It seems almost like forever since I last updated Tsukiyo and I apologize for that. I was struck by the one thing that all authors fear to have.

Bahamut: Writer's block?

What? No, writer's funk. I just could not get into the groove of Tsukiyo. Everything I wrote was just... not true to the story. Now I get why Kuzco gets so grumpy whenever someone throws off his groove.

Mewtwo: Grumpy... that's a new way of putting it.

Anyway, I've got my groove back and, hopefully, you'll be seeing more updates soon. Probably not for Tsukiyo, cause now... well, let's just say the opening arc is now approaching at its climax.


DISCLAIMER: I OWN WHAT IS MY OWN.


Kamen Rider Tsukiyo: Return to the Equilibrium

By Corvus no Genmu the Prince of Slumberland

Breaking Away Pt. 2

"Ever since I was a little boy… I've had this same Dream… For years I'd wake up in a cold terror, the memories of the Dream lost to me with the rising dawn… until came the day that I was to meet her… A young girl lying alone in the darkness, crying for someone, anyone, to reach out to her, to save her… I tried so hard to reach her but every time I came close I'd wake up… It wasn't until years past that I realized that my Dream wasn't truly a dream… and that the girl crying out to me in the darkness would be a pivotal player in the events to come…"


She was so cold… the nights were always cold but this one especially so. They had stopped feeding her and the last of the soda bottles had run dry hours ago. All she had for protection from the cold was a flimsy white dress, pristine as the day she was given it despite the grime of her cell. She pulled her legs close, the chain rattling along the freezing stone floor, disturbing the decomposing cardboard boxes that lay scattered in messy piles throughout the room. She was shivering, her breath escaping through lips pale from never seeing the light of the sun. She had assumed that her old home was a prison but compared to this wretched place she would gladly go back there.

At least then her mother might still be alive.

She stilled as she heard footsteps drawing near thinking perhaps if she pretended hard enough, they might think her dead and she'd have a chance to escape. But no, the footsteps came and went, not even pausing at the door to look upon her like some kind of exotic animal. She shivered and drew her legs tighter to her chest. Were one to look at her they would think her of reploid descent thanks to the pale green hair atop her head, cut short like a boy's and done with little style. Others would call her a monsterra for the large feathered wings that adorned her back, Lightwalker or Darkstalker it mattered not for surely she wasn't human.

They would be wrong.

Nausicaä is human, one hundred percent.

She thinks herself alone in her misery, that there's not a single person out there in the entire world that would care if she lived or died in this miserable place. Her captors would eventually forget about her, leaving her to waste away, back to the dust whence she came. She was assured in her belief that she would never experience the sheer unbridled joy of testing her wings and reaching the skies, feel the gentle touch of kind hands enveloping her in a protective embrace, or the velvet touch of a man's lips to her own.

She was raised these last years alone and she would die alone.

She was wrong.

The whole of the Church shook from its top spire to its lowest foundations as something struck its walls with the force of a massive war hammer. She raised herself up on her hands but collapsed back down, too weak from hunger to have the strength to do more than lie there as the sounds of a decidedly one-sided battle took place within the church walls. Bullets were blazing and she recognized the sounds of grenades going off, shaking layers of dust from the rafters above. There came a sudden sound like the roar of a beast, too high pitched for normal human ears but she it and felt tears come to her eyes. She felt no physical pain but her heart recognized the sadness in the scream, the sheer and utter despair of loss and loneliness.

Silence.

The wall to the outside, the one that had a window in the small corner that allowed her sight of the skyline of New Eden and not much else, shook as a strange mark appeared on the rocky surface before the wall shattered like glass. An armored figure appeared where the wall stood, standing on the edge of freedom with the pale crescent moon shining behind him. For a long time, there was silence between the two of them until his clawed hand twitched and the chain wrapped around his forearm flashed forward, whipping at the shackle adorning her ankle and shattering it to pieces and leaving her unarmed.

"Fiat ustitia ruat caelum." Tsukiyo inclined his head at Nausicaä's confusion, to the fear in her eyes. "Let justice be done though the heavens fall."


FLASHBACK BEGIN:

Earlier that day… shortly before dawn…

Gallon stood before the Felicity House on the far side of the street, hidden away in the shadows of one of New Eden's numerous alleyways. He watched and waited as the sun just began to peak on the horizon before the door to the orphanage opened and a female figure stumbled out, still weary and tired for more sleep. He watched as she strode over to her parked motorcycle, too tired to notice the damage done around it but the bike itself literally untouched.

She took a seat and, with another loud yawn, placed her helmet atop her head before she revved the engine. The sudden roar of it seemed to do the job her alarm clock failed to do for she suddenly sat ramrod straight with renewed conviction flowing through her. She released the stand and eased forward onto the street and, taking a note of the strange absence of patheon foot soldiers, pulled a wheelie and shot off down the streets toward the farther territories of New Eden.

Gallon watched her go until she was completely out of his sight before turning back to the matter at paw. Pulling the still struggling human up along the wall until he was hanging by his clawed grip, Gallon's eyes shined with fresh ferality as he glared at the young man. "You're going to be a good little boy and tell me what I want to know. You aren't going to scream, you aren't going to fight, and maybe, just maybe, you'll live to see another dawn. You try something foolish and I'll put you down. Permanently."

He pulled the boy down, so that they were nose-to-nose. "Are we clear?"

"Tra-Transparently!"

"Good. Now… tell me… humans aren't supposed to be carrying reploid tech on them, unless they're a part of those useless Hunters… where did you get the gun?" Gun was not the correct term for the weapon in question as a gun constitutes as a small hand weapon capable of damaging a single person for every bullet. The weapon in question, now lying in a useless pile of scrapped pieces, was one of the laser-cannons of the Hunters, specifically one capable of a "charged attack" that could, with adequate power, blow out several E-Class Darkstalkers to dust… or to put it in terms of the man's design, destroy a small building.

One just like the Felicity House.

"Wh-What ma-akes you think I'm not a H-Hunter?" Gallon couldn't help but smile, revealing the fact that his teeth had all sharpened into deadly fangs. He didn't answer but merely pointed down at the growing wet spot at the front of the man's trousers. "Sh-Shit!"

"Piss is more like it. You gonna cough up the truth or…" Gallon's grip tightened painfully on the man's throat. "Will I have to do this the hard way?"

"C-C-Chaos Sees ALL!" There was a crunch and foam suddenly appeared in the man's mouth as his eyes rolled to the top of his skull. Gallon hastily let the corpse drop to the ground with a distasteful growl.

"Suicide pills… hidden in the teeth no doubt… But you told me exactly what I needed to know." He frowned turning and looking down the road before looking back the way he came, the way towards home. A shadow fell over him and he instantly looked heavenward to see the Dragon's Keep floating past far overhead. He scowled and vanished back into the shadows.

"Damn your promises."


Daini paced back and forth in his room, his mind in utter turmoil over a dream, the same damned dream he had been plagued with for most of his life. He hated the Dream not because of anything in particular because that was the point. Every time he had that Dream, he would wake up with his heart nearly bursting out of his chest, eyes wide with fear, and the memories of the Dream vanished like smoke. Daini never remembered any kind of details about the Dream but for a faint feeling of fear … of despair … of love… and of rage born out of hatred… Not once did he remember anything else.

Until today.

A girl, the same girl from all the Dreams of before, aging with him through the years, her smiles fading into tears of despair as a tower became a cage, locked away in the darkness and crying for someone, anyone, to reach out to her. To save her. He remembered now of all those times before, always running to her, always stretching a hand out to reach her but never making it, always waking up without any memory of her or her despair.

Well, that was different now.

Now, he knew her face. Now, he knew her tears. Now, he knew where she was.

Now all he had to do was go and rescue her.

"Are you planning something stupid?"

Daini paused in his pacing, eyes still focused on the floor. "Does it really matter to you?"

"Not particularly." A shrug within the shadows. "Unless it involves a massive amount of bloodshed, then you've my undivided attention." Daini remained silent and that intrigued him. "Well, well… just what is it that you plan on doing? Are you honestly thinking of fighting against someone who isn't a Darkstalker now?"

"… If there's one thing I've learned, living here with all of you… is that sometimes… the worst kind of monsters are the ones with a human face." Daini stepped out onto the balcony, his eyes narrowed as he focused on one particular building in the distance, one of the tallest in all of New Eden, marked with the eyes of Chaos Herself.

Red eyes shined in the shadows, following the boy's own and a fanged smile lit up on a metallic face. "The Church of the All Seeing… My, when you fall you fall hard don't you?" A flutter of mechanical wings and a small weight fell on Daini's shoulder. "Shall we go?"

"… No. When the sun sets…"

"Hrmm, yes I suppose the added benefit of the darkness would be necessary." Red eyes narrowed. "You know that they'll come for you. With everything they've got. You do this, and you'll be no different than a Darkstalker in their eyes."

Daini smiled but it was an empty one devoid of its usual warmth. "Hasn't it always been the idea… that our stay here was a temporary one?"

"You think yourself ready to face the world? Don't make me laugh. You killed many a Darkstalker, I'll give you that much, but only when your hands are stained by the blood of others, Lightwalker, human, or even reploids… only then will you have my respect. Until then, you are a child still and your story is far from finished."


Felicia rode for the better part of the day, stopping only long enough to make a few calls back to the Felicity House and for a bite to eat. She ignored the glares, hateful as always, and the stares, fear was a rising trend in New Eden, before she went back to her search. The boy from yesterday… Daini Sotsu… he was quite the oddity to Felicia. Though he is human, he didn't discriminate between the races in any way. His best friend was a reploid and monsterra were monsterra, regardless if they walked in the light or stalked in the shadows. She had spent a bit of her morning trying to find him but New Eden was huge and the people populating it were the vast majority of humans still left on Neo Urth.

Admittedly, she had a likelier chance of finding the boy than her fia—

"Stop it, Felicia…" She muttered to herself. She was stopped at one of the many backstreets that bordered the boundary lines of the Wood and Metal Districts. "You'll just break your heart all over again…"

"Oh, I'm sure it will be much worse than that for you, demon!" Felicia whirled to find a man behind her with a charged-plasma grenade launcher aimed straight at her, energy building up within the barrel of the miniature hand-cannon. She leapt clear, tossing her helmet at the man just as he pulled the trigger. Her bike exploded into a flaming scrap but at least she was alive to deal with this idiot.

She raced forward, her hand raised up to slash the gun to shreds when, out the corner of her eyes, she saw another gun was raised at her, its projectile well under way of hitting her. She closed her eyes in a wince, expecting a burning agony to impact her, strong enough to injure her but she was C-Class. She'd survive through worse, and it wasn't like these people were the Hunters.

Instead of pain, she felt herself grabbed from behind and tossed high into the air. She screamed like a little girl but enough her voice couldn't drown out the roar from below. Her eyes widened at the familiarity of the sound and she twisted tightly in midair. Her feet hit the wall of a building and she rebounded back toward the fight but by then it was half-over. Weapons lay in hacked-up pieces and the men who attacked her were regrouping with more of their fellows who were armed to the proverbial teeth with stolen tech. Her savior growled low in his throat and rushed forward as his body was enveloped by youki that form the shape of a dragon's head.

Ever see a bowling ball manage a perfect strike? Well imagine that on a larger scale and with a little more flash thrown in and you'd have half an idea as to what happened next.

The men screamed as they flew through the air and landed hard to the unforgiving ground, their bodies broken and their minds lost to the sweet oblivion of unconsciousness. Their attacker snorted in disdain and bent down to pick up a dropped handgun. Standing behind, just out of reach, stood Felicia with her hands to her chest, daring to not even breathe lest she break whatever spell had been cast upon her to see the man who couldn't, nay shouldn't, be here before her as he now was.

It was possible that it was a case of mistaken identity for surely there were others of his ilk but the possibility of one of them being in New Eden was astronomical at best! No, even back then he was the last of his kind. This Darkstalker, this werewolf, could be no one else.

"Jon…?"

The werewolf stiffened and the gun in his claws was crushed beneath his powerful claws. The hackles of his neck rose and a pleasant shiver flowed down his spine at her voice. The Darkstalker sighed and with his passing breath, melted back to his human form, one that most recognized as a guardian of Daini Sotsu, a man simply known as Gallon. Felicia knew him by a different name.

"Jon!" She leapt at the man and embraced him tightly, pressing her face against his bare chest as tears flowed from her eyes.

"Felicia…" Gallon-no Jon Talbain, sighed and returned her embrace gently, mindful of how strong he still was even in human form. He suddenly hissed in pain as Felicia's claws dug into his back as she pushed herself away from him.

"You son-of-a-bitch! How dare you just run off and leave me like that! No goodbye, no letter, no nothing! All these years and I thought you were dead you lousy bastard!" She screamed at him, her eyes shining with rage though tears still fell from them.

"Felicia I'm sor—"

"No, you don't you dare apologize! No apology will ever make up for what you did!" Jon realized she was right, at least in that regard, so he chose to apologize without words. He suddenly leaned down and pressed his lips against Felicia's own and for a brief moment she felt inclined to bite him for it, Felicia returned the kiss just as passionately as the earth shook under feet. So into the near-forgotten actions she was undertaking with Jon, Felicia failed to realize that the quake was not caused through their shared actions but the actions of another.

An act that would invoke great and irreversible consequences…

:FLASHBACK END


"Fiat ustitia ruat caelum." Tsukiyo inclined his head at Nausicaä's confusion, to the fear in her eyes. "Let justice be done though the heavens fall."

Nausicaä tried to speak, she really did, but her throat was terribly parched and she swallowed back her words with a painful grimace. She shuffled back from the figure, her eyes shining with fresh tears that fell down her pale face. Her wings quivered at the sight of him for though she had never seen one before, she could feel the Darkness within the armored Rider, the youki that flowed like blood through his veins. As though reading her mind, Tsukiyo bowed his head as his body suddenly became like melted steel as a mechanical bat lifted off from his perch to rest amongst the rafters of the dusty chamber. The steel shattered like glass and burst into steam upon impact of the ground but she did not see this.

She saw him and her tears could only increase but this came not from despair or fear, no this came from a sudden hope that burned inside her heart. She knew him for as long as she could remember, the sweet little toddler that played with her, the boy who stood beside her, letting her lean against him whenever she was tired of the real world, the young man who screamed her name as he did everything in his power to reach through the nightmares of live and relive the memories of old. Though they had never once met in the waking world, she knew him by name and it was by that name she suddenly found voice to speak.

"Daini…"

The teenage boy smiled and nodded, his eyes shining with tears though he stubbornly refused them to fall. "Nausicaä…"

The pale-green haired girl tried to rise to her feet but she couldn't find the strength but she didn't have to, Daini was already at her side, one arm wrapped carefully around her trim waist, the other holding her arm across his shoulders. "I'm sorry that I didn't come sooner Nausicaä…"

"You came…" She whispered, leaning heavily against Daini who easily supported her weight, what little of it she had, "that's all that matters…"

Daini pulled her closer and closed his eyes, sighing softly to himself. The moment of peace was short-lived as Aluc flew down to land atop the boy's head with a fanged smirk on his flat face. "They come for you, Master. Will you run and hide like a cowardly dog?"

"Shut up, Aluc." Daini's dark brown eyes seemed to shine red but the light died away as he carefully guided himself and Nausicaä to the hole in the wall that led to the outside, to the city. It was the first time that Nausicaä had seen New Eden fully and she was captivated by its beauty before reality set her free. Beauty was only as deep as the skin and though it was indeed beautiful, New Eden was not as beautiful inside.

Sirens and flashing lights steadily approached until there was a sudden roar of jet fire as aerial-type patheon soldiers made it to the desecrated Church, weapons drawn and aimed for instant death. Airships arrived close behind, the back runners carrying the human members of the Hunters while the forefront was populated by the Maverick Hunters themselves, including half of the District Guardians.

Hovering high above the lead aircraft, flying on his own wings, was a Guardian of the Thunder District, Pegasolt Éclair, one of the rare but powerful monsterra-type bioid whose form was based on the Pegasus of legends. He was armed with a pair of electrified lances. Hanging from the underside of the lead airship was a Guardian of the Earth District, Noble Mandrago, another monsterra-type though his shape was based on the dark, and thankfully extinct, mandrake. Though his robotic vines, tipped with poisonous claws, were busy holding on, the drill bits that served as his legs were united into a massive drill, primed and ready for combat.

On one side of the airship was a Guardian of the Water District, the only one capable of leaving it in fact. Shaped and designed off the basilisk water-lizard, Basil Hydroglide is by no means the most heavily armed of the Guardians, he only had the blades adorning his head and back and those were lightweight at best, but he is by far the fastest, especially on water. Before him stood a Guardian of the Metal District, Vulturon the avian-type bioid who held his guitar tightly in his claws, his optics narrowed in his skull-shaped head.

On the other side stood the Guardian of the Ice District, one of the two female Guardians, Poler Karmous, the largest and heaviest of the Maverick Hunters whose girth managed to tip the aircraft on its side slightly. Shaped like a polar bear with an attitude to match, Poler was a walking freezer, her massive paws tipped in sharp icicles with clouds of frosty air pouring out of her vents like smoke. Before her, and far lighter in comparison, was one of the Guardian Brothers of the Wood District, Kuwagust Anchus. The stag-beetle type bioid had won the coin toss with his brother and so was standing with their fellow Guardians with his head bowed, his optics shadowed as he took on the scene before them.

At the forefront stood the General of the Maverick Hunters and the taskmaster guardian of the training grounds of the Fire District, the robotic lion with a mane of fire and claws of molten steel, Fistleo. The old reploid stood at the nose of the aircraft, his claws carefully piercing the necessary grips as he stood with clawed fists at his side. Vulturon, having the better optics of the Guardians present, had already taken a snapshot of the pair of younglings and had sent the image to all Hunters present. Most did not recognize them, some had a faint inkling of déjà vu, and a few knew at least one of them by name.

No one moved, all eyes of the gathered Hunters looking towards their general whose robotic shoulders seemed to sag with a fresh weight upon them. Fistleo's optics shined as he activated a private line with Pegasolt. The Thunder District Guardian was the adopted father of Hedgeshock, and thus knew Daini far better than anyone else present.

"What is that boy doing here, Pegasolt? Is he a member of the Church?"

"No, sir he isn't. I'm sorry sir but I'm afraid I know only as much as was given to us by the Council."

"Hrmm, I was afraid you'd say that." Anything further that was to be said was put to an immediate halt as a spotlight finally lit itself upon the pair of teenagers, startling the girl enough for her to spread out one of her glistening white wings to shade herself from the intense light. Immediately, there were cries of outrage from the Lightwalkers assembled, those flying on their own wings preparing to dive down and snatch the girl away but were halted by a fierce scream from Orthos.

"SILENCE ALL OF YOU! Use your senses for Light's sake! She isn't one of us!" The gryphon's eyes narrowed as he glared down at Nausicaä. "She doesn't have monsterra blood in her veins…" He repeated more to himself than his side of the troops.

"We will present her to Council and allow them to judge whether or not she may be permitted to stay in New Eden." Fistleo spoke to all the Hunters through the radio but still, somehow, Daini heard him.

Daini's grip tightened on Nausicaä's waist, pulling her closer to him. "It doesn't matter what she is!" He called to the Hunters. "She's alive and that's all that matters! What more does a person need to be counted as a living being to you?!"

"Daini… I'm sorry but she's… I don't know what she is and that's exactly the point. She could be dangerous." Pegasolt slowly approached the two. "She's going to have to come with us."

Now it was Nausicaä whose grip suddenly strengthened as she watched with wide frightened eyes. "No… no, don't let them take me, please Daini."

Daini knew, in that exact moment, the choice he had been weighing just hours before was at last made and, come Hell or high-water, he would never regret it. He put himself between Nausicaä and the Hunters, a living shield that stood in defiance of their authority. "I'm sorry, sir… but she's not the dangerous one here…" Daini took a deep breath as the faint highlights of turquoise in his hair suddenly brightened just before his eyes snapped open to reveal shining, red eyes. "Aluc!"

"As you wish, Master…!" A small robotic jaw spread wide, revealing four gleaming fangs of steel and ivory before they bit down on the boy's neck. A sudden flash of light and the sound of steel chains and there was a strange belt now adorning the boy's waist with a buckle not unlike a bat's roost. Daini gripped Aluc tightly and placed him on the roost of his belt.

"Unlock!" Chains surrounded the boy, covering him from sight before shattering like glass. The gathered Hunters all screamed in pained shock at the sudden spike of youki.

He wore an obsidian bodysuit made of a leather like material while his armor was, for the most part, made of a shining silver, a stark contrast to his nature and power, except for his chest which was colored a dark red like the muscles of a human chest cavity. The rest of his torso armor was bulky, especially about the shoulders where they were made to resemble clawed hands spread like the wings of a bat. Both of his gauntlets looked as though they were locked in place made all the more obvious by the thick chains that were wrapped around them. His helmet's visor was shaped like that of a bat's or perhaps the fangs of one, it was hard to tell the difference though as they were a vibrant shade of gold. A small crown like a crescent moon marked the helmet's brow and the mouthpiece was looked like a pair of vicious claws were holding it to the helmet. As a finishing touch, there was a small topknot of blood-red hair at the back of the black helmet.

Daini Sotsu was gone. In his place stood Kamen Rider Tsukiyo.


Jon's ears twitched and he glanced upwards at the city's skyline where he could see the faint sign of flashing lights, sirens echoing off the towers. His eyes narrowed and he looked down at the sleeping Felicia. The two had an impressive make-out session that bordered on the erotic but, being in a public setting, the two managed to control their hormones. Didn't mean that he couldn't put the catwoman into a hormonal meltdown with the appropriate touch at just the right place.

The wolfish grin still hadn't left his face.

Now though, the sweet break from the harshness of reality was over and he would have to leave his love behind once again. However… this time he knew things would turn out differently, especially if he played his cards right. Jon pulled out an envelope, the same envelope he had carried with him nigh two decades. On its front written in his script was a name and contained therein… well, that is a story for a later point. Instinctively knowing that Daini would soon be in desperate need of his help, Jon left the letter in Felicia's hand and walked away, not stopping to look back because he knew that if he did, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from staying.


"Sonic Swarming!" Sonic waves burst from the palms of Tsukiyo's hands, too widespread to do any kind of permanent damage to the Hunters but powerful enough to crash their flight gear, especially those of the assembled aircraft. Not sparing any time to see if his attack worked as well as he hoped, Tsukiyo whipped out a skull-topped Crystle and blew.

"Come, Bloodbooster!" called Aluc just before a terrible scream came from down below. Tsukiyo nodded and scooped up Nausicaä in a bridal carry. "Keep your wings tucked in." He warned his passenger before he stepped over the edge of the building. He ran along the wall of the towering Church, increasing his speed as Nausicaä screamed first in terror then in joy as the wind sped past them, ruffling the feathers of her wings with instinctual familiarity. The glass beneath Tsukiyo's feet shattered as he ran until he suddenly leapt away from the tower, only halfway down its length. As he flew through the air, there came another shrill scream before the Bloodbooster Cycle appeared onto the scene, its skeletal wings spread wide.

Tsukiyo landed atop the demonic motorcycle and quickly placed Nausicaä before him before gripping the handlebars tightly and kicking the ignition into high gear. The Cycle's skull-like head roared as its exhaust pipes exploded with purple-black flames as it shot forward the rest of the way to land atop a neighboring building. Skidding the bike to a halt, Tsukiyo looked back and saw that, while the humans and reploids were scrambling to regain control, the Lightwalkers were making a dive for them, Ortho at the fore with eagle-eyes blazing in primordial fury.

Tsukiyo whipped out another Crystle, this one colored green and shaped like a fin, and blew it, producing a sound like whale song. "C'mere, Magnum Bishop!" called Aluc as the lenses of his eyes turned a shining green.

Tsukiyo held up his right hand just in time to grab the handgun that appeared onto the scene with a sudden roar of rushing water. The handgun was similar in form to a revolver but was topped with a jagged fin with its barrel shaped like face of a demonic shark complete with miniature fangs. Despite its design and purpose, the weapon was colored in stunning shades of sea green with stripes in fine tropical hues. With a sound of crushed glass, the Moon Pawn Gauntlets broke free of their chains with the emerald gems shining brilliantly. Tsukiyo's arms and chest remained unchanged save for the armor of his legs which, aside from gaining a scaly green coloration, now were bedecked with webbed fins that stuck out a good seven inches from the outer side of Tsukiyo's legs.

He was now Tsukiyo Jager Form.

"Aqua Spread." Tsukiyo JF pulled the trigger of the Magnum Bishop and released a literal storm of bullets upon the converging Lightwalkers. The aquatic bullets hit their mark and the Lightwalkers screamed with fury as their wings were suddenly enveloped by ice and they fly like stones. Even Ortho did not escape the attack but, to be fair, the higher payload was aimed directly at him than the weaker ones following him.

The Rider's armor flashed and suddenly, Tsukiyo was back in Null Form, with the blazing comet that was once the Magnum Bishop flying back towards home. The Dark Rider turned his bike and followed after his dismissed weapon with the newly regained chains of his Gauntlets now wrapped securely around Nausicaä's waist as a crude seatbelt.

The Bloodbooster rode across the rooftops, using its wings and flames to give itself a sort of propulsive jump to the next building until the free reign of the streets became too much to ignore and it fell to them, bouncing a few times before moving at greater speeds than before. Tsukiyo took several unnecessary turns and half-circles, constantly looking back over his shoulder but no ground troops followed him. Turning a sharp left, he saw why.

A small squadron of Golem mechaniloids stood between Tsukiyo and the last main road towards salvation. Twelve in all, three each to the four standard types from the Lightning, Ice, Fire and Metal Districts. They stood in organized rows so that that the only way past was to either go a whole other way or the direct approach. A Crystle made of glimmering amethyst cut into the shape of a fist appeared in Tsukiyo's right hand. He glanced down at his passenger. "I'll need both hands for this… Bloodbooster!"

The bike roared and rib like bones protruded from the engine, extending over the surprised girl like organic seatbelts. Nodding in satisfaction, Tsukiyo brought the Crystle to his lips and blew it with a sound akin to a pipe organ. Aluc's eyes flashed purple as he cried, "C'mere, Juggernaut Knight!"

Tsukiyo raised both hands up just in time as a massive war hammer appeared onto the scene with a crack of thunder. The hammer's shaft was longer than Tsukiyo was tall and the hammer itself was carved in the shape of a golem's face with a pair of tick bolts sticking out from the sides of the head. As a whole the weapon, Juggernaut Knight, was colored a dark royal purple to match the changes of his armor. Just like with Jager Form, the Moon Pawn Gauntlets were bare, the purple gems shining brightly. However, the arms remained unchanged while the armor protecting Tsukiyo's chest had changed to match the color of his new weapon and appearing even more so like the chest muscles of a human body.

He was now Tsukiyo Panzer Form.

Being mechaniloids, the Golem units were incapable of feeling emotions like fear or concern but they did react well to the sudden spike of youki. Raising their weapons high, the fire-type Golems unleashed streams of flames upon their targets. Hefting his hammer onto his shoulder, Tsukiyo PF stood himself tall atop the Bloodbooster Cycle and leapt forward as the bike skid to a halt just short of the fire. "Giga Brute!"

The Juggernaut Knight lived up to its name as its massive fist-shaped hammer came down along the emotionless head of a Golem and sent it flying into its fellows alongside it. The charging attacks of the electrical units went off prematurely and as the laws of lightning dictate, the energy went to the nearest available conduit which was the now touching Golem units. The sudden electrocution short-circuited the ice units' control over their freezers and unleashed a massive payload of cold ice upwards into the air that came crashing down like spears. All-in-all, it was rather like an extreme version of the domino effect but Tsukiyo PF wasn't about to complain.

Dismissing the Juggernaut Knight, Tsukiyo's armor flashed back to Null Form as the war hammer blazed back towards home. Tsukiyo calmly walked over to the waiting Bloodbooster and retook his seat behind the stunned Nausicaä.

"You killed them…"

Tsukiyo's grip on the bike's handles tightened. "… Mechaniloids are incapable of any semblance of life. Besides, those units are not programmed to take prisoners. None of them are." He revved the engine and the Bloodbooster shot up onto its back wheel before its bony jaws opened in another roar as it plowed through the wrecked Golems, thick spikes bursting through its wheels as it crashed forward. Once clear, the spikes retracted and the demonic bike started off towards home. This time, they managed to get within sight of the building, just a few blocks distance away from the main doors to the massive apartment complex, with an admittedly large problem standing between them.

The fastest of the Maverick Hunter Guardians, minus the flyers, were standing directly between them and home and, by the sound of jet engines in the air, the rest would soon be there. Tsukiyo's eyes narrowed behind his helmet. 'That just means I'm going to have to end this quickly…' His clawed hand hesitated over his belt but a glance at the girl sitting before him firmed his resolve. He grabbed the sapphire Crystle that was shaped like a wolf's head and blew a wolf's howl.

Aluc's eyes shined blue as he cried, "C'mere, Ravage Rook!"

Tsukiyo leapt off the Bloodbooster Cycle, twisting tightly in midair as twin weapons appeared onto the scene and snapped themselves tightly to his wrists. Tsukiyo landed lightly on his feet, his back hunched in a crouch before the pair of District Guardians. He lowered his arms slowly, revealing that he was now adorned with a pair of tri-claws on each hand, the chains of his Moon Pawn Gauntlets, gone like ash on the wind. Each blade was over a foot in length and shaped like the claws of a beast. Tsukiyo's visor flashed blue as the armor over his arms melted into liquid steel, changing into a more streamlined shape as cobalt fur grew in great tufts from the elbows.

He was now Tsukiyo Schneider Form.

"Heh, so this is the guy that saved your circuits, Kuwagust?" Basil snorted, taking a ready stance himself. "I'm not impressed." The insect-themed bioid didn't deign to reply to his fellow Guardian, his optics solely focused upon Tsukiyo SF though he took no attack stance of his own, which was otherwise unnoticed by Basil who continued, "What say we just take the girl and race back to headquarters? I don't want to waste time with a dead man."

Tsukyio SF growled like a savage beast, stalking forward with his Claws up at the ready. "You aren't taking her anywhere! She and I… We're leaving New Eden and you will stand aside or I'll carve a path out of you!"

"HA! You're welcome to try, half-breed!"

Tsukiyo SF saw red. "Instance Strike!" A flash of blue and black, sparks flying as steel claws scraped viciously together. Basil's lizard like mouth split into a fanged grin. Tsukiyo SF growled low in his throat, and pushed the reploid back and ran in a tight circle around him, one claw low enough to raise hot sparks as the blades ran along the ground. Basil followed him, still smirking, knowing full well what the so-called Rider was trying to accomplish. He was trying to find an opening to rush in and strike against, a part of Basil's defense that was lowered enough to bring the aquatic reploid down.

It would be for naught for Basil's optics were one of the best, short only of the truly high-speed flyers and runners of the Hunters, those that could reach near sound-breaking speeds. Tsukiyo's Schneider Form had all the speed of a wolf but a wolf, even a were-one, was by no means the fastest thing on two legs. However, with his eyes focused entirely upon Tsukiyo SF, Basil never took notice of his fellow Guardian's actions until it was too late.

"Daini!" Tsukiyo SF skidded to a halt, one of his Claws piercing the ground, the other half-raised as he turned and glared with dark intensity upon Kuwagust, who stood beside the Bloodbooster Cycle with one laser-bladed hand at Nausicaä's throat.

Basil scowled but otherwise stood down, knowing full well that Tsukiyo SF would not dare to attack either of them now. "Damn it, Kuwagust! I was just starting to have some fun…"

Kuwagust spared Basil a small glare before his optics focused on the enraged Tsukiyo SF. "… You stated that you would take the girl and leave New Eden. I will hold you to that."

Basil blinked, confused by his fellow reploid's words. "Kuwagust what—THE HELL!?" Basil dodged out of the way of Kuwagust's claw that, had it hit, would have impaled him in the chest. As he moved, his optics focused entirely upon his fellow-turned-traitor, Basil cursed himself for his stupidity, twisting around just in time to see Tsukiyo SF's Claws flash forward before falling into shutdown as his head flew through the air. The blade that topped it pierced the street and the head hung there with gaping jaws and dull optics, a macabre sight to behold.

Kuwagust chose to ignore it as he moved away from the Bloodbooster Cycle, who watched him with angry red eyes, and the winged girl astride it, whose own eyes were firmly closed, away from the beheaded body and its executioner who made way to them, reverting back once again to Null Form as he went.

Tsukiyo ignored Kuwagust until he was safely astride his bike, his hands on the bars and ready to make the final leg. Only then did he turn his attention back to the reploid. "You didn't have to do that."

Kuwagust stood with his four arms crossed and his head lowered, his optics on the ground as he answered. "You saved the life of Doctor Ciel… and though you had no reason to do so, you did the same for me. You… intrigued me… I've kept track of your records; never in any recorded encounter have you ever struck down a sentient being that did not give you reason to and even those were of your own ilk.

"However… with every Darkstalker you've killed, a stronger one trespasses into New Eden's borders… The Council hasn't shared their findings with us but it's not hard to figure out why they keep coming. Darkstalkers will always be attracted to places with a high number of humans, and New Eden is likely the only place left on Neo Urth that has more than a mere handful. However…" Here Kuwagust turned his full attention upon Tsukiyo. "You know just as well as I that it is not the Council that is the ruling body here."

Tsukiyo's head lowered just marginally as his shoulders stiffened. Beneath him, the Bloodbooster Cycle growled, red eyes looking skyward.

"I don't care whether or not you possess Darkstalker blood, your service here is no longer necessary. Take the girl, leave New Eden, and never come back. Consider my debt repaid in full." With nothing more to say, Kuwagust turned and walked away. Tsukiyo stared after him for a long time until a small pale hand fell atop his own. He looked down at Nausicaä as she turned pure black eyes up at him.

"Can we go home now…?"

"… Yes. Let's go home." Tsukiyo revved the engine and took off down the streets. Quicker than the blink of an eye, they arrived at the apartment building that had, for the better part of Daini's life, been his home. However, the demonic bike did not bother slowing down, if anything it sped up until crashing was a guarantee. With a horrid scream, the bike's wings spread and flapped downwards, sending it jumping high, its spiked wheels piercing the wall of the apartment complex and, finding fresh purchase, climbed upwards with increasing speed.

Higher and higher the Bloodbooster climbed, lit windows and staring faces whooshing past faster than the human eye could follow. Finally, they reached the penthouse at the zenith of the complex and the Bloodbooster landed atop its own sole balcony with plenty of room to spare. The bony spikes retracted back into its engine and Tsukiyo carefully set Nausicaä on her feet beside the motorbike before he turned and regarded the skyline above New Eden's massive towers where a fresh contingent of hovercraft waited with cannons at the ready.

Tsukiyo noted that more than a few of the Guardians currently present were visibly angry, none more so than their general who, once again, stood at the nose of the lead craft. The fires of his mane were intensely bright, nearly blue, and he looked every bit of the General of the Maverick Hunters. Tsukiyo noted that the Lightwalker side of the aerial units looked exceptionally angry.

"Daini Sotsu! By the laws of the Council of New Eden, you are hereby placed under arrest!"

Tsukiyo stared at Fistleo for a long moment before his shoulders shook in a silent bout of laughter. His hand hesitated momentarily over the Crystles attached to his belt before he pulled not one but three Crystles out and blew them simultaneously. Whale song accompanied the howling of a wolf as pipe organs played to a crescendo before three shining weapons appeared before Tsukiyo who took hold of them all.

The Ravage Rook claws attached themselves to his wrists, the coloration of his arms shifting to cobalt blue as furry tufts grew from the elbows. In his left hand, he grasped the massive Juggernaut Knight as though the war hammer weighed next to nothing as his chest armor shifted once more to a dark purple. In Tsukiyo's right hand was the Magnum Bishop, the gun cocked and at the ready as Tsukiyo's leg armor became green with accompanying fins once more. The Moon Pawn gauntlets were free from their chains once again with all three jewels shining brightly in their respected hues.

He was not Schneider, Panzer, of Jager. He was a fusion of all three.

He had become Tsukiyo Tribunal Form.

The gathered Lightwalkers all screamed in agony as more than a few fell from the air in a dead faint. The reploids, particularly the weaker patheon soldiers, nearly went into temporary stasis lock and the humans, what few that had yet to be evacuated or present amongst as Hunters, trembled with fear. Tsukiyo TF chuckled to himself, his youki visibly shining in mixed hues around his body. As Tsukiyo, his youki was strong, C-class at the very least and combined with any one of his Guardian Arms, his power rose to mid B-class. Combined together with all three…

He was in the upper A-class, border lining the infamous S-class with ease.

Tsukiyo TF's amber lenses flared as a sudden spike of cold youki swarmed through the air, overpowering even the Tribunal Rider's own. Eyes and optics abound turned heavenward as the massive tower that was entitled by the Council as New Eden's Wind District slowly floated onto the scene. The noise of the city seemed almost mute as the massive tower floated high above like a black monolith. Breaths were tightly drawn in, eyes widening as those watching saw something no one in living memory, human, reploid, or monsterra, could ever recall.

The gates of the Dragon's Keep… were opening.

Slowly rolling upwards, the iron gate allowed a shining light through like a beacon until the doorway was fully open and a figure could be seen standing at the entryway. The light that shone from behind him prevented any significant details from being seen aside from the serpentine tail that laid in a lazy half-circle at his feet and the crest of horns atop his head. It didn't matter anyway; there wasn't a single citizen in all of New Eden who didn't know of the Dragon's Keep sole resident.

With a sudden snap of breaking ice, scalding blue eyes with red tribal marks below them shined in the shadow of the face of Quad Blau, Overlord of the Eastern Plains of Chalice, one of the four ranking S-Class monsterra of Neo Urth, and de-facto ruler over all of New Eden.

A fanged frown split itself upon Quad Blau's face as he stared down upon Tsukiyo TF. "You… have failed my expectations of you, little boy. I had expected at least half of the Guardians laid to waste by your hand and yet only one was slain and by the hand of one of the Guardians!" Quad Blau's voice was like frozen steel, chilling to the ears with a feeling of a blade to one's bared throat. "The final test and you failed miserably!

Tsukiyo TF kept his weapons lowered but he did not bow his head to the Overlord like the Hunters. "I have had no business with you."

"Such insolence! But that is to be expected from one so immature, still an orphan child without its mother."

Tsukiyo TF's grip on the Juggernaut Knight tightened, as a finger drew close to the trigger of the Magnum Bishop. "What do you know of orphans?! You who stays at the top of your ivory tower above all of the despair, the agony, of living in this world!"

"I know everything that transpires on my lands, little boy. I've known about you since the day you were born. Did you think it chance that all three of your guardians were capable of living within my borders without detection? That I would be unaware of three A-class darkstalkers on my lands? Did you think I'd allow unwelcomed guest to trespass in my city? I let those Darkstalkers in; I made sure that no one interfered in your confrontations with them. You continue to exist because it is my will that allows you to live, Daini Sotsu! I am your Overlord and you owe me everything!"

A flash of light and Tsukiyo was on his knees, still armored up but just barely so as his three Guardian Arms stood behind him in their natural forms. Jon Talbain, the cobalt werewolf of savage speed and raw fury. Victor von Gerdenheim, the purple-skinned golem who held in his human-made body the power of the thunderstorm. Rikuo, the emerald-scaled gillman of towering tsunamis and cold waters. The three stood at Tsukiyo's side, their eyes focused entirely upon Quad Blau who paid them no regard.

"Y-You… are not my anything!" Tsukiyo pushed himself to his feet, staggering as he did so. "And I owe you nothing!" He reached down and pulled out the one Crystle he had never had a need to use.

Until now.

It was shaped like a castle tower and made of fine platinum and when Tsukiyo brought it to his mouth-guard it did not produce a terrifying sound of any sort. If anything, it was one of the most beautiful sounds that could ever be heard and, had the faith in them still lasted all these years, one could compare it to a choir of angels.

Aluc remained in his roost on Tsukiyo's belt, but he did not refrain from calling out, "Sanctuary!"

Silence…

There came a sudden groan, as though something large was now awakening from a deep sleep as the building shook as though it were in the midst of a might earthquake. The groan changed to a sudden roar of music as the penthouse and the few floors below it flashed with all the intensity of a star. Dust and mortar exploded outwards from the building, billowing like a dark cloud before pristine white wings burst forth and, with a mighty flap of said wings, sent the dust away to reveal an unbelievable sight.

Resting atop the apartment complex was a massive castle that was made of fine platinum than brick or stone, and was carved into the overall shape of a crouched knight with angelic white wings spread from its "back". The humans amongst the Maverick Hunters stared in awe, tears in their eyes at the sheer beauty of the castle before them. The reploids tried to keep their optics from overloading from the amount of energy the living castle was giving off. The Lightwalkers… at least those still in the conscious world, did the only thing they could do in the castle's presence.

They bowed, low and deep.

This… was the most ancient and most powerful of all Lightwalkers, the first and last of his kind. This… was High Castle Alexander.

Another stanza of music, and Alexander's massive wings flapped themselves with increasing strength and speed until, with a protesting groan from the building beneath him, Alexander lifted himself up into the air, rising higher and higher until he was level with the Dragon's Keep.

Quad Blau stood still draped in the light, his face hidden in shadows though his eyes still tracked the one balcony where a young teenage boy could be seen standing beside an equally young girl blessed with the gift of wings. Behind them stood three men and a young woman, none of them human though they appeared as such under the protective veil of High Castle Alexander. Slowly, the massive Lightwalker began to turn, facing towards the south, to the Wastes of Blade.

"Running away?" called Quad Blau. "Do you really think you can escape your fate, your destiny, so easily?"

Quad Blau almost did hear Daini's reply but when he did, it brought a fanged grin to his face. "No… but I can damn well try…"

High Castle Alexander's wings glowed brightly before it brought them down in one massive flap and it was gone, leaving a trail of light behind it as it zoomed off towards the south, the thunder crack of the sound barrier breaking behind it echoing within the silence of New Eden. Quad Blau watched until it was a shining star in the horizon before turning back to enter his inner sanctum as the gate started closing behind him.

"Yes, you may try Daini… but you will fail… just like your brother did…"


To Be Continued...


Next time… on Kamen Rider Tsukiyo: RttE...

They're locking up the sun, the light of reason gone,
N'hope has been successfully undone
The question's buring on, where is it coming from.
No-one seems to know the monster born

The sun's light slowly starts to go out as the sun itself begins to die. We seeing the twisted revision of the planet Earth, now a cruel mockery of what it was once before, the continents shifted to form a monster's skull. This is Neo-Urth.

It's a bad trip on a sinking ship, when no-one seems responsible,
Scapegoat to rock the boat, yeah, we need someone expendable
Volunteers to face the fears, can we be sensible
And find a way to break the fall, find out the cure for all

The city of New Eden, the only truly safe haven for human life shining in the black as shadows rise up to attack the city walls as reploid soldiers ran forward to the defense. They are quickly cut down, their bodies broken and scattered as the monsterra draw closer to the city's heart. The monstrous horde suddenly stops as a armored figure steps forward.

Is there a hero somewhere, someone who appears and saves the day
Someone who holds out a hand and turns back time
Is there a hero somewhere, someone who will never walk away
Who doesn't turn a blind eye to a crime

Shadow images fall over the warrior; first is Guardian Force in Fist Form, a large gauntlet-covered hand held out in a beckoning gesture, the Sands of Time swirling around him. Suddenly, he's gone, replaced by Gojira with Cast-On activated, his cannon at the ready, blazing nuclear light shining.

They're locking up the sun, they have their chosen one,
you know this time they'll make him play along
They're taking to the arms, the fathers and their sons,
there's nowhere left to run and hide

Like Guardian Force before him, Gojira vanishes, replaced by the Dark Rider, Tsukiyo. The chains binding his gauntlets close break apart, the trio of gems shining and he leaps forward into the monsterra horde, his visor blazing brightly. As he fights through the horde, he shifts through his forms. The blazing sapphire claws of Schneider, the heavy amethyst hammer of Panzer, and the emerald gun of Jager before returning to Null. All hope seems lost, the horde just has no end, but still Tsukiyo refuses to fall, refuses to back down.

It's a bad trip on a sinking ship, when no-one seems responsible
Scapegoat to rock the boat, yeah, we need someone expendable
Volunteers to face the fears, can we be sensible
And find a way to break the fall, find out the cure for all

Cut to the Southern Wastes where we see a red armored figure standing over a pile of corpses, all their heads removed. He removes his helmet, revealing shining blonde hair tied into ponytail and eyes like jade. His gaze travels upwards to the darkening sun, a frown on his face. In his hands is a wanted poster with Tsukiyo's visage upon it. He replaces his helmet once more and tosses the paper away. It flutters past before a sudden laserbolt blasts a hole straight through Tsukiyo's head.

Is there a hero somewhere, someone who appears and saves the day
Someone who holds out a hand and turns back time
Is there a hero somewhere, someone who will never walk away
Who doesn't turn a blind eye to a crime

Cut to the Western Desert where a monstrous figure stands in the midst of a burning village, the innocent people, monsterra and human alike, lying dead around him. The air around him burns with his rage as debris flies past him under the power of the winds. His eyes trace the sky towards the broken moon and he spreads his arms with a powerful roar. The village is gone, wiped clean with naught but a massive crater and a trail of footprints leading towards the east.

And in the emptiness, there's a solution,
Just look within yourself for absolution