[guncannon109]

Next time on Kamen Rider Xtreme:

As Cole, Tara and Shiore fight off Fury, Alex must decide to take up his driver once again or let his past rule him forever.

Will Alex reclaim his title as Kamen Rider?

and what of Shiore and her intentions?

All will be decided when Kamen Rider Xtreme continues with episode 20: Vows and Ancient Memories. Will you ride again Xtreme?

[guncannon109]

Episode 20: Vows and Ancient Memories

Shiore dashed behind Fury and swung her sword at him with full force. Fury grabbed the dial on the side of his belt and turned it until a blue S appeared at the top under the red arrow.

“Shift! Maximum Drive!” The dial shouted as Shiore’s sword phased right through Fury and she fell to the ground on the other side of him.

“A strong fire burns in your eyes young one, I like that,” Fury stated, “Truly we can both benefited from a partnership. You’ll have your revenge and I’ll have a strong warrior as my second in command once I take over this useless rock. So… what say you?”

“A wolf hunts alone,” Shiore said while gritting her teeth as she rose to her feet, “I’ve told you one and I’ll tell you again... I’ll never join the likes of you who use the power of the earth for selfish and unjust reasons.”

Fury sighed, “Pity…” he said turning the dial on his belt until a silver S appeared until the arrow, “I really hoped that you of all riders would see things my way.”

“Shredder! Maximum Drive!” The dial shouted as three large blades shot out of each of his forearms.

“Oh well, at least this way I’ll be able to add the power of three riders to my own,” Fury cackled, “NOW DIE!” He shouted as he raised his blades into the air and slashed them at Shiore knocking her back to the edge of the roof by Tara and Cole.

“Alright,” Shiore grunted as she recovered from the blow, “I might have an idea of how we can beat this guy.”

“Alright,” Tara said looking back to Shiore, “shoot.”

“Temporary truce,” Shiore stated, “we deal with this guy and then we don’t ever have to speak with each other ever again.”

“Will you give up trying to kill Alex?” Cole asked. Shiore said nothing, “I’ll take your silence as a no?... Well then, just know this. If you try to go after Alex you’ll have to go through me. Got that?” Shiore nodded, “Good.”

“Oh, speaking of,” Tara said as she undid her driver from her wrist allowing Kree to change back into his bird form.

“A guardian… here?” Shiore asked.

“I’m not sure if ‘guardian’ is the word I would use, where more of partners in crime. I helped him out, so now he helps me out,” Tara proclaimed, “Now go get Alex,” she instructed to Kree before allowing him to take off into the air.”

“Not sure what the point of sending for Subject X is, but it doesn’t really matter to me,” Fury cackled as he scraped the edges of his blades together, “because in a few short moments… you’ll all be dead.”

{Insert Opening Theme - Extreme Dream}

Alex road down a busy street on his bike, evading cars and other vehicles attempting to move as fast as he possibly could. He continued this tactic until he passed by a pair of familiar looking gates. Alex slammed on the breaks and took a closer look at the gates as well as the building that stood behind it.

“That’s… the same hospital I woke up in,” Alex said aloud to himself, “All those months ago.” At that moment Alex heard the small chirp of a bird. He turned his head to see a yellow robot bird sitting perched on the dashboard of the X-Cyclone, “Kree?” Kree nodded a bit, a small grin appearing on Alex’s face, “Good to see you pal.”

The sound of blades clashing together then filled the air. Kree turned around to where the sound originated from.

“They need my help… don’t they?” Alex asked.

Kree turned back to him and gave a small chirp.

“Ah, who am I kidding? Of course they need me,” Alex said slapping himself in the face, “but how am I supposed to get to them in time?”

“You already know the answer to that… brave youth,” A voice called out.

“Eh, who said that?” Alex asked looking around frantically.

“I did of course,” The voice called out once again.

Alex looked to Kree who sat staring directly at him, “Kree… did you just?”

“Speak to you? Well of course I did,” Kree returned, “do you see anyone else before you?”

“But… you’re a bird? How are you talking to me!” Alex demanded.

“With my condition being what it was I was unable to communicate with you directly,” Kree explained, “However, because of your strong bond with my partner I have since been able to speak with you telepathically.”

“You can speak to people who are close with Tara?” Alex asked.

“Correct,” Kree returned, “However, my connection with you seems rather weak in comparison to the other member of your group so I don’t have much time to explain. Much how I am able to change my shape upon my partner will I am also able to share that ability with others so long as they are of the same morality as said partner.”

Alex scratched his head, “I’m sorry... I don’t follow.”

“Allow me put it a bit more simply than,” Kree returned, “Do you wish to fly Alex Darwin?”

---

Fury threw Cole and Tara to the ground as Shiore prepared one final strike against him. She charged at the raging dopant at top speed raising her sword above her head.

Fury switched the dial over to red F, “Flame! Maximum Drive!” the dial shouted as a ball of fire ignited in his hand. As Shiore came within swinging range of Fury, Fury grabbed her sword by the blade and punched in her chest.

“You never learn,” Fury said with a smirk, “do you?”

“Funny,” Shiore returned, “I was just about to say the same thing.”

Fury looked down to see that where he had hit Shiore had become a puddle of water by his feet. Shiore then melted right in front of him causing water to run down his arm and cover almost half of his body which quickly froze back into ice.

“Yuki! Maximum Drive!” Fury heard a gaia memory called out as Shiore reappeared directly in front of him.

“Now… Proceed on your way to oblivion,” Shiore said raising her sword high above her head as several blades made of ice formed around her. “Diamond Snowstorm!” She shouted as she swung her sword down towards Fury causing every blade around her to hurl themselves at the dopant standing frozen in front of her.

The blades rammed themselves into Fury one by one causing him to go up a icy blue blast of fire and ice.

“Well…” Cole panted as he got back on his feet, “thank god he’s dead.” Cole turned to the yellow rider that stood beside him, “How about you Tara? You doing alright?”

“You know it,” Tara said as she punched Cole in the shoulder. She looked over to Shiore, “What do we do about her though?”

“Aren’t you three celebrating a bit too early?” Fury cackled as he emerged from the smoke of Shiore’s blast.

The three riders retook their stances and drew closer together.

“Crap damn it,” Tara returned, “This guy just doesn’t know when to stay down does he.”

“Well then, I’d say it’s about time that we make him,” Shiore said.

Tara smirked under her mask, “I think I’m starting to like you Sayuri… real shame we’re going to have to fight you after we’re through with Fury if you ask me.”

“Well if you ask me,” Fury interrupted as he drew closer to the three riders, “I’d say it’s about time that I show you my true power,” he added as he turned the dial on his belt until a dark red R appeared below the arrow.

“Ruthless! Maximum Drive!” The dial shouted as the two mouths on Fury’s shoulder armor opened wide and a giant ball of fire began to grow in each.

“Ruthless… MAELSTROM!” Fury shouted as the two balls of fire shot out of the mouths on his armor and hurled themselves at the three riders.

As the three riders braced for the impact a large tornado came down from the sky and encircled them both firing them right back at Fury, Fury jumping out of the way before they hit him.

Fury looked back for whatever it was that caused the tornado before looking up in the air to see a shadowy blur fly up from above before coming to a grinding touch down on the ground in between him and the riders. Once the blur landed, Fury was able to see that it was a black motorcycle with a red X emblazoned on the side. A pair of golden wings now adorned the sides of the bike and the face of an eagle had mounted on the windshield.

“I was wondering when you’d coming out of hiding… Kamen Rider,” Fury said smirked. “But now I’m confused, didn’t you quit after what became of that cute little girlfriend of yours?”

“You’re right, I did,” Alex said as he dismounted from his bike. He turned back to look at Cole and Tara who stood directly behind, “I’ve made some mistakes in the past and innocent people were forced to pay the price… However,” he said turning back to Fury, “I’m no longer going to just sit by and watch others fight my battles for me.”

“So… the short version?” Fury asked.

“I’m not going to allow anyone else to be harmed because of me, because I’m not going to let anyone with the intention of hurting them get anywhere near them,” Alex stated as his driver materialized around his waist, “Not even you.”

“Always jumping to extremes,” Fury chuckled, “Who exactly do you think you are anyway?”

“I’m just the guy that’s going to kick your ass,” Alex returned as he pulled out the Star and Runner memories from his back pocket and held them up to Fury, “That’s all you need to know.”

“Not today,” Fury said with a snap of his fingers causing several explosion to go off around Alex and the other three riders knocking them all to the ground along with portal opening up behind Fury. Alex looked back to the portal to see that Fury had already jumped into it.

Alex gritted his teeth, “Get back here!”

“It’s been fun riders but I think that it’s time we take a little bit of a break for today,” Fury said as three black beasts jumped out of the portal in his place, “But just so you don’t feel lonely, this lot should be more than enough company…” He smirked as the portal closed behind him, “Enjoy.”

Tara ran over to Alex, “Superstar! You alright?” she asked helping him up to his feet as Kree detached himself from Alex’s bike and returned to his place around Tara’s wrist.

“Yeah I’m fine,” Alex returned as he got back on his feet. Alex looked over to the other two riders, “Shiore… I know we haven’t exactly gotten off to a good start, but do you think maybe you could help us out just this once?” Shiore nodded, Alex returned with a grin, “thank you.”

“Okay, now that that’s out of the way, how’s about dealing with these guys?” Tara suggested pointing over to the three beasts that encircled the group. “Wouldn’t you agree Cole?”

“Well it’s not like I have a choice at the moment do I,” Cole said snarkingly.

“Great!” Tara shouted with a smirk, “So Superstar, what’s the plan?”

“Same as always,” Alex said placing his two memories into their corresponding slots on his driver, “We fight together.”

“Great to have you back pal,” Tara said patting Alex on the back as she Cole and Shiore formed into a line alongside Alex.

“Great to be back,” Alex returned, “Now, let’s end this… Henshin!” He shouted as he split the slots of his driver apart.

“Star! Runner!” Alex’s driver called out as his black and red armor formed around him, Shiore taking note of it in the corner of her eye.

“Tara, let’s go!” Alex shouted as he dashed over to the beast up in front, Tara following on the other side of it.

The two encircled the beast and ran around it several times as their speed increased rapidly as a tornado began to form in the gap between them lifting the beast into the air.

Alex and Tara flipped back and Alex singled Tara, “Finish it!”

“On it!” Tara returned as she pulled out her slicer and placed her gaia memory into the hilt.

“Gale! Maximum Drive!” Tara’s gaia memory called as the blades of her slicer split apart

Tara then shouted “Gale Tornado!” before hurling her slicer at the beast suspended in the air tearing it to shreds upon impact.

Alex then turned on his heel and ran over towards Cole, “Cole, Smash!”

Cole knelt down on one knee and rest his hammer on his shoulder as Alex jumped up onto the head of the hammer. “Going up!” Cole shouted as he swung his hammer around and launched Alex into the air, Alex switching his Star and Runner memories out for Blade and Kicker.

“Blade! Kicker!” Alex’s driver called out as his armor changed from red to green and the Bla-Jalibur formed in his right hand upon descending upon the second beast with one quick swing of his sword.

Cole then removed his rock memory from his driver and placed it into the slot at the top of his smasher, “Rock! Maximum Drive!” The memory shouted as the blade on the back of the hammer flipped to the front forming an axe.

“Rock Gasher!” Cole shouted with two swings of his axe causing two green blades of light to shoot out of blade at the second beast causing it to explode on impact.

The four riders then turned to the third and final beast. Alex approached Shiore and placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Ready?” Alex asked.

“Just tell me what you want me to do and I’ll do it,” Shiore returned.

“Alright then,” Alex said removing the Blade and Kicker memories from his driver and replacing them with Blast and Diver, “freeze it.”

“Blast! Diver!” Alex’s driver shouted as his armor changed from green to blue and the Bla-Jalibur was replaced with his Corona Blaster.

“As you wish,” Shiore said as she placed her hand on the ground causing a line of ice to shoot out from her hand and connect to the beast’s feet freezing it where it stood. “Now what?”

“One final blow,” Alex said as he removed the blast memory from his driver and placed it into the top of his blaster.

“Blast! Maximum Drive!” The Corona Blaster shouted as Alex aimed it at the final beast, Shiore placing her hand over top of it.

“Freezing Blast Charge!” Alex shouted pulling back on the trigger as a thousand shards of ice fired out of the barrel of his blaster at the last beast destroying him almost instantly. Shiore then removed her hand as Alex let his arm fall down to his side.

“Yahoo! Go Superstar! Go Snow Woman! Go Cole!” Tara shouted as Alex and Shiore both removed their gaia memories from their drivers returning to their civilian forms.

Shiore then began to walk away from Alex over to the edge of the roof.

“Hey, where are you going?” Alex asked.

“I made a mistake. You aren’t the one I’m looking for,” Shiore stated, “Sorry for the confusion, you don’t have to deal with me any longer.”

“Wait a second, if you’re looking for someone why not let us help you?” Alex asked back.

Shiore stopped for a moment then turned back to Alex, “You would do that… for me?”

“Of course,” Alex returned, “however, I do have one request.”

Shiore raised an eyebrow, “What would that be?”

“I want you to tell us everything that’s going on,” Alex request, “You think you can do that much for us… Shiore?”

“Yes… you three deserve that much at least for all the trouble I’ve caused you,” Shiore nodded, “But it can’t be here. I have a condo that isn’t very far from here, I can tell you everything there.”

“Thank you Shiore,” Alex said bowing slightly.

“No… it is I who should be thanking you,” Shiore returned, “Now… let’s get going. It’s quite a long story and the quicker I can begin the better.”

{End of Part A}
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
{Start of Part B}

Derek pushed through the large doors that led into Vainglory’s main chamber and made his way up to the throne where Vainglory was currently sitting.

“Alright Vainglory,” Derek said pointing a finger at his commander as the doors closed behind him, “I’d say it’s about time w-”

“Hold your tongue Fury,” Vainglory demanded, “You’ve been a pain in neck for long enough as it is, and you are not going to interrupt this with your idiotic ambitions.”

“Idiotic ambitions?” Derek asked, “What could be so important to put my so called ‘idiocy’ on hold my dear commander?”

Vainglory leaned back into his throne, “Carter… you may come in now.”

The doors opened once again as a young lad who looked to be about Alex’s age walked through. He had short messy brown hair and fiery red eyes and a black collar around his neck. The clothes he had on were fairly simple, black pants and shoes along with a plain red shirt with a black sideways moon pattern with three three spikes jutting out the bottom of it along with a single spike in the crevice.

“So, you’re recruiting children now are you?” Fury asked.

“Spite restrain him,” Vainglory said as Spite pulled out her whip and prepared to strike Derek around his wrists with it.

“Now now,” Derek said raising his hand to Spite and stepping off to the side, “There is no need for that here.” He turned to Vainglory, “Excuse my incompetence my lord, I was simply verifying what it was that you were up to is all.”

Vainglory raised an eyebrow, “Who exactly are you trying to fool Fury?”

“Only a cat of a different coat, that’s all the truth I know,” Derek said with a smirk. He then bowed his head to Vainglory, “Now please… proceed.”

Spite placed her hand on Derek’s shoulder and whispered into his ear, “Don’t think that you’re fooling anyone, because if you try anything I will kill you.”

“Why I wouldn’t even dream of it,” Derek returned, “After all whether it has a coat of gold or a coat of red a lion still has claws.” He turned away from Spite and focused his attention on Vainglory, “and mine are long and sharp my lord,” He thought to himself, “as long and sharp as yours.”

---

The front door to a highrise condo opened as Shiore stepped through. She slipped her shoes off and placed them gently against the wall to the right of the door.

“Please, come in,” she said bowing slightly to Alex, Cole and Tara along with Kree who was perched on Tara’s shoulder.

“Okay,” Tara shrugged. She took a few steps forward into the condo before Shiore stuck her arm out in front of her. “What?”

“Shoes,” Shiore scowled.

Tara looked down at her feet then back to Shiore, “But… I’m wearing boots.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Shiore returned, “take them off.”

“Fine,” Tara sighed before reached down to her boots and undoing the laces.

Shiore looked back to Alex and Cole.

The two blinked for a moment before cluing in to what Shiore was saying through her gaze, “Oh right,” the two said before slipping off their shoes and placing them next to Shiore’s.

Tara hopped on one foot trying to get her boot off, “Come on… you… stupid… piece of-”

Shiore rolled her eyes and grabbed the bottom of Tara’s boot and pulling it right off causing Tara to lose her balance and fall to the ground, Kree flying off Tara’s shoulder and on to Cole’s. Shiore then grabbed Tara’s other boot and slipped it off before throwing both of them on top of Tara.

Tara blinked her eyes in a daze, “... thank you.”

“Baka,” Shiore sighed.

“The heck does that mean?” Tara asked.

“You’re welcome,” Shiore returned.

“Oh…” Tara said looking up to the ceiling, “okay then.”

“I’ll go make some tea,” Shiore said as she made her way passed Tara and disappeared around the corner to the left, “you three just… make yourselves comfortable.”

Alex and Cole snickered a bit.

“What’s so funny?” Tara growled glaring at the two.

“Nothing!” The two shouted.

“Good!” Tara shouted back.

Cole knelt down over Tara and extended his hand out to her, “Need some help?”

“Thanks,” Tara said as she grabbed Cole’s hand and pulled herself up off the floor, Kree jumping back onto her shoulder from Cole’s. Tara turned around, her eyes widened as the rest of Shiore’s condo came into view.

The room was fairly bare with a single small table and four cushions placed around it along with a flat screen tv placed hung up on the wall to the left and a two seater couch against the right. A large glass window spanned across the back wall

Tara’s jaw dropped, “... Woah, check out the view!” She shouted as she grabbed Cole by the wrist and ran over to the window.

Alex took a few steps forward before taking in a whiff of an odd scent of something burning, “Is that…” He thought for a moment trying to figure out what the smell, “incense?” He looked into the kitchen, “Hey Shior-” he then caught a glimpse of Shiore reaching for a cup on the top shelf of a tall cupboard but just couldn’t get at it.

Alex walked up to the cupboard and grabbed the cup from the top.

“Here you go,” He said with a grin as he handed it to Shiore.

Shiore blinked for a moment before grabbing the cup from Alex and placed it on the counter next to three others of a similar design. She turned her back to him and walked over to a white stove that had a single kettle resting on it slowly being brought to a boil.

She turned slightly back to Alex but avoided looking directly at him, “… thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Alex returned, “Anything else I can help you with?”

“No,” Shiore said tending to the kettle on the stove, “I have everything taken care of.”

“Alright just checking,” Alex stepped slowly back over to the entrance way he came through, “Just you know shout if you need anything okay.” He said before quickly leaving the room.

"The cut I gave you..." Shiore spoke up, "How is it?

Alex felt along the cut on his cheek, the bleeding had stop but the wound was still there.

"Fine... nothing too serious," Alex returned.

"Oh," Shiore turned back to the stove, "Alright then... just checking."

"Alright," Alex said as he stepped out of the kitchen, "just let me know if you need any help okay?"

Shiore grunted “I try to kill him and he’s the one asking me if I need anything…” She sighed, “Alex Darwin, you sure are an interesting one,” she sighed as she looked up to the ceiling, “To be able to forgive someone so easily. I wonder, what gives you the strength to do that?”

Alex stepped into the living room where Cole and Tara were. By this time Tara was sprawled out on the couch with her feet up on the armrest and Cole was by the window looking over the city.

“Everything okay?” Cole asked.

“Yeah,” Alex returned as he walked over to the small table and sat down on one of the cushion in front of it.

“Something happen?” Tara asked.

“Nope. I just offered to help and she said she was fine,” Alex explained, “nothing else to it.”

“Oh… alright then,” Tara returned, “By the way I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

“What is it?” Alex asked.

“Well… I’ll admit it was pretty cool and everything but…” Tara began as she sat up straight and looked directly at Alex, “How exactly did you manage to combine that bike of yours with Kree’s glider form?”

“It just sort of happened,” Alex explained, “It was Kree that suggested it actually.”

Tara raised an eyebrow, “You serious?”

“Yeah…” Alex returned, “why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well you must’ve hit your head or something because that’s impossible,” Tara said snickering a bit, “There’s a lot of crazy stuff in this world Superstar, but a bird that can talk? That’s pushing it a little don’t you think?”

“But…” Alex looked over to Kree on Tara’s shoulder who looked back at him through his green mechanical eyes. He sighed, “I guess you’re right… I must’ve imagined it or something.”

Tara nodded a couple times, “Yeah, that’s basically what I thought,” she said stretching out her arms and letting out a rather loud yawn, “Anyways I guess that’s not really all that important. Right Cole?”

“Right,” Cole returned turning his attention back to his companions, “what matters is that we figure out who it is that Shiore is after and then think of a way to find them.

“Good to know we’re all on the same page,” Tara said as she lifted her feet up and rested them on the table, “After all that’s the whole reason why we’r-”

Just then, a blur whipped across Tara’s face as she just barely dodged it by ducking. Tara slowly looked up see a kunai knife just inches above her head, the three then looked over to where the knife came from to see Shiore standing tapping her foot with a tray holding four cups on the other side of the room.

“Tea is ready,” She said coldly as she walked over to the table and placed one the four cups at each end.

“Uh… mind telling us what the hell that was?” Tara demanded.

“Feet,” Shiore returned avoiding eye contact with Tara, “They should remain on the floor.”

“You told me to make myself at home!” Tara shouted.

“I told you to make yourself comfortable,” Shiore retorted, “Even if I did, do you have such little respect for your own property to rest your feet where others eat food?”

Tara scratched the back of her head, “Well… no, it’s just that-”

“It’s just that you what?” Shiore interrupted glaring at Tara, “Have no concern for the personal space of others?”

“Wasn’t there something important you were going to tell us!” Tara shouted back.

Shiore’s right eye twitched, “You’re one to get right to the point… I guess that’s one positive about you Tatsumaki.”

“That’s another thing,” Tara said as she slid off the couch and over to the cushion on the floor in front of her, “What’s with all this Tatsumaki business?”

“So you three don’t know of the four great clans then, and where the gaia memories you have originally came from?” Shiore asked. The trio shook their heads in unison. “Alright then,” Shiore said taking a sip of her tea, “I allow me to start at the beginning then.” Shiore dipped her index finger into Tara’s tea and placed it near the centre of the table.

“Hey!” Tara shouted, “Weren’t you the one complaining about personal space?”

“It’s my table I can mess up it as I see fit,”

“Won’t your folks be mad when they get back?” Tara asked.

“No… now, on to business,” Shiore said as she drew a line with her finger, “long ago, a being known simply as Sekai maintained peace and balance in the world. But this peace was not to last as eventually, a dark destroyer emerged and threatened to crush all that Sekai had built and leave her…” Shiore struck another line through the one she had already drawn, “with nothing.”

“Wait… but how come we’re all here today then?” Alex asked.

“Simple,” Shiore said moving her over the four corners over the cross on the table, “Sekai summoned the assistance of four of her strongest guardians. Okami the wolf, Tori the eagle, Ryujin the Dragon and Gaia the minotaur,” she then drew four characters around the cross in the clockwise order of 氷風火土, “Each one upheld one of the earth’s many elements, Okami of Ice, Tori of wind, Ryujin of fire and Gaia of earth.”

“and I’m guessing that through the help of these four beasts and the magic of friendship that Sekai was able to prevent the world’s destruction?” Tara asked in a sarcastic tone.

“Well, not exactly,” Shiore said with sorrow in her voice, “Even with the help of the four guardians, Sekai was only able to put the destroyer into a state of deep slumber… and at a terrible price. Sekai was forced to seal herself away along with the destroyer.”

“And the guardians?” Cole asked, “What became of them?”

“She intrusted them guardians with the task watching over her as she slept until the day that they would be needed to fight fight the destroyer once again… however she did not want them to do it alone,” Shiore proclaimed, “It was then that Sekai instructed them to seek out a companion, someone to share their power with and help it to grow. The four that ended up being chosen were Ryoko Hono, Takeshi Shirayuki, Daichi Iwa and Kaoru Tatsumaki and each one of them received a gaia memory containing a portion of their respective guardian’s power.” Shiore placed her yuki memory onto the surface of the table, Tara and Cole holding their memories in the palms of their hands, “These of course were the gaia memories that three of us now hold.”

“and… the fourth?” Tara asked.

“That’s where things get complicated,” Shiore proclaimed, “each of the four memories and their respective drivers were passed down from parent to child and for nine generations, peace and order was maintained by the four clans that were formed under the power of the elements.”

“They must’ve been rather close huh?” Alex asked.

“Indeed they were,” Shiore returned, “However… it was not meant to last.”

“Did the destroyer return?” Cole asked.

“No,” Shiore said, “What tore them apart… came from within. You see, for reasons I’m not sure of, the guardians were forced to seal themselves away as well but the memories they gave to their companions ancestors remained. Then things took a turn for the worse when Ryuga, the ninth head of the Hono clan, fell in love with Haruka Tatsumaki… but she had already been betrothed to another.”

“What did Ryuga do?” Tara asked.

“He pleaded with Haruka and begged that she accept his feelings for her, but she the person she was set to marry was someone who she cared for very deeply.” Shiore looked Tara in the eye, “and with no other options, Ryuga decided that if he couldn’t be with Haruka then he wouldn’t let anyone else be with her either… and so he killed Haruka’s beloved and then killed her, destroying her driver along with the rest of her clan and taking Haruka’s gaia memory to make sure that no one else would steal that last bit that remained of Haruka away from him.”

Tara tightened her grip on her memory, “That’s horrible…”

“What about Ryuga?” Alex asked, “what happened to him?”

“His actions sparked anger between the Hono clan and Iwa and Shirayuki clans,” Shiore explained “The tension between the three quickly escalated into a ten year war between the Hono, Iwa and Shirayuki Clans which eventually came to an end with Ryuga’s own life being claimed by his brother Ryusei.”

“And Ryusei?” Alex asked, “what happened to him and the rest of the Hono clan?”

“As punishment for his brother’s actions, Ryusei vowed to not allow his blood line to continue and the Hono clan ended with his death several years later.” Shiore explained, “After that, the remaining two clans slowly died out and disbanded, leaving only their drivers, memories and legacy behind.”

“That’s all well and good,” Cole said, “but… how exactly does all that relate to what’s going on now with us?”

“Well you see, the last head of the Shirayuki clan was someone very close to me,” Shiore stated, “and he was killed by someone under the guise of Ryu-jin’s mask and I fear they carry the same wrath as Ryuga Hono. The last head of the Shirayuki clan entrusted his driver to me and I attempted to kill the savage right then and there… however, he was snatched away by some green haired woman who called herself Spite.”

“So you tracked her here and confused me with the guy you were tracking… is that about right?” Alex asked.

“Yes,” Shiore returned, “and now I must ask you three,” she placed her hand over her knees and bowed her head to the three riders before her, “I know I’ve caused nothing but trouble for you since I’ve arrived here in your city, but if I can ask one thing of you I beg you… help me prevent the flames of the past from resurfacing.”

---

Vainglory sat leaning forward in his throne while Carter knelt before him. Derek and Rylee stood off to the side, Rylee biting her lip with a black case in her hand and Derek with his usual smirk.

“Carter Damon, son of Spite,” Vainglory said to the boy, “Do you pledge undying loyalty to your commander, and swear to uphold order in your stead as one of META’s elites?” Carter nodded, “Very good… now then,” he turned to Rylee and extended his hand to her, “Spite, the driver and memory if you’d please.”

“Of course,” Rylee said walking over to Vainglory and handing the case she held in her hand. She bowed slightly before handing the case over to her commander.

“Thank you Spite,” Vainglory nodded as he took the case from Rylee, “You may go now.”

“My lord,” Rylee bowed once more before returning to her place beside Derek.

“Nervous?” Derek asked.

“Of course not,” Rylee returned.

“Don’t lie to me,” Derek said with a smirk, “I can smell it… you obviously fear for him,” He placed his hand on Rylee’s shoulder, “Though it’s only natural for a mother to worry for her children.”

Vainglory opened the case and walked over to Carter, “Now then, with your oath complete all that needs to be done is see if you are able to wield the power contained within this driver and memory,” He turned the case to Carter to reveal a red gaia memory and circle shaped buckle with the face of a dragon in the center and four ruins around the rim, “But take heed, this is one of the most powerful memories in existence. If you cannot control it, it will consume you instantly… are you prepared for this?”

Carter nodded, “I am… my lord.”

“That’s good to hear,” Vainglory said handing the case over to Carter, “you may proceed.”

Carter took the driver and memory out of the case, holding them in his hands and inspecting them with his eyes. He slapped the driver onto his waist as two red belt straps shot out of each end and connected at the back.

He held the memory up to his eye and looked deep into the two dragons circling around each other forming an O shape on the label of the memory. He flipped the memory around and hit the button below the label, “RYU-O!”

Carter took in a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, “Hen...shin!”

To Be Continued

{Insert Ending Theme - I’ll Believe}

[guncannon109]

Next time on Kamen Rider Xtreme:

With their newly found information, the riders must decide whether or not to help believe it and lend their assistance to Shiore as the flames of Ryuga's hatred begin to reignite.

What choice shall the riders make?

and will they be enough to prevent the tragedy of the past from repeating itself?

All will be decided when Kamen Rider Xtreme continues with episode 21: Rise and Fall.
Yuki, what horrors have your eyes seen?

[Sentai]

Why are you taking orders, Derek >_< Shred his ass already! *Shakes fist at but eagerly awaits the next chapter*

[XW1n5t0nX]

Shit be getting serious up in here.

[uchihabro77]

Awesome!

[guncannon109]

This episode of Kamen Rider Xtreme is brought to you in part by:
XW1n5t0nX

Episode 21: Rise and Fall

A towering inferno rampaged wildly in the center of Vainglory’s chamber. The madness of it soon reduced itself as it shrunk it’s size before quickly dying down, revealing Carter who had transformed into a crimson rider.

He wore red scale textured armor with two large deep red spikes forming his shoulder armor which curved upward. His helmet was primarily black that held a red mask with burning amber eyes and the horns of a dragon adorning it. The japanese kanji for fire had been emblazoned on his chest 火.

A small applause emerged from Vainglory, “You have stepped through the gates of the abyss and have come out reborn on the other side,” he said as he approached Carter. “Now rise warrior of fire, wielder of the flames of destruction. Rise... Kamen Rider Ryu-O.”

A slow applause filled the room, “Very impressive,” Derek proclaimed as all eyes became fixed upon him, “When the riders pose a threat to your dream, you create a rider of your very own… but is it enough to take on the strength of the other three, I wonder?”

“What are you getting at Fury?” Spite asked as an orb of red energy formed in her hand.

“Spite… at ease,” Vainglory instructed, Spite lowering her charge as the orb faded, “The strength of Ryu-O is surely more than a match for the other three… however, if you’d like to his strength you’re more than welcome to.”

“Oh I would gladly do so,” Derek proclaimed as he pulled out his Ruthless memory and placed his driver around his waist, “but you see it’s not his strength that concerns me.”

“Then what is?” Vainglory asked.

Derek smirked, “It’s whether or not he can prevent me from getting over to you.”

“RUTHLESS! FURY!” Derek’s memory shouted as he rammed it into his driver causing him to change into his Ruthless form before dashing over to Vainglory.

He turned the dial on the side of his belt until a silver S appeared, “Shredder! Maximum Drive!” the dial shouted as three large blades formed on Fury’s forearms.

“DIE!” Fury shouted as he slashed his blades at Vainglory only to have them stop moments before they made contact. Fury returned focus on Vainglory to find a large buster blade holding back his strike. His eyes widened, “What the...”

“Fury, you have always been a fool,” Vainglory said as a black spike shrouded in a violet aura formed in his hand, “and you shall die a fool.”

Vainglory then threw the spike at Fury, Fury turned the dial on his belt to a violet M “Major! Maximum Drive!” the dial shouted as Fury raised his right hand along with a shield to block the spike, however the spike simply phased straight through the shield and burrowed itself deep within Fury’s arm.

“AHHHH!” Fury writhed in agony as he fell to the ground clenching his right arm. “W-What the hell did you... do to me?”

“My perfect world only has room for those that I can trust. That spike is highly corrosive, it will devour you from the inside… then kill you,” Vainglory explained, “I can remove it, but at a price.”

“What will I have to do?” Fury asked.

“I only have room for one of you,” Vainglory proclaimed, “In order to save your life you must earn… by taking it from Ryu-O.”

“So if I kill him…” Fury panted looking over to Carter, “You’ll remove it?”

Vainglory nodded, “Yes.”

Fury smirked, “It would be my pleasure… my lord.”

{Insert Opening Theme - Extreme Dream}

“Bull crap!” Tara shouted, “You expect us to believe all that mythical junk?”

“Believe it or don’t believe it, either way it’s the truth,” Shiore said taking a sip of her tea, “Even so, it does not dismiss the reality of the situation we’re in. If something is not done to halt whoever it is that holds the power of Ryujin then the entire world may soon go up in flames.”

“She has a point you know,” Cole said to Tara, “If this fire rider is left to roam freely, there’s no telling what he could do.”

“It’s a lot to take in I know but let me just ask you this,” Shiore said looking Tara straight in the eye, “Would you rather throw yourself into the fire that consumes the world, or simply sit back and watch it burn?”

“I don’t know!” Tara shouted slamming her hands down on the table. She sighed, “Sorry, it’s just that… at the moment all that I know is that I have absolutely no reason to trust you.”

Cole placed his hand on Tara’s shoulder, “Tara could you at least try t-”

“I need a moment,” Tara interrupted brushing Cole’s hand off her shoulder and walking out the front door slamming it behind her.

Alex looked over to Cole. Cole Sighed,“I’ll… I’ll be right back,” he said as he got up and walked out the door after Tara closing it gently behind him.

“So what’s the story on those two?” Shiore asked.

“Sorry, what was that?” Alex asked back.

“They seem close,” Shiore proclaimed. “Are they… well, you know.”

“I honestly can’t say for sure,” Alex shrugged, “They never tell me anything… why do you ask?”

“Just curious,” Shiore returned.

“Uh… if you wouldn’t mind me asking,” Alex began, “Have you ever been close with someone… like that?”

Shiore looked at Alex in the corner of her eye for a moment, “Relationships like that serve no purpose to me,” she said in a cold tone of voice, “They only make you weak, nothing more.”

“Yeah,” Alex sighed, “I guess I can sort of see where you’re coming from.”

“Getting back on topic,” Shiore said taking one last sip of her tea before setting it down on the table. She turned to face Alex, placed her hand over her knees and bowed her head to him, “I’ve been nothing but trouble to you and your friends since I’ve arrived here. So please, if you can find it in your heart to forgive me and shall be forever in your dept and shall assist you in your mission, so long as you assist in mine.”

“Yes… yes I-I mean we will,” Alex nodded, “we’ll be happy to help you out for however long you need it.”

Shiore sighed in relief as she clapped her hands together, “Thank you.”

A small beeping sound erupted from Shiore’s school bag. She reached into her bag and pulled out a grey handheld device before hitting a button on right side of it with her thumb causing the screen to switch on and a small keypad at the bottom to spring open.

“What’s that?” Alex asked.

“GMR scanner,” Shiore returned, “When gaia memories are activated they release a surge of energy that spans across a minimum ten kilometer radius, though it varies depending on the memory. This device picks up those signals and pinpoints the direction and distance of the memories activation point. It also detects near by radiation left behind from recent or excessive usage of gaia memories.”

“That’s how you were able to find us wasn’t it?” Alex asked.

“Correct, ” Shiore replied, “and with how many you three had on you it was pretty easy.”

“Figured as much,” Alex returned, “So where are they anyway?”

Shiore hit a few of the keys on the pad, “seven point five kilometers south west,” she said, tapping on the screen a couple of times, “and by the looks of things, it appears as though we’ve got two extremely powerful ones on our hands.”

“That’s pretty far away, and knowing my luck,” Alex sighed, “I think we already know full well which ones they single belongs to.”

Tara stormed down the hallway over to the elevator and slammed her fist on the down button.

“Come on come on come on,” She whispered to herself, tapping her foot in rapid succession.

“Tara wait up!” Cole shouted as he ran up to her from down the hall.

Tara rolled her eyes, “What do you want Cole?”

“I just want you to talk to me,” Cole returned, “Is something wrong?”

“I… I can’t say,” Tara said keeping herself turned away from Cole.

The door of the elevator opened as Tara stepped into it.

“Tara!” Cole shouted as he pulled her back and turned around to face him, “Just tell me… what’s bothering you?”

Tara balled her hand into a fist, “It’s just that… something about what Shiore said got to me. I just can’t help but feel that I’ve heard somewhere before… I just, can’t figure out where.”

“Guys,” Alex called out from the door of Shiore’s condo, Tara and Cole turning their attention to him. He held the scanner in his hand, “You may want to come have look at this.”

Tara and Cole came back in through the door, Alex shutting it behind them.

“What is it this time?” Tara asked.

“We may have found who Shiore has been hunting,” Alex stated, “and Fury as well.”

Tara turned to Shiore, “That true?” Shiore nodded. “Well then,” Tara said trying to force her usual smirk while awkwardly cracking her knuckles, “we’ll be killing two birds with one stone then! Let’s get going people!” She turned on her heel and walked over to the door only to have her right foot slip out from under her.

“Woah!” Cole shouted, catching Tara before she fell over, “Easy there. You okay?”

“Thanks I’m fine,” Tara said getting back on her feet with Cole’s assistance.

“You sure?” Cole asked.

“Once I get up in the air I’ll be fine,” Tara proclaimed, “I’m a better flier than I am a runner anyway so don’t worry alright.”

“I think it might be better if you ride with me this time,” Cole said placing his hand on her shoulder.

“Cole I’m fine I swear,” Tara grunted taking Cole’s hand off of her shoulder.

“Tara please,” Cole pleaded, “just this once.”

Tara sighed, “Fine, I guess you’re right… So long as I can drive.”

“No way,” Cole returned.

Tara’s jaw dropped, “Why not?!”

“I just got the Rock Prowler, Marcoh would kill me if anything happened to it,” Cole explained, “Besides, I’ve seen you in Double Dash.”

“Fine I suck at driving!” Tara shouted, “There I said it, can we go now?”

“Certainly,” Cole said opening the door and bowing to Tara, “after you.”

“Thank you,” Tara returned as she stepped through the doorway, Cole following shortly after, “Just don’t go too slow this time alright.”

“Promise,” Cole said as he close the door behind the two.

Shiore looked over to Alex in the corner of her eye, “Still unsure?”

“A little bit yeah,” Alex nodded, “That reminds me, do you have any form of transport?”

Shiore shook her head, “I normally walk.”

“Alright then I got it,” Alex said with a snap of his fingers, “so long as we’re comrades you ride with me.. that alright with you?”

“Perfectly,” Shiore nodded.

“Great,” Alex said grabbing Shiore by her wrist, Shiore’s heart skipping a beat, “now let’s get going,” he added with a grin, “we don’t want those two to leave us behind do we?”

---

Fury and Carter stood on the roof of a tall skyscraper, they stared each other down a few feet apart as the wind whipped around them. Vainglory and Rylee stood to the side, Cheshire being held in Rylee’s arms.

“I’ll explain this once,” Vainglory said grabbing Fury and Carter’s attention, “This will be a sudden death duel. Winner takes their place at my side, loser dies… is that clear?”

Carter nodded.

“Crystal,” Fury said with a smirk.

“Alright then,” Vainglory said taking in a deep breath, “... begin.”

On command, Fury and Carter launched themselves into the sky above the skyscraper, leaving the three commanders behind on the ground.

“So passes Derek Maverick, formerly known as Fury,” Vainglory proclaimed. He turned to Rylee, “Be sure to wipe Fury’s access data from our system.”

Rylee nodded, “I’ll get right on it.”

“Good,” Vainglory returned, “Fury won’t go down easily. Even on the off chance that he does survive, as of now he is dead to us.”

{End of Part A}
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
{Start of Part B}

Joel stood atop a tall bridge leaning against a steel rail, in his hand he held a scanner similar to the one Shiore had in her possession, “So the Ryu-O memory and driver have been successfully activated,” he said to himself, “I wonder who the host is, must be someone strong. Ryujin wouldn’t let just anyone wield his power.”

Joel turned off the scanner in his hand and slipped it into his pocket.

“Though regardless of who it is,” Joel said with a smirk, “he’s going to be difficult to work with if Vainglory expects to control him. Even more so if he intends to remake the world with Ryujin’s fire alone.”

He looked to the horizon and took in a deep breath, “The minotaur will shake the earth, the eagle will bring the mountains to their knees, the wolf will freeze the shores and the dragon will burn what’s left, and with their power combined they will destroy this world and create a new… the name of the dragon being Ryujin and the only one of the four we could make out when we found those damn memories.”

As he spoke a blue butterfly flew up and perched itself on the rail of the bridge.

“Isn’t that right?” he asked to turning his attention to the butterfly, “Alice?” The butterfly flapped it’s wings twice, “I hope that legend never comes to pass, especially not by his hand.” He let out a small sigh, “Though to be honest, I’m a little bit worried, about Alex… do you think he and the other riders will be strong enough?”

The butterfly rose it’s wings until they touched at the tips then lowered them once again.

“I was afraid you’d say that,” Joel said with sorrow in his voice, “Though, if I could be allowed, I at least hope that Thea gets out of this alright… poor girl has had enough trouble in her life, she doesn’t need anymore heartache.”

At that moment the butterfly flapped it’s wings rapidly and took off into the air, Joel keeping his eyes fixed on it as it disappeared into the distance.

“No matter what comes, we all need to keep moving sooner or later,” Joel sighed, “I think I know what I must do now.” A small grin appeared on his face, “Thank you… Alice.”

---

Fury charged at Carter in the open air using Flame’s maximum drive to propel himself forward and keep himself airborne. Carter did the same only he instead used his suits own ability to keep himself lifted and a fair distance away from Fury via small thrusters the palms of his hands and the soles of his feet.

Fury hurled three fireballs at Carter as Carter evaded all three with ease before firing three of his own at Fury. Fury evaded those with equal ease before dashing over to Carter and elbowing him in the gut, with a second delay Fury then linked both his hands together in a single fist and smacked Carter over the head with enough force to send him plummeting down to the busy street below.

“Aw, did you die already?” Fury asked mockingly as he descended over the crater made by Carter, civilians running at the sight of the scene, “I expected for this to go a little longer but oh well, whatever moves my plans along faster I guess.” he reached for the dial at the side of his belt, “but just in case…”

“Shredder! Maximum Drive!” The dial shouted as three large serrated blades formed around each of his wrists.

Fury began to make his way over to the crater before a single hand rose out from the void, Carter then using it to pull himself up and back onto his feet.

“So you still live I see,” Fury said scrapping the edges of his blades together, “Should’ve figured as much. Oh well, guess it doesn't matter as you’re going to be right back in the ground in a few moments anyway.”

Carter snapped his fingers as a burst of fire ignited at his fingertips as a giant buster blade formed in his hand.

“Nice new toy you’ve got there,” Fury said, “too bad I’m going to have to break it.”

“Just try it,” Carter returned, “It will just make it all the worse when you fail.”

Fury gritted his teeth, “Man you certainly are a cocky one.” Fury threw his blades at Carter, Carter parrying with his buster blade, “Guess that must run in the family!”

Fury struck Carter with both sets of his blades, Carter blocking both with the broadside of his sword. In one quick motion, Carter batted Fury’s blades off of his and forced Fury back a few feet.

“Your good kid, I’ll give you that…” Fury panted, “Unfortunately you’re not good enou-” Before Fury could finish speaking his heart skipped a beat. He grabbed his chest and fell to his knees. His panting quickened, “Crap… not now…”

Carter walked up to Fury and grabbed his right arm pulling him to his feet. He placed the edge of his blade on Fury’s right arm.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!” Fury shouted, “Stop it!”

“Shut up,” Carter instructed.

Carter then raised his blade up until he was holding it over his head, both hands clasped around the handle tightly, his knuckles turning as white as a ghost under the suit. He let out a fierce roar as he threw his arms downward, the blade slashing through the air as he did so, it producing a slight whistling sound as it hit the wind.

Fury’s eyes widened, everything around him seeming to slow to a halt. Carter’s buster blade slammed down against the right upper bicep of his arm, cutting through the armor and straight into the skin. As the blade tore through his arm, blood spurted out high enough for it to fall down like rain, splattering against the two and anything close to them. The blade soon broke through the bone of Fury’s upper arm, a cracking sound audible as it did so, before proceeding cleanly through the rest of the bicep.

Fury looked over to the side at his arm, blood continuing to spurt out. He watched in horror as his flesh slowly separated and his bone fully broke apart. Due to this, his arm from his mid upper bicep down would slide off from the rest of his arm, allowing more blood to cascade out of his arm rapidly. The only part of that portion of his arm being strings of flesh and a jagged pieces broken bone.

“AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!” Fury shouted in agony as he fell to the ground holding tightly onto his arm, “You bastard… I’LL KILL YOU FOR THIS!”

“I’m sorry did you want to die?” Carter asked holding the now sevared half of Fury’s arm up to him, “because if this arm remained attached to you for a second longer, you would have.”

Fury raised an eyebrow, “Aren’t you trying to kill me?”

“If that’s how this is going to end I want it to be by my blade,” Carter proclaimed throwing Fury’s arm off to the side, “not by some handicap placed on you by Vainglory.”

“You show mercy to me?” Fury laughed, “You’re an even bigger fool than I imagined.” He gritted his teeth and rose to his feet clenching his the gash where his arm used to be, “and even more so than your pathetic excuse for a bloodline.”

“If you think my blood is weak…” Carter said raising his sword to Fury “why not prove that yours is stronger?”

Fury grabbed the dial on his belt and turned it until a blue M appeared at the top.

“Minor! Maximum Drive!” The dial shouted as four large spikes shot out of the ground behind Fury and hovered around him.

“Dear child...” Fury said smirked, “That’s what I intend to do!”

---

Tara sat at the back of the Rock Prowler, her arms wrapped tightly around Cole and Kree locked around her wrist. Cole roared down the highway, Alex and Shiore just a few feet ahead of them on the X Cyclone.

“So… any idea of where you might’ve heard that story before?” Cole asked.

Tara shook her head, “Afraid not.”

“Oh, I see…” Cole returned, “Is it possible you could’ve heard it from a friend or something?”

“Sorry,” Tara sighed, “I honestly just don’t know.”

“Well, maybe we could try and jog your memory,” Cole suggested, “Would that help?”

“No, that wouldn’t help either,” Tara said as she shook her head once again, “Besides, it would be completely pointless.”

“Why is that?” Cole asked.

“Jogging my memory wouldn’t work because I have no memory to jog,” Tara proclaimed, “Truth is Cole… I barely remember anything about my life before I started high school.”

“Wait what!” Cole shouted in disbelief, “What about that story you told me about how you met Kree and that white rider?”

“I did say barely didn’t I?” Tara retorted, “Besides, that memory itself is fairly vague and even so it’s all I have left.”

“A-any idea when this all happened?” Cole asked.

“You remember that giant tornado that swept over the city ten years back? That one that wiped out half the population?” Tara asked, “Well apparently I was caught up in the centre of it, only it didn’t hurt me in the slightest. The reports said that it instead wrapped around me as if it was trying to protect me from something, though of course I can’t say if any of it is true or not. All that I do know is that I woke up seven years later in the hospital with a man and woman crying over me, and I just sat there not even knowing they were my mother and father… I didn’t even know my own name.”

“I had no idea…” Cole whispered, “Tara, no matter what happens I hope that someday you remember everything. Though if you do remember anything, anything at all please tell me right away alright?”

Tara thought for a moment, “... nah.”

“Why not?” Cole demanded.

“I appreciate the sentiment but I honestly don’t care if I get my memory back or whatnot,” Tara proclaimed, “I don’t care about who I was in the past, I’m only concerned with who I am right now…. although…” she said as her usual smirk appeared on her face, “If I ever remember anything embarrassing about a certain rock boy I know I’ll be sure to let the whole world know.”

“You do know I could crash this thing at any moment right?” Cole said coldly.

“Aw!” Tara pouted, “You’re no fun!”

Alex kept his eyes fixed on the road in front of him while Shiore had hers on her scanner.

“How far now?” Alex asked.

“Three point six kilometers,” Shiore returned, “We should be there shortly. Though looking at the single pattern, they’ll come to us.”

“Works for me,” Alex said as he revved up the engine of his bike.

“You’re overworking yourself,” Shiore stated.

“How can you tell?” Alex asked.

“Your body heat is climbing at an unsteady pace,” Shiore proclaimed, “You should learn to control your body’s emotional state. You’re enemies will use it against you if you’re not careful.”

“How exactly do I prevent them from doing that exactly?” Alex asked, “Taking advantage of a weakness I mean.”

Shiore turned her attention to the road in front of her, “... don’t show it.”

---

Carter threw the one armed Fury down to the ground knocking over several trash cans as a result of Carter’s force.

“Even if you cut my arm off, it’s not going to be permanent,” Fury said grabbing the nub where his right arm used to be and gripped onto it tightly with a smirk. After a few seconds his smirk turned into that of a more confused expression, “What’s going on-”

“You’r Fury memory allows you to instantly heal any wounds sustained in battle, that’s how you’ve managed to survive this long,” Carter stated, “However, the regeneration process only covers damage done to your dopant form,” Carter held the edge of his blade to Fury, “My Ryu-O Buster is sharp enough to cut right through the layer of armor generated by gaia memories and cut the flesh and bone that lies directly underneath.”

“What the hell are you trying to pull kid!” Fury demanded.

“In short, you’re not as invincible as you thought Maverick,” Carter returned.

“Bullcrap!” Fury shouted back, “I am Fury! I am the ultimate!”

“Still delusional as ever,” Carter said, “Why do you insist on fighting? This could be over right now, all you have to do is stop resisting.”

“You’re kidding right?” Fury cackled as he cracked his neck and forced himself back on his feet. He rose his head and looked up to the sky, “You don’t know anything do you kid? I was a lot like you when I was your age, so naive.

“What do you mean?” Carter asked.

“I had a mother, a father and siblings that I cared for deeply. They made me happy, but I should’ve known that my so called happiness was not meant to last… nothing good ever is.” Fury looked Carter in the eye, “My family and I found ourselves in the middle of a hostage situation. Every hour the kidnappers demands weren’t met they killed a member of my family one by one. First my parents, then my siblings… and I was forced to sit there and watch.”

Carter sighed.

“You don’t believe me… do you?” Fury asked with a light chuckle, “After I determined that help wasn’t going to arrive, I slit both of their throats and strapped them both for every bullet they put into my family. You understand now kid?” Fury cackled, “It doesn’t matter what you do, you can’t stop death no matter how hard you try.”

“I guess we agree on something,” Carter said balling his right hand into a fist, “Because as far as I’m concerned… one of us won’t be coming out this alive.”

“Looks like that’s two things,” Fury hissed, balling his hand into a fist as well. “Well then…” he smirked, “LET’S END THIS!”

“Shredder! Maximum Drive!” The dial on Fury’s belt shouted as three blades shot out of his remaining arm before launching himself at Carter, clawing at him with everything he had left.

After a couple of clashes, Carter grabbed hold of Fury’s with his right hand and grabbed the face of the dragon on his driver with his left.

Carter tightened his hold on Fury as the roar of an engine filled the air. He looked over to see two motorcycles, one black and one green, just a few feet away from where he stood. Alex and Shiore on the black and Cole and Tara on the green, all four of them in their rider forms and Alex in Star Runner.

A small chuckle came from Fury, “You know what I find particularly funny?” He asked Carter, though it seemed that he did not expect an answer as he continued talking regardless, “Even though I know full well what I did was terrible… I enjoyed every minute of it.”

“You’re twisted you know that?” Carter growled.

“Oh course I know that, the whole damn world is sick,” Fury retorted, “The only difference with me is that I don’t try to hide it.”

“Then why tell me all this crap?” Carter asked.

“Because there’s something else you should know,” Fury returned, “The way the blood splurted out from those crooks, the rush of jabbing them until they could no longer move, it consumed me. I began to crave it, I began to crave the feel of fresh blood on my hands and the cold eyes of someone who was alive only moments ago,” he cracked his neck and forced his gave over to the four riders standing a few feet away, “especially the blood belonging to the loved ones of anyone who thinks they can control me.”

“I’ll kill you before you can do harm to any of them,” Carter proclaimed, crushing Fury’s face even further causing cracks to appear in his armor.

“Just try and stop me!” Fury cackled, “It’ll make it all the more satisfying when you fail!”

Carter turned back to Fury, “... if you insist.”

With a quick flick of his arm, Carter sent the dragon head buckle spinning clockwise at high speed as fire began to ignite around the rim.

“Ryu-O! Maximum Drive!”

“Burn... Ryu-O Blaster!” Carter shouted as a blast of fire shot out of the cannon embedded in his palm engulfing Fury in flames and burning him to a crisp.

The fire slammed into Fury’s body, almost immediately engulfing his entire body. As this occurred, Fury cried out viciously, his voice a combination of a scream of pain and laughter. The fire burnt through his armor until it revealed his human form, the heat of the flames burning his flesh right off of his body.

Fury continued to cry out as he was burnt alive, the fire burning through his skin right down to his muscle tissues, and in some places burning strong enough till there was nothing but bones left, collapsing into pieces as the fire ate them, they eventually turning into ash.

“HAHAHA! YOU SEE NOW VAINGLORY!” Fury laughed uncontrollably as he was burned alive. “DEATH IS SOMETHING THAT NO ONE CAN ESCAPE! NO ONE!”

Carter sighed, “It appears so… Derek Mavrick.”

“So I’ve finally found you,” Shiore said drawing her sword, “Kamen Rider, Ryu-O.”

Carter tossed Fury’s lifeless body to the ground and turned his attention to the white rider that stood before him. “Yuki… should’ve figured you would show up here.”

“That voice…” Tara thought to herself, “It sounds… familiar.”

“Indeed you should have,” Shiore returned, pointing her sword at Carter, “and now you shall atone for the crimes you have committed.”

Carter snapped his fingers summoning a burst of fire that formed into his Ryu-O Buster, “If you claim it to be… make it happen.”

To be continued

{Insert Ending Credit Sequence}

[guncannon109]

Next time on Kamen Rider Xtreme

Shiore and Carter face off as Tara uneasiness continues to grow.

Will Shiore be able to exact her revenge against the wielder of fire?

And what connection does Tara have with this new rider?

All will be decided when Kamen Rider Xtreme continues with episode 22: Ash and Snow.
Ryu-O, what secrets do you hold?

[guncannon109]

Dark vs light, riders vs riders.

Ardent City is turned into a battlefield as a new team of riders arrives with the intention of destroying everything in sight.

A savior shall emerge and a brand new Xtreme shall be revealed in Kamen Rider Xtreme The Movie: X and Y Elemental Burst, Memories of Darkness and Light!

Coming soon to a forum near you!

[Sentai]

... *throws up arms, storms off the court*