*Pikatwig and KKD just looked at the old Neodimension Sega story*
Pikatwig: Well… my idea for a KR 50th anniversary special will at least give it some closure. But, otherwise, that and its compatriots are no more.
KKD: Yea… shame really. I really enjoyed that one, but maybe we need to move on.
Pikatwig: ...uh… I recently thought of something.
KKD: Do share.
Pikatwig: Why don't we try and make a new Kamen Rider Sega?
KKD: Hmm…
-Some Idea Hashing Later-
Pikatwig: So, since Sylver has basically announced she's retired as a writer and the dynamic with me and TB is… a mess… to say the least… coupled with less than savory revelations about a certain person from Channel Awesome, suffice to say, the original Neodimension Kamen Rider Sega is dead… sadly.
KKD: Again, real shame, because that was my favorite and preferred version of the story.
Hinata: Life happens. But would you care to explain what that meant for some people who don't know?
Pikatwig: Oh yeah. Uh… Sylver Blaze is the person formerly known as Silver Maxus. She's intending to be transgender. Which… we only discovered by dumb happenstance.
KKD: Yea… whoops on our part.
Pikatwig: When I asked if she was interested in doing something, she told me that she's honestly retired from fanfic writing. Which… fair enough. And then stuff with TB is complicated because of circumstances I don't want to bring up because I don't want to come off as petty.
KKD: As for the other thing… well, it's a shame because I somewhat came up with the concept based off of something another online reviewer who is no longer with us came up with. However, due to some things that came to light after his death… the less people talk about him or say his name, the better for the majority.
Pikatwig: Ye~ah… that was an absolute nightmare to discover since I honestly had no idea how to break the news to you. I was intending to keep it secret until I figured out how to break the news as gently as I could, but the guilt of lying to you was honestly eating at me. ...the one thing I can be thankful to TB for is him just telling you and taking that pressure away from me.
KKD: Yeah… yeesh. ...Well, moving on from that mess.
Pikatwig: Yeah. Anyway… I just sort of thought about giving Kamen Rider SEGA a new coat of paint and retelling the story. As for why this is on KKD's account? Well… he originally made the concept and I felt like it would be better to keep it here.
KKD: It does make sense. Besides, I did make some relatively new art of him recently, so for now at least, it's best to bring him back into prominence again for the 50th KR Anniversary and reboot his story once more.
Pikatwig: Ladies, gentlemen, non-binary people, and all others, welcome… to Shin Kamen Rider SEGA.
KKD: The latest version of the story. Roll disclaimers.
Disclaimers: Neither KKD nor Pikatwig own the rights to anything in this story apart from original concepts, characters, and story elements they came up with. Credit to Kai Yuuto and Kasumi "Kassie" Yuuto belongs to Sylver Blaze, formerly known as Silver Maxus. The remaining concepts used within belong to their respective creators such as Toei, BandaiNamco, SEGA, Sonic Team, etc.
The scene focused on a rather large island nation, a vast culture spread across it that seemed to focus on what seemed to be a hybrid of America and Japan. The city was rather spacious, with multiple people mingling peacefully, talking about a variety of topics, though one thing noticeable is that many people were talking about video games.
Focus went over to a young man with blue hair, eyes a bright emerald green as he was then wearing what appeared to be a white tank top and blue pajamas bottoms. He was asleep in bed, struggling to keep the light out of his eyes as he tried to remain in bed.
-Takeshi~! Wake up!- a female voice called out.
The young man, Takeshi, groaned as he finally got up. His hair was a wavy and wild mess at the moment and his eyes were unfocused as he tried to find the alarm that was bothering him.
-Wake up, silly. My alarm isn't going to stop soon!-
"...good morning, Hinatan…" he eventually spoke.
-Morning. Now why don't you hurry up and get dressed?-
Takeshi sighed, looking over to his night stand and seeing a smart home appliance was the source of the sound, the device looking like a small ball of a gray hard plastic with a purple LED light on its top. He lightly tapped the top of the device as he was set to lay back down in bed.
"...I wanna go back to bed…"
-No can do. You gotta get up. You need to help your dad in the bakery in half an hour and then get on to the school building in two hours. You know that it takes more than just ten minutes to get ready,- the smart home AI, Hinatan, chided.
Takeshi just groaned and got up while messing with his hair a bit before getting himself ready for the day.
He soon walked downstairs and into the living room of the house. He was now wearing what looked to be a white t-shirt underneath a dark blue hoodie, gray shorts, and a pair of white socks. Next to the living room was a kitchen that was attached to a bakery where a variety of goods were being made.
"Ohaiyo, Takeshi," an older woman's voice called out.
"Ohaiyo, Okaa-san…" Takeshi responded before yawning, "...how is summer over already? I was just starting to have fun…"
-Takeshi~. You need to help your dad soon,- Hinatan chimed in.
"I know, I'm on it," he said, rushing over and putting on an apron and baking gloves.
"That AI that Daisuke-kun made is really helpful," the older woman chimed in.
"He's here?! Where?!" a younger female voice asked as suddenly, in rushed a young woman who was the same age as Takeshi, but had red hair instead of blue, green eyes and had a rather voluptuous figure for someone her age with a pink tank top and a pair of white jeans that would've torn if not for how stretchy the material was against her body.
"He's not here. We were just talking about him, Hana," the older woman responded.
"Mou~, Okaa-san. Why do you have to tease me?!" the girl, Hana, yelled.
"We were just talking about Hinatan…" Takeshi informed.
"Oh. Good morning, Bakashi. I didn't need any of your comments this early…" Hana remarked in an irritated tone, "Why can't you just leave me alone?"
Takeshi just rolled his eyes a bit as he adjusted his apron and got to work in making some bread.
"Okaa-san, please don't talk about Daisuke-kun when he's not here…" Hana requested.
-You do remember you're not his girlfriend…-
"Not yet!" Hana grinned, giggling to herself as she headed back upstairs, "Gonna pretty myself up a bit before we go to school, Bakashi. Don't embarrass me!"
"...says the girl with more embarrassing stories than I can ever tell…"
Hana was about to retort only to stop herself and shrug before hurrying upstairs. Takeshi just began to mindlessly hum the tune of Sonic Heroes, smiling as he got to work in kneading some dough and being as helpful as he could.
"Well, I hope you, Hana, and the others in your circle have a good day today," the older woman smiled. The woman in question has a deep violet hair style cut to a shoulder length with a mostly light blue top on her body, black pants, and a pair of white socks. She was fairly curvy herself, though clearly was more mature than her daughter as seen by her calm expression and her tender brown eyes.
"Well, let's hope that it won't be needlessly complicated…" Takeshi remarked as he finished setting in some rolls, "And there's that batch. All set! Gotta get heading to class soon. See you later, Okaa-san."
"Hai~. Have a good day," his mom bid.
As Takeshi set his apron aside, he looked to his hands and then over to a small schedule nearby. He then let out a small sigh as he saw something near the top of it.
"Hey, Hinatan, do the Hikaris need us to drive Kota or are they going to be okay dropping him off?" Takeshi asked as he wiped off some baking dust from his hands.
-They can handle it. Mrs. Hikari sent a text saying for you to just worry about yourself for now.-
"Ok. Can you please read it for me while I get ready?" Takeshi asked.
-Certainly. "To Takeshi, no need to worry about Kota today. I can get him to class just fine. You just worry about getting to your own class. Have a good day." That is all it said,- Hinatan responded.
Takeshi nodded his head as he quickly got his bag ready, quickly slipping a small thing in a pull string bag into the bag before running off outside, "Hana, we need to go!"
"Just a minute, Bakashi!" Hana yelled.
This made Takeshi sigh before, after a bit of waiting, he bumped into a man who had hair that was light blue and trailing into a gray shade, brown eyes, and was currently in an all white outfit that was reminiscent of a baker.
"Good morning, Otou-san," Takeshi greeted.
"Oh, good morning Takeshi," he responded, proceeding to hug his son, "You leaving already? You and Hana not going to stay for the picture?"
"Of course we'll take the picture," Takeshi assured him.
"Hey, Mr. Narumi? Can I get a refill?" a customer asked.
"Coming right up," the man replied as he walked over to get a container with some juice in it and poured the refill.
Hana got down, brushing her hair out of her face and slid down to pick up her bag and go over to her brother.
"Hey, a letter from Kai came in," their dad informed, "I'll put it in Takeshi's room for when he gets back."
"Gotcha, Otou-san," Takeshi nodded.
Before the two could step out, their mother stepped over and took a picture of the duo.
"Okaa-san! Please don't embarrass us," Hana pleaded.
"Come on. I always take a picture of you two. Can I please get some smiles?" Mrs. Narumi gently requested.
They sighed before managing to smile and stand nearby for their mom. She snapped the picture and then smiled.
"Alright, let's get going," Takeshi told his sister.
"Yea, yea, I'm on it" Hana sighed.
The duo arrived outside at a blue car that could seat up to about eight people, with Takeshi getting out his keys and getting in the driver's seat.
"I still don't like that mirror ornament…" Hana groaned as she got in the back row and made an annoyed look at the ornament that Takeshi had hanging on the rearview mirror, which was a purple version of ZenkaiMagine.
"What? I really liked her, ok? Kikaiger was one of the best Super Sentai seasons in the past several years," Takeshi retorted.
"I only took an interest when that hottie as Gokaiser showed up. She was easily my favorite of the team, especially when some of the others were bland."
Takeshi just sighed, "I'm thankful those rumored leaks were fake. Seriously. That TwoKaiser design looked WAY~ too much like a GokaiGold."
The two laughed a little as they settled in. Takeshi then plugged his phone into a connection area on the inside of the car.
"Hinatan. Play Dimension Tripper," Takeshi requested as the AI loaded for a moment.
-Okay. Song is ready!- Hinatan responded.
Takeshi hit the play button before he started up the car, and the vehicle drove off.
(Cue Intro Theme: Dimension Tripper; Neptune the Animation Theme)
The duo just drove around a bit, Hana bopping her head along with the music.
Imi fumei moji noraretsu (An incomprehensible code sequence)
The twins smiled as they watched some people walk around, with Takeshi keeping his eyes on the road and focused on driving.
Oshiete KONPAIRA (Tell me what what it means, Compiler!)
As they watched the road, people were all browsing their phones for a variety of video games and some people were just playing without a care.
matomaranai BAINARI- TSURI- (I can't make sense of this binary tree)
Hana soon got out her own phone and powered on a game to occupy a bit of time. Smiling at the colorful characters and just happily keeping herself busy.
0 to 1 dake ja nanimo tsutaerannai yo ne… (Just 0s and 1s won't help you communicate)
Takeshi sighed as they stopped at a red light, seeing a motorcycle parked nearby. The driver seemed to be a guy from what Takeshi could make out, with what appeared to have brown hair coming out of his helmet while wearing an all blue denim outfit with a jacket, blue jeans, and brown boots. Clinging onto the rider's backside was what seemed to be a nurse in a fluffy pink outfit, her hair seeming to be a strawberry blonde that was waving a bit. The motorcycle rider noticed Takeshi watching them and simply gave a small wave. Takeshi gently waved back, as the driver made a turn.
Pingurinku! tsunagaru KIMI to ATASHI-tashi ga (How nice it'd be if our hearts could connect.)
The motorcycle soon drove off. Takeshi then awaited the change of lights, sighing a little as he waited.
Hitto chekku! KIMERU nara ima (And we were on the same page.)
He checked the time before taking notice of the lights with a smile as he saw a girl with blue hair that was in a rather fancy ponytail and a younger girl with brown hair were simply across the sidewalk. They finished as he took off, with the other two girls just waving at them.
Hapi furu pyua You're a dimenshon torippa-! (Eveything's pure. You're a Dimension tripper)
The twins sang with the song and kept on going towards the school. Takeshi saw a sign that said the distance and made sure to pull up in the student parking area.
Jigen no tobira, kettobashi oide yo (Kick open the dimensional gates and get over here!)
As the twins were coming in, they saw fellow students talk and walk. Some were in the optional school uniform that consisted of male jackets, shirts and pants while the girls had sailor fukus, all styled in lavender and a pale white with some minor black parts, but most were dressed however they wanted to be dressed.
KIRA KIRA no kocchi no sekai he (In this sparkling world)
Takeshi shrugged this off as he searched around for a decent parking spot for the car.
Kizuna hyakubai no saikyou PA-TI- "KIMI MO NAKAMA DA" (We can just form the strongest party. And you'll be one of us!)
The car slowly started to park into place, taking a good look at the sign reading Miyanaka Gakuen in katakana.
Shin Kamen Rider SEGA
Shin Level 1: The (First) Rider of a New Dimension!
Takeshi took a moment to adjust the position of the car, sliding it into it's parking spot next to the sign as he got Hana to get off her phone. They hopped out and saw various students walking around. Most were talking about their breaks and activities, some preparing for the school year, but most were talking about a new game that was some kind of augmented reality phone game. Takeshi and Hana just looked at the front of the building, which was about two stories tall, looking to be painted mostly a pale orange and white color, and had various signs about some stuff that was around the school.
"I am so ready to never need to spend another minute in this gods da*n high school…" Hana cursed, groaning as Takeshi shrugged and they split off, "I'm going to find my lovely Daisuke-kun. You go do whatever the he** you want, Bakashi. Bye~!"
Takeshi just gave a sigh at his sister, shrugging it off as he walked off in another direction.
Soon, Takeshi arrived at the front of the school. He saw the text reading "Well, as long as Miyanaka Gakuen is around, it won't be boring."
"Take-ku~n!"
Takeshi was silent before he felt his left arm be hugged by someone, turning to see a short-haired blonde haired girl with purple highlights, wearing a pair of black rimmed glasses over her blue eyes, wearing a violet t-shirt, blue shorts, and was notably barefoot with purple nails, which shimmered in the light.
"Hey, Yoko. Good to see you," Takeshi smiled, "Oh. You're actually wearing your glasses?"
"Yeah. I know I look like a dork…" Yoko meekly responded
"Quit saying that. You know you look great wearing them," Takeshi gently chided her, making this blonde blush a little.
"Take-kun…" another female's voice chimed in.
Takeshi then felt his right arm be hugged, yet felt something curvier against it. He turned to see another blonde, this one with hair that looked more of a dark yellow, was just as curvy, if not moreso than Hana, with eyes that were a shade of dark green compared to his own emerald and Yoko's blue. Her outfit was mostly a black t-shirt, under a white leather jacket, blue jeans that had bleached whites and torn knees, and had black closed toe shoes that were clearly steel-toed as well for protection.
"Hey, Luna. Uh… don't take this the wrong way, but… did you get curvier?" Takeshi asked.
"You noticed?" the girl, Luna, realized before giggling, simply brushing her bust a bit closer to his arm, "Yea, no idea why, but I keep growing every day."
Takeshi nervously blushed in response, not sure what to say as he felt Yoko's grip tighten a little.
"O~h, come on, Luna! That's not fair!" Yoko began to whine, somewhat jokingly, before gesturing to Luna's bust, "You're totally trying to seduce him with those things!"
Luna then gained a bit of a shocked look, albeit a somewhat fake one, before retorting, "I'm seducing him? If you were any closer to him, he'd be wearing you!"
"G-Girls, please. Let's not pull an SAO here. I'm not Kirito. I haven't even watched the show, so knock it off," Takeshi told them.
"...then how'd you know what the joke was?" Yoko asked.
"Cause Kota showed me the clip and said 'totally the three of us'..." Takeshi exhaled.
The girls blushed before giggling a bit and backing off.
"I mean… is he wrong?" Luna joked.
"M-Maybe?" Takeshi shrugged.
"Luna, I gotta ask…" Yoko spoke up, about to take off her glasses.
"I know what you're about to ask. No. You don't look like a dork. You're perfectly fine the way you are," Luna told her in a calm tone.
Yoko just nodded, somewhat meekly blushing, at what was said. The trio soon headed into the building and got their schedules and maps for the school out. As they walked around, they began to make some idle conversation.
"Hey, Luna, you ever going to let us see your modeling work?" Yoko honestly asked, "We won't bother you on your set or anything, but we'd at least like to see photos. You know, just to see what you do on the side when you're not hanging out with us?"
"Well, I would, but my bosses don't want too much to be shown. They think it's best to not have me in too much spotlight while I'm still in school," Luna explained, albeit looking only like she was partially saying the truth.
Yoko seemed to shrug her shoulders, while Takeshi just raised an eyebrow as they walked around.
"Here we are… HN-1910," Takeshi remarked, opening the door to the classroom as all three of them headed in. They soon saw Hana talking to various students of both genders and in a variety of outfits. Takeshi looked a little embarrassed as his sister was flirting without any regards.
"That's Hana for you…" Yoko remarked.
"Yea, I know… but still, it's not exactly fun to watch and be compared to…" Takeshi sighed.
Shortly after them walked in a male with darker skin, black hair and gray eyes, wearing the lavender and white uniform. He took a seat and was then nearly instantly noticed by Hana.
"DAISUKE~-KU~N!" Hana nearly yelled, her eyes being replaced with hearts, rushing over to the neatly dressed man and hugging him instantly, "It's so good to see you! How was your break? How are you doing? Can we please hang out sometime today? Can we go on a date?! PLEASE?!"
"...hi Hana…" he sighed, turning to Takeshi's group as Hana increased her grip on him, "Seriously, can't you keep her on a better leash? She's got such a tight grip that it hurts…"
"You know I can't do that," Takeshi pointed out as he walked over to his sister, "Hana, can you please get off of him?"
"Nope! He's mine! I love him and nothing anyone can say or do will make me let him go!"
"...if you let me go, I'll hang out with you for a half hour after school today…"
This made Hana instantly let go of Daisuke and plop down in the seat behind him. He could only sigh as the young man was able to unpack some of his school supplies.
"How are you doing, Itoko?" Luna asked as she took her seat.
"Fine. For the most part, anyway…" Daisuke told Luna in response as Takeshi and Yoko sat down as well, trying to keep themselves calm and ready.
After a few minutes, in walked a mature looking woman with lavender eyes, a dark purple business suit with a matching skirt, but what is most striking of all was her hair, which was a darker shade of purple than her eyes and flowed down to about her waist. She had a calm air around her as she walked to the front of the room. The clicking of her shoes echoed in the room as various students just stared at her, several students looking in awe, some almost admiring her like she was a model or something.
"Ohaiyo," the teacher greeted, the class greeting her back as she looked over the room, "It's nice to meet you."
"Something about her does seem… off…" Yoko whispered.
"Yeah, that voice sounds a bit young for someone like that…" Takeshi whispered.
"I go by many names," the teacher informed as she walked over to the board, "But, for you students, you need only call me Megami. Today, we'll be going over some general rules and this class as a whole…"
"Boring first day stuff…" Hana sighed, leaning into her seat, "At least we got some eye candy…"
Takeshi then lightly smacked her, which the teacher didn't seem to notice. But from there, the class day went about as per a typical day of high school in Japan on the first day.
The first class was soon let out and the students began to head out. As Luna was packing some of her stuff, though…
"Hashimoto-chan?" Megami spoke up, getting her attention.
"Hai, sensei?" Luna asked.
"Tell your mom I said hi. She and I were friends a long time ago," Megami told her.
"I will. Thank you, sensei," Luna bid as she joined her classmates and took her leave.
It was soon around time for lunch. The cafeteria in the school was rather spacious and had various tables with their own cliques. However, instead of typical class, extracurricular activity, or other interests as the cliques, these seemed to focus on video game genres with the most crowded and populated one being for some gatcha game.
"Impact of the Wild? What kind of game is that?" Takeshi questioned.
"It's basically if Breath of the Wild was a gatcha game with a far wider story that made even less sense," Luna informed as she walked up to Takeshi's side, the blue haired boy sighing a little as they walked together, "I tried to play it, but it was SO jank. The framerate was awful and erratic, the controls do not respond nearly as well as people claim they are, missions can often fail to register as complete, there were frequent server crashes, and I swear the gatcha mechanics are only even functional if you spend money. The fifteen five stars that were in it at launch had less than a 0.02% chance to show up… and that was WITH a boosted chance. Without that, I was basically forced to spend about ten dollars in real money to get ONE five star you basically needed to win a boss fight."
"I… wow. Remind me not to get involved in that mess," Takeshi sighed.
"I only played it for a week because I got paid to do a sponsored video for it and I tore it a new one because the company never bothered to check my script…" Luna admitted, "Needless to say, we agreed I'd never post the video and they'd work on fixing the bugs as soon as they could… which I doubt they'll do, but I at least kept my pay. ...still, Impact of the Wild is one of the worst gatcha games I think I've ever played."
"Plus, I think the game launched with a pass like the one that's in Fire Emblem Heroes," Yoko added, getting their attention to the table, "Hey. Sorry if I'm interrupting.
"...she's right…" Luna sighed, putting her face into her palms, "That pass system and paid subscription was kinda dumb, and the fact people are buying into it is awful…"
"Let's… talk something else, ok?" Takeshi offered.
Luna nodded as she took her seat at the table, the group pulling out their own lunches and making sure to enjoy them.
"Still together, huh?" Takeshi remarked as he sat with Luna, Yoko, Daisuke, and Hana.
"We're hanging out…" Hana dreamily commented as she cuddled up with Daisuke, "Very closely…"
"Hana…" Takeshi sighed.
"She still needs my help more than you think," Daisuke remarked, then letting out a sigh, "So… let's talk about… anything? How was your break? Oh, and how's Hinatan doing?"
-I'm doing well,- the smart AI chimed in from Takeshi's phone.
"Good to hear," Daisuke smiled.
"Still weird how you got an AI so advanced that we can talk with her like she's a human being," Takeshi noted, looking down at his phone, "No offense, Hinatan; you've been very helpful to the entire family."
-No problem. I'm here to help.-
"Otherwise? Summer was alright. Massive bummer that Kai and Kasumi had to move away before the school year… and it's also strange that we could never get them and Kota in the same place at the same time…" Takeshi remarked.
"I had an okay summer… but it wasn't great without you around," Hana melodramatically proclaimed, winking at Daisuke who in turn simply sighed.
"Says the person who was flirting with half of the homeroom before my cousin actually showed up…" Luna snarked, making Hana glare at her before quietly growling.
"I did alright…" Yoko remarked, "Some girls were rude to me and stuff, but nothing that Takeshi couldn't help protect me from. Without any of you guys, I'd be… probably nowhere happy."
Takeshi proceeded to gently hug her, the two smiling as they just remained close. After a moment, they split off.
"May I say something?" Hana asked.
"As long as it's not about a date…" Daisuke sighed.
"Why were you gone all summer?" Hana asked.
"Reasons," Daisuke said with a shrug.
"...any kind you can share…?"
"Mostly I was helping Luna with her modeling gig and helping the designers with some of the photoshopping of her images when called for," Daisuke told her.
"Uh huh," Takeshi replied, not totally convinced, "So really. Just helping Luna? You were gone for almost an entire month. That seems way more fishy to me than just-"
"Why don't we talk something else?" Luna suggested.
Takeshi was about to chime in, but Luna lifted up a now bare foot towards Yoko and got the glasses girl blushing so brightly her glasses almost started to steam up.
"Talk for a bit, and I promise you can play around with them in the future," Luna offered.
"...okay…" Yoko meekly nodded, pulling out her phone to find something.
Takeshi just sighed, knowing he couldn't get anywhere, and internally agreed to drop it. Though, his eyes took a glance at Luna and couldn't help but notice how nice her nails looked
"So… people online are talking about something really cool," Yoko informed as she got out her phone and pulled up a website, "It looks like Toei's filming the next Kamen Rider season somewhere here in town."
"Wait, really?!" Takeshi gawked.
Yoko then showed off some pictures of what looked to be some kind of a female Kamen Rider. Both images were blurred and somewhat obscured, yet there were some details able to be made out.
"One looks like it has some kind of a cloak…" Yoko informed, motioning to one picture where a figure had some kind of cloak and red gloves poking out of it.
"And the other… sort of looks like a purple dragon."
Takeshi's eyes widened and took notice of the image of a purple dragon armored figure, and while the image was slightly blurred, it was clear by the belt that it was some sort of Kamen Rider.
"That certainly does have a Rider's belt…" Hana added, looking at the image closely to see it was like… a grey box, "And… why does that belt look like a Playstation?"
"You're right. It has the right colors for the PS1," Takeshi commented, recognizing the shape, "It's clearly the same gray box we grew up with. But it certainly looks a little more sleek. So… how angry do you think Sony will be with this?"
"Who knows?" Yoko shrugged.
A phone then began to ring and the group saw it was Luna's, "I'll… be right back you guys. I need to take this call."
Luna got up and walked off to answer the phone. The remaining four just sort of looked at her, confused for the most part, except for Daisuke who simply let out a small exhale.
It was soon after school and people were walking off. Takeshi talking with his friends for a bit as Hana walked off.
"I got cheer club, so don't wait up, Bakashi," Hana informed.
Takeshi just sighed in response before Yoko walked up to him, "Hey."
"Hey. Luna said she had something to take care of at home and had to leave a little early. So… uh… can you drive me?" Yoko asked.
"Sure. Hana's gonna take a while, so I'll be glad to drive you," Takeshi smiled as he guided her to his car, helping her in before they took off, "You still living at the same place with your mom?"
"Yeah," Yoko nodded.
Takeshi simply nodded a bit, but noticed how Yoko looked out the windows and saw they were a bit aimlessly going.
"...you know how to get there…" Yoko remarked.
"Yea, I know… it's just that… I wanna do something…"
"...you wanna see if we can find the set where they're filming that new Rider season?" Yoko asked.
"Yeah! Exactly, especially if we can get a sneak peek at the new lead. Those pictures were clearly somewhere in town, and incredibly close by to where we are now, so… let's just see if we can at least sneak a peek at what Toei is cooking up…"
Yoko leaned back into her seat and smiled, "Sure, why not? It could be fun to find something new."
After a bit of driving, Takeshi pulled up to an area that seemed to match up with one of the two photos. The sun had begun to set a little bit, but was still in the sky. This gave the two enough light to explore and take pictures.
"Are you sure your parents won't be upset at you for being home late?" Yoko asked.
"They know me and Hana can get back fine without them. Sides, they know our schedule is always wonky early in the school year," Takeshi assured her.
They walked around a bit before spotting someone in what looked to be some kind of a silver suit.
"That must be one of the stunt actors getting suited up!" Takeshi realized as he and Yoko walked over.
The being looked to be in some kind of a silver suit, but the front side looked more strange. There were what looked to be diamonds, rubies, gems, crystals, and a variety of rare items dotting the armor. It also seemed to be carrying a box of some kind, and then had a symbol of both American dollars and Japanese yen on its face almost stitched together.
"Wow… this looks pretty cool…" Takeshi gawked as he snapped a picture of the grunts, "Must be based off cash in some way…"
Yoko walked around, looking for any signs of cameras or any production areas. Though she noticed something was off when there wasn't even a glimmer of the camera lenses anywhere nearby them.
"Pay…" was all the grunt said.
"Pay…" another four grunts groaned.
"Uh… Takeshi… somehow… I'm not seeing any cameras…" Yoko informed. She then walked over to Takeshi, who was looking very nervous himself by how the grunts seemed to be surrounding them, but his eyes widened when one of them got close behind Yoko with a gemstone in the air behind her head.
"Look out!" Takeshi yelled, quickly getting in the way and getting smacked in the face by the gem-covered fist. He took a moment to rub the spot he was struck at, right around his cheek, and then saw he was bleeding. He gasped in surprise, then saw how sharp the crystal actually was.
"Pay…" the grunt groaned as if it were some kind of a zombie, making the blue-haired teen look very uneasy as he tried to keep Yoko behind him as she meekly backed away, clearly scared.
"...Takeshi… I'm scared…" Yoko whimpered.
"Don't worry. I won't let them hurt you. I promise…"
As the grunts grew closer, there was suddenly the sound of a motorcycle approaching. They looked over to see a figure in black leather driving over on one such vehicle before slamming it into one of the grunts to send it flying. Takeshi and Yoko gasped at this before seeing said figure pull out a compact version of the gray PlayStation1 and slapping it on their waist, causing a white belt to form around their waist before pulling out what appeared to be a CD and opening up the slot on the front of the belt.
=PLAYSTATION DRIVER!=
"Henshin!"
The figure quickly loaded in the disk and sealed the top.
=DISK READY! NOW LOADING… SPYRO THE DRAGON!=
They hopped off the motorcycle and spread their arms around in a way akin to wings flapping, yet there was a heavy amount of elegance and grace to the motions. After a bit of this, they slammed the button on the driver and let energy surround them.
=INTO THE DRAGON!=
The motorcycle skidded to a stop, vanishing into a data stream. The figure was surrounded by the data stream as suddenly they were donned in a black bodysuit that had purple armor on their legs, arms, and torso, reddish orange shoulder pads and back armor, golden yellow parts on their hands, feet, and chest, and a helmet loosely based on Spyro the Dragon with the PlayStation logo on their forehead and chest, complimented by the figure's blue compound eyes that resembled a bug's.
"A… Kamen Rider…" Yoko whispered.
Takeshi just took out his phone and began to snap some pictures. One of the grunts moved over and smacked his phone and tried to smash it, however, something caused the phone to just spark a bit. While there was a bit of damage, it wasn't too serious.
"Hinatan!" Takeshi yelled.
-I'm o-o-okay…- the AI assured.
"Huh?"
The Rider kicked away the grunts, which gave Takeshi a moment to get his phone. Yoko nervously got out hers and fumbled with the functions to try and record a bit.
"Just don't do anything sudden. The Payactions are easily aggitated by phones…" the Rider informed, managing to punch a few of them aside as their fists ignited into flames before they hit her a little harder. The Rider just scoffed a bit, "Not bad. But that's not all I got."
The Rider channeled electricity and ice into their feet before rushing in with kicks that managed to knock the Payactions back a bit. However, they quickly noticed the grunts were about to try a ram attack, forcing the horns on their head to grow to giant sizes and smack them down. After a bit, the figure noticed some of the Payactions swallow some cash before the tops of their bodies get bulkier and their hands turned into massive claws that shined.
"Time to change the game," the Rider remarked, quickly getting up and kicking a foe back. The Rider quickly got out another disk, pressing the eject button on top of the Driver and swapping the disc, quickly loading in another one.
=DISK READY! NOW LOADING… PERSONA 5!=
"Persona!" she yelled, pressing the buttons.
=INTO THE MASQUERADE!=
"Heh. I'm a shapeshifter, at poe's masquerade~..." the Rider sung, spinning as her purple draconic armor shattered, being replaced with a red tux like armor in lieu of Persona 5's Joker, with a noticeable black cloak, a head of black "hair" on their head with a white masquerade mask over the compound eyes that were still blue.
The Payactions growled as they watched her change, pulling out a stylized blaster of sorts that had a tarot card on the gun's barrel.
"It's showtime!" the Rider declared.
"Wait a second…" Yoko whispered, "That voice…"
"What?" Takeshi asked.
"...it… sounds familiar…"
The Rider just fired their blaster at the Payactions that tried to approach them, the blasts coming off like spurts of blue flames that struck rather quickly. As they kept up the attack, only three Payactions remained. The Rider held their hand to the mask over their eyes and looked as if ready to pry it off. Two of the remaining three Payactions looked at each-other and then to one grunt. They channeled their power into the dagger used by one, which made the grunts fade, but transformed the dagger into an axe of some kind.
"That's… a new one…" the Rider admitted.
The Payactions roared as they managed to charge forward and sting the Rider. The Rider managed to parry the blow with only their left arm, but was clearly in pain. The Rider pushed through the pain and rapidly pulled the trigger on the blaster to keep the fire going, though it was clear that this was going to slow them down quite a bit as the Rider kept it up.
"...ite…" the Rider groaned.
"That looked pretty nasty," Takeshi noted.
The Rider just growled before pulling off their mask, letting it evaporate into a blue fire before charging up the balster and unleashing one powerful final shot that blew up the last grunt. They let off a sigh and then walked forward, with Takeshi and Yoko finally noticing that the Rider was actually a girl based on their figure in the setting sun, but she seemed to not really be interested in talking.
After a moment, the Rider teleported away in a blue data stream, leaving the two friends confused as everything they just witnessed finally settled in.
Elsewhere, a group of monstrous looking villains, a lot wearing some form of business suits, stood around observing the battle that had just happened.
-The Payactions are only so strong. Even combining their powers and consuming the cash we've obtained, that attack they came up with was pretty out of left field and only cost them their time…-
-However, we do have a bright side… we had managed to injure the only Kamen Rider in our way. With her injured, there's no way we can fail and can now proceed with the next phase of our plans…-
There were some sounds of agreement, each person there smirking as one person pulled out what appeared to be some kind of an app icon and they all chuckled.
"...well… uh… that was something…" Takeshi admitted, "I got some bandages and stuff near the front."
Yoko nodded and got some out of the front of the car, "...I hope that Kamen Rider is okay. That blow to their arm looked like it hurt…"
"Were you recording it at all?" Takeshi asked.
"...yeah…" Yoko nodded.
"That was a close call, to be sure. I'm just glad we're both okay…" Takeshi admitted as he looked at his phone, "Hey, Hinatan?"
-I need to… rest… I'll be okay, but I need to r-r-r-rest…-
"What do you mean? What's going o-? Hinatan?" Takeshi reacted as his phone just seemed to... die. He let out a heavy sigh, unsure of what else to do as he just gathered what he could to tend to the cut on his cheek. It thankfully had stopped bleeding, but Takeshi had to wipe his hands off a bit in order to get them clean. He soon put the bandages on and let out a small wince as he put them on.
"Sorry you got hurt…" Yoko apologized.
"No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have brought us into that neighborhood in the first place. I'm sorry my stupidity almost got you hurt…" Takeshi responded.
Yoko just got closer to Takeshi and hugged him gently in order to try to calm them both down. Takeshi sighed as he just returned it, holding the barefoot blonde close. They finally split the hug after a few minutes, taking a moment to breathe as they both calmed down a bit from what happened.
"I'll get you home," Takeshi spoke up, about to reach for the keys, but Yoko took his hand.
"...I'm scared…" Yoko told him, "Can I please stay the night with you? I don't want to be alone…"
"...yea. Of course."
"I'm back," Takeshi called out.
"Welcome back," Mrs. Narumi called out before noticing her son had something on his cheek that wasn't there when he left that morning, "...what happened to your face?"
"Uh… I was trying to bring Yoko home, and we had to stop because I forgot the way… and we just had some minor problems with some rude people…" Takeshi told his mom, settling on a half-truth, "All I got was a small cut that I could easily clean and wrap up myself. I promise that I wasn't hurt in any other way."
Mrs. Narumi studied his expression a bit, clearly trying to see if there was anything to indicate he was lying. After a minute or so, she just tenderly hugged him, simply happy he was ok.
"You were actually starting to worry me. Next time, at least have Hinatan text me if you're going to be late," Mrs. Narumi told him.
"So… about that… uh… something happened to her. I have no idea what happened, but she just… shut off," Takeshi informed, "I keep getting an error on my phone when I try to open her app. I texted Daisuke before we got out of the car and he's yet to respond."
"That's really odd… well, I'll try to contact him later. For now, why don't you try to calm down?" Mrs. Narumi said, letting out a sigh and split off the hug, soon letting Takeshi go as he sighed with some relief.
"...hi…" Yoko waved, nervously popping out from behind Takeshi.
"Oh? Yoko?" Mrs. Narumi realized, "You're staying the night?"
"...I was just so scared. I know my mom is at home, but I really didn't want to be alone…" Yoko explained, holding onto one of Takeshi's hands gently, yet making it clear she was still a bit shaken.
"Yea… after what happened, we figured it would be safer to just bring her here instead…" Takeshi informed.
"Don't worry, Yoko. You're always welcome here," Mrs. Narumi assured, allowing Yoko a sigh of relief as Takeshi helped her up to his room.
Takeshi was laying in bed and saw his phone didn't seem badly damaged, although the app Hinatan was in said it was going through some kind of update. Daisuke had texted him back saying he'd check, but it may need to be tomorrow for any kind of results. Takeshi just sighed a bit before he tried to get to sleep, but then he got a knock at his bedroom door.
"Hmm? Who is it?" he checked.
"Me…" Yoko meekly responded.
"Come in."
Yoko nervously walked in, now in a pair of purple pajamas that somewhat sparkled, in the dim light of his room, making him smile as he simply allowed her in.
"I tried to lay down in the guest room, but… something about it felt off, and… I don't want to be alone after earlier… so… may I...?" she started to ask.
Takeshi just gave an understanding nod, patting an open spot on his bed, allowing her to at least sit down.
"...reminds me of when we were younger and you and Luna protected me…" Yoko admitted
"Yea… those were some times, weren't they?" Takeshi lightly chuckled.
Takeshi and Luna, both about nine or ten, were playing around a bit in Takeshi's bedroom and were passing pillows between each other and just goofing around. Yoko, who had hair that just looked cut and was in some standard girl's pajamas, the two friends smiling as Yoko nervously joined them.
"You look so cute!" Luna beamed.
"...thank you…" Yoko whispered, clearly feeling awkward as Luna offered her a spot to sit down, "...you two are amazing. I… thank you."
"No problem," Luna smiled as she brought Yoko a bit closer to them.
"We're your friends, of course we'd help you," Takeshi told her.
"...you're more like knights…" Yoko admitted, a very faint blush on her face.
Takeshi chuckled a little as Luna hugged Yoko and Takeshi soon joined the hug.
"I hope Luna's okay… we haven't heard from her since school…" Yoko remarked, getting a worried expression.
"Yea… I know… that worries me, too," Takeshi added, putting his sock-covered feet on the bed and his chin on his knees, "But… she's tough. I'm sure she can handle any problem."
All Yoko did was nod in response, before her thoughts went elsewhere and she just looked up at the ceiling.
"Hey. What's eating you?"
"...I can't stop thinking about how... there are real monsters… and a real Kamen Rider…" Yoko stated, laying down on her back and looking very nervous as Takeshi started to move aside so she could have some room, "...and I know that Rider's voice from somewhere. It was a bit distorted… but it was ringing a bell…"
Takeshi just nodded a bit, trying to think a bit as they recounted the few things the Rider said during the fight, "I don't know. I recognize it as well, but can't place it."
Yoko just exhaled a bit, clearly looking uneasy as thoughts were going through her mind and she couldn't sort through them all.
"...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that I got us into that mess…" Takeshi apologized.
"...I forgive you, but I think a bigger question is… what do we do now?" Yoko asked, getting a bit worried, "...I'm just scared something bad will happen to us when we go to sleep. Like-"
Takeshi gently gave her a 'shh' motion, simply smiling after and looked at her blue eyes. Yoko took a calming breath and pulled off her glasses before she just smiled at him.
"...thank you…" Yoko whispered.
"No problem," Takeshi smiled.
As Takeshi leaned down into bed and got himself under the covers, Yoko just awkwardly remained nearby. She then let Takeshi go to sleep before she began to drift to sleep herself.
"...don't leave me…" she whispered.
"Wouldn't dream of it…" he whispered back.
Within a realm of zeroes and ones, all of which were colored green flying across a black void, some of the digits began to coalesce into one spot and start to form a new shape as they changed to a light purple.
-Hinatan? Can you hear me?- a voice echoed out as the shape began to seem to look up -If you can hear me, then you need to be ready. You are more than just a little smart app. You are going to be an integral factor to your friends…-
-...ok…-
Meanwhile, somewhere outside in town, a young man with red hair was roaming around and clearly annoyed about something. He was tapping his foot out of frustration, indicating he was pretty angry.
"Those idiots don't know what they're dealing with by rejecting me! I'll show all those fools that they shouldn't cross Kurosawa Eiji!" he growled as he walked away from a store that had signs saying 'audition to publish your book today!'. He swiped away at them, leaving almost claw marks on the sign, "If they won't listen to me... I guess I'll just make 'em! ...somehow..."
The guy looked at his phone as a red and lime green app appeared on his phone. Something began to urge him to press it, hearing a voice inside his head as if saying to do so. He then pressed it down as hard as he could, causing his phone to light up.
=ENTER… THE GAME…=
Red zeroes and ones began to surround this person, he grunted in pain as his muscles started to bulge, spikes starting to burst from his back and fire leaked from his mouth as he started to grow into something non-human. His next swipe left something resembling both a claw scratch and fire. He roared in rage as he ran off in a huff.
It was soon morning, with Takeshi groaning a little as he heard someone calling out to him.
-Hey, Takeshi! Takeshi~! TAKESHI! YOU AND YOUR GIRLFRIEND NEED TO WAKE UP!-
Takeshi began to stir a bit, slowly opening his eyes before he saw someone next to him. He saw Yoko fast asleep, making him look a little confused before he recalled his injury.
"...huh…" Takeshi muttered, gently poking Yoko's cheek, making the blonde stiff in her slumber before her eyes slowly opened.
"...huh?" she mumbled, sitting up before she saw Takeshi right next to her and began to blush.
"Good morning, glimmer toes," he playfully told her.
All Yoko could do was blush in response yet giggled slightly as she smiled
-Good morning, you two lovebirds…- Hinatan sighed.
"Sorry, Hinatan. What's up?" Takeshi asked, "Glad to see you working."
-Yeah, I'm glad to be working too…- Hinatan admitted, -Not sure what the heck happened last night after that attack, but I'm working now.-
"...and a lot more expressive…" Yoko remarked.
Hinatan just giggled in response before the plastic unit on Takeshi's nightstand generated a bit of light and seemed to shine into a hologram of sorts.
-The update last night gave me more than just some patches to the bugs,- she said, though the hologram was still incomplete with only a digital silhouette of someone generating, -But, besides the point. You two need to get up. Sure, you got a couple of hours before class, but there's a few things you two need to prepare for, anyways. Takeshi's got baker's duties, and you both need to get cleaned up before it takes too long!-
"...good point," Takeshi admitted, "Yoko, why don't you go ahead and take the shower first?"
"Alright," she nodded, sliding out of bed before smiling at Takeshi, "...thank you."
It was a bit later and Yoko was checking on her nail polish, sighing a little as she made sure to paint over a bit.
"Oh, peachy… why is twinkle toes here?" Hana asked.
"Something came up last night and she was too scared to be alone," Takeshi informed as he walked in.
All Hana did was sigh in response and walk off, allowing Yoko a sigh of relief before Takeshi sat near her.
"You're handling yourself pretty well considering what happened. And… you look really nice today," Takeshi told her, Yoko simply blushing, "You know I'm being honest with that
"...thank you, Take-kun," Yoko smiled, lightly giggling.
-...can you please save the flirting for later?- Hinatan exhaled, -Takeshi, you got your morning duties to get to!-
"Right-right. Jeez, you're getting snarky lately. I'll talk with you more soon," Takeshi stated.
Takeshi finished driving himself, Yoko, and Hana to school all at once, but once they got into the school building, he and Yoko saw Luna talking to Daisuke as the bustier blonde's left arm was now in a cast. Both Takeshi and Yoko saw this and instantly got worried.
"Luna! What happened to your arm?!" Yoko nearly yelled, running over to her.
Luna looked confused before looking down at her cast and giving Yoko and Takeshi a relaxed smile, "I'm alright. Just a minor thing happened at work. It won't be in a cast for too long, but it was still enough that I have to keep this on for a week."
"Why'd you disappear so suddenly after school?" Takeshi added in.
"My mom had a brief scare and had to be at the hospital. She's doing alright, but she said that I needed to be at the hospital as soon as I could," Luna informed.
Takeshi exhaled a bit,
"I'm glad you're okay," Yoko told her, gently hugging her, "You really had us scared for a while…"
Luna smiled, yet saw that Yoko was starting to cry and people were staring, "...I appreciate the concern, Yoko. I really do. Just… please don't make such a big deal of it. The last thing I need right now is you crying about me when I'm okay."
Yoko gave a small nod, rubbing away her tears, and just trying to get herself calm again.
"See you in class?" Luna asked.
"Yeah," they nodded.
With that, Luna and Daisuke walked off. Yoko then thought a bit more and something dawned on her.
"Something up?" Takeshi asked.
"...wait a second…" Yoko muttered once Luna was a bit away from them.. She then pulled Takeshi to her side and got out her phone, playing the video with the Kamen Rider from last night, "...isn't that the same arm that the Rider had to use to defend herself?"
This made Takeshi blink a little in surprise before double taking to see the limb in question before turning back and nodding his head, as they looked back over the footage.
"And the two games that she used… those are Luna's favorite PS1 and PS4 games…" Takeshi added.
"And the voice…" they both said together, "You don't think…?"
After a moment of watching the footage and thinking about Luna, it all fell into place.
"...Luna's a Kamen Rider…" Takeshi realized.
"...and she never told us…"
"But why…? Why would she not say anything?"
The two looked at each-other for a bit before nodding a bit and hurrying off to class.
"Luna? Can we ask you something?" Takeshi asked once they got into class.
"Sure. What's up?"
However, before Takeshi could say something, Megami walked on in with a bit of a serious look on her face.
"Hello class. Please be seated. We need to discuss something important," she told everyone.
"...why does my life feel like an anime sometimes…?" Takeshi muttered.
Megami waited for the class to get in their seats before speaking, "Alright. It has recently come to the attention of the police that there had been some attacks downtown. All witnesses have said that they've seen claw marks and fire, both on various significant sights in the area that is dangerously close to school campus. We don't know the cause, but we know because of some reports that whoever is responsible is from our school."
This made a variety of the students gasp and start murmuring to themselves, though Takeshi and Yoko looked at each other and got nervous, while Luna and Daisuke just looked worried.
"I am not insinuating it is anybody in this class, but the principal made it clear that the guilty party will have consequences. If anyone knows anything of the attackers of the events, then please tell us…" Megami told them, "With that out of the way, let's-"
However, before anything else could happen, the fire alarm suddenly went off. The students all gawked and panicked as the alarms blarred.
"You have GOT to be kidding me…" Takeshi sighed.
-Attention all students! We have multiple fires across the building. Please evacuate the building! This is not a drill! Repeat, this is not a drill!- the speakers shouted out.
Fire department trucks soon got to the building and began to try to douse the fires.
"ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS! You are dismissed for the day! Until we are able to identify the cause and can ensure your safety, you are to stay home and stay safe!" the principal of the school yelled out.
Takeshi and Yoko exchanged looks, then saw Luna and Daisuke talking about something, looking a little serious.
"It's gotta be them…" Luna whispered.
"You can't. Your arm-"
Luna hurried off in a huff, with Daisuke soon following. They got into Daisuke's light green car and headed away from the campus, making Takeshi and Yoko look at each other.
"Okay, yeah, Luna is certainly a Kamen Rider. Nobody would be hurrying off that quickly unless they were trying to do something about this…" Takeshi whispered.
"But… Luna's hurt…" Yoko whispered back.
The two exchanged nods and quickly hurried over to Takeshi's car, driving off in the direction of Daisuke's car. They carefully followed after the cousins.
After a bit of driving, Takeshi and Yoko arrived nearby the mansion that Luna and her family lived in. They were surprised by this before spotting Daisuke's ride and parking near it.
"Yeah, they're certainly here…" Yoko whispered, seeing Daisuke's car.
The two then saw someone moving near the backyard, but whoever it was disappeared before anyone could make them out. Takeshi and Yoko got out and headed into the yard, seeing only a shed that Daisuke had put signs around, along with some kind of a holographic keyboard.
-I got this, you two!- Hinatan called out, basically dragging Takeshi forward so that his phone could be scanned by something and caused a holographic monitor to spawn.
"...okay… now I can believe Daisuke is capable of making Rider tech…" Yoko admitted as she walked over to Takeshi's side.
-Welcome. Please insert the password,- an automated voice stated.
Takeshi gave off a sigh as he stood by the holographic screen and could see some kind of a hint on the display.
"What's it say?"
"Password hint… something Luna loves?" Takeshi read aloud. He thought it over a moment and then snapped his fingers, "Obvious. Spyro the Dragon…"
He then entered the password, only for an incorrect sound to play.
-Password incorrect.-
"Uh… maybe… Persona 5?" Yoko offered.
Takeshi typed it only to get an error, making him sigh.
"...okay, I think we're being a bit too broadly. It can't just mean games…" Yoko remarked.
As Takeshi thought it over, he looked to Yoko and thought of all the time they spent together with Luna before an idea hit his mind. He let out a small sigh before he engaged the keyboard again, typing out T-A-K-E-S-H-I-&-Y-O-K-O.
-Password accepted.-
"...what did you put in?" Yoko asked.
Before Takeshi responded, the duo were teleported away in a blink of blue light.
When they reappeared, they were in a very high-tech looking room. Across the various tables were a variety of consoles and games, in addition to various lights and holograms everywhere on top of.
"Wow…" they both gawked.
As they walked along, they saw a large monitor… and two familiar faces.
"Luna, you're injured!" Daisuke yelled.
"I don't have a choice! If the Alliance is making their move with bigger monsters, I have to fight!" Luna yelled back.
"Luna, think for a moment! Even with the healing capabilities we got here, your arm still needs to be in that cast for a week! You rushing out there is going to severely weaken your own ability to fight!"
"Do you think I don't know that?! We don't have any other Riders and nobody else to turn to! I have to do something!" Luna yelled.
Daisuke grabbed the belt that Luna used, and set it in what looked to be a safe container.
"Give it back!" Luna shouted, trying to get it back out with her uninjured hand.
"Not until you acknowledge you need to rest and stop pushing yourself to the brink of death!"
"Uh… hi, guys," Takeshi chimed in.
Luna and Daisuke both instantly stopped and nervously turned to see Takeshi and Yoko there.
"Oh… uh… hi…" Daisuke began to say, "Uh… I-I-I know this looks a little strange, but we were just arguing over a project that uh… requires… uh… um..."
"You know what? Sc**w it! I'm so done lying to them, and I don't care what happens to me if I tell them!" Luna nearly yelled, making Daisuke freeze up before she walked over to them, "You saw me out there, I'm sure you're not dumb. You figured out… I'm a Kamen Rider. I'm Kamen Rider PlayStation, and have been for the past six years. I use the power of video games channeled through a driver rebuilt by my cousin and designed by my moms. I defend people in the shadows and work to stop the Payactions and their leaders, the Alliance, from doing… something, to the world. I don't exactly know what they want."
Takeshi and Yoko just stared a bit as this started to really sink in.
"You've been a Kamen Rider… how long?" Yoko asked.
"Six years. Were you not listening?" Luna reacted before sighing as she looked at them, "Sorry. You guys are my closest friends and I didn't want to lie to you for so long. It's just I was told I couldn't tell anyone or else… and I was worried about the 'or else'. Now? I'm just done."
"...six years…" Takeshi repeated, "I-I'm sorry. This entire thing is a lot to process right now, but… that's just crazy. Six years…"
"And, trust me, that belt has had some… side effects on me…" Luna admitted, looking to her hand for a moment before letting her curves gently bounce, "By that I mean these. It's… complicated."
"That's… a lot to take in…" Yoko admitted, sitting down, hands to her head as she let it sink in.
"So… this entire time… you've been lying to us?" Takeshi asked.
"Not entirely. The modeling job is something I actually do," Luna admitted, going over to the monitor and pulling up some pictures of herself, showing off several pictures she took, "But that's more of an after school job that's also a sort of cover while I'm a Kamen Rider…"
"Her mom said she had to at least have some kind of cover up…" Daisuke added.
"...are you a Kamen Rider too?" Takeshi asked Daisuke.
"If I was, do you think I'd be standing here?" Daisuke retorted.
"In his defense, we only had the one functional belt. The SEGA and Nintendo ones have been in disrepair for years and I have absolutely no idea where the Xbox one could possibly be…" Luna added, making Takeshi and Yoko look up.
"Wait… what? There's more of those things?" Takeshi asked.
"Like I said, mine's the only one that works…" Luna repeated.
With a sigh, Daisuke opened up another container and took out what were basically charred remains. One of which had a vague shape that resembled the Gamecube, but was torn to pieces and was sitting next to a Wii U gamepad and some Switch Joycons. The other, which was in somewhat better shape, looked like a Dreamcast modified to be smaller like an old portable CD player, sitting next to a controller.
"Wow… this looks…" Takeshi remarked.
"Trust me. I've worked on these for a good long while and couldn't figure out how to get them working…" Daisuke admitted, lightly smacking the Nintendo based one.
-Let me give it a whirl,- they heard Hinatan offered as her holographic silhouette emerged from a light in the room and waved.
"Oh… looks like she got an upgrade," Daisuke remarked.
"...you didn't do that?" Takeshi blinked.
"No. I would've said something…"
"...how many more bombshells are going to be dropped today…?" Yoko exhaled.
-Let's not worry too much about this. I know someone who can help and they gave me intell to fix it..- Hinatan explained before her form reached over and actually picked up the Dreamcast stuff as she seemed to scan it and analyze it a bit, -Huh… ok. Should be a simple fix.-
As Hinatan worked on it, a purple light appeared on the monitor. A light purple X symbol appeared on the monitor with a blue circle around it, causing Luna and Daisuke to bow in respect.
"Purple Heart-sama, we welcome you," Daisuke bid.
"Finally good to see you once again. We're really in a tight jam, but… I think you being here may be able to help," Luna smiled.
"...the four goddesses are real…" Takeshi muttered.
Yoko paled a fair bit in response to this and meekly hid behind Takeshi, clearly unsure of what to say or do.
-Relax. We are no longer of this realm. Our consciousnesses can only be awakened in times of need. At least for the time being as we're working on ways to reconnect here. However, we can't fight in this reality anymore. Instead, we need to conserve our powers until the right moment. And before you say anything, Luna, I'm only explaining all this to the new kids.-
Takeshi and Yoko just watched the monitor, making sure to try and follow along as images of the enemy that Luna had called the Alliance appeared.
-Almost a decade ago, the Alliance, a corporation that stumbled upon powers from the realms of the goddesses have been using them for evil. Usually, this is tricking innocents into trying out a free app to give a kick of some energy that turns them into monsters. And the grunts they use gain power from cash that are earned from flippin' microtransactions…-
"...so are all gatcha games evil? And what about DLC?" Takeshi asked.
-That is a more legitimate practice than you think that can help us and ones we choose to fight the Alliance, actually. Yea, we do charge a lot, but we're at least open and honest with that and try to give you legit content. The Alliance are sleazy scalpers trying to rope people into gambling and wasting away until they have nothing left…-
Takeshi gave a small nod of his head, "Ok… this whole thing is starting to sound bad. But… I'll help."
"...Takeshi?" Yoko spoke up.
"Huh? What's up, Yoko?"
"I get you wanting to help, but… aren't you scared?"
"Yeah. I'm scared, but if we don't get over this now, then people will get hurt."
"But-"
Takeshi put his hands on her shoulders gently, "I promise that I'll come back to you and Luna. I'm not going to let those freaks take us away from each-other. And I will come back. I'll say it as many times as you need to hear."
Yoko looked nervous before nodding her head.
-Words spoken like a true hero, Narumi Takeshi. Because of that attitude, and seeing how you were willing to fight, I don't think I have to look any further for a hero...- the voice of Purple Heart said as the monitor gave a soft hum, -AI, I will need to do something to power this up. We'll need to hook this up to the monitor.-
-Understood, Purple Heart-sama. I'll start the link up,- Hinatan responded, causing a chord to connect to the monitor.
The monitor lit up with the purple light of the symbol that spread into the chord, leading it into the console, causing it to spark to life and change shape. The console started to look like a buckle with room for someone to wear it.
"I'll admit… I don't know what'll happen to you, since the only people to ever use these were female…" Luna admitted, making Takeshi raise an eyebrow, "But hey, it's not like it'll hurt you or something."
Takeshi just nervously laughed and Yoko got a bit of a meek and worried look.
-Don't worry. You'll be fine,- the voice of Purple Heart assured.
The belt looked ready and Takeshi was given a signal to take it, which he did as Daisuke gave him a copy of Sonic Adventure 1.
"You'll need this to transform. I figured you'd appreciate a Sonic game," Daisuke told him.
"Thanks," Takeshi smiled as he took the disc and gave a calm smile to the two girls.
Takeshi was soon teleported outside and could see the creature roaring and causing fire. He could see the creature clearly resembled Bowser.
"Well… how appropriate my first foe would be based on a Mario character," Takeshi chuckled as he walked in before going into a full sprint and then with a shout to get the monster's attention, kicked it in the chest, "Nice!"
The monster just growled as it turned towards Takeshi as the kid stared him down defiantly, the monster growling and charging flames.
"This be the King of the Koopas! You face a monster that's conquered galaxies!" the Bowser like monster growled in anger, Takeshi scoffing in response.
"Yea, a guy who got beat by a portly plumber. And now, I'm gonna be the guy who's gonna spin right into your stomach!" Takeshi declared as he got out his belt and slapped it on his waist.
=SEGA DRIVER!=
Takeshi looked to the side of the belt, quickly dodging out of the way of a claw swipe. He pulled out the Sonic Adventure disc from a case clipped into the side of it before pressing a button on top of the Driver to pop it open, quickly inserting the disc. As the driver generated a bit of energy, Takeshi posed a bit as his eyes flashed from green to purple. Though the flash was just for a brief moment as he smirked and hit the power button on the driver to get it started.
=DISK READY! NOW LOADING… SONIC ADVENTURE!=
Blue energy generated around Takeshi and he gained a bit of a cocky and ready grin. He posed with his arms out as if to try to make a round shape.
"HENSHIN!" he shouted, slapping the reset button on the Driver and causing a stream of energy that shot out a bright purple, but as it wrapped around his body like bandages turned blue and formed into a suit of sorts. With a black bodysuit forming first, making his lavender belt pop out by comparison, Takeshi gained new bits of armor with red and white shoes, leg armor that was blue with some white topping along with kneepads designed like CD discs, more blue armor on his arms and shoulders that were spiked, white gloves, a blue torso piece with silver pecs that had the blue Dreamcast logo, and then his head gained a blue Sonic style helmet with the quills, green eyes that were compound to represent bugs, a silver dreamcast symbol on his forehead, and a flat mouthpiece that resembled half a CD.
=INTO THE ADVENTURE!=
The Rider looked over his form for a bit and then chuckled, "I actually did it… I became a Kamen Rider! This is just too cool, I can't be dreaming!"
"Takeshi, please focus…" Luna's voice chimed in.
"Eh?!"
"We can see what you see from the monitor here in the base and contact you via some headsets here," Luna informed, contacting the new Rider via a pair of headphones, "The Vaijin is tough. It has an armored exoskeleton, spikes as strong as steel, and a fire breath hot enough to melt steel."
"...Vaijin?"
"Vai from virus and jin from kaijin. We had to think of something and that's the best we could think to call them…" Luna informed.
"Sounds to me like we need to work out the naming convention later…" the Rider figured.
"Sonic Adventure? Pah! You're just trash from Sega!" the Bowser Vaijin yelled.
"Hey now! I'd watch what you say about that, pal. Cause this Rider… um… is gonna blast through you with sonic speed!" the Rider declared, "Kamen Rider… Sega!"
-Obvious Sonic Heroes reference is obvious…- Daisuke chimed in.
(Insert Song: Open Your Heart, Sonic Generations Remix)
The Rider coaxed the Vaijin to come at him, the beast trying to blast him with fire at first. However, the Rider managed to rush out of the way, moving at speeds that made the attacks seem in slow motion to him before zipping up to the monster and kicking its back. While the Vaijin was knocked back, the Rider took a moment to reorient himself after having zipped around at a fast pace.
"Whoo! Man, this speed is intense… probably the fastest Rider in base form out there," he figured, kicking the Vaijin in the chin, "Might not be as fast as Latoratah OOO, but still…"
The Bowser Vaijin growled and grabbed onto Sega with his claws, flipped up into the air and tried to flatten him into the ground. The attack did land and leave the Rider in a crater, but he wasn't out of it yet.
"...right… Bowser's Side move from Smash… least it wasn't a Bowsercide…" Sega muttered, "...but that still hurt."
The Rider managed to get up, relatively faster than he expected before he slid under the Vaijin and then started to spin in place on the ground, the monster reacting in pain like the spikes from the Rider's armor hit him. The monster backed away, trying to gather itself, before it saw that Sega was still spinning.
"Ready…" Sega declared as he spun around, glowing a light blue. He then stopped, a light blue aura around his body, "GO!"
The Rider sped around the area, making it hard for the monster to counter as the Rider just kept bouncing right into it. After a few seconds, SEGA managed to kick the Bowser Vaijin over. After the attack finished connecting, Sega began to dizzily wobble around.
"Okay… that was a bit… a bit much," he groaned a little, just trying to regain his focus.
"Now you know how people felt playing the VR version of Forces…" Luna stated.
"Tell me how long this'll last…" Sega muttered.
"Typical Takeshi with the Open Your Heart lyrics…" Daisuke sighed.
"I think it's funny…" Yoko stated simply.
SEGA regained his composure before taking a close look at the Vaijin and noticing that it was stuck in the ground owing to the spikes. He just chuckled a bit, before rushing over and then kicking him, sending the turtle spinning back, "Go back in your shell so you can hide, coward!"
"Takeshi? Please don't go all Spider-Man with mocking your foes… if we're gonna be a team, I really don't want to deal with that…" Luna requested in a sincere tone.
"Sorry," he apologized as he soon managed to land another powerful kick.
The Vaijin got back up and growled, then tried to think of something to yell back. He growled a little before snapping the claws like snapping fingers, "Those fools wasted time redesigning your trash movie!"
"I wish that your movie got redesigned too, when the greatest part is when you devolved to ooze!" Sega countered.
"...there's a Mario movie apart from the upcoming Illumination one?" Yoko honestly asked.
Daisuke let out a heavy sigh, "It's really bad. Don't bother…"
"Yea, trust me. Don't watch it," SEGA added before dodging some claw swipes, "Hey, I'm talking here!"
The monster growled in anger before its body began to darken and gain what looked like magma cracks.
"...the heck?"
"...peachy… it's tapping into the power of Fury Bowser!"
"Is there a way to stop that? I just got started and we got into final boss territory!"
"Attack it rapidly and powerfully. It'll stop the charge!"
"Do I have to use the Light Speed Attack again…?" Sega asked.
"Use Color Powers or something!" Luna nearly yelled.
"...huh?"
"It may be one game your disk is based on, but it can harness the power of other games in the same series. I did it when I used Spyro's breaths from other games. You can probably use some of Sonic's other skills from beyond Adventure 1!" Luna elaborated.
"Oh, right! Let's see, how do I use it?" Sega questioned as he looked over himself and the belt before he saw a small modified Dreamcast controller on his left wrist, pressing Up-A-B-Down, and then suddenly began sensing some energy generating in his arms, "Here we go… let's try… Sonic Wind!"
SEGA then dashed in and sent out waves of wind currents that began to disorient the Bowser Vaijin. While energy from Fury Bowser was still charging, it was starting to dissipate. The blue energy continued to siphon off Fury Bowser's power before SEGA managed to deal some powerful blows.
He then quickly inputted Left-Right-Left-B, causing fire to generate in his other hand. It charged up before he punched the monster, causing a powerful blast.
"Color Power, Red Burst!"
The Rider's fist ignited in a burst of fire that exploded when it contacted the Vaijin's armor and he kept it up a bit. He stopped and shook his hand a bit, wincing a little in pain before dealing another kick. The Fury Bowser energy was now gone, and the shape of Bowser was starting to glitch and distort. The Vaijin grunted in pain as if trying to stay composed.
"Should I go for a finisher now?" SEGA asked.
"Yea, now would be a good time. Go for a Rider Kick to delete that virus!"
Sega gave a nod of his head and then smirked, "To beat you, all I have to do is just jump!"
With a press of the Start button on his controller, SEGA followed it up with jumping up into the air with a quick blue wind burst and energy trailing around him as if he was doing the Boost. He then spun around a little before homing in on the foe, stretching out his right foot while shouting as he dove down, managing to hit the monster square in the chest and then go right through it.
=HISSATSU! SEGA STRIKE!=
With a sudden explosion, the Vaijin roared in pain as SEGA stood up, dusting some rubble off his shoulder. He looked to see the person was mostly unharmed, apart from a few minor bruises, though this left him a bit surprised as he inspected the injured man.
(End Insert Song)
"...a human?"
"Yeah… the Vaijin are converted from people. Thankfully, nobody has ever died in my stopping them. We'll leave him for the cops and hospital. Daisuke will teleport you back to base. ...good work, Take-kun."
"Thanks…" SEGA smiled under his mask, taking a quick look to see the guy's phone looking to glitch before powering off, but he shrugged and ran off before teleporting away.
Takeshi sat down in a seat with a cup of water, trying to cool off as Yoko kept nearby. Though, to Takeshi, it looked like there were four of her at the moment.
"We'll figure out how to stabilize it so you don't go spinning and getting sick," Daisuke assured Takeshi.
"Ooh… I never thought I'd feel so dizzy..." Takeshi groaned, trying not to feel too sick. He just took a moment to sip the water he had, which didn't appear as more than one owing to how close it was, the cool fluid starting to ease his stomach and sight a bit.
"...you're a superhero…" Yoko stated, "That. Is. AMAZING! I can't believe you managed to beat that monster so easily! You were so fast and so strong! You're amazing, Take-kun!"
Takeshi blushed and chuckled a little in response to Yoko's compliment.
"I think it goes without saying we should keep this quiet," Luna informed, "At the very least, I think it'll be fine if you tell your family about it so they won't worry. Your parents should be in the know so they can help. I'll even make sure my moms help give them any excuses for your Rider duties."
"But… please… for the love of… uh… ANY higher power out there, don't tell Hana about this base…" Daisuke requested, "This is the one spot in the world that Hana doesn't know about, and I'd like to keep it that way."
"You have my word, Daisuke…" Takeshi agreed.
Daisuke simply smiled a bit, feeling a sense of ease as he sat down and started running some tests on the Sega Driver. Though Takeshi stood up once he regained his equilibrium and looked over to Luna.
"...Luna? Can I ask you something?" Takeshi spoke up.
"Sure. What's up?"
"...what is the deal with that password?"
Luna went silent, suddenly blushing a bit as the implications of the password settled in.
"...what WAS the password? You never said…" Yoko informed.
"It was… it was our names," Takeshi explained, "It was Takeshi&Yoko. And recall the hint was something Luna loves."
This made Yoko's face turn a bright red as she realized what that meant.
"I-I… care about you both… and… uh… my mom told me to make the password something important…" Luna evaded, "It was easy to remember…"
"...but… love?" Takeshi asked.
"Can we please not? It's getting really awkward to try and bring it up now…" Luna requested.
Takeshi was about to say something, but Luna sat down and took off her shoes and socks, wiggling her toes to relieve some stress.
"If you drop it, then I'll let you both play around with me feet."
"...deal…" Takeshi said with a blush.
"T-Take-kun?" Yoko blushed.
"Just go with it…"
Luna just exhaled, slipping her shoes and socks back on, "It's going to be a long semester now…"
Daisuke just began to chuckle a little at that remark, which soon got Luna to snicker a bit. Takeshi and Yoko both just smiled a bit, both looking very happy.
S-O-N-I-C, GO! *The scene showed Takeshi, Luna, Yoko, Daisuke and Hana in rapid succession*
S-O-N-I-C, GO! *A group of five Payactions were shown in rapid succession, with one of them holding a bomb that then exploded.*
Go, go, go go, LET'S GO! *Takeshi managed to kick one of the Payactions, then stood as Kamen Rider Sega*
Kinō made no rūru (Yesterday's rules) *The Rider managed to protect his friends and beat back the remaining grunts.*
Kyō wa tada no rūzu (are simply loose today) *He then reverted back… only to get dumped with a lot of papers of homework. He popped his head out and then sighed a little.*
Kowashite dantotsu gōru (The best goal is to break them) *Takeshi then just laughed alongside Yoko and Luna, the three high fiving together*
Hashiritsuzu ketenai to (If I don't keep running) *Takeshi and Hana were then shown helping out in the bakery and talking with their parents as Yoko and Luna walked in.*
Hokani imi wa naito (There's no other meaning) *Takeshi began to talk to the two girls, then Hana made some sort of remark about them being a couple and the trio blushed.*
Panku na tetsugaku nanda (It's a punk philosophy) *Hana jokingly laughed wickedly before running off. The unit housing Hinatan just rolled her eyes, the group soon sighed at the red-head's antics*
Baiorizumu wa (Biorhythm is...) *Takeshi let out a sigh as both Luna and Yoko hugged his arms, the trio blushing a little as both the girls cuddled up with him*
Tsūbai rizumu de (a two-time rhythm) *Something got Takeshi's and Luna's attention, making them both nod and hurry off.*
Fūkei wa shunkan ni musū no sen (The scenery instantly becomes countless lines...) *Kamen Rider Sega and Kamen Rider Playstation were then both shown on motorcycles, then both quickly sped up*
Ore wo torimaku kaze (The wind envelops me!) *Yoko, Daisuke, and Hana all watched from the monitor in the base, while Hinatan just smiled*
INSIDE OUTSIDE, semete (Inside Outside, attack) *Sega and Playstation stood against a horde of Payactions, both punching and kicking the grunts like crazy as they exploded into dust that resembled cash*
Issai gassai nuite (Surpass everything altogether) *The monsters were then gone and the two reverted back. Once Takeshi turned around, Luna had disappeared and the area started to have rain.*
Dare hitorimo nani hitotsumo... (I won't let anyone...) *Takeshi was standing alone in the dark, with his eyes being purple instead of green…*
Maewo ikasetaku wa nai! (or anything get ahead of me!) *His eyes returned back to green and then he transformed once more. The rain was now gone and the sun was shining.*
INSIDE OUTSIDE GO, SONIC! (Inside Outside GO, SONIC!) *SEGA zipped around on foot, appearing as just a blue blur of light. He just kept going and going, passing by cars of all kinds.*
Issai gassai! YEA, SONIC! (Everything altogether! Yea, Sonic!) *He skidded to a stop and turned back to Takeshi. He smiled as he witnessed some people going into a dance hall and joined them.*
"Abunaiyo" to "HAVE A NICE" wa niteru ("Watch out" and "Have a nice" are similar) *Takeshi danced alongside Luna and Yoko, though he was clearly less skilled than either of the girls. Yoko turned to him and guided him through some motions, making sure he managed to understand her.*
Sō dochiramo kamihitoe nanosa (That's right – both are by the skin of your teeth) *Soon, all three were dancing a kind of tango together, all smiling as they managed tob keep a steady pace.*
Taikutsu nugisu tete (Throw boredom away…) *The disks for Sonic Adventure, Spyro the Dragon, and Persona 5 were all shown, before they were set away. The discs slotted into a case as Purple Heart's image glowed, but then faded away to a clear day*
Ima sugu kakedase (And start running!) *Takeshi, Luna, Yoko, Daisuke, and Hana all started running together, before they reached the top of a hill and jumped in the air, seeming suspended mid-jump.*
S-O-N-I-C, GO! *Hana was shown bothering Daisuke as he tried to work, but he just chuckled a bit at her*
S-O-N-I-C, GO! *Hinatan was shown looking at lights that were purple, black, white, and green, then down at the transformation disks.*
Go, go, go go, LET'S GO! *Takeshi, Luna, and Yoko were all sitting together and playing video games together. The group laughing happily as they finished playing and smiled a bit at each-other*
Kamen Rider: Game Corner!
"Hello everyone! And welcome to the Kamen Rider Game Corner, where we tell you about some of the video games that inspired this story!" Takeshi smiled.
"Which there are a lot, but we only cover one game at a time so as to make it easy," Luna added in, "So hopefully you guys will learn a bit about gaming history."
"We're starting with… Sonic Adventure!" Yoko beamed.
"If it isn't clear, the base idea is Sonic the Hedgehog as a Rider, but we modified it since there were… a lot of past versions…" Takeshi began, nervously chuckling, "Anyway, Sonic's jump to 3D took a while since the Saturn was a flop. So after some perfecting, SEGA and Sonic Team released this game in December of 1998 in Japan, and the rest of the world got it in 1999. It's a 3D platformer that is obviously focused around speed, platforming, and exploring."
"Sonic is the main character and the first one you play as, but you unlock Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and newcomers E-102 Gamma and… Big…" Luna continued.
"...who's Knuckles?" Takeshi asked.
"To the readers and their universe, Knuckles is the third member of Team Sonic. He's a red echidna focused on strength, but can dig and glide. In our universe, Knuckles is a part of Team Chaotix that was only on the SEGA 32X game, Chatoix, known to their universe as Knuckles' Chaotix," Luna elaborated, "It's not something we know, but the echidna is a popular character in their world."
"...an enchilada?" Daisuke questioned.
Luna just sighed in response, putting her face into her palm before lowering it and turning to her cousin, "Echidna…"
"Anyway, aside from that, Sonic Adventure was a widely popular game. It featured the first voice actors for Sonic and company apart from the early cartoons, and many kids view them as some of the first voices of the blue blur and his friends. Rest in peace to Dr. Eggman's first English VA, Deem Bristow. You were taken away from us too soon," Takeshi continued, saluting to the sky.
"However, the game had a few… gimmicks. Amy is slower and somewhat more stealth oriented for some bizarre reason, Gamma is a shooting robot which only got into the game because of focus group testing, and Big purely exists to sell you a fishing perfirial…" Luna continued, now turning back towards the readers, "That is just silly. I can get Amy since she was in a past game, but the others are a bit silly…"
"Yea, and from what I heard, Big was pretty infamous for the gameplay and just… existing. Also, he's voiced by the same guy as Duke Nukem," Daisuke added in.
Yoko blinked a bit and then tilted her head, "...who?"
"Some 80s action hero turned video game protag, I think," Luna explained.
There was a bit of silence, as the group tried to think of other topics.
"I find it surprising there's a universe out there where Blaze didn't debut in 1994. That's as odd as Nicole not being in the Sonic games, Sonic not having his brother and sister, and a pretty good anniversary game on the 15th. Also, I have another thought… apart from Amy, who's Sonic supposed to be shipped with?" Takeshi questioned.
"...some… squirrel princess or something?" Luna stated.
"...that sounds really dumb."
"Yea…" Luna nodded.
-Let's keep it moving, folks,- Hinatan chimed in.
"Anyway, the game featured some stories for the echidnas as a whole, which… stuck in our universe in spite of Knuckles being so unimportant…" Luna continued, then shrugging, "Yeah, it's weird. Then again, it's clear the audience we're talking to is from a vastly different reality where it makes more sense…"
Yoko and Daisuke both shrugged a little in response to this.
"Oh, and let's not forget the infamous moment in the final story…" Takeshi chimed in as he took out a remote and played a clip from the ending.
-All's well that ends well, right?-
-THE CITY'S BEEN BLEEPING DESTROYED!- Hinatan shouted out in pure English and in an attempt to mimic a British accent.
"Whoa! Hinatan. Take it easy…" Daisuke told her.
-Sorry. Takeshi and I planned that joke,- Hinatan admitted.
After a small bit of chuckling, Luna ended up continuing on.
"For those curious, Blaze has nearly the same gameplay Knuckles does in your world, but she can't glide. She can hover for a bit, but not too long. And she is about as fast as Sonic is, uses fire instead of punching, and is decently acted," Luna explained, "The interplay between her and Amy about who Sonic likes is pretty fun, if minor. And while the boss fight between them is one forced bit, it is a fun fight on both sides. Probably the only decent character battle in the game…"
"Kinda reminds me of a couple other girls here who are pining for one guy…" Daisuke said with a grin and then a small bit of laughter.
"Hey!" Yoko yelled, a blush on her face.
"So… who would be the Amy and who would be the Blaze here...?" Hana asked.
"I don't think we should make that comparison…" Takeshi sighed.
While Daisuke and Hana both laughed a little, Takeshi just looked at the girls, clearly not sure what to say before Hinatan gave a motion to a clock.
"Well… that's it for the Game Corner. Tune in next time," Luna smiled.
"Bye-bye~!"
Jikai, Shin Kamen Rider Sega
Takeshi: I'm a Kamen Rider.
Hana: I'm dreaming or I'm hallucinating…
Luna: The Vaijin could strike anyone at anytime. We need to be ready.
Yoko: What if one of us…?
Takeshi: Don't say such things.
Luna: Henshin!
Shin Level 2: Transform, (Once Again) Kamen Rider Playstation!
Takeshi, Luna, and Yoko: Get your game on!
Pikatwig: A thing we decided to do with this universe is try to make it clear that it's not the same as ours. Zenkaiger is called Kikaiger, Zox's sister is the sixth of the team like she should've been, and then Blaze being in place of Knuckles. Things are not one-to-one the same, and the differences will be more and more apparent with time.
KKD: We'll make sure to show you what the differences are as we go along, but until then… that was the chapter. Hope you guys enjoy this one.
Pikatwig: I had a lot of fun working on it and it was fun to have a story with these characters all together in the same place. What do you think?
KKD: Yea, agreed. This was quite the fun chapter with all the interactions and stating what were different in this world compared to ours.
Pikatwig: And I can tell we're going to have a lot of fun with the interactions.
KKD: Absolutely.
Pikatwig: And for the fans of Neodimension Sega, there's a little nod to it with the name of the guy who became the Bowser Vaijin. Maybe there'll be more references back to it in the future? We'll see. But… favorite part?
KKD: Hmm… hard to say. I liked this entire thing as a whole, but I do say a lot of interactions were my favs, showing how different our characters are.
Pikatwig: Honestly, I enjoyed some of the scenes that Takeshi, Luna, and Yoko shared. It's nice to have a story with all three of them together for once. ...well, not as a couple, but you get the point.
KKD: Yea, I know. It's a start, but we'll see how far we get from here. I really do want this to go farther than before.
Pikatwig: Give us time and we'll do it.
KKD: Yea. Well, as long as we get further. It's a long shot, but this was still pretty fun. Until next time, Crossover Kingdom.
Pikatwig: Just Live More.
KKD: Jaa ne.
