Chapter 8

Banjo and Misora still hadn't figured out where Sento's mysterious portal was. They had sorted through every piece of machinery in the lab and they'd started on pulling the Café apart when Kazumi and Gentoku arrived.

"Mii-tan, what are you looking for?" Kazumi asked.

"Where's Sento?" Gentoku asked. "I need to speak with him."

The statement would have sounded more commanding if it hadn't come from someone dressed in a lousy purple t-shirt that read 'You love yourself best'.

Banjo kicked a chair in frustration.

"Sento's not here. He went to help Ghost through an inter-something or rather portal."

"Ghost? Who's that?" Kazumi asked.

"A Kamen Rider," Misora answered with a huff. "Sento and Banjo worked with him during the Enigma incident."

"From the world without a wall?" Gentoku recalled.

"That's the one."

"That doesn't explain why the two of you are pulling apart the entire building," Kazumi said.

"We're looking for the portal but that idiot didn't say where he left it!" Banjo slammed his hands on the bench.

"We can activate it from this side?"

"That's what the note said." Misora collapsed in a chair.

"Note? What note?" Kazumi asked.

Misora sighed and pulled a folded piece of paper from her outfit.

Kazumi and Gentoku read through the letter.

"You can't find the remote?" Kazumi asked.

Banjo and Misora looked at him. Then at each other.

Misora snatched the letter back and read it though again.

Kazumi and Gentoku exchanged glances.

"You guys weren't looking for a remote, were you?"

"Ah!" Banjo tapped his fist in his palm.

He ran back down to the lab, followed by his three companions. He began digging through a pile a things in one corner: a spanner, pot plant, and what looked to be half a magazine thrown over his shoulder in neglect.

"Got it!" he cried, holding the small device high like a trophy.

Gentoku snatched the remote and looked it over. "How do we make this work?"

"Oi!" Banjo yelled indignantly.

Misora held out her hand and Gentoku passed the remote to her.

"Do we need to select a destination somehow?" she mused.

Kazumi leaned in and took a deep breath.

"Your hair smells divine, Mii-tan," he said with a smile.

Misora glared at him and Banjo elbowed between the two.

"Let's just press stuff!" he said.

The remote was snatched from Misora's grasp and she didn't bother to chase it. If they figured out how to work it, she'd go after Sento then. Anything else was a complete waste of energy.

"We should be careful. This could take us anywhere," someone said.

"We should press this button!" Another voice.

"No pressing buttons!"

"Give me the remote!"

"I want a turn!"

"Stop pushing!"

"No punching!"

"Let me have it!"

Misora put on her fluffy headphones to block out the noise and sat on a chair with an ice-pop. This should be interesting, she thought.

"So we're at a loss?" Taiga asked.

Hiiro sulked a few paces away. Poppy frowned sadly.

"He really didn't tell anyone where he was going?" Taiga prompted.

Poppy shook her head.

"Parado was with him," Hiiro said.

"But no one knows where he is either," Taiga leaned against the wall, arms crossed.

There was silence.

"Maybe we could track Parado's phone call?" Poppy ventured.

"Do you know a police officer?" Taiga asked.

Poppy shook her head.

"Then no."

"That could take days anyway," Hiiro said. "It would be best if we could just figure out where they went."

"But we have no leads." Taiga reminded him.

"Emu took his belt with him. That means he suspected there could be trouble." Hiiro crossed his arms too. "Maybe it was Rider business?"

"If it was serious, he would have told you about it," Taiga said.

"Maybe it wasn't immediately serious?" Poppy suggested.

"What else did they take with them?" Taiga asked.

"Medical supplies," Hiiro said. "A lot of them."

Taiga pushed off the walls.

"Maybe some kind of virus outbreak? A relapse of the gamer virus?"

Hiiro shook his head. "In that case, he would have needed Man-Power. He wouldn't have been so calm."

"Guessing isn't helping." Taiga put his hands in his pockets. "He didn't take his bike so he couldn't have gone far. Let's just look around and see what we find."

Taiga started down the hall with Hiiro and Poppy following when a glow behind them had them turn back the way they had come.

A circle of light hovered in the middle of the hall and, as they watched, it got larger.

"See?! I told you it was that button!" a voice said.

"Idiot! We don't even know where it opened to!"

"Are you sure that's safe?!"

"Only one way to find out."

"Stop, idiot! We don't even know if it's working."

"There's a ball of light in the air. I'd say that's a portal."

"We should send something through first."

"And then what? We can't very well get it back to check if it survived."

"We could tie some string to it-"

"Great idea, Mii-tan. I'll get some string!"

"Stuff that. I'm going through."

"Idiot! Wait! Wai- stop hitting me!"

Poppy frowned. "I know that voice. But where-"

Her eyes widened and her head snapped up.

"Mr Ryuuga?" she called.

There was silence. Taiga and Hiiro looked to Poppy in surprise but neither interrupted.

"How does the portal know your name?" someone whispered on the other side of the portal.

"Ryuuga-san. It's Poppy Pipopapo."

Someone snickered. "Pipopapo?! What a name!"

Poppy didn't take offence despite not even recognising that voice.

"We met during the Enigma incident."

There was silence again for a moment.

"Is she with that Ghost guy, then?" someone whispered.

"Shut up! I'm thinking."

"I'm friends with Ex-Aid," Poppy called.

"Ah! That Quack Doctor!" the main voice exclaimed.

"Wha- wait!"

The portal throbbed and then a head popped through.

As Poppy had expected, it belonged to Build's friend: Banjo Ryuuga.

She saw Taiga and Hiiro drop to a fighting stance but Poppy smiled at Ryuuga.

"You are welcome to come all the way through if you wish," she invited.

"We're looking for Build," Ryuuga said. "Have you seen him?"

Poppy frowned.

"We're looking for Emu too. Perhaps their disappearance is connected?"

"Is Ghost there?" Ryuuga asked.

"No. Should he be?"

"Sento said he was going to help Ghost."

Poppy shared an enlightened gaze with Hiiro and Taiga who relaxed their stances.

"I think we can help each other out," Poppy said. "Please come through."