So, nothing out of the ordinary, then.
The window in question belonged to Sintendo Inc. OOO was sure that there was a reason for this, but he'd have to ponder the details later - he first had to deal with the mad, female spider monster he was wrestling in freefall. He'd rushed straight over to the building the moment that he'd heard reports of the creature attacking and tying up people, and had been hoping to get the jump on it before it could do any damage to the civillians inside. If the current situation was any indication, that plan had gone horribly wrong, for it had been the monster that had pounced on him, and not the other way around as he had wanted.
...Well, no-one said it would be all smooth sailing.
The monster - humanoid in shape, but with too many hairy limbs - had gotten a death grip on his body and was now snapping her fangs at his face, with only his hands struggling to keep her at bay. Wherever that meant she was trying to bite him or give him a sloppy kiss, OOO didn't know, nor did he want to know, because ew spider cooties. Right now, he was more concerned with the rapidly approaching ground that was beneath him, because not ony was it going to hurt when he hit that, but the spider-woman was going to land on top of him, and that meant-
Idea.
Shifting his grip to the creature's neck, the Kamen Rider delivered a swift knee to the gut that loosened the many-armed clutch on his form. With his body freed, he could swivel around inthe air, dragging the flailing, screeching beast beneath him as he swapped positions and tucked his feet underneath him. The idea wasn't to try and stomp, since he didn't have the weight for that, but to get the thing pinned the moment they hit the ground. And the Tiger Claws would be good to follow up the landing - once the foe was secure, he could start swiping away and-
Too late, did he hear the thick rustling of leathery wings coming in from another direction. The next moment, something had slammed into him, knocking him away from the spider and sending him flying backwards to hit another window much lower down the building. Thankfully, he hadn't been going fast enough to break through it again, but he honestly would have preferred that to the drop that followed - to say nothing of the impact with the tarmac that ended the whole debacle and left him breathless and in a lot of pain. He was pretty sure he heard a crack, too, and he couldn't be sure if it had been him or the road that did that.
Sucking in a breath, pain singing through his body, he got up; and yep, that had mostly been the road. There was an OOO-sized crater where he had landed, the tarmac having buckled from the impact - he would probably have to apologize for that later. In front of him, the spider had landed and was hauling itself upright, hissing crossly as a second figure swooped down to join its equally monstrous ally. Alighting, the newcomer revealed itself - herself - to be a bat-like creature, taller and more lithe than the spider, with an almost regal look. Yet the red eyes that glared at the injured warrior said more than enough; she was going to make just as much trouble for him as the spider had been doing moments ago.
This was not turning out to be a good day.
"Man, you monsters have been coming out of the woodwork lately!" exclaimed OOO. For response, the two creatures said nothing - if they comprehended his words, then they obviously didn't care much for them. Man, he was going to need to name these things if he was going to make any further headway. What would be good names...? The Bat could be Mina, after that one character in this horror story his uncle Percy read once, and the Spider... eh, Nancy would have to do. It was a reference to something somewhere, right?
"Eh, whatever." The Rider slipped into his customary fighting stance - something inside sang with horrible pain, but he ignored it. "That just means I get to look twice as awesome once I beat you!"
He charged at the same time the monsters did.
-------
"I... don't exactly remember how I got this. All I can recall is a young Japanese man handing it to me, saying that he didn't need it anymore. Something about... moving on?"
"Huh. That's weird. Wonder why he'd leave this with you?"
"I'm not sure... I examined the artefacts that came with it, and they appear to be alchemical in nature. As in, made with chemical processes, rather than forged."
"...that doesn't make sense! How can you make things like these from a bunch of liquids?"
"All I know is that these medals... they're very powerful. I'm glad we don't have any more of these than we do now, and I dread to think what would happen if there were more, waiting to be gathered. Who knows what an unscrupulous mind could do with these?"
"..."
-------
Nancy had reached him first, and that was good enough for OOO. He ducked under the monstrous swipe that came too strong, leaving the spider to stumble as he came up and elbowed Mina right in the stomach. The bat-lady doubled over with a cry, and the Kamen Rider wasted no time in swinging his fist up in a backhanded punch across her face, before swivelling on the spot and kicking her off balance. But whilst she was flailing to keep upright, the arachnid was coming back from the other side, and OOO had to quickly turn and block the double swipe aimed at his head with both arms, before headbutting her right in the face.
Nancy broke away, shrieking, and that gave OOO the time to quickly block the kick from the wrathful Mina, before lunging forward and punching her in the midscetion again. This time, he was smart enough to get her in a headlock first, knowing that Nancy would be coming back, and he used the bat monster's body as leverage to leap up and plant a double-footed kick right into the spider's chest, sending it sprawling backwards. Then, twisting around as he dropped, he planted one foot into Mina's body and rolled backwards, throwing her over his head in a very improvised Tomoe Nagi throw that still sent her crashing on top of her companion with a chorus of indignant screeching and yowling.
"Hah!" he cried as he got to his feet. "You ladies aren't so tough after all!"
Nancy responded by lifting her arms and firing a barrage of sharp hairs right at him. A comical yelp escaped the Kamen Rider as he unsheathed the Tiger Claws - about time, he thought to himself - and quickly parried as many as he could, arms windmilling furiously. Some of them scraped along his body, and he hissed at the stinging sensation, but he knew that this was a distraction - he could see Mina charging for him through the hail of projectiles, and if he kept this up, he would get the bad end of her attack whilst dealing with the smaller annoyance.
So he dropped his guarded stance and moved, biting back the pain of the last few hairs as he engaged the more immediate threat. Mina hissed as her wing swipes were blocked, and in response lashed out with a kick, but OOO was quick to foil her, grabbing the leg and heaving to one side, throwing the bat monster to the floor in one smooth motion. She hit the ground hard, and the masked warrior leaped atop her and tried to swipe at her prone form before she could get back up. But she had been ready for that, and a double-kick from clawed feet hit him in the chest, winding him as he stumbled backwards.
Right into Nancy's waiting arms. All eight of them.
The girly shriek OOO gave had to have been heard to be believed.
"GET OFF!" he howled as he writhed within the hairy grasp yet again, arms flailing. But Nancy did not get off, instead cackling with delight and dragging him backwards and away from her leathery-winged companion, whom was rising rapidly to her feet. Seeing that her prey was now open, Mina quickly leaped into the air, hovering in place above the struggling Rider, before letting sickly purple energy course through her arms down to the tips of her wings. With a swiping motion, two searing discs were sent forth, hissing through the air as they darted downwards, aimed at the target that was the unfortunate OOO.
Except OOO had twisted around, dragging Nancy with him, and the discs hit the spider instead, exploding against her furry body. The monster shrieked with pain, letting go of her quarry, and OOO silently thanked whatever deity had granted him this reprieve as he twisted around and slashed out with his claws, finally getting to use them for once. The red lines they scored across the creature sizzled, and as the howling Nancy staggered backwards, the Kamen Rider was rather surprised to see that they dripped not with blood or ichor, but with what looked like...
...coins?
"What the heck-?" he began to say.
"ACK!" he finished as, comletely forgetting about Mina, got a kick to the face for his trouble. Flying back, he bounced off the wall of the Sintendo building - how they'd managed to work their way back there during the fight, he didn't know. But he wasn't given the chance to think, as a thick, stringy mass suddenly struck him in the chest, pushing him back into the wall before he could get back into the open. Growling with frustration, he tried to move his arms to brush the stuff away, but horror came upon him when he found he could barely move them, as if they were restrained by...
The surge of webbing ceased, and Nancy gave a hissing cackle as she advanced, chelicerae clicking with obvious intent. Mina alighted near to her with a flourish, giving a chuckle of her own, and together the monstrous duo bore down upon the struggling OOO as he fought vainly to escape the sticky strings keeping him pinned against the concrete. The young warrior tried hard, but he only managed to rip part of his arm free before there was a bat on his left and a spider on his right, cutting off whatever space he had to get away as they embraced him from either side.
Two shockingly human faces leered at him, running glistening tongues over sharp fangs,
"NOT GOOD!" cried OOO, before they leaned in and bit.
-------
"How can you ask such a thing?!"
"I have to! It's the only way I can-"
"Dude, you already have, like, eight transformations. From your own body. Why would you even need those things?"
"...Because I'm not good enough."
"Oh, don't say-!"
"It's true! I've tried being me and... it hasn't worked! There's just... so many heroes now, and I don't even know if I'm making a difference being me anymore. It doesn't matter how many forms I can change myself into when I can't even stand out, when nobody is going to acknowledge what I've done by myself! I can't live under the shadow of the Kobbers forever - I have to get away and be my own person, and not just another one of them!"
"...I don't know..."
-------
It was the worst pain OOO had ever experienced, bar none. It was like needles of liquid nitrogen had stabbed into his body, numbing him all the way through and draining him of whatever strength he had. The metaphor wasn't too far off from the truth - both spider and bat were now greedily helping themselves, sparks dancing across their teeth as they drank, and little by little the colour was starting to drain from the armored portions of the Rider's body. He could feel his limbs rapidly turning limp as his energy was sapped, and his struggles became more and more fitful and innefective against pushing his assailants off.
If he couldn't break free in time...
One hand - the left, partially freed from the webbing - forced itself to reach around the side of his body, seeking something at belt level. It was a struggle, since most of that arm was wedged between himself and Mina, but eventually his fingers found the catch of something, and with great effort he prised the lid open and fumbled inside the container in search of something. His motions went unnoticed by the greedy duo absorbed in their task - a blessing, since if they had, there was more than likely no telling what they would have done. Just barely, he found what he was after. Only two of them, but he knew what they were - and, as far as he was concerned, they were the only chance he had to escape.
It seemed to take forever to click his belt back into place and swap the two Medals he had with the ones already in his belt. His body was practically jelly at this point, and his vision was starting to swim, fading in and out from the rapid loss of energy - Nancy and Mina must have captured the people in the Sintendo building for this exact reason. If their greedy drinking was taking such a toll on his body, what could it do to the average- no. Don't think about that, too gross for words...
Focus... got to... get this...
Too late, did Nancy notice his other arm unclipping the scanner. Her eyes widened, and she pulled away to shriek a warning to her ally, but she'd been too slow to react.
Quickly, OOO drew the scanner down the front of his belt.
-------
"Huh. Seems these green ones are the only complete set."
"The only one we have, anyway. I haven't been able to locate any others - I'm not sure I really want to."
"They go with your eyes, you know~"
"Stoppit!"
-------
The light that shone forth knocked the monsters backwards and away, screeching in shock. It tore the webbing apart, freeing the trapped warrior from the wall and burning the strings down to nothing. And it filled the Kamen Rider with renewed energy as he rose up, muscles tensing as his form changed once again, accompanied by a cacophony of flashing emerald and rhythymic noise.
And this time, the noise went:
STAG BEETLE! MANTIS! GRASSHOPPER!
*BZZZZZT*
Gaaa-ta, Gata-Gatakiri, ba! Gatakiriba!
The new, green Kamen Rider OOO stood tall and impassive. Orange eyes stared down the startled spider and bat, who where stilll recovering themselves and hissing in outrage.
Then, with a roar, he charged.
He moved so fast, neither Mina nor Nancy saw him coming. Twin blades flashed through the air and scoured both of their bodies, making them stagger backwards and spray silvery medals everywhere. Then OOO turned and swung one foot around, bashing Mina across the face in a vicious kick, then yanking the same foot back to strike a second time and send her sprawling into the dirt. Seeing this, Nancy chittered with rage and tried to attack from behind, but the green-armoured figure swung around and parried the swipe with his blade, landed a blow to the ribs with the other hand, and then a heel kick that knocked her flying into a nearby postbox, sending mail spraying everywhere.
A fluttering of wings told him that the bat monster had finally gotten off the ground and into the air again, and he turned just in time to see her preparing her energy discs yet again. This time, he didn't give her the chance - crouching down briefly, he suddenly bounded upwards at a shocking pace and height, leaping straight over the projectiles and letting them explode harmlessly against the road. Mina wasn't so lucky; the sickle blade slashed her once again, making her lose air, before a two-footed kick sent her spiralling back down to earth once more, nearly crashing atop the prone Nancy once again.
Landing gracefully on the road, OOO dashed rowards, once again running the scanner across his belt.
SCANNING CHARGE!
And suddenly, there were a lot of OOO's.
SCANNING CHARGE- SCANNING CHARGE- SCANNING CHARGE- SCANNING CHARGE!
Before Nancy or Mina could comprehend what was going on, they were surrounded by the army of Kamen Riders, flashing with built-up power about to be unleashed. And as if on some mutual accord, each and every one of them took a flying leap, shouting the only words they had uttered during this final stage of the fight.
"SWARM KIIIIIICK!"
Neither monster stood a chance.
-------
"Don't worry! Maybe humans would run out of energy using these, but I'm constantly recharging! I could keep going for ages, if I wanted to!"
"Just... be careful, okay? I've heard stories about what happened to people who used these. Like how Atlantis sank, or-"
"Mom, I like to think I'm stronger-willed than that. Uncle, stop fussing!"
"Aw, but your shirt's on crooked!"
"That's enough, everyone. I'm sure the boy knows wat he's doing, even if... not all of us agree on it."
"Trust me, grandpa - I got this covered!"
"Well... good luck, then."
-------
Returning to normal was harder than he had thought. Not only did he first have to co-ordinate all of his clones together so he could merge back into one, but the amount of energy the monsters had drained out of him meant changing back was more of a struggle than it should have been. He'd have to wait a few moments to recharge before he could go back into the building and try to rescue the Sintendo employees, but they weren't in any immediate danger right now, so he could affort to take a little time. Besides, there wasn't a crowd to watch him - most of them had fled when he'd been tackled through the window.
Also, he might have caught something nasty from their teeth. He'd have to get a checkup later.
As he gasped for air, hands on his knees, something shining caught his eye - multiple somethings, in fact. Turning his head, he espied the cause of it in short order; lying scattered across the tarmac were bunches of silvery, metallic coins or medallions. He vaguely remembered that Nancy had bled them when he had scratched her, as had Mina, and that there had been a veritable explosion of them when he had finally destroyed the monstrous duo with his new form. So the creatures hadn't been natural - of course, that much was obvious.
Curious, he picked one up.
"Huh. Wonder what this does...?"
TO BE CONTINUED...
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