Rider Time Zi-O: Roze from Remnant
Chapter 69 – New Ideas and Careful Approaches
Jinn gave a smirk as she floated around the white void, the black clock from Woz's still in its usual spot, "I must admit," she said as she peaked over the clock to see Woz leaning against it, "That was interesting."
"I take it you're still willing to collaborate like this?" Woz asked.
"Given the first impression he made to those haughty Atlas soldiers, consider me impressed," Jinn remarked.
"Very well," Woz smiled as he opened his book, "Sougo Tokiwa alongside Geiz, Tsukuyomi and I travel to Remnant with Miss Rose and her team alongside young Oscar. There we reunite with their companions and make haste to Atlas."
"But the city in the sky is not as glamorous as once thought," Jinn added, "It also casts a shadow over the older city of Mantle. With everyone witnessing a glimpse of how bad the conditions are, opinions of Atlas plummet."
"That's an understatement," Woz chuckled, "After a Grimm attack, my Overlord manages to persuade the resident elite soldiers, the Ace-Ops, into giving us more desirable treatment. While we must part with our equipment temporarily, it is but a minor issue as we make our way towards General Ironwood himself, where my Overlord will make an interesting decision…"
"Oh dear, read too far ahead?" Jinn chuckled.
"A tad," Woz replied, "But this will be amusing to say the least."
Remnant – Atlas Airspace
The ride in the prison van was definitely an awkward one to say the least. Mostly since everyone was sort of just twiddling their thumbs and fidgeting. Not really sure of what to do or what to say at the moment.
"So uh… what do you think the verdict is?" Ruby asked, trying to strike conversation.
"The pessimist in me says jail," Qrow said.
"And the optimist…?" Geiz asked.
"Where we all want to go clearly," Qrow replied.
"That lead guy was definitely weird," Jaune admitted, recalling the way the leader of the Ace-Ops fled the scene, "Like, who uses a fishing pole as a weapon?"
"Welcome to Atlas," Weiss sighed, "Those were Ironwood's Ace Operatives."
"So like, the best of the best?" Sougo asked.
"It seems like it, especially given they almost got the drop on us," Tsukuyomi added.
"Hmm…?" in the corner was an unfamiliar man that was sharing the ride with them, "You guys had a run-in with the Ace-Ops? Ironwood must really have a bone to pick with you."
"They're not that big of a deal," Weiss rolled her eyes, before her expression turned to a near smug one, "Besides Sougo handled them pretty well, right?"
"Huh? Oh, well yeah I guess I did," Sougo gave a grin as he raised his wrists to show they weren't cuffed.
"Seriously…?" The man asked in surprise, "Jeez you must be a pretty big deal yourself then. The Ace-Ops are the elite-of-elite military Huntsmen and Irownwood's personal attack dogs."
"So they got you then?" Nora asked.
"Pffft! I wouldn't let myself get caught by them," The man replied, "I'm here because I've been speaking out against Atlas' exploitation of Mantle, and General Ironwood is trying to silence me."
"You threw a brick at our ship!" The Pilot corrected in annoyance.
"It's worth it if it gets people talking about our cause!" The man called out proudly much to the further annoyance of both pilots.
"…"our cause"…?" Blake asked.
"Yes, the fight for better conditions in Mantle!" The man explained, "Led by the charismatic, talented, lovely Robyn Hill and her Happy Huntresses!"
As if to save themselves from the spiel somewhat the pilot pressed a button. This began closing the window that separated the cab and back of the ship to reduce the noise.
The man noticed this and stood up to yell over the closing window, "They were all top Atlas Academy graduates, who could've signed up for the military, but Robyn and the Huntresses chose to stay in Mantle. She's gunning for a seat on the Kingdom's council, and when she gets it, she's gonna put an end to Ironwood's tyranny!"
"Happy… Huntresses?" Oscar asked.
"Is that their real name?" Yang also asked.
"It sounds cool," Sougo admitted, taking an interest in this Robyn Hill.
"You think anything sounds cool," Geiz sighed.
"Don't you think "tyranny's" a little dramatic?" Weiss asked.
The man turned and was surprised before giving a glare, "Easy to say for a Schnee heiress, living comfortably up in Atlas."
"Not anymore," Weiss sighed.
"Is the news really that slow?" Tsukuyomi asked, recalling that Weiss had mentioned she had lost that title quite a while back.
The prison transport began to lift higher and higher through the clouds, soon giving everyone a view of the City of Atlas. It was certainly a sight to behold, skyscrapers lining multiple areas of the Kingdom while layering upwards, a bright clean blue pleasing aesthetic catching Ruby's eyes.
"Whoa, it's gorgeous up here!" Ruby said, captivated.
Jaune and Nora quickly left their seats to look out, Sougo turning and gasping in awe.
"Too gorgeous if you ask me," Geiz muttered.
"Yeah don't let that fool you," Weiss muttered in agreement.
"Hmm…?" The man was confused at their reactions and stood up to look outside, "This isn't the police station."
"It's… Atlas Academy," Qrow trailed as he managed to catch a glimpse of where they were going.
"So did it work?" Sougo asked, "I think it worked."
"Let's hold our horses Zi-O," Geiz sighed, "We're not out of the woods yet."
"So if we do have a meeting with the esteemed General, what is our course of action?" Woz asked.
"Yeah… especially what with you four," Yang gestured to the four Riders.
"Hmm, leave that to me," Sougo said as the gears in his head began turning, "I think I can give a coherent enough explanation."
"I'll take the lead too," Ruby agreed, "If we really are meeting with him that is."
It wasn't long before Ruby's question was answered as they landed on the flight pad that led towards Atlas Academy. Two Atlas military guards immediately rushed over and opened the doors as soon as it landed.
Ruby took the lead alongside Sougo, the two staring up at the tower as everyone stepped out. Needless to say, it was an imposing sight for some. The two guards that opened the door took the lead before they gestured to follow them.
"Okay, looks like we will be meeting with him," Ruby noted all the guards lining the way for them, "For better or for worse."
Remnant – Atlas Academy, Top Floor
It was a bit of a trek, and a nerve-racking one at that as the guards that led them forward simply stayed quiet as the pathway was cleared for them. There was no one else around, no students, faculty, only the military personnel who simply escorted them forward. Of course the walking wasn't the longest part as that had been the elevator ride up, everyone staying silent as Ruby and Sougo stood at the front of the group.
"So…" Ruby trailed.
"I think we can do this," Sougo gave a reassuring smile.
The guards glanced back at the two but said nothing as a ding was heard, the door opening as they led the group out into a main elevator hall. They then began to walk forward, leading them down some steps and into a hallway that held a circular room with two hallways to the side and a series of steps in a hallway leading further in.
Walking out of one of the hallways was Ironwood who was accompanied by Winter and surprisingly, Penny. The guards immediately stopped and stood closer together to keep the group from advancing further.
"Are you sure that's a good idea, sir?" Winter asked as her attention was on her boss, "Wasting time to look into what our researches say is an odd star in the sky?"
"Honestly, I'd rather deal with minor astrology issues from time to time," Ironwood admitted as he also completely overlooked the crowd of people, "I swear if I have to sit through one more council meeting like that… regardless, Clover said we had another important meeting next, right?"
"Yes," Winter nodded, "It's apparently with-"
Penny however noticed the group and gave a gasp, "Yay, you're here!"
Needless to say Penny's outburst of a greeting had caught Ironwood's and Winter's attention, Ironwood staring in surprise as he recognized most of the members of Ruby's group.
Weiss soon stepped out from behind Ruby and stepped forward, "Winter."
Winter couldn't help but give a light gasp, both sisters simply staring at each other as it had been a long time since they had seen the other face to face.
"So um… we don't need to be escorted anymore, right?" Nora asked as she interrupted the reunion.
Winter quickly took a moment to collect herself before returning to her usual stern demeanor and assessing the situation, "The two of you are dismissed."
"Huh?" The first guard asked, "Do you not want us to place them somewhere?"
"We figured that's what Captain Ebi wanted us to bring them here for," The second guard added, "To meet with you so that you could give the orders for detainment."
"There will be no detainment, you will be dismissed to your usual posts, and you better not have touched a single hair on my sister's head," Winter said as she kept her stern look.
The two guards looked at each other in confusion before suddenly registering what Winter had said. They frantically began to bow once they realized what was going on, shouting various apologies as they quickly backed up past the group and hurried to the elevators. Ironwood himself couldn't help but smirk a bit as he watched this happen.
"Sounds like Clover had a good first impression of you if you all weren't heavily detained," Ironwood said as he noticed the lack of cuffs, he then gestured towards the end of the hall, "Still, it is so good to see all of you, please, come in."
Ironwood, Winter, and Penny all led the group into Headmaster's office. It was a fairly circular enclosed room, a large half-dome set of windows towards the back. One thing of note was that several patches of the floors held constellations in the form of gold stars. Something Woz and Geiz took note of immediately, especially when they recognized them as being just like Earth's.
"Yeah well, it was hard to tell given the reception," Yang admitted as she gestured to her missing prosthetic.
"I sincerely regret how you were treated by my team," Ironwood sighed as he went to walk over to his desk, Penny and Winter joining at his right and left respectively, "When a rogue airship entered our airspace, at least on radar, not to mention with no sign of it after getting into the city. That raised some… red flags. We assumed the ship was stolen."
"Stolen?" Ruby asked with a bit of an awkward laugh before sighing, "Okay, yeah, it was stolen."
"I feel it's a bit fair that you were wary," Sougo replied, "We definitely didn't get here the conventional way."
"We barely got here at all given it was beaten to hell and back, there was a bit of a Grimm attack when we ended up taking it," Geiz added, "We sort of had to trek through the cold just to barely make it to Mantle."
Sougo couldn't help but notice Ironwood's reaction being that of amusement, even trying to hide a chuckle. He smiled at that but soon frowned when he could visibly see Winter's anger rising.
"You stole an Atlas airship?" Winter asked though she was more directing this towards Weiss, soon walking towards her, "Moreover during a Grimm attack? What were you thinking!? You might've been shot down! How unbelievably irresponsible-"
"I'm sorry I worried you," Weiss interrupted as she went to hug her sister, "But we did what we had to do."
"I…" Winter was caught off guard but returned the hug, calming down, "I suppose I understand."
"This is nice," Tsukuyomi admitted, glad to see the sisters having a tender moment.
"But," Winter pulled away from Weiss and gave a glare towards Qrow, "I cannot believe that you allowed this to happen, Qrow."
"To be fair, he didn't have a choice," Geiz replied.
"Yeah, you try stopping these kids when they have their mind set on something. Speaking of which…" Qrow turned towards Ironwood, "We have some important information for you that's… confidential."
"Oh is it about the Relics?" Penny asked nonchalantly.
Winter soon returned to Ironwood's side, "Or perhaps the Winter Maiden?"
"Wait, what?" Tsukuyomi trailed as she was in shock with everyone else.
Qrow however asked the important question, "You told them?"
"Hmm," Ironwood gave a chuckle as he stood from his desk, retrieving the Relic of Knowledge from a drawer as it grew to normal size, "Did you really think you were the only one who got to work on a new plan after Beacon? With Ozpin gone, I needed my own team of people to trust. So yes, I told them, the Ace-Ops too. Though it seems like you all also decided to grow your team out of necessity, I don't recognize a few of you from the one's I met in Vale."
"Oh right," Ruby said as she decided introductions are in order, "This is Sougo, I might have ended up getting separated from my team after some unfortunate circumstances… and well, Sougo and his uncle ended up helping me out before I met the rest of his friends. They've been helping us out ever since then and things have been wild, to say the least."
"They've been pretty valuable allies in our fight," Weiss added.
"I see," Ironwood said, raising an eyebrow at Sougo's name but deciding to not question it for the time being, "Well if Ruby here considers you an ally to our cause then I do as well."
"Thank you very much," Sougo smiled as he gave a bow.
"Regardless I'm glad you're here with this," Ironwood gestured to the Relic he still held, "Until now, I believed it was impossible to truly turn the tide against Salem. Oz has pushed her back, has kept victory out of her claws, but she will keep returning stronger and stronger… unless we destroy her."
Ruby watched as Ironwood placed the Relic atop his desk, inwardly sighing in relief that the copy seemed to still be working fine so far, "But… what about the Atlas Relic?"
"You mean the Staff of Creation?" Ironwood asked.
"It's safe inside the Vault!" Penny confirmed.
"What about the Winter Maiden?" Qrow asked.
"She is secure," Winter said with a pause, "And in stable condition."
Yang raised an eyebrow, "Stable condition? What does that-"
"She's, uh, not exactly a spring chicken," Qrow admitted.
"I know how this all looks," Ironwood admitted, "Recalling my military? The embargo? I probably don't seem the most trustworthy right now."
"Then why continue it?" Blake asked.
"The people of Mantle are hurting!" Nora stressed.
"Yeah, things aren't exactly the best down there," Geiz agreed.
"I need to ensure Salem couldn't infiltrate Atlas," Ironwood said, "And I wanted my military here, protecting my people."
"But it's not protecting them!" Yang stressed, "It's making everyone hate you."
"It's a price I'm willing to pay," Ironwood replied before having his hand hover over the buttons on his desk, tapping one that held the symbol of a table.
Soon enough the shutters on the windows began to come down, darkening the room. The circle in the center of the floor that held Atlas' emblem began to rise up. Everyone that was near it began stepping off of it before it transformed into a table.
"Just as you all have been entrusted with the knowledge of Salem's existence, I need you all to trust me. I have a plan," Ironwood said as he walked over from his desk towards the table, "Ozpin believed the best way to fight Salem was to do so in secret. Whether that was the right choice or not isn't for me to say. But we find ourselves in a position of needing, well, a new approach."
"New approach…?" Tsukuyomi asked, though Geiz narrowed his eyes at this.
"And what do you suggest?" Qrow asked.
Ironwood simply took out a remote and pressed a button, the table being revealed to be a projection table as a hologram display of a floating stadium was now shown, the display lighting up the darkened room.
"That's… Amity Colosseum," Jaune spoke up.
"Where the Vytal Festival is held?" Oscar asked.
"What's a Colosseum got to do with beating Salem?" Geiz asked, skeptical at this.
"When Beacon fell and everyone on Remnant lost contact with one another, I knew our current system was outdated," Ironwood explained, "Amity was built to bring the nations together, and it will serve that purpose once again."
It wasn't long before Ironwood pressed another button, the hologram of Amity gaining an antenna on top. Everyone could only glance at each other in surprise, soon realizing what Ironwood's plan was for the Colosseum.
"Isn't it great?" Penny asked, "We're not going to just replace Beacon Tower. Building a new tower on top of Amity Colosseum will re-establish global communications!"
"Whoa, that sounds awesome!" Sougo called out in excitement.
Winter cleared her throat, "By launching the tower high into the atmosphere, our scientists believe we can create a sort of… satellite out of reach of the Grimm and capable of maintaining global communications even if we were to lose another tower."
"A very ingenious idea," Woz admitted as he stared at the hologram.
"Yeah, I agree with Sougo, that is awesome," Ruby smiled since it looked like Remnant was getting one step closer to getting a better communications network just like Earth.
"James… you don't need the entire military for this," Qrow pointed out.
"I will for the next part, where I finally tell my people about Salem," Ironwood answered, everyone was silent and grew slightly nervous at this.
This was mostly due to the fact that they knew about Salem's immortality. Even if the people knew about her they wouldn't be able to kill her. Geiz and Tsukuyomi glanced at each other, the two not liking how hasty Ironwood wanted to stack his plans together.
"So that's why you withdrew your troops," Qrow realized, "To handle the panic that would break out in Atlas."
"Yes, panic is inevitable, and panic brings Grimm," Ironwood gave a nod, understanding the gravity of what he had said, "But I believe we are ready. Once Atlas has come to grips with the fight ahead, I'll use Amity Tower to spread the message to all of Remnant."
"But everything will fall apart," Weiss argued, "Grimm will be everywhere!"
"I get the idea, flush her out," Geiz admitted, "But shouldn't we rethink the approach, just a bit?"
"There's no need to worry, Atlas is willing and prepared to assist," Winter said.
Sougo couldn't help but grow inwardly cautious while still holding some enthusiasm. He could already see the flaws in Ironwood's leadership and decision making. This was very apparent with Mantle, their first meeting, and now the Amity and Salem plan.
"Trying to hide the truth from the world will eventually kill us all," Ironwood stated as he pressed a button on the remote he held, the hologram disappearing as the table began to transform and recede into the floor, the shutters pulling away from the windows.
"Oz spent his whole life, many lives, keeping this secret," Qrow pointed out.
"I know. But since Beacon, things have changed," Ironwood argued as he began heading back to his desk, "Without him here to guide us, all I can do is use my best judgment."
"I uh…" Oscar wasn't sure if he should be the one to explain Ozpin's situation or not but figured it might be best to get some more trust going. Though he wondered if the others should try and lead, of course those thoughts came too late when he saw Ironwood had his eyes on him, "Uh…"
"What is it?" Ironwood asked.
"Actually, Oz isn't completely gone," Oscar admitted.
"Uh, Oscar here is… is the next Ozpin," Qrow spoke up, unaware of the plan the others had.
"Oz?" Ironwood asked as he gave a genuine smile, eagerly approaching Oscar and getting to one knee to be eye level with him, "I'm so glad you're here. I didn't think you-"
Oscar put his hands up to interrupt Ironwood, "Not quite. He's kind of, um, gone… at the moment."
"That's not normal," Ironwood gave a frown as he lowered his head before looking back at Oscar, "How did he vanish?"
"We're not exactly sure," Ruby spoke up to take the lead.
"Yeah, we were in a bad train crash on our way to Argus," Yang added to back up her sister, "But ever since we recovered and got on our way, Ozpin wasn't around anymore."
"We checked him when we got to Argus but there was no head trauma," Weiss added, "We're not really sure what happened."
"That's the worst news yet," Ironwood sighed as he stood up, "Did you learn anything from him about the Relics before…?"
"He told us the lamp can answer three questions," Ruby confirmed, "But all the questions had been used up."
"Right, right," Ironwood gave a nod as he walked back behind his desk to stare out the window, "Ozpin told us that too, once upon a time," he turned back to face everyone, "At least we have you, Oscar. You're safe here in Atlas. Maybe together we can figure out how to bring Ozpin back."
"Thanks you, sir," Oscar gave a smile before standing at attention, "I mean, uh, general. Uh, Ironwood?"
Ironwood gave a light smirk at that and soon took the Relic of Knowledge and walked over to Ruby, holding it out towards her.
"You're giving it back to us?" Ruby raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised by Ironwood's willingness to trust her with the Relic again.
"After what happened with the Ace-Ops, I don't want you to think I'm keeping anything from you, especially something as important as this," Ironwood said as he looked at Ruby, "For the time being, I think it's safest with the people who brought it here."
"Oh," Ruby was surprised by this line of thought as she took the Relic and shrunk it back down to holster it before giving a bow, "Thank you."
Oscar simply glanced at Ruby, still nervous about the idea of not trusting Ironwood with the truth.
"We must work together if we're to fight Salem and win," Ironwood explained, "Now, if you're all on board…"
Ruby gave a contemplative look before nodding, "Tell us how we can help."
"Good," Ironwood smiled, "Because getting the Amity Tower ready to launch won't be easy. But first, I think we need to get those weapons of yours up to our standards."
It wouldn't be long before they'd see a hologram pop up, showcasing footage of Blake's broken Gambol Shroud.
"Yeah, I was hoping we could get some repairs going," Blake admitted as she rubbed the back of her neck.
"Same, the arm works great but it's a bit roughed up," Yang admitted.
"Remember, this is Atlas," Winter spoke up, "While assisting the military, we will provide you with the best equipment our scientists can devise."
Everyone couldn't help but have their faces light up at the prospect of getting some new gear and equipment going for them.
Ironwood however cleared his throat, "Speaking of equipment, I do have one possible tiny request…" He held his fingers closer together before tapping a button to change the video feed, holographic screens popping up and showing footage of the four Kamen Riders, "I was wondering if you all could talk to me about that strange armor. I've never seen anything like it on Remnant before."
Jaune, Ren, Nora and Qrow immediately got nervous, wondering if Sougo was going to let the information about Earth and everything else spill. It was a lot of information to handle and even they were barely able to handle it. There were also some concerns on what would happen when Ironwood found out as well.
"I think I can explain, or at least try my best," Sougo said while moving forward, "If you don't mind."
"Please, go ahead," Ironwood offered.
"Well, it has been on Remnant before, I think…" Sougo admitted in a near unsure fashion as he began to pace around, "But I guess I should start with where me and my friends come from, huh?"
"You are rather new to this group from my perspective, so that would be best," Ironwood admitted, having only just met the entirety of Team Zi-O just now.
"Well we actually originate from Anima, but we're part of a pretty secluded village that's cut off from mostly everywhere else," Sougo explained, "We aren't as up to date as the rest of the world, so some things are a bit different for us."
"Oh, that explains the name then," Ironwood realized, figuring the village Sougo was from was one that didn't care for the traditions that took place after the Great War, "How did you all manage to survive this long?"
"While not entirely isolated, we have enough contact and resources to where we can defend ourselves and we're pretty self-sustaining," Sougo explained, "Now you're probably questioning how we have this strange armor if we're not exactly the biggest or brightest minds right?"
"That thought crossed my mind," Ironwood admitted.
"Well you see Remnant history is a lot deeper than we once thought," Sougo smiled as he began to talk and act like he was about to give a lecture, "Where the village is set up is also the site of some ancient but nearly destroyed ruins. The ruins are possibly remnants of a civilization that utilized great ancient powers to create armored warriors who fought for Remnant."
"Armored warriors…?" Penny asked.
"What were they called?" Winter asked.
"Kamen Riders," Sougo answered, "See this civilization also had their own language as well, Kamen meaning Mask to you all. Our village basically would try and dig up and study the old artifacts left behind to try and create a bright future. It was thanks to those artifacts that my friends and I received our armor."
"That explains the odd writing-like style on the visors," Ironwood noted as he now had a close-up on Tsukuyomi's visor, "So I take it you're now starting to travel the world in order to protect it?"
"We were originally planning on staying put, but then well, we ran into Ruby and helped her out before figuring we could help out everywhere else," Sougo explained before grimacing, "But we're also here because there are those who seek to abuse the powers of a Kamen Rider."
"What do you mean?" Winter asked.
"The Time Jackers," Sougo called out, "They're a group from my village who wished to take dominion over the world with the powers they acquired. They hope to crown a leader that will lead them to that which they call their destiny."
"Do we know if they're allied with Salem?" Ironwood asked.
"They seem to be on their own for now," Ruby spoke up to keep from Sougo being the only one talking, especially when she noticed everyone had gone silent, "From what I saw in our brief encounters, they have their own goals they want to pursue."
"So how exactly do they crown a leader?" Winter asked.
"They've harnessed a dark energy that allows them to turn anyone into what can only be described as a monster," Sougo explained much to the shock of the three Atlas higher-ups in the room, "And worse, if the person they use is strong enough they can become something called an Another Rider, a monstrous Rider-like creature that takes after the same ancient warriors from my village."
To say everyone was surprised at Sougo was an understatement, as everyone aside from the Atlas higher-ups had to keep from hiding their real reactions. They tried to make sure to keep as neutral as possible expressions. Well that was except for Woz who simply had a grin on his face as he saw his Overlord lie like this. But everyone else, even Team RWBY, Geiz, and Tsukuyomi, were surprised at how Sougo was able to come up with a vague enough background for the Rider Powers effortlessly. To the point where Ironwood was completely in the palm of Sougo's hand, essentially believing every word he said. Though that wasn't because Ironwood was gullible in nature, nor because he had relaxed either…
"Do you think that…" Ironwood trailed as he tried to be subtle about his abundantly clear interest in this, "…these powers could defeat Salem?"
"I'm not sure," Sougo admitted as he could see this interest and considered his next words carefully, "But given they were so heavily buried by time and nearly destroyed… they might be the key to helping beat her."
"Is there any possible way I could ask you to allow my scientists to examine them?" Ironwood asked in an almost eager fashion, one which Qrow didn't like in the slightest, "If there's any chance we could replicate them, make them stronger, or even learn from them. Atlas could create a new generation of Kamen Riders to help protect Remnant even further."
Sougo looked in thought as he pondered Ironwoods offer, he already knew his answer but he needed to make this look believable. Of course the answer that came next was surprising to everyone in the room.
"Sure," Sougo smiled.
"Really…?" Ironwood asked, a bit surprised by the straightforward answer since he was expecting some kind of push back.
"Wait, what?" Geiz asked in surprise, snapping out of his shock, "Zi-O, are you sure about this?"
"Sougo," Tsukuyomi looked over at her friend, "We only just got here, are we sure we should be taking such a big step?"
"I say we trust him," Woz smiled.
"Of course you would," Geiz sighed.
"I know, I know," Sougo looked over at his friends. "I know that you all are wary about our powers possibly being misused. But if Ruby trusts General Ironwood then I think we can trust him too."
"I'm honestly surprised…" Ironwood admitted as he shifted his collar a bit, having expected some kind of pushback, though he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, "I would have thought you'd be more reluctant with such powerful equipment."
"It is powerful yes," Sougo agreed, "But it is also a super big unknown to me and as someone who loves history I feel like this could be beneficial to me learning more about my predecessor's pasts. With the great technology of Atlas I'm sure we can crack the mystery behind the armor my friends and I wear."
"That's good to hear," Ironwood smiled.
"But, I have one condition," Sougo pointed his finger upwards.
"What condition would that be?" Ironwood asked.
"If at all possible, I'd like Pietro Polendina to work on deciphering the Kamen Rider Technology we have," Sougo admitted, "His old friend that led us to him told us that he's the Finest Mind of Atlas, and I'm sure you can attest to that. He's the one man I feel will be able to do it."
"Well aside from getting Amity working he is rather free…" Ironwood admitted as he put a hand to his chin, "You do know that if you work with him, you'll have to go down to Mantle quite a bit, right?"
Geiz furrowed his eyebrows while Tsukuyomi narrowed her eyes at the remark.
"I think we'll be fine with the constant moving," Sougo said as he put his hands behind his back, "Plus we can handle anything that's thrown at us within reason of course."
"I'll see if I can get you some temporary permits then," Ironwood suggested as he tried to figure out the various ways he could get a head start on making Kamen Riders while also allowing Sougo and the rest of Team Zi-O enough freedom to where he could see them in action more often, "That way you aren't breaking the law should you choose to defend yourselves."
"That would be great," Sougo said with a quick salute, "You won't regret this General Ironwood!"
"I hope not," Ironwood gave a smile before holding out his hand, "Thank you for agreeing to this."
"It's no problem," Sougo extended his hand and shook the General's, "Just doing whatever we can to help out."
Geiz and Tsukuyomi were both silent, already knowing that Sougo wasn't that dense. The way things fit together perfectly, they already knew that Sougo got them the best possible deal he could. Woz meanwhile was giddy with excitement, having to restrain himself from celebrating due to seeing how well Sougo was doing.
"Now then if you'll wait a bit," Ironwood said as he walked back to his desk and accessed his Scroll, typing down some things before putting it away, "I figure you all could use a second apology from my men."
"Speaking of which… can we get some introductions?" Ruby asked.
"Right, since you will be working closely with them for the Amity Project," Ironwood said before pulling up a picture of the group that had nearly captured them, "These are my Ace Operatives, or Ace-Ops for short."
Underneath each member's profile shot was their name. The leader's name was Clover Ebi, the short woman was Harriet Bree, Elm Ederne was the tall buff woman, the thin and pale man was Vine Zeki, while Marrow Amin was the young dog Faunus.
"Huh, five," Sougo muttered as he saw the full roster, wondering why they didn't adhere to the team of four rule that he'd seen up to this point.
"They are very much the best the Atlas Military has to offer," Winter added.
"I'm sure you all will get along just fine!" Penny spoke up.
Outside the office in the hallway were the Ace-Ops, all of them talking and waiting after being called over by Ironwood. Upon hearing the group exiting Ironwood's office, Clover turned towards the approaching group. One thing of note was that Clover had Yang's prosthetic in his hand.
"Alright, cut the chatter," Clover said as he and his team began to approach the others, "I'd like to sincerely apologize for the miscommunication down in Mantle. We didn't intend to-"
Clover was cut off by Elm pushing her way past him and for once Ruby regretted how she was the lead of the group. The large buff woman had grabbed her hand with both hands, frantically shaking it, causing Ruby to flail in the air, "I feel so bad, honestly!" She admitted as she let go, causing a dizzy Ruby to fall to the floor, "If we had known who you were, we'd be laughing over a hot meal right now and-"
"I understand," Ruby said shakily as she stood up, Geiz going over and using his hand to help brace her by the shoulder, "You were just following orders."
"I mean, you could have asked us some questions first," Weiss pointed out.
"Jeez, she's strong," Sougo muttered.
"I would be surprised if she wasn't," Woz muttered back.
"Questions are for the weak," Marrow stated with a scoff while crossing his arms, "But we're all on the same team now. Not that I'm happy about it."
As if to betray those words, everyone would be able to clearly see his Faunus trait, a tail, acting up as it wagged in excitement. He quickly reached back and grabbed it to stop it, a few people like Harriet and Sougo snickering a bit at what occurred.
"We just wanted to say we're sorry," Clover spoke up again, "And that we're looking forward to working with you on our next mission. You might be students, but you've been fighting just as hard as we have, if not harder."
"Exactly why I'm looking forward to seeing what you kids can do," Harriet admitted with a tinge of excitement.
"Not everything's a competition, Hare," Vine sighed in near frustration at his ally's antics.
"We also wanted to give you back this," Clover said as he held up the prosthetic.
"Thanks," Yang said as she took her prosthetic back before attaching it back to her arm and flexing her fingers a bit, "There we go."
"Come on!" Penny called out as she slid to the front of the group, she then pointed in a certain direction, "Let me show you around campus!"
"Ooh a tour," Sougo clapped a bit at the prospect.
It wasn't long before Penny enthusiastically began marching while leading the way forward, Qrow deciding to stay behind while Team's RWBY, JNR, Zi-O and Oscar followed after her.
It didn't take long for Penny to start the tour of Atlas Academy, or at least how she did her tours. It was a lot of heading through the hallways seemingly without end, Penny pointing out important landmarks like the cafeteria, training rooms, library, and classrooms while zipping all over the place at great speeds. Normally this would have worn everyone out, but given Team JNR had a bit of a break between Argus and Atlas, alongside the rest having only just left for Remnant not that long ago, they were fairing pretty well. Though even at this point, Jaune, Nora and Ren were starting to run low on energy.
"This all looks great, Penny," Ruby said in a slightly enthusiastic voice but she was admittedly letting some tiredness slip through as she did want to finally find somewhere to sit and rest, "But um, where exactly are we staying?"
"Remember, you're in Atlas now," Penny said, "As the most well-funded school on Remnant, every team at Atlas Academy gets their own room! And if that wasn't enough-"
"So we're staying in the dorms?" Ren interrupted.
"It will be just like Beacon again!" Penny exclaimed with an excited hop.
Ruby gave a light frown at that though, mostly since while the meaning was sincere it also held another connotation. Figuring the group could wait a bit and unwind she stepped forward since there was something she wanted to do now that everything was winding down.
"Hey Penny," Ruby spoke up, "Do you uh… think we could talk for a bit, in private?"
"Are you certain?" Penny asked, "Should we not make haste to everyone's rooms?"
"We can wait for a bit," Sougo suggested, not entirely sure what Ruby wanted but felt he should respect his friend's request, "Right guys?"
"Sounds good to me," Yang said, figuring she knew what was bothering Ruby, "Take your time sis."
"It won't take too long," Ruby reassured Penny with a smile, "If you could just humor me a bit."
"Oh Ruby I would never laugh at you," Penny said, completely missing the meaning, "But I will accept your request. And I know just the place as well."
"Perfect," Ruby smiled before giving a yelp as her hands were grabbed, quickly being dragged away by Penny who was running at full speed.
"Hey, Sougo, did Ruby ever tell you all about Penny?" Yang asked.
"She didn't really mention much of her life prior to being taken by Oma," Geiz admitted before realizing something, "In fact you all never ended up mentioning Penny in your recaps."
"For good reason I'd imagine," Tsukuyomi reminded, recalling Ruby's words and reactions to Penny.
"Yeah uh, that was when Cinder and her crew were messing with the Vytal Festival," Jaune admitted as he rubbed his arm a bit, "Emerald used her illusion powers to get Pyrrha to freak out and well um… she had polarity control and that's very effective against metal, especially since Penny's weapons are controlled by wires and uh..."
"Oh…" Sougo frowned, "That must have really hurt."
"From what Ruby said, she had just barely gotten to the stage when it happened," Yang sighed and crossed her arms, "She took it the hardest, and that was only the first of everything going to hell that night."
"I can only imagine she likely wants to have a bit of space with Penny then," Tsukuyomi realized.
"Speaking of space," Geiz said as he looked around, noticing there was no one else nor any cameras were nearby or pointed in their direction. He soon glared at Sougo, "What exactly are you doing?"
"I know, I know," Sougo raised his hands as he lowered his voice, "But when it comes to Ironwood, the best thing to do is play to his trust and mindset. If I refused he wouldn't have taken it well, I'm sure of it."
"I don't mean that," Geiz replied as he lowered his voice, "I mean the part about being relaxed with our equipment."
"You know that it's a huge risk right?" Tsukuyomi reminded, "If our technology gets copied and misused…"
"Yeah, I mean you guys are pretty powerful," Nora agreed, "That definitely seems like something that shouldn't be taken lightly."
"It won't," Sougo reassured, "I know it's been a while. But rememeber, our resident Genius Physicist who combined two worlds together couldn't make head or tails of a Blank Ridewatch. He could barely even do anything with Ruby's Gear and had to go off her Aura to try and search for Remnant until Woz helped out."
"Are you sure you should be lying to Ironwood about this?" Oscar asked a bit nervously, "Do you really not trust him?"
"We'll be fine," Sougo waved off the first comment, "And I trust him to a degree… but I figured I'd get on his good side so I can observe him a bit more."
"Very well said," Woz smiled, "He will definitely provide a good many chances for you to observe how he handles things now."
"I'm not sure if I should be impressed or scared that you essentially pulled off the biggest bluff in your career," Weiss admitted.
"Impressed would be nice," Sougo admitted.
"S-Shut up you dolt," Weiss stammered out before turning away, "I'm trying to scold you!"
"Either way I also wanted to try and explore Mantle a bit more," Sougo admitted, "So going along with Pietro as the main man trying to figure out things is our best bet."
"That is true," Tsukuyomi admitted.
"I suppose that helps us out a bit," Geiz replied, "I doubt he'll try and keep us cooped up all the time."
"My Overlord truly has thought of everything," Woz smiled, clearly delighting in Sougo's discreet rebellion against Ironwood.
"Also I figured if we spend time with Pietro we also get to spend time with Penny," Sougo admitted.
"Wait, why that specifically?" Jaune asked.
"Penny's cool," Sougo shrugged, "And any friend of Ruby's is a friend of mine so I'd like to get to know her more."
"Hard to argue with that," Blake chuckled.
"So is here good?" Penny asked as they were now in a secluded hallway that no one was using at the moment.
"Y-Yeah," Ruby said as she tried to get her bearings, holding the wall as she slowly stood straight.
"So what did you want to talk about?" Penny asked.
"Um, well it's less talking and…" Ruby looked down a bit as her hands began to shake, quickly gripping them into fists to try and calm them down.
"Ruby, what's wrong?" Penny asked before immediately getting hugged by Ruby, "R-Ruby?"
"S-Sorry," Ruby said in a shaky voice, as she barely held back tears. She had to hold her emotions in check just to make sure the meeting with Ironwood went well, so it was relieving to finally relax and let loose, "It's just, seeing you again after what had happened… I couldn't believe it. I really thought I wasn't going to ever…"
"Oh," Penny said, realizing that her death and resurrection were not normal by any standards, "I suppose returning likely brought up some bad memories since you thought what happened was permanent."
"Just a bit, I honestly never expected… it just, I didn't…" Ruby wasn't sure what to really say as her grip grew tighter, as tears began to fall, "I missed you."
"Oh Ruby, I missed you too," Penny gave a gentle smile as she went to hug Ruby back, "You do not have to worry. I will not be going anywhere this time."
Ruby couldn't help but chuckle despite crying, Penny's last sentence holding the same pep and excitement as before. She soon let go before going to wipe her eyes, "I'm just glad you're back."
"It is good to be back," Penny smiled.
"Now then," Ruby rubbed her eyes further to dry them, "How about you show me and my friends a place where we can hit the hay?"
"I am afraid that the Academy is nowhere near the farmlands Ruby," Penny said as she tilted her head.
"I…" Ruby paused and couldn't help but laugh a bit at that, "No silly, I mean show us our rooms."
"Oh…" Penny trailed before smiling, "Absolutely!"
Remnant – Mantle, City Streets
It was a rainy night on the Mantle Streets as everyone went about their business as Ironwood's and Winter's messages continued to drone on. One man in particular however walked through the streets with a purpose. The man was Arthur Watts, the tech savvy and more discreet member of Salem's inner circle. He was currently holding an umbrella up, mostly to help keep a low profile as he carried his personal bag with him.
His mission was a simple one, and that was to start sowing the seeds of discord into the already cracked walls of Mantle and Atlas. As such he was given another member of Salem's group to assist with that, Tyrian Callows. The scorpion Faunus acted as the main field operative for the two, though that came with a few issues.
"For the last time, a singular hideout makes us susceptible to discovery," Watts shifted his fingers around as he approached a street after a few vehicles passed through, the pedestrian crossing lighting up as he walked across the street.
"But what if we're seen? What if we're recognized?" Tyrian asked.
"We stay mobile," Watts stressed, not minding the various stabbings he could hear over his communications.
"We're walking around a city with a thousand eyes," Tryian pointed out.
Watts kept walking at his own pace, another traffic signal suddenly changing to allow him to cross. He paid no mind to the cars that had to quickly break in order to not run him over, "While cyber security has been stepped up in Atlas, as usual, none of the code was updated in Mantle."
As he said this he had ended up shifting his fingers yet again, this time causing a blockade of posts to rise up and keep him from being rammed into by a car. The car instead slammed into them as they screeched to a halt with several people going to check on the driver.
"That certainly sounds useful," Tyrian chuckled on the other line.
"It should be," Watts paused as he pressed his thumb to one of the rings on his fingers, it glowing cyan. As a result all of the nearby security cameras began to lower to where they were now pointed downwards, "I helped write the code, after all."
"Well, I suppose we all have our talents," Tyrian replied as the sound of a door opening and closing could be heard, "By the way have you heard?"
"Heard what exactly?" Watts raised an eyebrow.
"There are some rumors of a bunch of upstart Huntsmen protecting the streets tonight," Tyrian mentioned, "But that's not the important part."
"It better not be, we don't have time to care about that riffraff," Watts scoffed.
"The important part is there were some strange robots or armored beings nearby the upstarts," Tyrian replied, "They're the real talk of the town so far."
"Probably just a fad," Watts brushed it off, clearly not concerned by the rumors, "If more rumors pop up then I suggest looking into it. For now however, we focus on our mission."
"Of course…" Tyrian answered.
In another part of the streets of Mantle, a slender person in a tan coat with a hood was walking through the alleyways as they tried to keep themselves as discreet as possible. They eventually managed to find the location, a door with a slit on the top. The brown clad individual began to knock on the door several times before the slit opened up to reveal two eyes.
"What are you here for?"
"I heard rumblings that you guys can give people power, correct?" The person asked in a deep warped voice, hiding their true identity.
"Ah good so you're here for that, come on in."
The door soon opened up to reveal that it was Uhr who was at the door. The young Time Jacker gave a smile before leading the hooded person inside.
The interior was interesting as despite the age and seemingly abandoned nature of the building, it was fairly nice inside. A nice wooden floor, dark olive painted walls and a chandelier hanging down to emit a nice moody low light. At the front was a coffee table with two sofas on each side of it. At the end of the room was a desk. A tall office chair was facing away from the desk with a large dresser being placed in the corner nearby.
Leaning against the walls were Ora and Finis, the two looking over once they saw Uhr bringing in the hooded man.
"Got a customer," Uhr said as he went to sit down on the sofa.
"You all can help me right?" The hooded individual asked as they gripped their hands tightly and approached the desk, "Someone needs to put them in their place, but I can't do that with my own abilities."
"Then you've come to the right place," spinning the office chair around was none other than Swartz who gave a smile before he grew serious, "But I won't be taking no for an answer."
"Funny," the hooded person gave a chuckle, "I was about to say the same thing."
"I think we'll get along just fine," Swartz smiled as he shifted off of his seat before standing up and walking towards the drawer and opening it up to reveal the plethora of Kaijin Items that their Jester ally had given to them, "Anything in particular?"
"You've got anything with ice?" The mystery individual asked, "I think I can set up something good with that."
"As a matter of fact I do," Swartz smiled as he went down to a case and soon opened it up to reveal various Dopant Gaia Memories, "I believe I have the perfect fit."
To Be Continued…
Next Time:
"So what exactly is the next step?"
"The General requested for you all to join us at the mission site."
"Is it just me or is Weiss acting a bit weird?"
"If there's any place they'll be it's there."
"The ending is the most important part."
Chapter 70: The First Steps Forward
Author's Note: Sougo's always been a smart and resourceful guy even if his math grades are lacking. So I figured that it's time for him to show his strategic nature and go through things a bit differently for Volume 7. In a sense the situation with Ironwood was sort of inspired by how he acted in canon with Another OOO, though in this case he's a lot more subdued in his approach and actions. He's pretty much infiltrated the game of chess that is Remnant's current battle, only he's playing poker instead.
This was also just a fun chapter to write in terms of the added presence of the Zi-O cast and just their small interactions with the current storyline of the volume. Of course there are a few extra bits and pieces here, like the Time Jackers' new "business" of sorts and me adding a bit more Ruby and Penny because yes. That being said, thanks for reading and I'll see you next time.