"Try and punch your way out of this, asshole," Daichi mocked as Sogou lay in his cell.
"Shouldn't we treat these guys better?" Yokoshima asked. He had successfully unsealed the entrance thanks to his Scarab hacking the systems. Afterwards, they put all the Espers in the holding cells. "We did mess them up pretty bad."
"The C3 already healed their injuries," Daichi responded dismissively. "Besides, why should we care? They tried to kill us again."
"Shinichi helped us even when we tried to kill him years ago," Yokoshima reasoned.
"He and his schoolmates gave us an out and we took it. These guys don't seem as willing," Daichi huffed dismissively. "I'm gonna grab something to drink. You guys want anything?"
"Grape juice," Chiaki answered.
"I would like some tea," Hanyuu requested.
"Root beer for me, Dai," Yokoshima said.
"Got it," Daichi nodded as he went upstairs.
Alice looked at the cell holding Elise. She had used her nanomachines to help heal Kasai and after that brought Elise down to put her in a holding cell along with her comrades.
"How are you doing?" Yami asked. Alice looked at her mother. It seemed odd right now as she, in her adult form, towered over her
"I'm fine, Mommy," Alice answered. "It's just been a very long and chaotic day."
"It has," Yami agreed. "I almost lost you again."
"You don't have to worry about that. I'm like Daddy and Onii-chan: I'm hard to kill," Alice bragged, flexing her arms for emphasis
"Well, the threat is over, at least for now. So, shouldn't you go back to normal?" Yami asked.
"I..." Alice hesitated, unsure of how to answer.
"What's wrong?" Yami prodded, wondering if anything was the matter. Her daughter only assumed her adult form in case of a combat situation. Now that they were safe, there was no reason for her to remain in that form.
"...I don't think I can anymore," Alice admitted, causing Yami to stare in shock.
"What?"
Lala was standing over a workbench in the Hive Tower's workshop. She had on safety goggles, gloves and various tools laid out before her.
"What are you doing, Mama?" Lulu asked curiously as she watched her mother work on a metal sphere.
"Just trying to fix a friend, Lulu," Lala told her daughter.
"Can I help?" Lulu asked.
"No," Lala shook her head and Lulu pouted. "It's too dangerous." Becoming a mother had instilled a new sense of responsibility in her but she could still support and nurture her daughter's curiosity. "But I'll let you watch. Here, put these on." Lala put a pair of safety goggles over her daughter's eyes and tiny gloves on her hands. She then put her daughter on the stool beside her. "OK, now just watch but don't touch."
Lulu watched curiously as her mother worked. She had the metal sphere opened up and used her tools to repair the insides. Once she was done, Lala examined the sphere before closing the panel on the back.
"Are you finished?" Lulu asked.
"Yes," Lala said as she had her fingers crossed. "Hope this works."
The dull eye in the middle of the sphere droid's body glowed blue and started blinking.
"...Huh? What? What happened?" the sphere droid groaned as he saw her. "Lala, where am I?"
"You did it, Mama!" Lulu cheered.
"You're in the tower's workshop," Lala informed AI-Shin. "What's the last thing you remember?"
"I was protecting the villagers when I - Ah, shit! Did I get taken offline again!?" AI-Shin complained. Lala quickly covered Lulu's ears, shooting a glare at AI-Shin.
"Language! And you were taken offline trying to defend your family," Lala informed him. "That's pretty brave of you."
"Yeah, brave but pointless," AI-Shin scoffed. "I might have telekinesis and a laser but beyond that, I'm pretty much vulnerable. I need a real body if I ever want to be taken seriously. Something like Sprinkles'. I bet nobody would mess with me if I had weapons like him."
"Are you sure your AI will be compatible with that kind of body?" Lala asked because Sprinkles was an alien warbot.
"I'm sure if ARMOR made me a body like Sprinkles', my AI can inhabit it,'' AI-Shin said confidently.
"Well, why don't you let me make you a new body?" Lala offered.
"You'd do that?" AI-Shin asked.
"Mama's a genius! She can make anything!" Lulu said proudly.
"I'm sure we can come up with something if we put our heads together," Lala added optimistically.
"Lemme think of a design and come back to you on that," AI-Shin as he floated away. "I gotta go check on Kaa-chan and the others. Later, Lala."
"Bye-bye, Eye-chan!" Lulu cheerfully waved as AI-Shin flew away.
Lala looked back at her daughter and rubbed her head affectionately.
"See? We managed to stop the bad guys and everything is fixed up. All that's left now is for your Uncle to bring the big bad boss to justice."
"OK, Mama!" Lulu beamed.
"Now, time to work on this," Lala said as she set the Fusion Driver on the workbench.
"What's that?" Lulu asked.
"Oh, it's something your Uncle Shinichi wanted me to fix," Lala answered. She had received permission from Shinichi to take a look at his 2WEI Fusion Driver. She was amazed by its engineering. As explained by Shinichi, the Driver utilised cosmic energy contained in the Rider Fusion Capsules that were programmed with data of various Legend Riders. One set of Capsules represented the Heisei Riders while another represented the Showa Riders. Only a pair of capsules that complemented each other could initiate the 'Fusion Ride' process and allow a transformation that would possess a blend of powers corresponding to the Rider Capsules used to generate it. Currently, the only problem with it was the power output as it used up too much power from the Capsules in such a short time. Lala was going to figure out how to fix the issue.
The door opened and Yami walked in, dragging Alice behind her.
"Oh, Yami-chan! Alice-chan!" Lala smiled. "Can I help you?"
"Examine her," Yami commanded as she gently shoved Alice forward. "Something's wrong with Alice."
"What do you mean?" Lala asked.
Lulu looked up at Alice and gasped.
"Wow!" the little princess cried out in amazement. "You got so big Nee-chan!" She glomped onto Alice's leg in a hug. Alice looked down and smiled, happily rubbing her little sister's head.
Alice looked back up at Lala, a sombre look in her eyes.
"I can't change back," she answered and Lala's eyes widened.
"Lulu, get a chair for your sister, please," Lala instructed urgently.
"OK, Mama!" Lulu saluted and went to grab a chair. She found one and carried it over so Alice could sit down. "Here you go, Nee-chan!"
"Thank you," Alice smiled as she sat down.
"Now," Lala's eyes hardened as she prepared to examine Alice. "Let's see what's wrong with you."
After seeing Lala, Alice decided to go meet with her siblings in the tower's lounge area. Following the attack on the Hive Tower, the kids needed to relax and rid themselves of tension. This gave Alice a chance to tell her siblings about what had happened to her.
"So, you're stuck like this now?" Celine asked sadly as she looked up at her big sister. She was looking forward to growing up with her but now Alice had already grown to adulthood.
"It seems so," Alice answered with a frown. "Aunt Lala said my nanomachines fixed me up but now I can't return to my child form. Believe me, I've been trying."
"Guess you finally hit your growth spurt, Sis," Daiki quipped.
"Will you be OK?" Celine asked her sister.
"It's not life-threatening but this means I'll have to skip trick-or-treating from now on," Alice said sadly.
"You don't have to skip!" Celine protested. "You'll just be looking after us while we go door-to-door and then we'll share our candy with you."
"Thanks, Celine," Alice smiled, touched by her little sister's kindness.
"A lot of stuff happened tonight," Daiki remarked. They got attacked again but this time they were able to stop the Espers. "...So, did you know Celine can unhinge her jaw and eat really big things?"
"Yes," Alice deadpanned as she had witnessed Celine devour a ridiculous amount of food all at once. She had always been a huge eater.
"OK, so this creepy little girl sicced her pet alligator on us but Celine went berserk and killed it," Daiki told her. "Then she ate what was left of it before she knocked out the girl with Sleep Powder."
"I don't remember much about what happened," Celine confessed. She had blacked out for a moment and when she came to Abby was fast asleep in her vines. "But that does explain the weird taste in my mouth."
"Was it better than squirrels?" Alice asked.
"Not really."
"Hey, do you both get the feeling that this was too easy?" Daiki questioned.
"What makes you say that?" Alice asked.
"You know, like a sort of calm before the storm," Daiki answered.
"But there wasn't a storm," Celine replied, tilting her head.
"I mean it's like everything seems to be going well before something really bad happens," Daiki explained.
"I think you're being paranoid," Alice retorted.
"Really?" Daiki asked rhetorically. "Remember Orochi? The Religion of Crime?"
"OK, you got a point there," Alice conceded, unable to refute him after reviewing her memories. "But these psychics are locked up and the others are taking care of the rest right now. Pretty soon, Kyofu will be exposed and stopped."
"I sure hope you're right about that, Sis."
Showa Chronicles: Road to Annihilation
Act XVII: A Midsummer Night's Dream
Shinichi wandered through a dead city. After the disaster at his wedding, he tried to bring everyone back. Unfortunately, he could no longer reverse time and the temporal wave he released had spread quickly throughout the world. People, animals and trees all rapidly aged, decayed and turned to dust. Cars became rusty in seconds, and buildings that were brand new suddenly broke down into a state of disrepair.
"I'm...I'm so sorry..."
He collapsed to his knees and sobbed in anguish but there was nobody left to hear.
In reality, Shinichi stood frozen like a statue in the underground chamber, his entire body impaled by serrated blades that stuck out of the ground. He did not seem to be in pain but his eyes were glowing with a strange purple light and standing before him was Ultima Agito whose eyes glowed with the same hue as his.
Ultima Agito had not been defeated at all. What truly happened was...
Shinichi returned to human form and examined Kyofu who lay lifelessly in the crater. Suddenly, his body faded away like he was never there.
"Where'd he go!?" Shinichi wondered, panicking and then he received a vision.
It was a trap!
The warning came too late as, all of a sudden, multiple serrated blades burst from the ground around Shinichi's feet and impaled him from multiple angles, causing him to scream. Moments later, Ultima Agito reappeared like a ghost without a mark on him.
"You are just like your creator, BLACK 13, full of arrogance. You believe you had the upper hand but I was way beyond your league," Ultima Agito gloated. "Now, time to take your punishment."
Ultima Agito grabbed hold of Shinichi's head. It would be effortless for him to just blow his head right up. However, he had a much better punishment in mind for him. Since Gebok was no longer around, he would make due by making BLACK 13 suffer.
Ultima Agito's eyes glowed purple as he locked eyes with Shinichi, causing them to glow in the same hue as he screamed in horror.
When Shinichi and Dreigon had used their El Drago Cero, Ultima Agitlo had formed a psychic barrier to protect himself before he went invisible and left an illusion as a decoy. Once Shinichi had his guard down, Ultima Agito ambushed him. Now, Shinichi was trapped in his mind, experiencing his worst nightmare, while Ultima Agito used him as his personal punching bag.
"Not so tough now, are you, huh!?" Ultima Agito taunted as he punched Shinichi repeatedly in the face. "Look at you, all weak and powerless! A worthless piece of scrap just like I said you were!" He punched Shinichi nonstop, enjoying every second of it. He split his lips, knocked out some teeth, and bruises were beginning to form. And yet, Shinichi did not react at all. He did not even make a sound. "You're nothing! NOTHING!"
Ultima Agito could just kill Shinichi right now but he wanted to savour this just a bit longer. Then, and only then, would he permit him to die.
"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HIM!"
Suddenly, a flash of gold momentarily blinded Ultima Agito and a foot struck him in the face, sending him sailing across the chamber. He used his telekinesis to stop his involuntary flight to see what had hit him.
It was a woman with platinum blonde hair, dressed in a red and black uniform. Facing Shinichi, Satan held his face, trying to wake him up.
"Shinichi, c'mon, baby. Wake up," she pleaded but he was unresponsive. So focused on her beloved, she failed to notice Ultima Agito standing behind her with his claw poised to strike.
Suddenly, a blast of ice-cold flames struck Ultima Agito, trapping him in a block of ice. Ifrit (Saber Form) stepped forward before turning his gaze towards Shinichi and Satan.
"What are you doing here?" he asked the Demon Stake of Wrath.
"I rushed over when I sensed he was in danger," Satan answered. The Stakes each shared a bond with their chosen beloveds and Satan was no different. "What's wrong with him?"
"Kyofu mind-whammied him. We need to get him back to ARMOR and then call people to pick up this popsicle."
All of a sudden, Ultima Agito erupted from his icy prison, nearly blowing them away before grabbing them by the throats.
"YOU THINK MERE ICE WILL STOP ME!?" Ultima Agito roared as he slammed the two into the ground. The armoured Orphenoch yelled as he felt his bones break from the impact and Satan screamed as she tried to pry off Ultima's claws. "YOU WON'T STOP ME! NOBODY CAN STOP ME! SO JUST DIE ALREADY, YOU FILTHY FREAKS!"
"...Look who's talking," Ifrit spat.
"Why am I arguing with you?"Ultima Agito growled. "Forget it. I'm just going to lobotomize you."He sent a psychic blast into their brains. While naturally resistant to psychic assault, not even Ifrit could withstand the incredible force of Ultima Agito's telepathic blast as he began to scream in agony. Satan gritted her teeth as she tried to resist screaming; she would not give this bastard the satisfaction.
As Ultima Agito tortured his two latest victims, he felt rubble rain down on him. Confused, he looked up and that was when the ceiling suddenly exploded and Shinjiro dropped down. He smashed his fist into Ultima's barrier and the resulting shockwave shot him up into the air. He spun in midair before coming back down to throw another punch, followed by another and another. The mad scientist believed that his barrier would hold, but was shocked when Shinjiro's last punch shattered it completely. The shock caused him to release Ifrit and Satan. As Shinjiro landed, sliding back a few feet, Ultima Agito stared at him in shock.
"How... how can a normal human have that kind of strength?!" Ultima Agito demanded. "INCONCEIVABLE!"
"I'm not normal," Shinjiro said as he reached into his vest and pulled out a bony Driver with a buckle in the shape of a T-Rex's skull. Ifrit's eyes widened as he quickly recognized the Driver.
"No way..." he uttered.
"A Driver? So he's a...?" Satan questioned.
"I'm evolved." Shinjiro strapped the belt around his waist and slipped a crystal coin into the jaws of the T-Rex skull that made up his Driver. Instantly, the eye socket glowed deep red.
[TYRANNOSAURUS!]
A deep, throbbing sound that seemed to mirror the notes of a bass guitar rang from the belt as Shinjiro crossed his arms.
"Henshin!" he shouted before slamming his fist down on his Driver to snap the jaws shut.
[RAMPAGE!]
Shinjiro jumped and curled himself into a ball as a red egg enveloped his body. An image of the Tyrannosaurus Rex manifested on the egg and roared before it shattered.
[STALKING THE JUNGLES! RULING FROM THE TREES! TYRANNO MAX! GAAAOO~!]
Newly transformed, Kamen Rider Jura landed on the ground in a crouched position and slowly stood up as heatwaves burst from his body. The ice from Ifrit's attack quickly melted and evaporated as the temperature in the chamber rose in levels. Rolling his shoulders, Jura marched up to Ultima Agito as his fingers flexed. Ultra Agito showed no fear as he scoffed at the newest Rider.
"Oh-ho, so another one wishes to challenge me?"Ultima Agito laughed mockingly. "Just go ahead and try-"
*BAM!*
Ultima Agito was quickly silenced when Jura suddenly dashed straight at him and slammed his fist into his helmet, smashing the eyepieces. The impact actually twisted his neck as he flew a good distance away. He went tumbling through the air, and his vision spun as he crashed to the ground. He continued to tumble, carving a deep trench, his vision going blurry as he smashed through rocks. He screamed as a stalagmite pierced his arm and it broke off as he kept going until he finally slammed facedown against the wall. The force of the impact left an imprint and caused several stones to fall on him.
The Agito growled as he stood back up, ripping out the sharp stalagmite before giving off an angry shout as psychic energy exploded off him, blowing away the rubble and shooting the pieces at Jura. Before Jura could react, bullets of ice flames shot from behind him, freezing the rocks and shattering them instantly. Looking behind him, Jura saw Ifrit as he walked up next to him, flexing his arms after recovering from Ultima's torture. Satan had recovered just as quickly as she levitated at Jura's other side.
"When this is over, you and I are gonna have a little chat," Ifrit informed Jura.
"Hrrn. Noted," Jura nodded as Ifrit took out his Dyno Pass and swiped it across his belt.
[TYRANNO FORM!]
His black Saber Form armour vanished and was replaced by his white Tyranno Form armour. As the transformation finished, Ifrit converted his DynoGasher from Gun Mode to Sword Mode. Holding his sword in his right hand, he summoned the Liner Cross-Rod in his left.
Glaring at the two Riders and Satan, Ultima Agito summoned reinforcements, teleporting a squad of Bio-Breakers to his side.
"Get them!" he commanded and the Bio-Breakers charged, only to be stopped as Satan appeared, standing in their way. She slammed both of her boots into one of their faces, the dropkick sending him flying into the others and knocking them down like bowling pins.
"I'll take care of the mooks! Take the bastard down!" she yelled before she attacked another Bio-Breaker, making sure he regretted ever being born.
"Try to keep up, kid," Ifrit challenged and he took off, forming a path of ice under his feet. He slid along the slippery surface until he reached Ultima Agito. The Agito fixed up his neck and fired a psychic blast at Ifrit but he anticipated that as he jumped off the ice path. He flipped through the air before he spun and slashed Ultima Agito across the chest, knocking him back. The Agito threw a punch at Ifrit but he pivoted on his heel, dodging the blow before delivering a hard reverse roundhouse kick into Ultima Agito's kidney.
While Ultima was stunned, Jura threw his axe at the Agito, the weapon slashing him repeatedly as it soared past thrice. Ifrit delivered a rapid flurry of slashes before sending him flying with a powerful kick to the gut. As his axe came flying back to him like a boomerang, Jura jumped into the air and grabbed it, spinning himself into a summersault before swinging it down into Ultima Agito. He screamed as sparks burst from his body like a fountain of blood.
Recovering, Ultima Agito threw a telekinetic blast from his body to throw Jura off him. The Dino Rider tumbled through the air before he caught himself on a stalactite and swung around to fly back down at his target. Ultima Agito held up his hands, grabbing Jura in a telekinetic hold just as he was inches from his face. Jura's eyes flashed as his limbs struggled in the hold, shocking Ultima Agito as he tried to strengthen his psychic power.
"What...are you...?" Ultima Agito gritted out as he struggled to keep hold of Jura.
"ROAAAARRRRGHHHHHH!" A blazing aura exploded from Jura as he let out a monstrous roar, knocking Ultima Agito back in surprise. Landing on his feet, Jura crossed his arms over his head as blazing energy erupted from all corners of the chamber, drawing into him, and he fired an explosive blast at Ultima Agito, leaving him scorched.
"Jaws of Death!" Ifrit focused his Genki into his arms and thrust his hands forward, sending an energy blast that morphed into the shape of a T-Rex head. The jaws of the T-Rex head clamped shut around Ultima Agito, the teeth digging into his armour as he struggled to break free. Ifrit clasped his hands together, tightening the grip of the T-Rex jaws to make sure his enemy would not be able to break out of them before he shook Ultima Agito violently. The T-Rex head spat him out and he groaned in pain as he picked himself up. He screamed as hundreds of ice darts suddenly pierced his armour and froze each spot.
"The frost bites, doesn't it?" Ifrit quipped.
"And it's about to bite a lot more," Jura added as he fished out an icy blue crystal coin that had the image of an ankylosaurus on it. He slipped the coin into his belt, causing the eye socket to flash blue and red.
[ANKYLOSAURUS!]
Wordlessly, he bumped the jaws of his Driver. A huge spiritual energy construct of an ankylosaurus manifested in the air before landing on the ground with a loud thud, letting out a cry behind Jura. Ifrit could feel the temperature drop as the construct appeared. The construct then turned into energy that merged with Jura. Instead of changing his form, portions of his suit were altered. His wrist gauntlets turned ice blue with small spikes growing all over them. The same thing happened with his legs as ice-spiked greaves appeared. His back was covered with a spiked shell and his tail gained a spike clubbed at the tip. Finally, his eyes turned icy blue.
[DEEP FREEZE! ANKYLO BLIZZARD! GAAAOO~!]
"Heh, copycat," Ifrit snorted.
Meanwhile, Satan was fighting the Bio-Breakers. Though, calling it a fight would imply they stood a chance. It was a one-sided slaughter as her sword flashed, severing limbs and spilling blood. They fired psychic energy blasts at her but she bobbed and weaved between their attacks as she closed the distance to cut them down. As she destroyed the Bio-Breakers, all the stress from the wedding preparation began to ebb away. She needed this. Grinning like a maniac, she proceeded to finish the rest of them off.
Ultima Agito roared, sending out a psychic shockwave that shattered the ice forming on him. He then threw a set of spiked chains that ended in huge forks at them but Jura simply froze them solid with his ice breath and the brittle chains shattered. As the two Riders ran alongside each other, Ultima Agito attempted to stop them but they dodged his serrated blades as they popped out of the ground. Once they closed the gap between them and Ultima Agito, they delivered their attacks.
Infusing his weapons with Genki, Ifrit reached Ultima Agito first and slashed him before Jura went to knock him back with two swings from his axe. Their strikes left huge gashes across his chest as they spilt blood. As Ultima Agito regained his balance, both Jura and Ifrit fired their most powerful ice attacks; Jura released a blizzard-like breath as Ifrit fired a huge wave of ice flames at Ultima Agito. Ultima Agito screamed as he was consumed by the attacks which encased him in a giant block of ice, silencing him.
"That's fire so cold it burns," Ifrit hissed. He was impressed that they were able to beat this guy, and he did not even need to use his ultimate form.
Satan had already wrapped up as well, stabbing the last Bio-Breaker in the chest with her blade before knocking it down, watching in satisfaction as the body melted away. Feeling cathartic from the stress release, she banished her blade and walked towards both Riders. She stopped to admire the ice sculpture they just made.
"Will that hold him?" she asked.
"I added a bit more power in that blast and my ice can't be melted," Ifrit answered.
"Didn't seem unmeltable to my bio-energy," Jura quipped. Ifrit frowned behind his mask but didn't comment. Just before he was about to interrogate the younger Rider, Jura suddenly gasped and rushed back to Shinichi. "Tou-san!"
"'Tou-san'?" Ifrit parroted as Satan quickly followed.
After they defeated Ultima Agito, the blades holding Shinichi disintegrated and he lay in a pool of his blood. His time powers were already passively healing his injuries but it was a slow process without him conscious.
"Tou-san! Tou-san, wake up!" Jura yelled as he tried to shake Shinichi awake.
"That won't work," Ifrit told him. "Whatever that guy did to Shinichi, it's not something we can fix ourselves. We need to take him back to ARMOR so Warren can help him."
"Do we need to involve ARMOR?" Jura asked bitterly.
"Unless you have a powerful psychic on call..." Ifrit trailed off once he realised what he just said and facepalmed. "Oh yeah, we have a Martian."
"Or..." Satan looked at Ultima Agito's frozen form. "We can just kill him. That could wake him up."
"That could work," Ifrit agreed, glaring at Ultima Agito. "But he still needs to answer for his crimes."
"Yeah, sure. Let's take him back," Satan sighed. Killing Kyofu could end the threat he posed for good but it could also negatively impact the NEO-NUMBERS' reputation.
"Don't forget about our chat, Junior," Ifrit reminded Jura, "Now, let's call our people and tell them we've got Kyofu on ice." He turned his attention to Satan. "Can you do the same with the girls on your end?"
"I kinda rushed on my way here. Didn't think about bringing a communicator with me," Satan admitted in embarrassment.
"That's fine, you can call them after we return to base. Just stay with him for a bit while I make a call," Ifrit said, to which Satan nodded. He tapped the ARMOR communicator on his wrist to activate the holo-screen function, allowing him to contact Kotonoha. "Koto-chan."
"Ryuji-kun!" his wife smiled.
"Are you back at base?"
"Yes, we decided to return after you left to assist Shinichi-kun. We also grabbed Kyofu's computer."
"Good. We should be able to get a lot of info from it."
"How about you?"
"I got Kyofu on ice."
"So you killed him?"
"No," Ifrit frowned. "He's literally on ice. Something's wrong with Shinichi, though."
"What about Shinichi-kun? Is he OK?"
"Kyofu did some kind of mind-whammy on him and he's completely unresponsive." Ifrit looked at the Spirit Stone. "We'll need to call the containment specialists too."
At the same time, Jura was informing his team of the status of the mission.
"Kyofu has been subdued but he did something to Tou-san and now he's catatonic," Jura told them through his communicator.
"What happened?" Kaguya sounded calm, but there was a bit of an edge in her voice.
"It is likely caused by a telepathic attack."
"Shit, not good. Should we kill Kyofu? It might bring Oyaji out of the trance," Hiro spoke.
"Or he could stay stuck in it," Crow pointed out.
"Let's not become defeatists here. He could figure out a way to break out. He has done things like that before," Layna said.
"Unless Kyofu made sure he couldn't. Whatever Kyofu did to him, we need someone with psychic powers to help him, "Raheem noted.
"The Martian," Jura concluded.
"Exactly. She should be able to help break him out of his trance."
"Let's hope so. Kaa-chan won't be happy about this."
As the two Riders spoke with their respective teams, Ultima Agito remained frozen in ice. However, his eyes glowed ominously.
The infirmary was on the Hive Tower's fourth floor. It was a sterile room, with state-of-the-art medical equipment that was provided by ARMOR. Beds were set up, with four put up against the right wall and another four put up against the left.
Shinichi was lying in an infirmary bed, his entire body covered in bandages. He was still in a coma and hooked up to a computer to monitor his vitals. Everything appeared to be stable except for his erratic brain activity. Whatever Kyofu had done to him, they needed to help him get out of it.
Shinjiro and Satan sat at Shinichi's bedside, watching over him. Looking at his father, Shinjiro wished he could help him, but he lacked any psychic ability whatsoever. Satan felt helpless as she just watched her husband-to-be laying still. She could get Beatrice's help if she could, but even her magic lacked the power to undo psychic damage. All she could do was sulk, and she hated it.
"Damn it," she whispered bitterly. "You dummy. Why do you always have to push yourself like this?"
The infirmary door opened and Shiori rushed in, looking frantic.
"Shinji!" she cried as she saw her son lying in a coma.
"Shiori-sama," Satan said respectfully as she stood up.
"What happened? How did he get like this?" Shiori demanded, grabbing Satan's shoulders.
"Obaa-chan..." Shinjiro murmured but Shiori heard him.
"I'm sorry, but who are you?" the author asked.
"Uh..." he looked hesitantly, wondering if it was a good idea to tell her the truth. His father - her son - was in a coma and it did not seem like a good time to reveal something so shocking. "...a friend."
"I see," Shiori nodded. "Then you must work for ARMOR."
"...Something like that. I was sent here to help."
"What happened? Who did this to him?"
"It was Kyofu."
"Warren, this is Ryuji," Ryuji stated as he called Warren on his communicator. After putting Shinichi in the infirmary, he went to the command centre to make a call.
"OK, talk to me," Warren responded from the holographic screen and he immediately noticed the grim look on his Chief of Security's face. "Ryuji, what happened?"
"We captured Kyofu and he's currently on ice in a holding cell," Ryuji reported. "We've also secured the Spirit Stone but we're still trying to figure out how to transport it back with us."
"Why can't you have it teleported over?" Warren asked.
"There's a strange force field around the damn thing that won't let us get near it," Ryuji answered with a scowl. Recovering anomalous items could never be easy, could it? "And that's just the good news."
"What's the bad news?"
"The professor did something to Shinichi and now he's in a coma." Ryuji watched as Warren's frown deepened and he sighed. "When can you get here to help him?"
"At the moment, I'm tied up handling a different crisis that needs my attention," Warren said apologetically. "A variant of Ultron is trying to bypass his universe and start a Multiversal omnicide. ARMOR's gonna need a lot of manpower to deal with that."
"Warren, what the hell?" Ryuji growled, annoyed. "You know this is why he holds no love for you and has the habit of doing things by himself, right? What happened to 'taking responsibility'?"
"Yes, I know," Warren regretfully admitted. "That's why I sent Lucy in the first place. Shinichi will understand that the Multiverse needs ARMOR right now and I gotta lead the charge."
"Fine," Ryuji spat. "I'll watch over him but get your butt over here as soon as you kick Ultron's shiny metal ass." He cut the call and leaned against the wall, beating the back of his head against it. He knew Warren cared about his family but his duties and responsibilities often took him away from them. With his older children, he was a bit more hands-off, letting them handle things their way. In his way, it was allowing them some measure of independence. It showed that he had faith in them. But, as a father himself, Ryuji could never abandon his children.
The Teleportal in the command centre activated and Ryuji watched as a group of four women stepped out of the portal. Rena was in the lead, with a look that was a mix of anger and fury.
"Where is he?" she demanded.
"Son of a bitch!" Warren cursed angrily after Ryuji ended the call. He really wished he could go over there and help his son but his responsibilities to ARMOR and the Multiverse demanded his attention. Any variant of Ultron was dangerous, but this one possessed the power of all six Infinity Stones which made him a threat to the whole Multiverse. He had already wiped out all life in his universe and had now set his sights on other universes. Warren could not allow the omnicidal android to wipe out all reality in his twisted campaign of achieving absolute peace and order.
To leave Shinichi like this, however, left a bitter taste in Warren's mouth. It was like when he could not simply go back in time to rescue Shinichi from Gebok. He only learned later that Shinichi being kidnapped by Gebok was a fixed point in time. It was meant to always happen and it was Shinichi's destiny to become a Kamen Rider so there was no changing that. Since it was a fixed point in time, any attempt to alter the course of history would have disastrous consequences.
Shinichi had told him how Viviana Eisenberg had gone back in time and killed his mother before he was born, creating a timeline where GIN-SHOCKER ruled the world. However, this caused a paradox and the timeline was unstable. It would have eventually collapsed and destroyed the whole universe. Fortunately, Shinichi was able to defeat Viviana and restore the timeline.
"Sir, everything's ready," an agent reported to Warren.
"Alright," Warren said as he grabbed his coat. "Time to save the Multiverse." He would need to have faith in Shinichi. His son was strong and he could take care of himself. Right now, he was going to make Ultron pay for even thinking of threatening the Multiverse. 'Just hang on, Shin.'
The infirmary door opened as Rena ran in, followed by Tsukuyomi, Lum, and Shawna.
"Shin-kun!"
"Darling!"
"Sir Shinichi!"
"Shinichi-sama!"
Ryuji followed from behind, not even attempting to stop them. He was not stupid.
"Rena-chan," Shiori went and hugged her daughter-in-law.
"We came as soon as we heard," Rena replied. "How is he?"
"He's stable," Shinjiro answered and Rena gasped when she saw him.
"Shinjiro!"
"Huh?" Shawna blinked. "Little Shinjiro?"
"Wait, did you call him 'Shinjiro'?" Shiori questioned Rena and then she looked back at him. "Why does he have the same name as my grandson..." And it finally dawned on her. "...You're my grandson from the future, aren't you?"
"Hi, Obaa-chan," Shinjiro waved awkwardly. "Sorry for lying to you. I didn't want to surprise you too much."
"It's OK, Shinjiro," Shiori smiled. "I've seen too much to be surprised by grandchildren from the future."
"Is he going to be alright?" Shawna asked, looking at Shinichi worriedly.
"Don't worry, Princess," Ryuji said. "He's a tough motherfucker."
"Have you contacted Jii-chan?" Shinjiro asked.
"You mean Warren?" Ryuji huffed. "Says he's too busy."
"Too busy for his own son!?" Shiori snapped. "And he dares call himself a father?!"
"Sorry," Ryuji sighed. "I didn't mean it like that. Right now, he's dealing with something that's threatening all of existence. You know he's got the whole Multiverse to protect."
"I know," Shiori sighed as she hugged herself. "I just wished he was here."
"Yeah, me too," Ryuji agreed. "And I know he'd much rather be here to help Shinichi than dealing with a killer robot." Ryuji turned to address Shinjiro. "Yo, Dino Kid. Come outside with me."
"It was nice to see you again, Kaa-chan, everybody," Shinjiro smiled at his mother before he followed Ryuji out. The door closed behind them as they stepped out of the infirmary.
"So, now that we're here, can you tell me why you were scavenging for tech at one of Gebok's old bases?" Ryuji asked Shinjiro.
"Are you seriously interrogating me right now?" Shinjiro asked, annoyed at Ryuji's lack of tact.
"No time like the present," Ryuji shrugged. "Besides, I don't know when we'll run into each other again and I don't want to have to chase you down."
"If that's the case..." Shinjiro sighed as he leaned against the wall. "I guess you can say I was working on a... Father's Day gift."
"Oh," Ryuji raised an eyebrow. "For him in your time? You know, I'm curious about what he's like in the future. I bet you have some stories growing up with him as your dad."
"Tou-san is..." Shinjiro paused, trying to find the right words until one passed through his lips. "...Spoilers."
"Dammit," Ryuji cursed under his breath. "That stupid word again. Can't talk too much about the future. I get ya. So it's pretty obvious at this point but this means you aren't trying to revive GIN-SHOCKER or something like that, right?"
"Hell, no," Shinjiro frowned, "An organisation like GIN-SHOCKER should stay buried. I already have issues with mad scientists, bio-terrorists, and lost super civilizations going on back home."
'Lost super civilizations? That's news to me,' Ryuji thought to himself, wondering what was going on with this world's future. "Well, since you're a Kamen Rider, I'm sure you got things handled. Your dad's probably proud of you for walking in his footsteps."
"When will Auntie Megan be back?" Shinjiro asked, abruptly changing the subject. "Tou-san needs help."
"Not sure. Last I heard, she and her team found something in Mexico," Ryuji said. The door of the infirmary opened and Lum came running out in a panic.
"The computer! Darling! Something's happening!" she cried. Ryuji and Shinjiro entered and heard the computer beeping rapidly. While monitoring his vitals, the screen showed his heart rate suddenly spiking. All of a sudden, Shinichi began to violently convulse in bed, with a look of agony on his face.
"Hold him down!" Ryuji ordered as he put his hands on Shinichi's shoulders to pin him down to the bed, lest he accidentally hurt himself and/or others. After a moment, the convulsions passed as his heart rate stabilised. However, there was a spike in brain activity. "What the fuck was that?"
"What happened?" Tsukuyomi questioned.
"Kyofu did not just put him in a coma," Shinjiro said grimly. "I think he did something to Tou-san's mind. If we don't wake Tou-san up soon, he could die."
"Die!?" Shawna gasped.
"Damn," Ryuji realised how dire the situation was. He was very familiar with psychics and how powerful they could become. Some could leave a lingering presence in their victim's minds that would eventually kill them.
His sister, Kat, could do something similar.
"We need to kill Kyofu," Satan decided as she made her way to the door. "That way, we can break his hold on Shinichi and wake him up." Ryuji grabbed her arm, stopping her march. "Let me go!"
"If you kill Kyofu, you might kill Shinichi too," Ryuji objected. "Even if there's a small chance that he survives, he could end up brain dead."
"You don't know that!" Satan yelled, tearing her arm out of Ryuji's grasp.
"Exactly. None of us knows what could happen," Ryuji said firmly. "It's too risky."
"But if we let this continue, he could die anyway! What are we supposed to do then!?" Satan demanded.
"When Miss Martian gets back, she can help Shinichi. Until then, you need to be patient," Ryuji said calmly. He could see the look in Satan's eyes, the desperation and desire to save a loved one. That sort of desperation could drive someone to do drastic things, and Satan looked ready to kill Kyofu in the hopes of saving her lover.
"I hope you're right," Satan said softly. She hated feeling useless and that made her angry.
Ryuji's communicator went off and he answered.
"Hello?"
"Ryuji-kun, could you come down to the tech lab?" Kotonoha requested.
"Have you found something on Kyofu's computer?" Ryuji asked.
"Yes, and we think you might want to see this."
"I'll be right there," Ryuji said before he cut the call. He glanced over at Shinichi. "You better hang on, kid."
The tech lab was located on the same floor as the command centre. There was a circular table in the centre of the room and desks set up against the wall in a circular formation. Multiple large computer screens were set up on the wall. The doors slid open and Ryuji stepped inside to see Lucy and Kotonoha working on Kyofu's Cyberdeck in the middle of the room.
"So, did you guys manage to hack into this thing?" Ryuji asked.
"Sheila helped," Lucy pointed to one of the large monitors which showed the AI's digital avatar.
"It was a rather simple password," Sheila answered. "'H8GEBOK4LIFE'."
"Guy can sure hold a grudge," Ryuji muttered as he looked at the screen. "So, find anything that can help us disarm those bombs?"
"Yes," Lucy hissed. "But you might not like it."
"What is it?" Ryuji asked.
"The nanobombs are linked to a technopath and only he can safely disarm them," Lucy answered.
"It's never simple, is it?" Ryuji grumbled.
"The nanobombs are small and it would take a very skilled surgeon with very precise hands to remove them safely," Kotonoha said. "But any tampering could set them off."
"So, why not just set them off?" Ryuji suggested. "Shinichi can just bring them back."
"Yes, but shouldn't we at least try not to blow people's brains up?" Lucy argued. "One of them is just a kid."
"Fine, let's keep digging," Ryuji said. "Maybe we can find something else we can use."
None of the brides, Shinjiro or Shiori dared to leave Shinichi's side as they quietly kept watch over him. Seeing him like this reminded Shiori and Rena of when he got hurt during his hunt for Gebok. ARMOR managed to recover him, but he had lost his limbs and his Spark Core, which left him barely alive. Fortunately, ARMOR was able to give him new limbs and Shiori miraculously had a replacement Spark Core for her son.
The silence was awkward so Shiori decided to say something.
"So...how is the wedding prep, girls?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood.
"It's doing well, Madame Shiori," Shawna answered. "Though, if Sir Shinichi does not recover, we may not have a wedding."
"Right," Shiori flinched, realising it was a sensitive topic.
"Do people dream while they're in comas?" Lum wondered.
"They do," Shinjiro answered. "Some people dream about their ideal life while in a coma. It's what keeps them going."
"Do you think Darling is having a good dream?"
Satan had her arms crossed with an angry scowl. She hated standing around doing nothing and it was causing her to grow more and more frustrated and impatient until she finally had enough.
"What are we doing standing around here!?" Satan demanded furiously. "The guy who put him in that coma is in a holding cell right now frozen stiff! He can't do anything now so let's just kill him!"
"That would be unwise," Tsukuyomi objected. "You heard what Chief Katsura said. We don't know what could happen if we killed Kyofu. We could wake Shinichi-sama up but there's an equal chance he'll never awake again."
Satan hated feeling helpless. She was a woman of action, and just standing around, hoping for the best was not her way of dealing with things. She just wanted to kill Kyofu to avenge Shinichi but the idea that Shinichi may never wake up overrode her desire for bloody revenge.
Rena was silent, playing with the magatama that hung from her neck. Normally, she would be the first to agree with Satan but she needed to maintain her composure. Like Satan, she wanted to punish Kyofu for hurting Shinichi. However, if that ended up hurting Shinichi too, then what was the point?
"I...I have to go," Shiori said hesitantly as she excused herself. "I need to check up on Tatsuyoshi-kun and Sho-chan and tell them how Shinji is doing."
"Alright," Rena nodded. "We'll be here."
"Thank you for being here for him," Shiori said gratefully. She went and hugged each of them before she headed out the door.
Moments later, Hana, Megan and Cryska entered the infirmary. Inia was wrapped in a spider silk cocoon that was being carried by Cryska.
"Put her here," Hana pointed to one of the empty beds and Cryska gently lay her sister down on it. Hana dissolved her webbing before putting restraints around Inia's wrists and ankles. The girl also had a power inhibitor collar on.
"Is this really necessary?" Cryska asked as Hana secured the restraints.
"Kyofu held her hostage for a long time. He could have had her brainwashed too," Hana answered cautiously. Cryska wanted to protest but held her tongue. Knowing Kyofu, he would be the kind of person to plant a suggestion in her sister's mind, turning her into a sleeper agent.
"Don't worry, I'll do everything I can to help her," Megan promised.
"But we still need to keep her sedated and restrained," Hana added calmly. "For her own and everyone else's safety."
"Aunt Megan?"
Megan turned around to see a young man standing in the infirmary with them. He was not alone either as there was Rena, Shawna, Satan, Tsukuyomi and Lum with him as well.
"Sorry, didn't notice you there," Megan apologized but then what he had called her finally registered. "Wait, did you call me 'Aunt Megan'?"
"Yes," Shinjiro confirmed.
"Then you must be Shinichi's son from the future," Megan concluded.
"And what are you all doing here?" Michiru asked the brides. "Don't you have a wedding to prepare for?"
Shinjiro pointed to Shinichi's bed and Hana immediately went to check on him.
"What happened?" Hana asked.
"Tou-san confronted Kyofu by himself," Shinjiro answered, feeling helpless. "He put him in a coma and he did something to his mind that might be killing him. Now, we need Aunt Megan's help to get him out of it."
"Please, can you save him?" Shawna pleaded with Megan.
"Cryska, is it OK if I helped Shinichi first?" Megan asked.
Cryska looked at Shinichi's comatose state. As much as she wanted Megan to help her sister first, she knew saving Shinichi's life took priority.
"Yes, sure," Cryska allowed.
"Alright, everyone, please give me room," Megan instructed and everyone stepped back. She put her hands on Shinichi's temples and focused as her eyes glowed red.
Megan found herself standing in the middle of a church. All the pews were covered in piles of dust and it was completely silent. Looking ahead, she found Shinichi kneeling at the altar, sobbing. She also sensed overpowering feelings of guilt and despair that were almost suffocating coming from him.
"Shinichi!" Megan cried as she ran to him. When she reached him, she saw that he had a thousand-yard stare and a haunted expression on his face. He did not seem to hear her nor acknowledge her presence. "Shinichi, I'm here to get you out!" He did not respond to her. "Shinichi, can you hear me?" She reached out to touch his shoulder but her hand just passed through him like she was a ghost. "Huh?" She did not remember activating her density shifting here. "Shinichi?"
"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." he uttered. Suddenly, there was a flash and Megan found herself watching a wedding.
"Huh?" the Martian blinked in confusion as she saw the seats filled with people. She also saw Shinichi standing at the altar with his brides.
"Do you take these women as your brides?" the head priest said to Shinichi.
"I do," Shinichi stated firmly. "I do, I do, I do, and I do."
"You know you only need to say it once," the head priest whispered. Megan could not help but chuckle at that.
"They each deserve an answer," Shinichi reasoned, shrugging.
"How sweet," Megan remarked.
"You may now kiss your brides," the head priest permitted. Megan watched as Shinichi shared a kiss with each of his brides. It appeared to be a beautiful moment...until it all went to hell.
"OH, MY GOD!" Megan screamed as she watched the brides age and decay rapidly until they turned into piles of dust.
"YOU MONSTER, YOU KILLED MY DAUGHTER!"
"I'M GOING TO SPLATTER YOUR GUTS!"
Megan watched as the joyous occasion turned into utter chaos as everyone screamed and cursed at Shinichi. He looked distraught and confused as everyone turned on him.
"Wait, I can fix this! Let me fix this!" Shinichi pleaded and Megan felt a wave of energy pass over her. She was not affected, but everyone else was until they were all turned to dust, leaving the two of them alone.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Shinichi screamed as he fell to his knees. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..."
"Shinichi!" Megan cried and there was a flash again as the entire scene replayed itself. "Shit."
As she watched the wedding play out again, she decided to leave Shinichi's mindscape. If she was going to save him, she was going to need help.
"A nightmare loop?" Satan questioned after Megan finished explaining everything.
"Like a recurring nightmare, it's when someone repeats the same nightmare over and over. It happens to trauma patients. They keep experiencing their worst moments played on repeat," Megan explained.
"But the dream just resets without him remembering any of it, right?" Shawna asked.
"It would be alright if that was it but I sensed a bit of his psyche eroding when the nightmare looped back again. This loop will repeat until the strain kills him," Megan explained.
"Is there a way to get him out of it?" Tsukuyomi questioned.
"Yes, but I'm going to need all your help," Megan said, gazing seriously at Shinichi's brides. "All of you share a bond with Shinichi so with your help, I should be able to break Kyofu's hold on him."
"Let's do it then," Rena said.
"Wait, I'll have to warn you that it could be dangerous," Megan warned.
"Like, if we die in his nightmare, we die for real?" Lum asked.
"Worse." Megan allowed that to sink in for a moment. "Alright, so what you need to do is to close your eyes and concentrate. I'll connect all your minds. Remember to focus on Shinichi." They all did as told, holding hands as they focused on Shinichi.
Everyone expected something, anything to happen to indicate the transition from the physical plane to the mental: a flash of light, a pulling sensation, something to let them know that they left their physical bodies for the mental landscape. Martian mental techniques were not so obvious, however, and Megan had been training and refining them for many, many years.
Instead, Megan and Shinichi's brides simply opened their eyes and found themselves standing in the middle of a ruined and lifeless city. The buildings were all decayed and it was a complete wasteland with no signs of life. Not only that, they felt an overpowering sense of guilt and despair that was almost suffocating.
"I thought you said he would be experiencing our wedding day," Rena said.
"Yes, but something's changed," Megan answered worriedly as it appeared the nightmare was getting worse.
"What is this place?" Lum questioned, looking at the wasteland.
"It feels lifeless and empty," Tsukuyomi observed.
"This is Shinichi's mindscape," Megan answered. "And it looks almost completely broken down. C'mon, we need to find him."
Using her telekinesis, Megan levitated the brides and they all flew in the air to find Shinichi. With a bird's-eye view, they should be able to find him more easily.
The city was like a ghost town. It was completely lifeless and silent, with nobody in sight. It was so eerie but they persevered. Shinichi was in here, somewhere, and suffering from whatever mental torture Kyofu was putting him through. This ruined city reflected Shinichi's psyche being broken down.
"Shin-kun, where are you?"
"Hey, Shinichi!"
"Shinichi-sama, answer me!"
"Sir Shinichi! Please, if you can hear my voice, please respond!"
"Shinichi, you better answer me right now!"
"Shinichi! Shinichi, can you hear me?"
"Look!" Lum pointed at the ground. "Down there! I think I see him!"
Megan nodded and they all floated down to where Shinichi was. He was on his knees, with a thousand-yard stare and a haunted expression on his face.
"Shinichi, we're here to get you out," Megan said as she landed beside him.
"I...I did all this...I'm so sorry..."
"Shinichi, can't you hear me?" Megan questioned but he did not respond. "None of this is real! Shinichi!"
"All I do...is destroy..."
"No, that isn't true!" Megan protested. "You're a hero! You saved the world!"
"All of them are dead because of me!"
"No, they're still alive!"
"I don't...deserve to live..." Shinichi summoned a sword and held it against his heart. "I should just end this now."
"NO!" Rena screamed and all of a sudden her body lit up with a white aura. "Shin-kun, listen to me! This isn't real and none of it was your fault!" He did not seem to hear her. "You are not a bad person! You've got a good heart! Yes, you did bad things in your past but none of it was your fault! Don't blame yourself when it was never your choice! You didn't choose to become a weapon but you chose to be a hero! You regret your past but you made peace with it and moved on! You have a family that's waiting for you! So, please, listen to me and wake up!"
That seemed to wake Shinichi up as he heard her voice.
"...Rena-chan?"
"It's working..." Megan observed as Shinichi started to wake up. "Everyone, keep going!"
"Mr. Samurai, when we met you saved my life and you became my friend. You did not care that I was a princess. You simply wanted to be my friend. You are kind and just and that is why I fell in love with you," Shawna confessed as she glowed with a gold aura, one that Shinichi registered.
"...Shawna-chan?"
"I took an interest in you because of your fury but the more I got to know you, the more I saw there was something more. You have a righteous heart, one that would avenge those harmed by evil. I admire how you would never rest until evil was punished. So don't let this evil win!" Satan admitted as her body glowed with a red aura.
"...Satie-chan?"
"You have the heart of a warrior and despite the pain of your past, you never let that stop you from fighting for a world that may not fully accept you. Other warriors may fall and lose their will to fight because of such rejection, but you keep fighting. You persevere. And I'm honoured to be your bride and the mother of our child," Tsukuyomi spoke as s silver aura glowed around her.
"...Tsuki-chan?"
"Darling, when I met you it was love at first sight. I saw how strong you were but that wasn't all you had. You're not just strong, you're also kind and that is what I love about you," Lum smiled as her body glowed with a yellow aura.
"...Lum-chan?"
Shinichi's vision blurred and then she saw five glowing figures before they each became his five brides.
"You're all here...and alive?" Shinichi asked. "...Have I already lost my mind?"
"No, you haven't," Megan answered as he finally saw them.
"We came to save you," Rena said as she offered him her hand and he took it as she helped him up.
"Save me?" Shinichi scoffed. "Why? There is no saving me. There's no saving anything. I destroyed the world."
"No, you didn't," Megan rebutted. "Haven't you realized it yet? All this is just in your head."
"Wait, what?" Shinichi gawked at her. "What are you saying?"
"Explain how we're still alive," Rena challenged. Shinichi could not come up with an answer.
"Kyofu put you in a coma and trapped you in a nightmare loop so you could experience your greatest fear on repeat," Megan explained. "He probably plans to drive you crazy and make you kill yourself in here so your body will die out there."
"That son of a bitch," Shinichi growled. All of a sudden, they heard what sounded like a swarm of a million chirping cicadas surrounding them. The entire dead city vanished and they found themselves standing in the middle of a lush and beautiful field. Then, the field changed into a replica of Hinamizawa and they stood in front of the Furude family shrine.
"What happened?" Lum asked.
"You realised this wasn't real," Chronan said as he appeared before them. "And that realisation allowed you to restore your mindscape."
"Chronan," Shinichi smiled when he saw him.
"Shin-kun, who's he?" Rena asked.
"And why does he look like you?" Lum added.
"Girls, this is Chronicle Angel," Shinichi introduced. "He's basically the personification of my time powers. You can call him 'Chronan' for short."
"It is good to meet you all," Chronan bowed politely.
"We've been trying to reach you all this time but the bastard was clever," St. George explained as he appeared next. "Sorry that we couldn't help you when it happened, lad. Fortunately, Lady Megan and your beloved brides were able to snap you out of it."
"'Lady Megan'?" Megan blushed bashfully, smiling as she cupped her cheeks. "Oh wow, that's a first."
"Wait," Shawna blinked as she saw St. George, finding him familiar. "You're St. George, aren't you?"
"Indeed, Your Highness," St. George bowed. "Since the day the lad drew the sword, I have been with him, fighting as part of him."
"Alright, so we've saved Shinichi," Satan said. "Does that mean it's over?"
"Not quite, I'm afraid," St. George frowned.
"Professor Kyofu did not just put Shinichi in a nightmare loop. He left something behind," Chronan added.
Suddenly, they felt a cold, malicious and oppressive force as a dark figure emerged from the ground. Finally, it revealed itself to be Ultima Agito.
"Yes, and I would've gotten away with it too!" Ultima Agito said as he glared hatefully at them all. "If it wasn't for those meddling women!"
"Kyofu," Shinichi growled.
"You bastard!" Satan growled.
"I looked into your mind, BLACK 13! You abandoned the village you swore to protect! You gave up being a hero twice, leaving the world without order! Your countless foolishness caused chaos to those around you! Do you really think a broken, obsolete, piece of garbage like you has any chance of stopping me!?" Ultima Agito yelled.
"You're right, Kyofu. I was broken. Broken down by my sins, broken down by the blood on my hands, broken down by every person I killed and failed to save. But my friends, my family, the people I love, they helped to put me back together," Shinichi retorted. "And now I'm going to break you." His Spark Core appeared as he moved his arms to perform his transformation pose. "Henshin!"
Yabuki, Gokuaku and Zennin appeared as Shinichi spread his arms, calling on the power of his Shikigami to all merge with him. Turning into energy, they enveloped him, forming a cloak that covered his body as he grew to a gigantic height before dispersing revealing his new armour and crimson cape. A crimson scalemail bodysuit covered his body with golden plate armour to cover his torso and limbs. The chestplate had a big red X on it with three slash marks that ran vertically across it. His left pauldron resembled a dragon's head while his right pauldron resembled an Oni's skull. His gauntlets resembled the Shield of Glen while his golden greaves grew spikes along the shins with the toes ending in sharp claws. Golden faulds hung from his belt to form skirt armour. Armoured plating covered the back of his hands and fingers. Finally, his helmet formed, with winged frills on the side, a head crest in the shape of a large 'V', and a blue visor that fell over the compound eyepieces. His cape spread, forming draconic wings as he wielded the Sword of Ascalon and the Higurashi no Yaiba.
"Holy shit!" Megan cried. She and the brides were stunned speechless by this transformation. While they were familiar with his ability to use Kamen Rider J's powers to become gigantic, this was the first time he had assumed a different gigantic form. But this was Shinichi's mind so anything was possible.
"Saiba Kyofu, you have taken upon yourself to play god and toy with the lives of innocents," Giant Showa declared. "Prepare yourself. Your judgement day has come." Giant Showa raised his foot and brought it down on Ultima Agito, crushing him. It seemed like it was over but then Giant Showa lost his balance and fell backwards as Ultima Agito also began to grow to a gigantic height.
"You think a stupid puppet like you can match the likes of me?!" Ultima Agito snarled as Giant Showa picked himself up. "You fool, you are in MY world! The realm of the subconscious is where I can do whatever I want! If I can't get your mind to break then I'll just tear apart your mind with my bare hands!"
Ultima Agito charged right at Giant Showa and threw a punch. At the same time, Giant Showa swung and their fists connected, releasing a shockwave that nearly blew their audience away. They went back and forth, exchanging punches until they ended up grappling with each other. They appeared evenly matched but it would all come down to who had the greater will.
"Mental Shock!" Ultima Agito roared as he fired a laser from his forehead gem that shot Giant Showa in the face, causing them to break apart. Ultima Agito didn't stop as he charged in with both hands glowing with psychic power, and began to pummel Giant Showa left and right, forcing him on the defensive as he raised his forearms to shield himself. "Destiny triumphs over human wisdom in a mad, uncontrollable arc! As though it was always meant to be! The present becomes the past in the span of an instant! Every man will one day die!"
"Darling!" Lum cried.
"C'mon, Shinichi! Don't let him win!" Satan shouted.
"Shin-kun, you can do this! Fight!" Rena cheered.
Giant Showa caught Ultima Agito's fist before it connected with his head again. Ultima Agito tried to throw another punch, but it was caught too. Holding Ultima Agito in place, Giant Showa blasted him with dragonfire. Ultima recoiled in pain as the flames engulfed his body before he put them out with a psychic wave. He fired an energy beam from his forehead but Giant Showa vanished in a blink of blue cicadas, avoiding it.
"To the last, I curse everything about this universe!" Ultima Agito roared, brushing the flames from his body as twin energy blades appeared in both hands. He scanned his surroundings for Giant Showa until he spotted Megan and the brides, giving him a wonderful, terrible idea. He fired a blast of energy from his eyes to destroy them and, as expected, Giant Showa immediately reappeared and blocked the beam. Ultima Agito capitalised on this by stabbing him in the chest.
"ARGH!"
"I curse the second law of thermodynamics!"
Ultima Agito withdrew his blades to deliver another strike but missed as Giant Showa burst into a cloud of cicadas again. Giant Showa then reappeared behind him and delivered a roundhouse kick. Ultima Agito staggered from the blow and spun around to slash with his blades but Giant Showa raised his hands and caught them with energy barriers before he crushed them in his hands to shatter them. He then grabbed hold of Ultima Agito's head and pulled it down to drive his face into his knee. As Ultima Agito recoiled from the blow, Giant Showa blasted him with lightning, electrocuting him, before punching him in the chest, sending him tumbling backwards.
With a yell of fury, Ultima Agito stood up and charged at Giant Showa who summoned weapons to his hands. In his left hand was a giant copy of Rena's cleaver and he slashed Ultima Agito across the chest, spilling his blood as he ran past. Then his right arm glowed and he now wielded Satan's light sword. Ultima Agito spun around and fired a beam at Giant Showa who cleaved it in half with his light sword. He powered through the cleaved beam and then slashed Agito from hip to shoulder with his own version of Tsukuyomi's katana.
Ultima Agito staggered back as he tried to heal his wounds but Giant Showa did not give him a chance as he raised his arms above his head, holding the Sword of Ascalon.
"As broken as it is, this is still my mind and there's no way in hell I'm letting anyone mess with it again," Giant Showa growled. "NOW GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"
Giant Showa delivered an overhead swing and sliced Ultima Agito straight down the middle in half. As both halves of Ultima Agito were severed, countless cracks spread all over his body before he shattered like glass. As Megan and the brides cheered, each shard dissolved into motes of light as Kyofu's presence was banished from Shinichi's mind.
And with that, the entire world turned white as everything was consumed by light.
Shinichi's eyes slowly opened as Megan and the brides gasped. The Martian staggered slightly, leaning against the wall for support.
"Are you OK?" Cryska asked Megan.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Megan nodded, feeling woozy as she rubbed her temples. "Oh, I'm gonna need a chocolate milkshake for this headache."
"Shinichi, can you hear me?" Hana asked as she checked on him.
"Yeah," Shinichi answered as he sat up and scanned the infirmary to see Megan and his brides. "I had such a weird dream. You were all in it."
"That was no dream," Megan corrected and Shinichi realized that was true.
"Thanks, Megan," Shinichi said gratefully to the Martian.
"No need to thank me," Megan said humbly. "We're family after all and I wasn't the only one that helped."
Shinichi looked over to his brides and smiled at them, giving them a grateful nod.
"Thank you all," he said. "You saved me."
"Nah, you saved yourself," Satan said humbly. "We just helped you a little."
"I was so scared, Darling!" Lum cried as she hugged Shinichi tightly. Rena pulled her off and embraced her husband. He returned the hug but she leaned into his ear to whisper something.
"Don't you ever keep anything from us again," Rena warned and Shinichi gulped as she released him. She wore a gentle smile but he knew that was just a facade. She was still mad at him but also relieved to see that he was alright.
"Hey, Shinjiro. Nice to see you again," Shinichi said as soon as he spotted his son from the future, not at all surprised to see him.
"It's good to see you too, Tou-san," Shinjiro returned.
Shinichi's eyes then locked with Cryska's. He remembered her from the previous timeline.
"You're Cryska Barchenowa," he identified.
"And you're BLACK 13," Cryska returned. "...or at least, you used to be."
Shinichi remembered her and how she held a grudge against them all for what happened in the past. She had lost her parents that day. She deserved to have some closure.
"Cryska, I'm sorry for what happened to your parents," Shinichi apologised. "I'm sorry for what we did."
Cryska just stared at Shinichi and saw how remorseful he was. In the past, before she joined Kyofu, she would have just brushed it off as her grudge would not allow her to accept his apology. However, recent events made her question her beliefs.
"I hated you all," Cryska admitted. "Ever since that day, I wondered what kind of monsters could kill without remorse. I wanted to know who you were so I could get revenge for myself and my sister. When your identities were revealed, I was honestly shocked but I still hated you all. So, I joined Kyofu. I thought he could help my sister and me get our revenge so we could have closure but he was just using us. Then I learned more about what GIN-SHOCKER put you through and I realised you were victims too. Kyofu would not shut up about you at all. He complained about how his project was overlooked in favour of Gebok's Project NUMBERS. He talked about how you were taken as kids and altered by GIN-SHOCKER and forced to become their weapons. It just made me sick. You may have killed my parents, but it's like blaming a gun for murder when it's the one who pulled the trigger that is guilty. GIN-SHOCKER killed my parents, not you." Cryska sighed. "What I'm trying to say is that I forgive you and it's time I made peace with what happened because my fate is already sealed."
"I assume you mean the nanobomb that Kyofu implanted in you," Shinichi guessed, catching Cryska by surprise.
"You know of them?" she asked.
"We're working on trying to disarm them," Shinichi answered. "And even if you blow up, I'll revive you. Kyofu'll be none the wiser."
"Seriously?" Cryska gasped.
"Your friends C and K are still here," Shinichi told her. "You can go visit them and they'll tell you all about it."
Sado packed what she could carry and once her bag was full, she slung it over her shoulder. She could not shake off the feeling that something was wrong. Several members of their team were now MIA and she also heard that Kyofu was growing increasingly unstable. She realised that it might just be time to ditch this place. It was not like she volunteered after all. She got caught when tried to pull a heist on one of the BTS' facilities two years ago. Kyofu gave her one of two choices: one, she could either join his new Alpha Force or two, take the second option which was something she refused to think about. So, she wisely took the first option.
As much as she enjoyed the challenge as a thief, she did not like taking unnecessary risks. This war with the NUMBERS would only cause them more harm than good. Unfortunately for her, Kyofu would not listen as he was too obsessed with accomplishing his plans and proving his superiority over the late Dr. Gebok.
"Adios, Brain Trust Society!" she declared as she stepped out the door only to run into B.
"And what do you think you're doing, Weapon T?" B demanded.
"What does it look like?" she responded rudely. "I'm leaving. This whole operation has gone FUBAR. Most of our team is missing and Kyofu has gone nuts. The only choice now is to leave before he drags us down with him." She then shoved past him and walked down the hallway.
"Leaving is not an option, T," B said and his eyes flashed.
"ARRGH!" Sado screamed, dropping her bag as she clenched her head from the intense pain that suddenly exploded in her skull. She collapsed in agony, writhing from the pain. "What...what is this...ARGH...!?"
"You seem to be under the impression that you can freely leave as you please," B said as he stood over her. "No one leaves the Brain Trust Society."
"Screw...you...!" Sado hissed as the pain in her head rose. "GODDAMMIT, ARGH!"
"If the bomb in your head is not enough, perhaps you need to have a much better reason to stay," B remarked and then he remembered something he read in her file. "We could invite your boyfriend here and he could join the team as well. That way, you can be together."
"No!" Sado gasped, her eyes widening and pupils trembling. "Please! Leave him alone! I'm sorry, alright!? I'm sorry! I'll stay! I'll stay!"
"Good," B nodded and the pain in Sado's head immediately subsided. "Now, go back to your quarters and await further orders. Consider this your final warning and remember what happens if you even think of deserting us again."
"Y... yes, sir..." Sado nodded slowly as she gingerly picked herself back up and walked back to her room. Once the door closed behind her, she let out a scream of fury and frustration as she threw her bag against the wall and clenched her fists.
Outside Sado's quarters, B nodded in satisfaction as he managed to prevent her desertion but now he had another problem to deal with. As second-in-command, his job was to make sure Kyofu remained focused and to execute the plan according to schedule. The plan was sound, at least it was supposed to be. All they had to do was discredit the NUMBERS by attacking Hinamizawa and show the world their failure. They knew that BLACK 13 would attempt to intervene, so D was sent as a distraction. Kyofu claimed the plan was foolproof. Only, it had not been as foolproof as he had originally believed.
D had failed to defeat BLACK 13. Then, soon after Kyofu's press conference where he claimed that the NUMBERS failed to protect Hinamizawa, resulting in the death of its population, they learned that the village had been restored like it had never been attacked in the first place. This caused Kyofu to punish D for failing her mission.
Everything went downhill from there as Kyofu became obsessed with taking down BLACK 13, no matter the cost. He wanted to erase this humiliation by sending a squad to destroy it again. That ended up failing too as B had not heard a word from them at all. They were either captured or killed by the NUMBERS.
As more and more of their Alpha Force went MIA, Kyofu's mental state began to deteriorate and B feared that the professor might do something incredibly drastic. And now he could no longer contact Professor Kyofu.
B may just have to release two members of Alpha Force that were kept in stasis: Weapon G and Weapon W.
END OF ACT 17
Tailsmo4ever: So the third part of the arc has begun and we are slowly reaching the climax. Kyofu might have been driven back but he's far from out. He still has other plans up his sleeves. Stay tuned to watch.
DeEx: So, it seems for a long time, whenever I short-form Tyrannosaurus Rex, I often use the spelling 'Tyrano'. I was wrong. It should be 'Tyranno' instead. Though, it did not matter to me since it was often the same pronunciation. Then again, I just saw 'Orphenoch' being respelled as 'Orphnoch'. I guess I should retcon the spelling, but going back to Kamen Rider Days to correct that is just a chore. So, I'm not doing it. At least, not right now. Maybe later, maybe never. Does it matter? Oops, I'm ranting. OK, so, yeah, this part of the arc is heavy but from here on out, it'll be the final stretch. Kyofu has been beaten but that doesn't mean it's over. The BTS is still active and they still have plans.