Chapter 1: The Mantle is Passed

Author's Note: Because I do not like repeating myself every chapter, I'm only going to say this once. I do not own Kamen Rider Kabuto, or Kamen Rider itself. However, I own rights to the made-up characters in this fanfic, and that are those in 2038 and one in 2008. That is all.

-

On February 17, 2036, the world's greatest man died. Perfect in everyway, even he couldn't avoid the shackles of life and death. He was known for the events of January 21, 2007, in which he and his ally defeated the company known as ZECT and the evil malicious Worms they controlled. Many missed him, especially those close to him. He left behind two children, an older daughter and a younger son, yet one did not mourn the loss of life. The son felt impartial to this loss of life so he wouldn't be compared to the man who now walks the path of heaven.

Two years have passed, and ZECT had been reborn as OMNI-ZECT. OMNI-ZECT controls Japan's economics, in return for defeating the Worms that returned on a meteor that crashed in Shibuya a year before. To combat the new Worm threat, OMNI-ZECT created five new Zecters to defeat the new Worms. But somehow, the Worms have been able to adapt to a new form of power known as HYPER CLOCK UP and travel to the past. Reports also indicate that one of OMNI-ZECT's new Zecters, the Atlas Zecter, escaped. The world now turns to the hands of a man, a man who walks the path of heaven, even if he is only a mirror image.

-

"FIRE!!" yelled an OMNI-ZECT Trooper. They resembled expendable Kamen Riders with an ant motif carrying arm-attached machine-guns. They fired on a group of green chrysalis-shaped Worms known as Salis, the basic forms of the Worms. They stepped back as their bullet casings hit the ground, the bullets themselves hitting the Worms that were slowly advancing. "Captain!" exclaimed one of them, looking down at his wrist band. "They're still advancing!"

"Then counterattack," replied a voice from the wristband.

"Platoon B," said the OMNI-ZECT Trooper at the front, "attack from their right flank! Platoon C, follow suit on their left. Do NOT let them molt! Platoon A, full fire!" A group of Troopers moved to their left, the other to their right, and now the Worms were caught by all three Platoons, now being fired upon. While a few of them were beginning to fall, three of them were already molting. "No!" It was too late. Three of the Salis Worms had taken a new, grotesque, form similar to spiders and disappeared, sending the Platoons B and C flying. The same was done for Platoon A. All was left was one Trooper left alive while his comrades had fallen, injured or dead. "Captain…three of the Worms have escaped…the mission was a failure…"

A middle-aged man laid back on his chair in a van parked outside the warehouse, surrounded by technology around him. "This feels awfully familiar…" he said to himself and rubbed the bridge of his nose to ease his headache. "If only I still had IT…ugh…"

-

It was early in the morning as a female with messy hair descended the stairs of the Tendou household. Her glasses were crooked, and she was still groggy from sleeping. She didn't see him in the kitchen, meaning he must be down there, as usual. "Stupid boy…" she sighed. "He's twenty-one, and he doesn't do anything but train, train, TRAIN!" She headed for a door on the side and opened it, hearing the echoes of pounding and chains clanking. "Toushi! Tendou Toushi, get up here!"

In the basement, where little light shown through the high windows, a male was punching away at a punching back chained from the ceiling. His hands were wrapped in bandages to prevent his skin from opening from the punches impacting with the leather. As he punched, his sweat flew off from his hair, splattering across the concrete ground. With one final punch, he finally stopped, breathing heavily. He could hear a female voice calling his name. "I'm coming!" he called back and took his towel resting on the side and wiping his hair with it. He walked up the stairs to look up at his sister. "You're up early today, Aki-nee-san."

"UGH!" Aki gasped and held her nose, stepping back a bit. "You reek! Reek of sweat! How long were you down there, hours?!" He stepped back some more to the coffee table and took in a deep breath of fresh air. "Go! Go take a shower right now! If I have to smell that anymore, I'm not gonna make it to work!" She began to push Toushi up the stairs, and when he had left, she started to wipe her hands on the wall in disgust. "Seriously, how long was he down there…"

Around twenty minutes later, Toushi descended the stairs in fresh clothing to find his sister on the couch, waiting for him. "Ah, right," he sighed and went straight into the kitchen, where in half an hour cooked a breakfast feast for her, which consisted of miso soup, tamagoyaki, broiled aji, steamed rice, and natto (fermented soy beans). Smelling this, Aki jumped out of the couch and ran to the table, taking her chopsticks as Toushi chuckled and took his place on the couch.

"Ittaidekimasu!" she exclaimed and began to eat. Oh god, was the food full of bliss, she thought. "Once again, otouto-chan," she said to her little brother, "your food is GOOD!" She made sure to say "good" in English, which is how she expressed her love for his food. She stopped eating and looked at Toushi, who was reading a newspaper article about an attack at a warehouse. She began to panic and had to grab his attention. "T-Toushi-kun!" she called to him. "When are you going to get a job? You're twenty-one already, and you're still jobless!"

Toushi let out a small sigh and put down the newspaper. "Don't you remember what tou-san once told us?" he said to Aki and pointed to the sky. "'The world is yours. When it is within your reach, grab it.' I'll find one when I find the thing I am looking for."

This puzzled Aki a little as she tilted her head. "What is it that you are looking for?" Her eyes trailed off to look at her watch. It was 7:30 AM, and she panicked. "Ah! I'm late! I'm supposed to be off with my manager for discussing a collaboration work with the artist, Hayabusa!" Forcing herself to finish the food, she jumped out of her chair and ran to her little brother. She embraced him, kissed his cheek, and ran out the door. "Don't wait up for me!"

Toushi watched her leave with wonder and sighed once more, looking at the clock. "Maybe I should find a job," he thought to himself aloud and looked down at his clothes. These were his father's clothes…well, when he whore these, he looked a bit like his father in a way. "I'll leave in a bit…I'm kind of hungry myself…" Then he got up to make himself some breakfast.

Two hours later, around nine in the morning, Toushi took off with his straw cowboy hat and black scarf on.

-

As Toushi wandered the shopping districts, he saw a girl riding a bike his way. He stepped out to the side to the side to give her room. He noticed that her bag that covered a bit of the letters had the last three letters "-ECT". Did she…no, not a girl that young. She looked like she had just graduated high school, too. Well, it was April. To be out of school this early means that she isn't going to college and finding a job. How old was she…well, it wasn't his business but to find a job for himself.

Just as he stopped walking, he looked up to find a restaurant with a wooden sign called the Bistro La Salle. It was…pretty wide. Toushi remembered that his father said he had once worked there, or knew someone who worked there. There was also a HELP WANTED sign on the window, and Toushi recalled the words that he had said to Aki that his father passed down to him. "The world is mine. Once it is within my reach, grab it…" He walked toward the door and slowly opened it, the bell ringing.

As he walked in, he froze, feeling something rubbing against his leg and purring. It was a cat, a silver cat, long and slender and furry. "Cho-chan!" exclaimed a middle-aged lady as she ran out from the back and picked up the cat, now dangling on her arms. She looked up at in shock at Toushi. "I-It's you…" she gasped, now stuttering. Toushi raised his eyebrows and looked at the woman questionably. She shook her head, upon realizing who Toushi was and led him to a seat. "I-I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else…Do you happen to know-"

"Tendou Souji?" said Toushi, smirking a little. "You can say I'm closer to him than you realize."

The woman sighed and smiled. "Well, it's a little early, and I'm still getting everything ready. If you need anything, my name is Kagami." Kagami…that name sounded familiar. Toushi sighed and looked at his clock. 9:34. Damn, why did that woman look so familiar? "Are you okay?" asked Ms. Kagami from the counter.

"N-No, it's fine," said Toushi as he looked at the HELP WANTED sign, from the back reading PLEH DETNAW.

Ms. Kagami looked at what Toushi was gazing at and smiled. "We…do have one opening. You see, our last cook…well, disappeared by unknown means." She walked out from behind and sat across from Toushi, now having his full attention. "Hey, do you know about the Worms?"

"Worms?" Toushi thought and looked up to the ceiling to think. "You mean…those insect-like monsters. Tou-san said he used to fight against those during his younger days."

The woman smiled and looked at a picture on the side, showing a man and a woman happily smiling. "My husband works at OMNI-ZECT to battle the Worms that returned last year. He said that it was a sign to start over and make his own path, just as his dear friend had told him to. They got into fights a lot, but deep down, that man cared for my husband. It's too bad that he…he's long and gone now…"

Toushi was surprised by the woman's words as he leaned in. "Kagami-san…" he started, "do you…know my father?"

She simply smiled and stood up, going to the back. "Well, if you want that job, I have to see your skills. If they're anything like your father's, that is." Who IS this woman, Toushi thought. How did she know so much about his father? There was a picture of the woman in his house as well, similar to the one in the restaurant. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew it was so familiar.

-

Back at the OMNI-ZECT headquarters, the girl from before, now wearing a uniform, walked towards the restricted area where only top employees can pass. She held out her I.D., and the guard let her in. She ventured down a long corridor and opened the door to her right, revealing a middle-aged man and a young woman in her late twenties talking to each other. "Captain, Aki-san," she greeted and took her seat, setting her bag down.

Aki looked up and fixed her glasses. "Oh, Orihime-san," she replied in surprise, not realizing that her younger subordinate had arrive. "You're earlier than usual, but yet again, the other two beat you to the punch. They're training right now."

"Muscle-heads," Orihime sighed and slid back onto her chair. She looked at the Captain, as busy in his work as ever. "So, how's the wife?" she asked. "I just saw her a bit ago, so you don't have to answer."

The Captain didn't speak, so Aki cleared her throat to end the awkward silence between the two. "Orihime, we have an important assignment for you." She took out what looked like a metal belt and handed it to her. "This is the Atlas Belt."

"Atlas?!" Orihime gasped, standing up. "But…that was supposed to be a lost, right?" She looked down at the belt and wondered who it was for. "That means we found a candidate for the fifth Rider, right?"

"That's right," Aki answered and opened up a database on the past Riders. "The Kabuto, Gatack, TheBee, Drake, and Sasword were originally made by the previous ZECT, the two Hopper Zecters following after, though those were somehow taken by unknown means." She shifted the view to five new Zecters that lined themselves up under the original five. "These are the Zecters that OMNI-ZECT has created. A difference between these and the past Zecters is that these Zecters have been designed with a DNA Recognition System so a different person will not obtain these Zecters."

"I see…" Orihime nodded and looked down at the Atlas Zecter. "And…this one will automatically identify the new Rider that will wear this belt," she thought aloud. "I just have to deliver it to the person, right? Where will I meet him or her?"

-

She traveled to the business district, remembering that Aki had told her that her client would be found near Tokyo Tower at night. Orihime was an early bird, and she hated that two of her subordinates were always earlier than her. She found herself at a Café nearby and sat there, looking at Tokyo Tower. It wouldn't be long, the exchange was supposed to be at 11:30. She looked at her watch that read 10:43. "…Why am I always too early…excuse me! Coffee, please!"

-

At the Bistro La Salle, Ms. Kagami was watching Toushi make three different dishes at the same time, balancing his time and energy needed to make them. He wasn't rushing; he was pacing himself and equally dividing everything. In awhile, it was done. They weren't Japanese, but Italian, French, and Russian. As Ms. Kagami tasted them, her face lit up. "Just like your father," she smiled and put down her utensil. "Although I was never a fan of his hot food, I could never deny that his cooking was one of a kind."

Toushi looked to the side, then at the window. "Tou-san once told me," he said, "'Flavor of the soul is essential to the food of the heavens.' As long as I follow his words, I can cook anything, as long as my soul is in it." He looked down at the food he cooked and found himself talking like his father, which gave him a bitter look.

"Well, your soul got you a job," Ms. Kagami smiled and pat Toushi on the back. "I trust you'll be able to work here full time!"

"Ah…" Toushi nodded and left the backroom, taking off his apron. "I'll be start tomorrow morning."

"What did you say your name was again?"

The name…Toushi paused and raised his hand to the sky, pointing at it. "The man who walks the path of heaven, though he is only a mirror image." He gave a disheartened smile and turned his head to Ms. Kagami. "Tendou…Toushi."

As Toushi began to leave, Ms. Kagami waved to him and said, "Say hi to Aki-chan for me." This halted Toushi's leave as he turned back to Ms. Kagami in disbelief. How much about his family does she know? He felt a little weirded out and proceeded out the door.

The male found himself standing on the sidewalk with a van speeding past him. Something like this hasn't happened in awhile, and it looked like it was headed toward Tokyo Tower. It shouldn't take long to reach it, so he started to run after the van. After a while, he found a battle between armored soldiers that looked like ants attacking a man who held someone…who looked just like him in his hand! Behind him was the girl riding past him earlier in the morning, holding a steel suitcase. If they were attacking the man, who was taking the bullets like they were made of paper, he must not be human. Toushi ran down toward Tokyo Tower and went around where no one can see him.

"Object spotted!" Aki called from the van to her troops of OMNI-ZECT Troopers. "Target is definitely a Worm, presumably the one of the few that had molted before. Take care of it before it uses its Clock Up."

It was too late. The worm began to shed its human form, taking on a white spider form and began to Clock Up. All of a sudden, the soldiers were flying in the air, hitting the ground in pain. Some weren't moving at all. It turned to Orihime, who seemed like she was looking for something. "Where is it…where did I leave it?!" she exclaimed as it walked toward her. She flinched when it reached out to grab her, but a hand grabbed the Worm's wrist, and a foot launched into its stomach, sending it back a little. She looked up to see Toushi, standing infront of her. "You're the guy I passed this morning…"

"I see…so you're working for OMNI-ZECT," Toushi replied and took the suitcase from her. When she tried to get it back, he simply pushed her to the back, now stepping forward. "I heard about the incident, about OMNI-ZECT losing a Zecter. So…I've come to claim it." He opened the suitcase, allowing the steel Rider Belt falling into his left hand, and he put on the belt. DNA INPUTTED, said the belt, and the sound of a hum filled the air, perplexing even the Worm.

"Who is that?!" Aki gasped, trying to make out the figure standing infront of Orihime. Because of his attire, she couldn't make him out, especially with a part of the Tokyo Tower blocking her view. But she saw the belt around his waist, and she called out, "Someone stop him!"

The Captain, however, kept her from leaving the van. There was a smile on his face. He knew something she didn't know. "Sit back and watch…"

"Captain…"

The hum grew louder, and out of the sky flew down a golden metal beetle, flying around Orihime, then Toushi. "It's…the Atlas Zecter!" she gasped, unbelieving that the Atlas Zecter would come to a man not of OMNI-ZECT.

"I see…so you're my aibou," said Toushi and grabbed the Zecter in his hand. Slowly, he looked at the Worm, who was about to attack. "Henshin…" Then he slid the Zecter into the belt, the Zecter responding, HENSHIN, and his body changed form into a bulky metallic form. The Worm thrusted its fist forward, but Toushi, now as a suited warrior, parried and gave a roundhouse kick to the stomach. The Worm began to Clock Up and sent Toushi flying, but when it came close, he would punch it. The Worm would lose its Clock Up, but reinitiate it. Toushi was out matched due to its Clock Up, being tossed around so easily.

Orihime was watching in horror, unable to do anything. "I can't find it…I must've left my bag in the Café!" she realized and proceeded to watch the fight. Her defender was being tossed around too easily. All of a sudden, she blurted, "Cast off! Use the Cast Off system!"

"I know," Toushi replied and blocked the Worm's Clock Upped kick, now standing up slowly. "I know what this thing is. After all…I will rule everything." He pushed back the Worm with a side kick and took the top twin horns on the Atlas Zecter with his right hand, pulling it back. "Cast Off." Then he pushed the main horn to the back of the Zecter with his left hand, the Zecter responding, CAST OFF. The body armor began to peel off and launched the pieces towards the Worm, sending it back. The front horn began to fold over the blue visor of the helmet, forming a two separate eyes. The eyes lit up and blinked a little to finalize the transformation. CHANGE BEETLE!

Aki was in shock, sitting back onto her chair. "The Atlas Zecter…Kamen Rider Atlas!"

Kamen Rider Atlas, the golden beetle, began walking to Worm calmly as it started to step back, probably in fear. Then it lunged forward to attack, but Atlas caught the attack, uppercutting the Aracneaworm Rubor and launching punches at its upper chest and face. The Worm screeched and began to Clock Up. Atlas simply looked on and placed his hand on the side padding, pressing it. "Clock Up." The Zecter echoed, CLOCK UP, and Atlas disappeared.

"Wh-what?!" Orihime gasped and stood up, shocked that the two had disappeared. "Dammit! Aki-san, I failed the mission! What did I do now?!"

"You do nothing," replied the Captain, and Orihime was surprised to even get a response from him. "Let Kamen Rider Atlas take care of everything."

Meanwhile, Kamen Rider Atlas was running past slow-moving cars on the highway as he gave chase to the Worm, running from him. He eventually caught up and kicked it off the bridge to a junkyard, jumping down after it. As the Worm rolled on the ground, Atlas landed, pressing the three buttons on the top of Zecter. ONE said the Zecter as he pressed the first button. The Worm attacked, but Atlas pushed it behind him and pressed the second button. TWO. THREE. He pulled the main horn of the Atlas Zecter to the front and said, "Rider Kick," calmly, pushing it back to how it was before. RIDER KICK, the Zecter echoed, and the Aracneaworm Rubor made a mad dash toward the Rider from behind. All it took was a hundred-eighty degree turn to a roundhouse kick to the head, then ending by turning another hundred-eighty degrees to turn his back on the exploding Worm. CLOCK OVER said the Zecter as Atlas slowly raised his hand to the sky, pointing at it.

-

At the end of the day, Aki came back home to the Tendou household, where a calm Toushi was waiting for her. "What're you so happy about?" she grunted and sat next to her little brother, taking off her glasses and rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Did you get a job?"

Toushi simply smiled and looked up at the picture of his father, labeled Tendou Souji under his portrait, and said, "Yeah, and something delivered from the heavens." This puzzled Aki as he stood up and reached for the sky. "The world is all mine. When it is within my reach, make a grab for it. But I only have a part of the world. I still have the whole world to make mine." He turned to Aki as he headed for the basement door. "Don't you agree, onee-chan?"

Aki sighed and shook her head as Toushi entered the basement. Unbeknownst to her, OMNI-ZECT's Atlas Rider Belt was sitting in the basement on a motorcycle seat, where Toushi took the belt and slapped it onto his waist.