Chapter 7: Go Amazon! The Plant Coven Rescue!
Hidden in the forest on the left side of the Boiling Isle, lies a set of structures made of wood. Tall winding spires crafted from the plants of the earth, reaching high as vines wrapped around them to give these spires support. There various patches where Plant witches were busy tending to different kinds of living plants, and the carnivorous ones as well. Beautiful flowers bloomed around the area, giving this place a truly mystical feel. This was the headquarters of the Plant Coven. Terra Snapdragon, the Coven's head witch, was overseeing the flower arrangement for the festival that the Emperor was holding in honor of the Kamen Riders.
I don't know why Belos would want to do this, she thought to herself, but I know it's probably just all part of his great plan.
Terra did find it odd that Belos would honor the Kamen Riders, especially when he offered a bounty on their heads, but given the events with the Phantoms, she supposed that some showing of gratitude was in order. After all, they did manage to put an end to the menace of the Phantoms once and for all. She had just made it to the main building when everything went downhill. Out of nowhere, a group of hooded people armed with cutlases and muskettes emerged, led by a bizarre creature.
The creature had black skin, white fur, and had a crouched posture. The creature was dressed in a white coat that had black edges around the sleeves, and hem of the coat. A pair of black pants that had some tears, showing that this creature had seen some battles. Her pirate hat had the symbol of the Shocker Coven sewn onto it and had a feather sticking out of it. It was armed with a cutlass sword, a silver, gleaming blade with a golden pommel and guard, and emblazoned on the guard was the same symbol of the evil coven. She had a musket strapped onto her back, and on each side of her belt were four flintlock pistols. The musket and pistols weren't your average weapon, they had a trumpet shaped barrel opening, and where typically the flint would go, there was instead a violet crystal, and in the pan where the hammer would fall onto was another crystal. The creature stood about five foot, five inches, at least in her slouched posture, and had a medium, muscular build. This was Ape Pirate.
"What in the name of the Titan are you?!" Terra asked.
"Ha har!" Ape Pirate yelled, "Tis Ape Pirate, The Priestess of Gedon, come seeking a blood bath! Ha har!"
The Plant Coven members immediately began to summon various carnivorous plants and thorny vines to defend themselves. Some of the Hooded Followers were whipped and thrown, some were eaten whole by the plant monsters, but unfortunately, their advantage only lasted so long. The Hooded Followers made use of their enchanted cutlasses, slicing through plant monsters and vines, some of which had hides as strong as iron. A row of the Hooded Followers raised their muskets and pulled the trigger. The two matchlock crystals struck each other, and immediately upon doing so, released a burst of magical energy that soared towards the vines and plant monsters. Multiple explosions rang out as the defenses of the Plant Coven were burned and cut away. Terra placed herself in the fray, summoning huge dragon-like plants made of tightly woven bramble vines and poisonous plants.
Ape Pirate scoffed at the display of power and decided to give Terra a lesson in what real power is. The Priestess of Gedon leaped high into the air, landing on a tree branch as she surveyed Terra's creations. With a smirk, Ape Pirate began using the very trees as a means to swing and vault off of. The bramble dragon roared and began crawling up one of the trees as it gave chase. Ape Pirate chuckled boisterously and evilly as she swung on the next branch she grabbed, spun around, and launched herself into the air. The bramble dragon used its thorny claws to quickly ascend the tree, its jaws opening wide to eat the beast. But Ape Pirate brandished her cutlass and waved her left hand over the blade. A violet aura flared up around it as she dove straight down towards the bramble dragon. The bramble opened wide and snapped its jaws around Ape Pirate, but her disappearance only lasted a moment as bright violet streaks of light erupted from the inside of the dragon and out through its body. Within seconds the entire plant creation was shredded to pieces.
But the buccaneer was not done yet. The poison plant dragon opened its flowers and released a plume of sparkling, toxic pollen in Ape Pirate's direction. The Priestess used her feet to grab onto another vine and swung herself around until she was now standing on it. Ape Pirate sheathed her cutlass and brought out her musket. She took careful aim as she pulled the trigger and released a single powerful blast of magical energy from the weapon. The violet light burned through the poisonous pollen, turning it into cinders as it made landfall and exploded, a few feet away from where Terra was. The Head of the Plant Coven was thrown several feet away, rolling on the ground until she came to a stop inside the main building lobby. Ape Pirate chuckled mockingly as she practically strutted her way to the semi-conscious Terra. With her great strength she lifted Terra up by her throat and slammed her against the wall, back first, bringing Terra back to full consciousness, painfully so.
"And here I be hoping the plant wench would put up more of a fight." she said as she pointed her flintlock pistol at Terra's face, "How pitiful."
"You…damn…monster! How dare you…attack a Coven head! You will pay for your insolence…and your transgression…against the Emperor!" Terra struggled to say.
"Oh, ye need not worry about him, ya old sea hag. He'll be joinin' ya real soon. We're just makin' sure his stay in the Locker is one spent surrounded by friends, heh-heh-ha!"
She was about to pull the trigger when, all of a sudden, a rope wrapped around the pistol barrel and yanked it out of her hand and into the nearby darkness.
"Who's there?!" Ape Pirate demanded.
Suddenly, a man with wild black hair, wearing nothing more than torn shorts, laced sandals, a weird belt, and a strange bracelet on his left arm came tackling Ape Pirate. The Shocker Coven monster was not prepared for how strong this man was, having been thrown from the tackle, and made to release Terra as she fell to the floor and began coughing and wheezing. The man and Ape Pirate rolled on the ground for a few moments until they were both outside. Ape Pirate managed to throw the man off her, but when he was, the man flipped in the air and landed on all fours in a kind of feral posture. Some of the Hooded Followers noticed the man and began making their way towards him. The man spotted the first Hooded Follower, leaped up, and kicked him across the face, sending them rolling onto the ground. The second one attacked from the side with his sword, but the man managed to avoid it by crouching low at the last second. The man noticed another of the Followers readying his musket, but that's when he dashed straight towards that Follower and tackled him to the ground. He rolled around on the forest floor with the Follower for a moment until he managed to wrestle the musket away, tossing it off into the distance before smashing his fist into the Follower's face, knocking them out cold.
The Follower who had tried to slash him with their sword attacked again, swinging left and right. The feral man managed to dodge each of the slashes, and on the third swing, the wild man weaved around the swing and got behind the Follower, placing him in a headlock. The Follower immediately dropped his sword and tried to pry the strong arm of the wild man off of them. Another of his comrades came to try and help, but the wild man hit him with a thrust kick, sending him flying in the other direction. The wild man began running for a nearby tree, and that's when he rammed the Follower he had headfirst into it, knocking him out as they laid on the ground motionless.
Ape Pirate watched all this unfold before her, not understanding how a single person was able to take out her Followers, and with such ease, and unarmed. It didn't matter, the only thing that did matter was the death of the Plant Coven's leader. The creature of the Shocker Coven hurried back inside the main building, where she found a still recovering Terra was sitting on the floor. Ape Pirate showed a toothy grin as she prepared to kill her, but at the last second, the wild man came in, vaulting off her back and making the Priestess of Gedon stumble backwards. The wild man flipped in the air and landed on the floor. He quickly turned around and faced Ape Pirate, putting himself between the monster and Terra Snapdragon.
"Ye be workin' my last nerve!" Ape Pirate threatened.
The wild man only glared at Ape Pirate, having not said a word to her or Terra. Then he began doing something strange, the wild man pulled his arms inward and clenched his hands into claws as he stretched out and opened his hands, yelling.
"A-MA-ZON!"
His eyes went wide as an almost demonic red light shined within them. At the same time, a bright white flash covered his entire body. His body then went through a metamorphosis, transforming the wild man on a cellular level. When the white light subsided, it was no longer a man standing between Ape Pirate and Terra, but some kind of creature. His body was covered in smooth green scales, with crimson red stripes zigzagging in different directions. The scales gave way to thick leathery hide that resembled boots, and on the back of those boots was a razor-sharp fin protrusion. His hands had the same black leather hide, and resembled gloves. Each "gloved" finger had a white claw, and both had the same razor-sharp fin. The chest of this creature was covered in a kind of yellow, exoskeletal armor. The creature's head had the same green scales and red zigzagging stripes. Its head resembled that of a cross between a lizard and an insect with the big red compound eyes, and at the center of the forehead was a yellow gem. His back also sported the sharp fin. Around the creature's neck was a white scarf, his waist still had the strange belt, and the strange armlet was still attached to his left bicep. This was the Rider of legend, a wild man who fought in a savage manner for the good of all and to strike down evil. This was Kamen Rider Amazon.
"Gii-Gii-Gii!" he screamed as swung his arms back and forth.
"It be no matter to me, witch, demon, or whatever! I'll have you swimmin' with the fishes all the same!" Ape Pirate declared.
The Hooded Followers field in behind Ape Pirate, they had not seen the transformation and thought that Amazon was just another of the Plant Coven's creations, or some monster they kept on hand. Without waiting for an order, the Followers who entered began attacking Amazon.
The wild Rider crouched and dashed towards two of them with inhuman speed. By the time they noticed him, Amazon struck the backs of their necks with a chop, knocking them out in an instant. While dashing past those two, Amazon appeared before a third Follower and repeatedly punched him in the gut, before uppercutting him into the air. A fourth Follower came down with their sword, but Amazon managed to block with left forearm, catching the Follower at his wrist. The Follower quickly dropped his blade when he felt the sharp fin of Amazon cutting into them, forcing them to release their weapon and back away. Amazon took this opportunity and punched the Follower with a right hook before putting him on the floor with a left haymaker.
Amazon's inhuman senses alerted him to imminent attack. He quickly jumped into the air as a magical musket blast flew under him. When Amazon landed on the ground, he turned around and glared at the Follower who tried to snipe him while his back was turned. The bestial Rider dashed for him, making the Follower cock back the hammer and fire again, repeatedly. Each shot whizzed by Amazon, barely coming within an inch of him as he quickly closed the distance. The Follower swiftly abandoned his musket and drew out his cutlass as he slashed at the wild Rider. Amazon used his thick, leathery hide and hard scales to block the blade with his arms. The Follower tried again and again, but each attempt was met with another block by Amazon. Finally, Amazon saw an opening when he tried to go for an overhead slash, and Amazon punished him for the act with a punch to his stomach, and another across his right cheek. With another one down, Amazon moved onto the last two as he appeared before the next one as he struck him the shoulder with chop, forcing him to release the musket, and then threw a right uppercut to the Follower's jaw. The last Follower, who was just plain desperate at this point, ran straight for Amazon and leaped into the air for a drop kick. Amazon's senses told him of the attack, allowing him to sidestep the Follower at the last second. However, before he could fly by him, Amazon raised his right hand and brought it down in a karate chop right to the Follower's side, sending him crashing down to the floor in midair.
Now that the Followers had been taken care of, it was time to end the monster before him. Amazon got back his feral crouching position before taking off towards Ape Pirate. Amazon leaped up at the last second and went for a flying roundhouse kick. But Ape Pirate ducked the kick, making Amazon land on the floor. Ape Pirate cocked back her powerful fist and threw a left hook at the wild Rider. Amazon back flipped away, putting some distance between them before charging in again. He jumped into the air again and went for a drop kick against the swashbuckling gorilla. Luck was on her side as Ape Pirate ducked again, avoiding Amazon's attack again. Before he could pass her by, Amazon dropped out of the air, and crouched low to the floor as he swept her legs, causing the Priestess of Gedon to fall to the floor. Ape Pirate growled angrily as she rolled onto her front and jumped back up, ready to attack, but Amazon swiftly struck her in the side with a chop, making Ape Pirate cough in pain.
Ape Pirate roared angrily and grit her teeth as she twisted around with her left fist in an attempt to backhand Amazon. The wild Rider quickly raised his left forearm just in time to block the hit, creating a shockwave that shook the ground and air around them. Ape Pirate used the momentum of the blocked backhand to swing around with the right with a left hook. But Amazon ducked the attack and struck her in the stomach with an "X" chop, causing sparks to fly from her body as she was sent skidding backwards until Ape Pirate was back outside and away from Terra. Amazon ran outside and flipped over her, Ape Pirate turned to attack, but was too slow as Amazon swept her legs with a kick. Ape Pirate hit the ground hard and tried to rise, but the wild Rider came down with his right foot to stomp on her chest. The Priestess of Gedon forwent her initial motion and quickly rolled out of the way as Amazon's foot hit the ground, causing small fissures to form around that same foot.
The Shocker Coven monster hurriedly rose to her feet and drew her cutlass, bathing it in her dark magical energy as she made a construct energy blade form around it, giving it a few more inches of length as it hummed in her hands. Amazon saw her weapon and grew a bit cautious, he could sense that the power behind her weapon was stronger than the minions he defeated, and if he was not careful, he could end up losing a limb, or worse. Ape Pirate charged for Amazon and swung wildly through the air, while Amazon's enhanced and feral instincts allowed him to dodge the attacks, the misses were too close. Especially considering the increased length and increased width of the beam blade. Amazon kept dodging the weapon, forced to back up. Ape Pirate slashed horizontally in a wide arc, and Amazon was forced to jump high into the air and land on a tree branch to get out of the way. However, the moment he did, the tree began to lest, but not just that tree, the tree to his right as well. That's when he realized that Ape Pirate's last attack cut through the two trees at the same time, causing them to fall.
With little choice given, Amazon launched himself off the falling tree and right for Ape Pirate. The Shocker Coven monster smirked as she leaped up to meet him and slashed with her sword. Amazon continued past her until he hit the ground, rolling along until he was lying on his stomach, face down. Ape Pirate grinned in satisfaction, she finally managed to land a good blow. But she was not about to get overconfident. She intended to make sure that he wasn't going to get back up. Ape rushed over to the still body of Amazon until she was standing next to him. The swashbuckling gorilla monster raised her cutlass high, preparing to stab him. But before she could, Amazon came back to life, swung his legs around, and donkey kicked her in the chest, sending the monster skidding on her heels again. Amazon took advantage of this and dashed towards her, leaping a bit into the air as he kicked her in the side, and spun in midair to deliver another one to her opposite side.
Now angrier than earlier, Ape Pirate slashed again and again, but Amazon saw his opening as she brought the sword down for an overhead strike. Amazon raised both of his forearms up, making sure his sharp fins were pointing towards the incoming blade. The blade landed exactly on both of the forearm fin blades, but her sword did not manage to cut through them. Ape Pirate tried to push the sword down in an attempt to cut all the way through, but Amazon growled and raked his fin blades across the sword in opposite directions, the motion and power behind it caused the construct shatter, and once the metal blade hit his fin blades, the metal snapped in half, sending the broken half flying over his Amazon's head where it lodged itself into a rock.
With her weapon effectively destroyed, Amazon slashed her across the chest, causing sparks to fly. Amazon struck with another chop to her side, followed by three jabs that made sparks dance in the air around them. The wild Rider high kicked Ape Pirate in the chin, before landing another to her head, disorienting the monster. Amazon reached out with both hands, grabbed Ape Pirate's jacket and drew her in for a knee strike, showering the air with more sparks. Continuing on his savage attack, Amazon channeled his power into his strength, lifted Ape Pirate while she was still dazed, and threw her on top of a building. The swashbuckling gorilla growled indignantly as she got back to her feet and drew out her pistols, firing one after the other as she rained down energy blasts from her position. Amazon dodged the beams as they exploded against the ground, but he was not without a way to make her stop.
"Condorer!" he yelled as he pulled out a pull rope from his belt and lassoed Ape Pirate's arm.
Ape Pirate was surprised by the maneuver, and was not able to react in time as Amazon yanked on the cord and right towards him. The wild Rider crouched low, and once Ape Pirate was in position, he jumped up and roundhouse kicked her in the face, sending the beast flying until she hit the side of one of the buildings. Amazon recalled the Condorer's cord and reinserted it into the belt before he ran straight for Ape Pirate. The Priestess of Gedon was about to get up, but before she did, Amazon struck her in the chest with his foot, causing the wall to collapse on top of her. Amazon knew he had to end this fight now, there was still more that needed to be done beyond this one battle. His dorsal fin began to wiggle as he gathered his power into his claws, once he had, Amazon leaped into the air one last time to deliver his final blow. The Priestess of Gedon burst through the rubble and roared aggressively and with frustration as she readied to fight Amazon, but found that he was not there. She noticed his shadow on the ground, and how it was gradually getting bigger.
"Wild Slash!"
It was too late by the time Ape Pirate looked up and watched as Amazon slashed Ape Pirate across the chest in an "X" pattern as two red streaks of light followed his claws. Once the light faded, two violet colored gashes formed over Ape Pirate's chest in the exact same pattern as violet light particles came spilling out from them. Amazon slashed again with his left arm, and then one last time with his right, forming an eight pointed star pattern gash on Ape Pirate. Amazon stood aside as the violet light kept spilling out of the gashes and into the air as she walked forward for about ten steps before reaching out with her right hand towards the sky.
"G-Glory…" she coughed, "to the…Shocker C-Coven!"
Amazon watched as the monster fell over and exploded in a plume of fire and violet light particles.
"Gii-Gii-Gii-Gii! Gii-Gii-Gii-Gii!" Amazon yelled in a victory cry. He then jumped out of sight, leaving Terra Snapdragon and the rest of the Plant Coven members to recover from the assault, and wonder what just happened.
"Luz! Luz, wake up!"
Luz slowly and painfully woke up to the sound of La Lechuza yelling at her. She soon found herself on the floor in some sort of prison cell. She looked down to see Amity laying right next to her. But what shocked her the most was the fact that her girlfriend was now wearing a rather beautiful white dress. She looked down at herself and found out that she was wearing an identical dress.
"Amity, wake up!" she quietly said as shook Amity to wake her up. Amity winced in pain as she woke up and went through the same motions as Luz, though when she saw what she and Luz were wearing, she blushed, HARD.
"Luz, where are we? A-A-And why does it look like we're about to get m-married?!" she asked.
"I don't know." Luz replied, "It looks like some sort of prison cell."
"Oh really?" Amity remarked. She then proceeded to draw a spell circle, but shockingly there was no magic energy whatsoever.
"WHAT?!" the two of them exclaimed. Amity tried it two more times but still nothing happened.
"It's as if we're…" Amity started.
"Completely cut off from our magic!" Luz finished.