Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider Kabuto, or Kamen Rider Dragon Knight. The former belongs to Toei, and KRDK, adapted from Toei's KR Ryuki, is owned by Adness and is the brainchild of the Wang brothers.

"My fellow citizens! For generations, our planet Karsh has been caught in bloody war. Lives have been lost, and blood spilled on our soil. Now, that war is over! We, the North, have won over the treacherous Southern rebels! We are victorious!

However, our work isn't done. Our world of Karsh has been devastated, our homes torn by war. It cannot be rebuilt by us alone! That is why I will personally will go out and search for those who will help… Together with my friend and commander, Eubulon, we will bring back the other races to rebuild our world. Only together, can we bring our world back to the way it was. And together, we will restore our glory!

For unity, for victory, for Karsh!"

- Xaviax, Dictator and General of the Northern Karsh Army, addressing the citizens of Karsh, about seventy-five years ago.

It looked like a something out of an old photograph. What was once the outskirts of a great city had been reduced to rubble by war generations ago. Clouds of smoke rose from old homes and dissipated into the cloudy sky of Karsh. Rubble, mortals, and bricks that made up the houses and buildings were either crushed and those structures still left standing were scorched by gun fire. It was far from being hospitable for anyone, save for the desperate.

However, "desperate" was a good word to describe the lone figure running through the ruins. Jolts of fear ran down from head to toe, from the dark ant-like helmet, down the dark uniform. As his boots tramped on the the cracked pavement, he looked over his shoulder.

The sensors in his helmet's bug-like eyes caught familiar figures in the smoke. Four green figures running on two legs, with bulbous shells over their heads, jagged teeth hissing loudly, and long claws that could cut through stone, if they ordered to. Now, the orders for these monsters, Insectors of the Northern Karsh army, were simple: capture or destroy, and he was their target.

'Just keep running!' the escapee told himself. 'Keep running! Just a bit further, and I'll be...'

The thought was cut off when he heard more hissing, this time from in front. He turned, barely catching a glimpse of another Insector in his way. Before the man could react, the Insector lashed out with its long claw, which knocked the man's helmet off and himself away.

The strength of the blow sent him into a nearby wall. When the man he fell atop the rubble, he did not look a like a man, but a denizen of Karsh. He turned his gray, bald head to the Insector who had attacked him, and he glared at the others joining it with his large, black eyes.

"Keep away!" his voice roared through his small mouth as he stood up.

The Insectors did not do as he wanted, so he grabbed the nearest rock at his feet and threw it. It bounced off the shell of an unaffected Insector. It and the others continued their approach, and their target continued tossing whatever he could find-stones, rubbles, even bricks-to throw at his pursuers.

"You think you can take me back?!" he shouted while he tossing another stone. "Well, you can tell the commander to jump into the Advent Void!"

Like everything else the Karshan threw, the brick barely scraped the Insectors. In fact, the looks on their faces were full of glee, their sharp teeth almost widened in a grotesque smile. The lone black-clad being reached down to grab something, and he cursed himself when there was nothing left. 'What I could do for a weapon now?' he thought grimly.

Sadly, any wish for a weapon was rendered mute by now. The Insectors were closing in, and the Karshan knew there was nothing else for him to do. He stood there and watched his impending doom come closer...

BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM!

The ground in front of the Insectors exploded with four shots, surprising both them and the Karshan. Everyone turned and saw the smoking barrel of a gun pointed at the green monstrosities. Its wielder stood in a haze smoke, only allowing others to see a bulky outline.

That changed when the figure rushed out into the open. Black boots with silver bracings ran on the pavement, and the stranger flipped the gun and caught it by the barrel. The Insectors caught a glimpse of a figure in silver and bulky armor before the gun's handle struck one of them. What hit it was not the handle's blunt end, but a sharp blade. It cut so deep that it penetrated the thick shell. Sparks flew, and the Insector, feeling the sharp object in its soft skin, howled in pain.

The attacker swung his armored arm again, and the weapon he held sliced into another weak point at the monster's stomach. More sparks flew, and this time, the Insector did not attack. Its body sagged, and for several seconds, the Insector did nothing.

Then, it exploded.

From the ashy remains on the ground, green and black smoke blew and blinded the other Insectors. They had no time to mourn, if such a thing were possible for them, and they could do little to their brethren's killer, who turned his attention on them. The stranger's blue visor glinted the wide blade on the gun, now an axe, which he hacked away at the Insectors.

One wide swing struck the bellies of two Insectors, and another swing embedded the axe into a third. Each swing was precise, striking them at the weak points. Sparks erupted like fireworks, and the Insectors were forced back from their attacker.

Soon, one Insector fell by a deep cut across its chest. Then another one followed, destroyed by a cut down the middle, and another through the waist. They all erupted into smoke, leaving only one Insector left to face the stranger, unaware of their former target watching from afar.

The Karshan of interest was too shocked at what he was seeing. His 'savior,' if he could call him that, was not normal. The bulky armor was like a cocoon or over the person wearing it, a pair of tubes connected the sides of the silver helmet to the bottom of the mouth plate, and the dark, v-shaped horn on the forehead was like a beetle's horn or an antennae. It was more unsettling seeing the solid blue visor flash with the glint of the swinging axe.

What was more was that this person had training. The way he fought was not like a criminal or a straggler, but a soldier. His bulky chestplate was not even touched, and the silver segmented arms and the red accents on them blurred while he swung his axe at the Insectors.

Speaking of which, the axe fell on the last Insector, and the Karshan covered his eyes when it exploded. After the smoke cleared away, he saw the word ZECT etched on dark circles of the shoulderguards. That word made him recognize the warrior with a small whisper:

"A Kamen Rider?"

Karsh… a world so far away from our own… from beyond the void between dimensions…

Here, war has left its mark... landmarks and cities turned to ruin… slaves brought from other worlds to rebuilt them…

Yet, there is one who fights for the helpless… one who searches for an end to the suffering… to restore the greatness of his people...

KAMEN RIDER THORAX

WAR ON KARSH

AN: Hey guys, this is an idea I have for a sequel to the Wang Brothers' adaptation of KR Ryuki, Kamen Rider Dragon Knight. This is interquel/sequel to the Ryuki-adaptation KRDK, using KR Kabuto. This is an idea that goes way back, maybe 5/6 years ago, when I first tried to make a video fanfic sequel using footage from KRDK and the Kabuto show and movie. After getting rid of it years ago, I've given it some thought, and decided "why not write it?"

Please, let me know what you guys think. Should I continue with this idea? Should I make it into a full story? I'd be happy to hear what kind of suggestions you might have for the story.

Raika out!