[Locke]

Meanwhile, outside of the school, a young teenager pulled up on a bulky, custom motorcycle, still dressed in his school uniform, which looked more like a suit than anything else. His grown up looking outfit clashed with his boyish features. He dropped off the bike, removed his helmet and watched the lightning arcing from the storm clouds localised above the school. It had gathered quite the crowd, yet a mysterious, invisible force wouldn’t let them approach. They wrote it off as fear, when it was something so much more complex and yet so much more simple.

“A Quantum Storm.” Bradley said out loud into his earpiece.

“Correct.” came the voice that returned, digitally processed to sound like no one from any specific time or place.

“They are using high schools now?” Bradley tutted.

“That would appear to be the case.”

“They disgust me...”

“Do not act out of emotion. That is our primary rule.”

“‘One must not act out of emotion, only justice.’” Bradley repeated words he had been told over and over since he was a child.

“You will help us save the world, just as we saved your mother.”

“I know.” Bradley tutted.

“Then you know what must be done.”

Bradley lifted a Driver from his bike box and placed it around his waist, he flicked the switches down on either side of it as the grate in the middle section slid open and unleashed a wall of flame before the teen, “Henshin!”. People watched in amazement, some screamed and fell backwards, others were completely transfixed.

He held out his arms, leant his head back and stepped into the flames, unafraid. The flames wrapped around him and took a shape. The helmet that formed over his face was designed to look like a dancing flame, the rest of the suit was surprisingly slim and streamlined, it had light orange armour over the chest and shoulders but aside from the Striking Surface on one arm and the match stuck to the other, and light protection like elbow and knee pads, the rest of the suit was white leather, “Kamen Rider Candlewick, Ready!”

“The President predicted you’d come.”

Candlewick span on his feet, to see Beginning...Gabe...drop down on the ground behind him, his wings retracting as he landed.

Before Candlewick could respond, a jet of flame blasted from the armour surrounding Beginning’s forearm, “Jet...PUNCH!” Gabe’s fist blasted forwards like a jolt of energy, Candlewick knew he couldn’t move so he merely brought his arms up in a blocking position. His muscles rippled and danced beneath the suit, he lowered his body, tightening his entire form like a compressed spring. Beginning’s metal fist smashed into Candlewick’s arms with a dramatic thud, Candlewick was sent flying backwards but he dug his heels in and steadied himself.

Bradley looked up in frustration and pointed to the crowd of now terrified people, “There are innocent bystanders here, are you really willing to get them caught up in all this?”

At this Gabe stopped, shocked at himself, “I...”

Bradley tutted again and bolted into the school towards where the lightning was now focusing on a single spot.

“Play on my emotions will you?” Gabe growled, “just because you freaks have none...” He began to flick a sequence on his Driver’s many knobs, wheels and buttons as the chest section of his armour flipped open and unleashed a volley of rockets. The rockets flew across the school ground, the targeting system inside Gabe’s helmet keeping them completely locked on Bradley. Bradley span on the spot, striking his arm with the match as he did, just as the rockets reached him and he vanished in a massive explosion.

“I’m sorry it had to come to this.” Gabe said with genuine sorrow in his voice. But just when it seemed it was all over, the flame of the explosion all began to suck inwards until it was focused between Candlewick’s hands.

“You really thought you could beat me with an attack like this? You fool!” Bradley unleashed the ball of flame right at Gabe, Gabe immediately began to hit a sequence on his Driver, with his wings extending out, “Flight Mode Activate!” but just when Gabe thought he’d dodged the attack by escaping to the sky the ball of flame chased him into the clouds guided by Bradley’s hands.

“Warning! Warning! Warning!” Gabe’s driver screamed as the flames hit him, the full force of the explosion concentrated into devastating raw power....

“We are not assassins.” Came the voice in the earpiece, “Leave Beginning now and concentrate on the task at hand.”

“Understood.”

“The Destiny has taken shape.”

Bradley could see that, some kind of marble knight was concentrating its efforts on a single teen.

“Is he..?”

“Yes, yes he is Bradley.”

“With his help, we will save the world.”

“Yes we will, Bradley.”

“For Justice!” Bradley cheered.

“For justice.” The voice echoed.

*

When Yashin felt she was far away from the school, and in a place with no one around, she reached for the key that hung around her neck. The key was completely normal looking but as she placed it into the space before her and turned it, it revealed how special it was. The very space before her cracked open and separated like a door, she stepped through and found herself in another space entirely. The former laboratory of both Udo and Jayden’s father, which existed in a dimension only accessible by that key.

She ran through the main hub of the room, to a door in the very farthest corner, she quickly tapped in the code - Udo and Jayden’s birthdays - and stepped into the small room. In the centre was a glass chamber with a Driver floating in the centre of it, wired up to some complex looking machinery and devices that shouldn’t even have been invented yet.

Ironically it was all controlled by a very normal, and very old looking, laptop. She sat down in front of the laptop and began to tap in a series of codes, as one by one that wires detached themselves from the Driver before the glass finally lowered so she could snatch up the Driver and head back to Jayden and Udo.

*

Jayden screamed out in pain as the Destiny’s blade ripped through his forearm.

“Looks like this is over for you, Jayden.” The creature held the blade aloft and Jayden swallowed, when suddenly a ball of flames arced through the air, smashing into the creatures hands and sending the blade flying across the floor. Jayden and Udo span, to see Candlewick stood there, burnt out match in one hand, the other hand steaming with intense heat.

“I don’t think your Dad would want you to die here.” Candlewick informed.

“You know my Dad?” Jayden quizzed.

Candlewick pointed to his Driver, “this was his tech right?”

“It wouldn’t have been anything without Udo’s Dad.” Jayden added.

“This isn’t time for soppiness!” Came Yashin from behind them all, who chucked the Driver into Jayden’s hands, “The device that your Dad gave his soul to create....the Eternity Driver!”

Jayden looked down at it for a moment, while the Destiny and Candlewick merely watched in amazement. Jayden looked up at Udo, who smiled and nodded, to which Jayden smiled and nodded back before throwing the thing around his waist.

“Henshin!” he cried, running his finger along the infinity symbol on the Driver, that looked like an old VHS tape....

*

Jayden blinked and suddenly he was elsewhere, in a space that went on for an...eternity. Before him in the space was someone he hadn’t seen for so long, he barely recognised him. The red cheeks, the scruffy hair, the leather jacket, the crooked smile.

“Dad?” Jayden asked, reaching out to him, his Dad took his hand and gripped it.

“How can you be..?”

“I’m not, not exactly anyway...”

“I don’t...”

“What did you think Eternity meant?” his Dad said, pulling Jayden into a hug as Jayden softly cried into his Dad’s chest, “I have ascended beyond human limitations, I have seized my destiny and together we will save the world.”

“I don’t know what is going on” Jayden admitted, “But it’s good to see you again Dad.”

“I missed you son. But there is no time for this, not right now.”

Jayden nodded, “Now, now we must fight, we must protect and save those people.”

“That is correct.”

Jayden smiled, “Let’s go kick some ass!”

*

When Jayden opened his eyes, he wasn’t Jayden anymore, he was Kamen Rider Eternity. He was in a sleek, high tech suit of armour, fashioned on the Japanese Samurai armour and completely jet black in colour. The design of his helmet looked like an explosion frozen in time, eternal, and the infinity symbol was wrapped around his torso as armour. He held out both of his arms, as energy blades slid out above his fists.

“You know what to do.” Kane said, in the helmet.

“Yes.” Jayden nodded, leaping from the spot at the Destiny, he span in the air, arcing the infinity symbol with his blades before dropping behind the monster which exploded. The two blades retracted back into the armour.

“Until next time, Dad.” Jayden said, as the infinity symbol around his chest lit up and the suit vanished in a bright flash. Udo and Yashin rushed to Jayden’s side, as he panted but smiled the biggest smile he’d ever smiled, tears racing down his cheeks.

“Holy crap that was amazing!” Udo said in amazement.

“It isn’t often I’m left speechless...” Yashin added.

“I’m just glad I got to see my Dad again.” Jayden nodded.

“This is all beautiful or whatever.” Candlewick said, hands on his hips, “But I’m not a patient man.”

Jayden span to look at him, “I don’t even know who you are.”

“None of that matters now.” Bradley tutted with impatience.

“Then what does?”

“Saving this planet.”

“What?”

“I need to know, will you help me save this planet, or will you stop me from saving it?”

“I don’t understand.”

“I represent the Talbott Foundation. I am their weapon of justice.”

For a second Jayden drew a blank but then he realised where he heard that name before, “You mean those who wanted to use my fathers tech to shape the world in their own twisted image of utopia?”

“No twist, just a utopia.” Candlewick said.

“You don’t deserve that Driver..” Jayden growled, he took a step forwards, then clutched his chest and fell to his knees.

“These Kamen Rider forms are pretty taxing on the body, huh?” Candlewick goaded, “It took years of training to sustain a transformation, let alone battle with it, you may have the strongest Driver but don’t think you can compete with me. My skills trump your power.”

Jayden moaned in pain, thrashing on the ground.

“But I’ve seen all I’ve come here to see. You’ve officially become our enemy, Eternity. And when my boss commands it, I’ll be taking that Driver off your corpse.”

“Like hell!” Udo growled. Yashin nodded triumphantly at his side.

Bradley threw back his head and laughed, “What are you going to do?”

“Whatever needs to be done.”

“Interesting.” Bradley nodded, “I’ll keep that in mind for next time.” And with a strike of his match, Candlewick was gone.

*

Meanwhile Gabe’s eyes shot open, finding himself laying on the sofa in The President’s office.

“Welcome back.” The President smiled, handing him a cup of coffee, “Eternity has awoken, just as planned. He even made an enemy of Talbott, which is even better.”

Gabe sat up, “My body I feel...”

“Fine?”

Gabe looked up as two men and a woman stepped inside the room.

“Are they?”

“Quantum Conduits?” One of the men said. The three of them were consumed by black smoke and each turned into a hideous monster.

“All is going better than I could have dreamed.” The President cackled at the window.