Horseshoes and Hand-grenades

XIX: 20-18-1-4-8-5-4-25/4-1-25

"There are two great days in a person's life – the day we are born and the day we discover why."

-William Barclay

Ryusei blinked and saw his surroundings once more. He was in space; more specifically he was in the interior of the M-BUS satellite. He looked down, seeing the Meteor Driver wrapped around his waist. His mind was empty; he couldn't recall what happened just minutes ago.

"Ryusei," said a voice. Ryusei looked up, seeing Virgo Zodiarts staring at him. "State your purpose."

"I was created to wield the Meteor Driver and to fight under the persona of Kamen Rider Meteor," Ryusei answered immediately."I am also here to destroy our common enemy."

"And who would that enemy be?"

"That would be the combined forces of the Kamen Rider Club and of Gentaro and the serpent known as Ophiuchus. They are in the way with what you and what Master Gamou wishes of the Horoscope Generals."

Virgo smirked as she handed Ryusei an item in her hand. It was an Astroswitch topped with a blue and yellow pinwheel, otherwise known as the Meteor Storm Astroswitch. Ryusei took it into his hands and smirked.

"You know what to do," said the Zodiarts of the Maiden. "Ryusei Sakuta, make you wish upon the stars."

Ryusei's eyes began to glow red as the switch was wrapped in a cloud of Cosmic Energy. The colors soon darkened, and the blue and yellow became black and red.

"All is right in the world," Ryusei whispered. "Because I shall decide its fate."

0-0-0-0-0-0

A black and red vortex surrounded Kamen Rider Meteor, his armor gaining red shoulder pads, and the helmet also glowing in a shade of red with black eyes. In his hands was a pair of nunchucks. Fourze and Jiro stepped back as Meteor chuckled.

"Say hello to Kamen Rider Meteor Impact," Ryusei replied. "Are you ready to fight once more?"

Magnet States Fourze snarled and pressed on the tops of the N/S Magnet Switches. Electromagnetic energy fired from the MagCannon, preparing to destroy Meteor once more. Meteor Impact twirled his nunchucks toward the side, swatting the beam away with a single strike.

"Typical," Meteor Impact replied. "Try something that won't bore me, Fourze."

"You're going to die either way, Sakuta!" Jiro screeched. "Serpent-bearer, let's end this!"

"I'm with you," Fourze replied. He flicked the barrel-like topper of the switch on the middle left of the Fourze Driver.

Gatling On

The cyan Gatling gun appeared on Fourze's left leg, a round of bullets firing at his opponent. Meteor Impact jumped into the air, somersaulting forward before he landed behind his enemy. Fourze turned around, but it was too late. Meteor Impact threw one of the sticks toward Fourze, slashing him across the chest. Fourze stumbled a bit as Jiro stepped forward.

"This is my fight now," he snarled. "Meteor, my name is Jiro Inseki. You killed me, so prepare to die!"

Meteor Impact beckoned for Jiro to strike before the two charged toward each other.

0-0-0-0-0-

Yuki dodged out of a water whip that Yuri pointed toward her. No matter what she did, she was unable to get close enough to land a blow to knock her out. Erin was also having trouble of her own. Her Nectar cat-o-nine tails successfully wrapped itself around Yuri's right hand, disabling most of her abilities, but for how long?

"You have to strike her now!" said Erin, turning to Yuki. "I can't...hold much longer!"

"I'm trying to!" Yuki replied, moving her Hayabusa Plushie as if it was a gun. "I just need to find the right spot!"

"Tomoko get in there and help them out," said Miu, closing the Astrocaban. "I figured out the plan."

"On it," said Tomoko, pulling out her white snake skin. "Let's go!"

Yuri snarled as she concentrated on Tomoko and Miu. The earth began to crack and steam rose from the ground. Yuki noticed this and jumped out of the way.

"Watch out!" she cried, pushing Tomoko out of the way. A geyser of hot water burst from the underground, causing Yuki to rise into the sky. Yuki bit her lip as she felt the hot steam starting to burn against her skin once more.

"Yuri!" said Tomoko, preparing her snake skin. "What are you doing? I thought you were over this!"

"All must suffer for Master Ophiuchus's plans," Yuri snarled, her eyes glowing blue. "That includes you, Tomoko!"

"Erin," said Miu. "Get Yuki down from the geyser and heal her wounds now! I'll fight Yuri until we can get her back to normal."

"But if I let go, you won't be able to get a clear shot of Yuri!" Erin exclaimed. "We're sitting ducks."

"Trust me on this. I have a plan."

Erin watched as Tomoko used her snake skin to form a lasso, tossing it toward Yuki's wrist. Tomoko then tugged it hard enough for Yuki to land safely and quickly began to check if Yuki was in any sort of pain. Miu pulled out something from her hand, motioning to the ground. Erin realized what was going on before turning to Yuri. She then loosened her grip on her Nectar weapon and stepped back.

"That's it," Yuri replied. "Your feelings of friendship and unity won't be able to save you now.

"Flashake Foodroid, get her!"

Yuri was interrupted when Yuki pulled out an item from her Hayabusa plushie. The Flashake Foodroid activated as she hurled it toward the enemy, the small robot unleashing a powerful burst of light that temporarily blinded Yuri. As she staggered back, Miu dropped the newly activated Horuwankov Foodroid which soon began to dig underground.

"Tomoko," said Miu. "Get ready to use your powers in 3…2…1…"

The ground beneath Yuri's feet began to shake. The Horuwankov Foodroid popped underneath the ground as Yuri fell into a large hole created by the small machine. Tomoko raised her hands into the air as a pink barrier covered the hole, trapping Yuri from underneath.

"Let me out!" Yuri screamed. "I said let me out!"

"We'll let you out once you change your evil ways!" said Erin, placing a hand near the jugs mounted on her shoulders. A stream of water left the jugs and dropped down all over Yuki's body. Yuki just nodded her head and slowly stood up.

"What do we do now?" she hissed, motioning to the hole where Yuri was standing in. "She's going to break out sooner or later."

"Just wait," said Miu, a smile on her face. "Phase 2 of my plan is coming into fruition. Now," She beckoned the other girls with a finger and lowered her voice. "Here's what we have to do."

0-0-0-0-0-0

Amazon let out a powerful growl as he continued to hack away at the Dustards. Their numbers began to diminish, and many of them were starting to flee in terror from the wild man. The Cosmic Energy that they left only made Amazon even more savage than usual.

"Serpents must be crushed right now," he growled, staring at the stone pillar. "Pillar must be safe from harm."

"Help me! Someone!"

Amazon turned around, seeing Libra Zodiarts placing his hand around a young boy's neck. The young boy's eyes watered in tears as he stretched out a hand toward his savior.

"Do you really want to let a precious little child be killed by my hand?" asked Libra. "I wouldn't want to be held responsible for when a mother starts sobbing at how her precious little baby boy was slaughtered right in front of her eyes."

Amazon growled as he pulled out the grappling hook on his belt, twirling it before throwing it toward Libra's staff. Wrapping around it, the Kamen Rider pulled Libra toward him before jumping into the air.

"RIDER KICK!" Amazon screamed, landing a powerful kick straight into Libra's heart. The Zodiarts of the Scales screamed in pain as he was engulfed in an explosion. Amazon landed on the ground as he approached the young boy.

"Are you all right?" he said, wrapping the boy in a gentle hug. "Amazon will take care of everything."

"Thank you, Amazon!" The boy answered, a smile on his face. "Thank you for being a complete idiot!"

Amazon gasped as the boy's hands were wrapped in purple fire. A fiery punch hit his chest and he was thrown back into the water. The young boy was wrapped in a glowing blue aura before transforming back into Kengo Utahoshi.

"Stupid, stupid man," he said. "What did Tomoko ever see in him? How could someone of his age fall for something so trivial, father?"

Amazon turned around, seeing Ecdysis walk out of the flames, looking absolutely fine. Transformed into his 'skin' of Kouhei Hayami, the Shed Skin Serpent just smirked as he approached the fallen Kamen Rider,

"Did you really think that you were going to get away with it that easy?" Ecdysis hissed. "If you thought that this was going to be a simple victory, you were horribly mistaken. Apep, I think it's time to start the mummification process."

Kengo smirked as a large kopesh sword materialized in his hands, the curved blade carved with a multitude of hieroglyphics. He gently stroked the blade as he stepped into the water, preparing to kill Amazon once and for all.

"Say goodbye to this world," he said, raising the sword into the air. "Because after we're done with you, the Serpent-bearer will see to it that you'll become a great asset to our cause."

"And what cause is that?" asked Amazon.

"The resurrection of our mighty king, Ouroboros," Ecdysis answered. "Once all of the Serpents are gathered, Ouroboros will rise and our reign shall begin once more."

"I won't let that happen!" Amazon growled, bringing himself back onto his feet with a kick-up." You're corrupting innocent children with your lies! Ophiuchus must be stopped!"

"How do you know he's such an evil person?" asked Kengo. "He brought both Serpent of the Obsidian Knives and the Serpent-bearer back from the brink of death, letting them live once more. To resurrect someone is an act of kindness. Why should you stand in the way of this noble and altruistic act? You would be denying what every dead person wants: the chance to live."

Amazon hesitated. There were times that he wished that he could truly see the Mole Beastman once more, but he knew that the dead never came back to life. Other people precious to him and his fellow Kamen Rides had died, but it was up to those that lived to continue to live. They had a life to live, and it was up to them to decide what to do with it.

To make a mockery of the people who have died a happy life made Amazon's blood boil. The fact that Gentaro was told that he died happily when he sacrificed himself to Ryusei and now resurrected by a dark entity was like spitting on his grave out of spite. If Gentaro was to die, then let him die happily and not know of the tragedies he committed.

Amazon growled as he stared into the eyes of his enemies. The Cosmic Energy he absorbed slowly started to dye his reptilian armor into shades of black and purple, the fingers of his gloves began to grow into sharp talons and the fins on his back soon became sharp spines.

"What?" asked Libra Zodiarts. "How is someone like you able to absorb Cosmic Energy so freely? What are you?"

"I am the one that will tear you both apart!" Amazon hissed, his voice a mix between a whisper and a growl. "Both of you will die by my hands!"

Kengo charged toward Amazon, kopesh sword in hand. Amazon turned and grabbed onto the sword with his gloves, gripping hard enough that the sword shattered into pieces! Before Kengo had a chance to even retaliate, Amazon began to bite on his arm, preparing to rip it out of its own socket.

"Get off of me you monster!" Kengo snarled, his hand wrapped in fire. "Get off!"

He placed his hand on Amazon's arm, the Kamen Rider backing off as he saw his arm being consumed by flames. He dove into the water, dousing the fire. Libra concentrated on Amazon's dark form in the water, his antenna crackling with electricity. As the water began to bubble from the Kamen Rider taking in a deep breath of air, Libra fired a bolt of electricity straight into Amazon's heart. The Kamen Rider couldn't dodge it in time, and he was sent back into the water, black smoke rising from where he was hit.

"This man is becoming nothing more than a nuisance, father," said Kengo, walking across the water. "Can I start gutting him now?"

"Might as well," said Libra Zodiarts. "I'll take care in the destruction of the pillar."

Kengo nodded his head as he summoned another kopesh blade from out of thin air. Amazon, knocked unconscious from the lightning bolt to his heart, did not hear Kengo's feet splash against the cold water. Kengo smirked in reply.

"Good night, savage beast," he said. "May you rest knowing that you were unable to end what will become a glorious new world for King Ouroboros to rule."

Just as he was about to stab straight through the Kamen Rider's heart, something caught his attention. Kengo turned around, his sword slashing through two black blades. The blades fell into the water with a splash, but it only made Kengo feel a bit uneasy. Someone followed them here.

"Well," said a voice. "I didn't think it was possible for someone to dodge that so well."

Kengo snarled as a figure began to walk on the water, dressed in a long white robe lined with green. On his forehead was a six pointed star, and his eyes were also covered in a sickly green glow. In one hand, the person carried a thick black and silver book, while another held a white-board marker like it was a magic wand. Clipped to the person's short black hair was a barrette in the shape of a silver snake.

"Who are you?" asked Kengo, raising an eyebrow. "I've never seen you before in my life."

"Call me Leviathan," the person replied, running his fingers through a silver snake wrapped around his neck. "That's all you need to know. My master wishes for me to see where you stand. Are you truly Apep, Serpent of Chaos? Or are you just someone who is just forced to believe he is?"

"Take that back right now!" Kengo's eyes began to glow as his sword was wreathed with violet flame. "I will slice you in half!"

"I'd like to see you try," Leviathan calmly replied, pulling out a red whiteboard marker from his sleeve. He drew an infinity sign in the air and pointed the marker toward Kengo. "Fire."

The infinity sign began to glow before releasing three large fireballs toward the target.

Next time: Haruka and the Den-O Kamen Riders prepare for their next strategy as Ohsugi confronts Sarina Sonada in the Den-Liner. And with Nadeshiko, she decides to play Natsuji Kijima's game as she gives him an offer he cannot refuse.

To be continued in, XX "Day of the Dead"