As Hideo broke into a sprint, a sudden tremor rippled through the ground beneath his feet. He halted at once, planting himself firmly as confusion flickered across his face.
"An earthquake?" he muttered, lowering his gaze and focusing on the shifting earth below.
Calling upon the hawk's vision, he turned his attention toward Mira and her clones. Through his enhanced sight, he observed their reactions. Each of them was just as bewildered as he was by the sudden disturbance and its unknown source.
Then, something changed.
The Shuukis that had been advancing on Mira suddenly cried out in agony, clutching their heads as if something unseen was tearing through their minds.
"What the fuck…" Mira cursed, uncertain by the strange turn of events unfolding around her.
Both she and Hideo remained on high alert, watching the Shuuki's with wary eyes. The tremors gradually weakened, the violent shaking fading bit by bit until the ground finally stilled.
"….."
Mira said nothing, her gaze fixed on the Shuuki now stunned in place.
She wasn't sure whether the warning screaming in her gut earlier, telling her something bad was coming, had just been paranoia. Still, she wasn't about to ignore an opportunity. With the temporary gate still open, she had a job to do. Not a single one of these bastards was getting through.
While the chief of the second unit kept herself occupied, Mr. Kamen Rider himself dropped down and touched the ground. He intended to join her in guarding the gate, even if she could handle things on her own.
However, the bizarre behavior of the Shuuki lingered in his mind, gnawing at his thoughts.
Picking up a rock from a small crack in the ground, Hideo tossed it lightly into the air before catching it again. He examined it for a moment, then crushed it against his palm.
"Well, nothing I can do just standing here," he muttered, pushing himself back to his feet.
Just as he was about to step away to join the fray, something caught his eye. A faint green movement emerging from a tiny hole in the ground.
It was a vine.
Tilting his head, Hideo froze, caught completely off guard. He was certain no ordinary plant from Earth could survive in an environment like this, especially not here in Mato. And by "ordinary," he meant anything natural.
There was no way this was a good sign, not after the tremor that had just occurred. Unless a Peach user was somehow interfering, none of this made sense. Yet as far as he could tell, there was no one else in the area besides himself and Mira.
"I'm only getting bad vibes here," he muttered, a growing sense of foreboding creeping through his body.
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Back on Mira's side, the same phenomenon began to unfold. From the cracks scattered across the ground around her, thin green vines started to emerge, pushing their way up from below. Noticing the strange development, Mira glanced down just as she hurled another Shuuki onto the growing pile she had been building.
"First the earthquake… Then these Shuuki started acting erratically. Even the ones I saw from afar were running away from this place, despite the temporary gate being right here…" she thought, forcing herself to stay calm and assess the situation despite its absurdity. "And now this?"
Like a hypnotic spell, the vine began to sway, its movement almost inviting Mira to come closer. Her clones, scattered across the area, witnessed the same eerie motion through their shared awareness. Though it appeared harmless at a glance, Mira refused to take any chances and ordered every clone to stay sharp for whatever might happen next.
As if answering both her silent prayer and the warning screaming in her gut, it happened the very next second.
The vines suddenly shot forward, expanding at an unnatural speed straight toward her.
Mira's eyes widened as she twisted just in time, the attack passing through where she had stood a split second before. Around her, the other clones reacted in sync, narrowly dodging the wildly lashing vines.
Using one of the incoming tendrils as footing, Mira flipped backward, planting her foot against it mid-motion before launching herself away from another strike that tried to impale her.
"Fighting Humanoid Shuuki is one thing. No one warned me about a botanical invasion though," she quipped as she drove her fist into the vine. "I would rather fight Shuuki any day than this crap."
Her punch landed solidly, the impact tearing into the vine's surface. But the damage did not last. Almost instantly, the plant twisted and regenerated, repairing itself as if nothing had happened.
"Oh great, of course this would happen," Mira inwardly complained. "My day couldn't get any better than this."
As the sarcastic thought crossed her mind, one of her clones called out to her through their shared link, urging her to look. Mira followed the direction it was indicating, her gaze snapping toward the pile of Shuuki she had taken down earlier.
Her eyes narrowed.
The vines had pierced into the lifeless bodies, stabbing through them as if feeding. The corpses began to deteriorate at an alarming rate, their forms shriveling and collapsing in on themselves until they resembled nothing more than dried, withered husks.
"Hope I'm not next on the menu," Mira muttered cautiously, taking a deep breath before kicking the vine that had lunged at her.
The tip of the vine that had absorbed the corpses shifted, pointing directly at the floating gate as if something there had caught its attention. Like a bullet fired from a cannon, it surged forward faster and stronger than the rest. It tore through several of Mira's clones, and the damage was enough to erase them completely.
Seeing that and realizing where it was headed, Mira's heart sank. Her body tensed in panic.
"This is bad… I won't make it in time," she gasped, trying to dash forward, only to be blocked by a wall of writhing vines.
"DAMN IT!" she shouted in frustration, clawing at and strangling two of the vines in her path.
She would have rather faced a Unique Shuuki head-on than deal with this crap. At least with them, she could fight physically, strike directly, and have a chance. Whatever the source of this bullshit, she vowed not to show mercy.
Preparing for the worst to happen, Mira knew deep down it was already too late to stop what was coming.
However, just as the vines were about to slip into the portal, something intervened.
A lone figure stood at the entrance, arms crossed, unmoving.
Then he moved.
From the claw mounted on his arm, yellow energy burst forth, forming the shape of a tiger's talon. With a single, fluid strike, he tore through the incoming vine as if it were nothing more than paper.
He did not stop there.
The man surged, carving through the remaining tendrils in a blur of slashes, each strike precise and merciless. By the time Mira's clones arrived to reinforce the blockade, most of it had already been torn apart.
"That…"
Mira faltered, momentarily at a loss. Despite this being her first time seeing him, recognition sparked instantly.
She leapt from her position and landed near the front of the gate.
Before her stood an individual clad in a striking suit of red, yellow, and green. At the center of his chest rested an emblem bearing the forms of a bird, a tiger, and a grasshopper, three forces woven into one.
The man within the suit, Hideo, turned toward her and gave a crisp salute.
"A rough welcome for our first meeting, but it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Chief Kamiunten!" he said, casually deflecting another incoming attack.
He straightened, his voice steady with confidence.
"Kamen Rider OOO, at your service."
Speechless, Mira couldn't find the words to say.
She simply stared at him from head to toe, taking in his presence.
Hideo remained equally silent, awkwardly standing there as she continued her inspection.
A smile tugged at Mira's lips, and amid the chaos around them, she started laughing. Without warning, she tapped his back lightly, as if he were an old friend. Confused by her unexpected behavior, Hideo found himself laughing too, even though he had no idea why.
"Okay… what the hell am I supposed to do now?" he thought inwardly, deciding to just go along with the strange flow of their silent exchange.
At that moment, a vine slithered toward them. In perfect sync, both of them casually swatted it away with a downward punch, barely glancing at it.
"Don't know where you magically popped up from, pal, but your helping hand is gonna be needed here," she said, raising her hand. "I've heard about you from the others, but now that I'm seeing you face to face… you're definitely interesting."
She gestured for a high five, and Hideo met her hand without hesitation.
"I'd love to chat with you right now, Kamen Rider," Mira said, cracking her neck, "but our situation won't allow it."
"Same here," he replied.
Turning her gaze toward the line of hostile vines erupting from the ground, Mira shrugged off her coat and tossed it aside.
She glanced at Hideo, his face hidden behind the helmet.
"Sorry to cut the act, but how confident are you with your gardening skills?" she asked.
"Bad enough to fail any planting project," he replied with a grin, "but my talent for messing things up and destroying stuff? Second to none."
"Just what we need right now," Mira said, a spark of amusement in her voice.
Summoning more clones from her body, she squared her stance, her body coiling like a spring ready to strike. Her mood had lifted considerably. Now, with the Kamen Rider by her side, it was time to see what he was really made of. Seeing was believing, and no video or hearsay could ever compare to witnessing his skills firsthand.
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From the far side, Isadora watched as her partner and the Chief of the Second Unit fought in tandem.
This was nothing like the usual tower-defense style engagements they handled against normal Shuukis. These vines were different. Thicker. Faster. Sharper.
"One thing after another," she muttered to no one in particular, pulling out an ice pop she had brought along. "I'll just sit back and enjoy the show for now."
"I'll step in only if it actually becomes necessary," she thought.
Activating her eye, her vision shifted as she focused on the ground beneath them.
There was something there.
Something big.
What made it more intriguing, or unsettling depending on who you asked, was the realization that the massive presence lurking underground was directly connected to the vines attacking Mira and Hideo.
She considered going down to see it herself.
Then decided against it.
She simply wasn't in the mood.
All she could do was wonder how something like that even ended up there in the first place.
"It looks like something straight out of a failed Umbrella Corporation experiment," she said, already pulling out another ice pop.