Persona 5: Tainted Soul
Chapter 8: Pains of the Past - The Flowering Bellows of Friendship
In a nearby forest just outside the city, a large falling star suddenly fell from the sky. This star ended up getting the attention of a couple of strange tick-like monsters. As the monsters began to approach, soon a odd tune gets plays as steam pours out of it before rushing out came…. A Kamen Rider?!
This one looked to be a mix between both an astronaut and a highschool girl uniform as she punched and kicked the tick-like monsters before each one exploding, giving her a time to breath as she clicked off her driver and reverted to a highschool girl with short black hair.
"That's strange, Helheim shouldn't be spreading to any other worlds…" she observed as she noticed that the forest was very unnatural, "Guess what Tsukasa-sempai said about this world was right…"
The young girl nodded, knowing that turning to the Rider of this World would be her best option as her clothes glowed and changed from tannish brown to the standard Shujin uniform color: Black and White with Red additions to it alongside a pin that showed her as a third year before she smiled.
"Yosh! Time to make friends here! Still gotta represent Gen-chan's beliefs of befriend everyone!" She cheered with delight before she began to skip off in a direction.
Opening: Like Flames - Tensura Slime Season 2 - Opening 2
/PRELUDE/
As Revi and Vice flies through the night sky, we see glimpses of Ichigo and Naoya before the title zips past the duo
/Fate repeats all over again, The voices of my heart say
Time is not enough, it's over/
It soon jumps to Cody standing alone in a hall of mirrors, Vice being on the other side of the mirror before he turns around to see Mementos and the various monsters wandering it's corridors.
/Belief that makes me who I am, light doesn't fade away
Made my mind up now, it's better/
Meanwhile, Ren is sitting alone in the jail cell of the Velvet Room, looking towards the camera as a ghostly visage of Arsene appears before him as he smiles wickedly.
/Yeah I know it's not an easy road, lured by your hands/
It then jumps into a montage of Ryuji jumping for a bit before running, Ann with her back towards the camera fixing her hoodie, an artist holding his paintbrush in front of himself with one eye closed, a cat wandering through an alleyway, Makoto practicing judo, a NEET looking over something on her screen, an heiress looking over her garden, a gymnast practicing her routine, and finally a detective looking over some notes
/Even if it rains don't be swayed, being same as always/
It then jumps to Ichigo watching over the streets of New York, Nigo standing in the middle of a ruined battlefield alone, V3 looking towards the Pyramids of Giza, the prone body of Riderman on a beach in Tahiti, X floating down into the depths of the Mediterranean Sea, Amazon roaring into the night sky causing birds to fly up from the trees of the jungle, and a pair of graves in the middle of a beach with the helmet of Stronger resting on the left grave while a bouquet of flowers was near the right grave.
/Want to feel my destiny, Open my eyes to be braver/
As the shadow of the villains of past Rider and Persona titles haunt Cody and Ren, they soon turn to see a light where they notice the chains holding them back. Luckily, they spot Touma turn towards him and reach out for them, allowing them to break out and transform.
/Get up now Get up now stronger I believe in myself
Stand up now Stand up now shouting
I'll never run away/
It then transitions into a battle scene where Revi and Vice team up as they battle alongside the Phantom Thieves, transforming into their different forms to help each team member. Meanwhile, Ren soon awakens Arsene as several silhouettes of other Personas appear behind the original Phantom Thief before he and Ren perform Eigon.
/I might lose control... It's a perfect world/
It then transitions into showing Cody lost in the devil's world before he sees the Deadmans standing in his way, as Aguilera summons the eight Palace holders behind themselves with her Vistamp.
/Destroy all of it, in the end it's for our good/
As he panics, he notices the spirit of Maria embracing him before he sees the past Riders from Ichigo until Saber appears by his side, their lights shining down enough to allow him to obtain the Rex Vistamp, summoning Vice in the process.
/Let me shout like flames/
Afterwards, he and Vice share a high-five before it jumps to an ending shot of the twelve heroes standing behind a spotlight in their Metaverse garbs.
"Come on you two, it's just another couple of miles!" Ryuji shouted with a smile on his face.
"C-Can… Can we take a break? My legs feel like they're about to shatter!" Cody whined out with a complaint, exhausted as the young rider was dragged from his house by Ryuji for "Special Training" as he put it.
Ren on the other hand, was already on the ground, "Tell my tale to those who ask…. Tell it trully…" he whimpered.
"Joker? Joker?! JOOOOOKER~!" Morgana cried out comically from seeing the leader drop to the ground, as a wisps exited his body.
"Oh quit being over dramatic you two! We've barely even started!" Ryuji huffed with his arms crossed. "You two seriously need to work on your stamina otherwise you'll collapse whenever we get to a new Palace!"
"Says you! Neither of us went through that spartan hell you call a regular jog!" Cody groaned as he tried to keep on his feet.
"Hey, when you get passionate about what you do, of course you'd want to train harder! 'Sides, this is baby training compared to what we went through!"Ryuji said before turning his head, gently cupping his knee, "Especially with Kamoshida…"
Ren soon staggered back to his feet and nodded, "Yeah. Speaking of, how is your knee? Feeling any better?"
"Docs said while it is still healed enough to use…. Any too much stress or running duration will still give me problems. I honestly was more surprised I could still walk as my knee was almost completely shattered when that bastard struck me…." Ryuji said, grimacing from the sheer agony he was in on that day.
"Geez… Japan really does need to fix some of those law issues. Back in America, if a teacher even slapped a student he'd be fired on the spot. But doing that? Kamoshida would been sent to prison." Cody frowned, knowing that while as great as Japan is, it still needs a lot of work to make people happier and safer in the future.
"Yeah, thankfully we haven't had any incidents like that since Kamoshida got the boot." Ryuji said, "Especially with Sanada-san being the new guard."
"Mhm, hopefully we can also chip in and help change society as well." Cody nodded in agreement.
"Let's hope he doesn't make salad out of us if he finds out what we do." Vice cringed with fear.
"Wait, Salad how?" Ryuji asked, unaware that the demon was speaking in code.
"Hey! I thought we told you, you can't be here, Ryuji?" Another voice chimed out as the group turned to see a few other students in the typical red and white gym uniforms walking over with cold stares.
"Oh, it's you guys…"
"We told you that this is our training area. Just because you were the leader of track before everything, doesn't mean you can swindle through our training areas! Especially with everything you did." The student said, as it seemed this was some more bad blood.
"Track teammates, I presume?" Ren turned to Ryuji who nodded.
"After the incident, our Track Team was canceled and disbanded. They blame me for it, even though I can't blame them." Ryuji said with a heavy sad look, "I did ruin their chances…. But I couldn't let Kamoshida walk away with what he said about my mom! While I regret getting them involved, I don't regret my actions. Otherwise I wouldn't have met you two."
"That's actually sweet." Cody said with a smile.
"So, what brings you three to this place?" another one of the track members questioned the trio, "Outside of trespassing, of course."
"Just need a bit of stamina training is all. We're not here to cause trouble." Cody spoke up, trying to make sure this didn't get out of hand.
"Who asked you, Yank?" one of the members snapped.
"Hey! Don't treat my friend like that!" Ryuji snapped back.
"And we weren't your friends? Tch, of course you never thought that way. You just wanted to hog the glory, like Kamoshida said." Another student added on with a spat of disgust.
"Don't start with that, you two." The final student of the trio said, "Come on, let's just go, we can deal with our practice later." He said, showing some restraint as he walked off first.
The pair soon followed as the Track Team left as well. As this happened, the girl from the star had just arrived and spotted the trio, which wasn't an issue as she could sense Vice's presence.
XXX
"So, there's a recent outbreak of strange plants?" Cody asked the two as they changed back into their regular outfits.
"Yeah it's weird! Because of it, my photo shoot had to reschedule until it gets taken care of! And I was really looking forward for this month's book!" Ann groaned out, as she explained her recent disappointment with her canceled photo shoot she did on the side.
"I'm guessing it was because it was merch for your favorite show?" Ryuji could only guess.
"No, this time it was for Shiho and trying to help her get past the emotional and abusive trauma!" Ann corrected her friend, earning some surprised looks from the boys.
"Oh right, Shiho." Vice noted, "The girl that Cody had me save! I've noticed that she's been swamped by people giving their apologies after well… you know…"
"Yes but there are still other students and even media outlets wanting to either expose some dark secret or use her for a publicity stunt. It just makes me sick that all she wants is to continue with what she loves!" Ann said with distress, only for Ryuji to pat her back to help calm her down.
"Calm down, Ann. It's alright." he reassured her.
"Even with Kamoshida gone, what he's done still lingers here…. It just feels like he hasn't really stopped, you know?" Ann sighed heavily.
"People are still calling me Demon Boy, even after he said he was the one who 'called' Vice…" Cody noted, "Honestly though I got off easy compared to her. I just wish we could do something to help…"
"Oh oh! Why not try to befriend everyone in the school?" a new voice popped up, surprising the group to quickly turn to see another student there.
"N-NADESHIKO?!" the boys gasped in shock as they quickly recognized the girl.
"Who?" Ann asked.
"She's an alien lifeform that befriended Gentaro, aka Kamen Rider Fourze and even copied a bit to become Kamen Rider Nadeshiko." Cody informed, "But… how are you here?"
"I was traveling the stars when I found my way to your world." Nadeshiko answered with a smile.
"Wait, so you traveled so far you came into another universe and reality?!" Vice gasped.
"Pretty much! But that's besides the point." the space Rider noted, "I need your guys' help. Helheim has found itself in your world too."
"Hauh?! Helheim is here too!?" Cody gasped in utter shock.
"That explains the sudden appearance of plants." Morgana said.
"But how? Shouldn't Kouta have stopped it from spreading anywhere else?"
"That's what Kouta-san said as well, but he told me that some parts of Helheim have somehow seeped their way into your world." the alien girl noted.
"So, upon entering a new place, his influence stopped them from listening and started to spread instead?" Ren noted out.
"You know, I'm starting to wonder if Decade showing up here was a bad thing!" Vice groaned, "That's four different Rider worlds we have ran into this month!"
"That's always how Tsukasa goes…" Cody shrugged.
"Mhm, but he did tell me if I ever need help or to trust someone, it'd be the Rider of this universe! So I came here to you!" Nadeshiko smiled sweetly. Cody blinked for a moment as he pointed to himself as she nodded.
"Wow, Tsukasa basically turned me into a beacon for other Rider's help…." Cody said with awe but a bit of a smile from the praise he now learned.
"Well for this world." Ren noted, "So, that means that the Deadmans or someone will actually have some soldiers to command on top of the Giff Juniors. That's definitely going to make things difficult…"
"We can take it! We're the-" Ryuji exclaimed only to be slapped by Ann.
"You're not going to blow our cover so easily this time, Ryuji! So stop it!" She scolded the eager boy.
Nadeshiko became curious, "Are… are you two like Gen-chan and Yuki-chan?"
"W-What!? With this idiot! Please!" Ann denied with a huff.
"Hold on, what exactly are you implying with that sentence?" Ryuji asked, oblivious to what the alien girl had said, "You mean lovers or something else?"
Cody and Ren looked to each other and shook their heads, meanwhile Vice looked towards a slightly annoyed Morgana.
"What's eating at you?" the demon asked.
"Lady Ann… is mine….." Morgana hissed to himself.
'Uh oh, looks like the cat might go a bit yandere on us…' the demon thought.
"Anywho, I'll do a bit of searching around to find the source as well as if there's anyway to contain Helheim. I'll report to you all back when I find something." Nadeshiko said before giving a bow before she turned into an orb of light and flew off.
"So…. that happened…. We met an alien for real…." Ann got out, as she was still a bit stunned by this whole ordeal.
"I've had a demon inside me all of my life, and you guys have book characters as Personas. Nothing surprises me anymore…" Cody retorted.
"Good point." Ren nodded in agreement.
XXX
"So, those plants are from Helheim?" Wakabayashi asked Cody as he got the report from the boy.
"Excellent!" George cried out in his usually English phrases, "Now if I can get a sample, I can fully complete Kamakiri!"
"Kamakiri? So that one's based on Gaim?" Cody realized.
"Indeed. Figured you'd need a bladed power so I took the liberty to start making some extra Vistamps from all the ones you and one of our other operatives claimed."
"Who would that be?" Cody asked before the door opened.
"That would be me, Cody-san."
As the door opened, walking in was a young man around the same age as Maria, but with short black hair and recently a new Fenix outfit showing he rose the ranks a bit more than before as he sported a yellow band around his arm.
"Daiji?!" Cody gasped before the young boy hugged him.
"It's nice to see you again." Daiji greeted back.
"Ah that's right! I forgot he was your cousin." George noted with a slight slap to his head. "Then I guess I don't need to add anything as you'd know him more."
After the two broke the hug, the blonde boy was happy to see another family member in Fenix.
"That's great! Where's Ikki-san and Sakura-san? Are they in Fenix too?" Cody asked excitedly.
That was when the middle Igarashi sibling's smile faded, "Sakura... She's been hospitalized ever since last month. Broke her leg at a competition after running into the 'demon king'..." Daiji grimaced.
Cody's smile soon began to droop, "And… and Ikki?" He asked only to receive a heavier silence from Daiji.
George was also uncharastically silent as the name of the eldest Igarashi was brought up.
"He was killed in Mexico on a mission to find the Deadmans headquarters. They placed a trap and he sacrificed his life to make sure that the rest of his team could make it out..." Wakabayashi informed the boy, "I'm sorry about your loss." he noted before bowing.
"Shit…" Vice muttered.
"No..." Cody muttered out, trying to hold back his tears for now.
"We wanted to tell Maria-san about this later on, since we knew that we were going to bring her in as Revice. But then… well yeah…" George admitted, "It was definitely the kick in the pants we needed to realize this wasn't just a game." The inventor then muttered under his breath, "And the consequences of following my blind fantasy…"
"Damn it…." Cody gritted his teeth, only for Daiji to respond with a gentle hug to help him relax a bit.
"Trust me, I feel the same way." he admitted, "Honestly, the fact that you and Alice are still okay is the best news I've gotten this month."
After a bit of silence, Cody finally regained his composure as he asked, "So, what's the ETA on Kamakiri's completion?"
"Once I get a Helheim sample, about an hour." George said, "Although, I do want to run some test designs for the other Vistamp forms we have." the inventor noted before showcasing on the screen three different Revi and Vice designs, each one with their respective Vistamps behind it and their Remix forms in the middle.
"At first, it was a simple design based on well, a T-Rex. But when you place it on, it fully altered it to add in your demon, Vice. So now, I'm preparing to make sure to add that into each of the Vistamps you'll use, Cody-san." George informed with a smirk.
He then showcased the first three forms they had obtained, Megalodon, Mammoth, and the new Lion Genome they received from Toranosuke. Then Cody decided to check on the Kamakiri Genome, to see if it would be the form they needed to remove the piece of Helheim that was starting to take over Tokyo.
Several designs of both him and Vice showed up as Cody looked through each one that he has seen, each one combining an aspect of an animal and a past Rider.
"Hold on… what scraggly form is that?!" Vice gasped in faux horror, pointing towards one of them based on the gaming Rider, Ex-Aid.
"Hm? They're our Genome Forms, Vice." Cody responded only for the demon to enter the screen for him to appear, "The one you're pointing at is the Jackal Genome so-"
"Bah! These are so ugly and lame!" Vice scolded out as the others soon see and hear him.
"EXCUSE ME?!" George roared in complete fanboy anger, "SAY THAT AGAIN! I DARE YOU!"
"Sorry, they're SUPER LAME AND UGLY!" Vice chimed up with a snicker, "But in all seriousness, these look great doc. Although the Jackal one… that needs a bit of work, but batting a 90 ain't half-bad either!"
The inventor soon slammed his face into the control console, "Well at least I have that…" he said in relief.
"90 out of 1,000!" Vice cackled.
"I TAKE IT BACK!" he roared as he quickly typed in some code to create two wireframe hands to strangle Vice with, "WHY YOU LITTLE!"
Vice pretended to be choked as he gagged and cough only to snicker before breaking out of the hands as he wrote many words on the screen, mocking George before flying back into Cody with a hardy laugh.
"We are never going to get that Jackal stamp when we find it, are we?" Cody asked his cousin.
"Yep…" Daiji agreed, shaking his head in disappointment, 'I can't imagine the headaches nii-chan would have gotten if he had that demon.' The middle Igarashi thought.
"Oh, that and more! Consider yourself cut off from any future power-ups!" George said, his face still red with anger.
"WHAT?!" both boys gasped.
"Vice, apologize at once!" Cody shouted in desperation, "We can't fight the Deadmans without them!"
"Why do I need to? He made me lame!" Vice huffed and whined.
"Do you want our home to be next on Helheim's menu?" the boy reminded his demon, pointing towards the large space of green in the city.
"Bah, we can handle it!"
"We are not getting anywhere." Cody groaned as he paced around before he came up with an idea, "Look, I'm sorry for my demon. Please let us have these forms!" the blonde boy cried out, bowing in a dogeza position as he did so.
"Hmph! He insulted my work, alongside what my father left me!" George scoffed.
"But we need them! Please!" the boy pleaded once again, "We can't stop the Deadmans without your Vistamps with their totally awesome and not lame at all designs!"
"Fine… but no Jackal Genome for you, at least for now. And once I find a good way for revenge? Then we'll be set." George said with a huff.
"Deal!"
"H-Hey! He could do something to me!" Vice cried out.
"You caused this, Vice!" Cody snarled before moving to the inventor and whispering something into his ear.
George's huff soon turned into a menacing grin before turning towards the blonde boy, "Aldrich, I like the cut of your jib."
"Don't worry, I know how Vice ticks so it's easy to do that…" he noted.
Daiji couldn't help but laugh at the trio's antics, likely the first laugh he had in a while too. This got Cody, George and Vice to laugh along with the middle Igarashi sibling.
At least they can help cheer each other up like the family they still are.
XXX
"He's planning on making Vice into what now?" Ryuji gasped.
"Yeah, a skateboard. Straight out of Tony Hawk too." Cody confirmed.
"Ugh that's even worse!" Vice cried out in dismay.
"You brought this on yourself, Vice." Ren reminded the demon.
Morgana on the other hand was laughing his butt off at the demon's apparent new transformation, he was finally glad that Vice was getting his just deserts for all the teasing he had done to him and Ann.
"STOP LAUGHING, FURBALL!" Vice roared.
"Why not? It's sweet sweet karma, dino breath!" the cat chuckled before returning to laugh.
"Why must the author hurt me so!" Vice cried out, shaking his fists to the heavens.
At least you get to know about it beforehand, your canon self got blindsided when he transformed into the Jackal Genome.
"Gek! I… I guess you're right…"
"Regardless of that, any word on Nadeshiko or any leads on the source of Helheim?" Cody asked the others, ignoring Vice's usual tirade.
"From what we can gather, it seemed to be the place where we confronted Toranosuke's old mentor." Ren reported before looking at Cody with a grin, "As for Nadeshiko… why don't you ask her yourself?" he pointed out.
The alien girl floated down before changing to her human appearance as she smiled brightly to the boy, only to give him the trustful, friendship handshake that Gentaro taught her.
"Hehe! Now we're friends too, Cody-chan! Vice-chan!" She said cheerfully.
"Nice!" Cody noted with a smile.
Ann soon smiled as she looked at Nadeshiko before looking towards her cup of soda, being reminded a bit of her friend Shiho.
"Hm? Something wrong, Ann-chan?" Nadeshiko asked, quickly noticing her other friend's look.
"Oh, it… it's nothing." she told her, a bit surprised that the alien girl had noticed.
"Come on, tell me what's wrong?" She asked with a kind smile.
"Well… it's about my friend Shiho." Ann began to admit, "Well… she said before all of this that… she was sorry. Sorry for not telling me about Kamoshida, about all the things he was doing to her, but… but it was my fault too! I didn't realize how much trouble she was in. I wasn't there for her… It was a miracle that she accepted my apology."
"Lady Ann…" Morgana said softly as the other fully knew how painful it was for them both with everything.
Nadeshiko simply smiled, taking Ann's hands as that made the girl look up to her. "Well, you two made up! You both apologized and made amends with what you did. But honestly you both were trying to help the other and make them happy. So I believe there's nothing wrong with what you did as it made proof that your bonds are stronger than that. So don't get down, smile smile! You're both still friends and together right? So everything worked out!"
The cat thief couldn't help but smile as she got up and hugged the space girl, "Thanks for that, I needed that little talk."
"Hey, Ann." Ryuji butted in, "Just to let you know, I'm here for you every step of the way. Same with Ren, Cody, Morgana, and even Vice. We're all here for you." He then chuckled, "I just wish I was there for my old team…"
"Maybe there is more to it than you think, Ryuji-chan? Why not ask and confront them?" Nadeshiko asked, as if she knew there was more to this than he thinks?
"How can I? They hate my guts!" he sighed, "Not like I blame them, I was the one who broke up the team!"
"Just go talk to them. I'm sure you'll be surprised to learn their side of things." Cody told the delinquent.
Ryuji still felt a bit worried, "Think they'll listen?" he questioned.
"You were friends with them, right? I know they'll listen to you if you're being honest to them about yourself!" Nadeshiko smiled with a nod.
Ryuji smiled as he crossed his arms, "Pretty much, right?"
"You can do it, Ryuji-chan! We believe in you!" Nadeshiko smiled brightly.
"Yeah, I'm sure that you'll be able to make things right." Ann agreed with the delinquent.
Ryuji remained silent for a bit before he stood up as he began to head off, off towards the 'training area' of his old teammates to confront them as they others nod and follow after him as well, just in case he needs more support.
XXX
"What do you want from us, Sakamoto?" one of the track members asked as the group arrived to see that, true to his word, Ryuji was apologizing to the track team.
"Please! Listen!" Ryuji pleaded, "I…. I am very sorry you all got dragged down with me because of my stunt…. But Kamoshida truly went too far! You remember him spilling out secrets about my mother and family. But I'm sure he held your secrets above your heads as well! Please… I want to know more and try to do better with you all by knowing what made you continue to side with him even now?"
Ryuji then lifted his arms up, "Heck! I'll even let you guys take a free swing at me, just for me breaking up the team in the first place! Come on, let me have it!"
The trio of track students looked at each other. Shocked not only by his proclamation but even a free chance to vent their frustrations and more on him. At first one of them stepped forward, reeling his fist back to punch Ryuji. But instead, the one that did defend Ryuji from before stopped the other student as he walked forward.
"Ryuji…." The track student said softly before he got on his knees and bowed heartily. "I'm sorry!"
Ryuji was taken back this time as he blinked with confusion, "Uh…h-huh?"
"I… I'm sorry. I knew what Kamoshida did truly was wrong and I should've also stepped in and stopped him before he broke your leg… But like you said, he had dirt on us all… Saying that if we did side with him, he'll tell the school about our problems as well, like he did with you. We had no choice and honestly… I regret it so much. You didn't deserve to have your leg broken like that all because he wanted to be rid of the track team for his volleyball team instead!" The student said, apologizing heartily and showing his remorse for it all.
"Guys…" Ryuji muttered.
"He's right you know." another track team member said, "I was mad, yeah. But I was just mad at myself for not being there when you needed it the most."
"I… I guess… we did go too far when we tried to bring up your mother…." The last member said, realizing it was far too much, "We even got word that the old coach is coming back to teach us instead of a different one! If you like, you can come join with us?"
Ryuji was taken back once again, that the old coach would return. But he turned back to see his friends as he smiled and shook his head."
"Sorry, but I think that's it for me." he apologized, "My leg's fine, but… I don't think I can run track again anymore."
"Ryuji…." the track members said softly.
"But don't worry! Even if I can't be there with you, I'll be there in spirit and support you guys! I know you can do better than me, right?" Ryuji smiled, giving them a thumbs up.
"Yeah, and hey! At least you got an upcoming model as a girlfriend!" one of the track team members laughed, earning a rare moment of Ryuji acting a bit flustered.
"A-Ann isn't my girlfriend! 'S-Sides, how could I have her as a girlfriend when she doesn't like Meat Bowls?" Ryuji responded. "She's just a friend."
The entire group could hear a pin drop as both the track team and the rest of the Phantom Thieves began to step away in fear. Realizing the grave error he made, Ryuji flinched in terror as he slowly turned to see Ann, glowing red with anger and more as her hair was floating up like she was a Super Saiyan as she began to slowly approach him.
"Excuse me… but what was that?" she asked with a smile on her face, but fury in her eyes.
"Er… I mean being a veggie lover is good! I just think it adds more to your hips is all!" Ryuji said, soon sealing his fate.
XXX
THIRTY AGONIZING MINUTES LATER…
"Hrmph! Boys…" Panther snarled as Mona rode through Mementos, a knocked out and bleeding Skull in the back.
"Remind me never to anger Panther, at all..." Joker requested the Rider, demon and cat van.
"Agreed." the trio said in response.
"Wah! So this is how a car feels!" Nadeshiko said in awe, as she joined them on this to stop the Helheim.
The group was venturing in the altered area, mostly due to reports about the Helheim vines coming out of some odd shadows that were found.
"So think you can sense them or something here, Nadeshiko?" Revi asked the space girl.
"Yeah, I think it's through here actually." she recalled pointing to a direction.
"Say, doesn't anyone else smell an odd fruit combination?" Mona asked as they kept driving.
"DON'T EAT ANYTHING!" the boys, including Panther to their surprise, panicky cried out to the cat van.
"Why not?" Mona asked cluelessly.
"It turns the one who eats into an Inves. It's practically a parasite similar to chordecepsis." Revi gave an educational explanation for it as best as he could.
Mona gulped and tried his best to drive past the smell, not wanting to be transformed into a monster. The group would soon reach a man holding two Vistamps, commanding a pair of Deadmans as he did so, one a blue gorilla-themed Deadman, and the other a pink mantis-like Deadman.
"More! MORE!" he shouted, "Let this forest grow and consume this city!"
"Guess we found a Shadow consumed by the power of the Vistamps." Ryuji noted as he finally woke up from his beaten coma.
"And he's packing two as well." Mona noted, "Joker, want to try out that other demon you convinced to join our side during your Gun Alone days?" the cat asked their fearless leader.
With a smirk, Joker stepped up and tapped his mask recalling the bond he made with Iwai as he did so.
"Come forth, Orthus!"
From his soul came a twin-headed canine from Greek Legends and Mythos, Orthrus! It stood on four legs with a single tail yet twin heads, one with red eyes and one with blue eyes, signaling to what Iwai once was, an Ex-Yakuza and now a father.
"What the?! What are you kids doing here?!" the man gasped.
"We're the Phantom Thieves of Hearts! And we're here to take your corrupted heart and those stolen Vistamps!" Panther declared as she pointed to him.
"Here we go!" Nadeshiko declared as she slapped on a blue driver with a screen in the middle and two slots for special switches.
Once she flipped the two switches, she quickly got into a pose that made it resemble Gentaro's own, with her hand at her side to grasp a non-existent lever and her free arm pumped up.
3!
2!
1!
"Henshin!"
Once said, she raised her arm up as a metallic, space-esc ring appeared above her head as fog and steam rushed out of the gate covering her body only to soon fade along with the ring as the space female rider of friendship was now here.
"Uchuu… Kita~!" Nadeshiko cheered with delight as she struck a pose.
"Better get ready ourselves, Vice!" Revi declared, "I'm feeling it now!"
REX!
"Henshin!"
BU~DDY~ U~P!
KA~MEN RI~DER~ RE~VI! VICE! RE~VI~CE!
As Vice brought the stamp down and helped form the Rider duo, they stood alongside their Phantom Thief friends and Nadeshiko, ready to duel and fight the enemies.
"Grah! Why you!" the shadow roared before transforming into what appeared to be a large bird man wearing a red and yellow outfit, black hair, blue skin and a large spear floating into the air.
"Uhh… context?" Revi asked his partner.
"Oh that's just a simple Kurama Tengu within Japan's folklore. At first they were like other Yokai and caused problems, but later changed into defenders and warriors on Mt Kurama as they now fight off disease and give good luck." Vice informed the group.
"Guess it is good luck… for us that is! Those Vistamps are ours!" Skull said with a smirk.
As the pirate thief charged at the Tengu, the Kong Deadman ran in response and nearly landed a clothesline on Skull, had the pirate thief not did a baseball slide and used his bat to trip the monster in turn.
"Careful! I can tell that Deadman will punch your head off if he lands a blow!" Revi shouted to his team, dodging the shadow's attack.
"Thanks for the info!" Skull thanked him before sending out Captain Kidd to unleash a powerful Zio blast at the two Deadmen.
The Kamakiri Deadman noticed before flying back, only for the Kong Deadman to get struck as it was even paralyzed from the hit, barely able to move much from it.
"Looks like it's tough for him to keep two Deadmen under control." Joker observed, "Panther, Skull! Deal with Kamakiri, Revi, Vice, Nadeshiko, you got Kong! Mona, you're helping me get some Tengu wings!"
"Roger!" Everyone announced in unison as they went off in their teams to deal with it.
XXX
"At least it's a mantis." Panther said as Carmen fired off an Agi spell, "So glad it's not a spider."
"Yeah, it's just some bug!" Skull smirked.
"Let's hope its male though…" Panther grimaced.
"Huh? Why's that?"
"Oh, no reason." she reassured him, albeit with a nervous grin.
"Come on! Tell me! I may need it for today's biology test!" Skull pleaded.
The two then dodged an incoming double swipe attack from the Mantis Deadman, "Maybe after we survive!" she noted before swinging around and kicking the mantis monster away from them.
"Give them hell, Captain Kidd!" Skull laughed
The pirate Persona nodded as it let loose a few cannonball attacks before using the hook hand to grasp and throw it onto the ground before letting out a thunderbolt to halt it in its tracks.
After another burst of flames, the two rushed in for a two-person All-Out Attack that ended in the pair sharing a high-five before the monster exploded. As the monster fell Panther smiled as the plants began to wilt, leaving only the Kamakiri Vistamp behind.
"Now that should take care of the plants." She noted as she picked up the Proto-Vistamp before heading back to Skull, "And by the record, the females eat the heads of their mates." The cat thief told him.
"THEY WHAT?!" Skull shouted in shock and fear.
Panther giggled before turning to Revi, Vice, and Nadeshiko, who was fighting the Kong Deadman as they were doing their best before they rushed over to help.
XXX
Earlier, the trio of Riders were battling against the gorilla monster, with both demon Riders grappling with the ape monster's arms.
"Yeesh, this thing's strong!" Vice yelped while Nadeshiko delivered several quick punches to the monster's chest.
"Yeah, no kidding!" Revi grunted as he almost felt his grip slipping before Skull came and helped hold it down.
"Hey, don't worry! We're here to help!" Skull smiled as on Vice's side, Panther used her whip to help him out.
"Thanks you two!" Revi said in relief, as this would help them deal with its brute strength.
"You're welcome!" the pirate thief said before the dinosaur Rider noticed the tengu that Joker and Mona were fighting had dropped the Kong Vistamp in the middle of the chaos.
He soon got an idea and activated the Rex Vistamp.
REX!
Suddenly, Vice's tail grew and quickly grabbed the Vistamp before the Tengu caught on to what they were planning. As the Kurama Tengu quickly fired off a Garudyne spell, Mona caught on and blocked the attack with his sword.
"Revi, I hope you can purify that stamp! We're in a bit of a pinch!" the cat shouted after he landed on his feet.
"Let me help!" Nadeshiko said, as she walked over to Vice as she held out her hand and a small bit of what was from her flew into the stamp, as it altered and purified as it gained the Fourze helmet on it.
"Wait… Wasn't that the same thing you did by giving Gentaro Super Rocket States?" Revi questioned her.
The rocket Rider nodded before the Rider duo turned to each other and nodded as the dinosaur Rider removed the Rex Vistamp. With a smirk, Revi declared as he activated the Kong Vistamp, "Alright, let's settle this man-to-Shadow!"
KONG!
He then stamped it as Vice danced around him once more as he held up the large Kong Vistamp, to the amazement of Nadeshiko.
COME ON! KON-KON-KONG! COME ON! KON-KON-KONG! COME ON! KON-KON-KONG!
Vice: Suweee~t~ We got Fourze's power!
Revi: Even more so getting it from Nadeshiko! Just what other things are going to come our way?
Vice: Gehehe! Maybe we'll get something special from Georgey!
Revi: He's going to kill you for giving him that nickname….
Vice: Bah, who cares what he thinks! I can imagine that you're happy you got the power thanks to your first Rider waifu~!
Revi: S-Shush! She can't see this!
Nadeshiko, much to Revi's dismay however, did, but kept it to herself as she did not want to embarrass the boy further as she made a soft giggle at how cute it was.
Regardless, Revi placed the stamp into the Driver and activated the transformation, allowing VIce to slam the stamp down on the dinosaur Rider before performing Gentaro's transformation pose.
BU~DDY~ U~P!
ARM! STR~ONG~! THE BATTLE GONG! RING IT~, KONG!
DRUMMING KITAAAAA!
This soon resulted in a form clearly based on Fourze, with a rocket-esque helmet that had added gorilla-like features, a chestplate that greatly resemble Fourze's own with a bit of a mesh detail on the lower part, and two large rocket-gauntlets based on a mixture of Fourze's gloves. Vice however was bulked up by the transformation with large feet and gauntlets, alongside a helmet that resembled a gorilla with a bit of Fourze's rocket aesthetic remaining.
"New form kita!" Nadeshiko cheered.
"Ohh! Ooo! Where BANANA?" Vice got out like he was a monkey.
"Don't even start with trying to meme, Vice! Let's end this fight now!" Revi scolded the demon.
The duo rocket rider rushed forward thanks to the jetpack they gained as they struck the enemy hard with a fierce hit. Afterwards, they slammed their fists into the ground, creating an earthquake that hurt the Kong Deadman who got spun out by this attack.
"Alright, time to see how this Remix will work!" Revi declared as he quickly activated the Remix.
REMIX!
BU~DDY~ U~P!
Vice soon kneeled down on all fours as the armor pieces altered and changed as his tail lifted up for Revi to clamp onto it, as the two literally became a gorilla with Revi as the face and Vice as the body this time around as it howled out and struck its chest rapidly.
HISSATSU! KING! PUNCHING! KONG!
"This has to be the weirdest one yet." Panther commented.
Soon, Revice Kong Remix charged forth, using it's new fists to bash the Tengu and Kong Deadman's face into the wall of Mementos, serving as the tank to soak up damage while the others swooped in and attacked where they could.
"At least we can deal with the problems with ease now that we got an actual gorilla power on us." Ren noted that it was quite useful to use.
"Sad the real monkey here couldn't do that." Mona smirked, looking at the pirate thief.
"What did you call me?!" Skull roared before turning to Revice, "Alright Revice, showtime!"
"Roger!" ReVice said in unison as they jumped up high, soon using the rockets on Vice's portion to fly around, soon closelinging the Kong Deadman and the Tengu with its arm as Skull rode on its back as the gorilla rider began to slam them across the walls of Mementos like a not-so jolly green giant as Skull swung his bat in-sync with each hit they land.
"Woo hoo! King Kong ain't got shit on us!" the trio cheered.
"Of course he'd think of something like this…." Panther sweatdropped from this idea.
"Like you wouldn't do something similar!" Joker pointed out with a grin.
"True, but I wouldn't think of something like this…. Ugh… boy like." Panther sighed, though not denying the possibility of doing the same, much to Joker's amusement.
Soon, both were slammed into the ground as Revice readied it's fists, now charged by electricity by Captain Kidd.
RIDER DOUBLE THUNDER PUNCH!
With two fists slammed into the ground, the Tengu and the Kong Deadman were struck by thousands of bolts of electricity, causing them to explode and leave the defeated Shadow behind to wallow in pain. Meanwhile, Revi and Vice separated and shared a high five with Skull, the trio happy with their handiwork.
BRUTE FORCE, ALL THE WAY!
The trio shouted out together as they high-fived once again.
"I told you two, something like that would work!" Skull smirked.
XXX
In another world…
"Achoo!" a young boy with jet black hair and gray frosted tips sneezed. "Ugh, not again…" he groaned as he scratched his nose.
"What's the matter, Zi-O? Got the sniffles again?" a young man with dark green hair asked the boy.
"I.. I think so?" the boy said, "Maybe it's the pollen in the air, it's spring after all…"
XXX
"D-Damn it all…. It's not my fault…" The weakened Shadow said, whimpering from the defeat as the Phantom Thieves and Riders stood over him.
"I've heard it all before." Skull groaned.
"It's true! If that damn Madrame didn't steal my work… then I'd…" The shadow whimpered out.
"Wait, Madarame? The famous artist?" Panther recalled.
"You sure it's that one? There's many people who have that name either as their first or last." Revi pointed out.
"I'm telling the truth!" the Shadow shouted, "Because of him my life was ruined! So when that masked guy gave me those two stamps, I thought I could use that freaky forest from that kid's show to make him pay!"
"Masked guy? Who are you talking about?" Revi questioned, this time curious to hear.
"I think he's talking about the same guy who gave away the Mammoth Vistamp." Joker observed.
"Seems like we have someone else who can enter Mementos…" Mona noted out.
Panther nodded before giving the man the calling card alongside the usual speech. The Shadow felt guilty, but he understood what he had done was wrong. Before he disappeared, he turned towards Panther and Skull.
"Hey, you two." he told them, "Don't let what happened to me, happen to you guys. It was my fault that she left me, but I can tell that you two got something. Don't lose it, okay?" the Shadow noted as he began to vanish, leaving the cat thief and the pirate thief confused and flustered.
"Hoo~? Seems even a Shadow can tell!" Vice said with a cackle and snicker, only for Panther to smack him down and walk away with a blushing huff, much to Skull's chagrin.
'Come on, this is the third time today that I got mistaken for Ann's boyfriend.' he thought, 'How many times do I have to say that I don't like her like that! She probably likes Shiho more than me! Does she?'
Meanwhile, Joker noticed Mona shake his head in disapproval, the leader thief only guessing why.
XXXX
"Well, looks like the job's finished. Thanks a lot for the help, Nadeshiko." Ren thanked the alien girl after they returned to the real world.
"No problem." Nadeshiko said before heading off, "I gotta go though, I'm late for Gen-chan's wedding."
"Tell Gentaro that I wish him the best!" Cody said with a smile, giving a thumbs up to the alien girl.
"Same here!" Vice added.
She nodded before recalling something, "Oh, before I go!"
"What is it?" Cody asked before…
*CHU!*
Nadeshiko leaned up to peck the young Rider's cheek. Predictably, his face turned a very bright red that was easily noticed by everyone as Cody was in shock from that.
"Hahahaha! Codes finally got something most otakus will never get!" Vice laughed heartily, "One smooch from their waifu!"
"S-Shut up, Vice!" Cody whined out, smacking the demon yet forgetting since they were in the real world, he was ethereal.
"Make me~!" the demon laughed.
"Fine then, Ren-san! Hand me the Holy Brew!" he called out to Ren.
"Y-You wouldn't dare!" the demon hissed.
"Oh I would…." Cody glared as the friends laughed at the conflict. Nadeshiko giggled as well before she waved to everyone and flew off into space, though from afar someone watched them with a angered look on their face from how that happened.
XXX
From another point of view, two more people watched Nadeshiko leave, a smile on his face as he walked past the group.
"I can see that things are doing well since I left." a man wearing a black jacket over a white polo shirt and black pants chuckled.
"Mou, can we go now?" A girl in white and brown huffed, as she glared at the man. "You still need to finish today's paper!"
The young man laughed, "I guess even after taking up his spot doesn't stop you from asking, isn't it Mei-san. How's Rintaro by the way?"
"Taking care of his and my son, like usual." She smiled at him.
The man rolled his eyes before turning to a poster about a new exhibition. The author shook his head.
"Great, he's at it again?" he grumbled, "I swear he's gotten worse since I left."
"Yeah… The world changed heavily since you rewrote it, but it seems someone here is already picking up where you left, Touma." Mei nodded to him.
The man soon turned to Cody as he clenched something in his hand. A red Vistamp bearing a marlin on the front, while the casing had the Rider helmet of Touma Kamiyama behind it.
The helmet of Kamen Rider Saber.
XXXX
A/N
HackerEX: Welp, ain't no fools around here!
Striberx: Mhm! We got some things down, some stuff popping up and some fun as well. I'm sure Makoto is gonna hold it over Cody's head later down the line as she did see the peck on his cheek happen. :3
HackerEX: And speaking of Nadeshiko, you're probably wondering why there wasn't a Gaim cameo here alongside her, are you?
Striberx: Mostly because even though they got the sample, it could still pose problems in the end. Hence why they didn't use Kamakiri yet as George has to go through the sample and such and make sure its good to use, otherwise it could do the same thing to Cody as it did to many others in Gaim.
HackerEX: There's also the little detail about well… Gentaro and Yuki.
Striberx: One part is that, while we all agree him and Nadeshiko is great, Yuki is more of his true girl and we wanna give that some ending to it, since its been ambiguous now, especially with Yuki's actress being drawn in by a greedy cult. :/
HackerEX: Rants about Happy Science aside, it also helps to kind of give a small tease about our favorite cat and pirate too.
Striberx: Either way, we're reaching in on the next Palace! Alongside of someone who'll be there to help them out too.
HackerEX: And before you ask, no. We are not doing Beyond Generations, not even close.
Striberx: That thing is more about the history of Kamen Rider as well as its b-day. We don't have plans to add that in as its nothing more than tributes here to thank every rider we can.
HackerEX: Plus it's a time travel movie too, so it's more suited for a certain king or Imagin pair than Saber.
Striberx: Or with Revice. So yeah, no Kamen Rider Century either. But some of the stuff laid out from it, like the Crisper Vistamps being part to help make the Kaijin ViStamps for Revice's spinoff story as well as the Neo Batta ViStamps, will be used later on.
HackerEX: I mean, that's why we added Daybreak into this story's timeline after all. One last thing, let's just say that little sneeze cameo ain't gonna be the last you'll see of a certain OC of mine in this fic… But that's in the future for ya'll
Striberx: Either way, hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Until then, later minna!