Horseshoes and Hand-grenades

V: 23-1-22-5-13-1-19-20-5-18

"Over the Keel Mountains, meets an ape with human speech. The ape asks, "What clings to you? Bear it—you cannot. Accept it—you cannot. But hidden—it is from you. Recite its name."

-Epigraph 04 from the Epitaph of Twilight, .hack

"Jojima!" cried Yukina, her voice echoing through the building. "I need to talk to you! Where are you?!"

Hiding from you...Yuki thought to herself, slowly heading toward the corridor and locker that would lead her straight to the Rabbit Hatch. Once the space otaku made it inside the closet, she made sure that the door was locked—so no one could sneak in/steal the locker like the last two times that happened—opened the locker door and hopped inside, closing the locker door behind her. She pressed her back against the locker door and held her breath, waiting until she knew that Yukina was long gone.

"Jojima!" Yukina continued to cry. "Where did you go?"

She peered into the closet that Yuki entered. There was nothing but a couple of shelves, some sports equipment, and a locker bolted to the wall. Seeing as Yuki wasn't there, she sighed and walked off. Yuki let out a sigh as she walked through the tunnel of Cosmic Energy.

0-0-0-0-0-

Daisuke Yamamoto followed the woman named Naomi through the train called the Den-Liner. He made sure the pudding inside his bag didn't spill out, hoping that the passengers inside would like what he made for them. Dressed only in his red and black striped fringed vest, shorts, a pair of leather boots, utility belt, and his special armlet, he hoped that he was making a presentable appearance to the other passengers.

"Should have worn tuxedo," he said to himself as the door to the dining cart opened.

"Everyone!" Naomi cried to the six passengers inside. "We have a guest!"

Daisuke nearly gasped as he saw the passengers in front of him. One was a man in his early 50's, dressed in a black suit sitting in the the corner, feasting on a plate of fried rice topped with a flag. The other was a young girl around ten to twelve years old, dressed in a white blouse with a black skirt, stockings and shoes. But those were just the people...the other four could only be described as monsters!

These four 'monsters' were huddled in the back, each a different color: red, blue, yellow and purple. The red one resembling an oni stared back at Daisuke and asked, "What are you looking at?"

Daisuke blinked and shook his head before pulling out one of the homemade puddings he crafted. The red demon stood up and rushed toward Kamen Rider Amazon's side to take the pudding into his hands. He sniffed at it, poked it with a finger and then swallowed the pudding. Everyone watched with baited breath.

"This stuff is amazing!" said the red monster, patting Daisuke on the back. "What's your name?"

"A-Amazon," Daisuke replied. "Real name: Daisuke Yamamoto!"

"Wai!" said the purple demon, his face resembling one of a Chinese Dragon. He twirled and danced around, his purple coat swaying in an arc as he cried, "We have a new friend! Yay!"

"Settle down, Ryutaros!" said the blue monster, his appearance resembling that of a turtle. He stood up, his right hand close to his face as if holding something and added, "This man is clearly of some importance if Owner requested we come to an uncivilized place like the jungle."

The yellow monster, a bulky being with fur on his shoulders and a horn protruding from his forehead, who from the sound of it was waking up from a nap, snorted, "The jungle is a mighty place for training!" He pushed his neck with his fist, a cracking sound heard as he said. "That man is one of the Amazons, Urataros—a fine race of women who fought against all men who-" He fell back asleep with a loud snore.

"Am I hearing that right, Kintaros?" said Urataros, a coy smile on his face. He then faced Daisuke and said. "Forgive me for what I said earlier; I was wrong to think that someone who knew of such beautiful women would be so uncultured...like Sempai here."

The red demon, currently called Sempai, growled at Urataros. "Ero kame! "He snarled. "How about I show you who's uncultured!"

"Momotaros, beat him up!" said the one known as Ryutaros, jumping up and down. "Beat kame-chan up!"

"Calm down, right now!" said the young girl, pulling Urataros and Momotaros from each other. "You're all being disrespectful to our guest!"

"I'm not doing anything, you hanakuso-onna!" Momotaros snapped back. This made the young girl mad and she responded by punching Momotaros in the gut. Daisuke stepped back as he saw the red demon collapse onto the floor with pain. He went on his knees and gently shook Momotaros.

"Momotaros alright?" he asked.

"He'll be fine," said Naomi, a hand on Daisuke's shoulder. She gave him a big smile as she added, "Now, it's time for introductions!"

Daisuke saw the man enjoying his fried rice stand up, a hand on his trusty cane. He could sense that this stranger had some unseen power within him—it told him that the stranger was stronger than he seemed.

"Welcome aboard the Den-Liner once more, Daisuke Yamamoto," said the man. "I am known as Owner, and I help run this train across time."

Daisuke nodded his head as he showed Owner his special sign of friendship. Owner replied with a duplicate of the sign. The young girl who punched Momotaros in the gut also bowed toward Daisuke.

"My name is Hana," she began. "Nice to meet you."

"Good to see you, friend." Daisuke replied, showing Hana his friendship sign. Hana replied with the same and was surprised when Daisuke lightly tap their pinkies together. She smiled in reply.

"It's good that you came at such a dark time," said Owner, returning to his plate of fried rice. At the looks of it, he had already devoured half of the plate with the flag still standing. "The hands that used to reach out for space are shrinking back—the one who would befriend everyone in the universe has turned his back on them."

"Fourze?"

"I'm afraid so," Owner answered solemnly. He scooped another spoonful of rice before continuing. "What was once a person so full of hope has now given into despair in the belief that the friends he created left him to die. He wishes to enact his revenge by summoning a force so great, he'll devour everyone here in Japan before spreading onto the world."

"Fourze..." Daisuke shook his head. He saw Fourze just a few months ago fighting alongside him and the other Kamen Riders. Fourze was all about making friends with people; how could this have happened?

"We're heading toward Japan as we speak," Hana added. "We thought that his friends could use some help to fight against him."

"I go too." Daisuke replied, reaching into his bag to reveal the switch he found in the rainforest. "Wish to give to him. First see friend in Tahiti."

"Tahiti?" asked Urataros, looking up. "I heard the women there are beautiful specimens. I'd love to woo one of them tonight."

"There'll be lots of parties, right?" asked Ryutaros, blowing bubbles into the air with a bubble gun in hand. "That'll be fun!"

"Me see old friend, Riderman." Daisuke explained. "He'll know about this item."

Momotaros snatched the switch away from the Kamen Rider's hands and inspected it. "This doesn't look that special to me."

"Hey, let me see!" said Ryutaros, grabbing onto the switch. "It's so shiny!"

"Get off me, brat!" Momotaros snapped, pushing Ryutaros away. The scuffle soon rolled over to Urataros who tried to separate the two and Kintaros waking up so he could see the golden switch. Naomi was already busy behind the bar, making some special colored drinks and Hana sat down, sighing. Daisuke also sat near the young girl, pulling out the pudding cups he made.

"Pudding?" he asked, handing one to her.

"No thanks," She replied. Then, a sly smile crept onto her lips as she turned to the fighting Imagins and said, "If you don't stop fighting, I'll eat all the pudding Daisuke-san made for us!"

That stopped the Imagins from fighting, but when they stopped, the switch flew into the air and landed straight into Owner's plate of nearly finished rice. The switch toppled the flag down, leaving Owner to raise his hands in shock and gasp. He then sighed and took the switch out of the leftover grains of rice and wiped it off with his napkin. The Imagins, having forgotten their little scuffle, immediately went to the pudding as Naomi announced, "Coffee is ready!" and handed out mugs of her special Imagin coffee.

"This switch shall be the switch that bonds everyone together," said Owner, looking at it intensely. "Let's hope that it shall be enough."

0-0-0-0-0-

Kouhei Hayami had no idea what happened after everything went dark. After confronting Gentaro in a noodle stand, and having his buttons pressed by that annoying garden snake, he remembered a searing pain on his left hand. When he woke up, after somehow awakening in his bed, he found two tiny bite marks near his thumb. Most notably, there was no swelling or any sign that showed that a snake bit him—if anything, it would look like he accidentally stapled his hand the night before.

He did suspect someone was watching him throughout the whole day—every time he saw his reflection, he could see a pair of glowing eyes peering back. Then there were the voices that hissed in his mind, telling him to do what they want. He found himself obeying their orders—just this morning he announced that the annual trip to NASA was replaced for one in Kyoto. Before had a chance to figure out why he said something so ridiculous, he was face to face with Tatsugami who noted that the principal did an 'okay' job with changing the field trip around. Just as he was about to explain that it wasn't really his decision, he found himself thanking his sworn rival for the comment. How he survived the rest of the day without going completely insane, he'll never know.

Right now, just after school was over and numerous students ran about for studying, hanging out and heading toward various clubs scattered around the campus, he felt those voices whisper in his head. He felt his body rising out of his chair and walking toward wherever they wanted him to go. He couldn't will his feet to turn around and walk in another direction and he was nothing more than a prisoner of his own mind. He eventually found himself, after getting some odd stares from everyone else, at front of JAXA—short for Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency—where he saw one of his students imitating Fourze's infamous catchphrase, "UCHU KITA!"

"I'm going to space!" The student replied, bending her knees before rising up and her arms in the air. She repeated this mantra to herself, oblivious to the fact that her principal was approaching her. Hayami thought he was seeing stars…literally! Where the girl stood, there was now a patch of Cosmic Energy that held the pattern of a constellation—the constellation of Aquarius.

This can't be possible…He thought to himself. I'm not able to use Zodiarts ability while I'm human…what's happening to me?

"Excuse me," He said out loud, startling the girl. The girl, with pale skin and flaxen hair, turned around stepped back.

"Ah! W-Warm me next time you do something like that!" She exclaimed, a hand over her heart. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"I think you mean, 'warn me', correct?" Hayami replied. "Are you…the transfer student Erin Suda?"

"Oh, principal!" said Erin, her face red. "I-I didn't mean to say that! What are you doing here?"

Being a puppet to a snake puppeteer apparently…Hayami thought to himself. He found himself saying, "I just wanted to know what you were doing. I know of someone known as Yuki Jojima who frequently comes to this place."

"Jojima? Ah, I heard she caused a scare with that transfer student from Subaruboshi High and that she's still in mourning for her best friend. Poor girl."

What is happening to me?! I can't be speaking these words. Wait…The principal found his hand reaching to his pocket to pull out the Libra Switch. My body won't…

"I came here to participate in the Space exam you're holding," Erin continued, her back toward Hayami. "I want to go to space to fulfill my father's dream. He wasn't able to go due to a rival cheating his way in, but I won't let that stop me. I'll—" She turned around and gasped. Standing behind her was Libra Zodiarts.

"You wish to be amongst the stars?" asked the Zodiarts of the Scales. "Well then…" He brought out his right hand, revealing a Zodiarts Switch. "Make a wish upon those stars…"

"P-principal?" Erin stammered, slowly backing away. "W-what are you? What's going on?!"

Even I don't know! Hayami screamed, electricity sparking from his antenna. A bolt of lightning struck near Erin's feet, the girl jumping out of the way just in time. It's that stupid snake and that stupid boy! They're doing this!

Libra grabbed onto Erin's wrist and shoved the switch into her hand. Erin's face was filled with fear as the Zodiarts pressed his hand over her thumb. Then, she was surrounded by a cloud of Cosmic Energy.

0-0-0-0-0-

"Are you sure that's what happened?" asked Miu. "Ryusei wasn't acting like himself?"

"He was so quiet and distant," Yuki explained. "He didn't say anything to me at all, but I saw his eyes." She shuddered. "They had this look that told me that Ryusei wanted to kill me! It definitely wasn't like him at all!"

"It's like Jekyll and Hyde all over again," Ohsugi noted. "That's bad news."

"Who and who?" asked JK, looking at the teacher in curiosity.

"It's a story about a man who wants to separate the good and evil within a person," said Tomoko, her eyes on her tablet. She was looking at a video clip of a Kamen Rider that was half green and half purple fighting off some monsters as she spoke. "The name of the good side was Dr. Henry Jekyll, and his opposite side iwas Dr. Edward Hyde. Jekyll finds his normal persona taken over by Hyde until Hyde completely takes over in the end."

"Well, that definitely fits our situation then…" JK snacked on a potato chip before continuing. "Speaking of Ryusei, I called in a few favors from the Computer Club to send me all of Ryusei's files at Subaruboshi High."

"What did you find?" asked Shun, lifting some weights. "Does he have any dark secrets that he's been keeping from us? Like some sort of mental disorder that makes him act like a two-faced liar?"

"Actually, I found nothing."

"Nothing?!" Everyone else exclaimed.

"That's what I thought too," JK explained, leaning close. "There's no medical records, no birth certificate and aside from being in the martial arts club, I can't get into his school grades or anything. It's like he doesn't even exist."

"Then how was he able to transfer to Amanogawa High?" asked Tomoko. "It should've been impossible without the proper papers."

"It must've been whoever gave him the power to transform into Kamen Rider Meteor," said Shun. "Remember? Back at that warehouse, someone else cancelled out his transformation. That person must've pulled some strings in order to let Ryusei transfer."

"That sounds like a good theory," said Ohsugi. "But now what do we do?"

"I also saw Kengo talking to some mysterious person," said Yuki. "He was dressed like he was in Ancient Egypt for some odd reason. He was also talking to this strange man, but I couldn't hear what they were talking about."

"That is pretty suspicious," said JK. "Maybe he's into cosplay?"

"No! Kengo wouldn't do anything like that! I think it's-"

An alarm blared, catching everyone's attention. Miu went to the monitors and saw a Zodiarts walking through a large field of grass.

"Zodiarts attack!" she said. "Shun, get in the Power Dizer and stop it from attacking the city! JK, take Ohsugi-sensei to Principal Hayami's office. Yuki, you and Tomoko try to find Kengo and see what he's up to."

"Roger," said Shun, giving Miu the two finger salute.

"Party time!" JK exclaimed, dragging Ohsugi out of the Rabbit Hatch. "Bye bye!"

Yuki and Tomoko nodded their heads as they began to pack their things. As everyone prepared their duties, no one was aware of the shooting star that crash-landed on the moon's surface.

0-0-0-0-0-

In the island of Haiti, Yuki Joji was fast asleep. He came to visit the people who cared for him while he went through a case of amnesia and after he saved them from his rival Marshal Yoroi. He wound up on the small island after sacrificing his life by taking control of Deathtron's Pluton rocket, losing his memory in the process. There, he befriended many of the locals, one of them being a small girl named Hinau.

Years passed since then, and while he grew older, most of his fellow Kamen Riders remained the same age due to their cybernetic surgery. He was a bit jealous of then, since they would be able to live much longer than either he or Daisuke Yamamoto ever would. On the flip side, he was glad that he had this body—he could've lost it along with his right hand to the vat of acid that Yoroi dunked it in. This gave him a chance to understand who he was fighting for, and to give him a second chance in starting anew. That was why he became Riderman - that was why he fought for the side of justice.

He made a promise that he would never stop fighting against evil, and that his right hand would only be used for the side of virtues and righteousness. He would never side with evil ever again.

It was around 2:02 in the evening when he heard it. He woke up to hear the wail of a train near the hut he was sleeping in. He went to a window and saw a majestic train slowly stop in front of his hut. He recalled the train—it was the Den-Liner!

He saw a face in the window, one that was familiar to him. It was Daisuke Yamamoto, greeting Yuki Joji with his sign of friendship. Joji, after his eyes adjusted to the light, replied with the same symbol before reaching toward a bag near his bed. In it were the items that he would don to transform into his Kamen Rider persona Riderman and the weapons that he would use to fight against evil. He immediately rushed to the train and entered, taking one last look of the sleeping villagers—many of them so heavy in sleep that they never realized that a train riding in the sky came to pick up someone—before the doors closed behind him.

"Riderman here!" said Daisuke, greeting his friend. "Need your help!"

"What are we looking at it this time?" asked Joji. "Is it another Beastman attack?"

"Fourze switch," Daisuke pulled out the switch he found in the Amazon. "Look!"

Joji took the item into his hand as they entered the dining cart. As he was about to ask where it came from, he looked to see the four Imagins fighting over the last homemade pudding. Hana was pulling Momotaros away and Naomi was taking pictures of the scuffle on her cellphone.

"Who are those, Daisuke?" he asked.

"Imagin friends help us!" Daisuke explained. "They help save Fourze!"

"Fourze...you mean the Kamen Rider who freed us from Ren Kannagi's trap?"

"Very same! Owner explain everything! Come in!" Daisuke lead the Avenging Demon to Owner who was currently sipping some tea. The two Kamen Riders sat down and waited for Owner to speak.

"Welcome, Kamen Rider 4," said Owner, staring into the former Deathtron scientist's eyes. "I'm glad that we were able to find you. You see, we have a matter of grave importance."

"Daisuke told me a bit," said Joji. "The Kamen Rider known as Fourze needs saving, but from what?"

"Himself. There's a strange going on in Japan, and the world shall suffer if we don't stop it. Daisuke-san is going in order to deliver the switch to him and also asked to pick you up so you can inspect it. Moreover," Owner turned to the four Imagins still fighting over the pudding, Hana pulling out a large paper fan to smack some sense into them. "I sense you two will help aid a Kamen Rider who's lost his way."

"I lost my way long ago," said Joji, staring at his right hand. "And I came back to atone for them. I never want anyone else to be blinded by evil ever again. I want to ensure that they open their eyes and see the light."

"Those are very good words, Joji. Now," Owner turned to the scene of the fighting, with Naomi pulling out the victory of having the last pudding in her hands and said, "Everyone, I have a special announcement to make."

"What do you want, old man?" asked Momotaros.

"We are heading toward war," said Owner, standing up. "A battle that will shape the country of Japan forever will come soon, and its original savior has now become the enemy. Our only hope relies on everyone working together."

"What is this threat, Owner?" asked Hana.

"The threat has only one name, Hana. That name is Ophiuchus."

0-0-0-0-0-

Power Dizer

Shun maneuvered the yellow mecha to the coordinates Miu sent him. He saw the Zodiarts in front of him: a feminine being with a blue ponytail made out of water, two water jugs on her shoulders and a blue cat-of-nine-tails. It ambled about in the clearing, scaring away the people.

"Zodiarts!" said Shun, pointing to the monster in his sight. "You're going down!"

"Wait!" cried the Zodiarts. "You have to help me! I'm stuck like this!"

"Liar!" Shun roared. "It's nothing but a ploy to get me into lowering my guard! I'm not going to fall for it." He made the mecha crouch before adding, "This is for Gentaro Kisragi!"

He charged toward the Zodiarts and tackled it onto the ground, pinning it with the Power Dizer's hands. The Zodiarts didn't struggle, but rather raised a hand into the air to show its Zodiarts Switch.

"I...it was the Principal!" It explained. "Princpal Hayami...did this to me..."

"Hayami?" Shun whispered, recalling what Ohsugi stated about how the Zodiarts worked in the school. "Princpal Hayami did this?"

"He forced this switch into my hands and transformed me into this; I don't know how to transform back!" The Zodiarts was near tears. "Please, I don't want to become this monster..."

Shun had two choices: either let the Zodiarts go or obliterate it. He saw that this poor student was forced into this situation; it wasn't her fault at all. Plus if she saw the principal transform into a Zodiarts, then it made Ohsugi's statement of the Zodiarts working in the school accurate. He stepped back.

"Alright," He noted to the Zodiarts. "I'll carry you to a place where no one will harm you. We'll figure something out."

"R-really? Who are you?"

"We're the Kamen Rider Club. We fight the Zodiarts and save the students from the monsters within. We ensure that the students we save won't return to the darkness that consumed them. Please trust in us, Miss...um, what's your name?"

"Erin. Erin Suda," said the Zodiarts. "Can you tell me more about this Club of yours?"

"I can do better than that," Shun scooped Erin into the robot's arms and said, "I'll show it you."

0-0-0-0-0-

"This is so exciting!" said Chuta Ohsugi, seeing the blond gossip broker using his student ID to jimmy the door in front of them. "I feel like a secret agent! I feel like I'm James Bond!"

"This is what happens when you become an Information Broker, sensei," JK replied, one hand on his ID and the other on the door knob. "Yayoi taught me everything she knew ever since we were little tots. She, me, and..."

"And who?"

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it so much." JK answered quickly, wiggling his school ID up and down. When he heard a 'click', he said, "We're in. Let's rock."

The two opened the door and stepped into the principal's office. It had a large oak desk, a cherry wood cabinet filled with ancient doodads—Ohsugi called it a "Cabinet of Wonders"-and a picture of the Milky Way Galaxy on the wall. There were even some leather couches and a coffee table should someone want to rest and relax.

"Found something..." said JK, going behind the desk. He pulled out a metal ruler from his pocket and slipped it into the gap above the drawer. He began to jimmy the ruler before hearing another click. "Bingo."

Chuta Ohsugi looked in awe as JK pulled the drawer out, revealing some manila folders and a small leather-bound journal. The teacher picked up the journal and flipped it toward an early entry, reading silently to himself. After a minute or two of silence, in which JK used that time to copy some notes into a notepad in hand, Ohsugi dropped the journal in shock.

"I'm such a fool," he said, shaking his head. "Sonada-sensei was allied with those monsters this whole time!"

"Really?" asked JK, turning around. "What type of Zodiarts was she?"

"She was a Scorpio..." he placed a hand on his forehead and shook his head. This was so ironic: he once told Sonada-sensei that his Astrological sign was Scorpio, and her? Well, this was like getting hit with a pie right in the face. "That explains that sabbatical and Utsugi-sensei replacing her."

"Does it explain which Zodiarts she evolved from?"

"I don't know about that, but I remembered overhearing Hayami calling her 'little pup.' Might wanna ask Jojima if that relates to a constellation in the sky. Wait a minute..." Ohsugi's eyes widened in realization. "I just realized something."

"What is it, sensei?" asked JK, looking above the desk in the case that Hayami noticed the door to his office was open. "Does it involve the relationship between principal and student?"

"The attacks we've recently seen aren't the first time that the Zodiarts appeared. Sonada-sensei must've been a regular Zodiarts for quite some time before transforming into Scorpio. Hayami gave her that nickname because he knew about her secret. Hayami became principal and Sonada's a teacher at this school and yet their secret hasn't been exposed. Moreover, there's the question on how they were able to get their switches unless someone else was in on the plan! This can only mean one thing..."

"The chairman's in on it too!" JK finished, his eyes widening in surprise. "Sensei, you're a genius!"

"Nah, you're just making me blush." Ohsugi replied, rubbing the back of his head. "Still, this gives me another question. If Sonada isn't on a sabbatical, where is she now?"

Just as JK was about to give a theory to Sonada's whereabouts, he heard his cellphone ring. He picked it up and placed it near his ear.

"Club Chairman?" he asked. "What do we have. Yes...yes...what? No! Really? All right...we'll be there." He hung up and began to pack up all the notes he could carry into his pockets.

"What's going on?" asked Ohsugi.

"We have a guest at the Rabbit Hatch," JK answered. "And let's just say that they're not of the regular variety..."

0-0-0-0-0-

The best place to understand what happened to Kengo was to go back to where it all begin. For Tomoko and Yuki, that would be at the hospital where Kengo stayed for the past two days, so they quickly made their way over there. Just as they were about to enter, they saw someone sitting on a bench close by, sobbing loudly. It was a girl dressed in a tan sailor fuku uniform sobbing her eyes out.

"Jiro!" the girl wailed. "Jiro, you can't be gone!"

"Jiro?" Tomoko whispered. "Isn't he the reason Ryusei became Meteor?"

"Ryusei mentioned that Aries would cure Jiro in exchange for Gentaro's death," Yuki added. "It doesn't look like that happened."

The girl sniffled and turned toward Yuki and Tomoko. She looked in surprise.

"Yuki!" she exclaimed. "It's me, Mei Shirakawa!"

"Ah!" cried Yuki, pointing at Mei. "I remember you! You're Ryusei's girlfriend! What happened?"

"...Girlfriend?" Tomoko repeated staring at Mei.

"I heard that Jiro wasn't doing well and left for the hospital," Mei answered. "He lost his will to live and now...now he's dead!" Mei began to sob once more, pulling out a bandanna from her bag to blow her nose in.

"It's all right," said Yuki, approaching Mei. She wrapped the girl into a giant hug. "Everything will be all right."

"No it won't," Mei hiccuped. "We're all doomed!"

Suddenly, the sound a cellphone vibrating was heard. Tomoko went to her purse and pulled out her cellphone, pressing a button to accept the call.

"Hello?" she said, the cellphone near her ear. "Yes...uh-huh...what? Really?! Okay...be right there!" She hung up and turned to Yuki. "We have to get back to the Rabbit Hatch right now. Shun brought someone there."

"What?!" Yuki gasped. "But who..."

"I'll explain on the way, but this is something you have to see to believe. Come on!"

Yuki looked back at Mei before slowly standing up. She shook her head before leaving the hospital with Tomoko, leaving Mei to cry all by her lonesome self.

0-0-0-0-0-

Gentaro was at Kengo's house, a bunch of grapes in his hand. He took a grape into his hand and tossed it into his mouth, slowly savoring the juices on his tongue. Kengo was kneeling in front of his master, still dressed in 'slave attire' as it were.

"So," said Gentaro, leaning toward Kengo. "Did you sense anything suspicious about the goody-goody Kamen Rider Club at all?"

"No," Kengo answered, lifting his gaze toward Gentaro. "However, I suspect that Ryusei Sakuta has changed."

"Sakuta," Gentaro snarled, crushing the grapes in his hand. When he felt the pulp and juices in his palm, he continued. "What about Sakuta has changed?"

"I saw a strange aura surrounding him. And his eyes...they were filled with nothing but malice and hatred."

Gentaro grit his teeth, digging his nails deep into his palms. Just the thought of seeing Ryusei acting as the heartless monster that he was made his blood boil. He let out a scream as his eyes became snake-like.

"If I ever get my hands on him, he'll be the first sacrifice to Ophiuchus," he snarled. "He won't get away so easily with what he's done."

"Calm down, Serpent-bearer," said Kengo, standing up. "We'll both have our chance soon. The trip to Kyoto starts in two days, and Ryusei will be left out in the open. We have plenty of time to get everything prepared."

"You're right, Apep," Gentaro leaned back against the chair and started eating the grapes once more. "We have all the time in the world to prepare for its destruction."

Serpent-bearer, Ophiuchus hissed into Gentaro's ear. I sensed the death of someone close to Ryusei Sakuta. I believe we can use this to advantage.

"Can we now?" Gentaro asked. "How so?"

I have a special power that lets me bring the dead back to life. That was how I was able to resurrect you. Listen carefully and follow my commands, and we shall have a new serpent for us to command."

Gentaro only smiled and nodded his head as he listened to his master's voice.

0-0-0-0-0-

In the Den-Liner, no one said a word as Owner finished recounting his tale. He began to take a sip from his tea as Urataros began to speak.

"That...is one amazing story," he noted. "I cannot lie about that."

"This is quite serious," said Kintaros, nodding his head. "This cannot happen. We must stop Ophiuchus from enacting his dastardly plan."

"Fourze must be saved," said Daisuke, staring at the switch in his hand. "Amazon wish to help friend."

"We must save him from the darkness in his heart," Yuki Joji added. He stared at his metallic hand and nodded his head. "We must save Gentaro Kisaragi before he ends up destroying himself."

"What's the plan, Owner?" asked Hana. "How are we going to stop Ophiuchus?"

"First of all," Owner began, turning to the Imagins in the corner. "The Imagins must find a human to make a contract with. Ever since Ryotaro, Yuto and even Kotaro left to fight off the time anomalies from the past, the four of you are without someone to transform into Kamen Rider Den-O. When the train reaches the mainland, search for worthy candidates because you will be using them until Ophiuchus has been slain."

"All right!" said Momotaros, standing up. "That means I'll have a chance to crack some skulls!"

"Yay!" said Ryutaros, jumping into the air. "I'm going to draw some pictures for my new friend!"

"Hmph!" Kintaros cracked his neck by push his face with his fist. "Our combined strength shall make the enemies weep!"

As the Imagins continued to talk amongst themselves, and Naomi started to wipe some of the tables down with a white washcloth, Daisuke Yamamoto and Yuki Joji just stared at the window, waiting until they reached their destination. Hana turned to Owner.

"What do we do next?" She asked.

"All we do now is pray, my dear Hana." Owner answered solemnly. "We pray that we shall be able to save Gentaro Kisaragi from his fate."

Translations and notes:

-Answer to the Epitaph: "Your shadow."

"Ero Kame!" - "Perverted Turtle!"

"Kame-chan" - "Turtle-chan"

"Hanakuso-onna" - "Snot-nosed woman"

"Uchu kita!" - "It's space time!"