Fair Warning, For This One, You Might Want To Bust Out Some Tissues. Whether Or Not You Use Them Depends On How Well I Write This, I Don't Own
As the elevator dropped down into the base, Lincoln, his sisters, and Clyde were laughing and smiling. But once they reached the bottom, they heard crying. "Huh?" Lincoln said, looking to see Sakura in a corner crying her eyes out.
"Sakura? Are you okay?" Lori asked. "Huh?" Sakura asked, turning to see them. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine, Lori-neechan. I'm just thinking about my oniichan is all." She said, continuing to bawl. "His 18th birthday would have been tomorrow, and well..." Sakura started saying, while crying so hard if she wasn't careful, she could flood the base. "You rarely talk about your parents and brother. What was he like?" Clyde asked. "Oniichan? Oh, he was the best! To me, he was everything! My brother, my teacher, which he actually had aspirations to be, he even enrolled in the local community college to start work towards his teaching degree, my role model, everything!" Sakura said, clutching a picture of her and Kenta. "He was always the kind of person to put the needs of others before himself, especially mine. Every year on our shared birthday, he would insist on celebrating mine before his, and made me feel like the most special girl in the world." She said. "Shared birthday?" Leni asked. "Oh, yeah, I guess I should have mentioned this, I was born on his 5th birthday. So this Saturday is also my 13th birthday. He always called me his favorite birthday present. It just won't be the same!" She said, continuing to cry.
"Sakura." Lincoln said in concern as the alarms went off. "Duty calls." Sakura said, glumly grabbing her driver, and placing it on her waist.
Downtown
Once the two riders arrived on their dirt bikes, they were surprised to see a cloaked figure fighting Neo Lizardons. "I guess Gorf decided to get a head start." Lincoln said. "That's not me, Lincoln. I don't know who it is." Gorf said over the comm link. "Then who's fighting the Neo Lizardons?" Sakura asked. "I don't know, but they need help!" Lincoln said, summoning his screen.
1-7-6-4, Sword!
With a swipe, his melee weapon appeared before he charged in swiping at the robots. "I don't know who you are, but Jewel and I appreciate the help!" Lincoln told the figure. "So that's what I would have looked like." The figure commented upon seeing Lincoln's rider suit. "Huh?" Lincoln asked. "No time for explanations!" The figure said, punching a Neo Lizardon in the face, crushing it. Sakura bashed one upside the head with her hammer. As this was going on, Megalonis and Tytus were watching from above on a building. "I can't believe you're actually going this far, Megalonis!" Tytus angrily told the Megalodon Animarius. "You heard King Draco's orders! Go all out, and this is how I'm going all out!" Megalonis said. "But this is insane! You can't do this to someone as fragile as Jewel's going to be on this day!" Tytus said. "Need I remind you, Lieutenant, That I outrank you and you can't tell me what to do!" Megalonis said. "I can't let this go on, I'm stopping this before it even starts!" Tytus said, extending her wings and taking off. "Oh no you're not!" Megalonis said, using his hydrokinetic powers on a nearby water tower to freeze her in a block of ice. "Sorry, Tytus, but this is too good an idea to pass up! Something like this might get me promoted higher than Leo!" He said, turning back to the battle.
Soon the Neo Lizardons were dealt with. "Phew! Guess they're running out of soldiers if they're just sending out these buckets of bolts!" Lincoln said, kicking one's head away. "Yeah." The figure said before noticing one raise it's blaster arm and aiming it at Sakura. "Oriro!" (Get Down!) He said, pushing Sakura down to the ground as the Neo Lizadon fired it's blaster shot, missing the bejeweled rider before falling apart. "You saved me. Thank you, I don't know what to say!" She said. "Anything for you, Sakura-chan." The figure said, surprising her. "Nani? How did you?" She asked in surprise, as only a few people knew their secret identities. "Because, it's me." He said, removing his cloak, making Sakura gasp. "Masaka! Oniichan?!" She asked in surprise, as Lincoln turned to see the boy he had seen in so many pictures at her house. "It's me alright." Kenta said. "Oniichan!" Sakura said, removing her driver, and hugging him with tears of joy. "That's right, hug your beloved brother." Megalonis said, smirking and chuckling evilly.
Hoseki Residence
"Oh, Kenta-kun! I can't believe it's really you!" Mrs. Hoseki said, hugging her grandson. "It's good to see you too, Obachan." He said. "I Don't understand. How is this possible?" Lisa asked. "From what Sakura and the police reports of the incident tell us, the car was completely obliterated, and there should be no way anyone survived!" Lisa said, somehow getting the exact police reports of the accident, catching Kenta off guard. "I don't know. I guess Kami-sama just felt it wasn't my time that's all." He said to everyone but Lisa, Sakura, and Mrs. Hoseki's confusion. "He's talking about God." Lisa explained. "Ah." Everyone said. "Oh, this is perfect! Here, let me go get your favorite snack!" Mrs. Hoseki said, running to the kitchen. "Oniichan, this is perfect! Now we can do everything I didn't think we could do when we thought you were dead! And tomorrow, we can celebrate our shared birthday again!" Sakura said, eagerly, surprising Kenta. "Yeah, we sure can!" He said, chuckling sheepishly, Meanwhile, in the corner, Lincoln was looking at the siblings with a smile on his face, before looking at his driver with a thoughtful look.
"Oh, and you've got to meet Toadus-san and Gorf-san!" Sakura eagerly said. "Toadus-san and Gorf-san?" Kenta asked confused. "They're these two Animarius soldiers that defected and helped our ancestor seal the empire! They're awesome, they're the reason I'm a rider too!" She explained as Mrs. Hoseki walked in, carrying a small box. "Here, Kenta-kun, your favorite, Takoyaki!" She said, opening the box revealing the octopus filled dumplings, as Kenta recoiled at the sight. "That's all right Obachan. I don't want any!" He said. "Well if you don't want them." Lynn said, taking the box. "Wow, Oniichan. I've never known you to refuse Obachan's Takoyaki before." Sakura said in surprise. "Oh, it's just, I had a big lunch before the Neo Lizardons attacked, is all." He explained, catching Lisa by surprise. "Huh, oh well. Come on, I can't wait to introduce you to Toadus-san and Gorf-san!" Sakura said, leading the elder boy, Lincoln's sisters, and Clyde away. "Is something wrong, Lincoln-kun?" Mrs. Hoseki asked. "No, Mrs. Hoseki, I was just thinking about something." Lincoln said, following the group.
Toadus And Gorf's Hideout
"I just don't get it. Neo Lizardons alone wouldn't have triggered that high an alarm." Gorf said, inspecting his and Toadus' equipment. "Yes, this is suspicious." Toadus told his ward as Sakura and Kenta walked in. "Toadus-san! Gorf-san!" She called out. "You'll never believe who I ran into today!" She said, before the alarm went off. "Another Animarius attack?" Sakura asked, preparing her driver. "Worse! That's our intruder alarm! It's programed to go off whenever an enemy Animarius finds their way in!" Toadus said, surprising Kenta. "What?! Where?! Sakura asked as everyone looked around, trying to find the intruder. "I'm not seeing anything. Could it be your equipment might be malfunctioning?" Kenta asked. "That's odd, it's never malfunctioned before." Toadus said. "By the way, who are you?" Gorf asked. "This is Kenta, my oniichan! Turns out he somehow was able to survive the explosion!" Sakura said happily, surprising Toadus and Gorf, catching Lisa's attention. "I just wanted to introduce you guys to him and tell you about our shared birthday tomorrow." Sakura said. "Oh, well, nice to meet you, Kenta." Toadus said. "Same to you to." Kenta said, although Toadus, Gorf, and Lisa noticed a bit of slight hesitation.
"Anyway, we should probably get going back to the city, we have some stuff to catch up on. See you later!" Sakura said as she left with Kenta in her arms. "Later." Toadus said as Lincoln's sisters, sans Lisa, and Clyde followed. "Hey, Toadus. Can I ask a favor?" Lincoln said. "Sure, Lincoln. What do you need?" Toadus asked. "I want Sakura and Kenta's birthday to be special, it's their first without their parents, and well... I've already decided on Kenta's gift." He said holding up his driver. "But there's one thing I have in mind for Sakura, Is there any possible way you could..." He said, whispering something into Toadus' "ear". "Yes there is! I'll get on it right away! Gorf, we've got a special surprise to prepare!" Toadus told his ward. "Great! See you then!" Lincoln said heading out as Lisa prepared to follow him. "You know, it's odd. How is it possible for Kenta to survive that?!" Gorf asked, catching Lisa's attention. "It shouldn't be possible, we saw what happened, no human could survive something like that." Toadus said. "Excuse me, my amphibian friends." Lisa said. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation." Lisa told them.
Later that night
"Tytus! Tytus! Where are you?!" Aquilis asked, as she searched for her second in command/adoptive daughter. When she hadn't shown up for weekly maintenance on her wings, Aquilis had gotten concerned, so she went out to search for her. "I don't get it. The emergency tracker I placed on her wings say she's around here, but I don't know where she OH MY GOSH!" She said upon seeing Tytus still frozen in the block of ice Megalonis placed her in. "TYTUS! Don't worry sweetie, I'll get you out of there!" Aquilis said, arming her rapier and thrusting it into the ice.
Hoseki Residence
As Sakura and Kenta were in the living room, Sakura was still talking about their birthday the next day. "I still can't believe you're alive, oniichan! I was worried I'd have to celebrate my 13th birthday without everything we normally do." She said, with a frown on her face. "It's too bad Mama and Papa couldn't have survived as well." She said, sniffling and crying. "It's all right, Sakura-chan. I miss them too." Kenta said, reaching behind his back for something. "Oniichan? Can you please tell me something?" Sakura asked. "Of course, what do you need?" He asked. "Could you tell me what your favorite birthday present was again. I just love it when you tell me." Sakura said, catching Kenta off guard as he stopped pulling a knife out of his back pocket. "Oh, uh, I-" He started saying, only for Lincoln to walk in and speak. "Hey Kenta!" He said, catching his attention. "Oh, Lincoln-kun!" Kenta said, getting off the couch, causing Sakura to fall down.
Rooftops
As Aquilis continued to hit the block of ice containing Tytus with her rapier, she was able to eventually shatter the ice, freeing the Barn Owl Animarius, who started to shiver. "Tytus! Sweetie, are you okay?" She asked, rushing to her daughter. "M-m-m-m-m-om-m-m-m-m-m." Tytus said, still shivering. "Don't worry, my darling. Those riders are going to pay for doing this to you!" Aquilis said. "Wait!" Tytus said. "It wasn't the riders who did this." She said, continuing to shiver. "What do you mean? Who did?" Aquilis asked. "M-egalonis. He froze me in a block of ice so I wouldn't warn the riders of his plan." Tytus said. "What? Sweetie, why would you want to warn the riders of his plan?" Aquilis asked. "HE'S DOING WHAT?!" She yelled upon hearing Tytus' explanation.
Hoseki Residence
Meanwhile, with Lincoln, Kenta, and Sakura, Lincoln pulled out his driver. "I just thought I'd give you..." He said pointing to Kenta. "Your birthday present early." He said, giving the driver over, surprising Sakura. "Lincoln-kun!" She said in surprise. "This is your birthright. I only accepted this because Sakura couldn't and needed someone's help. But since you're here, I guess there's no reason for me to have the powers anymore." Lincoln said. "Lincoln-kun." Sakura said with tears rolling down her cheek. "Lincoln-kun, I don't know what to say." Kenta said. "I do." Lisa said, entering the room. "Lisa-chan?" Sakura asked as Lisa pulled out a blaster. "Lisa, what are you doing?!" Lincoln asked. "Better question, what is that Animarius doing here!?" Lisa asked, pointing her blaster to Kenta. "Animarius, Lisa-chan what are you talking about?" Kenta asked. "Don't try denying it. You referred the Neo Lizardons, a recent addition to the Empire's roster that only us and the empire know by name, as the Neo Lizardons." Lisa said. "Well I-" Kenta said, starting to nervously back away. "The alarm in Toadus and Gorf's hideout didn't go off until you entered." Lisa said. "It was malfunctioning." Kenta said. "I checked it out, there was nothing wrong with it. And most importantly, thanks to Toadus and Gorf's view window, I was able to see the accident, and there is no possible way for anyone in that car to survive! Especially since there was three skeletons inside!" Lisa said.
"Well, I...I...I. Oh who am I kidding?!" Kenta said as he started changing shape. "Oniichan?" Sakura said in surprise as the shape shifting ended, revealing a humanoid octopus, causing Sakura to gasp in shock. "Just as I thought. Thaumoctopus Mimicus. The Mimic Octopus, named for it's uncanny ability to mimic other sea life, mainly the Sea Snake and Lionfish, but this?" Lisa asked. "Yeah, pretty ingenious, right? General Megalonis hired me to pretend to be this dumb girl's brother and kill her when her guard was down!" The Octopus said, pulling out a knife. "And to think I was about to give up my title as Kamen Rider for you!" Lincoln spat. "Yeah, I've got to admit, I did not see that coming! Thanks a lot, little girl." He said, using one of his tentacles to knock Lisa's blaster out of her hand. "I was this close to not only killing Jewel, but also getting the power amplifier back for the empire!" He said. "Yurusenai." Sakura whispered, catching everyone's attention. "Huh?" Mimic asked. "Yurusenai." Sakura said, clenching her fists. "Come again?" Lincoln asked. "Kanzen ni yurusarenai!" Sakura said, with tears streaming down her face before slamming her driver on her waist and summoning the sacred gemstones.
Ruby! Sapphire! Topaz! Emerald!
"HENSHIN!" She shouted, becoming Kamen Rider Jewel and placing the ruby of fire in her driver and entering Flame mode and using the pyrokinetic powers to launch him out of her house. She then summoned her katana and started slashing at him. "Not only did you play with my emotions by pretending to be my Oniichan that I loved with all my heart, but you besmirched his good name!" She said, igniting her katana's blade and slashing, cutting off all his tentacles. "Ow!" He said.
Sapphire!
Entering Ocean mode, she summoned her trident and started stabbing the Mimic Octopus with shouts of anger. "You think we should do something?" Lisa asked. "Nah." They both said as Sakura entered Earth mode and started whacking him upside the head with her hammer. As this was going on, Aquilis and Tytus, the latter of which was fully recovered from her icy prison were flying overhead. "There they are!" Tytus said, pointing to Sakura and Mimic. "Looks like they've already figured it out." Aquilis said. "Yeah." Tytus said. "Can we go back to the castle and make Megalonis pay for this stupid scheme and freezing me?" Tytus asked. "We sure can!" Aquilis said eagerly. Meanwhile, with Sakura, she used her hammer to knock his soul core off his body. "Sealing's too good for you." Sakura said, arming the Emerald of wind.
Emerald!
Entering Hurricane Mode, she armed her crossbow and fired an arrow at the core, shattering it. "NO!" Mimic said in horror as particles of light started rising from him, causing him to fall down in weakness. "Let this face," Sakura said, removing her driver, revealing a face covered in smeared makeup. "The face of a girl who was happy to see her beloved older brother, only to find out he was actually a tawagato no fukuro no naka no yoi, usotsuki, gomi no kake-ra be the last thing you see!" Sakura said. "What did she just call him?" Lincoln asked Lisa, who had a shocked look on her face. "Trust me, you don't want to know." (You Really Don't) Lisa said as the Animarius disappeared in a flash of light. "Awesome work there, Sakura!" Lincoln said as Sakura fell to her knees with tears rolling down her face before she fell flat on her front and started bawling her eyes out.
Animarius Castle
"Can you please let me down now!?" Megalonis begged as Aquilis and Tytus hung him upside down over a set of extremely sharp and pointy rocks outside the castle. "Depends, did you learn your lesson about messing with a girl's emotions?" Aquilis asked. "Yes!" Megalonis asked. "And do you promise not to freeze me in ice again?" Tytus asked. "Yes! Now please set me down!" Megalonis begged. "Alright." Aquilis said as she and Tytus repositioned themselves before letting go of Megalonis over a set of waves that were crashing into the rocks they dangled him above earlier.
The Next Day
In the Hoseki's living room, Sakura was on the couch, continuing to cry about what happened the previous night while staring at a picture of her and Kenta celebrating their shared birthday from the previous year. "Oniichan." She said, continuing to weep. "Sakura-chan?" Mrs. Hoseki asked, catching the female rider's attention. "Oh, hey. Obachan." Sakura said. "Lincoln-kun and Lisa-chan told us what happened last night." Mrs. Hoseki said with sadness. "I can't believe I let the enemy fool me! I knew Oniichan like the back of my hand, and despite that, I didn't see through his lies!" Sakura said, continuing to cry. "I know sweetie, I feel bad about it too. But your real brother wouldn't want to see you like this, he'd want you to celebrate your 13th birthday with your friends and family." Mrs. Hoseki said. "I can't! Not without Oniichan!" Sakura said while weeping into the couch cushions. "I know, which is why your friends have a very special surprise for you over at Toadus-san and Gorf-san's place." Mrs. Hoseki said. "Obachan, I'm too upset to even think about any party." Sakura said. "I think you'll like this surprise Sakura-chan." Mrs. Hoseki insisted. "Fine, but only because I know I can trust you, Obachan." Sakura said, hopping off the couch.
Toadus And Gorf's Hideout
Soon the two arrived at their Animarius allies' base. Once they arrived they found Lincoln, his sisters, and Clyde around a large, circular glyph in the floor. "Min'na-san. What are you doing here?" Sakura asked. "Helping you get some closure." Lori said as Toadus raised his staff, chanted some mystic gibberish and slammed the tip of his staff down on the glyph, creating a flash of light. Once the light subsided, Sakura was surprised to see... "Mama? Papa? Oniichan?" She asked in surprise as the spirits of her parents and brother were floating above the glowing glyph. "That's right. The real deal. No illusions, no tricks, no imposters, just an ancient Animarius spell." Lincoln said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Now go, talk to them." He said. "And make it count, because once that glyph disappears, so do they." Gorf said, pointing to the lines in the ground. Once again crying, this time with tears of joy, Sakura ran up to her family and hugged all three of them at the same time. "Mama! Papa! Oniichan! I miss you so!" She said. "We know, my little Cherry Blossom. But don't worry, we're watching you from the afterlife, and we are so proud of you." Her mother said. "Really?" Sakura asked. "Very much so, sweetheart." Her father answered. "Hey, Sakura. Happy Birthday, my favorite Birthday Present." The real Kenta said. Those four simple words bringing Sakura more joy than she ever thought possible. "Arigato, oniichan." She said through tears. "I promise, I'm going to make sure to find the Animarius who did this to you. And I won't stop until King Draco's sealed once and for all." Sakura told them. "We know you will, sweetheart." Her father said. Sakura noticed the glyph was starting to fade. "Oh, I wish you guys didn't have to leave!" Sakura said. "Daijobudesu, my little cherry blossom. We'll always be with you, in here." Sakura's mother said, pointing to her heart. "Hey, Lincoln-kun!" Kenta said, catching Lincoln's attention. "Take good care of my little sister, she's a very special girl." He said. "You can count on me, Kenta." Lincoln said, placing his hand back on Sakura's shoulder as the glyph faded, causing Sakura's family to disappear as well.
Noticing Sakura was still crying Lincoln turned to her. "You going to be okay?" He asked. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Arigato, Toadus-san, Gorf-san." She told the defected soldier and general. "Don't thank us, thank Lincoln. This whole thing was his idea." Toadus said. "Really?" Sakura asked. "Yeah, he knew you were upset about the idea of having a birthday without your family, so he asked us to create this glyph that would allow you to talk to them one last time." Gorf said. "Lincoln-kun." She said in surprise. "Well, I know how special the 13th birthday can be for a person, so I-" Lincoln started saying only to be cut off when Sakura grabbed him in a big hug. "Thank you." She said, continuing to cry tears of joy. "Well, now that that's taken care of, how about we do that other thing we all came here for dudes?!" Luna said, wheeling in a dessert cart with a cake on top. The cake had "Happy Birthday, Sakura" written in kanji frosting, Images of Kamen Rider Jewel surrounded by her secondary forms and the number 13 in candle form on it. "Lisa helped with the writing, but I was able to do the pictures of Jewel!" Leni said. "Arigato, min'na." Sakura said, blowing out the candles to everyone's cheering.
Later that night, Sakura was in bed, still thinking about what her friends did. She had only known them for about three months, but they still had done this incredibly sweet thing for her. She was especially grateful to Lincoln, she even started writing down "Sakura Loud" In a journal (Don't Worry, It's Her Own Journal, Not Her Ancestor's) over and over again with little hearts all over. "If only." She said, sighing to herself, closing the journal and going to sleep.
That's Right, Sakura Has A Crush On Lincoln. I'm Still Trying To Figure Out How To Figure Out A Way To Make It Official, If You Have Any Ideas, Leave It In A Review Or PM Me, But Anyway. Big News! Next Week Will Feature The Debut Of LL's Super Form, And That's Always Fun, Right? And I Don't Know About You Guys, But I Am Stoked For The New Kamen Rider Series Coming After Saber's Finale: Kamen Rider Revice! I Don't Know What They'll Be Doing With It, But If It's Half As Dramatic As Zero-One Or Awesome As Saber, The Reiwa Era Kamen Rider Franchise Is Going To Be A Good One. Also, Let Me Know What Your Favorite Kamen Rider Series Are. Mine Are (In No Particular Order): Wizard, Saber, Drive, Gaim, Fourze, And Ghost (Which If You Ask Me, Is Way Underrated) But Until Then, Read, Review, Favorite And Follow!
