Chapter Text
Alarms rang out throught the entire building. The familiar sound of hectic footsteps grew louder. Junpei was already standing at the cell's door, waiting to be escorted to the area the demons are terrorizing this time. He doubted it was going to be the one. It never is. Sometimes it seemed like the demon haunting his mind would never come, but the faint, barely burning hope fueled by rage kept him from wavering. He snapped out of his descending mind as he heard the clicking of his cell's locks. The guards grabbed him like always and lead him without a word down the same hall they always do. They kept a tight, almost painful grip that always left his arms aching, but he had no right to complain. It used to be much worse. His compliance just made them less strict overtime. As long as he kept a steady pace they weren't going to be rough with him.
He knew the route all too well. After ascending a flight of stairs, passing countless corridors of identical doors only distinguished by the big metal number plates and making it through the heavy door of the security checkpoint, they'd lead him out to the always loud and moving garage, filled with large military vehicles moving in and out and people rushing past him in the routine. There he'd be loaded into a black van and finally transported to the battlefield. He could never guess how long they'd drive. Sometimes he could still see the facility, what he grew to think of as his home, somewhere in the distance, while other times he could only guess how many hours or days he sat in the van. He'd spend the time listening to the sounds of the unseen outside, trying to memorize the road by how often the vehicle shook and turned, but always losing track after a while. Catching conversations of the crew during stops he learned there were several checkpoints the van had to pass depending on the route. This trip was one of the longer ones. Three stops. They were driving away from the city. It's been about 3 hours now. To him, these long drives felt like being slowly boiled. He had nothing to do and at the same time he couldn't get any rest. The road was so coarse and rough it was like could feel every pebble they drove over bounce him up and down. It made it hard to think, but the quieter parts of the drive weren't any better. They made him submerge in his thoughts, and there was nothing good to think about. Only about the day it all came crashing down. Questions spun his head feral. What caused that demon to go after them? What did it look like? ...What did it sound like? One after another these thoughts and more circled around him. At times like these, only one being was able to comfort him. "Junpei, you know it's not the time for this." - the so familiar voice spoke out from his mind in a soft, calming tone. "You have a long day ahead. If we're going so far from home then it means we'll have to hunt on our own." Vail always knew the right words to get him to forget about those worries. There was no lie. If Junpei let those bad memories and draining questions consume him he could never do what's important. Vail may have just been a voice in his head, but he was the closest thing Junpei had to a friend. "You'll know it when you see it. Don't stress out about the details so much." This eased Junpei's mind. Vail knew him like no other. In that crumbling dirty cell they only had each other. Vail always said that whatever bothered Junpei bothered him just as much, so Junpei cleared his mind so they could both be ready for the coming battle. He tried to listen to the outside again. They were driving on uneven terrain again, a forest trail most likely. Whenever the van turned left from the facility that's all he ever saw when out on the field. He couldn't rely on NOAH's support like usual here. The trees were too dense, troops would only get in the way. Here in the wilderness it was just him and the demons.
Soon enough the van came to a halt. He heard tampering with the barn doors and the blinding light of day came rushing in. Without looking up from the floor he's stared at the entire journey, he got up and existed the van. Immediately one of the NOAH troops presented him with a metal case that contained his Driver and ViStamp. He grabbed them without even a passing glance. Looking around, they were in a clearing with no road going further, with every direction surrounded by dense trees. It felt like they were furthest from the base he's been since NOAH found him, but he couldn't possibly say. All he knew for sure was that demons rarely appeared this far before. A familiar face approached him from the front of the van: Doctor Kagawa Yasushi, a NOAH field researcher. He was more tensed up than normal. Even on important, high stake missions he always sounded like he couldn't care less about what was happening. Emotion was a rare sight from him, so it greatly stood out how oddly hasty and frustrated he sounded when he began describing the mission: "Subject 071, you are to track down and eliminate the target as per protocol. Due to the delicate nature of the mission you will not be provided ground support." - he said, briefly pointing his pen at him, before immediately going back to his notes. "I will be providing all assistance deemed necessary. Communication from you will not be required unless directly ordered. Dont make me wait for you, got it?" He then hastily rushed to the newly set up tents that the military units were already unloading supplies into. Kagawa loudly ordered the troops around, but those words didn't reach Junpei's mind, regardless of how never ending the researcher's voice rang in his ears.
Dr. Kagawa always accompanies Junpei when NOAH believes they have a special case at hand. According to Kagawa, he is assigned to perform on-site maintenance of the belt device in case of unexpected issues, as well as observe the live footage Junpei's battle armor records to give out instructions in case of emergencies. He is Junpei's only lifeline when he is overpowered during combat. The fact he was here meant Junpei was going to go against an unusual demon. He used to be surrounded by NOAH staff every trip, but now it's a rare sight to see anyone but a squadron of soldiers, this time being no exception. They don't need data from fighting the regular demons anymore. The thought of an unknown threat didn't hesitate Junpei. He simply waited for the order to go rip and tear. Dr. Kagawa returned to him as quickly as he had left, this time with a tablet that showed a grid map of the surroundings as well as the usual markers representing him and the demon's locations. "The target is actively moving north. You are to head straight forward and not change direction until you spot the target or get an update on it's direction." Without missing a beat he walked off in a rush, briefly putting his hand on Junpei's shoulder with a "Go get him."
Junpei pressed the driver to his waist, the belt wrapped around him right away. He pulled the Kabuto ViStamp out of his pocket and pressed down.
[KABUTO!]
He slammed it down onto the driver, awaking Vail. Junpei heard his ever so familiar, but now much sinister voice.
"DEAL."
The driver began playing the warning sound. It was an eerie melody made to be unmistakable to NOAH staff, so everyone knew to stand back and let the subject carry out the job. Everyone were already a good distance away. Kagawa sitting at the just set up control center, which was just two bulky computers with microphones and radio nearby. Junpei raised the ViStamp and with a quiet "Henshin." pressed the stamp against the driver's screen, beginning the transformation.
"BANE UP!"
[ERODE! (BREAK!) THE GLOBE! (BROKE!) FANTASTICALLY ENROBED! (BROKEN!) KAMEN RIDER VAIL!]
His vision turned yellow. The lenses of the suit scanned through the area ahead and showed him the quickest way forward through the terrain. Junpei took off, following it like a perfect machine, wasting no time to get to the target as fast as possible. Weaving through the trees, branches and roots in his way. As a Kamen Rider he was scarier than anything else in the forest. A predator bloodlusted for it's prey. Dr. Kagawa's voice spoke out through the helmet and after checking the connection stability began adjusting the directions according to the newest known whereabouts of the target. As Junpei ran he began hearing the faint sound of a helicopter flying ahead. "You are approaching target. Stand by-" - Kagawa cut off as another muffled voice of the other side called for his attention in concern. Kagawa was heard getting up and moving away from the microphone. Something wasn't right. As Junpei observed the helicopter circling the area ahead, it started spinning out of control. Two people, looking almost like dots from the distance, fell down from it and the helicopter came crashing down towards Junpei. As it was falling, another blurry dot jumped out, heading for the treetops and disappeared from view. The helicopter flew right over Junpei as it crashed onto the ground with a loud explosion. Dr. Kagawa audibly grabbed his microphone. "The target is escaping! Pursue at all costs!" - he yelled out in anger before ending communication. Junpei's Rider helmet was built with a device that tracks all nearby living beings and shows the best course of approach to the enemy. It kicked in right as the target jumped out of the helicopter into the trees. Junpei was already in pursuit. It was very unlike other demons. It leaped from branch to branch without any hesitation, changing direction and aiming for the highest branches near the obscuring leaves. It knew it was being followed. Junpei's suit's tracking bypassed all it's efforts however. Junpei had no doubts or bothering thoughts by that point. In the moment he was a soldier following orders and nothing more. Only when they made it to a large clearing did the chase end. Junpei slowed down to see which direction to take chase next, but to his surprise the target leaped back out of view, and before he knew it was leaping towards him with an attack. With his training Junpei was more than capable of blocking sudden strikes, but his reaction time couldn't keep up, and a direct kick to head came crashing down, sending him flying out into the forest opening with a force he's never felt before. He hit the ground hard, bouncing against it several times before getting a grip and landing on his feet. He collapsed onto his right knee, still trying to get up. There was no time to rest. He looked around. The lenses were now cracked in several spots. He was a good distance away from the trees. The tracker caught the target leaping down onto the field. Nothing obscuring it now. It stood up straight a few meters away from Junpei and stared at him with it's red eyes.... It wasn't a demon.
Junpei couldn't blink. Completely fixated on the impossible sight in front of him. It wasn't a demon. In front of him stood a humanoid figure in green metallic armor, which reflected the cloud obscured sunlight. Their face was covered by an insect-like helmet with a horn and yellow mouthpiece. The round red lenses stared through Junpei. They were emotionless, but unmistakably hostile. What concerned Junpei's most however, was the person's belt, with a similar yet drastically different device to his own attached, almost resembling a grasshopper. This was another Kamen Rider.
"A Kamen Rider?..." Junpei hardly believed his own eyes. It never occurred to him that there could be others like him... But then why were they fighting? Isn't a Kamen Rider's job to kill demons? What does NOAH want with them? Dozens of questions spun in his head again. He forgot all about retreat or self-defense. He wasn't gonna fight another human. Once again, it all came to a halt the same way it did in the van. "Junpei!" A voice yelled out to him. Vail was trying to snap sense into him. "Don't let this get to you. Whoever they are, i feel an overflow of demonic presence from them. They're just like them. Don't hold back." Junpei thought back to his first day at NOAH. When he and Vail first met. When he felt the most lost Vail made him feel like he wasn't alone. He's what helped him get through every hell he went through. Despite all the doubts and questions driving him crazy, he had to trust him. Junpei got up. Still locked eyes with the other Rider.
"Who are you?" - Junpei asked, still catching his breath. He got no response. The silence was louder than any sound the forest could make. "Answer me!" - he yelled out, desperate, wishing to see any sign of humanity from the standing still rider. Suddenly, the rider turned around and began slowly walking away, retreating back into the woods. Junpei heard Vail call out to him again: "Press your ViStamp on the driver again. Let's show him what we can do, partner." Junpei hesitantly reached towards the stamp and after a moment holding it, pulled it out from the belt holder. With a slightly shaking hand, he slowly pressed it on the driver's top.
[CHARGE]
He pressed down on the sides of the driver. Energy surged through him. He felt a spike of rage deep inside. Locking eyes on them, with a loud yell he ran at the rider with a ready fist. The unknown rider stopped in place. Junpei ran up to them and with an increasingly louder yell threw his punch. Vail's voice echoed through the field:
"VAILING IMPACT!"
But the other rider's belt almost immediately spoke out in return:
[RIDER JUMP]
It all happened in a blink. Junpei slammed his fist down, missing the enemy and slamming the ground, creating a small crater in front of him with a shockwave dispersing around it. The grasshopper rider jumped to dodge the punch. Junpei got up, ready to block the incoming strike, but as he turned around he heard the rider's driver speak out again.
[RIDER KICK]
Even knowing his enemy was gonna strike, Junpei couldn't handle the impact of the kick. It was a roundhouse kick from his right. No guard stance could soften it. Junpei flew to the side, hitting a tree. An unbearable pain followed. He collapsed onto the ground. The suit couldn't sustain the damage and the driver untransformed Junpei. Vail yelled out to him, telling him to get up, run, do anything, but his body refused to move. Holding onto consciousness, the last thing Junpei saw was the mysterious rider silently standing above him, still with that cold, soulless stare.
Continued in Chapter 2: Change Of Objective (WIP)