Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen Rider or Bloodborne
Chapter 1: Thanatos Theory
Kamen Rider Chaser slammed into the concrete wall of the Special Defense Center's underground parking lot, the impact was so powerful that Chaser's body created an indent in the wall. The Mach Driver that powered his Rider form was broken, and he had sustained so much damage to his frame that standing was an effort. Chase could only utter these words.
"Gold Drive, you…" Chase spoke, it was harder to articulate than it normally was. He then saw the two smelted pieces of metal on the parking lot's floor. "My Driver…" That wasn't a good sign.
"Chase!" Gou shouted, he hadn't shrugged off the pain yet from Banno's assault. That was bad.
There was the sound of clanging metal. Someone had picked Chase's Signal Axe up. Of course, it was the man who had started it all. The one who was called the Devil without irony by whoever truly knew him. Professor Tenjuro Banno, creator of the Roidmudes in the form of Gold Drive.
Banno walked over to his son dragging the Signal Axe with him while speaking in his condescending voice. "For someone injured so gravely to challenge my grandeur…It is the very definition of idiocy."
"What did you say?!" Gou shouted back in defiance, his rage giving him the strength to stand up…if his father hadn't kicked him back to the ground.
"You have brought me nothing but shame!" Banno raised the Signal Axe above his head in the direction of Gou's neck, his intent clear. "I will put you out of your misery!"
"Gou!" There was no time to even think of the consequences. Kiriko's brother was going to die. He couldn't let that happen.
He activated the Break Gunner, taking on the form of Mashin Chaser once more, and took Banno's deathblow himself. Banno swung once, twice, and when the third swing of the axe dug into Mashin Chaser's body he held it in place with his left hand and pointed the Break Gunner at Banno's head.
"You piece of scrap metal!" Banno roared with fury, a jolt of Gold Drive's power surged through the Signal Axe enhancing the power of the weapon far beyond even what a Full Throttle could achieve and pushed the axe-head deeper into Mashin Chaser's body. This time the armor was pierced, bits of internal circuitry, and metal were revealed, and Chase felt white hot pain as his Core was finally damaged.
But the arm that held the Break Gunner was still held firm. He pulled the trigger, bolts of purple plasma hitting Banno at point blank range in the face, blowing him back and off his feet.
Mashin Chaser's armor then failed, turning him back into the human disguise of Chase. He just stood there, looking at the gaping wound across his body. It was fine as long as his Core survived.
That feeling, it was damaged. Chase didn't know what to feel. He was dying. He had killed other Roidmudes before, he had seen other Roidmudes be mortally wounded, he had seen humans die and be hurt as well. But dying himself? He had never asked or even thought of such a thing despite the dangers of his mission.
Chase wondered if that was what the humans also did. Ignore their own death until it's happening no matter what violence surrounded them.
Something jolted Chase out of his reverie. "No!" Someone caught him? It was Gou, but it was hard to tell; his optics were glazing over. A familiar angry yell. "What the hell did you do?!"
"I did what I thought was best, Gou…It was to protect someone who Kiriko loves…I felt proud."
Those were final words like what Brain did when he was dying. Chase hadn't studied what humans did on their death beds so it would have to do.
Copying until the very end…That doesn't feel right…But what else can I do? It isn't long until I explode. Ah!
Chase put two things into Gou's hand. His Chaser Signal Bike and his Driver's License. "My human friends gave me these…and I cherish them. You would have never considered me your friend…but I want you to take them. It would be a shame for them to be lost in the flames…" Gou didn't see him as a friend, Brain had died surrounded by his friends. Maybe he was doing this the wrong way?
A purple spark appeared from his hand; he was out of time. He heard footsteps. Banno had most likely regained coherence and was coming to finish the job.
It was time for Chase to do the last thing he could do. Everything was fading, it was his last chance. He stood tall for the very last time. It hurt. It hurt so much. But Chase didn't care. His sight was fading, his feelings were fading, his Core was leaking. It would all be over soon.
Chase ran at Banno. His body was leaking energy, sparkling, and crackling. Banno threw a punch, but Chase managed one last dodge and tackled Banno using his body's explosion to take the Devil with him.
Chase was no stranger to pain, both physical and emotional to varying degrees. He had been crushed underfoot twice by Heart's might, ripped apart and remade by the original three Executors into Mashin Chaser, been defeated by Brain as a Kamen Rider, and had exploded during his great duel with Shinnosuke Tomari.
While a prototype to the Roidmudes and lacked the full emotional capabilities of the rest of his kind, he had also learnt emotional pain as he understood Gou's scorn and felt the heartbreak from the realization that his sister, Kiriko, would not love him.
But he had felt happiness as well when he had acquired his driver's license, showing it off to Kiriko during a dangerous rescue in the Tornado Case. The back and forth rapport with Gou…
All of this and more went through Chase's processor as he died, using the explosion of his demise in an attempt to end the existence of the one both humans and Roidmudes saw as evil, Banno.
At death's door Chase thought all of this. It was a short life, and it might not have been fulfilling to a human, but to him? Dying to save a man who didn't even see him as a friend? For Kiriko's sake? It was all worth it. The fires then engulfed Chase's Core, ending his presence in the waking world.
Chase's optics went online again. He felt too damaged to stand or even sit up, so he looked around. Wasn't he dead? Did he somehow go to one of the afterlives that the humans believed in? Chase turned his head to get a better look. According to the data Krim had downloaded into his CPU the afterlife was theorized to look more…incredible in nature, the ceiling he saw was nothing more than perfect white steel, nothing so majestic as a theoretical heaven.
Chase turned his head, he began to get a feel for the size of the room, it was rather large, and he was reminded of a human hospital.
Chase raised his right hand and instead of purple leather the silver, robotic hand of Proto-Zero greeted him. So his disguise had dropped? Wait, what was that attached to his arm? A wire was attached to his wrist pumping a suspicious red liquid inside off his body. A strange type of oil? No, that made as little sense as organic blood, while a Roidmude could leak a red cooling agent from specific damage Roidmudes were incompatible with fossil fuels due to their inefficiency. But what was being added to his body? Who was doing this?
The damage didn't matter, Chase had to understand his situation. He forced himself up…and couldn't move any farther. His feet were chained to a white, metal table, chains attached to the wall behind him wrapped around his wrists. The only reason why his arms weren't bolted to the table was most likely because the transfusion took priority.
Chase moved his head back and forth and what he saw was disconcerting. There were tables lined up beside the one that kept him imprisoned. In contrast to the clean, metal room, they had dirty grey tarps covering them.
One of them failed to cover a hand propped over the side, leaking the red liquid. That confirmed it, Chase was somehow being given a blood transfusion.
"What…?" Chase was confused. He was used to that emotion. Humans and Roidmudes were illogical beings.
He then became even more confused as two figures appeared beside him. They both wore black cloaks, had rubber gloves covering their hands, and had hoods covering their faces. They tilted their cowled heads to examine Chase's own, they moved in perfect unison, like clockwork, the tilt of their necks unnerving in the perfection of the posture.
"He's awake." One of them spoke, its voice was dull and flat, and had a reverberation similar to the radio that the Special Investigation listened to in their car.
"That is unacceptable. Father does not understand everything yet." The second figure spoke in the exact same way.
"Counter: Father wishes to bring justice. We have a chance. We must take it."
"What does Father think?"
Chase then felt power enter the room, greater than anything he had ever felt before. Greater than Banno, time unraveling because of Paradox, Megahex's armies, or that blond man's power. It was like something impossibly great, unique, and complex had focused its full attention on a mere ant.
"We all understand, Father. We shall answer their prayers." The two spoke as one and turned to face Chase. One lifted its hand, making a whirring sound as it did so, revealing that it held Chase's Mach Driver in one hand…and his Chaser Signal Bike in the other.
"How? Gou should have that." Chase said.
The other figure then put something in Chase's right hand. It was his Break Gunner. Before he could even consider using the weapon to threaten them Chase felt something else be put into his left hand and with it a strange fatigue overwhelm him as he heard a sound that reminded him of a bell being rung.
"Dream well, Brother. Despite your steel heart, you shall need the sleep. Remember, to have the fortitude of a steel throne."
Chase slept once more.
Chase eyes snapped open and he rose to his new surroundings.
His area of awakening was a small plot of land covered by white flowers next to a cottage on a hill. It failed to be idyllic with it being surrounded by countless grave stones and dying trees acting as the main form of lawn ornaments that were made even more eerie by the thin fog of the area. To finish the enigmatic scene a full moon hung above in the sky to the backdrop of a starless sky.
Chase examined himself, his human form was online, he wore his purple leather uniform, the Break Gunner was holstered at his hip…but his Mach Driver was gone. Destroyed. Inconvenient. He would have to rely on his weaker Mashin Chaser combat form if things became violent.
Still, since he was somehow still alive he needed to prioritize. The status of the final battle against Banno was unknown. He needed to return to his friends and aid them. Chase didn't want to assume the worst, but in a situation this odd, it was best to assume that anything was possibly happening.
But was this even in Japan? Tokyo was a diverse city with many illogical inhabitants but the cottage seemed to be far away from any form of society given the size of the estate. Was the owner wealthy or even home? Japan loathed to waste space given the country's size so had he somehow ended up in another country? All of the 'what-ifs' made Chase's course of action clear; he needed to find out where he was, so seeing if the cottage had an owner was the first step.
Chase walked up the steps and along the way he saw the odd sight of a human-sized doll, it was female in design, with white hair, it was very tall, taller than Chase himself, and it wore a black dress and bonnet that acted as its main accessories. Chase had once had to retire a Roidmude who had undergone a mental breakdown by bonding with a human who had a doll obsession so he could surmise that such a thing must have been abnormal.
Chase continued his climb up the steps before coming to the entrance to the cottage and found the doors to be already open. Chase didn't know what to make of that until a voice called out from the cottage.
"What are you waiting for, boy? Come inside."
The voice was old, and had a European accent, he couldn't tell where exactly it was from in the cultural sphere.
Chase decided to obey, it was what he did. Walking into the house his hope of getting back to Japan faded. The cottage was musty, and somewhat rundown, its main form of furniture was dilapidated bookshelves and strangely it had no signs that electricity was used, no lights – and even worse – no phone. The cottage was alighted by candles instead.
The master of the house was a very old man sitting in a wheel chair. Chase couldn't guess his exact age, but it was most likely quite old for a human given his crusty grey hair and creased skin. He wore a ragged suit of dull, dark colors, a black, wide-brimmed hat, and his right leg had been replaced by a peg-leg. Chase didn't like the picture being painted, had he ended up in some odd recluse's retreat?
"There, young man, I'm not going to bite you. I take it that you're the new hunter? Your contract was a bit of a mess, but it went through…more or less. Welcome to the Hunter's Dream. This will be your new home, for now. I am Gehrman, friend to you hunters. You-"
Chase cut him off. "Do you have a telephone?"
Gehrman brushed off his question. "Well, you're definitely cognizant." He looked at Chase's purple, leather attire. "You must be from a place that's far away from Yharnam. Where are you from, son?"
Did the old man want to be humored in some way? If it would get him a phone… "My name is Chase. I'm an aide to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and I need to return to help my friends. A madman named Professor Tenjuro Banno is on the loose and he needs to be stopped."
Gehrman rubbed his chin, and said. "A lawman, eh? Yharnam isn't kind to the law, but there will be plenty of madmen in it that need to be put down."
Chase frowned. "What are you insinuating? I need to get back to Japan."
"What I'm insinuating is that Yharnam and this Dream will be your home for the night. It's in your contract."
To Chase's own surprise, his frown grew deeper at the old man's statement. "Are you threatening me? I don't take kindly to such tactics."
Gehrman countered Chase's frown with an eerie smile. "Not at all, my boy. You're contractually obligated to be a Hunter of the Dream," He then wheeled his chair over to a desk and pulled a piece of paper out of a cabinet. "See? You've signed your services over to Yharnam on the dotted line."
Chase took the contract out of Gehrman's hands and read it himself. The paper seemed to be very old thanks to its brown color and cracked edges. The words of the contract were written in cursive and most of them were faded or blacked out. To the Roidmude's confusion his name was signed on the bottom in the exact same style that he had signed the paperwork for his Driver's License. Chase read what was understandable, once, twice, three times.
"I see…" He finally spoke. "And I cannot leave this Dream until the Night of the Hunt is complete? What stops me from leaving the city to return to my mission?"
"The Dream was weaved to only encompass Yharnam. If you tried to leave without completing your contract," Gehrman grinned, his trump card ready, "Well, you'd find yourself dead."
"I'm not dead." Chase spoke those three words far faster than he usually did.
"Not right now you're not, but only thanks to your contract. The Dream sometimes drags in foreigners with nothing to lose to fight the beasts. People who sign this contract usually enter in a haze. But I can only guess that you cope differently. Blocking out the pain." Gehrman's grin was…irritating.
"The Hunt doesn't matter," Chase decided. "If Banno succeeds then everyone will become his slaves."
"This Banno you wish to hunt doesn't matter. If you protect the humans of Yharnam for the night then I can release you from the Dream with a reward. Your release will send you back from whence you came, I promise." Gerhman said, his smile fading.
Chase thought it over. Krim had installed him with a perfect sense of justice, but he had enough free will to prioritize. Banno had to be stopped as soon as possible and a lost city could wait until Banno was behind bars and he could bring the proper resources to wherever Yharnam was on Earth…wait.
Chase hoped that he was wrong.
"Do you have a map?"
Gehrman opened a different cabinet and pulled out a map, and Chase looked it over. His metaphorical heart sank. The number of continents was wrong. There shapes were different. The names were wrong.
"Gehrman, I think that I've ended up in an alternate universe." Chase said, it was an odd answer to any other man, but not a Kamen Rider.
"It doesn't matter, it makes no difference to the Dream." Gehrman promised. Another world didn't faze the old man…but he might already live in one, with all his talk of the Dream.
He was in an extremely bizarre and dangerous situation. The Special Division, the Roidmudes, and Banno were non-factors at best, and if Gehrman was telling the truth, then a city was in trouble and he was literally dimensions away from his friends and mission.
Protect the humans… Krim's programming flashed through Chase's mind. Well, I always have a mission.
"What benefits does the Dream give me?" There was one last thing to do.
"Now you're thinking like a proper Hunter." Gehrman said. "The Dream is a safe haven to the Hunters who have signed the contract. You can use the Hunter's Workshop to enhance your weapons and flesh. We don't have as many tools as we once did, but…You're welcome to use whatever you find. Just don't die, Chase." Gehrman chuckled at his last warning, like he knew a joke that Chase didn't. "To leave the Dream just bow to the tombstone at the bottom of the stairs, the Messengers will do the rest."
Chase nodded in affirmative and did as he was told.
Chase awoke on yet another table. He looked around and saw that he had materialized in a ruined hospital room. The walls were made of a grey stone and were lined with stands made of rotting wood, and the room was alighted by waning candles.
He stood up and walked up to the door. Chase opened it and his first sight was a chandelier and a Victorian window behind it that showed the twilight of a setting sun. Beneath the fading light was a stairway pointing down.
Chase walked down the stairs until he fond found a bigger hospital room. The floor was made of rotting and torn up wooden planks and filled with hospital beds like the one he had materialized on. There was also a door to the outside.
As well as a figure that seemed to be chewing on something.
It was a wolf-like beasts that stood as tall as a man even on all four legs. It had shaggy, black fur, dead white eyes, and thick yellow fangs.
And it was eating a human corpse. Chase clenched his fist. A truly disgusting sight.
The beast had heard Chase entering the hospital room and turned to see what had intruded on its meal. It saw the Roidmude and growled in rage at its meal being interrupted. It wasted no time to run at Chase and lunged before Chase could react.
But it didn't matter, Chase had activated the key power of a machine powered by a Core Driviar: a Slowdown. The ability to slow down the time of anything surrounding the user.
Chase easily side-stepped the beasts slowed down attack and activated the Break Gunner. There was no sound but Chase was enveloped in a familiar shroud of purple energy transforming him into Mashin Chaser.
Mashin Chaser was a form that showed Chase's robotic origins clearly. He was covered in a black and purple exoskeleton. As it was made from the reverse engineered and cannibalized Proto-Drive system the design was a mess. The under-suit was black and covered by thicker bits of purple armor on the torso and limbs by thicker purple armor. The head was protected by a silver helmet that had one large insectoid orange optic on the right side and a smaller, partially covered eye connected to the helmet called the Nightmare Guard.
Strange, there was no call of "Break Up" to herald the transformation.
As the beast regained its senses as the Slowdown ended Mashin Chaser spoke. "So Gehrman didn't lie. Humans are in need of protection."
The beast performed another lunge this time extending its front claws. Mashin Chaser didn't bother with a Slowdown this time. He didn't need it. Instead he caught the beast's front paw with his left hand and spun around, slamming the beast into a nearby wall.
Mashin Chaser then pointed the Break Gunner at the beast's head and pulled the trigger. Its payload hit its target, causing a torrent of blood to explode from the beast's head as it died, splattering over Mashin Chaser's mechanical body.
"Strange, blood isn't supposed to be so pressurized. What created such beasts?" Despite the gory demise, Mashin Chaser watched with only apathy. He was a machine with a mission: hunt Yharnan's beasts. He would perform his mission and hunt to maximum efficiency. All threats to humanity would be terminated in line with his programming. Mashin Chaser would let nothing stop him.
…For now, at least. The Night of the Hunt was only beginning, after all.