The Case of the Night Rider (Night Rider/Piper's Call crossover)

Chapter 1

As the young detective was only beginning her journey into the unknown, a young woman sprang headfirst into the cause of all the obscurity, the parallel world known only as Paradormus. Silently landing into the dimly lit room, a young, tired looking man sat fixated on a multiple of equations and computer code flashing at rapid speeds on several computer monitors, his fingers moving just as quick as the information he was receiving. He didn't notice the young woman enter, nor did he notice her unsheathing one of her multiple swords, he didn't even notice her strange creature of a partner looming above her, his green eyes glowing mischievously in the darkness as he watched the young woman tread silently towards the man, the edge of her sword brushed against the hair on his neck as she inched closer and announced herself with a quiet,

"Boo."

The young man let out a squeal of terror as he jumped off his seat in surprise. He would have nearly decapitated himself had the woman not moved her sword away and dropped to the floor, laughing hysterically, sword still in hand. The blond, sleep deprived man finally turned round to see his surprise attacker was in fact 'the leader' of the so called 'Motley Crew' of Dragon Riders. His Captain. He raised an eyebrow at the young dark haired woman who was currently trying to contain her laughter, without success. To pass the time, he, his twin brother and the Captain would prank each other every day ever since they were little and every time he and his brother would both be humiliated while she laughed on, unaffected by the numerous pranks which had somehow backfired or completely failed. Today, was no exception.

Nate and Chase had tried to freeze her hair, as it was always sticking out everywhere and could never lay flat. They ended up freezing her entire head as she came out of the bathroom after a shower, thankfully she was fully clothed but they had forgotten that she also possessed a variety of magic, so all she needed to do was reverse the effects. Her head only ended up semi frozen but that still didn't mean she wasn't mad. It was never a good idea to get a Fire Trait angry, especially one as powerful as her. This 'assassination attempt' was merely payback for this morning.

"God dammit Cap! You could've killed me!" Chase exclaimed rubbing his neck as her watched the young woman finally managed to stop her bout of giggles.

"Not the first time!" his twin brother Nate, called from the other room as he poked his head around the door as he gave them both a knowing wink before retreating back behind the safety of the thick, reinforced wall. It was a good thing too because just as he retracted his head from view, a frighteningly sharp dagger flew past him and embedded itself into the wall, inches away from where his head had previously been.

Gone was the laughter from only moments ago. Her mood could change like the tides and tonight was no exception. She glared at them both as Nate shuffled out from the previous room, his head hung low, matching his brother's solemn expression. He obviously got the message, the same as she did. She slowly moved herself upwards from the ground, wincing slightly as she did so, waving away any help from her worried dragon partner who watched her with a beady eye. She stood as upright as she could, she knew out of the corner of her eye who was watching, and she knew that the information she had just received was true, no matter how much she wished it not. She took a breath before addressing her entire crew, they hung above the rafters, awaiting the order.

"Tonight, myself and several others went across the gap. The gap connects our world with theirs. The world known as Earth." she paused, gathering her thoughts together as those above her hissed at the name of the accursed land that had torn their family, their homes and their lives apart.

"The raid to infiltrate the governments ranks was successful, we've managed to hack into their system undetected to receive the first major breakthrough we've had in months."

The group cheered as she gave a wan smile as her smile suddenly faltered as quickly as it came. The thought of what had just happened blared in her mind. Her hand instinctively went upwards toward her treasured peaked hat which hid her gaze as she clutched it before slowly turning it in her hands and gazing back up at her crew, her face and more importantly her scar which had haunted her days for too long bared back up at them determinedly, unnerved by the sudden reveal of her scar, as some of them gasped quietly. Those who knew her well, even a little, it was serious when she bared her scar even to those she trusted with her life.

She sighed as she hung her head in sorrow.

"Tonight, we lost good Riders. We lost our family. We lost twenty seven of our own tonight to allow us to progress this far. We will mourn our dead tonight.Tomorrow, we act. A good friend of mine died for our secret, it seems he left a daughter who is just as curious as he was."

Rider smiled briefly as others nodded back, knowing full well who she was talking about, they had been there since the beginning.

"A small group with me will journey back to our base in London and make preparations there, the rest will keep the younger members safe. I won't have any more lives lost, especially those who are still in training and have yet to master to their traits."

Some of the younger Riders began to protest but were stopped with the force of the Captain's glare.

"The younger Riders will help out as normal and continue with their training, as ordered. I'll give you until tomorrow to decide who wishes to go through the gap alongside me. For now, get some sleep and don't drink too much." she gave a nod an a grin.

"Aye, Captain." they mumbled in reply as they sleepily went to bed as she smiled and said goodnight.

"What about the girl, Captain?" Nate asked as the crowd dispersed for bed, he knew she would be among the night watch for she didn't like to sleep when her traits were at it's strongest and were needed the most, especially at the high risk of demon attacks.

She took a moment to reorganise her weapons as she strapped a spare sword to her hip, a pair of revolvers and pulled the dagger she had thrown earlier out of anger back into her pocket.

"She's a sharp one from what I've heard. Much like her father. Soon enough she'll figure out the truth about me, about us and then where will she be?"

Nate hesitated for a moment, before replying,

"So, what do you plan to do?"

Rider stopped for a moment, thinking about her decision. She pulled out a bottle of rum before taking a swig and deciding on her answer.

"I'll protect her myself if I must. I'll keep a close watch while you take care of the others while I'm gone."

Nate spluttered. "Me? Y-You sure? I can't run an entire army of Dragon Riders let alone beat you at a prank war?!"

"I'm not expecting you to, just keep them safe til I'm done, I'll be back soon, mate. Isis can handle things til I'm back."

She began to walk toward the exit as her partner followed in the shadows.

"W-What about the funeral?" Nate asked, just as she was about to leave.

"I've said my goodbyes. Time to move forward. I may not have been able to protect those who died tonight, but I will protect those who live now. They have nothing to do with this and it's my job to keep it that way."

She walked into the shadows and she was gone, her last words echoed through the caverns as she hoped the young professor's daughter didn't dig too far. She wouldn't like what she found.