DISCLAIMER: I OWN WHAT IS MY OWN.

Kamen Rider Tsukiyo: Return to the Equilibrium

By Corvus no Genmu the Prince of Slumberland

The World as We Know It

"My name… is Daini Sotsu… I was raised in the Metal District in New Eden of the Eastern Plains of Chalice on Neo-Urth, the bitch's new name for our world… In the beginning… I had no idea of the fate of my parents or what I was born to do. I only had my guardians to raise me, to prepare me… for my destiny…"

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Morning in the city of New Eden was not unusual in itself in that the sun was always there to rise and always there to fall on the day's end. Whether or not one could live long enough to see it was a virtual guarantee for citizens of the high tech utopia. At least, those who stayed near the center's center and far from the border districts. Those who didn't were trained professionals, soldiers trained to hunt in the darkness and those who reveled in it. Thankfully, the residential areas of the Metal District were as far as one could be from the outskirts of the massive city. It was overall, a peaceful morning all considering.

"Bubble Spray."

How quick that was to change.

A spray of water hit the sleeping boy straight in the face, startling him awake and knocking him clear off his bed. He fell to the floor with an audible thud and a rather undignified yelp of surprise.

"If you don't hurry and get ready, you'll be late for class Daini."

Daini Sotsu, better reffered to as Dai, groaned and pushed himself up from the floor to spare his guardian a withering glare despite the deep black bangs that fell into his equally dark brown orbs. "I don't see why I need bother with them when I know more then the entire lot of them put together. I'd make better use of my time studying in the library."

His guardian tsked, waving a long finger at the boy. "Need I remind you that a boy your age should be outside rather than cooped up in some metallic monstrosity as this." He turned and walked off, calling over his shoulder, "Emily's prepared breakfast so you best be prepared for a fight."

Dai stared after him for a long moment before diving headfirst into his closet. Of his strange family, only Emily could cook anything worth eating and it was an all-out brawl at times to get whatever she made, particularly when her big little brother was involved.

From the rafters above his bed, a pair of gleaming red eyes opened, wearily glaring down at the noise the teenaged boy was making as he fumbled about in his closet for clothes. Grumbling, the little figure pushes himself further into the darkness above, away from the light of the open window. "It's too early for this shit…"

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Daini repressed the urge to sigh as another passerby stared at his weird ensemble. While he was dressed in everyday wear typical for a teenaged boy, it his accessorys that drew their stares of ridicule and concern. A doctor's mask and gloves looked fine and dandy in a hospital, but not real well outside of it.

"Allergies giving you trouble again?"

Dai smiled softly beneath his mask and glanced down at the small reploid walking beside him towards the School. Though many years his junior in age, the young reploid girl had quite a spark of intelligence, pun nonintended, and was in the same class as him though she was, and likely always be, barely knee-high to him. Unlike most of the reploids who attended the School, she was one of the "beast" types, a reploid made in the shape of earth's near forgotten animals. In other words, a bioid.

"As always, Hedgeshock…" Dai said to the hedgehog-styled reploid who shook her head in sympathy.

"Man, I'm glad us reploids can't get sick." Hedgeshock nodded with an air of smug sastifaction as she crossed her small sparkplug-like arms across her chest.

"Then what about that time when you got magnetized and had all those—"

"Dai!" screeched Hedgeshock, her quills sparking with embarrassment. "Don't remind me! Brrr!"

"Go talk to Panter over in the Lightning District, he can tell you some stories I guarantee." The pair looked upwards and stared in wide-eyed shock along with anyone else close enough to have heard the voice or catch sight of the one speaking it.

"Hunter Vulturon?!" gasped Hedgeshock in surprise while a crowd gathered around her and Dai as they stared up at the vulture-like reploid hanging by the claws of his hands and feet along the wall of the building beside them. Daini felt a cold bead of sweat drop down the back of his neck. What was one of New Eden's top Maverick Hunters doing here? True, Vulturon shared responsibility over the Metal District with his partner aviator Hivolt but the two often kept well-above the grounded pedestrians of the city and avoided any of the flyers.

Vulturon pulled out his guitar and, hanging by the claws of his feet, strummed a few chords, smirking as some of the ladies gushed at the melody. "Well, I was on my patrol when who should I see but ol' Pegasolt's little pride and joy. How can I not drop down and say 'howdy'?"

Anything else to be said was halted as a dark shadow fell over the crowd, drawing all eyes towards the heavens as a darkly hushed silence fell over the Metal District. High above the city, a massive tower floated alongside the clouds at heights only the best of flyers dared to make, not that any dared to go near the Wind District.

"What's going on?" whispered Hedgeshock, shuffling closer to Dai as she stared fearfully up at the tower. "What's the Wind District doing here? It's never come near the Metal District before."

Vulturon stared up at the tower in silence, watching and waiting until its massive shadow moved past them before turning his attention back to the crowd. "Hate to break it to ya but the show's over folks. Times a wastin' and I've got to get back to patrol. See ya." Shouldering his guitar, Vulturon spread his arms wide as holo-wings spread between their spines. With a small woosh of propulsive energy, the vulture-like reploid was up and out-of-sight in moments.

Their source of attention gone with the wind, the crowd slowly begun to disperse, casting distrusting eyes to the skies, until only Dai and Hedgeshock were left watching the floating tower move slowly over New Eden.

"I don't like this, Dai, I don't, I don't." Hedgeshock shook her head, her quills quivering. "What could the Dragon's Keep being doing this far into the city? You don't think—"

"Hush, Hedge." Dai spoke sharply to the young reploid. "You know better than to call it that. Bad enough we've one of Her generals above our heads, the last thing we want to do is attract the Overlord's attention to us."

"Ye-Yeah…" Hedgeshock was shaking with fear at the thought of the Eastern Plains of Chalice, and by that definition New Eden's, Overlord the Dread Dragoon, Quad Blau.

Daini's trepidation however, was not on the Overlord's tower nor its strange new course of circling above the city. His concern laid in Vulturon and the other Hunters. Dai knew for a solid fact that any one of Maverick Hunters rarely patrolled during the day. There were the top of their game, the best of all the Hunters of New Eden, their time and energy was spent during the night, close to the city's borders to better keep out whatever manner of Darkstalker that dared to try and enter the safety of New Eden. There were few reasons that one of the elite was out in the day but before Dai could even begin to speculate, the answer came to him with the shrill of the alert sirens as the streetlamps blazed red.

"ALERT. ALERT. MAVERICK SIGNAL DETECTED WITHIN THE METAL DISTRICT. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL. MAVERICK SIGNAL DETECTED WITHIN THE METAL DISTRICT."

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Maverick. One of the most profound words to any sentient creature of Neo Urth, particularly those who dwell in the security of New Eden in the Eastern Plains of Chalice. There are many things to fear in New Eden, the evil of monsterra, Darkstalkers, and threat of invasion is far from one's thoughts nor the circling tower above the city and who dwells in it, or more specifically, who rules over them.

Nearly one hundred years have passed since the Past-that-Was had become a forgotten dream and humanity has strived long and hard to survive in the twisted world their planet has become. Alone, they were weak, afraid, dying like cattle to the Darkstalkers who feasted on blood and soul, finding only in the rare Lightwalkers that shared Neo Urth with their wicked cousins..

Until Cyberdynne Corporation and the gates of New Eden opened. Humans had to learn quickly that they were no longer the dominant species, but not nearly as fast as they had to learn to coexist with the city's guardians and first citizens.

The reploids.

The most advanced of robotics, reploids were alive in every strict sense of the word. Yes, they were designed and created through artificial means but they were not immortal nor were they without their own vices. They had to feed just like humans, they had to rest… The gynoid series of reploids, those who were human in shape and design, could even reproduce with themselves and humans. They who were born of reploid and human parents became known as humeloids and though they are low in number compared to the humans who sired them, it seemed that man's destiny was to die out and be forgotten.

Reploids of the bioid series, those based on creatures of fact or fiction, are incapable of reproducing, a stark contrast to the numerous gynoid series. However, when a new bioid reploid is created, it would often be officially adopted by another reploid of a similar elemental prowess and form. No matter the body, family is family when it comes to a reploids' affections.

For like the humans they are programmed to protect, reploids can be both good and evil. Yes, there are numerous safeguards to protect them from such a fall from grace, anything set in stone is liable to break in time. In the last several years, a new type of concern has arisen for reploid-kind.

The Stigma Virus.

A deadly computer virus, the Stigma is completely incurable and capable of rewriting a reploid's SOUL down to the last program, changing even the best of them into literal machines of berserker-like destruction. The Three Laws become null and void to them and most actively seek out ways to break them. They who become infected are called Mavericks, for they have no rhyme nor reason for attacking, only what the virus and their darker thoughts command of them to do.

For many of the Hunters, the choice between Maverick and Darkstalker is an obvious one. They'd gladly face the strongest A-Class than the weakest of Mavericks for it is not the Darkstalkers who wear the faces of their friends.

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Vulturon cursed the Maker as he rolled out of the way of another laser that woud have impaled him straight in the head. Scraps of metal metal and broken pieces of pantheon drones littered the area around the Hunter, lowering his combat effectiveness by a good thirty percent. Vulturon Condorock was a close-ranged fighter when the need pressed for it but he preferred sticking out of the battlefield to command the pantheon drones to their full effectiveness.

Whatever full effectiveness could be gained from the aptly nicknamed cannon-fodder mechaniloids!

Vulturon's jets activated and he flew straight up into the air, taking a firm grip on the wall and hanging above the Maverick's shooting range. "This isn't good, we should call for backup, Vulturon."

The reploid's optics rolled in his birdlike head. Useful as they were, cyber-elves seemed more of a hassle than their worth to him. "No shit." He grumbled, pressing a claw to his Hunter's badge on his chest. "This is Vulturon Condorock calling all Maverick Hunters, I'm on top of the Maverick." Vulturon squawked and climbed higher as an energy bolt nearly got him between the legs. "I could use a full band down here!"

Nothing but static.

"The Golem seems to have infected the satellite systems in the immediate area. I can't even access Cyberspace."

"Great." Vulturon laughed mirthlessly. "What else could happen?" Bad enough that the Maverick had to be a mechaniloid, it had to be a golem model, one of the strongest mechaniloids Cyberdynne's ever made.

A silent alarm went off in Vulturon's head and he nearly fell off from his perch. "What now?!"

"I'm detecting a strong energy field approaching from the southeast." Vulturon perked his head up at his cyber-elf's words.

"Reinforcements?"

"No… it's not any kind of energy field I've ever seen before… it's" Vulturon suddenly felt the little Lightwalker's surprise. "It's right behind us!"

Vulturon's jets activated none too soon as the wall he was hanging from exploded outwards with a sonic explosion. The Maverick Golem stopped its wild assault and turned its head upwards, staring at the figure standing in the hole he had made. Vulturon flew over to the opposite wall, staring at the armored warrior standing there without concern for the destruction his entrance caused.

"What… what the hell is that?!" Vulturon squawked.

"If… If I didn't know any better…" His cyber-elf whispered. "I'd swear it was a…"

"DaRkStAlKeR…?" intoned the Maverick Golem, its eyes blazing in random hues of red and white.

"Close, but I'm afraid you're far off." Tsukiyo whispered, too quietly to be heard, "Count up your sins. Sonic Swarming." He aimed his clawed hands down at the Maverick Golem, unleashing a massive sonic wave down upon the mechaniloid who stood firm against the powerful attack though the windows in the immediate area shattered to pieces.

Vulturon felt his lower beak almost fall off at the sight. Even at full power, he could never create a sonic attack as powerful as that and here this, this interloper was doing it with his bare hands!

With a tired sigh, Tsukiyo lowered his hands, ceasing the attack. "No good," he said in his strange duality of voices. "Looks like you're up after all, Aluc."

"You're sure?" asked the mechanical bat as he lifted off from his perch on Tsukiyo's belt to hover beside his partner. "You can only use it once during the light of day, remember."

"Just do it." Tsukiyo pulled out the Blood Crystle and blew it with a predator's cry.

"As you command, my master." Aluc flew in tight circles around the Tsukiyo's forearms, cutting the chains with his sharp wings. "Savage Bite!" The chains shattered like stainglass as Tsukiyo stooped forward, spreading his arms out to his side like wings. The three glowing crystals imbedded on his Moon Pawn Gauntlets shined brightly as day became night and a shining crescent moon appeared behind and above the Dark Rider.

Tsukiyo shot himself downward, pulling back his right fist as far as he could go as he became enveloped in a red shroud of light. "Blood Moon!" An explosion of red light and a mechanical scream of agony before the entire street was engulfed in a small explosion of light.

Vulturon covered his eyes away from the blinding light before slowly lowering his long arm down to stare down at the devastation Tsukiyo's attack. There was nothing left of the Maverick Golem but pieces best left to the scrap piles resting in a crater shaped much like the mark that adorned Tsukiyo's forehead. Night turned instantly to day as Tsukiyo slowly overlooked the damage with a satisfied air before turning his back on the destruction and slowly walking into a shadowed alleyway.

Vulturon's senses came back to him and he leapt down to land right in front of Tsukiyo, standing between him and the welcoming shadows. "You, who are you?!" Vulturon leveled his guitar with Tsukiyo's chin. The Dark Rider stared at him in silence.

"I am Kamen Rider Tsukiyo." He seemed almost amused with the reploid's actions.

"Kamen Rider?" spat Vulturon, angry with the Dark Rider's attitude. "There are no Kamen Riders!"

"So you say." Tsukiyo made to move past Vulturon but the bioid raised his guitar higher, the axe-shaped base glowing with energy.

"Back up and put your hands in the air!"

"Alright." Tsukiyo calmly raised his hands up. In that instant, Vulturon realized his mistake but it was already too late. "Sonic Swarming." A blast of sonic waves knocked Vulturon head over metallic tail-feathers and by the time the world stopped ringing with the force of church bells, Tsukiyo was gone.

"Aw man… I know I'm going to get in trouble for this…"

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Daini coughed painfully over the sink, struggling to breathe properly before he quickly washed his face in water and tied his facemask back on. He breathed slowly in-and-out, before he unclasped the choker on his neck and placed it away in his backpack. He left the washroom, massaging his neck and swallowed painfully. "This is beginning to become rather cobersome…"

"There you are!" A flash of yellow and Hedgeshock was by his side. "Where the heck did you go, Dai?! You know you're not supposed to leave the shelter!"

"Hedge…" Dai pointed wordlessly to the sign beside him. Hedgeshock looked at it and felt the plates on her faces warm with heat.

"Oh… well, you should have gone when you were at home! Man, I've said it before and I'll say it again—"

"You just love being a bioid reploid," Daini chuckled; patting the small bioid on the head, thankful for his rubber gloves otherwise he'd be shocked by the electricity generators in her quills. "So, think we should take the risk of going to school?"

"School? Oh no, I forgot all about that! C'mon we got getting juicin'!" Hedgeshock took off quickly, leaving a sparking trail behind her. Daini shook his head but quickly followed after her.

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"You've surprised me, Tsukiyo…" Pale blue eyes crinkled in amusement, taking the chess piece of the Maverick Golem off from the board and moving Tsukiyo's piece forward a square. A sickle-like claw scratched the small figurine's brow, humming softly under his breath. "You're bolder than I expected you to be…" Icy orbs fell upon one of the board's pieces. The piece moved to rest before Tsukyio, blocking his advance. "Now… let us see your savagery."

To Be Continued...

Next time… on Kamen Rider Tsukiyo: RttE

Howl of the Ravaging Beast

…