Finally! This chapter freakin took forever. Anyways, Den-O is back, and ready for more. Let's get to it!
"This is awesome!" Eric shouted, zooming through the skies on a hoverboard he had bought while the DenLiner was docked in Kotaro's home time. He started doing loop-da-loops and spins in the air, but eventually made himself dizzy. All Vivian did was just shake her head at how silly her friend looked.
Finally, the teen landed back on the ground. "I can't wait for technology to be so advanced in 50 years!"
"Wonder why we're here, anyways," Viv stated.
Eric shrugged. Kotaro had been gone for quite a while. He had requested this stop by Owner in the future year of 2068. However, something seemed off with Kotaro on this day.
"Whatever he has to do, I'm just going to wait and try out my new hoverboard."
"Hey, I wanna try!" Ryutaros's voice spoke in Eric's mind. Instantly, Eric froze and changed. He now wore a hipster hat, and his hair was longer with a streak of purple. Ryutaros then proceeded to ride Eric's hoverboard around.
"This is exciting!" the Dragon Imagin shouted. However, his joy ride was cut short by a burst of fire coming from the ground. R-Eric dodged, then landed onto the ground.
"Hey, what's the big idea?!" R-Eric demanded. They turned to see an Imagin who was completely covered in flames. The Inferno Imagin roared and charged at R-Eric.
"Uh, Ryu…" Eric stated, "I think it's time to change into Den-O!"
In that instant, Ryutaros revealed Eric's Liner Pass, causing the Den-O belt to appear. He strapped it on, pressed the purple button, and swiped the pass over the buckle.
"Gun Form!"
Den-O jumped out of the way of the charging Imagin, and blasted the fiery creature in the back. Ryutaros landed and made a pose, then spoke. "Mind if I defeat you? I can't hear you!"
The Inferno Imagin shot flames, but Den-O breakdanced out of the way. He then rolled and shot the Imagin in the chest, which caused it to roar more intense. It then released a huge arc of energy, blasting Den-O to the ground and forcing Ryu out of Eric's body.
"That… was way too intense," Eric groaned, his chest throbbing in pain. The Imagin was about to shoot again, when a shot hit it in the chest.
Eric and Vivian turned to see a green and gold warrior, who wore a green and yellow belt with what looked like a yellow card inside. The warrior removed the card, changing him into a young man, a little more than Eric's age, with light brown hair. He grinned with an arrogent smile at the Imagin as his own Imagin partner, a robed figure with a bird-like mask for a face, emerged from the person's body.
"Who the heck are you?!" the Inferno Imagin demanded.
"Shun Narutaka," the young man introduced himself, "And I shall be your executioner,"
The train of time, Denliner. Will the next station be in the past or the future.
Den-O Theme:
Jikan no nami we tsukamaete (Grab on to the waves of time)
Ima sugu ni yukou yakusoku no basho (Right now let's go to that place of promises)
Genkai mugen iza tobikome. (You have unlimited boundries. In a pinch, jump over it)
Climax JUMP!
Ii jan? Ii jan? Sugee Jan? Ii jan? Ii jan? Sugee Jan? (Isn't it good? Isn't it good? Isn't it great? Isn't it good? Isn't it good? Isn't it great?)
Kanaitai yume ga aru nara (If you have a dream that you want to come true)
Shinjinakacha negatta hibi wo (…then there were days when you believed it would come true)
Catch the wave!
Mayoi sou na toki kanarasu (When you're lost…)
Omoi no tsuyosa ga michibiku (you're sure to be guided by the strength of your feelings)
Kimi ga nozomu mirai sude ni in you hands (The future you wish for is already in your hands!)
Hajimari wa itsumo totsuzen (Beginnings are always sudden)
Unmei wo tsurete yuku time tripin' ride (…Bringing fate along on this time tripin ride)
Dare yori takaku [Ii jan? Ii jan? Sugee jan?] Kinou yori takaku [Ii jan? Ii jan? Sugee jan?] (Higher than anyone else [Isn't it good? Isn't it good? Isn't it great?] Higher than Yesterday… [Isn't it good? Isn't it good? Isn't it great?])
Climax Jump!
Ii jan? Ii jan? Sugee Jan? Ii jan? Ii jan? Sugee Jan? (Isn't it good? Isn't it good? Isn't it great? Isn't it good? Isn't it good? Isn't it great?)]
"Whoa! That's cool," Eric stated.
Shun then turned to his partner. "I'll handle this one on my own, Deneb."
The Imagin, Deneb, bowed to his master. "Yes sir."
Momotaros then began to speak in Eric's head. "Odebu! Long time no see."
Deneb rolled his eyes at the nickname Momo had for him, then stepped away from the battle. Shun then flipped his card around, revealing the green backside, and prepared to transform. "Henshin!"
He placed the card into his belt, making an A with the green portions and the card. The belt then shouted, "Altair Form!" Shun changed into his Rider form, but his time he was more green than gold, and a cow-like visor came over his head.
"Let me just warn you, I am pre-et-ty strong!" Shun stated, shaking his finger on the "pretty strong" in time with his speech.
Then, pulling out a handle from his belt and placing it on the end of a saber piece also strapped to his belt, Shun revealed a sword which he used to slice at the Imagin. Each of the attacks trailed an emerald light when they hit. The Imagin was overloaded with attacks when Shun pressed a button on his belt, causing it to shout "Full Charge!"
He removed the card in his belt, placing it within his sword, then cleaved the Imagin in half, causing it to dissolve into sand.
Shun placed a thumbs-up, then changed back into normal form. He then turned to Eric, who was open-jawed at what had just happened.
Shun grunted arrogently. "So, this is the successor to the 'almighty' Kamen Rider Den-O? Heh. You're weaker than your pedecessor."
Eric finally got out of his awe and stood up. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?! Who are you, anyways?"
"Shun Narutaka. Grandson of Yuuto and Airi Sakurai and the new Kamen Rider Zeronos!"
"Zeronos? Never heard of you," Eric stated, "You guys know who this is?"
"Well, the new Zeronos I've never seen before, but the original Zeronos was Yuuto Sakurai, fiancé of Ryotaro's sister, Airi," Urataros stated inside of Eric's head.
"So, the original Den-O was your great uncle, then," Eric pointed out.
Shun scoffed. "Don't compare me to that weak fool. Den-O was a coward, and you are weak just like him."
"Why you little…" Eric growled. He pressed a button on his belt, changing into Sword Form. However, it wasn't Momotaros controlling Eric. The boy had completely overpowered his Imagin partner.
"Now things are getting interesting," Shun smirked, changing into Zeronos. The two then crossed swords, trying to overpower the other.
Suddenly, Deneb stepped between them and held their blades. Momotaros then moved out of Eric's body and into physical form. Zeronos changed back to normal as well. Momotaros noticed that the Zeronos card that Shun used did not disappear like when Yuuto used to change into Zeronos. His belt must not have been fueled off breakable memories.
"Enough! Both of you! We are on the same side, remember?" Deneb stated.
"Odebu's right," Momo replied, "We are all trying to protect the timeline from the Imagin threat. You two need to get along."
"Wow, Momo, look at you being the wise one," Deneb stated, "You're not getting soft, are you?"
Momotaros then froze up and then seethed with rage over the comment. "What was that?! I'll skin you alive for that comment, Odebu!"
Suddenly, the four heard an explosion in the distance. Realizing something was wrong, Eric and Shun ran toward the scene of the explosion within an office building. There, they saw the Inferno Imagin burning the top floor, while a human watched with glee.
"Yes! Burn it all! Make them rue the day they messed with me!"
The Inferno imagin turned to his host and walked towards him. "Our contract has been completed. I shall now use your body for my own means."
"Wait… what are you doing? I control you, creature! I order you to keep burning!"
With that, the Inferno Imagin used its host as a portal back in time. As Eric and Shun reached the top of the building, everything was on fire.
"Urataros, let's go!" Eric shouted, activating Rod mode. In Rod Mode, Den-O flung the DenGasher around, creating water to put out all the fire in the area. Shun and Deneb then helped the office workers out of the building while Den-O placed his Liner Pass to the host's forehead. The numbers read 1 years ago, on June 30th, 2067.
"Wonder why this date has significance," Eric wondered.
"Must be when he was fired from his job," Shun stated, "You remember how he was wanting this building to burn to the ground? That must be the reason,"
"Guys, let's get to the DenLiner and stop this!" Eric ordered.
He held up his Liner Pass, causing the Den Liner to appear. Zeronos did the same, but with his card, summoning a green bull-like train, known as the Zero Liner. The two riders climbed aboard and hurried to the target time.
The two time trains rolled by to the the past version of the man holding another man, possibly his boss, out the window. Eric could tell by his eyes that the Inferno Imagin was possessing him. He then dropped the manager, causing him to fall to his death. The DenLiner swooped under him and he fell inside.
"Wha? What's going on?" he asked.
Vivian helped him to his feet and smiled. "Don't worry. You're okay now."
Using Rod form's DenGasher as a fishing pole grappling hook, Den-O swung to the building and hit the Inferno Imagin to the ground. The imagin then came out of its host's body.
"Bring it on, Imagin!" Eric shouted, charging at the imagin. He changed forms into Sword form, slicing at the imagin with ferocity. Inferno stepped back, then shot a burst of fire that knocked Den-O over. Shun then sliced at it in Altair form, hitting the imagin and leaving a big gash in its body.
Shun then nodded to Deneb, who got behind him. He pulled the Zeronos card out of his belt, flipping it to the yellow side and placing it in. "Vega Form!" the belt shouted.
Deneb then moved toward Shun, his fingers placed above Shun's shoulders. Deneb's face then appeared in Zeronos's chest, and a drill-like mask formed on Zeronos's helmet, activating Vega Form.
In Vega Form, Zeronos shot blasts out of the shoulder cannons, barraging the Inferno Imagin. He then let out a giant explosion, which Shun was not expecting.
"Yikes!" He shouted, knocking him out of the building. Just before he fell to his doom, though, Den-O reached over the edge to save him.
Pulling him up onto the ground, the two looked at each other in shock and relief. "Thanks," Shun stated.
"Riders have to stick together, right?" Eric replied, chuckling. He then looked at the Imagin, thinking of a strategy. "Hey, I have an idea. Can you flank him from the other side in Altair form? We need to use everything we got to defeat him."
"I like the way you think, rookie," Shun stated, going back into Altair form. Together, the two riders charged and slashed at the Imagin, Den-O constantly changing to Sword, Rod, and Axe form. The two then backflipped, Zeronos turning into Vega form, and activated their Full Charge.
"Ready, Ryu?" Eric asked.
"Alright! Let's finish this!" Ryutaros stated, joining with Den-O for Gun Form. Den-O and Zeronos's weapons charged up along with Zeronos's Shoulder guns.
"Zeronos Wave Grand Strike!" Shun shouted, as his massive attack collided with the Kamen Den-Shot, with the Inferno Imagin in between, completely disintegrating it.
"Alright! We did it!" Eric shouted, changing into normal form. Shun changed back as well, smirking at Eric.
"You know, you're not too bad, kid," Shun stated.
Eric smiled, as the two walked toward their time trains.
The ZeroLiner raced off into time as Eric and Vivian found Kotaro waiting for them.
"Another Imagin attack, I'm guessing?" Kotaro asked.
"Yeah. Thanks to Zeronos, though, we were able to beat him," Vivian stated.
Kotaro chuckled. "Shun helped you out, eh? He's as stubborn and headstrong as his grandfather. Though, Great-Uncle Sakurai would be proud of him. He is a strong rider. Anyways, there is someone I want you to meet…"
The three walked into a house where in the bed was an elderly japanese man. He looked familiar to Kotaro, as they both had that look to them.
"Welcome, Eric," the old man said, "I hope you have taken good care of my partners."
"You're Ryotaro, aren't you?" Eric asked.
Ryotaro chuckled, remembering the old days of being with his Imagin as Den-O. "I know that you will carry on Den-O's legacy well. You and Kotaro will need each other in the future. You'll see soon." Ryotaro winked, as if he knew something about the future, or the past, that Eric didn't.
Ryotaro then coughed, and Eric could tell that the old man was about to pass away peacefully. He now realized why they had come here. Kotaro wanted to come and see his grandfather one last time.
"Alas, my time is at an end. Kotaro, be a good boy. I hope we will see each other again in the future. Oh, I mean the past. And Eric, never give up hope. Keep fighting for the good fight. Keep… the world… and the timestream… strong." With that, Ryotaro exhaled and passed peacefully into the next world.
Eric looked to Kotaro, who was silent. A small tear streamed down the man's face, but he still stayed strong.
"Farewell, grandfather…" Kotaro said softly. Eric put his hand on Kotaro's shoulder and smiled, and the three walked out of the house peacefully. The first Den-O was still in their hearts.
Notes: Man, that ending was sappy. I thought that Ryotaro should get at least one moment in this chapter. Don't worry, this won't be the last we see of him. As for Shun, I thought of since Yuto kinda can't be Zeronos now since through some wibbly wobbly timey wimey, he's back in the time stream, I decided on Hana's son taking the reigns. I realize, though, I really made him into a jerk at the start. Though, he and Eric do work well together. He'll show up again soon, I can tell you that.
Anyways, now that all the crazyness of my school schedule is slowing down, and I have stopped procrastinating, I can finally get back to Next Den-O. Anyways, next time, we'll get into understanding where in the name of heck all these Imagin are coming from!