//------------------------------// // Awakening // Story: Driven Spirit // by KukriRyuTsukino //------------------------------// Earth 20191587 Nineteen year old Seth Makoto Tsukino grimaced, looking in the mirror at the outfit he wore. His outfit was a dark silver and navy jumpsuit. He had the sense it was missing a critical component, however. He just couldn't put his finger on what felt off.  He sighed softly, shaking his head as he  turned away. He left the apartment, looking at his bike yet unaware that there were others in the Omniverse that would have recognized the bike for what it was. He took a deep breath as he started the bike before pulling away from the curb. He shook his head as he accelerated, the engine letting out a purring rumble, as the engine was based upon a Harley Davidson engine. His dark crystalline aquamarine eyes narrowed as he approached the civic center before he noticed the smoke curling from a few of the windows. His hand pressed to the tank, not noticing the lacquered chains glowing blue before a blue fireball exited the bike, hovering a few feet behind him as his dark auburn-copper hair swayed as he ran into the convention before he blinked in mild surprise, seeing quite a few of the cosplayers looking on in fear and confusion. He almost missed the vendor who seemed oddly calm despite the chaos. Her table held numerous Kamen Rider items, including the Ghost Driver and numerous other items. He did notice she was a dead ringer for Kanna Mori who had played Natsumi Hikari within Kamen Rider Decade. He didn't notice as he turned, spotting the source of the chaos as the Yari Gamma, that his hair gained bright scarlet tips as it swayed from his turn. “So, another weak human in this world, eh? This world doesn’t have any Riders to protect it from us, and we have already reaped many of your kind,” the Gamma commented. Makoto’s eyes narrowed, as, unknown to him, but noticeable to the Natsumi vendor, they glowed a deep red for less than a split second. “So you’ve got blood on your blade, do you? I can all but hear the slain crying for vengeance, for justice. Even if I lack the power to fight you,” he commented slowly, his tone measured and controlled. He pushed off as he spoke. He tackled the Gamma, pushing it back a few feet before a knee caught him in the chest before he was kicked into the table the Natsumi vendor had in front of her,  smashing it. He didn’t notice the buckles for the Grateful Damashii and Ghost Driver fall onto his chest and vanish in an eruption of blue sparks, though he did notice the briefcase that had the Ghost Sigil upon it, as well as that of Specter fall into his hands. He noticed a glow before he saw nothing but silver, very aware of the case holding a ruby chess set, though some of the pieces were marbled with what appeared to be agate, which he kept hidden at the small of his back.  His eyes widened as, for a brief moment, he saw a brilliant rainbow of light as he felt energy surge through his body before he felt himself slam into something very hard before he groaned, seeing asphalt before everything went dark. EQGE-119-2018-111 A very depressed Sunset Shimmer squatted near an alleyway. "Why is it that nobody responds to me or sees me? It's like I'm a ghost or something," she mumbled, unaware the Elements of Harmony had locked her physical body in a stasis state while allowing her to astral project her essence outside her body. Unknown even to the Elements of this reality as well as that of its counterpart where most everyone was an anthropomorphic pony, there was another way to affect the physical world. Her eyes widened as a rippling silver rift opened ten feet in the air over a steel eave before the rift spat something out that slammed into the eave hard enough to leave it badly dented, the echoing clang making her cringe. The resulting thud on the asphalt made her wince before she realized it was a young man maybe four or five months younger than herself, as in her current body, she was a month or two past her sixteenth birthday whereas on the other side, she was just shy of twenty two. It was then that she noticed the case and innocently opened it before she was blinded, missing that eighteen orbs of light escaped the case, leaving four behind as they shot into the air and scattered. The youth coughed twice as he groaned as she hastily resealed the case, ignoring the fact that she'd been able to touch it unlike almost everything else. POV shift- Makoto Makoto's eyes fluttered as he winced as he groaned before coughing. "Ugh… anyone catch that bus that ran me over?" he muttered. He felt a very distinctive burning surging through his veins, unaware a reddish violet aura with black edges was surging over his body as a sigil shone beneath him, glowing brightly. Although even as he heard footfalls and tensed, he didn't see the other Sigil, this one garnet with sapphire edges and the size of a Kennedy half dollar, glowing between his shoulder blades as darkness formed cracks in the smaller Sigil.  Seconds later, however, the binding Sigil shattered, consumed by the power within him. An almost feral growl escaped him as his nails darkened to a deep bluish teal just shy of black before he lurched to his feet as he focused, reining in the rampant power before his fist clenched as his eyes snapped open, the glowing Sigil beneath his feet fading away. "Dunno what this power is, but I won't let it consume me nor will I rely upon it unnecessarily… eh?" he commented before he noticed the young woman standing a few yards away. He noticed she was squirming slightly with a hint of a blush on her cheeks. He glanced down before he blinked, noticing something off with his shadow: that there were two sets of angelic wings that flapped even as he noticed them before retreating into his back, only a slight burning resulting from it. He didn't realize the wings were a deep scarlet fading to a pale orange as well as a deep burgundy fading to a burnt orange. He took a deep breath as he exhaled slowly. "Is something wrong?" he said gently, noticing the dark circles under her eyes. He didn't expect her to step closer to him before tentatively reaching out before her fingers touched his chest before she jerked them back as if the contact burned her, tears gathering in her eyes before he grunted as she tackled him in a tight hug. He could hear the muffled crying from her face buried in his chest. His eyes drifted half-lidded as he could hear her speaking, though it was muffled. A boom separated them, however, his eyes narrowing. His eyes narrowed as his teeth bared, unaware his irises glowed a faint crimson for a moment. A low growl escaped him as he saw the same creature. "Ah… still alive, are you? Now I get to kill you and that little bitch," the Yari Gamma commented.  He dropped to one knee, opening the suitcase before he frowned, noticing the Luminary Eyecons had scattered. We'll just have to find them, he noted as he grabbed the Ghost Driver, flicking it at Sunset before he flicked the Ghost Eyecon even as he scooped up Specter's.  His gaze shifted to the Gamma. "Ready?" he muttered as his hand shifted, tendrils of reddish orange flames revealing his own Ghost Driver as he heard the soft click of hers locking in. He could feel something guiding his movements, a Power he couldn't describe or name. "Hmm mmm," he heard her murmur.