Kamen Rider Dullahan

Chapter 4: The Phantom Queen

"OHAYOU SEKAI! Good Morning World!" rang out loud from the phone on the nightstand, and the room lights slowly started to brighten. The girl in the bed moaned and rolled over to face the nightstand. She slapped her right hand around on the table till it found the phone and dismissed the alarm then fell back and stared up at the fan circling above her.

Her apartment was a modest size, a little smaller than she would've liked it to be but it suited her well enough. The Space Station the Academies were located in was divided into half and two quarters, the quarters being dedicated to The Ranger and Rider Academies with the remaining half dedicated to a small city where the students and faculty of the school lived in apartments. Civilians also lived there as they owned and operated the business in the city along with their families as well the S.P.D. members that were stationed at the outpost on the Moon. Some other folks lived there like retirees that couldn't be bothered with the snowbird life or people who just didn't have anything or anyone to keep them on the surface.

Each Rider had their own 1-bed and 1-bath apartment. Unlike the Rangers' apartments there was no real attempt to create a comradery building environment. Riders stuck to themselves and those who shared their powerset when in combat and that was it. And to be honest, Caitlín hated it. She hated being alone and living alone, she needed someone to talk to or at least be with her. She didn't have anxiety about being alone, she just liked being around people even if they weren't actively having a conversation. So she filled the silence with music; there was always some form of music playing in the background when she wasn't watching a show.

When she finally blinked the sleep from her eyes, she went about her morning routine, consisting of turning on the morning news and coffee pot so she could listen to it while in the shower. The coffee would be ready by the time she got out, which she enjoyed on the back porch while calling her parents. After that, she would pour what was left into a bottle, pack up her bag, and set off for class. Parked down in the lot was her ride, The Phantom Bullet. A purple and blue sport motorcycle with pink lining and crow imagery adorning the front. Caitlín swiped her Rider key card across the dash to unlock and start it, then opened the storage compartment under the seat and laid her pack in it. Then swung her leg over the cycle and drove off towards the Ranger Academy.

She passed other Riders on the way who were dragging their feet, dreading their arrival. The incorporation of an entirely separate student body was not going too well at the moment, which was expected. None of the faculty thought it'd be all smiles and sunshine right off the bat, that's something that only happens in the TV shows. But when you have fights breaking out daily and multiple times a day, there was something wrong. And the students felt it, all of them went in expecting a fight which, of course, led to the fighting. Some enjoyed it, seeing it as a way to put the lesser Rider or Ranger in their place, others hated it and simply looked the other direction, and some just accepted that this was how things were going to be for a while until the Rider Academy was back up and running.

Caitlín drove around to the back of the Academy, to the Theatre's loading bay. she pulled up onto the loading ramp and used her key card on the controls. A panel slid back revealing a new button. she pressed it and magnetic clamps held the Phantom Bullet in place as the platform began to rise. Caitlín got off, hung her helmet on the bars, pulled her bag out of the seat storage, and after the lift came to a stop and the clamps disengaged walked the bike into Mission Control's garage.

Already parked there was the Cruiser style black and red DullaCycle that belonged to Colin and the other was a red and gold dirt bike built for power and the toughest of terrain, this was the Wolfhound, Seamus' bike. Caitlín hadn't seen him since the year began but he's obviously been around. The paint job was already scuffed up and it looked like a few pieces of plating had been replaced. Other than the bikes the room was empty, 'Guess everyone's down in the house.' She thought and headed for the stairwell.