Disclaimer: I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me.

…

A sleek green maglev train with yellow strips going down the sides and an engine car with a pair of antenna and large red windows which, combined with the grill, made it somewhat resemble a grasshopper merrily sped along its track across a seemingly endless desert.

Inside the train's dining car, a couple were seated at one of the tables, eyes fixed on each other rather than the desolate, yet beautiful, landscape rolling past the windows. From the burning candelabra, white tablecloth, flower setting, and the two of them dressed to the nines, it was clear that this was a date.

The only incongruity in this otherwise standard romantic setting was that neither of the couple were visibly human. One was a rather grotesque man resembling a grasshopper, while the other was a very attractive – but distinctly inhuman – locust woman.

They were also the only people in the car, but that wasn't as significant.

From the way they laughed, their relaxed posture – and the rather low level of wine in their glasses – it was evident to all (not that there was anyone to witness, that is) that they were having a great time.

"So then what happened?" The grasshopper man asked, deeply invested in the story his partner was telling.

"Well, I demanded to see the manager, of course," the locust continued. "So she went to get him, and he said the same thing she had: no nonhumans were allowed."

The grasshopper shook his head in disgust. "There's still places like that? I thought King Tokiwa-"

"May he reign forever," both of them said reverently.

"Had put a stop to that kind of shit!" The grasshopper concluded his sentence.

"Yes, well, he hadn't gotten the memo just yet," the locust woman grunted.

"Did you tell him you used to be human?" The grasshopper asked.

She nodded. "Yes, and he didn't care."

The grasshopper man shook his head angrily. "So what did you do?"

"Well, I bit his head off, of course," the locust said matter-of-factly.

"Just like that?" He marveled.

"Just like that," she confirmed.

He considered this. "I should probably be upset at you for that, but he sounds like he was a real asshole."

"He was," she agreed. "Also, it turned out he was actually an evil monster who fed off of hatred and bigotry and enforced discriminatory policies to make himself stronger."

"Well, that's awfully convenient," he noted.

She shrugged. "That's the world we live in, I guess."

"I guess so," he agreed.

"Anyway, with him dead, whatever spell he cast on the other employees wore off, and I was able to buy the dress," she finished her story. "I even got a discount!"

He applauded her. "Well done! I have to say, Inago, that anger management really seems to be paying off. Back when we first met, you would've killed everyone in the store for that insult, including the other shoppers!"

She blushed and looked away. "Well, I wouldn't have been able to turn my life around if it weren't for you, Shin. After everything you've done for me, for us… I knew I couldn't be that kind of person anymore. You made me want to try harder, be better. You may not necessarily be the most popular or accomplished Kamen Rider, but… As far as we're concerned, you're the best thing that ever happened to us. You're our hero, and we'll never forget that."

"I could say the same thing to you, Inago," he said softly, taking another sip from his glass as he stared at her in adoration. "What you did for those other monsters, how you built that community from scratch, gave them a place to belong… That's a level of heroism I don't think I could ever match."

"You're wrong," she told him firmly. "But thank you for saying so anyway."

He smiled at her, wondering, not for the first time, how things had turned out like this. Not too long ago, his life had been rock-bottom, where it had been stuck at for close to 30 years. He had lost his fiancée, his humanity, his life, his chance for revenge, and spent years homeless and participating in crossover battles with more successful Riders for food.

And then one day he got recruited by the time police to help take down a serious threat to the timeline, which resulted in him being instrumental in defeating the insane Another Oma Zi-O and saving reality, winning him his beloved ShinLiner, and setting him up for a comeback which resulted in him saving the world and winning the accolades he'd always been denied, netting him a wonderful girlfriend, friends, and even reunited him with his long-lost son. (A/N: See Kamen Rider Ex-Aid 'Tricks' Bonus Stage: Quiz Chronicle and the trailer for Kamen Rider Shin: Shin Rides Again for more details.)

His life had improved by every measure imaginable.

And, he thought as he slowly reached a hand into a pocket, wrapping his claws around the small box within, it was about to get better still. "Inago, there's something I'd like to ask you-"

"Master, you have a visitor."

Shin blinked and, irritated by the interruption, glared at his gynoid attendant, Cart, who had silently appeared beside the table… Without a dessert cart, which was almost as bad as her interruption. "A visitor? Now isn't the best time. Ask if they can come back later." He considered for a moment. "Unless it's the DenLiner crew, in which case, amend 'later' to 'never.'"

Cart shook her head. "It's not the DenLiner, or any other time train. I'm… Not entirely sure how they got here, actually."

"It was not easy," a robotic grasshopper remarked as it hopped over Cart's shoulder and landed on the table. "Even for our technology. We learned millennia ago not to dabble in time travel."

"A wise decision," Shin muttered, frowning at the unwelcome intruder to what had been a perfectly lovely date which had just been about to hopefully become something more. The grasshopper was fairly large, big enough to wrap its fully articulated legs around his wrist, and a shimmering emerald in color covered in hexagonal patterns and glowing lines. Its wings were crystal and inlaid with insanely complex circuit patterns, and its legs looked powerful enough to deliver a Rider Kick all by themselves, with spines which easily rivaled his Spine Cutters in sharpness. Its large glowing red compound eyes glittered with inhuman intelligence, and there was a glowing golden hexagonal jewel on its forehead, beneath its twitching antenna.

"Oh my," Inago gushed. "It's stunning!"

"What are you supposed to be?" Shin wondered, a bit less inclined to admire something that had just ruined his perfect evening. (Though he reluctantly admitted it was rather pretty.) "A next-generation Zecter?"

The grasshopper hissed and its antenna twitched in anger. "A Zecter? Do not lump me in with those crude toys designed by our distant cousins. I am Caelifer, a Divine Insect who protects the Hive and serves the Queen."

"Oh," Shin replied. "Can you be used to transform someone into a powered-up form?"

Caelifer paused, antennas twitching in surprise. "Yes. How did you-"

"So, a really smart, talking Zecter," Shin concluded.

"I'm not – we came first! The Worms based them off of us!" The irate grasshopper shouted.

"Shin, don't tease our guest," Inago chided Shin.

"He's ruining our date!" Shin protested. "And now he's going to try and drag me off on some big adventure to save the world, which is going to make it really hard to get together with you again for the foreseeable future!"

Caelifer was shocked. "How did you-"

"I've been in the game for roughly 30 years, I know how this goes," Shin grunted.

"You spent most of those 30 years on the streets, begging for food," Cart reminded him.

"Yeah, but that didn't stop me from learning things," he rebutted. He glowered at the grasshopper. "I don't suppose telling you I'm retired means anything?"

"Your world is in jeopardy-" Caelifer began.

"When is it not?"

"And my Queen dispatched me and my comrades to find heroes who she believed would be capable of averting the coming catastrophe," Caelifer continued.

Inago gasped in delight. "And you think Shin is one of them!"

The grasshopper nodded. "Indeed."

Shin made a face. "Sure you got the right guy? Pretty sure there's lots of other, much better and more successful heroes you should be talking to, ones who weren't homeless for decades."

"Shin, you know good well you're a real hero," Inago pointed out, upset at how her boyfriend was putting himself down.

"Yeah, but I was having a really good evening-" he protested.

"Shin!"

Shin groaned. "All right, all right." He glanced back down at Caelifer. "You're really sure I'm the right one for this?"

"My selection software is never wrong," Caelifer bragged. "And, unlike most of my kin, my champion is an actual insect!"

"I used to be human, you know," Shin pointed out.

Caelifer looked his very much not human form up and down in skepticism. "You were?"

Shin sighed. "The grasshopper DNA infusion/cyborg transformation process went a step further with me than for most Showa riders, okay? Guessing that's why you came for me instead of Hongo…"

He shot Inago an apologetic look, feeling the small box burning a hole in his pocket. "Sorry about this. Looks like we'll have to finish another time."

"That's all right," she told him, an understanding look on her face. "When duty calls, a Kamen Rider must answer."

"Always," he agreed grudgingly. "We'll drop you off on the way to…" He glanced at Caelifer. "Where are we going?"

"Hive City," the grasshopper replied.

"Hive City," Shin continued, glancing at Cart.

"I have programmed our course into the autopilot. We will arrive shortly," the gynoid confirmed.

Shin nodded gratefully. "Good."

"Before I leave, was there something you wanted to ask me?" Inago asked.

Shin hesitated. He started to reach for his pocket…

But no, the moment had passed. "Nothing that can't wait until next time," he told her.

"All right," she replied, looking somewhat doubtful.

Shin felt a little guilty for lying to her, but… Proposing now, just before he was about to embark on some great adventure, didn't sit well with him. It would be bad enough she'd have to be waiting anxiously for news of him when he was her boyfriend, it would be even worse if he were her fiancé.

And speaking of news… "Cart, I'd like to make a call, please," he told his attendant.

"Certainly," she chirped. "I'm guessing you'd like to let your son know the good news?"

Shin shook his head. "No, he's on a mission with Mole Beastman, I shouldn't disturb him. I'd like you to call…"

…

Masaru Aso – also known as Kamen Rider ZO waited patiently by the phone, just as he had every day for practically 30 years.

He was sure it would ring any minute now, with an offer for a team up.

Any minute now.

Any. Minute-

The phone rang.

His hand shot out and yanked the receiver from its cradle so fast he nearly ripped it out by the cord. "Masaru Aso – also known as Kamen Rider ZO – speaking! If you need a hero to help save the world, I'm your guy!"

"Hey, Aso."

Masaru's shoulders fell. "Oh. It's you, Kazamatsuri. What are you calling to rub in my face now?"

"Guess who just got selected by the servant of an alien God-Queen to help save the world!" Shin bragged.

Masaru's eyes bulged out of their sockets. "MOTHER-"