Lately, some of Yuuki's pictures hadn't come out so well. Whenever he developed them, they became slightly distorted for some reason. Roka suggested getting his camera checked out and fixed but there was nothing wrong with it. It was just his pictures were coming out all wrong. Not all of them came out wrong. Some came out perfectly but the ones that came out wrong were…well…freaky.
Chie had come home to visit for the weekend. Actually, she wanted to check up on her brother. After the battle with Sauron she really wanted to know if he was alright. To her relief he'd survived and she hugged him to the point of smothering him. She was proud of him and glad to see that it was all over. Now, he wouldn't need to be a Rider ever again.
She was wrong. All of a sudden several silvery veils fell around them, shocking them both. Yuuki narrowed his eyes.
"Dimensional Rifts," muttered Yuuki. He got ready to transform. These things usually brought passengers of the dangerous kind. Yuuki kept Chie behind him so to better protect her, but the veils started moving again. Before either of them could react, the veils had passed over them and they vanished into thin air.
Opening his eyes, Yuuki blinked when he saw that the scenery had changed. Instead of their home there was a large fountain with modernist sculptures acting as fountains. The sky was dark and a full moon hung in the sky. There were no people around save for Chie and Yuuki.
His older sister gasped. "Where…where are we?"
"My domain," a new voice answered.
Yuuki whirled around with Chie standing behind him, ready for anything. Staring down the one who spoke, Yuuki was slightly surprised to see who he was looking at. It was a young man who seemed to be in his twenties and had reddish-brown hair. He was wearing a black vest with red pants and had a scarf around his neck. Next to him was a flying metal bat with large red eyes and was mainly gold and black.
"And who are you?" Yuuki questioned.
"Wataru Kurenai," the man answered as he stepped closer, walking along the edge of the fountain. "And you are Vortex, am I right?"
"Huh?" Yuuki blinked. "How did you know that?"
"Now's not the time to talk though," Wataru shrugged. "Now's the time to act. Time is short and there is still so much that needs to be done."
"And you need my help?" Yuuki questioned further.
Wataru nodded. Before Yuuki could ask more questions or Wataru could explain more, heavy breathing could be heard. Yuuki was instantly at alert while Wataru clenched his fists. Stepping out of the shadows was a host of monsters Yuuki hadn't seen before. They were all black-skinned, but also looked like they had stained glass growing out of said skin. All of them appeared to be a fusion between human and animal as well.
"Ahhh!" Chie cried, clutching onto Yuuki.
Yuuki gasped at the approaching monsters. "What are these things?!"
"Fangires," Wataru answered. "My enemies and enemies you may face one day. Kivat."
"Yosh!" the metal bat cried as it dove down to Wataru's and opened its mouth. "Bite!"
The bat bit down on Wataru's hand, making veins pulse out. Stained glass markings appeared on the young man's face as he grabbed the bat and raised him up. Chains encircled his waist before fusing together to create a blood red belt with what looked like whistles on the sides.
"Henshin," Wataru spoke as he attached the bat to his belt, hanging upside down.
A ringing sound burst through the air as Wataru's body turned silver. His entire body then shifted before the silver shattered off, revealing his new form. He was in a black bodysuit with silver torso armor and red chest plating. His shoulders looked like silver bat wings which were chained up and his hands were covered in red plating. His right leg was covered in silver armor which was chained up while the other boot remained bare. His head was covered in a black helmet that had large yellow eyes trimmed in red with an ornament on his forehead shaped like a bat's head.
As soon as Wataru had transformed, a card appeared in Yuuki's hand. On it was a headshot of Kiva. It looked like Fang but Fang had a red visor and Kiva's was yellow.
"Kiva?" Yuuki uttered as he saw the new card in his hand.
"Huh?" Chie responded.
As Kiva got ready to fight the Fangires he said to Yuuki, "That is my power. Use it to aid you on your new mission."
"What are you talking about?" demanded Yuuki, but Kiva already leaped at the charging Fangires with a battle cry of his own. Yuuki tried to follow to lend a hand, but he and Chie were suddenly surrounded by the silver energies again. Everything around them faded away. They stayed in that limbo for only a short time before they emerged somewhere new. This time they were outside a café called The Milk Dipper.
Yuuki tried to make sense of what was going on, but it was all over his head. Chie was just as confused if not more so. This was beyond anything they had experienced before. Yuuki himself had faced monsters as Vortex and had seen Stasis Fields and these silvery veils, but he had not been carried by one. As they tried to get their heads back on straight, the door to the Milk Dipper opened and a young man walked out.
He looked to be around the same age as Wataru and had messy black hair. He had a white sweater and jeans on with a red and black checkered scarf rapped around his neck. He took in the sight of Chie and Yuuki and blinked.
"You're early," he sighed. "Still that means progress is being made faster than expected."
"Who are you?" asked Yuuki. "Are you with Wataru-san?"
"We've met," the young man nodded. "I am Ryotaro Nogami. It's a pleasure to meet you Yuuki Ashikaga."
"How do you know my name?" asked Yuuki with confusion.
"Someone will have to explain it to you later," Ryotaro sighed. "Right now I don't have enough time to go over details. The point is that you are going to play an important role in things to come."
"I am?" wondered Yuuki.
Suddenly, the sound of flowing sand echoed and the three youths turned to see a creature rising up from a pile of sand. It looked like a blue bat monster of some kind. Behind it, more such creatures were rising up from growing piles of sand. None of them looked friendly as they started stalking towards the trio.
"Things are already getting out of hand," Ryotaro frowned as he drew out a machine-like belt that had a clack-like face on the front and four colored buttons. He quickly wrapped it around his waist. "You have to find your cards if you want a chance to stop it."
"My cards?" Yuuki asked.
"Yes," Ryotaro nodded. He pressed a red button on his belt, turning the centre red while a song seemed to echo from it. He then produced a black train pass and swiped it over the front. "Henshin!"
"Sword Form!"
Shard of red covered Ryotaro, putting him in a black bodysuit which had black and silver chest armor. His boots and gantlets were white. His helmet was also white with black eyes. However, that didn't stay long as red chest armor appeared and attached to his front with red shoulder plates. Yellow and black sections attached to his back in a similar fashion. A light flashed on his helmet before a red peach slid down his face, locking onto the eyes and splitting open to turn into a new visor.
"Ore sanjou!" the armored man called as he struck a pose.
Chie and Yuuki blinked. The bespectacled boy had seen this Rider before. Heck, he'd even been this Rider. "Den-O?"
"Do you know this guy Yuuki?" Chie asked, overhearing Yuuki's words.
"Umm…sort of," was all Yuuki could say. She had only seen the Rider form but had not met Ryotaro. He had met Momotaros. Then a new card appeared in his hand, this one depicting Den-O.
"Hmph," Den-O snorted as he assembled four black items together and a red blade extended from the tip. "Find the rest of the cards. Save us all. Ikuze, ikuze ikuze!"
The crimson fighter dashed at the assembling monsters, slashing wildly with his weapon. As the first strike was made, everything vanished in silver. Yuuki quickly grabbed into Chie's hand, making sure not to lose her. It didn't take long before the silver vanished again, but this time they were standing on an observation deck of Tokyo Tower.
"Wow," Yuuki gaped at the sight of the city.
"Oh my," Chie gasped.
"Nice, isn't it?"
Chie and Yuuki turned to see a man walking towards them. He was wearing traditional clothes with sandals and his hands in his pockets. His hair was messy and black and massive confidence was in his eyes.
"And who might you be?" asked Yuuki, guessing this guy wanted to say something too.
"I am the man who walks the path of heaven and will one day rule over everything," the men introduced. "Souji Tendou."
"Uhh," Yuuki blinked. Weird guy.
"You are Yuuki Ashikaga, correct? The boy who becomes Vortex. It seems you are lacking something you'll need before you can fully undertake the task which needs to be done."
"And that would that be?" asked Yuuki. "The rest of my cards?" He had plenty of cards but if his encounter with Wataru and Ryotaro had taught him anything then that meant he'd have a new set.
Tendou nodded. Suddenly a smashing noise echoed from the back. Tendou reacted quickly as he turned to face the source. It turned out to be a doorway being smashed down by several green cocoon-like monsters with skeletal faces and long claws. Chie shrieked, never liking insects and hid behind Yuuki.
"You know what you have to do," Tendou frowned as he revealed a silver belt around his waist. A buzzing noise echoed through the room and a robotic rhino beetle flew into the room and landed in Tendou's hand. He held the device up before locking it into his belt with a cry of, "Henshin!"
"Henshin!" the beetle repeated.
A hexagonal field rose up from the belt, covering him in armor. It was mainly silver and red and looked very thick. His helmet was silver with a short horn ornament on the forehead with a large blue visor. His arms were covered with segmented armor and his neck wasn't visible since the armor was so thick.
Chie saw another card appear in Yuuki's hand, depicting an armored man in sleeker armor with blue eyes and a rhinoceros beetle horn bisecting his visor.
"Kabuto," Yuuki read the name of the Rider. Was this the same Rider? He looked different.
"Cast Off!" Kabuto commanded as he pulled the horn, causing his armor to come loose.
"Cast Off!" the beetle repeated and the thick silver armor flew off Kabuto, miraculously missing Yuuki and Chie. Now he had a sleeker armor with a red chestplate, a black bodysuit, and metal arm and legs bands. A horn rose and bisected the blue visor.
"Change Beetle!"
Yuuki looked at the card and then back at Kabuto. "Alright. Now it makes sense," said Yuuki.
"Go, find the other cards. Find the power," Kabuto spoke as he dashed at the approaching monsters. He then vanished in the silver haze again with Yuuki and Chie being the only people there. The silver faded to reveal a thick forest with large trees surrounding everything.
"What now?" asked Yuuki, hoping not to find more monsters.
"Now you find part of what you need."
Yuuki and Chie turned to see another man, this one maybe in his late twenties to early thirties and wearing camping gear. A friendly smile was on his face and he had short black hair.
"Do you mean those cards that the other men were talking about?" asked Chie.
"Yes," the man answered. He then looked out at the forest, where noises of movements were heard. "It looks like we are about to have company."
Sure enough, several humanoid figures emerged from the brush. However, they were all humanoid animals of some kind. All of them were either male or female with a colored scarf. They all looked especially violent with snarls echoing from their mouths.
"Joy," Yuuki grumbled as he stood at Chie's side and got ready to use his V-Driver with his newly acquired cards from Kiva, Den-O and Kabuto.
"Better get moving," the man frowned as he removed his pack and produced a small turning fork with a gold demon face on it. Taking it, he tapped it on a nearby tree before holding it to his head. A gold demon face then emerged on his forehead before he ignited in purple flames.
"Woah!" Chie gasped.
A low vocal tone echoed through the air as Yuuki could faintly see the man's body change. Finally, he waved his arm and the flames went out. He was donned in purple/blue armor which looked like a second skin. A silver belt was across his waist with a drum-like centre. Silver metal chest armor was on his torso while his feet and hands were covered in red armor. His face was the same color as his body with red markings and horns and the gold demon face on the forehead. Attached to the back of his belt were two drumsticks which were red and had two demon heads on the tips. They looked like they were made of crystal.
He looked like Kamen Rider Oni but the card in Yuuki's hand revealed his identity.
"Hibiki," Yuuki breathed.
"You two had better get going," Hibiki spoke as he drew his weapons. "Things aren't going to be this peaceful for long."
With that, he charged at the monsters, the world turning silver as he went. Yuuki and Chie could only watch as the man vanished. Before too long, they emerged from the silver limbo near a three story European house. It seemed a little cramped, but otherwise very nice.
The front door opened and a man came out. He had chin length black hair and seemed to be in his twenties. He had blue riding gloves on and a helmet under his arm. Looking at Yuuki and Chie, a look of relief came over his face.
"About time you got to me," he smiled. "My name's Kazuma Kenzaki. Nice to meet you two. It's good to finally meet you too, Yuuki-kun."
"Can you tell me what's going on?" Yuuki asked.
"That's what I want to know too," said Chie, irritated by all the mystery.
"Ah, you'll find out later," Kazuma grinned, playfully punching Yuuki's shoulder. "I've heard of you. Great job with protecting your world, but it's not over yet. Now you just need to get the other cards."
"Other cards, you mean like these?" Yuuki asked as he showed the Kiva, Den-O, Kabuto and Hibiki Masked Ride cards to Kazuma.
Kazuma nodded. "So, you've met the others. That's good. Only 5 more to go."
Before Kazuma could explain further, growls were heard coming from nearby. Turning to the source, Kazuma frowned to see monsters walking towards them as a group. They all had various black or studded clothing on and looked to be hybrids of certain kinds of animals or plants. In all, a very terrifying group.
"More monsters," Chie murmured.
"Tsk! They're getting faster," Kazuma frowned. He drew a gray box with a clear centre and slid a card inside that depicted a rhino beetle with a spade on its back. Holding it to his waist, a red belt extending from it and wrapped around his waist. He then grabbed a handle on the side of the buckle and pulled with a cry of "Henshin!"
"Turn Up!"
A blue rectangular field that depicted the image on the card flew from the belt and Kazuma ran through it. He emerged on the other side wearing a blue bodysuit with silver armor and spades depicted on the shoulders and chest. His helmet was blue save for the silver face and the single horn rising from it. The eyes were two red orbs in which he could see through.
Yuuki's newest card appeared just as Kazuma transformed. He read the name, "Kamen Rider Blade." Yuuki frowned as he prepared to leap into the battle alongside the armored man. He got out his Vortex card and strapped on his V-Driver.
Yuuki wanted to help the charging armored figure, but that didn't come to be. Instead, the world turned silver again, cutting him off from assisting the man in the battle against the monsters. Grumbling to himself, Yuuki and Chie emerged in front of a large corporate building. A nearby sign called it Smart Brain, which Yuuki thought was an odd name.
"I'm getting dizzy," moaned Chie.
"About time you two got here," a voice sighed. "I'm freezing out here and I hate the cold."
The owner of the voice was a man who was wearing a black coat and a pair of dark pants. He had long reddish brown hair that reached his shoulders. He kept his hands in his pockets as he walked over to the pair.
"And who are you?" asked Yuuki. "Another Rider?" So far, the men he and Chie had met had been Kamen Riders.
"You got it," the man nodded. "I'm Takumi Inui. You can't stay long though. They're getting wise. All I can say is that you're going to need your new powers and you're close to completing your set. You don't have much farther to go."
Reaching into his coat, Takumi pulled out a silver belt that had a telescope and a camera attached to it. He wrapped the device around his waist and pulled out a cellphone. He then began punching numbers into it. He dialed 555.
"You two had better get moving," he sighed. "Things are about to get ugly."
"FAIZ!!" a bestial voice roared out.
The voice belonged to one of many monsters that were racing up a set of stairs. All of them looked like ornate creatures that were either gray or white. They all looked rather angry too. Yuuki knew what they were. They were Orphenochs.
Takumi pressed the 'Enter' button and closed his phone.
"Standing By."
"Henshin!" Takumi cried as he inserted the phone into his belt and locked it in place.
"Complete."
Red lines rose from the belt and he flashed red. When the light died down, he was covered in a black bodysuit and silver chest armor that had the red lines running down his arms and legs. His head was covered in a black helmet that had large yellow eyes and a small mouth piece.
Yuuki's eyes widened in recognition. He was Faiz? He had met Faiz and it had been an American named Craig Smith. The instant Faiz had transformed, Yuuki gained Faiz's Masked Ride card though it looked different from the one he had before.
"Get going," Faiz advised as he flicked his wrist. "Just a little further and you'll know what to do."
Yuuki and Chie reluctantly obeyed since they knew whatever was sending them to these places wasn't going to let them help. As they backed away from Faiz, who was still staring down the approaching monsters, everything was covered in silver again. Chie and Yuuki then emerged inside of a building. There were only three computer terminals and a desk. It looked to be an office for a magazine of some kind.
At one computer was a young man with red hair that was shoulder length. He had a white t-shirt on and jeans. On his chair was a blue jacket. The man didn't seem to notice the pair until he glanced up.
"Hey," he smiled. "Good to see you Yuuki. My name's Shinji Kido."
"Konnichiwa," Yuuki greeted politely.
Shinji shrugged. "You're making good time. You're very close to the completing your collection. A little further and you'll have them all. Just keep a close eye on them or else you'll fail."
"Hey, can't you tell us what is going on?" Chie demanded impatiently and irritated. After several dimensional jumps she had gotten used to them. In fact, having a brother and several schoolmates who were Riders helped her get used to all the weirdness.
A ringing sound was heard, however only Shinji heard it. Yuuki and Chie remained clueless. "No time. They're here." Shinji got up and took out a rectangular case with a golden dragon's head stamped on the front. He held it out in front of him, facing the computer screen, a metal belt wrapped around his waist, with a slot in the front which the case would fit in.
Yuuki had seen this before. Ryuki Hasuma had used an item like Shinji's to transform into Zodiac Knight Draco.
"Henshin!" Shinji called as he threw his other arm across his chest before sliding the case into the belt's slot. He crossed his arms and then pulled them to his sides, fists clenched as black and white images overlapped his body to form a suit of armor. He was clad in a red bodysuit with black and silver armor. His helmet had red eyes concealed by a grilled visor.
Like before a card appeared in Yuuki's hand and he looked it over. "Ryuki," uttered Yuuki as he read his newly required card. How ironic that this Rider's name was Draco's real name.
"You have the power to save the world, Yuuki," said Ryuki before diving through the computer screens.
"Hey, wait!" Chie called but then the silvery energy took him and Yuuki elsewhere. "Now what?" She was starting to get annoyed, even if it was cool to see these men in armor. The silver quickly faded away to reveal an abandoned construction site in the middle of the night.
"Welcome to my world," another voice spoke up. Both Chie and Yuuki turned, already expecting someone new. This man was wearing a pullover sweater and dark pants. His hair was brown and reached to his shoulder and he seemed to look like a perfectly normal man.
"Sorry for it being so late, but as you can probably guess, it can't wait," the man sighed. "Forgive my manners. My name is Shoichi Tsugami. I have something to tell you."
"OK, tell us," prompted Chie.
"Your world will soon face another crisis, and Yuuki must be the one to help save it," Shoichi informed Chie. "With help from his allies he will win."
Yuuki desperately wanted to ask some questions of his own, but that was halted when the sounds of clattering pipes captured his attention. Emerging from the darkness around them were animal men donned in robes or ceremonial dressing. All of them looked intimidating as they stared down the trio.
"Agito…" several of them growled, staring at Shoichi.
"And my time has run out," Shoichi frowned, summoning up his power. A swirl of white light appeared on his waist before it solidified into a belt. He raised his hands up briefly before bringing them back down on the buttons on the sides. "Henshin!"
Shoichi's body seemed to ripple before it completely changed. Now he was donned in a black bodysuit which had mostly black armor. Still, the main section of the chest was gold along with the spikes rising from the shoulders. The horns were gold as well, with red eyes being the final part.
Yuuki's new card depicted Shoichi's armored state and with a name too. "Agito," Yuuki breathed.
"There's still one more!" Agito said to Yuuki before he charged at the monsters. "Find him!"
Yuuki gaped at the brave man before everything was covered in silver again. It was beginning to annoy him like his sister, but he knew he couldn't do anything about it. All he could really do was go with the flow. With nothing much else, he waited for the silver to clear. When it did, Chie and Yuuki found themselves at some old ruins.
"This is the last place?" asked Chie.
"It is," a male voice replied. A man stepped out of the ruins. He was dressed in a tan coat with jeans. He had black hair and looked to be the kind of guy that people could easily get along with. "My name is Yuusuke Godai. Kamen Rider Kuuga."
"As you must know, in our Multiverse there many worlds which exist," Yuusuke explained. "They never meet and remained separate from each other. However, these worlds are being drawn together. If this continues, they would eventually overlap and eventually destroy one another. Your world will be the first to be destroyed."
"What is causing this?" Chie asked.
"And how can we stop it?" asked Yuuki. This was pretty serious. The fate of the world itself was at stake in all this craziness?
Yuusuke replied, "You and your friends must travel to the other worlds in order to prevent the destruction. It will be up to you all to find what plagues each of those worlds and stop it before the problem becomes too severe and allows your world to fuse with the others."
"But why me? Why was I chosen?" Yuuki asked. He knew he had been chosen to be Vortex by Topper but he had chosen to be Vortex to protect his own world.
"It's fate," Yuusuke answered. "Fate has chosen you to be your world's champion."
Groans echoed from within the ruins and animalistic people began emerging from them. They all had gold buckles on their waists and wearing clothes which looked like they had come from an ancient tribe of people.
"It's up to you Yuuki. You and your friends," Yuusuke frowned as he summoned a metal belt with a red core. "We can only hold it back so long. It will be up to you and your friends to stop it!"
Putting his arms through a motion, Yuusuke cried out "Henshin!" There was a beeping noise before Yuusuke was engulfed in a suit of armor. It was a black bodysuit with red chest armor and shoulders. Gold wrist bands and ankle bands were near his hands and feet. His helmet was black with red eyes and golden horns.
"Kuuga," Yuuki said when he received his final card.
"Time is running out Yuuki," Kuuga spoke as he took a battle stance. "You must stop what is occurring!"
Then he was gone.
The world had become engulfed with a silver veil again. Chie was clutching onto Yuuki for security while the world shifted. Finally, the silver veil faded away to reveal their home.
"Woah…" Chie gasped. "What a rush. Yuuki, that was freaky, and I think I need to sit down now."
"Yeah," Yuuki agreed. "I think I need to sit down as well, Nee-san."
Both teens sat back down in the living room. Yuuki took out his V-Book and opened it up to check his cards. He pulled out the new set of Masked Ride cards he'd gained from that strange trip.
"Kuuga, Agito, Ryuki, Faiz, Blade, Hibiki, Kabuto, Den-O and Kiva," Yuuki read each of the cards. So similar to the Riders he knew and yet so different as well. "Topper-san, are you behind this? Are you trying to tell me that my job isn't over yet?"
Yuuki went to see Warren and he told the man of his experience. He even showed Warren his new cards and told him of the Riders he'd met during that short yet odd trip to other worlds.
"So, what do you think it all means, sensei?" Yuuki asked.
Warren handed the cards back to Yuuki and said, "Dark days are coming Yuuki...a dark past is rearing its ugly head, and threatening everything we fought for. I'm sorry to say...but it looks like Sauron was just the warm-up."