Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider. Ryu and assorted supporting characters belong to me.

Episode 13

Storm Clouds

The mage roared and charged forward. Ryu gasped as the gun in his hands tugged forward and leveled itself at the mage. Adrian pulled the trigger and the blast of purple magic struck the mage in the neck, creating a massive explosion of sparks. The gun moved again, aiming at the mage's feet. Adrian pulled the trigger and blasted the mage's leg causing it to crash face first into the ground a few feet from him.

"Let's finish it," Adrian said, hitting the leg-like levers on the Flare Valve.

"Flare Up!" the belt announced.

Ryu pulled the hammer on the Storm Pistol back, opening the dragon mouth at the end of the gun barrel. A ball of fire shot from the Flare Valve and dropped into the pistol's open mouth.

The Sasquatch slowly stood up and lumbered forward. Ryu lowered his gun, a purple glow shining from the dragon's maw. The mage charged, nearly reaching the Rider before a massive blast of wind sent him flying. The mage flailed its limbs as the gust carried it back. Ryu pulled the trigger and a purple lightning bolt shot from the gun, the front of it took the shape of a dragon's head as it flew toward the flailing mage. The blast struck, flying through the target's chest. The creature hung suspended by the wind for a moment before it exploded into a brown fireball.

Adrian yelped in surprise as another orb of yellow earth magic flew at him. He twisted to the side avoiding it. A second orb struck him and knocked him onto his back.

"I'm not so sure this is worth it," Adrian said, raising his head.

"Sure, it is," Meth said. "You're building up your reflexes."

"Shouldn't he be practicing with the Earth Buckler?" Korthin asked. He sat on one of the crates remaining in the empty warehouse. "You've already showed him lots of stuff with fire magic. I think I should get my turn."

"He needs to master fire," Meth said.

"He'll need earth, too!" Korthin said.

"Well, it's not like you've had any formal training with earth magic to pass on!"

"Why, you-!"

Adrian sighed as the two dragons began to bicker. He walked over to the crate that Mandy sat on, flopping down next to her. Twisting the cap off a bottle of water, he watched Meth and Korthin for the first signs of physical violence.

"Where's that wind dragon?" Mandy asked. "I haven't met him yet."

She sounded disappointed and Adrian wondered if she enjoyed the weirdness that had taken over his life.

"He's spending most of his time up at a shelter we found in the mountains," Adrian said. "Meth said he's going through the books."

"And where is this shelter?" Adrian jumped to his feet at the sound of the voice.

The air shimmered and Hunter appeared, standing at the end of the warehouse. The dragons spun around and growled at the mage. The archer raised his crossbow and unleashed a bolt of magic at Meth and Korthin. They scattered in opposite directions. The fire dragon leapt at Adrian and curled around his waist.

"Stay down," Adrian told Mandy. She had already taken cover behind a crate. "Henshin."

He pushed Meth's horns together. Large fiery wings exploded from his back, alongside a red dragon head. Hunter charged at him, firing bolts from his weapon. Adrian hit the button on top of the buckle and the wings closed over him. The bolts bounced off the fiery appendages as they formed into his armor. The dragon head covered his face, becoming Ryu's helmet.

The armor flared red hot as Ryu's fist connected with Hunter's face. The mage growled. He swung his leg up, but the rider blocked. Ryu stepped forward and elbowed the mage's gut. Adrian kicked the Archer and knocked him flying backwards.

Hunter hit the wall and dropped to the ground, managing to land on his feet. He aimed his crossbow at Ryu's head.

"Where can I find that cowardly wind dragon?" the mage asked. "No one escapes from me."

"You're crazy if you think we'll tell you!" Meth growled.

"Yeah," Adrian agreed.

He reached for Meth's wings and tail as Hunter fired. The teen twisted to the side, avoiding the shot and constructing his gun. Ryu raised the weapon and squeezed off a barrage. The fire blasts struck the surprised mage in the chest.

"Impressive," Hunter growled. "But you're still no match for me!"

A massive barrage of energy blasts launched from his crossbow. The burst struck Ryu full on exploding against his armor. He dropped to one knee as the assault ended.

"Darn it," Meth hissed. "Just when we need that windbag he's not around!"

"We'll have to make due with what we've got," Adrian said. "Korthin!"

The earth dragon exploded out of the ground at Adrian's feet. He swapped his gun into his left hand and grabbed the hovering Dragon's Tongue with his right. He pushed the jewel into the Element Slot.

"Energize! Earth Form!"

A yellow ball of light hovered up to his forehead and morphed into a cloud of dust. The dust surrounded his armor for a moment then faded to reveal the yellow and bronze earth form.

Korthin transformed into the Earth Buckler, landing in Adrian's hand. The archer mage growled and fired three arrows. Ryu blocked the projectiles with his shield. He returned fire as Hunter leapt back. The fireballs slammed into the ground, exploding against the concrete.

The mage's form shimmered and he vanished from sight. Ryu gasped and raised his gun. He scanned the warehouse, stepping back slowly. An arrow launched from the rafters. It struck Ryu in the chest and knocked him onto his back. Adrian raised his gun and fired, but the shots hit nothing.

Another arrow emerged in front of him. Korthin leapt from Adrian's hand and converted back to his true form. He spat a ball of energy at the arrow. The two attacks collided a few feet in front of the earth dragon's face. The explosion knocked him backwards.

"Korthin!" Adrian slapped the right side of his belt.

"Blaze on! Flame Form!"

A cloud of fire covered Ryu, restoring his armor to its red coloration. He fired several shots at the space the arrow had come from. A few of the blasts struck the invisible mage. Hunter reappeared, clutching his chest.

"Slipping a bit, aren't you?" Adrian asked.

The mage scoffed and raised his crossbow at the wall. He pulled the trigger and blew a hole in the building. Ryu charged forward as the mage leapt through the opening. He glanced around to find that the mage had vanished.

Meth unclipped from his waist and dropped to the ground. Ryu's armor dissolved into a cloud of flames.

Adrian exhaled and turned back to the old warehouse. "Korthin, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," the yellow dragon replied, stepping forward.

"I'm okay, too," Mandy added, her head appearing from behind a crate.

"Hunter seems to have a grudge against Torinidus," Adrian said.

"Think we should warn him?" Korthin asked.

"I'll go," Meth volunteered.

Adrian and Korthin stared at the fire dragon.

"That's a good idea," Mandy said. "Since you can fly, you can get there faster."

Adrian sighed. "I guess. Since I really need to get home, we'll let Meth go."

He knelt down and glared in the dragon's face. "But you'd better not cause any trouble."

"I won't," Meth said. "But I can't be blamed if the windbag does."

He turned and flew out of the new opening. Adrian growled in anger.

"Don't worry," Mandy said, stepping forward. "What's the worst he can do?"

Torinidus' gaze traveled over the pages laid out in front of him. His sole magical experience was with wind magic. He couldn't use fire magic, but studying other forms of magic could be helpful.

The dragon raised his head at the sound of scraping stone. He exhaled and wind filled the room, dimming the fire. Darkness covered the room.

He waited as claws clicked on the stone floor. A whooshing sound reached him and the fires sprang back to life. Torinidus relaxed as he saw the red fire dragon.

Meth frowned at him. "I'm still not used to seeing non-fire dragons in here."

"Feels strange right?" Torinidus asked. "We've lived with nobody, but our own kin all this time. The Elders were the only ones who ever bothered to meet."

"Yeah," Meth nodded.

"But now we're the last of our tribes," Torinidus continued. "I guess we owe it to our family and friends to finish what we started and wipe out the mistake our ancestor's made…"

"So you're on board now?" Meth asked.

"I guess if a half-trained warrior apprentice is, so am I," the wind dragon replied.

"How do you know about that?" Meth demanded, becoming rigid.

"I paid attention to the Elders," Torinidus replied. "They told me the dragon chosen to fight with Adrian was named Forcideus, according to a genealogy book here, he's your older brother. You're too young to be a full-fledged warrior."

"Well, I'm the only warrior left," Meth snorted.

"How much have you told Adrian?" Torinidus asked, stepping forward.

"Not much…" Meth replied, glancing to the side. "He doesn't know anything about the tribes' plans, or how important he really is to us."

The wind dragon frowned, a thoughtful expression on his face. "You'll have to tell him eventually. It will be much worse if he finds out on his own."

"Me?" the fire dragon stepped back. "Why me? You obviously know everything I do! Maybe more!"

"You're his partner aren't you?" Torinidus asked. "And you've got more courage than me. I might run away in our next battle, despite my brave words."

He lowered his head and turned away. Meth growled and leapt forward, ramming into Torinidus' back. The impact sent him rolling across the floor.

Meth raised his head. "You're not running away. I've got enough courage for both of us and we're going to get revenge on the genocidal monsters that destroyed our lives!"

The wind dragon scoffed in amusement. "I hope you're right."

"So do I," the fire dragon said. "Now, come on, let's show Hunter who the real top predators are."

Torinidus' expression became serious once again. "Right, let's do that."

Meth turned and walked toward the exit, Torinidus followed him after a few seconds hesitation. He stopped and glanced around the room before stepping outside. The entrance slid closed behind them.

A flickering black shape dropped out of a tree branch. Meth noticed it just in time to dodge to the side. He hit the ground and dug his claws into the dirt, hissing.

The creature seemed to be made of black shadow and pulsing blue flame. It was humanoid-shaped with lanky limbs, a pair of moth-like wings sprouted from its back and burned with blue fire. Two yellow orbs served as its eyes, large ears protruded from the side of its head.

"What is that thing?" Meth asked. "Some kind of mage?"

Torinidus shook his head. "It's a shadow imp, a magic construction."

The imp shrieked and leapt at the fire dragon. Meth charged forward and rammed his head into the construct's gut. The creature grunted, but grabbed hold of the dragon's horn. Growling, Meth spun around, trying to fling the imp off. The thin fingers held tight though.

A tornado of green magic launched from Torinidus' mouth as he roared. The blast struck the imp and knocked it loose. It squealed as the wind carried it across the ground.

"Take this!" Meth exclaimed, spitting a fireball. The attack struck the imp's upper body and exploded.

The imp groaned as its body swayed back in forth. It shook its head to clear it and jumped back to its feet. A blue fireball formed in its hands and it flung the orb at Meth. The flames struck Meth's shoulder and slid off harmlessly.

The shadow creature gulped as Meth grinned wickedly. The fire dragon launched another fireball as Torinidus unleashed a bolt of purple lightning. The imp screamed as the fire scorched it and then the lightning coursed through its body.

Turning around, the construct launched itself into the air. It flew fast and vanished into the forest before the two dragons could react.

Meth spun to face Torinidus. "Could Hunter make one of those?"

The wind dragon shook his head. "No, they're above even his level."

The imp gasped as it flapped through the trees. Pieces of its shadowy body fell away until it finally dropped out of the air. A gloved hand reached out and caught the creature. It gasped and pulled itself up, leaning on a thumb for support.

The hand's owner frowned as the imp's memories flashed through his mind. The hand snapped closed, crushing the spell creature into nothing but smoky traces of blue magic. The figure turned and walked away, brushing a low branch aside with his cane.