Richie Preston cruised carelessly through the street. He blared his favorite tunes and they ricocheted across the dashboard. He hummed the rocking tune as his eyes tracked a girl that strolled across the sidewalk. Her long dark hair flowed behind her frail looking form.

She was a babe, Richie was smart enough to recognize that. He continued to watch as her long thin legs made graceful strides across the ground, he admired her for a few soil moment, then he paused. She was more than a babe, she was a target.

Riche pulled up close to the girl, he checked himself in the mirror, his light blond hair was carefully in place, and his attire was nice and hip. Richie rolled down his window and smiled. "Going somewhere?" He asked in his smoothest voice possible.

"Home." She replied simply.

"Need a ride?" He shot.

"No thank you." She replied with a frown.

"You sure?" Richie tried his best to maintain a cool expression. He wasn't used to being rejected. It felt a punch to the gut, and Richie was resisting the urge to lose his cool.

"That's a little bullheaded." The man said in an attempt to seem playful, "I am Richie Preston after all."

"Cool." The girl was already walking away.

Richie followed steadily with his vehicle. "Wait!" He called, "Don't you want to know who I am?"

"Not really."

Richie was running out of ideas. If he didn't move fast the girl would be gone. Richie bailed from his SUV and ran after the girl.

"What do you want?" She asked in an alarmed voice.

"I'm sorry." Richie said in an embarrassed tone, "I wasn't trying to be creepy, I-I just thought you were really cute- and I wanted to ask if you wanted to get something to eat."

The girl stared at Richie for a few moments. She seemed to be looking him over, examining for any sign of a threat. Finally, she sighed and flashed a brief smile, "Sure, I guess we can."

"Great!" Richie exclaimed he didn't expect that tactic to work. It was definitely a pleasant surprise. "Since you agreed to a date would asking for your name be too much?"

"Maya." The brown haired girl replied.

Kit held his Advent Deck firmly in his hand. A few weeks had slipped past since his encounter with the new Armored Rider. His bruises may have faded to a vague yellow but the horrifying sense of paranoia and dread remained ingrained into his existence.

He knew that they would eventually return, the Armored Riders wouldn't stop until they had collected whatever they wanted from him. They would descend when Kit least expected it and strike with unparalleled fury.

"Ride the Dragon!" Kit exclaimed and transformed into his Dragon Knight armor.

Weapon Vent!

Dragon Knight sliced into an ancient oak, cutting deep into the thick tree. He knew that if he was going to stand a chance against the approaching foes then he needed to grow even stronger.

Attack Vent!

A stream of fire poured from the dragon head attached to Dragon Knight's wrist, the inferno burnt right through the manakin he had set up for practice. Dragon Knight sighed, sure his power could melt plastic, but would he stand a chance against a really enemy?

The armored warrior noticed a rustling in the thick brush and quickly whipped his head around. His eyes widened as he caught sight of the figure, she had appeared before, but only briefly. The girl clad in pink armor gazed at Dragon Knight.

"Scared, huh?" The girl said.

Dragon Knight armored his sword, "Who are you?"

"A friend," She replied in a calm voice, "I want the same thing that you do, I want to destroy the Armored Riders."

"Who said that was what I wanted?" Dragon Knight asked.

The girl laughed and took a few careful steps closer to the warrior. "You haven't said it yet, but you know it's true. The others would stop coming, they'll try to hunt you with every breath they take. If you want to distance yourself from this mess then you'll have to dismantle every other Armored Rider."

Dragon Knight felt a knot in his chest. He was ready to fight, but was he ready to go a step farther? Could he really kill them? Sure, they wouldn't think twice about ending him, but that was different. He was different from the others, he was a rough, a renegade who fought against them. He wasn't a killer.

Was he?

Dragon Knight didn't know his past. He didn't know what he was fighting for. Everything had happened so fast, he wasn't sure he ever actually had time to process it all. He didn't even know what the other Armored Riders wanted to kill him for.

Dragon Knight felt another knot. Maybe he'd done bad things, maybe he'd hurt people, maybe even killed them. The idea made him incredibly sick.

"Dr.X finished three new Armored Riders." The woman said, "He's going to send them to kill you."

"I know." Dragon Knight replied in a shaky voice.

"The only way to stop them is to kill them." She spoke in a very cold voice.

Dragon Knight was completely silent, but the words echoed inside his head. I know…

The woman now stood just a few feet from Dragon Knight. She pulled something from her pocket and handed it to Dragon Knight. "Use this when they arrive. It'll give you the power you need." She placed the weapon into Dragon Knight's grip and they ran away into the foliage. Dragon Knight gazed in disbelief, the card firmly in his grip.

Grant Stanley smiled as he watched Richie and Maya enter the restaurant. Everything was going according to plan. He took a sip of his soda and gazed at the two while they ordered their drinks. Richie had offered her a large cup of orange juice. That was great. It was only a matter of time before things began to fully fall into place.

Grant did feel a slight tinge of jealousy, why did Richie get the girl? Sure he was wealthy and attractive, but he had the personality of a paper bag. Didn't girls like personality most of all?

Clearly not, because Richie was killing it. Maya was laughing and her face was flushed in a bright red color.

Grant kept his scowl for the next twenty minutes. He watched as Richie continued to wow the young girl in every conceivable way. Grant was about to leave when he noticed Maya move towards the bathroom. Grant's scowl was replaced by a big grin, he was going to have his time to shine after all.

Kit rushed home immediately after his encounter with the pink-clad girl. He didn't know who she was, or how she tied into this whole mess, but he knew she was important, and that her sudden appearance was foreshadowing to something even darker…

Kit threw open Maya's door, bolting into the empty house with a sweaty brow and heavy breath. Everything had a still quality to it, it made Kit's skin crawl and left him with a bitter taste on his tongue.

She should be home, Maya wasn't one to be late. Ice crawled through Kit's skin as he rushed around the house. He checked every single crevice around the house, hoping she was fast asleep in some obscure place. With no such luck Kit ran outside, he didn't know what was going on, but it certainly wasn't good.

Kit heard some faint rustling behind him, and the hero felt the hair on his back rise straight up. The hero whipped around to find an Asian man with spiked up hair and a leather jacket. The man smiled at Kit and waved his hand in a friendly manner. "You're Dragon Knight, correct?"

Kit frowned, he didn't know exactly what to say.

"No worries." The man replied with a grin, "I already know." The man drew an Advent Deck and revealed to Kit.

"Armored Rider!" The man said and slide the Deck into his belt. Energy surrounded the boy and transformed him into feline inspired armor.

Strike Vent!

The new Armored Rider sprouted long claws from his hands as he charged at Kit.

"Ride the Dragon!" Kit yelled and Morphed into Dragon Knight. Dragon Knight swung his blade into the new Armored Rider.

"Nice try." The new Rider said and threw Dragon Knight's blade away from the hero. The new Armored Rider slashed into Dragon Knight, throwing him back and leaving his armor smoking. Dragon Knight tried to lift himself up, but he was left feeling heavy and weak. The Armored Right laughed and said, "If you think you stand a chance against Danny Cho, then think again!" He moved into a heroic pose and proclaimed, "The true hero, Armored Rider Axe!"

Armored Rider Axe drew a card from his Advent Deck and slide it into his reader, his body began to glow a strange silver color as lightning danced around him, "And featuring my new Sidekick,"

Summon Vent!

The light melted away and reformed in the shape of bulking metal bipedal tiger, "Destwilder!"

Destwilder jumped at Dragon Knight. The hero rolled away as the creature gained distance. "You might as well surrender yourself!" Armored Rider Axe said proudly, "If not you're going to get destroyed!"

Dragon Knight grabbed his blade and swung into Destwilder, sparks raced across the enemy as Dragon Knight picked himself up. Dragon Knight knew that if he didn't formulate some sort of plan immediately he would be overcome by the bulking beast. He searched inside himself for some sort of solution, filling every single calculation his brain could handle into a giant string of cause and effect.

He suddenly found himself reaching for the card he'd been gifted by the strange pink woman. It seemed to radiate in his grip, fueled by some sort of mystical power. The creature was shaking again, and Dragon Knight found himself shaking as he slid the card inside his gauntlet.

Summon Vent!

Fire flew all around Dragon Knight, it began to pour from his frame like lucid water. He was enveloped by it, completely overwhelmed by the flames. From the heated inferno a new figure materialized, it was a giant bulking serpent made of a strange silver and red metal.

It was a dragon.

The dragon surged past Destwilder, burning it to cinders before attacking Armored Rider Axe head on. The dragon flew right through him, leaving the warrior smoking and sparking as his legs collapsed under him.

The dragon spoke to Dragon Knight in a deep growly voice, it curled its body over Axe and gazed at the Power Rider with pulsing yellow eyes. The soul of Serpentera had been awoken, I am forever at your service. The creature then flew back into Dragon Knight's body, filling him with the familiar burning that threatened to extinguish his entire existence. His armor collapsed and he fought the urge to pass out.

Danny Cho looked at Kit with broken eyes. His Advent Deck lay in ruins around his form. The man's lip quivered as he spoke to Kit, "They have her." He said in a loose voice, "They have her and are going to turn her into one of us." The man suddenly fell unconscious.

Kit felt his chest tighten up, he didn't need to be told to know who Danny was speaking of. The hero fought his own fatigue and lifted himself up. He then rushed into Maya's house to receive his motorcycle.

He rode away, barely even awake. His mind's eye guided him towards his destination, it led him back to where everything began. He was heading back to his nightmare laboratory, and he was going to get Maya back.