[Androzani84]

Chapter 12 is here.

Hibiki decided to visit a French style patisserie. She felt that with everyone on edge with Voldos stepping up their attacks, she should try and do something to cheer them up. “Hello?”, she asked, ringing the bell on the counter for service.

“Welcome to the Mabayuki Patisserie.”, a young woman, red-haired with her hair in twin ponytails, exited the back room. “What would you like to…?” The woman suddenly stopped when she noticed who her latest potential customer was. “Komaki Hibiki-chan? From year two of middle school? It’s me, Usaka Fuuka.”

Hibiki was momentarily shocked, before having a moment of recognition. “Ah, Usaka-chan. It’s been a while since we met up with each other.”

“Yeah, the reunion last year.”, Fuuka nodded. “Now then, what can I do for an old friend?”

“I was looking to order a cake for some friends of mine.”, Hibiki said in response. She then remembered something from their school days. “Did you ever get over your eating problems? Back in school, it seemed like you couldn’t stop eating unless Sensei made you.”

“Oh, I’ve got that under control.”, Fuuka claimed. “It’s barely a problem anymore.” But as she wrote down the order being placed, she rubbed some frosting off a cupcake, licking it. “Just leave us your address. My boss’s forward you the bill later.”

“Okay.”, Hibiki wrote down her address, before leaving the patisserie.

In the city, Megaro was standing there with a new Bukikai. This one was adorned with a belt of red-coloured grenades, with black pins. It also possessed a brown armour and a bulkier body, though the head was identical to that of Gatleander. “You have your mission, ArtilleRosary.”, he stated. “Get down to business.” The robot nodded, taking one of the “grenades” from its bandolier and throwing it through the air. It landed near a green grocers, releasing a gas that entered the food. “Now, I just have to sit back and wait.”

“Megaro-chan.” Megaro turned around to see Gelashi approaching him. “Did you think that I wouldn’t notice you leaving on an unauthorised mission? What are you up to?”

“I suppose I should tell you.”, Megaro sighed. “Humans are dependent on foodstuffs in order to maintain their energy levels and continue to function. My latest Bukikai is designed to exploit that by adding an element to their food that makes them inedible. Unable to eat, the humans will starve to death within days.” He then pushed his ally away. “Now, will you get out of the way? I’m working here.”

“You do that.”, Gelashi nodded, a plan devising in her head. “Meanwhile, I think I can use your plan as a launchpad for my own. Some people want to constantly eat, even if there isn’t a Bukikai-induced famine spreading. Their greed will be amplified by this.” She walked off, relishing the prospect of getting another negative emotional energy.

The next day, Kamijo was sat in the mansion, observing the newspaper. “That’s odd.”, he noted. “All the food people buy seems to be inedible.”

“That surely isn’t normal.”, the elderly caretaker Rin commented. “Someone must be behind it.”

“Yes.”, Kamijo realised. He darted from the room, taking out his JuuKeitai and calling everyone he could. “Has anyone else caught on that…?”

“All the food is turning to rubber?”, came Wataru’s voice. “It’s pretty noticeable.”

“Big Bro and I haven’t been able to get so much as a crumb eaten today.”, was Mio’s response.

Hibiki was the last to reply. “And I was going to order us a cake. We’ll have to resolve this quickly so I don’t lose my money for nothing.”

“Okay.”, Takuto’s voice came over the phone. “Let’s meet up to try and find what Voldos are up to this time.”

At the top of the largest skyscraper in Shinjuku, ArtilleRosary laughed at the people below, scrabbling for food and resorting to beating each other up. “So, you’re the cause of all this.” The Bukikai turned around to see Tanjo Takumi standing behind him. “You’ve inserted something into the food supply, something that makes it so people are unable to eat anything. Well I’m here to stop you.” The robot’s eyes glowed red as it threw another of its ‘grenades’ at its enemy, narrowly missing as it exploded. “Kijuu Change!”

Denchaku! Doubutsu no Kiba!

Now transformed, QidenTora locked his Juu Sai with a sword that the robot deployed, with the two proceeding to slash at each other. Tora then delivered a kick to ArtilleRosary’s chest, knocking the bottom half of the robot back. “Kay, time to finish this.” He then took out his Go-Onger Soul Chip and inserted it into his Juu Sai.

Go-Onger! Charge Up!

“Mach Jugekiha!” QidenTora advanced in a manner similar to Go-On Red’s Saber Straight attack, only for ArtilleRosary to leap out of the way and only suffer some mild damage to one of his arms. “He got away. But I’ll get him next time.”

At the patisserie Hibiki visited earlier, Fuuka was clawing at most of the food, much to the concern of her manager, Madame Cuirbien. Said boss wasn’t actually French, but she adopted the mannerisms in order to increase her business. “Madamoiselle, we do not try to eat our own products if we wish to sell them.”

“I need to eat.”, Fuuka said, almost ravenous from hunger. “If I can’t get something in my stomach soon, I think I’m going to faint.”

“So, you want to eat something?” It was at that point a smell filled the air. Fuuka looked over to see a woman in the apparel of an ice cream seller, holding a bowl of what looked like strawberry ice cream. “How about I give you some of my product, on the house?”

“Eh?”, was Madame Cuirbien’s reaction. “Who are you? How did you enter my bakery when we are closed?”

The woman ignored her, instead continuing to hold the bowl in front of Fuuka. “Well, what do you say? Don’t worry, it’s perfectly edible.”

Fuuka grabbed the bowl and began wolfing down the ice cream, not bothering to use the spoon. “Oh my god, this is pretty good.”, she said as she continued to eat. After eating practically the whole bowl, Usaka Fuuka dropped the bowl, convulsing in pain as her hands and face began to cover themselves in fur. Her mouth began to grow a buck tooth as her two ponytails pointed upwards and transformed into rabbit-like ears resembling baguettes. With that, the magic trick was complete. Usaka Fuuka was gone, replaced with a humanoid rabbit woman, wearing the same clothes, bearing some resemblance to a shortcake, with one thing on her mind. “Hungry.”, the creature growled.

“Don’t worry, my Gluten Rabbit-chan.”, Gelashi, now transforming back into her true form, put her hand on the monster’ shoulder. “You’ll be able to eat to your heart’s content and beyond.”

Madame Cuirbien backed away in fear as Gluten Rabbit began grabbing the food off the shelves and stuffing it into her mouth. “Non, don’t hurt me.”, she begged. “I’m your boss.”

Gluten Rabbit turned to her former employer with hunger on her face. She grabbed the larger woman and stuffed her into her mouth in one motion, swallowing her whole. “Hungry!” Her chef’s apron began to split open, exposing a chest resembling a muffin with frosting.

“The more you eat, the stronger you become.”, Gelashi stated. “Now, I’ve got a 5 course meal waiting for you.”

In an alleyway, Megaro was working on repairs to ArtilleRosary. “Hold still.”, he snapped. “I can’t fix you if you fight me.”

“Hold it right there.” Megaro and his Bukikai turned around to see the 5 main Qidengers approaching them. “So you’re the one poisoning the city’s food supply.”, Takuto stated. “Well, that ends here.”

Megaro fumed at this. “I didn’t think you’d show up so quickly to defeat me, Qidengers.” He raised his arms, summoning a group of Vordorons. “Get them.”

“Kijuu Henge!” The 5 knocked the Vordorons away as they initiated their own transformations.

Shishi! Kame! Falcon! Kajiki! Jaguar! Doubutsu Gashin!

The 5 newly-transformed Qidengers used their weapons to knock down some Vordorons, along with some punching and kicking moves. “Now then, let’s take down this Bukikai.”, QidenRed stated.

“Hungry!” The fighting stopped as the Gluten Rabbit leapt down from a skyscraper, running towards ArtilleRosary. It grabbed the Bukikai and began chomping on its chest, causing it to let out an electronic howl of pain. Eventually, the robot fell prone, the life fading from its eyes as Gluten Rabbit continued to eat its body.

“Ugh, that’s disgusting.”, QidenBlue said, covering her eyes.

“It must be a new Kanjin.”, QidenBlack stated. “No Vorjuu would do this kind of thing.”

“That means some poor person gave into negative emotions.”, QidenPink said sadly. She then drew her Kijuu Magnum. “We’ll just have to save them.”

From the side, Megaro observed the situation. “That damn Gelashi. She used my plan to help her own ambitions. I’ll get even with her later.” He then teleported out.

“Hungry!”, Gluten Rabbit yelled once more as it bounced up and down, creating a shockwave that sent most of the Qidengers spinning backward. However, QidenPink and QidenYellow were able to keep standing, aiming their firearms at her and inserting their specific Soul Chips.

Qiden Charge! Buster! Kyu!

“Qiden Deletion Shot!”

“Qiden All-Star Break!”

The two attacks hit Gluten Rabbit directly, surrounding her with flames. Flames which cleared to reveal Usaka Fuuka, who was somewhat exhausted. “What happened?”, she asked. “Where am I?”

“Usaka-chan?”, Pink said in shock as she reverted back to Hibiki. “You’re the Kanjin?” She then had a realisation. “Your eating problem. You didn’t get over it, did you?”

“I am trying.”, Fuuka pleaded. “It’s just that with the food becoming inedible, I really needed to eat. I couldn’t help myself.” She then keeled over in pain, transforming back into the Gluten Rabbit. “Hungry!”

“Hibiki, get back!”, Black pushed Hibiki out of the way, before he was grabbed and devoured.

Blue then leapt into the fray, hitting the Kanjin with her Kijuu Caliber several times. But the monster simply took every hit, laughing. “What? It’s like it’s shrugging off my attacks.”, she exclaimed.

“Of course it is.”, Gelashi stated, as she warped into the area. “Gluten Rabbit becomes much harder to defeat the more it consumes. It also increases in size to the point that it will eventually grow on its own. And then, any people it has consumed will become new Gluten Rabbits, who will join their mother in consuming the Earth.”

“Hungry!” Gluten Rabbit then grabbed QidenBlue, stuffing her into her mouth and growing even fatter and taller.

“We need to withdraw.”, QidenRed stated. QidenYellow then threw down a smoke bomb he had created, allowing the three to make an exit undetected.

“Leave them.”, Gelashi said to her creation. “For now, gorge yourself on other entrees at the local supermarket.”

At the Voldos Fortress, Megaro stumbled into his private lab. “Curse that Gelashi.”, he fumed. “The first chance I get, I’ll get my revenge.” He then saw a portal appear before him, from which the figure of Oomikaoo flew out, crashing unconscious into the wall. “Oomikaoo! What’re you doing here?”

“I sent him there.” Oomikaoo turned to see that beyond the portal was a figure, surrounded by black fog. “He has been damaged by his previous battle with the Qidengers. I have been able to fix his mind, but his body will need to be passed on to someone else for repairs. Can I entrust you with this task?”

“Yessir.”, Megaro nodded as the vision vanished. “Now then, Omikaoo. What can I do to upgrade you into a stronger warrior?”

Down on Earth, the three remaining Qidengers reviewed footage of Gluten Rabbit tearing her way through a supermarket, devouring the customers as much as she did the produce. “It’s no good.”, Takuto fumed, knocking some papers off the table. “There’s no indication of anything we can do to slow her down.”

“Not even eating everything in that supermarket could slow her down.”, Hibiki lamented.

It was then that Wataru had a realisation. “Wait a minute.” He then rewound the footage and stopped at a certain point, zooming in on a certain detail. “The Kanjin left the flowers untouched. Hibiki-san, did Usaka-san have any allergies to flowers?”

“She did have something of an abnormal reaction to pollen.”, Hibiki remembered. She then had a realisation. “A reaction that’s carried over to the Kanjin. We just need to trick her into eating some pollen from those flowers.”

“I’ll go and get a sample.”, Wataru said, leaving the room. As he did, an alarm sounded, followed by Takuto’s JuuKeitai ringing.

It was the old man. “I’m out of town for a few days and you end up having to deal with a crisis. Turn on the tv.”

Takuto complied, showing a news report of a giant Gluten Rabbit rampaging through the city. “Reports are coming in of another monster rampaging through the city. Only this one also seems to be devouring everything in sight instead of destroying it. All attempts to take down the creature have so far failed.”

“I guess we’ll have to move out.”, Takuto stated as he and Hibiki ran out of the room.

Inside the Gluten Rabbit, Mio and Kamijo came to, seeing themselves surrounded by various bits of food and other miscellany. “So this must be the inside of that Kanjin. A lot of space for food, but no way to reasonably digest it all.”, the latter commented. “Pretty fitting, really.”

“We’d better try and get out of here.”, Mio said, as she began to notice several other people in the stomach. “If we don’t, we and all these people will be turned into more copies of the Gluten Rabbit.”

“You mean we’re all going to become like that thing that ate us?”, a panicking Madame Cuirbien yelled. “You’ve got to get us out of here.”

“We’re trying.”, Kamijo assured her. “But is pretty difficult to do anything until we can assess the situation.”

“Hungry!” The now giant and enormously fat Gluten Rabbit leapt through the streets grabbing onto buildings and taking bites out of them.

“Hey.”, Kijuu Lion landed next to the giant Kanjin, joined by Kijuu Falcon. “I know some of these buildings are ugly, but you need a permit to destroy them.”

“Hungry!” The Kanjin stumbled forward, beginning a fistfight with the robot. Kijuu Lion tried kicking Gluten Rabbit, but it’s sheer weight absorbed the hit, before it delivered a punch that sent that energy back to Kijuu Lion. Kijuu Falcon tried shooting at the target, to similar results.

“She’s tough.”, QidenPink commented as the monster continued to smash and eat the scenery. “The two of us could barely scratch her.”

“How about three of us?” Kijuu Tiger then appeared and began grappling with Gluten Tiger, pushing it back several feet and demolishing several skyscrapers. “Where’s the rest of the Qidengers?”, QidenTora’s voice echoed. “I thought they’d be helping you with this.”

“Two of them are in that thing’s stomach.”, QidenRed radioed back. “And Yellow is currently busy.”

From the ground, QidenTora was confused by this. “What could he be busy with?”

“Working on something to stop that thing.” Wataru came running towards QidenTora, carrying something in hand. “This is similar to the formula that ArtilleRosary fired, except that it will only affect that Kanjin’s ability to digest anything it tries to eat. It’s made up of elements that it doesn’t like. .”

“So if we douse the entire area with it, then the thing won’t want to eat anything. It’s negative energy will be released.”, QidenTora realised. He then signalled for Kijuu Tiger to place its weapon on the ground, while Kijuu Lion handled the fight, trying to keep its sword out of the Gluten Rabbit’s mouth. “Throw it in there.”

“Okay.” Wataru pitched the ball he was carrying into the cannon wielded by Kijuu Tiger, which then resumed the fight. “Fire it, now.”

“Okay.”, QidenTora pressed button 4 on his controller and aimed. “Stri-Buster!”

Tiger Stardust!

The robot fired its weapon, causing a red dust to enter the air. Gluten Rabbit got a hold of her enemy’s sword, and took a bite. “Hungry!” But upon taking a bite, she then spat the sword out, disgusted. Gluten Rabbit then tried taking a bite out of a nearby building, only to meet the same result. “What’s the matter, Usaka-kun?”, QidenPink asked. “Are you sure you don’t want to eat that?”

“No!”, Gluten Rabbit declared. “I don’t want to eat… anymore.” She then violently vomited out everything she had swallowed, including the people as the Kanjin returned to her original size. Gluten Rabbit then transformed back into Fuuka, as the negative energy left her body. She then noticed her boss among the people recovering. “I’m sorry.”, she pleaded. “Don’t fire me for this.”

“Relax.”, Madame Cuirbien assured her. “I’m not going to fire you for something you couldn’t control. Though if you ever feel like you’re too hungry to work, I think I can overlook some rule breaking.”

“Don’t worry.”, was Fuuka’s response. “I’m not going to be doing that anymore. But speaking of overlooking…”

At the Voldos Fortress, Gelashi walked in with another orb. “I didn’t destroy the Earth with my new Oanjin, but I was able to get the energy of pure greed for my collection.”, she noted.

“I don’t care about your petty collections.”, Moboroshina yelled. “The point is that both you, and Megaro, failed to destroy the humans with your simultaneous plans. And with Oomikaoo having gone MIA, I have very few reliable warriors to serve me.

“What’s that about Oomikaoo going missing?”, Megaro asked, entering the room with a second figure. It was Oomikaoo, now with his left arm, right leg and part of his face replaced with mechanical parts. “I found him injured following his last battle with the Qidengers. That Soul Chip he intended to create caused massive damage to him. So I repaired him as a stronger warrior.”

The now cybernetic Oomikaoo knelt down on one knee, presenting his arm in front of him and lowering his head. When he spoke, his voice was now synthesised. “I live to serve the glory of Voldos.”, he stated in a totally monotone delivery.

As Moboroshina was shocked at this new development, Calam looked on from the side, plotting his own scheme. “Let the fools fester in their own failure. I on the other hand, I’m going to take on a new power that will bring the Earth and those Qidengers, to their knees.”

Sometime later, Hibiki received a visitor to her apartment. “Usaka-chan. What are you doing here?”

“I thought I’d come in person to give you something, Komaki-chan.”, Fuuka presented Hibiki with a box, which contained the cake she had ordered from the Patisserie the other day. “It’s my way of making it up for everything that happened before.”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that.”, Hibiki assured her friend. “Now then, about the payment for this cake…”

“Don’t worry about that.”, Fuuka shook her head. “We both know that you’re one of the Qidengers who helped save the two of us. So we’re going to give you this cake on the house. Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone your secret.”

“That’s a relief.”, Hibiki smiled.

Tired of constantly losing to the Qidengers, Calam enlists the aid of Megaro and Dimayta to bolster his strength. The power of Soul Chips from the Qidengers’ predecessors gives him the strength to overpower all of them. And then, something strange happens. Join us for “Calam’s Dramatic Battle! The Birh of a New Enemy!”