AN: I knew I said I wasn't going to be writing another fic until Masked Family was complete but this plot bunny literally wormed its way into my head while I was working on a scene. Kamen Rider is owned by Toei, not me. RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth, not me. Just a short chapter to kick things off…

Huntresses and Riders

Prologue: The Die is Cast

"Are they ready yet?"

The brown haired man looked up from his work with a sigh and looked at the young lady over the rim of his spectacles. Jo-Anne knew the significance of the task he was undertaking but she continued to pester him with little quips and cracks. In any other situation, he would have swept his fiancée off her feet for a quick session but this was a job that had been entrusted to his team. Jean Branwen ran an eye over his work and slumped back in his seat, glancing out the window to where the full moon hung ominously over the city. Honestly, he didn't know why he still worked like this. The legends of the heroes he had heard while growing up had paled in comparison to a chance meeting that had followed…but even that had paled in comparison to the fate that awaited everyone in just a few, scant, months.

"Is this what we should truly be doing?" he asked her with a sad smile. "The world as we know it is already doomed but…"

Two arms slid down his chest as Jo-Anne Rose leant on him from behind, admiring the fruits of the past three years of labour. There was no denying the fact that what had been asked of him was terrible for anyone to comprehend but it would help in its own little way. 'Throw a light to the future' was what her father had told her before he had passed away and she would do her best to uphold her family name. However, in these dark and trying times, it was getting harder and harder to muster up enough mirth for anything. Two others on their team – the enigmatic Kira Schnee and the quiet waif Belle Donna – had poured their hearts and souls into creating what had been asked of them…before they had left the project to be with their families. Families that, thanks to the help of a few lucky draws, would survive the coming apocalypse. Her heart ached as she looked at the picture frame on her desk. They would be at the bunker now and would be preparing to slumber until the automatic wakeup awakened them into whatever was left.

The news from those that stayed outside the borders wasn't good. The experiments had gone out of control again and they didn't seem to be able to be corralled and cowed into reverting to their docile and unawakened state. To make matters worse, they had fled into the wilderness and would be leeching off the DNA of the animals found within. She hoped they wouldn't venture to one of the 'Genetic Ark' bunkers that had been built all over the remains of the world but she doubted any of them would have that sort of luck. Truly, these were grim times.

"Jean," she began "you know what my father always said we should always endeavor to…"

"Throw a light into the future," Jean finished with a wry grin. "I understand that but for them to ask that we make these Belts and encode them with our DNA is terrifying. Yes, we have family going into the bunkers but to think any of our line will still be alive whenever these are activated is…"

He trailed off as he looked at the four Belts in front of him, each adorned with a symbol of the creator's choosing. Jo-Anne still refused to tell him what she was thinking with her design but he supposed the time for questioning the quirks of his fiancée had long since past…much like the time for their marriage. Still, they would still have some degree of fun before their world ended and the next phase of life began. The thought that the planet would continue to sustain life until well into the future almost astounded Jean at times and he chuckled as he thought of the outdated notions scientists of old had thought up. The Sun that sustained all things wasn't going to explode or die out any time soon thanks to detailed analysis probes and the moon would still hang full in the sky for many more decades.

"Dear, it's time."

Jean nodded and sighed, carefully collecting the belts and placing them in an armoured storage briefcase. Ensuring everything was carefully packed away with the rudimentary instruction booklet he had cobbled together, he closed the case and looked at the company logo. A man would come to receive the case in a few hours, after which he and Jo-Anne would be free to pursue their lives in what little time they had left. He didn't intend to go down peacefully, though, and he knew Jo-Anne felt the same way. Slowly, he held his fiancée close as the clock on the wall slowly ticked down the seconds and hoped the world would be better for his children.

And that the Belts never were activated.

TBC…