Disclaimer: I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me.
"Full Moon Slash!"
Gokami Pharaoh pivoted her arm through the air, drawing a circular line of moonlight with her sword as the full moon shone behind her. With a cry, the mecha thrust her blade forward, sending two waves of energy at Caesar, one transforming into a wolf, the other into a falcon, both made of silver-blue light. The lunar beasts lunged, the wolf going for his jugular while the falcon dove at his eyes.
Caesar thrust his sword forward, impaling the wolf on it before it could dig its fangs into his throat, then manifested a red and white scutum shield with a golden lion, Eagle, and bull emblazoned on it on his left arm, bashing the falcon away with a swing of his limb and leaving it open to getting vaporized by his eye lasers.
"He has laser vision now?!" Nefer protested in dismay.
"Well, he has been powered up by one of the eyes of Alexander the Great, so I suppose it's plausible," Thotep reasoned.
"Now it's my turn!" Caesar cried, slamming his shield into the ground and banging his sword against it three times, the resulting thunderclap leveling nearby buildings. The shield shimmered and the lion, Eagle, and bull launched off it in orbs of light, swirling around each other before shooting at Gokami Pharaoh.
The crocodile tail making up Gokami Pharaoh's left arm started spinning like a drill and she thrusted it forwards, catching the three spinning orbs on its tip, sparks flying as they ground against each other. Finally, there was an explosion and Gokami Pharaoh was forced to stumble back, accidentally stepping on several buildings in the process.
"No! That was one of my favorite restaurants!" Akilah cried in dismay.
"I think we nearly crushed a temple of Anubis, too," a worried Gozim pointed out.
"Dammit, this is too dangerous! This is why we try to have all our giant battles out in the desert! I can't believe the people in the future have so many of them in populated areas!" Cleopatra exclaimed.
"It may not be an option for them, your Majesty," Thotep pointed out. "From what Akilah has said about more advanced worlds, cities may be a lot bigger and harder to avoid battling in centuries from now."
"Even so, they should at least TRY to relocate to place with fewer people!" Cleopatra insisted.
"Then let's do just that," Mark suggested. "Caesar may have no problem with destroying Alexandria, but we don't have to help him do it!"
Cleopatra nodded in agreement. "I concur. Let's take this to the harbor!"
Gokami Pharaoh spread her wings and rose into the air. Caesar scoffed and started charging up his eyebeams. "Really? You're trying to run away so soon?"
"Hardly," Nefer replied. "We're just taking this somewhere with a lot more space!"
With that, the Egyptian mecha dove towards Caesar. Charging energy into his sword, the possessed Emperor thrust his blade forwards. Much to his surprise, Gokami Pharaoh didn't even bother trying to dodge, allowing the sword to pierce her chest. "What?!"
The cockpit shook and sparks flew as the damage from the stab reverberated throughout the mecha, but the six pilots pushed forwards, crying out at the top of their lungs. Gokami Pharaoh wrapped her arms around Caesar's waist and took off, rising away from Alexandria.
"What are you doing?!" Caesar cried furiously, trying to hit the other mecha's wings with his sword, firing eyebeams point blank into her face. "Release me!"
"Sure thing!"
Caesar immediately regretted his choice of words when Gokami Pharaoh let go of him, causing him to plummet out of the sky, splashing down hard in the harbor and creating a wave which smashed into the docked ships and portside establishments, thankfully not doing too much more damage than had already been done when Nushi had "fought" Argus there earlier that day.
(The monster's corpse had been dragged to shore to begin getting chopped up for food, a process which would hopefully be done before the meat went bad.)
As Caesar struggled to his feet, Gokami Pharaoh shot towards him, crocodile drill arm spinning and wolf blade glowing. "Full Moon Break!"
Caesar quickly raised his shield, the other Giant's weapons slamming into it. Sparks flew as they ground against each other, and then the animal heads on his shield started glowing and unleashed an explosive roar, flinging Gokami Pharaoh back, sending her splashing down some distance away.
Caesar chuckled as he started charging up his sword. "So, you thought that dragging me out here would save your city? I beg to differ. I can easily destroy Alexandria from here as well!"
"Maybe so, but there's something we can do out here that we couldn't back in the city," Gozim informed him.
Caesar cocked his head. "Oh? And what's that?"
"Pharos Lighthouse! Fire, full power!" Cleopatra commanded.
"What?!"
Startled, Caesar turned around to see the famous lighthouse powering up, the artificial sun at its zenith glowing so brightly it seems to turn night to day. The orb discharged a tremendous beam of concentrated solar energy right at Caesar. The Emperor quickly raised his shield, the beam slamming into it, sparks flying and Caesar crying out as the metal started heating up from the sheer intensity of the solar flare, gritting his teeth as he was gradually pushed back. "Nnngh… Even this… Will not stop my ambitions…!"
"Croconile Driller!"
Gokami Pharaoh drove her left arm drill into Caesar's back, causing him to howl in agony as it dug into his spine. His stance faltered, his grip on his shield slipping, and the mecha quickly dove out of the way just before the weaponized solar flare completely enveloped him, consuming him in a spectacular explosion.
"Did that get him?!" Nefer asked hopefully.
"It must have, no adversary has ever survived a direct shot from the lighthouse," Thotep said confidently.
"Don't count my uncle out just yet," Mark warned them gravely.
His warning turned out to be prophetic, as a moment later a crescent red energy blade shot out of the smoke and flames, striking the lighthouse. There was a pause, and then half of the edifice began sliding diagonally away before falling off completely, crashing down into the water around it.
The Egyptrangers gasped. "No!" Cleopatra cried.
"That was one of the seven Wonders of the world!" Thotep shouted. "Oh, and there were people still in there, what a terrible waste of life," he added quickly when everyone glared at him.
"Fear not, Egyptrangers," Caesar declared as he strode out of the smoke, sword crackling with energy, his armor scorched and partially melted but otherwise intact. "There are plenty of other Wonders to take its place… And if not, Rome will simply build a new one!" He raised his sword into the air. "There'll be plenty of room, especially after I destroy the city to make way for a newer, bigger, better Alexandria, one worthy of its namesake's successor! Pluto, perhaps I'll just name it after myself instead!"
He brought his sword down hard, unleashing an energy wave which tore open the sea as it raced across the bay towards the city, tearing open a massive fissure in its wake.
"No!"
Gokami Pharaoh quickly landed right in front of the shockwave and drove her sword into the ground, releasing a blast of silver light which collided with Caesar's attack. The Egyptrangers and Mark cried out as they poured as much of their power as they could into holding back Caesar's assault…
Only for the Emperor's power to overwhelm them and the blast slammed into them, the six of them screaming as the mecha was wracked with explosions and sparks flew in their cockpit.
Caesar laughed as the mecha fell to her knees, using her sword to support herself. "So, this is the vaunted power of the gods of Egypt? I'm disappointed! I was expecting more of a fight from you all!"
He raised his sword, gathering more power into it. "You see, this is why your civilization is on the decline… While mine has only just begun its ascension!"
"In time… Rome, too, will decline…" Cleopatra gasped. "No Empire can last forever, Caesar."
"Maybe, maybe not," Caesar admitted, marching towards the wounded mecha. "But you won't be around to see it."
Three figures, one tall and old, one big and fat (though don't let him hear you say that), and one small and wiry, made it to the docks in time to see Caesar attack Gokami Pharaoh, who struggled to defend herself. "Looks like we got here just in time!" The small one, Asterix, said to his friends. "Shall we teach Caesar yet another lesson on what happens to those who try to harm our friends, Obelix, O Druid?"
"I do believe we shall, my boy," the Druid, Getafix, said, stroking his beard. "And no, Obelix, you cannot have any potion!"
"I wasn't going to ask for any!" Obelix, the largest of the trio, protested. Nobody believed him, not even his dog.
Asterix took a swig from his canteen and then set it into his belt buckle, gripping the hilt of the sword sheathed on his left side.
Obelix drove his fist into the ground and ripped out a belt which looked like it was made of stone held together by bits of leather and strapped it around his waist, producing a small stone with a rounded bottom and pointed tip.
Getafix flicked his beard over his shoulder, revealing he was wearing a belt of metal and stone with a rocky ring for a buckle covered in ancient runes. He twirled a golden sickle between his fingers before holding it to the buckle.
ASTER DRIVER!
OBELISK DRIVER!
DRUIDRIVER!
Asterix drew his sword, causing his potion canteen to spin around so the cork pointed downwards, Obelix drove his stone key into his buckle, and Getafix inserted his sickle into his buckle and pressed down, "cutting" the stone ring in two and causing it to flip down to reveal more glowing runes.
"HENSHIN!"
The cork popped off Asterix's canteen and liquid poured out, flowing all over his body and solidifying to form armor. He now had a black under suit decorated with stars connected to form constellations with a red chest plate with a glowing asterisk etched into it. Red Pauldrons with similar asterisks covered his shoulders, while his arms were covered in red gauntlets vaguely resembling ancient Gaulish armor with asterisks on the back of his knuckles. Red knee plates with more asterisks covered his knees, while his red boots had small wings on the heels. His head was covered in a helmet with a pair of impressive metal wings growing from the sides, oval blue eyes with asterisks carved into them, and a gold plate vaguely resembling his mustache. Numerous channels ran throughout his armor from his belt, golden liquid flowing through them to supply power throughout his body.
BY TOUTATIS AND BELLISSIMA! THE WARRIOR OF THE STARS IS BORN! THE INVINCIBLE HERO, KAMEN RIDER ASTER!
Rocks similar in shape to the key Obelix had used erupted from the ground around him and closed around his body, completely entombing him in stone. After a moment, the menhir shattered, revealing Obelix now had a blue under suit covering his rotund body with armor looking like it was made of white stone on his shoulders, arms, legs, and chest with patterns resembling menhirs on them and faded gold veins like the channels on Asterix's suit. His head was encased in a helmet with a menhir-shaped crest on top, round white eyes, a metal plate resembling his red mustache, and cords resembling his red braided pigtails hanging down either side of his face.
MAKE WAY FOR THE GREATEST MENHIR SALESMAN! WHAT ARE THEY GOOD FOR? WHO CARES! THE STRONGEST OF THE STRONG, KAMEN RIDER OBELISK!
A massive cauldron rose on a pair of stone pillars behind Getafix and tipped over, spilling its contents on him. Steam billowed off his form, dissipating along with the cauldron to reveal he was now clad in a white bodysuit with a white waist cape with a red interior hanging to the ground. Gold armor covered in mystic runes covered his knees, shins, arms, and chest, while Pauldrons resembling cauldrons were on his shoulders. His helmet was gold with a sickle-shaped crest, sickle-shaped red eyes, and a white metal plate resembling a beard and mustache that wasn't anywhere near as long as his real facial hair.
THE SECRET INGREDIENT OF HIS POWER IS A MYSTERY TO ALL! HEED THE WISDOM OF THE GREAT SAGE, KAMEN RIDER DRUID!
"Now, let's go bash a Roman!" Asterix declared.
"Oh boy oh boy oh boy!" Obelix cheered, clapping his hands together and hopping up and down like a child, shaking the earth and causing his little dog to bounce in the air. "Just one question."
"Yes, Obelix?"
"Caesar is out in the middle of the bay. How are we supposed to fight him from here?" Obelix asked.
"Well, we'll just…" Asterix paused, suddenly realizing the problem. "… Swim?"
"Hang on, I think I have something for this…" Getafix muttered, searching a pouch on his belt.
"Well figure it out quickly, before my time runs out!" Asterix insisted, glancing down at his belt, where the canteen was gradually rotating counterclockwise.
"I don'thave a timer," Obelix said smugly.
Asterix rolled his eyes. "Yes, Obelix, we know, you only remind us of that every time we transform!"
"Well, I'm just saying," Obelix muttered.
"How's it looking, Getafix?" Asterix asked the Druid.
The sage now had his arm in his pouch up to his elbow, even though there's no way it could possibly have fit in there. "Hang on, it's got to be in here somewhere…"
Asterix groaned in resignation. "Plan B?" He asked Obelix.
"I LOVE Plan B!" Obelix exclaimed eagerly.
"I know you do, I just wish you didn't love it so much," Asterix complained, dreading what was about to come.
Apista rose to her feet, only to wince and sit back down, clutching her wound and immediately finding herself surrounded by very concerned servants, including her daughter. "I'm fine," she insisted, waving them away. "They're here!"
Everyone else in the palace shelter perked up in relief at this as Nushi, Goro, Mibojin, and Ariel rushed into the room. "We're here! Everyone okay?!" Goro demanded.
"Daddy/darling!" The kittens and Kari cried, immediately embracing him and nearly knocking him to the ground.
Mira chuckled and shook her head. "So affectionate."
"You want to do that too," Scarabella pointed out.
"Shut up."
"Daughter. You are well?" Mibojin asked Kagami.
"Yes. I see that your expedition to the underworld ended in failure," her daughter noted.
"A temporary setback," the elder ninja told her. "I am gratified to see you are safe."
"As am I," Kagami agreed.
Everyone looked at them. "So, are you going to hug, or…?" Cutaros asked.
"Not right now," they both said.
"How was the Egyptian underworld, cousin Ariel?" Fuuka asked.
"Pretty cool, actually! A lot brighter and less dank and smelly than Infershina. Awful lot of sand, though," Ariel commented. "Here, I got you a souvenir!"
She handed the young vampire an idol she had pilfered from Alexander's tomb when nobody was looking, one of many treasures she'd grabbed before returning to the surface world.
"Oh wow! Is it cursed?" Fuuka asked excitedly.
"Extremely!"
"Awesome! You always get me the best gifts, cousin Ariel!" Fuuka cheered, hugging the older sorceress.
"Did you get me anything, sensei?" Philia asked hopefully.
Ariel handed her some scrolls. "There's probably some really old and powerful spells on these. We can translate them together once we get home."
Philia moaned in delight, hugging the scrolls to her chest. "I will protect them with my life."
Apista frowned at her. "I don't think they are more important than your life, Philia."
"Says you!"
The ground shook slightly, and some dust fell from the ceiling. Everyone glanced up anxiously. "The fight is still going on, isn't it?" Galacta murmured uneasily.
"I'm going to die here!" Veila wailed. "Just like the gypsy woman said!"
"I really need to kill her one of these days," Neycombe growled. "She always gives you such nightmares!"
"Luna, I don't want to die here!" Aki wailed, shaking her best friend/girlfriend. "I haven't even been born yet! Thousands of years from now archaeologists will dig us up and put my bones on display in the museum and my younger self will see them in an exhibit and have no idea she's looking at her own future corpse!"
"Aki, you've never even been to a museum," Luna replied, eyes spinning.
"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!"
"Don't worry. None of us are dying today. Not if I have anything to say about it."
"Aranea!"
Nushi and Ariel rushed to their girlfriend, who was leaning against Antares, looking exhausted but otherwise unharmed. "Are you all right?" Nushi asked in concern. "You look…"
"Like crap," Nushi blurted out. "Wait, shit, stupid Hive inclination towards honesty…"
"I feel like crap," Aranea admitted wearily. "It's been a… Rather tumultuous day."
"Bit of an understatement," Antares grunted.
"But I'm okay," Aranea was quick to assure them. "I'm going to be okay. We all will. Because I won't allow anything else."
"That's not the least bit ominous," Mibojin remarked.
"Aranea, what exactly happened?" Nushi pleaded. "After you left, we were so worried-"
"It's a story that can wait," Aranea insisted. "Right now we need to focus on stopping Caesar before he destroys Alexandria."
"Which is something you foresaw him doing," Goro pointed out, still hugged by his family.
"Yes."
"So, despite your repeated assertions about the immutability of fate and the folly of going against prophecy, here you are, doing just that-" Mibojin started.
"Yes, I am very well aware of the irony, thank you very much," Aranea said in exasperation.
"My apologies. I seem to be enjoying this a little more than I should," Mibojin admitted, not looking particularly sorry.
"It's been a long day, all right? I've had my entire worldview upended. Multiple times. It's exhausting," Aranea said wearily, rubbing her eyes. "Anyway. The Egyptrangers alone won't be enough to stop Caesar. We must help them."
"Okay, but how?" Ariel asked. "I'm the only one of us that can fight on that scale, and I'm not sure my magic alone will be enough. If I could become Supreme White Butterfly, maybe, but I still can't exactly trigger that transformation on command."
"And I kind of wasted Super Blue Ant earlier, and unless Nushi can become Dark Red Ladybug again…" Goro said, glancing at his leader.
"I'd rather not go out of my way to try and replicate that transformation if at all possible," Nushi said uncomfortably.
"We would require our Great Divine Insects and Great Divine Arachnids to stand a chance," Mibojin pointed out.
"Which is impossible, because our other halves are still in the future, and with Shin gone and no Time Machine of our own, there's no way to get them here," Manti reminded them.
"It's not impossible," Arachne spoke up. "My partner came up with a solution. She's brilliant that way."
"That she is," Antares agreed fondly.
"You can bring our bigger selves here?" Coccinella asked in disbelief. "How?"
"Well… I cannot transport them through time," Aranea admitted. "That is well beyond my capabilities. However…"
She extended a hand, and a scale replica of Arackaiserin spun itself into being on her palm. "One of my many specialties is crafting simulacra. Illusions with actual substance and mass. I believe, with some help, I may be able to weave into being replicas of Bug-Ohi and Arackaiserin. They won't last long, and won't be as powerful as the real things, but if we are quick enough, they may be enough to help the Egyptrangers vanquish Caesar."
"Is… Is that possible?!" Nushi asked, astonished. "I know you're a very powerful mage, but…"
"That's going to take some serious magic," Ariel agreed, alarmed. "The kind that would kill a lesser sorceress."
Aranea managed a smile. "Then it is a good thing I'm not a lesser sorceress."
"She will also not be alone," Arachne added. "The greatest weavers in the Web – those still alive, anyway – will channel as much of their magic into her as they can."
"Even so, that alone will not be enough," Aranea said. "The effort will kill me… Unless I have help from all of you. This would be easier if Shin and Caelifer were here as well, but…"
"Shin is here," Philia insisted, tapping her sticker. "Caelifer, too!"
Apista nodded. "Even if they are not present, they are still with us in the Buzzing."
"That will have to do, then," Aranea acknowledged.
"But what exactly can we do to help you?" Mibojin inquired. "Ariel is the only other magician among us."
"And me! Sort of," Lepidoptera spoke up.
"It's not magic I need, though that will certainly help," Aranea explained. "All of you share a connection with your Great Divine Insects, just as Antares, Scorpio, Arachne and myself share a connection to our Great Divine Arachnids. By focusing on that bond, a link which transcends space and time thanks to the miracle of the Buzzing and Web, we can allow them to manifest in this time and place through the power of my magic. It won't be easy. It will put a considerable strain on all of us. But it can be done."
"Then let's do it!" Ariel said excitedly.
"There is one caveat," Aranea said quickly. "It will accelerate the loss of your humanity. Nushi, Ariel, I know you don't really care about that, but…"
"The rest of us do," Mibojin said.
"Just so."
Everyone exchanged uncomfortable looks.
"Kari? Kids? I-" Goro started.
"Do it," Kari said, a look of resignation on her face.
"Are you sure?"
She nodded, though she didn't look happy about it. "If it will save us… If it will save the kids… What choice do you have?"
Mibojin glanced at her daughter. "Kagami?"
Kagami folded her arms. "Do whatever you feel best, mother."
Mibojin did not look satisfied by this answer.
"Is… Isn't there some way to mitigate it?" Nushi asked hesitantly. "Like you said, I don't mind, but…"
"If Shin were here – physically here – the loss would be much more gradual," Aranea said apologetically. "But because he isn't-"
"Then I will take his place," Apista said, startling everyone.
"Mom?" Philia asked in concern.
"Your Majesty, what are you doing?" Goro asked.
Apista rose to her feet, wincing in pain as she did so. "I am the beating heart of the Buzzing. Every member of the Hive, human, insect, Divine Insect, and Great Divine Insect are all connected through me. Surely if you were to use me in this spell, it would spare the others?"
Aranea was dismayed. "To an extent, yes, but mother… In your current condition-"
"I can handle it," Apista said curtly. "And you know I do not lie, daughter."
"Your Majesty, yes, you can handle it, but… I'm not sure what state you will be in afterwards," Ariel interjected.
"Will I die?" Apista asked.
"No, but-"
"Will I deprive my daughter of her mother, my people of their queen?"
"No-"
"Then my decision is final. I will be part of this. End of discussion," Apista commanded.
"… I guess there's no chance of any of us convincing you change your mind, huh?" Nushi asked unhappily.
"No, there isn't," Apista said firmly.
"Mom, please-" Philia pleaded.
"Philia, being queen means doing whatever is necessary for the preservation of our people," Apista told her daughter gently, bending down to hug her. "Including you. Don't worry. This will work out. Right, Aranea?"
"It will," Aranea said firmly. "I will not allow it to go any other way."
Apista smiled fondly at her other daughter. "Then that's good enough for me."
"What do we need to do?" Nushi asked.
"Join hands, all of us," Aranea said. "Form a circle. And everyone else, I suggest you stand back."
"Already on it," Kari said, plastered against the wall along with her children and everyone else. Veila, clearly worried not even this would be safe enough, was trying to burrow into the wall to escape. Jun was trying to do the same thing.
"This is going to be so cool," Fuuka gushed.
"I'd probably agree, if it weren't my mom involved," Philia said nervously.
"What now?" Mibojin asked once all seven of them were standing in a circle, holding hands.
Aranea's extra legs fired clumps of webbing at all their hands, binding them together. "Close your eyes and concentrate," she told them. "Focus on your connection to the Buzzing or the Web, linking you to the Great Divine Insects or Great Divine Arachnids. Remember all the battles you have fought together to this point. Remember what it feels like to become part of something greater than yourself. Remember what it means to not simply pilot a Great Divine Insect or Arachnid, but to become one, and from there, take a step further… To become a guardian God, the symbol of your bond with each other and your civilization, the protector of this planet and all on it. The champions who will save this world from the Swarm forever and restore balance to the universe.
"Remember… What the Buzz is all about!"
The magical webbing started to glow, and everyone gasped in pain, sweat rolling down their faces. Apista looked especially anguished, face screwed up in agony, hemolymph starting to seep out of her wound, a bit of blood dripping through the web connecting her to the Bugrangers on other side of her as she crushed their hands.
But they did not cry out, and neither did she.
Each of them began to glow in their respective color… Red, blue, yellow, white, purple, black, gold… And, for a moment, it seemed like Shin was there as well, glowing green as he put his hands on their shoulders, somehow touching everyone at once.
Aranea's extra legs twitched to life, and started shooting more webbing, quickly spinning a dome around the seven of them which just seemed to get bigger and bigger, swiftly taking up most of the space in the room and causing everyone to frantically push themselves further back against the walls in fright as the webbing drew ever closer.
"Hey, do you think maybe we should've done this outside-" Scarabella started to say when suddenly the dome throbbed and shot upwards, smashing through the ceiling as well as every floor above them. "Oh, too late now."
"We aren't going to have to pay for that, right?" Aki asked.
"We can bill one of my ancestors, they should be around about now," Neycombe said dismissively.
Kia the mummy, not for the first time, wondered if maybe she would've been better off staying in her sarcophagus.
With a swing of his sword, Caesar knocked the silver wolf blade out of Gokami Pharaoh's hands, the sword flying and over and through the air before burying itself point down in the water. Refusing to yield, Gokami Pharaoh thrust her drill forwards, but Caesar caught it on his shield and deflected the attack before lashing out with his blade, slashing at her chest and forcing her to her knees.
"Cleopatra, nephew, Egyptrangers," the Emperor declared as the mecha struggled to get back up. "You have fought well, but in the end, there was only ever one way this battle could conclude. Make peace with your gods, for you are about to join them!"
"Wouldn't be the first… Time …" Cleopatra hissed through gritted teeth, part of her visor broken, blood covering one eye. Blindly she flailed about with both hands, grabbing Mark in one and Nefer in the other, glad that if she was going to die, at least it would be with the people she loved most.
Caesar raised his sword, preparing to finish them off…
"PLAN B!"
"Eh?"
Startled, Caesar turned just in time to see a menhir hurtling through the air towards him, a screaming Asterix clutching desperately to the side.
"I REALLY HATE PLAN B!" He shouted.
Caesar's eyes opened wide in horror. "No…"
"YES!" The Egyptrangers and Mark shouted in excitement.
Caesar desperately raised his shield, but while the menhir shattered on it, Asterix had jumped off at the last second, rising over the shield and streaking right towards the Emperor's face.
He relished the look of absolute terror in his eyes.
"Miss me, Julius?"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Asterix grinned. "Funny, neither did I, and neither will this! ASTERIUS PUNCH!"
TCHAC!
With a single blow, Asterix not only almost shattered Caesar's mask, but sent the Emperor flying, crashing down several hundred meters away in the water and throwing up another great wave.
Asterix flipped back through the air, landing in the outstretched palm of Gokami Pharaoh. "Thanks for the save, O Mighty Queen! Long time no see, huh?"
In the cockpit, Cleopatra sighed in relief. "Just when things looked their darkest… As always, my brave Gaul, you're here to save the day when I need you most."
Mark frowned, feeling self-conscious. "Don't worry, Mark, she's not into guys with facial hair," Nefer assured him.
"I wasn't worried," Mark blatantly lied, promising himself to shave constantly from now on.
"If you're here, does that mean the others are as well?" Gozim inquired.
Asterix chuckled. "See for yourself!"
Caesar struggled to pull himself up, only for his eyes to widen in alarm, quickly raising his shield just before a fusillade of glowing menhirs smashed into it, each exploding spectacularly and nearly pushing him back.
"You're lucky I'm not charging you for these!" Obelix yelled, ripping menhir after menhir out of the earth and hurling them at Caesar.
"I'm pretty sure all of Rome learned their lesson the last time they tried to introduce menhirs to the economy," Getafix said in amusement, tapping each menhir with his sickle and murmuring a few words before Obelix threw them, charging them with mystical power.
"Dammit… Why are you here, now?!" Caesar shouted, livid. "You were supposed to be busy on a mission on the other side of the world!"
"Oh, that little matter? We cleared it up easily enough," Asterix said dismissively. "You really need to train your men better, Caesar, Obelix almost fell asleep from boredom during our last battle, and you know he loves bashing Romans almost as much as he loves eating boar!"
"That reminds me, I'm hungry, can we get some boar when we're done here?" Obelix asked conversationally as he continued throwing rocks at the giant Emperor.
"As much as you want!" Cleopatra promised.
Thotep groaned. "The chefs aren't going to be happy about this…"
"Damn you all… But you know what? Perhaps this is all for the best!" Caesar cackled. "I was planning to fight you eventually anyway. I'd hoped to do it at your village, so your entire tribe could watch as I finally brought their greatest heroes low… But here's as good a place as any! Behold the power of Alexander!"
His shield glowed and fired the three animal orbs which spiraled around each other as they raced across the bay towards Obelix and Getafix.
Obelix yawned and stretched his limbs, accidentally backhanding the orbs and sending them flying off into the distance, blasting a huge crater into the desert. He blinked. "Huh? Did something happen? I wasn't paying attention; I was thinking about how I was going to ask for my boar to be cooked."
Caesar screamed incoherently, charging energy into his sword. "Let's see you deflect this!" He cried, raising his blade…
Only to stop in his tracks when he saw a pillar of webbing erupt from the roof of the Royal Palace. "Oh, what now?!"
"My palace!" Cleopatra cried.
"They better not ever ruined my room!" An angry Nefer yelled.
Gozim sighed. "See, this is why we shouldn't let tourists or foreigners stay with us, everything gets wrecked, and we get eaten out of house and home."
"… I feel like I should be offended by that, but that last part is absolutely true, as far as Obelix is concerned," Asterix admitted.
The pillar of webbing bent down and crashed into the ground at the edge of the harbor, splitting in two, most of the mass of webbing accumulating in each trunk while the rest stretching back to the palace dwindled into almost invisible strands. Magical energy coursed through the webs, and the two masses, or rather, cocoons burst open, revealing a pair of colorful, bug and arachnid themed, rather attractive giant robots.
"BUG-OHI, COMPLETE!"
"ARACKAISERIN, COMPLETE!"
"No… More of them?!" Caesar screamed.
"Huh," Obelix said, looking up at the robots, by happenstance standing in just the right place to get an eyeful of their rears. "Big bots."
"Y-yes," Getafix wheezed, struggling not to laugh. "Big bots indeed."
Obelix stared at him blankly, not getting what was funny.
"O-oh," Cleopatra murmured, flustered, turning red. "Those are… Rather attractive robots, especially the arachnid one."
"Ours is pretty too!" Nefer said loyally. "But of course, not as beautiful as you, my Queen."
Cleopatra blushed. Mark scowled at Nefer, who stuck her tongue out at him. He had been about to say that!
Caesar gnashed his teeth in fury. "Damn you, Bugrangers, Arachrangers… Why did you interlopers from the future have to get involved in our affairs in the first place?! This isn't your time! This doesn't concern you!"
"That's true," Bug-Ohi admitted. "This is not our time, nor is it our story."
"But if we did not step in to help those in need when we see they are in distress, how could we ever call ourselves heroes?" Arackaiserin continued.
"Which is why, Julius Caesar…"
"And the lingering spirit of Alexander the Great…"
"It's time for us to show you what the buzz is REALLY all about!" Bug-Ohi declared.
"And ensure you do not escape the sting of justice!" Arackaiserin added.
The two of them struck a pose as a spectacular explosion went off behind them.
The Egyptrangers cried out in horror. "No, the fish market!" Akilah yelled.
"Don't worry, that was an illusion, just for effect!" Bug-Ohi promised quickly, stepping aside to reveal no buildings had been damaged. "See? Everything's okay!"
The Egyptrangers sighed in relief.
"Egyptrangers, Gauls, Bugrangers, Arachrangers… I don't care who stands against me, I will cut you all down!" The furious Caesar declared, charging up his blade.
"Heard that before," Gozim said, bored.
"Heroes from the future, allies of the present… Together, we can do this! Here and now, we will bring down the Roman empire once and for all, with the power of our gods, our friendship!" Cleopatra declared.
"And our love," Arackaiserin purred, winking at Bug-Ohi, causing her to blush.
"Huh, that's something you don't see every day," Asterix remarked.
"DIE!" Caesar shouted, slamming his sword against his shield, causing it to fire off the three orbs again, which expanded and transformed into gigantic Eagle, lion, and bull constructs.
The three giant biomechanical gods charged towards the constructs, crying out as they gathered their power, ready to finish the fight.
"Mr. Kazamatsuri…" Cart whispered in awe. "You look… Incredible!"
"No… No, that's not possible!" Masaru screamed. "You have your super form?! HOW?!"
"Let's just say I had a very productive meeting with a certain king of time and leave it at that," Shin said dramatically. "Now, following the pattern from Ariel and Goro, I believe it's time for me to properly introduce myself. Ariel would never forgive me if I didn't. Ahem:
"I am the forever hero, the master of time inheriting the will of generations of grasshoppers and Emerald warriors, the one whose rise lifts all who see me from the depths of despair to the greatest of heights in a single bound! I am…"
He struck a very familiar pose as a very familiar sound effect rang through the air. "The True Hero, Shin Green Hopper!"
A series of brilliant green explosions erupted behind him, and for a moment it looked as if dozens of Kamen Riders and Sentai were standing alongside him.
"The true… You?! You think you're the hero?!" Masaru yelled in disbelief. "I'm trying to change things! For the better!"
"You hijacked my train twice, enslaved my friend, are trying to rewrite history to suit your own ends, and oh, let's not forget to mention you're possessed by the spirit of one of history's greatest conquerors!" Shin retorted.
"Well, what about you, huh?! Okay, I'm using the power of Alexander the Great," Masaru admitted. "But all those Riders whose will you claim to have inherited? Not all of them are heroes! Some of them were truly horrendous villains, far worse than Alexander could ever have aspired to be! How can you call yourself a hero using that kind of power?!"
"Easily," Shin replied. "From our very inception, Kamen Riders have used the same power as their enemies according to the law of the Cross of Fire. While some think this means we are failed monsters, I believe it's the other way around… It's monsters who are failed heroes. Using the same power as evil, even if that power is based off villains, doesn't make me a villain myself. It's what I do with it that matters."
"Then by that logic, I'm not evil either!" Masaru argued. "I plan to use the power of Alexander to right wrongs and change history!"
"It is not your place to change history, nor is it mine," Shin retorted.
"Whose is it, then?!" Masaru demanded.
"I think we both know the answer to that question," Shin replied, and for a moment it felt as if the specter of Sougo Tokiwa was looming over both. "Masaru! I understand the desire to change your past. I have suffered greatly, as have you. Rather a lot more than you."
"Then why won't you let me do this?! I'll be saving you too!" Masaru insisted.
"Did it ever occur to you that I don't need saving?" Shin questioned him.
Masaru started at this. "What? What are you… You can't mean to tell me… Shin, after everything you've gone through, given the chance, you wouldn't change anything?!"
"Masaru, I own a Time Machine. You don't think I've contemplated it once or twice?" Shin shot back. "Yes, I've suffered. But I was able to move past it and become the man I am now. A hero. A friend. A lover. A father. For years, my life was worse than possibly any other Rider… And I moved past it. What's your excuse?"
Masaru didn't have an answer to that, and they both knew it.
"Masaru. I've accepted who I am and moved on," Shin continued. "There is no point in changing my past. What happened happened. But you… All you've done is cling to fleeting glory. You've spent years sitting next to the phone waiting for a call which will never come rather than doing something with your life. If you wanted to be a hero so bad, you should've gone out and done something about it, not sat there feeling sorry for yourself! You've become as bad as Kakogawa, so obsessed with the past you ruined your chances for a future! I know part of this is because you're possessed… But not all of it."
Shin pointed a finger at Masaru. "Which is why… I'm not just going to defeat you, Masaru. I'm going to save you, because that's what a true hero does!"
Masaru shook with rage. "You… You think I am the one who need saving?! You… You goddamn mutant freak of a grasshopper! You can't even decide if you're a Kamen Rider or a Sentai! You dare to pity me?! Only one of us is a hero… And it's not you!"
He pointed his arms at Shin, firing a sonic blast from the dish on his left arm while converting the weapon on his right arm to its Machine Gun Arm mode and unloading a volley of bullets. Shin flipped through the air, explosions erupting behind him as he launched off the cliff, landing on the ground and advancing towards Masaru. The possessed Rider fired on him again…
And missed. At least, he thought he missed.
He blinked in confusion, his head feeling funny.
Shin was moving… Oddly. It seemed like he was both running and walking casually towards him, leaving after images with every movement he took. Several times he thought he'd hit the other man, only for it to turn out to be one of his mirages the whole time, only… He could've sworn it hadn't been a mirage a second ago…
"Why… Why can't I hit you?" He wondered in confusion.
"You did," Shin said cryptically. "Several times. Until you didn't."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Masaru demanded.
"Figure it out for yourself," the hero replied.
Growling in frustration, Masaru turned up the power of his radar dish to maximum and fired a massive high-frequency sonic blast at Shin, one so widespread there's no way it could miss…
And yet, somehow, it did, the other man continuing forward as if he was utterly unaffected! "How are you doing this?!"
Shin laughed. "I told you. Figure it out for yourself!"
"Fine! We'll do this the hard way!" Masaru growled, switching his Cassette Arms to its Power Arm and charging towards Shin. "I possess the martial prowess of seven legendary Riders, and the spirit of the general who once led one of the greatest armies in history!"
"Seven? That's cute," Shin said in amusement. "I possess the prowess of far more than that, each of whom has defeated an army on their own."
"Shut up!" Masaru shouted, throwing a punch, landing a haymaker on his rival's chin…
He felt a moment of disorientation and discovered that he'd somehow whiffed the blow. "What?"
Startled, he threw a blinding flurry of punches and kicks, drawing upon the skills of the seven Riders empowering him. He could have sworn he had hit Shin repeatedly, but every time he had he felt that weird disorientation and found he'd somehow missed. "What… How are you-"
"My turn," Shin said, drawing back his arm.
Okay, he could handle this. With the martial arts skills of the seven legendary Riders and the tactical mind of Alexander the Great, it was child's play for him to read Shin's body language and counter-
Shin punched him in the face.
What?! Impossible! How did he-
OK, that had to be a fluke, he was clearly about to kick him. Masaru quickly shifted stances to block-
The kick hit him in the knee, causing his leg to buckle and nearly collapse under him.
Again?! What was going on here?!
Shin proceeded to throw attack after attack, Masaru somehow managing to get his timing wrong by a fraction of a second every time, allowing his adversary to bypass his blocks and avoid his counterattacks while also managing to either somehow completely dodge all his blows or counter them at the last minute. Masaru was getting pummeled, and Shin hadn't even taken a scratch!
"How are you doing this?!"
"I told you-"
"DON'T GIVE ME THAT!"
"Partner, let's just tell him already, I'm starting to feel sorry for him," Caelifer suggested.
"Fair. Tell me, Masaru, what made Hit from Dragon Ball Super such a dangerous fighter?" Shin asked.
Masaru blinked. "Hit? Well, because of his time-skipping-"
Oh.
Suddenly everything made sense.
"You… You've been stopping time!" Masaru realized in horror. "Every time I was about to hit you, every time you were about to hit me-"
"I stopped time for a fraction of a second, throwing off your ability to read my moves and evade all of yours," Shin confirmed. "Or, whenever you did hit me, I would rewind time so that you did not, in fact, hit me. I told you in my introductory speech, I'm the master of time. Weren't you listening?"
"But that's… that's not fair! That's ridiculously broken!" An outraged Masaru protested.
Caelifer burst into laughter. "Haven't you been paying attention? All the Bugrangers super forms are ridiculously broken! Though I've never had a champion with the power this obscene. I'm definitely rubbing it in the faces of the others!"
"Ariel turns into a literal God of magic," Lepidoptera pointed out, offended.
"And Nushi is capable of defying destiny and seems to be able to do whatever she wants, and her true final form might be even stronger," Coccinella added.
"Okay, fine, I'm rubbing it in Formic and Manti's faces, then."
"Goro has his super form!" Formic protested.
"Yes, and he's a walking, heavily armed fortress. Like virtually every single other champion you've had since the dawn of time. Because you have zero originality," Caelifer said smugly.
Formic started cursing up a storm.
"Should I feel offended too?" Goro asked, a little hurt.
Manti sighed. "Mibojin, I'm afraid you have an even higher bar to clear now for your own super form."
"Wonderful."
"Well, I think your form is really cool! You go, Shin!" Ariel cheered.
"I'm kind of worried about what that sort of casual abuse of temporal power will do to the space time continuum, but you're the expert, so I suppose it's okay," Nushi admitted, more than a little fascinated by the practical applications of his power.
"Shin… You're almost as cool as Ariel's dad!" Philia cheered as the other children gushed in awe.
Shin scoffed. "Almost? Let's see if I can't change your opinion of that by the time I'm finished, princess."
"Wait… Hang on… Even Hit's power had a limit," Masaru suddenly realized. "And… So do you! That's right, your super forms have a time limit, there's only so long your bodies can withstand this much power at your current level before you must revert, or you'll die, and that's not a problem I have! So, if I can just outlast you…"
"A good thought, with one small problem," Shin interjected. "I have power over time. Do you really think a time limit is something I have to worry about?"
"… Oh COME ON!"
"Face it, you overdesigned action figure, you don't stand a chance against us!" Caelifer bragged.
"I do not look like an action figure!" Masaru yelled.
Shin stared at him silently.
"I don't!"
"You kind of do," Cart yelled from the ruins of the ShinLiner.
"Shut up, Cart!"
"I'll ask you to please not speak to my friend and assistant in that tone," Shin said coldly.
"She's not your assistant anymore, she's mine!" Masaru insisted. "After everything life has taken from me, I think it's time I started taking back, and she's just the beginning!"
His dynamo started powering up, arcs of lightning crackling between its tips. "You… You got everything I've ever wanted… While I got stuck with nothing! I'm taking it back… I'm taking it all back!"
He cried out as the dynamo discharged, his entire body crackling with electricity.
"Partner, he supercharged his body using the dynamo," Caelifer reported. "His speed, strength, reaction time, they've all increased significantly! He may be fast enough now to counter our time trick!"
"Well, I guess it was too much to hope it would be that easy," Shin muttered, preparing himself.
With a thunderclap, Masaru charged forwards, launching a flurry of lightning-quick blows. Even with his ability to stop time, Shin was unable to counter all of them, and he felt himself starting to take damage, since he couldn't rewind time and stop it at the same time. It didn't help that he received a mild shock every time he was hit or landed a blow himself, and in his current state Masaru didn't even seem to register his blows. He realized he was needing to put a little effort in now.
A little. Not a lot.
Masaru abruptly spread his wings and brought them down with a thunderclap, releasing a burst of wind which buffeted Shin and forced him to take a step back. Laughing triumphantly, Masaru shot forwards, changing his Cassette Arms to its Drill Arms form…
Shin's hand shot out, catching the drill and closing around its shaft. The drill whined, sparks flying as it ground against his hand, but he didn't loosen his grip in the slightest. He didn't even grunt in pain as high voltage was channeled through the drill and into his body.
Snarling in frustration, Masaru thrust his left arm forwards, firing his sonic weapon point blank in his face. Shin cried out at this, but only for a moment, before his head snapped forwards, his jaws opening wide to close on the radar dish, crushing it in his mandibles. At the same time, the muscles in his arm tensed up, and he crushed the drill in his hand, ripping it out of the Cassette Arm and hurling it over his shoulder, where it exploded in the distance.
Masaru's jaw dropped. "What?!"
"I see you're starting to get serious…" Shin said with a grin, already rewinding time to repair the damage to his body. "Now it's my turn to do the same!"
The Midorenger half of his buckle lit up.
RANGER TIME!
He drew back his fist, a series of rings shaped like clocks forming around his arm as images of all the green rangers empowering him overlapped his form. With a furious cry, he thrust his fist forward. Masaru ejected what remained of his Drill Arm and called his Power Arm forwards, throwing his own punch. The two fists collided…
And Masaru's entire Cassette Arm shattered.
As he screamed in agony and disbelief, the Kamen Rider 1 side of Shin's buckle flashed.
RIDER TIME!
He drew back his leg, rings resembling clocks forming around it, as images of all the grasshopper heroes (and villains) empowering him overlapped his form. With a mighty cry, he delivered a powerful side kick to Masaru's chest, cracking his armor and sending him flying back so hard he smashed into a cliff on the opposite side of the quarry, causing it to collapse on him.
There was a thunderclap and a powerful electrical explosion as Masaru blasted his way out of the debris, only to find Shin waiting for him, both sides of his buckle glowing now as the turbine/clock spun.
SUPER. HERO. TIME!
Shin's entire body blurred, and suddenly every hero empowering him manifested in a ring surrounding Masaru. Before he even had time to shout out a curse, the small army of heroes (and villains) were on him, punching, kicking, stabbing, and shooting him in rapid succession. Even with his enhanced reflexes, he found himself pummeled and bombarded by attacks from every angle, denting his armor, cracking bones, and ultimately unable to defend himself from the seemingly unending assault.
And then, finally, it did end… Just in time for Shin, his entire body crackling with green energy and clock rings to shoot forwards and landed an uppercut so powerful it shattered his fangs and sent him flying. "Had enough yet?" Shin asked as the energy surrounding him dissipated, along with the summoned heroes.
"No… Not yet… I will not… Give up! Not to you! Not to ANYBODY!" Masaru shouted, releasing a spherical explosion of electrical energy as he spread his wings and shot upwards, flying up into the sky. His dynamo crackling with electricity, he fired a bolt of lightning skyward, causing a massive storm cloud to manifest. He cackled madly as the cloud rumbled and began raining lightning bolts down on the quarry, Cart yelping and hiding within the wreckage of the ShinLiner to keep from getting struck. "You may be able to manipulate time and jump really high, Shin, but even you can't possibly reach me up here-"
Shin rose into the air.
Except he wasn't just jumping, he was flying.
"HOW?!"
"Well, you can fly," Shin pointed out mildly.
"I have wings! You don't!"
"Yes, but Skyrider is one of the many heroes empowering me, and he can fly, therefore so can I," Shin reasoned.
"That's… You…AAAAAUUUGH!" Masaru screamed, firing more lightning bolts into the storm, causing it to crackle, darken, and unleash an even greater volley of electricity at Shin. One so massive and all-encompassing even freezing time wouldn't allow him to evade it.
So, Shin didn't bother trying. His turbine/clock started spinning again, causing the lightning bolts to be drawn into it. He cried out in pain, electricity crackling around his body, but continued to draw in the electricity. It was almost as if he were absorbing it.
"How?! How are you doing that?!" Masaru demanded. "You don't have the power of Stronger, he's rhino beetle themed, not grasshopper!"
"No," Shin grunted. "But I do have the power of Denzi Green, OOO GattaKirriBa, and probably a few other electrically powered heroes I can't think of off the top of my head backing me up. Combine that with the resiliency of my new body and how practically every hero I've got has the power to channel some kind of energy or another…"
In a shower of sparks, the last of the lightning got sucked into his belt, his entire body now vibrating with power, his skeleton practically visible through his skin.
It didn't look entirely human, nor like there was that much of it left.
"And I can take your lightning blitz… And return it to sender!"
In a tremendous thunderclap, he fired the lightning out of his turbine in a tremendous beam of electrical power which engulfed Masaru. The corrupted Rider screamed in agony, tried to use his dynamo to absorb or disperse as much of electricity as he could…
Only for the dynamo to explode, the blast so spectacular it utterly dissipated the storm cloud, allowing the sun to shine down on the quarry again. There was even a rainbow!
"Mr. Kazamatsuri, you're amazing," Cart whispered, cautiously poking her head out from the wreckage to witness the spectacle.
Shin gracefully landed on his feet, grunting as the residual energy crackled around his form, rewinding time to repair the damage conducting all that electrical power through his body had caused.
Masaru, on the other hand, crashed down nearby rather hard, his body charred and smoking, his armor partially melted, and his wings turned to ash. Masaru trembled for a minute, then started howling in anguish, slamming his fists on the ground repeatedly in a prolonged tantrum.
"We done here, Masaru?" Shin asked, cracking his knuckles. "In case it wasn't obvious already, you can't beat me. All you're doing now is prolonging your suffering and keeping me away from a fight my friends need my help to win. Just give up already, man. Let me help you, get rid of that ancient Macedonian ghost inhabiting your body-"
"And then what?!" Masaru snapped. "I go to time prison?!"
"Well, yeah, you did hijack my train, tried to rewrite history, and threatened my friends and a bunch of kids," Shin pointed out. "You messed up, Masaru. You must take responsibility for it if you're ever going to have a chance to move on."
"No! Nonononono!" Masaru shouted, hitting the ground harder with each successive "no." "I won't move on! I can't! I've come too far!"
Staggering to his feet, he shot Shin a heated glare. "You're right about one thing, though. I can't beat you. So… I'm not going to try! Come, Z-Bringer!"
There was an explosion, and a motorcycle resembling a Suzuki GSX-R400 appeared from out of nowhere, driving right at Shin. He easily dodged it, but the motorcycle kept going, Masaru flipping into the air and landing in the seat, cackling madly until he started coughing and gasping in pain as he rode away.
"He's making a run for it! Wait, where the hell did that motorcycle come from, anyway?" Asked a confused Caelifer.
"Whenever a Rider needs it, a motorcycle will be there for them," Shin said.
"Really?"
Shin shrugged. "I have no idea, but it sounds profound. Although, speaking of… Come, Neo-ShinBird!"
"Wait, wasn't the bike trashed, along with the rest of the ShinLiner?"
"Not anymore," Shin said, pointing a hand at his wrecked train. Several clock shaped rings passed over the train, rewinding time and restoring it to its original, undamaged state. As the train happily sounded its horn, the front of the engine car slid open, the Neo-ShinBird launching into the air, landing on the ground, and driving towards Shin. The green hero backflipped through the air, landing in the seat, grabbing the handles, and revved the engine as he took off after Masaru.
Masaru saw Shin catching up to him in one of his side mirrors and cursed. "Oh for… Just let me go already! You said yourself you have another problem to deal with!"
"What, and just let you run wild in 1971?" Shin retorted. "What do you even think you can accomplish here? You're nowhere near your target time, let alone our own!"
"Takeshi Hongo should be active now, if he isn't already!" Masaru replied, trying to speed up. "If I find him, I can help him! Be his secondary, or even tertiary if Ichimoji's also around now! Together we can stop Shocker for good, maybe keep the Great Leader from coming back again and again, change the world for the better-"
Shin snorted. "Come on, man, we both know the Great Leader's practically immortal! Having one extra hero around won't stop him from finding some way to reincarnate and start another evil organization under another guise, he does it all the time!"
"But with my knowledge of the future-"
"What knowledge? Beyond some general stuff, how much do you actually know about what's going to happen in the next few years, or the decades after that? If you still had Cart with you, she could use her historical index to give you detailed information on everything going on in the world and how it all connects to each other, but she's back on my side now!" Shin retorted. "You have no idea what the consequences of your actions would be! You might screw things up even worse in the name of fixing them! Hell, you might accidentally keep yourself from ever being born, and that kind of paracox is always a headache to deal with!"
"Shut up! Just LEAVE ME ALONE!" Masaru shouted as the Parka Ghost of Alexander manifested over him. The ghost swept its blade through the air, and lightning bolts shot down around Masaru, transforming into spectral images of V3, Riderman, X, Amazon, Stronger, Skyrider, Super-1, and ZX, the legendary Riders wearing Roman armor and riding motorcycles. The ghost Riders revved their engines and peeled off from their summoner to attack Shin.
Thinking quickly, Shin used OOO's Branch Shade ability to create clones of himself, also riding motorcycles. The eight of them then rapidly cut in front of each other, weaving back and forth to make it impossible to tell which was the original, before the seven doppelgängers raced forwards to engage the summoned warriors while the true Shin moved past them to continue pursuing Masaru.
Howling in frustration, the spirit of Alexander swooped at him, only for the Parka Ghost of 1 to rise from Shin's body and collide with the other ghost, the two specters furiously clashing in the air as Shin rode up alongside the irate and desperate Masaru. "Go away!"
"No! There's only one way this ends, Masaru," Shin said, reaching out towards him. "You know that!"
"You're right, I do!" Masaru snarled, Alexander's sword manifesting in his hand in a burst of flames and lashing out at him. Shin quickly raised his arm, the spines on the side extending and deflecting the blade. Masaru furiously continued lashing out with his weapon, Shin countering and repelling each strike with his spines as their bikes zigzagged across the quarry.
They rode up the side of a conveniently placed ramp-like rock formation and launched in the air as explosions erupted behind them, either because of the clash between the summoned Riders and clones or the two ghosts or because it was just that cool.
There was the sound of a train horn and the ShinLiner suddenly appeared beneath them, the two bikers landing on the roof of its caboose and driving up the length of the train as it rose back into the air. The ShinLiner twisted and turned and coiled on itself, the two managing to keep their balance even as the cars rose and fell, all the while the two riders continued fighting each other.
But inevitably, they ran out of road, as the engine car loomed before them. The two combatants glanced at each other, nodded, then leapt into the air just before they could ride off the front of the train, both lashing out with a foot.
"Super ZO Kick!"
"Shin Hero Kick!"
Their kicks collided in midair, causing a tremendous shock wave to blast out from them, energy flying all over the place as the duo were enclosed in a sphere of crackling power like a second sun, the ShinLiner continuing to revolve around them. The duo cried out as they both gave it their all, pouring as much energy as they could into overwhelming their opponent. The spirits of Alexander and the seven Riders appeared behind Masaru, while dozens of Riders and green Rangers manifested behind Shin.
The outcome of their clash was inevitable, really.
There was a spectacular explosion, and Masaru was flung back, screaming as he tumbled through the air and slammed into the ground, skidding across it and leaving a thick trench in his wake before finally colliding with a rock, which exploded.
Shin landed nearby, the silhouettes of all his heroes melding back into him. "Did that finish it?" Caelifer asked.
"SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!"
"No," Shin said as Masaru staggered out of the flames, his armor almost completely wrecked and one of his suit's eyes broken, exposing a bloodshot eye.
Howling incoherently, Masaru stretched a hand out to his side, his sword materializing in it. "This ends now!"
Shin sighed. "Yes. It does. Come, Shincalibur!"
His train's horn sounded again as it swooped down towards him, several clock shaped rings forming around and causing the ShinLiner to shrink significantly, straightening out and landing in a hilt Shin produced from thin air, combining to form a weapon like the Shin Saber but on a much smaller scale. Shin reached into his chest and pulled out the Shin Ridewatch given to him by Ohma Zi-O and set it in the sword's hilt, causing green energy to rise up the blade as clock shaped rings formed around its length.
Shin held his sword in both hands and got into a stance, waiting.
The two warriors glared at each other from across the quarry, standing silently as the wind blew around them.
The silence was broken when a small pebble, dislodged by all the fighting, fell from a cliff and hit the floor of the quarry.
The two fighters dashed towards each other, shouting at the top of their lungs.
They met, their swords swinging through the air.
They struck.
And then they were standing opposite where they had started, backs to each other.
The quarry was silent, save for the wind.
Shin glanced down at his chest, seeing there was a large gash in his side.
Masaru laughed.
And then he fell to his knees and exploded.
Shin rewound time to heal himself as what had to be the entire Buzzing applauded him. "Now it's over?" Caelifer asked hopefully.
"Almost." Shin turned around and made a series of hand seals. "Jiruma Magi Magiine!" He cried, channeling the power of Ghost and Magi Green, exciting Ariel and Philia.
Masaru's body glowed, and the Alexander Eyecon was expelled from it. The cursed object rolled across the ground and lay there, crackling feebly with energy. Shin walked over and picked it up, glaring at the artifact. It pulsed and tried to break free, attempted to coerce him with its power, only to stop when he began squeezing it.
"You're going to break that thing, right?" Caelifer asked.
"Not quite." Shin waved his hand, and a time portal opened. "I'm going to leave that to Takeru Tenkuji. The Alexander Eyecon must get to the 21st-century somehow."
He threw the Eyecon into the portal, sending it to 2016, where it would be found by Dark Mind, given to Ambassador Hell, implanted in Mayu Tachibana, stolen by Urga, destroyed by Ambassador Hell, reformed, used by Dark Mind, then destroyed for good by Kamen Rider Ghost. He was certain the other Eyecon wouldn't have to go through quite as convoluted a journey before being destroyed for good, thankfully.
He heard groaning from behind him. Shin turned and pointed a hand at Masaru, causing clock-shaped rings to form around him and rewind his body back to its original human form. "Masaru?"
Masaru looked up at Shin, his expression an anguished mask of despair and regret. "I just…I just wanted to be a hero again, Shin. To matter." Trembling, he looked down, tears welling up. "You were right. About all of it. I don't…I don't even know how much of that was me and how much of it was Alexander. In the end…in the end it doesn't really matter, does it?"
"No," Shin agreed solemnly. "It doesn't."
Masaru looked back up at him, eyes red. "I'm going to prison now, aren't I?"
"I'm afraid so," Shin said apologetically.
Masaru nodded, unsurprised. "Okay. I think…I think that would be for the best. I need help, and…maybe going away for a while is what I need. And maybe, when I get out…I can try to be a hero again. The right way."
"I'll be rooting for you," Shin said honestly.
He stooped down to lift Masaru onto his shoulder. Standing back up, he threw the Shincalibur into the air, the sword transforming back into the ShinLiner. The train swooped down to land in front of them, it's horn sounding joyously as a door in the side slit open and an elated Cart appeared, bowing to Shin. "Welcome back, Master Shin. I assume our next stop is the time police?"
"It is," Shin told her as he carefully lowered Masaru into his seat, the worn-out man passing out from exhaustion. "And after that… Ancient Egypt. Our friends need us, and not just for a ride home."
Cart nodded. "Very well… Oh. Proximity sensors have picked up someone on the ridge. It…"
She stiffened.
"What? What is it?" Shin asked in concern.
"You… You need to see for yourself," Cart stammered, looking flabbergasted and awestruck. "You'll understand in a minute."
Puzzled, Shin stepped back outside and glanced up at the nearby cliff…
And froze.
Standing there beside a white and red Suzuki T20 was a man in a black bodysuit with dark blue gloves, boots, and chest armor and a dark green helmet with red eyes resembling a grasshopper with a belt with a red turbine on the buckle.
The two stared at each other.
"Shin…" Caelifer whispered in awe as the Buzzing went wild. "Is… Is that…?!"
"Yes," Shin said breathlessly. "It is."
After a minute, the first Rider, the man who had inspired over half a century of bug-eyed heroes, saluted him.
Shin was thunderstruck. He had met Takeshi Hongo multiple times in the past and had received recognition from the senior hero. But that was only after Hongo had become a veteran hero, with decades of fighting the forces of evil under his belt.
But this… This was Hongo before all that. Before he had become one of the greatest heroes the world has ever known. Before he'd stopped Shocker for the first time, before gaining a partner, before he had even changed into his now-iconic New 1 suit. For this version of the first Rider to stare at him, one of his many successors from decades in the future, and immediately acknowledge him as a kindred spirit…
Tears in his eyes, he saluted back. What else could he do?
After a moment, Hongo nodded, lowered his arm, and mounted the Cyclone, riding off into the distance to continue his never-ending battle against the forces of evil.
And Shin turned, boarded his own Rider Machine, and set off to do the same.