Azure and Crimson
Chapter 1: Striker & Slayer
The world of Azure Striker Gunvolt. A futuristic world where war was waged between humans and Adepts, special people with amazing powers. This world was once ruled by a powerful organization until recently it and their leader was defeated by an unknown rebel Adept, who seeks to find peace between the two races. It was going to be peaceful, until a new organization was formed, that's formed by Adepts with their goal being to wipe out all humankind, leaving Adepts to rule the world. How will this story change with the appearance of our four world travelling heroes?
A portal appeared from the sky and out appears our four heroes in their Time Mazines as they ride through the futuristic city by air, searching for the Distortion that could erase this world. The four heroes who were sent to investigate this world are Zeo Naotora, Gaius Cornell, Kanade Amou and Serena Cadenzavna Eve.
"Wow...so this is the world of Azure Striker Gunvolt huh? Plenty of futuristic buildings here." Zeo said as he looked around the city.
"Yeah, kinda reminds me of Megaman X in the Year 21XX." Gaius added. "You think the Gunvolt games are sort of predecessors to the Megaman X games?"
"Now that you mention it, might be possible..."
"Whoa, this place looks a lot different than our world huh, Serena?" Kanade said.
"Indeed, hope there is no Noise here." Serena nodded.
"Well there is no Noise here, but it does have Adepts and a corrupted organization called Sumeragi." Zeo added.
"Adepts? Sumeragi?" Kanade and Serena were curious at what those two names mean.
"Let's find a place to land first, and then we'll explain what this world is." Gaius suggested.
"You're right. Maybe that building over there seems safe to land." Serena pointed at a nearby building, it seems safe with no patrols lurking around the rooftop.
"Alright then, hold on tight everyone; landing could be a bit bumpy." Zeo nodded as they landed the Time Mazines onto an unoccupied building rooftop and got off the bikes.
"We're here, now how are we going to find a way to hide the Time Mazines?" Kanade asked.
"Uh...Hmm?" Gaius suddenly heard something. "A ringtone?"
Zeo then realised a small vibration from his right pocket, it was one of the Zikan Phones Einstein gave to the heroes back at the Zi-O Liner for long distance contact."Ah, it's mine. Gimme a moment, I'll answer it by video call." He then answered the phone call. "Hello? Who is this?"
"Ah good, it works. It's me, Einstein. Just trying to test out the contact feature just in case." Einstein contacted the heroes via video call.
"Huh, well that's understandable."
"As for how to hide the Time Mazines, the phones should have that feature for an optic camouflage. It even has an auto-pilot feature just in case you were too far away from the bikes."
"Hmm, well that's very convenient." Gaius said.
"Yup, never underestimate a genius like me. But enough of that, your team need to find that distortion ASAP. And try not to mess with the worlds too much unless you want Murphy's Law or Butterfly Effect to hit you in the face."
"We'll keep that in mind, thanks." Gaius nodded as does everyone else.
"Good, contact me if something else comes up. Other than that, good luck. The fate of the worlds depends on your actions." And with that, the video call ended as Zeo and Gaius activated optic camouflage on the Time Mazines and placed the phones back into their pockets.
"Right then before we get started, would you guys explain to me and Serena about this world?" Kanade asked.
"Well for starters, this world has several people called 'Adepts' that have developed 'Septimal powers', basically giving them superpowers like flight, super strength and magic for example." Zeo explained. "This world is at peace thanks to the efforts of a world-spanning corporation known as the Sumeragi Group. However, the Sumeragi Group is, in reality, controlling and experimenting on adepts."
"I see...so this peace-keeping organization is nothing but a corrupted one on the inside?" Kanade frowned.
"And experimenting and controlling Adepts? That's horrible..." Serena added.
"Yeah, sad truth isn't it?" Zeo nodded. "However there is one Adept who was able to stop them and eliminated their leader. Gunvolt, the Azure Striker. A powerful Adept who has control over lightning. He fights with a special gun that fires Dart Bullets, which helps him lock onto enemies and then use his signature Flashfield ability to zap the locked foe from a distance. His Flashfield will also help him hover and shield him from physical projectiles. His other abilities include Prevasion, which lets him evade attacks as long as he has enough energy."
"Wow, one guy managed to take down an entire organization? Sounds like a badass to me, especially with those powers of his." Kanade said with her hands on her hips.
"He still is, but he had some help along the way. The most notable one is a girl named Joule, an artificial human created in a lab operated by the Sumeragi Group. She was imbued with the Septima called, 'The Muse', a power that enables her to gift other Adepts with enhanced strength with her songs, even going so far as being able to bring people back from the dead."
"The Muse?" Kanade and Serena were very curious. It reminded them of a certain power they also had.
"Kinda reminds you of your Relic powers when you sing to transform and fight?" Zeo stated. "But Joule's power is far different than yours. Also Joule has an alter-ego named Lumen, which is basically a human fairy."
"Is that so?" Kanade raised her eyebrow. "Anyway so what happened next?"
"Well Gunvolt went on to defeat the other Sumeragi Adept generals along with their leader, Nova." Gaius explained. "It was going to have a happy ending but...well something went horribly wrong."
"I'm not going to like the answer, aren't I?" Kanade asked as Zeo and Gaius nodded in response. Yep, you're definitely not gonna like it.
Gaius then continued the story. "After the battle with Nova and escaping, Gunvolt runs into Asimov, his father figure and the leader of QUILL, a secret organization that also fights against Sumeragi, offers Gunvolt and Joule new places in QUILL, and reveals an ulterior motive: with Sumeragi in shambles, Asimov wishes to use Lumen, along with the Sumeragi satellite, to wipe out the human race as payback for suppression of adepts."
"WHAT?!" Kanade and Serena were shocked at the truth.
"Gunvolt refuses his offer, telling Asimov that he is no better than Sumeragi was, and Asimov responds by shooting him through the heart using a special gun that is capable of firing bullets that can suppress an Adept's powers, before turning the gun on Joule and shooting her as well, leaving them both for dead."
"No...his leader betrayed and killed them...?!" Serena exclaimed.
"That bastard...so this was his plan all along?! Just for revenge on the humans for the Adept abuse?!" Kanade growled in anger. "Did any of his agents or operators know about this?"
"Nope, it's only himself keeping this dark secret." Zeo slowly shook his head. "Fortunately, Gunvolt survived the shot thanks to Joule's special pendant given to him as a gift during those missions. That pendant had power that allowed Lumen to rescue him at the very last minute. As for when he wakes up and saw Joule's dead body...let's just say he did not take it too well."
"Gunvolt...Joule..." Serena felt sad about Gunvolt and Joule's fate.
Zeo then continued the story. "In an act of love in order to save his life and be with him wherever he goes, Joule forsook her physical form by fusing her mind and personality with Lumen before further fusing herself into Gunvolt's septimal energy, which amplifies Gunvolt's power to its utmost limits. Her body may be gone, but her spirit lives on inside of him. With that revelation taken care of, he sets off to find Azimov and finds him in the space elevator where they had their final showdown. Gunvolt then noticed that Azimov had the same septimal powers as him, which is basically fighting fire with fire, or in this case, fight lightning with lightning."
"Did Gunvolt managed to win?" Serena asked.
"Yup, he did after a very difficult battle." Gaius nodded. "Before dying, Azimov warns Gunvolt that he will never be truly free of conflicts in his life."
"So what? That won't stop Gunvolt from protecting innocent people and friends he cares for. And there is still a way for humans and Adepts to live in peace, right?" Kanade stated.
"As long as he doesn't sacrifice himself for the wrong reasons, then it's possible. And I agree with that second part, violence is not the only way to bring peace to the world."
"So where is Gunvolt and Joule now?" Serena asked.
"As of this moment, working as a solo agent to take down the remaining members of Sumeragi." Gaius explained. "They're now living in a new apartment along with some new friends, Xiao, a young adept whom Gunvolt befriended and acts as his navigator on missions, and Quinn, a human girl who takes care of them while harboring strong feelings for Gunvolt, much to Joule's dismay."
"I get the feeling this is going to be a complicated love triangle since Joule is inside of Gunvolt." Kanade sweatdropped.
"Yeah, kind of. But they eventually made up later on. And that's all the info I got on this world so far."
"Wait Gaius, should we talk about Copen too? The Adept Slayer?" Zeo asked.
"Copen? Adept Slayer?" Kanade and Serena were now curious about this Copen person.
"Yep, Copen Kamizono is his name and a precocious young scientist." Zeo nodded and then explained. "After the death of his father, Dr. Kamizono, at the hands of an Adept, Copen deems Adepts a threat to humankind and sets out on a journey to eradicate all Adepts with extreme prejudice, whether dangerous or otherwise. To do so, he harnesses the power of a hand-crafted shield named Aixgear, which has the power to copy the abilities of Adepts via Glaive shards. Glaves are basically superpowers in a bottle, use them and it will grant you powers in an instant. During his initial journey, he crosses paths with Gunvolt numerous times, whom he forces into fights to destroy him.
"Wait, doesn't Copen know that Gunvolt is stopping Sumeragi?" Kanade asked.
"His hatred to all Adepts runs too deep to give them a chance to talk reason and would rather kill them instead." Gaius replied. "Remember that gun Azimov used to kill Gunvolt and Joule? That originally belonged to Copen until it was stolen from him after Azimov gave him quite a nasty beatdown."
"Well that explains how Copen was able to defeat those Adepts without those Septimal powers. Did he get his weapon back btw?"
"He did, though his Aixgear is destroyed from the fight; but he did some upgrades to his weapons and armor a few weeks later after Azimov's defeat, including building a special support drone AI named Lola, An Autonomous Combat Pod, or ACP for short."
"That's amazing, although I hope Copen can get rid of his deep hatred someday and maybe work together with Gunvolt to make this world a better place." Serena said.
"Yeah, me too." Zeo nodded. "Speaking of which Gaius, which timeline are we at?"
"Hmm...actually I'm not sure at the moment." Gaius replied.
"Uh guys? Does this frozen city give you any clues or something?" Kanade pointed to the direction of a frozen city covered with lots of ice. Everyone was shocked to see buildings completely frozen, especially that tall building that looks like a hotel.
"A city full of ice...did an Adept do this?" Serena asked.
"I can think of one Adept who did this, Tenjian the Ice Adept." Zeo answered. "Well, guess we know which timeline we are in, Azure Striker Gunvolt 2."
"Wait a sec, I thought you guys said that Sumeragi is in shambles." Kanade asked.
"It is, but this time it's caused by a new organization who causing havoc right now, its name is Eden." Gaius replied.
"Eden...?" And now Kanade and Serena are curious about Eden.
"That's right, a pro-Adept group hellbent on wiping the human race off the face of the Earth to create a paradise where Adepts can thrive." Gaius explained. "Joule was recently captured by Eden's forces and split into nine Shards, each containing a fragment of her Septima, and the Shards are distributed among Eden's Seven, a band of particularly powerful Adepts who headline Eden's strongest, and Tenjian happens to be one of those Seven. Luckily Gunvolt and Copen managed to snatch one Shard each from Eden. While Gunvolt seeks to reclaim the Shards to save Joule, Copen discovers that the Shards' power has the ability to heal his ill sister, Mytyl Kamizono; to this end, Copen sets out to claim the Shards for himself to save his sister."
"A pro-activist cult next huh?" Kanade said. "Man, it's just one big mess after another huh? That, and both Gunvolt and Copen are after the same thing. I wonder who is Eden's leader anyway?"
"A former member of the Sumeragi Group named Zonda, the Mirror Adept who can create copies of herself." Zeo replied. "Copen thought he killed him last time, but guess what, that was just a clone. The real Zonda is still alive, and is now leading Eden."
"I get the feeling that this Adept is going to be very difficult to take down."
"Yup, final boss level to be exact." Zeo nodded. "Now then, who's up for investigating a frozen city? Maybe we'll run into Gunvolt and Copen along the way, hopefully to stop them from fighting each other for a while."
"What should we do about Tenjian?" Serena asked.
"He should be located at that Five Star Hotel there on the top floor so we'll go after him along the way." Zeo pointed at the tall frozen hotel.
"Well then what are we all waiting for? Time to get started on this mission!" Kanade declared.
"Alright! Everyone, transform and move out!" Zeo nodded as everyone began their transformation.
ZI-O!
GEIZ!
"Henshin!" Zeo and Geiz yelled as they began their transformation.
RIDER TIME!
KAMEN RIDER! ZI-O!
KAMEN RIDER GEIZ!
At the same time the Riders are transforming, Kanade and Serena then closed their eyes and sang their respective Relic chant.
"Croitzal ronzell Gungnir zizzl..."
"Seilien coffin Airgetlám tron..."
After the Relic chant, they and their Relics glowed in a bright light. And in a few moments, everyone has donned their armors.
Kanade's form is now a white, black and orange bodysuit with an exposed stomach, thigh-high boots, bulky gauntlets on her wrists, and rabbit ear like headphones. Her weapon, the Armed Gear, was a long red and white spear with a yellow blade.
Serena's form is now a silver and light yellow bodysuit, pink fairy wings on her back, tiara like headphones, silver and purple gloves, silver and purple shoes, and wearing a silver and pink battle skirt. Her Armed Gear is a silver knife with a magenta gem on the hilt.
"You did NOT just quote that, Zeo." Geiz deadpanned.
"Sorry, force of habit." Zi-O said and then looked at the Attuned. "On a personal note there ladies, your Symphogear armors looks very awesome. I'm surprised you both still have your Relics even after your deaths."
"Thanks! Same for you guys in your armors too." Kanade smiled. "As for our Relics, well we're not really sure how we still have them. Maybe we'll figure it out later, though what is a Kamen Rider anyway? You never told us that part yet?"
"We didn't? Oh sorry about that. Basically Kamen Riders are heroes who protect everyone's smiles, their freedom and to protect the ones that can't defend themselves."
"Ah I see; so how many Kamen Riders are there so far?" Serena asked.
"A lot, and quite a long list there too, but we'll talk more when this mission is over."
"Right then, let's move." Geiz nodded as everyone jumped from rooftop to rooftop and towards their destination, the Five Star Hotel located in the center of the frozen city.
As they are approaching their destination, they ran into plenty of Eden soldiers wearing dark blue battlesuits with blasters and energy swords/knifes, alongside drones and mechs with shields.
"Wow, welcome wagon already?" Zi-O quipped. "No point negotiating with them, it's killed or be killed now!"
ZIKAN GILADE!
ZIKAN ZAX!
Everyone brought out their weapons and began the assault on the Eden grunts. Zi-O blocked several shots then performed a jumping overhead slash on one grunt, followed by a spiral slash on the surrounding grunts as they all exploded after that.
Geiz threw his axe onto a grunts' chest, ran into him a pulled out the axe, followed by charging his energy, jumping up and then slammed the axe into the ground, taking out most of the grunts.
Kanade did a few forward thrusts and slashes with her spear onto the grunts, and then did a charged forward thrust to a few grunts, mechs and drones. Not even shields can stop her.
Serena created several knifes and launched them onto the grunts and drones. Then she charged some energy onto her knife and threw it onto a few more grunts, mechs and drones as the knife pierced through all of them.
After a few minutes, the Eden troops were destroyed, leaving with lots of broken parts on the ground.
"Phew...still got it! Not bad guys! You too, Serena. You fight with your Armed Gear well." Kanade complimented.
"Thank you, Kanade, I appreciate it. Same for you and your Armed Gear too." Serena replied.
"Glad to have you both on our side, well time to keep moving." Zi-O added as everyone kept moving on towards the frozen hotel. After a few minutes of running, Zi-O heard some gunfire, lasers and electric noises.
"Hey guys, I think I heard fighting up ahead!" Zi-O said and when they got there, they saw two people fighting each other. Zi-O and Geiz's eyes from inside their helmets were wide open as they know who those people are.
"Whoa, is that Gunvolt and Copen?" Zi-O asked.
"That's them alright! Damn, they're starting to fight each other already..." Geiz replied as they saw the two figures pointing their guns at each other.
One of those people is a young teenager with blue eyes, spiky blonde hair and a longer ponytail, with purple, pink and blue colors on the end of his of it. He wears a dark blue and black detailed bodysuit while his coat is a much darker blue with small black stripes with a white and blue neck brace, and wearing black boots with glowing blue highlights. He's using a black gun with white gatling with a blue sphere. That is Gunvolt, the Azure Striker. He's accompanied by a tiny floating white light named Joule.
The other one is also a young teenager with red eyes and short white hair while wearing a headphone-like communicator. He wears a black bodysuit, white armour with red and blue highlights, a red cross on his chest plate, jet boosters on his back, and wears red boots that also have jet boosters. He's using a white gun with black highlights. That is Copen Kamizono, the Adept Slayer. He's also accompanied by a small white and red combat support droid named Lola, along with the support bits.
"Will you cut it out already, Copen?! I'm not here to fight you!" Gunvolt yelled.
"Stay out of my way, Adept! I need those Shards to save my sister!" Copen exclaimed.
"Maybe I can help you somehow!"
"I don't need any help from an Adept like you!"
"Ugh...this is going nowhere at this rate...!"
After that conversation, they continued to clash with each other with bullets, lasers and electricity.
"Gunvolt is right about that, should we do something about this?" Zi-O asked Geiz.
"I'm not sure at the moment, we need a plan first." Geiz pondered.
"Wait...where's Kanade?" Serena asked looking around...until the three saw Kanade running towards Gunvolt and Copen.
"Oh come on! Seriously?!" Zi-O/Geiz exclaimed. This won't end well.
As Gunvolt and Copen are about to clash once more, down comes Kanade from above, performing a downward spear stab to the ground between the two fighters, sending a shockwave that pushed them back.
"That's enough for the both of you! Will you all please cut it out with this useless nonsense for a second?!" Kanade shouted.
Gunvolt and Copen were surprised at the newcomer, coming out of nowhere to stop the fight from going any further.
"What the...?" Gunvolt said.
"Huh? Who are you supposed to be anyway? Are you an Adept like him?" Copen asked.
"Okay first off, my name is Kanade Amou. Second, I'm not an Adept, I'm an Attuned." Kanade answered.
"An...Attuned?" That got Gunvolt confused at what it means.
"Correct. I'm also here to stop an Ice Adept from turning this city into an ice age."
"Are you also going after those Shards?" Copen asked.
"Actually, I'm just here to kick his ass. Enough said." Kanade replied.
"Then stay out of my way. I don't care if you're an Attuned or an Adept, you won't stop me from getting that Shard."
"I also need those Shards to save Joule." Gunvolt said.
"I said, stay out of my way!" Copen snapped.
"Ugh, could you at least show a little compassion first?!" Kanade exclaimed.
"Uhh...Boss? Sorry to interrupt, but we got an even bigger problem coming this way." Lola the combat droid said.
"What 'bigger problem'?" Copen asked as he got his answer when two more armored figured showed up and slowly walked towards him, Gunvolt and Kanade. Something that made Kanade feel shocked as she saw something familiar, thanks to the info from the Riders.
"Wait...those two look familiar..." Kanade said as she looked at those corrupted armored figures.
One of them is wearing silver, black and red lined armor, along with a yellow and red round helmet. That is Another Faiz. The other one is wearing dark grey, with silver and yellow lined armor, along with a purple and yellow round helmet. Also his helmet and chest plate is yellow lined crossed shaped. That is Another Kaixa.
"Those corrupted armors...are those the Another Riders Zeo and Gauis mentioned before?" Kanade muttered. "Though they do look different, are there more of them besides the ones Zeo, Gaius and Akira fought?"
"What the gacking hell is that?!" Gunvolt exclaimed.
"I'm not really sure either, GV. I've never seen those two before..." Joule then appeared in her idol form beside Gunvolt. Joule looks to be around a child-like age, has long blonde hair tied into a ponytail with two pink strips that mimic a butterfly's antenna. On her head she wears a butterfly-shaped hairband that also functions as headphones. She has gleaming blue and white detailed butterfly wings. She's also wearing a white outfit with blue stripes and white diamond details at the end of her skirt; and also wearing long white and blue striped socks along with black shoes with a blue butterfly on it.
"Whoever they are, they won't get in my way!" Copen said as he rushed towards the new enemies with his boosters.
"Wait, Boss! Something's not right here!" Lola exclaimed.
But it was too late, as Copen is about to tackle Another Faiz, it managed to catch him on the neck with no effort.
"What the...! It managed to catch me?!" Copen exclaimed. He tried to break himself free but was then punched to the chest so hard that he flew a few metres back into the air.
"Copen!" Gunvolt yelled as Copen was flung to the air, until Kanade swooped in and managed to catch Copen and landed safely to the ground.
"That was way too close, don't worry, I got you." Kanade said as she put Copen down and standing safely.
A few seconds later, Serena and the Kamen Riders caught up with Kanade. They were feeling a bit angry that Kanade ran off to stop Gunvolt and Copen first as she and the Riders are busy planning.
"Kanade! What were you thinking, running off like that?!" Serena yelled.
"Sorry, but I can't sit back and watch them kill each other over nothing. That, and there's these two." Kanade replied and pointed at the Another Riders behind her.
"Another Riders?!" Serena and the Riders were shocked to find them this early.
"Oh crap, I know those two Rider forms." Zi-O said. "That's Another Faiz and...Another Kaixa? Well that one is new in my book."
"He never showed up before in Sougo's journey before so yeah, definitely new." Geiz added.
"Well either way, at least we found our troublemakers making those Distortions."
"Distortions?" That confused Gunvolt and Copen.
"We'll explain later. Right now leave it to us to take down those corrupted Riders." Kanade said to Gunvolt and Copen. "You guys go after that Ice Adept."
"Actually...mind if I stay and fight with you guys?" Gunvolt asked as it surprised Copen at his choice.
"Wait what? You're going to trust them just like that?" Copen asked Gunvolt.
"I'm not so sure myself, but if those things are let loose for too long, a lot of innocent people are going to be in danger. If you wanna go after that Shard, then go on ahead, I won't stop you since I got something else to deal with right now."
"GV..." Joule said.
"Well Boss, what are you gonna do now?" Lola asked as Copen pondered at what do to next. After a few seconds of thinking, he made his decision.
"...Call this a temporary truce for now, Gunvolt." Copen said. "Once these two are dealt with, we're going after Tenjian. That includes the four of you as well. I'll think about what to do next after we take him down and I'm gonna need some explanations too."
"Copen...thanks." Gunvolt said.
"Hmph...like I said, temporary. Just try not to slow me down."
"Noted."
"Lola, we're working alongside them for now. It's time for some payback." Copen said.
"Right behind you, Boss!" Lola replied.
"Joule, lend me your strength. It's time to help them out." Gunvolt said.
"I'm with you, GV!" Joule replied as she turned back into a small white light.
"See? Now this is more like it!" Kanade smiled.
"You're going to be in big trouble when all of this is over, Kanade..." Zi-O warned her. Kanade is still as reckless as ever.
"Oh come on! I was only trying to help out!"
"Stop arguing and start fighting already!" Geiz exclaimed.
Copen began firing his gun at the Another Riders while the bits hovering around Copen unleashed a spread of lightning bolts called Stellar Spark onto the targets. Gunvolt tagged them with a few shots from his gun and unleashed his Flashfield as it electrocuted the tagged targets.
Serena then threw her knife in the air above the Another Riders, before it stopped and quickly descended, striking the targets and creating an explosion.
XANA†TEARS
However those attacks don't do much as the Another Riders barely made a scratch and only slightly pushed them back.
"What the...our attacks aren't doing anything?!" Gunvolt exclaimed.
"No, but it did gave us an opening!" Zi-O said as he, Geiz and Kanade rushed to the corrupted Riders as they began their assault with some punches, kicks and spear stabs/slashes. But the corrupted Riders managed to evade their attacks and countered them with strong kicks and punches, pushing back the heroes.
"Tch...this is going nowhere, we better finish this quickly." Geiz muttered. "Zi-O, we need to do a Finish Time now!"
"I'm with you on that, let's go!" Zi-O nodded as he and Geiz pushed the button on their respective Ridewatches, pressed the tilt button on their belts, and then rotate a 360.
FINISH TIME!
As the Riders prepared to jump to perform their Rider Kick, floating letters that spelled 'Kick' in kakatana surrounded the Another Riders.
TIME BREAK!
TIME BURST!
They then both jumped high and performed a powerful right kick with the surrounding kakatanas merging into one, colliding onto their right boot, and then striking the Another Riders as they tried to counter them with a powerful right punch, causing an explosion as a result. They then backflipped away from the explosion and landed in front of the other heroes.
"Did we get them?" Serena asked.
But after the dust settled, the Another Riders were nowhere to be seen. Looks like they managed to escape during the explosion.
"Not quite, sensors indicate that they are heading inside that Five Star Hotel!" Lola replied.
"Damn it! Could they be regrouping to Tenjian right now?" Copen said.
"From the looks of it, I think so." Kanade answered. "Wait, could they be working together somehow?"
"I'm not quite sure Kanade, they're still victims in those armors." Zi-O replied. "Me and Geiz are the only ones who can free them, just like how we freed you and Serena."
Gunvolt and Copen were shocked at the identity of the Another Riders. The victims' minds were being corrupted somehow?
"Wait, you mean to tell me that those are innocent people in those armors?!" Gunvolt asked.
"I'm afraid so." Zi-O nodded. "Don't worry we'll free them from their control."
"From Eden's control?" Copen asked.
"No...something a lot worse than Eden." Geiz corrected. "We'll tell you who later, but for now we better go after them."
"Noted."
As everyone ran inside the hotel, the entire interior was completely frozen along with the floors, along with plenty of ice traps. And can't forget that the hotel was full of Eden troops and machines. While everyone was on their way to the top floor and eliminating Eden troops and machines along the way, Gunvolt can't help but wonder about something.
"I've been wondering for a while though, where do you four get those armors and weapons anyway?" Gunvolt asked.
"For me and Geiz, it was given to us by our ally, Woz." Zi-O replied. "He once fought alongside our predecessors, the first Kamen Rider Zi-O and Geiz, and now we're the next generation of Kamen Riders."
"I see, and what is a Kamen Rider anyway?"
"Heroes who protect people's smiles, their freedom, and also protect the ones who cannot protect themselves."
"I see...and what about you girls? How did you get your powers?" Copen asked.
"Me and Serena are both Attuned, the ones that can manifest our Symphogear armours and Armed Gear weapons." Kanade replied. "We can transform by using the Relics with the power of our songs."
"Meaning you transform and fight by singing?"
"Yeah, weird I know, but that's how it goes for us. As for the Relics, they are ancient artifacts created a long time ago, way beyond current technology. My Relic is called Gungnir."
"And my Relic is called Airgetlam". Serena added.
"Hmm...not gonna lie, but it does sound very interesting." Copen said. "Hope you both know how to use those Relics wisely."
"No need to worry, we know that great power comes with great responsibility." Kanade replied. "Maybe you should trust Gunvolt more. He's using those Adept powers to protect innocent people and fight the corrupt Adepts."
"...it may take a while; my life is very complicated lately." Copen admitted.
"I understand, I won't pry about your life too much."
A few minutes later of running while plowing through more Eden troops and machines, they were around one floor left till they reach the top floor.
"Alright everyone, we're almost at the top floor. Tenjian is waiting for us." Zi-O said.
"...And unfortunately so are they." Geiz pointed out as someone else is waiting for them instead. It was Another Faiz and Kaixa, waiting for them right next to the stairs leading up to the top floor.
"Crap...well at least we found them, though I think Tenjian is beyond the next floor upstairs." Kanade said. "How should we go about this?"
"Gunvolt, Copen, you both go after Tenjian." Zi-O declared. "Don't want you both to waste your strength and energy fighting them."
"Will you guys be ok though?" Gunvolt asked.
"Don't worry, we know how to deal with Another Riders. Kanade, Serena, you go along with them."
"Wait, are you guys sure about this? Don't you need backup just in case?" Kanade asked.
"We can handle them, trust us." Geiz replied.
"...Alright then, if you say so. But after we're done with that Ice Adept, we're coming back to assist you both, got it?"
Geiz nodded in response. "Understood, now get going! Time is of the essence!"
And with that, Kanade, Serena, Gunvolt and Copen jumped above and passed through the Another Riders as they head for the top floor where Tenjian is waiting, while the Riders prepared their battle stances against the corrupted Riders. They have to stop them now before this gets worse.
"...You know, Gaius...maybe we should've brought along some of the Ridewatches before going on missions first." Zi-O admitted. The rest of the Ridewatches were still back at the Zi-O Liner.
"Yeah, you're right. Well too late now, better work with what we got." Geiz replied.
They then began their assault on the Another Riders, though unfortunately the corrupted Riders are starting to get the upper hand as Another Faiz delivered a powerful kick that sent Zi-O tumbling across the floor.
"Damn it...at this rate..." Zi-O muttered as he's standing up, until he heard a ringtone coming from his Zikan Phone. "Eh?! A phone call at a time like this?!"
"Ugh...better go answer it, I'll hold them off! But don't take too long!" Geiz said as he continued to fight the corrupted Riders.
Zi-O nodded and then answered the phone. "This had better be important, Einstein!"
"Geez, no need to yell at me!" Einstein said. "Anyway there's another feature I forgot to tell you about your Zikan Phones. Gimme a moment, I'm transferring some data to you now."
"Ok fine, but can you make it snappy? We're getting our asses kicked here!"
"You can't rush perfection! One wrong move and your only hope is gone for good!"
After a few moments of waiting from Zi-O while Geiz was still holding back the Another Riders...
"What the hell is taking so long?!" Geiz exclaimed.
"I'm sorry Gaius, but I-" Zi-O is about to reply until he saw something blinking on the phone. "Huh...this is...?"
"Yup! Use the Materialise command now!" Einstein instructed.
"Understood!" Zi-O then used the Materialise command and then appeared two watches from his free hand, one in black color with Faiz' face and the other in yellow color with Kaixa's face. "Faiz and Kaixa Ridewatches...Gaius, catch!"
Zi-O then threw the Faiz Ridewatch towards Geiz as he then caught it and looked at it.
"The Faiz Ridewatch! Finally something to fight back!" Geiz said.
"Thanks again for help, Einstein! We'll take it from here!" Zi-O said.
"My pleasure as always, boys!" Einstein replied, ending the call.
"Time to send you both back to the scrapyard!" Geiz declared as he and Zi-O turned the dial on their new Ridewatches and pushed the button.
FAIZ!
KAIXA!
They then inserted their watch on the left side of their belts, pressed the tilt button on their belts and then turned it 360.
ARMOR TIME!
COMPLETE! FAIZ!
COMPLETE! KAIXA!
Geiz's armor is now changed with a red and silver chest plate, his shoulder pads are large phones containing the powers of Faiz, and his helmet is yellow with red lines on it along with the antennae and the kakatana on his visor labelling the word Faiz on it. He also wields the FaizPhone X on his right hand that also functions as a blaster.
Zi-O's armor had the same parts as Geiz's armor along with the weapon. Only difference is the color of the chest plate is yellow and sliver with an X-shape, while his phone shoulder pads contained the powers of Kaixa, and the kakatana on his visor labelled the word Kaixa on it.
"You up for giving them some payback, Zi-O?" Geiz grinned from inside his helmet.
"You damn right I do, Geiz." Zi-O felt the same way.
They then rushed back to the Another Riders and this time, the heroes are getting the upper hand as they pushed back the corrupted Riders while firing a few blaster shots at them using their FaizPhone X. Geiz then dialled '555' on the phone while Zi-O dialled '913' as they both materialised a camera-like knuckle duster on their right hands.
READY!
SHOT ON!
They then rushed towards the Another Riders, dodging their attacks and countered them with right punches with their knuckle duster, ending with a powerful uppercut that sent the corrupted Riders flying and falling to the ground.
"Right then, Finish Time!" Geiz declared as he and Zi-O dialled the same respective numbers again and materialised a pointer on Geiz's right side of his right leg, while Zi-O has a binocular-like pointer on his right leg.
READY!
POINTER ON!
They then pushed the buttons on their Ridewatches, pushed the tilt button on their belts and turning a 360.
FINISH TIME! FAIZ!
FINISH TIME! KAIXA!
Geiz and Zi-O then both jumped high performing a forward flip, then shooting out a Photon beam from the pointers on their right legs, red and yellow respectively, and struck the Another Riders as it turned to their respective red and yellow cones of energy.
EXCEED TIME BURST!
EXCEED TIME BREAK!
Then the Riders kicked through their respective cones, drilling through the Another Riders and appeared right behind them like computer data. After a few seconds, the corrupted Riders exploded, leaving behind the Faiz and Kaixa symbols. At the same time, the two black corrupted watches come tumbling out of the explosion and then broke and shattered to small pieces.
"Another Riders, eliminated." Geiz declared.
"Nicely done, Gaius." Zi-O said as he and Geiz did a fist-bump for a job well done.
"You too, Zeo. I can never get tired of these gadgets."
"Amen to that, dude. Now let's see who we rescued this time."
As they saw the unconscious victims they rescued, Zi-O was shocked to see who they are and recognized them. One of them is a male with brown and red spiky hair, wearing a light blue and dark blue battle uniform. The other is a female with brown hair with a ponytail, wearing a white and grey uniform.
"Wait a sec...is that Zeno and Moniqa?! Gunvolt's old navigators?!" Zi-O exclaimed.
"Well, that was unexpected." Geiz said. "Of all the victims the Neo Time Jackers picked, why them?"
"I'm not sure, but for now, let's wait for the others to finish their fight with Tenjian."
Meanwhile at the same time the Riders are fighting the Another Riders...
While the Riders are busy dealing with the Another Riders, the remaining four heroes finally reached the entrance of the hallway located on the top floor of the hotel.
"Well this is it. Tenjian is just beyond this hallway. Everyone ready?" Gunvolt said.
"Hmph, do you really need to ask that, Gunvolt?" Copen replied.
"Just being cautious, you know."
"Relax guys, I'm sure we'll do just fine with the four of us working together." Kanade said.
"Still, we need to be very careful. Anything can happen in a short notice." Serena added.
After a few moments of running, they then noticed a figure waiting for them. A teenager with short, somewhat spiky white hair with his eyes shut. He wears a white suit, a blue waistcoat with gold highlights, had black shoes, a white and black jacket draped over his shoulders with blue and silver highlights, and wears a black belt with a sliver buckle and black gloves. That is Tenjian.
"Hmm...I was expecting one of you to arrive first. But this is new, both of you arrive at the same time, along with some new guests I've never met before." Tenjian said as he turned around to face them.
"Just cut the chatter and give us the Shard already, Tenjian!" Gunvolt yelled. "It does not belong to you in the first place!"
"I see...though who will get the Shard first, I wonder?"
"We'll think about that AFTER we eliminate you, Eden Adept!" Copen replied.
"I think it's time for you to chill out, frosty!" Kanade added.
"You've been causing this city enough trouble already! It's time for us to put you down immediately!" Serena also added.
"Hmph...in that case, it's time for me to teach you fools a lesson. You humans are the reason for all this suffering!" Tenjian said as he pulled out a magical tome called a Grimoire. The tome then opened up and out comes several dark butterflies as they absorbed him, along with the tome, into a blue and dark blue sphere of light, transforming him.
After a while, the sphere dissipated as the transformation is complete. Tenjian now has bright blue hair with his eyes open, revealing black eyes, each with a single pale blue pupil. He wears black and gray armor with white and blue highlights, with two wing-like appendages attached to his lower back. His swords are stored in two black half-spheres attached to his shoulders by arm-like appendages. This is his Grimoired Form.
"I've been prepared since our last fight, Adept." Tenjian said as he brings out his blue twin blades. "The weak shall yield to the strong, as you all will yield to my blades! Now then, En Garde!"
Tenjian then rushed towards the heroes, leaving behind a spiked icy trail as the heroes dodged him. He then began to throw his two Circle Moon Rings at them. The heroes were able to dodge them too because if caught, it would trap them, leaving an opening for Tenjian to strike. Tenjian then combined his twin blades into a double blade and threw it like a boomerang as it flew to Gunvolt, luckily he managed to dodge it.
"One with your power could easily wipe out humanity! Why cut ties with QUILL only to fight your own?" Tenjian asked Gunvolt.
"We're all humans- Septimas or not." Gunvolt replied.
"In my land, adepts were hunted from birth. My parents abandoned me to wander the streets alone. When I finally collapsed from hunger, a human gave me food."
"Then how can you claim all humans are evil?!" Serena exclaimed.
"The food was poisoned!" Tenjian replied. "... I barely survived. It was then I realized our two kinds cannot know peace."
"Not all humans are so cruel, Tenjian." Gunvolt said. "Quinn, Zi-O, Geiz, Kanade, Serena, they're all human and they cared for me. Me, Tenjian! An Adept!"
"Perhaps a small few share their views, but I doubt it." Tenjian replied. "History proves humans have no tolerance for the unique. Only the strong survive... and Adepts are strong!"
"Then you REALLY need to have a reality check, you moving popsicle!" Kanade exclaimed. "We humans are not as weak as you think and there's still ways to find peace between humans and Adepts! You're just too damn stubborn to understand that!"
"You don't get a say in this, human!"
"Then there's no point in reasoning with you either." Copen said. "It's time to take this monster to church!"
"Oversurge! Azure Striker! Thaw this heart of hatred!" Gunvolt declared.
Copen dashed to Tenjian and struck him with a kick, resulting Tenjian being tagged. Copen then jumped back and fired bullets with his gun, while the bits fired homing lasers, damaging Tenjian in the process.
Gunvolt then rush towards Tenjian, firing tag bullets onto him while unleashing his Flashfield to electrocute him. As Gunvolt got close, he then used his Dragonsphere technique, creating an orb of electricity, shoved the orb onto Tenjian's chest, and pushed the orb away as it drags along ending with a small blue explosion that caused Tenjian tumbling to the floor.
Tenjian was not happy as he stood up and used his twin blades to stab the floor, freezing it completely.
"Did he just freezed the floor?!" Serena exclaimed. "Be careful not to slip, everyone!"
"Ok, he REALLY wasn't kidding about being prepared for this!" Kanade added.
Tenjian then jumped up and performed an overhead slash with his twin blades towards the heroes, leaving behind an ice wall. He then performed a dashing thrust right through the wall while the heroes managed to evade the attack.
Serena then jumped up and threw her knife onto Tenjian, creating a small explosion as it struck him while blocking.
GNOME†TRIAL
Kanade then pierces the ground with her spear, cracking the ground until it struck Tenjian as he was being heavily pushed back.
SATURN∞BREAK
"Tch...! To push me this far...it's time for my ultimate technique!" Tenjian declared as performed his trump card.
"Frigid Blossom!"
Tenjian shouted as he gathers up frosty air, jumped up and disappeared from sight.
"Wait, where did he go?!" Kanade asked as she looked around the hallway for Tenjian.
Unfortunately she was caught by a light-blue light as she was flash-freezed and then trapped in a snowflake prison.
"Kanade!" Serena yelled.
"This ends now!" Tenjian declared as he delivered a powerful downward slash from above and onto Kanade, slicing her along with the snowflake prison and she was sent falling to the ground.
Everyone was about to rush towards Kanade but was then halted by Tenjian as he prepared his battle stance once more. However a few seconds later, everyone heard Kanade's voice that also shocked Tenjian.
"Ugh...It will take more than that to stop me!" Kanade muttered as she slowly stood up after being hit by Tenjian's strongest technique.
"Impossible! She survived my technique?!" Tenjian exclaimed.
"Now you'll see what an Attuned can REALLY do!" Kanade declared as she then began...singing?
(Plays BGM: Gyakkō no Resolve by Kanade Amou)
Tenjian was confused at what Kanade is doing, but Serena knew what Kanade's doing, using the power of song to fight on and never give up. The same power Serena also has, the power of an Attuned. As for the other heroes, they were either in awe or confused at what Kanade is doing.
"Is Kanade...singing...?" Gunvolt asked.
"Is that what she means by fighting and singing?" Copen added.
"So this...is her song?" Joule also added as she appeared in her idol form.
"Wow, so that's her song huh? I think she's got this." Lola said as she was somehow changed to her idol form due to Kanade's song. Lola resembled a young girl with short minty green hair, had purple eyes, wearing a red and white swimsuit-like clothing with bits of gold, white leggings with black and red shoes, and black gloves with red fingers. She also has two white and red disc-like objects known as "Speaker Pods" that broadcast songs at her hips, which also sprout red wing-like holograms, which vaguely resemble phoenix wings.
"I don't care what song you're singing, I'll silence you permanently!" Tenjian rushed towards Kanade as he's about to stab her, but Kanade blocked the attack with her spear and swiped him back a few metres. Then she rushes towards Tenjian and began her attack with forward thrusts, stabs and slashes. Tenjian tried to guard, but it was broken as he was being pushed back as she damaged his armor piece by piece.
"What?! I'm being pushed back?!" Tenjian exclaimed.
"Like I said Tenjian, it will take more than that to stop me!" Kanade yelled as she then thrust her spear onto Tenjian's chest, raised him up aiming for the ceiling while he's still being stabbed, and then she unleashed a powerful tornado that sent him flying further while also damaging the hotel as it tore through the ceiling.
STAB∞METEOR
"Everyone, now's your chance!" Kanade shouted.
The heroes nodded as everyone prepared to unleash their strongest attacks.
Serena created two replicas of her Armed Gears, before making them rushing towards Tenjian, striking him several times from every angles, ending with a cross slash.
FAIRIAL†TRICK
"Shred Storm!"
Copen shouted as he commanded the bits to rush towards Tenjian, striking him in blinding speeds, ending with a trail of three red lines as a final slash.
"Voltaic Chains!"
Gunvolt shouted as he used his Septima to create several large chains that surrounded and trapped Tenjian inside, then electrocuted the chains as Tenjian screamed in pain.
"And here's one more for good measure!" Kanade shouted as she then jumped up high and performed a powerful downward strike while standing on her spear as it pierced onto Tenjian's chest, breaking through the chains and to the floor, ending with a massive impact.
GRAVITY∞PAIN
"This...can't be...!" are the last words Tenjian said as he exploded in blue flames, leaving behind several blue butterflies that flew towards Joule and Lola, absorbing the Shard equally. The Grimoire then closed itself and then burned to dust.
"This fight is over." Gunvolt declared.
(BGM End)
"So...that was a Septima Shard huh?" Kanade said as she looked at Joule and Lola that absorbed the Shard.
"I never expected the Shard to go into both Joule and Lola." Serena admitted. "So, what now?"
"...For now let's check on the Kamen Riders and see if they need help." Copen replied.
"Yeah...we'll think about what happened later." Gunvolt nodded. With that, everyone went back to the area where the Kamen Riders are fighting.
After the Another Riders defeat...
A few minutes later, the heroes arrived and regrouped with the Kamen Riders, only to see that the fight is already over.
"Ah, there you are! I take it Tenjian is down for the count?" Zi-O asked.
"Yup, we got the Shard from him too." Kanade replied. "So, who do you guys rescue this time?"
As they saw the Another Rider victims, Gunvolt's eyes were wide open as he was shocked to find out who the two were and instantly recognized them.
"What the...Zeno?! Moniqa?!" Gunvolt exclaimed. "Those are the victims of the Another Riders?!"
"You know those two, Gunvolt?" Serena asked.
"Yeah, they used to be my old navigators in the past...who did this to them?
"The ones called the Neo Time Jackers." Geiz answered. "They used the Another Riderwatches to corrupt them and turned them into Another Riders as their slaves."
"Those gacking bastards are gonna pay for this...!" Gunvolt growled in anger. "You're right about them being worse than Eden."
"Where did they come from anyway?" Copen asked. "The only threats we know of are Sumeragi and Eden."
"Um...about that...they are actually not from this world." Zeo admitted. "They are basically evil dimension/world travellers."
"Dimension/world travellers?" Gunvolt and Copen were confused.
"I think it's time to explain everything about who we are and why we're here so please listen." Serena said.
After a long explanation about who the heroes are, along with some introductions, the Neo Time Jackers and the reason why the four heroes arrived in this world in the first place along with their roles...
"I can't believe it...so that's why you're in this world to begin with?" Copen asked.
"Correct, because if we don't fix this distortion, this world will cease to exist. No survivors, nothing will be left." Zi-O answered.
"I see...well after seeing what those Neo Time Jackers did to Zeno and Moniqa, I think I'll trust you." Gunvolt said. "Also, thanks for saving them."
"You're welcome, it's what a Kamen Rider would do anyway."
"What about you, Copen? You wanna trust them too?" Gunvolt asked.
"Hmmm..." Copen pondered about what path to take in this situation.
"Boss, I think we should trust them." Lola suggested. "I mean they did come here to save this world from extinction. We don't wanna make any more enemies either."
"...Sorry, it's gonna take a while for this info to sink in properly." Copen said.
"Can't argue with that. Though seeing is believing in some cases." Kanade admitted.
"I'll keep that in mind. Hm? "Copen then noticed something ringing on his communicator placed on his ear. "One moment, my navigator is calling." He then answered the call. "Nori, what's going on?"
"We've got trouble, Copen!" A female voice named Nori contacted Copen. "A bunch of Eden Adepts broke into the mansion and kidnapped Mytyl!
"WHAT?!" That really shocked Copen. Eden kidnapped someone?!
"Forgive me, Copen! I should've seen this coming and—"
"You can apologize later. Does Mytyl still have her transmitter?"
"Yes, I'm sending you the data immediately."
"Good, I'm on my way." Copen ended the call and then turned towards the heroes. "Change of plans, Eden broke into my mansion and kidnapped my sister, Mytyl."
"WHAT?!" And now the other heroes were shocked at the news.
"And this is the second time they kidnapped her. There won't be a third time!"
"I see...Serena, we're going with Copen to save her sister." Geiz declared.
"Eh?" That surprised Copen and Serena. Especially Copen since they want to help him.
"Shouldn't you four find that Distortion first?" Copen asked.
"True, but I don't wanna see you lose your sister to these assholes." Geiz replied. "I know how that felt like since I lost my parents."
"I see...my condolences to you then, Geiz."Copen nodded. "Very well, you can come and assist. But we need to hurry before they find the transmitter."
"Understood. Zi-O, Gunvolt, Kanade, see if you three can locate Eden's base of operations."
"Sure, but why though?" Gunvolt asked.
"Just in case we're too late to save Mytyl, so at least we know where they've taken her."
"Planning ahead huh? Not a bad idea." Copen said. "I suggest you follow his plan for the time being."
"Noted, be careful you three." Kanade replied and wished them luck.
After Copen, Geiz and Serena left the area and head towards the source of the transmitter, Zi-O began to ponder about something.
"Um...before we do our recon mission, what should we do about Zeno and Moniqa?" Zi-O asked.
"Let's drop them off outside QUILL HQ for now." Gunvolt replied. "It's best if they don't know about all of this."
"I see, though are you sure about this, GV?" Kanade said.
"I'm not ready to tell them the truth yet, it might open up old wounds..."
"GV...is this really ok for you?" Joule asked, appearing in her idol form.
"It's probably for the best, Joule. I need to keep moving forward."
"Very well then, GV. If you say so." Joule nodded.
"Don't worry, Joule. This time he's got us to help him back up and on his feet." Zi-O said.
"I see, I'm glad to hear th-wait...you can all see and hear me?!" Joule was very surprised, they can see and hear her while most people can't? Well that was unexpected.
"Huh, now that you mention it, I guess so. We must be a special case then." Kanade said.
"Oh, alright then. In the meantime please take good care of GV for me, and it's very nice to meet you all." Joule bowed to Zi-O and Kanade.
"Leave it to us, Joule! Pleasure to meet you!" Kanade smiled.
"Huh, well that was strangely convenient." Gunvolt said. "Alright everyone, it's time we get out of this frozen city. Maybe Xiao can help us plan on where to do our reconnaissance."
"Good idea, GV. Hold on, I'll call in the Time Mazine to give us a lift." Zi-O then pulled out the Zikan Phone and activated the Recall command for the Time Mazine.
"Time Mazine?"
TIME MAZINE!
A few moments later, the Time Mazine arrived and landed in front of the heroes.
"Wow, you got a really big bike there, Zi-O." Gunvolt whistled at the bike.
"Thanks, I love this thing." Zi-O replied. "You wanna take this for a spin? It's like riding a bike after all."
"Heh, sure why not, alright then hop in. Let's send Zeno and Moniqa to QUILL HQ first and then I'll take you both back to my apartment."
"You got it, lead the way, GV!" Kanade said, as everyone boarded the Time Mazine, while carrying Zeno and Monica, and then blast off and out of the frozen city.
With the assistance of Gunvolt and Copen, our heroes have defeated the Another Riders and also Tenjian, one of Eden's generals. But their mission in this world is far from over as they have yet to locate the distortion to save this world from extinction. Though what is Eden planning to do with Copen's sister Mytyl and where is Eden's base of operations? As always...Only time will tell...
Chapter 1: Striker & Slayer
END
Author's Note: This Book takes place in both Gunvolt and Copen's story and they've already taken down three Adepts each. Expect plenty of changes as we go on to the rest of this Book. Until then, stay safe!