Thank you all for coming back, and welcome to the latest chapter. The Inves army is set to rampage Tennozu high and devour everyone inside. Gaim and Baron used to be the line in the sand. But even with new riders, can they hold the line? On with the show!

Phase 14 – Stage: The True Debut!

Hare, Kanon, Arisa, and Inori were the last ones who have not stepped forward to pick the Ringo lockseed. The girls debated among themselves to determine who would become a rider of their own volition.

"I don't think I could something like that. I mean, I care about Shu, and would do anything for him… But this…"

Kanon placed her hand on Hare's shoulder.

"You're not less of a person for saying no, Hare. Shu wouldn't want you hurt for his sake. You his reason for fighting."

Arisa looked at the lockseed with a certain look. One that combined fear and desire. When she first learned about Shu being a Kamen Rider, she remembered when she danced with Gai that he told her about a person.

(Flashback)

"…You kind of remind me of a person who used to think that he had nothing to offer. What makes him different was, at one point in his life, he acted on his desire."

"What was his desire?"

"To be a better person. And he is one, whether he knows it or not."

(End)

Arisa pieced together what Gai was talking about that night. She had the idea that being a Kamen Rider was what changed Shu from an average person to a superhero that can take charge of his own life. His own destiny.

'If I take this lockseed, then I can… I mean, if Shu can be a different person because of this power, then maybe I can…'

Arisa reached for the genome with tension. So much that her hand was shaking. Sagara observed Arisa and her reactions, however subtle they were. He had an idea to what was going on in her mind. However by the time the Ringo lockseed was within her reach, it was swiped by Inori. Sagara switched his attention to Inori.

"You sure about this?"

"Yes."

Inori took the Sengoku Genome, and injected it into her body. She felt some pain at first, but was later gone as the driver manifested from her chest area. Inori held her Sengoku Driver with awe and shock. She let go of her driver, and it returned it to her body.

"Good luck to you, Ms. Yuzuriha."

"Thank you, Mr. Sagara."

Inori ran to where the rest of the riders were, leaving Hare, Kanon, and Arisa behind. While Hare and Kanon looked on with worry and hope, Arisa looked at Inori with a growing sense of self-hatred.

"I let her take it from me. Why wasn't I faster?!"

xxxxxx

(The Decisive Battle from Final Fantasy VI)

Gaim, Baron, Kurokage, Ryugen, Guridon, and Knuckle each fought groups of the invading horde of Inves with mixed results. While the new riders were energized to fight with excellent results, Gaim and Baron were still feeling sluggish from exhaustion. Their armors held up, but the impacts from the Inves's attacks were still hurting them and making them lose consciousness. Kurokage noticed Gaim moving slower than usual. She called to Guridon.

"TSUGUMI! Cover Daryl! I'm going for Shu!"

"Got it!"

Kurokage and Guridon slashed and bashed their way to Gaim and Baron. Gaim almost fell to the ground and dropped his Musou Saber in the process, but Kurokage picked him up before he could do so.

"Not so fast Shu Ouma! You still have monsters to kill! WAKE UP!"

Kurokage slapped Gaim around a few times before regaining consciousness. Kurokage defended Gaim while he was waking up.

"Ayase…"

"Get your head in the game, Shu! I told you since the first day, I… DON'T … TOLERATE… SLACKERS!"

Kurokage punctured and slashed charging Inves while she was speaking.

"I know how hard you're working, Shu. But right now, we need you fight a little bit longer. We can stand our ground, but without you, we can't advance. So hang on, and put your legs to good use."

Gaim picked up his Musou Saber from the ground and forced himself to stay awake for a while longer.

"Thank you Ayase. I needed that."

Gaim and Kurokage fought off some Inves attempting to kill them. While Guridon carried Baron to a part of the track field to get away from the battle for a while to regain his senses.

"WAKE UP, YAN! WE NEED YOU KICK ASS AGAIN!"

Guridon slapped Baron a number of 15 times before he regained consciousness. Baron reawaked by the 10th slap, but Guridon would not stop after that.

"Ow. Ow. Ow. OKAY TSUGUMI! STOP!"

"Oh good, you're awake."

"Jeez, you...you have to go overboard with waking me up?"

"I have to. Otherwise, you would just be acting like a lazyass with daddy issues."

Baron did not take kindly to what Guridon said.

"Now get up and get into the fight. The rest of our friends are there and we need to be there with them."

'I never agreed to be friends with anyone of them.'

Baron summoned his Sonic Arrow into his hand.

"Fine, let's do it."

Baron and Guridon ran towards the track battlefield.

(end music)

xxxxxx

(GHQ)

Segai was watching the entire fight taking place inside the his "office."

"Well this is the opposite of what I wanted to happen. Granted, on some level, this is exciting. If I was 8 years old with disposable income."

Rowan was there behind Segai watching Baron fighting with worry on his face. Just then, the doors open to reveal in Inves entering. But this one was different. It displayed intelligence. It was also capable of speech. Human speech.

"Oh... disappointed with the army my master Redyue has provided for you, Segai?"

"So pleased that you have come to join us here, lord Dyudyuonshu."

Rowan looked at the Inves that waltzed right in with no pretense. It looked like a mutated Vermillion Bird. With six large red feathers sticking out from the back. It carried with him a curvy broadsword.

"Am I pronouncing your name right? Can I call you Dyu-san?"

Dyu walked towards the screen only to see the Inves army falling one by one to strange armored warriors. He spoke in a subdued tone.

"What are they?"

"Oh those, my lord, are called Kamen Riders. Very popular with the youth. And look like they are more than a match for your minions."

"They insult the honor of my master!"

Dyu slammed Segai's desk, almost tearing it into two.

"IT IS AN INSULT TO MY GLORIUS MASTER! To have such lowly insects exterminate his army. IT MUST BE RECTIFIED!"

"May it please you, my lord Dyu, a recommendation?"

Segai got the attention of the general Inves.

"Speak."

"You can go to the battle and kill the Kamen Riders yourself."

"Hmmph! And why should I? Making my hands dirty for such insignificant reasons. You speak nonsense."

"Am I? You desire to please your masters, and If they found about this failure of a campaign, the displeasure would be enormous. They would blame themselves."

Dyu imagined what the situation would play out in his head and it caused to act out in genuine anguish.

"This cannot stand! For the glory of my masters, I will join with the rest of the foot soldiers and exterminate those riders MYSELF!"

Dyu ran to the front of GHQ headquarters and, with his feathers glowing, flew away to Tennozu High. Rowan followed the Inves general to see it fly away. With Segai slowly following.

"Sir, are you sure that was a wise decision?"

"I'm actually following orders from the big cheese himself."

"You mean..."

"Let's go back to our station. After all, this show is rather captivating, wouldn't you agree?"

xxxxxx

(Tennozu High)

The Inves army that was ready to storm the school and kill every student inside it was thinning down to a fourth of its original size due to the riders' efforts to kill them all before they reached the rest of the students. While those who could not escape the track field saw how the entire fight was unfolding. Some were speechless at how some of the unlikeliest of students actually possessed the ability to transform in the superheroes that used to be on their Sunday morning shows, while others were amazed. Some of them gawked with wonder in their eyes. But none could deny the feeling of hope for survival that all the students felt when they saw the Riders slaying monsters on their behalf. Guridon and Baron stood side by side as there were less Inves coming at them.

"There's not a lot of them left."

"We're thinning them out. Don't let up Tsugumi."

"Got it!"

Kurokage and Gaim were finishing up with their end. Knuckle was going wild on any Inves that got near him while Ryugen provided long range fire.

"Souta! Save your energy. We still have more to wipe out."

"I can't help it, Yahiro. This power is amazing. No wonder people want to like the superheroes you see in tv or movies."

"I think you're getting the wrong idea..."

More Inves charged to Knuckle from his left, but he flipped the cutting on his driver two times.

(guitar riff)

"KURUMI AU LAIT!"

Knuckle spun around to release an energy fist and directed it to the Inves that were charging towards him, and obliterated them.

"Aw sorry. Did you want them?"

"No. I'm fine."

Yahiro flipped the cutting blade on his driver once and pulled the pull hammer on his Budou Ryuhou.

"HAI! BUDOU SQUASH!"

Ryugen shot five grape shaped energy shots into the air and each of them redirected themselves to the nearest Inves to kill. Knuckle saw this and was amazed, but was too proud to admit it.

"Show-off!"

Just as the battle was turning on the rider's favor, a new challenger arrived. A huge gust of wind blew onto the track field, stunning rider, human, and Inves alike. The challenger was so quick that almost no one could see him coming. It even slashed Gaim with such blinding speed. Kurokage saw Gaim go down.

"Shu!"

The wind died down only to reveal Dyudyuonshu floating in the air. The riders look with anxiety as to wonder what this Inves was.

"What is that?"

"It looks like an Inves."

"But it doesn't look like the ones we've been fighting against."

Dyu spoke to the riders with a condescending tone.

"Correct, stupid apes."

"It spoke like us."

"While calling us stupid apes."

"Well, I already hate him."

"No argument here."

"You lower lifeforms should accept your destiny as food for the new species that will replace you in the coming days."

"LIKE HELL WE WILL!"

Everyone turned to see Gaim standing upright while pointing his Musou Saber towards the speaking Inves.

"I know about what your masters intend to do to us, and if honestly believe that we'll take your crap sitting down..."

Gaim pulled the Pallete Slide to activate the gun portion of his sword, and shot at Dyu, causing the Inves to fall to the ground. It got up angry and stared at Gaim with murderous intent.

"...then it's your own damn fault for not seeing reality. Human beings may be flawed, but we have what it takes to be better than what we used to be. You don't have the right to take that from us!"

"I am a superior species. I have every right!"

Dyu released a huge shockwave that was so powerful that it caused all the riders except Gaim to be forced out of their transformations. Daryl, Ayase, Souta, Tsugumi, and Yahiro laid on the ground, in pain, from Dyu's powerful attack. Only Shu, in his Kachidoki arms, was still standing. Dyu flew to Gaim and slashed him repeatedly.

"You worms can barely hold your ground to us, and that's only because you stole our scraps without us looking."

Gaim listened to that last part as he was struggling to stand his ground as he was under attack by Dyu hitting him with his broadsword. Gaim then began to black Dyu's attack with his weapon until a standstill was achieved.

"So you're saying the void genome came from your species?"

"I have no idea what you mean!"

Dyu broke the standstill and fought back hard against Gaim until Gaim was on the ground like the rest of his friends.

"I have no idea at how you apes managed to steal our power, but it will not matter. Your extinction is nigh. You will learn at how small and pathetic you are. It's rather fitting if you ask me. Humanity has nothing to offer to the universe. You are useless in the extreme!"

"YOU'RE WRONG!"

All turned around to see where the voice came from. Inori was on the stage where she was supposed to sing. She stood with an angry look at her face. No one saw her look or act that way before. Not even those who worked with her.

"Human beings are amazing that you know. I have seen the horrors they commit, and they do it with no regard for consequences, or with no compassion for those they step on. But the good they can do outweighs the bad. The mercy they exercise has a bigger impact on the world than their brutality. Their potential for greatness is there, and they need the time to achieve it. I don't care if you think yourself to be a superior species. We will do what we believe is right, and fight against assholes like you every time!"

Everyone was taken aback by Inori's words. Also her cursing as well. Dyu, however, shrugged it off as meaningless chatter.

"And how will you prove it this potential for greatness, little girl?"

"Shu Ouma has been my friend for quite a while. I have seen him change into a person that people can trust. A person that people can believe in."

Inori summoned her Sengoku Driver from her chest. Everyone was shocked to see Inori do that. Ayase spoke.

"So she took one..."

Inori placed her driver onto her waist, and took out her Ringo lockseed.

"I'm one of them. HENSHIN!"

"RINGO!"

"LOCK-ON!"

The standby tone was that of Baron's and Guridon's.

"COME ON! RINGO ARMS! DESIRE FORBIDDEN FRUIT!"

When the metallic apple landed on her shoulders, it formed a mostly white silver suit with red on her legs. When the metallic apple unfolded, it became her armor. Her motif was no different than Baron's: A European knight, but was apple based. The shoulder pads looked like folded apple slices. On Inori's right hand were her two weapons. The Sword Bringer and the Apple Reflector. It was a sword and shield combo, similar to that of Zangetsu.

"My Kamen Rider name will be...Idunn!"

Her friends were amazed by her energy and determination. For Ayase and Tsugumi, they never doubted her courage. And for the fans who loved her music, now they saw Inori Yuzuriha in a whole new light. Cheering soon started as Inori inspired hope inside them. Dyu roared as the 'noise' was starting annoy him.

"ENOUGH! You believe that you have the power to contend against me? I will personally end your sad, miserable life MYSELF!"

(Xenoblade Chronicles – An Obstacle in our path)

Dyu flew to the sky, intending to strike Idunn from above. Idunn flipped the cutting blade on her driver once.

"COME ON! RINGO SQUASH!"

The Sword Bring worked like Zangetsu's Musou Saber and started to glow with energy. Idunn performed a blade beam, swinging her sword to release the blade beam, and aimed it at Dyu, causing the Inves to crash to the ground near the stage. The students cheered for Idunn. Dyu got up and was seething with anger.

"You little monkey! You will regret injuring me."

Dyu tried to fly, but discovered that his feathers were burned during the attack.

"WHAT?!"

Idunn jumped high into the air, and yelled as she slashed Dyu with her sword. This made Dyu bleed from his chest, but was not enough to kill him. Dyu summoned his broadsword, and charged towards Idunn. Dyu swinged his sword with his left, but Idunn blocked it with her Apple Reflector. She then pierced Dyu with her sword, dealing significant pain. Both traded blows to each other. Although Idunn was stronger than the rest of her friends, the Inves she was fighting outclassed her. Idunn held her ground to the best of her abilities, but everyone saw how she was struggling to keep up with the monster. Gaim was the last one to notice.

"I've seen her fight before. What's wrong?"

"She was trained as a resistance fighter."

Gaim turned around to see Ayase being held up by Tsugumi. Tsugumi herself was suffering from fatigue. Both of them explained Inori's fighting style.

"Inori's specialty was fighting against armed forces in guerilla warfare. Subversion, sabotage, and assassination were the skills Gai taught her."

"She also knows some hand to hand, but that's all she knows about close quarters combat."

"But she's fighting as a rider..."

"She hasn't got a clue as to how to fight like you do Shu."

Gaim looked at how Idunn was fighting against Dyu. Ayase was right at how Inori was having difficulty fighting against the Inves.

'She has no idea how to wield a sword.'

Gaim stood upright after recuperating for a while. He charged right in to help Idunn and give her an edge by blocking the broadsword with his sword. Dyu was outraged.

"This is a battle between two opponents. You have no place here."

"Kiss my ass!"

Gaim swinged hard to get some between him and Idunn.

"Shu..."

"Let me help you Inori. I have seen you fight. I know you what you can and can't do. Let me help you fight him as a rider."

Both slashed Dyu alternatively and continuously. The damage done by Gaim and Idunn were taking their toll on the Inves. Everyone on the track field were cheering for both Shu and Inori as both triumph over the monster. The rest of the Inves charged towards the two riders to defend their master. Ayase, Tsugumi, Souta, Yahiro and Daryl saw this. Ayase shouted,

"Don't let the rest interfere. Help Shu and Inori!"

All of them transformed into their rider forms. Baron caught up to Ryugen.

"Take this. You're gonna need close-ranged weapons for this."

Baron gave Ryugen his Kiwi lockseed. Ryugen used it.

"KIWI!"

"LOCK-ON!"

"HAI! KIWI ARMS! GEKI! RIN! SEIYA HA!"

Ryugen threw the oversized chakrams at the Inves horde to thin the herd. Dyu saw all this as he was under siege form Gaim and Idunn. He jumped high enough to summon a couple of Helheim fruits and threw them at a couple of Inves. He then turned and released the same wave of energy to distract Gaim and Idunn, and deliver a few hits of his sword. Two Inves took the fruits. One Shika and one regular. Both grew larger than a tank. While the Shika Inves was a supersized version of itself, the regular Inves mutated into something different. It mutated into the Inoshishi Inves, a giant boar with black tusks and fur that spikes in the front, outwardly wavy and white in the middle, and the back looked like it was covered in a web-like substance. It even looked like a spider's web. Gaim blocked Dyu's sword while Idunn was down. He saw the Inoshishi Inves. An idea came to him during the fight. Gaim took out his Suika lockseed, and threw it to Knuckle.

"USE IT!"

Knuckle sees the Inoshishi, and understood what Gaim meant.

"SUIKA!"

A giant metallic watermelon appears over Knuckle.

"Holy crap!"

"Let it drop behind you, and do a giant backflip to get inside!"

Baron saw what Knuckle was doing.

"I got the giant pig!"

"SUIKA!"

Both Knuckle and Baron removed their primary lockseed and inserted the Suika.

"LOCK-ON!"

"COME ON!"

(guitar riff)

"SUIKA ARMS! ODAMA! BIG BANG!"

While Baron went for the Inoshishi, Knuckle went for the evolved Shika. Energy watermelons appeared on Knuckles' hands.

'Dude, I'm gonna punch that thing hard.'

Knuckle punched the evolved Shika Inves as hard as he could. The Inves punch back while being agile as it leapt and slid around Knuckle faster than he could catch up. His defenses were high, but were slowly chipped away by the Inves' rapid succession attacks. Baron took the Inoshishi Inves by the tusks and flipped it to the ground on its sides. Baron used the Seed Lance to pierce its right side, causing it to bleed profusely. The Inoshishi made Baron back but was severely weakened while Knuckle finally grabbed the Shika Inves by its leg. He broke it, causing significant pain to the Inves and rendering it unable to move. Both riders readied their finishers.

"COME ON!"

(guitar riff)

"SUIKA SQUASH!"

Baron's seed lance generated an energy watermelon slice on the lance while Knuckles' fist glowed with a denser shade of green. Baron thrusted his lance into the Inoshishi Inves while Knuckle balled his fists together, did a high jump, and slammed the evolved Shika, destroying it completely. Both giant Inves were exterminated, leaving Dyu distressed and weakened as Gaim and Idunn were beginning to finish him off.

"Shu."

"Right."

Gaim flipped his cutting blade once while Idunn did it three times.

"SOIYA! KACHDOKI SQUASH!"

"COME ON! RINGO SPARKLING!"

Both riders leapt into the air, and both put their best foot forward for a double kick. Dyu spoke his last words.

"Killed by stupid apes?! This is...UNAAACCEEPTTABBBLLLLLEEEE!"

Gaim and Idunn landed their powered double kick, destroying Dyu completely.

(end music)

What remaining Inves there were ran from the area. All the riders canceled their transformations. Shu spoke to his friends.

"Great job, everyone. Take five. Smoke em if you them."

Both Shu and Daryl dropped to the ground and already snoring. Souta picked up Shu while Yahiro dealt with Daryl, much to his chagrin. Just then, a huge crowd of students begin to run to the riders in adoration. Each of them spoke words of gratitude, wonder, and surprise. Inori smiled and laughed as she received their adulation. Some of the others got their thanks as well. And yet this was not enough to wake up the first two riders.

xxxxxx

(GHQ)

Segai saw the whole thing from his monitor through still functioning cameras that were installed in the school and around it.

"Look at this. The heroes with their secret identities revealed to the world, and everyone loves them for it. Hugs and thanks yous all around. A heartwarming scene straight out of a story."

Rowan asked Segai about the real intention of sent Dyu to his death.

"Sir, that was one of the Inves serving the Overlords?"

"Yes, and there was a reason for it."

Segai's phone rang.

"Yes sir...Yes I have the footage we need... No, it went easier than expected... Thank you... Yes, sir. Understood."

Segai hung up.

"We're moving ahead with the next phase."

"Yes, Mr. Segai."

xxxxxx

(Tennozu High)

The students came to fix the stage after the Inves army came to the track field. Inori was getting ready with her makeup being reapplied while talking like a normal person and even laughing sometimes. Hare saw this from afar while looking over Shu as he laid sleeping. She smiled as she felt that he looked adorable like this. Ayase walked to Hare asking her to see how Shu was doing.

"Shu still sleeping?"

"Like a baby. I'm glad to see you walking Ayase. How does it feel?"

"I can't wait to break these bad boys again. Feels like forever since I can walk. In the morning, I'm getting up bright and early, use this track field to run, jump, and maybe even spar. You know, like...if I feel like going that extra mile."

Hare chuckle a bit to see Ayase barely containing her newfound enthusiasm and energy.

"Well, I see the concert is still on."

"Yeah. Fair warning: it is going to get crazy loud here. Inori told me so herself. She wanted to do a song that gets everyone pumped before doing her usual stuff."

"Aww, but that's gonna wake up Shu."

"But on the plus side, it gonna be hilarious when it wakes up Daryl. Tsugumi's gonna record it for me. The guy is an absolute spaz."

Ayase was containing her laughter while Hare looked with deadpan eyes. Then there was a loud feedback sound before Souta's voice was heard.

"What's up, everyone? This is Knuckle here giving the good word. The good word being that the concert will in three minutes. If you don't want to miss Inori singing for your pleasure, then get your asses for the big show!"

Everyone who heard that immediately rushed to the track field. All stood for the concert to begin. The curtain split apart to reveal Inori, wearing a blue dress that wide at the bottom with flowers attached. The audience cheered. This made Shu and Daryl mildly disturbed.

"Thank you. I know you've been through a lot, but for now, let's feel like everything's going to more than fine. Let's have fun tonight, with no guilt and no doubts to hold us down!"

The audience cheered loudly. This made Shu wake up while Daryl covered himself to keep on sleeping. Hare was there when Shu finally woke up.

"Hey, you're awake."

"Yeah. So, the concert was still on?"

(Kamen Rider Gaim – Teppen Star)

The first part of the song was so loud that it jolted Daryl straight up. Funnel recorded the whole thing and sent the video to Tsugumi. She had her holo-terminal set up and Ayase was there with her. Tsugumi played in slow motion and it made the both of them laugh. Daryl was in a foul mood for a while, but it was lifted when he heard Inori singing.

"Not bad. I can get with it."

He stood up as just listened. Tsugumi joined with him.

"You recorded me, didn't you?"

"You're acting as if we're boyfriend and girlfriend."

Daryl blushed as heard Tsugumi saying 'boyfriend and girlfriend.' Ayase joined the two to listen to Inori with Yahiro and Kanon right behind her. Kanon asked,

"Anyone know where Hare and Shu are?"

Yahiro saw the two of them coming their way.

"There they are."

"Hey guys."

"Hi."

All of them got together to enjoy the concert. Shu saw Souta behind the curtain, looking at Inori with Fanboy eyes. He just smiled. Kanon asked Shu,

"Hey Shu, after this, why don't you come up on the stage and do a routine?"

"You mean my stand up? I don't have anything prepared."

Hare was excited to see Shu do stand-up again.

"So just make it up as you go along. A lot of comedians do that."

"Yeah, but they're pros."

"Can't become a pro unless you make yourself one. Stop wussing out, Ouma. Get up there."

Tsugumi agreed with Daryl.

"Hell yeah. Make us laugh or die trying."

Shu was afraid on getting on stage due to fear of rejection by the crowd. However, he remembered one joke thought up as he was Gaim when he and Daryl were killing the Inves that were in Tokyo.

"I actually have something. It's not a complete set, but it's good, and it won't even interfere with Inori's spotlight."

Kanon clapped her hand in confirmation.

"Great. I'll go and tell Souta."

"He's up..."

"I know where he is, and what he's doing."

Kanon made her way through the crowd and up to the backstage.

(let music on its own)

Inori finished her song, and audience cheered loudly. Kanon signaled Inori to come to her. She whispered into Inori's ear about Shu. She nodded yes. Inori went back to the center stage and spoke to the audience through the earphone.

"I'll be taking a small break, but we're not stopping. I present Shu Ouma, who will be doing a stand up for all of us."

The audience cheered at that announcement. Although not as loud previously, many enjoyed Shu's stand-up act and honestly would not mind if Inori wanted to concede some of the concert to him. As long as he as good. Shu got up to the stage while Souta followed behind him, carrying a microphone and the stick to hold it up with. Souta whispered to Shu,

"Go get em, bud."

Shu tapped the microphone to see if it was working. He grabbed and held it.

"Hey. Good to see all of you in a good mood. It's way better than before. I remembered last everyone was all 'ah. it's the end of the world. I never got to do blahdy blahdy blah and blah blah blah.'"

There was some mild chuckling.

"Yeah, but hey we needed this. It's hard to keep yourself together over this. Hell, one time I actually saw a fight over how we would die. One of them said monster attack. The other said cannibalism. I thought the other thing was gross. I know what humans taste like. Back in middle school, bullies used to make me eat my foot. Tasted like spoiled cheese."

(laughter)

"Even smelled like spoiled cheese."

The audience was expressed amused disgust as they laughed.

"As for the monster attack, never gonna happen, am I right?"

The audience cheered loudly.

"Being a Kamen Rider is fun, but it's also work. I mean, sometimes I go outside the school, I ride on my motorcycle, looking for evil to slay. I find evil, it's all 'grr. argh.' I kill it. But it doesn't stop there. Every time I kill some monsters, more keep popping up. It's mother***ing whack-a-mole out there."

(laughter)

"One minute I'm all like 'die, f***er, die."

Shu was imitating stabbing something with a large object.

"Then everything's all quiet, it's fine. I'm like 'Sweet, I'm done. I'm out of...' 'grr. argh.' 'damn it.'"

(laughter)

"Stabby, stabby, stabby. Now I'm done. I am over this shit. I just wanna get back and... 'grr. argh.' WHAT THE HELL?!"

(laughter)

"I didn't say anything else cause I thought it was some sort of jinx. So I just stayed quiet, and I walked slowly to my bike."

Shu sidestepped to act out his description while being intentionally silly. People laughed a little seeing this.

"This is what I was like. Trying not to say a word... Didn't want to screw around... just wanted to get back... As soon as I started my bike... 'grr. argh.' MOTHERF***ER! SERIOUSLY WHAT THE F**K?!"

(loud laughter)

"COULDN'T YOU MOTHERF***ING FREAKS STAY DEAD?! I feel like the f***ing maid here."

Once again, Shu made the entire house laugh, so to speak. Everywhere he saw, people were united in laughter. And he made it happen. For one moment, the troubles of the world outside did not matter to them. All that mattered was a good joke was heard, and it brought them joy. Shu ended his stand-up.

"Thank you. Enjoy the rest of the concert."

The audience clapped for Shu as he left the stage. His friends waited for him backstage, waiting to congratulate him. Hare was the first to do so with a hug and a kiss on his left cheek.

"That was really good, Shu. You were so funny up there."

"Thanks Hare. That's means a lot from you."

The rest of his friends joined in on the celebration, then went back into the crowd to enjoy the rest of the concert. The rest of the concert went on for an hour and a half before Inori finished with one song that everyone knew. It was the same one she sang before Tokyo fell to ruin to the second Lost Christmas. Hare laid her head on Shu's right shoulder as they both enjoyed a song that was melancholic, and yet had hope within the subtext. Ayase sat next to Shu speak with him a little.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"It's been a while since I really gave it my all on my own two legs. But I never really got the motivation I needed to used them again."

Ayase looked at her legs.

"Even if they were working or not."

"Yeah, I needed this too. Not just the fight, but what I used to do."

"Make people laugh?"

"I feel good doing that. I feel good knowing that because of my actions, people can feel like the sun will rise again and life will keep on going like it used to be. We're going through a bad time, but they don't last forever."

"I know what you mean. I've been giving this some thought. I want to figure out what to do with my life after the fighting has stopped."

"Sounds great. You should go for it."

"Thank you, Shu."

Ayase smiled with gratitude to Shu. He smiled back in appreciation. Just then, Souta spoke.

"Guys, guys! We got a signal. It's coming from the outside."

Tsugumi had her holo-terminal and typed to receive the signal.

"Sending the feed to the big screen in three, two, one!"

The image was blurry for moment, but the audio came clear. The person who was speaking was the one person Shu least expected it.

"After conducting careful research, the conclusion that we have reached is somber indeed."

Shuuichiro Keido was alive and in command of the GHQ. This shocked not just Shu, but also Daryl, and the two members of Funeral Parlor.

"The area known as loop seven is currently infest with the creature known as Inves. They currently occupy the area more than the human survivors."

Video footage involving Inves roaming the streets, attacking the school, and even footage of Dyu were shown, but the riders were nowhere to be seen.

"Although it pains me to say this, but to reduce and eliminate the Inves infestation, we must completely seal off loop seven until such time it has been determined that the mutated infestation known as the Inves have been completely eradicated."

"In accordance with the Japanese provisional government and the GHQ, any and all rescue and aid efforts are now ceased, and that loop seven will be sealed off for the duration of 10 years."

Many of the students were trying to make sense of this ominous announcement. Outside the school, huge walls were sprouting up through the ground. Downtown Tokyo was cut off from the rest of the world.

"To ease the fears of the international community, we have made the eradication of the Apocalypse virus as well as the Inves our top priority. This drastic action will bring about a new birth for Japan. As the newly inaugurated leader of the provisional government, it is my duty to put these deeds into practice."

The feed was off. All feel silent. In Shu's thoughts,

'That bastard is in charge of the country?'

Then he whispered,

"Goddammit..."

Then Shu yelled, breaking the silence.

"GOD DAMN IT!"

Just when you thought things would turn up, life gives you sucker punch when you least expect it. Thank you for reading. Next chapter will come up sometime in July. I am taking a summer class in College. Calculus. But I will work on the next chapter, as much as I can. Don't forget to review and share this story. Have an excellent summer.