Horseshoes and Hand-grenades

XVII: 13-1-3-2-18-5/20-8-5-18-1-20-5

"Of all the gods only death does not desire gifts."

-Aeschylus

Haruka Utsugi massaged her temples as she led the five Imagin-possessed teens throughout Kyoto. Momotaros was itching for a fight, Kintaros wanted to participate in an arm-wrestling contest, Ryutaros was nearly caught stealing croquettes from a roadside croquette stand—Haruka quickly paid for a bag of six croquettes to compensate for the Imagin's behavior—and both Sieg and Urataros were currently wooing a few women in kimonos. Haruka shook her head in disdain; what was she thinking when she decided to lead them into battle?

"These are so tasty!" Ryutaros exclaimed, munching on his croquette. "This one tastes just like a crab!"

"Hmph," Kintaros bit deep into his own before exclaiming, "YES! The taste of this croquette makes me weep!"

"Give me one of those!" said Momotaros, snatching the oily newspaper bag. He took one into his mouth and chewed it before exclaming, "This ain't half bad!"

"Come on, you guys," Haruka sighed. "We're supposed to be looking out for those Horoscope Generals. I assume Leo Zodiarts is pretty pissed off that Momotaros, Joji and Daisuke-san were able to defeat him easily."

"That's because Joji-san is a very smart guy," said Urataros. "He's had experience fighting against monsters like that lion."

"Indeed," Sieg noted. "Which makes me wonder why he's not going to be the one fighting Leo…Why are we going after the savage beast?"

"Because we have strength in numbers," Haruka answered. "When he first appeared, Leo Zodiarts single handedly defeated both Joji-san and Daisuke-san easily because they did not expect him coming to attack. However, as proven yesterday, Leo Zodiarts was unable to defend against the combined powers of three Kamen Riders. Thus, having a team of specialized Kamen Riders will ensure our victory over him and the other Horoscope Generals he decides to bring."

"We'll stomp them lie bugs!" Ryutaros cried, eating his second croquette. "Then we'll go after that snake and-"

A large blue orb zoomed its way toward Ryutaros as he spoke. Fortunately, Haruka noticed this and unsheathed her katana, slicing it away before it could hit. She looked around, anticipating an ambush to take place at any moment...

Then, she immediately brought her legs up into a powerful kick, knocking two Dustard to the side. Unlike the generic Dustards seen attacking everyone else, these two were dressed in red and white kabuki wigs, respectively.

"This doesn't look good," said Haruka, looking around. "Leo Zodiarts, show yourself! Now!"

There was the sound of laughter as two Zodiarts appeared from a plume of Cosmic Energy—Leo and Virgo Zodiarts. Haruka narrowed her eyes as she prepared her katana for battle.

"There's been a slight change of plan, Imagins," she said. "Momotaros, you and Kintaros take on the Dustards. Sieg, you, Urataros and Ryutaros will fight Leo. I'll go for Virgo Zodiarts. Is that clear?"

"Aye-aye, captain!" said Ryutaros, saluting Haruka. "Let's get going!"

"Guess it's time guys," said Momotaros, pulling out his Liner Belt. "Ready?"

"Ready!" the other Imagins cried. The five pulled out a Liner Pass as a chorus of different melodies played from the belts. "Henshin!"

Sword/Rod/Axe/Gun/Wing Form

Haruka watched as five sets of armor wrapped around Motoyama, Shun, Chosuke, JK and Norio, transforming them into the five forms of Kamen Rider Den-O. She smiled as she pointed her katana toward the Zodiarts and yelled, "CHARGE!"

The five Kamen Riders soon ran toward their enemy, weapons in hand. Haruka jumped onto Urataros' shoulders before jumping into the air, slicing Virgo Zodiarts with her blade in hand. The Zodiarts of the Maiden descended onto the ground as Haruka grabbed onto the axe for safety.

"Get out of our way!" cried Virgo Zodiarts. "Go back to your teaching job!"

"I am doing my job!" Haruka replied, dropping to the ground as she pointed her blade toward Virgo Zodiarts' throat. "I'm teaching you a lesson! You're going to pay for what you''ve done to the students of Amanogawa High!"

"We're giving them a gift that no one else will obtain in their lifetimes!" Virgo snarled, flying toward Haruka. "They will become something that can reach the depths of outer space!"

"That's called an 'astronaut', Pinkie!" Haruka rolled out of the way and prepared her katana. "What you're doing is causing innocent children to become corrupted shells of their former selves! No one is benefiting from these Zodiarts attacks—you're all just trying to become mad gods!"

"What would you know? You don't even care about the school! You just want to focus on your fighting career!" Virgo and Haruka continued to attack, axe against katana. "You don't know the first thing about being a teacher!"

"I don't, but I do know the first thing about being a human being!" Haruka kicked Virgo aside and pulled her arm back. "And that means I'm better than you!"

She jabbed the blade deep into Virgo's shoulder, or would've if the Zodiarts of the Maiden didn't project a pink barrier around herself in time. Haruka snarled and tried the same attack again, only meeting up with a similar response. She didn't falter though, but rather stood her ground as Virgo began attack back with her axe. For the sake of her students and for everyone in Japan, Haruka Utsugi had to be strong, and she would.

0-0-0-0-0-

Daisuke rode on his Jungler motorcycle toward the Triangle Pillar to the North, catching the eye of all the tourists there. For one thing, the Jungler motorcycle was decorated to look like an orange fish from the Amazon rainforest with blue eyes and fins. The second is that he was still dressed his black and red striped vest and pants ensemble. He stuck out like a fly in a bowl of soup.

"Look, mommy!" cried a little boy. "I wanna ride on that bike!"

Other children ran toward Daisuke parking the Jungler close to the location of the pillar. It stood in the water, unprotected from the hands of evil. Daisuke nodded his head as he looked around. There was no sign of the enemy, that's for sure.

"Excuse me, mister," said a voice. Daisuke looked down as he saw young children crowded around him. "What's your name?"

Daisuke smiled and answered, "Amazon." His hands linked together into his friendship gesture which made the other children replicate it with glee.

"You're cute!" a girl giggled, wrapping her arms around his legs.

"Tell us a story!" said a young boy.

"Can we ride your bike?" said another child.

Daisuke's grin grew wider as more and more childen clamored around. He soon was on his knees and his hands formed claws as he let out a hearty, "A-MA-ZON!"

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

"Come here, kitty!" cried Gun Den-O, firing his gun at the Zodiarts of the Lion. "I just want to give you a fish!"

"How about I reel him in for us?" asked Rod Den-O, preparing his fishing rod. He pulled it back and flinged it over his head, the hook wrapping around one of Leo Zodiarts' claws. "Now, you two!"

"Hold still!" said Wing Den-O, pointing his boomerang at the target. "Here goes!"

He hurled his boomerang toward Leo Zodiarts' head, watching it fly. However, Leo Zodiarts suspected the move as he pulled onto Rod Den-O's fishing line and flung the blue Den-O inbetween the boomerang and himself. Rod Den-O screamed as the boomerang hit him dead on.

"There's one thing you guys didn't expect," Leo Zodiarts pointed out. "I learn from my mistakes. You three will be easy to kill."

"Die, kitty!" said Gun Den-O, still firing his gun. Unfortunately, the bullets weren't doing any real damage when Leo brought its claws over its face. "We'll turn you into violin strings!"

Leo Zodiarts kicked Rod Den-O toward Gun Den-O, causing the two to collapse into a pile. He let out a large roar that caused all three Kamen Riders to be blown away, falling flat onto their backs. The Zodiarts of the Lion began to saunter toward them, his claws scraping against the ground.

"Bad kitty," said Gun Den-O, sitting up. "Bad, bad kitty!"

"You said it," said Urataros, rising to his knees. "Looks like we're going to have to declaw this tabby."

0-0-0-0-0-

Ohsugi finally made it through the crowd of Dustards and whacked Sonada with the staff in his hand. Or at least, he would've had Sonada not catch it with her ponytail and used it to whack him across the face.

"Didn't see that coming," he said to himself, rubbing the spot where the staff hit.

"Neither did you see me being a Zodiarts, did you?" asked Sonada. Her long ponytail wrapped around the staff until it snapped into two. "You're so obsessed with your crush over little old me that you failed to see the truth. By the way, Ohsugi, what's your sign?"

"Ha ha, very funny," Ohsugi replied, adjusting his suspenders. "Actually it is funny. I'm a person born under the sign of the Scorpion fighting off against the Zodiarts of the Scorpion. Did you ever stop and think about things like that? Oh wait, you don't. You don't keep your mind open to the possibilities. Not all kids are jerks and Gentaro showed me that. Plus, you showed a bit of kindness to Ritsuko."

"That wasn't kindness," Sonada replied. "She was just whining and complaining about how 'no one understood what I saw' and shit. If she thought I was kind then that was how she perceived it."

"Didn't that make you happy? Ritsuko hugged you and wanted you safe. That's what all teachers strive for—the affection of their students."

"And some strive for it so much that they touch boundaries that teachers should never cross."

"You're not getting the point!" Ohsugi prepared to punch her across the face. "Teahcers protect their students, and I'll start by beating you!"

Sonada raised her foot into the air, knocking Ohsugi down onto the ground. Before he could get up, Sonada then kicked him in the ribs. Ohsugi mentally sighed to himself, glad that he let Nadeshiko use her SOLU powers to upgrade the slipper armor. Just as he was about to rise onto his feet, he felt Sonada's foot stomp on his hand as if it was an insignificant bug.

"Oh, does that hurt?" Sonada asked coolly. "Maybe I'll kiss it to make it better."

Ohsugi slowly rose to his knees, concentrating on the pirate hook attached to his right hand. He saw the hook slowly extend, and used it to swipe Sonada off of her feet. However Sonada was swifter and she flipped into the air before stomping on the hook also.

"Is that the best you got?" she asked. "I can do this all day."

"So can I!" Ohsugi pulled his arm away and then stood up, removing the helmet on his head. He hurled it toward Sonada, only for her ponytail to strike and pierce through the metal bowl. The bowl split in half and clattered onto the ground. "Okay, maybe not."

Sonada landed another kick toward her opponent, Ohsugi blocking it with his arms. Planting his feet firmly on the ground, Ohsugi soon retaliated with his own kick. He kept an eye on Sonada's ponytail, hoping to dodge the stinger that would poison him to death. Timing was everything, and one false step would derail his whole plan.

Gotta keep her on the edge...He thought to himself. Joji will be fine all by himself, but I won't if Sonada gets to me. I won't let her though! I'm Chuta Ohsugi, faculty adviser of the Kamen Rider Club! She won't forget that any time soon!

0-0-0-0-0-

Ecydsis slowly opened his eyes, finding himself in a featureless, white void. In this void, he found Kengo trapped in a fetal position, hissing and whispering to himself. Ecydsis grinned and approached his prey, his feet never making a sound.

"Apep," he crooned, stroking Kengo's hair. "Don't be afraid. I'm here for you now."

"Not right..." Kengo murmured, shaking his head. "It hurts...can't think...don't like...!"

"Shh, calm down, my son..."

"I'm not your son! I'm...not..." Kengo grasped onto his hair, tugging it hard. "I don't know who I am...who am I? Where am I? Why does everything hurt so much?"

Ecydsis sat near Kengo and placed him in a loving embrace. He continued to speak words of comfort into the teen's ear, calming him down.

"It's all right," said Ecydsis. "No one can hurt you here. You're safe, Apep. You're safe...my son."

"S-son? I'm not your son..." Kengo murmured. "You're not my father..."

"But you don't know who you are. I'm just telling you the truth. I have raised you since you were young."

"Then why weren't you there? I was all alone..."

"Shh," Ecydsis lightly kissed Kengo's ear. "There's no need to worry now. You're here with me now. That's all that matters."

"Yes..." Kengo relaxed a bit as he opened his eyes. "That's all that matters."

"Apep, you must realize your true destiny. You are the Serpent of Chaos who razed Egypt millennia ago. However, when the God of the Sun slayed you, you vanished. The Serpent-bearer found that you were resurrected into this human form, but your body was so weak due to being close to the sun. Remember?"

"Y...yes..." Kengo hissed, recalling his numerous fainting spells. Come to think of it, it was all because he was staying too long in the sun. It all made sense now: the sun was killing him, making his life a living hell.

"You thrive in the darkness, where the sun is powerless to fight," Ecydsis continued. "You manipulate the feeble humans to worship you and to obey your commands. You were the chief god before that falcon-headed bastard took your place."

Kengo nodded his head with each word that poured out of Ecdysis's mouth. As he did, he saw himself in the deserts of Egypt, worshiping thousands of citizens underneath the light of a solar eclipse. He saw himself dressed in the attire of a Pharaoh, with servants waiting on him hand and foot. A smile formed on his face.

"You are right, father," he whispered, slowly standing up. Purple snake scales decorated his body as he spoke. "I must prepare to create the kingdom that I ruled over in the past. I hope you shall assist me."

"I will always protect you, my dear son," Ecydsis placed a kiss on Kengo's cheek. "Now, wake up. A new day dawns for us."

Kengo nodded his head as he cross his hands over his chest, purple scales soon covering every inch of his body except for his now yellow eyes.

0-0-0-0-0-

Sword and Axe Den-O were back to a corner by the now nicknamed 'Kabuki Dustards'. No matter what they did, their attacks were useless against their long-haired enemies. The Dustards would easily dodge out of the way before landing a kick or punch to the chest.

"Keep still!" Sword Den-O snarled. "I just want to hurt you!"

"Your strength will not make me weep!" Axe Den-O exclaimed, currently grappling with his Dustard opponent. "I will defeat you!"

The Dustards didn't make a sound. The red wig Dustard instead jumped into the air before landing a dropkick on Sword Den-O. The white wig Dustard delivered a backhand across Axe Den-O's face. Both Kamen Riders stumbled backwards, their backs pressed against each others'.

"Do you have anything, Momonoji?" asked Axe Den-O.

"If I did, I would've beaten them onto the ground!" Sword Den-O snapped. "These things are getting on my nerves!" He stomped the ground with annoyance. "Nothing we do hurts them!"

"But what about if we make them fight themselves?" Axe Den-O saw the other Den-O Kamen Riders fighting against Leo Zodiarts and Haruka clashing her katana against Virgo Zodiarts' axe. "I have an idea..."

"If it involves hibernating, I'd rather not ask." Sword Den-O muttered under his breath.

0-0-0-0-0-

"There she is!" said Tomoko, pointing to a figure in the forest. "Look!"

The four Kamen Rider Girls hid behind a tree, seeing Yuri muttering toward herself. Tied to the tree were both Misa and Yukina, both unconscious. Yuri paced back and forth, waving her hands in the air as she saw the water dance around her. If one looked closer, the grass around Yuri's feet was brown and shriveled up.

"She can pull water from the plants?" asked Yuki. "How?"

"It must be Gentaro and Ophiuchus's doing," Erin whispered. "They can give abilities to whomever they want in an attempt of having soldiers. However, he brainwashes them into being his allies, while we're making friends who stick by us."

"It's an anti-Gentaro philosophy," Tomoko noted. "It's horrible for words."

"We'll get going," said Erin, pressing onto her Horoscope Switch. She transformed into Aquarius Zodiarts and turned to Yuki. "Let's go."

"Roger!" said Yuki. She charged into battle, Hayabusa Plushie covering her right hand as she yelled, "HAYABUSA PUNCH!"

As Yuri began to fight off the intruders, Miu felt her cellphone vibrate in her purse. She let out a sigh as she pulled it out and placed it close to her ear. "Hello?"

"Miu-sempai!" cried a voice. "We've got some important news!"

"Jun, this isn't a good time to talk," Miu replied. "I'm sort of busy."

"What a coincidence! So are we! We found out something interesting to help you out and-"

"No, seriously, I'm in the middle of trying not to be BOILED ALIVE!" Miu exclaimed. "Whatever you have to tell me will have to wait until after the attempts to melt my skin clean off have vanished."

"But...but..."

Miu hung up as she pulled out a Burgermeal Foodroid from her pocket. As the small Foodroid activated its camera eyes at the situation, the Club Chairman immediately was at the Astroswitch Caban, which also carried an inactivated Horuwankov and Potechokin Foodroid, trying to analyze for any weak points.

"The situation doesn't look good," Tomoko noted, watching Yuki duck from a cresent of water aimed for her head. "As long as Yuri can summon geysers, neither Yuki nor Erin can get up close!"

"Yuri is also capable of using the water to defend herself if need be " Miu added. "Still, we can't give up now. Everything has to have a weakness. Do you know anything that could give us an edge, Tomoko?"

"I wish I got to know her better back when I was a Lunar Witch. Unfortunately, all they cared about was vengeance and payback. That's not exactly the right way to establish yourself to someone new."

"Like with Ryusei?"

"..." Tomoko didn't reply, but rather kept her eyes on Erin and Yuki beginning their fight.

Next time: The fighting continues to escalate all throughout Kyoto and more importantly, Ryusei and Gentaro's fight becomes filled with bitterness and hatred. Meanwhile, Ecydsis and Kengo run into the Kamen Rider of the Amazon and learn a lesson as to why it's NOT a good idea to anger him.

To be continued in, XVIII-"Theater of Tragedy"