Episode 12: Upping the Arsenal
Kitaoka was feeling a little bit down today. Earlier, he'd dropped by ORE Journal to try and woo the most recent object of his affections: Reiko Momoi. ORE's best reporter and Shinji's mentor. Given the super-lawyer's mood, it ended with him being shot down. Ironic, considering that in the Rider War, he was the one doing the shooting as Kamen Rider Zolda. Thankfully, it wasn't a complete loss as Shinji had snapped a photo of Reiko for him. Payment for bailing him out of jail scot-free.
'Working as a mild-mannered photographer at a news site.' Kitaoka thought with a brief chuckle. 'Shinji, you've no idea how close to being a superhero you actually are. All you're missing is a love interest and an arch nemesis.'
"I'm sorry to see that your efforts didn't pan out, Sensei." Goro consoled from the driver's seat of Kitaoka's car. "But in truth, I would say that it was Ms. Momoi's loss."
"Not everyone knows me like you do, Goro." Kitaoka smiled. "Let alone give me a chance like Shinji was kind enough to. But in all honesty, I can't blame them. We lawyers don't have all that stellar of a reputation given how we tend to suck money out of clients."
"I wouldn't say you're completely like any other lawyer, Sensei." Goro stated. "You certainly didn't bleed me dry." For a moment, Goro's expression turned downcast.
"Even when you have every right to."
"Hey. Don't go thinking that." Kitaoka frowned. "Nothing to be done about it now, right? Besides, I'm working to fix my condition."
'In a way that might guarantee your death far quicker.' Goro thought as he continued to drive in silence. 'One might liken participation in the Rider War to a deathwish.'
Meanwhile, in an office building, Kamen Rider Abyss had just transformed into his armor in his employer's office.
"Hunting for fish food?" Abyss's employer asked from is desk.
"Nah." Abyss shook his head. "I'm going fishing!"
"Making use of your deck's full capabilities, I take it?"
"Let's just say Abyssslasher's been getting a bit lonely." Abyss shrugged. "Besides, Ryuki and his little group of friends tend to outnumber us. I figured that I should start looking for something to help turn the tides in our favor."
"Then I hope you get a bit catch."
Abyss nodded, and leaped into the nearest window, vanishing into the Mirror World. Upon arrival, Abyss drove the Rideshooter far past his entry point to what looked like an industrial yard. Venturing up one of the lookout towers, Abyss let out a yawn as he leaned against the railing.
"Now to wait for a bite." Abyss muttered to himself. He wouldn't be waiting long as the ringing of the Mirror World soon sounded. "Perfect."
At the same time, Kitaoka had also heard the mirror noise and had Goro immediately stop the car. Stepping out, he bumped into someone he didn't expect to see.
"Shinji?" Kitaoka asked is surprise. "Didn't expect to see you out and about so soon."
"Lunch run for the chief." Shinji explained. "He forgot it at home this morning, so I'm getting him takeout. But, it looks like we've both got a detour today."
"True enough." Kitaoka shrugged. "Mind if I tag along? I could use a little distraction from earlier."
"Sure." Shinji nodded. "Means the fight'll be over sooner too."
Both Riders rushed to the nearest window and held out their Advent Decks, the V-Buckles materializing an instant later.
"HENSHIN!" The two cried out as they adopted their signature transformation gestures before slotting their Advent Decks into the V-Buckles, greyscale images of their armor spiraling towards them before colliding with them to form their armor!
Ryuki and Zolda leaped into the window and sped off towards the Mirror World on their Rideshooters, dismounting the machines the instant they arrived and rushing towards the source of the mirror noise. But to both of their surprise, there wasn't a victim to be found. In fact, it seemed they'd both gotten to the Mirror Monster before it could devour anyone. The pair of Kamen Riders now had eyes on their target. It was a humanoid Mirror Monster that resembled a shark with a gun-like structure on its chest and was colored green. This was Abysshammer, and he looked ready to tear apart anything that got in his way!
"Well, this is new." Ryuki muttered. "For the first time I'm early to stopping a Mirror Monster."
"Something tells me this might actually be a bad thing." Zolda mused out lout. He'd saved a few people when he'd gone into action before, but never once did he arrive on the scene before the Mirror Monster dragged their prey across the mirrors. "That aside, looks like one of us is going to be feeding their Contract Monster seafood today."
"Hope Dragreder's breath doesn't stink afterward." Ryuki muttered as the two Riders mounted a charge at Abysshammer. Only to be met with a hail of fire from the shark monster's chest guns.
"Looks like this shark's got some extra bite to it." Zolda noted as he slotted open his Magnuvisor and drew a card. "He's not the only one carry cannons!"
But before he could slot his card in, Zolda's wrist was hit by two pressurized blades of water, making him drop his Advent Card! Ryuki quickly rushed to Zolda's side, and looked towards where the blades had come from. Sure enough, Kamen Rider Abyss stood with his Abyssvisor aimed right at them.
"Sorry boys! But this monster's my catch of the day!" Abyss called out as he leaped down from his perch and turned to face Abysshammer. The shark monster let out a snort at the Rider bold enough to stare him down.
"Bit of fighter, aren't ya?" Abyss chuckled as he drew a card from his Advent Deck. "Well then, come and get it!"
Both Ryuki and Zolda stared in shock at Abyss's blatant invite for Abysshammer to charge him, but what came next would've made their jaws hit the ground. Right as Abysshammer charged at Abyss, the shark Rider held up the card he drew and pointed the face of it toward the monster. In a flash of light, Abysshammer was sucked into the card!
"This… this is impossible!" Ryuki blurted out! "Only one kind of card can do that to a Mirror Monster!"
"You're so right, Ryuki." Abyss chuckled as he proudly displayed his new Advent Card depicting Abysshammer. "Looks like you found out why I lent myself out as a mercenary. Most Kamen Riders only get to make one contract with a Mirror Monster, but me? My deck came with two. Can you imagine how many people would want that kind of power on their side in the Rider War? Sure, it's a bit of a double-edged sword, but the risk is well worth it for the advantage it gives. Not to mention,"
Abyss returned his Contract Card to the deck, and opened up his visor before drawing a new one and slotting it in.
"SHOOT VENT!"
At the visor's announcement, a new weapon materialized in Abyss's right hand. The way Abyss was holding it, it looked like a gun resembling a hammerhead shark. This was the Abyssfire.
"I get a nifty new toy to play with!" Abyss chuckled as he took aim and fired at Zolda and Ryuki. Abyss's new weapon fired like a machine gun, bullets flying forward with great speed as Zolda and Ryuki bolted for cover!
As he and Zolda scrambled for cover, Ryuki managed to grab the card Zolda had dropped earlier.
"Zolda!" Ryuki cried out over the gunfire as he held up the card. "Should I toss it over?!"
"No!" Zolda snapped as he let loose a couple shots from his Magnuvisor at Abyss. "If you throw it over, it'll get shot up!" That's when an idea came to Zolda. "Slot my card into your visor! Hurry!"
Not seeing any point in arguing, Ryuki complied, slotting Zolda's card into the Dragvisor.
"SHOOT VENT!" The Dragvisor announced.
A pair of shoulder-mounted cannons that looked to be made from Magnugiga's legs descended from the sky. But instead of going to Ryuki, the cannons clamped themselves on Zolda's shoulders. Now properly armed, Zolda stepped out from behind his cover and fired his Gigacannons. Two laser blasts roaring out of the Gigacannons' barrels and hitting Abyss dead-on!
"Talk about firepower." Abyss groaned as he propped himself up. "But you're wide open now!"
With a pull of the trigger, the Abyssfire's bullets ripped through the air, each one hitting Zolda in the chest. The gunslinger of the Riders fell on his back, groaning in pain. Though his armor was one of the sturdier ones, he still felt the pain from the bullets' impact.
"Don't bother getting up." Abyss cautioned the downed Zolda. "If you do, you'll just get hammered by my machine gun again."
"So I'm supposed to lay down and die for you?" Zolda spat.
"Nah, I'm done here." Abyss shook his head. "Just wanted to test my new weapon out. And I've gotta say, I'm pretty pleased. Looks like you're not the only one packing some heat now."
"Maybe." Zolda snorted. "But I've got the bigger guns."
"True enough." Abyss shrugged, casually waving around the Abyssfire. "Say, you ever consider going mercenary? Firepower like yours would be in high demand. I bet my boss'd be willing to pay a pretty penny to have that kind of weaponry at his disposal."
For a moment, Ryuki's blood froze. But Zolda's response instantly quelled his fears.
"Sorry, but my day job pays more than enough." Zolda quipped. "Besides, I'm self-employed. It's reassuring, knowing that I won't have a boss who'll stab me in the back once he's done with me."
"Can't argue that fact." Abyss sighed. "I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Well, later you two!"
And with that, Abyss took his leave. With the shark rider gone, Ryuki stepped out from his cover and helped Zolda to his feet.
"Friend of yours, Kido?" Zolda asked.
"Nope." Ryuki shook his head. "His name's Kamen Rider Abyss. And as you might've guessed, he's a mercenary. Selling his skills to the top buyer. It's likely his boss is a Kamen Rider, too. But which one is still the biggest mystery. He's not in the war for the wish though. Just a paycheck."
"Any other useful info you can give me?"
"Only that his boss is trying to recruit other Riders." Ryuki replied. "Probably so he can take them out all at once. Sorry if this made your day worse than it already was, Kitaoka."
"Eh, not really." Zolda sighed before clasping his hands together. "Besides, Reiko's not out of my sights just yet!"
"Getting back up to fight even after being knocked down, huh?" Ryuki chuckled. "You've got some qualities of a real Kamen Rider, I guess. Well, until next time, Kitaoka."
As Ryuki left, Zolda looked up to the sky in thought.
'Today's fight showed me the capabilities of one of the other Kamen Riders.' Zolda thought seriously. 'And if I'm being honest with myself… I'm pretty worried about what kinds of cards the other Riders have up their sleeves.'
Meanwhile, in another part of the city
A young man let out a sigh of boredom as he lounged about his room. One of the most notable things in the room was the massive gaming setup he had. In his hands, he was holding a small rectangular object.
"All I've been doing lately is nothing but grinding. So boring. And my other game only provides me so much fun at a time." The young man sighed as he stared at the object in his hands. It was an Advent Deck, black in color with a golden rhino emblem on it. Upon gazing at the deck, the young man smirked.
"No worries. I'm sure things will reach the next level soon enough."
AN: Hey everyone. Sorry it took this long to get out, but I kinda had a lot going on. I just recently graduated college. Celebrating that with my family kinda sidetracked me. But, at long last, here's the latest chapter. It's a bit on the shorter side, but I hope it's of the same quality at the others. What did you think of Abyss's new weapon? How is the pacing so far? Please read and review! Your input helps keep moving forward possible! Also, to anyone who's read my other stories, there's a poll up regarding one of them. I'm keeping it open until the new year. Once again, thanks so much for following me! I hope that I continue to entertain all of you, and to prove to be worthy of your following!