Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider with the exception of the original content and characters of this fanfic.

Chapter 6

Winged Assassin

"Damn it," Tom muttered under his breath as his gaze swept over the army of monsters around them. He pushed himself away from the Aqua Racer and shakily stood, raising his fist. Mary and Chang stood behind him, each with their gun raised.

The elephant creature cocked its head to the side and then leapt from its rock, over the large pool, and landed in front of Tom, sending a massive shockwave through the earth that knocked Tom to his knees and bowled over Mary, Chang, and most of the ground bound monsters.

Unlike its comrades, the elephant wore clothes. A red jacket with cold trimming covered his chest and red trousers with a golden silk cloth tied around his waist. Multiple golden earrings hung from his large ears and an oval red gem seemed to be imbedded in his forehead. He had seven tusks four on the right side of his mouth and three on the left.

Tom jumped back to his feet and threw a punch. The blow connected with the elephant's ample stomach, but he seemed not to feel it. The Rider grunted in surprise and threw a series of punches, none of which had any more effect than the first.

The elephant thrust an arm forward and shoved Tom back; he stumbled and slumped against the seat of his bike.

"Your spirit is determined, even if your body is weak," the elephant spoke in a deep, rumbling voice. "I shall allow you to walk away, but we will meet again and fight to the death."

"Fine with me," Tom hissed.

The elephant waved an arm and after a moment of hesitation, the crowd of monsters stepped to the side, forming a path of escape for the humans. Tom took hold of his bike's handlebars and backed it away, while Mary and Chang stepped back, weapons still raised and eyes darting around. The creatures made no move to stop them and soon vanished behind the trees.

All three wanted to break into a run, but Tom was too exhausted, so they continued at a leisurely pace with the two normal humans guarding the rear. After a few minutes, Tom removed the pendant from his belt and canceled his transformation.

Mary spoke first. "I knew that was a terrible idea."

Neither Chang nor Tom offered a reply.

Mantidae roused Loxodonta from meditation. The elephant sighed and pushed himself up, towering over the smaller Phylum.

"Lord Vultur requests an audience with you," the insect clicked in his native dialect, rubbing the two long bladed fingers of his hands together.

"What does he want?" the elephant asked.

"He wishes to know why you let an abomination escape from you," Mantidae replied.

In an instant, Loxodonta's hand was wrapped around the insect's throat. The smaller Phylum gagged as he was hoisted into the air. "I wonder who told him about that…"

"It was not I!" he screeched as he tried to pry the hands from his throat.

Loxodonta released his grip and the insect dropped to the floor. He turned and lumbered over to the Istrium, the pool. The gem on his head flashed and an image formed in the liquid before him.

Vultur's head and shoulders were the only thing visible in the pool. Green pads covered his shoulders, but black feathers stuck through the armor here and there. His head was featherless and the shin there pink and wrinkled. His beak parted, forming a sort of frozen smile.

"So you allowed an abomination to escape?" Vultur asked.

"I fully intend to hunt him down later and defeat him in honorable combat," Loxodonta rumbled back.

"Your honor will be the death of you," Vultur hissed, closing his beak.

"We shall see," Loxodonta replied. "You have yet to eliminate the other whelp and his babysitters."

"Might I remind you that my goal is far grander than crushing a few bugs," Vultur said.

"Then you have found her?"

"I am very close," he replied with confidence.

"You should hope your search is not wasted," Loxodonta chuckled.

The tension between the two Lords vanished for a moment and they shared a grin of satisfaction.

"I wish to send Mantidae to test the abilities of this new problem," Vultur said. "I trust you will not be too disappointed if he succeeds in destroying your chosen prey."

"Either outcome will give me great satisfaction."

Tom slept fitfully that night. His body tossed and turned as his subconscious conjured up dreams of being back at the pool surrounded by the monsters. He awoke covered in sweat and with several bruises from the fight.

He groaned and forced his way out of bed, wishing he didn't have to go into work. He stumbled into his cluttered kitchen and began making eggs and toast.

A knock sounded at the door and he growled in annoyance. He stood still for several seconds, hoping whoever stood outside his door would leave, but the knocking resumed with ferocity. Tom turned down the stove and stepped through the living room to answer the door.

He removed the chain and unbolted the door, before pulling it open. Chang's grumpy face met his own.

"What do you want? Where's Mary?" Tom asked.

"She's taking a bit of time off to see family. Doctor Ambrose wants to take a look at your motorcycle," Chang said. "We're a bit concerned about the creature grafted to it."

"You're not slicing it up in the name of science," Tom growled, feeling protective since the creature had saved his life.

"We have no intention of harming it," Chang said.

"Fine, but I need it to get me to work first," Tom said, wondering who could explain the orca-like motorcycle to the rest of the employees. The night before he'd been too tired to care what anyone thought about his new bike's odd appearance, but now it presented a problem.

"Fine," Chang said, evidently eager to end their conversation. Tom obliged him by slamming the door in his face.

Tom hurried back to his eggs and managed to avoid burning them too seriously. His toast couldn't be saved so he set two more slices of bread in the old toaster and prayed for a miracle.

Once finished with breakfast, he stepped out of his apartment. Chang was nowhere in sight, but Tom knew he would be watching. He walked slowly down the stairs and around to the front of the apartment building.

The Aqua Racer occupied the same spot his old bike used to. Tom halted as he saw the bike had returned to its original state. He glanced around expecting perhaps to find that the creature wandering around nearby. He knelt and examined the machine closely, but it looked exactly as it had when he first received it from SPOOK.

He stood up and mounted the bike. He didn't have time to wonder what happened to his unusual pet. Maybe he would try to find it after work.

Tom spotted Chang's white unmarked van quickly. He wondered why Chang didn't have a black BMW the car popular with most people in his profession. His vehicle looked like it could pass for a pool cleaner's van.

The masses began surging toward the pool and Tom immediately began scouring the crowd for Chang. He had little chance of spotting him in the massive throng though and he stopped trying after a few moments.

Instead, he watched behind him as he headed for the employee break area three hours later. He spotted the SPOOK agent wearing a blue t-shirt and matching swim trunks. A smirk spread across the lifeguard's face.

He entered the employee cafeteria and glanced around. Sandy was already there, eating a half-warm burger and cold fries. She waved at him. He returned the action half-heartedly and started down the line. After collecting and paying for his usual meal, Tom glanced around the room and spotted the person he was looking for.

"What's up, Troy?" Tom asked as he sat down across from the Sea Zone security officer.

"Not much," Troy replied, glancing away from his cheese steak sandwich to study Tom.

"I think someone's following me," Tom said.

"Oh, not again!" Troy groaned with a mouthful of food. "The last time I almost lost my job."

"Look, I'm sure this time," Tom said. He leaned towards Troy. "It's an Asian guy, wearing a blue t-shirt and trunks. We'll leave together and I'll point him out to you."

Troy sighed. "All right, I'll watch him and if he's still following you when your shift lets out, I'll take care of him."

"Thanks, Troy," Tom said.

Tom quickly pointed Chang out to his friend and the ambush was set.

Chang hated playing babysitter. He would request a change of assignment soon. Maybe he could join the Hounds.

Tom walked at a quick pace towards his motorcycle. Chang thought about losing him for a moment.

He didn't notice Troy until the muscular security officer stood in front of him. Chang tried to step around him, but a hand clamped onto his shoulder and pulled him back in front of Troy.

"There a reason you're following that boy?" Troy glared at him.

Chang caught sight of Tom sitting atop his motorcycle and smirking at the scene. He pulled his helmet on, started the engine, and rode off.

Tom roared down the highway, reveling in triumph. With any luck, this would put a stop to the agency shadowing his every move.

A green creature dropped out of a tree, transparent wings fluttering from its back to keep it airborne. It dived at Tom, its arm pulled back to swing its sharp finger at him. Tom gasped in surprise and pulled the Aqua Racer onto its side, leaning it back; the creature flew over top of him and missed.

He pulled the bike back up and glanced at the retreating insect. He pulled the Biobuckle out of his jacket and placed it against his waist. Vines reached out to hold the buckle in place.

Tom turned the bike around and sped off after the mantis. He took one hand off the bars and held up his pendant in it. "Henshin!" He pushed it into the buckle.

"Transform!"

Mist settled over Tom's speeding form then the halo of light moved down his body, forming his suit. When it hit his feet, the usual shockwave of energy shot out from the bike's tires.

The mantis flew off the side of a bridge. Tom dodged around an oncoming tractor-trailer and launched the Aqua Racer over the side of the bridge, praying the technological marvel could handle the fall. It hit the pavement with a loud thud, but kept moving.

The creature glanced back at him, buzzed incoherently and then turned to fly straight at him. Tom hit the brakes and the bike screeched to a stop. He leapt forward, letting the bike's momentum help carry him. He slammed a fist into one of the creature's oversized eyes.

It fell to the ground and rolled about for a moment, before getting up and folding its wings into its back. It raised its arms, brandishing its blades at Tom. The rider placed a hand on his hip and looked unimpressed.

Clicking angrily, the mantis charged forward and swung an arm at him. Tom raised his own arm and blocked, than threw a punch into the bug's chest. The insect stumbled back and Tom advanced, lashing out with a kick. The insect caught his foot with both hands. It tossed his leg to the side, unbalancing him and then struck with its blades, scouring a pair of cuts across his back.

Tom spun around foot coming up for a roundhouse kick to the side. The bug blocked and then tried for another slash, Tom avoided it by stepping back.

"You are unworthy of defeating Lord Loxodonta," the mantis buzzed.

"What?"

The insect leapt forward and scored a slash across Tom's chest armor. It raised its other arm for a second slash, but Tom blocked with the small fin on the back of his arm. The insect kneed him in the chest and he fell onto his back. The bug stepped around to Tom's side and raised an arm to strike at his head.

Bullets exploded against the insect's chitin and it stumbled back screeching. Tom gasped and rolled over, glancing up at the bridge. Chang stood on it, pistol aimed down at the mantis.

"How did you manage to stay alive this long by yourself?" Chang shouted.

"Very funny," Tom said as he got back to his feet and faced the mantis.

Turning, the mantis leapt into the air and spread its wings. Tom gasped and took a step forward, before spinning around and running back to the Aqua Racer. He pushed the bike up and jumped on, once again chasing after the mantis.

It looped around and flew back at him. Tom ducked under its blade. He glanced back and found it flying after him. He swerved to the side as it tried another flyby attack. Tom growled and gunned the engine as the bug pulled away.

How can I swat this insect?

A white glow emanated from his motorcycle and he looked down to find a black substance flowing out of the bike's inner workings. It covered the front of the bike and formed the distinct shape of an orca's head with fins jutting out below the handlebars. A long tail extended out behind the bike. The creature released an eerie wail.

"All right, let's go!" Tom exclaimed. Unfortunately, the bike didn't seem to go any faster with the creature making its presence known. Tom groaned as they fell even farther behind.

Then the front wheel rose off the ground and the orca creature sprayed a jet of water from its mouth. It struck the mantis and knocked it out of the air. It collided with the ground and rolled across it.

The dazed mantis slowly pushed itself up as the Orca Racer bore down on it. The motorcycle rammed into the insect and knocked it flying. A green fireball exploded out of it in midair and its brown husk hit the ground.

"Good boy," Tom said, patting the Orca Racer's head.

Author's Note: That's all for now. If anyone has a suggestion for a name for the creature residing in the Aqua Racer I'm open to suggestions.