Chapter 9: A Casanova's True Colors
"My, is this development that surprising?" Urataros spoke with a tone of amusement.
Hana, the Crab Imagin, and Jimmy continued to be shocked by the possessed Double D's extraordinary transformation.
Eyes darting from the armored Double D to the grotesque crab creature, Jimmy tried frantically to absorb and understand what had just taken place. It was too overwhelming of a task. He fainted.
This snapped Hana out of her own elucidations. She quickly picked up Jimmy's limp form and hurried to a safe distance from the imminent battle's range.
The Crab Imagin spat out a disgusting, sloshing noise in aggravation. "You fool, you possessed a Singularity Point! Now you're completely useless for our mission!"
Urataros shrugged carelessly. "It doesn't suit me to mindlessly follow orders, but it seems to be an appropriate fit for feeble-minded imajin such as yourself."
"What did you say, you smart-mouthed punk?!" The Crab Imagin frothily spat. "I'm going to gut you and your brat host at the same time!" It pounded forward in a charge, claws raised.
Urataros took up a loose stance and waited with apparent composure. When the Crab Imagin came within range, Urataros delivered a powerful thrust kick into its gut, knocking the bulky crab onto its back with a loud thud.
The Crab Imagin quickly got back up and rushed Urataros again with an enraged yell. This time, Urataros sidestepped out of the way and gave the crab a solid push kick to the back, sending it rolling down the alley and directly towards the cul-de-sac.
Urataros sighed wearily. "I suppose I now have to chase after him." With that, he walked off into the direction the Crab Imagin had traveled off into.
Still carrying Jimmy in her arms, Hana stared after the new Den-O in thought. "Two Masked Riders in the same world… Is that even possible?"
--..--
Since it was the middle of the afternoon, the cul-de-sac was filled with the neighborhood kids engaged in their own business. Kevin and Rolf were tossing a football back and forth, Nazz and Sarah had invited some of the cheerleaders over to go over the routines for the upcoming game, and Johnny was in the middle of playing go-fish with Plank.
"Eh?" Rolf froze in the middle of throwing Kevin back his football, his attention being pulled away towards a strange rumbling emanating from the adjacent alleyway. "What manner of ruckus is this?"
"Hey Rolf, what's the hold up?" Kevin shouted impatiently. "Hurry up and throw it back."
"Do you not hear what sounds like Nana's digestion after a hardy meal?"
"You're just imagining—wait; I think I hear something too." Kevin walked over to Rolf's spot, eyeing the alleyway suspiciously as the noise grew louder and closer.
All of a sudden, a large, crab-like creature came tumbling out like an oversized bowling ball, knocking the two boys aside like pins and finally stopping smack dab in the middle of the cul-de-sac for all to behold. All activity came to a grinding halt as everyone stopped to gawk at the man-sized crustacean.
The first natural reaction was for everyone to edge away as far from the strange creature as possible.
After the initial shock disappeared, Johnny ran up to the creature's prone form and began poking it with a stick. "Wow, this fella must've crawled all the way from the bottom of the creek. Take a picture of me standing next to this overgrown lug, Plank!"
"Uh, I don't think you should be doing that dude," Nazz said worriedly. "That thing doesn't look too friendly."
"Yeah, leave it alone, stupid!" Sarah yelled. "What're you trying to do, get us all killed?"
Johnny dismissed their warnings and got even closer. "Relax guys; I'm a natural with animals. Hey, I think the big guy is waking up."
One of the crab's large arms shot up and grabbed Johnny tightly around his throat. As it pushed itself off of the ground, it lifted Johnny off of his feet and up to its eye level. "Did you think messing with me was fun, kid?" The crab gurgled angrily. "How about I show you my idea of fun?"
The crab raised a pincher to Johnny's neck, preparing to sever his head from his body. Before he could, it was struck with a football to the side of the head. Though the blow failed to inflict harm, the unexpected surprised made it drop Johnny back to the ground. Not hesitating, Johnny retreated to pick up Plank and then ran off to stand next to Kevin.
The crab creature's temper had risen to its peak. Its bug eyes threatened to pop out of its head, and its jagged tooth-filled mouth foamed profusely as it gurgled irritably. It turned in the direction the ball came in to face Rolf as he boldly walked up to it.
"You dare to bring harm to a fellow Urban Ranger, foul sea dweller?" Rolf stated angrily. "Now you must face the wrath of the son of shepherd!" He ran in close and delivered a left uppercut into the creature's stomach, only to be back-handed with enough force to send him skidding across the asphalt and into a light pole. The collision knocked him out cold.
"Rolf!" Kevin pulled out the wrench he always kept on his person and charged the crab recklessly. "You're gonna pay for that, freak!" He struck it in the chest with a solid thump, but the creature merely cackled and sent him crashing to the street with a kick.
Everyone else was too terrified to step in and face the monstrosity. Even Nazz's experience in martial arts had vanished with overpowering fear.
The crab pinned Kevin to the ground with one foot and slowly applied weight to watch him squirm. An ugly grin crossed his face as he tried to make the process as painful as possible.
Kevin tried futilely to remove its foot from his chest, but the creature's build was too solid. He began to panic as his ribcage felt the overwhelming pressure.
Just as Kevin was sure his entire chest cavity would collapse, the crab was lifted off of its feet by a white, metal boot that cracked against its chin. Too winded to get up, Kevin rolled around to see who had saved him.
Standing above him was a figure no taller than himself, but clad in what looked to be technologically advanced armor of sorts, something one would expect to see in a comic book. From what Kevin could see, the armor was shaded blue, and the figure's face was completely obscured by a full-faced helmet with orange, tinted goggles and fin-shaped antennae on the sides. Whoever this person was, they gave Kevin a weird sense of déjà vu …
The armored figure stepped over Kevin and towards the crab creature. "This has been a most entertaining experience, but I believe it's about time we end things, don't you?"
From the sound of their voice, Kevin deduced the figure to be male. The crab creature painfully picked itself off the ground and began to back away cautiously.
The figure began reaching for one of four, train-shaped devices on his belt, but stopped midway when he spotted the cheerleaders huddled away on Nazz's front lawn. Strangely, the figure completely forgot about the crab's existence and headed straight for the girls, a confident swagger in his step.
The crab creature stared after the figure, puzzled by the change in situation. Deciding not to give too much thought to the matter, it snuck away while the figure was distracted. It tiptoed until it made it back to the alleyway from where he came, and then went into a mad sprint.
"Are you okay?"
Kevin turned around to face a dark-haired girl who appeared to be around his age wearing a white vest jacket and black jean shorts. She offered a hand, which Kevin accepted, dusting himself off when he got up.
"Yeah, I'm just fine," Kevin said. "But I'm not too sure about him," he pointed in Rolf's direction.
Kevin and the girl ran over to Rolf, carefully moving him off of the light pole to lie flat on the street. "It doesn't look like he's that badly hurt, just a bump to the head." At that time, Rolf began to stir. They stepped back to give him proper room.
"Ugh," Rolf groaned as he lifted his upper body off the ground, rubbing the back of his head. "Tell me; are we still under siege by the abomination from the briny deep?"
Kevin shook his head. "That thing high tailed it out of here after that guy showed up and kicked its butt," he pointed towards the armored figure.
Rolf raised an eyebrow upon sight. "Who is this shelled person that woos go-go Nazz-girl?"
"What?!" Kevin did a double-take when he saw that the figure had affectionately cupped it's hands around Nazz's. From the look on Nazz's face, she didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, she looked rather thrilled.
"Are you serious?!" The girl growled through clenched teeth. "He allowed that imagin to get away?!" The girl stomped off in the figure's direction.
Kevin watched her go in puzzlement. "Dude, who was that and what's an imagin?"
"Rolf hasn't a clue." As Rolf was helped to his feet, he was struck by the absence of someone who, up until now, had been present. "Where has Johnny wood boy gone off to?" He inquired.
"Over here, guys!" Johnny called out. "Look who me and Plank found!" They turned to one of the nearby yards to see Johnny standing over an unconscious Jimmy.
Rolf immediately ran off to check on the youngest member of the Urban Rangers, leaving Kevin to stand alone.
Though it brought a sense of satisfaction to see the girl drag the figure roughly away by one of his antennae, Kevin still couldn't shake the feeling that he had met the armored being before. The feeling was so vague, that he would have dismissed it all together if it weren't for a nagging sensation at the back of his brain. He couldn't figure out why it was there, but he did his best to decipher it.
"Oh my gosh, is that Jimmy?!"
Nazz and the cheerleaders hurried over to check on Jimmy, snapping Kevin out of his thoughts. He set them aside for later, deciding to focus on the issue at hand.
--..--
Sure that it had put a good amount of distance between it and the Masked Rider, the Crab Imagin decided to take a break in a pair of nearby bushes. Out of breath, it allowed its body to drop through the shrubby unceremoniously.
"This world's Masked Rider… turning out to be some kid," The Crab Imagin grumbled. "I'll deal with him later, him and that snot-nosed imagin. But for now…"
The Crab Imagin gazed from out of his hiding place at a house across the street. The house itself was nothing special; just one of the mass-produced clones that lined the neighborhood in this part of the town. Instead, the Crab Imagin focused his sights on the utmost left window in the front.
There, a boy stared apprehensively from a small slit within the blinds, scanning the surroundings for any signs of danger. His eyes held a look of paranoia, mixed with almost frenzied fear.
The whole scene brought a perverse grin to the Crab Imagin's face. Finally catching his second wind, the Crab Imagin emerged from the bushes and slowly headed towards its intended target, not caring if he were seen out in the open.
It took but a moment for the boy to spot the crustacean, its grotesque form made even more disturbing by how it contrasted so sharply with the otherwise average scene.
Only when the boy's screams pierced through his closed window did the Crab Imagin decide to charge forward.
--
Hana had dragged Double D and Urataros back to the DenLiner where she could properly hold a discussion about her dissatisfaction with Urataros's earlier behavior. It would be an understatement to claim that she was a little more than upset.
"You idiot!" Hana punched Urataros in the mouth, sending him falling backwards over the seats. "Do you have any idea what you did?!"
Urataros chose not to get up, too afraid that he'd be knocked back down in the same fashion. "I believe I had saved your life, or would you have preferred that imagin struck you down?" Urataros responded bitterly.
"You know what I'm talking about," Hana spat. "You purposely let that imagin go just so you could go flirt with a bunch of cheerleaders!"
Urataros rubbed at the bruise forming on his beak-like lips. "It was mere chance that we found him in the first place, so he'll inevitably make his location known once more. Stop overreacting sweet Hana, it's most unbecoming."
"Overreacting?" Hana was hyperventilating with rage. "Overreacting?!"
She moved to deliver a hard kick into Urataros's side, only to be restrained by Ed and Double D. After a few moments of struggling, she calmed down and settled with glaring. "You just don't get it, do you?"
Uratros pulled himself back up, seeing that the risk of bodily harm had now passed. "Well it's most obvious that I do not. Enlighten me of my ignorance."
"Fine," Hana moved forward, forcing Urataros to back up cautiously. She jabbed a finger into his chest to emphasis her words. "I'll spell it out so even you can understand. When an imagin runs wild, people get hurt, they get hurt bad. That Crab Imagin has already attacked an entire soccer team of kids, kids Urataros. The one we just saw was half dead."
She allowed a moment of silence to let her words sink in.
"If it's not stopped, then who knows what else that thing will do? It already said it still had one more soccer player to find. Doesn't that bother you at all?"
Urataros coolly brushed her aside with a bored, apathetic look. "To be quite frank, I could care less."
Double D stared disbelievingly. "You can't truly mean that… can you?"
"Alas, this is one of the few situations I find telling the truth more beneficial than creating a lie."
"But, then why did you become Den-O?" Double D pushed on. "Didn't you intend to protect the boy?"
"Don't misunderstand my actions, I was merely protecting Hana. I never gave a second thought to the boy's well-being." Urataros caringly took a hold of Hana's hands and bent down on one knee. "I was only thinking of you, Hana…" He said with a charming smile.
Hana pulled her hands away and hatefully glowered down at him. "You disgust me."
Completely unfazed, Urataros took a seat. "Can't blame a guy for trying. A cup of coffee please, Miss Naomi."
Naomi huffed and turned her back to him, busying herself with the task of washing dishes at her station.
Double D approached Urataros with a livid frown on his face and fist balled to his sides. "How can you possibly be so callous? People's lives are at stake, don't you realize that?" Double D fumed.
Urataros rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Please just let the matter rest, Eddward; you're wasting your energy and my precious time," He ended with a heavy sigh.
"You have some nerve to dismiss such an important matter, especially since it's my body you happen to inhabit. If you believe for a second that I'm going to let you use my body for anything other than noble purposes, then—."
"You'll what? Rid yourself of me?"
"If I must."
Urataros sniggered disdainfully and readjusted himself to stare Double D directly in the eye. "Eddward, you don't seem to fully comprehend the position that you're in. Our bond isn't something that can be simply tossed aside at will. Unless I complete a contract that you formally enter with me, our symbiosis is quite permanent."
"Then I'll create a contract!" Double D snapped.
"That, I'm afraid, is also impossible. You see, a contract can only be made with an imagin if they are willing to hear the wish of their host. In other words, I'm the one with control in this situation. Until I see fit to do otherwise, I will refuse to acknowledge any wish you ask of me."
"You're no different than the rest of the imagin," Hana seethed.
"Oh no, my dear, I'm nothing like the other imagin. I truly do not want to undergo the needless process of destroying worlds one by one. While I could care less what happens to you humans, I don't see how I could possibly gain from your destruction, so I find it all a pointless task. I only wished to indulge myself in women to my heart's content," Urataros turned back to Double D with a mocking smile. "And with your body, I'll be able to do just that."
"Bad imagin," Ed scolded. "You get a timeout, mister."
Momotaros, unable to hold his silence any longer, stood from his seat and strutted up to the Turtle Imagin with an arrogant gait. "See, I'm the only reliable one here, not this perverted turtle." He stomped a foot onto Urataros's table threateningly. "Which means you can rely on me to put this guy in his place."
Urataros stood up casually, standing toe-to-toe with the Ogre Imagin. "You're more than welcome to try... Peach boy."
The two circled each other challengingly, showing no intentions on actually making a move. They finally came to a stop on the opposite sides of the car aisle, glaring at one another in electrified silence.
Suddenly, they charged each other. They both delivered a kick, but their feet bounced off of each other, sending both imagin recoiling to the floor. This didn't seem to slow the two down, as they now resorted to a wrestling match.
They exchanged punches and knees to the gut, but neither one showed signs of backing down. Though Urataros had the advantage in height, Momotaros was clearly the more spirited brawler. The two tumbled across the floor, forcing Hana, Ed, and Double D to stand on the chairs.
As the two resorted to pulling at each other's horns, Eddy came walking through the front car door. Hana and Double D stared in surprise. Even Urataros broke away from his fight to do the same.
Eddy, who was confused by the attention he was getting, stared back blankly. "…I miss something or what?"
"I thought you were still at the Milk Dipper," Double D said.
Eddy dropped into a seat grumpily. "Yeah, I was. I spent all day trying to straighten things out with Edwin, who's totally acting like a jerk right now. We leave him to face a mob by himself one time, and all of a sudden it's, 'ooh, you guys stabbed me in the back'. If he's gonna be a wuss about it, then I say who needs him."
"…Okay, but how did you manage to get back on the train without custody of the Rider Pass?"
"What're you talking about, sock head; I got the thing right here." Eddy reached into his front pocket and fished out the familiar object, completely unchanged and untouched.
Hana turned to Double D, questioning him with a silent look.
He nodded and reached into his sweatshirt pockets. With a perplexed expression, he pulled out an identical Rider Pass.
Eddy stared at his pass and then looked at Double D's. "Hey, how'd you get one of those?!"
"Very interesting indeed."
Everyone jumped at the, beforehand, undetected presence of the Conductor.
"What're ya trying to do, give someone a heart attack?"Momotaros wheezed out as he pounded his chest. "Don't do that!"
Unresponsive, the Conductor moved on to examine Double D's pass. "It seems that you have somehow obtained a Rider Pass. Two Rider Passes existing for the same time train is an unprecedented case."
"But what does it mean?" Hana asked.
"The significance of such an occurrence cannot be ascertained at this point and time, I'm afraid. Still, this event has granted Double D personal access to the DenLiner, exactly like the access Eddy now possesses. Similarly, Double D may also take or deny dependants in his name."
Eddy stared blankly. "What did he just say?"
"He said I can bring other people onto the DenLiner, just like you," Double D explained. "Within the limited selection of you and Ed, of course."
The Conductor nodded.
"Wait, that also means you can deny access to anyone who has it under you right now," Hana pointed out. "Which means…" She moved to Urataros and pointed directly at him. "You can kick him off of the train!"
Urataros leapt in alarm. "Wait; let's not do anything hasty now."
"Hana has surmised correctly," the Conductor said. "If you wish to, you may deny Urataros access, and I will have him tossed off the DenLiner."
Momotaros pumped his fist in victory. "Yes, Momo Country is back, baby! Go for it!"
"If I do that, what will happen to him?"
"He will be forced to wander the Sands of Time," an eerie smile crept along the Conductor's face. "Eternally."
Momotaros ran up to Double D, jumping up and down anxiously. "Well what're ya waitin' for? Drive this guy out already!"
"I agree," Hana said with a tone of finality. "There's no telling what kind of danger an imagin with his attitude could put you in."
"Ban the stinky head!" Ed shouted resolutely.
Eddy shrugged. "Not sure what's goin' on, but hey, I'll jump on the bandwagon."
Double D turned to each person as they made their statement before facing Urataros. Though he looked away, Urataros's shoulders slumped in dejection.
Double D stared back at his Rider Pass, fumbling with it in one hand as he lost himself in thought.
All eyes were focused upon him as everyone waited for his decision.
After awhile, Double D looked back up with an expression of determination. Taking a deep breath, he strode past the Conductor and up to Urataros.
"Urataros," Double D spoke in an emotionless tone of voice. "I've weighted everything you've said, and after careful deliberation, I've come to a conclusion. You're a chronic liar, which means nothing you say should be taken at face value."
Urataros continued to face away from everyone.
"This means that your claim of not caring about human life is also a lie. You're in self-denial. That's why you choose not to join the other imagin, because deep down, you know what they're doing is wrong. You, as a liar, just can't bring yourself to admit it."
"You're kidding, right?" Hana remarked. "That's way too much of a stretch, Double D."
"Yeah!" Momotaros yelled. "Don't defend that turtle bastard, kick him out already!"
Double D shook his head. "Think about it; why would the Rider Pass attach itself to me? If I really am possessed by some heartless entity, wouldn't the pass be endangering itself by being near me?
"So now the pass is alive or sumthin?" Eddy said. "Don't push it, Sockhead; it was just a fluke!"
"Only time will tell, Eddy."
"Well time isn't something we have," Hana held. "There's still an imagin running around in Peach Creek, and there's no way we can find him."
"Not so fast there," Momotaros said. "If Eddy goes looking around, I'll be able to sense the sucker and take it out."
"So now I have to go back out?" Eddy groaned.
"Just go already," Hana ordered. "The longer we wait, the bigger the chance that thing has of completing its contract!"
"Fine, I'm going already," Eddy grumbled. He grumpily got out of his seat and sulked off to the DenLiner entrance. "Geez, no one told me I'd be doing footwork with this gig." He slammed the front car door behind him.
"We should really go with him in case he needs help," Double D said. "Shall we, Ed?"
"All for one and two for tea, Double D!"
"I'll go too," Hana volunteered.
The three left out as well.
"It seems the matter has been resolved." The Conductor declared. "Since I am already here, how about a plate of the usual, Naomi?"
"Coming right up, sir!"
"Great, I'm still stuck with the turtle," Momotaros grumbled. "Screw it, I'm polishing my bike. Unless it's important, don't bother me," He walked off through the back car door.
Urataros was left standing by himself, mulling over everything that had just taken place. Seeing nothing else to do, he resigned himself to sitting back down and staring at the window.
"Saved by the fish I caught," he groused. "How pathetic."