Chapter 02: The Rise of Mighty Kuuga.
"Raaah!"
"Take this!"
Is what a person could listen if in this very moment he is present in the fight that is happening into this town.
Dante Gonzales, who just a day before was your average boy, he just liked Tokusatsu and actually never had fought like this before.
And now he is a Kamen Rider and is fighting a Monster that was attacking innocent people, the world can be a very strange place indeed…
Yet in this moment he doesn't even question that or how this impossible situation is happening, since right now higher priorities are at stake.
For example: His life.
Dante feels right now that his body is only a bit stronger and faster. Odd, since he always thought that being a Kamen Rider will make the user feel more… stronger than this… maybe he did something wrong and because that he transformed in a powerless version of Kuuga?
But then again, with this Dante can fight without losing his life, meaning the suit is doing is job in that sense.
That make sense somehow, since Dante remembered very well an image of Kuuga he saw once, and that form was similar in appearance to this White Armor, only with bigger horns and being red.
But still is not time to complain about that, even if his powers are barely any better than just being without the armor of Kuuga, he still have a monster to take care.
"Tch! There is just no improvement," Says an annoyed Dante as the Spider Monster dodged another of his punches.
"It's useless, Kuuga," The Spider Monster said those words to a Kuuga who naturally only understand the part where his name was mentioned.
"Shut up!" Is the response from Dante as he tried to go for a kick…
… A kick that was easily dodged by the Spider Monster who then uses the moment to give a punch in the stomach to Kuuga.
*Punch!*
"Ouch!" Responds Dante as he falls to his knees.
And then the Spider Monster made the claws of his hands grow and proceed to give a slash in the middle of the chest to Kuuga.
*Spark!*
And for some reasons sparks came out from Kuuga's chest instead of blood… but it was still a painful experience for him.
Yet the Spider Monster didn't let himself to lose time and immediately opened his 'mouth' to shoot his web.
The web wrapped around upper part of Kuuga's body, his arms were tied as a result.
"No!" Exclaims Kuuga as he tries to break free of the web, but failing into actually doing it.
"It's over… Kuuga," And with that the Spider Monster slowly started to walk towards a helpless Kuuga, both of his claws are ready to kill him.
It looks that to Dante in the end his first fight as a Kamen Rider also was his last one…
But perhaps not everything must end here… after all we have to remember that this fight is currently being watched by certain group of girls.
_With the Strike Witches_
Right now the girls are rather confused by the situation, since the reports never mentioned something like what was happening bellow.
"Fighting between comrades?" Wondered Mio as she along the rest of the Strike Witches watched the fight.
"Seems to be the case," Responded Minna.
But they can see that of the two… the Spider was the one who had the upper hand and probably be the winner of this.
"How we must proceed?" Asked a girl known as Gertrud Barkhorn.
"We wait to the N7 kill the N10 and then we kill the N7," Decided Mio, "Also if possible then we must bring the corpse of one of them so that way the scientist could work in a way to defeat them," That was also a secondary mission, but these orders were given so the Witches could focus only in the Neuroi.
If they manage to experiment in the corpse of one of the Unidentified Lifeforms, then there will be chances to discover a way to kill them or create a special weapon to deal with them. Regular soldiers could use them and so the Witches will continue fighting the Neuroi.
"Yes!" All of them nodded.
"But, Sakamoto-san, don't you think there is something different about the white one…" Says a girl, her name is Yoshika Miyafuji. For some reason she feels that something is very different between the Spider Monster and the White one.
"Now that you mentioned it… the N10 really seems to be different," Commented a girl with blonde hair, she is Erica Hartmann.
True, now that they see more of the White Unidentified Lifeform. His physical appearance is very different from the reports about the others, while the others Unidentified Lifeforms could be related for their bodies who shared some similarities.
"Regardless of that, we still have orders," Said Minna with a serious voice.
They knew they have to do this since innocent people and soldiers had been killed by the Unidentified Lifeforms.
Even Yoshika who is not really sure about this will help, since she doesn't know anything about Kuuga.
But if she had known or see that he was a human… then in this very moment she will be trying to defend him and give him a chance.
Sadly this is not the case.
_Back With Kuuga_
Dante knew he was doomed if he didn't did anything.
But with the upper part of his body tied and without the strength to break free on his own, only his legs could move freely.
And by coincidence, while moving erratically his legs… he managed to land an unexpected kick in the stomach of the Spider Monster!
"Hkkk!" Growls the Spider Monsters as he put both his hands over his stomach.
A kind of light started to glow in that spot, also certain lines that appear starting to become one to form a symbol…
…before the Spider Monster recovered from the shock and made the light and the symbol disappear.
Kuuga managed to break free from the Web as the Spider Monster was in pain and that allowed Dante to use his slightly increased strength to break the Web.
"That Kick managed to do some damage…" Whispered Kuuga as he realized that since he is now a Kamen Rider, he can utilize the Rider Kick!
"I see! So if I do it again I may have a chance!" Dante's then got his second wind as he discovered how he could get out of this alive.
And sadly at the same time the Strike Witches couldn't hear him due to the distance between them.
_With the Girls_
"This is the best moment to attack!" Declared Mio as she realized that now both of the Unidentified Lifeforms are weakened enough for them to attack.
"Miyafuji, Bishop, Eila, Sanya. You will stay here and provide support," Mio gave them that order.
"Yes!" They respond.
So the rest of them went to deal with the 'Unidentified Lifeforms'.
_Back With Kuuga_
Dante was about to deliver another kick.
But suddenly he could hear a sound from above.
So looking to the source of the sound he found… girls wearing a specie rocket in their legs… and they are showing their panties!
'AHHHHHH!' And mentally Dante was totally overwhelmed by the sight… since this was real life and not internet!
If one could see behind his helmet, then they could see his totally red face.
And so also the Spider Monster centered his attention on the new arrival.
"These are the Special Linto…" He said while looking at them. If Kuuga was not enough trouble also the only Linto can actually become a threat to him arrived.
But then they prepared their weapons, and Dante could only look now in horror as they seem prepared to shoot the Spider Monster… and him…
'Why they would shoot me!?' Thought a panicked Dante.
This situation definitely was looking bad…
Could he get away with his life intact?
Luckily the most unexpected help came from…
…the Spider Monster.
"Fuuui!" He yelled as he launched his Spider Web at the girls who clearly dodged.
And proceeded to open fire at Kuuga and the Spider Monster!
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
His heard as they shoot bullets from their weapons.
Kuuga desperately tried to about being hit as he did not want to test the endurance of his actual state… maybe if he was the Red Kuuga, then he could try, but he is convinced that the White Kuuga couldn't survive this.
So he quickly escaped by running into an alley.
The Spider Monster stayed as he took some bullets that were hurting him, albeit not much but it could get dangerous if he just stood here.
So he used his Web and connected it to the Giant Web he made in the roofs!
And then he jumped there and managed to disguise himself into the Web.
"They're escaping," The girl with black hair yelled as they give both of them chase.
Dante upon hearing that, quickly de-henshined (Even if he didn't know how to actually doing it) so they will not recognize him.
What he didn't know is that the Spider Monster also used the same tactic, and transformed himself into a human… which luckily for him the Witches don't know that the Unidentified Lifeforms can do that.
So both escaped with some luck.
Will really be everything okay from our new Kuuga?
(Opening: Kamen Rider Kuuga. By Masayuki Tanaka).
We can see various images related to Kuuga: His Belt, his Bike, and his mark. And lastly we can see Dante falling from the sky and landing in a town destroyed by the Neuroi!
Karappo no Hoshi Jidai wo ZERO Kara Hajimeyou (In this empty planet, a new era begins from zero).
Dante's resting in a wall of the desolated town looking sadly at the destruction… however then from the ruins appears various Grongi! And they clearly want to attack Dante!
Densetsu wa Nurikaeru Mono (The Legend will be repainted)
Then the image changes to the Sky. And then show various Witches flying in their Strike Units, suddenly all of them look bellow to see Dante and the Grongi in the destroyed town. Dante simply look at them and gives a Thumb Up. Which they respond by give a Thump Up at him as a response showing trust in Dante.
Ima, AKUSERU wo Tokihanate! (Right now, it's the time to let go the accelerator)
Then the scene changes to Kuuga at the top of a cliff, he is looking at the Witches who fly trough the Sky to protect people from the Neuroi. His red eyes flashed with determination to protect them as the Grongi start to running at him.
Kuuga Atsuku Yomiagere (Kuuga! Revive impetuously!)
Now we can see Kuuga in his Mighty Form launching punches and kicks at the air. Then we see his Dragon Form attacking with his Dragon Rod. Next his Pegasus Form he shoots an arrow from his Pegasus Bowgun. And finally his Titan Form as he practices with the Titan Sword.
Kuuga Hokori no ENAJII (Kuuga! Energy made of Pride)
All the Kuuga's forms appear behind Dante and bow before him. A second after that they jump at his body leaving Dante's alone, but then he summons the Arcle and prepares to transform.
Kuuga Tsuyoku Aru Tame ni (Kuuga! In order to become stronger…)
And behind Dante's various Witches appear to give him a smile from protecting them from an enemy they could not face.
No Fear! No Pain!
Kuuga is riding with his TryChaser 2000. He does it from different roads, and in each one a different group of Witches fly over him.
Ai no Mae ni Tatsu Kagiri (Protect love to the very end)
But now the scene changes at the Witches fighting the Neuroi and defeating then, and nearby is Dante watching over them, he knew that can fight and handle themselves against the Neuroi so he only will act if a Grongi appears to attack them.
No Fear! No Pain!
The scene changes to Kuuga in his Mighy Form fighting the Grongi with punches and Kicks.
Osoreru Mono wa Nani mo Nai (You're not afraid of anything)
And it ends with him giving a Rider Kick to the Grongi, Zu-Gooma-Gu.
Kanzen Doku Sou! (Leave all of them behind!)
But then we see N-Daguva-Zeva, the leader of the Grongi looking at Kuuga from the top of a mountain while the skies are dark and there is rain and lighting falling.
Ore ga Koete Yaru! (I will surpass all of them!)
From the top of other mountain Kuuga is glaring at Daguva as he closes his hand in a punch, showing that even then he will fight him.
Chou Henshin!
In a final scene we see Kuuga and the Witches together; each of the Witches is smiling, proving that Kuuga managed to protect their smiles.
Kamen Rider Kuuga!
The last we see is Dante resting over a meadow in a peaceful sunny day, watching with a smile as how everything turned in the end.
(End of the Opening)
_Town, Two Hours after the Confrontation _
And so Dante was right now walking through the town, luckily since nobody say him transforming into Kuuga he can walk without having to worry about being discovered by anyone.
"Hah, now I really just don't know what I should do…" In this moment Dante was not in his more optimistic state.
After his confrontation with the Witches and posterior escape, our Kuuga wandered around the place at the same time asking some question to the locals.
As stupid as sounds… Dante Gonzales was actually prepared for this kind of situation.
Back some years ago he and his friends where watching a series about a group of people trapped into other world and his adventures into that world.
So as a joke they decided set some rules, so if one of them ever got trapped into another world then they will know what they have to do in order to stay alive.
The first and most important one was simply not attract much attention to one. So that way one could get some information to help himself to figure the situation.
After that still was the fact that basically you didn't existed into any records or legal documents in the world, which will bring definitely some troubles if the authorities catch you.
Of course that entirely depended of which kind of world you where trapped, so as part of the joke they decided name different scenarios.
So eventually even one such as 'the past in an alternative earth' was mentioned.
"And to think my parents used to say that we just where losing time instead of doing something more productive…" Mumbled to himself Dante as he suppressed the need to laugh at such ridiculous situation…. After all people will look weirdly at him if they heard him talking alone.
But also thinking about that made Dante's sad as he remember that now he and the life and people he knew were separated and possibly never to be seen again.
'No" Don't think about that!' Dante yelled in his minds, and since he had two hours to cool off his head somewhat… he arrived to an interesting conclusion.
"There must be a way to get back home…" Mumbled Dante. After remembering how he was pulled into this world into first place.
A message was send to him… the question of who send it was the one that Dante really wanted an answer.
Because even when appears be something straight out of a Fanfic it also give our current Kuuga the hope of finding the one who made this situation happen, and asking him to return him home.
It was practically just a theory, since for starters… Dante doesn't even know if the person who transported him to this world will actually be here.
But even then… it was the only clue he had.
"Still… I'm lucky that some sort of 'Intelligence' was the one to send me here…" After all it also could have happen that he just randomly stumbled upon a 'dimensional vortex' and ended into this world… but instead of how he is now Dante would have been powerless and probably would have been killed by that Spider Monster.
"Oh right, I almost forget about that… just what is going on in this world?" Wondered Dante as he continued to walk without having a real destination to arrive, but it was better than just standing quiet in one place.
From what he learned by asking various people in this moment the humanity was being attacked by some things known as 'Neuroi'. And they are a great danger to everyone, and to combat them, girls known as 'Witches' are used to destroy them.
Still… the fact that he could see their panties really unnerved Dante.
Tough, Dante must admit if they were not trying to kill him, then he would have been totally been paralyzed while looking at them.
Even in his situation Dante is still a guy…
"And if those Neuroi weren't enough trouble for this world, now these 'Unidentified Lifeforms' appeared practically from nowhere and started killing people," Dante remembered asking about that to an old man who was in a store.
They appeared from nowhere and started to spread panic by killing people randomly.
The Military at first tried to take care of them, but the weapons did not work.
But there had been some rumors about Witches being able to deliver more serious damage to them. But still there hasn't been a real victory, since by this point no-one of the Unidentified Lifeforms had been confirmed to have been killed. As they managed to run away before the Witches could finish their work.
"And from what I learned from listen that Spider Monster... he is most likely to be one of Kuuga's enemies," Dante just suspired at the very idea of that.
Even as he never saw Kamen Rider Kuuga, Dante managed to conclude that based in two facts:
1: The Monster called him 'Kuuga'.
2: His physical appearance was very similar to some of the monsters he had seen in various Tokusatsu.
Taking that into consideration, things start to make more sense to Dante.
The message that was send to his computer talked about 'experiencing Kuuga', and then he was send to this world.
Maybe it was to combat these monsters?
Does he have the powers of Kuuga because there was no Kuuga in this world?
"And still this doesn't change the fact that I don't even know their names or what they want!" Suddenly Dante yelled those words.
And so everyone started to look weirdly at him.
Yet Dante doesn't care about that.
If instead of Kuuga it was a series like Agito, Kiva, Blade, W or Gaim. Then Dante would have know his powers and his enemies, and how deal with them!
But now he is with the powers of a Rider that he only ever saw was a little description of the plot (And even then he forgot about what it said), and the image of Kuuga giving a thumb-up.
"And I didn't even get the correct transformation…" Dante knew something was wrong, since even when his lack of information about Kuuga, he could tell his transformation was a powered-down version of the Rider.
"Ah! This would be far easier if I used a device like the other Riders!" And again people started to look at Dante, who ignored them.
He just continued to walk around, like if he was hoping that somehow the answer would appear if he just walked.
And ironically, just by walking without having a destination in mind will be a factor in helping Dante to figure what he needs to do.
_Five Minutes Later_
And all his walking in the ends was useful.
Since just by chance he stumbled upon a part of the town.
A part that was some hours ago the stage of the battle between two of the 'Unidentified Lifeforms'.
There are still some parts of the Web that the Spider Monster created in the roofs.
Also there are members of the police along with the military who are keeping away the bystanders. It's appears they are investigating the area.
"Figures…" Whispered Dante as he simply watched them doing their work, and also remembering the battle he had with the Spider Monster and how almost killed him of not for having enough luck to connect that kick.
"Now that I'm thought about it, how I can transform again?" Wondered Dante as he realized he can't transform into Kuuga again.
He tried to do it again in a much more secluded location, but no matter what pose he tried or how much he yelled 'Henshin!' he just did not transform.
"Maybe it just activates by punching the enemy?" Since that was the only way he transformed with success, it could be the way Kuuga activates his powers, "No, every Rider transforms by yelling 'Henshin!', so I just have to find how to do it," With no home to return or place to stay and no Internet to accede (Oh, the horror!) the only thing Dante can do is trying to figure how to use his powers.
Even if he still is unsure about fighting. But he wants to keep his mind focused into that so he could not have a mental breakdown by too much things happening too quickly from each other (Being separated from his best friends by moving away to the city, Being separated from his world and send to another, Being almost killed by a Spider Monster, Transforming into a powered down version of Kamen Rider Kuuga and finally almost getting killed by second time thanks to the Witches who believe him to be the enemy).
But then…
"I already told you: it's impossible," A stern and serious voice could be heard, that voice belongs to one of the soldiers who are tasked to keep away people during the investigation.
"Please! I just want to take something important from my home!" Pleaded a voice that belongs to a little girl of around 8 or 9 years old, she had short brown hair and blue eyes.
And one clearly could see that she was on the verge of crying.
Now, upon seeing that Dante started to feel a little uneasy, when growing up in his town he always hated to see people crying sadly like that.
Oh, he could always welcome tears of happiness, but in any other case he disliked tears and whenever one of his friends was crying, Dante always made his best to cheer them up and return a smile to their faces.
Yet when people outside his friends were crying, Dante only stared at them but did nothing to help them, but even then he felt uneasy about seeing tears.
It was never easy.
If it was possible he'd rather have smiles than tears.
Even when it was not his trouble… seeing a little girl like that about to cry simply made Dante's body move on his own.
"Excuse me," Dante's speaks to them, and with that gaining their attention, "I know this is not something I'm involved, but what is happening?" Asked Dante.
"This kid is trying to enter, even when is forbidden until the investigations are over," Explained the soldier.
"But I won't disturb anything!" Responded the little girl, as she tried to speak without sounding upset, "I just want to take back my dad's reading glasses!" And as she said those words suddenly tears started to leak from her eyes.
Yeah, Dante started to feel bad, as usually when he sees other people crying (But girls and especially little girls are the ones who affect him the most).
"H-hey, please calm down!" Dante tried to make her stop crying by talking, but sadly for him it doesn't seem to be working, "C-can't your dad wait until everything is resolved?" So he tried to find a solution.
But instead it did worse.
Since the little girl fully broke down and started to cry…
"Uaaa!" She cried, "D-dad was killed by t-the U-unidentified Lifef-form who attacked today!" That last part was yelled and everyone near this place could hear it.
Dante become paralyzed as he heard those words.
His mind went into a sort of shut-down; he tried to process what she had just said.
But eventually he did manage to snap out of that state. And by doing that Dante's realized for first time in his life… the pain to lose a person close to you.
Back home he never loosed a person in his close circle (Family or Friends) so he could not understand with the people who did loose someone close to them.
But seeing this little girl crying… feeling the sadness and lack of hope in her voice… was an experience for which Dante was totally unprepared for.
And what made it worse was… that he could have done something about it!
If he had arrived earlier, then the Spider Monster would have focused all his attention on him and then maybe he could have saved the father of that little girl.
But now, she was crying and he was totally useless. Even if he wanted he could have done nothing to help her to smile again.
'I don't like this feeling…' Thought Dante.
So he could do nothing… so the soldier was the one who managed to calm her down.
"It's alright," The soldier got to his knees to be at the same height as her, "This night the Witches will be doing a special patrol to make sure to find the Unidentified Lifeforms that appeared today, and I'm sure they will defeat them," He spoke with confidence.
And those words seemed to calm her a bit.
"It's t-true…?" She asked.
"Yes, but for that to happen you and all of the people of the town must stay in their homes after certain hour, so they could find them more easily," It seemed he could have say more.
But Dante just couldn't stand being here in this place in this moment.
So he just started to run at the direction he came into first place.
And so, while he was running he managed to find an empty alley… and promptly tears started to come from his eyes.
"T-this is real… people are dying…" Ha managed to say between sobs, "If something like that happened… to me… and one of my friends or my parents were killed in such way…" Just thinking about it was enough to make more tears come out from his eyes.
A human being can find incredible things about themselves if the situation is right, and in this moment Dante is in front of a decision that other people would have choose simply run away and live a quiet life.
Some would run away from such responsibility… but others would have chosen to stay and fight.
"I want to go home…" He finally said those words.
It seems that he still hadn't gotten his answer about what he must do, but this also is something he must figure by himself.
Luckily for Dante Gonzales… there is still enough time until the night arrives…
By then he surely will have reached his answer.
_Some Hours Later. 4: 30 A.M_
The town is in absolute silence. All of his denizens are in their homes.
But if one centered his attention into the sky, then a faint noise could be heard, and if one was in a high point, then that person could see something into the sky.
The Strike Witches are flying in the nightly sky.
Since the possibility that the Unidentified Lifeforms that fought yesterday still were around, today they had to take turns to watch the town from the sky and report if they see one of them.
And so, no person was outside, so that way they could identify better if an Unidentified Lifeform appeared and act with the necessary means.
Yet there is one person that is outside even when it was forbidden.
That person (As all of you could guess) was our current Kamen Rider Kuuga.
Dante was walking through the alleys, since he didn't want to get noticed by them.
After all they tried to kill him. And he also is doing research on his own, since he did some thinking about what he should do, and after hours of internal debate, he finally reached a decision.
The fact he is actually here searching for the Spider Monster should be an indicator of what he decided.
However…
Unnoticed by Dante and the Witches there was something in one of the roofs, that where a bit far from the point they are.
_With the Mysterious Figure_
The figure could not been seen since it was covered by the shadows, but the silhouette could be seen as… a Bat.
His name is Zu-Gooma-Gu… also known officially as 'Unidentified Lifeform N5'.
And right now he is in the roof of the house of a family he had just killed and drank all of their blood.
How he could do that without causing panic?
Simple… he just took a human form.
Officially the Gegeru still hadn't stated, so until then he could just enjoy himself by killing those Linto, others Grongi also did the same.
But sadly for him now is late, and the sun he hates so much will start to appear soon.
Still… maybe a last victim should be fine?
One of those Witches could do it… but he could get in trouble since they where an important part of the Gegeru.
But then he spotted a boy walking and at the same time trying to not be noticed by the Witches.
And so, Gooma smiled… seems he would be getting a last victim.
_With Dante_
"Damn… he just doesn't appear," A very frustrated Dante spoke those words after his research to find the Spider Monster did not give any result.
So, as he was about to just give up for tonight…
"Ahhhhh!" A scream near him could be heard.
Immediately Dante looked at the direction from where that scream originated.
And so he saw a house, but that house had his door opened!
"It could be…!" And so Dante realized that it could be the Spider Monster he was looking for!
But as he was about to enter into the house…
A voice a little too familiar to him could be heard.
"Stop!" It belonged to a girl… where he had heard it before?
Dante turned around his head… and he saw the girl with an eyepatch that almost killed him!
"Ehh!?" Yeah, it must appear a coward response… but a person that pointed a gun at you suddenly appeared from nowhere, in the night and with you and her being alone… wouldn't you panic?
"I thought that everyone must be in their homes," She said seriously at him.
The fact she carried a weapon and a Katana just made Dante even more nervous.
"B-but I-I hear a s-scream coming from that house!" He tried to explain.
And it appeared to have the desired effect, as that girl's eyes hardened and she gripped the hilt of her katana.
"Is that so? Then I will investigate," She said as she started to walk, if indeed was an Unidentified Lifeform she will try to defeat him, and if it's too hard then she will contact the rest of the Witches.
From what she could see in the fight of the Unidentified Lifeforms N7 and N10, they were more like beasts and didn't have a way to counterattack once the bullets hit.
So in theory she could take down one of them.
"W-wait a moment… w-what is your name," At least that could help him to appear less suspicious.
"Mio Sakamoto," She introduced herself as a Fuso Soldier and her Rank, "Please leave this place immediately, you could be in danger of getting killed," And with that she enters the home.
After that Dante just stayed quiet for some minutes, since from what he saw, that girl could clearly handle herself.
So maybe he was not needed after all?
But as he was wondering about that… a sound could be heard.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Even outside he could hear the sounds of gunshot.
And for some reason he immediately entered the house.
_Inside the House_
Dante ran with all his power as he managed to catch the essence of smoke, signaling something was burning.
"I will drink all your blood!" An inhuman voice said those words.
Dante recognized the way of how it speaks as the one of the Spider Monster. And at the same time can tell it's not the Spider Monster the one who is here. The voice was not as deep.
Still, there was not time to wonder about that and he followed the voice and how strong the heat was, so finally he found what he was looking for.
Mio was here, but she was in the grounds with a slight bleeding wound on her shoulder, probably about an attempted bite.
But also her Katana and her weapon were in the other side of the room, probably they were thrown away by the Bat Monster that in this moment was holding a wounded Mio by her neck.
So of course he did the only possible thing he could do.
"Haaaa!" He yelled as connected a punch, which did not have great effect, but managed to catch the attention of the Bat Monster, who promptly released Mio. Since his original target was here.
Then the Bat Monster quickly lunged at him, but acting quickly, Dante rolled out of the way and managed to get close to Mio.
"Are you okay!?" Asked a worried Dante, first time in his life he had been close to a person wounded in such a way.
"I had no idea they could take… human form…" She managed to say, remembering how the Unidentified Lifeform took her by surprise as she lowered her guard since she thought he was a normal human and then attacked her from behind.
That error almost cost her dearly, and so one of the candles of the house accidentally was thrown and that caused the fire.
Lack of information can really be a fearsome opponent against a foe whose full abilities haven't been confirmed.
But then she noticed Dante as the boy who she told to go home a few minutes ago. She looked at him with an angry expression; after all he will get killed.
But in this moment, Dante Gonzales knew very well what he must do.
"Mio Sakamoto," Dante's started to speak with a serious voice, the kind of voice he practically never used since he really never needed it except for certain occasions, and right now he was in the kind of situation that demanded it.
It also demanded to him, demanded to put a façade, because if he didn't do that, then probably he will lose his cool and do something stupid that probably will get him killed.
Fire was started to spread around this house, and so the smoke. If he and Mio continue to stay into this place, then they will die.
On the other hand is seems that the Bat Monster is not very affected by the smoke and heat.
"Why are you still here!?" Yelled Mio as she was struggling to get into her feet, "This is a Military affair! You should have escaped while you had the chance!" She doesn't want this young man to be killed.
"But then again you're not in the position to order my anything… not when you can barely stand," That woman was in the Military, and Dante's knows very well what kind of trouble he could get by doing what he is doing right now.
But when yours and others life are at stake, certain things somehow don't matter anymore.
Mio would have responded to him but now it was a little difficult to breathe due the damage she suffered and the smoke that slowly fills the air, so Dante was the one who spoke first.
"Listen, I don't really understand anything about this messed up situation," Even now that he had time to cool off, his head simply can't wrap around the idea of being trapped in an alternate version of the past of his world.
"But I saw a little girl crying because these Monsters killed his father, that was the first time in my life I have seen something like that directly," The only other times Dante had seen these kind of scenes where in TV or the Anime that he watches online… but to see that in real life is a whole different experience.
He wanted to do something about it, for some reason he wanted to do it.
If something like that happened in his world back when he was just a normal guy, then he probably would have tried to ignore the problem and convince himself that the authorities will deal with those monsters and that everything will return to the normal.
But now things are different.
He is not in his world… and he actually can do something about this situation.
Just knowing that now he had power to stand those creatures is enough to change his mind a little, and will allow him to make a decision.
"It was horrible… and suddenly I felt useless," The Bat Monster finally recovered and managed to stand up as Dante's was speaking, "Because now I know I could do something!" Determination that Dante never knew he had started to materialize in his voice.
"I don't want to see more people crying sadly!" Declared Dante with all his courage, extended his arms and summoned in his waist certain belt he used for first time yesterday, "I just want them to be capable of smiling even when this war is happening!" Honestly, by this point Dante is just remembering all those times he watched the heroes from Anime or Tokusatsu giving these kinds of speeches. He is doing it to help himself to have courage and to not just run away.
"Rahhh!" The Bat Monster growls as he attacked Dante, who this time managed to dodge directly the claws and close combat moves from the Monster without even being protected by the armor of Kuuga.
Dante responds by quickly punching the Bat Monster in the stomach and the face, even when his punches are not better that just the sting of a mosquito; it managed to drawn all the attention of the monster to himself so that way he will not target Mio.
"Idiot!" Yelled Mio, she knows very well that this young man will only die like the soldiers who tried to fight those Unidentified Lifeforms. Trained guys like them died without even kill one of the Unidentified Lifeforms, and even they had weapons while this young man in front of her only had his bare hands.
And as a soldier from Fuso she can't allow this sacrifice.
But what happens next will change things and Mio's words will not necessary be truth (She was so focused on the fight that she failed to notice how the belt appeared into this young man's waist).
"So l won't die until I make them pay for what they have done! Please look at it… my transformation!" And now as if by pure instinct Dante put his arm over the left side of his belt and did some moves (Just think about the pose that Yuusuke Godai does when he transforms in Kuuga) and yelled the words that any Kamen Rider fan wished to say in this situation.
"Henshin!" Dante exclaimed those words and then immediately gave two punches in the chest of the Bat Monster.
And by doing that his arms were covered by a familiar suit of armor, and so was the rest of his body.
And this time, it was Red. His suit of armor was red with black and his horns were bigger, just with a little glance at his hands Dante knew that now he managed to get the true form of Kuuga.
But that paled in comparison of how Dante's feels in this very moment. He can feel how power rushed through his body, right now he feel like he can destroy a giant rock with only his bare hands… he feels like he can take his enemy head on and win!
Kamen Rider Kuuga has properly made his return!
_With Mio_
"What!?" A surprised Mio exclaimed those words.
After all a few seconds ago a young man who was about possibly meets his demise now transformed in to an Armored Warrior!
She had never seen something like that… but on second thoughts… doesn't he seem similar to the Unidentified Lifeform N10?
_Back With Kuuga_
"Hyaa!" Yelled Dante as he punched in the face the Bat Monster, this time his strength was superior to the one of the White form.
So the Bat Monster was this time actually affected by his punches and was launched away some steps.
But that doesn't even mean that Dante had the advantage here.
For example the Bat Monster was damaged in his fight with Mio. So his body was slower and his attacks weaker. If he was at his peak… then Dante in this very moment will be forced to go to the defensive.
But also, thanks to Mio, Dante had a very real chance to win this battle.
And at the same time it doesn't mean the Bat Monster will be easy to defeat.
"I will kill you, Kuuga!" As he declares his intentions, after all he is a Grongi.
Neither Dante nor Mio can understand the words of the Bat Monster; however given the context of this situation, they pretty much can guess it means the Bat Monster plans to kill Dante.
"Oh, I'm not going down so easily!" Was the response of Kuuga as he launched himself to the Bat Monster and uses his hands to start punching him.
However the Bat Monster is not making it easy as he dodges some punches and in fact he also landed few punches and slashes to Kuuga.
So the fight is really matched, both sides in this moment are equally strong (Which considering the Monster is hurt… doesn't speak too well about the chances of Dante to actually stop them and defeat them… maybe a little training after this could rise up his chances).
"Soryaa!" Kuuga then uses his left elbow to hurt the face of the Bat Monster, specifically between the eyes, which by instinct made it put both his hands into his face and created an aperture, and a chance that Dante wasn't willing to let it past.
"Chance!" And as quickly as he could, Kuuga landed a very powerful punch in the stomach of the Spider Monster, a punch that really was effective, as this time the Bat Monster was crashed into the door and landed outside.
"This is good… maybe I really could defeat him?" That question was aimed at himself, because back in his old world Dante never thought he could do this.
And now he had the upper hand, his confidence levels were boosted even more.
'I can do this!' Even mentally he believed in himself.
"Wait," A voice is heard behind Kuuga, who immediately recognized it as Mio.
It seems that now she is well enough to walk by herself.
"You still are hurt, take it easy," Dante is a little worried about Mio, because even as she showed being capable of standing in equal ground to a Grongi, she also had probably breathed too much smoke.
"I'm fine," She responds, but at the same time she was looking at Kuuga with a calculative look.
'He is a human… but somehow he can also transform and directly fight against an Unidentified Lifeform…' And if what she had seen is right, then he also must be the 'Unidentified Lifeform N10'.
She had a lot of questions, but those can wait.
"Look, I can defeat that thing," Said Kuuga with confidence in his voice, "Please don't interfere, I know I'm asking too much, but please let me finish this," From what he had seen from Mio, she would not accept the fact he is going to take care of the Bat Monster as he is basically a civilian meddling with Military affairs.
She was about to respond…
…until a familiar Spider Web was shooted from outside the door, out of Kuuga and Mio's visual range, the Web wrapped around Kuuga's left arm and pulled him outside.
"Gaahhh!" Screamed Kuuga as he was forcibly pulled from his position.
"That Web must mean…" Mumbled Mio as realization appeared into her mind, "The Unidentified Lifeform N7!" So quickly she grabbed her Katana and started to run outside, where the action was.
_Outside_
"…Ahhh!" Kuuga's continued to scream until he finally stopped being pulled.
That ended with him being in the ground, but quickly Dante's stood up and used his increased strength to break free from the Web.
But what was in front of him managed to make Kuuga to freeze in fear.
Because there was not only the Bat Monster here… but also the Spider Monster that almost killed him!
From a situation which he had a chance to win… to a terrible worse one where he could get killed…
And to make even worse the things, the Spider Monster now seemed to have recovered from his injuries and his at his hundred percent.
"Why…" Mumbled Kuuga as realization started to materialize into his mind.
Because this situation is just too frustrating!
As Dante's was about to defeat his first monster after properly transforming into Kuuga, another one suddenly appears.
"I will kill Kuuga," The Spider Monster says to the Bat Monster in their language as he starts walking towards Kuuga.
However it seems the Bat Monster is not willing to listen that, as he slowly also walks to Kuuga.
But…
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
The sound of a weapon being used can be heard.
"Raahh!" Along with the screams of pain from both Monsters, but mainly the Spider Monster, who received more bullets than the Bat Monster.
"That was…" Murmured Kuuga as he looked at the origin of the sounds, and managed to see Mio's holding her weapon, signaling she is the one who shoot the Monsters.
However immediately she falls to her knees, signaling the excess of smoke in her lungs already started to affect her. She couldn't help anymore Kuuga without being in risk of sacrificing her own life to do it.
And Dante realized that.
"Thanks!" He says before rushing to his enemies, not willing to waste the chance that she had given him.
"Ahh!" With a battle cry Kuuga gives a knee on the stomach to the Spider Monster before punching his face with his left hand.
In doing that all of his attention was focused on the Spider Monster, and didn't notice how the Bat Monster was ready to jump at him from behind.
But luckily for our hero… by this point some time happened after this battle started.
Enough time for the sun to come out!
"GYAAAA!" Screams the Bat Monster as he fells the sunlight touching his skin.
It was too much for him, to the point he was forced to run away.
"I don't know what happened, but I'm not complaining!" Cheered Kuuga as now he can see once again the chance of victory!
"Oraaah!" But the Spider Monster was not finished as he slashed Kuuga with his claws, causing sparks coming out from his chest.
"Tch! Not again!" Yelled Dante, who mentally was really glad that this time his suit gave him far more protection than the last time.
The Spider Monster was about to go for another slash with his two claws…
…but Kuuga acted quickly and grabbed his opponent by the wrists, and with that managed to get himself in a good position.
Since this way the Spider Monster couldn't use his claws, and also left his torso nicely exposed for a kick.
Kuuga prepared his right leg…
…and gave a powerful kick to the Spider Monster!
"Guuh!" The Spider Monster managed to do that sound while being launched a few steps by the power of the kick.
Kuuga quickly got up and prepared himself to fight more if the Spider Monster was still able to continue.
But as the Spider Monster slowly got up, al light started to appear into his stomach, specifically in the spot that the kick impacted.
"No, this can't be…" Is the only thing the Spider Monster could say as he feel how his fate was sealed, "Why… this Kuuga…" It seem he had troubles understanding how in the world this boy with the powers of Kuuga managed to defeat him even as he is much weaker than the original, even in his Red Form.
Now a type of symbol appeared in his stomach together with the light, a symbol that Dante had never seen in all his life.
"You will be killed, Kuuga!" His last words before he exploded.
*Booom!*
Is heard as the Spider Monster finally was destroyed, Dante could feel his last words were some kind of curse at him.
But at the same time he was overjoyed.
Because he managed to defeat the Monster that caused pain and death to people… he really did it!
He overcome the odds and as a Kamen Rider managed to win!
"Yahoo! I win! I Win! I defeated him!" Cheered Dante, as a fanboy who by this point even could call himself a true Kamen Rider, he was happy.
Yet he remembered that certain person helped him, and without her he will certainly not be alive by this point.
Mio Sakamoto tried to stand up, but she had some troubles doing it.
However she also did see how Kuuga managed to destroy the Unidentified Lifeform N7 just with a kick, and so she couldn't help but ask herself how this was even possible.
"Hey!" She heard as Kuuga was running towards her. For a moment Mio distrusted him since even as he fought, he still was an Unidentified Lifeform… but then she remembered his words and how declared he did not want to see people crying, and with that Mio Sakamoto knew she could trust him.
"Are you okay?" Asked Kuuga.
"Yes," Responded Mio, she looked at him seriously, "But you will have to respond some questions," If this man was an allied, then maybe they could work together to defeat the Unidentified Lifeforms.
As far she knew, a team of Witches could deal with them, but it needed to be a coordinate attack and also it must be planned in advance, and still was dangerous.
But this guy could defeat them by himself and without using any weapon. His power could be useful into dealing with Unidentified Lifeforms.
Dante was about to respond until he started to hear the familiar sound of the Striker Unit…
"Sakamoto-san!" The voice of Yoshika could be heard.
Looking up Dante could see the Strikes Witches flying towards here… and that alone put just one thing in his mind.
'This is bad!' Dante thought as he knew that they considered him an Unidentified Lifeform too, even when it was his White Form the one classified as such, since his current form was nearly identical to his White Form… there is no doubt in his mind that they will try to attack him!
So he did the only sensible thing he could do.
"See yaa!" He said to Mio…
…before running away with all his might and determination to not have a confrontation with them, since by this point that will be asking for problems.
By the time the girls arrived, Kuuga already managed to escape and then returned to his human form to hide himself in the town.
However the girls did indeed see him with Mio, so they thought he was about attack her before running away after see that they were arriving.
His new form of Kuuga was officially named: 'Unidentified Lifeform N11'.
So Dante at least could get some sleep.
And hope that his actions with Mio managed to convince her that he is not against humanity.
Notes:
And finally Kuuga made a proper appearance and also made his first destruction of a Grongi!
But by doing that his Mighty Form had been labeled Unidentified Lifeform N11, oh well, we all knew this was bonded to happen.
I only can say that it could have gone in better circumstances if both sides (Kuuga and the Strike Witches) could have managed to communicate better.
So let's hope that in a nearby future Kuuga could come to their base without the risk of being attacked.
Yet he managed to earn Mio's trust, as I decided she will have a similar role to Ichijou in Kuuga, with her being Dante's main ally.
And there is another thing that we must have in mind: The Grongi in this world… they originally are from the Strike Witches world, so they're not from another world and somehow managed to get in the Strike Witches world from their world.
Also in this situation the Witches are not helpless against the Grongi, since they can use their magic to enhance their bullets to do more damage that is how they can use their weapons to defeat the Neuroi.
So they definitely can kill and average Grongi, in fact the things are like this:
A Grongi from the Zu Class: The Witches can defeat them just fine with teamwork and planning in advance.
A Grongi from the Me Class: The Witches can defeat them, but it will be a very hard battle (Let's remember they don't have the Nerve-Breaking bullets).
A Grongi from the Go Class: In this case they need Kuuga to defeat them.
N-Daguva-Zeva: The Witches get slaughtered.
By the way, you guys surely noticed how Dante's country never was mentioned, that is because I wanted to make it ambiguous to give certain air of mystery to him. It may be revealed in the future, the thing is that he is from South America.
Finally, in a credible way to explain how Kuuga could show to fight the Grongi at different points of Europe: Here the Grongi made their attacks by moving near a group of Witches and then sending one of them. And they move in a determined order (For example the Zu class will be the ones attacking the Strike Witches, then the Me class will attack another group of them, and the Go class will attack all over Europe).
Also, the Gegeru officially hadn't started yet.
So where the Witches are, the Grongi will be nearby and so Kuuga will be. And so Dante will deal with the Zu class while the first season of Strike Witches takes place.
Just know that more reviews I get more inspired to continue writing I get.
If you like this story, then please leave a review so that way I know this story is working.