SHARD 1: Enter the Dragon
The Titans were investigating a series of disappearances. None of the victims had anything in common, except that they all disappeared without a trace. At the moment, they were investigating the disappearance of a teacher, who was said to have been last seen in his office.
"Maybe they got abducted by aliens?" Beast Boy suggested jokingly.
"Eh hem!" Robin coughed at Beast Boy while pointing at Starfire.
"Uh, sorry, Star!" Beast Boy said
"That is alright, Friend Beast Boy. I know you did not mean any Tamaraneans," Starfire smiled.
Robin turned to Cyborg, "Got anything, Cy?"
"I got nothing. Whoever did this must be pretty slick!" Cyborg answered.
Raven, quiet as always, felt a strange vibe everywhere she walked. There were no signs of a struggle and the door was locked. There weren't any clues anywhere. This was too perplexing, even for her. She looked at the mirror hanging on the wall. She remembered that at all the scenes the victims were near mirrors. But that could only be a wild coincidence. As she walked away from the mirror, she did not notice a silhouette of a strange figure inside it.
In another time and place, a young man walked out a large building. He was dressed in a red t-shirt and blue jeans with blue and white sneakers. Slung over his shoulder was a backpack. He had long braided red hair that reached his waist. A pair of goggles hung from his neck. His emerald eyes shone with a sort of innocence. His name was Ryo Hasuma.
Ryo sighed as he walked into the parking lot where his bike was. Classes were over for the day and all he wanted to do was to curl up in bed and take a nice long nap. Today's classes had been exceptionally boring but that was the consequence he had to face. The young college student saw his bike but then his foot stepped on something. It wasn't a rock, though.
In the T-Car, all the Titans (except for Cyborg, since he was driving and all and Raven) were sleeping. Raven was sitting next to Cyborg, while the others were in the back sleeping. Beast Boy was leaning against the door, while Starfire had her head lying on Robin's lap.
"Got any clues, Raven?" Cyborg asked.
"No. All I know is that there were mirrors at all the scenes," Raven answered in her monotone voice.
"Mirrors?"
Raven shook her head. "Never mind. Maybe it's just a coincidence."
They were driving along the street when Raven sensed something. Then there was a scream.
"Cyborg! STOP!" Raven yelled. Cyborg stopped suddenly and all the Titans who were sitting in the back groaned in pain as they hit something.
"Dude! What's the deal?" Beast Boy groaned.
"Yeah, Cy!" Robin shouted.
Raven turned around. "Something's going on. We heard a scream. Someone is going to be another victim!"
All the Titans jumped out of the car and ran to the source of the scream. When they got there, they saw a monster, resembling a giant spider, hovering over a woman.
"TITANS! GO!" Robin ordered.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven chanted and the monster was floating in the air, covered in black energy. Cyborg had his sonic cannon ready, but the monster let out a deafening screech forcing all the Titans to cover their ears. The monster fell to the floor and ran. Starfire was firing starbolts at the monster while Beast Boy followed suit, changing into a cheetah to chase after it. Raven and Cyborg, who were closest to the monster when it screeched, were shaking their heads, trying to get the ringing out. Robin told them to stay put while the others gave chase.
"Man, what is that thing?" Beast Boy asked.
"Ugly," Robin said. "And it's gonna be road-kill!"
The monster ran from the Titans, but it suddenly stopped in front of a glass window and jumped in, disappearing. Beast Boy ended up flat on his face as he tried to follow it.
"Ow! What gives!" Beast Boy yelled in pain. Starfire and Robin looked dumbfounded as the monster disappeared.
"It appears that it has escaped," Starfire stated the obvious. Robin nodded. Suddenly, the monster flew out of the window. However, it seemed like it was forced out of the window. The Titans (except for Raven and Cyborg) were ready to attack, however, they saw something else coming out of the window.
The figure was human and male, obviously, and clad in a red bodysuit and suit of armor. The armor itself was red with a silver chest plate etched with the symbol of a red dragon. He wore red and silver gauntlets and mounted on his left forearm was a red armguard in the shape of a dragon's head. On his legs he wore a pair of knee high red and silver metallic boots. His head was concealed under a red helmet with a silver horizontally grilled faceplate that held a pair of round green eyepieces on it. A dragon symbol was engraved on his helmet. Around his waist was a metal belt with a red rectangular buckle that held a crest resembling a dragon in the centre and a slot in the side for some reason. In each corner of the strange buckle were small engravings of the symbol which represented the zodiac sign known as Gemini.
The armored stranger walked towards the monster. The spider monster lifted one of its legs, attempting to strike the figure.
The red haired young man squatted down and picked up the object. It was red, rectangular, with engravings in the corners that looked like the symbol for Gemini, and had a slot in the side. "What is this thing?" he asked no one in particular as he inspected it, turning it over to find if it had any form of identification so he could return it to its owner. He looked at the slot and drew something out. "A card?" The back was dark blue and the words "Advent Card" was printed on the back. He turned it over to see the image of a black hole on the face and the word "SEAL" in capital letters on the top. "Strange. Must be a new card game, I guess." He stood up and shrugged. "Well, I might as well keep this. Finders keepers, until I find who this belongs to." He walked towards his bike but then he heard a strange ringing sound in his ear. It was so intense that he had to close his ears and it was starting to give him a headache. "What in the world?"
He then looked towards the building and squinted his eyes. "What is that? Is that a dragon?" He wasn't sure if this was due to exhaustion or his over-active imagination, but he swore he could see a dragon flying INSIDE the window but it wasn't in the building but in the reflection. Suddenly, the dragon flew straight out of the window and towards him. "ARGH!" Ryo screamed as he held up his arms in front of him, holding out the "SEAL" card. Instantly, a barrier formed in front of him and the dragon bounced off, throwing the boy backwards. He sat up, looking around. "What the hell!"
He didn't notice that he was being watched by someone in a black coat and wearing black sunglasses. He narrowed his eyes, watching curiously.
"Alright, all I need to do is to get some rest," Ryo assured himself as he made his way towards his bike, walking between two cars to get to it when all of a sudden the ringing started again. "Huh? Oh, no!" If that meant the dragon was coming back, then he had to run, but what he saw was different. He saw a huge golden spider with silver legs stalking a girl. The spider was in the reflection on the car's surface so the girl didn't notice it. Ryo, however, did, and ran to warn her. "Hey, miss! You should-!" but before he could finish his sentence, the card case in his hand glowed and then he was sucked right into the reflection on the car's surface.
At the same time, the man who'd been watching him made his move and walked towards a nearby window. "Hmph, newbies," he scoffed.
"Watch out!" Starfire yelled. But the figure stood still. He smacked the leg away with his right arm and punched the monster with his left, sending it a good few feet away. The figure walked towards the monster and reached down to his belt buckle to draw a card through the slot.
"Um, dudes, what is he doing with a card?" Beast Boy asked. Starfire just watched as did Robin.
Ryo screamed as he was falling through some sort of crystal tunnel. He flailed his arms and legs around, screaming, "WHAT IN KAMI'S NAME IS GOING ON!" All of a sudden, his body flashed and his entire body ended up covered in a suit of armor. The bodysuit under the armor was black and the armor was composed of shoulder pads, a pair of black gauntlets with matching boots, black torso armor with a silver chestplate and a black helmet with white eyes and a silver mouthguard.
Ryo tumbled out of the car's reflection and back in the parking lot. He cradled his head, "Itai…what a ride. Huh?" He noticed that he was in armor. "What is this?" He looked down and saw a silver belt had been fastened around his waist with the strange card case in the centre. He inspected his right arm and saw a silver device strapped to it, like an armguard of some sort. He then looked around his surroundings. "I'm back?" However, he noticed something peculiar. "The signs." The writing was all in reverse and he couldn't make sense of them. "Alright, this is weird." He then heard hissing and clicking and turned his head towards the sound. He screamed, "GIANT SPIDER!"
The giant spider eyed him hungrily before charging straight for him. Ryo, not wanting to become spider chow, decided that the best course of action was to run. So, he got to his feet and ran like his life depended on it, which it did. The spider ran after him, knocking cars away with its impressive strength. The spider was able to catch him and then used one of its front legs to smack him into a building. Ryo fell to the ground, groaning in pain. He was surprised he hadn't died from the impact. Maybe the armor he was wearing was stronger than it looked. He just wished he knew a way to get out of this.
The armored figure pushed down the top half of his armguard, revealing a chamber for the card. He then slid the card inside the chamber and pulled the component up.
"Strike Vent!" the armguard called as the dragon eyes flashed.
Meanwhile, the man who'd been watching him, stood in front of the window. He reached into his coat pocket and took out a card case that was similar to the one Ryo had found, except it was dark blue and had a golden crest on it resembling a bat. Engraved in each corner was the symbol for Sagittarius. He thrust the card case out in front of him, facing the window which was reflecting his image. A belt materialized around his waist, which had a slot in the centre, big enough for the case.
He drew his arm holding the case back while bringing his right arm in front; the fist was clenched while the arm was held at ninety degrees while his torso twisted so that his shoulder was pointing at the glass.
"Henshin!" the man cried before slipping the case into the belt through the slot on the left.
The light on the top of the belt began to glow a bright red. A strange noise echoed through his ears as the belt activated. Glass shards appeared over his body before combining to form a suit of armor.
This new figure was donned in a dark blue bodysuit with black torso armor, gauntlets and boots. His chest was covered by armor which was similar to bat wings. His shoulder armor had high fins on them while his gauntlets were black. His helmet was similar to a European knight's helmet, with vertical slits running along the visor. His mouth guard had etchings on them similar to a bat's fangs. The edges of the visor stuck high, looking like he had bat ears. On his hip, there was a sword almost like a fencing blade that had a bat acting as a hand guard.
He slipped into the reflection, appearing in a crystal room, where a vehicle shaped like a pod-cycle of Tron's fame was parked. Its top canopy slowly swung upwards along with the seat and the armored figure sat down on the seat, which came down as the canopy swung downwards, snapping into place. He gripped the handlebars and the engine roared to life, shooting him forward like a bullet. "Darkwing! Let's go!" he called out and screeching sound could be heard, which belonged to a large bat that looked like it was made of black and silver metal. It flapped its wings and glided alongside its master.
"Strike Vent!" the armguard called before a loud roar was heard, surprising the Titans. The roar led them to look up to see a red dragon flying in the air. It looked like one of the dragons from Chinese mythology, with its elongated body, horns, whiskers and claws. The dragon then dropped something. It was a cannon shaped like the dragon's head.
He took careful aim with his newly acquired weapon and fired a concentrated fireball that made contact with the spider monster. It exploded into oblivion from the attack. Satisfied, he turned to walk away but was stopped by a shout.
Ryo screamed as the giant spider hurled him into several cars, smashing their windshields. The young armored youth who had no idea what was going on groaned in pain. "What…is this thing's problem?" What he didn't know was that the monster was trying to break open his armor so it could eat him. The armor proved more durable than expected so the monster decided to just eat him and worry about the armor later.
Before the giant spider could attack again, it was tripped when the pod-cycle smashed into its legs, tripping it and causing it fall on its back. Ryo looked to see the vehicle and heard a screech, taking his attention towards the large bat. "Woah."
The canopy swung upwards and the seat went up with it as the armored figure stepped out of the vehicle. Ryo ran towards him, looking him over. "Who…who are you?" Ryo asked. The mystery man looked Ryo over and snorted.
"You must be new. I'm surprised you haven't made contract with a monster yet," said the man.
"Huh?" Ryo tilted his head to the side, confused.
"Hey, you! Stop right there!" Robin called out. He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Robin. His attention then shifted to the spot where the monster had been destroyed and was shocked to see the monster slowly reforming itself.
"Kuso!" he swore.
"Out of the way!" the man said as he shoved Ryo to the side before several large spikes flew at them. The man jumped to the side and then said, "Stay out of this and you won't get hurt!" He pulled on the handle of his sword. However, instead of moving the sword, the bat-like hand guard opened to reveal a chamber.
He reached to the deck case in his belt. Grabbing something in the slot on the right, he pulled out a card of some kind. It depicted a large lance and had the words 'Sword Vent' written on the top. The card was the right size for the chamber, meaning the chamber was meant for the card.
With the card firmly in hand, He instantly slipped the card into that chamber before closing it again.
"Sword Vent!" the weapon suddenly spoke out. With a screech, Darkwing flew over and dropped what looked like a large lance with silver designs on it. The large lance dropped down before he caught it in his hands.
"Here we go," the man said as he charged at the monster, swinging his lance expertly, parrying attacks before thrusting it at the giant spider. The spider monster staggered back from the attacks as Ryo watched.
"So, that's what the cards do," Ryo said in amazement. He reached down to his belt and did the same thing the man had done. With the card in hand, the device on left arm activated. The panel dropped down to reveal a chamber. "So, I put it here?" He slipped the card inside and pulled the panel back up.
Like the man's sword, the device announced, "Sword Vent!"
Something dropped out of the sky and onto the ground. It was a simple sword with a thin blade and it had stuck itself in the ground. Ryo looked up and then at the sword. "This is weird," he muttered before he went over and pulled the sword out of the ground. He inspected his newly acquired weapon. "I may not know what's going on, but I'm not going to stand around doing nothing!" With a yell, he charged at the monster, running past the armored man who looked surprised. Ryo swung the sword down on the monster's head but instead of doing damage, the blade snapped and broke in half. "Nani!" The spider monster smashed its leg into Ryo, throwing him backwards and the man knocked Ryo to the side with his lance.
"Stay out of this!" the man commanded before opening the chamber in his sword again. He drew a card, which depicted the bat he'd come with. He slid the card into the chamber and shut it.
The spider monster was now good as new except that it now had a humanoid upper body and its lower body was the original form of the spider monster itself. It spat webbing at the armored stranger and the string wrapped around his throat. He struggled with it and the Titans watched as he slid the new card into his armguard.
"Attack Vent!"
The dragon flew straight at the string of webbing and bit it clean in half before it flew back around and rammed into the regenerated spider monster, knocking it off its legs. The armored figure was surrounded by the dragon, which flew around to guard him like a loyal pet. He then drew a new card, the card that would end this, and decided to activate it.
"Attack Vent!"
A screeching sound was heard and Darkwing swooped down, slamming into the monster and knocking it onto its back. The man looked up at his partner and decided to wrap this up. He opened the chamber in his sword before he slipped another card out of his belt and held it up. It had the gold bat symbol on it surrounded by dark blue light. The words on the top had called it 'Final Vent'.
He quickly slipped the card inside. Closing the sword, the words rang out.
"Final Vent!"
"SCREEEEEE!"
"Darkwing!" the man cried. Ryo gaped as he watched the giant bat began swooping down to the mysterious armored man.
"Yaaaaaahhh!" the mystery man cried as he charged forward with his lance raised. Darkwing swooped up behind him before attaching itself to his back. Its wings morphed into a long black cape which flowed behind him.
"Hup!" the mystery man called as he leaped an astonishing height into the air. Ryo could only watch what was happening right before his eyes.
"Sugoi," Ryo breathed out.
Looking down, the man targeted the giant spider. Pointing his lance downward, he let gravity retake control as he started to fall. As he fell, the cape began to wrap around him, turning him into a large spinning black drill.
The monster, realizing its eventual end, tried to escape with its life. It was unfortunately too slow to avoid the assault. As it began to move, the large black drill collided with its back, resulting in a powerful explosion. Ryo continued to watch as the strange armored man, a knight in appearance but not in attitude, walked out of the circle of flames.
"Final Vent!"
The dragon roared and surrounded the armored figure and then he jumped in the air. The dragon followed as the stranger did a flip, spun in the air, and extended his right foot at the monster.
The dragon roared and blew a blast of flames that propelled him towards the monster like a falling rocket. His foot burst into flames before he struck the monster head on. The monster exploded. The explosion left a circle of flames and the stranger walked out of it and turned his attention towards the Titans. A ball of energy rose from what was left of the spider monster and the dragon flew at it and swallowed it.
Raven and Cyborg had just arrived, but they saw the stranger destroy the monster. He gave them a salute and ran.
"Hey, wait!" Robin yelled. The stranger stopped and turned. He waved at Robin and jumped into a mirror, disappearing entirely.
Everyone was silent, until someone spoke up, "Dudes! Who was that?"
Wanting answers, Ryo quickly ran up to the man, following him. "Hey, who are you? Can you tell me what this is? What's going on? How did you do that?"
Annoyed by the constant questioning, the knight looked Ryo straight in the eye and said, "Be quiet. You're yammering. It's annoying." He then noticed that Ryo's armor was fizzling as small particles rose up. They had run out of time. Without a word, the man turned away and walked off.
"Hey, I need answers!" Ryo called as he followed. "Matte!"
Suddenly, the two froze when they heard a loud roar, a very familiar roar to Ryo. "Oh, no, not again!" The duo looked up to see the dragon from before which had attacked Ryo. It let out a roar and spat fireballs directly at them. The two men didn't need any other motivation as they started to flee for their lives.
"WHAT IS GOING ON!" Ryo screamed before he and his savior were thrown into the air by a powerful explosion.
The Titans went back to the T-Tower, discussing about the armored stranger that had helped them destroy the monster.
"Cool! A new hero in town! Hey, maybe we can ask him to join?" Beast Boy exclaimed.
"I wonder if he's another cyborg like me. He sure looks it!" Cyborg said.
"If he joins the Titans, we will all have a new friend. Glorious!" said Starfire.
The only people who weren't happy about the newcomer were Robin and Raven. Sme say they were being paranoid but they preferred the term cautious.
"I don't know anything about this guy. I don't like it," Robin said silently.
"He disappeared into that window just like that monster. He could be one of them for all we know. The helmet was blocking my powers. I couldn't even read him," Raven said. She didn't like this. The stranger had something to hide. It could be malicious intent for all they knew.
Robin sighed. "So we can't trust him." He didn't like the decision, but he had to be cautious. They would have to question him and subdue him if he resisted.
Suddenly, the alarm blared and the Titans' big screen TV turned on to show them what was going on. People were in a panic but it focused on two figures fighting, one of them being the same armored figure they had encountered before.
"Titans, let's go!" Robin commanded.
Ryo tumbled on the ground and groaned in pain. The man who'd saved him hauled him up and said, "Let's go!" The man dragged him as they ran towards a window.
"That's a dead end!" shouted Ryo in protest.
"Not to us!" the man shouted before he pulled himself and Ryo through the rippling surface before another fireball exploded on the spot they had stood on before.
The man and Ryo flew through the tunnel and then fell out through the same window again, but this time in the real world. Ryo and the man's armor both shattered off their bodies like glass and vanished. The man landed on his feet but Ryo once again was on his back, breathing hard. The man looked down and asked, "Are you alright?"
"That…was…unbelievable!" Ryo breathed out before falling unconscious. The man shook his head in disgust and was ready to leave him there when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see a girl with short black hair, a cute face, and wearing a brown jacket with matching pants and a cap. She appeared younger than him, probably still in high school.
"Yui?" the man asked.
"Desmond, we should take him with us."
"Why?" the man, now identified as Desmond, said.
"Because, he's a Rider too. Maybe he knows something about my brother."
Desmond looked skeptical and said, "I doubt that," but seeing Yui's pleading face, he said, "Fine…" He picked Ryo up and slung him over his shoulder. "Let's go."
The red armored figure was smashed into a building by the kick of the other figure and he groaned. He was a bit dazed from the impact but recovered quickly. "Ugh, itai…" His opponent sauntered towards him. It was a brown and purple humanoid monster with two horns on its head. It then charged at him.
"TITANS! GO!" Robin commanded as he threw one of his exploding discs at the monster while Starfire used her starbolts, Cyborg used his cannon and Raven used her magic on the monster. It jumped out of the way from the attacks and then made an angry sound.
"Don't move," Robin warned. The monster backed away a bit, outnumbered. It readied itself to escape but…
"Attack Vent!"
To the Titans' surprise, like the second time that night, the red dragon appeared again and then blasted the other monster with fire, incinerating it. It then, like before, gobbled the energy orb rising up from its destroyed body.
Robin then turned towards the red armored person and walked towards him. Beast Boy was helping him up. "You got a lot of explaining to do," Robin said to him.
"You shouldn't have interfered," he said. "That monster was my problem."
"What was that, and while we're on the subject who are you?" Robin asked. The dragon came and growled at Robin, causing the Titans to tense up. The red armored man placed a hand on the dragon's head and rubbed it slightly.
"It's okay, they won't hurt me," the armored figure spoke and the dragon let out a growl before flying off. The armored figure started to walk away from the Titans his path was blocked by a black wall of dark energy. He sighed and turned his head over his shoulder, "Is this really necessary?"
"You expect us to let you walk away after seeing what kind of damage you can do to the city?" Raven asked dangerously. "You're a threat."
"Everyone's a threat," he added, "We each have an ability that can do good or evil but it's up to us to decide which way we should use it for. A wise person once told me that."
"You're coming with us to answer some questions," Robin said.
The man sighed, "Hai, hai…"
Ryo's eyes opened as he woke up. With a yawn he stretched his arms and sat up. Rubbing his eyes, he mumbled, "That was a really strange dream." He then looked around and his vision focused. "Huh? This isn't my room. Where am I?" He got off from the bed and scratched his head, confused.
He walked out of the room and went down the stairs, which he'd almost missed and tripped on, before he came into a large dining room. It was a café and he saw two people. One was a man with shoulder length dark blue hair and wearing sunglasses. His bangs covered his forehead. His skin was pale. He was dressed in a black shirt with a purple tie, matching black slacks and shoes. He was seated at counter where a girl stood behind. She was wearing a white tank top with flowers on it over a white t-shirt, brown pants, an apron over her clothes and had short hair which made her cute features even cuter. The two looked to see he'd come down.
"Oh, you're awake, I see," Yui said.
"Hai," Ryo nodded. "Ano…what's going on? What am I doing here?"
"You passed out so I had to carry you here," the man said with a frown as he sipped a cup of tea. "I would've just left you but Yui convinced me otherwise."
Ryo blinked and then he remembered that voice. "It's you! That guy with the bat!" he pointed. Desmond smacked his hand away.
"It's not polite to point," said Desmond.
"Don't worry about him, he's always like that," said the girl. "I'm Yui Kenzaki and that is Desmond Amakusa, also known as Zodiac Rider Shadow."
"Rider?" Ryo repeated, confused by the term. "What do you mean Zodiac Rider?"
Yui frowned and decided to change the subject, "Before we get to that, can you tell me if you know Shiro Kenzaki?"
Ryo thought about it and said, "Wasn't he one of the students that vanished a few months ago under mysterious circumstances?"
Yui's eyes brightened and she said, "So, you do know him? Did you meet him?"
"No," Ryo shook his head and Yui's shoulder's slumped.
"Yui, it's clearly obvious that he has no idea what's going on. I saw him pick up the deck myself," said Desmond.
"Deck?" Ryo dug into his pockets and pulled the card case out. "You mean this thing?
"Yes," Yui nodded.
"So, what does your brother have to do with this?" asked Ryo, interested.
Desmond interrupted, "You don't need to know." He stood up grabbed the deck out of Ryo's hand. "So just leave the deck here and go home!"
"Hey!" Ryo exclaimed. "I want answers!"
"You should just forget all this ever happened and go back home," Desmond snorted.
"Desmond," Yui scolded. Desmond could be so mean sometimes. "But, that dragon is after him, right?"
"Dragon?" Ryo remembered. "That dragon is after me?"
"Like that spider, that dragon won't stop until it eats you. That's how persistent those monsters from the Mirror World are," explained Desmond.
"Mirror World?" Ryo questioned. "What's that?" Desmond, instead of answering, pushed him towards the door. "Hey! Easy there!"
"Stop asking questions and go home!" said Desmond.
"Desmond, if that dragon is after him, he could get eaten," Yui said.
"Like I care," remarked Desmond. Yui shook her head. She picked up the deck and pulled out the Seal card.
"Take this," she handed the card over to Ryo. "It will protect you." Ryo knew she was telling her truth. This card had saved his life.
"Arigatou, Yui-san," nodded Ryo before glaring at Desmond who glared back with red eyes. He then stepped out of the café.
Ryo returned home to sleep but he couldn't get what had happened out of his head. He looked at the Seal card in his hand and muttered, "Zodiac Rider…hm…"
"So this is Titans Tower, sugoi ne," the man in red armor said as he looked around.
"Okay, do you mind taking off that helmet?" Robin asked. The armored man turned to look at him.
"I will if you take off that mask of yours," he challenged. Robin was taken aback by this. "Trust is a two-way street. You want my trust you better earn it. If you want me to trust you, you better trust me."
"How can we when you won't tell us a thing?" Robin raised his voice.
"Robin, there is no need to be rude," Starfire told him. She then floated towards the armor clad figure. She extended her hand. "Greetings, friend, I am Starfire of Tamaran." She said sweetly.
The figure took her hand and shook it. "It is nice to meet you, Starfire-san."
"Glorious!" She then hugged him tight.
"Thanks! Ugh! Can't breathe!" he gasped as Starfire let go.
"My apologies."
"Daijoubu."
Robin stood in front of Starfire, staring the armored guy eye to eye. "What do you want?" His eyes narrowed with suspicion.
"Listen, Robin, I'm sorry if I surprised you by being in your city and fighting that monster," he said. "But if this interrogation is over I would really like to go."
Raven said in her monotone voice. "So you're just going to leave?"
"Unless you're all offering me a place to stay," the mysterious red armored stranger said.
"I don't know…" Robin said, thinking for a bit. On one hand, it was dangerous since they knew nothing about this guy. On the other hand, this might give them a chance to learn a thing or two about him. However, he couldn't risk putting his team in danger. Although he had powers that could be useful to the team, Robin was still going to be careful. "But you have to prove yourself first. We have a spare room. You can stay here until tomorrow," Robin offered him. He was going to keep an eye on this guy by putting him in a room with a hidden surveillance camera.
"Arigatou," the red armored man bowed politely. Robin still didn't trust him, despite his polite demeanor. It could very well be a ruse to get them to let their guard down.
"C'mon! I'll show you to your room," Cyborg offered. The armored man looked at the machine man oddly and nodded. The other Titans looked at Robin. Some were excited about their new 'guest', while Raven was a bit upset.
"I thought you said we couldn't trust him," Raven said.
"We must give our new friend a chance!" Starfire leapt in front of Robin to defend the armored warrior. Beast Boy jumped around saying that the guy was cool with his armor and going through mirrors.
"Look, I know it's dangerous, but let's see what this guy can do," Robin said before he left them. Raven still didn't think it was a good idea to let a stranger join the team, much less be in the Tower, but she had to respect Robin's decision. She, of course, was not going to let history repeat itself like it had with Terra.
The next day Ryo didn't have any classes so he decided to go for a ride to clear his head. The things that had happened the day before were like a dream (or a nightmare) He got on his bike and drove off. As he was riding along the road, he noticed a black motorcycle following him and the rider was dressed completely in black. "He's following me," Ryo realized.
Ryo pulled over in front of a house and waited for his stalker to show up. He was right as the other bike stopped and the rider removed his helmet. Ryo pulled his goggles down and removed his helmet, glaring at Desmond. "Why are you following me?"
"That dragon is going to be following you too," replied Desmond coolly. "I might as well keep an eye on you until it shows up. Then, I'll destroy it with my own hands."
"Why?" Ryo asked.
"Why what?" Desmond returned.
"Why are you a Rider?"
Desmond froze at the question and reached up to stroke something hidden under his shirt. He growled, "None of your business!" He put on his helmet and said, "Just, stay out in the open so I can follow you and then I can get that dragon."
"I'm not live bait!" Ryo yelled but Desmond ignored him and rode off. "What is his problem?"
As Desmond was riding, tears fell from his eyes. "Eri…" He stroked the item under his shirt. "Sister, I'm going to wake you up. I swear it." He then heard a ringing sound. Was it the dragon? He didn't care and decided to follow after the sound, hoping to find a target to vent out his frustration.
Meanwhile, in a clothing store, a woman told her daughter to wait outside before entering the changing room. The girl sat down on a nearby bench and waited for her mother, but she would end up waiting for eternity as her mother was pulled into the mirror by a strand of webbing.
Ryo passed by the store minutes later and saw a little girl crying. He took off his helmet after shutting down the engine of his bike. He dismounted and walked over to see what was going on. This was what he heard:
"Her mother just disappeared?"
"Strange too. Why would she just leave her daughter?"
"I saw her go into the changing room but she never came out."
Ryo's eyes widened. It had to be like that spider monster. He remembered Desmond telling him that the dragon would not give up until it ate him. Maybe…maybe the other monsters fed on humans too. He looked towards the girl who was crying, asking for her mother, before gripping his fists.
He'd made his decision.
Ryo followed the ringing sound to the roof of a building to find Yui there. Before he got there, a security guard wanting to take a smoke was attacked had been attacked by a monster but Desmond saved him in time before transforming and then entering the Mirror World to engage the monster.
Ryo knew Yui could see what was happening in the reflection in front of them. The water tower's surface showed him Shadow fighting with a the spider monster, only now it had a humanoid body from the waist up while from the waist down it had the large spider body.
"He needs help," said Yui worriedly.
"Yui-san!" shouted Ryo and then Yui turned to see him.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I heard the sound," said Ryo and she blinked. How could he? He didn't have the deck with him. Then she realized it. The Seal card! "He looks like he's in trouble."
"I know he's handled worse, but I don't think he'll make it," said Yui, biting her nails.
Ryo remembered the little girl, her tears broke her heart. He then said to Yui, "Yui-san, give me the deck."
Yui blinked. He wanted the deck? Didn't he know what he was asking? Of course not. They hadn't given him the full story. "Are you sure about this?" she asked. "You can have a normal life. You don't have to get involved."
Ryo nodded and then pulled out the Seal card. He tore the card in half.
"No!" Yui gasped and watched as the two pieces of the Seal card vaporized after Ryo dropped them.
"Now, you don't have a choice," said Ryo, hand out. Yui sighed. Ryo had to be the stupid to even want this without a good reason.
Yui nodded and took out the deck case. She pulled out a blank card with had the word "CONTRACT" on it. She placed it on the case and handed both over to Ryo. "Here, use this to make a contract with the dragon." Ryo nodded and took the two items. Yui heard the ringing sound again and saw the dragon coming out from a nearby reflection. It growled and loomed over Ryo who looked at it with unblinking eyes. He then held out the Contract card without fear and the dragon was absorbed. The card now held the dragon's image, complete with its name: Dragredder.
He shut his eyes from an intense flash of light.
Ryo opened his eyes to find himself in a dark space and the dragon flying around him. A flash of light later, his body was encased in the armor. The dragon faced him before granting him its power. The first thing to happen was the deck gaining a crest resembling a dragon's face. The device on his left arm morphed into the shape of a dragon's head. His helmet changed too, now gaining a grilled visor with green eyes set on it as a dragon crest appeared on the helmet. The same crest appeared on his chestplate. Energy rose up from his feet and then swept up his body, changing the bodysuit and armor red. His gauntlets and boots also became red with silver trimmings.
Now…Zodiac Rider Ryuuki…was born.
The guy in red woke up to the smell of food coming from the kitchen. He walked towards the door and it slid open. He had spent the night in Titans Tower and he was going to be tested today. He wanted to join the Teen Titans since he was new in Jump City, and he needed some local help to find any wild monsters. He slowly made his way towards the kitchen, clad in his armor.
In the kitchen the Titans were having breakfast. In the background, Cyborg and Beast Boy argued about what to have for breakfast.
"Meat!" yelled Cyborg.
"Tofu!" yelled Beast Boy
"Meat!"
"Tofu!"
"Meat!"
"Tofu!"
"Meat!"
"Tofu!"
"Meat!"
"Tofu!"
"Meat!"
"Tofu!"
"Meat! Meat! Meat! Meat!"
"Tofu! Tofu! Tofu! Tofu!"
This went on for quite awhile. The Titans' guest walked in and stared at the arguing pair. "Ohayo."
Starfire looked up from her plate of pancakes and smiled at Draco. "Good morning, new friend!"
"Morning," said Robin.
The red armored warrior looked at the arguing changeling and hybrid. "Are they always like this or did they both wake up on the wrong side of the bed?"
"Both," Raven said, sipping her cup of herbal tea. She had a pounding headache and had a feeling that it had been their guest's fault but was not sure why.
"Oh." He sat down and a plate of eggs, sausages, pancakes and toast was set in front of him. There was also a glass of orange juice to wash it all down. He looked up and thanked Starfire.
Raven looked at him and asked curiously, "How are you going to eat with that thing on?"
"You mean my helmet?" She nodded. "Like this," He pressed a button on his belt and the mouthpiece opened to reveal his mouth. He put his hands together. "Itadakimasu." He started eating his breakfast. Cyborg and Beast Boy had stopped arguing awhile and ate their breakfast. Beast Boy had toast, soy milk, tofu eggs and non dairy pancakes while Cyborg had eggs, bacon, ham and sausages.
He had finished his meal and put his hands together to say, "Gochisou sama deshita."
When they were all done with the meal, Robin led him to the obstacle course.
Shadow wasn't having it easy, even with Darkwing's help. He'd nearly fallen to his death but luckily the bat combined with him and granted him wings. The spider monster scaled down the walls and started firing a storm of needles at Shadow who dodged out of the way. The monster continued attacking and then changed its weapon, using a strand of webbing which tied around Shadow and Darkwing, rendering the wings useless as he plummeted to the ground, hard. He groaned in pain, lying on his side as he watched the spider monster coming for him. The monster then reared back its head and two sharp needles at Shadow which would indeed end his life.
However, they didn't hit him but were deflected instead by a red Rider. Shadow looked surprise at his appearance and saw the dragon fly up behind the red Rider, circling him while growling.
"It's him," Shadow realized.
Ryuuki reached to armguard and pushed down the top to reveal the chamber. He then reached to his belt and pulled out the card from the deck. He slid the card into his armguard and closed it.
"Sword Vent!"
The dragon, known as Dragredder, roared and dropped a Chinese Dao sword into Ryuuki's hand. He ran towards the monster who attacked with its needles but Ryuuki deflected them with his fists, feet and sword before he jumped up and came down on its body, slashing it repeatedly with his sword, causing damage as it screeched in pain. It threw Ryuuki off it. Ryuuki now held the sword in his left hand. He opened up the card chamber again and drew a card. This card depicted his crest with red light surrounding it. This was his Final Vent card.
He slipped the card inside and closed the chamber. "Final Vent!"
"To see if you are cut out for the team, all you have to do is go through the obstacle course," Robin stated.
The guy in red looked incredulously at Robin. "That's it?" Robin shrugged.
"It's harder than it looks."
"Fine by me." He smiled as he closed his mouthpiece, covering his mouth.
All the Titans were watching on the sidelines. Robin said, "Ready, set, GO!" and started his stopwatch.
The Titans' guest ran into the obstacle course and laser guns started firing from the ground. He quickly drew a card and inserted it into his dragonhead armguard.
"Guard Vent!" A pair of red and silver shields that resembled the underbelly of a dragon appeared, deflecting all of the lasers. He threw fireballs at the guns, completely destroying them. After that, a pair of buzz saws rose up in front of him, blades spinning wildly, stopping him in his tracks. He drew another card and inserted it into his armguard.
"Sword Vent!" The shields disappeared and now he held his sword. When the buzz saws came again, he slashed them to bits. Afterwards, he was surrounded by 12 robotic ninjas. He shrugged as he gripped his sword and then ran into the crowd. He started thrashing ninjas left and right, landing a devastating punch into one and a kick into another. Finally, came the last part, a robot that looked like Slade stood in front of the finish line. His eyes glinted as he assessed the opponent. The robot punched him but he easily blocked it. The robot swung its leg towards his head, knocking him to the side and causing him to drop his sword. He retaliated with a flurry of punches, denting the robot's armor. He drew another card and smiled as he activated it.
"Final Vent!"
Ryuuki went into a stance, growling. First, he thrust both his fists forward, the left over the right as Dragredder flew around him. He then spread his legs wide and bent his knees, leaning his body forward with his left arm bent in front of his chest and his right arm to the side, fists gripped before he looked straight at his target. He then brought his feet together and leapt up, launching himself into the air as Dragredder followed. He did a twirl and flip before he extended his right foot at the spider monster. He let out a cry as Dragredder sent him flying with a blast of flames, engulfing his entire body in flames. He plummeted down, straight for the monster, who looked up at him.
Ryuuki's flaming foot smashed into the spider monster and it exploded on impact as Ryuuki landed on the ground. The entire monster's body vanished as the flames claimed it and released an orb of energy. Dragredder flew upwards and swallowed the orb.
"Huh?" Ryuuki scratched his head in confusion.
"The defeated monster's energy becomes food for the winner, increasing its power," explained Shadow. "That was why I was after your dragon." He looked Ryuuki up and down. "So, you're officially a Rider now. Good, now I can finally destroy you."
"What?" Had Ryuuki heard Shadow right? He didn't get a reply but instead a fist in the face.
The flaming flying kick hit the robot head on, destroying it. He easily crossed the finish line after that. He looked towards the other Titans, who stared at him wide eyed and with their jaws dropped. He cheered, "Yatta. So, how did I do?"
Robin looked at the stopwatch. He had finished the course in less than 2 minutes. "Y-you did great." Robin walked towards him and handed him a communicator. "Welcome to the Titans."
"Yatta!" he cheered
"Oh, this is great!" Cyborg said happily.
"Woohoo! A new guy!" Beast Boy cheered.
"Welcome new Titan!" Starfire said happily.
Robin then realized something. "Wait, we didn't get your name."
He said to them, "It's Ryuuki. Zodiac Rider Ryuuki."
Raven tilted her head. "You have some pretty fancy moves, but what's with those cards?" Raven asked curiously.
"You mean my deck?" he pointed at his belt buckle. Raven nodded. He was about to explain when suddenly, the alarm blared.
Yui witnessed helplessly as Shadow started ruthlessly attacking Ryuuki. She shouted out, "Desmond! Stop! Stop!"
ZK Chromedragozoid: Well, as you can plainly see, this is revamp of my ZKD story. This is, however, set AFTER Season 4 of Teen Titans. The story will be separated into two time frames: The Present and The Past. The flashback scenes will reveal slowly about the motivation of the Riders and tell the story of those who've died before Ryuuki's arrival in Jump City and also detail WHY he left, which we all know why. There will be OC's, plot twists, despite using some of my original arcs to write this. However, I will write only ONE volume with less than 50 chaps, to tell the story.
