Rose sobbed into her pillow. The week had not only been painful for her but also for Cathy, Kat's adopted daughter. The little girl had grown another year since the week and missed her mama terribly. Slade, although never showed it, was worried as well. Apparently, Kat was the glue that kept everyone together.

Jasmine and Minx, Kat's pet cats, the latter being a present from her brother, curled up on Kat's bed. Their mistress was gone and they were incredible unhappy. Cathy lay with them, crying as well.


It was afternoon when Dragblacker landed outside of a village. After hours of flying, the group had gotten out of the desert. Toph leapt off Dragblacker and kissed the ground, relieved to be on solid land again. Aang had not let go of Katara the entire time and the girl comforted him as he rested in her embrace.

"Okay, why couldn't we just fly straight to Ba Sing Se?" Sokka complained, "I mean we got a ride already!" He was referring to Dragblacker.

"Sokka-san," Ryuki began, "I've explained this to you. I can only keep my monsters summoned for so long since it drains my energy. It was lucky enough that Dragblacker here was able to fly us out of the desert before I even passed out." He panted.

"You okay?" Toph asked, hearing the ragged breathing.

"I just need to rest and regain my strength. Summoning takes a lot out of me," he replied before pulling Dragblacker back into its card. "Also, since we lost Appa, who also had our supplied strapped onto his saddle, we need to get more. That village looks like a good place to restock."

"Okay," Sokka nodded, "I was getting hungry anyway."

"Is food all you think about?" Toph asked.

"There's girls," he answered.

"Boys…" Toph rolled her eyes.

"Aang, wake up," Katara roused the airbender awake. Aang yawned and opened his eyes. They were dried up tears on his face.

"Where are we?" Aang asked.

"Outside of another village," Sokka replied as Momo landed on his head and observed said village. "Ryuki thought it would be a good idea to restock and rest."

Aang nodded in agreement. He could not argue; too tired. Katara helped him stand on his feet as she held his hand before walking with the others towards the village.

As they entered, Katara noticed something peculiar as the village folk looked at them suspiciously. Some even closed their windows as they passed by houses.

"Okay, is it just me, or are we being watched?" Katara asked.

"I'm getting a weird vibe too," added Ryuki.

"What weird vibe?" Sokka asked, "Just looks like a peaceful village to me."

"Too peaceful," Toph said. "It's the middle of the afternoon. Where are the children?"

"You're right. Kids are usually seen playing this time of day and I barely see any kids here," Sokka spoke in agreement.

"We better find someplace to stay for the day and restock on food, medicine and bandages as well as get new sleeping bags," Ryuki listed.

"But how are we going to get them?" Sokka asked. "Our stuff, along with Appa, were stolen."

At the mention of Appa, Aang frowned miserably. "Sokka!" Katara scolded.

"I think I still have some gold on me," Toph said.

"That is at least a good start," Ryuki said. "We better spend what we got wisely. We have to buy things moderately to survive from now on. So, let's split up." Ryuki assigned everyone a job, "Toph, you're with me. We're going to find an inn. Sokka, you get us some bandages and medicine. Katara and Aang, get us some food."

"Hey, who made you boss?" Sokka asked in defiance. Ryuki sighed.

"You got a plan, 'Idea-Man'?" Ryuki retorted with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe not at the moment and…Okay, fine!" Sokka walked away.

They then split up, promising to meet up again in a few hours.


"No rooms!"

"No vacancies!"

"We're full!"

"None! Go away!"


"Well, that was successful," Toph spoke sarcastically. "Nobody seems to have any rooms to give us."

"They were lying," Ryuki said with eyes narrowed, annoyed at all the innkeepers' rudeness and lack of courtesy. "Do they expect us to sleep in the streets?"

Ryuki then saw Sokka, Katara and Aang again, all of them empty handed. "Let me guess; they wouldn't sell you anything."

"Okay, something is up with this town!" cried out Sokka.

"They shut their doors when we came to buy something," Katara added. "How about you?"

"Every innkeeper refused us," Ryuki answered. "But I sensed a lot of fear coming from the people like they were scared of something and paranoia."

"They should be," a beggar spoke. He was clad in rags and sitting against a wall. "This village is cursed."

"What do you mean 'cursed'?" asked Aang.

"You must be new around here," the beggar spoke and then introduced himself, "Name's Old Man Guni. Oldest and poorest man in the Village of Huhn."

"Alright, so what's this about a curse?" asked Ryuki.

"It'll cost you," the beggar said, holding out his bowl.

"We are not paying you for information!" Sokka said with arms crossed but Ryuki handed him a gold coin. "Ryuki!"

"This might be important, Sokka-san," Ryuki replied. "So, what can you tell us, Guni-ojiisan?"

"A week ago, everyone was happy here. Children were out in the streets everyday, laughing and playing. Then, the children began to disappear, one by one. Slowly, the villagers grew distrustful of everyone around them and even strangers," Guni told them. "I've heard that a spirit has taken them."

"A spirit," Ryuki repeated.

"I tell you! This village is cursed! Run while you still can!" Guni exclaimed before he got up and limped away.

"Okay, that was freaky," Sokka spoke up. "Cursed? Come on! There are no such things as curses!"

"Not true, Sokka-san," Ryuki objected. "Curses are real. I've seen them at work and believe me some of them can be outright dangerous."

"Aang, when we came in, did you sense anything?" Katara asked.

"I never really paid attention, but I did feel a lot of negative energy floating around," Aang replied.

"Well, curses or not, we still have no place to sleep and it's getting dark," Sokka said, "And we can't camp out without supplies either."

"You really do know how to make us feel better, don't you?" Toph quipped sarcastically.


Later that night, an eerie melody began to sweep over the village, stirring young children awake and out of their beds.


Ryuki's eyes popped open as he suddenly sat up from where he was sleeping. The group was back at where they had landed earlier and was asleep with only blankets on them.

"What is that sound…?" Ryuki yawned but then realized that Aang was missing. He checked up on Toph's earth tent to see if she was there and found her gone too. Panicking, he quickly ran over to wake up his friends.

"Katara-san!" Ryuki shook her. "Sokka-san!" he shook Sokka awake too, who was muttering in his sleep.

"One at a time ladies…There's plenty of me to go around…" Sokka snored and Ryuki rolled his eyes. He then created some water and splashed Sokka with it, shocking him awake. "I'M UP! I'M UP!" Sokka screamed and it woke Katara up as well.

"Huh? What?" Katara said tiredly, rubbing her eyes and then realized Aang was gone. "Aang! Where's Aang?"

"He's gone and so is Toph-san," Ryuki answered. "I also heard something like a flute being played. Maybe it's this curse the beggar told us."

"Footprints," Sokka pointed out. There were two sets of footprints, Aang and Toph's obviously. "We better follow them," Sokka spoke seriously. "Maybe we can put an end to this 'curse' business.

Ryuki nodded in agreement. Katara was only worried about Aang and Toph.

They followed the footprints and then saw a number of children marching. They were a lot of them, ranging between the ages of 6 to 12. The children were walking into a cave where Ryuki was hearing the song.

"Do you hear that?" Ryuki asked.

"I don't hear anything," Sokka cupped his ear.

"Well, I do. Let's go."

The trio followed after the children and entered the cave. Ryuki ignited his hand to make a light and they gasped at what they saw.

Children, suspended in red cages and looking quite sickly. They looked skinny, only skin and bones and moaning.

"Ah, guests!" a male voice spoke up. The owner of the voice walked up to them. He was dressed in Earth Kingdom clothes, a green and yellow shirt with brown pants a straw hat and a flute in his hand.

Ryuki's eyes narrowed. There was a dark aura surrounding the man, an aura that Ryuki was familiar with when he fought a Horror alongside his cousin Saeji.

"Who are you?" Ryuki demanded.

"Piper," he replied, "Pied Piper, at your service," he bowed.

"What kind of a name is that?" Sokka laughed.

"Oh, you laugh at my name, well, laugh at this!" Piper snapped his fingers and a cage dropped down appeared around Sokka and Katara and then pulled them up. Ryuki leapt away from getting trapped

"Let them go!" Ryuki demanded angrily.

"In due time," Piper replied, lips curling in a smirk. "I only feed on little children and they're too old for me."

"Hey, I'm not too old!" Sokka cried out.

"Feed?" Katara questioned. "You eat them?"

"Not their flesh, but their life force. The energy of youth is so delicious," Piper grinned. "Children have so much delicious energy in them that it's wasted. I enjoy eating it bit by bit, savoring the energy."

"You're not human, are you?" Ryuki asked.

"Well, would I be if I ate the life of children? Your friends are here too and I can't believe I got the Avatar." He pointed up to the cage with Aang and Momo inside. "He'll be a feast." Piper licked his lips. Ryuki's anger flared up.

"FEED ON THIS!" Ryuki let out a roar and charged at Piper, but the man dodged to the side and hit him in the shoulder with his flute. Ryuki whirled around to punch him but the man blocked with his flute before kicking him back.

"Pitiful," Piper taunted. Ryuki was ready to use his fireballs and ice spikes but a cage levitated between Piper and him, one with a child inside. Piper intended to use the child as a shield.

"Coward…" Ryuki growled. Piper allowed the cage to float back up and then he spun his flute around. He attacked Ryuki who could only block in the confine spaces of the cave. He needed to do something and fast. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his deck, summoning his belt, much to Piper's surprise.

"Henshin!" Ryuki announced and slid in the deck, summoning his armor. Piper looked at him in confusion and sneered.

"Well, I should change as well," Piper said before he transformed. He changed into a demonic creature with black skin. He had longs arms with long fingers, tipped with equally long claws. On his head were extra arms with mouths that had sharp teeth in the palms. The face, resembling a skull, held three evil looking red eyes.

"A Horror," Ryuki identified before one of the arms shot out and grabbed him by the throat, pinning him against the wall.

"Wow, you are smart," the Horror said, grinning.

The Horror kept his hold on Ryuki's throat, crushing it. Luckily, the bodysuit was able to protect him from the pressure, but he was slowly running out of air. He clenched his fist as the Horror got in his face.

"Your life force will make a great appetizer before I go and finish off your friends," Pied Piper said gleefully. Ryuki's eyes wandered over to his friends who were still suspended in those red metal cages. He then glared at the Horror.

"Eat…" he raised up his hand, "THIS!" with a roar he slammed his palm into the Horror's chest. He was shocked to see a light coming from Ryuki's hand as he was pushed away by a magical force.

"WHAT!?" the Horror exclaimed in confusion and he wasn't the only one.

Clutched in Draco's hand was a large silver key with a golden handle and guard. Dangling from the back was a keychain that had a tag that looked like the letter 'T'. He just stared at as did the others.

"What is that thing?" Sokka asked.

"It looks like a sword," said Aang.

"More like a key," added Katara.

"No…" Ryuki said slowly, nodding, knowing what it was, "A Keyblade."

The Horror charged at Ryuki but the black and white armored Knight blocked his swipe with his new weapon before he swung it and hit the Horror on the side of the head with it. The Horror grunted in pain but then screamed in pain as Ryuki began to pummel him with the Keyblade, swinging it around like an expert.

"Yeah, get him!" Sokka cheered.

The Horror then shot the claws on the top of his head and they latched onto Ryuki's faceplate. The mouths in the palms opened to suck in his energy. Ryuki grabbed at them, trying to pull them away, but they just wouldn't budge. "Let go!" Ryuki shouted. "I said let me go!"

"No way! I'm going to suck you dry!" the Horror did as he said and Ryuki could feel his life force leaving his body.

'Damn, I'm gonna die,' Ryuki thought in his mind but then another voice spoke up.

"No way, Aibou!" Yaminekoryu said, "No way!"

((Yaminekoryu?)) Ryuki spoke telepathically as the spectral demon appeared before him.

"If you die, I die! Switch with me! I'll handle this bitch!"

((But how?))

"Just yell out…"

Draco gripped his Keyblade tightly and shouted out, "SWORD DRIVE FORM!" A bright red flash was released by his body and the Horror pulled back his claws because of the burning pain.

"What is going on!?" he shouted. Aang and the others were thinking the same thing.

Ryuki's armor was beginning to change. The card reader morphed back into the familiar Dragauntlet while the crystal in the deck glowed red. Ryuki's torso armor turned red with a silver chestplate that held the emblem of a peach in the centre. This was followed by broad triangular red shoulder guards and his gauntlets and boots changing from white to red and silver. A red visor shaped like his old head-piece fell over his faceplate before splitting in half. The red Excel Streams appeared on his bodysuit. His Keyblade also changed, becoming blood red and more sword-like and serrated with a black handle and guard. The keychain also changed to have a tag that looked like a red peach. The Keyblade was named 'Red Peach'.

"Ready or not, here I come!" 'Ryuki' announced as he pointed at himself before he posed with the Keyblade on his shoulder. It wasn't his voice but the voice of both Ryuki and Yaminekoryu speaking as one.

"Who are you!?" the Horror demanded, "What are you!?"

"Kamen Rider Draco," was the answer he received. "And when I start, it's already the climax!"

The Horror attacked Draco with his claws but the Rider leapt over the attacks and then swung down with his Keyblade, slashing one of the arms off. The Horror roared in pain as he swiped at Draco but he easily dodged the Horror's attacks, like he was playing with him.

"Too slow! Hey, I'm over here! What, are you blind or something? What do you use those three eyes for?" Draco taunted as he continuously dodged Pied Piper's attacks.

"I'm going to enjoy breaking you to pieces!" the Horror yelled out.

Draco responded by drawing a card and sliding it into his Dragauntlet.

"Mighty Vent!" Energy flowed through the Excel Streams and into his Red Peach Keyblade.

"Then I will have to destroy you before you can do that," Draco clutched his Keyblade with both hands and announced, "Prepare for my ultimate attack! EXTREME SLASH!" He let go of his Keyblade and sent it flying at the Horror. He swung his arm and the Keyblade followed the direction, slashing the Horror in the chest. He swung his arm again and it once again slashed the Horror in the back with great force. "IT'S OVER!" Draco shouted out as he swung down, causing the Keyblade to slice Pied Piper down the middle before returning to its master's hand.

The Horror exploded as he was destroyed. There was no longer any trace of him. As soon as he was destroyed, the cages all disappeared and well…everyone fell down to the floor, but Draco cushioned them with telekinesis. Toph stepped over and 'stared' at Draco.

"You're not Ryuki, are you?" she asked.

"I am, but at the same time I am not," he answered before the armor shattered away and Ryuki let out a breath of relief. His Keyblade had also changed back into its default form. "What a rush," he said.

"We better get these kids home," Katara said, referring to the children that had been kept captive by the Horror.

"Well, everyone, follow me," Sokka led. "I want to get out of this cave too."

Ryuki looked longingly at his Keyblade and then back at Aang and Toph who were looking at him. Aang just asked, "How did you get that and how did you change?"

"It came to me in my dream," Ryuki replied, banishing the Keyblade. "Come on, let's get out of here."


With the children returned, the villagers celebrated and honored Aang, Ryuki, Katara, Sokka and Toph for saving them and allowed them to stay the night, thanking them for saving the children. They were given food and supplies as thanks for their courage. A celebration was held the very next day to honor Aang after they realized he was the Avatar and thought he had saved the children.

Sokka, enjoying a bowl of rice, then asked Ryuki, "Shouldn't you tell them what really happened?"

Ryuki sipped his drink and answered, "I don't need to take any credit. The children are safe and we have supplies and food."

"Now that's pretty selfless," Katara agreed.

"Do you think they'll give us money?" Sokka asked, earning glares, "What, it's an honest question."

Toph had t be told of what happened since she was pretty much in a trance during the whole fight. "So, this thing…wanted to eat us?"

"Hai," Ryuki nodded. "It was a Horror and all they do is eat humans."

"I'm trying to eat here," Sokka moaned. "I don't need to lose my appetite."

"Gomen."

Aang stepped over and joined his friends. "Well, we'll be heading off to Ba Sing Se after all this is done."

"What? Can't we stay longer?" Sokka whined.

"No, Aang-san is right," Ryuki said in agreement to Aang. "The sooner we get to Ba Sing Se, the sooner we can find Appa and maybe Dragonzer."


A/N: I just had to do this chapter! Draco finally uses the Keyblade and his first Drive Form. Whaddya think? Why are Horrors showing up here? Soon, you will know. Please, read and review and if you have any suggestions, put them in my forum or reviews, thank you.