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

[Konvictedâ€]

Disclaimer: Though the locales used in this fic are true-to-life, the story, plot, and characters themselves are purely fictional. Any similarities to real life are purely coincidential.

Act 1 - First Gig

Chapter 1: Kiva Power, Ready

March 20, 2008.

Meet Sirius Regulus Kurogane, Sirius for short - though some of his friends called him 'Sire', for unknown reasons. A high school student at Ateneo de Manila, this year was to be his final year. He was already assured to graduate, thanks to the work he put in - unlike his classmates in class 4-K, he avoided cramming whenever he could, doing most if not all of his work ahead of time.

It was these thoughts that were running through Sirius's head as he washed his face and ran cold water through his hair. He smiled at his reflection; he felt good, really good. And when he was done grooming himself, he stepped out in order to knock up breakfast.

By 7:15 that morning, Sirius had already finished his morning rituals - he'd eaten, taken a bath, brushed his teeth and dressed in his uniform. With nothing left to do, he got his bag, exited the condo, and took a tricycle going to school. It was fine; since he was near school, he could afford to take his time.

As he got off a few minutes later, Sirius remembered something: today was his 17th, and he almost forgot! He felt incredibly stupid; no one forgot their birthday, right? Although, now that he remembered... it was great timing. Their exams were finally over, which meant that today was a good day to celebrate. With this happy thought in mind, he dashed to his classroom, in the area right in front of the Chapel and the Covered Courts...

...until someone cleared his throat. Sirius stopped dead; it was the vice-prefect. Puzzled, Sirius looked at himself; he was wearing rubber shoes!

"S-sorry, sir!" Sirius pleaded as his voice shook. "I-I was rushing this morning - wrong pair of shoes - "

But when he looked up next, he was looking at what looked like a glass sculpture of their vice-prefect. Strange... Sirius thought. Maybe it's his birthday too, and someone's giving him a glass sculpture of himself?

With a feeling of mingled puzzlement and relief, Sirius ran on to his classroom; the glass figure crumbled to dust a few moments later.

"Alright, class, it's someone's birthday today..." said Sir Mao, their class adviser. "Sirius, can you come up front for a bit?"

Sirius complied; as the class sang a birthday song for him, he felt himself blushing.When they finished, Sirius made his way back to his chair, but then Mao put a hand on his shoulder. He leaned in, as if to say something.

"Come by the workroom later. I've a present for you."

And then he went back to his seat. "Alright guys, second order of business," Mao resumed. "Next week's graduation practice, and here are the schedules..."

Later that day, Sirius went to the faculty workroom, as Mao had requested. Sure enough, five minutes after he had him paged, Mao opened the door, smiling at his student. "I've got a present for you," he said, then looked behind him. "Kivat!"

A black-and-yellow bat, or what looked like a bat, flew out of the office and around the bewildered Sirius. "This is him, huh, Mao!?" he asked in an eager tone. "Don't worry kid, we'll get along fine!" he added to Sirius, his fanged mouth curling upwards in a smile.

Sirius then looked at his teacher, his own face cracking into an awkward grin. "...I don't know what he is, sir, but... thanks."

He walked to the tricycle terminal, but when he got there, another strange sight met his eyes: glass sculptures of students and drivers alike, lying on the ground. As they crumbled a moment later, Sirius felt something wrap around his neck and pull him backwards. He looked round; what he saw nearly made him scream...

It was a monster, with a reptilian head and stained glass-like patterns all over its body. "Don't struggle, cutie..." it said, in a feminine voice. "You don't need to die painfully..."

Horrified, Sirius desperately tried to free himself, but to no avail; the monster was too strong. It was then that he felt a stinging pain in his left hand: the bat thingy that Mao had given him just bit him on the hand as chains materialized around his waist and fused into a belt. "Put me on the buckle, kid!" the bat said urgently. "If you wanna live!"

Sirius obeyed; chains wrapped around him as the metamorphosis ensued. What emerged from the chains was a figure clad in scarlet armor and bright, yellow eyes. After he got over his surprise, Sirius chopped off the tendrils that wrapped themselves around his neck.

The monster was shocked, but she advanced on Sirius nonetheless; he looked simply too delicious to pass up.

tbc

 

[Konvictedâ€]

Chapter 2: The King Awakens

Merely a minute after Sirius's transformation, the sun disappeared, replaced by a bright full moon. Whatever this was, it was like something out of a TV show, the kind kids watched on TV; now he was one of the heroes he watched as a child! Nice present, Sir Mao, thought Sirius.

It was then that the monster punched him in the face, sending him crashing into one of the tricycles on the sidewalk. Luckily, Sirius's armor protecting him, reducing the force to something not exactly painless, but bearable. He got back to his feet and, flicking his wrist, charged the monster.

Sirius started off by returning the punch to the face he received, followed by a knee to the monster's gut. As she doubled over in pain, he followed through by driving his elbow into the back of her neck, making her kiss the ground. He then jumped back.

"Alright... kid," said Kivat, who was perched on the buckle so that his mouth faced upward, "Take one of the whistles on the right side of the belt and put it in my mouth."

Sirius followed; there was a whistling sound as Kivat bellowed:

"WAKE UP!"

The armor and chains on his right leg opened up in the shape of a bat's wings as Sirius leapt high into the air. He then descended back to the earth, aiming a falling front kick at the monster on the ground.

"HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

With a scream, she shattered upon impact, leaving a silhouette of a bat where she had been; all that was left of her was a glowing white orb that floated in midair for a moment, then flew away. Night turned back into day just as Sirius returned to his usual self.

His first action was to ask Kivat, who was flying around him again, a question. "What the hell was that?"

"The monster? It's called a Fangire, Sirius."

He looked round; it was Mao, who was smiling as he clapped his hands. "Not bad for a first fight, I gotta say. Wanna go for a bite? You're probably tired after what happened," he offered; Sirius nodded.

"So, sir," Sirius began after devouring the last of his Cheeseburger Deluxe, "What's a Fangire?"

"They're monsters, obviously," replied Mao. "They feed on the life energy of humans in order to mimic them, leaving them as hollow shells of glass. They're everywhere, hiding among us, waiting for victims..." he trailed off as he drank his iced tea.

"And that glowing thing after you beat them?" added Kivat. "It's their soul."

Sirius's mouth fell half-open in horror. "What!?" he blurted out in alarm. "In that case, how do we stop them? We can't just let them go around sucking people dry, right?" Kivat bobbed up and down beside Sirius in approval.

Mao smiled at his student's reaction. "Well, Sirius, that's where you come in. See... Kivat here? He can transform you into Kiva... and as Kiva, you can fight and kill the monsters." Mao stood up, and placed both hands on Sirius's shoulders. "Don't let me down, alright?"

With that, he left Sirius and Kivat to themselves; the former needed time to let things sink in.

An hour later, Sirius was at Friispirit, a gaming place at the first floor of Burgundy, playing Guitar Hero 3. People were watching him in awe as he managed to perfect Through the Fire and Flames, said to be the hardest song in the game. And as he did so, his audience clapped.

Playing along, Sirius turned to them and bowed. "Thank you. Thank you very much."

As he bowed, his eyes lingered on one of the girls in front of him; to him, her smile was worth a million bucks.

Karina...

tbc

 

[Konvictedâ€]

Chapter 3: Howling Moon

Enter Karina Consolacion, 16 y/o. Sirius's crush since way way back. As his eyes met hers, he blushed uncontrollably, to the giggles of those present; both of them were regular customers here, and often met here after school. "That was pretty good..." she said, smiling. "But wouldn't it have been better if I was singing?" added Karina, to the amusement of Sirius's 'fans'.

He blushed even more; it was such that Sirius had to cover his face with his arms. "Umm... Err... Maybe, yeah..."

"So, then, why don't we do another one, together?" she offered; those around her sounded their agreement. Sirius was really burning, now. They were known as the Friispirit love team, but...

"Err, ok." he managed to say after a sheepish grin. "Why not? We've got a bit of time, anyway!"

And they played, to even more applause from the crowd. Combined with Sirius's amazing dexterity, Karina's heart-melting voice managed to wow the crowd and cause it to swell even more; before long, the whole shop was watching them. And after they finished their last song (First of Summer by Urbandub), they got a standing ovation.

Both Sirius and Karina smiled at their 'audience' when it was over.

"Bye, Sirius! Bye, Rina!"

Both of them were laughing as they left the shop to head towards the tricycle terminal at Ministop, where Karina was going to commute home; she lived all the way in New Manila, two jeepney rides from Katipunan Ave. "Bye, Sirius!" she called as she was walking away. "I'll see you again tomorrow, okay?"

Sirius waved back. When she got on the jeep, Kivat came out of Sirius's backpack. "A good match for you, I gotta say," said the bat. "She seems to be a nice lady, just like the one who was partnered with my father."

"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Sirius, confused. "You have a father?"

"Kivat-bat-the 2nd, better known as Kivangel. Well, we better go home, Sirius," said Kivat. "It's getting late, and you've got a date tomorrow!"

When they arrived in Sirius's condo unit, they found the caretaker inside, holding a large, wrapped package. "Mikey!" Sirius blurted out upon seeing him. "Who's that from?"

"Your teacher," Mikey replied. "He asked me to make sure you got it. Well, I'm off," he said and walked out the door. "I got some of your pizza, if you don't mind!" he shouted as he reached the elevator at the other end of the hall.

"No problem!" Sirius called back. When the elevator doors closed, he looked at the package, which had a card. He opened it and read.

Dear Sirius,

Happy birthday, again!

This isn't an ordinary guitar, the one in the box, although you can still use it like one. It'll play by itself if there's a Fangire running around you - only you can hear it, and you can hear it no matter where you are. Take good care of it, ok?

~Mao

Sirius opened it. It was a guitar in the shape of Death's scythe, the 'blade' body folded so that the edge touched the fretboard. The eyes of the headstock, a goat's skull with curved horns, glowed faintly yellow. "The Death Jammer..." Kivat muttered in a hushed voice as Sirius laid it on the sofa right across his bed. "Well, goodnight, Sirius!" he bid his new owner as he stretched across the bed.

"Goodnight, Kivat," Sirius said as the bat shut off the lights.

Sirius woke up to the sound of a guitar playing. "First thing in the morning and I fight a Fangire, huh...?" he complained as Kivat hovered on his right. "Let's go, then!"

Right outside Burgundy, a girl in a Miriam College uniform was advancing on Karina, who had her back against the building's wall.

"Don't move," said the other girl as she assumed her Fangire form, a black, buglike creature with downward-pointing antennae. "This'll hurt if you move..."

Large, fang-like objects floated in midair over Karina's shoulders. And just as they were about to stab her -

"Get off of her!" shouted Sirius. "Alright, Kivat!"

Kivat bit his hand, causing stained-glass markings to appear on either side of his face. "Henshin!"

Day turned into night as Sirius, then began his attack on the Cockroach Fangire. They seemed evenly matched, trading blows all over the place; Karina, who hid inside the 7-Eleven beside Burgundy, was in awe. "Sirius... be careful..." she whispered.

Before long, though, the Cockroach decided to fight seriously. With unbelievable speed she began her assault on Kiva, who wasn't fast enough to fight back properly. As a vicious side kick sent him crashing through the glass door, Karina screamed; Kivat spoke to Sirius. "The blue one, put it in the belt!"

And so he took the blue whistle and placed it into the slot right above Kivat's mouth. "Garulu Saber!"

A curved sword with a blue wolf head on the hilt appeared in Kiva's left hand. Chains surrounded his left arm and his chest armor, which both turned deep blue. Plus, both Kiva and Kivat's eyes turned blue as well as a wolf howled from somewhere.

"It's our turn..." Kivat muttered. "Let's go, Sirius!"

If Sirius was getting pounded earlier, now it was his turn to put the Cockroach in trouble. Not even her speed could match the Garulu form that Kiva was using; in desperation, she tried in vain to dodge the lightning quick sword slashes, but to no avail. And after a few moments, Sirius decided to finish her off.

He put the Garulu Saber in Kivat's mouth; the bat bit it. Sirius then placed the blade between his - or rather, Kiva's - teeth as he soared into the air and prepared his final attack.

"Garulu... Howling... Slash!"

The Cockroach Fangire shattered as the Garulu Saber sliced through her.

tbc

 

[Konvictedâ€]

Chapter 4: To Be Kiva

1 message received.

The beeping of his cellphone awoke Sirius from his sleep. He'd decided to sleep all day after defeating that Fangire downstairs; Karina, meanwhile, was playing somewhere in Katipunan - Friispirit, Skies or wherever. "Wakey wakey wakey wakey!!" screamed Kivat as he saw his master awake, flying frantically all over Sirius as usual. "Weren't you talking about how tired you were?"

"Yeah, but my phone woke me up," Sirius muttered. "Someone texted. Whoever it was, I hope it's important..." And so he checked his inbox; the text turned out to be from Sir Mao. It read:

Hi Sirius, can you meet me at McDo in an hour? There's something I need to tell you. Reply asap. Thanks.

"...Mao, huh?" pondered Kivat, who evidently read the message, not that Sirius minded. "Well, are you meeting him?"

He thought of it for a moment. If it were just to invite him to hang out, the text would've said so. But if Mao summoned him to meet somewhere, it was usually something important, something that warranted a face-to-face meeting. The question was, what...? Whatever the case, Sirius turned to Kivat, and nodded.

"So, how's Kiva treating you?" Mao inquired, by way of greeting, as he sipped his Coke Float.

It was Kivat who answered this question. "Oh, Mao, he's got talent at this! Just yesterday he and Garulu beat that Cockroach Fangire!" He grinned at Sirius, who (somewhat reluctantly) returned it. Mao smiled for a moment before his face resumed its impassive look.

"Yeah..." Mao began. "While we're on the subject, lemme give you a few lessons on the Arms Monsters."

"The what?"

"Arms Monsters. They fuse with your Kiva form to give you form boosts," explained Mao. "Garulu, for instance - you become faster and somewhat stronger, which you witnessed firsthand. Right?" Sirius nodded. "Yep, Kivat's right, you really are a natural," Mao added, and smiled once more. "By the way, they live with me in my house."

He sighed, then continued.

"BUT," said Mao in a suddenly serious tone, "You shouldn't spend too much time using any single Arms Monster. I mean..." he explained, "The more you do that, you'll eventually lose yourself."

"Sirius was stunned at these words. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Lose... myself?"

"Think of it this way, Sirius," continued Mao. "If you spend time with someone, the more likely you'll end up picking up his character traits, and introjecting them, right? Well," he went on, holding the blue whistle-like device, "If, say, you end up using Garulu too much, you end up becoming like a werewolf - violent, uncontrollable, untamed."

Sirius shuddered. "...Alright, sir," he said. "Thanks for the tip, I'll remember that."

Meanwhile, outside, one of the deliverymen mounted his bike as he prepared to make a delivery. Before he could start the engine, though, he was approached by a teenage boy, who smiled. "I can smell it from here... it's delicious," he said, hungrily. "Your... life."

Fangs materialized in midair and stabbed the deliveryman on either side of his neck, leaving him nothing more than a glass corpse. Mao, Kivat and Sirius, who witnessed this, ran out of the store right away to confront the new Fangire. Sirius stretched out his hand, which Kivat bit; the belt melded into existence around his waist. "Henshin!" he shouted.

The night fell as Sirius morphed into Kiva, but the boy looked unimpressed at the sight. Instead he merely assumed his Fangire form: A thin, black stained-glass creature with catlike ears and glowing green eyes.

As Mao watched, Sirius rushed into battle, kicking the Cat Fangire in the stomach; he reeled momentarily at this, but soon retaliated with a sucker punch to Kiva's face. The Cat followed through with a series of punches and kicks to Sirius, who was taken completely by surprise by the flurry of blows being unleashed on him. A kick to the chest sent him flying into the store; screaming, the people ran out of the way.

Sirius looked around at all of them. "You guys might wanna run now, this guy'll suck you all up if you stick around!" He struggled to get up as the Fangire approached him; behind the Fangire, Sirius could see the people escaping. Good...

The Cat looked round as well, and growled angrily. "You'll pay for depriving me of my food!!" he roared as his hands lengthened into claws, with which he hacked, scratched and slashed away at Kiva's chest armor.

He didn't notice that Sirius had managed to put his right foot on his abdomen, and the Wake Up Fuestle into the slot.

"WAKE UP!"

As the armor and chains on his right leg opened again, Sirius managed to literally kick the Fangire through the roof. He then jumped through the hole he made, looking at his opponent who lay on his back on the roof. "Bad kitty doesn't get any food," Sirius taunted the Fangire, who growled his displeasure. "Or milk, for that matter," he added.

Sirius then leapt high into the air; the moon shone down upon him as he aligned with the Fangire to aim his kick.

"DARKNESS MOON BREAK!"

His kick hit the Fangire in the chest; they both crashed back into the restaurant as the impact formed a bat-shaped crater on the floor. And with a final scream, the Cat Fangire shattered as well; its soul flew away, somewhere.

And as Sirius reverted, Mao was clapping his hands.

"Bravo, bravo!"

tbc

 

[Konvictedâ€]

Chapter 5: Shades of Gray

A few days passed since the Cat Fangire wreaked havoc, and Ateneo High was now in full grad practice mode. This whole week consisted of all-morning practice sessions, from 8:00-12:00 PM, but no one complained; besides, there were lots of hangouts in Katipunan to go to after practice.

For many, graduation was the moment they poured blood, sweat, and tears for, for four years. For Sirius, it was the day he’d have to say goodbye to his comrades. He was scared of going to college, scared of being by himself in a new environment – unlike most of his class, he failed the ACET. And the worst of it was, he was always a shy guy, and had difficulty making new friends at first; most of the friends he made were the ones who came to him.

It was these apprehensions that Sirius was brooding on after practice had ended and his classmates all left. Lying on his back on the bench outside their classroom, he felt a mixture of sorrow, regret and confusion. Funny; the moment he’d worked for since four years ago was here, but now he wished he was going to take summer instead – so that he could stay here for a little while longer. Mikey would have a fit if he did so; Sirius’s parents, who both died in a plane crash, hadn’t raised him to be that way.

Sirius closed his eyes as images of his high school life flashed before him: the first day of his freshman year. The day he met his friends and formed their own clique. The class nights, the retreats (especially their senior retreat… all of those memories were special, and he didn’t want to let go of them. Not now.

Without warning, he felt someone’s butt sitting on his face. Sirius bit it; whoever it was jumped up as he yelped in pain. “Oww!” he moaned. “What’d you do that for, Sirius!? Biting my ass like that!”

“Jesus, Rock,” Sirius sighed as he sat up, annoyed. “Can you not shout that way? Besides, you deserved that bite for sitting on me. What do I look like, a cushion?” he demanded. A moment later, though, he laughed out loud; it was difficult for him to stop now that his best friend was here. When he pulled himself together, he asked. “So, how come you’re still here? I thought you were all gonna drink at MOA.”

“Nah, I don’t drink,” said Rock, grinning. “Besides, you’re more important. You shouldn’t be skulking here like an idiot, Sirius!” he chided him gently. “Well, what’s wrong?”

Sirius told Rock, who patted him on the shoulder when it was done. “Dude, if you’re gonna miss us, at least it’s not one way,” he said gently. “Just because we won’t be going to the same college doesn’t mean we won’t remain friends, right? Don’t worry about it!” he chuckled.

“That’s not it…” mumbled Sirius, almost to himself.

“What, then?”

“I’m rattled by the idea of being around a new crowd, and in unfamiliar territory,” Sirius related. “I mean… Rock!” he bowed his head. “We spent practically half our lives here, right? And now I’m off to some place that could be a **** hole, for all I know…” he trailed off.

Rock shook his head at this. “Don’t worry about it. You’ll be just fine.” He stood up, pulling Sirius to his feet with him. “Okay? Let’s go home.”

The two friends walked down the hallway, passing through the are in front of the 4th year wing, Sirius took a wistful look at the Chapel, which he could see from here at the Admin building; soon, he’d be leaving. He’d only gone to mass there by himself once in his entire high school life, when Karina was hospitalized with dengue, but the place was just as important to him as the rest of the High School.

Then suddenly –

“Sirius, get down!”

Rock and Sirius dropped to their knees as a thick, tongue-like projection hurtled at them rapidly. It retracted to somewhere at the Admin. They turned that way; all that was there was a woman who appeared to be in her 20s, and a man dressed in all-black to her right.

“Richard Alexandros…” the woman muttered.

“How do you know my name!?” Rock demanded, alarmed. “And, who the hell are you!!?”

“I declare the death penalty!” she screamed. With a flash of light, she and her companion turned into monsters; she, a thin, deceptively fragile-looking thing with butterfly wings, he, a reptilian creature with large, round eyes. Fangire! thought Sirius. But that was nothing compared to what he saw next…

On his right, Rock began to growl. A second later, he transformed into a Fangire as well, a grayish, insectoid stained-glass creature with blades on his arms. When he was done metamorphosing, he turned to Sirius.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let them touch you…” he said to his friend as he charged. “Hyaaah!”

Meanwhile, Kivat popped out on Sirius’s shoulder. “Let’s go, Kivat!”

“Bite!” yelled the bat as he sank his fangs into Sirius’s hand. “Henshin!”

Sirius was gone, and Kiva was in his place as day turned into night. The Fangire that was Rock was busy fighting with the female, neither managing to gain an advantage. Meanwhile, Kiva engaged the Chameleon Fangire in combat, trading punches and kicks as they pretty much laid waste to the surroundings. Kiva kicked him in a very sensitive place; to his horror, though, it didn’t have the effect he thought it would.

“That Fangire you killed last week?” said the Chameleon. “That was my wife. You’ll pay for that, now!”

He turned invisible. Meanwhile, the female managed to tie Rock to one of the metal posts with thick ropes of silk. She then lunged at Sirius, who returned each of her blows with double the ferocity. With an almighty punch, he sent her into the wall; a crater formed where she hit. But, as Sirius walked closer…

“Augh!”

The Chameleon Fangire reappeared suddenly, attacking him from behind. Sirius tried to guard, but to no avail; both Fangires were converging on him now. He staggered to where Rock was and attempted to free him, but he was sent flying by another high-speed tackle from the Chameleon.

“Sirius!” instructed Kivat. “The purple one!”

He obeyed; as the whistle sounded, Kivat called out the Arms Monster to be summoned. “Dogga Hammer!”

Kiva’s upper armor turned purple (as did Kivat’s eyes) and slightly… robotic as a lightning bolt struck the area behind him. In his hands was a hammer with a large, purple fist for a head. Both Fangires were shocked momentarily; next moment, though, the Chameleon turned invisible again.

It was then that the Dogga Hammer’s fist opened, revealing an eye on its palm; Sirius began to spin and whirl like a top while holding it tightly. He heard a rushing sound from somewhere; the Chameleon was surely about to strike, but from where?

“Behind you!” shouted Kivat; as the Fangire made itself known, Sirius smashed its head with the hammer, stunning it. He swung a second time as a peal of thunder sounded; the Fangire shattered from this lethal blow. Sirius then turned his attention to the female one.

“You were lucky…” she muttered as she resumed her human form. “We’ll meet again!”

When the smoke dissipated, she was gone; both Rock and Sirius had reverted to their usual forms. It’s over, thought Sirius.

But he still couldn’t get over Rock transforming into a Fangire…

tbc

 

[Tigerhawk21]

Very interesting story so far. I like Mao and the fact that he knows far more than he let's on.

 

[Konvictedâ€]

I did my best to keep most of the show's elements, but at the same time make it so that it's not just a carbon copy. If you guys noticed, I made references to the other KR series, as well.

 

[Konvictedâ€]

Chapter 6: Kiva, the Judge

Sirius found himself in an open field, surrounded by around a dozen Fangires. He flicked his wrist, and, activating the corresponding Fuestle, assumed Garulu form. With inhuman screeches, the monsters all attacked at once, but Garulu’s speed allowed Sirius to easily vanquish them all. When the last Fangire had been slain (though strangely, the Fangire corpses remained intact and opaque), he howled at the full moon above, as befitting his current, wolfish persona. Just as he reverted to his default Kiva form, a voice came from behind him:

“You forgot me.”

It was the Fangire lady from last time, the one who attacked him and Rock. With an angry snarl, Sirius took the Wake Up Fuestle and inserted it into the slot above Kivat’s mouth; as it activated, the chains and armor on his right leg took the form of a bat’s wings. He then jumped up…

…But though his kick was a direct hit, Sirius merely phased through the Fangire, who laughed maniacally. She turned around; to Sirius’s horror, she changed into Karina.

“Look at you!” she said, her voice thick with disgust. “You’re a monster, no better than them!” she accused; Sirius understood ‘them’ to refer to the Fangires. And as she said this, the slain Fangires turned into the lifeless bodies of Sirius’s classmates; reverting from his Kiva form, he ran to each one of them, trying to get them to stir. “Sir Mao! Rock! Rock…”

As their bodies shattered, Sirius let out a scream of agony.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“Wake up, Sirius! Get a hold of yourself!”

Sirius woke up with a start as Kivat bellowed in his ear, his bare chest drenched in sweat. “Just… a nightmare?” Sirius gasped, relieved. For a moment, he thought he really had killed his friends; the thought alone brought chills to his spine. “Kivat…” he mumbled, wanting to ask something. Any small measure of comfort was enough, for now. “Yeah?” replied the bat.

“Tell me… What makes a Fangire, a Fangire?” Sirius asked, getting up to open the curtains a bit more; it was twilight, and he liked the way it looked after a long day. “Is there such a thing as a good Fangire?” Up till now he’d only seen the monsters as monsters, but the revelation that his best friend was a Fangire himself made him stop and think. At the question, Kivat laughed.

“It’s true that Fangires suck out the life energy of humans, but yeah, there are good Fangires around,” said the bat, smiling. “Not all humans are good, so not all Fangires are bad, right? The one who was partnered with my father was one,” he added. “She was a Fangire – and a pretty, powerful one, too – but she fought those of her own kind who attacked humans.”

Sirius was awed by the idea; a Fangire, a female one at that, going against her own kind? He felt his own mood lifting; maybe Rock was the same. “It’s not whether they’re human or Fangire that matters, Sirius,” repeated Kivat. “Only the evil ones are our enemies.”

Just then, Sirius heard someone knock on the door. He stood and walked over to it, but Kivat had already opened it by the time he got there.

Speak of the devil… Sirius thought, although he was smiling. Now would be a good time to ask what he wanted to know.

It was Rock, who brought a whole pizza and a large bottle of iced tea. “Just thought maybe you were hungry?” he said as he put the food on the dining table and sat. “First things first, Rock,” Sirius asked. “Since when have you been a Fangire?”

Rock laughed, choking on his food in the process; when he swallowed it, he raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Easy. I was born one,” he said. “Both my parents were Fangires, but they raised me not to attack humans for food – not unless in self-defense, anyway. Besides,” he added, “We can suck out the life energy of animals instead, right? Fangires thrive on life energy, just not necessarily human life energy.”

Sirius took this all in as he too began to indulge in the food. “And the woman who attacked us yesterday…?” he continued. “How’d she know your name, and how come you’re being attacked by other Fangires?”

At this, Rock bowed his head; his smile disappeared. “That woman? She was the one who killed my parents. Now she’s coming after me to finish the job. See, Sirius,” he explained as he finished his first slice and picked up another, “There are Fangires – like me – who choose not to kill humans, and let’s just say we’re a bit of a minority in a race that sees humans as walking meals,” he finished.

“I’m sorry you didn’t find out sooner. I didn’t want you to get involved in this, although it seems you already are.” Rock was looking at Kivat as he said this.

Sirius imagined what Rock’s life was like; being attacked by Fangires every other time he went out probably wasn’t an ideal life (not that his was that much better by comparison). He smiled at his friend as he helped himself to a third slice of pizza, when suddenly the Death Jammer began to play; he jumped as he heard the sound. “You know what that means, Sirius!” Kivat shouted as he fluttered around excitedly. “Let’s go!”

Sirius looked at Rock, who nodded and stood up. And I was still hungry, too… Sirius thought wistfully as he looked at the remaining food on the table. Wolfing down the slice in his hand, he covered the food and rushed out the door, into the elevator.

When they got out of Burgundy, it was in time to see Karina being cornered by yet another Fangire, who immediately turned to see both of them. “What a lucky day…” he said. “I get to eat, AND I get to kill Kiva and the traitor.” He immediately turned his back on Karina to concentrate on the two.

“Really, now?” Sirius wondered aloud as he flicked his right hand to the side. “Rock, get Karina somewhere safe, alright?” Kivat then bit his hand. “Henshin!”

Rock nodded, quickly pulling Karina to her feet and taking her inside 7-Eleven. As Sirius was encased in the crimson armor of Kiva, he wasted no time leaping into action as he took the Fangire by surprise with a haymaker, knocking him down. Sirius then continued beating down on the downed Fangire, kicking and stomping on him until he caught Sirius’s foot. The Fangire leapt up, tossed him into a nearby car, then began to move extremely fast. Sirius couldn’t even see his movements anymore, let alone fight back.

“Garulu Saber!”

Seconds seemed to slow down into minutes as Sirius and the Fangire squared off (having conjured a sword of his own to match Kiva’s Garulu form), each doing his best to rip the other apart. It was a stalemate; neither managed to gain an advantage until Sirius managed to slash the Fangire across his chest. As he howled in pain, Sirius followed this up by attacking the Fangire’s legs.

He jumped back and began to charge at Sirius, but the injury to his legs robbed the Fangire of his speed. Blue turned back to red and yellow as the Garulu Saber vanished and Kiva returned to his default form. Sirius then pulled out one of his Fuestles; it was time to finish this.

“WAKE UP!”

Day turned into night as Sirius leapt up into the air before crashing down into the Fangire with a right side kick. He shattered, leaving a bat’s silhouette where he had been.

“You were great!”

Sirius turned towards the voice as he reverted; it was Karina and Rock, who left their hiding place when the Fangire was destroyed. “Now that that’s over,” he said, “What do you guys say we go out somewhere for a while?”

Karina laughed. “Sure, why not?” She jumped on his back as a joke, then quickly got down. “Let’s go!”

A mysterious woman, the one from earlier, watched them as they left. So that was their enemies... Kiva and the rogue one? They’d be dealt with soon enough…

tbc

 

[Konvictedâ€]

Chapter 7: The Fangire Pestilence

March 26th, 11 PM. Most people were no doubt asleep by now; another hard day’s work had gone by. Adults needed to rest as another work day awaited them, while the kids were exhausted from having played all day – by now, most schools were on summer vacation. Besides, it wasn’t be safe to be out at night; they knew very well that this was the hour that most crimes were committed.

However, Rock was unconcerned as he walked home, unlike most teenagers his age. For one thing, thanks to his Fangire nature, he’d gained a reputation in the area as one criminals should stay away from; they usually ran away the moment they saw him approaching. As for his own kind… he knew they needed to sleep, too. Even they got tired, and whatever else may seem, their bodies had limits of their own. Sleep was every bit as important to a Fangire as it was to a human; a tired Fangire could easily be picked off by someone with the power and ability to do so.

Which was why he was surprised when he got to his house. The first thing Rock took note of was the pretty, long-haired girl standing outside the gate as if waiting for him. This struck him as odd; it was too late for a date, he wasn’t exactly a ladies’ man, and he certainly didn’t remember hiring a whore – not that he was that kind of guy. “Err, miss?” he ventured, approaching the woman. “Are you lost?”

She didn’t answer as she looked up at him. As she too approached, a white, Kivat-ish being with red eyes flew to her and zoomed around her as if she was the atomic model. “Kivara,” she said, presumably referring to the bat. “Henshin.”

It was just as it was with Sirius. The armor that encased her appeared very similar to Kiva, the most notable difference being her armor’s color scheme. Instead of scarlet armor and yellow eyes, this one had white armor and red eyes, similar to her bat familiar. She held out her hand a sword materialized in it, pointing the tip at Rock.

“I am Lilith, Rider of Pestilence… I am your death!”

Meanwhile, at Burgundy, the Death Jammer began to play. “Sirius, you know what that means!” called Kivat as he fluttered around excitedly, expecting Sirius to jump to his feet at any minute. “Let’s go!”

However, to his dismay, his human partner snored on. Exasperated, Kivat swooped down and bit Sirius on the neck; he promptly leapt out of bed as he screamed in pain. “What the hell was that for, Kivat!?” he yelled. “Waking me up that way – huh?”

He heard his guitar playing, and that meant only one thing: a Fangire was on the loose. It also meant that the Fangire in question was responsible for waking him up. Whoever the fucker is, I’ll make him pay for that, thought Sirius. Just because they don’t sleep doesn’t mean they can disturb those who do…

“Alright, Kivat! Let’s go!” he shouted as he blitzed out the door, leaving Kivat hurrying after him. “Wait for me!”

Meanwhile, things didn’t look too good for Rock. He held his own at first, but he was quickly and utterly being decimated by Lilith. Not only did his attacks have little effect, the enigmatic female Rider countered with greater force. He was lying on the ground before long as Lilith took out one of the whistle-like devices on her belt. Rock thought he knew what was coming, and if he was right… he smiled grimly at the thought.

“WAKE UP!”

Rock saw Lilith leap into the air and become a drill, her sword acting as the tip. It would be the last thing he ever saw. But then –

“What - ?” Lilith muttered in shock as her final attack was somehow deflected. And then she saw that crimson armor. “Kiva!”

Rock looked up at Sirius, who turned out to have been his savior. “Careful, Sirius,” he warned, “She’s a lot stronger than she looks!”

“Hm, we meet at last…” she addressed Sirius, performing the swordsman’s salute: she placed the blade in front of her before bringing it down to her side with a diagonal slash. “Kiva. I don’t know who you are, but you’ll pay for aiding a rogue like him!”

And with a battle cry, she charged Sirius with an overhead sword strike, which he dodged. Unlike the Fangires whom he had fought so far, this one actually gave hit quite some fun. Maybe he got too used to fighting the monsters that taking on another Rider threw him off? Or maybe, he didn’t expect her to be able to put up a fight like she was right now. As a result of Sirius’s absentmindedness, he didn’t see the kick to his gut coming, and thus was sent reeling backwards.

And just as she had with Rock, Lilith took out her Wake Up Fuestle again as she assumed a stance, the tip of her blade pointed at Sirius, who took out his own. However, before either of them could evoke it…

Kivara flew off Lilith’s belt, squeaking frantically as she flew around her partner. “Sorry, mistress, but we’re being summoned right now,” she said. “The Queen says it’s urgent.”

Lilith looked at both Rock and Sirius as she drew her thumb across her throat. “You were lucky… We’ll meet again!”

She reappeared outside the doors of a mansion that served as their base of operations. When she entered, she saw that she was the only one they were waiting for: her fellow Riders as well as the Queen had taken their positions already. Lilith took her place beside a Rider in dark armor: the Rider of Famine, Arc. The Queen cleared her throat; all eyes were upon her. “So, Lilith,” she asked. “Did you manage to carry out your task?”

Lilith kept her silence at this; the Queen read the answer in her silence. “May we know why?”

“It was Kiva, Your Highness,” explained Lilith. “He – “

The Queen smiled at Lilith; she knew that that had been the case. “I thought that might be the case. I’ve seen them, Kiva and the rogue one… They’re best friends,” she explained. “Lay off them, for now. Focus on eliminating other traitors. But,” she qualified, “IF either of them rear their ugly head, you know what to do.”

“It’s her, Sirius!” exclaimed Kivat, back in Burgundy. “I’d recognize her anywhere!”

Sirius was busy tending to Rock, who needless to say got spanked by Lilith in a major way. Not only did he feel beaten up, his shoulder had a moderately deep gash there from Lilith’s sword – which Sirius wrapped up in a bandage. It was a good thing that he was a Fangire; he’d heal up in no time. But…

“SIRIUS, ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME!?”

That made him jump. “O-oh, sorry, Kivat! I was patching this guy up,” he pointed to Rock. “What was that?”

“The one with the woman earlier?” began Kivat. “That was Kivara, my ex-fiance. And if Kivara’s involved…” he trailed off.

“…We’re in for some deep ****, boys.”

tbc

 

[Konvictedâ€]

*BUMP*

Basshaa form next, or IXA?