A horrified scream died in Kiiko's throat.
GameDeus closed his enormous mouth as soon as Kamen Rider Utsura disappeared inside it, on the window in front of the cocoon where she was still trapped.
"Oh don't worry, my dear!" the voice of Hourakou Byougen assured her. "That would be far too inauspicious an end for such a long heroic career!" he added with a grating laugh.
It felt like trying to move the world just to be able to talk, but Kiiko croaked, "So you're going to torture him like you're torturing me?"
"Not at all!" Hourakou replied, in what she was sure was fake shock. "I'm planning to torture him in a way unique to him! What kind of dark overlord would I be without imagination?!"
"Still on that, huh?" Kiiko managed to ask, and hoped she sounded scornful.
A snide laugh came from above her. Or maybe around her. It was getting hard for Kiiko to concentrate on details, with the tentacles embedded in her skin, merging her with the abomination of Hourakou's new GameDeus body. "It's like I keep telling you, Mishiranu-san," replied. "This is what humans created me to be like! Is it really my fault I'm about to the world into an age of darkness, or theirs?!
"Pardon me, I really need to be focusing on killing your friends and starting my reign of terror," he said, his voice fading into the distance.
Not a muscle twitched in any of the Kamen Riders. GameDeus's mouth closed behind Kamen Rider Utsura. He didn't chew, he only swallowed, and all of the Kamen Riders' giant anime eyes followed the lump in his throat until it disappeared.
And as soon as it did, GameDeus looked straight at Kamen Rider Ex-Aid. "Your friend was a bit…bland, I have to say," the end boss observed much too casually.
He might've been expecting the Riders to make a mad rush to attack, to avenge their friend. To make an enraged proclamation of vengeance, before they made a mad rush to attack, to avenge their friend.
Instead, they scattered without a single furious word.
"Finally realizing what you're up against?" GameDeus called down the empty streets.
The only reply was the crackling fires here and there from the damage the battle that'd been raging a few seconds before had done.
He looked around again, Kamen Rider Brave's popping out of his eye. GameDeus blinked a few times, his eye healed back to normal. Next he extended all six of his snake-arms around him, seeing everything their eyes did in addition to his own.
Slowly they swayed around, scanning for any sign of movement. A piece of rolling debris, a car collapsing when a punctured tire suddenly gave out from the damage done all around it. Beneath the notice of an ultimate life form like him.
When he saw it, he reacted on pure malevolent instinct. All of his arms whipped forward and fired pink beams from their eyes, beams a frightening green from his own. They all converged and blasted the golden dot that was shooting up into the sky in the distance. GameDeus's beams gathered around the golden target and created a blinding blast, but GameDeus stared deep into it with a look of cruel satisfaction.
It faded as soon as the glare from his combined laser attack did. The golden beacon in the distance was just visible through the brightening glow around him: it was Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, totally unhurt even after getting hit by all of GameDeus's beam fire at the same time. His golden glow seemed to have gotten even brighter as a result of it.
But there was more to a final boss's arsenal than one trick.
He rose up out of the ground, exposing a lower body that was a giant inverted sword. In the blink of an eye he'd closed the distance between himself and Ex-Aid, then swung his entire body at the Kamen Rider and knocked him out of the air. The golden Rider was knocked into the ground at a sharp angle and cleaved the edge off a balcony as he went down.
Ex-Aid got right up again. The bright glow around him was fading, but not from the force of the attack he'd just been hit by, GameDeus was sure. Hyper Muteki, that was the reason. It really did make him invincible.
But there was only one Kamen Rider who had a game that did that.
Not the one who GameDeus had just swallowed, though.
"You're up to something, Ex-Aid," GameDeus said. Declaring it, not asking it.
"They told me not to tell you what," the Rider replied with an easygoing shrug of his golden shoulders.
"I have a feeling you'll wish they had," said GameDeus. Before he aimed the blade of his lower body at Ex-Aid and swung it at the golden Rider again.
Raising his KeySlasher, Ex-Aid swung blade against blade.
Blackness.
That was all Kamen Rider Utsura could see as he fell. Blackness, and more blackness. Any second he expected to fall onto a bed of spikes or something. Hadn't those been in enough old video games, that a sadistic freak like Hourakou Byougen would fall in love with them?
All of a sudden a burst of light erupted in front of him, and out of sheer instinct Utsura raised an arm to shield his eyes.
Then he hit something hard and flat and cold. Utsura was dazed for a minute, and just lay on whatever had stopped his fall, grateful that it was there. He'd promised to fight to the end, but all of a sudden he felt very, very tired of all the battling. All the monsters. All the injuries and weapons and trickery they all involved.
"Are you just going to lay there while I wipe out your world?" asked a very familiar voice, and Utsura cringed. It did make him find the will to struggle to his feet, turn toward it and open his eyes.
And there was standing Hourakou Byougen, smiling in a friendly way. A very artificially friendly way. The Corrupture leader had on gold and white robes, and a tall golden crown studded with rubies and emeralds. He was standing on the edge of a large white disc, giving off a light of its own while it floated in a black void.
"You're already dressed up as the king of the world," Utsura observed.
Hourakou touched his fingers together and looked away, a thoughtful light in his eyes. He ignored Utsura, walking slowly around the edge of the wide transparent disc they stood on, thinking silently to himself. "I was going to go with 'God-Emperor', actually," he said, glancing back at Utsura. "It's what I am, after all."
"What you are," Utsura repeated, sounding distinctly unimpressed.
"I am the most advanced, powerful life form on this planet."
"And that makes you a god."
"If you can produce an example of something that better approaches the name, feel free to do so," Hourakou replied. "Even Kamen Riders as powerful as Ex-Aid don't come as close as I have."
With a swirl of his cape Hourakou turned and looked straight at Utsura, who twitched and seemed to bleed dark pixels off his space-decorated armor. A leer formed on Hourakou's "You're getting farther and farther away from being a god every second, aren't you?"
Utsura grunted. "Skip the theatrics for once. You threw me down here instead of just killing me because you've got some stupid plan in mind."
"I threw you down inside GameDeus because I have a brilliant plan in mind," Hourakou corrected him with an evil grin. "I'm going to kill you in a one-on-one duel. The hero who struggled against an almighty enemy—me—this whole time, only to die in battle with his greatest rival right before the end of his mission. I'll be recording this to let the historians see what happens to people who challenge me."
Without warning he threw his arms wide, and Utsura wasn't proud of how he flinched away. The area around them lit up, and Utsura almost puked. Around the glowing platform were walls made of throbbing purple muscle and veins, and things Utsura didn't want to think about. He looked at the first thing that caught his attention besides all the exposed entrails: a ring of small black objects rotating above their heads. Ten in all.
They were Rider Gashats.
No, they must've been the Proto Gashats, the first Gashats created. The ones that were supposed to contain the information on all of the virus's victims. Information that could be used to bring them back to life as regular humans.
Already, Utsura knew that his enemy wasn't going to let him get anywhere near them.
"You noticed them," Hourakou said, craning his neck up at the Proto Gashats. "Feel try to try and get them. I expect you'll be a little too busy with other things, though." He snapped his fingers on both hands. Pseudopods with glassy eyes on the ends slithered out of the walls, staring down on the platform from numerous angles.
Cameras, Utsura realized. Hourakou really was going to record this fight to let people see it ages from then when his Age of Darkness was in full swing.
"Let us battle, mankind's hero," Hourakou said with an arrogant grin.
Utsura raised his fists. "Let's play," he agreed.
Letting out a very frustrated sigh, Kamen Rider Rune threw an old blue tarp over Laser. He'd actually started snoring. A snoring motorcycle. Even after he'd become a Kamen Rider and started fighting monsters, that was something Rune had never thought he'd see.
Hopefully keeping Laser out of sight would keep him safe, but there wasn't much time to worry about a detail like that. GameDeus fired beams from his eyes that plowed into Kamen Rider Ex-Aid and blew him fifty feet into the air. He wouldn't be hurt, but while Ex-Aid was being knocked around he probably wouldn't get to do much damage to their enemy either.
That meant it was up to all of the Kamen Riders to bring down GameDeus.
Rune sighed, wishing for the power-up Utsura had been giving the rest of them them, and caught himself realizing he wasn't afraid of what was happening to his fellow Rider. Even though he'd been talking to Kiiko before about her worry, the worry about all the injuries Utsura had racked up in his time fighting evil.
Because Kamen Rider Rune knew his friend would be alright.
He raised his staff and commanded it to charge. Now all he had to do was worry about the easy job: saving the world from the Corrupture.
A bolt of lightning lanced down out of a fluffy white cloud, searing straight into GameDeus's chest. Like before, it barely left a scorch mark on the huge monster's armor without Utsura there to boost Rune's magic.
"Let's do this again," Rune growled to himself. "Xender's Raging Storm!" It would take a lot of his strength to use this form's ultimate attack, but what other choice did he have against the ultimate enemy?
The cloud above GameDeus spread and blackened, then sent bolt after bolt shooting down at the grotesque end boss. Again and again they seared against his armor and right into his ugly face. GameDeus growled, but most in annoyance than pain. He swatted at Kamen Rider Sling, flying past GameDeus and strafing his face and body with gatling gun.
It gave Kamen Rider Rune a few precious seconds to blast GameDeus with more lightning, gritting his teeth and focusing his concentration on forming six lightning bolts and unleashing them. They burned through GameDeus's armor, right through the small of his back. That got a howl of rage from the monster. Rune let himself have a little smile of satisfaction. Even though he was panting from all the energy he'd channeled into that last spell.
And in the process he dropped his guard for just a second.
A second of vulnerability was all it took for an apex predator to bring down weaker prey.
GameDeus was not only an apex predator, he was the ultimate product of to making a manmade killer.
"Very cute, little man!" GameDeus laughed.
He came diving at Kamen Rider Rune, the tip of the blade he had instead of legs aimed straight at the wizard-Rider.
Who wasn't invincible.
Rune heard himself gasp, but what he felt was himself running. Running for all his frail nerd body was worth. Which wasn't much even on a good day, especially not now with all the power he'd been packing into his spells. He wasn't expecting to survive having a 30-foot-long sword crash into him.
He didn't.
GameDeus came in at angle and slid along the street where Rune was running. The sword blade below the monster's waist tore up the asphalt as he skidded. His snake-arms thrashed around and knocked down buildings along the sides.
And Kamen Rider Rune was hit by the edge of the blade and went down instantly.
Cackling madly, GameDeus kept sliding until he got to the edge of the block and took to the air again. He rained down a few blasts of slime from the tentacle-mouths on his head, beams from his eyes and the snake faces on his arms before circling back to where most of the Kamen Riders were still concentrated to kill a few of them next.
One of them landed next to where Rune's body lay, unnoticed by GameDeus. Brave passed his sword over Rune, hoping he was still in time for his healing magic to make a difference to the young Rider's life. In a way, Kamen Rider Brave was already too late. A wave of light washed over Rune's robes, turning them from green to blue. The images of lightning changed to images of falling meteors.
Rune floated back up to his feet. From over the top of a toppled building his golden staff came spinning into his hand.
"Thanks anyway, Doctor Kagami," Rune said, sighing.
"How many times can you do that?" Brave asked, just a hint of worry in his voice.
Rune spun his staff and turned to face where GameDeus was shooting his beams toward the ground. "I have a feeling that was the last one," he said.
Grimly.
Then he ran to rejoin the battle.
One second Hourakou Byougen was across the platform from Utsura.
The next, he was right in front of the weakened Rider, and knocked him down with a burning backhanded slap.
"Are you fucking serious?" Utsura gasped, but clutched his jaw all the same.
"Why not?" asked Hourakou, sneering slightly. "You're nothing but a child compared to me. Look at that sad little obsession you and your friends all have with video games!"
Utsura got up again, slowly and shaking. Hourakou didn't attack him again, yet. The Corrupture leader was in a position of power, and probably wanted to show Utsura how helpless he was before trying too seriously to kill him. It was the kind of thing a melodramatic video game villain would do.
Well, Utsura wasn't in the mood for it anymore.
"What a load of bullshit."
"Ooooh! Cursing! Is that all you've got to fall back on?!"
"You're a living, breathing, video game character," Utsura retorted. "You're the one who threw me in here, you're the one who's recording all this so you can show it off to people in your little 'Age of Darkness'. All the damn time, you're talking like 'humans made me like this, blame them!'
"Well, you know what?" Utsura demanded. "Poppy got over it. Kiiko got over it. Parado got over it. They all figured out something really simple, that the 'ultimate life form' here still hasn't!" he jeered.
Hourakou didn't answer right away, probably trying to let a chilling silence set in. Utsura didn't give him the chance. "They figured out nobody likes an asshole!"
Very, very quietly, Hourakou asked, "Is that all you see me as, human?"
"No! I see you as pathetic and desperate for attention, too!" Utsura answered him.
"I am immortal. I am the greatest threat to your species' survival it's ever created."
"Ha! Obviously!"
It happened again. Hourakou closed the distance between them in the time in took for Utsura to blink, and slapped him across the face again. This time, it sounded like a thunderclap.
Kamen Rider Utsura was sent for a ride through the air.
With a sickening splat he hit the slimy purple wall at the edge of the platform. His armor flickered and completely disappeared, and his collection of Gashats were scattered everywhere. Kensei rolled over onto his stomach, gasping in pain. He desperately held onto one last game, its case a vibrant red: En En Chambara DX.
"I suppose I'd been hoping for a more dramatic fight," Hourakou said, seizing Kensei by the front of his shirt and lifting him off the ground. "But you having nothing left but insults works just as well, I suppose…!"
Hourakou was busy enough yelling, busy enough focusing all the eyes in the room on him mandling Kensei, he didn't notice the Bugvisor sinking into the slime on the back wall.
"No," Kiiko choked. "NO!"
"Yes," Hourakou replied, sounding sad. She didn't believe he meant it for a second. The Corrupture went on, "This is the life he chose, Kiiko-chan. This is the life you encouraged him to choose. It's hardly Kensei Hidenaga's fault after hearing it screamed in his ear so many times."
"Are you saying it's my fault you're going to kill him?" she half-screamed, but didn't have the strength to deliver anywhere near as fiercely as she would've hoped.
An insincere sigh. "I'm saying that if you push a friend into something dangerous, you have to accept some of the blame when something bad happens to them. Like a great villain tearing them limb from limb."
"He was right about you," Kiiko whispered.
"Oh?"
Kiiko had to stop and catch her breath before she could manage to gasp out, "You are pathetic and desperate for attention."
A thick hand formed out of the side of the cocoon and slapped Kiiko across the face. It left a trail of thick slime, but she chuckled. Another hand formed out of the other side and slapped her again, leaving another purple stain on her cheek.
Her teeth ached from being hit, but Kiiko still smirked to herself.
Zero had been trying to warn him of something.
Sling realized that as the enormous snake-face slammed into his body while he was making another strafing run across GameDeus's body. Thinking about seeing if he could fly right down the giant monster's mouth, to find Utsura and help him fight his way back out.
Unfortunately, Sling had been too high to hear Zero trying to warn him. Now pieces of his armor were flying in all directions. One of the Vulcan cannons he'd been using to attack GameDeus slapped against his side, bent into complete uselessness by the crash.
And his rocket pack had gone dead. An apt choice of words, Sling thought as he realized he was falling.
At least, he thought he was falling. There was no pull of gravity. No rushing winds like he'd always imagined in those childhood nightmares of stumbling off the edge of a roof. He heard an explosion and saw GameDeus turn away from him. Had somebody else attacked the Corrupture?
Then he felt a soft thump, and someone was helping him to stand. Kamen Rider Sling shook his head, managing to clear his vision, and saw…
…another Kamen Rider standing next to him. One who looked very familiar. The cowboy hat, the poncho, the six-shooter holstered at his belt.
In fact if it wasn't for the yellow coloring on his undersuit instead of blue, and the game sticking out of the side of his gun say "Streets of Laredo" on the label, Sling would've sworn he was seeing himself in his cowboy form from the start of his career.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Buck. Kamen Rider Buck," answered the Rider, unholstering his gun and twirling it on his finger before putting it back. Sling recognized the voice: it was that gamer that Utsura had met at the video game tournament. Tametomo Imizu, he thought? Yes, that sounded right.
"So you saw it?," Sling asked now that he was sure he wasn't seeing things.
"You mean when the sky turned golden?" Kamen Rider Buck, or Tametomo, replied with a question of his own. "It was impossible to miss. When I saw it, I knew I had to come help fight. I guess everyone else saw it too."
"Everyone else?"
As soon as Sling finished asking, another Kamen Rider raced by on a skateboard, while one wearing a top hat and tuxedo, carrying a wand hopped past, riding on the back of a giant white rabbit. A Cruiser that looked like the 1980s' idea of a futuristic space fighter zoomed by and rained a barrage of energy bullets into GameDeus's shoulder.
Their stupid, desperate plan to launch Ex-Aid into the air to create a giant glowing beacon had summoned the other Riders. The ones who'd been fighting the Corrupture everywhere else.
It'd worked. Ex-Aid's power to inspire the best in other people, weaponized to call the all the other Riders in to help.
Reinforcements were there.
Now, if only there was still time to save Utsura…
Again Kensei was sent skidding across the platform. He hit the very edge, his cheek making an impression on the slime coating the wall. Hourakou pointed his finger and a beam of silvery light shot from the tip. It lanced across the platform and Kensei rolled to the side just in time it scorched against his back instead of burning off his face. Still, he screamed in pain.
And as he did, Kensei held desperately onto En En Chambara DX, the only defense he still had.
Slowly, a cruel smile spread across Hourakou's face as he regained the upper hand in their standoff. "That's the first game you ever got, isn't it? Do you really think it'll help you now, when you fight me at the height of my power?" he asked snidely.
Another beam shot from his other hand before Kensei had a chance to reply. The battered teen got up and stumbled across the platform to be avoid being fried. Smoke was still going up from where Hourakou had hit him before when he got to the other edge of the platform and collapsed to his knees again.
"Look at you!" laughed Hourakou and slapped his knee. "You can barely stay on your feet! You don't honestly think you can transform, let alone fight, the way you are!"
"Maybe I'm not the only one you should be worrying about," Kensei said, a slightly hopeful smile appearing on his lips, as if in response to Hourakou's arrogant expression.
Half the eyes sticking out of the wall that'd been pointed at Kensei suddenly swung the other way. Hourakou himself stayed focused on Kensei himself, obviously knowing better than to fall for the old "what's that behind you" trick. An unearthly light came over his eyes as he saw what the eyestalks saw and he realized there was someone behind him.
Someone with a strong face and dark hair. A slight purple film of slime covering his skin and hair. Someone who had a purple Bugvisor around his waist, and was holding a green Rider Gashat in his hand. Its circuit board on the top glowing white.
It was Yuuma Hidenaga. "Henshin," he said.
And slid the Gashat into the Bugvisor's slot. "Buggle Up!"
He hadn't even finished hearing the words before Hourakou threw Kensei aside and literally flew across the platform to attack Yuuma. A shell of purple pixels had surrounded Yuuma and then shattered, revealing him clad in a Kamen Rider's armor with huge green fists.
One of which he slammed into Hourakou's jaw. It sounded like a sonic boom. Kensei clapped his hands over his ears, but kept his fingers wrapped tight around En En Chambara DX.
Hourakou slammed into the wall, crushing one of the eyestalks he'd been using to record the confrontation and sinking a few inches into the slime. While he was out of the way for a second, Yuuma ran over to where Kensei was lying and offered him an oversized fist, then lifted him up when Kensei took it.
"What the hell's going on?" Yuuma asked him. "I'm a Kamen Rider?!"
"That's what the belts say," Kensei smiled, looking like hell with a face covered in bruises. "But you're not the only one," he added, spun the Gashat in his hand, hit the trigger and slid it into its slot on his Gamer Driver. His undersuit formed, then pieces of samurai armor solidified over it, almost exactly like the form Kamen Utsura originally had when he first started on his career fighting evil. But there was something new to it; the shine of the light on his armor a little brighter, the edge of the katana in his hand seeming a little sharper.
Yuuma looked his brother up and down appreciatively. "So what do I call you like this?" he asked.
"Utsura," he answered. "And you're Bruiser." Then he paused and added, "I think."
"Don't think I like how that sounds."
"You can pick a new after we win this fight," Utsura answered. "If we win."
By then, Hourakou had pulled himself out of the wall and back onto the platform. Instead of looking angry, he was giggling.
"We'll win," Kamen Rider Bruiser told his brother. He raised his fists,
And beside him, Utsura knew for sure he'd be right.
A Kamen Rider carrying a butterfly net hitched the handle to her back and opened a satchel on her belt. Inside were a number of jars, one of which she opened, releasing a swarm of bees that surrounded and stung GameDeus's arm as it swung by.
Another Rider in a shiny silver suit raised his arms, forming a hole in the ground at his feet. A giant silver ball half as tall as he was lifted out of it, and he knocked the ball into the air with an angled gauntlet on his arm shaped oddly like a pinball flipper.
One of their number, wearing football pads and a shiny helmet with the gridwork of a football helmet over his mouth charged one of GameDeus's arms as it swung his way. He held out his arms, braced himself with the cleats on his shoes, and incredibly, stopped the snake-arm where it was. Only for a seconds before he was bowled over on his back, but a Rider in a small fighter ship and one with a rocket on his back blasted through the scales with laser weaponry then scattered before a bombardment of black smile from above could destroy them.
They were all putting up a brave fight against the awesome power of GameDeus.
But to Kamen Rider Sling's eyes, it didn't seem like they were actually making much difference.
One of the tendrils atop GameDeus's head seized the Kamen Rider wearing a rocket out of the air, bit down on him, and casually flicked him so he crashed into the ground. Sling's blood ran cold as he saw a graphic appear over the Rider's body.
It said Game Over.
Immediately, Sling's blood boiled. He hefted the remaining gatling gun dangling from his back and started a slow run closer to the battle. With his other hand he wrestled with the manual throttle on his rocket pack, making it sputter but finally ignite.
"You ditching me, Yo-chan?"
He stopped in his tracks and let his jetpack die again. Rei jumped down from the corner of a crumbled building, clutching her guitar. The flames around the head seemed to burn a little higher at what he guessed was annoyance.
"I was running to get back into the fight," he explained. "The other Riders are hardly doing anything, except getting killed every once in a while."
"They're not dead, they're trapped, like everyone else who lost fighting these monsters," Zero said and put a hand on his shoulder. "We can get them back…if we can beat GameDeus." Quietly, she added, "I hope."
"I hate to sound cliché, but that's a big if," Sling sighed. "A really big if."
Meanwhile, GameDeus picked up a pair of Riders in his snake-arms on opposite sides and tossed them out of sight. Before he had a chance to grab another a streak of golden light went flying out from between two buildings and crashed into GameDeus. He knocked the Corrupture out of the air, for it was Kamen Rider Ex-Aid who'd tackled their enemy.
"I'm getting too busy to give you personal attention anymore," GameDeus groaned, but it sounded more like annoyance than pain. A boil suddenly throbbed on his chest and popped. Out of it started climbing a horde of hideous monsters the size of a Rider, but Ex-Aid stabbed his KeySlasher into the boil and popped four of them at the same time.
Just before he looked up and saw something behind GameDeus. One second Kamen Rider Ex-Aid was there, the next he was half a block and still moving. Fast.
"And just what's scared the great Ex-Aid—" GameDeus started saying.
The meteor that came plummeting out of the sky on top of him made sure he didn't get to finish.
"Who in the hell did that?!" Sling gaped in shock and awe at what he just saw. Zero chuckled gently to see him so gobsmacked.
"I was aiming for one that was almost twice that size," said a very familiar voice, and Kamen Rider Rune stepped up next to the couple. The blue jewel atop his staff was still shimmering with energy. "But I thought Emu-san would probably appreciate me hitting GameDeus when he wasn't expecting it." Rune looked proudly at where GameDeus lay on the ground, stunned underneath the rock almost as big as he was that Rune had hit him with.
Sling hefted his weapon again and fired up his jetpack. Cautiously he stopped and held out his hand to Zero. "What do you say?" he asked her.
"I say it's a date," Zero answered and took his hand. They blasted off to attack the fallen boss together.
Rune smirked inside his mask, and chased after them, a swarm of Kamen Riders following after him.
It seemed like forever before Kiiko felt brave enough to open her eyes.
The last thing she saw on the window in front of her was the huge meteor coming down out of the sky right for GameDeus's. head. But she wasn't crushed. She was alive.
And, she noticed right away, she couldn't hear Hourakou Byougen's voice making any of his usual smart remarks.
If she acted fast, this might be her chance to escape.
With all her strength she pulled her arm against the little tendrils stuck to it.
Nothing happened. Of course it didn't. Kiiko was surprised she hadn't passed out with all of her strength being drained, no wonder she didn't have enough to pull her way free. There wouldn't have been enough even if she was still at 100%.
Without warning something seemed to set her mind on fire, and Kiiko was wide awake even with how drained she was. Something very powerful was getting close, and it didn't feel like Hourakou. There was such a great…intensity to its being. It was the only way she could think to describe it. A flash of light came from outside of the cocoon, and slime splattered everywhere.
And standing there was a powerful figure, wearing a horned helmet over a mask dominated by dark red eyes. He wore a tabard decorated with blue and green camouflage stripes, which tapered up into a military jacket with brass buttons and two rows of medals across one side. White glove covered his hands, but on his arms were big metal gauntlets with two cannon barrels mounted on the back. Just like the ones mounted on top and on the sides of his shoulders, too.
Cannon barrels that were still smoking from having blasted his way through the wall.
"Snipe…" Kiiko breathed in disbelief.
"Mishiranu-san, I found you," he said, in Taiga Hanaya's sharp, but familiar voice. He ran up to the cocoon but gasped and fell to his knees in front of him. Kiiko thought she could hear some kind of angry buzzing coming from around his head for a minute before he got up again and shoved his fist through the wall surrounding Kiiko.
Someone else moved faster, and Kiiko's heart almost stopped until she realized what was really going on. Something on Kamen Rider Snipe's belt shook loose and fell to the floor. A stream of particles flowed out of the end and formed itself into a humanoid shape that she thought was about to attack her rescuer, until she recognized a Gamer Driver around his waist and the bold red and blue of his armor. It was Kamen Rider Paradox, who with one precise swipe of his axe cut through the tendrils hooked to her skin on one side, then dashed to the other and cut through the ones on that side, and caught Kiiko as she fell.
Gently, Paradox laid her down, then stepped back with grunt when Snipe moved forward and started pulling the severed tendrils from her skin medical carefulness. "Are you okay, Kiiko?" Paradox asked as he watched.
"I'm okay, I think," she answered. "But I'm so tired. How did you guys get in here, anyway?"
"It was Hanaya's crazy idea," Paradox said, with a little chuckle. "After he got humiliated back at that tournament, he tried to find a way to get more powerful. Infected himself with a little bit of the Corrupture virus to be able to combine the games on his Dual Gashat! And because he's a carrier, when we get inside GameDeus's body to look for you, we're totally ignored! This thing's made of infected people, and they don't even look at us because he smells the same way because of the virus or something!"
Snipe grunted this time. "Mmmm."
Kiiko smiled up faintly from where she lay on the floor. "And you…?" she prompted Paradox.
"He asked me come along in case he needed help," Paradox said, slowly and quietly. "He knew I'd want to come if the mission was helping save you. And Ex-Aid and the others were too visible, Hourakou would know something was wrong if they weren't there."
A wet POP as Snipe pried the last tendril off Kiiko's leg and threw it aside. She winced in pain but asked Paradox, "And he could carry you around easy in a Bugvisor, right?"
Paradox crossed his arms. "Hmph."
Snipe, all business, asked, "Do you think you could lead us to where Hidenaga is?"
"Yes," Kiiko said with a slow nod. "But we can't go straight there."
"Why not?"
"Because there's something else we need first if we're going to save him," Kiiko said gravely.
Silver beams jumped from Hourakou's fingertips, sending up impressive fountains of sparks, and sending the Hidenaga brothers scattering in different directions.
"Hope you don't think I can only keep track of one of you at a time!" the mastermind taunted them.
Utsura went into a somersault to avoid one of the rays, coming out of into a crouch with his sword drawn that Hourakou never would've imagined with the drain on his stamina Utsura should've had. He leveled his sword at Hourakou. "Hope you don't think you can scare us into making mistakes with lame insults like that!" Utsura yelled back.
"I don't need you to make mistakes! I need you to put on a show for the cameras!" Hourakou laughed and unleashed another storm of light blasts at the two.
Bruiser dodged under one incoming ray but it exploded against the wall and blew a sheet of slime across his mask. "Who is this guy, Kensei?!" he shouted across the arena to his brother.
"He says he's the ultimate combination of all the Corrupture power," Utsura answered him. "But mostly he's a sad little guy who needs to make displays of power so people notice him."
Hourakou shot another ray at Utsura but the Rider was a little faster. He jumped and slashed with his katana at his enemy's chest. Only for Hourakou to reach out and catch the blade in his hand, then looked behind him at Bruiser. "Coming to the rescue, friend?" he demanded.
"It's what big brothers are supposed to do," Bruiser said and launched one of his big fists off on a chain. Hourakou caught it, easily.
Then inside his gauntlet, Bruiser hit the recoil button and reeled in the chain, pulling himself up to Hourakou at high speed and slamming his fist into the Corrupture's jaw. Utsura yanked his sword free and delivered his strongest overhead slash. Hourakou landed on his back before he skidded across the platform.
"Come on! We can't let up!" Bruiser yelled at his brother while he charged after their enemy.
"I was gonna say that to you!" Utsura yelled back.
"Kensei, you've grown a lot while I've been gone," Bruiser said with a little laugh. "But you still gotta work on your speed compared to me!"
"Let's see who's stronger!" Utsura retorted just before they were about to attack the fallen Hourakou.
"Yes, let's!" the Corrupture snarled and melted into slime, leaving the Kamen Riders' attacks to ring against the floor. He flowed behind them and reformed into his human shape, holding up his hands to attack with his powers again. "I do have to thank you, Utsura. You're making this more interesting than I'd expected…it'll make this battle an even better warning for anyone who thinks of challenging me after I spread my virus over the entire world!"
Light flashed from his palms, but instead heat beams like the Riders had been expecting from the fight up to then, an icy wind started to blow across the platform. Barely a second had gone by before thick crystals formed around the Riders' feet and pinned them to the platform. More of the glittering crystals were forming on their arms, torsos and faces next.
"We're gonna be covered in a few seconds!" Bruiser said to his brother over the winds. Crystals crawled up their legs. An evil smile grew wider and wider across Hourakou's cruel face. The Riders twisted helplessly, trying to free themselves.
Suddenly Utsura slashed his sword across legs and sent crystal shards clattering across the platform. At the same time Bruiser fired off both of his fists. Utsura jumped on top of them and rode above the chill winds. He jumped off and drew his wakizashi as he came down then swung both of them in an X-cut. The blades sliced through a surprised Hourakou, leaving a spinning GREAT graphic and trails of purple blood on Utsura's swords.
Looking at Utsura in disbelief, Hourakou stood there without any sound coming from his gaping mouth. Utsura didn't give him a chance to recover, stowing his swords across his back and pulling a bow and arrow out instead. The arrowhead caught fire as Utsura let it go.
Finally Hourakou made a sound. A scream of pain as the arrow went through him. At the same time Kamen Rider Bruiser broke through the crystals sticking him to the floor and launched himself at Hourakou, giant fists-first. His gauntlets left an impression in the Corrupture's chest like a giant 8 on its side.
"Let's finish this fight!" Bruiser cheered to his brother.
"Yes, let's," was the reply. But it wasn't Utsura who said it. It was Hourakou Byougen, a furious snarl on his face.
One Rider yelped in surprise as she was knocked off her giant rabbit mount by a blast of black slime that hit her right in the chest. Before she hit the ground one of GameDeus's big snake arms was coming to down to crush her and take another Kamen Rider out of the fight.
Two other Riders charged to her side and fired up at the arm with their keytar and saxophone, blasting it with burning hot musical notes until it moved just enough to slam to the ground a few inches away from the downed Rider.
Lasers and energy bullets were flying everywhere, countered by slime bullets from the numerous tendrils on the recovered GameDeus's head, bolts from the snake eyes on the ends of his arms. Kamen Rider Rune swung down his staff and sent a cluster of smaller meteors roaring into the giant's chest. The meteors exploded and left scorched crater's in GameDeus's body, but the smoke hadn't finished drifting up before the wounds started healing.
A small exhaust trail zipped by GameDeus's face. It was Kamen Rider Sling, firing his surviving gatling gun and mini-missile launchers. Dangling from his arm was Kamen Rider Zero, who awkwardly but forcefully slashed a pick across the strings of her guitar and fire a blast of flame at the monster's face as they sped by.
Just like with Rune's asteroid swarm, the wounds were already healing. It was only when a golden streak came and lopped off a few of the writhing tendrils on the monster's head that any serious damage was done. Only Ex-Aid, the invincible Rider, had the power to do anything that seemed like it would last against this monster.
And they only had one of him.
"Kensei," Rune whispered. "Where are you? Don't tell me you came this far just to end up a snack for a monster…"
"Are you sure it's this way?"
"I'm the Navi, remember?" Kiiko reminded Snipe. The light on the tip of her finger was faint, but the point on the end was unmistakable. "And if we know Hourakou Byougen right, he's going to want to keep what we're looking for far away from his fight with Kensei-kun. Even if Hourakou says he wants to show people an epic fight."
Kamen Rider Paradox didn't say anything, he only walked cautiously next to Kiiko, one powerful hand hooked under her arm to hold her steady as they walked.
"I still don't think I understand this plan the two of you had," Snipe muttered.
Kiiko sighed. "Then I'll tell you again, Hanaya-san…"
Kensei twirled the Gashat around his finger again, then sighed and set it down on the meeting table in the CR Ward. Kiiko picked it up, looking down at the colorless Mighty vs. DynaMighty game, the one that'd been wielded by a version of his beloved older brother from an alternate timeline.
"Do you realize how crazy what you're asking sounds?" Kiiko asked quietly, sounding more concerned than mocking.
"Kiiko," Kensei replied patiently. "Maybe it does sound crazy. But Hourakou's always been screwing us, so don't you think it's time we had a nasty surprise for him instead? If he traps me, I should have a surprise ready to even the odds."
She nodded, very slowly. "But do you really think an idea like this could work? I mean, using this game to attract your brother and get him to help you fight? There'd have to be something very powerful about this game to attract him."
He nodded back at her. "I've thought of that. Maybe…if we could put my memories of when we met the other version of Yuuma in his game, my Yuuma would be able to notice it. I…really loved being able to fight with him."
Even more slowly, Kiiko nodded. "I'm willing to try if you are, Kensei-kun." She put her other hand on his forehead, and clenched the Gashat. "Try thinking of those times when you and your brother fought together. Let's see what happens."
His eyes closed, Kensei thought about it. Then, to Kiiko's surprise, small dots of light traveled down her fingers, through her arm and out her other arm into the Gahat in her other hand. Bit by bit, the green of its case was restored, flowing across the plastic and the label. The circuit board turned clear and pristine again, shimmering with a lively light for a few seconds before fading.
With a trembling hand she set it down on the meeting table, but put both arms around Kensei, who was about to fall out of his chair. To her surprise, there was a smile on his face.
"Hey, it worked!" he marveled. "Maybe we should try to power up one of my old games a little too…see if that surprises Hourakou."
"Yes, shhhh," Kiiko said and leaned him lightly back in his chair. "Later, Kensei-kun. You've given enough for right now."
"So, you two were planning on Hidenaga getting swallowed by a giant monster?" Snipe asked in understandable disbelief.
"We planned on Hourakou trying to trap Kensei-kun alone," Kiiko clarified quietly.
"Mmm," Paradox muttered. "It was brave of you to come up with a plan to try and catch the Corrupture leader by surprise." Kiiko looked backward. She placed a hand over the one helping hold her up.
Snipe led the way, trying to keep one eye aimed ahead so he saw where he was going and the other over his shoulder to see where Kiiko was pointing. "Do you have any idea how much farther this game we're looking for is?" he asked. In front of him the walls slid open with a squelch, recognizing him as a friend, just like Paradox had explained.
"Yes," Kiiko said softly. "Not much farther. Not much farther."
As she said that the light on the edge of her outstretched finger brighter. Snipe picked up his pace and the tunnel got wider in front of them. Until it opened up on a round room where something was sitting on a fleshy pedestal, under a transparent bubble.
A Rider Gashat with a starscape pattern on the case.
Mighty Fest Infinity.
Terrible rays of light burned from Hourakou's fingers, his eyes, even his gaping mouth, raking over every inch of space across the platform deep inside GameDeus's body. There was no place the Kamen Riders could hide.
It seemed like the entire area in front of Hourakou was full of HIT graphics creating an ugly mismatched wall over the Riders. Screams of pain echoed off the slime-covered walls. They made a cruel look of happiness come to Hourakou's face as his laser barrage faded. Both Riders slumped backward and fell limply to the platform. Neither of them moved.
Hourakou sighed, but smiled over at his motionless opponents. "This has been a…unique struggle, Riders," he admitted. Slowly he steepled his fingers together. "You surprised me, I will be happy to give you that. When we went into this I'd been expecting a straight fight to the finish where Utsura did hid level best but ended up being crushed. The last thing I expected was for im to find a way to lure his brother out to help him fight back.
"But it ends the way it always had to. With your demise, then all of your friends out there. They'll be the first to see the chronicle of your defeat. Then I'll probably broadcast it around the world as the virus spreads around the world, covering everything."
A click and a WHOOSH from behind him, then Hourakou was being blown across the room, over the motionless Kamen Riders. He spun head over heels and landed face-first in the slimy wall, then slid off and smeared slime onto the shiny surface of the platform."
Utsura managed to sit up and looked up in confusion. "What the hell just happened?" The answer was already standing over him: an unknown Kamen Rider bristling with cannons and a horned helmet that at first his exhausted mind thought was another enemy. It took another second for Utsura to process that Paradox was standing next to the mystery Rider, and by then Utsura had started adding together battleship cannons and demonic armor. "Is that…Doctor Hanaya?"
Paradox reached down and grabbed Utsura's arm and hauled him to his feet. "Uh-huh. He did something dumb, but the Corrupture don't even notice him now so it's helped us get around. He's like the dog from Legacy of the Wizard, I guess," Paradox explained.
"Dog?!" Snipe immediately bristled. Kiiko appeared from behind the two and shoved Snipe over to where Bruiser was laying.
"Help him up," she ordered without a backward glance, and held out the shining case of Mighty Fest Infinity for Utsura.
"I dropped that when Hourakou hit me," Utsura said, still sounding slightly dazed.
"We found it," Kiiko said and quickly closed his fingers around it. "He was hiding it on the other side of GameDeus's body, to make sure you didn't get it back, I bet. Hurry up and transform with it before he gets back on his feet."
"Too late," an angry growl answered her, a titanic shadow falling over the Riders. Hourakou was standing already, and starting to grow. "I was giving you a fair chance before, Riders," Hourakou said in a menacing whisper. "Let us increase the difficulty to 'Challenging'." He held out his arms, to show how his fingers had sprouted curved knife-like claws.
Kiiko fumbled trying to force Mighty Fest Infinity into the slot on the back of Utsura's Mighty Hand. "HURRY!" she yelled.
Snipe, Paradox and Bruiser charged Hourakou. Snipe's cannons roared, firing bullets trailing evil-looking purple smoke. Paradox flipped the blade of his Parabragun around and fired energy bullets at high speed. Bruiser pumped his arms and launched his fists on their chains, aimed at Hourakou's chest.
Nothing happened. The shots exploded all over Hourakou's body. Bruiser's punches connected. Hourakou didn't budge an inch. He lashed out with his long arms and sliced his new claws across the Riders' bodies, flinging them across the room. Snipe landed on his back and let out a defeated groan. Purple pixels buzzed out of the openings of his armor. Obviously infecting himself with the Corrupture virus was putting a strain on him.
But a voice that even Utsura and Kiiko could hear came from his earpiece.
"TAIGA! Don't you even think about dying! If you do, I'll haunt you in Hell forever!" a sharp female voice rebuked him.
"I'm already in Hell if I have to listen to you screaming in my ear," Snipe grunted but pushed himself up and advanced on Hourakou, firing his cannons again.
"What'd you say?!" the voice snapped.
"HURRY!" Kiiko said again, yanking Utsura's mind back to his own situation. He took Mighty Fest Infinity from her hand and locked into the slot on the back of his arm.
"Cast Off," Utsura said, his voice still woozy.
"What?" Kiiko demanded.
"I mean…Level Up."
She shook her head and gently touched both sides of Utsura's face, turning into energy and flowing into him. The pieces of his samurai armor popped loose, then shot off at high speed all over the arena. Paradox and Bruiser were still down and the armor went past them but Snipe saw it coming, gasped in horror, and blasted Utsura's hip plating with a shot from his cannons. But the rest of the flying armor slammed into Hourakou and knocked him off-balance. Just long enough for the energy of his game to spread across his body.
When Hourakou Byougen looked up again it was at a sight he'd definitely been trying to avoid.
Kamen Rider Utsura had transformed, into nothing but an indistinct outline. Stars and planets streaked by faster than any of them, even Hourakou, had even seen before. The villain's eyes quickly traveled to something else: the Gashacon Breaker in his hand, its blade extended and glowing an invigorating white.
"Let's play," Utsura declared.
"Yes, let's," Hourakou said. A menacing smile stretched out across the darkness where his face would've been. Without any warning at all one of his hands lashed out, curving to impale Utsura on his curved claws.
But Utsura was already gone. He'd sprinted to the very edge of the platform in less than a second. A swipe of his glowing sword and two of Hourakou's claws twirled off the edge of the platform. Before Hourakou even felt the pain Utsura jumped over his head, draping the long muffler over Hourakou's eyes.
That wasn't all. Kamen Rider Snipe was already taking aim with his cannons again, but suddenly they started giving off a glow just like the blade of Utsura's new weapon. Every cannon on Sling's armor fired at the same time. He squawked in surprise since he'd only been intending to fire with one arm, but more shots than he could count arced from his weapons and homed in on Hourakou Byougen, leaving thick puffs of demonic smoke as they exploded on impact.
"What the hell's going on?!" Snipe demanded.
"TAIGA! Are you ignoring me?!" the female voice in his ear came again, but this time he managed to completely ignore it. Without even trying.
Paradox ran past Snipe and delivered a powerful strike to the still-reeling Hourakou with his axe. The head was glowing with the same light. "It's the kid's new game!" he shouted over his shoulder. "It's one of those multiplayer party games, it powers up other Riders!"
"That's the dumbest thing I ever heard," Snipe said with a shake of his head, but aimed and fired every gun he had again.
"I don't know, I think that's a pretty awesome gimmick for a superhero!" Bruiser chuckled. He jumped to meet Hourakou at eye level. The Corrupture leader grabbed him in one massive hand and squeezed, making Bruiser yowl from the pain. His big fists started to glow too, and a punch on the jaw from one dazed Hourakou enough for Bruiser to squirm free of his hand.
Bruiser turned to Utsura as they landed side-by-side. "Let's do this next one together, little brother!" Bruiser said.
"Try and keep up!" Utsura chuckled and jumped at Hourakou, but Bruiser was right behind him this time. Hourakou tried to raise his monstrous hands in front of himself to block their attack but a powerful slash from Utsura left a glowing wound across the Corrupture's body.
Smirking with pride inside his mask, Kamen Rider Bruiser landed a combined punch with both of his glowing fists.
Ex-Aid threw his golden form in front of a fallen Rider before the deadly rays from one of GameDeus's snake arms would've obliterated them. He raised his KeySlasher and aimed it like a rifle at the huge monster, then paused.
A white glow was surrounding the weapon.
And the weapon of the Rider he'd just saved.
And the weapons of every other Rider his giant eyes could see.
"Emu, what's going on?" Brave asked. "Do you think this means…?"
"It means he did it," Ex-Aid replied, in a voice that made Brave sure he was grinning like a lunatic inside his mask. "Hidenaga-san's sending us power again!"
Someone appeared willing to take a chance on their weapon even though it was suddenly glowing: there was the sound of a cannon going off and a shell came from behind a building that exploded against GameDeus's chest.
And the wound didn't automatically start closing itself up again.
That was when energy bullets and missiles started flying from the Riders who had them. A swarm of bees came from somewhere. Brave raised and brought down his sword, sending his trusty magical arrows flying for GameDeus's face one more time. A gatling gun and a stream of flaming musical notes shot into the monster's side, no doubt from Sling and Zero.
GameDeus didn't just float where he was and take it, he let out a horrible scream and fired back with everything he had. Beams from his eyes and the ones on his snake-arms, even as a Rider in a small spaceship flew by and blew one off at the wrist with the ship's lasers.
Black slime was puked out of the mouths of the numerous tendrils on GameDeus's head, pulverizing a few buildings that were still standing. But the Riders they'd been aimed at seemed to see them coming and moved out of the way with time to spare.
One dove off a building and a hang glider unfolded from their back as they fell. A clown-like Rider on a unicycle pulled a backflip and landed on his wheel before a slime bullet exploded and plowed a hole in the ground where he'd just been. He kept pedaling backward as fast as he could, juggling balls that he tossed at GameDeus as he went.
In one titanic jump, Ex-Aid covered the distance between himself and GameDeus.
Then he brought down his glowing KeySlasher down on top of the boss's head.
Something shook the arena deep inside the monster's body. Hourakou's avatar was connected to GameDeus and saw everything it did, but a look of surprise still crossed his face all the same.
"So, you think this is the end, Kamen Rider Utsura?" Hourakou asked, but did his voice shake a little there near the end?
The hero raised his sword and was about to make a quip in reply, but he faintly another voice.
I gotta believe…
"What do you have to believe?"
"That wasn't me," Kiiko's voice replied.
"I heard that too, though," Bruiser said, sounding a little nervous. Paradox nodded in affirmation.
Utsura shook his head. "We have to get him now! Don't get distracted!" He gripped his sword with both hands and charged.
Bruiser chuckled. "Whatever you say, boss!" and charged beside his brother. Hourakou growled and stabbed his claws into the ground. Dark, inhuman shapes started climbing out of the platform, Utsura jumping high over them and Bruiser lowering his shoulder charging through the indistinct shapes of evil with pure strength. As they went, the strange voice came again,
I don't wanna know heta na shinjitsu nara
As soon as he landed Utsura stabbed his sword with all his might at Hourakou. The Corrupture twisted but the blade still hit home and sent up a GREAT graphic. Bruiser barged into Hourakou next, then unchained his fists and used the rest of his momentum to spin like a tornado and pummel them against Hourakou.
I don't wanna know shiranai kurai ga ii noni
Hourakou clapped his large palms together and hideous tentacles sprouted from all over the walls, reaching out to catch the Riders. Paradox was a blur as he hacked them off one after another with his Parabragun's axe form, the blade's glow taking on an orange tint.
Why? Why? Why? Why? Kizukeba I came too far
The repeated roar of cannons on Snipe's armor obliterated incoming tentacles even faster than swings of Paradox's powerful axe. He fired at one tendril that Paradox was about to cut through at the same time. An explosion went up that splattered Paradox with purple slime and almost knocked him down. Snipe didn't bother trying to hold in a chuckle at the sight.
But the attacks stopped as Utsura and Bruiser came at Hourakou from both sides, wielding swords and fists, and attacked him front and back in the same second.
Tomaranai kanjiru kono yokan wa
Ex-Aid heard those strange words too, but had been in so many battles, he knew to focus his attention on the obvious enemy. GameDeus had been attacking the Rider army with all the firepower Ex-Aid had ever dared to imagine, but he was starting to slow down. More attacks from the Riders were getting through, and his intimidating appearance was now more and more marked by scars, severed limbs and the impacts of blasts. The heads of two snake-arms were gone. And his reptilian head was covered in bald spots where Riders had blasted off the numerous swinging tentacles.
Suddenly a yellow motorcycle drove itself up next to Ex-Aid.
"Looks like it's our time to attack, Emu-san," Laser observed.
"Yes, it does," Ex-Aid observed and climbed on top of the bike, revving its engine.
The new beginning
He blasted down the road, riding straight at the weakening GameDeus.
michi no ryouiki ima wo kirihirakun da
Laser turned toward a ramp-shaped chunk of broken concrete Ex-Aid hadn't seen, but he instantly figured out Laser's plan.
I gotta believe!
Aboard his bike, Ex-Aid launched into the air, his entire body glowing with power, and went shooting straight at GameDeus, knowing already where to strike.
He wasn't alone in that knowledge, with countless Riders flying after him under their own power, or aboard their game's Cruiser. All of them converging on a spot in the middle of GameDeus's body. The boss enemy saw them coming and tried to knock Ex-Aid away with his remaining snake-arms, but the golden Rider easily cut through them with one-handed swings of his KeySlasher.
Then his hand moved by itself to his belt, setting up a finisher he'd never used, but somehow already knew to expect. His Driver's voice joined the voice of every henshin device in the army closing in on GameDeus.
"All Riders…CRITICAL CO-OP!"
TURN IT ON
Soutou EX-CITE! EX-CITE! takanaru
Horrible orbs, or blobs, or something dark and covered in mouths full of sharp teeth flew out of Hourakou's hands. Kamen Rider Paradox braced his arms in front of himself, preparing to be hit by the projectiles, but Utsura zipped across the platform suddenly and caught them in the expanse of his muffler. He folded it, whipped around his head and tossed the muffler, letting it spill open and dropping all the biting orbs back onto Hourakou himself.
EX-CITE! EX-CITE! kokoro ga
Suddenly Kamen Rider Bruiser sprang up behind Hourakou and forced him into a full nelson. The Corrutpure struggled but the other Riders were already closing in to attack. Paradox made vicious diagonal slash one way, then other.
And then with all his speed Paradox got out of the way before Taiga squeezed the triggers on his artillery again. Another salvo of cannon shells covered in demon-smoke blasted from every cannon he had. Just like the smoke coming off his shoulders and neck, and even with the voice of the devil-woman screaming in his ear Snipe fell to his knees then.
His barrage kept going, fortunately. One hit Hourakou in the shoulder and exploded in a dark cloud mysteriously shaped like a skull before it faded. Another hit him in the eye, then all over his body. Ugly purple wounds marked where every shot had landed.
"How dare you touch me, you worthless humans!" Hourakou roared and flexed his arms, breaking free from Bruiser's grip. He grabbed Bruiser by the head and threw him into Paradox, then turned to face the only Rider still on his feet.
michibiku ano basho e kakenukete ikudake
A sneer decorated Hourakou Byougen's face. "It looks like it comes down to you and me after all, Kamen Rider Utsura."
"Guess that means you think I'm the hero of the game after all," said Utsura. "That's why you're losing, Byougen. There isn't just one 'hero' in life. I wouldn't even be able to stay in this form by myself."
With a showy snap of his fingers that seemed to echo, the grotesque arena where they'd been fighting suddenly changed. A vibrant blue sky full of cottony white clouds unfolded above them. Trees that almost shined with life sprouted from the ground and grew to full size in seconds. Blocks hung in the air, suspended by some mysterious force.
And when Utsura disappeared from where he was standing and reappeared right in front of Hourakou, dealing a powerful slash across the chest, there was another hero delivering another slash that rocked the Corrupture back on his heels.
Mighty, GENM's mascot, wielding his own Gashacon Breaker.
Utsura didn't let up, bringing another powerful slash across Hourakou's body. At the same time another slash came from the left, thanks to the sword of the Brave Knight from Taddle Quest.
Hey! I'm on a mission right now
Hourakou recovered and threw an uppercut that connected with Utsura's jaw and knocked the Rider back. A red robot with a massive fist appeared and delivered an identical uppercut to Hourakou. It was the one right off the label of Gekitotsu Robots.
Hey! I'm on a mission right now
While he was still reeling a fighter jet right out of Jet Combat fired miniature missiles into Hourakou's back.
EX-CITE! EX-CITE! Kotae wa
Suddenly the world seemed to go into slow motion as something big smashed through the side of reality. A bright told Kamen Rider on a yellow motorcycle. "Hidenaga-san!" he yelled and leaned over with his hand outstretched. "Let's finish this fight together!"
1. kono te no naka
Utsura took Ex-Aid's hand and swung onto the seat behind him. The front wheel of the bike rammed Hourakou in the chest and they crashed out the other side. Into the air outside GameDeus's body, a hundred feet off the ground. First Utsura lifted his sword in readiness, then Ex-Aid.
2. susumu beki life
Both Kamen Riders slashed their swords with all their might. The awesome force of the dual attacks sent him shooting out of sight.
Just before they couldn't see him anymore, so softly it was almost indistinguishable from the singing voice, the Riders heard Hourakou shouting something.
"Humanity created me! Created the Corrupture! Until humanity destroys itself, it'll find a way to create something else like me!"
3. ikite iku dake!
And then Hourakou was gone, only an exploding point of light in the distance. Over the flash that marked his demise appeared a colorful PERFECT graphic.
Laser skidded loudly he hit the street and bounced Ex-Aid and Utsura off his seat. Ex-Aid landed with perfect poise, but Utsura landed on his butt and skidded for a few feet himself before stopped.
"You okay, Hidenaga-san?" Ex-Aid said and offered his hand to help his junior up.
"Yeah…just kinda tired," Utsura panted. "It's been a hell of a day."
"Yes, it certainly has," Ex-Aid agreed. He looked up, and Utsura did too, seeing GameDeus disintegrating under the assault of all the Kamen Riders who'd gathered to help in the final fight. Bit by bit the monster's body crumbled with no resistance until there was nothing left. The finishing blow came from a fiery meteor flying down from the sky and smashing the last part of GameDeus's head and torso to nothing.
Three colorful shapes drifted to the ground from where GameDeus had been. To Utsura's relief, he recognized Snipe, Paradox…
And Bruiser. His brother was alive. Or safe. He wasn't quite sure, but he knew it didn't really matter. The three Riders landed gently in front of them, but Snipe staggered, bumped into Ex-Aid and fell down.
"Taiga! There you are!" Ex-Aid said, obviously recognizing his old comrade even in the new form. "What happened to you all this time?"
"I injected myself with a little of the virus to get stronger," Snipe gasped. "I'll tell you all about it later."
"After we get your system all cleaned up," Ex-Aid said, as if that would be the easiest thing in the world. After everything the doctors had accomplished, Utsura supposed it was just one more thing.
His attention was pulled away by Kamen Rider Bruiser stepping up and slapping one of his big fists between his brother's shoulders in congratulations. "That was amazing, little brother!" he cheered. "You've gotten so strong!"
"He's right, you know," Kiiko's voice whispered in Utsura's ear, sounding exhausted. "You really have gotten so strong."
"So you're not worried about me being able to handle being a Kamen Rider?" he replied, saying it only in his mind.
There was a strange feeling in his head, a jolt, that made him think he'd caught Kiiko by surprise for finally not talking to her out loud while they were combined. She answered, "No. Not even if you still needed to fight anymore."
"I guess so, aniki," Utsura answered. "I'll tell you all about how it happened. Someday."
Those weren't the only Riders to join them. One in blue armor, a golden staff jangling in his and, ran up to Utsura too. He was so exhausted, it took Utsura a couple of seconds to recognize Kamen Rider Rune.
"Kensei…! You killed the final boss!" he gushed.
"Everybody did," Utsura sighed. He opened his eyes again and saw Rune was holding a black Rider Gashat in front of his face. Taddle Quest.
"I found this on the ground, Kensei. It's one of the Proto Gashats, right? The ones with all the missing people's information?"
Ex-Aid grabbed it out of Rune's hand and made a gasp. "You're right, that's what it is! Where are the rest, though?"
He scanned the devastated streets, and his giant eyes took two other Riders picking up black Gashats off the ground. One who rode by on the back of a giant butterfly had another tucked into their belt. Sling and Zero each had one in the hand they weren't using to hold each other's hand as they walked up to meet the group too.
"We've finally got them back," Ex-Aid breathed. "We can finally bring everyone back!"
Bruiser looked over at Utsura again, seeming to squint even though he was still masked. "Sounds like you guys have a lot to catch me up on," he muttered.
"Like I said," Utsura sighed, "someday." Louder, he said to everyone, "Maybe you guys can help me tell my brother this story."
Ex-Aid's reply was a quick, affirmative nod. Simple and unmistakable, like everything else about him.
"Some night," Sling said, looking over at Zero. "I think a lot of mine are gonna be booked for a while, though."
Rune eagerly raised his hand. "I'll tell him! But let's play and game! I'd love to see what kind of gamer your brother makes!"
Bruiser scratched the back of his neck, or tried to, before he remembered the big fake hand over his real one. "I don't really play video games…" Bruiser said hesitantly.
"That's fine, we'll try everything and see what you're good at!" Rune offered. "And be glad it's me offering to show you…that girl who taught Kensei to be a gamer's nuts!"
"Hey!" Kiiko screamed in protest, even though nobody else could hear her while she was merged with Kensei.
As for Utsura himself, he just chuckled and shook his head. There would be a lot catching up to do, but now there was finally time to do it.
In the distance, a dark figure turned and walked away from the battlefield.
It was finally over. The way was clear once again.
The game master would wait. Wait for a chance for the battle against his ultimate foe again.
When the time was right.
Game Over
Thanks to The Wizard for the title, and thanks to Rifftrax for making The Wizard watchable.
And thank you for playing.
It's been quite the adventure getting this story written. So many characters, so many ideas, so many plots I dreamed up and then decided it'd be better if I didn't use them. Sometimes they're just not meant to be, but I'm very happy with how the ideas I did used turned out. The growth. The drama. The battles. Where it all ended up. And that it did end up somewhere.
Speaking of, I've got the rough outline for epilogue movie in my head, but I'm sorry to say that's gonna have to wait until I've had a chance to rest up mentally, and writing feels fun again instead of like a job. Sorry, the pandemic's made a lot of things less fun. For now, Kamen Rider Utsura's over. The teaser at the end's talking about stuff that happens in the Ex-Aid novel.
By the way, the thing about the characters hearing the lyrics to 'Excite' playing was supposed to be so many Riders linking together, their combined power starts weakening the fourth wall and they can hear the theme music playing from when a big villain gets beaten. I don't know, I thought it was a fun idea.
Thanks to everyone who made this crazy trip with me, part way or all the way. Who offered thoughts and insight, or read quietly. I love you guys, thanks for being here, and of course, I hope you enjoyed.