Chapter 1: Dropping through Dreams
Mitakihara was certainly a beautiful piece of land in Japan – wherever one would go, he would find architectural works and healthy natural vistas that just could not be done justice with mere word of mouth. Therefore, it isn't all too surprising that many would soon call this place the "New Jewel of Civilization". For all other intents and purposes, it was.
However, it was still a city of layers – and every set of layers has something to hide.
In this area in particular, a dark and secretive war was being waged and repeated through a number of cycles only the greater powers know of, each one a tragedy in its own way. What made this time-looped Hell all the more heartwrenching, though, was this fact:
All of the 'soldiers' fighting this battle were girls no more than the twilight years of childhood, one step away from adolescence and the greater wonders of life still ahead. Out of all those who were snagged into this nightmare, though, five individuals illustrated this best:
Madoka Kaname, a girl whose heart had already been a blessed gift, but insecure of her own strength of character.
Sayaka Miki, a maiden whose own kindness could develop into a twisted, monochrome reflection of the world throughout many timelines if ever presented in the wrong light.
Mami Tomoe, a lonely belle that desperately wanted companionship in the tragedies of the series of conflicts, almost blinded by her own confidence in her abilities and desperation to fight loneliness and death.
Kyouko Sakura, the older daughter of a new church to herald new ideals for worshipping God, which lead to many a great trial of her own beliefs and faith.
And lastly, the one who suffered the most of this sorrowful, thoughtless battle was Homura Akemi, whose own dilemmas soon evolved from trying to break her own shyness to trying to break all she considered precious out of the cycle. Alas, her own efforts would end up perpetuating the process, ultimately ending in one final sacrifice – the loss of the identity called Madoka Kaname.
However, this flow of events only pertains to but one branch of the vast ocean we can call Reality. Now, a new player has come forth to break the spiral of loss, hardships, deceit, and betrayal that has plagued the title of 'Puella Magi', or 'Magical Girl'.
And with this one deviation, the status quo of many other worlds would also be changed – for better as well as worse.
Thus, the tale of this generation's starting hero begins. Just as there is great power within the force known as the 'Heart', so too is there strength within a single title. From the recesses of the history of the worlds, a mystical champion, a selfless avenger, a true savior comes forth.
Now, the bearer of the legacy of nine other great guardians makes his own way in the ever-weaving story of the stars. Now comes forth a boy, a hero, a knight for the coming calamity:
Kamen Rider….DEXAEDE!
"Hey... Won't you believe in him? That...even if there is no God or Buddha...there is Kamen Rider."
- Taki Kazuya, FBI Agent, and one of the many true believers of the heroes known as 'Kamen Riders'.
As far as he could see, there was nothing but pitch-black oblivion. Strangely enough, though, it felt as though he were drifting through water, with bubbles trailing after him even. And by some unique intuition, he just knew that this wasn't something as simple as a dream. He only realized this, though, when he felt himself righting his body.
Somehow, he landed feet-first on solid ground. And as soon as that occurred, the bubbles that had been following him shifted into pure white doves, feathers fluttering around him as they disappeared into the void from whence he descended from. Sparing a look at where he landed, the young man was once again gripped by curiosity and desperation.
Beneath him was a circular platform of stained glass, a truly marvelous sight to behold. Staring up and down this strange location, the boy noticed nine unique sigils arranged around a symbol shaped eerily like a heart with two keys crossing it. While all of the other signs gave off a surreal sense of safety, fortitude, and hope, the central icon filled him with dread and excitement, primordial fear and calm, soothing awe.
Just by this sensation, the boy had had enough. Raising his head to the heavens – or whatever passed for a sky in this void – he mustered his voice and roared.
"What the Hell IS GOING ON?!"
So much to do…so little time….
Startled by the actual response, the young man wildly looked about, searching for the strange speaker. However, he was halted by an odd heat beating within his heart.
Take your time. Don't be afraid.
Following the outlandish piece of advice, the boy meditated for a bit before he regained his composure. Calmly, he asked "Where am I, exactly? More to the point, what am I doing?"
The doors are still shut.
The boy could do little more than take that for future consideration before letting his temper flare a little bit. "Is it seriously that hard to give a simple answer?"
Power sleeps within you.
At this, three ornate pedestals rose out of the platform, each one bearing a weapon illuminated by lights that seeming came out of the fog hanging over him. On the first slab, a classical sword rested. Across from it in a triangle formation, a green staff with a blue head shaped like three circles making some sort of a mouse-head, and a black pentagonal shield outlined in red with a red symbol of the same design, laid waiting for him.
If you give it form, it will give you strength.
Following that cue, the boy went up to the sword and grasped it in his hands. At this, the voice spoke once more.
The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction.
…Is this the power you seek?
Hearing this, the boy hesitated. More than anything, the very word 'destruction' seemed to tug at his heartstrings, bringing up the notion of having lost something irreplaceable due to it. Tightening his expression into a bitter scowl, he placed the sword back before he gave his answer. "I want to see the rest of my options."
…Very well.
Moving on, the boy then took up the shield.
The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all.
…Is this the path you choose?
Not even giving a chance to the speaker, the boy put it back before he responded with "Just one more look."
The voice let him go onward. And at last, he approached the staff.
The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin.
…..Do you feel that this is your true power?
Now that he had a better understanding of what exactly he had, the boy contemplated his decision for many long moments. After that period of deliberation, he then turned to wherever he hoped the voice was and spoke of his course of action.
"If it's all the same to you, I'd like a fourth option: all of these weapons."
Silence greeted him but for a scant few seconds. Then, the speaker came up once more.
So you have asked, so shall you receive.
With that, the sword, shield, and staff came together in a circle of kaleidoscopic light, blinding the boy for a while with the storm of combined energy they exhibited. Once it died down, the resulting object floated gently down into his waiting right hand in multicolored flames.
Within his hand now rested a blade shaped like a straightened, black dragon wing with red scales, with its handle made of dark braids and a circular ruby carved into the shape of a magic circle. Just as soon as it came, the voice gave this new weapon an identity.
Soul Blazer….this is the fire that shall burn away the pathway to the true door.
Suddenly, the platform started to rumble, light erupting from all around the boy.
"What's happening now?!" he exclaimed.
It is time for you to start your journey. But always keep your heart strong. You wield the mightiest weapon of all. And never forget….
With one last blinding flash, the boy was knocked back into the waking world, with these departing words:
You are the one…who shall reconnect the truths behind the doors.
As he slowly returned to the land of the living, the boy could make out the tell-tale signs of another person near himself. Finally fluttering his eyes open, he saw – for lack of any better terms, especially with his addled mind and present groggy state – an angel on earth.
The angel in question had silky black tresses that fell to her waist, eyes as purple as a starry night, and a halo of light that seemed to tease the boy with how lucky he must have been to see a being so divine. With as much grace as he could gather, he started with what he felt was a natural question.
"…Excuse me miss, but is this Heaven? Because you look like an angel to me…"
Said angel did a double-take at his words before she started blushing cherry red, which only served to confuse the boy. Why was she acting so embarrassed about her own natural looks?
Any further thoughts or conversation were stopped when someone else walked into the room. Both occupants were greeted by a bespectacled man in his fifties with chocolate-brown eyes and a lighter brown mop of hair. He was dressed in a tan colored shirt and brown pants, and carried a rosary-like necklace around. As soon as he saw the boy was up, he rushed to his side.
"NOnonono, young man! You still need some rest, especially with those injuries." He chided the boy as he helped him back to a resting position.
"S-sorry for worrying you then, sir." Now that he looked about the room, the boy then asked "Excuse me, but where exactly am I?"
"You're in our house, or rather, clinic, in Mitakihara. I'm Shigeru Akemi," the man introduced himself, "and this is my granddaughter, Homura-chan."
Seeming to shrink back with embarrassment, the newly-identified Homura just waved at the young man. "H-Hi…"
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Homura-san, Akemi-jii-san." he nodded to the both of them. "Now that I think about it, how did I end up here?"
"I-I found you beaten pretty badly out in the rain last night, so I called jii-chan and carried you here. Y-you looked like you barely survived a serious attack, so we both did our best to patch you up." Homura demurely answered him.
Hearing this, he looked down at himself. To his growing horror, a majority of his body had been wrapped in bandages, and not much else. How banged-up was he by the time Homura found him?
"There wasn't much on you when we applied first aid to you, not even identification. I hate to say this, but it seems like you just barely survived a very serious assault." Mr. Akemi told the young man.
Curiously, the boy only seemed marginally worried about this – and this was because when he tried to recall how he ended up bruised and battered out in the rain, all he had was nothing but blanks and that strange dream!
"Oh! What's your name, young man?" Mr. Akemi started again.
At this, the boy found a piece of memory other than that dream, his real name. "Riku Kadoya."
"Well, I'm not terribly sure about this greeting, but regardless, Welcome to Mitakihara, Kadoya-kun. We haven't gotten word from the authorities yet after calling them about your situation, but you're more than welcome to stay with us."
Riku simply smiled in response. "Thank you for your hospitality."
Despite the efforts of Mitakihara's police department, no details on Riku or any friends and family he might have had surfaced, so he remained without a discernible past. By their good will, though, Homura and Mr. Akemi ended up calling him part of their family.
Over the course of his stay within the Akemi Clinic and Household, Riku has grown more comfortable with the idea of calling these two people family, even without Homura's parents around – a blow on the Akemi's heartstrings, for sure, as they had both fallen in action applying medical attention to U.N. soldiers in a skirmish in Africa. Despite how well they managed, the amnesiac could tell that they still had scars from the ordeal – something he found he could sympathize with, oddly enough.
Though he rarely ventured outside without either the Akemi's consent or the Akemi themselves, Riku always wandered out to watch the rising sun and the first signs of the stars every day. When Homura asked him about this, he made this remark:
"It's like whenever I see the sun, I always feel closer to what I had. And when I see the stars, I keep musing to myself: "This really is a big, wonderful world"."
Homura could only blink at Riku's bout of philosophical insight before she started giggling to the point that it became a full laugh. "You have too much time to think, Riku-kun!"
Riku calmly responded by (good-naturedly) chasing Homura around the immediate vicinity, both of them easily showing themselves as very healthy young people just enjoying the peace that they had.
Eventually, their summer ended and Riku – to his knowledge – took his first steps into a genuine school with Homura helping him along the way.
What bothered Riku about Mitakihara though was the fact that even though most of the buildings seemed futuristic and certainly breathtaking, glass seemed to be the norm for a majority of these structures. Homura simply stated that most everyone was already used to this, which prompted Riku to snort something about "the people of this city having very skewed perspectives", or something along those lines.
All that banter aside, though, Riku found himself transitioning rather nicely into school-life rather well, in large part due to Homura's own circle of friends:
Madoka Kaname, a pink twin-tailed girl that seemed the sweetheart of any surrounding;
Sayaka Miki, a lively blunette tomboy that added to the mix with her strong sense of right and wrong, and their two senpai Mami Tomoe and Kyouko Sakura, two girls – the former with yellow drill-tales, the latter with long red locks and two fangs – that couldn't have been more different.
Mami always behaved like the mother/big sister of the group, whereas Kyouko made Sayaka seem far more level-headed, much to everyone's chagrin.
Regardless of all that, the girls really were a tight-knit, caring group – one that Riku soon found himself a part of.
Riku himself was a character that would certainly bring in a lot of people, if they didn't notice him at first – alongside his striking blue-green eyes and silver spiky hair, his personality seemed to draw plenty of people close, what with his strong will, caring heart (Sayaka even called him a "Bleeding Heart", to which Riku made no real attempts at discouraging), and snarky remarks and wit from time to time. Only Homura noticed something else underneath that, though – it seemed like Riku always had an undertone of grief and obsession with helping people, like some phantom sensation from his forgotten past.
But Homura had been working rather hard over the two years she and Riku had been friends and family, and both of them had shown signs of changing for the better – Riku had shown more of his easily-amused and good-natured personality, and Homura started showing far more confidence in herself and her friends. In fact, many of the students in Mitakihara Middle started showing an interest in her, much to Riku's ire.
If it were any different from now, all Riku, Homura, and their friends had to worry about was making the best of their youths and proving their relationship as friends and near-family throughout the test of time. And it might well have been the case.
But this is still a reflection – if not the root – of many timelines where these girls were dragged into a horrible experience, and Riku himself would have suffered many similar trials. In the end, the times of peace must give way to the tribulations that either make – or break – that same peace.
Death, deceit, and betrayal are never truly far behind those who take up arms – and now, it's time for the beginnings of the ultimate War to commence….
"Hey, guys, check this out!" Sayaka called the small cluster of friends together after school had ended. With everyone gathered, she then took out a flyer that bore the image of some strange star-shaped fruit and people celebrating.
"Oh? What's this then, Sayaka-chan?" Mami inquired as she and the others examined Sayaka's item.
"This is an official announcement for the big Paopu Fruit Festival! It's finally coming over to Mitakihara!" Sayaka jubilantly declared. At this, Riku had a sudden flash of recognition cross his mind.
"Isn't that the star-shaped fruit that legend says will always keep two people's lives connected if they share it?" he asked out of the blue. Turning to him, Sayaka blinked twice before answering.
"Well, yeah – I mean, that's exactly it!" With this, Sayaka pirouetted in place before she laid her elbows on the table they frequented, her palms supporting her face as she sighed with longing. "Don't you all think that's something everybody should try once in their lifetimes?"
"Bhahahaha! I didn't think you of all people would fall for that superstitious crock, kohai-chan~!" Kyouko teased the younger girl with a few pokes, all of which Sayaka shook off.
"Bah! I still say we oughta go for it! Who knows – it might turn out to be true!" the blunette responded, to which all but Homura made a general agreement. Noticing this, Madoka asked her longtime friend "Homura-chan, what's the matter? You look like you're having a fever."
"Ah!" Homura yelped in surprise. "S-sorry! But…well, when you really think about it…doesn't that Paopu fruit thing sound like…some kind of love charm to you?"
Contemplating this, the others – Riku in particular – shifted slightly before Sayaka and Kyouko laughed it off. "Ah come on, Homu-chan, what would be so bad about all of us sharing destiny together? We're already practically a family as is!" Kyouko asserted her opinion on the matter.
"She's right – I mean, can anybody here really say that they can imagine life without the rest of us?" Sayaka joined Kyouko. "We've all been friends long enough and been through thick and thin, so who's to say that we'll really just drift apart like that?"
At this, the others agreed with great fervor – despite their shortcomings and troubles, they had always been true companions with one another, especially in helping Riku adjust to his new life.
"So, what do you guys say? Let's go ahead and put that Paopu to use!" Sayaka and Kyouko declared.
"Yeah!" the rest followed suit. If the legends were true, then they really would never fall apart, like any other friendship over time. No matter what would happen, the five girls and one boy would always stay steadfast friends, brother-and-sisters at heart. For Riku in particular, though, it meant one thing:
He and Homura really would always be a part of each other's lives – and, Riku silently hoped, something even closer in time.
(Concerning what would come, this is the best thing that could happen for any of them….)
As the June Saturday upon which the Paopu Festival would occur drew ever closer, Riku suddenly found himself with a growing sense of foreboding.
Against any reasoning, he just felt that something terrible was about to fall upon Mitakihara. He didn't dare tell this to Homura and Akemi-jii-san because he didn't want to worry them. Maybe he was just being paranoid…
But…the instincts still persisted, especially as the days counted down to the night of the festival. He could sense, deep down, that something would come forth to strike at the city.
Riku dashed those worries away as he adjusted his camera. It was a professional-grade model Mr. Akemi had given to him as a gift. Just some time after reading the manual and taking a few test photos, Riku was already capturing the world around him like a real photographer – or, alternatively, drawing it to add that deeper layer of artistic interaction.
"This is gonna be one of the most important memories of our lives – I have to make sure it's recorded perfectly!" Riku repeated to himself as he made his last few adjustments. Satisfied, he put the camera back on his bedroom desk and retired for the night.
Even if his gut was still warning him of danger, Riku felt that, for now, all was right with the world.
The night of the Paopu festival had finally arrived, and Riku joined Homura as they went to rendezvous with their friends. Homura, feeling especially confident this evening, was wearing her cute black-&-white dress with the matching mini top-hat. As for Riku, he was clad in a white hoodie with red stripes on the middle and the sleeves, denim pants and some comfortable red sneakers. Hanging from his neck was the camera.
This was the first festival he'd ever been to, as far as he knew. Most of his past was gone, but he was making new memories with his camera, art and friends. He himself was taking pictures of the festival grounds as they all played the games and ate the food being sold there.
"Alrighty, Rik-chan!" announced Kyouko as she stood at a shooting gallery. "Take your best shot!"
Riku picked up the rifle and took aim at all the prizes lined up in front of him. "Hmm…which one…?" He noted a cute little doll that Homura may fancy and a golden-furred teddy bear clad in a red shirt, in particular. "Which one…?" He squinted.
All at once, a storm of images invaded his mind, causing him to drop the rifle and clutch his head. His friends were shouting to him, but their voices were muted as he fell to his knees.
Dark figures crawled about and surrounded him. He attacked in a flurry of movements, showing no mercy to the creatures. Kicks, punches – whatever he used was punctuated with a burst of flames or a flying weapon, subduing all those surrounding him. Then, he looked up as a giant beast reared its head…
"Riku-kun!" Homura's voice brought him back to reality. "Are you okay?"
The teenager rose up to his feet and flashed a smile to Homura, in an attempt to relieve her. "I'm fine. I just had a headache."
"Hey, maybe you should just sit down and-" Kyouko suggested but was cut off.
"And miss out on the fun you guys are having? Yeah right!" Riku wagged his finger. "You're not going to get away THAT easily." He gave a devious smirk and wink. "Or are you that eager to dodge the Paopu Fruit test, I wonder?"
Gasping in indignation, Kyouko needed help from Mami and Madoka to be placated. "Ngrrr…fine then, but don't be surprised if karma decides to pay you back for all those stunts you've pulled off, especially now!"
"Aw Kyouko-chan, you wound me," said the silver-head, mocking sadness.
"You were marginally better when we first met," said Kyouko.
Riku frowned. Back then he'd felt lost and confused, opening up only to Homura. It was because of the people here that he developed a more cheerful temperament…even if it did rub some people the wrong way, especially with his snarky attacks.
"Well, people change," answered Riku with a huff. He licked his lips. "So…anybody up for some cotton candy?"
"Oh, no you don't!" The fierce red-head interrupted. "You gotta win a-"
BANG!
"We have a winner!" the man at the shooting gallery announced as he handed Riku the teddy bear from before. Kyouko gawked, as Riku had taken the shot without looking.
"You were saying?" smiled Riku flippantly.
"…Lucky bastard," muttered Kyouko. Riku then handed her the teddy bear. "Huh?"
"Hey, you look better with a smile anyway," said Riku as he raised his camera. "May I?"
"…Ah, go ahead," nodded Kyouko with a fanged grin. He then took a picture of the moment.
"It's good to see that those two can still get along so well," Mami commented.
"That goes for all of us." Sayaka nodded.
"Aw…so cute…" Madoka giggled.
What the girls didn't show, however, was their worry for their friend. The headache must surely have meant something, but what?
Blackened figures were approaching the festival, hissing, moaning, or cackling silently as they slithered onwards. Whatever they were and whatever they were sent to do, one thing was certain: Riku's feelings of dread were more than justified.
Riku recorded the performance of the local shrine maidens as they commenced blessing the Paopu fruit and the spirits of the area. To see such an art form persist was amazing, and the actual event was simply breathtaking. It was hard to imagine that even after so many eras, certain practices never really faded away – particularly the legend of the Paopu.
"They're incredible, aren't they?" asked Homura.
"Yeah, they are." nodded Riku. "Of course, the real event is what comes after all of this…" He glanced at their gathered friends and smirked mischievously, like there was a joke he was privy to. Kyouko herself was just wishing she could wipe that expression off of Riku's face – they had already gotten past the embarrassment of the greater ramifications of the Paopu fruit legend, why did he have to keep bringing it up?
With the main event finally upon them, Riku and the others took one of the Paopu fruits that the festival had procured. Taking the star-shaped fruit, the six friends split it as best they could – unfortunately, this meant that Riku and Homura had to share the last piece, much to their abashment and their friends' amusement.
"OK, you two, start us all off!" Kyouko jibed at the two. She even procured Riku's camera for the occasion. "Just take it however you wa~nt!"
"Oh, shut up, you pervy old woman!" Riku snapped. Fed up with how everyone – save Madoka, bless her soul – seemed at least amused with how he and Homura were embarrassed, he faced Homura, who was blushing nervously, before he split his piece of Paopu right in half. Handing it over to the sabled maiden, he then looked back at all of his friends.
"Oi! Oi!" encouraged Sayaka. "Hurry it up and do it already!"
"I'm gonna get to it, sheesh!" barked Riku. He took the Paopu piece in hand as everyone else raised theirs. "Well, this is to all of us – our pasts, our present friendship, and to the future." Riku stated. He brought the fruit closer to his mouth when….
"MONSTERS!"
That snatched the silverhead's attention away from the fruit in his hand before he and his friends noticed a small river of humanity running away from…something. Dark figures were approaching the grounds and despite their silhouettes in the dark, they certainly weren't human. These creatures all looked like demons made out of strange, black-grey jumpsuits with cracks made of golden lava running through them as they moved with unnatural flexibility. What made them truly terrifying, however, was the fact that there were gaping, sometimes even bloody, holes right where their heart should have been. More than anything, the implied lack of a spiritual center brought even Riku himself to great levels of horror.
"Hollows…the anomalies left behind when body and heart are drowned in despair; the fate of those left with grudges and regrets for far too long…" Riku silently stated to himself. Wherever that memory came from, it made perfect sense to call these things "Hollow" – whatever life, humanity, or anything concerning a heart these poor souls had, all that was left was a void of rage, a fire of corruption, and a never-ending hunger.
A few policemen tried valiantly to hold these beasts off, but none of them did so much as even flinch when the bullets bounced off of them. As some of the creatures raised their hands – which had now morphed into macabre lances – Riku flew into action, despite his friends' cries of protest.
"Rik-chan!" shouted Kyouko.
"You guys go on ahead! I'll hold them off here!" the teen shouted back. Throwing all caution to the wind, he leapt right at the menagerie of monsters with a flying kick. To everyone's surprise, said kick was surrounded by rings of what could only be called genuine, fire-based magic. And with that, the Hollows – "Ghouls", Riku noted later on – were knocked back by the explosion, if not broken completely.
Homura was understandably afraid for Riku and of the current situation, even as she and the others did their level best to avoid any more of the monsters as they tried to help the rest of the crowd along away.
"Come on!" encouraged Sayaka. "We gotta help everybody out of here!" At her command, the other members of the Mitakihara group followed. Of course, that was when something else came into play...
Riku continued to combat the Ghouls with his newly-discovered magic, but they still kept coming – for what reasons, he had still yet to discover. Just then, he heard a familiar series of screams. "Everyone!" he realized. Not wasting even a second, he leapt back into the fray and knocked back several Ghouls before he turned to the girls.
"Homura! Everybody, get away!" he snapped. This moment of distraction allowed one of the Ghouls to bowl him over, with many more of its comrades joining in.
The rest surrounded Riku's friends, all of the girls huddled together and awaiting the worst.
As he saw the Hollows about to attack his friends, Riku defiantly roared "LEAVE THEM ALONE!"
Riku saw himself back on that strange platform from long ago. Looking around in confusion once more, he was surprised to see another person in this place.
A 23-year-old man with brown hair, bright blue eyes, and an outfit made of a silver shirt and black pants, shoes, and a short-sleeved jacket, greeted him.
"Welcome again, Riku Kadoya." The man began.
On edge, the silver-haired youth jumped back a bit and readied himself for battle, the Soul Blazer unconsciously appearing in his hand. "How do you know me? Better yet, can you tell me what the hell's going on here?!"
"Patience, young one" the man's hands gestured for him to calm down. Deciding that maybe this was the best thing to do, Riku lowered his hands. With that done, the man then started speaking once more.
"All I can say is that I am here to guide you as you grow – both in experience as a warrior, and as you learn new, or forgotten, truths."
"And what exactly does that mean, if I may ask?" came Riku's sarcastic reply. In response, the other man only looked on bemusedly before he said this:
"That is an answer for another time. But now, I can tell that you want to know why, exactly, these creatures are here."
"Damned straight I do! My friends and other innocent people are about to get killed if I don't act now!" Riku snapped.
"And you can help them – but first, you must complete what you started nearly a year ago. And to do that," he then pointed back to the circle of sigils around the Heart with an X, "you must know where your true abilities – the real sources of your magic – come from."
With that cue, the nine sigils started pumping magic of their own into Riku, his head once again subject to an unstoppable flood of memories. And this was only a small fragment of what he had to learn, as he would later find out. Regardless, though, he had learned enough:
He had magic made from the collective strength, skill, and emotion of Nine legendary Heroes, all of them fighting from behind the shadows to protect every life, every world. And despite their origins and circumstances, all of them shared one thing:
A heart that could never be tempted by power, blinded by deception, or lost to rage.
A will that burned stronger than even the flames of the Apocalypse itself.
And one name, one title, one identity:
Kamen Rider!
Looking to the man, Riku saw him nod in approval as he put his hand on Riku's shoulder. Taking the Soul Blazer, he spun it around in place before it changed into a keychain with a token shaped like a red gem in a circle of flames. As it wrapped around his left hand, ending with the token sitting firmly below Riku's middle knuckle, he thrust his arm out and declared the magic word:
"HENSHIN!"
And the world returned to white….
Underneath the pile of Hollows, a pillar of fire exploded outward. Sayaka, Madoka, Mami, Kyouko, and Homura stared dead at the center of the column, terrified for their friend. That same fear vanished, however, as they saw the flames…being sucked in by something?
Once the flames completely receded, Riku was revealed to have sucked the fire in through a circle of magic, much like the sigils on that strange platform. However, he had, for lack of a better word, transformed.
From head to toe he was clad in a black bodysuit which concealed his form. A silver belt with a buckle shaped like wings made into a heart was present as well. His chest was covered in red gem-like armor, which made a long line down the middle with three sections on each side that emulated muscles. His shoulders were covered in black armor with silver edges that were decorated with dragon-like crests. From his waist hung a robe-like train which was red on the inside but black on the outside. His wrists and ankles sported bands that were the same ruby red as his chest plate. Finally, his head was concealed by a silver helmet which had a ruby red faceplate, sporting metal lines making it appear as if it had large eyes with antennae rising from the forehead.
(Author's Note: For future reference, this will be more akin to the Lingering Will from the original Kingdom Hearts series dressed with some parts of the Black Cloak.)
"Kamen Rider Dexaede (Decade)….is back!" announced Riku as he slowly brought his left hand up.
His friends were stunned by the transformation and were rooted at the spot. The Ghouls, thankfully, paid no mind, as they now had their sights on Dexaede. Taking a few running steps toward him, the ruby Rider only replied with one gesture:
"Saa…showtime daa!" ("Now…it's showtime!")
And thus did Dexaede enter the fray.
The Ghouls wasted no time in trying to rush him as he started moving forward. Dexaede, on the other hand, simply called Soul Blazer forward before it shifted into a gun-like form, and fired at any of the creatures that came too close as though it was the simplest thing in the world. After hitting at least 3 of the creatures, he suddenly dashed forward, easily bypassing them all, before spinning around and delivering a kick to the back of one of them.
The creatures immediately tried to surround him, but Dexaede easily evaded them as he easily flipped over the creatures, whilst shooting them in mid-air. When he landed, one of the Hollows tried to hit him with a spear it suddenly pulled out, only for Dexaede to grab the spear, holding it in place, before shooting the creature at point blank, causing it to stumble back. He then quickly dodged under a strike from one of the beasts, before delivering kicks to two nearby creatures, before he spun around and landed a roundhouse to the creature that had just tried to attack him, pushing it back into a group of its brethren, causing them all to stumble through a stall.
Dexaede calmly pursued them, before he spun his weapon around, causing the Soul Blazer to change back into its sword form. He then dashed forward and struck several of the creatures with the sword, causing sparks to fly from the impacts. He then quickly jumped forward and spun in mid-air to avoid several of the creatures trying to counterattack, before striking them the moment he landed as he quickly spun around to catch one of them trying to attack him, and promptly used it as a shield to block another attack, before kicking it out of the way.
"Why don't you guys go back to Hell, eh?" Wizard commented with a mocking tone of dangerousness, before pushing the mob away. He then converted his weapon back into gun mode, and swiped the circle with his left hand's first two fingers, activating a finishing attack.
"Ride on, shoot! Limits, break!" the Soul Blazer called out as the gemstone glowed with multicolored light. Not wasting time, Dexaede grasped it with his left hand, causing both the gemstone and his keychain token to shine with fire-like light.
"F-F-F-Flame: Shooting Strike! Hii, hii, hii (Hii=fire)! Hii, Hii, Hii!"
Spinning around, Dexaede loosed a volley of enchanted fireballs that burned all of the Hollows to a crisp, before they all exploded in blazes of glory. The end result was Dexaede in a circle of flames, triumphant in his first battle.
All the while, the girls went from various stages of shock, to worry and terror for Riku, and ending at pure awe.
"RIKU!"
Shouting his name, the girls came running and barreled into the still-armored hero, who immediately changed back into Riku as a circle of red magical energy passed over him up from his toes.
"H-hey! Girls, seriously!" he cried out, a little overwhelmed and embarrassed by how the girls clung onto him with unrestrained relief. Not that he could really blame them, though – things did get pretty hectic back there, and even he wasn't completely sure it would have gone the way it did. It made sense that they would put so much into making sure that he was alive, well, and safe along with all of them. For now, he just let them do as they wanted.
Unfortunately, the moment we feel the most confidence and safety is often when the smallest mistake could occur – and more than anything, that small detail could spell disaster.
And man, did disaster strike! Not even a few moments after they regrouped, the Mitakihara friends were blown away by a shockwave of wind, which came from…something…leaving a crater on the ground. As they tried to gather back together, the group saw who was responsible:
A hulking , humanoid behemoth of armor loomed before them. With grey-and-black metal supplied by sickly green fluids running throughout lines on its body, the beast added to its terror with a fanged grin, manic eyes, and a wound where its right arm was, smoking with dark fog.
"Hmm…so the supposed 'Mage of Hope' has fallen here, eh?" the creature mused as it stomped towards Riku and the rest. "I'm honestly not too surprised."
"Who are you and what do you want, jackass?" Riku demanded, bringing up his sword as he shielded his friends.
"Oh, you mean me, boy?" the monster mock-asked in amusement. "Such matters won't be needed, really." He gestured to a point near where Riku was.
"This world is already on its way towards oblivion!" the suit of armor cackled before he plunged an ethereal fist into the ground, something shattering like glass beneath it.
And with that, all hell broke loose.
The ground was being rent asunder, and hurricane winds battered everything and anything in sight, flinging all of the small clan of friends across the shockwave of the blast.
"EVERYONE!" Riku cried out in alarm and horror as he saw the others falling ever further away. Turning his eyes towards the grey demon, he roared "You'll never get away with this, bastard! I will stop you!"
"BAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!" the demon cackled in response. "Go ahead and try, young mage! You can run and hunt us all you want…"
Before he knew nothing but blackness, Riku saw the monster say one last, ominous warning:
"But you will never again run home!"
Vanishing in a plume of shadows, the monster's laugh echoed throughout the air as the world of Mitakihara was lost to the chaos.
For better or worse, Riku and the others had become the last few survivors of their old home.
Thus, the wheel of fate begins to turn….
Opening Theme for Knight of the Monsterpocalypse:
Sanctuary, by Utada Hikaru
(As the music starts, we see a much younger version of Riku playing around on a beach, a woman's silhouette playfully chasing him down.)
I need more affection than you know
(With the above lines, the scene changes to present-day Riku hanging out with Homura and company, looking at the Sunset on one of Mitakihara's tourist towers. Homura leans on Riku in a way that suggests a romance, with the rest of their friends close by, but far enough to give them space. With the music that sounds like a heartbeat, though, the camera starts revolving around the group as, one by one, they fade away like sand in the wind, until only Riku is left. Taking the Soul Blazer keychain in hand, Riku then vaults over the edge of the building, the rest of the scene fading just like his friends.)
In you and I there's a new land
Angels in flight
I need more affection than you know
A sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah
(Riku lands in the middle of an entire army of Ghouls, not to mention the silhouetted forms of countless other Combatmen-type creatures, the only thing not hidden being their Slasher-like Jack-o-Lantern smiles. Not wasting a moment, Riku starts slashing, bashing, and kicking his opponents to oblivion, rushing towards a light on the tallest peak bordering the desert canyon he was in.)
Where fears and lies melt away
Music will tie
I need more affection than you know
What's left of me, what's left of me now
(Once he reaches a certain point, though, Riku finds himself lost on a strange, gear-like platform. When he looks ahead, he's shocked by the sight of a giant theatrical stage, which draws its red curtains back to reveal Homura and the rest of the group hanging limp like puppets just as streams of videos showing the girls going through God only knows what rush out at him. Forced back a significant distance by the sudden rush, Riku then finds an unsettling figure - himself, except clad in a suit of armor that eerily looks like human musculature. Though he offers his hand in a show of 'goodwill', Riku doesn't take the bait; he rushes at him before he leaps into the air, twirling about before he brutally slashes the screen/his doppelganger in half. Once the deed is done, Riku looks back at the stage, only to see the girls surrounded by nigh-countless shades shaped like girls in various combat outfits - none of which bode well for the Mitakihara friends. Suddenly, though, everything is overtaken by white...)
I watch you
Fast asleep
All I fear means nothing
(Homura blinks her eyes awake, just as she finds herself in a sea of what she assumes to be glowing water. Once she takes a handful of it, however, it turns out to be pure starlight - the River of the Heavens itself. As shes realizes this, though, she then finds Riku not far from her. Shock gave way to relief and tearful joy as she desperately raced towards her (boy)friend. However, her tears become those of heartbreak as she sees that Riku is actually falling away, although the young man gestures and calls out to her, saying that no matter what, he'll come back - "Once everything's been set right!")
In you and I there's a new land
Angels in flight
I need more affection than you know
A sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah
(As the scene changes, the rest of the Mitakihara Group rise from the River before the whole area changes into a vast, white room. The girls have also changed greatly - clad in outfits befitting both heroes of old and more...combat-oriented takes on the Magical Girl genre. Furthering their new take on life, each of the girls bear different weapons; Madoka was wielding a rose bow, Kyouko a modular spear, Sayaka a cutlass, Mami an ornate musket, and Homura herself held a straight sword not unlike a Rosary cross. All of them followed the song with 'Angels in flight' as the scene changed once more.)
Where fears and lies melt away
(Riku appeared once more, this time looking at a gigantic set of gears that curiously formed something akin to a floating island - or person...)
Music will tie
(Without hesitation, Riku transformed into Dexaede and leapt towards the gears, which suddenly arranged themselves into a vortex of grinding metal.)
I need more affection than you know
What's left of me, what's left of me
(Going further into the tunnel of gears, Dexaede's form started blurring between various other Riders - the same Riders whose spirits he'd ultimately inherit! Reaching the end, the armored Hope-bringer was now flying over an armada of villains, ranging from clockwork horrors, tentacled counterparts to the beasts of ancient myth, and countless other evils.)
So many ups and downs
My heart's a battleground
I need true emotions
I need more affection than you know
I need true emotions
(What followed was an intense frenzy of Dexaede and his predecessors plowing through the enemy forces - jabs, gunshots, cutting blades, and even bursts of magic littered the battlefield. With one last strike, though, Dexaede broke through a fragile mirror - one that also caused the rest of the surroundings to crack as well, with the ruby knight now falling towards a new destination...)
You show me how to see
That nothing is whole
And nothing is broken
(As he was falling, Dexaede recalled a very important moment he shared with Homura - when he had officially spent one year as part of the Akemi household. Once everybody else had left, Homura gave her own gift to Riku: A small, but still loving, kiss upon Riku's brow, the first seed of what he hoped would become a genuine relationship. With renewed vigor, he fully dived past the veil of water that surrounded him before he broke into the last arena.)
In you and I there's a new land
Angels in flight
I need more affection than you know
A sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah
(Once he touched down, Dexaede looked about before his sights settled on two girls that looked surprisingly like Madoka and Homura - but the first girl had amber eyes, angel wings, and much longer hair and a dress that reminded Riku of a goddess, while Homura's copy wore her own Magical Girl uniform. Trying to reach them, Dexaede then found himself forced out of his transformation, just as a glass capsule shaped like a lotus enveloped him. Banging his fist against it in an attempt to break out, both of the girls walked up to him and placed their hands on the surface, before they both told them - though faintly - that things would be alright. But since Riku didn't honestly believe so, the two girls then placed caring kisses on his brow. And with that, Riku started falling back, losing consciousness.)
Where fears and lies melt away
Music will tie
(As Riku fell, images of the past Riders also drifted away from him, until they had vanished into shooting stars. Back at the void where Riku met them, the other Madoka and Homura looked back at the Mitakihara girls, still in slumber, before they turned away, vanishing behind a veil of silver fog...)
I need more affection than you know
What's left of me, what's left of me now
(Homura was lying on a grassy field, taking a nap alongside the rest of her friends. Riku, on the other hand, was falling towards her position, although he was nothing but a stream of magic at this point. Closer and closer, Riku finally collided with Homura - but when that happened, they both broke through another veil of water, with only Homura showing any signs of waking up.)
My fears, my lies
Melt away
(Drifting further and further, Homura woke up before she noticed Riku's comatose body. Fearing for him, she righted herself up before she embraced Riku in a vice-like grip. When they finally touched down, the two were alone in a field of pure black, with only a little light showing their own bodies. Not feeling any signs of life from Riku, Homura clutched him even tighter, tears now falling steadily from her closed eyes.)
I need more affection than you know
(To Homura's surprise, though, the black starts chaging colors - as it turns out, both her and Riku are facing a rising sun, with the light eventually revealing where they were - another grassy plain, except this time, suits of armor were kneeling in a protective circle around the two wayward souls. Surprised at first, Homura then smiled the most relieved smile she ever had, with Riku himself smiling a bit, even in his coma. With things finally looking up, the camera then pans toward the night sky turning into morning, showing the title logo for the show here:
Knight of the Monsterpocalypse
Author's Note:
Hello, everyone! I'm back in business, and hopefully I can get more things done for my works! But seriously, I'm really sorry for taking so long with anything good to show, honest! As it turns out, building a new universe really takes time, imagination, and liberties with the source material….I'm not sure if this will be any good, but please notify me on where I can improve!
That said, I'm also ironing out Chain of Fated Memories Chap. 5, so everyone please be patient and give your whole opinion! I want to do the best I can, so give me all ya got!