(no subject)
WHO: Kai Ozu, Souji Tendou
WHERE: A street in Kaiju-Ravaged Tokyo, about a block or so from Bistro La Salle
WHAT: Two very different heroes team up against a common threat
The cratered ruins of what was once Shibuya are a No Man's Land of twisted steal, crumbled concrete and shattered lives. It was here, a little over seven years ago, that the meteor fell, destroying families, buildings and dreams. But worse things were to come as a result of it's landing for it did not come alone. It brough with it The Worm, alien monsters bent on taking over the world by killing and replacing the humans who dominate it now. Unknown to even The Worm though, the meteor impact also crushed a secret passage leading to one of the magically sealed places beneath the earth, a secret retreat where long ago, Infershia sealed one of it's worst horrors, one of it's worst monsters. There was imprisoned a beast so horrible, so vicious that even N.Ma couldn't fully control it. And for seven years, it has worked it's way through the small cracks of it's prison, burrowing slowly back towards the surface. Today, it will rise once more to challenge the world and spread darkness across the skies.
Meanwhile, across town, Souji Tendou watches his little sister head off to school after another of his master-crafted breakfasts. A smile barely touches his lips as he watches her vanish down the street. Once she is gone, he cleans the dishes, changes into his outside clothes (a pair of black jeans, a white T-shirt and a collared charcoal grey button-up shirt) and locks up the house before climbing onto his (well, ok it actually belongs to ZECT but they're not using it) motorcycle and speeds down the road for the Cafe.
No motorcycle for Kai, at least the kind he can't ride out in the open -- but the young man in the red jacket doesn't seem to mind. Taking a brief break from his tour of the Gate realms to return home for awhile, the young magician is currently wandering his way around town. School is out, all of his sempai are busy (including Yamazaki-san ;_; ) family isn't home -- so for right now, he's got a peaceful day to himself. And -just- when he's deciding on treating himself for breakfast, he remembers a Cafe he'd heard about that's actually pretty close to where he is now. And so....
Pulling up the the small Bistro La Salle, Souji slips off his bike and removes his red and silver helment, placing in on the back of the bike before strolling towards the doors. He notices the young man walking down the street and remembers him from the ridiculous fight the other day. He waits a few moments before saying, in a very neutral tone of voice, "How's your nose?" After all, he did get whacked in the face by Akane.
Back in the Shibuya ruins, the ground quakes, then ruptures, a jet of dark flame shooting forth. A few Worm in their natural state wander close to get a good look. Suddenly, a dark shape shoots out of the hole, moving faster than anything of this earth ever could naturally. Two of the Worm explode into green flame and the third finds itself impaled on the end of a wickedly curved claw. The claw is attached to a being encased in black armor, with the claws and tail of a scorpion, the body of a crocodile and the head of a Lion but with multi-faceted, insectile eyes and antennae. It hisses and leans forward, biting The Worm in two with it's powerful jaws. "There has to be something tastier around here!" The monster hisses in it's guttural, angry voice, "I haven't eaten in 7,000 years!"
"Eh?" Kai blinks as he draws close enough to the cafe for Souji to call out to him. It takes a moment to recognize him, but spying that motorcycle nearby jogs the young man's memory. "You're... from the other day?" His nose? "Oh! Much better, thanks." n.n;; "Here -- " Stepping forward and pulling a folded white handkerchief from his jacket pocket, passing it along. "Thanks for this." At least he had it cleaned before returning it -- there isn't even a trace of blood on the cloth.
"So -- you come here to eat too? Is it any good... ?" Kai would dearly like to know -- but blinks as a triple-tone ring begins chiming from his pocket. It's a signal tone he hasn't heard in quite awhile...
Taking the handkerchief from Kai, Souji slips it into the pocket of his jeans and pushes open the door to the small Bistro, allowing Kai to go in first. "You could say I come here often." The inside is sparsely decorated by cozy, with several tables and a kitchen seperated from the eating area by a beaded curtain. He hears the strange sound and looks to Kai. "You have a call."
Farther away, the strange Hades Beast walks out of the rubble of Shibuya and makes it's way down the street. People flee in terror, running anywhere but in the direction of the Monster. Two silver vans pull up and a number of men in black body armor and bug-like helmets climb out, attached to their hands are round objects with gun barrels sticking out of them. They say nothing but surround the bizarre creature and open fire. The bullets strike, sparking off the lion-scorpion-crocodile thing but doing no real harm. "Hey, is that any way to greet someone new to town? How rude!" The Hades Beast laughs and proceeds to trash the ZECTroopers, throwing them around like rag dolls. He grabs one of them by the shirt and snarls, "Now, tell me where I can get something good to eat or I'll just settle for eating you!" The terrified trooper just points in the direction of the Bistro La Salle and for his trouble gets tossed through the windshield of one of the vans as the monster from Infershia heads for the little eatery.
"Oh? H-hai!" Kai quickly steps inside as the door is opened for him, barely noticing the bistro's decor as he steps to the side. Pulling the gold-plated MagiPhone from his pocket and flipping it open, already dreading what he'll see. And sure enough, a little map appears on the phone's screen window, a blinking red cursor marking a spot there. o 0 (No mistake about it! Hades Beast signal! But why now, after everything?!) "Um -- excuse me, sorry," he mumbles, snapping the phone shut and turning back to the door. "I need to -- um -- go take this outside." Pushing back past Souji and slipping out the door, turning to run down the street in the direction of that approaching dot...
Souji shrugs and is just about to walk into the restaraunt when one of the part-time employees, Kagami, runs out. "Tendou-san! Oh, I'm so glad you're here! I just got a call, there's some kind of Worm attacking! It's just up the block! You've got to do something?"
Turning his head to look for the young man, Souji Tendou narrows his eyes, wondering if just maybe, Kai Ozu is an employee of ZECT, possibly even another rival with the Masked Rider System. Without saying a word to Kagami, Souji sticks his hands in his pockets and cooly walks towards the scene of chaos. "You could hurry you know!" Kagami calls from behind him, making Souji smirk.
Back at the frontline in the battle with the supposed Worm, things are not going well. Already the ZECTroopers have been easily defeated and the police are staying far, far away from this. Worse, the ZECT observers can't get a hold of the current holder of TheBee and don't seem to have any hope, aside from perhaps the arrival of that loose canon, Kabuto. "Hungry!" The Hades Beast cries out, using it's wicked barbed tail to smash open the door to an ice cream truck before shoving it's head inside and greedily gobbling down the entire contents of the freezer within. "Still Hungry!"
Everyone staying well clear of the scene works just fine for Kai -- one of Magitopia's highest laws forbids the young man from revealing his identity as a magician (intentionally, anyway). Which doesn't mean that he can't take action -- by the time Souji saunters out, he might notice Kai 'taking the call outside' by sprinting down the block...
...and as such, turns around the corner -just- in time to see the creature chomping its way through the ice cream truck, skidding to a halt. "Infershia!! What do you think you're doing?!" he demands with a scowl. It'd pretty much been understood all this mayhem on the surface world would -stop-!
"Having lunch!" The Hades Beast chuckles, ice cream still dripping from it's mouth, where three rows of razor-shapr teeth can be clearly seen. "Hey, you know anywhere good to grab a bite to eat! I've been sealed away from seven thousand years and man, I'm starving!" The thing begins to approach Kai, it's scorpion tail twisting around like an anxious serpent, the claws on it's arms snapping open and closed. "Everyone else ran away from me but not you. And hey, how'd you know where I'm from anyway?"
Souji is taking his time, walking slowly and listening for the sounds of battle. He's still a good two blocks away, giving Kai plenty of time to do his thing.
"Sealed away?" Kai repeats, blinking as the creature steps forward. o 0 (So.... he's not one of Branken's -or- Meemy's! He was sealed away even before 'tousan fought! Does Sphinx know about him?!) "I know all about Infershia!" he replies, scowling a bit. "And I won't let you -- .....oi.. Why are you looking at me like that.... ?" Just sort of stepping back as the Hades Beast steps forward.... Kai has yet to 'do his thing,' but Souji might end up hearing the sounds of battle soon enough...
The Hades Beast laughs, an altogether unpleasant sound, "Cause you haven't answered my question yet. Where can I get something good to eat? Answer me or I'll just eat you!" He rubs his mouth with his claws and chuckles. "You look good and tender, I like 'em young. Yeah, forget the question, I'll just eat you!"
Souji hears this and wonders why a Worm is talking to someone. Still, he's not close enough yet to see the monster and thus doesn't know that it's not a Worm at all but something completely different.
"Stop screwing around!" Kai snaps back, nervousness vanishing in the face of anger. "You think I'll allow that?" Flipping the MagiPhone up to his face before snapping it to the side, flipping out its wand extension and hitting a set of keys on the pad. "Heavenly Saint! Grant me the power of magic! Mahou Henshin -- " Sweeping his arms up to cross before spreading them in a circle, than raising the MagiPhone high -- " -- Maagi Magi Magiro!!" -- and hitting the center button....
...though not 'there' yet, from this distance Souji could probably make out the bolt of lighting that flashes up into the sky. Up-close however, the Hades Beast could get a good look as the bolt's power calls form a mystical circle to descend around the young man, a red bodysuit and cape taking form over his clothing, a like-colored helm enclosing his face. "The Burning Flame Elemental!" he declares, sweeping his cape around himself as he whirls, a little trail of flame following his hand as he flings his arm away. "Magician of the Red -- MagiRed!"
Heavenly Saint? Magician? One has to wonder if the Hades Beast has been asleep too long to remember Magitopia...
The Hades Beast hisses and takes a few steps back. "Magician! I had hoped your kind long since wiped from the face of this world! If you still live and humans rule this world, than Infershia must have fallen! I shall avenge my comrades, though they betrayed me! I, Hades Beast Mantacora will feast on your flesh and pick my teeth with your bones little Magician!" And to prove his point, the monster whips his tail forward, shooting six wickedly pointed spines from that scorpion top towards the Magician of the Red.
Finally able to see what is going on and only seeing the Hades Beast from the back, Souji raises his hand towards the sky. It looks like the figure in the red suit is going to need a little help. There's a disturbance in the sky, a ripple and suddenly, there's a red insect flying towards Souji. It's too large to be a real insect and it's made of metal but Souji grabs it out of the air, tears his shirt open and slaps the metallic bug into place. "Henshin," he says softly, the belt replies HENSHIN and he is covered in hexagons of metal, that form into a rather bulky-looking suit about his body.
"Hah!" MagiRed catches up the edge of his cape, sweeping it around himself as he whirls again, hitting those spines as they come in. Not to outright -block- with them (since Hikaru-sensei seems to be the only one who can be that cool ;_; ), but whipping the cloth around to sweep the incoming attack away, scattering the spikes to the street. "I won't let that happen either! MagiStick Sword!" Pulling the crested wand from the holster at his side, snapping it into its new configuration -- but pausing as he hears the belt's command ego. " -- 'henshin?'" o 0 (Nii-chan?) Glancing back over his shoulder, and -staring- behind his helm as he ses the transformation just finishing, revealing the well-armored figure. (That's not Nii-chan! Who -is- that?!)
Mantacora charges Kai, using the distraction of Kabuto's sudden appearance to his advantage. He opens his mouth wide, all three rows of teeth clearly visible and tries to eat Kai! His breath is so incredibly foul, so vile, so overwhelmingly, chokingly disgusting that it's hard to even get near him without head protection. Fortunately, both Kai and Souji have that.
Souji pulls the gun from his belt and begins to walk slowly towards the monster, pulling the trigger and firing shot after shot into the Hades Beast. Unlike the bullets of the ZECTrooper guns, these things are explosive rounds fired from amounts to a handheld rail gun and aimed using the three lasers mounted to the barrel. The bullets explode against the Beast's hide, knocking it away from being able to get it's mouth around Kai.
The sound of Manticora charging reminds MagiRed that this -really- isn't the time to be looking away from your enemy; he looks back around -just- in time to get a nice, long look at a -very- big maw about to crunch his head off. "WAGH!" Diving and rolling to the side, which avoids him getting his head taken off from both the Beast AND from Kabuto's shots.
(Don't know who this guy is, but he's fighting the Hades Beast too! I'll figure it out later!) 0 o MagiRed quickly comes out of the roll and up to his feet, bringing his heels together sharply before leaping high into the air. And coming out of a flip into a powerful downwards slash, whipping his blade around in a fierce slashing combo as he attacks the Hades Beast's flank, attacking from the side while Kabuto fires from the front.
Watching MagiRed's attack, Kabuto nods and tries to draw the attention of their mutual foe by rushing towards the Hades Beast, gun blazing away the entire time. He says nothing, just attacks. He doesn't even scream to show his burning spirit or anything.
Mantacora focuses on the one shooting at him and is totally unprepared for the downward slash from MagiRed's MagiStick Sword. It staggers backwards and snarls, it's eyes flashing red with anger. "Ow! That hurt! I don't know -who- you are," it growls at Kabuto, "But I know the Magician and his ilk! Time for some backup!" And the monster clears it's throat, then spits a viscous black goo onto the ground. From out of that goo come the shambling shapes of man-like creatures with wide, dead eyes and skeletal faces... they look almost like Zombies.
"What are you -- ?!" MagiRed pauses, tilting his head as the Hades Beast.... hocks up? o.o;; Taking a few quick back as it spits that black patch onto the ground, staring a bit as the figures that squirm out of it. "Those... look almost like Zobil. But.... --!!! Wait a minute!" The Magician of the Red raises his head, pointing a hand at the shambling creatures, and then at Manticora. "Don't tell me these are the things that you've -- " He -did- mention he was hungry, after all....
"Eaten?" Mantacora chuckles. "But of course they are. What else could I have been eating all those years below the surface?" Maybe this explains why he was sealed away, he was eating his own footsoldiers. The reconstituted Zobil charge towards MagiRed and Kabuto, shambling along and making their strange, moaning sound.
Kabuto grabs for his belt and flips the buckle, saying softly, "Cast Off" then, he flips the buckle back, all of his armor bulges at the seams and the belt itself seems to say "CAST OFF". Suddenly, his armor explodes, showering the Zobil and Mantacora in chunks of metal, some of the Zobil fall, others just get knocked back. And in the center of the explosion stands Kabuto, in his other, faster form.
It takes a -lot- to horrify MagiRed... although he's young, he's endured a lot throughout the past year, from soaring in the Heavens to crawling through the depths of the Underworld, to being spun through time to the end of the Earth itself. This however, does the trick nicely.
The explosion of cast-off shrapnel stops him for a moment, as MagiRed whips his cape around to shield his face as metal bits whiz past him. " !! " Flinging his arm out and whisking his cape away, peering at Kabuto's armored form.... then slowly turning his face back to Manticora.
" ....unforgivable... " The hand not holding the MagiStick Sword slowly closing, clenching into a shaking fist. " ....unforgiveable! Zobil may be Infershia's footsoldiers, but they're still your own comrades! Bad enough you turn on them, devour them.... you won't even let them rest in peace! I won't forgive it.... I WON'T!" Whirling his shaking fist back to withdraw the MagiPhone from its holster and snapping itopen once more. "Chou Mahou Henshin! Maagi Magi Magi Magiro!!"
Once again sweeping his arms in a circle before raising the phone skyward, another bolt of power arcing up before streaking back down. This time however, what it leaves in its wake is a dramatic change -- MagiRed's cape vanishes, his helm becoming more ornate with a pair of sweeping wings to either side, white and gold armored boots, gauntlets and breastplate appearing in place.
"The Burning Flame Elemental! Magician of the Red -- " Snapping his hand to the side, catching up the dial-headed staff that appears there, its face emblazoned with the signs of ion and firebird. " -- Legend MagiRed!!"
Turning to look at MagiRed as he transforms, Kabuto nods in appreciation. He does have respect for anyone with a good power-up move after all. His attention quickly turns back to the Zobil and the renegade Hades Beast. He points to the main threat, "I'll deal with the Zobil, you attack the source." And with that, he draws his knife and charges into the midst of the reanimated Infershia footsoldiers, slashing one, then another, never stopping, always in motion.
Mantacora laughs and narrows his eyes at Legend MagiRed. "Legend, that's what you'll be once I've eaten you Magician! Just a tale told by children of a foolish boy who dared challenge me!" And twin beams of energy shoot from his eyes towards where the valiant Sentai Hero stands.
No clever retort for that -- the righteous fury that now fills Legend MagiRed stifles all wit. Instead, he catches up the DialRod staff in both hands as those beams come in, whirling it around -- and strikes the head of the staff against the head of the beams, knocking them away! "HrrrrrrAHHH!!!" Giving a fierce battecry as he rushes forward, spinning the staff to the side before whirling it around -- looking to smash it right into Manticora's jaw and shatter a few teeth.
Matacora watches as his attack completely fails to do anything and backs up as his beams are deflected. "What? What kind of power is that?" He's not even ready when Legend MagiRed comes in with an attack from the DialRod. The attacks strikes, shattering the first row of bottom teeth, scattering them around and making the Hades Beast cry out in pain. "Oh, I'll get you for that!" His tails whips forward, trying to impale the hero on that poisonous stinger.
Meanwhile, Kabuto rushes back and forth, stabbing, slashing, hacking, disposing of the half-digested Zobil easily. He pauses after the last one falls to watch the battle between the hero in red and the Hades Beast.
"That won't work!!" Having already deflected a volley of spikes from that tail, the Legendary Magician knows better than to forget about it; he sweeps his staff back around on the backswing from that fierce crash, knocking it against the stinger and deflecting it, the poison tip just barely skidding past his shoulder plate.
"MagiBolt!" Legend MagiRed stamps his foot down, once again leaping high into the air, clearing space between himself and the Hades Beast as he soars upwards. Whipping the DialRod staff back around to thread his finger through the slot labelled ' 1' and spinning the face, the staff glowing in response. "Legend Fire!!" And whipping the staff downwards, a -firestorm- of power exploding from the staff's head with a roar, sweeping down from above towards the Hades Beast...
Matacora tries to dodge after his tail attack fails. He leaps to the side but it's too late. The powerful flame attack strikes the already injured monster, engulfing him in the pure fires of Kai's own courage. He screams and then... explodes into little pieces. With no backup to make him grow into a larger form, that's all there is for Mantacora, destruction.
Kabuto watches, nodding in approval and slipping his knife back onto his belt. He turns away from the Victorious Magician and begins to walk away, without another word.
Legend MagiRed drops down from above to land in a crouch, down on one knee for a moment.... then straightens up, brandishing the DialRod staff and snapping it outwards to face the flaming remains of Manticora. "Checkmate!!" Justice is served, even after seven thousand years.
But isn't there something else he should be wondering about? (Oh! That's right!) Legend MagiRed looks back over his shoulder to see Kabuto walking away... then whirls, running after him. "Wait!"
Kabuto turns back to regard MagiRed, it's so hard to tell what he's thinking beneath that insectoid helmet of his. He doesn't say anything but his posture, his arms folded across his chest, practically screams "What do you want now boy?"
Hoo boy. That's an unfriendly pose, by all means. Legend MagiRed draws to a halt as he comes within distance of Kabuto... and with a shimmer of red and gold light, abolishes his Legend Form to leave himself with MagiRed's helm and cape once more. "Thanks for your help back there," he offers. Tilting his head, face hidden behind his helm as he studies the other man -- but it's pretty clear he's trying to figure out what the deal is. He doesn't -look- like another magician, and a madoushi wouldn't have helped him (he doesn't look like a Deka either). "Who -are- you?"
In response, the masked figure lifts one hand, pointing his index finger towards the sky, his gaze following it. "I am the man who walks the path of Heaven. The Man destined to rule over all." His masked face looks back to the Magician of the Red, "Grandmother said this, he who would walk to path of Heaven must never allow those who walk the opposite path to destroy the happiness of others." He lowers his hand and turns once more to continue walking off, apparently satisfied with his own answer.
" ...........................eh?" o.o; One really doesn't need to -see- the blank look Kai gives the retreating figure to know that's what he's wearing. o 0 (The path of Heaven? Is he from Magitopia? But what's with that 'rule over all?' That doesn't sound good! But he helped me... and didn't he just say that -- ) "Wait!" Stepping forward again, raising a hand towards the other figure. " ....if you fight to protect the happiness of others," he says slowly, "then that makes us allies." He -says- it slowly, because he's not quite sure of that himself...
Kabuto stops once more and turns back again. "If that is what you think, then perhaps we are. I fight to follow the Path of Heaven, to walk the true path to my own destiny. If you walk with me, only one can truly Rule over All. And that one will be me." He's certainly one for the cryptic words, isn't he? "But if your only goal is only to defend the happiness of others, then you can walk that path with many others. For as many heroes as there are in this world, there will always be enemies for them to overcome."
In the shadows, watching the entire battle, something is making plans. Something witnessed the power of Mantacora, the power hampered by stupidity and hunger. If that power could be harnessed, used by something with intelligence and cunning, then it could be a great power indeed. The hulking, green, vaguely insectoid figure picks up chunk of the destroyed Hades Beast and begins studying it. Why copy humans when there are more powerful beings to Mimic?
( ....is he talking about nee-tachi and nii-tachi?) 0 o Because indeed, there -are- others who walk the same path Kai does -- even though they've gone their separate ways for now, their courage and their bond of family is still strong. "I'm.... not entirely sure what you're talking about," MagiRed murmurs, scratching his.... er, helmet. " -- but, I know that you helped me here today! And that those Zobil and that Hades Beast could have hurt a lot more people without your help." Stepping forward and offering his hand to shake. "'Aka no Mahoutsukai' -- MagiRed. That's what I'm called." Unaware that even as this new meeting is taking place, a new evil is plotting behind them...
Taking that offered hand, the figure in red, silver and black armor shakes it. "Kabuto." That's all he says, for anything more would be revealing too much. He only shakes hands for a brief moment, then turns to head back to his bike, which is parked still at the Bistro. "We'll meet again, of this I am sure."
"Aa!" MagiRed nods agreement as he shakes hands, good cheer restored by that simple gesture of faith. Watching as the armored figure turns and starts walking away.... but unable to feel a -little- disquieted. 'We'll meet again' implies that if they do so under similar circumstances, it'll probably be trouble again. And as much as the prospect of a new ally cheers him, Kai could wish for no further conflicts instead...
....but a gurgle from his stomach reminds him that he has something else to wish for. "Whoops! That's right, breakfast." Turning to duck into a nearby alleyway, a flash of red light shining out a moment later...
....and Kai Ozu jogging out a moment later, looking cheerful as he makes his way back up the block towards the bistro. Looks like he'll get to try the new place after all!
WHERE: A street in Kaiju-Ravaged Tokyo, about a block or so from Bistro La Salle
WHAT: Two very different heroes team up against a common threat
The cratered ruins of what was once Shibuya are a No Man's Land of twisted steal, crumbled concrete and shattered lives. It was here, a little over seven years ago, that the meteor fell, destroying families, buildings and dreams. But worse things were to come as a result of it's landing for it did not come alone. It brough with it The Worm, alien monsters bent on taking over the world by killing and replacing the humans who dominate it now. Unknown to even The Worm though, the meteor impact also crushed a secret passage leading to one of the magically sealed places beneath the earth, a secret retreat where long ago, Infershia sealed one of it's worst horrors, one of it's worst monsters. There was imprisoned a beast so horrible, so vicious that even N.Ma couldn't fully control it. And for seven years, it has worked it's way through the small cracks of it's prison, burrowing slowly back towards the surface. Today, it will rise once more to challenge the world and spread darkness across the skies.
Meanwhile, across town, Souji Tendou watches his little sister head off to school after another of his master-crafted breakfasts. A smile barely touches his lips as he watches her vanish down the street. Once she is gone, he cleans the dishes, changes into his outside clothes (a pair of black jeans, a white T-shirt and a collared charcoal grey button-up shirt) and locks up the house before climbing onto his (well, ok it actually belongs to ZECT but they're not using it) motorcycle and speeds down the road for the Cafe.
No motorcycle for Kai, at least the kind he can't ride out in the open -- but the young man in the red jacket doesn't seem to mind. Taking a brief break from his tour of the Gate realms to return home for awhile, the young magician is currently wandering his way around town. School is out, all of his sempai are busy (including Yamazaki-san ;_; ) family isn't home -- so for right now, he's got a peaceful day to himself. And -just- when he's deciding on treating himself for breakfast, he remembers a Cafe he'd heard about that's actually pretty close to where he is now. And so....
Pulling up the the small Bistro La Salle, Souji slips off his bike and removes his red and silver helment, placing in on the back of the bike before strolling towards the doors. He notices the young man walking down the street and remembers him from the ridiculous fight the other day. He waits a few moments before saying, in a very neutral tone of voice, "How's your nose?" After all, he did get whacked in the face by Akane.
Back in the Shibuya ruins, the ground quakes, then ruptures, a jet of dark flame shooting forth. A few Worm in their natural state wander close to get a good look. Suddenly, a dark shape shoots out of the hole, moving faster than anything of this earth ever could naturally. Two of the Worm explode into green flame and the third finds itself impaled on the end of a wickedly curved claw. The claw is attached to a being encased in black armor, with the claws and tail of a scorpion, the body of a crocodile and the head of a Lion but with multi-faceted, insectile eyes and antennae. It hisses and leans forward, biting The Worm in two with it's powerful jaws. "There has to be something tastier around here!" The monster hisses in it's guttural, angry voice, "I haven't eaten in 7,000 years!"
"Eh?" Kai blinks as he draws close enough to the cafe for Souji to call out to him. It takes a moment to recognize him, but spying that motorcycle nearby jogs the young man's memory. "You're... from the other day?" His nose? "Oh! Much better, thanks." n.n;; "Here -- " Stepping forward and pulling a folded white handkerchief from his jacket pocket, passing it along. "Thanks for this." At least he had it cleaned before returning it -- there isn't even a trace of blood on the cloth.
"So -- you come here to eat too? Is it any good... ?" Kai would dearly like to know -- but blinks as a triple-tone ring begins chiming from his pocket. It's a signal tone he hasn't heard in quite awhile...
Taking the handkerchief from Kai, Souji slips it into the pocket of his jeans and pushes open the door to the small Bistro, allowing Kai to go in first. "You could say I come here often." The inside is sparsely decorated by cozy, with several tables and a kitchen seperated from the eating area by a beaded curtain. He hears the strange sound and looks to Kai. "You have a call."
Farther away, the strange Hades Beast walks out of the rubble of Shibuya and makes it's way down the street. People flee in terror, running anywhere but in the direction of the Monster. Two silver vans pull up and a number of men in black body armor and bug-like helmets climb out, attached to their hands are round objects with gun barrels sticking out of them. They say nothing but surround the bizarre creature and open fire. The bullets strike, sparking off the lion-scorpion-crocodile thing but doing no real harm. "Hey, is that any way to greet someone new to town? How rude!" The Hades Beast laughs and proceeds to trash the ZECTroopers, throwing them around like rag dolls. He grabs one of them by the shirt and snarls, "Now, tell me where I can get something good to eat or I'll just settle for eating you!" The terrified trooper just points in the direction of the Bistro La Salle and for his trouble gets tossed through the windshield of one of the vans as the monster from Infershia heads for the little eatery.
"Oh? H-hai!" Kai quickly steps inside as the door is opened for him, barely noticing the bistro's decor as he steps to the side. Pulling the gold-plated MagiPhone from his pocket and flipping it open, already dreading what he'll see. And sure enough, a little map appears on the phone's screen window, a blinking red cursor marking a spot there. o 0 (No mistake about it! Hades Beast signal! But why now, after everything?!) "Um -- excuse me, sorry," he mumbles, snapping the phone shut and turning back to the door. "I need to -- um -- go take this outside." Pushing back past Souji and slipping out the door, turning to run down the street in the direction of that approaching dot...
Souji shrugs and is just about to walk into the restaraunt when one of the part-time employees, Kagami, runs out. "Tendou-san! Oh, I'm so glad you're here! I just got a call, there's some kind of Worm attacking! It's just up the block! You've got to do something?"
Turning his head to look for the young man, Souji Tendou narrows his eyes, wondering if just maybe, Kai Ozu is an employee of ZECT, possibly even another rival with the Masked Rider System. Without saying a word to Kagami, Souji sticks his hands in his pockets and cooly walks towards the scene of chaos. "You could hurry you know!" Kagami calls from behind him, making Souji smirk.
Back at the frontline in the battle with the supposed Worm, things are not going well. Already the ZECTroopers have been easily defeated and the police are staying far, far away from this. Worse, the ZECT observers can't get a hold of the current holder of TheBee and don't seem to have any hope, aside from perhaps the arrival of that loose canon, Kabuto. "Hungry!" The Hades Beast cries out, using it's wicked barbed tail to smash open the door to an ice cream truck before shoving it's head inside and greedily gobbling down the entire contents of the freezer within. "Still Hungry!"
Everyone staying well clear of the scene works just fine for Kai -- one of Magitopia's highest laws forbids the young man from revealing his identity as a magician (intentionally, anyway). Which doesn't mean that he can't take action -- by the time Souji saunters out, he might notice Kai 'taking the call outside' by sprinting down the block...
...and as such, turns around the corner -just- in time to see the creature chomping its way through the ice cream truck, skidding to a halt. "Infershia!! What do you think you're doing?!" he demands with a scowl. It'd pretty much been understood all this mayhem on the surface world would -stop-!
"Having lunch!" The Hades Beast chuckles, ice cream still dripping from it's mouth, where three rows of razor-shapr teeth can be clearly seen. "Hey, you know anywhere good to grab a bite to eat! I've been sealed away from seven thousand years and man, I'm starving!" The thing begins to approach Kai, it's scorpion tail twisting around like an anxious serpent, the claws on it's arms snapping open and closed. "Everyone else ran away from me but not you. And hey, how'd you know where I'm from anyway?"
Souji is taking his time, walking slowly and listening for the sounds of battle. He's still a good two blocks away, giving Kai plenty of time to do his thing.
"Sealed away?" Kai repeats, blinking as the creature steps forward. o 0 (So.... he's not one of Branken's -or- Meemy's! He was sealed away even before 'tousan fought! Does Sphinx know about him?!) "I know all about Infershia!" he replies, scowling a bit. "And I won't let you -- .....oi.. Why are you looking at me like that.... ?" Just sort of stepping back as the Hades Beast steps forward.... Kai has yet to 'do his thing,' but Souji might end up hearing the sounds of battle soon enough...
The Hades Beast laughs, an altogether unpleasant sound, "Cause you haven't answered my question yet. Where can I get something good to eat? Answer me or I'll just eat you!" He rubs his mouth with his claws and chuckles. "You look good and tender, I like 'em young. Yeah, forget the question, I'll just eat you!"
Souji hears this and wonders why a Worm is talking to someone. Still, he's not close enough yet to see the monster and thus doesn't know that it's not a Worm at all but something completely different.
"Stop screwing around!" Kai snaps back, nervousness vanishing in the face of anger. "You think I'll allow that?" Flipping the MagiPhone up to his face before snapping it to the side, flipping out its wand extension and hitting a set of keys on the pad. "Heavenly Saint! Grant me the power of magic! Mahou Henshin -- " Sweeping his arms up to cross before spreading them in a circle, than raising the MagiPhone high -- " -- Maagi Magi Magiro!!" -- and hitting the center button....
...though not 'there' yet, from this distance Souji could probably make out the bolt of lighting that flashes up into the sky. Up-close however, the Hades Beast could get a good look as the bolt's power calls form a mystical circle to descend around the young man, a red bodysuit and cape taking form over his clothing, a like-colored helm enclosing his face. "The Burning Flame Elemental!" he declares, sweeping his cape around himself as he whirls, a little trail of flame following his hand as he flings his arm away. "Magician of the Red -- MagiRed!"
Heavenly Saint? Magician? One has to wonder if the Hades Beast has been asleep too long to remember Magitopia...
The Hades Beast hisses and takes a few steps back. "Magician! I had hoped your kind long since wiped from the face of this world! If you still live and humans rule this world, than Infershia must have fallen! I shall avenge my comrades, though they betrayed me! I, Hades Beast Mantacora will feast on your flesh and pick my teeth with your bones little Magician!" And to prove his point, the monster whips his tail forward, shooting six wickedly pointed spines from that scorpion top towards the Magician of the Red.
Finally able to see what is going on and only seeing the Hades Beast from the back, Souji raises his hand towards the sky. It looks like the figure in the red suit is going to need a little help. There's a disturbance in the sky, a ripple and suddenly, there's a red insect flying towards Souji. It's too large to be a real insect and it's made of metal but Souji grabs it out of the air, tears his shirt open and slaps the metallic bug into place. "Henshin," he says softly, the belt replies HENSHIN and he is covered in hexagons of metal, that form into a rather bulky-looking suit about his body.
"Hah!" MagiRed catches up the edge of his cape, sweeping it around himself as he whirls again, hitting those spines as they come in. Not to outright -block- with them (since Hikaru-sensei seems to be the only one who can be that cool ;_; ), but whipping the cloth around to sweep the incoming attack away, scattering the spikes to the street. "I won't let that happen either! MagiStick Sword!" Pulling the crested wand from the holster at his side, snapping it into its new configuration -- but pausing as he hears the belt's command ego. " -- 'henshin?'" o 0 (Nii-chan?) Glancing back over his shoulder, and -staring- behind his helm as he ses the transformation just finishing, revealing the well-armored figure. (That's not Nii-chan! Who -is- that?!)
Mantacora charges Kai, using the distraction of Kabuto's sudden appearance to his advantage. He opens his mouth wide, all three rows of teeth clearly visible and tries to eat Kai! His breath is so incredibly foul, so vile, so overwhelmingly, chokingly disgusting that it's hard to even get near him without head protection. Fortunately, both Kai and Souji have that.
Souji pulls the gun from his belt and begins to walk slowly towards the monster, pulling the trigger and firing shot after shot into the Hades Beast. Unlike the bullets of the ZECTrooper guns, these things are explosive rounds fired from amounts to a handheld rail gun and aimed using the three lasers mounted to the barrel. The bullets explode against the Beast's hide, knocking it away from being able to get it's mouth around Kai.
The sound of Manticora charging reminds MagiRed that this -really- isn't the time to be looking away from your enemy; he looks back around -just- in time to get a nice, long look at a -very- big maw about to crunch his head off. "WAGH!" Diving and rolling to the side, which avoids him getting his head taken off from both the Beast AND from Kabuto's shots.
(Don't know who this guy is, but he's fighting the Hades Beast too! I'll figure it out later!) 0 o MagiRed quickly comes out of the roll and up to his feet, bringing his heels together sharply before leaping high into the air. And coming out of a flip into a powerful downwards slash, whipping his blade around in a fierce slashing combo as he attacks the Hades Beast's flank, attacking from the side while Kabuto fires from the front.
Watching MagiRed's attack, Kabuto nods and tries to draw the attention of their mutual foe by rushing towards the Hades Beast, gun blazing away the entire time. He says nothing, just attacks. He doesn't even scream to show his burning spirit or anything.
Mantacora focuses on the one shooting at him and is totally unprepared for the downward slash from MagiRed's MagiStick Sword. It staggers backwards and snarls, it's eyes flashing red with anger. "Ow! That hurt! I don't know -who- you are," it growls at Kabuto, "But I know the Magician and his ilk! Time for some backup!" And the monster clears it's throat, then spits a viscous black goo onto the ground. From out of that goo come the shambling shapes of man-like creatures with wide, dead eyes and skeletal faces... they look almost like Zombies.
"What are you -- ?!" MagiRed pauses, tilting his head as the Hades Beast.... hocks up? o.o;; Taking a few quick back as it spits that black patch onto the ground, staring a bit as the figures that squirm out of it. "Those... look almost like Zobil. But.... --!!! Wait a minute!" The Magician of the Red raises his head, pointing a hand at the shambling creatures, and then at Manticora. "Don't tell me these are the things that you've -- " He -did- mention he was hungry, after all....
"Eaten?" Mantacora chuckles. "But of course they are. What else could I have been eating all those years below the surface?" Maybe this explains why he was sealed away, he was eating his own footsoldiers. The reconstituted Zobil charge towards MagiRed and Kabuto, shambling along and making their strange, moaning sound.
Kabuto grabs for his belt and flips the buckle, saying softly, "Cast Off" then, he flips the buckle back, all of his armor bulges at the seams and the belt itself seems to say "CAST OFF". Suddenly, his armor explodes, showering the Zobil and Mantacora in chunks of metal, some of the Zobil fall, others just get knocked back. And in the center of the explosion stands Kabuto, in his other, faster form.
It takes a -lot- to horrify MagiRed... although he's young, he's endured a lot throughout the past year, from soaring in the Heavens to crawling through the depths of the Underworld, to being spun through time to the end of the Earth itself. This however, does the trick nicely.
The explosion of cast-off shrapnel stops him for a moment, as MagiRed whips his cape around to shield his face as metal bits whiz past him. " !! " Flinging his arm out and whisking his cape away, peering at Kabuto's armored form.... then slowly turning his face back to Manticora.
" ....unforgivable... " The hand not holding the MagiStick Sword slowly closing, clenching into a shaking fist. " ....unforgiveable! Zobil may be Infershia's footsoldiers, but they're still your own comrades! Bad enough you turn on them, devour them.... you won't even let them rest in peace! I won't forgive it.... I WON'T!" Whirling his shaking fist back to withdraw the MagiPhone from its holster and snapping itopen once more. "Chou Mahou Henshin! Maagi Magi Magi Magiro!!"
Once again sweeping his arms in a circle before raising the phone skyward, another bolt of power arcing up before streaking back down. This time however, what it leaves in its wake is a dramatic change -- MagiRed's cape vanishes, his helm becoming more ornate with a pair of sweeping wings to either side, white and gold armored boots, gauntlets and breastplate appearing in place.
"The Burning Flame Elemental! Magician of the Red -- " Snapping his hand to the side, catching up the dial-headed staff that appears there, its face emblazoned with the signs of ion and firebird. " -- Legend MagiRed!!"
Turning to look at MagiRed as he transforms, Kabuto nods in appreciation. He does have respect for anyone with a good power-up move after all. His attention quickly turns back to the Zobil and the renegade Hades Beast. He points to the main threat, "I'll deal with the Zobil, you attack the source." And with that, he draws his knife and charges into the midst of the reanimated Infershia footsoldiers, slashing one, then another, never stopping, always in motion.
Mantacora laughs and narrows his eyes at Legend MagiRed. "Legend, that's what you'll be once I've eaten you Magician! Just a tale told by children of a foolish boy who dared challenge me!" And twin beams of energy shoot from his eyes towards where the valiant Sentai Hero stands.
No clever retort for that -- the righteous fury that now fills Legend MagiRed stifles all wit. Instead, he catches up the DialRod staff in both hands as those beams come in, whirling it around -- and strikes the head of the staff against the head of the beams, knocking them away! "HrrrrrrAHHH!!!" Giving a fierce battecry as he rushes forward, spinning the staff to the side before whirling it around -- looking to smash it right into Manticora's jaw and shatter a few teeth.
Matacora watches as his attack completely fails to do anything and backs up as his beams are deflected. "What? What kind of power is that?" He's not even ready when Legend MagiRed comes in with an attack from the DialRod. The attacks strikes, shattering the first row of bottom teeth, scattering them around and making the Hades Beast cry out in pain. "Oh, I'll get you for that!" His tails whips forward, trying to impale the hero on that poisonous stinger.
Meanwhile, Kabuto rushes back and forth, stabbing, slashing, hacking, disposing of the half-digested Zobil easily. He pauses after the last one falls to watch the battle between the hero in red and the Hades Beast.
"That won't work!!" Having already deflected a volley of spikes from that tail, the Legendary Magician knows better than to forget about it; he sweeps his staff back around on the backswing from that fierce crash, knocking it against the stinger and deflecting it, the poison tip just barely skidding past his shoulder plate.
"MagiBolt!" Legend MagiRed stamps his foot down, once again leaping high into the air, clearing space between himself and the Hades Beast as he soars upwards. Whipping the DialRod staff back around to thread his finger through the slot labelled ' 1' and spinning the face, the staff glowing in response. "Legend Fire!!" And whipping the staff downwards, a -firestorm- of power exploding from the staff's head with a roar, sweeping down from above towards the Hades Beast...
Matacora tries to dodge after his tail attack fails. He leaps to the side but it's too late. The powerful flame attack strikes the already injured monster, engulfing him in the pure fires of Kai's own courage. He screams and then... explodes into little pieces. With no backup to make him grow into a larger form, that's all there is for Mantacora, destruction.
Kabuto watches, nodding in approval and slipping his knife back onto his belt. He turns away from the Victorious Magician and begins to walk away, without another word.
Legend MagiRed drops down from above to land in a crouch, down on one knee for a moment.... then straightens up, brandishing the DialRod staff and snapping it outwards to face the flaming remains of Manticora. "Checkmate!!" Justice is served, even after seven thousand years.
But isn't there something else he should be wondering about? (Oh! That's right!) Legend MagiRed looks back over his shoulder to see Kabuto walking away... then whirls, running after him. "Wait!"
Kabuto turns back to regard MagiRed, it's so hard to tell what he's thinking beneath that insectoid helmet of his. He doesn't say anything but his posture, his arms folded across his chest, practically screams "What do you want now boy?"
Hoo boy. That's an unfriendly pose, by all means. Legend MagiRed draws to a halt as he comes within distance of Kabuto... and with a shimmer of red and gold light, abolishes his Legend Form to leave himself with MagiRed's helm and cape once more. "Thanks for your help back there," he offers. Tilting his head, face hidden behind his helm as he studies the other man -- but it's pretty clear he's trying to figure out what the deal is. He doesn't -look- like another magician, and a madoushi wouldn't have helped him (he doesn't look like a Deka either). "Who -are- you?"
In response, the masked figure lifts one hand, pointing his index finger towards the sky, his gaze following it. "I am the man who walks the path of Heaven. The Man destined to rule over all." His masked face looks back to the Magician of the Red, "Grandmother said this, he who would walk to path of Heaven must never allow those who walk the opposite path to destroy the happiness of others." He lowers his hand and turns once more to continue walking off, apparently satisfied with his own answer.
" ...........................eh?" o.o; One really doesn't need to -see- the blank look Kai gives the retreating figure to know that's what he's wearing. o 0 (The path of Heaven? Is he from Magitopia? But what's with that 'rule over all?' That doesn't sound good! But he helped me... and didn't he just say that -- ) "Wait!" Stepping forward again, raising a hand towards the other figure. " ....if you fight to protect the happiness of others," he says slowly, "then that makes us allies." He -says- it slowly, because he's not quite sure of that himself...
Kabuto stops once more and turns back again. "If that is what you think, then perhaps we are. I fight to follow the Path of Heaven, to walk the true path to my own destiny. If you walk with me, only one can truly Rule over All. And that one will be me." He's certainly one for the cryptic words, isn't he? "But if your only goal is only to defend the happiness of others, then you can walk that path with many others. For as many heroes as there are in this world, there will always be enemies for them to overcome."
In the shadows, watching the entire battle, something is making plans. Something witnessed the power of Mantacora, the power hampered by stupidity and hunger. If that power could be harnessed, used by something with intelligence and cunning, then it could be a great power indeed. The hulking, green, vaguely insectoid figure picks up chunk of the destroyed Hades Beast and begins studying it. Why copy humans when there are more powerful beings to Mimic?
( ....is he talking about nee-tachi and nii-tachi?) 0 o Because indeed, there -are- others who walk the same path Kai does -- even though they've gone their separate ways for now, their courage and their bond of family is still strong. "I'm.... not entirely sure what you're talking about," MagiRed murmurs, scratching his.... er, helmet. " -- but, I know that you helped me here today! And that those Zobil and that Hades Beast could have hurt a lot more people without your help." Stepping forward and offering his hand to shake. "'Aka no Mahoutsukai' -- MagiRed. That's what I'm called." Unaware that even as this new meeting is taking place, a new evil is plotting behind them...
Taking that offered hand, the figure in red, silver and black armor shakes it. "Kabuto." That's all he says, for anything more would be revealing too much. He only shakes hands for a brief moment, then turns to head back to his bike, which is parked still at the Bistro. "We'll meet again, of this I am sure."
"Aa!" MagiRed nods agreement as he shakes hands, good cheer restored by that simple gesture of faith. Watching as the armored figure turns and starts walking away.... but unable to feel a -little- disquieted. 'We'll meet again' implies that if they do so under similar circumstances, it'll probably be trouble again. And as much as the prospect of a new ally cheers him, Kai could wish for no further conflicts instead...
....but a gurgle from his stomach reminds him that he has something else to wish for. "Whoops! That's right, breakfast." Turning to duck into a nearby alleyway, a flash of red light shining out a moment later...
....and Kai Ozu jogging out a moment later, looking cheerful as he makes his way back up the block towards the bistro. Looks like he'll get to try the new place after all!