A/N: Hello there, and welcome to my newest Kamen Rider project! It's been a while since I created an OC Kamen Rider, and inspired by the newest entry in the Ultra Series franchise, Ultraman Orb, I've decided to have another shot at creating an OC Rider series! Like Orb, this Rider has cards as its collectible objects, although like Kamen Rider Blade these cards will contain the story's monsters, albeit in tarot card-like form as opposed to playing cards like Blade. And unlike Orb it doesn't involve the fusion of two cards into one form, but it involves the fusion of the monster contained within a card with a human's body to create the Rider's form.
Well then, with this sucky author's note out of the way, let's roll on with the story!
Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, TOEI does.
xxx
Thailand, 108 years ago
Standing in the middle of a burning village were two warriors, who had been battling it out throughout the night all the way towards the early hours of the next day, neither of them having the upper-hand over each other at the cost of the buildings and people around them.
The first warrior was a monstrous brute, based on a Japanese rhinoceros beetle, it has a humanoid shape, tall, muscular, and imposing in build. It was dark purple in color, but the darkness of the night made it look charcoal black. Its head resembled that of a Japanese rhinoceros beetle, the iconic horns and all, with a pair of demonic yellow eyes and a feral grin on its face. Silver chains hung from the humanoid's large shoulder pads, draping across its muscular chest in an "X" formation, while a simple purple loincloth was wrapped on the humanoid's waist. Sharp claws adorn the humanoid's fingers, while its feet resembles pointed boots.
Facing off against the monster in front of it was another humanoid being, this time leaner in shape and covered entirely from head to toe in a radiating white light. The light emanating from the second humanoid's body was so bright, it obscured most if not all of its features, with a jagged, disc-like weapon on its back the only notable characteristic of this humanoid of light.
Crawling out of the wreckage near the two warriors was a young girl, her parents perished the moment their wooden house went down on them. Frightened and injured, the girl watched on as the two warriors in front of them faced off, ready to fight once again.
The monstrous warrior struck first, firing several bolts of purple lightning from its right fist. The bolts struck the warrior of light on its chest, causing it to groan in pain as it stumbled back a bit. The light warrior staggered against the bolts striking its chest for a few seconds, before with a swipe of its right hand, the bolts were easily deflected away, resulting in a series of explosions behind the light warrior that frightened the young girl nearby.
Clenching its right fist, the light warrior decided to make its own move, rushing towards the surprised monstrous warrior and catching it off guard, landing a powerful uppercut onto the monster's left chest. Energy surged throughout the monstrous warrior's body from the light warrior's fist, causing the monstrous warrior's body to glow white for a few brief seconds.
And then, it happened.
The monstrous warrior's body exploded spectacularly, the energies discharged by the huge explosion vaporizing everyone and everything in the surroundings, the trees, the still standing houses of the villages, and even the young girl witnessing the battle, none of them are spared from the explosion's destructive radiation.
Within seconds, the entire village was eradicated by the monstrous warrior's destruction.
As the inferno from the explosion raged on, a young man stood in the middle of the now destroyed village, a weary look on his face. Aged around 20, the man has a tall and skinny build, with tanned brown skin, a small mole on his upper left lip, and chin-length straight black hair. Currently wearing nothing but an ornate-looking cloth around his waist, the young man slowly picks up a card from the ground, the card depicting a purple Japanese rhinoceros beetle flying through several lightning clouds with a purple horizontal line on its left hand side, the words "THUNDER KABUTO" emblazoned in white on said line, a small yellow lightning bolt symbol above it. The back of the card was gunmetal gray in color, with a stylized A superimposed on a shield engraved on it. The man then turned his attention towards the destruction around him, his black eyes welling up in tears as he realized what had just happened.
Standing alone in the middle of the destroyed village, the man lets out an anguished cry that echoed throughout the area…
xxx
KAMEN RIDER VOYAGER
Episode 1: The Wandering Voyager
OP: Eiyuu no Uta – THE ALFEE
xxx
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, present day
Standing proudly in one of Vietnam's largest cities was the Bitexco Financial Tower, one of the icons of Ho Chi Minh City. Often called "the real life Avengers Tower" because of its resemblance to the iconic building from the Marvel comics, the Bitexco Financial Tower was the 3rd highest building in Vietnam, towering over the city with its 68 stories and its distinct helipad. And our story will start from the building's helipad, where we see three humanoid figures standing on it.
The figures were human, clad in ornate green fabric from head to toe. Consisting of two men and a woman, the trio looked down on the busy streets of Saigon beneath them, evil smirks appearing on their faces.
"Looks like the time has come, Temperance," said the first figure clad in light green traditional Chinese clothing, an auburn-haired Caucasian man with a skinny and lanky figure, a pair of round glasses on his face, and an abacus in his arms, "Those humans won't see what'll hit them."
The second figure, an orange-haired muscular Eurasian man clad in a green tank-top, nodded in agreement, "You're right, Hanged Man." The second figure then turned his attention towards the third figure, a white-skinned Vietnamese woman with silky long black hair and clad in a green ao dai (Vietnamese traditional silk dress), "Hermit, send forth our Ace to start our game."
Hermit nodded, taking out a lantern-shaped box. Opening the box, she took out a card, which depicts an eagle soaring through the sky with a green line on the left hand side of the card, several swirling symbols are seen on the top left corner. Closing the box and placing it on the helipad, the woman closed her eyes, muttered an inaudible incantation, before she lifts her right hand to the skies above, gently letting the wind blowing the card away from her grasp.
"May the Eagle pleases his fellow Wind Tribesmen," Hermit said as she, Hanged Man, and Temperance saw the card flying away with the wind.
xxx
Halfway across the city, a man wearing a gray shirt, green shorts and a green cap was seen selling balloons to children at a local park. It was a typical Sunday afternoon in Ho Chi Minh City, and with kids flocking the park to enjoy their holiday with their parents, sales has been going quite well for the man.
"Here you go," the middle-aged man said as he handed over an orange balloon to a young boy in front of him, "Enjoy your day."
"Thank you Sir!" the boy said, his face beaming in excitement as he accepted his balloon.
After the boy and his family left his humble balloon stall, the man decided to blow more balloons for his future customers, when a slight breeze suddenly blew through the area.
"Oh my," the man said as he saw the balloons strapped to his stall swaying with the breeze, "Better make sure these won't get blown away."
Suddenly the man felt a slight jab on his chest, an agonizing pain spreading throughout his body seconds afterwards. Groaning in pain, the man slowly collapses to the ground, attracting the attention of several bystanders near the stall.
"Sir, are you okay?"
"Sir?"
"Somebody call an ambulance!"
"Hang in there, Sir!"
As more and more bystanders surrounded his prone body, the man let out a louder groan as he clutched his chest, a slight green glow coming out of it. Suddenly the man stopped moving the moment the glow on his chest died out, much to the panic of the bystanders around him. Seconds afterwards his eyes shot open, a greenish glow coming out of them as an evil smirk formed on the man's face.
"Feels so good to be back."
Suddenly the balloon stall and the bystanders surrounding the man were all blown away by a sudden gust of wind, as the man slowly stood up, a grayish tornado forming around him. The man then threw his arms apart, sending two more tornadoes to wreak havoc on the park. Noticing an apartment building standing nearby, the man thrusts his right hand towards it, sending a tornado that smashed right through the building, splitting it in half. As the top half of the apartment building came crashing down on the ground, people in the park and its surrounding areas fled for their lives as more tornadoes began to show up, taking those who were unlucky enough to avoid their wrath and flinging them to their deaths. More and more buildings around the park were blown away by the tornadoes, killing their occupants and those who were unfortunate enough to be crushed underneath their rubble.
Slowly the man walked away from the park entrance, a scene of carnage and destruction unfolding around him. A greenish glow slowly overtook the man's body, morphing him into something else completely. His body became taller and more muscular, while a pair of wings bursts out from his back. His head transformed into that of an eagle's, while his fingers became talons. The light enveloping the man soon disappeared, revealing the man's transformed self for the world to see.
Standing in the man's place was an eagle-themed humanoid, hulking in build and covered in sky blue feathers from head to toe. A green loincloth supported by a golden belt was seen on the humanoid's waist, while golden talons adorned the humanoid's three fingers and three toes. The humanoid eyes were green in color, while his beak has the same dash of gold as his talons. Streaks of dark blue feathers were seen on the humanoid's wings, which spread proudly on his back, while a crest of red feathers was seen on top of the humanoid's head.
The eagle humanoid slowly looked around, a slight chuckle escaping his beak as he feasted on the destruction that he has created. Buildings have crumbled, dead bodies lie everywhere, trees have been cut down and uprooted, while the skies above the humanoid remained black from the tornadoes that he had summoned earlier.
"I must say, I've done my Tribe proud with this," the eagle humanoid said smugly, before looking up towards the skies above him, "Now, to spread my storms across this city…"
With a mighty grunt, the eagle humanoid leapt off towards the skies, his powerful wings letting off powerful gusts of wind in the process. As the area below him reeled from the destruction that he had caused, the eagle humanoid flew off into the horizon, ready to spread more destruction to the city…
xxx
*BEEP BEEP BEEP*
"Just five more minutes, Mom."
*BEEP BEEP BEEP*
"Not now, Mom."
*BEEP BEEP BEEP*
"Ah, fuck it."
The annoying beeping noise from the alarm clock was quickly silenced by a female hand tossing it aside, causing it to fall from the nightstand where it was placed. The owner of the hand let out a sluggish yawn, stretching her body reluctantly before sitting up on her bed.
20-year old Pham Vu To Quyen, affectionately called "Steffi" by those close to her, blinked her eyes groggily as she came to her senses, picking up her glasses from her nightstand and wearing them, before she realized what she had just done.
"Ah, crap," Steffi muttered, picking up the broken alarm clock from the floor and placing it back on the nightstand, "Reminder to myself, tonight I need to buy my fifth alarm clock for the week…"
Slipping onto her green rabbit slippers, Steffi slowly walked up towards a full-body mirror standing in front of her bed. Tidying up her messed-up shoulder-length straight black hair, the white-skinned young woman straightens up her lime green T-shirt, a yellow duck was seen printed on it, before she adjusted her light brown shorts into place. Now looking more like her normal self rather than someone who has just jumped out of bed, Steffi went out of her room, going towards her apartment's kitchen to fix herself some breakfast.
As she made a nice glass of iced milk coffee for herself, Steffi decided to turn on her radio to catch herself up with the current affairs.
"…and with last night's victory over last-placed Dong Thap, Binh Duong are chasing surprise packages QNK Quang Nam on the standings. Now, moving on with our daily weather report. Strange storm patterns have been detected above Saigon for the past couple of hours, with tornadoes being sighted at Districts 10, 7, 12, Binh Chanh, and Hoc Mon. Around 76 people have been reportedly killed, with hundreds injured…"
"Holy shit," Steffi gasped, drinking her coffee nervously, "Let's hope that tornado won't come here…"
"…meteorologists all over Vietnam has been baffled by this sudden increase of storms on one isolated area. With the unpredictable weather outside, it is advised for everyone living in the Ho Chi Minh City Metropolitan Area to stay indoors and stay safe. The citizens of Long An, Vung Tau, Ba Ria, Dong Nai, and Tien Giang are also advised to be careful of sudden weather changes as we cross our fingers and hope that the storms in Saigon would subside soon…"
Suddenly a knock on the door attracted Steffi's attention, prompting her to place her cup of coffee on the dining table, "Coming!"
Opening the door, Steffi was immediately pushed back inside by two other young women, both of them also 20-years old like her. The two of them are slightly shorter than Steffi, with fair white skin and a pair of glasses on their faces. The only distinguishing feature between these two was that one has freckles on her face and shoulder-length curly black hair tied in a ponytail, while the other has short, bleached pink hair. The two of them were now wearing large, light gray raincoats that literally enveloped their small figures, earning a gasp of shock from Steffi.
"Kim, Vy!" Steffi gasped as she saw her two friends in front of her, "What on Earth are you wearing?"
"Special anti-storm jackets that Vy has been developing for the past two weeks," replied Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, the one with the bleached pink hair, "We saw the news about the tornadoes on TV about half an hour ago and decided to tag you along with us."
"Why's that?" Steffi asked, "Isn't that dangerous?"
"This might perk your interest," Nguyen Thanh Thao Vy, the one with the freckles, immediately took out her iPhone, opening its Twitter app and showing it to Steffi, "Reports has been coming in from eyewitness that saw the storms with their own eyes, and all of them reported that they saw what seems to be a birdman just before the tornadoes arrives."
"Bird…man?" Steffi's eyes went wide with interest, "Could it be…"
"…a cryptid," Vy finished, pocketing her iPhone once again before handing Steffi an identical jacket to hers and Kim's that has been rolled up neatly, "Finally this is a chance for our Supernatural Investigation Group to be taken seriously!"
Steffi sighed, accepting the jacket from Vy, "Fine. You two have already warmed up the car, right?"
"Yeap, I'm driving," Kim smiled.
"Good, good," Steffi nodded, knowing all too well about Kim's prowess behind the wheel, "And how are we going to track down this bird man again?"
"I've built a storm-detecting device that has been installed on our car," Vy replied, a prideful look on her face, "And I've also provided us with handheld versions of it so that we could still track our target down on foot!"
"Excellent," Steffi gave Vy a thumbs up, "Now what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
xxx
Just outside Ho Chi Minh City, a black Suzuki Hayabusa GSX1300R pulled itself into a stop right next to the city's border sign. The motorcycle's rider was a young man, tall and skinny in build, clad in a black leather jacket, a black T-shirt, dark blue trousers and black military boots, while his head was concealed underneath his jet black helmet with its dark visor closed.
The man slowly looked up towards the skies over Ho Chi Minh City, noticing the ominous dark clouds heading towards it.
"They're here," the man spoke to no-one in particular as he slowly took out a card from his jacket pocket. The card depicted a white unicorn standing in front of a pearly white gate, radiating white light coming out of it. A golden horizontal line runs down on the card's left hand side, the words "HIGH PRIESTESS" written in black was emblazoned on the line, while a small symbol that resembled a yellow star was seen above the words. The backside of the card was gunmetal gray in color, with the roman numerals "II" engraved on it. "Looks like we've finally arrived. Apparently the Maojins have started their move."
"My senses could detect a huge convergence of Maojins in this city," the card spoke in a gentle female voice, the unicorn image on it flashing a few times as it spoke, "Something in this city must have attracted Maojins from all over the world to gather here."
"Well then, it's up to us to find out," the man said, his tone determined, "I don't know about you, but something tells me that the final part of our journey has just started. What do you say about this, Karin? Will you stick with me until the end?"
"I'm positive," replied the card, now identified as Karin, "Shall we do this?"
"We shall," the man said, pocketing Karin into his jacket once again.
Immediately the man revved his motorcycle into Ho Chi Minh City, his instincts telling him to go after the dark clouds heading towards the city center.
xxx
Steffi, Kim, and Vy have arrived at a riverside park located in the city's District 1, each of them were wearing the same oversized jackets and holding in their hands devices resembling walkie-talkies with an LED screen on it and much more complex-looking antennas than your average walkie-talkies. These were Vy's homemade storm tracking devices, designed to detect the slightest of change in wind patterns, rain intensities, and electromagnetic changes in the sky. These were rudimentary compared to the ones made by professionals, but nevertheless, they still work like a charm.
"No signs of anything strange here," Steffi said as she strolled by the riverside, "How about you two?"
"Nope, nothing out of the ordinary," Kim replied as she lifted the device above her head, "What about you, Vy?"
"I've got nothing too," Vy shook her head, before she noticed a Subaru Impreza police car parking behind the group's bright yellow Suzuki Swift, "Oh crap…"
"What is it?" Steffi asked as she and Kim approached Vy, before she knew all too well what's going to happen next, "Oh, not this shit again…"
Stepping out of the police car were a policeman and a policewoman, both of them wearing their respective police uniforms. But what made these officers different than any other police officers of the city in Steffi's eyes was in fact that she knew these officers personally.
The male officer was 23-year old Pham Minh Tuan, which everyone usually calls Leo. A dashing-looking athletic young man, he looked well-toned and experienced from all the field work that he has done as an officer despite his young age. His rather spiked black hair is styled in a short, military-styled buzz-cut, while his skin was considerably more tanned than Steffi's. No one would expect that Leo here was actually Steffi's older brother due to their contrasting looks and also personalities.
The female officer was 19-year old Dao Ngoc Phuong Anh, and even though her colleagues would formally call her Phuong, her close friends and family would usually calls her Hako. Compared to Steffi, Kim, and Vy who were around their 150 centimeters in height, Hako stood at a towering 169 centimeters, almost matching Leo at 173. Her tall and rather muscular build made her look rather imposing to others, but in reality Hako's a gentle girl who likes to relax when she's not busy. With her long light brown hair, ample-looking bust, and a pair of thin-framed glasses on her face, Hako has earned herself a lot of admires in the force, but right now she only wants to focus on her current position as Leo's partner in the field, a job that she's taken for the past one and a half year since she graduated from the academy.
"You girls again? My God…" Leo shook his head in dismay as he and Hako approached Steffi's group, "What are you girls doing here? A storm warning has been announced about two hours ago. You three should be at home."
"We're just investigating this storm," Steffi said, trying her best to hide the truth even though she knows that her brother will figure it out eventually, "You know, because it's kinda unusual that a storm like this would come to our city?"
"Oh really?" Hako lifted her eyebrows, having being told by Leo about his sister's antics during their patrols, "You sure about that?"
"Yeah, suuuuure," Steffi grinned sheepishly.
Leo chuckled, "You're looking for a cryptid again, aren't you?"
Immediately Steffi and her friends were taken aback by that, with Kim and Vy literally going as white as bedsheets.
"How did you know?" Steffi gasped.
"My oh my," Leo shook his head as he chuckled, "I'm your brother, remember? I always knew when you're lying or not. And from the way you grinned, you're definitely lying."
"Fine," Steffi sighed, "We heard the news about the storms about an hour ago and we heard from Twitter that a birdman has been sighted within the storm clouds. We're trying to track it down so that we could get some solid photographic and video evidence."
"For what?" Hako asked.
"To help you guys, obviously," Steffi sighed again, "I mean come on, there has been a few unusual incidents in Ho Chi Minh City lately that involves cryptids and other creatures beyond the explanation of science. We're trying to do our best so that the police force could solve these incidents quickly…besides, the people of the city deserve to know what's happening, right?"
Leo shook his head as he gave out a gentle sigh, kneeling down next to Steffi and giving his younger sister a pat to the head, "I know what you guys are trying to do and I…I mean we at the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department really appreciate that. But these incidents…these are dangerous incidents that we're talking about here, okay? We're talking about lives being lost, properties being destroyed, an overall disruption to the peace. And the last thing that I wanted to see is my baby sister getting harmed. So please, just leave these things to us, okay?"
A clearly displeased Steffi was about to argue when suddenly she heard a strange screeching noise from the skies above.
"Did you hear that?" Steffi asked.
Before she could get an answer, a loud whistle attracted the attention of everyone in the park. Everyone turned around to see the young man from before, leaning against his motorcycle. He took off his helmet, revealing himself as the same man from the flashback 108 years ago, only this time his hair is rather unkempt. Strangely enough the man doesn't look Vietnamese – his face indicates that he's from either Indonesia or Malaysia.
"Hey guys," the man waved at the group, his Vietnamese surprisingly good despite his foreign looks, "I would suggest you guys to get the Hell out of here."
"Why's that?" Leo asked.
The man took a brief glance at the skies above him, as a group of ominous dark clouds hung overhead, "The devil's wind is coming."
"Eh?" Everyone blinked after hearing that, having no idea on what the man had just said.
"Who are you?" Steffi asked, just as the man hopped onto his motorcycle and placed his helmet on.
Instead of an answer, all that Steffi got was the sound of the man's motorcycle revving away from the park, leaving the group dumbfounded.
Suddenly the devices on Steffi, Kim, and Vy's hands began to beep violently, surprising especially the latter. Immediately Vy checked out the readings on her device's screen and what she saw horrified her a lot.
"920?!" Vy gasped, prompting Steffi and Kim to check their own devices with Leo peeking on Steffi's and Hako looking at Vy's, "Numbers like these are unthinkable even for the worst storms that Vietnam has faced so far! There's a tornado heading towards here about 300 meters from us…and it's bringing a multitude of smaller ones!"
As if on cue, a swirling black cloud flew over the park and the group's heads, with glimpses of the eagle humanoid from before seen from within it. As the cloud approached a series of buildings standing just across the river, it suddenly stopped and started swirling around, creating a huge tornado that immediately smashes through the buildings like cardboards. A loud screech was heard from the cloud as smaller tornadoes began to appear from it, finishing the damage that the huge one has made.
"Hako, did you see that?" Leo gasped.
"Yeah," Hako nodded, "There's no mistake…there's an Unrecorded Lifeform."
"That's a cryptid," Steffi interrupted.
"It's a police jargon," Hako told Steffi, before turning her attention back to Leo, "Should I call back-up?"
"You must definitely should," Leo replied.
Nodding at her partner, Hako immediately ran towards her and Leo's squad car, grabbing the walkie-talkie on the dashboard and establishing communications with HQ, "This is Officer Phuong here at District 1, we have a situation at District 4 just across Calmette Bridge, I repeat, there's a situation at District 4 just across Calmette Bridge. There's a possibility of multiple casualties, requesting immediate back-up."
"We're gonna handle this from here," Leo said, "Just go home and stay safe, okay?"
"And miss this opportunity? Hell no, bro," Steffi shook her head defiantly, before turning her attention towards both Kim and Vy, "Alright girls, this is it. We're going to that tornado and we're going to get evidence of that birdman no matter what! Let's go!"
"Yeah!" both Kim and Vy nodded excitedly.
As Leo watched on in dismay, Steffi and her friends immediately ran towards their car and sped away towards the tornado's direction, completely ignoring the dangers that might befall them at their destination.
"My God, my sister sure is stubborn as Hell," Leo muttered as the yellow Swift vanishes from sight.
"Backup will come in about 5 minutes," Hako reported as she came back from the squad car, before she realizes that Steffi's group has gone missing, "Where's your sister and her friends?"
"They left," Leo sighed, "They went towards that tornado."
"What?!" Hako shot out in surprise, "Leo, it's really dangerous there! Why didn't you stop them?"
"I tried," Leo said, "But then again, it's my sister that we're talking about here. Once she sets her sights on something…nothing and I mean nothing can stop her. I guess the only thing that we could do…is to pray for her safety. And of course stopping that Unrecorded Lifeform from destroying the city."
"Shall we go?" Hako asked.
Leo nodded, "Tell backup to catch up with us at District 4, and don't forget to inform all the available ambulances in both Districts 1 and 4 to be prepared for any victims."
"Gotcha," Hako winked at her partner before she dashed towards the squad car, with Leo following her suit.
Sirens blaring, Leo immediately drove the squad car towards District 4, the traffic around them clearing away to allow a clear path for the two police officers.
xxx
Moments after they had crossed Calmette Bridge, Steffi's group were immediately greeted by a sight out of Hell itself. A tornado almost struck their car, causing Kim to quickly spin the vehicle around it much to everyone's discomfort. Vy's manning the camera right now, riding shotgun next to Kim as she took video footage of the tornado and the carnage that it has caused, while Steffi hanged on tightly at the back.
"God damn," Kim cursed, "Looks like it is no use if we go on by car. I'll find somewhere safe to park this baby and we'll continue on foot."
After 15 minutes of frantic driving, the girls had finally found an alleyway safe from the tornadoes' rampage, allowing Kim to park the car inside it safely. As the tornadoes continued their rampage around them, the three girls immediately put on their jackets and pocketed their storm trackers, ready to track down their target on foot. But just as Steffi and the others were about to step out of their car…
*THUD*
A man suddenly fell on top of the car's roof, startling Steffi and her friends. What happened next made them even more startled – the man calmly placed his face against the car's windshield, allowing him to see everyone inside the vehicle clearly. A look of concern is visible on the man's face…but surprisingly he didn't looked like someone who had just fallen out of the sky. In fact, this man's totally unscratched at all!
"Hey!" the man called out as he tapped onto the car's windscreen with his right hand's fingers, "You three should really get out of here, fast."
Steffi gasped, realizing that the man in front of them is in fact the same man who had spoken about "the devil's wind" earlier at the park, "Speak for yourself! What are you doing out there?"
"Saving the day, genius," the man replied, leaping off the car's roof and onto the alleyway, before turning around to see a tornado heading towards him, "So, they've decided to send out the Ace of Wands, huh?"
Seeing the tornado now stopping in front of the alleyway as if beckoning for him, the man immediately ran towards it, just as Steffi and her group had gotten out of their car.
"Wait!" Steffi called out, only to have her call fell into deaf ears. Quickly she turned around towards her friends, "Vy, prepare the camera! Looks like that man might lead us to our breakthrough!"
As the man approached the tornado, it slowly dissipated away, revealing the eagle humanoid from before, his arms cross over his chest while a smug smile can be seen on his beak. Excitement radiated out from the humanoid's eyes as they made contact with the man's own, the latter glaring daggers at the being in front of him.
"I know it was you," the man said as Steffi and her friends immediately hid themselves behind a large garbage can behind him, Vy's hand sticking out to record the entire encounter with her camera, "Ace of Wands…also known as the Eagle Maojin."
The Eagle Maojin chuckled, "Spot on, from the man who has been hunting our kind down for the past 657 years. Tell me, how did you know that was me?"
"No Wind Tribe member would cause such destruction except for their strongest fighter," the man replied, "An idiot move, I have to say…sending out their toughest guy first instead of testing the waters first? What'll happen if I seal you back?"
"The Maojins desire destruction and by sending out their strongest warriors first…they will ensure that the human race would suffer through Hell before submitting to us," the Eagle Maojin said, "And besides…mass destruction will speed up the awakening process and even if I'm sealed…another Maojin will take my place as the Ace of Wands."
From behind the garbage can, Steffi, Kim, and Vy watched the entire conversation anxiously, eager to see what'll happen next. A million thoughts swam inside Steffi's mind right now after she had listened to the man and the Eagle Maojin's conversation, and with that a million question emerged in her head.
"Maojin? Ace of Wands? Wind Tribe? Seal? Awakening process?" Steffi thought as she watched on, "What's going on here? Are these so-called Maojins the cryptids that has been running around Saigon lately?"
"I won't let you guys have your way," the man said, taking out a silver rectangular device from his jacket, "No one's getting awakened and the only thing that's going to happen is you getting sealed back into your card prison."
"Try as you might," the Eagle Maojin chuckled again, "But do you have what it takes to take down the strongest fighter of the Maojin's Wind Tribe?"
The Eagle Maojin immediately flapped his wings, sending a gust of wind towards the man. Immediately the man rolled out of the way, placing the rectangular device on his waist in the process, a pair of silver straps securing it into place, forming a belt around the man's waist with the device as its buckle. Steffi and her friends were not that lucky, however, with the wind blowing the garbage can's contents all over them much to their disgust.
"God damn it!" Steffi winced as she removed old newspapers from her face, "That was some wind!"
"Who the fuck throw diapers into this thing?" Kim said in disgust as she removed a used diaper from her head, "I thought they have specific garbage cans for these kind of things?!"
On the other hand, Vy remained focused on her camera, even though she coughed up several leftover rice from her mouth.
Back to the man and the Eagle Maojin, the former had stood up to his feet, revealing the device on his waist for the world to see. It was rectangular in shape with silver coloring; a rounded translucent screen was seen on the center while a red tab was seen on the right hand side of the device. Two slots were seen on the hip sections of the belt, one on each side with each slot resembling the slots you insert your tickets to when you're in the subway. On the back was a card holder, with a few cards waiting to be picked up.
The man reached for his back and picked up the Thunder Kabuto card, brandishing it at the Eagle Maojin much to the kaijin's horror.
"You monster!" the Eagle Maojin roared, "The Ace of Shields doesn't deserve that fate!"
"Well too bad," the man said, "Looks like I'm going to use your friend's power to kick your ass."
The man pulled out the tab on his belt buckle, revealing a slot and prompting a computerized male voice to yell out,
READY!
The man then inserted the Thunder Kabuto card into the slot, with the Japanese rhinoceros beetle image facing frontwards. Placing his right hand over his right hip, the man crossed his left hand in front of his face and uttered the famous words that would make anyone with evil intentions shudder in fear…
"Henshin!"
Immediately the man slammed the tab shut, inserting the card into his belt buckle in the process.
ACE HENSHIN! THUNDER KABUTO!
The translucent screen on the buckle soon glowed purple, with a white image of a Japanese rhinoceros beetle emblazoned on it. Uplifting music was heard from the buckle as a purple ring of energy bursts out from the man's midsection, splitting into two halves as it scanned the man's body from top to bottom, covering him in a black bodysuit. The bodysuit had no distinguishing features whatsoever, apart from a pair of glowing yellow eyes on the helmet and a glowing purple insignia on the middle of the chest, shaped like a circle with the head of a Japanese rhinoceros beetle sticking out from its right side.
Purple grid lines began to materialize around the bodysuit, configuring themselves into pieces of armor that stuck themselves onto the bodysuit's shoulders, torso, gauntlets, and greaves. Each of these armor were purple in color, with silver linings, trims, and highlighting. The shoulder armors were also purple in color, with a silver streak splitting them in the middle and extending out to form a spike, while the torso armor rests comfortably between the belt buckle and the chest insignia. Finally grid lines began to appear around the bodysuit's helmet, forming a Japanese rhinoceros beetle-themed helmet that clicked itself into place on the bodysuit's head. Colored purple with a silver mouthpiece, the helmet's yellow eyes flashed three times to indicate the final phase of the transformation – the appearance of purple lines that ran down the arms, thighs, legs, and the sides of the suit's torso.
With the transformation finally completed, standing in the man's place was a Japanese rhinoceros beetle-themed warrior, colored in a deep shade of purple with a black bodysuit emblazoned by purple lines of the same shade.
"My name is Voyager!" the warrior declared, pointing at himself with his right thumb, "I shine light in the darkness…" he then proceeds to point at the Eagle Maojin with his right index finger, "…and I vanquish evil!"
From the sidelines, Steffi and her friends watched the man's transformation in both amazement and disbelief. Never before they've seen an armored warrior like the one fighting in front of their eyes, but they had heard about stories of such warriors before. Fighting for peace and justice in Japan, these masked warriors would stop at nothing in vanquishing evil around them. From the Shocker organization of 1971 to the Gamma invasion of 2016, the Bugster outbreak of 2017, the invasions of the Dark Holes and Renegade Bonds in 2019 as well as the ongoing Kusarei attack in Japan, for 52 years these warriors have protected Japan and the world, and right now one of these warriors was fighting in front of their own eyes.
"Kamen Rider…" Steffi muttered, before a realization hits her. Immediately she turned her attention towards Vy, "Vy, is your camera still recording?"
"Yes it is," Vy replied with a nod, "What's wrong?"
"Keep recording," Steffi said, a determined look on her face, "Something tells me that we're getting our biggest scoop yet today!"
(Cue BGM: Specium Zepellion no Theme – Takao Konishi from the Ultraman Orb OST)
Both Voyager, the purple warrior, and the Eagle Maojin charged towards each other, the latter having equipped himself with a sky blue curved sword with green feathers hanging from the hilt. The Eagle Maojin struck first, swinging his sword towards Voyager, but the purple warrior manage to swat it easily with his right palm, a left jab to the chest ensues. Before the Eagle Maojin could regain his composure, Voyager attacked again, kicking the kaijin three times on the chest, before sending a fourth kick towards the Eagle Maojin's beak, sending the kaijin spiraling back to the ground.
"This is the power of the strongest Wind Tribe Maojin?" Voyager mocked as the Eagle Maojin struggled to stand up, rubbing his beak in pain, "I should have expected more from the Ace of Wands."
The Eagle Maojin chuckled as he regained his composure, "Not bad, not bad. But let me show you the real power of the Ace of Wands!"
The Eagle Maojin immediately thrusted his right palm forward, sending a small tornado towards Voyager. The purple warrior couldn't avoid the incoming tornado on time and he was sent flying by it, landing back first on a stack of cardboard boxes. Seeing his advantage, the Eagle Maojin grabbed his sword and swiped the air several times, sending several slashes of green energy towards the downed Voyager, striking the warrior on the chest repeatedly.
Meanwhile, Leo and Hako's squad car had pulled itself into a stop nearby, with their backup standing by near them. The two officers stepped out of their car and were immediately greeted by the sight of both Voyager and the Eagle Maojin fighting.
"I've gotten sight of the Unrecorded Lifeform!" Leo exclaimed, "But the purple one…who's that? And what is it doing with the Unrecorded Lifeform?"
"Is it…fighting it?" Hako asked, equally puzzled as her partner.
"Dunno," Leo shrugged, preparing his handgun, "But we need to prepare for the worst. Tell our backup to be prepared."
Hako nodded, before turning her attention towards the police officers already standing by behind them, "In front of us is a battle between an Unrecorded Lifeform and an unknown combatant. One of them is dangerous, the other one, we don't know. Until this battle is over, no one is to engage any participant of this battle, but prepare yourselves for the worst. If the Unrecorded Lifeform wins, gun it down with extreme prejudice. But if the unknown combatant wins…"
Hako went silent for a few seconds, her thoughts still thinking of the most appropriate way to deal with Voyager.
"What should we do?" asked a policeman.
Hako turned her attention towards Leo, "If the purple one wins…what should we do?"
Leo drowned himself in his thoughts for a few seconds, before coming up with a solution that he felt was best for all of them, "If the purple one wins, we bring it in for questioning. We need to know who it is, why it's fighting the Unrecorded Lifeform, and whether it's our friend or foe."
"Gotcha," Hako nodded, before turning her attention back to the policemen behind them, "If the unknown combatant wins, we'll bring it in for questioning. Try your best not to engage it in combat but try to contain it as best as you can."
Back to the battle between Voyager and the Eagle Maojin, the two combatants had resorted to exchanging fisticuffs, with neither of them having the advantage over the other. Deciding to up the ante, the Eagle Maojin brought up his sword once again, slashing Voyager across the chest twice, before the third slash was blocked by the warrior literally grabbing the sword's blade.
"What?!" the Eagle Maojin gasped.
With a simple toss, the Eagle Maojin's sword was robbed from the kaijin's possession, before a punch charged with purple electricity to the creature's right eye sends him stumbling back in pain.
"Damn it!" the Eagle Maojin cursed, his right hand covering his injured right eye, "You win this round, Voyager…but next time, I'm going to be victorious!"
Expanding his wings, the Eagle Maojin quickly took off into the skies with a grunt, but Voyager wouldn't have any of it. Taking out a card from his card holder, Voyager gave it a quick look, hoping that it would give him the advantage needed to stop the Eagle Maojin's escape.
And lucky to him, he's gotten the right one.
The card in question has the same design as his Thunder Kabuto card, only with a grasshopper instead of a Japanese rhinoceros beetle and the words "THUNDER HOPPER" emblazoned on it. Like the two other cards that Voyager has, the back of the card is gunmetal gray in color, with a stylized 5 superimposed on a shield engraved on it.
As the Eagle Maojin flew higher and higher up in the air, Voyager quickly inserted the card into the slot on his right hip.
FIVE ABILITY! THUNDER HOPPER!
Purple electricity began to spark and cackle around Voyager's boots, before the warrior took a superhuman leap into the air, much to the surprise of everyone spectating the battle. The Eagle Maojin was shocked to see Voyager leaping up to reach him in the skies, leaving him open to a swift roundhouse kick to the neck that sent the kaijin crashing down.
As the Eagle Maojin impacted against the ground in a loud, deafening thud, Voyager landed gracefully nearby, glancing at the crater on the ground created by the Eagle Maojin's landing. Slowly the Eagle Maojin stood up from where he had landed, clearly weakened from his fall with bruises adorning his sky blue body. A smirk appeared underneath Voyager's helmet, knowing all too well it's time for him to finish this fight.
Reaching for his card holder, Voyager took out another card, this time a navy blue card with a golden version of his chest insignia emblazoned on it, the words "OVERCHARGE" written in gold next to the insignia. He then quickly inserted the card into the slot on his right hip.
THUNDER OVERCHARGE!
Purple electricity surged from the belt and into Voyager's legs through the suit's purple lines as he crouched down, the energies cackling on his boots for a few seconds before they were all focused on his right foot, causing it and the line on his right leg to glow purple. Feeling that he had gathered enough energy, Voyager began his run-up, sprinting towards the weakened Eagle Maojin before he jumped midway through, somersaulting in the air before assuming a flying side kick position, his energized right leg ready to strike.
"Lightning Smash!" Voyager calls out as gravity kicks in, sending him flying towards the Eagle Maojin.
The Eagle Maojin could do nothing as Voyager's energized right boot smashed itself against his chest, before the warrior's left boot kicked him away, allowing Voyager to perform a backward flip before landing gracefully on the ground. The Eagle Maojin stumbled back, purple energy surging throughout his body as he lets out one final screech of pain, his body exploding seconds afterwards.
(BGM ends)
"Holy shit!" Steffi gasped as she winced from the huge explosion in front of her, "Did you get that, Vy?"
"Yeah," an equally surprised Vy replied, "All in its blazing glory."
The skies above began to clear away the moment the Eagle Maojin met his demise, allowing the Sun to shine over Ho Chi Minh City once again. Slowly Voyager walked towards the spot where the Eagle Maojin had exploded, seeing that all that remains from the heinous kaijin were the balloon seller that he had possessed, now lying injured on the ground, and the card that contained the Maojin in the first place, now with the words "HURRICANE EAGLE" emblazoned on it. Voyager slowly picks up the card, giving it a good and thorough look down to its stylized A superimposed on a wand on the back of the card.
"Another one bites the dust," Voyager remarked as he placed the card into his card holder, before he glanced at the injured man lying near him, "Hey, are you okay?"
The man gave out a groan as a reply, shaking his head briefly. Bruises and cuts were seen all over his body, while his shirt was torn in a few places, blood trickling from these cuts. Knowing that the man in front of him needed immediate medical attention, Voyager slowly picked up the man, helping him back to his feet, before placing the man's right arm over his shoulder. Voyager's yellow eyes then noticed a huge number of law enforcement personnel surrounding the area where he and the Eagle Maojin had fought. Noticing an ambulance between the officers, Voyager slowly made his way there, the injured balloon seller in tow.
"Take him to the nearest hospital quickly," Voyager said as he handed the injured man over to the medical personnel stationed around the ambulance, "He's badly injured and needs immediate attention."
The EMTs quickly loaded the injured balloon seller into the ambulance and within minutes the vehicle was on its way to the hospital, with a clearly relieved Voyager looking on.
"Freeze!"
Suddenly Voyager turned around to see Leo pointing his handgun at him, a stern and threatening look etched on the young policeman's face. Behind him were Hako and the other police officers, their weapons also pointed at Voyager. Seeing this threatening gesture, a sigh escaped Voyager's mouth.
"Seriously you guys? I just saved your city," Voyager said disapprovingly, "What's up with the guns?"
"We're taking you in," Leo said, his gun still pointed at Voyager, "Hands where I can see 'em."
Sighing reluctantly and knowing that if he resisted things will get even more awry for him, Voyager slowly lifted up both of his hands, allowing Leo to holster his gun back in place and take out his handcuffs. The young policeman quickly went towards Voyager and placed the handcuffs on the warrior's wrists.
"Leo!"
Coming out from their hiding place, a fuming Steffi confronted her brother, with Kim and Vy following her, the latter having finished recording the moment Voyager handed the balloon seller to the medics.
"What are you doing?! You can't just arrest him like that!" Steffi protested as he saw Voyager in handcuffs.
"We're just taking him in for questioning," Leo replied, trying his best to sound like a reasonable authority figure, "I mean, you've seen it for yourselves, right? This man could easily take down an Unrecorded Lifeform while our entire police force is struggling against them. We need to make sure whether this man is our ally or not."
"But he is!" Steffi argued, "Vy, show him!"
Vy was about to show Leo the footage that she had taken when the young policeman shook his head, turning down the offer, "I don't need to, since I also saw the fight with my own eyes. And from how he fights, it seems like that he has fought these Unrecorded Lifeforms for a while." Leo then turned his attention towards the cuffed Voyager, "You Sir are going to tell us everything that we need to know about those monsters that you fought."
"I will, I will," Voyager sighed again, "Just not like this, okay? I don't feel comfortable in these things."
"Sorry, its police protocol," Leo said as he led Voyager towards his and Hako's squad car, "Let's go!"
Voyager rolled his eyes inside his helmet in dismay as he was forced into the car, before Leo drove the car away from the scene, the other police cars following suit. A clearly displeased Steffi and her friends decided to follow them on their car, a part of them annoyed that Voyager got arrested for what he did, but another part of them curious on what the warrior knew about these Maojins that has been lurking around the city for a while.
As everyone in District 4 recovered themselves from the Eagle Maojin's attack, a black figure watched on silently as the police cars ran past it, its orange visor-like eye watching the cars intently. The figure's interest perked slightly once it saw Voyager inside one of the police cars, a slight malicious giggle escaping its silver mouth. As the cars disappeared from the being's sight, it slowly walked away from its hiding place.
xxx
"Thank fuck those idiots haven't found this place yet."
Hidden underground at the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City was an ancient-looking tomb, with inscriptions written all over the entrance. Standing in front of the currently sealed entrance were Hanged Man, Hermit, and Temperance, the three green-clad figures gazing at the huge block of stone that separates them from whatever's inside it.
"So, he has returned," Hanged Man spoke first, apparently having sensed the fall of the Eagle Maojin a few minutes ago, "The bane of our existence…Voyager."
Both Temperance and Hermit winced in disgust at the last word that came out from Hanged Man's mouth, with even Hanged Man himself having to fight off the urge to throw up when he said that.
"That bastard has killed our Ace," Hanged Man said in disgust again, before his tone reverted back into his usual calmer one, "But then again, the Eagle had done himself proud with his mass killings."
Slowly the Hanged Man placed his hand against the stone in front of him, causing five glowing characters to show up, each of them in different colors and depicting a different animal – a red Komodo dragon, a purple Japanese rhinoceros beetle, a blue manta ray, a green eagle, and a yellow rhinoceros. Seconds later the green eagle symbol vanishes from sight, leaving behind only four characters on the stone.
"The seal is weakening thanks to the Eagle's rampage," Temperance said, an evil smirk appearing on his face, "Now, if only our next warrior could pull off an even higher kill count than him…"
"You mean our next warrior."
The three green-clad figures turned around to see a pale-skinned young man walking towards them, wearing a fiery red hakama and having a fiery red katana strapped to his back. His hairstyle was quite striking – spiked all the way to the top and dyed bright red with yellow streaks.
"Devil," Hermit said, recognizing the figure in front of her all too well.
Devil let out a brief chuckle, "I see that your Ace has fallen, eh? How pitiful…he was doing a great job, after all."
"He would have done it if it's not for that pesky Voyager," Temperance grumbled, punching his right fist against his left palm repeatedly to calm himself down, "And what are you Fire Tribe buffoons are going to do about it?"
Devil chuckled again, taking out an ancient-looking lighter and a card that depicted a Komodo dragon with a fiery background, "What we're going to do about it? Simple – tonight, we're having a barbeque…and the main dish…is Voyager."
And with that Devil lit up his lighter and placed its resulting flame against the Komodo card, burning it away instantly.
"Now sit back and watch as Ho Chi Minh City becomes a sea of flames…"
xxx
TO BE CONTINUED…
xxx
Next time on Kamen Rider Voyager, episode 2 – His Name is Kamen Rider
Voyager has been captured by the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department, who questions his motives and purposes of fighting the Maojins as well as extracting vital information regarding the Maojins from him. But things went south as Hako was possessed by the Ace of Swords, the strongest Fire Tribe warrior, the Komodo Maojin! Will Voyager prove his worth as humanity's ally and save Hako? Or will Ho Chi Minh City go up in flames? The war between Voyager and the Maojins will be revealed to the world soon enough!
xxx
Maojin Card of the Day
Thunder Kabuto
Class: Ace of Shields
Tribe: Thunder
Properties: Transforms Voyager into his default Thunder Form. A balanced warrior themed after the Japanese rhinoceros beetle, Voyager relies on his balanced speed and strength to tire out enemies. He's also capable of charging his punches and kicks with electricity, shocking enemies with each blow.
Maojin of the Day
Eagle Maojin
Class: Ace of Wands
Tribe: Wind
Motif: Eagle
Host: unnamed balloon seller
Abilities: flight, aerokinesis (tornado and storm creation, being able to send out gusts of strong wind). He is also armed with a curved sword that he puts into great use, and is able to fire off green energy slashes with it.
xxx
And it's a wrap! The first chapter of Kamen Rider Voyager is done! I sincerely apologize if it's too short for you and it's kinda bland, but yeah haha I'm struggling with finals and essays here so my attention's also kinda divided. I'm also noticing that a few aspects of this chapter feels a bit Orb-ish, but rest assured, future chapters will be more and more original. Oh, and timeline wise, this take place during the events of Ghost and takes place in the same universe as them.
Feel free to leave your reviews but no flames please! I would really appreciate people who spent their time reading this. And last but not least, I would like to thank these authors and their stories on this site for inspiring me to do this. I may not review their stories, but I do read them in a regular basis:
Kamen Rider Onmyo by dfox300, Kamen Rider Phantom by Celsius Fate, Kamen Rider Kage by Kendell, Kamen Rider RaiLeon: Redux! by MaesterDimentio, Kamen Rider Wild by Kuro no okami 23, Kamen Rider Kaze by The Wild Fang, and Kamen Rider Sin and Kamen Rider Vitaz, both by Myshiroyuki. Check them out, they're really awesome!
This is maxpower02, signing off!