Kamen Rider Kiva: B-side (AU/AR)

[Konvictedâ€]

Chapter 18: Nightmares

Greenhills, a place that never slept. By day, it was a bustling shopping center; from clothes to books to even pirated DVDs and VCDs, it had everything one could possibly be looking for. By night, it was one of the many places in Metro Manila where people could just bounce around and enjoy the nightlife. Wherever one looked, there were bars, nightclubs and fast food joints, all open 24/7, where any insomniac could get wasted all night long.

That Eliza was here tonight was a rare, sweet treat. Normally, being one of only four enforcers of the Fangire race demanded all her time and energy, but the death of the deposed King meant a rest day of sorts for her and her fellow Riders. Let it be known, though, that Eliza liked what she did and was proud that her actions were contributing to the good of her race. Still, a break was very, very welcome.

And so she was here, drinking Heineken one of the many open air bars while reflecting on her life so far. Specifically, she remembered why she had joined up in the first place. Eliza and her little sister, Victoria (Ria for short) had been orphaned when she was but 8 years old, losing both their parents to the Ixa System. Life onwards was hell for them, in every sense of the word; just to make sure Ria had food to eat each day, she took it upon herself to earn a living… as a prostitute.

Eliza smiled ironically; this place, Greenhills, was the very same place she would hang around each night waiting for prospective ‘customers’. The arrangement went on that way for 2 years until a kindly old couple took them in. To the sisters, it was a new lease on life.

Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. One ominous Sunday, Eliza’s foster parents were killed by a gang of thugs, and her sister raped and murdered before her eyes. That shock was what did it; that moment, the girl was replaced by a stained-glass monster that she reduced the murderers into glass corpses that shattered.

And, right on cue, she appeared. Isabella.

“Humans… it seems all they care about are their twisted desires,†she observed, holding the crying Eliza close to her. “Your family didn’t deserve to die, child. If it weren’t for them,†Isabella gestured at the glass corpses strewn around them, “You’d probably have a happy, normal life right now.â€

Eliza cried even harder at this; the older woman patted her on the head. “We can’t change the past. No one can,†she noted mournfully, hugging her more tightly. “But what we can do is make sure this doesn’t happen again. Do you want to join me?†Isabella asked the young girl.

A moment later, Eliza looked up and nodded.

“Hey, girl, it’s a bit late, go home already.â€

She woke with a start as an elderly man gently slapped her on the shoulder; she’d fallen asleep on the bar! “S-Sorry, sir!†Eliza apologized profusely as she picked up her handbag and left the area. It was a bad habit of hers; if she drank too much, she fell asleep on the spot.

Then, suddenly, there came a terrified scream. Eliza sighed; nevertheless, she ran to whoever it was.

It came from one of the less-traveled streets in the area, where a girl was being attacked by a posse of four men, two of whom transformed into Fangires. She kicked and struggled vainly as the one pinning her down ripped her skirt off, grinning manically as he did so. She looked up at her attackers in horror and defiance; she was going to die here, for sure. But she wasn’t about to give them the satisfaction of having had their way with her.

At the sight, Eliza was forcibly reminded of her own situation when she was much younger. Even worse, she remembered Victoria’s anguished cries and screams as the men violated her before snuffing out her life. But it was more unforgivable this time since the ones responsible were Fangires, like her. She wasn’t about to let this go unpunished. Reluctantly, she remembered what Mao had told her once before: “Ask yourself if this really is the way to go. Are so different from humans that we need to suck them dry?â€

It seems you weren’t just shooting your mouth off, then, Your Majesty.

“You’ll die anyway, bitch,†he addressed her the way he would a cockroach at home. “But we’ll kill you quicker if you – just – stop – what the hell??!†He blurted out as a white bat with red eyes began swooping down on him, biting him here and there. In their confusion, they released the girl, who ran over to Eliza. “Better run,†she told the girl, giving her a 500-peso bill. “That should be enough to go home.â€

As the girl disappeared from view, Eliza turned her attention once more to the rogue Fangires in front of her. “You punks are gonna pay for that,†she spat angrily as Kivara bit her neck, causing her Fangire markings to appear on her face. “Henshin!â€

A flash of light later, Eliza was gone, replaced by Lilith, Rider of Pestilence. She brandished her sword at the ruffians, who involuntarily recoiled in horror. “A-Aren’t you one of the Queen’s knights!?†one of them demanded, his voice quaking with fear. “We haven’t done anything wrong!â€

“You ain’t got nothing on us!†his fellow added. Eliza ignored this as she pointed the tip of her blade at them.

“Haven’t done anything wrong, huh?†Eliza retorted, hearing the cold fury in her voice. It was true that what they had been doing technically wasn’t a crime, but she had no intention of letting anyone else experience what she and her sister had. “Yes, I am one of the Queen’s knights, which means I’ll decide whether to punish you or not…†After a moment, she took out one of the Fuestles on her belt, and added, “Mene thecel phares.†Thou art weighed in the balance and found wanting.

In other words, a declaration of their deaths.

“PHANTASMA!†announced Kivara as the Fuestle sounded; three copies of Lilith emerged around Eliza, evening the odds. The Liliths then surrounded the rogues, their swords at the ready. “Just wait,†growled the rogues’ apparent leader, resentfully. “If the Queen finds out about this, you’re dead.â€

Eliza’s reply was one word: “If.†With that, the Liliths attacked.

Meanwhile, in Burgundy, Mizuna replaced the wet towel over Sirius’s forehead; his skin was burning due to fever. She’d been watching over him for the past three days as he recovered from the strain of unlocking Emperor Form, not to mention the loss of his teacher. And when his sleep grew fitful, she rocked him gently, patting his head as she did so.

“It’ll be alright, Sirius,†she would say. “I’m here.â€

In a nutshell, Mizuna was his lover, mother and sister, all rolled into one. True, Mao had promised Sirius to her since day one, but she’d probably have fallen for him anyhow. He was smart, yet innocent; shy, yet amiable. And he managed not to have the less likable traits his father possessed, like his tendency to screw around with people around him (his ‘epic’ plan being the greatest example of that). As she thought these things, she silently cursed Mao’s name. Not one day had passed without her blaming him for what state his son was in right now.

At that moment, Sirius began to moan softly; here came the nightmares again. Mizuna just watched him anxiously, hoping to heaven that he’d get better soon. Mao had said he’d be able to handle this, that he would never force Sirius into something that was beyond him. You’d better hope this isn’t beyond him, Mao, she thought. If it is… **** our contract with you, I’ll go to wherever you are and kill you again.

Meanwhile, the Fangires cowered as Eliza and her illusions quickly overwhelmed them; now they realized why she was the Rider of Pestilence. She slid her hand up her blade as her illusions disappeared, snorting derisively. “It’s pretty easy being a bully, isn’t it, boys?†she asked, mockingly, as she pulled out her Wake Up Fuestle. “But apparently you’re all just one big disappointment!â€

“WAKE UP!†announced Kivara as Eliza plugged it into the belt. She was done playing now; it was time to take out the trash.

After having Kivara bite her blade, Eliza disappeared from view. Her opponents were wondering what was going on, when suddenly one of them shattered as she slashed through his chest. A moment later, the one next to him suffered the same fate. Soon, only the leader, who had reverted to human form, remained; he was practically pissing his pants as he stared at the white Rider whose blade was an inch from his neck. “P-Please, no…â€

Eliza withdrew the blade; the man, thinking he had been granted a reprieve, ran away as fast as he could. As she watched him samper away like a cockroach, Eliza stabbed her sword into the ground. A white ball of energy formed in her right hand, which she kicked high into the air. Finally, she jumped off the hilt of her sword, kicking the ball into the fleeing criminal, who was consumed by the subsequent explosion.

“Serves you right…†muttered Eliza as she reverted to human form, Kivara flying around her.

tbc

 

[Konvictedâ€]

Chapter 19: The Reveal

It was a moonless night. Sirius found himself in some throne room shrouded in near-complete darkness, broken only by the dim lights coming from the chandeliers. He had no idea why he was here, or where this place was; this was something he’d expect more from a place like a mansion or a castle. Despite the darkness, he saw enough of the place to know that whoever lived here was either very important, very rich, or both.

Then, for the first time, he took notice of the silhouette seated on the throne, whose face was hidden by shadow. Lightning struck, illuminating his face; it was someone Sirius least expected to be dressed in such an outfit, but whose face he’d recognize no matter what. But it couldn’t be… he was supposed to be dead… right?

“Sir Mao?” he asked blankly. “Is that you?”
Mao stood up at the mention of his name and walked up to him, transforming into Emperor Kiva and subsequently engulfed in black flames. When they subsided, he had gone from Emperor to Dark. Likewise, Sirius felt himself being encased in the golden armor. Meanwhile, Mao had taken a fighting stance…

“Sirius, get a hold of yourself…” Mizuna whispered, worried at the sight of him whimpering. “It’s just a dream, it’s not real…”

Here it was again, one of his fits. Moonlight shone across his bed into the room as he struggled and whimpered, while she watched. Mizuna did anything and everything to calm Sirius down, but nothing came close. It was true, as Mao said and as Kivat reminded, that this was part of the plan. Still, though, it wasn’t exactly easy or pleasant to watch; Sirius normally didn’t whimper and moan like a small child, so this was… the word was at the tip of her tongue, but she didn’t like it.

Desperate, she crawled on top of Sirius’s prone form until they were almost nose to nose. “Be quiet, now…” she whispered, almost inaudibly. “This won’t hurt in the least.”

And then, at that moment, the door burst open. Mizuna sat up on Sirius’s crotch and turned toward the sudden interruption, the look on her face that of a child who’d just been denied candy… that slowly turned into one of that same child caught in wrongdoing. Standing at the doorway were Karina and Rock, both with identical blushes and looks of complete shock. A moment later, though, Rock roared with laughter; Karina, meanwhile, let out an almighty scream of fury.

“Err…” the Mermaid spluttered sheepishly, “I-It’s not what you guys think…”

“Y’know Mizuna,” said Rock, mildly amused, “If you wanted to have your way with him, you could wait until he’s actually conscious? So he can enjoy it?”

But before she could answer, Karina crossed the room in three strides and slapped her across the face with all the strength she could muster. Mizuna relished the stinging pain on her cheek for a moment, then looked her full on the face; her expression was bloody livid. The Mermaid Princess grinned with what was supposed to be an apologetic look, but judging from how the look of rage on Karina’s face hardened, it probably came across as more of a sneer.

“Last time I checked he wasn’t yours,” growled Karina. “And you’ll have to get past me if you want to rape him in his sleep…!” she added, more threateningly.

Mizuna was about to sneer back when she sensed something out the window. A moment later, someone – a woman, judging from the voice – screamed as she pointed a finger that way. She got off Sirius and off the bed as she opened the window and put one leg over it. “Rock,” she said, “Take care of him first, alright? I’ve got… an errand to run.”

She then dove facefirst into the ground, using her telekinetic powers to slow her descent so she could land on her feet. When she looked up, it was the face of Lilith that greeted her.

“Nice entrance,” grinned Lilith, mockingly clapping her hands. “But next time, try to wear a bit more clothing?”

Mizuna looked down at herself, then flushed a deep shade of scarlet; she was wearing nothing but a tanktop and panties! Nevertheless, she settled her expression into one of politeness as she smiled at the white Rider. “What brings you here at this time of night, Lilith…?” she inquired evenly. “If you went to kill him, forget it. No fucking way in hell, girl!”

She stretched out her hand as Kivat bit it, allowing her to don Kiva’s armor. The deep crimson of Kiva’s default form appeared for a moment before Mizuna assumed Basshaa form – her own. In her hands were a pair of twin handguns, which she twirled and pointed at Lilith. “Better run now,” she spat as she fired off a warning shot that missed Lilith by a hair. “I’m in an especially crummy mood.”

The white Rider didn’t answer, instead opting to charge her, yelling as she brandished her sword intimidatingly. At point-blank range, just as she raised it to strike, the Mermaid let loose a blast from her Basshaa Magnum, which changed form into a shotgun. Startled, Lilith dropped the blade as MIzuna elbowed her in the back, sending her facedown into the pavement. That instant, the Basshaa Magnum transformed again, this time into an assault rifle of sorts. Mizuna then followed up with more shots that spread all over Lilith’s body, eliciting moans of agony.

“No one can use this like I can,” gloated the Mermaid. “You just had to piss me off at the worst possible time…” She aimed the Basshaa Magnum at the downed Lilith, preparing to unload once more. But -

“PHANTASMA!” announced Kivara suddenly.

Before Mizuna knew it, there were five Liliths surrounding her, slashing and hacking away all over. Her form was best suited for long range, being barely average where physical strength and agility were concerned. All five kicked her in the gut; she was sent flying at least ten feet away as if she were a football, and as if that kick had been a game-winning goal. She got to her feet, cursing to herself.

“Basshaa Bullet Time!” she cried, flicking her wrist as the Magnum became a pair of handguns once more.

Time seemed to have slowed as Mizuna took aim and fired, taking careful aim to hit each Lilith in vital areas. The illusions then shattered one by one, the same way vanquished Fangires did; soon, only the real one was left. She fell to her knees, clutching her planted sword for support.

“I win,” Mizuna sneered arrogantly as she held her namesake weapon in its assault rifle form, having Kivat bite it.

“Basshaa Full-Auto!”

Tucking it under her arm, she held down the trigger as a steady barrage of water bullets rained down on Lilith, injuring her to the point of negating her transformation. Eliza struggled in vain to get up, her entire body immobilized by pain. “That was for my clan,” Mizuna talked down to her. “I’m letting you live since I’ve got a message for your Queen,” she informed the fallen Rider. “Tell for me: next time, she’s not getting off easy.”

Victorious, the Mermaid turned her back on Eliza as she went back inside Burgundy, taking the elevator to the second floor. When she entered, both Rock and Karina sat on chairs beside Sirius’s bed as he slept like a baby. They looked at Mizuna as she entered; Rock, with a smile on her face, Karina, with a scowl. “We’re still not yet finished,” the latter told her coldly. “You’ve got another thing coming if you think you can molest him that way!”

At this, Mizuna merely smirked.

Exhaustion caught up with both Kivas as they reverted to their human forms; specifically, Mao fell over. Sirius, meanwhile, dropped to one knee as he faced his deceased teacher. Even in his dreams, and even with Emperor Form, Mao was still a force to be reckoned with. Both master and student laughed out loud as they rolled on to their backs; the hall seemed to ring with their laughter.

When it died down, Sirius was the first to speak. “You’ve still got it, sir,” he said, happy to see his teacher again – even if only as a specter of sorts. “Don’t tell me… do I have to die to be that strong!?” he asked as a joke. But, to be sure, Mao really was that good; so much so that the Queen, even in Dark Kiva form, couldn’t finish him. If not for his disease, he could’ve even won that fight.

Mao chuckled; in the silence of the hall, Sirius could hear it loud and clear. “Don’t be silly, child,” he scolded him gently. “You actually are strong, otherwise you wouldn’t be Kiva at all, right?” he laughed. “Hell, you even managed to go Emperor!”

And after a few moments of silence, he continued.

“While we’re on the subject,” Mao began, “I’ve got some… explaining to do, Sirius,” he finished, in a somewhat guilty tone that puzzled him.

“I’ll tell you everything.”

tbc

 

[Konvictedâ€]

Act 3: Performance

Chapter 20: Supernova – Rewind

In an empty room, at a certain office in Ortigas city, two Ixas in Burst Mode were battling it out, trading punches and kicks with each other. They were evenly matched at first, but one of them managed to gain the upper hand, knocking the other away with a punch. The one on the ground writhed in pain and gasped for breath; sparring was really tough when his opponent was a hired killer. Just then, both the young man and the other fighter turned to the door, where a man in middle age clapped his hands.

“Steve,” he called to his son, who had gotten to his feet upon seeing him, “Try this out!”

He then tossed a cellphone-like device over to Steve, who caught it with his right hand. He then dialed a number: 1 – 9 - 3.

“Rising...”

Steve’s father let out an awed gasp at what he was seeing…

A week had passed, but Sirius was still as unresponsive as ever. Though his friends tried not to worry too much, it was easier said than done. Both Mizuna and Kivat stated that Mao’s last plan had the risk of going completely wrong at multiple points, and they had good reason to pray this wasn’t one of them. Rock laid off the DotA a bit so he could help watch over his friend; as he told Mizuna, she deserved a break every now and then. Karina, too, brought in a sleeping bag – not just to watch over Sirius, but to make sure the Mermaid Princess (as she called herself) didn’t try anything funny.

Today, though, all three of them went out to chill, for a change. As Rock said, it wasn’t healthy to lock themselves up in that room; Sirius wouldn’t want them to become recluses for his sake, at any rate. Besides, Lupin and Kivat offered to take over for today, so it was all good. Their next stop: the cinema.

However, a slightly more grisly scene took place in another area, just outside the mall. Bodies lay dead all over the floor, every one of them transparent and drained of life. In their center stood a man, clad in dark armor vaguely reminiscent of Kiva. However, this one had a more decidedly evil look, sporting horns on his head and an unwieldy scythe as his weapon. He bowed his head for a moment.

“Kiva’s friends are there. You know what to do, Arc,” said the Queen’s voice in his head. He felt a grim sense of pleasure as he set out to carry out his orders.

Meanwhile, Mizuna treated the gang to lunch at one of the many restaurants in Eastwood, a Japanese place called Café Momotaro, known for its coffee. Not that everything else was bad, though; not counting the stuff the three of them shared, Rock ordered at least three platters of sushi while the women chowed down on bento after bento after bento. Mizuna looked up at Karina as they finished their third. “Hey, won’t you get fat?” she asked, curious. “I mean, I compensate by working out, how about you?”

But the Mermaid Princess just grinned. “Karina, if you can live a hundred years, not gaining weight is a piece of cake. Besides,” she added, “I go for nightly swims in the pool at Mao’s house. You guys should visit there sometime!” she invited. “Maybe when Sirius wakes up? Wait,” she said suddenly as she heard the opening lines of the next song played over the sound system. “I know this one.”

Kobore ochiru suna no youni dare mo toki tomerarenai
Sono sadame okasumono, boku ga (ore ga) keshite miseru kanarazu..

“It’s Sirius’s theme song,” she said quickly as both Rock and Karina looked at her, perplexed. “He listens to it, like, what? Ten times an hour? He’s a Japanophile, that kid,” she noted fondly, eyes misty. “You should see the stuff he has in his hard drive! It’s full of anime and… other stuff,” the Mermaid trailed off, flushing a shade of bright red.

Five minutes later, a finger tapped her on the shoulder: it was the waiter. “Oh, right!” Mizuna remembered, taking her credit card out of her purse. “Bill, please!” She handed over the credit card when the bill arrived; a moment later, it came back along with the receipt. The waiter bowed them out as they left the place, handing each of them a mask that looked more like a red bra, the ‘cups’ shaped like the halves of a peach. “Thank you for dining, please come again!”

They’d barely been out for five minutes, though, when a Fangire attacked. This one was the Tiger Fangire, judging from his striped orange color scheme. Rock likewise assumed his own Fangire form while Mizuna raised her hand to the sky. “Kivat!” she called. “Let’s go!”

But he didn’t come. Mizuna let out a sigh of resignation as she became the Mermaid Fangire, her hands lengthening into claws to be better suited for melee combat. She cocked her head sideways at Rock. “Take care of her, alright?” she reminded him, referring to Karina. “Leave this guy to me.”

It was clear that she wasn’t that good at close quarters combat, seeing how the Tiger manhandled her like she nothing. Each punch she threw, assuming it hit, barely even fazed him. It was all but over when he grabbed her by the neck and lifted her into the air, strangling her.

“Urk…!” Mizuna choked, gasping for breath. This was one of the reasons she didn’t take it too hard when Mao barely used her form back when he was Kiva. Long-range was her specialty; if the enemy managed to get up close and personal, she was pretty much screwed. Through the agony of the mounting pressure on her throat, she managed to notice the fire hydrant right behind her tormentor.

There we go!

The Mermaid Princess focused all of her attention and will onto the hydrant, which began to shake violently. After a few moments, it erupted; the blasts of water issuing upward from the destroyed hydrant condensed and turned into water balls that crashed into the Tiger Fangire’s back, causing him to release her. He backed away from them, clearly wounded, but not enough to kill him; that attack was slightly weaker in her Mermaid form than if she was using Kiva’s powers. “I’ve served my purpose here…”

Before any of them could react, the Fangire leapt off and out of sight. “I don’t like that,” said a new voice, this one belonging to a young boy clad in a sleeveless shirt and shorts. “Oh, well… Guess I’ll have to settle for you, instead…” he grinned maniacally as a gray, sickly-looking Kivat bit him on the neck. “…Henshin.”

To Mizuna’s horror, the figure that emerged was… him. Those horns, that scythe… were those of the very same person who massacred her clan: Arc, the Rider of Death. Once the transformation was complete, he tossed the scythe at her. “Give my regards to your clan…” he said smugly. She was rooted to the spot by fear, unable to move a muscle.

But then the scythe was flung back to its owner, having been parried by someone. “Just as a warning,” said a familiar voice. “If you so much as lay a finger on these guys, it’ll be the last thing you ever do.” Mizuna opened her eyes, unable to believe the evidence of her senses. It was Sirius, holding the Garulu Saber in his left hand! No wonder Kivat wouldn’t come earlier, she thought.

Sirius then raised his hand, in which Kivat sank his teeth. “Henshin!” he shouted as he transformed into Kiva form momentarily before assuming Emperor form. Kivat then flew off the belt as a golden Fuestle floated in front of his mouth. The bat then blew it, causing a rather… grand tune to sound. Then came the a buzzing sound as something flew towards them.

All Mizuna could say was one word. “Tatsulot.”

“Hi hi! Thanks for waiting!” chimed a small, golden dragon that zoomed around the golden Kiva, to the awe of the three behind him. “Let’s get this show started, shall we!? Tension fortissimo!” he then landed on Sirius’s right wrist.

“We didn’t see that last time, Mizuna…” Rock observed. “What’s with that dragon thing?”

“Tatsulot?” she asked. “Simply put, he’s a power limiter. I mean… sure, Emperor form’s powerful by itself, but he needs to be able to control that power and use it against his enemies, right? Without it,” she explained, “He’ll go berserk again. Emperor form tends to mess with the heads of those unprepared to use it. Not to mention it lets him use our special attacks…” she added, after a moment.

The Emperor Kiva walked slowly toward his opponent, whose giant scythe changed into two smaller ones which he held in each hand. This was going to be something, for sure. It would be the first time Sirius would actually get to use this power…

tbc