Episode 6: The White Rider Appears Pt. 1

Sugureta sighed as he watched another of his test subjects turn to ash before his very eyes. "And candidate number three turns out to be… less than excellent," he remarked as he stepped over to the ash pile and pulled out the object that had caused the man's demise. "Really now, do you have to kill everyone who wears you?" he asked the Helsing Buckle.

"Do you have to talk to every one of your inventions?" Turning around, the Hobbit mechanist sighed as he saw Ginjo striding towards him, an expectant look on the Goblin King's face. "You know, you may want to consider getting out some time. I think all the time you're spending in this cave is starting to make you lose that 'excellent' mind you're so proud of," he said as he came to a stop in front of Sugureta. His eyes sized up the little man for a moment before finally looking down towards what he held in his hands. "So… that's the weapon, is it?"

The Helsing Buckle that the Hobbit held in his hands was rectangular in shape, and was mainly a light brown color. In the center of it was an ovular ring done in gold, with four lines coming off of the ring to the corners of the buckle itself. Running alongside those lines were crimson streaks. Inside the ring, a pair of dark purple orbs rested above a thin, purple rectangle. On either side of the belt was a set of three Fuestle holsters, each containing a Fuestle. There was an indentation at the top of the belt where a Fuestle could be placed, activating whatever power the object held.

"Yes, the Helsing System… An excellent piece of equipment I will admit, even if it is somewhat… testy." Shaking his head, the Hobbit walked over to his workbench and laid the corrupted System down before turning to face his guest. "Now, why are you here Ginjo?" he asked bluntly.

"I'm here for one of your machines," Ginjo answered as a sinister smile crossed his face. "My men have been getting restless, so I thought we'd take a little trip to the city to wreak some havoc. Of course, if the brat gets involved, we may just be able to bring him home for the Commander."

"Yet you don't require one of my excellent machines to do such a thing," Sugureta remarked, looking at his fellow General with suspicion. "Tell me this, Goblin King, and I may grace you with one of my excellent creations if what I hear is excellent enough. If it is not, then…" The Hobbit trailed off with a laugh before looking straight back towards Ginjo. "I'm sure that the Legendorga will have an excellent time destroying your entire force, won't he?"

Sugureta had expected Ginjo to become outraged by the question, so he was surprised when the goblin laughed. "Ah, but that's my point exactly, tiny. You see, I've been thinking-"

"A laborious exercise for you, I'm sure," Sugureta snapped. His face was red from the 'tiny' remark and it was all he could do from outright attacking the Goblin King- a fight he knew that he would lose.

"…Not as difficult as you'd think, midget." Ginjo stared down at the Hobbit in disdain, his lip curling up into a snarl. "…As I was saying," he finally said after a tense moment of silence between the two, "I've been thinking as to why we keep losing to the brat. I've gone after him with my Goblins, Meiko's sent out one of her little pets, and you've sent Android after Android after him. So," he raised a finger, "what's the one thing all of these things have in common?" When Sugureta said nothing, Ginjo sighed and shook his head. "Here I thought you were supposed to be smart… It's always been one group that's attacked him. Never two, and before you ask, the Crow Fangire doesn't count considering it went berserk and attacked me and my men before we could even get our hands on the Legendorga brat. So I came up with a plan: Use one of your machines as bait, then when the boy comes out to fight, my men and I all jump in to the fray. No matter how strong he is, he'll be outnumbered and we'll crush him!" There was a vicious smile on his face, but one glance at the mechanist made him hastily add, "And of course bring him back to the Commander."

"Let me see if I have all of the details to this plan correct." Standing to his full height- which wasn't much- Sugureta gave Ginjo a pointed look. "You are asking of me to send one of my excellent creations out with you, so that, in the slightest chance that this works, you can overpower the one person that has been singlehandedly defeating each and every member of the Insurgency that we send his way. Tell me if my excellent ears missed anything, please." Shaking his head, the Hobbit turned away from the Goblin. "Be an excellent person and leave, quickly if possible. I'm a busy man, and I have many excellent things to work on- things that do not include building an Android for you."

"But my plan could work!" Ginjo protested, stomping his foot down and shaking the platform they were both standing on. "All I need is something to draw the bastard's attention, and then my men and I will swoop in and take the victory! Meiko wouldn't even give me a chance to explain my plan and Zavan is too busy searching for the Infernal Gem, so you're my only option dammit!"

Sighing in frustration, Sugureta turned his head to look back at the General. "If you're so desperate for aid, go bother one of the Fangire amongst our ranks; I'm sure that one or two of them will prove to be an excellent target for our friend."

Ginjo spat in disgust. "Like I'd make my men work side-by-side with a damned Fangire," he growled. "For centuries those bastards have oppressed my people, putting them to work in the worst conditions possible just because we're one of the hardier Races. Why didn't the Gigants go to the mines when they're clearly stronger than us? Better yet, why didn't the Fangire get off of their asses and actually do something for once?" He raked one of his hands across the top of his scalp. "I'd sooner feed my men to rabid wolves than make them work with one of them."

"You act as though all Fangire worked the same way." Both Generals spun around to face the sound of the voice. It was a Fangire, a bird type if the wings that spread from the insides of its arms to its sides were any indicator. Its body was mainly dark purple, with splashes of neon green, dark blue, and red thrown in. Around its neck was a large amount of what looked like neon green feathers, and the neck itself was covered by pale red glass. Its head was angular and it had a large, curved spike coming off of the back of its head, with a shorter one just below it. "In reality, there were plenty of us who felt the same way about the King and his cohorts as you do. If we were truly so powerful a Race, why did we not directly enslave all of the humans and make them into livestock?" The Fangire shook its head, causing the glass feathers around its neck to rattle. When it spoke, the face of a young woman with brown hair appeared on several places on its body. "We had power, yet we squandered it all. A complete waste, wouldn't you say?" she remarked.

Ginjo narrowed his eyes and reached for his weapon. "What are you doing here, Fangire?" he spat as his fingers curled around the hilt of his sword. "Don't you know that you're not allowed in this area? Only those with the proper rank are allowed, and last time I checked, not a single Fangire was at that rank." With a quick motion, he pulled the blade off of his back and swung it at the Fangire's neck, stopping just short. "…Give me a reason as to why I shouldn't execute you right now for potential sabotage. And it had better be a damned good one!"

Calmly, the Fangire reached one of her hands up to the blade and grasped it. "I wonder: Is this how you treat everybody who wishes to aid you? It's really not a wonder as to why no one wants to aid you if this is true." Shaking her head, she pushed the sword away from her and took a step back, her hands held in front of her in a placating gesture. "Now, before you get any ideas about executing me, here me out, because I think you'll like what you hear." Still glaring at her, Ginjo slowly lowered his weapon, allowing the tip of the blade to scrape against the metal platform they stood on. "You see… I want the Legendorga just as bad as you do, General Ginjo."

Scoffing, he shook his head in disbelief. "I doubt that-"

"Oh? And here I believed that the Goblins were the most ardent about getting revenge against kin slayers. I must have been mistaken," she remarked, bringing a taloned hand to her chin. "Here I was, all prepared to go and get revenge for my older brother, only to find out that the Goblins weren't anything like they were supposed to be. What a shame," she lamented, though there was a hint of a mocking tone to her voice.

One of Ginjo's eyes twitched. "Just what the hell do you mean by that?!" he screamed. "We Goblins are better than any story ever told about us makes us out to be! I'm the living proof of that- I rose above all of the other Races to become the Commander's right hand!" Growling, he swung his sword up onto his shoulder and pointed a finger at the Fangire. "You want to get a piece of the brat? Fine. Just follow my orders and we'll all be happy, got it? Head to the city and start causing havoc. My men and I will be there when the Legendorga shows his face." Without waiting for a reply, he stalked off, grumbling curses under his breath.

After a few minutes of silence that hung in the air following his departure, it was the one who had been quietest during the exchange that spoke up. "An excellent move, if I might say- provoking someone with such an excellently hot temper as the Goblin King was an ingenious strategy," Sugureta said as he crossed his arms. "But tell me: Who is it that you seek revenge for?" he asked.

The Fangire looked down at the small man and shook her head. "Really? Are you asking who it could be? What Fangire have been destroyed by the Legendorga as of late?" Looking away, a slight giggle bubbled from her mouth. "Though I'll admit, I'm feeling giddy just thinking about our encounter… I hope the Goblin King won't mind if I bring along a couple of friends for the battle," she muttered to herself as she walked away.

Raising an eyebrow, Sugureta chuckled softly to himself. "This should prove to be an excellent little bloodbath," he mused before returning to his work.

It seemed that becoming dumbstruck by what the strange young man brought into their lives was becoming a common occurrence for Setsuna and Ryuji, though at the moment, it wasn't because of how rude Korou was being or how he could change into a Kamen Rider, or even how Duskiv could eat unimaginable amounts of food for something of his size.

They were confounded by how… nice the Legendorga survivor was being. To a child, no less.

"Is- Are we sure this is the same Korou as usual?" Setsuna asked Ryuji as she watched Korou catch a ball out of the air. For the past half hour, Korou and the kid they'd seen running from the Deer Android only a couple of days ago had been practicing soccer, with Korou acting as a goalie and the boy attempting to get past the seemingly unbreakable defense that was being put up. "I mean, he's not getting angry, he's not acting heartless- Did the Insurgency replace Korou while we weren't looking?"

"Nope, you're just seeing how Korou is around kids," Duskiv said from inside of Setsuna's purse. He'd taken a shine to staying in there whenever they would go out, as it meant that, for one, he'd be able to hide more easily and it also meant he didn't have to fly constantly. He poked his head out of the bag and looked up at the two of them. "He's always had a soft spot for them; from what he's told me, a group of them from his hometown would always come to the bakery he worked in to buy some of the stuff he'd made, just because he'd made it."

"He baked?" Ryuji asked, shaking his head in disbelief. "I swear, it gets harder and harder to get a read on this guy the more we learn about him. One minute, he's a heartless monster, and the next he's the kid-friendly baker." Leaning back on the cool grass and folding his arms behind his head, he let out a content sigh as he looked at the passing clouds. "Still, it's nice to not have so much drama going on, right Setsuna?"

"Yeah, it really is," she agreed. As she watched the boy and Korou continue practice, a smile came over her face. "Hey, it's getting close to lunch time. Maybe we should invite Korou's friend to get something to eat with us." She looked down at Duskiv, who shook his head in agreement- she tried to ignore the dreamy look in his eyes at the mentioning of lunch- before turning to Ryuji. "What about you, Ryuji? Want to go get lunch, or- Are you alright?"

"L-Lunch…?" the officer stammered. His skin had turned pale and his eyes were wide in shock. "…What's the time, Setsuna? I'd check my phone, but… I don't think I can bear to look…" The look in his eyes as he addressed her was a mixture of both panic and despair.

Confused and concerned, she dug into her purse. Pulling out her phone, she checked the time. "It's… just five past noon-"

"CRAP!" Ryuji screamed as he shot off of the ground. "The chief is going to kill me… I was supposed to go and pick someone up from the airport at twelve! Apparently they're part of some big company and- What am I doing wasting time explaining this to you?!" Tearing at his hair, he turned on his heel and took off. "I'm sorry!" he cried as he ran, though to whether it was to her, the person at the airport, the chief, or some other party was hard to tell. Likely, it was a combination of all four.

"…Should we be concerned about him?" Duskiv asked from inside the purse.

Setsuna opened her mouth, only to immediately close it again. "You know… I'm not entirely sure," she admitted after thinking it over for a few moments. "Ryuji's always kinda been like that- forgetful, I mean. He gets so caught up in the moment that he forgets what he's supposed to be doing." She let out a rueful sigh as she turned back to watch Korou. "I guess that's why he's always in such hot water with his dad…"

"What's his dad got to do with anything?"

"…He's kinda the chief of police…"

The Kivat blinked up at her before lowering his gaze. "…that answers how he managed to get to be a cop…" he murmured under his breath, careful not to let Setsuna hear him. Catching something in the corner of his eye, he turned to see Korou and the boy heading towards them. "Oi, here they come! Remember: We can still have lunch without Ryuji!" he said, a bit too eagerly.

"Just get back in the purse," Setsuna huffed. Picking up the bag with the Kivat inside of it, she stood and brushed the grass off of her skirt before starting to walk towards them. "Hey, you two looked- Korou, were you trying to kill this kid?!" she screeched when she saw the shape the boy was in. He was covered in grass and dirt, and his clothes were a lot more ragged than what they should have been. Still, there was a spark of determination in his eyes and there was a happy smile on his face.

"Hiro wanted to practice soccer, so I said I'd help him provided he put up with my training. I never said he wouldn't get ruffed up a little, just that he'd be in for a real challenge," Korou explained, his face as stoic as ever. Looking down at Hiro, a thin smile broke over his face and he ruffled the boy's hair. "Still, for your first day, you did better than I expected. Good job, Hiro."

"I-It's all thanks to you, K-Korou," Hiro replied shyly, an embarrassed smile on his face.

"Aw, it's like the two of you are brothers," Setsuna remarked, though any further remarks were cut off by the glare that Korou shot her. "Um, anyways, Ryuji and I were thinking about taking the two of you out for lunch, but… he kinda had to go and take care of something, so it'll just be the three of us. That is, if you two want to."

Hiro was about to say something, though Korou cut him off. "Actually, I might be able to make something for lunch. It's been a while since I've cooked for anyone, and I figure I could use the experience." Looking down at Hiro, he pulled out his cellphone, handed it to the boy, and said, "Go and call your mom to see if it's alright. I don't want her to think I'm a kidnapper or anything, and if she wants to talk to me, let her." The boy nodded and took the phone, walking off a short distance so he could talk to his parents in peace. While he was busy, Korou looked towards Setsuna's bag. "Duskiv, you can speak up now."

When the two of them were met with silence, Setsuna curiously opened her bag, only to suppress a laugh at what she saw. "I… I think that hearing you'd cook was too much for him… Look…" she struggled to say as she handed her purse over to Korou. Peering inside, he shook his head as he saw the Kivat lying unconscious, a small stream of drool coming from the corner of his mouth.

"…I should've seen that coming…" Korou admitted.

Milling around on top of the roof of one of Terudo's many skyscrapers, three people stood facing each other. One was a young woman with raven black hair that fell to her shoulders wearing a black dress and a white boa around her neck. Her companions were both young men who wore black suits with white ties, though one had dyed his hair with green streaks at some point and the other had light brown hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. "Are you ready?" the man with the ponytail asked the woman.

Smirking, she looked him over. "Jin, I've been ready ever since that brat shattered my dear older brother for the first time. I've been itching to dig my talons into him."

"Heh, a bit of revenge for ole Koji… I think he'd want nothing less, don't you?" the one with green streaks in his hair said. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he walked to the edge of the building and whistled. "Ah, so many tasty looking people… Yumiko, are you sure we can't have a few bites to eat? We haven't been able to drain Life Energy in so long, I've forgotten what the taste is like…" he whined.

Yumiko flicked a strand of hair out of her face. "Akira, we have to keep focused on the mission. If I know you- and after as many years as we've spent together, I know you- if I let go of even a bit of your leash, you'll strangle me with it." Sighing at his moan of protest, she fixed him with a harsh look. "Just remember: This is for Koji." That seemed to shut him up, as he immediately turned serious again. Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Yumiko turned around to see the third member of their group behind her. "Is something the matter, Jin?"

Jin shook his head. "No, I simply wanted you to know that I'm here for you, and I always will be," he said with a smile. Leaning down, he placed a kiss on her forehead. "Koji was like a brother to me, and I swore to always be by your side. I'll go to the ends of the earth if it means getting revenge for your brother, my love."

Yumiko smiled at his words and caressed one of his cheeks with her hand. "Thank you, Jin… Just promise me that you won't die… I've already lost Koji; I won't know what to do if I lost you."

Still smiling, he took her hand and held it. "You won't have to find out," he assured her. Slowly, he released her hand and looked towards Akira, who was making a gagging motion. "Akira, we're going in first to draw out the Legendorga. When he arrives, the Goblins will start to try and take him. They won't; we'll switch our targets and allow Yumiko to handle him while we distract the Goblins."

A sinister grin broke over Akira's face. "So long as I get to have some fun…" Stained glass patterns began to break out over his face as he spun around on his heel, doing a complete 360. His entire body became encased in stained glass before shattering, revealing his new form. It was mostly white, with splotches of red, dark blue, yellow, and black dotting his form. His right arm now ended in a vicious looking yellow barb that dripped an acidic substance onto the ground. Trailing on the ground behind him was a blue cape that looked like the wings of an insect, and his eyes were large, green, segmented orbs. "Shall we begin?" the Wasp Fangire asked.

As Akira's face became covered in stained glass, he nodded. His body underwent its own transformation, shattering the stained glass that coated it to reveal a more vicious looking creature. Massive, sharp claws gleamed in the sunlight. His body was an off shade of gray, with black lines crossing over his chest and patches of crimson and orange dotting his arms and legs. His head had two black stripes that ran down it, and his mouth was filled with sharp teeth that were permanently pulled back into a snarl. "Let's," the Badger Fangire replied. Together, the two of them looked down on their target, the airport, before jumping down to the streets.

"Taiga, are you sure that having a police escort to the hotel was necessary? I could easily get there myself, and if anyone tried to harm me, I could take care of myself," Nago said into his phone as he stood in the lobby of the airport, a slightly irritated look on his face. In his other hand, he held a briefcase and there was a suitcase at his feet.

"It's like I explained, Nago: You need to keep as low a profile in Terudo as possible to keep the Insurgency from getting suspicious," the Fangire King explained over the phone. "Unless the situation demands it, you're a representative from my company, understood? If this new Kiva turns out to have ties to the Insurgency, this could be the break that we've needed."

Nago let out a frustrated sigh. "I understand, but are you even sure that my escort's coming? My plane landed an hour ago, and-"

"Nago Keisuke!" A frantic voice filled the air as people in the bustling crowd began to let out exclamations of frustration as they were shoved aside.

"…I think I found my escort… I'll give you an update as soon as I can," he told Taiga, who simply ended the call. Pocketing his phone, Nago picked up his suitcase and walked towards the source of the frantic shouting, apologizing as he moved through the crowd, until he finally found who was shouting: A young man with messy brown hair and brown eyes was darting to and fro through the crowd, calling his name. From the badge pinned on his chest, the Kamen Rider gathered that this man was supposed to be his escort. "I'm going to have to talk with the chief of police around here," Nago muttered, shaking his head. "Hey, you there! Are you looking for Nago Keisuke?"

The young man froze in his tracks, turning to look at Nago. Apprehension slowly donned on his face and he raced up to greet him. "Hello sir, I'm Ryuji Masato, you're escort and guide to Terudo during your stay here." Ryuji stuck out a hand, which Nago shook firmly. "Um, I apologize for running late… I was with a few friends and I lost track of time- You know, it might be for the best if I just get you to your hotel…" Nervously scratching the back of his head, the young officer grabbed the suitcase that Nago had been carrying with him and motioned for the older man to follow him. "My car's this way. If you'll just follow me-"

"Monsters!"

Nago immediately tensed up at the word. "The Insurgency…" he muttered under his breath. "…Ryuji, get to your car and call for backup!" he ordered before running off towards the cries of panic that were making their way to his ear. As the amount of people running away from the monsters started to diminish, he stopped in his tracks and placed the briefcase on the ground. Opening it, he took out the objects inside of it: one a black belt with a black and gold device on the front with a red gem embedded into it, and the other a black and gold knuckle duster- like object. Taking the belt and throwing it around his waist, it snapped into place as he ran forwards, only to stop when a blast of yellow energy struck the ground in front of him and knocked him to the floor.

"Ah, so a meat sack's trying to play hero, heh?" one of the two monsters, a white insect-like monster, mocked as it ran its hand over the stinger that made up its right hand. "These humans, they never fail to amuse me. What do you think?" it asked its companion, a large gray monster with wickedly sharp claws. It said nothing, but instead pointed at what was around Nago's waist with one of said sharp claws. "What? What's so- Oh… You can't be serious…" the Wasp Fangire breathed out as it saw the belt around his waist. "No, no, no! The Commander said nothing about you being here!"

Standing up, Nago glared at the two of them. "So, you work for the Insurgency… I suppose its time for me to start doing my job and take you out!" Taking the IXA Knuckle- the device in his right hand- he slammed it into the open palm of his left hand, causing an electronic voice to call out "READY". Next, he brought the arm across his chest, the Knuckle close to his face.

"HENSHIN!"

Slamming the Knuckle down into the side of the IXA Belt, the voice called out "FIST ON," as a holographic golden cross emerged from the red gem. The cross quickly changed into a full suit of armor that hovered in the air before him for a moment before slamming back onto him, turning into a solid version of the armor. It was mainly white, with a black bodysuit beneath it. The torso had an emblem resembling the sun on it. The white armor covered his forearms, the inner and outer portions of his lower legs, his hips, and his shoulders; everything below the torso section had a blue outline. His shoulders were covered in white armor that was golden at the bottom, like the faceplate over his face, and his head was covered by a white helmet. However, as the two Fangire watched on, the faceplate split into four sections that separated from his eyes, revealing them to be red as a wave of heat spread out from his body.

"Fangire…" IXA growled. "…return those lives to God!"

Taking out his weapon, a sword with an oddly designed hilt and a thin red blade- the IXA Calibur- he ran at the two Fangire as they let out battle cries and charged him. As Kamen Rider IXA charged the two Fangire, another Rider was on his way, having been phoned by an acquaintance.

1 Minute Earlier…

"Hiro, if you eat that much, you'll make yourself sick!" Setsuna exclaimed as she watched the young boy devour the curry rice that Korou had made for lunch. They were all sitting in her apartment at her table, though she and Hiro were the only ones eating. When she'd asked Korou to eat, he'd simply said that he wasn't that hungry. "I still can't believe you don't want any of this, Korou! It's- Oh? Someone's calling me." Reaching into her purse, she pulled out her phone and flipped it open. "Hello-"

"Setsuna have Korou come to the airport, now! Two Fangire are attacking!" Ryuji all but screamed over the phone, making her wince. "…Wait, what the- Holy- There's another Kamen Rider here!"

"Wha- Ryuji, what are you-" Before she could finish asking her question, he hung up. Sighing, she looked to Korou. "Did you-"

"I did," he said darkly. "Hiro, I'm going out for a bit. I've got something to take care of, but Setsuna will get you home safe, alright?" Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed his jacket from the couch and walked out the door. Taking the steps three at a time, he quickly emerged on street level and took off in a dead spring for his bike. "Duskiv, let's go!" he called.

"Alright, Master Korou!" the Kivat exclaimed as he flew out of one of the windows that Setsuna had left open and into Korou's palm. Bringing Duskiv to his hand, the Kivat bit him, causing the burning chains to wrap around his waist until they formed a belt. Holding Duskiv before him, Korou called out.

"HENSHIN!"

As Dusk, Korou jumped onto his bike, the Pegasus Fuestle already in his hand. He placed the Fuestle in Duskiv's mouth and roared out onto the streets as the Pegasus Runner armor formed onto his motorcycle. It would only take him a couple of minutes or so to get to the airport at this speed. However, his mind wasn't focused on the Fangire that were attacking. No, it was focused on who they were fighting.

"Duskiv, do you have any idea who this Rider might be?" Dusk asked as he sped along. "Because the only other two Riders I know of are-"

"Kiva and Arc are long dead, Korou! There's no possible way it could be them!" Duskiv shouted back. "Besides, remember that video Ryuji showed us about that Wizard guy that was being called a Kamen Rider? I bet it's someone like him!"

"…I hope you're right…"

Back at the airport, things were at a standstill. Despite being somewhat of a veteran, Nago was still having some difficulty handling both Fangire at once. The Wasp Fangire came at him with a flurry of jabs from his stinger, almost like a fencer, and more than once he'd nearly wound up on the receiving end of an acid coated sting. The Badger Fangire was just as bad; even though it didn't attack directly, it would occasionally strike at him from the side to distract him, and its claws proved to be too strong for the blade of the IXA Calibur to get through.

Rolling out of the way to avoid being run through by one of the Wasp's jabs, IXA shifted the IXA Calibur to its Gun Mode, causing the blade to descend into the hilt as a long clip extended from the bottom of what had been the hilt. Taking aim, he fired a barrage of shots at the Fangires, only to swear inwardly when the Badger Fangire simply blocked them all with its claws. "Damn, this isn't working!" he whispered to himself as he stood. "If I could just get them separated, then maybe-"

At that very moment, a blur crashed through one of the windows: It was a black and gray motorcycle that had what looked like wings attached to the sides. However, it was who was on the bike that was what caught IXA's attention. "K-Kiva…?" he said, startled that there was actually someone who looked almost identical to the form that Wataru and Taiga could take, only with some small changes such as the two wolf-shaped pauldrons, the wolf-shaped helmet, the different Kivat that was on his belt, and the more armored look that this Kiva had.

Bringing the bike to a screeching halt, the 'Kiva' took a look at the two Fangire before turning his pale yellow eyes towards IXA. The two Riders stared at each other for a moment, though the moment was ended when the 'Kiva' took out what looked to be a Fuestle and placed it into his Kivat's mouth.

"Harpier!"

IXA was surprised when a green emblem appeared in front of the Kiva as an airy tune played from the Fuestle. The emblem crossed over his body, and from a green twister he pulled out a rapier. "…If you're done looking at me like that, get ready to fight," the Kiva said in a monotone voice as he turned to face the Fangire. "Now… Just what does the Insurgency think it can accomplish by attacking an airport?" he asked the two Fangires.

"This!"

The Kiva turned around just in time to block a slash from a strange creature's sword. Recognizing it to be a Goblin from the research he'd done during his investigation into the Insurgency, IXA was surprised when a horde of them began to jump out of holes that spontaneously formed out of the ground, their roughly crafted weapons waving in the air. "I should've known the Insurgency wouldn't play fair! Where's your sense of honor, Ginjo?" With a cry of anger, the Kiva threw off the sword and jumped back, his own blade held in front of him.

"Come now, brat, I'm fighting you one-on-one right now; what's it matter if there were a few people you had to go through first?" Ginjo shook his head as if disappointed, though he stopped when he realized what he'd just said. "Wait, why're there two Fangire here? There was only supposed to be one, and neither of you look like her!"

The Wasp Fangire let out a dark laugh. "Oh, Goblins really are this stupid…" Before anyone could react, it charged Ginjo and stung at him with its stinger, narrowly missing. "She didn't agree to help you take him to the Commander, she agreed so that she could get her revenge!"

"That bitch…" Ginjo growled angrily. Looking towards his fellow Goblins, he gestured at the Kiva with his chin. "Take him down, and get him to the Commander! I have traitors to execute…" He swung his blade along the ground and ignited it before charging the Wasp Fangire, who simply laughed before running at him.

IXA made a move to help the Kiva, only to be stopped by a blow to the chest from the Badger Fangire. "You will not get in her way," the Fangire rumbled, the first time it had spoken up during the entire fight. "Even if it means I must die, she will have what she desires!" It roared before rushing IXA, who took a defensive stance as he shifted the IXA Calibur back into its Calibur Mode.

Dusk readied himself as the Goblin horde charged him, only to step back in surprise when a blast of purple energy swept them all away. "I won't let a single one of you filthy Goblins lay your hands on him!" a voice called. Turning around, Dusk readied himself when he saw a young woman in a black dress standing before him. As he watched, stained glass markings appeared on her face. "Now, it's time to get revenge for my brother!"

At the same time this was going on, a man was pacing nervously back in forth in the room of a hotel. "Dammit, where's Keisuke? He was supposed to be here by now…" the man muttered to himself. A sudden chill overtook his body and he walked over to the thermostat. "Odd… The AC's not on, so-"

"So… you're the… rat…" a voice rasped in his ear as his entire body began to freeze. "Make sure… that he gets… the message…"

The man could only cry out in pain as his body froze solid.

Sorry for how long it took for me to get this one out... I really should work on my upload schedule. I guess you can thank the necessary evil that preparing for college is for that, but as I said, it's a necessary evil.

Anyhow, I'd like to do something real quick, something I've never done before, and that is to give a quick shout-out to another story. SilverDemios-and-tfireheadz are currently working on a Original Rider story called Kamen Rider: The Next Generation. Basically, it's just that- a submit your own character story- but I personally feel that, like a lot of stories, this one has potential. The only problem that I see it facing is the same problem a lot of stories have, and that is a lack of interest that can potentially cause the story to fall to the wayside. I'm not telling anyone to go and send in a character, because that's your own decision to make, but I am asking you to at least check it out.

And no, I'm not giving them this shout-out so I could get one of my characters in. I simply offered to help spread the word about their story, so don't even start. Before anyone asks, though, I will admit that I sent in two characters. ...I like those kinds of stories, alright? Sue me...

With that out of the way, I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to read this story. I'd really appreciate it if you'd leave a review; it's the fuel that keeps me going after all. Even if you don't, I hope you all have a wonderful day.