Episode 09: Orphnoch Conspiracy
Huere walked through a large crowd of people. She was still mad about losing the Fourze Anotherwatch, and she knows that someone will enjoy looking down on her for it. Time stopped all around her just as if it was on cue. Huere sat on top of a van, smiling and looking down on a fellow Time Jacker.
"Looks like someone messed up~," Huere teased before jumping down from the van.
"Oh, please, look who's talking," Ora snapped back. "At least, I wasn't stupid enough to try to kill Ohma Zi-O and alert him of our presence."
"At least I'm taking initiative to ensure that our plans succeed. You seem to only act for yourself," Huere said. Ora scoffed before walking off but she realized that she was stuck in place. Huere also felt the same sensation as well.
"The two of you can bicker all you want but it's not going to change what happened," Swartz said as he entered the scene. "Both of you lost Anotherwatches. We still have eighteen left at our disposal."
"What would you have us do then?" Ora asked. Swartz freed the two Time Jackers from their entrapment.
"Continue to do as you please but act cautiously. Thanks to Woz, Zi-O seems to be aware whenever we alter a Rider's history," Swartz explained. "Now that we're down to eighteen Anotherwatches, I'm splitting them up. You both have six chances to find a king, and so do I."
"Have you done anything so far, Swartz?" Ora asked.
"I think I found an individual worth investing in. While she's no king, she'll be a queen who'll have a powerful ruler by her side."
"A queen? This should be interesting," Huere said.
After the defeat of Another Fourze, the Occult Research Club enjoyed the rest of their weekend in peace. Katsuro managed to open up to the others thanks to his experiences with Gentaro and the Kamen Rider Club. Rias was relieved to know that the Kamen Rider was getting along with her servants.
When Monday came around, every servant of Rias' peerage left the room to make their contracts. Tsukuyomi and Geiz weren't around because they needed to take some supplementary classes to help catch up. This left Katsuro alone with Rias, which was rare.
The two of them enjoyed a game of chess. While Katsuro played it a couple of times in middle school, Rias was a regular player. She managed to corner Katsuro with only his rook and knight to defend his king. He has separated from the rest of his pieces thanks to Rias.
"I shouldn't have challenged a person whose rank is the king piece," Katsuro said. "You're really good."
"Chess is a very popular past-time in the Underworld," Rias explained.
"I can tell," Katsuro remarked as he looked at his pieces. He moved a pawn from the other side of the board. "It feels like any move I make will lead to a checkmate."
Rias smirked as she moved her Queen closer to Katsuro's king. It was within range to be knocked out by Katsuro's knight piece. He committed to the move since it removed one of Riss' strongest pieces.
"Checkmate," Rias said.
"Wait, what?" Katsuro leaned in. He realized that Rias baited him into moving his piece. This allowed an opening to let Rias move her bishop to knock out Katsuro's king. "Huh, well I'm an idiot."
Rias smiled at Katsuro's remark before taking a sip of tea. It was finally nice for the two of them to finally have a chance to get to know each other without the tensions about the future. While it is concerning that they now have two of the nineteen Ridewatches, the circumstances for how Zi-O obtained them are different enough. Geiz and Tsukuyomi entered the room after a few hours of studying.
"Welcome back, how was the supplementary class?" Rias asked.
"They've been helpful," Tsukuyomi said.
"Well, I think they're a waste of time," Geiz said as he sat down on the couch. "I only signed up for school just to keep an eye on things. I don't need an education."
"You enrolled yourself in the school, you should've expected to go through all of the nuances of being a student," Rias pointed out.
Geiz sighed before he poured himself a cup of tea. A magical circle formed on the floor and Yuuto teleported into the club room.
"I've returned," Yuuto said.
"Welcome back," Rias said. "I'm sorry to bring it up right after you finished the last of your clientele but can you do this last-minute request? We got a summons request a while ago. It's from a new client as well. I was hoping you or someone else with experience can take it."
"I'll gladly accept it," Yuuto said.
"Thanks," Rias smiled. "Again I'm sorry for this last-minute job."
"It's fine. I'll do whatever I can to help around," Yuuto said.
A middle-aged man was alone in a warehouse. He was pacing anxiously until a magical circle appeared on the floor and Yuuto teleported in. He looked around, suspicious of the place he was summoned to. The Knight decided to act naturally but remained on guard for anything. The man who summoned him looked confused.
"When I wished for a bodyguard, I was expecting someone with more brawn," the man said. "And someone much older."
"Don't worry about it. I'm more than capable of being your bodyguard," Yuuto said as he summoned his sword.
"Woah!" the man said.
"If I may ask, who do you need protection from?" Yuuto asked. "Yakuza? Debt collectors?"
"How do I put it?" the man asked as he scratched his head. "Ever heard of a company named Smart Brain?"
Yuuto nodded and said, "They're the multi-million dollar company that went under over a decade ago but investors bought it recently and are rebuilding it from the ground up."
The news of Smart Brain suddenly going bankrupt was noted to be one of the most drastic economic shifts in the country. Thousands were laid-off and several key members of the company disappeared. The mysterious nature of this bankruptcy is widespread across Japanese media as many conspiracy theorists commented on it. Its sudden comeback reinvigorated these theories and they're all over television and magazines as if they never left.
"Hm, it seems you know your stuff, kid," the man said. "All I can say is that I'm within the company's crosshairs and being hunted down."
"Why would Smart Brain hunt you down?" Yuuto asked. "My boss made it clear that we won't assist anyone who've committed crimes unless they have proof of innocence."
"Trust me, I've done nothing except drift from one place to another. This company wants me because of who I am rather than what I did," the man explained.
"For who you are?"
"Look kid, I don't want to get into much detail. I just need you to protect me when the Smart Brain agents come for me."
"Alright, since you summoned me, I'll do as you wish. Just note that you'll need to sign a contract afterward," Yuuto said.
"A contract? What's the catch?" the man said.
"Just your soul. Don't worry about going to be thrown in damnation, we'll ensure that when you pass on to the afterlife that it's a peaceful existence," Yuuto said.
"Well, that's kinda suspicious but honestly what choice do I have? I'll do whatever it takes for now," the man said. "Name's Naoya Kaido by the way."
"Yuuto Kiba," the Knight said.
"Kiba, huh?" Kaido said. "I guess I'll be under your protection."
The door to the warehouse opened up and several well-dressed men with sunglasses entered the building. Kaido backed up as they approached the two. Yuuto raised his sword to defend his new contractor.
"Are these the people tracking you down?" Yuuto asked.
"Yeah, they're Smart Brain's field agents," Kaido said. "Listen, kid, you don't have to risk your life for me. You can back off now."
"It's my duty to serve your request," Yuuto said. Now that Yuuto has seen these agents for Smart Brain, he began to understand the predicament that Kaido is in. There was an untrustful air to these field agents.
One of them reached for an earpiece and said, "One armed civilian seems to be standing in our way. We're not sure who he is or his association. Telling by his uniform, he's from the local high school."
After a few seconds of silence, the agent said, "Understood."
The man leading the Smart Brain agents nodded to his comrades. They all pulled out a belt with a bronze buckle. The buckle had the words Smart Brian inscribed on it. The buckle seemed to be standing up. Yuuto was confounded by these belts' appearance.
As the Smart Brain agents snapped the belts around their waists, the leader shouted, "Transform!"
The Smart Brain agents snapped the buckle into the slot.
Complete!
A bright light shined over their bodies, transforming them into Kamen Riders. Their suits were black with bronze armor over their chest, ankles, and wrist. Their helmets were black with a large O-shaped visor, outlined by a brown line. Two small antennae were sticking out of the helmet. These Riders were armed with short swords with bronze-colored blades.
"I didn't expect your pursuers to be Kamen Riders. This will be a difficult fight," Yuuto said.
"The Riotroopers are the mass-produced type. They're weak but dangerous in large groups," Kaido said.
Yuuto counts seven Riotroopers. He'll have to quickly eliminate them to ensure Kaido's safety. The Riotoopers unsheathed their short blades. Two of them charged at the young Knight. In a quick instance, Yuuto dashed and sliced through the two Riotroopers. The Smart Brain agents were surprised by Yuuto's fast movements.
Three Riotroopers transformed their swords into small firearms. They opened fire at Yuuto. The Knight quickly blocked the bullets as he moved toward them. He sliced through the middle Riotropper before turning around and thrusted his sword at another. The Riotrooper behind Yuuto tried to attack him but the Knight turned around and blocked the attack. He parried it and slashed through his chest. The last two Ritroopers stepped back.
One of them tapped on his headgear and shouted, "We need backup now!"
The other Riotrooper tried to fight Yuuto but was quickly defeated. The last one standing tried to shoot at the Knight but he blocked the bullets. Yuuto managed to strike down the last Riotroopers with little effort.
"Wow, you're a pretty good swordsman!" Kaido proclaimed. "Now I'm glad that I have you by my side!"
Several vehicles pulled up in front of the warehouse. It looks like Smart Brain wasn't willing to let Kaido walk away so easily.
"I'm going to need to request some backup myself," Yuuto realized.
"Understood, I'll send Koneko and Katsuro right away," Rias spoke into a magical circle. She turned to Koneko and Katsuro, the former was enjoying a snack while the latter was drinking tea. "The client needs protection and it seems that Yuuto is outnumbered. Koneko, I'll need you to back him up."
"I understand," Koneko spoke softly.
"I'm sorry, Katsuro. I know you're not a servant but can you help out with this contract?"
"Sure thing. I'm doing nothing most of the time anyways," Katsuro said as he got up.
"You two might want to be careful. It seems that you're going up against a group of Kamen Riders."
"Is this related to an Another Rider instance?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"It doesn't seem like it. Yuuto is dealing with a mass-produced type of Kamen Rider," Rias said. "According to him, they are associated with Smart Brain."
"You mean that multi-million dollar company?" Katsuro asked.
"A multi-million dollar company with an agenda," Geiz pointed out. "The company is run by Orphnochs, a species of evolved humans. Their goal is to add more numbers to their ranks by killing humans and forcing them to evolve."
"I've heard about the Orphnochs. From what I understand, they evolve from deceased humans. So in a way, they operate like how us Devils expand our ranks," Rias said. The Underworld is aware of the Orphnochs but running into one was quite rare. Their only source of information was from their brief encounters. Where they operate or who leads the race is unknown.
" not every human is capable of transforming into an Orphnoch. So at the end of the day, the Orphnochs are killing a larger percentage of people compared to the people they convert."
"It looks like whoever the client is, it seems that Smart Brain wants to convert them into an Orphnoch so they could expand their number," Tsukuyomi said.
"And what you said is true then there's a chance that Smart Brain might end up killing him instead," Rias said.
"I'm ready to head out whenever," Katsuro said as he stood up. The Time Rider understands the urgency to protect the client. Koneko nodded as well.
"I'll come along as well," Geiz said.
"Alright, I can only teleport Katsuro. You'll have to get there on your own," Rias said.
Geiz nodded before leaving the room. Tsukuyomi followed him out of the room.
"This mission wasn't supposed to happen. There are no recounts of Rias or her servants getting involved with Smart Brain's affairs," Tsukuyomi said.
"I'm just as confused as you are. This could be a ploy from the Time Jackers," Geiz theorized.
"But Woz has been giving us warnings about any Another Rider instances," Tsukuyomi pointed out. "He warned us about Another Build and Fourze."
"As much as I hate to admit but Woz's warnings are accurate," Geiz said. "Even though there might not be any Time Jackers involved, this will require further investigation."
"I'll try to look into any data I have on Smart Brain," Tsukuyomi said. Geiz nodded before leaving the building.
Zi-O and Koneko teleported to the warehouse, where Yuuto has been fighting off the Riotroopers. Kaido peeked out of his hiding spot to see the recent arrivals. He was more surprised to see the small fighter rather than the Kamen Rider.
"Isn't she just a little girl?" Kaido asked.
"You'd be surprised how hard she hits for someone her size," Yuuto said right after he sliced through a Riotrooper.
Zi-O and Koneko joined in on the fight. One of the Riotroopers tried to take on Koneko but was caught off guard by her strength. She managed to toss him towards the stack of boxes Kaido was hiding behind. He managed to get out of the way before the Riotrooper crashed into him.
"Just who are these kids," Kaido said.
"Huh, where did they come from?!" a Riotrooper questioned.
Another Riotrooer tapped in his headgear. He said, "More hostiles entered the area. One of them is a Kamen Rider. It doesn't appear to be one of ours."
"Understood," the Riotrooper said after a brief moment of silence. The remaining Riotrooper began to back off away from the Occult Research Club. Kaido realized that this could only mean one thing.
"Their elite soldiers are stepping in! They're tougher than all of these guys combined!" Kaido warned.
The trio turned around to the sound of footsteps. They saw a black Kamen Rider with an armored chest piece with a yellow outline going through his entire suit. His helmet had a purple, circular visor with a V-shape portion missing at the center top. His entire helmet was outlined in yellow with an X going across his visor. A second Kamen Rider crashes through the window on a jet pack. He wore white armor with a blue outline. His visor was purple with a blue outline in the shape of the psi-symbol. The jet pack he flew in was controlled by two joysticks. The black Kamen Rider looked at Zi-O while his partner landed next to him on his right.
"He's right. This Kamen Rider doesn't look like anything produced by us," the black Kamen Rider said. "If we kill him we can take his belt for further study."
"I like the sound of that," the white Kamen Rider said.
"Who are these Riders?" Yuuto questioned.
"The one on the right is Psyga and the left is Kaixa. They're Smart Brain's top agents," Kaido explained. "So they aren't pushovers like the Riotroopers. They've been on my ass for the last few weeks."
"The aerial one is going to be problematic," Koneko noted.
"I'll deal with him," Zi-O said as he pulled out the Fourze Ridewatch.
Fourze!
He inserted it on his belt and initiated the transformation.
3! 2! 1! Fourze!
The FourzeArmor attaches itself to Zi-O. Psyga was intrigued by Zi-O's transformation.
"Heh, this will be interesting," Psyga chuckled before jumping and using his jet pack. He shouted in English, "Let's go!"
Zi-O followed Psyga into the air. Yuuto decided to engage with Kamen Rider Kaixa. The Smart Brain agent pulled out a weapon with an X-shaped handle. He pulled out a small card from his belt and attached it to the handle.
Ready!
A blade was erected from the bottom, which meant the Rider was holding the sword in a reverse grip. While Yuuto was faster, Kaixa managed to react quickly enough and block it. Kaixa was able to keep up with Yuuto, catching him off guard at times.
While Yuuto and Zi-O fought against the two Kamen Riders, Koneko was left to deal with the grunts. Her small stature made it hard for the Riotroopers to hit her. With her strength, this fight was a piece of cake for her.
While chasing Psyga around the warehouse, Zi-O has one of his rockets detach from his arms and fly in a different route. Zi-O was slower but it didn't seem that Psyga noticed the missing rocket. The detached rocket was flying much faster now since it didn't have any weight slowing it down. The aerial Rider looked back to see Zi-O, not realizing that the other rocket was flying right at him from above. Psyga was knocked to the ground by the loose rocket.
Zi-O landed on the ground just as his rocket re-attached itself to his arm. He used the thrusters to close the gap between him and Psyga. The Smart Brain Rider unsheathed the joysticks to his jet pack which was revealed to be blue tonfa. He used them to fight against Zi-O in close-range combat.
The duel between Yuuto and Kaixa was seemingly even. Kaixa kept up with the Knight despite their differences in speed. It's as if the Smart Brain Rider was able to read his attacks. When their weapons locked, Kaixa opened the phone on his belt and pressed the enter key.
Exceed charge!
A trail of light ran through the yellow outline on his arms. He moved back while pulling the hammer on the handle. He fired a net-like projectile at Yuuto, trapping him. The blade on Kaixa's weapon flowed as he prepared to execute a finisher. As an X appeared in front of Kaixa, Geiz managed to run in and grab Yuuto while in the DriveArmor. Kaixa was already moving towards the X as he merged with it, disappearing before reappearing as a pillar that was just sliced through.
"Thanks," Yuuto said as the net disappeared.
Kaixa walked out of the pillar and saw the second Kamen Rider that just arrived. The Smart Brain Rider could tell that this was going to be a problematic situation. A bipedal walker crashed through the walls of the warehouse. It turned around and Kaixa jumped into its empty driver seat. Psyga turned around and saw this as a sign to retreat.
"I'll see you around," Psyga said before shouting in English, "Farewell!"
The aerial Kamen Rider sheathed his tonfa before flying away. The bipedal walker that Kaixa jumped on transformed into a bike with a sidecar. He used it as his way to escape. Geiz could've chased after both of the Riders but he wanted to know what kind of trouble he was getting himself into. It would be smart to just wait for Tsukuyomi to gather information first.
"I didn't expect two Kamen Riders to show up," Kaido said as he walked out of his hiding spot.
"It was hard to believe you at first but now I'm just confused why Smart Brain is after you," Yuuto said.
"Well, we just learned that Smart Brain is a company run by a species known as the Orphnochs. They want to create more of their kind by killing humans. The catch is that not every human can become an Orphnoch," Zi-O explained.
"I see, so you didn't want to run the risk of dying."
"I'm not scared of dying just to be turned into an Oprhnoch. I guess I can trust you with this information since you three risked your lives for me," Kaido said before he transformed into a grey humanoid creature with fangs. He had scales across his body and a jacket. It was hard to tell if the jacket was an article of clothing or his skin. This form also had a long ponytail that looked like a snake. "As you can see, I'm already an Orphnoch."
Geiz immediately recognized him as the Snake Orphnoch, one of the few Orphnochs to ally themselves with Faiz, who was the primary Kamen Rider that operated in the year 2003.
"You're Naoya Kaido, one of the Orphnochs that refused to align themselves with Smart Brain," Geiz said. "Also one of the allies of Kamen Rider Faiz."
"How do you know about Takumi?" Kaido asked.
"To keep it simple, let's just know everything about Kamen Riders' history is his thing," Zi-O explained. "Back on topic, if you're on Orphnoch then why is Smart Brain hunting you down?"
"I'm guessing that my past association with them has something to do with this whole mess," Kaido said. "When I first heard the re-emergence of Smart Brain, I had a feeling this wasn't going to lead to anything good. Next thing you know I'm being hunted down by Smart Brain's own Kamen Rider army. It's not just me they want but other Orphnochs not associated with them."
"Why did you seek the help of the Devils? You could've gone to Faiz or even Delta," Geiz said.
"Maybe, but it's honestly hard to keep track of where Takumi is. As for Mihara, he and Rina settled down. It seems that he finally has moved on with this life and I didn't want to drag him back to it," Kaido explained.
"So you turned to us for help," Yuuto said.
"I didn't expect anyone to show up. A cute girl gave me a flier that says that my wish can be granted. Out of desperation, I wished for someone to help me get rid of the Smart Brain agents chasing me down. Once they were dealt with I could escape from their clutches," Kaido said. "Well, now that you forced Kaixa and Psyga to retreat, how do I repay you, people?"
"Normally we would have you signed a contract but you're not a normal human anymore so it complicates the deal," Yuuto said.
"Oh, really? Do I have to speak to management?" Kaido asked.
"Devils usually form contracts with humans but there have been exceptions in the past. However there are no records of us making contracts with Orphnochs before so this is an interesting case," Rias said. Kaido was taken to the rooftop of some building to ensure that the Smart Brain agents won't track him. The Snake Orphnoch was weirded out by the fact that he was making a contract with a bunch of high schoolers. "I'm not opposed to doing this contract and I'm willing to help out a client even further. Before we move on, I would like to know your current predicament with Smart Brain."
Rias stood in of Kaido while the rest of her servants, Katsuro, and Geiz stood on the side. Geiz paid close attention to Kaido's story to hear any inconstancies with the original timeline.
"For the last few years, I've been traveling around the country, taking small jobs to sustain myself. As I said earlier, once Smart Brain re-emerged out of nowhere I knew something wrong was about to happen. It was hard to keep track of Takumi and I didn't want to endanger Mihara since he moved on from being a Kamen Rider. So I turned to another Orphnoch like me who re-integrated himself into human society, Itsuro Takuma," Kaido explained. Geiz and Tsukuyomi recognized the name as one of the former foes of Kamen Rider Faiz. All they know about him is that he abandoned Smart Brain and disappeared.
"When I met up with him, that's when the Riotrroopers attacked us. The foot soldiers were easy to deal with but Psyga and Kaixa were the real threats. They managed to defeat and haul away Takuma. I managed to escape but that didn't stop them from tracking me down. Any other Orphnoch that wasn't a part of Smart Brain was taken away."
"Does this sound right to you, Tsukuyomi?" Rias asked her servant. Since Geiz and Tsukuyomi knew something was wrong with this contract, they needed to ensure that this lines up with how the original timeline went.
"No, it doesn't. In the original timeline, the re-emerged Smart Brain continued the goal of creating more of their kind. There are no recounts of them ever kidnapping Orphnochs," Tsukuyomi said.
"It must be the involvement of Another Rider," Geiz said.
"Your speculation is correct," Woz said as he appeared behind everyone. He walked past Katsuro and Geiz with his book open. "History isn't altered but a Kamen Rider's power has been taken away. If you want to remove the Another Rider, you must seek out Takumi Inui, also known as Kamen Rider Faiz."
"These Time Jackers are a persistent bunch," Rias sighed.
"Do you know where Takumi is?" Kaido asked.
"His whereabouts are unknown, even for me. He's a drifter by nature," Woz said. "All I know is that he's dedicated to making the world a cleaner place."
"Last time I heard, he's somewhere in the countryside province. I tried looking for him but wasn't successful as you can see," Kaido said. "If he's still trying to make the world a cleaner place then he must be working at a dry cleaning place."
"We can start our search tomorrow. Since you're our client, we can offer you sanctuary at our base of operations for the night since you're being hunted by Smart Brain," Rias said.
"Thanks," Kaido nodded with a smile.
In a secret laboratory, two Riotroopers pulled in a construction worker with glasses and a civilian in normal clothing. A female Orphnoch with studs across her body and two antennae on her head stood next to a tank full of green liquid. She turned her attention to the prisoners that were brought to this room.
"It's been a while, Takuma," the female Orphnoch said.
"Saeko…" the construction worker grunted. "What's the meaning of this?"
"I brought you here with an offer…" No, an ultimatum," Saeko said. "Humans are still the dominant species of this planet, forcing us to live in the shadows. With Smart Brain running at full operations, we will change that. I'll give you two options: either you die or you serve. Either way, you'll help our cause."
"I'll gladly serve you!" the civilian pleaded.
"Hm, this offer isn't for you. You'll be used as an example for those who refused our calling earlier," Saeko said.
Faiz!
The Orphnoch transformed into a monstrous version of Kamen Rider Faiz. The Another Rider's chest piece had a skeletal design while the visor had organic muscle visible beneath it The year "2003" was inscribed on her left shoulder pad while the Kamen Rider's moniker was on her right.
The civilian Orphnoch tried to back up but the Riotrooper shoved him forward. Another Faiz raised her hand, absorbing the civilian's entire essence into herself. Takuma couldn't believe that Saeko would do that to their kind. Smart Brain's main goal was to always create more of their kind, not sacrificing the few numbers they had. Another Faiz placed her hand on top of the tank, which housed another Orphnoch inside. Another Faiz transferred the essence she just absorbed into the tank.
"Why do you look like Faiz?" Takuma asked.
"Someone managed to steal his powers and gave them to me. They were interested in creating a king worthy of ruling the world so they gave me the power to resurrect the Ophnoch King," Another Faiz explained. "When we sacrifice enough of our kind, he shall rise again."
"So you've been sacrificing the Orphnochs who chose not to join Smart Brain," Takuma said.
"I'm making sure that the lives of every Orphnoch are used for our cause," Another Faiz said. "I'm willing to forgive you because of our past affiliation. So what will it be?"
The next day, the Occult Research Club gathered behind the school building. They were going to investigate the whereabouts of Takumi Inui, also known as Kamen Rider Faiz. According to Woz, he's most likely working at a laundry place. Kaido informed Rias that he's most likely working at the dry cleaning location that Faiz's friend, Keitaro Kikuchi, owns. Upon researching Kikuchi's dry cleaning business Rias learned that it turned into a franchise and had multiple locations. There were five locations in the region Faiz was last seen so it would be efficient to split up and investigate each location.
"We will split into two groups. The first group will consist of me, Tsukuyomi, Katsuro, Issei, and Asia. The second group will be Geiz, Akeno, Koneko, Yuuto, and Kaido," Rias said.
Since Tsukuyomi and Geiz were in separate groups, Akeno guessed that the Time Mazines were going to be utilized for transportation. She asked, "Are we going to take the time machines out for a spin?"
"We're only using the Time Mazines because each location is far apart," Rias explained.
"Woah, time machines?" Kaido asked.
"That's a complicated story," Katsuro said.
"Well, does that mean we're going to travel to do some time traveling?"
"Not really, Woz specifically said that the Rider has his powers stolen. History hasn't been altered," Tsukuyomi said. "This is like the case with Kamen Rider Build."
As the Time Mazines flew in behind the building, Geiz turned to Katsuro. The red Kamen Rider was still bothered by the fact that Katsuro now has two Ridewatches under his belt. Even though they were given to him, it still doesn't change the fact that he's getting closer to Ohma Zi-O's original goals.
"I hope you realize that you're getting closer to becoming Ohma Zi-O. His original plan was to steal the powers of the nineteen Heisei Riders to achieve ultimate power," Geiz said.
"You know that I'm not interested in becoming anything like him."
"I don't know your true intentions. For all I know is that you're pretending to play along with this. I haven't forgotten my mission, if you act anything like him, I will put a stop to you."
Katsuro scoffed as Geiz entered his Time Mazine with his group. He said, "After everything from the Fourze incident, you're still on the nose about killing me."
"I don't know, he's pretty straightforward so he would've said that he would kill you if intended to do so," Tsukuyomi said as she walked beside Katsuro. "I think he's conflicted since you're not the evil overlord your future-self made you out to be."
"I guess," Katsuro said.
"Excuse me, does a Takumi Inui work here?" Kaido asked. The Snake Orphnoch was currently in one of the five dry cleaners in this area. The dry cleaner was in the middle of cleaning a shirt when he was talking to Kaido.
"Sorry, I don't have a recollection of a Takumi working here," the dry cleaner said.
"Alright, thanks," Kaido said before he left the store. Geiz and Yuuto were waiting for
"Anything?" Geiz asked.
"Nothing," Kaido replied.
"Well that's one location down, two more to go," Yuuto said.
"Come on, let's go," Geiz said. He parked the Time Mazine below a bridge to avoid people encountering it. If anything goes wrong or if anyone tries to steal it, Akeno and Koneko are protecting it. Geiz, Yuuto, and Kaido walked back to the Time Mazine.
As the trio walked on an open road, they heard the sound of a thruster flying behind them. They turned around to see Kamen Rider Psyga flying toward them. The white Kamen Rider opened fire at the trio, forcing them to spread out. Geiz pulled out the Phone Ridewatch and slid it open. He called his Time Mazine, hoping Akeno and Koneko to answer it.
"Hello?" Akeno questioned.
"We're under attack! It looks like Smart Brain is operating in this region as well!" Geiz shouted as he dodged another strafe of bullets.
"Understood, I'll come by to support! I'll also warn Rias and her group," Akeno said.
"Do it!" Geiz shouted before he hung up. He pulled out his Ridewatch.
Geiz!
"Transform!" Geiz shouted as he spun the Ziku-Driver.
Rider time! Kamen Rider Geiz!
Several Riotroopers on motorcycles were charging toward Geiz and the others from both sides of the road.
"Transform!" Kaido shouted as he transformed into the Snake Orphnoch. Yuuto unsheathed his sword and prepared to attack. The trio embraced themselves as Psyga and the Riotroopers moved in on them.
"Understood, thanks for the warning," Rias said as a magical circle dispersed. Rias and her group landed near the second location when she received the call. The group parked the Time Mazine in a dock by the sides. "It appears that Smart Brain is also in the area. We need to be cautious about how we proceed with the mission."
"No need to try to sneak around us. We have eyes and ears all over this region," a man in a suit said as he entered the scene. He sported the Kaixa gear around his waist.
"Why are you even here?" Rias asked
"Since you managed to take away the Snake Orphnoch from our clutches, it's in Smart Brain's interest to capture the Wolf Orphnoch right away before someone like you messes with our plan."
"They're after Takumi as well," Tsukuyomi realized.
"Wait, Faiz is also an Orphnoch?"
"Of course, being an Orphnoch is the only way to use the Faiz Gear,"
"It will be two birds with one stone if we both capture Takumi and recover the Faiz Gear. However, our boss says that it would be functionless upon retrieval. It doesn't matter regardless since we have a new Faiz of our own."
"A new Faiz? So that means Another Faiz must be a part of Smart Brain then," Katsuro said as he pulled out a flip-phone. He flipped it open and dialed in the numbers 9-1-3.
Standing by!
"Transform," the Smart Brain agent as he inserts the phone into the slot.
Complete!
A yellow line materialized over his body before brightly shining over him, transforming the agent into Kamen Rider Kaixa.
Katsuro pulled out his Ridewatch and insert it into the Ziku-Driver.
"Transform!" Katsuro shouted before spinning the Driver.
Rider time! Kamen Rider! Zi-O!
Issei materialized Boosted Gear and punched an open palm with it.
"It's just a single guy, right? We both can take him," Issei said.
"Are you sure you can keep up?" Zi-O asked.
"Come on, I can't just sit on the sidelines and watch you fight. Besides I defeated a Fallen Angel singlehandedly," Issei pointed out.
"Hm," Kaixa said as he observed his two opponents. He pulled out the Kaixa Blaygun, the Rider's signature weapon. He slid out the ID card from the Driver and insert it into Blaygun.
Ready!
A yellow blade materialized in the bottom hilt. A few Riotroopers circled Rias and the other girls. Tsukuyomi pulled out her sidearm while Rias prepared some offensive magic.
The fight on the road was chaotic as the destruction was all around the arena. Several destroyed motorcycles and incapacitated Riotroopers were littered across the road. Yuuto and Kaido dealt with the Riotroopers. Smart Brain's cannon fodder was easy to deal with. Geiz fought against Psyga. The red Rider pulled out his bow and opened fire at Psyga. The aerial Rider was hard to hit so Geiz was forced to use a Ridewatch.
Ghost!
He insert the Ghost Ridewatch into his Driver and initiated the transformation.
Armor time!
The GhostArmor materialized next to Geiz before attaching to him.
Eyes open! Ghost!
Psyga swooped down and fired a strafe of bullets at Geiz. The bullets phased through Geiz, confusing the aerial Rider. He turned around and saw Geiz sink into the ground. Psyga remained alert as he stayed in the air. He looked down, expecting Geiz to pop up.
Finish time! Ghost!
The aerial Rider turned around to see Geiz diving toward him with his foot out. It was too late for Psyga to react and move
Omega time break!
Geiz kicked through Psyga, knocking him out of the skies. Psyga crashed on the ground, his jetpack was destroyed from the impact on the concrete ground. He pulled out his tonfa and prepared for ground combat. Saeko walked past Psyga, surprising the Rider.
"Commander! What're you doing here?" Psyga asked.'
"I'm here to recover the unknown Rider gear. If we study it, the data might be useful in the production of future models," Saeko said.
Geiz landed as Yuuto walked up beside him. Saeko chuckled as she transformed into Another Faiz.
"She's the Another Rider we're looking for," Geiz said.
"And we can't do anything unless we have the Faiz Ridewatch," Yuuto said.
"No, but we can stop here now for the moment."
"Right," Yuuto said as he raised his sword.
The two of them fought and engaged Another Faiz in a fight. Before Psyga could help, Kaido tackled him down.
Kaixa kicked Issei right in the stomach before blocking Zi-O's attack from another direction. Their swords clashed several times before they were locked. Kaixa pulled back the hammer of his weapon.
Burst mode!
The barrel of Blaygun lined up with Zi-O's chest ad he managed to blast him away. As Zi-O fell, Kaixa approached him intending to finish him off. He held the Blaygun in a normal grip and raised it over Zi-O.
"Katsuro!" Rias cried out as she turned her attention to the time Rider. Two Riotroopers stood in her way but she easily destroyed them with her magic. She realized she wouldn't make it in time to help Zi-O.
Fortunately, Issei was quick to react. He used Boosted Gear to shield himself from Kaixa's blade. The pawn managed to push back Kaixa. The opening allowed Zi-O to get up and grab his sword. Once Issei got out of the way, Zi-O managed to slash through Kaixa twice.
Boost!
Now with a power boost, Issei uppercuts Kaixa into the air. When Kaixa landed, he pulled out his phone and dialed the Side Basshar. Kaixa's bike drove in by itself and charged itself toward the Zi-O and Issei.
Boost!
Issei fired an energy projectile from his gauntlet but it wasn't strong enough to stop the ramming bike. It quickly transformed into its bipedal form as it exit the smoke, which surprised the two of them. As they looked up at the towering mech, they didn't notice its foot pulling back before it was too late. The two of them were launched into the ocean.
"Issei!" Asia cried out.
Kaixa quickly hopped onto the walker and turned his attention to the girls. He fired a barrage of missiles. Rias used her destruction magic to destroy the missiles but a stray projectile was still flying toward Asia and Tsukuyomi.
"Senpai!" Tsukuyomi shouted as she shield Asia.
Tsukuyomi tried to use her stop ability to halt the missile's path. She struggled to stop it as it was too forceful and large to prevent its path. Just as she lets go of it, a mechanized figure swooped in and picked up Tsukuyomi and Asia. It managed to save the two of them from the explosion. Rias sighed out of relief but wondered who saved them. Once they landed Asia and Tsukuyomi looked at who saved them and it was a robot that stood at over 6 feet, towering over the two girls.
"It's the Auto Vajin! Faiz's bike and partner," Tsukuyomi said. "That means…"
An older man with long, brown hair entered the scene. He sported a black coat with a matching pair of gloves. He also wore blue jeans and boots.
"Takumi, or should I say Kamen Rider Faiz," Kaixa said while staring down at the older man.
"I thought the Kaixa Gear was destroyed a long time ago," Takumi said.
"The original was destroyed in the battle against the Orphnoch King. Of course, just like most of Smart Brain's products, it's not impossible to reproduce," Kaixa explained.
"Hm, they may have given you the Kaixa Gear but you're nothing like the original."
"You're defending a murderer of our kind?"
"Kusaka may be a difficult person to work with, but he's a victim of Smart Brain as well. As such, I cannot let you continue to use it for Smart Brain's bidding," Takumi said.
Kaixa jumped off the Side Basshar and approached Takumi. He chuckled and said, "Oh, really? What're you going to do about it? You can't fight without a functioning Rider belt."
"Whoever told you that the belt isn't functional is wrong, "Takumi said as pulled out the Faiz Ridewatch.
Faiz!
The Faiz Gear materialized around his waist, with the Faiz Phone appearing in his other hand. Takumi could just summon it without the effects of Another Rider tampering with it. Takumi flipped the phone open and dialed in 5-5-5.
Standing by!
He raised the phone in the air and shouted, "Transform!"
Complete!
Red photon lines surrounded Takumi before shining brightly, transforming him into Kamen Rider Faiz. The Rider's suit was black with a red streak going across it. He wore a silver chestpiece with shoulder pads. His helmet was black with a red line going across it. Two half-circles shaped the visors. Two red fins popped at the top of the helmet. Beneath the helmet was a grey mouthpiece.
"That's supposed to be Kamen Rider Faiz, right?" Rias asked.
"Yeah," Tsukuyomi nodded.
"How does he have his Rider powers? Shouldn't the Another Rider have stolen his powers?"
"I'm guessing since Another Faiz is affecting the present, Takumi still has his original memories."
"That doesn't explain why he can summon it with the Ridewatch."
"Well, the Ridewatch stores power so that it doesn't get affected by the timeline. So I guess Takumi figured out that he can use the Ridewatch to summon them," Tsukuyomi speculated.
"I see," Rias said.
Kaixa was surprised as well by Takumi's ability to use the Faiz Gear. His intel said that the Faiz gear should've been functionless due to Saeko obtaining the powers of Another Faiz.
"Dammit," Kaixa said as armed himself with the Blaygun. Faiz pulled a handle before inserting an ID card into it.
Ready!
A red lightsaber was erected out of the handle. Faiz engaged against Kaixa. The red-photon Rider was a lot more experienced compared to Kaixa. Faiz realized that this person fought similarly to Masato, the previous Kaixa. The fact that this user only studied how Masato fought made it easier for Faiz to read his moves.
"You fight just like him," Faiz commented.
"Of course I did, I studied Kusaka's battles to understand the extent of the Kaixa belt," the yellow-photon Rider replied. The two of them clashed blades once more before the two stepped back to observe each other's moves.
"I need to finish this quickly. I don't have much time," Faiz thought. He pulled out a small watch-like device and attached it to his gauntlet.
Complete!
The red photon line whitened out as the chestpiece slid open, revealing inner circuitry and the suit's core. The chestpiece became large shoulderpads. The yellow visor also changed from yellow to red. Faiz flicked his wrist before eating his finger on the stopwatch.
Kaixa pulled back the hammer of the Blaygun.
Burst mode!
As Kaixa fired at him, Faiz pressed the stopwatch.
Start-up!
Faiz disappeared in a blink of an eye and started to attack Kaixa at super speed. The red-photon Rider managed to kick Kaixa into the air. As Kaixa fell to the ground, a red cone appeared before stabbing into the Kamen Rider. Faiz materialized behind Kaixa and landed behind him. He returned to his normal form.
Deformation!
Kaixa was knocked out of his transformation, lying on his back, defeated. Blue flames erupted across his body as he got up.
"You may have defeated me but we don't forget that Smart Brain has others who'll take my place," Kaixa said before he turned into dust. All that remained was the Kaixa Gear.
"What happened to him?" Rias asked.
"Orphnochs turn into ashes when they die," Tsukuyomi replied. Takumi returned to normal with the Faiz Ridewatch hand.
Zi-O stumbled up the stairs while carrying Issei. Both of them were drenched in seawater. He saw the Kaixa Gear on top of a pile of ash with Takumi looking down. Takumi noticed Zi-O and the Ridewatch on his Driver. The Time Rider also noticed the Faiz Ridewatch in his hand.
Geiz and Yuuto were easily overwhelming Another Faiz. Yuuto's speed along with Geiz's flight with the GhostArmor made it hard for the Another Rider to fight back. Geiz slashed through Another Faiz's chest before flying towards her with a kick. Yuuto quickly sliced through Another Faiz while Geiz inserted his Ridewatch into the Zikan Zax.
Geiz! Rough cutting!
The red Time Rider flew down and sliced Another Faiz in half. An explosion soon followed after Geiz delivered the killing blow. Psyga was shocked by Another Faiz's sudden destruction and immediately picked up one of the Riotroopers' bikes.
"Laters!" Psyga shouted in English before driving off with the bike.
"Hey, wait!" Kaido proclaimed as he chased after Psyga before giving up. Akeno soon arrived as she descended from the air. Koneko was left to defend the Time Mazine by herself.
"Oh, my it looks like I missed out on all of the fun," Akeno commented.
"Any word from Rias?" Yuuto asked.
"I informed her of your current situation, but it looks like you already handled it," Akeno said.
"We need to head back to the Time Mazine and update her on what just happened," Geiz said.
Psyga entered the main office of Smart Brain. A man in a business suit leaned on his desk. He was Hiroshi Sato, the current CEO of Smart Brain. Takuma stood on the side of the room, now sporting a suit to match his current position as a Smart Brain employee. Four Riotroopers stood guard by the entrance as Psyga was reported back to the CEO.
"Our analysts observed the uniforms of the teenagers that fell during our missions. They come from Kuoh Academy, a high school in the neighboring province," Psyga explained. "How they obtained or developed two Rider belts is still a mystery."
"It doesn't matter, we should focus on resurrecting the Orphnoch King," Sato said.
"We can't do that since Saeko was killed by another Kamen Rider and the boy with the sword," Psyga said. "Not only did we lose her but the Kaixa gear has been stolen by the same group."
"That's the fault of the current user trying to be too much like his predecessor. Kusaka had an obsession with killing our kind. He even had issues with trusting in Faiz and Delta," Hiroshi explained. He turned around and approached the suitcase. "Our Kaixa followed a similar path, over-confident that his Rider Gear will protect him from the enemy. Because of that, his gear is in enemy hands."
"Recovered footage from Kaixa's battle shows that the original Faiz belt is operational through an unknown means," Psyga said. "It looks like Saeko lied to us that the belt isn't operational"
"It shouldn't be," Saeko said as she entered the room as Another Faiz.
"S-Saeko, I thought you were destroyed!" Psyga proclaimed. "I saw you blow up!"
"It's impossible for me to be completely destroyed. Although my defeat has severely weakened me," Another Faiz said as she raised her arm.
The Riotroopers by the entrance grew curious and turned their attention to Another Faiz. Unbeknownst to them, Another Faiz was going to absorb them. The four Riotroopers turned to ash as their gears fell out of the ground. Hiroshi and Takuma were surprised by Saeko's cruel actions toward their subordinates. Psyga was unphased by her actions.
"Ah, much better," Saeko said.
"Those were our soldiers!" Takuma shouted.
"It's pointless to cry over the cannon fodder. We have thousands of candidates to induct into the Riotrooper program."
Time paused for the people in the room. Ora and Huere entered the room and inspected Another Faiz. Ora commented, "Interesting, a queen who sacrifices her own kind."
"What angle is Swartz playing at?" Huere asked. Swartz entered the scene, inspecting his queen.
"I gave the Anotherwatch to someone like us, a king-maker. She dedicated her life to the Orphnoch King, who was put in a comatose state by Kamen Rider Faiz," Swartz said.
"Sounds ironic. She's using the Faiz Anotherwatch to restore her king," Huere said.
"So you're betting on her to resurrect the Orphnoch King," Ora said.
"That's my intention, once he comes back to life I plan on giving him an Anotherwatch in hopes of creating both a king and queen to replace Ohma Zi-O," Swartz said.
Once time resumed, the Time Jackers were gone. The Orphnochs were unaware of their presence and continued their conversation as if nothing happened.
"Remember who's in charge here," Hiroshi said. "I won't let you kill off my employees just to sustain yourself after a loss."
"Hm, I'll do what I must for our kind to survive. Even if it means killing our own," Another Faiz said. "You'll need thicker skin or else everything you ever accomplished will go to waste."
A woman dressed in a blue dress walked into the room. She wore a silver band on her head with two blue highlights on her hair. She carried a Smart Brain-branded suitcase.
"I have a special delivery for Mr. Sato!" the lady in blue said. She handed the suitcase to Hiroshi.
"Thank you," Hiroshi said as he took the suitcase. He placed it on his desk. As he opened it, he said, "We're ready to enter the final phase of our plan."
When Hiroshi opened the suitcase, there was a black driver with a gold outline. The omega symbol with a red core was in the center of the Driver.
Author's note:
What really inspired me for this chapter was the ending of Kamen Rider Faiz since the season was left on a cliffhanger where the main villain was left in a comatose state. Since Saeko was dedicated to protecting/resurrecting the Orphnoch King, she was the perfect candidate to be Another Faiz. It aligns perfectly with what the original Another Faiz wanted to accomplish since sacrificed plenty of lives to keep his girlfriend alive. The twist here is that she's sacrificing Orphnochs, and you'll see that it's an idea that Smart Brain is conflicted with it.
How Riders can still use their original powers, in this case, Takumi, is something I noticed in the original season of Zi-O. Whenever Another Rider appears in the present, the original Riders more-or-less can still use their powers since history wasn't altered. This was mostly seen in the latter part of the season.
Another note I want to make about this arc is that this is also a tribute to the movie, Paradise Lost, as Psyga and Orga are going to be Riders included in this story.
One final note I want to make about this arc is that I wanted to connect the worlds of Kamen Rider and DxD together a lot more. Most of the enemy races such as the Gurongi, the Fangire, and such will be properly expanded on when we get around them. As of now, the spotlight is on the Orphnochs. Since the Orphnochs are a recent discovery from the Underworld's perspective, it makes sense for the Devils to be very unfamiliar with their kind.
Also, I want to clarify again that Geiz's relationship/views with Katsuro are different compared to Sougo from the original series. The way I see it, Katsuro doesn't have the same desire to become a king as Sougo. So there's a lot less tension between him and Geiz as compared with Sougo. That being said, Geiz isn't sure what kind of person Katsuro is behind the scenes. I felt like I needed to address it just in case I didn't make it clear.
Anyways, leave a like and follow if you enjoyed the story. Please leave constructive criticism, good or bad, in the reviews.
Up next: Paradise Lost 2004