Kamen Rider Drive Battle Network

by Kamen Rider ZER0

The Global Freeze a day the earth stalled. Only saved by the legendary Kamen Rider, but the evil lives in the virtual world. Waiting to strike back at the real world and the humans. From across the virtual worlds uncanny valley rise the Roidmudes! A new brand of heroes must rise in both worlds. To move fast enough to save both worlds from destruction, Start your Engine!

13. Where'd the White&Red Heroes come from?

Z0: Hmm…*playing Megaman Battle Network Legacy Collection* Hmm…*walks around while doing annoying puzzles…resulting in somehow walking over several Interns and my friends* Eh?

GT: *footprint on stomach while playing the Battle Network Legacy Collection as well* The one drawback of pre-ordering PS4 and Switch versions is that you gotta play all the games twice to get all achievements…especially 1.

Z0: No…yeah I'm only playing 1 the once…that whack-ass Elecman stage can rot in the Delete Folder within a computer thrown into the same trench as the Titanic. *owl lands and whispers in my ear* No…no I did not get that bit off the news… Wait where am I?

GT: *pauses game and sits up* Huh…*sees the Reader* Oh! Uh…Z0, I think we're back in Drive: Battle Network. Coulda sworn I was going back to the break room after using the bathroom. Though now that I think about it…there were a lot of neon stop signs in the hallways.

Z0: Well I need to recharge my Switch anyway, this should eat up a bit of time.

GT: True. Though…what was the deal with all those neon stop signs…and why is there a stage on the stage? Come to think of it…what was this chapter about again? *looks at script* Oh…Uh…Z0, I think I know what the deal was with the signs and the stage now. *looks at the Reader* We don't own Megaman Battle Network nor Kamen Rider Drive. They are owned by their respective owners and we're just writing a fic for fun. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to flee before they show up and smack us for taking so long to get to this. *A red WideSword is pressed against neck* …Too late…Uh…Z0, blow up the stage…blow up the stage…

Z0: Okay! *M mark forms on my forehead* AHAHAHAHAH! *Giant explosion that is seen from space goes off wiping off half a continent* Worth it~

---

Tokyo Metro Police department was in the midst of a meeting to discuss a high profile case that had dropped into their hands. In this case, a rather infamous Hanamura Kinzo, a real estate speculator with a reputation almost as bad as a Yakuza Gangster. The situation, however, was not about something he did…but something that happened to him! The 65 year old man was taken to the hospital after being assaulted in his own home, from a blunt force blow to his head. It seems it wasn't actually…fatal and in fact many claim he was just knocked out. But this in turn was the mystery: who would attack Kinzo? Motives were plentiful given his sour reputation afterall. So that only made it more difficult for the room or seasoned and elder Detectives to find a suspect. That pool was far too big. And…wait, it sounds like several of the said Elder Officers in the back of the meeting had gone and taken a nap due to how long this was going…

"And you're sure that none of the Mr. Progs in his home's Network could provide anything?" one of the officers heading the meeting asked Oda.

"It would seem that something entered the Network and caused a bit of a mess within," Oda explained, "Likely whoever assaulted him used a NetNavi to disable the Network to get away unseen."

"It's not impossible. A good enough Operator could Jack In from an exterior connection or blindspot, then time their entrance," a Detective spoke, "That just means this wasn't some sudden crime of passion. It was very much premeditated."

"And…narrows down nothing except that the Culprit has a decently useful Navi…which in this day and age…is anyone young or smart…" The Captain sighed as he massaged his brow, "Hah…I miss the old days where criminals used to be stupid…"

"Gonna be even worse when SciLab and IPC Inc. start distributing that new model of PeT," another officer groaned, "No more cables, but all wireless!"

"That's progress for you," Oda shrugged, "Gotta take the good with the bad. At least there's a good thing from all this."

"And what's that?" the Captain asked.

"No more getting tangled up in the cable and falling flat on your face," Oda replied, causing several of the officers to mutter in agreement with a few even blushing in embarrassment having been tied up in the Jack-In cable of their PeTs.

"Still…this is simply frustrating! We have to find a lead for the stolen property and assault and pronto!" the Captain ordered.

"I think I have a theory on that one," everyone looked to the back where Gen had his hand raised while standing up, "There have been reports of Slowdowns occurring near the crime scene. A theory could be that the criminal used these to their advantage, slipping into the house full of guards in broad daylight, stole from Hanamura right in his face, and then struck him on the spot."

The Captain raised his brow in disbelief, "Are you serious here? You're saying that the criminal is a monster or using the RoidVirus that the Network Division has been warning people about?"

"It's been done before! Look at the 'Heat' Crime Wave caused by Match!" Gen pointed out, "Slowdowns at almost each place he targeted with heating things up!"

"So…" an officer began as he held a hand to his mouth, "What you mean to say is…"

"I am 100 percent sure no human alone could have done this. It must be a monster helping them!" Gen declared as Oda moved his fedora a bit to hide his face better.

"...BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" they all broke into laughter.

"Ah! Oi oi oi…What's going on?!" Gen gawked.

"They appear to be laughing at you, de gozaru," Yamatoman observed.

"Gen-san! You've been acting like a real nut job ever since you started working with the freak squad!" a Detective laughed.

"Look, I mean the NetNavis are amazing and all man…but they ain't monsters!" another chuckled, "For crying out loud, my little girl has one! She could be your monster~ Hahaha!"

"Only reason they have recognition at the moment is thanks to the Network Division loaning them two agents!"

"Oi…We also took down WWW thank you very much!" Gen barked.

"And all of the members are MIA. What happened there?" another officer asked, making him grimace as he remembered that Zap and Maddy had vanished from where they had left when things began blowing up.

"All that chaos from the Network going nuts even had Match managing to escape since we still had him in a cell at HQ," another sighed, shaking his head.

"Hah…It's almost a shame. We had to dump our golden boy in that place," one Detective sighed, "But what are we gonna do?"

"Oi…I'm still workin-…gah! You mean Shinnosuke!?" Gen shouted.

"He was trouble, but he did take down a lot of dangerous people," one spoke, "But after the incident with Hayase, he just wasn't the same. I bet we could get work done with that old version."

"But humans aren't like a NetNavi where you can change back to an old model. Hah…what ya gonna do?"

"Grrr…" Gen growled, his eye twitching.

"Oh…he's twitchy mad, de gozaru…" Yamatoman muttered.

"That bad, Aniki?" Japanman asked his brother.

"You're lucky, Otouto. You don't have to deal with it once the meeting's done with…" Yamatoman sighed, "Fortunately…I will not be alone in it."

"Hm?" Japanman raised a brow.

---

"ONORE!" Gen screamed through a megaphone out the window of the SIU's office, "I'M DOWNRIGHT PISSED HERE! YOU JERKS! I'LL PROVE TO YOU ALL THAT A MONSTER WAS INVOLVED WITH THIS! I…!" the megaphone suddenly shut off, "Eh?" he spun it around and a honk came out of it, making him yelp and fall over, "GAH!"

"Arigatou, Lan-kun, Hub-kun," Shinnosuke sighed in relief, uncovering his ears.

"It was giving me a headache…and I already have one from that surprise history quiz Ms. Mari pulled out of us today," Lan grumbled, returning Megaman to his PeT and then over to the nearby TV for the NetNavis of the team to be seen by everyone.

"Lan, it was known by everyone a week in advance. You only call it a surprise because you slept through the announcement of it," Megaman sighed.

"And the reason he didn't know about yesterday's math test was because you were sleeping at that time with him, Mega," Roll reminded, making him blush.

"I-It was that midnight raid, okay?" Megaman muttered, causing her to giggle.

"Anyway," Shinnosuke spoke up to return to the main topic, "We checked the scene and found no signs of a Density Shift. Trust us, me and the kids went over it several times to be sure 'cause that was the only theory that made sense. Megaman and Roll didn't find any traces in the Network either. But they did get confirmation someone was in there."

"Rinna-hakase just had to take Rush for maintenance when we could've had him there," Roll sighed, glancing over at the laptop at Rinna's desk where Rush was in a kennel…banging on the bars with a steel mug as a progress bar hovered over him.

"Oh don't be so dramatic. It's not like I'm taking you to a virtual vet, it's just maintenance," Rinna pouted, "You are a very special program and need very dedicated upkeep. Now be a good boy and listen to me." she blinked a few times when he started to play a harmonica, "When did you get that?"

"There's also the testimony from the people inside the house," Kyu added, "They were the only ones in that entire area to claim to have felt a Slowdown. Sounds kinda fishy to me."

"Ah, I knew I forgot something," Maylu sighed, "Hopefully, Masa-san's nearby when it's our break so I can grab some fish from him for dinner."

"Nani?!" Gen gawked.

"Um…If there isn't any signs of a Slowdown and the people in there were blaming it when no one else was reporting one in the area…" Maylu looked at the profile of the victim, "...Do you think it's because they're in an argument with another person like Hanamura-san and want to blame the Slowdowns?"

"A Rival Landshark using the Slowdown to pin the blame on a sneak thief, sending in a HeelNavi to disable the Network so there would be no Evidence…" Shinnosuke spoke up, "If that's the case, it's not our type of case in the end."

"I can't believe you people! The Kids I understand, they always try and get out of work…"

"Hey/Sometimes…" both kids spoke up.

"Wait…we're missing two people," Gen realized, looking around, "Where's the chief and Kiriko?!"

"Ah! Jun-Jiichan said he needs to entertain some top brass, so he'll be out all day and tomorrow morning since they're going out of town for it," Lan explained, going back to checking his BattleChips, "Probably taking them somewhere fun."

"Kiriko took the day off," Shinnosuke added, "She says her little brother who lives in America for college is suddenly coming back. So she took the day off to clean her apartment and get things ready for him. She lives comfortably, so I imagine she's not in a state for an annoying little Otouto-kun to see."

"Given how often she puts in overtime around here, she must have enough saved up vacation hours and sick days to take a long vacation," Yamatoman pointed out and subtly giving a judging look at Gen.

"Masaka…" Gen gawked.

"Good thing we don't gotta worry about that," Lan noted with a smile, "Right, Nii-san?"

"And yet I still have to scold you to clean your room and do your homework, Nii-chan," Megaman frowned, making Lan nearly fall out of his chair, "One downside to being a NetNavi is not being able to properly get you to do it and just have to scold you."

"Such is the trait of siblings. No matter how much they love each other, they always gotta argue about something," Shinnosuke chuckled.

"Come on, you guys! You're my only source of vindication!" Gen complained.

"Wah…he's being honest…" Shinnosuke and Lan awed.

"Stop poisoning this child, Shinnosuke!" Gen complained.

"Wah…? I'm a great role model," Shinnosuke argued, "You talk nonsense and poppycock."

"..." Megaman facepalmed, "Teaching Lan how to sneak out at night without waking Mama up to get to assist in a police raid is not being a great role model, Tomari-san…especially when he manages to use it on me and I'm not woken up until it's time for the raid to start!"

"No, of course it is. See that is a skill everyone needs in their teenage years," Shinnosuke argued, "See when we are at our annoying angsty phase in life, sometimes we need to sneak out and be stupid. It's those stupid mistakes that help a man grow. If you don't do those stupid things, you end up all stressed like Gen-san."

"Why am I the bad example!?" Gen complained.

"Do you want the list in numerical or alphabetical?"

"R-Roll-chan?!" Maylu gawked.

"Haha! I influenced two of 'em!" Shinnosuke laughed.

"Well the old adage is opposites attract…it makes sense the two brothers have such luck," Rinna muttered.

"Mou! Will you guys just help me already!?" Gen complained, "Let's go check the scene again! We have to have missed something!" he ran towards the door, "Come on! We're gonna use the Pikopiko all over that place until we find even the smallest trace!"

"I've never seen Gen-san so motivated before," Maylu admitted before Kyu snickered.

"That's because he got laughed at and now he's all frustrated," Kyu pointed out.

"And he forgot me," Yamatoman sighed, rolling his eyes as if this wasn't the first time he had done it.

"I'll go with him so he doesn't hurt himself…or get stuck in something…or break something," Shinnosuke sighed as he picked up Yamatoman's PeT, "Anyone want to join us and hang out in a tacky mansion?"

"Please someone come…Tomari-san always sneaks away and I can't be alone with Gen-san when he's like this…" Yamatoman pleaded.

"Oh! Maylu-chan and I will!" Roll volunteered.

"We're always up for…" Lan began before his PeT went off.

"EMail from Oda-san, Lan," Megaman informed, checking it, "Ah! We're needed for assignment."

"Huh?!" Lan gawked.

"An agent from America is in the area who needs assistance with a case," Megaman explained, "The address for the meetup point is just a few blocks down the road from here."

"Aw man…Alright, guess this is work after all. Might as well be a pro about it!" Lan smiled.

"Hmm…someone from America twice in one day…" Yamatoman mused.

"Stay safe, okay, Mega?" Roll spoke.

"I will," Megaman assured, "And you stay safe out there, too, in case a Slowdown does happen." he blushed when the older-looking NetNavi hugged him.

"Lan has his chip, right?" Roll whispered.

"He never leaves home without it," Megaman softly assured, earning a nod from Roll before she logged out and Maylu ran after Shinnosuke before Lan left with Megaman a moment after.

"Hmm, strange. I feel an itch in my posterior…" Yamatoman muttered to himself, "Why does this feeling persist after seeing those two?"

---

Shinnosuke sighed as they combed the mansion again. Looking in every room, every corner, and every area of the large Japanese style mansion. He groaned as he walked around outside with an umbrella in the rain, choosing to do so and let Maylu handle the inside with a smaller unit. But so far, neither of them found any trace of Slowdown, clearly no Roidmude was here. Somehow they also lost Gen inside the mansion, but they were sure he could find his way out. Neither knowing he was, in fact, lost in hidden passages built into the mansion, and that he wouldn't find his way out for a while.

"NANJA KORA!" Gen shouted from inside a wall, making Maylu jump a little.

"Okay…how?" Roll asked.

"I kind of stopped questioning his knack for finding these…" Yamatoman muttered, "Honestly…It has helped in a few cases, but more often than not…" another thump came from a wall several doors down…on the other side of the hallway, "Such as in this case."

"This mansion is so big, and…well…" Maylu couldn't find the word.

"Traditional to the point of tacky?" Roll asked, "Wasn't there a Sumo Ring in the backyard?"

"That…That was a bit excessive…" Maylu admitted.

"Right? I know the old man was rich…but wow…" Roll sighed, "I guess I can see why he has enemies."

"It seems common for those with…excessive wealth to have claimed it through some dubious means, de gozaru," Yamatoman added.

"I hope Tomari-san has had some better luck outside." Maylu sighed.

---

"Hah…nothing," Shinnosuke sighed, crouching down with an umbrella over him as he checked the sumo ring in the backyard of the mansion. Literally no signs at all of Slowdown having occurred here, again…just like before, but he did agree something weird did happen. But he just didn't know what was going on, or if this was even his type of case. He was then brought out of his musing by the sound of a camera shutter making him turn to see a man dressed in tan jeans, a red shirt and a white hoodie with red stripes and interior.

"Now that was a nice picture!" he smiled, revealing his young face, he then jumped down off the wall surrounding the mansion, and made his way over to Shinnosuke, "I think I'll call it…Police Officer Struggles with the Investigation." he turned his camera around to show an image of Shinnosuke crouching down from behind with the back of his shirt untucked from his pants, "Not bad, huh? Combined with the weird gizmo…makes for a neat contrast!"

"Gah!" Shinnosuke gawked at the embarrassing image, "Oi, give me that!" he shouted as he tried to snatch the camera but the young man weaved out of his reach rapidly.

"Nope! No way~!" the young man chuckled in his dodging.

"Oi! What are you, another scoop hungry reporter?" Shinnosuke demanded.

"How about we have a little competition then?" the young man suddenly asked.

"...Are you some kind of idiot?" Shinnosuke bluntly asked.

"Hahaha…Maybe~" he smirked, "But I mean a race! Yes, a Race buddy! Let's see which of us can find the culprit first!"

"Ah…though this might not even be my jurisdiction…so…wouldn't it be in my best interest to ignore you?" Shinnosuke deadpanned, making him stumble a bit.

"Haha…you are a snarky officer, big guy, has anyone mentioned you're, like, freakishly tall for a Japanese man? I've seen guys barely your height in America…"

"Do you have an off button?" Shinnosuke groaned.

"If I do, no one's found it~" he chuckled, "But come on, you're a hot blooded Detective! You can't let this case grow cold! Don't you want to beat me?" he challenged.

"Unlike you, I'm an adult." Shinnosuke replied, "Who prefers to rest in neutral."

"Beat me and I erase the picture."

"Let's do this thing," Shinnosuke declared.

"Yes~" the young man cheered, "Special Investigation Unit Officer Tomari Shinnosuke!"

"Wait, how do you…" Shinnosuke blinked.

"Versus! The Handsome and Mysterious Cameraman~"

"Mmm…I've seen better…" Shinnosuke muttered.

"Nonsense!" he declared as he suddenly back flipped away and cleared a hedge a good two-three meters away. He then began flipping all around the backyard like some mad gymnast before he leapt up to the large wall, and then over it.

"Nanda?" Shinnosuke blinked in shock, "Some kind of weirdo ninja teenager? Aw man…I totally fell for his pace…Kiriko would totally hold this against me…and Lan-kun would just laugh until Hub-kun scolds him…"

"Shinnosuke-san!"

"Hm? Maylu-chan?" Shinnosuke pondered before calling out, "Over here!"

"We've got it! We've got a big lead!" Gen whooped as he and Maylu ran over under white umbrellas like Shinnosuke's.

"Hm?" Shinnosuke pondered.

"One of the neighbors saw it! A man running away while a Slowdown was going off!" Roll explained.

"Uso?!" Shinnosuke exclaimed in surprise.

---

"Oh?" an old manager of a factory nodded as he looked at a picture of a young man with a rather large mole on the right side of his chin, and notable features like wide nostrils and large lips, "This is totally our Todogawa-kun, even down to that giant beauty mark of his." he nodded handing the picture to Shinnosuke who handed it to Maylu to put in an evidence folder, "He's a pretty decent kid, but he hangs out with a rough bunch, so I'm not shocked if he got roped into something. Ah! He should be clocking in for his shift soon." he looked at his watch before turning to see someone on a bike, "Ah, it's him! Todogawa-kun! Todogawa-kun!"

In truth, it was the young man and upon spotting two police officers, he panicked and began pedaling away.

"Oh!" Shinnosuke and Gen shouted running after him, Maylu deciding to leave this part to the more physically superior adult officers. She bowed to the manager who shook his head, seeing the boy running as admittance of his being involved in this.

"Hold it right there!" Shinnosuke shouted as they chased him around the factory's maze-like workings of pathways and underpaths beneath catwalks to link buildings.

"Stop running!" Gen shouted before they heard a pop and saw Todogawa yelping as his bike got a flat tire due to some broken glass and sharp gravel, "Halt!"

"Gyahahaha!" Todogawa screamed, looking around before quickly running up a set of stairs nearby.

"Matte! Oi!" Gen cried out as Shinnosuke and himself dashed up the stairs after him, "Hey! Oi! Slow down, dang it!"

"This is going to be quite nice for your daily exercise, Gen-kun, de gozaru."

"Lend a hand, dang it!"

"How? There is no Jack-In Port nearby that is connected to a machine to allow me to manipulate it. Nor do we have an Advance PeT yet, de gozaru."

"GRAH!" Gen screamed as they got onto the roof and chased Todogawa several times around a large container on the top, "Stop right there! You slippery bastard!"

Todogawa huffed and gasped, feeling a burning in his lungs from the chase. He ran around a pipe and spotted a smaller steel pipe leaned against some cans containing oils for machine maintenance. As fast as he could, he grabbed the pipe and spun around, wildly swinging it at the two officers, who skidded and barely avoided the swings.

"Hey-hey-hey! Easy there! Gah! Put down the weapon!" Gen snapped.

"You call that wielding a polearm? Your movements are a mockery to those of us who utilize the weapon and your ancestors that utilized the same, de gozaru!"

"Don't encourage him, you dummy!"

"I think he has a point. At this rate, he's more likely to bash his own face in…" Shinnosuke muttered.

"Now don't you encourage Yamatoman, Tomari!" Gen barked before Todogawa ended up smacking himself in the face, "Gah! He really did smack himself…" Todogawa kicked one of the cans at them while turning around…before a Slowdown went off, "Ah! A Slowdown?! It's really…!" Gen stumbled ahead in his slowed down state, "Bakemono da!"

"Gen-kun, watch out!" Yamatoman exclaimed before Gen's foot landed in the puddle of oil.

"Gen-san!" Shinnosuke called out as Todogawa ran off, rather normally, all the while Gen fell off the top over the railing…slowly, but they were still at the top of this at least five story tall factory complex.

"Tasukete!" Gen screamed.

Shinnosuke turned to where Gen had fallen and didn't see an Evolved Roidmude run out where Todogawa had left. The Roidmude wore a flexible alloy carrying intricate patterns on it in the form of a shawl with a bandolier of bullets going across his torso and attaching to his left shoulderguard. He sported to belts made of a brown alloy that resembled a thick leather with the holster of a gun on his left hip with more rusted yellow alloy making a 'skirt' of sorts on the back of his lower body with layered gunmetal armor going up his legs to give the appearance of thick pants. On the back of his feet were spurs while actual leather covered his arms and went into gunmetal gauntlets in the shape of old American Western gloves. The right side of his upper body and over part of his right shoulder was metal shaped to resemble the hammer of a flintlock pistol that was primed and ready to go off. His face sported two red eyes, the left one larger than the right, with 'hair' made of pitch black hammers for a revolver style pistol and a metal cowboy hat atop his head. In his hands was the gun for the holster that he used to quickly fire upon Shinnosuke, creating an explosion.

"Shinnosuke~!" Gen screamed, seeing the flames of the explosion from his slow fall down.

"Heh. Slow on the draw, offi…" the Roidmude began before tensing as the smoke cleared, revealing nothing in the spot, "What in tarnation?!" he looked over the railing to see Gen still falling on one side, "Not there…" he looked over the other side and gawked, "WHAT?!"

"Iteiteiteiteite!" Shinnosuke screamed as he slid down several of the Shift Car's roads, sending up tiny traffic signs and street lights in his slide down, "Ah! Ooh! Oh-hohohohohoho~!" he yelped as the roads came to an end and sent him falling flat on his back on the road below, "...Ow…"

"Tomari-san!"

"?!" Shinnosuke grunted as he looked to see Tridoron drive over, Maylu in the passenger seat.

"Hurry, Shinnosuke!" Belt-san ordered as he opened the driver door for the officer.

"Great timing! Thanks, Belt-san! Because of you, I didn't get…" Shinnosuke cheered as he ran over…before blinking a few times at the blue ticket Maylu handed him, "...hit? Eh?"

"You destroyed a lot of signs and street lights," Maylu explained.

"I counted well over a hundred and twenty-seven lights and over two dozen signs," Roll added with a giggle.

"Eh? What the…but I…Ah mou~! I'll deal with Kiriko rubbing off on you two later!" Shinnosuke exclaimed, grabbing Belt-san and strapping him on.

"Should we tell him that Justice Hunter was the one who requested that?" Roll whispered.

"Shh…" Maylu replied.

"WHOA!" Gen panicked as he was still…barely past the top floor of the building.

"Start Your Engine!"

"If he wants to have a shootout, he picked the wrong Lawman to have one with," Shinnosuke declared, slotting in Type Technic, "Henshin!"

"GAH!" Gen screamed, finally reaching the next floor.

=DRIVE: Type Technic!=

Drive leapt and made it back to the roof of the factory complex, leaving the car and young girl in it on the road, the latter noticing the falling officer.

"Ano…is there…anything we can do?"

"Technically, due to the Gravity Shift, the momentum of the fall is more or less negated. He should land rather softly, but…I don't think that will cure the panic and terror…" Roll muttered.

"...So Lan tried to catch Kyu-san for nothing?" Maylu asked.

"Oh right. I forgot about that," Roll giggled.

On the roof, Drive blocked several shots with his Door-Ju from the Roidmude before returning fire. He rolled out of the way of several shots, quickly opening and closing his gun's namesake to reload. The Roidmude grunted as he tried to shoot, but flinched as he flipped his gun open and the bullets decorating his bandoliers began glowing and floating into the gun for him. The two quickly aimed before shooting at the other at the same time, their bullets flying past one another resulting in both getting shot. The Roidmude growled as he rushed and swung to pistol whip the Kamen Rider, but his arm was blocked. Drive twisted the Roidmude's arm around before dragging him towards the stairs.

Both grunted, reaching the next floor down, as Drive elbowed the Roidmude, making him stumble back. Drive then blinked, turning to see a screaming Gen falling past the railing. The Kamen Rider sighed as he moved to try and drag him in, but forgot the Roidmude who grabbed him from behind and swung him around. He moved to shoot Drive from behind, but the light on the back of his helmet lit up, and Drive swung his arm to slap the gun away, making the Roidmude misfire. Drive grunted leaning forward and kicking the monster making him stumble back. The Kamen Rider spun around and grabbed the Roidmude's arm before swinging him around and pinning him to the wall, slamming his elbow into the Advanced Roidmude's back to keep him there. But the Rider blinked as his literal rear view sensor saw Gen falling past his reach on this floor. He moved to try and reach for him, but this let the Roidmude get out of his position.

The Roidmude chuckled as he turned around with both hands on his gun. Energy began to swell around the barrel with an audible charging sound.

"Crap!" Drive flinched, turning around to use the Door-Ju as a shield to deflect the powerful charged bullet as it caused a rather moderate explosion upon impact, "Oi, oi! That's what Megaman-kun does with his Buster! You copycat!" he paused for a moment, "...Why do I keep getting copycat criminals when it comes to things involving Roidmudes?! First the Ultimate Lupin one and now this!"

"Who are you calling a copycat, ya sidewinder!?" he shouted in outrage as he charged another shot.

"Yipe!" Drive panicked as he jumped down the stairs to the next floor and avoided another explosion. He ducked behind some pipes and machinery as the Roidmude walked down and began shooting, "Your aim's not half bad; but unlike the Westerns, this Lawman is the good guy!" he laughed as he reloaded. He then aimed over his shoulder and used his helmet's rear sensor to aim as he began shooting back, making the Roidmude grunt as he rolled down the rest of the stairs to avoid the shots.

The Roidmude growled, getting to his feet, only to grunt as Drive cleared the distance and slammed the Door-Ju into his chest. Drive sighed as he spotted Gen falling past this floor, so he decided to focus on the enemy. He grabbed the Roidmude's gun and forced him to aim down as he pushed the monster towards a railing in the hopes of trying to leverage his weapon out of his hands. The Rider grunted slamming the Roidmude's wrist onto the railing before smacking it from above with the Door-Ju.

"GWAH! GROUND!" Gen panicked.

"Gen-san!" Drive turned his head to see Gen almost near the ground. But the Roidmude used this distraction to knock them both off the railing and hitting the ground first. Drive grunted, only to be peppered with bullets as the Roidmude fanned his gun.

"Adios Sheriff~" the Roidmude tipped his hat as he got up and ran off first.

"Ah! Wait a…" Drive began, getting up only for the Slowdown to stop just as Gen landed on his feet.

"SAFE!" Gen shouted.

"Gen-kun! Daijobu?!" Yamatoman asked in a panic.

"I'm fine! I'm safe! I…I'm…" Gen trailed off as he fell over onto his back, "Ohh…"

Drive quickly ran over and looked down at Gen, "Daijoubu ka?"

"Kamen Rider!" Gen gasped, "His helmet…" Drive panicked and quickly moved out of his line of sight, "...it's green!" he passed out, "Ugh…"

"Ah! Aibou! Ah mou…" Yamatoman panicked as Drive ran off in the direction the Roidmude had run off to…only to find no sign of them.

"It appears he's escaped," Belt-san noted, Drive changing back into Shinnosuke.

"Just our luck," Shinnosuke sighed, his tie loosening up, "You think Lan-kun's having a better time?"

"From what Braver's reported…" Belt-san adopted a deadpan expression, "No."

"Eh?" Shinnosuke pondered, unaware of the photographer taking a photo from a spot nearby.

---

"Alright, Oda-san said we're supposed to meet the agent here to talk about the case," Lan noted earlier, walking along the street and arriving at a cafe, "Eh?"

"This is a rather expensive place…don't order anything but water, Lan," Megaman warned.

"Hey…" Lan frowned as he entered, "Did the message say anything about how they looked?"

"Yes. Apparently, we met them before," Megaman noted.

"We did?" Lan asked as he looked around…before gawking upon seeing Chaud, taking a sip of coffee, "Ah! It's…"

Chaud glanced up from his drink and frowned, "Oda sent you of all people for this case? He must be going senile."

"Oi! What's the supposed to mean?!" Lan demanded as he marched over and glared at the dual-haired boy.

"This isn't the time. We were the agents closest to here to respond, Blaze-san," Megaman explained.

"Someone like you helping me?" Chaud asked, raising a brow before shaking his head, "I should've done this alone."

"Ghh…This guy…" Lan growled under his breath as his eye twitched before slamming his hand on the table, "Oi! Whatever this case is, we've got it handled just like when we took down the WWW!"

"You mean the WWW that had all their members vanish after their base was destroyed? Including Match, who got out of police custody during the chaos here?"

"Yeah! We're still looking for them, but we destroyed their base and deleted that LifeVirus thing they were gonna use!"

"Bragging now, are we?" Chaud calmly noted, taking another sip of his drink, "Really unbecoming of a member of the CID."

"Ghhh…" Lan fumed, "J-Just what is this assignment anyway?!" 'Sooner I get this done, sooner I can get away from this jerk!'

"NetNavi theft," Chaud replied, sliding a red Advanced PeT onto the table, making Lan do a double-take on seeing the device, "Protoman."

"Understood, Lord Chaud," Protoman replied, "Several days ago, a figure was able to bypass the advanced security on the Arizona Officials base and stole the NetNavi of a special agent known as 'Tomahawkman.' Their signal was traced and found to be coming to DenTech City. The assignment is to obtain the missing NetNavi and detain the thief."

"They stole a NetNavi…but what for? And why so specific as well?"

"Tomahawkman is programed as a heavy-hitter. In simulations, he is able to fell over two dozen highly customized NetNavis in a single swing," Protoman explained, "The raw strength alone can allow his kidnappers to bypass several security systems."

"It still seems like a grand ordeal for a singular Navi. There has to be something we aren't seeing here. A Hidden motive that we have yet to discover. If they could get through to steal someone so strong, would they even need them?" Megaman pointed out, "This has to be either a very complex multilayered plan of great forethought…or a bunch of idiots did something they thought would be a good idea…"

"It's more of the latter," Chaud stated as Protoman sent Megaman a photo, "This is a picture of the thief taken from a camera that the man waved at."

Lan and Megaman looked at it and blinked a few times. The photo was a rather plump man in pink-rimmed glasses and a strange metallic-looking crooked hat. He was waving at the camera with a staff ending in a piggybank. Lan narrowed his eyes.

"Who's the guy in the background?" Lan asked.

Chaud nearly choked on his drink and looked at the photo again, "What?"

"There, in the background," Lan pointed as Megaman brightened the photo, revealing a dark-skinned man in Old Western clothing with a modern day fedora atop a bandana with 'SNOOP' all over it in gold aiming a gun at the camera, "See?"

"Protoman," Chaud spoke as Lan sat down opposite of him.

"Checking the US Database," Protoman replied…before frowning as his visor glowed for a moment, "Gaff, an armed mercenary hired by the Mafia to maintain better control of the Network. He's been near the top of the Most Wanted list of the Officials for several months now."

"How did you…?" Chaud began to ask.

"Kiriko-nee and Shinnosuke-nii thought it'd be a good idea to improve my eyesight for night missions," Lan explained, 'Well…It was really Belt-san, but can't tell him that.' "And you're sure the first guy came here?"

"Airport footage showed him arriving," Chaud replied, "The question is why come here after stealing a NetNavi?"

Lan shrugged, "Well if he's really stupid like how he looks, maybe he thinks coming here means he can't be charged because he's not in the country he did the crime in." he crossed his arms over his chest as he closed his eyes in thought, "But that other guy, Daft…"

"Gaff," Megaman corrected.

"...He's supposed to be someone Mafia guys hire because he's good at his job in maintaining control of the Network," Lan went on, "..." he opened his eyes and looked at Chaud, "Are there any new organizations that'd likely have hired him and likely need a NetNavi like this Tomatoman…"

"Tomahawkman," Megaman corrected.

"...and his power?" Lan finished his question, "I mean…with the WWW taken down or going into hiding, it makes some sorta 'power vacuum' in Japan since this was where they were primarily located."

"That's…honestly true," Chaud noted, "How did you think of that?"

"Oh that's easy! Spider-Man on the PS4 and how things went insane because the Kingpin was taken down at the very beginning of it!" Lan replied, causing Chaud to nearly fall out of his chair, "What? Shinnosuke-nii and I play it all the time on Sundays. It helped him explain complicated things about how criminals work and how police go about stuff. Also it's fun."

"Of course you think like that…"

"Given my lessons with Shinnosuke-nii…you don't know how to talk to people your age, do you?" Lan bluntly asked, ruining the mood again and making Chaud nearly fall out of his chair for a second time, "Yeah, you're totally socially awkward as heck…"

"...I am so sorry for him," Megaman apologized, bowing to Protoman.

"What? He's sitting there judging me for my flaws…it's only fair I point out his." Lan crossed his arms.

"T-Tomari-san teaches you many things about being sassy…" Megaman muttered with a slight eye twitch.

"Well, he also taught me to treat people like they treat others," Lan muttered.

"Ah…" Megaman let out a loud sigh at that. The pressures of being the mature one of this odd kyodai dynamic was beginning to tire the poor Navi out, "I think we've gotten off track."

"We have," Protoman confirmed, Lan flinching as he swore that the red NetNavi was glaring at him behind his visor in annoyance, "There have been minor rumors about a rising organization, reaching even as far as the Networks in the Americas. They're either known as Grave or Gospel depending on who's talking. With the WWW currently unavailable, there is a chance that this organization will try to take their place."

"And what better way to establish that then by hiring the one mercenary that's good at getting a good control of Networks?" Lan noted.

"And the other one?" Chaud asked.

"I think he's the dummy of the two that is more of a distraction while the other does his work," Lan guessed.

"You're still on that…these are legitimately dangerous criminals," Chaud sighed.

"And he's wearing a really stupid hat," Lan argued, pointing at the photo, "I'm just saying, one of them is dangerous, and the other seems to just be a sidekick. Oh…or friends…or brothers? The one who does all the work and the one who tags along?"

'The tragedy is how likely that actually is given how weird Roidmudes and even WWW have proven to be. The latter hardly even looked like master criminals and more goofy people that I'm certain Kiriko-san has left with permanent physical damage…' Megaman thought to himself as a waitress walked over to a trio of males.

"Your bill, sirs," the waitress spoke, placing it down before them and moved to walk off…before yelping as the trio quickly dashed off, "Ah! Wait! You need to pay!"

"Ah great. Dine and dashers now?" Lan groaned as Chaud laid down several bills under his unfinished drink before running after them, "Ah!" he ran out after Chaud, "Wait up!"

"Ya gotta be kidding me…!" one of the trio groaned as they looked over their shoulder to see the two pre-teens chasing them.

"Kids are chasing us?!" another asked, "Tch. We can just…"

"Oi, oi, oi. Isn't that one kid Chaud Blaze?" the third asked in concern.

"Eh? Ah mou~! I think he is!" the first panicked.

"He's a kid with short legs! Just keep running!" the second snapped.

"I mean, even if it's true he didn't need to…" Lan blinked, tilting his head to look ahead of them, "Ah!" he gasped, seeing Kiriko ahead of them, carrying a bag of groceries, "Kiriko-nee! Bad people!"

"Hmm?" she blinked before seeing the three men, her eyes going from normal to intense in an instant.

"Hey, who's-GAH!" the first yelped as he was kneed in the face and sent flying back.

"AH!" the third yelped as he was grabbed by the hair…and slammed face first into the ground.

"..." Kiriko turned to the last one as she lifted the one she just smacked into the ground by said hair…and tossed him into the first she kneed in the face, "...Give up…or I'm breaking your thumbs…and jaw."

"Ghhh…Y-You guys are on your own!" the second exclaimed before spinning around…as a Slowdown went off.

"?!" Kiriko slowly stumbled in surprise.

"A Heavy Acceleration…here?" Chaud asked.

The second ran around a corner…before an Evolved Roidmude skipped back out. His lower body was covered in layered bronze armor resembling the pants of a native american with metal moccasins for feet. Layered onyx armor covered its shoulders, each piece resembling a chiseled arrowhead, while its arms looked as if they were made to resemble totem poles. In both its hands were tomahawks shaped to resemble eagles while its head looked like an eagle totem with a metal native american chief's headdress on it, red eyes glowing in the 'eagle totem's' eyes.

"Eh?" Lan gawked as he was the only one moving normally due to his hidden Shift Car companion.

"Roidmude!" Megaman gasped.

"Hooo…" the Evolved Roidmude reeled his tomahawks back before a red energy glistened on the blades, "HAH!"

He swung them, sending out energy tomahawks that spun around before hitting parts of the building they were by, sending rubble down at the slowed off-duty officer, two runaways, and two on-duty agents. A flash of light went off and CF Megaman quickly shot the debris away.

"Wait…wha?" the Roidmude blinked, looking at CF Megaman, "Ah! What are you!? No one told me there was a Kamen Rider Jr!"

"...Eh? Kamen Rider Jr?" CF Megaman pondered before sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, "That's nice of ya!" he quickly shot at the Roidmude, making him stumble back, "But doesn't mean I'm letting ya get away with trying to attack us! Now…"

"Ah! Lan!" Megaman yelped, "The other two!"

"Eh?" CF MEgaman pondered as he looked at the two others…before gawking to see them running around the corner, "EH?! W-Were they Roidmudes, too?!"

"That's for me to know and none of your business!" the Roidmude declared as he charge at CF Megaman and swung his weapons at him, forcing the boy to jump over them and behind the Roidmude, who spun around to have his blades parried with a Sword replacing CF Megaman's right glove, "I still don't get why NetNavis do that!"

"Do what?"

"That! Replacing their gloves with the weapon! That is so hard to fight like that, right?!"

"Hmm?" CF Megaman looked at the Sword equipped to his arm before slashing the Roidmude as he was distracted and making him yelp and stumble away, "Seems kinda easy to me. I don't have the dexterity to swing a real sword like the Kamen Rider~" he chuckled, "But I am fast on the slotting in of BattleChips!"

"You cheeky little brat! I will get you for that!" the Roidmude snapped.

"I don't know…you seem really stupid…Say? Do you happen to wear a really stupid metal hat and carry a really dumb cane?" CF Megaman asked as he motioned to his head with his normal arm and then made a motion of shaping a cane.

"Stupid?! I'll have you know that Aniki made me that hat!"

"So this is you?" CF Megaman held up the photo.

"Hah! I knew it'd get my good side!"

"Yappa baka!" CF Megaman nodded as he swung his Sword and slashed the Roidmude again, making him yelp and fall over flat on his face, "Dai-Baka…"

"Well, now we know why he wanted Tomahawkman," Megaman grimaced.

"Ah! Kisama! You forced someone's NetNavi to fuse with you! That's messed up!" CF Megaman shouted as he swung his leg and kicked the Roidmude in the rear as he began trying to get up, sending him flying down the street a bit, "I can see why you went for someone so strong…you're weak as heck!"

"WEAK?!" the Roidmude complained.

"As Heck…keep up, man. Aren't you supposed to be like an adult mentally?" CF Megaman asked while tapping his helmet.

"D'oh~! You lousy little brat!" he barked as he swung his tomahawks, sending out energy slashes that hit CF Megaman and making him stumble back with several sparks coming off him.

"Lan?!"

"Gah…Why didn't AntiSword work…?" CF Megaman asked as he got up.

"It must not be a Sword Element," Megaman guessed with a grimace.

"Uso!? It's a big sharp stick…what kind of crazy logic is this?" CF Megaman sighed, "Okay, now it's personal you weirdo!"

"Hey…That hurts, ya know! If anything, you're the weirdo here wearing a NetNavi like that!"

"Hey! Megaman and I are partners! He's okay with this…That NetNavi you have, however, has no choice in this! That is what makes you the creepy one! You are forcing something on that poor NetNavi! Also…you're a freaky mutant robot…an ugly freaky mutant robot…"

"Audible Gasp! How dare you! I am not ugly!"

"..." CF Megaman gestured to a window.

The Roidmude struggled with not turning his head and ultimately failed as he jumped to face the window to see his reflection, but nodded, seeing himself as handsome. He turned around only to see a MegaBuster aimed at his face and fully charged up.

"I hate kids so much…"

"Fire!" CF Megaman shouted, blasting and unleashing a big blast that sent the Roidmude flying back and slamming into an open dumpster, "Okay…Sword and AntiSword used up…so that leaves the last three to use to blow him up and get the NetNavi outta him."

"We should still be careful. He's stupid, but it seems that the power he stole from Tomahawkman is still really painful," Megaman spoke up, "And we don't have Tomari-san to cover for us so we can reload."

"Right," CF Megaman agreed as the Roidmude cut himself out of the dumpster.

"Alright! I have had enough!" the Roidmude snapped before noticing a banana peel on his face, "..." he grabbed it and threw it at CF Megaman, who moved to the side to avoid it, "Alright! Enough of that you!" he brought his tomahawks together…before they glowed and fused into a tomahawk as big as him, "Tomahawk Swing!"

"EH?!" CF Megaman exclaimed before yelping as the Roidmude swung down at the ground, causing a massive shockwave to tear along the street towards him, "Gah! AreaS…"

"Chaud and Kiriko-san are behind us!" Megaman reminded.

"Ah! Gh…Oh! G-Guard, Download!"

A yellow energy barrier appeared before him, a green plus in the center of it. The shockwave slammed into the barrier…only for it to shatter and the shockwave to slam into CF Megaman. He cried out as he was knocked away, skidding on his back to by Kiriko. His armor glowed before the CrossFusion canceled out, the outfit reforming into his PeT that landed on his chest.

"Hah! I did it! I did it~!" the Roidmude laughed…before groaning as smoke started to come out of his arm joints, "Ugh…L-Little too much in that last one…" the tomahawk glowed before changing back into two smaller ones that he put on his hips before running off, "Aniki~! I can't feel my arms~!"

"Lan!" Megaman panicked as the Slowdown vanished with the retreat of the Roidmude, allowing Kiriko to quickly get over to the brunette.

"Lan-kun?" she asked, looking him over, "Hah…what a reckless boy." she sighed, picking him up with one arm.

"Ugh…He may be stupid…but he's strong…" Lan groaned, trying to keep his eyes open.

"That's sadly normal in our lives," Kiriko replied, "Don't worry I'll let you rest at my place while Doctor takes a look at you." she then blinked, "Wait…where did the boy with the strange hair go?"

"Huh? …Ah! Where is Chaud?" Megaman asked, noticing him missing as well.

---

"Hah…" Shinnosuke sighed, popping one of his milk candies in his mouth at his desk, as Lan snorted in his sleep at his desk as Mad Doctor peeked out of his hair, 'Glad that Kiriko-san was nearby so I could get him back here…'

"So you two fought a RoidNavi while Shinnosuke-san fought a Roidmude and both got away," Roll noted, the two in Lan's PeT as she was healing up the blue NetNavi's injuries.

"Hai, that was strange, too. It didn't feel at all like this guy knew how to fight. So that's why he took such a powerful NetNavi, really powerful."

"There's no doubt about it!" Gen declared, spinning around to look at the few members of the team in the office, "Todogawa Naoki and that dine n' dash trio…they are what Sensei spoke of…The Rori Shoujo!"

"E-Eh?!" Maylu exclaimed as Rinna, Kyu, and Shinnosuke nearly fell over.

Rinna shook her head in exasperation, "It's Roidmude! Not a young girl like Maylu-chan! She's much prettier for one!"

"People have reported the monsters calling themselves that multiple times. So we can be sure of the name," Kyu spoke up, "They seem really happy to say it to everyone in earshot sometimes. It's either their Race or the name of their organization. Since people say they look like freaky living metal people or animals…I am in the 'monster race' boat."

"Not only that…but I finally managed to see the face of the Kamen Rider!" Gen declared with a grin.

"EH?!" Kyu and Maylu gasped, Lan snorting.

"Wh…Wha?" Lan mumbled.

"Lan, he says he saw Tomari-san's face," Megaman whispered, a panicked expression on his face.

"..." Lan looked at Shinnosuke, "...I can see it here, too."

"While suited up!" he quietly snapped as he facepalmed.

"But…it's literally Kamen Rider…so doesn't he mean he saw his mask?" Lan asked as he blinked a few times.

"You saw the Kamen Rider's face?!" Kyu asked in excitement, "Ahhh~! I wanna see it too! You saw him in the flesh or armor o-or whatever he's in?! You're such a lucky guy~!"

Rinna and Maylu looked to Shinnosuke, who shook his head and held up his fingers to emote: Just a little bit. Mostly to calm them down and that nothing would come of this.

"I'll show you!" Gen declared as he took a piece of paper and some colored pens, mostly black, red, and green. With an almost excited child-like vigor, he began to draw a figure with a black body, red arms and a green head with two horns…before he showed it to everyone.

"...Nanda sore…" Kyu spoke in disappointment, "Kuwagata?" he motioned to the horns of the head.

"...Oh! Maybe it's a traffic light from the Americas?" Lan guessed, "No, no, wait…they're supposed to have yellow, right?"

"No! This is the Kamen Rider! This is what I've seen of him! He has Black Legs, Red Arms, and a Green Face!" Gen explained.

Rinna and Maylu took a moment and realized: Gen's never once seen Drive's full body in any one form. Just glimpses of each three. So he assumed all those features came from a singular form. Meaning he literally still knew nothing about Drive. The two and Shinnosuke sighed as they made the safe motion and took a deep sigh of relaxation.

"Mmm…Oh, I get it!" Lan noted.

"You do?" Kyu asked.

"Gen-san didn't pass art class in elementary school!" Lan beamed, causing Gen to fall over and causing Maylu to cover her mouth to try to not laugh.

"...Did you, Gen-san?" Yamatoman asked.

"Mou, enough! Okay, I'm not artistic! But you get the point! This is the Kamen Rider. He has multicolored insect-looking armor!" Gen snapped.

"Insect…?" Maylu to think back to Drive. Well, besides the crystal compound eyes…not very buglike, and even then his eyes were the headlights of a car. Yeah, not very insect-like.

"But that's not the point! If I go after Todagawa, I might be able to see him change into the Rolling Muse!"

"Are you getting it wrong on purpose?" Roll asked in disbelief while Gen spun around to look at Rinna.

"Sensei, is the device ready?"

"Of course!" Rinna grinned in excitement, "Come on, Genpachi!"

"Oh!" Gen nodded as she ran out and he followed after, leaving the kids, their NetNavis, Kyu, and Shinnosuke.

"I think they like each other…" Roll muttered, Rush nodding in agreement.

"They both certainly march to their own beat, that's for sure," Megaman nodded with an awkward chuckle.

"...Your engine's stalling again, Shinnosuke-nii?" Lan guessed.

"Hm?" Shinnosuke looked at the brunette.

"It's because you're eating that milk candy again," Kyu noted, "You sucking on that means you're stuck, right?"

"Hmm…" Shinnosuke nodded, "It's just weird. The evidence points to a blunt and easy answer…but it just doesn't match up, like two different sections of a map, but the part connecting them is blank. Hmm…" he took a moment, "Kyu-chan, think you can do some searching for me?"

"Well, it's not like I have much else to do but work," Kyu smirked, "Lan-kun, Maylu-chan, can I get some help from Megaman and Roll?"

"Of course," Maylu replied.

"Always glad to help!" Roll beamed as Megaman nodded.

---

"..." Kiriko frowned, sitting at home, looking at her phone, "He hasn't called at all…he didn't even tell me when his flight would be landing…" she sighed, "That dummy probably already landed and is doing something stupid again…" she slumped against the table before hearing an adorable ringtone, "Ah! He called!" she quickly snatched up her phone.

---

"We got it," Kyu sighed as they all decided to go outside to get some fresh air and look over what Kyu and the NetNavis found.

"Mmm?" Lan blinked, taking a sip of a sports drink Maylu got for him.

"It took me a while but, with some NetNavi help, I found these old forum posts that got hidden a while ago," Kyu explained, "The folks really didn't want this to be public. And given all of them are of how much they hate and would take revenge on a certain someone, it's evidence to convict them of foul play."

"We can't take full credit. Rush-chan got a good scent and dug them up!" Roll noted, carrying the unit's canine officer.

"Ruff!"

"It makes it easier for me to dig stuff up, both literally and metaphorically," Kyu smiled, "But anyway, from what I can tell, Todogawa first moved to the city and began working for Hanamura. Only for the guy to get screwed over by Hanamura and lose everything, even ending up homeless…" he sighed sadly, "And after looking through other posts, he's probably one of several dozens…if not hundreds. All folks moving to the city and getting taken advantage of for not getting how the big city works or let alone Net Culture." as he spoke, no one noticed the Camerman Shinnosuke met before sneaking up behind them from some pillars, "But even still, the more I look into Todogawa…"

"He seems way too ordinary for a Roidmude to want to impersonate, right?" Shinnosuke asked.

"Yeah. No offense to the guy, but…he's kinda bland. I mean, famous artists, dead authors…"

"Please don't b-bring that one up…"

"And I'm guessing a comedy trio with that hammers-for-hands Roidmude and his two cohorts…this guy seems a little too plain," Roll admitted.

"You're right, Roll-chan, it just seems the Roidmudes are a little more greedy than to just copy an average Joe right off the streets," Shinnosuke nodded.

"You guys are on the right track," the Camera man smirked as he jumped onto the bench they all sat on, landing right next to Shinnosuke.

"Ah!" they all gasped and jumped away before relaxing.

"Ah! You again!"

"Yo!" he smirked.

"You know this guy, Shinnosuke-nii?" Lan asked.

"He's a weirdo cameraman who takes pictures of people without permission!" Shinnosuke declared.

"Oi oi! Don't say things like that about a guy in front of a young lady! It sends a creepy message. I take embarrassing pictures of people for laughs!" the Cameraman chuckled.

"A photographer?" Maylu pondered.

"A Super Cameraman!" he corrected, "And pictures like this…" he pulled out a folded photo, "...are my specialty!" He revealed it was actually two pictures: one of the gun slinging Evolved Roidmude in the midst of his shoot out with Drive, and one of the RoidNavi that absorbed Tomahawkman in the midst of falling down some stairs.

"Ah!" Lan exclaimed, "That jerk!"

"Th-Th-Th-Those are pictures of Roidmudes!" Kyu gasped.

"Ah! You were there?!" Shinnosuke realized the image of the first Roidmude was from today.

"This is amazing! Evidence they exist! A picture of a Roidmude!" Kyu cut Shinnosuke off, "Two even!"

"..." The cameraman smirked as he began folding both pictures up, making Kyu panic, before seeing he made two paper airplanes out of the pictures, "These are free. Not my best work…no, well, actually…the second one is good…but I have a better one of that guy trying to get gum off his butt," he chuckled before tossing them.

"AH!" Kyu panicked, running off after the paper planes.

"How did you even…What in the…Hah?!" Lan gawked.

"You're pretty slow," the Cameraman chuckled, "I mean the big guy, by the way. You kids aren't half bad, but nowhere near the realm of pros~"

"Eh?!" Lan and Maylu turned to him at that.

"You're falling behind in the race, officer!" he cut them off, "Funny…for a Car driving Kamen Rider~" he whispered so only the three humans and two NetNavi there could hear.

"You saw that, too!?" Shinnosuke gawked.

"But that's okay, you were lacking your Blue Bomber little buddy," he held up a picture of CF Megaman, "It's cute you guys got like a Batman and Robin thing going on."

"Oi, oi, oi! I do not wear green underwear without shorts on!" Lan argued.

"I don't think that was the point…" Maylu replied, slapping Lan's shoulder, "Not that I understood any of that…"

"Yeah! And I do not brood!" Shinnosuke added, making Maylu sigh in exasperation and missing Kiriko.

The cameraman laughed in glee at the nonsense.

"That's not a very trustworthy laugh from a Cameraman…" the kids replied in unison.

"The way he smiles while laughing reminds me of when Kiriko-san tries to force a smile…" Megaman muttered.

"Ah! J-Just who are you anyway?! What's your name?" Roll asked.

"Oh that's for me to know and for you to figure out," he replied.

"GWAH! Help! Help me~!"

"Kyu-san?" Maylu pondered before yelping as they looked to see Kyu waving his arms frantically before falling into the river, "Oh not again…"

"Why does he always fall into the river when we go near one?" Lan asked in disbelief as the kids ran over to where he fell.

"Ah man…" Shinnosuke sighed as he walked over to help, the cameraman flipping forward and handstanding before hand walking away.

"See ya~!" the cameraman called.

"Oi! I don't know what you're planning, but stay out of our business!" Shinnosuke called out at him, "It's dangerous!"

"I gotcha, Kyu-nii! I-ah! Shinnosuke-nii, tatsukete! Ta…"

*SPLASH!*

"Ah! Lan!" Maylu panicked.

"Lan overboard~!"

"Roll-chan!"

"Ah!" Shinnosuke panicked as he went from walking to running.

"...Dangerous?" the cameraman repeated in amusement as he did a flip to land perfectly on his feet, "I love danger so much that it's my middle name." with that, he proceeded to leave through performing several backflips.

"That is one strange, mysterious cameraman," Roll muttered as Maylu managed to grab Lan's hand as Shinnosuke grabbed Kyu's arm and both pulled the now-soaked males up, "All the jumping about…"

"And that weird smile while laughing like that…" Megaman noted.

"H-He got me…" Kyu grunted, holding the paper up, "He threw fakes!" He revealed it had 'Psych!' written in both English and Japanese.

"Aw what? That jerk…He's as annoying as Chaud!" Lan growled.

"Oh…that kid with the salt and pepper hair you told me about once?" Shinnosuke muttered.

"The one you met today?" Maylu asked, "You boys sure didn't get along, huh?"

"But he was super annoying in how he talked like he was a grown up," Lan argued, "And he was totally awkward, too, like he doesn't know how to talk to someone his age."

"Wah…talk about rich boy…" Kyu nodded in agreement with Lan, "All that totally screams rich boy who acts proper for his parents!"

"Right!?" Lan shouted, "...Think you can do a lookup on him?"

"I'll see what I can get along with that jerk who tricked me!" Kyu declared.

"Not the time, guys…" Maylu sighed, "That weird guy has pictures of…who knows what."

"Given how sneaky he can be when he wants to…probably many things…Talk about a creepy stalker…" Roll muttered, shuddering a little.

"I'M NOT A STALKER!" the cameraman shouted from a distance.

"Then how did you hear me, Stalker Boy!" Roll shouted back as she maxed out the PeT's volume.

"Gah!"

"Hah…" Shinnosuke sighed before his phone began ringing, "Hai, Tomari? …Eh? Copy that!" he turned to the others, "Gen-san found where Todogawa is hiding."

"Take a photo of the Roidmude," Kyu begged, "Even one is fine…"

"We will!" Lan declared.

"You just make sure to get some new clothes on…and take a bath. You don't want to catch a cold," Megaman advised.

"Hai, I wi…" Kyu began to agree before Shinnosuke and Lan ran off, depriving Kyu of his support, "GWAH!"

*SPLASH!*

"Oh not again," Maylu sighed as she went to get a rope.

Meanwhile, the photographer chuckled as he approached Chaud, the boy leaning against the railing beside a strange-looking modified Honda NM4-01 motorcycle. Its body was primarily black with white armor plating covering the back half of it along with the top part of the front of the bike, a solitary blue headlight in the front of it with two red lines going up at the ends of the headlight's sides. The white armor on the back of it looked like an elongated version of the front part of it with two blue oval headlights split from one another by a red line going down the middle of it that was split itself by another path of blue.

"Must you?" Chaud asked, tossing the man a white helmet based on the armor of the bike.

"What can I say? We're almost at the goal," he replied with a smirk, flipping the helmet around before donning it along with a pair of white racing gloves with a stylistic red and gold 'GO' on the backs of them, "So, like we guessed?"

"The gunslinger is there alongside the tomahawk," Protoman confirmed as Chaud put on a solid red helmet with black-titned visor.

"Hmm…Soka. A full hat trick~! Now's our chance to steal the lead," he smirked, "Let's get to it."

Chaud nodded before the two rode off.

---

Todogawa glanced around, a bag of groceries in hand. Confirming he was indeed alone, he quickly made his way up a set of orange stairs and through the door at the top of them. Looking around warily as he made his way inside, he walked past several chairs stacked up on one another before making his way to the other side of the large hall he was in, sporting a stage with a fake giant bonsai tree and a table that had camping cooking equipment, a portable gas-powered stove…and the stolen treasure from the victim of the assault. He sighed, sitting at the little table and taking out the bun he got for lunch. It wasn't much, but he'd gotten some revenge and had escaped the police. Maybe he can relax and…

"I found you! Kaibutsu!"

He nearly choked on his lunch at that declaration from the darkness. He quickly got up and scooted back into the backdrop of the stage he was on as a menacing chuckle came from the darkness. Rapid beeping began to fill the air as a multitude of colorful lights began to pierce the darkness on the opposite side of the room. With a yelp of fright, he pulled up the sleeve of his jacket, exposing a strange gold and silver bracelet. He grabbed it and quickly twisted it…before a Slowdown erupted. The lights paused, causing the man to sigh in relief…before screaming as they continued to move at the pace they had originally been going at.

"Your Slowdown no longer works upon my partner, de gozaru."

"Indeed, Yamatoman! The heaviness of this no longer applies! And does our criminal wanna know why~?" the voice of the lights asked with a smug tone, "Slowdowns no longer work so long as I wear the Pikopiko MKII!" from the shadows, the lights were revealed to be attached to an armor pack worn on Gen's back as he entered walking backwards before he spun around and pointed at the criminal, "Say your prayers, Rori Shoujo!"

"...I believe that it is 'Roidmude,' aibou."

"That too!" he declared, raising his gun…and shooting it, making an air conditioning grate drop down on his head, "He set traps!"

Todogawa blinked before grunting as his bracelet began sparking wildly before flying right off his wrist. He grunted in pain before groaning and falling over.

"Suspect down. Shall I call for backup?"

"We have this!" Gen grunted, rubbing the bump on his head as he made his way over to Todogawa, "What happened to the Slowdown? What's going on?"

"It's all coming together!" Gen jumped and spun to see Shinnosuke and Lan enter, the taller speaking up as he tightened his tie, "Gen-san."

"Shinnosuke!"

"He's entered Top Gear, de gozaru."

"Lan-kun found security footage of the incident from earlier," Shinnosuke explained.

"When this guy was swinging the pipe around, he was using his right hand, but the Roidmude was shooting with his left," Lan pointed out, "Even when charging up his shot, he always kept it in the left hand while using the right as the stand instead of the reverse."

"That level of aim and precision, is evident of a master with a dominant hand and dominant eye for gun shooting. This means that…"

"The Todogawa Naoki you see is the real McCoy!" the Cameraman shouted as he jumped in, literally shattering the state of focus Shinnosuke was in, and even swinging a wooden ladle around to knock the detective's mental images out of his mind palace, "The Roidmude is a different person."

"Whoa-whoa-whoa! Hold it right there, you bastard!" Shinnosuke grabbed his hand before motioning to his tie, "I was finally in top gear!"

"So then he's not a Rori Shoujo!?" Gen shouted.

"Gotta knock these down…" the Cameraman muttered, still swatting at something seemingly only he and Shinnosuke could see, "That's right. He turned down Hanamura's offer to do some dirty work and in retaliation…oh one more!" he swung again, "His home was burned down."

"Hah?! That's a crazy response for saying 'no' to someone!" Lan gawked.

"Why do you think he was here?" Chaud questioned as he walked in.

"...Because he was wanted by police for questioning and he was avoiding going home in case some officers were there?" Lan guessed.

"That's what I would've guessed," Gen nodded in agreement, "But seriously, he's homeless?!" he sighed as he took off the pack, "It was just a guy with a grudge all along and not a hemorrhoid monster?"

"That isn't what you need to ask about," Chaud pointed out, "This is a human…yet he was able to create Slowdowns."

"I don't really blame them for not noticing," the Cameraman noted in amusement as Shinnosuke scurried around, grabbing something from the floor at times, "The real culprit who gave not just him, but others a bracelet to control that power, is…" he reached into Lan's hair and pulled out two photos of the gun-wielding Roidmude and Gaff, "...This man."

"Ah! The guy who was with the dummy who stole Tomahawkman!" Lan recognized the man in the second photo as a startled Shinnosuke ran over, looking at the two photos in bewilderment, "Wait…How did he do that?" he patted his hair in surprise.

"Is that what you need to ask right now, Lan?" Megaman asked.

"No way! H-How did you get both Roidmude and Human form?!" Shinnosuke asked…as his tie came undone, "How…?"

"Ah! He got Tomari-san out of Top Gear!" Megaman gawked.

"Uso!" Lan exclaimed in disbelief…before a Slowdown went off, "?!" he looked around, "Oh come on…"

"Lan!" Megaman yelped, causing Lan to turn to see that while Shinnosuke was moving normally…so were Chaud and the cameraman.

"EH?!" Lan gawked, "How are…?" he yelped as several gunshots shattered the nearby windows, making him duck down.

"Move!" Chaud barked, grabbing Lan and pulling him after Shinnosuke and the cameraman.

"Wah…" Gen grunted as he fell over slowly, the shock of the gunfire making him slowly pass out, "Losing consciousness…in slow motion…is weird…"

"You just had to remove Rinna-hakase's invention, de gozaru…" Yamatoman muttered.

"Don't you…start with me…ah, there I go~" he groaned, finally fully passing out once his head touched the ground.

"That gun guy was waiting for us!" Lan exclaimed as the four managed to get into another room without windows.

"You're only now realizing that, Hikari?" Chaud questioned.

"Wow, you really don't know how to talk to people. Is that why you have no friends?" Lan asked, ruining the mood ever so slightly, well at least for Chaud.

"Pfft...hahahaha!" The cameraman laughed, "He totally got your number~"

"..." Chaud gave the cameraman an annoyed look.

"Mou…" Shinnosuke sighed as he ran off and headed to the door, which he kicked open before jumping over the railing, rolling with his landing to the street before turning to see the Roidmude in his human guise, gun in hand.

"Quick dodging skills," 'Gaff' noted before quickly firing several shots, parrying the Buster shots from CF Megaman from the top floor.

"Hayei…" CF Megaman noted with wide eyes before quickly ducking under several more shots.

"..." Shinnosuke's eyes darted around before he reached into his jacket and pulled out his service pistol before aiming and shooting at 'Gaff,' making him smirk as he just transformed into his Roidmude form to let them harmlessly bounce off.

"Not a bad gamble, Sheriff, but you forget that-GAH!" he yelped when Tridoron slammed into his back, sending him flying.

"You forget, I'm a car man more than a gunman," Shinnosuke joked, holstering his gun.

"Sorry for the wait. Traffic was terrible," Belt-san informed as the driver door opened.

"For once, you have perfect timing." Shinnosuke chuckled while reaching in and strapping his Driver on, "Time for round two," he slotted in his Shift Car, "Henshin!"

=DRIVE: TYPE SPEED!=

Drive grunted as his armor formed and the Shift Tire slammed into place. He held his hand out as the Door-Ju flew into his waiting palm. He aimed and began shooting, making the Roidmude yelp as he rolled out of the way before getting up and shooting back.

"So you came all this way to play out an Old Western classic? I feel honored," Drive chuckled as he rolled along the ground to avoid the bullets, "But it doesn't mean I'm not kicking your rusty butt!"

"Oh, y'all think you're so…" the Roidmude began as he took a step before screaming as several sharpened bamboo poles shot out of the ground behind him, sending sparks into the air from the hits.

"Plus, you forget that this 'sheriff' has a mighty fine deputy," Drive joked as CF Megaman landed beside him, "That's a new one."

"Got it when Megaman and Roll went to the USA for your Birthday and Christmas gifts," CF Megaman replied, "They have a lot of Viruses different from here in Japan."

"Well go figure," Drive muttered, "Guess this guy doesn't spend a lot of time on the net if this is new to him." he chuckled, "Let me guess, good old stick 'em up's at the bank?" he taunted with a horrible western cowboy accent.

"Don't you mock me, Japanese Kamen Rider, and…whatever that kid is!" he shook a fist at them.

"Japanese?" Drive and CF Megaman tilted their heads…then they jumped aside and avoided more gun fire.

"Alright, Lan-kun, circle around and flank. He's got one gun and I can only guess he relies on martial arts for close range combat," Drive tapped his helmet to let himself be heard by CF Megaman via a comlink, "I'll keep his attention with a shoot out. When you get a shot, blast him towards me and we'll take range combat away from him."

"Hai, Shinnosuke-nii," CF Megaman replied on the line, activating an Invis to vanish.

"Gah! Oi, oi, oi…Was that kid a ghost?! What kinda nonsense is pulled off in this country?!"

"It's not nonsense if it works," Drive replied, quickly shooting at the Roidmude with his Door-Ju.

"Are you treating me like another of those joke Roidmudes who hang around here?!"

"I don't know. Ask Heart how I kicked his crimson colored behind!" Drive cheered.

"LIES AND SLANDER!" the Roidmude snapped, only to be shot in the chest.

"Nope. All true," Drive spoke, "I'm The Kamen Rider afterall."

"Grah…Why you…" the Roidmude began before a flicker of light made him spin around to see CF Megaman shooting at him while engulfed in a glowing barrier, "?! What in…"

*BOOM!*

"Huh…Is that their friend Gutsman?" Drive asked, seeing a holographic Gutsman in post throw a good few yards away.

"It appears to be a solid hologram, likely from the attack they just pulled off," Belt-san guessed as the Roidmude hit a street post while CF Megaman stumbled over.

"Ugh…Why does the GutsShoot PA have to involve throwing me?" CF Megaman groaned.

"It was made by Dex and Gutsman," Megaman reminded.

"Right…dumb question…" CF Megaman sighed, "...Though, what's up with that comment of his? Isn't Shinnosuke-nii the only Kamen Rider?"

"If the message board rumors are anything to go by, there might be more in Japan than we think," Megaman noted.

"Seriously?" CF Megaman asked.

"Focus," Drive scolded the two, "We can't get dis…"

"Tomari-san!"

"Gah!" Drive jumped as he and CF Megaman spun around to see Kiriko with Maylu, "Eh?! K-Kiriko?!"

"Maylu, what are you doing here?" CF Megaman asked.

"I got a phone call earlier, asking me to pick up Maylu-chan and come here," Kiriko explained.

"We even got an EMail to get picked up by Kiriko-san to be brought here," Roll added.

"Seriously?" Drive asked in disbelief.

"...Gah! It was probably the camera guy!" CF Megaman realized.

"Ah!" Maylu nodded.

"Camera guy?" Kiriko blinked, "What are you talking about…and is that a cowboy Roidmude?"

"Gunslinger!" the Roidmude corrected, slowly getting back up.

"...What's the difference?" Kiriko asked with a very bored and uninterested tone.

"Boys tend to be so picky about things like this," Maylu noted in the same tone.

"Japanese women are much more cruel…and I've dealt with Karens," the Gunslinger Roidmude muttered with a depressed aura around him, "What stings is how cold and uncaring they sound…"

"Wah…" Drive and CF Megaman awed, "Total ego destruction…"

"I think that hurt more than all the attacks we hit him with…" Megaman muttered before a drum roll began to go off.

"That better not be the dummy Roidmude," CF Megaman noted, looking around.

"AH! Up there on that tower!" Roll yelped.

"Ladies and Gentlemen~!" a familiar voice spoke in fluent English.

"...Oh you gotta be kidding me…" Drive groaned, everyone looking up at where Roll pointed to see the cameraman standing atop a metal tower before, with an acrobatic flip, he made it to another building's roof, "Huh?!"

"It's time for~ Superstar action~!" the cameraman went on with a large grin on his face.

"What is he…?" Megaman began before the cameraman flipped off the building, performing several corkscrews, before landing perfectly on his bike with helmet and gloves on with Chaud behind him, "?!"

"Nice landing," Roll commented before looking down, "Oh! A ShiftCar?"

"Nan de?" Belt-san looked, seeing a small white Shift Car with multicolored designs on him, "Amazing Circus?! What are you doing all the way here from the Americas?!"

"America again…why is everything coming over from America today?" Drive asked.

'Wait a minute…I recognize that annoying voice…oh I'm going to bend his legs into a pretzel for this…' Kiriko frowned.

Amazing Circus honked as it drove ahead before its clown faced front opened up and began spewing things like crazy from some sort of infinite pocket space within itself, and turning a small outdoor stage from a drab little red hut…into an extravagant stage with spotlights, sparkling streamers, new painted walls, with flags matching the cameraman's jacket with a yellow version of Drive's R symbol on each. Flames spewed from emitters as the Bike drove onto the stage, followed by large and copious amounts of what might just be illegal fireworks being shot into the sky.

"Whoa~! That's a matching name for what it just did," CF Megaman awed.

"Did you really need the stage?" Chaud questioned.

"Of course!" The cameraman beamed before looking at Drive, "Don't ya think I won our little race, Kamen Rider Drive?" he pointed at him and CF Megaman, "You two were pretty good, noticing the dominant hand discrepancy, but…you're a bit too slow shifting gears."

"What was that?!" Drive demanded as CF Megaman grabbed his arm to stop him from trying to get closer to the stage.

"Anywho…Sorry for the wait!" he went on, "Now the real fun starts!"

"Real fun?" CF Megaman repeated before his eyes widened on seeing Chaud pull out a SynchroChip as the cameraman held up a strange device, "Eh?"

The device was primarily a metallic blue with a slot in the front of it that reminded him of Drive's Shift Brace. On the right side of it was a silver piece resembling the tailpipe of a motorcycle with a circular 'window' near the bottom of it and a red line going across the top of it. The cameraman smirked as he put it on his waist, causing a black belt resembling a seatbelt went around his waist to secure it into place.

"Hey, how did you…?" CF Megaman began before squeaky motorcycle honks made him duck as five small motorcycles as big as the ShiftCars drove through the air and swirled around the cameraman, letting him snatch a white motorcycle in mid-air, "Huh? Shift Motorcycles?"

"Nope~!" the cameraman replied as he grasped his buckle by the left side and rotated his wrist, causing the part he was grabbing to tilt up, exposing an entrance for him to insert the bike into and shut it, the back tire being shown through the 'window' on the 'tailpipe' to show a copy of the emblem behind them on the stage.

=SIGNAL BIKE! RIDER~!=

"Protoman," Chaud ordered, flicking the SynchroChip into the air before grabbing it after inserting five BattleChips into his PeT.

"Ready, Lord Chaud," Protoman replied as a tune blared from the cameraman's belt.

"SynchroChip, Slot In!" Chaud declared, inserting the chip into his PeT.

The cameraman continued to smirk as he shifted his body a bit, allowing his right shoulder to face ahead while bringing his left arm back and his right arm across his body with the hand raised up.

"Let's…Henshin!" he declared, pushing down on the white button atop his buckle as a flash of white light went off from Chaud's PeT.

"CrossFusion!" Chaud and Protoman declared.

White rings formed around the cameraman before they began to widen into tire track patterns of white and red. What appeared to be a small tire floated around him before stopping behind him and expanding open to reveal its inner workings which began stretching back before slamming into the barrier around him. A white/blue flash went off as his entire body was now covered in a suit. The suit was a combination of black and white with black markings forming under his chest and framing his abdomen and multiple stripes and patches along his inner legs and lower abdominal area, with three blue markings going down each thigh. His chest armor was rather small comparably as it only covered his pectorals while hanging lower towards the right side of his torso, while the left had the same yellow R symbol as two red stripes went down the left side of his torso. He had a simple and small rounded shoulder guard on the left, while the right from the back it could be seen extending outward sharply, so as to mount the small tire attached to his right shoulder facing forward with a pure white tire-plate. His left arm had a simple white sleeve ending in a black glove while the right had a gauntlet around his forearm shaped like a motorcycle. He had a white helmet with two red stripes atop, his mask looked like a motorcycle visor with a white border, two antennas at the top and a screen showing what seemed to be a black mouth guard behind it and large single blue optics that seemed split in two by the shape of his visor.

Beside him, the light died down to reveal Chaud donned in a more-armored version of Protoman's armor and bodysuit. The outsides of the upper part of his torso armor had become white with gold tips on the shoulders. His gauntlets had gained a gold diamond near the bands at the ends where the elbows were above them with another pair on his boots in the same spot as his gauntlets. A red band wrapped around his upper legs while his helmet's visor had become blue with a gold crest on the center of the helmet just above the white band around it and below the horn. His hair grew out in the back, becoming primarily white while the tip of it bled into black as if in a reverse of his normal hair color.

=MACH!=

"Gah! You two are…" the Gunslinger Roidmude growled in frustration.

"A…A Kamen…" Drive began.

"...Rider?" Kiriko finished in disbelief.

"Ah! He just…!" CF Megaman gawked.

"...CrossFused!" Maylu finished in surprise, covering her mouth with a hand, before the new Rider pointed at the Roidmude.

"Tsuiseki," he stated before spinning around on his heel and slammed his left fist into his right palm, "Bokumetsu." he swung his arms around before bringing the right hand into the air, "Izure mo…" he spun around and swung his hands up as if presenting something to everyone there, "…Mach!"

"He feels hammier than when Tomari-san is really getting into the jokes…" Roll muttered as more fireworks and smoke went off from the stage.

"Kamen Rider…" the Rider swung his right arm around in a windmill-like manner while raising his right knee up before shifting his body to the side, stretching out the left leg to the side while bending his right one as he did a mock two-finger salute with his left hand, "MA~CH!"

"Must you do this when you have a time limit, Mach?" CF Protoman sighed.

"Either join my hype or grow big enough to be the adult in this partnership!" Mach laughed.

"Remind me who has had to pay for bail for the other more often than not for their nonsense?"

"Not my fault! I bring the hype~" Mach cheered.

"You! You Evel Knievel bastard!" the Roidmude snapped, "And the pouty little boy!"

"Ikuze," CF Protoman ordered before vanishing.

"Gh?!" the Roidmude tensed before crying out as several slashes went off on his body, spraying out sparks as CF Protoman appeared behind him, an arm replaced with his primary sword weapon, "Gah! You brat!"

He spun around and opened fired at point blank, only to end up hitting a large red and white oval shield that disappeared to let CF Protoman slice into him once more, making him stumble back. Mach laughed as he flipped off the stage and landed in a charge at the distracted Roidmude. As he ran, he repeatedly tapped the white button atop his Driver.

=ZUTTO MACH~!=

Mach swung his hand out as something flew into his right hand. It was a white gun-type weapon with what looked like a bike tire acting as a sort of guard over his knuckles and an evident slot for these Signal Bikes he used on the side just above his wrist. Combined with the bike themed gauntlet on his arm, this weapon completed the motorcycle aesthetic with the tire on his shoulder.

=ZENRIN SHOOTER!=

"F-Front wheel shooter?" the four spectators muttered.

Mach delivered a jump kick at the Roidmude, catching the back of his head with his foot. The Roidmude tumbled ahead a little only to be delivered another swing of CF Protoman's blade. The Roidmude growled, shooting at the two only for them to duck and weave out of the shots' paths and Mach to return fire with several blue-tinted energy shots. The Roidmude grunted as he was sent stumbling back from the explosions along the ground. He then flinched as he was slashed across the chest by CF Protoman again. Mach rushed as he raised his left hand and spun the wheel of his weapon.

=ZENRIN!=

Mash swung and punched his weapon wheel first into the Gunman Roidmude's chest, making sparks explode off. He punched again before swinging and hitting the Roidmude in the chest before swinging up and spinning the wheel, making a white glow form along it as he spun around and used the spinning wheel as a grinding weapon to tear into the chest of the Roidmude once more. Mach laughed before he aimed point blank and shot the Roidmude several times, making more sparks explode off. The Roidmude stumbled back, preparing a charged shot, only to be slammed in the back by a blue-tinted ball that exploded, causing frost to cover him. He grunted from the cold sensation washing over his body before more slashes appeared on him as CF Protoman appeared beside Mach, his back to the Roidmude.

"S-So fast…!" Roll gawked before CF Protoman tossed Mach…a rope, "A…A rope?"

"Alright! It's showtime~!" Mach cheered as he tossed the rope into the air, letting the end of it wrap around a post overhead, "Up I go~!"

He grabbed the rope with the wheel of his gun pressed against the rope. As if on command, the wheel spun and pulled Mach high up onto the rope as CF Protoman vanished once more. The Gunman Roidmude looked up at Mach as he started to spin around on the rope. The Gunman Roidmude growled as he started to shoot at Mach, only to keep missing as Mach spun faster and faster upon it.

"Why you lousy varmit! Hold still!"

"No thanks~! I'm having a swingin' good time up here!" Mach joked.

"Are ya a man or a monkey, dammit?!"

"Ook-ook-ook~!" Mach joked, "By the way~"

"What?!"

"Sword to the back."

"Sword to the…?" the Roidmude began before CF Protoman delivered a cross-shaped slash to his back.

"Bloody Cross," CF Protoman stated calmly as Mach shot off and slammed his feet right into the Roidmude's face, knocking him away from the duo.

"Onore…!" the Roidmude snarled.

He quickly opened fire in a rapid assault. Mach grabbed CF Protoman as blue flames erupted from his belt's 'pipe' before he began to 'run' on the air, avoiding the shots of the Roidmude.

"S-Sugei! Who are these guys?!" Drive gawked.

"Mmm…" CF Megaman frowned as Mach landed atop the initial tower he had been on, "How'd he get a SynchroChip?"

"90 seconds," Protoman warned.

"Phew…this has been fun," Mach laughed.

"Go to Hell!" Gunman shouted, charging up a rather big blast this time as he aimed with both hands at them.

"You first~" Mach replied as CF Protoman replaced his sword with a ruby and gold machine gun.

The Gunman roared as he opened fire on the two. They jumped off the tower as it started to explode from the shots that struck it. As they fell, Mach took the first shot with his Zenrin Shooter, knocking the Gunman's gun to the side, leaving him open for a barrage of gold bullets from CF Protoman to rapidly nail him and knock him over in a spray of sparks. He grunted as he got back up…just in time for CF Protoman's blade and the tire of Mach's Zenrin Shooter to swing upwards, nailing him with a pair of rising slashes that sent him flying into the air and crashing down onto a pile of emptied steel drums. He groaned before shaking his head and dashed behind a building to try to catch his breath.

"They just don't learn," Mach chuckled as he removed his Signal Bike from his belt and replaced it with a green one, its back tire sporting a blue emblem with a white arrow that was curving to the side.

=SIGNAL BIKE! SIGNAL KOUKAN: MAGARL!=

"Now for the last Spurt~" Mach aimed as he fired a blue bullet before slamming on the button of his Driver.

=SHOOTER MAGARL!=

Suddenly, the energy blast curved around and struck Gunman, making him grunt in pain and roll around to the back of the building as he panicked from that sudden ability. A curving bullet?! That was an insane attack and a dream ability of any marksman.

"He curved the shot!" Drive gawked.

"Magarl?" CF Megaman pondered, "Ah! It's like the Shift Cars!"

"Belt-san, did you know about this?" Megaman asked.

"Of course. Those are the powers of the Signal Bikes," Belt-san replied.

"And again!" Mach cheered, shooting a bit higher into the air before repeatedly tapping the button.

=KYUUNI MAGARL!=

"Key you knee?" the Gunman pondered…before screaming as the bullet slammed into him, forcing him out of hiding and right into the roundhouse slash from CF Protoman, sending him tumbling fully out into Mach's view.

"It curved again!" Drive and CF Megaman gawked.

"What an odd ability…" Maylu muttered, "And instead of Tires…it's traffic signs?" she tilted her head.

"20 seconds," Protoman warned as CF Protoman moved over to stand by Mach as he swapped Magarl for his original Signal Bike once more.

=SIGNAL BIKE: RIDER~ MACH!=

"Reaching the limit," Mach admitted, "Time for the finale!"

"Understood," CF Protoman replied, "Protoman."

"Roger."

"FireSword," CF Protoman declared as his sword ignited in flames.

Mach opened his Driver and tapped the button.

=HISSATSU!=

"AquaSword," CF Protoman went on as an aquatic version of the sword formed on his opposite arm while Mach closed his Driver, "ElecSword. Program Advance!"

=FULL THROTTLE!=

A multicolored cyclone formed around Mach as flames began spewing from the side of his Driver and were sucked into the vortex around him. Beside him, CF Protoman brought his blades together as electricity engulfed them, melding the two into a tri-colored LongSword.

=MACH!=

Mach cheered as he ran forward. He skipped a step to avoid a charged bullet before leaping high into the air with a single leap. He rolled his body forward rapidly, the energy swirling around him forming into a tire-like shape of energy before he aimed his leg forward and aimed a kick at the Roidmude.

"No! Stay away, you Mood-swinging weirdo! Ah shit! Out of bullets already!?" he panicked as his gun shot nothing.

"A pity," CF Protoman noted before becoming a red blur that raced by him…before a tri-colored series of lines decorated the Roidmude, releasing gouts of fire, water, and electricity from the slashes, "LifeSword 2."

The Roidmude screamed in agony before Mach's foot rammed into his chest. He flipped over the Roidmude and landed beside CF Protoman. With a chuckle, he snapped his fingers…and the Roidmude exploded violently, a floating 017 floating out of the flames.

"How's that? Picture perfect, right~?" Mach asked, before he sighed and lifted his mask up to reveal the black mouthguard with a segmented pattern as steam hissed out.

"Amazing…" Drive admitted, "They're…ah!" he shouted, pointing as everyone spotted Medic standing there as she held her hand out and let the Core float down and be absorbed into a violet light.

"Good evening~" she bowed to everyone as she took a few dainty ballerina steps around, "It would seem that you've been rather rough with one of Heart-Sama's comrades from abroad."

"Eh? She looks like…" Roll recognized.

"Medic!" Belt-san gasped.

"Medic?" Drive repeated.

"Ah great…I'm guessing she's one of the leaders like Heart and Brain?" CF Megaman guessed.

"Exactly! She is a high ranking member with the power to revive her fallen comrades. She has finally revived…" Belt-San explained.

"Revive?!" most of them shouted.

"How wonderful to meet you again, Krim. I see you have created another Kamen Rider, but…the white is rather gaudy," Medic giggled, causing Mach to do a double-take and pointed at himself, "And a boy in Red to match the Boy in Blue. How adorable he looks."

"A-Adorable?" CF Protoman repeated before flinching as she danced around the flames rather elegantly.

"You're rather resilient for a dead man. And resorting to children? Sweet powerless children~?" Medic teased, "They couldn't even damage the Core like the one you already have. There is such a thing as Quality over Quantity~"

"Oi, oi, oi! What does that say about Roidmudes then with how many you are compared to us?" CF Megaman demanded.

"But that's different. We are a new superior lifeform," Medic replied, "And, yes, even some of my brethren are rather useless sadly." she 'sobbed' as she crouched down to the ground, "But that is why we have Heart-sama. He will lead the elite and Chosen to take over this world. So it matters not how many adorable children and useless adult men you gather."

"Useless?!" The Kamen Riders muttered.

"She keeps calling us adorable…" CF Megaman muttered, "For some reason, that stings worse!"

"I'll be taking Gunman with me," Medic declared before doing a pirouette and bowed…before vanishing into the heat of the flames, "Adieu."

"Gah! Oi! You get back here! I am not adorable, dang it!" CF Megaman barked.

"Should we tell him…?" Maylu muttered.

"I think it would only hurt his pride as a boy further…" Roll replied, "Both of them…" she motioned to CF Protoman, who turned away and was tightly clenching his fist in frustration.

"Doesn't matter how many times she brings 'em back, I'm still gonna blow 'em up," Mach declared as he opened his Driver and pulled the Signal Bike out before closing it again.

=Otsukare!=

"Tch," CF Protoman scoffed before dismissing CrossFusion, calmly holding a hand out to the side to catch his falling PeT.

"Hey!" CF Megaman barked as he and Drive dismissed their transformations, "You two have a lot of answers to be giving!"

"One moment~" the Camerman replied as he ran around the officer and brunette to grab Kiriko by the shoulder, "You alright?"

"Eh!?" Lan and Shinnosuke gawked, "He's gonna get clobbered!" they cringed, covering their eyes for the beating to occur.

"Don't jump to the wrong conclusions," Chaud stated as he walked over, tossing Lan a protein bar.

"My Japanese debut was really something, right? I called you over to see for yourself and wanted the little lady to also witness the ne-GAH!" he cried as he was given a karate chop to the neck by Kiriko.

"Ah…" Chaud blinked.

"Told you…" Lan and Shinnosuke replied.

"Go! What is the meaning of this?! I'm going to beat the answers out of you if you don't speak!" Kiriko snapped.

"...Go?" Shinnosuke and Lan repeated.

"You two didn't know? That's the name of Kiriko-san's little brother!" Roll noted.

"She told us that yesterday when she got that email from him," Megaman reminded.

"...Ah…" both muttered, slowly looking away from them…remembering they had fallen asleep at their desks.

"Mou! One problem at a time! I told you to speak!" she turned to Go, who was still gagging from the sudden attack to his throat.

"Gah…I'm…tr-Gah!" he gagged.

"You chopped his neck, Shijima-san…" Chaud pointed out.

"Mmm…" Kiriko turned to glare at him, "Unless you want an earful, be a good boy and let the family talk."

"...Fair enough," Chaud replied, "Protoman."

"Already looking for caskets in Go's size, Lord Chaud."

"Not funny…!" Go wheezed, "I just debut! You can't kill me off that early!"

"A sister can do as she pleases to make her stupid brother comply with demands," Kiriko frowned.

"Hai Nee-san! Gomen Nee-san!" Go bowed.

"Ah…" Shinnosuke groaned, "Belt-san…"

"Yes, I'm aware of his status along with Chaud-san. I'm the one who had the SynchroChip sent to him."

"AW COME ON!" Lan and Shinnosuke barked, "Why the secrets?!"

"Well not a secret so much as a yet to be revealed surprise…I had intended to prepare you when Kiriko brought Go to meet us, but it seems he acted on his own early…"

"I'm gonna kill you!" Kiriko seethed in anger at Go doing this on his own.

"AH! She's not joking! Help! Save me! I'm too pretty to die without having had a girlfriend!" Go panicked as he ran away with Kiriko giving chase, the two jumping around with superhuman acrobatics.

"...Oh so that's why his flipping around at the mansion felt so familiar…" Shinnosuke muttered.

---

Within a random abandoned building, the Roidmudes had made a new hangout/hideout for them to rest and plan. Heart was currently shirtless and groaned as his body sparked in places. Brain sat across from him in a chair, checking his tablet, and Chase was standing off to the side away from view, but there if he was needed. Currently, Medic was dancing around as she produced a Viral Core…and tossed it to 017, letting him absorb it before his human visage reformed with a grunt.

"Much obliged, Medic," he tipped his hat to the female of the group.

"You're quite welcome," Medic replied with a graceful bow.

"You were able to revive our friend. You truly are a healing goddess Medic." Heart smiled, "Bringing you back will surely turn the tide of our battle against the Kamen Rider."

"Riders…" Gunman corrected.

"I only accept the one as my Nemesis," Heart replied, only to grunt as his chest sparked, "These wounds he gave me…Only a man worthy to be my rival in power could inflict them." he smirked as Medic turned away to scowl at the mention of that battle that gave him these wounds.

"Huh…Must be a mighty strong feller that Japanese Kamen Rider," Gunman noted before glancing at Chase, "Never seen that feller either."

"You've been away for quite some time," Heart replied, "That is our Shinigami and a good friend, Chase and his Aibou Zero."

"Chase is new in many ways, but while Medic was damaged, he served to act as a reset button for those of us who got too rowdy and stupid," Brain explained, "Not many are as reliable as you, 017."

"Ah, Chase, how is Zero?"

"...Recovering still," Chase replied, "Our last battle against Drive and Megaman left all of us damaged."

"Don't take Drive lightly. You've dealt with this Mach for a few months now, but since Drive appeared, he's already fought Heart blow for blow…and almost killed him once," Brain spoke up, making Gunman flinch at that impossible sentence due to his respect for Heart as their leader.

"It was glorious!" Heart laughed, "But don't worry, my friend, I always come back stronger," he sighed as Medic put her hand on his shoulder and let out a soft energy that stopped the sparking.

"I ask you to please rest. You're still not fully healed, the Kamen Rider dealt massive damage to your body and even wounded your core," Medic stated.

"Looks like things have gotten wild here while I was away," Gunman noted, "Heart…I promise to bring you both Kamen Riders' heads!"

"I love your energy! I will help you however I can!" Heart laughed, only to grunt as Medic pushed him down into the chair roughly, making him flinch in pain, "Ite…"

"No, you will not. You are staying here, resting, recovering, and that is the end of this topic, Heat-sama," Medic ordered.

"She drops the honorifics for everyone but Heart," Chase noted to Brain.

"Why not? It shows her loyalty to him," Brain noted as he pulled his handkerchief out while looking away from everyone, "It's fine."

"Chase and Brain can lend Gunman power. I went to all the trouble of fixing Brain so he could use his power again. Time much better spent treating Heart-sama…" Medic turned away slightly with a sigh.

"Understood," Chase replied before looking at his PeT where Zero laid, resting as parts of his body were nothing more than data clustered together.

"..." Brain looked at his handkerchief, the piece of paper that was Wily's final gift tucked into it, "Hn…Chase."

"Hai?"

"Take this and check it," Brain ordered, handing the slip to him.

"An address and name?" Chase pondered, "Obihiro…Shun?"

"Unknown to me, but I imagine it has worth," Brain sighed, "We'll handle the talking and planning. You're clearly not interested and more focused on that annoyance."

Chase narrowed his eyes before Heart questioned, "What's with the paper?"

"Wily-hakase gave it to me when the LifeVirus's Deletion caused the feedback."

"Oh~? Someone he trusted then?"

"I shall venture to find out," Chase replied as he bowed to Gunman on his way out.

"What a reliable fellow," Gunman smirked, "You keep good company, Heart." he laughed, "But I should introduce you, this here is my Little Brother!" he swung his hand to the entrance, a Roidmude on the railing above moving a spotlight to it to show the RoidNavi that had fought CF Megaman in his human disguise.

"Hello everybody! I am the little brother!" he declared happily, "I love money!"

"..." Heart looked at Brain with a raised brow.

"No. The idiot's in the tablet again," Brain replied in exasperation, "This one is a different money-loving one from 051."

"He's become rather greedy while in America," Gunman explained, "He loved this place called Wall Street in New York. It's how we first met the Rider known as Mach."

"Don't forget the emo boy sidekick!" he laughed, "Man, we caused a lot of ruckus all over the city! I got into a slap fight with that kid on the Empire State building! He sucked at fighting at first!"

"Little Brother…the next day he kicked your ass…" Gunman sighed.

"Ack! D-Don't tell them that, Big Brother!" he panicked, "Let me have this one win that on his first day he sucked!"

"More like your energy ruined his and he didn't know how to fix the mood…" Gunman sighed.

"He be a moody boy!"

Heart laughed, "Oh, I like the jib of your little brother."

"See? The Head Honcho loves me!" he laughed.

"Heart loves all of us, that's why he's our leader," Gunman argued, "But you did good so far to earn his favor, so not bad, Little Brother."

"Victory~" he cheered, throwing up V hand signs.

'Maybe I should've followed Chase…' Brain thought in exasperation, wiping his handkerchief on the side of his face as his eye twitched.

---

"You're going to fall," Maylu noted, everyone gathered in the Drive Pit.

"N-No I'm not…!" Lan grunted.

"He's tipping over," Roll pointed out before Lan yelped and fell flat on his back.

"And he fell," Megaman sighed.

"You gotta shift your weight…and do lots of push ups!" Go explained with a laugh as he walked around on his hands, Kiriko still glaring daggers at her younger brother the entire time, "Is she still mad? Staring at the ground gives me comfort…"

"I'll be honest, Go-san…If you were a pig…you'd be extra crispy and burnt so bad not even a decomposer would eat you," Roll replied.

"This is her 16th birthday all over again…but my thumbs aren't broken…yet," Go gulped.

"So…what you're saying is that Go left America all on his own in the middle of his training and dragged Chaud-kun with him after he finally mastered his own transformation to the point he could keep up, is that right Sensei?" Belt-san spoke to someone via virtual call.

Exactly! Mach is complete, but still pretty dangerous! And that technique Tadashi's little boyo made with that SynchroChip is pretty intense! I made sure that he always has a calorie-heavy snack for the drawbacka man's voice on the other end of the line replied in English Keep a good eye on them, Krim! Those two are likely to run into each other with their super speed shenanigans! Hahaha!

"Okay, talk to you later~" Belt-san spoke in English.

See you again! the man replied before they hung up.

"...Who was he talking to just now?" Shinnosuke asked Rinna.

"His mentor, Professor Harely Hendrickson," Rinna replied, "He lives all the way in America, enjoying retirement and working on ideas for new engines for cars to use."

"Oh…" Shinnosuke nodded.

"Mach was co-developed between him and Krim to be a Next Generation System to replace Drive," Rinna added, "Since Krim's condition is limited to the Drive Driver, Hendrickson-Sensei finished the Mach Driver Honoh Go uses."

"Oh, I see. That's really intere-replace Drive?!" Shinnosuke did a double-take, "You mean replace me?!"

"Hehe! Yep, basically!" Go laughed as he flipped to his feet.

"Unacceptable!" Kiriko shouted, kicking a support pillar and making the entire area tremor from the force she put into her kick, "I refuse to accept this…! I will not allow it!" she kicked it more times, making more tremors as everyone panicked, Go more so as he hid behind the three present children in hopes she'd be stopped by their innocent adorableness.

"You're on your own," Chaud stated, walking away and sitting at another chair.

"Ack!" Go yelped.

"I'll never allow a slacker, an idiot, a hothead…My Idiot baby brother…" Kiriko kicked several more times, "To let him be a Kamen Rider…over me…I can not accept this sin…"

"Ah…Kiriko, calm down now," Belt-san advised, "There's no need to get so angry about the matter."

"...Belt-san…" Roll spoke up.

"Yes?"

"You may want to come into the Network and out of your namesake," Megaman gulped, seeing how fast Kiriko's head had snapped to look at the stand Belt-san's belt was on.

"Hm?"

"And you, Krim…" she growled, stomping up to him, "You were going to make my idiot brother a Kamen Rider, and not tell me!?" she began shaking the stand, even picking it up and violently shaking it as if trying to throttle him.

"Ah! W-Wait a moment! Wait a moment!" Belt-san panicked, "Why are you mad at me?!"

"Don't make it worse!" Megaman and Roll panicked in fear of Kiriko somehow taking her wrath out on them as well.

"Kiriko-san, matte, matte!" Shinnosuke called as he ran over.

"Ah, Kiriko-nee, calm down! Without Belt-san, Shinnosuke-nii can't henshin!" Lan called as he and Maylu joined Shinnosuke.

"Calm down! Please, calm down!" Shinnosuke pleaded, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Hmm?" Go mused as he watched the scene, "You know…you two actually look pretty good together." he stated, making Kiriko pause and turn to him.

"Eh?" Kiriko and Shinnosuke blinked as the former noticed his arms around her.

"And with the kids, you almost give the vibe of a happy family, a potential future," Go mused further, "That means I no longer need to worry about Nee-san's future~" he smirked, "Yes. This means I can worry about my love life and leave Nee-san in the hands of a reliable guy who can handle her gorilla power…"

"I'm gonna kill him…" Kiriko growled as Shinnosuke held her back, "Let me do it, Tomari-san, no one will find the body…"

"No! Stop! Too much! Bring it down, Kiriko!" Shinnosuke panicked, "You're a Police Officer! We protect people from crimes! Not commit them!"

"Wow. He is good at poking her buttons," Lan noted as he turned to look at Maylu, "Right, Maylu?" he blinked a few times on seeing Maylu was blushing and trying not to look at him, "Eh?"

"My Nee-san is pretty and all, but she's so uptight and our family's weird super human bodies made me worry she'd never find someone. But seeing a reliable guy who's a fellow Kamen Rider means I have one less thing to worry about!" Go flipped forward before leaping up to a catwalk on an upper level of the Drive Pit, "Say, since I can entrust her to you, it's cool if I call you Shin-Niisan?"

"Wh-Whoa now, whoa now! K-Kiriko-san is my partner but…ah…that came out wrong! She is my good companion and…ah mou! That sounds worse!"

"That's right! Supporting Drive is my job and…" Kiriko muttered.

"It's not like that!" both shouted in unison before looking at each other.

"Y-you don't have to be that adamant about denying it!" Kiriko declared as she blushed and turned to face Shinnosuke and began pushing him back across the room.

"Mmmmm~!" Rinna fumed, tugging on a handkerchief she had in her mouth.

"You're the one who made it sound so bad!" Shinnosuke snapped as he blushed, it was now his turn to march and make Kiriko back peddle across the room.

"Does he cause this stuff often?" Maylu asked Chaud.

"He's been banned from bars in twenty-seven States because of his mouth causing riots," Chaud replied.

"Y-You're the one who spoke up first!" Kiriko spoke as she stepped forward.

"You're the one who makes it sound like it's a problem to be stuck with me!" Shinnosuke barked.

"I never said that!"

"Well I never said that either!"

"Fine!" the two shouted in unison again.

"Yes…take her off my hands," Go smirked, rubbing his hands, before yelping when both turned to him, "Oh shit!" he cried out in English.

"You come back here and let us explain!" They snapped while chasing after him, both having handcuffs and Kirkiko holding a nightstick.

"And that's why you don't make them agree on one thing like that…them working together is scarier than them fighting," Lan nodded, Rinna slumped in her seat.

"What is this mood…? Why are those dummies getting the romance flags…?" Rinna grumbled in a tone of total defeat.

"Ah…We still like you, Rinna-nee," Lan offered.

"While sweet, I don't think the feelings will reach her in this state…" Belt-san sighed.

---

After that…nonsense in the Drive Pit…Kiriko and Go had gone off to do something private and personal to them and them alone. Which, in this case, was visiting their parents' graves. The two stopped at the grave of their mother, Shijima Sumiko, the other grave a small distance away, but for now that didn't matter as the siblings just wanted to greet their mother who raised them on her own as long as she did. The two opened their eyes as they finished their prayers, small sad smiles on both their faces.

"Hah…well let's head on home," Kiriko sighed as she turned around and began walking, not wanting to ruin this moment by having another argument with her brother.

"Ah…well, ya see…I know you cleaned the apartment up just because I was coming, but I don't wanna live with you."

"Eh?"

"I mean, well…I have a place all set up on Chaud's dime," Go explained, "Got it in a bet we made back in Uranus, Missouri when we were chasing that Roidmude." he handed her a large box, "Here's the fudge I bought there. They sure know how to pack it in Uranus~!"

"What are you up to now, Go?" Kiriko sighed.

"Nee-san, I know I'm a real Troublemaker," Go spoke up, "But, I want you to know I really do love and care for you." he spoke up with a bit more seriousness to his voice, "So…I just want you to trust in me, in what I'm doing, and how I fight. I know how much the title Kamen Rider means to you…so I know I might not be living up to the ideal set up by the first Drive and Shin-Niisan."

"Go?" Kiriko blinked, seeing a rare side of her goofy brother.

"I'm just saying, let me try okay! I promise to do right," Go chuckled, scratching the back of his head, "Plus it's embarrassing to live with my sister after getting used to American Bachelor lifestyle!"

"Ah, Go…"

"That and with how clean your place is, I betcha you could invite Shin-nii and…"

"GO!" Kiriko barked.

"Ah yabei!" Go yelped as she pulled him into a headlock, "Mercy!"

"We are not like that!"

"Understood, understood!" Go quickly agreed, "...What about the kiddos?"

"You poison them with your nonsense…" she tightened the headlock, making him croak in pain as he could no longer breathe, "I will rip your spine out through your nose…"

"That…doesn't…hurk…"

---

"Gyah!" Yuichiro yelped as his laptop was closed shut by Monster, revving his engine loudly at the scientist.

"Arigatou, Monster-chan," Haruka thanked as she walked over with the last dishes for dinner, "Dear, you know you're not supposed to work at the table."

"G-Gomen nassai…" Yuichiro sheepishly apologized, Monster revving his engine in warning, 'Why am I the one who has the scary one…?' the front door opened and Lan ran in, "Oh! Welcome home, Lan."

"Is everything alright?" Haruka asked.

"I'm fine! But…Papa, did you know Chaud has a SynchroChip, too?" Lan asked.

"Of course. Krim-san asked me to send him one," Yuichiro replied.

"Hah?!" Lan gawked, "Why did you do that? Those are really important!"

"I was honestly curious about that as well," Yuichiro replied, "When I asked…"

---

"You want me to send this to this boy? Why?" Yuichiro asked in his lab as he looked at Type Technic while holding up a SynchroChip, "After those Roidmudes attacked, these two along with Lan-kun's are the only ones left."

"Amazing Circus informed me that Chaud-san has ended up involved with the Roidmudes that are in North America," Belt-san explained, "My mentor currently has a new system meant to aid in fighting Roidmudes, but it's imperfect at the moment. From what Amazing Circus reported, the boy may have the potential to handle the strain and drawbacks of CrossFusion."

"Honto?"

"Yes. My mentor will also be willing to send you the data analysis from the initial testing," Belt-san added.

"Soka…Blaze-san's become involved and this will help him with the situation should he need it," Yuichiro noted, "He'll need CrossFusion if he wants to be able to handle things."

---

"Hendrickson-hakase sent over the data from his initial CrossFusion test and I was amazed by the results," Yuichiro noted, "The synchronization levels actually surpassed yours and Hub's."

"S-Surpassed ours?" Megaman asked in shock.

"Indeed. I actually have the results on my la…" Yuichiro began, reaching for the laptop before yelping as Monster revved his engine again.

"Monster says 'Reach for it one more time before dinner ends and I'm throwing it out the window,'" Megaman translated.

"He is a good listener," Haruka smiled, "And helps keep you from overworking yourself to the point we need a Masked Hero to come drag you away from work."

"I just realized that was personal…" Yuichiro muttered as several honks went off from Monster.

"That's just his laughter, Papa," Megaman chuckled, earning a flat look from Yuichiro aimed at no one in particular as Haruka covered his mouth as she giggled.

"Lan-kun, if you're wanting dinner, then you best wash your face," Haruka spoke.

"Hai…" Lan sighed as he went off, 'A higher ratio than me and Hub…?'

---

Chase slowed down and parked his motorcycle outside of a large apartment complex. He took off his helmet and pulled out the slip of paper. He looked around, double-checking, before getting off and approaching the doors. He pushed a button for one of the higher floors.

=...What?= a distorted voice questioned.

"Wily-hakase sent me."

=?! …Come in= the voice replied before the door unlocked.

Chase entered and went to the elevator. As it rose up, he pulled out his PeT and looked over Zero again. He was lying still, floating within a sphere of data as repairs were being attempted on the parts missing from him. If not for the missing limbs and leaking data, it would've looked as if Zero were merely asleep.

"Those kids…" Chase whispered, "They improved at a rate unprecedented…"

Just barely a few months ago, if a Roidmude had told him that a child barely twelve years of age would be able to combine with his NetNavi and even overcome his partner, he would've believed them to be malfunctioning and destroy their body to be reprogrammed in Brain's tablet. A soft ding made him look up at the elevator doors opening to a banquet hall that had been repurposed into a large office with dozens of supercomputers. He entered and approached a desk. Behind it, a tall figure with pale skin, long flowing hair that looked as if it were glowing and made of a green radiation, a long black robe with orange detailing, and pitch black eyes with yellow irises and no visible mouth sat.

"I was not expecting this," Chase flatly stated as his eyes began glowing to scan what he was seeing.

"Those that work under me tend to see only with their eyes and not with one's actions," the figure replied in the distorted voice, "It's just another issue humanity has that disgusts me." their eyes glowed for a moment, "You…are one of them, are you not? The one he spoke fondly of; the Roidmudes."

"I am the Shinigami."

"The one he gave Zero to," they noted, glancing to the PeT on Chase's waist.

"This is correct," he grabbed the PeT, "I am not an Operator like humans. My partner was damaged by an odd boy and NetNavi whom he shares an almost 99.9 percent DNA match with."

"May I?" the figure offered their hand, Chase handing the PeT over and letting him insert it into a slot on his desk, causing a hologram to appear of Zero, "Hmm…The damage is severe, even overtaxing his impressive regeneration abilities." the figure began to type rapidly at the keyboard as the supercomputers hummed…before strange blocky purple fragments appeared around Zero, "His origins allow this kind of treatment to be performed. His Virus origins will allow him to consume these BugFrags to restore his body. Estimated time for recovery: three hours." he looked at Chase, "This boy and NetNavi…they are the ones known as Lan Hikari and Megaman, yes?"

"I see his reputation precedes him," Chase spoke, "I can't call him a mastermind…but natural talent alone has carried him far. Furthermore, the genetic link to Megaman has an untold effect that bolsters their potential."

The figure nodded, typing on his keyboard as another hologram appeared, showing footage of Lan using CrossFusion, "This is rather interesting and detrimental to the cause. The power they have will allow them to aid in fighting Roidmudes out here should they choose not to flee through the Network." he looked to Chase, "What would you say if I were to create something from this? A way to allow you and Zero to fight like the boy and Kamen Rider do on Earth and not just when you and Zero are in the Network?"

"Such potential exists…?" Chase asked, "I would ask if this were to happen, allow it to be extendable to the others of my kind. Megaman and the like are not our only problem. If we are to survive and overtake humanity…we must evolve."

The figure chuckled, "That is agreeable." he held up the pilfered SynchroChip, "The next stage for the Roidmude comes soon enough." he typed a command and Chase looked at the screen, seeing blueprints for a strange Viral Core, "But first…the upgrade for you and your partner. Estimated Completion Time: six hours."

"...Who are you?"

A cracking sound went off as a mouth formed on the figure's face, opening to show fangs in a demented smile, "Call me…Kid Grave, Shinigami-san. I am the Leader of Gospel."

---

"Eh? A Video Warning of their crime?!" Lan and Maylu gasped as they appeared for the next day's work and got the news that people posted exactly what they said. A Video claiming they would target a location for theft.

"...Are they rapping?" Megaman pulled up the video.

"Terribly at that…" Roll added, "Thankfully, they have subtitles."

"Today at noon…at Kurama Credit Union…the branch up at Northern Kurama…Unstoppable Slowdown Gang?" Megaman paused the video of three men dressed in large masks while they all held their left arms, each decorated with the same band as Todogawa's, only theirs looked smaller and tight compared to the big one Todogawa had.

"They have the same kinda bracelet Todogawa-san had!" Gen realized.

"The current hypothesis I have on the matter is that the Roidmude is somehow using those as a way to transmit its ability to produce Slowdowns," Rinna explained, tapping a markerboard with a drawing of the bracelet on it, "Sorta like how Roll-chan and her hiccups cause Maylu-chan's PeT to become a medium that makes Slowdowns around her."

"H-Hey…I've been better at it with my StyleChange finally stabilizing…" Roll muttered, blushing.

"We know, Roll-chan, but it's still remarkably similar in basic concept," Megaman assured, "No one is picking on you, I swear."

"There's honestly been a lot of reports of Slowdowns that don't correlate to what's on our maps," Kyu added as Rush barked in agreement while on Yamatoman's shoulder, pointing at said map with several pink pushpins in it for those reported Slowdowns.

"Ah! That one was the dine and dash!" Lan recognized, pointing at one pink pin, "...Those three are probably the guys who dined and dashed that Kiriko-nee beat up!"

"I was low on groceries…now I have an abundance." Kiriko explained.

"Now people have the power of Slowdowns…that's not good," Shinnosuke sighed, "I don't think I'm allowed to read their rights while as…well while you know…stuck." he paused, remembering who else was here.

"Do we even have a law about making Slowdowns?" Gen asked.

"No!" Rinna declared, "Cause…the science behind it was never peer reviewed or given any form of final observation by any committee." she chuckled sheepishly, "So it's technically an illegal untested science…that no one knows exists…"

"Hmm…We will still be able to persecute them for attempted theft and dining and dashing, de gozaru," Yamatoman noted.

"At the very least, now we know someone is selling illegal untested technology." Shinnosuke spoke, "That means we can lock up the person selling them. Which should be the main concern. These are three random idiots; we need to worry about the seller."

"Roll-chan and I can check the SBS boards for any information on the seller," Megaman noted.

"True! There may be a chat about it somewhere," Roll noted.

"Just be careful and avoid the Undernet," Yamatoman warned.

"...Undernet?" Shinnosuke and Kiriko repeated.

"How have you not heard of it?!" Kyu asked in disbelief.

"Can I watch my action movies on it?" Shinnosuke argued.

"Seriously? Even I know about it," Gen noted in surprise, "Mainly from Yamatoman, but still."

"Yes…but I don't have a NetNavi and Tomari-san's…is built into his car," Kiriko muttered.

"It goes by many names, but for your sakes, you may know of it by 'The Dark Web,'" Yamatoman informed.

"Oh…the creepy place of the internet," Shinnosuke nodded, having at least heard of that concept a few times in media.

"It is where the worst criminals reside on the Network, having their own structure in place known as 'The Ranked,'" Yamatoman explained, "These Ranked are the ten strongest NetNavis there…and hold much sway in it. I have had to go there a few times in my life, so I can say this with utmost clarity: Megaman and Roll are not ready for excursions into it for investigations, de gozaru." he looked at the two, "Do not go near the entrances to it. Stay to the AboveNet. If you cannot find anything, inform me and I will go check the Undernet. Understood?"

"Y…Yes, sir," Megaman replied.

"Okay…" Roll sighed.

"Hey, he's saying it because he's concerned for you kids," Gen spoke, "I only saw it through the screen of my PeT and that place is insane. Static-filled skies, twisted decaying roads, Viruses with insane powers…It's like someone made the underworld and turned it into a digital landscape."

"We won't go near it," Maylu assured, "Right, Lan?"

"R…Right," Lan nodded in agreement.

"Good," Gen nodded before looking at his watch, seeing it was eleven, "Ah! We're running out of time! Shinnosuke, hurry up! We've got a guy to interview for a lead!"

"Right!" Shinnosuke nodded as the two ran out.

"Mmm…Couldn't we have officers wear the backpack Gen-san wore and I could hiccup near the criminals?" Roll pondered.

"It would be simple, but I only have the one," Rinna noted, "Though even with that…I think Shinnosuke-kun would be against you using that on people, Roll-chan, even if it was meant for a good cause."

Megaman nodded, "It'd be no better than what Roidmudes do with it. Using it on Viruses and RoidNavis is alright, but anyone else would be mean."

"R-Right…" Roll replied, "Gomen…"

"It's okay, Roll-chan," Maylu assured.

"It's okay. We just need to strive to be better then the bad guys," Rinna smiled, pointing at Roll with her metal pointing stick, "Besides we have secret weapons for that, remember~"

"We do?" Kyu asked, "...It's not another backpack, is it?"

"What's wrong with the backpack design?"

"Probably not enough Murmur Mansion stickers for Kyu-nii," Lan guessed, "Oh! Did you see the finale for it?"

"Of course! It was so wonderful!" Kyu beamed.

"I cried at the end," Roll admitted.

"Thank you, innocent adorableness from Lan-kun," Rinna sighed as they devolved into a discussion on the finale.

---

"So…you don't remember the band at all?!" Gen demanded, sitting across from Todogawa in an interrogation room thirty-four minutes later, "Not even the trap you set off on me to make me drop my gun?"

"Iie! I can't remember who I bought it from or what I even did!" Todogawa replied.

"Could it be that the Band has some sort of failsafe to cause amnesia?" Shinnosuke offered, "That's why he passed out after it shorted out. We fried his mind somehow."

"It would make sense to prevent the seller from being caught," Gen frowned before slamming a hand on the desk, "Kuso!" he stood up and made it to the door before shaking his head and moving back to the table, slamming his hands on the desk to make Todogawa look him in the eyes, "Listen, Todogawa. No matter how bad a person is, if you kill him or try to kill him, you're only proving that you're as bad as he was." Todogawa nodded as he let his words sink in, he really was just a guy down on his luck and angry, "Don't sink down to that level again, got it?"

"H-hai…" Todogawa nodded as he sniffled a little, "I'm really sorry, Keiji-san…" he cried out, an odd mix of shame from the things he did, but relief at hearing someone give him a fair chance, something he'd never gotten much of since moving to this city. It was so small…but it was just the thing he needed. He then yelped when Gen smiled and slapped his shoulder, the mild scare releasing the floodgates on the waterworks as the officers rushed out the door.

---

"Slowdown Gang…" Heart chuckled as he put his jacket back on, "This is rather amusing. Look at these fools dance around from a taste of our power~ It is the dumbest thing ever…" he stated before chuckling, "I kinda love it."

"What utter nonsense," Brain sighed in exasperation.

"It is good for Tomahawk's business," Medic noted, doing a small twirl to adjust Heart's jacket collar, "Gunman and Tomahawk took on the appearances of two underworld brothers after all." she did another to start performing stretches using Brain's chair to hold onto, "The black marketeer younger brother and the protective older brother."

"I already know that!" Brain snapped in annoyance with Medic, "But what's bothersome is that they have brought a new Kamen Rider and another one of those kids who can combine with their NetNavis!"

"The kid from the WaterWorks, right?" Heart recalled, "...Wait, is it the kid of the guy Maddy blackmailed?"

"No, the other one that's an Official NetBattler," Brain replied.

"...Oh~! The eggshell head!"

"Pfft…" Medic stifled a laugh.

"...Ah, it is an Egg!" Brain realized.

"Right?" Heart smiled, happy to see two of his best friends laugh together, "Well, I can already tell the difference between the Red Boy and the Blue Boy. Our Blue one is a natural talent while Red…is dedication and hard work."

"Wily-hakase was well prepared, keeping track of these Officials," Brain noted after calming down from his amusement as he looked at the tablet, "The boy is named Eugene Chaud Blaze…the vice president of IPC?" he adopted a flat look, "A pre-teen is the vice president of one of the biggest companies in the world that develops many pieces of modern day technology…Humans make no sense."

"I'll say. Who names their kid 'Eugene?'" Heart asked, raising a brow in honest disbelief.

"...Moving on…" Brain muttered as he looked at the tablet, "You're right about the dedication and hard work. In the last update to his file, it's been reported that he spends ten hours daily on intensive physical training mixed with NetBattle simulations." he looked up from the tablet with a flat look on his face, "What the hell am I reading? This feels like something from a manga or video game with the boy being a powerful rival to the Hikari brat…"

"Oh that sounds interesting. A battle between someone with natural talent against one who got it through sheer effort," Heart noted, "Ahh…I wanna go back to the Undernet and fight that guy again now~!"

"Hm? 'That guy,' Heart-sama?" Medic asked.

"A NetNavi after our own hearts," Heart replied, a fond smile on his lips, "It was a rush! He was insanely strong and when these punks a thousand strong tried to get in the way of our fight, he wiped them all out before I could even start to lay a beatdown!" he sighed, "He left after that, but I want to meet him again. The way he is…I feel a strong connection to."

"Huh?" Brain asked in surprise before the doors opened and Chase entered, "Ah, you're back."

"How'd it go?" Heart asked, "Is Zero…?"

Chase held up a purple, black, and gunmetal Advance PeT, Zero inside of it before bowing, "I apologize for my recovery time, Heart-dono."

"Oh! You got an upgrade!" Heart noted.

"They procured one for Zero with a recovery system programmed for his unique biology," Chase explained.

"So that did lead to something useful," Brain spoke.

"A new sponsor, so to speak. Another who seeks the destruction of humanity as it is known," Chase explained, offering an envelope to Brain, "Their contact information and a proposal to help Roidmudes evolve further beyond."

"A new evolution?" Medic questioned, earning a nod from Chase as Brain looked at the envelope's contents.

"It is quite thrilling once I learned of it after my recovery," Zero informed, "We've been given one new kind to test out the next we encounter the Kamen Rider and Megaman."

"Allow us to keep watch of the two Roidmudes that returned from North America," Chase spoke.

"Perfect," Heart laughed, "Medic won't let me do anything anyway." he then yelped when she roughly slapped his shoulder, "Ah…" he gasped in pain.

"It is for his health that he rests so that his body can finish repairing and adapting to the new level of power he gained from this event," Medic smiled.

"You mean his defeat…" Brain blurted.

"I have no clue what you mean. The words 'Defeat' and 'Heart-sama' don't go together in such a way unless it is: Heart-sama has defeated his enemies," Medic smiled probably far too sweetly.

"It is not a true defeat unless it is deletion," Zero supported, "When next Heart-dono fights, his number of enemies shall turn to zero."

"..." Chase frowned on hearing the number.

"Something wrong?" Heart asked.

"...I…saw my number," Chase informed.

"Nani?" Brain blinked.

"Hmm?" Medic blinked as she looked to Heart.

"I see…" Heart spoke as he understood now why Chase has been so odd, "You discovered a secret we never thought we'd need to talk about."

"A secret? Why was his number a secret?" Zero pondered.

"What am I?" Chase questioned, "I…have no memories of before the Global Freeze."

"Eh? Y…You don't, Chase-san?" Zero asked, taken aback by his partner's admission.

"Let's just say you are a mighty warrior." Heart explained, "And 0…is an honored number. Your only concern should be to fight…" he looked Chase in the eyes, "...My Friend."

"..." Chase nodded, "I trust in you."

"Likewise," Zero agreed.

---

"First day back and dealing with robbers with Slowdown…" Kiriko muttered, standing outside the intended bank the robbers were going to strike at.

"Don't you guys dare screw this up!" Gen shouted, wearing the backpack once more, as he looked upon a line of officers all wearing riot gear with riot shields at the ready. He then grunted as he fidgeted around a bit, "Has this thing always been this itchy?" he muttered, trying to adjust it to get rid of that irritating sensation, but groaned as he unclasped it to see what the problem was himself, also it was heavy, too…so any excuse to get the thing off, useful as it is.

"Are you allergic to the material, de gozaru?" Yamatoman pondered.

"I'm not sure. It wasn't itchy like this yesterday, right?" Gen asked as he enjoyed the relief from the weight and whatever caused the irritation and itchiness.

"Hmm…Ah. Kiriko-san."

"Hm?"

"I see a powder on the lining of the straps, de gozaru," Yamatoman informed, his PeT on Gen's belt at a good enough angle.

"Powder?" Kiriko blinked while walking over to take a look, "It is there? Wait…is this some kind of itching powder? Where woul-Go…" she growled.

"Eh? Go? Go where?" Gen asked in confusion as the clock on his PeT turned to 11:59 AM.

---

"Hmmm…" Kamen Rider Mach mused as he drove down the street with Chaud, "If Proto is right…this is their path to…ah! Look, three clowns!" he pointed at a silver convertible as the three masked men from the video were driving down a rode ahead of them, leading to an intersection same as them, "...I'm gonna go play a little prank~"

"Don't get arrested again," Chaud warned.

"Oh when did that happen?"

"The last time you said 'I'm gonna go play a little prank,' two trailer park houses went down in flames."

"That was not my fault…who has a pet Gator!?" Mach complained as he sped up and pulled to a sudden stop before the car, making it skid to a sudden halt as all three men began shouting at them, "It will be fine."

"It won't be fine," Chaud replied, Magarl peeking out of his jacket.

"You worry too much," Mach laughed as he dismounted, "Density Shift Control Limiter…"

"Who do you bastards think you are! We'll show you not to mess with us! Boys, let's Slow it down!" the leader of the trio ordered as they all raised their arms with the bands.

"Activate," Mach finished as his R symbol on his chest began glowing multiple colors before he unleashed a Density Shift wave…but unlike the Roidmudes darker colored flash that followers Mach's was a blue/white mix as it spread out over a large area.

"Wha…Why can't I move?" the leader asked.

"See? This will be fun, I promise!" Mach cheered as he walked over to them.

"I'm still going to get the bail money on standby…again."

"Two more and you'll receive a free coupon booklet," Protoman noted.

"Nice~!" Mach beamed.

"Did you sneak that faulty Humor program into him again?"

"Focus on the Three Stooges here, not me," Mach replied quicker than normal, practically jogging over to the trio.

"Maaach…"

---

"The Slowdown…!" Gen panicked as he fell over once the Slowdown hit, he grunted upon hitting the ground, "Piko-piko Nigo!" he reached for the backpack at a snail's pace.

Shinnosuke ran to Tridoron and put on his Driver before sitting down.

"This is odd, Shinnosuke. This is nothing like the effect of the Band. Not even like a Roidmude or Roll-chan…" Belt-san spoke as Shinnosuke slotted Shift Speed into his Brace.

"Hah…I was afraid of that," Shinnosuke sighed, "Henshin!" he called out as he peeled out at top speed to head for the origin point of the Slowdown.

---

"Ya see? Nice and easy," Mach chuckled as he turned to Chaud and his bike, holding up a pair of different-colored roses in one hand and twirled the three bracelets on the other hand's pointer finger.

"...I've got the bail money," Chaud spoke as he turned to see Tridoron making its way here.

"You little snitch!" Mach snapped.

"Oh…he's not the person I told," Chaud replied, "She'll be here later."

"...No…" Mach spoke, dropping the bracelets before they sparked, "You fool! You've doomed us all-GAH!" he cried as Drive tackled him, "What the heck!?"

"Go! What are you doing!?" Drive demanded.

"You can't unleash a Slowdown from the final product Core Driviar System, let alone the NEXT version of the Mach Driver Honoh. It's too strong! It might even cause adverse effects to humans!" Belt-san warned.

"Hah? Why not? I've done it a lot before. Mostly on Chaud when he's being a stick in the mud, but still…" he grunted, kicking Drive off him, "You guys don't need to get so bent out of shape about it." he grunted, swinging a punch Drive took with little signs of it actually hurting.

"Why shouldn't we? You unleashed something like this in the middle of the city!" Drive snapped, "A Slowdown like this…do you know how many innocent people must be scared out of their minds?"

"...Ah mou…" Mach complained…before reaching up and pushing up his mask to let the vents be exposed once more as the Slowdown ended in time with the steam pouring out.

"Freedom!" the leader of the three shouted, the trio turning about face to their car…before pausing on seeing CF Protoman standing on their getaway vehicle, sword deployed in a nonchalant pose…while all three felt the intense glare behind the visor, "...We surrender!"

"..." Drive said nothing as he let the armor fade away.

=Nice Drive~=

"Mmm…"

=Otsukare~=

With that, Shinnosuke walked over to Go with a frown, "I get you wanted to help, but there are limits to how far you can just abuse this power. The moment you start using the Slowdowns like this, you're no better than the Roidmudes! I won't deny the power can be helpful…but to such a huge extent…and like that?!"

"What? It wasn't all that bad," Go argued, gesturing to the three sparking bracelets on the floor, "They couldn't even turn those on."

"You still didn't need to sink to their level!" Shinnosuke declared.

"Heh…You're pretty straight laced when you're fired up, Shin-niisan."

"And stop calling me that," Shinnosuke demanded.

"But you know, we're already using the enemy's own power to fight them, right?" Go asked as Shinnosuke's expression just grew angrier at that, "I mean…we use the same tech for one." he thumbed over at CF Protoman as he finished tying up the three men before dismissing CrossFusion to read them their rights, "And the kids with the SynchroChip…that thing wouldn't be here without some Roidmude data. Probably have to wait for an area where the Network and Earth overlap to use them without that data."

"So you're saying it doesn't matter. That the ends justify the means?" Shinnosuke asked.

"Pretty much…" Go scratched the back of his head.

"That's not a Kamen Rider…" Shinnosuke frowned as he shook his head.

"..." Go said nothing at that as the two just stood there. They then turned as a car came to a sudden halt.

"Go?" Kiriko called out, spotting her younger brother and began realizing who caused the Slowdown, "Go!"

"Oh good. She got the message," Chaud noted.

"...You'll never take me without the boy!" Go shouted.

"Oh not again," Chaud sighed as Go grabbed him and began to run.

"Oh no you don't!" Kiriko barked, kicking a leg up to force her shoe off and quickly grabbed it before throwing it at an arc.

"Aaaaand…" Shinnosuke watched as it sailed through the air and smacked the back of Go's head before hitting Chaud in the face, making the former fall flat on his own face, "There's the throw. Huh…Haven't had that happen in weeks now."

"I've been working on the curve for the next time I need it. A little more practice and it will return to my hand." Kiriko stated.

"...ah…let's put him in the trunk," Shinnosuke sighed, motioning to Go.

"Grab the small one," Kiriko sighed, "And we'll just leave those three for Gen-san."

"Wait…you're gonna leave us in the middle of the street?!"

"Not our jurisdiction!" they replied.

"Oh come on…." one sobbed.

---

"Eh?! You did that?" Lan gawked as they returned to the SIU office, with Go handcuffed to a table.

"The look of disappointment from two children is just torture, Neesan!" Go snapped.

"Baka," Maylu replied simply.

"You're a cold one, aren't you?" Go muttered.

"Your sister is our mentor," Roll replied before the door to the office swung open.

"Tadaima~!" a weary-sounding Jun called out in greeting, wearing a vest over a plaid button shirt and a fishing hat on his head.

"Oh! Jun-Jiisan!" Lan beamed.

"How was the excursion?" Megaman asked.

"Ah…we went long. Sorry for being gone so long, Kids," Jun sighed, "Wait a minute…I only have two kids I let run around here due to being adorable, so who's this grumpy looking child, and the man-child I don't care for cuffed to my table?" he motioned to Chaud and Go, "See…this boy has a real sour face, I think the kids have a rude expression for that, and this one…" he lingered on Go, "Oh…you…you are a real troublemaker, aren't you son?"

"How could you…ah yeah…" Go sighed.

"You also reek of youth and stupidity…and B.O., there's something called deodorant, boy…invest in it!" he slapped Go's shoulder.

"He keeps throwing it out the window when I purchase him a new one," Chaud rolled his eyes.

"I don't believe in it," Go replied.

"You're disgusting," Maylu stated.

"Why does her words sting!?" Go asked in honest concern, "They really do! It's like a pink haired Mini-version of Neesan…"

"Ah, you're rubbing off on Maylu-chan, Kiriko-chan," Jun sighed in exasperation, "I'm worried now when she shows off what she does with a broom…"

"Eh? A br…A broom?" Go asked in confusion.

"Ah…this is my stupid Younger Brother." Kiriko groaned out, "He's here from America…and getting in the way of my job with his nonsense." she then motioned to Chaud, "This…is I wanna say his friend."

"Oi…don't you have friends your own age?" Jun looked at Go, who blinked at that, "Ah…poor thing." he slapped his shoulder again.

"Oi! Oi! Shin-Niisan hangs out with kids!"

"That's different. He's an adult and Lan-kun is more like a ward. You…you're just a stupid man-child who is friends with a kid," Jun argued.

"GH?!"

"Oda-san underplayed your personality, sir," Chaud noted.

"Oh~! One of Oda-kun's kiddos like Lan-kun and Maylu-chan," Jun noted, "Well it's a pleasure to meet you. So nice to have youngsters lending a hand to the protection of peace and stability in the world." he looked at Go, "You keep an eye on him, right?" he turned back to Chaud.

"I try."

"Good boy," Jun replied.

"Oh he's getting it later…" Go muttered under his breath.

"Now then…Kiriko-chan, I am disappointed in you. Keep a better eye on your younger brother," Jun scolded.

"Eh? But, sir, he's the one who got involved with police business."

"Well then you should've kept a better eye on him and not let him tag along in the first place. And you do such a good job with Maylu-chan, too…"

"I don't think it's fair to blame Kiriko-nee…" Lan muttered.

"Oi…I'm the little brother…" Go complained.

"Mmm…Lan-kun is cuter," Kiriko instinctually replied.

"Ugwah~!" Go fell out of his seat in shock.

"I don't blame you, but it's clear this goofus is going to return. He's your brother and hangs out with a boy we'll see a lot of," Jun pointed out.

"...Eh?" Lan asked.

"Well, Oda-kun was one of the folks there and told me he'd be sending another liaison that'd double as a connection to the Officials," Jun explained, "Said they'd have an eggshell hairstyle." he looked at Chaud's pants, "Ah, shouldn't have worn green today. Green is a color that attract embarrassment to yourself today."

"What?" Chaud raised a brow.

"Color fortune site," Roll informed from the NetNavi's computer screen.

"Ohh…" Go groaned as he got back in the seat, "And I even brought along a big scoop photo, too…"

"Hm? Scoop?" Jun pondered…before Go held up a photo of himself as Mach, "Oh!"

"Eh?! Is that…Ah! Kamen Rider da~!" Kyu exclaimed, scurrying over, "It's a real Kamen Rider's photo!"

"Eh?" Shinnosuke pondered.

"Nani?!" Gen exclaimed as he ran over and started to play tug of war with a photo of Mach with Kyu.

"Here's a copy for you," Go offered a copy to Jun.

"Oh~! Very nice looking. Reminds me of my youth as the motorcycles back then," Jun chuckle.

"Wait a minute!" Kyu declared, "He's white!" he snapped, turning to Gen.

"Eh!?" he looked again, "That's not the Kamen Rider who saved me!"

"Or maybe your vision is so bad you got it all wrong." Kyu took the drawing Gen made and ripped in half.

"You little! Come here! I know what I saw!" Gen snapped as he began chasing Kyu.

"Help me, Shinnosuke! He's lost it!" Kyu panicked.

"Go…" Kiriko spoke, pinching his ear roughly, "A word." she uncuffed and began dragging him aside, "The boy too!" Chaud said nothing as he quickly got up and followed them out into the hall to talk in private.

"We're…gonna go with them," Shinnosuke spoke as he, Lan, Maylu, Rinna and any respective NetNavi followed.

"You took pictures of yourself?!" Kiriko hissed.

"What are you, Spider-Man?" Shinnosuke muttered.

'He better not JJ here…' Lan thought.

"Gah! I trained the Signal Bikes to work my camera, adjust the lens, hit the shutter, all that!" Go explained as he fidgeted in pain from the pinched ear.

"I will kill you…" Kiriko hissed, twisting the ear.

"Gomenasai! Gomenasai! Gomenasai!" Go begged.

"He…has gotten good at this. It's how he makes money by selling pictures to tabloids and local papers," Chaud explained, "I trained the Signal Bikes NOT to take my picture." he added.

"Mou…what is wrong with you…?" Kiriko groaned.

"Alphabetical or numerical?" Protoman asked.

"Still I don't think it's okay to be doing this." Lan sighed, "You can't just do whatever you want."

"Mou, you guys already poisoned these kids' minds with nonsense…" Go muttered, "Don't you get it? Being a police officer has afforded you advantages. But it also has disadvantages." he explained, "Meanwhile, I have the advantage of doing things no one else can. See, I can pursue a case in a way a police officer can't!"

"You mean by doing illegal things?" Kiriko frowned.

"Don't deny it…" the three children spoke in unison before Go could nonsense his way out of that.

"D'oh…You know my normal routine with you, Chaud~" Go whined, "I do stuff that lets you legally do Official stuff. Then you pay my bail and I treat us to breakfast, lunch, or dinner depending on when you bail me out with the cash from selling the pics."

"Wait, you do that?" Lan asked.

"I've long since given up on him not doing that," Chaud rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"And earlier with the CrossFusion?" Kiriko questioned Chaud.

"Arresting a trio of criminals for attempted robbery and dine and dashing. Considering they saw the Tomahawk Roidmude, it was likely they know of the Roidmudes already so it provided a means for a quick defense in apprehension of the criminals if a Roidmude was watching them," Chaud replied, "It's a tool I only use if criminals are connected to Roidmudes."

"Plus it's kept secret by 'em because even if they tell folks about it…who's gonna believe about super advanced robots and kids turning into NetNavis?" Go chuckled.

"I mean…he's not wrong…" Lan muttered sheepishly, "But then again Japan has tons of Roidmudes…chances are…"

"That won't work here." Maylu spoke, "Compared to America, we're a small country."

"Also the police are aware something fishy is going on," Shinnosuke stated, "Meaning if you get caught…they might just pin ALL the problems on you."

"...I hadn't thought of that." Go admitted, "I…hadn't thought of that…"

"This literally happened whenever you caused trouble in small towns in the countryside of America…" Chaud reminded, "Sheriffs don't like you."

"...Name two."

"Little Rock, Arkansas with the rock climbing incident and Uranus, Missouri with their sideshow place."

"Okay, that second doesn't count!"

"You nearly transformed because of a jumpscare in the museum of oddities after purchasing all that fudge for your sister," Chaud reminded bluntly.

"Did you see how tall that corpse in the coffin was?!" Go questioned, "Seriously, why put it in the dark and then shine a light on it when someone gets close?"

"That sounds completely like my brother," Kiriko sighed, facepalming, "Even as a kid, he was a troublemaker."

"...Name two times," Go argued.

"Third grade with Seiryu Amane with the bubblegum in her hair and fifth grade with Toyohiko Tomo with those bullies ganging up on him."

"Hey, hey, hey. I did nothing wrong in the fifth grade!"

"Go, you threw one of them out the window."

"They made fun of Kaa-san."

"...I'd probably do that, too, if Mama got made fun of…" Lan mumbled, earning a discreet elbow hit from Maylu.

"Don't defend his actions," Maylu whispered.

"Gomen," Lan grunted, rubbing the spot he was hit.

"Hah…so he's just a wreckless weirdo who keeps going in headfirst with a basic plan," Shinnosuke sighed, "That's why you partnered up with Chaud-kun…he's the brain."

"Oh come on, that's…"

"Completely correct," Chaud confirmed, making Go fall over, "It was a condition Belt-san gave if I was to be given a SynchroChip to handle Roidmudes if they don't go into the Network. 'Keep an eye on Shijima Go' was the condition."

"Ah…Belt-san and his secrets, even if they are for good, he could let us in on stuff so we're not surprised," Shinnosuke sighed, glancing over at Type Speed and Amazing Circus on Chaud's shoulders.

"I think the problem is Go was stupid and left early…" Kiriko sighed, "I'm sure once things were finished, he would have told us. I still would ring Go's neck though…" Go flinched and went pale at that threat.

"You can think a combination of his recklessness and the two Roidmudes 017 and 018," Chaud replied, "Especially with 018 and its theft of Tomahawkman."

"How was his NetOp?" Roll asked.

"Last I checked, still recovering in the hospital from the broken arm and broken leg 018 gave him," Chaud replied, "Say what you will, but Americans are crazy at times."

"Hey…" Maylu frowned.

"Why are you offended?" Rinna asked.

"My Papa was American."

"Ah. No offense to you then, Sakurai-san," Chaud noted, giving a small bow of apology to her.

"Lord Chaud," Protoman spoke, causing Chaud to pull his PeT out, "Your alarm has gone off."

"Soka," Chaud nodded before putting the PeT away, "Go."

"Hm? Oh! Gotcha!" Go nodded, "Ah, we gotta drive now."

"Eh?" Kiriko and Shinnosuke pondered.

"I'm…kinda his chauffeur and he has a meeting in twenty at a nearby hotel," Go explained.

"Meeting?" Lan repeated.

"Finalizing a deal with Gorotenketsu Industries on a better deal between them and IPC that improves delivery rates for the parts they produce for our company," Chaud replied.

"Eh? A kid takes care of such business?" Shinnosuke awed, "That has to be a very busy life…When do you think he has time to be a kid?"

"I think that's his whole bit," Lan muttered in response.

"Of course I handle it," Chaud stated as he and Go walked off, "I'm the Vice President of the company."

"Oh, I see. He's the WHAT?!" Shinnosuke and Lan exclaimed as the two newcomers walked down the stairs.

"...This shouldn't take more than an hour," Chaud stated.

"Ah, more than enough time to get ready for the fun," Go chuckled as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a pair of fake roses, one red and one white, "And also rework our normal schtick of me getting arrested and such."

"I believe I warned you about the difference."

"You did, he was more focused on a group of women that he offered to sell his services as a cameraman to."

"Can you blame me with how pretty they looked?"

"Yes," both replied, making Go slump.

---

"Mmm…Ne, Belt-san? Does the Mach Driver Honoh have a NetNavi in it?" Lan asked, everyone in the Drive Pit once more with Lan at his worktable and working on his pages for the Gunman and Tomahawk Roidmudes.

"Well, the Mach Driver Honoh does indeed have an AI built in which handles all the functions I do for the Drive Driver. However I wouldn't call it a Smart AI, at least not like a NetNavi."

"Smart AI?" Lan blinked.

"In the early days before calling them Network Navigators or NetNavi, AI had two wildly accepted classifications for their types and potential functionality. A Smart AI would be more like a NetNavi, clever, able to think, respond, and interact with us no different than a human. Well, Hub-kun and I are excluded due to circumstances. But Roll is for certain a Smart AI by the older era classifications. Meanwhile, what I could call a Dumb AI is an Artificial Intelligence designed to run subroutines, keep things working, and perform certain tasks simply and effectively. It can perform tasks more difficult but…don't expect it to start responding to deeper questions such as: How do you feel today?" Belt-san explained.

"Soka," Lan nodded, "So Shinnosuke-nii uses a Smart AI and Go-san uses a Dumb AI…"

"...Does the AI Mach use explain why his mask opens up and lets out steam like it did?" Maylu asked.

"No no, that is due to the system being imperfect," Belt-san sighed, "You see, Mach's system is stronger but this is due to it outputting more energy than Drive does normally." at that, a hologram of the Mach Armor's blueprints projected for them, "It uses more energy, but due to not being properly finished, it has an overheating problem. This design aspect is to use a heat sink system to vent out the excess heat from his armor. However, in doing so, Mach will exhibit a drop in performance potential. IE why he only uses it After the fight is done."

"So he's stronger, but he has a time limit because the system's not finished," Lan nodded.

Meanwhile, Shinnosuke and Kiriko sat near one another on one of the larger couches in the Drive Pit. Without paying attention, both reached out behind them and to the same bottle of milk candy. The two nearly grabbed it when their hands touched one another, causing them to move them away and blush while glancing away from the other. On a nearby monitor Rinna was peeking out from behind, Rush snickered and made muted kissing noises while Rinna bit down hard on her handkerchief while twisting it up tightly.

"That is correct, Lan-kun, it's potential power is indeed greater then Drive; but, it also runs the risk of a greater toll on the users body. Which is why I scouted Go due to sharing Kiriko's more resilient genetics," Belt-san nodded as they didn't pay attention to the adults at the moment.

"But…then why not Kiriko-nee?" Lan asked as Maylu smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Truth be told…at the time, it would have been hard to set up the testing…and after her failure to synchronize with me…" Belt-san grumbled, scratching his cheek while looking away.

"You didn't want to get her hopes up in case something went wrong?" Megaman offered.

"Or is it because she's a girl and you couldn't modify the suit in time for one?" Roll asked.

"Ahahaha…ah…hahaha…" Belt-san muttered sheepishly, "I…am ashamed to admit that…perhaps I did…always make the system with male users in mind…hehehe…ehe…" he shamefully turned away.

"Mmm…" all the girls fumed at him.

"Though Lan-kun's point does stand. Why not just make a new Mach Driver Honoh for Kiriko?" Shinnosuke offered, "Drive was one thing, you needed someone who synchronized with you, IE me. If we're gonna get left in the dust…I'd much rather it be someone responsible like Kiriko…"

"Tomari-san?" Kiriko blinked as she turned to stare at him, their eyes locking for a moment as both just froze up and blushed a little.

"Ah! Who cares!" Rinna sat between them, making them jump, "What matters is the system needs more fine tuning to be ready for anyone to use. So until then Shinnosuke and Go are our Riders!"

"Aw…" Roll sighed.

"Hey, maybe you and Maylu-chan can use the third SynchroChip," Megaman noted.

"You think so?" Roll asked.

"Well you two are getting really strong," Lan spoke, making Maylu blush, before frowning as he looked at his Roidmude strategy notebook, "Just kinda wondering now what's the deal with Rinna-nee's nii-chan and being so weird. What did he mean by he can do stuff we can't?"

"Well, he and Chaud-san did say that Go-san would do it so Chaud-san could go into places he couldn't originally," Maylu recalled, managing to shake off her blush, "Maybe he doesn't work for the police because he can help the police get to where they need to go and arrest people that need to be arrested?"

"Help the…?" Shinnosuke began before shooting up and tightening his tie, "I got it!"

"Yosha! Top Gear kita!" Lan cheered.

"Baka!"

"..Eh? What did I do?" Lan asked.

"Not you," Shinnosuke replied, "Go." he whistled, "Shift Cars, find Go immediately! Chaud will likely be in the same vicinity as him, likely keeping a lookout to acknowledge Go pulling a breaking and entering for where the Roidmudes are!"

"You think they found where they're hiding?" Megaman asked.

"Even if it was for a moment, I saw Mach holding the Slowdown bands the three had before they sparked like Todogawa's did," Shinnosuke replied, "Most likely, that spark is what causes the memory erasure."

"So that means those three had their memories of where they got the bands from!" Roll realized before spinning to Rush, "Rush-chan!"

"Arf!" Rush saluted as Roll put his leash on.

"Find Protoman," Roll ordered.

"Awoo~!" Rush howled before getting on all fours and started to sniff around, "Woof!" his front paws turned into blurs before he dug down.

"Hold tight, Mega!" Roll cheered, grabbing Megaman around his waist.

"Ah! W-Wait a second! I don't like when he-GYAH!" Megaman screamed as he and Roll were pulled into the hole by the leash.

"That's my puppy right there!" Rinna cheered, "Even the coldest of scents and he'll sniff them out like they were fresh from the oven!"

"I still want to know what else you put into him," Belt-san noted, shifting to the Drive Driver that shot off its stand and into Tridoron.

"That's for me, Kiriko-chan, and Maylu-chan to know and you boys to find out later!" Rinna smirked.

Maylu giggled, "Feels silly being on the other end of having secrets like this, ne, Belt-san?"

"Mmmm…" Belt-san muttered under his nonexistent breath as he adopted an annoyed expression on the Driver's screen.

---

Water splashed against the concrete shore of the warehouse district of the city, sending up saltwater onto the shore at times. A lone figure walked along the coastline, a large navy jacket and thick navy scarf obscuring their features. As they walked, they made a sharp turn to their right, going past a 'No Trespassing' sign. They entered an alleyway, scaffolding above leaving no sunlight to breach the darkness of it. They stopped before a steel doorway…and pulled out a pair of roses. One red and one white. Keeping their head down and away, they held the flowers up high to allow a security camera to look upon them.

Inside of the building, the disguised Tomahawk Roidmude laughed in glee as he held up a crisp paper yen bill. He sniffed it a few times before putting it along the seam of his hat…causing it to act like a vending machine and pull the bill into it. He chortled in glee as he waved the rest of bills in his hand out like a paper fan.

"Oh-hoo-hoo~! I can feel it! The wickedness made from humans fills these bills with such a tasty delight!" Tomahawk cheered, "Delicious~!"

"Eat the cash already and evolve even further, Lil' Bro," Gunman spoke up as he approached, "Also we've got a new customer." he motioned as the figure walked in.

"Customer?" Tomahawk cheered, "Hurry up and pay me! Money, Money, Money, gimme the money!" the figure walked up before pulling out and tossing a bundle of bills to him, "Yes~!" he took a big sniff of it, "Ohh~! That's the stuff…" he shook his head, "Congrats, Mystery man! You are the new owner of the power of the Slowdown!" he reached over towards a crate with several of the bracelets lined up. He then paused, as he sniffed the money again, "Wait a minute…this money…smells…"

Chase turned to look at the bundle of bills before he grabbed a pool cue off the table he was sitting on and used it as a spear to pierce the bundle and disperse it to reveal nothing but fake bills with the faces on the figures being henohenomoheji. The figure chuckled before jumping back and pulling out the Zenrin Shooter and blasting the crates, making them all explode-bracelets and all-before shooting the money out of Tomahawk's hands.

"Ah! My money~!" Tomahawk sobbed.

"You bastard!" Gunaman snapped, shooting a round at the figure who ducked and rolled away to behind another pool table, forcing it onto its side and started to shoot over it, "Gh!" Gunman quickly shot at each one fired at them, making them go off in the air.

"Grrr…" Tomahawk growled before transforming, "You big jerk! That was my money!" he reeled his arms back to swing his namesakes only for the jacket and scarf to land on his face, "AH! Help! I'm blind~!" He took a step only to yelp as he stepped on a pool cue and swung his tomahawks up, breaking a hole in the ceiling to let in the sunlight…and shining down on a smirking Go like it was a stage spotlight.

"You again!" Gunman exclaimed as he began to unleash a barrage of gunshots at Go, who proceeded to cartwheel, jump, and flip about to dodge the shots.

"Phwah! I can see!" Tomahawk cheered as he ripped the jacket off before glaring at Go, "You money-hating jerk!"

He swung an arm out, unleashing a Slowdown…yet Go didn't slow down a bit and even shot the Tomahawk Roidmude, knocking him over. Gunman grit his teeth as he transformed and sent out his own Slowdown…only to be forced to move out of the way as Go sent several shots as he jumped to the side, did a tumble, and land perfectly by Chase. He chuckled before tipping an invisible hat to Chase.

"He can move in a Slowdown?" Zero pondered, "Is he allied with Drive?"

"Given his weapon…it can't be…You're the second Rider?" Chase asked.

"Oi, oi, New Rider~"

"Second!" all the Roidmudes countered.

"Oi! ...Why does everyone respect Shin-Niisan so much…?" Go couldn't help but ask as he realized even the ones he chased here now respected Drive more.

"Ask that when you're not in the middle of a fight," CF Protoman ordered, appearing between Go and the thrown tomahawks of Tomahawk and bullets of Gunman with a thick oval red and silver shield that bounced the attacks off, "But considering Drive is the one who stopped them several months ago, you shouldn't be all that shocked by their recognition of him."

"Another who can CrossFuse," Chase noted, narrowing his eyes before transforming into Mashin Chaser.

=BREAK UP=

"Ah! …Ya know, he looks like Zero," Tomahawk noticed.

"Gh! B-Boku?!" Zero pointed at himself before CF PRotoman swung his blade, sending out a shockwave at Tomahawk who yelped and ducked, letting a pillar be cleanly divided by it.

"Ignore his comments," Mashin Chaser ordered as he then rushed and swung at Go, making him yelp and dive out of the way.

"Oi, oi! I thought you were an honorable fighter!" Go complained.

"If you are a Rider…I must kill you," Mashin Chaser replied simply, "It's not my fault if you don't transform in time."

"Hmm…" CF Protoman turned to look at Go.

"There's a system! I need to use it at the right time!" Go complained.

"Fight or die…I don't care either way," Mashin Chaser replied, slamming his Break Gunner to his palm.

=GUN!=

"I have a third option!" Go declared…before backflipping over a table to avoid a shot from Mashin Chaser and running for the exit, "Run away~!"

"Get back here!" Gunman snapped as he and Mashin Chaser ran after him.

"You jerk!" Tomahawk snapped, making his big tomahawk, "TOMAHAWK SWI…!" he blinked and his weapon vanished before it could hit CF Protoman, "What? Where did it…?" a pillar of wood erupted from the ground, its end sharpened into a spike, and sent him flying with a rain of sparks out the hole in the ceiling, "MY BUTT~!"

"The AntiWood was successful," CF Protoman noted before running after the others to outside.

---

"Whoa!" Go grunted as he was running from gunfire aimed at him from his pursuers.

"Why hasn't he transformed?" Mashin Chaser asked, "What plan is he enacting…?"

"I never understood this guy! He's like a wild card in Uno! You never know what…who's screaming?" Gunman began to reply before asking…before Tomahawk landed on him, "Gah! Lil' Bro?!"

"Big Bro~! I have splinters on my cheeks!" Tomahawk whined as he was pushed off his fellow Roidmude and saw the still fleeing Go, "Oh!" he swung his hands out and unleashed a Slowdown once more…only Go did halt, "Hah! You jerk! You and the other guy are gonna ruin my business and think you can get away with it?!"

"Ara?" Go grunted, taking an extremely slow step, "Oh crap…I'm actually in danger…" he sheepishly chuckled.

"Tomahawks~!" Tomahawk cheered as he threw his namesakes at him…only for his weapons to vanish in mid-air, "Uh-oh…" he screamed as another pillar of wood shot out under him, sending him up into the air again, "WHY MY TUCKUS~?!"

At the same time, Tridoron skidded to a halt, taking the shots from Gunman and Mashin Chaser. Gunman tensed before Mashin Chaser spun around and swung his Break Gunner to parry the bulky gold-made gauntlet wielded by CF Protoman, sending out a small shockwave that made the ground crack under him. He swiped his weapon and CF Protoman flipped over him to avoid the spray of shots to land beside Go as the Slowdown ended.

"Nice timing!" Go cheered before yelping as Shinnosuke grabbed him.

"Come on, you idiot." Shinnosuke sighed, pulling him behind a nearby base for the crane they were semi-beneath.

"You're here earlier than I guessed," Go noted, taking a few pot shots at Mashin Chaser and Gunman, "Your Top Gear is scarily quick when you get it all figured out correctly."

"I see you figured out why AntiSword faltered," CF Protoman noted to CF Megaman as he joined the red-wearing boy.

"Yeah. Kyu-nii did a lookup for me while Rush found you," CF Megaman explained, "Tomahawkman isn't a Sword-Element, but a Wood-Element. He may use blades, but they're all Wood-Element." he looked at Mashin Chaser, "Still…this is good. Shinnosuke-nii and Go-san can handle the Roidmudes and we can tag-team Mashin Chaser so he can't stop the Cores from going kablooey!"

"Hmph…" Mashin Chaser scoffed before pulling out a black case with a stylistic 'G' resembling the head of a wolf mid-howl, "I think not."

"What's that?" Megaman pondered as Mashin Chaser opened the box…and a digital road shot out of it and a red blur raced out along it.

CF Megaman yelped as he and CF Protoman moved about, dodging the digital road that constantly formed and vanished as the red blur zipped about it. Mashin Chaser held his Break Gunner up and the blur shot out and attached to it…revealing a Viral Core resembling Zero's head with a purple triangular blade on the back of it.

=TUNE…=

"Is that…a new Viral Core?" CF Megaman pondered before Mashin Chaser aimed to his side and fired…ripping a hole into the air with data pouring out of it, "?!" the data swirled around before BugFrags materialized and slammed into the data, dispersing it…and allowing Zero to land beside Mashin Chaser, his eyes glowing briefly while he stood up and looked at the two pre-teens, "Masaka…!"

=DIMENSIONALIZE ZERO=

"I take it this is new," CF Protoman noted as the small blade on the Viral Core shot up and grew to the size of the Handle-Ken, letting Mashin Chaser catch it.

"Very new," CF Megaman gulped as Zero glanced around.

'This is…Earth…' Zero thought, inhaling slightly, 'No wonder Aibou enjoys it.' he reached a hand out and caught the falling Tomahawk.

"Phew…Thanks!" Tomahawk thanked as he hopped out of Zero's hand and ran over to Gunman.

"Intel," CF Protoman ordered.

"He is insanely strong with his sword and fists, can tank Program Advances with a freaky regeneration ability and absorb long-range attacks with his sword, and we've only beaten him once with a Program Advance he didn't think was possible using his own BattleChip data against him," CF Megaman replied.

"Which we didn't install and only have an AntiWood, AntiDamage, and three Fire-Element BattleChips since we thought we'd take on Tomahawk," Megaman added.

"Meaning we'll need to get openings for Lord Chaud and your NetOp to switch BattleChips if needed," Protoman spoke.

"Zero…be wary. The second one who looks like you is skilled," Mashin Chaser informed, "I can tell already he is equal if not slightly better at combat then the boy and Megaman. But no concern for you as you are now thanks to augmentation."

"Hai, Aibou," Zero nodded.

"Oh no, he's upgraded…" CF Megaman muttered.

"Indeed," Zero replied…crouched down between the two boys.

"?!" both jumped back before Zero spun around like a top, slashing them both across the waist with his Z-Saber, leaving behind shredded dolls of the two, "REKKOUHA!" he slammed his fist down and pillars of light erupted from the ground, spiraling around him to block the several kid-sized shuriken that rained down on him. He swung a hand out, grabbing CF Megaman by the ankle before throwing him at CF Protoman in mid-swing, knocking them away, "Bring as many as you want to battle me…all will return to Zero."

Mashin Chaser nodded as he watched his partner handle the two. He turned to approach his targets before a gunshot bounced off his shoulder. He looked at Tridoron to see Kiriko behind it, gun over the hood as she kept firing at him. He made to move before grunting as something flashed through his mind.

"Hey…That's not supposed to happen, right?" Go asked, looking over at Zero while taking pot shots at Gunman and Tomahawk.

"Eh?" Shinnosuke looked and his eyes widened, seeing Zero ram his fist through CF Protoman's shield before throwing the boy at CF Megaman, disrupting the Charged Shot he was charging up, "Masaka! Z-Zero is out here?!"

"WHAT?!" Belt-san screamed in fluent English.

"Oh, that's not good," Roll gulped, Maylu peeking out of the backseat in Tridoron at the sight.

"Lan…" Maylu whispered in worry.

"He's…really strong…" CF Megaman grunted, "Like…way stronger…Whatever Chaser did to him, he's way worse."

"Hn…" CF Protoman narrowed his eyes, "...Got it."

"Eh?" CF Megaman looked at him before CF PRotoman threw a FireSeed at Zero, who slashed it in mid-air to go off in a fiery explosion.

Zero narrowed his eyes before a flash went off and CF Protoman shot out of them. Zero swung his sword, slicing him in two before two halves of a Protoman doll fell. He grunted, spinning around and blocking the shuriken with his Z-Saber before CF Protoman delivered two slashes to his back. Zero slammed a kick into CF Protoman, sending him into CF Megaman's arms.

"What the heck was that for?!"

"He's strong…too strong to fully go out here like he can in the Network," CF Protoman whispered.

"?! …He has a recharge for his attacks," CF Megaman quietly realized, earning a subtle nod.

"It's been thirty-eight seconds since he used Rekkouha. When he uses it again, we'll have an initial time limit for the recharge," Protoman informed.

"It's survival," Megaman grimaced before the two boys rolled out of the way of a shockwave slash from the taller NetNavi.

"I'm sure the boys got it," Go smirked, "So you figured out my plan?"

"Gh…Of course I did! You used the Slowdown to take the bracelets off them before they'd lose their memories from a signal sent to them if something happens," Shinnosuke explained, "You then interrogated them for the method to obtaining them and, in a disguise, came to it while making sure Chaud-kun could see you breaking a law-trespassing in this case-so he would be allowed to act. You already know their modus operandi because they pulled off this same stunt back in the US."

"Nice, Shin-Niisan," Go grinned before shooting and knocking over Tomahawk onto his rear.

"Ah! Ooh! I still have splinters down there, you jerk!" Tomahawk whined.

"Will you stop calling me that?" Shinnosuke complained, earning a smile from Go.

"Complain later, Shinnosuke. We need to counterattack," Belt-san ordered.

"Right!" Shinnosuke nodded as he inserted Shift Speed into the brace, "Henshin!"

=DRIVE: TYPE SPEED!=

"Very catchy jingle," Go noted as Drive flipped over Tridoron to charge at the Roidmudes.

"Ah! What are ya doin', Shinigami?!" Gunman barked, snapping Mashin Chaser out of it to let him charge at Drive, making the Rider duck under a swipe of his Break Gunner.

"Why aren't you transforming?" Maylu asked, peeking out the window to look at Go.

"I'm on a time limit and there's something I still gotta figure out with the guy who ate the NetNavi," Go replied.

"The RoidNavi, right?"

"Oh, I love the name, little miss!"

"Uh-huh…he's right behind you," Maylu pointed, ducking back into Tridoron and rolling up the window.

"Gah!" Go screamed as Tomahawk wrapped his arm around him.

"Big Bro, I caught him! I did it!"

"Way to go, little brother! Now hold him still while I fix his stupid face!" Gunman laughed as he charged up a shot with his magnum, "By getting rid of it!"

"I'm gonna need a lot of wet wipes when Big Bro's done with you!" Tomahawk laughed.

"W-Wait! This is't how I'm supposed to die! It's supposed to be more amazing…and surrounded by girls!" Go choked out as he tried to wiggle himself free.

"This is gonna be so much fun~!" Tomahawk laughed.

"Ano…Excuse me! RoidNavi-san?"

"Hm?" Tomahawk looked at the semi-rolled down window at Maylu, "What is it?"

"There's a fire on your foot," Maylu explained casually, pointing down at Tomahawk's foot.

"Hm?" Tomahawk looked down to see Max Flare on his foot, engulfed in flames, "Oh…so it is." he looked at her, "Thank you." he released Go and grabbed his fire-engulfed foot while jumping up in the air, "EEYOW~!" the charged shot from Gunman hit him, knocking him into the water, "BLRBLE?!"

"Ah! L-Lil' Bro!" Gunman exclaimed in startlement before grunting as Go shot him, knocking him flat on his back, "GAH!"

"Nice trick, little lady," Go complimented.

"It…It wasn't much…" Maylu mumbled sheepishly, "Lan-kun came up with that trick for Flare-san."

"Go, transform," Kiriko ordered.

"I still have to figure it out, though," Go complained.

"Is now really the time to be stubborn?!" Drive barked at him, kicking Mashin Chaser away as he switched Speed for Wild.

=DRIVE! TYPE WILD~!=

"Handle-Ken!" Drive shouted, grabbing the sword as he charged and swung it at Mashin Chaser, who responded with his blade that sent out sparks on impact.

"Pure plasma?" Belt-san pondered, "Where did you obtain this Viral Core from?"

"A new benefactor to the Roidmudes," Mashin Chaser replied.

"Where do you guys even find sponsors!?" Drive grunted as they pushed the other back before rushing and swinging as they passed one another, making sparks fly.

"Guess whoever they are was why you're stronger than before, too!" CF Megaman noted, he and CF Protoman using LongSwords to parry Zero's Z-Saber, "And the weird road that Viral Core makes."

"What would've taken months to repair on my own, they took care of in a matter of hours," Zero replied, swinging up and making the two stumble before he delivered a roundhouse to knock them away from him.

"What do you mean, Go-san?" Roll asked.

"He managed to hit me with a Slowdown when I have this little guy," Go replied, holding up his Mach Signal Bike.

"...Do you think that it's because he's using his own invention to amplify it?" Roll guessed, making Go, Kiriko, and Maylu look at her on the PeT screen, "Multiple Roidmudes using Slowdown together has overpowered a single Shift Car before, so maybe he's using his invention to simulate that."

"But I destroyed them all…unless…" Go rubbed the underside of his chin before grinning, "I figured it out!" he pointed at Roll, "You are a genius, Bunny Lady!"

"U-Usagi-Onna?!" Roll gawked as Tomahawk pulled himself out of the water.

"Ah…I…I got away from sleeping with the fishes…" Tomahawk groaned as he took off his hat and caused a small waterfall to come out with a few tuna and a yellowtail…before Go shot him and sent several bracelets out of his chest.

"So that's where they come from! You make those things inside of ya," Go spoke.

"How did you figure it out?!"

"It took me a second…and some help from a lucky bunny!"

"You're just making stuff up, aren't you?" Tomahawk muttered.

"You've been using several at once to overpower a single Signal Bike," Go went on before horns honked as all his Signal Bikes rode around him, "Kinda like you had a personal army of Roidmudes all using Slowdown on hand once you set them off."

"You figured it out?" Gunman gawked, getting up.

"Yep! I already figured out your powers, but I just needed to get it from your 'little brother' as well," Go grinned.

"You're a big nerd, aren't you?!" Tomahawk complained.

"Eh, not really. I'm just a Super Cameraman," Go replied, "And I'm a Super quick battle-type." he looked to Kiriko, "Nee-chan, better stay in the car with the little miss and the bunny lady. Gonna get dangerous out here."

"If I find a way out there, you're not going to like what I do…" Roll grumbled as Go put on his Driver and inserted his main Signal Bike into it.

=SIGNAL BIKE! RIDER~!=

"Bunny Lady, I need a countdown for three minutes," Go informed.

"Usagi janai! …Eh? A countdown?" Roll pondered as Kiriko got into Tridoron.

"For the heat sink," Maylu recalled, earning a nod from Go as he posed for the Roidmudes.

=MACH!=

"Let's…Henshin!" Go declared, tapping the top of his belt on the small white button, transforming into Mach.

"Gah! You're making me mad!" Tomahawk shouted as he and Gunman charged at Mach.

"Hm~" Mach smirked behind his mask as he sidestepped Tomahawk's swing, before spinning around to kick him in the lower back, "Tsuiseki~" he swung his hand out before spinning around to punch Gunman, making him grunt and stumble back, "Bokumetsu~" he punches his left fist into his right palm before he spun around to kick Tomahawk before he leaned back and landed on the leg he just kicked before swinging his other leg to the side to hit Gunman, "Izuremo…Mach~" he declared as he held both arms up, he then grabbed Gunman as he was still on his feet, before swinging him around and into an over the shoulder throw that sent him into his brother, both Roidmudes stumbling along the ground, "Kamen Rider…MACH!" he spun his arm around before swinging his leg and leaning to the side to strike his pose.

"Is he gonna do that every time?" Kiriko and Maylu blinked in confusion.

"Boys have such weird taste…"

"Oi!" Drive complained as he overheard that as he clashed blades with Mashin Chaser, "I'm a boy too, you know!"

"That's right!" CF Megaman snapped.

"You idiot!" CF Protoman snapped, pulling him back behind cover.

"So…that is the form Gunman complained about…" Zero noted, narrowing his eyes at Mach.

"We already know your name, you jerk!" Tomahawk snapped as he and his brother got up and rushed Mach.

The White Kamen Rider chuckled as he ran forward…before swinging a powerful punch to Tomahawk's face that made him flip through the air before landing face first to the ground. Mach then swung his hand and pushed Gunman's magnum away before landing a punch to his face. He followed up by swinging a powerful second hook punch to his jaw that knocked his body over and flipped around to land on the ground, revealing just how much amazing power Mach truly had. He chuckled before turning around to land a straight kick to Tomahawk, the RoidNavi fusion groaned before yelping as Mach ran up and grabbed him by the head before spinning him around to slam him into the ground. The White Rider then grunted as he grabbed Gunman by the wrist as he tried to aim before doing another over the shoulder throw to slam him to the ground. Mach smirked as he turned around and swung a front kick to hit Tomahawk in the back as he got up. He then roughly spun around to slam a powerful punch to Gunman's abdomen, making him double over. Mach smirked as he swung an elbow down on Gunman's back to make him fall over.

With the Roidmudes groaning in pain, Mach slammed his fist down on the button of his Mach Driver Honoh.

=ZUTTO MACH!=

The Zenrin Shooter suddenly stood up on its wheel before it peeled out and raced across the ground before skipping and flying into Mach's waiting hand. The Rider nodded in success before spinning around to punch it into Gunman's chest making sparks fly, he then spun around and struck Tomahawk across the chest before punching him. He swung his weapon down and dragged the wheel across his torso to effectively 'slash' him with it. The treads of the wheel acting like a saw to do this cutting damage. Mach spun the Zenrin Shooter around before turning to punch Gunman again, making more sparks fly. The White Rider grabbed the wheel before spinning it, making white energy form along it, before he stepped back and let Tomahawk swing his stolen namesake into the ground, which he regretted as he was now stuck. Mach used this as he slammed the wheel of the Zenrin Shooter as it was still spinning into the RoidNavi's chest before he swung and dragged it across him, ripping more sparks. Mach spun around quickly on one leg to strike him with the Zenrin Shooter's partial namesake several times. He then spun back before stopping as he slashed Gunman across the chest as the collective energy of each attack spun the wheel more and let off a small explosion of energy upon impact with the Elder Brother Roidmude.

Mach smirked as he took a few steps back and opened up the driver before pulling his Signal Bike out. He then pulled out a red colored Signal Bike with the front shaped like the end of a bullet with a demonic cartoonish face and yellow wheels. He closed it, showing the image of a warning sign showing a bullet with an exclamation point above it.

=SIGNAL BIKE! SIGNAL KOUKAN: KIKERN!=

"Kikern?" Maylu tilted her head. as the image appeared on the wheel on Mach's shoulder.

"What's with the teeth in the artwork?" Roll pondered as Mach aimed at the air and fired a single shot before tapping the white button on his belt.

=KIKERN!=

The bullet glowed before turning into a larger version of the symbol, sporting ominous glowing red letters at the bottom. The center of it rippled…before a tiny bullet fell out and landed between Tomahawk and Gunman. It twitched before slowly standing up, revealing it to have a tiny fang-filled mouth and sharp intimidating eyes. It waddled around, sniffing at the two Roidmudes.

"...That's it? It…It doesn't look very…" Roll began…before the Bullet swelled up to the size of Tridoron and chomped down hard on Tomahawk, causing her to scream and hug Rush in fright, "DANGEROUS?!"

"A bullet shark?" CF Megaman pondered.

The Demon Beast bullet roared as it flew over and bit down on Tomahawk, it swung around while chewing on him.

"AH! BIG BRO! I'M BEING EATEN!-!-!"

"Little Brother!" Gunman panicked only for Tomahawk to be spat out and over his head, the Demon Beast growled glaring at him, "W-Wait…Let's talk-GHA!" he cried as his head was bitten.

"He makes living bullets that turn into giant monster bullets?" CF Megaman asked, looking at CF Protoman with wide eyes.

"It's called a Majū," CF Protoman replied.

"Good bullet, George!" Mach laughed.

"...Yes, he named it 'George,'" CF Protoman sighed, facepalming.

"Why George?"

"Because the first time he used it when we were training, it broke a tree using me," CF Protoman replied, his eye twitching behind his visor.

"...I don't get it…" CF Megaman muttered.

"Good," CF Protoman stated as George tossed the chewed up Gunman over to Tomahawk.

"Big Bro~! Are you okay?" Tomahawk asked, picking him up.

"Ugh…Lil' Bro…"

"Yes?"

"I'm never watching Jaws ever again…"

"I told ya it was dangerous~"

The two glared at Mach at that. The white Rider only chuckled, removing Kikern from his belt and replacing it with a transparent yellow Signal Bike with a lightning design near the front wheel. He closed it and the tiny window showed a red background with a neon white 'STOP' on it.

=SIGNAL BIKE! SIGNAL KOUKAN: TOMARLE!=

"Well that one sounds simple enough," Kiriko muttered.

Tomahawk swung his namesakes at Mach as Gunman fired several shots. Mach waved mockingly at them…before an energy shield shaped like the image on his shoulder tire appeared, blocking the two blades and all the bullets, the tomahawks bonking off Tomahawk and Gunman's heads before the emblem slowly moved a few inches before rapidly moving and slamming into the two. They yelped as their bodies locked up with small sparks coming off them. Mach chuckled, patting his shoulder tire.

"Pretty awesome, huh?" Mach asked.

"S-Sugoi," Kiriko and Maylu admitted.

"It really is amazing!" Roll gawked before a beep went off from her PeT, "Oh! The timer's almost down! 43 seconds!"

"I felt it was getting a little uncomfortable," Mach noted, pulling out a transparent blue SignalBike with what looked like gatling guns and missile launchers on it and swapping it for Tomarle, showing an image of a white line splitting into several arrows in a blue background, "So let's finish you two off quick."

=SIGNAL KOUKAN: KAKSARN!=

He twirled his normal Signal Bike around before inserting it into the top of his Zenrin Shooter before shooting a larger than normal white bullet.

=HISSATSU! FULL THROTTLE!=

"And…boop," Mach tapped the white button on his buckle.

=KAKSARN!=

The bullet glistened for a moment before it exploded into a heavy shower of the finisher that rained down upon the two 'brothers.' The two screamed as their bodies exploded, letting their Viral Cores start to weave through the shots, trying to get towards safety. Mach rolled his eyes behind his mask before swapping Kaksarn with Magarl.

=SIGNAL KOUKAN! MAGARL! MAGARL!=

"We're gonna make it!" 018 cheered, "We're gonna make it!"

"Hurry! Hurry!" 017 shouted…before the remaining bullets all curved and slammed into the two, shattering their Cores.

"Whew…" Mach sighed in relief as he opened his mask and let the steam vent out at the same time Roll's timer went off.

"Three minutes on the dot," Roll whispered in surprise.

"Perfect photo finish, eh?" Mach chuckled.

"Hayei," Zero whispered, his eyes wide in shock as his back was turned to the two boys.

"Now," CF Protoman ordered.

"Hai," CF Megaman nodded.

"FireSword, AquaSword, ElecSword!" CF Protoman declared.

"Sword, WideSword, LongSword!" CF Megaman called out as they charged at Zero.

"PROGRAM ADVANCE!" both roared as light shined in their hands as CF Megaman gained the familiar LifeSword as CF Protoman held a triple-colored version, "LIFESWORD (2)!"

"!" Zero spun around, bringing up his sword.

The three blades met and let out an explosion. CF Megaman and CF Protoman cried out as they hit the side of Tridoron as their CrossFusions canceled out. The smoke cleared and Zero stumbled to a knee, parts of his body glitching out as data leaked from them. He looked at his hand before squeezing it tightly while narrowing his eyes.

"I will need to train myself more in this state," Zero noted, looking towards Chaud and Lan, 'It amazes me that there is another now that can keep up with me…' he looked at Mach, who waved at him, "...This was a failure on our end."

"Pretty much~!" Mach replied as the boys got back up, "Wanna have a go at me?"

"..." Zero shook his head, "My duty is to battle the NetNavis of our enemies. Aibou's is to battle the Kamen Riders."

"You mean that guy?" Mach thumbed towards Mashin Chaser and Drive nearby, locked in a stalemate of blades.

"Mach has finished them off already, as to be expected from the next system," Belt-san noted.

"Ah…he's a real rough riding type of guy…" Drive sighed.

"Tsk…It seems this is a difficult change." Mashin Chaser grunted, pushing Drive away.

Everyone moved to be ready to fight, but stopped when Medic appeared from thin air once more.

"Ah!" CF Megaman gawked.

"It's a waste of time, Shinigami, their cores are too far damaged even for me to repair," Medic spoke, "We will need to retreat." she swung her hands as CF Megaman and CF Protoman grunted as they were lifted into the air…and tossed into Mach, sending them into the water.

"Oi! Why me?!" Mach gasped as the water steamed off his armor.

"Ah man~! I'm gonna smell funny!" CF Megaman shouted.

"How did she do that? …I saw nothing…" CF Protoman asked as he surfaced, "What a dangerous enemy…"

"Gomen, Medic-sama," Zero apologized as he walked over.

"We will return and plan for the next battle…where we shall excise the dangerous Kamen Riders from our world," Medic declared, "And those adorable little Riders as well."

"She's doing it on purpose!" CF Megaman shouted.

Medic began glowing as she performed a bow and astral purple and black roses engulfed the trio. They dispersed into particles and the trio were gone. Mach groaned as CF Protoman and CF Megaman helped get him back to land before the red-wearing CrossFuser removed Magarl from the belt and closed it, letting Mach change back into Go.

=OTSUKARE!=

"Still awake?" he asked as he and CF Megaman dismissed CrossFusion.

"Y-Yeah…H-How long was I in it after the alarm went off?"

"75 seconds," Protoman replied.

"Progress!" Go laughed, "Soon, I'll be able to use it even longer!"

"Go?" Kiriko called out as everyone else rushed over.

"Say…how many enemies are left?" Go asked, looking at Belt-San.

"Hmm…around the ballpark of 88," Belt-San explained.

"Eh, that many left?! And there are stronger ones, too?" Go complained, "But we're getting there…more and more…more and more…ZZZZ!" Go suddenly snored as he passed out.

"This always happens when he reaches a new time limit," Chaud sighed.

"...Ah! What happened to the NetNavi?" Maylu asked in concern.

"In here!" Roll called, making her pull out her PeT to see Roll standing near a repair program that had a NetNavi around her size in teal armor based upon a stereotypical Native American with a red helmet sporting the headdress of a Native American chieftain, an armor loincloth, red tribal markings on his face…and his right arm from the wrist down replaced with a large tomahawk, "With how long he was combined unwillingly with the Roidmude, I'm having him go through a deep repair program until Rinna-Hakase and Belt-san can double-check he can be sent back to his NetOp."

"Oh! He does look really strong even when in sleep mode!" Lan noted, "...You think he'd be up for a NetBattle when his NetOp gets out of the hospital?"

"Seriously, Lan-kun?" Kiriko asked in exasperation.

"Always excited for another NetBattle, aren't you?" Maylu sighed.

"Of course. It's a fun way to get to know others!" Lan beamed.

Kiriko sighed, "That's for later…Go for now." she looked back at her little brother, "I just don't know what to do with him most days…"

"Boarding school?" Shinnosuke offered, "Or Military school?"

"N-No! No school…evil…zzzz!" Go snored.

"Still…he's honestly more than just a danger-seeking thrill rider," Shinnosuke went on, "There's something more to him than meets the eye." he looked at Chaud, "You as well."

"Hmm…" Chaud turned away.

"Are you embarrassed?" Maylu blinked.

"No," he replied.

"Ah, he is!" Lan declared.

---

The next day, everyone was enjoying a lunch break at Kurama Driving school's cafeteria, choosing to just relax after a crazy stressful few days.

"Huh? You have pages on Drive and Mach?" Shinnosuke asked softly.

"Well, yeah. Belt-san asked me to think of strategies if something went wrong and I had to fight one of you," Lan replied.

"Can I see?" Shinnosuke asked.

"Sure. This is the latest entry," Lan grinned as he opened his strategy notebook…to a page of a detailed version of what Gen drew.

"...Huh?" Shinnosuke blinked a few times as Kiriko turned her head away, stifling a laugh, as Maylu couldn't help the giggles, "'Type Teeld (TEchnic + spEed + wiLD). Theoretical form. Computing power of Type Technic, plus arm strength of Type Speed and leg strength of Wild. Conclusion: Useless because Type Wild is more upper body strength and Type Speed is more lower body speed. Neither compatible with how fast Technic processes and would cause significant delays between order and action. Theoretical situation against Roidmude: Armor gets ripped apart piece by piece and used to smack Drive around, culminating in the tire getting pulled off and used as a club on Drive.'"

"That seems highly specific…" Kiriko muttered.

"Amazing what he can do if he applies himself, hai?" Maylu asked.

"Now if only he'd do it for his homework," Megaman sighed.

"Not my fault it's boring," Lan grumbled.

"Eh? 'Shared weakness between Drive and Mach: Shift Brace and opened Mach Driver Honoh can be glued up to prevent Tire Koukan and Signal Koukan,'" Shinnosuke muttered, raising a brow, "'Design BattleChip that turns MegaBuster into a cement shooter like Spin Mixer's Tire.'" he closed the book and look at Lan with a raised brow, "You are really into analyzing things."

"Eh, just good fights is all," Lan rubbed the back of his head.

"Any luck on that one?" Kiriko asked.

"Er…" Lan looked away from Maylu's PeT as Megaman covered his face.

"Mmm…"

"G-Gomen, Roll-chan," Megaman apologized.

"...She went over while you were testing and got stuck in the stuff?" Kiriko asked.

"It blew up his MegaBuster and we were stuck for two hours!" Roll groaned, "I missed the newest episode of that new anime I was watching!"

"Same with my cooking show!" Megaman fumed.

"Ah…maybe next time involve an expert scientist," Kiriko sighed.

"That was after asking Rinna-nee about how cement works and why Shinnosuke-nii's dries so fast," Lan replied.

"...And your father?" Kiriko asked.

"I asked him and he was confused as much as me about cement," Lan replied.

"I guess this is proof of expertise and such…" Kiriko sighed, "Well try not to do any more silly experiments without proper supervision. And anyone who dons a belt and fights monsters doesn't count."

"What?" Shinnosuke blinked.

"But they're the only adults I know that can do the supervision," Lan pouted.

"...Wait…you're including me, aren't you?"

"Well you wear a belt and you kicked a lot of Roidmudes and WWW agents," Lan replied.

Roll giggled, "He kinda has you there. You should've specified what kind of belt, Kiriko-san."

"I can't tell if you mean that wholeheartedly or if it's some sort of perfect sarcasm…" Kiriko sighed.

Lan shrugged before Maylu glanced to the doors to the cafeteria and did a double take, "Uh-oh."

"What?" Shinnosuke and Kiriko asked…before a pair of females laughing went off.

"Go-kun, you're amazing! This picture of me is absolutely kawaii!"

"Girls all over the world keep saying that to me!" Go laughed as two of the driving school female workers followed him.

"That," Megaman sighed.

"I knew it…I knew he'd be back the very next day like the cat in that one song," Lan sighed.

"Was he like this as a kid, Kiriko-san?" Maylu asked, "Able to exhaust himself to the point of sleeping on the spot only to wake up completely ready the next day?"

"Yes." Kiriko sighed, "He's resilient, hardy, and annoying…"

"Ne, ne, ne! We heard you've also taken photos of the fabled Kamen Rider!"

"Yep."

"Sugei~! Ah~I wanna see it so bad~!"

"Me too~! Me too, me too, me too~!"

"And they've summoned the Kyu-san," Megaman and Roll sighed in unison as Kyu ran over with one of his Murmur Mansion dolls…before both women screamed and started to bonk him with driving instruction books.

"Ah! Kyu-nii!" Lan panicked, about to head over to break it up before Shinnosuke grabbed him.

"Don't. You'll get scolded and they'll bonk him harder," Shinnosuke warned.

"Huh? Why?" Lan asked.

'There's the fact the majority of the girls who work in this place enjoy you being here because you call them all 'nee,' for one,' Shinnosuke thought, "Let me handle the cause of it."

"Eh?" Lan pondered as Shinnosuke got up and approached Go.

"Ara? What's up, Shin-Niisan?" Go asked as Shinnosuke took a seat at the table next to his, "Ah right, you don't want me calling you that!"

"Well regardless of Kiriko, I don't care if you call me Aniki or something like that," Shinnosuke admitted, he then scooted his seat closer, making Go lean back in surprise, "If we hadn't showed up, you and Chaud-kun would have been in trouble, right?" he asked, making Go flinch a little at how true that was, "So I better keep an eye on you." he sighed as he reached out and poked Go's chest, "Consider me your brakes."

"You really think you can keep up with me?" Go smirked, "Shin-Niisan~"

"If I let some biker punk leave me in the dust, it would ruin my reputation as a driver," Shinnosuke sighed as he leaned back, "Cars can outspeed bikes and have better stability. I can keep up, it's you who will find himself in a long race~"

"Ooh~" Go smiled at that.

The two then simply leaned forward and held their hands up to slap them before fist bumping to seal this small rivalry/partnership. Lan grinned on seeing it as Kiriko and Maylu couldn't help but feel that things were going to get crazier. A frightened cry made them look to see Kyu running by, sporting askew glasses, a bruised lip, black eye…and his Murmur Mansion doll tied around his head by an arm and leg. He looked around before screaming and scurrying off as the two women chased after him.

"Now can we save him?" Lan asked.

"I'd say 'yes,' but…how?" Kiriko asked.

"Like this," Lan replied before pulling out a motorcycle textbook and opening it to a random page as Kyu ran by, "...Ah! Ano…Onee-tachi?"

The two women skidded to a halt, "Hai, Lan-chan?"

"I don't really understand this part about motorcycles. Jun-Jiisan wanted Maylu-chan and me to learn about them to learn how to ticket them, but I keep getting confused on this part," Lan pointed at the page, "Onegai, Onee-tachi?"

"..." Maylu looked at what he was pointing at, "...Yeah, that is confusing. I mean, it's…it's just water. Why is it illegal for a motorcycle to splash water on pedestrians? How do you not do that on purpose in weather like rain?"

"Wait, what?!" Go realized this law applied to Bikes…like his!

"Rules are harsh on bikes," Shinnosuke smiled, "Unless you have a Police insignia on it~; But, you must enjoy your freedom of not being affiliated with us, right?"

"Oi! Shin-Niisan, you're…you're just playing with me, right? …R-Right?" Go asked as Shinnosuke smirked and walked away, "Right?!"

"What about this? Do we have to give them one even if the modification to the bike is meant to be better for it?" Maylu asked.

"Ah, sadly you'll have to," one of the ladies admitted, "Road safety is important for everyone. Modifying without a permit and approval can lead to a lot of issues for people who get involved in an accident with a modified motorcycle."

"Especially if those modifications do something like obscuring the license plate," the other added.

"...I'll be right back!" Go ran out of the room in a rush, "You won't get me, legal system!"

'Lan-kun chose that book on purpose,' Kiriko thought, moving a hand to her mouth and hid the tiny amused smile that formed.

---

GT: Yeah…Those weird laws of Japan really put a halt to most bike scenes in the Kamen Rider franchise.

Z0: Like if you watch the Showa ere and a few Early Heisei…Mostly Kuuga and a bit of Agito…you will notice: Oh wow…they really are 'Riders'. Cause they use their bikes at any time. Hell the first Kamen Rider Opening and the openings of Black and Black RX…are the main Rider just…riding around on their bike.

GT: Eeyup. But lately, laws have been getting mighty strict on vehicles, so…mostly CGI, sadly. And I cannot believe that Kamen Rider made me look up Japanese laws about bikes and cars. In fact, I ended up looking at other laws…like the fact you're not allowed to put ice cream into mailboxes. …No, really. Because one postman put his ice cream into a mailbox, no one can.

Z0: I feel like if you take a look at the laws of any country…or hell any individual state in America where me and Gt live in…you will find some stupid laws.

GT: Yep. While I go try to understand some of the more ridiculous ones, here's the preview!

---

Kamen Rider Drive: Battle Network!

Chaud: I know you've been thinking about the Undernet and the challenges that lurk there.

Heart: For the humans, the one who excites me the most had been Drive…but when it comes to the NetNavis…

Shinnosuke: Again with this Undernet thing? Why does everyone talk about it like it's the underworld?

Lan: Eh?! The World Three's Network is down there?!

Case 14 - Who is the Messenger of Darkness?

Belt-san: What sort of NetNavi is this?

---

GT: *reading a site with Japanese laws* Wait, wait, wait…You have to have a light on after midnight if you're gonna dance? How is anyone gonna know you're dancing in your own house at that time of night?

Z0: I don't know, from what I understand Neighbors are nosey as heck in Japanese suburbs.

GT: Ah…*sees the Reader* Oh, Preview over it seems. *sees the next chapter's title* …Oh dear…Oh this will not bode well for the officers and one Cameraman. *thought bubbles appear on ideas…before a wooden hammer bopped one away* Gah!

Go: You mean Super Cameraman, ne? *bops another away*

GT: Ack! How'd he get in here?! *another is bopped off down the hall* Ah! Stop doing that! *runs off to gather thoughts*

Go: *chuckles and points at the Reader with his hammer* This is normally the part where he tells you guys and gals to Read and Review, right?

Z0: That's right, now…it's time to use the ultimate counter to 4th wall breakers. *pulls out the green mask from The Mask*

Go: Uh-oh. I've read the comics, I know what's coming! *runs off*

Z0: HAHAHAHA! *Green tornado chases Go* SMOKIN'~! *crashes into the screen*