3.5: Figuring Things Out (Side B)

"OK, I'm gonna head to ARMOR with the TARDIS," said Alan. "You try and take care of our guest here." Alan then promptly entered the red telephone box which Shinichi had just noticed.

"Hey, what's a phone booth doing in here anyway?" Shinichi asked.

"It's not a phone booth. It just looks like one," said Rena.

"So, what is it then?"

VWOORP! VWOORP! VWOORP!

"What the hell!?" Shinichi yelled as the red telephone box vanished before his eyes. "Where did it go?"

"To ARMOR," said Rena.

"And what's ARMOR?" Shinichi.

"It's an agency that deals with this sort of thing," said Rena. "If anyone can help you, they can."

"So, what do I do until then?" asked Shinichi.

"You should rest," Rena advised. "You can sleep here tonight."

"Are you sure?" Shinichi asked.

"I'll go get the guest room ready," said Rena as she left Shinichi with Shiori, Tatsuyoshi and Hanyuu.

"This...I..." Shinichi couldn't come up with any words.

"This has been a strange day for you, hasn't it?" Hanyuu asked.

"Yeah," he admitted.

"Well, don't worry about it."

"Because it'll get better?" Shinichi asked hopefully.

"No, because it'll just get weirder and you're going to have to get used to it, nano desu," she said to him.

Shinichi wasn't sure if he could get used to this. This was all too strange, even for him.

"Everything is going to be fine," Shiori said to Shinichi. "We'll have everything sorted out. Right now, the best you can do is to make yourself at home."

"Thank you Kaa-I mean Banabara-san," replied Shinichi. Shiori sighed. Rena came back just as Shiori, Tatsuyoshi and Hanyuu were leaving.

"The guest room is ready. You can sleep there tonight," Rena told Shinichi.

"Thank you," said Shinichi. Rena then hugged him, which was a big surprise for him. Why was she hugging him? Wasn't she upset that he'd taken her Shinichi's place. She let him go and noticed his look of confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Why did you hug me? In fact, why are you being so nice?" he asked. "You don't even know me."

"Because you looked like you needed a hug," she said honestly and Shinichi looked even more confused.

"If only you knew..." he mumbled.

"What?" Rena asked.

"Nothing," he denied. "Goodnight and thank you for your hospitality."

Shinichi slept fitfully that night. He was in a strange bed, in a strange world, where his mother wasn't his mother, and where telephone booths just vanished into thin air. At least his host was a cutie, but that still didn't help him stay relaxed or placate him. He was thinking about Moka and the others back in his home universe. What if they were in trouble? What if they needed him? Could he really trust their safety in someone that looked like him? He was also having disturbing dreams. Then again, after all he'd been through, he had nightmares about his past, filled with death and destruction. He never really could get over the atrocities he'd committed in the past.

He woke up in the middle of the night, covered in sweat and soaking through the pajamas Rena had lent to him. They fit, if a bit snug. He went to the kitchen to pour himself a cold glass of water. The lights turned on and Rena saw him.

"Shinichi?" she asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"Couldn't sleep," he answered. "You?"

"The same," she replied. Shinichi smiled and poured her a glass of water as well. "Thank you."

"I noticed you didn't have any milk and honey," Shinichi remarked, pointing at the fridge.

"Oh, we haven't gone shopping for groceries yet," she replied. "You must like milk and honey."

"Yeah, mix in honey with milk, it's a really soothing drink. Kaa-chan and I both enjoy it," he said.

"Do you miss them?" asked Rena.

"Don't you miss your Shinichi?" Shinichi asked. "I just don't get you. You don't seem that worried."

"Maybe so, but I am worried," she admitted. "But I also know that he'll come back to me." She pointed to the Magatama she wore. "Do you see this? This is the proof of our bond. It signifies that no matter what distances separate us, we'll still manage to find each other."

"You must have a ton of faith in him," Shinichi remarked.

"Not just him, but Alan too," Rena told him. "And I know Alan will be able to find him and bring him back just like how he was able to find me." Alan hadn't mentioned his relationship to this universe's Shinichi yet. She didn't want to stun her guest with shocking news.

"What do you mean 'find you'?" he asked.

"A while back, a Weeping Angel sent me back in time," said Rena.

"A Weeping Angel?" Shinichi repeated, unfamiliar with the term.

"They're statues that look like angels," she said. "But they're not really angels. They're monsters that are deadly. They can only move when you're not looking at them and can send you back in time decades in fact, before you were even born and feed off your potential time energy. One of them caught me by surprise and sent me back to the 1930's."

"Wait, Leon once told me about statues that could move if you don't look at them," said Shinichi. "He wasn't making them up?"

"He wasn't," said Rena. "So, there I was in the past. Fortunately, a kind couple who owned an inn took me in and I worked there in exchange for a place to sleep and food. I waited there until Shinichi and Alan could find me, and they did."

"And how long did you wait?" Shinichi asked.

"I waited 3 months," said Rena as she fingered the Magatama. "Three whole months before they managed to find me."

Shinichi was speechless. She had waited 3 whole months until she was rescued from the past. Her tale sounded too fantastic but she wasn't lying. She was being completely sincere.

"So, if Alan says that he can get you back home, you have to believe in him because he will," Rena told Shinichi.

"I hope so," said Shinichi. "There are people there who need me."

"Friends and loved ones?" Rena asked.

"Yeah," he admitted. "Very good friends and loved ones who depend on me." Rena put her hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry. You'll see them again. And speaking of friends, I was wondering if you'd like to meet ours," Rena informed him.

"Are you sure? Won't I be intruding?" he asked.

"It'll be fine," said Rena. "You're definitely just like my Shinichi-kun. Even he was a bit shy when I first met him."

"I'm not shy," Shinichi denied.

"It's OK," smiled Rena. "Now, you should get some rest. We'll see them tomorrow in the morning."

Shinichi's rest was more relaxed and he slept pleasantly through the night. The next morning he awoke to a delicious breakfast Rena was making. She told him to take a shower and then put on some clothes she'd put out for him. He didn't argue about it. He came out after the shower dressed in a blue t-shirt with blue jeans. He was also putting on the red scarf and had a jacket in his hand. He joined Rena for breakfast before the two of them left. They took the elevator down to the parking lot and Rena led them to a motorbike which had a sidecar.

"So, this is what you ride," Shinichi regarded. "It's nice."

"Yeah, it is, isn't it?" Rena smiled. "Shin-kun's pride and joy." She handed him the helmet. "Come on, you're sitting in the sidecar."

"Why can't I drive?" Shinichi asked.

"Shin-kun doesn't just let anyone drive unless he's given them keys," she told him as she held up the keys for the motorbike. "And these are the keys." She put on the helmet and got on the bike. Shinichi reluctantly got into the sidecar as she started the engine and pulled out. "OK, here we go. Time to head to Hinamizawa."

"What can I expect?" Shinichi asked Rena.

"A lot of friendly villagers," she said and she drove out towards the street, headed towards Hinamizawa.

Once the Showa-Racer entered Hinamizawa, Rena slowed down. They passed by several villagers who gave them friendly greetings and Rena greeted them back. Rena was right. They were pretty friendly. She then stopped the bike as they reached the foot of some steps.

"What is this place?" Shinichi asked as he stared up the steps after exiting the sidecar.

"The Furude Shrine," said Rena. "And this is where I asked everyone to meet." She took off the helmet and put it in the sidecar as Shinichi put his in as well. "Come on, let's go meet the others." Shinichi didn't protest as he followed the girl up the steps and finally they reached the top and Shinichi looked at the shrine. It was ancient but surprisingly well-kept. There were also some people waiting them. He saw a blonde teenage girl standing with a blonde young man, both with the same reddish eyes. He assumed they were related. There was also a pair of twins with green hair, with one of them wearing her hair up in a ponytail. There was a young man with violet eyes and brown hair and also a teenage girl with long violet hair in a princess cut. He recognized Hanyuu whom he'd met last night.

"Everyone, I'd like you all to meet Shinichi Banabara," Rena introduced.

Shinichi bowed, "It's nice to meet you all!" He wasn't sure how they would treat him and he didn't want to screw things up by making a bad impression. The others also introduced themselves and Shinichi learnt their names. The blonde siblings were Satoko Houjou and Satoshi Houjou, the twins were named Mion and Shion Sonozaki, the brunette was named Keiichi Maebara and the violet-haired girl was named Rika Furude. She was also this world's Shinichi's other adopted sister.

"So, how are you feeling, Banabara-chan?" Mion asked, smilingly widely.

"Not so great," said Shinichi. "But Ryuugu-san has been helping me adjust."

"Well, it must be strange, ending up in a completely different universe," said Rika.

"But now you're not alone, buddy," grinned Keiichi.

Shinichi wondered, "How are you people not freaked out about this?"

"Well, to be honest, if this was 7 years ago, I think we would have. But since meeting Shin-chan, we've experienced a lot of weird happenings," said Shion.

"We pretty much got used to all the weirdness that happened," Satoko shrugged.

"And all this weirdness happened after you met him," Shinichi commented.

"Yeah, and it was crazy," said Keiichi. He listed, "There was the Darkloids, GIN-SHOCKER, the DHS, X-SHOCKER, the Yamata no Orochi..."

Mion interrupted, "We've pretty much seen a lot of monsters, evil organizations and super-villains to last us a lifetime."

"Didn't he say something about the Yamata no Orochi?" Shinichi asked, referring to what Keiichi had said.

"It's a long story," Satoshi sighed, "And not one we want to get into."

"So, how about you tell us about yourself?" Mion asked.

"OK, what do you want to know?" Shinichi asked.

"Everything you can tell us," said Rika, interested. Shinichi went and sat down on the steps of the shrine.

"Well, it all began one day as I was waking up in the middle of a dirt path. I was in a school uniform I never recalled wearing and while I was wondering where I was, a cute girl came at me and ran me over on her bike..."

Shinichi continued with his story, pausing to answer some questions, and while the Gaming Club took note of some similarities, there were also a lot of differences.

Shinichi talked about the day he first came to at Youkai Academy, where he met Moka who introduced herself right after she bit his neck and sucked on his blood. Needless to say, the Gaming Club were quite surprised to hear that such a cute girl could turn out to be a Vampire, but they were even more surprised to hear about her chilling true form. He talked about how he met and befriended several other monster girls, all four of which soon became his harem. He also spoke of having another Vampire, a demonic princess, and a pair of Devils for older sisters, also a surprise for them. He talked about how they all teamed up with him and killed Gebok for good, and there wasn't any guarantee that the mad scientist was ever coming back. However, he talked about how GIN-SHOCKER's Great Leader was an alien life form known as JUDO, who was so frightening that he caused even the strongest of monsters to tremble in fear, and everyone in the organization referred to him as a god. He also spoke about how GIN-SHOCKER pretty much has the world at their grasp with people such as kings and politicians as part of their membership. Not to mention how people that Shinichi hurt in the past have come back to haunt him and make him pay for ruining their lives or killing their loved ones. It was heartbreaking, especially for Rena, Rika and Hanyuu. But what he said next was even more of a surprise. He told them about Lina and how she and WHITE 14 were one and the same.

"Wait, so your Lina became WHITE 14?" Mion asked.

"Yeah," said Shinichi. He noticed their looks of disbelief. "What?"

"We had a WHITE 14 too," said Rena, shivering.

"I'm guessing whoever he or she was, they weren't pleasant," Shinichi assumed.

"Just be glad your Lina didn't become like him," said Satoshi. They really couldn't tell Shinichi that WHITE 14 was a clone of his and hoped that Shinichi wasn't going to ask about him anyway.

"OK, so what happened to Lina?" Shinichi asked.

"Oh, she came back to life but Gebok killed her again with an EMP bomb," said Rika. Shinichi looked horrified, "Don't worry. She came back again and now she's living happily with Yuji."

"With Aniki?" Shinichi asked in surprise.

"Yuji's your brother?" Keiichi asked in surprise.

"No, he's my cousin," said Shinichi. That got shocked looks from them. "You mean your Shinichi isn't related to Aniki?"

"They're friends, but close like brothers," said Rena.

"Oh, good," Shinichi smiled. He then asked a question they weren't sure if they wanted to answer, "And what was your WHITE 14 like? I'm judging by the past tense he's dead."

"He is, and hopefully he stays dead," Rika frowned.

"How bad was he?" Shinichi asked.

"A nightmare," said Hanyuu. "He was a manipulative bastard who used others to his own ends to further his own goals. He was treacherous and always planning to stab his allies in the back. He even manipulated us to further his plans."

"He was also responsible for the death of thousands," said Rika.

"Well, I guess you're all glad he's dead, huh?" Shinichi asked. Now he knew he shouldn't have asked. Just the thought of WHITE 14 had depressed them. "So, is there anything here you do for fun?"

"Let's head to Angel Mort," suggested Mion.

"What's Angel Mort?" Shinichi asked. Come to think of it, on the drive here, they had driven through a town called Okinomiya and he'd spotted a shop called 'Angel Mort'.

"It's a cake shop, but it's not the cakes that are the only attraction," Keiichi grinned.

"Come with us and you'll see what we're talking about," said Satoshi.

The Gaming Club-which Shinichi had learnt was the name of their group-took the bus together to Okinomiya. Along the way, they continued to converse with him. He wasn't just surprised by their friendliness but also at how they easily accepted him into the group. He assumed this was because he appeared to be someone familiar to them. He also managed to learn from them, through questions of his own, about this universe's version of him. The conversations stopped momentarily as the bus stopped in Okinomiya. Mion and Shion then led the way to Angel Mort.

Once they arrived, Shinichi finally understood why Keiichi had been grinning about.

"Welcome to Angel Mort," a waitress greeted them and she was wearing a very revealing costume. It was a strapless and sleeveless black leotard with an open skirt that had lace underneath, detached sleeves and thigh high stockings were part of the ensemble and he could practically see her cleavage. She was also wearing a collar with a bell on it. For a moment, he entertained the thought of his girlfriends back home wearing that costume as well and he grinned with a blush on his face. He could ask Kiko to make some identical outfits for his girlfriends. They would look so cute and sexy wearing those costumes.

"See? I knew you'd like this place," Keiichi grinned.

"Let's go find ourselves some tables and seats," said Mion. "I don't think a single table is going to be able to fit all of us."

"That's true, Onee," agreed Shion with a friendly smile. The group found a couple of empty booths. Rika, Rena, Shinichi and Hanyuu occupied one while Keiichi, Satoshi, Mion, Shion and Satoko sat in another. The booths were close so they could still resume their earlier conversation. Shinichi was enjoying the view and when their orders came, he enjoyed the pastries.

"You know, as good as these tastes, Kurumu-chan's tastes better," he said.

"You mentioned her before," said Rena. "What's she like?"

Shinichi smiled, "A completely innocent girl even if she tries to act like a seductress. There's also Yukari, a sweet little witch. And I also have a stalker, Mizore-chan."

"You have a stalker?" Hanyuu asked.

"Yeah, but she doesn't mean any harm," said Shinichi. "Whenever she's watching my back, I know she's doing it because she cares. Then there's Moka, and she's someone else I wouldn't mind having at my side when there's trouble."

"They must really love you," said Rena.

"They do, and I love them, which is why I do everything in my power to protect them," said Shinichi. There were other girls too that he cared about but Moka, Kurumu, Mizore and Yukari had been the first he'd met in his new life as Shinichi Sanban-Banabara. He then asked, "So, where are the other NUMBERS? How are they doing?"

"They're actually off doing their own thing. Michiru and Hana are working at becoming certified nurses, Daichi's working on becoming a licensed veterinarian, and Chiaki, Shogo and Yokoshima should be at work," said Mion.

"Wait, what about the others?" Shinichi asked. He heard only six names.

"Oh, and Misato's married to Yuji," said Rena.

And that was seven. "What happened to Kamiyami, Goemon, Koiichi, Saisen, Todoriko and Jin?" Shinichi questioned. "What happened to them?" he asked again. None of them knew how to break the news. They didn't have to as Shinichi guessed it, "They're dead, aren't they?"

"Not...exactly..." hesitated Rena. "You see, a Witch brought them to life as her servants but after she was defeated they all turned into bugs."

"That's not much of a life, is it?" Shinichi questioned rhetorically. "And you said she brought them back. Meaning, they were dead before then, weren't they?" He then finished, figuring it out, "And the other me who you guys know was the one who killed them."

"It wasn't like they gave him much of a choice," Rika frowned. "They were still part of GIN-SHOCKER at the time and they weren't too keen on leaving for any reason."

Shinichi was horrified. "Why? Didn't he at least try to save them? Reason with them?"

"They couldn't be saved. They didn't want to be saved," said Rika. "They were evil and Shinichi did what he had to do. When they showed up, they tried to kill him and also us for associating with him. They even tried to kill innocent people, just to get to him."

"But still, he could've reasoned with them," Shinichi argued. "I mean, Chiaki, Misato, Michiru, Hana, Yokoshima, Shogo and Daichi aren't dead so that meant he tried, right?"

Rika continued, "Not exactly. Besides you, the other NUMBERS were still affiliated with GIN-SHOCKER and came after you. That included Chiaki, Daichi, Shogo, Michiru, Hana and Yokoshima. Only Yokoshima and Shogo chose to leave of their own accord. But the others were still part of the organization and were ordered to kill him."

"And Misato?" he asked. Her name wasn't included.

"Was part of the group the Witch of Terror brought back," Rika answered.

"So he killed her too," he reasoned.

"Back then he had no choice," said Rika. "Rena, you remember what happened the first time you met Misato, right? She kidnapped you."

"Is this true?" Shinichi asked.

"It was a long time ago," Rena answered, "But yes, it happened."

"But she managed to get away," Rika added. "Then when she went around killing people, Shinichi had to finish her off."

"So, why didn't he killed the others?" Shinichi questioned.

"He would've, if we didn't stop him," said Rika. "It was because of us that he didn't kill them."

"But he never even gave them a chance," Shinichi frowned. He wasn't sure what to think. He stood up and went towards the bathroom without another word.

"Rika-chan, was that really necessary?" Rena asked disapprovingly.

"He was asking questions, Rena-san," Rika answered. "And I don't think he would've stopped asking about them until he got his answers, and I don't think we could've lied to him."

"But now he's upset," said Rena.

"He'll get over it," said Rika. "The same way our Shinichi did." She took a sip of her milkshake.

Shinichi splashed his face with water and looked at the mirror. He reined in the urge to smash it with his fist. He really didn't want to be asked any unnecessary questions or made to pay for the damages.

"He killed them," Shinichi whispered. "He killed them, again." Now he wasn't sure if he wanted to know about his analogue anymore. He also wondered what other things his double here had done. Suddenly, his enhanced hearing picked up the sound of panicked screaming and glass shattering. He immediately exited the bathroom to see what was going on and was stunned by what he saw.

They were humanoid reptiles clad in dark, matching military uniforms, wearing skull-like masks, and armed with rifles. They were Reptiloids and Shinichi didn't know what these things were but he knew they were definitely trouble. He also saw them surround the Gaming Club, aiming their weapons at the group. Despite only knowing most of them since morning, while he'd met Hanyuu and Rena the night before, he already considered them friends and friends were worth protecting.

He was prepared to intervene, summoning his Spark Core to transform, when he heard the last thing he expected to hear from the group: "HENSHIN!"

His eyes widened in shock as he witnessed, in disbelief, as Mion, Shion, Satoshi, Satoko, Rika, Rena and Hanyuu became the Seven Legendary Riders (Ichigo, Nigo, V3 Riderman, X, Amazon & Stronger). Keiichi himself had also transformed into a dark armored Rider that Shinichi did not recognize but he was still surprised nonetheless.

What had he not been told?

The Gaming Club, as soon as they saw these Reptiloids, immediately went into action. They caused the customers and waitresses to panic and run. Miraculously, the invaders were far more focused on the Gaming Club than any of the bystanders which they regarded as irrelevant.

"Everyone, get ready!" Mion ordered and they nodded. "Alright, HENSHIN!"

In a flash of light the Gaming Club members assumed their Rider forms and the witnesses who remained to watch all suddenly cheered at the appearance of the Legendary Kamen Riders. Keiichi, on the other hand, had turned into Kamen Rider Alter and he looked just as ready to fight as the rest of his friends.

The Reptiloids began to open fire on the group. However, their lasers missed as the group of Riders scattered and retaliated.

Shinichi watched in stunned silence as Ichigo (Mion) and Shion (Nigo) disarmed a couple of Reptiloids before sending them flying with Rider Punches in the chest. Nearby, V3 (Satoshi) used a roundhouse kick to stun a Reptiloid before Riderwoman (Satoko) wrapped a rope around its next before tossing it across the room, smashing it against a wall.

In another section of the shop that was being torn apart by the fighting, he saw X (Rika) deflect lasers with the Ridol Stick and then swung her staff to disarm the Reptiloid before sending it sprawling with a blow between its eyes. It got up and X struck again at it only for it to grab hold of the Ridol Stick. However, she was unconcerned as the Reptiloid pulled her to him. She just jumped up and drove her feet into its gut to force it to release her weapon. It want staggering back only to be electrocuted by Stronger (Hanyuu) who had just killed a Reptiloid with an incredible amount of electricity.

Amazon (Rena) was using her claws to cut long gashes across a Reptiloid's uniform. She then lunged and bit down on the neck. Once she removed her teeth, greenish blood spewed from the injury as the Reptiloid shrieked and flailed in agony.

Alter (Keiichi) himself was unarmed as he fought against two Reptiloids, sending them crashing into a booth with a series of violent kick. He then revealed his weapons as a wicked pair of hooked blades slid out from his wrists. The other Reptiloids fired at Alter who deflected the lasers with his Claw Blades. The shots did nothing to him even as one grazed his face.

A Reptiloid realized that it was time for a tactical retreat and turned to escape only to face Shinichi. It raised its fist to punch but Shinichi caught the Reptiloid's wrist and took hold of its armpit before tossing it out onto the street through the broken window. He turned to the Rider Club and then he ran out to jump out the window. It had only been for a moment but that look was the same look their Shinichi wore when he wanted answers.

Outside of Angel Mort, in the middle of the street, Shinichi faced the Reptiloid. It aimed its rifle at him but he dodged the shot that flew at him. A lamppost was hit instead and there was a hole where the laser had pierced it.

"My turn," said Shinichi as he drew out his Energy Knife and the Redeemer as he called out, "Let's Ride: Showa." In a flash of light, the symbols of the Legendary Riders of the Showa Era encircled him and swept over his body from his toes to his head to don him in his black and white suit of armor. The bodysuit under said armor was white. The torso armor was black with a white chest. White gauntlets adorned his forearms as black boots adorned his legs. Black armor plating covered the sides of his arms and legs. The number 13 was stamped on his left shoulder. His head was completely concealed under a black helmet with a white strip of metal running down the middle. A pair of insect antennae poked out from his forehead in a 'V'. There was a silver faceplate with horizontal stripes on it. Finally, to complete the insect-like look was a pair of large green eyes. Attached to his back, with four legs wrapped around his torso and two draped over his shoulders was his Cicadroid, a robotic support droid in the shape of a cicada. Without its wings it looked like a strange backpack.

"Let the games begin," he said coldly. The Reptiloid fired its rifle but Showa leapt into the air before throwing his knife to pierce the Reptiloid's right wrist. The rifle fell from its grip before it fell to the ground as Showa took it down with a single jump kick. The Reptiloid recovered and started to throw punches at Showa but he blocked them with only a single hand. An energy blade then sprung out of his left forearm and he swung, literally disarming the Reptiloid from the elbows down, causing it to scream. He then performed a spinning sweep kick as another curved energy blade sprung out of his right ankle and he sliced through the Reptiloid's ankles to remove its feet. It landed on the ground with greenish blood fluid bleeding out of its injuries. Showa then grabbed the injured Reptiloid by its throat and pointed his gun at him.

"OK, tell me know: who sent you and why did you attack my friends?" Showa asked. The Reptiloid refused to answer. "Well, then you're of no use to me so it looks like it's Game Over for you," said Showa and he pulled the trigger. Bullets filled the Reptiloid's face and it was dead before Showa let it go to drop to the ground. He watched as the Reptiloid dissolved into a puddle like the others did when they had died. He let his armor disappear as he put his gun away and turned to see the Gaming Club, back in their human forms, coming towards him.

"Banabara-san, are you OK?" Rena asked.

"I'm fine," said Shinichi. He thought they might've wanted to comment on his cold and brutal execution of the Reptiloid but that didn't seem to be their concern right now.

"Hey, that's a real cool gun," said Keiichi as he saw the Redeemer. "Where did you get it?"

"My great-grandpa gave it to me," said Shinichi.

"And who is your great-grandfather?" Rika asked.

"Katsu Goryu, 19th Boss of the Vongola Famiglia," he said. He took note of their blank looks of unfamiliarity. "Did I forget to mention that I'm a member of the Vongola Famiglia?" Shinichi asked rhetorically.

"What's that?" Satoko asked.

"Basically, I'm part of a mafia family," Shinichi answered.

"MAFIA!?" the Gaming Club exclaimed.

"It's a long story," Shinichi sighed before addressing them seriously, "Now, can you please explain to me how you all got Rider powers? You're not Cyborgs as far as I can tell."

"That's a long story too, but to make a long story short, Shin-chan gave them to us," said Mion.

Shinichi's frown deepened, "I see."

VWOORP! VWOORP! VWOORP!

The TARDIS materialized in the middle of the street and Alan stepped out after the door opened. "I'm back!" He looked around and remarked, "Wow, I must've missed the party. This is some mess you guys left here."

"Hey, I got a question for you," said Shinichi.

"OK."

"Are you really related to Leon?" Shinichi asked Alan. There was a bit of a resemblance but Shinichi needed to be sure.

"You know Leon?" Alan questioned.

"He's a friend of mine. The question is, what are you to him?"

"We're brothers," Alan answered. Shinichi blinked. "We have different mothers."

"And this world's Shinichi is also your brother?" Shinichi asked.

"That's right," Alan confirmed.

"You know, come to think of it, Leon always kept mentioning that I reminded him of a brother of his," said Shinichi. "Now I see why."

"Yeah, but even if Shinichi gets on my nerves a little, he's still family," said Alan.

"How many women does your father have anyway?" Shinichi asked curiously.

"A harem, same as me," said Alan. "And don't worry. Your mother was never part of that."

"So, how is your dad my dad?" Shinichi questioned.

"Artificial insemination," Alan answered bluntly. "Your parents were having trouble conceiving so..."

"Stop, I get it," Shinichi raised his hand. "Why is it that I keep meeting people with harems?"

"What do you mean?" asked Alan. He then realized what Shinichi meant, "Oh, so Leon's got himself a harem. Nice."

"Well, he's not the only one," said Shinichi, thinking of Netto and Yuji.

"What about you?" Alan asked.

"Pretty much. How about the version of me from this world?" Shinichi asked.

"He's got a small harem. Only four girls. Oh, and a son," Alan said. Shinichi's eyes widened.

"A s-s-son!?" Shinichi stuttered.

"Hiroyuki," said Rena. "We call him Hiro for short."

"But he takes after his mom more," said Bazel.

Shinichi looked at Rena who shook her head, "No, I'm not his mother. His mother's name is Satan. She's a demon."

"And who are the other girls?" Shinichi asked.

"Tsukuyomi, former Goddess of the Moon but now a demi-goddess and Princess Shawna of Genovia," Alan answered.

"You should meet them," urged Rena.

"But we'll leave that for another time," said Alan as he opened the door to the TARDIS. "All aboard the TARDIS!"

"Hey, what about Angel Mort?" Shinichi asked.

Mion told him, "Don't worry. It's insured. You just go on your adventure."

Shinichi blinked and watched as Alan and Rena went into the TARDIS. He wondered how they could both fit in there without feeling cramped. He then went in and he gaped and gawked at what he saw. He then stepped backwards and examined the telephone box before going back in to see what it contained.

"This..." he began as he saw the enormous chamber with bronze walls. Alan and Rena were standing atop the central platform of the chamber which had steps that led to it from the floor. There was a safety railing around the platform and in the middle of the platform was a circular control console that looked like a giant metal mushroom that was covered with buttons, switches and levers. There were also screens propped up against a central glass column that let off a glow of warm, green light. The door behind him closed as he finally let it sink in that this was not an illusion. "This..." he repeated.

"Go on," Alan prompted, smiling in anticipation. "Say it." He was leaning against the control console with his arms crossed and a look of smug expectation.

"Bigger on the inside," Shinichi said and Alan clapped.

"And another new guest has said the magic words!" Alan said as he added to his mental list count. Shinichi stepped up the steps and onto the platform. "Whaddya think?"

"What is this?" Shinichi asked.

"It's called the TARDIS," said Alan. "It stands for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. It's a ship that can travel through time, space and the Multiverse. And it's all mine."

"So, this thing can really bring me home?" asked Shinichi. "Wait, you said you were going to ask for this ARMOR agency for help."

"I was and I tried but my TARDIS here didn't seem to want to land in ARMOR," said Alan. He always hated how his TARDIS had a mind of its own but he also knew it had its reasons.

"So, now what?" Shinichi asked.

"We'll give them a call," said Alan as he turned on a screen and started typing on a keyboard.

"The screen seems to be working," said Rena. "But it's all blurry."

"Hold on," said Alan as he slapped the screen. "Hey, is this thing on? Hello?"

Shinichi asked skeptically, "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Trust me, I'm a Green Lantern," grinned Alan.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Shinichi asked.

"Look, we've got contact!" said Alan as the picture on the screen became clear. "I told you I knew what I was doing."

"Shin?" Yuji asked.

"Hey, Aniki. Hey Moka-chan," Shinichi (SV) greeted as he saw Yuji and Moka on the screen with Leon and another Shinichi (KRS). He frowned a bit as he saw his counterpart. He remembered what he'd been told about him and was less than impressed.

"I wasn't calling you," Leon frowned.

"And nice to see you too," Alan retorted as he adjusted his glasses. "And we weren't trying to call you either. Apparently, we were both trying to contact ARMOR at the same time but our signals intercepted each other and got crossed."

"At the exact same time?" Leon questioned. "Unlikely."

"Well, the probability of it ever happening is pretty low but it's not impossible," said Alan. "There is a time difference issue but the TARDIS can solve wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey problems like that.."

"Leon, who's this?" Yuji asked.

"Everyone, meet my little brother, Alan Smith," said Leon. "Oh, and the girl with him is Rena."

"Shin-kun, you're safe!" Rena beamed. She was so happy to see him.

"Rena-chan," Shinichi (KRS) happily smiled with relief.

"Moka-chan,"smiled Shinichi (SV) as he saw the Vampire. He was afraid he would never see her again.

"Shinichi-kun," Moka smiled back.

"You guys can make googly eyes at each other later," chided Leon.

"And now that we're all here, let's figure something out! Time to put on our thinking caps!" said Alan and he put his fez on.

"Why did he just put on a fez?" Yuji asked Leon.

"Don't ask," replied Leon, shaking his head.

"Believe me, I've been telling him it's ugly but he doesn't listen," sighed Shinichi (KRS). "He says it helps him think better. Helps him concentrate."

"And it does. I've solved pretty of problems wearing this fez," said Alan proudly.

"It still looks goofy," Shinichi (KRS) said.

"And the glasses don't help either," added Shinichi (SV),

"True."

"And I say it's cool with the glasses," Alan argued. "And since I'm the man with the TARDIS, what I say goes. So don't mock the fez."

"Alan, the situation, solution, now," Leon said.

"OK, well, it's obvious that what we need to do is to find out the cause of our cross-dimensional transference. All I know is that it has something to do with an entity who has a thing for riddles."

"Yeah, that's what happened," confirmed Shinichi (KRS). "The riddle went like this: 'What is golden, goes around and around infinitely, and affects everything'?"

Moka continued, "'We can't escape from it, we can't run from it, and we can't stop it.'"

Shinichi (SV) went on, "'It starts but never ends and we must always obey it.'"

Rena finished, "'What is it?'"

"Yeah, I've heard it twice already and I still can't make sense of it," said Yuji.

Alan said, "The answer in riddles are often staring us in the face," said Alan. "You just need to translate the clues in the riddle to get the answer." The picture one the screen started to become blurry as audio became nothing but static. "Hey, we're not done yet! Hey!" Soon, the picture was nothing but static. "OK, now this is really starting to get on my nerves."

"Now what?" Shinichi asked.

"It's that riddle," said Alan as he sat down on a chair his ring constructed for him out of green light. He crossed his arms and legs. "The riddle's the answer."

"How can a riddle be an answer?" asked Shinichi.

"This all started because you couldn't answer the riddle. If you can answer the riddle, we're one step in the right direction towards solving the problem." He jumped to his feet. "So, let's get to thinking!" He tapped his fez. "It's a good thing I'm wearing my Thinking Fez."

"For a genius you have bad taste," Shinichi deadpanned.

"Hey!" Alan snapped.

KAMEN RIDER CHROME: And now we've got the second half of Part 3 ready. So, will they find the answer to the riddle? What happens once they do? Will things go back to the way they were or not? Or is this all part of the enemy's scheme? Well, find out the answers soon once I get to writing them.