AUTHOR'S NOTE: This a remake of a previous project under the same name "Kamen Rider Jayd." After attempting to revive this story in my head I felt it best to simply rework the early chapters. For new readers, welcome, and I hope you enjoy the ride. For those returning, please bare with me as I rework the old chapters (which will be released two chapters at a time) and lead into the new story of Kamen Rider Jayd! Now, please continue reading.
Kamen Rider Jayd: Re:Rolled
Deep within an endless cavern of blood red cables that was drenched in the smell of rotting flesh and decaying bones, a six winged seraph hung from a ring made from the bones of a serpent by her knees. The ring itself was suspended by a rusted chain over a bottomless bit made from the same cables as the rest of the cave, torn cut up and withered human arms reaching out from the gaps of the cables as the wailing agony of tormented souls writhed out from the mouth of the cave.
The seraph stared up at the souls within the pit beneath her and let out a tired sigh, "Why must I act as the jailor of the damned?" She muttered to herself.
"It cannot be helped sister Selias," a sly male voice echoed from a red flame from over her right shoulder, "the Death Lord was destroyed."
"Yeah, well I'm sick of watching them day after day," Selias groaned, "I'm an emissary of war... Not a gardener."
"Sister," a cold female voice cooed out from a vibrant blue flame that ignited over Selias' left shoulder, "you are questioning the will of the usurper, are you?"
Selias let out a huff, "No," she crossed her arms, "I'm just bored, alright."
"Then command one of your minions to round up a fledgling or to," the calm blue flame cooed to the seraph, "would that not lighten your spirit?"
"I am lacking in my quota a bit..." Selias muttered to herself, her amber wings flaring up from their relaxed position as a smirk came to her face, "Grak'nar!" She roared out into the abyss, "your spire commands you!"
The cavern shifted and shook, causing the screams in the pit beneath Selias to grow louder and more violent as a hole opened up in the wall close to the mouth of the pit.
"What do you ask of me..." A deep beastly voice snarled out from the void, "my lord?"
"Bring me a fledgling," Selias eyed the void, "and make sure its a potent one."
First Revolution: Strangers Meet! Cast the Die of Fate!
Present Day: Hawkmorne, Michigan
The city awakens to a bright Saturday morning. The sun was shining, and the soft chirp of birds along side the drowning cry of cicadas filled the air. All of a sudden, a loud thud shook through a suburban neighbourhood which was followed by a wave of shouting so loud that it caused several flocks of birds to vacate the area.
"JILL!" a teenaged caucasian boy with short messy blond hair shouted from the floor just outside his bedroom, "GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE RUNT!"
He wore baggy grey cargo shorts tethered up by a simple brown belt, red socks that went up to his ankles and a white t-shirt tampographed with a logo in the style of a heart made of fire adorned by a crown on the top of it. Above the logo were the words "Queen of Hearts" in bold black letters, the numbers 2018 in the same font just below the logo.
"NO WAY!" Shouted a girl about half the boy's age from the other end of the hall. She held up a small black box and flaunted it in front of the boy, "If you want whatever this is back you better ask politely!"
The girl had spiked up red hair, sticking her tongue out as she ran barefoot through the house in a red t-shirt marked with a star on the front and blue athletic shorts.
The boy grunted, "NO WAY IN HELL IS THAT HAPPENING!" He shouted as he clawed his way to his feet and chased after Jill.
Jill ran down the stairs, the boy following shortly after. The two ran into the kitchen where a man stood by a white stove on the side, preparing food for the two children who were acting like, well, children. The boy was about to grab Jill before the girl raised her arms over her face and let out a scream.
"DAD!" She shouted, "TREY'S BEING MEAN TO ME!"
"Oh is he now?" A grown man with Jill's hair color but combed back in a simple but stylish manor asked, setting breakfast onto the table as he looked Jill in the eye. "But who went into his room and stole from him I wonder?"
Jill's eyes shot open, "B-But!" She pointed a finger at her brother, "Saber was following direct orders from her commander to wake the underling!"
"And you did well my champion," her father, Owen Hart, smirked, "but your methods are something that I cannot condone." He motioned his head to Trey, "now right the wrong and apologize, or this civil war will not end."
Jill huffed then turned to Trey, "Fine, as you wish," she handed the box to her brother. "The mighty Saber apologizes, and returns her spoils to their rightful place of rest."
"Thank you," Trey swiped the box from her then pointed a finger at her sister, "now don't do it again."
"Another happy ending," Owen laughed, patting the back of a chair before pulling it out for Jill. "Now, who wants breakfast?"
"YES!" Jill cheered, shooting her arms into the air as she approached the table, "Bestow your offerings of meat and grog upon the Mighty Saber!"
"Well for meat we have bacon and eggs," Owen said as he helped Jill into her chair, "however we are sadly all out of grog. Will orange juice work as a substitute?"
Jill narrowed her gaze upon her father, crossing her arms as she was placed into her seat. She then nodded with a powerful grunt.
Just beyond the kitchen window sat the Hart's fenced in backyard, a small peaceful plot of land that contained a small jungle gym, a garden and a shed along the fence.
From that shadow cast by where the shed met the fence at an extreme angle, a pair of bone white claws erupted from the smallest gap between the two. Prying its claws apart, the beast they belonged to ripped open a hole in reality between the mortal plane and the endless tunnel of blood red cables he spawned from. With a sniff of his snout, the beast stepped out into the mortal world to allow the hole to close, revealing himself to be a pale blue muscle bound wendigo covered in scars with a broken horn atop his head and a large spike driven into shoulder.
Sniffing some more, his gaze soon fell upon the house of Trey and his family. The beast licked its lips before smirking.
"Fledgling…" he snarled.
He took one step forward, only for a loud clang of swinging steel to rip through the air towards his throat. Quickly whipping his head to the side, he caught a curved blade with his claw only inches from his face.
Focusing his gaze on the owner of the blade, his smirk faded as he laid eyes upon a hooded warrior clad in a jade green coat gripping the sword he had blocked tightly in their right hand with an identical blade held in a sheath on their back.
"A network rider?!" He grunted, tightening his grip on the blade he held.
The hooded warrior bashed the beast back with their shoulder then delivered a slash with their right hand blade that was strong enough to send the beast spiraling to the ground.
Raising their free hand to their forehead, the rider saluted the beast before flicking their hand off to the side. "Yo."
After breakfast, Trey stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror after putting on black stud earrings, a tiny bit of eye liner. He glared at his hair, tightly gripping a comb in his hand as he let out an irritated growl.
Owen poked his head into the bathroom door, raising a brow, "Hair fighting with again?" Trey simply nodded. "You try the gel I got you?" Trey nodded again.
Trey then huffed, looking to his dad with defeat, "I just want my damn hair to cooperate."
"You sound more and more like your mother every dad," Owen said, patting his son on the head with a grin as he picked up a brush. "Her hair always gave her trouble too."
"Then what exactly am I supposed to do with it?" Trey asked, eyeing his father in the mirror.
"Don't fight it," Owen told him as he began brushing through his son's wild hair, "work with it."
Trey's eyes widened as his hair was tamed with every stroke his father took with the brush, making it neater but still maintaining the overall style.
"How's that?" Owen asked, placing a hand on Trey's shoulder.
Trey smirked then nodded, "Perfect."
"Not as perfect as what's ahead of you," Owen pinched his son's cheek, "isn't today the day?" Trey blushed, managing a nod. "Then you better get going, doesn't the Dragon's Nest open soon?"
"You bet it does! Thanks dad!" Trey barked, grabbing a red sweater on the way out. The sweater bore the outline of a gold diamond on the chest with a solid gold heart in the center of the diamond.
"Today is the day," he repeated to himself, tying his sweater around his waist as he marched down the upper hallway towards a flight of stairs, "today's the day you're gonna tell him."
He leapt down the stairs to the landing below, now just in front of the door to the house. Catching his breath, he looked to the living room. His center centered on a photo sitting atop the mantel of a fireplace, the photo depicting a woman with his hair and skin color and even the same violet eyes he had. She wore a red dress, her hair done up in an over the shoulder braid.
"Wish me luck mom," he said with a grin, blowing a kiss to the photo.
"Wish you luck with what?" Jill called out from the couch on the wall coming down from the stairs.
Trey's gaze darted to his sister, his heart grinding to a halt as he took in a big gulp as his sister stared at him with a portable gaming device in her hands.
"Well Trey?" She asked, continuing to play well without even looking. "The mighty Saber asked you a question."
"Oh I heard you the first time," he breathed, grabbing his keys and wallet, "but the answer is none of your business."
Jill raised a brow, "It's about that Mike guy you and told are always talking about with dad, isn't it? The one that runs that game store?"
Trey was beginning to sweat, "What? No!" He laughed it off, dodging his sisters gaze as he headed for the door. "Just go back to your game, okay?"
Jill shrugged, turning her gaze back to her game as Trey unlocked the door. "He's out of your league you know."
Trey felt a sharp jab to his heart, collapsing to his knees as he clung to the door. "And what makes you say something like that?!" He glared at his sister, his face now bright red. "Not that it's like that!... Which it isn't!"
"Well for starters he's like, three years older than you," Jill said, keeping her eyes on her game, "he owns his own business and I'm pretty sure he can drive." He motioned her hand over her brother, "Meanwhile…"
Trey's gaze sharpened upon Jill, "Meanwhile what?" He said with a slight snarl to his voice.
"Have you even given what you're doing a thought since you got out of high school?" Jill asked her, still with her eyes on her game. Trey didn't answer, Jill simply shrugged, "figured."
Suddenly, the couch Jill was lying on flipped over with the girl toppling to the floor as the couch violently crashed into the wall.
"Wh-What the hell?!" Jill gasped, grabbing her game device and pausing before looking up only to see Trey looming over her, glaring back at her with eyes glowing with a rage filled red.
The girl was silenced, shaking under the couch as Trey growled like a beast while gripping the couch with a single hand.
This only lasted a moment however, as seconds later Trey shook his head as his eyes returned to normal.
"What the…" Trey said, dazed as he looked upon the couch in the wall. He released it, gasping in shock the scene in front of him. "Jill… what did I-"
Before he could finish speaking, Jill climbed to her feet, gaming device clutched in her hand, and punched him hard in the gut.
"FREAK!" She screamed, running off upstairs seconds later as she began to sob.
Trey's heart sunk as he watched his sister run off, his gaze falling to his hand the moment she disappeared upstairs. He held out his hand, feeling his entire being start to shake, "Freak?"
From atop her ring of bones in the network of cables, Selias watched the previous scene unfold from an amber flame before her.
"His awakening has already begun," she said with a sharp huff. With a narrow gaze, she looked over to a second flame just over her shoulder, "Grak'nar! Make contact with him now!"
"I am trying to my lord!" A voice growled from the flame, "But it seems I hit a complication!"
Selias raises a brow, "Complication?"
Outside in the human real. The pale blue wendigo snarled, gripping a deep wound on his arm as he leapt from room top to roof top while the midday sun beat down upon him.
"A network rider..." He growled, looking over his shoulder to the hooded warrior who leapt from rooftop to rooftop in tandem with the beast named Grak'nar. They were only two rooftops behind him, their gaze fixed firmly upon him.
"Is the fledgling with them?" Selias' voice echoed in the back of his mind.
"No my lord," snarled the beast, "they forced me away from it."
Selias let out a long tired huff, "Then fall back to the network for now. Fledgling or no fledgling you're of no use to me dead."
"Yes my lord," Grak'nar nodded, slashing his claws through the air causing a rip to the network of cables to open.
He jumped through it then hurled himself inside it. Just behind the beast, a sharp gasp echoed from a green gemstone on a gauntlet worn by the hooded network rider.
"S.Y.D.!" A male voice called out to the warrior.
"Already on it!" The warrior told the voice from their gauntlet.
Drawing their second blade off their back and gripping both swords within their now tightened grasp, the hooded warrior darted forward and slashed Grak'nar across his back as he leapt into the rip in reality.
"GYAHHH!" Grak'nar roared in agony, whipping his head around with an audible crack of his neck and a snarl to his voice as he glared back at the hooded warrior.
Pulling himself back, he lunged forward and bashed the hooded warrior in the head with his own with enough force to send them stumbling back with sparks flying off the hooded warrior in the process. The hooded warrior held their head, shaking some to recover from the hit before looking back up to the beast.
From within the rip in reality, Grak'nar smirked at the hooded warrior before waving at them as the rip closed around them and vanished from sight.
With a huff, the hooded warrior struck the brick rail of the roof they currently stood upon. "He got away!" They sighed.
"S.Y.D. remember what is important," Eli's voice echoed from the gemstone on S.Y.D.'s gauntlet.
"The fledgling," S.Y.D. held up their wrist, looking to the gemstone, "Grak'nar doesn't know where he is."
"But lucky for us…" a holographic projection of the city map came up from the gemstone, a single blue dot in the center of it and travelling westward. "we do."
On a bus travelling west, Trey sat staring at the long box in his hands. The box was open, showing a set of pale blue dice, each a different type save for a pair of D6s at the very end of the box.
"Did I buy two D6s?" He questioned as the bus came to a halt.
"Next stop, Ferris at Junction," the bus' electronic voice echoed from the speaker above Trey's head.
"Oh well," he shrugged, closing the box as he got up from his seat and hopped off the bus. Landing infront of a game shop, he took in a deep breath as he looked up to the sign that read 'the Dragon's Nest' and tightly clenched the box in his hand. "Alright.. this is it… the day you've been waiting for."
He stepped forward, pushing open the two doors and walking inside. His heart was pounding inside his chest as he entered the store, looking a male only a few years older than him.
He was heavyset with combed back drown hair and glasses. He was well dressed, a simply but stylish blue button up shirt and black jeans with a silver watch on his right wrist. He also wore black running shoes and simple white ankle socks.
Trey coughed, beating his chest with his fist three times to steady his heart as he looked upon the male behind the desk. "H-Hey Mike…" he waved at him awkwardly.
The man behind the desk looked up from the desk, adjusting his glasses, "Oh… Trey right?" He asked, pointing to the young man at the door. "You're back again for D&D I'm guessing?"
Trey blinked, his heart beginning to fluttered before he nodded, "D&D.. yes, that's what I'm hear for."
Mike looked to the clock, squinting at it for a second to read that it was five minutes to one, "You're a little early.. we normally don't start until five."
"Oh I know," Trey came forward and took a seat at one of the tables towards the back of the store, "I was just you know, hoping to hang out a bit?"
"Nothing better to do I'm guessing?" Mike laughed a bit.
Trey let out a breath, then forced a laugh of his own, "Something like that."
"Still got your character sheet?" Mike asked. Trey held up a sheet of paper. "And you remember fully how Holy Wrath works?"
"Hits enemies on even numbers, damages caster and nearby party members on odd," Trey said with a sigh, "Is that even an official spell?"
"I threw in a few high risk high reward spells of my own design, some players are okay with others not so much," Mike grinned, shrugging as he explained. "You should have Zack show you my warlock ability Hand of Wreckoning if you think your paladin has the biggest cross to bare."
"Talk to Zack?" Trey raised a brow, "You think he'd give me the time of day after I blew us all up the past two games?"
"You never know until you try, right?" Mike told him. He then pulled out a deck of cards. "Listen, todays pretty slow so…" he held up the deck as he came over to the table, "you down for a few games of War?"
"Just you and me?" Trey blinked.
Mike gave him a look, "You see anybody else here?"
Trey blushed, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, sorry.." he laughed out of embarrassment, "I'd love to."
Hours flew by as the two played game after game, with Mike taking a break every now and again to handle customers whenever they came in before returning to his game with Trey. As the clock drew closer to the five, Mike let out a heavy chuckle.
"Geez Trey, how many games is that you've one now?" Mike asked as he collected up all the cards and began shuffling them again.
Trey simply shrugged, "Two hundred and twenty-six out of two hundred and thirty-three?" He said, grinning as he watched Mike collect up all the cards. "But who's counting?"
"You, clearly," Mike laughed as he placed the deck down on the table, "where'd you get your insane luck?"
"I was born with it I guess," Trey replied.
Well, it's getting close to game time," Mike told him, "wanna see if we can fit in a few more rounds?"
"Actually Mike," Trey gulped, looking Mike in the eye, "there's something I've been meaning to tell you."
Mike looked at him with a grin, "Well go on, spill it already."
Trey took in a deep breath, placing both his hands firmly on his lap as he looked deeper into Mike's eyes. "Okay…" he breathed out, "you see Mike… I-"
Just as Trey was about to speak further, the door to the front of the shop swung open with the chime of a bell as three men who looked to be around Mike's age came through. The two on the side were rather large in width and height, the rightmost one having long hair that went down to his back with the leftmost one having a clean buzz cut.
In the center of the both of them stood a rather average sized man however with tanned skin and clean cut black medium length hair. He wore a black leather jacket and a green t-shirt with the outline of a dragon on it. His jeans and shoes looked expensive, like they were fresh off the shelf.
"Oh, hey Noah," Mike said to the leftmost man with a buzz cut, then turning to man with long hair on the right, "Kevin."
Trey meanwhile glared at the man in the center of the trio, "Zack."
"So Trey, back again to bring down the whole party with your holy wrath?" Zack raised a brow as he Mike and Noah approached the table, "or would you rather play your class as intended this time?"
Trey gritted his teeth, glaring up at Zack as he balled his hands up into a pair of tight fists. Planting his feet firmly on the ground, Trey then shot up to look Zack in the eye with a beastly glare and a snarl under his breath.
"Zack…" Trey muttered, "do you have to right now?"
"What?" its not my fault you suck at this game," Zack scoffed, digging his hands in his pockets. "Honestly, I don't even bother trying to-"
"ZACK!" Mike suddenly barked. The room went silent, all eyes turning to Mike who starred back at Zack with fury in his eyes. "Back off, okay?"
Zack stared at Mike, then let out a small sigh, "Alright.. let's just get this game started."
{End of Part A}
{End of Part B}
Atop the roof of the Dragon's Nest, the hooded warrior stared into the blue dot on the map that was being projected from their gauntlet. Their gaze had narrowed upon it, making the occasional glance towards the streets below every now and again as their grip tightened around the hilts of their swords.
"Any minute now," they muttered under their breath.
Back in the game shop, a lone D6 die lay in the center of the table. The eyes of Kevin, Noah and Zack loomed over it, the trio glaring intensely at the five that was atop the small pale blue block.
"Holy wrath deflects upon its user and the party," Mike told everyone, looking over his books at the head of the table, "everyone roll for dexterity to evade."
The party let out a heavy sigh, picking up their dice and rolling. Trey meanwhile felt his heart sink to the bottom of his heart, picking up his own D20 and letting it drop to the table as his gaze slowly drifted to his lap.
"Seventeen," Zack called out, "Fifteen," called Noah, "Dammit… fourteen." Kevin huffed, crossing his arms before slumping back into his chair while shooting a glare at Trey who sat next to him.
"Alright, so Kadgath and Yezak avoid the hit while Dorn gets blown back with heavy injuries," Mike told everyone.
Kevin grumbled, "Fucking hell."
Mike just gave him a look, "Oh relax. With your armor class you're hanging on with three hit points." His grin returned as he looked to the man at the far end of the table, "Trey? What about you?"
Trey blinked then jumped slightly as he looked back up to Mike, "Huh? Oh! Right!" His eyes lowered to the D20 in front of him, "I got a twenty."
Kevin's eyes shot open, "YOU'VE GOTTA BE FUCKING KIDDING!" he roared, chucking one of his dice at Trey's head. "Thats like, the third nat twenty you've rolled in a roll on that stupid spell!"
"Yeah Mike," Zack chuckled, looking to the game master at the head of the table, "isn't there a way to negate this whole thing, considering Kevin was the only one to bite the dust on that one?"
Mike stared at the party, Zack, Kevin and Noah staring back at him, "I mean…" Mike let out a heavy sigh, "I guess we could put to a vote." Suddenly, Zack, Kevin and Noah all raised their hands. Mike blinked, then laughed, "Alright Dorn, the shock from Holy Wrath propels you into a pile of rocks that scatter upon impact with your mangled and torn body. Out from the rocks however comes a small spark of light."
"Spark of light?" Kevin asks, "what is it?"
"Roll for perception," Mike said.
Kevin rolled his die, "Sixteen."
"Though you are unsure of what it is you're looking at, you sense the warmth like a mother coming off of it," Mike said. "In the back of your head you hear a faint fairy-like voice. 'Thank you for freeing me adventurer. As payment, I shall heal the wounds inflicted upon you as you fell."
"Sweet!" Kevin clapped his hands together, "Am I up to full now?"
Mike shook his head, "Only the damage from Holy Wrath was negated." As Mike explained what happened in game, Trey quietly collected his things, slipped on his hoodie and headed for the door of the shop. "Trey?" Mike muttered, he and the others looking over to Trey as he cracked opened the door, "where are you going?"
Trey whipped his head back to face the guys, "Oh, uh…" he murmured, feeling himself begin to sweat under the sudden spot light. "My sister!" He snapped his finger, "my dad will kill me if I leave her home alone too long."
"Okay…" Mike muttered quietly, "just, be safe okay?"
Without another word, Trey left the shop and closed the door behind him.
"So Mike," Zack called out, raising his hand, "now that Leroy is gone, we gonna start over or continue on without him?"
Mike let out a heavy sigh, looking over his books, "Just give me a sec, alright?"
Outside, Trey walked along the empty late night street with his gaze to the ground and hands into pockets.
"So much for telling him how I feel," said the defeated Trey as he kicked over an empty can. He planted his head into the palm of his hand, "Wouldn't be bad.. its just that, sometimes I just.. I just!"
"Wish you could disappear?" The voice of a beast whispered over Trey's shoulder, "Wish you could destroy it all?"
Trey balled his hand into a fist, the boy slowly nodding. "Yeah.. I wish that…" Suddenly, he felt a cold chill run down his spine. Trey then gasped, quickly turning to find him standing in the shadow of Grak'nar who loomed over him under a blood red moon that now hung in the sky.
Grak'nar chuckled, raising his claw at the young man. "So be it then," he snarled, grasping at Trey's throat and lifting him off the ground, "fledgling!"
Squirming in the beast's grasp, Trey managed to deliver a flurry of light kicks upon Grak'nar. The beast laughed, only to be stunned when from above came the hard slash of a blade which carved into the arm he held Trey and cut it clean off.
Trey, now free, fell to the ground and gasped when he saw the hooded warrior staying with their back to them between him and Grak'nar.
"Run!" Eli's voice called out from the gem on the warrior's gauntlet.
Trey simply did as he was told, picking himself up off the ground and darting down the street.
From within the network, Selias watched the previous scene transpire from a flame only inches away from her ring made of bones. She sucked her teeth, then sighed.
"Is he not living up to your standards, sister Selias?" A voice called out from a black flame under her shoulder.
"No, he is performing within reason," she told him, running her hand over the flame before her to get a close up of the hooded warrior, "it's the network rider and their navigator that's getting on my nerves."
"I see…" the black flame chuckled, "Then perhaps I can lend you one of my mimics, to assist your beast?"
"Maestro…" Selias glared at the black flame, "this isn't something I will regret if I allow it, is it?"
"Hardly," The black flame told her, the faint click of heels approaching the pit Selias hung above as the Maestro spoke, "it's just that this little flower of mine has been dying to bloom."
"Has she now?" Selias raised a brow at the shadowed figure that now stood before her, "very well.. send her out, before I change my mind."
Back outside the network, Trey darted down the empty city street while nearly stumbling over his own feet as his heart pounded heavier and heavier in his chest. He was almost out of breath, only to feel his spirits lift as he saw a police car in the distance.
"Thank god!" He ran forward, banging on the door of the car, "HEY! YOU GOTTA HELP ME!" He raised his fist to bang once more only to be frozen in place once he caught a good look at what was inside the car. "No way…"
Inside the car was nothing but a half eaten donut in the clutches of a skeleton that sat in the driver's seat. Upon Trey's mutter in disbelief, the skeleton turned its head and cackled at him.
Raised its hand, it slowly stood up and reached through the window causing Trey to jump back in terror. As the skeleton phased through the window and grasped towards Trey, it shifted into what could only be described as a girl dressed as a court jester with a pair of dog heads on her shoulders and a third dog head making up her mask which covered her face, save for the sick, twisted a joy smirk she wore as she grabbed Trey by the collar of his sweater.
The jester simply giggled "No way…" she said, mimicking Trey's voice exactly, ripping a bomb with a cackling clown face printed on it off of her skirt and hurling it at the ground. A similar cackling expression was present on the dog head on her left shoulder.
Smoke filled the air as the bomb exploded, Trey flying to the sidewalk opposite the car.
"Ow…" groaned Trey in pain as he hit the ground, holding his back while coughing as a result of the smoke.
Amidst the smoke echoed the loud clicking of heels, "You've gotta help me!" Echoed Trey's voice from the smoke as the jester emerged from the smoke, strutting toward Trey with one foot directly behind the other and a pair of bombs in her hand.
Her smirk remained the same, however the bombs in her hand bore a more sinister, angry expression as did the dog on her right shoulder. From his position on the ground, details of the jester were easier to make out. It was now clear that she wore a black spiked collar around her neck, along with cuffs in the same style around her wrists and ankles. She also wore a belt to keep up her skirt which was held together with a buckle in the shape of a bat.
"Wha… what are you?!" Pleaded Trey under the shadow of the jester.
The jester simply giggled. Crossing one leg in front of the other into a curtsey, she cocked her head at Trey then tossed both her bombs with an underhand throw at him. Against all odds, Trey managed to roll far enough away from the bombs just as they struck the ground and exploded to evade getting caught up in the blast.
He then quickly picked himself up off the ground, but by then it was too late. The jester had positioned herself directly beside him in the direction he had been fleeing, leaving only one way for him to go.
"Alright, now what…" Trey thought to himself, clenching his fists together as he stopped to catch his breath, "there's gotta be a way out of this!"
The jester cocked her head to the side, "No way…" she repeated Trey's voice as she shook her head slowly from side to side.
Trey shook where he stood for a moment, taking in a big gulp. Then, after a moment, his trembling suddenly stopped as he put on a smirk of his own. "Says you!"
Turning on his heel, he kicked off the ground and ran back the way he came from.
The jester's smirk widened ever so slightly as held out her open palm, a black flame forming in the center of it.
"Well?" Maestro's voice echoed from the flame, "did you do as instructed?"
The jester nodded.
"Good," the Maestro's voice echoed once again, "then leave Grak'nar to handle the rest."
The jester nodded once more, closing her fist around the flame. She then curtseied once again before a circle of black fire formed around her feet. The jester then sank into the circle, the circle going out once she fully submerged into the ground.
Back with the hooded warrior and Grak'nar, the pair were locked in a parry with Grak'nar clenching both the hooded warriors swords with one claw which had been crossed in an ex formation.
"Back off now gate keeper!" Barked the hooded warrior as she kicked off the beast and leapt back, "or it will be you ugly mug I'll hack off next!"
Grak'nar simply laughed, "Of course you realize-" he held up the stump of his arm, "this is nothing more than a scratch to me."
A ghostly green teather shot out from his stump, shooting past the hooded warrior and connecting to his severed arm that still lay on the ground. The hooded warrior just narrowly avoided the teather.
"Oh crap!" the hooded warrior gasped.
{Insert Battle Theme: "Rinbu Revolution" by Chihara Minori}
"THAT is the fear I hunger for," Grak'nar laughed, he said as the tether pulled his arm back to him, ghostly nails shooting out from the wound before plunging into his flesh to secure the connection.
Grak'nar charged head first at the hooded warrior, his claws flared out to either side of his body as he dashed towards them only to be knocked to the ground by one swift back handed punch to the face.
"That idiot, what's he doing back here?" The hooded warrior gritted their teeth, lowering their closed fist as they saw Trey approaching quickly from over the horizon.
"We'll have to finish this up quickly then," Eli's voice echoed from his gem, "before the fledgling reaches us."
The hooded warrior glared to the beast just over their shoulder, "Then what have you gotten on this one?"
"Based on our combat data with" Eli told the hooded warrior, "It's a beast type."
The hooded warrior slammed their fist down on her belt buckle, a green die ejecting itself from a cube shaped slot on the front of it before ripping off an orange die from a chain on the left side of their belt strap.
"Then this should be more than enough," they declared, turning on their heel to face Grak'nar as they slammed the die into their belt buckle.
"RE:ROLL!" shouted the buckle as the hooded warrior raised their hand above the cubed shaped slot to a horizontal dial that was just above it then gave it a hard spin. "HUNTER!" roared the buckle as the hooded warrior cast their arms out to the side, tossing away their swords as they scattered into green sparks while an orange flame erupted out from the buckle, "THE BURNING ARROW! FLY FREE!"
The orange flame rushed over the hooded warriors long coat, changing it from emerald green to amber orange and replacing the sword scabbards on their back with a quiver over their shoulder and a crossbow in their left hand.
"WHAT?!" barked Grak'nar, snarling at the hooded warrior as held his face from the hit, "What are you?!"
"I'm just a wandering Network Rider, Network Rider Jayd," the hooded warrior told them as they aimed their crossbow at the beast fiend, "that's all you need to know."
Grak'nar cackled, "Glad to know the name of my victim." He flared out his claws, then dashed towards the hooded warrior calling themself Jayd.
"Let's make this quick," she said to themselves before firing off five shots at the beast before her, each one making their mark sending the beast back a few feet.
The hooded warrior slammed their fist down on top of her belt buckle once again and replaced the orange die with a red one.
"FINAL ROLL!" their belt shouted as a loud charge up sound erupted from her bow. They spun the dial on their belt, spinning the die before it came to a halt as a white six appeared on it, "SIX! CRITICAL STRIKE!"
They pointed their bow at the beast and pulled back on the trigger, firing off a giant arrow at the beast and engulfing him in a powerful blast of fire.
{End Battle Theme]
As the smoke cleared the warrior pressed down on the top of their buckle, ejecting their die as their coat faded into a dull matt blue.
"You think we killed it?" the hooded warrior asked, flipping down their hood with a simple motion of their hands which revealed them to be young looking girl with deep green eyes and dark red hair.
"Fiends are often stubborn when it comes to dying," the voice from her gauntlet echoed, the gauntlet shifting into a simple silver chain that hung on the girl's wrist, "I feel we haven't seen the last of him just yet."
"Man what a pain," she let out a sigh before turning her attention to a pool of neon green fluid on the ground that the beast left behind, "Ah well," she said pulling off a small vial from her belt and scooping up a bit of the fluid, "At least we got something out of it."
"A small amount of Jaydite," Eli said, "better than nothing I suppose."
"HEY!" Trey shouted as he reached the girl warrior.
Suddenly, the girl grabbed Trey by the neck of his sweater and flipped him over before pinning him to the ground. Her gaze sharpened, raising a tight fist to his eye line with Trey gasping as a result.
"The fledgling," the voice from the girl's gem echoed.
"Oh yeah…" the girl lowered her fist, then released her hold on the boy beneath her, "kinda blanked there." The girl rose to her feet, then put the vial back on her belt alongside several others just like it. "You've got guts for a fledgling kid," she extended a hand to him, "you got a name?"
"Oh, it's a Trey- Trey Morgan-Hart…" Trey told her as he took her hand and climbed back up onto his own feet, "You?"
"They call me S.Y.D." she told him as she pulled out a pair of black dice, one with a gold trim and the other a silver trim. "Not like you'll need to know it for much longer."
"Huh?" Trey raised a brow, only to gasp when the red haired girl lunged forward and held the gold die to his chest and the silver one to his head.
"Heart gold, soul silver," the girl said, closing her eyes as a warm energy began to seep out from the dice and over Trey's body, "from the network, this fledgling I sever."
Trey felt his body grow weak. Before he could so much as process what was happening, Trey found himself standing in the middle of a white void in the arms of a spectral image of his mother. The pair floated weightlessly in the void, the woman's long yellow hair and elegant red dress able to flow freely as she gently patted the boy on the top of his head.
"It's going to be alright Trey," the woman cooed to Trey as his eyes began to close, "just sleep for now… and forget all about this."
To be continued
{Insert Ending Theme: "Again" by Beverly}