Taiga took back their Gashat again after dealing with the Pac-man incident. It was difficult for them to handle it considering the Doctors became rogue for becoming Bugsters 6 years ago. She was glad they had some help to defeat them and stop the chaos without using her purification song.
Now, Hiiro and Emu vowed to take back their Gashat from Taiga. Ophelia couldn't forget Hiiro's question regarding Emu's medical report. 'Did the intern say something unusual operation he had before? To become a Kamen Rider you need to undergo compatible surgery. To see if you're the right person to become a Kamen Rider or not.' Hiiro's words echo through her mind.
Emu didn't mention anything unusual about his operation back when they were children but only he received a game consoler from a doctor named Hinata Kyoutarou after his operation. "I hope the history doesn't repeat itself like Hibiki before." Ophelia exhales softly. "Rampaging is the most difficult thing to deal with."
"Ophelia-san?" She looks up and smiles relieved to see Tenkuuji Takeru again.
Takeru encountered Ophelia and Emu a few weeks ago when the Pac-Man apocalypse started and thousands of people got infected by it including himself and his friend, Tsukimura Akira. Emu and Ophelia are surprised to find out their friend happened to be a Kamen Rider like the others except her as he's known as Kamen Rider Ghost.
"Takeru-kun." Ophelia greeted the sandy brown-haired boy. "Thank you for seeing me today. I feel bad if you cancel the plan because of me." She scratches her neck nervously. The former goddess wanted to know about it.
Takeru laughed softly before he shook his head. "It's fine, Ophelia-san. I don't have plans today but still... even if you're busy, you still manage to provide me a study guide for my incoming exams." The black-haired woman provides a study guide for him to catch up on his studies.
After the Pac-man incident, Ophelia volunteered to help Takeru catch up on his studies as she used to be a former promising student. She may have studied abroad before and didn't attend any education here in Japan. However, she was willing to help out as Takeru informed her what subjects he was studying. In return, Ophelia wrote down all the information for him.
Needless to say, Takeru is amazed by her intellect and can't stop being grateful for it. Because of Ophelia's notes she'd provided for him, Takeru understood his lessons.
"I don't want you to repeat another year and I insist on it to help you out." Ophelia pointed out letting Takeru sit on the opposite side of the table. "How's Akira-san and the others?"
"Everyone is fine and Akira said hi." Takeru answered with a polite smile.
"I see. Please send my regards... Takeru, I—" She stopped and exhaled softly. "There is something else I need to ask. Something personal." Ophelia revealed her reasons for meeting up.
"What kind of personal, Ophelia-san?" He asked curiously. It's rare for Ophelia to meet him in face rather than on the phone.
Ophelia exhales hoping she's hearing things. "Do you remember when we fought Zaizen before? During the Pac-Man incident." She pointed out and Takeru nodded his head. "I overheard Zaizen's patient was Emu and they became like that. Was it true?"
Takeru gulped nervously and looked down at the tea she'd ordered for them. "Yes, I saw it through his memories when I touched his shoulder." He answered truthfully leaving Ophelia surprised.
"It's true then that it happened to them 6 years ago." Ophelia couldn't help but muttered with a disbelief look.
"Yeah, do you know about this, Ophelia-san?" Takeru asked after seeing Emu's closeness to Ophelia.
"I knew he had an accident when he was a child but not in his High School student." Ophelia answered truthfully and stroked her hair. "Emu was the first person who got it before Zero Day existed which is 5 years ago?" Ophelia slumped back on her chair. "It doesn't make sense, I could've sensed him by now if he had it." She didn't know Emu was the first person who had Game Syndrome before Zero Day existed.
Takeru looked confused about her words. "Um, Ophelia-san?"
Ophelia rubbed her forehead and tried to process everything she'd gathered. "Kagami told me to become like them, they need to do a Compatible Surgery. Emu is the first person who became a Kamen Rider without surgery." It made sense why Emu could transform without the surgery but the only thing she worried about was the side effect. What would happen if Emu kept on using his Game Driver and Gashat?
"Doctor Emu is a special kind of doctor." Takeru assured her. "I don't know what problems you're dealing with— but I'm sure it'll work out at the end of the day."
"Yeah..." She smiles lightly before taking a sip. "I'm not a Kamen Rider like you guys but I can still help the way I can."
"You help quite a lot, Ophelia-san." Takeru assured her. He saw her history by accident and knew her real name was Briar Elena Grace.
It hurts him to see how much she suffered separating someone she cared for and being reborn from a different world. Takeru promised not to reveal as it was not in his place to say her pasts. Ophelia was grateful for keeping it a secret and she needed more time to think on how to break down the news.
"But not enough, Takeru-kun." She reminded him with a hollow smile. "I still have this fear inside of me, I'm terrified that I lose out of control someday— since it's been a long time since I fought seriously other than healing."
Takeru understands her fear considering she's not one of them. She fought a lot of enemies in their world because Ophelia had someone to aid her. The former goddess is facing a threat that never encountered in her whole life.
"It takes time to get used to. Whether you're Kamen Rider or not— it's up to you on how to use it." Takeru gives her a piece of advice.
Ophelia chuckles in amusement. "Normally the older ones would give you advice— not the other way around, but... thank you." She appreciates his advice and keeps it in her mind.
"You're welcome, Ophelia-san." He smiles back and feels proud to cheer her up. "How's Doctor Emu?"
"Emu is fine and they're cleaning the room for their special guest today." She explained stroking her cup. "The Secretary of the Ministry of Health is going to visit them and I have to be there."
"Even though you're working in a different hospital?" He asked knowing Ophelia works in a different hospital but manages to help Emu out of the field.
"Unfortunately." Ophelia laughs nervously and smiles. "At least I'm not on cleaning duty so Emu and the Director have to do it."
————————————————————
Emu is jealous of Ophelia at the moment. Since she works in a different building, Ophelia manages to escape from cleaning duty. 'Lucky her.' He grumbled mentally while helping Haima out to clean the office.
"What's your relationship with Ophelia-chan?" Haima asked out of the blue and Emu stared at him surprised.
"Fee-chan and I are childhood friends." Emu answered his questions. "You could say she acts like a sister to me."
Just when Haima is about to ask more about them. The phone rings and he groans in annoyance. "Ah, mou! Not at such a busy time!" He grumbled and answered it. "Yes? This is the Computer Rescue Center. If it isn't Deputy Director-General Hinata!" His tone changed professionally. "Eh!? You've been infected by a Bugster!?"
"Eh!?" Poppy yelled in shock.
"Kyoutarou-sensei was infected!?" Emu asked worriedly after hearing the news.
————————————————————
Ophelia rushed as fast as she could without relying on her Moon Knight form. She finished her hanging out with Takeru as they needed her immediately. Takeru understands her situation and lets their day out end early.
"You're off duty?" Ophelia stops walking to see Hiiro joining her.
"Yeah, I'm off and your father called me to come immediately." The black-haired woman answered and noticed she was wearing a more casual outfit of white dress than Nurse's outfit.
Hiiro masked his surprised expression to see her different outfit. She's looking more radiant and beautiful as he always leaves nothing but speechless. "I see."
Haima gasps to see Ophelia's outfit despite having his nose bleed from slamming the door. "You're so beautiful, Ophelia-chan!" He quickly shook his head before focusing on the main objective. "I mean, Hiiro and Ophelia-chan. We're counting on you guys once again!" He followed them behind.
Asuna steps in and pushes Haima away from the room. "Okay, okay, okay! Leave it to us!" She exclaimed and kicked him out of the room.
Haima glares at her. "Hey, I'm the director!" He tried to get in and got slammed by the door again. The director cried out and noticed his nose was getting worse. "I have to go to the hospital!" He left to treat his nose.
Hiiro and Ophelia joined on Emu's side. The genius surgeon had the driver on his waist with the Gashat in his hand.
"Rest assured. There's nothing that I cannot cut." Hiiro declared.
"Wait!" Emu stopped him from transforming into Kamen Rider. "The disease hasn't become active yet and we can ask—"
"I refuse to let Ophelia use her powers after what it did to her." Hiiro cuts off Emu's idea to let Ophelia heal Kyoutarou's illness. Ophelia was surprised by Hiiro's overprotective side of his. "I'm going to force the Bugster virus to come out."
"Don't be so reckless!" Emu protests the idea of him doing it alone.
"Get out of my way." He shoves Emu away and Ophelia catches him before he can fall. "And get out, intern." He pressed his Gashat to activate.
"Taddle Quest!" Kyoutarou cried out in pain as the Bugster came out from his body.
All of them are surprised to see different forms of Bugster. "It's different from the usual kind of virus." Emu pointed out weakly and gave Hiiro a pointed look. "I can't leave this to you, Hiiro-san!" He got his driver and Gashat ready.
"I'll join as well." Ophelia voiced out and her whole body glowed to transform into Moon Knight form.
"Henshin!"
"Henshin!"
"Mighty Action X!"
"Gashatto!"
"Let's game!"
"Meccha game"
"Muccha game"
"What's your name?"
"I'm a Kamen Rider."
They gasped once the Bugster formed into a black dragon. Kyoutarou was shocked to see the Bugster in front of him while Emu noticed his behavior. "Sensei, we'll save you right away!" He assured his idol doctor.
"Stage select!" Their avenue changed into a river scene.
"Huh?" Emu looked confused and wondered why the dragon Bugster wasn't with them. "It's gone."
"Don't lower your guard yet." Ophelia warned them. "It might mask its presence so we wouldn't be able to sense it."
The dragon Bugster emerges from the water and circles them around. Emu analyzed the dragon Bugster closely. "This dragon is an enemy that appears in Drago Knight Hunter Z. It's a multiplayer co-op game where up to four players work together to hunt a dragon." He explained it to them.
"Exactly!" They turned around to see Graphite showed up.
"Graphite!" Hiiro yelled angrily.
"I should've known it was you!" Emu exclaimed angrily finding out the real culprit. The one who injects the virus on Kyoutarou."Why are you targeting Kyoutarou-sensei?"
Ophelia is worried that Hiiro will fight Graphite recklessly because he's blinded in rage and revenge for Saki. She's stuck in between the men she cares about. To help Hiiro fight against Graphite together or help Emu defeat the Drago Bugster.
"My objective." Graphite smirked darkly. "... is to create more Bugster comrades... and build a Bugster army." He revealed his plan to them. "Let me demonstrate... my new power!" He revealed the black Gashat of Drago Knight Hunter Z in his hand.
"How did he manage to obtain it!?" Ophelia couldn't help but ask in shock. Kuroto didn't mention someone broke into his company and stole the Gashat's.
"Drago Knight Hunter Z!" Graphite activates it.
"Cultivate." He slammed the Gashat into his body and yelled to begin his transformation.
Everyone is surprised to see his different form. "He's different from before!" Emu pointed out and got worried as none of them had Level 3 Gashat in their hands.
Graphite chuckled darkly as he got them upperhanded. None of them didn't know Ophelia's hidden abilities without showing it to anyone.
"Let's go!" Graphite attacked them.
They all dodge it as Ophelia and Hiiro summon their weapon as they attack in sync against Graphite. A Drago Bugster catches Emu off guard and flies away from them.
"Fee-chan! Help me!" Emu yelled as she was the only person who had flight skills.
"Emu!" Ophelia yelled and summoned her hologram wings to fly and catch him before he could crash. She grunted at his sudden weight and had a difficult time to hold him. "You're armor is hard to grasp!" She lowered him down before attacking the Drago Bugster.
Hiiro pushed Graphite away and glared at him behind the mask. "You may have killed Saki, but I will avenge her!" He vowed and made sure he would never lay a hand on Ophelia.
Hiiro slashed at him with his sword but Graphite grabbed it and pushed him away. "What's wrong? Is that all you got?" Graphite taunted him. "I should target that precious fairy of yours. I could see how much you cared for her."
"Leave Ophelia out of this!" He yelled and was blinded in rage. Hiiro lost Saki and refused to lose someone he cared about again.
"Let's do it!" Emu yelled and helped Ophelia attack the Drago Bugster together.
"You're in my way!" Graphite shoved Hiiro away and observed the Drago Bugster. "Looks like it isn't fully grown yet." He gives the Bugster a silent sign and it slams Ophelia and Emu hard.
Both of them crashed down right next to Hiiro and immediately stood up to see Graphite readying his stance for the final attack. "Extreme Black Dragon Sword!" He unleashed the final attack.
Ophelia immediately stands in front of them and spins her hologram sword.
𝑴𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝑨𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒔
She summoned one of her defense moves as it clashed down together.
It created a huge smoke and Graphite used it as an opportunity to escape with the Drago Bugster. The smoke is beginning to disappear and they notice they escaped.
"Damn it!" Emu swears and kicks the water.
Ophelia lowered her weapon and stared at where Graphite was last seen. She wondered why he wanted to build up his Bugster army and use humans as a tool to take over the world. 'I feel like this is Fińe and Red Noble's problem all over again.' She thought sadly.
————————————————————
All of them have solemn looks on their faces as they fail to defeat the Bugster. Emu punched the wall and looked at Hiiro with a stern look. "Hiiro-san. You have to make sure of the patient's condition first. What will you do if something happens to Kyoutarou-sensei!?" He asked Hiiro.
"Why's an intern trying to lecture me?" Hiiro asked coldly and Ophelia didn't like where this conversation going.
"I will definitely... save Sensei!" He declared loudly.
"Personal feelings again?" He looked away.
"Aren't you the same, Hiiro-san?" He asked back and pushed his shoulder. "Vengeance!? Is that why you broke up with Ophelia in the first place!? You're scared you'll lose her too!?" Hiiro glared at him coldly for asking a sensitive question.
"Emu!" Ophelia raised at his name and gave him a stern look but he ignored it. "That's enough!" She separates them before they throw each other's punch. "Arguing won't solve anything!"
"She's right." They turned around to see Kuroto come in with a small grey briefcase. "You won't be able to defeat Graphite if you don't unite." He opens the briefcase to reveal a gold Gashat.
"Is that a new Gashat?" Emu couldn't help but ask Kuroto.
Kuroto nodded his head. "That's correct. This is the key to beat Graphite." He showed them the Gashat. "It's a level 5 Gashat."
"Level 5?" All of them asked in sync. They're surprised that Kuroto created the new Gashat that fast.
Kuroto sighs softly. "However, this Gashat is incomplete. To complete it, we will need data from Hunter Geema." He explained.
Emu realized something. "The dragon just now!" He exclaimed and remembered the Drago Bugster this morning.
"I want you to defeat Geema... and complete the Gashat." He informed them to fully activate the Gashat by defeating the Drago Bugster.
Hiiro stands up. "Understood." He immediately understands the situation. "I will—"
Emu immediately stops Hiiro from taking the new Gashat from Kuroto. Ophelia looked surprised at his action but remained silent. "Kyoutarou-sensei... is a very special person to me. That's why—"
Hiiro shoves Emu's hand away. "Graphite is my enemy!" He's desperate to defeat Graphite so he can have justice for Saki and mend his relationship with Ophelia.
"I will be the one to save Sensei!" Emu exclaimed and wanted to save Kyoutarou's life.
"Calm down, you two." Asuna scolded them as the two men glared at each other before they looked away.
Ophelia sighs heavily and looks at Kuroto. "Can you tell us more about this new Gashat, Dan-san." She changed the subject before they could argue again.
"Please, call my first name, Ophelia-san." Kuroto preferred to call his first name but Ophelia refused to say it. He sighed and respected her wishes to call his surname for now. "Unlike the others, this game was designed for up to four players. It's very difficult. It's extremely dangerous to play it alone."
"What would be the cause if someone rather play solo without 3 players?" She asked curiously.
Before Kuroto could answer her question, Emu snatched it from his grasp. "It doesn't matter what game it is!" He yelled and Ophelia didn't like where this going. "I will clear it!"
"Emu, don't you dare act recklessly that could put yourself in danger." Ophelia warned him in a stern tone.
"I can do it—"
"It doesn't matter if you do it or not!" She raised her voice in anger and Emu had never seen her lose her patience before. "You heard what he said and you need 3 more players to achieve it! You can't do this to yourself."
"Watch me." Emu left leaving Ophelia in shock.
"Ophelia-san?" Kuroto called her worriedly.
"I— need some air." She informed them and looked at Hiiro. "I need to clear my head. I don't want to lash out because of my temper." Ophelia walked out before anyone could stop her.
————————————————————
Ophelia sniffed and couldn't stop her tears. She cried for being weak and couldn't use her powers to its full potential as she had before. The black-haired woman used to have Alita inside of her body when she was been there for her throughout her whole journey. Alita was gone when she sacrificed her life to resurrect Ophelia in exchange for her life.
"Ophelia?" Someone lent her a tissue and looked up to see Sakura. "You need it more than I do."
"Sakura..." Ophelia smiles in appreciation before accepting it to wipe her tears. "I normally don't cry."
Sakura knows her secret when she sees her transforming into Moon Knight before rushing off to help Emu. It all makes sense to her why Ophelia looks a bit tired and makes a lot of excuses. To see her cry in frustration, breaks Sakura's heart.
"What makes you frustrated for?" Sakura asked her in a gentle tone.
"Emu couldn't understand how I felt when he planned to do something stupid to put his life in danger." Ophelia explained and sniffed. "I'm scared to lose him because he's like my dork brother. He's the first person who wouldn't treat me differently because of my parent's reputation."
"He refused and wanted to do it in his way." Sakura pointed out and Ophelia nodded her head sadly. "Let him do what he wants and experience it."
"Despite he's going to harm himself if he'll do it?" Ophelia asked with a surprised look on her face.
"Yes." Sakura answered bluntly and held her shoulder. "Ophelia, you're way too soft when it comes to them. He wanted to learn the hard way. So be it! Let him experience the harsh consequence if you knew what would happen."
"What if things get out of hand?" She didn't expect Sakura would advise her to be a bit brutal to them if they refused to heed her words. Ophelia can't deny being too soft on him.
"I'm sure you'll be there to knock the sense out of him." Sakura answered with a reassuring smile. "I'd prefer the calm and smile Ophelia than the upset one."
Ophelia smiled and hugged her friend. "Thank you for everything, Sakura."
"You're welcome, Ophelia." She returned the hug. "Always remember that I'm here for you. I'll always listen to you and be there for you, my friend."
Ophelia is grateful to have a great friend like Sakura. She felt bad for letting Luna take over her job in disguise. The black-haired woman didn't want to keep the small android female worried and hoped it would stay that way. The last thing she needed was for Luna would go full war on Emu.
————————————————————
Ophelia found out Emu's location thanks to Luna's abilities. She's surprised to see Taiga is joining them and doesn't have a choice but to help him attack the Drago Bugster.
Taiga is surprised by her sudden appearance. "Get out of my way, Barron!" He growled and tried to attack her.
"I'm here to fight that Bugster, not you!" Ophelia retorted back and dodged the bullet. "Dance, my blades!" She summons her hologram swords and attacks Taiga relentlessly.
Emu snatched Hiiro's ice element sword and created a bridge to freeze the Drago Bugster. He cried out while holding two swords together to combine the attack from his and Hiiro's swords.
"Mighty Taddle Critical finish!" Emu destroyed the Drago Bugster.
"Thank you." He tossed the sword back to Hiiro.
Ophelia landed on the ground safely while gripping her sword tight. She watched Emu absorbing the essence of the Drago Bugster with the new Gashat in his hand.
"I did it." Emu cheered while looking at the Gashat in his hand.
"It's complete but I have a bad feeling about this." Ophelia muttered under her breath while ignoring their surprised look.
"Damn you." Graphite cursed and glared at Emu angrily while Poppy immediately fled the fight. "How dare you do that to my comrade!" He raised his weapon.
"Alright, Graphite! Let's play some one-on-one!" Emu declared and activated the new Gashat.
"Drago Knight Hunter Z!" The small black dragon robot appeared.
"Gacchaan! Gashatto!"
He throws his sword away and spins his right hand. "Dai dai dai dai dai Henshin!"
"Gacchaan! Level up!" The black dragon roared. "Mighty Jump! Mighty Kick! Mighty mighty Action X!" It merged as one. "I gotcha! Do-do Drago Kni-Kni-Kni Knight! Dora, Dora, Drago Knight Hunter Z!"
"Level 5?" Hiiro is surprised at Emu's transformation.
Emu cried out as he started to glitch with his new transformation. He's blowing some flames and attacking everyone blindside. Ophelia creates a force field for herself, Hiiro and Taiga while Graphite takes the hit without giving a chance to be on defense.
"At this rate, he's going to get himself hurt more." Ophelia pointed out and pushed Emu away from them.
"What a berserker!" Taiga exclaimed.
"That's the consequence if you're doing a solo than having 4 players!" She retorted back and summoned another sword in her hand.
"The intern's in over his head." Hiiro commented.
Graphite readied his attack. "Eat this! Extreme Black Dragon Sword!" He throws a final blow towards Emu.
Emu destroyed the ultimate attack and slashed Graphite. Graphite was pushed away by the blow and looked surprised he managed to break his moves. "He beat my ultimate attack!?"
"Gashuun!"
Emu reverts to normal as the river scene disappears. Ophelia couldn't be more disappointed in his actions and he paid the price for it.