attacking and destroying the round robots with their bare hands.
The Resistance androids that were fighting from afar look at the duo's actions in astonishment.
"Hey, you two! What are you doing!?"
"Get back, you idiots! You aren't YoRHa to fight Machines like that!"
But Yuma and Tadashi ignored the others' cries.
"Let's show these guys how to kick ass the old-fashioned way!" Yuma says.
"Right behind you!" Tadashi replies in accordance.
Yuma nods and gives a reassuring smirk of his as he pulls out the Kikai Spannerder and Screwder to transform. He places the golden tools on the center of his already materialized Mirai Driver.
"Henshin!" The brunette chants, now fully determined.
[Dekai! Hakai! Gokai! Kamen Rider Kikai!]
Now fully transformed in his Kamen Rider persona, Kikai resumes destroying the enemy Machines.
The present Resistance androids dropped their jaws upon the unbelievable scene.
"W-what!?"
"W-Who is that guy!?"
"I'm not falling behind, Yuma!" Tadashi cries, producing the items he needs to become Kamen Rider Drive.
He straps the Drive Driver around his waist and puts the Shift Brace on his left wrist. The ravenette then picks up the Shift Speed Shift Car.
To transform, Tadashi turns the Advanced Ignition key on the Drive Driver and rotates the Shift Speed Shift Car into its Lever Mode before inserting it forwardly into the Shift Brace via the Shift Landing Panel.
*Drive Driver standby music*
Once the Shift Car is set, the user must hold the car and lift it up and down back into the Shift Landing Panel to finish the transformation sequence into Kamen Rider Drive, right after the Drive Driver announces "Drive: Type" and the corresponding Type used.
Before doing that, Tadashi strikes a pose similar to that of Tomari Shinnosuke. However, when he tries to lift the Shift Car to transform…
[Error!] The Drive Driver announces.
'Huh?' Tadashi looks alarmed at this.
[Error! Error!]
For some reason, the Drive Driver and the Shift Brace were not allowing Tadashi to transform into Kamen Rider Drive. He didn't know why.
"What's going on!? Why is this not working!? Crap!" The red cap-wearing teenager wonders, shocked.
Kamen Rider Kikai also saw this, but didn't understand either what went wrong.
That said…
"Tadashi, forget about the Driver for now! I could actually make some use of your help right now!" The golden Rider cries to his friend before he crashes the head of a Medium Biped Machine.
The ravenette comes to his friend's aid, partly disappointed at managing to transform into a Kamen Rider just like how Yuma did. And so, he transforms into his Plain Spider Roidmude form, knowing how it might unsettle some of the Resistance androids watching from afar.
"*Gasp!* Look! That other guy transformed as well! But look at him, he looks likes some sort of monster!"
"Should we take him down alongside the golden one?"
"Hold your fire!" Anemone cries as she approaches the soldiers defending the camp's entrance. "Do not shoot those two!" She points at Kamen Rider Kikai and the Spider Roidmude. "They are on our side!"
"What!? Are you sure, boss?" One of the guards asks, still suspicious about the duo's appearances.
"Can't you see they are literally helping us protect the camp!?" She points back. "Keep offering support to them from afar! Help them take down those Machines!"
This semmed to be enough to convince the rest of the Resistance Androids.
Back to the pair of human/Roidmudes…
Kamen Rider Kikai and the Spider Roidmude were back to back as dozens of Machine Lifeforms surrounded them.
"Are you already used to your new body, Yuma?" The Plain Roidmude asks his partner.
"Yeah. I got the gist of the Kikai Driver." Kikai replies to his companion. "What about you, Tadashi?"
"I already acquired my fair share of combat data. This body is also sturdy enough to withstand a lot of these Machine freaks' attacks."
"Kill! Kill! Kill!" The Machine Lifeforms chanted as they charged towards the duo.
"You get half and I take care of the rest!" Spider Roidmude suggests.
"Got it!" Kikai replies.
The two then separate and went on their own ways to eliminate the Machine Lifeforms.
Kikai decides to try something new with his powers by conjuring golden energy projectiles mid-air with the shape of screwdrivers, mentally firing them at several Machines that appeared to be floating on what appeared to be flyers.
*Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!*
The energy screwdrivers easily destroyed the aerial enemies, piercing through their heads as the Machines exploded as a result.
Kikai next delivers a powerful kick to a wave of enemies. Doing so, an energy projection of a golden spanner appears on his legs as he uses his kicks to smash and destroy the Machines.
'Now let's try something else!' Kikai thinks as he materializes a pair of golden tools in his hands, a spanner and a screwdriver, as his red lenses began to glow menacingly at his enemies.
"Dismantle!" Kikai cries as he attacks several Medium Biped Machines with his tools, actually making them fall apart instead of making the chubby round robots explode.
Dismantle: A technique developed by Yuma as Kamen Rider Kikai.
As the name suggests, it consists of dismantling the body parts of its foes, particularly the enemy robots.
By using hand tools, he's capable of striking at the joints of his foes and tear them apart instantly, either weakening them or rendering them completely useless. It can be used to an extent against androids too.
'The more I fight, the more I get used to this body, further evolving.' Kikai thinks, looking at his black-gloved hands in wonder.
But he couldn't relax just yet…
There was still a horde of Machines coming towards him.
"It's like there's no end to them… Wait! What if I hijack them just like how Woz did in his Futurering Kikai armor?"
Futurering Kikai is Kamen Rider Woz's Kamen Rider Kikai-based form accessed using the Kikai Miridewatch in the Beyondriver. Its visor spells out "Kikai" in katakana.
Using this Futurering ability, Kamen Rider Woz can harness the powers and abilities of Kamen Rider Kikai via the Kikai Miridewatch. In this form, Woz can also hijack any nearby life forms, including human beings, to do as he wishes.
And that the golden Kamen Rider did.
A small antenna actually appears on the top of his helmet as he begins sending signals to the Machine Lifeforms, hijacking them.
As a result, some of the Machines stop working, turning off as they fall on the floor. Other start attacking their fellow chubby round robots. Lastly, some of them also self-destructed themselves, taking along some of the other Machines with them.
As for the other Roidmude…
"Argh!"
Using his Wall Crawling ability, the Spider Roimude possesses the ability to climb things. He uses it to get to the top of a Goliath-class Machine, frying the circuits of its head before making the bigger robot fall on some of the smaller ones nearby.
*Crash!* *Boom!*
He next used machine-gun-like fingers to fire energy bullets to blast a hole through some of his other enemies before using his Webbing skill to spit energy-made webs from his mouth, which caught some Machines in it.
Some of the Machines, wielding weapons like spears and swords, try to stab the Plain Roidmude, but he easily avoids the lethal blows while doing some acrobatic moves.
'I wonder if I can evolve into an Advanced Roidmude like how some of the original 108 ones from Kamen Rider Drive did.' Spider thinks, birefly looking at his fists in deep thought.
An Advanced Roidmude is any Roidmude that has evolved beyond their Plain Roidmude forms into a unique Evolution State. Once a Roidmude evolves, they are generally referred to by the motif of their new bodies, rather than their Core's numbers. Most of these motifs are inanimate objects.
Focusing a bit, the Plain Spider Roidmude manages to briefly produce a crimson aura around his body. He then punches the ground, generating a powerful red shockwave that destroyed every single Machine Lifeform nearby.
*Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!*
As the red aura disappears from his body, a new thought actually occurred to the second human/Roidmude hybrid.
'Wait... If I can't become a Kamen Rider just like how Yuma did, then why I don't try becoming an Advanced Roidmude like Heart?' He considers.
The only thing his Roidmude body couldn't do was to cause Heavy Acceleration, which would have also been a helpful ability as well.
Having memories of living in a body of flesh and blood, he actually has a better understanding of emotions than the original 108 Roidmudes. He might have a better chance of evolving than most of them.
Just the thought it now semmed too good to pass. And the possibilities were endless given the unique powers each Advanced Roidmude possessed! Besides, while he has the power of the bad guys, it wasn't like he was using it for evil purposes. He would use his powers to help Yuma and find a way to go back home with him and his sister.
He dearly missed his home and family...
The androids watching the battle (now turned 'carnage') caused by the two human/Roidmudes hybrids couldn't believe how much damage two individuals could apparently deliver upon the Machine Lifeforms on their own…
'Tadashi... and Yuma... Just what are these Roidmudes?' Anemone thinks as she observes said duo standing on a pile of destroyed Machines, their battle finally over.
The final scene of the chapter shows Kikai's Spannerder and Screwder alongside Kamen Rider Drive's Shift Speed Shift Car
Gear 4:
An [O]ld Friend
- End -
Author notes:
And this concludes chapter 4 of Kamen Rider Kikai: Automata
As A2 and the Oozora siblings separate once they reach the Resistance Camp, Yuma gets to meet other characters. That includes some unexpected ones as well.
I'm still going to use my idea of putting more people from Yuma's world into the NieR: Automata universe. All of them being in Roidmude bodies as well.
I decided to give more abilities to my Kamen Rider Kikai so that can he do more stuff other than punching and doing Rider Kicks in his base/default form.
Tadashi will not become Kamen Rider Drive, but I have plans for him to still become a Rider later.
The next chapter will be probably used to explore how Tadashi got into the Automata World and met Anemone, Devola and Popola before meeting Yuma.
Now onto the reviews:
Guest DCDGojira: Maybe. I have to check and learn more about Kikaider first. I only saw him in an episode of Kamen Rider Gaim.
JumpRanger: Thanks!
Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. Maybe I will indeed make Yuma get an Advanced and Ultimate Evolutions just like how the other Roidmudes did in Kamen Rider Drive. This process being somehow essential for him to acquire his Final Rider Form sounds cool!
Not sure yet about putting Kamen Rider 4 in this story. But maybe I will eventually since he is also an android/robot.
ex555: Maybe. I have to check this anime first.
Nope: No.
nahariyanash: Thanks!
I will try to take your suggestions into consideration.
While there will be cases where Yuma will collect Rider Gears but not use them later in fights, what you said will probably become true. But he still needs to collect them to later return home with his sister.
Haxorus knight: Thanks, here's the next chapter!
So, what do you guys think? Please give me some reviews if possible.
If you be interested, please go check my other stories.
Also, thanks to everybody that followed and favorited the story and gave reviews.
See You Next Time