Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Onto the story!
Previously on Across the Kaleidoscope
"The Delta Gear has been stolen…"
"A new… Kamen Rider?"
"It wasn't my intention to kill him, he was just standing between me and my mission."
"You want something from my journey and I want to know what it is."
"You'll find out in due time, when you reach the world I want."
"The Faiz Gear…"
He could not believe he was actually going to do it. Never in his life would he think he was going to do what it is he was about to do.
The cloaked young man reached into his cloak and took out a large, black stopwatch that had a gray clock face with no hands. He put the stopwatch in front of the Faiz Driver and Phone, which he had taken out of their case.
He pressed the button on top of the stopwatch and a purple hologram of a clock was projected in front of it as a distorted beeping noise played. The minute hand moved clockwise once and, upon making one full rotation, the face of the stopwatch was replaced with the face of a monstrous Kamen Rider.
FaIz!
The masked man glanced at the new watch he had created for a few seconds before looking at the Faiz Gear.
"Huh. What do you know? They didn't disappear," he commented as he picked up the Faiz Phone in his right hand. Maybe they will disappear once he has actually used the watch.
Did the Faiz Gear not disappearing change his plans? Not really, no. But that did mean he needed to take care of them later.
He put the watch back into his cloak and tossed the Faiz Phone into his left hand. "What to do? What to do?" He muttered to himself. "I got it!"
A small smile appeared on his face.
"Now to find the perfect body," he hummed as he turned to the case that contained the other Faiz Gear and put everything back. The hooded man closed the case and picked both it and the Kaixa Gear case up. Summoning another Aurora Curtain to somewhere else, the young man left the abandoned school.
The dark halls remained quiet for a few minutes before the sound of footsteps echoed. Light poured into the classroom the cloaked man was just in as a gas-mask-wearing young man entered the room.
He flashed his torchlight around the room and noticed the signs of the disturbance, such as the scuff marks and footprints on the floor.
"Tch!" The young man clicked his tongue in frustration, "He beat me to them."
That was three-for-three now. Everything he wanted from this world had already been taken by that cloaked man…
Chapter 12: Justifiable Ends
The sound of explosion filled the room, coming from the television, as Tetsuya watched an action flick while keeping his bandaged leg up. Takumi and Keitaro had returned back to their home after bidding them farewell (the latter, at least).
Ritsuka, meanwhile, had claimed the table off to the side of the room and had taken out his collection of KamenRide cards.
"Kuuga. Ex-Aid. Kiva," he muttered as he put them and their associated cards like the AttackRide and FormRide cards on the table. The rest of the cards, the ones that were still not restored, were in a stack to the side. All except one set.
"And Faiz." Ritsuka stared at the KamenRide: Faiz card specifically. When he is done with this world, that would put him at four out of twenty cards/Rider Worlds. Granted, only three of them would actually work but talking about that would be splitting hairs.
He took out his white Decadriver and placed them above the four sets of card decks. Ritsuka's eyes focused on the nine symbols around the glass in the center. He then glanced at the symbols on the FinalAttackRide cards and noted that Ex-Aid's symbol was missing from it while the others were.
While it may be premature to call it but Ritsuka would not be surprised if-
"Hey," Ryoko interrupted his train of thought as she came back into the room, "What are you looking at?"
"Just organizing my cards," Ritsuka answered as the girl scanned the four sets of cards.
"…Say," she said when her eyes glanced over Ex-Aid's card. "Why did Emu's powers not work?"
She was watching Ritsuka when he tried and failed to transform into Ex-Aid while fighting the Grizzly Fangire with Hakuno and that blue-haired nun.
"If I have to hazard a guess, it's probably just because Emu's powers aren't compatible with my belt," Ritsuka correctly guessed. He reached for the deck of other Rider Cards and took the one at the very top and another a few cards down.
"Remember these two?" He asked as he showed the two cards to her.
"Hmm… Oh yeah, those were the first ones you used," Ryoko recalled.
"Right. Agito and Ryuki," Ritsuka named the two Riders on the cards. "They're symbols are on the belt. These two right here."
He pointed to the two symbols to the right of Kuuga's.
"But this Rider-" Ritsuka put down the two cards and took another one that was about three-quarters down. "-is not."
The card he had taken out was the one belonging to Kamen Rider Gaim, which he had previously attempted to use back in Ryoko's and Tetsuya's world. Like the Ex-Aid card, it did not work and he was forced to use Ryuki's instead.
"So that means you can only use the powers of Riders whose symbols are on your belt."
"Exactly. And that means I'll only be able to use these ones if they're all fully restored." Ritsuka removed the top quarter of cards from the deck.
"How many is that?!" Tetsuya shouted from his seat, having somehow overheard their discussion over the TV.
"It's only nine of the twenty Rider Cards I have." Ritsuka was excluding his own Decade from the set.
"Really? From here that deck's way less than half!"
"The Riders in the second half usually have more stuff going for them than the first half," the amnesiac teen simply answered before he started to pack things up. He also wanted to go check up on his photography room to check up on his newest photos.
"You had all of them from the start, right?" Ryoko asked as Ritsuka put the cards into the RideBooker.
"Yeah."
"So whoever sent them to you must have a bad sense of humor if he knew that you could only use a third of those cards."
"Maybe so…" Ritsuka muttered. He knew there had to be a reason why they all came together and he had the feeling that the Rider cards whose symbols were not on his belt could be used. He just did not know how.
Regardless, he was done thinking about it for now and got up to leave the room.
"Hmm… This is boring," Tetsuya sighed as he began to flip through channels, having gotten a bit tired of watching buildings getting blown up.
Since she had nothing else better to do, Ryoko decided to join him in watching TV and took a nearby seat, waiting for him to choose something good to watch.
Xxx
Elsewhere in the world…
He had to be quiet, very quiet. It was not that he could not deal with the trouble that would happen if he alerted the people here. He knew that he easily could deal with whatever would be thrown at him or just escape with ease if he felt like it.
No, it was just pragmatism. It would be harder to locate the room he was looking for if he also had to be fighting something.
So here he was in the middle of one of the worst to be in. Sure, he could find what he was looking for in the forests of Germany where it may or may not be less dangerous (though, it was likely to be more), and he would very much rather search there but since he did not know where that manor was exactly located, he had no choice but to search here.
He may be able to go anywhere in the world, but if he did not know where the place he wanted to go is, then he cannot open a portal there.
Despite being completely shrouded in darkness, he knew that something like that did not matter when it comes to those self-pompous mages. Sure, he did have access to super-speed but that would still not be enough. In other words, taking it slow and steadily did not matter, and going at it as hastily as possible also did not matter.
The only saving grace he had was that he could summon an Aurora Curtain to get out as soon as he was done.
Hearing footsteps coming from the end of the hall, the cloaked man ducked behind a corner and waited for them to quietly disappear. Once he was sure that they were gone, he continued his search for the homunculi cultivation tanks he knew were somewhere here…
Sometime later, back in Japan…
"Can't even have the rest of the day off…" Takumi grumbled to himself as he ironed one of the laundries that Keitaro had tasked him to do. In the background, he faintly heard the news reporter playing on the television as he worked.
Keitaro, in the meantime, was balancing the book out by the front desk. The owner of the dry-cleaners was humming a joyful tune when he heard knocking on the door before it opened.
"I'm back." A girl their age tiredly announced her return before yawning.
"Welcome back, Mari-chan," Keitaro greeted the third and last resident of their little home. "How was work?"
"Tiring," Mari yawned/replied before going into the living room and crashing onto the couch.
"Oh, you're back," Takumi commented but continued to iron without glancing in her direction. "Have you heard what happened?"
"No… What happened?"
"Keitaro got attacked by an Orphnoch, there are two Riders in town, and Smart Brain's president got killed."
"Oh… Wait, what?!"
"Okay, okay. I think I got everything straight," Mari said, no longer feeling tired thanks to the shock of Takumi casually dropping what happened in the last six-ish hours. "Our new neighbors are from an alternate world, one of them has powers like Takumi, and someone that's following them stole a Gear from Smart Brain and murdered President Akaibara. Am I getting that right?"
"I got attacked and the van got destroyed," Keitaro added, "Isn't that important?"
"Yeah, you got all that right," nodded Takumi, sitting in a chair right-angled to the couch. "I'm pretty sure there's still talking about it on the news."
"How did I not hear about it earlier?" Mari complained quietly. While only a couple of the televisions set up in her workplace were always set to the news, she thought she would have heard one of her co-workers or customers gossiping about it.
"Can you contact those friends of yours?" Takumi asked her. "They'd know something about this, won't they?"
"You're probably right. I'll get my phone." Mari proceeded to search through her back and took out her phone. Opening it, she realized that she had a bunch of missed calls from one of her old friends.
Her phone barely rang twice before the other person picked up.
"Hello? Rina, it's Ma-"
"Mari?! I've been trying to reach you!" Rina's panicked voice came through from the other end. "Where's the Faiz Gear?!"
"It's with us," Mari's brow furrowed, worried over why her friend was panicking. "What's wrong?"
"Come quickly! Kagata's fighting Faiz and Delta!"
"Eh?!"
Takumi and Mari rode to their destination on a mostly silver motorcycle, the former steering it while the latter held onto the Faiz Gear case. It was not long before they arrived at the place Rina had told them.
Even though she had told them what was going on, they were still shocked to see a black Kamen Rider with golden lines fighting against another Kamen Rider Delta and… another Faiz.
"How…?" Takumi stared at the scene with wide eyes. "How is that possible?"
The Faiz Gear was with him. It was right there in Mari's arms. How could there be a second Faiz?
"Mari! Haizuka-san!"
"Rina!" Mari identified the girl that ran up to her. "What's going on?!"
"I don't know, they just appeared and attacked Kagata," Rina hurriedly explained and looked at the case in Mari's arms. "Is that-?"
"Mari, give it to me," Takumi snatched the case out of her hands and hurriedly put the Faiz Driver together.
After putting on the belt, he took out the Faiz Phone and dialed 555.
Standing By!
"Henshin!"
Complete!
Red lines came out of his belt and a few seconds later, his armor materialized. Faiz flicked his wrist before rushing to help Kaixa fight off the other two Riders. He came in with a heavy punch aimed for the other Faiz, hitting the fake(?) in the chest and forcing him back.
"About time you got here," the person using the Kaixa Gear groaned as he took a combat stance next to Faiz. "Why's there another Faiz and Delta running around?"
"I'm just as much in the dark as you are, Kagata," he replied, staring down at the two Riders standing in front of them.
"You deal with the other you, I'll deal with the second Delta," Kaixa ordered him before immediately charging at his target.
"Don't order me around." Still, Faiz was more than willing to fight the other Faiz.
The other Faiz, meanwhile, stood straight and made a "come at me" gesture, trying to antagonize the true one. It worked and Takumi dashed towards him and tried to punch him again.
However, the other Faiz easily dodged the attack and retaliated with a swift jab to his belly, pushing him back a couple of steps. He then followed it up with a kick to the face, knocking the true Faiz to the ground.
Meanwhile nearby, Kamen Rider Kaixa, Kagata Masato was having an easier time handling the other Delta. The black-and-white Rider seemed very inexperienced with fighting compared to the other Faiz. It was one of the reasons he had chosen to fight him rather than the more powerful Faiz.
Kaixa easily either dodged or blocked the energy shots Delta was shooting with his sword. The bullets that actually came close to hitting him, that is. He quickly closed the distance between them and slashed the gunslinger upwards his chest.
"Ah!" Delta shouted in a normal-sounding voice as he rolled onto the ground.
Back with Takumi, he silently groaned as he lay on the dirt. He did not know if it was just him or not but the other Faiz's attacks hurt more than any Orphnoch he has ever faced by that point. Regardless, he pushed himself back up and took a deep breath.
He knew he could not underestimate his opponent and blindly rushed in. Instead, he stood his ground and waited for the other Faiz to come to him.
Noticing this change in tactics, the other Faiz quickly thought the best way to counterattack the true one. Raising his right arm, the other Faiz pressed the start button on his wristwatch.
Complete!
Start Up!
"What?!" The true Faiz shouted in surprise as the other Faiz's form changed. His red Photon Lines turned silver, his yellow eyes turned red, and chest armor folded up and onto his shoulders, revealing the wiring and components beneath.
He did not get the chance to say anything else as the other Faiz moved as fast as light and punched him hard in the chest. The blow was so strong that he was sent flying way back right to where Mari and Rina were watching. He did not hit anything else nor heard their reaction as the other Faiz was already there and sent him flying back with a kick.
This time, Faiz did hit something. Namely, Kaixa, who had been fighting Delta. The true Faiz collided with him straight on, sending both of them tumbling to the ground.
"Ow! Watch where you're flying, Haizuka!" Kaixa shouted at the Rider on top of him.
"You think I want to be sent flying?!"
Nearby, Delta let out a sigh of relief at his foe having been distracted by the timely intervention of his ally.
Time Out!
Speaking of which, the other Faiz stopped right next to him. He glanced at him and nodded towards the two. Understanding what he was trying to say, Delta raised his Blaster up to his head and said, "Check."
Error!
"Huh?" He did not know what he did wrong while the other Faiz facepalmed.
ATTACK RIDE: BLAST
Before the red-eyed Faiz could instruct Delta on the proper way of using an Exceed Charge, both of them were hit by a hailstorm of bullets as Ritsuka, already transformed into Decade, arrived on the scene.
"Mari-chan!" Mari, who had been surprised by the appearance of the magenta Kamen Rider, heard Keitaro shouting at her. Looking back, she saw him and another girl running towards them. "We got here as fast as we could."
"Kitsugi-san, who's that pink Rider?" Rina asked, equally surprised by his appearance.
"That's Fujimaru-san, Kamen Rider Decade!" Keitaro introduced Ritsuka for him. "And this is his friend."
"Is this really the time for introductions?!" Ryoko shouted. "Wait, who's that guy?"
Focusing back onto the battle itself, Faiz and Kaixa had finally stopped bickering and joined Decade.
"A new Gear?" Kaixa remarked, "That'll have to come later."
"Hey, Fujimura," Faiz called out to Decade, misnaming him again, "What's going on, why's there another Faiz Gear?"
"How am I supposed to know? I don't live here," Decade retorted before looking at Delta. "What the hell are you up to? I thought you said-"
"Hey, buddy, you're talking to the wrong person," his masked follower's deep-sounding voice said. However, his voice did not come from Delta, but rather the red-eyed Faiz.
"Great, so you ditched the Delta Gear for Faiz's powers," Decade remarked as he turned to the other Faiz. "What are you up to? You said that you were fixing my mistakes. How is this a mistake?!"
"Firstly, that was in regards to you giving this Delta Gear to Smart Brain," the other Faiz said, pointing to his companion's belt. "And secondly, I'm still fixing your mistakes, believe it or not."
Needless to say, Decade had no idea what he was talking about.
"Hey, faker," Faiz, meanwhile, had his own questions, "How did you get a copy of my Gear?!"
"And a copy of the Delta belt?!" Kaixa added to Faiz's question. "Saya should be keeping it with her!" He had assumed that Delta Gear was also a copy since the Faiz Gear turned out to be a copy.
"What?" Mari turned to Rina, "Saya, as in Ando Saya? She had a Gear of her own?!"
"Oh, these?" The other Faiz glanced down at his Driver. "That's a secret."
"Fine then. We'll just have to beat it out of you," declared Decade. While he did not have much investment in the copycat Gears as much as the other two, he was definitely invested in what his cloaked "friend" was up to.
"In that case, I'll just do this."
"Wait! No!"
Start Up!
Before anyone could react, the three Riders were already sent flying into the air thanks to the other Faiz activating his super-speed to take them by surprise. The three landed all over the place, crashing into the ground and groaning in pain at being hit by a punch that was going near-lightspeed.
Time Out!
The red-eyed Faiz stopped right where he started, next to the new Delta. The inexperienced Rider actually jumped in surprise at the sudden takedown of their opponents and the other Faiz's reappearance.
"Man, that was pathetic…" The red-eyed Faiz remarked, "You're not really that much of a threat, you know."
"Damn you…" Decade managed to get out as he tried to get back up but just fell back down. The other Faiz did not seem to care at his remark though and turned to Delta.
"Come on, we're leaving," he told him as he opened an Aurora Curtain behind them.
"Ye-Yes…" Delta nodded before he went through the portal. The lines of his body and his visor continued to glow from the other side as Delta waited for his ally to come through.
"Wait! Don't go!" Decade tried to reach out to the other Faiz but was obviously too far away.
"I guess I'll leave you with some information," the other Faiz said without much prompting. "These Rider Gear aren't copies as you guys so believe."
From out of nowhere, he took out another case and opened it. The injured Riders as well as Mari, Keitaro, and Rina were shocked to see the contents of the case, none more so than Kaixa.
Why? Because inside was another Kaixa Gear.
"What?!" Kaixa looked at the other Gear and down at his worn Driver. "Even mine?!"
"That's all I'm willing to say so see ya." The red-eyed Faiz closed the case and stepped through the portal, his visors glowing as he turned back. The Aurora Curtain disappeared quickly after, leaving everyone to lick their wounds…
Fujimaru residence…
"Ow, ow, ow!"
"Don't be a baby, Ta-kun. This is good for you," Keitaro scolded Takumi as the former helped bandage the latter's wounds. "Look at Kagata and Fujimaru-san; they're not complaining, are they?"
"Yeah, Haizuka. I got it worse than either of you and I'm not making a fuss, am I?" Masato smirked as he got his own injuries treated by Mari. Their other friend, Rina, had left them earlier to look for Ando Saya, the wielder of this world's Delta Gear.
"Shut it, Kagata."
Nearby, Ritsuka was silently getting his wounds tended to by an equally quiet Ryoko. Tetsuya sat next to them, curious as to what had happened since this was the first time Ritsuka had returned really injured. While he did get hurt in the previous two worlds, Ex-Aid's and Kiva's, the former was mostly him coming down with Game Illness while the fight with the King in the latter world was not as bad as he was now.
"What happened out there?" He asked. His two friends either did not hear him or did not want to answer and remained quiet.
Luckily for Tetsuya, the others were more than willing to talk about what had transpired. One of whom was pretty vocal and was not going to hold anything back.
"That guy that you said saved you attacked Kagata here. Normally, I would be fine with that-"
"I'm sitting right here."
"I know," Takumi said, "That guy with the Delta Gear attacked Kagata with a copy of my Faiz Gear."
"Why would he do that?" While he only had two interactions with the cloaked man (and that was questionable at best), Tetsuya thought he was not an enemy.
"That other Faiz said he wanted to correct whatever your friend's mistake," Masato answered. "What that has to do with copies of our Gears, I have no idea."
"Ritsuka?" Tetsuya looked at the injured teenager, "What mistake was he talking about?"
"...Don't know," Ritsuka quietly said. It was not a lie, he truly did not know what the masked man was talking about. He knew what they would bring up next so Ritsuka quickly tried to change the discussion away from the other Faiz. "He was using the Delta Gear?"
"Whoever it was, he was weak, I can say that for sure," Masato told them his observation from his quick one-sided fight with the new Delta. "He couldn't even aim all that well. It felt like I was beating up a 10-year-old."
"Ignoring the fact that you know how it feels to beat up a 10-year-old, how the hell did that guy even get copies of our Gears in the first place?" Takumi addressed the biggest issue regarding the other Faiz. "Did Smart Brain create them and he stole them alongside the Delta Gear?"
"I don't think so. If Smart Brain could make copies in the first place, why would they ask for us to return the Faiz Gear?" Mari spoke up for the first time. She was referring to a previous incident a while back.
"Gear this, Gear that. My head's starting to hurt from all this talk about Gear…" Tetsuya muttered to himself.
"At any rate, we know for sure now that Keitaro's 'savior' is not a good guy and is planning something," Takumi surmised. "What we need to do now is to come up with a plan to take him and his accomplice down."
"Can't believe I'm saying this but I agree," Masato admitted before turning to Ritsuka, "And you, newbie?"
"...Yes, we have to stop whatever it is he's planning," Ritsuka said after a moment of silence.
Meanwhile…
Somewhere else within the city, in an abandoned warehouse, a young man tossed and turned as he slept on the tarp that he was using as a bed. Memories flashed in his head of being in a vat tube from various moments of his life. Eventually, the last memory he had of floating in the vat appeared in his mind; him barely seeing past the liquid and glass at the cloaked man that stood outside.
"You'll do."
And the glass broke.
"Thank… you…"
The sleeping man woke up with a jolt, shooting up while sweating bullets. He took many deep breaths to calm himself as best he could. However, he then fell back down on the tarp, no longer having the energy to keep himself up.
"Finally awake, I see," a familiar voice said and the young man looked around to see where it was coming from. "Don't bother, you can't see me."
"Why…?" He croaked out, his throat not being used to speaking any words.
"Eh, semantics. It doesn't matter at all to you," the voice replied. "What does matter is if you can continue on with the mission."
"I… can…"
"I'll be the judge of that. Try standing up."
The young man followed the command and tried to stand. However, he could barely move his legs at all, let alone standing on his own two feet.
"Just as I thought," the voice sighed, "Spending literally your entire life in that tube did not do wonders for your muscles."
"Use… suit…" The laying young man glanced at the three cases nearby.
"Yeah, that might work. Problem is, can you even handle the strain of transforming again? I really should've just used the watch from the beginning."
"Use… watch…"
"Like I said, the strain could kill you. Oh, why did I think that using a homunculus would actually work?" The voice sounded like he doubted his own plans. "Well, the alternative was using an innocent person but you're also innocent, aren't you?"
"Innocent…"
"No, stop doubting yourself. This is all for that outcome. In the end, none of this will matter… nothing will matter…"
"Watch…"
"Stop doubting yourself," the voice repeated himself. A second later, a silver wall appeared next to the homunculus and out stepped the person who broke him out of the tank, a black pocket watch in his hand.
He sighed deeply, apparently regretting something, before pressing on the button on top of the watch.
FaIz!
"Let's do this. You'll be the next stepping stone in Decade's journey. May nobody remember you existed once this is all over," the masked man sadly declared before he inserted the Faiz AnotherideWatch into the homunculus's body.
The artificial human screamed as purple energy swirled where the watch was inserted as black mist exuded off his body, Black marks appeared on his face as his eyes glowed before black veins covered his body. The veins disappeared shortly after and red lines glowed on his new body.
FaIz!
The homunculus slowly got up like a zombie and stood tall in front of his savior. His body had completely changed; most of his distorted and armored skin had turned ash-gray while the rest was black as jagged red lines ran all over his body. His chest had looked like it was a ribcage, raised and caved in at the proper spot.
His head was similarly distorted like the rest of his body, with yellow vein-like structures around his eyes bordered by the red lines. One of the most distinguishing features about him now though would be the bone-colored belt that looked like it was part of his body and the buckle that had a symbol shaped like his face.
Finally, on his right shoulder was the word 'FAIZ' while on his left was the number '2021'.
"Haa…" The homunculus rasped as he looked at the masked man. The latter's attention was elsewhere though, specifically at the nearby cases containing the various Gears. Underneath his mask, his eyes looked down as the three cases started to literally disappear out of existence, glitching in and out of reality for a few seconds before, finally, disappearing for good.
"It's all gone now…" He muttered before addressing the elephant in the room. "Now then, as a backup."
The cloaked man took out another blank RideWatch and quickly inserted it into the monster's body. "As for your orders, Another Faiz…"
Later that night…
After a long night's work of brainstorming a plan of attack, Ritsuka stared up at the ceiling of his room as he lay in his new bed. It was hard for him to sleep after all that had happened over the course of the day and various thoughts filled his mind that refused to leave.
Turning his head, Ritsuka stared at the telescope he had bought in Kiva's world.
"...Maybe I can clear my mind that way," he muttered to himself before pushing himself up and going over to his telescope. Of course, he immediately ran into a problem. Namely, that his and Takumi's houses were nearly right next to each other with only a small alley separating them. All that he would be able to see would be a wall.
Ritsuka was not deterred by it though as it meant that he could go out back… Wait, did they have a backyard?
Regardless, he picked up the telescope before making his way downstairs and outside. The street lights were on and a few cars passed by, Ritsuka noted. It was also a bit cold out and a pink t-shirt may not be the best clothes to wear during a winter night but he did not mind.
He went into the alley between the houses and came out the other side. Surprisingly, they did have a backyard. It wasn't big, but there was enough space for him to stargaze for a bit.
After setting up his telescope, Ritsuka began looking through the lens up at the stars above. Fortunately, it was surprisingly a cloudless night, letting him locate some constellations.
First, he pointed his telescope at the brightest star he could see.
"There's Sirius…" Ritsuka muttered as he began to fiddle with dials of his telescope to get a better view. Eventually, he got it down and located the constellation it belonged to.
"That's Canis Major," he muttered upon finding the constellation representing one of the two hunting dogs. Taking note of the shape, he pointed his telescope to the constellation's up and found another set of stars.
"Canis Minor." He found the constellation of the other hunting dog. Continuing upwards (relatively), he located his third set of constellations.
"There's the twins…" Ritsuka did not know why he did it but focused on the two brightest stars of one of the Zodiac constellations. "And east of that would be another one of the Horoscopes…" He located the bull constellation, Taurus.
"Now, the best part." While it would have been easier to have started with the three stars that were in a straight line, Ritsuka had opted to leave that stage for later.
He pointed his telescope down relative to the Taurus and Gemini constellations and saw it; the Tri-Star Archer.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Ritsuka shot up from his telescope lens and looked at the alleyway. There, he saw Takumi dressed in his pajamas.
"Oh, it's you," Ritsuka sighed, thinking his quiet night was getting disturbed. At least his mind was not thinking about the cloaked man anymore. "Just stargazing, it's a small hobby of mine."
"That explains the telescope and your mumbling," Takumi said as he went over to him.
"You heard all that?"
"I did," Takumi nodded, "So which one were you looking at."
"Orion," answered Ritsuka. "You heard of him?"
"Of course. He's a hunter with that belt named after him, right?" Takumi looked up to the sky, trying to locate Orion's Belt with his own eyes.
"Well, you're not wrong but you're underselling him a bit," Ritsuka replied as he went back to looking through the eyepiece. "Orion was a demi-god; the son of the Greek god of the sea, Poseidon, and a human woman."
"I remember reading as a kid that he was a hunter that got the blessing of a goddess."
"Orion was the hunter of Greek mythology. A version of his legend says the scorpion that killed him was sent by Mother Earth who thought Orion threatened to hunt every creature on the planet," the stargazer explained in detail, "After his death, the goddess of the hunt, Artemis, who loved Orion, carried him into the heaven where he turned into the constellation we see up there."
"But those are just stories told by people who didn't understand how stars work," said Takumi, discounting the myth as just a fairy tale.
"Maybe, maybe not."
"I'm betting on maybe not."
"A bit close-minded, aren't you? Wouldn't it be fun if stories like that are actually true?" Ritsuka quietly chuckled to himself.
"Fun would not be what I would describe someone like Zeus."
"...That's fair," he admitted that Takumi had a point. "So what are you doing out here anyway? I don't think you came out here just to talk about stars and legends with me."
"Yup, I couldn't care less about that stuff," nodded Takumi. "I'm here 'cause we can finally talk in peace."
"..."
"I'd like to say that I have pretty good senses, like hearing for instance," the wielder of the Faiz Gear revealed that fact about himself. Ritsuka could already tell where Takumi was going with this.
"You overheard what happened in my room all the way from the dining room?" Ritsuka looked back up from the eyepiece.
"I did," Takumi confirmed, "I thought I was hearing things, but then you brought up what that guy said when we fought him just now."
'Fought' was pushing it a bit but Takumi made his point.
"Haven't you heard the term 'privacy'?" Ritsuka quietly huffed before more loudly saying, "So what if I've been in contact with that infuriating bastard? If you heard what he and I were talking about, you'd know that I really have no idea what he's up to either."
"I'm not doubting you on that." That was the reason Takumi did not accuse him of anything when they were discussing battleplans earlier. "But I have to ask why those friends of yours don't know anything about him. Jindo told me that you've known them for over two years."
"...Can you guess how long that guy has been talking to me for?"
"For a while, at least."
"Try as long as I can remember," Ritsuka revealed, "After I was found in that alley, I was taken in by the caretaker of the dormitory. That's where I met Tetsuya, and when I was enrolled in the school, I met Ryoko. Since then, we've been friends. But…"
"There was someone else."
"...Yes."
Two-and-a-half years ago…
"Here, you can stay in here for today," the woman who found him told Ritsuka as they walked into one of the rooms on the first floor. The boy that helped her stood by the door, looking in on them. "No one is using this room so it'll be fine for you to use."
"Thank you…" 'Why are you doing this for me?'
"Get some rest," she told him as he sat on the unused bed. "I'll wait downstairs for the doctor to get here. Tetsuya, please keep an eye on him."
"O-okay," the boy nodded as the woman walked past him. What were their names again? It hurts to think.
A silence filled the room as he quietly sat on the bed while the boy watched him from the doorway.
"...Dammit, why do I have to use the toilet now…?" He heard the boy mutter, whose legs started shivering a bit.
"Um… Fujimaru, was it?" The boy said after a minute, "Please stay here and don't move, I'll be back in a minute."
The boy left the doorway to go to the toilet, and before he could do anything, a cold wind blew in from the window and the door slammed shut.
"..."
"This is quite the pickle you're in, isn't it?"
"Huh?" He looked around and saw nobody else in the room. "Who's… here?"
"Seriously, after all that, I'm surprised you're still standing. Well, not standing, but you get the gist." the disembodied voice continued to speak. "Your mind is not that altogether though, since you're hearing voices speaking in your head and all."
Was he just imagining the voice? Ritsuka could not tell. His headache made it hard for him to think, let alone identify who it was that was speaking.
"But still, that plan of yours failed spectacularly, didn't it? It was going so well until that final hurdle but somebody had to intervene, didn't they?"
What was that voice talking about?
"...Urgh, but I can't hate her for intervening. How could I?" Ritsuka heard the voice sighed. "Well, in any case, it looks like you get a new chapter in your story. Wonder how it'll turn out."
"You… Who are you?"
"Oh please, don't give me that dumb look."
Ritsuka could tell he was not going to like whoever the voice he was hearing was.
"Anyway, time to go under. Maybe not six feet but I need to get used to your new situation. Maybe this lack of memories will let you get a truly fresh start."
The voice disappeared, and Ritsuka sat there with an even worse headache from trying to decipher what he was talking about.
Present…
"He already knew I couldn't remember anything before I myself knew for certain," Ritsuka told Takumi. "And for a long time, I thought he was just a voice in my head. That he was just a figment of my imagination."
"Well, that imaginary voice of yours packs a seriously powerful punch," Takumi remarked, still feeling his body aching from the various blows that other Faiz dealt.
"I never knew he even had a body for years until over a week ago." When that cloaked man summoned him to talk in that field. "Even then, I wrote him off as an illusion. Guess I wanted to believe he did not actually exist."
"Why's that?"
"I don't know," Ritsuka shrugged. "That's why I never told those two. If I talk to him, that's me acknowledging that the guy was real and had a presence in my life."
"And you called me unable to trust anybody…" Takumi muttered.
"Yeah, sorry about that," Ritsuka apologized. "However, now that guy has made his… not his first move, I… we need to be ready for it."
"And staring at stars is a way of getting ready?"
"Hey, you have your hobbies, I have mine," he defended himself.
"...So will you ever tell them about that guy?" Takumi asked the biggest question. "You know they deserve to know."
"I do." Ritsuka had known that from the very beginning, since the masked man was the one who pushed him into the journey in the first place. "Especially now that Ryoko knows that I know him."
Ryoko had been there when they got their ass handed to them by the masked man. She heard what he said. Ritsuka knew that she was quiet earlier because she wanted him to talk about it.
"Then will you?"
"...I don't know."
"Well, it's not really my place to tell you to do anything. Especially not since I'm keeping my own secrets from…" Takumi had no idea why he had mentioned that. He barely knew Ritsuka, having only met him earlier that day. Maybe it was because he had learned the other boy's secret?
"Yeah… When I think I'm ready, I'll tell them…" 'Hopefully…' For now, Ritsuka went back to stargazing.
Takumi, meanwhile, left him and went back inside, giving Ritsuka the peace and quiet he had wanted…
The next morning…
Ritsuka let out a loud yawn as he walked down the stairs and made his way to the dining room.
"Oh, good morning, sleepyhead," Ryoko cheerfully greeted him as he entered the room. She was currently frying some eggs and bacon for breakfast, having woken up earlier than him.
"Uh… Good morning?" Ritsuka was slightly caught off-guard by how jovial she was. It was just yesterday that she had learned he knew the guy who had been following them. "Is Tetsuya still sleeping?"
"Yeah, I checked on him earlier. He seems to be acting like himself," Ryoko answered, "Told me to get out and let him get more sleep. I don't think he'll need any help getting down."
"You sure? That cut looked pretty… bad…" Ritsuka trailed off upon noticing Ryoko's confused look.
"Cut? What do you mean 'cut'?" She tilted her head.
'Okay, something's definitely wrong.'
"Nothing, I'm not really thinking straight." He had spent a few hours outside in the cold after all.
"Mmm…" Ryoko seemed to doubt what he said but returned to cooking.
Ritsuka, meanwhile, went to sit and wait, taking out his Rider Cards and began shuffling them to pass the time. He eventually pulled out four cards and read them.
'Fourze… Hibiki… Blade… and Agi-'
"Good morning…" Tetsuya yawned as he finally came down. "What's cooking?"
"Food," Ritsuka answered as he looked up from his cards. He glanced at Tetsuya's leg and now knew for sure that something was wrong.
Somehow, between last night and this morning, Tetsuya's leg had healed up. Ritsuka noted that his friend, who was not able to move on his own yesterday, was now casually walking towards the table as if nothing had happened.
"You feeling better now?" Ryoko asked as she also came to the table with plates in hand.
"Well, I no longer feel like I want to constantly throw up so I say I'm good," answered Tetsuya as Ryoko put the plates on the table. "Thanks."
"So what's the plan today?" Ryoko asked as she sat down. "Are you going to go annoy Takumi-kun again?"
"Of course," Ritsuka answered, putting his cards away and taking a plate of eggs and bacon. "What will you two be doing?"
"Hmm… Keitaro-kun said he's willing to pay us if we help him with his business today."
"I see…" Okay… What the hell did that guy do?!
Meanwhile, next door, Takumi was similarly confused as he stared at the van outside his (read: Keitaro's) home, right next to the Auto Vajin and Side Basshar.
"Hey, Keitaro."
"What is it, Ta-kun?"
"When did you get the van back?" Takumi asked.
Keitaro, who was sweeping up the front of the store, did not seem to understand what Takumi was talking about. "What do you mean?"
"Didn't the cops take it into custody or something?" He also noticed that the van was in perfect condition despite the engine apparently getting destroyed yesterday.
"The police? Why would they do that?" Keitaro raised an eyebrow.
"I-"
"Alright! We'll be off!" Mari shouted as she ran out of their shared home, interrupting Takumi. A second later, Masato followed after her while yawning.
"...Was that there yesterday?" He said, noticing the van.
"You too, Kagata-san?" Keitaro questioned. Of course it was here. What else could have happened to his delivery van?
"Masato, hurry up!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Masato put that to the back of his head as he hopped onto his personal vehicle while Mari sat in the sidecar.
"Have a good day!" Shouted Keitaro as they drove off. He then turned to Takumi and said, "Did something happen to the van that I'm unaware of? Both you and Kagata-san were surprised to see it."
"I have no idea either…" Takumi answered, "I'll be back in a second, I'm gonna visit our new neighbors…"
Meanwhile, Smart Brain headquarters…
"Sir, the meeting with the representative will be at noon."
"Yes, yes. I know, Hasegawa." Akaibara Kyouji waved off his secretary's reminder as they entered his office. He already was ready for the meeting and had brought one of his finest wines for it.
Down in the entrance hall of the building, the employees were only starting to come into work
However, a blood-curdling scream ripped through the building, causing everyone who heard it to stop in their tracks. Before anyone could do anything, a body fell from above and landed in the middle of the center courtyard with a loud thud.
"Are you okay?!" The closest person to the body shouted. The body, however, immediately turned to ash that got scattered by the breeze, leaving behind their clothes.
More screams filled the air as a second figure jumped down from high up. However, this figure was more monstrous and looked at the crowd that was gathering with blank eyes. Another Faiz let out a loud cry before he charged towards the innocent workers…
Fujimaru residence…
"Hey, Fujimura! You awake yet?!" Takumi called out as he let himself into Ritsuka's house. Hearing a muffled shout coming from the living room, he went into the room and saw the residents loitering in there, having just finished breakfast.
"Oh, good morning, Takumi-kun," greeted Ryoko.
"Yeah, just let yourself in…" Ritsuka, meanwhile, was not as cheerful at Takumi visiting them as Ryoko was. What do you mean he was planning to barge into Takumi's house? That's just absurd. "So what's with the house call?"
"I… What happened to your leg?" Takumi stared at Tetsuya, noticing that the latter's leg had already healed up.
"My leg? There's nothing wrong with my leg," Tetsuya said as he glanced down.
"Wait, you too?" Both Ryoko and Ritsuka questioned. The former because Ritsuka had mentioned something about Ritsuka earlier, and the latter because Takumi had realized something was off.
"So something changed here too," Takumi remarked before turning to Ritsuka, "Is it because of that guy?"
"Guy? What guy?" This time, it was both Ryoko and Tetsuya who were confused. They sincerely had no idea what Takumi was talking about.
"...Takumi and I will be going on a walk. I'll be back in a bit," Ritsuka told them as he stood up from the couch.
"O…kay, be careful…"
"Wait outside, I'm going to get a coat."
"Be fast, there's something-"
"Yeah, yeah."
"So your friend is acting like nothing happened to his van, despite the cops calling him yesterday that they were taking it?"
"How are you not surprised? You were there when they called him."
"True," Ritsuka admitted. "Is there anything else that seems off?"
"You mean besides Tsugami's leg being fine now?" Takumi sarcastically asked.
"I meant on your side of things," the black-haired teen huffed.
"Hmm… Kagata also noticed the van. Other than that, nothing," answered Takumi.
"So the van that was left behind yesterday somehow got fixed up and left outside your house and everyone but us Riders think that nothing's wrong…"
"Do you really need to spell it out?"
"I'm just thinking out loud," Ritsuka huffed again.
"There's also the fact that your friends don't know who that guy was," Takumi added, ignoring Ritsuka's grumbling. "So someone's messing with everyone's memories?"
"And by someone, we both know who it is." Ritsuka would not put it past that cloaked man. That guy had also messed with the police's memories back in Kuuga's world so Ritsuka knew that he was capable of it.
"But why? What sort of plan involved fixing a van and making people think that it was never damaged in the first place?"
"Why are you asking me? How would I know what's going on in his head?" Ritsuka grumbled. "The only reason I could think of is that he considers the van getting damaged my mistake."
"Well-"
Beep! Beep!
"Hold on a moment," Ritsuka said as he took his phone out of his pocket. "What is it now?"
He had received a message from an unknown number. Opening it, Ritsuka saw that whoever it was had also sent him a photo of…
"What…?"
"What's wrong?" Takumi asked as he tried to see the screen. When his eyes laid on the photo, he had a more vocal reaction to Ritsuka. "What the?! Is that supposed to be Faiz?!"
The photo was of a monstrous version of Faiz taken from above in a familiar-looking courtyard. Around him were ashy bodies, obviously killed by the monster Rider.
However, Ritsuka ignored Takumi and read the main message. "Smart Brain. Come fast or there will be more casualties."
"Smart Brain?" Takumi nodded to himself before taking off back the way they came.
"Hey, where are you going?!" Ritsuka shouted at him, not moving from his spot, "This is obviously a trap! We don't even know if this is real!"
"So?! I can't let someone go around smearing my good name!" Takumi shouted as he ran out of earshot.
Ritsuka let out a small sigh before glancing back at the photo. He recognized the monster from somewhere and a name appeared in his head. "Another… Faiz…"
Smart Brain headquarters…
The masked man silently listened to the screams that echoed through the hallways of the Smart Brain building as he sat next to a second-floor window. The building had gone into lockdown, with the metal grates falling in front of the entrances and windows, preventing those inside from escaping.
From what he learned, the Orphnoch chairman had installed it so that when the revolution starts, the human employees of Smart Brain would be sitting ducks for the Orphnochs. However, it proved to be their undoing.
As an Another Rider, not only could Another Faiz not be defeated so easily, if he was, he'll just get back up fit as a fiddle. In the end, the Orphnochs that tried to fight back were killed while the others fled.
However, a small part of him was starting to doubt himself, with what he was doing. Was he really okay with letting Another Faiz rampage until those two get here?
'Of course I am,' he thought resolutely, powering through his doubts, 'The ends justify the means. Besides, nobody will remember anything in the end. It will all disappear in the end…'
"Help me! Somebody help me!" He heard someone scream before Another Faiz killed him.
'Urgh… But does he have to make it so bloody?' He really should have expected that magically-created homunculus would not be compatible with the technological-themed powers of Faiz. That's not to mention the nature of the RideWatches. He still does not know whether they are magical or technological.
He went back to looking out the window, staring at the police officers that were gathering outside the building. Guess someone managed to call them during the chaos. However, they were not able to get past the lockdown and were stuck outside.
"What's taking them so long…?" Granted, that stubborn idiot did not have his bike anymore but he knew Takumi had the Auto Vajin. He was even tempted to just drag them here with an Aurora Curtain just to speed things along.
After waiting for five more minutes, while Another Faiz continued slaughtering the employees of Smart Brain, one of the two he was waiting for arrived. The masked man saw the Auto Vajin pull up in front of the building, behind the line that the police had set up to hold back curious passersby.
"Finally," he muttered before opening a silver wall behind himself. In the reflection of the glass window, he saw Another Faiz step through while dragging a disintegrating body. Turning around, he turned to the monster Faiz and asked, "Are you ready? The time has come."
Another Faiz let out a deep growl in affirmation, more than ready to follow his orders.
"Well then, try not to get killed before he gets here." He then turned back towards the window before he opened another Aurora Curtain.
Downstairs…
Takumi barely had time to react before he and his bike found themselves in the middle of the courtyard entrance of Smart Brain. Quickly taking off his helmet, he looked around as he got off the Auto Vajin.
'Where is he?' He thought as he saw the ash-turned bodies all around him.
"Welcome, Kamen Rider Faiz!" Takumi snapped up upon hearing the deep-sounding voice to see a man in a black cloak leaning over a railing a few floors up. The young man had covered up his face with a mask and a scarf, making it nearly impossible for Takumi to see any features. "Looks like you got here before he could!"
"Why are you wearing that mask?! Got something to hide?!" Takumi shouted at him.
"Something like that! My identity doesn't matter to you, and the one person who it matters to already knows who I am!"
'What?' "Were you the one messing with everyone's memories?!"
"I'll admit I'm somewhat responsible, it's just a side-effect of Another Faiz's creation!" The masked man answered.
"So where is that terrible copy of me?! Or did he run away as soon as he heard me coming?!" Takumi smirked slightly.
"Oh, he should be down there right about… now." And his smirk instantly faded away.
Thinking fast, Takumi ducked just in time to dodge something that was thrown at his head. Turning around, he saw the monster Faiz next to the broken doorway to the staircase. He did not even have time to even think of a snarky remark before the so-called Another Faiz rushed towards him.
"Distract him for me!" Takumi quickly pressed the Faiz symbol on the Auto Vajin. The motorcycle swiftly changed form, turning into a large robot and flew towards Another Faiz. Caught off-guard by the transforming motorcycle, he was tackled straight on and sent hurtling back.
Takumi, meanwhile, had opened the Faiz Gear case and put together the belt. Strapping it onto his waist, he dialed the transformation code into the Faiz Phone before raising it above him.
Standing By!
"Henshin!"
Complete!
The Faiz armor materialized around his body before he flicked his wrist and dashed towards another Faiz.
"Hmph…" The cloaked man huffed before walking away from the railing.
Outside…
Ritsuka looked up at the lockdowned building, nearly completely out of breath from running all the way there. He really needed to get a ride for himself. The only reason he did not was that he had no idea how it will follow him through the multiple worlds.
However, he had more pressing matters and put that thought in the back of his mind.
There was no way he was sneaking past the barricade that had been set up by the police, no matter how good his ability to talk through things were. Besides, there was a large grate that was blocking the entrance from inside. Even if he hypothetically knocked out a cop and steal his uniform, he was not getting past that.
"Quite a pickle you're in, isn't it?" Ritsuka heard someone say behind him.
Turning his head back, Ritsuka saw a young man about as tall as he was. He was wearing a black shirt underneath a blackish-brown jacket with blue jeans. The young man had shoulder-length black hair and brown eyes that were focused on the building too.
"...Who're you?" Ritsuka asked. He did not recognize him, not even the feeling that he should know him. As such, he was thoroughly confused as to what the young man was talking about.
"Me? Who I am doesn't matter yet," he looked down and winked at Ritsuka. "You need to get in there, right? Do you need any help with that?"
'Great, another mysterious man trying to help me…' "What's it to you?" Ritsuka aggressively questioned him.
"I have my reasons," the young man flashed Ritsuka a smile, "There's a few things I want and so long as Another Faiz is running around, I won't get them."
"So what? You want me to give you something in exchange for destroying Another Faiz?"
"Not really. You will be dealing with Another Faiz while I'll be taking what I want. So… Get onto it."
"Hang on! I'm not-"
"Goodbye, Ritsuka-kun."
Before Ritsuka could do anything, an Aurora Curtain washed over him and he found himself inside one of the offices in the Smart Brain building.
"...Great, just… great."
Now there was another person following him around. Something told Ritsuka that the young man who threw him in there was not the same as the cloaked man. That was just… great.
Sighing, Ritsuka steeled himself up and went out of the office and into the hallway. In one direction, he heard the sound of battle and immediately went towards it.
"How did Faiz get in here?" Akaibara muttered to himself as he watched the surveillance cameras in the main atrium. More importantly, why was there a monstrous version of Faiz killing his employees including the Orphnochs.
He, along with his secretary and security guards, had evacuated into a (luxurious) hidden bunker meant for emergencies. Since a monster had broken into the building and slaughtered his employees, he constituted it as an emergency and hid.
Today had just been a disaster, hadn't it?
"Sir, how long will we be in here?" Hasegawa asked him in concern.
"Until Faiz dealt with his imitation," Akaibara off-handedly answered as he popped open the wine he had brought for the meeting. Chances are he was not going to meet the representative so why let good wine go to waste? "Get me a glass, will you?"
"Yes, sir." Hasegawa bowed before leaving the room to get a wine glass for her boss.
Akaibara went back to staring at the security camera and watched as Faiz slashed the imitation with his sword. In the back of his mind, he tried to come up with a way to spin the incident to the press as to hide the existence of his people. They were not ready for the revolution yet, especially not since the Orphnochs under him were also killed. Even if some of the humans get resurrected, it will not help much.
"Quite a predicament, isn't it?"
"Who's there?!" Akaibara turned to his side to see the cloaked man who let the imitation Faiz loose standing there. "How did you get in here?!"
"Simple, really. I'm trained in many things," the cloaked man replied as he ran his hands on a knife's blade, trying to intimidate him.
"...Are you with them?" Akaibara asked, putting emphasis on the last pronoun.
"In a sense," the masked man shrugged. "I would say no but I still have ties to them."
"So they've sent you here to kill me, despite me helping them with that invasion," Akaibara sunk into his seat and glared at his would-be assassin.
"I just said I'm not really with them. This knife is just for show," the young man in black huffed.
"Then why are you here? Why did you send that mock Faiz to kill my workers?"
"I'm killing two birds with one stone here; I deal with some leftovers while also pushing Decade along his journey," he answered.
"Decade? He's here?!" A concerned expression swiftly replaced the chairman's glare.
"Guess the meeting got erased too. Not really a surprise since the Delta Gear was vamoosed out of this world's history."
"If you're not with them, then who are you? What do you want?" Akaibara questioned him.
"Who I am and what I want doesn't matter. After all, you'll not live long enough."
"Wha-! Ack!"
A smoking hole appeared in Akaibara's chest, going all the way through his body and the chair he was sitting in. He let out a small groan as he weakly reached for his chest, his body slowly turning to ash.
"Wh…Why?"
"Like I said," the cloaked man said as he put his gun away and stepped closer to the chairman, "You're dying, why should I tell you what you died for?"
"You… You…" Akaibara tried to say something but slumped into his chair.
"Hmm-hmm…" The cloaked man hummed as he pushed the chair away just as Akaibara turned to ash. He was about to leave but managed to glance at the monitor. "Wait, how did he get in here?!"
Somehow, Ritsuka had gotten into the building and was now fighting Another Faiz alongside Takumi.
"Well, that's a mystery for another day." He really should not hang around a dead body for too long, that secretary could walk in at any moment.
Opening another Aurora Curtain, he took his leave and started to plot his next move.
A minute earlier…
Ritsuka leaped over the last few steps of the stair and ran past the broken doorway. He could now see that Faiz, the Auto Vajin, and Another Faiz were fighting to a standstill. The monster version has somehow surviving on his own against his original counterpart and his robot motorcycle.
"...Dammit, I want one." Ritsuka could not help but mutter as he watched the Auto Vajin use its wheel guns on the Another Rider.
"Fujimura?! Don't just stand there!" Faiz, spotting him, shouted.
"No need to shout," Ritsuka huffed as he put on his Driver. "Henshin."
KAMEN RIDE: DECADE
Illusionary armors appeared around Ritsuka before they converged on him. Within the blink of an eye, he transformed into Decade and rushed to help Faiz deal with his Another counterpart.
Changing the RideBooker into its sword mode, he slashed Another Faiz as he skidded past the monster, giving the true Faiz the chance to stab his sword into the monster's chest.
"Hey, Takumi, where did that guy go?" The magenta Rider questioned the true Faiz even though they really should be more focused on Another Faiz.
"He ran off while I was busy fighting this faker," Faiz responded as he slashed Another Faiz again, sending the monster stumbling back again. "But he did say he was the one who made him and that's why everyone's acting weird."
"An Another Rider…" Decade muttered, temporarily stopping attacking Another Faiz and watched as the true Faiz kicked the monster back once again. 'How could both of them exist at once?'
Now that he thought of it, how did the masked man even use Faiz's powers? Let alone using it at the same time as Takumi was. As far as he recalled (somehow), two of the same Riders cannot exist at the same time.
Burst Mode!
The sound of blaster shots interrupted Ritsuka's thoughts as Faiz had turned his Phone into its Blaster configuration.
'I should probably help him with that…'
ATTACK RIDE: BLAST
The RideBooker's blade folded as it turned into its gun mode before Decade started blasting as well. With no way to return fire due to having no weapons, Another Faiz was pushed back into a pillar and forced to take the hail of bullets head-on.
Eventually, they stopped shooting as the true Faiz ran out of charge while Decade… stopped for some reason.
"Takumi, if we want to finish him off for good, you'll have to be the one to deal the last blow."
"I was planning on it," Faiz huffed as he put his phone back into its slot in his belt. He then removed the flashlight from the sight of his belt along with the Mission Memory and put them together.
"Oh, you're finishing things off now?" Decade hummed but went along with it and took out his FinalAttackRide card. While it required Faiz to be the one to deal the finishing blow, that does not mean he has to stay back and watch.
Faiz crouched down and attached the Pointer into his anklet before opening and pressing the Enter button on his phone. At the same time, Decade inserted the golden card into his Driver and closed it.
Exceed Charge!
FINAL ATTACK RIDE: DE-DE-DECADE
A red light traveled from Faiz's buckle down the side of his leg and into the Faiz Pointer as golden holograms of Decade's FinalAttackRide card appeared between him and Another Faiz. The two then jumped into the air and readied their finishing moves.
Another Faiz saw his imminent demise coming and let out a loud cry before jumping. A dark mist covered his body as the Photon Lines glowed red. The phi symbol on the sole of his right foot glowed red too as he tried to execute his own version of a Rider Kick.
The monster did not get the chance to use it however, as the Faiz Pointer shot the energy drill at his Another counterpart. The drill struck him and stopped Another Faiz in mid-air, leaving him open for the two finishers.
Faiz disappeared as he hit the drill while Decade kicked the Another Rider straight on. Another Faiz exploded as the two Riders reappeared on the other side before landing on their feet.
The Another Rider, on the hand, crashed and burned as he fell on the ground. He barely managed to push himself back to his feet before he exploded again, the Faiz symbol appearing over the fiery explosion.
'Well, that was anticlimactic…' Ritsuka thought as both he and Takumi disengaged their transformations. A part of him had been expecting that another Aurora Curtain would appear and drop a monster from another world again but that did not seem to be the case.
Meanwhile, Takumi rushed over to where his Another counterpart exploded. He quickly found the collapsed body of a young man with a strange watch right next to him.
"Hey, you." Takumi kneeled down next to the young man and shook him. Ritsuka, meanwhile, walked closer to them.
"Ngg…" The collapsed man groaned as he tiredly opened his eyes. Seeing Takumi looking over him, he croaked out, "You're… Faiz…"
"I am. What's your name? What did that man do to you?" Takumi asked.
"I… have no name…" The man answered, "He saved… me."
"Saved?" Ritsuka stepped closer, letting the collapsed man see him. "He turned you into an Another Rider. That doesn't sound like saving to me."
"He saved me… so that I can die fighting you…" The man stared at Ritsuka. "He wants Decade… to get stronger…"
"Get stronger…?" Ritsuka muttered. It was not exactly at odds with the masked man's actions so far, but the magenta Rider was still confused as to his motives. At that moment, he noticed the AnotherideWatch and picked it up. "How did he get this?"
"He had it before he saved me…" The young man answered.
"So he had it before he attacked us yesterday." That just made things more confusing. Ritsuka had already realized that the man before him was the one using the Delta Gear the day before. If his cloaked follower had the Faiz AnotherideWatch since yesterday, why did he not use it then?
Putting that thought away, Ritsuka looked back at the man on the ground and said, "Come on, let's get you out of here. Takumi."
"I got it," Takumi said as he tried to grab the man's arm. However, as soon as he tried to pull him up, the young man's arm turned to ash. It was then that Ritsuka realized that the masked man had already dealt with all the loose ends of his plan.
"You… You're already dead." Ritsuka quietly remarked. Maybe he should not have also used his finisher alongside Takumi.
"I was already dying…" The slowly disintegrating man somehow could still smile. "I was never going to live long… I was not made to…"
'Made to?' Ritsuka thought. "What are you talking about?"
"Before I go…" The man did not answer Ritsuka, "Can I know your name?"
"...Fujimaru Ritsuka," he answered after a moment. Since he was responsible for the young man's death, he might as well tell him what he wants to know.
"Thank you…" The young man smiled one last time before his body fully turned to ash. At the same time, the AnotherideWatch in Ritsuka's hand shattered, hurting him a bit.
"..." Both Ritsuka and Takumi remained silent as the latter stood up.
"...Hey, Fujimura, what is that guy up to?"
"I… don't know," Ritsuka admitted while staring at the ash pile. "Hmm?" He noticed something poking out of the pile and went to pick it up.
Crouching down, he swept the ash on top of it away and stared at what was left behind.
"That is-" However, before he could take it, an Aurora Curtain washed over him, Takumi, and the Auto Vajin nearby. A second later, they were back outside their home.
"We're back," Takumi pointed out the obvious as he looked around.
"Yeah… Yeah…" Ritsuka muttered.
"So is that all? Was that all that guy was planning to do?" It felt like it was both over and not at the same time for Takumi.
"For you, it's probably over. For me though…" Ritsuka still had a long way to go on his journey and that man definitely had more in store for him. "At any rate, I think what I need to do in this world is over. I better get a move on."
Of course, he did not unlock Faiz's powers yet but- "Huh?"
Before Ritsuka could finish his train of thought, he heard a sound coming from the RideBooker. Taking it out of his jacket (how it fit inside was a secret he's taking to the grave), the cardholder's cover opened on its own and four cards flew out. Ritsuka caught the four cards out of reflex and realized that they were the KamenRide: Faiz, FormRide Faiz: Axel, FinalAttackRide: Faiz, and FinalFormRide: Faiz Blaster cards.
"Huh, would you look at that?" Looks like he did unlock Faiz's powers… somehow.
"So you got what you wanted from me. Lucky you," Takumi huffed, slightly annoyed that his powers got copied again. "I guess I'm fine with you using it, so long as you don't abuse it. I do have a reputation to maintain."
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks for letting me use it," Ritsuka smirked a bit at Takumi's attitude towards him. "Too bad I didn't get to use this card earlier."
He was referring to the FinalFormCard. So far, he's only used the one for Kuuga as he did not unlock Kiva's powers until a few days after fighting the King. Hopefully, he will unlock the next world's Rider's powers before the "final" battle.
"Thanks for your help anyway," Ritsuka said to Takumi as he put the cards, "If you weren't around, I couldn't have defeated Another Faiz."
"You didn't even do much in the first place."
"I'm going to ignore that," he quietly huffed before walking back towards his home. "Goodbye. Maybe we'll meet again someday."
"I hope not."
"I hope not either." Ritsuka smiled slightly as he entered his home, bidding goodbye to Takumi, and closed the door.
From the living room, Ritsuka heard Ryoko's muffled voice. He presumed she was welcoming him back. He entered the room and saw them watching television again. Glancing at Tetsuya's leg, he noticed that his leg was still fine.
"I thought you guys said you'll be working for Keitaro," Ritsuka said, temporarily casting that thought away.
"Keitaro doesn't open for a bit," Ryoko told him as Ritsuka went into the dining room/kitchen to wash his hands. There was still a bit of ash from sweeping it off the thing he saw.
"I see," the black-haired teen said as he turned the faucet on. After washing his hands clean, he splashed his face with water. Grabbing a towel, Ritsuka dried his face and looked up at the window. He was not focused on the view outside since it was only the brick wall of the next house over, but rather his reflection.
He shook his head and walked back into the room and past his friends. "Well, unfortunately for Keitaro, we're moving on."
"Wait, already?!" Ryoko said in surprise. "You went out on a single walk and now you're best buds with Takumi-kun?"
"Yup." Ritsuka simply replied as he stood by the chain to pull down the next backdrop. However, Tetsuya had quickly gotten off the couch and ran up to Ritsuka before he could pull the chain. "What is it?"
"You know what I want." Tetsuya stared into Ritsuka's eyes. "Let me do it this time."
"...Fine." Ritsuka relented and stepped away from the chain, his place instantly being filled with Tetsuya giddily grabbing the chain.
"Okay… 1… 2…" Tetsuya readied himself to pull the chain. "And… 3!"
With a cry, he pulled the chain and a new backdrop replaced the one representing Faiz's world. After the light died down, Ritsuka looked at the tapestry.
"Ooh! Is that a mural?" Ryoko said as she looked at the new backdrop.
It looked very… unique. The backdrop seemed to be a painting depicting a story of winged, humanoid animals fighting humans. From the center of the mural, a road filled with humans walked away from a wooden boat. Ritsuka, however, was mostly focused on the red figure walking alongside the humans.
"This is…" The familiar sensation of deja vu filled him as he looked at the figure. "Agito's… world."
Meanwhile, somewhere in the world…
In a forest, a familiar golden Rider was fighting against two panther monsters. However, his chest and left arm were blue and the Rider was wielding a long blue double-tipped halberd.
Nearby, the black-cloaked man was watching the fight from above, sitting on a thick tree branch. It did not take him long to locate this world's Rider despite just arriving in this world.
"It's finally Agito's turn, huh?" He muttered as Agito's horn split open. The masked man watched as the Rider stabbed one of the panther monsters, causing a halo to appear around its head before it exploded. The other one, on the other hand, decided to flee, taking off into the snowy forest.
"Now, what should I do here?" The young man in black hummed to himself as he stared at Agito. 'Do I even need to?'
However, every thought he had disappeared when Agito detransform and he saw the Rider's face. A large smirk appeared on the young man's face as he recognized Agito's face and refrained from laughing, not wanting to be detected by the Rider.
"This world is going to hit close to home for you, isn't it?" He said to himself with a smirk. Opening another portal, he disappeared again, deciding that he did not need to intervene with anything for now…
Next time on Across the Kaleidoscope
"You've finally arrived, Decade!"
"There has been a possible Unknown incident. I repeat, any personal near to-"
"It's still 2021. According to this, the Unidentified Lifeforms first appeared in 2016."
"The higher-ups wanted G3 to look like #4 because he's seen as a hero back when the Unidentified Lifeforms were active."
"At least play along, Fujimaru-kun, it's not every day you get the chance to have lunch with an attractive, half-French, blue-haired, high-school girl."
"You… You're-?"
Chapter 13: Mistaken Identity
Faiz's world…
When Ritsuka and Takumi were teleported out of the Smart Brain building, the Aurora Curtain that was summoned remained for a few seconds before someone stepped through.
The young man kneeled down next to the ash pile that was Another Faiz and picked up what was left behind; the Faiz RideWatch.
A small grin appeared on his face as he held the watch. "This world's treasure… is finally mine."
A/N: And done! Not going to lie, I felt like this chapter was all over the place. That's my fault, I just wrote what I felt like to move along the plot. But sacrifices must be made for plot… right?
Anyway, lots of stuff happened with this chapter, mainly to do with you-know-who's plans. A magical element appears because I realized that they sort of have stuff in common with Orphnochs (mainly to do with their lifespan) so that part happens. There was also that thing with stargazing and it was serendipitous actually. I planned for that scene to happen and decided to look up what constellations could be seen in the northern hemisphere in winter since it's December… and guess which ones it turned out to be? I laughed my ass off when I found out but hey, more F/GO related stuff and just in time. There's also the appearance of a character that's going to be very important.
Also, regarding what you guys' replies to the A/N, I've decided to write a few future chapters. I've haven't finished any of them, but the most complete so far is actually the next chapter at 5.7k words. Now, don't expect the next upload in the next few days because I do want to space out the story but you don't have to worry about no upload next week (not that that hasn't been a problem so far). Other than that, I've also started on the first chapter of the arc after Agito's and also a far future arc.
Next chapter, a certain fan-favorite character returns and there will be a revelation (that you guys might have already figured out). Also, a bit of a spoiler, there's going to be foreshadowing for another character from Fate. Who is it? That's for next time!
As always, please leave a review and all that jazz and have a great day!