Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen Rider. Yup, that's about it.

The ringing sounds of pickaxes and shovels echoed through the dark chambers of the ancient ruins. After several more strikes, the cracks in the stone finally gave way and crumbled apart allowing passage for the explorers behind it. Leading the way was a young man in his late twenties holding a flashlight and a small shovel. He was a handsome man, athletic, with short sandy brown hair and bright blue eyes. Alexander Bishop squinted through the darkness with his hawk-like features and examined his new surroundings while the others on his team caught up to him. The young American archeologist turned treasure hunter surveyed the large hallway that led to another sealed door and took out a small compass to make sure their bearing was still correct.

He was soon joined by the rest of the mercenary dig team that had been hired to explore this site deep in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. The foreman of the team, a friendly Greek man by the name of Nico Kritikos clapped Alex on the shoulder and gave a pleased grin, "I'll be damned. You were right about digging through that section of the stone. Who would have thought there was a fake wall there?"

"I think we Bishops just have natural instincts when it comes to sniffing out ancient buried treasure," Alex smiled tiredly as he wiped away some sweat and grime, "I'm sure my Uncle Gabe would be proud if he could see us right now."

Their conversation was cut short as they were joined by two more men. An graying middle aged Englishman in some pricey khakis and slicked back hair stepped forward to examine the progress made while holding a lantern of his own in one hand. Sebastian Lorne calmly looked around and gave a satisfied nod, "Brilliant work Mr. Bishop. I can see I wasn't wrong in enlisting your services for this expedition."

Mr. Lorne was a wealthy English businessman in the capital of Cairo who would often finance specific archeological digs in the area. No one exactly knew why he was so selective about the projects or what he was looking for, but it was known that he was an avid collector of ancient Egyptian artifacts and artwork. Beside him stood a younger Arabic man in a dark leather jacket who was about the same age as Alex. Kassim Faraj was a personal bodyguard for Mr. Lorne and was never far from the businessman's side either. He was a well built man with dark handsome features and a sharp canine look about him... that and a rather severe demeanor. Alex had only spoken to Kassim a few times and found him to be a bit terse and unfriendly so he kept any further interactions to a bare minimum.

Lorne eyed the hallway and gestured forward, "What do you make of this Bishop?"

Alex paced forward slowly leading the group down what looked to be an ornate decorative hallway. It was lined with hieroglyphs and colorful paintings that had faded over centuries and were now covered in dust. "The texts we were using to find this place described something about a Grand Gallery leading to the final chamber. If I had to guess, this looks like it's it."

They came to the end of the wide hall and gathered around what looked to be a large decorative lock on the final doorway. An empty slit had been left open in the wall making everyone stop and exchange puzzled looks.

Bishop studied it for a moment while wearing a frown. Finally, he simply shrugged and offered a wry quip, "I don't suppose anyone's got a house key on them, do you?"

"Actually... I just might," Lorne said as he produced a golden ankh adorned with jewels. He stepped forward and placed the end of the artifact in the slit before turning it like a key in a lock. Alex and the rest of the hired dig team watched in awe as the lock turned and the heavy stone doors parted ways to allow them passage. Alex wasn't quite sure what that ankh was or why Lorne had such a fantastical artifact on his person in the first place but he held his tongue. He had been hired to help the dig team find treasure and he decided he'd just be a professional about everything.

As he stepped forward in excitement to see what other wonders lay ahead, he was suddenly stopped as a rough hand shoved him aside and into the wall. Kassim glared at him and blocked his way as Lorne walked forward first, "Don't get ahead of yourself mercenary. This is Mr. Lorne's dig and you're not going to rush ahead to steal anything from him."

Alex scowled and shoved Kassim's hand away giving a mild grumble of indignation, "Watch it there guard dog. I'm a lot of things, but a thief is not one of them."

The dig team followed Lorne into a new chamber that opened up into a large sprawling cavern. To everyone's surprise, there was an opening high in the cave ceiling which let in a column of sunlight and air from above. The pillar of light streamed down to the center of the room and lit up a pedestal atop a small mountain of sandstone blocks. Sitting in the middle of the pedestal was a wondrous blue jewel which reflected the light and helped to illuminate the room. At the base of the pedestal mount was a large cache of ancient artifacts, treasure and gold which immediately drew the eyes of the greedy diggers.

Lorne smiled broadly from ear to ear as he eyed the treasure on the pedestal and walked to the base of the mount, "At last... we've finally found it! The Eye of Horus is mine!"

Alex and the foreman Nico exchanged a puzzled look before Kassim stepped forward to face the rest of the dig team and bar their way with a menacing expression.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Nico called out in surprise.

Mr. Lorne calmly regarded his bodyguard Kassim and turned to the others, "I want there to be an understanding here Mr. Kritikos. I came here for that treasure on the pedestal. That is the only thing I want. The rest of the treasure here is yours to split up with the dig team as you see fit. It's a generous offer, don't you think?"

Nico eyed the businessman with a wary look and nodded slowly, "All right... you're really serious about this?"

"You have my word," Lorne said, "But first, I want to secure that gemstone. Mr. Bishop? If you'd please? I'd like you to go first and retrieve the Eye for me."

Alex stared down Lorne for a minute with an incredulous look and exchanged another glare with Kassim before the bodyguard shifted a few steps to let him pass. Alex slowly walked up the small hill of stone blocks and ascended toward the pedestal. "You mean you want me to make sure there are no more booby traps in getting the stone, am I right?"

"I hired you for your expertise in history and archeology," Lorne called with a smile, "If there is some trap, then I'm sure your cut of the treasure here will be more than enough to offset any hospital bills."

"How very reassuring," Alex muttered darkly as he climbed the last several steps. He stood in front of the stone pedestal and looked down at the magnificent large sapphire jewel glistening in front of him. It reflected the light from above in a dazzling display and for a moment, Alex thought he could see everything in the room through the facets. He slowly reached out and picked up the sapphire fearful that his hand would be chopped off, incinerated, or suffer some other gruesome fate like in that of an Indiana Jones movie... except nothing happened.

Alex opened one of his eyes and stepped back triumphantly holding the Eye of Horus, "All right! I've got it!"

Down below, Lorne gave a pleased nod to his bodyguard, "Excellent. Kassim?"

The guard surprised everyone by swiftly reaching for a hidden holster in his jacket and brandishing an automatic pistol. He leveled it at the rest of the dig team and opened fire gunning them all down in cold blood. As he made short work of the other bystanders, Alex froze in complete shock.

"Lorne! What the hell are you doing?" Alex shouted as he ducked and tried to take cover behind the small pedestal, "Are you insane?"

"No my boy... just tying up loose ends," Lorne answered with a sadistic smile while he pulled out his ankh and transfigured it into a tall golden staff, "Now... don't make this any harder on us and give me the Eye."

"Like hell I will!" Alex called before being silenced by a pair of gunshots which deflected off the edges of the pedestal. He had no idea what was going on, or what the deal with that businessman's magic staff was. Maybe he was some kind of crazy evil wizard? Could there be some sort of magical property in this Eye of Horus he was after? Whatever it was, Alex figured he had to try and keep it safe from Lorne for as long as he could. He cowered behind the stone pedestal as another gunshot went off and tore away a chunk of the rocks.

Lorne gave an impatient sigh and shook his head before gesturing to his henchman, "Kassim? Do hurry up. You know what to do now?"

The young Arabic man nodded and pulled a fiery dark red stone from his pocket and focused for a moment. An intricate golden belt crafted in an ancient Egyptian design materialized around Kassim's waist leaving an empty slot open in the center of the buckle. He quickly placed the red stone in the buckle and waved a hand over it causing it to flare up with mystical power. As it did, a small cloud of dark fire and sand engulfed Kassim while he called out a word in Egyptian Arabic "Khepher!" (Transform)

When the fiery sandstorm subsided, a menacing warrior clad in sleek reddish black armor stood in his place. Kassim had seemingly transformed into an avatar of Set, the ancient Egyptian deity of desert storms, chaos, and violence. Atop his head was a fearsome helm of a jackal like dog with raised ears, a short curved nose, and glowing red eyes. He held a staff weapon with a curved head which resembled his own somewhat. Kassim glared up at the pedestal and snorted, "You wanted to see a guard dog Bishop? I'll show you just how fierce I can be."

The mystically empowered bodyguard took a great leap and brought his heavy staff head down on the pedestal causing Alex to dive away just in time. The treasure hunter rolled down the hill of stone steps and grunted in pain as the pedestal shattered and Kassim turned to locate his fallen prey. The avatar of Set laughed as his eyes flared again, "Come on... you're going to have to do better than that! I was hoping for a challenge!"

As Alex stumbled to his feet, he grabbed some heavy stones and hurled them at his foe. Kassim laughed as the rocks bounced off his armored chest and head, "Worthless... you want to throw things at each other?"

Kassim raised a fist and called upon some dark magic to fire a barrage of fiery stones at the ground surrounding Alex. The fireballs exploded and threw the helpless archeologist aside stunning him again. Kassim stalked forward to finish off his enemy as Lorne called out, "Kassim, stop toying with your prey. Get me the Eye, now!"

The avatar of Set reached down and grabbed Alex by the throat, lifting him off the ground with a crushing grip, "Now... give me the stone."

As Alex feebly struggled, he reached into his utility vest where he hid the Eye of Horus and gripped it tightly. To his surprise, the artifact began to resonate and glow a brilliant blue. Kassim halted and loosened his grip slightly while watching in surprise as the light intensified and a similar antiquated golden belt formed around the treasure hunter. Whether it was done out of instinct of desperate, Alex followed suit and did the same thing his enemy had done. He slapped the sapphire in the belt buckle and called out the keyword, "Khepher!"

Kassim was thrown back amid a powerful burst of wind along with radiant blue and gold light. When the winds died down, Lorne and Kassim rubbed their eyes and stared in shock at the sight before them. In place of Alex Bishop stood another armored warrior except this one was adorned in royal blue and gold. Unlike Kassim, Alex's helm took on the visage of a falcon and resembled the Egyptian deity Horus, the god of the skies.

Lorne stared in horror and ground his teeth, "No! This can't be happening! Kassim, destroy him now!"

"Whoah..." Alex muttered in awe of his transformation as he examined the mystical suit of form fitting armor that he wore. He could feel incredible power coursing through him making him feel stronger, faster, and more confident than he ever had before. Even more, he could see that his eyesight had become incredibly sharp and laser focused when he willed it. He still wasn't exactly sure what was going on or what that Eye of Horus had done to him, but he could see that it had helped even the odds in this struggle.

Mr. Lorne gripped his staff and began to chant in an unknown language while waving his weapon along the sandy ground. Moments later, Egyptian warrior golems of stone emerged from the sand armed with spears. Lorne pointed them toward their target and waved his staff, "Go now shabtis, bring me the blue stone."

Alex turned to the new enemies approaching him and recognized the term Lorne had used. Ushabti were funerary statues used in ancient times and these automatons were some sick perversion of those figurines. As they bore down on him, Alex knocked a few of them aside with forearm blocks and kicks before using his enhanced agility to tumble clear to the other side of the battlefield. As he brought his arm around to steady himself, it passed the blue stone at his belt and he was surprised as an impressive khopesh sword materialized in his right hand. He smiled grimly to the curved Egyptian style sword as the shabti made another pass at him, "All right... I think this might come in handy. Come and get it you clay faced goons."

He went on the offensive and used his sword to cut through the stone warriors with powerful decisive slashes. With his superior speed, he was able to use the curved khopesh to deflect enemy spear strikes and hook the shabtis' weapons to allow for devastating counter-strikes. By the time the last one had fallen, Kassim had recovered and faced his new enemy down. The modern avatars of Set and Horus stared each other down for a moment before clashing weapons and matching each other in strength. They exchanged blows and pushed against one another but neither seemed to be able to gain an advantage either. The evenly matched fighters locked weapons and grappled each other with their free hands in a fierce struggle as Lorne stayed back and began to conjure more dark sorcery from his staff.

Moments passed and the dark sorcerer hurled a powerful bolt of energy at the combatants trying to strike Alex. The treasure hunter turned and shifted his weight, pulling Kassim around in the nick to time to absorb the blast instead. The avatar of Set howled in pain as an explosion of sparks and magical energy erupted from his back before he crumpled to the ground.

Undeterred, Lorne readied to fire off a second blast but Alex decided to take the initiative. The avatar of Horus charged forward and made a high leaping jump to try and deliver a powerful flying kick. To his surprise, his outstretched boot began to surge with energy and he hoped he could use the force to knock out the dark sorcerer once and for all. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough and Lorn raised his staff again in a desperate attempt to shield himself with his charged energy. As Alex's boot collided with the staff, he shattered the head but was thrown aside as the stored spell ricochet away wildly. The destructive spell was deflected high and exploded on the cavern ceiling overhead in a terrific blast.

"Oh... damn! Not good!" Alex growled as he scrambled to his knees and dove away from a falling chunk of the ceiling which began to collapse. Nearby, Kassim groaned and the wounded avatar of Set got back to his feet to limp to his master.

"We have to go now."

Lorne clenched his fists, "But the Eye..."

"We can dig it up again later," Kassim growled, "There's not much time. We'll go now and let Bishop get buried here in the mean time."

The Englishman nodded and stepped back allowing his bodyguard to call forth a fearsome looking vehicle from the sands resembling a stylized motorcycle. The avatar of Set mounted the vehicle along with his master behind him and activated it. A cloud of dark fire and sand erupted, causing a small sandstorm to blow in the cavern while they made their escape. The villains jetted away through the cavern entrance just before another large boulder fell and blocked the path out. As the ceiling of the cavern continued to deteriorate, Alex retreated from the blocked entrance and tried to keep from panicking. He had to find a way out of this place or he'd be buried alive for good.

The avatar of Horus scanned the room looking for an opening when his sharp eyes caught the light streaming down from above. He rushed up the stone mound and looked up to see the high opening which was barely large enough for a man to possibly fit through. He wondered if he could call some sort of magic motor bike like Kassim had but he despaired because he didn't know how. He barely knew how he summoned that khopesh sword earlier in the battle.

As if sensing his plight, the Eye of Horus answered him again and a pair of shimmering golden bird wings materialized from his back. He decided not to question what was happening and just follow his instincts. Alex spread the wings and beat them furiously to take off from the ground and fly up through the hole to freedom. As he ascended quickly, the ceiling began to collapse further and the young hero burst through the narrow hole into the open air above. It was already late afternoon and the sun had begun to angle down in the clear blue skies over the golden desert sands.

Unable to fully control his flight and panicking at his new predicament, Alex Bishop flailed in midair and began to crash back down to earth. The avatar of Horus beat his wings furiously in a disorganized panic until he over-exerted the power and the wings gave out. He had descended a fair ways but he hadn't quite slowed his momentum enough to prevent a rough landing. Alex crashed into the sand and plowed a small furrow in the ground.

The young man was overcome with adrenaline, fear, pain, and confusion all at the same time as he realized that he was still alive. Whatever magic powers had been given to him by that mystical armor, it had apparently been enough to save his life and protect him from any serious injury. As the suit's power gave out, it left him in his original state. His whole body ached and his head swam with what was likely going to be a bad concussion.

It was almost all too surreal to believe. He had defied death twice today, come across some kind of messed up conspiracy with magic treasure, evil wizards, and Egyptian gods, and now he was stranded out here in the sands alone and injured... but at least he was still alive. As Alex lay there in the sands trying to process everything that had just happened, he looked up weakly toward the shifting sand dunes ahead of him and thought he saw two figures. One looked to possibly be a man and the other a woman... but at this distance, it was too hard to tell. Who they were and why they might be there, didn't really matter at the moment. Alex didn't care. For now, he could only hope that those two people had spotted him and were coming to help, unless of course they were just some delirious hallucination.

As his vision became blurry and went dark, he planted his head back down in the sand and collapsed, leaving himself at the mercy of the cruel Saharan Desert.

A/N:
If you've made it this far, thanks so much for reading! This is my first attempt at an OC Kamen Rider series. I wanted to try something both different and challenging. The themes of this series will revolve around mythology and adventure/exploration but I'll be trying to incorporate as many elements of KR as I can too. That said, any advice or input from more experienced Rider fans are always welcome too. Also, updates on this might be irregular as it's more of a secondary side project right now.

For anyone interested, this story is also loosely connected to a universe of OC Power Rangers series I've written called the Mythic Cycle. It's not necessary to read any of those PR series, but feel free to take a look at them if you want. Thanks again!