Chapter Ten: We Are Brothers

"You're leaving so soon?"

Weihan nodded as he looked at the distraught faces of Nozomi and Kotori. After confirming that the Wraith had been truly vanquished and wasn't going to rise up like the Contender, he had taken a few moments to truly understand the workings of his suit when he wasn't in a battle situation. As this was the only time he was ever going to transform into this mode, he thought it best to initiate a thorough body scan and take images from every possible angle. In the middle of this act, he finally figured out how the tail assembly worked when the blades were removed; functioning as an independently targeting laser blaster of sorts. The targeting scope he had seen earlier honed in on any weaknesses of the targeted creature and unleashed a devastatingly powerful blast. The only drawback he could see was the amount of power the bolt consumed. Unfortunately, all good things had to come to an end and with only fifteen minutes remaining on the countdown timer, he had to bite the bullet and say his farewells.

He had explained to them that the small device was his only way home and that he had pressed the recall button in the spur of the moment. Although he had left out the amount of time needed, he had told the group that the door to his destination would reopen in roughly thirteen minutes. His fellow Riders had taken the news well, though it would be expected that they would know of his need to return to his home dimension as they were connected through the Rider Grid. That didn't explain Shoichi, the Rider who had transformed into the golden armour of Agito, passing around his Morphing Gem like it was a toy. He shook his head as it was thrown at Kenzaki and sighed under his breath as he hoped nothing too bad would happen down the road. On the other side of the coin, the girls seemed to take his news the hardest. It was slightly understandable that they would be upset but, realistically, he had only been around them for the past hour and a half. Save for Nozomi and, maybe, Kotori, that wasn't enough time to form meaningful bonds with all of them.

"That's the way it has to be," he sighed, wondering why he was having trouble forming the words. "Pressing the recall button like that was a spur of the moment thing but something I would have to do sooner or later. And it's for the best that I leave before the power I have brings down another evil force onto the world."

Kotori nodded slowly as her mind processed all the information. Technically, she knew it was the right thing to do. She was just in the beginnings of a schoolgirl crush and it was best to remove the source of her attraction before it became too messy. A small part of the back of her mind wanted it to become messy but she didn't quite think her mother would approve. She had her whole life in front of her and, if she was truly honest with herself, she didn't think she had time for extra-curricular activities at this point. Suddenly, a thought came to her and she rushed back to her bag; searching through the cards and passes until she found what she was looking for. Pulling out a small USB drive with the logo of the band engraved in to it, she pressed it into Weihan's hand with a shaky smile.

"Just some music for you to listen to when you get home." She said with a shaky voice. "So you don't forget about us. And there's a chat room address with the password if you want to keep in touch."

"I don't think I could forget about you girls if I tried." He chuckled, pocketing the USB in a secure subspace pocket. "Though I am in another dimension and it may take a while for me to join the chat. Eh, I'll make it work somehow, though I hope you haven't forgotten about me when I do."

As their sniffles turned to light chuckles, he looked up at the sky and stifled a frustrated sigh. He was all set and ready to leave and not prolong his departure but there was one small issue; his Morphing Gem was still being tossed around the gathered Riders and he kind of needed that to transform. After another few moments, he could see Shoichi giving the Gem anther quick upward flick before handing it back to him and speaking in a jovial tone. He hoped it was a jovial tone anyway.

"Here you go. All good now!"

Nodding his thanks to the Japanese man, he pocketed the Gem and turned back to the group. This was it; the moment he had been dreading but the moment that had to occur for him to continue on his journey home.

"I doubt I'll be back here. This dimension is protected enough from the evils of the world without another overpowered Rider waltzing in on a whim." He chuckled at that notion, absently wondering how long it would be before he did just that. "Though if these yahoos don't protect you girls and keep you safe, I'll be doing just that."

And, with that, he was assaulted from all sides by the nine of them; their bodies crushing together to form a strange wall of sorts. Swallowing hard over the chuckles he knew were coming from the watching Riders, he stayed as still as possible to avoid either outright groping or putting his fingers into tight spots. He was also glaringly aware that a couple of them weren't over eighteen, though their bodies said otherwise. Closing his eyes and chuckling at the mass of hands, arms, heads, hair and limbs around him, he focused his thoughts on the future of his fight with Bloodless Mary. Unless something drastic happened to tip the balance, he supposed they would be locked in combat for however long it took for her to run out of Wraiths. With Jabarkas on her side, though, things would become more or less what they had been under Xonix…without the need to break out any Zords; though the battle with the Colossus Wraith had come dangerously close. Yet, there was always something that kept nagging at the back of his mind, no matter how many times he seemed to dismiss the thought.

Bloodless Mary knew where her blood was stored.

The same blood which an ancient sorcerer had pulled from her body all those millennia ago to weaken her and seal her with magic nooses. If they came together, the world would quake as Mar'yinkas reclaimed the Phaedosian powers that had been stripped. However, until that happened, he would continue to fight and train Serena so that they could stand against the forces that threatened to annihilate Earth. There was also the minor matter of the White Ultra Crystal finally awakening from its dormant slumber and the permanent joining with AJ that needed to be done but that was something that could be banged out over a weekend. Opening his eyes, he looked at the problem at hand – namely the girls that were still around him.

"Okay…a little help here, guys?" He gulped as the girls closed ranks once more, Nozomi even finding a way to latch onto his right side. "Seriously needing assistance here…oh hell."

Weihan looked at their sad faces and chuckled under his breath. Although he thought that ninety minutes hadn't been long enough for him to form bonds with them, it clearly wasn't the case the other way around. Swallowing a small lump in his throat, he looked at their faces once more – blinking at a sudden flash from several camera phones. Obviously they wanted to take his picture but they could have possibly waited until he wasn't close to breaking down himself. Stumbling slightly as Rin latched on to his back, he looked down at Nozomi and spoke in a soft tone.

"Do you feel all right now? No more hidden feelings and hurt? All of you are akin to a single light in this world, shielding the hearts and minds of the population." He paused slightly as Kotori snuggled up to his left side, translating for the others. "All of you, you remind me of the bonds I had, have, with my friends. People I haven't gotten in full contact with for a long time."

Allowing himself to melt slightly into the warmth generated by the girls, he looked up at the sky again and closed his eyes.

"Maybe I was supposed to be here all along. Reminding myself of the bonds shared and bonds that can be reforged again. Maybe…"

His eyes opened as Kotori's lips left his, followed by Nozomi. He clamped down tight on his brain to avoid any unneeded mental explosions and allowed himself to be swept away in the moment. He was aware of Eli looking at them but, interestingly enough, there were no daggers in her gaze; just a slight longing and a small twinge of jealousy. He couldn't blame her if she wanted her new lover's tongue to be dancing round the inside of her mouth but there wasn't much he could do about it. Finally breaking the kiss, they shared a sly look and, interestingly enough, he almost wished he had only chosen now to press the recall button. Swallowing hard yet again, and seemingly unable to meet Kotaro's amused half-glare, he stepped away from the group and tried to gain some semblance of dignity before his exit. He also had to ready himself for a time change, though he hoped his duplicate was still in the Ultra Cavern.

"Are we just going to farewell him without a song?" Honoka asked. "He's here and, unlike everyone else, he doesn't know what we'd sound like."

Her words surprised the others. Truthfully, a song of farewell had been so far from their minds that they couldn't even think of one that could convey all the emotions they were feeling.

"How are we going to pick one from everything we've done?" Umi countered. "And we don't have the luxury of time to pick a special one so it has to be…"

Her words trailed off as the background music that had been playing over the past battles changed once more; looping back to the beginning of the 'playlist'. The first notes of the song they had recently sung in the dome washed over them. Quickly taking their positions, they began to sing for the Interdimensional Rider; their words washing over the nine men with all the emotion that could be conveyed. Weihan watched them singing and dancing joyously and felt a warmth welling from within. In front of him was a representation of everything he was fighting to protect: smiling faces filled with innocence and hope for the future. He didn't have to look at his peers to know they were thinking the same thing. He had been holding back his abilities and powers as a Rider, afraid that someone would connect the dots between him and his Ranger career. He had been too much on the defensive, so much so that he hadn't even known about it Jabarkas had called him out. He closed his eyes and made a mental promise to himself that he would be a scared Rider no more and he would fight with all the ferocity and decisiveness that had characterised his time as a Ranger.

Near the end of the song, he felt the air pressure change as a swirling blue-green portal opened up behind him to reveal the interior of the Ultra Cavern. Stretching out his telepathy, he could feel his duplicate standing just out of sight with Bree and, interestingly enough, Liz. Quickly taking out his phone to snap a few shots of the girls singing and dancing, he raised his arm in farewell as the song ended. Taking a brief moment to nod at the remaining Riders, he slowly turned around to walk into the open portal. The closest Rider to the opening, Kotaro, blinked in surprise as a youthful version of Weihan's voice asked a question before the opening snapped shut. Nozomi looked to the area where he had just been before gathering her emotions together. There would be plenty of time for mourning his 'loss' later. Right now, they needed to pack up and leave.

As the seventeen figures began slowly picking up the strewn around bags that had been carelessly dropped earlier, they never noticed the two figures watching them from a nearby building. The taller of the two was dressed in a leather jacket over a dark shirt and blue jeans. A strange belt with a golden buckle adorned his waist and his face held a sense of dawning comprehension. The other figure was dressed in a long black coat over clothes that, interestingly enough, looked extremely similar to the clothing one of the girls below them wore. Two, almost comically large, rings adorned each hand and a strange palm-shaped device was on her waist. The man turned to the woman and smiled softly.

"Now I understand why you wanted to do this." He said

"Of course, Kotaro; so much so that I would risk Haruto's anger to do so." She replied with a casual wave of her hand.

The man shook his head and checked the time on his watch. Letting out a grunt of satisfaction, he turned towards the woman again and pointed behind him.

"Come on, Honoka. The longer we stay here, the longer we risk being caught."

Leading the way, the two Riders turned the corner to board a high-tech train that was stopped nearby. Kotaro Nogami grimaced lightly as he thought about the earful he would receive from Haruto Soma at leaving so suddenly with his successor to the Wizard Rider Rings. Even though Honoka Kosaka, somehow, had a suppressed Siren Phantom inside her, he wouldn't be too happy with their jaunt through time and space just to close a stable time loop. As the train began to travel through the Sands of Time, multiple branches jutted out to split into different variations of the timeline that could happen. Some of these were erased in an instant as the decision was reversed or taken back but there was one path that continued to lead towards a future that the two Riders would never see.

A time of Huntresses and Riders.

TBC…

AN: Only the epilogue to go. Yes, Huntresses and Riders is a sort of sequel to this with only one (or two) characters connecting the two events.