Disclaimer: I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me.
It was the middle of the night. A shootout was happening in one of the city's back streets between the police and an unidentified criminal.
While regrettable, this was not an uncommon occurrence.
What was uncommon was that the criminal had glowing yellow hands which she – for she was quite very clearly a woman, clad in black leather with translucent gloves and a black helmet vaguely reminiscent of a ladybug – was using to generate an energy shield which froze all the bullets fired at her in place before flinging them back at the officers, forcing them to cry out and duck behind cover as the returned rounds impacted all around them.
One daring officer rose to try again, only for the woman to wave a hand, generating yellow energy waves which flung him away, right into the arms of a waiting policewoman, rather attractive and with dark hair. "Leave this to me," Detective Rinko Daimon of Section Zero said as she set him down and strapped on a belt resembling a large hand and held a hand over it, a ring on her finger gleaming.
DRIVER ON, PLEASE!
SHABADOOBIE, TOUCH TO TRANSFORM, SHABADOOBIE TOUCH TO TRANSFORM! SHABADOOBIE, TOUCH TO TRANSFORM, SHABADOOBIE TOUCH TO TRANSFORM!
"Henshin," Rinko said as she slipped another ring onto her left hand and passing it over the glowing hand on her Buckle.
CHANGE, PLEASE!
She crossed her arms over her chest and held them to her sides, throwing her head back as a purple magical circle passed diagonally over her body, leaving her clad in a white tunic and leggings with black boots with wings growing from the sides and blue eyes, a purple clawed gauntlet on her left hand, a black mantle with purple crystal spikes growing from her shoulders and a black cape with a purple interior hanging down her back, a large purple stone set into her chest, a purple crystal making up her face with metal lines set into it to make it resemble a ring, and head armor resembling a black witch hat with glowing purple jewels set into it.
As the other officers stared at her in awe, she scanned another ring over her belt.
CONNECT, PLEASE!
A purple magical portal opened next her, and she put her hand in, pulling out a WizarSworGun. Switching it to its gun form, she charged at the mysterious woman, firing at her. The woman's hands glowed as she once again generated an energy field, only for Rinko to fire her weapon at the ground, her bullets throwing a shower of sparks which temporarily blinded the woman and caused her to flinch back, her barrier dissipating.
This bought Rinko enough time to get in close and lash out with her WizarSworGun, only for the woman to recover instantly, catching the blade in one hand with lightning reflexes. Undeterred, Rinko slashed her across the chest with her Scratch Nail claws, causing the woman to cry out as sparks flew through the air, but any triumph she might've felt was only momentary as the woman slammed a palm into her chest and released a powerful blast of yellow energy waves, flinging her back and causing her to slam into a car hard enough to seriously dent it.
"Such power…" Rinko gasped. "Are they a Phantom?!"
As the woman approached her, the other officers, driven to desperation, opened fire again, only for their bullets to predictably be deflected by waves of her hand. "Stop that, you're not helping!" Rinko snapped at them, putting on a new ring and scanning it.
EXPLOSION, PLEASE!
A tremendous fireball lit up the dark alley as it raced towards the woman, who immediately raised her hands and fired her yellow energy waves. The two blasts of power slammed into each other, shock waves cracking the pavement and shattering nearby glass…
And then, to Rinko's astonishment, the woman's energy waves prevailed, flinging the fireball back at her and the police cars, causing explosions to erupt all around them, sending the other officers and herself flying, knocking her out of her transformation.
"What… What are you?!" She cried, horrified, spitting up blood, gasping for breath.
Instead of responding, the woman continued her advance, raising her hands as she powered up to finish her off. Rinko flinched and shut her eyes as yellow energy waves shot towards her…
But nothing happened.
Rinko's eyes shot open, and she gasped to see Kamen Rider Valkyrie in her Avenging Jackal form standing before her, wing flared and extended to serve as a shield protecting her and everyone else from the energy waves.
The woman stopped in her tracks, clearly startled.
"L-Lady Yaiba?!" Rinko cried.
"I'm with A.I.M.S.!" Yua Yaiba replied. "We came after receiving your request for backup. Suspect is under suspicion of violating the Special A. I. Act! Commencing their arrest!"
"Artificial Intelligence? So they're an AI?" Rinko murmured to herself.
Snarling, the woman fired another burst of energy waves at them, but Yaiba pulled the trigger on her ShotRiser.
[A]
[V]
[E]
[N]
[G]
[I]
[N]
[G]
[B]
[L]
[A]
[S]
[T]
[!]
Her wing flared and extended, feathers shooting out and forming energy projections of herself colored blue, purple, white, pink, and red. The projections raced forwards one by one, each slamming into an energy wave and getting torn apart, but dispelling the wave in the process, allowing the succeeding projections to get closer and closer, only for the last one to be destroyed in a colorful blast…
And then the real Yaiba materialized behind the woman, lashing out with her scythe, trailing an energy crescent as it cut into her back, causing her to scream in agony and fall to her knees.
AVENGING BLAST!
Yaiba drew her ShotRiser and pressed it to the back of the woman's helmet. "You're under arrest!"
The woman squeezed her eyes shut, screamed in rage, and slammed her glowing hands into the ground, releasing a massive blast of yellow energy which flung everyone back, forcing Yaiba to use her wing to shield herself once again. When she retracted her wing and the dust settled, there was nothing left of the woman but a smoking crater crackling with yellow electricity.
"Just who… Were they?" Yaiba wondered.
Rinko frowned, sensing this was far from over.
Hana, sitting in the Weekend command center, looked at the envelope in her hands with trepidation, strongly considering tearing it to pieces and forgetting about it.
Her day had started so well, too. She had woken up in bed with the love of her life, Sakura Igarashi – as usual – and after a morning quickie, a check in with their beloved daughter Lovekov, a shower, sex in the shower, breakfast with the family – her family, and wasn't that a happy thought! – And some pampering from Astarte's unpaid interns, she and Sakura had been called into headquarters to do some cleaning after George's latest argument with his father somehow led to Georgina trashing the place, and she'd been looking forward to a day of watching her gorgeous goddess getting sweaty and covered in suds followed by some fun times in the bath getting each other clean when one of the agents had stopped in to give her a letter.
Like the fool she was, she had read it out of curiosity, and now her whole day was ruined.
Before she could crumple it up and throw it away, Sakura entered the command center with cleaning supplies, and for once, Hana didn't feel her spirits lifted the side of her magnificent perfect girlfriend. "Come on, Hana! Let's get this place squeaky clean!"
Reluctantly, Hana stood up and held out the envelope. "Sakura. This..."
Sakura glanced at it. "The letter delivered to Harold's house earlier? Who is it from?"
Hana opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. "Yuriko Natsuki. She says she's my older sister."
"Your sister?! Really?" Sakura asked in astonishment.
She took the letter and read it. "'I want to meet you. I'll have lilies with me and wait for you under the clock tower.'" She gasped in delight. "You should go meet her! Wouldn't it be awesome if she's your sister?"
Hana frowned and shook her head. "No, I don't think so."
Sakura gawked in disbelief. "What? Why?!"
"Sakura, as far as I know, I've been with Deadmans since I was a little girl," Hana told her. "Which means I was either abducted as a child, or my parents were members of the cult. If this Yuriko is telling the truth, then I don't think she can be trusted, considering my whereabouts haven't exactly been a secret and it's kind of weird she'd only try reaching out now, and if she's lying, that's even more reason not to go see her."
Sakura frowned as she considered this. "Well… I suppose I can see where you're coming from, but…"
Suddenly, her phone started beeping. Startled, she pulled it out and glanced at the screen. "Aw, crap, we're gonna be late! Today's a big day, so let's finish this quick! We can talk about this more later, okay?" She said, handing Hana back the letter.
Hana managed a smile. "Okay." She still thought this was kind of suspicious, but so long as she had Sakura by her side, she was sure everything would turn out okay.
"Let's start with introductions from everyone!" A pretty young brunette recording everything on her phone using a selfie stick said at the rather crowded Happy Spa a little later.
"I am a robot with artificial intelligence, a.k.a., a HumaGear," a beautiful angular woman in white and teal with a lovely ribbon on her neck and glowing ear modules began, bowing elegantly. "I am called Izu, and I work as the copresident of Hiden Intelligence and cofounder and Metatron of the Church of the Divine Zero alongside my husband Aruto.."
"I'm Poppy Pipopapo!" A very energetic woman with pink hair, a green and yellow hat, and a yellow outfit with pastel stockings and a colorful skirt cheered as she waved to the camera. "I work at a special hospital for Game Disease! I perform support for the doctors there, especially my husband Emu! Nice to meet ya~"
"Nico Saiba, primary shareholder of Genm Corp.," said a young woman wearing an outfit that looked like a mix between a Gamer Rider and Samus Aran's power armor. "I'm also studying to be a nurse to help my boyfriend Taiga deal with Game Disease at his clinic."
"Why are you wearing your Rider outfit now?" Asked the woman with the phone.
"I always wear this suit, everywhere," Nico said. "It has amazing life support. I almost literally never have to take it off. Ever. And why would I want to? I get to cosplay as my favorite heroine full time!"
There was a shrill squeal, and a bizarre creature looking somewhat like a jellyfish with three large nerve clusters and massive fangs floated over her shoulder. "Also, it means I can keep my baby Squishy with me full time!"
The monster squealed again and nuzzled her helmet, causing Poppy to coo.
"… Is that not a Metroid, the infamous life eating monster from the franchise with the same name?" Izu asked, staring at Squishy in concern.
"He's a tame Metroid! Only eats who Mommy tells him to," Nico asserted, petting the Metroid happily.
"My name is Reika Shindai, a swordswoman from the Sword of Logos," a severe woman in a red uniform said gravely, bowing her head.
"And are you there with your boyfriend?" Nico teased when Reika said no more.
"I don't have a boyfriend. My girlfriend is in a different, although similar line of work," Reika said, blushing, her expression suddenly turning smitten. "My wonderful magical girlfriend, Magine!"
"What are you talking about, of course you have a boyfriend, the guy who's ocean and time themed," Nico needled.
Reika glared at her. "That's my brother."
"Exactly."
"There is absolutely nothing to the allegations that I have untoward feelings for my brother, no matter how incredibly handsome and amazing he may be," Reika said shrilly.
"Not really helping your case-" Nico leered.
"Right! Moving on!" The woman with the phone said loudly. "Before someone gets stabbed!"
"Rinko Daimon, a detective with Section Zero, a special branch of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department that investigates certain supernatural phenomena, particularly Phantoms," Rinko spoke up. "And before anyone says anything, no, I don't work there alongside my husband… Because he's more of a freelance consultant and we usually support him in his battles."
"Yua Yaiba, head of A. I. M. S., A military organization that deals with rogue AI with support from Hiden Intelligence," Yaiba said, smiling and nodding at Izu, who returned it. "I've also become an important figure in the Church of the Divine Zero, serving as their Goddess of Battle and Reaper of the Slain. And I am currently single, seeing as how nobody seems interested in passing the Bechdel test."
"I am not certain 'single' is the appropriate term, Yaiba-" Izu began.
"I'm alive and he's not, it's complicated," Yaiba said sharply.
"Mood," said Nico.
"Princess Alpina Tokiwa, though I'm also known as Tsukuyomi," said a beautiful girl with long dark hair and white robes. "Granddaughter of King Tokiwa-"
"May he reign forever," everyone in the room said automatically.
"And heir to the Throne of Time. I'm engaged to my longtime friend Geiz, as well as his future self."
"What's that like?" Poppy asked curiously.
"Very complicated," Alpina said wearily.
"Kanon Fukami, Empress of Ganma World and wife of Emperor Alain," said another lovely girl with long dark hair in a ponytail dressed in white.
"Natsumi Hikari, Queen of the Multiverse, or at least a good chunk of it," said an even more beautiful dark-haired woman in a regal white Gothic dress with royal blue and purple jewels and accents with bat motifs, an ornate bat shaped ornament keeping her hair in a complex bat-winged style, and what looked an awful lot like fangs, stroking an adorable red eyed white bat shaped creature with a finger. Squishy looked at the tiny creature curiously, but Nico shook her head. "Unmarried as of yet, though I do have quite a few concubines… And I would have a husband if Tsukasa would just commit already…"
All the woman in the room nodded and made sympathetic noises.
"And this is my handmaiden Haruka Miwa," Natsumi said, gesturing to a brunette in a formfitting elegant white and purple suit standing next to her.
Haruka nodded but said nothing.
"Uh, wow, kind of a tough act to follow, all those Royals and divinities…" Sakura muttered somewhat self-consciously, flinching as the woman turned her phone on her next.
"Don't be silly, Sakura!" Hana huffed, grabbing her arm and leaning on her shoulder. "You're becoming a God, and descended from demonic royalty, and dating a queen! You're every bit as good as they are, if not more! And especially more beautiful."
"H-Hana!" Sakura stammered as her girlfriend kissed her on the cheek and the other girls cooed and smiled indulgently. "Um, anyway, I'm Sakura Igarashi! I used to fight devils as part of Weekend, a resistance group, but we're currently in the middle of a cease-fire while our enemy – my grandfather – is reassessing his options."
"And I'm Hana Natsuki, Sakura's girlfriend!" Hana declared, ecstatic as always that she could say that. Sakura was her girlfriend, and nobody else's! "I do pretty much the same as Sakura."
"Wait, didn't you used to lead a cult?" Reika asked with a frown.
"Aren't you still in one?" Nico asked.
"The Sword of Logos is not a cult!" Reika insisted.
Everyone gave her skeptical looks.
"Anymore!"
They were unconvinced.
"Totally still a cult," Hana whispered to Sakura, who giggled.
"And I'm Lovekov, love!" Lovekov shouted, popping up between her mothers. "Mommy's inner devil and partner! We fight bad guys together!" She started punching the air while making adorable grunting sounds.
The woman with the phone stared at Lovekov in wonder. She was not the only one. "Tsuchinoko?"
"… Can we hug her?" Reika pleaded, eyes desperate.
Lovekov spread her arms. "Love!"
They hugged her.
Several minutes of cuddles later, they suddenly remembered they had important business and reluctantly let go of her, though Squishy decided to remain perched on her head like an adorable little hat, with Kiva-la on top of him, leading to several more minutes of distraction as everyone insisted on taking pictures. "Alrighty," the woman with the phone said, finally remembering they had important business to discuss. "I'm Akiko Narumi, chief of the Narumi Detective Agency! My hubby's head of the Paranormal Crime Investigation Division of the Futo PD, and he can turn into a bike!"
Everyone stared at her. "A… Bike?" Yaiba asked, baffled.
"That's not a big deal, I know a guy who turns into a bike too," Nico said dismissively, Poppy nodding in agreement. "And I sometimes turn into a tank."
"My brother's demon turns into a bike sometimes," Sakura added. "And a skateboard. And a rice cooker that one time."
"And a rubber ducky!" Hana reminded her.
"They're bestsellers, though not as much as the plushies of me, love," Lovekov added, preening.
"Yes, and we will absolutely be buying some later," Kanon decided, glancing at a nearby box full of rubber ducks with Vice's face on them and plushies of Lovekov.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Tsukasa's turned other Riders into giant beetles, hover boards, dragons, lasers, swords, a hawk disc thing, a bow, one time he turned into a giant Driver…" Natsumi recalled.
"Does… That hurt?" A disturbed Haruka asked.
"No," Akiko said at the same time Natsumi said, "Yes."
Haruka only looked more concerned at this.
"Anyway, thank you very much for gathering to help me on my investigation!" Akiko said. "Especially you, Sakura! Thanks a bunch for lending this place!"
Sakura stood up and waved her hand. "No problem at all! We're closed today anyways…"
"Papa Genta and Mama Yukimi are on a date, Vail invited himself along, Ikki is visiting Akane at the hospital with Vice, Tamaki is at another tournament with his girlfriend…" Hana added.
"He's gonna make nationals!" Lovekov cheered. "And my girlfriend is out trying to rebuild her kingdom."
"Your girlfriend? Aren't you a little young to have one of those?" Alpina asked.
"Yes and no, it's complicated. Plus, I wanted to see my oh-so-honorable big sis Reika too!" Sakura added, rushing to the flattered Reika's side.
"You see me as a big sister?" Reika asked, abashed. "That has a nice ring to it."
Hana smiled at the heartwarming display… Only for a frown to flicker across her face as she remembered the letter from before.
"Also, Mr. Terui did help my brother a lot so…" Sakura said, glancing at Akiko.
"Wait, who's Mr. Terui?" Poppy asked.
Izu closed her eyes, her ear modules buzzing. "Search complete. Mr. Terui is a police officer and a Kamen Rider. He is also Mrs. Akiko's husband."
"Oh, the one who can turn into a bike," Haruka realized.
"Precisely."
"Oh wow, another search engine person!" Akiko exclaimed in awe. "Plus she's fast and accurate. Now I want you in my agency too!"
"No," Izu said bluntly.
"But, still, why did you call for us as well?" Reika asked.
"We recently got a request to investigate about an 'electro-wave human,'" Akiko said, immediately getting Natsumi, Rinko, and Yaiba's attention.
"An 'electro-wave human?' That sounds an awful lot like the mysterious being we fought the other night," Rinko said in concern.
"I had her pinned down, but she managed to get away," Yaiba recalled with a scowl.
"'Her?'" Alpina asked, intrigued.
Yaiba nodded. "She certainly looked like a woman."
"Had a helmet kind of like a ladybug," Rinko recalled, causing Natsumi to start.
"A ladybug? No, it can't be…" She whispered, troubled.
"Why did you call us to look into this?" Asked a perplexed Izu.
"My client requested I gather as many female Kamen Riders as I could," Akiko exclaimed.
Sakura gasped and shot to her feet. "Wait, all of you can transform too?!"
Poppy, Rinko, Alpina, Kanon, and Natsumi nodded. Nico huffed. "I'm literally transformed right now. Were you not paying attention?"
"How wonderful! I would love to see you do it!" Reika exclaimed, causing Poppy to get giddy.
"I want to fight with Reika too!" Sakura cried.
"By the way, how did you girls come up with your transformation pose?!" Poppy asked.
"I just… Practiced in front of my mirror," Sakura admitted sheepishly.
"I watched my husband do it. A lot," Rinko confessed.
"I… Hired a tutor…" Kanon muttered. Embarrassed, Natsumi and Alpina nodded to indicate they had done the same thing.
"Ha! Rich people," Nico sneered.
"Nico, aren't you quite wealthy yourself-" Poppy started.
"SHUT UP."
"Regarding the electro-wave human, we should start by what they looked like," Akiko said loudly, trying to get everyone back on track.
"Wait, hang on, who is your client?" Yaiba asked, suspicious.
"And why do they want only female Riders looking into this?" Rinko seconded.
"Because my mistress requested it."
As the smell of peaches and the sound of a zipper filled the air, Hana suddenly realized another woman was now in the room, and…
Oh.
Oh fuck.
Sakura was no longer the only goddess in her heart now.
The woman, who had short dark hair with a pink streak in it, was extraordinarily beautiful, her clothes a mix of a business suit and a kimono, her immaculate body immediately drawing all attention to it, radiating a kind of pressure, an inexorable presence, which demanded submission and adoration from all who gazed upon her. There was something strangely inhuman, almost predatory, about her features, and as she calmly walked around the stunned Riders, her form seemed to change from moment to moment, her clothes shifting from suit to kimono to pink armor while her hair shortened and lengthened as the amount of pink in it reduced or increased significantly, going from human to an Arabian-looking Rider to something other, something beyond human but no less magnificent or worthy of awe.
"Oh my Goddess," Nico gasped.
The woman smiled, her teeth flickering between pearly whites to fangs to a faceplate and back again. "Precisely."
"Yeah, um, that's the client," Akiko murmured, awestruck.
Poppy squealed in delight and bowed to the newcomer. "Mistress! It's been ages!"
"It is good to see you again, my Valkyrien," the goddess said warmly, causing Poppy to giggle happily.
"Lady Yoko Minato, goddess of the hunt in the Gaimist pantheon and consort of Kaito Kumon, God of war," Izu identified the majestic creature, ear modules buzzing. "I do not believe we have had the pleasure of meeting yet."
"We have not, but this encounter was fated to happen eventually, given how prominent both of our churches have become on this world," Minato said calmly. "It is unfortunate it had to happen in such circumstances."
"And… What circumstances are those?" Yaiba asked, floored by this encounter with her counterpart from the other major Rider-themed religion.
Minato frowned, and it made Hana want to burst into tears. Lovekov was already crying. "An evil long thought dormant is beginning to rise again. A noble soul fated for the paradise of Valhela has been denied her rightful afterlife and forcibly dragged back onto the material plane to serve this wicked power. My mistress, Queen Mai, Woman of the Beginning, is understandably vexed by this, and tasked me with retrieving the soul. For reasons I am unable to disclose, this soul is closely tied to the root of the power which all female Kamen Riders share, and so I determined you were the ones best suited to aid me in my mission." She frowned. "I'd rather hoped Akiko would've been able to get more of you, however…"
"All the female Oni are either dead, retired, or on a training mission and can't be reached," Akiko said nervously. "Nadeshiko is in deep space and I have no idea when or if she'll be able to make it."
"I have a whole cadre of Amazonian Kamen Riders I can summon at a moment's notice, if that helps," Natsumi immediately volunteered.
"By Amazonian, do you mean that they're warrior women, or that they're literal people eating Amazons?" Nico asked.
"Both."
"Cool."
"My big sister Alia is back in Ganma World helping my brother and husband, but she promised she'd be here as soon as she could," Kanon spoke up. "And Akari is in the middle of torturing Igor."
"Don't you mean going on a date with him?" Natsumi asked.
"That's what I said," Kanon said bluntly.
"Mizuki and Satsuki are off in Europe hunting Dracula, my lady," Poppy explained. "And Megumi went with them."
"So jealous. Wish they'd taken me," Nico complained.
"Kiriko and Medic are on another case, but promised they would help out as soon as they were free," Rinko volunteered.
"And Lady Sophia is busy with Sword of Logos business, but said she would come once it was over," Reika added.
"I've made a few other calls, but I haven't heard anything definitive back yet," Akiko continued, wringing her hands anxiously.
Minato frowned slightly, then exhaled, and everyone felt a great deal of tension leave the room. "I suppose this will have to do for now, then," the goddess decided. "Very well. Together, we shall see what we can do about stopping this evil force and saving the soul they have taken."
"If you can't tell us who the soul is, can you at least tell us what we're up against?" Alpina asked.
Minato nodded. "Have any of you ever heard of an organization called Black Satan?"
Sakura frowned, having heard George mention a group by that name once or twice during one of his many, many rants about past Riders. "I… think so? They were an evil organization defeated by…um… Strongest?"
"Stronger," Izu corrected her.
"Right, him."
"Unfortunately, it seems they were not defeated as thoroughly as we all believed," Minato said gravely. "They are attempting to rebuild themselves, and the captured soul is instrumental to their plans, though my mistress suspects it is not the only one they are after. The electro-wave human is their strongest warrior yet, and the linchpin of their plans for revival. If we locate her, we may be able to put a stop to this resurrection before it is too late."
"Then locate her we shall," Reika declared.
Meanwhile, Natsumi's eyes were wide. Electro-wave human… Black Satan… It… Can't be…
Nico snorted. "Another old-school evil organization acting like they're still relevant, huh? Well, at least they're not Shocker for a change, I'll give them that."
"Actually, Black Satan is yet another of the many organizations operated by the enigmatic individual known as the Great Leader," Izu reported.
Nico grimaced. "Of course it is. Is he behind this too?"
"We do not yet know at this time," Minato informed her.
"He's always involved somehow," Natsumi grunted, rolling her eyes.
"Like everything is always your boyfriend's fault?" Nico taunted.
"It is not always his fault!… That often… Anymore…" Natsumi muttered, irritated.
"Do not disrespect my queen's consort! He helped saved my world from the Roach!" Haruka said angrily, stepping forward.
"You mean the Worm?" Alpina asked.
"No, the Roach, they're totally different," Haruka insisted.
"Yes, they were Undead, not Worm," Kiva-la spoke up. "Which is weird, since we weren't in the World of Blade. And they could be killed. And there was no Monolith involved."
"Monolith? What does the work of Arthur C. Clarke have to do with anything?" Asked a confused Yaiba.
"Or the videogame company?" Nico asked.
"What?" Haruka asked, baffled.
Minato cleared her throat before this conversation could get derailed any further. "In any event, we must seek out the electro-wave human immediately. Unfortunately, my powers are limited on this plane, so I cannot immediately find her. Still, I am the goddess of the hunt, and I only need the smallest clue or trace to seek her out."
"Well, we couldn't find any evidence at the crime scene last night, but I suppose it's possible we missed something," Rinko admitted.
Yaiba nodded. "I guess going back there is as good a plan as anything else-"
"Found her," Izu interrupted, much to everyone's surprise.
"Wait, really? Already?" Sakura asked, astonished.
Izu nodded. "I merely tasked one of our satellites to look for unusually strong electromagnetic energy signatures. While there are many such signals in a city of this size, most of them are not as small or mobile as the one currently heading for the nearest clock tower."
"… Well. Now I feel redundant…" Minato muttered, looking annoyed.
Akiko gawked. "You have satellites?! I wasn't told about this! Why can't Philip track down perps that fast?!"
"Well done, Izu," Yaiba said in approval.
Hana stiffened. "Wait. The clock tower…?"
Sakura glanced at her. "You don't think…?"
"What is it?" Reika asked.
Hana pulled out the letter from before. "Earlier, I got a letter from someone claiming to be my long-lost sister who wanted to meet at the clock tower. I was going to blow her off because it's super suspicious, but if what Izu says is true…"
"Then… It might be her," Sakura realized, her face falling. "I'm sorry, Hana, I really was hoping that she was for real."
"There's no reason she can't be your long-lost sister and the electro-wave human," Rinko pointed out.
Poppy nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! And once we get her away from those meanies at Black Satan, we can turn her to good, like you did!"
"I… Suppose that's possible," Hana admitted, smiling faintly.
"It's decided, then," Kanon said. "We will go to the clock tower and find out if this alleged sister is the electro-wave human."
Poppy raised an arm. "Right! Poppy's Angels, move out!"
"We are not calling ourselves that," Izu told her.
Poppy sulked. "Well, we should call ourselves something," she whined.
"Rider Girlfriends?" Rinko suggested.
"Doesn't that name suggest we're some kind of deviant polyamorous club of lesbians/bisexuals?" Natsumi pointed out.
"… Is that a bad thing?" Rinko asked, blushing.
She wasn't the only one.
"What about Rider Angels?" Sakura suggested. "You know, a mix of both?"
"I think the name is taken," Hana informed her.
"What about the Rider Valkyries?" Minato offered.
"Only two of us are Valkyries, and most of us aren't part of your religion," Reika pointed out.
"You could convert," Minato suggested halfheartedly. Izu frowned at her.
"Girls Remix!" Akiko declared.
"Does she get a vote? She's not really one of us," Haruka said skeptically.
"I'm totally one of you! I'm your founder and leader!" Akiko insisted.
"No you aren't," Alpina said.
"I brought you all together!" Akiko pointed out.
"At my behest," Minato reminded her.
"Still counts!" Akiko said firmly.
As the girls all started arguing over what to call themselves and whether or not Akiko should be part of the group, Minato groaned and put her face in her hands. "I'm beginning to think this was a mistake."
"Kobu," Lovekov said sympathetically, patting her on the hip.
Several minutes later they came to the grudging agreement that Akiko was, in fact, one of them, and decided that they would call themselves the Girls Remix… For now. Most of them weren't really sold on the name or sure it actually made sense, but considering they were closing in on the deadline for Hana to meet her "sister," they decided to just roll with it.
Which is how Hana found herself sitting at the base of a monument before the clock tower, while Sakura and the other female Riders – and Akiko, and Lovekov, and Squishy, and Kiva-la – kept watch under a shroud of invisibility conjured up by Rinko.
It was very crowded.
Hana wasn't afraid, not really. After all, her beloved and their daughter and their many allies were only meters away. But…
What if this was legit?
What if Yuriko really was her sister?
What if she wasn't the electro-wave human after all?
Or worse, what if she was?
Hana didn't wonder about her birth family, whomever they might've been. As far as she was concerned, her life began the day Sakura 'killed' Aguilera and allowed for Hana to be born, adopted into a loving family which accepted her for who she was and didn't hold her past against her.
But if she had other family out there…
Had they given her to the Deadmans?
Had she been stolen from them?
Why had they only waited until now to reach out to her?
"You are…"
Startled, Hana glanced up to see an attractive brunette, older than her, wearing a white blouse and skirt, holding a bouquet of white lilies.
So this was her.
The woman who claimed to be her sister.
And possibly the electro-wave human.
"Hana?"
Hana rose to her feet, nervously tightening her grip on the envelope in her fingers. "Yuriko… Natsuki?"
"Hana…" Yuriko whispered, an overjoyed look on her face. "I've always wanted to meet you."
She hugged Hana. Surprised and confused, she hugged her back. "Sis…" Hana murmured.
(She didn't mean it, of course. She didn't trust this woman, not yet.)
(… The hug felt nice, though.)
(So nice, in fact, she found herself drifting off…)
"HANA!" Sakura shouted in horror, rushing out from the invisibility field as her girlfriend abruptly passed out in Yuriko's arms, the other woman's hands glowing yellow.
"Mama!" Lovekov cried, slithering next to her, Squishy shrieking angrily as he flew off her head, dislodging Kiva-la.
"I guess we're doing this, then," Nico said, raising her arm cannon and pointing it at Yuriko. "About time!"
"Release her at once!" Reika declared, drawing her sword as around her, the other women drew weapons, readied their Drivers, or, in Akiko's case, raised a sandal while trying to look very intimidating.
"No, I don't think we will."
Suddenly, a couple dozen soldiers clad all in black with metal rib cage designs on their chest, upside down bronze hemisphere buckles with a spoked wheel symbol, scarves, armor plating on their shoulders and forearms, and helmets with creepy bug eyes and antenna rushed in between, wielding jittes. A woman wearing a black suit with a white ascot and gloves wearing a black mask with a giant red eye taking up most of it appeared from behind the monument.
"And who are you supposed to be?" Haruka demanded.
"I am Miss Titan from the secret organization called Black Satan," the woman introduced herself.
"How is it secret? Your organization has been public knowledge since 1975," asked the perplexed Izu.
Ignoring her, Ms. Titan said, "We have come for Hana Natsuki. She would make quite the name for herself under our banner. Together we can create a new world!"
"Hana doesn't need to deal with another evil cult!" Sakura snarled, eyes seeming to burn. "Give her back!"
"Don't worry, you'll see her again soon," Ms. Titan promised, laughing malevolently. "As the newest member of my family… And you will all soon join her as my dear daughters!"
She snapped her fingers, and the Black Satan soldiers screeched and raced towards the girls, who transformed to fight them.
All of them except for Sakura, that is, who let out a roar which shook the area and charged forwards, plowing through the soldiers like they weren't even there as she rushed at the startled Miss Titan and Yuriko, murder in her eyes, the ground cracking with every footstep. "GIVE. HER. BACK!"
Startled, Ms. Titan gestured at the wide-eyed Yuriko, who gathered power into one hand and thrust it at the ground, creating a massive yellow explosion. Not caring that she was blinded by the blast, Sakura charged through the electro-wave…
But they were already gone.
Unleashing an even louder, more primal roar this time that caused all the combatants to freeze in place, a few of the soldiers passing out from fright, Sakura punched the monument so hard it broke in half, toppling over and shattering on the ground. "HANAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"Holy shit," Nico gasped.
"This is a pi-pu-pe-po-panic!" Poppy cried.
"She did that… Without transforming?" Reika murmured, astounded.
"I wasn't told about this!" Akiko wailed.
Squishy took advantage of everyone being distracted to start eating one of the soldiers. Kiva-la followed his example.
Sakura whirled around, stomped back over, and grabbed one of the frightened soldiers by the neck. "Tell me where they went. Now."
"I-I'm not telling you anything! You'll have to kill me!" The soldier cried.
To everyone's astonishment, Sakura callously snapped his neck, threw him to the ground, and turned towards another soldier, even more terrified now. "Tell me-"
"I found them," Izu interrupted her before she could commit any further manslaughter. "Our satellites have located them."
"Where?"
Izu gave her an address.
"Thank you."
Sakura turned and walked away, Lovekov slithering after her.
"Wait, where are you going?" Reika demanded.
"I'm going to get my girlfriend back," Sakura said calmly, her footprints bursting into flames. "And I will kill every last one of them. Feel free to join me, or not, I don't care, all I want is to get my treasure back and make those who took her from me pay."
The girls exchanged alarmed glances and quickly chased after her.
Minato narrowed her eyes. My mistress was right… She really is becoming the Dragon God…
She grinned. How exciting!