Horseshoes and Hand-grenades

VI: 13-1-19-20-5-18/8-1-14-4

"The possession of anything begins in the mind."

-Bruce Lee

Jiro Inseki was dead to begin with.

Having lost the will to live once Ryusei told how and why he was revived, the Subaruboshi High student was being prepared to be sent to the morgue. The reason he was in this state was due to his desire become even more powerful than his friend. The being who handed him the Zodiarts Switch told him that he would become powerful beyond his wildest imagination, but instead it only made him land into a coma when he pressed the Switch's red button.

What made it worse was that before he was even sent into this coma, he let all his anger and rage lash out on Ryusei. He told him that friendship was useless and that the only thing that would make one stronger was power. He should've listened to Ryusei and tossed the switch away. If he did, then none of this would've happened.

The room was silent ever since he was detached from the machines that kept him alive. Then, there was the sound of a hiss. A dark shadow slithered across the ground and approached Jiro's beside. It expanded to reveal the form of Gentaro Kisaragi, smiling in triumph. A benefit to devouring Aries Zodiarts was that Ophiuchus was able to see into Tatsumori's memories, thus pinpointing the location of the deceased patient. This made Gentaro's job a lot easier—after all, there were at least hundreds, if not thousands, of hospitals in all of Japan.

Standing by the bedside, Gentaro mentally repeated the commands Ophiuchus gave him on how to revive Jiro's unmoving body. He then approached the boy's face and parted Jiro's lips. He stuck his forked tongue into the air and whispered, "Serpens Caput."

He felt something crawling up his esophagus and throat. He leaned toward Jiro's open mouth and spat out the head and upper body of a snake. The snake wriggled around until it crawled down Jiro's throat. Gentaro then closed the deceased teen's lips and muttered, "Serpens Cauda."

Gentaro nearly threw up as he spat out the lower half and tail of the snake. He was very fortunate to have been dead; if he wasn't, this would've been very painful and very nauseating to look at.

He picked the snake tail up and waved it in the air. His black eyes began to glow as he whispered, "Oh fallen soul, the Serpent-bearer comes to unite both halves of your body and make it whole. Rise from beyond the afterlife to serve your lord and master once more! This, I command you!"

Jiro's eyes opened and he let out a gasp. Gentaro quickly shoved the serpent tail into his mouth and closed it shut. Jiro swallowed the half and felt his body change. He felt his body grow numb as he sat up. His pupils became small slits, his arms and face grew snake scales of both red and yellow hues, and his teeth grew into sharp fangs. He looked in alarm, trying to figure out how he was back in the hospital. The last thing he remembered before he died was Mei Shirakawa screaming his name. Then, everything went black.

"W-what's going on?" he asked. "Where am I?" He turned to Gentaro. "Who are you?"

"Your savior," Gentaro hissed, feeling his master speak through him. "I saved you where your pathetic, back-stabbing friend did not. What type of person decides to kill another person's friend to produce a panacea against an irreversible coma? This just proves that Ryusei Sakuta was nothing more than a lying, deceiving snake in the grass."

Jiro looked down and gasped at the scales covering his arms. He went to a mirror at his side and saw his snake-like eyes and the scales growing around his face. He ran his fingers down the scales, before pinching his cheeks just to check. When he winced at his cheeks being stretched, he knew what was going on. This wasn't a dream; he was alive and transformed into a serpent.

"What did you do to me?" he screamed. He stared at his hands and shook his head in disbelief. "I...I'm a monster!"

"Your friend is the monster, not you,"Ophiuchus replied, wrapping a hand around Jiro's neck. He hissed, as he added, "I saved you; I freed you from an afterlife of despair and hurt. You should be thanking me. If not, your body would have been taken into a furnace and reduced to nothing more than a kilogram of ashes to be stuffed in a fancy gold-plated urn for everyone to see."

"What are you?" Jiro gasped, slowly shrinking away from Gentaro. "No...who are you?"

"We are Ophiuchus," The two answered. "And we are your saviors. Ryusei Sakuta killed us for his pride. He did not want friends or to open up to people. The only reason he wanted to revive you? Because he hated your guts and wanted to tell that to you face to face."

"What do you mean? Ryusei doesn't hate me! He saved me from my coma! He…"

"And how exactly did he 'save' you?," Gentaro questioned, running a finger down Jiro's neck. "Ryusei just went on his merry way, not caring about friendship at all through the use of killing me so that you could resurrected. He just hid behind such a pretty little mask, deceiving everyone into believing he was such a sweetheart when in reality he was a cold, heartless bastard. But you, you know what you wanted…You wanted to prove Ryusei wrong. You wanted to prove that the friendship you two had was meaningful, didn't you? I can help mend your relationship, Jiro Inseki. Just trust in me."

Gentaro's eyes began to glow red once more. Jiro found himself staring into those red pools, feeling any conscious thought in his mind wash away by a crimson wave of light. Gentaro continued to whisper words into Jiro's ear, Jiro only nodding his head in obedience with each statement. The Serpent-bearer could only smile at how simple it was to manipulate Jiro Inseki; who knew that putting disbelief about one's friends was the key to making brainwashing so productive?

"Ryusei never cared for you at all. He wanted you to die."

"Never cared…"

"He never showed his true colors—all he did was lie."

"Lie…"

"But I never lie; I always tell the truth. Just trust in me."

"Trust in you…"

"Never betray me and you shall be rewarded with splendor. Never betray me and you shall live."

¨Never betray..."

It went on and on for two more minutes, just long enough that all Gentaro had to do was snap his fingers, and Jiro would have all the programming installed into his brain. When Jiro woke up from his trance, he would no longer be Ryusei Sakuta's only friend, nor would he be a former student of Subaruboshi High. He would be a worshiper of Ophiuchus.

Gentaro snapped his fingers. Jiro blinked his eyes and saw Gentaro smiling at him. He bowed his head in an act of submission.

"Thank you Serpent-bearer," said Jiro, his voice filled adoration. "You saved me when no one else would. I shall follow you to the end of my days. Command me, and I shall obey."

"I shall now christen you a new name, Jiro Inseki,"said Ophiuchus, placing a hand onto Jiro's forehead. "For the darkness in your friend's heart and the heartless sacrifice he made, you are now the Serpent of the Obsidian Knives. Wear that name proudly, my child. That name shall strike fear into Ryusei Sakuta's heart and he shall know the mistakes he made."

"Yes, Ophiuchus and Serpent-bearer. I am yours to command forever more. I will never leave your side, and will always obey your every order."

"Then come, Serpent of the Obsidian Knives," said Gentaro, raising a hand into the air. Jiro smiled and took the hand, getting off of the bed and feeling the Serpent-bearer stroking his chin with a delicate hand. "We are going to get some fresh air in two days. I hope you will join us on a little trip."

"Where are we heading, Serpent-bearer?"

Gentaro smiled, revealing his snake-like fangs as he spoke.

"To a little city named Kyoto."

0-0-0-0-0-0

"Miu!" cried Yuki Jojima, entering the Rabbit Hatch with Tomoko. "We came as soon as we—AHHH!"

Staring back at Yuki and Tomoko was the same Zodiarts that Shun chased after. Yuki looked at the Zodiarts and then to her fellow Kamen Rider Club members, confused as to what was going on.

"W-what's going on here?" asked she, slowly stepping back. "T-there's a Zodiarts in here in the Rabbit Hatch and..."

"It's all right," said Shun. "I brought her in here. Her name's Erin Suda, and she's currently in the form of Aquaruius Zodiarts."

"Erin?" asked Tomoko. "Wait a minute..." she closed her eyes as memories rushed into her brain. "Isn't she the transfer student from America?"

"The very same," said JK, typing on a laptop decorated with jagged music notes. "Also, Ohsugi-sensei was right; the Zodiarts that were causing fellow students to transform into Zodiarts do work in this school. Sonada-sensei was Scorpio Zodiarts, and Principal Hayami is currently Libra Zodiarts."

"Wait a minute!" Yuki gasped. "Libra Zodiarts, I mean Hayami, had a woman in his arms back when Lynx Zodiarts ran amuck...and then Sonada-sensei was on that sabbatical." She dropped onto her knees in shock. "Now it makes so much sense."

"That also means that the two were making other students into Zodiarts," Shun added. "Which means that Tomoko would've become one of them if Gentaro didn't intervene in time."

"What do I do?" Erin whimpered, showing off the red Horoscope Switch topped with the Astrological symbol of Aquarius. "I keep pressing it, but it won't work. I'll be stuck like this forever..."

"We'll find a way to fix this, Erin," said Miu, placing a hand on the transfer student's shoulder. "But first, what happened after Principal Hayami made you transform into Aquarius Zodiarts?"

"I looked at what I became in a window, and then I panicked," Erin explained. "I wanted to ask what happened and why the Principal was doing this, but then a bolt of lightning fired from his antenna and damaged the Switch. I've been trying to ask someone to help before Shun came and found me. He took me here but...but..."

Erin began to cry. Water began to flow from the water jugs mounted on her shoulders. As her sobs grew louder, the water rose into the air, splashing down on JK's laptop.

"My laptop!" JK cried, seeing the laptop completely soaked. "All that hard work for nothing..."

"I've got a towel in my gym bag," said Shun, approaching his weights. He unzipped the bag and added, "We still might be able to salvage it."

"Calm down Erin," said Yuki, approaching the Zodiarts. "Things are going to be fine. Please don't cry. You're going to make me cry and I don't want to cry anymore. I promised Gen-chan I wouldn't..." The space otaku's eyes began to brim with tears. "Gen-chan wouldn't want me to cry..."

JK sighed as he wiped out all the water from his laptop. Fortunately, none of the water reached the circuit board, so it would survive as long as he let it dry for a few hours. As he began to wipe off the water on the table, he noticed something peculiar. The water reached a cracked mug at the side and began to glow. When the light dimmed down, there was not a single crack to be found.

"No way..." he whispered. "No way!"

"What's going on, JK?" asked Miu. "Did you find anything useful?"

"Look at this! Erin can create water that can heal injuries and fix stuff that was broken! Look!" JK picked up the recently cracked cup and held it into the air. "It's fixed!"

"Really?" asked Ohsugi, turning to Erin. "Is that even possible?"

"Libra has the power to turn into different people, Cancer was able to pull out the souls of people, Scorpio has that poisonous stinger of hers and Aries could put people to sleep," Shun noted, counting on his fingers. "Anything is possible."

"What if we use those abilities to fix her switch?" asked Miu, taking the Aquarius Switch. "Do you think that will work?"

"I don't know," Erin began. "What if it doesn't work? What if I'm stuck like this forever?!"

"It's worth a try," said Yuki. She went to Erin's side and said, "You can do it; just concentrate on happy thoughts and let the water flow freely."

Erin took a deep breath and focused on the switch in Miu's hand. She thought of happy thoughts: she dreamed of going into space so she could finish the work her father was unable to do. Thee water began to flow freely from the water jugs before wrapping around the switch. The switch began to glow and float in the air before it returned into Erin's hand. "Here goes..."

She pressed the button on top, and became shrouded in a tornado of black wind. When the wind died down, Erin Suda opened her eyes. She was no longer the Aquarius Zodiarts; she was a regular teenager girl. There was an expression of relief and happiness on her face.

"It worked!" she said. "Yes! It worked! I'm human again!"

"Congratulations, Erin!" said Ohsugi. He then turned to the space otaku. "Oh, by the way Jojima." Yuki turned to Ohsugi as he asked, "What type of constellation relates to a 'little pup?'"

"Ah, that would be Canis Minor," Yuki answered back. "One myth stated that he was one of Orion's hunting dogs. Why do you ask?"

"I think that might've been Sonada's Zodiarts form before she became Scorpio. If I'm right, and I know I'm right," Ohsugi looked at the journal in his hand. "Then we need to confront Hayami and get some answers."

"But how do we do that?" asked Tomoko. "If he really is Libra Zodiarts, he'd still be powerful against us. We're defenseless against him and all of the other Horoscope Zodiarts."

"True, but he doesn't know about what we know," said JK, raising a finger into the air. "As long as we have that element of surprise, then we're one step ahead of those monsters. Our next step is to figure out what they want to do in Kyoto."

"Yuki," said Miu. "When are you heading off to the field trip?"

"In about two days time," Yuki answered. "We'll be spending two days and one night there, split into groups of four and exploring locations related to the reports we write."

"I'm chaperoning the trip," said Ohsugi. "But I won't be able to simultaneously keep an eye on all the groups. I'll have my hands tied making reservations at the closest ryokan."

"Here's the question though," said Erin, rubbing her chin. "Why would Principal Hayami move the annual field trip at such a short notice? Why would he replace NASA for Kyoto?"

"That's what we're going to find out," said JK, pulling out his notepad. "I wrote some notes about Hayami's relationship to the Zodiarts before the Club Chairman told us to come back. Our principal just loves writing down what he's feeling, let me tell you that."

"We better start planning this all out," said Miu, pulling out a small white-board and pen from her bag. "All right, here's what we do..."

0-0-0-0-0-

After one or two hours of traveling in the DenLiner, the passengers were dropped off. Naomi and Owner explained that they were going to talk to Station Master regarding Gentaro's situation and left the group of seven to walk around the Amanogawa High Campus. The Imagins looked at the school in awe—it was very prestigious, to say the least.

"This is a perfect battlefield to test my strength," Kintaros boasted, arms folded over his chest. "My strength shall make all of these students cry!"

"Look over there! Over there!" said Ryutaros, seeing a couple of teens break-dancing. "I wanna join them! That looks like fun!"

"The girls look very spectacular," Urataros noted, seeing some cheerleaders going through a practice routine. Particularly, he kept an eye on a cheerleader who had a lollipop in her mouth who seemed to direct the team. "I'd like to have some time with them and get to know them better."

"We have to focus!" said Hana, snapping the Imagins out of their musings. She turned to the Imagins and added, "Go and search for people to transform into Kamen Rider Den-O, and then meet back here. Amazon, Riderman and I will search around the campus for the 'Kamen Rider Club' as Owner put it."

"On it!" said the Imagins. They transformed into four golden orbs of light and started to fly off in different directions. Daisuke looked up into the sky, keeping an eye on the four until they can no longer be seen.

"We should find someone to talk to regarding the situation," Joji suggested. "One of the members of the school faculty should be able to talk to us about these monsters."

"We can ask Station Master to apply you as teachers from abroad," said Hana, the three walking across the campus. No one seemed to notice their presence; the students all did their daily routines without batting an eyelash at the little girl, the man from the Amazon rainforest or the man with the metallic right hand. If anyone saw the three, they'd all assume that Hana was hanging out with her grandfathers.

"School looks fun," said Daisuke, looking around. "I'll make lots and lots of friends here."

"We're here to find information about Gentaro, Daisuke-san," Hana whispered. She looked around, seeing who looked like the principal of the school. "I wonder..."

She approached the man and greeted him with a hello. While she did, Joji turned his gaze to the left.

"Riderman sense something wrong?" asked Daisuke.

"Look over there," said Joji, pointing to at the distance. Daisuke turned his gaze and saw a person staring back at them, their eyes dark as night. Something about the look in their eyes made Joji feel very...uncomfortable. "I sense something wrong with him."

"I go talk to him, Joji? I try to figure out what's wrong with him?"

"Not yet," Joji's eyes narrowed as he added, "But we might want to keep an eye on this guy for a while. He'll give us lots of trouble, I just know it."

At that point, Hana ran back to them. When she stopped, she took a deep breath and said, "I've got a lead!"

"You do?" asked Joji. "What is it?"

"The man I spoke to was the principal of the school. He said he'd tell us everything we need to know at the auditorium. This will be important for our quest."

"All of us in the auditorium alone?" Joji repeated. He narrowed his eyes and grasped onto his right hand, feeling it tremble. After fighting for so long, his hand became a sixth-sense against evil threats. "I don't like this; something's fishy about this whole situation..."

"I agree with Joji-san," said Daisuke, nodding his head. "He is like strange man by corner."

"Strange man?" asked Hana. She turned to the corner, but found on one there. "What...strange man?"

"I'll explain later," said Joji. "First, let's see what this principal has to say. I'd like to know about this school for my own."

0-0-0-0-0-

"Well," said JK as he and Shun left the Rabbit Hatch and were back on the campus of Amanogawa High. "Our Club Chairman can make a mean strategy when it comes down to it. I wonder if she helps you out with your homework."

"Miu and I have a lot of study dates together," Shun answered, tossing a football into the air. He caught it in his hands as he added, "She wasn't kidding when she noted that people should do things to make themselves better; she's getting top marks in the university already."

"That's the Queen of Amanogawa High for you. Now all we do is...huh?"

Shun stopped walking as he and JK saw two orbs descend in front of them. They transformed into two beings: one that was completely blue with a turtle-like appearance and orange eyes, while its partner was purple with a dragon-like appearance, purple longcoat and white gloves. The four stared at each other before the purple one spoke.

"Hey, kame-chan," it said. "Do you think it would be cool for me to make a contract with one of them?"

"'Contract?'" asked JK, raising an eyebrow.

"Ryutaros, calm down," said the blue turtle creature. "Maybe we should ask them if-"

"Can't hear your answer!" Ryutaros replied, spinning around and pointing to JK. "I'm going in! Yay!"

Before JK had any time to react, Ryutaros leapt toward him. Shun only saw Ryutaros become transparent and enter JK, the Gossip Broker's eyes glowing purple. JK's tied up blond hair now went down to his shoulders, his bangs now streaked with purple. On top of his head was a green cap splattered with paint.

"EH?!" Shun exclaimed. "JK, are you in there?!"

"This body is so cool!" said JK, Ryutaro's voice mixing with his own. He ran around Shun, his arms spread out and his mouth imitating the roar of an airplane. "I like it already!"

"Give me my friend back!" Shun dropped the football in his hands before tackling Ryutaros possessed JK onto the ground. "NOW!"

"Sorry!" Ryutaros replied. "I wanna stay a little longer! Now Urataros! Get him!"

He lifted his legs and kicked Shun in the stomach. Shun stepped back, a hand over his stomach. He didn't have time to see Urataros, as Ryutaros called his blue turtle ally, walk up to him. Urataros smiled, his right arm raised close to his face and his left hand underneath as he asked, "Would you mind if I reel you in?"

Shun didn't have time to answer when he felt Urataros enter his body. All that he remembered of that moment was Ryutaros jumping up and down, waving a good-bye to him before everything went black.

0-0-0-0-0-0-

In a small corner of the school, Ban Chosuke and his group of delinquents were all drinking cans of melon soda. No one was there to bother them, and they were fine with that. They could kick back, listen to music, get into a good brawl with each other, and relax. It had been a long time since they returned to the corner, and it was nice to return to their secret base. They knew first hand that

Ban stood up and raised his can into the air. "Everyone," He said. "I propose a toast: a toast to Gentaro Kisaragi."

The other delinquents followed suite. Chosuke dumped the remains of the soda onto the ground, remembering the times Gentaro approached his little group. Gentaro visited them a couple of times, some of them involving the group getting into a brawl with the newcomer. Gentaro also had the habit of bringing up CDs with old enka tracks he'd listen to, or sometimes he'd bring photo albums containing pictures of him and his grandfather at a motor cross event. Most of the time, he would actually talk to them and hear their problems and proposed that they would become friends. It wasn't long until Gentaro became part of their little circle, and losing him was a terrible loss.

"To a great man," said Chosuke, crushing the soda can in his fist. "He will always be remembered."

The other delinquents nodded their heads, none of them noticing a golden ball of light hovering above their leader's head. It suddenly entered through Ban's back, the leader gasping for air and getting on his knees.

"Boss!" said one of the delinquents. "Boss, are you alright?"

Ban lifted his head, his short hair longer and pulled into a pony tail, a streak of gold hidden amongst the dark tresses. His eyes were covered in a golden glow as he cracked his neck, pushing his face with his thumb.

"Yes," He said. "This body and my strength shall make the enemies cry!"

The other delinquents stepped back as Ban, or whatever was possessing him, crushed the soda can into a ball. He also raised a foot to rest upon the wooden crate that was used as a table. Unfortunately, when he set his foot down, he accidentally destroyed the make-shift table in the process.

"Oops..." said Ban, seeing his handiwork.

0-0-0-0-0-0-

Soushi Motoyama was on the rooftop, looking at a corner of his easel. A picture of Gentaro Kisaragi looked back at him a big smile on his face. Motoyama promised Gentaro's grandfather that he would have a painting in the likeness of Gentaro so that the old man would never forget the smiles that Gentaro gave to everyone. It was the least the painter could do after he petrified Kamen Rider Fourze during Christmas.

While Motoyama mixed some red paint on his palette, he was oblivious to the orb of light that hovered over his head. Just as he was about to brush the red paint onto the canvas, he gasped. He dropped his palette and paintbrush with a clatter.

It was around that time that Motoyama's best friend, Junta Abe, president of the Glee Club, reached the rooftop. He gasped as he saw his friend's transformation: Motoyama's slicked hair was spiky with a single red streak standing among dark brown. When Motoyama turned around, his eyes were bright red.

"Motoyama..." Junta gasped. "What's happened to you?"

Motoyama snarled as he stepped on the fallen paintbrush, splitting it into two pieces. He cracked his knuckles, staring at Abe with a look of annoyance.

"Motoyama can't hear you right now," said the being possessing Motoyama. "I hate to disappoint you, but I'll be keeping this body."

"K-keeping? Who are you?!"

"I..." Motoyama paused and looked down below. On the campus, there was a group of students running from their lives. From the rooftop, Motoyama noticed that they were being chased by a person with blond hair and a green cap perched on his head. He snarled and said, "That little brat got into another mess again, didn't he?" He turned heel and began to walk off.

"Wait, Motoyama!" said Abe, chasing after his friend. "What's going on? Where are you going?"

"I'm off to fight," Motoyama grinned from ear to ear and added, "From start to finish, I'm always at a climax!"

"Wait, come back!"

Abe began to chase his best friend down the stairs, leaving the photo and easel behind.

0-0-0-0-0-0-

"This should be the place," Hana whispered as she, Daisuke and Joji entered the auditorium. It was completely empty, devoid of people who would probably use it as a place to study or for some peace and quiet.

"Where is he?" asked Yuki Joji, looking around. "I don't see him."

"He said he had something important to do," Hana answered. She cupped her hands to her mouth and said, "Principal Hayami! Are you here?!"

"I'm here, little one..." A voice laughed. "I'm right here..."

Hana, Joji and Daisuke turned around, seeing Hayami locking the door behind them. His face was twisted into a look of sadistic glee, his eyes glowing orange, and his teeth now a pair of snake fangs.

"Principal is Snake Beastman!" said Daisuke. "But how?"

"That'ssss...a ssstory for another day," Hayami chuckled. "Let'ssss have a little talk, shall we?"

"You don't hurt Hana!" said Daisuke, standing in front of Hana. "I won't let you!"

Hayami let out a harsh and bitter laugh. "And what are you going to do about it, wild man?" He pulled out a red switch topped with the Astrological sign of Libra. Pressing it, he transformed into the Zodiarts of the Scales in a burst of Cosmic Energy, his ringed staff in hand. "I will dessstroy you!"

Daisuke growled as he brought his arms out, his hands shaped like claws. He stared at the silver bracelet on his left arm. It took the shape of a beetle with a beaked end. This was the item that Elder Bago gave to Daisuke—the GiGi Armlet. He let out a snarl, gnashing his teeth as he let out a cry.

A-MA-ZON!

Daisuke was surrounded by light as his appearance changed. Where Daisuke once stood, there was now Kamen Rider Amazon, dressed in green armor decked with red swirling lines. The helmet was in the shape of a lizard with bright red eyes and a set of sharp teeth. His torso was covered in yellow padded armor, his hands were covered with dark green gloves with sharp fins and a white scarf was tied around his neck. He let out a cry of "GI! GI! GI!" while swiping his arms in the air.

"I'll join in the fight too!" said Joji, raising his hands into the air. "Henshin!"

A blue helmet with 'V' pattern of green, silver and red, antennae and red bug eyes appeared in his hands. He placed it over his head and removed the coat he was wearing to reveal his armor. It was a suit of black with a similar triangle on his torso that matched the coloration of the V on his helmet and red chest pads. His hands were covered with silver gloves and wrapped around his waist was a red belt with silver belt pouches. Tied around his neck was a short yellow scarf.

"Go get help, Hana," said Yuki Joji/Riderman, dropping his bag on the ground. He unzipped it and began to rummage for something. "We'll take care of things from here."

Hana nodded her head and ran toward the exit. Kamen Rider Amazon ran toward Libra Zodiarts and began to nibble on his arm. Libra blocked the attack by whacking Amazon away with his staff. Amazon jumped into the air and flipped over his opponent before hacking away at the Zodiarts with the fins on his gloves.

"Keep him still, Amazon!" said Riderman, pulling out an item from his bag. It resembled two oblongs stacked on top of each other wrapped with rope and topped with a hook. "He's still a human after all; we don't want to kill him."

"On it!" Kamen Rider Amazon exclaimed as Libra raised his staff in the air. Appearing in a burst of blue light were Dustards that surrounded their master. Amazon let out another "GI! GI! GI!" before slicing and hacking his way into the monsters with his gloves.

Riderman rushed toward Libra Zodiarts and raised his right hand into the air. Unlike Amazon or his cybernetic brethren, Riderman had to make use of his 'Cassette Arms' to fight. It didn't matter though; he mostly used his smarts to get the better of his opponent. This was no exception.

Libra turned to see a grappling hook wrap around his staff. With a mighty tug, Riderman pulled it away and twirled it in the air. The Kamen Rider smirked when he saw his opponent defenseless.

"Not so powerful without your weapon, are you?" he asked.

Libra snarled as he pulled off his cloak and let it fall onto the ground. Riderman tossed the staff away and replaced the Rope Arm on his right hand for a similar Rope Arm with a wider hole like a blaster. He beckoned his opponent to attack.

"You're not that much of a threat," He noted. "Even Marshal Yoroi was a more difficult threat than you; I didn't even have to use the Drill Arm to make you squirm."

"Shut up..." Libra Zodiarts growled. He rushed toward Riderman and proceeded to attack with a flurry of punches. Riderman blocked each and everyone of them with his left arm and threw a roundhouse kick at Libra for good measure.

"You're weaker than General Shadow," Riderman taunted, punching Libra in the face. "Are you not able to last a single fight without assistance? Are you so weak that you can barely land a punch on a normal man?"

"I sssaid shut up!" Libra hissed. He tried to aim another punch at Riderman, only for his fist to be caught. Riderman pointed his right arm at Libra Zodiarts and yelled, "Net Arm!"

A large net escaped the right arm and covered Libra Zodiarts in it. The Zodiarts struggled to get it off of him as Joji quickly replaced the net launcher with a machine gun arm. He immediately pointed the right arm again and smiled.

"Machine Arm!" He cried, firing a round of bullets at the captured Zodiarts. Libra rolled out of the way, his hands still struggling to get the net off of him.

Meanwhile, Amazon was finishing off the last Dustard by slicing it with the fins on his gloves. He cried, "DAISETSUDAN!" as he leapt into the air, bringing his arms down and cleaving the Dustard in half. The monster dissipated into Cosmic Energy as Amazon landed on all fours. He looked around, seeing the unconscious bodies of the Dustards fade away into a fog of Cosmic Energy, looking mighty proud of himself. He then rushed toward Riderman's side, the Avenging Demon still riddling Libra Zodiarts with bullets.

"I help now?" asked Amazon.

"Go for it," said Riderman. "Activate the other armlet."

"Gigi Armlet," said Kamen Rider Amazon. "Combine with the power of Gaga Armlet!" He pulled out a similar armlet and connected the two beaks together. A golden aura surrounded him as he leapt into the air. The fins on his gloves began to grow as he brought them over his head.

"SUPER DAISETSUDAN!" he cried, cleaving Libra Zodiarts into two. The Zodiarts let out a cry of pain as a giant explosion consumed him. The body of Kouhei Hayami was spat out, his Zodiarts Switch rolling out of his hands. Riderman picked it up.

"You won't be needing this anytime soon," he noted. "Now, tell us what you know about the Zodiarts, Principal Hayami."

"Like I'm telling you that," Hayami snarled, his snake-like eyes glaring at the Kamen Riders. "Give me back my Switch now!"

Suddenly, a loud roar was heard. Riderman and Amazon turned their heads, only to meet up with a figure attacking them with powerful claws. It had the face of a lion with a silver mane, a mouth filled with sharp teeth and was dressed in a white tunic. Its hands were covered with gauntlets equipped with eleven-inch claws. Both Kamen Riders fell onto the ground in pain. Hayami just snarled.

"Leo," he said. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving your ass from such an humiliating defeat," Leo Zodiarts replied. He stomped on Riderman's arm hard enough for the Kamen Rider to loosen his grip on the Zodiarts Switch. Leo picked the switch up and added, "Such a shame that a couple of grandpas beat you within an inch of your life. You're a pathetic excuse for a Horoscope General."

"Pathetic?!" Hayami screamed. "PATHETIC?!"

Those words boiled the principal's blood. His arm trembled as he threw a punch at Leo Zodiarts. Leo caught it with one hand and twisted the arm around the principal's back. The Zodiarts of the Lion just shook his head.

"See what I mean?" he continued. "You were beaten by the two oldest Kamen Riders—the ones without the cyborg modifications, might I add—and believe that you can lay a hand on me. Well, let's see how brave and smug you are when you tell Master what you've done. If he's feeling nice enough, he might let you live."

Hayami didn't struggle as Leo Zodiarts dragged him away, knowing that the Zodiarts would snap his arm off like a twig if he protested. Instead, Leo Zodiarts untwisted the arm, carried the principal upon his shoulder, and ran out of the auditorium with lightning speed. Joji and Daisuke slowly got up, moaning in pain. Daisuke reverting to his original form and placed a hand over the GiGi Armlet.

"Lion Beastman is strong," He said. "Very ferocious."

"At least we know that the principal doesn't work alone," said Joji, getting onto his knees. "I just hope Hana is doing all right with those Imagin friends of hers."

0-0-0-0-0-0

"JK, what the hell are you doing?!" said a male Amanogawa High student cowering with some others in a corner of the school. "Why are you chasing after us?!"

JK, or rather Ryutaros possessing JK, smiled wide as he raised a hand into the air. The mischievous glint in his purple eyes only held some strange glee in what he was about to do next. He let out a laugh and twirled around and around before pointing at the group of scared students.

"You're all going to be my friends and dance with me," he giggled. "Won't you? We'll all be dancing together and have lots and lots of—GACK!"

Ryutaros felt someone spinning him around in lots of circles long enough for him to fall onto the ground. While he was still dazed, someone poured a spoonful of dark black syrup into his throat. Two seconds later, the purple Imagin was booted out of JK's body. JK felt something in his tongue before spitting on the ground.

"Blegh!" he exclaimed. "What is that stuff? It tastes like licorice root mixed with umeboshi!"

"It's Centipede juice," a voice replied. JK turned to see Tomoko screwing the cap of a juice bottle back on before helping the Gossip Broker stand up. She then turned JK's attention to Ryutaros on the ground, the Imaging looking a bit annoyed that his fun was ruined. The other students began to run away, screaming in terror.

"Ah!" said JK, stepping in front of Tomoko. "That's the demon that went inside my body!"

"I'm an Imagin!" Ryutaros replied. "I was told to find someone so I can be Kamen Rider Den-O and-"

"You're a Kamen Rider?" Tomoko interrupted. She went to Ryutaros' side and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure! I can show it to you if you want."

Tomoko wanted to say yes. She remembered the day she showed Gentaro those video clips about the Kamen Rides, and how they had all become urban legends. She wanted to pinch herself; she had to be dreaming! There was someone who can transform into a Kamen Rider right in front of her eyes!

Then, a thought came to mind. She recalled how Ryusei, during his stint as Kamen Rider Meteor, would hide behind such a fake mask in order to get the friendship and favor of the Kamen Rider Club. Was it going to be like this also? Was Ryutaros also lying to her?

Ryutaros noticed Tomoko's quiet attitude and waved a hand over her face. "Are you alright, miss?" He asked.

Tomoko blinked and shook her head. "No," she answered sadly. "I'm just..."

"Tomoko!" cried a voice. "There you are!"

Tomomko turned to see Yuki and a young girl run up to them. The young girl went to Ryutaros and immediately slapped him across the face.

"What were you thinking in chasing those students like that?" She exclaimed, shaking the Imagin. "You caused so much trouble!"

"But Owner said to find hosts to transform into Kamen Rider Den-O!" Ryutaros whined.

"Not like this! Urataros and Kintaros have already gotten into trouble! I don't need to hear more from you!"

"Urataros? Kintaros?" Tomoko repeated, turning to Yuki.

"They've possessed Chosuke-san and Daimonji-sempai!" Yuki explained. "Miu, Yayoi, Erin and Ohsugi-sensei are looking after them right now."

"And who's the young girl?"

"Her name is Hana Sakurai," Yuki answered. "She's a friend of the Imagins and she's just so cute!"

"Hana-chan is cute!" Ryutaros agreed, pinching Hana's cheeks. Hana responded with a kick to Ryutaro's stomach.

0-0-0-0-0-0

"Daimonji-sempai," A cheerleader swooned, seeing Shun standing in front of her and the rest of Amanogawa High's cheerleading squad. The former King of Amanogawa High was dressed in a blue long-sleeved shirt, a white sweater vest, cream pants and brown shoes. What was interesting to note was that part of his brown hair was spiked to the side with a streak of blue showing, and his blue eyes were enhanced with a pair of spectacles. Shun smiled all the same, his right hand raised in the air.

"Shh," he whispered, holding out a bouquet of red roses to the girls. "You don't need to talk. Just being here with me is enough. All I need to know is that you're here with me, and I can be happy."

He began to pass out the roses to the cheerleaders, each of them dropping their red and black pom-poms to grab the flowers. Shun sighed as the girls fainted from gaining such a marvelous gift. He was just about to kiss one of the girls on the lips when he was met with someone dragging him away by the arm.

"Shun!" cried the voice of Miu Kazashiro. "Why are you flirting with these girls?!"

"I was just telling them that they were so beautiful," Shun replied, turning to Miu. "And did I mention that you look like such a princess when you-" He didn't have any time to finish speaking when Miu slapped him across the face hard enough for him to fall unconscious.

"You're not the real Shun Daimonji!" She exclaimed. "The real Shun would call me 'Queen'! Who are you?!"

"It's a demon!" said Ohsugi, dragging Ban Chosuke by his shirt collar toward Miu. "And it got Chosuke also!"

Chosuke scoffed, his arms crossed around his chest. "I beg to differ. He chose me because our strength would-"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard it all before after your gang fell unconscious," Ohsugi interrupted. "It gets annoying after a while."

"Ohsugi-sensei! I found the last one running amok!" Erin cried, carrying an unconscious spiky-haired Motoyama on her back. She then dropped him onto the ground and sighed. "I'm just glad that Abe-kun fell asleep before he found out what was going on."

"Strange," said Ohsugi. "That's what happened when I found Chosuke. Everyone else had fallen asleep. They were struck by one of these." He pulled out something from his pocket: it was a small flag.

"That was on Motoyama's neck also," Erind noted, pulling out a similar flag. "Who could do such a thing?"

"Ahem," said a voice.

Shun, Erin, Miu, and Ohsugi turned to the voice. Approaching them was Owner with his cane in hand. A calm expression was on his face as he continued to speak. "Please forgive me for the incidents that have plagued your school. The Imagins were a little...excited to obtain a human form again."

"Imagins?" said Miu. "What are Imagins?"

"It's a very wonderful story to be sure," Owner laughed. "But first, we are still missing a few key people."

"Everyone!" cried a voice. That was the sound of Yuki Jojima rushing to the group alongside Tomoko, Hana and Ryutaros-possessd JK. "You won't believe what we found out!"

"What is it, Yuki?" asked Miu, seeing the Space Otaku look like she was about to explode from excitement.

"These Imagins can transform into Kamen Riders!" Yuki exclaimed. "And they said they've come to help us out and—and—"

"Settle down, child." said Owner, seeing Yuki catch her breath. "They aren't the only Kamen Riders here. But for now, why don't you all follow me?"

"And why should we?" asked Ohsugi. "How do we know that you're working for the good guys?"

"Because I am, good sir." Owner answered, a smile on his face. "Naomi will also be serving fried rice and pudding for everyone and we can explain what's going on involving the Zodiarts and...him."

"Him?" asked Tomoko. "Who's 'him?'"

"Gentaro Kisaragi," said Owner, his voice turning grim. The Kamen Rider Club looked in horror and disbelief at those words. Owner just lowered his gaze and added, "He's still alive."

0-0-0-0-0-

Gentaro teleported back to Kengo's house with Jiro by his side. Kengo stood up and dropped to his knees for his master once more.

"Rise, Apep," said Gentaro. "You do not have to be so formal when we are alone. Stand up."

"Yes, master," said Kengo, standing up. He looked to Jiro and asked, "Are you the Serpent-bearer's new serpent? Have you been given the Serpent-bearer's blessing?"

"I have indeed," Jiro replied, bowing to his fellow Serpent. "I am known as the Serpent of the Obsidian Knives, and I shall always obey my lord forever. He has given me new life and a new sense of purpose. He has given me the gift of rebirth. "

"Our little family is growing," Gentaro sighed. "Soon we'll have a father figure of our own. I'm sure he found the side effects of the bite...maddening." He sat down on the couch and crossed his legs. Smoothing back his hair, he added, "I hope he's doing fine without going through withdrawal."

"Withdrawal?" asked Kengo, tilting his head in confusion. "What do you mean by 'withdrawal', Serpent-bearer?"

"Those who stray far away from Master's call grow weak. It's to instill obedience into disobedient slaves," Gentaro hissed, his forked tongue sticking out for a second or two. "He'll be crawling to us in no time, and we'll give him what he wants."

"Power?" asked Jiro.

"Revenge?" Kengo suggested.

"Obedience," Gentaro grinned. "We'll give Kouhei Hayami, the principal of Amanogawa High and the Libra Zodiarts, the gift of obedience."

0-0-0-0-0-

Inside a small room bathed in red light, Kouhei Hayami knelt in front of Mitsuaki Gamou. The chairman just glared at the lowly principal, his eyes only showing disappointment at what the principal failed to accomplish.

"I heard you caused a commotion with a student and some Kamen Riders," He noted. "What do you have to say for yourself, Hayami?"

"I'd love to say, 'It's that stupid Gentaro and his stupid snakes doing this to me.', but I can't when-" Hayami felt whispers hissing in his ear as he resisted the urge to place both hands on his head. The whispers wouldn't go away, and he felt his whole body was tied to the strings of an invisible puppet master. He couldn't do anything except look, hear, or smell. Everything else was detached from him.

"Cat got your tongue, Hayami?" Leo Zodiarts chuckled. "It should. You've been a very bad boy, Hayami."

"Although, getting a person transform into a Horoscope that quickly is pretty impressive," Gamou noted. He leaned toward the principal and added, "I shall give you one more chance, Hayami. It involves you moving the field trip to Kyoto. Complete this task and your banishment to the Dark Nebula will be on hold."

"Hooray...Now I can worry about those snakes that won't leave me alone."Hayami thought to himself. He saw his lips say, "Thank you, Master." and looked in disgust. He felt himself stand up and turn away, disappearing into the darkness. The principal snarled as he recalled what happened at the auditorium—he knew that Ophiuchus was taunting him, making him powerful one minute then wimpy the next.

Ophiuchus wanted him to suffer and go insane; Kouhei Hayami was going to prove him wrong.