Another Strange New Land (open)

[nintendonut1]

It took him time to recuperate from the abrupt dimensional shift. But he took all the time in the world; it was never wise to traverse through unfamiliar territory with only a fraction of one's strength and ability.

Soon, however, he realized that the haziness he was wrapped in was not born of his rattled senses, but of an actual fog. The mist was cool, wet, and welcoming against his face.

Silently, he got to his feet, surveying his surroundings. Walls made of ancient concrete, lined with vines, flanked him on either side in a long corridor. One end seemed brighter than the other, an obvious exit, it seemed, and he back to walk in that direction, his sandel's clacking sounds echoing across the hallway.

Indeed, he soon stepped underneath an open doorway, the concrete ending into soft dirt underneath his feet. Glancing around once more, he appeared to be at the entrance of a temple set against the face of a great, misty mountain. Bonsai trees lined the cracks and cliffs on this grand mountain, making the scene... slightly comforting, in a ways. Familiar.

But he knew better than that. This was not his home. Nor was it the land Aku ruled. He was in a completely different world...another strange, new world.

[42zombies]

"Hey, dude; you lost, or something?"

The voice belonded to a red-haired youth wearing a backwards hat. Kevin, as he was often know, had long ago changed from his clunky armor to more lightweight clothes similar to the ones he had worn back home. His sword was still strapped to his belt, mostly for protection.

However, something new was a bandage wrapped around his wrist-- it didn't seem thick enough to stop blood-loss, so perhaps it merely existed as a type of cover-up? Kevin self-conciously hid it behind his back.

[nintendonut1]

The man swiveled to face a youth, who had startled him slightly. Almost by instinct, his hand rested on the hilt of his sword as he sized up the newcomer. Deeming him as non-hostile, his hand drifted away from his weapon, and he bowed in greeting.

"...yes," he eventually replied. "I do believe 'lost' is the proper term." He stood up, glancing around their surroundings again, and his gaze returned to the boy. "Tell me, what is this place?"

[42zombies]

"Heck if I know," Kevin admitted. "It's some kind of island, if I've heard right. So... what's with the white bath-robe?"

[nintendonut1]

Used to the quips to his attire, he swiftly ignored the question, gazing out over the misty valley. "...this island must be large, if it holds these great mountains," he observed, turning back to Kevin. "Is there a settlement nearby where I could rest and perhaps gather more information?"

[42zombies]

"Uh... there's a tavern." Kevin pointed out, not entirely sure of what the stranger was saying. "I guess there are rooms to rent, and stuff. And stuff."

"Of course, that all depends on your standards of quality." The voice, with a strong Japanese accent, emerged from behind a tree. Stepping out from behind the foliage, Daiki held his Diendriver Gun in his hand lazily. A calm, cheerful smile lit up his face.

"So... a samurai; like on thoese TV shows?" He chuckled. "Sorry, Mr. Samurai, but I've heard rumors about that sword; I'm interested in what kind of treasure it is."

[nintendonut1]

He considered Kevin's offer. At this point, a tavern did not sound like a bad idea.

At Daiki's entrance, he was once again was at alert, and for good reason this time. The stranger did indeed seem hostile, no matter how lethargetic he held his weapon; an easy trick to lower the enemy's guard.

Cautiously, he laid his hand on his sword's hilt again. "This sword has no value to any other hands than its destined master's," he sternly replied. "You will get nothing for it."

[42zombies]

Daiki chuckled. "I don't sell my treasures, Mr. Samurai..." he explained, almost friendly in his nonchalant attitude. "That would be like a farmer throwing his oranges away instead of eating them himself."

Kevin scowled, drawing his sword slowly.

"As long as Tsukasa isn't here, I might as well enjoy myself." Daiki said, loading the DiEnd card into his gun. He pointed it into the air above him and fired, the energy hanging above him as colored barcodes swirled aorund his body.

"Henshin!"

Kamen Ride
DiEnd!

The barcodes joined together, forming a colorless armor on Daiki's body before the shot from above fell onto him, creating a barcode-style mask and painting him a light cerulean.

"Now, then..." he said, jokingly pointing his finger at Jack like a gun, "come and get me, Mr. Samurai!"

[nintendonut1]

Jack was only midly surprised by the technology and transformation his enemy went through. It was nothing stranger than the things he had seen before.

Quietly, his eyes narrowed, his hand slowly drawing steel. He did not wish to fight, but if the enemy would force it, he had no choice than to respond. Besides, it seemed he had an ally in Kevin.

[Felix Falora]

No explanation. No rationality. It was as if she just appeared out of nowhere and the air seemed to freeze around her. Ever since her training with the leaders of the Horde to become a Demon Hunter, her vocal chords had constricted and she had found herself unable to speak. Instead of the conventional Demon Hunter, however, she had taken on her true powers as a wielder of ice and now drifted alone, a wandering spirit. She came from out of the fog, floating and drifting in the wind. However, she stopped and looked at Jack... if you could consider it such a thing. A blindfold covered her eyes, or what was left of them after Shagrath had destroyed them during the process of torturing her, and her hair had grown so long that only the tips of her elvish ears poked out into sight. Floating there next to the samurai, she then turned and faced Daiki. Something was wrong with the air around him, something she didn't like, and that was all it took. The air around Jack and Kevin felt natural. Him, on the other hand...

She held a hand out and a spiral of frozen air began to converge and compress together in a shape before she found himself gripping a blade of pure ice. The tip was pointed straight at Daiki. He was an enemy. He was disturbing. Melleanna did not know things for certain, but she felt in both her heart and her gut that taking him down would be the right thing to do.

[gantzgun74]

"O-hohohohohohoho!!"

At the high pitched laugh, anyone who turned to one of the spires would've seen a tiny figure sitting on the edge of one of them giving the scene a small smirk. She was definately a small little creature, that appeared female, with mages robes, and a staff in a sheath on her back. Her most defining features next to her obvious short height, was the blonde hair pulled back into two pig-tails.

Her right arm had been raised up, her wrist and hand under her chin as she let out this high pitched almost titter like laughter. Looking down at the scene, she grinned... a grin that almost seemed to have a sadist flair to it.

"What use have you, my friend,
For a sword that brings you no end?"

Her voice sounded reasonably highpitched for a creature her size, yet somewhat deep, making her sound like an adult woman.

"Even the wisest of theives in this land,
Know when to give up, regardless of Reprimand."

Her tittering laugh appeared once more, raising the back of her hand to the cheek on the opposite side.

"O-hohohohohoho! 'Boo' I say to you!
Know your odds, know your prize,
It is not a prize you can take with lies.
Nor should you make it's owner sever his ties."

[If you can't make this out, Shantotto is pretty much saying that the sword belongs to Jack, and in Jack's hands it should stay. Especially since the odds SEEM to no longer favor Daiki... But of course knowing Daiki's abilities, giving up probably isn't very high up on his to-do list.]

[nintendonut1]

(XDDD Awesome. I like these chicks already.)

Jack remianed rigid, waiting for Daiki's first move; he always waited. The hastiness of his enemies was usually their downfall.

But when he felt a chilly air blow in, chillier than expected, he turned to his left and jumped slightly at the icy woman's arrivial. He almost expected her to be another thief, but her weapon was also pointed at Daiki. He then swiveled to his right and looked up into the mountainside at the little, rhyming creature. Her words were puzzling, but it seemed she was on his side too.

This situation, he DID find strange. Because usually it was the other way around. Still, there wasn't any use in asking their motives, at least until after the theif was dispatched with, so Jack accepted his good fortune and held his sword at bay.

"You seem to be outnumbered," he noted to Daiki. "Do you yield?"

[42zombies]

"Not outnumbered for long." Daiki chuckled. He calmly loaded another card into his gun and pointed it forward.

Kamen Ride

With the pull of a trigger, an effect similar to the one which had transformed him into DiEnd fired forward.

DEN-O!

A sound like a train-whistle filled the air as the silloettes merged together into another armored figure-- he was clad in red and black armor, his bask parting down the half like a beetle's shell. Whoever thsi was, they seemed particularly dramatic; they quickly swung their arms in a dramtic sweep upon seeing their opponents.

"Ore..."

"This will only hurt for a second." Daiki reassured, loading another card into his gun and firing it at his ally.

"SAN--"

Final Form Ride
DEN-O!

The ally, Den-O, shook for a moment before a strange transformation overcame him. His limbs and head seemed to slide into the torso mechanically. The torso then seemed to turn inside-out into a red, organic chest which quickly sprouted new arms and legs. The head came last, popping out from the back. It was demon's head-- horrible fangs, long horns, and angry, black eyes. And he immediately charged...

... towards Daiki.

"Hey, idiot!" He threatened, shoving his ally. "Don't interrupt me when I'm giving my battle-cry!"

"Relax." Daiki ordered. "I just need you to fight some guys for me." He pointed at Jack and company, whom the demon looked at with great enthusiasm.

"Are they strong?" He asked gruffly. Daiki simply nodded, prompting the now-excited demon to take a battle stance.

"Alright!" The demon shouted, warming up by winding its arms. "Listen up; you don't have a chance against me! From start to finish, I'm at a climax!"

[nintendonut1]

Jack made a strange face at the exchange between demon and master, then stood his ground as it faced them. The demon's threats were hardly daunting. Ever stoic, Jack glanced between his so far temporary partners and held out his blade, accepting the challenge.

"If a test of strength is what you desire...then come get us."

[42zombies]

"ORE-SANJOU!" The demon screamed, charging at its opponents. It raised its hand to attack Jack, screaming ridiculously as it did so.

"Hey, Momo; just what do you think you're doing?"

The demon stopped at the use of its name. Daiki chuckled and turned towards the voice's source. "Tsukasa!" He yelled out. "Are you trying to get in my way again?"

There was silence for a second-- soon, however, a Japanese youth stepped out from behind a bush. He held a pink camera in his hand, which clicked shut as he photographed the scene before him.

"Well..." he said, adjusting the pink tie under his business suit, "I don't really know what's going on, but I get the gist of it. You're trying to steal someone's treasure again."

Daiki only laughed at Tsukasa's guess. "Can you blame me?" He asked. "It's my nature! But I suppose you want to fight me just to piss me off?"

Tsukasa simply nodded. "Is there any other reason?" He asked, setting his camera on the ground. He slowly reached behind his back and quickly pulled out a small, grey book and what looked like a belt-buckle. With deft haste, he attached the buckle to the front of his belt.

"Henshin!"

Kamen Ride

Just as quickly, Tsukasa pulled a card from his little book and slid it into his belt-buckle. Pushing the sides together, the buckle produced a red insignia just in front of it.

Decade!

9 colorless shadows, similar to DiEnd's, surrounded Tsukasa before merging with his body. The insignia floating before his belt then shot upwards, impringint on Tsukasa's colorless armor, turning it magenta.

When the show finished, Tsukasa-- now Kamen Rider Decade-- wiped his hands together calmly. "Alright," he said calmly, "shall we start this warm-up before I get back to work?"

"... Decade?" Kevin whispered, shocked.