A young man with spiky brown hair and two long strands sticking up like antennae was staying at a hotel in town. He did not join the festivities since he did not do well in crowds and would rather stay indoors, no matter how much his siblings had urged him to join them. He had more important things that were worth his focus.
"How're you feeling, Kagami?" he asked the girl who was lying sick in bed.
"I'm fine... Jiro," she insisted, using the blanket to cover the lower half of her face in embarrassment, her reptilian green eyes glazed tiredly. "I'm just more ashamed than sick. I'll feel better in a few-" Her face suddenly turned green with sickness before she jumped out of the bed and bolted into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. The very next second, the sounds of someone hurling their lungs out could be heard from the other side of the door.
"Guess she's no good with avocado," Jiro muttered. His hair antennae suddenly stood straight up as he stiffened, his ears picking up loud booms and screams coming from outside. Walking to the window, he checked to see the cause.
As he suspected, those explosions were not fireworks and the screams were not cries of joy. When Jiro saw Shinichi fly by as he was being chased by Venge, his blue reptilian eyes narrowed as he followed their trajectory. He quickly looked back at the bathroom.
"Kagami!" he shouted.
"I heard it too!" she yelled back from the bathroom. "You go ahead! I'm in no condition to-BRRRUFF!"
Nodding, he opened the window and jumped out, free-falling to the ground below.
"Henshin!"
Energy enveloped his body and formed a cocoon, shattering almost instantly with a burst of energy. He touched down on the street and immediately gave chase, leaping across town in pursuit of Shinichi and Venge.
Showa Chronicles: Legacy of ReVenge
Act: IV: What Captain Ahab Should Have Learned
Venge stared in disbelief at the sight before her. Standing in her way of slaying the monster was a Kamen Rider she had never seen before.
"Get out of my way," Venge demanded as she was in no mood to deal with any interlopers. "Why are you protecting that thing? Don't you know what that monster has done?"
"He's not the one you should be angry at," the Dino Rider retorted.
"And who are you to decide that, huh?" Venge spat, pointing at the recovering Shinichi behind him. "That murderer over there has caused too much suffering to be even considered human anymore! He's cancer to this world and I'm going to get rid of him!"
"You won't do that," the Dino Rider retorted.
"Try and stop me," Venge dared.
Accepting the challenge, the Dino Rider reared his hand and slammed it to the ground, causing an eruption of sand that forced Venge to shield herself. A rock was flung from the dust, and Venge blocked it with her gauntlets, unaware that the Dino Rider had dashed behind her.
He grabbed her by the shoulder, spun her around and punched her in the face, cracking the opaque visor. The force of his punch was strong enough to shoot her across the sand before she slid over it on her back.
"Gah!" Venge grunted, getting up from the wet sand. How strong was that punch? The helmet was so heavily reinforced that even a jackhammer wouldn't be able to break it and yet he was able to crack the visor!
Noticing a shadow falling over her, she quickly rolled over the sand as the Dino Rider landed where she had been. As she picked herself up, he landed three sidekicks that broke her guard. Snarling as she staggered from the blows, four spider legs ejected from her back. The legs lifted her and marched forward to strike on him with their sharp tips. The Dino Rider jumped and weaved between the legs, before leaping and swinging around the legs to land on her back. He took a deep breath and breathed out a torrent of super-hot flames in the back of her head.
"Gah! Stop it! Cut that out!" Venge screamed while trying to shake him off but the Dino Rider wouldn't budge as he clamped on tightly. Two of her spider legs rose up to strike him but he jumped off and rolled over the sand before he quickly bounced back to his feet. Venge jumped down to her feet and threw the spider legs like extendable blades to spear him but the Dino Rider tilted left and right, blocking her strikes with his wrists before he caught two of the spider legs and snapped them right off. She continued to attack with her remaining spider legs but they were also severed by the Dino Rider's arm blades before he jumped forward in a flip and delivered a swift kick to her chest, sending her tumbling across the sand.
"Leave," the Dino Rider commanded. "You can't win here."
Venge clenched her fists as sand spilt between her fingers. She rose to her feet, glaring at the Dino Rider who stood in the way of her revenge.
"I never planned on killing anyone except that monster. But if you're going to stand in my way and protect him, then you can die along with him!" Venge pointed her palms at the ground and activated her thrusters which shot her skyward. Once she reached the proper height, she hovered in the air and cupped her hands together, forming a sphere of nuclear energy which expanded in size. First, it was the size of a baseball, then a basketball, before finally growing to the size of an elephant as she held it above her head.
"GO TO HELL!" Venge screamed as she hurled the destructive sphere of nuclear energy at the Dino Rider who pulled out a blue coin with an image of a triceratops. All of a sudden, a large swirling blue portal opened up in the path of Venge's attack and it vanished inside of it before closing up. At the same time, another portal opened up in space to spit out Venge's attack so that the nuclear energy sphere could dissipate harmlessly in the infinite abyss.
"Hm?" the Dino Rider blinked as Venge's attack was neutralized.
"What!? What happened to my attack!?" Venge shouted but then she realized what just happened and looked around for Shinichi. Unfortunately for her, he was nowhere to be seen. "Where is he? Where is he?!"
"Hey."
Venge spun around only to be hit by a smack that froze her like a statue. No, she was not frozen. She was just moving in slow motion, at 1/16 normal speed to be exact, and feeling all that pain from the smack. The Dino Rider found Shinichi hovering in front of Venge with his Void Wings spread. He then descended to land in front of the Dino Rider.
"That should hold her," Shinichi said.
"You're tough," the Dino Rider commented.
"Yeah, they all said the same thing," Shinichi grinned cheekily. "She'll be back at normal speed in 5, 4, 3, 2..." Venge dropped from the sky and crashed into the ground. "Hm, that was faster than expected."
Her armour deactivated, Viviana groaned as she lay in the sand, defeated. The entire right side of her face stung from the slap Shinichi had given her. Shinichi strode towards Viviana to bring her in only to pause when Bernkastel appeared beside her.
"Apologies, but I can't allow you to take my piece off the board quite yet," Bernkastel said before she magically spirited herself and Viviana away.
"Dammit!" Shinichi cursed. "Alright, time for us to - the Hell!?" The Dino Rider had vanished too. "Where'd he go!?" Seeing that he would not find him now, he decided to go back to town. Everyone was probably worried about him.
Opening a portal, he stepped through and came out the other side.
"Shin-kun!"
"Sir Shinichi!"
When Shinichi stepped out of the portal, Rena and Shawna both ran up to him when they spotted him. While Shinichi led Venge away, Shawna had done crowd control, assuring her subjects that everything was under control. After all, their Dragonslayer would be dealing with the situation so they had nothing to fear.
"What happened?" Rena asked.
"Who was that woman?" Shawna questioned.
"And did you beat her?" they asked at the same time.
"I'll tell you later," Shinichi assured them. "Where are Chris and Anthony?"
"Over there," Shawna pointed and Shinichi walked over to the two bodyguards. They did not appear to be injured, save for some burns on their faces and damage to their suits.
"Are you both alright?" Shinichi asked.
"It's just a few burns," Chris assured him, smiling calmly. "Nothing too serious."
"I wouldn't risk it," Shinichi argued. "Those are radiation burns. Better let me take care of them." He held his hands out and spectral clock faces appeared in his palms. The hands moved backwards as a blue aura enveloped Chris and Anthony. The two men did not feel anything as the burns on their skin and damage to their suits vanished.
"What did you do?" Chris asked curiously as he examined himself.
"I sent your bodies back in time before you got hit by that radiation burst," Shinichi answered. "How about you, big guy? You good?"
"Thank you," Anthony mumbled.
"Well, with that out of the way, how about we go to the end of the festival?" Shinichi asked.
"Are you sure about that, Shin-chan?" Mion asked. "I mean, you were just in a fight."
"And that's why we need to keep the party going," Shinichi reasoned. "We can't let something like that bring down our mood."
"He has a point, Mion," Keiichi agreed. "And since he's dealt with it, there's no reason we can't keep celebrating?"
"I guess you're right, Kei-chan," Mion agreed.
A bonfire was lit in the middle of the town and everyone was gathered around it. Music played as everyone enjoyed snacks, chatting away merrily. Venge's assault was not forgotten, merely shelved away in favour of the festivities. The damage was minimal, and there were no casualties thanks to Shinichi's quick thinking.
However, Shinichi remained quiet as he thought about the young woman who wanted to avenge her parents. He did not mention he had failed to apprehend Viviana and that she had gotten away. He also had not told them about Bernkastel being involved. He did not want to worry his friends right now.
Finally, he did not tell them about the Dino Rider who had helped him earlier. He wondered who he was and where he disappeared to.
Back at the hotel, the Dino Rider was in civilian form and looking after his roommate. She lay in bed, but she was looking a little better.
"How are you feeling now?" he asked.
"I'm fine. Thanks, Jiro," Kagami answered.
"Are you hungry? You puked a lot."
"I suppose I could eat something," she accepted. "But tell me, how did it go?"
"Well..." Jiro started when he heard knocking at the door. "Who is it?"
"Room service!" the person outside the door answered.
"Did you order room service?" Jiro asked and Kagami shook her head. He went and looked through the peephole to see who it was before he opened the door. "Crow, Layna."
Crow looked quite handsome, princely even, though there seemed to be a bit of ruggedness around him. He had wavy, mid-back length blond and indigo hair, making it appear tie-dyed, which he wore in a braid as well as bright green eyes. He also sported hair antennae.
The girl next to him was nearly identical and was half a head taller, making her a lot taller than most girls her age. She had fair skin and wavy blonde and indigo hair that appeared tie-dyed like her brother's. Her hair reached her waist with curly side bangs on both sides of her face. She also had wide green eyes, and freckles over the bridge of her nose. She possessed a womanly physique that most women would be envious of, with a slim curvy figure and plump DD-cup breasts. Like her brother, she also had hair antennae.
"Thought you might be hungry after the battle so Layna and I got you guys something to eat," Crow said, holding a paper bag.
"May we come in?" his twin sister Layna asked. Jiro gave a curt nod, letting the twins in before closing the door.
"Did you enjoy the festival? Sorry I missed it," Jiro apologized.
"You had to take care of Kagami," Layna brushed it off, sitting down on the bed in a prim posture.
"And you didn't miss much, except some psycho trying to kill Father," Crow added.
"I know. I fought her," Jiro replied. "She got away."
"That's not good," Crow frowned. "Don't tell me you have more bad news."
"Aunt Rika's witch was helping her."
"I told you not to tell me!"
"Jiro," Layna interjected. "Do you think she's the one who kills Daddy?"
"I'm not sure," Jiro scratched his head. "It's possible. She's very...driven and she's being supported by the witch who wants Tou-san dead the most."
"So, what's the plan?" Kagami asked.
"Hm," Layna hummed. "I suppose our best option, for now, is to continue to lay low."
"So, just wait and see and respond to what comes next?" Crow asked his sister. "Doesn't sound like much of a plan."
"It doesn't," Layna agreed. "But there are still no signs of her being involved with 108 so that eliminates her from the list of possible suspects. However, we need to be ready to improvise for anything."
"Let's not forget the 'Butterfly Effect'," Jiro cautioned. "Events might change that could alter Tou-san's cause of death."
"Yes. The main reason why we must stay hidden," Layna agreed. "Which you failed to do, Jiro."
"I panicked," Jiro defended. "Sorry."
"Hey, it's OK," Crow put a comforting hand on Jiro's shoulder. "You were worried about Father. You couldn't ignore it."
"Thanks, Crow," Jiro smiled.
"Well, nothing we can do about that now," Layna sighed. "Just try not to do anything else unless you have no other choice, Jiro."
"I understand," Jiro nodded. He would wait, see and take action when necessary only.
Everyone returned to Shinichi's mansion so he could tell them what happened. Once they were all seated in the living room, he took a moment to compose herself.
"That woman who attacked me got away," Shinichi informed them.
"Wait, what?" Mion gawked. "You mean she's still out there!?"
"You don't normally let your opponents get away, Shinichi," Keiichi recalled.
"Yeah, first the red guy at the airport and now that psycho," Mion added. "Who was she? She seems to really hate your guts."
"Her name's Viviana Eisenberg," Shinichi answered.
"So, it was her," Shiori finally recalled her name.
"Yes, and she's someone who was hurt by my actions when I was BLACK 13 and now wants revenge. I just never imagined she could get her own Rider System. I already told Kaa-chan and Rena-chan about her. They can fill you in on the details," Shinichi explained. He looked at Rika. "Rika-chan and I need to speak in private."
Rika noted how serious he was and stood up to follow him outside the living room.
"What did you want to talk about?" Rika asked.
"It's about who's backing her. I didn't want to say it in front of the others," Shinichi answered. "It was Frederica Bernkastel."
"My witch?" Rika questioned, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Yes," Shinichi affirmed. "And it looks like she hasn't given up on trying to kill me. Only this time she's using people who have a vendetta against me."
Rika was about to respond when she suddenly felt something take over. She closed her eyes and when she opened them, they were now red. This startled Shinichi and she just smirked at his reaction.
"Well, you have a lot of enemies so it was pretty easy to find people who want you dead," Bernkastel spoke through Rika.
"You..." Shinichi glared. "You really don't know when to quit, do you?"
"As long as you exist, everything I struggled to create is at risk of being erased. I may not be able to act against you directly, BLACK 13, but I can still persuade others to rise against you."
"And even after I saved your life," Shinichi scowled. "Now you're using Eisenberg as another piece on your gameboard to take me out. She only managed to get this far with your help. So what happens if I take you out of the game?"
"We both know you won't kill me. I am your precious 'little sister' after all," Bernkastel taunted.
"No, you're not. You stopped being Rika ages ago. Now you're just an entity that was born from the hundreds of years of suffering she had to endure during the Endless June. You're nothing but an empty shell, a shadow of a woman who is only able to experience pleasure through the suffering of others," Shinichi countered.
"Call me whatever you want but by the end of this game of ours, I will be the victor," Bernkastel finished before returning control to Rika.
"What happened?" Rika asked, confused. She had blacked out for a few minutes.
"Bernkastel was just here," he told her. "She just finished talking trash to me." Shinichi was even more worried now since he just learned Bernkastel could control Rika whenever she wished due to their connection.
Meanwhile, Rena and Shiori had filled the others in on what they knew about Viviana Eisenberg.
"So Shin-chan..." Mion started.
"...Killed her parents," Shion finished.
"No wonder she hates him so much," Keiichi understood.
"But that's not fair!" Satoko protested. "That wasn't Shinichi-san's fault! Gebok made him do it! He didn't have a choice!"
"Unfortunately, not many people see it like that," Shiori stated. "People just want someone to blame for their pain. It gives them something to focus all their anger on."
"Indeed," Hanyuu agreed. "For a long time now, humans have been looking for scapegoats to blame for all their suffering. They blame the gods for their misfortune and they'll even blame someone innocent for a curse they believe is real."
"Yeah, Satoko and I get it," Satoshi understood. Ever since their parents supported the plan to build the dam, their family was ostracized by the villagers. Though those days were now behind the Houjou siblings, it still hurt.
"And she's still out there," Kasai frowned and he stood up.
"Where are you going?" Shiori asked her husband.
"To ask Shinichi to let me borrow his guns. She may come back to finish the job," he answered gravely. He needed to protect his family and that included his stepson.
Kasai paused when Shinichi and Rika returned to the living room.
"Were you going somewhere, Otousan?" Shinichi asked.
"I was going to ask if I could borrow some weapons," Kasai answered.
"You won't need to worry about Eisenberg right now, not after the beating that the other Rider and I gave her," Shinichi replied.
"Wait, what other Rider?" Rika looked at Shinichi. Everyone was wondering the same thing.
"Did I not mention that?" Shinichi asked.
"No!" they all answered.
"Oh, right," Shinichi realized. "Yeah there was another Rider there too and he really helped me out."
"Who was it?" Rena asked, grateful that there was someone there to help her husband.
"Dunno," Shinichi shrugged. "Never seen him before but his suit had a very cool dinosaur motif. He also disappeared before I could thank him."
"Interesting..." Shiori murmured.
"Do you think you can trust him?" Rena questioned suspiciously. "Maybe he was just trying to gain your trust to stab you in the back later."
"No, I don't think so," Shinichi shook his head. "I have this feeling that he just wanted to help. I'll still ask Dr. Hasuma to look him up on DORA's database later."
"Good," Rena nodded.
"I was so close to ending him! If that other Rider had not shown up, I could have killed him!" Viviana yelled, upset over her failure in Genovia.
"Don't be too disappointed, Viviana. You only hit an unexpected snag," Bernkastel consoled her. She had brought Viviana back to her hideout to recover. "There's always next time."
"It's not just that. It's BLACK 13. He did something that slowed me down," Viviana cringed. "I felt so powerless. How did he do that?" It was not just that but how quickly he had recovered from the EMP burst. He shouldn't have been able to recover from it at all since it would have fried all his cybernetics. Even if he was resistant to it, he shouldn't have been able to recover that quickly.
"Ah, you're referring to his special power," Bernkastel nodded. "His ability to control time makes him quite dangerous."
"He can control time?" Viviana's eyes widened in horror and disbelief. "Why didn't you tell me!?"
"You never asked," Bernkastel shrugged. "And I thought you knew from all that research you did on him."
Viviana looked away from Bernkastel. The power to control time didn't just make BLACK 13 dangerous, it made him unstoppable. Look at how easily he stopped her. If he could do that, what chance did she have?
Originally, she was concerned by his level of combat experience but still believed her suit's capabilities would make her his match. However, now it would seem that she was not even close. She would never have her revenge now.
Bernkastel could sense that Viviana was having a crisis of faith. Learning that Shinichi could easily control time was devastating. No, that just would not do.
"Calm down, Viviana. You have nothing to fear," Bernkastel attempted to reassure her and abate her doubts.
"Calm down? Calm down!? You just told me that he could control time itself! That means he could turn me back into a baby, or turn me into an old woman! What's stopping him from turning me to dust!?" Viviana ranted as she was having a panic attack. She started to laugh hysterically like a lunatic. "This-hahahahahaha-is the biggest joke of all! I lost everything and I can't even have my revenge no matter what I do!" She soon started to sob. "Mama, Papa, I'm sorry I couldn't avenge you!"
"Get a hold of yourself girl!" Bernkastel yelled as she shook Viviana's shoulders and smacked her in the face. "Pull yourself together! It's not game over yet!"
"...What's the point anymore?" Viviana questioned. Her entire purpose was rendered pointless now. How could she hope to kill a man with god-like time powers?
"He might have great power but he's not invincible," Bernkastel told her. "Even if your chance for victory is as small as 0.01 percent, there's still a chance." The witch was the type to see the glass as half full instead of being half empty.
"Really? You call those good odds?" Viviana scoffed. "My chances might as well be nonexistent."
"I only have my power now because I never gave up. I fought for my victory. Whenever I would lose, I'd get up and start over again. It only took me over a hundred years to finally get things right."
"Well, I don't have 100 years!" Viviana snapped. "I'm not an immortal witch like you, am I? I'm only human and he's practically a god."
"So, are you just going to give up?" Bernkastel questioned. "Forget about your vendetta? Are you just going to let your parents' deaths go unavenged?"
"I can't," Viviana resolved when Bernkastel brought up her parents. "Not until he's dead."
"Then I suggest you come up with a new plan and make use of your resources. Try and figure out his weaknesses. Ask yourself how far you are willing to go to get what you desire," Betnkastel finished before she vanished.
"Weaknesses..." Viviana repeated and now she was in deep thought. Bernkastel's question replayed in her mind.
How far was she willing to go to get her revenge?
Everyone had retired for the night, except for Shinichi. He decided to take a walk inside his mansion to clear his head. He stopped by one of the windows in the hallway and looked up at the sky to watch the stars and the moon.
"Sir Shinichi?" Shawna asked when she caught sight of him in the hallway.
"Oh, Shawna-hime," Shinichi responded as he noticed her. "What are you doing awake?"
"I went to get a glass of water when I saw you," Shawna replied as she looked concerned. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just needed to clear my head before bed," Shinichi told her. "You know, it's late. We better head to bed now." He was trying to change the subject but Shawna decided to press on.
"It's about Ms. Eisenberg, isn't it?" she asked.
"Yeah," Shinichi answered, unable to deny it. "She hates me and that's not the thing that bothers me. She reminds me of me."
"What do you mean she reminds you of yourself?" Shawna questioned. From what she had seen and heard, Shinichi and Viviana were nothing alike. Sir Shinichi was a noble hero who fought for justice while Viviana was a hate-filled woman who was out for revenge.
"A few years back, when I was hunting down the man who turned me into a cyborg, revenge was all I could think about. He hurt me so I wanted to bring him down, no matter the cost. I left my home, my friends, my family, all so I could hunt him down. I know I did it to protect them, but I remember how driven I was, how obsessed I was in finding him so I could finally make him pay for everything he did to me," Shinichi explained.
"I see," Shawna nodded as she understood the comparison. "So you do understand her pain."
"I ruined her life just like how Gebok ruined mine. I know I didn't have a choice but that doesn't matter to her. All that matters is that I die for what I did to her family. I can't blame her and she's not the only one I've wronged either. I've killed so many. So, so many, and the people they left behind all want revenge. They can never forgive me for what I've done," Shinichi sighed sadly.
"But that's not fair," Shawna argued. "You're not that person anymore and you saved the world."
"Doesn't make a difference to them, Shawna," Shinichi rebutted. "Gebok might've been responsible but it was my hands that committed those crimes. All that blood is on my hands."
"You mean these hands?" Shawna asked as she took Shinichi's hands in hers. "When I look at your hands, I don't see blood. I see the hands of a protector, the hands of a hero, the hands of the man I love."
"Shawna-chan..." He didn't know what to say.
"So what are you going to do about Ms. Eisenberg? Will you try to speak to her?" Shawna answered.
"I doubt she'll want to listen to a word I say. No, I'm going to focus on my family and prepare for her next move," Shinichi resolved.
"Then I hope everything will work out for you," Shawna encouraged. "They always do."
"Thanks, Shawna-chan," Shinichi smiled and he caressed her face before he kissed her. She always knew the right thing to say to him.
The group stayed in Genovia for a week before it was time for them to return home. They had taken pictures and bought souvenirs while enjoying Shawna's hospitality. Even though they had enjoyed their vacation, they could not stay forever.
"Come visit us in Hinamizawa soon," Shiori said while hugging Shawna. The princess had come to the airport to see them off. Chris and Anthony accompanied her as always.
"I will," Shawna promised as she returned the hug. She then hugged Rena. "Take care of yourself."
"You too," Rena smiled as she hugged Shawna too. The princess then went and hugged Shinichi before they shared a kiss.
"Let's see each other again soon, Sir Shinichi."
"Don't worry, Shawna-chan. We'll see each other again very soon," Shinichi swore before he kissed her again.
The group left and Shawna waited at the airport terminal until their plane took off.
"I miss them already," Shawna whispered when she felt someone tap her shoulder. She turned and was surprised to see Shinichi standing behind her. "Sir Shinichi? What are you still doing here?" Now she was confused. "Wait, I just saw you leave with the others, didn't I?"
"Well, yeah, you did," Shinichi smiled. "The thing is, I figured out a way for me to be with you while also staying with Rena-chan."
"How?"
"I'm a time remnant, Shawna-chan."
"A time remnant? I don't understand."
"The temporal mechanics are a bit hard to explain, but the simple answer is that I can literally be in two places at once."
"That's...that's amazing!" Shawna hugged him. "Oh, this will be wonderful!"
"Yeah, it will," Shinichi smiled. "Now, come on. I bet Crow and Layna already miss their dad." The two held hands as they walked to the exit together, followed by Anthony and Chris.
"Didn't he just leave with the others?" Anthony wondered.
"Anthony, my friend, there are just some things in life too strange to comprehend," Chris advised. "Sir Shinichi is one of those strange things."
Viviana sat behind her desk, expecting an important guest. Right on time, the door opened and she entered.
"Hola, Viviana," Viviana's guest greeted.
"Hallo, Louise," Viviana returned the greeting. "So glad you could make it."
"Well, you did tell me you found my parent's murderer," Louise said as she took a seat, crossing her legs. She wore her blonde hair in a short bob cut and her clothing consisted of a cream white vest over a pink tank top, a blue skirt and purple leggings. On her feet, she wore leather ankle boots. One very distinct feature of hers was her cybernetic left hand.
"Not exactly," Viviana shook her head. "The one responsible for killing your family is gone."
"Then why have you called me?" Louise demanded as she became annoyed. She hated having her time wasted.
"Because I can give you the next best thing," Viviana offered. "The man in charge of your parents' killer."
"Tell me more..." Louise leaned in, interested.
"Hey, Tou-chan," Shinichi said as he knelt in front of his father's grave. He left flowers and lit up some incense. "Still wish you were here but I guess I can just talk while you listen.
"So my past has come back to haunt me. There's this girl who hates me and well she wants to kill me and I can't blame her. I killed her parents so now she wants her revenge.
"I had no control. I know that now. But that doesn't make any difference to her. Even now, I'm expecting her to make another move to take me out.
"I do have some good news, though. So Shawna-chan wants us to get married in Genovia, and I mean she wants to get married to me with Rena-chan and Satie. It's a Genovian custom. The groom must marry all his brides at once and it's perfectly legal. Can't wait for the day.
"Bye, Tou-chan. Wished you were here. I'll come back again soon."
Shinichi left the cemetery, got on his bike and sped off. There were times when he wished he could go back in time and save his dad but then the timeline would change and he just couldn't risk it. His mom was happily remarried and even had another son, giving her a second chance to raise a child properly this time.
When he had first met Shiori, she had been a stranger but he still sensed a connection with her, deep down in his heart. Following his heart, he accepted her into his life. Eventually, his memories of his time before Gebok kidnapped him returned. They were happy memories of a childhood he had forgotten but he felt oddly detached from them too.
It was because he wasn't Shinji Banabara, not anymore. The boy whose name he was born with had died a long time ago, killed by Gebok on the operating table so he could create his masterpiece. After Kuro escaped from GIN-SHOCKER and became dormant, Shinichi was the one who woke up in his body. Shinji still existed, as a fragment in Shinichi's mindscape, but that was all he was. He was a fragment of a life that did not belong to Shinichi. He never told Shiori any of this. He did not want to break her heart by telling her that her son was dead.
It took several therapy sessions with Warren to finally convince Shinichi to accept that he was still Shinji and not some stranger walking around in his body. He had just been forced to grow up from his experiences. He had come to terms with that, like with everything that had happened in his life. Unfortunately, while he had made peace with himself, his life was not so peaceful.
As he drove down the road, someone in a long coat and hat stepped into the path of his bike. He slowed down to let them cross. All of a sudden, a shining energy whip stretched from the person's sleeve and lashed out at him. Reacting quickly, he jumped off his bike to avoid the whip which retracted into the assailant's sleeve.
"What the hell!?" Shinichi demanded as he picked himself up. His assailant tossed off their hat and coat, revealing the figure hidden underneath.
She was a Rider clad in a dark violet suit of slim feminine armour that hugged her curves. The armour had blood-red accents on her breastplate, pauldrons, gauntlets and greaves. Around her waist was a belt with an eight-pointed star on the buckle. Hanging from her back like a cape was a set of insectoid wings. Mounted on her right arm was a large shield with a gold eight-pointed star in the centre and she wielded a laser sword in her left hand. Finally, her dark violet helmet had red feathered antennae, a smooth black faceplate and large yellow compound eyes. Several cables that were tipped by arrowheads hung from the back of her helmet like hair.
First the Crimson Rider, then Venge, and now this woman? Just where were these new Riders coming from?
"You're BLACK 13, right?" the Rider asked with a Spanish accent.
"I was, a long time ago," Shinichi frowned at the mention of the name. "I don't go by that name anymore."
"Doesn't matter. All I need to know is that you're a killer, and one too dangerous to live," the Rider seethed.
"Did a woman with long indigo hair and soulless eyes put you up to this?" Shinichi asked, annoyed.
"I don't know what you're talking about, and I honestly don't care," the Rider spat, her pauldrons opening up to reveal a pair of mini-cannons on her shoulders. "My name is Kamen Rider Regnant, and I'm the one who'll be sending you to Hell!"
The particle cannons finished charging up and fired at Shinichi, the recoil pushing her back by a foot. Shinichi quickly moved out of the way in a blur, the particle energy blast rushing past. His bike was, tragically, not as lucky as it was blasted and reduced to a smouldering pile of scrap.
"Hey, that was a gift from a friend!" Shinichi angrily shouted. While he could undo the damage quite easily, he still hated seeing it getting blown to bits.
"You should worry about yourself!" she yelled back as she lashed out with her laser sword, the blade stretching into a long whip. He dodged from the strike which left a smoking groove in the road. Regnant retracted her whip and charged at Shinichi. He quickly summoned the Higurashi no Yaiba and sparks flew as their blades connected.
"What did I ever do to you?" Shinichi asked through gritted teeth as he pushed back against her blade, feeling the heat coming off it. "I have a pretty good memory of the things I've done and you don't register!"
"Not you but one of you cyborg freaks killed my family!" she snapped.
"Then what's your beef with me!? Why not go after him!?" Shinichi shot back.
"Unfortunately, he's out of my reach but as far as I'm concerned, all you cyborgs are monsters! Once I'm through with you, I'm hunting every last one of you!" She kicked him in the chest and then bashed him with her shield, knocking him back.
"Who was it!?" Shinichi demanded. If a cyborg had killed her family, then it must have been GIN-SHOCKER. "Who killed your family?"
"You know him well," Regnant said as she pointed her blade at him, "After all, he was one of you. His name was 'Bomber'."
"Saisen..." Shinichi muttered. #12 had always been a bit unstable. He loved explosions and the destruction they caused. That was what made him the perfect demolitions expert. He would strike from the air like an aerial bomber so he could watch everything burn beneath him. That was a long time ago though, and Saisen was long gone.
"That just leaves you, and the rest of the other cyborgs who think they can just live among humans like nothing happened! You think you can just live carefree without answering for what you've done! You're dead wrong!" Regnant shouted as she swung her whip at him again.
"Henshin!" Shinichi shouted as he transformed and deflected the whip with his sword, transforming into the red and white-clad Kamen Rider ZX.
Regnant delivered several lashes but he deflected each strike with his sword. The jets in his boots erupted as he closed the distance on her. Her boots also flared as she boosted backwards, their blades clashing as they flew over the road.
She grabbed on to him and threw him into the air, gliding over her back as she threw her sword and shield aside. She pointed her left hand at him, shooting the red clawed digits like missiles. Seeing the missiles coming, Showa ZX crossed his arms and huddled to brace himself. The mini-missiles whizzed past as they managed to cut through his armour, spilling a bit of blood. The finger missiles soon returned to Regnant and reattached to her left hand.
Cursing under his breath, Showa ZX countered by swinging the Higurashi no Yaiba. The blade sang as it released a flock of paper crane projections that flew straight at Regnant. They accelerated while morphing into a flurry of shuriken in mid-flight.
Seeing the shuriken coming at her like a swarm of killer bees, Regnant went skyward to evade them. Unfortunately, like a swarm of killer bees, they pursued her relentlessly and she did not believe diving into a body of water would help her avoid them.
The shuriken soon surrounded her and they were about to converge on her position when she activated her particle cannons again. She twirled around, sweeping her beams across the shuriken and vaporising them. Once they were gone, she dove straight at Showa ZX but he immediately enveloped himself in a smokescreen. She burst through the smoke, hitting nothing, as the smoke cloud expanded and thickened all around her.
"Is this it? Run out of tricks already?" She spread her wings and blew away the smoke cloud, only to gape at what she found. Dozens of Showa ZX's now stood around her, armed and ready to take her down.
"I still have quite a few tricks up my sleeve," all the Showa ZX's responded in concert.
Regnant trembled in outrage and screamed as she rapidly fired at them with her shoulder cannons but her shots just passed through them like they were ghosts and she soon realized that they were only holograms.
"Are you trying to make a fool of me!?" she screamed. She scanned for the real Showa ZX and found him hiding among his holographic duplicates. "You can't hide from me now!" Ignoring the holograms as she recalled her laser sword, she rushed at Showa ZX and ran him through with her weapon. "Hah, gotcha!"
All of a sudden, Showa ZX exploded and when the smoke cleared, Regnant found that she had pierced a blow-up doll with a crudely drawn picture of Showa ZX's face taped to its head.
"Ninpo: Kawarimi no Jutsu!"
"WHAT!?" Regnant gawked at the blowup doll.
The real Showa ZX quickly attacked her from behind. Regnant was not the only one with a whip sword as the Higurashi no Yaiba's blade could stretch as well. He swiftly wrapped it around Regnant's body, the sharp spikes along the blade's edge digging into her armour.
"Gokuaku, lightning," Showa ZX invoked and electricity travelled along the length of the blade to zap the female Rider. She screamed as she was being electrocuted before she collapsed on the ground. Once she was down for the count, Showa ZX withdrew his blade and approached her.
"Well, what are you waiting for!? Finish me! It's what you killing machines were made for!" Regnant spat.
Showa ZX sighed, put away the Higurashi no Yaiba, and got down on one knee beside her.
"What's your name?" Showa ZX asked softly.
"What?" Regnant looked at him incredulously.
"What's your name?" he repeated.
"It's Louise...Louise Halevy."
"The people you lost. What were their names?"
Regnant was speechless, not expecting him to ask that question.
"...Gomez and Flora Halevy. My parents," she answered after a brief pause. She once had everything, her family, her beauty, even her wealth but then her life was forever changed on one fateful day.
It had been her cousin's wedding. She had her hair done, put on some makeup, a beautiful dress, and wore her finest jewellery. She tried not to make herself look better than the bride, but she could not help herself if she was gorgeous.
The wedding took place at her uncle's estate. He was a high-ranking official for her country's government and that meant he was wealthy and well connected. The wedding ceremony went smoothly and afterwards, they had a party in the banquet hall. Louise flirted with the sons of her family's friends, enjoying all the attention she got. Even if it was her cousin's wedding, she still loved getting attention.
When a maid accidentally spilt wine on her dress, she lost her temper. She yelled and screamed, spitting curses at the poor maid. Her cousin and uncle tried to calm her down as she was making a scene, but she did not care. Her dress was ruined.
Then all of a sudden, there was a deafening boom as everything was engulfed in flames.
When Louise woke up, she found herself lying in a hospital bed, covered in bandages. Not only that, her left hand had to be amputated which left her with a stump on her left wrist. She was left-handed, so losing her left hand was a huge blow to her. But then she learned what had happened. All the guests, her family, and the servants had all been killed and she was the only survivor.
That day had forever changed her. Since the incident, she was no longer the spoiled girl she had been before. The inheritance money she got from her parents made sure she would live comfortably for a long time but all that wealth no longer mattered to her. The trauma was so terrible that she ended up having to break up with her boyfriend, and just after he proposed to her. She just wanted her family back.
For several weeks, the news ran stories of her miraculous survival and while she would have enjoyed such attention in the past, it no longer mattered to her. She just wanted answers and wanted to know why it happened. She heard that it was a terrorist attack but she did not understand why terrorists would attack her uncle's estate.
Then, one day, years after she lost her family, she was approached by Viviana Eisenberg who told her that she had the answers she needed.
"I see," Showa ZX bowed his head sympathetically. "I'm sorry."
Saisen once bragged about a solo mission he went on. The target's name was Gomez Halevy and he had been one of GIN-SHOCKER's financial backers. One day, he decided he could no longer support the organization and was going to expose them. By betraying GIN-SHOCKER he had made himself and his whole family a target. There weren't supposed to be any survivors but it seemed that Saisen had missed one.
"...'Sorry'? You're 'sorry'? That's all you can say!?" Regnant furiously screamed. "My family's gone because of monsters like you and all you can say is that you're 'sorry'!?"
What else could he say? He was sorry that her family had been killed but there was nothing else he could do for her. She didn't even know her father had been backing the same organization that made the cyborg who had killed her family. Even if Shinichi told her the truth, she would not believe him. He could try and convince her that seeking revenge was not the answer, but he doubted she would listen.
Driven by fury, Regnant recovered from her electrocution and jumped back to her feet as she activated her cannons again. She rapidly blasted Showa ZX but he was able to freeze the charged particle bursts and erase them as they came but she would not relent.
"Enough!" Showa ZX yelled as he threw two Cross Shuriken and hit the particle cannons, causing them to explode. Regnant screamed in pain as her weapons were destroyed and staggered back. Smoke rose from her ruined pauldrons as the destruction of her cannons caused her left eyepiece to crack open, allowing him to see a blue eye glare daggers at him.
Regnant quickly spread her wings to take off. She realized how outmatched she was and decided to make a tactical retreat. However, Showa ZX was not about to let her get away after attacking him. These new Riders had to be connected. It was no coincidence that they all held grudges against him. He wanted answers. Changing into Skyrider, he flew after her.
Regnant looked behind her and saw Skyrider chasing after her.
All according to plan.
"He's in pursuit. Get ready," Regnant spoke into her communicator.
"We will," Viviana responded and she looked at everyone that was gathered with her. "Alright, everyone. Prepare yourselves. We're about to have a 'guest' over. Please, be ready to entertain him." A cruel smile crossed her face as she waited in anticipation. She may have lost her faith in herself momentarily, but now she was sure that they would all have their revenge.
Bernkastel observed from a corner of the room. All her pieces were in place for Shinichi's defeat.
Showa Skyrider pursued Regnant into the mountains and watched as she descended towards a familiar white building with a blue roof. He followed and touched down to find himself standing on a school campus. It was a private school, from the looks of it, and an isolated one.
"St. Lucia," Showa Skyrider recognized.
St. Lucia Academy was an all girls' school that was located in the mountains. It was full of cultured ladies and had a reputation for producing successful women. The students were expected to perform exceptionally well, earning top marks in academics and even producing top athletes.
However, St. Lucia had long since closed down. Like Yokoshima who had gone to expose Spartan Academy, Michiru and Hana had gone to St. Lucia so they could investigate the school. Through their investigation, they managed to uncover the ugly truth and dark secrets of St. Lucia.
The school had high expectations for their students and a reputation to maintain. Thus, they could not allow any failure to tarnish it. They had a zero expulsion rate but that was not because the students were well-behaved.
Underachievers were treated coldly as students who failed to perform well in their studies were forced to take extra after-school classes until late at night and on the weekend, which limited their free time. These students were given the option to withdraw from the school voluntarily but they rarely took it due to personal reasons.
Any students who broke the rules were subjected to a severe form of detention. There was an underground jail in the school where the students would be locked up in cells and forced to study. They were even made to wear orange prison uniforms. The school was also responsible for covering up cases of bullying and suicide.
Hana and Michiru had exposed all this to the entire country, which caused the school to suffer from the scandal. Current and former students were interviewed while the teachers were all arrested for allowing this to happen. And thus, with its reputation forever tarnished, St. Lucia was forced to close and was left abandoned.
Rika had considered attending this school a few years back, even planning to take the entrance exam after graduating from junior high. In another time, Rika and Satoko would've gotten in but the environment would have torn their friendship apart. Satoko would fail to fit in and her grades would suffer while Rika would thrive because of her charm, intelligence and maturity. Thankfully, that never happened here. It was for the best anyway.
Searching for Regnant, he stepped forward before his danger senses flared, stopping him when a gunshot hit the ground in front of him. He soon found himself covered by dozens of glowing red dots. He looked at the classroom windows and found snipers who had their rifles trained on him.
All of a sudden, an army clad in red Soviet Union uniforms came rushing out of the building and they were followed by Regnant, Crimson Rider and Venge.
"Of course, you again," Showa Skyrider grumbled when he saw Venge. He was not surprised to see Crimson Rider and Regnant with her. They were obviously in cahoots.
"Welcome to the party. We've been waiting," Venge greeted coldly. "Everyone you see before you have lost friends and loved ones because of you. I brought them all together so they could have their revenge."
"Oh, so you knew you couldn't defeat me by yourself so you decided to lead me into an ambush," Showa Skyrider remarked. "Funny, I don't see Stevenson or Shifylin among you. Let me guess, they didn't quite make the cut."
"Sutherland is an insufferable moron who thought he deserved everything. It's no wonder his family disowned him," Venge retorted. "As for Stevenson, he took his own life."
"What...?" Showa Skyrider was stunned. Roger Stevenson had killed himself?
"He couldn't bear to live in a world where someone like you was considered a hero," Venge explained. She had gone looking for the man to recruit him, but it was already too late when she finally found him. He was living in a cheap apartment in the slums. Beer cans littered the floor and the place was infested by rats and cockroaches. She had found his body sitting in his chair, with the TV still on and its volume turned up all the way. He was holding a shotgun and the back of his head had been blown open. He had also left a suicide note which explained why he had chosen to kill himself.
"So you can add his death to the list of people you killed, you monster," Crimson Rider spat.
"You freaks kill everyone, directly or indirectly," Regnant hissed. "You all are a virus that needs to be wiped out from the face of the Earth!"
"Don't think I'll make it easy for you," Showa Skyrider said as he got into a combat stance, ready to defend himself.
"You don't get to rush this," Venge threatened.
"Oh, and why's that?" he retorted.
"We have your wife and son," Crimson Rider claimed.
"...What?" Showa Skyrider froze.
"Your wife and son," Venge repeated.
"You bitch!" Showa Skyrider cursed angrily. "When I'm done with you-!"
"You won't try anything," Venge cut him off. "Not unless you want to see them unharmed."
"Don't worry. We haven't hurt them. We're not monsters," Regnant continued.
"Unlike you," Crimson Rider growled.
"Where are they?" Showa Skyrider demanded. "Tell me!"
"You're in no position to make demands here," Venge retorted. "It's game over for you, BLACK 13."
"Now do us all a favour..." Crimson Rider added.
"And just die, you freak!" Regnant angrily finished.
The snipers in the windows fired and Showa Skyrider was hit by a salvo of armour-piercing rounds. His blood was spilt as he was shot and he staggered on his feet before he collapsed on his knees. He managed to survive though, despite his injuries, as he was forced back to civilian form.
"It's over, BLACK 13. Stop struggling and just accept your fate," Venge said.
"Sorry, never been one to accept fate," Shinichi responded, smiling cockily despite the pain. "Not really my style."
"So, you've decided to go out with a smile," Venge observed.
"Were you expecting anything else?" Shinichi questioned.
"I expect you to beg for forgiveness!" Venge snapped. "You killed my parents! They were trying to create a better world with cleaner energy and you killed them!"
"You slaughtered all those innocent people in the airport! You turned my sister and I into orphans!" the Crimson Rider shouted.
"You freaks took my entire family away from me!" Regnant continued.
"Yes, we did all that," Shinichi admitted. "And nothing I say or do can change that. But you're not interested in an apology, are you? You just want revenge. Trust me, I've been there."
"Don't compare yourself to us! How many people have you killed!? How much blood is on your hands!?" Venge demanded, her gauntlets glowing as she charged them up.
"I never asked for any of this. Becoming a cyborg was never my choice," Shinichi argued. However, his words fell on deaf ears as Venge prepared to discharge a powerful nuclear blast that would kill him and vaporize him on the spot. Everyone stood to watch the execution that was about to take place when a black blur suddenly zoomed into the scene and sent Venge's army flying.
"What!?" Venge yelled as all her men were taken down.
"Oh, and another thing: I always have backup," Shinichi smiled as the black blur stopped to stand beside him. "Hey, Battler."
"You called?"
END OF ACT 4
Dr. KRC: Kamen Rider Regnant is based on the Queen Gundam (T-Back Gundam) with the GNMA-0001V Regnant's colour scheme. Louise Halevy was also imported from Mobile Suit Gundam 00.
Tailsmo4ever: The climax has picked up and an all-out brawl is about to commence. However, it is far from over.