OP Sequence
Draco can be seen in his Survivor Mode armor speeding along the empty streets on his bike. Seconds later, both Pluto and Shadowcobra appear, also in their Survivor Mode armor and riding their bikes. The images in the windows they past are of the Titans and their enemies. Reflecting in Draco's rearview side mirrors is Jinx, Raven's image is reflected on Shadowcobra's and Blackfire's image is reflected on Pluto's.
The three Knights launch themselves into the air on their bikes as the title card appears being pulled by three Knightriders that are trailing blue, purple and red streaks.
ZKD: LOST PARADISE
Ryuki is standing in front of a red background wearing his SB uniform and flanking him are Zodiac Knight Draco and Yaminekoryu, his inner demon. Flames surround him as his eyes gleam. Libra appears and stands behind him.
Ichijyo is standing in front of a purple background wearing his SB uniform and flanking him are Zodiac Knight Shadowcobra and his Arch Vampangel form. Yoshido appears and stands behind him.
Takada is standing in front of a blue background wearing his SB uniform and standing next to him is Zodiac Knight Pluto. Fuji appears and stands behind him.
Kat is standing in front of a black background and wearing her Slade uniform. Standing next to her is Zodiac Knight Copycat. Slade appears and stands behind her.
Various rival Zodiac Knights appear battling with Shadowcobra, Draco and Pluto. Moon and Venus appear briefly to assist them. Soon, the Titans and Titans East stand with them against all the enemies.
Asakura is shown grinning sadistically in front of him as he turns into sand. He then reforms and he is Zodiac Knight Scorpios.
Masaru is shown scowling and crushing a picture of Ichijyo in his hand before turning into Zodiac Knight Hunter. He gazes at a picture of his sister, Misha.
Kat shares a kiss with Rose before they both transform into Zodiac Knight Copycat and Zodiac Knight Aqua, respectively. Grant and Joey appear briefly and transform into Zodiac Knight ARMS and Zodiac Knight Scizzors, respectively too.
Emiko, Prof. Murata, Raven, Blackfire and Jinx are shown standing side by side. Emiko then pulls a curtain in front of the three teen girls and then draws it to reveal the girls in her designs. She takes a camera and begins filming them, much to their chagrin.
Draco, Shadowcobra and Pluto's helmets shatter as the world is engulfed in darkness and flames. A dark and gigantic shape rises up and its silhouette has two antlers and 4 glowing red eyes.
The word 'EVOLUTION' in gold letters in front of a black background appears and then it changes to show the three Knights in their EVOLUTION MODES.
Finally, we see the Titans and 3 Knights together standing in front of the Tower.
Part 97: Ceasefire
"The identity of the Avatar has been compromised," Fuji informed.
"I know and Yoshido is dead," Libra replied.
Fuji frowned. Though they had been enemies, Yoshido had still been his brother but now he was gone. "Yes, devoured by your daughter's darkness."
"We gave the Knights a month to prepare, right? Until then they are not to fight each other."
"It still doesn't mean they can't find other ways to do so. The Avatar must be protected."
Libra nodded in agreement and took out the four Legend Cards. "It is time for these to act." He flung them into the air and shouted out, "CARDS TAKE FORM! TAKE ON MY STRENGTH! TAKE ON A LIFE! BECOME ENFORCERS AND DEFENDERS!" He finished by shouting, "RELEASE!"
He released a blast of power all around him and the cards became stiff in the air. They soon began to grow and take shape and instantly four humanoid figures stood in their place.
The four figures revealed themselves Knights all clad in similarly built armour but with different color schemes. The first one was blue, followed by another that was white, the next one was red and the final one was black.
"We live to serve, Libra-sama!" the four Knights shouted, head bowed in respect.
"Go and protect the Avatar, my Four Symbols!" Libra commanded.
"YES!" they shouted in unison before turning into orbs of their respective colours and flying away, towards Earth.
"You think that will be enough?" Fuji asked.
"I've infused each of them with a quarter of my own power," Libra answered. "I hope so."
"A ceasefire?" Kenzaki asked as he and Neko were on the roof playing some one-on-one basketball.
"Hai," Neko nodded as she took the ball and dribbled it, "Libra called us for a meeting and told us that the Knights won't be allowed to use their powers against one another for one month. Even the Mirror World has been sealed."
"Well, isn't that great?" he questioned. "That means no monster attacks."
"But that also means we can't use our powers against one another for a month or else we'll be disqualified and have our powers stripped along with our memories," Neko replied. Libra had been strict about it and Eri had seemed upset since she couldn't fight with Katherine until the month was up. "We can only train ourselves in this month and try not to use our powers on one another. I guess it's a test to see if we're worthy."
"Wait, you mean you CAN'T use your powers against one another but you can STILL use them?" Kenzaki asked. "How's that fair?" He was trying to block her from scoring a basket.
"Hey, I don't make the rules here," Neko shrugged as she tried to get past Kenzaki's defence. "We can still use them but never offensively against another Knight. That's the rule. Luckily, most of us have our own powers." She then ran around him and jumped up, tossing the ball. It fell into the basket and she grinned, "Now that's 2 points, I think."
Kenzaki smiled. So far his relationship with Neko had improved, but not into a romantic one. He and Rose currently had a truce and both agreed to NEVER force Neko into anything…but the truce never specified that he couldn't ask Neko out on a date.
"Say, Neko," Kenzaki began as Neko tossed him the ball. "Are you free tonight?"
"Well, I don't think I have any plans or assignments," Neko shrugged. "Why?" She was trying to steal the ball from him and he was making sure it was out of reach. She jumped up and smacked it out of his hand before running after it. He chased after her as she caught the ball and was trying to steal the ball away, with little success on his part.
"Well, I was hoping you and I could go out on a date," Kenzaki clarified as Neko was about to score a basket but then she stumbled and dropped the ball. She turned her eyes on him, looking at him wide-eyed.
"NANI!?" she yelled.
"Well, to get to know each other and-" He stopped when he realised she had vanished. "Maybe I came on too strong."
"GALIPER!" Katherine cried out, stomping her foot, and a grid of light appeared on the floor. Several Slade-bots were trapped as walls rose up around them and combined to form a box before a lid closed the box in. Satisfied, Katherine cried out, "KUROGANE!" shooting at the boxes with her arm that had morphed to become a large cannon. The cannon balls were coated in flames and smashed into the boxes, blowing them up and obliterating the contents.
Several Slade-bots began shooting at her from behind so she shouted, "FUUDOU!" and a giant black arm grew out of the ground to block the lasers with its armor plated surface. Acting quickly, Katherine called out, "RAIKA!" summoning a pair of rollerblades on her feet. She dashed towards the Sladebots and shouted out, "KUROGANE!" destroying them with flaming cannonballs.
As soon as Katherine had swallowed Yoshido, she'd gained access to the 10 Star Treasures, weapons only accessible by celestial beings. Thus, with one in her stomach, she had access to Yoshido's weapons. How fun.
She banished the Raika skates and was surrounded from all sides by Slade-bots ready to dog-pile her. With a sadistic grin, she called out, "RANMA!" and her right hand morphed into a sword handled connected to an immense serrated sword blade. She spun around and around and sliced the Slade-bots in half, watching with glee as their dismembered bodies twitched on the floor.
"PICK! NAMIHANA!" Katherine called out in unison. From her left arm, a column tipped with a spinning drill shot out from her hand and shot towards several charging Slade-bots while her right arm had a whip connected to her wrist that she swung and crushed the Slade-bots with.
There was nearly nothing left except for a small collection of Slade-bots. Tapping her chin, she grinned and unleashed another weapon, "MASSHU!"
A large cube-like big mouth came out from under the Slade-bots and opened wide, swallowing them before snapping shut to crush them. It then vanished along with the other weapons upon usage.
She had gone through the first 8 weapons. The last two would be left for later. Seiku was useful only for flight and Maoh was limited to only six usages so she shouldn't be wasting it for these small training sessions.
But, Maoh would be useful during the finals. It would be the final blow against her most hated enemies. She couldn't wait to unleash it along with her holy weapons. It was ironic that such a demonic being would have access to celestial weapons.
Katherine walked out of the training room to see Rosalinda, waiting for her. "Your towel, Mistress," the girl offered and Katherine grabbed it before she dried the sweat from her face. Grinning, she then slung the towel around Rosalinda's waist, pulling the girl towards her and then kissing her thoroughly.
"Thanks," Katherine said.
"You are…welcome," Rosalinda managed to breathe before her lips were claimed once more.
Neko ran into her room, which was currently occupied by Rose and Cathy. Cathy was playing with the cats as Rose was polishing her machete. They watched as the door closed behind Neko and she pressed her back against it, holding her chest, breathing hard, eyes wide, and heart beating fast.
"Mama, what's wrong?" Cathy asked innocently.
Neko, without thinking, answered, "Ken-kun…just asked me out…on a date…"
Rose's eyes widened as she stood up and yelled, "WHAT!?" In her mind she was thinking, 'Damn him! I knew he was just biding his time. I better teach that wolf a lesson and…' "You said 'no', right?" Rose asked hopefully.
"Actually, she ran off before she could answer," Gekiryuken answered for his wielder, "or before Kenzaki-san could say any more."
"Urusai," Neko grumbled as she slid down to the floor.
"You're not seriously thinking about this, are you?" asked Rose.
"Well, I like him just like I like you," Neko confessed. "And it's a bit confusing."
"Just say no," Rose said firmly. She couldn't risk losing Neko to Kenzaki.
"It's just a date," Neko reasoned. "It doesn't have to mean anything, right?"
Rose got up from her seat and approached the door. Neko stood up. "Rosey-chan, what are you doing?"
"Kenzaki and I are going to have a nice and long talk about this," Rose said briskly.
"I don't want you two fighting," Neko narrowed her eyes. She cared for both of them.
Rose sighed. "Fine…I won't fight him…" 'I'll just scream into his ear until he goes deaf.'
Up on the roof, Kenzaki was sitting in a lotus position with his arms crossed, conversing with his Imagin.
"So, what are your opinions, guys?" asked Kenzaki, trying to get ideas.
'Why do you always come to me with these kinds of problems?' asked Okami. 'It just pisses me off.'
"Okami you're always so helpful," said Kenzaki.
'Look, you asked her out. That's all you can do. She says no, oh well,' answered Okami. 'Now leave me out of you freakin' problems!'
'Kenzaki-sama should let Neko-san make her decision alone,' said Byakko. 'If you force her, you risk pushing her away, as well as going against yours and Rose-san's agreement, which would be dishonourable.'
"Well, that was more helpful the Okami…"
'I heard that!' snapped Okami.
"What do you think Raion?"
'Bring her to a rock concert!' shouted the youngest of his Imagin partners.
Kenzaki shook his head. He forgot that despite Raion being the largest of his partners, he was also considered the youngest and a teenager by human standards. 'Don't you want my opinion?' asked Buraki.
"Not really, but let's hear it."
'Okay, you've got something we can't give her permanently, but I can guarantee she'll enjoy it while she has her hands on-'
Kenzaki interrupted before he could finish, "No! Pre-emptive strike on the sex joke. Take a timeout." He ordered, "Byakko, make sure Kumiko knows about this and have her beat the crap out of Buraki."
'Gladly, Kenzaki-sama.'
Kenzaki opened his eyes and looked up as he saw Rose, approaching him, looking rather pissed off. She then ran at him and kicked him hard in the face, sending him sprawling before pinning him down with her foot on his chest and the tip of her machete pointed at his throat. She looked almost vengeful as she said, "You and I had a deal, Tsukuba."
'And now I've got a pissed off girl,' Kenzaki thought. "Hey, we promised not to fight over her. I just asked her out."
"She was mine first," Rose shot back, the tip close to his Adam's apple. "Give me a really good reason not to slit your throat right here and now."
"Try it," challenged Kenzaki. Rose yelled as she brought the blade down on Kenzaki's throat. She looked down and saw that her blade wasn't doing any damage to Kenzaki. He grabbed the machete. "That's what I thought." He grabbed the blade in his hand and crushed it in his hand like tinfoil. He then stood up, causing Rose to fall off of him. "Invulnerable skin and super strength. Your blade is about as harmful as a fly without wings." He threw the crumpled machete at Rose's feet. He walked toward the entrance to the Tower. "And now I'm going to find out Neko's answer." The door slid shut behind him, leaving a stunned Rose in his wake.
Rose then slammed her fist on the floor, growling. "Damn that wolf…"
Damien was hungry so he decided to enter the cafeteria to see if anything was worthy to eat. Many of the villains in Tartarus' cafeteria stayed clear of him out of fear. He vanished and appeared before Angel, and yelled out "Boo!" causing the girl to scream and fall backwards. He smirked as he took a seat at a table where Madame Rouge and Psimon were sitting and talking. This was the exclusive table for only the Lords. Katherine had her own private table.
"So, why are you all here instead of the executive dining room?" asked Madame Rouge as she looked at Damien. Out of all the Lords, he unnerved her the most.
"I should be asking you that myself, Envy," retorted Damien, using Rouge's Lord designation.
"You seem awfully cheerful for someone known as the Lord of Wrath," retorted Rouge. "I would've expected you to deserve the role of Pride but Slade has that taken."
"True," Damien nodded as he took a bite out of a sandwich. "But my tastes are those of pain and suffering…specifically the pain and suffering I cause. So, what were you two talking about before I sat down?"
Psimon spoke, "Well, we are a little concerned since Katherine, our leader, hasn't told us much about what she's planning." Psimon was the Lord of Greed due to his thirst for knowledge at any cost.
'I know,' thought Damien. 'She seeks to use that Wish to takeover the entire Multiverse. All this, this Tartarus and her Lords of Sin are merely a formality.' "Well, I'm being kept in the dark too."
"I seriously doubt that," spoke Madame Rouge. "You, Sylar and Slade are always with her. She seems to have a lot of respect in you. Trust, on the other hand…"
"So, she knows what I can do. Trust isn't an issue," Damien shrugged.
Madame Rouge scrutinized him, and said, "It doesn't take a genius to know you're planning something. We all have our own agendas so don't try denying it."
"Fine then, I'll tell you my plan…" Rouge and Psimon leaned in closer. "I want to bring something to this world."
"And what's that?" asked Psimon.
"Disorder, chaos, anarchy!" shouted Damien. He leapt up onto the table. "Oh, yes! Fill the churches with dirty thoughts! Introduce honesty to the white house! Write letters in dead languages to people you've never met! Paint filthy words on the foreheads of children! Burn your credit cards and wear high heels! Asylum doors stand open! Fill the suburbs with murder and rape! Divine madness! Let there be ecstasy in the schools and the ecstasy in the streets! Laugh and the world laughs with you!" called out Damien as he laughed madly. Everyone was looking at Damien as if he were a madman.
"You're insane!" accused Rouge.
"If I weren't insane, I'd be crazy," answered Damien as he jumped off the table. "I wish to bring madness to sanity, or sanity to madness. It all depends on your perspective. That's what it all comes down to isn't it? Good or Evil. Right or Wrong. Sane or Insane. It's all perspective." He began walking away. Shadows sprung from his arm as he grabbed hold of Angel. "Come, my dear, I have such sights to show you."
"No! Stop! Let go! Don't let him take me!" shouted the winged girl. Damien's past exploits were well known throughout Tartarus, Damien even having shown videos, to show them the true ways of torture. Angel began crying but no one dared to help knowing how truly dangerous Damien could be and what he'd do to them if they even tried.
"No tears please. It's a waste of good suffering," spoke Damien as he and Angel vanished into a shadow portal.
The room became silent upon Damien leaving. There were sighs of relief since many had been holding their breaths. Then catcalls were heard as Nami, the Lord of Lust, entered the cafeteria. She picked up a tray and began to fill it with her favourite foods as all the males (and some females) stared at her. She was a truly beautiful sight and just as deadly. Katherine had found her by chance and since Nami was a former general of Occultus', she was the perfect candidate as her Lord of Lust.
Nami sat down with her fellow Lords and asked, "So, what did I miss?"
Deep below the base was a special containment facility housing several horrendous creatures that Katherine had been creating using her Horror Powers. She walked down the hallway with Rosalinda clutching to her arm in fear. The glass windows showed the creatures in artificial habitats/containment units to keep them happy and the habitats were separated from one another too. While the two girls could see the monsters, the monsters could not see them since the windows were two-way mirrors and the hallway was dark with only limited lighting. If the monsters ever saw humans, they would run amok. Katherine could not let that happen. She had plans for these creatures.
With the month-long ceasefire in effect, Katherine decided to admire her Little Zoo of Horrors.
(The following monsters are a creation of Tanyeera)
The creatures had once been normal animals but Katherine had used her Horror Powers on them, implanting Horrors into the animals that ended up becoming the hosts for the demons, warping them and resulting in near mindless creations since lesser Horrors were normally mindless unless they possessed a human. Of course, there were several exceptions to the rule but not many. Generally, Horrors were demons that followed their main instinct: to feed.
First off, they saw what appeared to be normal, extremely cute little bunnies, peacefully hopping around and grooming themselves. Then… "Release the wolves!" Katherine called.
Five snarling, slavering wolves were released into the bunnies' habitat. One wolf tried rather unwisely, to snap at a bunny's fluffy tail. It fell away with a horrible, gurgling yelp, pawing at the twisted, ruined remains of its snout and eyes which were simply… not there anymore. These bunnies apparently had miniature black holes concealed in their fluffy behinds. The unlucky wolf died within moments of poking its snout at the bunny.
Now the other wolves were warier, but with the scent of blood in the air, the bunnies were paying far closer attention to their prey. Within moments, their ears had pricked up, and then started to rotate as their eyes glowed eerie red. Gradually, the copter-ears lifted the bunnies right off the ground to reveal tiny, gaping, sucker-like mouths all over the bunnies' bellies. The mouths screeching, they flew right at the wolves, clamping firmly on to them before claws emerged from their backs and started to stab and slash through the wolves' thick fur. Their tails too, did major damage, sucking off huge chunks of the wolves' anatomy as their eyes shot laser beams which scorched through fur and flesh alike.
When it was all over, only bits and pieces of blood and skeleton remained of the wolves. The Hek Bunnies had gone back to peacefully hopping around and grooming themselves. They looked very full, and very satisfied.
The second creature she had named a Wyrmdeer. It had the body of a snake, the head and horns of a gazelle, and night-dark wings as sharp as scything razor-blades. A forked tongue flicked from its mouth as it lowered its head and swished its horns menacingly. When on the ground like this, it could use its wings as extra appendages to slice its enemies to ribbons.
The next creature they passed was huge, bigger than an elephant! Apart from that though, it didn't look too scary… a large elephant like body topped by an eyeless, earless, basically featureless giant grapefruit of a head with five lines radiating like a star from what would have been the centre of its face… had it had one. But then the creature roared and the terrifying truth was revealed. Its head opened up, splitting from the five lines to reveal that those had actually been lips… and the entire head was nothing more than a gigantic maw, filled with pink wetness and rows upon rows of very pointy teeth. Katherine called this one 'Chomper'.
After that they saw Jab-Slashity, creature that looked a bit like a centaur, except its lower half looked bulkier, more like a bull than a horse. Plus its upper half was more like a praying mantis. Hungrily clicking its mandibles, it had three pairs of fore-appendages all together. The first pair, near its chest, looked very like insect legs, very pointy ones which the creature would jab occasionally for emphasis. The second pair, which was a bit lower, looked like scythes. And the third pair, squarely in the middle of its bull and insectoid halves, was a pair of long, muscular human arms, which could have come from any human bodybuilder. These were balled into fists at the moment, and looked like they had longer range than the above four appendages, possibly so the creature could grab its prey and bring it up close for the jabbers and scythes to get to work.
Another creature was smoke headed, horse-bodied and human legged creature. Lightning crackled from its face and eyeballs of all shapes, sizes and colours rolled within it. Katherine had named it "Spark-Eyes".
Next there was a legless elephant made all of vines and ludicrously big and bright flowers with eight thick purple tentacles sprouting from its ears. The tentacles lifted the elephant right off the ground and made hilarious plopping and sucking sounds as they slowly "walked" away. That was Charmer.
There were some other random creatures like eight-armed foxes with machine guns, lethally poisonous giant snakes with rainbow afros, and carnivorous bright yellow ducks which made a squeaking sound instead of a quack.
Rosalinda suspected that they were once rubber bath toys, but she didn't hang around to find out, not after seeing what they did to the dancing pig with peacock feathers that one time when it accidentally got into their habitat.
There was something that would be called a 'Bull-Frog'. It looked like a Minotaur with frog's legs and its horns were as long as swords. Its tongue flicked menacingly in and out, coiling with uncanny life as if it was only too eager to grab someone and skewer him on one of the horns.
Katherine's favorites in this macabre zoo were the feline-based creatures. Those had been fun to create.
One of those monsters was an elephant-sized cat-like creature of bristling fur and gleaming fangs. Its ears were long and pointed, more like horns than ears at all and all three of its tails lashed with angry restlessness. Spikes sprouted from the end of each tail and a pair of skinny, claw-like appendages sprouted from the cat-creature's sides, raking and grasping at the air, seeming to seek human flesh, while on its back was a terrible gaping slash which opened and closed exactly like a mouth. It was Katherine's 'Darling'.
She liked the dragon based ones the least, due to her hatred of Draco but power was a primary factor if the previous creatures had been an indication. In one of the containment units something that vaguely resembled a dragon except for its red eyes, mandibles, extra claws and the tiny living human heads growing out of its hide like some diseased pimple infection. The heads screeched, revealing their sharp little fangs as they strained towards the main dragon's head and what it was devouring. She had simply named this one 'Ugly'.
She'd been a little kinder to the next one though, called 'Dancer'. It had head, neck, tail, and wings of a dragon, but the body and legs of a giant spider, its first four limbs ending in human feet, while its back four in human hands. This one had a special ability to continuously lay eggs that would plop into the coils of its waiting tail and then handed over to its hind-hands to throw. When these eggs smashed, they released a clear, gelatinous substance that at first seemed harmless, however, turned out to be extremely flammable to the dark fires this creature spewed. At the end of its attack, everything would look like it had been dipped in liquid nitrogen, shattering at the slightest contact. 'Dancer' delighted in dancing among its victims, using its fore-feet to kick and smash everything apart.
Passing one of the windows, Katherine was wondering what she'd been thinking including a dog as one of her experiments. It looked somewhat like a long lean greyhound the size of a pony, and with a pony's hooves and haunches too. Also, it had not one, not two, but ten thin whip-like tails, each of them more than thrice its body length with things that looked uncomfortably like stretched out human hands attached to their ends. The dog's face and snout looked oversized, fat and grotesque next to the almost emaciated leanness of the rest of its body, more like the head of a bulldog than a greyhound. The reason for such was revealed as it opened its hideous mouth to reveal no teeth but a tongue that momentarily lashed at the air, much like a frog's tongue questing for an insect.
Now she remembered… this creature happened to be the fastest monster in the entire menagerie. Furthermore, its additional limbs made it very good at snatching people. She had named it 'Fetch'.
Sam the Spider-Monkey was just something she made for fun. It was vaguely spider-like, was thrice the height of a man, had eight legs ending in hairy gorilla hands that knuckled along just as if they were on a real gorilla, and sixteen shorter appendages curled up under its belly. Some of these appendages ended in humanoid hands that nonetheless flexed oddly, as though they had an extra joint. Other appendages included pincers, blades, lobster or crab-like claws, thin, needle-like tubes and other, even more weirdly shaped things that had no name.
Katherine and Rosalinda then stopped in front of a window with a sign that said 'Sniffy'.
Roughly twice the size of a horse, it resembled a peacock: a nightmare peacock. Its torso was longer and thicker than a normal peacock's so that a person could ride it, and it was four-legged.
Or, more accurately, its forepaws were scaled and clawed like a dragon's while its rear paws had the powerfully bunched muscles of a hare's hind legs.
The creature's neck was as long and graceful as a normal peacock's, but its head was barely more than a long quivering snout, like a baby elephant's trunk, and two disturbingly human eyes the size of grapefruits perched on that snout.
Most terrifying of all was where a normal peacock should have had a beautiful fan of colourful tail feathers. The fan was still there alright, but instead of feathers, this creature had a multitude of writhing, swaying tails growing from its rear, each tail exceedingly long and whippy, yet width-wise, the size of mere walnuts. They were disturbing of course, but at first glance, not that dangerous. They were merely the monstrous equivalent of a cat swishing its tail. That was, until you noticed that each "tail" opened into an eternally, voraciously gaping mouth at its end... and peering down the mouth one saw rings and rings of needle-sharp teeth.
Katherine's grin widened. The collection of Horror Creatures was immense and as soon as the Finals began, she would unleash them upon the city and the world to cause chaos, mayhem and absolute terror on all the wretched and weak humans. Her creations were hungry and she could only oblige them. Rosalinda shuddered as she saw her mistress' smile, knowing it was nothing good. It reminded her briefly of Damien's smile before…
"Mistress, can we leave, please?" Rosalinda begged. Katherine cast her a look.
"Are you frightened? Tell me the truth," said Katherine. Rosalinda tried to speak but the fear had found her voice and stopped it. She decided to nod her head repeatedly. Katherine sighed. She wanted to look at her 'Zoo' some more but then Rosalinda was her most precious pet so she obeyed the request, reluctantly. "Let's go. I think there's a bubble bath with our names on it."
Rosalinda beamed as the two walked towards the exit.
"Please…please let me go…" Angel begged from her place, bound to the bed. She was naked with the exception of a pair of panties and had many welts from the whippings and dried candle wax on certain spots on her body. Damien hovered over her, licking his lips. He touched her soft feathery wings with a grin. His shirt was removed revealing his lean, muscular physique. All he had on were his pants. She shuddered at the sensation. She was covered in sweat and her eyes were wet with tears from her crying. Her throat was hoarse and dry from screaming so long.
"Oh…but we're just about ready for the best part," he said, pouting. He mounted her. His hand slithered up her leg before he tugged at the panties. "Ready?"
"No…" she sobbed.
Damien heard someone clearing their throat and turned his eyes towards the door. It was open and leaning against the frame was Nami the Lobster Orphenoch in human form. She was formerly one of Occultus' generals but now served as one of Katherine's Lords of Sin. She was the Lord of Lust which was an appropriate title due to her unique talents of seduction.
"Having fun, Damien?" she questioned, smirking with a raised eyebrow.
"Very much so, Nami," answered the Lord of Wrath.
"Please! Help me!" shouted Angel. Damien slapped her roughly, leaving a large handprint on her face.
"Silence while your betters are talking," warned Damien. He turned back to Nami and stood up stepping towards his fellow Lord of Sin. Damien stood massively above Nami, his 6 and a half foot body overshadowing her 5 foot 10 frame. "Care to join us?"
Damien had many different relationships with the different Lords of Sin. With Slade he was polite and civil since the masked man was one of the few beings in the Multiverse he had respect for. Madame Rouge despised him. She had prided herself on having one of the most twisted personalities in the world but Damien quickly showed her how truly twisted a person could be. He and Psimon both longed for knowledge, though Damien wished to use his knowledge for other purposes. He was civil with Sylar, as they both had similar natures, longing for more power and never satisfied with what they had. He didn't like Plasmus all too much. And lastly was Nami, with whom he shared a powerful sexual relationship with.
Nami softly traced circles around Damien's exposed chest. "Perhaps…" she said seductively. Damien grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her face up to his, kissing her passionately. When he released her she looked at him with lust filled eyes. "Where should we start?"
Angel's eyes widened in horror. Nami wasn't going to help her…she was going to join in! "No…please don't…" she cried. Nami quickly stripped off her leather jacket and jeans, leaving her in only her bikini top and G-string panties. She quickly sat on the bed and slowly and seductively crawled toward the bound villainess. Damien walked around her, standing by her head.
He bent down and forced her to look at him. "Now then my little pet…" Shadows began swirling around Damien as his eyes turned blood red and his teeth became razor sharp. "I want you to scream!" he roared as he descended upon her.
"Mama, are you okay?" Cathy asked with deep concern in her voice. Neko looked towards her adopted daughter.
"I'm okay," Neko answered, half-lying, "Just a bit confused."
"Because Kenzaki likes you?" Cathy questioned. The mutant girl was pretty observant about these things. Slade had taught her that much in the past.
"Kinda," Neko nodded.
"And you like him too?" Cathy asked, "But you also like mommy."
"Koneko-chan," Neko decided to ask, "Do you like living here in the Tower?" She wanted to change the subject for now. She really couldn't deal with the whole issue between herself, Rose and Kenzaki at the moment.
"At first, no," Cathy replied honestly, "I mean, I was taught that they were our enemies and that I would have to fight them any chance I got. But now…" She wasn't sure what to say. The arrangement had been trying for her too. She had been forced to re-evaluate her opinion of the Titans due to certain events, namely Katherine being psychotic. "But now…it feels…it feels like home."
Neko smiled as she ruffled her daughter's hair. "It feels like home to me too. I have my brother here, and you and Rose…" 'Of course how long I'll have that for any longer with Kenzaki in the picture is beyond me.' She decided to ask, "So, should I say yes to Kenzaki's proposal?"
Cathy blinked and said, "I guess, mama, that you have to decide that for yourself."
Neko frowned at her daughter, "Ugh, you're no help at all."
"If it means anything, I still love you," Cathy said as she hugged Neko.
"And I love you too," Neko replied. A light bulb lit up in her head and then she got an idea. "I think I finally found a solution for this." Or what she hoped was a solution and just in time too as the door opened to reveal Kenzaki.
"Hey," Kenzaki greeted. Neko stood up as Cathy took a step back. "So…you kinda ran off when I asked you out. Are you okay now?"
Neko rolled her eyes. A lot of people have been asking if she was 'OK'. She sighed and answered, "Hai, I am. So, what happened with you and Rose?"
"We had an argument about you," Kenzaki answered. Neko frowned. She didn't want the two people she'd come to care for fighting. "So, if you say no, I'll understand and-"
"Yes."
"OK, well I'll leave you-" he blinked and paused before continuing, "Wait, what was that?"
"I said yes, I'll go out with you," Neko smiled.
A wide smile was about to crack on Kenzaki's face, but he kept calm. Best to keep his excitement caged up until he was back on the GaroLiner.
"But…" Neko added, "On ONE condition."
"You name it!"
"Rose gets to come along."
Kenzaki's jaw dropped as he gawked at her.
"You're going to Arizona?" Jinx asked her fiancé who was busy packing up a duffle bag. "For a month? Why?" After all that had happened a few weeks ago, he was going to leave.
"There's a one month ceasefire between the Knights," Draco explained as he took out some folded clothes and put them into his bag. "We can't attack each other until it's up."
"Correction," Jinx said, "You CAN'T use your powers against each other. That doesn't mean Copycat or ARMS won't try anything without their powers."
"At some point they'll be tempted but they won't risk it," Draco retorted.
"You don't know that!" Jinx shot back.
Draco gave her a look. "Copycat's obsessed with beating me and taking the Power for herself. She won't risk getting herself disqualified. As insane as she is, she's not stupid."
"Still, it doesn't explain why you're leaving," Jinx pouted.
Draco explained, "The Kamen Riders have a secret base in Arizona. I'm going to train there for a month."
"You can just train here!" Jinx nearly pleaded, "And well you can't leave! What about your sister?" Neko had been kidnapped by Katherine and nearly lost her life. "Without you, she might be exposed to danger."
Saying Draco wasn't worried about Neko would be a lie. This was his sister's good half and she needed to be protected. Saeji was still adamant in finishing her off to save the world but Draco would not allow it. However… "I think she's in good hands," he said, thinking of Kenzaki, "And she can take care of herself better now. She's more powerful."
Jinx tried to make another argument using Neko but found she couldn't. "Crap…" she muttered. "I just don't want you to leave me for a month!"
"I'll be back," he assured her, walking over to hug her. Jinx hugged him back. "I won't be long."
"Please…I don't want you to leave me alone…" Jinx, as strong as she was, was afraid to be abandoned by the people she loved. Her parents had been the first and it'd been years since she felt like this.
Draco didn't want to leave her either. They were engaged and they were soul mates. It wouldn't be right. Yet, he needed to prepare himself for the Finals which would be taking place in a month. He couldn't waste time. Still…there was another alternative.
"You could come with me," he said and Jinx's eyes sparkled before she tackled him to the ground and began kissing him like mad. 'Maybe I should let her come along more often,' he thought, enjoying the attention.
A vision invaded his mind, and he was seeing Jinx, bent over and him behind her thrusting into her, making love to her…He blushed and stomped down that image before he began to kiss her back.
Minutes later, that vision would come true…
For the past few weeks, Pluto had been studying all of Changeling's alien forms. He even wanted to study the watch. However, the latter was met with objections from Shadow who wanted the data secret. Pluto stated that he could keep the data safe but despite years of working together, Shadow lacked faith in Pluto and with good reason too.
There was the incident where he'd blown up the school, forcing them to temporarily transfer to other schools. Then there was the time he'd mutated the vegetables at the science fair and gotten banned from any subsequent contests of the same nature. There was also the time he'd caused a mass evacuation of their dorm due to him playing his DOOM game at FULL BLAST with GIANT speakers he'd connected to the computer. His experiments and inventions had also had lasting negative effects on Shadow's opinion of Pluto and they would not change. The only inventions Pluto ever got right were small in number and even so Shadow's full faith had not been restored. Shadow wondered himself why he put up with Pluto for so long.
Currently, Pluto was standing outside with a speed gun. A black and blue blur zipped past in front of him and the gun caught it. He looked at the numbers in amazement, shouting, "Woah, THAT is FAST!"
"Is it?" Changeling asked as he zipped up to Pluto in his Kineceleran form. The visor slid up and the blue skinned, green eyed alien look at the meter. "Woah! I never knew!"
Pluto was impressed with Changeling's alien forms and how effective they were compared to his animal forms. Still, Changeling was also training himself harder. He knew he couldn't totally rely on the watch since after 10 minutes it would just change him back and would need to recharge for the next time it was used. Still, it had been fun to use all those forms.
"Having fun, boys?" Blackfire asked as she floated towards her betrothed and friend. Currently, Blackfire was taking a break from ruling. After numerous attempts on her life by rebels who didn't want an 'abomination' to rule them, she decided to leave the planet for safety. It seemed cowardly, but Pluto reasoned that she and Starfire were the last in their family line. She corrected him by saying Ryand'r too was part of that line. Yet, they hadn't found any sign of him or any clues that he was even…
Shadow was working on it. Luckily, the Pretender remains that Pluto had kept could give Shadow clues. He hated it when renegade Deathtrons tried to restart conflict like this again. Hadn't the past taught them anything that this was all a waste of time? Guess not.
"Don't we always?" Pluto grinned. He still kept his coat but the clothes underneath were the Tamaranean clothes he'd altered to suit his liking. Blackfire looked good in purple but he couldn't see himself wearing the colour, no offense.
At first the citizens of Tamaran had gaped at him as he walked through the cities. He was the only human and well humans were thought to be weak by a lot of races. Well, Yoshiyuki Takada was anything but weak as he'd proven alongside Robin during the X'Handal tournament. He completely decimated the opposition who wanted to prove themselves worthy of Blackfire, but unlike the Dog Knight they just craved for her power. They didn't love the beautiful woman who'd snatched his heart and tamed him.
Takada also made an impression and gained a reputation on Tamaran for the explosions coming from his lab. Blackfire actually lost her temper and sent guards to drag him out of his lab to be punished. He'd run from them even with Blackfire tailing him. Well, she was mad, of course. He'd blown up a good portion of the palace that one time and it took a long time to fix.
Then, there were the rebels and coups and Pluto put himself in charge to expose the masterminds. He may not look it, but Pluto was as good as a detective as Robin. He had the brains, and nose, despite lacking proper common sense. Still the masterminds, their subordinates and allies had been exposed and punished for treachery. Pluto felt they deserved more than just banishment but still his lover's word was law.
Changeling's transformation timed out and Blackfire smiled. She grabbed Pluto's arm and said to the green one, "Can I borrow him for a bit?"
"Sure," Changeling nodded and watched as Blackfire pulled Pluto with her to the air. Pluto could fly with the Power of the Rooster. The rules never stated they couldn't use their power indefinitely. Just that they couldn't use them against another Knight or else they'd pay the consequences.
"I want to meet your mother," said Blackfire to Pluto, putting it bluntly.
"But, you've met," Pluto recalled.
Blackfire elaborated, "I mean actually meet. Not through a communicator and not when she was in a coma, but in person. In the flesh." She wanted to get to know her betrothed's mother better.
"But she likes you already," Pluto replied. "That's enough, right?"
"Puppy, listen to me," Blackfire said, grabbing him by the face and leaning him, "I want to meet your mother, in the flesh, face-to-face, and in person."
Pluto couldn't refuse his Empress, but well he had to ask, "Why the sudden interest?"
Blackfire sighed, "I just want to have something normal to happen for a change."
"Normal is relative," he retorted. Blackfire gave him an icy look. "Continue," he prompted.
"This whole deal with being the Empress of Tamaran and a superhero is kinda getting to me. I'm stressed. I just wanna relax."
"So, you want a vacation?" Pluto questioned.
"Now, you're getting it," she grinned. "So, you got this one month ceasefire going on. Why don't we go and see your mom?"
"But what about the others?" Pluto asked, "And I need to train too."
"You can train there," Blackfire countered, "I mean Smart Brain has that Danger Room, right?"
Pluto couldn't argue with that. The training would be worth it, "But, what about Cyborg? He got his legs blasted off last time. He might need me for maintenance."
"They've done alright before they met you," Blackfire reasoned. "And there's Fixit." She wrapped her arms around his neck, coming closer so that the tips of their noses were touching, "Please…let's go…"
"I don't know," Pluto said nervously. Usually he'd caved by now, "I mean with this deal about Copycat and the Horrors…I just don't feel right with leaving everybody that long."
Blackfire sighed and compromised, "How about a week or two?"
"8 days," Pluto haggled.
"12."
"9."
"10."
"Deal," both said at the same time. They would be away for 10 days and then come back. It sounded short, but it was enough for Blackfire.
"X'Hal, you're good at haggling," she purred. He liked hearing her purr. It was ironic that he, a Dog Knight, would fall for a girl coming from a race that descended from felines.
"Hey, I had a pretty tight budget even with the Snake paying me," Pluto argued. "I had to haggle."
Blackfire giggled and kissed him before grabbing his arm and flying towards the Tower to pack up their things.
"Am I gonna get some nookie?" Pluto asked hopefully. Blackfire laughed.
"You'll see."
A ghostly figure faded into view. It was Changeling in his Ectonurite form and he'd seen and heard everything. He spoke, "Man, Plutes is so whipped." He snickered before fading away.
"You're going to Planet Death?" Raven questioned, "For a month?"
Planet Death was actually an immense planet-sized space station where all the Deathtrons lived since the destruction of their home world millions of years ago. Now, it had its own artificially generated atmosphere that could simulate weather, day and night.
"Yes, and I want you to come with me," Shadowcobra offered.
"But why?" Raven asked. "Wait, is it because of this ceasefire and now you're going on vacation?"
"Not a vacation," Shadow responded. "There are some things I need to take care of in the Secret Police's Headquarters. It's been ages since I was there and my superiors must be interested to know what I've been doing."
"Didn't you go on a special sabbatical?" Raven asked. "I mean you left them for a reason."
"But I'm still Commander of the Special Division and even though I've been here on Earth, I'm still given news about their activity." His father had been helpful enough to do it for him. The Special Division, even without him, had been running smoothly.
"So, you're going to be working for them for a month?" asked Raven.
"And don't forget that I'll be training," Shadow added.
Raven looked hesitant, "I don't know. I mean we did stay a month on Neo Azarath and looked at what happened. I don't feel like being caught by surprise."
"Then stay," he said. "I'm not forcing you to go. I can go alone and-"
"Remember our vows?" she reminded. "I'm not leaving you alone on another planet. So, I'm coming along, whether you like it or not."
Shadow smiled. "Oh, that's just what I wanted to hear. Raven, you may find that you'll like Planet Death."
"With a name like that, I don't see why not," Raven responded cynically. Shadow laughed. Oh, he so loved her dry wit. "Do I have to wear that symbol?" She was referring to the demonic purple emblem of the Deathtrons. She hadn't liked the way it looked. It looked evil.
"Well, since you're my wife, then you must," Shadow said with a bit of regret. "Be grateful you didn't get branded with one." Shadows' hand went to his shoulder where the Deathtron tattoo was, reminding him of his allegiance and the path he'd chosen long ago.
"Did it really hurt?" she asked.
"I endured. No different from that tattoo on your lower back, which I love to see," he grinned.
"Pervert," she muttered, cheeks turning pink. He pulled her into his arms and he nuzzled her hair. "Hey!"
"We have time before we need to leave. Why not one for the road?" he asked, licking her earlobe. She shuddered. How did he get so good in making her aroused? Was it his empathic ability? His hand found its way down her body to her thigh and he lifted it up. He wasn't wearing his gloves so he was able to feel the warm exposed skin. The skin-tight leotard did nothing to hide her curves and her amazing legs. Her body was amazing and he'd explored every inch of it countless time and it appeared that he would be doing so again.
He carried her to the bed and laid her on top of it before looking down at her. He then captured her lips with little protest. She moaned as his hands cupped her breasts. So warn and soft. He had loved the feeling of making love to her.
Let's leave them alone, for now, alright?
"I should've killed her when I had the chance," Katherine muttered. She was sitting in a bathtub with Rosalinda. Her personal slave girl was scrubbing her back.
"Who?" Rosalinda asked.
"Blondie," Katherine replied. "If I knew killing her would land me that Wish automatically, I would've done it sooner."
"You'll get your chance," said Rosalinda, pressing her chest against her mistresses' back. It would appear that Rosalinda had changed a bit. She wasn't so timid, at least when around Katherine. "You'll get your wish."
Katherine smiled at Rosalinda's words. Sure, Rosalinda was a substitute for Rose which her weaker half had stolen from her, but she would never trade the girl in for anything. Despite being the Living Gate, she still had a bit of her heart. Remnants of her weaker half or maybe there was still a connection between them aside from them sharing the same life.
She'd temporarily died after the debacle at Paris and now she only had 5 lives left. She remembered seeing Rosalinda crying over her body before crying tears of joy at her revival.
She sensed something amongst the Lords. Damien was planning something with Nami. Despite her respect for the Lord of Wrath, she didn't trust him one bit. She didn't trust any of the Lords fully, except for Slade. Plasmus, however, well he was just a useful pawn to her plans. He was loyal to her since she'd allowed him to retain his human form while awake. She did have to reprogram his mind since his human side was a timid coward compared to the monster that was Plasmus.
The only promise she gave Sylar that assured his loyalty was that he was hungry for power. With the copy of Cerebro's plans and programming, she was able to track down any new mutant signatures and when one was detected, Sylar would go on the hunt. The media was already littered with news of murders where the bodies had their brains scooped out from the skulls. Sylar was a messy eater and devoured the brains savagely, absorbing the power of their late owners. Eventually, he would grow too powerful and cocky so like Damien, Katherine was keeping a careful watch on the man.
Psimon and Madame Rouge were another thing. The French shape-shifter was devious, and well, Psimon was only after knowledge. Both could still be swayed away from her so they too needed to be watched.
Nami was someone she'd found by chance one day. She remembered it like it was yesterday…
Bored, Katherine ventured into the local red light district. She saw many prostitutes and illegal establishment but the police had little power over the district. There were metas and mutant girls working as hookers and many men were interested in having one for the night. Katherine had been tempted too. She even ventured into a local strip club for the heck of it. She had a fake ID and was able to get in.
She watched as scantily clad sluts strutted on stage, removing what little clothing they had on for money. It disgusted her but also aroused her. Despite having Rosalinda as a bed warmer, maybe having another girl wouldn't be so bad.
She watched as girls dressed as nurses, cops, school girls and any sort of fantasy stripped but found nothing that interested her, and then she came along.
There was Nami, in a bikini and doing a pole dance. She watched as Occultus' former general grinded herself against the pole, gyrated her body, and gave the perverted customers a show as she teased them. A few were even masturbating at the sight of Nami. Typical perverts.
They watched as Nami removed her bikini and continued dancing for them. She gave them all coy looks and when it was all over, the true fun began.
The girls weren't just dancers, but also prostitutes. At the end of the show, there would be an auction and each girl would go with one of the men for a night of pleasure. Katherine was tempted to make a bid but satisfied herself with just watching.
Nami eventually went to a man willing to pay two grand for a night with her. Katherine discreetly followed after them.
There was this cheap hotel which was used for one-night stands or for the local prostitutes to service their clients. Katherine stalked them like a cat. She watched as Nami and her client entered a room after he'd fumbled with the keys. She got a fat guy who looked to be in his 40's and possibly married by the ring on his finger. Problems at home? Wife not doing it for him.
Katherine sent one of her horrors in, hiding in the shadows, and watched through its eyes as Nami did her job, giving the man the best night of his life…and his last…
After nearly two hours of sex, the man was exhausted. Nami straddled the man who smiled at him. "That…was…amazing," he panted.
"Good," Nami grinned before she morphed into her Orphenoch form, much to his horror. "And goodnight!"
She killed him by stabbing his heart with her rapier. His body turned grey and crumbled to ash, like many victims killed by Orphenochs. Nami got off the bed and resumed human form. She dressed herself back up and picked up the guy's wallet to only find a few hundred bucks. She scowled but took the bills and stuffed them into her pocket before tossing the wallet away.
She heard applause and turned towards the window to see Katherine sitting on the window sill. Nami was about to react and attack when Katherine said, "I like your style. How about you leave the dirty dancing and whoring for something better? Like something that matched your previous rank?"
Nami had given Katherine a look that told the Cat Knight she was interested and so Nami became the Lord of Lust.
Nami later met with Damien and both had started a sort of sexual relationship and Katherine didn't like it.
Katherine turned around, grinning at Rosalinda. She purred, "I'm hungry," before she dove into the water. Rosalinda looked perplexed but then let out a gasp and moan. The water splashed as Rosalinda shouted out, "Mistress!"
Katherine got up from the water and grinned before placing kisses up Rosalinda's torso. She stopped at her collar bone and began sucking. Rosalinda clutched to Katherine and groaned in pleasure, grinding her body against her mistress.
Katherine got to Rosalinda's ear and began nibbling, whispering, "Now the real fun begins."
Rosalinda gasped and then screamed in pleasure as soapy water splashed around while she thrashed in Katherine's loving clutches.
"Ooh, MISTRESS!"
Kenzaki had already decided where he was going to take Neko on their first date together. It was a local sushi place that served sushi via conveyer belt with small plates. Each plate denoted its price so a person could be careful of how much they could spend. He thought it would be a nice place for just the two of them. And it would have been, had it been just the two of them. Neko was currently seated between Rose and Kenzaki, oblivious to the glares the two were giving each other.
Ever heard the expression 'two's a company, and three's a crowd'? You could use that expression in reference to this situation.
"Isn't this great?" Neko asked as she grabbed a plate and started eating some sushi. "Ken-kun, what's your favourite kind of sushi?"
"My personal favourite is the Dynamite Roll," Kenzaki told Neko.
"Oh look! Here comes some," she pointed out. Kenzaki began to reach for it, but Rose reached over quickly and grabbed it before Kenzaki could. He turned and glared at her. "Don't worry Ken-kun, here comes another one," said Neko, trying to soothe the situation. Kenzaki reached for it, but once again Rose beat him to it. He glared at her and was truly tempted to start yelling at her. However, he felt Neko's hand on his shoulder. "Here, Ken-kun. Try some of the tuna," she suggested as she held the fish between her chopsticks. "Say 'ah'!" she said cutely. Kenzaki opened his mouth and she popped the sushi into his mouth. Rose began to get infuriated but Neko calmed her down before they got thrown out for causing trouble.
"So, Neko, you like anything special here?" Kenzaki asked.
Neko was about to answer when Rose picked up a piece of sushi and held it up to Neko. "Neko, say 'ah'," Rose offered. Neko opened her mouth and Rose popped the piece in. watching as Neko chewed. "Is it good?"
"Hai," Neko replied. "It's my favourite. Eel! Arigato, Rosey-chan."
Rose smiled and looked towards Kenzaki slyly who glowered.
From this point onwards, whenever Kenzaki tried to ask Neko something about herself, Rose would interfere, cutting Kenzaki off. She even stole any sushi that he liked, much to his frustration.
As Neko was dipping a piece of sushi into some soy sauce, the small saucer tipped over and spilt the sauce all over her outfit. She stood up quickly, saying, "I'm going to clean this up. I'll be back in a second." She went towards the bathroom quickly, leaving Kenzaki and Rose alone, which was a big mistake.
"What's the big idea?" growled Kenzaki. "I was just trying to get to know her!" He was glaring at Rose who was glaring back with full force.
"So you can steal her away? Fat chance!" Rose snapped.
"Neko actually wanted you to be here. She wanted us to have a good time."
Rose crossed her arms. "Looks like that isn't happening anytime soon with you around. You're the third-wheel here, not me."
"You know what, I'm outta here. Hope you're happy, Rose," growled Kenzaki as he stood up and stormed out, leaving some money for the girls to pay.
Neko arrived right after Kenzaki left. "Where did Ken-kun go?" asked Neko, slightly sad that her friend was gone.
"Oh, I guess he just had something better to do," said Rose, sounding satisfied.
Kenzaki was walking away with his hands in his pockets, grumbling angrily under his breath. "That bitch…"
'You should've smacked her!' shouted Buraki in encouragement.
"If I did, I'd lose any chance with Neko."
Okami snorted. 'With that other girl around, I doubt it.'
"Thanks for the pep-talk," replied Kenzaki.
'But, seriously, this is a difficult situation,' spoke Byakko. 'And a bit unusual. You are fighting over a girl with another girl.'
"My life has been anything but normal," replied Kenzaki. He looked up when he began hearing screaming, running toward the source, he found a group of people being attacked by an Imagin, the Octopus Imagin. "Now that's something I can take out my anger on!"
'I'll help! It's been a while since I've had any fun,' said Buraki.
"Fine," said Kenzaki as a crimson streak appeared in his hair. He pressed the crimson buckle on his belt. "Henshin!"
"SAVAGE FORM!"
Garoh's Plat Form armour appeared before additional armour, coloured in red, appeared and snapped on. The shoulders had ornaments resembling dragon wings and his chestplate looked like a dragon's head. A red mask resembling a dragon slid down his faceplate and snapped on.
"Everything burns. Let me light the fire!" proclaimed Garoh. As he said this, he threw a ball of fire at the Imagin, causing it to stagger backwards. Garoh walked toward the creature. He assembled the Gasher so that it looked roughly like a shotgun. He took aim and blasted the Imagin with twin blasts of fire, once again causing it to stagger backwards. He let the Imagin charge at him, before Garoh dodged and blasted it in the back.
Neko was looking for Kenzaki when she saw the battle. She recognized the Rider to be Garoh and the creature he was fighting to be an Imagin. She was tempted to help and was ready to transform when Gekiryuken told her, "Just leave him be."
"But," she tried to protest.
"We'll help when we really need to. For now, we watch."
Neko was reluctant but sighed and nodded in agreement. Best to let Garoh handle this one alone. It would be a blow to his pride if a girl helped him out right now. The Imagin didn't look all that strong anyway from the way Garoh was wailing on him.
Garoh then positioned the Shotgun-Gasher at point blank range at the Imagin. He fired, burning the Imagin. "Now, time to end this…" He swiped his Rider Pass over his belt.
"FULL CHARGE!"
Crimson energy and flames charged up in the Gasher. "Savage Burst!" shouted Garoh as a powerful burst of crimson fire exploded at the Imagin. The Imagin was engulfed and completely incinerated by the fire and exploded, leaving nothing.
"Now that's what I call roasted octopus," laughed Garoh.
Later that night, Neko had decided to get some fresh air and headed for the rocks on the edge of the island. When she arrived she saw Kenzaki at the shore of the island, sitting on a rock as he looked out towards the bay and the city. The moon reflected on the surface of the water as he rested his chin in his hand. He heard someone approaching and turned to see Neko before turning back to the moon. "You know that only Pluto howls at the moon in this Tower, right? Are you gonna start doing it too since you're a wolf?" asked Neko, trying to get his attention. However, he didn't turn to face her, keeping his eyes glued on the moon.
"I'm a Wolf Rider, not an actual wolf. Sure I have some of the heightened senses but that's about it," said Kenzaki. Neko laughed a little. She walked up and sat next to him, her legs dangling over the edge of the rock.
"Sorry about Rose's behaviour," Neko apologized, "She can be a little possessive at times."
"Really? I hadn't noticed," Kenzaki said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"So, now that she's not here and we're alone…mind telling me why you decided to ask me out?" Neko asked curiously.
"Well, I realized that even though I like you, I don't know all that much about you," admitted Kenzaki.
"So you wanted to get to know me better, is that it?"
"Pretty much."
Neko took a deep breath before she began. "I'm half a person, grew up in a rich family, practiced martial arts since I can remember, my dad died when I was four, I used to be jealous of my brother, was pretty much a bad girl when I was whole, I like cats, my daughter Cathy, and my favorite color is red."
"Anything else I should know?"
Neko shook her head. "Maybe some time later." She paused. "So, you know a bit about me, what about you? Or…are you ready to tell me your life story?"
Kenzaki looked back up at the moon. "Are you sure you want to hear it?"
"If I didn't I wouldn't have asked, would I?"
Like Neko, Kenzaki took a deep breath. "Well, my parents were doctors. When I was 10, I suffered from an accident that gave me this." He removed his glove to reveal the metal claw. "That same accident killed my little brother. When I was 12…well, you know what happened that day. Afterward I met with Gou, trained in GekiJyu Wolf-Ken, became GekiViolet, then Gou was killed by Gog, I became Garoh and became a full time bounty hunter, meeting up with my other Imagin partners. I like quiet nights like this one. I enjoy heavy metal music and my favorite color is silver."
When Kenzaki had spoken of his family fate, Neko had a look of guilt on her face. Kenzaki didn't blame her for it anymore. Instead, he knew the culprit to be the evil which was now manifested into Katherine. Still…it didn't make her feel any better. She still had nightmares about the incident and had tried to block it out with little success.
After the talking, Neko said, "I can't betray Rose. She needs me and so does Cathy." She gave him a kiss on the cheek, "But that doesn't mean I don't care about you. Goodnight," she said before getting up and going back towards the Tower.
'It's better than nothing,' thought Kenzaki.
Neko stopped in mid-step and turned on her heels. "Hey, you mind teaching me some of those moves from that Wolf-Ken of yours? You totally kicked butt!" Suddenly, Neko lost her footing and was about to fall over into the water. She flailed her arms about, yelling. Kenzaki acted quickly. He got up and leapt towards her, grasping Neko around her waist. There faces were very close. "Um...cats like me always land on their feet," she said jokingly.
"I didn't want you to get wet," said Kenzaki. Neko blushed.
"Um…you can pull me up now," she said, blushing deeply.
"Right, sorry," said Kenzaki, blushing slightly as he helped Neko back up.
"Um…well…I gotta go," said Neko quickly. "Goodnight!" she shouted as she teleported.
As Kenzaki stood there, one of his Imagin decided to disturb his peace.
'You should've kissed her!' complained Buraki. 'You blew a pretty good chance!'
"Urusai" growled Kenzaki. It wasn't like he hadn't thought about kissing her. He just never got the chance to.
To Be Continued…
ED Sequence
We see in the bottom corner a small cliff with Ryuki, Ichijyo, and Takada sitting by a fire with their bikes parked nearby. They are overlooking Jump city and the night sky is above them. Suddenly, Jinx appears, snuggling Ryuki's side. She becomes a silhouette as faces from Ryuki's past and present appear in the sky. After it is done, Raven appears next to Ichijyo before she too becomes a silhouette as faces from his past and present slide past. Finally, Blackfire's appears next to Takada and becomes a silhouette as faces from his past and present slide through the sky. Finally, the images of Dragonzer, Cerberus, and Genosnaker appear as the sun begins to rise in the sky.
ZK Chromedragozoid: I'd like to thank my friends Shadow Element 13 and Tanyeera for their help on this chap. Without them, this chapter wouldn't have been able to be completed.