Dr. Ex: Welcome to a new arc of the story. In the last arc, Luz and her family went to Disneyland but ended up being involved in another round of the DGP. Also, Sasha was there and had to save her family. In the end, the Riders encounter a Raid Boss, Sasha gets a new form, and the players learn that the DGP is a reality TV show. Oh, and just icing on the cake, Luz meets her sponsor and Sasha learns her dad is a backer for the Desire Grand Prix. But how did he get involved with them in the first place? The answer may surprise you.
Kamen Rider SideRide Chronicles: Oscura's Encore
Reality I: Smile for the Camera!
Four Years Ago...
Theodore 'Ted' Waybright attempted to pour himself another glass but his bottle of bourbon was already empty. Dejected, he put the bottle down and slouched in his leather chair.
Three months...his little girl Sasha had been gone for three months.
Three months ago, his daughter, Sasha, along with her two best friends, Anne and Marcy, had vanished without a trace. When his wife had called him that night, telling him that Sasha never came home, he became worried. He called the Boonchuys and Wus to check if his daughter was sleeping over at their houses.
He learned that neither of their daughters had returned home either.
The police were called, and an investigation was done, but when all the leads turned cold, the three girls were officially declared missing. Pictures were spread across the city and on social media to find any information about the three missing girls, but so far, nothing.
Ted started to think the worst but he refused to believe his daughter was really gone. He turned to drinking to dull his pain while looking at a framed picture of his daughter when she was a little girl, long before he and his wife divorced.
"Sasha, where are you?" he wondered, tearing up. He missed his daughter and promised to be a better father if he could see her again.
He heard a knock at his door. It was late so nobody was supposed to be at the office, but Ted could not go home. He made excuses that he had to work late, but his office was the only place where he could be alone with his bottle and memories of his daughter. He stood up, a little drunkenly, and went to open the door.
"Who is it..." he slurred.
Standing in the doorway was an Asian man, a decade his junior, wearing a tanned suit and bowtie. His black hair was neatly combed and he had a friendly smile. Though, his smile did not seem to reach his eyes. However, Ted barely noticed.
"Who...who are you...?" Ted demanded.
"Mr. Waybright, my name is Niram, and my superiors sent me here to make a deal with you," Niram introduced himself.
"Come back in the morning," Ted said as he was about to slam the door in Niram's face but the man stopped him.
"We can help you get your daughter back," Niram said. Ted sobered up immediately when he heard that and looked at Niram who smiled. The mysterious man knew he got him.
"What did you say? You can get my Sasha back?"
"Yes, and her friends. I believe the Wus and Boonchuys would be grateful to have their children back as well."
Ted said nothing, wordlessly inviting Niram into his office.
"OK, talk. How are you gonna get my daughter back?" Ted questioned, sitting in his chair. Niram glanced at the empty bottle and glass before turning his attention to Ted.
"Mr. Waybright, I work for a very powerful organisation that has the ability to grant you your heart's desire. However, we can't just give you what you want for free."
"You want money?" It was not a question. As a businessman, he knew nobody offered anything for free. They would expect something in return. If it was not money, it was a favour.
"No, we want a partnership," Niram offered. "We would like you to help sponsor our activities and in exchange, we will get your daughter back for you."
Ted thought this was a scam but after three months with no news about his daughter and her friends, he was willing to do anything to get his little girl back. He had paid private investigators and they still found nothing. At this point, what else did he have to lose?
"...Fine," Ted accepted and Niram smiled.
"Oh, I thought you'd need more convincing than that."
"I know, and it's stupid of me to believe in miracles, but I really need a miracle right now."
"Well, then first you will need to write down your wish here," Niram said as he slid a black and white card over to Ted along with a quill. "Oh, and you will need to sign here." He slid over a contract to him. "Don't worry. After tonight, your daughter will be right back where she belongs."
Ted picked up the quill and began writing down his wish. Even in his half-drunken state, he knew clearly what he wanted.
"'I want my daughter returned to me and have Anne and Marcy returned to their parents too...'" Ted dictated as he wrote down his wish. The card flashed, and his writing turned into typewritten text. "Huh?"
"Good," Niram smiled as he took the card and pocketed it in his jacket. "Now, the contract."
Present Day...
Ted thought it had been a dream, but a day later, he learned that Sasha had come home. Not only that, but Anne was back home as well. He also learned that the Wus had moved away with their daughter...three months before. That was when he learned that the DGP could grant wishes by changing reality. Since he had signed a contract, he would have to sponsor them and help them keep the games a secret.
Ted did not regret it. He had his daughter back but he really should have read the contract. Besides keeping the police and army away, his daughter would need to be a player in the Desire Grand Prix.
"Sasha's strong," he told himself, having no doubts in his daughter's abilities. "She'll win for sure."
"OK, parental units won't be back for a couple of hours so it's now or never," Masha said as they unrolled a large sheet of paper with a magic circle. They lit up candles, placed them on the circle, and dimmed the lights. Checking the book, they read the incantation.
"I summon thee, from the depths of the Netherworld, grant me this wish in exchange for this sacrifice!" Masha read. The sacrifice was a squirrel they had found in the garden and put in a cage that was sitting in the middle of the circle.
Smoke began to rise from the middle of the circle and Masha laughed. It worked! The ritual worked! A figure stepped out of the smoke cloud. It was a woman dressed in black and white. Masha whistled at how pretty she was, but it was obviously a disguise since they had summoned a demon. It was using an appearance that Masha was comfortable with.
"Masha DeLisle," the 'demon' greeted, carrying a black and yellow box in their hands.
"Yeah, that's me," Masha confirmed.
"My name is Tsumuri. Congratulations. Starting today, you are a Kamen Rider."
"I'm so glad we decided to do this, Luz," Zoe said as she and Luz sat at a table in Robin's Roast Cafe.
"Yeah, me too," Luz agreed.
Zoe had suggested that she and Luz get together and hang out. The former cheerleader had spent the majority of her time bullying Luz throughout their high school life, but like a lightning bolt from the heavens, Zoe had a change of heart. She didn't really understand why she decided to change, but she actually felt better after letting go of all that negativity towards Luz. So, here the two of them were, sipping coffee, and sitting across from each other. Luz Noceda, the weird girl, and Zoe the popular girl. And, so far, it was going well. At least…that's what it looked like on the surface.
'Good God, help me! I don't know what to talk about!' Zoe internally panicked. After being a bully to Luz for the longest time, she really did not know anything about the Latina besides her love of fantasy and her weird habits. 'C'mon, Zoe, think of something dammit! Don't just sit here like an idiot after inviting Luz to hang out! You made the choice to be a better person but now that I think about it, I barely know anything about her! Aside from that fantasy book series, and some of her…weirder traits…and that she's going out with – scratch that – she's engaged to Amity Blight! I got nothing!'
Oddly enough, Zoe wasn't the only one feeling the tension and awkwardness of this little meeting.
'Holy freakin' crap, this is awkward as hell! I have zero ideas on what to talk about! Our social circles and interests are as different as night and day! What the hell can I talk to her about without making this a one-sided conversation?! Calm down, Noceda. You can do this. There has to be something you can talk about! School!? Ah, screw that! We graduated and that would make things worse. Azura!? I mean, I could talk for hours about Azura, but she would definitely get bored or attempt to be interested, and again, one-sided conversation. Dating!? Hmm, well, I am engaged to Amity…But then again the last guy she tried to hook up with wanted to take her out into the woods and…yeah. UGH! TITAN, THROW ME A BONE HERE!' Luz was panicking mentally as well.
Zoe could sense that the silence was growing more awkward by the second, so, she dared to broach a topic from years ago that hopefully wouldn't remind Luz too much of how much of a bitch she was.
"...So, um, Luz, remember that book report you did before summer? At the end of freshman year? The one with the snakes?" Zoe asked, deciding to bring up the one thing she knew that Luz was interested in.
"Oh, I do," Luz smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head. "I went overboard back then, didn't I?"
"Yeah, but the book you reviewed, what was it again?"
"'The Good Witch Azura'," Luz stated.
"Right, that was a kid's book, right? Why did you choose that for your book review?" Zoe asked.
"It's my favourite book, obviously, but besides that, it has sentimental meaning for me. It was the book my dad gave to me before he...passed away."
"Oh..." Zoe's smile fell. Of course, the book would have some special meaning to Luz. It was no wonder she was obsessed with it. She used to make fun of Luz because of it, but now she felt like a bitch for doing so. "I'm so sorry."
"No, it's fine."
"No, I'm sorry I made fun of you for your love of fantasy. I guess, well, I always thought that was little kids' stuff. I never thought it was so important to you."
Luz took a sip of her coffee and she sighed a little.
"Zoe, the thing is, something that you don't see as important is always important to someone else," Luz advised. "You can't put a value on something based on your own bias."
"Trust me, I know. I'm still trying to get over it," Zoe admitted. "God, looking back, I was such a bitch to you and for no good reason."
"At least you admit it," Luz pointed out. "That's the first step and becoming better doesn't happen overnight. You have to keep working at it."
"Yeah, I know," Zoe sighed. The blonde teen smirked a little as she leaned forward, propping her elbows on the table as she gave Luz a curious look. "So...have you started planning for the wedding yet?"
Luz nearly did a spit-take in Zoe's face when she heard that question but managed to force swallow what was in her mouth. After getting the coffee down, and coughing for a couple of seconds, Luz managed to answer her.
"O-O-Oh, Amity and I have talked about a few things," Luz said as she rubbed the back of her head and blushed. "Just a few days ago we were looking at wedding dresses. But we wanna focus on college first before we tie the knot."
"Heh-heh. God, I think the yearbook had you two down as the 'Most Likely To Get Married'. It's barely been two months, and you two are already engaged and planning out your wedding," Zoe sighed. "Gotta admit, I'm a little jealous of you two. You guys really are in love, huh?"
Luz smiled broadly as her mind shifted to thoughts of her fiancée.
"We are, but it didn't start out that way," said Luz.
"Really? You two used to fight or something?" Zoe asked.
"...Something like that…Amity hurt me and I hurt her back…"
Zoe noticed a change in Luz's demeanour. It was akin to how she looked when they were back in high school after they came back from summer break. Luz had changed completely. She looked…hardened, kind of depressed even. Despite her animosity towards Luz, there was always a lingering curiosity about what happened to her. How the girl in front of her could've changed so drastically over the summer. From the weird version of herself, to a 'normal' version, and then to this edgy, 'I take no shit from no one' attitude within the course of three months.
"Did this happen during the summer before you came back to school?" Zoe questioned. "You really changed after that, and…not gonna lie…it was a little jarring."
Luz wished she could explain to Zoe why she was so different, but that would mean telling her everything about what happened and what she did. Well, it was not like Zoe would believe her even if she told her.
"Some things happened to me over that summer. I can't really go into details…that wasn't the best time in my life. And Amity was part of the reason why," Luz confessed.
Zoe shook her head in shock.
"Wait! You're saying Amity, the girl you're going to marry, did something so bad to you that you can't talk about it?"
"More like we did some bad things to each other…Look, Zoe, when I say it's complicated, I mean it's complicated. But don't worry, we've worked all that out."
Zoe started to look a little worried now. She had heard about relationships like this and wondered if Luz was marrying Amity for the right reasons, or if this was something else.
"Luz…I just want to make sure. You and Amity, this was something you both wanted, right? I mean…" Zoe rubbed the back of her head as she tried to phrase this in a way that didn't sound like she was accusing Luz or Amity of doing something wrong. "I…Damn, I really don't know how to say this without it sounding bad…"
Luz smiled a little at her former bully.
"It's okay, Zoe. Believe me when I say that we've worked out our issues. There are some things that we're still working on here and there, but we are in love with each other. And I do want to be by Amity's side, just like she's said she wants to be by mine. I know how it happened might not sound conventional, but neither I nor Amity is exactly 'conventional'," Luz joked.
Zoe sighed as she chuckled.
"Well, that I can believe." Zoe raised her cup to Luz. "So long as you two are okay, and there's nothing bad going on, then you have my blessing to be wed."
"Oh, gee, I'm so honoured to have the Queen Bee of Gravesfield High's blessing," Luz retorted as she raised her cup as well.
"Damn right, you are, Noceda."
"Oh, my God! Zoe, are you actually hanging out with the 'Luzer'!?"
The moment was ruined instantly. Zoe turned her head to look over her right shoulder, and that was when she spotted some of the girls from her old high school clique approaching them. Apparently, from what Luz could tell, she hadn't broken the news that she was turning over a new leaf to her social circle yet, evident by the use of one of her old nicknames from her school days. Well, at least that's what Luz hoped for. Zoe's change had only happened not too long ago, and she wasn't expecting Zoe to do a complete one-eighty. So, it honestly wouldn't surprise her if she did or said something to try and salvage her rep at this point. Peer pressure was a terribly powerful thing.
But then Zoe said something that caught Luz off guard, even her former cliquemates.
"Yeah, I'm hanging out with Luz Noceda. If you wanna use her name, at least get it right," Zoe said, defending Luz.
'Whoa…did Zoe just stick up for me?' Luz thought.
"So what, you're hanging out with her now?" a girl asked.
"Yeah, and?" Zoe asked, curtly.
"But, Zoe. She's a freak and a weirdo. You said it yourself."
"Well, I was wrong. Luz is actually much braver than we are. She's willing to be herself, not caring about how people see her. She doesn't care about how people judge her. She dares to be herself!" Zoe huffed. "High school's over and it's time to grow up. I suggest you do the same."
"Ugh, great, Luzer's weirdness is spreading like a disease. Look, I know she may have one-upped us back in high school, but that doesn't mean you have to associate yourself with her." The lead girl glared at Luz for a moment. "Oh, wait, now I get it."
"Get what?" Luz asked.
The lead girl leaned close to Zoe.
"Zoe, is she blackmailing you or something? Just tell me," she whispered.
"What? Blackmail?" Zoe parroted.
"Wait, you think I'm blackmailing Zoe?! Wow, you guys just can't fathom that she just might want to hang out with me because she wants to. I must have some dirt on her to make her be within five feet of me," said Luz, clearly offended. Her last sentence was delivered sarcastically.
"Ugh, why else would she? I wouldn't put it past a freak like you." The lead girl of the clique walked around the table and glared at Luz. "You probably want to do things to her, huh? Threatening her to do some sick gay shit or else you'll release what you have? That'd be just like a pervert freak like you. AAAAAAAAH!"
*SPLASH!*
Luz, and the other girls', eyes widened when they saw Zoe stand up from her chair and throw the rest of her coffee onto the lead girl's expensive outfit.
"First off, she's bi, not gay, get it right. Second, how dare you accuse her of doing some sick crap like that! Luz has done some weird stuff in the past, but she's never even once done anything like that! Not even when she had every reason to!" Zoe stopped her rant for a moment as she came to a realization. "Holy shit, is that what I sounded like? Is that how ugly I looked when I said stuff like that to you?"
Luz made a wavy motion with her hand, not sure which answer would make this worse or better.
"WHAT THE HELL, ZO?! You ruined my outfit! And for what?! For this Lu–!"
*SMACK!*
Everyone gasped and Luz's jaw dropped. Zoe had walked up to the girl and slapped her in the face before she could complete that sentence.
"Do not call her that, ever again. And as of this moment, you all can just stay the hell away from me. I can't believe I ever hung out with people like you," Zoe stated, angrily.
The lead girl seemed at a loss for words, even Zoe's former clique was struck speechless. As soon as she said that, all of them ran away, leaving Zoe and Luz alone. The blonde sat back down in her chair as she released a long sigh of frustration.
"Hey…Zoe…you didn't have to do that," said Luz.
"No, Luz, I did," Zoe countered.
"But now you're going to be ostracized right? People are going to start making fun of you for hanging out with me, for defending me," Luz responded.
Zoe leaned back in her chair as she looked at Luz and smiled.
"I figured it was time I took a page out of your book. I should stop caring what other people think of me, especially uptight little bitches. Plus…I guess I never really saw or heard how I sounded when I said those kinds of things to you. Hearing her say that stuff, seeing it from a different perspective…I got so angry, and I saw red. How the hell did you not punch me in the face?"
"I mean…" Luz lowered her gaze a little as she answered, "It wasn't easy. It never was. But what would that have solved back then? I would've just gotten in trouble, and everyone would've just looked at me funny for other reasons. Although, putting the fear of God in you back then was a different story."
"Yeah," Zoe shuddered when she remembered. 'The Glare' Luz gave her. "That little glare of yours, I don't know how you do that, but for some reason, that's way worse than getting punched. You totally should've done that to them."
"Eh, probably," Luz said, shrugging her shoulders. "But I only use that on certain occasions. This didn't feel like it, or rather, you didn't give me the chance to. ¡Eres una chica ruda! (You're one badass girl!)"
"Uh…Gracias?" Zoe responded.
"Didn't do too well in Spanish class, did you?" Luz teased.
"Shut up, Noceda," Zoe sighed. "Well, this hangout spot was ruined. Wanna go find another spot?"
"Sure, and while we're looking, I could teach you some Spanish."
"Ooh, can we start with the swear words first?" Zoe asked.
"Uh, why?" Luz questioned.
"Because if I see them again, I might wanna cuss them out in a different language."
Luz cracked a wide smile as she hooked an arm over Zoe's neck.
"Oh-ho-ho, Zoe, when I'm done with you, you'll be swearing like a Latin sailor!"
"Nice!"
After having coffee with Zoe and looking around for new hangout spots, Luz bade farewell to her old bully/new friend and went to the library to see Amity. When she found her fiancée, she was at the Borrow/Return counter. With a smile, she walked over to her and put her elbow on the counter.
"So, I'm here looking for a book," Luz said, eyes smouldering.
"Well, you've come to the right place. How may I help you?" Amity asked, seeing what Luz was trying to do, and decided to play along.
"I was hoping a lovely little lady like yourself could recommend me one."
"Oh, and what are you looking for, exactly, ma'am?" Amity smiled and put her elbows on the counter and leaned forward, resting her chin in her hands.
"A bit of action, a bit of fantasy..." Luz leaned forward. "A bit of romance with some spice. Do you have anything?"
"Hm..." Amity leaned back. "We may have something like that." She stood up. "Follow me, please." Amity headed to the stacks, putting a bit of sway in her hips as Luz followed.
The two of them walked deep into the library, away from prying eyes. Amity turned her back to a stack of books as Luz put her hand beside her fiancée's head, leaning forward with a flirtatious look.
"So, you know romance, do you?" Luz asked.
"Oh, I do..." Amity caressed Luz's cheek. "I get off work in a few more minutes but I can spare some time to show you my 'recommendations'."
Luz smiled and leaned forward to kiss her...
[Gather Round!]
"Titan dammit!" the two girls cursed simultaneously. Just as things were getting good.
"Welcome to a new episode of the Desire Grand Prix!" greeted Tsumuri. The players were gathered at the Desire Temple. Amity stood beside Luz while Sasha stood next to Boscha. This left Marcy to stand between both pairs as a sort of barrier. "Now that you are aware of the DGP's true nature, it's only fair that you get to see your popularity rating." Tsumuri tapped her tablet and the holographic screen opened to show a pie chart which displayed their popularity rating.
"OMG! I'm the most popular!?" Marcy cried, hands pressed against her cheeks. As she saw her popularity rating, hers was the highest at 45 percent.
Sasha, with a smile on her face, lightly shoulder-bumped Marcy, gaining the nerdy girl's attention.
"Hey, way to go, Mar-Mar," Sasha praised. "You have fans. And, really, who wouldn't love your adorkableness?"
"Thanks, Sashy," Marcy replied, blushing sheepishly.
"Now…me on the other hand…" Sasha saw her popularity rating and frowned. It was only 20 percent which matched Luz's. Amity was slightly lower as she got 14 percent. "Considering who she is, I didn't think I'd have the same rating as Noceda."
"Ouch, Waybright, that didn't hurt at all," Luz commented, dripping with sarcasm.
"OH, THIS IS BULLSHIT!" Boscha yelled indignantly as she pointed at the screen. Out of the remaining five Riders, only one had the lowest, single-digit, approval rating. That being Boscha with just one percent. "Why is my popularity so low!?"
"A lot of the audience was rather put off by your behaviour during the Slasher Game," Tsumuri informed her, a slight glare of disapproval marring her visage.
Amity glared at Boscha, remembering what she had attempted to do to her. Luz was glaring murderous daggers at the three-eyed witch, annoyed that the rule of not attacking other Riders was only lifted for her and Sasha. Otherwise, she'd give Boscha a beat down the likes of which would be spoken of as legend in the DGP for the rest of eternity.
Marcy shot her own disapproving glare at Boscha. She definitely didn't like the three-eyed witch when this game started, and after what she heard Boscha tried to do to Amity, it only served to tank her opinion so far down it might as well be black hole deep.
Sasha, well, she did give Boscha a disapproving glare as well, but it was a tad less harsh than the others. It was only for the sake of the two of them needing to work together that she didn't chew out the witch more than she did. Otherwise, yes, she would've beaten Boscha herself for what she had done.
"Ugh," Boscha grunted unhappily.
"Now, there has been a mid-season format change so, you better put on your best performance for your audience," Tsumuri said encouragingly. "We also have a confessional room provided for you."
"A confessional room?" Amity asked.
There was a new door on the wall that was labelled 'Confessional Room'. As far as everyone remembered, it had not been there before.
Confessional: Boscha Barbtalóne/Red-Pan
The Confessional Room was dark, with only a chair and a spotlight that shone on the players sitting there.
"OK, you losers! I don't care what you think of me! I'm winning this and you guys are going to see why Boscha! Always! Wins!" Boscha declared, glaring at the camera.
Confessional: Marcy Wu/Newtonne
"HI, guys! Marcy Wu here, aka Kamen Rider Newtonne. But you all know that. I never thought I would be popular. I mean, Sasha's always been the popular one since elementary school. She's beautiful, bold, fearless, charismatic, it's hard not to admire her, and it's impossible not to fall for her…"
Marcy blushed up to her ears as she started to panic.
"Uh, S-Sasha's not going to see this, right? Right?!"
Confessional: Sasha Waybright/Soaron
"Marcy is adorkable and I'm proud of her. She's really grown out of her shell," Sasha smiled fondly. "Yeah, I'm used to being the popular one, but I'm happy she has so many people rooting for her. Guess you guys love cute little nerds, huh?"
Sasha chuckled a little.
"Can't blame you, I love that nerd, too. Which is why I'm going to protect her. Anne's revival won't mean anything if I lose another person I love in the process." Sasha looked directly at the camera and sneered. "So, love me or hate me, I don't care! I'm going to get my friend back, and all three of us are walking out of this game together! After I kick Noceda's ass for getting Anne killed in the first place!"
Confessional: Luz Noceda/Oscura
"OK, I am not here to entertain you people like a dancing monkey. I am here to win and get my wish. Though, Amity being here complicates things. I'm not unhappy she's here with me, but I just want her to be safe. She's everything to me."
Luz sighed as she glanced around, crossed her arms and gave the camera a serious look.
"I am guessing a lot of you are looking forward to the match between me and Sasha, right? Tch, of course, you are. I'm sure this is the first time Riders have been allowed to directly fight each other in this game, like some gladiator showdown. I made this deal with Sasha so that she can get this out of her system. She reminds me of me when I was my old self and I don't want to see her fall into darkness like I did. It won't do her, Marcy, or Anne any good if she falls. But I guess you guys don't really care about all of that. You just want to see a badass fight. Well, I hope you enjoy the show, pendejos."
Confessional: Amity Blight/Gato
"Luz is the light of my life. Yeah, we had a rocky start. I cursed her, she gave me a concussion, she killed my mom, I tried to kill her..." Amity sighed. "Titan, I'm rambling. Look, the bottom line is, Luz is precious to me and I'm here to support my future wife. And I swear to Titan, if she gets killed, I'll drag her out of the afterlife and kill her myself."
"There has also been a mid-season addition. A new player has been selected to join us," Tsumuri informed them.
"What? A new player?" Marcy asked curiously, looking at Amity.
"Hey, that ain't fair! We earned our spots here! How can you guys choose a new player right in the middle of the game?" Boscha complained.
"That is the administrator's decision. I have no control over it," Tsumuri answered. "And this person is no stranger to the DGP. Now, please welcome our new competitor..."
[Entry!]
"Kamen Rider Kurma!"
The new Rider appeared in their black Entry Form, with a Rider head that resembled a red fox with white whisker-like markings. The ears were pointed and had white accents on the inside.
"Hi, I'm Kamen Rider Kurma and my pronouns are they/them," the new Rider introduced themselves. Amity and Luz's eyes widened when they heard their voice.
"Is that...?" Luz asked.
"I don't believe it..." Amity uttered.
"Kurma, would you please reveal your identity?" Tsumuri requested.
"Sure," Kurma answered and removed their Desire Driver. The suit dematerialized to reveal their civilian identity. Boscha's eyes bugged out of her skull at the sight of them.
"YOU!" Boscha screamed, pointing her finger.
"Masha!?" Luz and Amity cried when they saw them.
"Hey, Lumity," Masha winked. "Fancy meeting you both here."
"What!? How!? Why!?" Luz exclaimed. "I have so many questions!"
"Yeah, I wasn't expecting to be chosen, but Tsumuri here explained that I impressed some people," Masha told her.
"Oh, like when you blew Boscha up," Amity recalled. Boscha's eye twitched when she was reminded of that.
Confessional: Boscha Barbtalóne/Red-Pan
"I can't believe the DGP picked them to join! That crazy human killed me!" Boscha complained. "I swear, someone is gonna hear from me about this!"
Confessional: Luz Noceda/Oscura
"Now that I think about it, Masha did manage to survive an encounter with Boscha and then they also fought those two Jyamatos before I rescued them," Luz said. "Guess they did so well that someone chose them to play. Though, this means I'll need to look out for them for Vee's sake."
Confessional: Amity Blight/Gato
"Masha can be...a lot," Amity admitted. "They're an acquired taste. They speak their mind and don't have much of a filter, but I trust them. Yeah, having them on our side will be good. I don't know what their wish is, but it must be something important if they're willing to put their life on the line for it."
Confessional: Masha DeLisle/Kurma
"Hi, I'm Masha, my pronouns are they/them, and I love my cute little basilisk lover! I'm here to kick butt and take names! As for my wish, well, I wish for a world where creatures like her don't have to hide anymore."
Confessional: Sasha Waybright/Soaron
"Great, now Noceda has another ally in this game. Yeah, my relationship with Marcy has improved, but she still doesn't approve of my grudge against Noceda. I do kinda like this more assertive Marcy. She used to be my adorkable nerd but now she's gotten hotter and I can't believe this, but am I thinking of asking her out?" Sasha paused. "No, focus, Sasha. You're doing this for Anne. Marcy's cute, and I do love her too, but…it wouldn't be the same if Anne wasn't with us."
"Hey, you're the witch I blew up," Masha greeted Boscha. "No hard feelings, OK? I was just protecting my future SIL from being assaulted."
"'SIL'?" Boscha repeated.
"Sister-in-law," Luz translated. "They're dating my sister."
"Yeah, and I'm gonna win for her!" Masha pumped their fist.
"Heh, well, if you try that crap again here, you'll be disqualified," Boscha warned.
"Oh, so I guess the same applies to you right? That means you can't do anything to me without risking your wish," Masha teased. "But you'll have to wake up pretty early to outfox this fox."
"So, what's today's game?" Marcy asked Tsumuri.
"Today's mission will be a team event. Now, Mission Start!"
[Entry!]
The players found themselves transported into the game, already clad in their Entry Form suits. They discovered that they were standing on the deck of a ship in the middle of the ocean. It looked like an old-fashioned galleon and it waved a Jolly Roger with the DGP logo on it. In the middle of the deck was a golden Mission Box.
"We're on a pirate ship, you guys!" Newtonne exclaimed, feeling ecstatic.
{Newtonne, as you have the highest popularity, you have been chosen as team Captain,} Tsumuri informed them.
"Me!? Captain!?" Newtonne cried. In blue pixels, a captain's hat appeared on her head.
"Relax, Mar-Mar. You'll do fine," Soaron said encouragingly.
"So, where are the Jyamatos?" Red-Pan asked, eager to beat those monsters.
{For today's mission, you must defend your ship from the Jyamato Pirates who have come to steal your treasure. Destroy their ship before they destroy yours. If you go overboard, you are out of the game. If you lose the treasure, you will all be eliminated from the game. Good luck.}
After Tsumuri finished explaining the objective, a couple of Mission Boxes appeared for Kurma and Gato.
"Oh, what's this?" Kurma asked as they picked up the Mission Box and opened it to find the Beat Buckle. "Sweet!"
"It's a kickass weapon and can play sick background music," Soaron said fondly.
Gato opened up her Mission Box and found a new Raise Buckle she had never seen before. It had a similar shape to the Monster Buckle, but it was coloured bronze and purple. Instead of the bear-like head and claws, it had the head of an Abomination with the hands curled around the semi-circular piece that allowed the Buckle to fit into the Desire Driver.
"An Abomination Buckle?" Gato questioned, not expecting something like this.
"That's perfect for you, batata!"Oscura said happily.
"OK, guys, if we wanna win and survive this mission, we're going to need to work together. So I'm going to delegate your duties," Newtonne spoke, getting everyone's attention. "Red-Pan and Sasha, you two will man the cannons."
"Aye-aye, Captain," Soaron saluted. She was used to being in charge but did not mind if Marcy gave her orders.
Red-Pan grumbled. She would rather be giving orders than taking them from some nerd.
"Amity, you need to guard the treasure," Newtonne instructed.
"Yes, ma'am!" Gato saluted.
"Luz, man the sails, OK?"Newtonne requested.
"You got it, Captain," Oscura saluted.
"Kurma, I'm gonna need you up on that crow's nest to look out for the enemy," Newtonne pointed.
"Aye, Cap'n!" Kurma spoke like a pirate and began climbing up the mast to the crow's nest.
"And I'll steer the ship," Newtonne offered.
"Wait, you can steer a ship?"Soaron asked.
"I think so," Newtonne said. For some reason, being on this pirate ship was giving her a sense of deja vu. Weird. "Don't worry. It'll be like driving a car. Trust me, Sasha. I got this."
Confessional: Sasha Waybright/Soaron
"So, I didn't know Marcy could steer a ship but I guess she learned it from reading a book or playing some kind of game. I know Marcy put me and Boscha on cannon duty 'coz we're in an alliance, but I'd rather be working with my best friend," Sasha admitted.
"Good luck, Sasha." Oscura offered her hand to Soaron.
"Yeah, whatever, "Soaron scoffed, ignoring the friendly gesture before she went to man the cannons with Red-Pan.
Confessional: Marcy Wu/Newtonne
Marcy sighed heavily as she rubbed the back of her head.
"Honestly, I wish Sasha and Luz could be friends. They both want Anne back, but Sasha can't stop blaming Luz for what happened to her. Maybe working together can help them find some common ground."
Marcy gave a light huff of annoyance as she leaned forward, resting her elbows on her thighs as she cupped her face with her hands.
"At this point, if Sasha's going to be like this even after it's over, maybe I should take Luz up on her offer to be in a throuple with her and Amity. Heh, oooh man, if Sasha found out that Luz practically asked me out during the last DGP season, she would go ballistic! Ah-ha!" Marcy laughed.
However, the moment she said that, a look of sheer panic and terror appeared on her face.
"AH! NO! DELETE THAT! DELETE THAT! DON'T LET SASHA SEE IT!"
"Ms. Wu, please, calm down," Tsumuri urged.
"GIVE ME THE FLIPPING CAMERA–!"
[WE WILL BE RIGHT BACK]
Dr. Ex: And we begin with a Pirate Game where the players must defend their treasure from enemy pirates. I think this is a good place to end the chapter. It's the intro of the new mid-season and we are introduced to Masha as a new Rider, the fox-like Kamen Rider Kurma! BTW, their name is a combination of the names 'Kurama' and 'Karma'. 'Kurama' is the name of the nine-tailed fox demon from Naruto. It's also the name of the fox demon from Yu Yu Hakusho.
Anyway, after such a heavy story arc, it seemed good to have a breather. And in reality TV show fashion, we have a confessional. This will be a good source of comedy for this story arc. Originally, I wanted to do the Jyamar Ball again, but I think rehashing old challenges would be boring. So, if you have any ideas for future challenges, please let me know. I'd love to hear your ideas. I was considering going with a Zombie Game sometime later. I think it's 'coz I saw the latest episode which shows the return of Kamen Rider Dapaan.
Oh, and some trivia I forgot to put in a couple of chapters ago:
DGP Rule #203: The Oscura Darkness Buckle is a powerful item which grants Luz the ability to cast magic and use the Seven Deadly Sin Spells. However, this is both its strength and weakness. The Sin Stones power the Buckle, allowing her to cast spells. When she uses a Sin Spell, the corresponding stone's colour will fade and 1/7 of Oscura's power goes with it. When she uses up all the Sin Spells, the Oscura Buckle loses all power and goes inactive until the next round.
