Hey everyone. It's been a bit too long since I did anything for this, so I'm going to get back into it, starting with a rewrite. Things are too ... short in this fic as they are now, so let's make it lengthy, huh? ^_^ Going to bump the time-line ahead a bit to make room for more recent Riders, as well. _
Monsters have been with us from the beginning. From the Mummy to Frankenstein to Count Dracula, monsters have been a method of keeping human kind scared stiff out of terror and excitement. However, only a few select humans have had the opportunity to see some of the more terrifying monsters up close and personal.
Just ask Souji Tendou and Kagami Arata, Zector Warriors who fought and beat a race of alien called the Worm. Or, ask Shinji Kidou, the journalist who became a warrior in a mirror world to save human kind. Sit down with Kazuma Kenzaki, the man who eventually became what he was fighting: a race of monsters called the Undead, who had to be sealed in special playing cards to be stopped. Sit a spell with Ryotarou Nogami and Sakurai Yuuto, warriors who fought to keep the world and the time stream safe from monsters called Imagin, who granted wishes to weak-hearted humans in order to fly into the past and try to destroy our world. ask Wataru Kurenai, Keisuke Nago, and their friends about the vampire-like Stained-glass monsters called Fangire that prey on human life force, who were lead by none other than Wataru's own half-brother, Taiga Nobori. Ask Taiga even, he can tell you plenty.
Or, for more RECENT data, ask wandering helper-of-many Eiji Hino and "Super Youth" high-school student Gentaro Kisaragi and his friends in the "Kamen Rider Club" about the Greeeds and Zodiarts, respectively. All of these men have become what have been deemed Kamen Riders. These men have protected, or tried to exterminate, the human race, for as long as their loved ones have been in danger, or simply saw humanity as something that needed removal until being shown otherwise.
Since the 1990s, human kind has been subjected to torture after torture after unimaginable torture, but, that all ended with the bridging of the gap between Fangire and Humankind in 2008, as Wataru and Taiga put aside their differences and powers to live as family. This era of peace has lasted over a decade, but now, problems have arisen.
Our story begins at 8:00 AM, on January 15th of the year 2025. Peace has been brought to a very highly-advanced Japan, now the most technologically advanced country in the world, more powerful even than the United States of America. With the creation of the HOVERMOTOR, cars no longer need gas, and will run no matter what. You only need a fingerprint test to enter the vehicle. However, people are noticing something strange: people they've known for years are beginning to change. People who were once happy, kind, caring, and passive are becoming angry, rage-fueled, underclass and violent, attacking those who knew them the best. The scientific community is unable to explain this phenomenon, but it is spreading. One man has seen it the worst of anyone, and has continued to see it since he was young. Now, his story, a story of love, heartbreak, hate, rage, revenge, and transformation, as well as our story, of a young man whose very life has been nearly removed from existence one time too many, shall begin.
Meet Teckio Namida, formerly Nogias Frazar of the massive Electronics syndicate Frazar Inc. His life as a child was happy; he had family, friends, and lots more. But, one morning, playing in a field of strange flowers, his life would change forever. Due to a virus, he almost died, but was spared by spirits on high. A few years later, his best friend, Tomias, turned on him in desperation, after the rape and murder Tomias's girlfriend, Yuki. In his desperation, he trashed Teck's family residence, only to be met by Teck's family, who he immediately killed. As he arrived home to an almost literal ocean of blood, Teck went to his room, where Tomias began doing to Teck's young sister, Kari, what had been done to Yuki. Demanding what he wanted, Tomias attacked, only to be repelled by a now furious Teck. Once alone, Teck spent the rest of the day cleaning the house and burying his family. Years later, Teck met the girl of his dreams, Mei, who brought happiness back to his soul. Unfortunately, Tomias returned and killed her before Teck's eyes. Teck snapped, and once more repelled his ex-friend. Now, he's living in his dead family's house, running an assassination business called "Crimson Sunrise/Scarlet Sunset", while moonlighting as a hero who saves the lives of those afflicted with this monstrosity.
His Name: KAMEN RIDER LORD.
EPISODE 0: MEET THE FAMILY
_
The sun rose gently on a small town just north of Tokyo, Japan. As the early morning rituals of normal people began, with parents rousing their children for school while preparing for work themselves, things remained rather quite in a large mansion sitting atop a lone hill several miles outside of town… a mansion everyone knew and avoided at all costs.
The rumors of ghosts and monsters living in that house were known around the town and believed as fact by adult and child alike, with not even rebellious teenagers daring to go anywhere near the place. However, this morning, a young woman stepped from her home, waving goodbye to her parents as she set off for her first day of high-school. As her waist-length blonde hair bounced and waved in the wind behind her, she stopped and took a look up the hill at the mansion.
Her twinkling green eyes closed as a single tear rolled down her cheek.
"Where are you … Nogi-kun?"
~IN THE MANSION~
The sunlight slowly seeped through the dark black curtains of the mansion's master bedroom; the light barely illuminated the room, save for a small that broke through a single crack between the curtains. This, however, wasn't what stirred the solo occupant of the large, king-sized bed. If anyone had walked in at that moment, they could tell the person in the bed had not slept well the night before: the corners of the fitted sheet had been pulled clear off the corners of the mattress, the blanket was crumpled in a heap on the floor, and the only remaining sheet only the bed was being used to cover the occupant's head.
When the sheet flew out of the sleeper's flailing hands, the sweat on his face flew off with it. The man's eyes were clamped shut, screwed into an expression of pain and suffering… and sadness. He tossed and turned, slamming his fists into the mattress time and again.
In his head, visions were flashing through at breakneck speed, each one more gruesome than the last; a woman pinned to a wall over a fireplace, hung like Christ on the cross; two elderly people, a man and a woman, sitting in rocking chairs with their hands under their slashed stomachs, trying in vain to keep their guts from falling out; a man stretching across a long table, trying to reach his head, which had been placed on a hard-boiled-egg cup half-way down the table, turned to face the body; a pair of young girls, one older than the other, sitting in opposite sides of a large tub, which was overflowing with water and blood that oozed from their slashed throats and wrists; another young girl, decapitated and quartered, the pieces strewn amongst her collection of stuffed animals; a young boy, diced into pieces, strewn across the yard of a big house.
The last two images were what finally drove the boy awake: the bodies of two more young women, lying limp on the ground… headless.
"NO~~~!" he screamed, sitting straight up in the bed, sweat beading in his jet-black hair and sliding into his eyes. His eyes darted around the room several times before he whipped around to check the bed. Upon seeing the stains in his pillows and bed from the copious amounts of sweat, he cursed quietly to himself. Getting up quickly, he tore the sheets from the bed and opened the curtains, allowing the sunlight to seep in and dry the mattress.
After tossing the sweat-soaked sheets down a tube to the laundry room, the boy moved to the bathroom, undressing for a quick shower. The boy was built, but not ripped, with just the right amount of muscle on his arms and legs. As soon as he finished, he dressed quickly, sensing the time creeping closer and closer to eight-thirty. His "allies" were due up any second. Donning a slick suit and tie with black shades and a black fedora, the man strode from the room, his mouth pulled into a tight line.
The boy looked up and down the halls as he made his way to the living room, where he pulled a candlestick. The wall turned around in place to reveal a large gong. He picked up the beater and struck the gong once.
He closed his eyes, sharpening his sense of hearing. Hearing no signs of movement on the upper floors, he swung the beater and struck the gong again, harder this time, to produce a louder noise.
Once again, he closed his eyes, training his ears for any noise that sounded like footsteps. He heard nothing, again.
Growling, he wound up and struck the gong three times in quick succession. Once again, he closed his eyes, only to hear nothing.
At the edge of letting out a string of choice swear words, the man reared back and struck the gong from every possible angle, as hard as he could. He failed, each time, to notice small cracks in the beater's wood, until finally, it happened: with one particularly strong swing, the end of the beater broke off, flying through a window behind him.
Multiple veins pulsed on the man's forehead, now visibly prominent. His tenants knew they should NEVER make him break the beater… because bad things always happened.
The man pulled the candlestick again and waited until the wall was turned back. He leaned against the wall, with one leg bent at the knee while standing on the other and shut his eyes tight
Inside his head, he screamed one thought: "I WANT EVERYONE UP AND IN THE LIVING ROOM, SHOWERED AND DRESSED, BY 9 SHARP, OR IT'S EXTRA CHORES FOR ALL OF YOU!" He rested his back against the wall and waited.
Sure enough, several loud screams and solid thuds echoed through the house as multiple people seemed to shoot straight out of bed and onto the floor. The man watched the window, laughing as a red-haired man fell past the SECOND-STOREY window with a scream. How many times had he watched this, he wondered, and how had it not lost ANY of its comedic value?
Half an hour later, he stood in the living room, back to the large fireplace, looking each of his aides in the eyes in turn. He always appreciated that no matter how wild a night they wound up having, they would always be able to clean up like nothing had ever happened. The seventeen men standing before him, all in differing colors and styles of dress suit, stood ready for orders, while the nine women, each in a maid's dress of varying colors, did the same.
"Please make sure I DON'T have to break the beater next time, alright?" the man asked, a harmonic echo of "Yes, Namida-sama," from the twenty-six standing with him.
"Alright, has everyone prepared for their tasks today?" The man asked, receiving twenty-six head shakes.
"I guess it's a good thing I brought the roster with me this morning," he said pulling out a rolled-up piece of paper.
"Alright, today only a few of you will be going out of the house, while select few will be doing special jobs in and around the house. The rest of you… whether you like it or not, will be on chore duty again," the man continued, starting at the left side of the line, "I'll start with outside jobs. As I call your name, step forward."
"Murasame Chiji," the man said as the red-haired youth from earlier, sporting a slick, double-breasted red suit and burning red eyes locked in a sneer, "AKA Agent Rage Scimcoe, you are heading out to Chiba Prefecture today. A scumbag senator has enlisted the help of C3S to eliminate his opposition. However… after doing some digging, the residing leader of the prefecture has been doing a satisfactory job and is well liked by his people. Your job is to eliminate the third party leader who is running against the current leader, AS WELL AS THE CLIENT, AFTER RECEIVING PAYMENT. Once you've accomplished the second objective, seal off the room and clean it out; anything that can be used to garner more funds for our organization is to be brought here. You are required as well to help whatever family he has living with him in seeking shelter, unless they don't want it or send you away. In any case, as soon as your final objective is complete, return here to Base and write a status report, which you will then place on my desk whether I'm in… or otherwise occupied." The red-haired man nodded and stepped away from the group, rushing off with a wicked smirk to begin preparation for his departure.
"Shimi Kana," the man said as a young man with a single, large bang over one navy-blue eye, with hair and suit of the same color and a depressed look in his eyes, "You will be in charge of kitchen duty today. As soon as you're finished your work, you are permitted to spend your time how you please. I assume your room is still pristine?" The navy-haired boy nodded, and his master nodded back, waving him off to his work.
"Kyooki Kamachii," the man said as a smaller boy, with grey hair, smoke-grey eyes, and a light grey suit stepped forward, "AKA Agent Psy Aero, you and your partner Teishuu Hakai," a man with clean-combed crimson hair, eyes, and a simple-looking crimson suit stepped up, "AKA Agent Crim Destro, to take out a militant rebel faction in Peru, who wish to silence the government there. The rebel faction has shown themselves to be the only target in this issue, but you are to keep your eyes and ears on the governor you're protecting. Should he act like the rebels claim he has, you are to remove him immediately. To reiterate, should he start acting hostile at any moment, or treat like garbage … ELIMINATE HIM. They can always elect a new one, after all." The two nodded and headed for their rooms to prepare.
"Dansen Yukai," the man said as a yellow-haired boy with a beaming smile, yellow eyes, and a cheap-looking yellow suit took a step up, "You will be on roofing detail today. I noticed a few days ago that a number of the shingles are coming loose, and we can't afford costs for contractors to come in here and do it, especially with that big storm coming in a few days. Thus, you are to team up with Raito Kinte," a tall man in a dignified silver suit, shaved silver hair and silver eyes stepped forth, "to repair the shingles and, if need be, overhaul the roof with an extra layer. I know Kin-kun's been saying that ten layers is more than enough and we don't need more, but twenty-five layers of shingles haven't killed us yet, so I can't see any harm. If we need it, we can always do a structural evaluation of the roof and attic tomorrow." The two men nodded and set off for their task, the yellow haired boy breaking out in frantic dancing while the silver-haired man simply sighed and asked in a monotonous voice if his friend could stop.
"The rest of you can find yourselves something to do today. Pick a chore, and do it. When that's done, you can do whatever you please, as long as your rooms are spotless. Understand?" the man said, addressing the rest of the group as they nodded and dispersed to get to work. He stopped one, a tall, imposing man with a gold suit, long golden hair and gold eyes.
"Velke, I need you to work the door today. I can't ask this of anyone else… given their various eccentricities. You know what to do when we get something, right?" the man asked. Velke nodded.
"Of course, Teckio-sama," Velke replied, "When the doorbell rings or the door is knocked on, I answer, ask what business the potential client has, and then, depending on the severity of the case, I either escort them to your office or turn them away, no questions asked. After all, if it's that important, they know how ELSE to reach you personally, right?" Teckio nodded and thanked Velke. The gold-haired man walked over to the front hall and began cleaning. Teckio nodded and walked back to main hall, aiming to return to his bedroom/office. But, first thing first, he had to stop for new sheets. Halfway on his way to the closet, his eyes shot open and he stumbled, a splitting pain tearing through his head.
"DAMN those beasts, not NOW!" he said to himself, vanishing in a cloud of smoke.
~DOWN IN TOWN~
"SOMEONE, PLEASE HELP!"
A single voice filled the air in a small alleyway. If anyone had been around to hear, they would have found an attractive young woman being held against a wall by a small gang of thugs.
"No one's coming for you, babe," the leader said, pressing a hand against her mouth to silence her voice. Not knowing that the woman they'd grabbed was, in fact, a spitfire with kick, the thug leader immediately let go and screamed in pain when a set of sharp teeth dug into his index finger and a size-eight shoe slammed into his gut, flat side and three-inch heel facing his flesh. The kick itself seemed to carry little weight, but the heel's placement had left it close to the man's groin. The other goons immediately let her go, prompting her take off and bag her shoes in her purse as she ran as fast as she could. She didn't get far; another thug, waiting in the shadows, tackled her from behind and held her down for his boss.
Just as the leader stood and descended upon the helpless girl, a bright shimmer shot down into the thug's eyes, and a bright flash blinded the men long enough for the girl to break free and escape.
"Come on, gentlemen… Do you REALLY have to stoop this low? Didn't you mothers ever tell you NOT to commit crimes like this? Or were they too busy doing the nasty themselves to tell you anything?" came a single voice from the other side of the alley, sauntering into the area as if he shouldn't even be there. The leader stood for a moment.
"Who cares? I do what I want because I want! If I wanna get laid with no effort, I'LL DO IT!" the leader shouted as he raced at the newcomer.
In a flash, the man was in action, running up and delivering a swift kick to the thug's jaw line that sent him flying into the air. As he landed in the midst of the thugs, he slipped into a crouched stance, legs spaced evenly apart and both hands on something long at his side. As she jumped behind a wall, the girl realized what it was: A SWORD.
"KAKUZEN: KAZE NO YAIBA ICHISHIKI: SASHIKI ARASHI! (CLEAR CUT: WIND BLADE, MODE ONE: CUTTING STORM!)" The man shouted, unleashing a powerful blast of wind with a spin of his body and a drawing of his blade. The thugs on the ground were sent flying around, most into walls and solid objects, knocking them out. One got up and charged. The man didn't even turn around, but planted his feet square on the ground and waited. As the man jumped to strike from above, the man swung his sword upward, stabbing the thug in the stomach.
"KAKUZEN: KAZE NO YAIBA NISHIKI: GEKITOTSU SENPUU ICHITAI: KOUSOU REPPUU! (CLEAR CUT: WIND BLADE MODE TWO: WHIRLWIND CLASH FIRST FORM: GALE UPPER!)" The man shouted. The tug screamed in pain as his body was torn into pieces by an upward blast of cyclonic air and sent around the area. The thug leader found that he was falling from high up, only to be grabbed out of the air and held aloft by his throat as the man leveled his blade to the leader's head.
"I'll only ask you once: leave now and turn yourself in, unless you want to wind up like your friends," the man said, only to drop the man when he felt the pressing of cold steel against his neck.
"Care to try me with some of those moves?" the leader said as his body mutated. The girl, who'd been watching this from behind the wall, fainted when the leader transformed into a giant pig-monster with a face on his stomach instead of his head. The man, now realizing the one he was protecting wouldn't see anything, smirked and undid the snap of a single black glove on his right hand. Pulling the glove off his hand, he held it against his right eye, palm facing his head. Seconds later, a large, twenty-six-point star tattoo appeared on the back of his hand and seemed to jump off his skin. Slowly moving his hand toward the creeping design, the man snapped his ring finger, curling his thumb, index and middle fingers like claws.
With six swift motions, the boy etched a pentagram into the air, encased in a circle, and then held his tattooed hand, palm out, to the emblem in the air. The design was soon assailed by energy from all around, and as the man placed the fingers of his right hand into the design and pulled out, it solidified into a crystal. Showing the crystal to the monster, the man held his empty left hand at a descending angle to his right side, fingers curled as if holding a circular object.
"I-IT CAN'T BE! Y-YOU'RE…?" the beast stuttered, as the man brought his right hand up to rest by his left cheek, fingers curled to hold the crystal.
"Should have thought to ask that question BEFORE challenging me, you moron. HENSHIN," the man shouted, flipping the crystal in his hand. A silver belt and buckle appeared on his waist, and, with a flourish, the man slid the crystal into the buckle and turned it counterclockwise until a single "CLICK" was heard. A large star shot out of the crystal and slammed into the man's body, shattering and re-arranging into a suit of armor. The suit was grey in color, with yellow stars of varying sizes and shape, with several plastered to his chest in an interlocking pattern. The single star on his head was six-pointed, but formed in a strange fashion… the points on the left and right sides were extended through the eyes lenses... which were dark purple and curved back in a sad expression.
"And yes, to answer your question… I AM LORD," the man said, pointing to the sky, "The stars have deemed you unworthy of life. The only remedy for this…" the man dragged a thumb across his armored neck and curled it into a "thumbs down", then finished, "IS DEATH."
The man took off, launching a furious combo of punches that sent the monster staggering back. The man slid his left foot back and extended an arm toward the monster, his hand slowly clenching into a fist. Faster than the monster could follow, the man shot forward, unsheathed a second blade and laid into it.
"NI NO JUTSU: HAGANE MOUI ICHIBAN: TETSU TAKAI KIRE! (ART OF TWO: STEEL FURY #1: IRON DEATH CUT!)" The man shouted as he brought his blades to the beast's body, crossing them over each other twice in a death-claw slash. The monster staggered.
"I'm lucky you're still JUST Omoresu… I would have had a LOT more trouble had you managed to get hold of a memory and become a full-fledged Volcaris. As it is…" the man muttered something under his breath as he tossed both blades in the air, then unsheathed three more and did the same, "You're no tougher to beat than a dust mite. Time for you to meet the end the stars have ordained for you!" The man caught and tossed each sword in sequence, making sure to first pass them through one of the black grooves in his crystal that comprised the pentagram image. He shot toward the beast, which just barely drew a breath before his end came.
"HISSATSU: HOSHI NO GO: CHUUSEISHI GACHAN! (CERTAIN KILL: STAR'S FIVE: NEUTRON CRASH!)" The man said, swinging each blade and using his power to leave it hovering at the swing's end point, forming a star. Then, with a single move of his arms, all five blades twisted clockwise, each meeting at the end-point of the blade ahead of them, forming a circle over the star. Turning, the man walked a few steps, sheathing his first four blades, one after the other. Two found their way into scabbards at his sides, while the other two found themselves resting in shoulder-mounted scabbards. The fifth was caught and spun once before being held before the man's armored face, horizontally against his raised middle and index fingers.
"The stars have claimed you. Go now… and NEVER let me see your face again," he said, sliding the blade along his fingers until their positions were reversed: the blade now stood vertically while the two fingers rested laterally on the blade. The man slid his fingers off the blade as he reached it up to slide it into the scabbard located along the base of his neck, behind his head. As the blade vanished into the scabbard, the beast let out a low, gurgling roar.
The man snapped his fingers. The design in the monster's body spun in place once before it slammed through it, causing it to scream in pain as it exploded violently. The man removed the crystal form his belt and approached the girl.
Placing a hand to her wrist, he found a pulse and, sighing, said, "Good. Let's check your memory for your home and take you there…" The man rested one hand, thumb, index and middle fingers curved into a "J", along the girl's head, resting the crook of the two fingers on the end of her nose. He did the same with the other hand, only he placed this hand on his own face. Ten seconds later, he knew what had to be done. Picking the girl up in his arms, he took a step forward… and vanished into thin air.
~ELSEWHERE~
The sun's waning light seeped in through the curtains of the small apartment as the girl woke, her eyes fluttering open and closed as she tried adjusting to the light.
"Before you ask any questions… You fainted after that thug leader became something he shouldn't have been. I will have to ask you to clear that entire ordeal from your mind; if they find you know too much, you'll wind up as that thug did; DEAD, and deader still. You're lucky I got to you in time…" the boy said, before his voice continued, "RIN."
The girl gasped.
"N-Nogi-kun? Is… that you?" she asked, lost for words.
"I don't know anyone by that name, nor do I recall ever holding a name of that sort. I cannot give you my name; they can use it, and YOU, to track and destroy me."
"Who are you talking about?" Rin asked.
"No one YOU need to know about. I've been handling things fine on my own. And in case you're wondering about… THAT day, I'm choosing not to talk about it. I can get through my days better by not dealing with it," the man said. Rin jumped to her feet.
"ESCUSE ME, HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT? SHE WAS MY SISTER, AND SHE WAS YOUR GIRLFRIEND! HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY GET THROUGH ANY DAY FORGETTING ABOUT HER?" Rin shouted indignantly.
"I don't dare for anyone. It's… simply been my way of doing things since that day."
"I WANT THE TRUTH! WERE YOU, OR WERE YOU NOT, INVOLVED IN MY SISTER'S MURDER?" Rin shouted. The man, now irate, jumped from the shadows and pinned her down to the bed, holding her hands in one of his. Rin stared at the man's face for a second. It was exactly how she recalled it from two years ago: blonde hair kept short on top with two long bangs allowed to rest past the shoulders to frame emerald-green eyes. Only now, instead of the innocent smile she'd come to know and love… his eyes were bent back in an angry glare, his lips curled into a snarl.
"I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT. YOU WILL HAVE YOUR TRUTH IN DUE TIME. And as for my forgetting about her…" the man said, "I can never forget my first love… I can never forget the stark contrast between us that kept us together… I can NEVER forget Mei, EVER. So don't you EVER accuse me of forgetting her again," he said, letting go and getting up. Rin stood up after him.
"At least that… I didn't WANT to go that far, but…" she said, "but why won't you tell me now? Why CAN'T you tell me now?" The man took a step into the shadows in the room and vanished, leaving only his voice ringing out:
"BECAUSE I KNOW YOU, THAT'S WHY. YOU WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO HANDLE THE TRUTH JUST YET. AND…BECAUSE I HAVEN'T KILLED THE MAN WHO TOOK MEI FROM US."
Rin threw open the curtains and looked around the light-flooded room. There was no trace of him anywhere.
With a sad sigh, she walked back and flopped onto the bed. Reaching for a single framed photo on her bed-side table, she picked it up and looked at it. Another sad sigh escaped her lips as she gazed at the three people in the picture: herself, two years ago, standing next to the man she'd come to know as "Nogi-kun", and her now deceased sister Mei. She had never gotten along with her sister until the day she'd brought her friend Nogias, whom she'd met a week before at the market, over for dinner. The two had sat next to each other all night, not even bothering to get up to go eat when dinner was called. Rin had been astounded as how taken with each other they were, and it was only a couple days later that the two sisters had gotten over their problems with each other.
Her eyes lingered on her sister's image, sighing again as she studied the long, mid-back-length blonde hair with red highlights, the gleaming blue eyes that shone like diamonds, and the beaming smile directed at the camera as she and Rin slung their arms around Nogias' shoulders, his idiot grin threatening to split his head in two. It had been taken a month after Rin had met Nogias… And it was the only picture of the three of them she had left.
"Nogi-kun… what happened to you?" she asked, the same as she'd asked that morning.
-TO BE CONTINUED-