Within the confines of the facility where SAL was once experimented on, something was stirring. The spider-masked man that was Oogumo had been plotting for the past several weeks since his last encounter with Kuromu and his friends. During this time, he was repurposing this facility for his own use. Even though the technology was… primitive, for a lack of better term, he could still make due with what he had.
His drive for revenge was what kept him going. He was going to get what he wanted no matter what, and no one was going to stop him. Not Kuromu, not his friends, and especially those damn Kamen Riders.
"They'll pay. They'll all pay!" The spider-masked man snarled.
*BZZZZZZZT! BZZZZZZZZZT!*
Oogumo looked towards the source of the sound. The computer was producing a static noise as he went up to it. During the time that he was… remodeling, he had also been working on a couple of side projects. This one in particular was vital as he needed to communicate with… certain individuals. As said before, the technology was primitive but Oogumo could make due.
Soon a figure appeared on the screen. It was a silhouette but Oogumo can recognize who it was, even with the distorted voice it produced.
["I've made contact! Are you there?!"]
"Yes. I still breathe." The spider-masked man reported, "What about you? I hope you are doing well?"
["Yes. We feared the worst after we lost contact."]
"As you can see, I am managing." Oogumo nodded. "I've captured the traitor, however, her progeny still holds onto what we need for our plans…"
["I see…"]
"The technology here is… primitive, but I managed to use it to establish a link between the two of us. It is imperfect, but we shall use this opportunity. I'll need you to send supplies here."
["Yes, I can see on our end that we are linked."] The distorted voice said. ["That being said, I propose an experiment. We've captured something rather interesting during our campaign. I can transport it to your location and you can use it and the traitor to force her progeny to choose."]
"Indeed I will. I have also taken up quite a prospect." Oogumo reported, "Their skills have provided me with quite the resources."
["Oh? How so?"]
"Their network of operatives have been stealing the materials I'll need in order to complete our project." The spider-masked man said, "And right now, I have tasked them with a mission of great importance."
["I see. Very well, I shall send my findings to you shortly. And what we have captured."]
"Keep me posted." Oogumo said, as the silhouette nodded and the screen winked out.
Soon there was another sound: The sound of electricity cracking. The spider-asked man turned around and saw a peculiar crackling with electricity and energy. By no means was it overloading, but it was producing something.
Moments later, something appeared as if it was out of thin air. It was… a large rectangular box, almost like a coffin.
Curious, Oogumo went over to it and saw there was a window looking in. When we peered inside, he began to chuckle, which gradually turned into laughter. Oh how sweet this will be for him. It was something he did not expect, but welcomed it nonetheless. This was what he needed to make Kuromu give him what he wanted.
"Soon, it will begin." He chuckled, "And then, all will fall." He then looked towards another part of the room, specifically towards one wall.
On this wall… was a woman. Her wrists and ankles Bound my metal cuffs that were attached to said wall. Her clothes were tattered, ripped, and worse for wear as her head hung down unconscious.
Oogumo merely chuckled before he left.
The Inter-School Duel finally came to a conclusion with a clean sweep of Duel Academia. Ichinose and the rest of North Academia left on the submarine, with Rex getting in a few licks in on Bobby, but to North Academia's surprise, Manjoume, or rather, Jun chose to stay, as he had some unfinished business with Duel Academia. However, because he was enrolled back into the school, he was technically a transfer student.
So to his dismay, Jun has to start all the way at the bottom in Osiris Red, which means…
"Welcome to your new home, roomie!" An excited Judai cheered as he welcomed Jun into his, Sho's, and Rex's dorm room.
"You've gotta be kidding me…" Jun groaned. "How do you three even live with yourselves in this low rent hood apartment?"
"I kinda like it! It's very cozy!" Ojama Yellow said, appearing.
"It's… a work in progress." Rex admitted while the other two Ojama brothers met Winged Kuriboh and the Gladial quartet.
"Wow, you're pretty big." Ojama Green observed as he sat on Diecarii's head.
"Curious." The buffalo gladiator commented.
"Kuri Kuri!" Winged Kuriboh chirped while flying around Ojama Black.
"Likewise." Ojama Black nodded.
"Well, if I'm gonna live here, it has to be at least up to my standards."
"And what exactly is considered your standards?" Sho inquired.
"Well for one, at least having it smell decently." Jun grumbled as he looked at the large pile of laundry stinking up the place, "Seriously, are your noses just used to this?"
"I mean when you have a shabby dorm room with other tenants sharing the laundry room, then yeah. It's gonna get smelly." Rex said.
"I can imagine." The ace grumbled, "Honestly makes me want to count my blessings about living like a king back in Obelisk Blue." He then remembered, "Speaking of Obelisk Blue, I'm surprised about what happened while I was gone."
"Yeah, you missed a lot. There was a dueling monkey, an encounter with a Duel Spirit, there's the Golden Eggwich incident, Rex's cousin dropped by for a bit, and a couple more I'm not remembering right now." Judai listed off the top of his head.
"You're forgetting the whole bit with Oogumo trying to kill us again." Rex reminded him.
"Oh yeah, that…" Judai frowned.
Jun winced as he was aware of Oogumo's existence thanks to his own encounter with the spider-masked man. He didn't really know the full extent of his actions, so he mostly took Judai and Rex's word on the matter.
"So, how's the Ri- I mean, how are Kuromu and Asuka?" Jun asked.
"Same as always. Pussyfooting over everything." Rex chuckled. "Though given how Oogumo is blue balling the guy because of his mother being kidnapped, I can understand why he'd hold that off."
"Well, in that case, I feel like I pity Kuromu more than envy him." Jun had to admit.
Speaking of Kuromu and Asuka…
*DONK-DONK!*
"Hahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…" Kuromu sighed in content, his body dipped into the hot springs while leaning against the wooden barrier that was installed. "I definitely needed this…"
The Rider Duelist sighed as he enjoyed the private hot springs. Of course, Kuromu guessed that he was the first Ra Yellow to be here at all.
"You said it, kiddo." Momotaros said as he was in the hot springs too with Urataros, Kinataros, and Ryuutaros. Kivat and Tatsulot had their own separate wooden basin to float in, each having a small towel on their heads, enjoying it too.
"Man. This feels soothing." The metal bat sighed in content.
"Pyun~ pyun~ you said it." Tatsulot agreed.
"Ahahahaha! Wai wai, pool party!" Ryuutaros cheered, splashing around like the kid he is.
"Ryuuta, this is an onsen, not a pool. It's meant for relaxing." Urataros chided.
"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…!" Kintaros snored, having a warm towel over his face.
"Hey, think we should let Kintaros sleep here?" Kuromu asked.
"Ah, he'll be fine." Momotaros shrugged off, "Just relax man! You three won it all!"
"Yeah, you're right." Kuromu sighed, looking up at the starry night sky. "A lot has happened. I've met a lot of new friends and made a couple of enemies along the way."
"And yet you're still standing champ." Momotaros said. "You should count yourself lucky."
"I didn't get here by luck alone. Hardwork and determination are part of it too." Kuromu said, "And a bit of luck. But for now, I think it's gonna be smooth sailing-"
"Kuromu?"
"Eh? Asuka?" Kuromu blinked.
"And that is our cue to go." Urataros said. "Come now, everyone."
"Awww c'mon, five more minutes!" Ryuutaros whined.
"Sorry snot-nosed brat, but kiddy pool time's over!" Momotaros chuckled.
"Kin-chan, wake up." Urataros said.
"H-Huh?" The bear Imagin gasped as he got up. "Huh? What- ohhhhh."
"Yup. Let's go now." Urataros urged. "And play nice with Asuka-chan, Kuro." With that, the Taros', Kivat, and Tatsulot disappeared, before Kuromu could even get a word in.
"Doing okay over there?" Asuka asked.
"Huh?" Kuromu snapped out of his stupor. "Uh, yeah, I'm alright. I'm not overheating, at least."
"That's good." Asuka said in relief. On the other side of the barrier, the Obelisk Queen had just dipped herself into her side of the pool, leaning against the barrier while in her natural state. "You know, I'm kind of glad the barrier's set up, or else this would have been a lot more awkward."
"Heh yeah."
"And I can get away from Rika groping me again."
Kuromu groaned with a facepalm, "I thought she grew out of that phase during junior high…"
"She hasn't, and I've grown two sizes since then." Asuka groaned.
"That's scientifically impossible…" Kuromu said dryly.
"That's what I told Okaa-san." Asuka grumbled.
"You sure you're not-" Kuromu suddenly felt an aura of killing intent, making him shut up. "A-Anyways! Speaking of, I can't believe Chiyomi-san would try to get the last jump on us before she left."
Flashback
"It was good seeing you two." Chiyomi said.
"You as well." Kuromu smiled with a bow. "We need to keep in touch more often."
"Indeed. It's good to know how things are here. I'll be sure to give you the full video of the whole event once I get back to the mainland." She then hugged Asuka, the two taking the time to share a last hug.
"I'm proud of you, Asuka." Chiyomi said softly. "You've come such a long way."
"Okaa-san." Asuka murmured. "Thank you."
With that, she turned to Kuromu. "Take good care of my daughter. You might be the one she finally won't get rid of." She winked, making the two teens blush.
"OKAA-SAN!" Asuka whined, her face blushing red.
"What?" Chiyomi asked, "Can't a mother be worried her daughter will die alone?"
"Chiyomi-san, I, uh…" Kuromu got out. "As much as I cherish your daughter for who she is, it'll have to be put on hold. At least until everything with Kaa-san is resolved."
"Oh, of course. My apologies." Chiyomi quickly bowed. "Still, when you get married, I expect a lot of grandbabies." She winked.
"OKAA-SAN!" Asuka shrieked.
"Seriously, why does she think we'll be doing the deed like rabbits?" Kuromu grumbled, then submerged the bottom half of his face into the pool, blowing bubbles, "I'm not that eager unlike a certain someone we know."
"Remember, he doesn't go for it, unless they ask for it." Asuka pointed out.
"True…" Kuromu muttered. "Still, I feel like I haven't proven myself yet."
"Hm? What do you mean?" Asuka asked, confused and concerned.
"I don't know, I just… I feel like I'm not at my best." Kuromu explained. "I know I've gotten off to a rocky start at the beginning of the school year, but…"
"Kuro…" Asuka trailed off. "You shouldn't be selling yourself short. Out of all of our friends, you've been working the hardest."
"Am I?" Kuromu muttered, fully not convinced.
"I'm sure of it." she reassured him. "You've been through so much ever since we started school. Despite the odds against you, you still kept moving and pushing forward towards your goals. But at the same time, I don't want you overworking yourself…"
"Huh?" Kuromu got out.
"You don't have to weather this one alone. You've nearly worked yourself to death just trying to find your mother. I know that Mrs. Yukina is important to you, just as much as she is important to all of us, but you have to remember that you're not the only one who can save her."
Kuromu couldn't argue with that.
"I'm not asking you to stop, but at least rely on us and your father to help you shoulder the burden." she told him, "Just know that everyone's here to help, and I don't just mean as Duelists."
"Asuka, I…" Kuromu couldn't help but think on not just what Asuka said, but also the bonds he's made so far. "Maybe you're right. I guess I have been trying to bear this weight alone. I do run a Kamen Rider deck after all."
"And you should know that Kamen Riders always didn't have to do things alone." Asuka pointed out. "They too had friends to support them and lean on."
"I guess so." Kuromu smiled softly. "Thanks, Asuka. I needed that."
"It's fine. You just had a lot on your mind." She reassured him. "You can rely on me for anything, Kuro. You just need to tell me."
"Right. I will."
The next day…
The hype of the Inter-School Duel had significantly died down. Sure, people were still talking about it in the hallways, but at the end of the day, it was back to being normal and mundane.
At this point in time, Kuromu, Rika, Koji, Judai, Sho, Rex, Jun, Asuka, and Misawa were attending Daitokuji's class. The lesson for today was alchemy in the Middle Ages. Although Judai was sleeping through the whole thing, so Sho had to draw eyes on his eyelids in hopes that Daitokuji wouldn't notice as he was lecturing, and Rex was mindlessly scribbling creatures out of the alchemy symbols.
"And to that end, alchemy in the Middle Ages was used to make gold by mixing chemicals, like this-nya." Daitokuji said, pouring liquid from a test tube into a round-bottom flask. After swirling it a bit, the mixture glowed and-
*BOOOOOOOOOOM!*
Smoke billowed from the explosion, and when it cleared, Daitokuji looked worse for wear as his glasses were tilted, smudge marks being all over his face, his hair disheveled with a few strands sticking out, and his clothes were dirty.
"Of course, it doesn't mean they could use it-nya." Daitokuji groaned, before falling to the ground.
"Sensei, gold can't be made chemically, only physically through the smashing of atoms." Kuromu sweat dropped.
"I'm surprised he actually survived that." Rex commented, "Like, are you alright sensei?"
"I'm fine-nya." Daitokuji coughed. "So you know, Kuromu-kun-nya?" He said to Kuromu.
Suddenly all eyes were on the Rider Duelist, even Misawa to his surprise.
"Uh, yeah. I learned it in junior high." Kuromu said sheepishly. "There's an accelerator collider at GSI where they make gold by smashing particles together at a rate of two million gold atoms per second. And even then, if you were to leave that machine on for 50 million years at that rate, it would only produce one gram of gold."
"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh…?" The students said, impressed.
"W-What?" Kuromu looked unnerved.
"Surprised that you know it exists. Guess you went on one of those boring deep dives?" the mutt asked.
"I mean, sort of." Kuromu admitted, "I also remember finding out that there's an ancient tomb somewhere in Japan. Likely from some Egyptians making the discovery of this country long before our time."
"Indeed, I am actually planning on bringing you all there-nya." Daitokuji explained.
*DING DONG DING DONG! DING DONG DING DONG!*
At the sound of the bell, Judai woke up with a loud yawn. "Ahhhhhhhhhh… What a good sleep." He said, opening his eyes, "Now that I'm wide awake, it's lunch time!"
"Aniki…" Sho sighed before yawning.
"Saddle up, Sho. We're going tomb raiding." Rex chuckled.
"Oh no, we're not tomb raiding per se, but we are having a picnic-nya." Daitokuji said, pulling out some handouts. "I figured that after the Inter-School Duel, a nice outdoor picnic at the ruins would be a good change of pace and scenery."
"That sounds like quite the relaxing trip." Misawa observed.
"Yeah, after going through so much." Koji agreed.
"Great! The trip will be this Sunday, so be prepared-nya!"
"Well, you heard him Rika. Best get to prepping." Kuromu grinned. "Can't wait to have your pulled pork sliders again."
"Don't worry, I'll cook up a great picnic basket!" Rika cheered.
"I'll be sure to bring the bat for any bears that show up." Rex said, "Though it would be cool to fight one." He soon saw the Gladial quartet looking at him disappointedly, 'I'm kidding obviously.'
"Hmhmhmhmhmhm, preparations are almost complete." Oogumo said, as he was doing final checks on his latest scheme. "Soon, I will get what I want. And nothing will stop me." He then looked back towards the wall where the woman was being held. "Isn't that right, Yukina?"
The pink-haired woman could only lift up her head and a look of defiance. "You… you will not…"
"Not what? Win? I'm already doing that, my dear." Oogumo smugly laughed as he approached the woman. He then roughly squeezed her face. "What I plan to do next with your son will surely bring him and your dear husband to despair."
"Ngh…"
"All of this could've been avoided if you hadn't stolen my property." Oogumo said, before proceeding to slap her across the face.
"Y-You would've killed me once I've outlived my usefulness." Yukina pointed out.
"It's a shame then that I still need you for my plans." the spider-masked man chuckled. "But don't worry, once you've served your purpose, you and your family will be reunited in the afterlife. That much I can promise." He soon walked away, "Now then, it's time I enacted my latest plan, and you're coming along."
"Where are you taking me?" the woman questioned him.
"Where else? To your family. You can have a front row seat of seeing the looks of despair on their faces when I kill them and their friends." Oogumo laughed darkly. "But of course, I have to make this more interesting. Because I have something for those Kamen Riders too. One that I think will convince your son to hand over what you stole from me." He said, looking over his shoulder, looking at the large rectangular box that was on the side.
"W-What is in that?" Yukina demanded.
"Oh you'll soon see." Oogumo chuckled.
Sunday had finally arrived and to Daitokuji's dismay, the only ones who bothered to show up to the trip were Judai, Sho, Rex, Kuromu, Rika, Koji, Asuka, Misawa, and Jun. And surprisingly, Kyoshiro and Tsukasa. As much as there were recent security problems. Having three teachers with these many students should be no problem when going to these ruins.
Not to mention having a Rider by their side was wise with the threat of Oogumo still looming over them all.
"Only nine of you? Is that all? Where is everyone else-nya?" Daitokuji asked, looking around for any other person.
"Oh I don't know, maybe they wanna get their beauty sleep in, instead of waking up 7AM in the morning?" Rex grumbled before letting out a big yawn.
"Well, you do need to get out more, buddy." Judai joked.
"Need I remind you of who's the fastest between the three of us, pal?" the mutt retorted.
"Even worse for me, since I've prepped everything for our picnic basket." Rika yawned loudly, having slightly baggy eyes.
"Hey, I'm all for it. Besides, after all the excitement at the School Duels, going to these ruins could actually be relaxing." Kuromu said.
"Plus, I get to hang out with my best pals!" Koji added as he brought Kuromu, Rika, and Asuka in for a group hug.
"To tell you the truth, I couldn't get any sleep." Asuka told Kuromu. "These ruins we're going to, used to host Games of Darkness."
"Ugh, I got a bad feeling about this." Rex grumbled, his gut telling him that there's a chance they might end up experiencing one again.
"You think we could find clues about Fubuki there?" Kuromu asked.
"Who knows." The Obelisk Queen shrugged.
"Well, as long as we adults are here, you won't have anything to worry about." Tsukasa said.
"That's right. You have three responsible adults here to protect you." Kyoshiro added.
The group soon made their hike, but it wasn't exactly fun for the group as a whole. Of course, Rex wanted to just run over there lickity split, but that would mean leaving everyone else behind so he had to keep at a pace that frustrated that he couldn't run in a place that seemed like a free runner's paradise. Judai was just as bored as the mutt as this had been the longest he had gone without any amount of Dueling going on even if the promise of visiting ancient ruins was in the air.
"Are we there yet?" Rex asked.
"No…" The group deadpanned.
"How about now?" Judai chimed in.
"No."
"Now?"
"No!"
"How about-"
"NO!"
"I swear if you two ask again I will punt your butts back to school from here!" Rika snapped.
"And trust me she's literally done it before back home. She can really kick that far and make you blast off like Team Rocket." Kuromu relayed.
'Oh joy, another Aggie…' Rex mentally groaned, his right eye twitching.
"Well lucky for Taylor-san and Yuki-kun, we've arrived." Kyoshiro reassured the group. They soon came into a clearing and saw the ruins in front of them. Like all ruins, it looked worse for wear, ruined and ravaged by time. There was a broken archway that was covered by green moss. And there was what once believed to be a pathway that led to something, and it was still in good condition.
"Amazing, You can still see the fated remains of the oculus, oh and the phastigium! No doubt inspired by a meniment of Saka'Ra." Misawa marveled, "To think that this was hidden from the world for so long! It's… it's…"
"A dump…" Jun muttered dryly. "We came here for a bunch of rocks…"
"A bunch of beaten up rocks since this place really let it itself go." Rex noted.
"Talk about your fixer-upper." Judai observed
"It's seen better days, that's for sure." Koji added.
"What the?! Do you people even realize what is standing before us? This could change history as we know it!" Misawa questioned the four.
"Nope." They collectively said, leaving Misawa to slap his palm on his face.
Kuromu gave a sympathetic wince, "It's alright, we at least get how important this is." He reassured the genius.
Unbeknownst to them, something was watching them from a distance. Particularly Kuromu. In fact, whatever this thing was, it had watched Kuromu ever since he arrived on the island all those months back. It watched every Duel he participated in, watched every card played, every Kamen Rider summoned. Every move they made, it was watching.
"Hm?" Kuromu perked up, looking around.
"What's wrong bud?" Koji asked
"I feel like I'm being watched."
"Well we do have Duel Spirits." Rex said, "Maybe it's one of them?"
"No, this one feels different." Kuromu frowned, "Nah, it's probably just the wind."
"Guessing that means that's an omen then." The mutt said, "It's said the changing winds often signal changing times. Whether they're good or bad is a mystery until one experiences it."
"Mhm, Fuuto gets that a lot." W said, appearing.
"Fuuto?" Kuromu blinked.
"Your home, I'm guessing?" Rex inquired.
"Ah. The city always gives a proper wind to warn us when a client is in dire need. Or when we collide against a crime where someone needs our help." Shotaro explained.
The mutt couldn't help but smirk, "There's a saying I was taught. "May the wind carry you home." It means that no matter how tough things get, the winds will always bring you back to the ones you love the most." He recounted.
"How interesting." Philip mused.
"Oi you two, help out with the picnic blanket!" Rika called out.
"Alright! We're coming! We're coming!" Rex groaned before running back to the picnic area. Once everything was settled, everyone sat on the blanket and Rika proceeded to pull out a banquet out of the basket she brought. Everyone marveled at how much food she brought. And all of it looked so tasty.
"Wow, you really outdid yourself, Rika!" Judai said, excitedly.
"I pulled out all the stops for this one!" The chef said with pride in her work.
"You certainly did. It looks appetizing." Misawa smiled with approval.
"Well what are you waiting for? Dig in!" Rika encouraged but then looked to Judai, "Don't eat all of it."
"Awww!"
"In that case." Sho smiled, before everyone clapped their hands together in prayer.
"Itadakima~su!" They all said, before digging into the food. Everyone, of course, voiced their approval of how delicious the food was. As everyone ate, Kuromu felt that strange presence again.
"Kuro, what's up?" Judai asked, his mouth having a full chicken drumstick in, with the bone sticking out.
"I feel like someone's watching me." Kuromu said. "I don't know what though."
"You sure you aren't imagining things or something?" Rika asked.
"No. It's just a very nagging feeling. Like I'm being stalked." The Rider Duelist explained.
"Creepy." Sho remarked, shivering in fear after hearing that.
"I wouldn't worry about it." Jun said, biting into his pulled pork slider. "Besides, who would even stalk us anyway?"
"I can think of one or two names." Rex said, making a finger motion of a spider to illustrate his point.
"Besides the obvious, mutt…" Jun deadpanned.
While that was happening, Pharaoh came out of his owner's bag and walked around, before noticing something sticking out of the dirt. He walked over and dug, shoveling dirt behind him as the object became clearer. It was half of a large, round disk with symbols carved into it. In the exact middle of the disk, a red gem lay. Pharaoh mewed and prodded the disk.
"Pharaoh, what are you doing-nya?" Daitokuji asked, but then realized. "Wait, what are you doing here-nya? You're supposed to be home-nya!"
"Whatcha found there, buddy?" Judai called out to the cat.
"Looks like some kind of medallion." Kuromu observed. The cat then grabbed it with its mouth and came back to the group, dropping it in the middle of the blanket.
"What an interesting artifact." Philip mused.
"This looks like something from Atem's time." Rex pondered. "Think it's cursed or something?"
"Rex, don't say that!" Sho panicked.
"I'm just covering my bases here!"
"Let me see." Kuromu said, grabbing a hold of the medallion. However, the moment his hand touched it.
*ZING!*
Kuromu's head suddenly jolted with pain, prompting him to hold it tight. "Ergh!"
"Kuromu!" The group gasped.
His eyes then widened as his vision turned white before his vision saw something else.
Everything was blurry at first, the scenery was dark and dank, as if he were in some cave. Then he saw a silhouette of a human figure. This human saw a group of other silhouetted monsters rushing towards the former, and this lone human seemed to be fighting these monsters off.
The vision ended abruptly as he involuntarily dropped the medallion and was suddenly on his back.
"Dude!" Koji said as he helped the Rider Duelist back up, sitting,
"You okay, son?" Kyoshiro asked.
"Yeah, I think so." Kuromu got out.
"What happened?" Asuka asked.
"I don't know…" Kuromu trailed off. "When I touched the medallion, I had… some sort of vision."
"What was in the vision?" Rex asked.
"I don't know. It was too blurry to make out anything." Kuromu shook his head. "All I saw was some person fighting a group of monsters."
"Intriguing…" Misawa mused.
"Why don't I hold onto it for now?" Tsukasa offered, as he took the medallion into his hands. Oddly enough, he didn't react upon touching it.
"U-Uh, sure." The Rider Duelist said.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Asuka asked worriedly.
"Yeah I'm alright. Just a bit shocked is all." Kuromu smiled reassuringly. "Anyway, let's get back to eating our food before it goes cold."
"Yeah, I'm starving!" Judai cheered.
"Oh, I can imagine so…"
Everyone's blood froze upon hearing him speak. Almost immediately, everyone took out their Duel Disks and prepared to summon their monsters as they turned to see Oogumo standing there, menacingly. Pharaoh's fur suddenly stood on end as he hissed loudly.
"Oogumo!" Kuromu snarled.
"Greetings, everyone." Oogumo remarked. "Enjoying your little get-together?"
"Where's my wife, you bastard?!" Kyoshiro demanded.
"Now now, no need to get violent with me." The spider-masked man smugly dismissed.
"Oh, we'll get violent alright." Jun growled.
"So… you actually came back." Oogumo looked at Jun. "And here I thought you'd stay away because of your failures."
"I'm a new man now!" The ace snapped back.
"Very well." The spider-masked man chuckled before turning towards Kuromu, "Now then, I have some business to attend to."
"Over my dead body!" Kuromu snapped. "Give back Kaa-san!"
"Oh I would love nothing more than to kill you now." Oogumo said. "However, that would be too easy. I have something better planned for you."
"What do you-"
Kuromu quickly went silent upon seeing Yukina stagger to Oogumo's side in chains. As did Kyoshiro, who was horrified by what the spider-masked man had done to his wife.
"KAA-SAN/YUKINA!" Kuromu, Kyoshiro, and Tsukasa cried out.
"Mrs. Yukina!" Koji, Rika, and Asuka called out.
Judai, Sho, Rex, Misawa, Jun, and Daitokuji all gasped as they saw the poor state Oogumo left the Kururugi matriarch in.
Yukina looked up and saw her family, gasping as tears went down her eyes. "Anata… Kuromu… Tsukasa-kun…"
"What the hell did you do to Kaa-san, you monster?!" Kuromu demanded.
"You people wield the monsters." Oogumo pointed out.
"Let her go now!" Tsukasa demanded.
"You're in no position to be making demands." Oogumo said. "Now then, perhaps we can conduct an exchange. You hand over the flash drive and I'll release this precious woman to you." He then tugged on the chains, making Yukina whimper. "Otherwise, I'll make her suffer even more."
"Kuromu. Don't… give it to him." Yukina said.
"But we can't leave you like this, Kaa-san!" Kuromu protested.
"Don't worry. Your mother is a strong woman." Yukina smiled sadly.
"You won't bite? Well, how about I spice up the deal?" Oogumo offered.
He then reached from behind the large tree and with amazing strength held up a large rectangular box, the size of a coffin. He planted it on the ground, managing to keep it in a slant, before opening it.
Inside… was an unconscious person! This person looked to be in his 20's with medium-length black hair that was unkempt and reached down to his neck. He wore a white shirt with a black vest, and had a red scarf around his neck while wearing skinny jeans and black shoes.
"RYOTARO!" Momotaros shouted as he appeared with the rest of the Imagin.
"RYOTARO!" Urataros, Kintaros, and Ryuutaros cried out.
"Who?" Kuromu got out.
"TEME~! LET HIM GO YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Momotaros exploded in anger.
"Oh you recognize this man?" The spider-masked man chuckled.
"KUSO! OI! PINK BASTARD! I'M TAKING OVER!" Momotaros shouted, before rushing over to Tsukasa, who had no time to act as the oni Imagin possessed the Dimension Rider, the latter's hair taking on the red highlights of anyone the oni Imagin possesses.
"Momotaros, ochitsuite!" Tsukasa snapped.
"Alright, you son of a bitch! From start to finish, I'm pissed off at a climax! Let Ryotaro go!" He demanded, before pulling out the Den-O Belt around his waist and hovered his hand on the red button, until Oogumo pointed a gun at the sleeping Ryotaro.
"Ah, ah, ah! I wouldn't be so hasty." The spider-masked man waved off.
"Ghhhh…" Tsukasa-Red growled in frustration.
"Ey, give us the 411! Who is that?" Koji demanded.
"Nogami Ryotaro." Kyoshiro explained, "He's the Imagin's friend, and the one truly known as Kamen Rider Den-O."
"But I thought Momotaros was Den-O!" Kuromu said.
"He is, as are Urataros, Kintaros, and Ryuutaros. But while they can achieve their Rider forms easily on their own, typically they would have needed Ryotaro due to him being a Singularity Point."
"Someone detached from normal time." Rex realized before getting shocked looks from Misawa, Rika, and Jun, "What? I read time travel stories. I know what that means."
"Hehehe. Connected to time as always, anomaly." Oogumo chuckled. "Now then here's how this will work. Kuromu and I will Duel in a Game of Darkness under the Master Duel ruleset. If you win, I'll release Nogami Ryotaro to you, but if I win, you hand the device over, but I'll release Yukina in exchange."
"That's not a fair bargain! You'll win either way!" Judai snapped.
"Come now, at least you'll be saving someone's life in the end." Oogumo mused, "Isn't that what you hero-type Duelists are known for? Swooping in to save the day?"
"Grrrrrrrrrr…" Judai growled, clenching his fist.
"Just how low are you willing to sink?!" Rika roared angrily.
"Enough to get what I want!" Oogumo snarled.
Kuromu soon stepped forward, but both Kyoshiro and Daitokuji held him back.
"Son, don't." Kyoshiro said firmly.
"But-!"
"It's clear that he's luring you into a trap-nya." Daitokuji spoke with an unnerving calmness to his voice. "Believe us, we don't like this anymore than you do-nya. But we must be rational about this-nya."
"You have ten seconds before I kill both of them." Oogumo said.
"Grr… fine." Kuromu groaned before pushing past the teacher and his father before the spider-masked man could count. "Let's get this over with."
"Son! Don't!" Kyoshiro called out.
"Kuromu…" Asuka murmured.
"Stuck between a rock and a hard place." Misawa grunted. "This is egregious…"
"Well then, shall we play?" Oogumo asked as he took out his own custom Duel Disk. Its design being that of an eagle's wing with the upper feather layer being the Monster Zones while the lower layer was for Spells and Traps. The central unit was designed similarly to a globe.
"Like I have no choice." Kuromu groaned before taking out his own Duel Disk and putting it on. Momotaros released Tsukasa from his possession and both Imagin and Dimension Rider went into Kuromu's Deck.
"Kuromu…" Yukina said worriedly as both players drew their starting hands.
"DUEL!"
Kuromu: 8000
Oogumo: 8000
"Kuro, let's kick this guy's ass!" Momotaros snapped.
"You and me both." Kuromu said. "Draw!" He declared, drawing his sixth card. "I play Dual Summon! This allows me to summon twice this turn! So I summon Kamen Rider Blade and Kamen Rider W in ATK mode!"
TURN UP!
CYCLONE-JOKER!
Soon, a brief tornado and the projected screen appeared to summon Blade (4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1400) and W (4/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1000) to the field.
"Saa… omae no tsumi o kazoero!" W quoted, with his pose.
"Next I play Final Henshin! This allows me to upgrade one of my Kamen Riders on the field to their final forms!"
"It seems Kuromu-kun is trying to pull off his own FTK-nya." Daitokuji observed.
"I choose Kamen Rider Blade!" Kuromu declared. "Kazuma-san!"
"Hai!" Blade said as he drew a few cards out. He then attached the Rouse Absorber to his left wrist, before inserting one card in and sliding the next one across the reader after.
ABSORB QUEEN
EVOLUTION KING
The Evolution Caucasus plaque covered the Queen card, then several cards circled around him several times until eventually they turned golden and started to go to their respective places into him donning the gold armor. His King Rouzer appeared shortly after. (8/ATK: 2600/DEF: 2400)
"Henshin Shōkan! Kamen Rider Blade - King Form!"
"And just what do you plan on doing with this card?" Oogumo taunted him.
"At the moment, nothing. But now I'll activate Treasure Cards from the Heavens! This allows us both to draw until we have six cards!" Oogumo drew one while Kuromu drew four. "And now, comes another Final Henshin!"
"Another one?!" Sho gasped.
"Dude's coming in hot." Rex said, "Let's hope he doesn't burn himself."
"Shotaro! Philip!"
"You got it boss." W said.
*WHOOOOOOT! WHOOOT! ERRR-EEEEE!*
They all looked up to see a large silver and gold and black bird-like Memory fly in and head towards W.
*WHOOOOOOT! WHOOOT! ERRR-EEEEE! FERRRRRWEEEEE!*
The Double Driver buckle straightened and energy streams from the Cyclone and Joker Memories shot skyward, connecting with the Extreme Memory. It flew downward and connected with the Double Driver before spreading apart revealing an 'X' emblem.
XTREME!
The silver stripe going down Double's body lit up as holographic numbers and letters gathered towards the Rider which then W used his hands to pull apart the line of light to reveal his final form while epic music played. (8/ATK: 2900/DEF: 2400)
"Henshin Shōkan! Kamen Rider W - Xtreme Form!"
"Two Transformation Summons in one. Impressive." Jun observed.
Yukina could only stare at her son with slight awe. He was using the Deck her husband made with adequate skill. 'Just what had changed since I was captured by Oogumo?', she thought to herself.
"I'll place one card face-down. Ta-n endo." Kuromu concluded, as a reverse card appeared on the field.
"Very well then." Oogumo chuckled before he placed his hand on his deck, "Draw!" Once he drew his now seventh card, the spider-masked man smirked. "I play the Continuous Spell Card Wave-Motion Cannon!" He called out as a large cannon appeared on his side of the field, "For each of my Standby Phase that pass by, this card gains a Counter and when I send this to graveyard during my Main Phase, I can inflict 1000 Life Points of Damage, for each counter that was on this card."
"Crap, so Kuro's got 8 turns to finish this or else he's toast." Rex worried.
"Or less depending on the situation and what moves are being made." Misawa pointed out.
"Either way, he's gotta play his cards right." Judai figured.
"I then set a monster and two cards face-down. Ta-n endo." The spider-masked man continued as two cards, one horizontal and the other vertical appeared on the field.
"Now that it's my turn, Kamen Rider Blade - King Form's effect can activate! During my Draw Phase, I can draw two cards at the cost of 1000 Life Points. But since I have another Warrior-Type Fusion monster, I can pay 600 instead!"
"Wait, you mean-" Sho gasped.
"As long as he can pay up, he can draw two cards every round." Jun answered.
"Alright, let's see what you can draw." Oogumo chuckled.
"Draw!" Kuromu said, drawing his two cards to increase his hand from four to six, but then a red aura enveloped his body, causing him to cringe with one eye shut, his hand clutching his chest as he fell to one knee.
Kuromu: 7400
Oogumo: 8000
"Kuromu!" Yukina cried out, as her son tried to catch his feet.
"I'm okay… Kaa-san…" Kuromu panted, struggling to his feet. "I've been through worse… this is nothing…" He then returned his glare at Oogumo. "Figured you'd pull another Game of Darkness."
"It's the best way to get my hands dirty without the need of pulling a weapon." the spider-masked man mused.
"Tch." Kuromu clicked his tongue in annoyance. "I wouldn't put it past you if you actually did…" He then began to examine his hand, trying to figure out a potential plan of action against his opponent's monster. He then made his move. "I now activate the two Final Henshin cards that are in my Graveyard! By shuffling them back into my Deck, I can draw a card for each one!" He soon did and quickly examined the two cards he drew from his Deck.
"Yosh! Starting off, I summon Kamen Rider Agito in ATK mode!"
Two sounds that overlapped each other echoed, one being a low humming sound while the other was a high-pitched pulsing sound. Moments later, there was a sound of a revving engine as a bright light shone in the middle of the Field before dimming down to reveal the Rider. (4/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1000)
"And when he's summoned while another Kamen Rider is on the field, he gets to send a Set card back to the bottom of your Deck! So that face-down Spell/Trap card is going back!"
"Grk!" Oogumo snarled as the facedown card was sent straight to the bottom of the deck.
"And next, I activate two Equip Spells to attach to Kamen Rider Agito!" Kuromu said, revealing the two cards. "Flame Saber and Storm Halberd!"
Soon, the ground beetle Rider gained two armaments on his left and right arm. His left arm became red with a raised horn on the shoulder pad whilst he wielded a large red katana had hat a red base and a golden horn-like hilt, while his right arm became blue with a rounded shoulder pad and a folded in blue and black two-pointed spear with folded in golden blades.
"Two new cards-nya?" Daitokuji pondered.
"What is this?!" Oogumo demanded.
"I'll tell you. First, Flame Saber gives Agito a 600 ATK boost!" Kuromu said, as a red flame aura empowered Agito.
Kamen Rider Agito (ATK: 1400-2000)
"And now to activate Storm Halberd's effect! Once per turn, I can banish a Set card on your side of the Field! And when it does, Flame Saber's secondary effect kicks in! Whenever a Set card on your side leaves the field, you get slammed with 300 points of Damage!"
Soon, the spider-masked man's field was clear before Agito quickly swung his spear and saber at him, sending waves of flame and electricity.
Kuromu: 7400
Oogumo: 7700
"Egads, his field is clear!" Misawa gasped. "And with the combined ATK points… that's 7500 points worth of Damage!"
"Looks like this is gonna be easy!" Judai cheered.
Rex's eyes however narrowed, "Too easy…"
"Kazuma-san, Shouichi-san, Shotaro, Philip, attack him directly! Go!" Kuromu called out as the three Riders leaped forward.
"Not so fast! I'll activate my Continuous Trap Card, Gravity Bind - Supergravity Net!" Oogumo called out as he revealed his next card, "Sadly for you, as long as this card is on the field, that means that all Level four or higher monsters cannot attack!"
The moment the three Riders were high in the air, they immediately plummeted down to the ground with loud thuds.
"Ugh…" The three Riders groaned.
"Oh dear-nya…" Daitokuji said worried.
"Kazuma-san, Shotaro-san, Philip, Shouichi-san!" Kuromu cried out as the three Riders tried to get up but couldn't.
"A sad and futile attempt to get my Life Points low." Oogumo chuckled. "Though I will admit that your skills have improved if only slightly."
"Flattery won't get you anywhere." Kuromu spat. "I'll place one card face-down. Ta-n endo." He concluded, placing the reversed card on the field.
"Jumping gyros, this is gonna be a pain…" Rex grumbled.
"Well then, draw!" The spider-masked man declared as he drew his next card and smiled widely behind his mask, "Before I start my Main Phase, my Wave-Motion gains a counter during my Standby Phase." He said, as there was an indicator that lit one light bulb (WMC: 1). "Now that that's out of the way." He said, before showing a card. "I'm sure this will become very familiar to you, Kururugi."
When Kuromu saw it, his eyes widened in fear.
"I Tribute Kamen Rider W - Xtreme Form and Kamen Rider Blade - King Form to summon forth Demonic Lava God - Lava Golem!" Oogumo declared.
Like before, the moment Ooogumo tossed the card onto Kuromu's Duel Disk, W and Blade felt the lava suck them in and swallow them whole before the molten monster emerged from the bubbling remains (8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500)
"Oh no, not again!" Sho panicked.
"And this time we got an even more annoying Trap compared to the Nightmare's Steelcage to deal with." Rex grumbled.
"Excuse me?!" Jun, Misawa, Rika, and Koji gasped as while the latter two only heard the broad strokes of the first duel, and the ace and genius was completely unaware, none of them expected that the spider-masked man used the lava monster as part of his deck.
"Right, we forgot to tell you guys yet." Judai realized.
"I don't think finding out that Kuromu was being cooked by that thing is something you leave out!" Rika pointed out.
"What they also left out is that I equipped it with the Mask of the Accursed!" Oogumo said, as he played the card and a grotesque mask with nails on the eyes and around it, which then attached to the front of the lava monster. "It will be unable to attack, as well as Kururugi losing an extra 500 Life Points, during my Standby Phase."
"Oh come on, that's cheating!" Rika roared.
"If that was the case, why didn't the Duel Disk flag me for making such an illegal move in our first Duel?" the spider-masked man taunted.
"You made sure that the system wouldn't." Kuromu grunted.
"You just playin' dirty now," Koji snarled.
"Oh, you may see me as a bastard, but considering how highly you people view this game, I wanted to make sure I'd at least follow the rules available in this current time." Oogumo chuckled.
"What do you mean by that?" Asuka frowned.
"Oops. I said too much." Oogumo said mockingly. "Let's get back to the Duel, shall we? Where was I? Oh yes, I set a Monster face-down. Ta-n endo." he finished, then turned to Yukina. "Now watch Yukina as your son burns."
"Kuromu!" Yukina cried out.
"Grr… O-re no ta-n!" the Rider Duelist snarled, "Draw!" The moment he drew his card to increase his hand to five, the Lava Golem unleashed a fireball that engulfed him in flames. "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Kuromu: 6400
Oogumo: 7700
"KURO!" his friends shouted.
"SON!" Kyoshiro yelled.
"NOOOOOOO!" Yukina screamed as the flames dissipated, to reveal that Kuro was still standing, panting heavily in pain. but his clothes and body were smoking.
"Hahahahahahahahahahahaha! Feeling nostalgic, boy?" Oogumo laughed.
"Grk! Damn you, you filthy parasite!" The Rider Duelist snarled.
"I've been called worse." Oogumo scoffed.
"I won't… give up…!" Kuromu growled, before looking at his card. "I play… Cyclone! This destroys your Gravity Bind - Supergravity Net!" He said, as a twister came out of the card and destroyed it. "Shouichi-san… can you move?"
"I can now." Agito said as the gravity field finally let up.
"Good. Now I activate Storm Halberd and Flame Saber's effect once more! I banish that Set card from the Duel and deal you 300 points of Damage, Oogumo!" he declared.
Agito once more swung his spear and saber at him, sending waves of flame and electricity to send his set monster back.
Kuromu: 6400
Oogumo: 7400
"Nice, now his Life Points are wide open!" Judai cheered.
"Now I'll summon Kamen Rider Zi-O in ATK mode!"
RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER~ ZI-O!
Soon, the astral clock appeared and summoned the metal watch bands to summon forth Zi-O complete with the katakana eyes landing on his visor. (4/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1000)
"Now I'll activate Zi-O's effect! Once per turn, I send a Kamen Rider from my Deck to the Graveyard and he gains half the ATK of the Monster sent! And the one I choose… is Kamen Rider OOO!"
With that, the silver clock Rider took out a Ridewatch that had a yellow base, and a green dial and button that displayed OOO's helmet.
OOO!
Afterwards, he slotted the Ridewatch into the other side of the Driver before spinning it.
RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER~ ZI-O!
ARMOR TIME! TAKA! TORA! BATTA! OOO~!
This caused a robotic hawk, tiger, and grasshopper to appear and transform into the OOOArmor from within the projection of an O Medal. Once the reformatted itself, the robot grasshopper attached itself to the legs, the tiger became chest armor with the chestplate having the katakana for Taka, Tora, and Batta on it along with a claw known as the Tora Claw Z on the right arm, and the hawk as a helmet as it had the katakana for OOO embedded on it.
Kamen Rider Zi-O (ATK: 2000-3000)
"Battle! Kamen Rider Zi-O and Kamen Rider Agito attack you directly! Scanning Time Break and Fire Storm Attack!"
FINISH TIME! OOO!
First, Zi-O leaped into the air and quickly performed a flying dropkick as he flew through three rings in the shape of medals that had the same katakana as Zi-O's chest armor.
SCANNING TIME BREAK!
He then landed a kick on Oogumo before landing, shouting "Seiya!" at the same time. Rex could feel his eye twitch.
"I don't know why? But that didn't seem right." the mutt said as he crossed his arms.
Kuromu: 6400
Oogumo: 4400
Next, Agito was next as he began performing simultaneous slashes onto the spider-masked man, using both of his weapons to do so.
"GAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
Kuromu: 6400
Oogumo: 2400
"Ta-n endo." Kuromu finished as Zi-O's stats returned to normal and his OOOArmor dissipated. Smoke billowed from the spider-masked man's body as he staggered to his feet.
"You are starting to vex me, boy…" Oogumo growled angrily, "Draw!" (WMC: 2)
Suddenly, the mask began to glow and once more left Kuromu reeling in pain.
Kuromu: 5900
Oogumo: 2400
"This can't be good." Misawa muttered.
"Psst… Jun…" Rex muttered to Jun. "Come on."
"Wait, what are you-"
The mutt gave a motion to be quiet and just to follow him. The two soon did their best to avoid being seen by the spider-masked man.
"Are you crazy? We're gonna get caught." Jun hissed.
"And you want to just stand there and do nothing while Oogumo has them as hostages?" The mutt asked him, only to be met with silence. "That's what I thought."
"How are we gonna do this though?" The ace inquired.
"I'm thinking about it." Rex said, "I just need an opening."
"Now then, I set a Monster facedown." Oogumo cockily said, as a reverse card appeared horizontally.
"You realize that I'll just banish that Set card once my turn comes up again." Kuromu pointed out.
"Normally, you would. But that's if you still had those Equip Spells." the spider-masked man chuckled before revealing his next card, "I play Lightning Storm and use its second effect to destroy all of your Spells and Traps!"
"Gh…!" Kuromu gritted as lightning bolts rained destroying the two weapons Agito had and the face-down, reverting him back to his Ground Form and losing his ATK point boost. (ATK: 2000-1400)
"I await what you'll do on your next turn." Oogumo chuckled.
"Shouichi-san… Sougo-san." Kuromu muttered.
"We got it." Zi-O nodded.
"Do what you need to do." Agito said.
Kuromu nodded back at them before looking back at Oogumo, "Draw!" He said, drawing his next card to increase his hand to four. The Lava Golem fired another fireball but Agito and Zi-O were able to block it and send it upwards before it exploded midair.
Kuromu: 4900
Oogumo: 2400
He looked at the card he drew. "Yes, just what I need! I activate the Spell Card, Hammer Shoot! This destroys a monster with the highest ATK! Meaning Demonic Lava God - Lava Golem is destroyed along with your Mask of the Accursed!" Suddenly, a large wooden hammer was brought on the lava golem from the sky and moments later quickly cooled into stone before crumbling into rubble.
"Alright! Now he doesn't have to deal with Burn Damage!" Sho cheered.
"Well, that's one way of dealing with it." Asuka noted.
"I'll place one card face-down. Ta-n endo." Kuromu said, much to their surprise and Oogumo's annoyance.
"Wait, that's it?" Judai gawked.
"I'm not going in this blindly, Judai." Kuromu said. "Now that I know what his deck revolves around,"
"I got a bad feeling that he's got some kind of Flip Monster underneath that card." Koji grumbled.
"So you're not going to bite, eh?" Oogumo said, drawing his lone card. (MWC: 3) "Hmhmhmhmhm… hahahahahahahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Uhhhhh… I don't like that laugh." Rika gulped.
"This is gonna suck isn't it…" Judai grumbled.
"It's the beginning of your end! I drew what I needed! Role-Reversal! This switches our current Life Points right now!"
"What?!" Kuromu gasped, before a red aura enveloped him, prompting him to clutch his chest, and fall to his knees. "ERRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAGH! AAAAAAAAAARGH!"
"KUROMU!" Kyoshiro and Yukina cried out.
Kuromu: 2400
Oogumo: 4900
"And now I will activate my Wave-Motion Cannon! Since three of my turns have passed, it gains three counters, meaning I can deal 3000 points of Damage and win this Duel!"
"Gh…"
"Oh no!" Judai said, shocked.
"KURO!" Asuka shouted.
"I activate my face-down!" Kuromu called out.
"Too little, too late! No face-down can save you from the pain you'll experience! DIE!" Oogumo shouted as the cannon fired. But, as the incoming blast neared, Kuromu saw something or rather someone block the incoming blast.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Then, the figure fell to their knees and onto the ground, unconscious.
Judai and Sho panicked, "Rex!"
Earlier, Jun and Rex had almost reached the sleeping Ryotaro and the imprisoned Yukina when the mutt quickly saw the incoming blast. Realizing that Kuromu might not make it, the mutt quickly sped his way to tank the blast in Kuromu's stead. Now he was on the ground, unconscious with him now sporting an X-shaped scar on his chest; the exact same spot where the blast hit him.
"REEEEEEX!" Kuromu shouted.
Everyone was left shocked as Judai, and Sho tried to wake him up to no avail.
"REX! REX! WAKE UP MAN!" Judai shouted.
"REX! NOT LIKE THIS!" Sho panicked.
"Tsk. Typical…" the spider-masked man clicked his tongue, "People like him are always interfering in the affairs of others. Pitiful."
Kuromu could only look in shock, before clenching his fist in anger and stood back up in rage. "DAMN YOU OOGUMO!" He then splayed out his hand as Judai and Sho helped the unconscious Rex to the others while Jun had to rush back before Oogumo could spot him, "You'll pay for that!"
"Oh spare me the blame game, the anomaly took it upon himself to take that damage for you! In which case, you've forgotten that you lost!"
"Check again, ya prick!" Rika snapped. "You're so caught up into thinking you've won, you completely disregarded the face-down he activated!"
He soon checked the Life Point Counter and gasped in shock.
Kuromu: 5400
Oogumo: 4900
"But how?!" Oogumo demanded. That was when he saw a large black stone slab filled with the energy that Rex didn't tank.
"Before you so rudely interrupted me, I activated my trap card, Energy-Absorbing Monolith. Since I can only chain this when I take effect damage, I can negate the damage I would have taken and gain that amount of Life Points in exchange."
"You little rat!" Oogumo snarled.
"And since you have no other moves to make, it's time I finish you off! Draw!" Kuromu drew his card, increasing his hand to three. "I activate Magical Stone Excavation! By discarding the remaining two cards in my hand, I can retrieve a Spell card from my Graveyard!" He said, doing as the card instructed. "Reactivating Treasure Cards from the Heavens! We both draw until we have six cards!"
They then drew six cards each, with Kuromu resolving to end this Duel once and for all.
"This is the end! I summon Kamen Rider Wizard in ATK mode!"
SHABADOOBIE, TOUCH TO HENSHIN! SHABADOOBIE, TOUCH TO HENSHIN!
FLAME! PLEASE! HII! HII! HII, HII, HII!
The magic rune soon appeared as the Wizard (4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1100). However, when he looked around, the magician Rider was shocked to see what had just happened.
"Kuromu, this is…"
"I'll explain later. And sorry about this, but right now, I need you to make way for her."
"I see… understood!" The magician Rider affirmed.
"Now I Tribute Kamen Rider Wizard for someone stronger!" He declared before Kamen Rider Wizard created a portal that he walked into and, moments after a burst of light, a familiar silver-haired magician walked out of the magic circle.
"Magician of Silence - Silent Magician!" (4/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000)
They were surprised by Kuromu summoning a monster from his original deck.
"Hold the 8-trak! What?!" Koji gawked.
"Silent Magician?" Asuka gasped. "But… how?"
"What is this?!" Oogumo demanded. "How could you summon that woman if Kamen Rider Wizard is a Warrior-Type?!"
"Simple. He's also treated as a Spellcaster." Kuromu said curtly.
"Grk." Oogumu snarled.
"And with Magician of Silence - Silent Magician on the field, she gains 500 ATK for each card in my hand! I have four, so her ATK points shoot up to 3000!" (ATK: 1000-3000)
"He has it! He's won-nya!" Daitokuji gasped.
"Shouichi-san, you'll have to be the bait for whatever face-down he has."
"I understand."
"Battle! Kamen Rider Agito attacks your face-down monster!" Kuromu shouted.
As the ground beetle Rider readied himself, his personal emblem appeared on the ground whilst his horns flared out. Afterwards, he leaped into the air and landed a flying side kick on the facedown monster, which revealed itself to be a red bomb with five prongs (4/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1400)
"Sphere Bomb - Spherical Time Bomb." Misawa recognized, "Likely had Kururugi not drawn Silent Magician, Oogumo would have equipped it to him and detonated it to deal more effect damage."
"And since that Sphere Bomb equips to whatever attacks it, he's left defenseless!" Judai grinned as the bomb attached to Agito.
"Now to finish you off!" Kuromu declared.
"Not so fast, boy! Remember, if you win, you can have the Singularity Point, but you'll never get your mother back!" Oogumo reminded him, making the group growl in frustration.
"Oh no…" Rika feared.
"Dammit, that's right. If he wins, we get Ryotaro but we don't get Ms. Yukina. And Kuro can't afford to lose, because we'll lose him, but we get Mrs. Yukina back." Koji said. "Damn that jive-turkey!"
"So boy, what's your decision?" Oogumo taunted.
Kuromu gritted his teeth. He was left conflicted on what to do. But after a moment, he steeled himself, looking towards the Kururugi matriarch.
"Kuromu…" Yukina murmured.
"Kaa-san… I'm sorry." He said, "But I promise I'll come back for you."
Yukina understood why. Despite the fact it was tearing him apart inside to be cheated out of saving his mother like he wanted, Kuromu also realized that there will have to be those decisions where it's either his needs or someone else's.
"Apprentice, are you sure of this?" Shizuka asked worriedly.
"Believe me… I hate this as much as the next person, but…"
"I see…" Shizuka nodded sadly.
"Hahahahahaha! So that's how it is! To think you would choose a stranger over your own family! How pathetic can you really get?!" Oogumo laughed.
"Gh… trust me, you and I aren't done yet!" Kuromu snarled.
"Hah! Don't make me laugh! At the end of the day, you made your choice and you have to live with it!" Oogumo said, before spreading his arms. "Now do it! Show your own flesh and blood of how much of a failure you are!"
"WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT THE HELL UP?!"
Everyone heard the shout as they looked towards… Jun?!
"Don't start spouting that high and mighty crap!" The ace snarled, "Honestly? The fact that you're saying this despite dangling a man's loved one before them just shows you're nothing but a coward!"
Oogumu's head twitched, his laughter quickly fading.
"What was that?" He snarled.
"You heard me, spider freak! You're a coward that'll do anything to win!"
"Hah! That's a pot calling the kettle black! You're no different! Your cowardice is what led you to your failure to beat this boy! You used similar tactics in hopes to get what you want! Tactics that I provided!"
"But at least I'm owning up to those mistakes. What about you? All you've done is try and act like this is all according to plan, when really you're just pissed that a bunch of kids are kicking your ass in a children's card game!"
Oogumo snarled as he began losing focus, wanting to simply shoot this boy. He hated to admit it, Jun's taunts were actually working on him.
"And another thing! Your constant backhanded schemes always seem to backfire, because you want to satisfy your ego with a perfect victory that you can't seem to get on your own!" Jun added, "I mean why else haven't you killed us?"
"Grrrr… you are treading on thin ice, boy." Oogumo growled.
"Jun… you…" Kuromu got out.
"Just wanted to say what was on everyone else's mind." the ace remarked.
"It doesn't matter what you think!" Oogumo exclaimed. "I may have lost this Duel, but I'll win this war at any cost!"
"We'll never let you win… Battle! Kamen Rider Zi-O and Magician of Silence - Silent Magician will attack directly!"
"Let's end this!" Zi-O shouted as he quickly took out a large gun that had the katakana for gun branded on the side.
Shizuka then passed him a black Ridewatch that sported a gray dial and button that displayed Kamen Rider Wizard's helmet. With a nod, Zi-O placed the watch onto the port on his gun.
FINISH TIME!
From there, the two took aim at the angry spider-masked man.
"You will never be forgiven for your transgressions," Shizuka said, as she aimed her staff and poured energy into Zi-O's weapon.
WIZARD SURE SURE SHOOTING!
Afterwards, Zi-O fired a beam of energy enhanced by Silent Magician's magic, hitting its target, as the latter screamed in pain.
Kuromu: 5400
Oogumo: 0
The Solid Vision soon dissipated as Kuromu fell to his knees, exhausted as the adrenaline left his body. No doubt that he was in immense pain after that grueling Game of Darkness. Kyoshiro and Asuka then rushed towards him to check on his condition. Meanwhile, Tsukasa came out of the Deck and into his corporeal form, looking at Oogumo who was surprisingly still standing despite the attack he took.
"Alright, Oogumo. A deal's a deal. Let Ryotaro go." Tsukasa said.
"I…" Oogumo seethed. "I WILL NOT!" He said, before grabbing the unconscious Singularity Point out of his coffin and pointed a gun on the side of said person's head.
"This again?!" Judai snarled.
"Tsk, way to prove us right." Jun snarled.
"I told you before. I'll win this war at any cost!" Oogumo reiterated.
"Bastard…!" Kuromu panted. "When will you ever honor your end of the deal?!"
"Then how about I take out one of your friends?" Oogumo snickered as he moved his aim from Ryotaro… to the unconscious Rex.
"We won't let you!" Judai shouted, as he and surprisingly Sho got in front of their unconscious friend.
"Why not? The bastard had it coming." Oogumo argued, "And this means that I'm honoring our deal."
"The hell it does!" Jun snapped.
However as Oogumo prepared to fire the gun at the mutt, he didn't notice a certain someone had gotten up. Or rather… This awakening happened when something flew towards that certain someone and entered them.
"Unhand me you ruffian!"
"Hu-"
Before the spider-masked man could react, the slumbering Ryotaro slugged him with a punch to the temple, sending him reeling whilst he let go of the gun. But what was different was that, his hair was tied up in an upwards ponytail on top and he had a white fluffy scarf. For Momotaros, this meant only one thing…
"Tebayaro?!"
"W-Who?" Kuromu got out.
"You… you little shit!" the spider-masked man snarled as he staggered back to his feet, only to find Ryotaro(?) pointing the gun he just used at him, likely having picked it up after he dropped it.
"I believe you were making your leave…" the awakened young man snarled.
"Ryotaro-kun…" Yukina murmured, as the Singularity Point noticed her.
"Yukina-san. Oh my…" Ryotaro(?) murmured. "Do forgive me, I shall-" But then he saw Yukina shaking her head, surprising him.
"Protect my son. At least do that for me…" she muttered.
"I see… very well…" was all that the awakened young man could say before Oogumo escaped with the Kururugi matriarch.
"KAA-SAN!" Kuromu shouted, but to no avail. "Gh…!"
"It's fine. We'll save her next time." Kyoshiro was forced to say. Kuromu merely let out a frustrated sigh before he turned his attention towards the man they did save.
"So you're the lot that they were talking about." Ryotaro(?) asked as he casually walked over to the others and looked towards the rest of Kuromu's friends. "Hm… too much pride in himself, too stupid, too garish, too meek, too book savvy, and-" He briefly stopped when he saw Rex and shook his head, "Too much like him." He then looked towards the ladies. "Oh, but what two fine lovely ladies we have here."
"U-Uh, us?" RIka asked sheepishly, pointing towards herself and Asuka.
"Um…" Asuka got out.
Ryotaro(?) looked at Asuka then looked towards Kuromu. "Ah, I see you are already spoken for. My sincerest apologies." He bowed at the Obelisk Queen. That was when Momotaros possessed Tsukasa again, and proceeded to bop Ryotaro(?) on the head with a fist.
"Oi, enough of that!" Tsukasa-Red snapped. "This is no time to-"
"Did you just strike me, retainer?" Ryotaro(?) seethed as he looked at Tsukasa-Red.
"You got a problem with that?!"
"Um, who's that?" Kuromu asked.
"His name is Sieg." Kyoshiro brought up. "He's also a friend of Ryotaro's and can access a Wing Form when becoming Den-O."
"That explains why he can possess Ryotaro-san like that." Judai noted. Just then, the mutt's pained groan quickly made them remember they had an injured Duelist on hand. "Oh crap, we gotta get Rex to the infirmary!"
Most of the group stayed at the infirmary waiting on the news of their friend's condition, but not Kuromu. He had gone back to his dorm room needing some alone time. And it was here that he started stewing in his thoughts, regret, and guilt, while sitting on his bed.
'Why? Why did Rex risk his life to save me?' he thought.
Not only that, he had reflected back on what was the most difficult decision he had ever made thus far. He chose a stranger over his own flesh and blood. There was a saying of 'no sacrifice, no victory', but… in spite of that sacrifice, there was no victory in any of this.
Oogumo had won.
"I'm surprised you're not with the rest of them." Tsukasa observed as he appeared before him as a Duel Spirit, rather than being corporeal.
"Knowing Rex, I'm sure he'll pull through…" Kuromu muttered, "You and I know he's been through worse." He then looked down, "I just… I was this close to saving her…" The Rider Duelist clenched his fist, clearly frustrated.
"None of this is your fault, kid." Tsukasa said. "It's just Oogumo really knows how to twist the knife and keep it stuck."
"Clearly…" Kuromu groaned. "So… is Ryotaro-san gonna be switching between spirit and corporeal like you?"
"Sadly no. Since Kyoshiro only made the cards using the Taros, he likely was left out." Tsukasa explained. "Unless…"
"Unless?"
"Don't worry about it." The dimensional Rider brushed off.
*KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK*
"Come in…." Kuromu muttered. The door opened and revealed themselves to be Asuka. Tsukasa knew that it was his cue to leave, giving them privacy.
"Hey…" Asuka greeted softly, as she sat next to him on the bed. "Are you okay?"
"No, I'm not…" the Rider Duelist shook his head, "I couldn't save Kaa-san, and I let a friend take something I should have taken. I just feel so… so…"
Asuka placed a hand on his shivering fist, making him look towards her with a confused look.
"I know how it feels to be so close to what you want, only for it to be taken away." she said before sitting down, "But I'm confident that you will be able to save your mother. Just as much as I still hope that I can one day find my brother. You just need to have hope."
"But…"
"But nothing! You can't let Oogumo get in your head like this!" she told him, "The more you despair, the more reckless you'll become. You need to have a clear head, or else things will get worse."
Kuromu could only look down in shame. But then he felt her hand caressing his cheek, which made him look up to see Asuka's face, one that showed concern and tenderness.
"Please… I don't want to see you lose yourself like this." Asuka said softly. "You don't have to shoulder the burden alone. I'm here for you, the others too…"
The Rider Duelist was silent for a moment, but as he saw today, his friends were willing to help shoulder the burden he had both emotionally and physically.
"Trust me. We're here to help. All of us." Asuka affirmed. "Especially me. I'll always be by your side."
"Asuka… I…" Kuromu whispered.
Before they both knew it, their heads slowly got closer, inching forward as their eyes slowly closed. Their hair covered their eyes as they felt each other's breath. Their lips were just millimeters away from touching and then…
"Hey guys!"
The two snapped out of it, as they soon saw the chef rushing in.
"It's Rex, he's-" Rika then noticed their blush. "Was I… interrupting something?" She then looked at Kuromu who cringed in worry while Asuka looked away embarrassed.
"N-No! You didn't!" the Obelisk Queen stammered.
"Y-Yeah, we're fine," Kuromu added.
"Oh… well okay." Rika shrugged. "Anyways, Rex is awake, but he's hurt pretty bad."
Kuromu and Asuka sighed in relief. At least he was out of immediate danger. "Alright, we should go see him." The latter suggested.
"You go on. I'll catch up." Kuromu said, to which Asuka nodded, before standing up from the bed and leaving after, leaving him and Rika alone. "Thanks for that, Rika."
"Eh?" Rika said, confused. "Wait, you and Asuka-chan were about to-"
"Yeah… and honestly, I don't think my head would have been able to handle the overload." he admitted sheepishly, "Not sure if I should thank you or groan at you."
Rika giggled at that, "Well, glad I could help. Otherwise, I could have helped another way."
"Hey now…" Kuromu said dryly, "That was uncalled for."
"I'm joking, relax. I wouldn't do that to you." Rika laughed.
"You've gotten bolder as of late, showing off more of that side of you." Kuromu noticed. "What's up with that?"
"I don't really know." Rika admitted, "I guess going to this school's given me some confidence."
"Yeah… confidence…" the Rider Duelist rolled his eyes.
"W-What's that supposed to mean?" Rika stuttered.
"Oh nothing~" He teased, before walking off.
"Hey, get back here!" Rika growled as she chased after the Rider Duelist.