I do not own Kamen Rider OOO or Familiar of Zero. Those belong to their respective creators and not me. I am only writing this for fun and not for any form of profit. That said, loyal fans of my previous work Familiar of ZerOOO can now enjoy the sequel.

Familiar of ZerOOO: Return of the Multi-King

By Ten-Faced Paladin

Chapter 1: The Princess, the Coronation, and the Rogue Rider

Consciousness came to me slowly as I tried to keep the sun out of my eyes. However, it was a losing battle and I eventually had to give it up in favour of waking up. Rubbing my eyes, I sat up on what was for all intents and purposes a cot used for campers that was sitting on the floor rather than on legs or anything else. Forcing myself to my feet, I stretched my arms and got the stiffness out of my back. I was shirtless and wearing a pair of pants which were gray and had a thick leather belt around my waist. Scratching my hair, I walked towards a small table where a teapot was settled with the ingredients and other means at the ready. Approaching the table, I spied a vanity table from the corner of my eye and out of sheer reflex, glanced at it.

Of course I saw myself. I stood about average height with shaggy brown hair that had been growing for the past few months and likely in need of a haircut soon. My face was average in looks with blue-gray eyes and a vertical scar in the middle of my forehead which I had received during a bad tumble I had as a toddler. My physique was kind of regular, but not badly skinny and I had some developing muscle on me. It was one of the positive results of my current lifestyle. Self examination complete, I started up the small burner which would allow the teapot to warm up enough to be considered usable. That little task complete, I headed back to my cot where a small chest was located at the foot of it. Opening it, I dug through before I found a gray tunic and a gray jacket bearing a trio of images inside round coins which looked like a rhino, a gorilla, and an elephant before slipping both of them on.

Gently closing the lid, I turned to examine the only other bed in the room which was pretty much covered with fine silks, engraved wood, and pretty much as girly as one could expect. Checking the person inside the covers, I spotted a girl who while was my age, was certainly shorter than average. She wore a silk nightgown and her hair was a very strange shade of pink which tumbled down her back on normal days, but now looked pretty wild after a night of sleeping. She looked peaceful for a change, which was a fair bit better than the normal range of emotions she had throughout the day in recent times. With all of her studies going on and her recent practice, she'd been stressing herself out a lot.

Oh wait, I forgot to introduce myself.

My name is Matthew MacGregor, Kamen Rider OOO, Heir of the Multi-King, and the Familiar of Louise Francoise le Blanc de La Valliere.

Yeah, let me explain that one.

You see, I was originally from Ontario Canada living my life as an ordinary guy and a Kamen Rider otaku. I had been on my way to a convention dressed as Eiji Hino with a full inventory of props which included the O-Driver and the core Medals, including full sets of the black and orange ones from the movies. I had been on my way when this weird green portal appeared in front of me. In one of my less than intelligent actions, I had poked it and ended up getting sucked through. When I managed to come out of the darkness, I ended up at the feet of the pink-haired girl that was currently sleeping who reluctantly proclaimed me her Familiar before kissing me and as a result marked me with a strange set of Nordic runes on my hand.

My day did not really get any better after that.

Long story short, I had been summoned to the continent of Halkenginia, specifically the country of Tristain. Never heard of those places before? You shouldn't have since it's in a completely different world. I was able to discern that much when I saw two moons hanging in the sky on my first night there. The reason I had been summoned was to serve as Louise's Familiar, like how wizards in books and the like would always have an animal with them and such. What made Louise's summoning so odd was the fact that she had summoned a human instead of an animal like all of the other students had before her. Learning that I was expected to be subservient to a pink-haired girl who was in an especially sour mood on account of summoning what she viewed as a 'worthless' Familiar didn't exactly endear me to the situation.

I learned that the ruling class in Halkenginia, otherwise known as nobles, were people who were capable of using magic. Everyone else was regarded as a commoner and were expected to do whatever the nobility said without question. Louise likewise expected that of me and at the time seemed to believe that I should be grateful to be able to stay in the prestigious Tristain Magical Academy where she was learning her skills and be able to serve her. Heck, she expected me to clean up her laundry and help her dress in the mornings! I think I can leave it unsaid that she and I butted heads a fair few times over the issues of my supposed servitude.

But as bad as it seemed, I also discovered something pretty damn cool.

Don't ask me why, don't ask me how, but by coming to Tristain like I did somehow empowered my O-Driver and Core Medals into becoming real. I could actually transform into Kamen Rider OOO and use all of the abilities which the Core Medals allotted their user. They certainly came in handy when the local flirt challenged me to a duel when I exposed him to be a two-timing jerk. He in turn decided smacking around a commoner like me would be the perfect payback. I used my abilities and managed to kick his butt, pretty much humiliating him in front of his peers. One of those peers happened to be Louise and after she saw that I wasn't such a bad Familiar and capable of using magic (indirectly at least), we managed to at least become amicable towards one another instead of antagonistic. That eventually allowed us to become friends as we got to know one another.

At first I had taken Louise to be a regular spoiled rich girl who saw herself above others simply because she was lucky enough to be born into a rich family, but as I got to know her that opinion faded. Unlike some nobles who I had the misfortune of meeting since coming to Halkenginia, Louise seemed to understand that being a noble came with it a responsibility to act according to your position. She didn't just sit back and complain about things all day while letting her servants get the important tasks done before she would take credit for it. In her world, if you were born noble then you had better well act like it. Another reason why she was so harsh with me though was because unlike her fellow students, Louise seemed to have zero aptitude towards magic. It was an aspect of her which got her the nickname 'Louise the Zero' from her peers. It was a huge blow to her self-confidence and I learned that she had been hoping to prove her magical ability by summoning an incredible Familiar like a dragon or a manticore. Instead she got me which seemed like a crushing blow to her dreams before she learned what I was capable of.

So with our tempers on hold, Louise and I decided to put up with each other and try to make the most of our situations. Day by day we seemed to get along better and we also had our number of adventures together since the day I was summoned. She even became my 'Medal Manager' as she helped me in battle, thinking up Random Combos on the fly whenever I needed a change to suit the current battle I was in. We battled against thieves, Yummies, corrupt mages, and even participated in the opening battle of a war. It was during one of these adventures that we discovered that rather than having no talent in magic, Louise was in possession of the long thought lost power of Void magic which needed much more skill to harness than regular magic.

She managed to harness it at the perfect time when we were involved a battle against the rebels known as Reconquista which Louise and I had taken down. With her Void magic and my Core Medals, we destroyed the invading fleet and possibly sent the survivors running. As a result, we were awarded for our courageous actions by Princess Henrietta. Speaking of which, I heard the princess was going to be crowned queen soon.

Besides the princess, I had met and befriended some very interesting people. There was Guiche who used to be the two-timing flirt I mention previously but now he was acting like he was my best friend after I beat him in a duel. Then there was Kirche who claimed to be in love with me and would do anything like seduce me to try to get me to join her in bed, although it seemed like she was being much more sincere than I first gave her credit for. Always with her was the bluenette Tabitha who was Kirche's best friend and I had to say the two were opposites. While Kirche was loud and passionate, Tabitha was stoic and introverted, speaking only when necessary and not very much. I always saw her reading a book. Oh, I almost forgot to mention Siesta, a maid who worked here at the Tristain Academy and was in fact a descendant of a man from my world who accidentally passed through a portal to Tristain.

However, not everything that I had experienced since coming here had been good. I still recalled Wales, the prince of the floating nation of Albion who had been assassinated by a hidden agent of Reconquista. I regretted the fact that I couldn't save him. He didn't deserve what had happened to him, stabbed through the chest by a man he thought he could trust. There was also the fact that I had killed a man, the same man who had murdered Wales for the sake of his greed. I knew Wardes was just a slimy traitor but I had never thought I could hate a guy so much that I could take his life. I've really changed since I got here.

Turning away from my thoughts, I took to the preparation of the tea. It had become something of a morning ritual for the two of us recently. It served as something like a wake-up for the two of us. Louise always enjoyed a cup of tea and I was starting to get hooked on the stuff. It was a wake up for me and it also served to wake up Louise on those days she was sleeping in. Setting the tea leaves into place and letting the taste soak into water, I took a seat to wait for the process to be finished before I could serve it.

"Munyaaaaaa…" I heard Louise yawn as the scent of the tea reached her nose. Turning to look at her bed, I saw her sitting up and rubbing her eyes. It was moments like that which really confirmed to me that Louise was an incredibly cute girl and people who gave her flack for her lack of breast size were really idiots. Blinking sleepily, Louise looked to me, "Good morning Matthew."

"Morning," I greeted. "Tea should be ready soon."

"Okay," She mumbled, stretching to get the stiffness out of her body.

In the immediate days since the Battle of Tarbes which made Louise, myself, and our small group of friends into heroes some small changes had begun to pop up. The most important in my opinion was Louise springing for a proper mattress for me rather than the pile of straw and a sheet which she had given me before. It was more or less a cot, but better than I had before. Louise herself had thrown herself back into her magical studies since it was now revealed that she could indeed use magic. Her goal was to use the Explosion spell that won the Battle of Tarbes, but so far progress had been minimal and it hadn't served to make her too happy when exhaustion of her stress levels began weighing on her at night. Of course, all of the other students were holding us in much higher regard since the majority of them had run back to their homes while the school had been closed for the duration of the invasion. With Reconquista driven off for the time being, the school had opened its doors once again and everyone soon heard of how we had been at the front lines. We just weren't allowed to tell the exact story of how it went down.

I poured the tea and managed to get two cups filled with the brew as Louise pulled herself out of bed at long last. Plopping into a chair, she and I said nothing as we enjoyed the first cup of the day. It helped me understand why some people enjoyed coffee so much in their mornings if it was anything like the tea we had access to at the academy. It certainly helped wake me up every morning.

"Ah," I smiled, savouring the taste. "You know you've got it good when you can have stuff this good everyday."

"Indeed," Louise nodded, taking a dainty sip.

"So what's on the schedule today?" I asked, checking to see if there was anymore tea. "Is there anything we should get done before we go to the parade?"

It was actually a big day today in Tristain. It was to be the day that Princess Henrietta would receive her coronation and officially be named Queen of Tristain. Her mother was still alive, but since the king passed away prior to my arrival in Tristain the soon to be former queen had handed over the reins to the country to her daughter. So far, it seemed that Henrietta was doing a fine job of running the country since not only were things still prosperous, but she and her soldiers managed to drive off an invasion force from an enemy nation…although the invasion force wasn't very big considering it was just one warship. Then again, considering the tactical advantage of being able to fly and filled with the best trained and armed cavalry knights on the continent who were mounted on dragons, I suppose one may have been all they needed if we didn't get involved.

"I made sure our affairs were in order and since it's a national holiday today, there are no classes," Louise replied. "So unless you were planning on something to do before we left, then we can take our time."

"Good," I nodded. "I wanted to check in with Prof. Colbert before we left, just to see how the repairs to the Zero Fighter were going."

Louise looked up at me from her tea before shrugging. "I suppose we can do that."

I grinned.


We finished our tea and I left Louise to get dressed while I fixed up my own outfit completely. I tucked the tunic into my pants and tugged on gloves which looked like they were made out of gray leather. The entire outfit was based off my armor's SaGoZo Combo which I had specially made. In fact, I had outfits based off each of my Medal Combos that I managed to get Louise to spring for. It was kind of a sentai theme idea I know, but I was not going to be treated like a second-class citizen when I didn't have to be and nobles seemed to have a penchant for the flashy so I had figured why not? Strapped to my back was a sword which Louise bought for me in town. However, it was no ordinary sword. The sword was called Derflinger and it was likely one of the most magical swords I had ever seen. As far as I knew, the magical blade could actually 'eat' the spells enemies hurled at it and collect the power. I was pretty sure that the enchanted steel had other abilities that I had yet to see. When I transformed into OOO, it would transform with me and turn into a longer version of OOO' signature sword the Medajalibur with all of its abilities, which was certainly handy.

On my back, the blade jiggled before sliding itself out of the blue and gold sheathe to reveal its golden quillion which jiggled like a mouthpiece, "Morning Partner! Ready for the celebrations?"

Did I mention that the sword could talk too?

"Just going to check on the Zero Fighter and we'll be on our way," I replied, glancing at the steel over my shoulder.

"Man, I can't believe that thing managed to survive the crash without exploding or something!" Derflinger laughed. "With all of the dragon blood the teacher pumped into it, I was sure it would have gone up in flames."

"It almost did," I nodded, exiting the girls' dormitory tower and entered the courtyard of the academy. "Luckily some Water Mages with the Griffon Knights thought it was some kind of military asset and tried to save it."

Walking across the courtyard towards my destination, I spotted a pair of familiar faces. The first was a boy in the school uniform which consisted of a white shirt, black trousers, polished shoes, and a black cloak with a gold pin to help keep it on his shoulders. He was a handsome devil with golden blonde hair which looked windswept and he had the front of his shirt opened to reveal some of his chest which was fit and toned, just the way the ladies would like it. His name was Guiche de Gramont. He was an Earth Mage with a specialty in making golems out of bronze, hence his nickname Guiche the Bronze. I had met him when he had gotten caught two-timing his girlfriend and I exposed him by showing some love letters he dropped. He duelled me in retribution and I kicked his butt. I first thought he was a useless fop with just a pretty face, but after he joined Louise and I on a mission to Albion during its civil war he really proved that he was a soldier by helping us complete it. He further proved himself by heading off to assist in the Battle of Tarbes where he managed to capture Reconquista's leader after Louise shot down the warship with her Explosion spell. He was still prone to fits of poetry at a pretty face or scandalous amount of skin but I had come to see him as someone to rely on when the chips were down.

With him was a girl who was wearing a simple sundress which had poofy shoulders and a scandalous amount of leg showing for a noble. She was a pretty face with crystal water blue eyes and long blonde hair which was kept in massive curls. She was Montmorency Margarita la Fere de Montmorency, another student, a Water Mage specializing in potions, and Guiche's on-again off-again girlfriend. She was more what I expected of nobles in the area, spoiled and sheltered but it seemed she had matured at least a little after our last adventure. Because Guiche had a bad habit of wandering eyes, Montmorency decided to dose him with a love potion (which were highly illegal) so he'd stay faithful to her. Unfortunately, Louise gulped down the wine it was hidden inside of in one of her bouts of frustration. I had to deal with the fallout of Louise loudly proclaiming her love for me and wanting me to ravish her. When faced with what she had done Montmorency led us on a merry journey to collect the ingredients to the antidote which also entered me in a vow to the entity the ingredient came from. I certainly didn't have a wonderful opinion of her, but not enough to be impolite to her since she took responsibility for her actions albeit reluctantly.

"Ah, Sir Matthew," Guiche greeted, spotting me. "Are you heading out for the parade?"

"Just wanted to check in with Colbert before I left," I answered, sticking my hands in my pockets. "What about you two? Heading out on a date?"

"Of course," Montmorency smiled. "A daytime romantic rendezvous sounds just perfect for our holiday."

"You certainly are dressed for a romantic liaison," I smiled. I wouldn't deny that the dress flattered Montmorency's figure and made her legs look very appealing. "Guiche had better keep his eyes on you or else another man may try to woo you away."

"Hmm, sounds interesting," Montmorency smiled slyly. Guiche immediately sweatdropped as he stiffened at the insinuation. The curled blonde sauntered up to me with a mischievous look in her eyes. I could immediately tell that she was teasing Guiche so I decided to play along. "You know, the air of mystery you have concerning your lineage and magic has always appealed to me. What do you say we…converse about it?"

"Perhaps," I shrugged. "Of course, I would be happy to be your escort to a more…private setting for such an interview."

"M-M-M-Montmorency!" Guiche cried. Dashing up to his girlfriend and kneeling before her with a rose at the ready. "Oh my dear Montmorency, your beauty may capture the eyes of men but I can truly appreciate your grace and charm! Your divine radiance and feminine grace bring me to my knees. I would simply waste away were I not allowed to bask in your presence. Oh my fair Montmorency, do not taunt me so!"

Montmorency giggled and took Guiche's hand to begin leading him away, "Our romantic rendezvous it is then!" she glanced at me and winked. "I'm afraid I must take back my offer Sir MacGregor. I hope you are not too disappointed."

"My heart will no doubt recover," I chuckled. "You two just enjoy yourselves."

The blonde pair continued on with Guiche being led by his girlfriend while I kept going on my way. Passing through one of the archways which extended from the school to the outer walls, I continued on my little trek. I watched as a few students milled about, enjoying the holiday. Many of them were already out at the parade route while others were like Guiche and Montmorency, wanting to enjoy the holiday for their personal activities. Coming out of the castle in were another pair of students who I was familiar with and had become close friends of mine during the months I had been in Tristain.

The first was Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt Zerbst. She was a particularly beautiful girl who had long flowing red hair which reminded me of flames and her skin was a sensual tanned colour. I was sure she also had the largest boobs out of her entire year, if not all of the students in school. I certainly had numerous chances to examine them since she would often hug my face to her chest in her attempts at seducing me. She wore the school uniform which was a white blouse and a dark skirt with a cloak, but she also wore gold thigh high boots as her personally variation and a red feather which I had given her one night pinned to her cloak. Kirche had been quite determined to seduce me into being her lover ever since I became the man of the hour by defeating Guiche in a duel. At first I thought she was merely interested in a fling, but after I got to know her it seemed she was likely interested in way more than just some one-night stand. Her mother certainly seemed to think I was perfect for the busty girl.

As always, beside Kirche, was Tabitha de Chevalier Ivaldi. As opposed to Kirche, she was petite with short blue hair and always had both her crooked staff in hand and a book which she was always reading. With her red spectacles and quiet demeanour, she seemed like the proverbial bookworm. With the school uniform she looked even more the part. She was a very quiet girl and hardly seemed to say two words to anyone. Her best friend Kirche seemed to be able to understand her short sentences but unless you knew what context her words were about, you needed Kirche to translate for you. Still, Tabitha was in fact a very humble girl who not once looked down at me even before I revealed my power as Kamen Rider OOO. I didn't really know her as well as the other friends I made, but she was still nice company to have.

Kirche, hinting at somehow she had a detection sense as far as I was concerned, immediately took notice of me as she and Tabitha exited the school proper. Likely Tabitha wanted to get some more books from the library and Kirche wanted to hold conversation with her best friend. The redhead's eyes immediately lit up as she saw me and a smile came to her lips.

"Darling!" she waved in greeting before dashing towards me, bouncing all the way. I had come to the conclusion after meeting both Kirche and her mother Emma that women of the Zerbst line didn't believe in bras. The redhead was soon upon me and lunged at me, wrapping her arms around me and pressing her sizable chest up against me. It was a rather tame greeting for her since my face wasn't stuck in her cleavage for a change, although I could certainly feel her making sure they were rubbing against me.

"Darling, it's so good to see you this morning," she beamed at me. "Are you going to be going to the parade as well?"

"I was planning on it after I checked on a few things," I replied, trying desperately not show a flush on my cheeks or any other reaction to having her try to meld the memory of her warm body into mine.

"Oh must you Darling?" Kirche asked with a pout. "I'm sure we can do something to celebrate the new queen's coronation ourselves."

"I'm afraid I must," I answered stiffly, trying not to get distracted. "Louise rather insisted on it and I for one don't want to miss all of the festivities."

"Pooh. I suppose you have a point though," Kiche sighed, stepping away. "Celebrations like this don't come by very often and you've never been to one before have you?"

"Not really," I answered.

"Well then I won't stop you," Kirche shrugged as she turned to head back to Tabitha's side. The sexy redhead then turned to gaze at me from over her shoulder, "Next time I won't take no for an answer!" her words were in a sing-song tone and she punctuated the statement with a saucy wink.

I shivered, but if it was in fear or anticipation I wasn't sure.


Inside the Tristain castle, preparations were in a flurry for the coronation of the princess Henrietta. The girl herself was sitting at a vanity table where two of her maids were helping prepare her for the ceremony. She was actually very pretty with short violet hair which reached down to her chin and crystal blue eyes. She was wearing a white and indo dress which helped reveal her pure royal heritage and enhance her beauty. Any girl would have been excited to have such a dress on hand, but Henrietta's face looked rather saddened by what was going to happen.

With her in the room were two men who were there for very different reasons. The first was dressed in the robes of a holy man, or cardinal to be precise. He was an older gentleman with short gray hair and wrinkled features, revealing his age. He was in charge of helping Henrietta remember what to do during the holy ceremony and what to do or avoid during it. Next to him was a younger man dressed in fine clothes, revealing his noble status with short brown hair and green eyes. He was one of Henrietta's advisors who would offer second opinions into the issues concerning the kingdom.

"And now I will explain how to leave the ceremony," the cardinal explained, looking to his book.

"Cardinal Masarini," Henrietta sighed, turning to the man. "I must insist that I do not need the crown."

"Your Majesty, you are being selfish again," the holy man sighed. "We are in the middle of a war. Although we have managed to stop Albion's march, we cannot let our guard down. The people wish to see you ascend to the throne and defeat the enemy."

Henrietta sighed and averted her eyes. Outside, she had been hearing the people praise her for the victory of Tarbes and saving the country from invasion. Although she knew she should be happy that her people loved her so, she felt as she were being railroaded into a position she did not want merely for the sakes of appearances rather than for any kind of ability she had. She was almost being used as a figurehead rather than being the ruler. That was not the kind of queen she wanted to be for the people of Tristain.

"Although I had intended to let this issue wait until after you had ascended to the throne, I feel it cannot wait now that we are at war," the advisor spoke up.

"Advisor Enzio?" asked Henrietta, looking up from her sad musing.

"With your coronation, you will officially become Queen of Tristain," the man explained. "With the situation as it is, it has become more imperative than ever that there be a king to stand beside you as well as share his power with Tristain as a whole."

"But…there are no proper suitors," Henrietta blinked in confusion. "Germania's king has broken off our engagement, the king of Gallia and the pope of Romalia have no proper heirs to offer, and Albion is to be our enemy. The only ones left are the rulers of minor kingdoms who can offer us no aid."

"True, but we advisors recently heard rumours about one of the young men who helped us claim victory at Tarbes," Enzio explained. "The young man with the bloodline that allows him to use that strange armour. It had allowed him to destroy that giant bird and make the explosion which destroyed the Albion warship did it not?"

"Well…" Henrietta began, not sure if she should tell the truth or not. Having been at the battle and knowing who was involved, she knew that Matthew Macgregor had indeed destroyed that monstrous bird which Albion had sent against them, but it was her dear friend Louise Francoise who had rediscovered the lost power of Void Magic. Henrietta had to remind herself that for the good of all Louise's power had to remain a secret. She did not wish to see her best friend exploited!

"We have come to learn that he is of royal blood, despite having been ignorant of his heritage for some time," Enzio continued. "Some of us advisors feel that by bringing him into the royal family will grant Tristain access to his power as a whole and ensure that it remains with the Tristain royal family. It will also send a message to all possible aggressors against Tristain that the power which was seen at Tarbes was not an isolated accident."

Henrietta blinked at the suggestion. Her? Marry Sir MacGregor? It was quite the unorthodox suggestion but. . . well, he seemed rather nice and responsible. He was also very humble and not afraid to do what was needed if his actions at the battle of Tarbes were any indication. However, she had not intended to try to find a king for some time. She had too much to think about with the war and what to do to win it before she could truly think about marriage. Besides, she was still mourning for the loss of her love, Wales who was so ruthlessly murdered by Reconquista in their dreams of conquest. She had no time to think of marriage.


Saying my goodbyes to Kirche and Tabitha, I continued on my trek. I didn't get very far however when I was waylaid by another friend of mine. She was a cute girl with blue eyes and black hair which framed her face. She wore the maid uniform of the castle, indicating that she worked there and instead wasn't a student. Her name was Siesta and she was likely the first friend I had made when I was summoned to Tristain. Her name was Siesta and she was likely one of my most staunch supporters. She was a commoner and someone who couldn't use magic which in turn she had to do what the nobility said. However, a noble named Mott tried to take advantage of that before I kicked his butt in retaliation. Her family was also the one which possessed the Dragon Raiment or what I called the Zero Fighter, a world war two fighter plane that the Japanese used. Siesta's ancestor had somehow come through a portal to Tristain and had no choice but to settle down. Unfortunately, I kind of crashed the Zero Fighter during the Battle of Tarbes and was worried what she might do to me. However, she seemed more thrilled at the fact that her ancestor's stories were proven right than the fact that the machine was all but destroyed.

Siesta was carrying a bucket for laundry duty which seemed to be empty, making me believe that she was either collecting it or had just finished. She of course took one look at me and smiled brightly before walking towards me like a homing beacon, "Hello Matthew!"

"Hi," I nodded. "Starting off early?"

"As always," the happy maid nodded. "Although the workload today should be lighter since many of the students aren't here right now."

"Always a bonus," I agreed. "I would have thought you were getting the day off though. It's not everyday that a princess becomes a queen."

"Well, I had already used up my days off so I couldn't get any more," Siesta shrugged. Her smile turned impish as she gazed at me "Besides, I don't mind. I can see my friends here and talk about…things."

"Oh…really?" I blinked.

When I said that Siesta was one of my most staunch supporters, I meant it. Tarbes was her hometown and rescuing it from the Crow O-Yummy which Wardes had created had made me something of a local hero. Everyone there loved me and Louise for our roles in saving their homes. In thanks, they had managed to collect all of the Cell Medals from the destroyed Crow O-Yummy at Siesta's instruction and had them shipped back to the Academy for me. They were now sitting inside several large chests inside the Academy vaults with only myself and Prof. Colbert having access to them. I needed them for my own weapons and Colbert wanted to keep them so to have constant research subjects for his Cell Medal Studies. However, Siesta's support seemed to be growing more along the lines of Kirche's means of getting my attention than anything else and that worried me. One Kirche was stressful enough when she got amorous.

"Mhmm," Siesta nodded. "Perhaps after the parade we can find some time to ourselves?"

"Uhhh," I blinked. I learned that bluntness seemed to run in Siesta's family since I had met them when I visited Tarbes. Her father had all but outright asked me to marry Siesta so she would be safe from unscrupulous nobles who would try to have her as a mistress. Apparently in Tristain I was something of a good catch. That in itself was weird for me since back home I was a geek with a very inactive social life so dates and relationships hadn't come up too often for me. Being so blatantly propositioned was something I had to get used to.

"I'll…see what I can do," I answered weakly. Siesta didn't seem to mind as she beamed at me before saying goodbye and heading on her way.

Feeling like I dodged a bullet, I continued on my way. Walking to another part of the courtyard, I came to what for all intents and purposes was a shed. It had been constructed after we recovered the Zero Fighter from the Battle of Tarbes. I was sure that it was a complete loss, but ever the enthusiast about learning how to make things work Professor Colbert had managed to get the thing repaired bit by bit and day by day. Coming onto the shed, I knocked on the front door before hearing a muffled 'come in' before grabbing the handle and opening it wide.

Inside was of course the Zero Fighter which despite having been shot down by magical lightning, seemed to be in fine condition again. Next to it was one of the teachers, wearing gray robes and working on a pad and an ink pen. He was an older fellow with the top of his head devoid of hair with the rest being a mix between red and brown. He wore spectacles on his face as he glanced over to see me before smiling in greeting. This was Professor Colbert. He was a pretty easygoing guy despite for all intents and purposes belonging to the noble class. He was an educator to the core who was always happy to experiment with magic and see what new discoveries he could make. Being able to the study the Zero Fighter, a relic from my world, was a downright privilege to him. It was from his studies and such that he was able to repair the plane back into working order. It kind of helped that the plane didn't explode on impact and instead skidded to a halt after being shot down.

"Ah, Matthew," Prof. Colbert greeted. "Stopping by before heading to the parade?"

"Read my mind professor," I nodded. "How's our Zero Fighter doing?"

"Well, we finally managed to get the minor bits and pieces of the engine running again," a female voice answered from the other side of the plane. Emerging from behind the planes wing was a woman who was wearing a female version of the staff uniform, a short skirt, dark cloak, and simple jacket. Her hair was tied back and an odd shade of green. Glasses were on her face, but I knew that she didn't need them. To the majority of the school her name was Ms. Longueville. To most who were in the know though, she was known as Foquet the Crumbling Dirt. To a very select group of people though, she was called Matilda de Saxe-Gotha, daughter of the Archduke of Albion.

Matilda had been a secretary for the headmaster of the school when I first came here. However, it was all disguise she had set up to be able to sneak into the school and steal a precious artefact. Foquet was a famous thief who had stolen incredibly rare items from many nobles all over the continent. The Academy was simply her next target. Despite her skill though, Louise, Tabitha, Kirche, and myself managed to take her down and retrieve the item known as the Staff of Destruction (a rocket launcher from my world). However, Reconquista broke her out of prison to use her skills in their campaign while holding her sister hostage. When we managed to beat her down a second time, she surrendered herself to Tristain authority to give all information she could on Reconquista. A thief she may have been, but a killer she wasn't.

After the Battle of Tarbes, her information seemed to be solid and in the midst of the war, it would be downright golden. Since her sister was being held hostage and forcing her hand against Tristain, Henrietta decided to release her on probation to the school where myself, Osmond, and several other competent mages who knew how she fought would be able to keep her from getting out of hand. If she stepped out of line, she'd be back in the dungeons before she could wave her wand. Most of the school had no idea that she was the famous thief since the school had tried to keep the incident quiet from the outside world. So to most of the students, Ms. Longueville had gone on a sabbatical due to family issues. Of course, she wasn't allowed to be anywhere without either Headmaster Osmond or Professor Colbert with her and considering Osmond's perverted tendencies, it explained why she was with Colbert at the moment.

I eventually came to learn that Matilda wasn't a bad person. Rather, she was just put in a bad situation. Her home and title had been stolen from her by the previous Albion king and his greed so the woman had to look after her sister by any means necessary. She wasn't proud of herself for what she did, but she wasn't going to regret it either since it meant her sister would be able to afford food and other supplies she was going to need to survive. You couldn't condemn someone for doing that.


The countryside of Tristain would have been a backpacker's dream. Everything was very rural, no trappings of civilization beyond the odd piece of farmland, and plenty of forest for any outdoor enthusiast to enjoy. For some of the downfalls many people would see in the world of Halkenginia, the splendid scenery was most definitely not one of them.

Today though, it would be marred.

It began with a black spot several feet in the air. At first it was small and could have easily been mistaken for a bird high above or an insect. However, with a noise not unlike that of tearing fabric, the spot ripped open to a black portal with jagged edges, as if the sky was trying to swallow the blackness back into the daytime blue. It was far from any populated area so nobody saw it. It was unfortunate for if they had, they would know just from the sight of it that it was something evil.

The portal crashed before a deluge spewed from the portal itself like the expelling of waste. It was a mass of silver that the more greedy residents would have come running to claim. In the middle of it were a trio of lights, one red and the other two different shades of blue. Hitting the ground, the silver coins spilled out, but with a flash of three colors, the coins began converging in the centre and rising up. The three lights were engulfed by the coins before it rose up into a humanoid figure. Energy bolts of red, blue, and light blue flashed over the form, changing it into a solid figure.

He panted softly, memory of pain in his breathing as he looked around wildly.

"Where...am I?" the figure muttered to himself. Looking about, he saw a city with a castle surrounded by stone walls in the distance with small houses made of basic materials littering the edges like farms of some sort deeper in the countryside. It all looked quite primitive compared to where he was before, prompting him to ask, "Have I...come further back in the past?"

The noises of cheers and revelry audible even from his distance from the city. Where a city was meant people. Judging from the castle, it meant that there was a ruler there.

And a ruler meant subjects to rule.

"Hnnn," the figure growled, retrieving a handful of the coins. Clenching his fist, the coins began to crack ominously.


Nobles and commoners alike lined up the streets to watch the Royal Parade. Today was a day of celebration as Princess Henrietta would he crowned the new Queen of Tristain. Of course, this was just an attempt to boost morale. The kingdom needed a leader and Henrietta was popular among nobles and commoner alike and not just for her beauty, but also for her grace, kindness, and talents. I was with Louise as we watched the entire procession. This was definitely how I pictured it would go. There was Henrietta, on a horse drawn carriage. There was a procession of soldiers on horseback to escort and guard the new queen of Tristain. These were her royal guards. Past them were even more ranks of soldiers in polished steel armor, some on foot and others on horseback. Many of them held banners with the royal family coat of arms on it. For an even better touch, around us flower petals drifted down to the ground from people through them from the rooftops.

I had to admit that the new queen looked absolutely stunning. Seeing her as she was now, it helped me see how Wales had fallen in love with her so long ago, may his soul rest in peace.

"The princess looks really beautiful today," I remarked.

"Of course," said Louise smugly. "She needs to look her best for her coronation. It wouldn't be good for her not to look her best today."

I looked at Henrietta and she was smiling and waving to the crowd. I was aware she was putting up a brave face. Losing Wales had a devastating effect on her and she was still mourning his death. I had to admit she was tough if she was still able to put on a brave face and go to her day to day duties. No doubt a lot of people in her court were pressuring her about the situation with Albion and Reconquista. We had won the first battle, but if they were in any way real soldiers then they would want to press the advantage and take the rebels down once and for all.

I sighed as I banished such thoughts. Today was supposed to be a happy day, not one to get mired down in regrets and fears of the future. I should just concentrate on being happy for Henrietta like Louise was. At least Henrietta was now in a proper position to take the fight to Reconquista for what they did to her lover. I would certainly be willing to help her beat a bunch of backstabbers like Reconquista if betrayal, greed, and murder were valid tactics to them.

*BOOOM*

I was suddenly jolted out of my rather grim introspection by the sounds of an explosion. At first I thought that it was one of the fireworks, but the cloud of smoke coming from near one of the buildings ahead made me think otherwise. The entire procession stopped as several of the royal guards rode up ahead to see what the problem was.. Surprise and confusion then turned into panic as mummified figures began to swarm out of the smoke like a mass of zombies, save for the fact they all had holes in their heads. The people began to scream in fear and ran for their lives while the royal guards rode to defend their new queen. Louise and I could only stand there stunned as we witness honest to God Trash Yummies attacking the guards and taking just about anything thrown at them.

Louise and I were both familiar with the Trash Yummies. I had created a few in the past to help with sparring and battle tactics. They were really easy to make, just by breaking a Cell Medal in two would create two Trash Yummies to use. I was confident that I was the only one who knew how to make them since I doubted Reconquista would be so callous with the limited supply they had as to break them to see what would happen.

Apparently I was wrong.

The royal guards charged at the Trash Yummies, but were quickly finding their weapons useless. Trash Yummies were nothing if not durable and even if one got pierced, they didn't have vital organs so they wouldn't die. All those soldiers accomplished by getting in close was make themselves better targets as the Trash Yummies began to strike back with sloppy, but powerful punches. Luckily, the men were beaten back or left battered and bruised on the ground before the Trash Yummies spread out, acting almost like a procession. Once they were far enough, a new figure emerged from the rising smoke and dust, causing me to go pale at the sight of him.

'No way,' I silently gaped. 'It's impossible!'

Then again, my life had turned out to be a series of impossible events so I really shouldn't rule this out. But this? How could he be here. He wore a black bodysuit under his three-toned suit of armor. His torso armor was dark blue and had matching gauntlets which were primarily black with deep blue trim. The shoulders were asymmetrical as a whale's tail jutted from the left and a whale's head was on the right. On the chest were symbols resembling aquatic animals arranged in an inverted triangle. Hanging from his belt were red hip plates. The same red armor adorned his legs in boots. His helmet was aqua blue, sporting a pair of yellow eyes and three fins that were pointed forwards. One of the fins was on the tip of the helmet while the other two flanked his faceplate, framing his mouth. In the centre of his belt was a circular buckle which had a jagged edge around it. What caught my attention were the three Core Medals he had embedded in his buckle: Same (Shark), Kujira (Whale) and Ookamiuo (Wolf Fish).

Kamen Rider Poseidon, the Greeed of the future.

"About time I found you. So you're the new ruler of this country eh?" the unknown armored man said as he shouldered his massive harpoon which possessed a wicked design.

"Who are you?" questioned Henrietta.

"Get away from the Princess!" A blonde woman in white shouted as she drew her sword. She lunged from her horse's back, aiming to cut through his abdomen which at first glance looked like it had no armor aside from the bodysuit. Poseiden was hardly concerned as he merely snorted stopped her sword as he caught the blade in his hand.

"Don't interrupt me, wench!" he shouted before he slammed his Deepest Harpoon across the new woman's face, knocking her to the ground. She landed in a heap and didn't move. Either she was knocked out, or the force had been enough to break her neck. Obviously I didn't want to entertain the latter thought.

"Agnes!" Henrietta gasped. Frowning, she turned her harshest glare down on the armoured man who was so audaciously threatening her. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"You may call me...Kamen Rider Poseidon," the armored man identified himself.

"Kamen Rider?" Henrietta gasped, obviously knowing the words from her dealings with me.

"And as for what I want, it's power. Power to rule all, power to dominate, and power to be the king of this world," boasted Poseidon, ignoring or perhaps not noticing her shock. "And my first step is taking you, Your Majesty." He approached her threateningly with his weapon raised again. It would have made for an intimidating tableau had it not been for one thing.

*SPLAT!*

Poseidon stopped as he felt my improvised projectile hit him in the back of the head. A properly aimed tomato could do wonders could it not? From amusing the masses, showing displeasure to a bad actor, and even stopping psychopathic Greeed-like entities."Who dares!?" He wiped the ruined fruit (vegetable?) from his helmet. "Who threw that!?" What few members of the crowd were left swiftly ran from his sight. I was the only one who remained where I was, standing next to the produce stand that I took my ammunition from.

"That would be me," I said as I stood defiantly before Poseidon. Well, I looked defiant but I could feel the pre-battle jitters running through my body. I was primed and ready for a brawl.

"Sir Matthew!" exclaimed Henrietta.

"So, a mere boy wishes to face me," Poseidon snorted, finding my bravery laughable. "Then you are begging for death."

"No," I said as I put on the O-Driver, preloaded with the Taka, Tora and Batta Medals. Poseidon's amused chuckles quite suddenly died as he stiffened at the sight of the O-Driver. "You'll be the one begging for mercy after this!" I tilted the buckle and grabbed the O-Scanner before calling out, "Henshin!" I scanned the Core Medals.

"TAKA!"

"TORA!"

"BATTA!"

"TA-TO-BA TATOBA TA-TO-BA!"

The familiar TaToBa Combo armor formed as I assumed the form of Kamen Rider. Those who were new to my transformation could only gasp and look at me in surprise. I ignored the people though as I focused all of my attention of Poseidon in front of me. I drew Derflinger who'd assumed his Medajalibur form as I got ready to fight against the enemy Rider. My hand grew warm as the Gandalfr runes lit up once again, filling me with the knowledge of how to be my best at a sword fight.

"So, you wish to fight me," said Poseidon as he pointed his harpoon at me. He didn't sound amused or annoyed anymore, but deathly serious. That was good. He knew I was a threat to him. "I hope you don't waste my time by begging for your life, OOO."

So, he knew who I was. No surprise, but I guess I didn't have to introduce myself. He charged at me and swung. I ducked and slashed him across the chest, causing sparks to fly. He grunted and whirled around to take my head off, but I ducked back to avoid the strike. He then kicked me in the chest and followed up with a thrust from his Deepest Harpoon. Pain pierced through my body as I was sent tumbling but I stopped myself and dug my feet into the ground. Poseidon lunged at me to run me through but I rolled out of the way and got to my feet. I parried his continuous thrusts.

Using a hard strike, I knocked the Deepest Harpoon away from me and prepared to strike at Poseidon's neck. I wasn't sure if decapitation could kill a Greeed, but at the least it would slow him down. I didn't have the time to make the strike though before the Trash Yummies jumped me and I was pulled back from Poseidon into the mob of their flailing limbs.

Stupid! How could I have forgotten about his minions? I slashed at them, gained some distance. Paning, I did a quick count of their numbers and knew I couldn't be stingy. Not with Poseidon waiting in the ranks. So I lifted my weapon slotted three Cell Medals into Medajalibur before hitting the lever to load them all inside of the blade itself.

"Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!" Medajalibur spoke as I slipped the Medals inside of him. Figures he had to make a joke about being able to swallow in this form and at a time like this. Grabbing my O-Scanner, I swiped it across the window to the Cell Medals inside.

"TRIPLE SCANNING CHARGE!"

"SEE-YAH!" I bellowed loudly, cutting a line through the air. With a single slash, I cut a glowing line through all of the Trash Yummies and stopped them all in their tracks. The entire scene in front of me shifted, as if I cut through all of the buildings along with the Yummies. The buildings of course shifted back, but the Yummies remained the same before they exploded. Ashes and broken Cell Medals fell to the ground, marking the only remained the creatures had.

I felt pride at the strike, but then it hit me, literally: they were just a distraction. I was suddenly hit across the back in a flash of blue. Poseidon had hit me with some kind of energy attack. The force of the blow threw me to the ground painfully as Medajalibur fell from my hands. I groaned in pain before flipping myself over, watching Poseidon approach me once more utterly smug.

"Never turn your back on your opponent," he mockingly advised me.

"Matthew!" I heard Louise call and I looked up to see her hold up a couple of Core Medals. I could always rely on my Master to have my back. Unfortunately, Poseidon noticed this too. He stiffened, much like an addict when they saw the means of their high right in front of them. With a snarl, he charged for Louise, his free hand already grasping for my the Core Medals she held. I struggled to get up and stop him, but I was slowed by the pain clouding my mind. Fortunately, Poseidon's charge was suddenly cut off by a large fireball blasting him in the face. He stumbled back screaming, reminding me that he wasn't a guy in a suit but the actual suit itself.

The one on the other end of the spell stood Kirche, coming out of the masses of common folk. Her face was unnaturally grim, being much better suited to smiling and laughing in my opinion. Next to her was Tabitha, looking especially grim as she held her own staff at the ready. Oddly enough, she seemed to be completely calm in the situation while Kirche seemed to be simmering fury as she kept her eyes trained on the stumbling Poseidon as he tried to put out the fires on his head.

"Louise, please help Darling," Kirche spoke almost stoically. Louise smiled before tossing the Core Medals to me. I easily caught them and smiled at her choice. Facing Poseidon once again, I replaced two of the Core Medals in my belt and scanned them.

"KUWAGATA!"

"TORA!"

"CHEETAH!"

The sections of my armor swapped out and took hold as I faced my opponent again. "Take this!" I zapped Poseidon with the Kuwagata Head's lightning as I ran around him. I was too fast for him to hit and disoriented as he seemed to be from the fireball, I may as well have been immaterial. Then I proceeded to slash him repeatedly with my Tora Claws before I leapt into the air and executed a series of lightning fast kicks which smashed against his chest. He was flung backwards by the attack and sent skidding along his back. He rose up to his feet in annoyance, supporting himself with his Deepest Harpoon but then his legs were frozen up to his knees. I looked and saw Tabitha with her staff pointed at him. I had to give the girl credit for knowing when to get involved.

"Don't you dare get in my way!" shouted Poseidon as he thrust his Deepest Harpoon down on the ice binding his legs and shattered it with disturbing ease. With a single sweep, he scattered the fragments. Glaring at me, he then looked around and spotted Louise before looking at her malevolently. "Let's see if you're as fast as you think!" With a single swing, he sent a lethal water-based energy attack flying at Louise. The attack took the shape of a serpent with its maw open and Louise was frozen as she stood in its path.

"Louise!" I shouted as I kicked my Cheetah Legs into overdrive. I managed to reach the attack's path and shielded Louise. Crossing my arms, I took the brunt of the attack and screamed as I was painfully sent flying. The shockwave of the attack caused Louise to scream and drop the Medal Book, the Core Medals jingling as they spilled out due to being shaken free from the book. Several of the Core Medals rolled out and stopped before landing faceup on the ground. I landed in a smoking heap and was obviously feeling incredible pain from the attack as I grunted and groaned my armor dematerialized.

"Predictable, you fight for the weak," sneered Poseidon. "Just like the last OOO."

I was lying on the ground in pain after shielding Louise. When I opened my eyes I saw that the Medal Book was open and that some of my Core Medals had spilled out onto the ground. I then watched as Poseidon began to pick up my fallen Core Medals, plucking them off the ground like one would pick up spare change before he scooped up the Medal Book in the process. Once he had them all, he walked over to me, looking down as if I were some sort of mongrel.

"I think I'll let you keep your Combos," said Poseidon as he took most of my Core Medals before throwing it to me. "I do want a challenge now and then." He looked to Princess Henrietta. A snicker could be heard coming from his throat, "Now, where were we?"

"No..." I said weakly as I stood up to my feet. Poseidon turned, looking over his shoulder at me. "You're...not taking those Medals." I slotted my red Core Medals into the Driver and tilted the buckle before gripping my O-Scanner. "Henshin!"

"TAKA!"

"KUJAKU!"

"CONDOL!"

"TA~JA~DOL!"

Fire exploded around me as I transformed into my crimson TaJaDol Combo. So this trashy copy of a Greeed wanted a pieece of me eh? Well, I would give him more than just a piece! I'd give him the whole thing! No one touched my Medals without my permission! No one! You try to steal from me and I send you to hell in such a state the devil would think you'd been there for years already!

"HO-RAAH!" I bellowed, flames circling around me.

"So, you still got a bit of fight in you, huh, OOO?" Poseidon laughed as he pointed his Deepest Harpoon at me. "Seems that I will have to kill you after all. Oh well"

"You're the one who's gonna die here!" I shouted as I used my O-Scanner again.

"SCANNING CHARGE!"

I leapt into the air, my wings spread, and shot up as Poseidon's gaze followed. I then dropped down at him with my legs aimed and my boots forming into sharp bird talons. My body was engulfed in red flames as I performed the Prominence Drop. Poseidon fired energy bursts at me but they flew past me, or their water-based nature caused them to be nullified by my fire abilities. Coming down like a diving bird, I smashed into him and there was an explosion. I flipped through the air and landed on one knee, panting.

Dammit, I was feeling my limit coming. Getting my ass kicked like a moron before swapping into TaJaDol probably wasn't going to do my any health favors. Still, it had been worth it if I was able to take down that fish freak before he could pull off any of his bullshit like he tried with Eiji and Ankh.

I heard the sound of coins dropping to the ground and stood up to look at Poseidon, cursing softly under my breath as the attack hadn' been enough to kill the bastard. He'd taken considerable damage as Cell Medals spilled from his body from multiple places like war wounds. He was even supporting himself on his Deepest Harpoon and I could see some of the Core Medals he'd stolen from me littering the ground.

"Looks like you have a bit of fight in you, OOO," Poseidon remarked, sounding winded. "Let us do this again." He formed a pillar of water and shot up into the air to escape. Damn stupid weak human body keeping me down like this. I should have spread my wings and gone after the bastard but my body was protesting too much and feeling like it was about to fall apart. I couldn't even force my wings to spread out so I could even try to fly.

"Next time," I growled. "Next time I'll take back what's mine," Grunting, my legs failed and I collapsed, my transformation ending when I hit the ground.

I passed out not a second later.


When I woke up again, I was being treated by one of Henrietta's royal physicians. Once she was sure that I was in a proper state of mind and not delirious, she outlined just how much a beating I had taken from the new Greeed. I won't go into details, mainly because I can't remember, but suffice to say that champion boxers after the fight of their lives tended to look better than I did when I had been brought into the castle for treatment. Were it not for the wonders of water magic, I would have looked like one big swollen bruise if the description the healer gave me was any indication.

The pain from waking up really helped drive home the reality of the situation for me. Poseidon didn't hold back his punches and I was completely unprepared for the ferocity that he fought with. I liked to think I put up a good fight, but how he managed to put me down was frightening. It was nothing like the soldiers of Reconquista or a noble who liked to show off while trying to look tough at the same time. My confidence had cost me and even when I had my Gandalfr runes helping me I was still getting my butt kicked. Now Poseidon had about half of the Core Medals that I had initially held. He was going to be back for the rest, that was for sure. His goal though was to conquer everything before him, a typical Greeed motive.

As I sat shirtless in the chair, the physician finished her final treatment and bowed to the queen before leaving. Henrietta, Louise, and a blonde woman named Agnes acting as Henrietta's bodyguard were all with me as I shifted in my seat, trying to get the sting out of my bruises and cuts. The hour was getting late and the castle had been shut tight against all visitors and intruders in the wake of Poseidon's assassination/kidnapping attempt

"Anyone care to explain what happened today?" Agnes asked irritably, throwing a look at me. Her full name was Agnes Chevallier de Milan, the leader of the Musketeer squadron and the personal bodyguard of Henrietta. She wore a white unform which looked flashy enough for noble tastes, but functional enough for it of to be used outside of pompous functions. Her hair was also cut into a tomboyish short cut, something that may have been considered unladylike. Even Tabitha with her short hair kept it at a longer length than a boy would. She was sporting one hell of a shiner after Poseidon slugged her, but it seemed her pride hurt more than her face did.

For some reason I got the feeling she didn't like me too much.

"He called himself 'Kamen Rider Poseidon'," said Louise, trying to remember every detail of the incident. She was obviously shaken, but she was certainly trying to stay strong in the face of it all. Her pale face and slight tremble in her shoulders sure wasn't doing anything to conceal her worry though.

"That was no Rider. Just a Greeed in Rider form," I retorted, wincing at the sting from my wounds.

"Sir MacGregor, you know who that man was?" asked Henrietta, her eyebrows rising. "His magic seemed to be awfully similar to yours."

I sighed. This was going to be somewhat difficult to explain. In canon, Poseidon had been made from the remnants of the Kougami Foundation in the future trying to revive the Core Medals which the man thought that would be the key to mankind's evolution. Michael Minato was the Kamen Rider of the time and he used the Medals to try and fight evil of the future. One night, a black hole opened, the void which erupted from the Dinosaur Greeed Giru's death and erupted with Cell Medals and the Cores. Michael absorbed the Cells and Cores, triggering the manifestation of a mind in his three Medals. The Medals fused with his body and he became possessed by the Greeed Poseidon. Still, I thought those Medals had been destroyed when Eiji Hino and Gentarou Kisaragi took down GingaOh who had stolen them to use as a power source.

"Well?" Agnes asked, clearly impatient.

"Okay," I sighed. I had to spin this right. "Your majesty, you remember the story behind my ancestor who created the Core Medals and formed the artificial lifeforms called the Greeed?"

"I do," Henrietta nodded. "Louise Francoise told me the story after the Battle of Tarbes. Your ancestor desired to control the world and using alchemy, infused animal essences into coins and created the Core Medals as the ultimate weapon." She turned thoughtful as she recalled the rest of the story. "Because of his impatience and misuse of the Cores however, first his Greeed went wild and then when he tried to use their power to become a god the power destroyed him."

"That's right," I nodded. "Still, surely you have to guess that when creating such a powerful weapon, even one that went wild, there would be those that wished to capture it for themselves or try to copy it."

"So this Poseidon is a copy of your powers?" asked Agnes.

"A bad one at that," I answered. "During my time when the Core Medals were thought lost after the Greeed were released and defeated, a man with vast resources and had been deeply researching the Multi-King attempted to create his own Core Medals."

"Why would he do that?" asked Louise. She was clearly confused as to why anyone would make the Core Medals when they were obviously so dangerous.

"Power. Why else?" Agnes snorted.

"In a sense. He thought that being powered by desire, the Core Medals would be the key to advancing human evolution to greater heights," I replied. Kougami's motives never made sense to me and frankly I thought the man was a lunatic who was able to buy his way out of the loony bin. "From ancient records and what clues he could piece together from the Multi-King's kingdom, he tried to reverse engineer the process the alchemists use to create the Core Medals and the O-Driver. What he got was the Same, Kujira, and Ookamiuo Medals. You can tell that they're imperfect since the colours don't match, meaning that something was off during the forging process."

"You use different colours though," Louise argued.

"Yes, but they're all different Medals," I retorted. "Same, Kujira, and Ookamiuo mean Shark, Whale, and Wolf Fish. All three of those Medals belong to the same type. When the Medals were used in the Poseidon Driver, something went wrong. Perhaps invoking the power in the Medals triggered something, but they came to life and formed the consciousness of a Greeed."

"Wait, a Greeed?" Henrietta frowned.

"The Greeed Poseidon took control of the suit and using Cell Medals, created a new body for himself," I answered. "I had thought that the previous OOO had destroyed him though. Something must have brought the Medals here and Poseidon must have had enough Cell Medals to form a body." I shrugged. "That, or he possessed someone. The Medals could do that if they're active."

"So, we're facing a threat with powers and artifacts similar to yours," frowned Agnes.

"And he's also after the rest of mine," I said. "He wants power, more and more power, and he knows that my Core Medals are the ultimate power. He's already gotten his hands on nearly half of my collection. Once he's healed he'll come after the rest and won't let anyone or anything stand in his way."

"But you can defeat him, right?" Louise asked me hopefully.

"I can, but it won't be easy. He's not above using dirty tricks to get what he wants and I'm still not sure if he's just a living pile of Cell Medals or possessed an innocent person just yet," I told her. I wasn't exactly willing to kill an innocent person just to end a threat like Poseidon.

"I think we need to inform the rest of Tristain and our allied countries of this threat," said Henrietta.

"Would they believe us?" asked Agnes, being the voice of reason. "Explaining what Poseidon is risks revealing OOO who the generals are insisting to be kept a secret weapon. Besides that, would any of our allies believe it? I saw the man, monster, or whatever you want to call him and even I have a hard time believing it. I mean, a monster made of metal coins?"

"Yeah, but Poseidon's gonna do whatever it takes to get the rest of my Core Medals. He'll attack anyone and anywhere as long as he'll know it can draw me out to face him," I said. "When that happens I'll have to be ready for him." I asked Louise. "Louise, the Purple Cores are still in my Medal Book, right?"

"Y-yes," Louise nodded. Holding up the book, she revealed the polished purple circles. I was a little surprised to see despite Poseidon taking a number of the others, he hadn't even touched the purple ones. "He didn't touch them for some reason."

"Good," I sighed in relief. "Then we have a chance."

"What's so special about these purple coins, besides the obvious?" asked Agnes. No doubt to her, they didn't look any different from the rest of the Core Medals, save for the colour and the designs on them. She couldn't see why Poseidon would avoid even touching them when he had been so determined to get the others.

"Because unlike the other Core Medals, they represent the complete opposite of desire. They represent emptiness and a complete lack of desire," I told them. "They are the only force capable of destroying the desire-fueled Core Medals."

"D-D-Destroy them?-!" Louise gasped. I nodded in response to her shock. I was reluctant to try and destroy the Core Medals for a number of reasons. In the battles to come against Reconquista, I was going to need all of them to help Louise and by extension Tristain come out on top. I'm also not enough of a liar to admit that I had spent a lot of money collecting those Medals back home before my trip to Tristain made them real. I didn't want to have to give them up after all I went through to get them.

"So, these special Core Medals can defeat Poseidon?" Henrietta asked.

"Yes, but they are unstable and volatile," I admitted. "The first OOO didn't dare use them and my predecessor went berserk whenever he used them for extended periods of time. Then again, they do represent the destruction of desire and thus there is a risk I will become a dangerous monster bent on destroying everything." I had seen Eiji Hino go berserk and almost kill his friends a fair few times before his strength of will finally managed to suppress the berserker aspects of the purple Cores. I still had to ask myself though, could I do the same?

So deep in my pondering and strategizing, I had almost forgotten that Henrietta was in the room. So tense, I almost jumped when she finally spoke again, "Um...may I see those Medals Sir MacGregor?" Blinking, I nodded and gestured to Louise. The pinkette handed the Medal Book over to Henrietta. The queen carefully and respectfully opened the pages and examined the cores. I wasn't quite sure her sudden interest in the Medals now when she could have seen them before.

"I've seen these before," Henrietta admitted. "Not just in your hands, but I've seen these long before I had met you."

My eyes and Louise widened considerably at her words.

(LINE BREAK)

Poseidon was recovering in an empty alley. His body was still wracked with pain from OOO's Prominence Drop attack. Filled with rage, he growled, "OOO..." Fortunately, the Core Medals in his body were slowly healing him. He' gotten a good haul of Cores, but both he and OOO had full combos of their own. Technically, they were on even ground.

'I am equal to no one!' Poseidon snapped to himself. He was the supreme being, the most powerful! OOO would learn his place and fall at his feet like the worm he was! He, Poseidon, would then take his place as the new OOO and rule this new land with his power! Nobody was going to be able to stop him. His desire was his strength and there was nothing in existence that would stand in the way of his desire!

To Be Continued…

A/N: Well, this goes to show that I haven't forgotten about FOOOZ just yet. This isn't the only chapter of the sequel I have either. I've got several chapters done, but this is the only one that has been edited and fits up to the point where I am comfortable showing it off. So tell me what you guys think and I'll go from there.