Kamen Rider Alterum (Version 2)

by Chris Chronos

A Ben-10-themed Kamen Rider fanfiction. This story follows Hiroki Tennyson, a lone wanderer in a world plagued by a zombie virus, who has been chosen by Eunice to become Kamen Rider Alterum. The first chapter should provide sufficient insight into the author's intended direction. [This is a rewritten/ improved version of an older fanfiction. The old one will be taken down soon.]

Kamen Rider Alterum

A Ben 10-themed Kamen Rider Fanfiction

Themes: zombie; superhero; tokusatsu.

Genres: Action; Adventure; Sci-Fi; Fantasy.

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[Quick A/N: Due to the underwhelming readership, I, Chris Chronos, decided to rewrite and improve it to catch the attention and interest of the fans, more effectively!

The original story will be removed once the rewritten eighth chapter is live. Storyline and plot from the original version will be almost completely revamped and changed in this rewritten version.

Please FAVORITE and FOLLOW the story. Most Kamen Rider fanfictions have an overwhelmingly low number of readers and followers, unless a more popular category is tagged. Hence, let me request you to show support for Kamen Rider fanfiction hobbyists!

But I really do appreciate every bit of your support! Please ride along with us till the end!]

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The story begins from here. Therefore, I, the protagonist, will take over the narration. Most part of this story will be presented in first-person writing style for fluid personal narration, but some in third person for a wider perspective.

Here's the title for this chunk:

Kamen Rider Alterum Special: Introduction

This special has been added to catch the attention of more Kamen Rider fans. By the way, my name is Hiroki Tennyson. I will introduce myself properly when the chapter begins for real. For now…

It seems, the multiverse is in grave danger.

In short, due to what I believe is a certain god's mistake, the worlds collided and fused with each other, resulting in an epic yet dangerous phenomenon known as the World Fusion Incident. Our world, the Universe-2041, wasn't an exception, as a set of multiple worlds fused with others, giving rise to constant chaos and conflicts!

One such conflict is here.

Alright, there wasn't any valid reason to fight the Kamen Riders, other than the fact that this is a special short, so I need to showcase my power.

The would-be battlefield was just a plain ground surrounded by mountains and trees, so quiet that one would think there weren't any animals living around, except for, of course, the soft rustling noises of leaves and the occasional chirps of the birds. But where were they?

A droplet of cold sweat ran down my cheek, mirroring the unease building within. Suddenly, a wildfire erupted and started devouring the trees, transforming the tranquil mountains into a smoky, deforested battlefield.

Amidst this surreal scene stood roughly 240 individuals, divided into two factions. Well, not exactly. One side had about 240 Kamen Riders, people in shiny, flashy, sometimes weird but somewhat attractive armor. The opposing group was just me and a green-eyed platinum-blonde girl, lonely and borderline miserable, without any armor on yet. My clothes were all dirty and shabby in comparison to Kamen Rider-san.

"Oi, do you want me to die?"

I grumbled upon seeing the number of enemies I would have to face. "Heck, how many of them! Like two hundred? I'll die!"

"Relax," the girl said, grinning, "We're fewer in number but greater in spirit. Nah, we'd win."

"F**k you."

This girl is Eunice, a mysterious woman, apparently. She is an important component of my Driver somehow.

Leading the crowd of 240 Riders was… the fake destroyer of the worlds! And the demon god-king!

おのれディケイドとジオウ！

Curse you, Decade and Zi-O!

Decade. The Kamen Rider Decade looked elegant and classic in his basic magenta suit. Zi-O next to him was also in his base form, which was a black and pink armor.

Behind them was quite a crowd of Kamen Riders.

仮面ライダー (Kamen Rider)... ?

To my knowledge, Kamen Riders, also known as Masked Riders, are supposed to be superheroes, well, most of the time. But apparently due to Decade and Zi-O's manipulative efforts, these Kamen Riders became evil riders, somehow, having vowed to conquer their own universes under the leadership of the two.

From the information I gathered, Decade and Zi-O were extremely powerful and dangerous foes– their mere existence could affect space and time, and no one knows how many timelines they had screwed over.

At any rate… while I couldn't identify every member of the rider army, as far as I knew, the row immediately behind Decade and Zi-O included… Ichigo, Nigou, Sangou, Yongou, Kuuga, Agito, Ryuki, and Faiz… all in their base forms.

It's quite sad I was going to face them as enemies instead of working together as comrades!

"Hiroki Tennyson…" Decade declared. "Your father was just like me, an interdimensional traveler. Are you sure about your decision to not join us?!"

反逆者

Rebel.

"There is no need to reconsider it," I made it loud and clear, "Dikeido-san, I'll put a stop to your actions!"

"Then it's a shame," he said. "Your journey will end here as I will destroy you."

In response, I quickly took off my dirty leather jacket and threw it away. On my left wrist sat a white smart-watch-like device with a square faceplate and a green-black hourglass symbol on it.

"It's time, huh…"

In a flash of green light, Eunice disappeared into it and became a black gauntlet sitting on my other wrist. It had green circuit-like patterns.

These two devices are…

オムニマトリックス と ユニマトリクス

Omnimatrix and Unimatrix.

"I really hope my journey will end here, too," I retorted. "You don't even know how tired I am."

"You think you can survive us now… Alterum!"

This time it was Zi-O who barked back.

"Maybe, maybe not," I crossed my wrists. "But I don't see a possibility of you beating me…"

With that, the gauntlets fused with each other and transformed into a belt with a large buckle, in other words, a driver. A Driver is a crucial and essential device of pretty much every rider to transform.

"Alterum Driver activated."

— announced the Driver.

My Driver had a sleeker buckle with three keyholes, showcasing the symbol of the Omnitrix as the core in the front side.

"Kamen Riders!" Decade let out the battle cry, "Eliminate this menace! For your worlds!"

I pulled three key-like devices out of nowhere, like a true Kamen Rider.

These key-like devices are called Data Keys (データ キー), and are also essential transformation devices, like OOO's medals or Fourze's astro-switches. Since this is a Ben-10-themed Kamen Rider, each Data Key contains the data of a unique extraterrestrial species.

I can use one, two or three keys simultaneously to transform. But this time, I need maximum power to face over 200 Kamen Riders so I decided to use three keys.

"Let's see this through, shall we…" I pushed the keys into their respective keyholes in the driver. "It's hero time!"

変身

Transformation.

Like most other Kamen Riders, I did have a transformation pose. I crossed my wrists in an X-shape and then brought down to where my driver was.

"Recognized: Heatblast! Swampfire! NRG!"

A modern Kamen Rider transformation must be accompanied by fancy announcements from the Driver, of course! My Alterum Driver just announced the names of the Data Keys I used.

Following that, the Driver would break down the data from each key and mesh it together to build a Kamen Rider form for me. During this period, a transformation sequence happened as follows:

Three respective holographic statues, made of green light constructs, manifested before me, startling the evil riders who approached me hastily. On the left was the Heatblast statue: a humanoid with cracking skin and stylish, moving flames on its head.

On the right was the Swampfire statue: another humanoid, slightly taller than the first one, with darker skin and a flame-like structure for hair. Between the two was the NRG statue, resembling a humanoid oven, taller than the first two. Its body even looked like an ancient oven with limbs.

"The outcome has been set in stone since I came here…" I said arrogantly. "Henshin."

Now similar to modern Kamen Rider transformations, the Driver made the final announcement before the actual transformation.

"Burn! Burn! Burn! Supernova Burn! Swampy-stinky Burn! Radiatory Burn! Overlap: Burning Star!"

The three holograms fused together to become a beam of green light returning to me and engulfing my entirety in a bright green light.

"Hmph, what a cringey longa** transformation sequence," Zi-O mocked, which made Decade look back at him in disbelief.

When transformed, the armor formed on my body is called a DNArmor. In accordance with the number of keys, since I used three keys for Burning Star, this armor is called Tri-Omni DNArmor.

Burning Star rocks a tripartite armor setup. The lower arms, from elbows to hands, sport sturdy, non-magnetic metallic gauntlets. The boots and helmet follow suit, crafted from the same tough material – making the entire suit overall resemble NRG's containment suit. Now, here's the twist – the other two parts are cleverly concealed beneath those thick gauntlets and boots.

Similar to other modern Kamen Rider helmets, this guy got a somewhat unique design. The helmet has only a single, big visor that starts small in the middle but widens on the sides, resembling two visor eyes combined. Above the visor were two eye-like features with fiery hue, and a yellow and red horn on its forehead that resembles a flame.

Then my transformation was complete.

"... Grandma once said…"

A male voice from behind all of a sudden almost startled me, but I knew who it was right away.

カブト!

Kabuto.

I spun around to throw a punch at the culprit, but the guy caught my hand. As expected it was… Kamen Rider Evil Kabuto.

"... the world revolves around me…" he added.

Kabuto is a red-armored Kamen Rider, with two blue visor eyes (which is a more traditional design) and a large horn on his helmet, hence the name.

"Shut up!" I yelled and threw another punch before he started quoting his grandma again.

"Clock up," he commanded, almost calmly.

But just in time, he pushed my hand away and turned into a blur as he probably moved at a near light-speed.

Ok, I was too slow to keep up with him; especially in this heavy armor. In short, Kabuto was the worst matchup I could ask for…

He then started beating the crap outta me, which I couldn't guess whether he was kicking or punching, let alone counteract, because he was just too fast. And guess what, holy cow! His consecutive attacks made me float in the air, somehow! I didn't know if I should feel vulnerable or astonished.

Physics…

"It seems I've found your weakness…" Another voice chimed in. "I'll eliminate you for the better!"

ドライブ!

Drive.

Kamen Rider Evil Drive…

"Even you? Doraibu…"

Without a verbal response, Drive revved himself up, pulling the mini-racecar-shaped lever on his bracelet.

"Sp-sp-speed!" – declared Mr. Belt, Drive's Driver.

Unsurprisingly, he joined Kabuto in kicking my butt, but I could see nothing but red blurs buzzing around me. If it were a normal person in my place, they would turn into a messy pile of meat at this rate.

But my heavy Burning Star armor wasn't just heavy; it was tough as heck, with taydenite being the only known material in the galaxy to cut this armor.

"This isn't so fair," I mocked, grinning under my helmet.

The two riders looked mad, seeing their efforts in vain. And witnessing this double-sided misery, another party stepped in.

"My friends, I will help you out!"

This voice… don't tell me…

ファイズ!

555 Faiz.

Kamen Rider Evil Faiz joined the party and activated his Axel form–

"Complete. Start up." – announced by Faiz Phone.

Why is everyone trying to blitz me so hard? At this rate, this is going nowhere…

"Hiroki," said Eunice telepathically, "Switch the keys out."

"Good idea, Eunice-chan," I replied with a smile.

So basically, I need to change my armor to counter them.

Though I did say that Data Keys were a crucial and essential part of my transformation, I don't necessarily need to physically interact with them all the time… well, after I have unlocked all the functions of the Driver, of course.

"Omnitrix! Command function, code 1-2-3-4, unlock XLR8, Fasttrack, Clockwork!"

"Recognized." – announced the Omnitrix.

Immediately, the Driver acknowledged the changes in my DNA and used the genetic particles in it to replace the data in the keys, thus forming another set of Tri-Omni DNArmor.

"XLR8! Fasttrack! Clockwork! Overlap: Chronos!"

By the time this battle was written, the author hadn't designed the Chronos form, so regrettably, its transformation announcement was incomplete.

This was probably one of the rare tripartite forms that could counter speedy riders.

The Chronos form is almost as gold as Grand Zi-O and Hyper Muteki, albeit less shiny. Equipped with claw-like weapons on the arms, it's sleeker than Burning Star. The helmet's visor has a digital screen appearance with glowing green outlines resembling a smiley. A small golden key-like feature is attached to the back of it.

With the speed of XLR8 and Fasttrack, powered by Clockwork's chronokinesis, I blitzed the three riders and seemingly teleported behind Evil Kabuto.

ライダーキック

Rider Kick!

I gritted my teeth and delivered a glowing kick right into his back, hurtling him all the way back to Decade and Zi-O who managed to catch him. But immediately after that, he disappeared and automatically got sent back to his own timeline for good.

"More! More! Heh…"

I let out a battle cry and threw machine gun blows at Faiz and Drive, causing them to fly into the air. In the meantime, I jumped into the air and kicked them back to the spawn, transporting them back to their own timelines.

"It has the same power as an Aurora Curtain!" Decade gasped in surprise.

"This much is nothing," Zi-O reminded him. "You shouldn't be taken aback by something like that."

Realizing I could send them back, the riders began to hesitate to approach me blindly. But sorry, I have my reasons to wrap this up really fast.

I revved up my speed again and became a blur buzzing around the riders, while I activated the chronosapien time ray to unleash it out of the Alterum Driver. In another second, the time ray hit multiple riders, which teleported them back to their own dimensions.

"Okay, shit? Already out of energy?"

I murmured under my breath as the lights on my Driver turned red. But now that most riders have been sent back, it should be easier to handle…

Typical Ben-10 timer…

I pulled the keys out of the Driver, dodging the karate punch from Kamen Rider Meteor and a spear thrust from Knight continuously.

"Don't let him transform again!" A familiar masculine voice cried out. "Rider Jump!"

1号

Ichigo.

I quickly inserted the keys into the driver, rotating them one after another.

"Even you?! Ichigo-san! Please open your eyes!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

But Kamen Rider Ichigo's rider kick dramatically passed through my seemingly intangible body, in a flash of green light.

"What?!" The old man gasped.

When the times are rough, the Driver will skip steps — the holographic statues won't manifest, and instead the transformation will be straightforward.

"Echo Echo! Big Chill! Chromastone! Overlap!"

— Announced the Driver amidst the chaos as it transformed me into another form.

This time, I used three unrelated Data Keys, which resulted in a non-pre-assigned Tri-Omni form. So this form doesn't have a particular name.

"Believe me!" I yelled at Ichigo, "they put you under a strong genjutsu!"

"What the heck is that?!" Ichigo said, swinging his fists at me. "Is that a trend among kids? Sorry, I'm kind of getting old…"

I wanted to cry, but I felt like we both wanted to cry.

My new Echo-Chill-Stone form, or something like that, since it doesn't have a definite name, is a purple-armored suit with a hood over its helmet, which is then connected to a robe that ends just above the torso. On its back bears a backpack-like device resembling a sound box. The gloves and boots, however, are colored white, equipped with small devices capable of emitting sound waves, freeze beams or UV rays.

In short, this form is a mess of random stuff. I used it on a whim anyway…

"If you don't stop your ways, I will have to stop you myself!"

With that, I unleashed an explosive wave of sound through the device on my wrist, knocking him back. He then jumped back into the crowd, reminding me that I had been surrounded by the rest of Kamen Riders.

Decade and Zi-O watched it attentively in silence.

"There's no other way out, Alterum," Decade said. "Give it up."

"The world has accepted that you are the devil," Zi-O declared. "There's no place for you in this multiverse."

"Really?" I chuckled. "It's just a big illusion. You guys aren't even real. And I know the real guys."

"What?!" This time it was Zi-O who exclaimed.

"... don't tell me…" Decade muttered in shock.

"That's right," I snapped my fingers. "I invited them."

Anyone other than myself, Decade and Zi-O were clueless about what I was talking about.

"Them?" Ichigo questioned. "Who is it? Who are you talking about!?"

"Heh, the real Decade and Zi-O… of course."

"What? What do you mean?" Knight asked in disbelief.

"The real Decade and Zi-O…" V3-san repeated.

At that very moment, an Aurora curtain appeared, making the crow dispel and move away cautiously.

"Exactly!" A male voice came out of the curtain.

門矢 士

Kadoya Tsukasa.

A handsome, Japanese man, apparently in his early 30s walked out of the curtain, dressed up in a fashion back from the 1970s: consisting of a leather jacket and a patterned shirt underneath.

Immediately after him followed a younger, handsome man, probably in his late teens, dressed up in a high school uniform. He was also Japanese, but with his hair colored brown.

It was…

"Hey, Hiroki-san," he greeted me in a cheerful manner. "Are we late to the party?"

常磐ソウゴ

Tokiwa Sougo.

"... Nah, you are perfectly on time," I grinned. "Let's get the party started!"

As the Aurora Curtains disappeared, Ichigo approached the two.

"Who are you two?"

"I'm here to take back what we lost," Kadoya-san said. "Rather… What they stole from our friends. I am just a passing through Kamen Rider."

"And I am the King that oversees the riders," Sougo answered. "You people should stay back. You are being controlled."

"Don't bother, Sougo," I interrupted him. "The Genjutsu they used is quite strong and tricky. We'll need to send them back to their dimensions, before defeating those two and resetting the jutsu."

"We can only help you in the fighting parts," Kadoya-san said, snapping his fingers to summon multiple smaller Aurora Curtains. And once each of them had taken in a rider, they vanished.

"I hope what's right will win," Ichigo muttered, still looking confused, before the curtain devoured him and sent back to his world.

That was quick, alright.

"This multiverse isn't ours," Sougo explained. "And the authority of power is strong, which is why we won't be able to use reality writing."

"I will handle the rest, so don't worry," I reassured them.

During our conversation, the fake Decade and Zi-O attempted to flee, but Kadoya-san picked up some stones and threw them at the duo.

"Stop right there," Sougo said. "You stole Diendriver, right? It's partly our fault that we didn't notice your invasion…"

"But we will rightfully reclaim what is ours."

The two placed their respective driver belts on their waists. Kadoya-san inserted a Kamen Ride card into his Decadriver while Sougo pushed in a small watch-like Ridewatch into his Ziku-Driver.

""Henshin.""

"Kamen Ride: Decade."

— Decade's transformation announcement.

"Rider Time! Kamen Rider Zi-O!"

— Zi-O's transformation announcement.

"Then I will use another form, too, senpai-tachi."

As they transformed into Kamen Rider Decade and Kamen Rider Zi-O respectively, I replaced the keys with another set of three keys.

"Recognized: Jetray, Rath, Crashhopper! Flying Kite! Raging Strike! Rising High!

Overlap: Jetrathhopper~"

— transformation announcement.

The new form of mine, Jetrathhopper, somewhat resembled the mechanism of OOO forms. Sporting two golden horns on its helmet, it has a red mask representing Jetray, orange armor parts on its arms to represent Rath, and finally, green armor covering its shins down from its kneecaps, representing Crashhopper.

And so the real Decade and Zi-O combined forces with me, Alterum, to take down the two biggest swindlers in the multiverse!

[Too bad the entire part above isn't canon.]

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Episode 1: And Then There Was… Alterum?

Superheroes don't exist. But hope does. Does it? Here, Misery and life go a long way back. Everyday, everyone struggles their best to the next sunrise. Those who think it's worth surviving gave up and killed themselves. So here, all we have is ourselves— the people who want to live on, even amidst the wildest of nightmares and the harshest of storms.

Simply put, that's why I admire the survivors. It's not optimism, it's hope. The very embodiment of it. I don't blame those who gave in to misery, either. But as long as hope exists within you, living isn't as painful. Because of hope, I became a Wanderer. I became one that delivers the feelings and hope of people across the wastelands.

"... And before I knew it, I became all alone yet again, huh…"

I slapped hard on my cheeks, snapping myself out of pessimistic thoughts. There are people out there who rely on us, wanderers… I, of all people, must hold on to hope to the very last second.

"Let's see. I've got some milk to deliver this morning. Alright, let's go."

I grabbed a dirty, old plastic bag and walked out of the cabin to my ride. It was a beast, a Harley Davidson Night Rod Special back from 2007. Perhaps the second most expensive thing I own, even.

Start the engine and rev it up. The motorcycle cried a deafening "vroom", rocking violently on the stony road until it came to a stop in an aggressive fashion. I made sure the tires weren't smoking as I pulled over, turned off the engine, and got off the ride. It was a rather sunny and warm day. I was sure no one else in the entire Bangkok would ever dare ride a bike as dangerously as I did.

Then I walked up to my destination, which was just a small shop.

"Hello, anybody here?"

It was a shabby building, and the front was half-destroyed, so they fixed it with some wooden planks to close the wall. The door was strengthened with a few sheets of cheap metal.

My hands instinctively reached the door to knock, but I decided to not. Knocking on someone's door could trigger unwanted attention… and fear.

"I've brought your milk," I made it loud and clear, that I was a human.

As quietly as possible, the door opened, with an old man who walked out to grab the bottle of milk in my hand.

"Here's the payment," he handed me a bag of snacks.

"Thanks," I watched the door slam shut. "You don't need to, though."

The payment was indeed unnecessary since the milk was free, provided by the government, but I guess he appreciated my delivery. I must embrace his gratitude.

Old and young, everyone lives like that. Everyone is always on edge, living in constant fear. But how could I blame them?

Plus, they do have the will to survive. Just look at this town, shabby and lonely, but they rebuilt it because they want to survive. I love that part of mankind.

"It's peaceful today. I hope everyday's like this."

This apocalypse. It all started about a decade ago. It was like the world was set on fire; a virus of unknown origin, codenamed ZV001, which turned out to be an infectious zombie virus, plagued our world. We tried to move on fast, but there was another wave of it: the second zombie outbreak. Human population was reduced drastically, but well, many of these survivors still cling onto Hope. Scientists are still trying to reverse the zombification.

Worse yet, the human-zombie ratio looked pretty bad. There are a lot out there roaming the wastelands, wanting a bite of us. Those zombies used to be human before they turned. Just the thought of it is painful, right?

To avoid pain, just forget about it and focus on surviving. Otherwise, humanity will go extinct.

"Konnichiwa." (こんにちは)

Hello.

A woman's voice. It was in fact a human woman's voice since zombies can't speak.

It sent chills down my spine. I spun around, almost overreacting.

A beautiful woman. With platinum blonde hair and emerald green eyes?! Her clothes were completely clean and neat, and she smelt so good. The contrast of her pristine appearance against the apocalyptic backdrop was surreal.

"Tennyson Hiroki-kun, is that right?" she said with a monotonous yet elegant tone.

Hold on… Did she just speak Japanese? I haven't met a Japanese speaker in like, even years, perhaps. Plus, all the way out here in Neo-Bangkok.

"Hai, that is me. How can I help you?"

She was so clean and elegant that I could even believe she came from a world without zombies. But it's impossible, right?

"I want your body." — was her answer.

I asked, hoping I had misheard, "Come again?"

"Correct, it is your body that I want," she affirmed.

"... sorry, I don't quite—"

She casually ignored my response.

"You're such a fine, young specimen," she continued instead, approaching me, "look at this body, it's peak human! Your muscles, your eyes, your legs, everything about you is perfect! Such a perfect body born from years of countless battles, right, you should be perfectly compatible with me."

With shivers running down my spine, my instincts were screaming at me to run away. I stepped back, trying to stay composed.

"Ah, I-I still don't know what you are talking about."

"Huh, are you lacking in intelligence?" She stood on her toes, staring straight into my soul. "No, it's fine if you're as smart as a chimpanzee."

Is she harassing me?! Please don't hurt my feelings!

"You also stink," she remarked straightforwardly. "That's also fine, I guess."

At any rate, I should politely refuse her request (?) before she says more weird things.

"Um, sorry, but I can't help you with that."

"Why? You help people, right?" She asked in the same emotionless monotone.

"I do. But I don't? Uh… I mean, I don't understand what you're talking about, yeah."

"So you won't give me your body then?"

What I nodded in denial, she clicked her tongue in response.

"I knew it wasn't that easy."

"Then… I have work to do, so please excuse me."

What a weird girl, I noted and got on the bike. Wanting to ride away as fast as I could, I pushed in the key and rotated it to start the engine. Then I shifted the gears and revved it up to rock away…

But as the engine roared, the bike didn't move an inch. What's going on?

I quickly scanned around my bike to see if anything was wrong…

"?!"

HOW IS THIS HUMANLY POSSIBLE?!

"Let's make a deal then…"

That woman! She gripped on the back of my bike, her grasp so strong that I couldn't ride away! How is this humanly possible?! No, she's an angel–

"... If you entrust me with your body… I'll lend you a hand to save humanity."

She's the devil!

"H-how?!" I stuttered.

Oh, damn, she was holding back one of the motorcycles left in these apocalyptic wastelands! Which means… Her strength was no less than a few dozen horsepowers!

"You and I will become the Best Match," she answered. "We will combine and become one together. Then you will possess the great power to save humanity from extinction."

In spite of her beauty, I couldn't leave out the possibility that she might be mentally ill. Otherwise it made little sense… Or else.

Unless… She is a frustrated, desperate person who's after a man's body… It's possible! With the apocalypse, a lot of people would want attention and company!

Then in both scenarios, there was only one sane answer.

"I must refuse," I said, trying to sound as calm as possible. "Sorry that I can't fulfill your request. But I believe there are certain lines you shouldn't cross."

I reached for her hand to get her fingers off my bike. But unironically, her grip was so strong supernaturally! She's a shehulk!

"... Ahem, a-also, I believe you should only give your body to the one you truly love," I said, keeping my cool while struggling to get her hand off.

Soon I gave up. My strength wasn't anywhere near enough to remove her hand.

"Is that so?" She grinned for the first time. "Well then, you will understand that soon enough."

She finally removed her hand and walked away. I silently hoped I wouldn't have to meet her again and started the engine.

What a weird person. Everything about her was weird. Hmm, she did also say everything about me was perfect. I didn't understand, but it made me happy for some reason.

I mean, it's technically a compliment from a cute girl! Oh, damn, I can't stop grinning.

[ Time Skip ]

---

"Zombies! It's them!"

Hearing people cry out for help, I hurriedly ran out of the cabin on pure instinct. My legs didn't take no for an answer, even though I figured what was going on almost immediately.

But how?

"Zombies are coming into the town!" "Run!" "Run for your life!"

Amidst the noisy chaos, a wave of people surged past me, their faces etched with desperation to survive, and filled with hope and fear. They couldn't care about anyone else but themselves.

"Crap…" I muttered to myself and grabbed a rusty metal pipe found nearby. My hands were trembling in fear, heck I could probably sh*t my pants anytime soon. But my body didn't listen to me anymore.

Why am I… This is wrong. Please stop! I don't want to go that way!

"Go! Run for it!" I found myself shouting, as my instincts made me run toward the opposite direction— where people came from.

No… zombies are coming, right? I don't know what was pushing me to that extent.

Dang, that kid… She's going to get eaten!

All of a sudden, I felt numb… I felt like I had been detached from reality.

"Yah!"

On pure instincts, my hands moved on their own and swung the pipe with my might, taking down the mindless undead that was going to attack a child crouching on the road.

"Grr! Die! Die! Diiiieeee!"

— it wasn't even a zombie growling; it was me, yelling with anger as I senselessly beat up the undead until it dropped to the ground as a lifeless corpse.

"Die, you f**ker…" I muttered, panting. Then I looked down at the kid. "You good?"

The little girl looked up at me and opened her eyes, then responded with a nod.

"Thank goodness…" I let out a sigh of relief as I lent a hand to help her up.

Then I looked around and pointed at the running crowd.

"Go after them, kiddo," I said, "you'll be safe if you stay with them?"

"What about you?"

She's right. What about me, then? Am I going to fight the zombies alone here? At best, I could stall them for a few seconds. Then die, I guess.

No, no, that's not it. What matters is I shouldn't worry a kid.

I held my panting and winked at her playfully. "Don't worry about me. I have a superpower. Do you know what it is?"

She shook her head. Oh yeah, these kids have never seen entertainment or films.

"It is the ability to beat up bad guys," I blurted. "Zombies are bad guys. So I will beat them up."

She paused before replying, "Please do beat them up, Mr. Superpower," and ran away.

Now what? Zombies are coming. Part of me wanted to run away; another part of me had accepted my fate, and decided to drag them down to hell with me.

Damn. Alright. I clenched my weapon, which was just a rusty pipe, and wiped the sweat on my face with another hand. There's no other way out. I will—

"How noble of you… to sacrifice yourself for a kid, Tennyson Hiroki-kun."

This voice… speaking Japanese. It must be that woman from before.

"You… What are you doing here!?" I yelled. "They're coming! Go, run!"

"Isn't it a good time to consider my offer, Tennyson Hiroki-kun?"

At this time!? What're you thinking, woman!?

"Cut it out!" I grabbed her shoulders to push her away. But I found her so heavy that I couldn't make her move an inch! Like, what the heck?!

"No, I refuse," she said coldly, "I'm here to lend you a hand."

"I refuse, too," I retorted and turned away to face the undead. "You can stay if you wanna die with me."

"So you've already decided to die, huh? Do you not fear death, Tennyson Hiroki-kun?"

Do I not? No, that's not it. I mean…

"Why does it matter?!" I yelled back. "Sometimes things don't go your way. I've lived long—"

"Such a stupid choice, it is then."

"Huh?!"

No, I can't waste time arguing with her. I let go of her shoulders and tightly gripped onto my rusty weapon.

"Stay back," I reminded her before charging at the undead, yelling, "grrr, yah, die, you f**kers!"

Once more, I found myself swinging my weapon like crazy, just whacking at those zombies without much rhyme or reason. They aren't the kind to go down with a single hit, so I had to keep at it, bashing them over and over until they fell. At the same time, I had to keep myself sane… All this bloodshed from zombies… once belonged to normal humans. This hurt in my chest.

But I have no choice.

"Look out!" I alerted the woman of a zombie jumping at her, but she didn't even flinch in response. I ended up striking its head off with the blood gushing right at my face.

"Oi, do you have a death wish!?"

She raised a brow in response. I wanted to get mad at her, but that wasn't a good time.

"You're stubborn, too," she remarked, unfazed by the marching zombies. "I don't dislike that part of yours. But you're my precious specimen. I can't let you die."

"Huh, like I'd care—"

"These guys are just slowpokes," she outright ignored my words. "There's someone hiding around here controlling them. We gotta find and take them out, or else we're just gonna keep dealing with more even if we kill all of these."

"Someone controlling them?!" I asked, kicking some zombies away. "Why'd they do that?"

"To conquer the remaining human habitats and turn all survivors into zombies."

"... damn…"

I've never heard of something like that. Is she telling the truth? But if what she said is true, this is trouble.

Even now, I see no end to zombies. At this rate, no amount of killings will save the townspeople…

"But you still want to save humans, right?"

"... perhaps!" I said, my rusty pipe hitting a group of zombies in a single swipe.

"Then I have no choice."

"Huh?"

"Use me," she said, grabbing a zombie that was going to jump on me.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

With a mischievous grin, she sent the zombie flying back into the crowd.

"We'll become one, and you'll get the superpower you need!"

"Superpower!?" I said, seeing my weapon had broken. "What the hell are you talking about?!"

What kinda nonsense again? On second thought, is she truly insane?

"Hmph, you'll find out soon enough."

All of a sudden, she was enveloped in a cloud of glowing green light, so bright I had to cover my eyes. Even the zombies backed away on instincts.

Before I realized what was going on, the cloud of light flew toward me and then vanished quickly, leaving behind something on my wrist.

"Argh! What the heck is— on my left hand, too?!"

On my left wrist was a sleek white wristwatch with a green-black hourglass symbol, while on my right wrist a bold black gauntlet bracelet with green circuit-like patterns.

"Do you trust me?"

This voice… It's the woman's. Coming from the bracelet on my right wrist…?

"I don't know what's going on anymore!" I shouted, on the verge of going crazy.

After all, I just witnessed a human woman transforming into two bracelets! That's insane, right?!

"Calm down," she said. "Trust me. You won't regret it."

"Then!" I punched the zombies with my bare fists, now that my rusty pipe weapon had broken. "Tell me what to do!"

"Cross your wrists and place the bracelets on one another."

While I was distracted, the zombies had surrounded me for good… It's do or die, now. I have no other choice but to have faith in the woman…

"Ah, whatever, I trust you!"

So I did as she said, all while kicking the approaching zombies away as much as I could. Otherwise, they would've swarmed over me and that would've been really, really bad.

The two devices started glowing in a bright green light like before.

"Here goes nothing…" I muttered to myself, watching both bracelets somehow fuse together and materialize on my waist as a belt, with a conspicuously large buckle.

"Alterum System activated."

— announced the robotic voice from the buckle.

Okay, this is certainly weird. Not only was the buckle oddly oversized, but it also sported three keyholes on the top side. While inspecting the belt, I suddenly felt something in my hand so I opened my palm, only to see a white key with a brown humanoid rooster-like figure on its head.

"Insert it in the keyhole," the girl said.

"Which one!? There are three!"

"The rightmost one."

With my shaky hands, I cautiously pushed the key into the slot on the right. Immediately, several beams of bright green light again escaped the buckle and materialized a holographic statue in a split second.

"Recognized."

— announced the robotic voice.

Okay, damn, another bizarre thing…

The statue resembled the figure on the keyhead— a humanoid rooster-like creature with huge biceps and human-like arms instead of wings. And blades growing out of its elbows.

Even the zombies looked confused.

"Now what?!"

"Say Henshin and turn the key," the girl calmly instructed.

"For real?"

Alright, it sounds like it's stripped right out of some Japanese kid shows I used to watch when I was a child.

"Do it!" She repeated.

"Hen…Henshin!" I nervously called out, rotating the key already in the keyhole in the clockwise direction. Though, it sprung back to its original position immediately after.

"Kickin' Hawk!"

— Transformation announcement.

Just what is going on, ARGHHHH—

The hologram broke down into several parts that later orbited me, as a black full-body suit with green circuit-like patterns materialized on my body, magically.

The surprises didn't stop there.

The armor parts then flew back to me and attached to my suit, transforming me into some kind of armored warrior, while a helmet was formed on my head.

Soon after, several holographic monitors appeared in front of my eyes in my helmet, which also gave a good view of the outside.

"... This is…"

Though I couldn't get a good look at myself right now, I could see my black gloves and white forearm armor, while the armor on my chest was colored green and black.

"Hey, this looks dope," I muttered.

But before I could comment on it properly, the zombies, having recovered from confusion, started swarming over me. So as a reflex, I swiped my hands, somehow throwing the zombies off my body successfully.

力

Power…

"My power… I feel so strong," I remarked carefully. "I can feel my strength is growing… Right now, I'm stronger than ever!"

With this power… I can certainly protect more people! Oh yeah, great.

With the feeling of delight bursting out in my chest, I punched the zombies with my bare fists. I didn't even feel it in my knuckles…

"Told ya, this is basically a superpower," the girl's voice said.

"A superpower?!" I exclaimed in awe, witnessing my punch blow away a zombie, the evidence of how much stronger I became. Maybe before I noticed, I had become a sci-fi protagonist!

"Incoming!" She alerted all of a sudden.

"What, where?!" I looked around, panicked.

"Above you!"

Then I made eye contact with someone falling down right toward me. Reacting on pure instinct, I skillfully jumped back to make room, as the person spun themselves mid-air with the intent to deliver a kick. Their black robe billowed gracefully in the wind until they touched the ground, effortlessly assuming a poised stance. The impact not only left a crater but also unleashed a resonating shockwave, magnifying the dramatic entrance.

"What an unexpected guest we've got here..."

The individual said, pulling back the hood of the robe to reveal his face, which was pale-skinned and full of scars, the biggest of which lay across his nasal bridge.

He looked human at first glance, but the more I looked at him… he wasn't one of us.

"What is he?!" I exclaimed. "A zombie? No, wait, zombies can't speak."

"He is a Rogue," the girl's voice answered my question. "Basically a half-zombie who retains their sapience. But instead of humanity, he's filled with hatred."

ローグ

Rogue?

I have never heard about this! Half-zombie? A zombie retaining its sapience?! Filled with hatred instead of humanity?

Soon I realized this was what I signed up for.

"So he is… not a zombie, then…" I remarked.

"Kamen Rider..." the Rogue guy murmured.

"Excuse me?"

"You are one of them, right?" he raised his voice, with a hint of anger. "I despise Kamen Riders. They always ruin my plans. They are the reason why I am looked down on by my peers!"

The hell is he talking about?

"No, I am not..."

What is a Kamen Rider? Kamen = mask. So a Masked Rider? But the closest thing I could think to a Masked Rider is a wanderer. I mean, I do wear a helmet when I ride my motorcycle.

Now that I recall, some people in Shanghai called me "Crazy Rider" because of my reckless riding habits. Maybe he is probably talking about that.

"... Perhaps you are someone who knows me?" I asked, lowering my tone so it sounded polite and humble.

"You are one annoying rider," he pulled back his fist. "I will kill you for good!"

He violently threw a barrage of powerful punches at me, which forced me to block them with my forearms crossed. Thankfully, my armor withstood the onslaught fine, but the relentless force was pushing me back significantly!

"Do I have to fight this guy?!" I meant to ask the bracelet girl.

I heard her chuckle in response, saying, "of course. He is not a zombie anymore. But a Rogue is a thousand times worse than a zombie."

"But!" finding the right time, I rolled to the side and took the defensive stance again. "He is still part-human, right?"

"..." she was silent, which left me confused.

The Rogue guy went on with his attacks, but I managed to either block or dodge his blows. I could probably endure these all day, but the flame in my chest was burning me inside out now…

"Answer me!" I yelled out.

I was impatient and rather, mad, not at the Rogue guy but at the girl.

"If you don't answer me, I won't fight!" I stated where I stood. "At least… Give me a valid reason to fight someone!"

I had faith. If this guy doesn't harm people, then I have literally no reason to fight him either. At least the flame in my chest hoped for it.

"Most rogues..." she finally explained. "They are a result of the experiments by the scientists who desperately tried to figure out a vaccine to reverse the zombification."

Hmm, so he was already a zombie before… I mean, he was totally a zombie, except for his purple eyes which weren't as dark. His face was filled with faint green vein-like tattoos and scars.

"... but they failed," she continued, "instead, a new type of zombie was born. Those who regained their human intelligence. However, since their memories have long deteriorated since death, they are not who they used to be anymore. They… were reborn as aggressive sapient zombies, instead. Because of the hatred they carry, Rogues seek nothing but the demise of humanity."

"Then how come… I've never come across them before!?"

I grabbed the fists of the Rogue guy as he threw punches, stopping him in the process.

"Because… when they appear, there will be no trace left behind, and no one will live to tell the tale."

?!

So they kill everyone… ?

"They will hide somewhere and often lead a zombie horde, like this one. It's unlikely that a mere human will survive against them."

I see… So this is why they need to be eliminated, too.

"Then what about Kamen Riders? What are they?"

I kicked the guy in the guts, knocking him back.

"Let's say I owe you an explanation for it," she replied with a cocky chuckle. "For now, we have a battle."

It also seems Kamen Riders aren't just motorcycle enthusiasts like I initially thought.

I stared at the rogue dude who got up and wiped the dark-colored blood on his lips.

"You still having doubts?" She asked.

"I can't just believe it," I replied. "To think this guy does something that terrifying…"

"Remember, the fight takes priority for now," she replied calmly. "If we can't stop the zombies marching into the town…"

"I know…" I said, punching a dozen of surrounding zombies in rapid succession. "But…"

"As I've said before, trust me. You won't regret it."

Heh, as if I had any other choice.

"Screw them, let's do it!"

And so I decided to put all faith in a stranger I just met today and kicked the incoming Rogue in his guts again, with such a great force that sent him flying.

"Grrr!" He growled and stood up again, his dark purple eyes glowing strangely brighter. "I will defeat Kamen Riders! No one can look down on me! Grrr!"

"Oi, what is going on?!" I asked the girl in the belt.

I could somehow sense some kind of sinister aura from him as his body became engulfed in thick, ominous fog.

"He's morphing."

"Morphing? Like, in metamorphosis?"

"Correct."

"Grrrr."

His screams became more and more animalistic and fearsome as the fog grew thicker and thicker, until it completely covered him. Then the body of fog became even thicker and bigger in a matter of seconds… until it dispersed to reveal a large dark wolf-like quadrupedal figure.

"Holy..." I almost cursed, horrified at the gigantic wolf. "Do I need to defeat this guy as well?!"

It's impossible, right?

"He's morphed into a High Rogue," she said with a hint of annoyance. "If we don't defeat it, it will wreak havoc in human towns!"

ハイ・ローグ

High Rogue?

Wait, did that Rogue guy from before… become this monster? How is that even possible?!

That aside, how do I even fight this monster?! I just struggled to fight a normal Rogue.

The wolf monster raised its front limb to stomp on me, which I deflected with a kick so strong that it was pushed back.

"Oh, dang, I think I can manage–"

But my celebration didn't last.

Another swipe from the monster sent me flying.

"Ouch!"

I was slammed against a wall, groaning.

"I... I guess I can't yet," I corrected myself.

"Incoming!"

Seeing its front leg coming right at me, I rolled to the side to dodge it, and then took the opportunity to kick the monster in the leg.

It howled in pain until it recovered quickly and tried to bite me again. So this time, naturally, I kicked his snout, causing it to cringe back.

"You are one bad wolf, man!"

I made a quick dash to the side before jumping back at the wolf and kicking it in the stomach. As it was thrown off the balance, I grasped its snout to perform a flip in the air till I successfully landed on its neck.

"Consecutive… angry punches!" I yelled out as I threw a series of blows at its neck, causing it to groan in pain but struggle to shake me off.

"Damn, how do I even kill this guy?" I complained, seeing its bruises healed in a few seconds.

"High rogues have rapid healing ability," the girl explained, which made me even more worried.

I knew I could get past its healing speed yet. So I jumped off its body as it started shaking violently.

"You must change forms!" She said.

"Change forms?! How— oh..."

I felt something in my hand so I looked down... only to find another key. But it had a red four-armed humanoid figure on the keyhead, instead of a rooster. "Uh, okay..."

I noticed the holographic monitors in my helmet described it as…

Four Arms — GDSEL.

"So I pull this out, and…" I muttered, as I removed the first key from the belt. This time the helmet read it differently.

Kickin Hawk — GDSEL.

"I've got it," I smirked under the mask and pushed the red key into the belt.

"Recognized." – announced the Driver.

Another cluster of green light beams was unleashed from the buckle, manifesting another holographic sculpture of a bulky four-armed humanoid.

"Grrr!" Amidst my transformation, the monster charged toward me, so I sidestepped to dodge it while rotating the key to activate it.

"Henshin!" I called out fiercely.

"Actually, you don't need to say it," the girl suddenly said with a giggle.

Oh, you little… Never mind. Henshin is actually cool…

"Four Arms!"

— Transformation announcement.

In an instant, the armor on my suit detached from it and disappeared as green beams of light into the buckle while simultaneously, the Four-armed hologram broke down into pieces of armor again, attaching to my body.

"ROOAAAARRR!"

With a loud growl, the wolf rogue launched itself at me, which I reflexively tried to block with my forearms. But oddly enough, it never reached me. It was the two arm-like extensions emerging from my back that stopped the monster and pushed it back.

"Wow… this is awesome," was all I could say.

My armor this time was red and bulkier, and two mechanical arms extending from the back of the torso armor were a bonus. Undoubtedly, a physical powerhouse. Though, I felt a little heavier in this armor than in Kickin' Hawk so I became much slower, naturally.

"Alright! Let's do it!" I cried out.

"Turn the key to strengthen your power!"

"Okay…" now I fully trusted her and did what she said.

"Four Arms Enhanced!"

— Power-up announcement.

I utilized the great strength of all my arms, including the mechanical extras, and pushed the wolf rogue away. After making space, I lunged toward it and lifted its stomach up into the air, causing it to howl in surprise.

In Four Arms form, even the monster wolf felt much lighter. I was able to throw the Rogue into the air like a big baseball.

"Time to use Finisher! Take out your key and scan it with the core."

She sounded weirdly enthusiastic for some reason. Ah, whatever.

Now I took out the key but… where is the core?

"In front of the buckle!"

I brought the Four Arms key in front of the buckle of the belt, from which yellow beams of light emerged, and supposedly scanned the key in a split second.

"Recognized: Finishing Move! Four Arms…"

Whoa, it scared me. Heh…

I took a glance at the wolf rogue still flying like a large projectile. Heck, it looked like a huge trash bag. I slid the keyblade back into the keyhole.

"...One, Two, Three, Ready!"

— Finisher announcement.

With those cringey announcements, I could feel the sudden rise in my strength.

"Now what? Do I have to wait until that wolf reaches the sun?"

I heard her cheerful chuckle again. "You have to jump and fly toward the wolf rogue and maybe do a Rider Kick or Rider Punch."

What the hell? Rider Kick? Rider Punch?! Kinda cringeworthy if you ask me. That aside, how the heck do I even fly?

If flying was possible for me, maybe I could just fly from Bangkok to Beijing to deliver stuff, instead of riding my bike all the way across the wastelands.

"How the hell do I…"

I tried clenching my fists to feel the strength flowing throughout my body. The mechanical arms also clenched their metallic fists in harmony…

Maybe that is it.

"Oh…" I smirked back at my genius. "It doesn't hurt to give it a try."

Feel the power… adapt to it… It's now!

With all my strength poured into my legs, I jumped into the air, with my fist pulled back readily, and the magic of physics did the rest. As I unleashed my first at the flying wolf, my entire body weight moved in the same direction somehow.

It was a truly unreal experience.

"Rider…. Punch!"

With my fierce cry, my fists and the metal fists made contact with the monster's body, resulting in a powerful impact.

In a matter of seconds, it reduced the wolf rogue into pieces, allowing me to fly through. And it exploded dangerously as I performed a cool superhero landing back on the road.

"Huff…"

Dang, that sh*t is so tiring. I'd consider it before I do it again.

"... oh that's right," I muttered to myself and removed the key from the buckle. As expected, it canceed my transformation, causing the armor and the bodysuit on my body to vanish, leaving me with just dirty clothes from before.

"Canceled."

— Detransformation announcement.

The belt also magically turned back into a watch sitting on my left wrist.

What on earth are you?

"Good job defeating him."

"Ah…!"

I was taken aback to see the girl from before, who decided to suddenly appear in front of me again.

"And congratulations. You proved my suspicions right. I acknowledge that you are worthy of my Alterum system."

Her voice was clear and attractive as always.

"What does it mean?"

"It means you are the official Kamen Rider Alterum, Tennyson Hiroki-kun."

Kamen Rider Alterum, huh… Hold up, aren't we forgetting something more important?

"Wait, who even are you?"

She chuckled mischievously in response.

"My apologies for not introducing myself first," she answered. "I am Unitrix, an artificial life form created by Master Azmuth. You may address me by my other name, Eunice."

She doesn't sound as arrogant as before.

"Master… Azmuth? Who is it?"

"Ahem, I hope you won't pry into my matters too much, human."

"But…" I tried to complain.

But well, she explained what I needed to hear.

"The device on your left hand is called the Omnitrix, also created by Master Azmuth. However, you don't have official permission to use its power, because the previous user bonded his DNA with the core."

Damn, this brat, just because she is kinda cute, she is constantly cutting me off with a smile.

"Basically, you are an artificial… human who turns into a sci-fi bracelet?"

"It's the reverse, but it's fine with me if you wish to think so."

Then I gulped, and inspected the Omnitrix, wondering if it would transform into a boy.

"Worry not, Tennyson Hiroki-kun. The Omnitrix doesn't possess the ability to transform by itself, unlike me."

"Oh…" I nodded in confusion. "Please go on with your explanation. I feel like I need to hear it."

This time, she laughed out in response. But it was still a nice sight to behold.

I don't even know her, but she always looked like someone who doesn't smile a lot. Embarrassing…

"What is its power anyway?" I asked.

"The Omnitrix can transform the user into sapient beings."

"So… I can't do that, huh…"

Hmm, so those holograms that appeared to be a hawk-rooster freak, and the other four-armed freak. They must be what the creatures in the Omnitrix looked like.

"Yes. Instead, the Driver grants you armor with abilities of said sapient beings while retaining your human body, through the backdoor access."

I raised my brows. "Oh, god, thanks, I'd rather do that than transform into freaks."

I heard her "Tch" when I said it. I don't know what might have ticked her off, but I appreciate her explanations.

"One more question…" I said.

"Hai?"

"What is… a Kamen Rider?"

Upon hearing my question, she grinned in response, which made me think it was going to be something weird.

"An ally of mankind and justice. Or something like that."

Her answer was quite vague, compared to her detailed explanations from just before.

"Wait, is that all?" I said.

"That Rogue called you a Kamen Rider, right?" She replied. "It means you've been acknowledged as the enemies of zombies and rogues. That's why I gave you the title… Kamen Rider Alterum."

I nodded, looking back at the grotesque view of the bloody road, filled with zombie corpses here and there.

"Is it a good thing?" I muttered.

She shrugged in response. "You decide."

I looked down at the watch and the keys in my hand.

"... I guess… time will tell," I muttered something stupid.

[ Transition ]

---

[Author's Notes: Hello, dear readers. The first part of the story has finished, and I hope you enjoyed the ride! I also request that you ride along the story until the end!

Thanks for reading till now. Now without further ado, on to Part 2.]

The following scene is set somewhere in New Japan, in 2020, around the same time Hiroki became the Kamen Rider Alterum.

A figure clad in a pristine white lab coat stood amidst an array of towering monitors, in a laboratory-like environment. The screens displayed a mix of images, graphs, letters, and numbers—though the stats appeared to be beyond the comprehension of the average person. A wry chuckle escaped the man as the numbers danced on the verge of chaos.

"This is not so bad," he muttered to himself and whistled as a form of celebration.

A handsome man in a similar lab coat entered the room. "How's the progress?"

"It's good, no, great, extraordinary," replied the first man excitedly, "with this technology, we can probably wipe the floor with those petty invaders. What do you think, Karizaki?"

The handsome man, Karizaki, seemed to have something else bothering him. But he tried his best to hide it while handing a folder of confidential files to his co-worker.

"You might not like it," he said, "the rogues and zombies are evolving at a rapid rate. I'd even argue we're going to see another Wave, probably this year."

The last time they experienced a Wave, New Japan fortunately survived, but the rest of the world didn't so much. It was such a tragedy humanity couldn't prepare for.

The smile on his co-worker face disappeared dramatically upon seeing the documents.

"This is bad. Our preparations won't be finished in time."

Karizaki agreed in silence.

"If we can't finish upgrades in time, we'll need a mass-produced model and make up for it with numbers."

"You're right," Karizaki nodded, "finding a new Kamen Rider candidate isn't easy."

Someone with a healthy, strong body and a healthy, strong mind that's hard to corrupt… someone who won't betray the hopes. Yes, it's indeed difficult to come across a potential candidate.

"We'll discuss it with our higher-ups," the man replied, "but for now, I have something else to tell you. I really think you need to know."

"About what?"

"You remember that girl who gave us the data for Valkyrie, right?"

Karizaki narrowed his eyes in response. "Of course, I do."

That one beautiful girl with white hair and green eyes. Karizaki would never forget how she single-handedly saved him and his facility. Beauty and great strength, with an unfaltering mind that was nonchalant to killing zombies.

She was the perfect Kamen Rider Karizaki envisioned.

"... how could I forget that?" He muttered.

"Oi, oi, don't tell me you fell in love," his co-worker looked concerned.

"O-of course not! Moron! Anyway, what's it about her?"

Part of Karizaki was worried if she was found dead or something. Else, he could have brought her to New Japan, and… and what?

The co-worker wanted to scold him, but decided not to.

"Alright, we had sightings of her in Neo-Bangkok."

Karizaki inwardly sighed. God, she's alive.

"Is that so?" He swallowed his reactions. "What else?"

The co-worker twitched his brow. "You sure, you don't wanna meet her, like say thanks again?"

"Never mind about it, I'll just bother her," Karizaki said, walking away, "she's… strong."

"Ah, I am going to Neo-Bangkok later to deliver upgrades to Yamashita and co… you sure you have nothing to tell her?"

Karizaki stopped in his tracks and gulped.

"Give her my greetings… if you do meet her. That's all."

[ Transition ]

---

Atop a building in a far distance from Hiroki and Eunice, an enigmatic figure had been watching them since the fierce battle between Hiroki and zombies broke out.

Now that the show had come to an end, the figure continued to watch the duo chatter, though they couldn't catch any of that.

"Interesting. To see a Kamen Rider here… Japan does know their moves."

It was a rather feminine voice, with the enigmatic figure revealed to possess the silhouette of a woman. She was completely hidden away in a black robe.

"But in the end, Rogues are still… No, it's an undeniable truth."

After a moment, she decided to make a move as well. She took a leap to the roof of a smaller building before jumping down to the ground. Plus, she didn't cause any noise in the process. She was that good.

She landed in a certain place. It was the site where some of the remains of the Wolf Rogue lay. She swiped the remains to the sides, until she found a glistening crystal sphere and picked it up. It had a faint radiant violet color.

"It's a shame he didn't do well… Don't worry, wolf boy," the crystal broke down into pieces in her hand. "I will make good use of your remains. Heh…"

The pieces of crystal were then absorbed into her body somehow.

But bizarre things didn't stop.

Following that, the robes on her body turned into black wings and unfolded, emerging out of her back.

"I hope I will get to see you again… Alterum."

She then shot off into the sky and flew to the north.

We're not alone in this world. Zombies, and now rogues… Who knows if something else dwells in the darkest corners of the world.

[ Transition ]

---

In Neo-Bangkok, Hiroki found solace in an abandoned cabin on the town's outskirts. Preferring the tranquility of isolation at night for a restful sleep, the quiet refuge became his chosen haven.

"Kamen Rider Alterum — candidate. Profile.

Name: Hiroki Tennyson

Age: approx. 22y (born 1998)

Gender: Male

Occupation: Wanderer

Eye color: emerald green

Hair color: brown

Height: 177 cm

Notes: doesn't have a good fashion sense

Personality: reckless, brave, helpful, crazy (?)

Family: none.

As of 2020, xx month, xx day, Mr. Hiroki Tennyson has been officially chosen as Kamen Rider Alterum."

Hiroki twitched his eyes, staring at the holographic monitor Eunice showed him.

"You've been stalking me for three months?!" he exclaimed, shocked at her ridiculous reveal.

She followed Hiroki in secret for months, and kept track of almost everything he did during the last three months. His reaction was natural, unfiltered.

But he also started fearing this woman from the bottom of his heart.

"Yes, it's hard to find a perfect specimen like you in this post-apocalyptic era," she said nonchalantly. "Fortunately, I came across one of you Wanderers. No one else even dares ride across the wastelands filled with zombies, unlike you crazy people. Especially you…"

Hiroki gulped in response. He didn't know how to react, and he wasn't sure if Eunice should be considered a particular good person.

"I-I see, heh, thanks for the compliment?" He replied.

With a mischievous but curious look in her eyes, Eunice approached him and grabbed his chin.

"But you are unique," she said, "everything about you is just right enough to use my Alterum system. I must admit I don't understand why, hmm…"

Hiroki sweatdropped due to the intense pressure the girl was giving off. He was a nice guy through and through, and he must have interacted with weird people a lot along his journeys. But Eunice was too weird and bold for him to handle.

"Interesting. Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

彼女

Girlfriend?!

See? Her sudden question was going to make our protagonist puke blood.

"Huh?! O-of course not!"

"Tell me the names of your parents," the girl asked, stepping back thoughtfully.

"I… I don't know," he gritted his teeth, "I don't even know what they looked like. Why are you even asking me such personal questions?"

"Right, there's no way…" she spaced out for a moment until gently shaking her head, "never mind. Forget that I asked."

It didn't go unnoticed by Hiroki. Everything about the girl was a mystery. She was hard to judge, nonchalant, and emotionless. Occasionally, she would show a smile or a mischievous grin, but something about her told him that she was more than that.

"Eunice… -chan? Can I call you by that name?"

Is it a bit rude? But she's too cute—

"Childish," she replied, coldly.

The girl has no mercy, and no regret making the boy cry inside.

"Forget that," he dropped himself onto a sofa to relax. "Oh, now that I remember, I have something else to ask you."

"What?"

"I want to know your intentions clearly," he said. "I mean, if I work for you as Kamen Rider Alterum, I believe I should know what you want."

"I believe I told you to not pry into my matters," she replied monotonously.

Hiroki thought things had improved between them, but a single question might have brought them apart yet again.

But he still wanted to know.

"That's that, but… alright, I will promise you I won't bother you about it, but I still need to know what you're trying to do. Saving lives? Helping people? Or do you just want to kill rogues?"

She giggled mischievously in response. "Unfortunately, I don't have such a one-dimensional purpose. I'm not exactly a sincere or good person like you would think, human."

The girl then left the room. Hiroki leaned back on the sofa and stayed in silence, closing his eyes.

"I guess I shouldn't rush her," he muttered to himself, "I was stupid."

There were a lot of things in the world he wouldn't understand. But with this girl lending a hand, he dreamed of saving the world, even for a brief moment.

"I wish there was a way to protect people without all the fighting…"

"Sorry, but your wish isn't going to be fulfilled," her voice snapped him back to reality.

"D-did you hear that?"

Hiroki looked embarrassed, but Eunice didn't even care.

She went ahead and snapped her fingers, summoning a holographic monitor before her. The monitor showed footage of an army of zombies, led by a five-man group of Rogues.

"What is this?" He questioned.

"The zombie army coming for Neo-Bangkok," she grinned, "you have to fight this army to defend the town."

"Why do you look so happy…"

The boy was troubled, but the girl seemed excited.

[ Transition ]

---

A few hours later, in the fields to the north of Neo-Bangkok, two lonely figures — a young man and a young woman stood under the orange sky of the setting sun. The young man resembled a Japanese actor namely Takumi Kitamura, and the young woman resembled Kanna Hashimoto, a Japanese actress. But they were no other than Hiroki and Eunice, and no one else.

The townspeople had either been evacuated or retreated further into the town, taking shelter.

There were a few volunteers on the outskirts of the town, of course; a few adults were there to kill off zombies that would potentially escape Kamen Rider Alterum.

Thanks to the girl's information, the boy got to know about the marching zombie army beforehand. Not only that, she also reassured him that the Alterum system was more than enough to handle an army that size.

He reluctantly trusted her. It's not like he had any other choice.

"Feeling anxious are we?" Eunice teasingly asked.

"I don't deny," Hiroki replied calmly, "I just hope I won't hesitate to kill them."

殺す

Kill.

"Do you know how many you have killed in the last three months?"

"Huh?"

She surprised him further. "You killed 132 zombies in the span of the last three months. 132 and a half to be precise, since you finished off a half-destroyed zombie once in Beijing."

He raised a brow, but at this point, he wasn't terrified or shocked anymore.

He groaned, "how the hell did you even count them all?"

"I'm not a human. So my memory isn't garbage."

"Okay, whatever," Hiroki murmured in response, and decided to space out instead. Meanwhile, Eunice kept her eyes on him, gazing intently and observed him from head to toe, making him visibly uncomfortable.

But she had no delicacy. She didn't spare a thought for the subject.

Hiroki truly can't understand her.

"Hmm, human, you need some upgrade," she suddenly said.

"W-what upgrade?"

Special training? Super-soldier serum injection? Gamma rays? Getting adopted by Tony Stark?

"First of all, your outfit. It is lame, dirty, and lame."

It was indeed dirty. Hiroki does have a few clothes to change into but people nowadays don't have luxury for convenient hygiene anyway.

"You said lame twice," he sighed, "no one even makes clothes anymore. We are grateful we don't have to wear clothing made from leaves and trees yet."

"No, no," she stared into his eyes, "a superhero must appear likable and clean to people he protects! Also, you will encounter someone else like you today."

"Bullshit," he retorted, backing away, "I get some armor on when I transform—"

"Oh, they are coming," she interrupted with a grin, "we'll talk about it later."

Hiroki rolled his eyes in response, while Eunice transformed herself into the Unitrix bracelet on his right wrist.

Multiple packs of zombies were advancing in the direction of Neo-Bangkok. The rogues leading the army were nowhere to be seen.

"I won't let you invade the town," he crossed his wrists, shouting, "come forth! Aruteramu Doraibā!"

"Alterum System Activated."

— Activation Announcement.

"Let's do some ass-kicking!"

He then hastily inserted the Four Arms key and turned it right away without waiting for the hologram showoff. Skipping some unnecessary steps, I assumed Kamen Rider Alterum, Four Arms form.

"Your catchphrase is also lame…" Eunice remarked in a deadpanned voice.

"Shut up!"

It's not even a catchphrase. Hiroki made a mental note to come up with one that sounds cooler later.

With Four Arms form's strength, Hiroki managed to take down the zombies one after another. But after a while, it became a hassle to move around in this heavy, slow armor, even if every single punch he threw was effective.

"Hey, any cool move with this guy?"

"Hmm…" she remarked, "this form is actually a bad choice to fight a horde."

"You should have said it earlier," the boy complained, jumping back to avoid getting swarmed over.

"But I do know a cool move."

"Tell me, quick!"

He grabbed two zombies with his mechanical hands and slammed them together. Then he used a zombie corpse as a weapon in beating the crap out of the other undead.

Quite a bizarre and grotesque improvisation.

"Thunderclap," Eunice said. "Make a guess."

Alterum threw the zombie "weapon" back at its friends, pausing for a moment to think.

"Clap my palms together and make shockwaves, I suppose?"

"Exactly," she replied.

The boy looked down at his own hands before turning around to face the horde of zombies coming for him. He took a deep breath and clapped his hands together, resulting in a powerful shockwave, the impact of which sent all the zombies hurtling back to the crowd, crashing into each other.

It looked grotesque than ever to look at, but Hiroki wasn't even fazed.

Eunice chuckled in response. She knew Hiroki was kind… but fierce, willing to carry the burden of sins to protect whom he wanted to.

He had lost everything already. He couldn't lose more, that is. So he was just grateful to have this power.

"They recovered so fast," he mumbled to himself, clenching his fists as he watched some of the wounded undead getting up among the corpses.

At that moment, someone greeted him out of the blue.

"Fancy meeting you here…"

Hiroki flinched in response and looked behind to see the owner of the voice. It was a woman who appeared older than him.

For a moment, of course, he was going to remind them to evacuate, but…

"... Kamen Rider," she said.

"!? You are…" Hiroki stuttered out of surprise.

She was indeed. A rogue. With her skin pale white and her eyes dark purple, she also sported some disgusting scars and black crack-like tattoos, plus a pair of dark wings sticking out of her back and two purple crystals embedded in her chest. A cluster of black feathers in the form of a dress covered the rest of her body.

"Yes, yes! I'm a Rogue!" said the woman with a grin, "but don't worry. We're not enemies."

"Be careful," Eunice whispered, reminding her partner to keep his guards up.

Understanding the signal, Hiroki kept his gaze fixed on the rogue woman with his hand on the Driver.

"Rogues are not your enemies, Kamen Rider… Alterum," she said, "there is… a real enemy out there."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You will understand it soon enough," she giggled, rather gracefully, unsuited for a rogue, "oh, also I believe you have more problems to deal with now."

"Wha—"

Suddenly, he was pushed down to the ground by zombies that leapt from a blind spot. Subsequently, more zombies swarmed over him, effectively blocking his sight completely.

"Wait!"

He yelled out. He still had questions for that woman. But he could only hear the flapping of her wings as she took off.

He desperately removed the zombies from his body with the mechanical arms and got them out of his sight, but at this point, all he could see was her flying away like a crow in the sky.

"Shit, what was that about?!"

"Might be a distraction," Eunice answered, "but forget about her for now. She isn't one controlling the zombies."

Hiroki nodded and punched the zombies that were bothering him.

"Human, there they are," she notified him, "the rogues."

No sooner had he eliminated all the zombies around him than he witnessed the rogues dramatically walking out of the undead army. They all wore black robes, which was supposed to be their uniform or represent a dark fashion sense.

And then at the dramatic moment, they all removed the robes to reveal their mutated bodies.

It was freaky and grotesque… even to someone like Hiroki.

"What the heck!" he exclaimed out of disgust.

"Yes, your reaction is normal," Eunice remarked. "These rogues have passed a mutation. They mutated so their bodies could accept the power of the injected serum."

"Looks terrible," the boy noted.

There were five rogues. The two rogues on the leftmost and rightmost sported weird spots and black weirdly patterned tattoos that appeared similar to those of a hyena. The one in the center had two horn-like appendages which were insectoid, resembling a stag beetle's horns.

The two rogues surrounding him looked like humanoid vultures, though their wings were either incomplete or torn thus making them more grotesque.

"I feel pity for them," Hiroki muttered out of sympathy.

Just what could have driven them so far to even… make them look like this?!

"Human…" "Kamen…" "Rider…" "Enemy…"

They tried to speak, but each could only utter a word. A single word. But there was something ominous about it.

Hiroki was worried. "Oi, are they even in their right mind?"

"Nope," Eunice replied coldly. "They probably lost it because they can't stay sane after injecting immense energy into their body."

"Oh…" was all he could say in response.

"Strengthening oneself as a rogue needs willpower. If one isn't mentally strong enough, they won't last sane."

Sane or not, the rogues are still enemies of humanity anyway. Yet he couldn't help but feel bad for them.

"Sorry but," he declared, making it loud and clear, "this is where you stop."

"Human…" "Kamen Rider…" "Kill…" "Enemy…" "Destroy…"

They aren't being dramatic about it.

"Tennyson Hiroki-kun," the girl snapped him out of his thoughts, "it's not the right time and place to space out."

"I know," he clenched his fists, "let's go!"

With his fists pulled back readily, he charged toward his enemies and then without hesitation, threw the punches at the beetle rogue in the middle. However, the rogue somehow deflected his blows with its horns and ended up headbutting him.

Hiroki wasn't in his right mind. He wasn't that crazy, but Eunice knew he was distracted, badly enough to affect his decisions.

What is he thinking…!?

"Human."

"What?" He responded in a bitter tone. "Holy–"

And then a couple of unforeseen fists smacked him in the face. He was knocked back, finding it hard to fight the beetle rogue that was just so tough. Otherwise, the rest of the rogues were fast enough to outrun Four Arms armor.

What he needed was his brainpower, but at this point something else clouded his mind.

"Stop thinking."

"What are you talking about?!"

This time, he sounded mad.

"Listen, Tennyson Hiroki. And snap out of it."

The horn of the beetle rogue transformed into something else that captured Alterum and held him in place, allowing other rogues to attack him in unity.

Inside the armor, Hiroki felt barely any of that. He knew something must be done…

"Yahhh!"

With a fierce cry, he broke free of the binds and tore apart the horn of the beetle, causing it to screech in pain. And then he rotated the keys for a nice, little power-up.

"Four Arms Enhanced!"

— Power-up announcement.

"Grr!"

There he goes. As the hyena rogues jumped onto him to drag him down, he grabbed them using his mechanical arms and hurled them right at the vultures with such a great force that sent all of them flying.

Except for the horned one.

"Come!" Hiroki shouted and gritted his teeth.

The beetle rogue lunged right at him, but with the right timing and just the right amount of strength, Hiroki managed to grasp its horns in time. He then lifted the monster off the ground before spinning and throwing him away with all his might.

"Use the finisher before they morph! Quick!" Eunice instructed.

"Roger!"

I pulled out the key and scanned it with the core of the buckle.

"Recognized. Finishing Move: Four Arms!

One, Two , Three, Ready."

— Finisher announcement.

"Rider punch…"

It happened in a blink.

With his power enhanced to the maximum now, he lunged toward the beetle to give it a good smack in the face.

But two vulture rogues got in his way and ended up receiving the punches instead.

The "maximum" power is a short-lived one, because the human body isn't capable of handling that much power for a longer period of time.

Knowing that, Alterum decided to use all his excess power to take on the vultures, instead of hunting a beetle. His consecutive serious punches absolutely destroyed the two rogues, even exploding them.

When they turned into smoke, they left nothing but a purple crystal on the ground.

"Itt must be the core of the rogue."

"The core?–"

He was then pushed back by the hyena rogues, at least away from the crystals.

"Pick them up fast before they get them!" Eunice suddenly said, "tch, too late!"

"What? What's too late– oh…"

The hyena rogues picked up the crystals and handed them to the stag beetle rogue.

Just what are they doing?

The beetle rogue swallowed the crystals!

"This is bad…" Eunice alerted. "Get away from them, human!"

Hiroki didn't know what was going on, but he instinctively jumped back to keep a distance from the rogues.

Following that, the beetle rogue grew larger and larger in size, fusing with the hyena rogues and a large number of zombies, until it became as large as a ten-story building. Yes, it was real shit.

"Grrrrr!"

It was one loud growl.

"Damn it," Hiroki cursed and turned the key once again.

"Four Arms Enhanced!"

— Power-up announcement.

This again.

The colossal titan rogue attempted to slap the Kamen Rider with its extra gigantic palm, which was rightfully stopped by the Four Arms. I mean, yeah, the four arms as in two arms plus two mechanical arms.

"Now what…"

"Rwarrrrr!"

In the ground, zombies had surrounded the Kamen Rider, now that he was in a bind.

Hiroki got distracted again. But that one moment was enough for the giant to catch him off-guard and send him flying.

"What the–"

But fortunately, the boy recovered his balance with a roll on the ground. He didn't have time for a break though.

The giant rogue extended another hand readied for another attack.

It was that very moment that he heard a series of gunshots from behind.

"Bang!"

"Grrrr!"

The world around him was in pure chaos. Even the colossal titan rogue groaned in pain while the zombies were quickly taken care of, by the flying bullets.

Hiroki was silently confused for a moment.

"A rifle?"

It's been a long time since the last time he saw a firearm.

"What are you doing?! You are a Kamen Rider, right?!"

A masculine voice. It was a young man who seemed to be older than him, dressed up in a heavy armored vest and a black military uniform, shooting the zombies with an assault rifle. His fierce eyes well reflected his spirit and passion. Above everything, he looked Japanese and quite resembled Kento Nakajima, a Japanese actor.

There were a number of armed soldiers besides him fighting with him against the zombies.

"That driver…" he muttered, glancing at Alterum's belt, "Anyway, we gotta finish them off before they reach the town!"

Alterum/ Hiroki paused for a moment, wondering who he was, but recognizing him as an ally, he nodded in agreement.

"Go!" The man yelled, continuously shooting down the zombies. "We will back you up!"

"Time to switch forms again, Tennyson Hiroki-kun," said Eunice.

Hiroki looked down at his hand, where a new GDSEL key appeared out of thin air. It had a greenish-blue bulky figure carved on its handle.

GDSEL stands for Genetic Data of Sentient Extraterrestrial Lifeform.

"Thanks…" he said and immediately switched the Four Arms key with the new one, and turned it on.

"Recognized: Diamondhead."

— Transformation announcement.

Alterum's new armor was shiny greenish-blue, which at first glance seemed to be semi-transparent. Unlike Four Arms armor which was made out of metal, Diamondhead armor was made of tough crystals. The helmet and some part of the torso and limb armor were also made of purple rock-like material.

In short, unlike most modern Kamen Riders, Alterum's Diamondhead form looked rough and unpolished. But the toughness of it is unrivaled.

The military guy could only watch Alterum in awe.

"Is that guy even a Kamen Rider?" He muttered to himself.

"How to use this one?!" Hiroki said.

Thankfully, now he had got time to take it easier, thanks to the soldiers helping him out.

"Diamondhead is much more durable than Four Arms, so you can at least withstand the damage better. Also, you can manipulate the crystals, though I'm not sure how. This armor is still a work in progress. Try punching the ground."

"Good enough," he replied confidently.

Coincidentally, to test it out, a zombie lunged toward him. Hiroki hit his fists together, making a loud thud, and then slammed a fist with the ground.

At first, some cracks appeared, until a greenish-blue stony pillar emerged from the ground. Unfortunately for the incoming zombie, the pillar hit it in its neck, snapping it.

"Wow," Hiroki said in awe. "Just… wow."

"Crystalokinesis. I hope you enjoy it," said Eunice, followed by a chuckle.

"What is that even…" the military guy had his jaw hanging.

In order to get used to the nature of the form, Hiroki decided to punch things around. At some point, he tried to activate his crystalokinesis while throwing a jab at a zombie, which turned his hand into a crystal blade, piercing the enemy.

"This form is cool…" he muttered, "but it's also so scary."

He then sliced the zombies apart with his blade.

"You'll have to practice to get used to it," said Eunice. "But for now, let's go beat the giant one. Use this key."

Another key materialized out of thin air in his hand again. This time, it didn't have any creature figures on it. Instead, there was a "10" engraved on one side, and an "S" on another.

The holographic monitor also displayed it as "Tenn-speed Object Key" instead of a GDSEL one.

As he knew what to do next, his hand reached for the Diamondhead key to pull it out, but Eunice stopped him.

"No, use the one next to the buckle."

He never had a good look at the belt, but it's only just now that he found a smaller device attached to the strap next to the buckle. There was a keyhole in it, too, so he inserted the key into it.

Normally, his armor would be transformed but this time, a portal appeared before him instead, and dropped off his beloved Harley Davidson 2007 Night Rod, much to his surprise and concern.

"Wha— wait?!"

But he didn't have the luxury to worry.

"Turn the key," the girl instructed.

"But what is my bike doing here—"

"Just do it!"

Annoyed but at her command, he reluctantly rotated the key which made his bike glow green, much to his concern.

"Arghh! What is going on with my bike?!" He shouted. It was a natural reaction, considering the bike was his only family.

Green beams of light emanated from Alterum Driver, shaping light constructs in mid-air. These constructs then soared toward the motorcycle, affixing themselves to it. Subsequently, they transformed the vehicle into a brand-new form, featuring a green-black hourglass symbol on its side.

"Stop complaining," Eunice scolded the boy, "Get on the bike, we have to finish the rogue!"

"Ah, heh…"

With half-doubts, Hiroki climbed onto the motorcycle and looked around until he saw a lot of buttons before him. But he dared not touch them. He looked back and gave a nice thumbs-up to the military guy as a car roof-like hood emerged over his head, alongside a windshield with complicated monitors in front of him.

"This doesn't even feel like my ride anymore," he tried to complain.

"Now do the finisher."

Internally praying his bike was fine, he took a deep breath and scanned the Diamondhead key with the Alterum Driver.

"Recognized: Finishing Move! Diamondhead & Tenn-speed!

One, Two, Three, Ready."

— Finisher announcement.

Before me, a runway crafted from a shimmering greenish-blue crystalline material rose from the ground, reaching towards the sky.

"Rider… uh, how should I name this attack…"

"Just go already," Grumbled Eunice.

"Vrooom!" The vehicle roared as Hiroki accelerated out of impatience.

"I see, how about Rider Vroom?"

"..." Eunice didn't reply. Maybe because it was too cringey.

Releasing the brakes, the motorcycle went off with a loud roar, its tires gripping the highway as it sped towards the colossal titan rogue.

The runway abruptly ended somewhere mid-air near the rogue but Alterum pushed his motorcycle to its limits, hurtling off the edge at full speed. The vehicle sliced through the creature's body. The entire scene seemed like something straight out of a mission impossible film.

Instead, as soon as he landed back on the ground, crystalline veins bulged from the colossal rogue's body, giving way to crystal spikes. The rogue emitted a piercing growl for the last time before shattering into pieces.

The bike then came to a stop, followed by Hiroki detransforming.

"Cancelled."

— Detransformation announcement.

"We've got them! We've got them!" He shouted in celebration, jumping off his bike.

Eunice then restored her human form and pointed back at the battlefield.

"It's not done, yet," she said, "We need to collect their cores and confiscate them."

"Oh…" Hiroki remembered how the beetle rogue used the cores to power up themselves. "You're right. Alright, let's do it."

Though it was a battle that ended in the victory of the protagonist's side, the aftermath of it wasn't very beautiful. The entire field was covered in corpses and dead, rotting flesh. It would take a while until this area would be cleaned, but those people in military uniforms volunteered for it. But Hiroki was curious about who they really were.

Eunice knew who they were, but she wasn't the type to talk about something she deemed unnecessary.

But, well, soon the military guy from before went out of his way to meet Hiroki.

"Hey, kiddo, you're that Kamen Rider, right?"

"Ah…" Hiroki hastily handed the crystals to his partner, Eunice, before politely bowing to him.

"Thanks for your help, um, officer!"

"O-oh," the man nodded in response before replying thoughtfully, "yeah, it's my duty after all. So no problem, kiddo."

Hiroki was kinda weirded out by the way he called him a kiddo, despite the fact that he didn't look much older.

"That aside, are you an official Kamen Rider?"

"Y-yes," Hiroki was a bit taken aback by how serious the man was. But it's not like he understood what an "official" Kamen Rider was.

"Don't get me wrong. You are Japanese and all, but I didn't hear any Kamen Rider was assigned to this area."

Hiroki was actually American-Japanese. But he never thought race and stuff matter in the apocalyptic era, so he didn't correct the officer. It's not like Americans are immune to the zombie virus, anyway.

"Hmm, Konnichiwa," the officer started speaking Japanese all of a sudden.

"Konnichiwa," replied Hiroki, scratching the back of his head.

The officer seriously stared at the boy, inspecting the latter from head to toe. But it was different from the way Eunice looked.

"Show me your rider ID."

'Rider ID? What the heck is that?' was Hiroki's first thought upon hearing that.

He lost his identification documents a long time ago. Not that it mattered much in this world anymore.

"He's a legitimate Kamen Rider," Eunice answered on his behalf, "He just doesn't use Zedgear."

"What?!" The officer turned his gaze at the girl. "Who are you?"

"I'm the creator of his driver. I hope we can get along, Yamashita Reiji-kun, the leader of the Rising."

The Rising? It sounds too cliched to be the name of a special squad. But from the looks of it, it seemed Eunice was right.

Reiji Yamashita looked pretty surprised. "How do you…"

"Don't worry," she grinned, creeping him out. "We're not enemies."

'Yeah, that's the same thing that Rogue woman told us,' Hiroki thought.

Reiji calmed down and turned his attention back toward Hiroki.

"At any rate," he said, "such a dangerous device shouldn't be in possession of a normal civilian."

"Whoa, don't go assuming things like that," Eunice didn't hesitate to argue, "My candidate, Tennyson Hiroki-kun, is as strong and brave as the members of your team, if not better, Yamashita Reiji-kun."

Reiji wanted to make a counterargument, but she wasn't wrong. After all, he witnessed Alterum/ Hiroki's fight against the rogues and zombies. His fighting style wasn't that great, and he seemed to space out a lot on the battlefield. In short, he was obviously inexperienced in this kind of battle.

Even then, Hiroki had spirit and potential, which Reiji couldn't deny. Reiji was a disciplined man through and through who would rather stick to the rules all day, but he was a bad liar.

So he had no choice but to accept Hiroki/ Alterum. But of course…

"Have him train on my team, then," he said, "a battlefield is a dangerous playground. He needs to know all the rules and laws if he wants to fight and save lives."

"Rules and laws do nothing but limit human ability," Eunice argued. "Neither you nor I make such limitations on my candidate. Because unlike you guys, he has limitless potential."

This girl, Eunice. She just outright insulted Reiji and his team as if she knew the best about them.

"Wh-what did you just say?!"

Here we go. A fight is breaking out.

After silently watching the two argue for a while, Hiroki let out a sigh of annoyance and chose to walk away in stealth mode before he got involved in their crossfire.

"Oi, kiddo, come back here!" Reiji shouted at his back.

"We are not done talking," said Eunice, grabbing Reiji. That was when he found the hell; the girl was a shehulk! He thought his shoulder bones were breaking apart.

Hiroki didn't even look back.

[ Transition ]

---

The following event is set in Hong Kong, early 2020. It begins with a loudspeaker command that went like:

"Don't let her escape! We must bring back the prototypes at any cost!"

In the surveillance cameras, a young, elegant lady in a black uniform could be seen sliding down the handrails of the stairs, followed by soldiers in military uniforms who were unfortunately three floors late.

"Idiots," the young lady successfully arrived on the first floor and put a belt on her waist, and discarded a suitcase.

Yes, it was indeed a Driver.

"No! Don't let her use it!" The panicked voice on the loudspeaker shouted.

The lady, paying no mind to the voice, looked down at the Driver and muttered to herself.

"How am I supposed to use this crap?"

The soldiers finally arrived on the first floor and aimed their rifles at the disinterested young lady, who nonchalantly slid two card-like items, each with a key-blade-like attachment, into the slits on the sides of the belt. The soldiers nervously waited to shoot her, but…

"Sh*t, it's too late…" the loudspeaker voice said in a devastated tone. "Get her!"

"Henshin…" the woman said in a monotone and pushed the keys downward. The soldiers started spamming their bullets.

"Verify: Lion X Samurai!"

— Transformation announcement.

Enveloped in a radiant golden light, she appeared invincible as the flying bullets either passed by or collided with the invisible barrier surrounding her. Meanwhile, said light eventually solidified into a white armored suit on her body, embraced by golden pieces of armor. Her visor eyes glowed red, with golden tattoo decorations along the upper edges. Her golden and white helmet resembled the head of a lioness, however with a pair of samurai-style horns on the front just above the visor eyes.

In the sheath attached to her waist was a katana with a golden handle that had the image of a lion engraved on it.

"From today on, I shall be known as…" she said, unsheathing her katana, "Kamen Rider Rise."

This is the end of Episode (1).

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Thanks for reading, everyone. Again, let me request that you follow and favorite this story to show support! A review would be fine, too and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to come forward.

Chris Chronos.