[scikaiju]

The one thing Marcus was thinking as he walked into the lab where Nate asked to meet him was, at least nobody was coming at him with a needle. That thought made him immediately check his phone. Today was the day Maddie was going to have some blood drawn. Kat had promised to message him immediately after they left the office, to put his mind at ease at least. Again he silently begged any entity that could be listening that whatever in his blood didn’t pass on to her.

Being a medical oddity was something he wouldn’t wish on anybody, not just his daughter. As soon as Nate came out from behind a screen buttoning his shirt Marcus put the phone away. After Nate said something to the Doctor, who looked extremely pleased, he headed his way. “Why did you want to meet down here?”, Marcus asked.

“I figured you want to grab some lunch,” he said grabbing a jacket. “I just had to get this out of the way." Nate gestured toward some sort of big circular device on the other side of that screen he popped out from.

“And what was ‘this’?”, Marcus asked, eyeballing the machine.

“A body scan,” Nate said casually enough as they headed for the door. “They need to make sure of my body dimensions so the suit will fit.” The suit, which was obvious to Marcus, was the armor. “Dad had to go through the same thing, remember?”

It took a second but he eventually did, “Cold hands, right, right.” Marcus stopped suddenly once they hit the hallway, wait a minute, “Hold up, why does the Aegis armor fit me? I’m taller than you.”

“Your driver is advanced enough that it has an internal body scanner,” he answered while starting walking again. “It scans you every time you activate it. The BScan doesn’t , so I gotta go through that. Of course that does mean my driver is close to being completed.”

Marcus looked at him, “Close to being…? You mean I’m almost done?”

“I’m not sure if you’re excited or not,” Nate went.

“Hey look, I'm just excited about getting back to a somewhat normal life,” he quickly said. “A life where Kat knows monsters really exist, but normal.” Then he remembered what Maddie had to go through because of him, “somewhat.”

“And it also means you’ll be leaving,” Nate said putting an arm around his neck. “But don’t think you’re getting rid of me that easily little bro.”

“That thought never crossed my mind, big bro.” The thought that did occur to him though, “Did you at least change the name?”

“We changed the name,” Nate told him. “They’re programming it in now. It’ll be good to go as soon as I’m given the green light.”

“Cool, Dad might have been fine with being called BScan…”

“But it did not sound cool,” Nate added. “Not even when we were kids.”

“No it did not,” Marcus agreed. “Come on, we need to celebrate. The beer is on me.”

“It was going to be on you anyway,” Nate said. Which earned him a shove from Marcus, the brothers both grinning as they walked down the hall.

***
Underground the Cryptid lord sat there surprised to see the Priestess hurry toward him. His guards quickly used their staffs to block her way. She looked past them and directly toward him. He sat there for a moment, just a brief moment, before gesturing to let her through. It has to be something important if she was rushing over, and he doubted that the experiment she had been working on for ages was finally finished. “What is it?”

“How soon can our forces get mobilized to head to the surface?”, she asked. He raised an eyebrow, this was outside of the norm. Not once in the time he had known her had she ever asked such a question.

“What did you see?”, he asked. It has to be the reason for this question. It was the only thing that made any sort of sense.

“There is a transition coming,” she said. “Of what I do not know. But it is an opening to attack. I’m sure of it.”

“How much time do we have to capitalize on this opening?”

She hesitated in answering, never a good sign. When she did the answer was, “It wasn’t clear to me. Only that it was soon.” She quickly added, “If I had received these signs sooner I would have informed you sooner.”

“A leader will need to be chosen,” he leaned forward in his seat, deep in thought, “Send for the warrior class’ trainer,” he said to one of the guards. “And tell him to be in front of me immediately.” Glaring at the priestess he said, “Time is of the essence. And drag the tunnel Overlord here as well. I need to know which tunnel is closest to completion.”

The only answer was the guard running off to gather the two he had requested. “You better be right about…” he was saying to the Priestess when something caught his eye. In the back of the room, in one of the door ways stood somebody completely covered in some sort of robe, hood pulled fully over the head to hide any features from this distance, No one else seemed to notice this intruder’s presence, but he was there.The Priestess started to look back to where the person was but he was gone just as fast as he spotted him. “What is it?”, she asked.

Smirking slightly he leaned back into his chair, “Nothing for you to be concerned about witch. Get back to your stones and to your experiments. Tell me if anything you see changes the moment it happens.”

“As you wish my lord,” she stiffly turned and quickly trotted off. He knew something she didn’t and that annoyed her to no end. Good, he always enjoyed having an advantage over her. And as soon as another that could read the signs could be located he’d replace her at the first chance that would arrive.

His thoughts returned to the "apparition" he'd just witnessed. Motioning for another guard to come forward he commanded,” Have the whelp that befriended my son, Skyr, have him come before me after I am done with the trainer and the Overlord. I wish to speak with him.”

“As you command my lord,” the guard said before stepping back into position. Smirking to himself he thought back to the hooded person. If the witch was wrong then it wouldn’t matter. Things were going to change in a way she didn’t see. And that thought pleased him greatly.

***
“Work on the secondary driver is almost complete,” Doctor Gordon said. Director Miller just sat in her chair and listened, not betraying anything she was thinking. “The work was able to be completed sooner than I anticipated.”

“But not soon enough,” Miller said.

“Well we had to completely switch gears,” he said a little too defensively for her liking but she would let it slide, for now. “Nearly all of our resources,” he continued, “were into maintaining and developing the QScan driver. Hell pretty much all the equipment we have is for the QScan. We literally had to jury rig, explore the warehouses or practically reinvent the equipment to finish the BScan driver.”

“I’m aware of that Doctor,” she said. “My apologies for sounding so snippy. It has been a trying time for us all.”

He seemed to have been caught off guard by her sudden tonal shift. In this case it wasn’t intentional, it just sort of happened. “Of course,” he ended up saying. “If anything it’s going to be a bit quieter now after Marcus leaves. He did bring a fun energy to the place.”

“Yes,” Miller said as she looked at something on the monitor, “although I’m not sure ‘fun’ is the word I would have used. Either way we made a deal, he would operate the QScan driver until the BScan is ready. And we are close to completing our part of the arrangement “

“Do you think he’ll keep his end of the bargain?” The Doctor asked. That was a very strange question to ask, extremely valid, but strange.

“If he’s anything like his father and brother,” she told him, “he will. Of that I have no doubt. And nothing I’ve seen of him would suggest otherwise. No he’ll surrender the QScan the moment he has to. I’ll let you get back to putting the finishing touches on the BScan. Oh Doctor,” she added as he started to leave, “about this name change.”

“It was the Captain's request,” he said. “I didn’t see an issue.”

Somehow she doubted this was completely the Captain’s idea. “It is something very minor.” The Doctor actually visibly relaxed when she said it “A name doesn’t affect his combat capabilities at all. Proceed,”

“Yes ma’am,” he said before quickly turning around and leaving, not quite in haste but something close. She actually smirked at the sight after he was gone

Miller leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. “Soon,” was all she said. Soon Marcus Cole wouldn’t be an issue any more.

***
The fact he was almost done with this Rider business wasn’t something he was going to keep from Kat. As soon as he told her she immediately nearly tackled him on the couch. “Oh my God this is almost over,” she said in total excitement.

“I know, I can’t believe it either,” he said as she moved off him. “I can’t believe it was this quick, Dad always bitched about how slow they were at getting things done. Hell, even Nate was complained about it after he joined up.”

“Don’t complain about it,” Kat chided him with a slap on the arm.

“I’m not,” he quickly said. “I’m just amazed at the timing. Guess Miller really didn’t want me around.” He sat up into a sitting position and pondered, “I wonder what she thought of the name change Nate wanted?”

Kat sat next to him looking confused, “Name change?”

“What the driver calls out as soon as he armors up. Like how the one I’ve been using calls out Kamen Rider Aegis.”

“What is it going to be?”

“He wouldn’t tell me. He said he wanted it to be a surprise.”

“When was he going to pop this surprise?”, Kat asked, a completely legitimate question.

The only answer he had was, “I’m guess the first time he uses it. The lab setting is going to be kinda dry though “

“What if his driver doesn't work?”, she asked.

“Oh it’s going to work,” he insisted. “They are not putting that much into it to just fizz out as soon as he turns it on.”

“I can’t believe it.” Suddenly she said, “Do you think he’s going to be okay? Doing it by himself?”

“He was preparing to do that well before I got my ass involved and screwed things up,” he reminded her. “He has a great team behind him and,” he added, “he doesn’t have to babysit me anymore. He’s going to be just fine.” They just sat there for a moment in silence before he said, “You know what? We got to celebrate.”

“Let’s not jinx things by celebrating too early,” Kat told him.

“I’m not,” he said. “That doesn’t mean we can’t plan ahead for when it happens.” Leaning back on the couch he wrapped an arm around her, “But now you got to get used to me not being around all the time.”

“Not going to be a problem,” she told him. He looked at her. “Babe I love you but you’re starting to get underfoot. And don’t you even say it,” she said as soon as he started opening his mouth.

“I wasn’t going to say anything,” he said a tad defensively.

“Your mind went south as soon as I said under. I know you better than your brother does.”

“No argument there,” Marcus said. “Nate might disagree but I’ll let you two slug it out “

***
In his private chamber the youth he had sent for, Skyr, looked around nervously at the guards flanking him as he stood before him. He let him for a moment, just to remind the youth who was the one in charge, despite being friends with his son. Letting this go on for a bit longer as he stared at the youth slowly he waved the guards away, still the youth remained tense. “If I wanted you dead we would not be alone. I would have you executed in front of the others as a message.”

“Of course my lord,” he said meekly before finding his voice once more. “The summons to be in front of you was a bit,” he glanced back quickly toward the guards, “abrupt.”

“I am one that is used to waiting,” he said easily enough, but still he just stared at him. He didn’t want the youth to think he was being, and he hated using this human term but it fit, chummy. “Tell me, have you had any correspondence with my son recently?”

“No my lord,” Skyr didn't even hesitate in answering. Generally a sign of truth telling but the smoothest tongues were also some of the quickest thinkers. He went on, “I haven’t done so since he left.”

“As designed,” he said. “As was done to me when I was sent for training. So that is not surprising.”

“Wht do you ask?”, Skyr asked. Then he quickly backpeddled as that stare became more intense and focused, “I… I mean no disrespect my lord. I was just curious.”

“Curiousity has ended a life more than once.” The youth jumped at the voice that suddenly stood behind him. Their lord hud a smirk at the sight then quickly held his guards in place. All but the youth saw this hooded figure approach. “Very few have survived long enough to learn that particular lesson.”

“Leave us,” he commanded. Skyr quickly scuttled away, never turning his back as he fled.. His guards were a bit more reluctant but did as ordered. He rose from his chair and approached the hooded figure. Pulling the hood back revealed a stern looking male and the two just stared at each other. The stare quickly turned into grins by both men. Clasping forearms he said, “How are you old friend?”

“I am perfectly fine my lord.”

“No need for any formality here Sraxis,” Going over to a wall he grabbed two clay glasses and dipped both into a barrel. Offering one to Sraxis he added, ”Especially since we are now alone.”

Gratefully taking the offered drink he took a swig of it before continuing, “Ah, there’s nothing like a drink from home. Then again Galen, you are one of the few who knows this.”

“You would be correct, the lord said as they walked back toward his chair. “I never truly appreciated it until after I returned from my training. Speaking of, is my son here as well?”

“He is above ground,” came the slightly surprising answer. “I left some markers around the human city. I tasked him to find them all before returning to our camp just outside of it’s border.” Seeing the questioning look he was getting, Sraxis added,” I said I would train him until the very last moment. His return is soon, in fact this is his last test. I did not tell him this, but I fully expect him to pass.”

“Good,” the lord said as he took his seat. “If he fully listened to your teaching then I have no doubts. I knew I was correct in sending you above to study how the humans make war.”

“I was honored to accept that assignment. But I must admit I never fully understood the reasoning behind it.”

“Simple,” the lord said, locating a place for his friend to sit as well, “Do you remember that group of humans who foolishly decided to come to our world?”

“Aye, I do,” he said, leaning forward slightly. “I heard things got interesting after I was sent away.”

“That they did,” he agreed, looking lost in thought for a moment. Coming out of whatever it was he was momentarily lost in he returned to the here and now, “They were studying us, our ways. They claimed that they wanted to understand us.”

“I remember,” Sraxis said. “A very foolish idea considering we were actively at war.”

Nodding the lord said. “So I decided to study them. But instead of a unit, like they did, I decided to send the one I trusted the most to do the same.” Going for the barrel again he offered to take the other cup, which Srsxis readily agreed to. Dunking them again he said, “The knowledge you brought back was invaluable.”

“I’m glad you think so. Too bad no one else around here did.”

“Tradirion runs to our very core,” the lord said retaking his seat. “Change is hard to accomplish, even if the one calling for it is the one who rules. So I decided that if anything at least my son should learn these lessons, for he is the one who must lead us to victory once I am gone.”

“That is the way of nature,” Sraxis solemnly said. “But, just for personal reasons, I hope that day is very far off.” The lord just smiled as he took another drink. Soon his son would be here by his side, that was all that mattered to him.

***

Nate sat behind a desk looking at some reports. Nothing too exciting, just cost analysis, invoices, requests for some time off. Not exactly bedtime reading, well maybe if you were suffering from a severe case of insomnia but that was about it. But it was part of his job, a mind numbing, almost soul crushing part, but part of the job none the less. And he couldn’t say Dad didn’t warn him about this because he did. He should have took up his offer on learning how to deal with all of this.

The most welcome sound of a knock at his door caught his attention. He knew right of way it was one of his guys, the higher ups would have just barged right in and he never showed Marcis this particular location, although he wouldn’t have been surprised if the others told him about it. Looking up, it was one of his guys, who started speaking as soon as he did, “Cap, Got a question.”

“Sure thing Mac, what is it?”

“Word coming from the lab eggheads says your driver is almost done, that true?”

“I told you all this yesterday,” Nate said.

“I was off yesterday,” was his retort.

“That’s right, your wedding anniversary,” Nate said after taking a second to think it over. “How did that go?”

“Beautiful,” Mac told him, “I was never so glad to not hear a Cryptid alarm in my life.”

“Oh I can believe that,” Nate said leaning back a bit. “But yes, the other driver is almost complete. Don’t worry, it shouldn’t affect how we do things when it goes live.”

“Cool, cool,” he said. “I guess that means little Cole isn't going to be here any more. Damn shame. I mean don’t get me wrong Captain, we all love you and all, but your brother did bring a different vibe around here.”

“I’m sure he does,” Nate said chuckling to himself. “Just be thankful we’re not exactly alike. I don’t think you or the others would survive it.” If Nate was being honest with himself, he was going to miss having Marcus around too. Unfortunately his current clearance was only available to those who actually worked here. Once Nate took on being the Kamen Rider then Marcus’ clearance would be reduced back to level one, if that. “It’s going to feel different around here, I won’t deny that.” An idea just game to him, “But that doesn’t mean we can’t invite him to a guys night out, after hours of course. If you two's significant others will let you out to play that is,” he added with a smirk.

“Enjoy bachelorhood Cap,” he said,” getting married would not suit your do as you want lifestyle.” With a smirk and a quick salute he walked off.

“I would enjoy the challenge,” Nate called out after he was gone from view, Shaking his head Nate went back to his reports, stifling a yawn after about a second of reading. This was the only time he actually wanted the alert to go off, just so he wouldn’t have to deal with this.

***
Sraxis walked the wooden path while still keeping an eye open to his surroundings. Something a little further up caught his attention. Getting closer he saw it was the markers he had left for his student. Using his foot to spread the pile out a little further he nodded to himself, these were all the markers he had placed in the human city. Leaving them there he continued on.

Further on he found the clearing, admittedly it was more open then he would have liked but the humans didn’t leave many options for cover. There he found a young man with dirty blond hair with wraps around his hands tend to some kind of meat over a fire. The youth didn’t look up as he said, “How is my father?”

“He is well,’ Sraxis said, taking a seat on a nearby stump. “You found them all.”

“I noticed they were all on the top of, what did you call them? Buildings, that was it.”

“A necessary precaution,” Sraxis told him. “Do not need the humans knowing you are around until we are ready.”

“I am not afraid.”

“I never said you were. But as you training master I have to make sure your lime is intake.” The young one slumped his shoulders a bit. He remembered being that anxious to prove himself. “The Priestess, according to your father, has seen an opening to attack.” When he looked at him he quickly killed that hope in his eyes, “Plans are already in place.” The younger man's shoulders slumped, frustration radiating off of him. “We will watch, it is better to view how your enemy fights before you commit to battle. I can train you for as long as you live, but until you see how they fight you will not fully understand.”

“From the top of those buildings?”

“It is the best vantage point to witness any battle.” The youth looked up at the sky, surprisingly almost wistfully. This was new, “What’s on your mind?”

“We’ll be back home soon,” he said. “Underground, like we should be. But I think I will miss the view above us. I have grown used to it, particularly after it gets dark.”

“One day soon it will be our view as well. Well for those who wish to experience it.”

“Some will choose not to,” the youth said, it wasn’t a question.

“For some the normal is comfortable,” he answered anyway. “Any change feels wrong.”

“Father used to say something similar. Every time he complained about how things were going.”

He nodded his head, having heard something similar earlier, “Change takes time. Convincing people to try something outside their normal can be a one way battle. Come,” he said standing up, “that window should be soon and your father has told me where he expects to release the soldiers. I have already picked out a position to view the battle.”

“Yes sir,” the youth said as they started walking. Once his charge saw how their enemy fought the better he would be prepared. What he didn’t mention was that their Lord said there was a new Rider. The main reason why he was holding him back, the line must be protected at all cost.

***
With the room watching intently the Priestess stood there reaching into her sleeve as she stared at the pedestal before her. The Lord sat there with his head propped up on a fist. While her, and those like her from before his time, readings were useful, even necessary. He was quietly certain that she drew this out on purpose at times. From his observations over the time she had been at his side usually when something annoyed her, and she was his Priestess for far too long not to recognize that she was annoyed. And he had the feeling he knew why, Sraxis had returned, and that meant someone new to advise him. Particularly on human matters, that was one of the reasons he sent him above ground after all.

Finally she removed her hand from that sleeve, her pouch in hand. Slowly she poured the contents into her other hand, wrapping her gnarled and boney fingers around them. With a quick motion she threw what she held onto the pedestal. She leaned in to study the rocks and sticks laying across the top. She read that today was the day and where their attack should take place previously, now it was just a matter of when. In the crowd everyone leaned forward, none more so than one individual in particular. The one already chosen to lead the assault. He wanted his son there but Sraxis convinced him to hold off, that it was better for him to witness the humans in action before confronting them directly. He begrudgingly agreed, he sent him to study the humans, he was the one most knowledgeable in these matters.

Finally the Priestess looked up and at him, “It is time.”

He looked over at his closest guard, “Send word. The time is now. GO!” The guard ran off with the current chosen one close in tow. He leaned back in his chair. The Priestess came closer but he was already ignoring her. This should have been his son’s moment, but if recent history was any indication then his moment to defeat the Rider would come. It was only a matter of when.

***

“Hey captain, mail call!” Nate looked up from the small conversation and saw the man who said that put a familiar looking armored briefcase on a nearby table. Feeling a pit suddenly hit like a meteor strike form in his stomach. Right before he came over. Almost similar to the feeling he felt when the QScan driver was delivered in a similar manner, but this one felt more intense. He assumed this was because this was a direct connection to his father’s legacy, the upgraded BScan driver. The room suddenly felt very quiet as he reached for the case, some of his guys starting to crowd around him.

Taking a deep breath Nate grasped the case and put it flat on the table. Seeing no point in dragging this out he popped the latches and opened the case. On the inside, firmly secured inside was a rectangular looking device with a green plate of some sort fully on the front. From this angle the dimensions of a paperback novel. Lightly he brushed his fingertips over the plate. And he thought things started feeling extremely real, more so than with the QScan driver.

“Too bad Little Cole’s not here to see this,” the comment broke him out of his, trance wasn’t the right word, at least he didn’t think it was, but he was suddenly extremely aware of all the bodies around him. “I mean it’s a pretty big moment. I figured he’d be here.”

“He wanted some family time,” Nate told the group. Those that were in a similar situation looked like they understood. “I didn’t even know this was coming today. I figured we’d at least test it first.”

That man went, “Your brother has been saying the Director was just itching to get rid of him.”

“So we jump straight to field testing,” Nate said them smirked, “I’m pretty sure she wants me around a little longer.” The alarms started going off, “Gear up. We scramble in five.” Nate started for the equipment locker, any thoughts of the briefcase and the driver lost the moment the sirens went off

At least until somebody went,” Are we calling Little Cole to meet us there?”

Nate stopped in his tracks then looked back at the case. “No,” he said going over to it and closing it. “We’ll keep it as an option for right now. Let’s try to handle this one for ourselves. Besides, chances are he already knows about it.”

“Yeah that A.I pretty fast on the draw when issuing alerts,” someone commented as he grabbed one of the rifles off the wall.

“Just get ready,” Nate told them. He hurried over to the waiting van and he put the briefcase in the back. When he turned around somebody handed him a flack jacket while carrying an extra rifle over his shoulders. Nate took the flack jacket, quickly donning and fastening it around his torso before accepting the rifle. With a nod both of them jumped into the van.

***
“So I’m thinking a private celebration,” Marcus was saying as he and Kat were walking down the street. Maddie was with her sister at that moment so they could get some shopping and some alone couple time, at least for a couple of hours. “Just you, me and Maddie. I mean Nate can be there too, but after he leaves it would just be the three of us.”

“I thought we agreed to not jinx things,” Kat chided him with a slight shove

“I’m not,” he insisted. “But there’s no harm in thinking about it, get some basics down before doing the serious planning.”

“You’re still planning things,” she told him. “Besides, Maddie's going to be spending the night at aunt Trish’s that night, whenever it is.”

“I’ll give Nate a raincheck,” Marcus said. He readjusted the backpack on his shoulder with a sigh, “Man, I can’t get rid of this stupid bag.”

“I don’t even know why you brought it with you,” Kat told him.

“”We’re ditching the bag as soon as Nate gets going. Until then I have to have the driver with me. Just a little while longer.”

“You could have left it in the car,” she told him. Suddenly some people started running past them. “What is going on?” Both of them looked back to see more people running in their direction, most screaming now. Marcus held on to Kat, trying to make sure she didn’t get wept away with the crowd. Looking beyond the rush he saw what looked like a Cryptid chasing after them. Kat saw them too, “Oh God.”

“Didn’t I go through this once already,” Marcus said, letting go of Kat and lowering the bag off his shoulder.” Get ready to run,” he told her as he went to open it. He might have been in this situation before, but now he had something to be a bit more proactive now.

“Marcus!” Kat suddenly called out. He looked in her direction and saw a Cryptid right before everything went dark.

***
Kat sat there in total fear with others as one by one these Cryptid freaks would grab one of them at random. “No! No!”, the latest one cried out and tried to struggle free as he was grabbed and dragged toward a couple of cinder blocks that they had stacked up. One Cryptid in particular, who was holding something that looked like an axe on a pole, seemed particularly amused at the sight. Kat tried everything to not look at the bodies they just threw about after the deed was done. Instead she looked at Marcus lying face down on the ground near her who looked like he was just starting to stir after one of them had punched him out as soon as he turned around.

On a nearby roof top, using a couple of makeshift telescopes stood Sraxis and his charge as they watched the proceedings. The younger one, without any emotion in his voice went, “There would be some who would question why we were having so many problems with these humans. Considering how they don’t put up much of a struggle.”

“Then we would both be able to point out who hasn’t been to the surface for any period of time,” Sraxis said as he continued to watch.

“These are not the warriors,” he said. “They are still to come.” They both watched as the axe fell and took another human life. “But you would think some sort of survival instinct would take over seeing this.”

“Fear has a way of negating any type of survival instinct,” Sraxis told him. “Remember what I told you, when the Rider shows, just observe how he fights. This is a rare opportunity to start figuring out a strategy when you do confront him.”

His whole face hurts, what the fuck hit him? Marcus groaned a bit as he started to push himself up and open his eyes. That’s when he saw, was that a spear? Whatever it was it looked extremely sharp and pointy and pointed straight at him. Getting the hint he stayed where he was but did look around. On his left Kat was looking at him, fear no doubt on her face. Then he saw the others, then the Cryptid guarding them. Then he spotted the backpack, a few yards away. On the other side of a Cryptid standing right by it.

A new cry made him look forward, and he saw some poor bastard being dragged toward another Cryptid holding something and some blocks. Then he saw the headless bodies and everything came into focus. They were being executed right on the spot and he immediately looked back at the back pack. He had a way to stop all of this right over there. He just had to get past the one pointing the spear at him and any between him and the driver. Easy, if he was Superman or something.

The cries from the one being dragged over the blocks caught his ears again. Marcus saw the Cryptid with the weapon slowly raise it up. The sick bastard was actually enjoying this. Marcus grunted a, “No,” as that axe looking thing started to fall. Kat looked at him, not to avoid seeing this again, which she really didn’t, but a quick flash behind Marcus’s left ear caught her attention. Sraxis’ charge left hand twitched slightly as their executioner paused mid swing before looking confused. Sraxis was as well as the two of them watched.

“What are you doing?”, one of the Cryptid asked the executioner who just stood slowly lowering the axe to the side. “Finish the human off!”

“More humans are coming!” One Cryptid a bit further down yelled at them. Marcus saw a familiar looking van come barreling down the street toward them. As soon as it pulled to a stop the side rear doors opened up and Nate and the others came rushing out. As soon as they started firing Marcus looked at the backpack again. If Nate and the rest could keep them distracted long enough he could run over and get the driver.

“Stay down!”, he heard Nate call out. Marcus looked in his direction. While they were too far about to be sure, but Marcus was sure he was looking right at him. He strode forward with something in his right hand. This was when Marcus noticed that his rifle was slung over his shoulder. So what was he…? Wait.

“You assholes picked the wrong day to try this,” Nate told the Cryptids. Marcus looked at the Cryptids, partially because he was trying to pick out the leader, partially because he was looking for an opening to get the driver. Then Nate held up the hand he was holding and made some sort of motion, like he was tapping something. Marcus heard a slightly different electronic voice call out, “Ready.”

“No fucking way,” Marcus muttered as he was realizing what was happening. But his mind wasn’t fully accepting it at that particular moment.

Holding the BScan driver in front of him he brought it to his waist. As soon as it came into contact with his body a belt shot out of one end, wrapped itself around his waist and connected on the other side. “Henshin,” he said, then swung his right arm around in a circle to swipe his hand in front of the screen. In front of him a green barcode formed that quickly encircled him. It started spinning around him, various lights shooting off at him. The spinning barcode broke away, revealing what it had done to Nate. Sporting a dark green under suit and covered with green chest armor with black highlights on the sides and shoulders. Black shin and forearm armor covered those parts along with his feet. His head was covered by a Green helmet with a silver mouthplate, a black strip going down the center, red, insect like eyes and a silver, v-style antenna with a red gem right in the center. Off the belt on his right side was a palm size square like device with a cut off corner with some grooves built in, directly below that was a holster with some sort of gun well within hands reach. As he stood there the belt announced, “Kamen Rider Thanatos.”

From the rooftop Sraxis and his charge both lowered their scopes before the elder immediately brought it back to his eye. “Stay where you are boy,” he said.

Marcus looked on, the cryptids stunned enough the he was able to get to his knees. He looked back down at the backpack. With them looking in the other direction could he rush past them and get the driver? A new grip on his arm made him look at Kat. She wasn’t looking at him but at Nate and the scene unfolding before them. She wasn’t trying to get him to stay, at least not intentionally. But Marcus still didn’t remove her hand and go for the driver.

“So how about we let those nice people go,” Nate told the Cryptids. They looked at each other, unsure what to make of this development. “No? Don’t say I never gave you the option.” Some of the Cryptids ran toward him. “Let’s dance,” he grunted as he ducked the initial charge and tackled the other around the waist. He rolled to a knee and pulled the futuristic gun and fired at the first one, then the second one point blank.

“Grab the humans!” the executioner commanded. It was loud enough that Nate and his men heard it. He held up a hand to hold his men back as the Cryptids went for their hostages. “Kill them if they make a move.”

“Kill them and you don’t have a shield buddy,” Nate calmly said as he slowly moved the gun to the device on his side. Using the HUD built into the helmet's visors he targeted several of those Cryptids then slid the slots on top of the gun through the grooves so it scanned the bar code etched into the top of it.

“Multishot,” the belt announced and he quickly pointed it at the Cryptids and pulled the trigger. A stream of energized shots fired out, twisting in the air around the executioner and hitting the Cryptids going for their hostages. Marcus and Kat both ducked, both not knowing how those shots were going to act.

“Hold off the others,” Nate told his crew, “Leader potentially identified.” The troops picked their shot, trying to make sure they didn’t hit any of the hostages, as Nate ran toward the suspected leader. Brandishing the axe swung it horizontally to keep him back. Nate stopped short of the swing, not because he thought that axe head would do anything to the armor. Still the impact could have knocked him off balance, and this guy seemed pretty quick with this particular weapon as it already brought it back around a couple of times, making sure Nate couldn’t bring his weapon to bear. If this guy wasn’t the leader he should have been.

Holstering the gun Nate rushed in as it swung past him. Grabbing the shaft they struggled to control the weapon as a battle took place around them as his guys were able to get closer to fight the Cryptids. In the chaos Marcus was able to dash forward and grabbed the backpack. One of the guys he knew suddenly fell into him after being thrown by a Cryptid. He quickly untangled himself from Marcus going, “Sorry man!”, and returned his aim at that particular Cryptid.

“This isn't my day,” Marcus muttered as he ripped the bag open. Looking up briefly he went “Shit!” and ducked back down as the executioner flew over his head. Nate was dropping the axe as he looked in his direction. “Watch it!”

“I told you to stay down,” was all he said as he drew his weapon again. Bringing the weapon back to his side he ran it back and forth three times. “Finalshot,” the driver announced as he brought it around. There was a pulsating sound as energy rings swirled around the barrel. Marcus quickly dove to the side with the bag as the executioner got to it’s feet. When it turned around to face him Nate pulled the trigger. A thick red beam of energy erupted from the gun, piercing the Cryptid who proceeded to explode mid fall.

Marcus had a hand in the bag, just in case that wasn’t the leader. Him and the other troops all visibly relaxed as the other Cryptids slowly went away. Kat and the other hostages were still looking on in fear. “After them,” Nate ordered, motioning in that direction. “Fulton, Colby,” he pointed at Kat and the others, “Make sure they're okay.” Turning back to Marcus who got to a knee they looked at each other for a brief moment before Nate said, “You all right?”

All Marcus could say as Nate deactivated the armor was, “Thanatos?”

Nate shrugged and said, ”The Greek god of death. You said find something, and it sounded pretty cool.” He offered a hand to his little brother.

“That it is,” Marcus said as he took the offered hand and was helped to his feet.

***
From the rooftop the two watchers the aftermath. Sraxis in particular was paying attention to one human in particular. This was the one who their lord said was the one in control. He had no doubt about it, But why wasn’t he told about… ? “So that was the Rider,” his charge said at his side. “He is as formidable as the stories made him sound.”

“I don’t think so,” Sraxis told him. “Your father told me what the current Rider looks like based on the resorts from those he sent to the surface.” His charge looked at him with uncertainty. “However,” he continued, “That one resembles the previous Rider. Who, according to your father, is long dead.”

“A son perhaps?”, his charge offered. “Taking up the name and duty of his father.”

“Perhaps,” Sraxis agreed. It made sense in a way, the son taking up after the father. His charge was in position to do just that one day, to take the throne and title of Lord once his father, and Sraxis’s old friend, moved on to the next life. “Unfortunately, as I said there is another.”

“Two Riders,” he said in understanding.

“We must return and inform your father of this, he has to know so we can properly plan for this development.” His charge nodded and started to leave. He on the other hand stood there for a moment longer, remembering how the executioner acted with that last human. “Why did he hesitate?”

***
Marcus wasn’t sure how long it was that he, Kat and the others were told to stay where they were. So far they did everything they could to not look at the bodies being removed. Just the fact Kat and the others had to witness that…he didn’t even want to think about it. While he held her tight in the meantime trying to comfort her as best as he could given the circumstances.Although he was very aware of the backpack by his feet. When Nate came over he reached down and grabbed it off the ground. “Kat are you okay?”, Nate asked her, voice full of concern.

“I…,” she started to say, “I don’t know.”

“We’ll be okay,” Marcus told her. How he wanted her to believe that. Hell he was pretty sure the sight was going to give him nightmares. Kat and the others, he literally had no clue how they were even going to start coping with what they saw. Still, he had to remind himself, one issue at a time. Looking back down at the bookbag he looked back up at Nate. “So, do we do this now or wait until we get back to..”

“Pardon me Captain,” they looked over to see Miller standing there. Standing there and waiting, and looking at the bag in his hand.

Shaking his head a bit Marcus muttered, “Guess she was in a hurry to get this back.” He started to move past Nate, a deal was a deal after all. Then Marcus felt someone grab his arm. He was more than a bit surprised at who it was, “Kat?”

“What are you doing?”, she asked, eyes a bit wide.

“Uh,’ he went unsure why she was doing this right now, “giving the driver back. The idea was I‘d do the Rider thing until Nate’s driver got going, remember? Nate’s driver is obviously working,” he trailed off but gestured to the still waiting Miller. But she looked confused by this development as well.

“I know, I know,” Kat told him. She glanced at Miller before going, “And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Marcus this is the third time I’ve been caught in this.”

“Kat, we can,” he started to say. He was going to finish that with that they could move away from here. He had told her before he would do anything to keep her and Maddie safe. And if that involved getting the hell out of this city, so be it.

“You can’t give up the driver,” Kat said suddenly.

“Kat you’re in shock,” Marcus said.

“Don’t fucking tell me I’m in shock!”, she snapped. “I’ve been caught in the middle of this three times. Three times! Nate can’t do this on his own.”

“Nate can do this," Marcus tried to argue.

“And you can’t do this on your own either,” she talked over him. “But together, the two of you can end this faster.”

Marcus rubbed both hands over his face, this was not how this was supposed to go. Then Nate had to go and say, “No offence, Director but it makes sense.” She did not look pleased by this new development at all. And he was right there with her.

Looking at Nate he went, “Seriously?”

“Dude,” one of the guys said, “I think little Cole is staying.”

“I know,” the other side, with a bit of excitement. Then he took a look of sheer annoyance on Miller’s face and quickly found something else to do.

“None of you have any idea of the headache this is going to cause,” she told them. Walking away a bit she looked up at the sky then turned back around and stared at all three of them. She addressed Marcus, “See me in my office in a couple of days. We’ll,” she glanced at Kat briefly, “discuss this new arrangement, if it’s needed, then.”

A couple of days, translation, make sure Kat didn’t lose her damn mind first. Miller looked at Nate who nodded and followed her, leaving the two of them standing. “Let’s go get Maddie,” he told her. Kat readily agreed and they walked away from the scene. Slinging the backpack over his shoulder, he was sure he was imagining how much heavier the driver was feeling all of the sudden.