Part 32: Berserk
After the lights turned back on, (as Wolverine stalked the two boys and Jubilee and he put them in early Danger Room sessions) the introductions took place yet again.
"I'm Mari Sonada Harris: Xander-kun's wife," the big eyed woman with long dark hair told them with a smile. She was wearing a brown vest with a white blouse and brown pants.
"Selene: I'm one of Xander's associates," the woman with short dark hair told them as most of the young men in the room fell over. She was wearing black skintight suit and corset along with a black feather duster.
"Shinji Hikari: Xander's wingman," the dark spiky haired one said as another took notice. He was wearing a blue shirt with a brown bomber jacket and blue jeans.
"Wait a minute. I thought I was Xander's wingman," the gruff looking warrior said with a confused look. He was wearing a Class-A uniform (Military dress uniform.)
"Shinji, he's right, you're just a part of my team," Xander told him calmly.
"Oh, alright…" Shinji pouted a little as Xander's arm twitched.
"I'm Michael Corvin: Selene's boyfriend," the stocky man with long, slightly dangling, hair told them.
"Dawn Summers: Shinji's real wingman," she smiled wide as she looked at Shinji who was blushing furiously. "Or woman to be more politically correct."
"I'm Faith: just one of Xander's friends."
"I'm General Hank Landry. I'm currently the head of NORAD," the stout man with a flat top hair cut told them with a smirk as he wore his Class-A uniform.
"I'm General George Hammond. I was the head of NORAD before General O'Neill took over for me," the stout bald man told them in his own Class-A uniform.
"I'm Dr. Elizabeth Weir: Xander's Boss," said the long haired brunette who kept her youth somewhat looking around her 30s while she was actually in her 40s.
"Lt. Col. John Shepard. As I said before, I'm Xander's Wingman."
"Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell. I'm here to meet Xander and…" the man with the shocked look earlier looked a little evil now as he looked to three others.
"NO!" The three stated at him.
"Hey don't make me say it's an order!" Jack O. yelled to the three.
"Yes Sir/Jack/General O'Neill!" the three replied with their own different replies.
"I'm Lt. Col. Samantha Carter: Astrophysicist," the blonde with eyes full of wonder told them.
"I'm Dr. Daniel Jackson: Egyptologist." the brown haired and beared man told them.
"I am Murray," the imposing African American told them with a smile.
"I'm Dr. Rodney McKay and I might be able to see your 'Danger Room'," said the one who felt superior to all around him.
"I'm Dr. Carson Beckett and I'm interested in your medical files you have on hand," the Scotsman with a goatee asked.
"I believe I can help you in that regard, Dr. Beckett. I'm Dr. McCoy but they call me Beast," said the blue furred man in a red sweater and blue jeans as he lumbered along.
"Why thank you," Dr. Beckett told him shaking his hand furiously as he didn't question the blue furred man only recognized a fellow doctor who were of the same mold.
"My pleasure."
"Doctor?" Ryuki asked Beast.
"I've recently earned my doctorate, Ryuki," Beast confirmed. "Now I can be called Dr. McCoy."
"So where's the Brotherhood?" Xander asked Xavier as he crossed over to him.
"They'll be here and I believe they'll be pleased to see that one of their friends is back," Xavier told him.
"Xander Harris, so how has life been for you and your wife?" Egon asked him then.
"It has been great, although this is where I'll probably be signing off for good," Xander told him darkly.
"The medication?" Egon asked him.
"It finally neutralized," Xander told him. "My body adapted to it and now things are back on schedule for my death."
"One hell of a run, wasn't it?" Logan asked as he came back.
"Right now I feel as though I left things unfinished," Xander admitted as they all adjourned to the dining room with a secret blush from Mari which was caught by Xavier who wasn't going to be saying anything.
Keith, at that statement, dimmed as he felt lower but was urged by a girl with shaggy brown hair with a squirrel on her shoulder to join them in the room.
They found the Brotherhood already there to greet them all as they stared in shock at Xander as they were overwhelmed with feelings of pity, fear and joy.
Fear of the times he defeated them, Joy that he was there as a friend, and Pity for his frailty as it was.
They had all been humbled by him as he soon found a seat for himself and the others with him.
"Nice spread, Xavier. It's perfect for a last supper. If one was to take a picture of this moment..." Xander chuckled for a few moments before he was caught in a group hug from the Brotherhood.
"Too bad you won't be betrayed?" Shinji laughed before getting an elbow from Dawn.
Ryuki staggered a little as he saw the camaraderie that Xander was weaving with the people around him. He seemed to be like the favorite relative who had arrived again telling stories but this time it seemed that the same hero of the Mutants and the people around him were there to say goodbye than hello again. Like it was his last time he would really see him again.
"Ryuki, what's wrong?" Jen asked him as she saw the far away look in his eyes.
"Have you noticed him?" Ryuki referred to Xander
"No."
"He's dying."
"What?"
"Look at him. He's has the face of someone who knows he won't see another day."
"Have you any idea why?"
"No," Ryuki told her as he gave a look of resolve. "But I want to find out." He then said, "In the meantime, let's mingle." He looked around. He saw a girl that looked like Danny, but with her hair in a ponytail. The girl Was Danny's sister Danni. The boy with her, bearing an uncanny resemblance to Desmond, was Devlin. He was Desmond's little brother.
Personally, Ryuki had never met Desmond's brother; only his sister Megami. However, he had seen pictures of Desmond's family and he was able to recognize Devlin from them. To be fair, Ichijyo Desmond Amakusa-Akuma preferred to be called by his middle name, but there were a select few (close friends and family) who could call him by his first name. Even so, many preferred to call him Desmond since it was English and easier to pronounce compared to his Japanese first name. The same could be said for Megami and Devlin (Of course, Ryuki did not know Megami's middle name nor did he know Devlin's first name), but Ryuki decided to chance it.
"Hey there," he greeted the two younger teens.
"Hey," Danni greeted.
"Greetings to you too," Devlin greeted, "You must be Ryuki." He then looked at Jen, "And you must be Jen. My brother has told me a lot about you."
"He has?" Ryuki blinked. He never saw Desmond send any letters, but then again the guy stayed a lot in his room.
"Yes, most definitely," Devlin said, with a British accent. It was refined and not at all cockney sounding like Mad Mod's. "He never told me how beautiful you were, though, Miss Wilcox." He kissed her hand and she blushed. Danni rolled her eyes.
"Oh my," Jen said, blushing. Ryuki growled a bit, but decided to keep his temper in check.
"This is one interesting little get-together," Danni observed. She had, aside from Vlad's, never been to a mansion. "This place is great. It'll be lucky to stay here."
"If you can get used to the hate-mail and graffiti," muttered Jamie as he came up behind Danni. "Hey there, I'm Jamie. Everyone calls me Multiple."
"Why is that?" Danni asked. Jamie clapped his hands and 5 more of him popped up. "Oh." She said, "You can clone yourself."
"Pretty much," Jamie smiled.
Devlin snorted, "Show off."
Ryuki then looked over at Devlin. There was something about him; he couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew Devlin was more than he appeared to be.
Devlin was examining Ryuki as well. He was also examining Selene, Spike, Angel and Xander from afar. He knew that both Spike and Angel were vampires because he could smell it off them, but Selene smelled different, but still the same. Xander's smell was not all human, but gravely familiar. It was the same scent coming off Ryuki. He had met Xander awhile back and he had the same strange smell he did now.
What Devlin didn't know was that he, Xander, Selene, Shinji and Ryuki had a lot in common; a lot more than he realized. Looking at all the girls present, he went to work his magic and charm. Danni sighed and followed after him to make sure he didn't get into too much trouble flirting and giving the girls free makeovers.
A young man with scars on his face walked into the back door of the alley. He was dressed in a grey jacket with no shirt and black leather pants and steel toes boots. He also wore a chain around his neck and black fingerless gloves. His hair was messy, blonde and spiky.
The young man grinned. He had just walked into an FOH gathering. He listened with sadistic glee as the speaker, who was not Graydon Creed but a representative, gave his speech that condemned mutants. He looked at the gathered audience. Most were wearing normal everyday clothes while others were wearing the uniform for FOH members and those armbands with FOH on them.
As the speaker finished, the entire audience cheered. He only laughed. This got the attention of a large Caucasian who was close by.
"What are you laughing at?" he asked, confused at his behavior.
He grinned, "Mutants are the least of your worries," he said before placing his hand on the guy's shoulder. The guy's body then disintegrated. This got the entire room's attention as they stared at him in silence before they looked enraged and shouted, "MUTANT FREAK!" or, "IT'S A MUTIE! GET HIM!" Some FOH members took out their weapons like guns and rifles and anything else they could get their hands on (Metal bats, wooden clubs, steel pipes…etc)
He only began to laugh, "This is gonna be fun." He licked his lips and changed into a large grayish creature before he advanced on them all.
The shadows on the wall showed Him attacking the FOH mercilessly. Blood splattered on the walls and a fire started. He laughed.
Just then Ryuki winced and groaned in pain. "Ugh!" He held his head as he was having a vision.
He saw images of fire, logos of the FOH on fallen bodies, blood everywhere and a monster amongst it all as it threw back its head a laughed and said these haunting words: "You and I are the same."
Xander knew that look after meeting with Angel when he needed help on a case once. Cordelia had the exact same convulsions
"What did he see?" He asked them, knowing fully well of Ryuki's ability to see the future…or past.
"Fire, Friends of Humanity being stricken down and laughter…horrible, evil laughter," Ryuki told him as the others watched over.
"Listen, whatever you do in the near future, don't have sex with him," Xander told Jen as she gave a confused look.
"Oh stop it, Xander, it was only that one time," Angel told him.
"Whatever you say, Deadboy, whatever you say," Xander told him as Spike laughed.
The joke was lost on the Titans and Jake, but all the others laughed.
That was…until there was sudden newsflash on the TV.
"Police report a mutant attack on a Friends of Humanity Headquarters in Bayville. It's a large humanoid and grey all over. I'm telling you this thing is massively dangerous," the reporter stated as she looked at it. "I'm getting the hell out of here!"
Cyclops took the forefront, "X-Men, let's get to work."
Some of the members of the X-Men then moved out as the Brotherhood moved to get out in on the action.
"No way I'm letting this bozo of a mutant destroy my town," Todd told everyone as he soon bounded away with his team.
The Titans, Danny, Valerie, Oni, Ember and Jake took off with them as well, leaving the New Mutants with the Ghostbusters, the adult X-Men and whatever force that Xander brought with him. Danni and Devlin stayed behind, just incase the others needed the backup later on.
Xander only stared at the picture as his mind was thrown back in time. He knew that these were not his memories but of someone else, but he knew from the feeling that he received that the person he was looking at was not someone to mess with.
"Kitazaki," Xander muttered as his eyes turned cold.
"Xander?" Willow asked as he looked at the picture.
"It is the name of one of Takumi's old enemies that had the power to turn anything into dust in his hands," Xander told them all. "Look, I have only one shot at him right now and I have about the same temperament that Takumi had with this guy. I want a piece of him before I die."
"Xander, I think that we can help you," Jack O'Neill told him as he placed his hand on Xander's shoulder.
"With what?" Xander asked.
"I'm thinking along the lines of…" Jack O. started to say as he begun whispering. Xander nodded gladly at the plan.
"Good. Calendar, strengthen the wards quickly," Xander told her as he soon walked out with his group. Jack O. took out a Phone. "Hey, Walter could you contact Thor for me?"
Bayville was getting gutted from the inside out and it was getting worse by the second.
The X-Men and their allies arrived ready to take on this threat.
It wasn't a mutant. It was an Orphenoch
The Orphenoch was MASSIVE, standing at 7 feet tall with powerful looking heavy and bulky dark grey armor that Orphenochs were known for. It had a dragon-like snout and narrowed slits for eyes. Atop its head were large dragon horns. Its feet had three clawed toes on each. This Orphenoch was clearly based off a dragon.
Bodies littered the street and on top of overturned cars. Smoke filled the air. The Orphenoch turned to look at the assembled heroes that came to oppose it.
Mortuary got ready with his Death Buster and Draco activated his DRA-Blaster. Jinx readied her hexes as Jake entered his dragon form. Danny eyes were glowing green with his hands glowing with ecto-energy. The X-Men and Brotherhood stood ready against this foe. Valerie cocked her gun and both Oni and Ember readied their guitars.
Draco and Mortuary, knowing fully well the power of an Orphenoch, transformed.
"EMPOWERMENT OF ARIES/THE ZODIAC DRAGON!" Mortuary and Draco cried respectively as they slid the decks into their belts. Their armors encased over their bodies, shocking the X-Men and Brotherhood while Jinx looked proud.
"That's new," Lance said.
Draco and Mortuary charged at the Dragon Orphenoch and begun their attack. Draco punched and kicked at it while Mortuary used his own powerful kicks as well to deal damage. However, the Orphenoch was merely annoyed. With a blast of fire from its hand, it threw Mortuary into a nearby building, making a hole.
"MORT!" Draco cried, but was grabbed by the collar of his suit.
"Remember me?" asked the Orphenoch. Draco's eyes widened from under that helmet. That voice! He'd recognize that voice anywhere.
"Kami…No…" Draco said with shock. "Asa… Kura…" he hoped he was wrong.
"Bingo!" Asakura, the Dragon Orphenoch, said, psychotically happy.
"No! You're dead!" Draco protested, terror and disbelief filling his voice. Asakura grinned, revealing his sharp teeth. Asakura was then blasted by a pink hex wave, a hex bolt and a red optical blast.
"Let him go!" Jinx hissed. She ran over to Draco, who was sitting on the ground. He was visibly shaking. "Baby?" she asked, worried. He took her arm, squeezing.
"It can't be…" he said fearfully, "It's impossible…He shouldn't be back…He can't be back!"
"Baby? What's wrong?" she asked him frantically.
"That's…Asakura…"
Jinx's eyes widened as well.
The X-Men, Brotherhood, Jake, Danny, Ember, Valerie and, Oni and Ember were attacking the armored Orphenoch relentlessly, trying to bring him down. However, their attacks didn't do as much as faze him. Mort shot with his necroplasm and Death Buster when he noticed Draco and Jinx were not in on the battle.
The Dragon Orphenoch got slammed by rocks by Avalanche and then grabbed in a bear hug by the Blob. Blob laughed, "Hah! I'm the unmovable Blob! No one gets out of my grip!"
"Really?" Asakura replied as he smashed the back of his head into Blob's face, causing the massive mutant teen to drop him and then the Orphenoch grabbed Blob by his jacket and flung him at Toad. Toad leapt out of the way, still shocked.
"He just threw Blob, yo!" Toad said in disbelief.
Quicksilver ran around the Orphenoch and smacked into him once in a while. "Can't catch me!" Quicksilver said arrogantly.
Asakura then did something unbelievable. His armor exploded off his revealing a sleaker white armored form and with slimmer horns. He ran at Quicksilver fast, as fast as the speedster and rammed into his side, sending the son of Magneto sprawling.
Jean threw some of the cars at the Dragon Orphenoch, but he regained his original form and smashed them away. His forearms were covered with large gauntlets shaped like dragonheads. With a roar, he fired a jet of blue flames at the psychic mutant. Kitty, just in time, grabbed onto Jean and caused the flame to phase through them. Danny looked impressed.
"Take this!" Jake roared and breathed fire at the Dragon Orphenoch. The Dragon Orphenoch countered with his own flames. However, he wasn't expecting Danny to help out by firing ecto-blasts at the Orphenoch. Growing fed up, he breathed harder and pushed Jake back into a dumpster.
"Gross!" Jake complained.
The Orphenoch then charged at Danny and smashed his gauntlets hard into Danny's stomach, sending him flying.
"Take this!" Valerie shouted as she fired from her hover board, keeping her distance. Ember and Oni used their guitars and fired sound waves at the Dragon Orphenoch. The Orphenoch then threw his arms forwards and the "jaws" of the Dragonhead gauntlets opened and fired energy blasts at them.
Cyclops, using the same tactic that he had used on the Juggernaut many months before, removed his visor and fired at the Dragon Orphenoch. This was RAW power and it was unlikely that the Orphenoch could withstand it. Scott could no longer maintain the blast and Jean was at his side, putting his visor back on.
The Dragon's Orphenoch stood, body smoking, and laughed, "Is THAT the best you can do? I've seen better!"
Draco, angered, drew his XL-Vent card and slid it into his Dragauntlet. "XL-Vent!" His Excel Suit activated. He then drew three cards and slid them into his gauntlet at once. "Bullet Vent! Fire Vent! Rapid Vent!" The Dragauntlet flashed as the cards were activated. He withdrew his gun, slid in the DRA-Key, at which the DRA-Blaster responded with, "READY!" and aimed. With a roar of fury, completely shocking Jinx, he stood up and fired upon the Dragon Orphenoch. Fireballs flew out of his DRA-Blaster and smashed into the Dragon Orphenoch before exploding. One fireball followed after another and one explosion erupted after another. Draco continued to roar, pulling the trigger over and over again as he let loose with his 'Rapid Burning Shot'. The other heroes watched as the Dragon Orphenoch was engulfed in flames and at the ferocity of Draco's attack. Draco only stopped when he dropped his gun and fell on his knees. Breathing heavily and hands on the ground, he smiled. It was finally over.
Or was it?
The smoke cleared away to reveal the Dragon Orphenoch, smoking, but completely unharmed. Draco's eyes widened, "No! No! No!" The rest of the heroes were at a state of shock. Asakura, as the Dragon Orphenoch, threw Draco into a car and the Knight smashed through. Asakura laughed, "See? You're weak! All of you! No one can defeat me!"
"We can!" Mortuary yelled out, his hands glowing green.
"Bring it on!" Jinx shouted. The other heroes were ready to fight him.
"NO!" Draco roared, picking himself up, "HE'S MINE!"
Jinx blinked as she saw the eyepieces under his faceplate glowing…blood red, "Baby?"
"THIS IS MY FIGHT!" Draco ran at the Dragon Orphenoch and drew out his Survivor Card before inserting it into his Dragblaster that had morphed from the Dragauntlet, "SURVIVE!" He transformed into his crimson and golden Survivor Mode and drew a new card before sliding it into his Reader, "Sword Vent!" The blade on his Dragblaster extended. He did all this while charging at Asakura. Asakura charged back.
Draco slashed with his sword and punched with his fist, even getting a few good roundhouse and a reverse roundhouse kick as well as some powerful front and side kicks. Asakura blocked with his dual Dragonhead gauntlets while swiping at Draco, who ducked under the swings before stabbing and punching at Asakura with his sword and fist. Draco let out a roar and threw a fireball in Asakura's Dragon Orphenoch face. However, the Dragon Orphenoch countered with his own fireball, causing a massive explosion.
In the smoke cloud, the two combatants still fought with all their might, showing off intense ferocity and viciousness. Draco slashed with his sword straight down Asakura's chest and then went into a backwards flip kick that sent the Dragon Orphenoch reeling. Draco was silent, without any of his usual cheerful banter of victory. He was being serious and this scared Jinx.
"Look at him go!" Danny shouted.
"Go Draco! Show that pseudo-Drag who's boss!" Jake yelled.
Draco drew two cards and slid them into his Dragblaster. "Drop Vent! Fire Vent!" he jumped up and did a back flip before executing a double footed drop kick that slammed into Asakura. He then followed up with two more cards, "Upper Vent! Mighty Vent!" before he performed a powerful charged uppercut that sent the Dragon Orphenoch flying. Asakura landed on his back, hard, and created a crater on the street. Draco's shoulders were heaving as his Survivor Mode armor began fizzling. He looked at his hand. "What? What's going on?"
Asakura laughed as he got back to his feet, "You're going weak. Don't you know you shouldn't use that many cards in a row? Even I, a former Zodiac Knight, know this."
Draco gritted his teeth before roaring, "SHUT UP!" he summoned up several boulders and threw them at Asakura, who shattered them with his fists.
The Dragon Orphenoch laughed and charged at Draco, but not before being blasted back by a pink hex.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Jinx screeched. Mortuary was with her and fired with both his Death Buster and necroplasm. The Dragon Orphenoch guarded himself with his arms, crossing them over. He continued to advance on them. Soon, after the constant hail of firepower died down, the Dragon Orphenoch came upon the two as they were winded from the constant use of their powers. The Dragon Orphenoch soon raised his fist up dramatically. Both Mortuary and Jinx were down and were shielding themselves with their arms. As the Dragon Orphenoch swung his fist, a shot was fired, hitting the hand. The Dragon Orphenoch flinched and looked in the direction of where the shot came from.
The shot belonged to Nick Fury who had disappeared a few moments before the Newsflash. He held the gun in his hands on a roof. The barrel was smoking
In the name of S.H.I.E.L.D., I suggest you surrender," Fury told him as he took out his rifle and aimed.
"Not on your life, Human," the Dragon Orphenoch stated, disgustingly, as he then sent a blast towards Fury. Nick's eye widened as the blast came, but Draco in Survivor Mode took the hit. He then collapsed on the ground as his armor shattered away.
"My how the mighty have fallen," The Dragon Orphenoch stated as he walked to the fallen form of Ryuki. "Now I can have my revenge. You're all alone. Nobody can help you now…"
"A Rider is never alone," a voice stated from out of nowhere. There stood Xander, Shinji and Selene with serious looks on their faces as they stared down the Dragon Orphenoch. They wore metallic hi-tech belts with various armaments on them. The three of them soon took out what appeared to be cell phones. Both Shinji and Xander dialed in '913' and '555', respectively.
The phones replied, 'Standing By.'
"You want a fight, Kitazaki you've got one with us," Xander told the Orphenoch evenly. He soon lifted the phone above his head, Selene held her's close to her face, and Shinji held his across to his left cheek.
"HENSHIN!" (Selene's phone said: Standing By) they announced and they slammed the phones onto their belts. 'Complete.' The Faiz, Kaixa and Delta suits materialized on them.
Draco eyes widened at the sight. Could it be…? "Kamen…Raida…?" he said softly in awe. He was seeing three Kamen Riders, ready to fight for truth and justice.
Selene/Delta drew her Delta Blaster and spoke, "Fire." 'Burst mode'
Shinji/Kaixa, on the other hand, took out an X-shaped weapon before he slid his key card into it and activated a light saber like weapon. 'Ready'
Xander/Faiz took out his phone and attached a telescope-like tube to the Phone and dialed in '1 0 3' before pressing Enter. 'Single Mode.'
Delta soon ran forward as she leveled her blaster at the Orphenoch and blasted him, successfully harming him with each shot of photon energy. Faiz followed it up with a long blast from his blaster himself as he rolled to the side. The blast hit the Orphenoch hard as Asakura staggered. Kaixa flew in as he quickly, using the lightsabre-like weapon like a katana, launched a few strikes hard against the Orphenoch. However, he was soon thrown off as the Dragon Orphenoch switched to his much sleeker and faster form once more and quickly attacked the Riders, throwing them back.
"Let's play it your way, Kitazaki," Xander told him as he held a bike handle bar before he slid his key card into it. 'Ready'
The hilt then emitted a red energy blade. Xander then took a red key card out of his watch. He then slid the card into the belt. 'Complete'. The chest armor then shifted and relocated to the shoulders before the photon streams turned silver white and the eyepieces turned red. Xander then pushed a button on the watch.
'Start Up'
"You can't see me," Xander taunted before going Axel Mode on Asakura. He and the Dragon Orphenoch soon took up the fight to a whole new level, fighting at the speed of sound, taking blows from each other, which looked like an odd dance between a Knight and a Dragon. For them it took on for minutes but those on the outside saw it go on for ten seconds before both were thrown into either side of the street.
The Dragon Orphenoch staggered as he got up at the same time with Xander who was wobbling before he started leaning up against a wall.
"Honey, I need that Blaster Unit," Xander called out as a portal opened next to him with an unusual device coming out of it. Xander grabbed it.
"Thank you, Dawn," Xander hoarsely said before he was then rushed at by the Dragon Orphenoch and had the belt knocked off of him as well as the Blaster Unit. The Belt and Blaster unit went flying towards Ryuki as he regarded it.
Xander, on the other hand, de-transformed and looked very weak and frail. He then sprouted out blue flames from his body.
"Well now…looks like I found another traitor to the Orphenochs," Asakura told him as he crept closer and closer towards Xander.
"Never was fond of killing my friends," Xander grunted.
"Oh really?" the Dragon Orphenoch told him.
"Yeah, fighting demons and guys like you taught me enough," Xander told him. "Hey Kid!" he shouted at Ryuki.
"What?" Ryuki asked.
"Put the Phone into the Blaster Unit. Then put on the Belt and dial in on the Unit: 555." Xander told him as he was then hoisted up by his shirt.
"You've delayed my revenge on Ryuki." The Dragon Orphenoch sneered.
Ryuki pocketed his deck, strapped on the belt and took out the Phone from the Belt before he placed it into the Blaster Unit.
'Awakening.'
"You're not the first person I disappointed nor the last, asshole," Xander talked back towards the Dragon Orphenoch.
Ryuki then dialed in '555' into the Blaster Unit. "Okay…" he took in a deep breath before whispering, "Henshin". He pressed the Enter button.
'Standing By.'
Lines of gold traveled up and down Ryuki's body from the Belt as his body glowed red. All the other heroes watched on in awe as the armor formed on Ryuki. Whilst Xander's default mode was black and silver with red photon streams, this Blaster Mode of Faiz was red and silver with black photon streams and some more armor on the back and gauntlets. His large yellow eyepieces flashed as he touched his faceplate in wonder and amazement as well as shock. Jinx looked at him in awe.
Ryuki only knew that, yes, his wish of becoming a REAL Kamen Rider had just come true. He was now one of the bug-like warriors of justice. He was now…KAMEN RIDER FAIZ!
"Someone wants to talk to you," Xander whispered as he was then thrown to the ground.
The Dragon Orphenoch turned to find Ryuki transformed, now clad in the Faiz Blaster Mode armor.
"We have unfinished business, you and I," Ryuki told him as he looked at his quarry.
"Nice new look," Asakura sneered. He regained his default Orphenoch form. "Too bad it won't help."
"You're going down…ASAKURA!" Ryuki, now as Faiz Blaster Mode, dashed towards the Dragon Orphenoch.
The others stood back, honoring Ryuki's wishes. This was personal; this was Ryuki's fight.
Ryuki aimed a fist at the Dragon Orphenoch's chest and the Orphenoch staggered back. Asakura swung his arm out, but Ryuki ducked and gave him a powerful uppercut. He then followed up with two kicks in the Dragon Orphenoch's solar plexus and another one that sent him crashing into a lamppost.
"He looks like he's handling the Gear better than you," Selene said to Xander playfully.
"Shut it."
The Dragon Orphenoch roared and charged at Ryuki, discarding his outer skin to reveal his sleeker second form. Ryuki saw him a mile away and pushed a button on his SB/Excel Watch. "Clock Up," he said before the watch announced, "CLOCK UP!" and then began moving super fast.
"Look at him go, yo!" Jake shouted out.
"He's like Quicky on crack," Todd added.
"Yeah, he's like-HEY!" Pietro shouted.
Now, let us focus on our two combatants who have entered what I'd like to call the 'Clock Up' phase. The whole world around them has slowed down to a near stand still as the two combatants fought. From the view point, they appear to be fighting at normal speed. However, as you can see from the slow moving area around them, they are actually moving at hyper speed.
Asakura clawed at Ryuki's chest and Ryuki countered with a right hook to his head. He ducked and kicked Ryuki with both feet. Ryuki grabbed him by the ankles and spun him around before throwing him into the building. The Dragon Orphenoch used the building's surface to bounce back and slash at Ryuki with his claws. If Ryuki hadn't been in the Faiz Blaster Mode armor, he would've been cut to ribbons. He grabbed the Dragon Orphenoch by the horns and kneed him in the gut before head butting him in, well, the head. He dropped Asakura. Time for questioning
"What happened to you?" Ryuki asked, his shoulder's heaving while his chest was rising and falling as he tried to collect his breath.
"As if you didn't know," Asakura retorted before using a sweep kick, but Ryuki leapt over it. Asakura flipped back to his feet and grabbed Ryuki by the shoulders. At the same time, Ryuki was holding onto Asakura's wrists, trying to pry off the Dragon Orphenoch. "Don't you remember? You killed me!"
Ryuki's eyes widened. He remembered what Ichijyo told him about Orphenochs. The dormant gene could be activated by death. This would mean that… "No…" Ryuki moaned. It was…It was…The death of the FOH members by Asakura and Asakura becoming an Orphenoch could've all been avoided if Ryuki, as Draco, hadn't…This was…
This was all his fault.
The Dragon Orphenoch took advantage of Ryuki's stunned state of shock to kick him in the chest and sending him crashing into a car, smashing the windows. Asakura said, "I smelt it off you, you know? You and I…we're alike." He then leapt away, disappearing from sight, laughing away.
"CLOCK OVER!"
Ryuki got up on his feet. The Dragon Orphenoch had escaped. However, what haunted him more were Asakura's last words.
"You and I…we're alike…"
"No," Ryuki denied.
"We're alike…"
"No…"
"You and I…"
"NO! SHUT UP!"
Ryuki placed his hands on his helmet, trying to drown out the words. He began to convulse, his footing becoming unstable. He began growling and Jinx was getting worried.
"Baby?" she said to him. "What's wrong?"
"STAY BACK!" he roared, shocking her and making her back away. He ripped the helmet off his head and let out a loud roar into the high heavens. The X-Men, Titans, Team Phantom, Jake and the Brotherhood watched in horrified awe. Ryuki then ripped off the Faiz Driver/Belt and threw it away before clutching his head. The Faiz armor vanished and his skin turned ashen gray. Spikes grew out of his forearms and his shoulders. His hair turned snow white, grew longer and became both spiky and shaggy. His teeth became razor sharp as his canines grew into saber fangs. His eyes shot open and glowed blue. Horns then grew out of his temple, while his red hair turned white. Finally, grey and white armor plating covered his whole body, his head morphing to become a beast's face, complete with a spiky white mane. Standing in Ryuki's place, now, was the Ifrit Orphenoch. He roared out loud and went to a car, thrashing it wildly. He grabbed the car and threw it at a random direction.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM, YO!" Toad screamed.
"Oh no…" Jinx fell to her knees. "Not again…"
"Again?" Cyclops heard her. "You mean, this has happened before?" Cyclops demanded. She nodded.
"Nothing can stop him now…"
Draco roared and began to charge at the X-Men. "X-MEN! SCATTER!" Cyclops ordered.
"LET'S SHAKE THINGS UP!" yelled Avalanche as he focused his powers to cause a powerful tremor. Draco, however, leapt up and fired an ice blast at Lance. Lance got hit and was encased in ice.
"LANCE!" Shadowcat yelled and ran towards her frozen boyfriend. She phased him out. "You okay, Lance?" Lance shivered and sneezed.
"Just a-a-a l-l-l-little c-c-c-cold…" he shivered, teeth chattering.
Quicksilver began to zoom around Draco, creating a whirlwind. "Let's see you beat the GREAT QUICKSILVER!" Quicksilver gloated. Draco, however, unleashed bright blue energy and blasted Quicksilver into the side of a building. "Ow…" he groaned.
Cyclops didn't want to do this, but his friend was now a raging beast. He placed his hands on his visor and fired an optic beam at Draco. However, it had little to no effect on the Ifrit Orphenoch's armored hide. With a roar, he leapt to attack Scott. Nightcrawler jumped next to Scott and then teleported both of them away. The Ifrit Orphenoch's claws only struck into the asphalt. He looked around to attack another target, but the Orphenoch was knocked away by a green necroplasmic blast. The Ifrit Orphenoch got up and turned to see Mortuary, back in his Aries armor, with hands glowing green.
"I'm your opponent! Fight me!" Mortuary yelled out with so much rage in his voice. He ran and then began kicking at the Ifrit Orphenoch, who blocked with his arms and tries to slash with his arm spikes and claws. Sparks flew as both combatants fought one another. Aries let out a battle cry as the Orphenoch roared whilst they battled each other.
A Knight Versus a Beast…How fitting; yet, it was also ironic for they were also friends. Fate is such a cruel master.
"Mortuary's distracting him! I'll try to knock him out!" Jean said and tried to use her telepathy to knock Draco out. It was not affective and she got blasted back. She fell. Scott picked her up.
"What happened?" Cyclops asked.
"I feel like I just hit a wall. I couldn't get into Draco's mind," Jean groaned.
Mortuary kicked Draco hard in the stomach and then delivered a roundhouse kick to the Ifrit Orphenoch's head. He then leapt up and performed a drop kick with both feet. Draco fell to the ground. His body was shaking. Mortuary drew his gun then froze. This was his friend, for crying out loud! Orphenoch or not, it was still Draco, damn it! The Ifrit Orphenoch took advantage of Mortuary's indecision and blasted him back with a blue fireball. He then prepared to impale Mortuary with his sharp black claws, maybe reducing him to dust. However, he got blasted by a blue beam of energy, freezing him in ice.
Jake saw that it was Danny, with glowing blue eyes and blue energy coming from his hands. "New trick?" Jake asked.
"Long story," was Danny's reply before the frozen Ifrit broke free from his prison. He went after Danny, but the halfa phased through the raging Orphenoch.
"DOUBLE GUITAR STRUMMING!" Oni shouted as he struck a cord with Ember. Both guitar blasting warriors slammed the Ifrit Orphenoch with twin shockwaves that knocked him into a building. This, however, did not stop his rampage. He, even in his feral and bestial state, was able to use some of his powers. Placing his clawed and grayed hands on the ground, the Ifrit Orphenoch erected two pillars of earth and they slammed into both Ember and Oni. The ghost rocker and musical vizard were both pretty much knocked out.
Xander grabbed his Faiz Gear and put it on. He flipped his phone open and entered the transformation code again before slamming it into his belt. "Henshin!" He changed back into his default Faiz form. Kaixa and Delta followed after and ran at the Orphenoch.
Faix, Kaixa and Delta, at the same time, smashed their fists into the Ifrit Orphenoch and sent him flying. However, using his telekinesis, he recoiled the force of the impact back at the three Riders. Suddenly, Faiz's Autovajin came to the rescue. Xander's robotic partner began shooting at Draco with its buster wheel, firing shot after shot. The Ifrit Orphenoch got fed up and breathed a fireball that smashed into the machine. It reverted to its vehicle mode.
Jinx could no longer just watch as the other heroes fought. She watched as Avalanche caused the ground to shake and her boyfriend being blasted by Danny's ecto-blasts, Mortuary's necro-blasts and Cyclops' optic blasts. Quicksilver created a mini-tornado to throw him into the air before he came back down and Blob shoulder tackled him into a car.
However, the Ifrit Orphenoch/Draco/Ryuki wasn't helping his own case either as he roared and went on the rampage, fighting back. Jinx had to remember, though, that Orphenochs, when enraged, would return to a primitive, feral and aggressive state of mind. The blasts sent him kneeling again as he growled, fangs bared and ready to turn them to ashes.
Draco got up and ready to attack again, until Jinx stepped up in front of him. "STOP!" she shouted. Everyone froze. She was standing facing Draco and between him and the other heroes.
"Jinx! What are you doing?" Mortuary shouted. "He's dangerous!"
Jinx didn't listen and approached her love. "Draco…Ryuki…please…calm down," she begged. "This isn't you. Don't let what Asakura said get to you. You're not a monster. Calm down…" she slowly approached him and wrapped her arms around him, placing her head on his chest. "Change back…" she cooed softly. "Change back…please…" she continued to beg.
"J…Jinx…" the Ifrit Orphenoch said before his body glowed. He was back in human form. His eyes slid close and he fell unconscious.
"BABY!" Jinx screamed. Mortuary deactivated his armor and checked on his friend.
"His pulse is weak. We better get him back to the mansion!" Mortuary shouted. Quicksilver zoomed to them, picked up Draco, and said, "I'll do it! He's an honorary Brotherhood boy! We don't abandon our own!"
"Yeah right," Fred scoffed, rolling his eyes.
Pietro either didn't hear or simply ignored it as he took Draco to the Institute as fast as his legs could carry him.
To Be Continued.
ZK Chromedragozoid: Ryuki/Draco has finally lived his dream of becoming a Kamen Rider. However, what will the future hold now for the young Dragon Knight, realizing that he was the one responsible for Asakura becoming an Orphenoch. Now, the X-Men and Brotherhood as well as the other heroes know that he is an Orphenoch too. Will this change anything? Will Draco lose his friends? Sty tune next time for the concluding chap of this arc entitled "Part 33: Regrets and Sorrows."
NEW CARDS USED.
Bullet Vent: This card increases the power of shooting attacks. In Draco's case, it increases the power of his DRA-Blaster's shots.
Fire Vent: Increases the power of fire based attacks.
Drop Vent: Increase power of mid-air drop kick.
Rapid Vent: Increase speed. In Draco's case, it gave the DRA-Blaster rapid fire abilities.
Upper Vent: Increase power of uppercut.