In a rural part of the city, people were running and screaming as they were being attacked.

Another Ant Mimic had appeared in the city and was using its super strength, to rip street lamps out of the ground and toss cars through the air. Many people were terrified, but their fears quickly faded when a pair of blurs suddenly shot past them.

The Ant Mimic didn't know what hit it, as the blurs flew past and sent it flying backwards.

The blurs stopped to reveal Kamen Rider Shifter and Morphic, the two leaping off their bikes as the Mimic pushed itself up. But before it could attack, Morphic summoned his Blitz Blaster and fired at the creature. Each shot hit it and broke away part of its armored body, as Shifter ran forward.

"BLADE!"

He slotted his Mimicore into his Shift Striker and as it transformed, Shifter ran past the Mimic and slashed at its stomach. The Ant screamed as a large gash formed on its stomach, whilst Morphic slammed the side of his Driver.

"CLIMACTIC BLITZ!"

His blaster powered up and he quickly fired an energy ball upwards before leaping into the air, spinning around to kick it towards the Ant.

Shifter leapt away, as the energy ball slammed into the Mimic and exploded. The creature roared for a moment before exploding, as Morphic landed. The two Riders waited, as the flames died down and the Ant was gone.

"Alright!" Shifter cheered. "Way too easy."

Morphic nodded. "Guess the Mimics are running out of strong members to send our way." But as he said that, he suddenly sensed something. But when he looked around, the sense disappeared. "Huh?"

"You okay?" Shifter asked, as he moved over to his bike. Morphic stayed quiet for a moment, but then nodded.

"I'm fine. Let's go." He got on his bike and the pair drove off. What the two didn't realise was that whilst they were destroying the Ant Mimic, something had been set into place nearby.

One of the unusual devices, which was now stuck in the ground, beeping as it powered up.

At the Mimic Base, Frill stepped through a portal and sighed.

"Did you manage to do it?" High asked, with Frill nodding. "Excellent." She turned towards the table holding several more rods. "One down...many more to go." She sighed, as she picked one up. "Until they're all in place and activated, we can't risk the Riders discovering them."

"Well we're gonna need a better distraction," Frill stated. "The Riders have gotten so strong, a bog standard Mimic isn't going to be enough to cut it anymore. They destroyed that Mimic in several seconds flat. If we hadn't been at the far end of town, they would have arrived much faster and dealt with it before I could set it up. If we don't find a way to keep them occupied, we'll never get these things set up in time."

"Good point," Greye nodded. "Maybe our best bet is to have the rest of us attack whilst one does the setting up."

"And risk getting destroyed?" High pointed out. "Those Riders are getting too strong."

"Maybe," Frill stated. "Or maybe not." The other two turned to him. "If the Riders don't start the fight using those super forms of theirs, we should be able to handle them. We just need to keep them from switching to them when things get bad." The other two smirked, thinking they could handle that. "For now, we need something that can keep them entertained and off our backs."

"And I think I have just the thing." Everyone looked around to see Maya, the human formed Mimic stepping into the room carrying to jars.

"Are those...Mimics?" High stared at the jars, as Maya placed them down.

"That's right," Maya smirked. "And not just any Mimics. They're my spawns." Their eyes widened, as she placed her fingers to the glass and the spawns moved towards her. "I've been nurturing them since before we started fighting those Riders. And they've finally reached full maturity."

"Excellent," Frill smirked. "If they've spent that long maturing, they must be extra powerful."

"Exactly," Maya then left the room for a few moments. As she did, the three Mimic Generals stared at the creatures inside the jars. When she returned, she was carrying a pair of cages that contained two praying mantes. The two bugs were each a different shade of green Maya chuckling as she placed them down on the table. "All they need is a pair of hosts. And I've already chosen the ones that will be it."

Frill chuckled. "I get it. The Riders will be so busy protecting the hosts from these two, they won't be able to get in our way."

Maya gave them all a serious look. "I'm warning you, though. These are my spawns. I've put a lot of effort into raising them. I won't let them be destroyed so easily. If it looks like the Riders are going to defeat them, I'm pulling them out of the fight."

The pair nodded, as Maya lifted her spawns out of the jars and held them over the cages. Soon, the slimy balls dropped down onto the cages and seeped through them. The bugs inside began to panic and tried to escape, but they couldn't. Soon, the two mantis insects were completely consumed.

"One host down," Maya smiled. "One to go."

The next day.

With no Mimics attacking as of yet, Flash and Shining had chosen to relax whilst they could and had met up to discuss things at Sugarcube Corner.

Flash had gotten them both a drink and as they sat down, he and Shining thought about the fight that had happened the previous day. "Are we just getting stronger?" Flash asked, as he sipped his milkshake. "We took that Ant Mimic down in no time at all. Way quicker than the last time we fought one."

"Maybe," Shining nodded. "But we were fighting it two on one. Last time, it was just me fighting it whilst you were dealing with Gule." Flash nodded, as Shining sipped his coffee. "We shouldn't be complacent. All the Mimics need is for us to get overconfident and sloppy."

"You're right," Flash nodded. "But I can't help it if that fight didn't feel appealing. I know we have an important job, but without a proper challenge it feels like we're just cleaning up trash instead of saving the world."

"Well don't get too comfortable. It's only a matter of time before the Mimics find a way to tip the scales once again. If we're not ready, we might find ourselves in trouble." Flash nodded, as he took another sip of his milkshake. But as he did, the bakery door opened and two individuals stepped in.

One was Twilight and the other was Shining's fiancee, Cadance.

The girls spotted the pair and looked both surprised and happy. "Well this is an odd combination," Twilight smirked as they moved over to sit with them. "What are you two doing here? And together?"

"Oh," Flash and Shining shared a look. "We just...happened to bump into each other here."

"Is that so," Cadance nodded. "Well maybe you know why Shining's been so busy lately." Shining clearly began to panic, since Cadance was referring to his Rider duties without knowing it. "I swear, Shining, you've been so flaky lately."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, whilst Flash just wanted to get out of the conversation as quickly as possible. "Why don't I get you girls a drink?" He got up and moved to the counter, leaving Shining at the mercy of the two most important girls in his life.

"Well?" Cadance asked, "what's going on? One minute you're with me, Twilight or someone, and the next you're suddenly coming up with an excuse to leave."

"It's not like that," Shining told her. "You know how dangerous things have been with the Mimics lately. I need to be ready to jump into action and help when they attack."

"Really?" Twilight frowned, "so why do I never see you around when the Mimics are attacking."

Shining groaned. "There's more to my job than just fighting the Mimics. Especially since none of our police weapons have any effect on those things. I'm making sure people are safely away from the battle zone and if anyone's hurt, I'm supposed to take them to the hospital or to an ambulance." The girls thought about this, Shining hoping they bought it.

Technically, that was what he was supposed to do when the Mimics attacked. He just hadn't done it, since he was too busy fighting the Mimics themselves.

"I guess that makes sense," Cadance nodded. "I just worry that you're gonna get hurt fighting those things."

"Don't worry," Shining assured her. "I'll be fine. I've got a partner that's always got my back. The two of us together can handle anything." As he said that, Flash returned with the girl's drinks.

Seeing that the argument had come to an end, Flash turned to Twilight to try and change the subject. "Hey. I heard about Timber. I'm sorry."

Twilight frowned, "it's fine. I was upset, but I understand why he couldn't be around me. Hopefully, he'll forgive me and maybe we can start things up again. I just need to give him time."

Cadance nodded, as she took a sip of her drink. "Just don't spend the rest of your life waiting for him. I'm worried you'll miss out on being with someone great, just because you were waiting to see if Timber was going to get back together with you."

Twilight frowned. "I doubt I'm gonna meet anyone else that soon."

"You never know," Shining chuckled. "The right guy might be closer than you think." Twilight gave him a curious look, whilst Shining just chuckled and took a sip of his drink. Once Twilight turned away from him, instead talking to Flash about something, Shining and Cadance shared a look before glancing between the two.

They smiled, watching the pair get into such a natural conversation about whatever interested them. The pair just sat there, waiting listening to them speak and laughing at something Flash said.

In another part of the city, Thorax and Pharynx were at their house.

The two were lounging around the living room, doing the school work they had to catch up on due to being away from school because of their mother. But as they sat there, they both felt a little awkward being in their home.

Despite having spent many days in the house alone, knowing that their mother wasn't coming home made the place feel empty. And as Thorax finished his last Math equation, he closed his book and sighed. "This place feels really empty without mom here."

"Mom was barely ever here to begin with," Pharynx pointed out. "How is this any different?" Thorax frowned, not sure how to answer that. He put his book down and headed for the kitchen, wanting to get a drink to hopefully wash away his doubts.

But as he stepped into the room, his Mimic detector suddenly beeped and he was on guard.

Pharynx's detector also beeped, the teen jumping up and running to his brother. And as he did, someone else suddenly stepped into the room. "Hello, boys." Thorax and Pharynx's eyes widened, seeing their mother step into the room. "Aren't you gonna give your mother a hug?"

Pharynx stepped in front of his brother, glaring at her as he did. "You're not our mother."

"Oh? I look like her. Sound like her. I have all her memories and knowledge. How am I not your mother?"

"Our mother is human," Thorax stated. "Not a Mimic who stole her life to try and destroy the world." He sneakily took out his phone and hid it behind his back, trying to call nine-one-one. "What are you doing here?"

"I missed you," Chrysalis replied. "I might not be your real mother, but you're right about me having all of her memories. And a side product of that, means that I end up sharing some of her feelings. And right now, her feelings are ones where she wishes she could be with you both."

Pharynx frowned. "Well if you don't want to feel those feelings any more, let our mother go."

Chrysalis, or Maya, smiled. "I have a better idea." She suddenly took out a pair of jars, with the Mimic Spawns inside. "Why don't I bring you both into the family business." Thorax and Pharynx gasped, as she tipped the jars over and had the spawns fall out.

As soon as they hit the floor, they started to transform. They grew larger and took shape, morphing into almost the exact same creature.

They were both monstrous mantis creatures, with the only difference being the shade of green they were. They stood at around the same height as Maya, if a little shorter, being humanoid in appearance with a slightly hunched over posture. They had a pair of wings on their backs and whilst their arms were humanoid up to the elbow, after that they had a pair of white blades.

The two monsters snarled, as they stared at the brother. The dark green one snarled louder and looked more deadly, whilst the light green one appeared more subdued.

Maya chuckled. "Meet my children. Grown from my own Mimic genes. I figured, who better to make their host then the offspring of my hosts. What do you think?"

Thorax and Pharynx looked terrified, as the Mimics began to advance.

The brothers then ran out the room, back into the living room as the mantes were about to give chase. "Now, now. Let's give them a head start. It's only fair." 'Plus, we need the Riders distract.'

Back at the bakery, Flash and Shining's Mimic Sense had just gone off.

The pair shared a look, as they tried to think of a way to get away from Cadance and Twilight. But the girls were in the midst of a highly interesting conversation, at least to them, so they were clearly not going to want to end it yet.

However, before either could make an excuse, Twilight's phone went off. "Hello?" She answered, only to then look confused. "Thorax. What's wrong?" Her eyes then went wide, "what?" She put the phone on speaker.

"Mimics. It's Maya. She's trying to turn my brother and me into Mimics! We've already called the cops, but they're not really all that useful when it comes to Mimics. HELP!"

Twilight frowned before getting up. "I have to go." Shining tried to stop her, but she ran out of the cafe before he could. Shining, Flash and Cadance chased after her, with Shining turning to Cadance.

"I've gotta go too."

"I know," she nodded. "Just be careful." Shining nodded and after sharing a kiss with her, he ran off. "Flash, maybe you should-" She stopped, when she found Flash had already disappeared. "Well...that's just rude."

Twilight was running through the city, her phone still on speaker whilst she group texted her friends. "Where are you guys heading?"

"We're not heading anywhere. We're just trying to get away from those monsters." Twilight nodded, as she tried to think of somewhere to meet up where people wouldn't be in danger. Then, she had an idea.

"Do you guys think you can get to the abandoned warehouse district?"

"Yeah. That's not too far from us."

"Head there. My friends and I will meet you there. There's plenty of places to hide, so find somewhere and stay hidden. But don't go anywhere you can't escape from if they find you."

"Got it." Thorax hung up and Twilight feared Thorax and his brother would be in serious jeopardy. But hopefully, the Riders would show up and save them. But if not, it would be up to her and her friends.

The brothers ran as fast as they could, heading towards the warehouse district with the Mantis Mimics on their tails.

The two green monsters charged, their wings beating as they flew towards the pair. "Get back!" Pharynx grabbed a nearby trash can and threw it, only for the dark green monster to cut it in half. The two kept running and ducked down an alleyway, one which was rather narrow.

Thanks to the Mantis's bulky bodies, they couldn't follow them down it. "Won't they just fly over the building?" Thorax asked, as they brothers were halfway down the alley.

"I doubt it," Pharynx told him. "Those things don't have any hosts, so they don't have any real intelligence. Hopefully, that means they're dumb enough to fall for any trick we throw at them." The pair kept pushing through the alley until they reached the other side, where they kept running until they were well out of sight from the alley.

Maya chose this moment to catch up with her spawns, who were still trying to push themselves between the buildings.

"Boys!" The two turned to her, as she pointed upwards. The pair looked up and saw that the buildings didn't go upwards forever, so they summoned their wings and flew up and over. Maya partly sighed and partly laughed, as she took out a phone. "Any sign of the Riders yet?"

"No," Frill replied. "But I think those girls are going to arrive before the Riders do." Maya frowned. "Don't worry. I've already made preparations to hold them up. You just keep the Riders busy and get those ponies for your spawns. We could use the extra manpower."

"My thoughts exactly," Maya agreed before using her legs to climb up the building.

Twilight soon met up with most of her friends.

Rainbow and Pinkie had been the first to arrive, followed by Applejack and Rarity. Fluttershy and Sunset were on their way, but they might not arrive for another few minutes. And as the girls ran through the city, they saw the warehouse district not too far away.

"We're almost there!" Applejack cried, as Twilight took out her phone to call Thorax.

But before she could, a bright flash of light suddenly appeared in front of them. And as the girls stepped back, their Mimic Detectors beeped and they all got into a fighting stance. Moments later, a bunch of Mimicreeps leapt out of the portal.

"Not good," Twilight gulped.

"We can take these guys," Rainbow stated.

"But what if Thorax and his brother are in trouble?" Rarity asked, as the Mimicreeps charged whilst letting out a roar. The girls were forced to fight back, unable to continue on until they dealt with these creatures. And that might take a while.

Back with the brothers, they had finally made it to the warehouse district.

They prayed they might find an open building and hide in there, but most of them were locked. "See anywhere we can hide?" Thorax asked, as they looked around but couldn't find anywhere that might keep them hidden. All there was were a bunch of boxes, stacked up into a pile between two warehouses. But that might be the first place the Mimics looked.

However, as they were searching, Pharynx spotted two blurs moving through the air. The blurs were the Mimics, which were heading their way. "Hide!" He pushed Thorax behind the crates and the two hid as best they could, using gaps in said crates to look out and see what was happening.

The Mimics landed and the pair watched them look around, with the dark green one appearing much more enthusiastic about finding them.

The light green one kept its blades close to its chest, as it looked around in an almost timid manner. "What's wrong with that one?" Thorax asked, seeing it move around and even look under a small box the boys had no hope of fitting under.

"Probably too wimpy to really do anything," Pharynx stated. And as he did, the dark green one flew over and slammed the side of its blade into its brethren's head. The light green one moaned in pain, clutching its head as it looked ready to cry. "Yup. Total wimp. Kind of like you." He chuckled, whilst Thorax glared at him.

But the brothers couldn't be distracted for long, as in that moment the dark green mantis headed towards the boxes.

"Run!" Pharynx pulled his brother away, as the mantis sliced its blade through the boxes and destroyed them. The two cried out, as they ran out from between the warehouses. But as they did, something flew down and they were almost hit by it.

Seeing it was webbing, they looked up and saw Maya standing atop one of the buildings. "Where do you think you're going?" She smiled, as her spawns approached. She was about to tell the two to grab them, only for an engine to catch her attention.

She looked around and saw a pair of blurs, racing towards them.

The brothers saw this and realised it could only be one thing. "Kamen Riders!" Shifter and Morphic flew into the scene, skidding to a stop on their bikes around the boys.

"You two okay?" Morphic asked, summoning his Blitz Blaster and pointed it at the Mantes Mimics.

"We're alright," Thorax told him.

"Not for long!" Maya cried, as her spawn charged forward. "Destroy them!" The monsters slashed at the pair and whilst Morphic blocked with his gauntlet, Shifter used his Blade Mode Shift Striker to protect himself.

"Run!" Shifter told the pair, as he pushed the light green mantis back whilst Morphic pointed his weapon at the dark green one. The Mimic leapt up to avoid the blast, as Thorax and Pharynx began to run. The Riders jumped off their bikes and started fighting, Shifter slashing and punching at the light green one whilst Morphic kept firing.

The light green mantis appeared to be having a hard time fighting, whilst the dark green one was barely keeping up.

Maya frowned, leaping off the building as she did so. "Leave my spawns alone!" She fired webbing at them, the two Riders leaping back to avoid this as she landed. But the dark green mantis charged and slashed at Morphic, managing to get him in the parts of his suit that weren't armored.

The Rider flinched, but fought through it and threw a punch into his chest.

The mantis staggered back, as Maya launched more webbing at them. Shifter unleashed a burst of energy from his suit, which burned the webbing and allowed him to stab at the light green one. But at the last moment, the mantis crossed both its blades and the impact sent it flying backwards without any issue.

Deciding that they needed to change things up, Shifter and Morphic took out different Mimicores. But before either of them could activate them, a bolt of purple lightning shot past and slammed into the pair.

Both cried out, as they were thrown backwards and crashed into the ground. They moaned, as their Mimicores fell out of their hands. As they did, the lightning took form and High-Vol-Tech was standing before them. "Surprise."

"What are you doing here?" Maya asked, only for Frill to suddenly fly into view. "I thought you were-"

"Greye is taking care of it," Frill announced. "But with how strong these two have become, he realised the three of you might not be enough to hold them off. So High and I will be helping." The Riders picked themselves up and Frill launched a bunch of feather darts at them, forcing Shifter and Morphic on the defensive.

High then shot forward, moving like lightning as she charged at the Riders.

The two jumped back and grabbed their Mimicores, but the Tiger began to circle around them and make a vortex of lightning around the pair. Morphic tried to blast her and Flash changed his Shift Striker to Pierce form, but they weren't able to make contact.

She then stopped and the Mantis Brothers suddenly flew in, the two slashing at the Riders and knocking them back.

"AUGH!" They both slammed into the ground, sliding along it until they came to a stop in front of one warehouse that didn't have any doors. And this was where Thorax and Pharynx had taken refuge, the pair hiding once again behind some crates and seeing the Riders on the ground.

"They're in trouble," Thorax gulped.

"It's two against five," Pharynx pointed out. "That'd be tough for anyone, even the Riders." Thorax nodded, as he prayed Twilight and her friends would arrive soon.

Speaking of Twilight and her friends, they were finishing off the last of the Mimicreeps.

Sunset and Fluttershy had finally arrived, just as Twilight lifted three Mimics up and threw them through the air. Applejack straight up punched one into splatting, whilst Pinkie blew another up and Rarity propelled Rainbow up so she could kick the creature at high speed.

As they splatted, the girls sighed in relief. They were tired, but knew they couldn't rest. Not until Thorax and Pharynx were safe.

"Come on!" Twilight cried, running into the warehouse district. "Please be okay."

"Are they ever gonna be okay?" Sunset asked. "If Maya's doing this now, what's to stop her from doing it again? Even if we save them, Thorax and Pharynx might have to go into some kind of witness protection." The others frowned, not liking the sound of that.

"We'll talk about that later," Twilight stated. "For now, we need to focus on saving them." They nodded, but feared things were about to get really bad if the Riders hadn't already shown up.

As this was happening, another part of the city suddenly found a portal opening up.

Greye leapt out, in his human form as Fancy Pants. The regal looking individual walked along, making sure nobody had noticed him. He knew someone would show up and their detector would find him. But he would be quick before any issues could occur.

He stepped into an area that was fenced off, the whole place being pretty much a waste ground. A few rocks could be seen along with a bunch of old shopping trolleys and multiple patches of tall grass.

Greye stepped up to the fence and frowned, as he looked at his back when the device was strapped. He thought for a moment, then took it off and threw it over the fence. He then stepped forward and pretty much melted through it, the metal splitting his body apart only for it to reconnect once it was on the other side.

By the time most of him was through, the device fell towards the ground and he caught it in his arms.

He smiled as he completely stepped through the fence, then took something out that looked like a pocket watch. On it was some kind of radar, which he followed as he searched around the waste ground. And after a while, he found what he was looking for.

"Right....here." He looked down and started at the spot, which he quickly drew an X on with his feet.

Once that was done, he raised the device into the air before slamming it down. The spike broke through the ground, as the device began to light up. Once it was firmly in the ground, Greye leapt back and watched the device begin to unleash a burst of energy.

That energy formed a dome around it, which sparked off with several bursts of lightning.

This dome remained in place for several moments before finally dying down, the device flashing as finished booting up. "Perfect," he told himself. "Hopefully, I can get a few more done before the fight comes to an end." A portal opened up and he stepped through. "If all goes well, we'll have two new Mimic warriors and several of these things in place."

Back with the Riders, Shifter jumped forward and fired his Pierce Striker.

The light green mantis flinched, only for Frill to jump in front of him and deflect the shots with his swords. At the same time, High ran forward at lightning speed and reached Shifter before he could fire again. And with a powerful swing kick, knocked the weapon out of Shifter's hand.

"Augh!" Shifter staggered back, as High spun around again and dealt a kick right to his chest. "GYAH!" Shifter was knocked back and thrown against the side of a building, falling to the ground moments later.

At the same time, Morphic was dodging the other mantis' blades. "Wow!" He jumped back, wishing he was in his Rush Form. And as he staggered back, Maya launched a web-line that caught him by the ankle before she pulled on it. "Ahhh!" He hit the ground, as High suddenly ran around and grabbed the line.

Moving at high speed, she raced around in a circle and pulled Morphic along before releasing him.

The Rider was sent flying and crashed into the side of a building, yelling as he fell down besides Shifter. "Ow." He groaned, as Shifter began to pick himself up.

"Remember when I said that last fight was too easy?" Morphic nodded. "I don't care anymore. I think I prefer easy fights." Morphic agreed, as he pushed himself up. The pair knew they weren't going to win with their current power level. They needed to use a stronger form. "Hyper Strike time!" Shifter took out the Mimicore, whilst Morphic took out his Tri-Horn Core.

But before either of them could use them, High unleashed a blast of energy from her claws that flew towards them.

The pair leapt to the side, but this distracted them enough for Maya to launch webbing at them and hit their Mimicores. The impact knocked them out of their hands, causing them to become glued to the ground or a wall. "Hey!" Frill then launched several feathers at the pair, slamming into them and cutting up their armor.

Both Riders cried out, as High charged up a bunch of energy. And before the Riders could respond, she launched it right at them.

The Rainbooms chose this moment to arrive, the girls appearing behind the Riders just as the blast slammed into them. The pair both screamed, as they were blown into the air and sent flying. "NO!" Twilight cried, seeing the two crash into the ground.

The Mimics smiled, only to then notice the Riders' armors were beginning to glow. And as the Rainbooms approached, the suits exploded off the pair in a burst of light.

The Rainbooms all stopped, as they realised they were seeing the Riders in their civilian forms. And it didn't take them long to recognise who they were, which shocked them all a great deal. "Flash?" Sunset asked, seeing the blue haired teen laying on the ground.

"Shining?" Twilight whispered, shocked at the sight of her brother on the ground. "What...how?" Flash and Shining turned to them, then looked at each other in shock.

Frill laughed. "Oh, has your little secret gotten out? How bad for you." The injured Riders glared at him, whilst the Mimics prepared to attack again.

Inside the warehouse, Thorax and Pharynx saw the two and were just as shocked. Thorax remembered the moment back at the aquarium, when Flash had disappeared. Not long after that, Shifter had arrived to save the day. "How could I be so blind?" He was so focused on the Rider's identities, that he completely forgot about keeping himself hidden.

As such, the dark green mantis happened to spot him and quickly leapt into action.

This sudden move caught everyone's attention, making them look inside the warehouse as the Mimic sliced the boxes the brothers were hiding behind to pieces. Thorax froze up, seeing the monster right in front of him.

Everyone gasped, as the creature raised its blade. But before it could attack, Thorax found himself getting pushed away. "NO!" Pharynx's voice yelled, as he was suddenly struck by the Mantis's blade.

But instead of cutting him in half, the blade turned gooey and slammed into the teen's shoulder. The next thing Pharynx knew, the slime began to spread before he could pull away. Within seconds, half his body was consumed by the slime.

"PHARYNX!" Thorax cried, as his brother glanced over at him. A smile then appeared on his lips, as he closed his eyes and was completely encased in the amber. And as soon as he was, it hardened into a cocoon whilst the Mimic pulled his arm away.

Everyone watched in horror, as Thorax rushed to the cocoon and slammed his fist into it. He cried out his brother's name, as he tried to break him free. But he had no luck.

As this was happening, the Mimic's body began to bubble and turn to liquid. It slowly began to reshape itself, shrinking down to become a more humanoid form. And once that happened, his body solidified and revealed a perfect clone of Pharynx.

Maya saw this and smiled before moving towards her spawn, as the Mimic opened his eyes. He then looked down at Thorax, who stared at him in shock. "Pharynx."

"No," he said in his brother's voice. "My name is Byon. Byon-Vala-Uru." He suddenly reached out and grabbed Thorax, who tried to get away but couldn't move fast enough. And as Maya approached, Byon threw Thorax towards the other Mantis Mimic.

Thorax grunted, as he hit the ground and the monster's feet.

The others saw this and were horrified, but the other Mimics kept them from running to Thorax's aid. "Come on," Byon stated. "Do it!" The Mimic stared at Thorax, then over to Maya and Byon.

"What are you waiting for?" Maya asked, "do it!" Thorax stared at the creature and saw that it almost looked scared. As if it really didn't want to do anything to hurt Thorax. It even tried to hide its face behind its blade.

"Come on, you wimp!" Byon cried, "Cocoon him!" He suddenly took his monster form again and looked ready to attack, terrifying his spawn mate. And the creature was so scared, it lowered its arms before turning to Thorax.

As the teen sat there, he and the Mimic stared at one another before the monster raised its blade. And as it did, Thorax swore he heard it speak. "I'm sorry." With that, the blade came sailing down and turned into a slimy whip. That whip slammed into Thorax's body and the teen screamed out.

"THORAX!" His friends all yelled, as the amber began to spread around him. Thorax tried to fight it, but it was too strong. And eventually, he gave in and allowed the slime to surround him. "NOOOOO!" Flash cried, seeing the teen join his mother and brother in the suspended state.

The Mimic pulled his arm away and as he did, his body began to melt and reshape itself. And soon enough, it transformed into a perfect image of Thorax. The Mimic looked a little upset, as he studied his new form. And as he did, Maya laughed.

"Well done." She placed a hand on his shoulder and looked the new Mimic in the eye. "Now, what is your name?"

The Mimic looked at his hands again, as he spoke his name. "Torin." He looked her in the eye, "Torin-Vala-Uru." Maya nodded, as she turned towards the Riders and Rainbooms.

"Well, my boys. It's time you got your hands dirty." She pointed at them. "Destroy the Kamen Riders!"

Byon laughed, "with pleasure." He marched forward and Torin followed, transforming into his monster form. As they did, Flash and Shining took out their Mimicores.

"Ready?" Shining asked, only to flinch in pain. Flash did the same, as the girls helped them stay standing.

"You're too injured," Twilight told them. The Riders frowned, as the Mimics got closer. But before they approached, Torin suddenly stopped and clutched his head.

"Augh!" He staggered back, catching everyone's attention as he suddenly reverted back to his human form. The Thorax clone groaned, as he became dizzy and seemed to be having trouble.

"Torin?" Maya asked, "what's wrong?" Torin's cries grew louder, his body shifting between human and monster forms.

"What's wrong with him?" Rainbow asked, everyone turning to the Riders.

"No idea," Shining replied. "I've never seen a Mimic do this before." Flash nodded, as they kept watching Torin cry out and change back and forth. And eventually, he stopped and suddenly stood up straight. He blinked for a moment, as he groaned,

"Oh, my head. What happened?" He looked around, "wasn't that Mimic about to..." He stopped when he saw the cocoon holding Thorax. "What?"

"Torin?" Maya asked him, "are you okay?"

He looked confused. "Who's Torin?" Now everyone else was confused.

"You're Torin," Byon told him. "What's wrong with you?"

"I'm not Torin." He looked himself over, "I'm Thorax." That statement shocked everyone. "What happened to me? Why am I looking at myself...cocooned?" He clutched his head, "and why do I have a splitting headache?" He seemed to blink for a moment, as he staggered around and clutched his head. "Augh!" His arm and leg morphed back into his monster form, but changed back to human again whilst half his head changed to the monster's head.

"Something's wrong," Frill stated. "Could it be..."

"What's happening to him?" Byon yelled, turning to his mother.

"I..." Maya didn't seem to know. "I'm not sure."

Frill stepped forward. "I think...I think his host is fighting back. Somehow, the real Thorax is gaining control of the body."

"That can happen?" High asked.

"I've heard some Mimics have had that issue before," Frill stated. "But every time this has happened, the Mimics always come out on top. The human psyche can't overpower the Mimic's mind, no matter how strong their will is." The Mimics smiled, whilst the humans looked worried. However, something was about to happen that would change everything.

It was at that moment, a brilliant flash of light filled the building and blinded everyone.

They hissed, as the light grew brighter. Then, from out of the light, an energy field began to form a dome that suddenly encompassed Torin along with the light. "What's happening?" Twilight cried, as the light dimmed enough for them to finally see.

Then they opened their eyes, they were shocked to see the white cloaked figure step out of the portal.

"Corvyn?" Shining asked, as the figure walked towards Thorax. The Mimic stared at him, as the figure stopped a few feet away.

"Do you wish to save your brother?" He asked, confusing Torin who tilted his head. "I can give you the power to save your brother and retain your freedom."

"How?" He asked, only to clutch his head again and scream. Everyone watched, as his body changed to his monster form before reverting back to human. But as it does, everyone could see the strain on his face. "Can't...hold on."

"I have to be fast." Corvyn suddenly removed something from his cloak. A Mimicore.

As he held it up, the Mimicore activated and unleashed a white beam of light. That beam struck Torin and made him go still, as the light suddenly began to swirl around him before turning a greenish colour. The light then retracted back, swirling around like a tornado that seemed to be sucking something out of Torin.

The Mimic groaned, as he retook his monster form. But as the light sucked the green energy off of him, his monster form suddenly exploded into a million green lights that were sucked off Torin and revealed his human form again.

The light was all sucked into the Mimicore and when the last spec was revealed, the Mimicore transformed with the lights turning green and showing images of a mantis in several poses. Along the side, five letters could be seen which made up a word. S, L, A, S, H.

Torin staggered around, as he looked himself over and felt his head. "What did you do?"

"I'm giving you control, Thorax." Corvyn then took something else out of his cloak before throwing it at the Mimic, a light flying towards him and slamming into his stomach. Torin, or Thorax, flinched as the light took shape and formed a familiar belt around him.

"A Mimic Driver," Flash gasped at the sight of it. His brain was flowing with a hundred questions at once.

The Driver activated and Thorax clutched his head again, as a great pressure was being forced on his brain. This coupled with the headache, was making his current existence unbearable. But eventually, the pressure began to fade and the headache dulled before completely vanishing.

Thorax opened his eyes and looked himself over, feeling completely fine now. No longer did he feel like he was about to black out. "What happened?"

"I was able to free you from the Mimic's hold," Corvyn stated. "And in doing so, gave you the power to save not just your brother, but everyone the Mimics intend to hurt." Thorax looked at him in shock, as the cloaked figure handed him the Mimicore.

Thorax took it and as soon as he did, it was like a jolt went off inside his head. One that made him instantly realise what he had to do.

As the barrier began to disappear, Thorax turned towards Byon and the other Mimics. "Torin!" His brother roared, "what are you doing?"

"I'm not your brother," Thorax stated. "And you will free my real brother, or I'll free him myself." He glanced at Pharynx, still trapped within the cocoon, then glared at Byon before holding up the Mimicore and activating it.

"SLASH!"

Everyone watched, as Thorax opened the side of his Driver before slotting the Mimicore into the draw. He then struck a pose, as Corvyn took a few steps away from him. "HENSHIN!" With that, he slammed the draw closed and the lights on his belt turned green.

"MIMIC! MANTIS!" Thorax crossed his arms, as the pipes on his Driver spewed out the orange brown slime. And like it did with Flash and Shining, the slime rained down on the teen and completely surrounded him before hardening into a cocoon.

Everyone watched, as the cocoon remained like this for several moments before beginning to crack and break apart. And eventually, the whole thing shattered off him and Thorax was revealed to now be in his own Rider suit.

The suit was bright green, with white lines running around his body. The amber flew down and melted into his body to form the armour, changing to a transparent dark green colour whilst the lines turned purple. The arm and leg armor had short blades sticking off of them, looking like shark fins, whilst his chest was designed like the head of a mantis. The same could be said for his helmet, the armour appearing around it and forming a mask like that of a mantis with long antennas whilst his eyes turned purple.

Transformation complete, the lights on the side of his belt turned green before it spoke up. "Bladed arms that slice through anything, cutting down the evils of the world!"

Everyone was in absolute shock at what they were seeing. A few minutes ago, Thorax had just been another victim of the Mimics. But now, he had become something so much more. Something Flash and Shining now realised was the same for them. He had become a Kamen Rider.

Author's Note

Well...that was certainly a thing. The Mimics begin their plan, the girls discover the truth behind the Riders and an all new Rider has appeared.

How many of you figured out who the new Rider would be? I know a few of you realised it, but I hope I was able to keep some of you guessing between Thorax and Pharynx. And in the end, it had to be Thorax. Hope you like his design.