Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider, except for the concept behind Ryu.

Episode 15

Evil Melody

Ryu twisted the bike unto its side and lowered a foot to the pavement. The bike spun on the spot, the winds intensifying around it. A green tornado soon formed around them. The arrows slammed into the storm getting swept away or deflected. Adrian hollered in exertion as he spun around within the winds. The bike screeched to a stop and the tornado vanished, flinging the arrows against the surrounding street, cars, and buildings.

Adrian glanced around at the holes and dents left by the arrows exploding. "Whoops."

"What do you mean 'whoops'?" Meth asked. "We're still alive and in one piece right?"

"What do you mean we can't practice today?" Meth demanded. "You already skipped a lesson this week because of your detention!"

"Quiet!" Adrian hissed. "My aunt and uncle are down in the kitchen."

The red dragon stood on his dresser alongside Tori. They had come in through the window. Adrian was starting to regret letting them in.

"I skipped out of detention," he replied, exasperated. "So now I have to do some community service over the weekend."

"At least you can do something," Korthin sighed from the floor of the closet. He raised his head out of the nest of blankets. "If I have to stay here much longer I think I'll go crazy."

"You can't go anywhere until your wound's healed," Tori shot a stern glance at the yellow dragon.

The earth dragon muttered angrily. "Couldn't I be moved to Mandy's house? She doesn't have an evil cat."

"Our cat's not evil," Adrian pulled a shirt out from under his bed. "He's just not used to you guys."

The cat began scratching at Adrian's door when Korthin's stay started. He hoped the dragon would recover soon; his aunt and uncle were starting to get suspicious. They probably thought he was involved with a gang or something. Adrian could sense some kind of talk coming.

"Shouldn't you get going?" Tori asked, glancing at the alarm clock.

Adrian sighed, pulled on his shirt, and walked to the door. He listened for the sound of scratching, but heard nothing. Twisting the knob, he slowly pushed the door open. The tabby cat sat in the hall, staring intently at the crack between the door and wall. Adrian slid out and closed the door after him.

The cat stared up at him and the teen shook his head, a stern expression on his face. The tabby meowed impatiently.

"Shoo!" Adrian waved a hand at the cat. The animal reluctantly turned and walked off.

He trudged down the stairs, frowning. Forcing his expression into a smile, he stepped into the kitchen. Uncle Henry glanced up from his newspaper, looking uncharacteristically serious. Aunt Valerie didn't look up from the eggs frying on the stove.

Adrian sighed.

Waves crashed against the shore, as the yellow-clad jogger trotted along the sidewalk. The man looked to be nearing forty, but still in good shape. He jogged every morning along the beach.

Soft humming reached his ears, causing him to pause. He glanced around, but found no one else on the street. The sound grew louder and the jogger shook his head in confusion. Turing towards the beach, he spotted a figure in the surf.

The man found himself turning and stepping onto the sand. He walked down the beach, his eyes dull and his mouth hanging agape.

The humming woman smirked and stepped back into the water. Her body glowed blue and her skin turned pale green. Green Fish scales covered her lower body. Shells and coral covered her chest. Her blonde hair turned pink with a starfish pinned in it.

Completely thrilled by her spell, the jogger didn't notice the mage's transformation. He splashed into the ocean, moving faster as the sound's source drifted farther away. The waves reached his waist and then his shoulders.

The mermaid mage giggled as her victim began swimming. He looked like he'd be able to beat the record distance her previous catch had set before exhaustion drowned him.

Adrian wanted to say something to his uncle, but the truck cab remained quiet. Henry reached for the radio and fiddled with it for a moment, but turned it off a few minutes later.

"I'm sorry," Adrian said for the sixth time in the last few days.

His uncle sighed and gripped the steering wheel. Henry disliked being confrontational. "I just wish you'd tell me why you walked out. What was so important that you had to leave? You never skipped detention before."

"I know. Do the crime, do the time," Adrian sighed, still thinking he hadn't deserved the punishment.

"Ready to tell me why you left?"

The teen sighed and stared at the dashboard, not wanting to meet his uncle's face. He could probably lie and get away with it, but he had never lied to his uncle before. Just the thought of it disturbed him.

"Here we are," Henry said.

Adrian raised his head and spotted the white community service van. The truck pulled to a stop by the curb. Stepping out of the vehicle, Adrian glanced out toward the ocean.

Henry approached the group of volunteers. A man with dirty blonde hair noticed him and split off from the group to meet him. The stranger extended his hand. "I'm Dale Reynard. I'm more or less in charge of our little cleanup group."

"Henry Meadows," he shook Dale's hand. "This is my nephew, Adrian."

His uncle glanced back and found Adrian still next to the truck, staring out at the ocean. "Adrian!"

The teen jumped out of his trance and walked over to the two adults. "Sorry, I guess I spaced out a little…"

"You guys ready to get started?" Dale asked.

"Guys?" Adrian frowned.

"I volunteered to help," Henry smiled at him.

Great, now he doesn't trust me to stick around here, Adrian thought. Please don't let there be any mages near here.

Meth sighed. He lay on his belly in the sand, his head leaning on a paw. Torinidus padded along the edge of the water, looking for shells.

"This is so boring," the fire dragon sighed, tracing shapes in the sand.

"Come on, help me look for shells," Tori called, dashing away from a swell of water.

Meth scoffed and looked away, spotting a small shape scuttling across the sand. His tail wagged back and forth as he watched the crab. Jumping up, the dragon charged towards the crustacean.

The creature scuttled backwards into the tall grass. Meth bounded into the plants and glanced around. He sniffed the air for the crab's scent, but another smell overpowered it.

"What the-?" he stepped forward, following the smell. It reminded him of dragon, but mixed with the scent of the ocean.

Blades of grass rustled behind him. He glanced over his shoulder, watching for more movement. "Torinidus?"

The plants rustled again, this time in front of him. He spun his head around and saw the leaves moving. Meth opened his wings and leapt into the air. Flying over the ground, he followed the sound of movement.

A voice giggled ahead of him and the dragon growled. He dived into the growth and collided with something. Meth and his quarry tumbled across the sand, coming to a stop next to a fence.

"No fair! You play rough!"

The fire dragon rolled to his feet. He turned toward the voice's owner. A bright blue dragon-like creature lay on the sand in front of him. It raised its long neck. Its snout was short and a pair of curved horns extended from the back of its head. A white fin extended down its back. It had four platinum fins instead of legs. Its tail was flat like a rudder. Vibrant green eyes turned to look at the fire dragon.

"You're a water dragon!" Meth exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here, dummy," the water dragon replied, its voice revealing it as female. "What are you doing here? You don't exactly act like a beach person."

"Dragon, not person," he growled.

"Do you normally chase after peo- dragons?" she asked.

"Only suspicious ones hiding in the undergrowth," Meth replied.

"What's your name, grumpy?"

Bristling, the dragon narrowed his eyes. "Methalgresoth."

"How about if I just call you Methy?" she said. "I'm Rairin, but you can just call me Rai."

Meth's eye twitched. "Are you the only one of your kind here?"

"Yeah," Rai replied, losing her cheery tone. "The rest of them just up and disappeared on me."

The fire dragon frowned and took a step towards her. "Would you like to meet some other dragons? I don't want you around, but they'd be pissed if I didn't invite you to meet them at least."

Frowning in thought, the water dragon turned away from him. "Okay! But first you have to catch me!"

"What?"

The water dragon pushed with her flippers and leapt into a clump of grass.

"Hey! I don't have time for games!" Meth snapped.

"I bet that's why you're so grumpy all the time," she called back.

Huffing, he turned and flew back towards the beach. Rai stuck her head out of the bushes and watched him leave with a sad expression.

The disappointed mage swam back towards the shore. With no new record to show, the only thing she'd gotten was the gold watch off her victim's wrist.

She reached the shallows and began walking out of the surf. The mermaid paused as she spotted a small green creature sitting on the sand. Tori examined a shell, unaware of the danger behind him.

Smirking, she slowly snuck towards the dragon. She raised her hand, brandishing her sharpened nails.

Meth roared as he dropped out of the sky. He spat a fireball that exploded against the mage's armor. She stumbled back into the surf. Tori heard the commotion and spun around. Growling, the mage leapt at him, but the dragon took to the air.

"You should pay more attention!" Meth shouted.

"Yeah, because mages pop out of the water all the time," Tori said, circling above the creature. He swept his wings back and dived. The dragon spat several bursts of lightning, but the mage rolled out of the way.

Adrian stabbed his stick into another bundle of paper trash. He shook the paper off into the bag he carried. The group was quickly progessing down the beach.

"Hey. Is that lightning?"

Turning around, Adrian glanced upward. A flash of purple fell out of the sky and struck the ground in the distance.

"Oh, man," the teen groaned as flashes of orange light rained down after the lightning.

He glanced around for his uncle. Henry stood a few feet from him, staring at the sky like everyone else. Adrian took several steps away and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?"

Stopping, Adrian groaned. "I just remembered! I… uh, need to call Mandy about a homework assignment. My cell phone's still in the truck. I'm just going to run and get it."

"I've got my cell," Henry said, reaching for his pocket.

Gritting his teeth, Adrian continued. "I'd rather not waste your minutes. I'll be right back."

He sprinted across the sand, towards the flashes of light.

"It's no trouble," Henry said, pulling out his phone. He paused and glanced around, spotting Adrian running off. "Hey! I have plenty of minutes!"

The mage spun to the side, avoiding a red blur. Tori dived towards her back, but she spun around and backhanded the dragon into the sand. Meth growled and spat a fireball, but she dodged it.

Rai stepped out of the grass and gasped as she saw the mage toss a starfish at Meth. The star hit the dragon's chest and knocked him out of the sky. The water dragon gasped and scurried back behind cover, leaving only her head and neck sticking out.

"Now, I'll finish you," the mage said, brandishing another star.

A stone flew through the air and struck the mermaid's head, sending her stumbling back. Adrian slid down a sand dune and dashed over to the fallen Meth.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Meth growled and jumped up. "Yeah, let's fry this fish!"

The dragon's neck folded up and Adrian grabbed his head. The Ryu belt unfolded as he pulled the dragon off the ground. He slung the belt around his waist and raised his arms.

"Henshin!" Adrian shouted, pushing Meth's horns together. Fiery wings exploded from his back and a burning dragon head rose above him, roaring. He pushed the button on the buckle and the wings folded around him, transforming into armor. The dragon head enveloped his face, forming Ryu's helmet. The sand at his feet crystallized as his suit glowed red hot for a few seconds.

"Cool!" Rai exclaimed.

"So you're the one I've heard about on the news?" the mage asked. "The Kamen Rider eliminating my kind…"

"And you're next!" Meth growled.

Adrian raised his fists and charged at the mage. He threw a punch, but she dodged. A scaly leg shot up and kneed him in the chest armor. The Rider stumbled back as a pair of starfish appeared in his adversary's hands. She tossed them and they exploded against his chest.

Ryu cried out in pain and dropped to one knee. The mage laughed and charged forward. Reaching the rider, she threw a punch. Adrian dropped onto his back and kicked, sweeping her legs out from under her. He slammed his heel down on her stomach.

They rolled apart and stood up, facing each other. Bolts of purple lightning struck the mage's side. Adrian charged forward as the mage dodged Tori's next blasts. He leapt into the air and thrust his foot out, striking her in the chest and sending her flying backwards.

Drawing Meth's wings and tail, Adrian combined them into gun mode. He thrust the gun forward and fired. The blasts exploded against the sand around the mage.

"You missed," Tori frowned.

"He missed," Rai sighed.

"Ha! Missed!" the mage laughed.

"All right, I get it!" Adrian snapped. He raised the gun and fired another shot. This one exploded against the mage's gut.

Growling, the mermaid waved her arms, a watery glow forming in her hands. The light subsided, revealing an ornate gold trident. She thrust the weapon forward and bolts of blue lightning shot from it. The attack exploded around Ryu, kicking up sand and smoke.

He pulled his gun apart and combined it in dagger mode. Ryu charged forward. The mage slammed the butt of her trident into the sand and began to hum. Adrian paused at the sound, lowering his weapon.

"Hey! What's wrong?" Meth demanded.

"I-, uh-," Adrian shook his head as the mage continued humming. His grip on the dagger slackened and the weapon dropped to the ground.

The mage cackled and raised her trident, bolts of lightning shooting from it and exploding against Ryu's chest. Adrian screamed in pain as the blast knocked him backwards.