“So, I presume the plan is proceeding as scheduled?” a woman asked over the phone, flying high over Asia in a private jet. A black flight, unknown to anyone with no records of this flight ever existing and anyone who did know about it would be swiftly dealt with. “The package is acquired?”
“Yes, we are en route to the airport as we speak. Madame, I must question. We are taking a rather large risk. The Riders… They know of us, so what is stopping them from interfering with the pickup?”
“They rely on basic search engines to gather information,” The woman answered with a chuckle, brushing her purple hair out of her face. “Hackers they are not. No records exist of this flight so there’s very little chance of them finding us. Plus, I’ve left some bait that those Greeed won’t be able to resist. Very soon, the Riders are going to have their hands full.”
“And of our transport?” the man on the other end of the phone asked. “We have been noticed before, considering that idiot Kannagi and the SOLU.”
“Well, that was entirely your fault thanks to you driving through Fuuto. Why you forgot about the damnable detective is beyond me really…” the woman scoffed. “I just pray this time you picked a less suspicious route.”
“We’ve picked small towns and back roads for our route. Takes longer, but should lower our chances of being spotted. Plus, we have two dummy vehicles and are using a flower delivery van to transport the goods.”
Madame Starlight chuckled. Those fools in Shocker didn’t exactly realize how set up they had been. Really, receiving an anonymous tip-off of a coffin in the mountains of Europe containing a powerful energy source and not even suspecting something was off? They were even dumber than she thought. Granted, she hadn’t suspected the Riders appearing to try and stop whatever Shocker planned with those cells, but that was only a minor annoyance at best. The Greeed were now unleashed upon the world, and their medals were ripe for harvesting. Starlight found it interesting that the final greeed, the one Shocker created themselves didn’t exactly seem all too interested in joining his cohorts. Instead, as the battle with Black and Zangetsu proved, he seemed to want to keep to himself. Or perhaps, she mused the other Greeed didn’t trust him due to him being part of an ‘original generation’ to put it one way.
“I do assume -or rather I would hope to assume- you do have a plan c in place of your plan b falling to pieces?” Starlight asked. “I do not tolerate stupidity, or foolishness that leads to failure.”
“The dummy vehicles are in-laden with Cell Medals, yes, but they are also primed to explode should one of the greeed become… interested.” the voice at the other end of the line remarked. “It is only the main vehicle that is not primed to explode. Instead, I myself am primed to do that. I swallowed an explosive that is primed to detonate upon a simple press of the trigger. No information shall ever be learned. The route itself, as I’ve said is through small towns and back roads, winding through mountain passes where we should hardly be noticed.”
“Impressive, you really have thought everything out,” Starlight mused fingering a bronze Gaia Memory that had a small T imprinted on it. Contrary to the late Madame Usland’s beliefs, perhaps there was some use to be gained out of Gaia Memories yet. If anything else, this could help them in some way in acquiring that mysterious power source developed by Genm Corp. “This may make up for your failure in Fuuto yet!”
High in the mountain roads of Japan, the transport continued uninterrupted for a good hour or so after Starlight had hung up the phone. Of course, not all good things lasted as the driver of one of the trucks noticed a mysterious man on a motorbike coming up from behind.
The driver kept them in their rear view, motioning to the man next to him to bring out the detonator. The helmet the man on the bike was wearing kept the driver from identifying him, but it was best to err on the side of caution.
The back doors of the van were kicked open by a white-clad man and a gaia memory of a blue shade was pressed into his arm.
\ Trigger! /
The man morphed into this massive blue-clad brute with a rifle for an arm, and what looked like targeting crosshairs on his ‘head’. Whipping his arm up, he aligned the crosshairs with the bike and opened fire on the wheels.
The man looked unfazed and weaved between the bullets even as the chase continued up the mountain pass, a sheer drop towards a roaring rushing river on one side and heavy forest on the other. One wrong move would either send him smashing into a tree or flying into the raging waters below. Which of course, the Trigger Dopant knew perfectly well.
Tires squealing as the bike rounded a corner, he decided to take an alternate route and up a separate mountain road. This kept the man out of the Dopant’s sight lines.
“Is he gone?” the driver asked. “Maybe he’s scampered off!” he then theorized. The Trigger Dopant was hardly so foolish.
“Don’t bet on it. Expect him to return, keep your guard up!” he shouted reloading his weapon.
And return the man did, off of the higher road landing in front of the van, and screeching to a halt in front of it to halt its progress even as they reached a dam.
Tapping his foot against the road even as the van screeched to a halt, the man tossed off his helmet and watched as both the Dopant and the driver stepped out of the van.
“I’d be getting lost if I was you,” the driver said implanting a Gaia Memory of his own into his arm.
\ Magma! /
“See, that’s just counterintuitive. Foundation X, right?” the man asked as he brought out what looked to be a small whistle flipping it open. “Heard about you guys. Have to say… Not really all that impressed by what I’ve heard. You’re not exactly the Makamou, so you’re not in my jurisdiction but I’m a Rider in a sense and we fight for love and peace so letting you guys go would go against my oath to protect the world.”
Blowing into the whistle, a high, horrendous wind filled the air before it finally subsided revealing a blue and black armored oni-like warrior, with golden shoulder armor. “The name’s Ibuki. Yours?”
“I don’t give my name to dead men,” the driver replied, throwing his arms up and spraying streams of magma out at Ibuki. Ibuki dodged and pulled out what looked to be a combination of a trumpet and a pistol, firing several shots into the Magma Dopant.
The magma dopant laughed, his body distorting before returning to normal. “Nice try, but my body is pure magma. You can’t break me.”
“Let’s test that little theory shall we?” Ibuki asked firing off several homing shots into the Magma Dopant’s body before taking off his belt buckle and placing it on his weapon. Blowing into it, the pure sound created made the Dopant’s body buckle and he probably would have had his memory shattered had the Trigger Dopant not shot the trumpet out of Ibuki’s hands.
“Oh right, forgot about you…” Ibuki muttered kicking the Trigger Dopant in the stomach before flipping backwards atop a tree. Next, Ibuki leaping off of it used a branch as a springboard to kick the Dopant in the stomach with a power upwards of 30 tons.
A distinct shattering sound was heard as the Trigger Dopant resumed human form. “...Well, that was entirely boring really. I honestly don’t see why Double had so much trouble with-” he stated before being punched into the side of the truck, tipping it over.
“...Okay, yeah. Maybe now I do,” Ibuki muttered his vision a bit blurry as the Magma Dopant advanced on him, the street crackling with small embers with every step he took and trees catching alight. “...Least there’s only one of you now.”
“One of me is more than enough.” A ball of magma formed in his hand and he tossed it at Ibuki.
Ibuki rolled to the left and then pulled out several CD-like objects and letting them flying the CDs turning into what looked like red falcons or hawks in mid-air and barraging the Magma Dopant or at least keeping him off-balance long enough for Ibuki to barrage him with a series of powerful punches.
“Wow, you weren’t kidding about being made of magma,” Ibuki commented, waving one of his fists. Pulling out his trumpet gun -in actually, something called the Ongekikan Reppuu- again, he fired a point-blank shot at his stomach. Another shot, and then another. He then once more blew into the trumpet and this time an explosion occurred shattering the magma memory.
“...So, what have we learned boys?” Ibuki teased. “Don’t play with fire and guns?”
“And you are an idiot.” the former Trigger Dopant said pressing a detonator and the truck went sky high nearly taking Ibuki with it had he not leaped out of the way in time.
“Mou…” Ibuki muttered before pulling out a radio. He wasn’t a fan of certain modern technologies, but he could see where some had their uses. “This one’s a dud. How are things on your end?”
On another mountain road near a small town, an armored warrior found himself fighting alongside one of Ibuki’s fellow Oni Riders, the two working together to dispatch a legion of Foundation X members using bootleg Sengoku Drivers that had changed them into Kurokage Troopers.
“...Depends. We were… delayed. X was ready for us!” the armored Rider said pulling out a small pistol and firing it into the Kurokage Hoard in small purple energy blasts. To help him out, the other Oni Rider -Hibiki- actually breathed hot blue flame into the crowd of troops.
“Can you give me your position?” Ibuki asked a pang of worry in his voice. He knew Hibiki was one of the best of the Oni Riders, and he had another Rider to back him up but he still couldn’t help but feel concern for his comrade. Whatever Foundation X was transporting, it was obvious they were desperate to protect it.
“About five miles due west of your location,” Hibiki replied using his burning drumsticks to fight through the crowd of Kurokage Troopers. “I don’t think you’d be able to get to us in time. However, I did see the truck heading due north. If you hurry, you might be able to cut it off.”
“Understood,” Ibuki said getting on to his bike and flooring it. “Best of luck to you Hibiki.”
“Luck is hardly needed.” Hibiki said going into his Armed Form and bringing out a massive sword while his fellow Rider assumed an armored state as well, gaining a burning red jinbaori coat and sword, the hilt of the blade themed after a dragon’s head. Both launching battle cries, the two performed their respective finishers, the Ongeki Ha: Kishin Kakusei and the Seiryū Bāningu Jigoku Surasshu respectively to clear out the crowd.
Meanwhile, Ibuki raced through the mountains on his bike following the directions Hibiki had given him, the engine roaring out through the normally peaceful and tranquil mountains. Using another disk animal, this one themed after a blue wolf he was able to keep track of the truck’s movements.
Finally, as he crested over a hill, he saw the second truck. Gunning the engine, Ibuki roared down the mountain roads and pulled up alongside the mostly plain panel truck.
Chuckling, Ibuki knocked gently on the side of the truck. “Knock knock!” he called, before swiftly pulling away as the entire back of the truck exploded revealing a massive sea green figure clutching an equally massive club.
Noting the design on the creature, Ibuki swallowed nervously. “Hercules… Oh, lovely.”
His fear was only heightened when more Kurokage Troopers poured out of the woodland with what looked like a giant bug of some sort -The Pyxis Zodiart in actuality- in command. Throwing his arms out, the Pyxis Zodiart forced the van to roll towards Ibuki.
Taking out his own version of the Onigekibou, Ibuki thought fast and began drumming on the ground making the van flip over him entirely. Then, using these same drumsticks - the Ongekibou Yamase- he ignited them with blue fireballs that he tossed towards the Hercules Zodiart.
Spinning them in his hands, Ibuki chuckled as he saw the Hercules Zodiart staggered backwards. He could see why Hibiki loved these things, even if they weren’t his particular style personally speaking. He found himself surrounded by the troopers, their spears at the ready. Placing the Yamase on his belt, Ibuki readied himself for combat.
“So this is the best the infamous Foundation X has to offer?” Ibuki challenged his Ongekikan Reppuu at the ready. “Cheap knock-offs of already-defeated monsters -ghosts, if you will- and frankly rather pathetic foot soldiers? Have to say, I’m less than impressed. I thought the Merchants of Death would be better at dealing… you know, death.” he commented roundhouse kicking a kurokage trooper before taking down another with a few shots from his Reppuu not letting his fear show. “Instead all you have to offer are these phantoms.”
The Hercules Zodiart growled, slamming his club onto the ground and creating a shockwave. “Are you saying we’re weak?” he bellowed. “See how you like these, and then judge our combat capability!” he roared throwing what looked to be like gold dust up into the air which swiftly reformed into Stardust Ninjas, or Dustards for short.
“Probably, yeah,” Ibuki commented even though he was now hugely outnumbered. “And you hide behind warriors instead of facing me yourself. That is hardly the ability of a strong warrior. No, it speaks more of a coward.”
“Even so…” Ibuki mused to himself as the combined forces surrounded him. “I cannot deny their large numbers…”
“Look at you, you’re outnumbered and out-matched! And who are you to speak of cowardice?” the Pyxis Zodiart remarked. “You haven’t been seen in years, what does that say of you?”
“I’ve been simply honing my skills and keeping the Makamou away from civilization,” Ibuki replied. “And considering you hardly do any fighting yourself, at least direct fighting then you have no room to talk of bravery!”
He fired his gun at the Pyxis Zodiarts even as the creature pointed at Ibuki and the combined Kurokage/Dustard army charged. Ibuki leaped backwards down a hill and into a nearby quarry firing his trumpet gun all the while thinning out the herd so to speak.
But there were still far too many for one man to face alone. Thankfully, Riders were never short on help, as proven when Hibiki’s ally from earlier -Mitsuzane Kureshima AKA Armored Rider Ryugen- appeared atop a dandeliner hoverbike leaping down into the fray twin massive spinning disks in hand.
Truth be told, Mitsuzane never considered himself worthy of being a Rider after all that he’d done, but considering Kouta -the only true Rider to emerge from the Sengoku battles of Zawame- was no longer around he had to carry on the torch himself.
“Pain... and sadness... will never disappear. That's why... I'd rather get hurt than let it happen to those dear to me. Isn't that right? Kouta?” Mitsuzune thought to himself as he cut through the forces with his Kiwi Gekirin, Ibuki taking out the footsoldiers with his Yamase drumsticks.
Pulling out a dark red Lockseed, Mitchy ripped the faceplate off his driver and slammed the Energy Lockseed into its place.
“Hai! Mix! Grape Arms! Dragon Cannon, Ha-Ha-Ha! Jimber Dragon Fruits! Ha-Ha!”
“You know, I never understood what was so hip as they say about the talking drivers…” Ibuki murmured blowing flames into a hoard of Dustards before kicking the Pyxis Zodiart in the stomach. “They just seem to take longer and longer than a simple fanfare.”
“It was a… guilty pleasure of the designer,” Mitchy admitted slicing through the Hercules Zodiarts’ club with his sword. “Very telling his own Lockseed called out “Fabulous Ryouma” or something like that…”
“...You have got to be…” Ibuki muttered shaking his head before Ryugen tossed his sword to him, perfect for slicing the Pyxis Zodiart across the chest with. Sadly, the power of the Zodiart could not be denied as he used his compass-based abilities to throw Ibuki for a loop upsetting his balance.
As Ibuki wandered around clumsily trying to regain his bearings, Mitchy knew he had to act.
Firing off the little gun he always kept on him, Mitsuzune made the Hercules Zodiart stagger back with a couple of purple-shaded blasts of energy before shouting “Hey, over here!” to the Pyxis Zodiarts.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve helping out this Rider,” the Zodiarts remarked. “After all, considering what you pulled during the Rider War of Zawame City…”
“Yes…” the Hercules Zodiart commented. “Killing your own brother, or trying to anyways and selling out your entire race? And they call us in Foundation X bad…”
“Yes… I freely admit I was a terrible person. I have so many sins to count up by the end of the day it isn’t even funny,” Mitchy stated blasting both Zodiarts with Grape Squashes. “First, I wasn't able to accept my own failings. Secondly, I as you said nearly committed familicide. Third, the city cries because of this. To this day, I believe I will not see anything good when I die, but at least I can attempt to make up for my own moral failings by dispatching scum like you!”
Taking out the Pyxis Zodiart fake with another Grape Squash, he turned towards Ibuki who’d regained his bearings. “Ibuki, are you ready?”
“Quite…” the Oni Rider nodded before they both ran forwards and then leaped towards the Hercules Zodiart with a dual Rider Kick dispatching him.
Mitchy, canceling out his transformation swore when he realized the second truck like the first was also a ruse. Question was… Where was the real one?
Chuckling as he drove towards an airport, the Foundation X member with whom Madame Starlight had spoken to earlier smiled. Now, the Foundation would have a fresh supply of Cell Medals. Perfect for an experiment.
Unknown Foundation Site C:
Eiji found himself pulling up outside a seemingly abandoned runway. While Adagio and Rainbow dealt with the yummy in the main heart of the city, Eiji was miles outside Denver in the desert. Normally he wouldn’t exactly abandon the two when there was trouble afoot -even if it looked like both Rainbow and Adagio were equally capable Riders- but his Gorilla Candroid had detected the emergence of a Yummy here.
“Mou… While they get the beautiful city,” Eiji muttered taking off his helmet. “I get the creepy abandoned airport. And no telling what the hell kinda Yummy I’m going to end up dealing with…”
He wracked his brain, trying to make sense of the Yummy’s behavior. Normally a Yummy wouldn’t seclude themselves unless they’d been in a fight recently. If that was the case, he might not be the only one tracking the thing down.
Sure enough, he heard the flaps of wing feathers, and turned to see Ankh.
“Figured you might show up around here…” Eiji smiled.
“Cut the crap kisame,” Ankh remarked, grabbing Eiji by his shirt. “I know there’s a yummy around here, so spill! Where are you hiding it?”
“Honestly, I’m just as surprised as you are,” Eiji stated calmly despite a very furious greeed staring him down.
“Bullshit!” Ankh spat. “You’re farming cells, I know you are! I half expect some of those walking trash bins to show up any time now!”
“Ankh, I know you’re smart, smarter than me in fact. So, use that feathery brain for a second. How often have you heard of a Yummy secluding themselves without having been in a fight?”
“...Well, mine but very obviously I’m in no state to actually do that,” Ankh replied waving his good arm. The greeed one. “Because trust me underpants-boy, if I was in any state to be creating yummies, you’d know!”
“...Right, well we are in a real fix then. As much as I hate to admit it… Care to help me out?”
“Right. Well, if it's to remove that stick up your ass, I’m sad to say there's no one strong enough to pull that one out,” Ankh replied. “And seriously, me help you? Ha, now there’s a laugh. If you’re going to bribe me with cells, then let me mark my calendar. Yeah, here it is. Uh... the ‘7th of never’ through to the ‘15th of ain't gonna happen’. I can grab cells on my own, really. That clear enough?”
“Oh? Never huh,” Eiji said, fighting off a smirk. “And what if the Kougami Foundation offered you something other than cells?”
“And what possible thing other than cells could you have to offer me, baka?” Ankh spat. “...Don’t even think about Ice…”
Eiji reached into his pocket and produced a small photo. On it was a very familiar red coin. Ankh grabbed him almost at once, a fire in his eyes.
“Where the Hell did you get that…” Ankh growled.
“Does that really matter right now?” Eiji retorted, putting the picture away. “If you help me, I can promise that it’ll be in your hands by tomorrow.”
“...And there’s a but coming up isn’t there? A conditional clause besides simply ‘I help you’ really. Because honestly, it would not be in your best interest to have me anywhere closer to my full strength. Or are you really that brain-dead, Hino?” Ankh asked flicking Eiji on the forehead.
“Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to look a gift horse in the mouth? And it’s not Hino, it’s Kougami,” Eiji inquired, feeling a bit proud of picking up that turn of phrase. “Can you really afford to not have all your medals. Even missing just one and you may not be able to have your own body again.”
“Gah! Fine, when you put it that way Kougami or whatever the Hell you chose to call yourself…” Ankh said with an eyebrow twitch. “Plus, it’ll help Adagio in the long run anyways help me gather Medals, considering she was foolish enough to lose over half of the twelve we gathered!”
“Aww, you do care about her,” Eiji teased, holding out his hand to seal the deal. “When you two have the wedding, be sure to invite me.”
“Shut up!” Ankh snapped. “Actually, hold up! ... Swore I heard something…”
“Besides your grousing?” Eiji teased.
“Did I or did I not say shut it?” Ankh snapped. “Because if you keep that up they’ll be finding your body in a dumpster, news at eleven!”
Ankh then just listened, hearing footsteps throughout the warehouse and occasionally the splash of standing water. “...We’re not alone in here. You were right. There’s a yummy here. What kind… Now that I can’t be sure…”
Going to his bike, Eiji returned it to its vending machine mode and inserted a couple cell medals. Pressing a button twice and created two Batta cans. “Here, these can help us quietly examine everything and still split up to cover ground.” He held out one of the cans to Ankh.
“...You could have just bought radios if that was the case and you knew I’d be showing up…” Ankh grumbled before sacrificing two cells and grabbing himself two Taka candroids and letting them scout ahead. “...Eiji, look. This stays between us okay, but truth be told I am slightly concerned about Adagio. Slightly, I must stress.”
A knowing smirk split across Eiji’s face and his eyebrow rose on reflex. “And why would you be concerned about some human? Isn’t she just a means to your ends?”
“Yes, she is, make no mistake about it. But she can hardly be useful to me if she goes berserk every time she gets the moronic idea of using a full-medal combo. And as much as I hate to admit it, getting rid of my fellow greeed or their more powerful yummies will require that!” Ankh returned.
“Well, sounds like you need to help her find ways to not go berserk,” Eiji offered, cracking open the tab on his Batta can and letting it unfold. “Otherwise, you’re caught between a rock and a hard place.”
“You know, for someone who claims to care for Adagio, you seem really unhelpful, you know that right?” Ankh mused.
“To be fair, the Kougami Foundation is built around nurturing human desires,” Eiji began, walking towards the abandoned hangar. “Helping someone mitigate their desires is outside our purview.”
“Yeah yeah, keep spouting off that trash your adoptive father feeds you,” Ankh mocked. “You just care about her, don’t you? I haven’t seen someone take this much of an interest in anyone since… Well, since a very long time.” Ankh started, seemingly about to say something else instead but thinking the better of it.
Eiji chuckled, looking up at the sky. “To be fair, she is a very attractive woman. But, I see the way she looks at me. I’m just a friend to her.”
Ankh actually threw back his head and laughed. “...Oh, you sad simple sap…”
For the next few minutes, the two searched the warehouse without much luck before they met up again.
“Gah! How hard is it to find one yummy? What, are we dealing with a Copperhead Yummy, something with fucking camouflage?” Ankh bellowed stamping his foot in frustration. “You’d think between the two of us, and those candroids, we’d find the damned thing!”
“...Well, to be fair it is a fairly big warehouse…” Eiji mused before something hit him in the head, beaning him square in the forehead. Rubbing his head in pain, it took him a minute to realize it was the remains of a taka candroid. Ankh cackled before he realized he sacrificed one of his cells for that, and then as if to add injury to insult the second hit him in the forehead as well.
“WHO DARES! I AM THE KING OF BIRDS!” Ankh screeched. “I AM THE MIGHTIEST OF THE GREEED!”
Eiji struggled to contain his laughter at Ankh’s indignation before he soundly shut up as a massive black cat creature walked -or would that be strutted?- out of the shadows.
“...Oh, lovely. One of his,” Ankh remarked in a deadpan. “Did I ever tell you how I detest cats? Want an animal to stare at you with contempt? Get a cat. Open a bag of excrement in your house. Cat!”
“...Aww, I’m touched…” Kazari commented as he jumped down from the rafters. “No, really, I am!”
“...Well, this sorta went from bad to worse in a hot minute didn’t it?” Eiji remarked, skipping his usual flare with the cell medal and just popping it in his driver with a quick statement of: “Henshin.”
“You take the Kuro Neko yummy, Hino,” Ankh stated as a popping sound marked Eiji’s transformation completing itself. “I’ll take the other bastard.”
“You’re in no state to-” Eiji started before Ankh cut him off.
“And neither are you with that low-powered Driver. Besides,” Ankh stated cracking his neck. “Me and Kazari… Oh, we’ve got scores to settle.”
“...Didn’t anyone ever teach you what cats do to birds?” Kazari asked bearing his claws.
“Must not have paid attention,” Ankh replied dismissively.
Eiji knew he couldn't argue with Ankh, not with who they were up against. Taking out two cell medals, he popped one after the other in and formed the Crane Arm attachment. Swinging it around, he managed to clock the Kuro Neko Yummy in the head once, before it leaped up to the rafters, Eiji tracking its movements.
“...Sure this thing isn’t half kangaroo…?” Eiji muttered before he jumped backwards as the yummy leaped towards him. It struck again and again with its claws, slashing out like a madman before biting down on his arm with powerful fangs.
Hearing Eiji’s sharp scream of pain that cut through the air like a knife, Ankh briefly considered helping him, before he leaped backwards to avoid a slash from Kazari. Eiji would have to help himself, Ankh mused as he kicked a jet engine towards Kazari. Kazari’s eyes widened before he sent a powerful blast of air towards the jet engine only causing it to explode in his face.
“And here I thought you were supposed to be the cunning one?” Ankh said as Kazari cursed and swore, the cheetah and tora medals flying towards Ankh. He swiftly grabbed both before smirking. Back where they belonged. “Thanks for holding onto these for me, but I'll take them off your hands now!”
Kazari leaped towards Ankh only to get blasted into the ceiling by a powerful blast of hot wind thrown from Ankh’s palm.
“Hmm… Interesting development.” Ankh mused before his eyes widened at seeing Kazari coming at him like a bolt of lightning. Seems he still had a cheetah medal left in him. Striking again and again, he managed to reclaim the tora and cheetah medals in the process.
“What were you saying about taking these off my hands…?” Kazari mocked dangling the two medals in front of Ankh. “I swear, without OOOs you’re exceedingly pathetic. I remember when you used to be the best of us Ankh, and now look at you! Scrounging around for scraps, and hanging around humans!”
“Like you’re any different?” Ankh shouted, throwing a hard right cross to Kazari’s face which sent him staggering back with the tora medal landing in Ankh’s hand. Eiji had managed to free himself from the Kuro Neko Yummy’s grip, and fired the Birth Buster at Kazari doing some damage cell medals spilling to the floor.
“Here, take this! I believe it belongs to you!” Eiji shouted, throwing Kazari’s yummy towards him knocking the feline greeed to the floor. As the two stood up, Eiji once more swung the crane arm knocking a straightjacketed man free of the yummy’s body before engaging the Proto Birth system’s other feature.
“Cell Burst.”
Firing a powerful stream of red energy towards both Kazari and his creation, he managed to send Kazari fleeing for his life while utterly dispatching the yummy.
As Eiji pulled out his phone, with Ankh knocking the yummy parent unconscious he looked towards his partner.
“Now… Now, who would be insane enough to use a dribbling lunatic from a asylum as a yummy parent and a lure…” Ankh murmured. “Even in my heyday, I knew to use mostly stable people!”
As Eiji finished dialing 911 and explaining the situation with said dribbling lunatic, he looked back towards Ankh and replied with two very simple words. “Foundation X.”
Ankh deadpanned at the young man and gave him a flat stare. “Why did you say that dramatically like I'm supposed to know what that is? Dumbass.”
“Foundation X…” Eiji sighed as he got on his bike after changing it back from vendor form. Ankh, reluctantly, hopped on the back. “You might call them merchants of death really. I’ll explain everything I know on the way back…”
Eiji’s first encounter with the Foundation was several years ago really, a few shy of a decade. It was several years before he decided to move offices to Denver. In hindsight, Eiji wondered if Foundation X hadn’t scared him enough to actually get him to move to America where they hopefully wouldn’t find him.
“Mister Kougami,” a well-dressed woman with oddly pink skin, and purple and cyan hair greeted with a bow as she waltzed into Eiji’s office in Tokyo. Behind her, a man carrying a briefcase. “Such a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“Then you have me at a disadvantage, Miss,” Eiji joked managing to force a smile. He couldn't place it, but something was off about this woman. “May I ask your name?”
“Starlight Glimmer… Or would that be Glimmer Starlight over here?” the woman asked with a touch of embarrassment. “I’m not exactly sure I admit…”
“How about we use first names to help you feel more at home?” Eiji offered, indicating for her to take a seat. “Call me Eiji, Starlight-san.”
“Yes… Well, in that case…” Starlight smiled though there was something… off about that smile if Eiji had to admit it to himself. Too false. It gave him the shivers. “I’m from a company, similar in interests to yours, in improving the world. I thought you might have an interest on what we have on offer.”
“I suppose this is where I ask what you're offering?” Eiji teased, putting his hands together atop his desk. “Please, go on.”
Starlight snapped her fingers, and the man with the briefcase walked forwards. “You see, your father likes to preach how desire furthers human evolution, makes them strive to go on and do greater and better things. How desire will save the world. He’s not wrong, although we believe in human evolution of a different kind to improve the world around us…”
The man opened up the briefcase as Starlight spoke. Inside the briefcase were what looked to be flash drives of a sort, although much larger and ribcaged for whatever reason. Eiji looked towards Starlight, and swore for just a brief moment he saw a similar object in Starlight’s hands before she pocketed it in her pantsuit.
Eiji’s eyes narrowed. Gaia Memories. He’d heard about the incidents in Fuuto involving the Museum and later on, the incident involving the Necro-Overs led by a madman calling himself Kamen Rider Eternal. Not that Eiji acknowledged him as such, given he bore no behavior of that exhibited by a true Kamen Rider.
“You want me to invest in something that terrorized an entire city?” Eiji questioned, holding back a glare. “Because while I believe our PR team is good, even they'd be hard pressed to make that sound like a good idea to the press.”
“Our team has been working on… refinements,” Starlight replied. “These new Gaia Memories will not drive anyone out of control, and a Driver of any sort would not be needed. All anyone would gain is just the powers each offer. A demonstration if you would permit me?”
One of Eiji's hands dipped below his desk, primed to call for security. “Against my better judgement, yes.”
\ Heat! /
The man had injected a gaia memory, and was now creating flames in his hands. In actuality, Starlight was lying. He did gain a dopant form, but Eiji could not see this thanks to the secret usage of a Mirage gaia memory that had actually been active before Starlight even entered.
Eiji's eyes scrutinized the pair, not trusting what he was seeing. It was obvious by the look in her eyes that Starlight was hiding something. But, he had his ways of smoking out her true face. “Intriguing, Starlight-san. But I don't think I can finalize a deal based on this. Send us a copy of your research data and let my team examine a memory and we'll come up with our answer after that.”
“Your request will be fulfilled with. You should expect the data within a few weeks.” Starlight replied before taking her leave.
What Starlight had hoped to accomplish that day, Eiji was never entirely sure. Maybe she needed a new distributor, or maybe X was running low on funding. Whatever the case, Eiji had made sure to contact an old friend back in Fuuto and they had informed him of the existence of Foundation X. And even as he heard the triumphant cries of both Adagio and Rainbow and the sounds of cell medals over the radio he couldn’t shake this nervous feeling. “If Foundation X is even here in America slightly, then that means trouble. Of what kind, I cannot be sure, but we are now all in grave danger…”