GKC: What's up, everyone! This is GKC here bringing you the next chapter of Remnant's Climax Heroes!

KRD: That's right! And as said last chapter, we're back on the mainstay of Season 1!

GKC: And this time, we're about near the end of Volume 1!

KRD: Just two more episodes and Vol. 1 is in the books!

SR: Yeah!

GKC: Well, until we do a few more filler chapters before Volume 2.

SR: And Specials too.

KRD: True. But anyway, onwards!


Chapter 17: Black and White


It was another day at Beacon Academy. The semester was about to be over and the Vytal Festival was coming around the corner. Students from Haven, Atlas, and Vacuo were starting to come to Vale since the Kingdom of Vale will be hosting the Vytal Festival this year. And Beacon Academy was large enough to accommodate these students during their stay at the school until the tournament was over. As of now…

"Aaron, no… please…" Blake moaned. "Not there…"

"You know you want it, Blake," Aaron whispered with a smirk. "Just accept it."

"I won't… give in…" Blake moaned again.

Aaron chuckled, "You're already past your breaking point, Blake."

"Stop… no, I'm gonna… I'm gonna… ahhh…"

"I told you." The young man chuckled as he finished teasing the cat Faunus. It turns out that Aaron was giving Blake another dose of the good ear scratch.

"I told you to stop doing that…" Blake panted breathlessly with a blush.

"I can't help it, Blake," The crimson-eyed fighter admitted with a sheepish grin. "Your kitty ears are just too adorable."

"Mou~" Blake pouted.

"Kuro's lessons are still stuck onto ya and the rest of your team?" Aaron raised an eyebrow.

"Guess I can't help it. For some reason, it feels pretty natural for me to speak Japanese." The Faunus answered.

"Huh… go figure…" Aaron mused before shrugging it off. "Oh well, just don't let that leak out when you talk with Mom and Dad."

"Right…" Blake trailed off, looking away.

"What's wrong?" Aaron asked.

"Nothing… it's just…"

"You still haven't talked to them yet, haven't you." Aaron sighed. "Blake…"

The cat Faunus looked down, her ears lowering on her head in shame, "I'm sorry, I just… what am I supposed to say? I didn't really… leave on the best of terms with our parents."

"I know," Aaron said, pulling his sister in close for a hug. "You're trying to fight for what you believed in. And… I have to be honest, while your heart's in the right place, the way you're doing it was wrong…"

"I know…" Blake said, leaning on her brother. "I just wish I realized it sooner… even… about him." She added.

Aaron frowned as he realized exactly who his sister was referring to, "Don't worry about him. I won't let that bastard come anywhere close to you."

"I know you won't." Blake nodded. "Thank you, Aaron."

"Hm? For what?"

"For staying with me. For just… being my brother, for being my friend when no one else was."

The young man smiled, "Anytime, Blake." He then started scratching her ears again.

"Aaron, no stop…" Blake moaned again as she blushed.

"C'mon, I want my sis to be happy."

"Aaron… haaa… haaa…" Blake moaned as she looked rather flustered, panting heavily. "Ahhhhh… mou~ yamero!" She cried out as she suddenly pounced on her brother, being on top of him.

"Ack! Blake, what the-"

"Baka…" Blake panted. "You're getting me in heat…"

"Whoa, what!?" Aaron exclaimed in shock with a cherry red blush on his cheeks.

"I told you to stop, but you wouldn't listen…" Blake moaned. "Now look at me…" She then started rubbing her body on him.

"Whoa, Blake, easy."

"It's your fault…" Blake moaned, her face looking really flushed as he kept rubbing herself on him. "I can't… stop…"

"Blake, you're freaking me out right now!" Aaron began to panic.

"I can't take it anymore… I need to mate."

"WHAAAAAAT!?"


LINE BREAK


"And so I said 'Now that's a katana!'" Ruby jokes with her friends who laughed at the hilarious joke. "Hey, anyone seen Blake or Aaron?"

"Not since this morning," Koa answered the Red hooded girl.

"Where are they? It's not like they can just disappear." Weiss said with a huff.

"Or they're probably sleeping in." Orion guessed.

"No, Aaron's an early bird." Kurogasa reminded.

"Maybe they're reading a book together?" Yang suggests with a shrug.

*THUMP!*

"What was that?!" Koa said shocked. She then heard a beeping noise from her Scroll and looked at it to see that she got a text from Aaron, albeit a broken one but her eyes widened, knowing what he was trying to say. "Uh… I'llberightback!" She said quickly before speeding off in a hurry.

"What's with her?" Ruby asked.

Koa raced over to the JOKR dorm room and opened it, revealing Blake who was getting or at least trying to get intimate with Aaron. "Oh wow. That bad, huh?" She said with wide eyes.

"Don't just stand there, help me!" Aaron said as he kept trying to stop the cat Faunus.

"Alright, alright, hold up," Koa said before pulling the cat Faunus away from her brother, holding her stomach. "Okay, Miss Belladonna, calm down." She also began scratching the Faunus under her chin for added effect. It was working as Blake seemed to purr at this. "Alright Aaron, go. I got this. I'll take care of her and calm her down."

"You sure you know how?"

"Let's just say… I had experience with a certain ice cream girl." Koa smirked.

Aaron was wide-eyed with a heavy blush. "Leaving now!" He shouted before doing so and slamming the door shut.

"Alright kitty, tell me what's been bothering you," Koa said calmly. Blake tried to pounce on Koa but like how a snake moves, Koa pinned Blake to the bed. "Come on, Blakey work with me here."

"Hot… hot…" Blake moaned out.

"Ah geez…" Koa sighed, "Alright, time to cool you down."


LINE BREAK


"Dude, where were you?" Kurogasa asked as he noticed his leader coming towards them. "And… why are you red?"

"I don't wanna talk about it." Aaron simply said.

"Eh?" Kurogasa blinked. "You okay?"

"Fine, totally fine."

"The fact that you answered that right away tells me you're not." He deadpanned.

"Still fine, totally fine."

"Leave him be," Orpheus reprimanded his partner as he came in with a water bottle. "If he says that he's fine then he's fine."

Aaron took the water bottle and downed it in a few gulps. "Thanks," Aaron said as he handed the bottle back to Orpheus.

"No problem," The musician nodded.

"Where were you? We were about to go into town." Weiss said, "And where's Blake?"

"Don't worry about it…" Aaron mumbled, looking a bit traumatized.


LINE BREAK


Back in the JOKR dorm, Blake was moaning and purring. You would think that something naughty would be happening… you'd be wrong. Koa was humming as she was slowly massaging Blake's back.

"You got a lot of muscle knots," Koa said as she kneaded her thumbs into the girl's back.

"Oh my Oum, I needed this…" The cat Faunus purred, enjoying the massage.

"So do you think you'll ever be ready to tell them the truth?" Koa asked her, "You know they'll find out sooner or later."

Blake looked down in thought, knowing that the Greeed spoke a bit of truth. "I… I want them to accept me as me, not just as a Faunus. But… I'm afraid about how they will react."

"I'm sure they'll accept you," Koa said with a smile, "I mean I thought I wouldn't be accepted again after being exposed, but they did accept me."

The cat Faunus nodded in reply, "You're right. I'll tell them when I'm ready but for now… I just want to get to know my teammates for a little bit longer."

Koa nodded as she finished her massage and helped Blake up. Just then the two heard knocking on the door.

"Hey, Blake? Are you ready to go?" The voice of Yang called out from behind the door.

"We'll be right out," Blake said as the two nodded.

"Don't take too long or I'll make an assumption that you and Koa are doing something naughty in there." Yang teased.

"I'm going to hurt you, Yang!" Koa barged out and chased after Yang.

"So you were doing naughty things in there!" Yang laughed despite running from the angry Greeed. "What would Orphee think if he heard that his girlfriend was cheating on him?"

"SHUT UP BLONDIE!"


LINE BREAK


The entire city of Vale was setting up decorations for the upcoming Vytal Festival, and strangely the most excited of the group was Weiss.

"Your sister is being weird again…" Aaron told Kurogasa in a dry tone.

"It's frightening," Koa added.

"The Vytal Festival," Weiss said joyously, "Is there nothing better?"

"You know Weiss, this version of you is… strange," Ruby said.

"Oh, hush you."

"So why are we spending the day at the harbor?" Yang asked. The group looked around and saw they were most certainly at the harbor. Ruby plugged her nose, smelling something awful.

"Ugh, it smells like fish." The young reaper complained.

"What are we doing here again?" Koa asked.

"Some students from Haven are arriving today," Weiss explained, "And as a student of Beacon, we should share our hospitality."

"She wants to spy on them so she can get an advantage over them during the tournament." Blake pointed out.

"And the plot thickens…" Orion deadpanned.

"You can't prove that," Weiss denies.

"Kuro?" Aaron looked at his teammate with a neutral expression.

"She may be my sis, but sometimes even I don't know what she's thinking." Kurogasa sighed.

"So in other words, it's true." Orpheus said with a yawn.

"Yep," Yang answered.

"Totally," Aaron added.

"Hey!" Weiss snapped.

"Weiss, just stop." Aaron deadpanned again. "You're not getting past us with your scheming ways. Remember when you were scheming to team up with Pyrrha at the initiations?"

"I was an added bonus as well." Orpheus added.

"I- that's-" Weiss tried to come up with an explanation, only to fail.

"Yeah-huh, that's what I thought." Aaron deadpanned once more.

"There was also the time you threw a hissy fit for not getting picked as the leader of Team RWBY." Orion stated.

"You guys!" Weiss complained.

"Okay, enough harassing my sister, geez." Kurogasa groaned, standing next to her. "She's just a bit sheltered is all."

"KURO!"

"Oh, he is in the doghouse now…" Aaron said as he, Orion, and Orpheus wisely stepped back. Koa however snickered at that, as did Ruby. Ruby's attention went towards a nearby Dust store, which looked to be trashed and taped up by police. Two detectives were there examining the crime scene.

"What happened here?" Ruby asked a detective.

"Robbery. Left all the money but took the dust." The detective replied.

"You think it's the White Fang or those monsters?" The other asked.

"I think we don't get paid enough…"

"Well, a great way to start our day…" Orion said sarcastically.

"Hmph, stupid White Fang terrorists." Weiss said bitterly.

Blake narrowed her eyes at the heiress, "What's your problem?"

"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane." Weiss said incredulously.

"The White Fang is hardly a group of criminals. They're just a group of misguided Faunus." The ninja girl shot back.

"Misguided?! They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!" Weiss retorted.

"So they're very misguided, plus that shouldn't mean that all Faunus are like that. Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale!" Blake countered.

Ruby saw the growing tension between friends and decided to pitch in, "Hmm… Blake's got a point. Besides, the police never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into a few months ago… Maybe it was him."

Koa looked away as she whistled and fidgeted whilst Weiss huffed, "That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum." As Weiss spoke, Blake's anger grew. "Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."

"That's not necessarily true…" Yang trailed off as she heard noises behind her.

"Hey! Get back here! Stop that Faunus!" A voice cried as everyone turned to see a few sailors from the harbor chasing a tan-skinned monkey Faunus with blonde hair and blue eyes. The boy wears two red wrist bracers over black fingerless gloves and an open loose-collared white jacket with no shirt underneath, displaying his muscular physique. He also wears blue cargo pants tied up with a white belt. He wears white bandages on his legs and has a chain hanging from the belt loop on the right side of his pants. He also sports black and yellow sneakers and wears a twisted golden necklace around his neck. The boy stopped and looked back at his pursuers with a big mischievous smile.

"Thanks for the ride, guys! Haha!" The boy said, dodging his pursuers.

"You no good stowaway!" The sailor shouted.

The boy hung from a lamppost and peeled a banana, "Hey! A no-good stowaway would've been caught! I'm a great stowaway!" He said as he was about to eat his snack when the detective threw a stone at him to get his attention.

"Get down from there!" The detective shouted, only to get a banana peel to the face.

The monkey Faunus chuckled then used surprising acrobatics to leap over the officers and ran away from them. When he passed by the two Teams, time seemed to slow down when he looked at Blake… and winked at her, surprising the Faunus in hiding before parkouring away.

"Was that…" Orion got out.

"Sun Wukong… leader of Team SSSN." Kurogasa muttered.

"He winked at my sister… I'm gonna kill him…" Aaron said.

"Well, you wanted to observe the competition, Weiss. And there it goes," Yang pointed out.

"Quick!" Weiss exclaimed. "We have to observe him!"

The group chased after the blond-haired monkey Faunus. Blake stands still, lost in thought, then comes back to reality and follows her friends. The two teams round the next corner, but then Weiss bumps into someone and trips. She looks up only to see Sun jump on to a building and disappear from her view.

"No, he got away!"

"Umm… Weiss?"

Weiss looked down to see she was laying on top of the girl she bumped into.

"Salutations~!" The girl said with a jovial smile.

The girl had short, rather curly orange hair that came down to her chin with a small ahoge on top, and she wore a pink bow on the back of her head. She also has bright green eyes, light skin, and freckles. She wore a whitish-gray old-fashioned blouse with short gray feminine overalls as well as a black and green collar with a matching pair of stockings. A layer of skin conceals her metallic structure and spherical joints, and her irises bear similarities to the shutter of a camera. The green lines on the side of her stockings also appear to glow at times. She had what appeared to be a small and thin backpack.

"That's…" Aaron got out.

"Penny Polendina," Orpheus added.

Weiss quickly got up and apologized to the girl, "I am so sorry!"

"You okay?" Orion asked.

"I'm wonderful! Thank you for asking." Penny said happily. This caused most of the team to look at each other in bewilderment.

"She's certainly a cheerful one…" Koa mutters to Orpheus, who nods silently. Yang then decided to speak up after a long pause.

"Do you... wanna get up?" Yang asked the eccentric girl. Penny pondered the question for a moment. "Yes" she said happily, before jumping to her feet causing the group to step back.

"My name is Penny Polendina! It's a pleasure to meet all of you!" Penny said. "May I know your names?"

"Oh, uh hi Penny, I'm Ruby," The young reaper greeted.

"I'm Weiss."

"Aaron."

"Kurogasa."

"Orpheus, a pleasure."

"Orion, nice to meet you."

"Name's Koa!"

"Blake."

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" Yang asked before her partner smacked her in the stomach. "Oh, Yang!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Penny said, much to the five girl's confusion.

"You just said that." Weiss got out.

"So I did."

"Well, sorry for running into you!" Weiss said as she and the group turned to leave.

"Weiss, wait up!" Kurogasa cried out.

"Catch ya later, friend!" Ruby said to Penny, who looked surprised to hear that.


LINE BREAK


Azrael was sitting in his throne, letting his dark aura flicker and take shape as he examined his own Aura Sphere. He also held the three purple Core Medals in his hand, and the two gave him a rather dark and sinister idea.

"Just you wait… Kamen Riders," Azrael said darkly, "You will face a true force of darkness…"

He began to chuckle darkly, before going into full mad laughter as his shadow took a monstrous shape.


LINE BREAK


"She was… weird." Yang said as a few nodded in agreement.

"Now where did that Faunus riffraff run off to?" Weiss wondered aloud. This made Blake a bit angrier towards the Heiress and her prejudice. But suddenly, Penny appeared in front of Weiss shocking everyone.

"What did you call me?" Penny asked. Weiss looks back and forth in shock whilst Yang looked apologetic.

"Oh, I'm really sorry, I definitely didn't think you heard me!" Yang apologized.

"No, not you. YOU!" Penny said, pointing to Ruby.

Ruby was startled as she began stuttering, "Me? I-I don't know. I, what I, um, uh…"

"You called me 'friend'! Am I really your friend?"

"Uuuum…" Ruby looks over Penny's shoulder while her teammates motion to deny her. In the end, she said, "Y-Yeah, sure! Why not?"

Ruby's teammates comically faint, but Penny looks overjoyed and laughs "Sen-sational! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!"

Team JOKR whistles innocently to avoid attention from the overly happy android.

Ruby groaned and spoke to Weiss as she brushes herself off, "Oh, is this what it was like when you met me?"

The heiress leaned over with a slightly creeped out look, "No, she seems far more coordinated."

"So... what are you doing in Vale?" Yang asked.

Penny answered with a beaming smile, "I'm here to fight in the tournament."

Weiss looked at Penny in surprise, "Wait, you're fighting in the tournament?"

The green-garbed girl saluted the teens, "I'm combat ready!"

Weiss looked at Penny strangely. "Forgive me, but you hardly look the part."

"Says the girl wearing a dress." Blake scoffed.

"It's a combat skirt!" Weiss huffed with her arms crossed.

The skirt sister speeds over to Weiss' side. "Yeah!" Ruby said. Weiss holds out her hand and Ruby low-fives it.

"Well, at least they agree on one thing," Orion said with a sweatdrop. "But combat skirts? Really?"

"Just don't question it. It's better to just stay out of conversations that involve girls." Aaron stated.

"Wait a minute." Weiss said as the realization hit her and walks over to Penny and grabs her by the shoulders. "If you're here for the tournament, does that mean you know that monkey-tailed... rapscallion?"

Penny looked confused. "The who…?"

Weiss holds up a poor drawing of the criminal-in-question, "The filthy Faunus from the boat!"

"Why do you keep saying that?!" Blake shouted.

"Oh no…" Aaron facepalmed.

Weiss turned her attention from Penny to Blake. "Huh?"

Blake then walked over to Weiss, angry. "Stop calling him a rapscallion! Stop calling him a degenerate! He's a person!"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Weiss apologizes sarcastically and releases Penny and motions to objects around her. "Would you like me to stop referring to the trash can as a trash can? Or this lamppost as a lamppost?"

"Stop it!"

"Stop what? He clearly broke the law. Give him time; he'll probably join up with those other Faunus in the White Fang!"

Blake growled, clenching her fist. "You ignorant little brat!"

Weiss looks offended. "How dare you talk to me like that! I am your teammate!"

"You are a judgmental little girl."

"What in the world makes you say that?"

"The mere fact that you would sort that Faunus boy with a terrorist group solely based on his species makes you just as much of a scoundrel as you believe him to be!"

"Sokko ma-de da, futari tomo*1!" Kurogasa scolded, getting in between the two. "This is no time to be arguing amongst ourselves!"

"Kuro-"

"Enough, Weiss." Kurogasa suddenly cut her off, surprising the heiress. "I love you and all, but you need to know when to cut the attitude! And right now, you're out of line! So stop!"

"Whoa, Kuro actually shut his sister up…" Orpheus blinked in surprise.

"That's a new one," Koa added.

"I'm sorry about that, Blake." Kurogasa apologized, bowing to her. "She won't be doing that again." He then shot a glare at his sister. "Right?"

"Y-Yes…" Weiss stuttered, looking down.

"Um, I think we should probably go…" Yang said as she slid up to Ruby.

Penny popped up behind Ruby, smiling. "Where are we going?"


LINE BREAK


Back at the dorms, Koa and Team JOKR were discussing how powerful Azrael could be.

"Even as his minion, he only used little amounts of power," Koa explained, "He didn't trust me enough to speak of his end goal."

That made the Riders look at each other in thought.

"You mean to tell us that he's only using a fraction of his power?" Orion looked at her.

"Yes."

"And what about that ally of his?" Orpheus asked. "The one that will erase our knowledge of this world prior to coming here?"

Koa shook her head, "No clue, he didn't trust me due to my species… thought process."

"Great…" Kurogasa sighed. "If he pops out of nowhere we're screwed. We won't be able to stop those certain people and we won't be able to save certain people either."

"What if we can ambush him?"

"How can we ambush someone that appears at the last moment?" Aaron asked incredulously. "We have no way of knowing."

"...Good point." Koa said hanging her head.

"...A mousetrap!" Orion said as an idea, "We try and bait him out of hiding."

"Oh yeah, we can bait him with a sign that says 'Come get us, stupid!'. That's a great way to draw something out that we have no idea looks like." Orpheus said sarcastically.

They were about to continue when they heard the door to Team RWBY slam open. They then heard Ruby call out for a familiar ninja girl.

"Blake, wait! Come back!"

"What the heck's happening?" Koa asked. The other Riders paled in horror, realizing exactly what had happened.

"Dammit Weiss!" Kurogasa groaned in frustration before going over to Team RWBY dorm room. "What happened?" He demanded. Koa and the others stuck their heads in to see what was going to happen.

"She's a spy! A White Fang spy!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Weiss! What the hell!?" Kurogasa snapped, walking over to her. "What did I tell you!?"

"LET ME AT HER LET ME AT HER!" Koa was screaming as the Riders were holding her back.

"I thought I told you to drop that attitude and keep yourself in line! What part of that didn't you understand!?"

"I did! But she kept pestering me on why I hate Faunus so much and I told her! You of all people should know!" Weiss retorted.

*SLAP!*

Weiss was taken by surprise as her brother had smacked her across the face as did the others.

"You are better than this Weiss. When it comes to things like this, you never considered other people's feelings or even take any sort of situation into account. Have you ever asked yourself why she even thinks that way? Maybe because she is a Faunus, but you don't know that! You're so narrow-minded and your mindset is so skewed you don't see the bigger picture! And if you keep this up… then you'll be no better than your father!"

Weiss looked absolutely appalled at what her brother had said.

"What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna find her and when I do, you are going to apologize to her and take any punishment Blake deems fit for you. Be grateful that I'm doing this on your behalf." And with that, he went out of the room to do what he planned to do.

"Well, I knew this day would come," Aaron said without a hint of remorse.

"Wait, you knew?" Ruby said surprised.

"Yeah… because I was part of the White Fang too…"

"Don't forget me," Koa added, "I knew too. Well, that she was a Faunus anyways… still surprised about the whole White Fang thing."

This took Ruby and Yang by surprise that Aaron of all people would be part of a heinous organization.

"The White Fang wasn't always an evil group," Aaron stated, knowing what they were thinking. "The Faunus wanted equality between them and humans. My adopted father, Ghira, Blake's father endorsed the idea that things should be resolved peacefully between our two races. But then… things changed when he stepped down."

"What happened?" Yang asked.

"I'm sure you're familiar with the name Sienna Khan?"

Weiss scoffed, "Who isn't? She's the leader of the White Fang."

"She was also my teacher," Aaron added. "Ever since she took over, The White Fang's policies began to change, and started more violent campaigns, going on the idea that the Faunus should be respected out of fear, that peace only brings complacency."

"You know, most brutal attacks were carried out by Adam Taurus," Koa said with her arms crossed.

"And that is exactly the problem," Aaron said. "He stands for everything the White Fang currently is today, killing innocent people to get the respect out of others and make them feel his pain."

"I only caught glimpses of him, but I could sense his insatiable desire to wipe out humanity." Koa added, "And wants Aaron's head and Blake's body too…"

"That's just…" Ruby paled.

"Wrong." Yang frowned.

"He's a spiteful man, plain and simple." Aaron said. "At least when it came to Sienna, she doesn't kill people in order to prove a point. That's probably why I stuck around with Blake for as long as I could, other than making sure that Blake was safe."

"And why exactly do you now feel the need to tell us?" Weiss questioned.

"Truthfully, I want to punch you in the face for putting Blake in that position but your hothead brother did that for me." Aaron spat, glaring at the heiress. "She wanted to become a huntress to rewrite her sins but now she's probably out there doing something dangerous and I'm wasting my time telling you this shit when I should be out there finding her!"

"Same here!" Koa added, "You guys did the same to me, and now you're doing it to Blake, Weiss! Can I punch her?" She held up a fist for emphasis.

"No…" The Riders deadpanned.

"Awwwwww… killjoys."

"The point of the matter is, Weiss… don't judge a whole race based on the actions of a few misguided fools. I told you all that I was a member of the White Fang but let me ask this… Have you ever heard of their best fighter, the Black Wolf?"

Weiss flinched, "Y-Yes… he was rumored to be the White Fang's strongest fighter. No one has been able to beat him but he's never killed anyone that fought him. Why…?"

"Well, you're looking at him…"


LINE BREAK


Blake was outside and at a statue of an armored man with a sword and a hooded woman wielding an ax on an outcropping, staring at the Beowolf under the stone heroes in particular.

She closes her eyes and slowly lifts her arms up to her bow and pulls the string to release the bow from her hair. She wipes away a tear away as the camera pulls up to reveal her Faunus ears. On the verge of crying, she becomes startled when she hears a voice above her.

"I knew you would look better without the bow."

She turns around and looks up… to see the same monkey Faunus from the harbor.

"Blaaaaaaake!" Kurogasa's voice called out.

The cat Faunus's instincts to flee took over as she looked around for Team JOKR's samurai and prepared to run again.

"Please wait! I'm not gonna hurt you!" Kurogasa said.

"Just leave me alone!" Blake shouted.

"Whoa, what's going on? Is this punk harassing you?" Sun asked his fellow Faunus while glaring at Kurogasa.

"No… it's just…"

"Blake," Kurogasa said as he caught up. "I'm so sorry for what Weiss had said to you. You didn't deserve that."

"About what? The truth? The truth about what the White Fang did to her family's company? Or that we ruined her life?" Blake spat with contempt.

"So what if it was the truth? She's still your teammate." Kurogasa said. "Even so, Ruby and the others won't turn their backs on you, especially your brother."

"That's what they all say… My brother is the only one I trust. But why are you, a son of the Schnee family, following me?"

"Because I trust you, Blake."

Blake looked down in sorrow before she shook her head, "That's sweet, Kurogasa… but I still don't trust you."

"You can, Blake. Besides… I'm not even a Schnee. Just some kid picked up at their doorstep. I don't know who my real parents are."

"That's pretty obvious," Blake remarked. "Living under the same roof with the richest man in all of Remnant."

"And I hated him… for all that he is." Kurogasa said, with Blake looking surprised, not expecting that answer. "Sure, I lived a comfortable life, but it was hell. Jacques never saw me as his son. He never loved me or the rest of the family for that matter either. He was married into it just for fame and fortune. And especially the family name."

The cat Faunus looked surprised to hear that but her expression still remained neutral, "I sympathize with you, Kururugi. I do… but you don't know anything about how it feels to be a Faunus. How we're forced to fight for our very survival as a species or the pain we've endured under humanity's thumb."

"Maybe not. But I know what it's like to be alone… Koa does too." Kurogasa trailed off. "It doesn't have to be this way, Blake. I'm still your friend and I don't turn my back on them for any reason."

A bitter chuckle left Blake's lips, "Friend? You didn't exactly turn out to be a friend when Koa felt abandoned. Granted, I was no different but you still tried to demonize her."

"That's because I never knew her circumstances back then. But I already know yours. Please… Blake… don't do this."

A painful silence was all Blake gave the samurai before she outstretched her hand to him…

"Huh?" Kurogasa looked confused.

"Are you going to stare at it or shake it?" Blake inquired.

"I…" Kurogasa trailed off before he smiled a bit and held her hand.

Blake stared into Kurogasa's eyes for a moment before she closed hers and whispered, "I'm sorry…" She quickly jerked the surprised Rider forward and delivered a chop to the back of his neck.

"Ack… Blake…" Kurogasa muttered as he leaned on her. "Why…? I thought-"

"You thought wrong, Kuro… Now that my identity is revealed… None of them will trust me again. It was fun… being with all of you…" Blake spoke while a few wet droplets fell onto the samurai's clothing. "But this is where it all ends."

"No, please… don't go…" Kurogasa got out as he felt his consciousness slipping.

"This is goodbye…" She whispered, laying the boy down on the ground before she stood up and walked past a surprised Sun.

"Uh, hey, wait up!" The monkey Faunus called out.


LINE BREAK


The next morning…

*BEEP-BEEP! BEEP-BEEP!*

"Hey, it's Kuro!" Aaron exclaimed to the other two Riders. They ran towards him as Koa was playing a game on her Scroll. Aaron then pressed a button on the supercomputer and it showed Kurogasa sitting against the pedestal of the statue with a forlorn look.

["Guys, I'm sorry. I tried to convince Blake, but she's gone…"] Kurogasa apologized. ["I'm sorry, Aaron, I…"]

"I know…" Aaron said, "We will look for her with Team RWBY."

"YES!" Everyone turned to Koa who had jumped up, "NEW HIGH SCORE!"

She turned around to see the Riders staring at her, causing her to chuckle sheepishly. "S-sorry…"


LINE BREAK


Meanwhile, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang were walking through the empty streets of Vale. She hadn't come back since Kurogasa failed to get her back.

"She's been gone all weekend…" Ruby pouted sadly.

"Blake's a big girl, I'm sure she can handle herself," Weiss huffed.

"Weiss, come on. She's one of our teammates." Yang said.

"Is she? We all heard what she said!"

"Weiss," Ruby said sadly.

"Maybe she is, maybe she isn't. Either way, she's missing, and we need to find her!" Yang pointed out.

"I just hope she's okay…" Ruby said worriedly.


LINE BREAK


Elsewhere, Blake is sipping a cup of tea and sighing. She looks up at Sun sitting across from her, who holds his drink with his tail as his hand props his head up. He takes a sip when Blake puts her cup down.

"So, you want to know more about me…" Blake said, looking at him intently.

"Finally, she speaks! Nearly two days and you gave me nothing but small talk and weird looks!" Sun said, making Blake give Sun a firm look. "Yeah, like that."

Blake rolls her eyes before closing them and looking at him sadly. "Sun… Are you familiar with the White Fang?"

"Of course! I don't think there's a Faunus on the planet who hasn't heard of them. Stupid, holier-than-thou creeps that use force to get whatever they want. Bunch of freaks, if you ask me!"

Blake sips her drink while listening until she speaks up for the big reveal. "My brother and I were once members of the White Fang."

Sun promptly goes cross-eyed and chokes on his drink, making him put it down and wipe his mouth as he holds up a hand to process this information. "Wait a minute, you were a member of the White Fang?!"

"That's right. I was a member for most of my life, actually. You could almost say I was born into it…" Blake sighed. "Back then, things were different. In the ashes of war, the White Fang was meant to be a symbol of peace and unity between Humans and the Faunus. Of course, despite being promised equality, the Faunus were subjected to discrimination and hate. Humanity still thought of us as lesser beings. And so, the White Fang rose up as the voice of our people. And my brother and I were there."

Sun listened intently as Blake continued on. "We were at the front of every rally. We took part in every boycott. We actually thought we were making a difference. But we were just youthful optimists. Then, five years ago, our leader, my father stepped down, and a new one took his place. A new leader, Sienna Khan, with a new way of thinking. Suddenly, our peaceful protests were being replaced with organized attacks. We were setting fire to shops that refused to serve us, hijacking cargo from companies that used Faunus labor. And the worst part was, it was working. We were being treated like equals. But not out of respect… out of fear."

"So, my brother and I left. We decided we no longer wanted to use our skills to aid in their violence, and instead, we would dedicate our lives to becoming a Hunter and Huntress. So here I am: criminal hiding in plain view, all with the help of a little black bow." She wiggles her cat ears beneath the fashionable disguise to demonstrate.

"So… have you told your friends any of this?" Sun asked.

Blake merely looks down in shame and says nothing.

The monkey Faunus winced, "That bad, huh? Yikes… Well, your brother is a Faunus too, right? Maybe he can-"

"He's human, actually."

"Huh?" Sun blinked in confusion.


LINE BREAK


"Blaaaake!" Ruby called out loudly.

Yang assisted her sister in finding her partner, "Blaaaake!"

Ruby, Yang, and Weiss walking through town and calling in vain for their missing teammate all morning, but still no response.

"Blaaaaaaaake! Where aaaare yoooouuuu!?" Ruby called out again.

"Blake!" Yang shouted.

Ruby turned to Weiss with a pout. "Weiiiiss, you're not helping!"

"Oh! You know what might be able to help? The police!" Weiss said, making. Ruby cross arms in irritation.

"Ugh, Weiss…"

"It was just an idea!"

"Yeah, a bad one." Ruby pouted as Yang followed behind Ruby.

"Weiss, I think we should hear her side of the story before we jump to any conclusions." The buxom blonde suggested.

"I think that when we hear it, you'll all realize I was right!" Weiss huffed.

"And I think Weiss' hair looks wonderful today!"

All of them freaked out as they turned around to see Penny. "Aaaah! Penny! Where did you come from!?" Ruby exclaimed.

"Hey, guys! What are you up to?" Penny asked cheerfully, ignoring their outburst of surprise.

"Uhh…" Ruby got out.

"We're looking for our friend Blake," Yang answered.

Penny thought about it before it hit her. "Ooooh, you mean the Faunus girl!"

Ruby, Weiss, and Yang stare at Penny.

"Wait, how did you know that?" Ruby asked.

"Uhh, the cat ears?" Penny pointed to her head.

"What cat ears? She wears a... boooohhh..." Yang said with a chuckle before making that realization. The realization leaves them in silence as a tumbleweed blows through in the wind.

Ruby whispered to her sister, "She does like tuna a lot..."

"So, where is she?" Penny asked.

"We don't know. She's been missing since Friday."

Penny gasps, "That's terrible!" She then approached Ruby, making her uncomfortable, "Well, don't you worry Ruby, my friend! I won't rest until we find your teammate!"

Ruby was doing her best to continue smiling, "Uh, that's really nice of you, Penny, but we're okay! Really! Right, guys?"

She looks over Penny to direct her question at Yang and Weiss, who's blinking outlines are all that's left of their sudden departure from the company of the strange girl. A tumbleweed blows past them again in the quiet.

"It sure is windy today!"


LINE BREAK


Later on that day…

Sun and Blake are then seen walking down an alley. "So, what's the plan now?" Sun asked as he had his hand behind his head.

Blake contemplated on this as she answered, "I still don't believe the White Fang is behind these robberies. They've never needed that much Dust before."

Sun widened his eyes in realization, "What if they did?" He pondered, lowering his arms and pacing in front of Blake as he continued his theory, "I mean... the only way to prove that they didn't do it, is to go to the place where they would most likely go to if they were to do it, and not find them there! Right?"

"The only thing is, I've no idea where that would be." Blake said.

"Well, while I was on the ship, I heard some guys talking about offloading a huge shipment of Dust coming in from Atlas."

"How huge?"

"Huge. Big Schnee Company freighter."

"You're sure?"


LINE BREAK


With Team JOKR and Koa, the five of them were searching on their end for Blake but nothing turned up for them. They searched every corner of town, but she was nowhere in sight. And to make matters worse, Kurogasa was still down in the dumps for letting Blake get away like that. He felt that it was his fault for even trying to convince her to come back. Maybe she really needed some space.

"Hey guys, I think I have a small idea on how to cover more ground," Koa said.

"Is it split up and search for her?" Orion asked.

"Somewhat, I have extra hands to work with," Koa said with a smile as she held out a hand, "Now then, guess what I have in my hand?"

"If it's Cell Medals, you are not summoning Yummies out in public." Aaron stated.

"…Never mind." Koa said putting her hand into her pocket with a clinking noise.

"Still, I think we should split up and search…" Kurogasa muttered, before walking off. "I'll check the docks."

"He still has it bad, huh…" Orpheus muttered to Aaron.

"Yeah…" Koa said saddened, "Are you sure I can't make extra help?"

"Koa, you know I love you and everything… but relying on monsters that once rampaged through the city is a bad idea." Orpheus answered.

"But what about the tournament?" Koa said waving her arms comically, "You need a team to compete but there's only me!"

"We should probably discuss that after we find Blake, ok?"

"Ok… Say, maybe she's scouting out possible White Fang operations?"

Aaron pondered at this, placing a hand on his chin in thought. "Well… it wouldn't be out of the question. Blake's always one to avert their attention to her. Foolish as her decisions can be, she always thought she should take on all of the burdens."

"But then, if she's scouting White Fang operations, where would they be hiding out?" Koa asked.

"I wouldn't say hiding… more likely she is searching for evidence that the White Fang is behind the robberies or to prove that they didn't do it." Aaron clarified.

"…You know I always wondered why the old lair had so much dust." Koa said to herself. The group kept walking for a little bit before realizing what she just said.

"Wait, repeat that again?" Aaron asked.

"That again?" Koa said, earning her a smack upside the head.

"Before that, dummy!" Aaron said in comical anger.

"Why does the old lair have so much Dust?" Koa said.

Aaron smirked as an idea came to mind, "If I know Blake, she'll probably look for shipments containing a lot of Dust. That's where she'll be. And I've been hearing rumors of a Dust shipment from Atlas being hauled by an SDC carrier ship."

"How do you know that?" Orion asked.

"I hacked the CCT."

"Of course you did." The others deadpanned.


LINE BREAK


Yang came out of a shop with Weiss, waving to the person inside. "Thanks anyway!" She said, before sighing, "This is hopeless." Then looked at Weiss when she looked around nonchalantly. "You really don't care if we find her, do you?"

"Don't be stupid; of course I do. I'm just afraid of what she'll say when we find her." Weiss said as she walks forward, calling over her shoulder, "The innocent never run, Yang!"


LINE BREAK


"So, Blake is your friend?" Penny asked.

Ruby sighed as they made their way down the sidewalk. "Yes, Penny."

"But you're mad at her?"

"Yes. Well, I'm not. Weiss is."

"Is she friends with Blake?"

"Well, that's kind of up in the air right now…" Ruby sighed.

Penny tried to contemplate this. "But why?"

Ruby sighed again. "Well, you see, Blake might not be who we thought she was…"

Penny gasps. "Is she a man?"

Ruby looked surprised. "No! No, Penny. She's…" She stops and sighs, looking at Penny. "I don't know what she is. She didn't exactly talk to us before she decided to run off."

Penny pondered in thought. "I don't have a lot of friends, but if I did, I would want them to talk to me about things."

Ruby turned her gaze downward sadly. "Me too…"


LINE BREAK


Amidst the chirping of crickets and darkness of night, Blake lays flat on her stomach on the rooftop overlooking the shipment of Schnee Dust containers. "Did I miss anything?" Sun asked.

Blake looked up as Sun drops down to her right. "Not really. They've offloaded the crates from the boat. Now they're just sitting there."

"Cool," Sun said, then held out one of the green apples in his arms. "I stole you some food!"

Blake gives Sun a questioning look. "Do you always break the law without giving a second thought?"

"Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?" Sun retorted. Blake delivered an angry glare at him. "Okay, too soon!" Just as he says this, the winds blow all around them, and they look up to see a Bullhead's searchlights flashing around for a landing spot, descending in the middle of the cargo containers and extending a ramp for a black hooded individual with a metallic fanged mask to come out of.

"Oh no…" Blake gasped in horror.

"Is that them?"

Blake stared at the bloody wolf on the back of the man's outfit. "Yes… It's them."

"All right, grab the tow cables!" The White Fang Soldiers ordered the other White Fang members coming from the aircraft, motioning with his rifle.

"You really didn't think they were behind it, did you?" Sun mused.

Blake stared sadly at the scene. "No. I think deep down I knew. I just didn't want to be right." She said, closing her eyes in despair, only to open them suddenly when she hears a new voice.

"Hey! What's the holdup!?" The new voice said. The soldiers look up at Roman gesturing widely and coming down the ramp. "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?"

Blake was confused at this. "This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a Human. Especially not one like that." She then stands up and unsheathes the katana of Gambol Shroud before walking off the edge of the roof.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Sun called out, but to no avail.

Blake falls to the ground in a crouch, then continues on to hide behind one of the containers, peeking around the corner to see Roman berate a White Fang member holding a coil of rope. "No, you idiot! This isn't a leash!" As he looked around, Blake suddenly appeared behind him with her blade at his throat. "What the- Oh, for f-"

"Nobody move!"

The White Fang soldiers ready their guns and equip their swords in response.

"Whoa! Take it easy there, little lady." Roman said.

As the White Fang closes in on her, Blake uses her free hand to go for her bow and remove it, causing the ribbon to fall away as her Faunus ears are shown to the world.

"Brothers of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?"

The White Fang members lower their weapons a little at this development, unsure of what to do when Roman laughs.

"Oh, kid, didn't you get the memo?" Roman chuckled.

"What are you talking about?" Blake demanded.

"The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together!"

Blake then held her blade closer to his throat. "Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation." Suddenly, the air is filled with more turbines blowing the wind wildly around the holdup.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation…" Roman said, looking up.

Two more Bullheads are hovering above the heist, and as Blake watches in horror, Roman smiles and manages to fire his cane at Blake's feet, resulting in a large explosion.


LINE BREAK


Penny and Ruby turn around upon hearing the noise, seeing the smoke rise from the docking bay just a few buildings away.

"Oh, no…" Ruby gasped.


LINE BREAK


Blake, dazed but relatively unhurt on the ground, quickly rolls and runs out of the way of Roman's continued attacks, flaming missiles destroying cargo behind her as she flips and uses her semblance to dodge then retreats behind more containers. "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty…" Roman taunted. His taunt was then interrupted when a banana peel lands on his head, causing him to toss it aside then look up and growl at the assailant's eyes widening.

"Woohoo!" Sun waved.

Sun leaps from the container above Roman and drops down on the criminal's face feet-first, rolling up and readying himself to fight. "Leave her alone!"

The Bullheads open to let more White Fang members descend on the scene, standing by Roman as he gets up and surrounding Sun.

"You are not the brightest banana in the bunch, are you, kid?" Roman muttered.

With that said, the White Fang grunts charge at the monkey Faunus, but he manages to dodge slashes and get some of the soldiers with his fists and kicks until he rolls out of the way of one's sword.

"Haha!" Sun laughed. Pulling out a collapsible red staff. He quickly uses this to beat down on each opponent that nears him, dropping each one in a single flaming blow when he twirls it around, even creating a scorching shockwave to beat the last of them. Blake peers around the corner of the container to watch Sun jump around and beat another White Fang soldier, landing on his back and causing him to fly over toward Roman's head. The crime boss ducks then growled in annoyance and aimed his cane at Sun, firing a shot that he defends himself from just when Blake leaps into the action.

"He's mine!" Blake shouted.

Blake goes in close and becomes a blur of afterimages as she slashes both blades at Roman, who backs away and deflects each would-be blow with his cane at unbelievable speeds. Blake continues to dash, hop over, and slide around Roman to try and find a weak spot. Finally landing a blow after using her semblance but her enemy, while barely deflecting the attacks, attempts to punch her in the face. Only to hit a clone as she flips away. The two clash weapons again, then Torchwick jabs her in the side.

"Hahaha!" Roman laughed. He lands a few more hits on Blake and just when he was about to give one final beating to the head with his cane-

*SHING!*

A black katana was swung to block the cane, but it was not Blake's. Standing in front of Blake, was Kurogasa.

"Kuro?!" Blake said surprised.

"Mattaku… you were a pain in the ass to find." Kurogasa sighed, looking over his shoulder, but smiled a bit. "Still, glad you're okay." He then turned his attention to Roman. "And you. I'm really disappointed. I thought all that ice cream I bought for you, willingly I might add, would curb your criminal ways."

"I am grateful for that, as well as for you guys taking care of my friend," Roman said pointing the cane at him, "However, business is business and it's gotta be done."

Kurogasa sighed as he readied his katana. "A real shame… I actually pity you. I don't blame you for trying to survive, but it's still no excuse. Know that I take no joy in this."

"Trust me, the feeling's mutual."

The two began to circle each other before the two then charged at each other. Just as the other Riders and Koa arrive, Azrael walked out with a group of Hybrids.

"Azrael…" Koa said bitterly.

"Fancy seeing all of you here," Azrael said darkly.

"Your reign of terror ends, Azrael!" Aaron said, readying his weapon as did Orion and Orpheus.

"And you're going down too!" Koa added cracking her knuckles.

"Hmhmhmhmhm… foolish mortals… it's only the beginning." Azrael chuckled darkly.

Koa then began feeling chills running up her spine, her senses running wild as she fell to her knees trembling. "What's wrong?!" Orpheus asked the Greeed.

"S-Somethings wrong… his Aura and Desire feel all so wrong!" Koa managed to get out.

"Hahahahahahaha! That's right! You should feel something is wrong." Azrael laughed. "I should have done this all along. The reason why you were winning against me countless times is that I treated you like kids who can't do anything. I should've treated better as actual threats. So now!" He said, before presenting… his Aura Sphere?! "I shall show you what true power is!"

"Is that…"

"No way!"

"An Aura Sphere?!"

"That's right!" Azrael smirked beneath his hood. "Did you really think you were the only ones to unlock the powers of your souls? I should thank you all for this… In fact, why wait?" He gestured with his finger at the Riders. "Destroy them."

His shadowy aura came to life, grabbing the Aura Sphere and taking a new monstrous shape. It resembled a malformed angelic being with six blackened wings on the right side and six bat wings on the left. The face resembled a metal mask with demon horns. The body was outfitted in garnished dark silver armor with splotches of what looked like blood. A pair of glowing yellow eyes flashed behind the mask as the new Alter radiated a choking aura that suffocated the very air.

The Riders and Koa backed away in surprise at this Alter being different from the rest.

"What in-" Roman said, looking at Azrael, as did Kurogasa. "Oh damn…"

"Truce?" Kurogasa offered. Roman looked at him then at the monster.

"Sorry, but no," Roman said as he swung at Kurogasa, "I'm no idiot!"

Just then, Sun appears, vaulting over Kurogasa and then kicked Roman in the chest and disconnects his staff into two spinning circles of flame-firing shotgun nunchucks that only slow down once to show the audience what they are before becoming twin arcs of an offense again. Sun swings each gun at Roman while firing everything he has at him, but even with the rapid series of shots and flying bullets, Roman manages to defend himself against every bullet and hit until a millisecond-long pause allows Kurogasa to get a slash in and knock him back.

On his back, Roman notices a container hanging by a crane right above the two warriors, and gets up to fire his cane at its supports. Kurogasa leaps behind it, but Sun barely misses when he jumps forward, ending up right below the nozzle of Roman's cane. Just as he's about to fire, his and Sun's attention is drawn to a familiar voice.

"Hey!"

Roman and the others turn around, as Ruby appears on the rooftop overlooking them, Crescent Rose extended and ready for action.

Roman, losing interest in Sun, waves at Ruby. "Well, hello, Red! Isn't it past your bedtime?"

Penny is then seen approaching Ruby, "Ruby, are these people your friends?" She asked the red-themed reaper.

Ruby looks behind her to see her new friend, "Penny, get back!" Whilst her attention was diverted, Roman fires his cane at her, launching the young Huntress-in-training back from the explosion's force and sending her scythe flying away, "AAAAAH!"

Roman gives off a professional-level evil laugh at his attack on the young girl. Penny turns her head toward the criminal and gives her first glare, walking forward while Ruby tries to get back up.

"Penny, wait! Stop!" Ruby shouted raising her hand in a futile attempt to stop Penny.

"Don't worry, Ruby. I'm combat ready!" Penny said with a smile before turning back towards the enemy. Her backpack then mechanically opens up, and from its dark depths comes a single sword that extends and multiplies into several blades hovering over Penny's back. Leaping from the rooftop with the weapons acting as wings, she sends three of her swords to knock two White Fang soldiers down before even landing on the ground, where she proceeds to fling the swords at one enemy, impale another to a wall, create a barrier of spinning steel against a running attack, leaping over a goon with her swords in tow, and finally making a wheel that she throws to knock multiple Faunus off their feet.

"Whoa!" Sun says, observing the spectacle in amazement before he runs off to safety.

Three Bullheads come from the skies and open fire on the battle, but Penny merely forms a shield and launches two of her swords into the wall behind her, which in turn pulls their wielder back with their strings. When her swords swirl around her again, she commands them to open their points and build up a large glowing ball of green light. With a punching action, several bright lasers crack the pavement when they fire at the transports and slice each one in half, causing several of the White Fang members inside to fall and letting Ruby watch as Bullheads fall in pieces behind her.

Stunned, she turns back to Penny as she aims her swords at the remaining Bullheads holding the crate of Dust and pulls back on their wires, tugging the aircraft with them.

"Whoa… How is she doing that?" Ruby says, watching in awe.

Seeing the Bullhead's flight fall under Penny's control, Roman grimaces and turns to run towards the last transport. Penny, after her large green pupils dilate for a second, pulls with all her might on the strings, and the aircraft crashes into a stack of crates, causing an explosion as a result.

Roman watches from the safety of his escape, "Kurai, the friends you make just keep getting weirder…" And so with his observation made, he uses his cane to close the doors, and the jet lifts off, flying away from the lost battle.


LINE BREAK


"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! How do you like that!?" Azrael cackled. Kurenai, Nero, and Azure were sent flying by the Alter. Kurai was dodging attacks as best as she could, and when she tried to fight back, the Monster evaded her attacks with no effort.

"Dang it," Kurai cursed, "I can't land a single hit!"

Kurai was then sent flying by a powerful energy blast to the stomach that had her bleeding Cell Medals fast.

"What power…" Kurenai said in disbelief.

"Face it, you can't win against me anymore!" Azrael rejoiced. "All you can do wallow in your despair as I rip your bodies piece by piece!"

Kurai growled as she pulled out her sword, as well as three different colored Core Medals that surprised Azrael before he chuckled in realization.

"You clever little scamp… stealing a few of those Medals whilst serving me for a brief time." He said with a snarl.

"I'm not the same as I once was, Azrael," Kurai said determinedly, "SAN KEMONO KIRI!"

The attack looked as if it would deal out some good damage to the transformed villain until he reached out with his hand… and caught it in his palm. "Is that all?" He asked in a playful manner.

"Uso!" Kurai said in shock before the attack was sent back towards her causing her to scream in pain.

"KOA!" Nero cried out.

"RAAAAAAAGH!" Kurogasa shouted as he jumped in the air, now donned as Kamen Rider Shiro as he brought both Kage Ryuujin and Ryuu Koutei down on the new Alter.

The blades slammed down onto Azrael's shoulder… but did no form of damage on him. The Alter chuckled menacingly as he grasped both blades with his bare hands and stared into Shiro's horrified eyes, "That tickled." He comments before kicking the white Kamen Rider directly in the chest, sending him flying into a shipping crate. Azrael, who still had both blades in his hands then broke it in his bare hands, rendering Shiro without a weapon. "Perhaps I should start with you, boy." He said, slowly approaching the fallen Shiro.

"No, you don't!" Kurenai cried out as he brought out his Fang Howler gunblade and slashed at the Alter's back several times, drawing sparks from the impacts but nothing seemed to hurt him.

"Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?" Azrael asked as he suddenly grabbed Kurenai by the helmet with one hand and raised him up in the air. Kurenai tried to free himself from his grasp, but he was too strong. He then heard the sound of his helmet cracking, bit by bit as his head was being crushed.

"AAAHHHHHH!" Kurenai cried out in pain as the grip around his head began to tighten.

"Aaron!" Azure and Nero shouted.

"Don't move!" Azrael said, causing them to stop. "You're not going to do anything! All of you are powerless against me! You are going to stay there and allow me to KILL him!"

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kurenai cried out more in pain.

"STOP!" Shiro shouted. "What do you want from us!?"

"It should be obvious," Azrael said with a twisted smile. "I want you to fade into OBLIVION!"

"AAROOOOOOOOOON!" Blake shouted as she charged towards Azrael, swinging Gambol Shroud onto him, but to no effect.

"Well, well," Azrael smirked as he grabbed the cat Faunus by the throat. "You must be the girl that ran away from the White Fang. I was looking forward to meeting you again. I wonder… which do you prefer for your friend's death? Slow and agonizing or quick and excruciating?"

"Blake!" Ruby shouted as she and the other members arrived. "Let her go!"

"Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn," Azrael said. "Now watch, as both of them die right in front of you!" He said as he squeezed both of them. Both teams could only look on in horror. Was this it? Was this how it was going to end?

*PEW! PEW! PEW! PEW! PEW! PEW!*

Several shots were suddenly fired from out of nowhere, suddenly causing Azrael to drop them both and stagger back. "What in- who did that!?"

"And here I thought I wouldn't see stereotypical villains in this world. Guess I was wrong?" A mysterious voice said, as from out of nowhere came… a silvery veil?

"What the?!" Kurai said confused.

Kurenai, who managed to recover enough of his senses, noticed the veil. "Is that…?!"

"Who in the hell are you!?" Azrael demanded.

"I was hoping you would say that."

The silvery veil then pulled back to reveal a familiar person as they took out a white buckle with a clear center, and the insignias of the first nine Heisei Riders, Kuuga to Kiva, circled it. It was segmented, and the sides separate from the center which would twist when the sides were pulled. They attached it to their waist and a belt shot out of the buckle before wrapping around them, making the signature powering on sound locking into place on the other side and a metallic white rectangular book appeared, attaching to his left side. It then made the signature opening/closing sound as they pulled on the buckle causing the white camera-design like box to turn and open so that it was vertical.

"Torisugari no Kamen Raida da!*2"

"Masaka!" Shiro gawked.

"Oh my God!" Azure cried out like a certain JoJo character.

"I must be having a concussion…" Nero muttered.

Opening the metallic book, it made a vrooming sound, taking out a card before closing it back up. They then held out the card showing the face of the silhouette's armor before saying, "Oboetoke*3! Henshin!" and they flipped it, making a shimmering sound and slotting it in the buckle.

KAMEN RIDE!

The buckle made a pulsing sound as a red hologram of the words 'Kamen Ride' appear before it raised up a little bit before they pushed the buckle, causing the white camera-design like box to turn and close so that it was horizontal again and a holographic logo of a barcode with a mask-like face on it appeared below the words Kamen Ride.

DECADE!

The symbols of the Heisei Riders, Kuuga, Agito, Ryuki, Faiz, Blade, Hibiki, Kabuto, Den-O, and Kiva appeared around him before forming into silhouettes that converged onto his body, forming into his suit. Several red squares flew from his belt before attaching to his face, filling up with color. It was a full suit of armor that had a black middle with magenta outer sides while the inner sides of their legs were white. A white and black X was on my left pectoral and his helmet was mainly featureless save for the green eyes and barcode-like design crossing the face.

"A Kamen Rider?" Kurai said confused.

"Not just any… Kamen Rider Decade." Shiro got out.

Azrael snarled, "How!? How did you get into this world!?"

"You forget, I'm the Rider who crosses dimensions on a daily basis." Decade remarked with a shrug. "And besides, whenever someone cries out for help or is needed… a Kamen Rider is sure to come."

The Alter laughed out loud and gave the Destroyer of Worlds a mocking sneer, "Very bold words, Decade. But if these brats had no chance against me, what makes you think that you alone can beat me!"

"Oh, who said I was alone?" Decade asked rhetorically.

"Eh?"

Just then another silvery veil appeared and pulled back to reveal… the Heisei Kamen Riders!?

"HOLY CRAP!" Team JOKR all exclaimed with both shock and awe.

[Play JUMP START by nano]

From one end to another, the Kamen Riders of the Heisei Era stood beside Decade. Kuuga, Agito, Ryuki, Faiz, Blade, Hibiki, Kabuto, Den-O, Kiva, W, OOO, Fourze, Wizard, Gaim, Drive, Ghost, Ex-Aid, Build, and Zi-O.

"Oh my gosh…" Ruby said with sparkling eyes. The young girl tried to find her scroll to take a picture of this moment. "Come on! Come on! I need to capture this scene!" After a moment, she managed to find it and held it up before taking a ton of pictures. "Eeeeeeeeeeee!" She squealed with joy.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrr…!" Azrael snarled.

"So many Riders!" Kurai said in awe.

"It doesn't matter!" Azrael shouted. "All of you are gonna die!"

"Big words from a monster who picks on kids." Decade shot back.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Azrael roared as he sent out a pulse of dark energy and multiple Grimm Hybrids came out from the ground. "KILL THEM ALL!"

"Ikuze, Ikuze, Ikuze!" Den-O shouted as he charged in as did the rest of the Riders with their own battle cries.

Kuuga dashes forward alongside Agito. They punched and kicked them away, before they changed form.

"I'll protect their smiles!" Kuuga declared.

"We'll protect the place where everyone belongs!" Agito added.

Kuuga changed into Titan Form, his armor turning purple and bulky, holding the TItan Sword as he swung relentlessly while Agito went into Storm Form, taking out the Storm Halberd and his armor changed color to blue. He swung his spear and a burst of wind came out, slicing them into nothing.

Ryuki held up a card that had the image of a red Chinese dragon and inserted it into his brace.

ADVENT

There was a metallic screeching roar as a red, long metallic dragon descended down from the skies. It was modeled after a Japanese dragon from myths and legends, as it gave out a metallic screech of authority. This was Dragreder as it came down and swung its tail to swipe the Grimm Hybrids away.

"Yosha!" Ryuki cheered.

START UP

Faiz was in Accel Form as the chest part of the armor opened and locked onto his shoulders before speeding up so fast that multiple red energy cones came down on the hybrids, kicking them, and turning them into dust upon contact.

3, 2, 1 TIME OUT

When he finished his run, he went into his primary form. "I may not have a dream, but I can protect those dreams." Faiz said, getting up from his stance.

KICK

THUNDER

MACH

The holograms of Kick Locust, Thunder Deer, and Mach Jaguar came out of the cards after Blade rouzed them and were absorbed into his armor.

LIGHTNING SONIC

He then stuck his blade into the ground before running at high speeds then jumped before diving down, "Hyaaaaaaah!" Blade shouted as he unleashed an electric Rider Kick that shocked not one monster but spread to the rest of the Grimm Hybrids that were in the area.

Hibiki parried and smacked Grimm Hybrids with his two drumsticks, unleashing oni fire into each one as they burned from the purple flames. He took off the buckle on his belt then placed it on a Grimm Hybrid as the buckle grew several times its original size until it resembled a large drum surface which the oni Rider began to smack repeatedly, sending killer soundwaves into the hybrids. "Looks like my training paid off." Hibiki nodded in satisfaction.

CLOCK UP!

Kabuto wasted no time as time seemed to slow down for him and sped through the Grimm Hybrids, slashing them his KunaiAxGun, in dagger mode. Once he was past the pack, time returned to normal for him as his enemies turned to dust, raising a finger to the sky.

CLOCK OVER!

"Weak…" Kabuto muttered.

"Now this is how a Climax is done!" Den-O Sword Form exclaimed as he slashed with his DenGasher in sword mode then grabbed a Grimm Hybrid and gave it a headbutt. "Ah! We never get to fight like this anymore. We should do this again sometime!" He brought up his pass to run it over his belt buckle. "Ore no hissatsu waza! Part 2!"

FULL CHARGE!

"ORYAHHHHHH!" Den-O shouted as he slashed his share of Grimm Hybrids and a dramatic explosion appeared behind him. "Hah! How do you like that!?"

"Showoff..." Kivat scoffed from the belt. "Oi, Wataru, let's not fall behind!"

"Right!" Kiva said as he brought out a red Fuestle and placed it in Kivat's mouth after punching a Grimm Hybrid from behind without even looking.

"Yosh Ikuze!" Kivat said before flying off the Rider's belt.

WAKE UP!

The armor around Kiva's boot is removed after Kivat flew around it. Before the Rider could perform his Rider Kick, a group of hybrids surrounded him but Kiva swung his unchained foot in a roundhouse kick to unleash crimson chains that smacked them away. With nothing standing in his way, the vampire-themed Rider took a running start then delivered a flying kick with his right foot, striking another pack of Grimm Hybrids as they exploded into black ash.

ATTACK RIDE: BLAST!

"Haa!" Decade used his RideBooker to shoot at multiple shots at the Grimm Hybrids. He then opened up the DecaDriver and slots in another card.

ATTACK RIDE: SLASH!

His RideBooker went into sword mode and slashed his way through another pack. He then looked towards the fallen Kurenai, still in shock. "Oi, you gonna get up and help out or what?"

"Oh, uh, yes, sir!" Kurenai replied as he shot up but he tumbled a bit since his helmet was still damaged. "Crap, I can hardly see out of this!"

"Don't worry about it," A black armored hand patted his shoulder, causing the crimson Aura Rider to look at Kamen Rider W, who gave him a thumbs-up. "We can take care of the small fry for you."

"But I can-"

"Your helmet is damaged. That shouldn't stop you. But I suppose it is a senpai's duty to watch out for their kohai." Decade shrugged. "When you're ready to join in, we'll save the last dance for you."

"Alright, Phillip, let's take them out hard-boiled." W's black and purple side said as the Rider brought up two GaiaMemories.

"Ah. How thrilling." Phillip agreed.

LUNA!

METAL!

He then inserted them into the Double Driver before pushing them apart.

LUNA-METAL!

Once his colors changed to yellow and silver. He took out the Metal Shaft and swung, using the element of the Luna GaiaMemory to make it turn into a whip, lashing the hybrids away. He then took out the Metal GaiaMemory and inserted it in the Metal Shaft.

METAL: MAXIMUM DRIVE!

Double swung the Metal Shaft around as it made six rings of gold energy before shouting, "Metal Illusion!" and smacked all the rings towards the pack of Hybrid Grimms.

Kurai was staring at OOO in awe, whilst the Rider began to feel nervous. "Uh, is there something on my face?" OOO asked, a bit apprehensive to be talking to a Greeed he's never met before.

"No, you're just really cool," Kurai said before the hand of Nero and a crimson Greeed hand smacked her upside the head. "OUCHIE!"

"Ankh, be nice to her. She is technically your sister." OOO scolded.

"Urusei! We're in the middle of a fight!" The hand said while flexing its bird-like fingers.

"Big brother?" Kurai said looking at Anhk, "I have a big brother!" She hugged the hand happily, jumping around.

"Ack! Eiji, I'm gonna kill you for this!" Ankh gagged as the reptile Greeed squeezed him harder.

"Anyways, I gotta deal with this!" He said before inserting three Cell Medals in his Medajalibur and scanned them with his OOO Scanner.

TRIPLE SCANNING CHARGE!

"SEIYA!" He shouted, slicing a group of Grimm Hybrids along with the fabric of reality before the latter came back together, but as their Grimm Hybrids themselves, they were destroyed

Fourze was giving the girls and Sun his signature handshake, "Yo! The name's Kamen Rider Fourze and it's my goal to be best buds with every person in the universe!" The space-themed Rider declared. Ruby giggled as she returned the handshake.

"I gotta do this!" Ruby squealed in delight, before doing a selfie with Fourze. He held his hands up in his signature pose as she took a picture.

"Yosh! Oh, I better get back to the fight!" Fourze said as his jetpack began to power up. "Uchuuuuuuuu kitaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" He cried out as he flew back into the battle, headbutting the first Grimm Hybrid that got in his way. Once he landed, he pounded his fist against his chest twice then directed it at the monsters. "Let's fight man-to-man!" He said, before activating a switch.

ROCKET ON!

The Rocket Module attached to his arm and it ignited before he started flying around and crashing into the enemies.

"Saa, Showtime da!" Wizard announced as he twirled his tailcoat while wielding his WizardSwordGun. He then opened fire upon multiple hybrids, some of the silver bullets magically flying past obstacles. He then took out a spell ring and flipped the Hand Author before scanning.

BIG! PLEASE!

A large magic circle came out and Wizard stuck his hand out before his arm came out from the other side, the size of a large tree trunk and smack a whole pack of Hybrid Grimms.

"Magic?! Impossible!" Weiss exclaimed.

"You saw it when we transformed into magic users in the Initiation." Shiro reminded her. "So how is that surprising?"

Weiss stuttered.

LOCK ON! 1! 10! 100! 1,000! 10,000!

"Take this!" Gaim shouted swing his Musou Saber in Naginata mode with his Daidaimaru, sending two waves of orange energy on a pack of Grimm Hybrids and encased in an energy orange. He then twirled it around before charging at it.

ORANGE CHARGE!

"SEIHAAAAAAAAA!" Gaim shouted, as he sliced the orange before the monsters inside exploded and the energy oranges dispersed into slices of energy oranges.

"This is our stage now!" Gaim announced.

SP-SP-SPEED!

Tridoron's horn beeped as Drive sped around the Hybrids, using the small wheels on the heels of his feet to kick them or slide around to dodge their attacks. He then equipped himself with the Handle-Ken and turned the wheel on the weapon.

TURN! TURN! U-TURN!

"Time to take them for a spin!" Drive said as he U-Turned around a group of Grimm Hybrids, slashing them along the way.

DRIFT KAITEN!

Drive skidded around, stopping as the hybrids exploded. Nearby, Ghost was creating a huge tornado of ghostly energy.

"We're going to burn our lives brighter than ever!" Ghost declared, performing a Buddhist gesture with his hands that mimicked his symbol. He then pulled the handle on his belt back and forth causing his belt to 'blink' showing a kick motion.

DAI KAIGAN! O-RE: OMEGA DRIVE!

He floated up as the Eye symbol appeared behind him before diving down for his Rider Kick, destroying the Grimm Hybrids he was aiming for.

GASHACON BREAKER!

"I'll clear this with no continues!" Ex-Aid declared as he ran through a pack of Grimm Hybrids and slashed them with his Gashacon Breaker in hammer mode.

[A] + [A] + [A]

"Oryah!" He shouted as he pulled a 3-hit combo on another group.

[HIT] [HIT] [HIT] [GREAT!]

A few Grimm Hybrids were surrounding Build, who looked at the creatures with interest, "Fascinating. I should get a sample of these monsters before I go back home." He commented.

"Um… I don't think this is the time for an experiment." Zi-O said. "I don't have a good feeling about it."

"Hai, hai, relax. It's only a joke. Well, the laws of victory are in hand now!" Build declared as he brought up his Drill Crusher then slots in the Rocket FullBottle and pulled the trigger.

READY!? GO! VORTEC BREAK!

Build slashed the air with his charged up Drill Crusher, sending out energy rockets that struck the monsters that surrounded him and Zi-O. Once they were destroyed, the Scientist of Love and Peace nudged the King of Team, "Oi, it's your turn to do something."

"Oh, right," Zi-O nodded as he flicked his hand, accidently hitting Build in the face.

"Ite!" Build groaned before smacking Zi-O on the head. "Watch what you're doing, baka!"

"Gomen!" The King of Time apologized. "I got a good feeling about this!" He said before taking off his Zi-O RideWatch before inserting it in his Zikan Girade.

FINISH TIME!

"Haaaaaaaaaaa…" Zi-O readied his blade as energy surged through it. "Hyaaaaaaah!"

ZI-O GIRI GIRI SLASH!

He swung his blade in a circle to create a clock, and then another way to show the clock hands spinning around. The girls and Sun were all in awe at the Riders battling so many monsters. Meanwhile Azrael was burning with anger and hatred for the Kamen Riders. The last of the monsters exploded, leaving only the Alter left.

"Looks like you're the only one left!" Den-O declared, pointing his sword at the monster.

"It's over for you!" Zi-O announced.

Azrael snarled then he began to laugh. It started off as a chuckle before it slowly became a mad cackle.

"Um, I missed the joke. Someone wanna tell me what this dude is laughing about?" Fourze asked his fellow Riders.

"The joke is that you Riders are underestimating my power…" The Alter brought up his palm as violet energy pulsed around it. "Here! Let me show you!" Azrael declared as he released a shockwave that sent the Heisei Riders flying with pained cries. The Kamen Riders all landed roughly on their backs, their armors all smoking from the powerful blast.

"Guys!" Azure cried out.

"Hahahahahaha! See that? I told you that you Rider could never defeat me!" Azrael boasted. "I've studied each and every single one of your moves! I know your strengths and your weaknesses! No Kamen Rider in history can stand against my power!"

"Wrong!" A voice called out, stopping the madman's taunting. Azrael looked back to see the struggling form of Kamen Rider Kurenai. "Even if… that were true… that you know everything about us… you will never understand… the true power of a Kamen Rider!"

"Hahahahahahahahahaha! Oh really. I AM true power!"

Kurenai placed a hand over his chest plate, "No! All you are is a sad fool who can't handle the fact that righteousness prevails and evil will fall! Kamen Riders don't rely solely on their armor or their weapons… They rely on their hearts!"

"HAH! Hearts are for the weak!" Azrael scoffed. "In the end, all of your so-called morals mean nothing once you're dead! Unlike you, I have nothing to lose!"

"They are not!" Kurenai snapped. "A heart is never weak! Every Rider before me… all of them faced trials that would've broken anybody else… but they kept fighting because they knew they had to. Even if they were alone, they kept fighting! For the hopes and dreams of mankind! That's why…" The crimson Rider looked at his hand… then gripped it into a fist. "That's why I will defeat you!"

The Heisei Riders, Aura Riders, and the teens looked at Kurenai in surprise.

"Well said, young man…" An entirely new voice said. The fabric of space opened up as something akin to a golden clock appeared, materializing in a distorted way as it opened up and a new Rider came out. But this was no ordinary Rider. No… this one was different. Stepping out of the distortion was a Kamen Rider in a black bodysuit and clad in golden armor that resembled Zi-O but the kanji on his mask was red instead of pink, his shoulders were more triangular and had blank Ride-Watches, a grey loincloth, a golden watch strap-based sash, and two tails that dangled behind him with the ends looking like the hands of a clock. On the right shoulder guard of his armor were several darkened RideWatches.

"No way… Oma Zi-O…" Shiro whispered in fright.

"I can sense his power from here!" Kurai said trembling again.

Kurenai glared at Oma Zi-O, "What are you doing here?"

"Be at ease. I am merely here to make things easier for you." Oma Zi-O said, turning to his younger self. "After all, it is thanks to my past self that he has shown me that his way of kindness is the correct and true way to rule as a king."

"And you're here to help me?" Kurenai questioned. He looked away with a dry look on his face, 'And just when I was getting a chance to be cool…'

"Hmhmhm… it's amusing that you would try to act heroic. But alas, miracles won't come to you on a silver platter. You must earn that." Oma Zi-O said before turning to Azrael. With a wave of his hand, a powerful golden shockwave burst out, making everyone hold their ground as the shockwave sent shipment containers flying as if they were cardboard boxes and Azrael was hit badly, sending electrical shocks across his body and exploding in different places before falling on his knees.

"Gahhhhhh! No! Why is this happening!?" Azrael demanded. "My power should be greater than any Kamen Rider! So why…!?"

"You may know the strengths and weaknesses of every Kamen Rider, but I hold no such weakness!" Oma Zi-O said, before sending another shockwave, damaging him even more.

"There he goes with that arrogant attitude again…" Decade said with a sweatdrop.

"Silence pinkie." Oma Zi-O quipped.

"Pinku janai! Magenta da!"

"Now go! Kurenai! Show him your power!" Oma Zi-O declared.

"Yare, yare! Don't go bossing me around, old man!" Kurenai retorted before he charged at the weakened Azrael with renewed vigor. Azrael roared, unleashing the full extent of his powers, his aura reaching insurmountable heights.

"I refuse… to lose to you!" Azrael shouts, "HUMAAAAAAAAAAAANS!"

Kurenai threw a punch at the powered up Alter but the aura around the monster pushed him back but the Kamen Rider quickly regained his footing, skidding the ground as sparks erupted from his boots.

"I won't… let you win!" Kurenai roared as he grabbed hold of his damaged helmet and tore it off, revealing Aaron's scuffed and bleeding face. He grabbed the wolf's head on his Driver then opened and closed it not once, or twice, but three times!

ULTRA BITE!

A crimson aura surrounded the young Rider until it began to take the shape of a wolf that released a loud howl. The aura transferred to his right foot as he took a running start avoiding energy blasts that were directed at him. With a roar, Aaron jumped into the air, avoiding a bigger blast then used his momentum to descend towards Azrael in a flying kick motion. The Alter brought up his hands to summon a shield, stopping the Rider Kick from reaching him… until cracks began to form throughout the shield.

"Impossible! I'm all-powerful! I'm the strongest being on this miserable planet! Just who the hell are you!?"

"Ore-wa… ore-tachi-wa… Kamen Raida da!" Aaron roared as the crimson wolf behind him released another howl that energized his kick. Unfortunately, it still lacked enough strength to pierce through. "Just a bit more… I need a bit more power!"

"Then let us help you, kid!"

The crimson Aura Rider looked back to the source of the voice. It was the other Riders preparing their own final attack to aid him.

FINAL VENT!

EXCEED CHARGE!

LIGHTNING BLAST!

RIDER KICK!

FULL CHARGE!

WAKE UP!

FINAL ATTACK RIDE: D-D-D-DECADE!

JOKER: MAXIMUM DRIVE!

SCANNING CHARGE!

ROCKET DRILL LIMIT BREAK!

CHO II NE! KICK STRIKE! SAIKO~!

SOIYA! ORANGE SPARKING!

HISSATSU! FULL~ THROTTLE: SPEED!

DAI KAIGAN! O-RE: OMEGA DRIVE!

MIGHTY CRITICAL~ STRIKE!

VORTEC FINISH! YAAAAY!

TIME BREAK!

The twenty Heisei Riders all joined in as they delivered their own Rider Kicks against the Alter's shield. Azrael's yellow eyes widened in sheer disbelief as the force from attacks began to break his shield until finally… it shattered.

"Masaka…" Azrael muttered in disbelief. He cried out in pain as Kuuga struck him first then Agito then Ryuki, Faiz, Blade, Hibiki, Kabuto, Den-O, Kiva, Decade, W, OOO, Fourze, Wizard, Gaim, Drive, Ghost, Ex-Aid, Build, and Zi-O. All of the Heisei Riders' kicks had struck the Alter sending him flying into the air. However, it was far from finished as Aaron, who was propelled by the manifestation of his Aura, resumed his own Rider Kick.

"Haaaaaaaa…" The Aura Kamen Rider released a mighty roar as his own power flared to its maximum output. "HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" In the next moment, Aaron's kick had made contact with Azrael's face.

ULTRA CRIMSON FANG!

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Azrael screamed as he was consumed in a violent explosion of purple flames and black mist.

Aaron landed on the asphalt but nearly stumbled on his landing, his body beginning to take its toll from the entire fight and for using so much of his own energy in the last attack. "Oh my God… so glad that's over…" He panted. When he looked like he'd stumble over, his friends caught him.

The black mist began to disperse, leaving only a black hood.

"Dude, that was awesome!" Orion told his team leader.

"It was pretty impressive," Orpheus added.

"Super awesome bud," Koa decided to include.

"That'll teach that asshole not to mess with Team JOKR!" Kurogasa said with a grin.

Aaron smiled at his friends after he dismissed his transformation then looked back at the gathered Heisei Riders, who were all giving the crimson-eyed teen nods of acceptance.

"Minna-san…" Aaron spoke as he closed his eyes in thought then reopened them with a big grin on his face. "Arigatou na!"

Each of the Heisei Riders gave the boy and his friends thankful gestures, including Oma Zi-O. Decade waved his hand as a silver veil opened up and one by one the Heisei Riders went back to their own world. "Before I leave, Kurenai, Shiro, Azure, and Nero… step forward." Oma Zi-O said.

Team JOKR looked at one another before they sheepishly approached the Demon King of Time.

With a hand over them, his hand glowed and energy seemed to seep out of Team JOKR's bodies and into Oma Zi-O's body.

"Wait, what happened?" Orion asked.

"You have been blessed." Oma Zi-O said. "You have earned it through your own abilities and passed your trials and tribulations to obtain it. Your Strength, Resolve, Wisdom, and Compassion are what's needed to protect this world. As of this moment, you are all official Kamen Riders."

Aaron blinked in surprise, "I don't know what's weirder… the fact we fought with past Riders or the fact that Oma Zi-O is actually making us true Riders in name."

"Call it what you will." Oma Zi-O chuckled. "Be well, fellow Kamen Riders." Oma Zi-O said with a nod, and with that, he disappeared into the distortion of spacetime.

"Okay… who here is freaked out that Oma Zi-O endorsed us? Raise your hands." Orpheus said. All four raised their hands in agreement, whilst Kurai also raised her hand but was confused by recent events.

"Well, guess we can all go home n-" Aaron was cut off when he heard the rubble that Azrael had exploded in begin to move. "What the…?"

A large piece of asphalt was removed before it revealed Azrael, his clothes torn and blooded with wounds while his hood barely clung onto his head yet it still shadowed his face, save for the glowing hate-filled yellow eyes that glared right at the Riders.

"OH COME ON!" Kurogasa shouted.

"What does it take to put this guy down?!" Orion exclaimed.

"You… all of you…" Azrael hissed. "All of you have made a fool of me for the last time. I wanted to prolong this game… but no more. You're all so proud of your accomplishments but it will not last!"

With his declaration, he disappeared into the darkness, leaving the Riders to ponder what he meant..


LINE BREAK


Later, a handful of police cars are at the docks, where Ruby, Blake, Sun, and Penny are sitting on boxes in silence. That is until Weiss and Yang appear on the scene and Ruby began speaking quickly to explain the situation, "Look, Weiss, it's not what you think, she explained the whole thing. See, she doesn't actually have a bow, she has kitty ears and they're actually kind of cute…" She said, but Weiss ignores her and squares off with Blake.

After calmly looking her down Blake began to speak, "Weiss, I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was with the-" Weiss interrupts her.

"Stop! Do you have any idea of how long we've been searching for you?" She pauses, "Twelve hours. That means I've had twelve hours to think about this. And in those twelve hours, I've decided…"

Everyone looked on, worried, before the next statement surprised them.

"I don't care."

"You don't care?" Blake said, surprised.

"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?"

"No, I-I haven't been since I was younger-"

"Ah-bah-bah-bah-bah! I don't want to hear it. All I want to know is that the next time something this big comes up… you'll come to your teammates. And not some…" She pauses, looking at Sun behind her as she catches herself, "Someone else."

Blake looked at Ruby and Yang grinned at her, before she wipes a tear from her eye, nodding. "Of course."

Weiss smiles and nods. The moment is serious for a second more until Ruby screams "Yeah! Team RWBY is back together!" She said, waving her arms wildly.

As the five gather with each other, Weiss points accusingly at Sun. "I'm still not quite sure about how I feel about you!" she said, making Sun laugh nervously.

"Oh man, why do I feel like we all have headaches?" Aaron groaned.

"Well, we were fighting Azrael… still can't believe we won." Orion answered as he held his aching head.

"Yeah. And the Heisei Riders, helping us. Along with Oma Zi-O." Orpheus said, still holding onto his head.

Koa groaned as she tried to get up, gripping her head… "Wait… why am I…?"

"What's wrong?" Kurogasa asked.

"I got an ouchie." Koa said with watery eyes, "Orphee~, make it better."

"You're a big girl. Just slap a bandage on it." Aaron deadpanned. "Don't whine like a little kid." Kurai puffed her cheeks and then stuck her tongue out at him, which the leader grabbed and pulled comically. "It's not nice to stick your tongue out at people either."

"Owowowowowowow!" Kurai cried as she waved her arms helplessly and comically.

"Heh…" Kurogasa chuckled before looking back at Team RWBY. He then noticed Blake looking at him, but she looked away, knowing what she did. Kurogasa then decided to walk over. "Uh… hey. You look like you wanted to say something to me."

"Y-yeah," The cat Faunus sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. "Sorry for… you know, knocking you out. You were only trying to help and… I was being foolish."

That's when Kurogasa hugged Blake much to her surprise. "Just… don't do that again… okay?"

Blake smiled and nodded, returning the hug. "Thank you for being my friend, Kuro."

Kurai was holding her sore tongue and bleeding head whilst being held by Orpheus who was giving his leader a mild glare.

"Ah, that reminds me…" Aaron walked over to Blake and flicked her hard on the forehead.

"Itai…" Blake looked at her adopted brother in surprise, "What was that for?"

"For running away, Blake. You neko-baka!" The JOKR team leader chastised his sister.

"Don't call me a baka!" Blake shot back.

"I'll say it as much as I want, baka!"

"Oh God, they're going at it again…" Orion deadpanned.

"They almost act like a married couple…" Orpheus said in a dry tone.

"Hey, wait a minute… Where's Penny?" Ruby said as she looked around.

From the darkened back seat of a limo, Penny watches the group of friends reuniting with each other. "You should know better than to go running around in a strange city." The driver said.

"I know, sir." Penny said, lowering her head sadly.

"Penny, your time will come..." The limo drives off.


LINE BREAK


Meanwhile, Ozpin is seen holding a Scroll showing a "LIVE FEED" of Ruby at the docks. He closes the video and opens up a communication with Qrow, whose team name and other information is left blank and his only message is: "QUEEN HAS PAWNS."

"Hmmm…" Ozpin pondered.


LINE BREAK


Roman walks into a large warehouse with a shadowy interior. He goes over to a table and places down a case of mysterious contents, sighing in tiredness.

"How very disappointing, Roman." A feminine voice says, shocking the criminal.

"Whoa! Hehe… I wasn't expecting to see you guys so soon..." Roman said, as five figures approached him. Two of the figures were Azrael and a figure who was covered head to toe with a hood leaving only acidic green eyes glowing, whilst of the three figures before Roman, only the feminine figure's head, containing yellow eyes and flowing dark hair, is seen, "We were expecting… more from you."

This got Roman to laugh a little before getting serious, "Hey! You were the ones who suggested working with those stupid mutts from the White Fang." He grumbled.

The woman chuckled darkly, "And you will continue to do so." She says as she summons a fireball in her hand and steps out of the darkness with her two companions, a purple-haired man and mint-haired, tanned woman, eyes glowing gold, "We have big plans for you, Roman. All we ask is... a little cooperation." The woman's evil smile was the last thing to be seen.


GKC: And there's the ending of Volume 1… sort of. I mean, it's not really finished because we have a few filler episodes to do before Volume 2 begins. And if any of you have listened to the JUMP START song by nano, that shall be Team JOKR's official theme song. I'm thinking of giving each individual Rider their own theme song but for now JUMP START will be the team's theme.

SR: Oh my god what a Chapter! I think my eyes almost popped out from all those plot twists!

GKC: Yep, this one was possibly the longest yet most epic chapter we've written yet. And there are plenty more to come.

SR: Alright! What's next?

GKC: What's next you say? Why, the next clip for the chapter, of course.


Announcer: Jikai! Remnant's Climax Heroes!

Aaron: It's finished! My virtual fighting game is complete!

Kurogasa: Oh no, why are we trapped in this game!?

Koa: OOH~! An unattended game console!

Orion: Koa, stop playing us!

Orpheus: I think I'm gonna be sick! Urp!

Next Time: Virtual Prison! Rider vs Rider!

Ruby: Oooooooh! A new game!


SR: Till then, stay tuned for the next Henshin!

GKC: Peace out, everybody!


*Translations

1: That's enough, both of you!

2: I'm just a passing through Kamen Rider!

3: Remember that!