[KRX]

Crusader

In Perth, Western Australia, there is a small comic shop. The owner of this shop was a kind man, known for his generosity and integrity. During December, the shop was busiest, for the owner listed everything as 50% off. The owner would show up to work everyday in the garb of a red-and-green knight. Whatever money the owner made in December, he used to hold a meal for the needy. On Christmas Eve, the owner would gather together some items from his shop and visit a Children's Hospital, where he would deliver presents as the Knight Before Christmas. Everyone thought the pun was a bit stupid (even the owner), but the children always laughed at the name, and the owner was happy with it.

However, the owner's life was not always this bright. Once upon a time, he had been a police officer, and his tenure as an officer was wrought with enemies. The owner did not talk about the reasoning behind his leaving the police, but it may very well have involved the limp he had acquired just before resigning. Sometimes the owner's past life would come back to haunt him, and he would find himself being questioned by customers regarding recently-acquired injuries.

Such was what happened on the night before Christmas. Checking his list to make sure that he had a present for every child, the owner placed his helmet on his head and shouldered his bag when a group of well-dressed people entered his shop.

"We're closed," the owner told the posse.

The leader of the posse, a woman with a large hat, stepped forward. "This is a nice place you got here, officer."

The owner looked up warily. He did not recognize the woman as someone he had met before, but he knew the type. The owner moved towards the posse, stopping behind his counter. "I don't want any trouble, and you can be assured that I don't want your insurance."

The woman smiled. "It's a shame—I haven't seen a first-edition issue of "Cerebus the Aardvark #1" in... well, never."

The owner drew his old pistol at the exact same moment as the woman signaled to the men to draw their crowbars. "I don't care."

The woman pouted. "You wouldn't attack a defenseless woman like me, would you?"

The owner's hand faltered, providing an opening for the woman to strike him, winding the owner. The woman lifted the owner from behind the counter and threw him on the ground. The woman motioned to the men. "Go crazy, boys."

The men nodded, and proceeded to wreak havoc upon the shop. Cases were smashed, comics were torn, and money was taken. The owner tried to get up, but the woman stomped her foot on his chest, pinning him to the ground.

"Why?" the owner whimpered.

The woman leaned down towards the man, putting her weight on the leg she used to keep him pinned. "A girl can get real angry if you don't give her what she wants," she stated maliciously. She struck the owner in the temple, and he saw no more.

***

The owner woke up smothered in the torn remains of his bag of gifts. Removing his helmet, the owner stood up and examined the destruction of his dream.

Shards of glass littered the ground. Toys lay broken, the corpses of infantry who died defending the fort. An Optimus Prime head lay on the ground, its antennae bent and its eye cracked. Shreds of paper formed multi-color patches of snow on the ground. A model of Krypton had followed the fate of the original, green fragments piled together like ash.

The owner looked inside the bag. All the gifts were broken, except for a single teddy bear. The owner pulled out the smiling bear, and hugged it against his chest. He fell to his knees, crying.

Despair not, noble defender. The owner stopped once he heard the voice.

"Wha...?" The owner looked around for the source of the voice. Then, suddenly, the broken contents of the shop began to rearrange itself. Scraps of paper flew together to form stories of extraordinary people performing extraordinary feats; a dead world was reformed, able to once again provide a home; the fallen infantry rose up and marched back into position, the wounds in their plastic bodies fixing themselves; once again, Optimus Prime rose from the Well of AllSparks, transforming and rolling out to his place on the counter; the bag of gifts rose from the owner's hand, sewing its holes back together, the gifts jumping in; glass shards formed seamless windows and cases.

The owner watched in awe as his shop fixed itself. The teddy bear in the owner's
hand slid out of his grip, bowing to the owner. A top hat and a cane flew from a tear of the owner's on the ground and placed themselves on the bear. The bear performed a tap dance as it returned to the bag, and the owner clapped along, laughing merrily.

The hooligans' car broke down in front of a police station; they will not escape the hammer of justice.

The owner looked down into his tears. Examining one of the drops closely, he saw the face of a griffin.

"Did you do this?" the owner asked.

Yes. And you are late, Knight Before Christmas.

The owner nodded, and placed his helmet on his head. Grabbing his bag of gifts, the owner proceeded to exit the door, before he stopped.

"Thank you," the owner told the griffin.

Would you like to do more knightly work? the griffin asked.

The owner was surprised at the question, before he sighed. "I can't. My leg can barely keep up with Christmas."

I can provide you a leg—and a power far greater than you could imagine.

The owner turned to face the griffin. "Can you give me my leg?"

You will be thrown into the midst of a war if you accept my offer. There are others who have accepted propositions similar to the one I have given you. They will attack you.

The owner was silent. Then he smiled. "Sounds a lot like a comic book."

The griffin nodded. A card materialized in the owner's hand.

Do you accept?

The owner nodded. "I accept." The owner kneeled, placing the arm with the hand holding the card across his knee.

The griffin screeched like an eagle. He flew from the tear, circling the owner. Then perhaps it is time for a change in wardrobe. The griffin flew into the card, and the owner was engulfed in light.

A knight rose from his spot on the ground.

Embark now upon your quest... Kamen Rider Crusader.