Dr. X: Happy Halloween, everyone! I know this chapter came early before the actual day, but this is the month of Halloween, so it's time for one spooky mission for the players. Who will win? Who will survive? Who will be eliminated? And, most importantly, who is the Mole?
Kamen Rider SideRide Chronicles: Oscura's Encore
Reality V: Night of the Living Riders
After witnessing Luz's odd behaviour, Amity needed someone to confide in. Luckily, she had someone she could speak to about this matter.
"And Luz betrayed Masha to steal the win from them," Amity finished. "Now...now she's acting weird."
"Oh, I saw," Amara assured her.
"You did?" Amity asked before she realised what she just said. "Of course, you did. You saw how it all went down."
"Yeah, she beat up that bastard pretty well before she had a breakdown and, truth be told, I was rooting for Luz to kill him," Amara confessed.
"Amara!" Amity scolded.
"What? He was a xenophobic asshole who was going to kill Vee and you just because you weren't human," Amara retorted. "Luz should have killed him when she had the chance."
"I'm glad she didn't," Amity stated, looking relieved. "She…she doesn't need more blood on her hands."
"So, you mentioned her acting weird," Amara prompted. "What do you mean?"
"I caught her with my ID Core and she just seemed…off, like she was someone else. The way she talked, it reminded me of…of her."
"The Empress?" Amara asked, cautiously.
"Yeah," Amity exhaled. "I got the same chill when she spoke and before that, she told me that she's been hearing the Empress' voice in her head. It's been getting worse ever since she got the Oscura Buckle."
"You're worried that the Empress may return and take Luz over," Amara concluded.
"Yes, but that's not possible, right?" Amity asked, hopefully. "She's gone. The other Luz and Anne made sure of that."
"Amity, I'm not an expert on human psychology, but Empress Oscura was a big part of Luz before she was destroyed. Luz relied on that persona during the darkest and most painful point in her life. I could be wrong, but it's possible that some piece of the Empress still lingers in her mind and it's been growing stronger over time," Amara spoke.
"So, what should I do?" Amity asked worriedly.
"Keep an eye on Luz and just be there for her," Amara advised.
Luz was sitting on the couch in the lounge, looking at her Spider Phone to check her collection of Raise Buckles. She had started this season with the Zombie Buckle but she had given that to Amity along with her FeverSlot Buckle.
Currently, Luz possesses the following Buckles: Oscura, Ninja, Powered Builder, Beat, Shark, Fantasy and Command Twin. It was quite the collection that gave her plenty of options to fight the Jyamatos with. She just needed to get a Boost Buckle so she could get the Boostriker. That bike was cool.
'I mean, we are Kamen Riders after all. Even Alt Luz had a cool hoverbike. Then again, I didn't really need a bike back then since I could fly and teleport wherever I needed to go. Maybe I should look into buying a bike for myself.' Luz chuckled as she thought about it. 'Having Amity sit behind me, her hands wrapped around my waist as she presses herself against my back, the road rushing by us as we drive to wherever we want…'
As Luz sipped her coffee while entertaining the fantasy of buying a motorcycle so she could take Amity out on rides, the witch in question entered the lounge.
"Amity!" Luz smiled as she put down her Spider Phone.
"Luz," Amity smiled back as she went to take the seat beside her. "How are you feeling?"
"Better now that I had some coffee," Luz answered. "Do you want me to order one for you too?"
"No, thanks." Amity shook her head. "So, what were you doing?"
"Just checking my inventory," Luz answered. "I've got a lot of Buckles."
"Yeah, you do," Amity agreed as she mentally listed the Buckles that Luz had collected so far. "So, about what happened to Masha…"
Luz sighed. She knew Amity wanted to talk to her about that.
"Amity, Masha was going to kill Hopkins. I couldn't let them dirty their hands like that," Luz explained.
"But then you decided to kill Hopkins yourself," Amity pointed out.
"I did," Luz admitted. "He's just lucky that destroying his ID Core only sent him back to where he belonged with his memories erased."
"Luz, you told me you've been hearing her voice," Amity reminded. "Did you hear it when you fought Hopkins?"
"Yeah," Luz confirmed. "She was actually trying to talk me into killing him. I didn't want to, but when Masha was going to kill him themselves, I knew I couldn't let them do it. They didn't need that kind of burden on their conscience. Besides, I've crossed that line before so I'm used to it anyway."
"No, Luz," Amity protested. "That's not something you should be used to."
"I know, but the fact is I am used to taking lives, Amity. It's pretty easy for me to do it. I just didn't want to do it under her influence," Luz retorted.
"Then stop using that power," Amity insisted. "You have plenty of options now. You even have the same Buckle that Sasha used at Disneyland."
"It was pretty badass," Luz admitted. The Command Form was just so powerful, comparable to the Darkness Form. Maybe Amity was right. Since she had more options, she shouldn't have to rely on the Oscura Buckle anymore. "Hey, Amity. You want to go somewhere?"
"Luz, we can't leave this place unless it's for missions," Amity reminded her fiancée.
"I know," smiled Luz cheekily. "But who says that we have to leave to go anywhere?"
Training Area 0016 (Beach)
The Desire Temple had numerous training rooms that each simulated a different environment. One such environment was a beach. It was truly amazing that the training room could fit an entire beach with what appeared to be the ocean.
This was where Luz decided to take Amity for an impromptu date. Using Desire Money, they got a few items for their little date which included sunblock lotion, a beach umbrella, and a blanket. They also had on one-piece swimsuits with the DGP logo printed across their chests. Amity's swimsuit was Abomination purple while Luz wore a blue swimsuit. They also had a picnic basket of food which Luz had ordered from Mr. Butler. He happily made it for them and sent them off to enjoy their date.
"I'm still amazed that they have a room that contains an entire beach," Amity admired. The sun and sky looked so real, even if it was an artificial environment.
"Well, they are time-travelling aliens from another dimension," Luz stated, and Amity giggled.
"Are you still on that theory?" Amity asked.
"Hey, I was right about the DGP being a reality TV show. I could be right about this too," Luz defended. "Now, sit down. Let me put some lotion on your back."
Amity sat down with Luz kneeling beside her, putting the lotion on her back. This was nice. They did not have to worry about missions or Jyamatos right now. They were just two girls on a date and they really needed this after what happened during the last mission.
As Luz applied the lotion, she admired how soft her fiancée's skin was. A heat rose inside her as her hands glided across Amity's skin, biting her bottom lip as her gaze lingered on her fiancée's flawless skin.
'She's yours. Just take her,' the dark voice whispered in Luz's mind.
"Get out of my head," Luz muttered. She did not need that voice to taint her feelings for Amity.
"Did you say something, Luz?" Amity asked, peeking over her shoulder.
"No, nothing, batata," Luz denied. "All done. You can put on the rest yourself, right?"
The two spent the day enjoying themselves at the beach. They played with the beach ball and swam in the water to cool off. Amity even buried Luz in the sand while sculpting it to make the shape of a mermaid.
It was a bit lonely since they were the only ones on the beach, but it was nice for it to be just them.
It was a beautiful evening in Brighton, and Molly McGee was living happily. She still performed good deeds around town, helping people in need, including her friends and family. Although, she was no longer obsessed with 'enhappyfying' the world. As nice as that sounded, she decided it was too huge a responsibility for one person to shoulder alone. Even if she worked hard to make the world a happier place, what good would it do her if she became miserable as well? She needed to look out for her own happiness first.
Libby had invited her and Andrea over to watch a zombie movie that night. To make the occasion a bit more authentic, they would be watching it in Libby's zombie apocalypse bunker. When Molly first saw it, she was impressed by how crazily prepared her friend was. Though, she had to wonder how she got a blanket with retractable spikes.
Molly had elected herself to get the snacks, given that Libby's entire cache of zombie apocalypse emergency supplies consisted of food that was devoid of flavour but high in nutritional value so that one could survive longer when society crumbled in the ensuing chaos. She was a little concerned as to why Libby had a spray bottle that was labelled 'Scent of Racoon' but decided not to dwell on it.
Thankfully, Mrs. Stein-Torres had some snacks upstairs, so Molly didn't have to get much when she went out. As she entered the bookstore that served as both the home and business of the Stein-Torres family, Molly couldn't help but have her mind wander a bit. She remembered back to a time when she was so dead-set and hyper-focused on trying to 'enhappify the world'. Honestly, it was easier said than done. She was only one teenage girl. While she did inspire some of the people in her town to do better and be better, encouraging others outside of Brighton to do the same was - when she stopped to think about it - overwhelmingly daunting.
'I mean, it's not a bad thing, right? Mom, Dad, Darryl, Libby and Andrea are always telling me that I need to focus on myself, too. That I used to do too much and would burn myself out. Glad I stopped for a minute to think about it. Being able to at least enhappify Brighton is good enough. I mean, heck, that's an accomplishment considering how this town used to be. So, it's not wrong to do some things for myself now and again,' thought Molly.
She had been given a lot of commendations by the mayor and won plenty of awards for her efforts to improve Brighton and help the townsfolk. And many of the people in Brighton would agree that if anyone deserved a break to focus on themselves, it was definitely Molly McGee.
'Not that I'm saying Libby's family is poor or anything, I mean, we were really struggling at one point. But how in the heck did she afford or even manage to talk her mom into building a zombie apocalypse bunker in their basement?'
Upon reaching the basement, Molly passed through the open ten-inch steel door and paused. There, sitting in the middle of the room, was Libby and Andrea. Seeing them in their sleepwear triggered flashbacks to a slumber party back when they were thirteen. A rather embarrassing moment for Molly, even today. But, unlike then, this time was a little different.
Andrea was always the fashionable trendsetter of the three of them, being a social media influencer and all that. And given that her family was extremely wealthy, that allowed her to buy the most extravagant designer clothes, be it for everyday use or nightwear. In this case, her nightwear was rather suggestive. Andrea was dressed in a pink nightie that flowed down her body and stopped just a few inches above her knees. Whether or not she was wearing anything else under that nightie was a different story. It looked like it was made of silk and, given that this was Andrea Davenport, there was a high probability that it was made of silk.
Now, this wasn't out of character for the teen. Andrea was not shy and very confident in her body and looks. But that didn't mean she was immodest. She only dressed this way while with close friends or at home in the privacy of her room. Still, seeing her friend in such a state of dress caused Molly to blush a little and her blush only intensified when she saw Libby.
Out of the three of them, Libby was probably the most conservative when it came to her style of dress. Opting for turtleneck sweaters, a pair of ripped jeans, and boots, she wasn't dressing to impress anyone. So whether or not anyone liked her style was never an issue for her. Even during their past slumber parties, Libby always opted for less revealing clothing, mostly long-sleeved pyjama shirts and matching pants.
That was not happening tonight.
Now, it should be noted that, again, out of the three of them, Libby was probably the most well-developed of them all. Back in middle school, she was the tallest among them. As time went on, other parts of Libby started to fill out. She was embarrassed by this as becoming known as a 'hottie' wasn't exactly something she wanted. This only doubled her efforts to wear less appealing and baggy clothing to hide her figure.
That desire to hide it, even in front of her friends, seemed to have gone out the window tonight. Libby's sleepwear consisted of a white, spaghetti-strapped camisole that exposed her midriff, and had the image of a turtle on it, along with a pair of pyjama shorts that had a turtle shell pattern on them that accentuated her curves.
"Uh…Okay, I understand why Andrea is wearing what she's wearing…but…uh…Libby?" Molly asked.
Libby was blushing, embarrassed by her friend's reaction. However, Andrea proudly stood next to Libby. She smiled proudly as she waved her hands at Libby, as if presenting a new product from her family's store.
"She's totally hot, right? I finally got her to agree to wear something other than sweaters and pants," Andrea bragged. "I found these while doing some online shopping and the moment I saw the turtle pattern, they totally screamed Libby to me!"
"Oh…I-I don't know. This is showing off way more skin than I'd like…" Libby was fidgeting, trying to pull the camisole down to try and cover her exposed belly button, but to no avail.
"Libby, you have a drop-dead, gorgeous figure, and – speaking as just a friend – banging bod. You should be proud and show it off. Or at least show it off to us," Andrea stated, happily.
Libby groaned again and then looked back at Molly.
"It's weird…isn't it? I look weird," Libby lamented.
"Nononononononononono! Libby! You look great! Seriously! I was just surprised. I get why you'd want to hide your figure when we're out, but you should feel fine when just around us. We're your friends. We won't judge you, we care about you," Molly assured.
Andrea smiled and nodded in agreement with her bestie.
Libby's worried expression faded as a smile began to form, feeling a little more confident after seeing the reassuring faces of her two best friends.
"Thanks, you two. Honestly, with how warm it is tonight, being dressed like this does feel a lot nicer and cooler," Libby admitted. "I guess I could give this a shot tonight. Not like anyone else is going to see me dressed like this. Alright, let's get things set up!" With renewed vigour, Libby began to set up the movie and their seating arrangements.
Molly didn't want to say it aloud, but she did have a tinge of jealousy towards her two friends.
Andrea was naturally beautiful. She hardly needed to put on any makeup and, when she did, it was sparse. Adding to her beauty was Andrea's slender figure. She was like a supermodel in the making.
Libby, well, as stated before, was a bombshell. And from what Molly could tell, her best friend was only going to continue developing into an even more attractive woman.
Molly, on the other hand, at least from her perspective, paled in comparison to her friends. Even her outfit wasn't very daring compared to theirs. Just some normal-fitting pyjama pants, and a normal pyjama shirt. She shook those thoughts out of her head. This was just like how she felt when Libby got her first period when they were thirteen, and Molly felt left out since she had not experienced hers yet.
'In hindsight, I don't know why I ever felt bad about that,' she thought.
The Irish-Thai teen spared a glance at Andrea, who was smiling as she continued to watch Libby get everything ready. Molly raised an eyebrow and sidestepped next to Andrea.
"…Be honest, you just wanted to see Libby dressed like that, didn't you?" Molly interrogated.
"Molly, I have no idea what you're talking about," Andrea replied innocently, rocking on her heels.
"You're staring at Libby, like, really staring at her," Molly pointed out.
"What? I can't just admire my bestie's hot bod?" Andrea asked.
"Look, but don't touch."
"Oh?" Andrea turned a half-lidded gaze towards Molly. "Does that mean it's okay to touch you?"
Molly spluttered as she tried to form a comeback, but Andrea's giggling just made her release an exasperated sigh.
"You're too easy, McGee."
"Shut up, Davenport."
The two girls shared a laugh before joining Libby to help her set everything up. Neither the three girls nor the townsfolk of Brighton noticed a red barrier erecting itself around the town. And not a single one heard the shambling, the groaning, or the dark figures starting to emerge from the alleyways.
A couple of teenagers were out on a date. The car was parked in a popular makeout spot where they would not be disturbed. The roof of the convertible was down, allowing them to get intimate under the stars.
As they were busy sucking each other's faces, they failed to notice the shambling figures that were approaching the vehicle.
The couple separated for some air and the girl's expression shifted to one of fear as she screamed. Her boyfriend was startled until he also screamed as he was being dragged out of the car.
The figures pounced on him as the girl screamed in horror as they tore him apart before moving on to the girl. She let out a shriek as one of the creatures opened its jaws wide.
Marcy was in her room, going over her strategy. So far, she had not received any recent additions to her gear. Not that the Magnum and FeverSlot Buckles had not been useful, but both Luz and Sasha had some pretty powerful Buckles in their arsenal.
When Marcy witnessed Sasha soaring and blasting in her Command Form, the Taiwanese teen could not help but be entranced as her best friend became a living Gundam. She was even able to use that sword like an expert. Had her best friend been training to use a sword since she moved away?
Then there was Luz's Oscura Buckle which allowed her to use magic. It may be based on her old powers as Empress Oscura, but it was just a tool. Despite how evil it may seem, Luz used it to protect her loved ones from the Jyamatos. Besides the Oscura Buckle, Luz also had the Powered Builder Buckle and she also had her own Command Twin Buckle. Not to mention all the possible combinations she now had access to.
With Masha gone, only five players remained with the Mole still lurking among them. Boscha was a threat too and not just to Luz and Amity. She egged Sasha on, feeding her grudge against Luz. Even after Boscha assaulted Amity, Sasha still kept her around to keep an eye on her. Guess Sasha preferred to have an ally who hated Luz as much as she did. Hopefully, they could vote Boscha off after the next elimination mission. However, if Boscha had an accident during the mission, Marcy would not miss her.
[Gather Round!]
Marcy's Spider Phone went off. It was time for another round. As she stepped out of her room, she bumped into Sasha in the hallway.
"Hey, Mar-Mar," Sasha smiled. "Ready for the next round?"
"Yeah, you?" Marcy asked.
"I'm always ready," Sasha grinned. "Can't wait to see the look on Noceda's face when I knock her off the top of the leaderboard."
"Sasha, do you care more about beating Luz or getting our Anne back?" Marcy asked.
"Beating Noceda is part of it, Mar-Mar. She's in our way," Sasha stated.
"She's trying to help us! She wants to bring back Anne, too! She even showed us her Desire Card! What ulterior motive could she possibly have?!" Marcy demanded, frustrated by Sasha's grudge.
"Probably so she can have the full set. That way, when she competes again, she can rule over our world and make the three of us her playthings just to spite me," Sasha countered.
Marcy's left eye twitched when she heard Sasha's stupid reasoning behind her wanting to hinder Luz.
"That's…That's just stupid! You can't really believe that! This is because of Boscha, right?! She's filling your head with all that Empress Oscura crap!" Marcy shouted with anger. "She's not all there, Sasha! She has a yandere obsession with Amity, coupled with PTSD from her time back then! She's determined to see Luz as she once was, and not as she is!" The Taiwanese girl moved closer to Sasha and gripped the blonde's shoulders. "At this rate, if you keep siding with her, she's going to drag you down! She doesn't care about bringing back Anne like you and me! She's using you! She thinks you're the only one strong enough to take on Luz–!"
"I am the only one who can take down Noceda," Sasha corrected.
"Whatever! The point is Boscha doesn't care about Anne! If she thinks it'll get rid of her top competition and get Amity, she won't hesitate to throw you under the bus!"
"It's not nice to talk about people behind their backs, Wu."
Marcy turned around and saw Boscha standing there. She hadn't heard her behind her, so seeing the triclops standing there made the nerdy teen jump back in shock.
"Let's go, Sasha, we have to plan our next move," said Boscha.
"Gotcha. We'll talk later, Marce," Sasha told her best friend. Without any hesitation, Sasha started walking alongside Boscha, leaving Marcy standing alone in the hallway.
The players assembled on the platform atop the Desire Temple to be briefed on their next mission. Amity and Luz were both irritated as the announcement came in the middle of their date, but they had learned to expect it since joining the DGP. They just did not care what the players were doing, and the players needed to answer their summons without question.
"Tonight's mission will be an elimination round," Tsumuri informed them, getting their attention. "Now, listen carefully. A town called Brighton is under attack by Zombie Jyamatos. Your mission is to eliminate all the zombies and save the civilians." The map on the holographic screen showed the location that was now surrounded by a Jyamar Area barrier. "Each zombie you kill is worth 100 points while each civilian you save is worth 300 points. The mission is cleared once all the zombies are eliminated and the winner is the one who gathers the most points. At the end of the game, one of you will be going home."
"Those are a lot of Jyamatos," Marcy observed as she saw hundreds of Zombie Jyamato signatures displayed on the map.
"So, just kill lots of zombies and save a bunch of dumb humans," Boscha summarised. That sounded easy enough. There was no way she was going to lose to anyone, especially Oscura.
Luz would have told off Boscha for calling humans dumb. But she knew that during a zombie apocalypse, people were going to panic and do stupid things. Still, the DGP was putting people in danger with these games. The only silver lining was that civilians who were killed would be revived at the end of the game, but only when the players won.
"Mission Start!" Tsumuri declared.
"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
The three girls screamed as the zombie suddenly lunged at them. Then, everything went black as the credits rolled down the screen. The zombie was not real as it was on the TV screen. Though, it was so realistic that they could not help but cry out in horror.
For their zombie movie night, Andrea had a widescreen HD TV brought to Libby's bunker. It just wouldn't be good enough if it was not theatre-level quality.
After screaming their lungs out, the three girls laughed.
"That has to be one of the best zombie movies ever," Libby commented. "Top five, at least."
"I thought my heart stopped there for a second," Molly said, breathing hard.
"Yeah, me too," Andrea agreed and then she noticed herself clinging to Molly. The Thai-Irish girl caught a whiff of Andrea's hair. She must use some really good shampoo because it smelled nice. Realising what she was doing, Molly quickly removed herself from Andrea.
"Oh, look, we ran out of snacks," Molly quickly remarked as she saw they were indeed out of snacks. "We should go up and get more, huh?"
"The convenience store should be nearby," Andrea said. "We could make a quick stop there."
Nobody moved from their spot, still a bit jumpy from the scary zombie movie so none of them wanted to be outside right now.
"How about we go upstairs and see what else we've got?" Libby suggested, putting her blanket over her shoulders. Andrea and Molly nodded. Andrea threw a terry cloth robe over her nightie before joining her friends to walk upstairs. Libby led the way while Andrea stuck close to Molly.
"Did the movie scare you that much?" Molly teased.
"Of course, not!" Andrea denied. "Zombies aren't real!"
"Actually, they technically are," Libby replied, earning a shocked look from Andrea. "There are cases of zombies in nature, like when an ant gets infected by a parasitic fungus. Then there are real-life human zombies where people are given a drug that puts them in a death-like state before they are awoken and put under mind control by the person that drugged them."
"...OK, but they're not like the ones we just watched, right?" Andrea asked carefully.
"You mean a zombie virus?" Libby questioned. "There's always the possibility. That's why I had my bunker made. And even if it's not a zombie apocalypse, at least I made myself a shelter in case of some other kind of apocalypse."
Andrea would argue about Libby being too prepared for something that may not happen, but she was no fool. People were allowed to believe anything they wanted, as long as they did not hurt themselves or others.
They got up to the bookstore before Libby began to lead them to the stairs that led up to her and her mom's apartment. They lit their way with their cell phones since the bookstore was closed and the lights were off. Once they were upstairs, they looked for snacks in the kitchen.
"OK, we've got chips," Molly declared as she grabbed a couple more bags from the pantry.
"And dip," Libby added, grabbing a can of dip from the fridge. "So, up for another movie?"
Meanwhile, Andrea was trying to update her followers but found that she had no signal. Since she could not livestream, she decided to record herself instead.
"Hey, Fandreas! So, we just saw a scary zombie movie for our movie night/slumber party! Anyway, we're just raiding the kitchen for more snacks and going back down for more scares!" Suddenly, she heard some noise coming from downstairs and blinked. "Did you all hear that?"
"Hear what?" Molly asked, and Andrea stopped recording.
"I heard something from downstairs," Andrea whispered. "Is anyone down there?"
"No, that can't be," Libby dubiously said. "We're the only ones here and the bookstore is closed." Libby's mom had won a spa weekend and gone out of town to enjoy it. She deserved it, and Libby offered to watch the house and bookstore until she came back.
"Do you think it's...a burglar?" Andrea asked fearfully.
"We better check it out," Molly said bravely.
"You're right, and catch this criminal redhanded," Andrea agreed. They were about to head downstairs when Libby stopped them.
"Whoa, hold on there! Think for a second here!" she cried, waving her hands in front of her. "Are you both seriously going to check out a strange noise in the middle of the night? That's a classic horror movie red flag."
"Libby, c'mon, this isn't some horror movie. This is real life," Andrea retorted.
"Then we should just call the cops to come check it out," Libby rebutted.
"Yeah, we could do that, but when it turns out to be nothing, we'll just be wasting their time," Andrea shot back.
"Guys." Molly separated the two. "Andrea, Libby's got a point. We can't just go investigate a strange noise."
"Thank you, Molly," Libby smiled, glad to see her best friend was being reasonable.
"Without protection!" Molly went and grabbed a frying pan to use as a self-defence weapon. Libby facepalmed.
"You're right, we need a way to defend ourselves," Andrea agreed. "Libby, where does your mom keep her knives?"
"No, no knives!" Libby grabbed a rolling pin and handed it to Andrea. "Take this!"
"A rolling pin?" Andrea raised an eyebrow.
"It's better than you accidentally hurting yourself or us," Libby reasoned.
"What about you?" Molly asked. Libby threw her blanket over her head and it sprouted spikes.
"I'm always prepared."
"And yet you were worried about me and knives," Andrea muttered under her breath.
The trio carefully crept down the stairs. Andrea took up the rear, watching Molly's back. She had cold sweat roll down her face as she shakily held the rolling pin. They reached the bookstore and began to investigate. There did not seem to be anything but when Libby found the front door was ajar, she became alarmed.
"Someone broke in," Libby alerted her friends.
Andrea gulped and then she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She brushed it off but then the hand landed there again.
"Molly, stop it," she chided.
"Um, Andrea," Molly called out from her left. "I'm right here."
"Then who...?" Andrea felt a chill run up her spine.
The three girls slowly turned around and shined their lights in the direction to see a strange humanoid creature with a white head and dressed in rags. It let out moans and groans.
They screamed.
Libby shrieked and threw off her blanket, activating the retractable spikes at the same time as she swung it at the creature. The spiky blanket knocked the creature away, sending it sprawling to the floor.
"C'mon, back to the bunker!" Libby yelled as she led her friends to the basement, but the Zombie Jyamato managed to pick itself up and block their way. "God, I wish I had a flamethrower right now."
The Zombie Jyamato stalked towards the girls who backed away from it. Libby held her blanket out in front of her like a matador, the spikes proving to be a deterrent. They still brandished their weapons, but fear prevented them from using them.
The creature growled and lunged at them but, all of a sudden, an arm made out of purple slime smashed through the window, sending glass shards flying. The slime arm wrapped around the Zombie Jyamato's head tightly before dragging it out of the bookstore.
The trio recovered from their shock and burst out of the bookstore to see a person in a suit of purple and bronze armour holding the Zombie Jyamato aloft with the slime arm.
[ABOMINATION STRIKE!]
The armoured warrior tossed the Zombie Jyamato high into the air before withdrawing their slime arm. They then pointed both their arms up into the air and fired slime from the nozzles on their gauntlets. The streams of slime then split apart, becoming multiple slimy limbs that terminated into fists. The fists smashed into the Zombie Jyamato repeatedly with a barrage of punches before it finally exploded.
[+100 points!]
[+300 points!]
[+300 points!]
[+300 points!]
Gato withdrew her slime and exhaled. She could not believe she had used a move she had seen in that pirate anime that Luz insisted she watch, but she was glad she did. It gave her a lot of ideas since she got her Abomination Buckle. Gato spotted the three girls and her eyes widened when she saw Molly whom she had not seen since her first time in the Desire Grand Prix. Thankfully, her helmet hid her expression.
"Are you three OK?" Gato asked.
"Yes, thanks to you," Libby gratefully said. "Whoever you are."
"Oh, my corn! You're a Kamen Rider!" Molly cried out. "A real live Kamen Rider!"
"Fandreas, you won't believe this, but we have just been saved by a real Kamen Rider!" Andrea said as she pointed her phone camera to herself, her friends and Gato.
"Listen, you three should hide somewhere until this blows over," Gato advised as more Zombie Jyamatos were coming towards them."Is there a shelter or something I could take you to?"
"No need," Libby assured, pressing a fist to her chest. "I have a bunker for just this occasion."
"...Really?" Gato questioned, surprised and impressed.
"That's right," Libby confirmed. "Molly, Andrea, let's go."
"Molly, right?"Gato asked, pretending she did not recognize Molly. "You need to keep your friends' spirits high. Can you do that?"
"Yeah, I can," Molly promised but then she paused for a moment. "...Have we met?"
"No, I don't think so," Gato denied, shaking her head.
"It's just, it's weird, but there's something familiar about you," Molly said. "But maybe it's just 'coz you're a Kamen Rider. Anyway, good luck with beating these monsters."
Gato watched Molly go into the bookstore and follow her friends into the bunker. Seeing Molly again, Gato was happy that she was fine now. She remembered how the girl reacted after Penn's death. Despite trying to put on a strong front, she knew such a thing had weighed heavily on the girl.
Gato heard moans and groans and she turned around to see several Zombie Jyamatos had already surrounded her.
"Time to put you back in the ground!" she declared as she shot slime from her gauntlets which took the shape of two humanoid Abominations."Abominations, attack!"
Meanwhile, people had barricaded themselves inside the department store. When the Zombie Jyamatos first appeared, the people thought it was some kind of publicity stunt and even stopped to take pictures. However, once the monsters started attacking people, they finally realised they were in danger and fled for their lives. They ran into the stores, barricading the doors to keep the creatures out. Unfortunately, many had already been killed as bodies lay sprawled all over the street.
In flashes of blue light, Sasha and Boscha both appeared on top of the department store. Looking over the edge of the rooftop, they saw the Zombie Jyamatos crowding around the building, trying to get to the people inside.
"Look at them, crowding around like a bunch of bugs," Boscha sneered.
"Yeah," Sasha agreed.
"So what did that little nerd say to you?" Boscha demanded, ignoring the Zombie Jyamatos for a second.
"She said that you don't care about mine and her wish, that you'll backstab me when it's most convenient to you, and that you're crazy and hyper-obsessed with Blight," Sasha reported.
All three of Boscha's eyes narrowed with anger.
"That little bitch. Does she suspect anything?"
"No, at least I don't think so."
"Good, good…" Boscha started to think. Eliminating Oscura was her top priority, but if Marcy Wu figured out that something wasn't right with Sasha, she could report the triclops to the DGP and get her kicked out. "Alright, we're still going through with our plan and if Wu gets in our way, you know what to do. Understood?"
Sasha didn't answer right away.
"I said, 'understood'?" Boscha repeated. Sasha's lips quivered as if she was hesitating to answer her. Boscha growled, raised her right hand, and slapped Sasha across the face, causing the human to stumble a little. "Answer me! Do you understand?!"
The slap seemed to knock something back into place, as Sasha immediately gave her answer.
"I understand, Boscha. If Marcy gets in the way, I'll take care of her."
"Good," Boscha smiled approvingly. "Now, let's go earn some points."
"Yes, Boscha," Sasha obeyed. What Boscha failed to see was that Sasha's right hand had balled itself into a shaking fist.
Kamen Rider Gato threw a stream of slime that ended in a fist, sending a Zombie Jyamato flying into the air where it exploded. She then blasted the other Zombie Jyamatos with her Abomination slime, trapping them all in huge fists of the substance before crushing them in her grasp.
[+100 points!]
[+100 points!]
[+100 points!]
[+100 points!]
[+100 points!]
500 points were added to her current score but she paid it little mind. This was about defeating the Jyamatos and staying in the game. She could not afford to lag behind. As she focused on the Zombie Jyamatos in front of her, she failed to notice one coming up behind her.
She swung another stream of Abomination slime which ended in a huge axe-like blade, bisecting the Zombie Jyamatos in front of her before the one that snuck up behind her grabbed her by the shoulder and spun around before tossing her to the ground. Gato landed with a grunt before she picked herself up.
For a moment, she paused, as she saw what the Zombie Jyamato was wearing. It was still dressed in rags, but the outfit would have looked pretty stylish before. It was also eerily familiar as the Zombie Jyamato wore a dirty purple blouse with a stained white vest, tattered blue pants and boots.
It was the same clothes her mother had worn. Gato shook her head. It was just a coincidence.
"Alright, time to take out the trash," Gato declared as she prepared to attack the Jyamato. But then it said something in a voice that she had not heard in years.
"Watch your mouth, Mittens!" the Zombie Jyamato yelled, causing Gato to freeze in disbelief. A Jyamato being able to speak was shocking enough but to actually sound like her, it was unbelievable. The Zombie Jyamato's body flashed as vines wrapped around it like a cocoon before the vine cocoon broke apart, revealing the Jyamato's new form. Gato gawked when she saw the figure standing in front of her, unable to believe her eyes.
"...Mom?"
It was Odalia Blight, with pristine clothes, but then she also had some green vines creeping up the side of her neck and face.
"Long time no see, Mittens," 'Odalia' greeted.
"No, this isn't possible!" Gato denied, shaking her head in panic. "You're dead!"
"Yes, I was. Killed by that dreadful Empress and then she let me die again," 'Odalia' sighed. "But I'm back now and I must say it's nice to see you're still keeping up with your magical studies, even if you look gaudy in that suit." Gato kept her guard up. This was probably another Jyamato trick, but the way this one was able to copy her mother's appearance and personality was still jarring to the youngest Blight. "Now, I've heard that you are dating that dreadful human who killed me. Please, tell me that isn't true."
"Yes, it's true," Gato confirmed, unashamed.
"Then you leave me no choice, Mittens," 'Odalia' said darkly as she produced a Desire Driver and strapped it on. She then flashed a psychotic grin on her face. "You need to be punished."
[Set!]
'Odalia' inserted the Jyamato Buckle into her Desire Driver and slammed her fist upon it.
[JYAMATO!]
"Henshin."
Vines burst out from her Driver, wrapping a cocoon around Odalia which became shredded to pieces, revealing her Jyamato Rider form.
"...Mom?"Gato uttered, stunned.
[JYA-JYA-JYA STRIKE!]
'Odalia' fired off multiple vines which hit Gato like spears. The cat Rider screamed as she was knocked violently to the ground, and her body flashed before she reverted to her civilian form.
"I went through all that trouble of setting you up with the Barbtalone and Grimamore girls! They were supposed to win you over, and then you'd go on to becoming the next head of the Emperor's Coven, and our status as the most powerful family would be elevated to even greater heights! Blight Industries would have an exclusive contract with the Emperor himself!"The eyes of 'Odalia's' helmet glowed angrily. "But then you go and get yourself put into a coma by a stupid human vagabond!"'Odalia' walked up to the downed Amity and kicked her in the stomach like an injured dog. "You were going to be my ticket to fortune! To fame! All you had to do was just simply do as I tell you!"
'Odalia' gave Amity another harsh kick, and the latter gasped in pain as she rolled along the ground.
"M-Mom…P-Please…stop…!" Amity struggled.
"You know, if I knew that human brat would've become such a powerful being in our world, I would've had you go after her instead."'Odalia' reached down, grabbed Amity by her jacket and held her up to eye level. "If it meant not getting killed by that bitch, I would've dragged your little good-for-nothing ass up to the palace myself and presented you to her as a gift! I was still able to have children, I could've had another one and, if anything, I could've used you as a template as to what not to do the next go around!"
'Odalia' raised her left hand and bitch-slapped Amity across her right cheek. The blow might as well have been a punch as it sent Amity flying out of 'Odalia's' grasp until she landed in a heap on the ground.
"Again, all you had to do was follow my instructions! Was that so difficult? It's not as if you wouldn't have gained something from it either! You would've been famous, revered, and feared by your peers! And if you managed to become that Empress's consort, well, I could've had the child you would've produced learn from the best. As it stands now, you are a complete and utter embarrassment to the Blight name!"
Amity coughed, pain racked her body as she struggled to prop herself up on her hands. Her mother's words cut deep into her and hurt more than she thought they would. Amity thought she had grown past this, becoming numb to her mother's voice and words, but apparently, that was not the case. Seeing her mother again, somehow, made her feel like a weak child again. It made her feel like that helpless girl who had to do whatever her mother told her. She had to struggle each day, always seeking Odalia's affection and approval, which should have been given unconditionally.
"And now look at you. Stuck here in the Human Realm. Your magic may still be top-tier, but you have no future here! This world has nothing to offer you! In the Demon Realm, you could've been someone! But here, you're nothing! Which, ironically, is what you always were going to end up if I hadn't steered you in the right direction!"
Amity's eyes began to well up with tears, her heart aching as she felt small before the berating tirade of her mother.
"But I guess the former Empress likes playing with useless things, so it seems like you are still good for something after all, right? Just like your sister, both of you were just going to end up having your bodies used by someone! With Emira, at least the chances of her being the plaything of some wealthy witch or demon were high, but you – tch! – pathetic! You useless, waste of an existence! I regret ever giving birth to you! And I regret ever putting any effort into moulding you! It's your fault that I died! So, why don't you do me a favour, Mittens…" 'Odalia' had her hand hovering over her Raise Buckle. "Do this one last thing for me, and just die. You can do that, right? Even you can't botch that up!"
Amity just remained lying where she was, lamenting her past actions. If she had done things differently, maybe things wouldn't have ended up this way. Her own mistakes led to the rise of Empress Oscura, and her mother paid the price along with the Boiling Isles and every witch and demon on it.
'Maybe…it is my turn to die…'
As Amity prepared to accept her fate, her eyes fell upon the engagement ring she wore.
"Hola, Batata!"
"Amity, I love you."
"C'mon, just five more minutes…!"
"Amity, I'll always be there for you."
"As the Good Witch Azura said, 'Hecate, through all our hardships, and our sorrows, there is no one I would rather face them with than you'..."
"Amity Blight…will you marry me?"
Seeing that ring, hearing the voice of her beloved, and remembering the memories she made with Luz, restored her resolve. No, she could not die, not here, not today.
"I already died once." Amity began to clench her fists. "And you were never my mother. Mothers are supposed to nurture, love, and encourage their children! Mothers support their children when they are in need! A real mother loves their child without expecting anything in return!" 'Odalia' paused in her actions, a primal instinct of danger starting to kick in as she took a few steps back. Amity pushed herself onto her knees and then, with some effort, managed to stand once again. "I experienced all that, but not from you! I only have one mother, and her name is Camila Noceda!"
[Set!]
[Dual On!]
Amity's eyes started to glow bright purple as she defiantly cried into the night.
"YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER! HENSHIN!"
[ZOMBIE! ABOMINATION!]
The Zombie Armour formed over her torso while the Abomination Armour covered her legs. Her thigh armour had glowing purple tanks filled with Abomination slime while tubes connected them to her greaves which were equipped with nozzles to help release the slime.
[READY…]
The eyes of Gato's helmet, which normally glowed bright orange, were now glowing the same bright purple as her eyes earlier. The cat-themed Rider raised her Zombie Breaker and rested it against her shoulder as she levelled her gaze at the monster that dared invoke the image of her deceased birth mother against her. She raised her left arm and with her long orange claws, she made a motion with them that was the equivalent of, 'Bring it'.
[…FIGHT!]
[JYA-JYA-JYA STRIKE!]
"YOU INSOLENT LITTLE BRAT!"Recovering quickly, 'Odalia' fired her vines at Gato who was prepared for her this time.
[Poison Charge!]
[TACTICAL BREAK!]
Gato screamed as she sawed through the vines with her chainsaw sword as she charged at the fake 'Odalia'. The Jyamato Rider could not react in time and was struck across the chest by the Zombie Breaker, sending her tumbling.
"You little-URK!" A whip of Abomination slime suddenly wrapped around 'Odalia's' neck, cutting her off.
"Do me a favour and just...!" Gato shouted as she raised her leg, throwing 'Odalia' into the air. "Stop!" She swung her down, bringing her crashing to the ground. "Talking!"Gato then dragged 'Odalia' over to her and forced her to stand before her. "And just die already!"
[TACTICAL BREAK!]
Gato pulled the trigger on the Zombie Breaker, causing the teeth of the chainsaw blade to rev up and spin. With a single strike, she caused sparks to fly off from 'Odalia's' armour, making the disguised Jyamato cry out in pain. Gato slashed, and again, and again, each time making 'Odalia' stagger back. The purple Rider planted her left foot and spun around as she delivered another powerful blow, striking Odalia in the stomach with her sword and sending her flying into the air as if hitting a home run at a baseball game.
"We're not done yet!"
Gato performed a spinning thrust kick, willing the Abomination slime to fire from the nozzle as it shot towards 'Odalia'. The Abomination slime swiftly wrapped around 'Odalia's' left ankle, stopping her from flying any farther. Gato then brought down that same foot with a powerful stomp and made the Abomination slime reel her back in like a fish on a hook.
'Odalia' yelled as she was quickly yanked out of the sky and dragged back towards Gato. But before she could land, Gato swung the Zombie Breaker again, dismissing the slime as it sent Odalia flying again. Gato performed the same move again, but this time with the right leg, reeling back 'Odalia' as she slashed upwards, sending her straight up into the air. Gato kicked upwards with her left leg, shooting another Abomination slime whip, before bringing that same leg down in an axe kick. 'Odalia' watched helplessly as the Abomination whip struck head-on, sending her plummeting from several feet in the air until she crashed into the street below, with the slime whip creating a long indention.
[Revolve On!]
Gato's body rotated as body parts and armour shifted around, switching the Abomination armour to the top and the Zombie armour to the bottom. The cat-themed Rider thrust both of her arms out, firing Abomination slime from the nozzles on her gauntlets. The slime suddenly began to break off into multiple strands, each ending with a spiked fist.
'Odalia' managed to drag herself out of the crater she was in, only to see dozens of spiked fists about to descend upon her.
"Oh…no…"
'Odalia' was soon taking a pummelling by one spiked Abomination fist after the other, striking her left, right, and centre. She took uppercuts, straights, jabs, overhand, underhand, hooks and haymakers. It was a flurry of blows as she was getting juggled in the air, without any sign of it stopping. When it finally ended, it was only a brief respite as all the strands merged and formed one huge double-handed fist that rose into the air and came down like a sledgehammer, smashing the disguised Jyamato into the street yet again, causing a tremor upon impact.
[Revolve On!]
Gato switched her armour back to its previous setting before she widened her stance and released a threatening growl. 'Odalia' managed to drag herself out of the crater but, upon doing so, her armour vanished, showing the witch all bruised and battered, with some green blood trickling from her mouth. 'Odalia' painfully picked herself up, stumbling on her feet, putting on a contrite expression.
"Mittens, dear, please!" she begged as Gato began to walk towards her. "Let's talk about this, alright? If you let me go, I promise I won't ever bother you again!"
"You're right, you won't. Never again."
Gato twisted the knob on the Zombie Buckle and pressed the button of the Abomination Buckle, causing an explosion of her magical aura to rage about her body. The eyes of Gato's helmet glowed even brighter as wisps of purple energy flowed from the corners of her eyes. Gato crouched low, like a predator about to go in for the kill.
There was a look of absolute terror and fear in her 'mother's' eyes. Strangely enough, it was not unlike the same look Gato saw when Empress Oscura killed that woman all those years ago, only now she would be the one to execute her 'mother'.
'Life is so ironic sometimes…'
Gato sprinted towards 'Odalia'. As she did, the nozzles on the Abomination Armour blasted jets of slime, propelling her straight towards her 'mother' at incredible speed. Once she closed in, Gato used her Berserclaw to pierce into Odalia's abdomen. In one motion, she tossed the disguised Jyamato into the air like a ragdoll. The nozzles on her legs fired again, acting as thrusters as a stream of Abomination slime propelled Gato in the air. She flew higher and higher until she was hovering above 'Odalia'. The nozzles fired again just as Gato raised the Zombie Breaker into the air, holding it in a reverse grip as if to go for a stab.
The Abomination slime wrapped around the blade, creating a construct of the chainsaw blade, but triple the size of the original. The blade of the Abomination chainsaw construct glowed bright purple as it revved up and spun, making it appear as if a circlet of pure purple light was spinning around the blade of the sword.
[ZOMBIE ABOMINATION VICTORY!]
With a fierce battle cry, Gato's greaves fired more Abomination slime, blasting her straight towards 'Odalia'. The disguised Jyamato could do nothing but watch as the whirring energy chainsaw came down on her, making her scream right into the night air. Sparks and green blood began to spray through the air as Gato and 'Odalia' went into freefall. The energy saw continued to cut into 'Odalia', causing her body to flicker between her disguise and her Jyamato form. Just before hitting the ground, the energy chainsaw blade sliced through the Jyamato. Gato flipped once again in the air, landing on her feet as she flicked the Zombie Breaker just as the two halves of the Jyamato exploded overhead.
Gato let out a long sigh as she rested her sword against her shoulder, taking a moment to process what just happened.
"Stay where you belong, forgotten amongst my happy memories."
[+100 points!]
Gato chuckled when she saw the total points she got from that whole ordeal but she wasn't surprised. Odalia was a worthless excuse for a mother and a person when she was alive. Why should she be worth anymore as a Jyamato?
Dr. X: Since we're about to celebrate Halloween, a Zombie Game was definitely something I needed to include. I mean, yeah, we had a Slasher Game before, but that was not during Halloween. I also included the return of Molly McGee. She's not a Rider anymore and after leaving the DGP, her desire to enhappify the world is now gone. This chapter also features the return of Odalia, reborn through a Jyamato that adopted her appearance, memories and personality. That really messed with Amity's head. But now she got some closure after beating her wicked mother.