Chapter 2
The Riders
Disclaimer: I do not own Eva or Ghost Rider. Lost my soul to my work.
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The year was 2015, one full week after the 7th Angel battle in which both Unit's 01, piloted by the introverted Third Child Shinji Ikari, and Unit 02, piloted by the extroverted Second Child Asuka Langley Sohryu, were successful in victory.
On a hill side over looking the damaged site where the Eva's had destroyed the Angel, a lone man in a black leather jacket smiled.
"It's time." he said, walking away to assemble the new Riders.
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Peace had come back to the city of Tokyo-3 in the aftermath of mankind's latest victory over the Angels.
But while the day held the promise of safety, the darkness of night waned heavily over the souls of those who dared venture out into the twilight hours.
Such were three such instances at came at the midnight mark.
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Sachi Tomoe and her boyfriend Sado had been out all night drinking. It had been a rather enjoyable night for them. So much so that Sado sought to end it by asking the lovely raven-haired girl to be his bride.
"Sachi?" the young man asked.
"Yes, Sado?" the girl replied.
"I... have something I want to tell you."
"Yes?" she said, looking hopefully at the boy.
"I...I..." he stopped, suddenly looking pale. "I-yai-yai-yai!"
"You what?" the girl asked as Sado pointed behind her.
Sachi turned around, and wished she hadn't.
The creature loomed over the pair, looking like it was made of hardened clay and dirt itself.
(AN: Think Clayface from The Justice League)
It growled heavily, almost like a gurgle as it left a trail of mud in it's foot steps. Advancing on them.
"S-Sado?" the young woman asked as the boy tried desperately to get away from the creature.
Suddenly, a strange light and intense heat surrounded the trio as the whinny of a horse caught their ears.
The earth demon turned around as a skeletal horse exploded over it's head, landing between it and it's potential victims. The rider, who looked like he was dressed in black samurai-like armor leapt from the horse and landed hard on his feet. His head was not human, bearing no skin, hair or eyes and flaming as if the fires were born from the inside of the skull itself. There was a black bandanna across his brow, yet was not in flames, and a sword hanging at the figure's hip.
"These Innocents Are Not Yours To Take, Earth Demon!" the samurai said in a deep voice. "Go Back To The Void, Least You Face The Wrath, Of The Phantom Rider!"
The Earth Demon roared as it charged the Rider. Pulling his sword, the Rider leapt at the demon, moving faster than expected and slicing the creature across its apparent belly.
"AAAARRRRHHHHH!!!" the demon howled in pain, his clay-like body hardening at the flaming blade it was struck with.
"Your Weakness Is Revealed!" Phantom Rider stated as he leaped back at the demon, his quickness matching the slashes of his sword, multiple slashes that eventually ended with him plunging his flaming sword into the demon's head, sending a fierce breath of fire into it's body, hardening it in seconds and causing it to explode into dust.
Phantom Rider sheathed his sword and stepped back towards his skeletal steed, mounting him and turning to the young pair.
"You Should Not Walk Lightly Into The Night." he said as his horse whinnied. "You Are Safe Now. Go... And Marry Well."
With that, Phantom Rider pulled on the reigns and rode back towards the darkness of the city.
Once he was gone, Sachi gave the still shaken Sado a strange look.
"Sado?"
"Yes?"
"What did he mean.. 'Marry Well'?"
Sado wasn't sure how he had known, but he answered her question by pulling out the small box and opening it to reveal the 24 karat diamond ring.
Sachi gasped before kissing her boyfriend hard on the lips.
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Misato Katsuragi hated working the late shift. She had been worried that she would work herself to death signing her name to the numerous papers that littered her desk almost every day.
"God I hate this! I need a beer!" she huffed as she walked through the underground parking lot of NERV.
She was so wrapped up in her thoughts, that she didn't see the strange, bestial creature peering from the shadows at her.
The creature slapped his long tongue across his lips as he growled with intent.
That growl alerted Misato to it's presence.
"Who's there?" she asked, her hand going for her gun.
Her attention was turned to the shadows as a large hulking creature lumbered out of the darkness. To Misato it looked like a small-eared bat with the body of a werewolf.
"Oh... My... God!" she gasped as she pulled her gun and started shooting.
"RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!" the creature exploded at the woman, taking the bullets in the chest, and not having the slightest bit of effect.
Misato ducked as the creature slashed at her, barely avoiding it's claws and dashing to the other end of the lot with the creature after her. She slammed her body up against the stone pillar, turning to face the advancing creature and raised her gun in vain. It had proven useless, but it was all she had.
The creature was drooling heavily now, staring at the woman as it stood ready to pounce on her.
Suddenly, a blazing light caught the pair's attention as the loud roar of a motorcycle echoed through the underground garage.
Their gazes turned in unison to the light and sound as an intense heat washed over them both. The creature shrieked as it's body was slammed into by a loud, hard and fast object, knocking it away from Misato and stopping suddenly to cast the creature off.
"You Will Feast On No One's Flesh This Night, Feral Beast!" the rider said as he got off his bike.
Misato gasped at what she saw.
The rider was dressed head to toe in black leather, from his pants to his jacket, spiked gloves and boots. A long silver chain was wrapped around his chest. But what caused Misato to gawk, was that his head was nothing but a flaming skull.
She gripped the silver cross around her neck tightly as the rider spoke.
"There Will Be No Innocent Blood Shed Here Tonight! So Swears... The Ghost Rider!" he said as he unwrapped the chain from around his chest and whipped it at the creature, the rings of the chain growing sharp and drawing both blood and painful shrieks from the creature.
The creature lunged at the Rider, with intent to kill, only to have said Rider leap quickly over the beast and wrap his chains around it's neck. He landed behind the creature and forcefully tugged on the razor-wire like chain, cutting into the creatures flesh and bone, severing its head from its body. A dull heavy thud echoed twice within the underground garage as head and body fell to the ground. Within seconds, flesh turned to ooze, and ooze turned to little more than noxious vapor.
His task done, the Rider wrapped the now smooth chain around his body and mounted his bike. The tires on the spectral motorcycle inflamed anew, acknowledging the presence of it's master.
Ghost Rider skidded the tires around and rode up to Misato.
"No More Will You Be Threatened This Night, Ms Katsuragi." he said. "Need A Ride?"
"Uh... thanks, but my car's parked right over there." Misato said, pointing to her blue Renault that was at the far end of the garage. "I'm good."
"Then Farewell. Until We Meet Again." Ghost Rider said before speeding out of the garage, leaving only the blazing tracks of his tires and the lingering smell of sulfur in his wake.
Misato was silent for several seconds, until she realized something.
"How the heck did he know my name?" she wondered.
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Asuka Langley Sohryu was not a light sleeper. Much to the contrary she could sleep through just about anything, if there was enough activity during the day to tire her out.
However, since their battle with, and victory over, the 7th Angel, there had been little to do. As such the German redhead was ready to party. The problem was... she couldn't go anywhere.
Being an Eva-pilot meant that she had to be in bed by a certain time, yet she could not sleep.
Yawning loudly she got up from the bed and waked out onto the balcony dressed only in her shorts and tank top. She didn't bother to wake Shinji, as she didn't really care what the baka was doing.
Probably dreaming about my tender young body. She mused.
So wrapped up in her personal joke that she failed to notice the flapping of leathery wings and the pinch of two claws grab her shoulders and lift her into the air.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" she screamed. "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE??!!!!!"
The winged beast screeched at her and continued flying as the feisty German girl struggled to free herself from it's grip. She stopped when she realized that she was flying high over the rooftops of the many buildings that littered Tokyo-3. Even if she got free she would never survive the fall.
It was then that she noticed something out of the corner of her eye.
Looking down, Asuka balked as she saw a dark figure racing across the rooftops on what looked like wheels that were on fire.
Ooooookay. I'm dreaming. This must be a dream. She thought as she saw the dark figure explode up from the rooftop and rocket towards her. He flew higher than herself, spinning around to kick the flying creature in its head.
With an ear-shattering shriek, the creature released Asuka, causing her to fall back towards the earth. But as the young woman was taken by gravity's pull, her eyes caught sight of the dark figure who had come to her aid, fall with her, head aimed towards the ground.
He reached out and took her in his arms, cradling her like a groom carries his bride, his wheel feet slamming into the straight walls of the buildings below them. He ricocheted of the wall and skated across the fire escape on the opposite building, quickly running down the metal railings and then leaping out to rebound off the walls of the building opposite him.
Each rebound and ricochet caused him to slow, until finally he came to a hard stop on the ground of the alley floor.
It was when Asuka was set down on her own feet that she got a good look at her savior.
She gasped as she took him in. His appearance was that of a skeleton, as evident by the skull that was covered by not only fire but a pair of red-lensed oval-shaped goggles. His clothes were ultra-modern: black cargo pants with a black shirt and hooded jacket, his fists covered in fingerless black gloves, boney fingers sticking out. On his feet he wore a pair of sick-looking air treks that, unlike roller blades which had three or even four wheels each, had two larger wheels on each trek, a flaming skull symbol painted on the heel of both.
He pulled back his hood and pulled his goggles off of his eyes, revealing neither hair nor eyeballs. Not even skin or muscle. Only bone.
But what was strange, is that this skeletal figure looked like a teenager.
"Are You Alright?" the skull boy asked her in a deep voice.
"Uh... yes." she heard herself say.
"Good. Now Get Down!" he shouted as the piercing scream of the flying beast caught her attention once again.
Asuka moved back as the skull boy leaped towards the nearest wall and to Asuka's surprise, rocketed straight up the wall towards the diving gargoyle-like creature.
Right before he was halfway up the building itself, he leaped straight back flew across the expanse of the two buildings, ricocheting off the opposite building, and catching the beast by surprise. He twisted through the air and brought his black air trek down hard against the back of the beasts head, knocking it off course and causing it to slam hard into the building wall.
It crashed into the fire escape and clipped it's left wing, resulting in a sudden drop to the ground. It turned it's head back up and saw its skull-faced attacker following it straight down. His hands were outstretched and his legs bent at the knee, feet turned in towards each other.
"I May Not Have Wings, But None Can Best The Soul Rider In An Air Battle!" the dark-garbed storm rider shouted as he threw his feet out and struck the creature hard in the head, sandwiching it between his air treks and the ground with a resounding crunch.
The air demon disintegrated into nothing as Soul Rider dusted himself off.
Off to the side, Asuka was just staring in disbelief.
Who was this guy? What was this guy? What was the flying demon thing?
The questions kept coming and none of them held even a small, false answer for her.
She was snapped out of her musings as the skull-faced storm rider slid up to her.
"This Fight Is Done. Time To Go Home, Asuka." he said as he scooped her up in his arms and was quickly flying up the side of the building.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!" Asuka shouted as Soul Rider carried her across the rooftops until they had reached the apartment she had been snatched from.
He deposited her on the balcony and gave her a small salute, before back flipping off the railing and skating down the side of the building with speed and skill like she had never seen.
Asuka watched him go until he was out of range.
"That's it. No more of Misato's curry before dinner." she said to herself. "Than again, that goes without saying." she mused as she went back inside and to her own bed to sleep.
She had no reason to wonder how the Soul Rider knew her name or where she lived, as she thought it nothing more than a dream.
It would not be until morning when she woke up and noticed the scars on her shoulders and the burn marks on her clothes that were proof of last nights escapades.
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Blaze checked his watch. It was nearly one o'clock as three skull-faced figures arrived at the park clearing.
"Did everyone have fun?" he asked as the samurai dismounted from the horse, the biker dismounting his bike, and the storm rider just sliding up alongside them.
In seconds, the Riders themselves changed.
The samurai armor of The Phantom Rider warped and twisted, reverting back to the grayish uniform often worn by Sub-Commander Kouzou Fuyutsuki.
The black leather of the Ghost Rider faded and shifted, changing him back into the casual suit and tie dress attire worn by Ryoji Kaji.
And finally, the air gear wearing youth called Soul Rider changed as well, returning the image of the equally casually dressed Shinji Ikari for all to see.
Blaze grinned as he looked at them all, his thoughts drifting back to how all this had happened only two hours ago.
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((FLASHBACK, two hours ago...))
It was eleven o'clock at night when three figures silently entered the park.
They each chose different paths and entrances, making sure not to be seen by Section 2.
Each of them had received a letter in the mail from someone they all knew. A letter telling them to come to the park and to come quickly, without being seen.
That task was easy enough to accomplish. Fuyutsuki was well versed in not being noticed. Kaji was a professional spy. And Shinji... well, it had taken Section-2 four days to find him when he ran away from Misato's apartment after the 4th Angel battle.
And now, all three of them had been called by their mutual friend.
Though none of them knew that.
Shinji came to a small clearing when he heard a pair of voices. Familiar voices.
"You mean to say that you received a letter as well?" an older, more refined voice said.
"Yes I did. From an old friend. You?" a younger voice stated.
"I received it at my apartment."
"So did I. Curious."
Shinji looked out for the brush and saw the familiar forms of the elderly Sub-Commander Kouzou Fuyutsuki and Asuka's guardian, the unshaven ponytailed man Ryoji Kaji.
What are they doing here? And what did they say about a letter? Shinji wondered, his own letter neatly folded in his shirt pocket.
With a deep breath, Shinji decided to make himself known.
"Excuse me." the boy said as he emerged from the brush.
"What?" Kaji gasped.
"Shinji?" Fuyutsuki gasped as the boy made his presence known. "What are you doing here?"
"I... I received a letter." Shinji said, pulling the note from his pocket.
"So did I." Fuyutsuki said, pulling his letter from his jacket pocket.
"Me too." Kaji said, pulling his letter from his back pocket.
"But... who sent them? You?" Shinji asked Kaji.
"Not me." the unshaven man said in defense.
"Me neither." the older man replied.
"I sent the letters." a new voice exclaimed.
The trio turned and noticed a familiar man in a black leather jacket.
"Blaze!" the trio said in unison.
They looked at each other in shock as they turned back to the man.
"It's been a long time my friends." Blaze said as he approached them. "Some... longer than others." he said to Kaji, then to Fuyutsuki, and then to Shinji. "I'm glad you're all here."
"But why are we here?" Kaji asked.
"Because it is time."
"Time?" Fuyutsuki asked.
"Many years ago I promised to give you all the power to achieve your goals. It has taken me this long to gather the necessary power needed for this task." Blaze said.
"What task?" Shinji asked.
"For you all to become heroes. The last hope of mankind." Blaze explained.
"Heroes?" Fuyutsuki gasped.
"All of us?" Kaji asked.
"Yes. A great battle is coming, one in which you three will have the power to stop. And you will need each other, for against your true enemy, none of you will be able to stand alone. You must unite as one, and be one, in spirit if nothing else." Blaze said.
"I don't understand." Shinji said.
"You will."
Blaze held out his hand as three spheres of fire appeared. These sphere's lifted into the air and flew at each man, striking them hard in the chest.
"ARGH!" Kaji shouted.
"OWWW!" Fuyutsuki groaned.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!" Shinji cried out.
Flames engulfed their bodies as the three men tumbled to the ground and writhed in agony.
But it was a pain that lasted only a few seconds.
Their screaming stopped as all three men suddenly stood up, their appearance, to say nothing of their clothing, had changed.
Fuyutsuki was no longer himself, his appearance changed to that of a skeleton, his skull face on fire and the majority of his body covered in what looked like black samurai armor.
Kaji was no longer himself, his appearance changed to that of a leather-suited biker, his skull face also on fire with a silver chain wrapped around his chest.
And Shinji was also no longer himself, his appearance changed to that of a modern day storm rider complete with goggles and two-wheeled air treks on his feet.
Blaze looked at the trio with approval.
"Who... Are... We?" Fuyutsuki asked in a deep voice.
"You are the sword-wielding samurai known as The Phantom Rider." Blaze said to the older man. He turned around as a black demonic looking horse approached him, his hooves and mane on fire. "This is Enton, descendant of the horse demon Entei. He will serve you well as your steed."
The horse walked up to Fuyutsuki and whinnied, allowing the samurai-garbed Rider to pet him.
Blaze turned to Kaji as a flame-wheeled motorcycle exploded out of nowhere and came to a grinding halt next to the leather-clad Rider. "You are the chain-wielding biker known as Ghost Rider. And this will be your steed." he said as the flaming skull man mounted the bike.
Finally, Blaze turned to Shinji. "And you are the gravity-defying storm rider known as Soul Rider. Your special air treks will enable you to move as speeds equal to Phantom Rider and Ghost Rider. They are your weapons as well."
Shinji just looked at the two-wheeled air treks and then back at the man, tossing him a look that felt like he had been gypped in this deal.
"Time for a trial run." Blaze said as all three Riders felt the presence of evil nearby.
((END FLASHBACK))
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"So... we understand everything that has happened." Fuyutsuki said.
"And the powers we now have and how to use them." Kaji said.
"But... why did you chose us for all this?" Shinji asked.
"Because of who you are." Blaze said.
The trio looked confused as Blaze explained, starting with Fuyutsuki.
"Kouzou Fuyutsuki, eldest of the three, you tie the others to the past."
He then turned to Shinji.
"Shinji Ikari, youngest of the three, you tie the others to the future." he said to the boy.
And finally he finished with Kaji.
"And Ryoji Kaji, you fall between the others and keep them grounded in the present." he said to the unshaven man.
The three looked at him and then at each other.
"During the day, you will be normal. But in the presence of evil that comes at night, the Riders will take over!" Blaze said. "Each of you were chosen specifically because of your connection to the terrible crisis called Second Impact. Fuyutsuki desired the truth to be known. Kaji wanted justice for the crimes that had been wrought in the aftermath. And Shinji... Shinji loved his mother so much that he was prepared to sacrifice his pure and innocent soul to see her returned."
The trio looked at each in surprise and then back at Blaze.
"Each of you were chosen, and each of you chose of your own free will to do what was necessary to bring justice to the world. With the power of the Riders at your disposal, you will be able to champion the cause of justice, and set right the injustices wrought upon the world by the one responsible for all the worlds misery."
"Gendo Ikari." Fuyutsuki aid.
"SEELE." Kaji said.
"No." Blaze answered.
"Then who?" Shinji asked.
Blaze looked at Shinji and grimaced.
"Blackheart."
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Author's Notes:
Alright. Here is my action packed second chapter.
Hope everyone enjoyed it because I've hit a small writing block. I was lucky to get these two chapters written in one day. And believe that, I'm very proud of that.
And yes, I've written this up so that Shinji, Kaji and Fuyutsuki are the heroes.
Also, you may have noticed that I had Kaji save Misato and Shinji save Asuka, but Fuyutsuki didn't save anyone from NERV. That was intentional for the next chapter where Misato talks to Ritsuko about what happened and the blond scientist just plays it off as nothing but a drunken binge.
When I was writing this chapter up, I realized that I couldn't have Shinji as the 'main' character only because he doesn't ride a motorcycle at all. Kaji would be better for that. Fuyutsuki fit more into the role of Caretaker, but I couldn't make him a cowboy, so I made him a samurai. And as for Shinji, I chose to make him a storm rider after getting inspiration for this from the hot new manga called 'Air Gear', of which I own the current three volumes.
Don't worry. Shinji is still a major character in all this, but he will have shared page-time alongside Kaji and Fuyutsuki.
And as always, read and review.