Arc 1: Even When I Start at the Beginning again, I'm at the Climax!
Part 2: Den-Liner, found!
Disclaimer: Kamen Rider is owned be Toei and Shotoro Ishimono, I own nothing but this Fanfic.
Den-O tried to block the other Rider's series of punches, only to be knocked down. He rolled back, distancing himself from his enemy. "Damn waspy bastard!" Momotaros growled. "Die, damn it!" He ran forward, slashing vertically at TheBee, but his opponent quickly side stepped and punched Den-O in his side several times. Den-O fell to his knees in pain. TheBee kicked him, causing him to roll back.
TheBee slowly advanced on Den-O, who was slowly getting to his feet, but stopped as soon as he saw what was behind him. Behind Den-O was a street that was filled with people talking to each other. They hadn't noticed the Riders yet but...
"Damn it. I can't let it go like this..." TheBee sighed as he removed the mechanical bee from his brace, the armor evaporating when it did. "You win."
"W-What?" Momotaros asked, still recovering from the pain.
"I give in. I retreat. You win." The man turned and began to walk the other way.
"Hey! Wait a minute!" Momotaros began to run after him, but the pain from his attacks stopped him in his tracks.
'Should I take over for you?' Ryoutaro asked.
"Yeah..." Momotaros undid the belt and left Ryoutaro's body.
Ryoutaro panted, placing his hands on his knees for support. "That was... tiring..." He managed to get out between breaths.
Momotaros formed on the ground in his sand form. "Yeah, sorry about all that. I didn't imagine another Rider would come in and mess around." He turned away and began to ponder. "What now? Well, I should probably look for Ryoutaro..."
Ryoutaro's ear perked up when he heard his name being said. "Huh? What about me?"
Momotaros faced him. "Oh, I'm just talking about my partner. Ryoutaro Nogami. Hey, perhaps you know where he is?" He asked, hopefully.
Ryoutaro raised an eyebrow. "Alright, I know you're not human, but did somebody set this up?"
"'Set this up?' I don't have the time to be setting anything up. I need to find my friend!" Momotaros retorted impatiently.
"Time?" A wheel in Ryoutaro's head started spinning. "Oh crap..." He immediately checked his watch. 1:55. "Shit! I'm gonna be late!" Ryoutaro ran down the street with haste.
"Hey wait up! What did you mean? Get back here!" Momotaros scrambled after him.
The businessman drove his motorcycle down the streets, overtaking the slower cars. He took a sharp left down the abandoned street and stopped his bike, getting off and removing his helmet and gloves.
"You're late, Shun." He heard a voice coming from behind him as he rested his helmet on the seat of the bike.
He turned to see another well-dressed man, arms folded, waiting for him. "Senpai!"
The second man sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you to call me 'Mutsuki'?"
"Right, sorry Mutsuki."
"So, what's your report?" Mutsuki inquired.
"Right." Shun straightened his posture and gave his report. "Rider System: H-08 'Den-O' has been retrieved by the civilian known as 'Ryoutaro Nogami'. Nogami has also encountered and become possessed by Imagin: 08-A 'Momotaros'. The two of them transformed into Den-O and faced an Imagin, but it got away. I intervened at that point."
"And?" Mutsuki asked, expectantly.
"Well... negotiations proceeded, but they were un-cooperative. I was forced to transform."
Mutsuki leaned in, eager to hear the new development in the story. "Go on..."
"... We fought, but we came too close to a civilian area, so I had to retreat." A bead of sweat dropped from Shun's head at his elder's eagerness.
"Aww, that's too boring..." Mutsuki huffed.
"Senpai... please take this a bit more seriously..." Shun sighed.
"Right, right. The mission continues as planned. But~..." Mutsuki pondered.
Shun sighed. He's been with Mutsuki long enough to know when he's coming up with some sort of plan. "What is it?" Shun asked, irritation in his voice.
"Well, I'm just sayin' that there's no guaranty that we'll be able to get the belt off of Den-O..." Mutsuki shrugged, lifting his arms in the air.
"Mutsuki-senpai, please get on with it..."
Mutsuki reached for inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a mechanical looking brace. "Can we put this on the Imagin?" He begged, similar to child.
"Why the heck should we do that?!" A vein popped in Shun's forehead.
"Okay, okay, just hear me out on this! I got this from a friend in the Science Dept." He pointed to the brace. "It's meant to enhance your strength, speed, reflexes, etc." He listed all the boring stuff he could barely remember. "But here's the good part!" He reached for his other pocket pulled out a small switch that had a bright red button on top of it. "A flick of this and it blows sky-high!"
"... And?"
Mutsuki sighed. "If we can't manage to get Den-O to hand over the belt, we'll need to at least get info on his strength. We'll give this to the Imagin watch the two of them fight."
Shun sighed. "Mutsuki-senpai, that sounds like an extremely far-fetched plan."
"Oh, come on!"
Shun sighed once more. He knew that if Mutsuki has an idea, he'll see it through. "Well... it doesn't go beyond mission parameters so..."
"Alright then. Do you mind putting this on the monster?" Mutsuki tossed the brace and the switch to Shun, catching him off guard as he juggled the items.
"The things I do for you..." Shun mumbled. He placed the items in his pockets, sat on his bike and fastened his helmet on.
"I'll go and pay our friend a visit. Ryoutaro Nogami was it?" Mutsuki pulled out a phone and began flicking and searching on it. "I should be able to find him..."
"Good luck." Shun farewelled as he started his Motorcycle and zoomed off.
Ryoutaro stopped in front of his destination, panting. He scrambled for a set of keys in his pocket.
Momotaros quickly followed, angry at his friend storming off like that. "I said wait up!" Momotaros noticed where they had stopped, a building on a crossroads with a sign saying 'Milk Dipper' and an entrance into it. "Wait a minute... The Ryoutaro's and his sister's place!"
"What?" Ryoutaro responded having heard his name.
"So what, did Airi hire some new hands to help around?"
Ryoutaro turned his head in the middle of trying to turn the key in the lock. "Um... no, I've always worked with Sis."
"'Sis'? no, I'm talking about the Airi who works here."
"Yeah." Ryoutaro turned the key and opened the door. "That's Sis."
He walked in and Momotaros followed. "No no no, Airi is Ryoutaro's Sis."
"Uh, yeah. I'm Ryoutaro." He explained, getting frustrated at his 'friend'.
"No no no." Momotaros replied, also getting annoyed. "I'm talking about the Ryoutaro who works there. Ryoutaro Nogami."
"Yes... That's me. Ryoutaro Nogami."
"..."
"..."
"... HUH?!"
The Squid Imagin stood on an empty harbor, pondering his previous battle. "I must make... Nogami kid... disappear... " He rubbed his head. "But him and Imagin... are pretty strong..."
"I think I can help you there." The Imagin turned to see a man in a business suit.
"Who... are... you... ?"
"I'm a friend." Shun replied. "An asset in defeating your 'Nogami kid'."
The Imagin's ears perked up as Shun spoke. If he had ears. "Defeat him...? How?"
'I hope this works.' Shun pulled the brace out of his pocket as he started to approach the Imagin. "Consider this a little present. A power-up, as an act of friendship."
The Imagin let the man approach him, naively. Shun latched the brace onto his arm, the green circuitry lighting up when he did. The Imagin's eyes sparkled, he ran to the far end of the shore, then the opposite end and back in front of Shun in what seemed like a millisecond. "Wow. Thisnewpower. Itseemsso, different." He blurted out.
'That seems like some crazy power-up.' Shun gripped the switch in his pocket. 'Don't worry, I still have this. And if I use Clock Up, I can still out speed him.'
"You'reaprettycoolguy. Ateamplayer." The Imagin commented. "I'llgiveNogamiahitforyou, buddy!" The Imagin zoomed off in search of his target.
"Buddy?" A bead of sweat fell from Shun's head.
"Please come again!" Ryoutaro farewelled the customers as they left.
"No no. The pleasure was all ours!" They smiled and waved as they left.
The door closed, leaving Ryoutaro in an empty Milk Dipper. Ryoutaro turned towards the kitchen. "You can come out now." He called. Immediately a rather grumpy Momotaros shuffled out from behind the wall. "Does that convince you?" Ryoutaro grinned at him.
"Well, those guys certainly think you're him." Momotaros grimaced.
"See? Now you're convinced that-"
"But..." He smacked his hand against the wall. "No matter how I look at it, you are definitely not Ryoutaro!" Momotaros yelled.
Ryoutaro shook his head. "I'm don't know what to tell you... I am Ryoutaro Nogami."
"Where's Airi? She runs this place!" Momotaros inquired.
"She's on vacation."
"What? Vacation? Airi never goes on vacation."
"Well, it is their anniversary..." Ryoutaro commented.
"Wait, wait, wait! Anniversary?!" Momotaros asked. "She got married?!"
"Yeah..." Ryoutaro responded, starting to get worried. "Sis and Yuuto are married five years, and they decided to go somewhere special this year. So, they're off to Hawaii."
"Yuuto?! As in Yuuto Sakurai?!"
"Yeah. Who else?" Ryoutaro sighed, tired of explaining the obvious.
"But... hasn't Yuuto disappeared from Airi's memories by using Zeronos?"
Ryoutaro stared blankly at Momotaros. "... huh?"
"... I think we may be on a different page."
"Understatement of the year." Ryoutaro replied sarcastically.
"You may be called Ryoutaro, and you may own Milk Dipper, and Airi may be your sister, but you're nothing like the Ryoutaro I know!" Momotaros ranted.
"Well, what is your Ryoutaro like?"
"Well..." Momotaros pondered for a moment. It was hard to sum up person in just a sentence. "He's kind of a wimp. He has horrible luck, can barely stand on his own two feet, faints at the sight of trouble..."
"It's nice to see you have such a high standard of me."
"But..." Momotaros interrupted. "If he had a problem, he'd shoulder it alone. If someone was in danger, he'd try to save them. And if any of us steps out of line, he'd let us know..." He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.
"... I see." Ryoutaro sat down on a nearby seat. "What else do you know about him?"
"Well, I first met him is when I actually possessed him..."
Ryoutaro lay back in his chair, trying to take the whole story in. "Whoa..."
"Tch, you don't believe me, do ya?" Momotaros huffed, disappointed.
"Well, do you blame me? Today, I've seen monsters and I've transformed into a costumed hero today, but, come on! A train that travels through time? You and a bunch of other monsters fighting with you against all these other monsters? And that thing about Sakurai? A younger him with another monster fighting more monsters and he gets erased from time any time he does that?"
"... pretty much."
"And if he gets erased from time when he transforms, how come he doesn't let you guys fight by yourselves?"
"He's a bit stubborn."
Ryoutaro stood up. "Yeah, I'm not buying it." He made he way to the kitchen.
"Wait! I can still prove it to you!" He followed him. "What's the time?"
Ryoutaro had his hand on the door to the kitchen but checked his watch anyway. "2:02 p.m. Why?" He turned the handle and stepped into the kitchen. He turned the knob and opened the door and stepped onto sand. "Wait a minute, sand?" Ryoutaro turned his head away from his sandy friend and saw that through the door he saw a large valley of sand, stretching out as far as the eye can see and a bright, multicoloured sky. "What...?"
Momo reached his side and looked out on the plane himself. "Y'see, if you open a door when you hold the pass, if the time is all a single number, like 2 hours, 2 minutes and 2 seconds, it'll take you to here, the sands of time." Momotaros looked left and right. "So, where's the Den-Liner...?"
"Is that it?" Ryoutaro pointed to a red, white and black train. But it looked like it was crooked instead of being on the tracks, had several dents in it and had black smoke rising from it.
"Oh no..." Momotaros flinched at the sight. "Come on!" He yelled at Ryoutaro before racing off to the Den-Liner, with Ryoutaro following suit. After a minute of running they arrive at the side door for the second cart. It opened and they both step inside, anxious of what they will find. "Hey, look!" Momotaros noticed that he had returned to his full form. "But now's not the time for that!" They turned and the door from the corridor opened into the main cart and he ran in. "Turtle! Bear! Brat! Naomi! Owner! ARE YOU GUYS ALRIGHT?!" He cried out in despair.
"Here's your coffee!" Naomi presented the signature cup of coffee topped with bright red whipped cream to Momotaros, giving her signature welcoming smile.
"Oh, thanks." Momo gratefully took the cup off of her and sipped it lightly. "Hmmm.. it tastes a bit sweeter toda- HANG ON A GODDAMN SECOND!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. Ryoutaro entered the cart to see the ruckus. The cart, to him, looked more like a restaurant than a train, with large red tables and chairs, and a counter with an assortment of drinks and machines behind it. Aside from the cute girl who had offered Momotaros his coffee, what caught his eye was three other monsters like Momotaros. A blue one who leaning against a wall and laughing at Momotaros' outbursts, a large, buff yellow and black one who sat on one of the seats, facing away from Ryoutaro, but much to his surprise he could hear light snoring from him, and lying on the ground was a purple one surrounded by paper and crayons, gleefully colouring and humming to himself.
"So, this is the Den-Liner?" Ryoutaro sighed at the hectic scene.
"Are you guys okay?! What happened?!" Momo yelled.
"Senpai, please." The blue monster interrupted . "You're making a large fuss..."
"Don't give me that shit! Why is the Den-Liner de-railed?!"
"Well, when you were away we were hit with this weird storm thingy. But..." Naomi made her way behind her counter. "Somehow, it looks like we survived!"
"A storm?" Ryoutaro asked. "What do you mean?"
"Indeed, a storm." A voice answered from the other side of the cart. Everyone turned to see a finely dressed man enter from the front cart. "A particularly troublesome storm..."
"Owner!" Momo ran towards the man. "What the hell is up with the outside world? There's Ryoutaro, but he isn't like our Ryoutaro and-"
"The world looks the same.." The Owner stomped his cane on the ground. "..but because of a great disturbance, this is an entirely different timeline."
Everyone had stopped their individual activities and started to pay some attention to the Owner. All except Ryutaros who continued to colour on the ground.
"'Different timeline'? What on earth do you mean?" Urataros questioned.
"It is..." The Owner sat down in his chair. "a Time Storm."
"Time Storm? I'm starting to think you make half of this up..." Momotaros mumbled.
The Owner sat down in his chair. "Momotaros, you and Ryoutaro went to fight that strange Imagin. Please tell us what happened."
"Right. Well, we were following that Chicken-wing Bastard..."
"And so, me and, uh, 'Ryoutaro' here, came aboard the Den-Liner, and here we are." Momotaros gasped for breath after the lengthy explanation. Naomi and Ryutaros applauded, as if being told a bedtime story.
"Wait, so..." Urataros inspected Ryoutaro. "You're Ryoutaro?"
"Do I have show you my birth certificate?" Ryoutaro replied sarcastically.
"Yay! Now there's 2 Ryoutaro's!"Ryutaros rejoiced
"I see, that explains it..." The Owner said, deep in thought.
"What does it explain?" Momotaros inquired.
The Owner stood up, getting everyone's attention. "When a normal Imagin travels to the past, they destroy buildings and people, eventually causing the time to crumble. However, when the monster you and the other Riders faced used its ticket to travel back in time, you were sucked into some bright light, correct?"
"Yes..." Momo confirmed.
"And at the same time, we experienced a mysterious storm that caused us to de-rail. These are the exact phenomenons that occur during a Time Storm."
"Again, what is that?" Ryoutaro asked.
"It's what happens when someone changes the past, but not in a destructive way. If someone were to travel back in time and help Hitler win World War II, a Time Storm would appear and re-write the Sands of Time into a world where Nazi Germany has taken over the world."
"Oh, I see." Momotaros said in realization. "So, that means that the Chicken-wing Bastard traveled back in time to Nineteen Seventy-something and shaped the world to his way!"
"Exactly!"
"... but..." Urataros interrupted. "Everything's okay, right?" He pointed to the door, in reference to the outside world. "There's no Evil Empire, no Monster dictating Society, nothing."
"Oh..." Momotaros pondered. "If the Time Storm was caused by the Chicken-wing Bastard, then he must've revived Dai-Shocker, right?"
"Um, y'know," Ryoutaro perked up. "You keep saying 'Shocker'." Everyone's eyes turned on him. "Well, you couldn't mean that Shocker, could you?"
"Hooray." Urataros sarcastically interjected. "Seems like they've already taken over..."
"Not exactly." Ryoutaro reached inside the pocket of his trousers, pulling out his phone. "Look at this." He said, handing it to Momo.
He took it and inspected it closely. He noticed the engraving on the back, showing the phone's company's logo. "'Shocker Industries'..." Momotaros read aloud. "HUH?! That bastard traveled back in time to make an Electronics company?!"
"It's not just Electronics." Ryoutaro replied. "Shocker Industries is famous for being one of the most branched out and successful businesses in the world. Anything you can think of: food, machinery, sciences, media, Shocker Industries have got a large portion of the market in it."
"Wait, so Deus traveled back in time to take over the world... through a world monopoly?" The Owner questioned.
"Well, they haven't got complete control of the world just yet, there are a few other companies who stand between and complete control. But, let's just say that they've 'mysteriously' been agreeing to merge with Shocker."
"Meaning that they've been threatening their competition." Urataros summarized.
"Those sons of bitches! They must be stopped!" Momotaros punched the palm of his hand in frustration.
"Well, despite the fact that they're in control of a lot of industries, they aren't exactly evil..." Ryoutaro explained. "There's no need to go after them"
"Well..." Momo pondered, struggling to find a reason. "We need change the world back to how it was!"
"Indeed." The Owner agreed. "In the case of a time storm, if the item or person who was the the epicenter of the change is found, it can be used to travel back into the original world."
"So, since that Deus bastard traveled through time using the Decadriver, if we find the Decadriver we can go back to our own world!"
"Okay, good luck with that guys, tell me how it goes." Ryoutaro interjected.
"Don't worry, we wil- wait, what?" Everyone turned their attention on Ryoutaro once again.
He walked over to where the Owner was sitting and pulled the Rider pass out of his jacket pocket. "Sorry but, I have not intention of fighting monster for a living." Ryoutaro placed the pass on the table in front of the Owner.
"Hey! Hey!" Momotaros grabbed Ryoutaro by his collar. "What are you thinking?! You can't just leave us!"
Ryoutaro calmly grabbed Momotaros' hand and took them off of him. "Momotaros, I guess it was fun fighting with you that one time but, I'm not gonna run around and play Hero with you guys to fight some supposedly evil company." He made his way across the cart to the exit.
"You bastard! What will we do without you?!" Momotaros yelled, part angry, part disappointed.
"You'll survive." He replied bluntly. "You're a bunch of monsters, for crying out loud!"
"Cry?" Ryoutaro heard a new voice as the large yellow monster perked his head up. He very suddenly stood up and flipped the table he was sitting next to. "My strength shall make you cry!" He proclaimed. Ryoutaro simply gave him an annoyed look. Kintaros finally noticed Ryoutaro's presence. "Who's he?" He asked his fellow Imagin.
Ryoutaro turned and exited the car.
"Agh, forget him! We can take down Shocker by our own, right?!" Momo encouraged. Everyone simply looked to the ground, discouraged by the two's argument.
"No, seriously, who was that?" Kinataros asked.
Ryoutaro marched his way through the sand until he reached the door he entered the strange land from. 'Stupid Momotaros! Who does he think he is?! He can't just wrap me up in his problems!' As he entered the doorway back into his restaurant, he noticed someone sitting down at one of the tables. "Ah!" He quickly ran over to the customer, dressed in a business suit. "Sorry if I was too late!" He pulled a notepad and pen out of his back pocket. "Now, what can I get you?"
"Ah, sliced peaches sound good this time of year, don't they?" The customer suggested.
"Um, sorry, we don't serve peaches..." Ryoutaro replied, confused.
"Oh no?" The business man asked, coldly. "Then perhaps I should serve your head on a platter..." He stood up and reached into the inside pocket of his coat and pulled out a yellow and purple buckle and a single card, showing a picture of a spider on it.
"Don't tell me... you're..." Ryoutaro trembled in fear.
The man slid the card into the side of the buckle, the buckle materializing a belt that reached around his waist. "Kamen Riders must be kept a secret from the world. Henshin!" The man pushed the buckle, revealing the shape of a clover.
Open Up
A Purple energy screen shot out of the belt, enlarged and flew towards the man, forming green and gold armor around him, with the motif of of a spider.
The Rider pointed his staff towards Ryoutaro and slowly walked towards him.
Next time on Kamen Riders New Genesis:
Momotaros listened curiously into the phone. "It's been a while..." He heard a quite, creepy voice call to him. "I haven't heard from you in over 30 years..."
"D-Deus?!"
"LookslikeI'llhaveto... Henshin!"
HENSHIN
CHANGE BEETLE
"I am asking you politely. You can help us if you want, or you can walk away." The Owner held out the pass. "It's your choice."
"Ore, Sanjou!"
"Won't you let me string you along?"
"My strength shall make you cry!"
"Is it okay if I beat you? I can't hear you!"