Kamen Rider Alterum

A/N: And so I published this new project after I had to take a break for personal reasons. I can't say for sure if any of my other fanfictions will be updated soon. Sorry for making you readers wait…

Episode 1: And Then There Was… Alterum?

Somewhere in New Japan, 2020.

A tall man wearing a white lab coat was standing in front of large monitors, in a laboratory-like environment. The monitors showed depictions, graphs, figures, letters, and numbers. But the statistics seemed that normal folk wouldn't understand them. The man chuckled as the number rose…

"The results are satisfying, indeed," he muttered to himself and whistled.

A handsome man in a similar lab coat entered the room. "How is it doing?"

"It's good… amusing. With this technology, we can probably wipe the floor with those petty invaders…" replied the first man. "What do you say, Karizaki?"

"I am just glad that our advances were successful," said the handsome man, namely Karizaki. "We haven't paid a proper upgrade to Kamen Riders in 5 years."

"I know right?" the first man laughed. "Anyway, you analyze the results. I am paying a visit to Yamashita."

As he exited the room, Karizaki looked up at the monitors with a serious face.

"Nothing good will come out of a war…"

— — — —


Somewhere in Thailand, 2020.

With a deafening "vroom," the motorcycle violently rocked on the flow of the road. It landed in an aggressive fashion, yet with a rumble again as it accelerated again. It was a Harley Davidson 2007 night rod. The sun shone brightly overhead as the motorcycle accelerated and bounced off the road like a feral beast. Perhaps no one else in the entire city of Bangkok would ever dare ride a bike as dangerous as him.

And when I said him, I meant "me." Ha, I can feel the gazes on my back as my motorcycle came to a stop in front of a small shop.

"Hello, anybody here?"

The front was half-destroyed, so they fixed it with some wooden planks to close the wall. The door was strengthened with a few sheets of cheap metal.

"I have your milk!" Before I almost knocked on the door, it opened, revealing an old man who walked out to grab the bottle of milk in my hand.

"Here's the payment," he handed me a bag of snacks. "Thanks," I watched the door slam shut. "You don't need to, though."

He didn't need to pay me since the milk was free, provided by the government, but I guess he appreciated my delivery.

These days are tough. Zombies largely outnumber humans. Once great living beings, now humans have to hide from the zombies. Zombies were also humans before they turned. Thus, it also hurts to see our own kind preying on us.

I exhaled a sigh and got on my motorcycle. Smiling, I flicked the tank as I recalled how Grandpa used to ride this beast before he passed. I started the engine and drove back toward the main highway. It was time for me to head back to the abandoned house I chose to stay for the night.

Ten years ago. It all started a decade before. It was as if the world was set on fire. A virus of unknown origin, codenamed ZV001, which obviously was an infectious zombie virus, plagued our world. Many of us turned, but we tried to move on, anyway. The second zombie outbreak hit us hard. Everything appears different from what it used to look, in our eyes. Most of us turned, and the population isn't even one-twentieth of what it used to be.

I'm just grateful that survivors didn't give up. They rebuilt a few cities to shelter the uninfected people. The surviving scientists are still trying to find how to cure the zombies, more like how to reverse the zombification.

And there is me who likes to ride my motorcycle on the wild routes of the wasteland.

"Zombies! It's them!"

I woke up at all the ruckus happening. People were screaming for help… and everything was so noisy. I was on alert, knowing so well what was going on. I quickly rubbed my eyes and looked out of the window. The sun was just up as well.

"Oh, crap…" I muttered to myself and hastily got out of bed, and rushed toward the front door of the abandoned building I was in. Without a second thought, I ran out with a rusty pipe in my hand that was trembling in fear.

I don't know what was pushing me to that extent.

I swung the pipe with all my might at a mindless undead that was going to attack a child lying on the road.

"Grrr!" This was a zombie growling. It was me, yelling with anger as I struck the creature multiple times until it dropped to the ground as a lifeless corpse.

"Are you okay? Oi, can you hear me?"

The little girl opened her eyes and looked at me before nodding. I sighed and helped her up and pointed toward the crowd of people running toward the city of Bangkok.

"Go after them, understand? You will be safe with them."

"What about you?"

I held my panting and winked at her. "Don't worry about me. I have a superpower. Do you know what it is?"

She shook her head. Oh yeah, these kids have never seen entertainment or films.

"It is the ability to beat up bad guys," I said. "Zombies are bad guys. So I can beat them up."

The little girl blinked before replying, "Please do beat them up, Mr. Superpower," and ran away.

I turned my gaze in the other direction… A few zombies were slowly coming at me. I clenched the handle of my weapon which was just a rusty pipe, and wiped the sweat on my face with another hand.

"Tennyson Hiroki-kun, are you?"

Kun? A Japanese person? I heard that girly voice so I looked back. She was a young Asian woman in a white dress that was rather clean compared to the dusty environment. Her eyes were emerald green, and her hair was platinum blonde. She was kinda cute and smelt nice as if she just got out of the bath.

I stared at her for a moment until I remembered.

"Oi, what are you doing here?! Go, go, run away! Zombies are coming!"

I held her shoulders and turned her around, pushing her away. She appeared heavy and all… I couldn't even make her move an inch.

"Human, you stink."

"It doesn't matter. Just go!"

"No, I am here to help you," her words made me pause.

"I don't need help so please just go."

"These guys are slowpokes," she stubbornly stayed with me and started explaining something that took me a while to understand. "There is someone around here who is controlling them. We must take them out, otherwise, they will just come back with more zombies… to conquer the human habitats."

The zombies were really slow. However, they weren't the type of beast that would go down with one strike. But… My question is…

"Why do they want to conquer human habitats?"

"To turn all humans into zombies, obviously," she calmly answered. "Maybe someone out there has the wildest dreams."

I released her, doubting if anyone would like to do such a ridiculous thing. I quickly cut off my thoughts and swung my rusty pipe at the zombie that was going to attack us and brought it to the ground with a kick. Soon enough, the zombies began to surround us.

She didn't even flinch.

A zombie jumped at her, so I quickly got in the way and struck it down. Its head fell off with the blood gushing at my face.

"Do you want to die with me?!" I shouted with anger, swinging my pipe desperately to drive the zombies away.

"Have you decided to die here?" She asked in a monotone.

Did I? No, I… I don't wanna die yet. I don't know what the heck I was thinking when I came out to help people instead of running away. But… I…

"Of course, not!" I wiped the blood on my face. "I am not going to die here!"

"Then, you need a superpower to clear this mess, human," she said with a smile, as she slapped a zombie away with little to no effort.

"Superpower?" What kinda nonsense, I thought.

"Use me," she reached out to me. "You won't regret it."

"Use you?!" I smacked a zombie in the face, but I realized the line wasn't ending anytime soon.

"Yes!"

Suddenly, she glowed in a green light, so bright that I had to cover my eyes. Then she became a ball of green light that flew toward me, forming a bracelet on my right wrist.

"Argh! What the heck is— on my left hand, too?!"

On my left hand was a wristwatch-like bracelet with a square-shaped faceplate. The two bracelets had a similar symbol that looked like a green hourglass on a black background.

"What is going on?!" I yelled.

"Cross your wrists, and place the bracelets on one another!" The girl's voice came out of the bracelet on my right wrist, much to my surprise. It was like something out of a sci-fi story. I had to use my legs to kick the zombies away to prevent them from swarming all over me.

"Ahh, whatever!" I groaned and crossed my wrists. The two bracelets glowed green for a split second before both disappearing and materializing again as a belt on my waist. "What the…"

"ALTERUM SYSTEM ACTIVATED," the belt announced in a robotic voice. It had a large buckle on the front, with three keyholes. I suddenly felt something in my hand so I opened my palm, only to see a white key with a brown rooster-like figure on the head. It wasn't really a rooster, though.

"Insert it in the keyhole!" When I did as she said, the buckle unleashed the beams of green light again, which now materialized a sculpture in a split second.

"RECOGNIZED," the robotic voice declared again, much to my surprise.

The sculpture was a humanoid rooster-like creature… with a hawk-like face and… huge biceps? Green eyes and human-like arms are an addition. There also was a blade growing out at the end of each elbow.

Thanks to the astonishing sculpture, some curious zombies were distracted from me, making it easier to snap their necks.

"What? What is going on?!" I exclaimed. I want to know if I am straight-up kicked into a sci-fi story!

"Say Henshin and turn the key!"

Alright, it sounds like it's stripped right out of some Japanese kid shows I used to watch when I was a child.

"Do it!" she encouraged me.

"Hen…Henshin!" I nervously called out, rotating the key already in the keyhole in the clockwise direction. Though, it returned to its original position after rotating.

"KICKIN' HAWK!"

— Transformation announcement.

The sculpture broke down into several pieces and orbited me, as a black full-body suit with green circuit-like patterns appeared on my body.

"What again!"

The pieces then flew toward me and attached to my suit, transforming me into some kind of armored warrior, while a helmet was formed on my head. Soon after, a number of holographic monitors appeared in front of my eyes in my helmet, as well as a good view of the outside.

I didn't get a good look at the armor on my body, but it's probably white. The armor on my forearms is white and the gloves are black with small silver knuckles. I also noticed the black blades extending from my forearms.

"What happened to me?" I haven't recovered from the confusion yet. But the zombies jumped at me to swarm over so I swiped my hands as a reflex, somehow successfully throwing the zombies off my body.

"Hey, I feel so strong! Stronger than I ever was!"

Delighted, I punched some zombies as a form of celebration.

"Told ya, this is basically a superpower!" the bracelet girl said.

"A superpower?!" I exclaimed in awe, witnessing my punch blow away a zombie, which really highlighted how much stronger I became. Before I noticed, I had become a sci-fi protagonist!

"Incoming!" As I heard her alert, I panicked, looking around. "What, where?!"

"Above you!"

There was a black-robed person falling toward me with the intent to deliver a kick. I rolled to the side to dodge their attack, but they landed on the ground, causing a crater and a shockwave that almost impacted me.

"What an unexpected guest we've got here..." the individual pulled back the hood of the robe to reveal his face, which was pale-skinned and full of scars, the biggest of which was across his nasal bridge.

"What is he?!" I quietly exclaimed in horror. "A zombie? No, wait, zombies can't... Speak."

"He is a Rogue," the bracelet girl answered my question. "Basically a half-zombie who retains their sapience but thirsts for power."

I have never heard about this! Half-zombie? A zombie retaining its sapience?! A half-zombie who thirsts for power?!

"So he is... not a zombie?" I remarked.

"Kamen Rider..." the Rogue guy murmured.

"Excuse me?"

"You are one of them, right?" he raised his voice. "I despise Kamen Riders. They always ruin my plans... They are the reason why I am looked down on by my peers!"

"No, I am not..."

What is a Kamen Rider? Kamen... masked. Masked Rider? He means... a Wanderer which I am one. I sure wear a helmet when I ride my motorcycle. Hold up. Come to think of it, some people in Shanghai called me "Crazy Rider" because of my reckless riding habits. Maybe he's like that.

"... Are you someone who knows me?" I asked, lowering the tone of my speech so it sounded polite and humble.

"You are one annoying rider," he pulled back his fist. "I will kill you for good!"

He violently threw a series of powerful punches at me, which forced me to block them with my forearms crossed. Thankfully, my armor withstood the impacts, however, I was seriously being pushed back!

"Do I have to fight this guy?!" I meant to ask the bracelet girl. I heard her chuckle, "of course. He is not a zombie. But a Rogue is a thousand times worse than a zombie."

"But..." finding the right time, I rolled to the side before entering the defensive stance again. "He is still part-human, right?"

"..." she was silent. The Rogue guy tried to assault me again, but I managed to either block or avoid his attacks. I was confused but quite impatient, too. Not at the rogue guy, but at the bracelet brat.

"If you don't answer me, I won't fight him!" I claimed, constantly dodging his attacks. "At least... Give me a valid reason to fight someone I don't want to fight!"

"Most rogues..." she finally explained. "They are a result of the experiments by the scientists who desperately tried to figure out a vaccine that could reverse the zombification."

His skin was pale like a zombie, and looked painful, with scars and green vein-like tattoos. His eyes were dark and purple, manifesting the dark energy at its best.

"They could give birth to a new type of zombie... who regained their human sapience. However, their memories are not anymore and they are not who they used to be. They... were reborn as aggressive zombies with human sapiens as a bonus. Rogues seek nothing but the demise of humanity."

I grabbed the fists of the Rogue guy, readying my leg to throw a kick. "Then how... I've never seen them or heard about them before!"

"Because... When rogues appear in an area, it's a given that rogues will kill everyone. They often lead the hordes of zombies. But it's unlikely that a human will survive against a rogue."

So Kamen Riders aren't some motorcycle enthusiasts like I initially thought.

"Are you telling the truth?"

"As I've said, trust me. You won't regret it."

Tch, you are asking too much from me. Trusting a random girl I just met...

I kicked the Rogue in the guts, sending him flying. "Then... I'll do it. You owe me an explanation! About Kamen Riders!"

Because I think I am one now.

"Grrr!" He growled and stood up again, his eyes glowing with dark energy. "I will defeat Kamen Riders! No one can look down on me! Grrr!"

"Oi, what is happening?!"

It was like he was radiating some kind of no-good energy, and his body was engulfed in gray fog.

"Grrr!" The fog became thick enough to completely cover him and grew bigger and bigger in a matter of seconds. Then it disperses to reveal a large wolf-like quadrupedal figure.

"Holy..." I almost cursed, astonished by the giant wolf. "Do I need to defeat this guy as well?!"

"Tch, he morphed into a high rogue," she said with a hint of annoyance. "If we don't defeat it, it will wreak havoc in human towns!"

How the hell do I defeat this giant? I even struggled to fight a normal Rogue. How strong are they anyway?!

The wolf rogue attempted to stomp me, but I deflected his massive paw with a kick so strong that he was pushed back.

"I think I can do—"

"Grrrr!" The wolf rogue growled and swiped me away with its front leg, sending me flying.

"Ouch!" I was slammed with a wall. "I... I guess I can't yet.

"Incoming!"

I rolled to the side to dodge another stomp and then taking the opportunity, I kicked the monster in its leg. It howled in pain until it recovered quickly and tried to bite me. So I kicked his snout, causing it to cringe back.

"You are one bad wolf, man!"

I dashed to the side and jumped back at the wolf, kicking it in the stomach. As he was thrown off its balance, I grasped its snout to perform a flip in the air till I successfully landed on its neck.

"Consecutive… angry punches!" I yelled as I threw a series of blows at its neck, causing it to groan in pain and struggle to shake me off.

"Damn, do I need to kill this guy or something?" I complained, seeing its bruises healed in a few seconds.

"High rogues have rapid healing ability."

I don't think I can get past its healing speed, at least not in this form! I jumped off its body as it started shaking violently.

"You must change forms!"

"Change forms?! How— oh..." I felt something in my hand so I looked down... It was another key. But it had a red four-armed humanoid figure on the head, instead of a rooster. "Uh, okay..."

I noticed the holographic monitors in my helmet described it as…

Four Arms — GDSEL.

When I pulled out the Kickin Hawk key and inserted the red key, the belt announced, "RECOGNIZED."

A cluster of green light beams was unleashed from the buckle, manifesting a sculpture of a red-skinned bulky four-armed humanoid.

I sidestepped to dodge the wolf's bite and rotated the key. "Henshin!"

"Actually, you don't need to say it."

Oh, you little…

"FOUR ARMS!"

The name of that guy is… Four Arms?

The armor on my body detached from the suit and disappeared as green beams of light into the buckle as the Four-armed sculpture broke down into pieces of armor again, sticking to my body.

As the wolf rogue launched an attack on me, I reflexively blocked its blow with my forearms… But it never reached me. Two arm-like extensions emerging from my back grabbed the foot of the wolf rogue and started pushing it back.

"Wow…"

My armor this time was red and bulkier, and two mechanical arms extending from the back of the torso armor were a bonus. And obviously, physically stronger. Though, I felt a little heavier in this armor than in Kickin' Hawk.

"Alright! Let's do it!" I cried out.

"Turn the key to strengthen your power!"

"Okay…" I turned the key in the buckle, which was followed by the robotic voice announcing—

"FOUR ARMS ENHANCED!"

— Power-up Announcement.

I used the strength of my extra arms to push the wolf rogue away. Then I charged toward it, and lifted its stomach up into the air, causing it to howl in surprise.

In Four Arms form, the giant wolf was much lighter, ha. I threw the Rogue into the air like a big baseball.

"Time to use Finisher! Take out your key and let the core scan it!"

I took out the key but… where is the core?

"In front of the buckle!" I brought the Four Arms key in front of the buckle of the belt, from which yellow beams of light escaped, and scanned the key in a split second.

"RECOGNIZED. FINISHING MOVE! FOUR ARMS…"

I took a glance at the wolf rogue still flying like a large projectile. Heck, it looked like a huge trash bag. I slid the keyblade back into the keyhole.

"...ONE, TWO, THREE, READY!"

— Finisher Announcement.

I could feel the sudden rise in my strength.

"Now what? Do I have to wait until that wolf reaches the sun?"

I heard her chuckle again. "You have to jump and fly toward the wolf rogue and maybe do a Rider Kick or Rider Punch."

How is it possible for me to fly? If so, I can just fly from Bangkok to Beijing to deliver letters.

Rider Kick or Rider Punch? Hmm… when I clenched my fists, the two extra hands extending from my back, clenched their meta fists. I smirked at my genius.

I jumped into the air and pulled back my fist, and magic did the trick. Somehow, as I aimed my fist at the flying wolf and released it, my body also moved really fast in that direction.

"Rider… Punch!" I cried out just before my fists, plus my extra metal fists made contact with the wolf.

In seconds, my fists destroyed the wolf rogue into pieces, allowing me to fly through. What I didn't understand was… why the heck the flying corpse exploded just as soon as I performed a superhero landing pose on the road?! Maybe it's my superpower.

"Ha…" I heavily panted, keeping my cool to not fall over. I removed the key from the buckle to cancel my transformation. The armor and the bodysuit disappeared from my body, leaving me with dirty clothes from before.

"CANCELLED."

— Cancellation Announcement.

The belt and the keys also vanished, though the former forms a bracelet on my left wrist.

"Good job clearing the zombies…"

I was taken apart to suddenly see the platinum-blonde girl from before.

"And congratulations. I acknowledge that you are worthy of my Alterum system."

Her voice was clear and attractive as always.

"What does it…"

"It means you are the official Kamen Rider Alterum, Tennyson Hiroki-kun."

She held out her palm, where the Kickin Hawk and Four Arms keys were. I hesitantly grabbed the keys and stared at them, questioning her.

"How even are you?"

"My apologies for not introducing myself first," she answered. "I am Unitrix, an artificial life form created by Master Azmuth. You may address me by my other name, Eunice."

"Master… Azmuth? Who is it?"

"Ahem, I hope I don't have to explain to such lengths."

"But…" I tried to complain.

"The device on your left hand is called the Omnitrix, also created by Master Azmuth. However, you don't have official permission to utilize the power of the Omnitrix, because the previous user bonded his DNA with the core."

"Oh… bonded his DNA?"

"Yes. Once the Omnitrix is bonded to his DNA, it can't be hacked or accessed by others except for Master Azmuth and the previous user themselves."

"Then why not—"

"Sadly… it's not an available option anymore. I believe you can understand it."

Damn, this brat, just because she is kinda cute, she is constantly cutting me off with a smile.

"Basically, you are an artificial… human who can turn into a sci-fi bracelet?"

"It is the reverse, but fine with me if you think so."

Embarrassing. I gulped, shook my head, and observed the Omnitrix thinking if it would transform into a handsome boy.

"Worry not, Tennyson Hiroki-kun. The Omnitrix doesn't possess the ability to transform by itself, unlike me."

"Oh…" I nodded at Eunice, to let her continue her explanation.

"Long story short, no one can access the Omnitrix, so I created the Alterum system, which now allows you to utilize the Omnitrix's power through the backdoor."

I folded my hands across my chest, with overloaded curiosity. "What is its power anyway?"

"To transform into sapient beings. Once it has collected and analyzed the genetic material of a sapient living creature, it can transform you into the species of said creature."

"So… I can't do that?"

Hmm… so those sculptures… the one that appeared to be a hawk-rooster freak, and the other four-armed freak. They must be what the creatures in the Omnitrix looked like.

"Yes. Instead, you can wear the armor that gives you the abilities of the creatures while retaining your human body. Through the backdoor access."

I raised my brows. "Oh, god, thanks, I'd rather do that than transform into freaks."

I heard her "Tch" when I said it.

"One more question…"

"Hai?"

"What is… a Kamen Rider?"

"Hmm…" She took a moment to think. "An ally of justice. Or something like that."

After talking, she walked away, actually heading toward the abandoned house where I stayed for the night.

"Wait, then how am I worthy? I am not… an ally of Justice," I said, following her. She slammed her feminine fist on the door, breaking it into two halves. "Argh, please don't destroy my… place!"

"You are something of an ally of justice yourself," she said and giggled.

"What do you mean?" I watched her walk into the house without a care for my broken door. "Oi, answer me, damn it!"

— — — —


At the same time, a shadowy figure on the roof of a building in the distance was watching the duo.

"How exciting to see a Kamen Rider here… The Japanese are at it again."

The figure, now revealed to be a woman, from her feminine figure embraced by the black robe, jumped down the building and calmly walked to a certain place. She was near the house where the duo was. She silently picked up a dark-purple crystal and raised it in the air to take a look at it.

"It's a shame he didn't do well… Don't worry, wolf boy," the crystal broke down into pieces before being absorbed into the lady's hand. "I will make good use of your remains. Hahaha…"

And then the robes on her body turned into black wings and unfolded, emerging out of her back.

"I hope I will get to see you again… Alterum."

She then shot off into the sky and flew to the north.

And yes, this world has not just zombies. There are several rogues out there that have been existing, unknown to Hiroki.

— — — —


"Kamen Rider Alterum — candidate. Profile.

Name: Hiroki Tennyson

Age: approx. 22y (born 1998)

Gender: Male

Occupation: Wanderer

Eye color: emerald green

Hair color: brown

Hairstyle: sleek and messy

Height: 177 cm

Notes: doesn't have a good fashion sense

Personality: reckless, brave, helpful

Family: none.

As of 2020, xx month, xx day, Mr. Hiroki Tennyson has been officially chosen as Kamen Rider Alterum. "

I twitched my eyes, staring at the holographic monitor Eunice showed me.

"You've been stalking me for three months?!" I exclaimed, astonished by her ridiculous confession. She also kept track of almost everything I did during the last three months.

Turned out Eunice had set her eyes on me for months, before finally making me a Kamen Rider.

"Yes, it's hard to find a courageous person like you in this post-apocalyptic era," she continued. "Then I came across one of your Wanderers and decided to follow him. I mean, no one even dares ride across the wastelands filled with zombies, so I thought you guys might be different. Especially you…"

Oh, I don't know if I oughta be grateful to her for thinking I am different.

"Look, I don't know what you see in me—"

"You are unique. Your physique, experience, knowledge, and talents. They all happened to fit the stats needed to use my Alterum system. And thus, I chose to tail you and examine you everywhere you went. Of course, you can't see me…"

Okay, I wouldn't ask for more. I don't want to know how she took a peek at me in the toilet room, not at all!

That aside, what talents do I even have? I was clueless about rogues, as well, to the point she had to tell me everything above the midway in the battle. Knowledge and experience? Maybe. Considering how I have traveled in the zombie-flooded regions.

"Alright, I guess I can work for you… as Kamen Rider Alterum…" I said, dropping myself onto the old sofa.

"Great, I'd be glad to—" (Eunice)

"However, I want to know your intentions clearly."

"… my intentions?"

"Yeah, what are you trying to do? Saving lives? Helping people? Or do you just want to kill rogues?"

She giggled. "Unfortunately, I don't have such one-dimensional purposes," she said with a grin. "I am not exactly a sincere or good person like you would think."

"Then let me state what I think as well," I replied with a serious face. "I want to use you… I want to be Alterum to save people. I wanna avoid fighting zombies…"

"Sorry, but your wish isn't going to be fulfilled anytime soon," she said, snapping her fingers, which summoned a holographic monitor next to her. The monitor showed footage of an army of zombies… And the ones who led the army were five zombie-like people who didn't act like zombies. I guessed they must be rogues.

"What is this?" I questioned.

"The zombie army that is headed toward Neo-Bangkok," she smirked. "You have to fight this army to defend the town."

Oh, well… shit.


"You know I don't want to fight them, right?"

I asked. Eunice and I were standing in the fields to the north of Neo-Bangkok, waiting for the zombie army that would soon launch an attack. As a precaution, I evacuated the people who lived around this area and gathered a few volunteers who wanted to guard the town from potential zombies that I couldn't stop.

"Yeah, you fight them anyway," she remarked.

"Not actually. I avoid fighting zombies," I countered.

"To be accurate, you killed 132 zombies in the span of the last three months," she claimed. "One hundred, thirty-two and a half to be exact. Since you killed a half-destroyed zombie once… in Beijing."

"How the hell did you count them all?!" I was surprised at her before anything else.

"I am not a human. So my memory isn't trashed like a human."

"Okay, whatever," I murmured, staring into the distance. She started gazing intently at me, and observed me from head to toe, with her hand cupping her chin.

"Hmm, I think you'd need some upgrade," she suddenly said.

"What upgrade?"

Special training? Super-soldier serum injection? Getting adopted by Tony Stark?

"Your outfit. It is lame, dirty, and lame."

"You said lame twice," I sighed. "It's an apocalyptic era, you know. No one even makes clothes anymore. Good thing we haven't had to wear clothing made from leaves and trees yet."

"No, no," she looked into my eyes, standing on her toes. "A superhero must appear likable to people he protects! Also, you will encounter someone else like you today."

"Bullshit," I laughed it off. "I get some armor on when I transform."

"You are, like, totally missing my point," she commented and sulked, but I couldn't bother.

"They are coming," I mumbled and raised my left wrist. "Let's go."

The packs of zombies were advancing in the direction of Neo-Bangkok. However, the Rogue leaders were nowhere to be seen. Whatever, it's better if I don't have to fight them.

"Hai…" she said in a monotone and changed into the Unitrix bracelet which then stuck herself on my right wrist.

I crossed my wrists, placing the bracelets on one another, to summon the Alterum belt.

"ALTERUM SYSTEM ACTIVATED."

— Activation Announcement.

"Let's do some ass-kicking!"

I inserted the Four Arms key and turned it right away without waiting for the sculpture stage and whatnot. Skipping some unnecessary steps, I transformed into Kamen Rider Alterum, Four Arms form.

"Your catchphrase is also lame…" Eunice remarked in a monotonous voice.

"Shut up!" It's not even a catchphrase. Guess I'll have to come up with one that sounds cooler.

And so I started taking down the zombies one after another. Despite being strong enough to kill them, the armor was heavier than the Kickin Hawk form, thus slower to move.

"Hey, any cool move with this guy?"

"Hmm…" a holographic monitor popped up in my helmet. "This form is actually a bad choice to fight a horde."

"You should have said it earlier," I complained and jumped back before zombies swarmed me.

"But I know a cool move."

"Tell me, quick!" I grabbed two zombies with my extra arms and slammed them together. Then I used a zombie corpse as a weapon in beating the crap out of the other undead.

"Thunderclap," she said. I figured it wasn't some cliched title but it sounded really cool.

"Clap my palms together and make shockwaves, I suppose?"

"Exactly," she replied. I rolled my eyes and faced the hordes of zombies that were charging at me. I clapped my palms together, creating a powerful shockwave, enough to cause a big mess.

The zombies, thrown away by the shockwave, crashed into each other, resulting in a grotesque disaster. That actually was useful. Thanks, Eunice.

But, unfortunately, this didn't kill all the zombies.

"They recovered so fast," I mumbled to myself as I clenched my fist, seeing some of the wounded undead getting up among the corpses.

"Fancy meeting you here…"

I flinched hearing a new voice coming from my behind. It was a female voice, belonging to someone who appear older than me.

I turned around to remind them of their safety but…

"... Kamen Rider."

As I saw her appearance and heard her words, I realized she was a Rogue. Her skin was pale white, with dark-purple eyes, scars, and black crack-like tattoos. There was a pair of black wings sticking out of her back and two purple crystals embedded in her chest. Black feathers, forming a dress, covered her body.

To be honest, I almost jumped back.

"You… Are…" I stuttered.

"Yes, yes! I am a Rogue! But don't worry. We are not enemies."

"Be careful," Eunice whispered. "Hm," I uttered and fixed my gaze on her.

"Rogues are not your enemies, Kamen Rider… Alterum. There is… a real enemy out there."

"What's it supposed to mean?"

"You will understand… Soon enough," she giggled, rather gracefully, unsuited for a rogue. "Oh, I believe you have more problems to deal with now."

Suddenly, I was pushed to the ground by a zombie, which I failed to notice. Subsequently, the zombies swarmed over me, blocking my sight.

"Wait!" I heard the strong flaps of her wings. My mechanical arms grabbed the zombies and got them out of my way, but all I could see at this point was her flying like a crow in the sky.

"Shit, what was that about?!"

I guess she isn't the one who is controlling this army of undead. She wasn't one of them in the report.

"Human! There they are! Rogues!"

No sooner had I got out of the swarm of zombies than I saw the rogues dramatically walking toward me. They all wore black robes— and at this point, I think it's just their uniform or dark fashion sense.

They all removed the robes to reveal their mutated bodies.

"What the heck!" I exclaimed, witnessing their freaky appearance. "Rogues have…"

"Yes, your reaction is normal," Eunice answered. "These rogues have passed a mutation. They grew so their bodies can accept the power of the injected serum."

"Horrible," I noted.

Five rogues. The two rogues on the left and right had weird spots and black patterns on their bodies. The patterns appeared similar to those of a hyena. Can't identify which kind, exactly. The one in the center had two horn-like appendages which were insectoid and reminded me of the stag beetle horns.

The two rogues surrounding him looked like humanoid vultures, though their wings were incomplete thus making them more grotesque.

"I feel pity for them," I muttered to myself. Damn, what desires devoured them to make them look like this?!

"Human…" the hyena rogue on the left said.

"Kamen Rider…" another hyena rogue groaned.

"Enemy…" the stag-beetle guy in the middle said.

I freaked out. "Oi, are they even in their right mind?"

"Nope," Eunice replied. "They probably lost it because they can't stay sane after containing immense energy."

"Oh…"

"Strengthening oneself as a rogue needs willpower. If one isn't mentally strong enough, they won't last sane."

However, sane or not, the rogues are still enemies of humanity. I feel bad for them though.

"Sorry but… this is where you stop," I declared.

"Human…" "Kamen Rider…" "Kill…" "Enemy…" "Destroy…"

They aren't being dramatic about it.

I charged at the rogues with all my fists pulled back, and simultaneously launched them at the stag beetle rogue. However, he somehow deflected my blows with his horns and headbutted me— his horns transforming into a large cuff and capturing me.

"Holy… shit!" I tried to keep my cool and smacked its back, which was so tough bouncing my fists off.

"God damn–"

I was then smacked in the face by the hyena rogues. It was a total mess. As the beetle guy held me in place, the other rogues randomly attacked me. I'm enough of this shit!

"Yrr!"

I let out a battle cry and tore apart the horns of the beetle rogue, making it scream in pain. Then I jumped out of the binds and kicked the vulture rogues before landing on the ground.

Then I rotated the key again.

"FOUR ARMS ENHANCED!"

— Power-up Announcement.

"Grr!" Before I could attack, the hyena rogues jumped at me and pinned me on the ground. I grabbed them and threw them back at the vultures, which sent them all flying, except for the horned rogue who charged toward me like a bull.

I grabbed his horns in time and lifted him off the ground before spinning and throwing him away with all my might.

"Use the finisher before they morph! Quick!"

"Right away!" I pulled out the key and scanned it with the core of the buckle.

"RECOGNIZED. FINISHING MOVE! FOUR ARMS!

ONE, TWO, THREE, READY…"

— Finisher Announcement.

"Rider punch…" I mumbled to myself and dashed at the vulture rogues, punching them in their chests, again and again until they finally fell down. They exploded and turned into smoke, leaving a purple crystal on the spot. What is this?

"Hmm, it must be the core of the rogue."

"The core?" I was pushed back by the hyena rogues, at least away from the crystals.

"Pick them up fast before they get them!" Eunice suddenly commanded. "Tch, too late!"

The hyena rogues picked up the crystals and handed them to the stag beetle rogue. Just what are they doing?

The beetle rogue swallowed the crystals! Right in front of me! What the heck is going on?!

"This is bad…" Eunice alerted. "Get away from them, human!"

I jumped back, keeping a distance from the rogues. And just after that, the beetle rogue grew larger and larger in size, fusing with the hyena rogues and a large number of zombies, until it became as large as a ten-story building. Yes, it was real shit.

"Grrrrr!" It let out a loud roar and swiped its gigantic hand at me. I turned the Four Arms to strengthen my power.

"FOUR ARMS ENHANCED!"

— Power-up Announcement.

I dashed at the incoming gigantic palm and stopped it with my hands and extra hands. "Oi, what are we going to do?!"

Zombies are also slowly coming at me.

"Rwarrrrr!" The gigantic rogue overwhelmed my strength and sent me flying. "Goddammit!"

I quickly recovered my balance and rolled on the ground, seeing the Rogue extending another fist at me. At that moment, I suddenly heard a couple of gunshots. "Bang!"

"Grrrr!" The world was in chaos. The gigantic humanoid groaned in pain while the zombies were quickly taken care of, by the flying bullets.

"A rifle?" I was taken aback, considering how long it had been since I saw a firearm weapon.

"What are you doing?! You are a Kamen Rider, right?!"

A masculine voice shouted at me. I looked back, to see a man in a heavy armored vest and a black military uniform, shooting the zombies with an assault rifle. He appeared to be older than me and possessed fierce eyes that reflected his spirit and passion.

There were a couple of other soldiers fighting with him against the zombies.

"That driver…" he muttered, glancing at my belt. "Anyway, we gotta finish them off before they reach the town!"

I didn't know who he was, but I nodded in agreement.

"Go!" He yelled, continuously shooting down the zombies. "We will back you up!"

"Time to switch forms again, Tennyson Hiroki-kun…" said Eunice, which reminded me to look down at my hand. Yes, there was another key in my palm. It had a greenish-blue bulky figure on its head.

Diamondhead GDSEL Key— Holographic monitor readings.

"Thanks…" I said and immediately switched the Four Arms key with said Diamondhead key, and rotated it right away.

"RECOGNIZED. DIAMONDHEAD."

— Transformation Announcement.

The military man watched me in awe as the armor on my bodysuit shifted into another form.

The armor on my arms turned into the greenish-blue type, which was a little too shiny for my taste. I didn't get to see how exactly the armor on my body changed, though.

"How to use this one?!" I asked Eunice.

"Diamondhead is more durable than Four Arms, so you can at least withstand the damage better. Also, you can manipulate the crystals, although I am not certain. This armor is still a work in progress. Hmm, try punching the ground."

A zombie hurled itself at me.

"Oh, good enough…" I hit my fists together and slammed my fist with the ground. Cracks appeared, and a greenish-blue stony pillar emerged out of the ground, hitting the zombie and snapping its neck. "Wow, it was… wow…"

"Crystalokinesis. I hope you enjoy it," said Eunice. "Is that supposed to be sarcasm?" I jokingly said and punched another zombie. But to my surprise, as my fist impacted the zombie's chest, my hand transformed into a crystalline blade and pierced its body.

"This form is so cool!" I said, slicing the zombies apart with my bladed hand. "I am confident I can cut that guy down!"

"Let's go beat the giant one, then! Use this key." Another key manifested itself in my hand again. This time, it didn't have any illustrations on it. Instead, there was a "10" engraved on one side, and an "S" on another.

Tenn-speed Object Key— holographic monitor readings.

When my hand reached for the Diamondhead key to pull it out, Eunice stopped me. "No, use the keyhole next to the buckle."

I realized there was a small device attached to the strap of the belt, just next to the buckle. I inserted the key blade into the keyhole of the device. Due to that, a portal appeared near me, surprising me.

"Wha— wait?!" I widened my eyes, witnessing my Harley Davidson 2007 Night rod motorcycle drive out of the portal without a rider, and dropped its side stand after it stopped the engine.

"Turn the key!"

"But what is my bike doing here—"

"Just do it!"

At her command, when I turned the key, my bike glowed green. "Arghh! What is going on with my bike?!"

Green beams of light came out of my belt, once again, and materialized pieces of armor-like substances in mid-air. Then those parts flew toward my glowing motorcycle and stuck on it! They made a brand-new bike out of my own! It even had a green-black hourglass symbol on the side.

"Stop complaining. Get on the bike, we have to finish the rogue!"

"Uh…" I gave a thumbs-up to the military people who were dealing with the zombies and climbed onto the bike. A car roof-like hood emerged over my head, alongside a windshield in front of me. I took a deep breath and pulled out the Diamondhead key to scan it with the buckle.

"RECOGNIZED. FINISHING MOVE! DIAMONDHEAD & TENN-SPEED!

ONE, TWO, THREE, READY…"

— Finisher Announcement.

A runway made of greenish-blue material, which supposedly was crystalline, emerged from the ground just before my new motorcycle, extending to the sky.

"Rider… uh, how should I name this attack…"

"Just go already!" Grumbled Eunice.

"Vr-vrooooom!"

Releasing the brakes, the bike went off with a loud roar, rolling its tires on the highway to end the gigantic rogue.

The runway ended somewhere mid-air near the rogue— and I drove my motorcycle, flying off that cliff. I rode straight through its body, partially certain that explosions would somehow trigger in its body.

Instead, no sooner did I land on the ground than crystalline veins bulged out of the monstrous rogue's body, followed by crystal spikes emerging out of it.

The rogue let out a piercing growl for the last time before getting obliterated into pieces.

"CANCELLED."

— Cancellation Announcement.

"We've got them! We've got them!"

According to Eunice's order, I had to collect the purple crystals that dropped to the ground after the rogue's death. Five crystals to be precise. The people in military uniforms were cleaning up the area… Thanks to a certain someone, the corpse was in a bad and grotesque shape, after all.

"Hey, kiddo, are you that Kamen Rider?"

The man in the military uniform, who backed me up during the battle, approached me while I was handing crystals to Eunice (in her human form).

"Yes…" I was actually a little weirded out by "kiddo" by which he addressed me.

"Are you an official Kamen Rider?" He questioned me with a serious face.

"Of course, I am," I replied, recalling that Eunice said I had become the official Alterum.

"Don't get me wrong. You look Japanese and all… But I didn't hear any Kamen Rider was assigned to this area."

I am actually American-Japanese. Uh, race doesn't really matter in the apocalyptic era. It's not like Americans are immune to the zombie virus, anyway.

"Hmm, Kon'nichiwa," he started speaking Japanese.

"Kon'nichiwa," I replied, scratching the back of my head.

He was still intently staring at me, his chin cupped with his hand.

"Show me your rider ID."

Rider ID? The heck is that? I have even lost my identity document a long time ago. It'd be troublesome if I were to be regarded as a stray rider.

"He is a legitimate Kamen Rider," Eunice said with her arms folded across her chest. "He just doesn't use Zedgear."

"What?!" The man turned his gaze at Eunice. "Who are you?"

"I am the creator of his driver. I hope we can get along, Yamashita Reiji-kun, the leader of the Rising."

The Rising? It sounds too cliched to be the name of a special squad.

The man, whose name was now revealed to be Reiji, was taken aback. "How do you…"

"Don't worry," she smiled, which was a creepy reaction to Reiji at that moment. "We are not enemies."

Reiji Yamashita took a deep breath and calmed down before looking at me. "Such a dangerous device shouldn't be in possession of a normal citizen."

I blinked, thinking if he was trolling or insulting me indirectly.

"Let's see," Eunice didn't back down in the argument. "My candidate, Tennyson Hiroki-kun, is as strong and brave as the members of your team, if not better, Yamashita Reiji-kun."

Reiji nodded. "Have him train on my team, then. The battlefield is a strict playground. He needs to know all the rules and laws if he wants to save lives."

"Rules and laws are nothing more than limits of human capability in this world," Eunice argued. "Neither you nor I create such limits for my candidate here. Let me remind you, unlike you guys, he has limitless potential."

I silently watched the two argue and let out a sigh of annoyance before walking backward.

"Oi, kiddo, come back here!" Reiji shouted. "We are not done talking," said Eunice, grabbing Reiji. I shrugged and turned around to quickly get away.

The world was chaotic enough. I am pretty sure I don't wanna argue over an unimportant matter at this point.

— — — —


Hong Kong, early 2020.

"Don't let her escape! We must bring back the prototypes at any cost!"

With that command announced from the loudspeaker, a young lady in a black uniform was seen sliding on the handrails of the stairs, followed by soldiers in military uniforms who were three floors late.

"Idiots," the young lady successfully arrived on the first floor and put a belt on her waist.

"No! Don't let her use it!" The panicked voice on the loudspeaker shouted.

The lady, paying no mind to the voice, looked down at the belt, muttering to herself. "How is it supposed to use this crap?"

The soldiers arrived on the first floor and aimed their rifles at the disinterested young lady, who expressionlessly slid two card-like items, each with a key-blade-like attachment, into the slits on the sides of the belt. The soldiers nervously waited to shoot her… but…

"Shit, it's too late…" the loudspeaker voice said in a devastated tone. "Shoot!"

"Henshin…" the woman said in a monotone and pushed the key downward. The soldiers started spamming their bullets.

"VERIFY: LION / SAMURAI !"

— Transformation Announcement. Announced a high-spirited male voice.

She was engulfed in a golden light, seemingly invincible as the flying bullets either passed by or hit the invisible barrier surrounding her. Meanwhile, said light eventually materialized a white armored suit on her body, embraced by golden pieces of armor. Her visor eyes were red, with golden tattoo decorations at the upper edges. Her golden and white helmet resembled the head of a lioness, however with a pair of samurai-style horns on the front just above the visor eyes.

In the sheath attached to her waist was a katana with a golden handle that had the image of a lion engraved on it.

"From today on, I am reborn as…" the now-armored woman drew her katana. "Kamen Rider Rise."

This is the end of Episode (1). Thanks for reading, everyone.

Feel free to write comments in the review sessions for critique and advice. Open for private messaging as well. Discord: Christopher Chronos#0850.

Christopher Paradox Chronos.