Here is the next chapter. Shu and Gai have entered a strange dimension. But both have a mission. To save Inori from Keido and Daath. What awaits the both of them as they traverse this unknown world? Read to find out!
Phase 12 – Resurrected Memories: The Lost Christmas
Zangetsu was teleported to the helicopter pad where Gaim entered the portal. It was closing fast, but Zangetsu was faster as he entered. As he did, Zangetsu was far and away from Gaim.
'Where is he?'
He looked for a while until he spotted him in the distance. Standing still.
"Shu!"
Zangetsu ran until he had gotten close to Gaim. Upon doing so, he confirmed that Gaim was standing still. He was perplexed as to why.
"Shu. We have to keep moving. Inori needs our help. Shu!"
Zangetsu moved Gaim's arm, but there was no response.
"SHU!"
"I'm afraid he cannot hear you, Gai."
Zangetsu turned around to see Yuu standing behind him.
"What have you done to him?"
"Not me. It's this place. Do you know where we are?"
"Mana's void."
"Correct."
"Then that means you found my base?"
"We knew for quite some time. We simply needed the opportunity to occupy it for our needs. You have reached your end, Gai Tsutsugami. Your resistance has been shattered, your fair maiden of hope taken from you, and now our champion is now catatonic."
"What is happening to him?"
"Did you ever why he didn't recognize you, Triton?"
Zangetsu fell silent. In the back of his mind, Zangetsu knew that Gaim must have repressed his memories. He did not blame Gaim for doing so. Yuu chuckled for a bit.
"Now you know. Everything that Gaim knew, but was sealed away, is now coming back to him. In full force. Of course by the time he learns the truth, both of you will be too powerless to stop us."
Before Zangetsu could turn to face the grave keeper of Daath, a huge explosion occurred, causing both Gaim's and Zangetsu's transformation to be cancelled. Gai still had some consciousness before Yuu knocked him out cold with his foot.
'Mana…'
THUD!
xxxxxx
In another part of Mana's void, where the top resembled an open sky, Segai talked with Keido as the both of them walked.
"A void? The entire district?"
"Correct. The tower standing over Roppongi fort is a phantasm given formed from a single girl's heart. We managed to transfer it into the tree within the greenhouse. It wasn't easy. We even had to ask for help from the likes of the 'lifeform' you've seen a little while ago. But nevertheless, her void is now at the epicenter of Project Helheim."
"Mana Ouma, I assume?"
Both men stopped walking.
"I promised you information on voids as payment for your services. I will make good on my end. Keido walked to Segai to hand him a data core containing information input by both him and Sagara. A red circle glowed behind him, and walked towards it.
"I appreciate the work you've done, but this is as far as I can take you with me."
Keido descended into the red circle, leaving Segai with his payment.
"It's all business with him. Oh well. Not that I'm complaining."
Segai held up his data core.
xxxxxx
Yuu knocked out Gai cold. Then he walked to Shu as he laid down on the ground with his eyes open.
"It's all coming back to you, isn't it? Shu Ouma. You can't really understand where you're going until you know where you've been. Time to unlock those memories. Those bright and shiny summer days you had with your beloved sister."
In Shu's mind, the memories Yuu was talking about were coming to him hard.
xxxxxx
(Oshima, 10 years ago)
Shu open his eyes, and examined himself. He was still himself, minus his rider armor. He was standing near the edge of a cliff. He wanted to move, but couldn't. The he saw two kids walking. The first kid Shu saw was the girl with the dark pink hair.
'Mana?'
She was holding someone's hand. It was his hand, but a younger version of him.
"Are we there yet, Mana?"
"Almost. Don't open those eyes yet."
Both of them made it to the edge of the hillside cliff.
"Okay. We're here now. You can open your eyes."
The younger Shu did so, and was amazed by the seascape.
"Wooowww. This is so cool. Really Mana."
"You like it? This is my secret place to get away, but I can share it with you, Shu."
The younger Shu looked at the entire place until he discovered something on the beach near the cliff they were on.
"What's that?"
Mana saw as well, and they both ran to the beach near the cliff. The older Shu now felt like he regained his mobility. He ran to follow both Mana and his younger self. He stopped to see them discover a small blonde haired boy, with bruise marks all over his upper body. The younger Shu asked,
"Is he dead?"
Mana kneeled down near the boy to give CPR. She pushed his chest, then gave mouth-to-mouth. This made the younger Shu blush a bit. When she finished, the blond boy coughed a bit to breathe.
"Are you okay? Can you hear me? My name is Shu. Shu Ouma."
"And I'm his sister, Mana. What's your name?"
The blonde boy looked at the both of them with confusion.
"Maybe he can't remember. Do you know who you are? What's your name?"
The boy spoke.
"I'm not sure."
"Triton."
Both boys stared at Mana.
"You must've come from the ocean. So we'll call you triton. It's a pretty cool name, right?"
Triton looked at Mana with stricken eyes. All while the older Shu looked at the scene. He started to remember the day where he first met Gai.
"That's right. That day at the beach… My big sister Mana and I found a boy who washed up on the shore. One we came to know as Triton. Gai."
More and more flashbacks, presented as film stills, came to Shu's mind. These were the memories that Shu sealed away for seemingly no reason.
"Unsure of his own identity, he spent the summer living with us. That was the same year Lost Christmas would happen. That was the last year we had some real indication of happiness."
Shu then appeared at some abandoned railroad bridge. Both the younger selves of him and Gai were there as well. Shu was seeing the memory of when he was the fearless one, and Gai was the timid one instead of the other way around.
"Hey. Are you serious about this?"
"Yeah. It'll be fine. Believe me."
Younger Shu made a huge jump across the railroad bridge.
"Okay. Now it's your turn."
Triton was nervous over both the gap between him and Shu, and the height if he failed in some way. Triton made a brave attempt, but he tripped as soon as he made to the other side. He would have fell to his death if Shu had not grabbed hand before he did.
"See? I knew you could do it."
The younger Shu gave Triton a big grin. Triton smiled softly. Shu remembered he had this memory played to him, but thought it was some sort of delirious dream after being knocked by Ayase.
"We became best friends during that summer. Almost like brothers, even. It felt like life was pretty good to back then. I had a sister who was kind to me, and I had someone like Gai as my best friend. That summer was the best one of my entire life. So why did I forget it?"
Shu then was transferred to a day when he would met another figure in his life. One that was always there for him, even today. It took place inside the house where he and his family would stay for the rest of the summer. His father and Haruka came earlier than usual. They brought with them a guest. Haruka called out,
"Kids, we're home."
All of them came to the door to greet their parents. They also noticed a silver-haired man with wire glasses with them. Kurosu introduced them to him.
"Shu, Mana, Triton. This is Mr. Sagara. He's going to be working with me on my project. He's also our guest. Be nice to him."
They introduced themselves separately.
"Hello, Mr. Sagara. I'm Mana."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Shu."
"I'm Triton."
"Hello. I'm Daisuke Junnouchi Sagara. But my friends call me DJ."
"Doesn't DJ also mean disc jockey?"
Haruka 'added' to the conversation.
"Yeah, kind of like this…"
Haruka acted like a DJ at a party, badly. When she finished, Sagara said,
"I don't know if that was supposed to be ironic, or a really bad act."
Everyone laughed at Sagara's joke. Haruka, on the other hand, pouted and feigned emotional hurt.
"Why you have be so mean, Sagara?"
"Why you have to be so lame, Haruka?"
Everyone laughed some more.
"All right, everyone. That's enough for now. Your mom and I have to look at our work before we make dinner. We invited Mr. Sagara here to join us."
"You didn't have to, Dr. Ouma."
"Nonsense. It'll be fine. My children here are good kids."
"Okay. Thank you."
Shu looked on as he saw the man responsible for making him a kamen rider was involved in his past. He was also perplexed that shy man was the same one involved in his present.
'Then again, his sense of humor never changed.'
Shu felt mobility again in his legs as he walked to the kitchen area of his house with time accelerating to that moment where Sagara had dinner with him and his family. Young Shu sat next to him and talked.
"What are you helping my dad with, Mr. Sagara?"
"Oh, just some stuff an assistant would do. Sometimes I help with the research by adding my own thoughts to it. Other times, I'm a paper mule."
"Paper mule?"
"That means I carry his notes, books, and memos. Now you might think, that isn't a lot. But it comes to your old man, I might actually die of multiple paper cuts."
Young Shu chuckled a bit.
"You're kind of funny, Mr. Sagara."
"Funny how? Funny ha-ha, or Funny weird?"
The rest of the children laughed when Sagara made that distinction that was also a joke.
"I remember now. That summer was the summer I met Sagara. How could I forget all this? What happen to me that was so bad that it made me forget all of this? How could forget Gai and my sister?"
The scene then shifted to when it was just him and Mana on a couch together. Shu was playing a handheld gaming device while Mana was reading a magazine.
"Hey Shu, do you think about marriage?"
"Marriage?"
"Yeah. You won't feel so lonely if I was married to someone, right?"
"Mmm-mm. Married to who?"
"I don't know yet. Maybe it'll be Triton."
Shu instantly stopped playing his game.
"Triton?! You can't marry him."
"Don't be so silly. It was only a joke. I'd never do that."
Mana got close to young Shu and hugged him. Young Shu was feeling uneasy about how Mana was acting lately.
"But I have caught him looking at me a few times. Like a man would look at a woman."
Young Shu didn't know what Mana meant. While regular Shu tried to discern if this was a real memory, considering he was feeling a sensation similar to being creeped out.
"You don't him to do that?"
"It just that I don't want him to look at me that way. I want you to."
"Why?"
"Because I love you."
Mana kissed young Shu on the lips. This made regular Shu feel like he was being violated.
'Why would she do that?! What was going through her mind?! Did I repress this? If so, that's not a bad reason.'
"Shu promise me something. Promise… that you'll marry me."
The scene then shifted into nighttime. Shu saw young Gai confronting Mana.
'I don't remember this. Is this Mana's memory?'
"You got the virus."
Mana looked at Triton with a foul gaze.
"You got it from the rock, right? I overheard it when I saw Shu's dad was talking with Mr. Sagara. It makes people crazy. Tell me Mana. What do you want with Shu?"
Mana was feeling angry. Then, in a series of lighting blot flashes, Mana was screaming at the top of her lungs, but the screams were not heard. Triton stood there, almost terrified by what he was seeing. While Shu was seeing his older sister being consumed by the virus itself. Then she tackled young Gai, and tied him up. Mana talked to young Gai in a sadistic manner.
"If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be here. You would be dead on a beach with no one noticing if you were gone. Your life belongs to me. And I can do anything I want with you."
Triton was feeling scared about what Mana would do to him. She was dominating him with terror and threats.
"Listen Triton. I'm going to marry Shu. No one will be get in the way of that. Understand?"
Shu watched on as he thought,
'Where was I when this was happening?'
The scene shifted once more as Shu watched his younger self watching an old Blu-ray video. However, what young Shu was watching was very familiar to his regular self.
'I remember this.'
Shu was seeing his younger self watching Kamen Rider Gaim. The actual tokusatsu show.
'Now I remember why I called myself Gaim. I remember when I used to watch the episodes on the Blu-ray discs. Sagara brought those with him at one point for me and Gai when we were kids. I used to love watching it. As a matter of fact...'
The scene changed once more as Sagara was the Ouma household once more. This time, his assignment was to babysit. Thankfully, the children were well behaved. Sagara brought with him an old Blu-ray player. The kids were confused by what they were seeing.
"What's this?"
"This, Shu, is a Blu-ray player. It plays movies, TV shows, and video streaming sites if it was made for it."
Triton spoke next.
"Why would you bring this with you?"
"Well, I wanted to share something with you guys. Are you familiar with Kamen Rider?"
Shu raised his hand.
"You don't have to raise your hand, Shu."
"I know Kamen Rider. I watch it sometimes."
"Well, this is an old series. I mean Heisei-old, not Showa-old. That's too much even for me."
The kids chucked for a bit before Sagara plugged it to the main television. The one inside had an old HDMI port that was rarely used. Remember, this is 2039.
"That thing uses a wire?"
Shu said with bluntness. Mana contributed to the technology and generation gap.
"How incredibly old-fashioned."
The children laughed at the fact that Sagara was into old technology.
"Laugh all you want now. But you will be amazed by what you are going to see."
Sagara turned on both the player and TV. He also held in his hand the remote to the player. Before going to the kids, he took out the first disk, and began to play it.
(8 episodes later)
Shu, Triton, and Mana were instantly hooked by what they were watching. They were too young to know just what it is exactly that made Kamen Rider Gaim so appealing, but Sagara knew. By the time the episode finished, Shu's parents came back from their date.
"Kids, we're home!"
"Welcome home!"
Kurosu expressed his gratitude to Sagara for taking care of their children.
"It's no problem, Kurosu."
"It just… Me and Haruka are just busy with our research…"
"It's important to make her feel special every once in a while. I get it. Beside the kids are great."
"I see. Just what is it that you've brought them?"
"An old TV show that I used to watch as a kid. I thought they would like."
"I see."
Kurosu looked at his watch.
"Well, time for them to go to bed."
The kids groaned collectively.
"Do we have to?"
"No arguing, Shu. All of you go to bed."
The kids all had looks on their faces that expressed mopiness. Sagara offered a compromise.
"If can take of my stuff, I won't mind letting you keep the discs for the summer."
The kids said simultaneously,
"Thank you, Mr. Sagara."
"Anytime."
Shu realized just where the form of his void came from.
'I remember now. I used to watch the old TV show with Gai. And with Mana. We used to love watching it together. We watched the entire thing, right to the end."
Everything then went to white.
xxxxxx
Shu woke up, only to be blinded by mist for a while until it started to dissipate, and he was standing in front of a large staircase on a pool of red blood. On top was a chapel. There did Shu saw Keido, wearing his energy driver.
"So, you've finally woken up."
"Where are we?"
Shu looked at the person on top. He recognized him.
"You. You're Shuuichirou Keido."
"So you know me?"
"I know that you're the man responsible for Lost Christmas. You and the Overlords."
Keido chuckled for a while before speaking to Shu.
"So, Sagara has been telling you stories, hasn't he?"
"He told me the truth. But before I kick your ass, tell me where Inori is!"
Keido snapped his fingers, then the mist behind him dissipated to reveal Inori, unconscious, tied and held up in crystal vines, and in a bride's veil.
"Inori! You bastard!"
Shu tried to move, but his legs were trapped in virus crystals. Not infecting him, but he could not move as well. Shu then summoned his driver, and reached to his back pockets for his lockseeds. However, he could find them on his body.
"Looking for these?"
Keido held both Shu's Orange and Kachidoki lockseeds in the fingers of his right hand.
"What the hell are you doing to Inori?!"
"You should understand that this girl was nothing more than a means for communication with Mana. Why give back something that was ours to start with?"
"Inori isn't some 'thing' you've made in a lab. She's a person who begun to appreciate and love life."
"Nonsense. She's an avatar. One that your sister can use to bring about a new age for humanity. She was the first person to touch the creation rock, and therefore the first person to be infected with the Apocalypse virus. She is the mother of a new life. Our Eve. Even though her soul was lost to its old body, it is currently being transferred to a new one. Thanks to our hard efforts, she will set foot in this world again. With her resurrection, she will bring forth an Apocalypse that will coat the earth like a scab and eradicate the old life that failed this planet, and usher in a genesis that will bring forth new life. Life that is superior, perfected. It is my duty to see this through to the end. To witness that day of glory."
Shu could not tell if he really hated himself that much, to actually do something like this, or if Keido was really that good at hiding his insanity.
"For some reason, Daath believes you have the potential to be her Adam. While I cannot deny you have been a thorn on my side, you're worthless without these toys."
Keido held up Shu's lockseeds before putting them in his coat pocket.
"Now stay quiet and observe… your future's end."
"If you think I'm taking this lying down, YOU'RE DEAD WRONG!"
The crystals that held Shu's feet grew tall blade spikes, and were positioned near Shu's neck.
"This is not the time to interfere."
Shu saw the grave keeper of Daath walk in front of him.
"He's about to ask Mana's hand in marriage. Please don't be rude."
"What are you talking about?"
"Her chosen partner. Keido will be the father of the new human race."
Shu imagined how the couple would look like.
"Don't you think he's too old for her?"
"It's not like she has any say in the matter. For all the power that Mana possess, she can still be brought under our control. "
Keido brought with him a piece of the meteor fragment, and placed it on a cylinder that stood between him and Inori. It glowed, and slowly changed into crystal streams that were forming red circle for some purpose.
"Now all we need is a minster to officiate the wedding. Take heed, Shu Ouma. You're about to meet one of my masters."
A figure appeared from the inner chapel, and walked towards Keido and Inori. When Shu saw the figure fully, he was shocked by what he saw with his eyes. It was clearly something inhuman. It was regal-looking, with organic sashes reaching down to his lower body. Its color scheme was primarily white, with some blue at his ears, arms, and legs. He looked like he was wearing clothes fit for a king. Its legs looked like he was wearing pants that belonged to royalty with black flaps on the front. Its head looked like it was wearing a hood, a hood that covered its eyes. Shu felt like he was seeing royalty from another planet. Then Shu also do something that he never expected the creature to do. It spoke in a human language.
"What have you summoned me for, grave keeper?"
"Lord Rosyuo, we have commenced with the ceremony."
"So the time has arrived?"
"Yes, my lord. Once this man, Shuuichirou Keido, has joined Mana in holy matrimony, under your purview, of course."
"Then we can begin."
"Your people can rise again. Free of their flaws that caused their downfall. They will become a new species. One that is worthy of this planet."
Rosyuo stood in front of Keido and the unconscious Inori.
"To all witnesses, this is a union that will be sanctified today. We stand here today to give rise to a bond of blood that will shape the new race. The male will mark his mate."
Keido took out a small scalpel, cutting his thumb. He placed his bloody thumb to act as Inori's lipstick. Shu was seeing this, and was angered at the act.
"STOP IT!"
But he could do nothing. Shu was helpless to do anything. He then heard a voice. A familiar one.
"Now, now, Shu. You really have no right to be jealous."
Shu instantly recognized that voice.
"Mana?"
Large crystal orbs then appeared in front of him. They opened to reveal that they were actually eyes.
"After all, you shunned me. I was devastated, and you didn't care."
"Mana…"
One of the eyes grew an extension to grab Shu's head, and bring it closer.
"I never really mattered to you, Shu? Was I something to forget?"
Shu was speechless. He had no idea what to say to Mana. He did not even know whether to feel guilty or scared. As the eye formed a spike on its iris, a clinking noise was heard. Both Shu and the eye turned to see a small canister drop to the floor. Shu knew it to be a flash bomb. He closed his eyes tight as it exploded and gave off a white blinding light. All the crystal eyes were groaning in pain as the intensity of the light was more than they could handle. The ceremony was instantly stopped due to the disturbance. Rosyuo said,
"Who dare disturbs this sacred ceremony/"
Yuu saw what was happening downstairs, and ran to see what was happening. Before he could stop, he was instantly tacked to the stairs. Recovering, he saw Gai standing before him.
"This is why I can't trust you with a solo mission."
"Gai! You're still alive"
"This grave keeper thought he could leave me unconscious, believing I couldn't find my way around Mana's void. But I can. Don't tell me you forgot Shu."
"Right. You can see people's void. You can see Mana's"
Yuu looked into his coat pockets, and instantly knew what Gai took from him.
"You had something that belonged to me."
Gai hand in his right hand his melon lockseed. Since the area was comprised of virus crystals, Yuu manipulated the environment to attack Gai. But Gai was faster than Yuu could react. He leapt high to the ground to transform. Keido moved from his spot to see what was happening.
"Gai Tsutsugami. I thought you were dead."
"This is the moment I was waiting for. The day when I would get you and Mana into one place."
Gai summoned his driver, and placed on his waist. He began his transformation.
"HENSHIN!"
"MELON!"
"LOCK-ON!"
"SOIYA!"
"MELON ARMS! TENKA GOMEN!"
Zangetsu ran faster than both Keido and Yuu could see. By the time Keido realized what he was going to do, it was too late for him to do anything. Zangetsu took the Orange lockseed, but could not find Shu's Kachidoki lockseed. Zangetsu then sped back down to give Shu his orange lockseed.
"Hmph. It matters not what you do. You're too late to do anything, Tsutsugami. This is the course of destiny."
Keido took out his lemon energy lockseed.
"Henshin."
"LEMON ENERGY!"
"LOCK-ON!"
"SODA!"
"LEMON ENERGY ARMS!"
"FIGHT POWER! FIGHT POWER! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FI-FI-FI-FI-FIGHT!"
"For the sake of our battle, just call me Duke. I rather like it, to tell the truth."
"May I join in, Keido?"
All the riders looked at Yuu.
"You don't mean?"
"It's rather easy for me to manipulate the form of my void. It's an ability given to me by my masters."
"You will need another component to fully transform."
"Oh I have a good idea of how these lockseeds work."
Yuu manifested a lockseed using the environment of Mana's void. He succeeded as his lockseed was an exact duplica of Shu's lockseed. With the exception of its color scheme being blood red and a black crescent on the front. He then summoned his void, which as he put it can be anything he wants it to be. His void took the form of the Sengoku driver voids that Shu and Zangetsu had on their waists. Yuu began his transformation.
"HENSHIN!"
"BLOOD ORANGE!"
"LOCK-ON!"
"SOIYA!"
"BLOOD ORANGE ARMS! JANOMICHI ON STAGE!"
When the armor was fully formed, Yuu's rider form was the exact same as Gaim's. The only difference was the armor was blood red.
"Have you thought of a name for yourself?"
"Bujin Gaim sounds good to me. The term Bujin means Warrior God. Personally, I don't it's too far off."
Zangetsu saw the two riders opposing him and Shu. He gave Shu his orange lockseed.
"Transform now, Shu. Let's work together to get your other one. It's powerful enough to take on the grave keeper?"
"More than that."
"Then that's our goal."
"Right."
Shu began his transformation.
"HENSHIN!"
"ORANGE!"
"LOCK-ON!"
"SOIYA!"
"ORANGE ARMS! HANAMICHI ON STAGE!"
Duke and Bujin Gaim leapt to the ground. Gaim fought against his blood red counterpart while Zangetsu faced off against Duke. Both Gaims trade sword blows against each other. Although Gaim landed some solid blows, Bujin Gaim was surpassing him in terms of skill and ferocity.
"You cannot defeat me, Shu! I have something that you lack so much."
"What's that?"
Gaim charged at Bujin Gaim, but Bujin Gaim was waiting for him. He made Gaim miss him in order to get close to him and deliver a series of swift sword slashes that landed serious damage. Gaim was kneeling to the ground in pain. Bujin Gaim edged his Daidaimaru near Gaim's neck.
"Killer Instinct. From the moment you discovered that the Inves you've killed turned out to be human originally, you lost the will to fight. The realization that you were only playing hero was too much for you to bear. So you ran away, and thus everything that happens now is your fault."
"Not anymore."
Gaim pulled the Pallet side of his Musou Saber to load the gun portion of his sword. Gaim shot from his left side where Bujin Gaim was wide open. Bujin Gaim stepped backwards in pain as he was being fire upon.
"Damn you."
Gaim slashed Bujin Gaim some more before lock swords with him.
"Damn me? Damn you! You're the ones who stated all this. One way or another, I am going to end this. I don't care what it takes!"
Gaim and Bujin Gaim fought some more while Zangetsu and Duke fought their own battle. Duke was spamming out energy arrow shot and Zangetsu, but were constantly being deflected by his shield. While Zangetsu was returning shots with his Musou saber with all of them landing. However, the shots were less powerful than what Duke was shooting. And yet, the damage was accumulating that Duke was delivering less and less energy arrows.
"There's a difference between you and me, Keido. I actually know how to fight."
"Shut your mouth, Tsutsugami!"
Duke placed his lemon energy lockseed on his sonic arrow.
"LOCK-ON!"
Zangetsu flipped the cutting blade of his driver three times.
"SOIYA! MELON SPARKLING!"
Duke shot a huge energy arrow only to miss Zangetsu entirely as he jumped high and delivered a powered kick to Duke. This caused Duke to cancel his transformation as well as causing the Kachidoki lockseed to fly upstairs and land near Rosyuo's right foot. He picked it up to examine it.
"Damn it!"
Zangetsu sped his way to the top to retrieve the lockseed, as well rescue Inori. Rosyuo, however, saw Zangetsu approach him. He lifted his left hand and emitted a large energy shockwave which pushed Zangetsu back to the point that the impact of slamming to the ground made his transformation cancel out. Gaim saw this happen.
"Gai!"
"Focus, Shu!"
Bujin Gaim continued his onslaught of blows. Rosyuo saw the battle from afar, and then looked at the Kachidoki lockseed. His hand shined with a golden glow. The glow went from his hand to the Kachidoki lockseed. He focused once again to the battle as he witnessed Bujin Gaim weaken Gaim to the point of defeat.
"Time to end this!"
Bujin Gaim connected his swords to make a naginata, then removed his lockseed from his driver to his naginata for a finisher.
"LOCK-ON!"
"1, 10, 100, 1000, 100000!"
"BLOOD ORANGE CHARGE!"
The resulting energy slashes damaged Gaim good. So good that the resulting attack made the transformation cancel out. Bujin Gaim looked down on Shu as he, as well as Gai, lied down on the ground in a weakened state.
"And to think we honestly considered you two a threat."
Bujin Gaim canceled his transformation. Keido stood up as well and made his way back to the ceremony with Rosyuo standing with impatience.
"My lord, please forgive the unwarranted interruption."
'This better not happen again, Keido."
"Of course. I too wish to see your people replace humanity. I gladly give my life for that purpose."
"Then let us proceed with the course of destiny. Grave Keeper!"
"Of course."
Yuu instantly teleported to the chapel. Leaving Shu and Gai behind as the crystal eyes came back to surround them. Gai regained consciousness with Shu not too far behind. Both of them were weak from fighting against opponents out of their league. The ceremony continued with Rosyuo acting as minster. The red circle finally fully materialized into dark purple rings.
"We form with these bands an unbreakable vow. A vow which will form an unbreakable chain."
A large helix circle formed around Keido and the unconscious Inori. Gai sense what was going on.
"Shu, listen to me."
Shu was struggling to get up.
"You have to dig deep and remember. Some part of you has to remember what happened that day."
"What day? I know I remember you during the summer, but what other memories are you talking about?"
"Lost Christmas. December, 2029. That was the year Haruka took us to Tokyo."
A white light enveloped the both of them as Gai guided Shu through the remains of his repressed memories.
xxxxxx
(Tokyo, wintertime)
Shu was in a familiar position. This time, he was in a church. What was different this time was that Gai was with him as well. Aiding him to remember the day Lost Christmas happened.
"Gai."
"Shu, try to remember. The date was December 24th. I asked you to meet me in this church. The one in Roppongi. I wanted to tell about the Mana that you didn't know. The Mana that was changing into something horrific. But you weren't the one that showed up."
Young Gai was waiting for Shu in the church. When he heard the doors open, he thought young Shu came. But instead, it was Mana.
Mana gave young Gai a present.
"Merry Christmas Triton."
"Thanks Mana."
"Open it."
Young Gai did so, nervously. When he opened it, it was revealed to be a gun with four bullets.
"You're my little knight, aren't you Triton? This way, you can always protect me."
Mana pointed to the gold star on the Christmas tree inside.
"Let's see you shoot that star on top of the tree."
When Mana turned around, she now had red eyes with square pupils. Young Gai was now feeling scared at what was happening. He took the gun, and aimed it at the star on the tree. When he fire, the gun blew up to pieces. This hurt him and made him bleed. Mana walked to young Gai and looked over him with a mix of pity and derision.
"Poor Triton. You know I did loved you."
Mana took some of the spilled blood, and put it on her lips like lipstick.
"Just kidding."
Just then, young Shu finally arrived, and looked at the scene with confusion and shock.
"Triton? Mana?"
When young Shu saw young Gai on the floor, bleeding, he immediately ran to his side.
"Triton? Are you okay?"
"Forget about him, Shu."
"Forget about him? How can you say that, Mana? What's going on?"
Mana held up a string web between her two hands.
"If we combine our DNA, we can create a new world together. More beautiful than this one."
Young Shu felt uneasy at how Mana was acting. He did not understand what Mana was saying.
"It's okay, Shu. There's nothing to be afraid of. Your big sister Mana is here."
Mana slid closer and closer to young Shu, attempting to hug him. Young Shu pushed Mana away in anger.
"YOU'RE NOT MANA! My sister is nothing like you. She cares about me and Triton. She cares what we feel. You don't! You're a monster that took my sister away from me, and I can't get her back!"
Mana was in utter shock at what happened. To be rejected by Shu was heartbreaking for her. So much that it made her cry. Both of the boys noticed it.
"Mana... Are you back?"
Mana did not how to react. She screamed as loud as she could, resulting in a dome of light that expanded beyond the church. When it was gone, the inside of the church was on fire. Young Shu was surrounded by flames as he struggled to lift Triton and getting some distance between him and Mana. Mana was pleading with young Shu to forgive her.
"I'm so sorry. Forgive me, Shu. Please don't be so scared. I need your help. It's too much. It's happening so fast. Make it stop!"
Rapid changes were occurring within Mana. It was too much for her to handle that she inadvertently released another dome of light. The one that caused Lost Christmas to happen. Young Gai covered young Shu to protect him. While both boys were at the heart of the storm, the resulting damage spread all across the city of Tokyo. Shu was witnessing the entire memory of that fateful event. The event that started his path. Gai summarized the aftermath.
"Her fear boiled over to the point that she destroyed herself with her new power."
"That's right. I remember now. She wanted our help that day. But we couldn't do anything. How could we? We didn't know anything."
When the event passed, young Gai pushed off a piece of the rubble that was covering the both of them. Young Gai was still struggling with his injuries, but had enough strength to stand. He stood over young Shu as he looked at him with a blank look on his face.
"You said something to me that day."
"I'm going away, Shu. To get stronger. Goodbye."
Young Shu was still in a state of shock as military personnel spotted him and took him to safety.
"I was so traumatized by what happened that I let those memories be locked away. Not anymore."
xxxxxx
The light surrounding both Shu and Gai subsided.
"Now that you're whole again, do you now know what we have to do?"
"Take back Mana's soul, no matter what."
"Precisely. Daath has forced Mana to awaken against her will. You and I are going to put her back to sleep."
"But I'm still going to need my new lockseed, Gai."
Upstairs, the Kachidoki lockseed flew out of Rosyuo's possession, shocking both Keido and Yuu as the ceremony was close to completion.
'But…'
'How can this be?"
The lockseed flew down, only to hit Shu's head by accident.
"Ow!"
Gai was dumbfounded at the fact that the lockseed flew down as soon as Shu mentioned it.
"How did that happen?"
Shu was rubbing the spot where he was hit as he picked up his Kachidoki lockseed.
"Honestly, I don't know. Right now, I don't care about the how. I care about the mission."
Gai smiled at Shu's focus and determination.
"Right back at you."
Both summoned their drivers, and transformed into their rider forms. Yuu saw the two of them doing so.
"So Shu, you've broken the shackles of memories and believe you can finally take the role of king. But you're too late. This cannot be stopped!"
Yuu summoned his driver to transform as well.
"I got the grave keeper, Shu. Get to Inori."
Keido was continuing the ceremony as he placed the ring onto Inori's ring finger, which caused her pain. Gaim fought through the crystal eyes getting in his way with his Musou Saber. Mana spoke once again.
"Shu. Are you trying to make me jealous?"
"Mana! Listen to me! I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you before."
Gaim sliced more of the crystal eyes. Some of them shot out spikes, but there was no damage.
"But I know this isn't you, Mana. You've been twisted by the virus. Let me end your pain, Mana! Otherwise, your pain will roll over the earth and humanity!"
"DON'T ACT LIKE YOU CARE, SHU!"
More of the crystal eyes came to Gaim, but he summoned his DJ gun and delivered shotgun blasts. He finally got to the top of the staircase to destroy the crystal trapping that held Inori against her will with his sword.
"No. This can't be! The promised day…"
"Gai! Go for it!"
Zangetsu sped past Bujin Gaim and went straight for Mana. Keido stood by helpless.
"Please Lord Rosyuo! STOP HIM!"
Rosyuo did nothing as he let Zangetsu pass him.
"LORD ROSYUO!"
"This is your failure, Keido. You should consider yourself fortunate, if you manage to survive the weight of your inadequacies."
Rosyuo opened a crack portal which made for an exit from Mana's void. Keido was stunned with disgrace. Bujin Gaim canceled his transformation, and stood in front of Keido.
"Shuuichirou, you have done enough. You've done your best to make this happen, but clearly it wasn't enough."
Yuu tapped Keido's forehead, and everything turned red before his eyes. While Zangetsu kept on running towards Mana. The crystal eyes made one last stand, but Zangetsu sliced them to oblivion before realizing it. Zangetsu jumped towards Mana, but she summoned crystal spike to protect her from him. By the time he saw the spikes, it was too late. The spikes stabbed Zangetsu, right through the armor. The damage was extensive to the point that the transformation was canceled. Gaim saw this, and was horrified.
"GAI!"
Play Goodbye Blue Sky by Pink Floyd (at 0:50)
Gai ignored everything, even his pain, just to hear the quiet serenity of being close to Mana once again.
"Gai!"
"Unleash your ultimate power, Shu. Use it on Mana."
"But if I did that, I'd kill you."
"It doesn't matter. I'm a dead man anyways. Do it!"
"NO!"
"Shu. Do you remember who you used to be? You were decisive, brave, and loyal. Even after your memories were sealed, a part of your original self was still there. That helped you become the kind of hero I believed you could be. I honestly wanted to be like you."
"Don't say that, Gai! Don't say it like this is the end! Like this is the last time we're ever be friends."
Gaim was crying.
"Shu, please understand what I'm saying. You are the kind of person you always wanted to be. If I can change myself, then so can you. You don't need me to inspire you to be a better man."
Gaim dried his eyes as best he could. He couldn't wipe the tears off his eyes due to his mask being attached to his suit.
"Do it!"
Gaim flipped the front of the gun to combine it with his Musou saber. The trigger sprang out a bladed edge to activate the Taiken mode to make the Great Orange Blade, Gaim's most powerful weapon to date. Gaim then placed his Kachidoki lockseed on the slot of his blade.
"1, 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000, 100,000,000, 1,000,000,000,000! MURYOTAISU!!"
Gai accepted his fate to be destroyed by his best friend. If it meant having peace with himself, and with Mana.
"KACHDOKI CHARGE!"
With one fell swoop, Gaim destroyed not just his best friend and sister, but the entire void as well. A massive bright orange light shone and spread. Shu imagined that he was holding Gai's hand until he let go. Gai spoke to Shu, but the words could not be heard.
xxxxxx
The debris storm centering on GHQ headquarters was dying out. Although the building was still standing, everything else was falling. Shu's friends watched from their school in fear that Shu somehow did not survive. Hare was more worried about him than the rest of her friends. Shu, however, did survive. He was still in his rider armor, carrying Inori.
'I made it. With Inori in my arms. Got no idea how that happened. Maybe it was…'
Inori was waking up as soon as sunlight hit her face.
"Shu. Did we make it?"
"Looks like."
Shu let go of Inori.
"Aren't you going to take it off?"
"Not just yet. Not just…"
Shu started sobbing while still in his rider armor. Inori placed her hand on Shu's shoulders.
"It's okay. This is how Gai wanted it."
"You mean he never wanted to live?"
"No. But Gai knew that he would be risking his life in this fight, Shu. He knew the price. He wasn't afraid to take it."
Shu stood quiet for a bit before closing his Kachidoki lockseed. He gripped it as spoke in a quiet tone, and with the same words that Gai said to him as Shu destroyed him.
"Goodbye, old friend."
Shu went on his knees and cried hard. Inori joined him, expressing her sorrow as well.
Well, this is the end of the first half. I will still keep on writing this story, but once again, I have school. So please be patient as I will write more chapters for all loyal readers and more. Be sure to review when you finish, and spread the good word of this story. Stay thirsty, friends. For knowledge!