The city has come to a relative calm after the attack of the Cheetar Cyberbeast. A city-wide man-hunt is being conducted by the Police Department, aided personally by the ZOO Corporation.
Masura standing at the side of the road in the upper crust of the city. Standing under a street light, he looks around, waiting for someone. Hearing the sound of a motor, he turns to see Tatsuya riding on the LocustStar down the street. He pulls over to the side, and parks up just by post.
He removes his helmet and greets the old cop, "Afternoon, Officer. You wanted to see me?"
Masura nods, tipping his cap to greet the rider in turn. "Yes. I require your viewpoint on a…related matter."
Tatsuya gets off his bike and notices the police car embedded in the brick wall behind Masura.
"Is that…your car?" He sounds skeptically, confused by the unharmed state of Masura, and the clear wreckage of the car.
"It used to be. That's actually what I wanted to show you," he walks Tatsuya over to the vehicle. "See anything familiar?"
Tatsuya takes a look at the car. The back door has been torn off the hinges. There are also several dozen deep, embedded claw marks in the outer shell of the car. Masura pulls out a pair of plastic gloves and hands them over to Tatsuya.
"Those claw marks. I saw them earlier today at the convoy," Tatsuya examines the claw marks, running his fingers over the deep gashes. "There's no doubt in my mind. The Cyberbeast was definitely here. Did they break someone out of custody?"
"Not quite. This morning he had taken in a burglar trying to steal from one of this city's rich folk. But when he booked him in the car, it took off without us."
"Did they have a partner?"
"No, they seemed to be working alone. But we did receive a tip for his crime. That's why we got them so fast."
Tatsuya stops examining to listen to the old cop, finding the story strange. "So you were told he was breaking in before he broke in, and when you arrived, he had broken in. Do you have any idea who warned you?"
"That's the thing. We weren't the ones called. The homeowner got the call from a man, claiming they were being robbed. That's when they called us."
"I'm guessing there's a reason you're telling me all of this. It's not a coincidence that a Cyberbeast was to show up, the same day a criminal goes missing, right?"
"Right. I don't think the Cyberbeast attacked this car and took them. I think they're the same person. If you look closely, there are claw marks in the back seat, showing that the Cyberbeast fled from the inside."
Tatsuya looks under the roof of the interior, confirming Masura's observation. "I see. They must have gotten their hands on a Cyberlink and ZoPhone from somewhere, and used it to escape."
"We took everything from them, their tools, weapons, everything. They hand enough on them but the clothes on their back when we shoved them in."
"So they got help from another source?"
Masura's expression becomes more stern as he nods. "Yes, and I have an idea who." Masura goes around the car and opens the passenger door. "Look in here." Masura gestures for Tatsuya to look around the front of the car, showing the melted plastic on the dashboard and the burn marks on the seat.
Tatsuya crawls into the car, and then immediately pulls himself out upon getting a hint of the smell. He has a coughing fit, "That's awful!"
"Hmm. We already had our forensic team take a sample of it. It's apparently the same venom that was used to knock me out yesterday before Ren became one of those…Cyberbeasts."
Tatsuya has a mental breakthrough, comparing the notes in his head. "Wait a minute. When I engaged with the Cyberbeast at the convoy, I was blocked by another Rider. They had the ability to produce venom. It felt like my insides were on fire, but the RiderLink negated it."
"Another Rider? Are you sure?" Masura looks in disbelief, but his face displays his deep concern.
"Yeah. He had the same belt as me. But the thing was, he treated the Cyberbeast like an experiment. So maybe he's the one creating them. It's at least a theory, right?" Tatsuya can tell that Masura is distracted. "Officer?"
"Kid. There's…there's something else you should know." Masura takes a phone out of his jacket pocket. He's silent while flipping through the various images and pics in his gallery. Settling on the right one, he hands Tatsuya the phone. "We found this under the seat."
Taking the phone, Tatsuya's eyes grow wide upon seeing the ZOO Corporation briefcase, the same as what his belt came in. "No. No, that's….what? The Cyberlink was…no..maybe it's just the ZoPhone that they stole, or..or maybe.."
Masura grabs them by the shoulder, "Kid! Relax. You'll do yourself no good to lose your head over theories. We don't have much else to go with, but I thought you should know." Taking back their phone, Masura's unease was warranted.
Tatsuya is at a loss for words, unsure of what's going on in regard to ZOO's involvement with the Cyberbeast and this new rider. "Thank you for your time, officer. I'll…I'll look into this matter."
Tatsuya walks away, returning to his bike with Masura in tow.
"Wait, kid!" Tatsuya stops but still gets back on the LocustStar. "I know this might look bad, but if I've learned anything from my time. It's this. The truth is more complicated before everything connects. I don't want to believe that ZOO is involved, but I also want what's best for this city."
Tatsuya's phone starts vibrating in his pocket. He pulls it out to show that Lady is trying to call him. He answers the phone, putting it on loudspeaker.
"Hello, Lady? Is this important, I'm just about to…"
"Master Tatsuya! We need you now! We have an emergency!" Her tone is rushed and panicked.
"Lady?"
"We just received a call from the garage. A Kamen Rider appeared and took Takahashi Yuto!"