Remnant Chronicles: Kamen Rider Reiki
レムナント年代記：仮面ライダー霊気
Remunanto Nendai-ki: Kamen Raidā Reiki
Chapter 5: Survival
第五章：生存
Dai Goshō: Seizon
(OP1: This Will Be the Day)
They see you as small and helpless!
They see you as just a child!
Surprise when they find out that a warrior will soon run wild!
Prepare for your greatest moments!
Prepare for your finest hour!
The dream that you've always dreamed is suddenly about to flower!
We are lightning!
Straying from the thunder!
Miracles of ancient wonder!
This will be the day we've waited for!
This will be the day we open up the door!
I don't wanna hear your absolution!
Hope you're ready for a revolution!
Welcome to a world of new solutions!
Welcome to a world of bloody evolution!
In time, your heart will open minds!
A story will be told!
And victory is in a simple soul!
(OST: EP 6 Score – The Emerald Forest)
In yet another part of the forest, Yang travelled through the dense foliage, as she called out into the area around her, her voice echoing.
"Hello? Is anyone out there? Hello?" she continued calling out, as multiple pairs of red eyes started forming around her, though without her notice.
"I'm getting bored here!" She called out, before hearing rustling noises in the bushes. "Ruby, is that you?"
She peeked into the bushes, before hearing a very familiar low and inhuman growl, before she jumped backwards, her head rising up as she stared down the creature.
"Nope!"
Quickly rolling to the side, a bear-like creature – an Ursa – would jump out of the bushes, as its gigantic bear-like body would tower over the yellow fighter, ready to attack the blonde brawler with its claws. Yang would immediately get up, activating a twin pair of golden-yellow bracelets, before they morphed into a more golden set of boxing gloves, the latter staring down the former.
Somehow, immediately on cue, another one of the Ursa would appear from behind her, charging her back, something which Yang would barely avoid, jumping over the grizzly Grimm, before the first Ursa would charge at her again. The red shells on her gauntlets glowing, Yang knocked back the Ursai with an explosive punch, sending the Grimm flying back as the other charged at Yang once again.
Barely dodging the Grimm by getting under it, she delivered multiple rapid-fire punches, and a kick, sending the Grimm a good distance away from her.
Teasingly, almost as if holding a red cape for a bull, she noted, "You guys wouldn't happen to have seen a girl in a red hood, would you?"
And as the Ursai growled at her, she then retorted, "You could have just said 'no', you know?"
One of the Ursai would stand on its legs, trying to relentless swipe at the blonde brawler as she continued to barely dodging the attacks, laughing in the process.
"Geez, you two couldn't hit the broad side of a ba-" Her insult was immediately interrupted by her own thoughts as she noticed a single strand of golden hair, falling in front of her face, landing on the forest floor in front of her. Said her was obviously her hair.
Her reaction changing from teasing to complete shock, she closed her eyes, barely muttering out, "You…" as the Ursai looked at each other confusedly.
Immediately, she opened them back again, her violet pupils turning into blood-shot red, her hair catching on fire for what was a brief second, before dissipating.
"You monster!" She screamed, relentlessly attacking one of the Ursai with a flaming flurry of destructive punches and aggressive kicks, sending it flying through several burning trees, while also leaving partly-Ursa shaped holes on some of them.
And as it crashed into another tree, dissipating into the wind, the other monster would run towards Yang, barely stopping short at her gaze as a tree would fall to the ground right beside her.
"What?! You want some too?!" She screamed, the Ursa then preparing to strike.
And then there was a brief black blur, and the monster was no more, revealing Blake, her unsheathed weapon in her hands.
Yang would pant in exhaustion, whilst the black beauty would recall the weapon back to her hand, sheathing it on her back and chuckling.
Yang, closing her eyes and opening them, her pupils now lilac again, spoke to her new partner over the dusty remains of the monster, "I could've taken him."
As Weiss deflected the swipe from one of the crowds of Beowulves around her with her rapier, the monster relentlessly struck at her, landing her in the middle of a circle of the wolf Grimms, all preparing to strike her down, as she took a deep breath.
Closing her eyes, she would reminisce on the fencing practice lessons she had taken over the years, muttering to herself, "Remember your training, Weiss. Remember your training, Weiss. Head up, shoulders back, right foot forward, slow your breathing, wait for the right time to strike, and... now!"
Weiss would dash forward, a revolver chamber in her weapon suddenly spinning, as the blade of the weapon began to glow a soft hue of dark red.
However, Ruby suddenly appeared between Weiss and the Grimm in a blur of rose petals, swiping down her scythe, and landing a very deadly hit on the monster, screaming, "Gotcha!"
Caught by surprise with the sudden interruption, Weiss' eyes would widen, causing her to scream as she stopped, swinging the sword in a random direction and creating a line of fire. The said line of fire would set a nearby tree ablaze, followed by many more trees.
As Ruby, distracted by the sudden embers, was suddenly attacked by the same Beowulf she tried to attack, she would be knocked backwards and into Weiss, the former screaming, "Hey, watch it!"
"Excuse me! You attacked out of turn! I could have killed you!"
"You'll have to try a lot harder than that..."
As the two partners wielded their weapons, the pack of Beowulves growling and whining as they approached them, they were immediately interrupted by the sound of a certain person charging through.
SAT! SU! EI! SHOOTING!
撮影！シューティング！
Satsuei! Shūtingu!
Emerging from one of the nearby bushes was Kuen, much to the surprise of both Ruby and Weiss. Immediately, he readied his weapon, the firearm fully charged with white energy, as he fired a ray of white beam that destroyed multiple of the Beowulves that had begun to surround the two to-be-students.
"Are you two alright?!" Kuen called out to the two of them, only for Weiss to reply, "Barely!"
He would nod, focusing on the matter at hand, as he told them to run to the temple while he handled the wolf Grimms. And as Weiss quickly nodded, she would grab Ruby's arm, leading Ruby out of the blaze beginning to form, as Kuen continued to handle the Beowulves, his heart nervously beating in the process.
SAT! SU! EI! SHOOTING!
撮影！シューティング！
Satsuei! Shūtingu!
"Once again!"
Kuen readied the weapon once more, firing another white beam of energy that would destroy the remaining Beowulves that had begun to surround the three.
Ruby and Weiss managed to land a good distance from the smoke and flames, and Kuen and the wolves. The girl in white would lean on a random tree, gasping for air, as the girl in red would look behind her, asking, "What was that?! That should've been easy!"
"Well perhaps if you had exercised even the slightest amount of caution with the placement of your strikes, I wouldn't have set the forest on fire!"
Ruby only scoffed, asking sarcastically, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm just surprised someone who talks so much would communicate so little during an encounter!"
"Well, I'm sorry you need my help to win a fight. I'm just fine on my own!"
"Well, congratulations on being the strongest child to sneak your way into Beacon. Bravo!"
Walking in what she assumed was the direction of the ruins, Weiss walked off on her partner once again, as Ruby, with an agitated shriek would unfold her weapon in its scythe mode, slicing a tree down to the stump and refolding her weapon.
Almost on cue, however, Kuen would arrive, before looking at Ruby. He could only sigh, holstering his weapon back onto his belt.
"A little late, huh… you alright, Rubes?" Kuen offered a hand to the girl in red.
"Yeah, I guess."
Meanwhile, halfway across the Emerald Forest, a certain Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc were making their way through the bushes; the two with their weapons at the ready somewhat in the event that any of the Grimm were going to potentially attack them.
Continuing to travel, Jaune would hear what appeared to be the sounds of howling and gunshots, as he turned his head, asking to his partner, "Did you hear that?"
"Gunfire. It seems some of our comrades have encountered the enemy." Pyrrha noted, before muttering to herself quietly, "Probably Kuen."
As they continued to move forward, Jaune still staring in the sound's direction, Pyrrha would raise a branch to pass, before accidentally releasing it right in Jaune's face, causing him to land on the ground as he winced in pain.
Realizing what had happened, Pyrrha would immediately apologize. "Jaune! I'm sorry!"
"It's okay, it's just a scratch!" Jaune laughed it off, as he lowered his hand, revealing a gash on his cheek, as Pyrrha approached him with a very confused expression.
"Why didn't you activate your Aura?"
"Huh?"
"Your Aura."
"Gesundheit."
"Like Kuen all over again..." Pyrrha sighed a little. "Jaune, do you... know what Aura is?"
As Jaune tried to wave the question, avoiding eye contact, he muttered to the other, "Psch! Of course I do! Do you know what Aura is?"
Pyrrha chuckled softly, as she prepared to explain to another person a very similar explanation that she'd given Kuen. "Aura is the manifestation of our soul. It bears our burdens and shields our hearts. Have you ever felt you were being watched without knowing that someone was there?"
Jaune confusedly replied, "Uh, yeah?"
Walking around Jaune in the small area that they had, she stated, "With practice, our Aura can be our shield. Everyone has it, even animals."
"What about monsters?"
"No. The monsters we fight? They lack a soul. They are creatures of Grimm, the manifestation of anonymity. They are the darkness, and we are the light."
"Right, that's why we fight them!"
Pyrrha then noted, "It's not about why; it's about knowing. Understanding dark and light helps us manifest our Aura. Everyone has some of both."
As her hand softly glowed, Pyrrha continued, "By baring your soul outward as a force, you can deflect harm. All of our tools and equipment are conduits for Aura. You protect yourself and your soul when fighting."
Jaune's eyes would widen almost to that of a six-year-old who had just received candy from his mother, before he exclaimed, "It's like a force field!"
Last time it was life force, now a force field. "Yes, if you want to look at it that way."
And Pyrrha would walk up to Jaune, holding his shoulders, as she asked a simple request, "Now, close your eyes and concentrate."
Jaune could only comply, replying a half-assed, "Uhh… okay."
The other closing her own eyes, she would take a deep breath, before the faint red Aura would form around Pyrrha once again, as a bright white outline would form around Jaune.
"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death. I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee."
As she uttered the last of the words, both of their Auras would flare up, before dying down, as Pyrrha hunched down, very tired from the ritual.
A very concerned Jaune would only mutter out her name, to which her response was a simple, "It's all right. I used my Aura to unlock yours, but the energy that protects you now is your own. You have a lot of it."
As the scratch faded from Jaune's cheek, he could only let out a very amazed, "Wow…"
Pyrrha felt a well-placed sense of déjà vu for obvious reasons.
Lie Ren trekked through the tall grass, as he would stop, narrowing his eyes slightly and looking around him warily. A gigantic serpentine Grimm would rise up from the grass, dwarfing the much smaller Ren, as its jaws spewed out multiple fangs, its long and black forked tongue hissing.
Ren immediately entered a martial arts-styled fighting stance, as the snake would coil together, beginning its assault on the green martial artist. As it began attacking with its fangs, Ren barely leapt out of the way, the snake's mouth hitting the ground, and immediately rising once more, attacking a dodging Ren with its snout.
As Ren took the hit, before landing in a crouch, the serpent would hiss aggressively, before circling him again, as he unleashed his weapons at the serpentine Grimm. Firing rapidly at the creature, he would then strike at the snake's snout, slashing at its head.
The Grimm recoiling from the attack, it once again circled around the martial artist, before trying to bite him again. Ren would narrowly roll to the side, just in time to dodge the attack, before flipping over it, driving his weapons into the Grimm's head, pausing for a moment, very unaware of the other half of the serpent behind him.
Realizing the presence behind him, he would turn around to see the white half of the King Taijitu launching itself towards him. And he dodged it, landing just in time to see the serpentine prepare to attack him.
And as it approached him at almost-blinding speeds, he charged towards it, leaping onto the other head, using its body as a slide of sorts and firing at the other head. However, he would end up unprepared for the other half's sudden attack, as the white half would head-butt the green fighter, knocking him off as he dropped his weapons.
Ren was now only barely able to do anything, leaving him to merely raise his arms and distantly cry out an oddly-very-loud "No!" to the mouth of the black head.
Gripping on the front fangs of the colossal snake in his hands, his arms would emanate a very soft pink aura, glowing dimly as he would grip the teeth firmly, pulling them out of the King Taijitu's mouth. Said action caused it to begin flailing all around the place, in an action that screamed of anger and pain.
And it retaliated that anger, the black half rushing towards Ren in an attempt to bite him, but not before he would spin to the side, stabbing a fang into its eye, causing it to blow up into a black mess of dust.
Wielding the fang in one hand, and one of his dual pistols in the other, Ren prepared himself, as the white head would charge at Ren, making the same mistake as its other half. Ren immediately proceeded to jump on top of the white head, before impaling the tooth of the black half into the body of the white half, causing it to howl.
He stood atop, finally defeating the gargantuan serpentine Grimm, and slipping his dual pistols back into his sleeves. And immediately, he found himself greeted by a strange and animal-like noise, as he looked up to see an upside-down Nora Valkyrie.
Ren chuckled softly, commenting, "I still don't think that's what a sloth sounds like."
Nora giggled a little, as Ren chuckled, the two of them beginning to head to the relic zone.
Kiyou grinned once again, having found the targets that fit her description of potential monster hosts. A pair of students was currently traversing through the Emerald Forest, both of them unsure with their current situations. In fact, it'd looked like they were blindly charging through the forest, hoping that either death or survival would prevail. The blonde general would hide behind the trees, careful not to give off her location to anything. Whether Grimm or human.
And then she took the chance, seeing the pair of students struggling to fight a horde of Beowulves and Ursai whose paths met theirs. Kiyou would sidestep through the horde, destroying them with ease, much to the shock of the two to-be-students, who reeled in fear from the sudden threat that had suddenly appeared.
Kiyou gauged their reactions, deciding to trick them with a simple friendly act.
"So! You're wondering how I'm able to do that quickly! And trust me; I'll give you the offer you can't possibly refuse!"
"Wh-who are you?!" One of the two students asked, a girl clad in blue and black, wielding a blue and golden blade designed like one straight out of Arthurian myth.
"Me? I am the one who will offer you salvation!" Kiyou boasted. "So, will you accept my offer?"
Kiyou lined her words with a menacing tone that seemed to frighten the girl, as both of them would immediately accept the offer, claiming that they would do whatever it takes to survive in the Emerald Forest.
Those words caused Kiyou to chuckle. "Survival, huh?"
Immediately, she charged in the two girls' direction, pulling out a metal-tipped pipette and jamming it into the chest of the girl in blue. Said individual would fall onto the floor, twitching aggressively, much to the horror of the other girl. Kiyou continued her mad rampage, pulling out the pipette from the first girl's chest, streaks of red blood and blue aura mixing together.
NEVERMORE! TAINT MIX!
ネバーモア！汚れ合わせる！
Nebāmoa! Yogore Awaseru!
Kiyou then proceeded to shove the pipette into the other girl's stomach, leaving the two girls to twitch on the floor, letting out blood-curdling screams. The blonde general would then chuckle to herself, as jagged metal would begin to form around the two girls, their Auras manifesting in the form of blue and red sparks that turned into rings of crackling energy. And they began mixing together...
From the painful transformations that the two girls underwent, one figure would emerge...
"Salvation is what I shall decree upon thee!" Kiyou boasted.
(OST: EP 7 Score – The Emerald Forest, Pt. 2)
Ozpin and Glynda continued to observe the progress of the students undergoing Initiation on the cliff overlooking the Emerald Forest, through the use of a tablet that displayed most of the pairs that had already formed, with the exception of one or two. Glynda walked up to Ozpin, a tablet in her hand as well, as she would highlight Nora and Ren.
"The last pair has been formed, sir. Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren..."
She stared at the two childhood friends, who were now on their way to the abandoned ruins.
"Poor boy… I can't possibly imagine those two getting along… still, I get the feeling that he's probably better off than Miss Nikos."
Highlighting Pyrrha and Jaune, who were trekking to the woods, she could only lament, knowing full well that they probably weren't in the correct direction.
"I don't care what his transcripts say. That Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat."
Ozpin, on the other hand, was monitoring Ruby and Weiss, who were walking in the direction of the ruins with Kuen, only giving passing remarks.
"With how the situation is shaping to be for Kuen Akegata, with all due respect to him... I don't see him getting any of the relics..."
Glynda shrugged, looking back at the other pairings, a worried expression present on her face.
"There's also the fact that Miss Mizuki and Miss Soyokaze have gone missing with no signs... I'm assuming what we've predicted last night seems to have come true."
"I guess we'll find out soon enough. At their current pace, everyone will be converging at the ruined temple within just a few minutes." Ozpin sighed a little.
And then turning to Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch couldn't help but wonder.
"Speaking of which, what did you use as relics this year?"
There was a long silence, before Glynda asked, trying to wonder if he wasn't focused, "Professor Ozpin?"
Said professor was continuing to observe the situation that Ruby, Weiss and Kuen were in.
As Weiss turned right, then turned left, she almost looked as if unsure of what way to travel, even though she claimed she was totally sure.
"It's definitely this way... I mean- this way! It's definitely this way! ...alright, it's official; we passed it." She lamented.
Ruby only looked at Weiss with a frustrated expression, as she stood up, very much annoyed.
"Weiss, why can't you just admit that you have no idea where we're going?!"
That caused the snow princess to flinch, screaming back at the former.
"Because I know exactly where we're going! We're going... to... the forest temple! You don't know where we are either!"
Kuen chimed in, pointing in what he was sure of was the north direction.
"It's that way, Weiss. I've already told you this like two times by now."
Ruby scoffed.
"Well, at least I'm not pretending like I know everything."
And then it devolved into a straight-up argument of words, the two angrily screaming at each other. Kuen could only walk back a little, unsure of how to handle the mess.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means you're a big, stupid jerk and I hate you!"
"Just keep moving!"
Ruby would then mock Weiss' voice, making a very good damning impression of it. "Oh, just keep moving! Hurry up! Waaaah! Watch where you're going!"
And then she returned to her normal voice.
"Why are you so bossy?"
"I'm not bossy! Don't say things like that!"
"Stop treating me like I'm a kid!"
"Stop acting like a kid!"
"Well, stop acting like you're perfect!"
And their argument was immediately interrupted by Kuen, who would stand in the middle of the both of them, holding his hands out, clearly with the intent of de-escalating the argument that was going.
"Could we just... stop? Arguing isn't going to do anything, and I'm pretty sure that if we argue even more, the Grimm can waltz in here and eliminate the three of us... so let's just head to the temple, shall we?"
And with that up and out of the way, for now, Weiss would just waltz off in the direction Kuen had pointed in, as Ruby only could look at her, sighing dejectedly.
Kuen could only offer a moment of comfort, as he turned to her, wondering, "Once this is over and done with, you wanna get something to eat?"
She chuckled softly, muttering, "Cookies would be nice."
It was truly for a brief moment, as it would then suddenly be interrupted by some of the trees behind them taking the brunt of hail fire, forcing them to immediately ready their weapons.
As the monsters finally emerged from the bodies of the two students who had taken up Kiyou's offer, black and white rays of energy would emanate from the two beings, causing the area around them in a few hundred meters radius to become trapped within black and white netting. Suddenly, the affected part of the forest would suddenly disappear, leaving a large clearing in its place, much to the shock of Ozpin and Glynda who were watching everything unfold.
"The hell?" Ozpin blurted out, almost spitting out the drink in his mouth.
Kuen and Ruby immediately regrouped with Weiss, much to the latter's annoyance, as they would discover the source of the attack. A shadow-like creature composed of multiple feathers coating its skin akin to that of the Nevermore Grimm. Black trails emanated from the monster like black dust, much to their shock. Immediately, Kuen readied himself for a fight, readying his firearm.
"Fire from a distance." Kuen muttered to the other two. "I... don't know what that monster is..."
Immediately, Ruby changed her weapon into its shotgun mode, as Weiss did the same, the revolver-like bit on her weapon rotating and landing on red.
The three proceeded to rain a barrage of bullet fire, before Kuen would pull out the gray and white gear he used for his finishers, shoving it into the weapon almost immediately. Readying the weapon, Kuen rotated the crank multiple times, charging the barrel with white energy.
SAT! SU! EI! SHOOTING!
撮影！シューティング！
Satsuei! Shūtingu!
"One." Kuen readied himself, aiming the firearm at the shadow monster.
"Two." Keeping his finger on the trigger, he prepared to fire.
"Three!" And a ray of white energy was sent flying from the weapon, that would cause the monster to reel from the attack, much to Kuen's and Ruby's shock.
"Doesn't your special move destroy the things it touches usually?" Ruby asked, a little frightened from the ramifications of what had exactly happened.
"Right. We need to run. Get out of here." Kuen mentioned. "Are... you fine with that, Weiss?"
Weiss nodded, albeit with the anger still present in her movements.
The three students immediately scrambled to get out of the area, before their escape was suddenly brought to a halt, black and gray barriers materializing from thin air in the form of a force-field.
"Great. We're doomed." Weiss would say out loud, as Kuen would turn back to face the Nevermore-like monster that they'd fled from.
He would then proceed to send a barrage of ammunition in the direction of the monster, before Ruby and Weiss would decide to ultimately join him in what felt like a useless effort. Kuen decided to try another special move in the hopes that it would remotely something to the monster at hand.
SAT! SU! EI! SHOOTING!
撮影！シューティング！
Satsuei! Shūtingu!
Once again, the ray collided with the Nevermore-like monster, causing it to reel from the attack, with no noticeable change, much to their horror.
"Right, what do we do-" Kuen tried to ask, before the monster facing them would suddenly attack, sending out a barrage of feathers that the boy in red was forced to tank, standing in front of Ruby and Weiss.
Gritting his teeth, he could feel his Aura begin to drop, before he would then duck out of the way, noticing that Ruby and Weiss had done the same. The three hiding behind whatever trees could provide any semblance of a hiding spot, the monster let out a roar, reminding Weiss of the Nevermore Grimm she'd read about in her training.
"Wait!" Ruby then realized something, an idea now running through her head. "Maybe instead of trying to fight the monster, we try to destroy the forcefield?"
"Good idea!" Kuen muttered. "You in, Weiss?"
Weiss scoffed. "Fine, as long as we remember that the thing is still there."
"Right."
SAT! SU! EI! SHOOTING!
撮影！シューティング！
Satsuei! Shūtingu!
Ruby readied her weapon, changing the bullets that were loaded in her firearm. Weiss did the same, the revolver bit on her weapon now emanating a vibrant purple light. Kuen loaded in the gear once more, charging his weapon as white energy began to form in the barrel.
The three would then proceed to unload a hailstorm of bullets at the forcefield, finally breaking through, as a gust of wind would almost send them flying, the two sides of the field aligning together.
Deciding that there was not a better time, they immediately charged out of the general vicinity of the monster.
As Blake and Yang heard the roar of the Nevermore-like monster from afar, Yang would turn to face it, a look of confusion sprayed all over her face.
"What the hell?!" Yang blurted out, trying to figure out what was going on.
"We should get the relics." Blake monotonously noted, though there was worry in her mind.
"I know, but what was that?!"
"It's for the better if we don't know what it is."
And as they stepped out into a different clearing, they noticed a circular stone temple in the middle of it all, broken and decrepit.
Walking towards it, they noticed several black and golden chess pieces lining the platforms in the broken temple.
"Well... do you think this is it?" Yang asked.
"Yeah... this should be it."
"Some of them are missing though. Looks like we weren't the first ones here."
"Well, I guess we better pick one before other people arrive."
Glossing through, Yang picked a golden knight piece, the two deciding that that particular piece was going to be the one they chose.
(ED3: Red Like Roses, Pt. 2)
I couldn't take it, couldn't stand another minute!
Couldn't bear another day without you in it!
All of the joy that I had known for all my life!
Was stripped away from me the minute that you died!
To have you in my life was all I ever wanted!
But now without you I'm a soul forever haunted!
Can't help but feel that I had taken you for granted!
No way in hell that I can ever comprehend this!
I wasn't dreaming when they told me you were gone!
I was wide awake and feeling that they had to be wrong!
How could you leave me when you swore that you would stay?
Now I'm trapped inside a nightmare every single f'ing day!
It's like a movie, but there's not a happy ending!
Every scene fades black, and there's no pretending!
This little fairy tale doesn't seem to end well!
There's no knight in shining armour who will wake me from the spell!
I know you didn't plan this!
You tried to do what's right!
But in the middle of this madness!
I'm the one you left to win this fight!
Red like roses fills my head with dreams and finds me!
Always closer
To the emptiness and sadness!
That has come to take the place of you!