"What did I do? Heh-heh-heh… he gambled his life away to me. The moment that coin touched his forehead he collapsed because his life is now sealed inside this silver coin. He looks alive, but he's only a living corpse; unless I return what's inside, he'll stay that way forever!"
Money Dopant gloated as he rose, as though showing off a unique piece in his private gallery.
"What?!"
Shotaro Hidari and Philip exploded with rage; anyone who tramples life like that deserves to be taken down.
Seeing Kamen Rider W ready to charge, Money Dopant backed away and produced several larger coins. "Hold it! If you destroy me, all sixty life-coins inside my body will shatter and those people will die for good. Think before you swing."
"Damn it!"
The threat froze Shotaro mid-strike; he couldn't gamble sixty innocent lives on a guess.
"Philip, what do we do?"
"All the coins are on him. If he's telling the truth, this is messy."
With Kamen Rider W stalled, Money Dopant swaggered. "Tsk, tsk, you so-called heroes of justice—threaten a few lives and you dance to any tune.
Pathetic. Now cancel your Henshin and hand over every gaia memory on you. Hesitate one minute and I crush a coin. One coin, one life. Heroes know the answer, right? Timer starts… now."
"What?!"
A chill shot from Shotaro's scalp to his heels—how do you solve a problem like this?
If he abandoned those sixty, he'd never forgive himself; he'd be their executioner. Surrender the Gaia Memories and he still couldn't save them—he'd only join them.
"What do I do, what do I do?!"
Trapped, Shotaro broke into cold sweat on forehead, back, and palms.
"Shotaro, if we drop our armor and hand over the Memories, we lose you along with the sixty."
Even Philip, with access to the Earth Library, saw no perfect out; the best move looked like smashing Money Dopant on the spot.
"So, Kamen Rider, what's your choice?"
While Shotaro agonized, a cocky young man watched from a corner near the warehouse, intrigued by the standoff.
His name: Kirihiko Sudo. He'd happened to spot the gaia memory he'd sold battling Kamen Rider W and, out of curiosity and a sense of after-sales service, followed in case the Dopant needed backup.
(Image Kirihiko Sudo)
Money Dopant chuckled, "Ten seconds left—think hard."
Vroooom!
A blast of wind and engine howl—so fast that Money Dopant had no time to react before he was airborne, spiraling like a rag-doll.
Shiraishi Shin braked and drifted, tires scorching the ground, while the Dopant crashed from the sky.
"What?!"
The sudden turn shocked Shotaro, Philip, and Kirihiko Sudo. Who was this newcomer?
"Agh!"
Even a Monster's hide stings after a 600-kilometre-per-hour bike slam. A normal machine would be scrap; the eternal, a Kamen Rider cycle, could take a missile and keep rolling.
Shotaro: "Another Kamen Rider?"
Philip: "Shotaro, check the driver on his waist."
"That's the half-driver the old detective used!"
At Philip's prompt, Shotaro stared at the lost driver on Shiraishi Shin's belt—identical to the one his mentor once wore. Who was this man?
Money Dopant scrambled up, snarling, "You dare ram me?!"
Shiraishi Shin sneered, "Ramming a fool like you. Oh, and the lurker back there—come on out."
"Huh, that voice…"
Shotaro blinked, unsure.
Philip was certain: "It's the same voice as the Cronus transformee you met last time."
"Shiraishi Shin? But he's Cronus—how's he a different Rider now?"
Shotaro couldn't fathom a full switch instead of a form change.
"Ho, so you sensed me—interesting,"
Kirihiko Sudo said, stepping into the open since hiding was pointless.
"You! Why are you here?"
Money Dopant recognized him as the salesman who'd sold him his current Memory.
With a friendly smile Sudo answered, "Saw the fight, thought my customer might need after-sales support."
Shotaro demanded, "Who are you?!"
If not for Shiraishi Shin's call-out, he'd never known someone was selling Gaia Memories right under their noses.
"Just a man who loves this city. You Kamen Riders, born evil—stop tainting my streets."
Still smiling, Sudo clipped the Earth driver to his waist and produced a premium gold gaia memory.
[Nasca!]
He slotted it into the driver, arms behind his back, and elegantly Henshined into the Nasca Dopant.
(Image Nasca Dopant)
Unlike mass-market Memories, this gold one packed greater power but also pumped toxins into the user—hence the need for a driver to suppress them.
Shotaro clenched his fists. "A Dopant using a driver? Is he one of the executives from the Night of Beginnings?"
"Hmph, why fuss? I've got hostages—what can they do?"
Money Dopant boasted, repeating his demand that Shiraishi Shin cancel his Henshin and surrender his Gaia Memories.
"Shiraishi Shin, this looks bad. He might be telling the truth—Philip and I are out of options,"
Shotaro whispered as he moved beside the newcomer; sixty lives made any reckless move impossible.